Welcome to Opus Bono Sacerdotii

A Service of Love to the Catholic Priesthood

PLEASE SUPPORT OUR MISSION

O Lord Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest and exemplar of priestly holiness and dignity, we are grateful to You for having chosen certain men for the ministerial priesthood by which You continue to instruct, admonish, forgive, nourish and strengthen Your Church. We are sorely aware of the great need of priests in our time to be confirmed in their sacred calling so that they may continue confidently in their ministry of mediating Your graces to men and of representing them before Your august majesty. Relying on the intercession of Holy Mary, Mother of priests, and of Saint Joseph, Her beloved spouse, we beg Your help for the priests who are the most troubled, tempted, discouraged and suffering. May the noble and sacred office of the priesthood, which has too often been reviled and scorned, regain its admirable stature in the sight of all men for Your greater honor and glory and for the sanctification and salvation of Your people. Amen.

• Diocese seeks delay in clergy sex abuse cases
  Sam Hemingway, Burlington Free Press June 26, 2008
  A lawyer for the states Roman Catholic diocese has asked a judge to delay an upcoming clergy abuse trial until the Vermont Supreme Court rules on the churchs appeal of an $8.7 million jury verdict from a similar case decided in May. In papers filed at Chittenden County Superior Court in Burlington, diocesan attorney Kaveh Shahi said Judge Matthew Katz made errant rulings that led to the $8.7 million verdict.
  
• Jindal signs chemical castration bill
  Michelle Millhollon, Advocate Capital News Bureau June 26, 2008
  During the legislative session, Gautreaux said the bill was inspired, in part, by the crimes of the Rev. Gilbert Gauthe. Gauthe, a Roman Catholic priest, pleaded guilty in 1985 to molesting a number of boys in Vermilion Parish. He was arrested earlier this year near Galveston for allegedly failing to register as a sex offender. The bill would allow judges to order chemical castrations for convicted rapists and other sex offenders.
  
• Charges fly in suit over Catholic Diocese settlement
  Adam Parker, The Post and Courier June 26, 2008
  A class-action settlement hashed out between victims of sexual abuse and the Catholic Diocese of Charleston over the course of three years has prompted more acrimony and lawsuits, even after the diocese has distributed $10.3 million to class victims and their attorneys.
  
• Parishes moving ahead into incorporation
  Catholic Sentinel June 17, 2008
  Separate incorporation was one part of the bankruptcy settlement reached last year. It clarifies that parish assets belong to the parishes, not the archdiocese.
  
• Council can speak for city in renaming bridge
  Kennebec Journal June 17, 2008
  Curran, who died in 1976, had been accused by at least two people of sexual abuse while he was the priest at St. Augustine Church in Augusta. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Maine corroborated one of the accusations against Curran and says that were Curran alive today, it would ask the Vatican to remove him from the priesthood.
  
• Rockford diocese defends priest accused of abuse
  Corina Curry, Rockford Register Star June 17, 2008
  Tensions flared at the late morning media event held on the grounds of the Diocese of Rockford as Barbara Blaine, president and founder of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, and Penny Weigert, director of communications for the diocese, defended their positions. Blaine, who lives in Chicago, insisted the allegations from a Colorado man are credible, and Weigert countered that the priest, Monsignor Michael Kurz, is innocent of the claims. She called him “a most faithful servant with a spotless record.”
  
• Diocese moves toward abuse settlement
  KUAC-FM June 17, 2008
  The Catholic Diocese of Fairbanks is launching a multistate search for possible sexual assault victims as it moves forward with the settlement of abuse claims against it.
  
• The news and the church
  David Hains, Director of Communications, Diocese of Charlotte in The Charlotte Observer June 17, 2008
  But after six years I have to ask, when will the scandal that rocked the Catholic Church in 2002 be old news? What should the Church do? Have the Pope apologize? He did. Train hundreds of thousands of church employees and volunteers in sex abuse awareness? Conduct background checks? The Church has done all those things.
  
• Arbitration Hearing In Federal Court On Clergy Sex Abuse
  Pete Springer, OPB News June 09, 2008
  At issue are church documents on pedophile priests. The church promised to release the documents following a bankruptcy settlement with abuse victims last year.
  
• Molestation lawsuit against Omaha archdiocese dismissed
  MARGERY A. GIBBS, Fremont Tribune June 09, 2008
  Chaloupka said she hopes to convince the appellate court that victims of childhood sexual abuse need specific consideration. "Its a bit of an oversimplification for a legislature to say that all victims of all types of harm should be able to understand the legal system and understand their damages well enough to bring suit within a certain amount of time," she said. "When youre dealing with sexual assault victims, this is a group of victims that have a unique harm. "Because of the very nature of the type of assault theyve suffered, they are often not able to bring suit within a set number of years."
  
• Hundreds gather for accused priest's farewell Mass
  Lalita Aloor Amuthan, My Central Jersey.com June 08, 2008
  Its sad when someone can accuse you and you can never have your name fully cleared because there will always be doubters, she said with tears in her eyes.
  
• Avoiding Another Abuse Crisis
  Karna Swanson, Zenit June 04, 2008
  An interview with psychologist Phil Scrofani who discusses the sexual abuse crisis in the Church, as well as the role of psychology in the process of screening applicants for the priesthood.
  
• The Railroading of Paul Shanley
  National Center for Reason and Justice June 03, 2008
  The problem for most people who have lived through trauma is not that they can’t remember, but that they can’t forget. The theory of massively repressed memory has been rejected by most criminal courts, and the psychological harm that “recovered memory” therapy inflicts has been repeatedly documented. False memories of sexual abuse – which are sincerely believed by the individual –have been induced in adults and even more infamously in the children who were led to make false accusations of ritualistic sexual abuse against day-care workers in the 1980s and early 90s. (In the past decade, many of those convictions have been overturned.) Today, the majority of board-certified psychiatrists reject the theory of massive repression as “junk science” and point to persuasive evidence that “recovered-memory” therapy has a tendency to induce false recollections.
  
• Priest vows to fight civil suit allegations
  Elizabeth Larson, Lake County News June 03, 2008
  He said he has been overwhelmed by support from his parishioners and fellow clergy members from different denominations, one of whom had called to pray with him a few minute before the interview. Following the Sunday mass, Oswald said church members came to hug him after his message, many of them weeping, which caused him to break down. “I want to fight this,” he said of the allegations against him, which he stated are absolutely false.
  
• Seven named to seats on U.S. bishops' National Review Board
  CNS June 03, 2008
  Established by the bishops in 2002, the board reviews diocesan compliance with the "Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People," oversees diocesan audits on child protection policies and practices, and recommends ways to ensure child protection to dioceses and church-based agencies.
  
• Diocese faces complex choices
  Sam Hemingway, Burlington Free Press Staff Writer June 01, 2008
  "Bishops are understandably really nervous about the size of financial settlements and the unknown future liability issues," he said. Dioceses in the United States have paid close to $2 billion to resolve an estimated 3,500 priest sexual abuse claims. Lytton said a diocese seeking a permanent resolution of such claims has three choices. It can settle each case separately; settle them all together through a mediator or via a class-action lawsuit; or file for bankruptcy and let a judge oversee the settlement process. The problem with settling cases one at a time -- either through trials or by negotiation -- is that the resolutions can favor those with the most aggressive lawyers or whose claims are addressed most quickly, Lytton said. "The people who get in first can deplete church assets, and there may not be anything left for the people who get in later," he said. "The first-come, first-serve approach doesnt work well."
  
• S. Idaho priest back at parish following sexual misconduct
  Fort Mill Times June 01, 2008
  Bishop Michael Driscoll says Covarrubias attended a residential treatment facility and that hes confident Covarrubias can return as parish priest.
  
• Text of Vatican congregation's decree on attempts to ordain women
  Catholic News Service June 01, 2008
  Without prejudice to the prescript of Canon 1378 of the Code of Canon Law, both the one who attempts to confer a sacred order on a woman, and the woman who attempts to receive a sacred order, incur an excommunication "latae sententiae" reserved to the Apostolic See.
  
• Anonymous man files lawsuit against priest, Wilmington diocese
  SEAN OSULLIVAN, The News Journal May 31, 2008
  "This case is very important because we are beginning to use John Doe plaintiffs so the victims do not have to identify themselves, add to their injury and suffer public embarrassment in revealing what occurred to them," he said. Neuberger said he hopes the use of the "John Doe" status will encourage others to come forward before the deadline for filing retroactive abuse lawsuits expires next year.
  
• JUDGE SAYS NO CLIENT PRIVILEGE
  The News Journal May 31, 2008
  Whitwells attorney, Thomas Neuberger, said it was a significant ruling because it potentially opens access to a number of medical records in other priest abuse cases. Delaware psychotherapist Alice M. Colon said the ruling was not a surprise to her and she has long told clients that there is no confidentiality when it comes to child abuse cases.
  
• Judge throws out priest abuse lawsuit
  Andy Kravetz, Journal Star May 31, 2008
  Another lawsuit alleging a former priest molested a young parishioner has been dismissed because it was filed too late after the alleged victim "remembered" the abuse.
  

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