FLORDIA
News-Press
Mary Wozniak, mwozniak@news-press.com
June 17, 2014
A scathing letter sent by 10 priests in the Diocese of Venice to Pope Francis’ United States representative criticizes their bishop, Frank Dewane, for a host of accusations that include bullying behavior and the secret acquisition of properties.
The letter is causing ripples of concern among across the Southwest Florida Catholics. The diocese covers 10 counties, including Lee and Collier. The diocese has 60 parishes and serves about 250,000 Catholics.
Addressed to Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, who is the papal nuncio, or the Holy See’s representative in Washington, the letter says that priests are demoralized and fearful of reprisal if their names are revealed to the public.
“Aware of many letters of concern which have been sent to both the Apostolic Nunciature and the Congregation for Bishops in Rome, we come before you now as a united group to say our situation worsens with time and has become intolerable,” the group wrote. The nuncio’s office did not reveal names.
The letter, dated Jan. 17, talks about the believed breach of canon law, including dismissal of a council that investigates and resolves issues related to pastoral works in the diocese. It describes a management style of “absolute authoritarianism,” featuring “outbursts of rage, use of blasphemous language, despotic demands based not on reason or logic.”
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