The two men are Bishop Charles Drennan, who resigned as Bishop of Palmerston North in 2019 but remains a priest and still holds the title of bishop, and Fr Larry Rustia who, after a period of suspension, returned to 'supervised' ministry.

The woman is Annie Benefield (taking the photo). The photo is on the occasion of her graduation from Good Shepherd College in Auckland where candidates train mainly for the priesthood.

NZ bishops want Drennan laicised - Vatican does not

In a statement, Stephen Lowe, president of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference, said New Zealand officials believe "Drennan's actions, reported by a number of complainants, were wholly unacceptable" and "rise to the level of seriousness that warrants his removal from the priesthood".

The Vatican appears to disagree.

Lowe said multiple bishops have repeatedly and unsuccessfully asked the Vatican to laicise Drennan.

However, Lowe did not address why the Vatican did not act.

"We will continue to make the case at every opportunity" he said.

The Vatican required Drennan's resignation in August 2019. It was accepted at the end of September and announced in early October 2019.

As part of Drennan's resignation, the Vatican required him not to present himself as a bishop using episcopal regalia and dress and also not to engage in any public ministry.

The new Bishop of Palmerston North, John Adams, is also aware of Drennan's case.

"Several women have reported that Bishop Charles has had a sexual relationship with them. Although he has not been in public ministry in our country for some years now, we are still waiting for a final determination from Rome about his future as a cleric" Adams wrote to parishioners throughout the Palmerston North diocese.

Archbishop Gábor Pintér, the Vatican's representative in New Zealand, said the Vatican has a policy of not commenting on open cases. He declined to answer questions.

Two men, two affairs

Benefield, the Whanganui woman at the centre of the story was engaged to be married during part of the 10 years she was in a relationship with one or other either of the clerics.

She confesses she had sexual relations with Drennan (who admits some of her claims) and subsequently with Filipino priest Larry Rustia (who admits her claims are mainly true).

Eventually her affair with Drennan ended and her relationship with Rustia began and petered out; Benefield was left with a shaky faith, a post-traumatic stress disorder diagnosis and a keen desire to see both men released from their priestly state.

Eventually, after seeking advice, Benefield went to the National Office for Professional Standards (Nops) - the complaints authority of the Church in New Zealand.

Nops commissioned an investigator, who trawled through messages Benefield provided, interviewed Benefield, Drennan and Rustia, and spoke to several of Benefield's family and friends.

In 2019, the investigator reported that her complaints were supported.

Larry Rustia and Annie Benefield

Rustia

While investigating Drennan, Nops also checked out Rustia.

After admitting to the affair, Rustia was suspended from the ministry in 2019 and sent to Australia for psychological therapy.

However according to Lowe, multiple psychologists reviewed his case and recommended that he return to ministry under supervision.

Around 2020, Rustia was assigned as a parish priest in Kaitaia.

"But I love my vocation and I wished to continue it. I was permitted to do so, but with a safety plan. That includes regular engagement with a psychologist, a psychiatrist, a spiritual director, an external supervisor and senior clergy. I have followed that plan for five years."

Rustia says he deeply regrets his mistake with Benefield.

Lowe said the church has not received any further complaints concerning him.

Benefield today

As part of two financial settlements from the Catholic Church, Benefield initially did not want the matters to become public.

She says however that her loyalty to the Church motivated her to share her story publicly for the first time.

She is adamant that Rustia and Drennan should no longer be priests.

"They have such power and such a gift in what they can do.

"Speaking as a Catholic, it's so special and so holy.

"The Church did the wrong thing for a long time, but it seems like they're trying to do the right thing now" she said.

Despite the pain, delays and secrecy, she said progress would prove "it wasn't the church who had done this. It was those men".

Source

• NZ Listener
• Supplied.

While some have welcomed the laicisation, others say it's too little and too late. Read more

The Catholic Bishop of Hamilton Steve Lowe said he laicisation had been "a complicated process because of Murray's age and health".. Continue reading

Also known as laicisation and sometimes referred to colloquially as defrocking, a sentence of laicisation would complete a stunning fall from grace for the former cardinal, who at one time wielded immense influence in both Rome and the United States.

Last year, then-Cardinal McCarrick was reported to the Archdiocese of New York, accused of abusing a 16-year-old boy in the 1970s.

Two more allegations of the abuse of minors also surfaced, as did claims that Archbishop McCarrick sexually harassed and assaulted priests and seminarians.

If the Vatican decides to expel Archbishop McCarrick from the priesthood, it would close one chapter of the abuse crisis, but many questions will remain.

What is laicisation?

The term "laicisation" refers to scenarios in which a member of the clergy, through the use of the church's legal apparatus, is no longer permitted to act as a priest.

Sometimes a priest may petition Rome for laicisation, often in order to marry. (A priest who wishes to marry needs, in addition to laicisation, to request being released from his vow of celibacy, which is a separate process.)

In other cases, laicisation is a form of punishment, commonly described as being "dismissed from the clerical state," often because of violations of the commandment barring adultery. (Before the 1983 revision to the code of canon law, priests who were laicised were often referred to as being "reduced" to the lay state.)

A sentence of laicisation would complete a stunning fall from grace for the former cardinal, who at one time wielded immense influence in both Rome and the United States.

This is the portion of canon law used by the church to prosecute priests and bishops accused of sexual abuse of a minor.

Between 2004 and 2014, the Vatican laicised 848 priestsbecause of sexual abuse.

Only the Vatican can laicise priests so accused, which critics say makes the process too cumbersome.

What does laicisation entail? Is it the same as defrocking?

When a priest is laicised, he is no longer permitted to celebrate the sacraments. He cannot preach a homily or hold a post at a seminary..

Nor is he allowed to present himself as a priest, meaning he cannot wear clerical garb.

This is where the slang term "defrocked" originates, referring to the taking away of a priest's attire, though "defrocking" is not a technical term. (It is possible, however, that a priest could be ordered to refrain from wearing clericals in public without being dismissed from the clerical state.) Continue reading

• Image: Italian Insider

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith made the order against Archbishop Jozef Wesolowski, a former apostolic nuncio to the Dominican Republic.

The order against Polish-born Wesołowski is thought to be the first such move taken against a papal ambassador for sexual abuse.

The archbishop will have two months to prepare an appeal against the ruling.

Wesolowski was removed from his Dominican Republic post last August with little explanation.

The Archbishop of Santo Domingo, Cardinal Nicolas de Jesus Lopez, reported allegations against Wesolowski to Pope Francis.

News accounts at the time gave accounts of paying for sex with minors and being connected to a Polish priest accused of sexually assaulting at least 14 underage boys.

The Vatican said at the time it would co-operate with Dominican authorities.

The CDF statement does not declare Wesolowski guilty of any specific crime.

It states that the first part of a canonical process against him has been finished and that he has been dismissed from the clerical state.

The Holy See also announced that the archbishop faces criminal charges in the Vatican courts.

Proceedings will reportedly start after the conclusion of any appeal against the laicisation order.

Wesolowski could risk extradition to the Dominican Republic, if he is found guilty in a criminal trial.

A CDF statement noted that Wesołowski has been at liberty in Rome since he was recalled, saying the archbishop has had a "relative freedom of movement".

"Taking into account the sentence now pronounced by the dicastery . . . there will be taken against the former nuncio all measures appropriate to the seriousness of the case," the statement noted.

Laicisation means the archbishop can no longer perform priestly duties or present himself as a priest.

Authorities in the Dominican Republic are investigating Wesołowski, who was appointed as nuncio to the country in 2008, but they have yet to announce any charges.

Investigations in Poland are also continuing.

Sources

• National Catholic Reporter
• The Tablet
• The Independent
• Image: Not in Honduras