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The Catholic response to the clerical abuse crisis has not been Catholic enough. It has not been Catholic enough because it has failed to draw upon the Church’s own sacred traditions of reform and renewal, as embodied by figures like St. Peter Damian. For too long, the language of bureaucrats and businessmen has been allowed to supplant that of the saints—of sackcloth and ashes, of bell, book, and candle. And while recent expressions of shame and sorrow are good, they are not substitutes for righteous anger and mortification.
Status of the St. Peter Damian Society
In the autumn of 2018, revelations of sexual abuse by the now-former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick galvanized a small group of lay Catholics to form the Saint Peter Damian Society. The Society was founded to call for the repentance of Church leaders, to propose reforms aimed at combating clerical sex abuse, and to encourage prayer by the laity, especially through devotion to St. Peter Damian.
On Fr. Rupnik
In December of last year, allegations against Fr. Marko Rupnik, a famous Jesuit priest and artist, came to light. Fr. Rupnik is accused of committing abuse, including sexual abuse, against women in the Loyola Community, a Slovenian religious community, during the 1990s. It was further alleged that in 2016, Fr. Rupnik absolved an Italian novice of a sin against chastity he had committed with her. [1]
St. Peter Damian Letter No. 95: A Commentary
In his 95th letter, St. Peter Damian is addressing Desiderius, the abbot of the abbey at Monte Cassino in Italy. This is, in fact, only the most recent of multiple letters that Peter has written to Desiderius, and the abbott has not answered any of them.
Cardinal Mahony: unprofitable servant
Roger Cardinal Mahony, Archbishop emeritus of Los Angeles, has announced a new photographic portrait of himself and offered to send a signed copy to any priest in the archdiocese who requests one. One wonders why anyone would want a signed photograph of a man who is universally acknowledged to have covered up clerical sex abuse on multiple occasions, but His Eminence appears to believe that there is a demand for this memento:
Franciscan University of Steubenville, the Third Order Regular of Saint Francis, and Fr. David Morrier
In March of this year, Fr. David Morrier, a Fransciscan priest and former chaplain at Franciscan University Steubenville was sentenced to probation after pleading guilty to sexual battery (i.e. rape) of a female student. As detailed in the statement provided by Morrier’s victim at the sentencing hearing, Morrier had sexually abused the unnamed young woman while conducting a “deliverance ministry.” There are several important points to take away from the victim statement and all that is currently known about the case, much of which is ably summarized in an article from the Pillar.