$250,000 bail set for Philadelphia’s Monsignor William Lynn - The Washington Post

 

 

By David Gibson | Religion News Service, Published: December 30

The Philadelphia priest whose conviction for failing to report child-abusing clerics to authorities was overturned last week was granted a $250,000 bail on Monday (Dec. 30). But it could take at least another week before Monsignor William Lynn is free.

Common Pleas Court Judge M. Teresa Sarmina also ruled that Lynn, who has already spent 18 months of his three-to-six-year sentence behind bars, must surrender his passport and be subject to electronic monitoring and weekly reporting while on bail.

Read the entire story by clicking on the following:  $250,000 bail set for Philadelphia’s Monsignor William Lynn - The Washington Post

Syria's Assad sends message to Pope Francis, Vatican says - chicagotribune.com

 

President Bashar al-Assad has sent Pope Francis a private message, the Vatican said on Saturday, without disclosing its contents.
It was the first known time Assad has sent a direct message to the pontiff since the start of Syria's civil war in 2011. Pope Francis has made numerous appeals for an end to the conflict, the latest on Christmas Day.

Vatican sources said the message likely included the Syrian government's position ahead of peace talks due to start on January 22 under U.N. auspices in Geneva.
The Vatican, which has permanent observer status at the United Nations, also has a representative to U.N. organizations in Geneva.
The Vatican said a delegation headed by Joseph Sweid, a Syrian minister of state, held talks in the Vatican with the pope's secretary of state, Archbishop Pietro Parolin and his foreign minister, Archbishop Dominique Mamberti.
"The delegation brought a message from President Assad for the Holy Father and illustrated the position of the Syrian government," a statement said.

Syria's Assad sends message to Pope Francis, Vatican says - chicagotribune.com

Bail Hearing set for Msgr Lynn

his child-endangerment conviction was overturned. Lynn will not be in attendance for this hearing as he is still incarcerated in state prison in Northeast Pennsylvania. A PA superior court threw out his conviction yesterday after it determined that the child-endangerment statute as applied in Lynn's case did not apply to supervisors. Common Pleas Judge M. Teresa Sarmina will hear the bail petition. She was also the judge who presided over the trial and sentenced him. Lynn has served a year and a half of a 3 to 6 year term.

Above is from:  iradiophilly | News - Bail Hearing set for Msgr Lynn; Woman Fatally hit in DE; Two Fishtown Armed Holdups (video)

Syria's Assad sends message to pope - Yahoo News

 

The delegation brought a message from President Assad for the Holy Father and explained the position of the Syrian government," a statement said.

The official Syrian Arab News Agency said Assad expressed his government's "determination to exercise its right to defend all its citizens, whatever their religion, against the crimes committed by the takfiri (Sunni Muslim extremist) bands who attack them in their homes, in their places of worship and in their neighbourhoods."

Assad's regime prides itself on its secularism. While

Read more:  Syria's Assad sends message to pope - Yahoo News

Weekly Contributions for the weekend of December 22, 2013

No change from prior week in stewardship.

 

Total Overpayment increased by $2,680.04.

Court reverses monsignor's conviction

By Ben Finley, Allison Steele, and Aubrey Whelan, Inquirer Staff Writers

a 43-page opinion, a three-judge Superior Court panel wrote that prosecutors and a judge misapplied the state's child-endangerment law by claiming Lynn was criminally responsible because he supervised a priest, Edward Avery, when Avery sexually abused an altar boy in the mid-1990s.

The court found the law at the time applied only to people who directly supervised children.

Lynn, 62, has been serving a three- to six-year term in a northeast Pennsylvania prison since his conviction last year. His lawyer, Thomas A. Bergstrom, said he hoped the monsignor would be freed in days.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20131227_Court_reverses_Philly_priest_s_conviction.html#uEhEDKJIhvW2dHjb.99

Russian Orthodox patriarch optimistic about working with Pope Francis : News Headlines - Catholic Culture

 

Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill said that he has “great expectations” of Pope Francis, because the Pontiff’s pastoral plan “coincides with our vision.”

Patriarch Kirill made this comment as he met on December 18 with Cardinal Kurt Koch, the president of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity, who is visiting Moscow this week. The Russian patriarch said that he was pleased to meet the Vatican official, remarking that he had “more and more opportunities to meet with Catholic prelates.”

Click on the following for more details:  Russian Orthodox patriarch optimistic about working with Pope Francis : News Headlines - Catholic Culture

Pope Francis and the End of the Religious Right? | Steven Conn

 

Steven Conn

Author/Professor, Ohio State

…now comes news that the Pope has demoted Justin Rigali and Raymond Burke, two hard-right cardinals from the influential Congregation of Bishops. Rigali presided fecklessly (or mendaciously, take your pick) over the pedophile-priest scandal in Philadelphia while he was archbishop there, while Burke liked to dress up in the "cappa magna," a "long train of billowing red silk," in order to lecture us all on the evils of homosexuality.

Pope Francis has left conservative Catholics, the loudest voices in the American church for the last generation, wondering if they aren't being dissed. What, after all, is a faithful, obedient Catholic boy like Paul Ryan to do in the face of a pope who claims to have known some "good Marxists" back in Argentina?!

Whatever Pope Francis's papacy means for American Catholics, his shift in tone and his interest in economic justice may have the effect of upending the political coalition that we call the religious right.

Read the entire article by clicking on the following:  Pope Francis and the End of the Religious Right? | Steven Conn

Pope Francis removes former St. Louis Archbishop Burke from Congregation of Bishops : Lifestyles

 

By Jesse Bogan

The announcement came Monday from the Vatican as Francis reorganizes the Congregation, which has considerable power because it recommends bishop candidates to the pope when vacancies occur. New bishops shepherd their local flocks, but some of them will be promoted down the road to high-profile church leadership positions.

Also gone from the Congregation is another former archbishop from St. Louis, Justin Rigali — though that action was anticipated, because Rigali recently stepped down as archbishop in Philadelphia.

Asked for comment, the St. Louis Archdiocese issued a statement that said: “Although the tangible impact of the Congregation of Bishops to the local Archdiocese of St. Louis, as it relates to Cardinal Burke and Cardinal Rigali’s membership, is difficult to measure, it is without question that the spiritual fruits of their labor will be felt for many years to come throughout our universal Church.”

Read the entire story by clicking on the following:  Pope Francis removes former St. Louis Archbishop Burke from Congregation of Bishops : Lifestyles

Pope Francis directs Curia to hear confessions - The Washington Post

By Eric J. Lyman

As part of Pope Francis’ pastoral reforms, all 44 senior members of the Roman Curia, or governing body, must take turns hearing confession at a church near the Vatican.

There is even speculation that Francis himself could hear confessions at the Church of the Santo Spirito in Sassia, just outside the Vatican walls, where his bishops and cardinals have been directed to perform the sacrament of penance and reconciliation

Read the entire article by clicking on the following:  Pope Francis directs Curia to hear confessions - The Washington Post

ANALYSIS: Pope Francis’ Vatican reforms may prompt curial pushback - The Washington Post

 

In private conversations, Pope Francis often acknowledges that reforming the Vatican will be a difficult task opposed by powerful interests in the church. Developments on Monday (Dec. 16) showed both the progress he has made and the challenges that remain.

Case in point: Cardinal Raymond Burke, an influential American conservative who has worked in the Roman Curia since 2008, lost one key post on Monday when he was left off the Vatican body that vets bishops for the pope to appoint. Those appointments are seen as the key to securing Francis’ legacy.

 

But in an interview a few days earlier, Burke — who remains head of the Vatican equivalent of the Supreme Court — also publicly raised doubts about Francis’ plans to make wholesale changes in a papal bureaucracy in keeping with the pontiff’s vision of a more open, pastoral church.

Click on the following for more details:  ANALYSIS: Pope Francis’ Vatican reforms may prompt curial pushback - The Washington Post

Weekly Contributions for the weekend of December 15, 2013

No change in DSP.

The numbers for the weekend of December 15, 2013 were not reported.

Five Philadelphia priests suspended, one accused of sexual abuse - Yahoo News

By Dave Warner

The allegations against the five grew out of a 2011 Philadelphia grand jury report that ended with the jailing of Monsignor William Lynn, the highest-ranking U.S. Catholic Church official convicted in a child sex abuse scandal.

Lynn, the one-time secretary of the clergy for the archdiocese, was convicted last year of endangering the welfare of a child by reassigning a priest with a history of sexual abuse to a Philadelphia parish that was unaware of his past.

Lynn's case is under appeal.

David Clohessy, director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, was critical of Chaput's handling of the investigation.

"There's only one reason to delay and to lump multiple accused predator priests together for one big announcement," Clohessy said before the church released its statement on Sunday.

"Chaput simply wants to try and make sure there's just one story about child-molesting clerics, not several stories."

Read the entire article by clicking on the following:  Five Philadelphia priests suspended, one accused of sexual abuse - Yahoo News

Pope must decide what to do with disgraced Legion - Yahoo News

By NICOLE WINFIELD

It all means that hopes are dwindling that the Vatican's effort to radically reform the Legion has succeeded, raising the question of what Pope Francis will do with the once-powerful and wealthy order after the mandate of the papal envoy running it expires.

Francis' predecessor, Benedict XVI, took over the Legion in 2010 and appointed a Vatican cardinal to govern it after investigators determined that the congregation itself needed to be "purified" of Maciel's influence. In reality, the Vatican knew well of Maciel's crimes for decades but turned a blind eye, impressed instead by his ability to bring millions of dollars and thousands of seminarians into the church.

Rome's failure to stop him marks the most egregious case of its indifference to victims of priestly sexual abuse, and has tarnished the legacy of Pope John Paul II, soon to be canonized, because he had held up the Legion as a model for the faithful.

Read the entire story by clicking on the following:  Pope must decide what to do with disgraced Legion - Yahoo News

Vatican gets mixed report card on finance reforms - Yahoo Finance

By Nicole Winfield, Associated Press

European inspectors gave the Vatican a mixed report card Thursday in its efforts to comply with international norms to fight money laundering and terror financing: They praised the speedy overhaul of its legal code, but said the jury's still out on how well those new laws are being implemented.

The chief complaint in the report by the Council of Europe's Moneyval committee was that the Holy See's financial watchdog agency has yet to inspect the embattled Vatican bank, a true test of whether the new laws to fight financial crimes are being enforced at the Holy See's main financial institution.

That said, the system does seem to be working: The report revealed that 105 suspicious transactions had been flagged to the financial watchdog agency in 2013 as potential cases of money-laundering — a significant increase over 2012, when only a half-dozen were reported. The increase stemmed from a review by the bank — formally called the Institute for Religious Works — of all its accounts.

Read the entire article by clicking on the following:  Vatican gets mixed report card on finance reforms - Yahoo Finance

Person of the Year

Read the article by clicking on the following:  http://poy.time.com/2013/12/11/person-of-the-year-pope-francis-the-peoples-pope/

From the Desk of St. James’ Pastor

Weekly Contributions for the weekend of December 8, 2013

Stewardship increased $885.

Parish pledges decreased from 2,853,375.42 on November 12, 2013 to $2,850,457.96 as of December 10, 2013; down $2,917.54.  Number of families pledging decrease to 791.

Of the $39,039 paid on pledges the last three weeks, $20,334 was overpayment.

 

Pope Francis denounces trickle-down theory of economics - WDAM.COM - TV 7 - News, Weather and Sports

 

The Pope's statement read, in-part:

"...some people continue to defend trickle-down theories which assume that economic growth, encouraged by a free market, will inevitably succeed in bringing about greater justice and inclusiveness in the world. This opinion, which has never been confirmed by the facts, expresses a crude and naïve trust in the goodness of those wielding economic power and in the sacralized workings of the prevailing economic system. Meanwhile, the excluded are still waiting. To sustain a lifestyle which excludes others, or to sustain enthusiasm for that selfish ideal, a globalization of indifference has developed. Almost without being aware of it, we end up being incapable of feeling compassion at the outcry of the poor, weeping for other people's pain, and feeling a need to help them, as though all this were someone else's responsibility and not our own. The culture of prosperity deadens us; we are thrilled if the market offers us something new to purchase. In the meantime all those lives stunted for lack of opportunity seem a mere spectacle; they fail to move us."

Read the entire article:  Pope Francis denounces trickle-down theory of economics - WDAM.COM - TV 7 - News, Weather and Sports

Weekly Contributions for the weekend of December 1, 2013

 

 

No change in stewardship from the week before.

Pledges collected for two weeks are shown.  However the various pledge totals were not all changed and these collections were not added to some totals.  Overpayments increase by $12,588.38.  The number of families pledged decreased by two to 793.

Catholic Group Denounces Limbaugh's Attack On Pope Francis | Blog | Media Matters for America

 

LIMBAUGH: I came across last night -- I mean, it totally befuddled me. If it weren't for capitalism, I don't know where the Catholic Church would be. Now, as I mentioned before, I'm not Catholic. I admire it profoundly, and I've been tempted a number of times to delve deeper into it. But the pope here has now gone beyond Catholicism here, and this is pure political. Now, I want to share with you some of this stuff.

"Pope Francis attacked unfettered capitalism as 'a new tyranny.' He beseeched global leaders to fight poverty and growing inequality, in a document on Tuesday setting out a platform for his papacy and calling for a renewal of the Catholic Church. In it, Pope Francis went further than previous comments criticizing the global economic system, attacking the 'idolatry of money.' "

I've gotta be very caref-- I have been numerous times to the Vatican. It wouldn't exist without tons of money. But, regardless, what this is -- somebody has either written this for him or gotten to him. This is just pure Marxism coming out of the mouth of the pope. There's no such -- "unfettered capitalism"? That doesn't exist anywhere.

Read this blog’s reaction to Mr. Limbaugh’s statement by clicking on the following:  Catholic Group Denounces Limbaugh's Attack On Pope Francis | Blog | Media Matters for America

Weekly Contributions for the weekend of November 24, 2013

No change in Stewardship pledges.

From the Pastor’s Desk

Weekly Contributions for the weekend of November 17, 2013

No change in Stewardship.

Number of Families Pledges increase by two, now 795.  Total Parish Pledges decrease by $1,077.50 despite this increase in Family Pledges. Another detail was supplied, namely that Total Paid on Parish Pledges includes “overpayments”.

Overdose victim's family sues archdiocese for wrongful death

 

On Wednesday, McIlmail took an unusual first step to memorialize her son's passing - by filing a wrongful-death lawsuit against the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, contending that church officials ignored years of complaints against the Rev. Robert L. Brennan while he molested Sean and more than 20 other boys.

"This is his [Sean's] legacy," McIlmail, 57, told reporters at a Center City news conference. "Sean will empower sexual-abuse victims who live in darkness and shame, and consequently bring about the necessary changes for the Catholic Church."

The suit, filed in Common Pleas Court, also names Brennan and Msgr. William J. Lynn, the former church official responsible for investigating allegations of misconduct by priests.

Read more of the story by clicking on the following:  Overdose victim's family sues archdiocese for wrongful death

Insurance companies to buy back policies as part of Milwaukee Archdiocese bankruptcy - News - 1330 WHBL Sheboygan's News Radio

 

A group of insurers that includes Lloyd's of London has agreed to buy back policies they sold to the church, in exchange for avoiding liability in paying claims to victims of sex abuse by priests.

Church spokesman Jerry Topczewski would not say how much the archdiocese will get from the settlement. He says it will be spelled out in the church's financial re-organization plan which must be approved in federal bankruptcy court. Topczewski did not know when the plan will be filed. Media reports say settlement talks continue with another carrier, Stonewall Insurance.

Click on the following to read the entire article:  Insurance companies to buy back policies as part of Milwaukee Archdiocese bankruptcy - News - 1330 WHBL Sheboygan's News Radio

Weekly Contributions for the weekend of November 10, 2013

 

Stewardship pledges increased by $864.

 

No change in pledge numbers.

 

U.S. Catholic bishops name leaders and immigrant advocate - Yahoo News

By Mary Wisniewski

U.S. Catholic bishops on Tuesday elected an archbishop from Kentucky and a Texas cardinal known for his support of immigrants to head their leadership conference in a nod toward Pope Francis' emphasis on social justice.

Archbishop Joseph Kurtz, 67, of Louisville, Kentucky and Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, 64, of the Galveston-Houston diocese, were elected to three-year terms as president and vice president, respectively of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Read more by clicking on the following:  U.S. Catholic bishops name leaders and immigrant advocate - Yahoo News

Rockford Bishop pens letter on gay marriage - News - Rockford Register Star - Rockford, IL

 

The letter, in part, states:

“As you probably know, the Illinois legislature has voted this week to redefine marriage within our state, abandoning the understanding found in nature and in our faith that God has established this institution as a life-long commitment between one man and one woman.

“This decision, however well-intended, has no basis in nature and certainly not in the teaching or the practice of our Catholic faith. To quote Pope Francis when he was Archbishop of Buenos Aires, and a similar bill was under consideration: “Let us not be naive: this is not simply a political struggle, but it is an attempt to destroy God’s plan. … (and) to confuse and deceive the children of God.

“Our task now is to truly live and teach the reality of marriage and family as professed by our church with joy and faith. No human vote can overwrite God’s law.

“Let us remember as well that we are called by Christ to love and respect all of our brothers and sisters. That means all without exception. But we cannot do so at the expense of abandoning how God, in His love, has made us and made the world.”

Story taken from:  Rockford Bishop pens letter on gay marriage - News - Rockford Register Star - Rockford, IL

Australian nun makes list of women cardinal candidates

 

The Australian nun named as a candidate to be the first woman cardinal would be willing to serve if the Pope asked her, but does not expect a call.

Sister Maryanne Loughry, assistant director of the Jesuit Refugee Service, was one of eight women listed as strong possibilities by American Jesuit priest James Keenan in a recent Facebook post that has gone viral.

Read more:  Australian nun makes list of women cardinal candidates

Irish woman could be Catholic Church’s first female cardinal, some scholars say - NY Daily News

 

Irish theologian Linda Horgan, left, is rumored to be a possible surprise pick when Pope Francis taps 14 new cardinals in February.

She’s married and a feminist to boot, but Irish theologian Linda Hogan is being touted as a candidate to become the first female “prince” of the Catholic Church.

Hogan, 49, has become the subject of widespread speculation that Pope Francis will someday choose her to break the Holy See’s stained-glass ceiling.

Read the entire article:  Irish woman could be Catholic Church’s first female cardinal, some scholars say - NY Daily News

Archbishop Thomas Wenski among nominees for Catholic leadership role - Breaking News - MiamiHerald.com

 

Howard Cohen

hcohen@MiamiHerald.com

Archbishop Thomas Wenski of the Archdiocese of Miami is on the shortlist for nomination to the presidency of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The position would make Wenski the face and the voice of the Catholic Church in the United States.

But first, Wenski has to get the nod over nine other religious leaders during an election process to be held at the bishops’ annual fall General Assembly Nov. 11-14 in Baltimore.

The position currently is held by Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York.

Presidents and vice presidents serve for a period of three years.

Wenski faces competition from other church leaders in regions including New Orleans, Washington, Los Angeles, Detroit and Cincinnati.

Archbishop Thomas Wenski among nominees for Catholic leadership role - Breaking News - MiamiHerald.com

St. James, Belvidere, Il-- Financial Reports FY 2013

 

 

Click on the photo copy to enlarge:

From the first document thje following information regarding the building campaign can be obtained. As of June 30, 2013 $1,583,042 [633,306 + 591,057 + 358,679] was collected:  $887,343 [165.737  + 363,168 + 358,438 ]   was expended on the project; leaving $695,699 remaining..A smaller amount actually remains inasmuch that in 2011 the majority of the $194,688 DIAL loan repayment was procurred from campaign funds.

For those not familiar with the parish, as of June 30, 2013, only the parking lot was complete. No construction has commenced on the new Rectory or the addition to the church.

Letter from Pastor of St. James: Church Addition & Rectory

 

Weekly Contributions for the weekend of November 3, 2013

 

No change in Stewardship from prior week.

No change in pledges however number of families pledging increases back to 793.

$4,500,000 appears to be the “goal”.

The above is from St. James website:  http://www.stjamesbelvidere.org/

Baltimore pastor speaks his mind in homily on same-sex marriage | National Catholic Reporter

 

Baltimore's St. Vincent de Paul church, Fr. Richard T. Lawrence read a nuanced letter from Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori at all the weekend's Masses. It concluded: "Each one of us -- as Catholics and faithful citizens -- must show up on election day and do our part by voting against Question 6," the Civil Marriage Protection Act.

"The archbishop's thoughts on this question are powerful, and will be persuasive in conscience to many" and should be read and prayed over by all, said Lawrence, who has been St. Vincent's pastor for 39 years.

He then stated his own homiletic thoughts:

I cannot tell you how any of this will come out, but I will tell you that I stand in genuine awe of all those parents, native-born, naturalized, documented and undocumented, who strive with every fiber of their being to ensure that their children have more opportunities than they had.

And I will continue to stand in genuine awe of all those couples -- straight, gay and lesbian -- whose day-to-day, year-to-year, and decade-to-decade faithfulness to each other is to me a sacrament, a believable embodied sign, of the absolute faithfulness of God to us all.

Read more:  Baltimore pastor speaks his mind in homily on same-sex marriage | National Catholic Reporter

Vatican's asset manager submits to outside audit | National Catholic Reporter

 

move by the Administration of the Patrimony of the Holy See (APSA), an office of the Vatican's central bureaucracy, may represent the first such outside audit of the Vatican's coffers.

The office is charged with overseeing the Vatican's property, providing cash flow to its bureaucracy, and managing the city-state's overall financial portfolio.

Announcement of the financial review came in a statement Tuesday from the office's president, Cardinal Domenico Calcagno. The statement said the review, headed by the global consulting firm Promontory Financial Group, will "allow for greater depth and detail in the verification of the financial condition and management" of the office.

Read the entire article:  Vatican's asset manager submits to outside audit | National Catholic Reporter

Weekly Contributions for the weekend of October 27, 2013

 

 

No change in Stewardship.

Number of families pledging decreased by one.  Total pledges decreased by $900.