William Barr is Opus Dei

William Barr was confirmed as attorney general by the Senate on Feb 14.  “High on his agenda will be what to do with the conclusion of special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe” according to the Washington Post.

Before the Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing in January, Barr had completed a questionnaire. On page 4, he listed positions he’s held as director of the Catholic Information Center  (2014-1017), director of the Ethics and Public Policy Center (2004-2009) and director of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty (1994-2015).

For those who don’t read my blogs, the Opus Dei Catholic Information Center’s “members and leaders continue to have an outsize impact on policy and politics. It is the conservative spiritual and intellectual center … and its influence is felt in all of Washington’s corridors of power,” the Washington Post stated recently.

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Resurgence of the Catholic Political Right under Trump

A company has been formed to provide legal and financial expertise for the anticipated start-ups of other right-wing Catholic organizations. Diocesan foundations – capable of moving political “dark money” – have more than doubled their assets since Trump’s election. A British publication, looking for increased revenues, has entered the growing market for right-wing Catholic journalism.

These demonstrate a confidence that Catholics are capable of influencing future elections. They are energized by their 2016 triumph in recapturing the Executive Branch with a trusted and powerful ally.

Pope Plays the Media and Children Pay the Price

A four-day Vatican summit on child sex abuse ended yesterday. Pope Francis gave a half hour address.

He noted the “scourge of sexual abuse of minors” has been “a widespread phenomenon in all cultures and societies … particularly the great number committed within families.” Citing various references, the pope said the “first truth that emerges” is that “those who perpetrate abuse that is acts of physical, sexual, or emotional violence, are primarily parents, relatives, husbands of child brides, coaches, and teachers.”

Pope Francis also blamed “journalistic practices that often exploit, for various interests, the very tragedy experienced by little ones” along with the internet, pornography and sexual tourism.

He made special mention of “other forms of abuse”, such as “child soldiers, child prostitutes, starving children, child victims of war, refugee children, aborted children, and so many others.”

Pope Francis’ Dept. of Communications as Dishonest as He Wants it To Be

“These are difficult times for the new team of pope’s press agents,” Vatican expert, Sandro Magister wrote on Jan. 9. “The first public statement issued by Alessandro Gisotti, the new director of the Press Office of the Holy See after his taking office, concerns the case of an Argentine bishop smashing to smithereens the Franciscan strategy to address the issue of sexual abuse by clerics,” noted Magister.

“Opus Dei’s Influence is Felt in All of Washington’s Corridors of Power”

The Opus Dei Catholic Information Center’s “members and leaders continue to have an outsize impact on policy and politics. It is the conservative spiritual and intellectual center … and its influence is felt in all of Washington’s corridors of power,” stated the Washington Post.

In the past two decades, the center’s “K Street NW location, just two blocks from the White House, became a bustling gathering place for conservative academics, politicians, journalists, young professionals.”  “The noon Mass became known as a ‘Who’s Who’ scene in conservative circles” including “Judge Robert H. Bork, Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), economist Larry Kudlow and former House speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.).”

Opus Dei’s influence is enormous in the U.S. judiciary.

Two Lawsuits Name the Vatican. Perhaps Justice At Last.

In October, two sexual abuse survivors sued the Vatican in the U.S. District Court in San Francisco for failing to prevent and covering up the abuse of them and other children by priests.

In November, a class-action lawsuit on behalf of six sexual assault victims was filed in the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. The lawsuit accuses the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and the Vatican of “endemic, systemic, rampant, and pervasive rape and sexual abuse” of the plaintiffs and others by members of the clergy, religious orders, and other Church representatives.

The Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) establishes the limitations as to whether a foreign sovereign nation (or its political subdivisions, agencies, or instrumentalities) may be sued in U.S. courts. Under that law, a foreign state shall be liable for personal injury or death occurring in the United States and caused by the foreign state or any official or employee of that foreign state while acting within the scope of his office or employment. (I am not a lawyer, so I hope anyone wanting exact information will click on these links for the specifics.)

Until now, the Vatican prevailed in three * lawsuits by asserting that its bishops and clergy are not “officials or employees acting within the scope of his office or employment.” Pope Francis’ recent action, however, may open the door to success for survivors of clerical sex abuse.

The Bishops’ Meeting: From Bad to Worse

In August, a Pennsylvania grand jury disclosed credible allegations of sexual abuse by over 300 priests, with thousands of victims.  A joint Boston Globe/Philadelphia Inquirer investigation, published Nov. 3, found more than 130 U.S. bishops –  or nearly one-third of those still living – have been accused of failing to properly respond to sexual misconduct allegations.

The bishops’ response was much-anticipated. But, at their Nov. 12-14 meeting, they failed to adopt reforms addressing the sex abuse crisis

“Bottom line – Catholics have lost trust in their leaders,” declared Tom Gjelten, who covers religion, faith, and belief for NPR News, after the meeting.

“Too many are losing faith, losing trust, losing hope – we are, in so many ways, losing our religion,” wrote Deacon Greg Kandra.

“This loss of trust in the leadership of the Church makes this the most significant crisis confronting ting the church since the Reformation,” noted Madeline E. Lacovara in the magazine, America.

As usual, important issues were misstated or neglected by the U.S. mainstream media in reporting on the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) meeting.