Wednesday 1 March 2017

THE EVIL AT THE VATICAN

Survivor explains decision to leave Vatican's abuse commission




MARIE COLLINS


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Editor's Note: Marie Collins of Ireland was appointed in 2014 as one of two survivors of clergy sex abuse to serve on Pope Francis' Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. She resigned from that position Wednesday, March 1. She wrote the following statement for NCR about her decision.
The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors has had difficulties to overcome in its three years of existence.
Obviously I intend to respect the confidentiality of my former colleagues on the Commission and the work they are doing, but some of the main stumbling blocks that I can mention have already been detailed by Commission members who gave testimony Feb. 23 to Australia's Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
These stumbling blocks include: lack of resources, inadequate structures around support staff, slowness of forward movement and cultural resistance. The most significant problem has been reluctance of some members of the Vatican Curia to implement the recommendations of the Commission despite their approval by the pope.


In her testimony, Kathleen McCormack, the Commission's Australian member, summed up the struggles and emphasized the need to keep hope. "Like water on a rock," she said, "we've just got to keep at it."
During our first year we had to go forward without an office or staff. Then finding a method by which the Commission could enter into dialogue with Vatican dicasteries was difficult for a very prolonged period.
This was eventually overcome in 2016 when liaison persons for each Vatican department were appointed to be available to interact with the Commission but there was a long delay in this very important area of communication and cooperation.
The Commission’s recommendation for a Tribunal to be put in place whereby negligent bishops could be held accountable was approved by Pope Francis and announced in June 2015. Yet it was found by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, as Baroness Sheila Hollins stated to the Royal Commission, to have unspecified "legal" difficulties, and so was never implemented. 
With his motu proprio "As a Loving Mother," Francis followed up last year with another accountability initiative. This would not only cover negligent bishops but also negligent religious superiors. It was to come into effect Sept. 5 but it is impossible to know if it has actually begun work or not.
The Safeguarding Guidelines template developed by the Commission, intended to be used by bishops' conferences around the world as a basis for drawing up their own policy documents has not yet been disseminated. The dicastery which has the responsibility for reviewing existing bishops’ conference policy documents and which has its own template is refusing to cooperate with the Commission on the combining of the work.
In his testimony to the Royal Commission, member Bill Kilgallon from New Zealand, who is the Chair of the Guidelines working group, used the analogy of government to understand how this sort of resistance can come about. He spoke of "how jealously government departments guard their own domain and there can be some pushback about taking advice from others."
The reluctance of some in the Vatican Curia to implement recommendations or cooperate with the work of a commission when the purpose is to improve the safety of children and vulnerable adults around the world is unacceptable.
Is this reluctance driven by internal politics, fear of change, clericalism which instills a belief that 'they know best' or a closed mindset which sees abuse as an inconvenience or a clinging to old institutional attitudes?
I do not know the answer but it is devastating in 2017 to see that these men still can put other concerns before the safety of children and vulnerable adults.
The last straw for me, on top of the refusal to cooperate on the Safeguarding Guidelines, has been the refusal, by the same dicastery, to implement one of the simplest recommendations the Commission has put forward to date.
Last year at our request, the pope instructed all departments in the Vatican to ensure all correspondence from victims/survivors receives a response. I learned in a letter from this particular dicastery last month that they are refusing to do so.
I find it impossible to listen to public statements about the deep concern in the church for the care of those whose lives have been blighted by abuse, yet to watch privately as a congregation in the Vatican refuses to even acknowledge their letters! It is a reflection of how this whole abuse crisis in the Church has been handled: with fine words in public and contrary actions behind closed doors.
When I accepted my appointment to the Commission in 2014, I said publicly that if I found what was happening behind closed doors was in conflict with what was being said to the public I would not remain. This point has come. I feel I have no choice but to resign if I am to retain my integrity.
I know my former colleagues on the Commission will forge on and I hope in time succeed in overcoming the difficulties and bringing the real change that is needed.
There is still a survivor member in the group, though he is on leave of absence. I do not know if when his term of office ends another survivor will be brought on board. I do hope in whatever way things go forward that a survivor's voice will be included.
In the past three years I have never had the opportunity to sit and talk to the pope but if I had I would ask him to do three things: 
  1. Give the Commission the responsibility and the power to oversee implementation of the recommendations when they are approved. No matter how much work is put into the recommendations given to the Holy Father and no matter how much he supports them they must be properly implemented to have any effect.
  2. Give the Commission an adequate, independent budget to do its work without having each item of expenditure go through the internal Vatican approval process.
  3. Remove the restriction on the recruitment of professional staff from outside the Vatican.
Despite everything I have said, I do believe there is value in the Commission continuing its work. The members are sincerely putting every effort into very important projects with the intention of moving things forward.
Notwithstanding recent disappointing news on the reduction of sanctions for convicted perpetrators, I believe the pope does at heart understand the horror of abuse and the need for those who would hurt minors to be stopped.
Although I do not agree with them, as far as I am aware none of his actions have put a perpetrator back into a position where children would be at risk. If they did I would have a very different view.
Those who appeal to his commitment to mercy in these cases do a disservice to all, including the man himself, who I feel does not appreciate how his actions of clemency undermine everything else he does in this area including supporting the work of the Commission.
I wish my former colleagues well as they go forward. The issue of improving safety of children and vulnerable adults is so important it has to continue no matter the stumbling blocks in its path.
[Marie Collins is a former member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.]
PATS SAYS:



The Vatican is IRREFORMABLE !
The Vatican Curia is IRREFORMABLE ! 
The Vatican is run by men who are POWER FREAKS, TOTALLY IMMORAL AND FINANCIALLY CORRUPT !
Even a GOOD POPE is POWERLESS against these EVIL MEN !
From the CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE they are quite simply SONS OF SATAN !
From the human point of view they are IMMORAL AND RUTHLESS MONSTERS !
The CANCER OF CORRUPTION has been growing through the RC Institution for at least 1700 years.
It has no matasticised into every ORGAN and CELL in the CHURCH BODY,
People who defend this institution and enable its monsters to prevail are willingly or unwillingly the SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF SATAN !



They are abusing our children !
They are raping our women and nuns !
They are mating each other !
They are stealing and misspending our money !
They are promoting false doctrines !
They say GOOD is BAD and that BAD is GOOD !
And they are staring out the windows of their palaces laughing at the rest of us who are trying to live decent lives and follow certain ethics.



We need to say to them what Christ said to Peter:
"GET BEHIND ME SATAN" !



62 comments:

  1. So Pat, what you are saying is that only in Pat do we find salvation? All others are corrupt?

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    1. Absulutely not! I am saying that only in Christ can we find salvation - and certainly not in Rome as it stands.

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  2. Thank you Pat for the sincerity of your efforts.
    Whilst I fully understand the reasons Marie Collins has given for dropping out of the Commission, I think it unfortunate that she has given up instead of hanging on in there when she sees what needs to be done. I can promise her that we would understand and not judge her to be lacking in "integrity" just because she stayed to be a strong voice amidst the complacency and lack of co-operation that she experienced and which caused her such frustration. She now says she hopes another victim survivor like herself will replace her. Will she consider that person to be acting with integrity if he/she accepts the post? Another member, Kathleen Mc Cormack understands only too well the slow plodding dinosaur of Vatican change and reform and she says that like water wearing away a stone, the Commission members must "keep at it". Sometimes you need people like that who battle on undaunted with real perseverance and encourage others to do the same. They trust us to see that they too have integrity and instead worry more about the effect that another drop out would have on the success of the task and the morale of the other members. But as I said above, of course, we sympathise with Marie's impatience with the very real hurdles and brick walls she came up against.

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    1. The system she is standing up against is irreformable.

      She is like someone trying ro drill a hole in a granite cliff using a plastic tea spoon.

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  3. Pat if what you say above is true, then why has Marie Collins stated that she will remain involved in the Pope's Child Protection Commission as an advisor? Is she a pawn of Satan now because she believes that the Church can be challenged and changed on this, and many other, issues? Surely the old words ring true that it is "better to light a candle than to curse the darkness!"

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    1. There are only two things the Romans fear:

      1. Exposure.

      2. Losing their money.

      People need to bring them down with exposure and law suits.

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    2. Yes,--definitely agree with "light one candle" as it makes a lot more sense. When you're able to work from the inside you gave an increased chance of being of help. Once you leave,your influence is diluted to criticising from the outside. You then become filed away under "sour grapes" in a lot of the main public perception. I'm afraid that's how life is,like it or not. If you really believe in a cause, roll up your sleeves and stay!

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  4. "Good Pope" - the pope is the real problem here it is the pope who is lessening the penalties. His close friends such as Cardinal Danneels are linked to abuse and cover up.

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  5. I hope that now she no longer ther that she will expose their negligence
    Can't believe she never got to talk with the pope

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  6. Francis would certainly approve decrees to set up systems to deal with reforming how the Church handles clerical child abuse when he has no intention of choosing or getting people who will really do something about it. This pope is far worse in terms of lies and hypocrisy than Benedict or John Paul. He is very soft on abuser priests and has them devoting themselves to a life of tranquil prayer as a "punishment." Mercy is used as an excuse for not really caring. And he did condone physical child abuse not long ago by blessing corporal punishment. And what about the papal pittances sent to help children in disaster areas? This pope is pure politics and has manipulated the media and it is a fact that he is ruthless to his staff when they challenge him and there is a climate of fear caused by him in the Vatican.

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  7. What is there to say. The Vatican has more layers of beurocricy than an onion. Perhaps the key is devolution of power but these guys will never go for that

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    1. People in power NEVER voluntarily let go of that power.

      It has to be wrenched from them.

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  8. Pat, that is one rant and a half. You are calling people sons and daughters of satan. That is sick in the extreme. When i receive Holy Communion i am not a son of satan. How dare you condemn people with your heartless and cruel statements. Your are closer to satan with the life you live and the discord you spread.

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    1. Its not about receiving communion.

      Its about enabling an abusive and corrupt system.

      Are you enabling a priest who is part of a parish which is part of a diocese which is part of the Roman Empire MK11?

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    2. I go to Mass and try and live a life as best as i can. I believe in One Holy Catholic Church. I accept the Nicene Creed. The Church is not perfect. As for enabling priests. Your answer is to tear down the Church and remake it in your own image. Seriously you would want to cop on.

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    3. My answer is to tear down that which pretends to be a church and remake it in Christ's image.

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    4. The Eucharist is the Church. End of. Jesus is the Eucharist.

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    5. So your weekly donations are deposited with Jesus in the tabernacle?

      Thats how you all try and get out of your moral responsibility for church corruption.

      You take refuge in Catholic La La Land.

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    6. Again you have an obsession with money. What has going to spend time with the Lord have to do with money? I pray to Him and I worship Him. I take refuge in Jesus. How dare you attack my faith. You don't know anything about me and you simply attack and persecute me. Look i get it, you are an angry homosexual who is excommunicated, you have to make your peace with God. We all do. But do not be landing you hatred on others.

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    7. It's a lot easier to tear down, than build.. That's for sure!

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  9. Is Fr X voting DUP today?2 March 2017 at 11:17

    So the commission had no office, no staff, no budget, no ability to recruit external independent experts, and no powers to apply penalties or hold episcopal enablers to account. Was it just another media gimmick by Bergolio and/or just a talking shop?

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    1. It was a Vation deflection exercise.

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    2. They didn't even have a catchy email address like independentpanel1@vatican.com!

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    3. Someone asks if Father X is voting DUP---Who knows! That's his business. We are all legally entitled to a private vote since the Ballot Act of 1872.

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    4. 11.17 My voting preferences today need not concern you no more than your voting preferences concern me. Thank you.
      Priest

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  10. 11: 55 Sorry to disappoint you. I am a very happy homosexual.

    How am I persecuting you? By pointing out that you want to take refuge in RC piousness instead of challenging your Church's corruptions?

    I think Jesus might like you to spend less time in front of a £5,000 tabernacles and become more involved in purifying your institution?

    12:20 It is easier to tear down.

    But well thought out demolition is always a vital part of renovation.

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  11. 11.55
    Get a life...oh holier than thou person

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    1. Holier than thou? Where do you get that?

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  12. 9 .11
    Can you elaborate ?
    That is a serious allegation about that Cardinal
    Please tell us more

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  13. LOL at 12. 50
    I don't Think anyone cares how you vote, it was probably a dig at you if u are the priest with a boyfriend
    How can you call yourself a practicing priest if you are not celebate ?
    Surely everything you you do is wrong and against rc teaching

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    1. I don't have to answer to you, what I do, whether it's right or wrong is a matter for me, not you. By the way, the correct spelling is celibate not celebate. I fail to see how my private life has anything to do with this post today. Now go and leave me alone.
      Fr X

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    2. Celibacy isn't intrinsic to R.C. priesthood as the many married (Latin rite) priests attest today and as the mostly married diocesan clergy of the first millennium demonstrates.

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    3. You asked for people to stick their noses in by publishing your 'private' life and making it public, ducky.

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  14. I wish I could extract my faith from the corrupt ness
    which is Rome
    What is that peters pence which we get an envelope for?
    And why do priestly students Need to be in Rome ?

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  15. And I myself, in Rome,
    heard it said openly in
    the streets; if there is a
    hell, then Rome is built
    on it. That is, after the
    devil himself, there is
    no worse folk than the
    pope and his followers.

    (Martin Luther)

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  16. The scandal broke in 2010. It is all on Wikipedia under the Cardinals name.

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    1. Don't tell me that Wikipedia is now being regarded as a reliable source of information!!

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  17. Pat old son. If you had brains you'd be dangerous, as it is you're just stupid!

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  18. Thank you Jane
    So how can Frankie have this man as one of his advisors ?
    What a strange world
    ?

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  19. I must admit, I find it very worrying. How can they say they are infallible when it comes to faith and morals. I honestly think they live in a very theoretical world. The National Catholic Reporter is free online and the comments are always worth reading. I don't think the church thinks highly of priests, the laity are barely human and children are just little wiggly things. It's the medieval monarchy thing. The peasants don't really count. Having said all that our parish priests is great. It's just a shame he has to put up with such a rotten culture. He is like the priest in the film "Calvary"

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  20. Bishop Vincent Long is worth looking up. He was abused by the clergy as an adult. He is the most sensible bishop I have come across.

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  21. 16 48
    Just hope you never transferred to my parish
    I didn't write the post with the header father x
    I commented after you posted And outed yourself
    It's still wrong to practice as a priest and not be celibate
    Just leave the priesthood it's easy and painless
    No one theses days object to gay peeps having relationships.
    Did you know that it is rude to comment on people's grammar and spellings...did u ever hear of dyslexia ?

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  22. I wouldn't want to be remotely near your Parish if your that judgemental believe me. By the way, when we are on the subject of grammar I am not a 'Peep', thats not proper English because it's a horrible American term which has crept in over here. For your information I did not "out myself" earlier, I did that on this blog months ago, do keep up.

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    1. You really are a little shit, aren't you? You're rude, arrogant, and coincidentally don't live the life you've professed.

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    2. Where is your DUP Moll?

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  23. Shouldn't that be "if you're that judgemental"? (Surely not another of those horrible American terms! .. They do so tend to creep in if one doesn't keep up..)

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    1. Lol one would hate to think one might miss anything which Fr X says.

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  24. Thought pp 's had to go where they sent or do the ones who have bf get special treatment
    Btw there is more than one poster on your case here....methinks u not that popular

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  25. 17.34 It was also all over the press at the time.

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  26. Any word of the Roman Deacon? They want us to forget about that whole debacle.

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  27. 16.48
    Your commas in all the wrong place too .
    And you scrounging on the faithful peeps money
    Too deceitful to earn your own crust.

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  28. Phonsie wrote and circulated a Lenten pastoral letter advocating prayer, fasting and almsgiving.

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  29. Wonder if he will make a donation to our Pat
    Long time since I heard the word alms.

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  30. Thanks Jane, yes I read lots of info on Google

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  31. I don't rate Lent
    I prefer to live for each day...every day is a blessing.

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  32. Thank you Jane, very interesting paper
    So Frankie could Chang CanonLaw at the stroke of a pen
    Makes one wonder about his integrity

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    1. Certain parts of the Canon Law could be changed over time and many have been. Other laws may not be changed. It is not quite as simple as has been described by some "armchair experts"

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  33. 22.33
    And to think it's in charge of a parish, where our faithful brethren try to live in gods path....a pp no less.

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  34. I've watched and admired Marie Collins several times on Vincent Browne and its hard to be believe she has been conned yet again by the Catholic Church. She should have known better that get involed with this contrived "Commission".

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  35. Nothing should be insurmountable as far as the protection of children is concerned.

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