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PDF versionVatican abuse summit: Web-based 'Center for Child Protection' launched
by John L Allen Jr on Feb. 09, 2012
ROME -- As the final act of a four-day Vatican summit on the sexual abuse crisis, a new internet-based “Center for Child Protection” was unveiled this afternoon in Rome, designed to educate priests, deacons, and other church personnel in fighting child abuse.
According to German Deacon Hubert Liebhardt, an educational scientist who serves as director of the new center, its aim is “to promote a culture of vigilance in Catholic environments.”
With a budget of $1.6 million over its first three years, the center will provide on-line training and certification programs in German, English, Italian and Spanish. It’s a joint project of the Jesuit-run Gregorian University in Rome, the Munich archdiocese, and the University of Ulm in Germany.
Information on the center can be found here: www.elearning-childprotection.com
The launch of the center formed the conclusion of the Feb. 6-9 Vatican summit, titled “Towards Healing and Renewal.” It brought together more than 100 bishops and religious superiors from around the world to discuss the church’s response to the clergy abuse scandals.
Liebhardt explained that the on-line curriculum will be composed of roughly 30 hours of training, with topics ranging from detecting warning signs of abuse to reporting requirements in various countries. After examinations and other forms of assessment, church personnel who complete the training will receive a certificate from the Gregorian.
Speaking at the launch this afternoon, Cardinal Reinhart Marx of Munich, who contributed part of the financing for this week’s summit, said the impetus came out of the massive sexual abuse crisis that rocked the Catholic church in Germany in 2010.
“2010 was the worst and most bitter year of my life,” Marx said.
“The realization of [the extent] of sexual abuse and the mistreatment of children in the church profoundly shocked many in the world, and it shocked me.”
Out of that experience, Marx said, he concluded that the crisis is “an opportunity for renewal,” and this center is “one part of that renewal, of the way the church has to go in the future.”
“This historical hour,” Marx said, “is practically forcing us to take attitude of simultaneous humility and action.”
In terms of what that broad renewal might look like, Marx phrased it in terms of “regaining authenticity and credibility.”
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“Appearance and reality must not be allowed to fall apart,” Marx said. “Our words and our actions must go together.”
“The center of it all is not the survival of the church, or its outward significance, or its political influence,” he said. “It’s the question of whether it fulfills its mission of showing people the way to God.”
Marx noted that the Catholic church has a reputation of being strongly pro-life, and that’s as it should be, he said. Yet the launch of the Center for Child Protection, Marx said, is a reminder that the church’s commitment to life must be comprehensive.
“It’s the whole of life that needs education, protection and love,” he said.
Marx said one thing seemed clear as a result of not only his experience in Germany, but also the discussions at this week’s symposium: “The work of dealing with the abuse crisis is far from over,” he said.
Vigilance is one thing but
Vigilance is one thing but taking responsibility for ones actions is far different. The Bishops need to take moral and ethical responsibility for their incredible choices to protect priests and not children. All this other stuff is a smoke screen. Why were the real experts, Thomas Doyle, Richard Sipe and Eugene Kennedy not invited to this discussion? it is denial, denial, denial. The RCC has proven to be masters of this art and the art of mental reservations or lies.
Bishop Geoffrey Robinson. I
Bishop Geoffrey Robinson.
I would add another individual who should have been there - Australian's Bishop Geoffrey Robinson. I agree with R. Dennis Porch, MD. Where were the real experts?
I'm waiting for the the transcripts of the major presenters at the symposium to be posted on-line. So far I have seen only Levada's opening talk.
Marie Collins is to be admired and respected for having the strength to accept the invitation to address the bishops. Be that as it may, I cannot help but think that she was exploited simply by participating. A woman addressing over 200 men? But she accepted the invitation and I give her credit for that and I would like to read or listen to her entire talk.
Most importantly, why were there not priests or brothers (or former priests or brothers) there speaking of their own abuse at a very early age as altar boys, school or minor seminary (high school) students by their priests, pastors, teachers or spiritual directors?
There appears to have been a level of detachment, of distance, perhaps degrees of separation?
I was reminded of the "Witness to the Sorrow" program that was streamed lived over the Archdiocese of Philadelphia's website in 2006 on the heels of the release of the 2005 Grand Jury Report on the AOP. It was a Public Relations piece from start to finish. The victims who spoke (or whoever spoke for a son or daughter) were not raped or sodomized by Philadelphia priests but by religious order priests. A certain degree of detachment there as well. Other victims of Philly clergy were not permitted to attend this ceremony.
Other than saying some prayers Cardinal Rigali did not use any of a number of opportunities to directly address the subject of childhood sexual abuse by priests of the AOP, the complicity of the Philly hierarchy or any of the specifics of the 2005 Grand Jury Report. To me and many others it was a very well orchestrated public relations event.
Later there was nothing substantive addressing the recommendations of the 2005 PGJR and then the 2011 PGJR was released resulting in further horrific revelations, the removal of over twenty priests from ministry and the criminal charges against Msgr. William Lynn and four others. Their trials are approaching. In fact...
"Judgment day is approaching for archdiocese's facilitators & enablers"
http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/news-and-opinion/cover-story/138884039...
Sister Maureen Paul Turlish
maturlishmdsnd@yahoo.com
www.Catholics4Change.com
www.AbolishSexAbuse.org
www.Justice4PaKids.com
Marx said one thing seemed
Marx said one thing seemed clear ...“The work of dealing with the abuse crisis is far from over,” he said.
==============================================================================
Another band-aid.
Agreed, the work is far from over. It won't be over until there are policies in place that will ensure that any bishop, any Cardinal, or any pope who protects sexual predators (that would include those like Maciel, protected by John Paul II)will have an AUTOMATIC penalty of removal from office. Deciding whether they will be entrusted with any further work a priest might depend on the findings, but they should lose their position of authority.
Of course, nothing to hold hierarchy accountable is in place.
And, as the saying goes, it will be a cold day in hell when that happens.
It will be interesting to see
It will be interesting to see if this Conference has any effect on cracking down on those Polish Bishops.
Marx said one thing seemed
Marx said one thing seemed clear ...“The work of dealing with the abuse crisis is far from over,” he said.
==============================================================================
Another band-aid.
Agreed, the work is far from over. It won't be over until there are policies in place that will ensure that any bishop, any Cardinal, or any pope who protects sexual predators (that would include those like Maciel, protected by John Paul II)will have an AUTOMATIC penalty of removal from office. Deciding whether they will be entrusted with any further work a priest might depend on the findings, but they should lose their position of authority.
Of course, nothing to hold hierarchy accountable is in place.
And, as the saying goes, it will be a cold day in hell when that happens.
MARX? MUNICH? COME ON ! If
MARX? MUNICH? COME ON ! If the pope had really established a truly independent and fully endowed research center, that would have been wonderful and miraculous news. Absent miracles, why even bother to transfer any of the Vatican's secret sex abuse archives to Germany under Reinhardt Marx's wing?
Of course, Marx was recently made Germany's youngest cardinal after he gave the pope a free pass on the pope's shameful protection of a convicted pedophile priest while he was archbishop of Munich. Marx has shown he knows how to deal favorably with abuse files!
Some have said the new center will serve mainly to get the secret archives into safe hands and out of the pope's custody and beyond prosecutors' reach, before the prosecutors subpoena them in Rome as they may soon do.
We will, of course, just have to wait until some prosecutor or victims' lawyer uncovers the real story. Vatican journalists, it seems, are seldom successful in finding out, or at least in reporting, the critical subtext of papal decisions and actions involving the sex abuse scandal.
Is this the best a four day
Is this the best a four day talkfest can come up with? How about decent compensation to the victims.
All the Church had to do otherwise is hand the sexual aggressors over to the police to be dealt up properly.
How much more education do
How much more education do they need before they are finally able to get it right.
The serious psychological
The serious psychological conflicts that lead adult men to be attracted sexually to adolescent males, the primary victims in the crisis, have not been addressed to date in post crisis, safe environment programs. These conflicts include severe narcissism manifested in the deliberate grooming of adolescent males and predatory acts.
Most of the priests who homosexually abused adolescent males also had profound weaknesses in their male confidence and were very lonely during their own adolescence during which they had few friends, a poor body image or often an emotionally distant father. A number of scientific studies have demonstrated low self-esteem in men with homosexual attractions. Unconsciously, many of the priests in the crisis were emotionally attempting to escape from their deep sadness, loneliness, and the male insecurity they had experienced as adolescents through sexual encounters with teenagers. New safe environment programs are needed that communicate to priests and religious the causes of homosexual attractions to adolescent males and the resolution of such conflicts.
http://lq.cathmed.metapress.com/content/l71785701643t152/fulltext.pdf
Reinhart Marx is Joseph
Reinhart Marx is Joseph Ratzinger's man in Germany. He is a fellow Bavarian with the same rigid and uncreative mindset of his pope. From the POV of someone who wants to see the catholic church have less influence in the world, I applaud his insincerity. I hope he gets elected to the papacy next time around.
From Gregorian University
From Gregorian University announcements I see that the new Centre for child protection is to have minimal if any participation by laypeople and certainly few parents or others who have relevant practical and personal experience.
Refer: http://elearning-childprotection.com/
This programme will draw on a related public-sponsored programme for educational and health care professionals in Germany (Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF)), but will incorporate an emphasis on the cultural and theological diversity of the Catholic Church.
So, it appears that the whole project is riding on the coat-tails of a programme of the German Federal government.
Steering Committee
Three of the four-member steering committee are clerical academics.
Scientific Advisory Board
The project is supported by a scientific advisory board consisting of five experts from different research and practice areas. One of those "scientific experts" is Msgr. Charles Scicluna, Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. I wonder what is his area of scientific expertise?
The working group
The six-person group doesn't appear to have a grey hair between them, nor do the skills or qualifications listed appear to include any relevant personal real-life experience. Yes, some of them have relevant academic qualifications, but not one appears old enough to even relate to parents and family of abused children.
There is not a single representative of the victims or their families included.
The partners
Various partners are mentioned, but no-one from any english-speaking country (UK, USA, Canada, Australia, NZ, S Africa etc) is involved.
Upcoming events
Location visitations worldwide (South America, Africa and Asia).
No mention of anywhere else in Europe, the Americas, Oceania or .....
Pardon my cynicism..... another clerical smokescreen.
I understand the Pope never
I understand the Pope never showed up at the meeting, although it was held in his own backyard. He is a world traveler. Isn't the abuse crisis worth a ride across town? Was any reason given for his absence?
Severe problems exist in
Severe problems exist in current safe environment programs in addition to the failure of dealing honestly with the John Jay College research findings. We have presented many of them in our article on accusations against priests, http://www.mercatornet.com/articles/view/abuse_allegations_true_false_an... .
These include the failure to understand the nature of “repressed memories” and false accusations that were of an epidemic nature in the Archdiocese of Los Angelos and the process of evaluating for them. Also, many false accusations have related recently to confusion in regard to what is referred to as “boundary issues” which are buzz words arising from the post-crisis programs in the Church. Boundary violations are behaviors that are viewed as being suspicious, but are not directly sexual. Priests are being increasingly accused of so-called boundary issues and of grooming minors while engaging in completely appropriate priestly ministry and behavior toward youth in Catholic schools, on playgrounds and in parish centers or rectories.
Hopefully, these serious deficiencies will be corrected in the near future.
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