Poznan, Poland, Sep 18, 2018 / 06:00 pm (CNA).- Increasing the role of women in screening and training priests is among the steps that should be taken to prevent future sex abuse, said Cardinal Marc Ouellet, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops.
“We would need participation of more women in (training) of priests,” the Canadian cardinal told AFP reporters at a recent meeting of the Presidents of the Bishops’ Conferences of Europe, a four-day assembly in Poznan, Poland.
He said bishops need to be chosen more carefully and that women should have more involvement in the selection of potential priests by assessing candidates’ suitability.
“We are facing a crisis in the life of the Church,” he said. “This is a very serious matter that has to be dealt with in a spiritual way, not only in a political way.”
Ouellet’s comments come amid a string of revelations regarding allegations of sexual abuse and cover-up by clergy in several regions of the world.
In late July, Pope Francis accepted the resignation of retired Washington, D.C. Archbishop Theodore McCarrick from the College of Cardinals, and suspended him from the exercise of any public ministry, amid allegations of sexual abuse and coercion.
Last month, a Pennsylvania grand jury report found more than 1,000 allegations of abuse at the hands of some 300 clergy members in six dioceses in the state. It also found a pattern of cover-up by senior Church officials.
Recent reports of clerical abuse and cover-up have also rocked Germany, the Netherlands, Chile, and Australia in recent months.
If you value the news and views Catholic World Report provides, please consider donating to support our efforts. Your contribution will help us continue to make CWR available to all readers worldwide for free, without a subscription. Thank you for your generosity!
Click here for more information on donating to CWR. Click here to sign up for our newsletter.
St. Januarius and the miracle of the liquefaction of his blood contained in a relic. / Credit: Louis Finson, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; Photo2023, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Madrid, Spain, Dec 18, 2024 / 17:30 pm (CNA).
The fai… […]
An archaeological guide provided historical information and answered questions during a visit to the catacombs by delegates of the Synod on Synodality. Early Christians gathered within the catacombs for funeral rites and to honor the martyrs. Ro… […]
The newly ordained Bishop Frederik Hansen is presented to the congregation at St. Olav’s Cathedral in Oslo, Norway, on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2024. / Credit: Diocese of Oslo / Katolsk.no / EWTN
Oslo, Norway, Jan 18, 2025 / 09:45 am (CNA).
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State, ordained a Norwegian prelate as the new Bishop of Oslo at St. Olav’s Cathedral on Saturday.
Frederik Hansen, who selected “Lex tua veritas” — Your law is truth — as his episcopal motto, succeeds Bishop Bernt Ivar Eidsvig CRSA in leading the increasingly diverse Catholic community within predominantly Lutheran Norway. The 45-year-old served in the Vatican’s diplomatic service under Parolin until 2022.
‘The first duty of a bishop’
In his sermon on Jan. 18, Parolin thanked Bishop Eidsvig, who had led the diocese for almost 20 years with his “generous service.”
The cardinal emphasized that “unceasing prayer and invocation of the Holy Spirit” constitute “the first duty of a bishop.”
“We cannot fully comprehend the enormity of His transforming power, but we can experience it in some measure if, like the Apostles, we remain open and docile to His action,” Parolin said.
Prelates from across Northern Europe attended the ordination, including bishops from all Nordic countries, Germany, and the United Kingdom. EWTN streamed the ordination in several languages, including German and Polish.
Bishop-designate Frederik Hansen (center) before his episcopal ordination as bishop of Oslo on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2024. Credit: Rudolf Gehrig / EWTN News
From diplomat to diocesan leader
Born to Lutheran parents in Drammen, Norway, in 1979, Hansen converted to Catholicism at age 20 and was ordained a priest almost eight years later by then-Bishop Eidsvig.
The prelate’s path to the priesthood led him through studies in Rome and work in the diplomatic service of the Holy See before joining the Sulpician order in 2022.
Pope Francis appointed him as coadjutor and eventual successor to Bishop Eidsvig last year.
In an interview with the National Catholic Register in November, Hansen said: “The international reality of the Catholic Church is mirrored in the Catholic Church in Scandinavia, which is very multicultural and multilingual. Our cathedral parish in Oslo, for example, has Sunday Masses in 11 languages.”
“We are the world Church on a local level,” he explained, referencing the large groups of Polish, Lithuanian, Filipino, Vietnamese, African and Latin American Catholics in the Nordic dioceses.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin ordains Msgr. Frederik Hansen as bishop of Oslo at St. Olav’s Cathedral on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2024. Credit: Diocese of Oslo/Katolsk.no/EWTN
A multicultural Church
Speaking about the Church in Norway, Parolin emphasized how Catholics from more than 150 countries have enriched the local church community.
“This diversity is both a challenge and a gift from God,” he said, noting how different cultural traditions contribute to creating “a unique and singular Church.”
The cardinal praised the Church in Scandinavia‘s commitment to charitable works and evangelization, particularly highlighting their welcome of refugees and immigrants. He also commended the “fraternal love” demonstrated in ecumenical cooperation with Lutheran Christians.
Before the ordination, Parolin met with Norway’s King Harald V and Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide.
“These were very cordial meetings,” the cardinal told EWTN News, reported CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner. Parolin emphasized the importance of strengthening relationships with civil authorities.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin speaks to EWTN News in Oslo, Norway, on Jan. 17, 2025. Fabio Gonella / EWTN News
Pilgrims of hope
Looking toward the future, Parolin highlighted the significance of the jubilee year 2025, calling it an opportunity for “returning to the heart of Jesus.”
He encouraged the faithful to become “pilgrims of hope,” praying especially for regions affected by conflict, mentioning Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, Myanmar, and Sudan.
He seems to be assuming that women are without sin, too. Women can and are often also predators. And this problem obviously isn’t just to the Church, even though that’s the long-standing association in secular minds. This abuse happens EVERYWHERE when there is someone in a position of power and someone in a position of learning and submission. Teachers, coaches, pastors.
The big problem that I see is that because the Church is so vast and the problem has been covered up so much for so long then it’s never going to stop until something fundamental is changed in the law of the Church itself. I’m not saying that priests should be allowed to marry or something like that, where would they find the time, but I am saying that there must be some type of more rigorous screening that can be done to find these predators before they are put in a position of power over a child or vulnerable person. Background checks do NOTHING since these crimes often go unreported.
Anyone other than the vetters of the last five decades…women, state troopers, retired fbi and cia, retired lawyers…all could do better than the past wisemen. I was rejected for jury duty in four Federal cases by defense lawyers because I made a citizen’s arrest. That was some trial. His defense lawyer accused me of strangling him….to which I retorted, “ In the words of a future Pope, ‘ I will not say a single word about that ‘ “.
Is this guy kidding? This is an open invitation for some woman either to scoop up a seminarian as a play thing, or make an unfounded accusation. Its interesting how the vatican manages to promote to it’s highest levels the nuttiest of nut bars in the priesthood.(This Canadian most know some German bishops, for sure.) How about, instead of promoting the politically connected, they push for promotion the priest who the people LOVE , knows his theology and has a good heart?
He seems to be assuming that women are without sin, too. Women can and are often also predators. And this problem obviously isn’t just to the Church, even though that’s the long-standing association in secular minds. This abuse happens EVERYWHERE when there is someone in a position of power and someone in a position of learning and submission. Teachers, coaches, pastors.
The big problem that I see is that because the Church is so vast and the problem has been covered up so much for so long then it’s never going to stop until something fundamental is changed in the law of the Church itself. I’m not saying that priests should be allowed to marry or something like that, where would they find the time, but I am saying that there must be some type of more rigorous screening that can be done to find these predators before they are put in a position of power over a child or vulnerable person. Background checks do NOTHING since these crimes often go unreported.
Anyone other than the vetters of the last five decades…women, state troopers, retired fbi and cia, retired lawyers…all could do better than the past wisemen. I was rejected for jury duty in four Federal cases by defense lawyers because I made a citizen’s arrest. That was some trial. His defense lawyer accused me of strangling him….to which I retorted, “ In the words of a future Pope, ‘ I will not say a single word about that ‘ “.
“women, state troopers, retired fbi and cia, retired lawyers…all could do better than the past wisemen.”
That’s not exactly saying much – a brain-damaged gopher could do better, judging by what we’ve read.
It hurts me that the innocent – good priests, good bishops – are having their reputations tarnished by this.
The abuse scandal within the church is predominately a male on male abuse, so Cardinal Marc Ouellet comments just confuses the issue.
Is this guy kidding? This is an open invitation for some woman either to scoop up a seminarian as a play thing, or make an unfounded accusation. Its interesting how the vatican manages to promote to it’s highest levels the nuttiest of nut bars in the priesthood.(This Canadian most know some German bishops, for sure.) How about, instead of promoting the politically connected, they push for promotion the priest who the people LOVE , knows his theology and has a good heart?