Florida dioceses show support for investigation of abuse at institutions statewide

October 5, 2018 CNA Daily News News Briefs 0 Print

Tallahassee, Fla., Oct 5, 2018 / 01:08 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi launched a tip site Thursday for people to report allegations of past child sex abuse in Florida.

“We’re not limiting this to the Catholic Church,” Bondi said in an Oct. 4 news conference announcing the tip site. “If you’ve been abused in any group, in any school, we want you to come forward.”

The attorney general, along with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, is conducting a statewide investigation into the safeguarding procedures for minors of Florida’s seven Catholic diocese.

Bondi said she and her team plan to issue subpoenas to the dioceses immediately and that all of Florida’s Catholic bishops had assured her that they would cooperate fully. She said at least 15 victims have come forward so far.

The Archdiocese of Miami released a statement Oct. 4 expressing support for the attorney general’s statewide investigation.

“The archdiocese’s safe environment policy and procedures, established in 2002, state when an allegation of sexual abuse of a child or a vulnerable adult by a member of the clergy or church personnel is received, it is immediately reported to the appropriate county state attorney’s office,” the statement read.

It goes on to say that all clergy, seminarians, parents, employees, and volunteers in the archdiocese must undergo Virtus Training, a program that seeks to protect children and teach how to spot signs of abuse.

“Since 2002, the Archdiocese of Miami has background checked and Virtus trained almost 150,000 people, trained over 200 Virtus facilitators (teachers) and have 167 safe environment local coordinators in parishes and schools.”

Bishop John Noonan of Orlando said his diocese was also committed to cooperation with the attorney general.

“My prayer is that the Attorney General will agree that we all have met our commitments to safeguard the most vulnerable among us,” Bishop Noonan wrote. “As Christ is beside me, before me, I pray for your forgiveness for the wrongdoing that you may have experienced at the hand of someone within the Church, whether bishop, priest, religious or lay. We ask those who have been harmed to take courage and come forward because we will listen.”

Bishop Gerald Barbarito of Palm Beach also expressed his willingness to cooperate.

“The Diocese of Palm Beach has been cooperating with the State Attorney even before the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops established the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People in 2002, by directly reporting an allegation of abuse to that office, no matter how long ago it may have occurred,” the bishop stated.

The bishops of Pensacola-Tallahassee and St. Petersburg released similar statements of support.

The Diocese of St. Augustine did not release a statement by press time, but local media reported that Bishop Felipe Estévez had expressed support for the investigation in an email and was encouraging “victims and anyone with information about potential abuse to please report it to my office.”

The Diocese of Venice in Florida said it has met with a prosecutor “and welcomes the opportunity to cooperate with his investigation.”

“While this statewide inquiry is not based on any new allegations, upon the conclusion of this review it is hoped that all institutions (public schools, nursing homes, universities, etc.) who have access directly, or indirectly with children and vulnerable adults, will review and evaluate safe environment policies and procedures to ensure the safety of all,” the Venice diocese added.

Numerous state attorneys general have launched investigations into clergy sex abuse since the August release of a Pennsylvania grand jury report on the matter.

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Trump signs law to aid Christians in Iraq, Syria

December 11, 2018 CNA Daily News 0

Washington D.C., Dec 11, 2018 / 04:01 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- President Donald Trump signed into law Tuesday the Iraq and Syria Genocide Relief and Accountability Act, which seeks to ensure US aid reaches Christian and Yazidi genocide victims.

The bill was passed unanimously in the House Nov. 27, and in the Senate Oct. 11.

This bill was introduced by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), and the lead Democratic sponsor was Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA). This was Smith’s second attempt at getting the bill signed into law, and altogether it took 17 months for this bill to be passed.  

Trump was joined at the Dec. 11 signing by Vice President Mike Pence, Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback, Ambassador to the Holy See Callista Gingrich, Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus Carl Anderson, Smith, Eshoo, Chaldean Archbishop Bashar Warda of Erbil, and many others.

Trump said it was a “great honor” to sign H.R. 390 into law, and remarked that his administration has had great success in fighting Islamic State. The group has lost nearly all of its territory since its peak in 2015.

“This bill continues my administration’s efforts to direct US assistance for persecuted communities including through faith-based programs,” he said.

The signing of the legislation is a symbol of the US speaking “with bold moral clarity and political unanimity,” Anderson said in a statement provided by the Knights of Columbus, which were heavily involved with the process of writing the bill and assisting the situation of Christians in the Middle East.

Since 2014, the Knights of Columbus have donated more than $20 million to help Christians and other religious and ethnic minorities in Iraq and Syria with food, housing, and other needs. The Knights also spent $2 million to rebuild an Iraqi town that had been destroyed by Islamic State.

H.R. 390 provides funding to various entities, including faith-based and religious organizations, that are helping with recovery and stabilization efforts in Iraq and Syria in religious and ethnic minority communities, including Christians and Yazidis.

The bill also instructs the Trump administration to “assess and address the humanitarian vulnerabilities, needs, and triggers that might force these survivors to flee” the region and for the administration to identify signs of potential violent action against minority groups in the country.

Another part of the law encourages foreign governments to identify those who belong to Islamic State in security databases and security screenings to aid with their prosecution. The bill provides support for groups that are investigating members of Islamic State who committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in the region.

Since Islamic State took control of the region, the country’s Christian population has dwindled to only a few thousand families. Many of these people fled to nearby Turkey and Lebanon out of concern for their safety. Although the situation has drastically improved since nearly all of Islamic State’s territory has been regained, Christians are reluctant to return to the region due to a lack of economic opportunities and continued concerns for safety.

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