Priests

Tracy Gordon 3-20-2012
Clergy abuse protest in Dublin, 2002. Photo via Getty Images.

Clergy abuse protest in Dublin, 2002. Photo via Getty Images.

VATICAN CITY — Following a yearlong investigation into decades of rampant abuse in the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland, the Vatican today called for more rigorous screening of would-be priests and compulsory child protection classes in seminaries.

Pope Benedict XVI ordered the "Apostolic Visitation" of Ireland's seminaries, religious orders and four main archdioceses in 2010 after a string of Irish government commissions detailed the extent of child sexual abuse in Catholic institutions and exposed a cover-up by several senior churchmen.

The team of church investigators included New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who was tasked with inspecting Ireland's seminaries, and Boston Cardinal Sean O'Malley.

A seven-page summary of the investigation's final report was released by the Vatican on Tuesday, and said investigators identified past "shortcomings" that led to an "inadequate understanding of and reaction to" child abuse, "not least on the part of various bishops and religious superiors."

But the investigators also stressed that the child protection initiatives undertaken since the 1990s were "judged to be excellent."

VATICAN CITY — Ten years after the clergy sexual abuse scandal erupted in the United States, Catholic bishops from all over the world will meet next week at a Vatican summit aimed at preventing abuse and protecting children.

The conference, "Towards Healing and Renewal," will be held on Feb. 6-9 and is organized by the Jesuit-run Gregorian University in Rome.

The Vatican's top spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, told reporters on Friday (Feb. 3) that the summit enjoys the "full support and participation" of the Vatican's highest offices, but Pope Benedict XVI is not expected to attend.

Monsignor Charles Scicluna, the Vatican's chief abuse prosecutor, said the protection of children must become "a permanent principle and concern" in every decision of the church.

"There cannot be a distinction between the good of the church and the protection of youth," he said Friday.

Colin Mathewson 7-26-2011

There's something special about the bookends of our lifetimes. I became a first-time father seven months ago and a hospice chaplain just one month past. Growing up and growing old, especially the first and last months of our lives, can be surprisingly similar experiences.

I fed my daughter sweet potatoes for the first time last night. Introducing her to solid foods has been a treat. While we're trying our best to teach her the sign language words for "food", "more", and " all done", Robin still finds closed-mouth grumble-whines to be the best way to let us know she thinks sweet potatoes aren't all that hot. Another subtly nuanced whine might instead wonder, "You don't happen to have any more mashed banana or applesauce around, would you?" My attempt to turn the filled spoon into an acrobatic and roaring airplane met with scant success.

Becky Garrison 11-15-2010
How are we to respond as people of faith to the recent revelation that more than 66,000 civilians have died in our two wars?
Joseph Nangle 7-01-2010
Why I remain a Catholic priest -- despite repeated scandal.
Rebecca Curtin 5-10-2010
Last month, at the height of the media coverage of the most recent sex abuse crisis, Father Francis Clooney, a professor at Harvard Divinity School and Director of the Center for the Study of Wor
John Gehring 4-23-2010
These are dark days for Catholics and our church. The clergy sexual abuse scandals are a source of profound pain and raw anger.

Last week, The Washington Post's On Faith site devoted their weekly Q&A to the debate over social justice which they titled, "Wallis vs.

Multiple Authors 4-19-2010
We wanted to make sure that folks saw this letter that circulated in the Irish Times
Douglas Kmiec 4-15-2010
It is far too easy to blame the highly publicized priestly scandal for the alienation of Catholics in Europe or the United States.
Jim Wallis 4-14-2010
This post was written in response to the Washington Post On Faith question of th
The Editors 3-01-2010
Sojourners / Bob Fitch

Photo via Sojourners / Bob Fitch

Here is a list of books written by and about Daniel Berrigan. This list is by no means exhaustive.

Nontando Hadebe 2-03-2010

On Saturday, Jan. 30, I attended a service in which one of my colleagues was being ordained as a deacon in the Anglican Church together with ten others who were being ordained either as priests or deacons. The presiding bishop was Archbishop Desmond Tutu! He delivered the sermon.

Joan Chittister 1-01-2002

"Whenever people discover that they have rights, they have the responsibility to claim them."

—John XXIII, "Pacem in Terris"