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December 2018

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Statements and Letters

• Christmas Greetings to the Roman Curia - Address of His Holiness Pope Francis
Filled with the joy and hope that radiate from the countenance of the Holy Child, we gather again this year for the exchange of Christmas greetings, mindful of all the joys and struggles of our world and of the Church. - December 21, 2018

• Bishop Michael F. Olson Addresses Recent Decisions
A pastoral video from Bishop Michael F. Olson addressing recent decisions in the Diocese of Fort Worth. - December 14, 2018
News Articles and Stories

• 2018: The Year of the Whistleblower
The Register looks back at those in the past year who helped bring the truth of the Church’s scandal to light. - December 31, 2018

• Cardinal O’Malley Forwards Concerns to Nuncio after Times Bombshell on N.Y. Priest
The Cardinal, who is head of the Commission for the Protection of Minors, forwarded concerns about the N.Y. archdiocese allowing a priest under investigation for sexually abusing minors to remain in active ministry until the N.Y. Times report. - December 31, 2018

• College Outraged N.Y. Archdiocese Approved Visiting Priest under Abuse Investigation
John Paul the Great University in California said the N.Y. archdiocese lied in their Dec. 4 letter stating Father Donald Timone ‘without qualification’ was fit to serve as a visiting priest, when he was under investigation for sex abuse since Autumn. - December 31, 2018

• McCarrick abused youth during confession, lawyer charges
A man who says he was serially sexually abused by Archbishop Theodore McCarrick testified Thursday as part of a Vatican investigation regarding the archbishop’s history of sexual abuse and misconduct. - December 28, 2018

• Pope Francis tells Curia: 'Spare no effort' in bringing abusers to justice
Pope Francis strongly condemned clerical sex abuse in his annual Christmas speech to the Roman Curia Friday, promising that the Church leadership will never again cover-up abuse or treat such cases lightly. - December 21, 2018

• L.A. Auxiliary Bishop Salazar resigns after misconduct allegation found credible
Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Auxiliary Bishop Alexander Salazar of Los Angeles Wednesday after the archdiocese’s oversight board found a prior allegation of misconduct with a minor to be credible. - December 19, 2018

• Illinois AG report says dioceses failed abuse victims
Illinois’ attorney general released a report Wednesday outlining the early findings into an investigation into clerical sexual abuse in the state’s six Catholic dioceses. - December 19, 2018

• Catholic Church in Illinois Withheld Names of at Least 500 Priests Accused of Abuse, Attorney General Says
The Catholic Church in Illinois withheld the names of at least 500 priests accused of sexual abuse of minors, the state’s attorney general said Wednesday in a scathing report that accused the church of failing victims by neglecting to investigate their allegations. - December 19, 2018

• L.A. Auxiliary Bishop Salazar resigns after misconduct allegation found credible
Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Auxiliary Bishop Alexander Salazar of Los Angeles Wednesday after the archdiocese’s oversight board found a prior allegation of misconduct with a minor to be credible. - December 19, 2018

• Vatican asks bishops to meet with victims ahead of February summit
Organizers of the Vatican’s February meeting on sexual abuse have sent a letter to the participating bishops asking them to meet with abuse victims in advance of the gathering. - December 18, 2018

• The case against Pell: new details emerge
Following the conviction of Cardinal George Pell in the Australian state of Victoria last week, new details have emerged about the nature of the crimes for which he has been found guilty. - December 17, 2018

• New Jersey bishops finalizing plans to compensate sex abuse victims
In the wake of sex abuse allegations against a former cardinal, the Catholic bishops of New Jersey have announced the creation of a fund to compensate victims of clergy sex abuse, while details of similar funds in Pennsylvania are also being finalized. - December 15, 2018

• After China deal, two underground bishops step down at Vatican's request
Two underground bishops in China have agreed to step aside in favor of bishops of the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association, in the wake of a deal signed between the Holy See and the Chinese government. - December 14, 2018

• Minn. archbishop announces moves to end culture fostering clergy abuse
Archbishop Bernard Hebda of Saint Paul and Minneapolis announced Friday several changes meant “to change the culture that fostered the clergy abuse crisis.” - December 14, 2018

• Trial begins for priest accused of assaulting San Diego seminarian
A trial began Tuesday for the San Diego priest accused of sexually assaulting a seminarian in February. The alleged victim testified Wednesday that the priest groped him in a restaurant bathroom. - December 13, 2018

• Options Emerge for Handling the ‘Other Sexual-Abuse Crisis’
Many recent revelations and allegations have involved the sexual abuse or harassment of adults. - December 10, 2018

• The Pope’s Warning About Homosexuals in the Clergy
Facts do not cease to be true because they hurt someone’s feelings, and speaking the truth is neither bigoted nor hateful. - December 8, 2018

• Bishop: Church’s Reform Requires Authentic Synodality With Laity
Bishop Shawn McKnight of the Diocese of Jefferson City, Missouri, told the Register that bishops need the gifts of the laity involved in genuine synodal processes at the parish, diocesan and national levels, including the Vatican. - December 7, 2018
Analysis and Commentary

• Scandal, Loss of Confidence Contribute to a Heavy Spirit as 2018 Ends
It is unlikely that Pope Francis will publicly describe 2018 as an annus horribilis, as Queen Elizabeth II did in 1992, when a year of scandals in the royal family was crowned by a terrible fire at Windsor Castle. - December 31, 2018

• Year of Scandal Brings Glimmers of Hope Amid Bleak Revelations
Until the corruption is eradicated, the Church cannot be the force for saving souls that it is meant to be. - December 30, 2018

• Piecemeal but Concrete Beginnings of Reform
Yesterday morning the Vatican announced that Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Alexander Salazar, an auxiliary bishop of Los Angeles. In an open letter to his archdiocese, L.A.’s Archbishop José Gόmez explained that Bishop Salazar had been accused of “misconduct with a minor.” - December 20, 2018

• Analysis: How the Vatican is preparing for its February abuse summit
Preparations in the Vatican are underway for a summit of the bishops to discuss the problem of clerical sexual abuse. - December 19, 2018

• Confusion Over Holy Communion for Protestant Spouses
Pastoral guidelines allowing the practice in some cases is predictably causing chaos and “great harm” to the Church, says Cardinal Gerhard Müller. - December 18, 2018

• A Troubling Year in Review
These year-end reflections on illusion and reality are of course prompted by what has been happening in our Church during the past twelve months. The reality is that the once common high regard for bishops as a group, and for many individual bishops, has been shattered by the revelation of sexual abuse and episcopal patterns of covering up immorality and malfeasance. - December 17, 2018

• How Should the Church Address Clerical Misconduct With Adults?
Pope Francis has identified sexual activity in the clergy as a problem — and adult victims say it gives cover to sexual abuse. - December 14, 2018

• Pope’s Homosexuality Comments Could Encourage Discussion at Abuse Summit
The issue has so far been avoided by those preparing for the event, but now is highlighted in the wake of Francis’ recent forceful remarks about the problem. - December 13, 2018

• Seeking God’s Grace-Filled Healing for Sex-Abuse Victims
COMMENTARY: A survivor offers words of comfort. - December 10, 2018
• Learning From Fulton Sheen
An archbishop for communicating the Gospel. - December 9, 2018
• Why I Won’t Ask Pope Francis to Resign
COMMENTARY: We have something more effective to do — carry out our mission as individual Catholics to serve the Church. - December 10, 2018

• Advent and Reform
November’s meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is behind us, even if the frustration of it is not. Pope Francis’s meeting with the heads of the world’s episcopal conferences won’t take place for almost three months. After the New Year, the American bishops will gather at Mundelein Seminary for a week-long retreat on the theme of the mission of the Apostles and their successors. All of which is to say: The scandal of recent months is far from resolved; it lingers and spreads and festers. - December 6, 2018
Prayers and Actions

• Pray for the Pope
Every day after my rosary I say a Pater Noster, Ave Maria, and Salve Regina for the intentions of the pope. For a while I stopped doing that, because I couldn’t be sure what the pope's intentions exactly were. Instead, I said them for the intentions of a good bishop. - December 10, 2018

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Religious Education for the Domestic Church

December 2018

Statements and Letters

News Articles and Stories

Analysis and Commentary

Prayers and Actions