New report reveals servicewomen in British military being badly let down when reporting sexual violence

by University of York

Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

Servicewomen in the British military are being badly let down when reporting sexual violence, with some victims even punished for breaches of military rules when making a report, new research reveals.

Researchers say there is an urgent need to overhaul the "military's misogynistic gender culture", as well as end the misuse of disciplinary procedures against victims who breach codes of conduct when they report sexual violence.

The research, led by the University of York and published in the The RUSI Journal, found that women who experienced sexual violence often feel betrayed by responses to their reports, both by the chain of command and by their peers.

They often felt isolated and bullied, and, in some cases, punished by their commanders because, at the time of the assault, they had been drinking or fraternizing with subordinates.

The authors of the report say the findings are particularly compelling coming in the immediate aftermath of the Service Inquiry report into the death of Royal Artillery Gunner Jaysley-Louise Beck, who was found dead at Larkhill Camp in Wiltshire in December 2021 after experiencing "an intense period of unwelcome behavior."

One participant who took part in the University of York study described how the camp they were based at turned into a "hostile environment" after she reported her assault. Colleagues stated that they did not believe her and refused to work with her.

She was told by her commander that she was becoming an "inconvenience" because of the bad atmosphere it was creating. Some of her fellow servicewomen, she told the interviewer, "would come to me and be like 'it happened to me, I believe you,' it was kind of like a small MeToo movement… [but] if you spoke out, you [were] ostracized."

Reputation

Several participants believed that there was an overriding concern with keeping negative stories out of the media to protect the military's reputation.

One participant told the authors of the report that, following her report of rape, her superiors ordered that potential evidence be deleted from mobile phones, because of a concern that photos or videos would end up on social media: "Basically they couldn't have anything that would expose them to anything. Basically covering up," she said.

Others suggested that the concern over keeping stories of sexual violence out of the media was particularly powerful when there were senior officers involved: "anything that they can keep out of the media they will… especially if there's rank involved, you know, if there is a high-ranking officer, abuse of power, they absolutely don't want that making the media."

While sexual violence in the British military remains understudied by academics, the 2021 Armed Forces Continuous Attitudes Survey reported that 11% of female personnel (and less than 1% of male personnel) had experienced sexual harassment in the Service environment in the previous 12 months.

Respondents to the Army's 2021 Sexual Harassment Survey revealed that 19% had experienced unwanted attempts to establish a sexual relationship, 7% had been treated badly for refusing to have sex with someone, 4% had been subjected to a sexual activity to which they were unable to consent, 2.6% had been seriously sexually assaulted, and 1.8% had been raped.

Further harm

Lead author, Dr. Harriet Gray from the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of York, said, "Sexual violence and harassment within the British military is a serious and widespread problem.

"We find that responses to reporting sexual violence in the British military can cause further harm to victim-survivors above and beyond that engendered by the violence itself.

"Some of these harms are caused by a gendered military culture that belittles the importance of and/or normalizes sexual violence. This leaves victim-survivors vulnerable to bullying and ostracization.

"Change will require real, serious, and widespread efforts to transform the military's misogynistic gender culture, even where this might impede the perceived benefits of maintaining a masculine culture."

Betrayed

Clinical advisor to the Center for Military Justice, Dr. Nicola Lester, said that the response of organizations to trauma can either be a source of comfort and support or serve to exacerbate the distress of victim survivors. "Unfortunately, our research has indicated that servicewomen are betrayed by the organization when they report the sexual violence that they have endured, leading to experiences of shame, blame and dehumanization," she said.

Emma Norton, founder and director of the Center for Military Justice, a charity that represents and supports women in the armed forces who have suffered sexual harassment and violence, added, "Sexual violence is an issue that affects the whole of society—but for women in the military, our research shows how they must navigate very particular additional challenges that can have career-ending, life-changing consequences.

"An organization that professes to have 'zero-tolerance' of these behaviors must ask itself what it needs to do to address these wider problematic attitudes towards women that speak out."

More information: Harriet Gray et al, Servicewomen's Experiences of the Aftermath of Sexual Assault in the British Military, The RUSI Journal (2023). DOI: 10.1080/03071847.2023.2276305

Provided by University of York 

BACKPEDALING
Connecticut lawmakers seek compromise on switch to all-electric cars, after ambitious plan scrapped

BY SUSAN HAIGH
November 28, 2023

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A compromise plan to eventually end the sale of gasoline-powered vehicles in Connecticut could be worked out as early as next year’s legislative session, state lawmakers said Tuesday.

The move comes a day after Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont withdrew proposed regulations mirroring California’s clean vehicle standards after it became apparent there wasn’t enough support on a key legislative committee. Those standards would have halted sales of new gas-powered vehicles by 2035.

House Speaker Matt Ritter, a Democrat from Hartford, said that his members plan to meet on Monday to discuss possible legislation that addresses concerns about the regulations. Republicans and others say they’re worried about the high cost of electric vehicles, the availability of charging stations and the ability of the state’s electric grid to handle the anticipated changeover from gas-combustion engines to electric vehicles.

“We have to do more,” said Ritter. “We have to demonstrate to Connecticut residents that this switch will not only save the environment, save lives, and save our planet — but not leave you in a position where you can no longer afford a vehicle.”

Lamont’s decision to withdraw the proposed regulations, a week after New Jersey became the latest state to announce plans to prohibit the sale of new gasoline-powered vehicles by 2035, was seen as a setback by some advocates. Members of the public booed when the withdrawal was announced during Tuesday’s meeting of the General Assembly’s Regulations Review Committee.

A growing number of states are committing to California’s aggressive plan to move toward zero-emission vehicles, including Vermont, New York, Washington, Oregon, Massachusetts, Virginia, Rhode Island and Maryland, according to Coltura, a Seattle-based nonprofit advocating for an end to gasoline vehicle use.

“Unfortunately, a misinformation campaign fueled by the fossil fuel industry won and Connecticut residents will pay the price,” said Ruth Canovi, director of advocacy with the American Lung Association in Connecticut, in a written statement. She said Connecticut “is now positioned to be the only clean car state from Virginia to Vermont to leave our residents out of these strong public health, climate change, and health equity policies this year.”

State Rep. Vincent Candelora, the Republican leader of the Connecticut House of Representatives, said he was pleased Lamont decided to withdraw the regulations.

“I’m hoping that this next look will take into consideration the affordability and the impact it’s going to have on residents, especially people that live in the cities,” he said. “So we really need a broader conversation, looking at the electric grid and the feasibility of being able to do something like this.”

The new legislative session begins Feb. 7.

Moving forward, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Commissioner Katie Dykes said Connecticut will either “default to the EPA standard or we will move forward with the California program.”

Under the California program, the state must give auto manufacturers advance notice of when it plans to implement the tougher standards. In order to implement California’s standards for the 2027 model year, Connecticut would have to adopt the regulations by the end of 2023. If regulations are adopted in 2024, they’d impact the 2028 model year.

In April, the Biden administration proposed new automobile pollution limits that would require up to two-thirds of new vehicles sold in the U.S. to be electric by 2032, a nearly tenfold increase over current electric vehicle sales.

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Why Is The COP28 Conference Important?

Wednesday, 29 November 2023, 
Press Release: United Nations

Since the adoption of the Paris Agreement on climate change at COP21 in 2015, subsequent conferences have revolved around implementing its key goal: halt global average temperature rise to well below 2°C and pursue efforts to limit the rise to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.

If Paris gave us the agreement, Katowice (COP24) and Glasgow (COP26) showed us the plan. Sharm el-Sheikh (COP27) then shifted us to implementation.

Now, COP28 is expected to be a turning point, where countries not only agree ‘WHAT’ stronger climate actions will be taken, but show ‘HOW’ to deliver them.

Measuring the progress towards achieving the Paris goals on mitigation, adaptation and climate finance and adapting existing plans is a key part of the puzzle, and this is why COP28 assumes more significance.

The first global stocktake, which began at COP26 in Glasgow, will conclude in Dubai.

The process is designed to help identify what more still needs to be done and guide countries towards more ambitious and accelerated climate action plans.

So, the decision adopted by the parties at COP28 could emerge as the most consequential outcome following the 2015 Paris conference.

What is at stake?

Quite literally, the health of our planet and humanity’s well-being.

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“Antarctica has been called the sleeping giant, but it is now being awoken by climate chaos,” UN Secretary General António Guterres warned during his visit there ahead of COP28.

Antarctic sea ice is at an all-time low. New figures show that this September, it was 1.5 million square kilometers smaller than the average for the time of year – “an area roughly the size of Portugal, Spain, France and Germany combined”.

“All of this spells catastrophe around the world,” he said. “What happens in Antarctica doesn’t stay in Antarctica. And what happens thousands of miles away has a direct impact right here.”

Over a century of fossil fuels burning and unsustainable energy and land use has already led to a global warming of 1.1°C above pre-industrial levels. Every increment of warming is likely to exacerbate the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events such as heatwaves, flooding, storms and irreversible climate changes.

2023 is on track to be the hottest year, while the past eight years were the eight warmest on record globally, fuelled by increasing greenhouse gas concentrations and accumulated heat.

Mr. Guterres has sounded the alarm on several occasions with the warning that if nothing changes, we are heading towards a 3°C temperature rise – towards a dangerous and unstable world.

“Humanity has opened the gates of hell. Horrendous heat is having horrendous effect,” he said.

Almost half of the world’s population lives in regions highly vulnerable to climate change.

The least developed, landlocked and small island countries may have contributed little to this crisis, but they are the ones on the frontlines, having to deal with its deadly consequences.

What do we mean by stronger climate action?

The UN Secretary-General has repeatedly sent stark reminders that the current urgency for climate action is dwarfed by the scale of the crisis, but the “future is not fixed”.

The science is clear: it is still possible to limit temperature rise to 1.5°C and avoid the worst of climate change, “but only with dramatic, immediate climate action”, which includes:

• A 45 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 compared to 2010 levels
• Achieving global net zero emissions by 2050
• A “just and equitable transition” from fossil fuels (oil and gas) to renewable energy sources
• Increased investments in adaptation and resilience to the climate disruption

But, there is more – such as fulfilling the financial commitments in support of developing countries, securing $100 billion in climate finance annually and operationalizing the loss and damage fund, which was agreed upon last year at COP27, delivering climate justice.

However, the UNFCCC’s nationally determined contributions (NDCs) synthesis report released in November shows that the world is failing to get a grip on the climate crisis.

“Global ambition stagnated over the past year and national climate plans are strikingly misaligned with the science,” the UN chief said.

What is the United Arab Emirates’ role, as host country of COP28?

The UN climate conferences are hosted by a different country each year. This year, the United Arab Emirates is hosting the COP28 summit between 30 November and 12 December.

The host also appoints a president who leads the climate negotiations and provide leadership and overall vision.

Dr. Sultan al-Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology for the UAE, will preside over the negotiations at COP28.

The incoming presidency has stated its main focus on changes in four key areas:

• Fast-tracking the energy transition and slashing emissions before 2030
• Transforming climate finance, by delivering on old promises and setting framework for a new deal
• Putting nature, people, lives, and livelihoods at the heart of climate action

Mobilizing for the most inclusive COP ever

How COP28 will contribute to the global fight against climate change?

Almost eight years after the Paris Agreement and half-way through the 2030 Agenda, COP28 is a timely opportunity to embark upon a new path towards effective climate action.

As several UN reports show, the world is not on track to meeting the Paris Agreement’s goals, but the hope is that governments at COP28 will lay out a roadmap to accelerate climate action.

In 2020, individual countries came up with national climate action plans aimed at reducing national emissions and adapting to climate change impacts.

With the next round of these plans scheduled for 2025, the outcome of the global stocktake process could encourage countries to raise ambition and set new targets, exceeding existing policies and commitments.

With so much at stake, the Dubai conference is a decisive moment to turn climate plans into ambitious action and turn the tide against the climate crisis.

COP28: Number Of Children Facing Hunger Due To Weather Extremes More Than Doubles In 2022

Wednesday, 29 November 2023, 10:28 am
Press Release: Save The Children

More than 27 million children were driven into hunger and malnutrition by extreme weather events in countries heavily impacted by the climate crisis in 2022, which was a 135% jump from the previous year, according to a new data analysis by Save the Children ahead of COP28.

Save the Children found that children made up nearly half of the 57 million people pushed into crisis levels of acute food insecurity or worse across 12 countries because of extreme weather events in 2022. This was based on data from the Integrated Food Security Classification or IPC scale, a monitoring system for assessing hunger emergencies in 58 countries.

The IPC has estimated that the number of people facing hunger in countries where extreme weather events were the main driver of food crises has nearly doubled in five years - soaring to 57 million in 2022 from about 29 million people in 2018.

The majority of countries where weather extremes were the main driver of hunger last year were concentrated in the Horn of Africa, with Ethiopia and Somalia accounting for about half of the 27 million children.

The 12 countries where weather extremes were the primary driver of hunger in 2022, according to the IPC, were Angola, Burundi, Ethiopia, Iraq, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Pakistan, Somalia, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.

Somalia has been repeatedly at the frontlines of the climate crisis, suffering five failed consecutive rainy seasons. Now, the country stands once again at the precipice, with extreme weather events such as mass flooding set to exacerbate hunger this year.

Heavy rains and floods in recent weeks have displaced about 650,000 people - about half are children - cutting families off from accessing food and medical care. The current flooding could be just as devastating for the country as the years of drought that left millions of children hungry and malnourished.

Sadia-, 38, and her eight children, have weathered the storm of climate-induced displacement in Somalia twice over - initially due to drought and now again due to severe flooding.

"We left due to droughts, and now we face displacement again because of floods. [Before the drought] life was good. We were farmers and took care of animals. We had enough food from our crops and milk from our animals to live comfortably. But the droughts came and destroyed everything we had," said Sadia who eventually started a small business in the displacement camp selling fruits and other items to support her children.

"But recently, heavy rains and floods have made everything worse. The markets are flooded, and my stall is underwater. I can't earn any money, and it's tough to feed my children."

Pakistan was one of the countries where extreme weather events were the primary driver of hunger last year after devastating flooding submerged one third of the country, affecting 33 million people, half of whom were children. One year on, more than 2 million flood-affected children are acutely malnourished, with almost 600,000 children suffering from the deadliest form of malnutrition.

Dr Muhammad Hanif, who works at a healthcare unit run by Save the Children in Sindh Province-a region severely affected by the floods-explained that he had never seen anything like it in his lifetime.

" I am a doctor, so my weapon is medicine. It’s what we rely on to treat and save lives. But during the floods, I felt like a solider in the battlefield without a weapon; nothing to save the life of children or pregnant mothers," he explained. "By the end of last year, I treated about 1,000 children for hunger-related illnesses, and about 30,000 other patients for various diseases that were inflamed by climate change."

Annually, conflicts and economic shocks push even more children into hunger than weather extremes. Conflict was the primary driver of hunger for 117 million people in 19 countries last year. IPC data also revealed an eight-fold increase in the number of people facing hunger because of economic shocks in five years, jumping to about 84 million people in 2022 from 10 million in 2018.

Globally, an estimated 774 million children - or one third of the world’s child population - are living with the dual impacts of poverty and high climate risk, according to Save the Children’s report Born into the Climate Crisis.

Inger Ashing, Save the Children’s Chief Executive Officer, said:

"In a world where wildfires, floods, droughts and hurricanes are becoming the frightening new normal, children today not only face a climate emergency but a landscape of heightened inequalities, where hunger is an unwelcome guest at an already crowded table.

"As climate-related weather events become more frequent and severe, we will see more drastic consequences on children’s lives. In 2022, 135% more children were pushed into hunger due to extreme weather events than the year before.

"In my recent trip to Pakistan, I met a young boy named Jaffar who shared that his home and school were destroyed in the 2022 floods. His family had to sell their livestock and were struggling to cope with the limited resources in their community. While he was able to attend our temporary learning centre there were no plans to rebuild his school. These are all losses and damages that violate children’s rights.

"Prioritising investment in children’s health, nutrition, education, protection and safety nets must be at the forefront of global efforts. To truly protect children now and in the future, robust support for the new Loss and Damage Fund is non-negotiable. At COP28, World Leaders must listen to the demands of children and invite them to be part of proposing solutions. Without tackling the climate crisis, the global hunger crisis will only deteriorate further, pushing millions more to the brink."

Last year, Save the Children found that 83% of children in 15 countries reported witnessing climate change or inequality, or both, affecting the world around them. Yet, children's rights are neglected in climate finance. Currently 2.4% of climate finance from four key global climate funds can be classified as sufficiently considering children, although some funders like the Green Climate Fund are actively working to bridge these gaps.

Save the Children is calling on world leaders at COP28, particularly those from high-income countries and historical emitters, to take action on the climate crisis by recognising children as key agents of change. Climate finance must be increased, providing funding for losses and damages and climate adaptation. Governments must work to urgently limit warming temperatures to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.

The child rights organisation is also calling on leaders to address the root causes of acute food and nutrition insecurity such as conflict, inequality, and a lack of resilient health, nutrition and social protection systems.

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Women's rights central to reintegration of Afghanistan after Taliban takeover, UN says

The UN Security Council requested the independent assessment 

from Secretary General Antonio Guterres, which was delivered 

earlier this month.

Since the Taliban returned to power, women have been effectively banned from public life. AFP

Adla Massoud

United Nations

Nov 28, 2023

An independent assessment on Afghanistan examining how the UN should address the issues affecting the country says the Taliban-led administration's desire for recognition could provide crucial leverage to create an inclusive government and ensure respect for women's rights.

The UN Security Council requested the independent assessment from Secretary General Antonio Guterres, which was delivered earlier this month.

“Mandating the independent assessment last March, our primary aim was to address the existing gap for a coherent international strategy towards the de facto authorities,” said UAE UN ambassador Lana Nusseibeh.

“This should include a reckoning with their de facto control over the territory of Afghanistan that doesn't simply lead to a legitimisation of their power by default.”

The report outlines a strategy for political engagement with the goal of reintegrating Afghanistan following the Taliban's takeover in August 2021.

After having spent “extensive time” in Afghanistan, Feridun Sinirlioglu, who developed the report, said the situation of women and girls – and the restrictions on girls’ education in particular – “was the single most common issue” raised in consultations.

READ MORE

UN's Afghanistan mission extended as Security Council approves review

He said the Taliban have tried to justify these restrictions as being part of Islam and Afghan tradition, though no similar restrictions exist in any other member state of the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation.

“The basic rights of women and girls, including the right to education and to work, and representation in public and political life – are not only fundamental obligations of a state, but also critical to build state capacity for long-term development and economic growth and peace and security,” read the assessment.

“Any formal reintegration of Afghanistan into global institutions and systems will require the participation and leadership of Afghan women.”

Since the Taliban returned to power, girls have been barred from attending school and women from universities. The Taliban have also stopped most Afghan female staff from working at aid agencies, closed beauty salons, barred women from parks and restricted travel in the absence of a male guardian.

In response to the assessment, the Taliban said in a statement seen by The National that their leader's decrees have safeguarded women's basic rights. They also noted that 23.4 per cent of all civil servants are female and unprecedented numbers of women participate in the business, commerce and manufacturing sectors.

“The Islamic Emirate has collected thousands of street beggars – a legacy of the previous regime – a majority of whom were women, and allocated them regular stipends,” the Taliban authorities added.

The UN-mandated assessment recommended the world body pursue an inclusive form of governance and engage with all Afghans.

It argued that pursuing “intra-Afghan dialogue” would enable progress towards the complete normalisation and integration of Afghanistan into the international system.

“Afghanistan is a diverse, multi-ethnic, multi-sectarian, multi-linguistic and multicultural society. The inclusion of all Afghan communities in the nation’s governance structures is central to the social and political stability of Afghanistan,” the report noted.

The Taliban, who interpreted this as a demand for power-sharing, rejected “any attempts to bring back failed figures from the past”.

They also described the appointment of a UN special envoy on Afghanistan as suggested by Mr Sinirlioglu to help advance “intra-Afghan dialogue” as “unacceptable”.

In a meeting behind closed doors at the UN Security Council on Tuesday, Malta's ambassador to the UN, Vanessa Frasier, highlighted several concerns with the report "which was tasked to consider the current challenges faced by Afghanistan".

"Amongst these concerns, she told Council members, "we included the lack of inclusive governance in Afghanistan, the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, the continued security risk posed by terrorist groups in Afghanistan, and the deeply concerning human rights situation, including of women and girls, who continue to face severe restrictions".

Afghanistan’s UN representative Naseer Ahmed Faiq welcomed the report and told The National it reflects key elements and demands of the Afghan people, which “have been emphasised in the past two years in the Security Council”.

In an open letter to the UN, 71 Afghan civil society organisations, networks and coalitions within Afghanistan and in exile, expressed "deep reservations" about the report and found the assessment to be "influenced by the security and geopolitical interests of the member states and regional powers rather than the need and plight of the Afghanistan people".

They believe the report is developed based on a "pre-assumed policy of appeasement and engagement" with the Taliban without considering recommendations of women, civil society and other groups.

In fact, they said, several of the undersigned signatories have attended consultation meetings with the assessment team but they cannot find any of their recommendations in the report.

A Taliban fighter stands guard as women wait to receive food rations distributed by a humanitarian aid group in Kabul, Afghanistan. AP

Pope Strips Conservative US Cardinal of Vatican Privileges, Vatican Official Says

By Philip Pullella
 Reuters
Nov. 28, 2023, 

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis has removed some of the Vatican privileges of conservative American Cardinal Raymond Burke, including a large subsidized apartment and his salary, a senior Vatican official said on Tuesday.

The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, participated in a regular Vatican meeting when the pope made the announcement to senior aides last week.

He quoted the pope as saying that Burke, one of his fiercest critics, was "working against the Church and against the papacy" and that he had sown "disunity" in the Church.

Burke has had no senior Vatican job for years. His is a consultant to one of its tribunals, as are numerous cardinals who live outside Rome, and spends most of his time in his native state of Wisconsin.

The official who was at the meeting denied media reports that Francis had called the 75-year-old Burke "an enemy".

Burke is a hero to traditionalists in the Church, particularly in the United States, where he is often a guest on conservative Catholic media outlets that have made criticism of the pope a mainstay of their operations.

The move by Francis was his second involving a conservative American prelate this month.

On Nov. 11, the pope dismissed another conservative critic, Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler, Texas, after Strickland refused to step down following a Vatican investigation.

While conservatives are a minority in the Church, they have significant clout in advanced countries such as the United States, in part because of their link to conservative politics.

Burke has been opposing the pope's reforms almost from the start.

In 2014, a year after Francis was chosen, the pope removed Burke as head of a Vatican tribunal and moved him to a largely ceremonial post several days after Burke said the Church under Francis was "like a ship without a rudder".

Most recently, in October, Burke was one of five cardinals who openly challenged a global month-long Vatican meeting, known as a synod.

Before the meeting began, Burke was the star quest of a gathering of conservative in a theatre just a few blocks from the Vatican.

There, he called for a defence against the "the poison of confusion, error and division" in the Church.

A person close to Burke said the cardinal had not yet been formerly informed of the pope's decision, which was first reported by the conservative Italian outlet, La Nuova Bussola Quotidiana

(Reporting by Philip Pullella; Editing by Bill Berkrot)

Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke speaks during the conference "The Synodal Tower of Babel" on the eve of the opening of the synod of bishops, in Rome, Italy, October 3, 2023. REUTERS/Remo Casilli/File Photo

Reports Say Pope Francis Is Evicting U.S. Cardinal From His Vatican Home

Word of the action against Cardinal Raymond Burke came after the prelate’s increasingly pointed critiques of the reform-minded pope.

Cardinal Raymond Burke has been Pope Francis’ leading critic from the traditionalist wing of the Catholic Church.

Credit...Antonio Masiello/Getty Images

By Jason Horowitz and Ruth Graham
Jason Horowitz reported from Vatican City, and Ruth Graham from Dallas.

Nov. 28, 2023

Almost as soon as Pope Francis became the head of the Roman Catholic church in 2013, Raymond Burke, an American cardinal, emerged as his leading critic from within the church, becoming a de facto antipope for frustrated traditionalists who believed Francis was diluting doctrine.

Francis frequently demoted and stripped the American cleric of influence, but this month, the pope apparently finally had enough, according to one high-ranking Vatican official who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Francis told a meeting of high-ranking Vatican officials that he intended to throw the cardinal out of his Vatican-subsidized apartment and deprive him of his salary as a retired cardinal.

The news of the possible eviction was first reported by the conservative Italian newspaper La Nuova Bussola Quotidiana, which is close to Cardinal Burke and recently sponsored a conference featuring the prelate criticizing a major meeting of bishops convened by Francis. The newspaper’s report comes only weeks after Francis removed another vocal conservative critic, Joseph Strickland, the bishop of Tyler, Texas, after a Vatican investigation into the governance of his diocese.

“If this is accurate, it is an atrocity that must be opposed,” Bishop Strickland said in a post on the social media platform X on Monday. “If it is false information it needs to be corrected immediately.”

The Vatican did not correct it. Asked about the report on Tuesday, the Vatican’s spokesman, Matteo Bruni, declined to confirm or deny it, telling reporters that “I don’t have anything particular to say about that.”

He said questions regarding the report should be put to Cardinal Burke. An email to Cardinal Burke’s secretary was not returned.

Francis told the heads of Vatican offices last week about his decision to punish Cardinal Burke because he was a source of “disunity” in the church, according to The Associated Press, which based its report on an unnamed official who attended the meeting. Another official told The A.P. that Francis later explained that he removed Cardinal Burke’s privileges because he was using them in his campaign against the church.

More on the Roman Catholic ChurchAmerican Bishops Meet: More than 250 American bishops convened in Baltimore for an annual gathering that opened with a call for unity. But the contentious relationship between Pope Francis and conservative American Catholics was front and center.
Nuanced Guidance: The pope, who has made reaching out to L.G.B.T.Q. Catholics a hallmark of his papacy, signaled that transgender people can be baptized, serve as godparents and be witnesses at church weddings.
Nuns vs. Climate Activists: A yearslong standoff over an enormous church complex in a natural park in the South of France recently broke out in clashes, with nuns giving chase.
Synod on Synodality: A monthlong meeting convened by Francis to determine the future of the Roman Catholic Church ended with a document that said it was “urgent” that women have a larger role but postponed discussion of major issues such as ordaining female deacons.

Corriere della Sera, Italy’s leading daily newspaper, also confirmed the report about the possible eviction with an anonymous prelate, who told the paper that the pope intended to take “measures of an economic nature and canonical penalties” against Cardinal Burke.

Some conservatives have attributed Francis’ disciplinary activity to the new head of the church’s office on church doctrine, the Argentine Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández. But supporters of Francis assert that he had exercised prodigious patience with criticism over the last decade, in the interest of opening up healthy debates, but that it wore thin as the critiques became ideologically tinged and, they say, seemed intent on dividing a church headed in a direction traditionalists did not support.

Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández of Argentina is the new head of the office on church doctrine.

Credit...Riccardo De Luca/Associated Press

Cardinal Burke has seen himself as a loyal defender of the church’s doctrinal law and papal traditions against what he has called the “confusion, error and division” caused by Francis.

In the days before a major assembly of the world’s bishops and laypeople who had gathered to discuss some of the most sensitive topics in the church, Cardinal Burke and other traditionalist prelates made public an exchange of letters with Francis. In the letters, they aired grave doubts about the legitimacy of the meeting and urged Francis to slam the door shut on proposals that they believe would erode the doctrine of the church, including the blessing of same-sex unions.

Then Cardinal Burke recently sat onstage in a Rome theater and, at a forum sponsored by La Nuova Bussola Quotidiana, inveighed against an assembly that has the “harmful goal” of reshaping the hierarchy of the church with radical, secular and modern ideas that included inclusivity of L.G.B.T.Q. people.

“It’s unfortunately very clear that the invocation of the Holy Spirit on the part of some has as its aim to push forward an agenda that is more political and human than ecclesiastical and divine,” he said at the time

A favorite of Benedict XVI, Cardinal Burke, who was previously best known for denying communion to John Kerry during the politician’s 2004 presidential campaign, has clashed with Francis repeatedly, even in choice of vestments. Unlike Francis, who preferred more modest priests, Cardinal Burke occasionally wore a long train of watered silk, velvet gloves and extravagant brocades that once prompted Vatican officials to ask him to “tone it down a bit.”

On issues the two are far apart. Cardinal Burke opposed immigration as a threat to the West’s Christian values, vigorously opposed Francis’ softening on gay issues and church laws, and played in populist politics in Italy and abroad. He became a hero to the “Rad Trads,” or radical traditionalists.

For a vocal faction of conservative Catholics in the United States, the moves to rein in Cardinal Burke are a signal that Francis is cracking down disproportionately on dissenters to his right.

“If he’s being evicted from his apartment, this is a vicious act,” said Michael Hichborn, president of the Lepanto Institute, a conservative Catholic organization based in Virginia.

Other American observers described Cardinal Burke as a cleric who has consistently used his large platform, especially in the United States, to undermine Francis’ goals for the church. This year, he wrote in the preface to a book critical of the pope’s major global gathering on the church’s future that the event could lead to schism.

“This is like accusing the president of sedition,” said David Gibson, director of the Center on Religion and Culture at Fordham University and a commentator on Catholic issues. “They’re the most serious charges one can launch against the pope or any Catholic.”

Over the last decade, Cardinal Burke, 75, has expressed doubts about the pope’s grasp on church teaching and accused him of alienating church law-abiding conservatives with his inclusive stance.

A populist fan of European nationalists and former President Donald J. Trump, he rarely missed an opportunity to excoriate the pope’s politics, especially his welcoming of L.G.B.T.Q. people and immigration.

Cardinal Burke had twice joined other conservative cardinals in issuing a “dubia” letter to Francis, essentially a list of formal questions that call his vision into question. In 2016, after Francis signaled a pastoral path for divorced and remarried Catholics to receive holy communion, Cardinal Burke and other conservative cardinals sent him a letter demanding clarification. Francis didn’t respond.

Francis has not exactly given Cardinal Burke a pass in the past.

Pope Francis has removed Cardinal Raymond Burke from several powerful positions.

Credit...Gregorio Borgia/Associated Press

The pope moved Cardinal Burke out of his position in the powerful church office that helps nominate bishops, a post that gave him great influence in the United States. In November 2014, Francis removed Cardinal Burke from his position as the head of the Vatican’s highest court and instead named him to a largely ceremonial post for the medieval Roman Catholic chivalric religious order, the Knights of Malta.

During the pandemic, Francis seemed to take aim at Cardinal Burke during a 2021 news conference aboard the papal plane, when he lamented vaccine “negationists” among the cardinals. That came after Cardinal Burke had repeated a conspiracy theory that Covid vaccines were being used to implant microchips “under the skin of every person, so that at any moment, he or she can be controlled regarding health and regarding other matters, which we can only imagine as a possible object of control by the state.”

Shortly before Francis’ comments, Cardinal Burke contracted the virus and was placed on a respirator in an American hospital.

As news of the pope’s apparent remarks made it around the Vatican, conservatives expressed shock and dismay, while liberals suggested it was a long time coming. What was clear was that whether Cardinal Burke stayed in his apartment and received his salary or not, he was unlikely to lower his volume.

“That’s not going to stop him from talking,” said Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana.

Jason Horowitz is the Rome bureau chief for The Times, covering Italy, the Vatican, Greece and other parts of Southern Europe. More about Jason Horowitz

Ruth Graham is a Dallas-based national correspondent covering religion, faith and values. She previously reported on religion for Slate. More about Ruth Graham

Pope punishes leading critic Cardinal Burke in second action against conservative American prelates


Cardinal Raymond Burke applauds during a news conference at the Italian Senate, in Rome, on Sept. 6, 2018. Pope Francis has taken measures to punish one of his highest-ranking critics, Cardinal Raymond Burke, by yanking his right to a Vatican apartment and salary in the second such radical action against a conservative American prelate this month, according to two people briefed on the measures. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino, File)Read More

Cardinal Raymond Burke attends the conference “The synodal Babel” in a theater near the Vatican on Oct. 3, 2023, after a letter he signed with others and containing questions to Pope Francis about the upcoming synod of bishops was made public. Pope Francis has taken measures to punish one of his highest-ranking critics, Cardinal Raymond Burke, by yanking his right to a Vatican apartment and salary in the second such radical action against a conservative American prelate this month. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, File)

BY NICOLE WINFIELD
Updated November 28, 2023

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis has punished one of his highest-ranking critics, Cardinal Raymond Burke, by yanking his right to a subsidized Vatican apartment and salary in the second such radical action against a conservative American prelate this month, according to two people briefed on the measures.

Francis told a meeting of the heads of Vatican offices last week that he was moving against Burke, because he was a source of “disunity” in the church, said one of the participants at the Nov. 20 meeting. The participant spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to reveal the contents of the encounter.

Francis said he was removing Burke’s privileges of having a subsidized Vatican apartment and salary as a retired cardinal because he was using the privileges against the church, said another person who was subsequently briefed on the pope’s measures. That person also spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to reveal the details.
Burke, a 75-year-old canon lawyer whom Francis had fired as the Vatican’s high court justice in 2014, has become one of the most outspoken critics of the pope, his outreach to LGBTQ+ Catholics and his reform project to make the church more responsive to the needs of ordinary faithful.

Twice, Burke has joined other conservative cardinals in issuing formal questions to the pontiff, known as “dubia,” asking him to clarify questions of doctrine that upset conservatives and traditionalists. The cardinals then leaked the questions to the media after Francis didn’t immediately reply.

And on the eve of Francis’ big meeting of bishops last month, known as a synod, Burke presided over a counter-synod of sorts just steps away from St. Peter’s Square. There, Burke delivered a stinging rebuke of Francis’ vision of “synodality” as well as his overall reform project for the church.

“It’s unfortunately very clear that the invocation of the Holy Spirit by some has the aim of bringing forward an agenda that is more political and human than ecclesial and divine,” Burke told the conference titled “The Synodal Babel.”

Calls and emails to Burke and his secretary weren’t immediately returned. The Vatican spokesman, Matteo Bruni, referred questions to Burke.

“I don’t have anything particular to say about that,” Bruni told reporters.

Burke had always defended his actions as being of service to the church and the papacy, saying it was his obligation as a cardinal and bishop to uphold church teaching and correct errors.

“The sheep depend on the courage of pastors who must protect them from the poison of confusion, error and division,” he told the Oct. 3 conference, prompting applause from the crowd.

Burke is the second American prelate to face punishment in what appears to be a new reform-minded phase of Francis’ pontificate, which has accelerated with the arrival in September of his hand-picked new doctrine czar, Argentine Cardinal Victor Fernández.

Earlier this month, Francis forcibly removed the bishop of Tyler, Texas, Joseph Strickland, another conservative who had also become one of Francis’ critics. Strickland was removed after a Vatican investigation into governance of his diocese.

In a tweet Tuesday, Strickland expressed shock at reports that Francis had taken action taken against his fellow American, which was first reported by the conservative Italian newspaper La Nuova Bussola Quotidiana, the main sponsor of “The Synodal Babel” conference.

“If this is accurate it is an atrocity that must be opposed. If it is false information it needs to be corrected immediately,” Strickland said.

Pope Benedict XVI had made Burke a cardinal in 2010, after he appointed him prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, the Vatican’s high court. After Francis removed him from that position in 2014, he made Burke the cardinal patron of the Knights of Malta, a prestigious but limited role.

But there too, Burke and Francis clashed over Burke’s involvement in a governance crisis at the chivalric order.

Francis pushed him aside and named two subsequent envoys to essentially replace him.

More recently, the two clashed over COVID-19 vaccines. Francis had been a big proponent of the vaccines and had lashed out at vaccine skeptics, who included some conservative Catholics.

During a 2021 airborne news conference, Francis lamented the vaccine “negationists” in the College of Cardinals, an apparent reference to Burke, who had just been hospitalized in the U.S. and placed on a ventilator with a serious bout of the virus.

Kevin McCarthy schooled for false claim about American history

Former Speaker challenged over claim US has never taken land after wars

Graeme Massie
Los Angeles

Kevin McCarthy was given a savage fact-checking for his seemingly poor grasp of American history.

The former Speaker of the House, a Republican from California, claimed at a recent event that “in every single war that America has fought, we have never asked for land afterwards.”

And he added: “Except enough to bury the Americans who gave the ultimate sacrifice for that freedom we went in for.”

Mr McCarthy, who was voted out of his job in October, was so proud of his assertion that he went on to post a video clip on Elon Musk’s X social media platform, with the caption “Think for one moment.”

But social media users were quick to point out a glaring mistake in Mr McCarthy’s understanding of his own country, and state’s, history.

A community note was added to his tweet, clarifying that the US had taken land at the end of the Mexican-American War in 1848.

That land made up 55 per cent of Mexico’s territory, around 529,000 square miles, and is now the states of California, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah, as well as parts of Arizona, Colorado, Oklahoma, Kansas and Wyoming.

“Think of all the wisdom from this man we’d be deprived of if his home state of California had never spontaneously risen from the sea and attached itself to the United States,” wrote George Conway.

And gun control activist David Hogg added: “This is why we need to fund public education more. Why the history channel should go back to talking about actual history and why the Department of Education needs to be expanded NOT abolished. This is so ignorant it hurts.”


Other X users pointed out to Mr McCarthy that the US took control of Guam, Puerto Rico and the Philippines as territories after winning the Spanish-American War in 1898.

And it was also highlighted that the US took control of American Samoa after the second Samoan Civil War.

After the Revolutionary War, the US also took control of territory from Britain that included most of the land east of the Mississippi River, and most of the upper Midwest.

Musk mocked for trying to resurrect QAnon Pizzagate conspiracy following fake headline

X/Twitter owner uses meme from the hit show The Office to launch himself into fresh controversy days after endorsing an antisemitic conspiracy theory

Mike Bedigan
Los Angeles

Elon Musk has been criticised for seemingly attempting to resurrect the widely debunked QAnon conspiracy theory, “Pizzagate”.

Pizzagate was an anti-Hillary Clinton conspiracy theory promoted on 4chan, Reddit, Twitter and other platforms in the final days before the 2016 US presidential election, and is seen as a precursor to the QAnon movement.


Believers accused then presidential hopeful Ms Clinton and other senior Democrats of running a child sex trafficking ring out of the basement of a Washington DC pizza restaurant. The conspiracy theory led to a shooting at the restaurant – which turned out not to have a basement.


On Tuesday the billionaire tech entrepreneur shared a meme from from the US television comedy The Office on his social media platform X on Tuesday, which accused the “experts” that had debunked the theory of themselves being paedophiles.

The post, which was not labelled with a correctional “community note”, made reference to former ABC journalist James Gordon Meek who pleaded guilty to child sexual abuse image charges earlier this year.


“Does seem at least a little bit suspicious,” Mr Musk wrote, also linking to an article about Meek’s guilty plea.



Meme from The Office posted on X/Twitter by Elon Musk appearing to promote the QAnon Pizzagate conspiracy theory
(Elon Musk / X)

Other X users suggested that Mr Musk had fallen for a fake New York Post headline which was circulated on the platform that associated Meek with the debunking of Pizzagate. The former journalist was not involved in the exposing of the conspiracy theory, according to a fact check by the Reuters news agency.


“So... Community notes? He’s just wildly transparent,” wrote one user.

Another added: “Man who controls Twitter/X and, while we’re on it, a majority of the earth’s satellites, among other things, sharing a *wildly* debunked conspiracy theory.

“We don’t just have "experts" – we *know* it was invented on 4chan. This is flirting with some incredibly dangerous stuff.”

Shayan Sardarizadeh, of the BBC Verify team, wrote in response: “The meme shared by Elon Musk about the pizzagate conspiracy theory is itself based on the completely false claim…

“... that James Gordon Meek, a journalist who recently pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography, had debunked pizzagate. Meek never reported on pizzagate.”

Another BBC disinformation journalist, Alistair Coleman added: “Your regular reminder that Pizzagate was created as a joke on a 4Chan message board, but spread because far too many people on social media aren’t particularly good at critical thinking. And here we are.”
By Tuesday lunchtime Mr Musk had apparently deleted the tweet.

It comes shortly after another online post by Mr Musk that attempted to link the founder of Media Matters – a left-leaning non-profit group that has accused X of promoting adverts from global companies alongside pro-Hitler content – to the owner of the Pizzagate restaurant.

Earlier this month, a slew of big brands, including Disney and IBM, decided to stop advertising on X after a report by Media Matters said ads were appearing alongside pro-Nazi content and white nationalist posts.

Mr Musk boosted a post rehashing the claims of links between the company and the restaurant owner by replying to it, with the one-word phrase: “Weird.”

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (centre) takes Elon Musk (left) on a tour of Kibbutz Kfar Aza
(Getty Images)

Self-described “free-speech absolutist” Mr Musk has also come under fire on multiple occasions recently over content promoting antisemitism on the site, sparking outrage over his own posts and comments which have promoted antisemitic content.

On Wednesday November 15, Mr Musk described a post that said a post, had appeared to push the “great replacement” conspiracy theory on X, was “the actual truth”. The post claimed that Jewish communities “have been pushing the exact kind of dialectical hatred against whites that they claim to want people to stop using against them”.

“You have said the actual truth,” Mr Musk wrote, a response which earned him praise from white nationalist Nick Fuentes – and accusations of antisemitism from dozens more, including the White House.

He later responded to the accusations of antisemitism, insisting “nothing could be further from the truth”.

Following the controversies, Mr Musk visited Israel on Monday, where he toured a kibbutz attacked by Hamas militants and held talks with top leaders.

The billionaire met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who scolded him over content on his platform, and joined Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a tour of the Kfar Azza kibbutz, a rural village that Hamas militants stormed on 7 October in a deadly assault that launched the war.

“The platforms you lead, unfortunately, have a huge reservoir of hatred, hatred of Jews and antisemitism,” Mr Herzog told him.