Schoenborn Rebuked by Vatican/ Time for Mutual Accountability and Transparency

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_VATICAN_CHURCH_ABUSE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2010-06-28-12-02-42

VATICAN CITY (AP) -- "The Vatican on Monday issued an unprecedented rebuke of a top cardinal who had accused the retired Vatican No. 2 of blocking clerical sex abuse investigations, publicly dressing down a man who had been praised for his criticism of church abuse cover-ups.

The silencing of Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn, the archbishop of Vienna and long considered a papal contender, drew heated criticism from clerical abuse victims. They said the Vatican should be honoring Schoenborn, not publicly humiliating him, for his calls for greater transparency and demands for a crackdown on priests who rape and sodomize children.

Schoenborn has also called for an open discussion of priestly celibacy; views that the Vatican said he "clarified" on Monday during an audience with the pope.

As it admonished Schoenborn, the Vatican appeared caught on the defensive on two other fronts in the ongoing sex abuse scandal: it remained locked in a diplomatic tiff with Belgium over the brazen raid on church offices last week, during which police detained bishops and even opened a crypt in search of church abuse documents. And it bristled at the U.S. Supreme Court decision to let a sex abuse lawsuit in Oregon naming the Holy See go ahead.."

The Vatican's attempt to silence Cardinal Schoenborn, the Belgian police raid, and U.S. Supreme Court's decision to let the sex abuse lawsuit in Oregon proceed are all signs that the Catholic Church can no longer get away with a climate of secrecy and cover ups to avoid accountability for crimes against vulnerable children and youth. Finally, a corner has been turned. The Catholic Church hierarchy must obey civil law as well as answer to a higher power. Women, including womenpriests, are part of the solution to work toward a more accountable, transparent, inclusive church of equals where mutual accountability and openess is the norm for all. We, the people, are the church. Now is the time for reform of our beloved faith community in accord with Jesus in the Gospels. Bridget Mary Meehan

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5huy30ja9Y-DzKy5mndofefJM179AD9GKA6900

Vatican admonishes Austrian cardinal for comments

By NICOLE WINFIELD
Associated Press Writer

EXCERPTS:

"Victims groups said the Vatican should have praised Schoenborn for his honesty in taking Sodano to task, not humiliate him and stifle other potential whistle-blowers within the church."

"By choosing instead to publicly embarrass Cardinal Schoenborn, the pope is sending an unmistakable message to his bishops that in his administration, avoiding scandal still trumps truth,"...

Schoenborn was quoted as saying the quality of a gay relationship should be taken into greater consideration, the church needed a new perspective on the remarriage of divorcees, and it was no secret the Vatican government was "in urgent need of reform."

"Schoenborn, a former student of the pope's and a papal confidante, has been a leading figure in the abuse crisis, forcefully denouncing abuse, presiding over service of reparations for victims and openly calling for an honest examination of issues like celibacy."

Ireland and Austria are leading the way challenging the Vatican to adopt structural change and demanding accountability and transparency of the hierarchy including the Pope and the Curia. Let's hope that these steps lead to genuine reform of a top down hierarchical system to a more open, participatory, people empowered community of equals. Bridget Mary Meehan