The Diocese of Richmond, Virginia, says it has received allegations of child sexual abuse against a retired priest, with law enforcement investigating the claims as the priest remains removed from public ministries.
The Richmond Diocese — the larger of the two in the state in front of the Diocese of Arlington — said in a July 1 press release that it had “received a recent report of alleged child sexual abuse against Father Walter Lewis.”
“The allegation reports that the abuse took place in the 1980s while Father Lewis was serving as pastor of St. Anne Catholic Church, Bristol,” the diocese said. “The allegation has been reported to law enforcement.”
Bristol is located in the extreme southwestern part of the state near the Tennessee border. Lewis served at the parish from 1983–1995.
Bishop Barry Knestout “immediately prohibited Father Lewis from any public ministry in the diocese” for the duration of the investigation, the press release said, adding that diocesan officials would not “reach any conclusions regarding this allegation until the investigation concludes.”
Bishop Barry Knestout
Lewis has denied the allegations, the diocese said. He retired from active ministry in May of this year.
The priest in 2017 pleaded guilty to a drunk driving offense, his second in less than 10 years. Pulled over after driving erratically, Lewis blew .11 on a breathalyzer test, above the legal limit of .08. He received a 12-month sentence, with all but 10 days in prison suspended. He had previously been found guilty of drunk driving in 2011.
The diocese did not immediately return a request for comment on the investigation, which was launched earlier this month.
In 2019 Knestout released a list of any diocesan priests who have “a credible and substantiated claim of sexual abuse against a minor.”
Twenty-three priests are currently on the list; Lewis has not yet been added. Three other lists include priests “alleged to have committed abuse in the present-day territory of the Catholic Diocese of Richmond” who were “later incardinated to the Catholic Diocese of Arlington” as well as priests from outside the diocese alleged to have committed abuse there and clergy who worked in the diocese but who have been accused of abuse outside of it.
— The Jesuits say a famous artist priest has been definitively expelled from the religious order for sexually, spiritually and psychologically abusing women
The Jesuits said Monday that a famous artist priest is definitively expelled from the religious order for sexually, spiritually and psychologically abusing women, and lamented they couldn’t prosecute him more vigorously under the Vatican‘s internal procedures.
The Rev. Marko Ivan Rupnik remains a Catholic priest but is no longer a Jesuit priest, after he didn’t appeal his June expulsion decree, said Rupnik’s former superior, the Rev. Johan Verschueren.
Rupnik, a Slovenian priest, is one of the most celebrated religious artists in the Catholic Church. His mosaics decorate churches and basilicas around the world, including at the Vatican.
Late last year, the Jesuits acknowledged Rupnik had been accused by several women of sexual, spiritual and psychological abuse over 30 years. He had largely escaped punishment until then, apparently in part because of his exalted status in the church and at the Vatican, where even Pope Francis’ role in the case came into question.
After conducting an investigation, the Jesuits announced in June that they determined the women’s claims to be “very highly credible.”
They said they had kicked Rupnik out of the order because of his “stubborn refusal to observe the vow of obedience.” The Jesuits had exhorted Rupnik to atone for his misconduct and enter into a process of reparation with his victims, but he refused.
“I cannot but greatly regret this insistent and stubborn inability to confront the voices of so many people who have felt hurt, offended and humiliated by his behavior and conduct toward them,” Verschueren wrote in a letter obtained Monday confirming the expulsion.
At the same time, Verschueren acknowledged criticism that Rupnik still remains a priest, who now has no religious supervision whatsoever. He said the Vatican’s current legislation precluded an investigation that could have led to a harsher penalty — the most stringent church penalty is to defrock a priest, essentially making him a regular layman again.
It was a reference to the fact that at the time of Rupnik’s alleged abuse, the Vatican didn’t usually punish sexual or other types of misconduct between priests and adult women, considering any such relations consensual. The Vatican has recently begun to recognize such misconduct as criminal, but new laws can’t be applied retroactively, and the Vatican is generally loathe to make exceptions to punish old misconduct involving adults.
Going forward, if Rupnik wants to preach and celebrate the sacraments publicly, he will have to find a friendly bishop to take him in — something that isn’t out of the question since he retains steadfast supporters.
Among them are the leaders of the Aletti Center, an ecumenical study center and mosaic art studio founded by Rupnik in the 1990s in Rome. In June, the current leader, Maria Campatelli, issued a strong defense of Rupnik, calling the allegations against him “defamatory and unproven.” In an open letter, she said the claims amounted to a form of media “lynching” against the priest and his art center.
She added that Rupnik had himself asked to leave the Jesuits in January and that other Jesuit priests at the Aletti center made similar requests because of their “overriding distrust of superiors.” Verscheueren confirmed Rupnik requested to leave but said that was denied because the Jesuits wanted him to make amends with his victims.
On Monday, Verscheueren said the order would distance itself legally from the Aletti Center, which no longer has a Jesuit community in residence. The Jesuits inaugurated the center in 1993 and are linked to it canonically as a public association of the faithful. Verscheureren said the Jesuits plan to exit the association and terminate the partnership.
Francis’ role in the case came into question after the Jesuits acknowledged that Rupnik had been briefly declared excommunicated in 2020 for having committed one of the most serious crimes in the Catholic Church — using the confessional to absolve a woman with whom he had engaged in sexual activity. The excommunication was lifted two weeks after it was declared, raising the question of whether Francis had intervened on behalf of his fellow Jesuit.
In a January interview with The Associated Press, Francis denied he had intervened other than procedurally, to keep new allegations against Rupnik in the same tribunal as older ones. At the same time, Francis seemed to know far more about the outcome than the Jesuits had revealed, saying also that Rupnik had paid compensation to the woman.
I must know at least 1,000 nuns. (Though they are actually called “women religious” or “sisters.”) They taught me. I studied with them. We lived in the seminary with them. I’ve said Mass for several women congregations. We ministered together. I attended retreats given by them. They have been spiritual directors. I’ve written about them.
Yet, not once have I said to myself, “This nun is a lesbian.” And I think it’s because of my respect and reverence for them.
After reading two ground-breaking books about lesbian nuns, though, I think it’s the opposite. I had internalized the historic shame for same-sex feelings. Or, it simply does not matter.
The recently released “Love Tenderly” tells the story of 23 sisters coming to grips with their sexual orientation in the context of religious life. The contemporary work reflects a different milieu than the first ground-breaking, sensational “Lesbian Nuns: Breaking Silence,” published in 1985, which told 47 nuns’ stories. Jarring, it became an international hit because the words “lesbian” and “nun” had never been uttered in the same sentence in such a public way before. It also gave the curious a peek behind the convent walls that was not always flattering.
“Love Tenderly” oozes with tolerance and sensitivity, not only by the sisters telling their sometimes painful coming-out stories, but also of more accepting religious leadership in their communities.
Religious life in the U.S. has changed dramatically over the last 36 years.
“Lesbian Nuns: Breaking Silence” was originally published in 1985 and re-issued in 2013.
Years ago, young women entering Catholic orders were warned about “particular friendships,” which could be code for lesbians, and reminded to be friends with all sisters. But many women did bond and some crossed the line into sexual intimacy. When discovered, some were asked to leave the community or go for counseling or they were shamed.
Sister Kathleen Tuite — at 56, one of the youngest in the Dominican Sisters’ Caldwell order — is a product of the new formation. Entering the order at 25, she did her novitiate — or first period of formation — at a collaborative Dominican center in St. Louis with 10 other Dominican novices from all over the country. Unlike the closed environment in Caldwell, her novitiate was more expansive and open, exposing her to newer currents among young religious aspirants. A Dominican sister suggested I speak with her because she has her finger on the pulse of contemporary religious life.
“It was a wonderful experience with people on the same journey,” said Tuite, who later taught at St. Dominic Academy in Jersey City.
Throughout the next two decades, she also attended programs as part of Giving Voice, a program for anywhere between 50 and 80 young sisters, also from all over the country, so they would have support and encouragement to persevere in religious life. They also embodied a new understanding of church “where all God’s people live in pure love, social justice and truth,” she said.
These kinds of insights, she said, enabled sisters identifying as same-sex to remain in religious life, embracing the vow of celibacy with dignity and not shame.
The two anthologies recount the stories of young women who felt their call to enter the convent as sacred. Some described their feelings of attraction to girls since they were young, but not one said she entered because she wanted to fall in love with another nun. Though many described how their coming out was made safe in the confines of the convent in the company of other women, most felt lonely at first until they could confide in other sisters. Many stayed, some left and some returned.
“Sister Petra,” a pseudonym for a former congregational leader locally told me that “sex was never ever discussed” when she entered the convent. The main emphasis was “how to live a celibate life with women.”
She did become aware of “some people who did identify as lesbian and chose to leave.” It was not the lifestyle for them but “it was a safe space for exploration.”
She views the issue of same-sex relations as one of justice and adds that “inclusivity is always an issue” — not only in the matter of treating gays with dignity. Most religious communities of women have advocated for any people being treated unjustly in the church, especially women.
“Women are exiting the church like crazy and it has to come to grips with this exodus,” she said.
Tuite is now the vice president of Student Life at Caldwell University, owned by her religious order.
“My life is around women who have donated their lives as I have grown stronger in my religious life and allowed to develop the gifts I had,” she said.
She could see openly gay and transgender women disposed toward living celibate lives accepted in most religious orders today.
“Sister Petra” agreed, adding “if you have a vocation and feel called to serve.”
Religious communities of women continue to break new ground and lead the church by example.
You may have heard that the Catholic Church is holding a worldwide Synod on Synodality, aimed at getting everybody together to talk about church. The object of all the gatherings — all the talking and praying — is for folks to understand the church’s mission. That is, to think about how to spread the Gospel in the most effective manner for their cultures.
The process began in October 2021 at the local level, with dioceses and groups eventually sending reports to Rome. Then, Rome sent a “Document for the Continental Stage” to seven continental assemblies (Africa and Madagascar; Asia; Europe; Latin America and the Caribbean; Oceania; the Middle East; and North America) and synthesized their responses.
In June, the Synod Office published what is called the “Instrumentum Laboris,” or working document for the meeting to be held in the massive Paul VI Audience Hall in Vatican City in October. Soon after, the list of nearly 450 synod participants appeared, some 364 of which are voting members; others are experts or facilitators.
In addition to Pope Francis, among voters and non-voters alike there will be some 273 bishops, 67 priests, 37 non-ordained men and women religious, 70 other lay men and women, and one deacon, Belgian Deacon Geert de Cubber.
You would not know from the list that de Cubber is, in fact, an ordained deacon. He is listed as “Mr.” not “Rev. Mr.” or “Dcn.,” as is the general custom. There are a few other mistakes. San Diego Cardinal Robert McElroy’s name is spelled incorrectly. Two priests, the Rev. Eloy Bueno de la Fuente (Spain) and the Rev. Eamonn Conway (Ireland) are not noted as such. There may be a few other minor errors here and there. There may even be another deacon or two, but most probably not.
There were several deacons in the various synod processes, from parish and diocesan efforts to the national and continental levels, but that there is only one deacon in the entire assembly speaks volumes. After all, carrying the Gospel is a major diaconal task both literally and figuratively.
During Mass, the deacon carries the Gospel book and proclaims the Gospel reading and often preaches. Deacons, too, are most often connected with the church’s charity and social services.
Diaconal ministries are notably undertaken by women, and in 2016 the International Union of Superiors General, the organization of the heads of women’s religious institutes, asked Francis to examine restoring the abandoned tradition of ordaining women as deacons.
Two pontifical commissions prepared private reports for Francis on that question.
Now, according to the Instrumentum Laboris, “Most of the Continental Assemblies and the syntheses of several Episcopal Conferences call for the question of women’s inclusion in the diaconate to be considered.”
About this, it asks, “Is it possible to envisage this, and in what way?”
Many if not most Catholics think ordination is called for. But that battle has been going on for a long time.
The International Theological Commission, which advises the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, prepared reports on women deacons in 1997 and in 2002. The first reportedly determined there was no doctrine against ordaining women as deacons, but it never appeared: The prefect at the time, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI), refused to sign it.
The second report, while it attempted to shut down the discussion with uncited passages from a book by Munich professor, Father Gerhard L. Müller, concluded that ordaining women as deacons was a question for the church’s “ministry of discernment.” Müller followed Ratzinger as CDF prefect.
Discernment is a big word in synodality. But who is discerning what for whom? The people of God agree that the mission of the church is to carry the Gospel to the world. That task is the principal duty of the deacon. And the people of God seem to think ordaining women once again for that task is a good idea.
— How Far The Pope Will Go Toward A More Inclusive Catholic Church
Solemn Holy Mass during the Days of Goodwill People in Velehrad, Czech Republic.
Two synods by the Catholic Church, to be held in Rome in late 2023 and 2024, are to debate possible and even radical changes to the Church’s practices and rules in line with the Argentine pope’s vision of a social and inclusive Church.
By Sergio Rubin
Pope Francis wants to press ahead this year with some of the bold reforms he envisages for the Catholic Church. Ample debate is already taking place on issues and likely to be aired in two synods to be held in Rome.
These include the rule of priest celibacy, allowing married men of proven faith to become priests in parishes with an acute shortage of vocations, women as deacons (the level below priesthood), full recognition of remarriage for divorced Catholics, a place for homosexuals in the Church and greater care and attention to the poor and socially excluded.
The Church wants to hold a synod (or clerical assembly) in two phases — in October 2023 and October 2024 — so it began organizing in 2021 a broad-based consultation among its clergy and flock worldwide, to promote internal dialogue “in the light of faith.”
In what is itself a “synodal process,” Catholics are being asked their views on a range of issues including thorny ones, and while this vast exercise will yield no resolutions, it will act as a reflector of the Christian mood on matters and act as a useful pointer ahead of the first synod.
Walking together
The Pope wants the Church to be more open to dialogue. In theological terms: it should be able to discern reality under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Etymologically, a synod is a confluence or “walking together,” which means that the first synod set for October will include among its 400 participants bishops and priests, but also laymen and laywomen. The latter are to constitute a quarter of all participants and for the first time, 56 laywomen will be voting at a synod. This is radical, prompting some observers to term the synod a “mini council.”
The coming synod will effectively consider the Church’s own broader “synodality” or the same spirit of “fraternal collaboration and discernment” associated with such gatherings. The initiative is important, not just for the level of participation it has already fomented across the Church, but for consolidating “the identity of God’s people opening itself to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit speaking in our communities, in the cries of the poor and the earth’s lament,” says Jorge Lozano, the archbishop of San Juan de Cuyo in Argentina. Monsignor Lozano has been an active contributor to preliminary consultations at the regional level.
He says “some progress” has already been made on issues like allowing married men to become priests or women as deacons.
Pope Francis attends a vigil prayer on the eve of the XIV General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops at St Peter’s basilica on October 3, 2015 at the Vatican.
Addressing thorny issues
María Lía Zervino, president of the WUCWO (the World Union of Catholic Women’s Organizations) and one of the first three female members of the Dicastery for Bishops (the Vatican body that picks bishops) believes the synod is “of the utmost importance” because “only when we walk together, which we rarely do, can we preach the Good News credibly.” The synod, she says, was an opportunity to “find a new way of facing the Gospel and to apply the Vatican II Council in greater depth.” She is referring to the Church’s 20th century reforms.
Such issues should not monopolize the entire synod.
Zervino says controversial issues that had emerged in preliminary consultations were included in a working document “for consideration and treatment using the methodology of conversing in The Spirit.” But such issues should not, she says, monopolize the entire synod, nor should women’s active role in the Church be reduced to their ordination as deaconesses. Letting 56 women vote, she adds, “is an act of justice, not a feminist demand.”
Matias Taricco, an Argentine priest and theologian, sees the coming synod as a “new path for the entire Church” and undoubtedly a chance to confirm the direction Pope Francis wants it to take. He hopes the synod will address “all the thorny questions.”
Avoid bitterness
Theologian Marcela Mazzini also calls the synod a landmark as “it is dealing with nothing less than the Church adopting a new way of being.”
A more incisive presence and participation by women in the Church.
She is confident there will be advances on the contested issues, though cannot say which exactly, and how much. She doubted it would immediately pave the way for deaconesses in the Catholic Church, but “certainly it will address a more incisive presence and participation by women in the Church, not just in conversions but also in places where decisions are taken.”
To avoid any bitterness, Pope Francis has said the synod is no “congress or parliament, but the Church walking together to read reality with the eyes of faith and with God’s heart.”
