The opinion column posted below was written by Starkville Daily News Editor Ryan Phillips and reprinted with the newspaper's permission.
It’s not exactly breaking news that systemic corruption runs rampant through the Catholic Church.
But in light of recent events in our own community, the institutional ills have been laid bare, rocking a church congregation to its very foundation.
It’s been about a month since a search warrant filed in federal court in Jackson showed the Catholic Diocese of Jackson and St. Joseph Catholic Church in Starkville were at the center of a criminal investigation regarding the actions of the Starkville church’s pastor, Father Lenin Vargas.
What’s more, the investigation also shed light on a potential cover-up by leadership in the Diocese, which is accused of trying to avoid any negative publicity that could come with the public revelation that Vargas lied about being diagnosed with a rare form of cancer and defrauded parishioners out of tens of thousands of dollars.
While the evidence overwhelmingly points to at least some degree of criminal enterprising by Vargas, what becomes much more problematic is the accusation that church leaders knew about the fraud and lies, covered it up and then punished those who spoke out against them.
In the most recent development, the Starkville Daily News reported last week that parishioners of the Starkville church formed a change.org petition to retain Father Rusty Vincent as the pastor of the church. This came after Bishop Joseph Kopacz, embattled since the news broke of Vargas, made the move to transfer Vincent to St. Paul Catholic Church in Vicksburg, in favor of Father Jason Johnston, who currently serves as parochial vicar of St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Madison.
As of noon on Tuesday, 239 people had signed the online petition, showing a surprising amount of support for a priest viewed as crucial to the church’s college town dynamic.
The Catholic Church is notorious for awarding its “Yes Men,” and several in the church body at St. Joseph are accusing the Diocese of doing just that with the most recent leadership change in Starkville.
Numerous parishioners have spoken out in support of keeping Vincent in Starkville, while accusing Bishop Kopacz of retaliating against Vincent by moving him to another parish.
But formal charges have yet to be filed and many questions still remain.
What exactly did Bishop Kopacz know before the story broke?
Why did Bishop Kopacz continue to propagate Vargas’ false cancer diagnosis?
What factored in to Bishop Kopacz’s decision to transfer Vincent away from Starkville?
And what, if any, measures will the Catholic Church take in addressing a church leader like Bishop Kopacz, who has a documented history of being at least in the periphery of controversy?
For instance, there have been whispers that Bishop Kopacz received his Papal appointment as Bishop of the Jackson Diocese as a kind of reward for his allegiance and efforts amid a grand jury investigation in Pennsylvania relating to church leaders covering up child sex abuse in multiple Pennsylvania parishes.
Even if the nepotism is not true, the dishonest perception of Kopacz by parishioners tells a wholly different story.
When looking at his history, it’s easy to understand why.
While in Pennsylvania, Bishop Kopacz served in the role of Vicar for Priests for the diocese, where he was tasked with addressing complaints against clergy and enforcing church protocol — a position that gave him a front row perspective to the most heinous offenses committed by those within the church.
A police officer friend of mine once said about auto burglars, even though the suspect might be formally charged for the first time, generally it is not the first time they have committed the offense … just the first time they’ve been caught.
So when considering Vargas, it’s worth noting that little is known about his past apart from his parish assignments, which leaves on the table the possibility of past wrongdoings yet to be discovered.
But I think there is a wealth of wisdom in that statement from law enforcement, because Bishop Kopacz has been linked to controversy in the past when he was at the Diocese of Scranton in Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro’s office in August announced the findings of a two-year grand jury investigation into sexual abuse allegations against the Catholic Church in Pennsylvania, which included multiple mentions of Bishop Kopacz.
While he was not directly accused of any sexual misconduct, Bishop Kopacz was accused of not reporting sexual abuse allegations made against at least one priest in Pennsylvania — which he claimed was at the request for confidentiality from the victim — all in spite of his role as the enforcer of church protocol as it relates to priests.
It is also important to note that even in the past year, the Vatican has levied heavier punishments against high-level church leaders for accusations that appear to be less severe and more politically-motivated than those aimed at Kopacz and others in the Jackson diocese.
In October, Pope Francis forced Bishop Martin Holley to resign from his post at the Memphis diocese after complaints from church leadership regarding Bishop Holley’s decision to reassign certain priests within the parish.
Coincidently, the Commercial Appeal reported that before his time in Memphis, Bishop Holley was in Washington for 12 years as an auxiliary bishop under the leadership of Cardinals Theodore McCarrick and Donald Wuerl — the latter of whom resigned in October following the same Pennsylvania grand jury report that mentioned Bishop Kopacz numerous times.
Controversy aside, though, several parishioners have been critical of Kopacz’s lack of attention paid to the problems at St. Joseph, which can in part be traced back to October 2017, when Bishop Kopacz and Vicar General Kevin Slattery held a meeting with clergy and the St. Joseph Parish counsel regarding the allegations against Vargas.
After some time went by following the meeting, leadership at the parish became concerned because it did not seem like any action had been taken by the Diocese, which later claimed it put a freeze on Vargas’ spending and issued an audit of the church’s finances.
But in the weeks that followed the seemingly fruitless meeting, something interesting began to happen — parishioners began to speak out.
While it could be interpreted as the church body simply venting its frustrations, I think there is more to it, with this outcry possibly representing the remedy for the aforementioned corruption, at least at the local level.
As with government, true institutional change cannot be made until those being governed use their superior numbers and collective influence to push back against the powers that be. And I believe that is what we are seeing at St. Joseph.
Far too often, when a church is embroiled in controversy, there tends to be radio silence from the normal churchgoers. After all, in our democratic society built on a separation of church and state, churches are tasked for the most part with governing themselves by their own immutable doctrines.
At St. Joseph, though, we are seeing a grassroots campaign to lobby for change, with parishioners bravely going on the record to speak out against a broken and archaic system that has played them like a fiddle for their money and loyalty.
While the problems in Starkville are just a microcosm of the much larger problem of corruption at all levels of the church, other parishes facing similar issues could take a valuable lesson from the actions of the congregation at St. Joseph.
Local media can hold these church administrators accountable with ink and paper, but the true power rests with the congregation and I believe they are just now beginning to realize their own potential as it relates to deciding the future of the church.
This autonomy is how the system should have been from the beginning, but sometimes it takes the house completely falling down before it can be rebuilt. And I would like to believe that those in the congregation realized that if they were looking solely to the Vatican for a solution, they were not likely to get one that best serves the interests and spiritual wellbeing of the church body.
So I implore the parishioners of St. Joseph to stand strong in their commitment to hold church leader’s feet to the fire. When all is said and done, this could be that critical moment when true change could be just within reach.
Thursday, December 27, 2018
The St. Joseph Revelation
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33 comments:
The Catholic Church has, for most of my life, been a subject of complete contradiction.
On the one hand, the Catholic relatives and friends we have are by far some of the finest human beings on earth. At times I wish our family had been Catholic since people just do not turn any better than the devoted Catholics we know personally.
On the other hand, the Pope is a stone cold certified idiot when it comes to economics; and believes, in my opinion, that not unlike in Saudi Arabia, money just bubbles up out of the ground and should therefore be distributed equally to all. The Pope has absolutely no clue whatsoever how much of capitalistic wealth is created; and we are therefore constantly subjected to his ignorant socialistic views.
Also, and worst of all, there are very few crimes worse than that of raping a child, but the Catholic Church’s cover ups of said child rapes is surely one of them. These cover ups, including the most recent in Pennsylvania where more than 300 Catholic predator priests allegedly abused over 1,000 child victims, combined with the years and years and years of previous cover ups, their gay orgies, etc., etc., etc., must make one wonder if the practice of celibacy is actually real, or just a cover up for not being attracted to women, or maybe worse yet, a cover up for pedophilia.
Catholic church = organized crime. Power corrupts - obsolute power corrupts absolutely.
What this editorial “lays bare” is the sorry state of journalism. Gone is any ethical reporting of actual facts. Instead newspapers are reporting “whispers” of unsubstantiated gossip. The Bishop is “accused” in lurid and sensational fashion of being on the “periphery” of child sex abuse investigations. Reading between the lines, we learn the Bishop was “linked to” that controversy because he investigated and reported those priests. Like the old WC Fields joke about 2 weeks in Peoria, the bishops supposed reward was a transfer to Jackson Ms. Thanks Pope. Of course child sex abuse has nothing to do with the Vargas situation. The author’s straining by innuendo to connect the unconnected reveals simple anti-catholic bias—and shoddy journalism. There was a day when a responsible editor would refuse to run such tripe.
Unfortunately, I saw this article in the Clarion Ledger the other day. Starkville Daily News does a dang good job with news and especially sports (all sports reporting and not just MSU sports) and I enjoy reading their paper with lots of good reporting across the board...they are a dying breed of newspaper journalism...hopes it stays around a long time!
Years ago, I left the Catholic Church. As a life-long Catholic from a strong Catholic family, it was tough. Reading this provides reassurance that I made the right decision for my family and me.
Look up the history of Joseph kopacz and you will find that he is a cover up man and in Pennsylvania he was one of the most corrupt. I bet he's gone in 2 months. I attended that parish in Starkville during my years as a m ississippi state bulldog and the people there are fantastic. I hate to see they were taken advantage of.
9:08, may I ask where you worship now?
It’s not exactly breaking news that systemic corruption runs rampant through the Catholic Church.
The Catholic church is an easy target for many people, especially considering it is the largest organized religious group on the globe.
But to believe the unethical/criminal activity listed in this article does not happen in the various Protestant denominations in Mississippi, then its safe to assume you would be willing to buy ice from an Eskimo if it was at the right price.
Proud Catholic, not going anywhere.
The Catholic Church requires its members to confess all of their sins, yet it does not practice what it preaches.
I'm not Catholic but I want to point out a few facts the "journalism" masquerade omits.
1. Late 1990’s -2002 – Boston pedophile scandal. In response to this the Dallas Charter was established that added background checks, etc.
2. The number of credible accusations of pedophilia since 2002 had dramatically dropped, albeit that one case is one case too many.
3. In 2013-14 : there were six credible cases of pedophilia within the US Catholic church.
4. In 2016: there were two credible cases of pedophilia within the US Catholic church.
5. The 2018 Pennsylvania grade jury covered 1936-2018, that is 78 years. To listen to the media one would think the time frame was contemporary.
6. Pre-1990’s, mainstream psychological thought was that pedophiles can be rehabilitated. The Catholic church accepted this idea. Now the Church says one strike and you are out.
No one ever points points out how very few, of the children abused are female. The Catholic church needs to rid itself of homosexual pedophile priests.
9:20. Really??!! Would you say then more corrupt than the pedohile priests he investigated and reported ?
Or should no one have done that investigation lest he be accused of complicity?
https://www.dailywire.com/news/34641/walsh-sex-abuse-epidemic-matt-walsh
It is an opinion column NOT a news story.
11:21. An editorial is journalism and is also governed by standards of ethics, integrity as well as fair and accurate reporting—or should be.
Not every bigoted, unsourced, gossip-laden “opinion” should be published.
Heck even KF refuses some biased, hate-filled innuendo masquerading as commentary.
@ 9:43 AM - Yes, you may. My family and I attend a United Methodist Church.
Are "journalists" licensed?
For many centuries the Church has operated under the same benign denial that permeates law enforcement today. Because of their status they were given a pass from the kind of scrutiny other perpetrators have to endure. Their brotherhood of denial becomes so saturated into their ranks that they can act with impunity because they know they will never report on each other and they have the public's trust. That's the code. The thousand's of bad cops and clergy who commit the very acts they condemn are finding out the hard way that times have changed and social media and ever present cameras will slow down their free ride. The Catholic Church is no worse than other churches, it's just bigger,older, and richer and it must find out the hard way that it's age old policy of "chastity" won't work anymore. Stealing on the other hand...
Hey KF, I fixed your opening statement below.
"It’s not exactly breaking news that systemic corruption runs rampant through Journalism."
Look up the history of Joseph kopacz and you will find that he is a cover up man and in Pennsylvania he was one of the most corrupt. I bet he's gone in 2 months. I attended that parish in Starkville during my years as a m ississippi state bulldog and the people there are fantastic. I hate to see they were taken advantage of. December 27, 2018 at 9:20 AM
Link please....
Though I doubt you can...
I did not care for the Starkville article at all. It smacks of trying to connect the Bishop to things he was not involved with. On the edge of a scandal is not being involved with the scandal. If someone on the fifth floor of my building embezzles, am I "on the edge" because my desk is 4th floor? If I give information to a grand jury, does the fact that my name in in the report implicate me? What a hit job! It embarrasses me that this has received such wide-spread attention. The priest is a con-artist. He got caught. The people who donated to his "causes" will be reimbursed. A new priest is coming and the people want a different one. Grow up! And why in the world was "nepotism" inserted? Is the Bishop a nephew or grandchild of someone mentioned? Makes no sense except to reinforce a weak argument. The Catholic Church is not riddled with bad people in charge. There have been some really bad ones, of course, but not in my experience.
2:26–Respectfully, you are an idiot. Chastity does not cause pedophilia. It also does not cause homosexuality. Or heterosexual rape. Or for that matter car theft or speeding. And times have not changed. Since the fall of man, sin has been with us always; and always will be. Please just leave the thinking and “historical perspective” to others. It’s embarrassing.
As for reassigning priest who are Rats, anyone who ever got ratted out will tell you it usually doesn't turn out good for the Rat.
They can waste their time with the Change.org petetion the transfers are a done deal
FUCK YOU FOR NOT POSTING MY NON-CONTRAVERSIAL CONTRIBUTIONS. KNUCKLE HEAD!
There are reasons that evil makes the Catholic Church a prime target, and has worked its way inside to attack it in the foulest of ways. I believe the main reasons are that it is so large, and that it is so steadfast thus far in not skewing its teachings for it.
I have no dog in this hunt BUT do have a couple of observations.
First, the Pennsylvania grand jury business puzzles me. Isn't the idea of a grand jury that it hears evidence and determines probable cause and that as a result a charging instrument results or not? The standard as I understand is not even preponderance and the result (bill or no bill) is largely determined by the prosecutor. He/she gets to present the evidence and steer the conversation, etc. In this instance the period covered 78 years and yet not one indictment or whatever they call charging instruments in Pennsylvania resulted. Plenty national media attention but none of what grand juries are there for. Sorry there seems a big fat left-wing secularist plot afoot here.
Second: if you want to financially support and/or expose yourself/ your family to the purported dangers of a particular religion that would be between you and Allah. As for second-guessing policy like the appointment of religious leaders of somebody else's religion -- protecting somebody else's children from being snake-bit whilst passing copperheads around and jabbering in tongues is just not my job and falls pretty far outside my interests.
Without intending any disrespect I really love the comment immediately preceding this one.
I'm struck by the number of you petunia-pluckers who simply choose to shoot the messenger. But, I shouldn't be. The first thing many people do, when presented with information they wish would stay hidden, is deny it. The second it to shoot (malign or fabricate dishonesty) the messengers.
And for the knuckle-head who says "Oh, this goes on in all denominations", where's your evidence of that? Publish a few links. You're the same guy who claims 'Crime in Jackson is no different than anywhere else'.
4:35 The church's policy for priests is actually celibacy which does involve "chastity" and that policy has not been around forever. The policy began around 1100 A.D. and continues to this day despite the fact that it demands that priests have no sexual life at all which places tremendous pressure on any man. These men soon found that their secretive brotherhood and public apathy allowed opportunities for clandestine sexual encounters- heterosexual, homosexual, pedophilia, whatever. The church's policy which placed normal hetero contact in the same context as abusive relations (for priests) did not invent abuse, but drove all sexual relations underground where abuse tends to flourish. In that respect the church's policy is problematic. I'm sure no one is as informed as you but I do know a little of the history.
Tired of the Catholic Churches inability to be transparent and follow the writings and teachings they deem to espouse as God’s word. The church would be better of with Kopacz sent closer to the Vatican, like North Africa or Sierra since he’s so good at dealing with controversy!
Tired of the Catholic Churches inability to be transparent and follow the writings and teachings they deem to espouse as God’s word. The church would be better of with Kopacz sent closer to the Vatican, like North Africa or Sierra since he’s so good at dealing with controversy!
I am unimpressed with those who use the past or present to justify predatory or criminal behaviors.
I am unimpressed with those who see the flaws in other " tribes" and ignore that there own " tribe" is cursed with " rotten apples" as well.
In any group, there will be the average percentage of psychopaths ,unethical humans, cruel humans and fools who spread misery.
The seven deadly sins are universally recognized in every religion as is the message to be behave better. If every organized group would demand and enforce ethical behavior and strive for fairness and justice for all, rather than imagine themselves superior by comparison to others, we might actually get closer to our ideals and have a reason to be proud of ourselves. Instead we choose denial and hypocrisy.
9:12. Well at least your confused ill-informed explanation confirms that you are also a bigot. “Secretive brotherhood” , “clandestine sex” “underground realations”. Honestly where do you get your information— Dan Brown novels, the Da Vinci Code movie ? And your “tremendous pressure on any man” diagnosis is hilarious. All that there celibacy just naturally leads to crime don’t it. It ain’t fitting I tell ya. A man could blow sky high. Please tell us more.....
7:58. Please explain what “information” was presented as opposed to admitted “whispers” and strained unconnected innuendo. And exactly what sin or crime is it that you think is limited only to Catholics priests as opposed to other demoninations —or for that matter other organizations. Surely not theft. Or pedophilia. Heck the Boy Scouts of America and the US Gymanstics Association (coaches) are both about to declare bankruptcy over the numerous pedophilia claims. Links....please just educate your know nothing self. Google is always there, as are books.
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