UNITED STATES
Jeff Anderson & Associates
JEFFREY R. ANDERSON
The Vatican has fast-tracked Pope John Paul II for sainthood, even though a significant portion of the clerical sex abuse scandal happened on his watch. This is concerning, but not surprising, given the Church’s history of protecting priests instead of children and patting itself on the back while willfully failing to take meaningful action regarding abusive priests or abuse survivors.
According to an Associated Press (AP) story, Pope Francis signed a decree on Friday declaring John Paul for sainthood, culminating a “fast-track” process that informally began at John Paul’s 2005 funeral , where thousands at St. Peter’s Square chanted “Santo subito” – Sainthood now! John Paul’s sainthood was initially fast-tracked by his successor, Pope Benedict XVI, when he “dispensed with the traditional five-year waiting period and allowed the beatification process to begin weeks after John Paul’s death,” according to the AP story. The canonization ceremony may take place by the end of 2013 and reports speculate that the ceremony could occur as soon as December 8.
Fast-tracking. Yes, the Vatican has the power to move things along quickly.
Or very slowly – or not at all – as documents released last week by the Archdiocese of Milwaukee starkly show. According to those documents, the Vatican delayed the requested laicization of admitted Archdiocese sexual offender priests for several years while children continued to be abused and at risk. But when asked by then Archbishop of Milwaukee Timothy Dolan to “proceed with alienation of property” owned by the Archdiocese – approximately $57 million – for transfer to a cemetery trust and offer “an improved protection of these funds from any legal claim and liability,” the Vatican acted and approved the transfer in a little more than one month. This maneuver was done as the Archdiocese prepared to file for bankruptcy. Clerical sex abuse survivors and their attorneys have accused Dolan of bankruptcy fraud and moving money to protect it from abuse survivors.
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