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Hindustan Times
6 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
An Impossible Choice for Priests
Washington state wants to put priests in an impossible bind: Break your vows or break the law. A new law, signed by Gov. Bob Ferguson in May, would require clergy to violate the confessional's seal of confidentiality if they hear about potential child abuse. Failing to break the seal and report suspected abuse to authorities carries a penalty of up to 364 days in jail and a fine as high as $5,000. Catholic clergy in the state sued, and U.S. District Judge David Estudillo of the Western District of Washington blocked the law with a preliminary injunction on July 18. Judge Estudillo ruled the law likely violates the First Amendment's guarantee of free exercise of religion because it denies priests the confidentiality extended to other professions. The state has until Aug. 18 to appeal. Confession is an essential practice of the Catholic faithful, who believe it reconciles a sinner with God. In the sacrament, the penitent admits wrongs and receives God's forgiveness through the priest's prayer of absolution. The seal of confession is so crucial to the Catholic faith that any priest who violates it is automatically excommunicated. 'For us, that's a matter of spiritual life and death,' says Bishop Robert Barron, an American Catholic evangelist who filed an amicus brief in the case. The bishop says even 'the slightest suspicion' that one's confessed sins might be repeated elsewhere is an obstacle to the sacrament. Any law that might discourage a repentant sinner from seeking God's forgiveness would hinder the free exercise of religion. Washington's law is 'the most egregious violation of religious liberty' in the U.S. right now, Bishop Barron said. Washington lawmakers passed another bill this year exempting higher education attorneys from reporting abuse related to clients they represent. For these legislators, sins confessed to a priest don't merit the confidentiality of what is said to an attorney. That 'appears to be a textbook example' of targeting religious conduct, Judge Estudillo wrote. Washington state Sen. Noel Frame, the main sponsor of the bill, said during a committee hearing in March that even if the law conflicts with Catholic teaching, 'I believe they can change their rules.' That's more evidence of targeting, the judge said. Lawmakers knew confession is a 'religiously sacrosanct' practice, and their comments leading up to the bill's passage 'evince an intentional abrogation' of the sacrament. The Church's child sex abuse scandals have made public defense of the seal more difficult. Sen. Frame said testimonies by survivors of clergy abuse and her own childhood abuse led her to sponsor the bill. In January, she said it's hard 'to stomach any argument about religious freedom being more important than preventing the abuse, including sexual abuse, of children.' Protecting children is a laudable goal. But Jean Hill, president of the Washington State Catholic Conference, said dioceses in the state already require priests to report abuse to authorities. The new law, she said, would push people away from the sacrament of confession while doing little to protect kids. 'In practical situations,' Ms. Hill says, 'this bill has the very high potential of driving people who are abusing or being abused away from talking to anyone.' A potential abuser who would go to confession might be deterred if the sacrament isn't confidential. If a victim tells the priest about abuse during the sacrament, Ms. Hill says, the priest and penitent can step out of the confessional, and 'the mandatory reporting kicks in.' If a person confesses to a crime like child abuse, Bishop Barron says, any priest 'worth his salt is going to encourage that person to go to the authorities.' But a law that breaks the confessional seal may discourage potential victims and abusers from seeking the sacrament, eliminating the possibility of such an encounter. 'You don't get more honesty,' Ms. Hill says, 'you get people going underground and not telling anyone what's going on.' More people might also stay away from the sacrament entirely. This 'chilling effect' is one focus of a group of Orthodox Churches who filed a similar suit, says Eric Kniffin of the Ethics and Public Policy Center. Mr. Kniffin, an attorney representing the Churches, says the law could push parents away from the confessional. In Washington, mandatory reporting of 'child abuse and neglect' includes not just sexual abuse but also 'negligent treatment or maltreatment of a child.' The state advises 'to err on the side of reporting,' Mr. Kniffin says. 'It's not hard at all to imagine a parent saying, 'I sometimes see my child as burdensome. I lost my temper and yelled at my children.' ' Would a priest be required to report such confessions? 'It's equally valid for someone to say, 'I don't want to put my priest in a position where he's breaking the law because of my confession.' ' To Mr. Kniffin, the bottom line is that exceptions undermine the sacrament in all cases: 'Confession is either absolutely confidential, or it's not.' The state hasn't signaled if it will appeal. Whatever the outcome, Bishop Thomas Daly of Spokane has made clear that his clergy 'are committed to keeping the seal of confession—even to the point of going to jail.' Mr. McKenna is a Robert L. Bartley Fellow at the Journal.
Boston Globe
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Mass. residents: We will not be bystanders to ICE thuggery
Advertisement It's daunting, but a powerful counterforce has emerged: communities of faith. They include groups of Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Muslims, and others. Get The Gavel A weekly SCOTUS explainer newsletter by columnist Kimberly Atkins Stohr. Enter Email Sign Up The American Catholic hierarchy has stepped up as well. Michael Pham, then San Diego bishop-elect, Here in Boston, the Paulist Center, where we worship, has an active Advertisement Communities of faith are a powerful and growing force for resistance to injustice and the pursuit of the common good. They are worthy of your journalistic attention. Christopher M. O'Keeffe Marlborough Mi-Rang Yoon Malden We need Governor Healey to lead resistance It is not only immigrants who are frightened by the masked thugs of ICE that the rogue Trump administration has loosed upon the US citizenry, in what seems like an attempt to cow ordinary Americans. There are many others throughout the community who view these vicious actions with some trepidation. Indeed, many people of this great Commonwealth stand with indomitable spirit against the illegal and unconstitutional actions of this administration. But we need the help of our governor to continue to do so. The primary duty of our governor is to protect Massachusetts residents from harm. It is within the governor's authority to Governor Maura Healey, please exercise that power and authorize the Guard to monitor the actions of ICE agents and to ascertain that those agents are clearly identified, carry legal warrants, and never, ever use bodily force on peaceful citizens. Bill Tragakis Westwood The Founders must be turning in their graves For the past several years we have been helping two legal refugee families. They were originally expected to arrive in 2016, but that was delayed until Donald Trump left office after his first term. They are thriving: men gainfully employed; women raising children, who are excelling in school; English nearly mastered. Now permanent residents, they eagerly await becoming US citizens. Advertisement We also have been helping those less fortunate, who are undocumented but otherwise hoping someday to become permanent residents. The lack of a legal pathway for these families, who are essential to our economic future, is the fault of the GOP for opposing immigration reform at every turn. The Republican Party began in opposition to slavery; undoubtedly the Founders are turning in their graves as they watch America, the country immigrants have made and continue to make great, be ripped apart for no reason other than one party's hunger to amass power through the politics of fear. Alan Wright Roslindale
Belfast Telegraph
14-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Belfast Telegraph
My life as an exorcist: ‘I have been spat at, punched, choked, bitten and kicked by demons'
Sarah Mac Donald meets leading exorcist Stephen Rossetti as he is mobbed by the faithful at Knock. Spiritual warfare against the forces of darkness can involve vomiting, levitation, growling voices and flying objects It is one of cinema's most iconic images. The silhouette of a priest in a black fedora hat and overcoat, armed with a black briefcase, paused in the eerie foggy light of a streetlamp. He cuts a solitary figure. An exorcist about to tackle paranormal horror in the house before him. But this evocative portrayal in 'the scariest film ever made' does not match the reality today according to Monsignor Stephen Rossetti, an American Catholic priest, who is a licensed psychologist and an exorcist. 'The old idea of an exorcist being a single guy walking in with his black suitcase: those days are over,' he told Review in Knock last weekend. These days, exorcists work as part of a team. 'We have psychologists. We have medical doctors. We have clinicians. We have tough guys to pull the person down and someone who deals with the person outside the session.'
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
The Other American ‘Popes'
WHEN WHITE SMOKE DRIFTED over the Sistine Chapel and the name Leo XIV was announced earlier this month, billions of Catholics and non-Catholics alike around the world raced to learn more about the new pontiff. Born Robert Francis Prevost and raised in Chicago, he is the first American to ascend to the papacy. He is a product of an American Catholic family and an alumnus of American Catholic institutions, having graduated from Villanova and the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago before joining the Order of St. Augustine and spending years in missionary service in Peru. As news of his election spread, so did Chicago-themed memes and other displays of hometown pride. A small number of Americans, though, believe we've already had an American pope. Unrecognized by the Vatican and distant from mainstream Roman Catholicism, a handful of would-be pontiffs have made claims to the throne of St. Peter, enjoying support from internet users, eliciting the curiosity of many who came across them, and attracting followings—dedicated if not large. Few of these figures ever set foot in a seminary, let alone rose through the clerical ranks; you won't find them in cathedrals or basilicas. Their holy haunts are garages, rental halls, and the occasional roadside chapel. And while they can be found at the very edge of the religious fringe, these figures personify the continuing challenges to papal authority presented by and within our postmodern age. The main thing that unites this diverse bunch of papal claimants is their shared rejection of Vatican II. Convened between 1962 and 1965, the Second Vatican Council was a landmark effort by the Roman Catholic Church to engage more directly with the modern world. Initiated by Pope John XXIII, the council introduced sweeping reforms: It permitted the Mass to be celebrated in vernacular languages rather than Latin, emphasized ecumenical dialogue with Orthodox and Protestant communities, redefined the Church's relationship with non-Christian religions (especially Judaism), and shifted the Church's tone from one of hierarchical authority to one of pastoral outreach. For many, these changes felt like an enlivening wind, in keeping with Pope John's (possibly apocryphal) call to 'open the windows of the Church' and let some fresh air into it. Chief among the council's champions was Pope John Paul II, who had attended Vatican II as a young bishop and later embodied its spirit through global outreach, interfaith dialogue, and a renewed emphasis on human dignity. He also helped modernize the papacy itself, embracing television, global travel, and media interviews to bring the Church's message to a wider, contemporary audience. Keep up with all The Bulwark's articles, newsletters, podcasts, and livestreams—and pick which ones show up in your inbox: But while some Catholics found Vatican II exhilarating, for others, it was deeply disorienting. Many Catholics felt alienated by the rapid changes, whether because they preferred the Latin Mass or were uncomfortable with various other reforms. This sense of upheaval gave rise to movements like the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX), founded by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre in 1970, which flatly rejected key aspects of Vatican II and has maintained an uneasy relationship with Rome ever since while undergoing continuous institutional and communal growth. Even among conservative Catholics who don't go as far as SSPX, Vatican II remains a point of deep concern and contention, and it remains an abiding preoccupation among hyperonline Catholic commentators. The resurgence of young Catholic women wearing veils, the renewed popularity of the Latin Mass, and the proliferation of apologists defending every conceivable Church teaching all point to a growing skepticism toward, or at least a re-evaluation of, Vatican II's more open ethos. There are also those so radical as to not only reject the council but also to deny the legitimacy of the popes who have upheld it. These are the sedevacantists—those who believe 'the seat'—sedes, referring to the papal throne—is 'vacant,' which is to say, the one who currently occupies it is illegitimate. Sedevacantists hold that this has been the case since the 1958 death of Pope Pius XII on the grounds that all officially recognized popes since Vatican II have embraced its alleged heresies. In the words of Philippe Roy-Lysencourt, a scholar of Catholic traditionalism, 'For these movements, the council is like a foreign body in the life of the Church, like a cancer to be fought.' While its community of adherents is small and fragmented, sedevacantism represents the furthest extreme of traditionalist dissent—after all, who else would answer 'no' to the question, 'Is the Pope Catholic?' And way out at the furthest reaches of the sedevacantist world, we find a handful of those who, unwilling to wait for a legitimate pope to emerge, have taken matters into their own hands. These are the people who have conducted their own conclaves in living rooms and hotel conference rooms, and who claim to have found St. Peter's true successor living in their own hometowns. Share THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY'S original homegrown papal claimant must be regarded as a prelude, because his actions took place decades before the Second Vatican Council that would unite the later generation of faux popes in opposition to it. Adam Anthony Oraczewski, a Polish-born immigrant, declared himself 'Pope Adam II' in 1927 following several years of religious mischief, fraud, and forgery, much of his behavior likely resulting from undiagnosed mental illness. At one point, he circulated a photo to newspapers that depicted him in an approximation of papal garb; a reporter at one of the papers pointed out that the young would-be pontiff had left his tennis shoes on for the picture. It would be half a century before the first of the Vatican II–rejecting American-born papal claimants would emerge. Chester Olszewski was originally an Episcopal priest in Pennsylvania. After encountering Anne Poore, a visionary claiming miraculous experiences and stigmata, Olszewski embraced a radical traditionalist Catholicism. He would eventually claim to receive his own mystical visions, and in 1977, he proclaimed himself Pope 'Chriszekiel Elias,' later adopting the name 'Peter II.' He led a small sect calling itself the True Catholic Church, rooted in apocalyptic Marian devotion; it has since faded into obscurity. A little over two decades later, in 1998, Lucian Pulvermacher, a former Capuchin friar from Wisconsin, was elected pope by a roughly fifty-member conclave of sedevacantist lay people associated with the True Catholic Church network. Taking the name 'Pius XIII,' he operated his ministry and issued papal decrees from a trailer in Kalispell, Montana, and later from Springdale, Washington. He died on November 30, 2009, at the age of 91. His followers' plans to convene a new conclave to choose a successor have so far come to naught. Another: Citing inspiration via mystical revelation, Reinaldus M. Benjamins of Malone, New York, claimed to be 'Pope Gregory XIX.' But as 'alternative popes' researcher Magnus Lundberg writes, little is known of Benjamins today. But the best-known American claimant to the papacy is the late David Bawden, known to many by his chosen papal name of 'Pope Michael I.' Born in Oklahoma in 1959 and raised in a fiercely traditionalist Catholic household, David Bawden came of age believing that the Second Vatican Council was not a reform but a rupture, one that cut the institutional Church off from its own timeless teachings and liturgical beauty. His family refused to attend the post-conciliar Mass, clung to pre-1958 catechisms, and eventually aligned with the dissenting SSPX. Bawden enrolled in an SSPX seminary but was dismissed after a brief tenure, prompting him to pursue his theological education on his own—through books, correspondence with traditionalist and sedevacantist Catholics, and fervent prayer. By the mid-1980s, he had moved on from the SSPX to embrace outright sedevacantism. Join now Convinced that the Catholic Church was in a state of emergency, Bawden took a radical step. In 1990, at the age of 30, he gathered five others (including his parents) into a makeshift conclave in a Kansas thrift store chapel. They elected him pope by unanimous vote. He took the name 'Michael I' and claimed divine sanction to restore what Rome had lost. From a farmhouse-turned-chapel in Delia, Kansas, he spent the next three decades issuing papal decrees, publishing newsletters, and maintaining a website called 'Vatican in Exile.' Toward the end of his life, he had a channel on YouTube, a platform on which his sermons, theological discussions, interviews, and explanations of his papal claim have been watched by thousands. While many dismissed him as a crank, a curiosity, a theological prank, or a person disturbed in the manner of his predecessor Oraczewski, Bawden's sincerity was difficult to deny. As documented in the 2010 film Pope Michael, he lived with monastic simplicity, took no salary, and led a quiet life of devotion alongside his elderly mother, Tickie. He prayed daily for the Church, answered emails from curious seekers, and carried out his self-imposed papal duties with unwavering conviction. In 2011, after more than two decades without the ability to celebrate the sacraments (despite claiming to be pope), Bawden was ordained a priest and consecrated a bishop by Robert Biarnesen, an independent bishop from a schismatic Old Catholic lineage (he himself had only just been consecrated a month prior by Bishop Alexander Swift Eagle Justice). Because Bawden had never been ordained by a bishop, valid or otherwise, prior to this, he had taken himself to be unable to perform even the most basic sacramental duties of the priesthood, let alone exercise the full authority of his alternative papacy. Beginning in 2011, though, Bawden at last felt authorized to celebrate Mass, hear confessions, and ordain others, a possibility that he seized with his first (and possibly only) seminarian, Phil Friedl. His movement remained minuscule, with perhaps a few dozen core followers, but the internet gave Pope Michael surprising reach, drawing adherents from as far away as India and the Philippines. One of those, a Filipino bishop named Rogelio Martínez, became his right-hand man and, after Bawden's death in 2022, Martínez was elected by his predecessor's remaining followers to become 'Pope Michael II.' He still posts to the movement's YouTube channel, but viewership remains scarce. Share LEO XIV'S PAPACY HAS NOW BEGUN. The Chicagoan begins his tenure at a time when papal authority is contested. Pope Francis, pastoral reformer that he was, was a figure of great controversy among both liberals and conservatives in the Church, and especially among hyperonline traditionalists, for whom he represented a corruption of the office. For years, such figures accused him of sowing confusion, undermining tradition, and embracing a modernist agenda. Some of his critics began to flirt openly with sedevacantist ideas, creating a cultural commotion in the Church. So it is that in our digital present, when YouTube apologists, livestreamed liturgies, and anonymous Twitter accounts shape the Catholic imagination, the claims of figures like Bawden no longer feel quite so radical or strange. This is part of what Leo XIV has inherited from Francis: a Church that is struggling, along with every other societal institution, to find its way in an increasingly chaotic information environment—a virtual world in which, it seems, everyone gets to be their very own pope. Zap this article over to a friend or zip it up onto social media: Share
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Salesian Missions welcomes Pope Leo XIV, first American-born Pope
NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y., May 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco, joins the Salesian Congregation and Catholics around the globe to welcome the election of Pope Leo XIV — His Eminence, Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost — as the 267th successor of St. Peter, to lead the Catholic Church and 1.4 billion faithful around the world. "The election of Pope Leo XIV will bring a great sense of pride to our donors as well as a deeper sense of connection to him and the Church," said Father Michael Conway, director of Salesian Missions. Pope Leo XIV — elected the first ever American Catholic Pope — is lauded as a unifier and is expected to foster a more global church. "More than ever, we need a strong moral voice to encourage open dialogue and inspire the global community and Christians worldwide to work for peace and justice," said Fr. Conway. Pope Leo's extensive missionary work closely aligns with Salesian Missions in focusing on social issues like migration and poverty. "As an Augustinian missionary for many years, Pope Leo XIV encountered people from diverse backgrounds and oftentimes in situations of extreme poverty," said Fr. Conway. "His missionary ministry made him much more aware of the plight of the poor and migrants. His choosing of the name Leo reflects the prior ministry of Pope Leo XIII who was instrumental in establishing the foundation of the Church's social teaching with a special emphasis on the poor and marginalized." On behalf of the Salesian Congregation and the entire Salesian Family, the Rector Major Father Fabio Attard offered heartfelt greetings to the Holy Father at the start of his pontificate. In his message, the Rector Major assured the new Pope of the Salesian devotion and prayers, invoking the Holy Spirit to guide him with wisdom and strength so that his ministry may be a beacon of hope, unity, and peace for the Church and the world. Fr. Conway said that he is excited and proud as both an American and as a member of a religious order about the election of Pope Leo XIV. "He brings a diverse background of experiences that will greatly assist him in his ministry especially as a pastor. His selection reminds us that the presence of the Holy Spirit in the Church is still active and effective and that, when all is said and done, God is in charge. I take comfort in believing this," he said. Salesian programs are operated by more than 30,000 Salesian missionaries in more than 130 countries around the globe. Salesian programs provide poor youth and their families access to education, workforce development, humanitarian relief, youth clubs, health services, feeding programs and more. About Salesian Missions USASalesian Missions is headquartered in New Rochelle, N.Y., and is part of the Don Bosco Network — a worldwide federation of Salesian NGOs. The mission of the U.S.-based nonprofit Catholic organization is to raise funds for international programs that serve youth and families in poor communities around the globe. The Salesian missionaries are made up of priests, brothers and sisters, as well as laypeople — all dedicated to caring for poor children throughout the world in more than 130 countries and helping young people become self-sufficient by learning a trade that will help them gain employment. To date, more than 3 million youth have received services funded by Salesian Missions. These services and programs are provided to children regardless of race or religion. For more information, go to Contact:Laura Perillomedia@ Twitter: @MissionNewswireNewswire: room: View original content: SOURCE Salesian Missions Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
