Forgiveness is harder in practice than in theory

Authentic forgiveness is a hard business, as any crime and justice reporter trying to fashion an article on the topic will confirm.

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Bishop to recount handling of 1987 sexual abuse case

WATERLOO — Retired Dubuque Archbishop Jerome Hanus said Thursday he looks forward to giving a deposition soon in a 2011 lawsuit regarding his handling of an alleged clergy sex abuse incident 26 years ago by a monk at a Missouri abbey.

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RC Archbishop Resigns before Deposition of Former Pedophile Priest

The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Dubuque, Iowa Jerome Hanus has announced he is resigning “for health reasons” just two weeks prior to his scheduled deposition of a former pedophile priest who was later accepted into the Episcopal Church. Hanus is the first archbishop to resign under Pope Francis. Archbishop Hanus will move back to Conception Abbey.

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On the Eve of Deposition, Archbishop’s Resignation Accepted

Pope Francis has accepted the tendered resignation at age 73, two years younger than the age required for resignation by bishops, of Archbishop Jerome Hanus of Dubuque, Iowa.

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Archbishop Hanus Resigns Prior to Deposition

An Iowa Catholic archbishop has announced his resignation “for health reasons” just two weeks prior to his scheduled deposition in a clergy sex abuse and cover up case. » Read more..

Statement of Archbishop Hanus

As many of you know, my health has declined in recent years. As a result, some time ago I submitted my resignation as Archbishop to the proper authorities.

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Archbishop Jerome Hanus Resigns

DUBUQUE, Iowa — Only hours after a formal announcement from the Vatican, Dubuque Archbishop Jerome Hanus helped introduce his successor to the public.

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Some more hypocrisy and Catholic-bashing

A confession. I don’t like American football very much, and I’m not enormously fond of Episcopalian theology either. But most of all, I hate hypocrisy and Catholic-bashing. So let’s take a trip to Pennsylvania, via Kansas. Bede Parry is a former Benedictine monk who has a history of abusing young men. When this was discovered he was ejected from his abbey and then refused by another monastery in Las Vegas. Rejected by the Roman Catholic Church, in 2004 he became an Episcopalian priest, even after informing the then bishop of Nevada, Katharine Jefferts Schori, that he had sexually transgressed just a few years earlier. She was also told by his former monastery about his sordid past and given highly damaging psychological records. Surprise, surprise. In July this year he resigned from his post and is currently facing criminal charges.

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Statement from Katharine Jefferts Schori

In a statement (below) dated November 16, 2011, Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, proves herself to be a talented wordsmith and an insensitive, deceptive leader. This statement raises more questions and several new concerns.

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Statement of Rev. Bede Parry

During the camp, I had inappropriate sexual contact in my living quarters with… a member of the Abbey Boy Choir. – Bede Parry, May, 2011

I have since recognized that I may have acted inappropriately with at least one other member of the Abbey Boy Choir. – Bede Parry, May, 2011

Everything that I have done in my life has been with me, and haunting me, every day. I dream about it. I think about it. Not a day passes when I do not regret my conduct. I am truly sorry. – Bede Parry, May, 2011
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Bede Parry… on Telling Jerome Hanus (Video)

“are there any legal issues, are the police involved?” and I said “no” and he said, “well, you know, we’re going to have to get some counseling because this just can’t happen again.” – Bede Parry… on Telling Jerome Hanus (May 7, 2011)

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Fr. Hugh Tasch: 60 Years Professed

Robert Tasch was born July 21, 1930 in Chicago. When the time came for high school he had thoughts of the priesthood and enrolled in Quigley Preparatory Seminary of the Chicago diocese. During his seminary days he developed a strong interest in and love of the liturgy.

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Abbey Covered Up Abuse After Shooting

After a shooter killed two monks at Conception Abbey in June of 2002, the leadership at the abbey had to decide whether to disclose that they had knowledge of sexual misconduct by at least one member of its monastic community.  Instead of doing the right thing, Abbot Gregory Polan and Mr. Daniel Madden misled the authorities.

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Parry, Polan and the Abbey Boy Choir

In this undated photo, Conception Abbey monks Bede Parry and Gregory Polan pose with members of the Abbey Boy Choir.

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New Charges of Cover-up against Presiding Bishop

Disturbing new charges have surfaced about a cover-up concerning just how much Episcopal Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, when she was the diocesan of Nevada, knew about the past sexual abuses committed by Father Bede Parry, a former Catholic priest whom she canonically received into her diocese as a priest in 2004.

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