However, the issue is expected to receive considerable attention in the coming days, as Pope Francis arrived this Monday, September 9, in East Timor, the third stage of his major Asian tour.

The 87-year-old pope will visit Dili, the capital of this island nation located between Indonesia and Australia, until the following Wednesday, before heading to Singapore, the final destination of what marks the longest journey of his papacy.

At the heart of these painful cases is notably the one of Bishop Carlos Belo, a hero in the fight for independence who has been accused of sexually abusing underage boys for about 20 years and was secretly sanctioned by the Vatican in 2020.

Bishop Belo had received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996 for his central role in defending human rights in the country, which became independent in 2002 after over four centuries of Portuguese colonization and twenty-five years of Indonesian occupation.

In 2022, a shocking investigation by a Dutch weekly accused him—supported by testimonies—of abusing and raping young teenagers in the 1980s and 1990s and buying their silence, which forced the Vatican to make public the sanctions it had imposed on the bishop two years earlier.

La Croix conducted an on-site investigation in 2023, revealing the difficulty of breaking the silence surrounding the victims of sexual abuse in this fledgling democracy.

Prison visit

Bishop Belo, now 76, and highly respected by the people of East Timor, resigned from his duties in 2002 citing health reasons and now lives in Portugal.

Despite the serious accusations, he still enjoys broad support among the country's 1.3 million inhabitants, 98% of whom are Catholic.

"We feel like we've lost him. We miss him," said Maria Dadi, president of the East Timor National Youth Council, to Agence France-Presse (AFP), emphasising that "he truly contributed to the fight for East Timor."

In another case, an American priest, Richard Daschbach, was defrocked and found guilty in 2021 of sexually abusing young orphaned and underprivileged girls.

Despite being sentenced to twelve years in prison, he continues to receive support from the upper echelons of society.

In 2023, Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao sparked controversy by visiting Daschbach in prison to celebrate his birthday and share a cake with him.

The official papal itinerary does not include any meetings with victims, and the Vatican has not commented on the matter.

However, Francis, who has pledged "zero tolerance" for this scourge since his election in 2013, may address the issue in one of his speeches, which would be considered a strong gesture, or privately meet with victims.

Erased mural

For victim associations in other countries, as they told AFP, the pope must "acknowledge the sexual abuses committed by Church officials" against East Timorese children.

"Those abused by Bishop Belo and other clergy in East Timor will expect a public statement from the pope about the Church's ongoing failure to deal with its problematic clergy," said Tony Gribben, founder of the Dromore Survivors group based in Northern Ireland.

According to Gribben, a meeting would have "limited value" for victims, akin to the apologies offered by Francis during his visit to Ireland in 2018.

"That event was a well-crafted public relations exercise for the Church. But since then, things continue as usual in the Irish Catholic Church," he said.

The U.S. group Bishop Accountability, which documents the Church's abuse crisis, announced that it had written a letter to an influential cardinal asking him to "intervene on behalf of the abandoned Timorese victims" with the pope.

However, for many locals, the issue is not a central one, and many even hoped to see Belo allowed to return to attend the papal visit.

"As a people, we are very saddened by Bishop Belo's absence," said Francisco Amaral da Silva, a 58-year-old academic.

"The government and the Catholic Church should invite him."

Nevertheless, in Dili, there is a palpable discomfort over the idea that his name might be associated with this highly anticipated visit.

Earlier this month, a mural depicting Bishop Belo was painted on a wall beneath a sign welcoming Pope Francis. A few days later, it was erased.

• First published in La Croix International. Republished with permission.

A 2019 Pew Research Center Survey of Americans aged 13 to 17 found that only 50 per cent believed religion was an important part of their lives, as opposed to 73 percent of their parents.

This trend has caught the attention of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, which published on its website an article titled "Confronting Secularism Today" by Robert Spitzer, S.J., who posits four causes for this trend:

• A perceived contradiction between God and science.
• A lack of evidence for God from science and logic.
• An implicit belief in materialism.
• A general disbelief in the historicity and divinity of Jesus.

While all these factors may indeed cause some young people to abandon their faith, the list feels incomplete to me. After all, the same Pew survey found approximately 85 percent of teens believed in a higher power.

As a 17-year-old Catholic, I know many people my age who are abandoning their churches and their faith.

I spoke to a few to understand why. (I've used pseudonyms, due to the personal nature of their comments.)

The institutional church, to many of my peers, is seen as antiquated and corrupted by greed, paedophilia and bigotry.

They place the blame for these things on the shoulders of church leaders.

Still, many also feel personal dissatisfaction with the church.

While the answers my friends provided are anecdotal, a common theme emerged: The most prevalent issue that is widening the gap between young people and the church is the institution itself.

Stigmas and suffering

The tone and emphasis of catechesis, especially in preparation for the sacraments, can have a real impact on how young people perceive the church as a whole.

One of of my friends, Jo, talked about an abstinence and pro-life lecture she was required to attend in preparation for the Sacrament of Confirmation, a lecture she found deeply uncomfortable.

She felt the presenters left no room for genuine questions from those who doubted the church's teachings and focused too much on shame.

Jo told me she became concerned that people would assume that she would be similarly closed to the discussion around her politics or personal beliefs based on her religious affiliation.

"I would just [tell people] I'm a Christian, but I wouldn't say Catholic," she said.

The idea that somebody can be turned off by the church because of the church can be tough to grasp.

One of the people I spoke with is a friend of mine named Dominic, who has a strong faith in God and attends church every Sunday.

When I asked him if he thought the church was driving people away, he told me, "I think it is impractical to believe in God in the 21st century because people want to believe in what they see, not something that requires faith alone… They aren't used to the idea that something that cannot be seen can be real."

Dominic's answer also resonates strongly with the belief that people are leaving the institution because of a growing sense of materialism and a feeling that God doesn't have any room in daily life.

Another friend decided to walk away from religion because of a perceived separation between themselves and God.

James, who was raised Catholic and attended Mass every Sunday as a child, is now an agnostic.

While preparing for his confirmation, he began feeling that relying on an invisible God to help him out when times were tough wasn't enough.

Witnessing the long and painful deaths of his aunt and uncle, who were both very religious, also frustrated him.

James reflected on this experience by saying, "I guess it kind of set me back from religion just to realize what God can do to such kind people who also believed in him."

Today, James has abandoned the church and, for the most part, his faith.

James says he only entertains the idea of God existing when someone he knows is religious is going through a sad or painful ordeal.

In those situations, he says that he does pray for that person on the off chance that there is a God listening.

Confronting a secular trend

My friend Andrew is an atheist, raised by Catholic parents, who rarely attended Mass growing up.

For as long as I have known him, he has been vocal about his stance on religion as an unnecessary institution that sets unnecessary rules.

He says he is not against the church; rather, he simply feels no desire to attend. He also says the lack of exposure to religion has made him question its validity.

For Andrew, the concept of faith itself is challenging.

And indeed, Father Spitzer's four reasons do apply in Andrew's case, too, as he believes science and God contradict each other, and that there is little to no appreciable scientific evidence of a creator.

Andrew isn't opposed to going to Mass, but doesn't see himself as the type of person who would join the church.

He told me, "Maybe if the opportunity ever arose, I'd be open to it. But as of now, I don't really see a reason to attend Mass or attend church regularly."

While an intellectual approach may be able to answer some of the questions my secular-leaning friends have—like Andrew's questions on God in relation to science and James's questions on suffering—I believe the church leaders need to approach the issue from another angle, as well. Continue reading

The Catholic bishops who responded to the Commission were unable to convince the commissioners that the seal of confession should continue to be respected, at least in some circumstances.

As a result of the recommendations of the Royal Commission, now in a majority of Australian states and territories when a priest in administering the sacrament becomes aware that a child has been sexually abused, he must bring such an incident to the attention of the police.

This has placed the Catholic clergy in a difficult situation. On the one hand, they will incur automatic ex-communication if they breach the inviolability of the seal of confession, even in cases of child sexual abuse.

On the other hand, they will face judicial penalties and even imprisonment if they do not notify the police of any incidents of child sexual abuse, even if such incidents have only been revealed under the seal of confession.

To escape the horns of this dilemma, I have heard of some priests who have stated that they will no longer 'hear confessions' — administer the Sacrament of Penance.

In other cases, some priests have stated that they will not grant absolution — an integral part of the Sacrament — to a penitent involved either as a perpetrator or a victim in child sexual abuse unless such a penitent agrees to repeat the information to the priest outside the confessional context.

By this strategy, the seal of confession will not be violated when the priest refers the incident to the police.

But, of course, the penitent may refuse to cooperate with this strategy and the priest will then remain caught on the horns of the dilemma.

A further casualty of all these developments has been the Sacrament of Penance itself. As a result of the pandemic, like other religious observances, its availability has been drastically curtailed, and it is unlikely that recourse to the sacrament will be as frequent as previously even when the restrictions are lifted.

Further, the confidence of the laity in the inviolability of the seal has, understandably, been undermined, a consequence of which may again be that recourse to the sacrament will be in decline.

These are matters, I suggest, that should be addressed by the upcoming Plenary Council. It is a recent situation specific to the Australian Church and one to which a remedy should be sought.

The Plenary Council would seem to be an appropriate forum in which to address these matters — the inviolability of the seal, the more limited availability of confessors and the decline in the practice of the sacrament.

For a short period in the late 1980s and 1990s the so-called 'Third Rite of Reconciliation' was made available at specific times in the liturgical year, usually in Lent and Advent, in preparation for Easter and Christmas.

It was popular with Australian Catholics. Penitential liturgies incorporating the Third Rite were instituted in most parishes.

Instead of individual face-to-face encounters with a priest in the privacy of the confessional, penitents as a congregation were invited to recall their sins mentally, express their contrition communally and receive a common absolution and penance.

Many Catholics who had not 'confessed' for many years took advantage of the Third Rite.

Appeals to reinstate the practice have, apparently, been summarily dismissed

This widespread use of the Third Rite was brought to the attention of the Roman authorities.

When the Australian bishops made their ad limina visit to Rome in November, 1998, they were admonished that this widespread use 'not infrequently occasioned an illegitimate use of general absolution'.

They were instructed in effect to eliminate the practice and adhere strictly to the relevant canons in the Code of Canon Law (1983).

As a result, the practice of the Third Rite disappeared virtually overnight. Subsequent appeals to reinstate the practice have, apparently, been summarily dismissed.

The relevant canons in the Code are canons 961 and 962 and read as follows:

Canon 961:

General absolution, without prior individual confession, cannot be given to a number of penitents together unless:

• danger of death threatens and there is not time for the priest or priests to hear the confessions of the individual penitents;
• there exists a grave necessity, that is, given the number of penitents, there are not enough confessors available properly to hear the individual confessions within an appropriate time, so that without fault of their own the penitents are deprived of the sacramental grace or of holy communion for a lengthy period of time. A sufficient necessity is not, however, considered to exist when confessors cannot be available merely because of a great gathering of penitents, such as can occur on some major feast day or pilgrimage.
• It is for the diocesan bishop to judge whether the conditions required in n 2 are present; mindful of the criteria agreed with the other members of the Episcopal Conference, he can determine the cases of such necessity.

Canon 962:

• For a member of Christ's faithful to benefit validly from a sacramental absolution given to a number of people simultaneously, it is required not only that he or she be properly disposed, but be also at the same time personally resolved to confess in due time each of the grave sins which cannot for the moment be thus confessed.
• Christ's faithful are to be instructed about the requirements set out in n1 as far as possible even on the occasion of general absolution being received. An exhortation that each person should make an act of contrition is to precede general absolution, even in the case of danger of death if there is time.
• This letter of the law is very restrictive, even more restrictive than its source: 'The Rite of Penance', authorized by the Sacred Congregation of Divine Worship in 1973 and the 'Normae Pastorales' of the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 1972.

In both of these instructions the Third Rite, while extraordinary, is at least acknowledged as an alternative in certain circumstances. The Code subsequently defined these circumstances very strictly.

The principle behind the canons turns on the availability of priests to minister to the number of penitents within a circumscribed time.

The current situation in Australia where the seal of confession is under threat is not obviously a candidate for the standard exercise of the Third Rite.

Priests who in the current climate have decided not to make themselves available for face-to-face confession may create a temporary situation of non-availability, particularly in remote areas, but in virtually all instances another priest could be contacted in a short time to substitute and fill the vacancy.

It would be interesting to speculate, however, if all the priests in a particular diocese or region declared themselves 'non-available', whether this would constitute a legitimate instance in terms of the canons for the exercise of the Third Rite.

Take, for instance, an inner-city, or even some outer-suburban, parishes, where there are still a significant number of penitents and where, presumably, the probability of an incident of paedophilia being confessed is more likely — anonymity is a central consideration here.

Let us suppose for a moment that because of the threat to the seal of confession all the priests who minister the sacrament of Penance at one or other of these parishes declare themselves unavailable and no substitutes from the Melbourne archdiocese were willing for the same reason to step into the breach.

Would this justify the Archbishop in instituting the Third Rite?

A desire for forgiveness and reconciliation

It is an unlikely scenario, and, granted the intransigence of the Roman authorities in this matter, I doubt whether they would countenance such an exception as canonically legitimate.

Perhaps a more viable approach would be to seek an interpretation or an extension of, or an addition to, the notion of availability such that it encompasses situations where face-to-face confession is liable to expose the confessor to the dilemma of either ecclesial or secular penalties.

Although the threat to the seal of confession is confined to the Australian states currently, I suspect that it is only a matter of time before increasingly secularized jurisdictions are going to see the exemption as an anomaly and revoke it, at least in respect of certain abhorrent crimes like child sexual abuse.

So, there may be new reasons to revisit the relevant canons, and the Roman authorities may be more sympathetic to such revisions than heretofore.

Further, a relaxation of the canonical strictures to make the Third Rite more available might arrest the decline in recourse to the Sacrament of Penance.

When in the 1990s the Third Rite was instituted more widely, even though it was confined to Lent and Easter, it was remarkable how many penitents emerged 'out of the woodwork'. It was, I believe, evidence of a consciousness of sin and a desire for forgiveness and reconciliation.

I suspect/hope those sentiments are still alive in the Catholic community.

The prospect of face-to-face confession, however, is daunting, especially if there has been a long interval since the previous confession, and if the seal is suspected to be compromised by the recent legislation.

And there is some evidence that some women, in particular, find face-to-face confession to a male priest in the confines of a confessional especially daunting.

So, while it is understandable that proponents of face-to-face confession — the First Rite — should continue to insist that it should remain the preferred option, it cannot be denied that as a result of a number of circumstances — closure of churches during the pandemic, the threat to the seal of confession, the more limited availability of priests — the practice of the First Rite, 'auricular confession', is in virtually terminal decline.

Granted this situation, would not a more relaxed set of canonical conditions for the exercise of the Third Rite be a way in which the centrality of the Sacrament of Penance be restored to the Catholic consciousness?

Perhaps this is a recommendation which, in view of the specific current situation in Australia, the Plenary Council could bring to the attention of the Roman authorities and hope for a sympathetic response.

• Bill Uren SJ AO is a Jesuit Priest, Scholar in Residence at Newman College at the University of Melbourne and Former Rector of the College, Jesuit Theological College and former Provincial of the Australian Jesuits. He is a graduate of the Universities of Melbourne, Sydney, Oxford and the Melbourne College of Divinity. He has lectured in moral philosophy and bioethics at the Universities of Melbourne, Murdoch and Queensland, and has served on over a dozen clinical and research ethics committees in universities, hospitals and research institutes.
• First published in La-Croix International. Republished with permission.

Read by some as a surrender to the "woke brigade" and by others as a reasonable response to the accusation the lyrics glorify "slavery, rape, torture and paedophilia", the decision highlights the changing ethical considerations musicians must navigate in order to maintain a social license.

Brown Sugar was recorded in Alabama in late 1969 and released on the Rolling Stones' 1971 album Sticky Fingers.

The song is emblematic of the Stones' energetic rhythm and blues sound and has been a mainstay of their set list for decades.

The lyrics explore the sexual exploitation of a black woman by slave traders and slave owners in America's south, presenting a sexualised view of a marginalised group.

Brown Sugar, how come you taste so good?
Brown Sugar, just like a young girl should.

Contemporary and informed audiences would also recognise "brown sugar" as a reference to heroin.

Through the course of the song, the singer moves from observer to an agent of this sexualisation.

And all her boyfriends were sweet 16
I'm no school boy but I know what I like
You should have heard them just around midnight.

While some interpretations of the song would like to see it primarily as a celebration of a drug counterculture, any pretence the phrase "Brown Sugar" is other than a reference to a black woman falls away in the final lyric of the studio album.

Just like a black girl should.

This combination of sexual imagery and illicit drug references in the song's lyrics contributes to the culturally transgressive place the Rolling Stones occupy in popular music history.

A question of race

Some have little to say about matters of race in the Stone's music.

A recent essay in the Cambridge Companion to the Rolling Stones examines the contribution of non-band members to Brown Sugar, notably pianist Ian Stewart and saxophonist Bobby Keys, and interprets the lyrics as nothing more than "famously bawdy".

But for many race is central to any consideration of the Stones' output from this period.

Patrick Burke, in Rock, Race and Radicalism in the 1960s sees the Stones as wallowing in racist stereotypes.

He asserts Brown Sugar is a "lascivious celebration of sexual clichés associated with slavery."

The song undeniably deals in confronting subject matter.

Its removal from the set list causes us to question whether the song is racist and speaks to the changing parameters of ethical practice for musicians.

Keith Richards highlights this ambiguity in his comments on the removal of the song.

"I don't know. I'm trying to figure out with the sisters quite where the beef is. Didn't they understand this was a song about the horrors of slavery?"

Richards' mildly defensive tone fuels broadcaster Piers Morgan bellicose defence of Brown Sugar as a "song aimed at defending and supporting black women".

Morgan also draws attention to what he sees as a "double standard" for rap music where racist and misogynist tropes abound.

Pulling the song from the set list seems to Morgan an unacceptable confession of guilt.

Ethics in music

I would argue that whether Mick Jagger, in writing Brown Sugar, intended it to be racist misses the point.

My research examines how non-Aboriginal Australian composers have interacted with Australian Indigenous music.

The use of Indigenous music, instruments and language by Australian composers was once commonplace - and even viewed as a form of advocacy. More recently, Australian composers have come to realise the damage cultural appropriate can cause.

As we learn more about other cultures - including greater knowledge of what causes offence and what is painful - our behaviour needs to change.

Even if the style of Brown Sugar was once heard as an innocent rendering of an upbeat rhythm and blues sound (and as far back as the mid-1960s there have been critiques of the Rolling Stones co-option of Black culture), the ecstatic guitar riff, energetic piano and vigorous saxophone create an unacceptable dissonance in the ears of contemporary listeners.

To use such joyful music to accompany lyrics exploring the sexual exploitation which accompanied slavery clearly causes hurt to marginalised people. As music producer and author Ian Brennan notes, were someone in customer service was to utter the line "Brown Sugar how come you taste so good?", they would be immediately fired.

The freedom to not play Brown Sugar

So does the Stones decision to pull the song damage their reputation? Is this an act of censorship, injuring artistic freedom?

I would argue the ethical musician should defer to the sensibilities of the marginalised group.

The cost here is the Rolling Stones won't play Brown Sugar live.

This isn't censorship; the song is readily available. It isn't even iconoclasm - music history is not damaged and no idols have been smashed.

The Stones' decision to pull the song isn't a confession of racism. It is an ethical act and, in itself, an act of artistic freedom that preserves their social license and affirms their ongoing cultural significance.

• Timothy McKenry is Professor of Music, Australian Catholic University.
• First published in The Conversation; republished with permission.

This remark made by Bishop Eric de Moulins-Beaufort (pictured) completely contradicts the comments he made last week when he suggested priests should not violate the confessional seal.

He sparked outrage last week among victims' groups when he said the secrecy of confession was "above the laws of the Republic".

His comments followed the publication of a report saying during the past 70 years Catholic clergy and lay members of the church had sexually abused 330,000 children.

De Moulins-Beaufort, who is the president of the French bishops' conference, now says protecting children is an "absolute priority" for the Catholic Church.

On Tuesday he was summoned to a meeting with Gerald Darmanin, who is France's Minister of Religious Affairs and the Interior Minister - at the request of President Emmanuel Macron.

At the reportedly lengthy meeting, Darmanin says he made it clear that while French law recognises the professional secrecy of the sacrament of confession, this does not apply to disclosures that could lead to criminal cases of child sexual abuse.

"I told him ... no law is superior to the laws of the National Assembly and the Senate ... France respects all religions providing they respect the Republic and the laws of the Republic."

After the meting De Moulins-Beaufort issued a statement highlighting the "determination of all bishops, and all Catholics, to make the protection of children an absolute priority, in close cooperation with the French authorities".

He apologised and asked for forgiveness for the "clumsy" wording of his answer during last week's interview and said:

"The scope of the violence and sexual assaults against minors revealed by the report demands that the Church revise its practices in light of this reality," he said.

"It is, therefore, necessary to reconcile the nature of confession with the need to protect children".

He also reiterated his "shame and consternation" over the report's findings and promised to "carry out the reforms necessary for the French Church to gain everyone's trust".

He said he had asked the pope to meet with the report's authors in the Vatican.

One of the report's recommendations included a request for the Church to reconsider the seal of confession in cases of abuse.

While Francis has expressed his "shame and horror" over the report, to date the Vatican has strongly defended the secrecy of confession.

Source

• RFI
• Image: New Ways Ministry

He described child abuse, paedophilia and child pornography, as "psychological murder."

Speaking to members of the Meter Association in the Vatican's Apostolic Palace on May 15, the pope noted that the Internet is facilitating child abuse.

"Your work is more necessary than ever because, unfortunately, the abuse of children continues.

"I refer in particular to the solicitations that take place through the Internet and various social media, with pages and portals dedicated to child pornography."

In February, the Guardian newspaper reported that the rapidly expanding volume of child abuse material online is threatening to overwhelm U.K. police.

It said that the U.K.'s child abuse image database contained 17 million unique images, with half a million more added every two months.

"This is a scourge that, on the one hand, needs to be addressed with renewed determination by institutions. On the other hand, it requires an even stronger awareness on the part of families and the various educational agencies."

Adding, "Even today, we see how often in families, the first reaction is to cover everything up."

"A first reaction that is always there in other institutions and even in the Church."

"We have to fight with this old habit of covering up."

"I know that you are always vigilant in protecting children even in the context of the most modern media."

The Meter group was founded in Sicily, Italy, in 1989 by Father Fortunato Di Noto. It has been championing the rights of children, especially against child pornography and paedophilia.

Thanking all those who support the association in defending abused and mistreated children, Francis said Meter members have "contributed to making visible the Church's love for the smallest and most defenceless."

He said the group has reached out to children with respect, closeness, compassion and tenderness, to welcome, console and protect them, binding up their "spiritual wounds" like the Good Samaritan.

"How many times, like the Good Samaritan in the Gospel, have you reached out [to children] with respect and compassion, to welcome, console, and protect [them]. How many spiritual wounds have you healed? For all this, the Church community is grateful to you. We can compare your Association to a home."

Sources

Vatican News

CBS News

Asia News

Tomasz and Marek Sekielsk's documentary "Playing Hide and Seek", went viral on YouTube after its release on Saturday.

The documentary overshadowed centenary of the birth of popular Polish Pope, John Paul II, that was celebrated this past weekend in Poland.

"Playing Hide and Seek" provides a detailed account of the story of two brothers sexually abused by a priest, tacitly protected by Janiak.

Within about 36 hours, YouTube records show the documentary had been viewed 27.5 million times and attracted over 45,000 comments.

Janiak, who is still practicing as a priest, has not commented directly on the allegations.

After seeing the documentary, Poland's most senior Catholic archbishop Wojciech Polak notified the Vatican of the accusations against the Polish bishop.

Polak's referral will test procedures introduced by the Vatican last year to hold to account bishops accused if they turn a blind eye to child sex abuse.

The Vatican is now expected to assign an investigator to the case.

Polak also broadcast a message saying the documentary "... shows that procedures concerning the standards of protection of children and youth have not been fulfilled."

"As a delegate of the Polish Episcopate for the protection of children and youth, I am requesting the Holy See, through its Nuncio, to start a procedure ordered by motu propio (an apostolic letter - editor's note) from Pope Francis on the omission of the activity required by law," he added.

The Kalisz curia has spoken out in Janiak's defence, saying the parents of one of the alleged victims portrayed in the film did not follow the right procedure.

"The recording in the film doesn't show the whole conversation. It doesn't show the part where we say that the parents should've expressed their concerns to the prosecutor immediately," the curia said in a statement.

Last year the Sekielski brothers released another film that suggested known paedophiles were deliberately shifted between parishes in Poland.

"Tell No One" had around 23.5 million hits on YouTube. It sent shock waves through the Catholic Church and prompted a series of reactions at the top of the ecclesiastical hierarchy.

However, the issue appears to have faded from public view since then.

Both films look at the issue of the responsibility of the Catholic hierarchy.

A third documentary is planned on the rôle of the Polish pope, St John Paul II covering up the crimes perpetrated by priests.

Source

• The Brussels Times
• Reuters
• Image: DW

The president elect of the Conference of Bishops of France says the need to shed light on the Church's sex abuse scandals "cannot be considered purely marginal.

"It's a systemic problem that needs to be treated as such. And we are determined to do so."

In his view, media coverage is a necessary aspect of opening up about cases of sex abuse.

"An important step is convincing everyone of the importance of the issue and, from that perspective, François Ozon's film Grâce à Dieu [By the Grace of God] has rendered a great service: it has enabled many people who did not want to face up to sexual violence to see what are its consequences."

De Moilins-Beaufort says he had his eyes opened to clerical sex abuse nine years ago.

"I had to deal with a case that had already been tried in 1999 for a priest who was already a member of the Diocese of Paris," he says.

"I met the families of the victims who needed it. This case completely opened my eyes."

That is when he realized that the Church's efforts to ensure the "accompaniment" of the victims were "insufficient".

He also insisted on the inadequacy, at the time, of the consideration given to the fate of the children and the long-term consequences of sex abuse.

These days more and more priests are suspended and asked to stop celebrating the sacraments in public.

"We are aware that the priest's spiritual power can create a type of situation in which, in certain cases, abuses are possible," he says.

"What has favoured these cases is a certain number of divides in the Church of France: part of the impunity [of an abusive priest] was he was considered a good priest, de Moulins-Beaufort says, referring to the case of a priest accused of many incidents of sex abuse against children.

He stresses that Catholic officials must collaborate with the Justice Department.

"We are quite clear on the fact that all cases need to be submitted to the country's justice authorities," the archbishop said. "We have fully understood that the prescribed action depends on the assessment of the judge and not of the ordinary citizen."

De Moulins-Beaufort defended confessional secrecy, while stating that "if someone comes and confesses that he has committed an act of that nature, you can only give him absolution if you are certain that he will denounce his act or that he agrees to speak about it outside of confession."

Source

• La Croix
• Image: Famille Chrétienne

He admitted this during his first face-to-face discussion with the Commission on September 21.

The Pope said he has come to regret agreeing to a more lenient sanction against an Italian priest, rather than laicising him as the doctrinal team recommended.

Two years later the priest abused again. The pope said he has since learned "it's a terrible sickness" that requires a different approach.

Pope Francis endorsed an approach of "zero tolerance" toward any members of the church found guilty of sexually abusing minors or vulnerable adults.

He said he has decided whoever has been proven guilty of abuse has no right to an appeal, and he will never grant a papal pardon.

The experts on the 15-member Commission have made some suggestions to Pope Francis:

• Exempting cases that involve "sexual delicts" and crimes against minors from the norms governing pontifical secret. The application of the principles of pontifical secret during canonical processes may hinder the reporting of suspected child abuse to civil authorities.
• Involve professional lay experts in the preliminary investigation during the canonical process looking into alleged abuse.
• Establish a minimum right to information for victims.
• Amend Vatican to eliminate the statute of limitations on accusations of sexual abuse, which is currently set at 20 years after the alleged victim's 18th birthday.
• Conduct in-depth research to study paedophilia and its canonical implications for marriage, holy orders and religious profession.
• Study a proposal to declare paedophilia an impediment to receiving the sacraments of holy orders and matrimony.
• Create an international survivor advisory panel actively to inform and help the commission maintain a victim-first approach.
• Adopt the commission's recommendations for Vatican offices, bishops' conferences and religious superiors on appropriately responding to correspondence from survivors.
• Continue to endorse a Day of Prayer and Penance for victims and survivors of sexual abuse as part of showing solidarity, acknowledging sins that have occurred and asking for forgiveness and healing.

Source

• Crux
• Crux
• Image: Zenit

On July 13, Rome daily La Repubblica ran an article by its former editor Eugenio Scalfari, based on an interview he did with the Pope on July 10.

The Pope reportedly described the abuse of children in the Church as "leprosy".

"Many collaborators on my side provided me [with] reliable data which estimate a rate of two per cent of paedophilia within the Catholic Church," the Pope reportedly told the 90-year-old Scalfari.

The Roman Pontiff stressed that "this data should reassure me, but it does not. I find it very grave".

"Two per cent of paedophiles are priests and even bishops and cardinals," the Pope continued.

The low number does not mean it is not a serious problem, the Pope said, adding that there is more abuse taking place, but victims are not reporting it.

Pope Francis said he would address the issue "with the severity required".

Speaking on priestly celibacy, the Pope reportedly told Scalfari that it "was established in the tenth century, 900 years after Our Lord's death", adding that "the priests of Eastern Catholic Church are already allowed to marry".

"There is a problem, but it is not a great deal. Time is needed, but there are solutions, and I will find them," Pope Francis reportedly said.

Soon after the article appeared, Vatican spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi said Scalfari had been working from memory, not from a recorded interview.

This is Scalfari's admitted practice, even with Pope Francis.

While agreeing the article conveyed the "sense and spirit" of the conversation, Fr Lombardi said two statements in particular cannot be attributed to the Pope.

"That is when the Pope says that there are cardinals amongst the ranks of paedophile priests and also when he says in relation to the question of priestly celibacy that he ‘will find a solution'," Fr Lombardi explained.

The Vatican spokesman questioned whether Scalfari was trying to manipulate naive readers.

This is the third meeting between Scalfari, who is a non-believer, and Pope Francis.

Sources

• The Irish Times
• New York Daily News
• Catholic News Agency
• Image: Catholic World Report

The cardinal had told BBC Radio 5 live that people who were abused as children and became paedophiles were not criminally responsible for their actions in the same way as somebody "who chooses to do something like that".

After victims' groups and others said the comments were insensitive, the South African cardinal apologised.

"I apologise sincerely and unreservedly to all who were offended by the botched interview, and especially to those who have been abused and need every help and support that the Church can give," he said in a statement.

"Child sexual abuse is a heinous crime among other things because of the damage it does to the child. In that concern I include the abused who has become an abuser."

In the BBC interview, Cardinal Napier spoke of two priests he knew who were abused as children and went on to become paedophiles.

He said: "Don't tell me that those people are criminally responsible like somebody who chooses to do something like that.

"I don't think you can really take the position and say that person deserves to be punished when he was himself damaged."

The cardinal's comments brought immediate criticism from Barbara Dorries, who as a child was abused by a priest and now works for the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests in Chicago.

She told the BBC: "If it is a disease that's fine, but it's also a crime and crimes are punished, criminals are held accountable for what they did and what they do.

"The bishops and the cardinals have gone to great lengths to cover these crimes to enable the predators to move on, to not be arrested, to keep the secrets within the Church."

Sources:

Reuters

Daily Mail

Image: The New Age

Daniel Wilson, 39, appeared in Upper Hutt District Court on Wednesday 19 December, where he was remanded on bail until January.

Wilson, the uncle of a pupil at the school, is not to enter St Joseph's grounds or to approach Ahern and one other person.

Wilson went with another person to the school last Wednesday to voice concern about a man who had been seen visiting the school.

Parents had learned that this man, who is in his 60s, had been convicted of paedophile offences more than 20 years ago.

According to Ahern the meeting had been amicable until, at its conclusion, the assault happened.

Ahern needed stitches for a split head and had bruised ribs after the incident, likened to a 'home invasion" by the school's board of trustees chairman Mark Petersen.

Source

• Stuff.co.nz

• Stuff.co.nz

• Upper Hutt Leader
• Image: St Joseph's School

He was responding to concern that pupils from an Upper Hutt Catholic primary school went to a prayer group that included a convicted paedophile

St Joseph's Primary School in Upper Hutt says the nearby parish knew about the man's convictions but never warned the school.

St Joseph's parish says it did not warn the school as there were no rules requiring it to do so.

The Catholic Education Office says that while that's true, it would have been prudent to keep the man well away from children.

Continue reading

John Kirby has made the comments as the Catholic Church publishes 7 reports into child safe-guarding practices.

It is the second batch of reviews to be carried out by the National Board for Safeguarding Children which is the child protection watchdog of the Catholic Church.

The reports relate to 4 dioceses and 3 religious congregations. Continue reading

I do not presume to speak for anyone else. I am not a spokesman for the church. My intention is to help break open a new and broader conversation in which truth might hold sway against a collective silence and inertia.

The spectre of sexual abuse has become a defining moment for the Church; one that, if not addressed more universally, more openly, and more humbly, poses a serious threat to the Church's life and authority. We are, after all, dealing with something akin to crimes against humanity. Read more

Sources

• Peter Day in Eureka Street
• Image: The Guardian