Priests support Nuns Group

 

 

The Association of U.S. Catholic Priests has written to Pope Francis to express “sadness and dismay” at the release of comments by a Vatican official regarding the Leadership Conference of Women Religious.

The letter was sent June 2 to Pope Francis, and signed by the AUSCP president, Father David Cooper of Milwaukee, and also by the AUSCP board members.

In their letter to the pope, the priests noted that the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith published on April 30 the “introductory observations” of Cardinal Gerhard Muller, but did not release “any aspects of the subsequent discussion.”

Those discussions were characterized by LCWR as “honest, respectful, and engaging” during which the LCWR leadership was able to “offer responses that illuminated some of the perceptions about the LCWR held by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith,” the priests said.

“Because the Cardinal Prefect’s remarks were self-confessedly blunt, their release without any reference to LCWR’s views or any inclusion of the subsequent dialogue seems to us to have been a disservice to the process,” said Cooper and the AUSCP board members.

Citing published reports, the priests pointed out that the cardinal’s remarks “served as a public ‘rebuke’ of the LCWR” and a “chastising” of the leadership of women’s religious. The priests termed the cardinal’s words as “premature, one-sided public comment” and said that “A joint concluding statement after the discussions would have been more appropriate.”

Read the entire article by clicking on the following:  http://interact.stltoday.com/pr/local-news/PR061214071917442

St. James Sesquicentennial

 

Weekly Contribution for the weekend of June 8, 2014

 

Total Parish Pledges decrease by $3,000.

Weekly Contribution for the weekend of June 1, 2014

 

Total Parish Pledges decrease by $3,190.

Federal appeals judges question Milwaukee archdiocese's claims about cemetery trust fund

 

Federal appeals court judges on Monday questioned the bankrupt Archdiocese of Milwaukee's claim that it needs all the money in a $55 million trust fund to maintain its cemeteries and asked whether some could be used to compensate victims of clergy sexual abuse without violating the Catholic faith.

The three judges grilled attorneys in a dispute over a cemetery trust fund created by New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan when he was archbishop of Milwaukee. A federal judge in Milwaukee previously ruled the money was off-limits to the hundreds of sexual abuse victims who have filed claims against the archdiocese in bankruptcy court.

The lawsuit has potentially far-reaching consequences because many Catholic dioceses hold money in trust. A victory for victims in Milwaukee could pave the way for others elsewhere.

….The appeals court's decision in this case will affect about 85 other victims who also filed bankruptcy claims after signing settlements. It could be weeks or months before the judges issue opinions in the two cases.

Click on the following to read all of the story: Federal appeals judges question Milwaukee archdiocese's claims about cemetery trust fund