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ABUSE
TRACKER
A digest of links to media coverage of clergy abuse.
Click on the headline to read the full story.
November 7, 2009
IRELAND
The Irish Times
PATSY McGARRY Religious Affairs Correspondent
THE DIRECTOR of the child protection service for Dublin’s Catholic archdiocese will take up a new post with the HSE on Tuesday. Phil Garland will be one of four assistant national directors of its children’s and families’ service.
Mr Garland has held his position with the Dublin archdiocese since September 2003.
He played a key role in putting in place measures for the protection of children throughout the archdiocese as well as training programmes for volunteers who supervise child protection in Dublin’s 199 Catholic parishes.
IRELAND
The Irish Times
THE PUBLICATION of a crucial chapter in the report of the Dublin Archdiocese Commission of Investigation could be delayed by years, according to well-informed sources.
The chapter is understood to be significant because it deals with shortcomings in how the State and the Garda Síochána dealt with allegations of clerical child sex abuse in Dublin, including the case of a priest alleged to have committed a large number of offences.
Sources emphasised the absence of this chapter would, in their view, render the report skewed and unbalanced as it is “by far the longest, at approximately 60 pages, and one of the most important” chapters.
UNITED STATES
AMERICAblog
by Joe Sudbay (DC) on 11/07/2009
Not happy with just ruining the lives of same-sex couples in Maine this week, the Catholic Bishops are trying to bring down health insurance reform in the House over the abortion issue. What really sucks is that members of the House are willing to let the Catholic Bishops, who enabled rampant sex abuse of children, to impose their theocratic view on this issue:
Under the agreement, anti-abortion Democrats will be permitted to offer an amendment on the House floor to the health-care overhaul bill. The amendment would prohibit a new government-run insurance plan created by the health-care bill from offering to cover abortion services, congressional sources said. It would also block people who received federal subsidies for the purchase of health insurance from buying policies that offered coverage for abortions. ...
Does anyone on the Hill know the history of the Catholic Bishops Conference and the horrors they allowed to be inflicted on children? How can those Bishops speak with any moral authority? The Catholic Bishops protected and enabled pedophiles and child abusers. And, it's costing them. Last month, the Diocese of Wilmington became the seventh Diocese to file bankruptcy:
It joins a list of six other dioceses in the United States that have filed for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy laws in what lawyers said is an attempt to manage an avalanche of clergy sexual-abuse litigation.
OHIO
Toledo Blade
By JANET ROMAKER
BLADE STAFF WRITER
WAUSEON - The man accused of killing a Swanton girl in 1985 allegedly has made a jail-house confession, telling an inmate that he beat a 14-year-old girl to death because she wanted to break up with him, and he couldn't handle it. ...
Some recent motions filed by the VanGuntens are related to the fact that Mr. Zimbeck was arrested more than 20 years after Miss Hill was killed. Defense lawyers are questioning protocols related to lost or destroyed evidence, for instance, and in one motion, the VanGuntens cite proceedings in the case of Toledo priest Gerald Robinson and ask the court to take special note that the Robinson case and the Zimbeck case involve the same cold-case investigator, Sgt. Steve Forrester.
Robinson was arrested by Lucas County cold-case investigators in 2004. He was convicted and sentenced in 2006 for the murder of Sister Margaret Ann Pahl whose body was found April 5, 1980, on the floor of the sacristy, next to the chapel, of the former Mercy Hospital in Toledo.
ELDORADO (TX)
The Times (United Kingdom)
James Bone in New York
A sect member with nine wives has been convicted of sexually assaulting an underage bride in the first case stemming from the controversial raid on a polygamist compound in Texas.
Raymond Jessop, 38, faces up to 20 years in prison for the sexual assault on the girl, whom he made pregnant when she was just 15.
Jessop is a leading member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, a sect that split from the Mormon church after it abandoned polygamy. His nine wives allegedly include three daughters and two sisters of the self-styled prophet of a breakaway sect, Warren Jeffs, who is now in jail.
NORTH CAROLINA
Star News
By Shelby Sebens
Shelby.Sebens@StarNewsOnline.com
A Brunswick County District Court judge has made it easier for a Leland pastor who was arrested Tuesday on multiple child sex abuse charges to get out of jail.
District Court Judge Jerry Jolly on Friday reduced James T. Johnson's bond from $250,000 to $100,000, over objections from Assistant District Attorney Meredith Everhart. She argued that if he gets out of jail, pressure on the victim to recant her story would increase.
Johnson, 46, has been charged with three counts of indecent liberties with a child, two counts of first-degree sex offense with a child and one count of attempted first-degree rape of a child. The victim was in elementary school when the alleged incidents occurred over a three year period, Everhart said. The victim is now 13 years old.
ARIZONA
Phoenix New Times
By James King in News
Fri., Nov. 6 2009 @ 4:43PM
The Chandler pastor charged with having sex with a 14-year-old girl at the Christ Life Church in Tempe has been formally indicted on similar but separate charges in Parma, Ohio.
Joshua O'Bannion, 25, was indicted on four counts of sexual battery and three counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor.
The indictments were expected.
KANSAS CITY (MO)
Examiner
November 6, 6:18 PM
David Willoughby
Kansas City, Mo. - SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests) is upset after they claim that Kansas City MO's Catholic officials continue to say and do virtually nothing about two Kansas City priests who became bishops, were sent elsewhere, were sued for molesting boys and have had such suits against them settled. The alleged predators are Bishop Joseph Hart and Bishop Joseph V. Sullivan. ...
Yet Kansas City Bishop Robert Finn refuses to disclose lawsuits or settlements involving either predator, acknowledge their guilt, or reach out to their victims.
WILMINGTON (DE)
The News Journal
By BETH MILLER • The News Journal • November 7, 2009
WILMINGTON -- Plaintiffs in scores of child sexual abuse lawsuits pending against the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington agreed Friday not to pursue claims against the 28 parishes involved in those suits until the diocese completes its Chapter 11 bankruptcy process.
In exchange, attorneys for the diocese and parishes agreed to release the records of 11 priests named in the suits, as well as data on insurance policies they hold for such claims.
A series of eight jury trials -- all with claims related to former priest Francis G. DeLuca -- was to begin Oct. 19 in Delaware Superior Court. When the diocese filed for bankruptcy the night before, all 141 cases pending against it were put on hold. Because parishes were named as co-defendants in many of the cases, attorneys argued that they should be able to pursue their claims against those parishes, none of which had filed for Chapter 11 protection.
WEBSTER COUNTY (MO)
Marshfield Mail
By Mark Lile and Nicholas W. Inman
markl@marshfieldmail
nicholasi@marshfieldmail.com
Published:
Friday, November 6, 2009
Charges were filed Tuesday morning against four officials from the Amish community for failure to report alleged sexual abuse by Johnny A. Schwartz, a member of the Amish community in southern Webster County.
Charged with failing to report a sexual crime against a child under 17 years of age were Christian J.F. Schwartz, 40; Jacob P. Schwartz, 79; Emmanuel M.S. Eicher, 44; and Peter M. Eicher, 59. According to online court records, each was charged with one count of the Class A misdemeanor.
Webster County Sheriff Roye Cole and Prosecuting Attorney Danette Padgett held a press conference Tuesday morning to announce the charges to the media, and to talk about the case that has evolved following allegations of sexual abuse by Johnny A. Schwartz and charges against his wife, Fannie J. Schwartz, for not reporting that Johnny A. Schwartz was sexually abusing two young female relatives.
National Post (Canada)
Posted: November 07, 2009
Philip Mathias
Is the Roman Catholic Church (RCC) being “bashed” these days, as writer Michael Coren recently claimed on these pages? Coren even goes so far as to say that RCC-bashing is “the last acceptable prejudice” in Western society — which suggests an element of base religious bigotry.
On the other hand, is it possible that the torrent of criticism aimed at the Church is both fair and constructive?
To answer that question, it’s necessary to realize the RCC is two things. First, it is a community of believers trying to live according to the teachings of Jesus, who said, along with much else, “love your enemy.” If everybody lived by such admonitions, the world would simply be transformed. In that sense, the Catholic church is above reproach, except insofar as its adherents fall short of its magnificent ideals.
IRELAND
Irish Independent
By John Cooney
Saturday November 07 2009
The child protection supremo of the Catholic archdiocese of Dublin has left to take up a £100,000 plus job with the HSE as assistant national director for children and families.
Diocesan Child Protection Director Phil Garland will take up his post with the HSE at a critical time when the country's largest diocese anxiously awaits the explosive findings of a state investigation into paedophile clergy.
A spokesperson for the HSE said that the salary range of an assistant director was between e99,166 and e122, 230.
KANSAS CITY (MO)
The Kansas City Star
By JUDY L. THOMAS
The Kansas City Star
The bishop of the Kansas City-St. Joseph diocese has failed to report accusations of sexual abuse and lawsuit settlements to the public, an activist group alleged Friday.
“Despite a national sex abuse policy that mandates openness and despite Bishop Finn’s repeated promises to be open about clergy sex cases, at least in this diocese, it’s business as usual,” said David Clohessy, executive director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, at a news conference outside the chancery.
Diocesan spokeswoman Rebecca Summers said current Bishop Robert Finn was on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and could not be reached for comment. But she said the diocese had numerous policies and practices in place to protect children, including removing from ministry those who were credibly accused, pending a fuller investigation.
FLORIDA
Stop Baptist Predators
Tom Messer is scheduled as a featured speaker for the Florida Baptist Convention when it meets November 9-10 in Pensacola, Florida. Messer, who is pastor of Trinity Baptist in Jacksonville, is shown on the speakers’ line-up for the Monday morning pastors’ conference.
My question is this: Why?
Why are Southern Baptists of Florida holding up Tom Messer as an example of pastoral leadership?
For starters, Tom Messer’s church isn’t even affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. It’s an independent Baptist church.
More importantly, Tom Messer is the pastor who, reportedly, participated in a huge, long-standing cover-up of the child sex crimes committed by his church’s founding pastor, Bob Gray.
SOUTH AFRICA
Eyewitness News
Micel Schnehage
Concerned NGOs have called for the temporary closure of the Albert Street School in the Johannesburg city centre, following allegations of sexual abuse.
Scores of minors from the nearby Central Methodist Church attend the school, where teachers have been accused of buying young girls gifts in exchange for sexual favours.
One of the teachers was suspended after Eyewitness News exposed claims of abuse in September.
BRIDGEPORT (CT)
National Survivors Advocates Coalition
The National Survivors Advocates Coalition (NSAC) calls upon Catholics in the Diocese of Bridgeport, CT and throughout the country to be actively vigilant regarding the release of documents that the diocese fought up to and including a request for an appeal hearing from the United States Supreme Court.
The coalition asked Catholics to remember that the Archdiocese of Los Angeles settlement in 2007 included a provision for the release of documents. This release has yet to be fulfilled. The same is true in the Diocese of San Diego where full disclosure of documents is still not complete.
“We urgently ask our fellow Catholics to make it a priority that the Diocese of Bridgeport’s records be released, “the coalition said, “Let us not go the way of Los Angeles and San Deigo where promises become vapors.”
November 6, 2009
UNITED STATES
Catholic Exchange
November 6th, 2009 by Mark Earley
In the new documentary All God’s Children , there’s a lot of talk about sacrifice. Near the beginning of the film, Dr. Bob Fetherlin, vice president of International Ministries for the Christian and Missionary Alliance, says, “The advance of the Kingdom of God historically has always involved some suffering and hardship…We know that there will be sacrifice involved.”
Then we hear two more people, Beverly Shellrude Thompson and Rich Darr, talking about sacrifice. But their perspective is very different. Thompson, Darr, and others in the film say that they themselves were sacrificed when they were children. Sent to a Christian and Missionary Alliance boarding school while their parents served as missionaries in Africa, they claim they were physically, sexually, emotionally, and spiritually abused by their house parents and teachers.
All God’s Children tells the devastating story of at least two decades of abuse that went on at Mamou Alliance Academy in Guinea. Missionary parents in the denomination were required to send their children to boarding schools at an early age. Today, some of them can’t talk about their time at those schools without weeping. They recall beatings, molestation, and other “sadistic” treatment.
ALASKA
Second Rape: The Diocese of Fairbanks and Sexual Abuse
Grab your popcorn! We now have the video deposition of Fr. William “Lom” Loyens. You remember him: He is the well-known Jesuit anthropologist – and a priest who worked closely with the Bishop of Fairbanks – who said that Alaska Natives were “fairly loose on sexual matters.”
We got the 2004 deposition video here. Be prepared – Loyens is a major creep.
With guys like this consulting Kettler and creating the entire pastoral attitude, it’s no wonder that Fairbanks would offer Alaska Natives a fraction of what white victims received.
WILMINGTON (DE)
The News Journal
By BETH MILLER • The News Journal • November 6, 2009
WILMINGTON – Plaintiffs in the eight child sexual abuse cases that were put on hold in Superior Court when the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington filed for bankruptcy last month agreed today not to pursue claims against the three parishes involved in those cases until the diocese’s Chapter 11 reorganization process is complete.
All eight cases involved claims related to former priest Francis G. DeLuca. The first of the eight jury trials was to begin Oct. 19, but the diocese filed for bankruptcy the night before – putting all of the cases it faced on hold. Plaintiffs’ attorneys then argued that they should be able to continue their cases against the three parishes involved in those eight claims, because none of the parishes had filed for bankruptcy.
But today, attorney Thomas Neuberger – whose firm represents all eight plaintiffs – reached agreement with the diocese that his clients would not pursue the parishes while the Chapter 11 process was unfolding. In exchange, the diocese agreed to release personnel records on 11 other priests accused of child sexual abuse as well as data on its insurance policies.
WILMINGTON (DE)
Bloomberg
By Steven Church
Nov. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Sexual-molestation victims agreed with Roman Catholic officials in Delaware to put 78 lawsuits against churches and priests on hold while the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington is in bankruptcy.
In exchange, church officials will release information on several priests accused of sexually abusing children as well as financial and insurance records. Lawyers for the victims and the diocese said today five trials involving individual churches will go forward under the deal. The two sides will try to settle the lawsuits as part of the diocese’s bankruptcy case.
“We think it will move the case forward,” victim attorney James Stang said, referring to the bankruptcy.
PARAGUAY
BBC News
Paraguay's president has sacked the head of the armed forces, after warning some officers were plotting a coup against him.
The commander has been replaced by a general seen as more loyal to President Fernando Lugo.
Two days ago he also replaced the heads of the army, navy and air force, after warning of what he called "pockets of coup-plotters" in the military. ...
Support for Mr Lugo, a former Catholic bishop, has been damaged by recent allegations that he fathered the children of three women during his time as a priest.
In May he admitted responsibility for one of the children but denies the other allegations.
VERMONT
Times Argus
BURLINGTON (AP) — A judge has ordered that a lien be placed on a portion of the investments of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington to cover a $2.2 million jury award to a former altar boy.
The Burlington Free Press says Judge Helen Toor signed the order last week.
BOTSWANA
The Voice
By Calistus Bosaletswe
A self-styled ‘celebrity’ priest, who claimed he could perform miracles, was sentenced to 10 years behind bars for defiling an underage schoolgirl.
Samuel Boitumelo Ntsebele, 23, was convicted after admitting to having sex with a 14-year-old member of his congregation. There was a brief scuffle in court as excited members of the Eloyi Church in Gaborone jostled towards the disgraced pastor after the magistrate passed sentence.
Amid chaotic scenes at the Extension II Magistrate’s Court in Gaborone, disgraced pastor Samuel Ntsebele was lead away to begin his 10-year-jail sentence. He was still muttering that he thought his ‘victim’ was older.
IRELAND
Irish Independent
By Stephen O'Farrell
Thursday November 05 2009
A GROUP of Magdalene laundry abuse victims are to sue the State, the Catholic Church or both for the decades of mistreatment they suffered while in their care.
Five survivors of the infamous laundries met with senior officials from the Department of Justice yesterday and said afterwards that a class action or constitutional case was inevitable.
It was the first ever meeting between state representatives and Magdalene abuse victims, and follows numerous failed attempts by the women to tell government officials how they were treated while in the laundries.
UNITED KINGDOM
National Secular Society
The Middlesbrough Diocese of the Catholic Church was told by a High Court judge this week that it was responsible for a children’s home that was the centre of a large-scale abuse scandal. The diocese now faces a potential £8m compensation bill.
The abuse claims centred on the St William’s Community Home in Market Weighton, East Yorkshire. More than 140 former residents filed claims of physical and sexual abuse but it was unclear who was responsible for the home – whether it was the Middlesbrough diocese or the De La Salle Brothers, an order of lay teachers.
The case concerns alleged systematic abuse of children at the care home from 1960 until 1992 when it closed. St William’s took emotionally and behaviourally disturbed boys, aged 10 to 16, referred by councils largely from Yorkshire and the North East.
WISCONSIN
Renew America
By Matt C. Abbott
In response to my Oct. 22 column about the suspicious suicide of Father Waclaw Jamroz, whose body was found bearing more than 20 stab wounds, two readers brought up the Father Alfred Kunz case. Father Kunz, of the Diocese of Madison, was murdered in 1998 — his throat was cut — and the case remains unsolved.
While there have been no recent developments per se, media reports last year indicated that investigators have had at least one "person of interest" they've been monitoring the past few years.
Who is that person of interest? From what I understand, it's the teacher who "discovered" Father's body.
WILMINGTON (DE)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
Public court proceedings are the best way to protect the innocent and expose the truth. We're appalled that Catholic and court officials would meet behind closed doors. Secrecy only benefits predators and those who shield predators. Let's hope this troubling secrecy won't become a pattern.
We aren't lawyers and may not fully understand the intricacies of Chapter 11 proceedings. But we know all too well, from painful personal experience over decades, that the Catholic hierarchy has repeatedly exploited secrecy for self-serving ends while endangering kids in the process.
It's easy to become complacent about clergy sex crimes and cover ups, and to assume that since the courts are now involved, the truth will ultimately surface. That's naive. Kids need and adults deserve openness, especially surrounding predator priests and complicit bishops. Only vigilance will preserve openness.
VATICAN CITY
Vatican Information Service
Fr. Vincent Nguyen of the clergy of the archdiocese of Toronto, Canada, adjunct judicial vicar and vice chancellor, and Fr. William Terrence McGrattan of the clergy of the diocese of London, Canada, rector of the Saint Peter major seminary, as auxiliaries of the archdiocese of Toronto (area 13,000, population 5,556,000, Catholics 1,889,000, priests 835, permanent deacons 110, religious 1,176). Bishop-elect Nguyen was born in Vietnam in 1966 and ordained a priest in 1988. Bishop-elect McGrattan was born in London, Canada in 1956 and ordained a priest in 1987.
CALIFORNIA
Catholic Culture
November 06, 2009
Responding to “questions from the faithful regarding the Apostolic Visitation of Institutes of Women Religious in the United States,” the bishops of California have issued a statement expressing deep gratitude for the work in women religious in their state, comparing their faith to that of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
“During the month of October we honor the Blessed Virgin Mary, the faith-filled woman of the Gospel,” the bishops begin. “As we, the Bishops of California, reflect on her generous response to God, we call to mind other faith-filled women-- the thousands of Women Religious whose presence and ministry have helped to shape the face of the Catholic Church in California. We find it appropriate to acknowledge with profound gratitude the contributions of these women of the Gospel who have lived and served in the Catholic Dioceses and Archdioceses of California.”
CANADA
CNW
TORONTO, Nov. 6 /CNW/ - The Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, has appointed Father Vincent Nguyen of the Archdiocese of Toronto and Father William McGrattan of the Diocese of London as Auxiliary Bishops for the Archdiocese of Toronto.
His Grace, Thomas Collins, Archbishop of Toronto, responded to the news with the following statement:
"We thank the Holy Father for blessing us with two new shepherds to assist the people of the Archdiocese of Toronto as we grow together in faith. I have worked closely with both Father Nguyen and Father McGrattan; as bishops, they will bring a love of the church and an abundance of gifts to their new roles. I look forward to collaborating extensively with them in the days ahead."
IRELAND
Irish Independent
By Allison Bray
Irish Independent
Friday November 06 2009
OUTSPOKEN abuse campaigner Christine Buckley was honoured by President Mary McAleese last night after being named Ireland's Volunteer of the Year.
The survivor of industrial school abuse and co-founder of the Aislinn Eduation and Support Centre for survivors of institutional abuse was chosen for her tireless efforts fighting for the rights of those abused as children while in care.
Mrs McAleese said Ms Buckley represented "a constituency of men, women and children whose lives were cruelly and appallingly skewed out of shape because of their experience of institutional abuse".
NEW YORK
Abilene Reporter-News
Maureen Dowd of The New York Times has long enjoyed flaunting her Catholic schoolgirl pedigree like a badge of honor.
Still, the Pulitzer Prize winner took her game to another level in a recent column attacking Rome for its investigation of religious orders which shelter sisters who oppose many of the church’s teachings.
Wait, is “investigation” the right word?
“The Vatican is now conducting two inquisitions into the ‘quality of life’ of American nuns, a dwindling group with an average age of about 70, hoping to herd them back into their old-fashioned habits and convents and curb any speck of modernity or independence,” she wrote.
SOUTH AFRICA
Eyewitness News
Micel Schnehage
The Gauteng Legislature is to hold an extraordinary meeting on Friday to discuss the crisis at the Central Methodist Church.
The Gauteng Portfolio Committee on Social Development and Health visited the facility a week ago, recommending that it be closed down.
Around 3000 people, mostly Zimbabwean refuge seekers, are being housed there.
SOUTH AFRICA
iAfrica
Fri, 06 Nov 2009
Fresh allegations of sexual abuse have emerged at the Central Methodist Church in Johannesburg.
The claims emerged at a public meeting in the Gauteng Legislature.
Eyewitness News first revealed such allegations two months ago prompting swift action by local government, NGOs and others.
ELDORADO (TX)
KXXV
Associated Press - November 6, 2009
ELDORADO, Texas (AP) - Texas has won a criminal conviction in its first trial of a polygamist sect member charged with sexually assaulted an underage girl.
The penalty phase begins Monday in Eldorado (el-doh-RAY'-doh) for 38-year-old Raymond Jessop.
ALABAMA
Andalusia Star-News
By Stephanie Nelson | Andalusia Star-News
Published Thursday, November 5, 2009
The preliminary hearing set Friday for the former pastor accused of sexually molesting and torturing young boys while on camping trips has been continued.
Ralph Lee Aaron, the 54-year-old former pastor of Grace Christian Fellowship, was charged last week with 152 counts of sex-related crimes including the production and possession of child pornography, sexual abuse and torture and sodomy. He is currently in the county jail under a $24.5 million bond.
The settlement phase of Aaron’s case began last week with a meeting between not only him and his court appointed attorney, Al Smith of Elba, but also District Attorney Greg Gambril and the families of Aaron’s alleged victims, where Gambril discussed with the victims’ families about how to proceed with the case.
LOS ANGELES (CA)
KABC
[with video]
By John North
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A former female employee of the First AME Church in Los Angeles and a reverend at the church are trading lawsuits. One lawsuit alleges sexual abuse, and the other, an attempt to extort money.
First African Methodist Episcopal Church (First AME Church) has always figured prominently in Los Angeles politics, charity and religious work. Its senior minister, Reverend John Hunter, is now accused of forcing a fellow minister into sexual submission.
The court documents allege he fired Reverend Brenda Lamothe for refusing to continue to submit. Lamothe filed a lawsuit this week. Her attorney says he has love letters written by Hunter to Lamothe.
YOUNGSTOWN (OH)
Vindicator
By John W. Goodwin Jr.
YOUNGSTOWN — A former pastor accused of rape has cut a deal avoiding jail time, but he could not avoid a searing lecture from the woman who says he abused her.
Dale Giffin, 60, of Topaz Circle, Canfield, under an agreement with county prosecutors, pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of assault. Giffin was initially indicted on six counts of rape by a Mahoning County grand jury in February.
Judge James Evans of common pleas court sentenced Giffin immediately after accepting his guilty plea Thursday morning.
SAN ANGELO (TX)
Abilene Reporter-News
The Catholic Diocese of San Angelo is in compliance with the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops’ Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People according a recent audit of its Safe Environment Programs.
A news release from the diocese reported the Gavin Group of Boston, an independent firm commissioned to do the audit, found the diocese to be in compliance.
“I am pleased with the results of this audit which represent the hard work of so many people throughout our diocese to provide a safe environment for all of our children and youth in the many programs through which we minister to them,” said the Most Rev. Michael D. Pfeifer, bishop of San Angelo.
CANADA
Pique
By Jesse Ferreras
The priest's life is lonely and sad.
You spend your entire life denying primal desires and have to sit back and listen when others have indulged their own. Your moral code takes a backseat to loyalty. When a man of the cloth falls by the wayside, you become complicit in a cover-up of his misdeeds.
That is the impression I take away from Linden MacIntyre's The Bishop's Man, an engrossing but maddening nominee for the Scotiabank Giller Prize.
MacIntyre's background as an investigative journalist is clear here. The host of CBC's The Fifth Estate dove headfirst into his material, spending countless hours researching before putting pen to paper. The result is a controversial one, a tome that dares to lay some empathy with sexual abusers but an authentic one that mirrors real events.
The Australian
OPINION: Phillip Adams From: The Australian November 06, 2009
WHEN a US senator or congressman, a Catholic priest or TV evangelist is caught with his pants down, hostile headlines reach to the heavens - which promptly open and it's open slather on "the perp". As many heads have rolled in recent years as bounced into the guillotine's basket.
I've lost count of the Republican roosters who've become headless chooks, while the Vatican continues to reel from revelations about child abuse around the world. Only televangelists are given second chances - provided they kneel before their parishioners and tearfully, prayerfully express contrition.
And if you're a mega-celeb in a culture addicted to celebrity? Chances are you'll get away with murder - as the O. J. Simpson trial attests. If you're a popular presidential candidate - better still a popular president - entirely implausible denials of sexual misconduct will be welcomed by your supporters. If you're the presenter of a late-night TV show your public confessions will boost your audience. And if you're Roman Polanski, your criminality will be brushed aside by fellow celebrities who'll represent any attempt to bring you to the justice you've long avoided as some sort of martyrdom. Your talent, dear Roman, is too precious. Your rape conviction should be forgiven and forgotten.
SLOVENIA
STA
Dob, 6 November (STA) - The former parish priest of Ormoz who has been found guilty on three counts of sexual assault started serving his sentence at the Dob prison this week. Meanwhile, police have issued an international warrant against the first priest ever to be sentenced for child sex abuse in Slovenia, daily Vecer reported on Friday.
WILMINGTON (DE)
The News Journal
By BETH MILLER • The News Journal • November 6, 2009
Six men and one woman -- all of whom have sued the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington seeking damages for child sexual abuse by priests -- have been appointed to represent the interests of all such plaintiffs in the diocese's bankruptcy proceedings, according to court papers filed Thursday.
The Committee of Unsecured Creditors was appointed by David M. Klauder of the U.S. Trustee's office from a pool of applicants that met with him privately Wednesday.
Some of the seven committee members had filed their lawsuits anonymously, but agreed to disclose their identities to serve on the committee. The seven appointees are: James J. Holman, Matthias C. Conaty, Scott R. Mauchin, Jeff Rose, John Michael Vai, William Heaney (representing the estate of his late son, Kevin Heaney) and Mary K. Dougherty.
November 5, 2009
ALASKA
Second Rape: The Diocese of Fairbanks and Sexual Abuse
We have already discussed how high-ranking priests in the Diocese of Fairbanks called Alaska Natives “fairly loose” on sexual matters.
As if that were not bad enough …
We have two new stories – The Village of St. Mary’s and the highly questionable (and possibly illegal) Diocese of Fairbanks Endowment.
LELAND (NC)
Star News
By Amanda Greene
Amanda.Greene@StarNewsOnline.com
When the members of The Olive Branch Church meet tonight for their regular Thursday night mid-week service at their Leland church, they will do so without the church's founder, James T. Johnson.
Related Links:Leland pastor facing child sex charges He was arrested Tuesday and charged with three counts of indecent liberties with a child, two counts of first-degree sex offense with a child and one count of attempted first-degree rape of a child, according to the Brunswick County Sheriff's office. Johnson, 46, will have a bond hearing Friday in Brunswick District Court. According to the Brunswick County District Attorney's office, the alleged victim was a seventh-grade girl, and the alleged abuse happened over a period of time.
Johnson's lawyer, Robert Epstein could not comment on the case Thursday.
UNITED STATES
Earned Media
CINCINNATI, Ohio, Nov. 5 /Christian Newswire/ -- By all accounts, the murdered Catholic Nun in New Mexico was worried about crime and her safety; she was killed on October 31st and her killer(s) are still at large.
"It is very sad to see another incident occur in the Christian community and another life lost. This isn't a 'big headline story,' but it deserves the attention of church leaders nonetheless." stated Jeff Hawkins, executive director of the Christian Security Network (CSN) (www.christiansecuritynetwork.org)
The Christian Security Network has tracked over 950 crimes against Christian churches so far this year including 40 violent incidents, 1 child kidnapping, 1 attempted child kidnapping, 85 arsons, and over 600 burglaries resulting in over $20 million in losses.
ST. LOUIS (MO)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
By Robert Patrick
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
A St. Louis priest already accused of trying to pay for sex with a 16-year-old girl was indicted Thursday on new charges, including a child pornography charge.
The superseding indictment handed up Thursday afternoon accuses the Rev. James P. Grady of possessing three pornographic images of young girls. One of the photos also had a nude male in it, the indictment says. Prosecutors also added a felony charge of “coercion and enticement.”
Grady was first indicted July 30 on a felony charge of attempting to obtain a minor for a commercial sex act after being caught up in a sex sting being run by the FBI and police from St. Louis County and Maryland Heights.
ST. LOUIS (MO)
KWMU
Rachel Lippmann (2009-11-05)
ST. LOUIS (St. Louis Public Radio) - A former priest at St. Raphael the Archangel Catholic Church in south St. Louis has been charged with three felonies for allegedly seeking sex with an underage girl.
James Patrick Grady was one of three men picked up in an FBI sting in late July. He allegedly responded to an advertisement set up by the FBI offering girls for sexual activity, and set up a meeting with a 16-year-old. He was arrested when he showed up to the meeting location.
The indictment issued Thursday also says law enforcement found child pornography on Grady's computer.
MEMPHIS (TN)
The Commercial Appeal
By Lindsay Melvin
The head of the fourth-largest protestant denomination in the United States, Presiding Bishop Charles E. Blake, spoke to reporters today about the convocation’s move to St. Louis in 2010, his urban initiative and the church’s stance on sexual misconduct by church leaders.
Search our databases. Offered a more enticing convention package by St. Louis, after more than 100 years of celebrating convocation in Memphis, COGIC will head to the Gateway City next year. ...
The attention the site has received is out of proportion, considering there are “hundreds of thousands” of COGIC leaders, Blake said.
“Thirty allegations of sexual misbehavior is too many, but it should be looked at in that context,” he said.
COGIC has had sexual abuse policies in place since 1992 and has a zero-tolerance policy, which is enforced by a sexual misconduct review board, the bishop said.
CANADA
Maclean's
by Philip Slayton on Thursday, November 5, 2009
Every day, thousands of Canadians who have been outside the country return, crossing the border back into Canada. Many carry laptop computers. Just about anything might be stored on them—emails, financial information, tax returns, health records, trade secrets, a history of Web searches, pornography. A look inside by a border official—and publicity about what is found—could ruin careers, marriages, lives.
But the contents of our personal laptops aren’t safe at the border. Agents of the Canada Border Services Agency have almost untrammelled authority to search your computer. They have more power than ordinary police officers. They don’t need a search warrant. They don’t need reasonable belief that you are committing a crime. A vague suspicion that you may be up to no good is enough, and maybe even that is not required. Constitutional protection against unreasonable search and seizure (found in Section 8 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms) won’t help you. You’re pretty much defenceless.
This state of affairs was recently brought home in a dramatic way. According to a police search warrant, on Sept. 15, Raymond Lahey, the Catholic bishop of Antigonish, arrived at Ottawa airport on a flight from Britain, travelling alone. He went to a Canada Border Service counter for the usual screening. The agent, Venessa Fairey, looked at his passport. He’d been in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand, known sources of child pornography. Fairey asked Lahey if he had a laptop. Lahey hesitated for a moment, avoiding eye contact. Then he said yes, his voice cracking. Fairey flagged him for secondary inspection.
QUINCY (IL)
Quincy News
by Bob Gough, editor, QuincyNews.org
A director of an organization advocating for victims of sexual abuse by Catholic priests is looking for other people who may have been victims of abuse in Quincy.
Judy Block Jones is with SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests), a 9,000 member organization that urges Catholics to come forward if they have been abused.
Jones was in Quincy just weeks after a New York Times story revealved that a priest formerly stationed in Quincy fathered a child with a woman who was then living in Quincy during a retreat at the Our Lady of Angels Seminary, now known as Quincy University's North Campus.
OHIO
WYTV
As Dale Giffin sat with his lawyer, and with his wife and sons just a few feet away, his victim stood before Judge Jim Evans. She asked not to be photographed but read a 25-minute statement detailing her involvement with the man who was her pastor for three decades.
Giffin was indicted back in February -- accused of repeatedly raping the victim while she was a member of Zion Lutheran Church in Cornersburg. The charges dated back to 1993, but the victim claims the abuse began when she was just 15. In court, the victim described her first sexual encounter, saying Giffin "reached over and put his hand on my thigh, and he leaned into me and he kissed me on the lips."
The gallery included dozens of church members, some shaking their heads in disbelief as the woman claimed her sexual encounters with Giffin took place all around the Zion Lutheran property.
CALIFORNIA
City of Angels
By Kay Ebeling
Using teams of attorneys, eleven corporate entities of the Catholic Church are fighting a lawsuit by one family in California all the way to the state's highest court. The bishops are expending endless legal hours and Church resources to get a California appellate court decision "de-published," as letting the Quarry decision stand would open the door for dozens more legal claims against corporate entities that allow child sex crimes to take place.
In briefs quoted below, the Catholic Church argues to the high court that statutes of limitations are just "creatures of public policy that may be disappointing to plaintiffs," and "are unfair because they bar potentially valid claims," but what can you do...
At the same time, the Church uses teams of attorneys to keep statutes of limitations as unfair as possible, in California, as well as other states. The Church is able to lobby state lawmakers and file mountains of legal briefs to justices. The Church can fight changes in law that would help get settlements for crime victims of the Church, who are unable to get help by going to the Church itself. Genuine pastoral outreach to adult victims of pedophile priests appears to be totally off the Church’s agenda.
LOUISVILLE (KY)
WHAS
[with video]
by Rachel Platt
Louisville, Ky. (WHAS11) - Another voice is weighing in on whether a convicted sex offender - a child molester - should be an ordained minister in Louisville.
This newest voice is a long time advocate for victims and saw firsthand the damaging effects of clergy abuse.
Richard Lauersdorf is a man on a mission. Twice a week he carries signs of protest in front of the City of Refuge worship center in Germantown.
IOWA
KCRG
DUBUQUE (AP) - The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dubuque is investigating allegations that an employee stole up to $60,000 intended for a school tuition program.
The money is tied to the church's scrip program, which involves gift cards that are redeemable at local retailers.
PENNSYLVANIA
Standard Speaker
A Diocese of Scranton priest accused of possessing computer files depicting naked underage boys waived his preliminary hearing Wednesday.
The Rev. Robert Timchak, 43, most recently of 101 St. Vincent Drive, Milford, is charged with 17 counts of possessing child pornography, criminal use of a communication facility and tampering with physical evidence
MEXICO
Momento 24
In Mexico, a priest was dismissed for disobedience and simony, and among his “serious misconduct” are having celebrated Mass during the health crisis caused by the swine flu epidemic last May.
The decision was taken by the Metropolitan Archbishop of Tijuana, Rafael Romo Muñoz. The suspended priest was identified as Raymundo Figueroa Perez, who was in charge of the diocese of Playas de Rosarito.
UNITED STATES
Stop Baptist Predators
He complained that I offered only media reports and insurance data.
“The greater number of sex abuse victims and abusers never come to public attention via either set of data,” he said. “Church records” are where the greatest number of priest abusers can be found, he insisted.
“I could not possibly agree more,” I answered. “The greater number of sex abuse victims and abusers never come to public attention” via media reports or insurance data. “But among Baptists, there are no church records being kept and so the possibility of data via church records simply doesn't exist.”
CALIFORNIA
National Catholic Reporter
Nov. 03, 2009
By Thomas C. Fox
The California bishops voted last week to pass a statement of support on behalf of U.S. women religious who are facing a Vatican investigation.
Word of the support came in a letter dated Nov. 2 written by Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony.
In the letter addressed “Dear Sisters” the cardinal writes:
“We are all aware of the special anxieties which surround our women religious these days,” wrote Mahony, “and I am writing to offer you my prayers of gratitude and my support for all of your members. The bishops of California met last week and passed a statement of support for all of you, and I am pleased to send a copy of that statement to you.”
PENNSYLVANIA
Times Leader
By Rory Sweeney rsweeney@timesleader.com
Staff Writer
The Rev. Robert Timchak, known to many in the region as “Father Bob,” Wednesday waived his right to a preliminary hearing on charges related to possessing male child pornography on his computers at the St. Vincent Church in Pike County, according to his attorney, Joseph Petorak
The hearing was to be before District Judge Alan Cooper in Shohola. Timchak, a Roman Catholic priest who has spoken out against the church as a columnist for The Times Leader, faces 18 felony counts relating to having images of males in various stages of nudity performing sexual acts, at least 18 of which were identified by a medical doctor as depicting males younger than 18 years old.
He also faces a misdemeanor charge for attempting to delete some of the evidence.
TOLEDO (OH)
Toledo Blade
By DAVID YONKE
BLADE STAFF WRITER
Lucas County prosecutors are seeking to have Toledo priest Gerald Robinson's latest legal efforts dismissed, calling the convicted killer a "mythomaniac" who fabricates while failing to address constitutional issues as required by law.
The 71-year-old Toledo diocesan priest is serving a 15-years-to-life sentence at a southern Ohio prison after being convicted in 2006 for the brutal murder of Sister Margaret Ann Pahl in 1980.
Sister Margaret Ann, 71, was choked nearly to death and then was stabbed 31 times in the chest, neck, and face on April 5, 1980 - Holy Saturday - in the sacristy of the former Mercy Hospital.
LOS ANGELES (CA)
Reuters
LOS ANGELES--(Business Wire)--
First paragraph, date of lawsuit filing should read Tuesday afternoon, Nov. 3 (sted Wednesday afternoon, Nov. 3).
The corrected release reads:
FIRST AME CHURCH OF LOS ANGELES FILES EXTORTION AND CONSPIRACY LAWSUIT AGAINST FORMER CHURCH EMPLOYEE BRENDA LAMOTHE
The Steward Board of First AME Church of Los Angeles said today that its lawsuit against former church employee Brenda Lamothe was filed early Tuesday afternoon, Nov. 3, after Ms. Lamothe demanded money from the Church and well before she publicly leveled what church leaders consider to be false and spurious accusations against Senior Pastor John J. Hunter.
The lawsuit FAME, et al. v. Lamothe - LASC Case No.: LC087455 was filed in Superior Court in Los Angeles.
CANADA
Montreal Gazette
OTTAWA — Roman Catholic Bishop Raymond Lahey has a new date for his child-pornography case to continue in Ottawa criminal court.
In a routine hearing Wednesday morning, Lahey's lawyers appeared on his behalf and had a date set for another appearance on Dec. 16.
Several such proceedings and postponements are common as criminal charges move toward trial.
CHICAGO (IL)
Chicago Tribune
By Manya A. Brachear
Tribune reporter
November 5, 2009
A Cook County Circuit Court judge on Wednesday denied a request from a convicted former priest to seal records and keep private most of the court proceedings on whether he should be committed under a state law for sex offenders.
In his ruling, Judge Dennis Porter said the process to determine whether Daniel McCormack should be confined to a state treatment facility under the Sexually Violent Persons Commitment Act does not qualify for the same protection as a mental health proceeding.
The Illinois attorney general and the Cook County state's attorney filed a joint petition to have him committed to an institution in September when McCormack, 41, came up for parole. He served more than two years of a five-year prison sentence for abusing five boys in the rectory of St. Agatha Roman Catholic Church. He was removed from the priesthood in 2007 by Vatican decree.
UNITED KINGDOM
The Herald
Thursday, November 05, 2009
A VICAR and former primary school teacher has appeared in court to deny five further offences of indecently assaulting children.
The Rev Canon James Andrew Christopher Wilson, right, the Rector and Rural Dean of Calstock, now faces a total of 11 charges of indecency against boys and girls between 1973 and 1980.
The 61-year-old has indicated not guilty pleas to all the allegations.
MILWAUKEE (WI)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
By Annysa Johnson of the Journal Sentinel
Posted: Nov. 4, 2009
Records involving at least one sex-offender priest were maintained in so-called archives at the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, according to a document released Wednesday as part of a pending lawsuit. That would call into question testimony by retired Archbishop Rembert G. Weakland, who dismissed the notion as "antique" and "Old Testament" in a deposition last year.
"I've heard about it, but I've never seen those files, and I don't know if the Archdiocese of Milwaukee has such things," Weakland said in response to a question about "sub secreto or confidential files."
That appears to contradict earlier testimony by Weakland in a 1993 deposition in which he acknowledged the existence of such files and newly released archdiocesan documents - including one addressed to Weakland - that reference the archives.
MILWAUKEE (WI)
Catholic Culture
November 05, 2009
Archbishop Rembert Weakland, whose 25-year tenure as archbishop of Milwaukee ended after the revelation that he had used $450,000 in archdiocesan funds to settle a man’s sexual assault claim, has apparently contradicted himself on the existence of diocesan secret archives where some documents related to clerical sexual abuse were allegedly stored.
According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Archbishop Weakland in a 2008 deposition said, “I've heard about it, but I've never seen those files, and I don't know if the Archdiocese of Milwaukee has such things.” He mocked the idea of a secret archive as “antique” and “medieval.” However, the text of a 1993 deposition has come to light in which Archbishop Weakland acknowledged the existence of the files.
UNITED KINGDOM
Hull Daily Mail
A children's home abuse victim who is eligible for part of a £8m compensation payout today insisted that 'it was never about the money'.
Rape victim Graham Baverstock spoke out after a judge ruled that the Roman Catholic Middlesbrough Diocese was responsible for running an East Riding children's home where 142 boys were abused.
The boys were sexually assaulted at St William's Community Home in Market Weighton between 1972 and 1990 in one of the country's biggest abuse cases.
UNITED KINGDOM
The Northern Echo
By Lucy Richardson
A CATHOLIC diocese faces an £8m compensation bill after a judge ruled it liable for running a former children’s home at the centre of an abuse scandal spanning 30 years.
There are 142 alleged victims of sexual and physical abuse from St William’s Community Home, in Market Weighton, near York, who could now seek damages from the Middlesbrough Diocese.
It would result in the biggest historical abuse claim against the Catholic church in England.
UNITED KINGDOM
The Press
8:22am Thursday 5th November 2009
By Mike Laycock
YORK’S Roman Catholic diocese may appeal against a High Court decision which could leave it facing a bill for millions of pounds.
Judge Simon Hawkesworth QC, sitting in Leeds, ruled that the Middlesbrough Diocese, which includes the York area, was liable for running a former children’s home in East Yorkshire where scores of children were alleged to have been victims of physical and sexual abuse.
He decided that responsibility for St William’s Community Home in Market Weighton fell on the diocese rather than the De La Salle Brothers, a Catholic order of lay teachers.
SHOHOLA (PA)
Pocono Record
[the criminal complaint]
By Michael Sadowski
Pocono Record Writer
November 05, 2009
SHOHOLA — A priest and onetime teacher at Notre Dame Elementary in East Stroudsburg accused of having child pornography on his computer will be headed to court after he waived his preliminary hearing Wednesday.
The Rev. Robert Timchak, 43, who has been an assistant pastor in Pike County for two years after working throughout the Diocese of Scranton since 1992, is charged with 17 counts of sexual abuse of children for having explicit pictures of underage boys on his personal computer. The police affidavit accuses Timchak of downloading the photos from two Internet porn sites.
WILMINGTON (DE)
The News Journal
By SEAN O'SULLIVAN • The News Journal • November 5, 2009
WILMINGTON -- One of the few civil lawsuits seeking damages for alleged abuse by a priest that was not affected by the recent bankruptcy filing by the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington continued to a possible trial this month in New Castle County Superior Court.
Judge Calvin L. Scott Jr. held an hour-long hearing Wednesday where he heard arguments on several issues that have to be resolved before trial on Nov. 16.
Scott, however, did not indicate how he will rule on a key motion that could end the case before it goes before a jury.
VERMONT
Burlington Free Press
By Sam Hemingway, Free Press Staff Writer • Thursday, November 5, 2009
A Burlington judge has ordered a lien to be placed on a portion of the state Roman Catholic diocese's investment portfolio to cover the $2.2 million a jury awarded last month to a former altar boy molested by a priest in the 1970s.
Judge Helen Toor signed the lien order last week. Tuesday, a Chittenden Superior Court clerk sent a note to the church portfolio's manager at Chittenden Bank requesting that $2,728,000 be set aside to pay the verdict, pending the outcome of any appeals in the case.
"You must retain that property for satisfaction of the final judgment in this case," the notice to the bank said. The figure includes the $2.2 million award and $528,000 in estimated interest charges if the Oct. 9 jury verdict is appealed to the Vermont Supreme Court.
November 4, 2009
KILPATRICK (AL)
WAFF
[with video]
By Barbara Czura
KILPATRICK, AL (WAFF) - A man convicted of sexual abuse in 2002 is headed back to prison for violating his probation.
64-year-old Billy Paul Masters was convicted of four different sodomy and sexual abuse charges in 2002.
He was released from prison in 2007.
While he was on probation, Masters was arrested and charged in another sexual abuse case involving a 12-year-old-boy.
FORT PAYNE (AL)
Sand Mountain Reporter
FORT PAYNE — A DeKalb County preacher charged with the sexual abuse of a boy faces having his probation revoked.
The preacher, 67-year-old Billy Masters, was arrested in May and charged with sexual abuse of a child under the age of 12, apparently a member of his congregation.
Masters was pastor of Harvest Baptist Church in the Kilpatrick area.
LOS ANGELES (CA)
Daily Comet
The Associated Press Published: Wednesday, November 4, 2009
LOS ANGELES - A former employee is suing the pastor of a Los Angeles County church, claiming he sexually abused her over a period of years.
Rev. Brenda Lamothe says in a complaint filed Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court that Rev. John J. Hunter of the First African Methodist Episcopal Church repeatedly demanded sex as part of "God's will."
CONNECTICUT
The Hartford Courant
The U.S. Supreme Court was the Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport's last hope. The diocese wanted the nation's highest court to hear its appeal of a Connecticut state court's decision to make public thousands of pages of files about sexual abuse by clergy.
But the diocese acknowledged Monday that the court has decided not to hear its case.
Barring some unforeseen intercession, the documents from 23 sexual abuse cases settled in 2001 will see daylight. Four newspapers including The Courant have been fighting for eight years to get the files unsealed. Next week, a status conference on how the material might be made public will be held at Superior Court in Waterbury.
QUINCY (IL)
ConnectTriStates
By Chad Douglas
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
Allegations of sexual abuse by priests comes up in the national news from time to time.
A couple of weeks ago, the New York Times reported a story about a priest who lived and worked in Quincy in the 1980s.
The article says the priest, Father Henry Willenborg, had a love affair with a woman and fathered a child with her.
UNITED KINGDOM
The Times
Ruth Gledhill, Religion Correspondent Recommend? A Roman Catholic diocese could be forced to pay up to £8 million in compensation after a judge ruled that it was liable for running a home at the centre of a child abuse scandal.
The case could last at least one more year, however, because the diocese was given leave to appeal.
The High Court ruling opened the door for 142 people alleging sexual and physical abuse to seek damages from Middlesbrough diocese in what could turn out to be the biggest historical abuse claim against the Catholic Church in the country so far.
QUINCY (IL)
Herald-Whig
By STEVE EIGHINGER
Herald-Whig Staff Writer
Judy Block Jones was in Quincy to make a plea on two fronts.
Jones was urging past victims of sexual abuse by Catholic priests to come forward. She was also asking Quincy University to take an active role by encouraging anyone with information about potential crimes committed by a Franciscan priest who once worked for the school to also step forward.
Block is a regional director for SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, a nationwide organization headquartered in St. Louis that urges fellow Catholics to help abuse victims come forward and name their abusers.
LOS ANGELES (CA)
LA Weekly
By Dennis Romero
A lawsuit against controversial First AME Church Rev. John J. Hunter claims that he pressured a subordinate for on-demand sex as "God's will."
Rev. Brenda Lamothe, who now works for the office of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, says in a complaint filed in Los Angeles Superior Court that the married pastor pressured her for sexual "comfort" as a way to fulfill her church duties.
The relationship began in 2005 and, according to the lawsuit, Lamothe was soon coerced into providing sex on-demand as part of her job. She states in the suit that Hunter called her his "everything."
LOS ANGELES (CA)
Los Angeles Times
November 4, 2009
A former employee of First African Methodist Episcopal Church of Los Angeles has accused the pastor, John Hunter, in a civil lawsuit with forcing her into sexual service for four years and firing her when she finally refused to comply.
The Rev. Brenda Lamothe, who worked with Hunter as his executive assistant and in other jobs since 2004, charged in the lawsuit filed Tuesday that the pastor first began pressuring her into inappropriate hugging and kissing in about April 2005 and escalated the demands to sex.
The complaint charges that Hunter told her it was “God’s will” to satisfy his desires and regularly demanded sex both at his church office and hotels in Southern California, Virginia and North Carolina.
NEW JERSEY
Belleville News-Democrat
By DAVID PORTER - Associated Press Writer
NEWARK, N.J. -- The muffled voices are heard only for a few seconds, but are chilling nevertheless.
"This is the state police, you called 911, do you have an emergency?" a woman's voice asks.
"No, we don't, thank you," a man's voice answers.
"Yes, we do," a second man seems to say in the background.
"No, thank you," the first man repeats.
MILWAUKEE (WI)
TMJ4
By Elizabeth Braun, Melanie Stout
In a newly-filed lawsuit SNAP alleges Archbishop Rembert Weakland kept evidence about priests who sexually assaulted children inside a secret vault at the Cousin's Center.
The lawsuit was filed by a man who says he was molested by Father Lawrence Murphy. Murphy is suspected of abusing hundreds of children at the School for the Deaf in St. Francis.
The survivors Network of those Abused by Priests claims Archbishop Rembert Weakland kept the charges against Father Murphy in a secret archive.
SNAP's Peter Isely says, "We have proof that not only did Archbishop Weakland know about the secret archive but used it in order to cover up crimes against children that were being committed by father Murphy."
BILLINGS (MT)
Billings Gazette
SUSAN OLP Of The Gazette Staff | Posted: Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Elsie Boudreau, a Yu'pik Eskimo from Alaska, suffered sexual abuse at the hands of a Jesuit priest in Nome, Alaska, from age 10 to 16.
She later successfully sued Father James Poole and won a financial settlement against him. Now he lives in a Jesuit retirement center in Spokane, and Boudreau is a victim liaison for a California law firm.
On Wednesday, she was in Billings with another member of SNAP - the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests - to encourage others who have gone through the same type of ordeal to come forward. The timing is crucial, Boudreau said, because a deadline looms for victims of abuse who fall in the Oregon Province of the Society of Jesus to file a claim.
CHICAGO (IL)
NBC Chicago
By BJ LUTZ and CHARLIE WOJCIECHOWSKI
Updated 1:43 PM CST, Wed, Nov 4, 2009
A motion from a defrocked priest and convicted sex offender to close the courtroom and seal the records in his upcoming sexually violent person detention hearing was thrown out Wednesday.
Daniel McCormack, who pleaded guilty two years ago to abusing five boys and was sentenced to five years in prison, had argued that the proceedings be closed to protect his privacy under the mental health act.
Barbara Blaine, founder of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) said Wednesday's ruling removes the same kind of the secrecy that allowed priest sex abuse to happen in the first place.
CHATHAM BOROUGH (NJ)
The Star-Ledger
[with audio]
CHATHAM BOROUGH -- The Chatham priest slain last month tried to tell a 911 dispatcher his location, but the call was disconnected moments too soon.
When the dispatcher called the priest back, another man -- identified by Morris County authorities as the alleged killer, Jose Feliciano -- said there was no emergency. The dispatcher then hung up. State Police said the dispatcher followed protocol.
CANADA
Kelowna
Canwest News Service
OTTAWA – Roman Catholic Bishop Raymond Lahey has a new date for his child-pornography case to continue in Ottawa criminal court.
In a routine hearing Wednesday morning, Lahey’s lawyers appeared on his behalf and had a date set for another appearance on Dec. 16.
Several such proceedings and postponements are common as criminal charges move toward trial.
CHICAGO (IL)
Chicago Sun-Times
November 4, 2009
BY STEFANO ESPOSITO Staff Reporter
A Cook County judge ruled today that court hearings dealing with ex-priest Daniel McCormack's mental health will be open to the public as prosecutors seek to have McCormack civilly committed as a sexually violent person.
One of McCormack's attorneys, Daniel Coyne, argued in court today that the public's interest in openness isn't "safeguarded by knowing the inner workings of (McCormack's) brain." Prosecutors and an attorney for the Chicago Tribune had argued that the hearings be held in open court.
ELDORADO (TX)
Legal News
ELDORADO, Texas — A former member of a polygamist group has taken the stand in the sexual assault trial of the first group member tried since Texas authorities raided the group’s ranch last year.
Rebecca Musser left the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in 2002, before the church bought the Yearning For Zion Ranch in Eldorado (el-doh-RAY’-doh).
PENNSYLVANIA
Pocono Record
November 04, 2009
A priest in Pike County waived his right to a preliminary hearing this afternoon in Milford on charges related to possessing child pornography on his computer.
The Rev. Robert Timchak, 43, turned himself in on Oct. 20 on 19 charges after an investigation launched when an annonymous letter to the Diocese of Scranton tipped off church officials that someone using Timchak's e-mail address had been accessing child pornography.
WILMINGTON (DE)
CBS 3
RANDALL CHASE, Associated Press Writer
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) ― The U.S. Trustee's office for Delaware is beginning its role in the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington's bankruptcy in secrecy.
The trustee's office publicly advertised a meeting Wednesday at a Wilmington hotel to choose members of the diocese's committee of unsecured creditors. But officials then declared that it was a private meeting that would not start until a reporter left.
UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter
Nov. 04, 2009
By Thomas C. Fox
Speaking publicly for the first time about the apostolic visitation of U.S. women religious communities his congregation is conducting, Cardinal Franc Rodé said that he requested the three-year study to help the sisters and to respond to concerns for their welfare.
“This apostolic visitation hopes to encourage vocations and assure a better future for women religious,” Rodé said in a statement released by the Vatican Nov. 3.
The women religious study was first announced last January in Washington, but until last week the prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life had remained silent. His statement was issued, he said, in response to “many news accounts” and inquiries about the visitation.
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