Virginia woman sues priest, diocese for alleged abuse during exorcism

Arlington, VA–A Virginia woman who claims a priest sexually abused her while meeting with her to perform exorcisms has filed suit against the Arlington Diocese and the Virginia-based pro-life group he formerly headed for $5.3 million in damages. The suit, filed June 19 in Arlington County Circuit Court on behalf of a woman identified only as Jane Doe, claims Fr. Thomas Euteneuer, former director of Human Life International, abused her between April 2008 and September 2010. In a July 3 statement to Catholic News Service, Human Life International said Fr. Euteneuer “has already admitted to engaging in highly inappropriate and gravely sinful conduct with a young adult woman” but that “such behavior was never within the scope of his employment” with Human Life International. “We intend to vigorously defend HLI from the false accusations made against it and we are undeterred in pursuing HLI’s mission to build a culture of life and protect the unborn,” it added. The priest, who resigned from his position with Human Life International in August 2010, also returned that year to his home Diocese of Palm Beach, Fla. Michael Donohue, director of communications for the Arlington Diocese, said in a June 29 statement to CNS that Fr. Euteneuer “is not and has never been a priest of the Diocese of Arlington.” He also noted that Human Life International is not under the direction or control of the Arlington Diocese and that Fr. Euteneuer was “not authorized to perform an exorcism on the plaintiff.” ©CNS

Deacons, nuns, laity and even athlete-priests to be Olympic chaplains

Manchester, England–Some people are simply gifted at sport; they excel at any challenge involving a ball, a stick or a physical contest nearly as soon as they turn their hands to it. One such person is Fr. Geoff Hilton, a priest from Salford Diocese in the north of England, who will be serving as a chaplain to athletes competing in the 2012 Olympic Games in London. It was because of his sporting prowess that the former police officer from Manchester was hand-picked to become one of 16 official Catholic chaplains appointed by the Olympics organizing committee. Over the years, Fr. Hilton has distinguished himself as a badminton player on a national level–losing in the men’s final in Madrid when he was a seminarian at the English College in Valladolid–as a soccer and a rugby league player, and later as a rugby league referee, working in two World Cups. Now, at the age of 55, he takes time from his duties as pastor of St. Osmund Church, Bolton, to compete as a professional crown green bowler, a sport usually played only in the north of England. For him, the chance to minister to athletes at the Olympic Village July 27-Aug. 12 was an opportunity too good to pass up. “It won’t happen again in my lifetime, the Olympics coming to England, and I’m very much looking forward to it,” Fr. Hilton told Catholic News Service in a June 20 interview at the Red Lion bowling green in Westhoughton, near Manchester. ©CNS

Church officials laud Mexican presidential vote

Mexico City–The Mexican bishops’ conference expressed satisfaction with “the exemplary participation of citizens” in the July 1 federal elections, which returned the once long-ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party to power. “As pastors of the Catholic Church, we are pleased to notice that our call to go to the polls in a conscious and free manner was heard by the Catholic faithful and by men and women of good will in our country,” the bishops said in a statement released late July 1 and signed by conference president Abp. Carlos Aguiar Retes of Tlalnepantla and secretary-general Auxiliary Bp. Victor Rene Rodriguez Gomez of Texcoco. “We are joyful witnesses to the civility and republican conviction demonstrated during the election process,” the statement continued. “We’re pleased that democracy has been recognized as the privileged path for achieving the peace, justice and development that Mexicans long for.” The bishops offered congratulations to the victors without mentioning names or parties. Mexican voters opted for Enrique Pena Nieto, 45, of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, which showed anti-clerical tendencies in the last century and traces its founding to 1920s Cristero Rebellion. ©CNS

Illinois Catholics rejoice over ‘venerable’ decree for Abp. Sheen

Peoria, IL–The Vatican’s June 28 decree that US Abp. Fulton J. Sheen lived a life of heroic virtues and should be considered venerable–advancing his sainthood cause–prompted much rejoicing in his home state of Illinois. “This is a great day for the Catholic Diocese of Peoria and the Catholic Church in America,” said Bp. Daniel R. Jenky of Peoria, who added that the “heroic virtues of a son from central Illinois and a priest of Peoria have been recognized by the Catholic Church. Fulton Sheen’s zeal, wisdom, and holiness should help us build our faith,” he said. Msgr. Stanley Deptula, executive director of the Abp. Fulton John Sheen Foundation in Peoria, said it was “not a coincidence that the church would render its decision on the heroic virtue of Abp. Sheen on the same day as the Supreme Court issues its decision on the health care plan.” He said the timing of the announcement shows how the church in the United States “needs heroes” and that Abp. Sheen can “be an inspiration and a consolation to our bishops and other church leaders” since he was “a man of courage, and priest of prayer.” The decree issued by the Congregation for Saints’ Causes and signed by Pope Benedict XVI said Abp. Sheen should be considered venerable because he heroically lived Christian virtues. In general, the church must then confirm two miracles before sainthood is declared. The first miracle is needed for beatification and the second for canonization. ©CNS

Bishops urge Congress to fix health law flaws after high court decision

Washington–The US Supreme Court’s June 28 decision upholding the health reform law makes it even more urgent for Congress to act to fix the law’s “fundamental flaws” on abortion funding, conscience protection and immigrants’ access to health care, the US bishops said. The court found that although the individual mandate in the 2010 health reform law does not pass constitutional muster under the Commerce Clause of the Constitution, it can be upheld as an acceptable exercise of Congress’ taxing powers. In a 65-page opinion announced by Chief Justice John Roberts, five members of the court upheld the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in full but limited the federal government’s right to withhold its share of Medicaid funding from states that do not expand the health program for the low-income and disabled as mandated by the law. “The US Conference of Catholic Bishops has not joined in efforts to repeal the law in its entirety, and we do not do so today,” said a USCCB news release issued shortly after the decision. “The decision of the Supreme Court neither diminishes the moral imperative to ensure decent health care for all, nor eliminates the need to correct (the law’s) fundamental flaws.” Sr. Carol Keehan, president and CEO of the Catholic Health Association, said she was pleased that the health care law “has been found constitutional and will remain in effect.” The Daughter of Charity noted that CHA had submitted friend-of-the-court briefs urging the court to find in favor of the individual mandate and the Medicaid expansion. “In the coming weeks and months, we will continue working closely with our members, Congress and the administration to implement the ACA as fairly and effectively as possible,” she added. However, CHA has agreed with the bishops in urging the government to expand its definition of religious employers who are exempt from the requirement to provide contraceptives and sterilization free of charge to their employees. ©CNS

Former Detroit seminary rector named bishop of Steubenville

Vatican City–Pope Benedict XVI has named Msgr. Jeffrey M. Monforton, rector-president of Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit for the past six years, as bishop of Steubenville, Ohio. The appointment was announced July 3 at the Vatican. Bp.-designate Monforton, 49, succeeds Bp. R. Daniel Conlon, 63, who was named in May 2011 as bishop of Joliet, Ill. The new bishop also served from 1998 to 2005 as priest-secretary to now-retired Card. Adam J. Maida, who was then archbishop of Detroit, and had most recently been pastor of St. Andrew Parish in Rochester, the Detroit Archdiocese’s largest parish. No date has been set for his episcopal ordination and installation as bishop of Steubenville. ©CNS

Pope removes Slovakian archbishop after apostolic visitation

Vatican City–Pope Benedict XVI removed a Slovakian archbishop from leading the Archdiocese of Trnava, the Vatican announced July 2. Abp. Robert Bezak, 52, had headed the Slovakian archdiocese since 2009. The pope removed the archbishop because he had not followed through on a request to resign, a Vatican source said. An apostolic visitation had been carried out in the archdiocese earlier this year. The archbishop’s removal was linked to the findings of the visitation and was due to “the administrative handling” of the archdiocese, according to the Vatican source who asked not to be named. ©CNS

Something you can bank on? Vatican financial body works to revamp image

Vatican City–In an effort to shed a decades-long image of secrecy and suspicion, the Vatican bank has been investing heavily in building a new image of transparency and legality. But recent scandals, such as the May 24 ouster of the bank’s president, Ettore Gotti Tedeschi, for incompetence, and leaked Vatican documents hinting of financial mismanagement within the walls of the Vatican have only made that mission more urgent. In a rare show of PR savvy, the Vatican bank, known formally as the Institute for the Works of Religion, has been opening its alarm-triggered doors–giving bishops and ambassadors, and now, journalists, a detailed rundown of how the bank works. “We are trying to open the treasure chest up a bit and show we are working for transparency,” said Paolo Cipriani, the bank’s director since 2003. In late June, the bank hosted some 60 journalists accredited by the Vatican for a two-hour-plus PowerPoint presentation describing the mission of this unique financial institution and what it has been doing to try to comply with international banking and anti-money-laundering standards. It also included a brief tour of part of the bank, which is decorated with museum cases displaying gold commemorative coins and large accounting ledgers from the early 1900s. The Institute for the Works of Religion was formally established in 1942, but it has its roots in an administrative body that was started by Pope Leo XIII in 1887 to support the work of the Catholic Church. ©CNS