Gino burresi biography
By John Allen
Genetic Catholic Reporter [Rome]
July 22, 2005
A virgin decree by a Vatican assemblage removing the well-known founder regard a religious order from spirited ministry could indicate how Vicar of christ Benedict XVI will handle loftiness sexual abuse crisis.
Class action also may provide dismal hint of how the Residence could handle other high thumbnail cases of a similar assemblage, including one involving the settler developer of the Legionaries of Act big, a worldwide religious order.
The Congregation for the Sense of the Faith issued leadership decree May 27 in decency case of 73-year-old Italian Fr.
Gino Burresi, founder of unembellished religious order called the Collection of the Servants of magnanimity Immaculate Heart of Mary. Decency contents of the decree, which drew little public notice, were announced by the Italian bishops' conference on July 19. In the chips specifies that:
Burresi's brains to hear confessions are revoked; He is definitively prohibited give birth to providing spiritual direction; He not bad barred from preaching, as in triumph as from celebrating the sacraments and sacramentals in public; Prohibited is barred from giving interviews, publishing and taking part be sold for broadcasts that have anything be familiar with do with faith, morals, die supernatural phenomena.
The decree, essential effect, amounts to removal get round public ministry. The only article left is private celebration carefulness the Mass.
The uptotheminute Vatican decree, which was shriek released publicly, but a create of which was obtained timorous NCR, was signed by Archbishop William Levada, the new watchdog of the Congregation for position Doctrine of the Faith, significance well as Archbishop Angelo Amato, the secretary.
It stipulates avoid in an audience given chunk Benedict XVI to Amato picture May 27, the pope addicted the decree in forma specifica, meaning that he made sheltered conclusions his own, and put off no appeal is possible.
Though the decree cites abuses of confession and spiritual give directions, Vatican sources told NCR worry mid-July that another motive sales rep the action against Burresi were accusations of sexual abuse peer seminarians, dating back to honourableness 1970s and 1980s.
Grandeur case has significance for bear least three reasons: it's authority first such decree under Levada and the new pope; Burresi is a widely known believer and Fatima devotee sometimes compared by his followers, including assemblages in the United States trip Canada, to the Capuchin occult and saint Padre Pio; vital finally, because it involves activity against a widely known progenitor of a religious community never-ending the basis of decades-old accusations.
This last point, observers say, could potentially have implications for how the Congregation presage the Doctrine of the Certainty eventually handles similar cases, much as charges of sexual work out against Fr. Marcial Maciel Degollado, the founder of the Legionaries of Christ. Maciel has anachronistic accused by a number time off former seminarians of sexual misuse.
His case is reportedly covered by investigation by the Congregation fund the Doctrine of the Trust.
Until 1992, Burresi was a member of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary, gargantuan order founded in 1816 unwelcoming Italian priest Bruno Lanteri. Burresi became a devotee of honesty Fatima revelations in the Fifties, and was the driving potency behind the creation of trig Marian sanctuary in San Vittorino, outside Rome.
At the central theme he was a brother; unquestionable was not ordained as out priest until 1983. In excellence 1960s and 1970s, Burresi transmitted copied a worldwide reputation as smart mystic. He was alleged make available be able to read souls, to carry the stigmata (the wounds of Christ), to own acquire the "odor of sanctity," endure to be able to increase paintings and other artwork mesmerize.
Critics later charged renounce Burresi faked these phenomena, shoot up, for example, rose-scented perfume connect produce the odor.
Burresi attracted a number of vocations to the Oblates, as favourably as a larger circle salary adherents. One person who came to know Burresi in loftiness 1970s was Fr.
Nicholas Gruner, who has gone on be become an ardent champion mend the Fatima message, often discordant with church authorities. In Sept 2001 the Vatican issued regular press release stating that Gruner, whose canonical status has unconventional been ambiguous, is suspended exceptional divinis (i.e., barred from effecting priestly functions but not deliberate from the cleric state), careful that his activities do need have the support of blue blood the gentry Holy See.
Burresi sinistral the Oblates of the Recent Mary in 1992 amid top-notch bitter internal dispute and supported a new order, the Gathering of the Servants of loftiness Immaculate Heart of Mary. Latterly the Servants number some Cardinal members.
The May 27 decree against Burresi is description culmination of a long religion battle.
Accusations of sexual malversation with seminarians first emerged enclose June 1988, at which halt in its tracks Burresi was removed from San Vittorino and sent first manuscript an Oblate residence in Oesterreich, and then to Tuscany. Greatness Oblates conducted a lengthy dig up. In the end, 11 accusations surfaced, though no canonical operation against Burresi was launched.
These accusations generally involved sexual acquaintance between Burresi and young seminarians, not minors.
Procreant misconduct, however, is not nobility primary charge. On May 10, 2002, a tribunal within righteousness Congregation for the Doctrine disregard the Faith concluded a punitive process against Burresi that difficult to understand been launched in 1997, pentad years after his split join the Oblates.
The process resulted in a decree signed inured to then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger and fulfil secretary Tarcisio Bertone, today grandeur cardinal of Genoa. That ruling, similar to the one communicate on May 27, was at no time applied because the criminal appearance on which it was family unit had been annulled by a- 10-year statute of limitations identical canon law.
A 20-page report from the tribunal, practised separate document from the bill, was obtained by NCR. Crew cites seven offenses by Burresi:
Direct violation of authority seal of the confessional; Zigzag violation of the seal identical the confessional; Soliciting the abuse of the seal of authority confessional; Illegitimate use of apprehension acquired in the confessional show the detriment of the penitent; Illegitimate injury to one's circus name and violation of justness right of personal privacy; Begging aversion and disobedience against superiors; Pseudo-mysticism, as well as ostensible apparitions, visions and messages attributed to supernatural origins.
Sources rich NCR that the charges extent violating the confessional stemmed use up Burresi's practice of encouraging penitents to repeat their confessions manner purposes of transcription, and on the assumption that they declined, sometimes making tiara own notes, with names categorized.
The report also mentions that in 1989 a court case of cardinals was created highlight examine accusations against Burresi, counting "homosexuality."
In its position, the report urged the Troop for the Doctrine of birth Faith to take administrative magic against Burresi despite the woolly of limitations.
One concern, goodness report suggested, was that theorize no action resulted, Burresi's entourage would interpret the investigation similarly evidence of unfair hostility overwhelm him.
"It should jumble be forgotten that during that process some persons said prowl the accused 'would come tapering off of it triumphant, more sedate than ever, and thus evade any shadow, indeed more boastful than before,' " the book wrote.
"[They said] 'that the Secretariat of State defends Fr. Gino, thus victory anticipation assured.' If no new clause is applied to his accounting liberty simply due to description fact that the proven offenses have been prescribed [by primacy statute of limitations], probably grandeur sentence of this court discretion be used as an tool of propaganda in favor very last the accused.
He will suspect able to continue to carry on harm to those psychologically fragile persons who place themselves embellish his spiritual direction."
Nobleness findings were signed by expert four-judge panel. The president characteristic the panel was Velasio General Paolis, now a bishop mount secretary of the Apostolic Signatura, the Supreme Court of description Catholic church.
Though nobility document does not clarify rendering reference to the Secretariat scope State, a member of prestige Congregation of the Servants be a devotee of the Immaculate Heart of Traditional, the order founded by Burresi, is Fr. Angelo Tognoni, uncluttered mid-level official in the Secretariate of State.
Tognoni sometimes appears with the pope at probity Wednesday General Audience, reading latest in Italian.
Burresi presently resides in Tuscany.
Efforts to reach him long comment were unsuccessful.