The Archbishop of Glasgow has spoken of the Scottish Catholic Church’s ‘pain and shame’ after release of McLellan Commission report
Archbishop Philip Tartaglia
Archbishop Philip Tartaglia has offered a “profound” apology to victims of “criminal and sinful” abuse within the Catholic Church in Scotland.
The Archbishop of Glasgow, who is the president of the Bishops’ Conference for Scotland, also said the Church is “pained and shamed” by incidents of abuse that have taken place within it.
Archbishop Tartaglia was speaking at St Andrew’s Cathedral, in Glasgow, earlier today.
The apology comes after the McLellan Commission delivered its report on all aspects of safeguarding policy, procedure and practice within the Catholic Church in Scotland.
The commission, led by Dr Andrew McLellan, made eight key recommendations, including making “support for the survivors of abuse… an absolute priority for the Catholic Church in Scotland”.
The McLellan Commission was created in 2014 to investigate how the Scottish Church handled abuse cases
The Very Rev Andrew McLellan has led the inquiry into the Church’s handling of abuse cases in Scotland
Justice must be done – and seen to be done – for those who have survived abuse within the Scottish Church, an independent report has said.
The McLellan Commission, which published the report today, was established in 2014 with a remit to undertake a critical review of all aspects of safeguarding policy, procedure and practice within the Catholic Church in Scotland.
Dr Andrew McLellan, chairman of The McLellan Commission, has made eight key recommendations to Scotland’s Catholic bishops to help improve the current standards of safeguarding within the Church.
Dr McLellan told a press conference that “the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland should make a public apology to all survivors of abuse within the Church” and that the apology must be made in a way that is “unmistakeable and unequivocal”.
“The bishops have said from the outset that they will accept our recommendations,” he said.
“That means that three things will happen. First, and most important, a beginning will be made to heal the hurt and address the anger which so many survivors feel. Second, the Catholic Church in Scotland will begin to confront a dark part of its past and find some healing for itself. Third, a significant step will be taken in restoring public credibility for the Catholic Church.”
Dr McLellan added that the report gives the Catholic Church “an unrepeatable chance to make things better”.
The McLellan Commission report has recommended that “support for survivors of abuse must be an absolute priority for the Catholic Church in Scotland in the field of safeguarding” and that the policy and practice manual, Awareness and Safety in our Catholic Communities, should be “completely revised or rewritten”.
“Justice must be done, and justice must be seen to be done, for those who have been abused”, the report said, and it also specified that justice must be done for those against whom allegations of abuse are made.
There must be external scrutiny and independence in the safeguarding policies and practices of the Church, the report said, and “effectiveness and improvement must be measured at every level of safeguarding in the Church”.
The McLellan Commission report said that a “consistent approach to safeguarding is essential: consistent across different parts of Scotland and consistent across different parts of the Church”.
The report also recommended that “the priority of undertaking regular high-quality training and continuous professional development in safeguarding must be understood and accepted by all those involved in safeguarding at every level”.
A further recommendation was that “the Church must set out a theology of safeguarding which is coherent and compelling”.
Dr McLellan said that there was a “unanimous agreement” among members of the commission about its recommendations.
“Nothing in our independent report is more important than our first recommendation: that support for the survivors of abuse must be an absolute priority for the Catholic Church in Scotland,” he said.
“This is the greatest challenge facing the whole Catholic Church in Scotland. Change will come when the whole membership of the Church own this desire for change and embrace the agenda set out in our report. If the Catholic Church in Scotland grabs this opportunity, then the Church will be a safer place for all.”
Each of the eight key recommendations is followed by a number of subsidiary recommendations.
“The report has recommendations which can be measured. One year from now, or three years from now, the Catholic Church will be able to demonstrate how much progress has been made against our recommendations,” Dr McLellan added.
To fulfil its remit, the commission assessed existing safeguarding arrangements and met with survivors of abuse within the Church. The commission also assessed the quality of support available to survivors.
Archbishop Philip Tartaglia, the president of the Bishops’ Conference for Scotland, will respond to the commission’s finding at a Mass in Glasgow later today.
The Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph is apologizing to victims of priest sexual abuse and inviting them to a series of prayer and healing services that starts Wednesday.
The move drew mixed reviews from those abused by clergy, some saying it was too little, too late.
Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann
In 2008, they noted, then-Bishop Robert Finn issued a public apology to victims as part of a $10 million settlement. But last year, they said, when victims asked for a similar apology to be part of a $9.95 million settlement in another case, the diocese refused.
Last week, the diocese sent letters from Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann and placed ads in local media to let those “directly or indirectly affected by any form of sexual abuse” know they were welcome to attend the services. Naumann, of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, has been the Kansas City-St. Joseph Diocese’s apostolic administrator since Finn resigned in April.
The first service, to be led by Naumann, is at 7 p.m. Wednesday at St. Thomas More Catholic Church, 11822 Holmes Road. Several other services will follow over the next 10 months at parishes in the diocese, leading up to a lamentation service on June 26, 2016, at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.
The HOPE services — Healing Our Parishes through Empathy — are being held in connection with the Jubilee Year of Mercy, announced by Pope Francis in April. In a document proclaiming the jubilee, the pontiff said the church’s “very credibility is seen in how she shows merciful and compassionate love.”
Rebecca Randles, who has represented dozens of plaintiffs in lawsuits alleging sexual abuse by priests, said the actions appeared to be “a positive move on their part.”
“Some of my clients see it as the first major breakthrough since before the cases began,” she said. “Others are much more cynical about it.”
Randles described Naumann’s letter as “very kind.”
“All of these survivors are Catholics,” she said. “And so having the head of their church reach out to them in a pastoral manner is wonderfully healing, and it should have happened a long time ago.”
She added, however, that “the proof is in the pudding.”
“What are they going to do to actually make sure that children are safe?”
Diocesan spokesman Jack Smith said Naumann sent the letters to dozens of plaintiffs in the sexual abuse lawsuits that resulted in the multimillion-dollar settlements in 2008 and 2014.
In his letter, Naumann apologized to the victims.
“I am so sorry for what happened to you, and I realize that no words are likely to heal your wounds,” Naumann wrote. “As a small step towards reconciliation, I apologize on behalf of all the priests of this Diocese and all the members of our Catholic Church for the terrible hurt you have suffered at the hands of someone entrusted with your spiritual care. I truly regret how deeply this has impacted your life and the lives of your family members and friends, as well as your relationship with the Church.”
Naumann thanked the victims “for having the courage to come forward and share your story.”
“Your actions have led to permanent changes in the way that our Diocese handles matters related to abuse,” he said, adding that the diocese was working hard to prevent sexual abuse by screening, educating and supervising all priests and others who have contact with children and youth.
“We immediately report every credible allegation of abuse to law enforcement authorities and remove any person credibly accused from public ministry,” he said.
Naumann said the diocese offered counseling and other resources to sexual abuse victims and provided contact information for those who wanted assistance. He said an independent counselor would be available during and after each HOPE session, along with staff from the diocese’s Office of Child and Youth Protection.
Some sexual abuse survivors had strong opinions of the letter and the effort.
“This apology is an admission,” said Michael Sandridge, one of the 32 plaintiffs involved in the 2014 settlement. “After they put everybody through hell, their attorneys asked the most degrading deposition questions, and they knew they were wrong — now, I’m not a liar. All of us, we’re not liars.”
Sandridge said that while he was happy with the apology, “it’s not enough.”
“It’s a bit too late,” he said. “They say, ‘Oh, yeah, we’re sorry, after we’ve damaged you.’ And then, ‘Come for counseling.’ Would you trust their counselors?”
Sandridge said he hadn’t decided whether to attend any of the services, but “I think we should all go to one service out of curiosity.”
Sandridge said, however, that it was insensitive for the diocese to hold some of the sessions at parishes — including St. Elizabeth and Nativity — whose former priests had been known perpetrators of sexual abuse.
“Are they serious?” he said. “What are they even thinking?” Complete Article HERE!
Leaders of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee said Tuesday that they had reached a $21 million settlement with hundreds of victims of sexual abuse by clergy members, though the agreement is still subject to approval by a federal judge.
The archdiocese, which has been entangled in bankruptcy proceedings since 2011, reached the deal after years of sometimes bitter negotiations. Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki said the settlement, if approved by the court, would end the bankruptcy case.
“Today, we turn the page on a terrible part of our history and we embark on a new road lined with hope, forgiveness and love,” Archbishop Listecki said in a statement.
Mike Finnegan, a lawyer whose Minnesota law firm represents most of the victims, said the settlement amount should have been higher and criticized the archdiocese’s legal tactics. The settlement was “not a victory for survivors,” he said, but was better than the alternatives likely in bankruptcy court.
“This archdiocese has fought more aggressively than any other in the country” facing sexual abuse claims, Mr. Finnegan said.
The $21 million will be shared among 330 abuse survivors, the archdiocese said. Payment amounts will vary, with a court-appointed administrator determining how much each person receives. The settlement also calls for a $500,000 therapy fund for abuse survivors.
The sexual abuse allegations against Wisconsin clergy are among many across the country that have led to large settlements and criticism of the Catholic Church. The San Diego diocese reached a settlement of nearly $200 million with 144 people in 2007. The diocese in Wilmington, Del., settled for $77 million with 146 abuse victims in 2011.
The Milwaukee archdiocese said its agreement with the victims would be detailed in court filings later this month, and likely reviewed by a judge in November. Mr. Finnegan said he expects the settlement to be approved.
Archbishop Listecki said the possibility of exiting bankruptcy court after more than four years was a welcome development, and he offered conciliatory words for the victims in his statement.
“This settlement represents for us in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee a new Pentecost, a day of rebirth that renews our focus on word, worship and service,” the archbishop said. “We do so remembering those who have been harmed; keeping them in our prayers; supporting them through therapy and healing; promising never to forget the evil that has been done; and working diligently to ensure this never happens again.”
The former archbishop makes his first remarks since resigning in June.
Former Archbishop John Nienstedt said he remains “dumbfounded” by the allegations of personal misconduct that emerged last year during an internal church investigation of his behavior — a report that the archdiocese now is considering making public.
“It pains me deeply that my good name and reputation have been put into question by allegations that are entirely false and based wholly on rumor, hearsay, or innuendo,” said Nienstedt last week, in written responses to questions from the Star Tribune.
Commissioned by the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the probe looked into claims that Nienstedt had engaged in behavior that was inappropriate for a priest. The Star Tribune has learned that investigators collected affidavits from priests, former seminarians and a former priest alleging actions, some dating to the Detroit area in the early 1980s, that range from inappropriate touching to visiting a gay nightclub.
Nienstedt resigned June 15, after Ramsey County prosecutors filed criminal and civil charges against the archdiocese, alleging “failure to protect children.” Nienstedt said he hoped his resignation would “give the archdiocese a new beginning.”
But the existence of the investigation has become yet another dilemma for a church sharply criticized for its handling of dozens of cases of alleged sexual abuse by priests. Earlier this year it filed bankruptcy to help deal with the mounting financial toll of those cases.
Some priests and parishioners are pressing interim Archbishop Bernard Hebda to make last year’s investigation of Nienstedt public. He must balance those demands against the promise of confidentiality granted to those who participated in the investigation, as well as the possible implications — if any — it could have in the criminal case brought by Ramsey County.
Hebda has pledged to “resolve the matter in a way that is reasonable and fair.” Nienstedt said he wants the issue behind him so that his name can be cleared.
“It is frustrating, both for me and the public, that this process has gone on for so long,” Nienstedt said in his first remarks to the media since his resignation. “I was dumbfounded because the allegations were so far-fetched and utterly untrue.”
Investigation begins
The archdiocese declined to answer questions about the investigation. Last year, it hired the Greene Espel law firm in Minneapolis to look into allegations of clergy misconduct involving Nienstedt and adults. The law firm’s work ended last summer, and the chancery hired Minneapolis criminal defense attorney Peter Wold to complete the probe.
Greene Espel has publicly disputed claims by the archdiocese that Nienstedt did not intervene in the investigation.
The firm conducted interviews and collected affidavits, or sworn statements, from people who worked with or knew Nienstedt. The Star Tribune has confirmed that five Catholic priests, one former priest and a former seminarian were among those who provided affidavits.
In one affidavit, a priest in Harrison Township, Mich., reported seeing Nienstedt at a gay nightclub in Windsor, Ontario, just across the border from Detroit in the 1980s. “I recall seeing John — and there is no doubt in my mind that it was him based on my prior interactions with him — at the Happy Tap,” the Rev. Lawrence Ventline wrote in his affidavit. “He appeared to wave me off as I was coming — and I backed off because I did not want impose on him.”
Another affidavit from a Michigan priest said that Nienstedt pulled up to his car in an area frequented by gay men one December in the early 1980s and asked him if he had any “poppers,” an inhalant used by gay men to enhance sexual pleasure. When he got into Nienstedt’s car, and Nienstedt recognized him as a former student, he changed the subject, the priest told the Star Tribune.
A former seminarian at Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit, James Heathcott, also filed an affidavit. He said that Nienstedt — who was the seminary’s rector — expelled him after he refused an invitation to join Nienstedt and two other seminarians on a private weekend at a ski chalet in the late 1980s.
In addition, the Star Tribune obtained a 2014 letter sent by a former student at Sacred Heart Seminary to former auxiliary bishop Lee Piché, who oversaw the Nienstedt investigation, alleging that Nienstedt touched his buttocks after a dinner together one night between 2000 and 2002. Joseph Rangitsch said he protested and Nienstedt replied he could “make things unpleasant for you very quickly.”
Nienstedt denies claims
Nienstedt denied all the allegations, point by point and in general. He also stressed that none of the people who filed affidavits claimed that he “ever abused any minor, had a sexual relationship with any individual, or committed any crime.”
The former archbishop insisted he never set foot in a gay nightclub or visited gay cruising spots. He said he was not even in Detroit in December 1982, when the Michigan priest claims he asked for the “poppers.” He was assigned to the Vatican Secretariat of State in Rome and was not allowed to come home for the holidays.
He acknowledged he drove by the park in question somewhat regularly — by necessity.
“When I was Cardinal John Dearden’s secretary, the Cardinal’s residence where I lived was near the alleged park,” he wrote. “I had to drive through the park to get to other destinations within the city of Detroit.”
Nienstedt said Heathcott was not expelled from the seminary but left on his own after informing the seminary he did not feel called to be a priest. The ski trip, added Nienstedt, was open to seminarians and faculty — not a “private chalet.” “Anyone who wanted to go could sign up,” he said.
Nienstedt said he had no memory of meeting Rangitsch and said he was no longer rector at the seminary at the time of that alleged incident. Nienstedt’s attorney points out that Rangitsch has a criminal record in Montana, including misdemeanor convictions for sexual assault.
Nienstedt believes some of the accusations are “retribution” for his stance on social issues. As auxiliary bishop in Detroit, he ended the gay community’s use of a Catholic church for liturgies. In Minnesota, he led an unsuccessful campaign to amend the Minnesota Constitution to ban gay marriages.
“Certain groups in Detroit began spreading untrue rumors about me following difficult decisions I made as the rector of the Detroit seminary and as an Auxiliary Bishop,” he said. “Some priests in Detroit also vehemently disagreed with my positions and decisions.”
Nienstedt added that he didn’t air all the evidence he has against those who made charges “because it would be a disservice to the people who cooperated with the investigation under a promise of confidentiality.”
The affidavits are among many documents and interviews compiled by investigators last year that Hebda is now reviewing.
Next steps
Meanwhile, Ramsey County still has an active investigation in its criminal prosecution of the archdiocese, which charges that the “highest level of leadership” failed to protect children from pedophile priests. St. Paul police confirmed it executed a search warrant on the archdiocese chancery in June. A court hearing in that case is set for Aug. 25.
If and when the church’s internal investigation is released, said Nienstedt, “I remain hopeful that, in the final evaluation, I will be exonerated.”
Since resigning June 15, Nienstedt has been spending time with friends and family. He said he would like to “continue in ministry in one form or another.”
The former archbishop said he’d like his legacy to be the archdiocese’s strengthened child protection protocols developed with clergy abuse victims, the hiring of excellent leadership to oversee ministerial standards, and initiatives to strengthen parishes and schools.
What the archdiocese decides to do with the investigation is being monitored by Twin Cities Catholics as well as national Catholic authorities, who say the St. Paul situation is extremely rare.
Facing scores of priest abuse claims, bankruptcy, civil and criminal charges — and the Nienstedt investigation controversy — the archdiocese is in uncharted terrain.
“I rarely say anything is unique in the Catholic Church, but this is a pretty unique situation,” said the Rev. Thomas Reese, senior analyst for National Catholic Reporter.
