Hollywood Funds Commission to Investigate Itself!

Anita Hill to chair new Hollywood commission on sexual misconduct and industry inequality

Studio execs, unions and network heads agree to fund organization during meeting called by Star Wars producer

The Associated Press

Anita Hill, seen here Dec. 8 speaking at a discussion about sexual harassment in Beverly Hills, Calif., will chair a commission to help combat sexual misconduct and gender inequities across the entertainment industry.

(Willy Sanjuan/Associated Press)

The biggest figures and institutions in entertainment have established a commission to be chaired by Anita Hill that intends to combat sexual misconduct and inequality in the industry in the wake of the huge wave of revelations spurred by allegations against Harvey Weinstein.

A statement Friday announced the founding of the Commission on Sexual Harassment and Advancing Equality in the Workplace, a group that grew out of a meeting called by Star Wars producer Kathleen Kennedy and several other prominent women in the industry.

"The Commission will not seek just one solution, but a comprehensive strategy to address the complex and interrelated causes of the problems of parity and power," Kennedy said in a statement.

The new group grew out of a meeting called by Star Wars producer Kathleen Kennedy and several other prominent women in Hollywood. (Jordan Strauss/Associated Press)

The chief executives of nearly every major Hollywood studio, TV network and record label attended the meeting and agreed to found and to fund the group, the statement said. The long list includes Disney CEO Bob Iger, Paramount CEO Karen Stuart, Universal Music Group CEO Sir Lucian Grange and CBS chief executive Leslie Moonves.

The movie and music academies and many of the major agencies and unions that represent entertainers also signed on.

"The fact that so many industry leaders — across film, television, music, digital, unions, agencies … and guilds — came together, in one room, to explore solutions speaks to a new era," Kennedy said.

This moment presents us with an unprecedented

opportunity to make real change.

-Anita Hill, law professor and activist

The group chose as its chair the law professor Hill, who brought the concept of sexual harassment to national consciousness in 1991 when she testified about being harassed during the Supreme Court confirmation hearings of Clarence Thomas.

"It is time to end the culture of silence," Hill said in a statement. "I've been at this work for 26 years. This moment presents us with an unprecedented opportunity to make real change."

The commission said in its statement that it would reconvene immediately after the first of the year to hone its mission, scope and priorities.

The revelations about Weinstein in The New York Times and the New Yorker in October have brought on two months unlike any the media world has ever seen, with nearly daily allegations of sexual harassment, assault and abuse that have ensnared some of the most prominent players in entertainment including Kevin Spacey, Louis CK, Dustin Hoffman and Russell Simmons.

Hill has been making appearances in southern California in recent days before Friday's announcement, speaking to a gathering of entertainers and executives in Beverly Hills, Calif., last week.

She said there that she knew that despite Thomas's confirmation to the Supreme Court, the issue would one day return.

"I never believed 1991 was the end," she said, "and I was going to make sure in my life that I never saw that as the defining moment for me or for this issue."

Congratulations! This is an amazing development that I hope is incredibly successful. From my perspective, however, it misses the biggest problem and that is child sex abuse. Not just in Hollywood, but everywhere. It's nice that Hollywood women have the money and the influence to run this inquiry - they have a big voice! But sexually abused children have no voice; they have no money; no power; no opportunity to have an inquiry, so child sex abuse will continue unabated.

It's a good thing that life will probably improve for some women as a result of #MeToo and this inquiry. But a sexually abused child's life is already messed up, often irrevocably. These will not benefit from an inquiry which does not include them.

Pope's Commission's Only Survivor of CSA Quits in Futility

Catholic church sex abuse victim quits Pope’s commission over ‘shameful resistance’ from officials

Catholic church sex abuse victim quits Pope’s commission over ‘shameful resistance’ from officials

Marie Collins has resigned from the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. 

© Alessandro Bianchi / Reuters

Irish sexual abuse victim Marie Collins has quit the commission which advises Pope Francis on how to tackle the clerical sexual abuse of children, over a “shameful” lack of cooperation from Vatican administrators.

The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors was set up by Pope Francis in March 2014. Since its inception it has been repeatedly dogged by internal disputes and resignations.

Collins, who was the only remaining Commission member to have suffered sexual abuse by a priest, said Vatican officials were hampering the work of the panel resulting in “constant setbacks.”

She rose to prominence in Ireland as a campaigner against clerical abuse almost 20 years ago when she challenged the late Cardinal Desmond Connell's failure to report her abuse at the hands of priest to police.

Although Collins’ resignation statement praised the pontiff for his "genuine wish” to address clerical sex abuse and his "sincere move” in setting up the commission, the move is a blow to Francis' efforts to demonstrate that the Catholic Church is serious about combating child sexual abuse

Collins’ resignation comes about after a year after the resignation of British man Peter Saunders, who was the only other member of the commission who was a victim of clerical sexual abuse. Saunders was also very critical of the commission's work.


Bishops not accountable for enabling pedophile priests

Saunders and Collins both threatened to resign in February 2015 as they were unhappy that bishops weren’t being held accountable for failing to prevent, and even covering up, sexual abuse.

Collins said her decision to resign followed an accumulation of frustrations at the hands of officials, known as Curia. “Despite the Holy Father approving all the recommendations made to him by the Commission, there have been constant setbacks. This has been directly due to the resistance by some members of the Vatican Curia to the work of the Commission.  The lack of cooperation, particularly by the dicastery most closely involved in dealing with cases of abuse, has been shameful,” her statement read.

The Roman Curia is the administrative apparatus of the Holy See and the central body through which the Roman Pontiff conducts the affairs of the universal Catholic Church.

The Dicasteries
Two departments of the Roman Curia established by Pope Francis in 2016 have been identified as "dicasteries" rather than as one of the traditional department types.

Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life

Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development


Cardinal Sean O'Malley of Boston, who heads the commission, thanked Collins for her work, saying: “We will certainly listen carefully to all that Marie wishes to share with us about her concerns and we will greatly miss her important contributions as a member of the Commission.”

The Vatican said the Pope had accepted her resignation "with deep appreciation for her work on behalf of the victims/survivors of clergy abuse."

So now, they proceed without anyone representing the victims of pedophile priests and the Bishops who enabled them. Are the Cardinals and Archbishops protecting themselves or the church from 'unnecessary' prosecution? They are certainly not 'coming clean' before God or man.