{"id":1912,"date":"2013-01-02T23:50:00","date_gmt":"2013-01-02T23:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/pope-appoints-boston-priest-as-vaticans-abuse-investigator\/"},"modified":"2013-01-02T23:50:00","modified_gmt":"2013-01-02T23:50:00","slug":"pope-appoints-boston-priest-as-vaticans-abuse-investigator","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2013\/01\/pope-appoints-boston-priest-as-vaticans-abuse-investigator\/","title":{"rendered":"Pope appoints Boston priest as Vatican’s abuse investigator"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Vatican City, Jan 2, 2013 \/ 04:50 pm (CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- Pope Benedict XVI has named Boston priest Father Robert W. Oliver as the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith\u2019s promoter of justice, the \u201cchief prosecutor\u201d at the office responsible for promoting and safeguarding Catholic doctrine and morals.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cIt is with deep humility and gratitude that I received the news that the Holy Father is entrusting me with this service to the Church,\u201d Fr. Oliver said Dec. 22. \u201cReceiving this assignment during the Year of Faith is inspirational and it is challenging.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tFr. Oliver has served the Archdiocese of Boston as Assistant to the Moderator of the Curia for Canonical Affairs. He is a visiting professor of canon law at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n

\tIn his new position he will investigate serious violations of Church law, including desecration of the Blessed Sacrament, violations of the seal of confession and the sexual abuse of minors by clergy.<\/p>\n

\tCardinal Se\u00e1n O\u2019Malley of Boston said Fr. Oliver is a \u201cdistinguished\u201d canon lawyer, describing him as \u201ca gifted priest who has served the archdiocese with distinction.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\u201cWe assure him of our prayers and our support for this important ministry,\u201d he said Dec. 22.<\/p>\n

\tBishop-designate Robert P. Deeley, the archdiocese\u2019s vicar general and moderator of the curia, said Fr. Oliver will serve \u201cfaithfully and effectively.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tHe said the priest has been an \u201cimportant voice\u201d in the decisions of the archdiocese and of the Catholic Church in the U.S.<\/p>\n

\tSince 2002, Fr. Oliver has served as assistant for canonical affairs for the archdiocese\u2019s vicar general, as judge and promoter of justice in tribunals and as a consultant for the Boston archdiocese\u2019s review board on sex abuse cases.<\/p>\n

\tHe helped train diocesan officials across America to implement the U.S. bishops\u2019 2003 reforms crafted in response to sexual abuse by clergy, the Boston Globe reports. The Boston archdiocese itself was thrown into crisis in 2002 by sex abuse scandals which led to the resignation of then-Archbishop of Boston Cardinal Bernard Law.<\/p>\n

\tFr. Oliver is a member of the Brotherhood of Hope, a small Boston-based Catholic association of the faithful involved in campus ministry work. He was born in New York City on April 7, 1960 and raised on Long Island. His late father, Robert W. Oliver, served as a justice on the New York State Supreme Court.<\/p>\n

\tHe attended the Catholic University of America, the Pontifical Gregorian University, and Dartmouth College in New Hampshire.<\/p>\n

\tHe was ordained to the priesthood in Boston\u2019s Holy Cross Cathedral in May 2000.<\/p>\n

\tFr. Oliver said he \u201chumbly\u201d asks for the guidance of the Holy Spirit in assisting Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith prefect Archbishop Gerhard Muller. The Vatican congregation was headed by the Pope before his election to the papacy in 2005.<\/p>\n

\tThe American priest succeeds Monsignor Charles Scicluna, whom Pope Benedict recently named auxiliary bishop of Malta.<\/p>\n

\tBishop-designate Deeley said Fr. Oliver\u2019s \u201cexperience, intelligence, understanding, compassion and respect for all of God\u2019s people\u201d have prepared him well for the congregation\u2019s \u201cimportant ministry of justice.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\u201cFr. Oliver's talents and good counsel will be missed here in Boston but we are comforted in knowing that his presence will be felt across the universal Church,\u201d the bishop-designate said Dec. 22.<\/p>\n

\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Vatican City, Jan 2, 2013 \/ 04:50 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- Pope Benedict XVI has named Boston priest Father Robert W. Oliver as the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith’s promoter of justice, the “chief prosecutor” at the office res…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1912","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-vatican"],"yoast_head":"\nPope appoints Boston priest as Vatican's abuse investigator<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Vatican City, Jan 2, 2013 \/ 04:50 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- Pope Benedict XVI has named Boston priest Father Robert W. 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