Hays High senior golfer Josh Norris signed a national letter of intent to golf with the Southeast Community College Storm on Thursday. The college is located in Beatrice, Nebraska. Norris said among other things that drew him to the school is that they have a two on-campus golf holes that you can play between classes.
As a four-year starter, Norris has played in every available varsity tournament. He has medaled in 18 of the 37 tournaments including five of the seven tournaments this season. This year’s individual championship at McPherson to open the season marked his first tournament crown.
Josh Norris
Norris was a member of the 2016 4A State Tournament Champion Team, fourth place 4A team in 2017 and runner-up 4A team in 2018. This year marks a return to 5A for the Indians. The team will host a regional tournament on May 13 at Smoky Hill Country Club.
Hays next will be on the road Friday in Liberal with a chance to capture the Western Athletic Conference crown. Norris finished as honorable mention in the WAC as a sophomore and on the first team as a junior.
Coach Mark Watts
A lifelong golfer, Norris has seen his score drop from an season average of 87 his freshman season to 77 as a senior.
Former Phillipsburg resident DaLene E. Schuster passed away May 6, 2019, in Tucson, Ariz., at the age of 86.
She was born Jan. 10, 1933, in Lincoln, Neb., the daughter of Fredrick & Tillie (Eikenberg) Otis.
Survivors include her daughter, Susan Schuster of Tucson, AZ; 3 sons, Russell of Lincoln, NE, Ronald of Pueblo West, CO & Roger of Lubbock, TX; her sister, Merilyn Wright of Salina; 9 grandchildren & 6 great grandchildren.
Funeral services will be held Monday, May 13, at 10:00 a.m. in the Zion Lutheran Church, Phillipsburg, with Pastors Lee Bennight & Lorna Paulus officiating. Burial will follow in the Fairview Cemetery, Phillipsburg.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Zion Lutheran Church or the Human Society of Hays.
Visitation will be from 12:00 to 9:00 Saturday & Sunday at the Olliff-Boeve Memorial Chapel, Phillipsburg.
Online condolences: www.olliffboeve.com
Olliff-Boeve Memorial Chapel is in charge of arrangements.
The National Weather Service has issued both a freeze warning and a freeze watch across the area between 1 and 10 a.m. Central.
Low temperatures at or below freezing are expected across the freeze warning area. Low temperatures hovering around freezing are expected across the freeze watch area.
Efforts should be made to protect sensitive vegetation and animals.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Officials aren’t sure when the Kansas Turnpike will reopen near the Oklahoma border after a surging creek sent floodwaters pouring over the asphalt.
Image courtesy Sumner County Sheriff
Issues arose early Wednesday when a tributary of the Arkansas River called Slate Creek overflowed. No one was hurt, but the toll road is closed south of the exit in Wellington, which is about 30 miles (48 kilometers) south of Wichita.
Rachel Bell, of the Kansas Turnpike Authority, says crews have to “get in and assess the condition of the pavement, of the actual asphalt, after the water recedes.”
The best detour around the closed highway is also unclear. The Turnpike was planned and mostly completed before the interstate highway designation in Kansas, and federal planners chose not to build parallel routes.
Ellis swimming pool tour May 6 (Photo courtesy Travis Kohlrus)
ELLIS – Following a tour of the municipal swimming pool prior to their meeting, Ellis City Council members voted Monday to approve a $170,000 engineering contract with Lamp Rynearson, contingent upon Community Development Block Grant funding for a new pool.
Justine Benoit, grant administrator with Northwest Kansas Planning and Development, told the council if the city is awarded the grant, the state allows 90 days to accept the grant, one year to sign a contract with a general contractor, and two years to start the project. The grant application must be submitted by May 15.
In other business, a new file server purchase from Eagle Technology Solutions for $6,765.34 along with monthly backup and disaster recovery option at $125 per month were approved for the Ellis Police Department.
Also approved was the Blue Cross Blue Shield policy renewal for employees’ dental plan, and term life and accidental death and disability plans. The dental plan increased 1 percent.
The complete meeting minutes follow.
ELLIS CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING
Minutes
May 6, 2019
CALL TO ORDER
Mayor David McDaniel called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. Present were Council members Bret Andries, Martin LaBarge, Jolene Niernberger, and Bob Redger. Also present were Public Works Director Alan Scheuerman, City Clerk Amy Burton, Police Chief Taft Yates, and City Attorney Olavee Raub. Council member Holly Aschenbrenner was present by telephone from 8:00 p.m. – 8:20 p.m. Council member Steve Ferland was absent.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
AMENDMENTS TO AGENDA
None
PUBLIC PRESENT
Glen Keller, Barbara Perkins, Justine Benoit, Joy Fischer, Jessica Shank, Millie Karlin, Nicole Carroll, Susan Schlichting, Ashley Rohleder, Dennis Bollig, Nancy Wright, Sheresa Brull, Ellie Brull, Grace Brull, Kristy Rhoden, JT Rhoden, Doreen Timken, Beth Schiel, Zach Schiel, Andy Smith, Vicki Doyle, John Dollil, Karista Pugh, Madison Gottschalk, Michelle Gottschalk, Abigail Mattheyer, Melvin Kinderknecht, Emily Mattheyer, Freda Fisher, Pat Bieker, Pam Dietrich, Sam Polifka, Vernie Pritchett, Craig Seibel, Margie Mickelson (arrived at 7:55 p.m.)
CONSENT AGENDA
Council member Bob Redger moved to approve the consent agenda containing the Minutes from the Regular Meeting on April 15, 2019, Bills Ordinance #2068, and the Manual Journal Entries for January, February, and March. Council member Bret Andries seconded the motion. The Council approved the consent agenda 4-0.
PUBLIC COMMENTS
None
PRESENTATIONS OF AWARDS, PROCLAMATIONS, REQUESTS & PETITIONS (HEARINGS)
City Clerk: Award/Proclamation
Mayor David McDaniel read a Proclamation declaring May 5 – 11, 2019 as the 50th Anniversary of Municipal Clerks Week.
SPECIAL ORDER
General Government: Financial – Budget Request
Jessica Shank, representing the Senior Companion program at Fort Hays State University, thanked the Council for their past support and presented the Senior Companion 2020 budget request. Ms. Shank requested consideration from Council for $3,973, the annual support cost of one senior companion volunteer. The request represents a decrease of $113 from the previous year. Joy Fischer presented the 2020 budget request for the Foster Grandparent program. Ms. Fischer requested consideration from Council for $3,718 to support one foster grandparent to serve in Ellis. The request represents an increase of $2,718 from the previous year. The Council took no action and will consider the request during budget preparation.
Committee: Special Project
The Ellis PRIDE Committee partnered with the Ellis High School KAYS organization to participate in a pilot program to obtain a youth’s perspective in conjunction with the State-wide PRIDE Committee’s First Impressions program. Nicole Carroll, KAYS Sponsor, and students Karista Pugh, Madison Gottschalk, Michelle Gottschalk, and Abigail Mattheyer gave a PowerPoint presentation highlighting their project of possible ways of beautifying Ellis and also noting existing positive aspects of the city.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Swimming Pool: Contract
Prior to the meeting, Andy Smith, engineer with Lamp Rynearson, met with available Governing Body members and interested community members at the Ellis Municipal Pool to tour the current facility and visually highlight concerns noted in the Preliminary Engineering Report. Mr. Smith entertained additional questions from the Governing Body from that tour. After discussion, Council member Bob Redger moved and Council member Jolene Niernberger seconded a motion to approve the engineering agreement with Lamp Rynearson in the amount of $170,000.00, contingent upon Community Development Block Grant funding. Upon a call for further discussion, Justine Benoit, grant administrator with Northwest Kansas Planning & Development, stated that if the City is awarded CDBG funding, the State allows 90 days to accept the grant, one year to sign a contract with a general contractor, and two years to start the project. The grant application must be submitted by May 15th. Upon a call for the vote, the motion carried 5-0, with Council member Holly Aschenbrenner voting by telephone.
Sewer: Repair/Maintenance
City Attorney Olavee Raub reported on the Cedar Lane lift station project. There is an existing 10’ easement that the work could be completed in without the need to obtain additional easements from the adjacent property owners. Public Works Director Alan Scheuerman requested approval to proceed with the project by allowing him to upgrade the existing Loveless pump. Council member Martin LaBarge moved to approve upgrades to the existing Loveless pump in the amount of $2,500, with funds to come from the Sewer Depreciation Reserve fund. Council member Bob Redger seconded the motion. The motion carried 4-0.
NEW BUSINESS
Police: Acquisition
Police Chief Taft Yates presented two bids for the purchase of a new computer server for the Police Department. Craig Seibel, Eagle Technology Solutions, was on hand to answer questions from Council. After discussion, Council member Bret Andries moved to purchase a Dell PowerEdge T140 file server from Eagle Technology Solutions in the amount of $6,765.34 along with the monthly backup and disaster recovery option at $125 per month. Council member Jolene Niernberger seconded the motion. The motion carried 4-0. The monthly backup option will be charged to the Police Department’s budget, as well as $2,500 of the file server purchase, with the remaining $4,265.34 to be taken out of Special Machinery.
General Government: Committees
Mayor David McDaniel reviewed the current City committee appointment roster and announced his new appointments for 2019. Several vacant positions remain and Mayor McDaniel hopes to have them filled by the next meeting. It was the consensus of Council to table approval of the roster of appointments until the next Council meeting.
General Government: Licenses/Permits
Council member Jolene Niernberger moved to approve the Fireworks Permit Applications from the Ellis Baptist Youth Group and the Ellis Softball/Baseball Association, contingent on each applicant submitting proof of liability insurance. Council member Martin LaBarge seconded the motion. The motion carried 4-0, with Council member Bret Andries abstaining due to perceived conflict of interest.
Personnel: Benefits
City Clerk Amy Burton presented the policy renewal rates for the employee’s dental plan and term life and accidental death and disability policy. Both policies are through Blue Cross Blue Shield. The dental plan reflects a 1% increase in premiums, while the life and AD&D policy premiums are unchanged. Council member Bob Redger moved to approve the Blue Cross Blue Shield dental and term life and accidental death and disability policies as presented. Council member Martin LaBarge seconded the motion. The motion carried 4-0.
Public Works: Disposal
Public Works Director Alan Scheuerman requested approval to sell several of the Department’s vehicles and the cargo bed from the newly purchased 2011 GMC Sierra. Council member Martin LaBarge moved to authorize the sale of the 1988 Chevy 1-ton, the 2004 Ford F-250 ¾-ton, the 1990 Ford ¾-ton, and the cargo bed from the 2011 GMC Sierra on the Purple Wave auction site. Council member Bob Redger seconded the motion. The motion carried 4-0.
Sanitation: Repairs/Maintenance
Council member Bob Redger moved to ratify the invoice from Staab Repair in the amount of $1,496.94 for repairs to the 1999 Ford F350. Council member Jolene Niernberger seconded the motion. The motion carried 4-0.
Campground: Special Project
Public Works Director Alan Scheuerman presented two bids for storm sewer supplies for the Campground Expansion Project. Council member Bret Andries moved to approve the low bid from Municipal Supply in the amount of $4,240.73, for storm sewer materials. Council member Jolene Niernberger seconded the motion. The motion carried 4-0.
REPORTS FROM CITY OFFICIALS
Public Works
Mr. Scheuerman announced the City was the successful bidder for one of the pickups being sold by sealed bid from Golden Belt Telephone Company. The City purchased a 2011 GMC Sierra ¾-ton pickup with the high bid of $16,914.00.
Council member Bob Redger inquired if the Department could possibly repair the curb at 10th Street and Monroe by Golden Belt Coop.
Police
Police Chief Taft Yates presented the Department’s Monthly Activity Report for April and the May Staff Calendar
City Clerk
City Clerk Amy Burton presented the monthly financial statements for January, February, and March 2019 and the draft minutes from the recent Planning Commission/Board of Zoning Appeals and Campground Committee meetings.
Individuals interested in running for Mayor, City Council, and City Treasurer must file with the County Clerk by noon on June 3rd.
The City received payment from the City of Brownell for two of the City’s old storms sirens. It was the consensus of Council to deposit the proceeds of the sale back into the Capital Improvement Fund.
Mr. Scheuerman and Ms. Burton met with David Barber, USDA Loan Specialist, regarding left over funds from the USDA Waterline Project in 2016. The funds may either be applied to the existing loan, or expended on additional improvements to the USDA project. It was the consensus of the Council to explore additional improvements to the waterline infrastructure.
Attorney
City Attorney Olavee Raub reported that Senate Bill 105 allowing cities to select an earlier date to swear in newly elected officials is not in effect until July 1st; therefore, a draft resolution will be presented in June for consideration.
Ms. Raub will be absent at the June 3rd Council meeting. City Prosecutor Cassy Zeigler will attend the Council meeting in her absence.
Mayor Update and Announcements
Council member Jolene Niernberger provided a summary of legislative updates from the League of Kansas Municipalities Leadership Summit. Ms. Niernberger stressed the importance of residents completing the 2020 Census Survey, as federal grant dollars received by the City could be negatively impacted by an inaccurate census.
ADJOURNMENT
Council member Bob Redger moved and Council member Martin LaBarge seconded a motion to adjourn the meeting. The motion carried 4-0. The meeting adjourned at 9:25 p.m.
Twelve science and math students at Fort Hays State University have been awarded the National Science Foundation’s Noyce Scholarship for the upcoming school year.
This scholarship is designed to help support high-achieving math and science students who want to become secondary or middle level teachers after graduation.
The scholarship is a “cost-of-attendance” scholarship worth over $13,000 per year and a stipend to attend state or regional conferences.
Students also enroll in a seminar class to discuss teaching in rural schools, attend a week-long field experience trip at a school in southwest Kansas, and are all members of the STEM-Ed Club here at FHSU.
FHSU is awarding six new students this scholarship, as well as six second-year students. Overall, FHSU will have awarded Noyce Scholarships to 38 students over the past seven years.
“Our program so far has been very successful at identifying and nurturing promising young teachers to not only begin in the STEM teaching field, but also to stick with it through those first few tough years,” said Dr. Bill Weber, assistant professor of mathematics.
The following students are listed in alphabetical order and are receiving the Noyce Scholarship for the first time:
Seth Boxberger, Russell sophomore majoring in mathematics and secondary education.
Kole Clarke, Lyons junior majoring in biology and secondary education.
Nicholas Schmidt, Hays senior majoring in mathematics and secondary education.
Ethan Shippy, Hays junior majoring in biology and secondary education.
Cayla Steinert, Olmitz junior majoring in biology and secondary education.
Judson Tillotson, Fort Scott sophomore majoring in mathematics and secondary education.
The following students are listed in alphabetical order and are receiving the Noyce Scholarship for the second time:
Alexis Meinert, Garden City senior majoring in mathematics and secondary education.
Diana Sabados, Brighton, Colo., senior majoring in mathematics and secondary education.
Chantal Solorzano, Dodge City junior majoring in biology and secondary education.
Joshua Stark, Hays junior majoring in chemistry and secondary education.
Kathryn Westerhaus, Junction City senior majoring in biology and secondary education.
Lauren Zerr, Russell Springs senior majoring in mathematics and secondary education.
A reception will be held at 4 on Thursday, May 9, in the Memorial Union’s Trails Room to celebrate these scholars.
WICHITA, KAN. – A home healthcare worker who was convicted of stealing from her elderly clients was sentenced Tuesday for two counts of mistreatment of an elderly person, two felony thefts, and other financial crimes, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s office.
Becker photo Sedgwick Co.
Dawn Becker, 33, who now resides in Reno County, committed the crimes while working for three different home health companies in Wichita from August of 2017 to April of 2018. In all, she was convicted of six felonies involving a total of four victims.
Becker, who had no prior felonies on her record, was placed on five years of probation. As a condition of her plea, she was ordered to pay $89,000 in restitution to the victims.Judge Kevin O’Connor told Becker that she would serve 98 months in the Kansas prison system if she violated her probation or failed to make regular payments on restitution.
The charges alleged that Becker stole property, including jewelry, and financial cards from the homes of patients she was assisting. Becker stated during the sentencing hearing that she was having financial difficulties and pawned the stolen items or usedher clients’ financial cards to get money.
Becker’s probation may be extended up to five years to ensure that she pays restitution. O’Connor also ordered Becker not to work as a home healthcare worker inany private residence or nursing facility.
TOPEKA — The Kansas Department of Health and Environment is cautioning residents to stay
out of Kansas waterways because of the recent flooding and associated unsafe water quality conditions.
In addition to the physical dangers associated with entering swift moving flood waters, the potential for high levels of pathogens in those waters exist. KDHE anticipates elevated levels of pathogens in rivers and streams across the state because of runoff. Additionally, over the past several days, numerous wastewater systems have experienced bypasses of sewage that enter local streams.
Individuals are advised to avoid contact with waterways and to restrict pets and livestock from entering
streams and allow flood waters time to recede.
KDHE personnel are in contact with wastewater utilities in Kansas and are evaluating the extent of any
bypassing.
Individuals should contact their local public works departments for questions related to their immediate
area.
For the third year in a row, more than 4,000 graduates will cross the stage during Fort Hays State University ‘s spring commencement ceremonies. To accommodate this large volume of graduates and their families, the university will continue holding two ceremonies.
The practice of two ceremonies will continue, but instead of being split between an evening and a morning ceremony, both events – Friday, May 17, and Saturday, May 18 – will begin at 9 a.m. in Gross Memorial Coliseum.
Graduates from two colleges, the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences and the College of Health and Behavioral Sciences, will march on Friday.
Saturday’s ceremony is for graduates from three colleges: the College of Education; the Peter Werth College of Science, Technology, and Mathematics; and the W.R. and Yvonne Robbins College of Business and Entrepreneurship.
The schedule leading up the start time is the same both days: Doors to the coliseum and Cunningham Hall will open at 7 a.m.; graduates can pick up name cards, caps, gowns and tassels from 7 a.m. until 8:45 a.m.; line up begins at 8:15 a.m.
This year’s Commencement exercises encompass 4,078 graduates from the summer and fall 2018 and from spring 2019. The totals are 93 associate degrees; 3,115 bachelor’s degrees; 868 master’s and Education Specialist degrees; and two Doctor of Nursing Practice degrees.
Graduates and faculty will be seated on the main floor of Gross Coliseum.
Seating arrangements for the disabled are available on the main floor on either side in front of the stage. Drivers will find Gates 2 and 3, at the northwest and southwest corners, most convenient for dropping off passengers with disabilities. There are no reservations for this area. One person, if necessary, will be allowed to accompany an individual in this seating area.
An interpreter for people who are hearing impaired will be near Section C.
Both ceremonies are free and open to families of graduates and to all friends of the university. No tickets are required. All seats in Gross Memorial Coliseum are first-come, first-served and are normally filled one hour before the start of the ceremony.
Traffic in the Gross Coliseum area is extremely heavy for Commencement. Parking lots adjacent to Gross Coliseum typically fill up quickly, but ample parking is available on the main campus. In the event of rain, unpaved lots near Gross Coliseum will be closed, making it necessary to park on the main campus.
Shuttle bus service will be provided both Friday and Saturday between the campus and Gross Coliseum. The shuttle buses will stop in parking lots and wherever drivers see people walking to or from Gross Coliseum.
Persons other than degree candidates attending Commencement are asked to enter through the four coliseum gates and not through Cunningham Hall.
The Kansas Supreme Court ruled recently that the state constitution protects a woman’s right to an abortion. Conservative politicians in Topeka may back putting a constitutional amendment on the 2020 ballot to counter that ruling. If a lengthy abortion campaign is looming, then let’s start with facts about how average Kansans feel about abortion. That means avoiding convenient or self-reassuring stereotypes, and realizing that most Kansans are mixed on abortion and may care little about the issue.
Patrick R. Miller is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Kansas.
Kansas isn’t polled frequently, so data are unfortunately infrequent. The last Kansas poll that I can find that asked about “pro-choice” or “pro-life” was 2005. SurveyUSA showed that 50 percent of Kansans called themselves pro-choice and 45 percent pro-life. Old data here are fine because choice versus life is oversimplified. Most people who call themselves pro-life in surveys support abortion rights under some circumstances, and most pro-choice people oppose abortion in some cases.
More recently, the 2018 FOX News/AP Voter Analysis survey gave Kansans these options on abortion: 14 percent said “illegal in all cases,” 32 percent “illegal in most cases,” 35 percent “legal in most cases,” and 19 percent “legal in all cases.” Thus, you can correctly say from FOX/AP that 54 percent of Kansans support abortion rights in all or most cases, 86 percent support abortion rights to some degree, and 81 percent favor restricting abortion to some degree.
The 2017 Kansas Speaks survey sheds light on Kansans in the middle. In that, 26 percent of Kansans opposed abortion “in all situations” and 29 percent said “abortion should be permitted for any woman who choses it.” Among the remaining 45 percent who were mixed on abortion, 96 percent supported allowing abortions “when the mother’s life is in danger,” 86 percent “in instances of incest,” 86 percent “in instances of rape,” 65 percent “when there is evidence that the fetus will have serious future health problems,” but just 14 “when the mother cannot afford to have a baby.”
Surprised? Speaking of stereotypes, just 43 percent of Kansas Republicans in the Kansas Speaks survey totally opposed abortion in all cases. Only 55 percent of Kansas Democrats said that abortion should always be permitted. Likewise, many stereotypes about how religion, race, and gender shape abortion attitudes aren’t that accurate, either.
Recent national polls include some useful questions that we haven’t seen in Kansas. Often only 40-50 percent of Americans say that abortion is an important issue, about 40 percent say that abortion is not a moral issue, and most people who say that abortion is “morally wrong” support abortion rights under certain circumstances. Low knowledge is also common. Up to 70 percent of Americans admit to being unfamiliar with basic national and state abortion laws and often half are unfamiliar with Roe v. Wade.
Yes, Kansas is famed for anti-abortion protests and abortion gets significant legislative attention here, but that doesn’t reflect average Kansans or likely their priorities. Absolutely, in surveys people who oppose abortion rights often care more about abortion than people who support those rights. Those intense activists become the stereotype of Kansas and are the main audience for anti-abortion politics in Topeka.
But ultimately, the Kansans in the middle who will decide the fate of any constitutional amendment support abortion access with limitations, may not personally view abortion as a strong moral question and might not respond to moralized hyperbole from left or right, and truly may not care much about abortion. If abortion is on the ballot, though, they will vote on it. And the side that can momentarily capture those fundamentally conflicted to indifferent voters may well prevail.
Patrick R. Miller is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Kansas.
Esther Schmidt, age 70, of Hays, Kansas passed away Tuesday, May 7, 2019 in Hays. She was born September 10, 1948 in Hays, Kansas to Lester and Esther (Degenhardt) Burgardt. On June 8, 1968 she married Timothy Schmidt at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Hays.
Esther was the store manager at Hallmark for several years. She was a member of St. Joseph Catholic Church and she enjoyed arts and crafts as well as being involved with her grandchildren and all their activities.
She is survived by her husband, Tim of Hays; a son Curtis Schmidt (Amanda) of Hays; a daughter, Leslie Karlin (David) of Hays; two brothers, twin Lester Burgardt (Carol) of WaKeeney, Kansas and Dennis Burgardt (Jan) of Salina, Kansas; two sisters, Linda Schmidt (Kevin) of Bradenton, Florida and Lee Ann Zielinski of Port St. Lucie, Florida; and four grandchildren, Cameron Karlin, Madison Karlin, Avery Schmidt and Jonathan VanCampen.
She was preceded in death by her parents; infant daughter, Tammie Schmidt and a brother-in-law, David Zielinski.
Funeral services will be 11:00 AM Monday, May 13, 2019 at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Hays. Private family inurnment will be at a later date.
Memorial visitation will be Sunday 7 PM – 9 PM with a combined parish vigil and rosary service at 7:30 PM all at Brock’s-Keithley Funeral Chapel and Crematory 2509 Vine Hays, KS 67601.
Memorial contributions are suggested to Hospice at HaysMed or TMP-Marian.
Condolences may be sent by guest book at www.keithleyfuneralchapels.com or by email at [email protected]
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis issued a groundbreaking law Thursday requiring all Catholic priests and nuns around the world to report clergy sexual abuse and cover-up by their superiors to church authorities, in a new effort to hold the Catholic hierarchy accountable for failing to protect their flocks.The new church law provides whistle-blower protections for anyone making a report and requires all dioceses around the world to have a system in place to receive the claims confidentially. And it outlines procedures for conducting preliminary investigations when the accused is a bishop, cardinal or religious superior.
It’s the latest effort by Francis to respond to the global eruption of the sex abuse and cover-up scandal that has devastated the credibility of the Catholic hierarchy and his own papacy. And it provides a new legal framework for U.S. bishops to use as they prepare to adopt accountability measures next month to respond to the scandal there.
“People must know that bishops are at the service of the people,” said Archbishop Charles Scicluna, the Vatican’s longtime sex crimes prosecutor. “They are not above the law, and if they do wrong, they must be reported.”
The law makes the world’s 415,000 Catholic priests and 660,000 religious sisters mandated reporters. That means they are required to inform church authorities when they learn or have “well-founded motives to believe” that a cleric or sister has engaged in sexual abuse of a minor, sexual misconduct with an adult, possession of child pornography — or that a superior has covered up any of those crimes.
The law doesn’t require them to report to police, as victims have demanded. The Vatican has long argued that different legal systems in different countries make a universal reporting law impossible, and that imposing one could endanger the church in places where Catholics are a persecuted minority. But the procedures do for the first time put into universal church law that clergy must obey civil reporting requirements where they live, and that their obligation to report to the church in no way interferes with that.
If it is implemented fully, the Vatican could well see an avalanche of abuse and cover-up reports in the coming years. Since the law is procedural and not criminal in nature, it can be applied retroactively, meaning priests and nuns are now required to report even old cases of sexual wrongdoing and cover-ups — and enjoy whistleblower protections for doing so.
Previously such reporting was left up to the conscience of individual priests and nuns. Now it is church law. There are no punitive measures foreseen if they fail to report, and similarly there are no sanctions foreseen if dioceses, for example, fail to comply. But bishops and religious superiors could be accused of cover-up or negligence if they fail to implement the provisions, or retaliate against priests and nuns who make reports against them.
The law defines the crimes that must be reported as: performing sexual acts with a minor or vulnerable person; forcing an adult “by violence or threat or through abuse of authority, to perform or submit to sexual acts,” and the production, possession or distribution of child pornography. Cover-up is defined as “actions or omissions intended to interfere with or avoid” civil or canonical investigations.
Cardinal Marc Ouellet, head of the Vatican’s bishops office, said the inclusion of sex crimes involving adults was a clear reference to cases of sexual abuse of nuns and seminarians by their superiors — a scandal that has exploded in recent months following reports, including by The Associated Press and the Vatican’s own women’s magazine, of sisters being sexually assaulted by priests.
But Scicluna said it obviously covered lay people as well.
In another legal first for the Vatican, the pope mandated that victims reporting abuse must be welcomed, listened to and supported by the hierarchy, as well as offered spiritual, medical and psychological assistance.
The law says victims can’t be forced to keep quiet, even though the investigation itself is still conducted under pontifical secret. And in a novelty, the law requires that if victims request it, they must be informed of the outcome of the investigation — again a response to longstanding complaints that victims are kept in the dark about how their claims were handled.
But the key point of the law is to decree that the church’s own priests and nuns are mandated reporters and require every diocese around the world create an accessible, confidential reporting system to receive claims of sexual abuse and cover-up. The other key element outlines the preliminary investigation procedures to be used when the accused predator is a member of the church hierarchy.
Victims and their advocates have long complained that bishops and religious superiors have escaped justice for having engaged in sexual misconduct themselves, or failed to protect their flocks from predator priests. Bishops and religious superiors are accountable only to the pope, and only a handful have ever been sanctioned or removed for sex abuse or cover-up, and usually only after particularly egregious misbehavior became public.
Last summer, the scandal over ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick epitomized the trend: McCarrick rose to the heights of the Catholic hierarchy even though he had credible allegations of sexual misconduct against him that the Vatican had received. Francis ultimately defrocked McCarrick earlier this year after a U.S. church investigation determined he sexually abused minors as well as adult seminarians.
The new procedures call for any claim of sexual misconduct or cover-up against a bishop, religious superior or eastern rite patriarch to be reported to the Holy See and the metropolitan bishop, who is a regular diocesan bishop also responsible for a broader geographic area than his dioceses alone.
Unless the metropolitan bishop finds the claim “manifestly unfounded,” he must immediately ask permission from the Vatican to open a preliminary investigation and must hear back from Rome within 30 days — a remarkably fast turnaround for the lethargic Holy See. The metropolitan then has an initial 90 days to conduct the investigation, though extensions are possible.
The law makes clear he can use lay experts to help, a key provision that is already used in many dioceses to give bishops expert advice on handling cases from people with law enforcement or medical backgrounds. And it recommends that a special fund be set up to pay for the investigations, particularly in poorer parts of the world.
Once the investigation is completed, the metropolitan sends the results to the Vatican for a decision on how to proceed. The new law effectively stops there; existing procedures are in place for further investigation and possible sanction of bishops, though legal experts have said those 2016 procedures too require an overhaul since they are far from clear or efficient.
The new law does, however, require Vatican offices to share information throughout the process, since an untold number of cases have fallen through the cracks thanks to the silo-like nature of the Holy See bureaucracy, where each congregation zealously guards its own turf and files.
The use of the metropolitan bishop to conduct the preliminary investigation was first publicly proposed by Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich at a meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in November. Cupich elaborated on it when he addressed Francis’ February sex abuse summit, which the pope convened to demand a global response to the problem.
The procedures published Thursday are likely thus to form a key legal framework for U.S. bishops when they meet in Baltimore June 11-13 to adopt new accountability procedures.
The U.S. hierarchy has been under immense public pressure to hold one another accountable for sexual misconduct and cover-up stemming from both the McCarrick scandal and the release of the Pennsylvania grand jury report. It was apparently an open secret that McCarrick slept with seminarians, and yet his brother bishops allowed him to become their spokesman when they first adopted measures to combat child sex abuse in 2002.
The law goes into effect June 1 for an initial three years. Dioceses must establish the reporting system and confirm it is in place to the local Vatican embassy by June 1, 2020.
A dog who was normally quiet began barking every night at around 3 a.m. Irritated and sleepy, the dog’s owner searched the back yard for what might have disturbed this otherwise peaceful animal.
For three days he found nothing amiss. When the dog woke up the neighborhood a fourth night at 3 a.m. with frantic barking the owner finally sneaked around the house through the alley only to discover his neighbor throwing pebbles over the fence at the dog.
The owner demanded to know what he was doing. “My mother-in-law is visiting,” the embarrassed neighbor explained. “If she gets woken up in the middle of the night one more time she says she’ll leave.”
