End Priest Abuse
Spotlight is that rare film that deals with both the worst of people and the best of people and lets us know that we hold the keys to the solution for so many of our problems.
Pope Francis’ visit to the US had me scrambling. Along with others who’ve spoken out about the need for change in the Catholic Church. I had three calls for interviews just before and then during the Pope’s visit. Here are audio clips from two of those. Seattle’s KUOW had me on to talk specifically about … Read more
Time is ticking away since the June formation of the Pope Francis’ tribunal on bishops who sheltered abusive priests. Time to press for real action on priest abuse from the Vatican.
Unique view of the Priest Abuse Scandal today on HuffPostLive: former nun and abuse survivor Mary Dispenza, and Mary Pflum Peterson, child of an abused nun.
Stories About Story As I prepared to send out copies of my memoir, SPLIT, A Child, A Priest, and the Catholic Church to reviewers, I decided to include a letter with each one. So last week I worked with a designer to create a letterhead. When she asked if I wanted a tag line on … Read more
From The Washington Post: “If someone tells you a child has been abused, the confession doesn’t seem to me a cloak for hiding that business. How can you hear a confession about somebody abusing a child and the matter must be sealed up and you mustn’t talk about it?” That’s the Archbishop of York, John … Read more
Once again the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child has loudly and clearly insisted that the Vatican and Pope Francis remove all priest child abusers and report them to local law enforcement. The committee further insisted the Vatican open all associated records so that Bishops and other church officials who have contributed … Read more
Vatican Law Respects Italian Law – To the Detriment of Vulnerable Children Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, head of the Italian Episcopal Conference, has defended the Vatican’s policy of not requiring clergy to report child sex abuse to the authorities. “The Vatican requires national laws to be respected, and we know that there is no such duty … Read more
Jerry Brown and Me I’ve always had a lot of respect for Jerry Brown, starting back before he was Governor and I was a hippie nun. Governor Brown has more political smarts than I, but I have a keener understanding of the effects of childhood priest abuse than he. We’ve lived very different realities. Our … Read more
From The Worthy Adversary: “You see a child being sexually abused and beaten on a street corner. Whom do you call? Answer: The local university, your bishop, your commander or the leader of the closest nonprofit.” … “…why do we act so absurdly when we witness abuse on the Penn State campus, at the local … Read more