AND THE THIRD ANGEL FOLLOWED THEM, SAYING WITH A LOUD VOICE, IF ANY MAN WORSHIP THE BEAST AND HIS IMAGE, AND RECEIVE HIS MARK IN HIS FOREHEAD, OR IN HIS HAND.
*** REVELATION 14:9
When our nation, in its legislative councils, shall enact laws to bind the consciences of men in regard to their religious privileges, enforcing Sunday observance, and bringing oppressive power to bear against those who keep the seventh-day Sabbath, the law of God will, to all intents and purposes, be made void in our land, and national apostasy will be followed by national ruin.—The S.D.A. Bible Commentary 7:977 (1888).
It is at the time of the national apostasy when, acting on the policy of Satan, the rulers of the land will rank themselves on the side of the man of sin. It is then the measure of guilt is full. The national apostasy is the signal for national ruin.—Selected Messages 2:373 (1891).
Roman Catholic principles will be taken under the care and protection of the state. This national apostasy will speedily be followed by national ruin.—The Review and Herald, June 15, 1897.
When Protestant churches shall unite with the secular power to sustain a false religion, for opposing which their ancestors endured the fiercest persecution, then will the papal sabbath be enforced by the combined authority of church and state. There will be a national apostasy, which will end only in national ruin.—Evangelism, 235 (1899).
When the state shall use its power to enforce the decrees and sustain the institutions of the church—then will Protestant America have formed an image to the papacy, and there will be a national apostasy which will end only in national ruin.—The S.D.A. Bible Commentary 7:976 (1910).
AP/File File: Bishop Francis Kane, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Chicago, responds to a question about the release of 6,000 pages of documents detailing what it knew about decades of clergy sex abuse allegations and how it handled them during a news conference Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2014, in Chicago.
After a 13-year-old boy reported in 1979 that a priest raped him and threatened him at gunpoint to keep quiet, the Archdiocese of Chicago assured the boy's parents that although the cleric avoided prosecution, he would receive treatment and have no further contact with minors.
But the Rev. William Cloutier, who already had been accused of molesting other children, was returned to ministry a year later and was accused of more abuse before he resigned in 1993, two years after the boy's parents filed a lawsuit. Officials took no action against Cloutier over his earliest transgressions because he "sounded repentant," according to internal archdiocese documents released Tuesday that show how the archdiocese tried to contain a mounting scandal over child sexual abuse.
For decades, those at the highest levels of the nation's third-largest archdiocese moved accused priests from parish to parish while hiding the clerics' histories from the public. The documents, released through settlements between attorneys for the archdiocese and victims, describe how the late Cardinals John Cody and Cardinal Joseph Bernardin often approved the reassignments. The archdiocese removed some priests from ministry, but often years or decades after the clergy were known to have molested children.
While disturbing stories of clergy sexual abuse have wrenched the Roman Catholic Church across the globe, the newly released documents offer the broadest look yet into how one of its largest and most prominent American dioceses responded to the scandal.
The documents, posted online Tuesday, cover only 30 of the at least 65 clergy for whom the archdiocese says it has substantiated claims of child abuse. Vatican documents related to the 30 cases were not included, under the negotiated terms of the disclosure.
The records also didn't include the files of former priest Daniel McCormack, who pleaded guilty in 2007 to abusing five children and whose case prompted an apology from Cardinal Francis George and an internal investigation of how the archdiocese responds to abuse claims.
But the more than 6,000 pages include internal communications between church officials, disturbing testimony about specific abuses, meeting schedules where allegations were discussed, and letters from anguished parishioners. The names of victims, and details considered private under mental health laws were redacted.
In a letter distributed to parishes last week, Cardinal George apologized to victims and Catholics, and said the archdiocese agreed to turn over the records in an attempt to help the victims heal.
The archdiocese released a statement Tuesday saying it knows it "made some decisions decades ago that are now difficult to justify" and that society has evolved in how it deals with abuse.
"The Church and its leaders have acknowledged repeatedly that they wished they had done more and done it sooner, but now are working hard to regain trust, to reach out to victims and their families, and to make certain that all children and youth are protected," the statement read.
Officials in the archdiocese said most of the abuse detailed in the files released Tuesday occurred before 1988, none after 1996, and that all these cases ultimately were reported to authorities.
But victims' lawyers argue many of the allegations surfaced after George assumed control of the archdiocese in 1997, and some of the documents relate to how the church handled the cases more recently.
"The issue is not when the abuse happened; the issue is what they did once it was reported," said Chicago attorney Marc Pearlman, who has represented about 200 victims of clergy abuse in the Chicago area.
When a young woman reported in 1970 that she'd been abused as a teen, for example, Cody assured the priest that the "whole matter has been forgotten" because "no good can come of trying to prove or disprove the allegations."
Accused priests often were quietly sent away for a time for treatment or training programs, the documents show. When the accused clerics returned, officials often assigned them to new parishes and asked other priests to monitor them around children.
In one 1989 letter to Bernardin, the vicar for priests worries about parishioners discovering the record of the Rev. Vincent E. McCaffrey, who was moved four times because of abuse allegations.
"Unfortunately, one of the key parishioners ... received an anonymous phone call which made reference by name to Vince and alleged misconduct on his part with young boys," wrote vicar for priests, the Rev. Raymond Goedert. "We all agreed that the best thing would be for Vince to move. We don't know if the anonymous caller will strike again."
When the archdiocese tried to force accused clergy into treatment or isolate them at church retreats, some of the priests refused, or ignored orders by church administrators to stay away from children.
Church officials worried about losing parishioners and "potential priests" over abuse scandals. "This question I believe is going to get stickier and stickier," Patrick O'Malley, then-vicar for priests, wrote in a 1992 letter.
Then, in 2002, a national scandal about dioceses' failures to stop abusers consumed the American church. U.S. bishops nationwide adopted a toughened disciplinary policy and pledged to remove all guilty priests from church jobs in their dioceses.
But for many victims, it was too little and too late.
"Where was the church for the victims of this sick, demented, twisted pedophile?" one man wrote in a 2002 letter to George about abuse at the hands of the Rev. Norbert Maday, who was imprisoned in Wisconsin after a 1994 conviction for molesting two boys. "Why wasn't the church looking out for us? We were children, for God's sake."
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis devoted the catechetical portion of his weekly General Audience on Wednesday to the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which this year is dedicated to a question taken from the First Letter to the Corinthians: “Has Christ Been Divided?”. The English-language synthesis, read out after the main reflection delivered by Pope Francis in Italian, said, “We know that Christ has not been divided; yet we must sincerely recognize that our communities continue to experience divisions which are a source of scandal and weaken our witness to the Gospel.”
In reproaching the Corinthians for their divisions, Paul reminds them to rejoice in the great spiritual gifts which they have received. His words encourage us to rejoice in the gifts God has given to other Christians, gifts which we can receive from them for our enrichment. To be able to do this calls for humility, discernment and constant conversion.
Pope Francis asked all Christian faithful to pray that, as we reflect on Paul’s teaching during this Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, we may be confirmed, together with all Christ’s followers, in our pursuit of holiness and fidelity to the Lord’s will. Listen:
United Nations Headquarters in New York City. Credit: UN Photo/John Isaac.
New York City, N.Y., Jan 21, 2014 / 04:35 am (CNA).- Catholics have joined with members of other faiths to support the Holy See's permanent observer status at the United Nations, defending against a group of abortion proponents seeking to oust the body from the international organization.
“The Holy See’s special status enables it to encourage genuine dialogue, promote peaceful resolution of conflicts, and appeal beyond the mere territorial interests of states to the consciences of their leaders,” said a declaration and petition supporting the Holy See's unique presence in world diplomacy.
The statement explained that the Holy See's “disinterested, non-partisan service has always been appreciated by the member states at the United Nations.”
“We join with the Member States in gratitude for the spiritual and moral witness of the Holy See at the United Nations,” it continued. “The world would be far poorer if the voice of the Holy See within the United Nations were ever silenced. May that day never come.”
The declaration and petition was launched by the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute Jan. 17. Three days later, it had accumulated more than 3,000 signatures.
Austin Ruse, the institute’s president, said the petition campaign is a response to efforts to remove the Holy See from the U.N. General Assembly.
“The Holy See is the conscience of the UN. It is the only delegation that does not have political considerations in how they negotiate. They negotiate purely from first principles,” he said.
Drafted by Princeton Law School professor Robert P. George and William Saunders of Americans United for Life, the declaration noted that the Holy See has been working in diplomacy since the fourth century A.D. It now has diplomatic relations with 177 nations.
The declaration charged that opponents of the Vatican's presence at the U.N. dislike the Holy See’s “steadfast defense of the sanctity of human life and the inviolable dignity of the family.”
“Certain organizations, in the name of a false ‘liberation,’ seek to undermine central truths regarding the nature of the human person and of the family. In the name of a false doctrine of human rights, they deny what makes men truly human and violate true human rights,” the statement said.
The abortion advocacy group “Catholics for Choice” has been a longtime opponent of the Holy See’s permanent observer status. The U.S. bishops have warned that this group is “not a Catholic organization” but promotes teachings “contrary to the teaching of the Church.”
The group’s president, John O’Brien, used the Holy See representatives’ recent appearance at a hearing of the U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child to criticize the permanent observer mission.
He that the Holy See “inexplicably … continues to enjoy the privileges of a state at the U.N.”
“The Holy See has no right to a seat at the U.N. and should not be signing these treaties and conventions,” he argued Jan. 16.
The Holy See’s representatives at the Jan. 16 hearing condemned violence against children and child exploitations, saying that the Vatican in recent years has made child protection a “priority.”
Signatories of the petition deplored efforts to end the Holy See’s permanent observer status, charging that these groups see the Vatican as “an obstacle to their goals of re-engineering humanity and revising basic moral understandings.”
“While many of us do not share or endorse the claims of the Catholic Church, we are united in supporting the Holy See’s continued role as permanent observer at the United Nations,” the document said.
A similar declaration was launched in the year 2000, gaining support from Protestant and Muslim groups as well as Catholics.
Ruse urged supporters of the Holy See’s U.N. presence to sign the petition and ask others to do so.
The signatories will be presented to representatives of the Holy See in New York, Geneva and Rome sometime before the end of 2014.
• Tense first day of peace conference in Montreux, Switzerland
• Regime and opposition to meet for first time on Friday
• Syrian minister and Ban Ki-moon clash in bitter exchange
• John Kerry says Syria not safe 'while Assad remains in power'
Latest
19.12 With the press conferences drawing to a close we will wrap up our live coverage of the opening day of the Geneva 2 peace talks with a few final words from our Richard Spencer, our Middle East Correspondent, who is in Montreux:
It took three years to bring Syrians together for negotiations. It took less than an hour for acrimony and rancour to take over as diplomats bickered, fought and insulted each other at the start of long-awaited peace talks in Switzerland today.
Walid al-Muallem, the Syrian foreign minister, appearing in the same room as the opposition for the first time, refused to address calls for President Bashar al-Assad to stand down. Instead he claimed the revolution against his rule comprised nothing more than terrorists sent to the country by "princes and emirs living in mud and backwardness".
In return, Ahmed al-Jarba, the head of the opposition Syrian National Coalition, accused Mr Assad of committing atrocities not seen in Europe since the Second World War, and demanded he face justice for war crimes.
Meanwhile, outside the conference hall, fights broke out as anti-Assad Syrians approached a small pro-Assad demonstration and tried to address it. Inside the press room, an opposition journalist nearly came to blows with a regime press officer, who was in full flow of a loud speech denouncing the opposition in an incongruous Australian accent.
19.05 Bashar Jaafari's combative press conference has finally come to a close, in which he made repeated references to the rebels as "terrorists"
"Syria needs encouragement to engage in the sincere and honest implementation of Geneva 1, as I said, but to do so, we need all to put an end to the terrorism, and the violence, because the political settlement cannot go hand-in-hand with the terrorism"
18.25 Bashar Jaafari, Syrian Ambassador to the UN, is now airing his country's government's grievances about the conference so far.
"The format of today's meeting was somehow disappointing to us.
We had today 40 countries seemingly pre-selected in a way that most of them would be anti-Syrian delegations, meaning that they are coming from governments who have hostile policies toward the Syrian government.
At the same time paradoxically the secretary general excluded Iran... That created an imbalance in the format."
He also attacks the rhetoric of the various foreign delegations:
"The statements and speeches of most of those who took the floor today in the meeting did not encourage the national political dialogue.
It was a kind of provocative statements [sic], repetitive statements, old language, based on hatred towards the Syrian government and based on a kind of blind provocation which is counterproductive, fruitless and unsuccessful, not positive at all."
18.12 The conference has now ended for the day, though closing press conferences are still ongoing. Meanwhile, footage has emerged online which appears to show clashes between pro- and anti-regime protesters gathered in Montreux:
18.05 John Kerry has just finished taking questions from journalists.
In response to a question about whether the military option is still on the table for the US in Syria, he replied:
"President Obama has never taken any option off the table in dealing with Syria... He made a decision to use force in the case of chemical weapons. [That case] got solved... The president has fully left that option on the table"
He refused to speculate on what may happen if, as expected, little significant progress is made in Geneva this week, stating that it would be inappropriate to do so on the first day of the conference.
17.55 Kerry is emphasising the need for political transition with some very strong words for Bashar al-Assad, saying that the 40 countries assembled at Geneva (with one exception) have all spoken in support of the Geneva communique's main principle, a "transition of goverment with full executive authority by mutual consent"
"Today people recognise how alone Assad is standing up for himself, not for Syria. The resolution to this crisis cannot be about one man or one family's insistence about clinging to power. It needs to be about empowering all Syrian people. The international community has expressed a united vision for Syria.
No-one should think there can be a place for a man who has turned on his own people, who permitted the death of 130,000...
There is no-one who has done more to make Syria a magnet for terrorists than Bashar al Assad. He is the single greatest magnet for terrorists in the region.
People who support the opposition will never stop becasue of what he has done and how he has done it.
You cannot save Syria from disintegration as long as Bashar al-Assad remains in power"
17.41 US Secretary of State John Kerry is about to speak. Meanwhile, Syrian journalists are complaining that they are not being permitted to ask questions:
17.29 UN mediator Lakhdar Brahimi has said he will meet both Syrian delegations separately on Thursday, but that it is not yet clear whether he will be able to bring the two sides face-to-face in the same room on Friday, according to Reuters.
"We will try to see if we meet Friday morning separately and hopefully by Friday afternoon both sides will sit in one room.
Describing the challenge ahead, Brahimi said: "We have no illusion that it is going to be easy but we are going to try very hard"
That meeting ended in a statement that a future Syrian government "could include members of the present government and the opposition and other groups and shall be formed on the basis of mutual consent".
That meeting also offered no future for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. However, the Syrian government has said of this week's talks: "Nobody will touch the Presidency
17.09 Ban Ki-moon is now taking questions from journalists, but also had a message about the significance of the peace process being led by the Syrians themselves:
"Our purpose was to send a message to the two Syrian delegations and to the Syrian people that the world wants an urgent end to the conflict. Enough is enough, the time has to come to negotiate.
Syrians have a long history of living together. They must take back all that they have lost.
This must be a Syrian led process, Syrian owned... which fully respects Syrian authority."
17.01 UN chief Ban Ki-moon is closing the day's talks with a press conference, in which he emphasises the importance of the next few days:
"Ending this war and making peace will be hard. We have taken a first small step here in Montreaux. We will take another step on Friday when the Syrian parties sit down... The really hard work begins on Friday
We did not expect instant breakthroughs. ... No one underestimated the difficulties. The Syrian people are looking desperately for relief from the nightmare in which they are trapped."
He also addresses the need for urgent humanitarian assistance and a united front against terrorism
"All parties must guarantee full humanitarian access, especially to beseiged areas... Food, medicine and surgical equipment must be allowed in; civilians, especially the wounded, must be allowed out. All parties must work to end terrorist attacks"
16.58 Monday's report on alleged torture and systematic mass killings by the Syrian regime continues to loom large over the conference as it draws to a close today. Syrian opposition leader Ahmad Jarba called for independent international experts to visit jails in the country to investigate the report - compiled by a team of war crimes prosecutors and forensic experts - which included thousands of photos of alleged victims of the regime supplied by a defected military police photographer.
Mr Jarba, in closing remarks to the conference, said: "We demand today that an international commission of inquiry visit the detention centres of the regime where they carried out their torture and killings."
The images - of bodies showing signs of starvation, strangulation or electrocution, or in some cases missing eyes - have prompted an international outcry and demands for war crimes charges against the Assad regime. However the Syrian government insists the photographs are fake and has decried the report as a politicised attempt to discredit Assad by Qatar, which commissioned it via a British law firm.
Meeting on the sidelines of an international peace conference on Syria, Kerry and Khurshid "agreed to work with their teams back at home to schedule the energy dialogue soon and to stay in close touch in the coming months," the State Department official said in a statement, asking not to be named.
Relations between India and the United States, which had steadily warmed since the end of the Cold War, plunged on December 12 when authorities arrested New York consular official Devyani Khobragade over the treatment of her domestic servant.
Dr Khobragade, 39, was arrested and handcuffed as she dropped her daughter at school
16.17 Following high-profile diplomatic intervention from countries such as the US and Russia both prior to and during today's talks, Japan's foreign minister has suggested that the "kind of neutral position" of his country could help it to play an important intermediary role in the Syrian process.
"We are ready to invite the people from both sides," Koichi Mizushima told reporters in Montreux earlier.
However, Mr Mizushima emphasised that a very different tactic to arranging negotiations would be pursued were his country to take charge of proceedings.
"We would not invite Syrian officials, but promising young leaders from both sides, so that they can understand each other, and maybe they can resolve some misunderstanding," said Mizushima, deputy director of the Japanese foreign ministry's public diplomacy division.
Japan has already hosted several discreet rounds of talks between Israelis and Palestinians seen as likely to be their nations' leaders over the coming decade, he noted.
15.47 Tensions continue to run high in Geneva, with bitter exchanges not just limited to the official talks but also among the gathered press:
15.27 Away from the Geneva talks, Syrian government forces are hailing today's reopening of Aleppo international airport after a year's closure as a sign of significant military progress against the rebels. Aleppo was formerly Syria's commercial hub and its most populous city, and remains of huge strategic and symbolic significance.
Syrian state television reported that a passenger flight carrying a media delegation from Damascus, 200 miles to the south, landed at 10:30am local time (8:30am GMT).
"The takeoff and landing of this plane was very successful," he said from the airport's landing strip. "This shows that the forces of the Syrian Arab Army - even as military operations continue in Aleppo and its suburbs - have extended their full control over the area surrounding Aleppo international airport."
However, rebels have held roughly half of Aleppo since storming into the city in mid-2012, holding off a government counter-offensive and consolidating their control over rural areas and the northern border with Turkey.
Media members gather around a plane after it lands at Aleppo international airport (REUTERS)
15.20 Having broadcast Syrian opposition leader Ahmad Jarbar's speech alongside footage of "terrorist crimes" in Syria, the country's state media has now delivered a scathing assessment of Saudi Arabia's foreign ministers Saud al-Faisal 's comments in his own speech.
"In his address, the minister of the terrorist Saud family delivered a series of lies and deceptions. He rambles and dreams of making Geneva II a conference that will serve his illusions," said Syrian state news agency SANA.
"His kingdom helps... fuel the crisis in Syria by supporting terrorism," SANA added, accusing the Saudi minister of being "disconnected from reality."
14.43 A delegate from the Syrian opposition has told Reuters that they plan to present a three to six month timetable to set up a transitional governing body, in order to prevent talks with the Assad regime from dragging on for years:
Anas al-Abdah told Reuters that the proposal will be put forward when formal negotiations begin under United Nations auspices in Geneva on Friday - providing the Damascus government accepts the very idea of a transitional authority.
"First, the regime delegation has to commit to Geneva 1," Abdah said, referring to an international plan to establish a transitional governing body, with full executive powers, agreed by world powers in June 2012.
"Without the regime signing up to Geneva 1 we will not have a bottom line or a reference point for the talks."
The Syrian government has not publicly endorsed the roadmap and Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem said on Wednesday that it was for the Syrians to decide their fate and their ruler.
"We already have names in mind for the Transitional Governing Body and both sides will have a veto on the names. We do not have a problem with that," Abdah said.
"But the regime does. Assad's foreign minister spoke for half an hour today without mentioning Geneva 1," he said, referring to Moualem's lengthy opening speech to the international conference on Syria.
"If the regime does not sign up to Geneva 1 we will not repeat the mistake of the Palestinians and let these talks drag for years. We have no issue about how we will sit with the regime on Friday, whether in one room in proximity talks or two rooms. But the regime has to sign up."
14.30 Here's a selection of thoughts from Twitter on today's developments:
14.16 As the delegates begin their afternoon session, we'll turn to the Twittersphere to see what you think about the talks. Will they succeed? What needs to happen for progress to be made? Tweet me @hannahkstrange
13.52 An interesting rundown of the bizarre diplomatic debacle over Iran's attendance which almost led to the talks collapsing before they began, over at the New York Times.
13.38 While we wait for the delegates to return, here's a transcript published by the Associated Press of the terse exchange between Syrian foreign minister Walid al-Muellem and UN chief Ban Ki-moon when the former exceeded the allotted time for his speech earlier today. The bell had rung five times when Mr Ban intervened.
Ban: Can you just wrap up please.
Al-Muallem: I came here after 12 hours in the airplane, I have few more minutes to end my speech. This is Syria.
Ban: How much do you have left now?
Al-Muallem: I think 5-10 minutes.
Ban: No, no. I will give you another opportunity to speak.
Al-Muallem: No, I cannot divide my speech. I must continue ... I will do my best to be fast.
Ban: Can you just wrap up in one or two minutes?
Al-Muallem: No, I can't promise you, I must finish my speech. ... You live in New York, I live in Syria. I have the right to give the Syrian version here in this forum. After three years of suffering, this is my right.
Ban: We have to have some constructive and harmonious dialogue, please refrain from inflammatory rhetoric.
Al-Muallem: It is constructive, I promise you, let me finish.
Ban: Within 2-3 minutes please, I will give you another opportunity.
Al-Muallem: You spoke for 25 minutes, at least I need to speak 30 minutes.
A few minutes later, Ban interrupts again. Al-Muallem says he has one sentence left, to which Ban asks him to keep his promise.
"Syria always keeps its promises," al-Muallem replied, triggering approving laughter from the Syrian government delegation behind him and a wry grin from Ban.
13.03 The Geneva 2 delegates have gone for lunch. Normal service to resume shortly.
12.45 Watch William Hague as he calls for a transitional governing body in Syria:
12.14 An interesting snippet from AFP on how state television in Syria is presenting the talks:
"Syrian state television on Wednesday broadcast a speech by opposition chief Ahmad Jarba at peace talks in Switzerland alongside footage of "terrorist crimes" in Syria.
"The state broadcaster failed to identify Jarba as he began his speech at the conference in the Swiss town of Montreux.
"In a split screen, it showed Jarba on the right, under the heading "Montreux, Switzerland," and on the left footage of death and destruction under the heading "Terrorist Crimes in Syria."
"It left up quotes from Foreign Minister Walid Muallem, who spoke before Jarba, in a breaking news alert on the bottom of the screen as Jarba spoke.
"State television used the same format when Turkey and Saudi Arabia's foreign ministers Ahmet Davutoglu and Saud al-Faisal spoke.
"Both Turkey and Saudi are key backers of the rebels fighting to overthrow Assad.
"While the two chief diplomats were shown on the right of the screen, the images on the left were of summary executions, bombings, pools of blood, destroyed buildings and dead bodies, including the body of a child."
12.09 Now they're arguing about the arguments. The US has condemned the Syrian foreign minister for his "inflammatory" speech, saying Walid al-Muallem's remarks were not in keeping with the aims or spirit of the gathering.
Spokeswoman Jen Psaki said that instead of laying out a "positive vision" for Syria's future, the foreign minister chose "inflammatory rhetoric".
The US was joined in its criticism by Ban Ki-Moon, who complained that Mr al-Muallem had used his speech to attack other participants at the peace talks.
11.56 As the key players in the Syria crisis come to verbal blows in Switzerland, forces on the ground are engaged in deadly battles across the country, according to activists and Syrian state media.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported clashes between government forces and opposition fighters in the suburbs of Damascus, Daraa in the south, Idlib and Aleppo in the north and the central province of Homs.
Meanwhile the state news agency SANA says government forces battled "terrorists" around the country - including the northern province of Idlib where fighters from Chechnya, Egypt, Turkey, Bosnia and Iraq were killed.
Rebel fighters in Aleppo
11.45 One curiosity about these talks is that it doesn't just bring the Syrian regime and opposition leaderships together for the first time, but also their retinues, including journalists, Richard Spencer writes:
"A regime press officer who was denying to the cameras in the media coffee area all evidence of regime brutality was just challenged by a Syrian reporter for Orient TV, an anti-Assad channel, leading to finger-pointing, shouting and a general scrummage on all sides. Luckily the mass of reporters who flocked to witness the fight sufficed to keep the two apart. Meanwhile, a presenter from Syrian state TV who defected a year ago and now works for a London-based channel tells me he tried to go and say hello to his former colleagues, who turned away and refused to acknowledge him. As he pointed out, Syrian state media are closely monitored, including by intelligence operatives in their midst."
11.40 Even in the opening gambits, we have come right to the stumbling block of the Geneva 2 talks: the Syrian regime says the departure of Assad is a "red line"; the opposition and their foreign backers are equally absolute in their stance. At this point, it's hard to see where negotiations can go from here. It's going to be a very long conference.
11.23 Strong words from the Saudi foreign minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal. He demands all foreign fighters leave the country, including Lebanese Hizbollah and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, and insists there can be no role whatsover in the transition for Assad and those whose hands are "stained in blood".
It's worth noting here that Saudi Arabia itself has been accused of turning a blind eye the flow of Saudi jihadis into Syria. While there is an official ban on Saudi citizens going to Syria for jihad, it is not enforced, and Interior Ministry officials say at least a thousand have gone, some from prominent families, as the New York Times noted recently.
But the foreign minister defended the kingdom - which acknowledges backing the rebels - from Mr Muallem's claims that it was bank-rolling terror. The 100,000 people who were killed, he asked, "Were they all terrorists?"
11.05 Our chief foreign correspondent, David Blair, looks at the competing narratives surrounding the Syrian conflict:
"The speeches by Syria's foreign minister and William Hague show the competing narratives to explain crisis. To Walid al-Muallem, the Assad regime's envoy, an influx of foreign-sponsored "terrorists" has caused the entire civil war. The focus of the conference should, therefore, be on dealing with this. Muallem tried to appear magnanimous by graciously agreeing to be in the same room as representatives of the countries behind this "terrorism".
"But Hague pointed out that Syria's crisis began with the repression of peaceful demonstrations against Assad back in 2011. "It was because of that repression that the protests escalated into a mass uprising and civil war," said Hague. The problem with Muallem's narrative is that it conveniently leaves out the first year or so of the killing."
10.25 Our correspondent Richard Spencer looks at the issues facing the Arab League and European Union:
"Nabil El-Araby, the Egyptian secretary-general of the Arab League, is in a difficult position. It is formally a sponsor of the peace process (Lakhdar Brahimi is an Arab League as well as UN envoy) and it has taken a generally anti-Assad line under the auspices of its powerful Gulf states members like Saudi Arabia and Qatar. But it also has to keep Assad allies like Algeria, Iraq and - in its own peculiarly fractious way - Lebanon on board. Nevertheless, he criticises the regime for not keeping its promises.
"Then we have the other great world quango: the European Union. Baroness Ashton, among other things, calls for more women to be more fundamentally involved in the transition process, an element that Mr Hague has also been pushing."
10.19 The UN chief intervenes to help Mr Hague with his microphone (well at least that's one issue resolved). Richard Spencer writes:
"No, it's not just the press room. Eventually Mr Ban steps in to say he can't hear him either, and normal service is resumed.
"Extremists are a "tiny minority" in the opposition, he says. He is not so overt in calling for President Bashar al-Assad to go as Mr Kerry but he too lays stress on the Geneva 1 Communique that called for a transitional government. "We have no illusion about how difficult and challenging this process is likely to be but we should all do everything we can to help the people of Syria achieve peace."
"Not much to disagree with there. And he doesn't seem to get into trouble for over-speaking etc, and Mr Ban thanks his "leadership".
10.18 William Hague takes the floor. But there are technical issues...
Richard Spencer says: "Now it's the big moment for our very own William Hague, the Foreign Secretary.
"He urges both Syrian delegations to approach these talks knowing that the future of Syria is at stake. Unfortunately, Mr Hague's microphone fails just as he is getting under way, which he appears not to realise as he continues earnestly without realising that no-one - at least in the press room - can hear him."
10.11 Ahmed Jarba, the head of the Syrian National Coalition, has finished speaking. Richard Spencer looks at who's up next.
"Mr Jarba brings to an end the main players in this drama, at least until we get to the Gulf State backers of the Syrian opposition. There is no public opportunity for meaningful compromise now till the two sides meet again on Friday. Does that mean the conference is over? No, of course not. There are another 38 speeches scheduled today, including from representatives of such diverse places as Indonesia, the Vatican and - Mexico. Again, I ask, why Mexico?
Ahmed Jarba
"First though we have what can only be described as the United Nations B Team - China, France and the UK, the other three permanent, veto-holding members of the UN security council. That's being done in alphabetical order, meaning China is first. It has lurked in Russia's diplomatic slip stream throughout this crisis, saying at every point: "I agree with Vladimir".
"It seems China wants a peaceful outcome, and generally speaking still agrees with Vladimir."
10.05 Adding a particularly gruesome taint to the backdrop of the conference is Monday's report on alleged mass killings and torture by the Assad regime. Commissioned a British law firm on behalf of Qatar, the report includes thousands of photographs of dead bodies of detainees allegedly killed in government custody, many of whom are emaciated and display signs of strangulation.
One of thousands of images in the report
09.54
Mr Jarba has finished his speech, calling for quick action. "Time is like a sword and for Syrian people time is now blood," he says.
Our correspondent Richard Spencer says: "It is a sad fact that in this war even the literary flourishes are pretty gruesome."
09.49 Ahmed Jarba, the head of the Syrian National Coalition, is speaking now. It hasn't taken long to get to the key sticking point of the conference - the opposition demand that Assad must go, which the regime has made clear is a "red line". Our correspondent Richard Spencer says:
"Mr Jarba is somewhat calmer. He starts off, though, by telling the story of the first child killed in Homs, the first city to be engulfed by the war, an 11-year-old girl killed at an army checkpoint.
"He then moves on to the role of Hizbollah and Iran, saying that only the Free Syrian Army is really fighting terrorism. He accuses the Assad regime of facilitating access to Syria of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, the al-Qaeda group that is the most violent among those fighting that is responsible for the most gruesome rebel killings and decapitations.
"He says that Geneva 1 demanded a transitional government and that Mr Assad must go."
09.33 Walid al-Muellem, the Syrian foreign minster, finally gives way to the head of the opposition Syrian National Coaltion, but not before sparring again with Ban Ki-moon.
Richard Spencer reports:
"Mr Ban tries again to bring Mr Muallem to a close. He promises that he will go on for one more minute, but carries on beyond that. Then he promises just to finish one more sentence - something he did with a sentence with a very large number of subordinate clauses.
"His message was uncompromising: the entire war was waged from outside by Syria's external enemies, who had brought rape, murder and decapitation to the Syrian people. The world should not discuss peace or Syrian politics, but unite to fight the common scourge of Wahhabi terrorism.
"No signs of holding out a hand of friendship on show yet at these talks. Next is Ahmed Jarba, head of the Syrian National Coalition."
09.29 A standoff over speaking times has just taken place between the Syrian foreign minister and Ban Ki-Moon. Our correspondent Richard Spencer reports:
"That was just an extraordinary exchange between Mr Muallem and Ban Ki-moon. The UN secretary-general told him he was going over his 20-minute time limit but he refused to stop. "You live in New York, I live in Syria," he said. "I have the right to give the Syrian version in this forum. Anyway, you spoke for 25 minutes."
"Mr Ban urged him to limit himself to another one or two minutes. "My speech is indivisible," he replied. And continued."
Syrian foreign minister Walid al-Muallem
09.17 John Kerry, the US foreign secretary, has addressed the conference, followed by Assad's envoy, Walid al-Muallem, the Syrian foreign minister.
Our correspondent Richard Spencer says:
"John Kerry repeated the core American view that the cause of the crisis was repression "again and again" of peaceful demonstrations. He urged the implementation of the Geneva 1 Communique, which called for a transitional government to be formed acceptable to both sides.
"It is impossible that such a government could be formed under President Bashar al-Assad as that would not be acceptable to the opposition. Since it is clear that Mr Assad has no intention to agree to anything that will end his rule, some might say the conference could stop there. But Mr Assad's envoy, foreign minister Walid al-Muallem is up next.
"He proceeds to launch into a violently worded diatribe against "princes and emirs living in mud and backwardness" - by which he means Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states - and "backstabbing neighbours", in particular Recep Tayyip Erdogan, prime minister of Turkey, who is the first enemy of Syria to get a name-check."
09.08 As the peace talks began Syria's justice ministry has rejected Monday's report alleging mass torture and killing by the regime, claiming that it is "politicised" and that the photos are fake. The report was commissioned by Qatar - which indeed is agitating for Assad's departure - and compiled by a British law firm.
08.54
United Nations chief Ban Ki-Moon has addressed the conference, saying Syrians bear the primary responsibility for ending the civil war. He has also acknowledged that the peace talks face "formidable challenges". Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has also given a brief statement, claiming that the crisis has been caused by outside powers trying to push for reforms too fast when it should happen organically, at its own pace.
Our correspondent in Montreux, Richard Spencer, says: "That is clearly a dig at American backing for 'pro-democracy' regime change across the region - Lavrov specifically said this applied to the Middle East and North Africa".
On Tuesday, Jan. 14 and Wednesday, Jan. 15, thousands of elementary and secondary school teachers in Puerto Rico carried out a two-day strike to protest a raid on their pension plans.
The change to the pension system, called the Teachers' Retirement System (SRM), was promoted by the administration of Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla of the pro commonwealth Popular Democratic Party (Partido Popular Democrático, or PPD) and then approved by the legislature, in the context of a severe crisis that has the island's economy reeling.
Garcia has wanted to issue new bonds to pay the U.S.-controlled territory's bills, and evidently wants to show the bond rating agencies that his government is serious by enforcing austerity measures. Otherwise, supporters of the pension changes claimed, the bond rating agencies Moody's and Fitch were threatening to lower the rating for Puerto Rican bonds to junk status.
The government claimed the changes were necessary to restore fiscal stability to the pension system, which has a deficit of $10.3 billion but teachers are skeptical and accuse Gov. Garcia of kowtowing to the foreign bond rating agencies.
So in December, the Puerto Rican legislature passed a law stipulating that after the end of the current school year, teachers' pensions would be reduced from 75 percent to 65 percent of their ending salaries. They will be required to contribute 10 percent instead of nine percent of their salaries to the pension fund.
Retirement age for teachers with 30 years of service will be raised from 55 to 62. In spite of the special relationship between Puerto Rico and the United States, teachers in Puerto Rico are not entitled to participate in Social Security.
As soon as the proposed changes were announced, there were massive protests in the capital, San Juan, by Puerto Rico's three teachers' unions, the Federación de Maestros de Puerto Rico (the Puerto Rican Teachers' Federation), the Asociación de Maestros de Puerto Rico (the Puerto Rican Teachers' Association) and Educamos ("We Educate") and other teachers' and labor groups. The two-day January strike is the latest step in those protests.
Ironically, Gov. Garcia was elected in 2012 because his right-wing predecessor, Luis Fortuño of the pro-statehood Partido Nuevo Progresista (New Progressive Party), who is closely linked to the Republican Party in the United States, had aroused public anger resulting in labor, student and youth protests by his own austerity measures, which among other things severely impacted the island's universities. The PPD also captured both houses of the legislature and most mayoralties in the 2012 election. The vote for the change in the teachers' pensions went 26 to 20 in the House of Representatives and 14 to 13 in the Senate.
The Broad Front for the Defense of the Retirement System for Teachers, representing some of the unions involved, has also filed suit to stop the changes in the retirement system.
Although teacher strikes are supposedly illegal in Puerto Rico, teachers' union leaders pronounced the first day of the strike as a total success. Aida Diaz, President of the Asociacion de Maestros, said that 90 percent of the teachers stayed away from work on the first day. Maria Elena Lara, the President of the Federacion de Maestros, said "The compañeros and compañeras have joined the protests, which has transformed it into a total triumph."
An even larger number of students than teachers stayed away from school.
On Wednesday morning, it was announced that in response to the lawsuit by the Broad Front, the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico has blocked implementation of the pension law changes until further consideration of the case. Governor Garcia expressed fear that this might negatively affect Puerto Rico's credit rating, while the striking teachers vowed to keep up their struggle.
The unemployment rate fell to 6.7 percent. Don’t celebrate. By Neil Irwin January 10 at 9:42 am A tradition like no other: The jobs sign as an illustration of our jobs report story. (Karen Bleier/AFP/Getty Images) ...
The unemployment rate fell to 6.7 percent, which is the lowest since October 2008. But this apparent good news has a dark lining -- 347,000 people dropped out of the labor force (that is, are no longer looking for work) while only 143,000 additional people reported having a job. Interestingly, a broader measure of unemployment that also captures people who have given up looking for a job out of frustration didn'tdidn’t budge, remaining at 13.1 percent.
Flashback to the Fall of 2008, whenPresident George W. Bush addressed the nation regarding the subprime mortgage crisis, toxic assets, and the need to pump $700 Billion into the federal government to avoid a financial collapse.
Just a few days after his inauguration in 2009, President Barack Obama called for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to jump start the economy; proposed cost $787 Billion.
Ever since taking officethe Obama Administration has devised several techniques to improve the economic condition of the nation:
Shovel Ready Jobs;
Extension of Unemployment Benefits to 99 weeks;
Cash for Clunkers;
And several other measures that didn't amount to much...
Ever since I can remember (perhaps, the last 5 years) the Federal Reserve has been pumping $85 Billion per month into the economy:
The Federal Reserve (and other Central Banks) have been 'printing' money in recent years under various code-names, including Quantitive Easing (QE 1, 2, & 3), LTRO, SMP, TWIST, TARP and TALF, in order to bring unemployment down & speed up the economy.
This article explains the failure behind the current money printing scheme and how banks, not people, get the money.
And you wonder whether the Unemployment Rate is down to 6.7%? I think the unemployment rateis rather down to 6.66%, and the signs and wonder are all over the place (for those that have ears to hear and eyes to see)!
24 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:
25 But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.
26 But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.
27 So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?
28 He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?
29 But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.
30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.
31 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field:
32 Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.
33 Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.
34 All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them:
35 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.
36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field.
37 He answered and said unto them,He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;
38 The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;
39 The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.
40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.
41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
42 And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
43 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
Left to Right: Don Johnston and Jorge Isaias Diaz, Jeff and Todd Delmay, Dr. Juan Carlos Rodriguez and David Price, Vanessa and Melanie Alenier, Summer Greene and Pamela Faerber – These are part of the six couples who filed a lawsuit against Florida’s gay marriage ban in the Miami-Dade County Courthouse. (Photo Courtesy of Equality Florida)
In 2008 Florida voters approved a law that banned any type of civil union, including marriage, between couples of the same sex, but now several gay couples in Miami are filing a civil rights lawsuit to repeal the law they argue violates the protections that the United States Constitutions affords all Americans.
Several Latinos are among the couples that are part of the lawsuit being filed by the gay rights advocacy group Equality Florida, with the help of several prominent LGBT attorneys who work in the state. The lawsuit was filed in the 11th Judicial Court of Florida in Downtown Miami, but the historic announcement was made in front of the LGBT Visitor Center located in South Beach. This is the first time a legal challenge of the gay marriage ban is brought up in a Florida court.
Among the couples are Catherina Pareto and Karla Arguello, who are raising children together.
“Florida is our home, it is where we are raising our children, and where we want to get married,” said Pareto. “Karla and I wish for our family the same things that other families want.
“We want to build our lives together, provide a safe and caring home for our child, and share in the responsibilities and protections of marriage.”
After a statewide petition drive managed to Amendment 2, also known as the “Florida Marriage Protection Amendment,” referendum on the ballot, voters passed the proposal into law. Despite many supporters of the law agreeing with the legal recognition of some civil unions–but not with the legalization of gay marriage itself–the amendment banned the recognition and benefits for unmarried couples, straight or gay. This means the legal protections that civil unions and domestic partnerships could give couples would are voided.
FILE-Brooke Gardner, of Indiana, top right, and Jesse Brown-Bosch, of Panama City, Fla., bottom right, listen to a speaker during a rally in support of the U.S. Supreme Court decision on the Defense of Marriage Act at the Miami-Dade Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce in Miami Beach, Fla., Wednesday, June 26, 2013. Florida has had a ban on gay marriage for years. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)
Dr. Juan Carlos Rodriguez, a pulmonologist, and his partner David Price have been together for almost 18 years. Price is the office manager for his partner’s medical office. They too have children together, but they say working in a medical practice together has made them witness first-hand the difficulties, such as being denied visitation rights, that gay couples can experience because of lacking legal protections.
“Being a doctor, I see people and families in crisis all the time,” said Dr. Rodriguez. “In those situations, family and the legal protections that come with it are critical. It pains David and me to be denied a basic safety net of legal protections.”
In 2013 the U.S. Supreme Court issued a 5-4 ruling wiping out part of the Defense of Marriage Act, the federal anti-gay marriage law that had kept legally married same-sex couples from receiving tax, health and pension benefits. However, the issue of recognizing or allowing gay marriage is still left up to the states. A total of six couples are part of the lawsuit, and four of them have children together. They are being represented by the law firm Carlton Fields Jorden Burt, attorney Elizabeth Schwartz and the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR).
US economist Nouriel Roubini delivers a speech at the Swiss Economic Forum. (AP Photo/Keystone, Peter Schneider)
The economy isn't strong enough to stand on its own two feet, and the assistance provided by the Federal Reserve is beginning to create bubbles, says New York University economist Nouriel Roubini. He cited "frothiness" in housing, junk bonds and potentially bitcoins, according to Fortune. The situation could play out into a financial crisis in the next two to three years, he says. "The question is whether we have gotten to sustainable growth that is not based on bubbles," he said. "Not yet." [Full Story]
ASIA/SYRIA - "Geneva 2" Conference: the World Council of Churches calls for an immediate truce
Geneva – In the Syrian conflict "there is no military solution"; "an immediate cessation of all hostilities and armed clashes on the Syrian territory" is urgent; humanitarian assistance must be ensured; the right way is to "develop a comprehensive and inclusive process for the establishment of peace and rebuild Syria": are the recommendations by the World Council of Churches , which gathered about 30 religious leaders in Geneva, in view of the "Geneva 2" Conference, scheduled on January 22.
The Council has drawn up a document - sent to Fides Agency - to be delivered to the UN envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, to the Arab League and to others present at the conference."There is no time to waste: too many people have died or have had to leave their home", explained Rev. Olav Fykse Tveit, general Secretary of the WCC, presenting the text and explaining that "Churches speak with one voice": leaders of the Church of the Middle East, the Vatican, Russia, United States, other European countries belonging to Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant and Anglican denominations participated in the drafting of the document.
"We are the silent majority of Syrians who want peace", stated the Catholic Aram I, head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, ensuring political leaders "the full support of all the Churches for your crucial mission".The WCC believes that "the churches can mobilize international opinion condemning everything that is wrong in this situation and arguing that the supreme good is peace". The meeting of the WCC was accompanied by an ecumenical prayer to express solidarity with the people of Syria and to ask God for the gift of reconciliation.
. Related The Vatican: We hope Geneva 2 conference will guarantee Syria's safety
President of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum in the Vatican, Cardinal Robert Sarah, expressed his hope that the international Geneva 2 conference on Syria will come out with guarantees to secure the safety and territorial integrity of Syria.
"The church hopes the international conference due to be held in Geneva on January 22nd will guarantee the Syrian territorial integrity with the belief that there is room for everybody in Syria, particularly for the Christians," the Cardinal said in statements to the Italian daily, L'Osservatore Romano.
He noted that the Vatican has been since the beginning following closely on the developments of the crisis in Syria and working to provide humanitarian aid and bringing peace to the country.
The Cardinal also voiced hope that all parties in Syria allow, for the public interest and a soon as possible, ending all acts of violence for the sake of enduring peace in the country.
Pope Francis has repeatedly called for international efforts to establish peace in Syria.
The Vatican urged an unconditional ceasefire in Syria and the involvement of all regional players including Iran in peace talks starting next week, as U.S Secretary of State "John Kerry" visited the Holy See on Tuesday.
Kerry said after meeting with Pope Francis's right-hand man "Pietro Parolin" that the U.S welcomed Vatican support for the Geneva-2 talks due to begin on January 22.
Kerry told reporters at the U.S embassy that "It is very important support and I know that the pope is particularly concerned about the massive numbers of displaced human beings and violence that has taken over 130,000 lives".
A Vatican statement following a workshop on Syria on Monday said the Holy See was ready to support all religious communities in the country towards reconciliation and said the recent interim deal over Iran's nuclear programme could have a positive effect.
It said "to build the basis for regional peace, Geneva-2 needs to ensure inclusive participation of all parties to this conflict, within the region and beyond", noting that " the deal with Iran creates a vital foundation for a lasting peace in Syria and "gives the world great hope that an extended period of grave distrust between Iran and other nations in the region and beyond might now be followed by a new era of trust and even cooperation".
"The first and most urgent step... should be an immediate ceasefire and end to violence of all kinds, an end without political preconditions", the Vatican said, echoing a joint call by Moscow and Washington on Monday for local ceasefires and humanitarian corridors.
It said "all internal combatants should put down their weapons. All foreign powers should take immediate steps to stop the flow of arms and arms funding that feed the escalation of violence and destruction".
Kerry said Parolin had also asked for a briefing on the status of the Middle East peace process following the resumption of Israeli-Palestinian talks and ahead of the pope's own visit to the region in May.
Kerry said "obviously there are issues of enormous concerns to the Holy See not just about peace but also about the freedom of access for religious worship in Jerusalem for all religions", adding "I think that our efforts over the last days could be augmented by the efforts of the Holy See with respect to trying to end the violence and bring about a peaceful resolution".
Kerry said he had also discussed possible Vatican involvement in efforts to restore stability in South Sudan.
U.S State Department spokeswoman "Jennifer Psaki" meanwhile denied a report in the BBC and the Guardian newspaper that Britain and the United States have told the Syrian opposition that they will stop their support if it fails to send a delegation to Geneva-2.
she said that Kerry "didn't indicate that the United States was planning to cut off assistance to the opposition in his public or private pronouncements".
Cardinal Chibly Langlois, Bishop of Les Cayes and the first Haitian Cardinal in history.
(GIN) – In a further step away from old traditions at the Vatican, Pope Francis named his first batch of cardinals, choosing 19 men from Asia, Africa, the Philippines and Latin America including the developing nations of Haiti and Burkina Faso. The selection affirms his belief that the church must pay more attention to the poor.
His predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, had chosen cardinals mostly from Western countries.
Sixteen of the appointees are younger than 80, and are eligible to elect the next pope. They also serve as advisors to the Pontiff as he re-shapes the institution.
With his selections, the Pope rebalances the Euro-centered representation of countries by cardinals. The Philippines, for example, had just one cardinal representing about 75 million Catholics while the U.S., with roughly the same number of Catholics, had 11. Latin American, with 400 million Catholics and growing, had just 15 voting age cardinals, while Europe, where church attendance is falling sharply, had 57.
Among the newly appointed Cardinals is Chibly Langlois, the Bishop of Les Cayes and the first Haitian Cardinal in history. Cardinal Langlois held several leadership positions in La Vallee, Jacmel, taught pastoral theology, and continues to serve the diocese of Fort Liberte.
Newly appointed Cardinal Jean-Pierre Kutwa of the Ivory Coast was ordained in 1971 and appointed Bishop of Gagnoa by John Paul II in 2001. He places great importance on ecumenical and interreligious dialogue. Mgr. Kutwa is also a music composer.
Finally from Burkina Faso, the Archbishop of Ouagadougou, Philippe Nakellentuba Ouédraogo, was ordained in 1973 and appointed Bishop in 1996 of Ouahigouya, a diocese with both a men’s and women’s contemplative monastery.
In 2010, Ouédraogo was called by Benedict XVI to lead the Archdiocese of Ouagadougou, where he stood out for the work he did in one of Africa’s poorest countries.
Special to the NNPA from the New York Amsterdam News
CHICAGO January 21, 2014 (AP)
By TAMMY WEBBER Associated Press
After a 13-year-old boy reported in 1979 that a priest raped and threatened him at gunpoint to keep quiet, the Archdiocese of Chicago assured the boy's parents that, although the cleric avoided prosecution, he would receive treatment and have no further contact with minors.
But the Rev. William Cloutier, who already had been accused of molesting other children, was returned to ministry a year later and went on to abuse again before he resigned in 1993, two years after the boy's parents filed a lawsuit. Officials took no action against Cloutier over his earliest transgressions because he "sounded repentant," according to internal archdiocese documents released Tuesday that show how the archdiocese tried to contain a mounting scandal over child sexual abuse.
For decades, those at the highest levels of the nation's third-largest archdiocese moved accused priests from parish to parish while hiding the clerics' histories from the public. The documents, released through settlements between attorneys for the archdiocese and victims, describe how the late Cardinals John Cody and Cardinal Joseph Bernardin often approved the reassignments. The archdiocese removed some priests from ministry, but often years or decades after the clergy were known to have molested children.
While disturbing stories of clergy sexual abuse have wrenched the Roman Catholic Church across the globe, the newly released documents offer the broadest look yet into how one of its largest and most prominent American dioceses responded to the scandal.
The documents, posted online Tuesday, cover only 30 of the at least 65 clergy for whom the archdiocese says it has substantiated claims of child abuse. Vatican documents related to the 30 cases were not included, under the negotiated terms of the disclosure.
The records also didn't include the files of former priest Daniel McCormack, who pleaded guilty in 2007 to abusing five children and whose case prompted an apology from George and an internal investigation of how the archdiocese responds to abuse claims.
But the more than 6,000 pages include internal communications between church officials, disturbing testimony about specific abuses, meeting schedules where allegations were discussed, and letters from anguished parishioners. The names of victims, and details considered private under mental health laws were redacted.
Cardinal Francis George said in a letter distributed to parishes last week that the archdiocese agreed to turn over the records in an attempt to help the victims heal. "I apologize to all those who have been harmed by these crimes and this scandal," George wrote.
Officials in the archdiocese said most of the abuse detailed in the files released Tuesday occurred before 1988, none after 1996, and that all these cases ultimately were reported to authorities.
But victims' lawyers argue many of the allegations surfaced after George assumed control of the archdiocese in 1997, and some of the documents relate to how the church handled the cases more recently.
"The issue is not when the abuse happened; the issue is what they did once it was reported," said Chicago attorney Marc Pearlman, who has represented about 200 victims of clergy abuse in the Chicago area.
When a young woman reported in 1970 that she'd been abused as a teen, for example, Cody assured the priest that the "whole matter has been forgotten" because "no good can come of trying to prove or disprove the allegations."
Accused priests often were quietly sent away for a time for treatment or training programs, the documents show. When the accused clerics returned, officials often assigned them to new parishes and asked other priests to monitor them around children.
In one 1989 letter to Bernardin, the vicar for priests worries about parishioners discovering the record of the Rev. Vincent E. McCaffrey, who was moved four times because of abuse allegations.
"Unfortunately, one of the key parishioners ... received an anonymous phone call which made reference by name to Vince and alleged misconduct on his part with young boys," wrote vicar for priests, the Rev. Raymond Goedert. "We all agreed that the best thing would be for Vince to move. We don't know if the anonymous caller will strike again."
When the archdiocese tried to force accused clergy into treatment or isolate them at church retreats, some of the priests refused, or ignored orders by church administrators to stay away from children.
Church officials worried about losing parishioners and "potential priests" over abuse scandals. "This question I believe is going to get stickier and stickier," Patrick O'Malley, then-vicar for priests, wrote in a 1992 letter.
Then, in 2002, a national scandal about dioceses' failures to stop abusers consumed the American church. U.S. bishops nationwide adopted a toughened disciplinary policy and pledged to remove all guilty priests from church jobs in their dioceses.
But for many victims, it was too little and too late.
"Where was the church for the victims of this sick, demented, twisted pedophile?" one man wrote in a 2002 letter to George about abuse at the hands of the Rev. Norbert Maday, who was imprisoned in Wisconsin after a 1994 conviction for molesting two boys. "Why wasn't the church looking out for us? We were children, for God's sake."
———
Associated Press reporters Jason Keyser, Don Babwin and Michael Tarm contributed.