A tiny ray of hope, finally, from Pope Francis
Finally, finally, there’s a tiny, tiny ray of hope with this pope and the abuse/cover up crisis.
It’s not his signs of humility.
It’s not his compassionate words.
It’s not his touching gestures.
It’s his ever-so-slight snub of two dreadfully corrupt prelates – Cardinal Raymond Burke and Cardinal Justin Rigali.
Pope Francis hasn’t denounced, disciplined, demoted or defrocked either of them, though their incredibly irresponsible actions in dozens and dozens of predator priest cases certainly warrant such moves.
But the pontiff has declined to re-appoint them to the Congregation for Bishops, which helps select bishops throughout the world
That’s a tiny, tiny step in the right direction.
But the pope needs to punish – not just snub – those who are reckless in clergy sex cases, not just pompous in their own demeanor.
He needs to penalize those who are “outliers” in child protection, not “outliers” in clergy attire.
And he needs to do it publicly– so it may have a deterrent effect. That’s what’s long been missing – harsh, clear church-imposed consequences for those who put kids in harm’s way.
Time and time again, Pope Benedict put the hammer down on those who dissented from official church theology. Time and time again, Pope Francis must put the hammer down on those who dissent from common sense children’s safety measures.
Rigali’s heinous cover ups of clergy sex crimes are best outlined in the three horrific grand juries reports in Philly (though he also concealed horrific sexual violence while he worked in St. Louis too).
Burke’s heinous cover ups of clergy sex crimes in St. Louis are outlined here:
His similarly disturbing track record in Wisconsin is outlined here:
http://www.snapnetwork.org/snap_statements/2008_statements/062708_la_crosse_burke_tribunal_rome.htm
We look forward to the day when they and their complicit colleagues (starting with convicted Bishop Robert Finn of Kansas City) are bumped down to just being priests – or being defrocked entirely – because they knowingly protected their own reputations and endangered their flocks’ safety.
NOTE – as best we can tell, Burke is still pushing for sainthood for a priest who concealed crimes by Mother Teresa’s confessor, the now-convicted and imprisoned Fr. Donald McGuire.
http://www.snapnetwork.org/tainted_saint_mother_teresa_defended_pedophile_priest
Winter Appeal 2023
To our friends,
2023 has been a long year with many ups and downs for us all. As we close out the year, we at SNAP hope that you are feeling like you are on your way to being healthy, fulfilled, and happy. This past year has brought both successes and challenges. Thanks to the support you have shown in the past, we’ve been able to celebrate the good days and weather the stormy ones. Now, we are once again asking for your support as we work to support survivors new and old as we ‘Move SNAP Forward.’
At SNAP we are proud to have hosted a very well-attended conference in August 2023. This event allowed us to gather friends, survivors, advocates, and allies for a weekend of camaraderie and connection. We were so happy to be able to welcome many first-time attendees to gather in person and are already looking forward to the next conference.
To strengthen our movement for justice, healing, and prevention, SNAP will be expanding our peer support and providing more volunteer opportunities in the coming year. Through this great work, we are ensuring survivor voices are represented as we work for significant change that will benefit children and survivors.
Right now, survivors worldwide are getting the help they need from SNAP, and more and more reach out to us daily, but we need your help to keep those programs going and get our volunteers the training they need to thrive.
Your tax-deductible gift to SNAP can help offset the cost of our important mission. If you are not in a position to contribute, you can still support us by sharing this letter with those who can. As we continue to fight for survivors across the globe, your donation or sharing the great work SNAP does will help us continue our work to protect the vulnerable, heal the wounded, and prevent abuse.
Your donation ensures SNAP will be there for those who need us more than ever!
Warmly,
Michael W. McDonnell, C.P.S.
Interim Executive Director
Showing 2 comments
Having been a member of SNAP for one year now, and having viewed, read and followed everything that I could about this specific “scandal” in the catholic church, I have decided that my personal current course of action now, is to encourage and “call for” the leaders of SNAP in the United States and those attorneys willingly affliated with SNAP, to please write legal petitions for U.S. members to sign and for them to get signed, that call for a referendum to vote for the abolishment of all SOL laws applied to and regarding crimes committed by pedophiles against children and disabled adults; including but not limited to crimes committed by catholic pedophile priests, heirarchy and laity in the United States and its territories. Please let us do a “grass roots campaign”, via the internet if necessary, as our current president did to get elected; to achieve this very obviously important and necessary change to both our criminal and civil laws. The scourge must be STOPPED! Surely, it must be clear to all of us now, that they, (the pope and all the other leaders of the catholic church), will not do it for us. The scourge must be STOPPED! I believe that the United States of America is a uniquely qualified place to be able to achieve at least this portion of the battle against enabled pedophiles in the catholic church. WE CAN DO IT! WE CAN DO IT HERE!!!
Sure it’s nice he snubbed two evil men but since when did we become so disillusioned that snubbing vs. harsh punishment of evil men is cause for cautious optimism ? When did we lose our way and find it okay if an evil man gets demoted to being “just a priest” vs. being defrocked and put in prison ? Me thinks the darkness of this darkest hour in Church history has anesthetized us, desensitized us to the point of finding acceptable things we know, in our better moments, to be naked evil and injustice.
There will be no peace without justice. This is natural law.
It is important to remember the words Jesus spoke about wolves who would lead astray our children: “It would be better if he tied a millstone around his neck and threw himself into the sea…..”. Sometimes we forget that Jesus could be a very “harsh” man. I believe he spoke these words or very similar ones. I believe he intended people to take literally his advice.
So if Jesus told people to simply kill themselves rather than (for our purposes) perpetrate the worst kind of evil on our children, maybe we need to adjust our expectations.
Pope Francis may be winning the hearts and minds of people around the planet. However, I am quite sure Jesus tear apart the “modest living quarters” of Pope Francis with more vengeance than shown to the money changers in the Temple. First, what is so impressive about these “modest living quarters” ? And why make a big fuss about the easy issues being addressed and widely reported by this pope ? Until he acts as Christ would act—-he is just another CEO engaged in managing a scandal vs. ministering to the deepest wounds of innocent victims.
Man up Pope Francis or do the one good thing your predecessor did and lead by example—-resign and throw yourself into the ocean.