By CINDY WOODEN
Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY - The clerical abuse crisis and the "crisis of credibility" it created for the U.S. bishops have led to serious divisions within the U.S. church and to a tempta- tion to look for administrative solutions to problems that go much deeper, Pope Francis told the U.S. bishops. Without a clear and deci- sive focus on spiritual conver- sion and Gospel-inspired ways of responding to victims and exercising ministry, "every- thing we do risks being taint- ed by self-referentiality, self- preservation and defensive- ness, and thus doomed from the start," the pope wrote. In a letter distributed to the bishops at the beginning of their Jan. 2-8 retreat, Pope Francis said he was convinced their response to the "sins and crimes" of abuse and "the ef- forts made to deny or conceal them" must be found through "heartfelt, prayerful and col- lective listening to the word of God and to the pain of our people." "As we know," he said, "the mentality that would cover things up, far from helping to resolve conflicts, enabled them to fester and cause even greater harm to the network of relationships that today we are called to heal and restore." The "abuses of power and conscience and sexual abuse, and the poor way that they were handled" continue to harm the church and its mis- sion, he said, but so does "the pain of seeing an episcopate lacking in unity and concen- trated more on pointing fin- gers than on seeking paths of reconciliation." Such a division, which goes well beyond a "healthy" di- versity of opinions, is what caused him to recommend a retreat because, the pope said, "this situation forces us to look to what is essential and to rid ourselves of all that stands in the way of a clear witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ." The pope said he had hoped "to be physically pres- ent" with the bishops for the retreat, but since that was not possible, he was pleased they accepted his suggestion to have the gathering be led by Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa, preacher of the papal household. Pope Francis originally had suggested the bishops make a retreat in November instead of holding their an- nual general meeting. But the scope of the abuse crisis and the intense pressure the bishops' felt to act led them to keep the November meet- ing and plan the retreat for January. Plans for the November meeting and for the retreat came after a summer of shock- ing news: revelations of cred- ible abuse accusations against Archbishop Theodore E. Mc- Carrick, retired archbishop of Washington; the release of a Pennsylvania grand jury re- port accusing more than 300 priests in six dioceses of abus- ing more than 1,000 children in a period spanning 70 years; and accusations published by Archbishop Carlo Maria Viga- no, former apostolic nuncio to the United States, that Pope Francis had known about and ignored allegations that Arch- bishop McCarrick had sexu- ally harassed seminarians. In his letter to the bishops, Pope Francis said he suggest- ed the retreat "as a necessary step toward responding in the spirit of the Gospel to the crisis of credibility that you are experiencing as a church." "We know that, given the seriousness of the situation, no response or approach seems adequate," the pope wrote. Still, pastors must have the wisdom to offer a response based on listening to God in prayer and to the suffering of the victims. Pope Francis said church leaders must "abandon a mo- dus operandi of disparaging, discrediting, playing the vic- tim or the scold in our rela- tionships," and instead listen to the "gentle breeze" of the Gospel message. Encouraging the bishops to continue taking steps "to com- bat the 'culture of abuse' and to deal with the crisis of cred- ibility," he warned that cred- ibility "cannot be regained by issuing stern decrees or by simply creating new commit- tees or improving flow charts, as if we were in charge of a de- partment of human resources. That kind of vision ends up reducing the mission of the bishop and that of the church to a mere administrative or organizational function in the 'evangelization business.' " A restored credibility, he said, can only be "the fruit of a united body that, while acknowledging its sinfulness and limitations, is at the same time capable of preaching the need for conversion. For we do not want to preach ourselves but rather Christ who died for us." "We want to testify that at the darkest moments of our history the Lord makes himself present, opens new paths and anoints our falter- ing faith, our wavering hope and our tepid charity," the pope said. The bishops as a group, he said, must have a "colle- gial awareness of our being sinners in need of constant conversion, albeit deeply dis- tressed and pained by all that that has happened." Humility "will liberate us from the quest of false, fac- ile and futile forms of trium- phalism" and from anything that would "keep us from ap- proaching and appreciating the extent and implications of what has happened." "Affective communion with the feelings of our people, with their disheartenment, urges us to exercise a collegial spiritual fatherhood that does not offer banal responses or act defensively, but instead seeks to learn - like the prophet Elijah amid his own troubles - to listen to the voice of the Lord." The bishops had planned to devote most of their Novem- ber meeting to discussing and voting on several proposals to the abuse crisis, including the formulation of standards of episcopal conduct and the formation of a special commis- sion for reviewing complaints against bishops for violations of the standards. However, Cardinal Marc Ouellet, prefect of the Congre- gation for Bishops, asked the bishops to delay their votes, citing the short amount of time the Vatican had to re- view the proposals, possible conflicts in them with church law and in view of the meet- ing Pope Francis has called for February with the presi- dents of all the world's bish- ops' conferences to discuss child protection and the abuse crisis.
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SHA plans alumnae celebration for Feb. 7
Record Staff Report
Sacred Heart Academy will honor Nanette Mershon, a graduate of the class of 1967, as Alumna of the Year at the school's 29th annual Alumnae Awards Celebra- tion at Mellwood Art and Entertainment Center, 1860 Mellwood Avenue, on Feb. 7 at 5:30 p.m. The Alumnae Associa- tion will present the Heart Award to 1987 graduates Jenny Hundley Alvey and Angela Chamberlin Leet and 1989 graduate Mary Jennifer Peet Hempstead. The Heart Award is given annually to graduates or individuals who have contributed sig- nificantly to their commu- nity at large or the Sacred Heart Academy community and faculty. Three people will be in- ducted into the Valkyrie Hall of Fame - Katie Wetterer Spenlau, a 2005 graduate; Leah Ryan Stark, a 2006 graduate; and Jim Luebbe, the academy's swim coach. Ellen Montgomery Bur- ton, a member of the class of 1983, will receive the Ursu- line Teaching Legacy Award. This award was established in March 2008 to honor the Ursuline Sisters' 150 years of teaching in Louisville. Burton has been a teacher for nearly 30 years and has spent the last 20 as an edu- cator in the Archdiocese of Louisville. An honorary diploma will be awarded to Barbara Brown Horton, whose devo- tion to the school "is equal to those who graduated from Sacred Heart," according to an announcement from the school. The Feb. 7 celebration will include a reception, dinner, a cash bar and the awards ceremony. Dinner tickets are $45 per person. Tickets for children age 5 to 12 are $15 and for children 4 and young- er are free. Reservations may be made online at shslou.org/ alumawards.
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Obituaries
Mercy Sister Joyce Ogden, an artist and teacher, dies Ursuline Sister Mary Irene Cecil, an educator, dies at 91
Sister of Mercy Joyce Og- den, formerly Sister Mary Rosarita, died Dec. 2 at McAuley Convent in Cin- cinnati, Ohio. She was 82 and in her 64th year of reli- gious life. Sister Ogden, an artist, taught art at Mercy Acad- emy, Assumption High School, various elementary schools in Louisville and at Portland Boys Club. She also served as an art therapist ministering to mentally ill individuals served by Bridge- haven Mental Health Ser- vices in Louisville. During her retirement years, Sister Ogden created art with the elderly Sisters of Mercy and residents of Sacred Heart Village, now Nazareth Home Clifton. She ministered to refugees at the Americana Community Cen- ter through art therapy. She also ministered at Day Spring, a residential center for adults with dis- abilities. Sister Ogden lived at Day Spring, where she served as a companion to residents there. She served on the justice committee in the sisters' Cincinnati Province and ex- plored justice concerns in her paintings. She is survived by her brothers John and Joseph Ogden, nieces and nephews and members of her com- munity. The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated Dec. 10 at St. William Church. Expressions of sympathy may be made to the Sisters of Mercy, Office of Mission Ad- vancement, 101 Mercy Drive, Belmont, N. C., 28012. Ursuline Sister of Mount St. Joseph Mary Irene Cecil died Dec. 22. She was 91 and had been a religious for 72 years. Sister Cecil, a native of Louisville, ministered in Kentucky and Missouri. In Kentucky, she served as a teacher at St. Brigid School in Vine Grove, Ky., from 1950 to 1955 and at Holy Cross School in Holy Cross, Ky., from 1955 to 1959. Sister Cecil also served as a supervisor in the Archdio- cese of Louisville's Office of Catholic Schools from 1969 to 1976. She also served as a major superior for her com- munity from 1980 to 1988. She also served in the Dio- cese of Owensboro. Sister Cecil is survived by her brother Tom Cecil of Owensboro, nieces, nephews and members of her com- munity. The Funeral Mass was cel- ebrated Dec. 28 at Mount St. Joseph. Expressions of sympathy may be made to the Ursuline Sisters of Mount St. Joseph, 8001 Cummings Road, Maple Mount, Ky., 42356.
Pope to U.S. bishops: Abuse crisis requires conversion and humility
Pope Francis writes letter to bishops for their Jan. 2 to 8 retreat
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