NEW YORK
The Internet

by Peter Mullin
Co-Sports Editor
with Bill Donahue
Co-Editor-in-Chief

In April of 1994 an 18-year-old freshman walked into the office of the Dean of Fordham College at Rose Hill, a place that, according to the University’s mission statement, concerns itself with fostering an “environment that celebrates and protects the dignity of the human person.” Inside the confines of that office the young woman started the process of protecting that dignity. She told the Dean a story of how, after a night of drinking in the city, her philosophy professor took advantage of her in his office. By the end of the semester, her professor had resigned.

Ten years later that scene would come to national attention in an article by Joseph Feuerherd published in the National Catholic Reporter. The story detailed the alleged 1994 sexual misconduct of Deal W. Hudson, a top advisor to George W. Bush’s 2004 re-election campaign, while he was a tenured professor of philosophy at Fordham.

That July, Fordham spokeswoman Elizabeth Schmalz issued a statement to NCR saying, “Sexual Harassment is not tolerated at Fordham University.” It continued, “Fordham followed its policy rigorously in this case and initiated an investigation into the matter upon receipt of the student’s complaint.”

STOCKTON (CA)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Once again we see a pedophile priest getting no supervision by the church hierarchy and going on to commit more crimes. We're seeing this pattern more and more and expect this trend will accelerate.

This is why predator priests, when convicted, need long sentences. Most of them are compulsively driven to commit more sex crimes.

We hope that others who saw, suspected or suffered Sherwood's crimes will gain the strength to come forward, get help and call police.

CHICAGO (Il)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Sadly, this is a familiar pattern in the Chicago archdiocese: a priest who successfully keeps quiet about clergy sex crimes wins a promotion. It's very depressing and troubling that a priest who helped conceal felonies is rewarded with a prominent national post like this.

Among other questions, Coughlin needs to be asked, "Did you ever call the police about any of these known or alleged crimes and if not, why not?"

Surely there's a more appropriate and less sullied cleric who can be the House chaplain.

INDIA
The Peninsula (Qatar)

By John Mary

Thiruvananthapuram: India’s premier probe agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation, has arrested two priests and a nun in connection with the alleged murder of a 21-year-old Catholic nun in the south Kerala district of Kottayam 16 years ago.

The CBI team produced Fr Jose Puthrukayil, chancellor of Knanaya Catholic Church in Kottayam, Fr Thomas M Kottoor, principal of Pius X College in Kasargod district, and Sister Stephy, the victim’s convent mate, before the Chief Judicial Magistrate at Kochi today.

All three have been remanded in the CBI custody till December 8.

The CBI did not submit any fresh detailed evidence in the court but the probe team chief, Superintendent of Police, Ashok Kumar, told reporters that the agency had sufficient evidence and would be able produce it in the court within a month. Fr Thomas Kottoor was a lecturer at the BCM College Both he and Fr Puthrukayil were taken into custody on Tuesday evening while the nun was picked up this morning. All three were subjected to the lie-detector and narco analysis tests.

INDIA
Express Buzz

KOCHI: Priests getting involved in murder cases is not new in Kerala. The arrest of Fr Thomas Kottur, Fr Jose Puthrukkayil and Sr Sephi in connection with Sr Abhaya murder case has stirred up the memory of other sensational cases in Kerala involving the priests.

In 1966, Fr Benedict Onamkulam, a priest of Changanassery Archdiocese, was sentenced to death for the murder of a widow -Mariakutty- on the basis of “circumstantial evidence”.

However, he was acquitted by the Kerala High Court on an appeal filed against the lower court judgement, sentencing him to death.

INDIA
Merinews

FINALLY, THE Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested two priests in connection with sister Abhaya murder, which has been mocking at the credibility of our investigation agencies and the conscience of millions of Christians alike for more than 16 years.

Father Thomas M Kottur (61) and Father Dr Jose Puthrukkayil (56), former lecturers at BCM College, Kottayam, are reported to have been incriminated based on some clinching evidence revealed by a key witness in this murder mystery, and they have been booked for the same. And the third accused, sister Sephi (45) is also under custody. They have been remanded to CBI custody for further interrogation.

Neither the Kerala police nor the CBI has ever had a case as controversial and unsettling as this one because the people who are involved in this case have been known to enjoy enough media support, money and political power to keep the investigation agencies at bay.

CHICAGO (IL)
In the Vineyard

The Criminal Prosecution of Cardinal Francis George and/or the Archdiocese of Chicago

How is it that a cardinal archbishop of Chicago can get away with acknowledging,

that he never reported allegations of sexual abuse of minors, something required by Illinois law;
that he rejected the recommendations of his own Review Board in 2005 to remove a priest from ministry, and that more children were abused as a result;
that he knew of five allegations against another priest since 2002 and did not remove him from service until 2006;

ARKANSAS
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

BY ANDY DAVIS

Posted on Thursday, November 20, 2008

TEXARKANA — State child protective services caseworkers spent Wednesday finding foster homes for the 20 children seized from the Tony Alamo Christian Ministries while a search continued for other children who were missed during a sweep of Alamo properties.

The children, 11 boys and nine girls, were taken into protective custody Tuesday after Arkansas State Police officers and Department of Human Services caseworkers went to Alamo’s compound in Fouke and to more than a dozen Alamo-controlled homes and businesses in the Fort Smith area.

ALBANIA
Buzzle

British police helped cover up a horrific sex abuse scandal at a Christian missionary orphanage in Albania, a Guardian investigation has found.

Senior officers agreed to keep details of abuse secret from their counterparts in Albania after the British director of the orphanage, David Brown, persuaded them that while children had been sexually abused in his care, he had played no part in it.

Brown, 57, an evangelical charity worker who founded the His Children orphanage seven years ago, was yesterday found guilty of "sexual relations" with minors.

Sentencing him to 20 years in a maximum-security jail in Albania, Judge Gerti Hoxha said the home had been used as "camouflage" for sexual abuse. He hoped the sentence would serve as a warning to other pedophiles.

OREGON
Catholic Sentinel

The Ember Day for Advent will be on Wednesday, Dec. 3. An Ember Day is a day set aside for prayer and fasting.

Archbishop John G. Vlazny instituted Ember Days in the Archdiocese of Portland in 2002 as days for prayer for victims of child sexual abuse.

Archbishop Vlazny specified that Ember Days in the Archdiocese be celebrated three times each year: in the Advent Season before Christmas, in the Lenten Season before Easter and in the fall.

CHICAGO (IL)
ABC 7

By John Garcia

A Chicago priest who is now a chaplain in Congress played a role in managing other priests accused of sexual abuse, according to "Roll Call," Capitol Hill newspaper.
This news is a surprise to those who support the victims of clergy abuse.

Reverend Daniel Coughlin has been the chaplain of the House of Representatives since 2000. Frances Cardinal George recommended him for that position. Before that, he was in Chicago where he ministered to a group of troubled priests, according to "Roll Call."

NEW YORK
The Journal News

By Gary Stern
The Journal News • November 20, 2008

A former Westchester resident whose accusations of abuse against Monsignor Charles Kavanagh brought down the former chief fundraiser for the Archdiocese of New York is now furious that church officials will not tell him whether a decision has been reached in the slow-moving case.

Upon hearing this week that a decision had been reached, Daniel Donohue said he contacted the Rev. Richard Welch, who served as prosecutor for the archdiocese in a church trial on the case.

"The first thing he said was: 'I don't think they realized this would get out so quickly,' " Donohue said.

STOCKTON (CA)
The Record

By Scott Smith
Record Staff Writer
November 20, 2008 6:00 AM
STOCKTON - Attorneys for a local man who said a notorious priest molested him as a boy filed a lawsuit Wednesday that also seeks to hold Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony responsible for allowing years of sexual abuse.

This is one of many lawsuits against the Roman Catholic Church stemming from Oliver O'Grady's alleged abuse but the first that tries to hold Mahony personally responsible, attorney John Manly said from the front steps of the San Joaquin County Superior Court.

"Oliver O'Grady is a shark. He's a lion," Manly said. "And Cardinal Mahony was the lion tamer, and he opened the cage."

FONDA (NY)
Schenectady Gazette

By Edward Munger Jr.
Gazette Reporter

FONDA — A priest facing felony child sex abuse charges in Montgomery County filed a civil lawsuit this week against the family that made the accusations against him.

The Rev. John W. Broderick, 47, is seeking $500,000, alleging that the family made false statements about him.

In a September indictment, a Montgomery County grand jury lodged three felony counts of second-degree sexual abuse and a misdemeanor count of first-degree unlawfully dealing with a child against Broderick. The indictment charges that Broderick, who authorities said was serving as the Palatine Bridge family’s “spiritual adviser,” abused three children between October 2005 and May of 2007.

Broderick also is accused of providing alcohol to a person under 21 in 2007.

In his lawsuit, filed Monday in state Supreme Court in Montgomery County, Broderick says his arrest caused him to suffer “loss of reputation, loss of employment, past and prospective, the expenditure of money for legal fees to defend a criminal action and other damages.”

FRESNO (CA)
California Catholic Daily

Fresno Bishop John Steinbock has pledged $10,000 to support the Saint Luke Institute in Silver Spring, Maryland – the famous treatment center for wayward priests. Among the Institute’s more infamous patients were serial pederasts and defrocked priests Rudy Kos of Dallas and John Geoghan of Boston, who was murdered by a fellow inmate while serving a prison term for his crimes. Four years ago, Bishop Steinbock sent one of his own priests to the Institute after parishioners discovered their pastor had been soliciting liaisons on a homosexual web site.

A letter obtained by California Catholic Daily to Bishop Steinbock from Msgr. Stephen Rossetti, president of Saint Luke Institute, indicates that on June 17, the Institute received the second installment of a $10,000 pledge from the Fresno diocese. So far, according to the letter, the diocese has paid $4000 toward the pledge, with a balance remaining of $6000.

“Thank you for your most generous support,” wrote Msgr. Rossetti. “Your second gift of $2,000 from the Diocese of Fresno toward your pledge to our Fund Campaign will enable us to continue to assist priests, deacons and women and men religious who come from dioceses or communities who cannot afford treatment.”

CANADA
Standard-Freeholder

By TREVOR PRITCHARD, STANDARD-FREEHOLDER

The lawyer for alleged sex offender Charles MacDonald may be forced to step down because of a conflict of interest over upcoming testimony at the Cornwall Public Inquiry.

Michael Neville has represented both MacDonald and the estate of probation officer Ken Seguin, another alleged abuser, since the inquiry began hearing witnesses in February 2006.

Neville has also defended the now-retired priest in criminal proceedings since 1996, when MacDonald was first charged with sexually abusing children.

NEW YORK
The Jewish Week

by Hella Winston And Larry Cohler-Esses

A Williamsburg community activist who has spoken out frequently against child sexual abuse in the Brooklyn Orthodox community claimed Monday that his life had been threatened multiple times as a result.

Rabbi Nuchum Rosenberg claimed that the threats culminated last month when he was “shot” on Berry Street, near the Williamsburg Bridge by unknown assailants.

Speaking at a press conference outside the 90th Precinct Police Headquarters in Williamsburg, Rabbi Rosenberg complained that police were unable to protect him. He pointed to a scarlet wound seared in the middle of his forehead to indicate the spot where he was hit.

CHICAGO (IL)
Chicago Breaking News

November 19, 2008 at 4:19 PM

Before Rev. Daniel Coughlin was named chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives, he pushed for the early release of a former priest convicted of sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Chicago, it was learned today.

In a letter dated May 20, 1999, ten months before his appointment, Coughlin asked the Wisconsin Parole Commission, to release Norbert Maday from prison and place him under the supervision of the Chicago archdiocese. Coughlin, then vicar of priests, a position in which he supervised Chicago area priests, was appointed House chaplain in March, 2000.

The existence of the letter was first reported today by Roll Call, a Capitol Hill publication.

WEST PALM BEACH (FL)
Palm Beach Post

By SUSAN SPENCER-WENDEL
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

WEST PALM BEACH — An appeals court ruled today that the names of alleged victims of sex abuse involved in lawsuits against a Catholic archdiocese should not have to be disclosed to another victim seeking them as part of his own suit.

The Fourth District Court of Appeal overturned in part a lower court decision that allowed plaintiff Kevin Sidaway of Lake Worth access to the names of people who sued under initials or pseudonyms like "John Doe." A three-judge panel ruled that a lower court could, though, require the Archdiocese of Miami to identify all the cases so Sidaway could review the files and contact the victims' attorneys.

Sidaway and his attorneys could not immediately be reached for comment about the setback in his years-long battle against the Archdiocese. Sidaway, now 52, has said he was molested in the 1960s while an altar boy at a church in Boynton Beach, then a part of the Archdiocese of Miami which he is suing.

WASHINGTON (DC)
Roll Call

By Paul Singer
Roll Call Staff
November 19, 2008, 2:45 p.m.

From 1990 to 2000, the Rev. Daniel Coughlin — who is now the Chaplain of the House of Representatives — played a central role in the efforts of the Chicago Archdiocese to manage priests who had been accused of sexual abuse, according to newly released church documents, public records and interviews conducted by Roll Call.

When the archdiocese removed an accused priest from ministry in the early 1990s, he was often sent to a facility that Coughlin ran. Later in the decade, Coughlin served as the archdiocesan point man for counseling troubled priests, including those accused of sexual misconduct.

Coughlin emphasizes that he did not make decisions about what to do with accused priests or how to manage them. His role was to help the priests comply with whatever protocols the archdiocese mandated.

STOCKTON (CA)
The Record

By The Record
November 19, 2008 2:35 PM
STOCKTON – A local man filed a lawsuit today against Oliver O’Grady, saying the former priest molested him as a boy studying in the Diocese of Stockton, his attorneys announced in front of the San Joaquin County Superior Court.

Attorneys for the unnamed man said this is the first lawsuit stemming from O’Grady’s alleged abuse that also seeks to hold accountable Cardinal Roger Mahoney of Los Angeles, who was bishop in Stockton at the time.

O’Grady was convicted of molesting two local boys and fled to his native Ireland after being released from prison. The unnamed man who filed the latest lawsuit was age 6 to 9 when O’Grady molested him, attorney John Manly said. He is now in his early 30s.

STOCKTON (CA)
KCRA

STOCKTON, Calif. -- A man allegedly molested by a former Stockton Catholic priest decades ago filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the accused man and the past head of the Diocese of Stockton.

The suit claims Oliver Francis O'Grady, who served time in prison for child molestation before being deported to Ireland, molested the victim from 1983 to 1985.

The suit also names Cardinal Roger M. Mahony of Los Angeles, who was bishop of the Diocese of Stockton at the time the alleged abuse took place.

FONDA (NY)
Schenectady Gazette

By Edward Munger Jr.
Gazette Reporter

FONDA — A priest facing felony child sex abuse charges in Montgomery County filed a civil lawsuit this week against the family that made the accusations against him.

The Rev. John W. Broderick, 47, is seeking $500,000, alleging the family made false statements about him.

A Montgomery County grand jury indicted Broderick in September on three felony counts of second-degree sexual abuse and a misdemeanor count of first-degree unlawfully dealing with a child. The indictment alleges Broderick, who authorities said was serving as the Palatine Bridge family's "spiritual advisor," abused three children between October 2005 and May 2007. It further alleges Broderick provided alcohol to a person under 21 in 2007.

STOCKTON (CA)
Examiner

STOCKTON, Calif. (Map, News) - A defrocked priest who was the subject of a scathing Oscar-nominated documentary is being sued by another former parishioner who says he was sexually abused as a child.

The unnamed adult sued former cleric Oliver O'Grady Wednesday in San Joaquin County Superior Court for sexual abuse beginning when he was 6 years old. He also named the Diocese of Stockton as well as its former Bishop, Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles, for allegedly covering it up.

INDIA
Zee News

Kochi, Nov 19: The CBI on Wednesday claimed that the arrests of two priests and a nun in the Sister Abhaya murder case were made on the basis of "concrete and fresh" evidence against them.

While Father Thomas Kottur (61) and Father Jose Puthrukkayil (56) were arrested yesterday, Sister Sephi (45) was arrested today, CBI joint director Ashok Kumar and DIG P Kandaswamy told at a specially convened press conference at the CBI headquarters here.

All the three were arrested from Kottayam, they said.

Not giving the details of the evidence against the accused, Kumar said, "we have fresh evidence against them. Unless we have evidence, we will not take anyone into custody."

INDIA
Bombay News

Bombay News.Net
Wednesday 19th November, 2008 (IANS)

Sixteen years after Sister Abhaya's body was found in the well of a Kerala convent, investigations into her murder finally made some headway Wednesday with the arrest of two Catholic priests and a nun.

In the first arrests in the case, Father Jose Putarika, 56, a former Malayalam professor at the Kottayam college where Abhaya studied, and Thomas Kottor, 61, the Diocesan chancellor of the Catholic Church at Kottayam, were picked up by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Tuesday. The third, 45-year-old Sister Seffi, who belonged to the same convent as Abhaya, was arrested Wednesday.

The three, who were subjected to a truth serum test in Bangalore last year, were remanded in CBI custody till Dec 2. A huge crowd thronged the chief judicial magistrate's court, and shouts of 'shame, shame' were heard as people pushed and shoved to get a glimpse of the three custodians of faith.

INDIA
Kerala Online

Background of the case

Sister Abhaya, daughter of M. Thomas in Areekara, in Kottayam District was a second year pre-degree student in B.C.M. College in 1992, at Kottayam, which belonged to the diocese of Kottayam and was a resident of St. Pius Xth Convent, which is situated within the city limits. The convent also provided lodging and boarding for university girl students. She was said to be of good habits, normal behaviour, maintained healthy and cordial friendship as per hostel rules and with all the inmates and absolutely had no mental disorder or any psychological aberration.

INDIA
Gulf News (United Arab Emirates)

By Akhel Mathew, Correspondent
Published: November 19, 2008, 20:23

Thiruvananthapuram: Federal agents on Wednesday arrested two priests and a nun over the death of a nun in a convent in Kerala 16 years ago.

The arrests by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) investigating the death of Sister Abhaya took place on Tuesday evening and yesterday morning.

The three arrested are Catholic priests Thomas M. Kottoor, 61, and Jose Puthrukayil, 56, and Reverend Sister Steffi, 45.

INDIA
Indian Catholic

KOCHI (ICNS): The dramatic arrest of two Catholic priests and a nun for their “suspected involvement” in 16 year old murder case of a nun has shocked the nation.

The case concern Sister Abhaya, a 21-year old nun of St. Joseph's Congregation. She was student of pre-university student in BCM collage Kottayam and was an inmate of St Pius X convent. Here is the chronology of events

On the morning of 27 March 1992, the nun was found dead in a water well of her convent .

People suspect foul play although convent authorities said it was suicide. They formed an Action Council on 31 March 1992. ...

A major breakthrough came on 12 April 2007 when The New Indian Express daily reported that original chemical examination report of the vaginal swab and vaginal smear of Abhaya has been found to have been tampered with.

The manuscript of the workbook report from the Chemical Examination Laboratory shows over-writing at four places. Using a whitener and a different ink, the word ‘‘not’’ has been added before the word ‘‘detected,’’ so as to contradict the result for testing semen detection in vagina.

IOWA
KCAU

A Fort Dodge woman who claims she was sexually abused by a priest is asking for action against Sioux City's former bishop, and she wants victims to come forward.

Lawrence Soens led the Sioux City Diocese for 15 years, and for several years he faced allegations of abuse.

But now the Diocese of Davenport says Soens has been "credibly accused" of sexually abusing minors while working in that diocese.

ITALY
Corriere Della Sera

Il sacerdote aveva risposto ad un annuncio su un giornale. L'amante gli ha estorto 28mila euro
BAGHERIA (PALERMO) - Si sentiva solo e ha cercato una compagna rispondendo ad un annuncio su un giornale. Peccato che lui fosse un prete e dopo aver consumato il rapporto amoroso sia stato anche ricattato dalla donna. Tutto comincia quando il sacerdote, dopo avere visto un annuncio sul giornale ha scritto a una donna e ha iniziato con lei una relazione. Ma dopo qualche mese, la donna inizia a ricattarlo chiedendogli 20mila euro in cambio del silenzio e minacciandolo di pubblicare delle foto hard dei loro incontri sessuali. Ma il prete, dopo avere pagato complessivamente 28mila euro, si è rivolto ai carabinieri e ha denunciato la donna che adesso è stata arrestata.

[translation]

The man went to the carabinieri who arrested the 40-year-old woman, a repeat offender

Palermo: a priest has a relationship with a woman who blackmails him with their hard photos, arrested

The priest had responded to a classified ad in a newspaper. His lover extorted him 28,000 euros.

BAGHERIA (PALERMO) – He felt lonely and he tried to find a companion answering a classified ad in a newspaper. It was a pity that he was a priest and that he was blackmailed after his sexual relationship with the woman. All started when the priest, after having read a classified ad in a newspaper, sent a letter to the woman and began a relationship with her. After a few months, the woman began to blackmail him asking for 20,000 euros in exchange of her silence, threatening to publish the hard photos of their sexual encounters. But the priest, after having paid 28,000 euros in all, went to the carabinieri and denounced the woman, who has now been arrested.

THE INVESTIGATION - It all happened in Bagheria, a large town near Palermo, and the forty-year-old woman, a repeat offender, was arrested there. Her name wasn’t released. From the investigation, coordinated by the carabinieri of the Monreale group, led by lieutenant colonel Pietro Salsano, emerged the woman had started the love affair with the priest some months ago. In the next days there will be a hearing with the judges of the Tribunal for Reexamination to decide upon the request of release of the woman from jail made by her lawyers. The arrest warrant was issued by the GIP (the judge for the preliminary investigations) of the Tribunal of Termini Imerese (Palermo)

UNITED STATES
New Man eMagazine

By Charles Waller

Aaron would jump up and get in the face of anyone who looked at him wrong. When mad at someone, he would get so frustrated trying not to hit him or her. He would hit the walls until his hands bled in a rage so he wouldn't hurt someone else. Name calling, like teenagers tend to do, would push him over the edge. Gritting his teeth with veins in his neck flaring out, he would finally run. Not far, but far enough so that no one would see him shake and cry in a primeval anger until he could regain his composure. Everyone knew Aaron was an angry young man with a short fuse.

Rick was withdrawn, shy and rarely engaged in activities where he had to be around big groups. His self-esteem was nothing, so he never volunteered to answer in class or do anything above what was required. He had physical ailments, especially related to eating, but would never let anyone know there was a problem. Rick spent a lot of time alone or with a few girls that he grew up with. Melancholy was the theme of his drawings, and death was the theme of his dreams. Rick was the good kid who was good at masks and covering how he felt.

Aaron and Rick are two examples of opposites in male behavior with the same root problem. Aaron was sexually abused by a family member. Rick was sexually abused by a minister. Boys who are sexually abused will react one of two ways: they will act out or introvert anger. The strong eruptions of rage can range from physically hurting another person to hurting themselves with suicide attempts.

UNITED STATES
Stop Baptist Predators

Clergy abuse survivors in other major faith groups have three possible ways for exposing their perpetrators and warning others: (1) criminal prosecution, (2) civil litigation, and (3) ecclesiastical process.

Think of it as a 3-legged stool. It’s not a very pretty stool; it’s not a piece of Shaker craftsmanship. But for other faith groups, the stool at least has three legs.

For Baptists, it’s a stool with only about one and a half legs. In effect, it’s not any stool at all, and that’s why kids in Baptist churches are at greater risk.

MARYLAND
The Awareness Center

LEARN HOW TO PROTECT CHILDREN, EXPOSE SEXUAL PREDATORS & HEAL SURVIVORS OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE

PLUS Special Guest Speaker: Rabbi Nachum Rosenberg
There was an attempt made on Rabbi Rosenberg's life back in October in an attempt stop him from advocating for sexually abused children in Williamsburg and Borough Park, NY.

Public meeting set for Wednesday, November 26th at 6:15 p.m. in Pikesville to discuss pending new legislation: Civil Actions – Child Sex Abuse – Statute of Limitations

Sponsored by:

Child Victims Voice - Maryland
The Awareness Center, Inc.

INDIA
The Times of India

Nov 2008, 1159 hrs IST, IANS

KOCHI: Two Catholic priests have been arrested for the 1992 murder of a nun, Sister Abhaya, whose body was found in the well of a convent in
Kerala's Kottayam town, police said on Wednesday.

The 13th Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) team began its probe into the 16-year-old murder after 12 previous probes failed to crack the case.

The Kerala High Court had last month rapped the investigating agency over the slow progress in its probe and asked the Kerala unit of the CBI to take over.

INDIA
Kerala Online

Kochi, Wednesday, November 19, 2008: The CBI Kochi unit today made a landmark arrest in connection with the murder of Sister Abhaya. Father Jose Puthrukayil, and Father Thomas Kottoor both of whom who had undergone narco analysis test and brain mapping test earlier were summoned by CBI yesterday. The priests will be produced before Chief Judicial Magistrate today afternoon.

The lawyers of both the priests have confirmed the arrest. According to sources both the priests were arrested on the basis of the statements given by Sanju P Mathew a person living next to Pious X convent in Kottayam.

Sources tell us that both the priests are right now undergoing interrogation in Kochi.

INDIA
The Hindu

Kochi (PTI): The CBI on Wednesday arrested two priests in the Sister Abhaya murder case.

The arrests of Father Thomas M Kottur and Father Dr E Jose Puthrikayil was recorded by the CBI on Wednesday.

CANADA
Ottawa Citizen

Jennifer Green, The Ottawa Citizen
Published: Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Victims of clergy sex abuse protested outside Saint Paul University yesterday, angry that a priest convicted of molesting an eight-year-old would get $60,000 to study canon law.

The nine or so demonstrators with the Association of Victims of Priests hoisted their signs as they huddled into the icy wind on Main Street. One carried a crucifix with "Sex Abuse" on it; another called for all convicted pedophiles to be booted out of the church.

Unbeknownst to them, Rev. Philippe de Maupeou left Ottawa in September, quitting his courses after just a few weeks. He now lives in a supervised ecclesiastical residence under the jurisdiction of the Montreal archdiocese.

ITALY
ANSA

(ANSA) - Palermo, November 19 - An Italian priest was blackmailed after paying for sex, police said Wednesday.

The priest reportedly admitted answering a woman's sex ad in a Sicilian paper two years ago and having sex ''several'' times with her since then.

He claims the woman first asked him for 8,000 euros to keep quiet about the sessions and recently upped her demand to 20,000, saying she had photos of them having sex together.

UNITED STATES
YouTube

[video presentation]

This links to a presentation Steve Sheehan of Boston made to the Board of Trustees of Voice of the Faithful in support of the only clergy sexual abuse survivor to be elected to a national position with VOTF.

ARKANSAS
Today's THV

Posted By: Mike Duncan

Twenty children are now in protective custody with the state after more investigations into the Tony Alamo Ministries.

A line of state police cars made their way into the Fouke headquarters of the Tony Alamo Ministries, authorities armed with a court order to take more children into protective custody.

But they found no children in the compound, or in 14 Fort Smith homes also searched.

Troopers later pulled over two vans on a Miller County highway and found 17 children inside. They took three more into state custody at the courthouse.

NEW YORK
The Awareness Center

[with video]

Rabbi Nauchm Rosenberg has been advocating for Jewish survivors of sexual violence in Williamsburg/Borough Park (Brooklyn) New York for over 35 years. Over the last several months he had his life threatened if he did not close down a hotline. A little over two weeks ago there was a drive by shooting in which someone shot a him. Please listen to him tell his story and demand that he is protected. His goal is to help survivors make police reports and testify in court to help put an end to sex crimes in his community and around the globe.

CANADA
The Tribune

Campbellton - Campbellton lawyer Raymond Dube appeared in Campbellton Provincial Court Monday where he told Judge Steven Hutchinson that he could no longer represent former Dalhousie priest Charles Picot, who has been charged with indecent assault.

The charge under the Criminal Code as it existed at the time of the offence was laid after an investigation by Dalhousie RCMP. Picot is accused of allegedly indecently assaulting a Dalhousie boy some 30 years ago.

UNITED STATATES
Pulitzer Center

Ann Peters, Pulitzer Center

They tell the stories of undocumented workers and a soup kitchen manager, a former addict-turned-counselor and a homeless vet, a Native American grandmother and a North Carolina dairy farmer. Profiles of individuals of significance in their communities.

They are the 10 semi-finalists from some 100 entries in Round 1 of the joint Pulitzer Center/YouTube Project:Report. And they are embarking on Round 2 with an assignment to tell a local story with a global impact. ...

Kim Fischer chose her YouTube ID, ‘DoGoodWork’, because she wanted to tell the stories of people who helped others. Kim profiles Barbara Dorris, a local director of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests and an abuse survivor. Barbara’s message is: You’re not alone and more damage is done in keeping the secret.

AUSTRALIA
Monash University

18 November 2008

Child abuse and neglect costs Australians ten times more than obesity, a landmark report has found. The report has also found that the number of cases of abuse in our community may be five times higher than the official figures.

The Cost of Child Abuse in Australia, a joint research report by Access Economics, Australian Childhood Foundation and Child Abuse Prevention Research Australia at Monash University, is the first comprehensive report of its kind in Australia. It found that the real cost of child abuse to the Australian community in 2007 was $10.7 billion, and could be as high as $30.1 billion, including the monetary value of the pain and suffering that they experience.

Professor Chris Goddard, Director of Child Abuse Prevention Research Australia at Monash University said this is the first comprehensive, national study of the costs of child abuse and neglect in Australia.

UNITED KINGDOM
BBC News

A vicar who had an affair with a woman whom he was giving marriage guidance has been banned from the church.

Andrew Gair, former rector of St Mary's, Debden, Essex, "kissed and touched" the unidentified woman "intimately in a sexual manner".

A church tribunal in west London heard the affair blossomed in 2005.

UNITED KINGDOM
EADT 24

A VICAR has been banned from Holy Orders for seven years after developing an 'inappropriate' relationship with a parishioner who came to him for marriage guidance.

Andrew Gair, who now lives in Wrentham, near Beccles, shared kisses and 'intimate touching' with the mum in the rectory in his parish and shared long country walks with her.

A tribunal has found that the former rector of Debden church in Essex was guilty of 'unbecoming and inappropriate behaviour' after the relationship developed.

UNITED KINGDOM
Metro

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

A vicar has been banned from the church for seven years for having an affair with a parishioner who went to him for marriage guidance.

The Rev Andrew Gair, former rector of St Mary's, in Debden, Essex, "kissed and touched" the unidentified woman "intimately in a sexual manner".

The church tribunal, held in west London, heard the affair blossomed in 2005 after the woman sought counselling from Mr Gair for her marriage difficulties.

ALASKA
KTUU

[with video]

by Jill Burke
Tuesday, November 18, 2008

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- An important deadline is approaching for victims of abuse in the Fairbanks Diocese.

Because the diocese has filed for bankruptcy, people have just two weeks to get their claims in by Dec. 2.

And that deadline is the date for items to be received at an Anchorage courthouse, so there's actually less time to get the paperwork filled out and sent in the mail.

WATKINS GLEN (NY)
Star-Gazette

By Ray Finger • rfinger@gannett.com • November 19, 2008

Another man has come forward alleging he was sexually abused as a boy by a now-deceased priest who had served at St. Mary's of the Lake Church in Watkins Glen.

Odessa lawyer John Hayes said Tuesday that the man, who wishes to remain anonymous, spoke with him Monday about being molested by Rev. David Bonin in the rectory at St. Mary's and also in hotel rooms on trips he made with the priest and others. He was 8 or 9 years old when the abuse began, and it lasted about three years, he said.

Hayes said the young man came forward after the media reported on a lawsuit he filed last week against the Diocese of Rochester and Bishop Matthew Clark in state Supreme Court.

PITTSFIELD (MA)
Berkshire Eagle

By Conor Berry, Berkshire Eagle Staff
Updated: 11/19/2008 03:03:54 AM EST

PITTSFIELD — A Roman Catholic clergyman accused of sexually assaulting two boys in the Berkshires was spared the titular honor of his vocation when he was arraigned in Berkshire Superior Court on Tuesday.

It was "Mr. Mercure," accused child rapist, not "the Rev. Gary Mercure," Catholic priest, when the Glens Falls, N.Y., man was formally charged with three counts of forcible child rape and one count of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14.

Mercure avoided prosecution in New York after coming under fire as a priest in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany, which spans 14 upstate counties. He now faces sexual abuse charges in the Berkshires, where two men in their early 30s claim Mercure forcibly raped them in 1986 and 1989. The circumstances surrounding the alleged incidents were not made clear in court.

CANADA
Edmonton Sun

By BETH JOHNSTON, SUN MEDIA

OTTAWA -- A group of protesters gathered in front of St. Paul's University yesterday to alert the public that a Quebec priest who molested an eight-year-old girl on a 2004 church camping trip is studying law there.

Father Philippe de Maupeou, who pleaded guilty in 2007 and served a six-month conditional sentence, is studying canon law on a three-year, $60,000 scholarship at the downtown religious university.

Protesters argued de Maupeou shouldn't even be a priest anymore.

NEW YORK
Press & Sun-Bulletin

November 19, 2008

A former priest of a Catholic church in Tioga County has been accused of sexual abuse in a lawsuit filed by a 21-year old man that accuses the Rochester Diocese and its bishop, Matthew H. Clark, of negligence.

The lawsuit, filed in State Supreme Court in Schuyler County, alleges one act of abuse occurred on Christmas 2001 while the Rev. Father David L. Bonin was priest administrator of St. Margaret Mary in Apalachin, where he served from October 2001 to March 2003.

The Press & Sun-Bulletin does not identify alleged victims of sex abuse, but the plaintiff was not a member of St. Margaret Mary. The lawsuit alleges the plaintiff was molested every Friday at the rectory of St. Mary in Odessa from 1998 to 2001.

CANADA
The Windsor Star

Marty Gervais, The Windsor Star
Published: Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Paul Bailey expected that after meeting 84-year-old Rev. Charles Sylvestre face-to-face in prison he'd come away "hating him."

Instead, the Crown attorney, who prosecuted the case against the priest, walked away believing Sylvestre was a man incapable of understanding the harm he wreaked on the 47 young girls he abused over nearly 40 years.

After the trial and sentencing, Bailey stopped in to see Sylvestre at the Elgin Middlesex Detention Centre in London with a request to interview him, and assured the aging priest he wasn't obliged to say anything.

I had wanted to know what he was thinking, and I came away from that interview not hating him," Bailey said. "I really he felt he was a hollow man. He was not capable of appreciating what he had done.

WATKINS GLEN (NY)
WENY

[with video]

Laura Hutchinson

November 18, 2008

WATKINS GLEN-- A second Southern Tier man is claiming he was sexually abused by a priest in Watkins Glen.

The first man to come forward, Jason Hartley of Chemung County, is suing the Diocese of Rochester for failing to protect him; but the law is preventing the second victim from doing the same.

The statute of limitations in New York says when you're sexually abused as a minor, you can't sue until you're 18 year old, but you only have until you're 21 to file a suit.

An attorney dealing with both claims tells me the second victim is 23, and it's too late for a lawsuit.

PITTSFIELD (MA)
Capital News 9

[with video]

By: Ryan Burgess

PITTSFIELD, Mass. -- The Reverend Gary Mercure pleaded not guilty Tuesday to multiple charges of sexually abusing children. Mercure entered Berkshire Superior Court in Pittsfield, accompanied only by his attorney. None of his alleged victims were in court as the Troy priest officially faced several charges, including two counts of rape of a child with force and one count of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14. This alleged victim is now a 33-year-old man. Mercure is also charged with another count of rape of a child with force. This is in connection with a man now 32-years-old.

Although 60-year-old Mercure was a pastor for 33 years in the Albany Diocese, these crimes are alleged to have been committed in Berkshire County in the mid to late 1980s.

"We were hopeful that this wouldn't happen, because of his voluntary cooperation with the investigation and the very positive results that pointed away from his guilt. But nonetheless, the Commonwealth made a determination to charge him and now we're going to have to deal with it," said defense attorney Michael Jennings.

PITTSFIELD (MA)
Albany Times Union

By BOB GARDINIER, Staff writer
Last updated: 3:55 p.m., Tuesday, November 18, 2008

PITTSFIELD — A Catholic priest who was removed as pastor of two Troy parishes pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges he sexually abused two boys during the 1980s, prosecutors said.

Gary Mercure, 60, was indicted Oct. 31 on three counts, including child rape, according to Frederick Lantz, spokesman for Berkshire County District Attorney David Capeless.

Mercure, who was arraigned on the charges Tuesday, allegedly raped two boys. The first, involving a man who is now 33 years old, occurred in the Great Barrington area in the fall of 1986, Lantz said. The second alleged rape occurred in February 1989 in New Ashford. The alleged victim is now 32 years old, Lantz said.

PITTSFIELD (MA)
WNYT

PITTSFIELD, Mass. - A defrocked priest who served at a number of Capital Region parishes pleaded not guilty Tuesday to sexual abuse charges.

Gary Mercure was arraigned in Berkshire County on four counts, including rape of a child with force.

The incidents are alleged to have happened in 1986 and 1989 in Great Barrington and New Ashford, Massachusetts.

ARKANSAS
The Associated Press

By CHUCK BARTELS

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — State officials on Tuesday took into protective custody 21 children associated with an evangelical group whose founder faces federal child sex charges.

The children, all younger than 18 and part of the Tony Alamo Christian Ministries, were taken while custody hearings were being held for six girls seized during a September raid of Alamo's compound in Fouke, in southwest Arkansas. The court must decide whether the girls should be returned to their parents or remain in state care.

PITTSFIELD (MA)
Boston Herald

By Associated Press
Tuesday, November 18, 2008

PITTSFIELD - A former Roman Catholic priest from New York has pleaded not guilty in the alleged rapes of two children in western Massachusetts during the late 1980s.

Gary Mercure was indicted last month on three counts of rape of a child with force and one count of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14.

TEXAS
Deseret News

By Ben Winslow
Deseret News

Lawyers for Fundamentalist LDS Church leader Warren Jeffs plan to interview an anti-polygamy activist about the phone calls that sparked the raid on the sect's YFZ Ranch in Texas.

In papers filed last week in a Kingman, Ariz., court, Jeffs' attorneys said they have scheduled a Nov. 24 interview with Flora Jessop in Phoenix. Jeffs' criminal defense team has asked her to bring copies of "any recordings of any phone calls between yourself and Rozita Swinton," the woman suspected of making the hoax call that launched the raid.

The FLDS leader's attorneys also seek phone call recordings between Jessop and Arizona and Texas law enforcement and child welfare officials.

ARKANSAS
KATV

Fouke - Authorities say agents with the Arkansas State Police and the Arkansas Department of Human Services removed 21 children from multiple locations in Miller County Tuesday, as part of simultaneous raids on a pair of compounds operated by evangelist Tony Alamo.

Arkansas State Police spokesman Bill Sadler said court orders were served over the noon hour at Alamo’s compounds in Fouke and Fort Smith—along with at least one other location in Miller County.

Sadler said agents went to 14 homes in the Fort Smith area but found no children.

DHS spokesman Julie Munsell said the purpose of Tuesday’s sweep was “to remove children on allegations of abuse and neglect.” Munsell wouldn’t confirm the exact number of children removed by authorities, but did say the group included both boys and girls. The ages of the children were not immediately available.

ARKANSAS
KHBS/KHOG

[with video]

FORT SMITH, Ark. -- State child protection officials and state police served court orders Tuesday at a number of locations related to Tony Alamo Christian Ministries. The actions took place as hearings continued in Texarkana over how six girls seized in September will be placed.

State police spokesman Bill Sadler said the actions by the Department of Human Services were still going on at noon Tuesday and he did not want to release specific locations. Agents had previously been to Alamo properties in Fouke and Fort Smith. State police were assisting in the operation.

ARKANSAS
WXVT

Associated Press - November 18, 2008 3:04 PM ET

TEXARKANA, Ark. (AP) - State child protection officials and state police served court orders today at more than a dozen locations related to Tony Alamo Christian Ministries, with the aim of taking children into protective custody.

Agents went to 14 homes in the Fort Smith area but found no children. Arkansas State Police spokesman Bill Sadler says that in Miller County, agents located children at properties where the orders were executed. But Sadler said early this afternoon that he didn't have full information yet on how many properties were visited and how many children were located.

DENVER (CO)
CBS 4

[with video]

Written by Brian Maass

DENVER (CBS4) ― A former church secretary at Denver's Central Baptist Church located at 2400 California Street has filed a lawsuit against the church and senior pastor Willie Simmons, accusing the prominent clergyman of multiple incidents of lewd, drunken sexual conduct in the church office.

Simmons, a married, 58-year-old father of two, admits to "a sexual encounter" in the church but claims it was consensual.

"I wanted it to stop," the woman told CBS4. "It wasn't consensual, Reverend Simmons, and I wish I could tell him to his face. I didn't consent to anything," she said with her voice cracking with emotion.

DENVER (CO)
Rocky Mountain News

Brian Maass, CBS4 News
Published November 17, 2008 at 10:34 p.m.

A former church secretary at Denver's Central Baptist Church has filed a civil lawsuit against the church and senior pastor Willie Simmons, accusing the prominent Denver-area clergyman of two incidents of sexual assault in the church office in 2007.

In a 2007 internal church memo obtained by CBS4, Simmons, a married, 58-year old father of two, acknowledged he engaged in a sexual encounter with the woman but claimed it was consensual.

"I wanted it to stop," the woman said in an interview with CBS4. "It wasn't consensual..."

DENVER (CO)
The Denver Post

By Mike McPhee
The Denver Post
Article Last Updated: 11/18/2008 12:25:25 AM MST

The Rev. Willie D. Simmons, a prominent Baptist minister, has been sued by a former secretary who claims Simmons sexually assaulted her twice in her office then fired her and expelled her young daughter from his charter school at the church.

According to a lawsuit initially filed in Denver District Court in October