priest – NZ Catholic Newspaper

Abuse makes headlines in Australia

Michael Otto — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 02:44:46 +0000

SYDNEY (CathNews) — Abuse victims have rejected prayers for them offered at a Mass in Sydney’s St Mary’s Cathedral on July 8 as hypocritical and an empty gesture, reports The Age.
At the Mass, Bishop Julian Porteous said the sexual abuse of children was a “most heinous crime’’ because of the damage it did to victims and their families, and was worse if the abuser represented the Church and was in a unique position of trust.
A spokeswoman for the archdiocese of Sydney said Bishop Porteous had been sincere in offering the Mass for victims and asking for forgiveness.
“If Bishop Julian had not made any comment there would have been further criticism,” she said.
Those who heard his homily ‘‘would have immediately recognised it was a sincere, compassionate and heartfelt message from a man who cares deeply about people especially those and their families who have been victims of abuse by a priest’’, she said.
But Nicky Davis, spokeswoman for the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said: “Victims do not see this as a genuine attempt to help us.”
In another abuse case, broadcaster Derryn Hinch has revealed the identity of a priest known as Fr F, hours before a fresh allegation of abuse against him was broadcast on television, according to an AAP report in The Daily Telegraph.
The allegation was aired on the ABC’s 7.30 Report on July 9 by a man who wanted to be known only as “Bill”, and who said he was abused by a former Catholic priest in the northern NSW town of Moree during the mid-1980s.
The ABC has previously reported that the accused clergyman was sacked by the Church in 2005 after serious sexual abuse allegations and is now a prominent citizen in Armidale.
Hours before the programme went to air, Fr F’s identity was revealed by Melbourne broadcaster Derryn Hinch, who was jailed in the 1980s for naming a Melbourne paedophile priest.
Hinch was last year banned for five months from communicating in any medium after breaching four suppression orders covering the names of two sex offenders.

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Well-prepared priests essential for new evangelisation, Pope says

Michael Otto — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 12:00:00 +0000

CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy (CNS) Without well-prepared priests, "the new evangelisation" of society will be just a slogan, Pope Benedict XVI said. "Today we see a need for each priest to be a witness of the infinite mercy of God with a life completely conquered by Christ and for them to learn this from the very

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Indian priest found murdered along remote road

Michael Otto — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 12:00:00 +0000

MANGALORE, India (CNS) A Catholic priest was found murdered July 30 in a remote area near Mangalore in southern India. The naked body of Father James Mukalel, 39, was discovered on a roadside in the morning by passers-by, reported the Asian church new agency UCA News. The priest worked in the Belthangady Diocese, a Syro-Malabar

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Mexican bishops condemn murders of priest, two seminarians

Michael Otto — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 12:00:00 +0000

MEXICO CITY (CNS) The Mexican bishops’ conference has condemned the murders of a priest and two seminarians in the southern state of Guerrero as they were traveling to a religious retreat. "We … condemn the violence that is plaguing our country and demand that the authorities from all levels of government quickly carry out an

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Bishops adopt dress standards for priests

Michael Otto — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 12:00:00 +0000

PALMERSTON NORTH Concern about dress standards adopted by a minority of priests attending formal functions has led to new guidelines for clerical dress. The New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference has agreed that guidelines for formal, informal and casual occasions be recommended to priests, with room for adaptations by the diocesan bishop. This follows an earlier

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Two Jesuit priests found brutally murdered in Moscow apartment

Vatican City (CNS) — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 12:00:00 +0000

VATICAN CITY (CNS) Two Jesuit priests were murdered brutally in Moscow after being attacked with blunt objects. Jesuit Fathers Otto Messmer, 47, and Victor Betancourt, 42, were found dead in their Moscow apartment on October 28. The Russian bishops’ conference denounced "those who committed this terrible crime" and prayed Russian authorities would "be able to

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Orissa government expedites case of nun raped by Hindu fanatics

Michael Otto — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 12:00:00 +0000

NEW DELHI (CNS) The Orissa state government has decided to expedite the case of a Catholic nun who was raped during the recent anti-Christian violence in the eastern Indian state. The move came after the nun spoke at a press conference Oct. 24 in the Jesuit-managed Indian Social Institute in New Delhi, reported the Asian

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Bishop to ordain two men in Auckland

Michael Otto — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 12:00:00 +0000

AUCKLAND Bishop Patrick Dunn will ordain two men in Auckland in June one a transitional deacon and the other to the priesthood. Gilbert Ramos, a native of the Philippines, studied at the Immaculate Conception seminary in his home country. The dean of studies at the seminary, a friend of Auckland-based priest Fr Ruben Elago, MSP,

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