FOREST CITY — Immaculate Conception Parish and the Knights of Columbus of Forest City held their sixth annual Cross-A-Thon and Eucharistic Procession Aug. 11.
Some participants shouldered life-sized crosses, while others carried smaller crosses in the Eucharistic Procession as the group walked one mile from the church down Main Street in Forest City to the Grace of God Rescue Mission.
The procession was led by Father Herbert Burke, pastor, accompanied by Deacons Andy Cilone, Sigfrido Della Valle and David Faunce.
Then the procession returned to the church and participants remained for Benediction. Father Burke spoke on bearing our crosses in a public witness to our faith while following Christ in the Eucharist.
Afterwards, everyone enjoyed a grilled hot lunch and camaraderie in the parish hall.
About 110 people took part in the procession, and money was raised for the Knight of Columbus’ Warriors to Lourdes pilgrimage. The event raised enough money to send at least one pilgrim to Lourdes next spring.
The Cross-A-Thon began as a fundraising event six years ago by the youth of the parish, and has since grown into a multifaceted spiritual event enjoyed by all ages. It’s now supported and sponsored by the Knights of Columbus.
— Photos by Giuliana Polinari Riley, correspondent
CHARLOTTE — One of the priests named in a Pennsylvania grand jury report detailing decades of clergy sex abuse once served in the Diocese of Charlotte.
The grand jury report, issued Aug. 14, details the alleged sexual abuse of children in six Pennsylvania dioceses over the course of 70 years. More than 300 priests have been linked to abuse claims and more than 1,000 victims have been identified.
The late Spiritan Father Robert E. Spangenberg served as pastor of St. James Church in Hamlet from 1994 to 1997, according to parish records. He also served in unspecified ministry in the Diocese of Raleigh from 1977 to 1979, and at a parish in the Diocese of Charleston, S.C., from 1990 to 1992.
He was assigned to the Charlotte diocese by his order, the Congregation of the Holy Spirit, otherwise known as the Spiritans. The small parish in the eastern part of the diocese was served by Spiritan priests from 1991 to 1997.
“When he came to the Diocese of Charlotte, nothing in the paperwork indicated there were any issues with his fitness for pastoral duty,” said David Hains, diocesan communications director. “While he was here, there were no complaints about him.”
Father Spangenberg left the Charlotte diocese in 1997 when he was reassigned by his order, which is based in Bethel Park, Pa., to serve with the order’s province council, Hains said.
According to the Pennsylvania grand jury report, Father Spangenberg went on to serve at a parish in Pittsburgh and then as director of a retirement community in Sarasota, Fla., before retiring in 2003.
Read Father Spangenberg's report
He died in 2006, aged 59.
The grand jury report, relying on records provided by the Diocese of Pittsburgh, “revealed that Spangenberg was involved with at least two children, possibly more.”
The grand jury report stated that the Pittsburgh diocese “was first notified that there was a problem with Spangenberg's ministry in 1988. At that time, a woman wrote to the Diocese and to the Vatican in order to obtain help for her son. She named Spangenberg as her son's abuser and stated that another priest from Spangenberg's order was helping them with counseling.”
The Spiritans investigated the abuse allegation, according to the grand jury report, but did not remove Spangenberg from ministry. Instead, he was sent to a Spiritan-run retirement home in Sarasota, Fla., from 1989 to 1990, before being assigned to St. Patrick Church in Charleston, S.C., in 1990.
The Charleston diocese issued a statement Aug. 15 confirming Father Spangenberg’s parish assignment and noting, “To the best of our knowledge, there is no record of any allegations of misconduct made against Father Spangenberg while he was assigned to the parish.”
In 2009, a second allegation of abuse was made against Father Spangenberg, the grand jury report also said. “An adult male reported that when he was 15 to 16 years of age, he and Spangenberg engaged in many types of sexual encounters,” it stated, including “street prostitution with young boys” and oral sex in exchange for drugs, alcohol or money that the priest took from the collection box.
“The Diocese and the Spiritans continue to share financial responsibility for the cost of the male's therapy, medication, job searches, criminal court costs and assistance with child support,” the grand jury report stated.
“These incidents are a reminder, once again, that the scars of sexual abuse last a lifetime,” Hains said. “We continue to offer a sincere apology to all victims of sexual abuse and we continue to encourage anyone who is a victim of to contact the authorities.”
Click here for reporting ministry-related abuse of a minor.