Sunday, March 23, 2025

'Thank you, everyone': Pope Francis greets crowds after release from hospital

POPE FRANCIS MADE a brief appearance today after he was released from hospital, where he spent five weeks.

The 88-year-old pontiff spent five weeks in hospital, where was treated for pneumonia and a respiratory infection.

The Pope’s doctor, Luigi Carbone, said the Pope is improving and hopes he can resume activities soon. 

The Vatican said it will take time for his voice to return to normal, and he will need at least two months to recover.

However, today Francis addressed crowds outside the Gemelli hospital.

Sitting in a wheelchair, a staff member held a microphone for him. He told the public in Italian: “Thank you, everyone.”

He also remarked on a woman below who had brought him flowers.

Francis will now return to the Santa Marta.

At a press conference last night, spokespersons for Francis said that he had not had Covid, and wanted to return home several days ago. However, his doctors decided that he should be discharged on Sunday.

The serious infections suffered by the Pope have been overcome, the Vatican representatives told journalists, but the overall infection is not completely healed, hence the need for convalescence.

Calls for peace

Separately,  Francis today called for an “immediate” end to Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip, and for the resumption of dialogue for the release of hostages and a “definitive ceasefire”.

“I am saddened by the resumption of heavy Israeli bombing on the Gaza Strip, causing many deaths and injuries.

“In the Strip, the humanitarian situation is again very serious and requires urgent commitment from the conflicting parties and the international community,” Francis wrote in an Angelus prayer.

“I ask that the weapons be silenced immediately and that the courage be found to resume dialogue so that all the hostages can be freed and a definitive ceasefire reached.”

Pope to make first public appearance before hospital discharge

Pope Francis is to make his first public appearance in five weeks before he is discharged from hospital.

Francis survived a severe case of pneumonia that twice threatened his life and raised the prospect of a papal resignation or funeral.

The 88-year-old pontiff plans to offer a Sunday blessing from the 10th-floor papal suite at Rome’s Gemelli hospital.

After saying goodbye to hospital staff, he is to return to the Vatican to begin at least two months of rest, rehabilitation and convalescence, during which time doctors have said he should refrain from meeting in big groups or exerting himself.

But Francis’s personal doctor, Dr Luigi Carbone, told a hastily arranged press conference on Saturday evening that the pope should eventually be able to resume all his normal activities, as long as he maintains the slow and steady progress he has registered to date.

His return home, after the longest hospitalisation of his 12-year papacy and the second-longest in recent papal history, brought tangible relief to the Vatican and Catholic faithful who have been anxiously following 38 days of medical ups and downs and wondering if Francis would make it.

Saturday, March 22, 2025

POPE FRANCIS HEALTH UPDATE

Pope Francis will be discharged from Rome’s Agostino Gemelli Hospital on Sunday and he will return to his residence in the Vatican to continue his convalescence.

Speaking to journalists on Saturday evening, Doctor Sergio Alfieri, head of the Gemelli Hospital medical team that has been treating the Pope for an acute respiratory tract infection and bilateral pneumonia said “The good news the world and everyone is waiting for is that tomorrow the Holy Father will be discharged. Tomorrow he will return to Santa Marta.”

Doctor Alfieri, flanked by the Pope’s personal physician, Doctor Sergio Carbone, explained that the decision to discharge the Pope follows steady and rapid medical improvements in his clinical condition and the lifting of the prognosis.

He noted that the past week has seen significant improvements. 

He confirmed that when the Pope was admitted to hospital on 14 February, he was suffering an acute respiratory insufficiency due to a polymicrobial infection that resulted in bilateral pneumonia. 

This, he explained, necessitated a combined pharmacological treatment.

Answering questions put to him by reporters, Alfieri reiterated that the bilateral pneumonia has been successfully treated, but time is needed for a complete recovery.

Thus, the Pope has been prescribed at least two months of convalescence, during which he will be receiving medical care and will be taking an adequate period of rest.

Alfieri noted that the Holy Father’s health is improving steadily, and the hope is he will soon be able to resume a work schedule. 

This however, he pointed out, does not mean he will immediately be able to start meeting with people and groups as he did before.

The doctor also reiterated, as medical bulletins informed during the Pope’s entire period of hospitalization, that Pope Francis has proved to be a “good” and collaborative patient, always heeding the indications of the medical team.

He also confirmed that during this time the Pope suffered two critical episodes, during which his life was in danger. 

He was given non-invasive mechanical ventilation and high-flow oxygen therapy, but he was never intubated and was always alert and oriented.

He said that a temporary “loss of voice” after bilateral pneumonia and its treatment is normal, and he said Pope Francis does not suffer from diabetes.

Asked what the life of the Pope will be like when he gets home, Alfieri said that with the continuing rehabilitation therapy, hopefully he will soon be able to resume his normal activities.

Pointing out that throughout his time in the hospital, the doctor said Pope Francis has always stayed in touch with current events, both church-related and political, and – as we have seen – has continued to dedicate himself to work activities.

He is happy to be discharged, he reiterated, and as all doctors agree, “the best way to recover is to do so at home.”

Pope Francis to be discharged from hospital tomorrow after five weeks

POPE FRANCIS IS to be discharged from hospital tomorrow.

The 88-year-old pontiff has spent five weeks in hospital, where he has been treated for pneumonia and a respiratory infection.

The Pope’s doctor, Luigi Carbone, says the Pope is improving and hopes he can resume activities soon. 

They say it will take time for his voice to return to normal, and he will need at least two months to recover.

Despite serious fears for Francis’s health early in his hospitalisation, his condition has steadily improved. 

Last Sunday, the Vatican released the first image of Francis since his hospitalisation.

At a press conference held this evening, spokespersons for Francis said that didn’t have Covid, and wanted to return home several days ago. 

However, his doctors decided that he should be discharged tomorrow.

The serious infections suffered by the Pope have been overcome, the Vatican representatives told journalists, but the overall infection is not completely healed, hence the need for convalescence.

Tomorrow, Pope Francis will give a brief blessing from the Gemelli at midday and then soon after return to the Santa Marta.

TDs echo calls for a public inquiry into the state's handling of abuse by Micheal Shine

TDs HAVE ECHOED calls for a public inquiry into the state’s handling of abuses carried out by disgraced doctor Micheal Shine, ahead of a meeting between survivors and the Health Minister.

Micheal Shine, a doctor at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda and at his private surgery in Louth town, was found guilty of assaults against nine boys. More than 360 men have reported being sexually abused by Shine.

In 2010, a non-statutory review was tasked with dealing with allegations of sexual abuse against convicted paedophile Micheal Shine, as well as examining the safeguarding procedures in place at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital where he was employed. It was never released.

On RTÉ’s Saturday with Colm Ó Mongain programme earlier today, one of Shine’s victims, Cianan Murray, spoke about his experience of abuse at the hands of Shine, and his hopes for justice through the form of a public inquiry.

The father of two, from Duleek, County Meath, encountered Shine when he was sixteen-years-old at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital. 

He was examined by Shine, where he was having stitches removed from his eye, and then invited to attend Shine’s surgery in Louth town for a further examination. 

Cianan Murray, who encountered Shine when he was aged sixteen. Saoirse McGarrigle / The Journal

At Shine’s surgery, Cianan was assaulted, he said.

Cianan didn’t report the abuse until over 20 years later in 1995, when Shine was accused of abuse by a whistleblower. 

The DPP did not recommend charges in relation to Cianan’s case.

In 2010, retired Judge of the High Court, Judge Smyth, was appointed to carry out the independent review. 

Cianan told RTÉ that in 2010, 140 survivors of Shine’s abuse went to Dublin to tell their stories for use in the review.

“One man even came from Canada,” he said. “When it was all said and done anyway, they told us, oh, sorry, we can’t release his findings for legal reasons.”

In February 2024, in a written answer to a parliamentary question, then-Minister for Justice Helen McEntee said she had “been informed that Judge Smyth reported in September 2010 and recommended that it would not be in the public benefit, as envisaged in the Terms of Reference, to undertake a further investigation at that time.”

Today, on the same RTÉ programme, Minister of State Charlie McConalogue thanked Cianan for sharing his story, and said, “it’s just disgusting the abuse of trust and the abuse that so many experienced here in this instance, in relation to Mr. Shine, and from a government point of view, it’s absolutely our objective to make sure that we take a victim-centered approach.”

When asked about the current standing of the 2010 report, McConalogue said that it was his understanding that legal advice is being sought on publishing it comprehensively.

He said he wasn’t aware of specific issues prohibiting its publication, and that Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill meeting members of the victim support group Dignity4Patients is “welcome”.

Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín and Sinn Féin MEP Lynn Boylan, who were also guests on the show, said that there was a need for a public inquiry.

Boylan said that it was “insulting” for McConalogue to “come on knowing that one of the questions that’s being asked is around the Attorney General’s advice on that review that is 15 years old being released, and to not be able to give a concrete answer as to when that advice is going to be given out, whether or not the Attorney General has said it can be published or not.

“That’s basic information that the victims deserve.”

Pope Francis to offer blessing from window of Rome hospital tomorrow

POPE FRANCIS INTENDS to appear at his window at Rome’s Gemelli hospital tomorrow in what will be his first public appearance since he was hospitalised last month. 

The Vatican said the 88-year-old pontiff plans to appear at the window of his apartment in the hospital shortly after 12pm (11am Irish time) to greet the faithful and “impart his blessing”. 

The Argentine pope has been in hospital since 14 February suffering from pneumonia in both lungs, but the Vatican has reported recent progress after earlier worries that his life could be at risk.

On Wednesday, it said his condition was “improving” and that he had suspended the use of an oxygen mask.

But the press office later cautioned that suspension of the oxygen mask did not mean it could not be reintroduced further down the line, and added that Francis’s discharge from hospital was “not imminent”.

It added that the pontiff’s pneumonia has not been “eliminated”, but was “under control”.

Last week, the Vatican released the first picture of Francis since his hospitalisation, showing him celebrating Mass inside his private chapel in the hospital. 

The pope’s illness and long spell in hospital has raised questions over who might lead the busy schedule of religious events leading up to Easter, the holiest period in the Christian calendar.

The Vatican’s press office on Wednesday said that no definite decisions had been taken yet in that regard.

Yesterday, the Vatican chief of staff, Archbishop Edgar Pena Parra said that Francis is “recovering well”. 

Archbishop Edgar Pena Parra told The Associated Press at a book launch that he had found Francis in good humour and serene during the three times he has visited him at the Gemelli hospital. 

Pena Parra visited Francis on 24 February, 2 March 2 and 9 March along with the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the only Vatican officials who have visited him aside from his personal secretaries.

“I found him well, serene, in good humour, and — just like him — tough with the desire to go forward,” he said.

Meanwhile, Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez said that “a new stage” was opening in Francis’s 12-year pontificate.

Cardinal Fernandez, the Argentine theologian whom Francis brought in as the Vatican’s doctrine chief, said that he had been in touch with Francis since he was taken hospitalised and was heartened that he had stabilised.

“He is a man of surprises, who will surely have learned so many things in this month and he’ll pull who knows what out of the hat,” he said.

“So even knowing that this has been a very heavy effort for him, a difficult time, I know it will be fruitful for the church and for the world.”

He provided no timeframe on when Francis might be released, but ruled out any thought that he might resign.

He said that Francis needed rehabilitation therapy to help him regain strength to speak after so many weeks on non-invasive mechanical ventilation and supplemental oxygen.

The vagina detector test at the entrance to the Vatican is not about to be decommissioned

Willie Walsh, the Catholic bishop of Killaloe from 1994 to 2011, who died last month, was admirable in his uncertainty, not just about the institution he represented, but his own faith. 

As a seminarian in 1952, he came to his vocation when, in the words of historian Daithí Ó Corráin, the Irish Catholic Church had become a “lazy monopoly” which ultimately proved “to be its greatest burden”. 

As Walsh remembered it, the role of the laity then was to “pray, pay and obey”, and excessive deference to clergy created a church “rigid in its teaching and sometimes oppressive in its administration”.

In his 2016 book, No Crusader, Walsh promoted the idea of a Christian teaching that should be “commended” rather than “commanded”, and a church as provider of sanctuary rather than a place “where condemnation has been the instinctive response to perceived doctrinal or moral failure ... the true character of religious language should be more poetry than science”.

When interviewing him in 2010, this newspaper’s Kathy Sheridan drew attention to his tendency to “think aloud”, including his criticism of institutional celibacy, his church’s attitude to women and the ban on artificial contraception.

The current bishop of Killaloe, Fintan Monahan, duly paid tribute to Walsh in his funeral homily, referring to him as “a pastor cut out of the same cloth” as the now ailing Pope Francis. 

But that is debatable. 

Following his election in 2013 Francis certainly seemed more about the poetry than the science, but his pontificate has been about evasion as well as empathy.

In his 2015 book Pope Francis Among the Wolves: The Inside Story of a Revolution, Marco Politi adopted the cometh the age cometh the man narrative: “The Catholic Church often mysteriously succeeds in electing the right pontiffs at epochal turning points. John XXIII arrived at the watershed of the thaw between the western and Soviet blocks; Paul VI coincided with the planetwide movement of decolonisation; John Paul II marked the taking down of the Iron Curtain. 

Francis has become pope at a time of global crisis. 

It isn’t just third-world countries that are suffering from serious economic imbalance, poverty, marginalisation, corruption, violence, and the intolerable gap between the hyper-rich and swathes of society living close to the edge.”

But has Francis really been a radical new force or merely in the business of catch-up, in the sense of revisiting the Vatican II reform ethos outlined more than half a century previously: of a church looking outwards, in genuine “communion”? 

He has spoken convincingly of the need for a change of tone and approach: “a pastoral creativity capable of reaching people where they are living – not waiting for them to come – finding opportunities for listening, dialogue and encounter.” 

He has also been vocal about migration and climate change. But there has been a certain reticence too, despite his claim in his recent autobiography, Hope, that “being opaque is always the worst choice”.

In his earlier rebukes of dogmatic fundamentalism, he seemed like a harbinger of genuine change, but he also defended, as a “son of the church” what he called “clear” orthodox teachings. 

He suggested he would not judge gay people, but this was not about upending doctrine. 

He has been more voluble about poverty than his predecessors, while his relative silence on abortion earned him criticism from the Catholic right. 

He has recently admonished those weaponising Catholicism to serve extremist political agendas, including in the US. 

What he has consistently advocated is “a new balance”, but his own balancing act suggests he has been evolutionary rather than revolutionary.

His declared mission regarding women, for example, is to enable them “to be full protagonists at every level of social and ecclesial life”, but he has made it clear holy orders are reserved for men. 

More women have indeed been appointed to positions of authority in the Vatican, and Italian Raffaella Petrini is the first woman to serve as President of the Governorate of Vatican City State. 

But there is no guarantee such reforms will continue given the approaching, traditional “war of cardinals” in relation to choosing the pope’s successor.

The vagina detector test at the Vatican’s entrance will hardly be decommissioned, such a thing imagined in the irascible words of a true radical, the recently deceased poet Pat Ingoldsby:

“A vagina sneaked into the Vatican.

It crept past the vagina detectors.

It tiptoed into the very heart

of the rules and regulation section

where all the Cardinals were sitting

around in circles making rules about

times of the month, thermometers ...

The little vagina sprang out suddenly

and shouted – ‘Peace be with you!

The Cardinals all replied

‘And also with you’ because none

of them had ever actually seen one

and they hadn’t got a clue what it

really was so they gave it cups of tea

and chocolate biscuits ...”

Friday, March 21, 2025

Advisers say pope will recover from illness and a ‘new stage’ is opening for him

Pope Francis is recovering well from pneumonia and that a “new stage” in his pontificate would open, two of his closest advisers have said.

It came as the 88-year-old pontiff approached five weeks in hospital.

Archbishop Edgar Pena Parra told The Associated Press that he had found Francis in good humour and serene during the three times he has visited him at the Gemelli hospital in Rome.

Archbishop Pena Parra, who is the Vatican chief of staff, visited Francis on February 24, March 2 and March 9 along with the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the only Vatican officials who have visited him aside from his personal secretaries.

“The pope will recover,” Archbishop Pena Parra said on the sidelines of a book launch. “The pope is recovering well. The doctors say that he needs some time, but it’s going well progressively.”

“I found him well, serene, in good humour, and — just like him — tough with the desire to go forward,” he said.

The Vatican press office reported on Friday that Francis’s overall condition remained stable, with slight improvements as he continues respiratory and physical physiotherapy.

He was continuing to reduce his reliance on high-flow supplemental oxygen he has needed to breathe during the day and no longer needs the mechanical ventilation mask at night.

In other comments on Friday, another friend and ally of the pope, Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez, said that “a new stage” was opening in Francis’s 12-year pontificate and that he expects some surprises from the pontiff when he is released.

Cardinal Fernandez, the Argentine theologian whom Francis brought in as the Vatican’s doctrine chief, said that he had been in touch with Francis since he was taken to hospital on February 14 and was heartened that he had stabilised.

He provided no timeframe on when Francis might be released, but ruled out any thought that he might resign.

He said that he understood that Francis was responding well to treatment, but that doctors were keeping him at the hospital “to be 100%”.

He said that Francis needed rehabilitation therapy to help him regain strength to speak after so many weeks on non-invasive mechanical ventilation and supplemental oxygen.

Cardinal Fernandez revealed that Francis had resisted going to hospital when his bronchitis worsened, and agreed to go only after people close to him threatened to resign if he did not.

“I don’t know what swearwords they used (to tell him) you have to go there, otherwise we go home and end our relationship here,” he said.

As a result, he said he knew that being in hospital had been hard on Francis and had surely made him reflect.

“I think a new stage is opening for him. He is a man of surprises, who will surely have learned so many things in this month and he’ll pull who knows what out of the hat,” he said.

“So even knowing that this has been a very heavy effort for him, a difficult time, I know it will be fruitful for the church and for the world.”

Francis marked five weeks in hospital on Friday. A bad case of bronchitis had developed into a complex lung infection and double pneumonia. He has long battled respiratory illnesses and had part of one lung removed when he was a young man. He has admitted to being a bad patient and is a known workaholic.

“He wants to spend what little time he has left and says ‘I want to use it and not to take care of myself’,” Cardinal Fernandez said. “And then what happens? He comes back here and it’s not easy for him to follow the advice” of doctors.

That might change after this experience, he said.

“He has to certainly change, but I can’t say what those details might be,” he said.

POPE FRANCIS HEALTH UPDATE

The Pope’s condition remains stable, with improvements in breathing and mobility. 

He no longer uses mechanical ventilation at night and is reducing the use of high-flow oxygen during the day.

There is still no discharge date. 

His day is spent between therapy, prayer, and some work.

On Friday evening, the Holy See Press Office released the following update on Pope Francis’ health:

“At night, he no longer uses mechanical ventilation with a mask but receives high-flow oxygenation through nasal cannulas, and during the day, he increasingly uses less high-flow oxygen.”

While the Pope’s condition continues to be stable and shows improvements in his respiratory and motor functions, the statement explained “the doctors have not yet given any indication regarding his discharge from the hospital.”

Ahead of the Angelus this weekend, the Holy See Press Office stated that “for the moment, the Sunday Angelus will take place as in previous Sundays.” 

It clarified that if there are any updates, “the Press Office will provide an update tomorrow.”

However, the next medical bulletin is not expected to be given “no earlier than Monday.”

Thursday, March 20, 2025

State using private law firm as nuns continue attempts to raid Shine abuse fund

A PRIVATE LAW firm is representing the State in an independent review to determine whether a congregation of nuns can take back money set aside to deal with sex abuse claims.

The Department of Health confirmed that Comyn Kelleher Tobin is representing it and the HSE as they engage with an unnamed independent expert.

The Medical Missionaries of Mary are trying to withdraw money from a fund intended to indemnify the State against legal cases taken by victims of disgraced doctor Michael Shine.

The Congregation ran the Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda where Shine worked as a surgeon for decades and where many of the alleged incidents of abuse took place.

A schedule of records obtained on foot of a Freedom of Information request shows that 63 emails were sent or received by the Department of Health over the past year in relation to the Indemnity Agreement.

The Department refused to release the contents of the correspondence, insisting that it “would disclose confidential communications between the Department and our legal advisor and other parties and their legal advisor”.

Victims say that they appreciate that the review is ongoing, but the Department should still be able to give them some basic details about how the process is being conducted.

Ian Armstrong said that he and other victims are appealing for “more transparency”.

“We have had no communication from the Department of Health, no communication whatsoever,” he said.

CEO of the support and advocacy organisation Dignity4Patients Adrienne Reilly said that the lack of communication with victims demonstrates that the State has failed to deliver its promise of a victim-centred approach to dealing with the Shine case.

Last August, after a number of victims spoke publicly for the first time, Tanaiste (then-Taoiseach) Simon Harris said: “We need to actually help these people get the answers, and we need to do it in a victim, survivor-centred way.

“So what I want them to know is that I hear them, that I do want government to engage with them, but I also want that engagement to be useful from their point of view.”

The Department of Health also confirmed to The Journal this week that the independent expert will be paid “in accordance with the provisions of the deed”.

The 1997 Agreement stipulated that fees and expenses paid to the independent expert “shall be shared equally between the Congregation and the Minister”.

Ian Armstrong said that he felt it was “very odd” that the nuns were paying half of the cost of a report that could decide if they can withdraw the funds themselves. 

Hundreds of men claim that they were abused by Shine over decades while he worked at the hospital and operated a private practice in the Louth town.

The hospital, established in 1939, was owned and run by the nuns until 1997 when it was sold to the North Eastern Health Board for IR£5.5 million.

The day before the purchase was announced by the then-Health Minister Michael Noonan, the Medical Missionaries of Mary signed a Deed of Indemnity and Charge.

Wednesday, March 19, 2025

Minister for Health agrees to meet with victims of Michael Shine following lengthy campaign

MINISTER FOR HEALTH Jennifer Carroll MacNeill has tonight confirmed that she will meet with victims of paedophile Michael Shine.

This announcement comes after an intense campaign by victims for a sit-down meeting with Government Ministers to discuss their calls for a public inquiry to examine all matters surrounding the prolific sex abuse case.

In a statement issued tonight, a spokesperson for the Department of Health said: “The Minister for Health would be willing to meet with the Dignity4Patients support group. She has asked her officials to engage with the group in this regard.”

Last August a number of men spoke publicly about the abuse for the first time in a series of in-depth interviews.

More than 360 men have reported being sexually abused by the now disgraced doctor while he worked at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda and his private surgery in the Louth town.

A once revered surgeon, Shine began working as a senior registrar in 1964 and was quickly promoted to consultant in 1968, staying at the hospital until 1995.

Survivors claim that Medical Missionaries of Mary were aware of the abuse and allowed it to continue for decades.

Support and advocacy organisation Dignity4Patients is campaigning for a Commission of Investigation on behalf of the victims.

Lawyer Diarmuid Brecknell of the Belfast-based firm Phoenix Law represents a number of the men who are pushing for a public inquiry.

Shine’s name has long been associated with legal battles about the many allegations against him.

He was first accused of abuse by a whistleblower in 1995 and charged with indecent assault in 1996. His legal tactics delayed any trial relating to those charges from starting until 2003. He was then acquitted.

Two more trials, in 2017 and 2019, saw him found guilty of assaults against nine boys.

More charges led to another protracted legal saga, culminating in the Court of Appeal ruling that “cumulative factors” – including Shine’s age and health, and a ‘misstep’ by the Director of Public Prosecutions – meant the case was in a “wholly exceptional category where it would be unjust to put the appellant on trial”.

Pope's condition improving, no longer using oxygen mask

Pope Francis has suspended the use of an oxygen mask, the Vatican has said, adding that the 88-year-old's clinical conditions were "improving" after more than one month in hospital.

The Pope has been in Rome's Gemelli hospital since 14 February suffering from pneumonia in both lungs, but the Vatican has reported recent progress after earlier worries that his life could be at risk.

"The Holy Father's clinical conditions are confirmed to be improving," wrote the Vatican in a medical bulletin, which it is now publishing only sporadically, instead of daily, due to his improved health.

He has "suspended non-invasive mechanical ventilation and also reduced the need for high-flow oxygen therapy", it said, adding that there was progress in the Pope's motor and respiratory physiotherapy.

After a series of breathing attacks earlier in the Pope's hospital stay, his breathing has improved over the past week, with the Vatican on Monday saying he was spending short moments breathing on his own.

During the day he has relied on a cannula - a plastic tube tucked into his nostrils - to deliver high-flow oxygen, which doctors are now reducing.

Until this week, Francis had worn an oxygen mask but yesterday the Vatican said he had managed without one for the first time.

Francis is prone to respiratory illnesses and had part of one lung removed as a young man.

Despite his recent improvements, the Vatican has yet to say when he could be released from the hospital.

At the weekend, it said the Jesuit still required therapies to be administered from the hospital.

New sculpture unveiled to honour victims of abuse

A new sculpture in honour of past pupils who suffered abuse at the hands of the Jesuits, has been unveiled at St Francis Xavier Church on Gardiner Street in Dublin.

The sculpture, symbolising betrayal and sorrow, was created by artist Jon Coll and sits on a plinth on the church steps.

It is inscribed with the words: “In tribute to all the victims of abuse by those who should have protected and nurtured you. The Irish Jesuits 2024.”

Replicas of the sculpture, titled Heart Wheel, will be displayed in Jesuit schools across the country, including Belvedere, Gonzaga, Clongowes Wood, Crescent College, and Coláiste Iognáid.

“As children, we learn to trust our parents to provide us with food and protection,” Mr Coll said.

“We learn to trust our siblings, and from that familial trust, we gradually learn how to interact with and trust others as we grow and develop.

“Abuse of a child breaks that sacred trust. Breach of trust has a profound effect on the emotional and physical development of the survivor.

“It affects how they see themselves, how they interact with others, and how they view the world.

“As part of the restorative process initiated by the Jesuits for those affected by the abuse of Joseph Marmion SJ, the Jesuit Order felt there should be some public gesture of atonement.

“I was approached by the Provincial of the Jesuits to take on this project. I agreed with some trepidation, as this was an area I was not familiar with,” he added.

The final design focuses on a heart-shaped wheel symbolising the emotional lives of survivors, fractured by trauma yet still able to move forward, embodying hope and the possibility of repair.

A quote from T.S. Eliot's Murder in the Cathedral was also included: “Forgive us, pray for us, that we may pray for you out of our shame.”

The sculpture was created using a detailed bronze casting process, involving the creation of silicone moulds, the pouring of molten bronze, and a final patina treatment.

According to Shane Daly SJ, Irish Jesuit Provincial, the purpose of the memorial is two-fold.

“The memorialising work preserves and honours the memory of those who have suffered abuse,” he said.

“It is also a reminder of the need for constant vigilance to ensure the safety and care that children and young people deserve as of right.”

Hungary bans LGBT ‘pride’ march in Budapest to protect children

Hungary passed a law on Tuesday banning an annual LGBTQ “pride” march in Budapest, citing the protection of children.

“Today, we voted to ban gatherings that violate child protection laws,” wrote Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, on X Tuesday. “In Hungary, a child’s right to healthy physical, mental, intellectual, and moral development comes first. We won’t let woke ideology endanger our kids.”

The law, submitted and passed by Orbán’s Fidesz party, makes it illegal to put on or attend events that violate the country’s 2021 Child Protection Act, which banned the “depiction or promotion” of homosexuality to minors.

The main event now outlawed in Hungary by this legislation is the annual, weeklong Budapest “pride” festival, which has previously drawn public protests. 

Attending any LGBTQ event banned under the law can now be punished with fines of up to 200,000 Hungarian forints ($546). These fines would reportedly be used to fund child protection.

Hungary’s Child Protection law prohibits the display or promotion of homosexuality through any means, including television, film, advertisements, and literature. 

Members of the opposition party Momentum protested the legislation during Tuesday’s vote in the National Assembly Hall by setting off colored smoke flares and scattering obscene, doctored photos depicting Orbán and Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to Reuters.

Budapest “pride” festival organizers have defiantly declared they will hold their LGBTQ celebrations this year, despite a legal ban.

As prime minister of Hungary, Orbán has been a firm, active supporter of traditional family values. He declared to Parliament after being re-elected in 2022, “We shall protect our families, we shall not let gender activists into our schools, and in Hungary a father shall be a man, a mother a woman, and our children shall be left alone.”

Vatican and Microsoft develop Minecraft Learning Game to St. Peter's Basilica

Petersdom goes Gaming: The Vatican and Microsoft have developed a "Minecraft" educational project around the world's largest church. 

With the educational game "Peter is here", young people are to learn the history and architecture of the Basilica and at the same time become curious about their cultural and spiritual heritage, Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, explained to journalists in Rome on Tuesday. 

It is about values such as humanity, ecology, creativity and religion. "Pupils and students can learn and have fun at the same time here," says the Archpriest of St. Peter's Basilica.

The interactive version of Minecraft, one of the most popular online games in the world, is part of the AI project of Vatican and Microsoft around St. Peter's Basilica, which was presented in November 2024. 

Microsoft CEO Brad Smith, who was connected via video, called the Minecraft project a milestone in the partnership between the tech company and the Catholic Church. 

"We have succeeded in placing the culture, religion and heritage of this wonderful institution in the hands of children in every country in the world."

400,000 Drone Photos of St. Peter's Cathedral

In the summer of 2023, 400,000 photos of the basilica were taken of 400,000 photos of the Basilica for the AI project for St. Peter's Basilica and supplemented with artificial intelligence into a digital twin of the building. 

Two immersive exhibitions in St. Peter's Basilica were also created, as well as a website that allows you to explore the famous cathedral from all over the world. 

With the combination of cultural heritage and gaming, they wanted to reach new and younger target groups, it said.

At the game, which is named after an ancient inscription at the Petrine tomb "Peter is here", pupils and students receive restoration tasks in the Basilica. 

They are called upon to build up the canopy of Bernini, various statues or the tomb of Peter. 

Short information about the individual points is displayed.

Microsoft is also working with the Vatican in the field of AI ethics. 

The Group is one of the supporters of the "Rome Call for AI Ethics" initiated by the Pontifical Academy. 

However, Microsoft is also under criticism based on activities in the field of facial recognition technology and lobbying.

In 2021, American nuns protested against the company's business practices at the AGL-League's General Meeting.

Pope from hospital backs disarmament while key aide rejects resignation speculation

Offering further confirmation of his ongoing recovery, Pope Francis has written to Italy’s leading newspaper from his hospital room to call for “disarming the earth” in the context of the various wars currently underway, including Ukraine and Gaza.

“We must disarm words, to disarm minds and disarm the earth,” Francis wrote. “There is a great need for reflection, for calm, [and] for a sense of complexity.”

In a moment of tension, the pope called for special attention to language, calling on journalists especially to “feel the full importance of words.”

“They are never just words: They are facts that build human environments,” he wrote. “They can connect or divide, serve the truth or make use of it.”

At the same time Francis was providing a reminder that his diminished physical capacity has not compromised his lucidity, his top aide was insisting that despite the pope’s illness there has been “no talk” of a possible resignation.

Speaking on the margins of a conference on Iftar for Rome’s Muslim community, Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State, insisted that resignation never came up when he spoke to Francis in the Gemelli Hospital last week.

“No, absolutely no, we didn’t talk about this,” Parolin said, adding that “I saw him a week ago, and I found him better with respect to the first time” the two men had spoken during the hospitalization.

Parolin indirectly chastised mushrooming speculation on the internet about the state of the pope’ health, saying “I believe we need to stick to the medical bulletins,” referring to the bulletins from the physicians treating Pope Francis released by the Press Office of the Holy See, “because they give us the pope’s real condition.”

Francis addressed his letter, dated March 14, to Luciano Fontana, the editor-in-chief of Corriere della Sera, Italy’s paper of record. The journalist had written to the pontiff to offer best wishes for his recover and to invite him to offer a brief reflection on the international situation.

The pope wrote that his present struggle with double pneumonia, now in his fifth week in the hospital, has given him a deepened perspective on the “absurdity” of war.

“In this moment of illness … war seems even more absurd,” he wrote. “Human fragility, in fact, has the power to make us more lucid with respect to what lasts and what passes, to what makes us live and what kills.”

“Human fragility has the power to make us more lucid with respect to what lasts and what passes, to what makes us live and what kills,” the pontiff wrote. “Perhaps this is why we so often tend to deny limits and to avoid fragile and wounded people: They have the power to question the direction we have chosen, as individuals and as a community.”

The pope called for reinforced efforts by international organizations and diplomacy, as well as religious groups.

“While war does nothing but devastate communities and the environment, without offering solutions to conflicts, diplomacy and international organizations need new life and credibility,” he wrote, “Religions, moreover, can draw on the spirituality of peoples to rekindle the desire for brotherhood and justice, the hope of peace,” he said.

“All this requires commitment, work, silence, [and] words. Let us feel united in this effort, which heavenly grace will not cease to inspire and accompany,” Francis wrote.

Christians pray 100 Our Fathers at St. Patrick’s grave in Ireland for peace and unity

Inspired by St. Patrick’s “Confessions,” in which the patron of Ireland states “I arose as many as 100 times at night to pray,” a group of Christians gathered at dawn on March 17 around St. Patrick’s grave in Downpatrick, County Down, in Ireland to pray the Our Father 100 times for peace and unity.

It was the third year in a row that friends and strangers from all walks of life joined together in prayer to honor St. Patrick’s legacy.

Event organizer Siobhán Brennan told CNA that parts of the Lorica of St. Patrick — a prayer also known as St. Patrick’s Breastplate — were recited in chorus between each set of 10 Our Fathers. 

“The words of the Lorica are ancient and St. Patrick’s own; they serve as a strong and powerful protection against evil, a protection which is greatly needed today,” Brennan said. “Jesus promises us in Matthew 18:20 for where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them. The Lord and his holy presence among this group of dedicated Christians is indeed palpable.”

The offering of 100 Our Fathers formed the backbone of this prayer initiative, but the inclusion of Scripture, hymns, and the lorica gave it a distinctive Celtic flavor. 

“This is our way of paying fitting tribute to the great St. Patrick, to all the Irish missionaries, and to all the faithful throughout the world who form part of his Patrician legacy on this feast day,” Brennan said.

“Standing shoulder to shoulder with fellow believers, in the darkness of a crisp, early, Irish spring morning while reverently repeating the Lord’s Prayer in harmony with nature is a profoundly moving, spiritual experience,” she added.

Friends and strangers from all walks of life gather in prayer at dawn on March 17, 2025, around St. Patrick's grave in Downpatrick, County Down, to pray for peace and unity. Credit: Siobhán Brennan

It has also become a tradition during this event to sing “Light the Fire: St. Patrick’s Song” by Irish singer Dana at the beginning of the prayer gathering. 

The morning prayers were held against the backdrop of Down Cathedral overlooking St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church. The organizers said they hope other groups from across the world will join in this simple offering of prayer in the future.

“We have been joined spiritually from other parts of Ireland and Albuquerque in New Mexico,” Brennan said. “It is inspiring; our hearts are filled with new hope and the possibility that, someday soon, we will all be fully united in Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

Pope Francis will receive King Charles III and Queen Camilla in audience in the Vatican on April 8

King Charles III and Queen Camilla will be received in a Vatican audience by Pope Francis on April 8, Buckingham Palace stated in a press release on March 17. 

The release, embargoed until midnight London time, said the royal couple will meet the pope during “a state visit” to the Holy See on that day.

The news is surprising, given that Pope Francis has been in Rome’s Gemelli Hospital for over a month as he recovers from double pneumonia. 

But such an announcement would not have been made by Buckingham Palace without first having received confirmation from the Vatican that Pope Francis will be back in the Vatican by that date and able to receive them, as a senior Vatican official told America.

“The King and Queen will make a State Visit to the Holy See” on Tuesday, April 8, Buckingham Palace said in the press release. “It will a historic visit,” as it comes during the Jubilee Year 2025, “and will mark a significant step forward in relations between the Catholic Church and the Church of England, with a special service in the Sistine Chapel, joining hands in a celebration of ecumenism, and of the work The King and The Pope have done over many years on climate and Nature.”

The couple previously met Pope Francis on a visit to the Vatican on April 4, 2017. King Charles, then the Prince of Wales, also met Pope Francis on Oct. 13, 2019, at the canonization of St. John Henry Newman, and had previously met Pope Francis’ predecessors John Paul II and Benedict XVI. The king’s mother, Queen Elizabeth II, visited the Vatican during the Jubilee Year 2000 and had a private audience with John Paul II, one of five popes (including Francis) that she met during her long reign.

King Charles and Queen Camilla will also “attend a Service in the Sistine Chapel, focused on the theme of ‘care for creation’,” and “in a historic first, the Supreme Governor of the Church of England, will also visit the Papal Basilica of St. Paul’s Outside the Walls, with which the English Kings had a particular link until the Reformation,” the press release from Buckingham Palace stated.

The royal visit comes in the middle of their “state visit” to Italy from April 7 to 9 that includes visits to Rome and Ravenna.

Pope Francis is now in his 32nd day in the hospital, where he is slowly recovering from double pneumonia. The pope’s doctors gave no medical report today, but the Vatican Press Office said this evening, March 17, that his condition “remains stable, with slight improvements thanks to the oxygen and pharmacological therapies and the physiotherapy that he is receiving.”

On March 6, the Vatican released an audio recording of Pope Francis speaking in a feeble voice, thanking well-wishers in Spanish for their prayers, leading to concerns about his recovery. But yesterday, in the first photo of Pope Francis that the Vatican has released since his admission to the hospital on Feb. 14, the pope was seen at prayer in the private chapel of his suite at the Gemelli Hospital after he concelebrated Mass. That photo, which immediately went viral, offered an encouraging sign that the pope’s health is improving. A Catholic in Australia summed up the feelings of many when he told me: “Such a consoling and impacting ‘snapshot’ of a moment in time. It’s magnificent to see the pope serenely in prayer.”

The photo showed that the pope was not using nasal tubes to assist his breathing, seeming to confirm the report from informed sources that while the pope now “uses less high-flow oxygen through the nasal tubes, and sometimes he can do without the oxygen therapy, while at night he receives oxygen using the mechanical ventilation [through a mask over nose and mouth].”

His doctors over the past two weeks have described his condition as “stable” or “stationary” in the medical updates they released through the Vatican, the most recent being last Saturday evening, March 15. They said he continues to respond positively to the therapies he is receiving and is showing “slight, gradual improvements.” He has had no more setbacks for the past two weeks, since Monday, March 3. ANSA, the Italian news agency, reported on March 17 that Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican Secretary of State, was asked today if Pope Francis had plans to resign due to his health problems and said: "Absolutely not."

Last week, his doctors concluded that “he is out of imminent danger” but still requires treatment that necessitates he remain for some time more in the hospital before he can return safely to work in the Vatican. Several specialists in the medical field consulted by the Italian press said they consider the above developments as positive signs on the road to his recovery, but they all agree that it will take more time before he can leave the hospital.

Dr. Anna Lisa Bilotta, who works in the Salvatore Mundi international hospital in Rome and is not treating the pope, told America that she too recognizes these positive signs, but she emphasized that the pope’s situation is still “complex” and it will take some more time for him to recover because of his various pathologies and the fact that it takes a long time to completely overcome pneumonia, particularly in an elderly person. The pope is 88 years old.

Though 32 days may seem a long time to be in the hospital, it is far from the record for recent popes. After an assassination attempt on his life in 1981, Pope John Paul II spent 55 days in Gemelli hospital. During his more than 26 years as pope, John Paul II spent a total of 151 days in the hospital over nine separate occasions.

This is Francis’ fourth time in the hospital during his more than 12 years as pope. His first time was for abdominal surgery and lasted 10 days (July 4 to 14, 2021); the second was for pneumonia and lasted three days (March 29 to April 1, 2023); the third was for abdominal surgery to remove scar tissue and repair an abdominal hernia, and lasted nine days (June 7 to 16, 2023).

Given that his situation is stable and the recovery process is slow, the Vatican has reduced its briefings on the pope’s condition. The next update from the pope’s doctors is scheduled for Wednesday, March 19.

Two churches dedicated to Saint Joseph reconsecrated and reopened in the diocese of Shanghai

“Since the visible temple has been rebuilt, we must now also make the interior temple of our heart more spiritually alive”. 

This is the exhortation addressed by Joseph Shen Bin, Bishop of the diocese of Shanghai to the baptized Catholics of his diocese on the occasion of the reconsecration and inauguration of two churches dedicated to Saint Joseph in view of the solemnity dedicated to the Holy Spouse of the Virgin Mary and putative father of Jesus, on March 19.

On Sunday, March 16, the second Sunday of Lent, Bishop Shen Bin consecrated the church in Tianma, Songjiang district. At the liturgy attended by more than a thousand people, Bishop Shen Bin also conferred the sacrament of Confirmation to more than two hundred adults. 

During his homily, Shen Bin also thanked all the priests, nuns and lay people of the parish for their dedication and commitment in supporting the restoration of the church, and also the civil authorities for their logistical support. “May this temple of God’s grace,” the Bishop hoped, “be a welcoming house of faith for all, so that we can walk together towards holiness under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.”

The fervent devotion to Saint Joseph, Patron Saint of China, has been handed down among Chinese Catholics from generation to generation, and is revived every year in March, the month dedicated to the Saint. 

In China, many churches, ecclesiastical structures, seminaries, national and diocesan religious congregations, charitable institutions (orphanages, homes for the elderly) and schools are dedicated to Saint Joseph. Chinese shrines dedicated to the Saint welcome pilgrims and devotees from all parts of China and abroad.

On Saturday, March 15, Bishop Joseph Shen Bin had already presided over the consecration of another church in Beitaowan, in the Baoshan district, also dedicated to Saint Joseph. 

On that occasion, thirty diocesan priests concelebrated Mass in front of more than 300 faithful, and the sacrament of Confirmation was administered to 17 parishioners.

The Beitaowan church in the Baoshan district was built in 1650 during the Qing dynasty, and rebuilt around 1875. 

A primary school attached to the church was built in 1949. On March 10, 1989, it was restored and reopened to the faithful, becoming the first Catholic church to be reopened for worship in the Baoshan district.

The Tianma church, in the Songjiang district, was built in 1850. A hospital run by the Canossian nuns was also attached to the church. 

It was reopened for worship on 16 December 1989. Today, a public hospital stands on the site of the former hospital.

Indigenous people jailed over land dispute with Indonesian diocese

A court handed down jail terms on eight indigenous people in Indonesia’s Christian-majority East Nusa Tenggara province amid a land dispute with a company owned by a Catholic diocese.

The Maumere District Court in Sikka Regency of predominantly Catholic Flores Island jailed the accused for ten months after they were found guilty of destroying the signboard of PT Krisrama, a company owned by Maumere Diocese, on March 17.

The convicts including two women hail from the Soge Natarmage and Goban Runut-Tana Ai tribe who have been in a long-running land dispute with the company.

The sentence was higher than the seven months imprisonment sought by the complainant.

The defendants have been detained since last October after being arrested on the charge of damaging a signboard of the company on July 29, 2024.

The action was recorded by Catholic priest Robertus Yan Faroka, the company's managing director, and was presented to the police.

"I accept this decision as a consequence of the struggle," said Yosep Joni, one of the convicts, following the sentencing.

The verdict has caused “deep concern for us,” said Syamsul Alam Agus, chairman of the Association of Indigenous Lawyers of the Archipelago, the lawyer representing the defendants.

"This decision not only harms the defendants but also violates the principles of justice and protection of human rights, especially the rights of indigenous peoples that have been recognized constitutionally, nationally, and internationally," he said.

This verdict, he said, also ignores the legal facts that show that the indigenous people in this case were only trying to defend their ancestral land from seizure and exploitation by the company.

He said they would appeal to the Supreme Court to review the decision to ensure justice.

Lawyer and activist John Bala claimed the action of the indigenous people came after the company destroyed their crops on the same day.

The case should be viewed objectively as the actions were a response to protect their rights and property, Bala said.

He claimed that before the incident last July, the company destroyed the crops of local residents on Dec. 18, 2023.

He added that though the crop destruction was reported to the police, it was not accepted as “elements of a crime.”

The conflict centers on 868,730 hectares of land seized during Dutch rule in Indonesia.

After independence, the land was handed over to the Archdiocese of Ende through a limited liability company, PT. Perkebunan Kelapa Diag.

The Maumere Diocese inherited the property after it was established in 2005.

The diocesan company's land permit expired in 2013, and indigenous people living on and cultivating the land attempted to claim it.

In 2023, the company obtained a permit extension.

As the criminal case involving eight people continued, the company evicted dozens of people from 120 houses and destroyed their crops on the disputed land, triggering widespread condemnation.

UCA News verified the company planned to carry out another round of eviction by mobilizing people from parishes in the diocese this month.

In response, the indigenous leaders sought police protection for their houses and crops.

"We stand by our position, we will not leave our land," said Ignasius Nasi from the Soge Natarmage tribe.

PT Krisrama did not respond to requests for comment.

Catholic priest Epy Rimo, the company's general director, told local media the company acted after indigenous people were given “one and a half years” to leave the land.

He refused to term the action as “eviction” but rather “a cleansing of occupants still on site.”

Bid Underway To Make “Unique” Bishop Willie Walsh A Saint

A bid has been launched to make a late great of County Clare a recognised saint.

Following the passing of the much-loved Bishop Willie Walsh at the end of February, a campaign is underway to have him recognised a saint by the Catholic Church.

The push is being spearheaded by former Inagh-based Fianna Fáíl councilor Flan Garvey who was a friend of Bishop Willie and whose son was taught by him at St Flannan’s College.

Flan says Bishop Willie had all the qualities of someone deserving of canonisation.

Survivor advocacy group demands action from Catholic Diocese of Peoria on priest accused of abuse

An advocacy group for survivors of clergy sexual abuse is demanding action from Catholic Diocese of Peoria Bishop Louis Tylka.

Members of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests [SNAP] gathered Monday on the sidewalk in front of the Spalding Pastoral Center in downtown Peoria, home of the diocese offices.

The group included survivors of clergy sexual abuse and their families, who wished not to be identified by name. Some held pictures of children, victims at the age when they were abused.

“Specifically, we’re calling on Bishop Tylka to do everything he can to warn parents and police and prosecutors and the public about dangerous predators like Father [Thomas] Miller,” said David Clohessy, current Missouri director, and former national director, of SNAP.

The demonstration comes a week after a lawsuit filed by the firm Jeff Anderson and Associates, on behalf of their client Michael Eckert. The lawsuit alleges Miller abused Eckert over a period of six years, during his time at the St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Parish in Peoria.

“For the past 27 years, this has altered innumerable aspects of my life: my feeling of safety, my sense of self worth, my ability to trust, my relationships with others,” said Eckert in a video statement released through his attorneys. “For me, this isn’t something that happened in the past. This is something I battle daily.”

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages from the Diocese of Peoria for its alleged failure to protect Eckert from Miller. Miller was removed from the ministry in 2004, due to a separate instance of reported abuse. He was removed from the clerical state by the Vatican in 2010.

When removed from the clerical state, former priests, including those accused of child sex abuse, become private citizens and are not required to inform their former diocese of their address.

According to a nearly 700-page 2023 report from the Illinois Attorney General’s Office, Miller had several assignments across the Peoria Diocese between 1979 and 2002: Holy Trinity in Bloomington, Schlarman High School and Saint Paul in Danville and Saint Bernard, Saint Vincent De Paul and various diocese positions in Peoria.

The report says there are four known survivors of Miller’s abuse, with two reported instances between 1979 and 2000, both in McLean County. 

The diocese first reported receiving a claim of abuse by Miller in 2004. Miller is on a public list of removed clergy maintained by the diocese. He was added to the list in 2018.

Clohessy says it’s unclear where exactly Miller’s other abuse reports originated and the victims are unknown to SNAP. However, the organization is concerned there may be more victims of Miller’s among his various assignments, still afraid to speak up.

“Studies show, unfortunately, that the average child sex abuse victim discloses their trauma at the age of 52,” said Clohessy. “So we strongly suspect that there are other whistleblowers and victims, people who knew or suspected crimes by him. They too should pick up the phone and call 911.”

The letter delivered by Clohessy to the diocese decries the bishop’s response to the lawsuit and makes several requests.

The letter asks Tylka to, among other things: visit parishes where Miller worked and encourage victims or witnesses to call police; insist every priest in the diocese make a verbal pulpit announcement about Miller’s alleged crimes; use the media to alert police and the public about Miller’s last known whereabouts; and send Miller’s complete personnel file to prosecutors and police chiefs in every town where he was employed.

“Can’t you bring yourself to show compassion and bravery like this?” reads the letter in part. “Can’t you manage to be at least as responsible and caring as Mike [Eckert] is?”

After delivering the letter to a receptionist at the Spalding Pastoral Center, Clohessy described an “acceptable” response from the diocese.

“Any disclosure, any outreach is better than none,” he said. “So, to be honest, if we see the bishop go visit just the five parishes where Father Miller worked, and stand in the pulpit and ask folks to come forward, that’ll be a huge win.”

When contacted by WCBU, the Catholic Diocese of Peoria referred back to the statement from Bishop Louis Tylka issued last week in response to the Eckert lawsuit.

The statement reads in part: "As Bishop of the Diocese of Peoria, I remain committed to promoting the safe environment programs we have in place to provide a safe haven for children and young people. I ask for your ongoing prayers as we continue to work together to safeguard all of God's people, especially those who have suffered."

Clohessy hopes the Eckert lawsuit encourages other survivors of clergy child sexual abuse to come forward with their own stories.

He said abuse is “much more like cancer than a headache.”

“If you have a headache and you don’t do anything, chances are you’ll be okay,” said Clohessy. “But if you were sexually violated as a kid, and you just try to move ahead without addressing it, it’s gonna come out.”

A Polish Bishop Paid "Mercy" Money To Sex Abuse Victim, But Kept Priest In Place

"The bishop of Bydgoszcz showed me mercy and put the money on the table, or rather on the desk. In an envelope..."

The testimony, recounted to Gazeta Wyborcza, comes from a former altar boy who had been sexually abused by a priest dubbed Rafal K. in the northern Polish city of Bydgoszcz.

The story of the sexual abuse committed by Father Rafał K., then a priest from the parish of the Holy Polish Martyr Brothers in the Bydgoszcz housing estate of Wyżyny, was first revealed in late 2021, in the local Bydgoszcz edition of Wyborcza.

It was part of revelations that the priest had been tricking young boys into the parish house and abusing them there. 

As the prosecutor's office established, the accused also invited the teenagers to the rectory to retake exams in religion. He ordered them to undress, pretended to be a therapist who treated disorders related to sexual drive. 

Sometimes he would blindfold the boys and then "examine the prostate" with his finger. He also measured the length of the penis without and with an erection.

The prosecutor's office did not secure any documents confirming that the suspected priest had completed studies or any course in sexology. The priest was removed from priestly service when the case came to light.

In June 2022, Father Rafał K. received his first sentence: three years in prison and PLN 10,000 ($2,593) in compensation for two victims. 

The prosecutor's office decided that this was not enough. The defense attorney also appealed the verdict. The second trial of the priest, a self-proclaimed sexologist, began in May 2023.

The court's verdict was close to the prosecutor's requests. Judge Krzysztof Kurowski from the 3rd Criminal Division of the District Court in Bydgoszcz sentenced the priest to 10 years of imprisonment.

He also imposed a 10-year ban on practicing the profession of catechist and an eight-year ban on conducting classes with young people. 

Rafał K. is also prohibited from approaching the injured parties at a distance of less than 50 meters, and was required to pay the victims compensation ranging from PLN 15,000 ($3,899) to PLN 25,000 ($6,497).

His defense attorney appealed against this ruling.

"I could not cope"

Maciej (name changed) was also one of the 11 known victims of the priest.

A self-professed "lost teenager" when he came to "sexology sessions" at Father Rafał's apartment, Maciej recounted to Gazeta Wyborcza what happened in the Bydgoszcz parish house and about his trauma. 

During the priest's trial, he talked to the bishop. He did not hide the fact that he could not cope with the trauma of what had happened to him.

"I went to the bishop," he says. "For years I could not cope with what had happened to me. I was unemployed, in complete despair, although a lot of time had passed."

The bishop received the former altar boy. "It was an interesting, good conversation. I said that I was unemployed, that I couldn't cope, that I had nothing to live on. The bishop left the office and returned with an envelope. There were three thousand złotys ($780) inside. He put it on the table, or more precisely, on the desk. He didn't even want a receipt".

Why is Rafał K. still a priest?

Wyborcza also revealed that after the trial, Fr. Rafał K. stayed in Bydgoszcz at the Diocesan Retreat House on Piaski Street, which is run by Caritas. It was there that Ukrainian women fleeing the war with their children were accommodated.

It is known that since April 6, 2020, Fr. Rafał K. has been banned from performing priestly functions based on canon 1722 of the Code of Canon Law. 

The ban is in force until further notice. But, still, somehow, he remains a priest.

A preliminary canonical process has been initiated against the priest in the Church, the bishop's office confirmed. 

But in the meantime, the church "is obliged to provide the accused with maintenance, including accommodation."

Maciej was stunned to find out he is still in his role. "I asked the bishop why this man is still in Bydgoszcz. Why is he still a priest? I heard that they need to clean up after the previous bishop, and that will take time," says the former altar boy.

Somehow still a priest

When Maciej visited the bishop for the second time, he received another envelope. And this time he didn't have to sign anything. He received two thousand PLN "for life". "Today I have a job. I won't even go to the announcement of another sentence, because work is more important," he says.

He says that thanks to the Bishop of Bydgoszcz, Krzysztof Włodarczyk, he gained access to free psychological therapy. "I lost my faith in God, and even more so all trust in the Church," he says. "However, the bishop restored it to me."

Did the Bishop of Bydgoszcz really give money to the wronged altar boy?

"He visited me twice," recalls Bishop Włodarczyk in an interview with Wyborcza. "Yes, I gave him money. Why? I wanted to help him, because that's what he needed at the time. I didn't do it for publicity. I didn't want any signatures saying that he had received the cash. It was a gesture of mercy. Something like Lent alms. I had the opportunity to share my money, so I did."

Why is Rafał K. still a priest?

"We have submitted letters to send Fr. Rafał K. back to the lay state, but we are still waiting for the decision of the Holy See," says the bishop.

He also returns to the episode of placing Fr. Rafał K. in the Diocesan Retreat House, where Ukrainian women with children were staying. 

"As soon as I found out about it, I wanted to send him back to the Camaldolese monastery, away from the lay people. The court did not agree, because he was supposed to be under police supervision and report regularly to the police station. I explained that he would be locked up at the Camaldolese, he would have no contact with the world. They said that the requirement was that he had to report in Bydgoszcz."