Waiting for Godot to Leave

Catholic World News reports that the Vatican has suspended all priestly ordinations in Ciudad del Este, Paraguay. If this is true, it's an indication that something far more sinister has been brewing down there than just the elevation of an alleged child molesting homosexual cult leader to the position of Vicar General.  This, after Bishop Martino of Scranton, PA made it clear that this man (Fr. Carlos Urrutigoity), who had been operating in his diocese, was not fit for ministry.  The Diocese of Scranton states (my emphasis) ... Bishop Martino clearly expressed his reservations concerning Father Urrutigoity, who was identified as posing a serious threat to young people. Bishop Martino also carefully and consistently expressed his grave doubts about this cleric’s suitability for priestly ministry and cautioned the Bishop of the Diocese of Ciudad del Este, Paraguay to not allow Father Urrutigoity to incardinate into his diocese . Despite these serious cautions, Bishop Rogel...

Edward Pentin, Rome correspondent for the National Catholic Register It pains me to point out that National Catholic Register, once a fairly solid and trustworthy publication, has become the only mainstream journal (to my knowledge) to buy into the trad hysteria over the removal of one of the worst bishops in the world.

Grant Gallicho concludes his excellent eight part series at Commonweal on the "Curious Case of Carlos Urrutigoity" here. The conclusion is a bit anti-climactic.  The only major player to suffer any kind of serious consequences for this long and tawdry affair seems to be Bishop Livieres of Ciudad del Este, who was asked to resign by Pope Francis back in September.  Meanwhile, Urrutigoity and his crew of followers and supporters are still out there, many of them are still functioning as priests, at least one of them  continues to fund raise despite his association with the Society of St. John - an organization whose founder allegedly engaged in sex abuse and financial fraud - and I am told that even though Urrutigoity's associate Eric Ensey has been "defrocked" he still continues to present himself as a priest.

Rabbi David Kaye, from To Catch a Predator There's an episode of To Catch a Predator, the reality show in which men try to have sex with underage boys and girls, and are then recorded in a confrontation with the show's host who reveals that they've been caught on video and that the whole set up is a law enforcement sting - there's an episode where a Jewish Rabbi " essentially tried to rape a 13-year-old boy " and is caught red handed. Though clearly guilty, the rabbi blames the show's host and pulls a " how dare you suggest such a terrible thing about me!  I'm a religious leader! " pose.  The rabbi's attitude is exactly the sort of thing you see from people who not only abuse positions of power, but who feel entitled to positions of power.  I've been dealing with it in the Catholic Church, sometimes on a personal level, for all of my 14 years as a Catholic. In fact, a prominent bishop whose history shows a repeated tendency ...

The Buenos Aires Herald reports ... Pope sacks Paraguayan bishop accused of protecting abuser priest Pope Francis has dismissed a conservative Paraguayan bishop who was accused of protecting a priest suspected of sexually abusing young people in the United States, the Vatican said today. The Argentinian-born pontiff has vowed zero tolerance against Roman Catholic clerics who sexually abuse minors after a series of scandals hit the Church in a number of countries around the world over many years. Last May, Francis called such abuse an "ugly crime" and likened it to "a Satanic mass". A statement said the pope had removed Bishop Rogelio Ricardo Livieres Plano from his post as head of the diocese of Ciudad del Este and named another bishop to run it as an administrator for the time being. The pope's sacking of the bishop came after a Vatican investigation of the bishop, the diocese and its seminaries, said the statement, which gave no details. Vatican sour...