Latest news with #Fremlin
RNZ News
01-05-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
Man assaulted by NZ Catholic brother wants say in election of new Pope
Cardinals walk to take their places ahead of the late Pope Francis' funeral ceremony at St Peter's Square at The Vatican on April 26, 2025. Photo: AFP/MANDEL NGAN A Fijian man sexually abused as a boy by a Catholic brother says he has a right to lobby the conclave in Rome over who it chooses as the next pope. "I'm afraid that the new Pope that's going to be picked is tainted in some way and may not fully commit to ending sex abuses and not survivor friendly," Felix Fremlin told RNZ. Assaulted as a seven year old by a New Zealand Marist brother at his Suva school, Fremlin has now joined an international group that has set up a database, Conclave Watch, aimed at vetting cardinals and posting details online. "From a survivor's point, you know it's always good to put up history of cardinals so that, you know, we hope that the right choice is made," Fremlin said. He demands a say - though he is not a Catholic any more - even if believers protested at this as interference. "From my history of being a Catholic and my history of being abused by Catholic priests and the Marist Brothers, I have a right to speak out to protect the children that's coming up." He was among abuse survivors banding together and speaking up to a greater extent than at past conclaves. Behind the watch database was the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), which said the response had been overwhelming. "Survivors and advocates from around the world continue to send us critical information," said spokesperson Sarah Pearson. Fremlin said conclaves were too secretive and should be open. "To be honest, I can't do much, but all I can do is just to make sure that from small country we try to just raise our voice up." Cardinals have discussed clerical abuse in pre-conclave talks, the Vatican said on Monday. One who took part, Jean Luis Cipriani Thorne of Peru, was secretly disciplined in 2019 following allegations of sexual abuse - he denied wrongdoing - but has defied various orders from the late Pope Francis. "This man has no place there," Pearson said. Cipriani is too old (over 80) to take part in the election once the conclave begins on 7 May, however, Catholic news site Crux said how the cardinals handled him now was an immediate "litmus test" . Fremlin said the problem was of tainted cardinals doing the choosing, as well as who they might choose. "We can't stop them choosing whoever they want to choose, but we're just hoping that common sense can prevail and they choose someone who can make a fresh start." Francis, like some other popes before him, had said the right things but not gone far enough, he added. Fremlin did not like how New Zealand cardinal John Dew had handled abuse allegations, contrasting that with what he said was more openess from Tonga's cardinal Soane Patita Paini Mafi.
CBC
04-03-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
Ontario short story festival named after Alice Munro coming to an end
Organizing committee said decision to close festival was 'unanimously decided' An Ontario literary festival named after Nobel Prize-winning author Alice Munro is coming to an end. In an online post, the committee overseeing the annual Alice Munro Festival of the Short Story said it "unanimously decided" to close the festival in 2025. "The committee would like to share their sincere appreciation to the community, volunteers, and funders for their many years of support and to the authors who continued to bring exceptional programming to the event," reads the post. Festival organizers said the remaining funds will be donated to charities supporting women and children, and the short story contest will continue through Huron County Library. Festival organizers declined to comment on the decision with CBC News. "Thank you for your inquiry … but the committee is not making any further comments outside what has been posted," the committee's chair, Allie Brenner, said in an email. The move follows revelations last summer that Munro chose to remain married to her second husband after learning he had sexually abused one of her daughters as a child. In a Toronto Star op-ed, Andrea Skinner wrote that her stepfather Gerald Fremlin sexually assaulted her in the mid-1970s when she was nine years old and continued to harass and abuse her until she became a teenager. Skinner said she told Munro about Fremlin's abuse when she was in her 20s, but Munro continued living with Fremlin until his death in 2013, the same year Munro won the Nobel Prize in literature. Munro died in May 2024 at the age of 92. After Skinner's op-ed, it emerged that Fremlin had pleaded guilty in 2005 to indecently assaulting her decades earlier. He served a suspended sentence with two years of probation. A second woman later came forward to The Toronto Star, saying Fremlin exposed himself to her when she was nine years old while he was staying at her family's home, years before he and Munro were married. Media Audio | Ottawa Morning : Why do parents' sometimes protect their children's abusers? Caption: Sex abuse allegations against Alice Munro's husband highlighted the reality that abusers are often protected. As Beverley Chalmers, author of Child Sex Abuse: Power, Profit and Perversion, tells Ottawa Morning, the response is all too common. Open Full Embed in New Tab Loading external pages may require significantly more data usage. Munro's recognitions go beyond the short story festival. In Wingham, Munro's hometown, a literary garden is also named after the author. Verna Steffler, a friend of Munro's for more than 30 years, helped start the garden in 2002 while president of the Wingham Horticultural Society. Speaking with CBC News in July, Steffler said she was shocked by Skinner's op-ed and said she "didn't have a clue" about what Fremlin had done, expressing hope that it would spur more victims of sexual assault to come forward. On Monday, Steffler said she hadn't heard about the festival's closure until CBC News contacted her and expressed disappointment about the decision. "I think maybe, deep down, I thought it might very well come to an end. I guess I didn't expect it maybe right now, but I guess if it's going to happen, it probably would be right now," she said. Steffler said there had been no changes to the garden named after Munro, which is maintained by the horticultural society. A separate monument to Munro is also located in Clinton, Ont. "When we did the garden, the idea was, we need to celebrate. We have a world-renowned writer in our community, and we need to celebrate that," she said. "Her being the writer is totally different than her being a mother. I still fully support that she's still one of the best writers we've had." For anyone who has been sexually assaulted, there is support available through crisis lines and local support services via the Ending Violence Association of Canada database. If you're in immediate danger or fear for your safety or that of others around you, please call 911.
