"Why shouldn’t the victim (or his advocate) first go to the police..."
They absolutely should first go to the police. The fact that a person is being tried in a canonical process does not mean they can't at the same time be arrested and tried by the local criminal courts.
"Can. 1395 §1 Apart from the case mentioned in can. 1394, a cleric living in concubinage, and a cleric who continues in some other external sin against the sixth commandment of the Decalogue which causes scandal, is to be punished with suspension. To this, other penalties can progressively be added if after a warning he persists in the offence, until eventually he can be dismissed from the clerical state.
§2 A cleric who has offended in other ways against the sixth commandment of the Decalogue, if the crime was committed by force, or by threats, or in public, or with a minor under the age of sixteen years, is to be punished with just penalties, not excluding dismissal from the clerical state if the case so warrants."
I'm not sure this would apply to sexual harassment or sexual assault, depending on how you interpret "force". But I'm not a canonist. I have heard, however, that because the sixth commandment covers all sexual sins, streaking would be covered (public).
"It’s a growing and unenviable legacy for Pope Francis, one which could see Vangheluwe added to an ever-growing list of others who appear to have first benefitted from institutional clemency, if not outright protection at times, thanks to their closeness to the papal court"
-Sounds a lot like clericalism, which is only bad if it of a sort that you don't ostentatiously support. Well, at least it isn't cassocks, hats, albs, or lace robes.
No, it's rapists supported by the Pope. I can't think of a worse legacy than that of approving such acts when done by clerics. The only thing worse is clericalism supporting clerics who encourage people to commit mortal sins and go to hell. Not a good legacy, any way you look at it.
"For all Francis’ extensive record as a legislator — and he has promulgated more penal law than any modern pope I can think of — at the highest level, the rule of that law is now applied so asymmetrically, so without obvious or consistent purpose or process or outcome, that it is hard at times to describe it as anything other than capricious."
Capricious, huh? I see you're not holding back at all Ed!
I'm not sure I understand your comment. The point of my comment was that I think from Ed's tone he was trying to think of the mother of all insults, or something in that neighborhood, and the best he could come up with was "capricious." A few more pertinent words that come to mind for me are "malicious" and "reprehensible." But I'm not as nice as Ed.
> from Ed's tone he was trying to think of the mother of all insults
That is not how Ed's tone (always deadpan and understated) works; "hard at times to describe it as anything other than x" does not mean that a person is, like Auntie Em when faced with the world's worst neighbor-lady who is about to be painted green, trying to find *more-damning things* to say than x (but, as a Christian woman, cannot), but rather it means that a simultaneously charitable and objectively honest person cannot find anything *less-damning* to say than x (and whether more-damning things could reasonably be said is not specified.)
Yes, yes. I have however a BURNING question: I bought solar-powered strings of purple lights this winter for Advent (and changed them out for strings of yellowish white lights for the Christmas season) because I live in a neighborhood when people now seem to think that e.g. "Halloween lights" are a thing and I wanted to emphasize that Halloween is not a liturgical season and also that seasons come to an end. Should I put the purple ones back up for Lent?
For the right sort of festive Lenten atmosphere I think I would need LEDs that emit a ray of darkness (cf. Pseudo-Dionysius) and if such things exist they are probably classified military technology... hm.
I love this thread, but PSA, the light you can’t see can hurt kids’ eyes if they stare too directly too long. Our eyes don’t get the cue that there’s something to look away from.
I have often thought: Had handheld blacklights been readily available to pseudo-Dionysius, he would doubtless have compared the illuminative way to "looking at a bathroom floor with a UV light" (an internet cleaning/horror tip I have heard of, but am afraid to try.)
I'm thinking Emergency lighting, dim, red lights, possibly some purple glow-in-the-dark paint to help the mailman find the doors after you put up a dark purple canopy over your entire yard. And a projection of the Final Judgement on the side of your house.
Go for it. But ... You should already be putting out green and gold ones along with the purple for the height of Carnival Season; taking them down after Mardi Gras. And, have King Cake to serve at the door for any Trick or Tr..... uhm, Revelers. (The parades are rolling in earnest this weekend.)
"Now, it's not clear, from a Vatican policy perspective, exactly how many of his own nephews a bishop has to admit to abusing before he merits laicization. Though, on the experience of the last few years, I would imagine the answer is that it depends on who they are and who they know."
// Another person moved to sympathy for the bishop was one Austen Ivereigh, then an emerging voice in international Catholic media, who wrote at the time that it was “easy to condemn the two Belgian bishops [Vangheluwe and Daneels]” but that Vangheluwe was “obviously a penitent man” — an observation I would submit didn’t age well. //
Accepted. But not to worry about hurting his feelings. He won't notice.
I know you gentlemen are busy and have more important things to report on, but there's a seminary basketball tournament next weekend in Milwaukee with 13 seminaries attending. It's an awesome event and it is encouraging to see so many future priests getting together for prayer, fraternity, and hoops.
Our Louisiana Seminary, St. Ben's, won't be there, but it has a very active basketball team. And, they've got a very real talent on the squad, Carter Domingue. Two years ago, at our local Sems vs Priests game, players from our local university came out to watch him play. And, he put on a show!
"dressing up like an ecclesiastical dandy highwayman and swanning about in cool black robes"
--> The imagery immediately called to mind Scaramouche. Not a spot-on match, I know; but Wikipedia's description is a perfect fit for Mr. OAP: "...he was often beaten by Harlequin for his boasting and cowardice."
"demonstrating exactly the kind of panicked thinking under pressure you don’t get from the noble class".
My Eye Has Not Seen such a Pillar Post that would Gather Us In to dance in the forest, play in the field of the comment section.
"Why shouldn’t the victim (or his advocate) first go to the police..."
They absolutely should first go to the police. The fact that a person is being tried in a canonical process does not mean they can't at the same time be arrested and tried by the local criminal courts.
Sort of:
"Can. 1395 §1 Apart from the case mentioned in can. 1394, a cleric living in concubinage, and a cleric who continues in some other external sin against the sixth commandment of the Decalogue which causes scandal, is to be punished with suspension. To this, other penalties can progressively be added if after a warning he persists in the offence, until eventually he can be dismissed from the clerical state.
§2 A cleric who has offended in other ways against the sixth commandment of the Decalogue, if the crime was committed by force, or by threats, or in public, or with a minor under the age of sixteen years, is to be punished with just penalties, not excluding dismissal from the clerical state if the case so warrants."
I'm not sure this would apply to sexual harassment or sexual assault, depending on how you interpret "force". But I'm not a canonist. I have heard, however, that because the sixth commandment covers all sexual sins, streaking would be covered (public).
Yippie! I'm a new subscriber and looking forward to exploring the content. God bless, Ginnyfree123
Gooble gobble gooble gobble. One of us. One of us.
"It’s a growing and unenviable legacy for Pope Francis, one which could see Vangheluwe added to an ever-growing list of others who appear to have first benefitted from institutional clemency, if not outright protection at times, thanks to their closeness to the papal court"
-Sounds a lot like clericalism, which is only bad if it of a sort that you don't ostentatiously support. Well, at least it isn't cassocks, hats, albs, or lace robes.
No, it's rapists supported by the Pope. I can't think of a worse legacy than that of approving such acts when done by clerics. The only thing worse is clericalism supporting clerics who encourage people to commit mortal sins and go to hell. Not a good legacy, any way you look at it.
Stand and Deliver. Is this in connection to pant pleats?
I thoroughly enjoyed it when you put Ivereigh "on blast" as the kids would say. Got my daily dose of schadenfreude. Danke, Herr Condon.
I can't wait for Ivereigh to respond, so he can henceforth be referred to as "Pillar reader Austen Ivereigh."
"For all Francis’ extensive record as a legislator — and he has promulgated more penal law than any modern pope I can think of — at the highest level, the rule of that law is now applied so asymmetrically, so without obvious or consistent purpose or process or outcome, that it is hard at times to describe it as anything other than capricious."
Capricious, huh? I see you're not holding back at all Ed!
// it is hard at times to describe it as anything other than capricious //
clearly implies that Ed is trying to do that despite finding it difficult. Credit where it's due, please.
I'm not sure I understand your comment. The point of my comment was that I think from Ed's tone he was trying to think of the mother of all insults, or something in that neighborhood, and the best he could come up with was "capricious." A few more pertinent words that come to mind for me are "malicious" and "reprehensible." But I'm not as nice as Ed.
Oops, sorry - that was an incomplete tongue-in-cheek comment that got away before it was ready. But it's not worth re-writing :o)
> from Ed's tone he was trying to think of the mother of all insults
That is not how Ed's tone (always deadpan and understated) works; "hard at times to describe it as anything other than x" does not mean that a person is, like Auntie Em when faced with the world's worst neighbor-lady who is about to be painted green, trying to find *more-damning things* to say than x (but, as a Christian woman, cannot), but rather it means that a simultaneously charitable and objectively honest person cannot find anything *less-damning* to say than x (and whether more-damning things could reasonably be said is not specified.)
> So you’re all on notice.
Yes, yes. I have however a BURNING question: I bought solar-powered strings of purple lights this winter for Advent (and changed them out for strings of yellowish white lights for the Christmas season) because I live in a neighborhood when people now seem to think that e.g. "Halloween lights" are a thing and I wanted to emphasize that Halloween is not a liturgical season and also that seasons come to an end. Should I put the purple ones back up for Lent?
Yes. That would be beautiful.
Lent lights would be a different beast all together, surely?
For the right sort of festive Lenten atmosphere I think I would need LEDs that emit a ray of darkness (cf. Pseudo-Dionysius) and if such things exist they are probably classified military technology... hm.
"I would need LEDs that emit a ray of darkness"
-Ah, yes, some sort of "Black" light could be utilized. :)
I love this thread, but PSA, the light you can’t see can hurt kids’ eyes if they stare too directly too long. Our eyes don’t get the cue that there’s something to look away from.
Safety first!
I have often thought: Had handheld blacklights been readily available to pseudo-Dionysius, he would doubtless have compared the illuminative way to "looking at a bathroom floor with a UV light" (an internet cleaning/horror tip I have heard of, but am afraid to try.)
I'm thinking Emergency lighting, dim, red lights, possibly some purple glow-in-the-dark paint to help the mailman find the doors after you put up a dark purple canopy over your entire yard. And a projection of the Final Judgement on the side of your house.
Go for it. But ... You should already be putting out green and gold ones along with the purple for the height of Carnival Season; taking them down after Mardi Gras. And, have King Cake to serve at the door for any Trick or Tr..... uhm, Revelers. (The parades are rolling in earnest this weekend.)
"Now, it's not clear, from a Vatican policy perspective, exactly how many of his own nephews a bishop has to admit to abusing before he merits laicization. Though, on the experience of the last few years, I would imagine the answer is that it depends on who they are and who they know."
Hello, police? I'd like to report a murder.
// Another person moved to sympathy for the bishop was one Austen Ivereigh, then an emerging voice in international Catholic media, who wrote at the time that it was “easy to condemn the two Belgian bishops [Vangheluwe and Daneels]” but that Vangheluwe was “obviously a penitent man” — an observation I would submit didn’t age well. //
Accepted. But not to worry about hurting his feelings. He won't notice.
I know you gentlemen are busy and have more important things to report on, but there's a seminary basketball tournament next weekend in Milwaukee with 13 seminaries attending. It's an awesome event and it is encouraging to see so many future priests getting together for prayer, fraternity, and hoops.
https://www.sfs.edu/Invitational
Our Louisiana Seminary, St. Ben's, won't be there, but it has a very active basketball team. And, they've got a very real talent on the squad, Carter Domingue. Two years ago, at our local Sems vs Priests game, players from our local university came out to watch him play. And, he put on a show!
"Souls in the Game" is a documentary about the St. John's Seminary (Boston) basketball team: https://www.soulsinthegame.com/
"dressing up like an ecclesiastical dandy highwayman and swanning about in cool black robes"
--> The imagery immediately called to mind Scaramouche. Not a spot-on match, I know; but Wikipedia's description is a perfect fit for Mr. OAP: "...he was often beaten by Harlequin for his boasting and cowardice."
"demonstrating exactly the kind of panicked thinking under pressure you don’t get from the noble class".
--> I lol'ed out loud.
I'd be tempted to get in line with my kids for a vaccine against heresy. Excellent post today, thank you.
Sharp newsletter today, Ed. Thumbs up.
"even punitive papal action taken by Francis against others, like Bishop Daniel Fernández Torres of Arecibo"
And Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler.
The clips and songs are always an upbeat, hilarious addition to the articles.