The Worthy Adversary

Author: Joelle Casteix

  • When the media gets it wrong about Francis

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    Tell me what is wrong with these two excerpts from this week’s news:

    From Newsday:

    Francis, 78, a Jesuit from Argentina, is moving in a similar direction, McCartin said. He has overhauled the Vatican bureaucracy, encouraged open debate within the church, instituted a mechanism for removing bishops who covered up the priest sex-abuse scandal and adopted a simple lifestyle as pope, trying to emulate his namesake, St. Francis of Assisi. (emphasis mine)

    From the NY Times:

    Francis is not the first pope to have addressed the issue of sexual abuse of minors by members of the clergy, but he has drafted new rules giving prosecutors more leeway in the cases, allowing criminal charges to be applied to Vatican employees anywhere. He is also the first pope to take action against superiors accused of covering up for priests. (emphasis mine)

    Have you guessed? Are you stumped? Okay, okay. I’ll tell you.

    Francis hasn’t taken action against superiors who covered up for abusing priests nor has he instituted a mechanism for removing bishops.

    Allowing KC/St. Joseph Robert Finn to resign three years after a conviction for child endangerment or allowing Archbishop John Nienstedt to resign in the wake of a huge sex scandal is NOT a mechanism. Unless “allowing complicit bishops to freely resign with full rights, power, and honors—and no punishment, accountability, or shame” is a mechanism, of course.

    These men have not been publicly sanctioned. Francis has said NOTHING publicly about how these men allowed criminals to wreak havoc on the children in their dioceses. They were not forced out of their jobs. There was never a public reason given by the Vatican for accepting the resignations.

    These men are still bishops with full rights and honors. They still preside over important functions. They still command the respect of lower-ranking priests.

    And what about Cardinals Mahony and Law? They are living very posh and cushy lives and exert a huge amount of power.

    So there you have it: There has been no action and there is no mechanism.

    And it’s time for the media to stop saying that there is—or at least ask the tough questions.

    (In the case of the Vatican commission: that is a wait and see. My prediction? They will be stonewalled, just like every diocesan lay review board in the United States. But I respect the commission members deeply and will do everything I can to help)

    So, now what?

    You can write the NYTimes to ask for a retraction.

    You can write Newsday, but since the excerpt was a summary of a quote, a retraction isn’t really an option. But it’s okay to ask for clarification.

    And if you do write, be nice. Being a journalist is tough work these days.

     

     

  • My two September pieces for OC Family

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    I wrote two pieces in September’s issue of OC Family.

    CASA’s volunteers make a difference in the lives of Orange County’s foster children and

    TWO LOCAL NON-PROFITS HELP KIDS IN THE FOSTER SYSTEM

    It’s nice to write about good news for a change.

  • Discussing the Jared Fogle Scandal with KPCC’s Take Two

    former pitch man Jared Fogle
    Former pitch man—now exposed sex offender— Jared Fogle

    Click here to listen to my discussion with Alex Cohen about the Jared Fogle child pornography scandal and how to protect your children from predators.

     

  • UN committee blasts Mexico/Church collusion in sexual abuse

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    The UN Committee for the Rights of the Child recently released their “Concluding observations on the combined fourth and fifth periodic reports of Mexico.”

    Much in the June 5 report wasn’t surprising: drug cartels are recruiting and using children for violence and children have been murdered and/or have gone missing in non-state violent activities. The committee also stated that migrant children are being targeted for abuse, killings and sexual violence.

    But sections 35 and 36 of the report were striking (emphasis mine):

    35. The Committee is deeply concerned about corroborated reports that hundreds of children have been sexually abused for years by clerics of the Catholic Church and other religious faiths The Committee is particularly concerned about the general impunity which perpetrators have enjoyed so far, as recognized by the State party’s delegation, about the low number of investigations and prosecutions of the perpetrators as well as alleged complicity of state officials, as well as about the lack of complaints mechanisms, services and compensation available to children.

    36. The Committee strongly urges the State party to:

    (a) Take immediate measures to investigate and prosecute all members of the Roman Catholic clergy and other religious faiths involved in or accomplices of sexual abuse and exploitation of children, and ensure that those found guilty be provided with sanctions commensurate with the gravity of their crime;

    (b) Provide children victims of sexual abuse with all necessary services for their physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration, and adequately compensate them;

    (c) Ensure that specific measures taken to prevent sexual abuse by clerics become part of all policies related to violence against children and that empowered children learn how to protect themselves from sexual abuse and are aware of the mechanism they can refer to in case of such abuses;

    (d) Take concrete measures to raise awareness on this type of abuse in order to overcome social acceptance and taboo surrounding these crimes;

    (e) Collect disaggregated data related to cases of sexual abuse against children involving the Roman Catholic clergy and provide detailed information in its next report on the convictions and sentences pronounced.

  • Talking to Tamron Hall about the Jared Fogle scandal

    I am interviewed via phone (Skype was not cooperating). We discuss Jared Fogle’s plea in child porn/child sex trafficking (underage prostitute) charges.

    I come in at around 8:30.