LAY SPIRITUALITY: Associates bridge lay and religious life through shared charism
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“CARDINAL & COLBERT”:
LETTERS:
Archbishop jokes, shares love of faith, with satirist
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Readers comment on Catholics’ responsibilities for life, dignity as election nears
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CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO Newspaper of the Archdiocese of San Francisco
SERVING SAN FRANCISCO, MARIN & SAN MATEO COUNTIES
www.catholic-sf.org
$1.00 | VOL. 14 NO. 28
SEPTEMBER 21, 2012
Focus is on ‘healing’ in policy that joins archdiocese, victims GEORGE RAINE CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO
of any faith besides Islam. But like the document he came to Lebanon to present, a collection of his reflections on the 2010 special Synod of Bishops dedicated to Christians in the Middle East, the pope said nothing specific about where and how the region’s Christians are regularly deprived of that right. The pope twice deplored the human cost of the civil war in neighboring Syria, but his only practical recommendation for an end to the fighting there was a neutral call to end the importation of military arms, which he called a “grave sin.” With regard to
A group of survivors of sexual abuse by clergy and the Archdiocese of San Francisco have jointly created a first-of-its-kind policy on how the archdiocese can better serve victims, one that aims to engage and empower them in the healing process. The policy is the result of collaboration, not negotiation, and to the archdiocese’s knowledge it has not been replicated in any Catholic diocese in the nation, said Auxiliary Bishop Robert W. McElroy, who with Auxiliary Bishop William J. Justice joined six survivors of clergy abused to create the plan. It was approved by Archbishop George Niederauer. In meetings over six months, the process was by design democratic, to the point there was no chairperson of the joint committee, everyone with an equal say. One product of the policy, already being implemented but only announced last week, is a wellness program that offers traditional therapeutic counseling along with alternative approaches some survivors said are very helpful, from acupuncture to nutrition to meditation to chiropractic. All are covered by the archdiocese. The policy offers mediation in lieu of a lawsuit as an option for addressing claims, and it also creates opportunities for the archdiocese to support survivor groups to further work on the healing process and expands outreach to parishioners about abuse that has occurred and what is being done to accommodating healing. Indeed, the policy is entitled “Healing the Wounds of Clergy Sexual Abuse.” “It was an effort at empowerment for the survivors, in a way really bringing them into the policy formation process in a collaborative way,” said Bishop McEl-
SEE LEBANON, PAGE 18
SEE HEALING, PAGE 18
(CNS PHOTO/MOHAMED AZAKIR, REUTERS)
Young people gather for an outdoor Mass with Pope Benedict XVI on the waterfront in Beirut Sept. 16.
Mideast: Pope’s presence was the message FRANCIS X. ROCCA CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE
BEIRUT – When Pope Benedict XVI stepped off the plane in Beirut Sept. 14, he said he had come to Lebanon, and to the Middle East in general, as a “pilgrim of peace.” In five major talks over the next three days, the pope repeatedly called for peace and underscored the role of Christians in promoting it. Yet his most eloquent message of hope to the troubled region lay not in the diplomatic language of his public statements, but in his very presence and the response it evoked from his hosts. Throughout his trip, Pope Benedict limited himself to general statements of principle on the most contentious political issues, and he avoided some topics altogether. His insistence that religious freedom is a basic human right and a prerequisite for social harmony was a bold statement in the context of a region where most countries restrict and even prohibit the practice
Making a bold claim for religious freedom as a basic human right and a prerequisite for social harmony
Film unsettles Muslims, Christians; some say it makes them targets JAMES MARTONE CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE
CAIRO – As tear-gas bearing police battled Egyptians armed with stones in front of Cairo’s U.S. Embassy, Rashad was two neighborhoods away, making sure the few evening customers respected the line at the Mobinil cellphone company where he works.
“Is it all right to defame the Prophet, blessings be upon him?” Rashad, a Muslim, asked a reporter who inquired about the embassy standoff. “No. There are limits to how far people should be allowed to go,” he said after a slight pause, in answer to his own question. Rashad, who would not give his last name, had not seen the amateur film reportedly defaming the prophet Mohammed that led to protests at the U.S.
embassies in Egypt and other countries. But he said he’d heard enough to know that the film produced in the U.S. was “haram,” or sinful, and that protests against it – however violent – were justified. Such anger over the U.S.-produced film that depicted Mohammed as a sex-crazed simpleton has Egypt’s
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