___________________________________ THE PEDOPHILE WHISTLEBLOWERS A ‘rebellion’ within the Church is germinating that may dwarf the Reformation By Bernie Lopez eastwindreplyctr@gmail.com
This article reflects the views of the author, not the ministry.
BREAKING NEWS – Canon Law petition vs Georgetown University, see below.
Remember Jesus said His Church shall endure against all forces of evil until He returns at the end of times? Not even the forces of evil from pedophiles and their protectors can set the Church asunder with cover-ups and secrecy. Now the worms are beginning to come out of the woodwork. There is a tremendous upwelling, tectonic tremors, from below that are pressuring the Vatican to break its silence on the pedophile issue. The pedophile whistleblowers are here, aiming to save the Church from another papal crisis. Not since the Reformation have we had such a historic event as this new ‘rebellion’ from the clerical ranks. The Lord works in mysterious ways to protect His Church. Is this possibly His way of making the Papacy restore Truth and Justice?
The Catholic Whistleblowers started as a whisper about a year ago. They moved secretly individually, not even knowing each other. Nine months ago, they began organizing without the knowledge of their superiors. They were afraid to come out as pedophile whistleblowers and protestors because they “were removed from their parishes, hustled into retirement or declared ‘unstable’ and sent to treatment centers for clergy with substance-abuse problems or sexual addictions”. But the whisper has now evolved rapidly into a storm.
CONTINUATION
The group has 49 members as of this writing. The realization that they were not alone and they could unite was the key to brewing the storm. Rev. Ronald Lemmert from Peekskill, N.Y., speaks out, “I joined the (Catholic Whistleblowers) because I had been badly ostracized because I blew the whistle. This group has been a lifeline. I just decided to stand up and be counted.”(bishop-accountability.org)
One of the catalysts that strengthened the resolve of Catholic Whistleblowers members was an incident in Newark. Rev. Michael Fugee, a convicted sex offender banned by a court from working with children, was reported to be “ministering in a Catholic parish in Trenton, taking confessions from children and going on weekend youth retreats”. The Whistleblowers, together with New Jersey politicians, demanded the resignation of Newark Archbishop John J. Myers. His spokesman said Archbishop Myers was “unaware of the priest’s activities, and (was) cooperating with an investigation by the Bergen County prosecutor”. Fr. Fugee left the ministry and was arrested for violating a court order. Trenton Bishop David M. O’Connell also ejected another priest and two youth ministers working with Fr. Fugee in the Trenton parish.
There were other cases that help trigger more radical moves – the release of personnel records on priests by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, convictions of church officials in Philadelphia and Kansas City, and ‘audits’ by bishops stating that pedophile cases have gone down considered as ‘not credible’. The Catholic Church in the US drew a “zero-tolerance policy and a host of prevention programs after the abuse scandal peaked in 2002. Each year the bishops commission an audit of abuse cases, and this year’s survey, released May 9, found the fewest allegations and victims since the audits began in 2004.” (New York Times)
Msgr. Kenneth Lasch, founder of Road to Recovery, which helps abuse victims, said, “The Pope has asked us to speak with clarity and courage, and that’s what we’ve done with him.” Ex-priest Fr. Robert Hoatson, a co-founder, added, “It’s time that clarity and courage are rewarded rather than harassed and dismissed.” The Catholic Whistleblowers wrote a letter to Pope Francis, “asking him to take several significant steps to heal victims and restore the church’s credibility: revoke all oaths of secrecy, open the files on abuse cases, remove from office any bishops who obstructed justice and create an international forum for dialogue between survivors and church leaders”.
Readers offered harsher suggestions, such as, with sufficient evidence, pedophiles must be compelled to face investigation by a Papal committee, to face trial and be sentenced, if guilty, and to give a public apology.
Monsignor Lasch adds, “I’m in this for Justice and Mercy and Truth and Compassion.” Only the efforts towards restoring Truth (total transparency) and Justice (compensation for victims and penalty for criminals) can save the Church from a new crisis in the Vatican. For the Papacy which stands for Truth and Justice, obstructing these, even with just plain silence or omission, will bring the Papal crisis to a head. Not one stone must be left unturned. Now the Catholic Whistleblowers are ready for a first-ever press conference in New York City this week, promising to trigger a global tsunami. Read their individual tales of horrors, link given below. eastwindreplyctr@gmail.com
Sources – 1 bishop accountability.org http://www.bishop-accountability.org/news2013/05_06/2013_05_20_Goodstein_ChurchWhistleblowers.htm 2 Whistleblowers’ individual tales of horror http://bishop-accountability.org/Whistleblowers/ 3 New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/21/us/catholic-church-whistle-blowers-join-forces-on-abuse.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&
_________________ BREAKING NEWS Canon Law Petition vs Georgetown U A Canon Law petition was delivered to Washington DC Archbishop Donald Wuerl, asking to remove Georgetown University’s right to call itself ‘Catholic’. Georgetown is a liberal Jesuit institution. The contents of the petition have not yet been made public as of this writing, but they were branded as ‘devastating’, based on an exhaustive investigation by the Cardinal Newman Society, on key issues, such as abortion. The 198-page study, signed by 1,200 individuals, has 476 footnotes, 91 appendices, and 124 testimonials, documenting 23 years of ‘scandals and dissidence’. The initiative is spearheaded by William Peter Blatty, academy award winner and author of The Excorist.
If the move succeeds, it is akin to the ‘excommunication’ of a Catholic institution, a first in Church history. Blatty attributed the problem to “the well-organized efforts that are fundamentally anti-Catholic”. The King Society’s website www.GUpetition.org describes “Georgetown’s historical ties to the Jesuits, the Washington Archdiocese and the Vatican”. Manuel A. Miranda, a Blatty staffer, said, “What is evident is that Georgetown University has been captured by the ideology of radical autonomy. Academic freedom is now prisoner to intolerant new orthodoxies, and Catholic moral teaching has surrendered to the dictatorship of moral relativism.” A reply from Georgetown is being awaited anxiously by observers.
This emerging event reflects conflicts not only within the Church between liberals and conservatives but also outside forces within Catholic institutions. It puts into question fundamental dogmas and catechesis that have existed for centuries. There is a centripetal force towards the status quo, the yin, and a centrifugal force towards relevant change, the yang. Such a massive document is perceived to have a historic Canon Law trial that will take years to resolve, and will involve Vatican politics that may splinter the Cardinals. Pope Francis being a Jesuit may complicate matters and put him on the spot. He is either open to the Whistleblowers’ recommendations, which may solve the Church crisis, or he may suppress them, which may trigger a larger protest movement from the clerical ranks.
The issue is not exclusive to Georgetown. There is an emerging global trend within the Church, which needs to do a lot of soul searching and praying for wisdom from the Holy Spirit. This may evolve into a crisis that would dwarf the pedophile issue. Source – http://www.cardinalnewmansociety.org/CatholicEducationDaily/DetailsPage/tabid/102/ArticleID/2277/Canon-Law-Case-Against-Georgetown-Submitted-to-Cardinal-Wuerl.aspx?utm_source=WhatCounts+Publicaster+Edition&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Case+filed+against+Georgetown&utm_content=delivered+a+canon+law+petition
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you do not have to save a thousand the Lord is just as pleased if you help save one sheep in His flock numbers do not matter to Him only your heart’s intent
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