Report: Philadelphia's Cardinal Rigali to resign amid scandal
Report released in February accused Archdiocese of failing to stop cases of sexual abuse
Report released in February accused Archdiocese of failing to stop cases of sexual abuse
NBCPhiladelphia.com (see original article)
updated 7/18/2011 12:47:02 PM ET
A press conference announcing Rigali’s resignation will take place sometime this week, according to blogger Michael Sean Winters.
Winters also named four people who were in consideration as replacements for Rigali: Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Atlanta, Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville, Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver, and Bishop William Lori of Bridgeport.
Reports of Rigali’s resignation come in the midst of a turbulent time for the Philadelphia archdiocese. An explosive grand jury report released in February accused the Archdiocese of failing to stop numerous cases of sexual abuse.
As a result of the report, 21 priests were suspended and two priests, a former priest and a Catholic school teacher were arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting two young boys.
Rigali, 76, was appointed the eighth Archbishop of Philadelphia in 2003, and previously served as the Archbishop of St. Louis.
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Ed Martin is a good friend, employee and personal confidant to Archbishop Rigali. Martin was the St. Louis Tea Party favorite and Republican politician who failed to beat Congressman Russ Carnahan last November.
How much did Ed Martin know about Archbishop Rigali's secrets?
In the April 2011 issue of St. Louis Magazine, Jeannette Cooperman wrote an in depth article on Ed Martin and covered his relationship with the then St. Louis Archbishop Rigali.
Archbishop Rigali wanted the Human Rights Office reined in—more orthodoxy, less autonomy. So Martin shifted the priorities. “There was a whole bunch of social-justice stuff,” he recalls. “The office was doing strawberry pickers. And they weren’t doing much meaningfully about African-Americans. We did the jubilee Freedom Ride, took buses and went to Selma. It was really heady. The idea was, what does faithful citizenship call you to do as a Catholic?Well, Ed, most people would tell you faithful citizenship for Catholics, means you don't rape children and if you know of a person who is sexually abusing children -- you report them immediately -- even if they are a Catholic priest, Bishop or church employee. United States citizenship means you follow the laws of our country first, not Catholic dogma that morally or socially permits you to protect harmful monsters raping children.
ShowMeNoHate demands a response from Ed Martin, denouncing all the crimes of not only those 21 priests who sexual molested children, but also a statement denouncing Martin's own friend, Archbishop Rigali, whose name swirls in this ongoing Philadelphia Catholic Church sex-abuse scandal.
If it's true that Rigali did protect fellow Catholic priests who sexually abused children, the question that begs --
"Did Ed Martin know any of these child molesters too? And did Ed Martin during his employment under Archbishop Rigali, turn a blind eye toward priests who molest children?"
The LGBTQ and straight ally community is tired of Archbishop Rigali and Ed Martin, who constantly criticize and vilify our families, children and relationships.
We are tired of hearing Ed Martin refer to LGBT as a "social experiment," when discussing issues like same-sex marriage and the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell. (A direct quote Martin used during Carnahan and Martin debates last year.)
Dear Ed Martin, the social experiment of Catholic priests raping little girls and boys, apparently is not just an experiment, it appears to be a social norm to you and many other leaders running the Catholic church
