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Father Paul Hedman, the priest behind CanonLaw.Ninja. / Credit: Father Paul Hedman

Washington D.C., Mar 20, 2023 / 13:42 pm (CNA).
Canon law enthusiasts can breathe a sigh of relief. A popular canon law website will continue to offer its conten… […]

Syracuse, N.Y., Dec 3, 2018 / 06:49 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The Diocese of Syracuse has released a list of 57 priests credibly accused of abusing a minor, with some of the charges dating back to the 1950s.

“It is my fervent hope and prayer that this effort will bring some peace and healing to those who have been directly harmed and to all members of our community of faith,” Bishop Robert Cunningham of Syracuse said Dec. 1.

Stressing that no clergy credibly accused of abuse of a minor are in active ministry, he said the list includes both deceased priests and living priests removed from all ministry.

The accused priests were ordained as far back as 1911.

Some abuse victims have not wanted the names of their abusers released. While the diocese previously yielded to their wishes, Bishop Cunningham said, “upon serious reflection and prayer, I have concluded this practice has become a roadblock to moving our local Church forward.”

The 75-year-old bishop, who has submitted his resignation upon reaching retirement age under Church law, added that it was not fair to leave such a decision about abuse disclosure to his successor.

“The news over the past few months of the tragic failings of the Catholic Church has been deeply distressing and has caused many to lose faith and trust,” he said. “It continues to weigh heavily on our hearts. Personally for me, as your bishop, I have prayerfully considered what I can do to help rebuild trust and forge a path to restoring and strengthening the faith.”

A credible accusation, the diocese explained in documents accompanying the bishop’s letter, meets one of several criteria: the allegation is “natural, reasonable, plausible and probable”; the allegation is corroborated with other evidence or another source; or the allegation is acknowledged or admitted by the accused.

Some additional allegations have been reported to the appropriate district attorneys and will be added to the list if found credible, the diocese said.

A compensation program run by the diocese determined that there are 85 known abuse victims, as of September. A diocesan compliance officer works with accused priests and regularly monitors them.

Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick told Syracuse.com he has reviewed the list released by the diocese several times. His office and the diocese have taken steps to ensure that accused priests who are still alive do not pose any danger to children. There are 19 such priests in the diocese.

Bishop Cunningham told Syracuse.com that Catholic leaders had for a time taken the view that sex abusers were not criminals, but psychiatric patients suffering “a sickness that we thought was treatable.” Priests, including some in the Syracuse diocese, were sent to Catholic treatment centers like the Southdown Institute in Canada and St. Luke’s in Maryland.

The bishop also said previous generations had a poor understanding of the damage caused by sexual abuse.

“Not just in the Church, but in society at large, there’s been an evolving understanding of child sexual abuse, the trauma it causes, the difficulty it causes,” Cunningham said in his letter.

“I don’t think the church ever intended to cover anything up,” Cunningham continued. “They frequently handled situations as families wanted or as society was doing at that time. I think it’s a slow awakening to realize how serious this issue is. And it covers much more than the Church.”

The 2002 approval of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People ended the practice of treating priests and returning them to active ministry.

The U.S. bishops had intended to address sex abuse again at their fall general assembly, but the Congregation for Bishops ordered them to postpone voting on resolutions until a special global meeting of the presidents of the world’s bishops’ conferences to address the sex abuse crisis, set for this February at the Vatican.

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Washington D.C., Jul 13, 2018 / 04:17 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Seminaries will train priests in theology and philosophy, but how does priestly formation in the U.S. handle the business side of parishes?

Father Justin Fulton, a recent graduate in Ecclesial Administration and Management at Catholic University’s Busch School of Business, said this program develops management skills for leadership.

“It’s given me the nuts and bolts way of being a servant leader in the parish,” said Father Fulton, who is the assistant pastor of St. Teresa’s Parish in Lincoln, Neb.

A priest is “a steward of God’s mysteries and… a steward of the Church’s resources,” he told CNA. “I think this program helps quantify in ways that weren’t afforded in the seminary.”

The Busch School graduated its first class in this pastoral leadership program last week, with nearly 20 priests earning master’s degrees.

The year-long program is worth 30-credits and consists of mostly online courses, as well as a week of intensive classes in August in Washington D.C. The courses review parish finances, human resource management, and strategic planning.

Father Fulton, who is also preparing to be the assistant director for Catholic Social Services in Southern Nebraska, said the program helps prevent issues such as financial dishonesty and burned-out priests.

“Within a year or two or three of being ordained, [priests] are basically mayors of a city. They become pastors of parishes with 3,000, 5,000 families,” he said. This degree will help “guys get some core competencies and relieve some of the stresses of parish life.”

He said the program will give priests the tools to lead a parish to tackle collectively the same goals – “education of kids, salvation of souls, serving in the community, serving in the parish.”

“This program helps give you the tools to effectively present a mission and a vision to … work together, to get input from all of those different stake holders, and ultimately build a family united under the same umbrella looking for the same goal.”

Although most of the classes are taken online, Father Fulton said the degree still builds a strong camaraderie among the classmates, which is comprised of priest from across the U.S.  

“It kind of forms friendship … the guys that you studied with are designed to be there with each other, throughout the priesthood, to bounce ideas off of and be co-workers in the vineyard of the Lord.”

Another graduate of the program, Father Carl Beekman, who is the pastor of St. Mary Catholic Church in Rockford, Ill., said most priests do not have training in the administrative aspect of parish life.

“I think there is an assumption in the Church that you know exactly what you are getting into both administratively and spiritually, but, as we see, most do not know what they are really assuming in the office,” he told CNA.

“The program is very practical. It works from anywhere of crisis management to fundraising,” he said. “I had been praying for a program like this most of my 18 years of priesthood, and before.”

The curriculum was developed as a combined effort by Catholic University schools of Theology and Religious Studies, Canon Law, and Architecture and Planning.

The program is endorsed by numerous U.S. bishops, including Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington, Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles, and Bishop James Checchio of Metuchen.

According to Catholic University of America, Cardinal Wuerl said the program is “a welcome resource to guide pastor and their finance councils through a planning and budgeting cycle with an eye to good consultation, collaboration, and communication.”

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