Gay-marriage Bill passes latest stage

THE Government defeated the attempts by a prominent Christian MP to amend the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill on Monday evening, but it witnessed a rebellion by more than 100 members of the Conservative party.

David Burrowes, the Conservative MP for Enfield, Southgate and a member of Christians in Parliament, pushed three amendments to the vote, warning that "there is a chill wind blowing for those who uphold traditional marriage".

The first vote was held on a "conscientious objection" amendment to ensure that registrars could not be compelled to conduct same-sex marriages.

Hugh Robertson, a minister at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, said that it would not be "appropriate or right" to allow the opt-out: "Like it or not, they are public servants who should carry out the will of Parliament, and allowing exemptions according to conscience in my view sets a difficult precedent." 

He said that consultation with the national panel for registrars had revealed "absolutely no concerns whatsoever about conscience".

The amendment was lost by 150 votes to 340. However, more than 100 Conservative MPs voted for the amendment, including Iain Duncan Smith, the Work and Pensions Secretary, and Owen Paterson, the Environment Secretary.

Colin Hart, campaign director of Coalition for Marriage, said: "The growing rebellion against the Bill shows that we are winning the argument and gaining momentum."

MPs also rejected, by 339 votes to 148, an amendment designed to ensure that "a belief regarding the definition of marriage as being between a man and a woman" enjoyed the status of a "protected characteristic of religion or belief" under the Equality Act (2010). 

Mr Burrowes cited the example of Adrian Smith, a housing manager who was demoted for posting a comment on Facebook opposing gay marriage. 

Sir Tony Baldry, the Second Church Estates Commissioner, expressed similar concerns, seeking "reassurance and a degree of legal protection for both employers and employees who express their views in a reasonable way".

Mr Robertson said that: "Philosophical beliefs are protected if they are genuinely held, and we are entirely confident that the belief that marriage should be only between a man and a woman meets those criteria per cent."

Mr Burrowes also pushed to the vote an amendment seeking to protect churches other than the Church of England from claims of discrimination if they opt out of conducting same-sex marriages. This was lost by 163 votes to 321.

The Government did offer to provide "the safeguards that are necessary to meet colleagues' concerns, where those concerns are justified". This included tabling an amendment to ensure that ministers of religion employed by secular organisations who did not wish to conduct same-sex marriages would be protected from claims under the Equality Act 2010.

Mr Burrowes withdrew an amendment designed to ensure that schools were not under any duty to "promote or endorse" same-marriage, after Mr Robertson promised that the Government would review and amend guidance for schools and "consider all available means - including an amendment if necessary - to put the issue beyond any doubt" in the House of Lords.

The Government defeated an amendment, tabled by the Conservative MP Tim Loughton, to extend civil partnerships to heterosexual couples. However, it relied on the support of the Opposition to do so.

The Cuture Secretary, Maria Miller, warned that the amendment risked delaying the implementation of the Bill.

Sir Tony Baldry said that it was "difficult to see how extending or setting up a rival competition to marriage will enhance the concept of marriage", and stated that  the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Church of England "strongly oppose" the proposal.

Kate Green, the shadow equalities minister, said that, while the Oppopsition was in favour of the principle of extending civil partnerships to opposite-sex, it shared concerns about "unwarranted delay". The Opposition would support the Government's proposal of a review of the policy, provided that it was "conducted very swiftly".

Mr Loughton, who opposes same-sex marriage, vehemently denied that his amendment was a "wrecking" one, and warned: "We are in danger of being party to a last-minute stitch-up between those on the Front Benches." His amendment was lost by 70 votes to  375.

Christians on both sides of the debate spoke during the session. Simon Hughes, the Liberal Democrat MP, said: "There is still a lot of prejudice to confront. Only yesterday a member of a church in my constituency told me that anyone who is gay is defective." 

However, as chair of the board of governors of a Church of England primary school and trustee of a Church of England secondary school, he sought "a little reassurance" on guidance for schools.

The debate took place shortly after  the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland voted to allow congregations to call a minister in a civil partnership. 

Vatican spokesman denies Pope conducted exorcism

Pope Francis did not perform an exorcism when he prayed over a young disabled man in St. Peter’s Square on Pentecost Sunday, according to the Vatican’s spokesman.
 
“The Pope had no intention of doing an exorcism, so it is absolutely false that this has been done. He simply prayed for the sick person,” Vatican press office director Father Federico Lombardi told CNA May 21.

The idea that Pope Francis performed an exorcism was fueled by a video posted online by channel TV2000, which is overseen by the Italian bishops’ conference.

In the video, which is a preview of the May 24 episode of “Vade Retro” (“Go Back” in Latin), a young man is presented to the Pope by Legionary Father Juan Rivas.

What he said to the pontiff is unknown, but the Pope seemed to become serious and began praying over the young man in a wheelchair, placing both his hands on his head.
 
As the Pope prayed, what sounds like a growl can be heard coming from the young man as he opened his mouth and recoiled downward in his chair.
 
The Pope’s security detail can be seen hovering in the background, and one of them comes in to quickly take a letter from the Fr. Rivas, before the Pope passes on the next person.
 
“As usual, the Pope had many patients and many people in difficulty presented to him, and the Pope always prays intensely for them,” Fr. Lombardi said about the encounter.

Pope praying for children, others struck by Oklahoma tornado

Pope Francis sent special condolences to those parents who lost their children in a tornado that killed around 100 people in Oklahoma.

“I am close to the families of all who died in the Oklahoma tornado, especially those who lost young children,” the Pope said on his Twitter account on May 21.
 
“Join me in praying for them,” he added. 

Pope Francis also tweeted the same message in Spanish.

Earlier in the day during his morning Mass in the Vatican, the Pope personally added a prayer intention for the tornado victims and those who are missing, especially the children.
 
There are 20 children among the 91 who have died, but officials said the death toll is expected to increase since the tornado hit southern Oklahoma City suburb of Moore on May 20.
 
The tornado, which was two miles wide at its greatest, touched down at 2:56 p.m. and lashed the area for 45 minutes with winds of up to 200 mph.
 
It destroyed homes, businesses, the local hospital and other buildings, including Plaza Towers Elementary School.
 
Local hospitals have treated at least 145 people in Oklahoma City.
 
President Obama declared the area a major disaster and will be sending federal aid.
 
In May 1999, Moore was hit by a tornado that broke records with a wind speed of 302 mph.

Man kills himself inside Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris

A 78-year-old man has killed himself inside the cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris in the French capital, police say, causing its evacuation.

The man pulled out a shot-gun and shot himself through the mouth beside the main altar shortly after 16:00 (14:00 GMT).

He has been named as Dominique Venner, an award-winning far-right historian.

Mr Venner had recently been involved in the campaign against the government's decision to legalise gay marriage.

On Saturday, President Francois Hollande signed the bill into law.
 
'Acts must follow words'

Police said Mr Venner had made no statement before killing himself, although a note was found next to his body. They did not disclose its contents.

Earlier on Tuesday, he had written on his blog a damning critique of the same-sex marriage bill.

"New spectacular and symbolic actions are needed to wake up the sleep walkers and shake the anaesthetised consciousness," he wrote.

"We are entering a time when acts must follow words."

Mr Venner is also a former member of the Secret Army Organisation (OAS), which opposed Algerian independence in the early 1960s and tried to assassinate Charles De Gaulle.

The BBC's Christian Fraser in Paris says Notre-Dame is the most visited landmark in France, attracting more than 13 million visitors each year, but security is relatively relaxed.

It would not be difficult to conceal a weapon in a shoulder bag, he says.

The cathedral is celebrating its 850th year, and at the time of Mr Venner's death, it would have been busy, our correspondent adds.

Police said the evacuation began immediately, that there were no further problems, and that the cathedral for the moment remained closed.

"It's unfortunate, it's dramatic, it's shocking," the rector of Notre-Dame, Monsignor Patrick Jacquin, told the Associated Press news agency.

This was the first suicide in decades at the cathedral, he said. A few people had jumped to their deaths from Notre-Dame's twin towers, but no-one was thought to have killed themselves at the altar before, he added.

"We will pray for this man, as for so many others at their end."

Last Thursday, a 50-year-old man with a history of mental problems killed himself with a sawn-off shotgun in front of a dozen children at a private Catholic school next to the Eiffel Tower.

Pope: there should be no power struggle within the Church, because real power, according to Jesus, is service

Power struggles within the Church began during Jesus' lifetime, but they "should not exist" precisely because Jesus' example teaches us that "the power is service" and that "the greatest is the one who serves the most," the pope said.

As he has done during the Mass, he celebrates every morning at Domus Sanctae Marthae, the pontiff continued today to deliver his lessons on reforms "within" the curia based on the primacy of ethical ways of life and attitudes over structural reforms.

Thus, today he said that for Christians, service is real power; for that reason, power struggles have no place in the Church. 

As Vatican Radio reported, the pope spoke about today's Gospel, talking about what Jesus said about his passion, as his disciples were busy arguing over who was the greatest among them. 

"The power struggle within the Church," the Holy Father noted, "is not something new;" indeed it "began during Jesus' lifetime."

However, "from Jesus' evangelical perspective, power struggles within the Church must not exist" because real power, the one the Lord "taught us by his example" is "the power to serve."

"Service is real power. As he did it, as the one who came not to be served but to serve, his service was but the service to the Cross. He humbled himself unto death, even death on a cross for us, to serve us, to save us. Within the Church, there is no other way to move forward. For Christians, going ahead, progress means humbling oneself. If we do not learn this Christian rule, we shall never, never be able understand the true message of Jesus on the power."

Moving forward, then, "means humbling oneself" and "serving always". In the Church, "the greatest is the one who serves the most, the one who is in the service of others the most." 

This "is the rule." And yet from the start until now, there have been "power struggles within the Church," even "in our way of speaking."

"In the eyes of the world, when someone is given a higher charge, people say, 'Ah, this woman was promoted to president of this association or that man was promoted . . . !' This verb, to promote, is, yes, a beautiful verb, and must be used within the Church. Yes, this one was promoted to the Cross; that one was promoted to humiliation. This is the true promotion, resembling the most to Jesus!"

The Pope said that Saint Ignatius of Loyola, in the Spiritual Exercises, asked the Crucified Lord for "the grace of humiliation." This is "the true power of the Church's service." This is the true way of Jesus, the true promotion; not the ways of the world.

"His service is the way of the Lord. As He made His service, we have to follow Him, the way of service. This is real power within the Church. Now I would like to pray for all of us, that the Lord may give us the grace to understand this, namely that real power within the Church is service; and also to understand the golden rule that He taught us by His example. For Christians, progress, moving forward means humbling oneself. Let ask for this grace."

Did the pope perform an exorcism?

Religious observers are asking: "Is Pope Francis an exorcist?" after an incident in St Peter's Square.

The pope laid his hands on the head of a young man after celebrating Mass. 

The man heaved deeply a half-dozen times, convulsed and shook, and then slumped in his wheelchair as Francis prayed over him.

The television station of the Italian bishops' conference said it had surveyed exorcists, who agreed that Francis either performed an exorcism or a prayer to free the man from the devil.

The Vatican was more cautious, saying Francis "didn't intend to perform any exorcism. 

But as he often does for the sick or suffering, he simply intended to pray for someone."

Fuelling the speculation is Francis' obsession with the devil, a frequent subject of his homilies. 

There has also been an apparent surge in demand for exorcisms among the faithful despite the irreverent treatment the rite often receives from Hollywood.

In his very first homily as pope on March 14, Francis warned cardinals gathered in the Sistine Chapel the day after he was elected that "he who doesn't pray to the Lord prays to the devil."

He has since mentioned the devil on a handful of occasions, most recently in a May 4 homily when in his morning Mass in the Vatican hotel chapel he spoke of the need for dialogue - except with Satan. "With the prince of this world you can't have dialogue: let this be clear!" he warned.

Experts said Francis' frequent invocation of the devil is a reflection both of his Jesuit spirituality, his Latin American roots - and a reflection of a Catholic Church weakened by secularization.

"The devil's influence and presence in the world seems to fluctuate in quantity inversely proportionate to the presence of Christian faith," said the Rev. Robert Gahl, a theologian at Rome's Pontifical Holy Cross University. "So, one would expect an upswing in his malicious activity in the wake of de-Christianisation and secularisation" in the world and a surge in things like drug use, pornography and superstition.

Cardinal snub over abortion stance

Boston cardinal Sean O'Malley skipped a college commencement in protest at its decision to honour Taoiseach Enda Kenny, who backs laws to permit abortion.

The cardinal's views were echoed outside the Boston College ceremony on Monday by a few dozen anti-abortion activists.

The protesters gathered at an entrance to the stadium where Mr Kenny gave the commencement address and received an honorary degree, with some holding signs saying it was a scandal that the Catholic school was hosting him.

The bill supported by Mr Kenny allows abortion only if a doctor authorises it to save a woman's life, but opponents say it would lead to widespread abortions because of a provision that permits it if a woman threatens suicide.

Protester CJ Doyle of the Catholic Action League called that "the proverbial Mack truck loophole" and said Boston College's decision to honour Mr Kenny undermined the church's anti-abortion teachings. "What rational person can reasonably be expected to take seriously Catholic opposition to abortion when our own Catholic institutions honour someone who's trying to legalise abortion in his country?" he said.

Mr Kenny did not mention the controversy during his address to the graduating students.

Afterwards he told reporters the bill did nothing to change an 1861 Irish law that makes abortion a crime punishable by life in prison. Instead, it "is setting out clarity and legal certainty, that is intended to save lives, not to end them", he said.

The current bill is being debated following last year's death of a woman who was admitted to hospital at the start of a protracted miscarriage during her 17th week of pregnancy. Doctors refused her request for an abortion and she died of massive organ failure.

The bill permits a single doctor to authorise an abortion if the woman's life is in immediate danger. Two doctors must approve if a pregnancy poses a potentially lethal risk. The approval of three doctors is required if the woman is threatening suicide.

Boston College spokesman Jack Dunn said Mr Kenny's invitation was unrelated to the controversial legislation and was offered solely because of historical ties between his country and a school founded by an Irish Jesuit to serve Irish immigrants. He said the invitation to Mr Kenny in no way eroded the school's anti-abortion stance.

Homily of Rev Fr Gerard Fitzgerald, C.C., Ennis At Funeral of Mr Joseph Pavelka

Today we assemble to take our leave of Josef Pavelka, a man we all knew, in one way or another, and a man whom we will always remember.  

Normally, when a person passes away, a wide of range of emotions will be exhibited. One will see pain, loss, anxiety, anger etched on the faces of the bereaved. 

The people left behind are the people who are left to wonder where is our loved one now, what if we had one more week, could we have helped? 

With Josef, it is not as clear nor is the procedure as normal. Because in his passing, as he was over the last month of his life, Joseph has become almost an enigma. Many people recall fond and happy memories of Joseph standing outside the church, or across from the hotel here with Peter. 

Many remember him wandering up and down O’Connell Street asking maybe for one euro or two euro. However, many more remember a man who had a lot of opportunities to improve, and did not capitalise. 

However, I believe we must now take a new road. Because ultimately, it is not important if Josef wanted one euro, nor is it important that he was an alcoholic. What is important is Joseph’s humanity. 

Like us here, like everyone, he was made in the image and likeness of the Father in heaven. 

And in his humanity, weakness and even in his brokenness, Joseph was loved by Jesus.

When I met Joseph, I had only just literally arrived and he was standing with Peter outside the Church. It was like an alien had landed. The two of them were looking at me and wondering who I was. 

As I unloaded all my clothes and luggage, Joseph walked, well, half walked, half rambled, over to me and in his wonderful take on the English language he said to me “And me help”?   

I had never met him, yet he wanted to help. 

And so, he helped me unload all my bits and pieces and as I thanked him, he said to me a line which I will always remember him for… “Very important problem… maybe 2 euro…” 

Joseph was no Holy Joe, and I am not here to canonize him, because there were times when he would absolutely drive me nuts. 

Yet Joseph taught me it is in the hearts of the poor where Jesus is to be found. Because it is in the heart of the poor the weakness and reliability of our own innate humanity is to be located. 

Like I mentioned earlier, it would be very easy to be up here and moan about the State Sponsored bodies, to lament what I have interestingly heard called killing Joseph with generosity, and to whinge about the denial of the two lads sleeping in the public toilets, even though I was there with them one night. 

But, we must all now remove that attitude. 

Because behind all of that is the tragic truth of a human life being lost here in Ennis and the worse tragedy is that it is happening everywhere. 

Every night, people in Ireland are homeless, lost and lonely and wondering what will happen next.  

Joseph’s passing was a tragedy and has brought much publicity to our town not all of which has been positive. 

Yet, it is not a time to be angry, nor looking to play one-ups-man-ship. It is a time to unite, to take action. We need to work with each other to improve on the wonderful work already happening. We need to unite to ensure what happened Joseph will not happen to others. 

Now more than ever, we need to live out our Christian calling, not just in the four walls of the Church but outside too. 

The Spirit of the Lord is a living spirit, one which promises new life, new hope and resurrection. Yet, it can only be loosed in the working of the church which is all of us. And it is up to all of us, to ensure in our own small way we help as much as we are able to. 

To those in power in Ennis and in Ireland, I ask you, I plead with you, on my knees to you as a representative of Jesus here in Ennis, I ask you to please review the policies we have towards the homeless and the vulnerable in our society. 

I ask you to continue to work with the poorest of the poor always in mind and we will work with you, if you let us, to ensure what happened to Joseph never happens again. We are all in the same boat, we are all human beings. We must work with each other to build up the promise of new hope in the resurrection.

 

Lastly, to Joseph… No euro today. I am very poor… however, Joseph Pavelka, Czech Republic Army number 6667, I do want to tell you… I love you, I will miss you and when we meet in Heaven, we will have our wrestling match which we always promised each other!!

Until then, may you rest in peace and I want to give you one last gift.. Something you were always pestering me for… (Fr Fitzgerald then placed upon the coffin his ordination stole which Josef had pestered him for down through his time of knowing him)   

Relations with China affect timing of Matteo Ricci cause

Approval for the beatification of the Italian Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci, who ministered in China 500 years ago, depends to some degree on the Vatican’s relations with China.
 
“Part of the beatification depends on the political relations between China and the Vatican,” said Father Anton Witwer, the postulator of his cause.

“It’s possible to wait, even if all things are clear for a beatification, something like five years to see if the political situation has changed and is more favorable for the cause,” he told CNA in a May 15 interview.

Jesuit Father Matteo Ricci was an expert in mathematics, cosmology and astronomy, who helped spread the Gospel in China during the 16th century.

The Italian Jesuit was the first Westerner invited into the Forbidden City, the Chinese imperial palace where the emperor lived, and he produced the first map of China where Africa, Europe and America also appeared.

The process of naming him a saint involves several steps, beginning with his life being recognized as one of “heroic virtue,” before he can be beatified, which is the step before sainthood.

According to Fr. Witwer, the process began in 1985 in the Italian town of Macerata, but “it was only a historical opening so it was not sufficient.”

“This is why we had to make a new process,” he added, referring to the one initiated on Jan. 24, 2010.

The German priest, who is the General Postulator of the Society of Jesus, also explained some of the considerations that can impact the timing of Fr. Ricci’s beatification.

“First, a beatification has to help the local church (in China) to sustain and grow faith, and if there is a political impediment, it is sometimes necessary to choose the just time,” Fr. Witwer said.

In fact, the Vatican asked Fr. Witwer to introduce the cause of Fr. Ricci’s lay collaborator Xu Guanqi because “for China, it would maybe be better if a European and a Chinese are beatified more or less together,” he explained.

“This would be better for China because it is easier to accept a Chinese Blessed and not only a missionary working in China,” he added.

But according to the Jesuit postulator, Xu Guanqi’s beatification process is on hold since it was introduced in Shanghai, which is currently without a bishop.

The Italian Diocese of Macerata finished studying the case of Fr. Ricci on May 10, and passed it to the Vatican’s Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

The congregation will now examine the case to decide whether or not to give the missionary, who spoke fluent Chinese and embraced the country’s culture and customs, the status of heroic virtue.

The postulator pointed out that if the Vatican gives Fr. Ricci that status, it would mean “he lived as a virtuous of faith, obedience and poverty, more than the average Christian.”

The next step in eventually proclaiming him a saint would be to beatify him, making him Blessed Mateo Ricci. That step, among other things, will involve a miracle being attributed to his intercession and have it certified as miraculous by separate panels of medical doctors, cardinals and the Pope.

“We still have to wait for the beatification because we have to wait for a miracle, which we don’t have yet,” Fr. Witwer reported.

“The Diocese of Macerata will now bring documents to the congregation and we will have to examine their canonical correctness,” said Fr. Witwer.

The postulator explained that the next step in determining whether Fr. Ricci lived a life of heroic virtue involves drafting a document of around 500 pages – known as a “Positio” – that details the life, writings and virtues of the priest.

It will be directed by the relator of the saints congregation, a “sort of thesis moderator, and then studied by historians, theologians and finally by cardinals,” said Fr. Witwer.

“Maybe in two years we can finish the Positio, then several years will be needed to study it, and then a few more years may be needed before the beatification finally takes place,” he said.

Polish Church 'sex abuse' exposé ends in violence

 

An attempted interview by two FRANCE 24 journalists with a priest accused of paedophilia ended in a violent confrontation on Sunday. 

The video has caused consternation in Poland, where the event has seemingly underscored rising tensions over the Catholic Church’s alleged efforts to cover up sex abuse.

FRANCE 24’s correspondent Gulliver Cragg and cameraman Tomasz Lubik requested an interview with the priest and as a result were briefly held against their will on May 12. 

The parish priest in the city of Szczecin invited them into the rectory, locked the door and tried to physically prevent them from leaving. 

The two journalists eventually managed to escape when the priest dropped his keys.

The video is part of a longer in-depth report about alleged child abuse by priests in Poland, one of Europe’s most Catholic countries.

Cragg said that after being confronted about the incident, the parish in question had denied the event had ever occurred and threatened to sue him for trespassing and slander.

As the country struggles with its finances, new tax perks for churches are brought in

A new deal between the Government and the Catholic Church will see millions more of taxpayers' money flowing into the church's coffers.

Recent changes to the Gift Aid scheme mean that charities can now claim Gift Aid on smaller donations.

Catholic parish churches will be able to claim from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) an extra 20% for each donation of up to £20 without requiring the giver to complete a form. 

It is estimated that every church could benefit by up to £1,250 a year. If all 2,400 Catholic churches in England and Wales claim, around £3 million could be claimed each year. 

The money could help dioceses cope with the loss of thousands of pounds following the cut that could be claimed in Gift Aid in 2011 from 23p to 20p in the pound.

Under the scheme, which came into effect last month, parish churches are for the first time being treated as individual charities. 

Previously the Church's 22 dioceses were each treated as registered charities rather than the parish churches within them. The Church of England already benefits from this scheme as all its churches are registered as individual charities.

Under the new scheme, each church can claim from HMRC for every £1 of a "small" donation.

HMRC said that it hoped the new scheme, which was agreed in consultation with representatives of the Catholic Church, would make it easier for small charities to claim top-up payments. It said that in the past, churches found it difficult to claim gift aid, because collection donations might be too small to warrant a Gift Aid declaration.

Large dioceses such as Westminster and Birmingham, which each have more than 200 churches, could benefit to the tune of hundreds of thousands of pounds. Jim Whiston, the finance director in the Diocese of Middlesbrough, said that they hope to raise £80,000 under the new scheme. "It's going to make a difference," he said.

Robert Meakin, a trustee for the Diocese of East Anglia and partner at charity lawyers Stone King, told The Tablet magazine that the change was good news for the Catholic Church. 

"The scheme took into account the peculiar structure of the Catholic Church which has 22 diocesan charities administering parish churches which are not constituted as a separate charities," he said. "If the scheme only allowed charities to claim then the Catholic Church would have been prejudiced (only having 22 diocesan charities) so it allowed each charity to make a claim in respect of each and every 'community building' which it owns which in the Catholic Church opens the scheme up to approximately 2,500 parish churches."

Meanwhile, the Church of England announced some of its best financial results in recent years this week, with a 9.7% return on investments for 2012. 

The Church commissioners manage £5.5 billion in assets for the Church of England.

Terry Sanderson, President of the National Secular Society, said: "The Archbishop of Canterbury – a former banker – lectures large financial institutions about the morality of their practices. But he doesn't seem to think that the vastly wealthy organisation he heads should pay taxes like the rest of us have to. Similarly with the Catholic Church – one of the wealthiest organisations in the world – why are they getting even more tax breaks when the country is on its financial uppers and front line services are being destroyed?"

Judge limits suit against Catholic church over priest's kid porn

A judge has limited a lawsuit against the Catholic diocese of Kansas City, Mo., about a priest's creation of child pornography.
 
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of a girl identified only as Jane Doe 173. She was 2 when the Rev. Shawn Ratigan took sexual pictures of her in 2006.

In a ruling Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Gary Fenner said lawyers for Jane Doe cannot try to prove that the diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph and Bishop Robert Finn "abetted" Ratigan, The Kansas City Star reported.

The judge said the jury can consider evidence that church officials, including Finn, knowingly distributed child pornography.

Pornography on Ratigan's laptop computer was discovered by a computer technician. 

The priest is awaiting sentencing on federal child pornography charges, while Finn was convicted in state court in August of failing to notify police or child welfare agencies about the images.

Church movements bringing 50,000 more than Vatican expected

The attendance response to a Pentecost weekend event for Church movements exceeded the Vatican’s expectations by 50,000 people.

“Over 120,000 people signaled their attendance, around 150 different ecclesial realities coming from around the world are registered attesting to the fact that the Church's catholicity knows no boundaries,” said Archbishop Rino Fisichella, head of the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization.
“The Year of Faith is going better than what I thought, because the response has been great so far,” he remarked in an interview with CNA.
“We expected 70,000 people and we reached double the numbers,” he added.
The Vatican had organized the May 18-19 weekend for Church movements to gather in Rome as part of the “Year of Faith,” an initiative aimed at evangelizing and helping Catholics become more fervent in faith.
The Church movements are typically focused on presenting the Gospel in depth, building and promoting Christian community, and preparing their members to witness to their faith in the public square.
“New movements and associations are the young face of the Church and it’s a fruit of the Second Vatican Council,” the archbishop explained.
Participants in the weekend will have a chance to experience the faith in several ways.
Starting at 7:00 a.m. on May 18, groups of around 50 people were guided by experts in theology on a pilgrimage to St. Peter’s tomb inside Saint Peter’s Basilica.
Later in the afternoon, between 3-6 p.m., members of the Focolare movement’s Gen Verde musical group, along with a choir of over 150 singers from the various movements provided music for those gathered in St. Peter’s Square.
Once the music has finished, Pope Francis joined in the celebration with a prayer in front of the image of the Virgin Mary Salus Populi Romani.
The event continued with two strong testimonies by Irish writer John Waters and Pakistani surgeon Paul Bhatti, whose brother was killed by the Taliban for standing up against the country’s blasphemy law.
Members of the movements then asked the Pope some questions, which he responded to off-the-cuff.

A large group of people with disabilities, the parents of a child killed in L’Aquila’s earthquake, and Italian politicians from the Communion and Liberation movement were among those attending.

The weekend ceremony concluded on Sunday with Pentecost Mass presided over by Pope Francis at 10:00 a.m. in St. Peter’s Square.
The archbishop explained that Pope Benedict XVI launched the Year of Faith to call people to be witnesses of faith.
“On the other hand, the new Pope’s presence and his simplicity is attracting many people to Rome who want to listen, touch and see him,” said Archbishop Fisichella.
“This is great. And it’s in some way an effect of the Year of Faith, especially seeing Pope Francis being the first witness,” he stated.

5 new lawsuits allege abuse at Joliet Diocese of the Catholic Church

Five new lawsuits have been filed against the Joliet Diocese of the Catholic Church by people who say they were abused by priests and by a non-priest teacher. 

The alleged incidents happened in the 1970s and 1980s when the plaintiffs were between the ages of 8 and 16.

All say they suppressed the memories until recently.

The suits claim the diocese knew or should have known what was going on.

A representative of the diocese says there will be no comment because they haven't seen the lawsuits.

No child porn found on Independence church’s computers, Catholic diocese says

None of the computers seized from an Independence Catholic church in March by federal and state authorities contained photographs or videos of child pornography, according to a spokesman for the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph.

The computers were taken from the office of St. Ann Parish at 10113 E. Lexington Ave., on March 26 after detectives alerted parish officials that they had detected two downloads of child pornography from peer-to-peer websites by an Internet address associated with the parish office, said Jack Smith, diocesan spokesman.

Smith said Independence police alerted diocesan officials on Wednesday that the case was closed after federal computer forensic investigators did not find any pornographic material.

The parish office had an insecure Wi-Fi connection, which meant the downloads could have been made by a parish office computer or by someone nearby. 

The downloads occurred between 6:30 and 7:30 a.m. on Feb. 5, Smith said.

Shortly after the search warrant was executed, Bishop Robert W. Finn directed staff to alert all parishes, schools and diocesan offices about the need to secure and encrypt all wireless routers and implement other security measures, he said.

Parish and diocesan staff cooperated with authorities during the investigation. 

The computers and other equipment soon will be returned to the parish office, Smith said.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2013/05/16/4239461/no-child-porn-found-on-independence.html#storylink=cpy

Bethany Home survivors: ‘State ignored us as children, and is still ignoring us’

DUBLIN CITY COUNCIL has shown its support for Bethany Home survivors, calling on the Government to ensure that “justice is served” in the case.

Councillor Mícheál Mac Donncha put forward the motion, which states that Dublin City Council fully supports the survivors of Bethany Home, Rathgar, who have to date been excluded from both the Residential Institutions Redress Scheme and the Magdalene Redress Scheme, “leaving them in a  state of vulnerability, uncertainty and, in many cases, poverty”.

It continues:

We call on the  Government, as a matter of urgency, to ensure that justice is served to the survivors of  the Bethany Home and that the State affords them the peace and security that they deserve in these, their older years. We support their call for a process of non-adversarial redress and to provide assistance to them in their attempts to access to their  records.

The motion was accepted by the city council.

Derek Leinster, who helped found the Bethany Home Survivors group, told TheJournal.ie that the members are still waiting on a reply from Minister Alan Shatter and Minister of State Kathleen Lynch, who they met last month.

The Bethany Home story was featured on the RTÉ show Prime Time last Monday night and Leinster said he was “very pleased” with how the programme went.

The survivors are seeking an apology from the State and redress for what they suffered while in the home. 

Mothers were sent to Bethany Home while pregnant and their children were sent from the home to Protestant families. 

Many children died from infectious diseases while in the home, while others, such as Leinster, were left with lifelong health problems.

Bethany Home was rejected from the State’s redress scheme as it was deemed a mother and baby home, but St Patrick’s Institution – which was also a mother and baby home – has been included in the scheme in recent years.

However, the Daughters of Charity, which ran the home, had struck an indemnity agreement with the State and 18 religious orders that the State would pay any redress for abuse suffered by people in care of the orders. 

Homes run by these Catholic orders are covered by the redress scheme.

Leinster said that “just because we are a minority doesn’t meant it is right”, referring to the fact that the home is a Protestant one and all the other homes included were Catholic.

The State ignored us as children and they are still ignoring us today as adults and that surely cannot carry on.

Leinster said the survivors are hoping the case will move forward and will not stall, and that the Church of Ireland will support them in their efforts.

In 2007, a  Freedom of Information request revealed that the State was involved with Bethany Home.

Redress

The survivors want to see the situation “move a lot quicker than what has been happening”.

“At the moment we seem to be going along and sleepwalking,” said Leinster.

It just isn’t good enough. A lot of our people are really old now. That redress – we want them to have it while they are alive. Each month that it passes there are more and more of our people passing on.

Leinster’s own mother is 90 and has recently suffered a stroke. He says an apology and redress “could never put it right but obviously it softens the blow”.

As well as redress and an apology, the survivors are seeking a memorial in Mt Jerome ceremony where children from the home are buried in unmarked graves.

Leinster thanked all those who helped the survivors get to where they are, including Niall Meehan and Victor Stephenson, as well as fellow survivors.

Belgian Church reveals 300 new child sex abuse complaints

The Belgian Roman Catholic Church said Wednesday it had received more than 300 complaints of sexual abuse of minors in 2012.
 
Three quarters of the 307 dossiers opened were in northern Flanders, the staunchly Catholic Dutch-speaking and larger half of Belgium.

The great majority of complainants were mature adults, having waited before coming forward after the Church fell into scandal over recent years and with compensation now an issue.

Forty-six of the cases raised last year have gone forward for mediation, officials behind the abuse census said.

After similar scandals in the United States, Ireland and Germany, Belgium was rocked in April 2010 with revelations that the then bishop of Bruges, Roger Vangheluwe, had abused a nephew for 13 years.

Vangheluwe's subsequent decision to quit opened a floodgate of allegations, with one report revealing almost 500 cases of abuse in Catholic institutions since the 1950s, including 13 known suicides by victims.

In September 2011 some 70 alleged victims filed joint legal action against the Belgian Church and the Holy See, the first such class action suit in Belgium and the first such suit involving the Vatican in Europe.

In Kenny’s book the Constitution is king . . . not the church (Comment)

The preoccupations of the Irish Catholic hierarchy in the early years of the State were the twin and related evils of company-keeping and dancing and the subversion of the morality of the Irish people caused by the importation of indecent and obscene literature, notably English Sunday newspapers (company-keeping was the practice whereby unmarried couples would spend time with each other alone).

In 1926 the then archbishop of Tuam, Thomas Gilmartin, warned: “In recent years the dangerous locations of sin have been multiplied. The old Irish dances have been discarded for foreign importations which, according to all accounts, lend themselves not so much to rhythm as to low sensuality . . . Company-keeping under the stars of night has succeeded, in too many places, the good old Irish custom of visiting, chatting and storytelling from one house to another, with the rosary to bring all home in due time.” This prelate also advised fathers: “If your girls do not obey you, if they are not in at the hours appointed, lay the lash upon their backs.”
‘Destruction of virtue’ 

The Catholic bishops as a whole had issued a statement in 1925 which read: “The surroundings of the dancing hall, withdrawal from the hall for intervals, and the back ways home have been the destruction of virtue in every part of Ireland.” 

The agitation of the bishops prompted the Cumann na nGaedheal government to arrange for the enactment of the Censorship of Publications Act 1927 which gave to the five members of the censorship of publications board the power to prohibit the sale and distribution of a book which was considered “in its general tendency, indecent or obscene” and of any periodical (including newspapers) that were considered to have “unusually or frequently been indecent or obscene”. 

It also made the publishing, selling or distribution of literature advocating birth control an offence. Later on, a special tax was placed on imported newspapers.

Later still the Public Dance Halls Act was passed, which sought to regulate the circumstances in which dancing in public could take place either in the open air or otherwise. 

On taking office in 1932 Éamon de Valera sent a message on behalf of his government of “respectful homage and good wishes” to pope Pius XI and assured him of “our intention to maintain with the Holy See that intimate and cordial relationship which has become tradition of the Irish people”. 

A few weeks later at the commencement of the Eucharistic Congress, de Valera told the papal legate that the Irish people were “ever firm in their allegiance to our ancestral faith”.

The 1937 Constitution had a very distinctive Catholic flavour although the Vatican was displeased that the Catholic flavour was inadequately pronounced.

On coming into office in 1948 the first inter-party government, led by John Costello, sent a message to the then pontiff stating: “On the occasion of our assumption of office and of the first Cabinet meeting, my colleagues and myself desire to repose at the feet of your Holiness the assurance of our filial and of our devotion to your August Person, as well as our firm resolve to be guided in all our work by the teaching of Christ, and to strive for the attainment of the social order in Ireland based on Christian principles.”
Bishops object 

In 1950 the then minister for health, Noel Browne, sought to introduce a mother-and-child scheme which had the following features: a free, non means-tested medical scheme for all mothers in respect of motherhood and children (children up to the age of 16); this to be provided in the main by dispensary doctors; the doctors would keep records of the illnesses of their patients; and the doctors would give health guidance to the mothers and children. 

The bishops objected in principle to the free-for-all scheme and to the proposal that doctors would provide health guidance on the grounds that this might result in doctors giving guidance on birth control and abortion. 

The government capitulated.

Costello, in the ensuing Dáil debate, said: “I, as a Catholic, obey my church authorities and will continue to do so . . . There will be no flouting of the authority of the bishops in the matter of Catholic social or moral teaching.” 

The minister for external affairs, leader of one of the coalition parties and former leader of the IRA, Seán McBride, said: “Those of us in this House who are Catholics, and all of us in the government who are Catholics, are, as such of course, bound to give obedience to the rulings of our church and our hierarchy”. 

Noel Browne said: “I, as a Catholic, accept unequivocally and unreservedly the view of the hierarchy on this matter.” 

Enda Kenny, on being challenged by the Catholic hierarchy on legislation for abortion in accordance with the Supreme Court ruling in the X case said on May 6th, 2013: “My book is the Constitution . . . That’s the people’s book and we live in a republic and I have a duty and responsibility, as head of government, to legislate in respect of what the people’s wishes are”. 

In response to the threat of excommunication from the Catholic Church, he said: “I have my own way of speaking to my God.”

Brazil approves same-sex marriage

Brazil has became the third and largest Latin American country to give a de facto green light to same-sex marriage, reports AFP in The Australian.

In a bold stride for the majority Roman Catholic nation, the National Council of Justice, a panel which oversees Brazil's legal system and is headed by the chief justice of the Supreme Court, said government offices that issue marriage licenses had no standing to reject gay couples.

"This is the equivalent of authorising same-sex marriage in Brazil," said Raquel Pereira de Castro Araujo, head of the human rights committee of the Brazilian bar association.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Joaquim Barbosa explained that there was no reason for government marriage licensing offices to wait for Congress to pass a law on same-sex marriage before extending gays rights they legally already have.

Barbosa noted that the Supreme Court in 2011 recognised stable homosexual unions, ruling that the constitution guaranteed them the same rights as heterosexual couples.

"Are we going to require the approval of a new law by Congress to put into effect the ruling that already has been made by the Supreme Court? That would make no sense," he said in comments quoted by the G1 news website.

The earlier Supreme Court decision "is binding" and should be followed by the lower courts, Barbosa stressed.

Vatican orders Cardinal O'Brien to leave Scotland for prayer, penance

Scottish Cardinal Keith O'Brien, who resigned as archbishop after admitting to sexual misconduct, will leave Scotland "for several months for the purpose of spiritual renewal, prayer and penance," the Vatican said, reports the Catholic News Service.

Any decision about when the period will end or where the cardinal will live permanently will be made in agreement with the Vatican, said a statement released on May 15 by the Vatican press office.

The statement did not specifically mention Cardinal O'Brien's sexual misconduct. Instead, it referred to "the same reasons he decided not to participate in the last conclave."

Retired Pope Benedict XVI accepted Cardinal O'Brien's resignation February 25 after the Observer, a British weekly national newspaper, carried a story detailing complaints of three priests and one former priest who alleged Cardinal O'Brien had made homosexual advances toward them.

The cardinal initially denied the allegations but said he would not be in Rome for the conclave to elect a successor to Pope Benedict because he did not want media attention to be on him rather than on the process to elect a new pope.

Less than a week later, however, he issued a public apology for his actions. He said he initially denied the allegations because they were made anonymously. 

But, in the March 3 statement, he said, "I wish to take this opportunity to admit that there have been times that my sexual conduct has fallen below the standards expected of me as a priest, archbishop and cardinal."

In early May, Cardinal O'Brien was photographed moving his belongings into a church-owned residence in Dunbar, on the North Sea coast about 30 miles from Edinburgh, where he had served as archbishop since 1985.