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Regensburg, Germany, Jul 18, 2017 / 03:37 pm (CNA).- A new report claims that more students of a prestigious German choir were subjected to physical abuse than originally thought, and accuses the brother of Benedict XVI of turning a blind eye.

Ulrich Weber is the lawyer commissioned to investigate Regensburger Domspatzen, the official choir for the Regensburg Cathedral.

According to Weber, the July 18 report shows that the number children suspected to have been victimized is much greater than the 250 previously accounted for.

He said 500 members of the choir were exposed to physical harm and 67 suffered sexual abuse from 49 members of the school's faculty, ranging from 1945 until the early 90s. Most of alleged perpetrators, he said, are not expected to face charges because of the length of time that has gone by.

The reported violence ranged from public ridicule, heavy beatings, and sexual abuse, but a large portion of the documented incidents involved slapping and food deprivation, a legal form of discipline in Bavaria until the 1980s.

Much of the heavier discipline was attributed to Johann Meier, a schoolmaster at one of the boarding schools from 1953 to 1992.

Weber has continued to blame Georg Ratzinger, brother of Pope Benedict XVI, for negligence on acting against the physical abuse, saying “one can accuse him of looking the other way and failing to intervene.” He has clarified however, that Fr. Ratzinger had no knowledge of sexual abuse.

Father Ratzinger, who was the director from 1964 to 1994, has also said that he was unaware of the degree of the physical abuse, according to a 2010 interview with Passauer Neue Presse.

“Had I known with what exaggerated fierceness he was acting, I would have said something,” he said in the interview of Meier, pointing out that he had only known about the discipline of slapping, a punishment common in many schools and homes in the area at the time.

However, many of the victims associated their time at the school with “fear, violence, and hopelessness,” Fr. Ratzinger said, apologizing for the corporal punishment of the time as well as the extreme abuse which occurred at the school.

“Of course, today one condemns such actions. I do as well. At the same time, I ask the victims for pardon.”

The Catholic Church has offered compensation to the victims of Regensburg, ranging from about $5,500 to $25,000. 

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Washington D.C., Jul 18, 2017 / 03:38 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Callista Gingrich, nominated by President Donald Trump as U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See, laid out her priorities Tuesday at a hearing before the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.

Grilled on issues such as immigration, climate change, relations with Cuba and terrorism, Gingrich insisted that Trump has not cut discussion on the climate change and refugee debates, and voiced her commitment to fight human trafficking and promote human rights and religious freedom.

During the July 18 hearing, the committee also listened to remarks from three other Trump nominees: George E. Glass as U.S. Ambassador to Portugal, Carl Risch as Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs, and Nathan Sales as the State Department’s counter-terrorism coordinator.

In her opening remarks, Gingrich voiced her thanks to President Trump for the nomination, and said she is looking forward to the possibility of collaborating with an institution that is active “on a global scale.”

The Holy See, she said, “is engaged on every continent to engage religious freedom and human rights, to fight terrorism and violence, to combat human trafficking, to prevent the spread of diseases like Ebola and HIV/AIDS, and to seek peaceful solutions to crises around the world.”

The Vatican and its various entities, she said, play “an active role” in troubled areas throughout the world, such as Venezuela, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The latter two nations were initially on the Pope's travel itinerary this year, but were dropped due to security concerns.

“The Catholic Church is a unique global network, overseeing the world's second international aid organization, operating over 25 percent of the world's healthcare facilities and ministering to millions in every corner of the world,” Gingrich said, and emphasized her commitment to continue building stronger bilateral relations between the two countries, despite points of disagreement.

It is well known that Trump and Pope Francis differ sharply on the issues of immigration and climate change. Asked by Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire how she plans to engage the Vatican on immigration, given President Trump's recent legislation, Gingrich insisted that the issue is a “grave concern” for Trump, and one he sees as “a priority.”

The U.S. isn't “disengaging” on the issue, she said, and stressed the fact that the U.S. is one of the greatest providers of humanitarian aid as a potential point of collaboration on the issue.

“I think we can communicate our commitment to help those most in need,” she said.

When it comes to counter-terrorism efforts, Gingrich pledged collaboration.

And while opinions of diplomatic partners may differ in terms of policy, Gingrich said she looks forward to working with the Vatican “on those issues of our shared policy opportunities.”

The nominee was also questioned about her opinion of the Pope's 2015 environmental encyclical “Laudato Si” and how to foster dialogue on the issue with the Vatican, given Trump's decision to pull out of the Paris climate agreement earlier this year.

In her responses, Gingrich said Trump has “a great concern for our environment” and wants to make American an “environmental leader,” especially when it comes to promoting clean air and water.

“We will disengage and pull out of the Paris agreement, and either re-enter the Paris agreement or an entirely new agreement; one that is fair to Americans,” she said, and voiced hope that she can work with the Holy See as the U.S. seeks “a balanced policy; one that promotes American jobs, prosperity and energy security.”

When asked about the issue a second time by Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon, who said he is less confident about Trump's commitment to the climate issue, Gingrich said that she personally believes that “climate change exists and that some of it is due to human behavior.”

“But I do believe that as President Trump pursues a better deal for Americans, we will indeed remain an environmental leader in the world,” she said.

Gingrich didn't know whether or not Trump has read the copy of “Laudato Si” given to him by Pope Francis during their meeting at the Vatican in May, and said that she has read “some of it” herself.

President Trump, she said, “wants the United States to be an environmental leader. We aren't backing off of that, but we are seeking the security of this country, to promote jobs for Americans and to have better prosperity, so the focus is slightly different, but we do want to be an environmental leader.”

Another topic Gingrich said would be key to her role is human trafficking, which she called “a horrific offense that threatens our global security.”

The issue has been a key priority for Pope Francis from the beginning, having specifically asked the Pontifical Academy for Sciences to study the issue after his election.

It has also been a priority for President Trump's daughter and high-profile adviser, Ivanka Trump, who after accompanying her father to his meeting with Pope Francis, met with victims of human trafficking helped by the Rome-based Sant'Egidio community.

When it comes to issues of global importance and partnerships in confronting them, Gingrich said that “it's so important that we reach out to places like the Holy See and to promote good in the world and to make it a better place to advance our peace and our freedom and our human dignity.”

President Trump announced his choice of Callista, wife of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, to be the next U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican in May.

She is the president of both Gingrich Productions in Arlington, Va. and the charitable non-profit Gingrich Foundation, and is a former Congressional aide.

Newt and Callista married in 2000, after having a six-year affair while Newt was married to his previous wife. Newt converted to Catholicism in 2009 and, in an interview that year with Deal Hudson at InsideCatholic.com, explained how Callista’s witness as a Catholic brought him towards the faith.

He noted that he had attended Masses at the National Shrine where Callista sang in the choir, and she “created an environment where I could gradually think and evolve on the issue of faith.”

At the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast in 2011, he also cited Pope Benedict XVI’s 2008 visit to the U.S. as a “moment of confirmation” for him. At vespers with the Pope, where Callista sang in the Shrine choir, Newt recalled thinking that “here is where I belong.”

The couple worked on a documentary together that was released in 2010, “Nine Days That Changed the World,” that focused on Pope St. John Paul II’s 1979 pilgrimage to Poland when the former Soviet bloc country was under a communist government.

During the hearing, she referenced a second documentary film they recently produced titled “Divine Mercy: The Canonization of John Paul II.”

Should the Senate Foreign Relations Committee approve Gingrich after today’s meeting, her nomination will then move to the full Senate. If she is approved there, she'll likely arrive to Rome this fall, showing up as soon as September.

 

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Caracas, Venezuela, Jul 18, 2017 / 04:28 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Cardinal Jorge Urosa Savino of Caracas has repudiated Sunday's attack on a referendum in which the vast majority of participants expressed their opposition to the constituent assembly called by President Maduro.

The July 16 attack was carried out by armed groups in support of the nation's socialist government.

Venezuela's government plans to hold a constituent assembly which would have the authority to write a new constitution and to dissolve the country's legislature, which is controlled by the opposition.

More than 7.6 million people across Venezuela are believed to have voted against the assembly in Sunday's unofficial referendum, which was organized by the opposition.

The referendum led to violence in several areas across the country.

The Archdiocese of Caracas said the attack with shots fired against those in line to vote is “an unacceptable attack on the people and on Cardinal Urosa.”

After Mass, the cardinal and the priests were told that pro-government groups were harassing those who were participating in the consultation, which was taking place near Our Lady of Mount Carmel parish in Caracas' Catia area.

After the shots that forced several hundred people to enter the church and which left one person dead and several injured, “the violent group continued to harass those who took refuge in the church and the the church doors had to be locked to protect them. The attackers prevented those inside from leaving the parish church.”

The news release by the Archdiocese of Caracas noted that “in view of the seriousness of the situation, the cardinal then called a priest to ask for support from the authorities. For his part, the pastor of the church, Fr. Tovar, spoke with some of those belonging to the group that was outside the church to ask them to end the siege of the people who had taken refuge inside the church. He reiterated to them that the parish facilities had not been provided for the consultation of the people. However, nothing came of it.”

The release of those inside the church occurred after the intervention of the authorities of the National Bolivarian Police, who spoke with Cardinal Urosa in order to evacuate those who were in the church with guarantees for their safety.

The statement also “totally repudiates the attack by armed groups against the citizens who were peacefully participating in the consultation of the people on the Constitutional Assembly, as well as subsequent siege of all the people who were in the parish church.”

The Venezuelan Bishops' Conference posted on Twitter photos of a number of bishops participating in the consultation, including Cardinal Urosa and the conference's president, Archbishop Diego Padrón Sanchez of Cumana, who told CNA that yesterday's consultation was “successful with the massive as well as peaceful and democratic participation of the Venezuelan people,” which wants “peaceful as well as constitutional ways to get out of the crisis.”

The archbishop added that the people do not want a reform of the constitution but “a change in the system that is governing us and which is ultimately the cause of all the ills from which the country is suffering.”

“A change of the system, not just one person for others, but a change of the total system which also includes the person.”

Poor economic policies, including strict price controls, coupled with high inflation rates, have resulted in a severe lack of basic necessities in Venezuela, such as toilet paper, milk, flour, diapers and medicines.
Venezuela's socialist government is widely blamed for the crisis. Since 2003, price controls on some 160 products, including cooking oil, soap and flour, have meant that while they are affordable, they fly off store shelves only to be resold on the black market at much higher rates.

 

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Denver, Colo., Jul 18, 2017 / 05:09 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- In the last 24 hours more than twenty Catholic pages, some with millions of followers, have been blocked by Facebook for unknown reasons.

Of the known affected pages, 21 are based in Brazil, and four are English-language pages, with administrators in the U.S. and Africa. Most of the blocked pages had significant followings - between hundreds of thousands and up to 6 million followers each.

One of the blocked English-language fanpages was “Jesus and Mary”, which had 1.7 million followers. The page’s main cover photo was of the sacred hearts of Jesus and Mary.

Page administrator Godwin Delali Adadzie, a Ghanaian, told CNA he was on Facebook around 8 p.m. Central July 17 when he was asked to upload a photo of himself because his personal account had been “suspected of suspicious activities,” he said.

After several minutes, he was allowed back into his personal account, which had notifications informing him that his “Jesus and Mary” page had been disabled. He said every person who was approved as an editor on his page had to go through the same process.

Adadzie said he reviewed Facebook's policies "and, honestly, I do not see any that I have violated in order for my page to be withdrawn."

He has sent two appeals to Facebook but has yet to get a response.

Another blocked English-language page is “Catholic and Proud”, which had 6 million followers. Page administrator Kenneth Alimba of Nigeria told CNA his page was also blocked without explanation.

He has sent appeals to Facebook but is “not optimistic” about a response. He also told CNA that he noticed other Catholic Facebook pages that he runs, with fewer followers, are still online.

Another blocked English-language page is "Fr. Rocky," belonging to U.S. priest Fr. Francis J. Hoffman, executive director of Relevant Radio, whose page had 3.5 million likes. Fr. Hoffman could not be reached for comment by press time.

Facebook has yet to respond to requests for comment on the blocked pages. Facebook is the largest social network in the world, having recently reached more than 2 billion users.

While it remains unknown why these pages were blocked, some of the page administrators have said they wonder whether they are being censored.

In 2016, Facebook came under fire for allegedly censoring trends to news deemed "conservative."

On that occasion, Mark Zuckerberg rejected the allegations of censorship, and met with conservative U.S. leaders to assure them Facebook's neutrality.

In the past, user accounts have also been inadvertently blocked on Facebook due to system glitches, or numerous complaints against the page in a short time period. In these cases, Facebook restored the accounts after reviewing their content.

 

Brantly Millegan contributed to this report.

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IMAGE: CNS photo/Yuri Gripas, Reuters

By Carol Zimmermann

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- After efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act collapsed late July 17 in the U.S. Senate, Catholic health care leaders said they hope Congress will work together, in small steps, to fix flaws in the current legislation.

The bill lost ground when two Republican senators announced their opposition to it, joining two other senators who opposed the bill and leaving Republican leaders at least two votes short of the 50 needed to start debate on the measure.

Four days earlier, Bishop Frank J. Dewane of Venice, Florida, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, said in a statement that the measure, a revision of an earlier draft, still did not have "enough improvement to change our assessment that the proposal is unacceptable."

"The Catholic Health Association is pleased that the bill in the Senate will not go forward," said Sister Carol Keehan, a Daughter of Charity, who is president and CEO of the association, adding: "It would have had incredibly negative consequences for so many Americans."

Dr. Steven White, a pulmonary specialist in Ormond Beach, Florida, and chairman of the Catholic Medical Association Health Care Policy Committee, said that because of the complexity of the heath care legislation, he would hope people would see what happened -- when the Senate failed to secure the necessary votes for the health care repeal -- as a setback not a failure.

In his July 13 statement about the Senate bill, Bishop Dewane also referred to his June 27 letter to senators that said any health care reform bill must uphold several moral principles: affordability; access for all; respect for life; and protection of conscience rights. The bishops also have stressed the need for U.S. health care policy "to improve real access" to health care for immigrants.

In a July 18 statement, Sister Keehan said Congress can "now turn a page and open a new chapter" stressing that the country deserves a health care bill that gives quality and affordable health care to everyone.

The Congressional Budget Office said the Senate bill would leave 18 million more people uninsured within a year, and 32 million fewer people would have coverage in 2026, compared with the number of those insured under the current law. Health insurance premiums also would increase by at least 20 percent within the first year and would likely double by 2026.

The bill would have done away with the Affordable Care Act's expansion of Medicaid and subsidies for the purchase of private insurance, but it would have left in place requirements prohibiting insurers from denying coverage or charging higher premiums because of a pre-existing medical condition.

Sister Keehan, who was consulted on the initial Affordable Care Act legislation, said moving forward will require bipartisan efforts and broad consultation. "There is the competence and resources to do this if we work together. Health is too critical to be allowed to be a partisan issue," she said, adding that CHA "stands ready to work with all members of Congress to achieve this."

The woman religious, who is a nurse and heads an organization of more than 600 hospitals and 1,400 long-term care and other health facilities in the United States, also said her organization would "definitely not support a bill that repeals but delays replacement" of the Affordable Care Act because it would create "incredible uncertainty."

"Health care is too critical to put at that much risk," she added.

White told Catholic News Service July 18 that members of Congress need to "get together and view in incremental steps what they can do" acknowledging that fixing flaws in the Affordable Care Act "can't all be done at once."

He said one aspect of the reform efforts -- Medicaid cuts -- is not fully understood. As he sees it, the expansion of Medicaid under the ACA is currently hurting state budgets, so some type of reform is necessary.

He also stressed that any future health care legislation that comes before Congress must include conscience protections that he said are "absolutely essential."

Three days before the Senate plan was stopped in its tracks, Sister Keehan said she hoped more senators would take a stand against the proposed legislation. The next step would be for "Democrats and Republicans to show they can be statesmen and women and come together -- not gloating or finding fault but looking to stabilize the Affordable Care Act for now and to look at what might be better in the future."

On the Senate floor July 18, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, said: "I regret that the effort to repeal and immediately replace the failures of Obamacare will not be successful. That doesn't mean we should give up. We will now try a different way to bring the American people relief from Obamacare. I think we owe them at least that much."

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Follow Zimmermann on Twitter: @carolmaczim.

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Copyright © 2017 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. www.catholicnews.com. All rights reserved. Republishing or redistributing of CNS content, including by framing or similar means without prior permission, is prohibited. You may link to stories on our public site. This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To request permission for republishing or redistributing of CNS content, please contact permissions at cns@catholicnews.com.

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IMAGE: CNS photo/Jonathan Ernst, Reuters

By Carolyn Mackenzie

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Callista Gingrich testified before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations July 18 for her confirmation hearing as President Donald Trump's nominee to be the U.S. ambassador to the Vatican.

Gingrich, 51, affirmed the administration's commitment to protecting human rights and religious freedom and responded to questions about refugees and the environment.

Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisconsin, presided, introducing Gingrich and referencing her involvement with the Catholic Church. He noted that Gingrich was the organist for her local parish, St. John's Catholic Church, in her hometown of Whitehall, Wisconsin, and has been a longtime member of the choir at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington.

"Callista is a lifelong Catholic and has been active in her faith for many years," Johnson said.

He marked her almost three decades of experience as a congressional staffer and subsequent work as president of Gingrich Productions, a company that produces documentaries, books, newsletters, and other materials related to history and public policy.

Johnson cited Gingrich's experience gained in producing a documentary film about Pope John Paul II's historic trip to Poland as evidence of her connections with and understanding of the Catholic community and the Vatican, calling her "an ideal choice."

Johnson noted that Rep. Francis Rooney, R-Florida, who served as U.S. ambassador to the Vatican from 2005 to 2008, was in attendance in support of Gingrich's nomination.

In her testimony, Gingrich emphasized her desire to work with the Vatican to protect religious freedom and human rights, fight terrorism, violence and human trafficking, and seek peaceful solutions to international crises.

Gingrich spoke of her time spent producing "Nine Days That Changed the World," and "Divine Mercy: The Canonization of John Paul II" as influential in her education in the "bilateral relationship" between the United States and the Vatican. The two entities, she said, "can act as a worldwide force for good when we work together."

After Gingrich and other nominees delivered their testimonies, members of the committee questioned them. Questions for Gingrich focused primarily on refugees and the environment.

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-New Hampshire, said that Pope Francis has called upon America and the rest of the Western world to welcome refugees and asked Gingrich how she planned to work with the Holy See on this critical issue.

"We have a deep commitment in this country to work so that people don't have to become refugees," Gingrich said.

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Virginia, pressed the question further, noting that the president's most recent budget proposal included a cut to the refugee bureau.

"We're sending a message," Kaine said in reference to such cuts.

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Connecticut, also referred to the budget, alluding to a hiring freeze for the State Department.

"You are all going to feel the brunt of that," Murphy said to Gingrich and the nominees for other positions who were present at the hearing.

Sen. Tom Udall, D-New Mexico, asked Gingrich if she planned to work with the Vatican to increase ties between the U.S. and Cuba. Gingrich replied that she hopes to aid in efforts to advance religious freedom, human dignity and human rights in Cuba.

Udall also questioned Gingrich on the environment, referencing Trump's recent visit to the Vatican, at which Pope Francis presented him with a copy of his encyclical "Laudato Si'."

"The pope and the president share a great concern about the environment," Gingrich said.

Gingrich then said that while the U.S. is pulling out of the Paris climate agreement, as Trump announced in early June, the U.S. will pursue a "balanced approach to climate change."

Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, also pressed Gingrich on the environment, asking Gingrich if Trump had read "Laudato Si'."

Although unsure if Trump had read "Laudato Si'," Gingrich explained that she had read "some of it" and believes that climate changes exists and that some of it is due to human behavior. She also said that Trump "wants the U.S. to be an environmental leader."

Merkley said that he "must have missed" any of the president's statements showing his dedication to the environment.

With questions from other committee members ended, Johnson asked Gingrich about her experience producing "Nine Days that Changed the World." Gingrich responded that her work affirmed that Pope John Paul helped usher in end of communism in Poland and Eastern Europe. After Gingrich's answer, Johnson concluded the hearing.

"America has been a phenomenal force for good in the world; the Catholic Church has been a phenomenal force for good in this world," Johnson said.

If confirmed, Gingrich, wife of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and a former congressional aide, will become the 11th U.S. ambassador to the Vatican. She would succeed Ambassador Ken Hackett, who retired in January. She would be the third woman to serve in the post after Lindy Boggs, who served 1997-2001, and Mary Ann Glendon, who served 2008-2009.

The ambassadorship began in 1984 with the official opening of diplomatic relations between the United States under Ronald Reagan and the Vatican under Pope John Paul.

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Copyright © 2017 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. www.catholicnews.com. All rights reserved. Republishing or redistributing of CNS content, including by framing or similar means without prior permission, is prohibited. You may link to stories on our public site. This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To request permission for republishing or redistributing of CNS content, please contact permissions at cns@catholicnews.com.

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