Abuse Tracker

SCRANTON (PA)
Politics Daily

The Roman Catholic bishop of Scranton is not normally known as a kingmaker--or kingbreaker--in electoral politics. But during last year's presidential campaign, with pro-choice Catholic and Scranton native Joe Biden on the Democratic ticket, and the working-class voters of northeast Pennsylvania seen as keys to the keystone state and the Electoral College, Scranton suddenly moved to the spotlight.

And the local bishop, Joseph F. Martino, took full advantage of that platform. Martino became for many the angry face of the anti-Obama wing of the Catholic hierarchy thanks to his intemperate blasts about pro-choice politicians and an overweening administrative style that irritated the flock and even his brother bishops. ...

But church insiders say Martino had also worn out his welcome with his brother bishops and the Vatican. So his resignation may be further evidence that the U.S. hierarchy is divided between moderate voices and a more strident conservative minority that is struggling in the wake of Obama's success with Catholic voters.

CLEVELAND (OH)
The Plain Dealer

Posted by Michael O’Malley, The Plain Dealer August 31, 2009 05:00AM

Catholics from across Greater Cleveland packed St. Procop Catholic Church on Cleveland's near West Side Sunday to mourn the death of a parish founded 137 years ago.

On a gloomy, rainy day, worshippers streamed into the giant, 110-year-old sandstone edifice on West 41st Street for the final Mass said by Bishop Richard Lennon, who ordered the church closed earlier this year.

Lennon, who is closing 50 parishes across the Cleveland Catholic Diocese, came to St. Procop's under police security, ignoring about 40 protesters who stood outside holding signs.

MASSACHUSETTS
The Republican

By ELIZABETH ROMAN
eroman@repub.com

SPRINGFIELD - In less than a year Justin Wilson, 13, of Springfield, has lost his school and now his church.

"It makes me mad," said Wilson after finding out Sunday that Our Lady of Hope on Carew Street is one of the parishes being closed by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield.

"The school was everything to me and they took it away. All I had left was the church and now they are taking that away, too, and I have nothing," he said.

Our Lady of Hope School is now home to the Alfred G. Zanetti Montessori Magnet School. It was sold to the city for $7.75 million along with Our Lady of Sacred Heart School on Rosewell Street.

MASSACHUSETTS
The Republican

By GEORGE GRAHAM
ggraham@repub.com

SPRINGFIELD - The closing and merging of parishes within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield - painful as it is to ponder and undertake - averts what would have a "slow trickle of parish by parish failings," diocesan officials said Monday morning.

The diocese announced Saturday that 14 parishes will be closed by the end of the year with cities like Chicopee and Northampton being hardest hit.

Monsignor John J. Bonzagni, director of pastoral planning for the diocese, said Monday that should the diocese have done nothing, such things as outreach services and religious education would have been curtailed.

SCRANTON (PA)
Catholic News Service

By Catholic News Service

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI has accepted the resignation of Bishop Joseph F. Martino, 63, from the pastoral governance of the Diocese of Scranton, Pa., for health reasons.

He has appointed Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia to be apostolic administrator for the diocese.

The pope also has accepted the resignation of Scranton Auxiliary Bishop John M. Dougherty, who is 77. Canon law requires that all bishops submit their resignation to the pope when they turn 75.

CLEVELAND (OH)
The Columbus Dispatch

Monday, August 31, 2009 9:29 AM

CLEVELAND (AP) - The Cleveland bishop had a police security detail as he said the final Mass at a Roman Catholic church that he ordered closed.

An officer followed Bishop Richard Lennon down the aisle at the end of Sunday's service at St. Procop in Cleveland. Lennon skipped a social hour after Mass.

SCRANTON (PA)
Times-Leader

[with video]

[Bishop Martino's remarks]

Mark Guydish

After officially announcing his resignation this morning, Diocese of Scranton Bishop Joseph Martino said he had formally submitted the resignation to the pope in June and it had been accepted around the end of July. Martino also said he had first raised the possibility of resigning with Cardinal Justin Rigali a year ago.

Rigali, head of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia joined Martino and Auxiliary Bishop John Dougherty in a studio on the third floor of the Guild building in Scranton to announce the resignation of Martino and Dougherty.

Martino said stress of the job had caused insomnia and severe bouts of fatigue that, in turn, left his immune system weak. "I had three bouts of flu this last semester, and that has never happened," he said.

SCRANTON (PA)
dotCommonweal

August 31, 2009, 11:17 am Posted by Mollie Wilson O'Reilly

“The diocese of Scranton requires a bishop who is at least physically vigorous. I am not that bishop.” *
The resignation of Bishops Martino and Dougherty is official. The Wilkes-Barre, PA Times Leader has the story, and (raw) video of the press conference. It sounds like “health reasons” is the official explanation, although rumors of disease were happily inaccurate.

After being introduced by the director of communications, Bishop Martino read a prepared statement. He described the financial and organizational problems he confronted when he became bishop in 2003. Then he said:

“For some time now there has not been a clear consensus among the clergy and people of the diocese of Scranton regarding my pastoral initiatives or my way of governance. This development has caused me great sorrow, resulting in bouts of insomnia and, at times, a crippling physical fatigue.”

SCRANTON (PA)
Catholic News Agency

Scranton, Pa., Aug 31, 2009 / 10:32 am (CNA).- At a press conference in Scranton this morning, Bishop Joseph Martino announced that he and auxiliary bishop John Dougherty are stepping down from their posts. Bishop Martino explained that he is resigning because of "crippling physical fatigue," while Bishop Dougherty is retiring upon having reached the age limit.

Last week, CNA reported that Bishop Martino, 63, would be resigning from his post in Scranton. The Vatican announced today that Pope Benedict has accepted the resignation of Martino in accordance with canon 401 § 2 of the Code of Canon Law which says: a diocesan Bishop who, because of illness or some other grave reason, has become unsuited for the fulfillment of his office, is earnestly requested to offer his resignation from office.”

SCRANTON (PA)
WNEP

By Ryan Leckey
12:32 PM EDT, August 31, 2009

Bishop Martino's resignation is a topic that has parishioners talking on both sides of the church pew.

Some parishioners are sad to see him go. Others said they are glad, calling Bishop Martino, "the hatchet man" who was brought in to close churches and schools.

That is a title Martino's predecessor said isn't true.

"I'm sure he would say he was not here to do the dirty work. He said that himself. He was not sent here to do anything. Nobody ever told him what to do when he came here. He knew nothing about the Diocese of Scranton," said Bishop James Timlin.

SCRANTON (PA)
WNEP

[with video]

Bishop Joseph Martino, leader of the Diocese of Scranton announced Monday he will step down, effective immediately.

The Diocese of Scranton makes up 11 counties in northeastern and central Pennsylvania. There are more than 300,000 parishioners.

After nearly six years, Bishop Martino is stepping down and he is so for reasons of poor health. He also looked back a bit at what sometimes has been a stormy tenure at the helm of the Diocese of Scranton.

BENTON (AR)
Associated Baptist Press

By Bob Allen
Monday, August 31, 2009
BENTON, Ark. (ABP) -- A former longtime music minister at a prominent Arkansas Baptist church has pleaded guilty to four counts of sexual indecency with a child.

David Pierce, 56, was convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison. An additional 10-year sentence was suspended in a plea agreement accepted Aug. 27 by Saline County Circuit Judge Grisham Philips in Benton, Ark.

Pierce was music minister for 29 years at First Baptist Church in Benton until his arrest April 24. In that capacity he directed the church's youth choir, where police say he groomed young boys to show him their genitals for his sexual gratification. The interaction took place at the church and in other places where he could get the boys alone. However, according to court documents, none of the alleged activity took place on choir tours.

WISCONSIN
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

By Bruce Vielmetti of the Journal Sentinel

Posted: Aug. 31, 2009 11:22 a.m.

A former member of the Christian Brothers religious order who later became a Catholic priest has been charged with sexually assaulting a boy in Elm Grove in the 1970s.

James R. Blume, 64, made his first appearance in Waukesha Circuit Court on Monday and was released on a $15,000 signature bond. A preliminary hearing was scheduled for Oct. 2.

Blume is charged with one count of first-degree sexual assault of a child, at an Elm Grove motel in 1978, though the complaint indicates the victim in the case, a 12-year-old at the time, told police that several more assaults occurred in several states.

WASHINGTON (DC)
Metro Catholic

August 31, 2009
WASHINGTON DC (MetroCatholic) - Pope Benedict XVI has accepted the resignation of Bishop Joseph F. Martino from the pastoral governance of the Diocese of Scranton, Pennsylvania, for health reasons. The decision was announced August 31, by Archbishop Pietro Sambi, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States.

The pope has also accepted the resignation of Bishop John M. Dougherty, until now Auxiliary Bishop of Scranton, who has served past the mandatory retirement age for bishops. Cardinal Justin F. Rigali of Philadelphia, the Metropolitan Archbishop, has been appointed Apostolic Administrator for the Diocese of Scranton.

Joseph F. Martino was born in Philadelphia, May 1, 1946. He studied at the North American College in Rome and earned a sacred theology licentiate (S.T.L.) degree at the Gregorian University there. He was ordained a priest for the Philadelphia archdiocese on December 18, 1970 and was named Auxiliary Bishop of Philadelphia on January 24, 1996. He was appointed bishop of Scranton on July 25, 2003.

TOLEDO (OH)
Dayton Daily News

TOLEDO, Ohio — An independent DNA test has failed to connect a serial killer to the 1980 death of an Ohio nun, whom a jury said was murdered by a Roman Catholic priest.

Attorneys for Rev. Gerald Robinson are trying to overturn his 2006 conviction and 15-years-to-life prison sentence. The Ohio Innocence Project ordered testing of male DNA found on the victim's fingernails to see if there was a match to Coral Eugene Watts, a confessed serial killer who died two years ago. Police said he may have been responsible for dozens of deaths in several states.

VATICAN CITY
6 ABC

VATICAN CITY (AP) - August 31, 2009 -- Pope Benedict XVI on Monday accepted the early retirement of a northeastern Pennsylvania bishop who critics say alienated parishioners with his leadership style.

The brief announcement, keeping to Vatican tradition, did not say why Bishop Joseph Martino, 63, submitted his resignation. The usual retirement age for bishops is 75.

WAUKESHA (WI)
Today's TMJ

By Melissa McCrady
WAUKESHA - A former priest who worked in Brookfield has been charged with sexually assaulting a child.

James Blume will face a judge for the first time Monday morning.

Blume taught religious education classes at St. Luke's Parish in Brookfield.

CONNECTICUT
The Hartford Courant

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport has lost yet another round in its stubborn fight to keep under lock and key thousands of pages of court files from lawsuits alleging sexual abuse of children by at least seven priests.

Tuesday, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg denied the diocese's request to keep the documents sealed until the high court decides whether to take up the case in the fall.

But rather than accede to state court decisions insisting on the release of 12,600 pages of the files and to Justice Ginsburg's refusal to intervene, the diocese apparently will continue to rely on its failed policy of stonewalling and cover-up. Diocese lawyers are asking all nine justices to rule on the request.

ST. LOUIS (MO)
It's about me.

I blinked. I knew better. But I did it anyway. I let a thought cross my mind. I forgot where I was & who I was dealing with. For a split second I dropped my guard. And I caught one. It was just a quick jab but it got my attention.

I sent my letter (click here) to the new archbishop “Most Reverend Robert J. Carlson” hoping that I would see something different from him than I did from archbishop Burke. And I did! I actually got a response back in a timely manor. His letter was short and sweet. At first seemed pretty good, but I wanted to wait and see, let it soak in before I blogged about it. Here is my letter:

I know this is a picky little thing, but you know how you always hear about how great catholic schools are academically. Then why are my letters from the church, and particularly from the archbishops, always full of spelling and grammar errors? Note that he spelled Fr. Christian’s name as Normal H. Christian and not Norman H. Christian, maybe a Freudian spelling slip? Anyway after about a week I responded. Here is a copy of the text of my letter:

WATERTOWN (MA)
Boston Globe

By Michael Corcoran
Globe Correspondent / August 31, 2009

The Archdiocese of Boston has placed the pastor of St. Patrick’s Parish in Watertown on administrative leave, after he was recently accused of a sexual assault 20 years ago.

Church officials have notified an unspecified law enforcement agency of the allegation against the Rev. Frederick Barr and have initiated an internal investigation into the complaint, said Kelly Lynch, a spokeswoman for the archdiocese.

Barr will remain on administrative leave pending the outcome of the preliminary investigation, Lynch said. The Rev. Raymond Kiley has taken over as administrator of St. Patrick’s Parish.

WATERTOWN (MA)
TheBostonChannel

BOSTON -- The pastor of a Watertown church was placed on administrative leave Sunday after he was accused of sexual abusing a child two decades ago, the Archdiocese of Boston said in a statement.

Church officials have notified police of the allegation against the Rev. Frederick Barr, the Archdiocese said, and the church has launched an internal investigation into the charge.

WATERTOWN (MA)
WBZ

WATERTOWN (WBZ)

The pastor of St. Patrick's Church has been placed on administrative leave because of an allegation of sexual abuse of a minor, the Archdiocese of Boston announced.

The conduct by the Rev. Frederick Barr is alleged to have taken place about 20 years ago, the archdiocese said.

UNITED STATES
Ignatius Group

COMMENTARY

August 30, 2009

One can only hope that Rev. Mark Hession, the homilist at Senator Kennedy's funeral mass, was able to hear his own words as he spoke about Senator Kennedy's never ending compassion, love and understanding for the least among us.

In 2003, Rev. Hession was asked about the sexual abuse of children in the Catholic Church. In an interview published in National Catholic Reporter, Hession said, "I can’t wait to get off the sex abuse piece of it.” He added that there are many other issues that need attention. “And when we put all the numbers together in this particular crisis, it’s almost indecent, frankly, that we are still tearing at it ourselves.”

CINCINNATI (OH)
Middletown Journal

By Tom Beyerlein, Staff Writer
Updated 11:09 AM Sunday, August 30, 2009

CINCINNATI— Asked to enumerate his achievements in 27 years as the Archbishop of Cincinnati, Daniel E. Pilarczyk counted none.

“The church is the achievement of the Lord and the Lord is the achiever,” he said. “We are but the instruments.”

Earlier this month, the Dayton native who has become the longest-serving bishop in the United States and spiritual leader to 500,000 Catholics, submitted his resignation to Pope Benedict XVI on his 75th birthday, as required under church law. Although the transition date isn’t certain, Pilarczyk is to be replaced by Dennis Schnurr, the former bishop of Duluth who was named Cincinnati’s coadjutor archbishop in October.

NEW YORK
New York Post

By KATI CORNELL and SHARI LOGAN

A married pastor sexually assaulted a live-in custodial worker at his Flatbush church and victimized other congregants, a $30 million suit charges.

Victor Figueroa, who was quietly arrested May 4, allegedly fondled the woman twice last October after barging into her and her husband's basement apartment at Iglesia Pentecostal Jesus El Camino Verdadero.

"This is stronger than you or I," the pastor said as he groped her, according to papers filed in Brooklyn federal court.

AUSTRALIA
Herald Sun

Sue Hewitt

August 30, 2009 12:00am
THE Melbourne Catholic Church is paying victims of sex abuse by its clergy with cash donated in collection plates.

Victims' advocates are outraged that parishioners have not been told they were "paying for the sins of the Fathers" and have called on the church for transparency.

A confidential minute from an internal church document exposes the source of compensation funds for 450 sexual abuse cases over the past 13 years.

Archbishop Denis Hart said in the document, obtained by the Sunday Herald Sun, that the sex abuse compensation money did not come from the church.

AUSTRALIA
Herald Sun

Editorial

August 29, 2009 12:00am
THE revelation that the Melbourne Catholic Church has been secretly using money given in the collection plates to pay off victims of sexual abuses by clergy will disturb many parishioners.

A confidential minute from an internal church document exposes the source of funds for 450 sexual abuse cases in the past 13 years.

The minute confirms a long-held suspicion that the church is using hard-earned funds supplied by the loyal faithful in financially challenging times to pay for "the sins of the fathers".

MASSACHUSETTS
iobserve

[with Bishop Timohy A. McDonnell's address on the closings]

[Pastoral Planning report]

By Terence Hegarty

SPRINGFIELD – It's been long-awaited, but certainly not welcome news. Final recommendations for parish reconfigurations in the Diocese of Springfield began to be announced in parishes Aug. 29 and will continue through the weekend.

Nineteen churches in Hampden and Hampshire counties will be closed. Many of the parishes will be merged with neighboring parishes.

A press briefing, detailing the changes, was held earlier this week. Springfield Bishop Timothy A. McDonnell met with the pastor of each parish that will be affected and wrote a letter for each parish to be read at Masses this weekend.

MASSACHUSETTS
CBS 3

By CBS 3 Springfield/AP

Diocese of Springfield Press Release:

SPRINGFIELD – The final recommendations for parish reconfigurations in the Diocese of Springfield are being announced in parishes throughout this weekend. Nineteen churches in Hampden and Hampshire counties will be closed. Many of the parishes will be merged with neighboring parishes.

Springfield Bishop Timothy A. McDonnell met with the pastor of each parish that will be affected and wrote a letter for each parish to be read at Masses this weekend.

He said he knows that the changes will cause some to be angry and in pain. “There's going to be hurt, and I wish there weren't, the bishop said. “But, at the same time, we are a pilgrim people. And church is meant to be a pilgrim people. Church is meant to be people on the move.”

SPRINGFIELD (MA)
WWLP

Julie Tremmel
Matt Caron
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) - The Springfield Diocese announced that 19 area churches will either close or merge as part of a diocese reorganization program aimed to cut costs.

The reorganization leaves thousands of local Catholics with heavy hearts and the reality that the church they faithfully attended for so many years may close its doors.

Priests at the closing and restructured parishes told 22News its a day they hoped would never come.

SPRINGFIELD (MA)
ABC 40

By Marci Izard

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (abc40) The Diocese of Springfield has announced the churches in Hampden and Hampshire counties that will close.

The announcement comes at the end of a four-year analysis issued by the 12 member Diocesan Pastoral Planning Committee.

Chicopee is the hardest hit community with a net reduction of five churches.

Northampton and Springfield will each lose three.

MASSACHUSETTS
The Republican

by The Republican
Saturday August 29, 2009, 8:46 PM
Today is a day of sorrow for the thousands of Roman Catholics in Hampden and Hampshire counties who learned that their parishes will close by the end of the year.

Come January, 14 churches that were built with the blood, sweat and tears - and in some cases the very hands - of their parishioners will close forever, the victim of the falling numbers of Roman Catholics, shifting population trends and a lack of priests. Another eight churches will also close in the coming months through a series of mergers.

For parishioners who consecrated every milestone of their lives - their births, marriages and deaths - in these churches it will be unbearably sad to watch as the tabernacles are emptied and sanctuary lights extinguished, and buildings that for them served as a bridge between heaven and earth turn into mere parcels of real estate. We share their sorrow, because we know how important strong religious communities are to society.

MASSACHUSETTS
The Republican

Sunday, August 30, 2009
By STEPHANIE BARRY
sbarry@repub.com
Waves of shock, anger and resignation rippled across the region's Roman Catholic community Saturday, as announcements of widespread parish closings were delivered at afternoon Masses.

Following a four-year analysis and a 108-page report issued by the Diocesan Pastoral Planning Committee, 14 churches will be shuttered by year's end, with cities like Chicopee and Northampton being hardest hit.

Single-parish suburbs and those deemed "budding communities" such as Belchertown and Ware went unscathed.

IRELAND
Irish Independent

The prelate managed to go from global warming to denouncing gay marriage in one homily, writes Eilis O'Hanlon

Sunday August 30 2009

THERE are some businesses which, thankfully, are proving resistant to the recession.

Less thankfully, religion is one of them.

Whether it's the uncertainty of the times which is making people turn back to the comforts of the Almighty, or a genuine spiritual yearning for something better after the era of untrammelled greed which the commentators insist we've all been living through, remains to be seen.

Maybe once wages and house prices start rising again, God will be relegated to His usual place on the back burner. But for now, the Church is bouncing back. A total of 38 young men entered the seminaries this year, almost double last year's figure.

It's too early to say if it's a trend, insists an uncharacteristically modest Catholic Communications Office; but coming only a few months after the Church suffered its own version of the credit crunch -- more of a credibility crunch, really -- with the publication of the Ryan Report into institutional abuse, it's a remarkable change of fortune.

If only the Catholic Church realised when it was on to a good thing, and didn't push its luck.

Given all that's happened, you'd think the hierarchy would say to one another: "Phew, lads, that was a close shave. Now let's keep our heads down for a while till it all blows over." Instead they immediately dive head first into yet another row -- thanks to Cardinal Sean Brady's homily last weekend in Limerick.

COLUMBIA (MO)
Missourian

Sunday, August 30, 2009
BY Courtney Shove

COLUMBIA — In the week since Mark McAllister and his family spoke out about his clergy abuse settlement, the Catholic Diocese of Jefferson City said it has not received any new allegations of abuse.

At a news conference Tuesday, members of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests said at least four more victims have come forward to report abuse by a former Boonville priest.

"We have not received any new allegations (since the recent settlement)," Ron Vessell, allegations review administrator for the diocese, said Wednesday.

FREDERICK (MD)
News-Post

By Ron Cassie
News-Post Staff

Recent allegations of sexual abuse against the Rev. Thomas Bevan are difficult to reconcile for local Catholics who knew him as a priest at St. John the Evangelist in Frederick in the mid-1970s.

Several St. John the Evangelist members recalled the former associate pastor as an intellectual, remembering the book he wrote about the history of the Catholic community in Frederick . One former altar boy who worked with Bevan said he was shocked by the allegations, recalling him as "the cool priest" who was also involved in the local Boy Scouts program.

Bevan, now a monsignor at St. Patrick's in Cumberland, has been removed from duties pending the investigation. Ordained in 1963, Bevan served at St. John the Evangelist from 1974 to 1979. He served at four parishes before moving to St. Patrick's.

SCRANTON (PA)
Catholic News Agency

Scranton, Pa., Aug 28, 2009 / 11:12 am (CNA).- Most Rev. Joseph F. Martino, Bishop of Scranton, will resign as head of the Diocese of Scranton next week, sources within the diocese confirmed to the local press today.

The sources did not explain the reason for the 62-year-old bishop’s decision. The sources also did not specify if the Bishop’s resignation was going to be presented or if it had been already submitted and accepted by the Vatican.

When asked by CNA to confirm Bishop Martino's resignation, diocesan spokesman William Genello said that the diocese will hold a press conference next Monday for media members only.

WILKES-BARRE (PA)
Times-Leader

By Mark Guydish mguydish@timesleader.com
Education Reporter

WILKES-BARRE – The man at the top who started the struggle may be leaving, but the people opposing his decisions remain.

As news leaked Friday that Diocese of Scranton Bishop Joseph Martino is expected to resign this week, a group of those determined to save Sacred Heart Church gathered outside the building Martino ordered closed by July 2010.

They posed in front of scaffolding the diocese insists protects from a crumbling facade, a claim they call bogus.

UNITED STATES
City of Angels

By Kay Ebeling

One way to bypass corporate media control and tell the story of sex crimes in the Catholic Church is to take it to the streets, talking to one person at a time. Like we did with Walk Across Oregon to End Child Abuse, which last week arrived at the Pacific Coast after starting in Eastern Oregon on July 27th (see photos below).

Still, the Listening Session at the Catholic Church in Portland last Saturday continues to haunt me. I know I'm going to perplex and maybe even enrage some people by writing this, but it is honestly how I feel. Something is definitely not right with the way active Catholics are getting the story about crimes in their churches, or rather not getting the story.

At first of course there was the initial afterglow when the Compassionate Listening session ended. When people communicate and mend fences, it releases endorphins everywhere. But following the session, something was wrong, I couldn't quite put finger on it at first, and still haven’t quite got it.

Okay, the parishioner who opened the meeting said by way of introduction that indeed at that very same church a pastor had recently been removed, suddenly. The speaker inferred that there had only been one charge of a sex crime against a child filed concerning Gus Krumm and she said those charges had never been proven. -

CHICAGO (IL)
Chicago Sun-Times

August 27, 2009

CHICAGO CATHOLIC NEWS
Reacting to criticism that the Archdiocese of Chicago treated black victims of priest sex abuse worse than whites, the church analyzed financial settlements and found "no overall difference" in payouts between races.

That's according to a strongly worded "background" memorandum recently sent to priests and deacons by a top archdiocesan official, the Rev. John Canary. The stated aim of the memo -- obtained by ChicagoCatholicNews -- is to help clergy "prepare to communicate with . . . parishioners about this and other important issues."

"The Archdiocese has never considered race to be a factor in evaluating clerical misconduct claims, so we never compiled the numbers in this fashion," according to the Aug. 21 memo. "Each claim is evaluated individually and the amounts of the settlements vary based on the abuse that took place. Recently, we did an historical review of all the settlements the Archdiocese has reached with sexual abuse survivors. There is no overall difference between the amounts of settlements paid to African American survivors and those paid to others."

MANSFIELD (OH)
News Journal

By MARK CAUDILL • News Journal • August 28, 2009

MANSFIELD -- Ex youth pastor John Picard was found guilty on 42 counts of sexual battery in Richland County Common Pleas Court Friday afternoon.

The verdict was read around 4:45 p.m. and no sentencing date was announced.

Defense attorney James Banks chose to rest his case Thursday without calling any witnesses. Picard did not take the stand in his own defense.

MANSFIELD (OH)
News Journal

By MARK CAUDILL • News Journal • August 29, 2009

MANSFIELD -- Gretchen Rocks said she finally felt free.

"It feels like a new beginning," Rocks said Friday after a jury convicted John Picard on 42 counts of sexual battery. "I feel like I can breathe."

The eight-man, four-woman jury deliberated more than three hours before finding the former youth pastor guilty on all counts. Picard, 41, of Englewood, used coercion to form sexual relationships with female parishioners at Grace Brethren Church on Marion Avenue.

NEW YORK
New York Daily News

by John Marzulli
Daily News Staff Writer

Saturday, August 29th 2009, 4:00 AM

The pastor of a Pentacostal church in Brooklyn sexually abused a female employee and then fired her after she rebuffed his advances, the woman's $30 million lawsuit charges.

The Rev. Victor Figueroa fondled the woman and tried to pull off her clothes last October 2008 in an apartment she shared with her husband in the basement of the Iglesia Pentecostal Jesus El Camino Verdadero Church on Tilden Ave., according to the complaint filed Thursday in Brooklyn Federal Court.

The 39-year-old woman told the pastor's wife what happened and she responded, "Again?" the complaint states.

SCRANTON (PA)
WNEP

[with video]

One day after Newswatch 16 reported Bishop Joseph Martino will be stepping down from his post in the Diocese of Scranton, little is being said about the change of power in the diocese.

Diocese officials are not saying anything about the status of Bishop Joseph Martino. They would not confirm nor deny the bishop is leaving. They only handed out a news release which states a news conference will be held Monday morning.

Newswatch 16 learned late Thursday night that Bishop Martino may be stepping down due to health reasons. The leader of the Scranton diocese has had a history of controversy over closed churches and schools and his public statements on church policy.

SCRANTON (PA)
Times-Leader

By Mark Guydish mguydish@timesleader.com
Education Reporter

SCRANTON – Bishop Joseph Martino is expected to resign next week, making his tenure the second shortest among all leaders in the Diocese of Scranton, and leaving behind a flock divided after shrinking finances and a dwindling number of priests prompted him to close numerous schools and churches during his tumultuous, six-year service.

Sources in and outside the diocese confirmed on Friday that Martino, 63, and Auxiliary Bishop John Dougherty, 77, will resign and that Archdiocese of Philadelphia Cardinal Justin Rigali will be appointed Apostolic Administrator until a new bishop is chosen by the pope. Dougherty actually submitted his resignation when he turned 75 as required by the church, but it was never acted upon. Rigali is the “metropolitan” in Pennsylvania, meaning he is the highest ranking bishop in the state.

Despite the fact that multiple media outlets locally and nationally reported Martino’s looming resignation throughout the day, the diocese officially kept mum, posting a terse notice on its Web site Friday afternoon titled “Diocese of Scranton to make announcement.”

NORTH CAROLINA
The News & Observer

The Fayetteville Observer

The Robeson County District Attorney's Office has concluded its investigation of a Red Springs Roman Catholic priest and says no charges will be filed.

The office said earlier this week that it had reviewed an allegation that Father Walter Ospina of Iglesia Catolica San Andres in Red Springs acted inappropriately. The office did not specify what the allegation was or who made it.

"Based upon our review, there was insufficient amount of evidence to warrant prosecution," said Joe Osman, who handled the case for the District Attorney's Office.

On Aug. 16, members of the parish padlocked Ospina out of the church. Many Hispanic Roman Catholics who worship at the church are unhappy with the priest. They say he does not make time for them, he's disrespectful and a poor communicator.

SCRANTON (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

By David O'Reilly
Inquirer Staff Writer

Bishop Joseph Martino, head of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Scranton and one of the most fervent pro-life voices in the nation, is widely reported to be resigning next week after just six years in the office and long before traditional retirement age.

Martino, 62, who served as a priest and auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, has rarely appeared in public during his term in the 350,000-member Scranton diocese. Yet he has not shied from controversy, denouncing pro-choice politicians, theologically liberal academics, and Catholic teachers' unions.

The diocesan communications office declined yesterday to confirm reports by local media, the Catholic News Agency, and the National Catholic Reporter that Martino was stepping down and hinting at health problems. However, a major news conference is scheduled for Monday.

DALLAS (TX)
The Dallas Morning News

By BROOKS EGERTON / The Dallas Morning News
begerton@dallasnews.com
Dallas Episcopal Diocese officials confirmed Friday that they have suspended another priest, this time for harassing women.

It's the second acknowledgment this week of misconduct that was serious enough to warrant a man's removal – at least temporarily – from the ministry.

The first case to come to light involves the Rev. William Warnky, whom Bishop James Stanton suspended effective Monday. He acted because financial regulators barred Warnky from securities trading and ruled that he owes an ex-parishioner $50,000 for stock fraud.

The case that surfaced Friday involves the Rev. Keith Roberson, whom Stanton stripped of his collar for three years for "conduct unbecoming a member of the clergy." That punishment was quietly handed down two months ago.

CONNECTICUT
WWLP

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) - The bishop for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport is distributing a letter to all parishes in the diocese explaining why it opposes the release of documents generated by lawsuits against priests for alleged sexual abuse.

Bishop William Lori says all priests named in the documents have already been publicly identified and none are working for the church.

CONNECTICUT
Boston Globe

By Jonathan Saltzman and Michael Rezendes
Globe Staff / August 29, 2009

A Roman Catholic diocese in Connecticut has invoked the First Amendment’s separation of church and state in a request to the US Supreme Court to let it keep clergy sexual abuse documents under seal, a move that appeared to contradict the church’s recent pledges of openness.

On Thursday, two days after Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg denied the Diocese of Bridgeport’s request to keep the documents under wraps despite a recent ruling by the Connecticut Supreme Court, the diocese said the dispute raises fundamental constitutional issues and asked the full US Supreme Court to review the case.

The dispute concerns 12,675 pages of documents from 23 lawsuits, settled out of court in 2001, that accused the diocese of negligently assigning six priests who allegedly committed sexual abuse. The documents could shed light on how Cardinal Edward M. Egan, retired archbishop of New York, handled the allegations when he was bishop of Bridgeport from 1988 to 2000.

ELYRIA (OH)
The Chronicle-Telegram

Brad Dicken

ELYRIA — A former Catholic priest at St. Jude Church who also once served as the Elyria police chaplain has been indictedon a charge of sexual battery for allegedly having sexual contact with a teenage boy in the summer of 1997.

Lorain County Prosecutor Dennis Will said Patrick O’Connor touched the boy, now in his late 20s, while he was a priest at St. Jude.

“It wasn’t a parishioner, he was just a person from the neighborhood,” Will said of the victim.

NEW YORK
24/7

Article provided by Orlow, Orlow & Orlow, P.C.
Visit us at www.orlowlaw.com

A bill that would have extended the statute of limitations for victims of sexual abuse did not pass the State Assembly during this year's legislative session. The Child Victims Act (A.2596) was pulled from the calendar on June 23, 2009 after Assembly leaders decided the bill did not have enough votes to pass.

Under current law, victims of childhood sexual abuse have five years from their 18th birthdays to report the crime and/or to file a civil claim for damages against their alleged abusers. The Child Victims Act sought to change the five year statute of limitations period so that it did not begin to run until the victim's 23rd birthday, giving the victim until age 28 to file criminal charges and/or a civil lawsuit. This would have effectively increased the statute of limitations period from five years to 10.

Arguably the most controversial measure of the Child Victims Act would have created a one year window from the time the bill was enacted that would have allowed anyone to file a claim alleging sex abuse, no matter how old the victim now was or how long ago the alleged act occurred. After the one year period ended, the statute of limitations period would have reverted to the expanded 10 year period

MANSFIELD (OH)
10TV

[with video]

MANSFIELD, Ohio — A former youth pastor was found guilty on Friday of dozens of sex charges.

The jury deliberated for about four hours before reaching their verdict against John Picard, 10TV's Andy Hirsch reported.

Picard was on trial for using his position as a youth pastor at Grace Brethren Church, to manipulate six church members into sexual relationships. Some of the acts occurred when the children were under 18 years old.

SPRINGFIELD (MA)
The Republican

by The Republican Newsroom
Friday August 28, 2009, 5:38 PM

By STEPHANIE BARRY
sbarry@repub.com

Anxiety is building among Catholic parishioners awaiting to learn the fates of their churches, according to a spokesman for the local diocese.

"It's one of those things. You want it to come, but you're fearful of what you may hear," said Mark E. Dupont, spokesman for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield, referring to people who approached him after the diocese announced Thursday that planned church closures will be revealed at Saturday Masses.

Fourteen parishes in Hampden and Hampshire counties will be shuttered by the end of the year, with eight more to follow.

CONNECTICUT
The Hartford Courant

By DAVE ALTIMARI
The Hartford Courant

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport on Friday appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court in its attempt to keep secret more than 12,600 court documents from clergy sex abuse cases.

The 50-page Writ of Certiorari, prepared by a New York law firm recently hired to handle the appeal, asks the court to overturn the state Supreme Court ruling that the files are public documents.

The appeal hinges on two legal issues: the state Supreme Court's definition of what constitutes a legal document, and the church's contention that its First Amendment rights would be violated by the unsealing of documents that church officials produced with the understanding that they would be sealed forever.

CONNECTICUT
The Associated Press

By JOHN CHRISTOFFERSEN (AP)

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — A Roman Catholic diocese in Connecticut that has fought for years to prevent the release of documents generated by lawsuits against priests for alleged sexual abuse wants conservative Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia to take up the case.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Tuesday ruled the documents cannot remain sealed until the full court decides whether to review the case. On Friday, attorneys for Diocese of Bridgeport asked that Scalia, a Catholic, reconsider its request to continue a stay on the release of the papers.

BENTON (AR)
Courier

Friday, 28 August 2009

When First Baptist Church’s former music minister was convicted of sexual indecency charges Thursday, that action resolved the tragic situation for many people. David Pierce left the courtroom in handcuffs on his way to the county jail, awaiting transfer to a state Department of Correction facility.

There are some individuals, though, who say the matter can never be fully over, that it will haunt them for the rest of their lives. They are the victims of Pierce’s years of calculated abuse.
One of those victims, now in his late 20s, on Thursday shared his story with the Courier on the condition of anonymity.

MANSFIELD (OH)
News Journal

BY MARK CAUDILL • News Journal • August 28, 2009

MANSFIELD — The jury has the case in John Picard’s sexual battery trial.

The eight-man, four-woman panel got the case just before noon and broke for lunch. Jurors are expected to start deliberating around 1 p.m.

Picard, 41, of Englewood, is charged with 42 counts of sexual battery and could receive up to 110 years in prison if convicted. He is accused of sexual misconduct with female parishioners at Grace Brethren Church on Marion Avenue, where he was youth pastor.

FORT WAYNE (IN)
Chicago Tribune

FORT WAYNE, Ind. - An Indiana Roman Catholic diocese and a priest's order have been cleared of wrongdoing in a lawsuit filed by a man who claims he was molested by a priest as a 10-year-old.

Allen Superior Judge Stanley A. Levine ruled Tuesday that the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend and Crosier Fathers and Brothers Province Inc. could not be held responsible for the alleged abuse in part because they were unaware it was occurring.

SCRANTON (PA)
National Catholic Reporter

By Tom Roberts

Bishop Joseph F. Martino will resign as head of the Diocese of Scranton, Pa., as early as next week, according to sources within the diocese, it was reported today by several outlets in the Scranton area.

The Towanda Daily Review and TV station WNEP each reported the impending shift and that Cardinal Justin Rigali of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, the metropolitan see in Pennsylvania, will oversee the diocese until Martino’s replacement is named.

Attempts to reach a diocesan spokesman this morning were unsuccessful.

The Times Leader newspaper in Scranton reported yesterday that Martino was moving out of the traditional downtown residence for Scranton bishops at the rectory of St. Peter’s Cathedral to a rural retreat center that once served as a diocesan seminary.

MASSACHUSETTS
Boston Globe

Posted by Michael Paulson August 28, 2009 09:57 AM

I'm getting lots of e-mail in response to today's story about Kennedy and Catholicism, with many questions and observations, some of which I'll try to share over the course of the day.

Among those who e-mailed was Mitchell Garabedian, the Boston lawyer who represented scores of victims of clergy sexual abuse, who wanted to share a little about Kennedy's response to the abuse crisis. Here's what Garbedian told me:

A few years ago Senator Kennedy, while traveling to a meeting concerning the conditions at Guantanamo Bay, personally called me to express his support for clergy sexual abuse victims and for my legal representation of clergy sexual abuse victims.

While speaking with Senator Kennedy about the the harm to clergy sexual abuse victims I could sense a genuineness in his heart and a sincerity in his soul. He was very easy to talk to. It was like discussing the matter with the concerned neighbor next door. Senator Kennedy was not in a rush to end the conversation. In our discussion, Senator Kennedy stressed the continuing need to help those less fortunate.

Several scholars I spoke with yesterday pointed out to me that Kennedy, despite being repeatedly criticized by the Catholic right, never fought back by criticizing the church. I took a look in our clips to see what Kennedy said about the abuse crisis.

SCRANTON (PA)
Catholic News Agency

Scranton, Pa., Aug 28, 2009 / 11:12 am (CNA).- Most Rev. Joseph F. Martino, Bishop of Scranton, will resign as head of the Diocese of Scranton next week, sources within the diocese confirmed to the local press today.

The sources did not explain the reason for the 62-year-old bishop’s decision. The sources also did not specify if the Bishop’s resignation was going to be presented or if it had been already submitted and accepted by the Vatican.

When asked by CNA to confirm Bishop Martino's resignation, diocesan spokesman William Genello said that the diocese will hold a press conference next Monday for media members only.

OHIO
OVParent

A national self-help group network for victims of sexual abuse now has five Ohio Valley-area support group meetings, in order to meet the growing need for healing by those who are hurting because of child molesting clergy.

SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAPnetwork.org), has named Woodsfield native Judy Block-Jones as the regional director for the Ohio Valley to oversee the expansion.

SNAP is the nation's largest support groups for men and women who were sexually abused in religious organizations.

"We're hearing from people who were assaulted by Protestant clergy, Catholic priests, and ministers of various faith groups," said Barbara Dorris, SNAP's outreach director.

MASSACHUSETTS
Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield

This PDF-formatted decree from BIshop Timothy A. McDonnell in 2008 announced a first round of church closings.

SPRINGFIELD (MA)
iobserve

Staff report

SPRINGFIELD – Springfield Bishop Timothy A. McDonnell will address the changes to parishes in the last round of pastoral planning announcements shortly after 7 p.m. on the diocese’s weekly television newsmagazine, “Real to Reel,” Aug. 29. His statement will also air at the beginning of the Aug. 30 “Chalice of Salvation” televised Mass, which is broadcast at 10 a.m. Both programs air on WWLP-22NEWS.

A complete report detailing the changes and why they were needed will be presented at the beginning of the program and the bishop will speak following that report.

Bishop McDonnell, along with Msgr. John J. Bonzagni, director of the diocesan Office of Pastoral Planning, met this week with clergy in the areas being affected by the changes.

SPRINGFIELD (MA)
iobserve

Staff report

SPRINGFIELD – Final pastoral planning recommendations for parishes in the Diocese of Springfield will be announced at weekend Masses Aug. 29 and 30 in the areas to be affected, the diocese announced today.

Springfield Bishop Timothy A. McDonnell approved the recommendations earlier this month following the input of his Presbyteral Council. The bishop noted that most of the parish reconfigurations are to be implemented by the end of November.

The majority of the changes will occur in area cities, said Msgr. John J. Bonzagni, director of the diocesan Office of Pastoral Planning. Some of the areas where changes have been recommended include Chicopee, Easthampton, Holyoke, Ludlow, Northampton, Palmer, South Hadley and Springfield.

MASSACHUSETTS
The Republic

Friday, August 28, 2009
By STEPHANIE BARRY
sbarry@repub.com
Fourteen Roman Catholic churches in Hampden and Hampshire counties will go dark by the end of the year, officials of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield said Thursday.

Details of closures will be presented at weekend Masses.

Eight more churches are expected to close within the coming months or within two years through a series of mergers.

The closings will be scattered across the two counties, but will likely be more concentrated in communities where churches are densely packed.

IRELAND
Voice from the Desert

By Sean O’Conaill
Coleraine, Northern Ireland
August 17, 2009

Flashbacks are a diagnostic symptom of post-traumatic stress disorder - unavoidable mental images of frightful events that have wrenched the mind and heart. Until their dying day, vivid memories of brutality and degradation will at any moment startle those who suffered in Ireland’s church-run residential institutions.

Exposing those who read it in any detail to some of the most appalling images of cruelty in the annals of Ireland, the Ryan report was a traumatic event for the rest of the nation also. Especially for us Catholics who lived within a grand illusion, denied knowledge of the total scale of that trauma by decades of still unexplained ecclesiastical not-knowing. Who can lift a Rosary now without thinking of small fingers bleeding in Goldenbridge orphanage?

Denied always the opportunity to discuss as adults within our own church any deeply controversial issue, this denial persists in the aftermath of the report. Given no leadership signal to initiate such a discussion, Catholic priests these days must negotiate every Sunday the elephants who now occupy the sanctuary - the unavoidable questions raised by our unbidden flashbacks to Letterfrack and Daingean and Artane. And by the knowledge that such things were happening at the apogee of the church’s power in Ireland - 1979 - when a pope visited us for the first time.

BENTON (AR}
Courier

Thursday, 27 August 2009

David Pierce, the former music minister of Benton’s First Baptist Church, confessed to and was convicted of four counts of sexual indecency with a child before Saline County Circuit Judge Grisham Philips this morning.

According to the negotiated plea, Pierce, 56, will serve 10 years in the Arkansas Department of Correction.

The actual sentence includes two six-year terms to run concurrently and two four-year terms to run concurrently, followed by an additional term of two years’ suspended imposition of sentence.
Upon his release from prison, he will be required to register as a sex offender and will be listed as an habitual offender, Prosecuting Attorney Ken Casady said following today’s court proceeding.

SCRANTON (PA)
Times-Tribune

by laura legere (staff writer)
Published: August 27, 2009

Bishop Joseph F. Martino is moving from his residence in the downtown heart of the 11-county Diocese of Scranton to the diocese's rural retreat and former seminary in Dalton.

Repeated efforts to reach the spokesman for the Roman Catholic diocese were unsuccessful Tuesday evening and Wednesday, and there has been no official statement of when the bishop will move to the pastoral Dalton campus, why he is moving there, or how long he plans to stay.

On Wednesday morning, a pickup truck packed with a desk and easy chairs was parked in front of the bishop's residence on Wyoming Avenue. Workers said they were relocating some of the bishop's belongings to Dalton in advance of a complete move, and the bishop will remain downtown "for a while yet."

UNITED STATES
City of Angels

By Kay Ebeling

Just because I do it for a living, I transcribed Educating to End Abuse just now as it was webcast, and am posting it here. I know I said next post would be a report with photos of the Walk Across Oregon to End Child Abuse in Portland last weekend, and that post will be up by Saturday. But, just because I do it for a living and it felt right, here is a rough transcript of the show that just aired on KCTU Wichita, River City Forum.

On screen were Peggy Warren, producer of the show, and Sheryl Nutt, station owner. John Brown from Australia managed to come in with video using Skype. The connection was lost a bit into the program, and John then came in by telephone, but the video connection has so much potential for future webcasts. Also by phone was Ken Kociorek from San Diego.

BUFFALO (NY)
WIVB

[with video]

Luke Moretti
Posted by: Internet Producer
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB_ - Why did the Buffalo Catholic Diocese remove a priest and a business manager from a local parish? News 4 Investigative Reporter Luke Moretti discovers the moves comes after the two men expressed concerns about the parish's finances.

"They said that I was being terminated as of that point, as was Msgr. Vorhees," said Marc Pasquale who was removed as Business Manager from St. Teresa.

Donna Benzin attends St. Teresa and is stunned. "Stunned out of my mind. Just literally stunned. Because, I mean, Father Fred, I thought was great," said Benzin.

CANADA
Canadian Christianity

By Steve Weatherbe

KEVIN ANNETT is back in the spotlight.

The one-time United Church of Canada (UCC) minister has made his second career attacking the Canadian residential school system, and accusing the churches which ran them of genocide.

Based in Nanaimo, Annett makes ends meet by officiating at funerals and showing Unrepentant -- an award-winning documentary about his 1995 departure from his posting at a Port Alberni congregation, and his subsequent accusations.

Now he's teamed up with Vancouver Island filmmaker Louis Lawless, who directed the documentary, on a fictionalized retelling of the same story.

CONNECTICT
Law and More

Our litigious times have seeped right into the holiest of the holies.

Instead of gathering the flock to join in prayer, the Diocese of Bridgeport in Connecticut seems to be attempting to have them be on what the Church deems to be the right side of its lawsuits. On the home page of its website, the Diocese has a box at the top. In that box, two of the four items - or 50% - concern lawsuits.

One is pending for possible review by the U.S. Supreme Court. It relates to the sealing of documents which was part of the Diocese's settlement in the clergy sex abuse cases. Four newspapers want them unsealed.

MAINE
Morning Sentinel

BY BILL NEMITZ
Portland Press Herald

The more the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland shutters its churches and puts them on the real estate market, the larger the question looms: Should Maine's bishop still be living in a million-dollar mansion?

It's on Portland's tony Western Promenade. According to city tax records, the 6,970-square-foot, three-story "mansion" has six bedrooms, 4 baths, an 840-square-foot garage and an assessed value of $1,126,000.

In short, pretty nice digs by anyone's standards. Too nice, according to at least one perennial thorn in the side of Bishop Richard Malone.

"It's not about Richard Malone," said Paul Kendrick, a Roman Catholic who for years has publicly decried the church's handling of the sexual abuse of children by priests. "It's about 'What kind of church is this?'"

ALASKA
Tundra Drums

DIMITRA LAVRAKAS

August 27, 2009 at 10:52AM AKST

Workers in Alaska’s jails, therapists and care providers are being urged by a support group for clergy sex abuse victims to spread the word about an upcoming deadline that may allow hundreds of sex-abuse survivors to receive compensation for crimes committed against them by child-molesting clerics, according to a news release from the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.

SNAP, the nation’s largest support group for men and women sexually abused in religious organizations, is alerting statewide therapeutic, health care and corrections officials about the upcoming deadline for men and women who have been sexually abused by Jesuit priests, brothers and volunteers. Many of these victims may be eligible for monetary compensation to help aid in their healing.

Victims have until Nov. 30 to file a claim. Anyone also hurt by Jesuit staff or volunteers in Montana, Idaho, Washington and Oregon is eligible.

BALTIMORE (MD)
Baltimore Jewish Times

Phil Jacobs
Executive Editor

“Listen, Believe, Respond—to those among us who have experienced the trauma of abuse as children, adolescents or adults.”

A unique service, coming just days before Rosh Hashanah, will bring hope, validation and healing to the survivors of domestic, sexual, physical, verbal and all forms of abuse.

This community gathering is scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 13, beginning 7:30 p.m., at the Weinberg Park Heights Jewish Community Center, 5700 Park Heights Ave.

ST. CLOUD (MN)
St. Cloud Times

By David Unze • dunze@stcloudtimes.com • August 27, 2009

A retired pastor and former volunteer chaplain for the St. Cloud Police Department pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges that he repeatedly sexually abused a girl at his west St. Cloud home.

Arthur James Ree, 82, remains in Stearns County Jail in lieu of $300,000 bail. His attorney requested a study to determine if that amount is too high. Stearns County District Court Judge Paul Widick ordered the study at a brief hearing Thursday.

Ree is charged with six counts of criminal sexual conduct. A court complaint accuses him of abusing the girl t Ree’s residence on Wildwood Road, with the latest incident in 2006.

ARGENTINA
Momento 24

Father Julio Grassi, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison for sexual abuse of a minor who was staying at the “Felices los Niños” children shelter, located in Hurlingham district, Greater Buenos Aires and was run by the priest, remains in liberty until the Criminal Court of Appeals of Buenos Aires rules on the appeals filed by the complaint and the prosecution.

Yesterday, the court received a writ of habeas corpus filed by the defense of Grassi.

AUSTRALIA
The Bulletin

28th August 2009

A FORMER Rockhampton Catholic priest will appear again in the Adelaide Magistrates Court to face child sex-offence charges.

Charles Alfred Barnett, 67, will appear next month after the matter was adjourned from an earlier hearing in Adelaide.

Barnett, who served at Wandal in the early 1990s, was extradited from Indonesia in February to face the charges.

UNITED STATES
City of Angels

A monthly program on Clergy Sex Crimes, Educating To End Abuse, kicks off Season 4 late this afternoon, live on the internet from KCTU Wichita, with a national toll free number for listeners to phone-in and be part of the show. Two men who survived serial molestation as children in Catholic orphanges, one in New York and one in Australia, are special guests for the show tonight. Plus whoever calls in on the toll free line can add their thoughts. The show airs tonight at 6PM Central (CST) (4 PM in Los Angeles, 7PM in New York).

Tune in live on the internet by clicking here. Join the conversation by calling 1-866-905-8855.

Producer Peggy Warren is a clergy sex crime survivor from Kansas who picked up her trauma and turned it into a sword four years ago, convincing the local TV station to give her one night on its program that airs weeknights at 6 in Wichita, The River City Forum. A mother of five who also works as a school teacher, Warren puts together the monthly broadcasts featuring survivors she finds who are doing active work on clergy sex crime issues around the world.

BUFFALO (NY)
The Buffalo News

By Jay Tokasz
NEWS STAFF REPORTER
Updated: August 27, 2009, 8:46 AM / 23 comments

Officials for the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo have removed a priest and business manager from a South Buffalo parish, after the two men expressed concerns about missing financial records and other financial irregularities.

The sudden—and highly irregular— removals Friday of Monsignor Fred R. Voorhes and Marc J. Pasquale followed a recent telephone call Pasquale made to the Erie County district attorney’s office regarding possible financial improprieties at St. Teresa Parish and South Buffalo Catholic Schools.

Voorhes was summoned to the chancery Friday and removed as parish administrator. Monsignor W. Jerome Sullivan, the new temporary administrator, and Larry Vilardo, a lawyer for the diocese, went to the church at the same time to fire Pasquale, the business manager.

BOSTON (MA)
Boston Globe

Posted by Michael Paulson August 27, 2009 09:02 AM

In yesterday's paper, I had a story about a prominent local survivor of clergy sexual abuse who is getting a kidney transplant from another abuse survivor. The lede:

First, he asked his brothers.
Then he turned to extended family.

It was only after it became clear that no one in his family qualified to donate a kidney that Phil Saviano realized he might die.

And then he turned to the one larger community that he has embraced for nearly two decades: survivors of clergy sexual abuse. ...

David Clohessy, the national director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, and Dr. Martha Pavlakis, the nephrologist, tell me that the procedure went well. Saviano and Pavlak are now recovering at Beth Israel Deaconess.

CALIFORNIA
Los Angeles Times

Clergy abuse cases: A brief article in Monday's Section A about a group seeking information on possible victims of sex crimes at the former parish of defrocked priest Michael Stephen Baker failed to include the Archdiocese of Los Angeles' response to allegations by the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests that Catholic officials weren't doing enough to find victims of clergy abuse. Attorney J. Michael Hennigan said: "The archdiocese aggressively investigates every allegation or suspected incident, and in those cases looks for other victims. If SNAP has other information, they should deliver it to us and we will pursue it as we have done in the past."

dotCommonweal

August 26, 2009, 9:07 pm Posted by Cathleen Kaveny

A while back, Gregory Wolfe posted a moving testimony to the force for good that Communion and Liberation hd been in his life –and asked a general question about the role of movements in the Church. Maybe it’s the lawyer in me, but I see the possibility of danger, as well as good–and I’m worried about the danger .

I camer across a moving testimony of a different, and heartbraking, sort –from a young woman who feels betrayed by her time in a different movement — Regnum Christi.

How do we tell the good from the bad? Ecclesiastical approval at the highest levels? Regnum Christi and the Legionnaires of Christ were great favorites of John Paul II. Endorsements and approval? Power and influence? Regnum Christi and the Legionnaires had all that.

WASHINGTON (DC)
Catholic News Agency

Washington D.C., Aug 27, 2009 / 04:45 am (CNA).- The U.S. Supreme Court has denied an appeal by the Diocese of Bridgeport to keep the personnel files of some of its employees sealed off from several major newspapers investigating the diocese’s handling of sexual abuse accusations. The diocese contends that the papers already had access to the files and that re-opening them would reveal private information not related to the abuse cases.

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg notified attorneys in the case of her decision on late Tuesday, the Hartford Courant reports.

The material includes 12,600 pages of depositions, exhibits and legal arguments involving 23 lawsuits against seven priests from the Diocese of Bridgeport. Most of the lawsuits were filed in the mid-1990s and were settled in 2001 for an undisclosed amount with the agreement that the settlements and the documents would remain sealed forever.

UNITED KINGDOM
The Herald

Thursday, August 27, 2009, 07:00
POLICE have revealed the vicar charged with six offences of indecency is a former primary school teacher, writes Carl Eve.

The Reverend Canon James Andrew Christopher Wilson, above, the Rector and Rural Dean of Calstock, was charged with six offences on girls under the age of 13 on Tuesday evening, as reported in The Herald.

The alleged offences date back to the late 1970s when he was a teacher at Pennycross Primary School.

Beliefnet

Rod Dreher

Catholic Light has links to translations of a CNN interview (en espanol) with a lawyer representing Marciel Maciel's biological children. The lawyer asserts that John Paul II knew that Maciel had children, though he offers no proof.

Pete Vere also has an interesting post up about how the late Father Richard John Neuhaus, who had previously been a fierce and uncompromising apologist for Maciel and his movement, shifted toward a position of skepticism and even prophetic (if remarkably gentle) chastisement of the group before his death.

I recently heard that a college friend who had been studying years ago for the priesthood in an LC seminary, but was abruptly dismissed, without explanation (as often happened with LC seminarians), has recently become engaged to be married. Deo gratias and mazel tov! He had a very rough time of it after the LCs sent him down, but it has all worked out.

SPAIN
BBC

Sue Lloyd Roberts
BBC Newsnight, Spain

Seventy years after the end of the civil war in 1939 in which more than 350,000 people were killed, Spain is still divided over how to deal with what the country calls its "historical memory".

Many people, especially the older generation, say that it has been so long since the war took place that now it is time to forget.

General Franco ruled Spain as dictator for 36 years
However, those related to victims of the Franco era, and the younger generation, say that it is necessary to know about the events of that time, that they owe it to those who died. ...

The priest in charge, he says, used to abuse them sexually:

"The priests collaborated completely with the Falangists who had overthrown the government. They were paedophiles and they converted me to atheism - they were bad and I refused to believe a word they said."

BOSTON (MA)
KSTP

Phil Saviano and Susan Pavlak led separate lives in different states, both fighting for people who - like them - had been abused by clergy years ago.

On Wednesday, the former strangers shared a new bond in a Boston hospital as Pavlak donated her kidney to Saviano, who has AIDS.

It all began more than a year ago, when doctors told Saviano, of Roslindale, Mass., that his kidneys were failing. To avoid a life that depended on regular dialysis, Saviano needed a transplant - and believed the wait time for a kidney from a deceased donor would be too long.

MARBLEHEAD (MA)
The Salem News

By Alan Burke
Staff writer

MARBLEHEAD — The Rev. Dennis Burns cemented his reputation at the height of the priest abuse scandal, as far as his friend Mark Brings is concerned.

As the longtime pastor of the Our Lady, Star of the Sea Church, Burns did not want his parishioners' donations taken to settle lawsuits filed by victims. It wasn't because of a lack of sympathy for those who suffered at the hands of rogue priests; rather, Burns saw the problem as a matter for the hierarchy to deal with, the people who created the situation

"He bucked the archdiocese," Brings says. "He bucked Cardinal Law." As for the offending priests, "He thought they should be prosecuted."

SPAIN
The Times (United Kingdom)

Graham Keeley

Uxenu Ablana grasps the rails of the rundown house that once was like a prison to him. He breaks into an irreverent version of Cara al Sol (Facing the Sun), one of the songs drummed into him as a child when he lived at this former orphanage. It is a bitter-sweet moment. This was the marching song of General Franco’s dictatorship.

For Ablana, the song symbolises a youth lost to the dictator’s regime. “My life stopped in 1936,” he says. “They robbed me of my childhood.”

Now 80, Ablana is one of an estimated 30,000 “stolen children” of Franco’s Spain. These sons or daughters of Republicans were taken from their parents during and after the Spanish Civil War in a sinister programme under direct control of El Caudillo. ...

Ablana was thrown into orphanages from the age of 5. He spent 13 years being abused by priests and indoctrinated with propaganda from the Falange, the right-wing party allied to the Franco regime. The aim was to transform him from the son of a “red” into a follower of the regime. “The priests would beat you if you wrote or ate with your left hand. They thought it was a sign of being a red,” he says.

AUSTRALIA
The Herald

BY MICHELLE HARRIS
27/08/2009 4:00:00 AM
HUNTER parishioners and visitors from as far away as Sydney were among about 100 people to attend a function at a Port Stephens restaurant this week that raised $18,000 for a Catholic priest accused of child sexual assault.

The function, a "Greek-themed night" that included an auction of donated items such as football jerseys, was held at The Deck restaurant, at Soldiers Point, on Monday evening to raise money for priest David O'Hearn, 48, of Raymond Terrace.

The priest, who was stood down from his position at St Michael's parish, Nelson Bay, attended the event despite being described as initially "a bit nervous" about what the crowd would say.

OREGON
City of Angels

When Cindy Falter joined Walk Across Oregon last Sunday wearing the Molested Catholic t-shirt, I know a few people became uncomfortable - at the Powell's City of Books entrance, as well as in our group of activists. Words on the t-shirt are in-your-face: I was molested by Dirty Filthy Sex Starved Catholics. Would you let a priest or nun babysit your children?

CHICAGO (IL)
Chicago Tribune

August 26, 2009

BY RUMMANA HUSSAIN Criminal Courts Reporter
A Roman Catholic priest was sentenced to four years' probation this morning for stealing several thousands of dollars from his former Edgewater parish.

Cook County prosecutors allege that from July 2001 to just prior to his removal from St. Ita's Church in August 2005, the Rev. Steve Patte, 65, issued checks and wired money to his personal accounts as reimbursement for expenditures that never occurred.

Patte allegedly used the money to pay for vacations to California, laptops and computer accessories, massages and personal training sessions, as well as other personal expenses.

BENTON (AR)
Courier

Wednesday, 26 August 2009

David Pierce, Benton First Baptist Church’s former minister of music, is expected to enter a plea Thursday during an appearance in Saline County Circuit Court.

Pierce, 56, faces 54 counts of sexual indecency with a child.

Prosecuting Attorney Ken Casady said he is hopeful that the case will be resolved Thursday.
“I understand Mr. Hampton (Pierce’s attorney, Mark Hampton) has made public statements that he expects his client to plead, and I am hopeful that that is the case as well,” Casady said.

BOSTON (MA)
United Press International

BOSTON, Aug. 26 (UPI) -- A Massachusetts man in need of a kidney transplant turned to a network of survivors of clergy sexual abuse to find a kidney donor.

Phil Saviano of Roslindale found a compatible kidney by emailing thousands of men and women through the New England chapter of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, the Boston Globe reported Wednesday. Saviano established and led the New England chapter for a decade.

Susan Pavlak, 55. of Minnesota, responded to Saviano and traveled to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston to give him one of her kidneys Wednesday.

BOSTON (MA)
Anderson Advocates Blog

Today’s news story that Susan Pavlak, long time SNAP member and survivor advocate, is donating a kidney to Phil Saviano is poignant and powerful in itself but the kind of thing I see survivors daily doing for others who have been wounded or in need. I have been honored to work with survivors of abuse for over two decades and every day I see and bear witness to survivors who have courage and generosity of spirit that is an inspiration to me. Susan Pavlak’s donating of her kidney to Phil Saviano is perhaps to some a dramatic example of generosity, but it’s a typical gesture that I see every day where members of SNAP and other survivors of abuse connect with one another to support each other and give of themselves in so many ways to do what they can to help others in need and protect the vulnerable.

UNITED STATES
Rhode Island Catholic

BY BISHOP THOMAS J. TOBIN
8/27/09

Summer always affords me more time for reading, and one of the books I read this year was “A Pilgrim in a Pilgrim Church,” the memoirs of Archbishop Rembert Weakland. You may be familiar with Archbishop Weakland – a Benedictine priest, former archabbot of St.Vincent Archabbey in Latrobe, PA, abbot primate of the worldwide Benedictine Order, and, most famously, Archbishop of Milwaukee from 1977-2002.

Archbishop Weakland’s tenure as Archbishop of Milwaukee came to a tumultuous end when in May of 2002 it was revealed that many years prior he was involved in a homosexual liaison with a young friend, was later threatened with a civil lawsuit, and eventually used $450,000 of archdiocesan money to pay for a confidential, out-of-court settlement. The fact that this sordid arrangement came to light during the height of the sexual abuse scandal added plenty of fuel to the already raging fire.

Archbishop Weakland’s memoirs provide fascinating reading for several reasons – first, because he himself is a multi-talented, colorful, and accomplished figure of historic proportions; next, because the book is well-written – detailed, but not ponderous; and finally, because the narrative is interesting, especially for ecclesial wonks, since Weakland’s personal story is interwoven so tightly with most of the major themes that have dominated the life of the Church during the past fifty years or so.

OHIO
Columbus Dispatch

By Todd Jones
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

His book bag resembled those carried by most college students, bulging with paper and a laptop computer.

The weight of it kept him grounded during his final weeks at The Pontifical College Josephinum rather than distracted by thoughts of his upcoming ordination into the priesthood.

Some days, the bag seemed heavier for Deacon Robert Bolding, in his last year of theology graduate school at the Roman Catholic seminary on the Far North Side.

"There's always something hanging over your head," he said.

The demands and sacrifices asked of clergy greatly reduce the pool of candidates who could help the Catholic church fill voids in the ranks of priests serving a growing U.S. church.

OHIO
The Columbus Dispatch

By Todd Jones
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Traffic snaked along N. High Street near I-270 in a bumper-to-bumper line of frustration as the sun rose over the Pontifical College Josephinum.

The taillight-flashing bustle of commuters contrasted with the serenity a few hundred yards away, where students flowed quietly into a chapel inside the seminary's College of Liberal Arts building.

Some carried Bibles, others small prayer books. Each was bleary-eyed and silent.

The mid-February morning was like every morning for those men studying to be Roman Catholic priests at the Vatican-owned school on the North Side.

UNITED KINGDOM
Irish Post

SURVIVOR organisations in Britain are backing fellow groups in Ireland who are calling for religious orders to pay €600million directly to victims of institutional sex abuse.

The call came as controversy still rumbles on in the wake of the Ryan Report into Ireland’s sex abuse scandal.

Mary Murphy from the Irish Victims of Institutional Child Abuse in Manchester said it was now time for the religious orders implicated in the affair to accept their financial responsibility to those who had suffered.

UNITED KINGDOM
Western Morning News

Wednesday, August 26, 2009, 09:15
A PARISH priest in a Westcountry riverside village has been charged with indecent assault over alleged incidents involving six girls under the age of 13.

Canon James Andrew Wilson, 60, was last night released on police bail after being questioned over alleged sexual offences said to stretch back more than 30 years.

At Plymouth's Charles Cross police station, Mr Wilson, priest at St Andrew's Church in Calstock, South East Cornwall, was charged with six offences of indecency with girls under the age of 13.

AUSTRALIA
Great Lakes Advocate

BY TIM CONNELL AND DAN PROUDMAN
26/08/2009 2:25:00 PM
A COMMITTAL hearing into 22 child sex charges against Peter Julian Brock, a Catholic priest who later resided at Bulahdelah, has been adjourned after evidence from two alleged victims.

Brock, 63, faced three days’ evidence about abuse he allegedly committed against two boys in the 1970s. He has not been required to enter a plea.

On Friday, one of the men told Newcastle Local Court that he watched as the priest allegedly indecently assaulted a teenage boy following a naked game of cards in the 1970s.

UNITED KINGDOM
The Herald

Tuesday, August 25, 2009, 21:22
A VICAR has been charged with six offences of indecency to girls under the age of 13 in Plymouth.

The Reverend Canon James Andrew Christopher Wilson, the Rector and Rural Dean of Calstock, was charged with six offences on girls under 13, at Charles Cross Police Station for offences that allegedly took place in the Pennycross area in 1977 and 1978, police said.

It is believed some of the alleged victims were as young as eight-years-old.

UNITED KINGDOM
Press Association

A priest has been charged with historic offences of indecency against girls 30 years ago, police said.

James Andrew Christopher Wilson, 60, of Calstock, near Plymouth, Devon, faces six charges relating to girls under 13, following a "lengthy investigation".

Mr Wilson, from Calstock, was charged with the committing offences which span 1977 and 1978 at Pennycross, Plymouth.

UNITED KINGDOM
BBC News

An Anglican priest has been charged with six offences of indecency involving girls under 13, after an investigation in Plymouth.

Canon James Wilson, 60, of Calstock, Cornwall, is accused of carrying out the offences in 1977 and 1978 - before his ordination in 1982.

He was released on police bail and will appear before Plymouth Magistrates on 16 September.

BRIDGEPORT (CT)
Connecticut Post

By Noelle Frampton
STAFF WRITER
Updated: 08/26/2009 12:28:06 AM EDT

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport may soon have to unseal thousands of documents generated by lawsuits alleging sexual abuse by priests now that a U.S. Supreme Court judge has denied the diocese's request to keep them sealed.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg on Tuesday denied the Bridgeport diocese's request to continue a stay on the release of the papers until the full court decides whether to review the case.

But the diocese hasn't given up in its long fight to keep more than 12,000 pages from 23 lawsuits sealed, releasing a statement that it is "disappointed" by Ginsberg's ruling but "intends to proceed with its announced determination to ask the full U.S. Supreme Court to review the important constitutional issues that this case presents."

BRAZIL
EFE

Por Agencia EFE

Río de Janeiro, 25 ago (EFE).- Un sacerdote católico que fue arrestado hace tres semanas en Brasil por intentar abusar sexualmente de un adolescente de 14 años padece del síndrome de inmunodeficiencia adquirida (sida), según exámenes médicos cuyos resultados fueron divulgados hoy por la prensa.

Josean Dantas Rolim, de 51 años, fue detenido el 6 de agosto pasado luego de haberle mostrado los órganos genitales y besado en la boca al adolescente en el baño de una terminal de autobuses públicos de la ciudad de Recife (nordeste de Brasil).

El religioso obligó al joven a acompañarlo al baño insinuando que estaba armado, según la víctima, pero fue visto por los vigilantes de la terminal, que le impidieron consumar el abuso.

BRAZIL
Gazzetta di Parma

Un sacerdote brasiliano arrestato per tentato stupro di un ragazzo di 14 anni è risultato sieropositivo. Lo ha rivelato la Conferenza episcopale brasiliana (Cnbb), che ha anche ammesso che l’uomo era stato allontanato dalla parrocchia di cui era responsabile per i suoi problemi fisici e psichici.

Il tentativo di stupro in una toilette del terminal di pullman di Recife risale al 5 agosto scorso, ma solo oggi la Cnbb e la polizia locale hanno dato dettagli sull'arresto del sacerdote Josean Dantas Rolim. Il fatto che l’uomo sia portatore del retrovirus ha suscitato la furia dei parenti e degli amici della vittima, che hanno circondato il carcere in cui è rinchiuso nella capitale dello stato di Pernambuco, chiedendo che fosse loro consegnato per far giustizia sommaria.

BRAZIL
Latin American Herald Tribune

RIO DE JANEIRO – A Catholic priest who was arrested three weeks ago for trying to sexually abuse a 14-year-old boy is suffering from AIDS, according to medical exams whose results were published Tuesday by the Brazilian press.

The Rev. Josean Dantas Rolim, 51, was arrested Aug. 6 after showing his genitals and kissing the teenager on the mouth in the bathroom of a bus station in the northeastern city of Recife.

The religious forced the boy to accompany him to the bathroom by insinuating that he was armed, according to the victim, but was seen by guards at the terminal, who stopped him from going through with the abuse.

IRELAND
The Mayo News

Anna-Marie Flynn

BALLINA’s General Humbert Summer School hosted an emotionally-charged awards ceremony which saw victims of clerical child abuse honoured last Saturday.

Marking the end of a day-long debate on child protection, the commemorative ceremony also saw plaques presented to Judge Sean Ryan, who was at the helm of the long-running inquiry into church and state-run schools, and Mary Raftery, investigative journalist, who contributed greatly to exposing institutional child abuse scandals.”

Nobel Peace Laureate and patron of the Humbert School, John Hume, presented all three awards.
Michael O’Brien, of the Right to Peace group, and now nationally recognised after his emotional presentation on Questions and Answers earlier this year, accepted the award on behalf of “everyone who as a child went through the institutions”.

MISSOURI
Missourinet

By Steve Walsh
The parents of a Virginia man who recently went public with information that he was the victim in a $600,000 pedophile priest cover up case are urging other victims to come forward.

Doctor Mark McAllister came forward to say that he, while a resident of Boonville, was molested by a Father Gerry Howard, who changed his name from Father Carmine Sita after being convicted of criminal activity in New Jersey and ended up in Missouri.

Steve McAllister, the father of the victim, urges others who might have been molested by this priest to report the crimes.

MISSOURI
Columbis Missourian

BY Courtney Shove
COLUMBIA — Since Monday, four new allegations of sexual abuse by a former Boonville priest have come to light, and the father of one victim called on the Catholic Church to be more transparent about possible abuse in its parishes.

Steve McAllister, father of Mark McAllister, addressed a crowd of fewer than 10 outside of the St. Thomas More Newman Center on Tuesday to talk about what happened to his son and encourage others to come forward.

The news conference came just a day after Mark McAllister of Roanoke, Va., formerly of Boonville, released information about the sexual abuse he said he suffered under the Rev. Gerald Howard in Boonville in the 1980s. Mark McAllister recently received a $600,000 settlement from the Newark, N.J., Archdiocese, the Jefferson City Diocese and Servants of the Paraclete.

MISSOURI
Connect Mid-Missouri

By Kermit Miller
Tuesday, August 25, 2009 at 6:03 p.m.

A Virginia doctor, who grew up in central Missouri, went public with his story of abuse by a Boonville priest.

"I, Mark McAllister, was abuse by Father Howard ...mentally, physically, emotionally, and sexually,” Mark McAllister said.

He told his story to the news media Monday in Jersey City, N.J. outside a church that once employed his abuser.

MISSOURI
KOMU

COLUMBIA - A mid-Missouri family goes public on their son's abuse after two-and-a-half decades of silence.

The parents of a man molested by a priest two decades ago broke their silence.

"I cannot help but hold the Catholic Church responsible for a great deal of this," said Steven McAllister.

WASHINGTON
The Seattle Times

By Janet I. Tu
Seattle Times staff reporter

Marilyn Shellrude Christman of Seattle was only 7 years old when she was sent to a boarding school for children of missionaries in Guinea, West Africa, in 1961.

For eight years, in the remote, isolated school, she says, she was emotionally and spiritually abused. At times, she was also physically and sexually abused — in some cases by a man who served as a dorm parent there, she said.

It wasn't until decades later that she realized she hadn't been the only abused child at Mamou Alliance Academy, a now-closed boarding school run by the Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA), an evangelical Protestant denomination.

IRELAND
The God Squad

Living and surviving abuse

My Name is Derek Power and I am a victim and active survivor of clerical childhood sexual abuse.

I first arrived at the Waterford Rape Crises Centre in the summer of 1995 having been referred by a relative. At this point in time I was 25 years of age. I had been raped and abused as a child by a member of the Christian Brothers in the late 1970’s over a two year period when I was of a tender age while a student at a primary school in Waterford City.

In October of 1993 I made my statement to Gardai in Dublin where I lived at that time. My statement to detail the circumstances of my abuse and rape at the hands of this man took over two hours. I spent the following 18 months alone and with the memories and torture of that experience while an investigation was being carried out. In this period I had started to develop anxiety and suffer from depression. I truly felt alone and desperate. I felt I had a voice with no volume.

BOSTON (MA)
Boston Globe

By Michael Paulson
Globe Staff / August 26, 2009

Then he turned to extended family.

It was only after it became clear that no one he knew qualified to donate a kidney that Phil Saviano realized he might die.

And then he turned to the one larger community that he has embraced for nearly two decades: survivors of clergy sexual abuse.

Across the country, thousands of men and women who years ago were molested by priests opened their inboxes to find an e-mailed plea to help a fellow survivor.

Seven of them offered up a kidney to keep Saviano alive.

And today, at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, physicians will transplant a kidney from Susan Pavlak, a 55-year-old Minnesota woman who says that years ago she was molested by a former nun at a Catholic high school, to Saviano, a 57-year-old Roslindale man who says that as a boy in Central Massachusetts he was repeatedly abused by a priest who turned out to be a serial pedophile.

CONNECTICUT
NBC

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg dealt the Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport a major blow Tuesday. The church wants to hang on tight to 12,000 pages of documents from more than 20 lawsuits against priests. Ginsberg declined to keep those sealed while nation's high court decides whether it will review the case.

The Connecticut Supreme Court ruled that those documents should be unsealed, but while the case is under review by the U.S. Supreme Court, Ginsburg decision to continue a stay effectively said the documents should be released.

The records could reveal details on how retired New York Cardinal Edward Egan handled allegations when he was bishop in Bridgeport from 1988 to 2000.

CONNECTICUT
Hartford Courant

By DAVE ALTIMARI

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg has denied a request by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport to keep court files on clergy sex abuse cases sealed until the high court decides whether to take up their case in the fall.

Ginsberg verbally notified attorneys in the case of her decision late Tuesday.

The diocese's attorney, Ralph W. Johnson III, said church officials will now decide whether to ask the full nine-member court to keep the stay in place.

The diocese is trying to keep sealed more than 12,600 pages of depositions, exhibits and legal arguments involving 23 lawsuits against seven priests from the Bridgeport diocese.

CONNECTICUT
Christianity Today

Sarah Pulliam
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled today that documents from lawsuits against six Roman Catholic priests for alleged sexual abuse must be unsealed, according to the Associated Press.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg denied the Connecticut diocese's request to keep the seal until the full court decides whether to review the case. The diocese wrote that it intends to ask the full U.S. Supreme Court to review the case, stating that "granting access to such documents would intrude upon the private affairs of citizens, with the potential to inflict great harm and injustice."

CONNECTICUT
Connecticut Post

By Noelle Frampton
STAFF WRITER
Updated: 08/25/2009 09:41:52 PM EDT

NEW HAVEN -- The Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport may soon have to unseal thousands of documents generated by lawsuits alleging sexual abuse by priests now that a U.S. Supreme Court judge has denied the diocese's request to keep them sealed.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg on Tuesday denied the Bridgeport diocese's request to continue a stay on the release of the papers until the full court decides whether to review the case.

But the diocese hasn't given up in its long fight to keep more than 12,000 pages from 23 lawsuits sealed, releasing a statement that it is "disappointed" by Ginsberg's ruling but "intends to proceed with its announced determination to ask the full U.S. Supreme Court to review the important constitutional issues that this case presents."

CONNECTICUT
The Seattle Times

By JOHN CHRISTOFFERSEN
Associated Press Writer

NEW HAVEN, Conn. —
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Tuesday against a Roman Catholic diocese in Connecticut, saying that thousands of documents generated by lawsuits against six priests for alleged sexual abuse cannot remain sealed.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Tuesday denied the Bridgeport diocese's request to continue a stay on the release of the papers until the full court decides whether to review the case.

IRELAND
The Mayo News

Fr Kevin Hegarty

My column this week is a resumé of my contribution to a seminar, ‘The Catholic Church after the Ryan Report’, held during the Humbert summers school in Ballina last Saturday.
Last May, sixty years and one month, almost to the day, after the official declaration of the Irish Republic, at a state ceremony in Dublin, the Ryan report on abuses in our industrial schools was released.

The original proclamation of the Republic in 1949 promised to cherish the children of the nation equally. The cumulative evidence of the report brought graphically home to us the abject failure of the state and its main social and educational agency, the Catholic Church, in their responsibilities to children who were orphaned, abandoned or convicted of petty theft up to the 1970’s.

BUCKEYE (AZ)
The Arizona Republic

by Jackee Coe - Aug. 25, 2009 09:30 AM
The Arizona Republic .
Victims of a sexual predator who was their spiritual leader are outraged at the prison time he faces under a plea agreement they say has shaken their trust in the justice system and, in some cases, their faith.

Charles Carfrey, 59, pastor of The Lord's House Church in Buckeye, will receive up to four years in prison and lifetime probation when he is sentenced Sept. 11.

On Aug. 10, he pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual conduct with a minor and one count of failure to register as a sex offender, Maricopa County Superior Court records show. Two counts of sexual conduct with a minor and one count of kidnapping were dismissed under the plea.

ALBANY (NY)
Albany Times Union

By ROBERT GAVIN, Staff writer
Last updated: 1:25 p.m., Tuesday, August 25, 2009

ALBANY -- A Loudonville rabbi was arraigned in Albany County Court today on charges he not only sexually abused two 13-year-old boys in 2007, but repeatedly slapped and kicked one of them.

Yaakov Weiss, 29, founder of the Chabad of Colonie and the Chabad Hebrew School, also allegedly tried to convince one of the two youngsters to lie about the sex abuse to his mother and police.

"Just say nothing happened," Weiss told the child on June 30 on Sycamore Street in Albany, according to a four-count indictment.

MISSOURI
Boonville Daily News

By Nate Birt
Boonville Daily News
Tue Aug 25, 2009, 12:45 PM CDT

Boonville -
The following is a brief of the story. For the full version, see the Tuesday, Aug. 25 print edition of the BDN.

Editor's note: This is the second in a four-part series documenting the BDN's interview with Mark McAllister, a former Boonville resident recently awarded a $600,000 settlement over claims he was abused by a priest while at Ss. Peter and Paul parish. The first article ran Monday.

A secret life

Former Boonville resident Mark McAllister said he never really fought Gerald Howard’s sexual advances because “it never occurred to me that it was wrong.” 

For months, McAllister said, Howard had occupied a position of trust and leadership in his mind. McAllister said his peers looked up to Howard because he wasn’t like the other priests. He smoked and encouraged McAllister to listen to rock music and grow long hair, he said.

MINNESOTA
The Catholic Spirit

By Interview by Julie Carroll - The Catholic Spirit
Tuesday, 25 August 2009

Crosier Father Glen Lewandowski, a native of Foley, Minn., who attended the Crosier Seminary in Onamia and St. John’s University in Collegeville, was reelected to a second term as master general of the order Aug. 8.

Lewandowski He is the first American to serve as leader of the international order, which will mark its 800th anniversary in 2010. The Crosiers have had a presence in Minnesota for nearly 100 years.

The order was founded in 1210 in modern-day Belgium. Today, Crosier communities are located in Indonesia, Brazil, Democratic Republic of Congo, the United States, Austria, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. More than 400 Crosiers serve the church on five continents.

Currently, about 75 Crosiers are members of the U.S. province, which is headquartered in Phoenix. There is also a community in Onamia.

MANSFIELD (OH)
News Journal

By MARK CAUDILL • News Journal • August 25, 2009

MANSFIELD -- John Picard encouraged one of his alleged victims to keep their relationship a secret in a taped phone call.

Jurors listened to the recording Monday during the third day of Picard's sexual battery trial. Police had one of the alleged victims, now 29, call Picard in July 2008 in hopes he would incriminate himself.

Picard was arrested a week later.

In the phone call, the woman said she let details of their relationship slip during counseling sessions with her psychologist. She was Monday's only witness, testifying for five hours.

The woman said she started performing sex acts on Picard when she was 13. She claimed their sexual relationship continued for about 15 years, including while she was married. The woman said she had a daughter by Picard in 2004 and had a long-term sexual relationship with Picard's wife until her pregnancy.

MARYLAND
WCBC

Frederick County States Attorney Charles Smith confirmed to WCBC News that his office is conducting a criminal investigation into allegations of sexual abuse made recently against Monsignor Thomas Bevan of St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Cumberland. The Archdiocese of Baltimore has removed Bevan as it also investigates allegations that he sexually abused a minor in the 1970s. Bevan, pastor of St. Patrick Church since 1997, has denied the allegations. The archdiocese said it learned of the allegations in June, and immediately reported them to authorities in Frederick County, who instructed the archdiocese not to take any further action, including continuing its own investigation or making contact with Bevan.

CANADA
The Daily Observer

The Diocese of Pembroke has been advised that on May 4, 2009 the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a decree conveying and executing the decision of the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, in which Bernard Prince of the Diocese of Pembroke has been dismissed from the clerical state and dispensed from all priestly obligations.

The decree indicated that there is no appeal of this decision.

This notification is being issued to provide clarity regarding the canonical status of Bernard Prince.

AUSTRALIA
Adelaide Now

KEN MCGREGOR, COURT REPORTER
August 25, 2009 05:12pm
A FORMER Anglican priest has admitted to a court that he allowed a 12-year-old boy to masturbate in his shower but has denied he acted in any way "improper".

Wilfred Edwin Dennis, 73, of Vale Park, today told the District Court the boy had asked him about masturbating after other boys at school had told him about it.

He said he told the boy what masturbation was and allowed him to masturbate in his shower.

MILWAUKEE (WI)
WKOW

MILWAUKEE (WKOW) -- A Milwaukee judge dismissed motions Monday by the Milwaukee Catholic archdiocese to keep a jury from hearing testimonies against a priest who faces child sexual abuse charges.

Until Monday, Fr. Franklyn Becker of Mayville had avoided standing trial, but Judge Timothy Wikowiak gave prosecutors the green light to bring witnesses before a jury to testify against Becker.

IRELAND
The Irish Times

PATRICK CLAFFEY

RITE AND REASON: THIS YEAR the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin is celebrating a year of evangelisation. The project’s website notes that “evangelisation is . . . an essential mission of the church”.

Necessary, courageous, no doubt, but, one might well ask the question, “why now?”

A friend told me, several years ago, of a conversation he had with a prominent Irish bishop whose diocese had the first exposure of an abuse scandal. “With this, what time do you think I have left for evangelisation?” asked the forlorn pastor. But worse was to come.

In recent times, it can be argued, the Catholic Church in Ireland has reached the nadir of its long history on this island. This institution is paying the price for its past success and for the kind of clerical dominance that almost inevitably leads to arrogance and the abuse of power.

AUSTRALIA
Star

By Kath Gannaway

25th August 2009 03:11:26 AM

HEALESVILLE Education and Awareness Raising (HEAR) has renewed calls made by the group two years ago for reform of the Catholic Church’s process for dealing with sexual abuse by priests.

Founders, Pam Krstic and Ian Lawther, spoke out last week following the conviction of former Healesville priest Paul Pavlou in June on charges relating to child sexual abuse and being in possession of child pornography.

That conviction follows the conviction in 2001 of another Healesville priest, Fr David Daniel on child sex abuse charges.

AUSTRALIA
ABC

A former Anglican priest has denied allegations he sexually abused two altar boys at churches in Adelaide's northern suburbs in the 1970s.

Wilfred Edwin Dennis has pleaded not guilty to three counts of indecent assault, one of gross indecency and one of carnal knowledge.

In the District Court in Adelaide, Dennis said he never had any sexual contact with one boy and the other's allegations were false.

UNITED STATES
VDARE

By Alexander Hart

"Hard Cases make Bad Law". So goes the old legal adage (which dates back much farther than Oliver Wendell Holmes, who is often given credit for it). Any attempt to reconcile banning political speech with the First Amendment is bad law. So the best way to push Hate Crimes/Hate Speech totalitarianism is with a "hard case".

Accordingly, without one readily available, the Federal Government created their own "hard case" in the shape of Hal Turner—the White Supremacist blogger/web radio show host /FBI Informant.

Turner was arrested on state charges on June 3 for making threats against two Connecticut lawmakers who were investigating whether the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport needed to register as a lobbyist because of its efforts to block proposed legislation that would have given lay members more control over church finances.

PAWTUCKET (RI)
Pawtucket Times

By DONNA KENNY KIRWAN

PAWTUCKET — Holding signs that read “We Support Father Fisette” and “Innocent Until Proven Guilty,” about 100 parishioners from St. Leo the Great Church held a rally Monday afternoon to voice their displeasure at the Diocese of Providence for allowing their pastor to resign.

Father Kevin R. Fisette, pastor of St. Leo the Great since 2004, stunned parishioners at Sunday’s noontime Mass by saying that he had “been accused” of an incident and that he had to leave as their pastor.

On Monday morning, the Diocese of Providence issued a press release saying that Father Fisette had resigned due to a “credible allegation” of abuse of a minor that had been alleged to have occurred over 20 years ago.

PROVIDENCE (RI)
Providence Journal

By Thomas J. Morgan
Journal Staff Writer

PROVIDENCE — The Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence announced on Monday that the Rev. Kevin R. Fisette has resigned as pastor of St. Leo the Great Church in Pawtucket because a “credible allegation” of sexual abuse of a minor surfaced after more than 20 years.

Father Fisette has been placed on administrative leave with pay, pending a Vatican review, and suspended from performing public ministry, the diocese said. The situation was explained to parishioners at Mass on Sunday, the diocese said.

State police investigated the allegations that date to 1981-82 in April and found that “they were credible,” said Capt. David Neill, state police detective commander.

NEW JERSEY
The Star-Ledger

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

BY JEFF DIAMANT
Star-Ledger Staff

A man saying he was sexually abused by a Newark Archdiocese priest previously convicted of sexually abusing a minor in Jersey City criticized church officials yesterday for not alerting parishioners in Missouri when the priest relocated there.

Mark McAllister, 39, received a $600,000 settlement earlier this summer from the Newark Archdiocese, the Jefferson City, Mo., Diocese, and the religious order Servants of the Paraclete. He claimed he had been abused while a teenager in Boonville, Mo.

Yesterday, in the shadows of the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark, McAllister talked about what he said was five years of sex abuse by the Rev. Gerald Howard, who, unbeknownst to parishioners in Boonville, had changed his name from Carmen Sita after his 1982 conviction. Sita had worked at St. Aloysius in Jersey City.

MARYLAND
Frederick News-Post

By Meg Tully
News-Post Staff

The Archdiocese of Baltimore has removed a former Frederick priest from the ministry, pending an investigation into allegations of child sexual abuse.

Monsignor Thomas Bevan, 73, was most recently a pastor at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Cumberland.

A person contacted the archdiocese alleging that Bevan abused him several times in the mid-1970s when he was student at the St. John Catholic Church parish school in Frederick , according to an archdiocese press release.

MARYLAND
News-Post

By Ron Cassie
News-Post Staff

Recent allegations of sexual abuse against former Frederick priest Thomas Bevan are not the first involving a priest with a connection to St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church.

According to an Archdiocese of Baltimore list of clergy accused of child sexual abuse, pastor Frederick Duke, now deceased, admitted to sexually abusing minors between 1949 and 1961. He was a St. John the Evangelist pastor.

Duke served at the Shrine of the Little Flower in Northeast Baltimore during those years before moving to St. Mary's in Lonaconing.

NEWARK (NJ)
The Jersey Journal

By MICHAELANGELO CONTE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER
NEWARK - News of a settlement between a man sexually abused by a former Jersey City priest has prompted four more alleged victims to come forward, including two from Jersey City, according to David Clohessy, national director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.

Word of the new allegations came yesterday when the man molested in Missouri by the Rev. Carmine Sita, now known as the Rev. Gerald "Gerry" Howard, spoke out for the first time about being abused.

Dr. Mark McAllister has reached a $600,000 settlement with Catholic dioceses in Newark and in Missouri, as well as a New Mexico counseling center where the former St. Aloysius Parish priest was sent after he was found to be molesting a teen in Jersey City in the early 1980s.

RHODE ISLAND
ABC 6

Chris Boardman

For almost six months, Bishop Tobin and his staff recklessly and callously chose silence over warning, and opted to alert no one about a credible allegation of child sexual abuse against a Catholic priest. That is inexcusable. Six months is a long time to intimidate other victims, threaten witnesses, destroy evidence, and fabricate alibis.

Regardless of what law enforcement does or doesn't do with this case, Tobin had a moral and civic duty to promptly warn the public and his parishioners about this serious allegation.

That he chose self-serving secrecy over simple prudence is very disturbing.

NEW JERSEY
The Jersey Journal

by Michaelangelo Conte/The Jersey Journal
Monday August 24, 2009, 4:36 PM

News of a settlement between a man sexually abused by a former Jersey City priest has prompted four more alleged victims to come forward, including two from Jersey City, according to David Clohessy, national director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.

The news comes on the same day that a man molested in Missouri by the Rev. Carmine Sita, now known as the Rev. Gerald "Gerry" Howard spoke out for the first time about being abused.

Dr. Mark McAllister has reached a $600,000 settlement with the Catholic dioceses in Newark and in Missouri as well as a New Mexico counseling center where the former St. Aloysius Parish priest was sent after he was found to be molesting a teen in Jersey City.

FARGO (ND)
WDAY

By: Christina Vaughn, WDAY

Fargo, ND (WDAY TV) - An advocacy group for people, who have been sexually abused, is calling on Shanley to reach out to former students. Members of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, say former Shanley Priest Brother Raimond Rose is accused of molesting young boys in California and Minnesota.

They want to make sure no abuse happened during the four years he taught at Shanley in the 1970's. WDAY 6 Reporter Christina Vaughn has more.

No criminal charges have been filed against Raimond Rose, but he has been civilly sued. The Fargo Diocese say while Rose taught at Shanley, no student ever came forward with a complaint of abuse.

STAUNTON (VA)
News-Leader

By Brad Zinn/staff • bzinn@newsleader.com • August 24, 2009

STAUNTON — Police have jailed an employee of the Christ United Methodist Church on allegations he molested a 7-year-old girl at the Churchville Avenue church, according to the Staunton Police Department.

Steven B. Joplin, 59, of Middlebrook is charged with two counts of aggravated sexual battery.

Staunton police spokeswoman Officer Lisa Klein said the alleged sexual assaults took place at the church between July 26 and Aug. 12.

STAUNTON (VA)
The News Virginian

By Tony Gonzalez

Published: August 24, 2009

A Staunton church leader has been charged with two counts of aggravated sexual battery of a minor under the age of 13.

Police on Friday arrested Steven Bruce Joplin, 59, of Middlebrook, after an investigation into his actions with a 10-year-old girl, Staunton police Officer Lisa Klein said Monday. Joplin worked as Director of Christian Education at Christ United Methodist Church at 1512 Churchville Ave.

STAUNTON (VA)
NBC 29

A Staunton church leader is accused of sexually abusing a young girl in his congregation. Now, he faces a pair of felony charges and, police say more charges may be on the way.

Steven Joplin, the education director at Christ United Methodist Church, faces two counts of aggravated sexual battery. Staunton police arrested the 59-year-old on Friday. The pastor of the church says it's like "living a bad dream."

"The Steve I knew was a person that was very caring," said Pastor Bob Edwards.

VATICAN CITY
National Catholic Reporter

Aug. 24, 2009
By John L Allen Jr

Rome has vetoed an election by the Maryknoll religious order which would have seen a religious brother, meaning someone not ordained to the priesthood, installed as the order's superior in the United States. Instead, the Vatican has directed that Maryknoll must choose a cleric for the job.

The decision, communicated to Maryknoll in early August, is consistent with earlier Vatican rulings that in religious orders containing both priests and lay brothers, formal authority must be exercised by priests. In 2002, the Vatican nixed an attempt by the Capuchin Franciscans to elect a brother as provincial superior of their Detroit-St. Joseph Province.

In general, church-watchers say that policy is intended to defend the theology of apostolic succession, in which decision-making power in the church is believed to flow through the sacrament of holy orders. Although religious brothers take vows and are generally seen as equals within their communities, under the church's canon law they are considered laity.

CANADA
The Daily Observer

Posted By Debbie Robinson

Bernard Prince, the Roman Catholic priest who was found guilty of sexual misconduct, has been dismissed from the Catholic Church.

In January 2008 Prince, at that time a monsignor, was found guilty of sexual misconduct. He is currently serving a four-year sentence in a federal penitentiary.

The Diocese of Pembroke was advised that on May 4, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a decree conveying and executing the decision of the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, in which Bernard Prince of the Diocese of Pembroke has been dismissed from the clerical state and dispensed from all priestly obligations.

RHODE ISLAND
Turn to 10

By Artie Tefft

Published: August 24, 2009

PAWTUCKET, R.I. – A Pawtucket priest is suspended due to sexual misconduct allegations.

Father Kevin Fisette of St. Leo the Great on Central Avenue in Pawtucket is accused of sexual misconduct with a minor more than twenty years ago.

State Police conducted an investigation and no charges were filed.

PROVIDENCE (RI)
ABC 6

Chris Boardman

(PROVIDENCE, RI) - In accordance with The Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People and diocesan policy, the Diocese of Providence today announced that Father Kevin R. Fisette has resigned as pastor of St. Leo the Great in Pawtucket and has been placed on administrative leave as a result of a credibleallegation of sexual abuse of a minor more than 20 years ago. This is the only allegation the diocese has received relative to this individual priest. According to Father Kevin Fisette, no criminal charges will be filed at this time.

The Most Rev. Thomas J. Tobin, Bishop of Providence, will soon appoint an administrator for St. Leo Parish. The Bishop plans to celebrate Mass at St. Leo's in the near future to provide parishioners spiritual and pastoral support.

PAWTUCKET (RI)
WPRI

Nancy Krause
PAWTUCKET, R.I. (WPRI) - A priest from a Roman Catholic Church in Pawtucket resigned as pastor amid allegations of sexually abusing a minor more than 20 years ago, the Providence Diocese confirmed Monday.

Under the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, Father Kevin R. Fisette, of St. Leo the Great on Central Ave., has also been placed on administrative leave as a result of the "credible allegation," church officials said.

“I am saddened by this unfortunate news, however, the Diocese of Providence takes seriously this allegation,” said The Most Rev. Thomas J. Tobin, Bishop of Providence. “I offer my prayers and support for the individual who came forward with this allegation and his family during this time, Father Kevin Fisette and his family as well as the faithful of St. Leo the Great.”

PROVIDENCE (RI)
WPRI

Published : Monday, 24 Aug 2009, 11:30 AM EDT

(WPRI) - When allegations of sexual abuse are made against a priest, the Church follows the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, created by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

“When an allegation of sexual abuse of a minor by a priest or deacon is received, a preliminary investigation in accordance with canon law will be initiated and conducted promptly and objectively (CIC, c.1717; CCEO, c. 1468). During the investigation the accused enjoys the presumption of innocence, and all appropriate steps shall be taken to protect his reputation. The accused will be encouraged to retain the assistance of civil and canonical counsel and will be promptly notified of the results of the investigation.

CANADA
Roman Catholic Diocese of Pembroke

July 27, 2009

My dear faithful of the Diocese of Pembroke,

In a few weeks, the diocese will begin the much anticipated process of mediation which we hope will bring about further healing to the victims of Msgr. Bernard Prince. We were truly saddened by the findings of the courts in relation to the allegations against him. These allegations were either admitted to or found to be true in a Court of Law.

The Church has a mandate to build a supportive community. Such a community is built on the virtues of trust and truth. Faith in God and faith in each other are paramount to achieving this ideal.

CANADA
Ottawa Citizen

By Tony Spears, The Ottawa Citizen
August 24, 2009 11:31 AM

OTTAWA — A Pembroke priest convicted of molesting 13 young boys over a 20-year period has been booted from the Catholic priesthood.

Convicted in January 2008 of sexual misconduct and now serving a four-year sentence in a federal penitentiary, Msgr. Bernard Prince was dismissed from the clerical state and dispensed from all priestly obligations as of May 4, 2009.

CONNECTICUT
The Advocate

By Devon Lash
STAFF WRITER

STAMFORD -- The death of the priest who stole a million dollars from a Darien church should end the decade-long saga that engulfed the town's oldest Catholic parish, the senior pastor said Sunday.

"The message is: The father has died, may he rest in peace," said the Monsignor Frank McGrath, the senior pastor of St. John's Roman Catholic Church.

The Rev. Michael Jude Fay, the church's former pastor, died Saturday in a federal medical facility in North Carolina after a long battle with prostate cancer. He was 58.

MARYLAND
Baltimore Sun

By Matthew Hay Brown | matthew.brown@baltsun.com

August 24, 2009

The Archdiocese of Baltimore has removed the pastor of a Cumberland church as it investigates allegations that he sexually abused a minor in the 1970s, the archdiocese announced Sunday.

Monsignor Thomas Bevan, pastor of St. Patrick Church since 1997, has denied the allegations, according to the archdiocese.

Representatives of the archdiocese met with parishioners and staff at St. Patrick on Sunday to inform them of the allegations and to answer questions, according to the archdiocese. Counseling assistance has been offered to all those affected, according to the archdiocese.

MARYLAND
News-Post

By Meg Tully
News-Post Staff

The Archdiocese of Baltimore has removed a former Frederick priest from the ministry, pending an investigation into allegations of child sexual abuse.

Monsignor Thomas Bevan, 73, was most recently a pastor at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Cumberland.

An individual who contacted the archdiocese alleges Bevan abused him on separate occasions in the mid-1970s while a student at the St. John Catholic Church parish school in Frederick , according to an archdiocese press release.

RUSSIA
Interfax

Moscow, August 24 Interfax - A jury at the Moscow City Court has found Mikhail Orekhov guilty of killing one of the two Jesuit priests who were found dead in a Moscow apartment in October 2008.

The jury found Orekhov guilty of killing Fr. Victor Betancourt, a priest from the Independent Russian Regional Society of Jesus, Moscow City Court spokesperson Anna Usachyova told Interfax.

Orekhov had been originally charged with committing both murders. The investigation insisted that Orekhov had also killed Fr. Otto Messmer, but the jury found Orekhov not guilty of this crime.

CUMBERLAND (MD)
WHAG

[with video]

Reported by: Sarah Hopkins
Sunday, Aug 23, 2009 @07:24pm EST

CUMBERLAND, MD - A pastor in Cumberland is on leave as church officials investigate allegations that he sexually abused a minor more than thirty years ago.

In a press release, the Archdiocese of Baltimore said that Monsignor Thomas Bevan denied the accusations in a meeting with church officials on August 19th.

That same day, according to the release, the Archdiocese removed him from the ministry at St. Patrick Catholic Church pending an investigation.

CUMBERLAND (MD)
Cumberland Times-News

Kristin Harty
Cumberland Times-News

CUMBERLAND — The pastor of the Church of St. Patrick has been fired amid allegations that he sexually abused a minor in the mid-1970s — charges he has denied.

Monsignor Thomas Bevan, 73, was removed from the ministry Aug. 19 and cannot function as a priest until an investigation is complete, the Archdiocese of Baltimore announced Sunday afternoon.

“If the allegations are proven false, he would be restored to the ministry,” said Sean Caine, spokes-man for the Archdiocese. “If they are credible, he would remain permanently removed.”

IRELAND
The Irish Times

PATSY McGARRY

JUST AS the report of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse said a lot about our past, how we responded to those findings “will say a lot about the present situation”, Mr Justice Seán Ryan, chairman of the commission, told the Humbert Summer School.

In his first public appearance since the publication of the report, he made the comment after he had been presented with a special award by Nobel laureate John Hume, patron of the school.

Mr Justice Ryan acknowledged “the courage and fortitude” of former residents of institutions investigated by the commission and who had given evidence before it. Through “their tenacity . . . events which had been shrouded in darkness for so long” had been brought to light, he said.

IRELAND
The Irish Times

PATSY McGARRY

SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 27th should be designated as a day of atonement by the Catholic Church in Ireland for abuse committed against the innocent, the Humbert School was told at the weekend.

Drogheda-based Augustinian priest Fr Iggy O’Donovan noted that celebrations were being planned for that day to mark the 30th anniversary of the arrival in Ireland of the late pope John Paul II.

“Is it not more appropriate that we designate that Sunday as a day of atonement,” he asked. “Surely it would make more sense than engaging in a triumphalist nostalgic exercise commemorating what has turned out to be the last sting of a dying wasp,” he said.

OHIO
The Columbus Dispatch

By Todd Jones
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

The football player wore tape on his ankles and fingers, a protective mouthpiece - and a tight, white clerical collar.

Deacon Robert Bolding, seven months from being ordained a Roman Catholic priest, was suited in black for the game and caught up in competitive spirit.

"Everybody on this field knows he was down! Come on!" he yelled at a referee.

OHIO
The Columbus Dispatch

By Todd Jones
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

The man in black could see all he'd soon leave behind.

Married couples, young and old, fanned themselves with graduation programs in the stifling, windowless hall at the Pontifical College Josephinum in May.

Children scampered about. Single women chatted.

IRELAND
Irish Indpendent

Monday August 24 2009

IT was a far cry from that bleak May day when survivors of institutional abuse were not admitted to the long-awaited news conference in a Dublin hotel at which Mr Justice Sean Ryan published his damning report into systematic abuse of children by religious orders in State run institutions.

At the weekend, three months later, Judge Ryan stood side by side for a family photograph with representatives of survivors' groups and journalist Mary Raftery, whose documentary, 'Suffer Little Children', first alerted the public to the scale of child abuse in what was known as "Catholic Ireland".

The judiciary, the abused and the media came together in the Co Mayo market town of Ballina to receive special awards presented on behalf of the Humbert Summer School by its honorary president, John Hume, the peacemaker in Northern Ireland and Nobel Laureate.

IRELAND
Irish Independent

By John Cooney

Monday August 24 2009

THE JUDGE behind the damning report into systematic abuse of thousands of children in State institutions has warmly praised those who told him their stories, thereby bringing to light "events which were shrouded in darkness for so long".

Mr Justice Sean Ryan, making his first public comments since publication last May of the shocking report, acknowledged the "courage and fortitude" of the survivors. He was speaking at a weekend ceremony in Ballina, Co Mayo, after receiving a special award presented by Nobel Peace Laureate John Hume, patron of the Humbert School.

Accepting the award on behalf of the Commission of Inquiry into Child Abuse which he chaired, Judge Ryan said its report "says a lot about our society, institutions and our systems in the past that these events happened.

CALIFORNIA
Los Angeles Times

Members of a support group for victims of alleged clergy abuse passed out leaflets in front of St. Columbkille Catholic Church in South Los Angeles today, urging parishioners and church employees who have information about sex crimes to speak out.

St. Columbkille is the former parish of defrocked priest Michael Stephen Baker, who in 2007 was sent to prison for sexually abusing two boys, and who authorities have identified as a prolific child molester.

Joelle Casteix, southwest regional director of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, said the group believes there may be many more sexual abuse victims at the parish. St. Columbkille officials were not available for comment.

IRELAND
Belfast Telegraph

Monday, 24 August 2009

Former Holy Cross priest Father Aidan Troy has hit out at the Catholic Church from his new parish in France over the issue of clerical child abuse.

The well-known priest has called on the church to halt recruitment to the priesthood until it has addressed the issue properly.

In an interview in a Sunday newspaper yesterday. Fr Troy accused the Catholic Church of a “wholly inadequate response” to the recent revelations over clerical child abuse.

WESTON (MA)
Boston Globe

By Michael Paulson
Globe Staff / August 24, 2009

WESTON - A prominent priest whose support for women’s ordination has him in trouble with the Catholic Church ratcheted up his confrontation with the hierarchy yesterday, calling the church’s refusal to ordain women a “scandal’’ and “spiritual violence.’’

“I will not be silenced on this issue,’’ said the priest, the Rev. Roy Bourgeois, to about 100 people in Weston at an event hosted by the congregation of Jean Marchant, a former staffer for the Archdiocese of Boston who claims she was ordained as a priest in an unsanctioned ceremony four years ago.

The Catholic Church views Marchant and Bourgeois as having been automatically excommunicated for participating in unsanctioned ordination ceremonies.

IRELAND
Irish Independent

By Shane Hickey

Monday August 24 2009

A LEADING priest has called for the Catholic Church to halt the recruitment of clergy in light of the child sex abuse scandals.

Fr Aidan Troy, who came to international prominence when he walked with Ardoyne schoolchildren through loyalist protests in north Belfast, said the Church needed to "halt recruitment, reform and reorganise".

He said the hierarchy had been responsible for a "wholly inadequate response to the horrendous abuse that has been uncovered" and that they should not engage in "window dressing", but instead take radical action.

FREDERICK (MD)
News-Post

By Meg Tully
News-Post Staff

The Archdiocese of Baltimore has removed a former Frederick priest from the ministry, pending an investigation into allegations of child sexual abuse.

Monsignor Thomas Bevan, 73, was most recently a pastor at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Cumberland.

An individual who contacted the archdiocese alleges Bevan abused him on separate occasions in the mid-1970s while a student at the St. John Catholic Church parish school in Frederick , according to an archdiocese press release.

UNITED STATES
Oregon Faith Report

August 21, 2009

By Oregon Faith Report,

While some speak of a national spiritual decline and aging priesthood there is a new generation of spiritual leaders very different from their predecessors. This summer, the Portland Archdiocese ordained the highest number of priests in 35 years. A new study has found that a smaller group of more racially and ethnically diverse recruits attracted to traditional prayer ritual and spiritual habits. The study was conducted by Georgetown University’s Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate for the National Religious Vocation Conference.

The study found that the aging of American priests and nuns is prevalent, according to The New York Times. 91 percent of nuns and 75 percent of priests are 60 or older. However, the aging tide may be turning. Of women who recently entered religious orders, the average age is 32; for men, it is 30.

According to CathNewsUSA, the study also showed that whites account for 94 percent of current priests and nuns but only 58 percent of those in the process of joining orders. Asians and Pacific Islanders are disproportionately represented among the new recruits, accounting for 14 percent, far above their 3 percent share of the Catholic population in the U.S. Hispanics represent 21 percent of the new recruits, compared with only 3 percent of the current priests and nuns. The growing ethnic diversity of this new group reflects shifts in immigration patterns in the U.S.:

IRELAND
The Irish Times

Extracts from the speech given by Mary Robinson at the annual commemoration of the death of Michael Collins in Béal na mBláth

"I am pleased to have been invited to give the oration in commemoration of the death of a towering figure in Irish history, Michael Collins.

"It is fair to say that all of us, from our schooldays onwards, know something about Collins' role in the War of Independence and in the negotiation of the Anglo-Irish Treaty. We know that Michael Collins will always have a special place in Ireland's history. As one of his biographers, Tim Pat Coogan put it: "He will be remembered most of all for his energy and organisational ability, his courage and charisma". ...

"It is also necessary to seek to draw something from the revelations about the abuse of children in our society. The implications of those decades of abuse have provoked soul-searching debate. The scale of abuse, as revealed in the Ryan report in May, was so widespread as to leave no doubt that it was systemic and that it required the complicity of many in our society in addition to the abusers themselves.

"In that context it is heartening to see the Irish people facing up to these realities squarely. That is essential if we are to try and understand the pain of the victims and how and why these terrible abuses could take place. Above all, I am struck by the determination on all sides that such abuses must never be allowed to happen again.

BALTIMORE (MD)
Baltimore Sun

The Archdiocese of Baltimore has removed the pastor of a Cumberland church as it investigates allegations that he sexually abused a minor in the 1970s, the archdiocese annouced on Sunday. Monsignor Thomas Bevan, pastor of St. Patrick Church since 1997, has denied the allegations, according to the archdiocese.

Representatives of the archdiocese met with parishioners and staff at St. Patrick on Sunday to inform them of the allegations and to answer questions, according to the archdiocese. Counseling assistance has been offered to all those affected, according to the archdiocese.

The individual alleging the abuse says it occurred on a number of separate occasions in the mid-1970s while he was a student at the parish school of St. John Catholic Church in Frederick, according to the archdiocese. Bevan was assigned to St. John from 1974 to 1979, according to the archdiocese.

BALTIMORE (MD)
The Catholic Review

Archdiocese of Baltimore

In June of this year, the Archdiocese of Baltimore learned of an allegation of sexual abuse of a minor against Monsignor Thomas Bevan, 73, pastor at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Cumberland. The acts allegedly occurred in the mid-1970s while he was serving as an associate pastor at St. John Catholic Church in Frederick.

The individual alleges he was abused on a number of separate occasions in the mid-1970s when he was a student at the parish school.

The allegation was immediately reported to civil authorities in Frederick County, who instructed the Archdiocese not to take any further action, including continuing its own investigation or making contact with Monsignor Bevan. On August 18, the Archdiocese received permission from civil authorities in Frederick County to resume its investigation and representatives of the Archdiocese met with Msgr. Bevan the following day. At the meeting on August 19, Msgr. Bevan denied the allegation. The Archdiocese removed him from ministry and revoked his faculties to function as a priest that same day, pending the Archdiocese’s investigation.

MARYLAND
WBAL

FREDERICK, Md. -- The Archdiocese of Baltimore is responding to sexual abuse allegations involving 73-year-old Monsignor Thomas Bevan, pastor of St. Patrick Catholic Church in Cumberland. The archdiocese said it learned of the allegations in June, which were immediately reported to civil authorities in Frederick County.

Bevan denied the allegations at a Aug. 19 meeting. The archdiocese removed him from the ministry and revoked his faculties to function as a priest, according to a press release.

The acts allegedly occurred in the mid-1970s while Bevan was serving as an associate pastor at St. John Catholic Church in Frederick, Md.

BALTIMORE (MD)
WCBC

The Archdiocese of Baltimore has removed Monsignor Thomas Bevan, 73, as pastor at St. Patrick's due to an investigation regarding sexual abuse of a minor in Frederick in the 1970s. The announcement was made to the parish community Sunday afternoon.

OREGON
City of Angels

By Kay Ebeling

Yesterday six parishioners came to hear two pedophile priest crime victims talk in a room at Ascension Catholic Church in Portland, Oregon. A handful of Cathoilcs took extra steps to find out what really happened with the handling of pedophiles and their victims in the Catholic Church. The group has been meeting there for two years, practicing Compassionate Listening , which originated in the Middle East with Israeli and Palestian neighbors trying to live peacefully with each other. Compassionate Lisstening techniques help combatants "see the humanity of each other, even when they disagree," writes Rabbi David Zaslow, of Ashland Oregon. Hmm, Ashland, Oregon.

Along with me yesterday was Cindy, a plaintiff from the L.A. Clergy Cases who drove all the way from the East Coast where she now lives, and between the two of us, I think these Compassionate Listening parishioners heard more than they expected to hear. I mean, Cindy is a victim of George Neville Rucker, 'nuff said.

On my mind a lot on this trip is a specific kind of Delayed Discovery, where the adult victim of pedophilia has buried and forgotten the experience - until they have a child themselves. As the child reaches the age the adult was when the pedophilia occurred, often the memory of the experience comes in, or the realization of who was really the guilty party. "Watching the child at the age you were," I was trying to describe it to the group Saturday, "you look at the child and you realize how innocent they are and - no that's not it." I stopped and froze, then-

VIRGINIA
Stop Baptist Predators

“I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians.”
-- Gandhi

Remember Ben?

As an adolescent boy, Ben was sexually abused by pastor George O.A. Lowe at Mt. Hope Baptist Church in Stafford County, Virginia. About a year ago, Lowe was convicted on this crime, and last week Lowe was denied parole.

Since Lowe’s conviction, Ben has been trying to get help from the church for his psychological and spiritual healing. In January 2009 he met with church leaders and asked for help. He also asked for the chance to speak before the full congregation.

After waiting over six months to even respond, church leaders finally wrote back and rebuffed Ben’s requests. Although they expressly said that “the governing body of the church is the whole congregation,” they refused Ben the chance to speak to the congregation and to ask the congregation for help.

GHANA
Joy Online

A spiritual pastor in Adenta, a suburb of Accra, is in police grips following accusations that he fondled the private parts of his lady followers.

“What he does is that when the victims went for healing, he stripped them naked and covered their faces and asked them to sleep on a mat that he had spread in his consultation room. Then he will ask them to open their thighs, pour some concoction into their private parts and stir with his hands,” Superintendent of police, Stephen Ahiatafor told Joy News.

According to him, the said pastor whose name he will not disclose will ask victims to open their eyes after he brings out mysterious items he purports to have removed from their private parts.

OHIO
Beacon Journal

By Jim Carney
Beacon Journal staff writer

Published on Sunday, Aug 23, 2009

Jeremy Merzweiler's decision to study for the priesthood comes as the number of priests continues to decline and the shortage reverberates throughout the Diocese of Cleveland.

In 1970, there were 871 priests, but the number has fallen by two thirds to 273 by recent count, according to diocese numbers.

In addition, the membership of 753,255 is migrating out of the region, officials said.

To deal with the priest shortage, the diocese has raised the retirement age from 70 to 75 and announced a plan to close 50 parishes.

CONNECTICUT
The Darien Times

Written by Susan Shultz
Saturday, 22 August 2009 16:45

Father Michael Jude Fay, the longtime St. John Roman Catholic Parish pastor, who was sent to prison for stealing more than $1 million from his parish, died in prison Saturday, the Diocese of Bridgeport told The Darien Times. Father Fay, 58, was suffering from prostate cancer.

Fay was serving a 37-month sentence in a Butner, N.C., federal prison, for the theft.

In May 2006, it was discovered that Fay was using church money to support a lavish lifestyle, which included trips to Europe, the Caribbean and other parts of the United States. A private investigation — prompted by another church priest and the bookkeeper, who both left the parish in 2006 — also discovered that Fay was in a romantic relationship with another man. Fay resigned shortly after the news broke.

CONNECTICUT
The Advocate

By Monica Potts
Staff Writer

Posted: 08/22/2009 09:31:27 PM EDT

STAMFORD -- A priest serving a three-year prison term for embezzling more than $1 million from his Darien parish died in prison Saturday morning, a spokesman for the diocese has confirmed.

Joseph McAleer, a spokesman for the Bridgeport Roman Catholic Diocese, said that Rev. Michael Jude Fay, a former pastor of St. John Roman Catholic Church in Darien, died Saturday morning.

"As we pray for the repose of Father Fay's soul, we offer prayers and condolences to his mother and family," McAleer said in a statement. McAleer said he did not know the cause of death.

FARGO (ND)
YouTube

This is a video presentation of a news conference held recently by Survivors Network of Those Abused by priests.

IRELAND
Wales on Sunday

Aug 23 2009 by Andrew Dagnell, Wales On Sunday

SICK David Murray’s evil knew no bounds – and one person who knows that only too well is Tony Cronin.

He was just nine when he was fostered, along with another boy, by Murray. ...

After the conclusion of his case at Dublin’s High Court, Mr Noctor said: “The actions of the state, and most particularly the Sisters of Charity, in trenchantly denying the validity of my claim over many years, heaped insult on top of injury.”

Murray is also believed to have had links with Welsh paedophiles, who would travel between Ireland and North Wales.

WISCONSIN
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

By Annysa Johnson of the Journal Sentinel

Posted: Aug. 21, 2009

An advocacy group for victims of clergy sex abuse has asked the Wisconsin attorney general's office to investigate whether the Catholic Diocese of Madison is complying with state laws on reporting child sex offenders to law enforcement authorities.

The case involves Father Joseph Gibbs Clauder, who has been on administrative leave since 1999 over allegations of sexual misconduct with an adult. The diocese issued a statement this month saying it has credible evidence suggesting Clauder engaged in child sex abuse and was sending the case to the Vatican for final judgment.

In a letter to the attorney general's office delivered this week, the Midwest Chapter of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests asked the agency to determine whether the diocese is complying with state laws on notification and to urge the diocese to turn its records of abuse over to authorities.

FARGO (ND)
KFGO

FARGO, ND- A group that fights against sexual abuse wants anyone affected locally to come forward and get help. An organization called 'The Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests' - or "SNAP" - held a demonstration in front of Shanley High School yesterday. They say two people have complained to them about Brother Raimond Rose - during his time at Shanley 30 years ago.

CONNECTICUT
New Haven Register

By Register Staff

WATERBURY (AP) — A judge has said no to a bid to dismiss a lawsuit related to a former Roman Catholic priest’s theft of more than $1 million from a Darien parish.

A former bookkeeper at St. John Roman Catholic Church claims she was harassed, threatened and forced to resign for exposing the embezzlement by the Rev. Michael Jude Fay. Bethany D’Erario has sued the parish and the Bridgeport Diocese.

Church officials had argued that D’Erario’s lawsuit was baseless and should be thrown out. But Judge William Cremins at Superior Court in Waterbury rejected the motion in a ruling Thursday.

UNITED STATES
Religion and Ethics Newsweekly

[with video]

DEBORAH POTTER, guest anchor: An association of Catholic women religious leaders is asking the Vatican why the group is being investigated. The leadership conference that represents almost all of the Catholic religious orders in the United States is the target of a “doctrinal assessment,” the results of which will be a secret report to Rome. The group was warned eight years ago that it had failed to promote some of the church’s teachings, including the male-only priesthood. A separate “apostolic visitation” is looking into what the Vatican calls “the quality of the life” of all 60,000 American Catholic sisters.

Joining us now to discuss these investigations is Tom Fox, editor of the independent newspaper the National Catholic Reporter. Thanks for joining us.

TOM FOX (Editor, National Catholic Reporter): Great to be here.

POTTER: Tom, I wonder if you could tell us what appears to be behind these investigations or, maybe put another way, what does it seem that the Vatican is after?

IRELAND
The Irish Times

ÉIBHIR MULQUEEN

MERRIMAN SUMMER SCHOOL: PUBLIC POLICY and services for children must be underpinned by a respect for their rights, Ombudsman for Children Emily Logan told the summer school yesterday.

A first step for children to be considered full citizens would be an amendment to the Constitution, she said.

“It is important that we get the message right in the primary legal document in the State. In the experience of my office, the absence of clearer protection for children’s rights in the Constitution has had an adverse effect on children across a wide range of areas.”

Ms Logan said the Ryan report had direct contemporary relevance. “The bulk of the commission’s recommendations relate to how our current child protection and care structures can and should be improved,” she said.

NEBRASKA
Journal Star

From staff and wire reports | Posted: Friday, August 21, 2009 6:20 pm

OMAHA -- Another charge has been filed against the Rev. Efrain Umaña, a Lincoln pastor already accused of sexually abusing four Iowans.

Umaña appeared in Douglas County Court Friday on a charge of sexual assault of a child. His bond was set at $100,000.

According to court documents, the alleged assault occurred in February 2004.

LINCOLN (NE)
World-Herald

By Jason Kuiper
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

A Lincoln pastor already facing sex abuse charges in Council Bluffs has been charged in Omaha with first-degree sexual assault of a child.

Efrain Umaña Sr., 54, a pastor who served congregations in Council Bluffs and Lincoln, pleaded not guilty to sex abuse charges in Iowa.

The new charge against Umaña alleges he sexually assaulted a young girl four times between February 2004 and May 2004. The girl’s father found out about the abuse earlier this year and contacted Omaha police, according to the police report. The girl is now 17 and lives in Texas.

By Jesse James DeConto
CHARLOTTE (NC)
Charlotte Observer

By Jesse James DeConto
jesse.deconto@newsobserver.com

James Nichols said he was flabbergasted when a Chatham County sheriff's deputy arrested him in March for a simple weekly activity: going to church.

Nichols, 31, had served six years in prison for indecent liberties with a teenage girl and attempted second-degree rape. He was released last September and started attending Moncure Baptist Church. He met with the pastor, disclosed his crimes and often sat in the front row for worship.

But after the Chatham sheriff's office investigated an alleged sexual assault by another person in the church parking lot in March, Nichols was arrested because he was attending the church, which has a child care facility on its premises.

FARGO (ND)
In Forum

By: Mike Nowatzki, INFORUM

A support group for people victimized by religious authority figures wants Shanley High School to “aggressively reach out” to alumni who may have been abused by a Roman Catholic brother who worked at the Fargo school from 1976 to 1980.

Brother Charles Anthony “Raimond” Rose has been the subject of at least two civil lawsuits filed in Minnesota this year against the Christian Brothers teaching order.

Plaintiffs claim the order committed fraud by not disclosing Rose’s history as a sexual abuser when he abused two teenage boys from Twin Cities Catholic schools in 1966-67 and 1970.

MAINE
WGME

August 21, 2009 11:41 EDT

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) -- One of those sexually abused by a Roman Catholic priest says he's appalled the Vatican agreed to let the Rev. Michael Doucette remain a priest.

David Gagnon, who was 15 when he was abused by Doucette, said Friday that the priest's punishment shows the Diocese of Portland doesn't take clergy abuse seriously. He says he continues to go through therapy after being raped and sexual abused repeatedly by Doucette.

The diocese announced Thursday that Doucette will be allowed to retain the title of priest but won't be able to present himself as a priest, wear clerical garb or have a public ministry.

MAINE
MPBN

August 21, 2009 Reported By: Susan Sharon

One of the people who claims he was sexually abused by a Roman Catholic priest in Maine 20 years ago says he is outraged by the Vatican's decision to allow Reverend Michael Doucette to remain as a priest. The Diocese of Portland removed Doucette from active public ministry in 2002 and the Vatican has now upheld the action. But the Vatican could have taken more severe measures.

The Vatican could have chosen to laicize or defrock Reverend Michael Doucette, who has admitted he engaged in abuse in the past. In other words, Doucette could have been formally stripped of his priesthood. Instead, the Vatican upheld the disciplinary measures imposed by the Diocese of Portland in 2002. Those include being removed from active ministry, not being able to present himself as a priest or wearing clerical garb.

A self-described survivor of sexual abuse by Michael Doucette, David Gagnon, says this is a terrible message to victims. "I think the decision for the Diocese and for Rome not to defrock him is basically a mild slap on the wrist and a basic suggestion that what he did was not all that bad, and you know, you can rape 15-year-olds and still be a priest."

By Kristen Mack
Tribune reporter

August 21, 2009

Officials at a college prep school on Chicago's West Side knew of a teacher's repeated sexual contact with a male student but "turned a blind eye" and failed to protect him, a lawsuit alleged Thursday.

The suit filed on behalf of the student alleged that Chicago Hope Academy math teacher Kathryn Vail-Wesley admitted to other faculty that she had "intimate and/or sexual feelings" toward the boy, then 17. The student also discussed Vail-Wesley's interest in him with at least one faculty member, said the suit, filed in Cook County Circuit Court.

Vail-Wesley is awaiting trial on five counts of criminal sexual assault. She has since resigned from the school.

LINCOLN (NE)
World-Herald

By Jason Kuiper
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
A Lincoln pastor already facing sex abuse charges in Council Bluffs has been charged in Omaha with first-degree sexual assault on a child.

Efrain Umaña Sr., 54, a pastor who served congregations in Council Bluffs and Lincoln, has pleaded not guilty to sex abuse charges in Iowa.

The new charge against Umaña alleges he sexually assaulted a young girl four times between February 2004 and May 2004. The girl's father found out about the abuse earlier this year and contacted Omaha police, according to the police report. The girl is now 17 and lives in Texas.

MADISON (WI)
River Towns

MADISON -- A national victims advocacy group wants Wisconsin's attorney general to investigate the role of Madison's bishop in protecting a priest suspected of sexually abusing both children and adults.

Earlier this month, Madison Bishop Robert Morlino issued a press release stating that allegations about the sexual misconduct of Father Joseph Gibbs Clauder were being sent to the Vatican.

But Peter Isely of the group Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) says Father Clauder's actions should be investigated by the state attorney general, not the Catholic Church.

ILLINOIS
Chicago Now

A Des Plaines woman claims that she and an Ordained Catholic Priest, who was the Pastor of St. James Catholic Church, lived as husband and wife from 1994 until his death in 2007.

She further asserts that he deceived her by changing his will without her knowledge and, if the court does not intervene, it will cause her to lose her Des Plaines home.

According to the complaint, Edwin Bohula and Irene Serwa met in 1959 when she was a student at St. Fidelis Grammar School and he was the assistant pastor. They became reacquainted in 1994 and began a sexual relationship, despite Edwin's role as a priest. Their relationship, the complaint alleges, was "exclusive" and Edwin would give Irene cards addressed "To My Wife."

UNITED STATES
The Awareness Center

by Vicki Polin, MA, LCPC

Considering it is the month of Elul (a time for self-examination, meditation and prayer), many Jews around the world are emotionally and spiritually preparing for the High Holidays.

I was recently discussing the term "forgiveness" with a group of people on Facebook. One of the individuals in the conversation suggested "forgiveness, helps us to heal our past," another suggested that, "forgiveness, means being able to get on with your life". A third person suggested,"forgiveness does not change the past". Forgiveness is about the present moment. It transforms us in the moment so we can go forward doing teshuvah and tikkun olam.

After advocating for survivors of sex crimes for so many years, I don't believe one needs to "Forgive" to heal. I also personally do not believe the term "forgiveness" means giving up our hope for a better past. I think acceptance is a much better word for that.

CHICAGO (IL)
WBBM

CHICAGO (STNG) -- A student-athlete is suing Chicago Hope Academy, alleging the school “turned a blind eye” to sexual abuse and exploitation involving his former math teacher.

The suit, filed Thursday in Cook County Circuit Court, alleges intentional infliction of emotional distress, willful and wanton misconduct, negligence and breach of fiduciary duty on behalf of the private Christian high school.

The student-athlete, an unnamed minor, was recruited and enrolled at Chicago Hope Academy, 2189 West Bowler Street in the Near West Side neighborhood on the West Side, in 2005, the suit said.

UNITED STATES
eMediaWire

(PRWEB) August 21, 2009 -- In July, Voice of the Faithful raised more than $120,000 in an emergency fundraising campaign that served as a referendum on the organization's viability as a change agent in the Catholic Church. Thanks to that cash infusion, the organization is now confidently launching Voices in Action, a practical pathway for transforming the Catholic Church through local, regional and national action.

Voices in Action focuses on improving parishes and dioceses; fostering greater accountability in Church leaders and in the laity as well; ensuring financial transparency; healing survivors; protecting children; supporting clergy working together with laity; and encouraging systematic transformation and growth in the universal Church.

It is with great excitement that we introduce this campaign to the public, but it is something that could not have been done without the support, time and treasure, of all of our members. Over the next few weeks members and all lay Catholics will be asked to volunteer their financial support and time for one or more of the initiatives.

CANADA
The Ottawa Citizen

By Kelly Egan, The Ottawa Citizen
July 8, 2009

Of the 52 priests listed in the clerical directory at the Archdiocese of Pembroke, four are conferred the honorary title of monsignor.

One is retired. One is serving a jail term. One has just been charged with sexual assault.

These are, indeed, trying times for Roman Catholics in the upper Ottawa Valley.

Nor is it over. The OPP said Tuesday that new information, in the form of a fresh complaint, had been received in the ongoing matter of Msgr. Robert Borne.

MADISON (WI)
WKOW

Posted: Aug 21, 2009 2:40 AM

MADISON (WKOW) -- This month, the Madison Catholic Diocese admitted allegations of sexual abuse of a child made against a Madison-area priest are credible.
The bishop referred the case against Joseph Gibbs Clauder to the Vatican for judgment, but one group says that's not enough.

The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) wants open information and prosecution.

SNAP members stood outside J.B. Van Hollen's office Thursday, asking the Wisconsin attorney general to investigate possible crimes committed by a local priest against parishioners.

INDIANA
Indianapolis Star
By Robert King

Posted: August 21, 2009

A John Doe RG, as he is known in court papers, always struggled with trusting people.

Personal relationships usually lasted no more than a year. His second-guessing of his bosses sent him hopping from job to job.

But it wasn't until 2003 that his therapist asked him a question that would unravel his life and rattle the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Indianapolis: "Do you have any sexual abuse in your past?"

IRELAND
The Corkman

By MARIA HERLIHY

Thursday August 20 2009

A CLOYNE priest, referred to as Father B, is to be put on trial behind closed doors by the Catholic Church for alleged child abuse.

The process of a trial behind closed doors is similar to a court trial, but, witnesses can only be invited to give evidence, rather than compelled.

It is understood the canonical hearing will take place in Cobh before the end of the month. It was reported in the media that the court is being established under the auspices of Dermot D Clifford, the Archbishop of Cashel and Emly.

AUSTRALIA
The Herald

BY DAN PROUDMAN
21/08/2009 4:00:00 AM
A MAN who has accused Catholic priest Peter Julian Brock of sexually assaulting him as a teenager admitted yesterday he initially identified the wrong presbytery where some of the abuse allegedly occurred.

The man told Newcastle Local Court he had misled police about when the alleged abuse finished because he was concerned they would think he was homosexual if he admitted it continued into his 20s.

The committal hearing also heard how Brock had officiated at the man's wedding years after he was alleged to have abused him.

MAINE
MPBN

The disciplinary measures were imposed after victims came forward complaining of sexual improprieties.

Disciplinary measures imposed on a Roman Catholic priest who admitted to sexual improprieties have been confirmed by the Vatican. The measures were imposed by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland on Michael Doucette, who served as a priest in several cities and towns in Maine between 1975 and 2001.

Doucette will be allowed to remain a priest, but he can't have any public ministry or present himself as a priest or wear clerical garb.

OHIO
Daiy-Jeff

BELLAIRE -- SNAP Support Group meeting will be 5:30 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 9 in Bellaire.

The group encourages and welcomes anyone who has suffered from clergy sexual abuse to attend this confidential self help group meeting. Acceptance, compassion and healing is possible. Privacy will be respected for all who attend.

This SNAP meeting has been relocated to be more assessable to survivors within the Steubenville, Marietta, Cambridge, Wheeling, and small town areas like Woodsfield, Miltonsburg and Barnesville.

NEW YORK
Newsday

August 20, 2009 By JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER jennifer.kelleher@newsday.com

Two sisters are suing a Patchogue church and its former pastor for manipulating them into a sexual relationship with him.

Valerie Spielman and her sister Cindy Gallo held a news conference in their Miller Place attorney's office Thursday, recounting years of counseling they received from the former pastor of Grace Gospel Church.

They said Lawrence Carrino, who has since moved to Minnesota, took advantage of their psychological weaknesses in order to have countless secret sexual encounters.

WEYMOUTH (MA)
National Catholic Register

BY Gail Besse
Register Correspondent

May 7-13, 2006 Issue | Posted 8/20/09 at 8:09 AM

WEYMOUTH, Mass. — A shy smile creased the face of Father Charles Murphy as the congregation’s applause enveloped him.

Father Murphy had just returned to public ministry after what he called “dark days.” He had fought a 30-year-old sexual abuse claim that a civil court eventually dismissed and a Church review board declared unsubstantiated.

TOLEDO (OH)
Toledo Blade

By DAVID YONKE
BLADE STAFF WRITER

One of the jurors who, three years ago, found a Toledo Catholic priest guilty in the 1980 murder of a nun said last night that she remains haunted by the trial and prays that "if I made the wrong decision that God forgives me."

Denise West of Toledo, who along with 11 other jurors came to the unanimous verdict that Gerald Robinson murdered Sister Margaret Ann Pahl, said the decision was based on evidence presented in the Lucas County Common Pleas Court trial.

Mrs. West's emotional presentation was given at Ski's Restaurant in Sylvania in a talk sponsored by the Polish-American Council of Toledo.

AUSTRALIA
Broken Rites

A mother refused to believe her teenage son who complained about being sexually abused by Catholic priest Father Peter Julian Brock, an Australian court has been told.

The alleged victim stated in court that his mother had slapped him and told him "you don't make comments like that about priests".

The alleged victim told the court how Father Peter Brock had introduced him to a card game "Strip Jack", in which players lose pieces of clothing until the players become naked.

RUSSIA
The Moscow Times

20 August 2009
Reuters

The Russian Orthodox Church has cursed and excommunicated a journalist for “satanic lies” in accusing the abbess of a monastery of scaring locals into selling their homes for “peanuts.”

The church used excommunication and the anathema ecclesiastical curse as powerful weapons against its enemies under the tsars but rarely imposes the sanctions today.

The Pskov diocese in western Russia excommunicated the local journalist after a court found him guilty of libel for an article headlined “A Wasp’s Nest Under Golden Domes,” which also accused lay sisters at the monastery of smoking and drinking in their robes.

RED SPRINGS (NC)
The Fayetteville Observer

By Michael Futch
Staff writer

RED SPRINGS - There's dissension in the church.

Three days after being padlocked out of his parish, Father Walter Ospina returned to give the Wednesday evening Mass at the Iglesia Catolica San Andres on the outskirts of this rural Robeson County town.

By order of the Bishop of the Raleigh Diocese, it will be the last Mass held in the church until a review of any parishioner's concerns is complete.

Earlier this week, St. Pauls Police Chief Tommy Hagens said the Robeson County District Attorney's Office is looking into an allegation made against Ospina.

ARIZONA
Arizona Daily Star

By Kim Smith
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 08.20.2009

A former youth minister is facing more than 50 years in prison after being convicted Wednesday of molesting a 13-year-old girl over the course of a year.

Christopher Scott Decaire will be sentenced Sept. 18 by Pima County Superior Court Judge Jane Eikleberry on six of the eight molestation and sexual-conduct charges he originally faced. The jury acquitted him of two counts of sexual conduct after deliberating nearly eight hours over two days.

Last week, the girl, now 15, testified that Decaire molested her and forced her to perform oral sex between January 2007 and January 2008.

NEW ORLEANS (LA)
The Times-Picayune

by Bruce Nolan, The Times-Picayune
Thursday August 20, 2009, 5:25 AM

Pope Benedict XVI greets Archbishop Gregory M. Aymond of New Orleans after presenting a pallium to him during a Mass in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican on June 29. When Bishop Gregory Aymond left his native New Orleans to lead the Catholic Church in Austin, Texas, nine years ago, he was a relatively new bishop without experience at the head of a regional church.

But as Aymond frequently told Texas friends in a series of farewells during the past three weeks, Austin taught him how to be a bishop. ...

In 1998 he allowed Brian Matherne, a teacher and coach at Sacred Heart elementary school in Norco, to remain on the job despite accusations from a parent that years earlier Matherne had molested his son, by then a young adult.

Acting on lawyers' advice, the archdiocese allowed Matherne to stay on the job because the young man, who was by then in therapy, refused to give first-hand testimony to Aymond. A year later the church was deeply embarrassed when the St. Charles Parish sheriff's office arrested Matherne, who was convicted of abusing many children -- some after the church had been warned. He is now in prison.

AUSTRALIA
ABC

A man, who says he was sexually abused by a priest in the New South Wales Hunter region when he was a boy, has praised the Catholic Church for helping to bring his alleged abuser to justice.

The alleged victim yesterday told a committal hearing, he was repeatedly sexually abused by Father Peter Julian Brock in the 1970s.

He said the abuse started before he hit puberty and by 16 he was having sexual intercourse with Father Brock, who is facing a total of 22 child sex charges against two alleged victims.

CANADA
Winnipeg Sun

By PAUL TURENNE, SUN MEDIA

Three Sikh priests accused of molesting a member of their Winnipeg temple when he was a boy will stand trial on their charges.

Provincial court Judge Michel Chartier ruled yesterday there is sufficient evidence to try Bakhshish Singh, Dalbag Singh and Kuljit Singh on charges related to the alleged abuse of a temple member for several years during the early 1990s.

Chartier made the ruling following a one-day preliminary hearing yesterday. The evidence given at the hearing is subject to a publication ban.

CANADA
Winnipeg Free Press

By: Mike McIntyre

THREE Sikh priests have been ordered to stand trial for allegedly sexually abusing a young boy for years in a bizarre case that has divided their community.

Bakhshish Singh, 49; Kuljit Singh, 45; and Dalbag Singh, 39, learned their fate following a preliminary hearing on Wednesday.

A judge ruled there is sufficient evidence to move the case forward.

A court-ordered ban prevents details of from being published.

BRAZIL
La Cronica de Hoy

Un sacerdote italiano que dirigía un albergue para niños sin hogar en Brasil por el que fue premiado ha sido acusado de abusar sexualmente de ellos durante varios años y permitir que visitantes extranjeros los explotaran, dijeron fuentes judiciales el miércoles.

El padre Clodoveo Piazza, quien ahora trabaja como misionero en Mozambique, fue acusado junto con otro ex director del grupo no lucrativo Organización de Ayuda Fraternal basado en Salvador, Brasil.

BRAZIL
Correio

Redação CORREIO
O ex-presidente da Organização de Auxílio Fraterno (OAF), padre Clodoveo Piazza, e o ex diretor-executivo da entidade, Marcos de Paiva Silva, foram denunciados pelo Ministério Público da Bahia por 'submeter crianças e adolescentes à exploração sexual'.

A denúncia foi oferecida à Vara Especializada Criminal da Infância e Juventude pela pela promotora Sandra Patrícia Oliveira, titular da Promotoria Especializada em Crimes Contra a Criança e o Adolescente.

BRAZIL
Terra

19 de agosto de 2009 • 18h59 • atualizado às 18h59

Ex-secretário de Desenvolvimento Social e Combate à Pobreza da Bahia, o padre Clodoveo Piazza foi denunciado pelo Ministério Público baiano por suspeita de submeter crianças e adolescentes à exploração sexual. Marcos de Paiva Silva, ex-diretor-executivo da Organização de Auxílio Fraterno (OAF), entidade da qual o padre foi presidente, também foi denunciado.

Segundo o MP, entre 2000 e 2008, os denunciados teriam submetido diversos abrigados da organização, menores de 18 anos, à exploração sexual. De acordo com depoimento de ex-internos, os homens teriam prometido recompensas e dinheiro. A OAF é uma entidade não-governamental que oferece abrigo a crianças e adolescentes em situação de risco pessoal e social.

BRAZIL
The Associated Press

By BRADLEY BROOKS (AP)

RIO DE JANEIRO — An Italian priest who ran an award-winning shelter for homeless children in Brazil has been charged with sexually abusing boys for years and allowing visiting foreigners to exploit the children, prosecutors said Wednesday.

Father Clodoveo Piazza, now working as a missionary in Mozambique, was charged along with another former director of the nonprofit group Fraternal Help Organization, a private group based in Salvador.

TUCSON (AZ)
KVOA

A verdict has been reached in the trial of a former Tucson youth minister charged with sexually assaulting a 13-year-old.

A jury has found Christopher Decaire guilty on two counts of sexual abuse of a minor under 15, two counts of molestation of a child, two counts of sexual conduct of a minor under 15.

He was found not guilty on two counts of sexual conduct with a minor.

SOUTH CAROLINA
The State

The S.C. Supreme Court today re-instated a child molestation conviction against a former deacon at First Baptist Church in Columbia.

The court in a 4-1 ruling reversed a 2005 decision by the state Court of Appeals involving John Hubner, who was sentenced in 2002 to 36 years in prison after a Richland County jury convicted of six counts of lewd acts on a child.

The Supreme Court today also upheld convictions in two other child sex abuse cases in Greenville and Pickens counties. The court relied on the Greenville County case in re-instating Hubner's conviction.

SOUTH CAROLINA
The State

By RICK BRUNDRETT - rbrundrett@thestate.com

The state’s top court in separate rulings Monday upheld or reinstated convictions in three child sex abuse cases, including one involving an ex-deacon at a large Columbia church.

The majority of justices in all three rulings Monday said the trial judges were correct in allowing testimony of “prior bad acts” by the defendants, though they were not charged criminally in most of the earlier incidents.

The state Attorney General’s Office and victims advocates applauded the decision, saying it will make it easier to convict pedophiles. But defense attorneys said the rulings will allow defendants to be convicted on unproven evidence.

UNITED STATES
Christianity Today

Brandon Fibbs | posted 8/18/2009 10:52AM

The writer of Ecclesiastes says there is a time for everything—a time to be silent and a time to speak. All God's Children was made for the latter. The 2008 documentary was inspired by an article that ran in Christianity Today in April 1998, exposing alleged child abuse at the Mamou Alliance Academy in Guinea, West Africa, a Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA) boarding school for missionary kids.

At Mamou during the 1960s, dozens of children were beaten, abused, and even raped by teachers and overseers, and told that if they ever revealed what went on, they would be defeating their parents' work and damning millions of potential African converts. Now adults, many of Mamou's survivors have banded together to confront the demons of their past, seek justice, and, in some cases, offer forgiveness.

LOUISIANA
The Advocate and WBRZ

[video presentation]

A former alter boy who claims a Baton Rouge priest abused him is making his story public. News 2's Chris Nakamoto talks with him

SPRINGFIELD (MA)
The Republican

Wednesday, August 19, 2009
By JACK FLYNN
jflynn@repub.com
SPRINGFIELD - The Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield is preparing for the third and possibly most contentious stage of a reorganization that will reshape parishes across the Pioneer Valley for decades.

Within the next month, Bishop Timothy A. McDonnell is expected to announce church closings for parishes in Springfield, Holyoke, Chicopee, Palmer, Ware and Hampshire County.

A reorganization plan drawn up by the Pastoral Planning Committee was submitted to McDonnell earlier this month, and should receive his approval in the next two or three weeks, according to Msg. John J. Bonzagni, director of planning for the diocese. Officials would not release details of the proposal.

AUSTRALIA
The Herald

BY DAN PROUDMAN
20/08/2009 4:00:00 AM
CATHOLIC priest Peter Julian Brock used a ruse of playing cards to lure a boy into naked sex trysts which lasted several years, a court heard yesterday.

The alleged victim told a committal hearing yesterday of how Brock had introduced the card game "strip jack" where players lose pieces of clothing depending on what they are dealt in a "counselling room" of a Hunter presbytery before sexually abusing him.

The man, who was a young teenager at the time of the alleged abuse in the 1970s, also told the court how his mother had slapped him and told him "you don't make comments like that about priests" after he had confided in her that Brock was abusing him.

STAFFORD (VA)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priest

WHAT
At a news conference, clergy sex abuse victims will
-- applaud corrections officials for denying parole to an admitted predator &
-- provide copies of a letter from Baptist officials denying help to the predator’s victim. ...

WHEN
Wednesday, August 19, at 1:00 PM

WHERE In front of Mt Hope Church, 3653 Brooke Rd, Stafford, VA

CONNECTICUT
The Hartford Courant

By DAVID OWENS
The Hartford Courant

11:57 a.m. EDT, August 18, 2009

HARTFORD — - Internet blogger Harold "Hal" Turner's attorney said today that Turner's background as an FBI informant will be a key part of his defense to charges that he incited violence against two state legislators and a state ethics official.

Superior Court Judge David P. Gold on Tuesday authorized Michael A. Orozco, a New Jersey attorney, to represent Turner. Turner did not appear again in court Tuesday because he remains in federal custody without bail in Chicago, where he is accused of threatening three federal judges.

In asking Gold to allow Orozco to represent Turner, Turner's Connecticut lawyer, Matthew R. Potter, said Orozco has a long-term legal relationship with Turner, plans to bring a complicated First Amendment defense and is familiar with Turner's background as an FBI informant.

CONNECTICUT
Prison Planet

Kurt Nimmo
Infowars
August 18, 2009

Radio talk show host and blogger Hal Turner was an FBI trained agent provocateur, his attorney told reporters in Hartford today. The supposed white supremacist worked for the agency from 2002 until 2007. “His job was basically to publish information which would cause other parties to act in a manner which would lead to their arrest,” Michael Orozco told the Associated Press.

Earlier this year Turner told his blog readers to “take up arms” against Connecticut lawmakers. He also said government officials should “obey the Constitution or die.” In June he wrote that the Illinois federal appeals judges “deserve to be killed” because they issued a ruling that upheld ordinances in Chicago and suburban Oak Park banning handguns. Turner included photos of the judges and the room numbers of their chambers at the courthouse.

CONNECTICUT
The Hartford Courant

By DAVID OWENS
The Hartford Courant

August 19, 2009

HARTFORD — - A lawyer for Harold "Hal" Turner, the blogger and Internet radio host accused of encouraging people to "take up arms" against two Connecticut legislators and a state ethics official, said Tuesday that the comments are protected by the First Amendment.

Turner knew just where the line was between protected political speech and criminal conduct because the FBI taught him when the agency used him as an informant, his attorney, Michael A. Orozco of Newark, N.J., said outside a Hartford courtroom.

"Mr. Turner was trained by the FBI," Orozco said. "He was told where the line was — what he could say." Turner, of New Jersey, worked as an "agent provocateur" for the FBI from roughly 2002 to 2007, Orozco said.

LAS VEGAS (NV)
Fox 5

LAS VEGAS -- A self-proclaimed prophet accused of having sex with children has died.

Benito Catello, 76, died in his home Monday afternoon without ever facing a jury for his alleged crimes. Catello was under hospice care at his home when he died.

Neighbors said they have mixed feelings on his death, especially in light of some serious criminal charges.

AUSTRALIA
Adelaide Now

KEN McGREGOR
August 19, 2009 07:25pm
A MAN who was allegedly sexually abused by a former Anglican priest told a court yesterday that he had also been molested by Ric Marshall and Bob Brandenburg.

Testifying today, the man told the District Court that Wilfred Edwin Dennis, 73, of Vale Park, had abused him while he was an altar boy for a 12-18 month period in the 1970s.

Dennis has pleaded not guilty to three counts of indecent assault, one count of gross indecency, and one count of having carnal knowledge.

UNITED KINGDOM
Wirral News

Aug 19 2009 by Liam Murphy, Birkenhead News

WORSHIPPERS at a Wirral church controversially shut by Catholic authorities, have won an historic ruling from the Vatican that the closure order was “null and void”.

Ss Peter and Paul’s church in New Brighton – known as the “Dome of Home” because it is visible to sailors in Liverpool Bay – was shut in 2008, despite protests from its parishioners.

The Diocese of Shrewsbury had insisted the church was too expensive to operate and moved services to the Anglican All Saints – a step which angered many worshippers.

Campaign group SOUL (Save Our Unique Landmark) was set up to press the diocese to retain the 1930s Grade II listed building.

AMERICAN FORK (UT)
Deseret News

By Sara Israelsen-Hartley
Deseret News

AMERICAN FORK — Attorneys for the former LDS seminary principal accused of developing a sexual relationship with a student are waiting for more evidence before proceeding with the case.

Michael Jay Pratt, 37, was surrounded by friends and former students Tuesday morning as he made an appearance in 4th District Court and got another hearing date for Sept. 8.

One of Pratt's attorneys, Dusty Kawai, told the judge they still need to see cell-phone records and text messages and asked for the three-week continuance.

CANADA
The Record

August 19, 2009
By Dianne Wood, Record staff

“Mark Hiemstra made it past my mother radar.’’

The words are from the mother of a young boy molested by Hiemstra, the former director of the children’s ministry at Highview Community Church in Kitchener.

On Tuesday, Hiemstra was sentenced to 23 months in jail for molesting seven young boys over a 17-year period.

FAIRBANKS (AK)
News-Miner

By Mary Beth Smetzer

Published Wednesday, August 19, 2009

FAIRBANKS — A special donation appeal is being made by Fairbanks Catholic Bishop Donald Kettler to Outside diocesan contributors to keep the Fairbanks Catholic missionary diocese afloat.

The request recently went out in a bulk mailing to 55,000 addresses of diocesan supporters around the country and beyond.

Kettler cited the reasons for the diocese’s fiscal crisis and his special appeal as stemming from legal costs of bankruptcy reorganization; rising fuel and maintenance costs; staff travel expenses to cover the sprawling diocese; and the national economic downturn which has decimated investment returns.

FAIRBANKS (AK)
Catholic Culture

August 19, 2009
The Diocese of Fairbanks, which filed for bankruptcy in 2008 amid 300 sexual-abuse lawsuits, is sending a special fundraising appeal to 55,000 Catholics nationwide. “The clock is always ticking on attorney fees,” said the chancellor of the north Alaskan diocese. “I know we have incurred more than $2 million in fees to date and part has been paid from a loan and proceeds from the sale of property.”

UNITED STATES
YouTube

Bob Schwiderski, Minnesota director of Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, is focusing on Christian Brother Raimond Rose. Outreach actions are planned in Wisconsin and North Dakota. The intent is to assist survivors of clergy sexual abuse find healing and recovery.

SNAP encourages anyone with information on Bro. Rose to contact Mr. Schwiderski at 952-471-3422 or e-mail at skibrs@mchsi.com.

CALIFORNIA
The Press Democrat

BY LORI A. CARTER
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

A former Sonoma County man is suing a Windsor Lutheran church and its former assistant pastor, claiming he was molested nine years ago.

Vineyard of Faith Lutheran Church and ex-assistant pastor Christopher Benson are named in the lawsuit, which also includes the Lutheran Church’s Missouri headquarters and the regional Lutheran council.

The suit, filed in June in Sonoma County Court, seeks unspecified monetary damages for alleged psychological damage incurred by James Bowen, now 22.

IRELAND
Irish Independent

By John Cooney and Breda Heffernan

Monday August 17 2009

VICTIM groups now want religious orders to pay €600m directly to survivors of institutional child sex abuse.

None of the compensation money should go to cover administrative, legal or medical costs, a new alliance of survivors of abuse groups has said.

Instead survivors want the Government to keep a promise made in 2002 that the Redress Board awards would match average High Court payouts in personal injury claims.

LARGO (FL)
St. Petersburg Times

By Curtis Krueger, Times Staff Writer
Posted: Aug 18, 2009 11:28 AM

LARGO — A former Pasco County youth pastor pleaded guilty today to two counts of unlawful sexual activity with a 16-year-old girl and was sentenced to more than four years in prison, followed by six years of sex offender probation.

Scott Dewayne Wright was arrested earlier this year and accused of touching the girl under her clothing and penetrating her with his fingers. He was in his 30s at the time of the offense, and had met the girl in 2007 when he was a youth pastor at Calvary Chapel Worship Center in New Port Richey.

The girl is not being named because of the nature of the offense. Her parents appeared in court and said afterwards they were satisfied with the sentence.

RALEIGH (NC)
News & Observer

Jesse James Deconto - News & Observer

RALEIGH — James Nichols said he was flabbergasted when a Chatham County sheriff's deputy arrested him in March for a simple weekly activity — going to church.

Nichols, 31, had served six years in prison for indecent liberties with a teenage girl and attempted second-degree rape. He was released last September and started attending Moncure Baptist Church. He met with the pastor, disclosed his crimes and often sat in the front row for worship.

But after the Chatham Sheriff's Office investigated an alleged sexual assault by another person in the church parking lot in March, Nichols was arrested because he was attending the church, which has a child-care facility on its premises.

OHIO
WMFD

A former Mansfield youth pastor charged with 42 counts of sexual battery involving female parishioners wants the charges dismissed against him.

John Picard's attorney claims the charges should be dropped against the 42-year-old because his client was denied a speedy trial.

Picard's trial was originally scheduled to begin Monday in Richland County Common Pleas Court, but his attorney filed four motions before jury selection, causing the trial to be rescheduled to Thursday.

LAS VEGAS (NV)
Review-Journal

Self-proclaimed prophet Benito Catello, charged last month with 29 felonies regarding sexual misconduct with two juvenile members of his church, died Monday in hospice care.

He had been in custody at an area hospital since his arrest at his home July 3. The home doubled as a nondenominational Christian church called "The Ministry," where Catello held Bible study and meetings, according to reports.

LAS VEGAS (NV)
Times-Standard

LAS VEGAS—A self-proclaimed prophet and church leader arrested in Las Vegas in July on suspicion of sex crimes against children has died.

Mace Yampolsky, an attorney for Benito Catello, says the 76-year-old died on Monday at his home while under hospice care.

UNITED STATES
Voice for the Faithful

Voices in Action provides a practical pathway for transforming the Catholic Church through local, regional and national action. Our focus is on improving our parishes and dioceses by fostering greater accountability in ourselves and our leaders; healing survivors; protecting children; ensuring financial transparency; supporting clerical collaboration with laity; and encouraging systematic transformation and growth in the universal Church.

We approach these efforts with a renewed spirituality grounded in prayer. Voices in Action calls on all Catholics to discern our gifts and join our talents with others to make a difference now. Our work depends on the insights and energies of all—because no one person or group has every answer. ...

Child Protection and Survivor Support. VOTF will support victims in sharing their stories to increase public awareness as well as survivor healing; prepare a comprehensive guide to help VOTF members engage in legislative reforms that protect children and advance the efforts of survivors to obtain justice; and work for the adoption of evidence-based child abuse prevention programs for adults.

CONNECTICUT
NBC

By YVONNE NAVA
Updated 9:45 AM EDT, Tue, Aug 18, 2009

A New Jersey "shock blogger" accused of threatening two Connecticut lawmakers will face a judge Tuesday.

Hal Turner, 47, of North Bergen, was arrested after he allegedly urged his blog readers to "take up arms" against Sen. Andrew McDonald, Rep. Michael Lawlor and Tom Jones from the Office of State Ethics.

Turner said he was upset about proposed legislation that would allow the state to scrutinize the Catholic church's finances. The bill was withdrawn in March. Turner's lawyer says the case is about freedom of speech.

Here's what was posted on the site:

TRN advocates Catholics in Connecticut take up arms and put down this tyranny by force. To that end, THIS WEDNESDAY NIGHT ON "THE HAL TURNER SHOW" we will be releasing the home addresses of the Senator and Assemblyman who introduced Bill 1098 as well as the home address of Thomas K. Jones from the OSE.

UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter

Aug. 18, 2009
By Diana Fishlock, 2009 Religion News Service

HARRISBURG, Pa. -- For 24 years, Barbara Myers worked with Barry R. Herr in a small church office where everybody knew everybody. Co-workers all knew when someone's family had a baby, a wedding or a death.

But they didn't know Herr was embezzling money -- more than $1 million from the Lower Susquehanna Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, where he was treasurer. He used the money to buy classic cars, police said.

“He ripped off his own church,” said Myers, a spokeswoman for the synod. “Where else do you trust people if not in a church environment?”

UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter

Aug. 18, 2009
By Daniel Burke, Religion News Service

The Leadership Conference of Women Religious has asked the Vatican to disclose why it is being investigated and who is funding the probe, and questioned why the sisters will not be allowed to see the final investigative report submitted to church leaders.

The Leadership Conference of Women Religious, which met last week (Aug. 11-14) in New Orleans, pledged to cooperate with a Vatican investigation of the sisters' fidelity to Catholic doctrine on female ordination, homosexuality, and the role of the church in salvation.

A separate Vatican investigation, announced last January, aims to take a broader look at nearly 350 communities of women religious in the U.S., examining everything from finances to how leaders deal with sisters who dissent from Catholic dogma.

NEW YORK
City of Angels

By Kay Ebeling

"We knew they were going to come. They showed up in buses," said Joel Engelman of NY, who was there when church supporters threw coins at crime victims demonstrating in front of Assemblyman Vito Lopez' office in Brooklyn. "After being there a good part of the week, I’d never seen any of those buses, but they were screaming, 'We're from the neighborhood,'" Engelman said.

"Then Lopez spoke, pointed at the survivors, and said, 'They're here for the money, and we're here for justice.' They started throwing coins and dollar bills and saying go home, here’s your money, go home. A couple of aides in the crowd incited them, after Lopez said these people want to bankrupt the church."

Lobbyists against the New York Child Victims Act, working for the Catholic Church, have been using the same questionable tactics as lobbyists against National Health Care Reform, busing people in to demonstrations, after coaching them to chant, holler, and disrupt genuine public discourse.

WISCONSIN
Catholic Culture

August 18, 2009
Father Jeff Thielen, a priest of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee who was ordained in 1974, has resigned his pastorate following an audit that found $75,000 poorly accounted for. The parish’s business manager also resigned. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that “the nature of the mismanagement was not clear …

STOCKTON (CA)
KTVU

STOCKTON, Calif. -- A grand jury indicted Sunday school teacher Melissa Huckaby on charges she kidnapped, raped and killed an 8-year-old named Sandra Cantu and drugged two other people.

Huckaby, 28, broke down in tears as Judge Linda Lofthus read the five-count indictment against her Monday, Sacramento's KCRA-TV reported.

Huckaby also appeared to have two cuts above her right eye, but it was not immediately clear how those injuries occurred.

AUSTRALIA
ABC

Adelaide's District Court has heard a former Anglican priest allegedly made admissions to an Archbishop that he had sexually abused more than 40 boys.

Wilfred Edwin Dennis served as a priest in South Australia until the 1980s, when he resigned.

He is on trial by judge alone for sexually abusing two altar boys in the 1970s at the St Martin's, St Barbara's and St John's churches.

AUSTRALIA
Adelaide Now

A FORMER Anglican priest told the leader of a splinter Anglican church he had molested more than 40 boys after one tried to blackmail him, a court has heard.

Wilfred Edwin Dennis, 73, of Vale Park, is standing trial in the District Court, where he has pleaded not guilty to three counts of indecent assault, one count of gross indecency, and one count of having carnal knowledge with two altar boys between 1972 and 1977.

Opening the trial, prosecutor Phil Crowe said Dennis phoned the former Archbishop of the Anglican Catholic Church of Australia, John Hepworth, after he received a letter from one of the alleged victims in June 2002.