EDMONTON – Trust in the Catholic Church has been broken in the wake of horrific reports of clergy sex abuse, but that trust can be restored, said Edmonton Archbishop Richard Smith. 

Pope Francis had little or no choice but to accept the resignation of Cardinal Donald Wuerl, archbishop in Washington, D.C.

WASHINGTON – The Archdiocese of Washington has voluntarily released the names of abusive priests and stated that there have been no credible claims of abuse made against archdiocesan priests in almost 20 years.

As lofty and august as the title superior general may sound, Basilian Fr. Kevin Storey has no illusions about his next four years leading 154 men who teach and preach in Basilian parishes, universities and high schools from Colombia to Canada. 

About one-third of the work at Catholic Family Services of Toronto starts with a woman who has been abused.

VATICAN  – The Catholic Church must be a place of justice and mercy, and its members must be catalysts for change, some young observers said at the Synod of Bishops Oct. 11.

VATICAN – In an unprecedented move, Pope Francis removed from the priesthood two Chilean bishops accused of sexual abuse.

WASHINGTON – In a 2016 interview marking his 10th anniversary as archbishop of Washington, Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl said he was inspired by "the faith of our people, strong faith that's manifested at every level of the life of the church."

VATICAN – Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl as archbishop of Washington. Wuerl had been facing pressure to resign after an Aug. 14 grand jury report detailing sexual abuse claims in six Pennsylvania dioceses painted a mixed picture of how he handled some of the cases when he was bishop in Pittsburgh from 1988 until 2006. 

QUEBEC CITY – The Sisters of Charity of Quebec said they were "surprised" and "troubled" by allegations that children who once stayed at the Mont d'Youville orphanage in Quebec City were sexually abused not only by lay educators but also by nuns.

VATICAN – Unless they recognize themselves as sinners rescued by Jesus, adults cannot be effective in helping young people find the path to faith and doing God's will, Cardinal Blase J. Cupich of Chicago told the Synod of Bishops.

Good riddance to confidentiality clauses. If one outcome captures the spirit of the Canadian bishops’ new document on sex abuse, that might be it. No more confidentially clauses.

Making things right

Re: New abuse guidelines focus on prevention (Oct. 3):

This is a good article, but I was hoping you could write that I genuinely feel that the bishops of Canada are really trying to make things right to protect minors. They seemed very sincere with me after my speech to them about clergy abuse. I sincerely want to give them encouragement and support.  

It is a different world than before when people kept things hidden. I don’t think the Church knew how to handle it and handled it very poorly. People want transparency and accountability. 

The bishops need the laity to work with them. We cannot undo the damage done, but we can have a positive effect in the present and the future.  

We must do everything we can to restore lost trust and faith in God through listening to abuse survivors and educating people about safeguards. If abuse is reported, be supportive.

I believe we have come a long way. We must not lose our hope and faith in God. There is hope. I really believe the bishops are trying to make things right.

Deborah Kloos,

Windsor, Ont.

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Questioning celibacy

Almost all the articles in The Register about the current sexual abuse crisis are based on repairing the problems of the past with apologies and compensation. But what about the future?

It is necessary to preserve the Church going forward. All of the goodwill and apologies will not change the future. The underlying cause(s) of the rampant sexual abuse will not disappear because the Pope says it must.  

The recruitment of new priests must change. It is imperative that mandatory celibacy be discontinued. A few years ago when a number of Anglican priests left their church over same sex-marriage, these priests were readily accepted into the Catholic Church despite being married. The world didn’t stop turning. 

And while we are at it, we must ordain women into the priesthood and be prepared to promote them to bishops and even cardinals. Why not a female pope some day? 

Patrick King,

Toronto

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Why seek answers?

Re:  We need answers (Sept. 9):

Your editorial seems to confirm your conviction that the Viganò/Francis you-said-I-said controversy needs an answer. My question is why? Why do we need answers that will do nothing but deepen the conservative-liberal divide?

What percentage of the 1.2 billion Catholics are really interested in the Viganò/Francis controversy? And what percentage are even aware of it? 

Although we must do everything to deracinate the evil that has seeped into the Church, we should be careful that in doing so we do not exacerbate the present divide.

J.E. Sequeira,

Pointe Claire, Que.

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An important book

Re: Book’s journey takes some tedious turns (Sept. 16):

Joe Gunn has produced an important work. I disagree with the person reviewing it in The Catholic Register, that it is very exclusive. I do believe that it is an eye-opener for joining the activism necessary to take on some of the major problems of today’s world, and nothing is more important than climate change.

It is an important book for many people who are active or want to be active in the world that Joe Gunn knows so well.

Virginia Edman,

Toronto

Hayden Straczala had just finished a fruitful year in parish internship when news broke of a Pennsylvania report that identified 1,000 victims who were sexually abused by Catholic priests. As more stories began to come out in Chile, Germany and other parts of the world, it weighed heavily on him as he returned to his academic studies in St. Augustine’s Seminary in Toronto. 

VATICAN – Young Catholics, particularly clerics, need better formation on sexuality, affectivity, and the body, Canada's Cardinal Gérald Lacroix told reporters Tuesday, speaking about the 2018 Synod of Bishops.