Washington hopes for healing process

adminonDecember 24, 2021January 5, 2022Leave a Comment

After Pope Francis removed former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick from the clergy, his former archdiocese is speaking out. In this it looks above all forward.

Just days before the Vatican summit on abuse, Pope Francis dismissed former Washington Archbishop Theodore McCarrick from the clergy. For clergy, this is the maximum penalty provided for in church law. The decision was announced by the Vatican on Saturday. McCarrick was found guilty of sexual misconduct with minors and adults in connection with abuse of power, in addition to abuse of the sacrament of confession.

The 88-year-old is the highest Catholic dignitary in modern times to be released from the priesthood. By July 2018, McCarrick had already lost his cardinalate.

Abuse is perceived

The president of the U.S. bishops' conference, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, spoke in an initial reaction of a "strong signal that abuse will not be tolerated". DiNardo continues: "No bishop, no matter how influential, is above canon law."The Archdiocese of Washington said it hoped the decision from the Vatican would contribute to a "healing process" for all those affected by abuse.

The head of the Child Protection Center at the Pontifical Gregorian University, Hans Zollner, told the Catholic weekly The Tablet that the Vatican had made a "very strong decision". "It shows that the procedures are set in motion, even if it's a cardinal," Jesuit says. James Grein, one of McCarrick's victims, expressed relief. At the same time, he stressed: "Nothing can bring back to me my childhood."

Pope wants to draw a line

The former archbishop of Washington (2001-2006) had seduced candidates for the priesthood into sex and abused at least two minors between 1970 and 1990. He now lives in a Capuchin monastery in the U.S. state of Kansas and was not allowed to exercise his priesthood until the allegations were clarified in a canonical trial. This process is now complete.

As the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith further announced, the authority had already ied its ruling on 11. January felled. An appeal by McCarrick was considered two days later but rejected. According to the report, this decision was communicated to McCarrick on Friday, after the Pope was the final authority to confirm the sentence. A new contradiction is not allowed.

Vatican sources say Francis wanted the sensational case resolved before the anti-abuse summit starting Thursday. Ordered thorough investigation of all files on McCarrick case last summer.

The McCarrick case

Born on 7. July 1930 in New York, Theodore McCarrick was ordained priest in 1958. He first made a career in education and became an auxiliary bishop in New York in 1977. In 1981, he moved to the newly formed Diocese of Metuchen as diocesan bishop and in 1986 to Newark as archbishop. From 2001 to 2006 he was archbishop in the capital diocese of Washington. In February 2001, Pope John Paul II appointed. McCarrick to the cardinal.

McCarrick was known for his social commitment, diplomatic skills and excellent connections to the political and social establishment. During his time in Washington, he was considered a dedicated campaigner against abuse and had a hand in the "zero tolerance" policy against abusive priests.

Statement of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on the verdict against McCarrick

"On 11. January 2019, the Congress of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith ied a decree at the conclusion of a criminal trial that Theodore Edgar McCarrick, archbishop emeritus of Washington D.C., found guilty of the following offenses as a cleric: Seduction to violations of the sixth commandment on the occasion of confession, violations of the sixth commandment with regard to minors and adults in connection with the penalty aggravator of abuse of power. The assembly imposed on him the penalty of deletion from the clergy.

On 13. February 2019, the Ordinary Assembly of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith deliberated on the appeal that he (McCarrick; note. d. Editorial Board) had appealed against the decision. After deliberating on the arguments presented in the objection, the Ordinary Assembly confirmed the (original; note. d. Editorial) Congressional decree. This decision was handed down to Theodore McCarrick on 15. February communicated. The Holy Father confirmed the finality of this lawful decision, which thus becomes a 'res iudicata,' d.h. did not allow any further appeal."

To fail as the Weimar Republic?

The foundation of the day-to-party work in the party democracy are a few factions in parliament that either coalize or pull as closed troops against each other. The complexity of the views, goals, people’s life situations is reduced to a few high-contrast colors, discipline inward and relentless opponent in front – that makes friend enemy policy, which has already described Carl Schmitt as clearly.

Creditwurrity can not be won in a modern informed company so. Why should two MPs who agree with the smoking ban in guest institutes, even in questions of military intervention in Afghanistan and in the primal implantation diagnostics. This is not a cheeze plausible, which is why the people, not wrong, the impression wins, the deputies, who allegedly "only obliged to your conscience", In reality, the soldiers in the parliamentary struggle that are manovably manadized by their supervisors in the faction guide or in the government.

A counter-design represents the idea of "Liquid democracy", So a randomization of rigid fronts in parliamentary work. Here, in relation to individual topics and subject matters, majorities could be formed. Basic principle is that the individual deputies on a topic either themselves the necessary expertise or – according to his own basic setting – familiar to another, which then uses the voting content of the first. This can, too, can now decide whether he participates in the vote or passes on his share of another, more competent deputy.

The ghost of the Weimar Republic

Could work Liquid Democracy in parliament? In any case, and quasi now. However, Dafur had to happen in the Kopf both the political class and public opinion a lot.

In a picture of "changing majorities", As it is inevitably produced by the concept of Liquid Democracy, you may be reminiscent of the Chaotic Code of the Weimar Republic. The government was not dazzen from a government crisis into the other when the parties of the "Government coalition" Do not coordinate uniform to all decisions and legislative projects?

The goods only then the case if you were equal to the whole relationship because of each individual question. In normal life, no one makes, in a marriage, one can go to the pop concert and the other go to the cinema, without the same co-life entirely stands for disposition.

The basic law enshrines not only the conscience and fractional freedom of each deputy, but also the separation of powers. After this, a coupling of the government is not necessary to a majority coalition in Parliament anyway. It is important that the Parliament agrees to a chancellor or a chancellor at the beginning of a legislative period and then accepted the government members. The separation of powers then envisages that Parliament will declare the laws that this government then – with support of the interim ministries – has to implement. Then it can certainly be the one or the other law that the Chancellor does not fit, according to the Basic Law this is not necessary. It should not think laws, but implement.

Thus, according to the principle of liquid democracy, the parliamentarians with flebing majorities were able to advise and demonstrated and forwarded to the Cabinet for implementation. We were able to have an authentic, more believable policy, without even a word at the Basic Law to other goods – his wording had to be taken seriously.

But how is then chopped?

One could argue that the Wahler but clear programs of parties in which politics are the party, and not what different policies track the individual politicians. This is two ways to say:

First, people who have the same or related views have to have political ies continue to come together in the same party and support the same policy program. For these principles, a party is chosen, but that does not mean that the people who are elected there have been the same opinion in every single question. There may be as well as in Parliament as in the people to be reproduced by Parliament.

Second, such a parliament requires serious with the separation of powers, no more 5 percent hurde. Thus, many more parties with much differentiated and specialized programs were able to apply for space in parliament. Many people is exactly a policy field particularly important – and the specialists for this field they were able to elect themselves in parliament, so that they are among the other deputies for the fields on which they are competent to promote trust and majorities.

The spring plenary meeting of the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK) ended on Saturday with a call for concrete progress in ecumenism. After intensive debate in Erfurt, the 200 or so participants adopted a "plea for an ecumenism close to life".

In the paper entitled "For the sake of the people!"The highest body of the Catholic laity in Germany calls for greater emphasis on the commonalities between the Catholic and Protestant churches in the parishes.

The call for reform in the Catholic Church was on the agenda several times during the two-day meeting in the Thuringian state capital. As concrete demands, ZdK President Alois Gluck named, among other things, more responsibility for women and progress in the relationship between the Catholic and Protestant churches. In addition, "the inability to speak and act on ies of church sexual morality" must be overcome, Gluck said. It thanked the bishops for the dialogue they had initiated on the future of the Church. The initiative has already initiated further debates in various dioceses. "It is important that we continue to work on many ies," Gluck said at the conclusion of the plenary session.

In his welcoming address, Bishop Joachim Wanke of Erfurt had previously encouraged the church not to adapt, but to master the current challenges through "spiritual profile. The dialogue process should be based on the tradition and teachings of the Church and translate them for today's world.

Phasing out nuclear energy
On the subject of energy transition, the highest Catholic lay body in Germany affirmed an exit from nuclear energy, but warned against hasty action. It is not a matter of the speed of this process, but of its successful completion, said Gluck, who is also a member of the ethics commission on nuclear energy appointed by the German government.

The panel resolutely renewed its call for a ban on preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD). According to Gluck, the use of this method would mean the killing of embryos solely because of their genetic characteristics. This results in "dramatic discrimination, especially against handicapped human life.". PGD is controversial because it involves examining embryos for possible genetic damage before they are implanted in the womb and, if necessary, destroying them.

The ZdK hopes that the Pope's visit in September will provide important impulses for ecumenism. Benedict XVI. had already shown that he wanted to give the discussion with representatives of the Protestant Church an important place, said Gluck. At the same time he warned against too high expectations in the dense program of the visit. The pope comes from the 22. until 25. September and will visit Berlin, Erfurt, the Eichsfeld and Freiburg.

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