Abuse Tracker

MINNESOTA
KSTP

[with video]

5 EYEWITNESS NEWS has learned the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis asked a judge to delay acting upon a motion to seek thousands of dollars in legal costs from a man who claimed to be the victim of alleged abuse.

Jim Keenan claims he was in eighth grade when he was allegedly abused by Father Thomas Adamson.

The case against the archdiocese was thrown out earlier this month by a Ramsey County District judge, stating the statute of limitations expired.

ST. PAUL (MN)
Minnesota Public Radio

by Sasha Aslanian, Minnesota Public Radio
November 30, 2010

St. Paul, Minn. — A man who's suing the Catholic Church over sexual abuse broke his silence Tuesday to publicly chastise the Catholic Church for attempting to recover legal costs from him, after his case was thrown out on a technicality.

Jim Keenan, 43, of Savage, alleges he was abused by Father Thomas Adamson in Burnsville when he was in the 8th grade. A judge threw out Keenan's case because the statute of limitations had passed, and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis filed a motion to collect $64,000 in legal fees. He said that request prompted him to speak out.

"You can only stand around, get pushed around, bumped around before saying 'You know, this isn't OK.' I'm not a silent guy trying to do this. I came forward to put a face to it," he said.

UNITED STATES
Catholic News Agency

By Marianne Medlin, Staff Writer

Washington D.C., Nov 30, 2010 / 06:14 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- As the uproar increases over Wikileaks publishing hundreds of thousands of confidential U.S. State Department cables online, the latest reports show that 852 of the communications involve the Vatican.

U.S. leaders are decrying Wikileaks founder, Australian Julian Assange, for incrementally publishing over 250,000 cables on his non-profit website. The cables are suspected of being leaked to Assange by 23 year-old U.S. army intelligence analyst Bradley Manning, among others. Manning is currently being held at a military base in Virginia.

CHICAGO (IL)
Chicago Catholic News

(POSTED: 11/22/10) Voice of the Faithful (VOTF) is an organization formed in response to the Church’s sexual abuse crisis. On Oct. 11, they released a statistical analysis of abuse in the Chicago archdiocese.

What VOTF claimed was eye-popping: almost 60 percent of parishes had housed a “credibly accused priest” between 1917 and 2009, and there were 97 such priests. They also said that as of 2009, about 20 percent of parishes still had one in residence. To read the stats in depth, including some suggesting that suspicious priests may have been assigned in clusters to certain parishes and zip codes, go here.

The archdiocese adamantly disputes all this. If you go to their records, the number of credibly accused priests drops to a considerably more modest 65, on the grounds that only they lived long enough to respond to the accusations. And, in a column on the right, the archdiocese notes that all these priests are either removed or dead.

DOVER (DE)
WDEL

[with audio]

By Amy Cherry

No verdict reached Tuesday as jurors prepare for a second day of deliberations in the civil priest sex abuse trial brought by survivor John Vai.

The jury is tasked with determining whether St. Elizabeth's parish in Wilmington acted negligently. If so, they must then decide on damages.

WISCONSIN
LaCrosse Tribune

A Diocese of La Crosse priest charged with having child pornography died this morning.

The Rev. Patrick Umberger, who resigned in late July as priest at St. Patrick's Catholic Parish in Onalaska, died at Meadow Wood Assisted Living in La Crosse of cancer, said his attorney, Keith Belzer. Umberger was 60.

John Staut, grand knight of the St. Patrick's Parish Knights of Columbus council, said Umberger had been ill and his death did not come as a surprise.

WISCONSIN
WKBT

A former Onalaska priest charged with having child pornography has died.

Father Patrick Umberger passed away Tuesday morning at Meadow Wood Assisted Living in La Crosse of cancer. Umberger resigned from his pastorate at the end of July after he was charged with one count of possession of child pornography.

MINNESOTA
Washington Examiner

The Associated Press
The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis has withdrawn its effort to recover $64,000 in legal expenses from a man who unsuccessfully sued the church over allegations of sexual abuse by a priest.

Jim Keenan sued the archdiocese in 2006 alleging he was abused in the early 1980s by Thomas Adamson, who was defrocked in 1984. He won, but lost on appeal.

The archdiocese called its effort to recover legal costs routine, but advocates for abuse victims called it callous. On Tuesday, as Keenan was holding a news conference to criticize the archdiocese, church attorneys asked a Ramsey County court to delay its motion — citing Keenan's recent bankruptcy filing.

ILLINOIS
Chicago Catholic News

(POSTED: 11/30/10) As Joliet's bishop moves on, he leaves in his wake one of the very worst clergy sex cases we've seen in recent years. It should alarm Catholics here and in his new post: Seattle, Washington, where he's formally taking the helm this week.

Here's what happened:

-In the spring of 2009, prosecutors say that Joliet church officials caught a seminarian, Alejandro Flores, with porn including some images that appeared to be of young boys.

-Church staff kept this secret but were worried enough that they allegedly told Flores to stay away from kids.

-Just weeks later, Joliet's bishop, J. Peter Sartain, ordained Flores anyway.

-In early September 2010, the pope promoted Sartain to head Seattle's archdiocese.

MIAMI (FL)
CBS 4

[with video]

MIAMI (CBS4)

A North Miami Beach man is being held behind bars without bond after investigators said 29 year old Jacob Jurberg molested a little girl in a synagogue.

Miami-Dade Police said Jurberg was attending a luncheon at Young Israel of Greater Miami in August. That is when they said he lured the seven year old girl into an upstairs room and fondled her.

"It's a horrible thing that happened," said Joseph Marmor, President of Young Israel of Greater Miami. "But I have to emphasize the fact that we had rented the hall to a neighboring synagogue for a luncheon and we had nothing really to do with this. We were horrified when we found out about it afterwards."

MIAMI (FL)
NBC Miami

A guest at a Miami synagogue function is behind bars Tuesday, accused of sexual battery on a 7-year-old girl at the Orthodox Jewish temple.

Jacob Jurberg, 28, is being held without bond for the alleged battery that happened on Aug. 28 at the Young Israel of Greater Miami at 990 Northeast 171st St.

Jurberg allegedly told the young victim to follow him to an upstairs room at the facility, where he touched the girl's privates.

FLORIDA
WSVN

[with video]

NORTHEAST MIAMI-DADE, Fla. (WSVN) -- Police have arrested a man accused of committing an unholy on a child inside a South Florida synagogue.

Jacob Jurberg, 29, allegedly assaulted the 7-year-old girl inside the Young Israel of Greater Miami temple in late August. The young victim helped police find the suspect after she pointed him out in a line up.

Police said Jurberg showed up at a party at the house of worship, located at 990 Northeast 171 Street, uninvited and lured the child into a room on the second floor where he sexually molested her. "It's very frighening," said Jacob Marmon, the president of the synagogue. "Like I said, we all have kids, and it's really frightening."

SCRANTON (PA)
The Times-Tribune

By Joe McDonald (Staff Writer)

Jesuit officials in Maryland are looking into allegations that a Jesuit with ties to Scranton Preparatory School, the University of Scranton and St. Thomas More Church in Lake Ariel sexually abused minors while in Scranton.

The Maryland Province of the Society of Jesus, in a news release, said it was seeking information about possible "abuse of minors" by the Rev. Neil McLaughlin "during his ministry in Scranton."

According to Jesuit officials in Maryland, the Rev. McLaughlin has "disclosed that there may be other victims of similar sexual misconduct in the Diocese of Scranton."

ST. PAUL (MN)
Star Tribune

By ROSE FRENCH, Star Tribune

Just as a reported clergy sex abuse victim was talking to the media Tuesday afternoon, the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis withdrew its request to make him pay $64,000 in legal expenses.

Jim Keenan, 43, who was known as John Doe 76C in his lawsuit, disclosed his identity for the first time in a press conference Tuesday at his St. Paul attorney's office. He said he was sexually abused by former priest Thomas Adamson between 1980 and 1982 while Adamson was serving at Church of the Risen Savior in Burnsville.

Keenan filed suit in 2006 against the archdiocese and the Diocese of Winona, claiming that church officials knew of abuse complaints against Adamson but failed to act to prevent further abuse.

BELGIE
De Standaard

De bijzondere Kamercommissie Seksueel Misbruik hoorde maandagnamiddag Walter Van Steenbrugge en Christine Mussche als advocaten van slachtoffers van seksueel misbruik door geestelijken.

Ook Van Steenbrugge getuigde van obstructie van een politieman in een West-Vlaamse zaak. De man verklaarde volgens de advocaat onder ede dat hij de opdracht kreeg zijn onderzoek naar het seksueel misbruik te stoppen.

Van Steenbrugge wees erop dat veel slachtoffers voor het uitbreken van de zaak-Van Gheluwe niet de moed hadden om naar buiten te treden. Ze verkozen de "veilige mantel" van Rik Devillé en zijn vzw Mensenrechten in de Kerk.

NEDERLAND
de Week Krant

GOUDA -
In de St. Joostkapel aan de Lage Gouwe 134 is vandaag, vrijdag 26 november, van 14.00 tot 17.30 uur de conferentie ‘Ongezien, ongehoord’ over seksueel misbruik en de kerk. De entreeprijs is 5 euro. De conferentie is een initiatief van de Werkgroep Moderne Theologie. Alle belangstellenden zijn van harte welkom.

NEW HAVEN (CT)
CT Post

Michael P. Mayko, Staff Writer
Published: 02:58 p.m., Tuesday, November 30, 2010

NEW HAVEN -- A federal judge refused to delay the Dec. 21 sentencing of Douglas Perlitz, who established Project Pierre Toussaint, an educational program for homeless boys in Haiti. He has admitted to sexually abusing at least one of his students.

U.S. District Janet Bond Arterton made the decision following a lengthy Monday afternoon telephone call with Perlitz's defense team and prosecutors for the government.

The defense claimed -- in the conversation-- that damage from the January earthquake, Hurricane Tomas in October, the cholera outbreak and civil violence and riots has prevented them from being able to investigate the prosecution's claims that Perlitz abused at least 13 of his victims. They also claim all this forestalled efforts to meet with witnesses who would speak in Perlitz's behalf.

OHIO
Dayton Daily News

AKRON, Ohio — Both sides are appealing the sentence given an Ohio Roman Catholic priest in a federal tax fraud case.

Sixty-eight-year-old Rev. Samuel Ciccolini (chih-koh-LEE'-nee) of Akron was ordered in October to pay nearly $3.5 million in restitution to an alcohol and drug rehabilitation center he founded. He also was fined $350,000 fine and was sentenced to one day in prison.

The Akron Beacon Journal reports defense attorneys unhappy with the financial penalty filed an appeal on Monday. Federal prosecutors who wanted more prison time for the priest filed their own appeal last week.

CONWAY (NH)
Associated Baptist Press

By Bob Allen

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

CONWAY, N.H. (ABP) -- A minister and two elders of a Southern Baptist church in New Hampshire have been convicted on misdemeanor charges of failing to report suspected sexual abuse of a 12-year-old girl.

Tim Dillmuth, 34, a pastor at Valley Christian Church in Conway, N.H., was one of four church leaders arrested in February on a charge of violating a state law requiring the report of child abuse to authorities.

Dillmuth and elders Richard Eland, 62, and Robert Gagnon, 70, will be sentenced Dec. 21. They face up to one year in jail and a $2,000 fine.

DOVER (DE)
The News Journal

By SEAN O’SULLIVAN • The News Journal • November 30, 2010

DOVER -- A jury has begun its deliberations in the sex abuse case brought by John Vai against defrocked priest Francis DeLuca and St. Elizabeth’s Roman Catholic Parish.

Superior Court President Judge James T. Vaughn Jr. read jurors excerpts of the law related to the personal injury claims and the claims brought under the Delaware Child Victims Act of 2007 this morning and gave the panel final instructions before dismissing them to deliberate around 11:30 a.m.

The jury at this point is only considering potential liability by St. Elizabeth’s for acts committed by Deluca in the late 1960s against Vai and possible compensatory damages owed to Vai.

UNITED STATES
Stop Baptist Predators

Christa Brown

Gospel Today magazine is catching a lot of flak for its decision to feature the scandal-plagued pastor Eddie Long on the cover of its December issue. It has the appearance of being little more than a public-relations fluff piece for a prominent pastor who is currently embroiled in lawsuits alleging clergy sex abuse.

Long is the pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in suburban Atlanta. Four young men have accused him of using spiritual authority to coerce them into sexual acts when they were teen church members.

Long is also Chairman of the Board of Advisors for Gospel Today magazine. Therein lies a big part of the problem. The conflict of interest seems obvious to a whole lot of people . . . but apparently not to the people at Gospel Today.

NETHERLANDS
Radio Netherlands

The Roman Catholic Church in the Netherlands is considering paying collective compensation to Dutch victims of sexual abuse, documents obtained by Radio Netherlands Worldwide reveal.

The bishops and heads of religious orders and congregations are seeking advice on their legal position “concerning compensation regarding sexual abuse committed by people working in the Roman Catholic Church”.

The recommendations will be drawn up by a commission headed by Siewert Lindenbergh, a law professor at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam. The two other commission members are personal injury lawyers. They are expected to present their findings next spring.

UNITED STATES
U.S. Catholic

Tuesday, November 30, 2010
By Bryan Cones

"The media" is once again the villain in the spin surrounding the pope's comments on condoms: "The media is at it again" wrote the St. Michael Society. Chicago priest and seminary professor Robert Barron of Word on Fire ministries called the coverage "One of the most dispiriting expressions of the media culture that I have ever encountered."

But since the Vatican (in a stroke of marketing genius) approved the excerpts for publication just prior to the book’s release--which appeared in Italian in the Vatican's own newspaper!--it seems likely to me that the furor was pre-planned by the Holy See. It even came complete with a Vatican press release the day after, which, while insisting the pope’s remarks were made “in a colloquial, and not magisterial, form” and denying any change in church teaching, confirmed the gist of the news.

In other words the pope, stung by reaction to his comments on AIDS on his trip to Africa last year, got to revise his comments "colloquially," essentially giving cover to Catholic health care providers to include condoms as a last resort in prevention efforts. Plus, he got credit for what will be an extremely popular change in church policy without doing anything official--in other words, no change in "official" church teaching, just the pope's opinion. Everyone wins.

ST. PAUL (MN)
Jeff Anderson & Associates

[Rev. Thomas Adamson and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis documents]

[THOMAS ADAMSON CONDENSED TIMELINE]

What: At a new conference, a suburban Twin Cities man who was sexually abused as a
child by Father Thomas Adamson, will disclose his identity and speak out against
Archbishop John Nienstedt’s recent legal action attempting to make victim pay
$64,000 in legal expenses incurred by Minneapolis/St. Paul Archdiocese while
defending the priest’s sexual abuse and Archbishop Nienstedt’s subsequent
attempts to cover-up Adamson’s two decades long sexual predatory misconduct.

When: Tuesday, November 30, 2010 at
1 P.M.

Where: Jeff Anderson & Associates Law Offices
Suite 100
366 Jackson Street
St. Paul

GERMANY
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Statement by Lieve Halsberghe, SNAP Belgium Leader +32 475 910 918 SNAPBelgium@gmail.com

New witnesses and documents are surfacing in Munich that raise troubling doubts about the reckless handling of a predator priest there while Pope Benedict headed that archdiocese.

We’re saddened but not surprised by these disclosures. The hasty claims last spring that the Pope wasn’t informed that a pedophile was reassigned within his archdiocese simply never rang true. Now, the chances that those claims are legitimate are even more unlikely.

Unlike earlier revelations, these new charges are based on both church records and the first-person accounts of parishioners who “confirm delivery” of a letter detailing the predator’s continuing work with children in Munich on then Cardinal Ratzinger’s watch.

AUSTRALIA
Brisbane Times

Hospitable families in far-flung places would come to regret opening their homes to Father Brian Spillane, writes David Marr.

As Judge Michael Finnane, QC, pondered what lay ahead for Brian Spillane he remarked: "It is almost unheard of for one person to be involved in so many trials." The former priest was convicted yesterday by a District Court jury on nine counts of indecent assault and the bail hearing that followed heard the former chaplain of St Stanislaus College, Bathurst, faces a further 135 charges to be heard in four more trials that could last until late next year.

Spillane, 67, sat impassive, only occasionally shaking his head, as the jury found him guilty on count after count.

Spillane's victims were three young girls assaulted while he was based in Sydney during a break in his long career at St Stanislaus. The charges Spillane will face in trials next year relate to boys at the school where he taught in the 1970s and again in the late 1980s. He left the priesthood and married in 2004.

MILWAUKEE (WI)
WTMJ

By The WTMJ News Team

MILWAUKEE - Members of SNAP, the Survivors Network Of Those Abused By Priests, will protest today over a request by Milwaukee Archbishop Jerome Listecki.

The archbishop is asking all court transcripts of Auxiliary Bishop Richard Sklba's deposition about the church abuse case be sealed.

GEORGIA
Lez Get Real

Melanie Nathan Nov 29-2010- Its mediation first for Bishop Eddie Long, and then if not settled the case is set for trial for July for the four young men who filed sexual coercion lawsuits against anti-gay mega-church pastor Eddie Long. Despite internet rumors of a quick settlement, the litigation is proceeding and depositions will soon begin, attorney BJ Bernstein tells WSB. The thinking is that Long is likely to settle to avoid cell phone and bank records from becoming splashed across the media. That is often the fear – when cases are settled. However it seems that Mr. Long is ready to hold out a little longer.

Unlikely to cry foul and shakedown, because of the different Plaintiffs involved, and how they emerged to join forces, the good bishop has until February to make up his mind. Long is accused of luring at least four young men into sexual relationships and using church funds to give them cash, gifts and cars. The four men—Maurice Robinson, Jamal Parris, Anthony Flagg and Spencer LeGrande—have filed sexual coercion lawsuits against Long and New Birth Missionary Baptist Church. Two of the four accusers have never met the others. Read the complaints HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE. In related news: The embattled pastor covers the November/December 2010 issue of Gospel Today.

ROME
Council of Europe

[with links to speeches and other information]

Rome, 29 November 2010 - Deputy Secretary General Maud de Boer-Buquicchio has launched today in Rome, in the presence of the President of the Republic of Italy, Giorgio Napolitano, the Council of Europe campaign to stop sexual violence against children.

"Prevention, prosecution, protection”- Maud de Boer-Buquicchio thus summed up the Council of Europe action. “The Council of Europe action aims at eliminating risks to children from all forms of sexual exploitation and abuse", she stressed.

The initiative was co-organised with the Italian Ministry for Equal Opportunities, in the historic "Complesso Monumentale di San Michele a Ripa Grande". "It is a sign of great importance for Italy to be the first country to host the campaign”, highlighted Mara Carfagna, Italian Minister for Equal Opportunities. “We are confident that the process of the Lanzarote Convention will achieve important results in the fight to eradicate sexual violence against children", she added.

EUROPE
BBC News

The Council of Europe has launched a new campaign to fight sexual violence against children.

The One in Five campaign, so named because one child in five in Europe is a victim of sexual abuse, is also aimed at improving international co-operation on persecuting offenders. ...

The campaign comes in the wake of the sex abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Church which came to light last year.

"We don't want to stigmatise the Catholic Church in particular... but it's true that children in institutions outside the normal social circuit are particularly vulnerable," Ms de Boer Buquicchio told the AFP news agency.

CALIFORNIA
Daily Pilot

November 29, 2010

By William Lobdell
Daily Pilot

For years, Elaina Kroll had stopped singing.

The Newport Beach resident had been robbed of her childhood passion by her church choir director, who molested her. The sexual abuse she had suffered as a bewildered 16-year-old had been, in her mind, cruelly fused together with music.

In the subsequent years, she would drop out of a prestigious music conservatory in Boston, suffer from depression and no longer have the desire to sing.

DOVER (DE)
The News Journal

By SEAN O'SULLIVAN • The News Journal • November 30, 2010

DOVER -- The theme of priest sex-abuse survivor John Vai's case against St. Elizabeth's Roman Catholic Parish is simple, according to Vai's attorney in closing arguments Monday: where there is smoke, there is fire, and when it came to the repeated acts of sexual abuse committed by defrocked priest Francis DeLuca, "only someone with their head in the sand ... would ignore all that smoke."

Attorney Thomas Crumplar said Vai had his childhood stolen from him in the late 1960s because of DeLuca's assaults and has suffered a lifetime of problems because of it. He told the jury that Vai's suit is not about money but added, "unfortunately the only justice you can give is monetary justice, and money talks in this world."

Parish attorney Colleen Shields responded that St. Elizabeth's was also a victim of DeLuca's deceit and pleaded with jurors to punish DeLuca but spare St. Elizabeth's Church and its schools "for the sins committed by a devious criminal mind some 40 years ago."

IRELAND
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin

By Archbishop Diarmuid Martin

Speaking at the Chrism Mass in Holy Week 2009, I took the occasion to warn parishes that the publication of the Commission of Investigation Report into the Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin would “shock people”.

Judge Yvonne Murphy’s Report was published some months later and to say that the reaction was one of shock would be a banal understatement. People were horrified at the number of children who were abused. People were angry about the manner with which the abuse was dealt by Church authorities.

One year later, I unequivocally repeat what I said on publication of the Report: “the Archdiocese of Dublin failed to recognise the theft of childhood which survivors endured and the diocese failed in its responses to [survivors] when they had the courage to come forward, compounding the damage done to their innocence. For that no words of apology will ever be sufficient”.

IRELAND
Catholic News Agency

Dublin, Ireland, Nov 30, 2010 / 05:54 am (CNA).- Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin, Ireland delivered a hopeful but brutally honest homily about the state of the Irish Church on Nov. 20, addressing serious failings that he said indicated a deeper crisis of faith.

The archbishop did not shrink from speaking frankly about the scandals that have rocked the Irish Church in the wake of two 2009 reports. The Murphy Report and the Ryan Report detailed sexual and other physical abuse in the Irish Church, along with church authorities' efforts to hide the incidents. Both reports prompted a papal investigation that began Nov. 12.

Speaking to members of the Legion of Mary at a Mass marking the 30th anniversary of its founder Frank Duff's death, Archbishop Martin acknowledged that many church leaders had failed profoundly in their pastoral duties. More than this, he said, they had demonstrated “arrogance and power seeking,” acting in a way that alienated many believers and contradicted the message of the gospel.

UNITED STATES
Hollywood News

By Greg Hernandez

HollywoodNews.com: To look at him now, a handsome and successful newsman, it would seem that Thomas Roberts has always had it all.

But in this very candid “It Gets Better” video, the MSNBC anchor talks about the pain he suffered as a kid who was molested by his parish priest – a pain so great that it drove him to attempt suicide when he was 15.

His sister found him and he talks about the pain he caused his family who rallied around him: “I saw first-hand the pain in their eyes and realized that suicide was not the answer.”

UNITED STATES
H-Net

Amy Neustein, ed. Tempest in the Temple: Jewish Communities and Child Sex Scandals. Brandeis Series in American Jewish History, Culture, and Life. Waltham: Brandeis University Press, 2009. 308 pp. $35.00 (cloth), ISBN 978-1-58465-671-5.

Reviewed by Orlee Hauser (University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh)
Published on H-Judaic (November, 2010)
Commissioned by Jason Kalman

With allegations of church-based sex abuse increasing worldwide, this collection of essays is especially significant. Jewish communities have often been tempted to buy into the misguided belief that sexual abuse is a problem that does not affect us--at least not directly. This important book not only dispels this belief, but also outlines, through firsthand accounts of clergy, educators, lawyers, and therapists, the complex nature of this phenomenon and provides useful tools for addressing the problem in its many different facets.

The book begins in a surprising place. It does not begin with the predictable overarching academic essay on the nature of abuse within the Jewish community. In its place we find, “Unholy Waters,” Loel Weiss and Mark Itzkowitz’s fascinating firsthand account of their synagogue’s hazzan being accused of rape, and the details of their stage-by-stage response. Throughout the narrative they demonstrate the importance of dealing with this issue honestly and stress the education of the congregation along the way. Their emphasis on openness and integrity sets the stage well for the chapters to come.

CANADA
CBC News

Money from 21 trust funds intended to help educate those entering the priesthood can be used to pay victims of sexual abuse, the New Brunswick Court of Queen's Bench has ruled.

The trust funds are made up of money left to L’Évêque Catholique Romain de Bathurst over the last 100 years and are now valued altogether at $4.3 million. The diocese had applied to the court to broaden the terms governing the trusts, allowing it access to the money.

The diocese's application argued that if the funds could be used to pay compensation claims stemming from a civil conciliation process, avoiding further legal action, the financial and corporate demise of the diocese could be avoided.

CANADA
Global Toronto

MIRAMICHI, N.B. - A judge has ruled that a New Brunswick diocese can compensate victims of sexual abuse through trust funds that were set up to help train future clergy.

Earlier this month, the Roman Catholic diocese of Bathurst asked the Court of Queen's Bench to allow it to take money from 21 trust funds that were intended to help educate men who want to become priests.

In a ruling today, Justice Fred Ferguson said the diocese could use some of the trust fund money to help compensate sexual abuse victims.

EUROPE
9 News (Australia)

The Council of Europe has launched a new Underwear Rule campaign to help combat sexual violence against children and improve international cooperation on prosecuting offenders.

The Underwear Rule, aimed at teaching children aged four to seven about their rights to set limits and speak out against abuse, is being promoted through a TV spot, a children's book, poster campaigns and a website. ...

The new campaign comes amid heightened media interest in the sexual abuse of minors following a paedophile priest scandal and subsequent cover-up which hit the Catholic Church in 2009.

UNITED STATES
Firedoglake

UPDATE 5:45 PM Pacific Time: So far, the main revelations have been mostly about Iran and the Saudis. This is interesting, as earlier indications had been that topics such as the Vatican’s efforts to cover up the global pedophile scandal and Iceland’s war with the banksters might be part of the data dump. So far, bupkis — though Wikileaks hasn’t finished leaking yet.

ROME
Rome Reports

[with video]

November 29, 2010. Apparently, not even the sophisticated U.S. intellegence services were able to penetrate the walls of the Sistine Chapel. According to sensitive U.S. documents fed to the Wikileaks website and deemed illegal by the State Department, Joseph Ratzinger's papal election came as a total surprise.

The report was among a cache of a quarter-million confidential American cables over the past three years.

The not-so-top-secret documents show that the United States was expecting the first South American to rise to the throne of St. Peter's.

Kath.net

Kein ‚Leck’ im Vatikan. Die amerikanischen Geheimdienste vertippen sich bei Papstwahl 2005 und ergeben sich Allgemeinplätzen und oberflächlichen Wertungen. Von Armin Schwibach

Rom (kath.net/as) Seit gestern Abend ist die Welt der Diplomatie in Aufruhr. Die bekannte Internetplattform „Wikileaks“ veröffentlichte mit der internationalen Hilfe von Zeitungen und Zeitschriften wie „Der Spiegel“, „New York Times“, „The Guardian“, „Le Monde“, „El Pais“ und anderen heiße Geheimpapiere, in denen die Wertungen der amerikanischen Diplomatie über Personen und Angelegenheiten des internationalen Parketts zum Ausdruck kommen. Über 8.000 nun veröffentlichte „Embassy files“ (Telegramme und Anmerkungen: insgesamt 251.287) bewegen die Regierungspaläste der Welt. Laut „Der Spiegel“ handelt es sich beim Großteil der Dokumente nicht um Files, die als „Top Secret“ qualifiziert sind, sondern um „vertrauliche“ Mitteilungen der Botschaften auf der Welt an das amerikanische Außenamt. Weniger als 15.600 Dokumente seien „secret“. Auch der Vatikan und dabei vor allem das Konklave 2005 gehörten zum Interessenbereich der amerikanischen Geheimdienste.

GEORGIA
WSB

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. -- The lawyer representing four young men, who filed lawsuits against Bishop Eddie Long, told Channel 2 Action News the lawsuits are moving forward, and she will soon begin taking depositions.

BJ Bernstein appeared in DeKalb County court Monday morning with one of the plaintiffs, Anthony Flagg, on an unrelated traffic case.

Flagg, Jamal Parris, Maurice Robinson and Spencer LeGrande filed civil suits against Long, accusing him of using his spiritual authority to coerce the young men into sexual relationships.

DELAWARE
WDEL

By Amy Cherry

Closing arguments are being given in the Francis DeLuca and St. Elizabeth's parish priest sex abuse trial brought by survivor John Vai.

Vai's attorney Tom Krumpler says DeLuca made his client a "sex slave" and "boy toy," subjecting him to years of horrific abuse. And, what's worse, Krumpler says, is that St. Elizabeth's knew about it. He says DeLuca was on sick leave before he came to St. E's and was transferred mid-year. Krumpler says that's two red flags.

The defense says sexual abuse by priests was unheard of in the 1960's, but Krumpler says DeLuca wasn't the only St. Elizabeth's priest accused of abusing boys.

IRELAND
Sunday Business Post

November 2010 By John Burke

Nobel prize nominee Fr Shay Cullen has attacked Catholic theologians over their opposition to the use of condoms to control sexually-transmitted diseases, which had ‘‘brought much suffering on innocent men, women and children’’.

The Dublin-born priest, who is best known for his campaigning work against child trafficking and sex tourism, was commenting on Pope Benedict’s landmark acknowledgement that the use of condoms was sometimes morally justifiable to stop the spread of Aids.

‘‘If it is true that a piece of latex can be used to prevent the transmission of a death dealing disease and save lives now, then it was also true for the past decades.

GERMANY
The Journal (Ireland)

POPE BENEDICT allowed a priest suspected of being a paedophile to continue working with children, despite ‘massive’ allegations of abuse, it is reported.

German news magazine Der Spiegel reports that the Pope – when he was the Archbishop of Munich and Freising – had been aware of allegations against an offending priest, identified only as H, but had turned down applications by the priest to be transferred within the diocese, leaving him in a parish where he regularly dealt with young children.

H – who had been transferred from the neighbouring diocese of Essen just a few months previously – had worked as a pastor in Ratzinger’s diocese, but had applications to be appointed as a parish priest elsewhere turned down.

CHICAGO (IL)
YouTube

Watch and listen to Rabbi Moshe Soloveichik speak about sexual abuse in Jewish communities. This was recorded earlier this month in Chicago.

DELAWARE
WDEL

By Amy Cherry

Closing arguments are scheduled this morning in the Francis DeLuca and St. Elizabeth's parish priest sex abuse trial brought by so-called survivor John Vai.

John Vai wants his childhood back, but he'll settle for the truth. He says he met the devil -- DeLuca -- as a young and impressionable eighth grader. He says DeLuca did vile and sick things to him, and whether he was abused 10 times or 100 times doesn't matter.

Attorneys for St. Elizabeth's point out DeLuca has only admitted to abusing Vai once in the church rectory. So they argue there's no way of knowing the abuse was happening. They claim sexual abuse by priests in the sixties was unheard of.

NEW ZEALAND
Stuff

A former Catholic teaching brother from St Joseph's College in Masterton has gone on trial accused of sex offences against two former pupils nearly 40 years ago.

Bede Thomas Hampton, 62, is now an interior decorator, according to court documents.

He returned voluntarily from Queensland to face 26 charges at a trial that began in the High Court at Wellington yesterday.

NEW ZEALAND
TVNZ

A student who was allegedly abused by a then Marist brother teaching at a Catholic boarding school in Masterton in the 1970s, received an apology when he confronted the man by telephone 30 years later, a court was told today.

A tape of the highly charged conversation, recorded by an Australian police detective six years ago, was played to a jury in the High Court at Wellington this afternoon.

The ex-brother, Bede Thomas Hampton, 62, returned voluntarily from Queensland to face trial on 26 charges relating to incidents involving two boys at St Joseph's College in the early 1970s.

NEW ZEALAND
Stuff

A former Marist brother charged with sexually assaulting two pupils more than 30 years ago says he did not do most of what is alleged against him.

Bede Thomas Hampton, 62, told a jury in the High Court at Wellington yesterday that for years he had carried the burden of what he had done wrong – but some of the claims made were impossible and ridiculous.

As a 12-year-old he had been touched indecently, he said. "I was terrified of what happened to me and there I was doing the same thing." He said he had no idea why it happened.

NEW ZEALAND
Voxy

Wellington, NZPA Nov 24 - Former Marist brother Bede Hampton was not surprised when police knocked on his door wanting to talk to him about historic sex abuse accusations dating back almost 40 years, a court was told today.

Hampton is on trial this week in the High Court of Wellington on multiple indecency charges relating to two boys at a Catholic boarding school where he taught in Masterton in the early 1970s.

Hampton, 62, now an interior decorator, returned voluntarily from his home in Queensland where he lived with his wife and two young adult off-spring to defend the allegations.

NEW ZEALAND
Sydney Morning Herald

A New Zealand jury has retired to consider the fate of a former Catholic Marist brother, now living in Australia, who is charged with sexually assaulting two pupils more than 30 years ago.

Bede Thomas Hampton, 62, has denied doing most of what is alleged against him.

Last week he told a jury in the High Court at Wellington that for years he had carried the burden of what he had done wrong -- but some of the claims made were impossible and ridiculous.

NEW ZEALAND
New Zealand Herald

A jury has gone home for the night and will resume deliberations tomorrow after the week-long trial of a former Marist brother on historic sex abuse charges.

Bede Thomas Hampton, 62, stands accused of 23 counts, including two of sodomy, against two complainants who were boarders at St Joseph's College at Masterton in the early 1970s.

He pleaded guilty last Monday to two charges of indecently assaulting one of the boys and a further count was withdrawn today.

NEW ZEALAND
The Dominion Post

A Wellington jury has retired to consider charges of historic sex abuse against a former Catholic teaching brother at a Masterton college in the 1970s.

Bede Hampton, 62, was a Marist brother in his 20s at St Joseph's College when he is alleged to have committed indecencies on two boarders at the school.

He pleaded guilty to two of the less serious allegations relating to one boy at the start of his trial last week and admits a sexual incident took place with the other boy but says it did not amount to a criminal act.

DEUTSCHLAND
Mitteldeutsche Zeitung

Hamburg/epd. Im Fall eines wegen Kindesmissbrauchs vorbelasteten Priesters, der in den 80er Jahren in München weiter in der Gemeindearbeit eingesetzt wurde, sind erneut Vorwürfe gegen den heutigen Papst Benedikt XVI. laut geworden. Der Kaplan soll sich im Sommer 1980 mit einer Bewerbung direkt an den damaligen Erzbischof von München und Freising Joseph Ratzinger gewandt haben, um zum Pfarrer befördert zu werden, berichtete das Hamburger Nachrichtenmagazin «Der Spiegel» am Samstag vorab. Der Bewerbung habe der Mann auch Pfarrbriefe beigelegt, die seine Verbundenheit mit Kindern in der Münchner Gemeinde St. Johannes Evangelist dokumentieren.

Das Erzbistum blieb bei seiner Darstellung, wonach Ratzinger nichts davon gewusst habe, dass der einschlägig belastete Priester im Bistum München und Freising in der Pfarrseelsorge belassen wurde. Es gebe keine neuen Erkenntnisse aus den Kirchenverfahren gegen den Priester. Es sei auch kein Brief an Ratzinger in den Akten zu finden.

DEUTSCHLAND
Spiegel

Im Missbrauchsskandal hat der Papst Fehler der katholischen Kirche eingeräumt - muss sich Benedikt XVI. nun selbst Versäumnisse vorwerfen? Nach SPIEGEL-Informationen hat er sich in seiner Zeit als Erzbischof stärker mit dem Einsatz eines pädophilen Seelsorgers befasst als bisher bekannt.

Hamburg - Papst Benedikt XVI. ist mit dem jüngst erschienen Interviewbuch ein PR-Coup gelungen. Ohne dass er von seinen Überzeugungen abgerückt ist, erschien er plötzlich liberal. Eine Diskussion über das scheinbar gelockerte Kondomverbot brach los. Der Missbrauchsskandal, der die katholische Kirche überschattet, rückte zeitweise in den Hintergrund.

Jetzt könnten den Papst nach SPIEGEL-Informationen aber neue Dokumente belasten. In seinem Amt als Erzbischof von München und Freising war er offenbar stärker mit dem Einsatz des pädophilen Seelsorgers Peter H. befasst als bisher bekannt.

GERMANY
Spiegel

11/29/2010

By Conny Neumann and Peter Wensierski

New documents show how the former Archbishop Joseph Ratzinger -- now Pope Benedict XVI -- and his successor Reinhard Marx failed to properly deal with a suspected pedophile. Despite massive allegations of abuse, the archdiocese allowed the priest to continue working with children.

The priest H. had put a great deal of effort into his letter of application. On a summer afternoon in 1980, he copied photos and articles from local newspapers and church newsletters and provided a comprehensive description of his dedicated work with the young people of Munich's parish of St. Johannes Evangelist, as a way of recommending himself for higher office.

He submitted his request directly to the head of the archdiocese at the time. He wrote "For the personal attention of His Eminence Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger" on the envelope and delivered the letter directly to the addressee on the morning of July 31, 1980, as members of the Catholic parish recall today. H. told colleagues in the rectory that, at the age of 32, he felt that he was getting a bit old to be an assistant priest; he now wanted to have his own parish. ...

"The fact that Archbishop Marx has now been made a cardinal," says Fesselmann, "seems like a reward for having helped the pope." Indeed, Marx, 57, is currently the youngest cardinal in Germany.

IRELAND
Irish Central

By CATHY HAYES, IrishCentral.com Staff Writer

One years after the publication of the Murphy report, into clerical sexual abuse, the Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Diarmuid Martin has called the Catholic Churches method of dealing with the situation “catastrophic”.

He said the church in Ireland has become self-centered and had let itself become “beyond what is legitimate.”

“I see more clearly that the catastrophic manner in which the abuse was dealt with was a symptom of a deeper malaise within the Irish church,” said Dr Martin.

ZAMBIA
Lusaka Times

Government has challenged the church leadership in the country to ensure they maintain their integrity even in the face of temptation and refuse to succumb to sexual immorality.

Chief Government spokesperson Ronnie Shikapwasha has observed that many church ministries have fallen due to church leaders who have failed to resist the lust of the fresh flesh and fallen prey to sexual immorality.

Lieutenant General Shikapwasha said this in his graduation and ordination sermon for 12 church leaders who have graduated from the School of Christ of Leadership under the Jesus is Life Church in Lusaka today.

SCOTLAND
Scotsman

By Susan Smith
THE offensive e-mail that led to referee chief Hugh Dallas leaving the Scottish Football Association is just the "tip of the iceberg" of anti-Catholic feeling in Scotland, Church leaders have claimed.

Peter Kearney, director of the Scottish Catholic Media Office, said the e-mail was an example of "deep, wide and vicious anti-Catholic hostility".

SCOTLAND
Herald Scotland

Chris Watt

Peter Kearney’s attack on bigotry is nothing short of a historic moment for Scotland, one of the country’s leading historians has claimed.

Professor Tom Devine, of Edinburgh University, said the statement on the nation’s “deep, wide and vicious” sectarianism was the most public condemnation yet issued by the Catholic Church in this country, and reflected a sea change in the mindset of the Scottish Catholic community.

“Whether one accepts it or not, it is historically significant,” he said, adding that “this is the first time that an official spokesman for the Catholic Church in Scotland has come out to say this with such vehemence”.

CANADA
The London Free Press

By RANDY RICHMOND, The London Free Press

Male survivors of sexual abuse are beginning to worry the Ontario government is running out of time to give them a voice in creating a provincewide counselling network.

One month after vowing to consult survivors — and only two months before time runs out — the Ministry of the Attorney General has yet to set up any meetings.

But a spokesperson for Attorney General Chris Bentley insists the Liberal government will stick to its promise to discuss new counselling services with survivors,

NEW JERSEY
The Sacramento Bee

NEPTUNE, N.J. -- A pastor who barred church officials from using Facebook, saying it can lead to adultery, will take a 90-day sabbatical and return to his post, a church elder announced Sunday. The decision follows the pastor's admission that he engaged in a three-way sexual relationship a decade ago.

Leaders at the Living Word Christian Fellowship Church in Neptune gave the Rev. Cedric Miller a vote of confidence as the church's spiritual leader during a meeting Monday, Associate Reverend Linda Parreott said during church services.

The unanimous decision came after "prayer and thoughtful consideration" by the church's board of elders, along with recommendations from other local pastors, she said.

IRELAND
The Irish Times

PATSY McGARRY Religious Affairs Correspondent

A YEAR after publication of the Murphy report, the Catholic Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Diarmuid Martin, has said the church in Ireland had become self-centred and had let itself reach a position “beyond what is legitimate”.

“I see more clearly that the catastrophic manner in which the abuse was dealt with was a symptom of a deeper malaise within the Irish church,” Dr Martin said.

“The church in Ireland had allowed itself to drift into a position where its role in society had grown beyond what is legitimate. It acted as a world apart. It became self-centred. It felt that it could be forgiving of abusers in a simplistic manner and rarely empathised with the hurt of children.”

CANADA
National Post

Charles Lewis, National Post · Monday, Nov. 29, 2010

They live an 8,100-kilometre drive apart and the history and geography of their respective lands could hardly be more different than any two places in Canada--at least on the surface.

Bishop Gary Gordon of Whitehorse and Archbishop Martin Currie of St. John's and Grand Falls both deal with the vagaries of extreme weather and traversing great distances to bring the faith to handfuls of Catholics in remote communities in their dioceses. They share a deep love for their adopted homes, and revel in the natural beauty and peace of the landscapes they constantly traverse. But they are realists who understand how tough it can be to be a priest in places where isolation, cold, alcoholism and domestic discord, brought on by men leaving for months at a time to make a living, are constant problems.

Added to that, they both struggle getting the right men into the priesthood and overcoming the legacies of the sexual abuse that had specific histories in each place.

VIRGINIA
Fredericksburg.com

BY PORTSIA SMITH

A judge upheld a jury's recommendation of 90 years in prison for a former minister convicted of three counts of using a computer to solicit sex from a minor.

In Louisa County Circuit Court yesterday, Judge Timothy K. Sanner sentenced Irvin "Pete" Baldwin, 81, of Mechanicsville to 90 years in prison. That's the second-longest sentence in Virginia history for this offense, according to Louisa Deputy Commonwealth Attorney Rusty McGuire.

Baldwin was arrested in December in Louisa, where he thought he would meet a young girl for sex.

VIRGINIA
WSLS

Louisa, Va. --
A Louisa County judge today sentenced an 82-year-old former pastor to 90 years in prison for three counts of soliciting sex with a minor.

A jury in August found Irvin "Pete" Baldwin of Mechanicsville guilty of the three charges and recommended the 90-year prison term -- 30 years for each count.

That is the maximum allowed under the law for each solicitation charge.

SCOTLAND
Independent Catholic News

By: Peter Kearney

In an article in today's Sunday Times, Catholic Church spokesman writes that anti Catholic hostility in Scotland is "deep and wide". Peter Kearney claims that the recent controversy over the allegedly sectarian email sent by a senior SFA official to other SFA staff, may "simply be the tip of a disturbing iceberg of anti-Catholicism in Scottish society". He claims however that the episode has caused Catholics in Scotland to draw "a line in the sand." The full text is shown below.

Earlier this week I wrote to the Scottish Football Association’s Chief Executive, Stewart Regan about an offensive email attacking Pope Benedict which had allegedly been sent by a senior SFA official to other SFA staff on the day the Pope visited Scotland. Since no action had been taken in the two months since it was claimed the message had been sent and in the absence of any timetable for action I asked for some urgency and transparency to be brought to bear on the matter.

By the end of the week the official at the centre of the controversy, Hugh Dallas, the Head of Referee Development had resigned, citing “family reasons”. While the truths at the heart of this story may never emerge, the subject matter shows little sign of disappearing. It is sectarianism in Scotland. Unfortunately, Scotland has a disturbing track record in this field. Reaction to my letter has proved beyond doubt that Scotland has become completely inured to the corrosive effects of religious bigotry and may even have lost sight of what constitutes it.

NEDERLAND
NRC Handelsblad

JOEP DOHMEN
Rotterdam, 26 nov.

„Diepgaand en openhartig” waren de gesprekken die pater Herman Spronck, overste van de salesianen van Don Bosco, in november 2003 had met een slachtoffer van seksueel misbruik. De gesprekken worden vermeld in een „vaststellingsovereenkomst”. Daarin staat ook dat het slachtoffer 16.000 euro kreeg en dat hij afzag van een „formele rechtsgang”.

De salesianen, een katholieke congregatie die zich toelegt op de zorg voor jongeren, wilden geen ophef. Daarvoor was de affaire te brisant. Zeven priesters hadden een halve eeuw eerder het slachtoffer misbruikt op een jongensinternaat in Ugchelen, bij Apeldoorn. Een van de priesters was de in april 2003 overleden oud-bisschop van Den Bosch, Jan ter Schure.

Zijn leven lang had het slachtoffer gezwegen. Verdringing, walging en schaamte weerhielden hem ervan het zelfs tegen zijn vrouw te vertellen. Daar had hij spijt van, nadat zij in 2002 was gestorven. Zijn bekentenis zou veel verklaard hebben over zijn gedrag in het gezin, zegt het nu 76-jarige slachtoffer wiens identiteit door de krant beschermd wordt.

SCOTLAND
Mirror

By Brian McNally

Scottish referees chief Hugh Dallas cooked his own goose the minute he forwarded an email mocking the Pope.

As Pope Benedict XVl toured Scotland in September, former World Cup referee, Dallas and some colleagues at the Scottish Football Association were chortling over the email linking the Pontiff with child abuse.

I don’t know whether it ever crossed the mind of Dallas that his little “joke” would be considered offensive by Catholics- not just in Scotland, but throughout the world.

But it should have at least made him think twice as a senior figure at the SFA - the supposed guardians of the fight against sectarianism and bigotry in Scottish football.

MALTA
The Malta Independent

by Scott Grech

Fr Godwin Scerri, one of four priests facing charges of sexually abusing boys living at St Joseph Home in Santa Venera two decades ago, would be arrested immediately, were he to set foot again in Canada, an Ontario Provincial Police spokesman confirmed to this newspaper.

Fr Scerri has been accused of sexually abusing minors between 1983 and 1987 when he served in the area of Windsor, Ontario.

He was charged in June 1993 with sexual assault and gross indecency following complaints filed by a man who was 22-years-old at the time the charges were made. The priest fled from Canada immediately after.

OSTERREICH
Der Standard

Der Wiener Erzbischof Schönborn sei über die Missbrauchsfällen informiert gewesen, sagt ein ehemaliges Mitglied der Ombudsstelle

Was hat der Wiener Erzbischof von den Missbrauchsfällen gewusst? "Er war stets informiert", sagt ein ehemaliges Mitglied der Ombudsstelle . Eine Studie liefert nun erstmals Zahlen zu den Schattenseiten der Kirche.

Wien - "Er war stets informiert und hatte immer alle Fälle auf dem Schreibtisch" - Holger Eich, Psychologe und ehemaliges Mitglied der Opferschutzkommission der Erzdiözese Wien, erhebt jetzt im Zusammenhang mit Missbrauchfällen in der Kirche schwere Vorwürfe gegen Kardinal Christoph Schönborn. Auch von vielen der im heuer öffentlich gewordenen Fälle habe der Kardinal "mit Sicherheit" gewusst. Eich: "Natürlich ist man nicht ganz untätig gewesen und hat in verschiedenen Fällen Therapien gezahlt. Aber in zahlreichen Fällen ist halt gar nichts passiert - Schönborn ist immer informiert, aber letztlich eben entscheidungsschwach gewesen. Es war ihm einfach unangenehm, Konsequenzen zu ziehen."

Eine Weisung, Missbrauchsfälle zu vertuschen, habe es aber nie gegeben: "Obwohl man natürlich nie Transparenz wollte." Die Ombudsstellen seien generell ein "zahnloses Element". Eich: "Die Opfer reden mit der Ombudsstelle, diese leitet an den Bischof eine Empfehlung weiter. Der Bischof wird von einer Diözesankommission beraten. Mit den Opfern gibt es keinen Kontakt mehr. Das ist, wie wenn ein Richter nicht mit dem Opfer redet, den Täter aber kennt." Daran habe sich auch durch den jüngsten Beschluss der Bischöfe, die Ombudsstellen besser zu vernetzen, "rein gar nichts geändert".

OSTERREICH
Der Standard

von Markus Rohrhofer | 25. November 2010

Nach massiven Vorwürfen eines Ex-Mitarbeiters geht die Erzdiözese in die Offensive: Die Vorwürfe gegen den Kardinal seien "haltlos und unfair"

Wien - "Der Kardinal hat in Sachen Missbrauch niemals geschwiegen", stellt dessen Sprecher Erich Leitenberger klar. Vonseiten der Erzdiözese weist man damit die massiven Vorwürfe eines ehemaligen Mitgliedes der Ombudsstelle der Erzdiözese Wien zurück. Der Psychologe Holger Eich hatte im Gespräch mit dem Standard kritisiert, dass man vonseiten der Ombudsstelle Schönborn über Missbrauchsfälle in kirchlichen Bereichen stets informiert habe, dieser aber oft zu "entscheidungsschwach" gewesen sei, um Konsequenzen zu ziehen. Auch von vielen der heuer öffentlich gewordenen Fälle habe der Kardinal "mit Sicherheit" gewusst, führte Eich aus.

CANADA
HLN

Een aartsbisschop van de Amerikaanse-orthodoxe kerk wordt in Canada beschuldigd van kindermisbruik. Kenneth William Storheim stapte zelf naar de politie in Winnipeg. De geestelijke werd na ondervraging vrijgelaten en moet later voor de rechter verschijnen.

Storheim (64) nam in oktober ontslag als hoofd van de Amerikaanse-orthodoxe kerk van in Canada. Aanleiding voor zijn ontslag waren de berichten over seksueel misbruik van minderjarige jongens.

Volgens Robert Carver die het onderzoek leidt gaat het om beschuldigingen van misbruik dat 25 jaar geleden plaats vond. Op 16 november werd er aanhoudingsbevel uitgevaardigd tegen Storheim. De aartsbisschop vloog nu zelf naar Winnipeg en stapte met zijn advocaat naar de politie. Storheim stond van 1984 tot 1987 aan het hoofd van een parochie in Winnipeg en was ook actief in London (Ontario), Saskatoon (North Carolina) en Alberta.

CANADA
RKnieuws

MONTREAL (RKnieuws.net) - Mgr. Seraphim Storheim (64), aartsbisschop van Ottawa en hoogwaardigheidsbekleder van de orthodoxe Kerk in Amerika, heeft zich woensdag bij de politie gemeld en werd in beschuldiging gesteld wegens seksueel misbruik. Hij is onder borgtocht vrijgelaten. Dat heeft de politie van Winnipeg donderdag bekendgemaakt.

IERLAND
RKnieuws

DUBLIN (RKnieuws.net) - Een jaar na de publicatie van het ophefmakende Murphy-rapport over seksueel misbruik in de Ierse katholieke Kerk heerst er onverschilligheid en ontmoediging bij de Ierse gelovigen. De budgettaire crisis die het land treft houdt hen meer bezig.

Sinds de publicatie van het misbruikrapport waarin vooral het stilzwijgen van de hiërarchie werd aangeklaagd is het pedofilieschandaal haast geen dag uit de Ierse pers geweest. Eind oktober riepen de Ierse bisschoppen de gelovigen op tot een jaar van gebed om het proces van spirituele en morele uitzuivering van de Kerk te steunen. Dit initiatief werd voorgesteld als een ‘eerste stap’ als antwoord op de brief van Paus Benedictus XVI aan de Ierse katholieken van 19 maart.

‘In de parochies en de bisdommen hebben de gelovigen geen energie meer om te werken aan de vernieuwing van de Kerk. Zij zijn teneergedrukt omdat ze lijden onder de economische crisis en ze willen niet meer horen spreken over pedofilie’, zegt Michael Kelly, adjunct-hoofdredacteur van het weekblad The Irisch Catholic.

NEDERLAND
NRC Handelsblad

Rotterdam, 27 nov. Bisschop Hurkmans van ’s-Hertogenbosch heeft „met ontsteltenis” gereageerd op het nieuws gisteren in NRC Handelsblad dat zijn voorganger, bisschop Jan ter Schure, zich als jonge priester tussen 1948 en 1953 vergrepen heeft aan een minderjarige leerling op het salesianeninternaat Don Rua in Ugchelen.

Het slachtoffer, inmiddels 76 jaar oud, werd door zeven priesters misbruikt. De congregatie van salesianen van Don Bosco kocht het misbruik in 2003 af voor 16.000 euro. Hurkmans heeft de paus over de nieuwste affaire geïnformeerd. Ter Schure is in 2003 overleden.

Kerkhistoricus Peter Nissen van de Radboud Universiteit in Nijmegen noemt het een „schokkend bericht”, niet alleen omdat hier sprake is van misbruik door zeven priesters, „maar ook omdat [de Rotterdamse bisschop] Van Luyn, notabene een ex-klasgenoot van de man, het niet nodig heeft geacht persoonlijk te reageren toen het slachtoffer hem benaderde.” Van Luyn was jarenlang de hoogste bestuurder van de salesianen in Nederland.

CYPRUS/GREECE
Cyprus Mail

By Elias Hazou
Published on November 27, 2010

THREE high-ranking clerics in Cyprus and Greece are being sued for deceiving and manipulating young men into becoming monks.

The lawsuits, filed by parents of sons who became monks, have been filed against abbot Epifanios of Maheras Monastery, Limassol bishop Athanasios and chief monk Efraim of the Vatopedi Monastery in Greece.

They stand accused of running an operation aimed at brainwashing young men, isolating them from their families and secular way of life and finally recruiting them at monasteries.

SCOTLAND
Daily Record

REFEREES chief Hugh Dallas was last night sacked by the SFA over the Popegate email scandal.

Five other staff members were also booted out over the email, which contained a crude paedophile slur.

Dallas is understood to have offered to quit over the storm, which saw the Catholic Church make a public demand for his dismissal. But he was forced to stay in his post as head of referee development - so he could be fired by under-pres sure chief executive Stewart Regan.

SCOTLAND
Evening Express

SFA referees’ chief Hugh Dallas has quit in the wake of allegations he sent an ‘offensive’ e-mail.

Dallas, 53, added to the crisis over Scotland’s referees by tendering his resignation after a probe by his SFA bosses.

SCOTLAND
Telegraph

Celtic brought down their first high profile target in their ongoing war with the Scottish Football Association on Friday night when Hugh Dallas tendered his resignation as head of the referee development department. The price paid by Dallas, 53, is even greater because by parting company with the SFA he will also lose his much-prized place on Uefa's referee committee.

By Roddy Forsyth 9:30AM GMT 27 Nov 2010

Dallas's departure came as a consequence of his involvement in the circulation of a satirical email which referred to the Pope and the recent child abuse scandals within the Roman Catholic Church, whose Scottish spokesman called this week for the SFA to state that Dallas would lose his job if he was found to be complicit in the affair.

The Telegraph also understands that another four employees were dismissed and that a group of juniors was given a formal warning. All staff members who have been sacked have the right of appeal and if they choose to do so they will have their cases heard by a committee headed by the SFA President, George Peat.

UNITED STATES
The Huffington Post

Kim Michele Richardson

While the current headlines reflect advanced thinking by the Roman Catholic Church on topics such as condoms and the 'new princes' elections, I read little on the Vatican's response to the issue of sexually abusive clergy during Pope Benedict XVI's historic meeting of worldwide bishops and cardinals last week.

The Pontiff surely realizes that the Church cannot advance while dragging these crimes and the mayhem of conspiracies behind it. Nor can it redirect our attention by disavowing what it has done.

The opportunity for accountability, resolution and a promise for the protection of vulnerable children is now. If this chance for doggedness and truthfulness is lost, then so crumbles another pillar of civilization and hope. And if the Church is unwilling, then perhaps it is justice that it should pay with whatever is left of its integrity.

CANADA
Hamilton Spectator

A former Roman Catholic priest who sexually molested three altar boys a quarter century ago should do jail time in a federal prison, an assistant Crown attorney has urged.

Crown counsel Gregory Smith called for a term of between 2 ½ to four years for former Diocese of St. Catharines parish priest Donald Grecco, who has pleaded guilty to three counts of gross indecency.

Grecco admitted that on some 23 occasions during the 1970s and 1980s roughhousing and play-fighting escalated into him provocatively rubbing his clothed body against the three victims while he served at St. Stephen’s in Cayuga and St. Kevin’s in Welland. The victims were 15 and 16 at the time.

CANADA
CTV

MONTREAL — Shirley Christensen fought for years to have her day in court and she will have it, even though she'd rather avoid it.

Christensen received a letter from the province's archbishop stating it has no intention of paying her an indemnity for sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of a Roman Catholic priest when she was 8 years old in the late 1970s.

Last month the Supreme Court of Canada resurrected the Quebec City woman's sex-abuse civil lawsuit against the priest, Paul-Henri Lachance, and the province's archbishop.

IRELAND
The Irish Times

PROFILE PETER SEEWALD

THE CASUAL CATHOLIC would be forgiven for thinking this week that, for the second time in history, the world now has two popes. The first, familiar one is, the newspapers tell us, a stern, conservative moral theologian. But the second pope, the one in this week’s headlines, is a revolutionary who apparently wants condoms for all.

For Peter Seewald this was a PR disaster. The 54-year-old German journalist had convinced the pope to talk to him about his private life, his personal religious beliefs, and his views on the unique institution he heads and the world in which it operates.

The result, a book named Light of the World , was not just a coup, he told Germany’s Die Zeit last week, but a cracking read that contained a “sensation” towards the end. That much was true, just not the sensation Seewald had in mind.

IRELAND
The Irish Times

A 75-year-old retired priest facing allegations that he indecently assaulted 10 boys at various locations in the diocese of Meath has been sent forward for trial next year.

Raymond Brady, Baltrasna, Oldcastle, Co Meath, was served with the book of evidence when he appeared before Kells District Court yesterday. The offences are alleged to have taken place on various dates between 1964 and 1978. Judge Patrick Clyne certified legal aid to cover legal representation for the accused at the Circuit Court. He sent him forward for trial to Trim Circuit Court sitting on February 1st, 2011. He was remanded on continuing bail to that date.

MAINE
fenceviewer

Written by Dick Broom
Thursday, November 25, 2010

MOUNT DESERT — A minister who specializes in helping to heal wounded churches has been named interim pastor at the United Church of Christ (UCC) of Northeast Harbor and Seal Harbor.

Rev. Linda Hatch, who lives in Ellsworth, assumed the duties Nov. 2.

Part of her job is to help the congregation recover from the internal divisions and turmoil that accompanied the departure of long-time minister William “Mac” Bigelow.

Rev. Bigelow was suspended from the ministry in July by a UCC investigative panel that determined he had sexually abused a teenage boy over a period of three years about three decades ago and had continued to harass the victim. Rev. Bigelow has not denied that the sexual abuse occurred, but has denied any ongoing harassment.

CANADA
The Tribune

By JOHN VESSOYAN/Tribune Staff

HAMILTON — A Crown attorney says Donald Grecco belongs in a federal penitentiary for up to four years.

"Jail is the way these cases are handled," Gregory Smith said Friday afternoon at the John Sopinka Courthouse in Hamilton.

Court heard the Crown's submissions in the case of Grecco, a former Roman Catholic priest who in March pleaded guilty to three counts of gross indecency after he sexually abused three teenaged altar boys in the 1970s and parts of the 1980s in Welland and Cayuga.

CANADA
Toronto Sun

MONTREAL – The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Quebec has no intention of compensating a Quebec City woman who took them to court for being raped by a priest in the 1980s.

Last week, Shirley Christensen, 37, gave the archdiocese an ultimatum – either offer her compensation for her abuse or see her in court.

But in a letter to Christensen on Friday, auxiliary bishop Gerald Lacroix refused her request for a settlement.

CHILE
Washington Post

The Associated Press
Friday, November 26, 2010

SANTIAGO, Chile -- The lawyer for a group of men who accuse a prominent Chilean priest of sexually abusing them as teenagers says his clients will not appeal a ruling in favor of the clergyman.

After four months of investigation, a judge closed the case last week without filing charges against Fernando Karadima.

Lawyer Juan Pablo Hermosilla said Friday he had been instructed not to appeal.

ST. PAUL (MN)
MN SNAP via YouTube

SNAP 11/24/2010 Press Conference at chancery of Archdiocese of St. Paul & Minneapolis with with Dancing Dennis.

VATICAN CITY
AFP

VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI has made around five million euros (6.6 million dollars) from royalties on his books since he was elected pope in 2005, Vatican officials said on Friday.

Some 2.4 million euros of the proceeds will finance research on the pope's own theological teachings through a Vatican foundation in his name.

The Joseph Ratzinger-Benedict XVI foundation was set up earlier this year to "promote research and studies on the thinking of professor Joseph Ratzinger."

NETHERLANDS
Reuters

By Marcel Michelson

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - An order of Dutch Catholic priests admitted on Friday to paying hush money to a victim of sexual abuse but the Dutch Catholic Church denied one of its bishops was involved in the case.

The NRC Handelsblad daily and Radio Netherlands Worldwide reported on Friday they had documents showing the victim was paid 16,000 euros (13,500 pounds) in 2003 to keep the case quiet.

The report said that the unidentified victim, now 76, was abused by seven priests -- including the late Bishop Johannes ter Schure -- between 1948 to 1953.

NEDERLAND
Troux

Oud-bisschop Jan ter Schure heeft als jonge salesiaanse priester eind jaren veertig een minderjarige leerling misbruikt. De bisschop van het bisdom Den Bosch was niet de enige. Zes andere priesters misbruikten de internaatsleerling ook.

Dat meldden NRC Handelsblad en de Wereldomroep vrijdag. Het misbruik met de leerling van het katholieke jongensinternaat Huize Don Rua in Ugchelen gebeurde tussen 1948 en 1953. Oud-bisschop Ter Schure overleed in 2003.

De ontucht door de salesiaanse priesters is in 2003 afgekocht voor 16.000 euro, aldus de NRC. Uit documenten van beide media blijkt verder dat bisschop Ad van Luyn van Rotterdam al jarenlang op de hoogte was van het misbruik door de oud-bisschop, maar de kwestie heeft verzwegen.

NEDERLAND
Radio Nederland

Ad Simonis (1931-)
Kardinaal, voormalig aartsbisschop Utrecht
- Liet een pedofiele priester in 1983 aanblijven als pastoor en hield de zaak stil.
- Installeerde in 2007 wegens misbruik ontslagen broeder als acoliet (oudere misdienaar).
- Moet in januari getuigen in een affaire rond de overplaatsing van een pedofiele priester.

Bernardus Alfrink (1900-1987)
Kardinaal, voormalig aartsbisschop van Utrecht
- Verplaatste in 1973 een pedofiele priester naar een nieuwe parochie.

Ad van Luyn (1935-)
Bisschop van Rotterdam, voorzitter bisschoppenconferentie
- Negeerde in 2008 herhaald verzoek van slachtoffer tot publiek maken van seksueel misbruik bij salesianen.

NETHERLANDS
Winnipeg Free Press

By: The Associated Press

AMSTERDAM - A Dutch newspaper has brought to light a case of sexual abuse decades ago by a Catholic priest who later became a prominent conservative bishop.

A church spokesman says its own internal investigation arm concluded "with great probability" that Jan ter Schure, who died in 2003, was one of seven priests who abused the victim from 1948 to 1953. Ter Schure later became bishop of Den Bosch.

The case was made public by newspaper NRC Handelsblad.

NEDERLAND
Radio Nederland

Siendo aún un joven sacerdote, el obispo holandés Jan ter Schure abusó sexualmente de un menor de edad. Si bien, ya en el 2008 estaba al tanto del hecho, el obispo de Rótterdam, Van Luyn, lo ocultó.

Según documentos de la Iglesia Católica que obran en manos de Radio Nederland Wereldomroep y el diario NRC Handelsblad, el entre tanto fallecido prelado Jan ter Schure, abusó sexualmente de un alumno de un internado.

La víctima, quien prefiere permanecer anónimo, ha obtenido una indemnización de 16 mil euros de la orden de los Salesianos de Don Bosco. Entre 1948 y 1953, el alumno en cuestión fue víctima de graves abusos sexuales por parte de siete sacerdotes salesianos, entre ellos el entonces padre Ter Schure.

NETHERLANDS
Dutch News

Friday 26 November 2010

A man abused as a child by seven priests from the Salesian order in the 1940s and 1950s was paid €16,000 for his silence, the NRC and Radio Netherlands report on Friday.

One of the seven was Jan ter Schure, who later became a bishop in Den Bosch, the paper says. Ter Schure died in 2003.

Documents also show that Rotterdam bishop Ad van Luyn refused a request from the victim to make the case public in 2008. Van Luyn, also a Salesian, was a classmate of the victim and head of the movement for years.

NETHERLANDS
BBC News

A Dutch Roman Catholic bishop who died in 2003 abused a boy while serving as a priest at a monastery after the war, Dutch media report.

Jan ter Schure, who served as bishop of Den Bosch until 1998, is said to have been one of seven priests involved in abusing the boarding school pupil.

Church documents show the victim was paid compensation for "emotional damages" after ter Schure's death.

SCOTLAND
The Scottish Sun

By IAIN KING, Head of Sport

SOCCER chiefs are poised to axe SFA referees' supremo Hugh Dallas as new email allegations surfaced last night.

The ex-World Cup whistler yesterday faced a disciplinary hearing over claims he sent a tasteless message ridiculing the Catholic Church's child abuse scandal during the Pope's visit to Scotland.

He was among officials hauled in and grilled by SFA top brass over possible bombshell emails - including a SECOND controversial message.

But it's understood Dallas, 53, is NOT involved with the second email.

NEW YORK
The Wave

By Nicholas Briano
St. John’s Residence for Boys Board of Directors released a statement this week to The Wave after several attempts to reach the agency went unreturned. St. John’s board member Michael O’Shea says the home looks forward to the resolution of the matter and emphasized Brother Tom Trager’s nearly 40 years of complaint free service to the home.

AUSTRIA
Bettrofen

[This report contains a link for a German translation.]

(Vienna, November 18, 2010) A hotline unconnected with the Catholic Church has been available to victims of Church-related violence since March 2010. Callers receive initial counseling from clinical psychologists and legal assistance from lawyers.

The hotline’s report is the first of its kind and reveals a wealth of facts concerning this dark side of the Church. The extent of abuse has been documented extensively for the first time in Austria and is now being published.

1. SUMMARY
In the first ten days of operation alone, 150 individuals contacted the hotline, and the total has reached 325, 91 women (28%) and 234 men (72%).

­‐ When the abuse took place: While the majority of cases (59,7%) took place in the 1960s and ’70s,

DEUTSCHLAND
Welt

Zwischen acht und 81 Jahren waren die Anrufer, die sich seit dem Frühjahr an die Beauftragte zur Aufarbeitung des sexuellen Kindesmissbrauchs gewandt haben. Insgesamt gingen mehr als 8000 Anrufe ein.

Mehr als 8000 Betroffene haben sich seit dem Frühjahr an die Unabhängige Beauftragte zur Aufarbeitung des sexuellen Kindesmissbrauchs gewandt. Besonders viele Anrufe und Briefe seien nach dem Start der bundesweiten Kampagne „Sprechen hilft“ im September eingegangen, sagte die Missbrauchsbeauftragte Christine Bergmann am Donnerstag in Berlin, wo sie ihren Zwischenbericht vorstellte. „Es ist noch lange nicht alles auf dem Tisch“, betonte sie. Bergmann sprach sich für eine dauerhafte Anlaufstelle aus. Betroffene unterstützten sie darin.

CANADA
London Free Press

By BOB HOLLIDAY, QMI Agency

Last Updated: November 26, 2010

WINNIPEG - A former archbishop with the Orthodox Church in America, who once worked in London, has been charged with two counts of sexual assault.

Kenneth William (Seraphim) Storheim, 64, was charged by Winnipeg police Wednesday shortly after he arrived in Winnipeg from his home in Edmonton and surrendered to police.

A warrant had been issued for his arrest on Nov. 16.

CANADA
The New York Times

By IAN AUSTEN
Published: November 25, 2010

The archbishop for Canada of the Orthodox Church in America was charged with two counts of sexual assault, the police in Winnipeg, Manitoba, said on Thursday. The allegations against the archbishop, Kenneth William Storheim, who is known as Archbishop Seraphim within the church, date back 30 years, according to a statement issued last month by the church.

UNITED KINGDOM
This is Surrey Today

By owen evans owen.evans@essnmedia.co.uk

A SEX-abuse victim who was raped by two clergymen has gone to the Vatican, calling on the Pope to reveal the identities of all paedophile priests.

Former Oxted School student Lucy Duckworth, who protested with fellow victims last Friday, says she was just five years old when first abused.

The 28-year-old said the abuse continued until she was 11 years old, and was carried out by a Catholic priest, Church of England vicar and an accomplice.

DUITSLAND
RKnieuws

BONN (RKnieuws.net) - Van maart tot eind vorige maand werden 1057 gevallen gemeld van seksueel misbruik bij het telefonisch meldpunt van de Duitse bisschoppen. Dat blijkt uit het pas gepubliceerde tussentijds verslag van de Duitse bisschoppen.

664 gevallen betroffen misbruik in kerkelijke omgeving. Daarvan hadden er 432 betrekking op priesters of religieuzen. 16,1% van de slachtoffers werd eenmalig misbruikt, 69,8% meermaals en 14,1% gedurende lange tijd. 12% van de slachtoffers verbrak daarna alle contacten met de katholieke Kerk. 6,4% van de slachtoffers drong uitdrukkelijk aan op een financiële compensatie.

BELGIE
Omroep Gelderland

ARNHEM - De commissie-Deetman, die onderzoek doet naar seksueel misbruik binnen de Rooms Katholieke kerk, komt op 9 december met eerste resultaten.

Die worden toegelicht tijdens een persconferentie op 9 december. Dan wordt een rapport gepresenteerd over de manier waarop het beste hulp kan worden geboden aan de slachtoffers. Voor de slachtoffers wordt dan ook een speciale bijeenkomst gehouden.

NEDERLAND
NRC Handelsblad

Verzoening of vergelding: tot hoe lang na zijn daad mag, kan of moet een dader nog vervolgd en gestraft worden? Achter deze juridische vraag schuilt een moreel vraagstuk. Gisteren tekende zich in de Tweede Kamer een meerderheid af om de historische verantwoordelijkheid van het strafrecht verder uit te breiden. Bijna wekelijks worden ‘strengere’ repressieve maatregelen bepleit tegen toekomstige inbreuken op de rechtsorde. Nu dus ook voor wat decennia geleden is gebeurd en nooit is opgelost.

De voorgestelde afschaffing van verjaring van ernstige gewelds- en zedenmisdrijven past in een trend om het slachtoffer van misdaad beter te beschermen. Dat is een sympathiek idee. Maar is uitbreiding van het strafrecht dan het aangewezen middel? Afschaffing van verjaring schept immers verwachtingen bij de burger en creëert nieuwe verplichtingen voor de Staat.

NEDERLAND
Balkster Courant

Warns – In de maand december komen er twee afzonderlijke schrijfwedstrijdboekjes op de markt, met daarin opgenomen de inzendingen van beeldend woordkunstenaar Connie Harkema. Het gaat om het korte verhaal “Priester Rutjes”, gepubliceerd in “De foute priester” en het sonnet “Dichter bij” in “ZZonnettenhof”. “De foute priester” is een bundel verhalen met beklemmende bekentenissen over seksueel misbruik binnen de katholieke kerk. Het boek is te bestellen via www.pamac.nl. “ZZonnettenhof” is een bloemrijke bundel met een diversiteit aan sonnetten. Dit boek is te bestellen via www.aquazz.com. Alle twee de uitgaven zijn zeer geschikt als geschenkboekje voor de feestdagen.

UNITED STATES
The New Republic

Michael Sean Winters
November 26, 2010

Rarely do the words “unprecedented” and “Catholic bishops” land in the same sentence. But, last week, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) laid aside a precedent when they declined to elevate the body’s vice president, Tuscon Bishop Gerald Kicanas, to the presidency. Instead, the bishops selected New York’s Archbishop Timothy Dolan by a vote of 128-111.

This choice set alarm bells ringing. In the New York Times, the decision was treated as a sign of growing conservatism among the American bishops, “a signal that the conference wants to be a leader in the culture wars.” By contrast, Dolan's opponent was supposed to represent “the more liberal ‘social justice’ tradition of the American church and is known for advocating dialogue between Catholic liberals and traditionalists.” At the Washington Post’s religion blog, Susan Jacoby wrote, “Dolan's election was a victory for the most orthodox forces within the church.”

Yet that interpretation is far too pat and simplistic. In fact, ideologically, Dolan is a consensus candidate who represents a desire on the part of the bishops to reaffirm their Catholic identity while keeping everyone, left and right, on board. His election also shows that the majority of bishops are keen to have a congenial, media-savvy prelate as their chief spokesman—and while he is known for his eagerness to defend the Church’s teachings and reputation in the public square, he is not a bomb-thrower.

ALASKA
KTUU

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A former Alaska pastor has been found guilty of sex abuse. Shawn Anthony Justice, 32, was found guilty of eight counts of sexual abuse of a minor.

Justice was charged with abusing a 15-year-old girl while he was the pastor of Corinthian Baptist Church in Fairbanks. During trial, she testified that Justice began sending her text messages of a sexual nature and they began a relationship in 2009.

JACKSON (MS)
Clarion-Ledger

Jimmie E. Gates • jgates@clarionledger.com • November 26, 2010

A pastor who founded a Jackson church is accused in a lawsuit of coercing a young adult male church member into a sexual relationship while serving as his spiritual adviser and bishop.

The claims in the lawsuit in Hinds County Circuit are similar to allegations leveled against Atlanta mega-church pastor Bishop Eddie Long by four young men.

The local lawsuit was filed against Kevin Joseph Boyd Jr., senior pastor of The Apostolic Church, 1735 Shady Lane Drive, late last month. Boyd also operates a church in New Orleans.

CANADA
The Windsor Star

By Dave Battagello, The Windsor Star November 26, 2010

Raymond Lussier and the Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board are being sued for $4.75 million by an alleged victim nearly 10 years after the former board director was cleared of sexual abuse allegations.

Lussier was fired from the board after only five months on the job as director in 1998. He filed for wrongful dismissal, but soon after allegations of sexual abuse surfaced and gained widespread attention.

A high-profile three-week criminal trial was held in 2001 when Lussier faced three charges of indecent assault, two charges of gross indecency and one charge of buggery related to a period when he was a teacher and counsellor at Glengarda in the mid-1970s.

NEDERLAND
Radio Nederland

Een Nederlandse bisschop heeft als jonge priester ontucht gepleegd. Bisschop Van Luyn van Rotterdam wist er in 2008 al van, maar dat verzweeg hij. De inmiddels overleden bisschop Jan ter Schure van Den Bosch vergreep zich aan een internaatsleerling, zo blijkt uit documenten van de rooms katholieke kerk die in handen zijn van de Wereldomroep en NRC Handelsblad.

De leerling, die anoniem wil blijven, heeft een schadevergoeding van 16.000 euro gekregen van de salesianen van Don Bosco. Het slachtoffer werd als minderjarige leerling tussen 1948 en 1953 ernstig misbruikt door in totaal zeven salesiaanse priesters op Huize Don Rua in Ugchelen. Een daarvan was de latere bisschop Ter Schure.

In een 'vaststellingsovereenkomst' uit 2003 kenden de salesianen het slachtoffer de financiële vergoeding toe 'voor immateriële schade'. Dat gebeurde zes maanden na het overlijden van Ter Schure, die van 1985 tot 1998 bisschop van Den Bosch was.

NEDERLAND
NRC Handelsblad

Rotterdam, 26 nov. De congregatie van salesianen van Don Bosco heeft in 2003 seksueel misbruik door zeven priesters afgekocht door het slachtoffer 16.000 euro te betalen. Een van de zeven was de latere bisschop Jan ter Schure.

Dat blijkt uit documenten in het bezit van NRC Handelsblad en de Wereldomroep.

Ter Schure, oud-bisschop in Den Bosch en in 2003 overleden, had zich als jonge priester vergrepen aan het slachtoffer, destijds een minderjarige leerling van internaat Don Rua in Ugchelen.

NEDERLAND
Brabants Dagblad

DEN BOSCH - Oud-bisschop Jan ter Schure van het bisdom Den Bosch heeft als jonge salesiaanse priester eind jaren veertig een minderjarige leerling misbruikt. Dat meldden NRC Handelsblad en de Wereldomroep vrijdag.

Niet alleen de oud-bisschop pleegde ontucht met de leerling van het katholieke jongensinternaat Huize Don Rua in Ugchelen, in totaal misbruikten zeven priesters de minderjarige internaatsleerling. Dat gebeurde tussen 1948 en 1953. Oud-bisschop Ter Schure overleed in 2003.

NEDERLAND
Volkskrant

AMSTERDAM - De congregatie van salesianen van Don Bosco heeft een slachtoffer van seksueel misbruik 16.000 euro betaald ter compensatie van 'immateriële schade'. Het slachtoffer werd tussen 1948 en 1953 seksueel misbruikt door liefst zeven priesters. Onder hen de latere bisschop van Den Bosch Jan ter Schure. Dat meldt het NRC Handelsblad.

Ter Schure, in 2003 overleden, zou zich als jonge priester schuldig hebben gemaakt aan het seksueel misbruik. Het inmiddels 78-jarige slachtoffer was toentertijd minderjarig.

Klasgenoot
Het slachtoffer heeft bisschop en mede-salesiaan Van Luyn van Rotterdam, een klasgenoot, meermalen proberen te overtuigen het misbruik niet langer onder de pet te houden. Maar op brieven die hij aan Van Luyn schreef, kreeg hij geen antwoord.

NETHERLANDS
Radio Netherlands

A former Dutch bishop committed sexual abuse as a young priest. Bishop Van Luyn of Rotterdam has known of the offence since 2008, but has kept quiet about it. According to Roman Catholic Church documents in the possession of Radio Netherlands Worldwide and Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad, Jan ter Schure – Bishop of Den Bosch until 1998 – was one of seven priests who abused a boarding school pupil.

The victim, who wishes to remain anonymous, received financial compensation of €16,000 from religious order the Salesian Fathers of Don Bosco. As a boy, he suffered serious sexual abuse at the hands of seven Salesian priests at the Don Rua monastery in Ugchelen between 1948 and 1953. One of the perpetrators was Jan ter Schure, who went on to become Bishop of Den Bosch.

In 2003, a settlement was reached in which the Salesian Fathers paid the victim financial compensation for “emotional damages”. This took place six months after the death of Jan ter Schure, who served as Bishop from 1985 to 1998.

CHILE
La Tercera

Nuevo presidente de la Conferencia Episcopal dijo que no ha sido contactado por el Vaticano para ser arzobispo de Santiago.

por Jorge Poblete

"El 2005 recibí un documento anónimo desde Francia, diciéndome que había habido, de parte de un sacerdote, sin especificar el nombre, un abuso". El arzobispo de Concepción y nuevo presidente de la Conferencia Episcopal (Cech), Ricardo Ezzati, explicó así ayer su participación en el inicio de la investigación eclesiástica al ex párroco de El Bosque, Fernando Karadima.

El octogenario sacerdote espera un pronunciamiento del Vaticano respecto de su causa eclesiástica, luego de que en la arista penal se cerró sin pruebas el sumario.

CHILE
Radio Infinita

26/11/2010 - 08:12:05

Este viernes vence el plazo para que los querellantes que acusaron abusos sexuales por parte del sacerdote Fernando Karadima apelen del fallo del 10º Juzgado del Crimen de Santiago, que cerró el caso sin procesamientos, tras considerar que no había suficientes pruebas para acusarlo.

CHILE
The New York Times

By PASCALE BONNEFOY
Published: November 25, 2010

SANTIAGO, Chile — The plaintiffs in a sexual abuse case against a prominent Chilean priest will not appeal a court ruling dismissing the case, their lawyer said Thursday.

A criminal judge investigating the accusations against the priest, the Rev. Fernando Karadima, 80, closed the case abruptly this week, ruling that there was not enough evidence to charge him.

The four plaintiffs, who said they were abused by Father Karadima as teenagers, have until Friday to appeal the decision, but plan not to.

“They are disappointed, tired and angry, and feel they have done all they can do,” their lawyer, Juan Pablo Hermosilla, said in a telephone interview. “Their main goal was to turn the light on and show what Karadima has done all these years, and they believe that they have accomplished it, that the abuses have been clearly proved, regardless of the court decision.”

CANADA
The Vancouver Sun

WINNIPEG — A former Archbishop of Canada in the Orthodox Church whose career has taken him around the world has been arrested by Winnipeg police on two charges of sexual assault.

Kenneth William Storheim, 64, surrendered to police Wednesday after an investigation into sexual abuse allegations dating back 30 years led to charges.

It's been alleged previously that the abuse took place in the 1980s, when two boys — both 10 years old at the time — were visiting Winnipeg. At the time, Storheim would have been a priest.

CANADA
The Windsor Star

By Don Lajoie, The Windsor Star November 26, 2010

Brenda Brunelle wants Catholic church leaders to know she's not the same 13-year-old girl who sat on her school steps, afraid to go home and sobbing, the day she says her priest molested her in 1977.

"If they try to discredit me, good luck to them," said the 46-year-old woman who is suing the church for $3 million for the sexual abuse she alleges she received in the late 1970s at the hands of Rev. Michael Fallona at St. Vincent de Paul church.

"I'm not the little girl I was then. ... I've had it with lies."

CANADA
The Tribune

HAMILTON — Donald Grecco will reappear in court Friday.

The former Roman Catholic priest will listen to Crown attorney Greg Smith as he tries to convince Judge Kathryn Hawke to give the convicted molester prison time.

Grecco pleaded guilty in March to three counts of gross indecency

The defence argues that Grecco should serve his time in the community with strict restrictions, or at most, receive a two-year-less-a-day reformatory sentence.

CANADA
Reuters

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (Reuters) - Police have charged a Canadian Orthodox archbishop with sexually assaulting two boys during the 1980s, the latest in a tide of such charges worldwide involving church officials.

Winnipeg police said on Thursday that Kenneth William Storheim, 64, flew from Edmonton, Alberta, to Winnipeg to turn himself in and was charged with two counts of sexual assault.

Storheim is the head of the Archdiocese of Canada of the Orthodox Church in America but has been on a leave of absence since October 1, according to a biography on the church's website.

CANADA
BBC News

The head of the Canadian diocese of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA) has been charged with two counts of sexual assault.

Police in Winnipeg, Manitoba, said Archbishop Kenneth William Storheim had been released on bail.

They said the archbishop had turned himself in on Wednesday.

The OCA said he had taken a leave of absence from his post in October after an investigation into the allegations was launched.

CANADA
CJOB

[with audio]

Winnipeg police have laid sexual assault charges against a Canadian Orthodox archbishop that stem back more than two decades. Kenneth William Storheim was a priest in Winnipeg during the mid-1980's. Melanie Sakoda of a group called the Survivors Network for those Abused by Priests says it's her understanding the allegations involve the abuse of two boys. Sakoda says it's common for victims to come forward as adults

ST. PAUL (MN)
WXOW

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - Victims of clergy sex abuse are protesting efforts by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis to recover legal costs from a man who unsuccessfully sued the church.

The plaintiff, listed in court papers only as John Doe 76C, sued in 2006 alleging he was abused by a priest in the early 1980s. He won his case, then lost on appeal because the statute of limitations had expired.

David Clohessy, executive director of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, calls the church's effort to recoup nearly $64,000 in legal costs "callous." He says it's a mean-spirited effort meant to intimidate this particular victim and other victims into staying silent.

CANADA
AFP

OTTAWA — The head of the Canadian diocese of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA) has been charged with two counts of sexual assault, police said Thursday.

Archbishop Kenneth William Storheim, 64, turned himself into police the previous morning, the Winnipeg Police Service said in a statement. After being charged, he was released on bail.

Storheim stepped down from his post in October, according to the OCA's website, after authorities launched an investigation into allegations of sexual abuse of whom public broadcaster CBC said were young boys.

IRELAND
Irish Examiner

Thursday, November 25, 2010

The Government must reaffirm commitments to protect children on the first anniversary of the damning Murphy Report into clerical child sex abuse.

Support group One-in-Four said there are worries promises to improve services may not be kept because of the economic crisis.

Executive director Maeve Lewis said: “The Murphy Report revealed a shameful era in Irish society.

CANADA
Edmonton Journal

By Brent Wittmeier, edmontonjournal.com November 25, 2010

EDMONTON - An Edmonton-born Orthodox archbishop has been charged with sexual assault by Winnipeg police.

Kenneth Storheim — who previously worked in churches in Edmonton and Ponoka — was charged with two counts of sexual assault after a Winnipeg police investigation into historical allegations began in July.

Storheim, 64, is the Canadian head of the Orthodox Church in America, where he adopted the name Seraphim. In October, he requested a leave of absence from his position after Winnipeg police launched their investigation. Storheim turned himself into Winnipeg police on Wednesday morning, and was released on bail. He will appear in Winnipeg court at a later date.

Before converting to the Orthodox faith, Storheim was an Anglican priest, spending two years at Christ Church in Edmonton and four years at St. Mary’s in Ponoka.

CANADA
The Windsor Star

[PDF: Confidential Church Document]

[PDF: Statement of Claim]

[PDF: Affidavit of lawyer Paul Ledroit]

[PDF: Notice of Motion]

WINDSOR, Ont. — A Windsor woman is suing the Catholic Church for $3 million for sexual abuse she alleges she suffered as a girl at the hands of a Basilian priest at St. Vincent De Paul church in the late 1970s.

Brenda Brunelle has filed a statement of claim in the Superior Court of Justice against Rev. Michael Fallona, the Roman Catholic Episcopal Corporation of the Diocese of London, Bishop Ronald Fabbro and the Congregation of Saint Basil asking for, among other claims, $1.5 million in pecuniary damages and $1 million in punitive damages.

The next hearing is slated for Jan. 11.

CANADA
Global Winnipeg

A high ranking clergyman turned himself into Winnipeg police Wednesday, to face charges in decades-old alleged sexual assaults.

64 year old Kenneth William Storheim, who is known as Archbishop Seraphim in the Russian Orthodox Church, surrendered himself to police in Winnipeg. Officers say he was arrested on the strength of a warrant and charged with two counts of sexual assault.

The Orthodox Church of America posted a message on it's website last month noting that Storheim had taken a leave of absence pending a review of "sexual misconduct allegations."

CANADA
Winnipeg Sun

By BOB HOLLIDAY, Winnipeg Sun

A former archbishop has been charged with two counts of sexual abuse stemming from alleged incidents that occurred over 20 years ago.

Kenneth William Storheim, 64, flew in from Edmonton on Wednesday to surrender to Winnipeg police.

The assaults allegedly occurred between 1984 and 1987 when Storheim was rector at Holy Trinity Sodor on Manitoba Avenue.

CANADA
CTV

A high-ranking Canadian archbishop has been arrested and charged with two counts of sexual assault, Winnipeg police said on Thursday morning.

Archbishop Kenneth William Storheim, also known as Seraphim Storheim, was a rector at the Ukrainian Orthodox Holy Trinity Sobor on Manitoba Avenue from December 1984 to June 1987.

A warrant was issued for his arrest and Storheim turned himself in on Wednesday morning, police said.

Storheim has been released on recognizance, with a $500 deposit, until trial.

CANADA
CBC News

Archbishop Kenneth William Storheim, who has held positions in a number of Canadian communities, has been arrested and charged in Winnipeg with two counts of sexual assault.

Storheim, 64, turned himself in to Winnipeg police, the police service announced Thursday.

Storheim has been released from custody on a promise to appear in court at a later date.

CANADA
Winnipeg Free Press

WINNIPEG - A Canadian Orthodox archbishop has been charged in Winnipeg with two counts of sexual assault.

Archbishop Kenneth William Storheim, who is 64, was being investigated over allegations of sexual misconduct stemming from more than 20 years ago when he was a priest.

Police say there are two alleged victims and Storheim flew from Edmonton to Winnipeg to turn himself in.

GERMANY
Monsters and Critics

Berlin - A former Catholic priest was sentenced to seven years' jail on Thursday for sexually abusing 155 children over several years, after admitting to some of the charges in a German court.

The former priest, 50, who worked at a school near the city of Kassel, said he had sexually abused six altar boys between 1992 and 2003. Investigators also found pornographic images of children on his computer.

The judge said the man deliberately targeted weak boys and seized upon their enthusiasm, and told him, 'You used your authority and your position as a person of trust.'

CANADA
CBC News

Former students at the Saint-Alphonse Seminary outside of Quebec City have won the right to sue a priest who they say molested them.

The dozen alleged victims are also seeking damages from the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, the religious order that ran the now-defunct Roman Catholic seminary in Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré.

On Wednesday, the Quebec Superior Court allowed the class-action lawsuit to go ahead.

TEXAS
Stop Baptist Predators

Christa Brown

It’s the Sunday before Thanksgiving and my heart is filled with gratitude. At the invitation of Rev. Dwight McKissic, I spent the morning in a joy-filled worship service with the people of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Arlington, Texas.

This was the first time that any Baptist church has actually invited me to speak. So this 3,000 member congregation is something special, and they have a pastor who carries a genuine concern for the problem of clergy sex abuse.

For over 4 ½ years, I’ve been writing and talking about this subject that a whole lot of Baptist officials, Baptist pastors, and Baptist people seem to not want to hear about -- Baptist clergy sex abuse and cover-ups. It’s not a pleasant subject -- I know. But I also know that, if kids in Baptist churches are going to be made safer, we need to do a whole lot more talking about it.

DEUTSCHLAND
News

Im Missbrauchsprozess gegen den Priester aus dem nordhessischen Fritzlar sah es die fünfte Strafkammer des Kasseler Landgerichts als erwiesen an, dass sich der Ordensbruder zwischen 1992 und 2003 an sechs Ministranten vergangen hat. Als sicher wird angenommen, dass es in 155 einzelnen Fällen sexuelle Übergriffe auf die Jungen gegeben hat. Außerdem sei der Mann des Besitzes von Kinderpornografie schuldig. Entsprechende Fotos waren auf seinen Computern gefunden worden.

Der Mann war Schulpfarrer in Fritzlar und vor allem für die Betreuung der Ministranten zuständig. Er habe gezielt die Schwächen und die Begeisterungsfähigkeit der Jungen aufgegriffen, sagte der Richter am Nachmittag: «Sie haben ihre Autorität und Stellung als Vertrauensperson eingesetzt.» Laut Anklageschrift hatte der Ordensbruder die sexuellen Handlungen als medizinisch erforderlich verbrämt. Er habe den Jungen erklärt, seine Manipulationen an ihren Geschlechtsteilen seien notwendig, um Fehlentwicklungen vorzubeugen.

GERMANY
The Local

A court in Hesse sentenced a Catholic priest to seven years’ jail Thursday for sexually abusing children hundreds of times over more than a decade, often filming the assaults.

The 50-year-old from a Catholic order known as the Premonstratensians admitted abusing six altar boys between 1992 and 2003, usually by handling their penises on the pretence of a medical examination.

Investigators also found child pornography pictures on the man’s computer. He was a priest in the town of Fritzlar in Hesse and his main responsibility was the supervision of altar boys.

MINNESOTA
Minnesota Public Radio

by Sasha Aslanian, Minnesota Public Radio
November 24, 2010

Minneapolis — Victims of clergy sex abuse are crying foul at a move by the Archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis to demand legal costs from a man suing the church.

The plaintiff, known only as John Doe 76C, sued the church in 2006 over sex abuse, won his case, then lost on appeal and is appealing again.

David Clohessy, executive director of the Survivors network of those Abused by Priests, calls the church's effort to recoup legal costs "callous."

WISCONSIN
Bernews (Bermuda)

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee is not entitled to coverage under its commercial general liability policy with Bermuda-domiciled OneBeacon Insurance Co. concerning sexual abuse allegations against former priests because its alleged actions were not accidental, a Wisconsin appellate court has ruled.

Affirming lower court decisions, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals ruling on Tuesday [Nov 23] involved 10 appeals and 13 underlying lawsuits.

At issue in the case are approximately a dozen lawsuits accusing the Archdiocese of misrepresentation. They allege the archdiocese knew priests posed a threat to children but still insisted they did not have histories of molesting children and weren’t a danger to kids.

UNITED KINGDOM
Ealing Gazette

Nov 25 2010 By Michael Russell

THE PRIEST jailed for a campaign of abuse against catholic schoolboys spanning more than 30 years has been charged with another crime.

Father David Pearce, formerly of Ealing Abbey in Charlbury Grove, was jailed in October last year for attacks against boys at St Benedict's School in Eaton Rise, between 1972 and 2007.

Currently serving a five year-sentence, the 69-year-old was charged with a sexual assault against a boy aged under 16 in the late 1970s, on Monday (22).

OMAHA (NE)
Washington Post

By TIMBERLY ROSS
The Associated Press
Wednesday, November 24, 2010

OMAHA, Neb. -- For more than two decades, a group of Roman Catholics secluded themselves on a sprawling, wooded compound in the Ponca Hills north of Omaha. They lived as hermits, giving up their families, jobs and possessions to live in poverty and pray for man's sins.

Known as the Intercessors of the Lamb, the band of penniless men and women took prayer requests from around the world and raked in millions of dollars through religious gatherings and the sale of books and tapes by founder Nadine Brown.

But in mid-October, the Archdiocese of Omaha denounced the group, sending a bus to the compound to whisk away 50 or so members to a retreat 70 miles away. Catholics were warned to disregard Brown's teachings and stop funding her group amid claims the group's finances were mismanaged and Brown intimidated its members, who live with few possessions other than the robes she gives them.

CANADA/BELGIUM
CBC News

Canada hasn't formally asked Belgium to extradite a Roman Catholic priest back to Nunavut, where he is wanted for alleged sex crimes against children dating back to the late-1970s, CBC News has learned.

Belgian officials say Canada has yet to file a formal extradition request for Rev. Eric Dejaeger, a Canadian who resurfaced in September after having lived in Belgium for the past 15 years.

Dejaeger, 63, is on Interpol's list of wanted fugitives for "crimes against children," based on an arrest warrant issued by the Nunavut Court of Justice in 2002.

BELGIE
hbvl

De correctionele rechtbank in Brugge heeft Roger Huyghe (68), de gewezen broeder-directeur van de Torhoutse instelling voor mentaal gehandicapten Tordale, veroordeeld tot de maximumstraf. De rechtbank achtte de tientallen ernstige zedenfeiten met minderjarige bewoners en vakantiegangers van de instelling bewezen. Huyghe is ook voor tien jaar ontzet uit zijn burgerrechten. Eind februari 2000 werden de eerste klachten tegen de broeder-directeur ingediend. Huyghe zou zich niet herinneren dat hij de jonge jongens in de douches, slaapkamers of in zijn bureau aanraakte,

BELGIE
hbvl

Voor de correctionele rechtbank in Brugge is het proces begonnen tegen Roger Huyghe (68). De beschuldigde was jarenlang directeur van het Medisch Pedagogische Instituut (MPI) Tordale in Torhout.

br> Ondanks zijn taak als geestelijke en directeur maakte de man zich dertig jaar lang schuldig aan de verkrachting en de aanranding van de eerbaarheid van meerdere van de bewoners, waaronder minderjarigen. Er dienden zich 29 burgerlijke partijen aan.

De feiten waarvoor Huyghe terecht staat, vonden plaats tussen 1969 en 1999. De slachtoffers zijn allen mentaal gehandicapte jongeren die in de instelling verbleven. Het gaat naar verluidt om tientallen feiten van aanranding op de eerbaarheid en verkrachting. Zeker is dat er vrijdag 29 burgerlijke partijen door de rechtbank werden weerhouden. Het proces werd achter gesloten deuren gevoerd. Broeder Huyghe zelf zit al een jaar in voorhechtenis.

BELGIE
Het Nieuwsblad

TORHOUT/KORTRIJK/BRUGGE - De voormalige broeder-directeur van Huize Tordale in Torhout komt eerstdaags vrij uit de Brugse gevangenis. Hij zat tien jaar uit voor pedofilie.

Wanneer Roger Huyghe (78) precies vrijkomt, weet zijn advocaat Eddy Debusschere niet. ‘Zeker nog deze maand', zegt hij. ‘Hij heeft zijn volledige straf uitgezeten. Justitie gaf hem geen dag cadeau. En omdat hij niet ter beschikking wordt gesteld van de regering, zal hij een volledig vrij man zijn.'

Debusschere heeft zijn cliënt al lang niet meer rechtstreeks gesproken. ‘Maar heb wel nog onlangs brieven uitgewisseld. Daarin schrijft hij mentaal klaar te zijn om vrij te komen. Hoewel hij zijn onschuld tot op vandaag staande houdt, is hij altijd heel sereen gebleven bij zijn opsluiting. De gevangenis was lang niet het ergste voor hem – hij was als broeder wel wat discipline gewoon. Het ergste voor hem was het schandaal en het verlies van zijn goede naam. Hij was een zeer hoge toren, die plotseling omver viel.'

WISCONSIN
LaCrosse Tribune

A Catholic priest accused of embezzling money from two Crawford County parishes has agreed to pay the Diocese of La Crosse $65,000.

The Rev. Robert Chukwu has until March 7 to make the restitution payment, according to a document filed last week in Crawford County Circuit Court.

Chukwu, 60, was charged with felony theft after the diocese accused him of taking more than $180,000 from St. Mary and St. Philip parishes. He later pleaded no contest to three misdemeanor theft charges, two of which will be dismissed if he completes a diversion agreement.

ROME
Chiesa

A book so "risky" has no precedent for a successor of Peter. "Everyone is free to contradict me" is his motto. On the controversial question of the condom, Professor Rhonheimer explains why Benedict XVI is right

by Sandro Magister

ROME, November 25, 2010 – Toward the end of his book-length interview "Light of the World," which recently went on sale in various languages, Benedict XVI refers to his other book about Jesus, his "latest major work."

He recalls that "in a completely deliberate way" he wanted that book not to be an act of the magisterium, but the offering of his own personal interpretation.

And he adds: "This naturally represents an enormous risk."

On the afternoon of Monday, November 22, speaking one-on-one with the pope, the director of the Vatican press office, Fr. Federico Lombardi, asked him if he knew that he was facing an even greater risk with the book-length interview that was about to be released.

"When I asked this question, the pope smiled," Fr. Lombardi recounted.

VATICAN CITY
Catholic News Service

By John Thavis
Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- In his new book, Pope Benedict XVI strongly reaffirmed church teaching that homosexual acts are "disordered" and said homosexuality itself is "incompatible" with the priesthood.

The pope's comments came in his new book-interview, "Light of the World: The Pope, the Church and the Signs of the Times," which was published Nov. 23.

The interviewer, German journalist Peter Seewald, asked the pope whether the church's teaching that homosexuals deserve respect isn't contradicted by its position that homosexual acts are "intrinsically disordered."

HUNGARY
Canada.com

By Peter O'Neil, Europe Correspondent, Postmedia News

ETYEK, Hungary — A new big-budget TV series being filmed here, featuring sex, corruption and violence at the Vatican, isn't expected to cause more than a ripple in the sex scandal-plagued Catholic Church.

The Borgias, a $45-million, Canadian-Irish-Hungarian series starring Oscar winner Jeremy Irons, centres around history's most notorious pope.

Rodrigo Borgia, who deployed bribery to become Pope Alexander VI in 1492, was famous for his voracious sexual appetite, corruption, and use of violence to try to ensure a dynasty for his out-of-wedlock children.

CANADA
The Vancouver Sun

By Daphne Bramham, Vancouver Sun November 25, 2010

It is not polygamy that needs to be kept in check, it's the harms that can arise in polygamy, monogamy, adultery and casual sexual relations that need to be restrained.

That's how George Macintosh Wednesday summed up his position as the amicus -the court-appointed lawyer charged with arguing for the striking down of Canada's polygamy law and against the governments of British Columbia and Canada.

And it came on Day Three of the constitutional reference case to determine the validity of the Criminal Code's polygamy section, a trial that is expected to run at least until the end of January.

NEW JERSEY
The Sacramento Bee

By WAYNE PARRY
Associated Press

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- A pastor who barred church officials from using Facebook, saying it can lead to adultery, is temporarily stepping down from the pulpit following his admission that he engaged in a three-way sexual relationship a decade ago.

The Rev. Cedric Miller made worldwide headlines last week when he urged congregants at his Living Word Christian Fellowship Church in Neptune, N.J., to drop their Facebook accounts because he believes the social networking site facilitates affairs.

NEW HAMPSHIRE
New Hampshire Union Leader

By LORNA COLQUHOUN
New Hampshire Union Leader Correspondent

CONWAY – The minister and two elders at a local church have been found guilty for failing to report a case of suspected child abuse last year.

The three -- Pastor Timothy Dillmuth, 34, of Stowe, Maine, and elders Richard Eland, 62, and Robert Gagnon, 70, both of Brownfield, Maine -- are all members of Valley Christian Church on East Conway Road in Redstone. They will be sentenced Dec. 21 on the misdemeanor charges in the District Court of Northern Carroll County.

"God is a higher authority, not (the police) and they would do it again," District Court of Northern Carroll County Judge Pamela Albee wrote in her seven page decision, referring to testimony of a Conway police investigator of an interview he had with Eland.

TEXAS
Spero News

By Mary Ann Kreitzer

The new head of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, Archbishop Timothy Dolan, says things are just peachy keen in the U.S. Church.

A teenage boy probably doesn't agree with him. The unnamed victim says Fr. John Fiala raped him at gunpoint and threatened him, his family, and his girlfriend if he refused sex. Was this one of those famous accusations from 20 years ago? No!

The alleged abuse took place in 2007-08. And the latest? The now ex-padre, who was removed in the Fall of 2008, allegedly recently tried to hire a hit man to kill the youth. (Go here for a press release from the Diocese of Omaha where Fiala served from his ordination in 1984 until 1996 when he left to join the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity (SOLT).)

IRELAND
Inishowen News

THE Bishop of Derry, Dr Seamus Hegarty has stressed that all allegations of child sexual abuse in his cross-border diocese are reported to the PSNI and Gardai.

Dr Hegarty was speaking at the launch of the ‘Safeguarding Children Policy and Procedures Document’ attended by representatives from the Derry diocese’s 50 parishes, in An Grianan Hotel, Burt.

“I wish to state clearly tonight that all allegations of child abuse that are received by the diocese are reported to the civil authorities in accordance with the national guidelines of the Catholic Church in Ireland,” said Bishop Hegarty.

IRELAND
The Irish Times

ANDREW MADDEN

OPINION: Tomorrow marks the first anniversary of the publication of the Murphy report. How have the victims survived?

I REMEMBER both my anger and sadness rising as I sat in offices of the Department of Justice early one morning a year ago reading about the nine-year-old girl who had to experience a priest put his hands inside her trousers during confession so as to abuse her, washing his hands in an altar bowl after wards. I felt sad for the boys who had to endure a priest’s predilection for “corporal punishment”, which gardaí subsequently described as brutal and having sado-sexual connotations.

I felt sad for the boys who were taken on holiday by “Fr Dante” and who were subject to his rules that all the boys were to sleep naked, that the bathroom door was to be left open when they were showering, that “punishment” was to be smacking on the bare bottom and that a different boy had to sleep with the priest every night. I felt sad for the boys who were sexually abused by Fr McNamee having been attracted to the indoor and outdoor swimming pools at his parochial house in Crumlin, which adults were excluded from using.

MINNESOTA
Star Tribune

By ROSE FRENCH, Star Tribune

Catholic clergy sex abuse victims are protesting a move by the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis to try to force an alleged victim to pay the archdiocese nearly $64,000 in legal costs -- the largest amount sought by the archdiocese to date.

The case involves an unnamed Twin Cities man who alleges he was sexually abused by former priest Thomas Adamson between 1980 and 1982, while Adamson was serving at Church of the Risen Savior in Burnsville. The lawsuit filed against both the archdiocese and the Diocese of Winona charges that church officials knew of abuse complaints but did nothing to prevent further abuse.

But Ramsey District Judge Gregg Johnson dismissed the case in October, saying the alleged abuse happened too long ago, according to the statute of limitations. The alleged victim is now appealing that decision.

CANADA
Montreal Gazette

By SUE MONTGOMERY, The Gazette November 25, 2010

A Superior Court Justice has given the go-ahead for former students of a Roman Catholic secondary school near Quebec City to sue the priests who allegedly sexually abused them.

Lawyer Pierre Boivin said it's the first time in Quebec a class-action suit has been filed against a religious order -Congregation du Tres-Saint-Redempteur -and the amount could reach into the millions of dollars.

So far, dozens of alleged victims of the former boarding school, Seminaire St. Alphonse, have come forward, but Boivin said he believes once word spreads, it could reach into the hundreds. "We think it's just the tip of the iceberg," he said.

ITALY
Adnkronos

Genova, 25 Nov. (AKI) - Activists in the northern coastal city of Savona on Thursday planned to distribute leaflets throughout the province condemning the Catholic church's failure to take action over local paedophile clergy.

The leaflet by the Committee for the Victims of Paedophilia in the Savona Area will especially blame Savona's bishop, Vittorio Lupi, and the Savona diocese for the alleged clerical sex abuse.

While paedophile priest scandals have rocked the United States, Ireland and Germany, abuse cases in Italy have been emerging slowly.

Around 100 sexual abuse victims including Italian victims on 31 October marched in Rome near the Vatican to demand Pope Benedict XVI take firmer action against priests who committed abuse.

ROME
WSAW

Reporter: Liz Hayes
Email Address: lhayes@wsaw.com

Sexual abuse and religious freedom are some of the major issues the Roman Catholic Church is dealing with today.

For her special series, "From Stratford to the Vatican," Liz Hayes traveled to Rome, Italy for an exclusive interview with Raymond Cardinal Burke.

He was made a cardinal on November 20th, and grew up in Stratford.

CANADA
Winnipeg Free Press

QUEBEC - A judge has allowed alleged sex-abuse victims to sue the Quebec priest they say molested them.

A dozen alleged victims of Father Raymond-Marie Lavoie had sought the right to file a civil suit, seeking damages from him and College St-Alphonse.

Quebec Superior Court Justice Claude Bouchard allowed the civil action today.

Lavoie was a music teacher at the defunct Roman Catholic college near Quebec City and he also oversaw the dormitory.

GERMANY
Monsters and Critics

Berlin - A Catholic Church hotline has so far logged 664 complaints of sexual molestation by German clergy and other church officials, bishops said Wednesday.

The church has been rocked this year by claims that it knowingly covered up paedophile priests. Pope Benedict XVI responded with an order to report all sexual advances on children to police.

The German telephone hotline, set up in March, has mainly collected cases that happened too long ago to be now prosecuted. More recent cases are being investigated by German police.

KANSAS CITY (MO)
The Pitch

By Justin Kendall, Wed., Nov. 24 2010

The Rev. John M. Fiala is accused of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old boy several times -- including twice at gunpoint between 2007 and 2008 -- when he was a pastoral administrator at Sacred Heart of Mary Parish in Rocksprings, Texas. The story -- in today's Star -- gets even worse.

Fiala, who used to be a Catholic priest with KCK's Archdiocese between 2001 and 2002, is accused of trying to hire a hit man to kill the boy. Isn't that what Jesus would do?

Fiala, 52, was reportedly arrested last week after trying to hire a hit man (read: undercover cop) to off the teen. Add charges of criminal solicitation to commit capital murder to his tab, which includes several counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child.

CANADA
Montreal Gazette

By Sue Montgomery, Postmedia News November 24, 2010

MONTREAL — A Superior Court Justice has given the go-ahead for former students of a Roman Catholic secondary school near Quebec City to sue the priests who allegedly sexually abused them.

The lead plaintiff in the suit, Frank Tremblay, is seeking $750,000 in damages for the sexual, emotional, physical and psychological abuse he said he suffered several times a week at the hands of a priest who was in charge of the students' dormitory.

Father Raymond-Marie Lavoie, 70, was arrested last December by the Surete du Quebec and charged with various sexual crimes involving nine minors.

SALT LAKE CITY (UT)
KCSG

[court order]

(Salt Lake City, UT) - The Utah Supreme Court has denied Warren Steed Jeffs petition for emergency relief from a Texas extradition order claiming violation of his consitutional rights to a speedy retrial in Utah.

The 54-year old leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) was previously convicted in southern Utah as an accomplice to rape of a 14-year old girl, a member of his church that Jeffs' married spiritually to her 19-year old cousin. The conviction was over turned by the Utah Supreme Court in July citing flawed instructions to the jury. Prosecutors in Washington County where he was tried and convicted have not determined whether they will re-try Jeffs.

UNITED STATES/EUROPE
Survivors Voice

Adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse are finally beginning to be recognized collectively on a global level. We are pleased to announce that we have launched our Survivors Voice Europe website. Survivors Voice-Euope.org . This website is being developed in several languages which will give survivors, supporters & support affiliates the ability to connect on a global level.

The success of our Reformation Day event, has helped us in raising awareness of the continuing needs of adult survivors around the globe. We've received thousands of visits on our website over the last month and we continue to be contacted by survivors from around the world on a daily basis, some of whom are speaking of their own abuse for the first time.

Courage is not defined by telling your story in front of 100 cameras to the world. It's defined by telling one person, that person is the one in the mirror. In admitting to yourself that you were a victim as a child, and then reaching out for help is the bravest step a survivor takes. Yesterday, we received an email from yet another survivor of Rev. Joseph Birmingham, the man who is responsible for our abuse, as well as over 100 others that we know of. This survivor was reaching out for the first time. It was a reminder of why we continue to do, what we do.

WISCONSIN
The Capital Times

PAT SCHNEIDER | The Capital Times | pschneider@madison.com madison.com

Advocates for victims of clergy sex abuse say a Wisconsin appeals court decision that insurers need not cover damages caused by likely child molesters whom churches represented as risk-free should spur faith communities to demand greater accountability from church leaders.

Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, SNAP, argues that since dollars from the collection plate will pay for damages caused by abusive priests whom church officials knew were likely to offend, parishioners have an even stronger claim to a role in priest monitoring and child safety.

"Today's decision means that Catholics must more than ever demand accountability and transparency from the archdiocese," Peter Isely, Midwest coordinator for SNAP says in a statement released Tuesday. "They must insist on becoming full participants in how the church investigates, disciplines and fires priests who commit acts of sexual abuse and how church finances are collected, distributed, and audited."

BELGIE
Het Nieuwsblad

Luc De Bruyne (53), voormalig Broeder van Liefde en orthopedagoog van het Medisch Pedagogisch Instituut Tordale in Torhout, is gisteren na een jarenlange procedure veroordeeld tot 10 jaar cel wegens seksueel misbruik van mentaal gehandicapte jongens. Het openbaar ministerie had zes jaar gevorderd, de rechtbank deed er nog vier jaar bovenop. ,,Dit is een duidelijk signaal'', reageert een ouder. ,,Onze jongens werden echt geloofd.''

Met de veroordeling van de gewezen Broeder van Liefde en orthopedagoog Luc De Bruyne komt een einde aan een schandaal dat al tien jaar geleden uitbrak in het MPI Tordale. De ouders van één jongen dienden in 1995 intern klacht in tegen De Bruyne wegens seksueel misbruik. De toenmalige raad van bestuur, onder leiding van broeder-directeur Roger Huyghe, veegde de klacht onder de mat. Toch werd De Bruyne uit voorzorg naar Rwanda gestuurd. De ouders van de jongen stapten in 1997 naar het gerecht dat hun klacht wel ernstig nam.

NEDERLAND
Broeders van Liefde

Rome / Eindhoven, 7 oktober 2010

De Broeders van Liefde betreuren wat er gebeurde in het internaat Eikenburg te Eindhoven

en erkennen de pijn van de slachtoffers. Ze vragen tegelijk om in deze zaak sereen te blijven

en wensen derhalve geen polemiek te voeren op de aantijgingen die gemaakt zijn in

SCOTLAND
Daily Record

Nov 24 2010 By Mark McGivern

THE CATHOLIC Church in Scotland has demanded former whistler Hugh Dallass head if allegations of sectarianism against him are proven.

The extraordinary move, sanctioned by the Churchs head in Scotland Cardinal Keith OBrien, marks a declaration of war against the SFA, who are investigating their Head of Referee Development after the storm erupted earlier this month. ...

A strongly worded letter from the Churchs media director Peter Kearney insists that Dallas should have no future in sport if he is found guilty of forwarding by email a graphic joke about the Pope, which alludes to paedophilia.

SCOTLAND
BBC New

The Catholic Church want the Scottish Football Association to sack head of refereeing Hugh Dallas if he sent an "offensive" email about the Pope.

SFA chief Stuart Regan has investigated an email seen by BBC Scotland that was forwarded from Dallas's account on the day of the Pope's visit to Scotland.

The email contains an image of a children's school crossing sign and makes reference to the Pope's visit.

UNITED KINGDOM
Catholic Herald

Exactly one year later [after the Williamson affair], the darkest clouds gather over the Catholic Church. As though out of a deep abyss, countless incomprehensible cases of sexual abuse from the past come to light – acts committed by priests and religious. The clouds cast their shadows even on the Chair of Peter. Now no one is talking any more about the moral authority for the world that is usually granted a pope. How great is this crisis? Is it really, as we occasionally read, one of the greatest in the history of the Church?

Yes, it is a great crisis, we have to say that. It was upsetting for all of us. Suddenly so much filth. It was really almost like the crater of a volcano, out of which suddenly a tremendous cloud of filth came, darkening and soiling everything, so that above all the priesthood suddenly seemed to be a place of shame and every priest was under the suspicion of being one like that too. Many priests declared that they no longer dared to extend a hand to a child, much less go to a summer camp with children.

For me the affair was not entirely unexpected. In the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith I had already dealt with the American cases; I had also seen the situation emerge in Ireland. But on this scale it was nevertheless an unprecedented shock. Since my election to the Chair of Peter I had already met several times with victims of sexual abuse. Three and a half years ago, in October 2006, in my address to the bishops of Ireland, I had called for them to bring the truth to light, to take whatever steps necessary to prevent such egregious crimes from occurring again, to ensure that the principles of law and justice are fully respected and, above all, to bring healing to the victims. Suddenly to see the priesthood so defiled, and with it the Catholic Church herself, at the very heart – that was something that we were really just beginning to cope with. But it was imperative not to lose sight of the fact that there is good in the Church and not only those horrible things.

IRELAND
The Journal

POPE BENEDICT XVI has spoken about Ireland’s clerical child sex abuse crisis, saying the abandonment of ecclesiastical law in the 1960s led to “an odd darkening” in the minds of many people.

The pope said that this point of view was first presented to him by the Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, writes Paddy Agnew of the Irish Times.

Benedict’s comments are contained in a new book, for which he was interviewed by German journalist Peter Seewald, Light of the World.

Benedict is quoted as saying:

The Archbishop of Dublin told me something very interesting about that. He said that ecclesiastical penal law functioned until the late 1950s; admittedly, it was not perfect – there is much to criticise about it – but nevertheless it was applied. After the mid-sixties, however, it was simply not applied any more.

BELGIE
Gazet van Antwerpen

Het openbaar ministerie heeft grote vragen bij Operatie Kelk, het Brusselse onderzoek naar seksueel misbruik in de Kerk. Zo weet het college van procureurs-generaal nu nog altijd niet welke feiten de Brusselse onderzoeksrechter Wim De Troy precies mocht onderzoeken.

“Wat was de aard van de feiten (verkrachting, aanranding, openbare zedenschennis)? Waren de feiten al dan niet verjaard? Ging het wel om minderjarigen? Was De Troy wel territoriaal bevoegd? We weten het allemaal nog altijd niet. Maar vast staat wel dat Brusselse onderzoeksrechters niet zomaar in heel België bevoegd zijn.” Deze onthutsende verklaring legde Frank Schins, de voorzitter van het college van procureurs-generaal, af in de Kamer.

UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter

by John L Allen Jr on Nov. 24, 2010 All Things Catholic

[Note: “All Things Catholic is being published early this week, ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States.]

Pope Benedict XVI’s surprising comments on condoms in his new book-length interview with German journalist Peter Seewald, titled Light of the World, obviously has been the big Vatican story this week. I wrote a piece for the BBC analyzing what the pope said and didn’t say, which can be found here: Why condom comments are no earthquake in Catholic teaching. I’ve also laid out other interesting elements in the book in a piece for NCR: Pope on condoms, sex abuse, resignation ... and movie nights

Here, I’ll restrict myself to the hope that when the furor over condoms dies down, people will actually read the whole book. As always, Benedict XVI offers a fascinating diagnosis of the situation facing the church and the wider world. One may disagree with this or that point (and Benedict openly concedes that a pope’s private opinions can be wrong), but his assessments are well worth pondering.

In the meantime, a fascinating subplot has emerged in the form of fierce intra-Catholic blowback against L’Osservatore Romano, the official Vatican newspaper, which published a set of extracts from the book on Saturday night, including an edited version of Benedict’s comments on condoms. That scoop came ahead of an embargo imposed on other publications, catching the world’s media off-guard and triggering a cycle of sensational and often misleading coverage. It’s already being touted as the latest Vatican communications debacle, and some critics are insisting that heads must roll.

BELGIE
De Standaard

BRUSSEL - De bijzondere commissie heeft heel wat vragen bij de rol van parketten in gerechtelijke onderzoeken naar misbruik. Vooral de naam van de Brugse procureur des konings, Jean-Marie Berkvens, klinkt steeds luider. ‘Hij mag het komen uitleggen.'

Van onze redacteur

De getuigenis van priester op rust Rik Devillé, maandag, zindert bij de leden van de bijzondere commissie in het parlement nog altijd na.

BELGIE
De Standaard

BRUSSEL - De bijzondere commissie heeft heel wat vragen bij de rol van parketten in gerechtelijke onderzoeken naar misbruik. Vooral de naam van de Brugse procureur des konings, Jean-Marie Berkvens, klinkt steeds luider. ‘Hij mag het komen uitleggen.'

Van onze redacteur

De getuigenis van priester op rust Rik Devillé, maandag, zindert bij de leden van de bijzondere commissie in het parlement nog altijd na.

BELGIE
De Standaard

Op de eerste hoorzitting van de bijzondere commissie zat Tommy Scholtes, de woordvoerder van de bisschoppen, op de banken van de commissieleden en de pers. Dat is bij verschillende kamerleden in het verkeerde keelgat geschoten.

‘Ik vraag me af wie die man hier heeft toegelaten', zegt Renaat Landuyt (SP.A). ‘Hij mag altijd komen luisteren, maar dan moet hij maar in de publiekstribune plaatsnemen.' In dat geval mag hij geen notities nemen.

UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter

by Phyllis Zagano on Nov. 24, 2010 Just Catholic

Pope Benedict XVI, a brilliant theologian, is becoming a public relations train wreck. The latest story: male prostitutes can use condoms to prevent transmission of AIDS.

Say, what?

Male prostitutes don’t immediately come to mind when I am considering AIDS. In fact, male prostitutes don’t come to my mind at all. What was he thinking? It certainly took me a while to figure it out.

Of course, the media dust-up and subsequent blogitis has lots of folks laughing (again) at the Catholic Church. Now the Catholic idea seems to be: don’t get AIDS when you hire a male prostitute. But who hires male prostitutes? Recall, please, there’s been a bit of a homosexual scandal involving Catholic priests over the past few years.

BELGIE
vandaag

23 november, 19:20
Volgens Laurette Onkelinx zijn de uitlatingen van aartsbisschop Léonard over aidspatiënten en homoseksualiteit onfatsoenlijk, respectloos, stigmatiserend en onthutsend. "Vooral omdat het een recidive betreft van de hoogste gezagsdrager van de Belgische kerk", laat de minister van Sociale Zaken zich ontvallen.

Léonard had onder meer gezegd dat aids een immanente vorm van rechtvaardigheid is voor promiscue gedrag. De immanente rechtvaardigheid en besmettelijke ziekten op een hoop gooien, kunnen volgens Onkelinx bij de patiënten een bijkomend schuldgevoel opwekken. "Dat kan nefaste psychologische gevolgen hebben, terwijl ze net behoefte hebben aan een respectvolle behandeling."

BELGIQUE
La Libre

La sortie du primat de Belgique est d'autant plus inqualifiable qu'elle peut susciter une "culpabilisation supplémentaire" des malades du Sida.

La ministre de la Santé Laurette Onkelinx a fustigé mardi les propos de Monseigneur Léonard stigmatisant les homosexuels. Elle a estimé que ces propos "bafouent" le principe de liberté des pratiques sexuelles entre adultes consentants, "un principe avec lequel certains membres du clergé semblent plutôt avoir pris quelques libertés".

UNITED STATES
Catholic Culture

by Phil Lawler, November 22, 2010
Pope Benedict has not changed the Church’s teachings, or even intimated that they might be subject to change. The Holy Father has not called for a new debate on the morality of contraception. He has not suggested that condom use might sometimes be morally justifiable.

Yet today millions of people around the world believe that the Pontiff has changed Church teaching, has opened the question of contraception for debate, and has justified condom use in some circumstances. How did that happen?

Yet again, Pope Benedict has been badly served by his public-relations staff. In this case, the Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano bears most of the blame for a truly disastrous gaffe.

UNITED STATES
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Statement by Mark Serrano of Washington DC, charter board member, SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (703 727 4940 cell, serrano@getproactive.us)

In a new book, the Pope admits that maybe he should have launched a global investigation into clergy sex crimes back in 2002. He’s right. But he didn’t then and he isn’t now.

Now is he doing what any responsible leader would do – ordering bishops to turn over priest personnel files to law enforcement?

He compares the church’s long-standing and on-going cover up of child sex crimes to a “volcano.” Other top Catholic officials have used similar words like tsunami and earthquake. These are flawed analogies, of course, because they imply that church staff are passive victims of forces beyond their control when, in fact, this crisis is caused by church staff themselves.

BELGIE
hbvl

VRT-journalist Louis van Dievel heeft een boek geschreven over Roger Vangheluwe, de voormalige bisschop van Brugge.

In de roman laat de geestelijke een filmpje, bedoeld voor YouTube, opnemen.

Het boek gaat naar verluidt over een man "die zich als dienaar Gods vrij van zonden waant, een man die zich tot op het laatst aan zijn bisschopsmijter heeft vastgeklampt."

Die Schweiz
Basler Zeitung

Felix Gmür, der neue Bischof des Bistums Basel, will «nahe bei den Menschen sein». Er habe gute Nerven, sagte Gmür vor den Medien in Solothurn. «Ich nehme das Leben wie es ist, und wie es kommt.»

Es werde für ihn als Bischof eine Hauptherausforderung sein, «nahe bei den Menschen zu sein». Im Bistum Basel gebe es viele engagierte Mitarbeiterinnen und Mitarbeiter. Die Kirche sei «nicht ein Dienstleistungsunternehmen» wie ein anderes.

Die Frauenordination sei eine weltkirchliche Frage. Die Kirche habe in den «verschiedenen Kontinenten verschiedene Geschwindigkeiten». Er sei in Afrika gewesen und habe festgestellt, dass das Thema dort «nicht auf der Tagesordnung» stehe.

DEUTSCHLAND
Zeit

Das Buch von Benedikt XVI. ist alles andere als modern. Er preist das Zölibat, bezeichnet Geschiedene als "Christen zweiter Klasse". Die Kondom-Äußerung steht da alleine.

Der Papst schaut sich bisweilen mit seinen Sekretären DVDs an, "Don Camillo und Peppone" zum Beispiel. So steht es in dem neuen Interviewbuch Licht der Welt, das morgen erscheint.

Anzeige
Es hat 250 Seiten und beruht auf einem sechsstündigen Gespräch, das der deutsche Publizist und Papst-Biograf Peter Seewald mit Benedikt XVI. im Sommer in Castel Gandolfo geführt hat. Seewald geht mit dem Papst alle Themen durch, die die fünf Jahre seines Pontifikats geprägt haben, von seinen Deutschlandbesuchen über den Dialog mit der orthodoxen Kirche, mit dem Islam und den Protestanten bis hin zur Affäre Williamson und dem Missbrauchsskandal.

DEUTSCHLAND
Neue OZ

Belm/Bissendorf/Osnabrück. Die Jugendleiter gehen mit verbundenen Augen durch den Raum. Kleine Rempeleien und Zusammenstöße sind vorprogrammiert. Wer berührt wen in diesen zufälligen Momenten? Ist diese Nähe angenehm? Und was bezweckt der körperliche Crash? Die Jugendleiter probierten es aus und suchten nach Antworten. Sie waren Teilnehmer einer Fortbildung des evangelischen Kirchenkreises zum Thema „Sexualisierte Gewalt“.

„Wo großes Vertrauen vorhanden ist, ist auch die Enttäuschung umso größer“, sagt Frieder Marahrens. Der Pastor der evangelischen Gemeinde Gretesch-Lüstringen und stellvertretende Superintendent unterstrich damit die besondere Verantwortung der kirchlichen Jugendleiter.

BELGIE
Het Nieuwsblad

TORHOUT/ LICHTERVELDE - ,,De vrijspraak van gisteren zet een punt achter vijf jaar machteloosheid, maar de zaak heeft mij getekend voor het leven.'' Luc C. (51) uit Lichtervelde, voormalig opvoeder in de Torhoutse Tordale, werd gisteren door de Brugse correctionele rechtbank vrijgesproken voor de aanklacht van seksueel misbruik in de instelling voor mentaal gehandicapten. De directeur en een andere opvoeder van Tordale werden eerder al tot zware celstraffen veroordeeld.

Midden de jaren 90 kwam het onderzoek naar seksueel misbruik van minderjarige jongens in het MPI Tordale in een stroomversnelling na klachten tegen broeder-orthopedagoog Luc D.B. Die broeder wacht nog op de uitspraak in november. Broeder-directeur Roger H. werd al tot 10 jaar veroordeeld en opvoeder Geert V. in beroep tot 7 jaar cel. Gisteren sprak de Brugse strafrechtbank een vierde in opspraak gekomen werknemer vrij. De rechtbank oordeelde de tenlasteleggingen tegen Luc C., de aanranding en verkrachting van drie mentaal gehandicapten niet bewezen. De oud Chiro-leider, gehuwd en vader van twee kinderen, barste bij de vrijspraak in tranen uit.

BELGIE
Gazet van Antwerpen

"Een pervert en een crimineel." Zo brandmerkte het Gentse hof van beroep donderdag broeder Roger Huyghe (68). Als directeur van het medisch pedagogisch instituut Tordale in Torhout misbruikte hij jarenlang mentaal gehandicapte jongens. Net als in eerste aanleg hoorde Huyghe zich veroordelen tot tien jaar opsluiting. De ouders van de slachtoffers onthaalden het arrest op applaus.

In Huize Tordale volgen zo'n vierhonderd licht tot matig mentaal gehandicapte jongeren aangepast onderwijs. Huyghe lag mee aan de basis van de oprichting van het MPI en was er van 1969 tot 1999 directeur. Na zijn pensionering kwamen de eerste klachten binnen. Het hof achtte bewezen dat hij zich jarenlang schuldig had gemaakt aan de verkrachting en aanranding van tientallen jongens.

CONNECTICUT
Hartford Courant

Susan Campbell

November 24, 2010

Late last week, news broke that St. Francis Hospital & Medical Center had offered to settle with older victims of George Reardon, an endocrinologist who sexually abused hundreds of young patients while employed by St. Francis.

The settlement was offered to victims aged 48 and over who are outside the state's statute of limitations. A bill that would have changed the law for civil cases involving child sexual abuse, assault or exploitation died in the last legislative session, when the hospital and the Archdiocese of Hartford threw their weight — and church bulletins — against it.

Not all the older victims are happy about this offer, which is said to amount to anywhere from $20,000 to $100,000 per person. The amount will be decided by an arbitrator, minus lawyer's fees and the like — although wouldn't it be nice if the hospital paid those fees, instead?

FAIRBANKS (AK)
News-Miner

by Chris Freiberg / cfreiberg@newsminer.com Fairbanks Daily News Miner

FAIRBANKS — A former Fairbanks pastor is in jail after being convicted last week of eight counts of sexual abuse of a minor.

A Fairbanks jury found Shawn Anthony Justice, 32, guilty of most of the charges, but deadlocked on three charges and found him not guilty of one count after more than week of testimony. Each count of second-degree sexual abuse of a minor is a class B felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

Justice was remanded to Fairbanks Correctional Center immediately after the verdict, Fairbanks District Attorney Mike Gray stated in an e-mail. Sentencing is scheduled for March 24 before Superior Court Judge Michael McConahy.

KANSAS CITY (MO)
The Vancouver Sun

Judy L. Thomas, McClatchy Newspapers November 23, 2010

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A former Kansas City area Catholic priest recently charged with sexually abusing a teenager in Texas is now accused of trying to hire a hit man to kill the boy.

The Rev. John M. Fiala, who served in the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas in 2001 and 2002, was arrested last week in Dallas by Texas Rangers and Texas Department of Public Safety troopers during a murder-for-hire investigation.

Fiala, 52, is accused of negotiating with an undercover agent to have the teen killed, said a Texas DPS spokeswoman. He was charged with one count of criminal solicitation to commit capital murder.

TEXAS
AFP

CHICAGO — A defrocked Roman Catholic priest has been charged with trying to hire someone to murder a Texas teenager who accused him of sexual abuse two years ago, officials said.

John Fiala, 52, was arrested by state troopers Thursday after he negotiated a 5,000 dollar hit with an undercover agent, the Texas Department of Public Safety said in a statement.

The investigation began after a neighbor tipped off the sheriff of a nearby county, the San Antonio Express-News reported.

SIOUX CITY (IA)
KTIV

[with video]

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KTIV) -- A little over five years ago, a Catholic priest in Denver, Colorado got some big news that would change his life and uproot him to Northwest Iowa.

Father R. Walker Nickless would soon become Bishop Nickless, guiding Catholics in the Sioux City Diocese. He sat down with NewsChannel 4's Zach Tecklenburg about the past and present challenges facing the faith. ...

Nickless also worked as a "vicar for clergy" in Denver, which meant he dealt with misconduct among priests. He says the diocese has done a good job of fixing past transgressions, offering counseling and support to victims, and following a national charter to keep kids safe.

"This is a good place for children to be now and parents can be trusted with what we do," Nickless said.

TEXAS
Press TV (Iran)

A Roman Catholic priest, already charged with having sexually abused a boy, has now been charged with trying to hire someone to kill the teenager.

Father John Fiala of Dallas, Texas, who was out on bond on sexual assault charges against the youth, was arrested last week after he negotiated with an undercover officer to murder the teenager, according to US authorities.

The police began the investigation after a neighbor tipped off the sheriff of a nearby county.

UNITED STATES
PRWeb

East Greenbush, NY (Vocus) November 23, 2010

With his ascendance into sainthood fast approaching, the critical evaluation of the late Pope John Paul II’s papacy is, to many, long overdue. Impugning the integrity of this international Catholic celebrity’s policies and precedents, Andrew J. McCauley critically reexamines the papacy of Pope John Paul II in his scathing new nonfiction book, Crossing the Threshold of Confusion (published by iUniverse).

Well-written and timely, Crossing the Threshold of Confusion presents a definitive case against the canonization of Pope John Paul II. Utilizing John Paul II’s publicized ideas, writings and policies – from his days as a young priest to his final days as pope – McCauley tests their compatibility with traditional Catholic doctrine and practice. What he finds will turn the image of this popularized Catholic figure on its head.

Among the subjects McCauley takes issue with include John Paul II’s failure to enforce discipline in the church, especially against widespread sexual abuse by priests; his statements implying universal salvation, his “Theology of the Body” and the inevitably destabilizing effects on marriage, his conflicting messages on capital punishment and his claim that the church has newly defined “her own nature.” In his most incisive moments, McCauley points to the inherent danger and consequences of having an international politician at the head of the Catholic Church. He writes:

"John Paul II was not the source of most of these destructive trends within the Church. He merely facilitated their spread by his actions and inactions. In fact, he resisted and fought some of them. His record on the life issues would be hard to improve upon. But it is doubtful that we ever had a pope before who was so influenced by worldly thinking and trends. In fact, he was so conditioned by the culture of the world that, in this writer’s opinion, he was probably the first pope who did not think like a Catholic. Phenomenology, existentialism, ecumenism, and perhaps the influence of modernist theologians were just some of the worldly trends that seemed to shape his thinking."

CALIFORNIA
The Press-Enterprise

By DAVID OLSON
The Press-Enterprise

When allegations of child sexual molestation against the Rev. Alejandro "Alex" Jose Castillo were made public in September, parishioners created a group to defend the Ontario Catholic priest.

Castillo was jailed last month on charges of felony sex crimes against a 12-year-old boy. The Coalition to Exonerate Fr. Alex raised $24,000 to bail him out. Each Friday night, parishioners gather for a four-hour vigil to pray for him.

The coalition is one of at least 200 groups that have formed around the country to support clergy accused of sexual abuse, according to Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, or SNAP. After almost every allegation of priest sexual abuse, at least some parishioners vocally defend the accused, a reflection of the deference toward and admiration of priests among many congregants, said David Clohessy, the national director of SNAP.

TEXAS
KENS

[with video]

by Brian New / KENS 5

SAN ANTONIO -- A former South Texas priest, indicted on sex crimes, is back in jail, and this time 52-year-old John Fiala faces a murder-for-hire charge.

Fiala was arrested at his home Thursday in Garland after he allegedly negotiated a murder arrangement with an undercover officer.

"It certainly served to validate my client’s fears,” said Tom Rhodes, the attorney for the teenage boy Fiala is accused of plotting to kill.

TEXAS
KSAT

[with video]

Tim Gerber, KSAT 12 News Reporter

POSTED: Tuesday, November 23, 2010

SAN ANTONIO -- The attorney representing a teenager who was the target of an alleged murder-for-hire plot hatched by a Catholic priest said Tuesday his client is relieved that man is once again behind bars.

Father John Fiala, 52, was arrested last week in Dallas County after he was caught on tape by investigators trying to hire a hit man to kill the teen who's accused Fiala of sexual abuse.

Attorney Tom Rhodes said as shocking as the allegations may seem, he was not surprised Fiala had tried to hire someone to kill his client because the teen claimed the priest had threatened his life multiple times in the past.

"My client has been saying for years this man is going to do something to me and it bore out to be true," Rhodes said. "He tried to do something, and thank God the police were able to apprehend him and we believe there's very powerful evidence against him."

VATICAN CITY
The New York Times

By RACHEL DONADIO and LAURIE GOODSTEIN
Published: November 23, 2010

VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI clearly acknowledged on Tuesday that the need to prevent diseases like AIDS could outweigh the church’s long opposition to the use of condoms.

It was a significant and stunning personal pronouncement from the conservative pope after more than two decades of heated debate inside the Roman Catholic Church and condemnation by health workers who said the church’s ban on prophylactics was morally indefensible during the AIDS crisis.

The Rev. Federico Lombardi, the Vatican’s spokesman, said that for Benedict, the use of condoms by people infected with H.I.V. could be “the first step of responsibility, of taking into consideration the risk to the life of the person with whom there are relations.”

“Whether it’s a man or woman or a transsexual,” he added.

VATICAN CITY/IRELAND
The Irish Times

PADDY AGNEW in Rome

THOSE WHO have suggested that the Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, has had his “wings clipped” and does not see eye to eye with Pope Benedict XVI vis-a-vis his handling of the Irish church’s sex abuse crisis may want to think again after reading Light Of The World , the pope’s new book launched in the Vatican yesterday.

Based on six hours of conversation between the pope and German journalist Peter Seewald, the book attempts to use what senior Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi called “simple, concrete and accessible” language to provide answers to a wide range of key questions concerning today’s church.

At one point, Seewald suggests that the evident episcopal mishandling of abuse cases represents a complete “failure” for the church. By way of response, Pope Benedict says: “The Archbishop of Dublin told me something very interesting about that. He said that ecclesiastical penal law functioned until the late 1950s; admittedly, it was not perfect – there is much to criticise about it – but nevertheless it was applied. After the mid-sixties, however, it was simply not applied any more.

WISCONSIN
SNAP Wisconsin

Statement by Peter Isely, SNAP Midwest Director CONTACT: 414-429-7259

Opportunity for area Catholics to join victim/survivors in calling for accountability and transparency from Listecki

Today’s court ruling in Wisconsin against the archdiocese of Milwaukee is clear: no corporation, including religious ones, can use insurance money to bail them out of the consequences for criminal or fraudulent conduct. It does not matter if the fraud was committed by a CEO conspiring with a board of directors or a bishop conspiring with a pedophile priest.

Current and past archbishops and bishops of the Milwaukee archdiocese have been and are engaged in deliberate and various practices of institutional misrepresentation and concealment. Today’s decision means that Catholics must more than ever demand accountability and transparency from the archdiocese. They must insist on becoming full participants in how the church investigates, disciplines and fires priests who commit acts of sexual abuse and how church finances are collected, distributed, and audited.

Concretely, Catholics can insist that Archbishop Jerome Listecki act in good faith with victim/survivors now in mediation with the archdiocese. These victims are insisting, as they should, that Listecki first commit to future child safety measures before any monetary discussions take place to settle cases. That’s a courageous and responsible stance to take. Catholics can send an unmistakable signal to Listecki that they support the proposals these victims are bringing to him.

UNITED STATES
GetReligion

Here at GetReligion, we respond to the news of the day. Sometimes that means we don’t get a chance to reflect on broader themes. We spent a lot of time discussing how the mainstream media handled the Vatican sex abuse crisis earlier this year. The Ethics and Public Policy Center hosted a gathering of journalists from mainstream secular outlets to reflect on what went right and what went wrong with that coverage.

It sounds like it was a fascinating discussion. Veteran Vatican reporter John Allen, who we’ve been mentioning a bit this week, was one of the facilitators of the discussion and he wrote up a report for the National Catholic Reporter.

The conversation ranged from the Vatican’s poor state of crisis communications to whether the news media got the story right. Among the reporters present was Laurie Goodstein, whose New York Times work on the matter fueled much of the controversy.

TEXAS
CNN

By Ashley Hayes, CNN
November 23, 2010

(CNN) -- A Catholic priest, facing criminal charges and a lawsuit alleging that he sexually abused a teenage boy, is now charged with attempting to hire someone to kill the youth, authorities said Tuesday.

The Rev. John M. Fiala was in the Dallas County, Texas, jail on Tuesday, charged with one count of criminal solicitation to commit capital murder, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety and the jail's website. He also is charged with two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child. His bail totals $700,000.

PENNSYLVANIA
Beaver County Times

By: MARYCLAIRE DALE
The Associated Press
Tuesday November 23, 2010

A Roman Catholic priest suspended after federal agents in Philadelphia seized his laptop has sought riches online through various marketing schemes.

Fr. Geraldo Pinero endorses several "multi-level marketing" companies, or MLMs, in Facebook, blog and other postings.

The 46-year-old pastor calls himself "Jerry from Philly" and is shown, sans collar, wearing a tuxedo or sweater. He promises recruits they can get rich selling candles, life coaching or other services.

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia bans priests from most secular work.

TEXAS
Omaha World-Herald

By Susan Szalewskiand Christopher Burbach
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITERS

The case of a former Omaha priest charged with sexual assault in Texas has become even stranger: Now the Rev. John M. Fiala is accused of trying to hire someone to kill his accuser.

Texas Rangers and Texas state troopers arrested Fiala on Thursday after he negotiated a murder arrangement with an undercover officer at his home in Garland, Texas, a Texas Department of Public Safety spokesman told the San Antonio Express-News.

Fiala is being held on $700,000 bail in the Dallas County, Texas, jail on one count of solicitation to commit murder and two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child, jail records show.

TEXAS
WTAJ

Reported by: Nate Potter

DALLAS, TEXAS - A Catholic priest is accused of trying to hire someone to kill a teenager accusing him of sexually assaulting him in 2008.

Police say Father John Fiala was arrested last week in Dallas after allegedly offering a neighbor five-thousand dollars to kill the 16-year-old.

Fiala faces solicitation to commit murder and aggravated sexual assault of a child charges after allegedly raping the teen at gunpoint.

WISCONSIN
Daily Herald

By TODD RICHMOND • Associated Press • November 23, 2010

MADISON—The Archdiocese of Milwaukee’s insurance company doesn’t have to pay damages that could arise from more than a dozen lawsuits involving sex abuse by priests, a state appeals court ruled Tuesday.

The 1st District Court of Appeals decision, if it stands, means the archdiocese may have to pay millions of dollars to settle the cases. The archdiocese is currently in mediation with the plaintiffs and likely will appeal the ruling to the state Supreme Court, archdiocese spokesman Jerry Topczewski said in a statement.

“The resources of the archdiocese are limited and the loss of the financial contribution from insurance companies makes the challenge of resolving these cases all the more daunting,” he said.

NEDERLAND
Nederlands Juridisch Dagblad

Bisschop Hans van den Hende van Breda moet op 18 januari volgend jaar voor de rechtbank in Middelburg getuigen in een zaak over seksueel misbruik gepleegd door een reeds veroordeelde pater. De rechtbank Middelburg het verzoek tot het houden van een voorlopig getuigenverhoor gisteren toegewezen. Het gaat om zes getuigen, waaronder ook om kardinaal Ad Simonis en oud-bisschop Huub Ernst. Verzoeker zelf wordt ook gehoord.

De verhoren zijn nodig om de kansen bij een rechtszaak beter in te kunnen schatten, of om te voorkomen dat bewijs verloren gaat, zoals bij vertrek of overlijden van een getuige. Simonis staat gepland op 25 januari 2011. 'Wir haben es nicht gewusst', zei de geestelijke - zeer zelfbewust van die beladen referentie - eerder in tv-programma Pauw & Witteman (link video). De vraag is dus of hij dergelijke woorden zal herhalen bij het getuigenverhoor.

MILWAUKEE (WI)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

By Bruce Vielmetti of the Journal Sentinel

Nov. 23, 2010

The Archdiocese of Milwaukee's commercial general liability insurance would not cover claims by some victims of clergy sex abuse, the state's Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday.

The court agreed with a trial court's ruling that because the actions at issue in more than a dozen lawsuits were volitional, not accidental, the insurance does not apply.

The ruling will likely hasten settlement talks between the many plaintiffs and the archdiocese, which would face potentially giant verdicts if juries found at trial that it had committed fraud.

NEDERLAND
YouTube

[video]

Kardinaal Simonis was 38 jaar actief bisschop. In die periode zijn hem "tien gevallen ter oren gekomen" van seksueel misbruik binnen de roomskatholieke kerk. Tegen de daders deed hij indertijd geen aangifte. Deze gevallen werden intern afgedaan. Over de vele meldingen van misbruik die de afgelopen tijd naar buiten zijn gekomen zei hij: "wir haben es nicht gewusst." Simonis sprak verder zijn afschuw uit over het misbruik. De kardinaal sluit zich ook aan bij de brief van de paus en hoopt op "heling en genezing van dit kwaad."

Legion of Christ

The Legionaries of Christ’s general council will be expanded, and a new territorial director for Italy and general dean of studies have been appointed.

Rome, November 22, 2010. Over the past several months, Cardinal Velasio De Paolis, the pontifical delegate for the Legionaries of Christ and the Regnum Christi Movement, together with the Legionaries’ general council, has been examining, among other things, how the congregation’s governing bodies work, so that they exercise their authority in the best possible way.

In this context, the Legion’s general secretariat announced today the following decisions and appointments:

1) Temporary expansion of the general council

Since the task of revising the constitutions that the Legionaries of Christ must undertake is so important, the congregation’s religious and priests will be given greater representation in the general council. In accord with the authority that the Holy Father has granted him (see no. 1 of the decree from the Secretary of State dated July 9, 2010), Cardinal De Paolis has overruled, on a one-time basis, the canons of the constitutions of the Legionaries of Christ stipulating the number of general councilors, so that there will be seven members instead of five. Cardinal De Paolis will name the two new general councilors at the beginning of 2011 after consulting all priests and all religious who have made their final vows or their first renewal of temporary vows.

CathNews

Vatican legate Cardinal Velasio De Paolis has begun to introduce changes to the Legionaries of Christ as Pope Benedict acknowledged that the Vatican had been slow to act on the scandal in the order.

The Legion said in a statement Tuesday that Cardinal Velasio De Paolis has limited some of the duties of its secretary general and also expanded the group’s governing general council and will appoint the two new members himself, the Washington Post reports.

Pope Benedict appointed De Paolis to take over the Legion and profoundly reform it after a Vatican investigation concluded that its founder was a fraud who sexually abused seminarians and fathered at least three children.

BELGIE
RKnieuws

BRUSSEL (RKnieuws.net) - Maandag is in de Kamer de eerste hoorzitting van de bijzondere commissie seksueel misbruik gehouden. Die commissie is er gekomen naar aanleiding van de pedofilieschandalen in de Kerk. Priester Rik Devillé (foto) van de werkgroep ‘Mensenrechten in de Kerk’ haalde zwaar uit naar de bisschoppen.

‘De Kerk is veel te laks geweest en heeft het misbruik nauwelijks ernstig genomen’, aldus Devillé. De priester hekelde ook de kerkelijke hiërarchie: ‘bisschoppen kozen vaker de kant van de daders dan van de slachtoffers’.

BELGIE
De Morgen

Herman De Dijn is filosoof, emeritus hoogleraar aan de KU Leuven. Volgens hem wordt de Rooms-katholieke kerk in dit land van binnenuit aangevallen door katholieken die al lang geen katholieken meer zijn. Torfs, Devillé en anderen hadden allang hun conclusies moeten trekken.

We zijn nu ongeveer een half jaar na de start van het schandaal van het kindermisbruik in de Katholieke Kerk in Vlaanderen. Het is interessant die periode in haar geheel te overschouwen en te zien wat zich daarin geleidelijk duidelijker demonstreerde. Het lijkt intussen niet langer te gaan om een afrekening met structuren die tot seksueel- en machtsmisbruik leidden, maar met de katholieke kerk als zodanig. Telkens opnieuw worden aanleidingen gevonden om het vuur van de afkeer levend te houden en dat zoals het in het huidige medialandschap past telkens gebonden aan het al dan niet terecht neerhalen van personen die het kwaad personifiëren: Vangheluwe, Danneels, Léonard. We hebben maatschappelijk gezien nog weinig met elkaar gemeen, tenzij het negatieve zich afzetten tegen 'l'infâme'.

GERMANY
Spiegel

[part 2]

David Berger, a gay theologian who has written a book about his experiences as a senior theologian in the Catholic Church, speaks to SPIEGEL about homophobia and the church's shift to the right.

SPIEGEL: Mr. Berger, you describe the Catholic Church as a homophobic organization. Why did it take you, a homosexual theologian, so long to resign from your offices in the church?

Berger: Because such an exit isn't a question of days. Even as a child I wanted to be a priest, but by the time I had finished high school it was clear to me that I would not be able to live a life of celibacy.

SPIEGEL: And you became a theologian anyway?

Berger: Yes, because the church never lost its attraction for me. The Tridentine Mass was like a gateway drug for me. When I was 17, I was with the Pius Brothers in Lower Bavaria. What I saw there was a fascinatingly aesthetic baroque dream of leaf gold and Brussels Bobbin lace. I couldn't get away from it. It only became clear to me later what I had got involved in, and the dream turned more and more into a nightmare.

ISRAEL
The Jerusalem Post

Four men tortured children, feeding them feces and locking them in suitcases; one has been in a coma since 2008 after severe beating.

Jerusalem District Court judge Nava Ben-Or sentenced four “disciples” of self-proclaimed rabbi Elior Chen to up to 20 years in prison for their sadistic brutalization of the children of a woman who became a follower of Chen.

Ben-Or sentenced David Avraham Kugman to 20 years in jail and a one-year suspended sentence and ordered him to pay NIS 200,000 in compensation to the children. Avraham Maskalchi and Shimon Gabai were each sentenced to 17 years in jail, a one-year suspended sentence and ordered to pay NIS 100,000 in compensation.

ISRAEL
Haaretz

By Nir Hasson

Jerusalem District Court sentenced Tuesday four disciples of self proclaimed Rabbi Elior Chen to lengthy prison sentences, after they were convicted of child abuse earlier this year.

The four were convicted in February of severely abusing eight children. David Kugman- the central defendant in the case – was sentenced to 20 years in jail; Avraham Mascalchi and Shimon Gabai were sentenced to 17 years in prison, and Ro'i Tzoref was sentenced to 30 months in prison after the court ruled that he played a minor part in the abuse.

The child abuse affair was uncovered two years ago, when a child Chen had been treating was taken to the hospital unconscious. Once the story became public, Chen fled to Brazil, which extradited him back to Israel. He is now on trial at the Jerusalem District Court.

MEXICO
Fox 43

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI says the Vatican acted "slowly and late" in a scandal surrounding the Legionaries of Christ, whose founder was found to be a fraud who sexually abused seminarians.

The head of the Vatican's evangelization office says the Vatican would be wise to look at who covered up for Marciel Maciel inside the Legion.

The pope says in a book released Tuesday that Maciel's crimes were "concealed very well, and only around the year 2000 did we have any concrete clues."

UNITED STATES
Healing and Spirituality

Dr. Jaime Romo

What would ‘House’ the TV doctor say to the new president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops?

“Bishop Doyle, you have a problem.”

“What do you mean? We’re not in crisis.”

“Do you understand that the person who was normally to be appointed to the president of NCCB was passed over and clergy abuse activists are happy about your appointment? Have you ever known clergy abuse activists to be happy about a bishop appointment?”

“No, I didn’t think about it.”

“Forget that for a minute. You have a problem. People are leaving your church in droves. You are hemorrhaging members, your life’s blood. “ 1/3 of church is gone.

“Well, everyone is feeling the pinch in these religious-economic hard times.”

“This isn’t working. Have you heard of the expression, You’re as sick as your secrets?”

VATICAN CITY
The Irish Times

PADDY AGNEW in Rome

WHEN THE working day is over, even the pope likes to sit down and watch the news or maybe a favourite film such as the Don Camillo movies from the 1950s, films about the never-ending struggles between a parish priest and a communist mayor in a small Italian village.

This is one of the more intimate snapshots to emerge from Pope Benedict XVI’s most recent book, Light Of The World: The Pope, The Church, and The Signs Of The Times, due to be launched this morning. ...

Indeed, some commentators have argued that the major reason for producing this extended interview was, at least partially, to redress some of the many public relations fiascos that have marked his first five years as pope.

For example, when asked about the child sex abuse crisis, the pope says: “The facts did not take me completely by surprise. I had already dealt with American [sex abuse] cases at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and I had seen the situation developing in Ireland. Yet, the dimensions of the problem were a tremendous shock . . .”

Nonetheless, he criticises the mass media for way it enthusiastically latched on to the abuse issue. “In this time of scandals, we have experienced great sadness and pain, we have realised how wretched the church can be and how much its servants can fail it.

PHILADELPHIA (PA)
The News Journal

Associated Press • November 23, 2010

PHILADELPHIA — A priest has been removed from his Philadelphia parish following allegations he sexually abused a child while attending seminary.

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia on Monday removed the Rev. William Ayres as pastor of St. Michael parish in North Philadelphia. Church officials say Ayres has been accused of abusing a minor in the mid-1990s while he attended St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in the city's Overbrook neighborhood.

CONNECTICUT
Law Firm Newswire

A suit filed on behalf of William Dotson by Stratton Faxon on July 9 declares that the Reverend Stephen Bzdyra sexually molested an altar boy in the 1980s. The sexual abuse victim is now entitled to $10M attachment against the priest’s assets.

New Haven, CT (Law Firm Newswire) November 23, 2010 – William Dotson of Hartford, a 34-year-old Connecticut man, filed suit on July 9, against Reverend Stephen Bzydra for sexually molesting him while he was an altar boy at St. Francis Church in New Haven, Conn. and Saint Hedwig Church in Naugatuck, Conn. between 1985 and 1990. Dotson was found to be entitled to a $10 million attachment based on demoralizing evidence of repeated and horrific sexual abuse in October 2010.

“William is very grateful that the court ruled in his favor supporting his case. The pedophile priest’s lawyer Hugh Keefe should be ashamed of himself for attacking William the way he did in court,” said Joel T. Faxon of Stratton Faxon, the trial law firm in Connecticut that represented Dotson. “The pedophile should come forward and take responsibility for his actions. The diocese and the Vatican should remove Bzdyra from his priestly duties immediately to protect the thousands of children of Connecticut from a Bzdyra attack.

MADISON (WI)
NECN

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A state appeals court says the Milwaukee Archdiocese's insurance company isn't liable for damages that could come out of more than a dozen priest sex abuse lawsuits.

At issue in the case are 13 lawsuits accusing the Archdiocese of misrepresentation. They allege the archdiocese realized priests posed a threat to children but still insisted they did not have histories of molesting children and weren't a danger to kids.

Two trial judges ruled the archdiocese's insurer, OneBeacon Insurance Company, wasn't liable to cover damages arising from the suits. They said the archdiocese' policy covers accidents.

VATICAN CITY
Rome Report via YouTube

[video]

Pope has received german journalist Peter Seewald, who has publisehd the book interview with Benedict XVI "Light of the world: The Pope, The Church, and the Signs of the Times."

VATICAN CITY
Adnkronos (Italy)

(AKI) - The Vatican should have reacted more quickly to the United States sex abuse scandal when it shook the world in 2002, Pope Benedict XVI has said in a new book.

"It would have been the duty of Rome, to say outright to all countries: look and see if you are in the same situation. Perhaps we should have done this," he said in 'Light of the World', written by German journalist Peter Seewald.

Due to be published on Tuesday, the book contains a series of interviews with the 83-year-old pontiff. Showing an increasing penchant for candour, the pope said in the book that the use of condoms would be acceptable in "some cases."

NEDERLAND
RKnieuws

MIDDELBURG (RKnieuws.net) - De rechtbank Middelburg heeft een verzoekschrift ontvangen tot het houden van een voorlopig getuigenverhoor. Verzoeker is slachtoffer geweest van seksueel misbruik door een pater die bij vonnis van 26 oktober 1990 is veroordeeld voor misbruik van 3 minderjarigen tussen 1987-1990 in Terneuzen. De pater Salesiaan is eerder werkzaam geweest op het Don Bosco instituut in Rijswijk.

De verzoeker wil mogelijk een civiele procedure beginnen waarin schadevergoeding wordt gevorderd. Door middel van het horen van getuigen wil hij onder meer meer duidelijkheid krijgen over de vraag of het bisdom mogelijk als werkgever van de pater aansprakelijk kan worden gesteld, mede omdat het nalatig zou zijn geweest maatregelen te treffen om misbruik te voorkomen.

Tegen het verzoek om getuigen te horen, is door het bisdom geen verweer gevoerd. Bij beschikking van 21 oktober 2010 is het verzoek toegewezen. De rechtbank staat toe dat de 6 getuigen die in het verzoekschrift genoemd zijn, gehoord worden over het handelen of het nalaten van handelen van het bisdom.

UNITED STATES
It's About Me

Tim Fischer

Today on my way into work I heard Sylvia Poggioli from NPR Radio reporting on the abuse crises that now is entering Rome Italian Priest's Trial Shines Light On Pedophilia. Poggioli reported that the crises has been focused mainly in America and Northern Europe, but with the Pope calling a one day conference of his Cardinals to discuss the church’s handling of the abuse of thousands of children around the world by priests and nuns, along with a bishop having to go to court in Rome this past month to testify about one of his priests accused of molesting at least 7 boys in Rome, it seems that the abuse crisis has now landed right on the Vatican's doorstep. Ms. Poggioli also reports that this is a landmark case because the church has had such control over the law in Rome (known as “The shadow of St. Peter’s Dome”) that this is the first time an Italian bishop has taken the stand in such a case. That bishop, Gino Reali, confessed he had been aware of these allegations against Fr. Don Ruggero Conti for at least two years before charges were brought but didn't think there was enough evidence for a "church trial” on these "rumors" as he called them.

A very disturbing part of Poggioli’s report said at each hearing, many parents come to cheer for the priest and show their support. There have also been death threats made to the victims, their families, their lawyers, and even the presiding judge. A woman who supports the priest stated she thought this was a witch hunt to hurt a good priest and her church.

UNITED STATES
The New York Times

By LAURIE GOODSTEIN
Published: November 22, 2010

Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan of New York, elected president of the nation’s Roman Catholic bishops last week, said Monday that the bishops faced the urgent task of stopping the huge exodus of Roman Catholics from the church of their birth.

He said the bishops would not stop speaking out on political issues like abortion, same-sex marriage and immigration. But he said there was now a movement among them to confront internal problems like the “sobering study” showing that one-third of Americans born and baptized Catholic have left the church.

VIRGINIA
Fredericksburg.com

BY KEITH EPPS

The former youth director at a Stafford County church was ordered yesterday to serve six months in prison for having sex with a boy in her youth group.

Jennifer Michelle Brennan, 37, was sentenced in Stafford Circuit Court to a total of seven years in prison with all but six months suspended. She was convicted of two felonies and a misdemeanor.

Brennan has maintained that she was raped by the 15-year-old boy, but yesterday she accepted responsibility for the "hurt that my role has played."

TEXAS
NBC Dallas-Fort Worth

[with video]

By ELLEN GOLDBERG

Solicitation of capital murder is the latest in a growing list of criminal charges filed against a former Catholic priest, who was living in Dallas at the time of his arrest.

According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, ex-priest, John Fiala, tried to hire an undercover officer in Garland, to commit murder.

Investigators say the intended target was a teenage boy in West Texas the former priest is accused of sexually assaulting.

TEXAS
The Dallas Morning News

The Associated Press
A former Roman Catholic priest charged with sexually abusing a teenage boy in 2008 in his rural West Texas parish is now accused of plotting the alleged victim's murder, authorities said.

John M. Fiala of Garland was in the Dallas County jail Monday in lieu of bail totaling $700,000, according to online jail records. He was already charged with sexual abuse of a child and now faces a count of murder solicitation, records show.

John M. Fiala Fiala, 52, was arrested at his home Thursday after meeting with an undercover officer to arrange the alleged victim's death, Texas Department of Public Safety spokesman Tom Vinger told the San Antonio Express-News. Vinger said the investigation began Nov. 11 when Fiala's neighbor tipped off Edwards County Sheriff Don Letsinger.

PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

By David O'Reilly
Inquirer Staff Writer

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia reported Monday that it had removed the Rev. William G. Ayres from his posts at two parishes after receiving an allegation that he had sexually abused a minor in the 1990s.

Donna Farrell, spokeswoman for the archdiocese, said it learned of the allegation on Thursday and asked Ayres, 39, to step down as pastor of St. Michael parish in North Philadelphia. He was also parochial administrator of nearby Immaculate Conception parish.

Neither parish has its own school.

PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia

On Thursday of last week, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia received an allegation of sexual abuse of a minor against Reverend William G. Ayres, Pastor of Saint Michael Parish, and Parochial Administrator of Immaculate Conception Parish, both in Philadelphia. The Archdiocese reported to civil authorities this allegation, which concerns events from the mid 1990's. This is the first allegation of sexual abuse that the Archdiocese has received regarding Father Ayres.

Since 2006, Father Ayres has been Parochial Administrator of Immaculate Conception Parish in Philadelphia. Since 2007 he has also been Pastor of Saint Michael Parish in Philadelphia. Cardinal Rigali has relieved him of his assignment pending completion of a formal investigation. Father Ayres is no longer residing at Saint Michael Parish but at Villa Saint Joseph in Darby, the home for retired priests of the Archdiocese, and he has agreed to refrain from the public exercise of his priestly ministry during the investigation.

An announcement was made this past weekend at Saint Michael Parish and Immaculate Conception Parish regarding Father Ayres. Counselors from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia Victim Assistance Office were available after Masses.

PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Daily News

By WILLIAM BENDER
Philadelphia Daily News
benderw@phillynews.com 215-854-5255

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia announced yesterday that a 39-year-old priest has been removed from his duties at two parishes amid an allegation that, while attending seminary, he sexually abused a child.

The news follows Friday's announcement that the Rev. Geraldo Pinero had stepped down as pastor of Incarnation of Our Lord Parish in Olney after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents produced a search warrant at the parish rectory.

Yesterday, the Archdiocese said the Rev. William G. Ayres, pastor of St. Michael parish in North Philadelphia, had recently been accused of abusing a minor in the mid-1990s while Ayres was attending St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Overbrook.

TEXAS
Daily Mail (United Kingdom)

By Daily Mail Reporter

Authorities say a former Roman Catholic priest charged with sexually abusing a teenage boy and raping him at gunpoint is now accused of plotting the teen's murder.

A spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety says 52-year-old John Fiala was arrested at his suburban Dallas home after meeting with an undercover officer to arrange for the teen's death.

Agency spokesman Tom Vinger tells the San Antonio Express-News that an informant told sheriff's officials that Fiala offered him $5,000 to kill the teen.

OMAHA (NE)
World-Herald

By Susan Szalewski
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

A former Omaha priest involved in a sexual assault case in Texas has been charged with trying to hire someone to murder his accuser.

The Texas Rangers and Texas state troopers arrested the Rev. John M. Fiala on Thursday after he negotiated a murder arrangement with an undercover officer at his home in Garland, Texas, a Texas Department of Public Safety spokesman told the San Antonio Express-News.

Fiala is being held on $700,000 bail in the Dallas County, Texas, jail on one count of solicitation to commit murder and two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child, jail records show.

CITY OF ANGELS

By Kay Ebeling

November 19, 2010

Asked about a priest who took minor boys skinny dipping, Levada says, "My memory is not that airtight." Another priest was in treatment at House of Affirmation in Massachusetts for sex problems before coming to Oregon; it did not register in the bishop’s brain. Throughout the deposition the cardinal responds “I don't recall,” and “I don't remember.” Only when attorneys put hard evidence in front of the Cardinal does he suddenly have a memory, and then only for that one fact brought out by evidence.

Today at 5 p.m. Rome time Cardinal William Levada gives a speech titled "Response of the Church to Cases of Sexual Abuse" after a day of meetings at The Vatican. "It is unclear whether the format will allow for any back-and-forth among the cardinals, or whether there would be any time for discussion given the limited window allotted," Politics Daily and other news media have reported.

The main skill Levada can demonstrate to the cardinals is “How to answer questions under oath without revealing anything more than what opposing attorneys already have as evidence,” judging from the Cardinal’s own answers in a deposition taken January 2008, about sex crimes of priests in Portland, Oregon, where Levada was bishop before becoming Archbishop of San Francisco and then, just after the deposition, flying away to Rome never to return to American soil and be questioned again. Today Levada heads the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (formerly The Inquisition).

Cardinal William Levada is an expert on evading the truth in deposition testimony, even after taking an oath on the Bible. Here are excerpts from the January 2008 deposition. (Attorneys Erin Olson, Michael Morey, and Kelly Clark appeared for plaintiffs, Paul Gaspari is attorney for the San Francisco Archdiocese, Jeff Lena and Mary McNamara represent Levada:)

Mr. MOREY: Q: You indicated to Mr. Clark that during your tenure as archbishop of Portland that you met with a number of victims of clergy abuse.
A: I did say that, right.

Q: Can you tell me the names of any one of them.
A: I don't recall that.

Q: Are you certain you actually even met with a victim?
A: To the best of my recollection, I did.

Q: But you can’t remember a single name.
A: Mm-mm.

Q: Can you remember the context of any of the meetings?
A: The context?

Q: Who the priest was, what was the person’s desires?
A: No, I don't.

CHICAGO (IL)
Chicago Tribune

By Cynthia Dizikes and Michelle D. Anderson, Tribune reporters

A woman has sued the Archdiocese of Chicago, alleging that a priest initiated a sexual relationship with her in 2008 when he was supposed to be acting as her grief counselor.

The married woman, whose identity wasn't disclosed, alleged that the priest began the sexual relationship days after her terminally ill mother was admitted in November 2008 to the Rainbow Hospice in Chicago and continued the affair for several months after her mother died.

The woman alleged that the priest did not "responsibly manage" her emotional dependence and instead seduced, manipulated and sexually exploited her when she was in a vulnerable state, according to the lawsuit filed Friday in Cook County Circuit Court.

TEXAS
San Antonio Express-News

By Eva Ruth Moravec - Express-News

Web Posted: 11/22/2010

A Catholic priest charged with sexually assaulting a teenage boy in 2008 in the rural parish where he worked west of San Antonio was rearrested last week in Dallas and charged with trying to hire someone to kill his alleged victim.

Father John M. Fiala, 52, is being held in Dallas County Jail on one count of solicitation to commit murder and two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child. A judge set bail at $700,000.

The sexual assault charges also came last week and were indictments issued in Howard County, the latest stemming from alleged incidents involving the boy.

NEDERLAND
Trouw

Vaticaankenner Stijn Fens wilde een vrolijk boek schrijven over wat hij zag gedurende de twintig jaar dat hij over de muren van het Vaticaan mocht kijken. Een boek over de schoenmaker van de paus, over de Zwitserse garde, over kleurrijke kardinalen. Zo’n boek is het toch niet geworden. Niet helemaal, tenminste. Fens: „In april zag ik in dat je in een boek als dit niet meer om het misbruikschandaal heen kunt. Daar heb ik daarna een hoofdstuk aan gewijd. Dus ja, er zit een wending in het boek.”

Waarom pas in april? Vorig jaar november werd bekend hoe groot het misbruikschandaal in Ierland is.

„Het werd pas dringender toen bekend werd dat er in Oostenrijk ook misbruik was geweest, en daarna in Duitsland, in Nederland. En België. Door het nieuws in Duitsland kwam de paus zelf in beeld. Ik zat in april in Rome, om de pauselijke zegen Urbi et Orbi te verslaan. Als journalist krijg je de toespraak van de paus van tevoren. Ik had hem al gelezen en het was me opgevallen dat de paus niets zei over het misbruik. Toen dacht ik dat ik er echt iets over moest zeggen in mijn boek.”

BELGIE
De Standaard

BRUSSEL - De bijzondere kamercommissie rond misbruik ‘binnen een gezagsrelatie, inzonderheid binnen de Kerk' werd al op 10 november boven het doopvont gehouden, maar pas vandaag starten de hoorzittingen. Priester op rust Rik Devillé komt eerst aan het woord. Samen met Norbert Bethune richtte hij in 1992 de Werkgroep Mensenrechten in de Kerk op. De groep verzamelde ruim 300 pedofilieklachten. Volgens de priester legden hooguit 15 daders bekentenissen af, onder meer omdat bijna geen enkele bisschop meewerkte.

Toen de zaak-Vangheluwe losbarstte, verklaarde Devillé dat hij het misbruik door de bisschop al in de jaren 90 meldde aan kardinaal Danneels. Die kan zich die ontmoeting niet herinneren. Devillé krijgt nu de kans om nog eens zijn verhaal te doen.

Later komen onder meer de advocaten Walter Van Steenbrugge en Christine Mussche aan het woord. Zij vertegenwoordigen enkele slachtoffers. Ook psychiater Peter Adriaenssens, die de opgedoekte misbruikcommissie voorzat, wordt gehoord.

UNITED STATES
Jeff Anderson & Associates

“We cannot be fooled. As we previewed here, the Pope gathered his cardinals last week in Rome, and promised a meaningful discussion regarding clergy childhood sexual abuse. In reality, as SNAP laments, the meeting of cardinals at the Vatican last week was just as expected, no action, no change, no substance. Once again, new guidelines on child sex abuse will be issued within the church, but once again, these guidelines will fail to call for mandatory reporting of credible allegations of abuse. Sadly, the biggest news of the weekend regarding the Pope was not his failure to act meaningfully on child sex abuse, but rather his statement on condom use.The Pope’s comment, made during an interview in a forthcoming book on the Pope entitled “The Light of the World”, condoned condom use in very limited circumstances, such as those involving male prostitutes. This an attempt to smooth over the 2009 media relations disaster in which the Pope, on his way to Africa, denounced the use of condoms in any circumstance, and even went as far as to say that condom use in Africa may in fact worsen the AIDS epidemic there. In just the same way that the Pope attempts to shift public opinion in his favor by making a limited endorsement of condom use in a very rare circumstance, he attempts to earn favorable public opinion by holding a meeting with the cardinals and purporting to address meaningful change in handling child sexual abuse among clergy. Both are sneaky and disturbing attempts at image preservation over substantive change.

UTAH
Las Vegas Review-Journal

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

SALT LAKE CITY -- The Utah Supreme Court will consider a petition to block polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs' extradition to Texas to face charges of bigamy and sexual assault.

Jeffs, 54, is the ecclesiastical head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

In court papers, defense attorneys argue that sending Jeffs to Texas before a long-running criminal case is resolved denies him the right to a speedy trial. They also objected to the conditions of an extradition agreement signed by Utah Gov. Gary Herbert and Texas Gov. Rick Perry that would deny Jeffs bail in Texas.

NEDERLAND
De Pers

Een criminele mentaliteit bracht de Rooms-Katholieke Kerk tot het grootste ontuchtschandaal in de geschiedenis, met minstens 100.000 slachtoffers. Amen.

Betast onder de douche, gedwongen om een oude man te pijpen, slaag en schoppen krijgen, je eigen kots moeten opeten, anaal verkracht worden… Je kunt het zo smerig niet bedenken of het is gebeurd, met kinderen in alle leeftijden, van 2 (!) tot 16 jaar. En niet één keertje, nee, ontelbare keren, systematisch. Het seksueel misbruik in katholieke instellingen blijkt in elk land waar het opduikt geen incident te zijn, maar een patroon.

Eind deze week verschijnt het eerste rapport van de commissie-Deetman, die op verzoek van de bisschoppen onderzoek doet naar de ontucht in Nederlandse internaten, kostscholen en seminaries. Dat advies zal gaan over hoe de hulp aan slachtoffers, die zich tot woensdag 1 december kunnen melden, het beste vorm kan krijgen (zie kader). Velen durven nú pas, veertig tot vijftig jaar na dato, te spreken over wat hen is aangedaan.

UNITED STATES
The Baltimore Sun

By Meredith Cohn, The Baltimore Sun

November 22, 2010

Soldiers haunted by scenes of war and victims scarred by violence may wish they could wipe the memories from their minds. Researchers at the Johns Hopkins University say that may someday be possible.

A commercial drug remains far off — and its use would be subject to many ethical and practical questions. But scientists have laid a foundation with their discovery that proteins can be removed from the brain's fear center to erase memories forever.

"When a traumatic event occurs, it creates a fearful memory that can last a lifetime and have a debilitating effect on a person's life," says Richard L. Huganir, professor and chair of neuroscience in the Hopkins School of Medicine. He said his finding on the molecular process "raises the possibility of manipulating those mechanisms with drugs to enhance behavioral therapy for such conditions as post-traumatic stress disorder."

PENNSYLVANIA
Philadelphia Daily News

By STEPHANIE FARR
Philadelphia Daily News
farrs@phillynews.com 215-854-4225

From Christ to candles and from one online-marketing business to another, the Rev. Geraldo Pinero, pastor of the Incarnation of Our Lord Parish, in Olney, appears to have kept busy in many ventures.

But federal authorities and the Archdiocese of Philadelphia are remaining mum about what aspect of Pinero's priesthood or private life led U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigators to execute a search warrant at his church rectory Tuesday.

As a result of the search, Pinero, known as "Father Jerry" to his congregation, stepped down "for the good of the parish," Monsignor Hugh Shields told parishioners before the start of a Mass yesterday.

BROOKLYN (NY)
New York Post

By JESSICA SIMEONE and SERGEY KADINSKY

A Brooklyn rabbi accused of child molestation has been arrested for violating an order of protection -- by staring at a 12-year-old boy, authorities said last night.

The youngster and his father walked passed Rabbi Joel Kolko's house in Midwood on their way to synagogue on Nov. 5 and said Kolko was leering at the boy, officials said.

The dad filed a complaint, and Kolko, 64, was arrested Saturday at his home, police said.

CHICAGO (IL)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

WHAT
Holding signs at a sidewalk news conference, clergy sex abuse victims will disclose and discuss an unusual new sex abuse and cover up lawsuit. They will also blast Chicago officials for letting the accused priest stay in active ministry now, even after
--- he reportedly sexually exploited a grieving woman during grief counseling, and
--- his sexual misconduct was reported 1.5 years ago to the archdiocese.

WHEN
Monday, Nov. 22 at 1:30 p.m.

WHERE
Outside the Chicago Catholic archdiocese headquarters, 835 N. Rush Street, in Chicago

CHICAGO (IL)
CBS Chicago

CHICAGO (STMW) – A lawsuit filed Friday in Cook County Circuit Court claims a woman grieving over the impending loss of her mother was lured into a sexual relationship with a Catholic priest who was counseling her.

The suit claims the woman met Fr. Fernando Zuleta in November 2008 when her mother was admitted to a hospice where he served as chaplain and grief counselor. She began daily counseling sessions to deal with the impending death of her mother from a terminal illness.

The priest encouraged the woman to meet him for a counseling session at a local restaurant for coffee, according to the suit. He began ordering alcohol for the woman until she became intoxicated.

VATICAN CITY
Vatican Information Service

VATICAN CITY, 21 NOV 2010 (VIS) - Given below is the text of a note issued by Holy See Press Office Director Fr. Federico Lombardi S.J. concerning certain remarks by the Pope on the use of condoms, which appear the new book "Light of the World".

"At the end of chapter eleven of the book 'Light of the World' the Pope responds to two questions about the battle against AIDS and the use of condoms, questions that reconnect with the discussions that arose in the wake of certain statements the Pope made on this subject during the course of his 2009 trip to Africa.

VATICAN CITY
Vatican Information Service

VATICAN CITY, 20 NOV 2010 (VIS) - The afternoon session of the day of prayer and reflection - a gathering of the College of Cardinals presided by the Pope for the occasion of the ordinary public consistory - began at 5 p.m. yesterday with the celebration of Vespers. The meeting then continued with the presentation of three reports.

Archbishop Angelo Amato S.D.B., prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, spoke on "The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith's Instruction 'Dominus Iesus' ten years after its publication". He noted that the document had served to clarify certain fundamental Christological and ecclesiological truths, and to relaunch ecumenical and inter-religious dialogue on the basis of a precisely defined Catholic identity. At the same time it did not close the lines for research into the great question of the salvation of non-Christians, as indicated by Vatican Council II. "Dominus Iesus", by warning against a poorly-understood pluralism, remains a valid call to doctrinal and pastoral clarity, as a foundation for catechesis, new evangelisation and the "mission ad gentes".

Cardinal William Joseph Levada, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, then delivered two contributions, dealing with "The Church's Response to Cases of Sexual Abuse: towards shared guidelines", and "The Apostolic Constitution 'Anglicanorum coetibus'". In the first of these, the cardinal outlined recent aggiornamenti to canonical legislation regarding the crime of sexual abuse of minors, and made certain observations about the broader responsibility of bishops to protect the faithful under their care. In this, he drew inspiration from the Holy Father's words and from his example of listening to and welcoming victims, also dwelling on collaboration with civil authorities, the need for effective commitment to protect children and young people, and the careful selection and formation of future priests and religious. Finally, he reported on preparatory work on a circular letter from his congregation to episcopal conferences concerning guidelines for co-ordinated and effective efforts in this field".

LUXEMBOURG
352 Lux Mag

On Thursday, the court of justice heard that the monastic officer abused the girls between 2003 and 2008. It turns out that the dean was aware of the occurrences yet failed to report them until finding out about the third one.

The victims' families are extremely unsatisifed with the verdict, stating that a 1-year deferred prison sentence and a fine were hardly enough to punish such behaviour.

LUXEMBURG
Volksfreund (Deutschland)

Im Umfeld der katholischen Kirche in Luxemburg sind zahlreiche Menschen Opfer von sexuellem Missbrauch und Misshandlungen geworden. Das bestätigt der Abschlussbericht der von der katholischen Kirche eingerichteten Hotline.

Luxemburg. (ltb) 138 Betroffene haben sich bei der Hotline gemeldet, die die katholische Kirche in Luxemburg für Missbrauchsopfer eingerichtet hat. 100 von ihnen klagten über Gewalt, 39 Mal wurden sexuelle Misshandlungen gemeldet. In 114 Fällen ermittelt inzwischen die Staatsanwaltschaft. Das geht aus einem 141 Seiten starken Abschlussbericht hervor, den die von der katholischen Kirche beauftragten Koordinatoren der Kontaktstelle, Mill Majerus und seine Frau Simone, in Luxemburg vorgestellt haben. Das berichtete gestern das Luxemburger Tageblatt.

Luxemburgs Erzbischof Fernand Franck will sich an diesem Wochenende mit einer Botschaft im Namen der Kirche für die Übergriffe entschuldigen.

LUXEMBOURG
Eglise Catholique a Luxembourg

Vom 6. April bis zum 16. Juli 2010 konnten Opfer sexueller und physischer Gewalt die Dienste einer vom Erzbistum Luxemburg eingerichteten Kontaktstelle in Anspruch nehmen. 138 Personen nutzten das Gesprächsangebot, 100 davon klagten über erlittene oder beobachtete Gewalt im Umfeld der Kirche.

Der Abschlussbericht, den die Koordinatoren der Kontaktstelle, Simone und Mill Majerus-Schmit, dem Erzbischof und dem Generalstaatsanwalt am 10. November zukommen ließen, gibt Aufschluss über die Arbeit der Kontaktstelle und liefert Antworten auf Fragen wie: Wer sind die Opfer der Gewalt im kirchlichen Umfeld? Wer hat ihnen Gewalt angetan? Was haben sie erlebt? Wie gehen Sie heute mit dem Erlebten um? Die Auswertung der Gespräche macht etwa die Hälfte des Abschlussberichts aus. Daneben liefert das 141-seitige Dokument u.a. psychologische und juristische Fachbeiträge zum Thema Missbrauch, Auszüge aus den Gesprächsprotokollen und Empfehlungen des Leitungsteams an Kirche und Gesellschaft.

„Dieser Bericht kann und darf nicht den Anspruch erheben, die ganze Wahrheit zu erfassen. Er bringt vor allem die Wahrheit der Opfer zum Ausdruck“, schreiben Simone und Mill Majerus-Schmit in der Einleitung zu ihrem Bericht.

LUXEMBOURG
Le Quotidien

[www.cathol.lu
Le rapport intégral du Centre d'assistance pour victimes de transgressions sexuelles et physiques est à télécharger sur le site de l'Église catholique.]

Le rapport final du centre d'assistance pour victimes de transgressions sexuelles et physiques au sein de l'Église catholique donne l'impression d'une société où la violence à l'égard des enfants a longtemps été banalisée. Ce n'est que maintenant que les instances cléricales se disent prêtes à assumer leur responsabilités
En début d'année, des cas de pédophilie et de violences physiques sont venus éclabousser l'Église catholique dans son ensemble. Le Luxembourg n'a pas fait exception à la règle. Encouragés par les révélations de victimes dans les pays voisins, les témoignages ont également commencé à affluer au Grand-Duché.

Mise sous pression, l'Église catholique du Luxembourg s'est finalement décidée à jouer la carte de la transparence et a lancé donc un centre d'assistance pour les victimes de transgressions sexuelles et physiques, principalement une ligne téléphonique gérée par une équipe pluridisciplinaire. Lancée le 6 avril, la «Hotline Cathol» a clôturé ses activités le 14 juillet dernier. Les responsables du centre, le député Mil Majerus et sa femme Sim, ont remis leur rapport à l'archevêque Mgr Fernand Franck.

LUXEMBOURG
point24

L'Eglise catholique luxembourgeoise demande pardon aux victimes de violences et abus sexuels commis par des prêtres, religieux ou personnel d'encadrement d'institutions religieuses.

Mgr Fernand Franck, archevêque, fera lire dimanche une lettre pastorale dans ce sens dans les églises. Il va écrire personnellement aux victimes, se
déclarant prêt à la prise en charge d'une thérapie et à faire étudier une indemnisation. 114 des 138 témoignages recueillis sont transmis au parquet.

L'Eglise catholique luxembourgeoise n'entend pas minimiser les cas de violences, physiques ou sexuelles, qui ont pu être commis. La cellule indépendante dirigée par le député er sexologue Mill Majerus mise en place au printemps a rendu hier son rapport.

LUXEMBOURG
L'essentiel

LUXEMBOURG - Le rapport de 141 pages écrit par les membres de la hotline mise en place par l'Église catholique luxembourgeoise est lourd. 138 personnes se sont manifestées entre le 6 avril et le 16 juillet. 114rapports ont été transférés par le centre d’appel au Parquet du Luxembourg et de Diekirch.

On y recense 34 victimes d’abus sexuels qui se sont signalées pour des faits qui se sont déroulés entre 1960 et 1975. Les victimes étaient alors des enfants ou des adolescents. Hier, les prêtres ont lu une lettre d'excuse écrite par Monseigneur Fernand Franck à tous les paroissiens.

LUXEMBURG
Wort

(vb) – Die katholische Kirche in Luxemburg macht Ernst mit der Aufarbeitung von Gewalt an Minderjährigen. Nachdem die Opfer vier Monate lang Zeit hatten, sich per Telefon kirchlichen Mitarbeitern anzuvertrauen, sollen nun Konsequenzen innerhalb der Kirche folgen.

Von April bis Juli meldeten sich 138 Menschen bei der Hotline. 100 berichteten von sexuellen oder gewalttätigen Übergriffen, die sie selbst erlebt oder beobachtet haben. Die Mitarbeiter der Hotline beschränkten sich darauf, den Opfern Gehör zu schenken, sie zu beraten oder ihnen eine Therapie zu empfehlen.

Ob die berichteten Vorfälle wirklich so stattgefunden haben, wurde nicht nachgeprüft. Gleichwohl leiteten die Hotline-Verantwortlichen Mill Majerus und seine Frau Sim Majerus-Schmit alle Berichte der Betroffenen an den Staatsanwalt weiter, auch wenn der Täter schon verstorben oder die Tat verjährt war.

LUXEMBURG
Wort

(hay) - In einem Hirtenbrief, der am Sonntag in den luxemburgischen Kirchen vorgelesen wurde, hat sich Erzbischof Fernand Franck zu dem Schlussbericht von der Kontaktstelle für Opfer sexueller und physischer Übergriffe im kirchlichen Umfeld geäußert. „Wir sind erschüttert über die Anklagen und Beschuldigungen, die da ans Tageslicht kamen (…). Mit tiefem Bedauern und großer Sorge fragen wir uns: Wie konnte es dazu kommen. Wie war das möglich?“, so der Bischof in dem Schreiben.

Er betont weiter, dass die Sorge vor allem den Opfern gelte: „Über die physischen und psychischen Schäden hinaus, die manch einem zugefügt wurden, wurde ihr Vertrauen misbraucht und ihre Würde tief verletzt. Dies sind Wunden, die oft das ganze Leben lang nicht verheilen. Auch wenn wir die Geschehnisse nicht rückgängig machen können, so empfinden wir darüber tiefe Bestürzung und Scham. Wir fühlen mit den Opfern und teilen ihr Leid. (…) Im Namen der Luxemburger Kirche bitte ich sie um Entschuldigung und drücke mein tiefes Bedauern aus über das schwere Fehlverhalten von Priestern, Ordensleuten und vereinzelt auch Laien im kirchlichen Umfeld.“ Dieses Fehlverhalten stehe in krassem Widerspruch zur Botschaft von Christus und zu dem, wozu die Kirche berufen und verpflichtet sei.

LUXEMBURG
Input Aktuell

Luxemburg (boß) Die Erschütterung von Erzbischof Fernand Franck über die Missbrauchsfälle in Luxemburg ist deutlich aus seinem Hirtenbrief zu entnehmen, der am Wochenende in den Gottesdiensten seiner Diözese vorgelesen wurde.

19 Priester seien angeklagt worden, die Zeit der Buße und Bescheidenheit gekommen. „Mit tiefem Bedauern und großer Sorge fragen wir uns: Wie konnte es dazu kommen. Wie war das möglich?“, so der Bischof in dem Schreiben, das wir hier im vollen Wortlaut auf Luxemburgisch wiedergeben:

Léif Matchrëschten,

Mir feieren haut, um leschte Sonndeg am Kierchejoer, d’Fest vu Christus dem Kinnek. Mä säi Räich ass net vun dëser Welt. Hien ass, wéi d’Evangelium vun haut et ënnersträicht, e gekräizegte Kinnek. Op hie kucke mir a mir gesinn an de Wonne vun deem Gekräizegten och all déi Wonnen, déi Kanner a jonke Mënsche vu kierchleche Vertrieder oder am Kader vun der Kierch duerch Gewalt a sexuelle Mëssbrauch zougefügt goufen – och heiheem, zu Lëtzebuerg.

NEW YORK
New York Daily News

BY Simone Weichselbaum, Michael Mclaughlin and Barry Paddock
DAILY NEWS WRITERS

A Brooklyn rabbi was arrested for violating an order of protection against a 12-year-old boy he is accused of sexually molesting, police said.

Rabbi Yehuda Kolko was charged with sexual abuse in 2006, accused of molesting students at Yeshiva Torah Temimah in Brooklyn, where he was a teacher. He pleaded guilty to child endangerment.

He was accused of violating an order of protection on Nov. 12 by stopping and glared at one of the victim after they crossed paths on the street.

CANADA
The Telegram

Barb Sweet

The federal government slighted aboriginals in this province by not including them in an apology for its residential schools policy, says a retired court judge.

“The obligation of the federal government is to acknowledge its duties towards aboriginal people as well where there are clear instances of wrongdoing or at least lack of care, situations where you would expect proper federal governance,” said James Igloliorte, who attended a residential high school in North West River beginning in 1963.

“The federal government has to acknowledge that and should clearly apologize.”

FORT WAYNE (IN)
Indiana's News Center

By Michael Konopasek

November 21, 2010

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (Indiana's NewsCenter) - The sexual misconduct crisis which has rocked the Catholic Church was the topic of conversation on Sunday afternoon at the University of St. Francis. It was a free public lecture that examined ways the Church can overcome the crisis.

The lecture in Fort Wayne comes just as Pope Benedict XVI is being interviewed for a new book about the church of more than 1.1 billion followers.

Sunday's lecture focused on Catholic traditions such as priests not being allowed to marry. Surveys show a growing number of people believe allowing priests to marry will solve many of the problems that caused the sex abuse crisis.

SCOTLAND
Scotsman

By Mark Smith
A POLICE force has launched an internal investigation into its handling of abuse allegations at a controversial Scottish church.

Tayside Police have confirmed that a senior officer is investigating a complaint by a former member of the congregation at the Church of the Nazarene in Perth.

Former prison officer Robert Brown contacted the force's protection unit in 2008 to report claims that he suffered sexual abuse at the hands of an adult member of the church in the 1980s, but he says no action was taken by police.

LUXEMBOURG
Eglise Catholique a Luxembourg

Chers Frères et Sœurs dans le Christ,

En ce dernier dimanche de l’année liturgique, nous célébrons la solennité du Christ-Roi. Mais son Royaume n’est pas de ce monde. L’évangile d’aujourd’hui le souligne : il est un roi crucifié. C’est sur lui que se pose notre regard, c’est dans ses plaies que nous reconnaissons les blessures qui sont le résultat d’actes de violence ou d’abus sexuel perpétrés par des représentants de l’Église ou dans le contexte ecclésial. Oui, de tels crimes ont été commis au sein de l’Église, également chez nous, au Luxembourg.

Le rapport final de la Cellule d’accueil des victimes d’abus sexuels ou physiques sur mineurs dans le cadre de l’Église révèle des pages fort sombres de l’histoire de l’Église qui est au Luxembourg. Nous sommes choqués et scandalisés par les accusations et les inculpations qui ont été portées au jour : il s’agit en partie d’incidents qui remontent dans un passé assez lointain – la plus grande partie date d’avant 1980 – mais un certain nombre de charges concernent des faits plus récents. Profondément inquiets, nous nous demandons comment ce que nous regrettons si fortement pouvait se produire, comment cela était possible.

LUXEMBOURG
352 Lux Mag

22.11.2010 - An archbishop has described his dismay and shame at reports that 19 Luxembourg priests abused children and young people.

In an open letter read in churches in the Grand Duchy on Sunday, Archbishop Fernand Franck extended his sympathies to the victims.

He wrote : "We are shocked by the accusations and allegations that came to light. It is with deep regret and concern that we ask ourselves how this could happen. How is it possible?...Beyond the physical and psychological damage done to these victims, their trust and dignity were deeply abused. These are wounds that heal in life. Although we cannot undo what happened, we feel deep dismay and shame. We empathise with the victims and share their grief."

FLORIDA
WESH

WINTER PARK, Fla. -- A 17-year-old girl's mother reported her youth pastor for an inappropriate relationship the two were having, according to the Marion County Sheriff's Office.

Deputies arrested 33-year-old Daniel Robida and charged him with sexual battery.

Robida is accused of having a sexual relationship with the 17-year-old girl. Deputies said the relationship was consensual.

IRELAND
The Irish Times

Calls for help in dealing with sexual abuse have increased six-fold in a year, according to the charity One In Four. The counselling and advocacy organisation says that since the publication of the Murphy report in November last year, more than 1,140 people have contacted it.

This is a 267 per cent increase in calls, it says.

“As a result, One In Four has introduced a new support service for families where one or more members has experienced sexual violence.” It is hoping to raise funds at an art exhibition and fair on Thursday at the Department of Justice on Stephen’s Green, Dublin.

UNITED STATES
The Injury Board

Posted by Mike Bryant
November 22, 2010

This week, Pope Benedict XVI has convened a rare meeting of more than 100 cardinals from around the world for discussions of church policy. A number of priest will be elevated to the position of Cardinal. But, what else can be done?

Jeff Anderson, from Anderson and Associates put out a call that they address the churches international problem of sexual abuse. It is a issue that must be dealt with:

Will any of those exalted leaders have the courage to stand up and encourage those among them who are guilty to stop the stonewalling and start the healing?

But, no matter what happens tomorrow in Rome, let them be reminded that there are courageous souls all over this world who will not give up the fight. After the summit, and after the apologies, the Hierarchy of the Church will still have to answer to the men and women survivors who have suffered the denials of generations of Vatican leaders. Their day in court awaits them.

IRELAND
The Irish Times

PATSY McGARRY, Religious Affairs Correspondent

THERE WERE many indications “that the Church in Ireland has lost its way”, the Catholic Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin has said.

The abuse scandals had opened people’s eyes “to a much deeper crisis”, he said. Religious practice had “dropped at times in staggering proportions. There is disillusionment . . . Many have opted for or drifted into a more secularised vision of their life. Many have become indifferent and live as if God did not exist,” he said.

Speaking at a Mass in the Pro Cathedral on Saturday to mark the 30th anniversary of the death of Legion of Mary founder Frank Duff, he said what had emerged about the church in recent years indicated “a certain sense of arrogance and power-seeking which has alienated many from the very message that such a presence in society was supposed to represent”.

CONNECTICUT
CT Post

Michael P. Mayko, Staff Writer
Published: 05:45 p.m., Sunday, November 21, 2010

A cholera outbreak, damage from a recent hurricane, political unrest and riots in Haiti are behind a defense request to postpone -- until late January -- the sentencing of Douglas Perlitz, the humanitarian who admitted sexually abusing at least one homeless boy under his care in that country.

However, the prosecution team is opposed to a postponement and has asked U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arterton to conduct a hearing on the matter this week.

At any hearing, the prosecution wants the judge to question the defense as to what steps have been taken in the past four months to prepare for Perlitz's sentencing, what specifically happened in the past few days to lead to this request, and why wasn't the prosecution notified earlier this month about any defense problems.

INDIA
CathNews

An archdiocese in Kerala has suspended a priest for allegedly abusing a woman and fathering a child.

“It is a case of sexual abuse and investigations are on. But we could not interrogate the priest since he is absconding,” Inspector General of Police B. Sandhya told ucanews.com on Nov. 19, ucanews.com reports.

Verapoly, a Latin archdiocese, on Nov. 18 suspended Father Martin Kuttikatt after police registered the case against him.

UNITED STATES
The Daily Beast

James Carroll

The Pope's endorsement of condom use to prevent AIDS was a big step forward for the Church, but the appointment of Timothy Dolan as the head of U.S. bishops shows it's not over its old ways. James Carroll on Dolan's challenge.

"My major priority," New York's Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan said at his election last week as president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, "would be to continue with all vigor I can muster what's already in place. It's not like we're in a crisis."

Hello? The Catholic Church not in a crisis? The moral authority of the Roman Catholic hierarchy is at its lowest ebb since the Inquisition. In the United States, the once-influential bishops have willingly transformed themselves into a mascot-lobby for the Republican right. "We bishops are the teachers," one insisted this week, yet not even conservative Catholics actually take them seriously: Think of those right-wing Catholics on the Supreme Court who uphold the very same death penalty the bishops condemn. Vast populations of Catholic laity—not just liberals—are ashamed of the global episcopate for its persistence in enabling priestly sex abuse.

UNITED STATES
San Francisco Chronicle

Incline Village, NV (PRWEB) November 21, 2010

Bishop Santa Claus is a child advocate, consecrated Bishop, and Christian Monk. He takes Pope Benedict XVI to task for what he observes as the Pope's moral failure, regarding the issue of child abuse by clergy, and maintains the Pope should resign, as permitted by Roman Catholic Code of Canon Law 332 S2.

Bishop Santa characterizes the Vatican's most recent proposal, regarding child abuse by clergy, that it will undertake "preparation work for a circular...on the guidelines to offer a coordinated and efficient program" as extraordinarily inadequate, "Far too little remedy, and far too late."

Bishop Santa observes, "It appears that, according to the Roman Catholic Catechism, the Pope may have committed the mortal sin of pride and may burn in Hell for eternity. The Pope clearly has placed his interests and those of his clergy, the Vatican, and the Catholic Church above the needs of vulnerable children and his parishioners."

PENNSYLVANIA
Philadelphia Inquirer

By Larry King
Inquirer Staff Writer

An older parishioner grasped the welcoming hand of Msgr. Hugh J. Shields as she arrived Saturday for the 4:30 p.m. Mass at Incarnation of Our Lord Roman Catholic Church.

"Is Father Jerry all right?" the worried woman asked.

Yes, the monsignor assured her, Father Jerry is fine.

"Is Father Jerry still a priest?"

"Yes," Shields repeated, "he is still a priest."

But the Rev. Geraldo J. Pinero is a priest in limbo, after stepping down last week from the church he has pastored since 2004, according to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

UNITED STATES
Mormon Times

Author: Kristine Frederickson : LDS World

In classroom settings, particularly in my women's studies classes, I announce that statistically speaking, at least two women in my small audience that day have been sexually abused. One semester two students came to my office, at different times, and each confirmed that yes, they had been raped when they were young.

Over the years others have come to discuss the devastation and difficulties that similar assaults have produced. What exactly is sexual abuse? By definition, it involves "any sexually stimulating activity between a child and an adult or another child who is in a position of power, trust or control."

Some time ago, one of my brightest BYU students, after the classroom emptied, matter-of-factly announced that she was sexually abused by her father. Tiffany (name changed) explained that at age 10, after assaulting her for a number of years, her father told her that what had happened to her was wrong and if any man tried to do that to her in the future she must resist. He never abused her again: little consolation there.

NEDERLAND
VVOJ

De onthullingen over misbruik in de katholieke kerk door NRC Handelsblad en de Wereldomroep zijn bekroond met De Loep voor de beste tekstproductie. De Loep werd vrijdagavond uitgereikt aan Joep Dohmen van NRC Handelsblad en Robert Chesal van de Wereldomroep. De Loep voor de beste audiovisuele productie is gegaan naar ‘Vieze ziekenhuizen’ van Ton van der Ham, Anique van de Bosch en Manon Blaas van Zembla. Beide Loepen werden uitgereikt door juryvoorzitter Ad van Liempt. De aanmoedigingsprijs was voor Mathias Bienstman en Berber Verpoest (MO*).

ROME
The Malta Independent

The Vatican said on Friday that it was planning to issue a set of guidelines to bishops around the world on responding effectively to the sexual abuse of children by priests that will include recommendations for prevention programmes, better screening of priests and the need to obey civil reporting requirements.

Cardinal William Levada, who heads the Vatican office that deals with clerical sex abuse cases, told some 150 cardinals of the guidelines during a day-long summit on Friday that dealt in part with the sex abuse scandal. ...

Four SNAP members – from the United States, Belgium, Germany and Britain – staged a brief demonstration in Rome’s Piazza Navona on Friday to demand that the Vatican do more to protect children by releasing the names of known paedophile priests and handing over documentation about their crimes.

Cardinal-designate Donald Wuerl, the archbishop of Washington, DC, said Levada had told the gathering of cardinals that he thought the US norms had combated the problem credibly. Levada, the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, is a former archbishop of San Francisco and Portland, Oregon and helped develop the “zero tolerance” policy in the US.

NEW JERSEY
San Luis Obispo Tribune

A pastor who said Facebook was a "portal to infidelity" and told married church leaders to delete their accounts or resign once testified that he had a three-way sexual relationship with his wife and a male church assistant.

The Rev. Cedric Miller confirmed the information reported Saturday by the Asbury Park Press of Neptune, which cited testimony he gave in a criminal case in 2003. The relationship had ended by that time.

The Rev. Cedric Miller said 20 couples among the 1,100 members of his Living Word Christian Fellowship Church have run into marital trouble over the last six months after a spouse connected with an ex-flame over Facebook.

VATICAN CITY
The Associated Press

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI has opened the door on the previously taboo subject of condoms as a way to fight HIV, saying male prostitutes who use condoms may be beginning to act responsibly. It's a stunning comment for a pontiff who has blamed condoms for making the AIDS crisis worse.

The pope made the comments in an interview with a German journalist published as a book entitled "Light of the World: The Pope, the Church and the Signs of the Times," which is being released Tuesday. The Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano ran excerpts on Saturday. ...

—He was surprised by the scale of clerical sex abuse, particularly in his native Germany, and acknowledged that the Vatican could have better communicated its response. "One can always wonder whether the pope should not speak more often."

UNITED KINGDOM
National Secular Society

The Diocese of Middlesbrough has been refused the right to appeal against a court ruling that found it responsible for an £8 million compensation claim by victims of child sexual abuse. The Court of Appeal in London rejected the Diocese’s application to appeal against what is believed to be the largest award to abuse victims in English history.

The diocese was found liable in October for the claims of 158 former pupils who were abused at St William’s Community Home, in Market Weighton, near York, between 1960 and 1992. Judges ruled that the De La Salle Christian Brothers, which staffed the home, had no legal responsibility, leaving the Catholic Child Welfare Society of the diocese liable for the compensation claim.

PENNSYLVANIA
WPVI

Dann Cuellar

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - November 19, 2010 (WPVI) -- A federal investigation has been launched into a former pastor of a Philadelphia Catholic Church.

Federal agents searched the Incarnation of Our Lord Parish Church at 5th and Lindley in Olney earlier in the week. ...

But on Tuesday, Federal Agents from the U.S. Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement swooped down on the church rectory where the priest lives. A source tells Action News they confiscated his computer and other materials from his living quarters.

Officials declined to say specifically what the focus of the investigation is, but it has nothing to do with immigration and is a customs enforcement matter.

The Agency, a Criminal Enforcement Arm of the Homeland Security Agency, has been heavily involved in investigating child pornography on the internet through its initiative dubbed, "Operation Predator".

PENNSYLVANIA
Philadelphia Inquirer

By Robert Moran
Inquirer Staff Writer

A Roman Catholic priest has stepped down from his position as pastor of Incarnation of Our Lord Parish in the city's Olney section after the church rectory was searched this week by federal agents, an archdiocesan spokeswoman said Friday night.

The Rev. Geraldo J. Pinero "has stepped down from his assignment for the good of the parish pending the outcome of this investigation," said spokeswoman Donna Farrell of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

Agents from U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement served a search warrant at the rectory Tuesday, authorities said.

PENNSYLVANIA
WPVI

Katherine Scott

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - November 20, 2010 (WPVI) -- There are more questions than answers surrounding the sudden resignation of an Olney priest after federal agents searched the rectory of the Incarnation of Our Lord Parish.

Instead of a homily at the 4:30pm mass, the monsignor read a prepared statement and also addressed the investigation. He urged everyone to keep Father Jerry in their prayers, a pastor who is loved among parishioners.

Reverend Geraldo Pinero stepped down as pastor of Incarnation of Our Lord Parish Church in Olney following a raid by federal agents. The Archdiocese of Philadelphia stated it's for the good of the parish, pending the outcome of the investigation.

The news floored parishioners as they went into Saturday afternoon mass.

VATICAN CITY
TIME

By Howard Chua-Eoan Saturday, Nov. 20, 2010

The headline around the world was that the Pope was finally allowing the use of condoms in certain circumstances. The news came after an Italian newspaper broke an embargo on a book-length interview with Benedict XVI by the German journalist Peter Seewald, perhaps the only popular interlocutor whom the Pontiff, in his previous role as a Cardinal, has cooperated with on such a scale. ...

He admits that the abuse scandal is a terrible crisis. "As a result the faith as such becomes unbelievable, and the Church can no longer present herself credibly as the herald of the Lord," he said. He discusses at some length the scandal in Ireland and how, "it was a surprise [to him] that abuse also existed on that scale" in his native Germany.

That admission, however, brings up an unanswered and perhaps unasked question about an incident that occurred during the Pope's brief administration of the the Church in the German city of Munich when he was Archbishop Joseph Ratzinger. In 1980, Ratzinger had personally authorized the transfer of an abusive priest, Peter Hullermann, from another part of Germany to his own archdiocese, ostensibly for therapy. But just days after his arrival, the priest was allowed to serve among the flock. Hullermann was convicted of subsequent sexual assaults in 1986. The Vatican insists that, like other Archbishops, Ratzinger wasn't responsible for the parish assignments of priests, even those with a history of abusing children.

In the interview, the Pope says something that seems tangentially relevant. "It is never permissible... to steal away and to wish not to have seen it and to let the perpetrator continue working. It is therefore necessary for the Church to be vigilant, to punish those who have sinned, and above all to exclude them from further access to children." But it is curious that the text of the interview does not address the Hullermann incident explicitly. Seewald has not responded to a TIME query about whether the Hullermann case came up during his conversation with Benedict XVI.

VATICAN CITY
Politics Daily

David Gibson

Pope Benedict XVI has said that in special cases, such as that of male prostitutes trying to prevent HIV infection, condoms could be justified under Catholic ethical thinking, especially if their use leads to an awareness that engaging in such a "banalization of sexuality" is morally harmful.

Some news reports portrayed the pope's statements as a "stunning turnaround" for the church, though Benedict was actually articulating longstanding Catholic tradition on the issue. But his remarks were important for the extent of their explanation of this complex matter -- and because they come from the pope, which makes them more authoritative than other church proclamations.

VATICAN CITY
Catholic News Service

Posted on November 20, 2010 by John Thavis
VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict’s latest comments on condoms, made in a book to be released Tuesday, are already sparking headlines.

The short version is that the pope indicated that in some situations, use of condoms in AIDS prevention might be a morally justifiable act. At the same time, he repeated what he said in Africa last year, that condoms are not the answer to the worldwide AIDS pandemic.

In the question-and-answer book, “Light of the World,” the pope repeated his argument that focusing exclusively on condoms damages human sexuality, making it “banal” and turning it into a kind of “drug.” But he went on to say that in specific single cases — he mentioned prostitutes — condom use may be justified as a first step toward taking moral responsibility for one’s actions.

UNITED STATES
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Statement by David Clohessy, SNAP National Director, Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 566-9790)

We didn't have high hopes for this meeting because these church officials are the same men who ignored and concealed, and are largely still ignoring and concealing, horrific crimes against kids. Still, because so many children are at risk and so many child molesting clerics walk free, we certainly wanted the Catholic hierarchy to rise to the challenge, do what's right, take real action and show real leadership. Sadly, we're still left waiting and children are still left vulnerable.

UNITED STATES
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

November, 15, 2010 - Five years after its initial U.S. broadcast on ShowTime, Holy Water-Gate, Abuse Cover-up in the Catholic Church, is being re-released and will be televised on multiple dates on The Documentary Channel, beginning the Sunday night of Thanksgiving weekend. (See schedule below).

The hour-long documentary was written, directed, and produced by Mary Healey (Jamiel), assistant professor of communication studies/film media at the University of Rhode Island. Even though the film is a few years old, the comprehensive investigative documentary remains timely and relevant.

Motivated by abuse victims whose stories were being rejected and whose motive were being questioned, the independent filmmaker picked up her camera in 1999 and began filming.

VATICAN CITY
Reuters

VATICAN CITY, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Pope Benedict says in a new book, Light of the World, that condoms may be used in certain limited cases to prevent the spread of AIDS. [ID:nLDE6AJ0B5] He also addressed several issues facing the Church in the book, which is based on a long interview with German Catholic journalist Peter Seewald.

Here are the main points in the new book:

* CONDOM USE - Pope Benedict says the Church does not see condom use as "a real or moral solution" to the AIDS problem. But it could be justified in some cases, such as a prostitute who uses one to reduce the risk of infection and thus take responsibility for his actions.

* SEXUAL ABUSE SCANDALS - Recent scandals of sexual abuse of minors by priests were "an unprecedented shock," even though he had followed the issue for several years. He adds he can understand why people would quit the Church in protest.

NEW JERSEY
NBC New York

By TERESA MASTERSON

He did said thou shalt not commit adultery.

The New Jersey pastor who said Facebook was a "portal to infidelity," and demanded that all married church leaders delete their accounts or resign immediately, admits to having had a three-way, and sometimes four-way, sexual relationship with his wife and a male church assistant.

His affair did not stem from Facebook.

The Rev. Cedric Miller confirmed the information reported Saturday by the Asbury Park Press of Neptune, which cited testimony he gave in a criminal case against the church assistant in 2003. The relationship happened about 10 years ago.

In his testimony in April 2003, Miller said that his wife had a sexual relationship with the assistant and that he was present at many of their trysts, reports the Asbury Park Press. He said the assistant’s wife was also there at times.

UNITED KINGDOM
The Telegraph

In an extraordinarily candid interview with Peter Seewald, Benedict XVI discusses the scandals that have rocked the Catholic Church, papal fallibility, the saints he calls friends, and a fondness for old films ...

The Pope on... dealing with scandals within the church

Right now, in the midst of the scandals, we have experienced what it means to be very stunned by how wretched the Church is, by how much her members fail to follow Christ. That is the one side, which we are forced to experience for our humiliation, for our real humility. The other side is that, in spite of everything, he does not release his grip on the Church. In spite of the weakness of the people in whom he shows himself, he keeps the Church in his grasp, he raises up saints in her, and makes himself present through them. I believe that these two feelings belong together: the deep shock over the wretchedness, the sinfulness of the Church – and the deep shock over the fact that he doesn’t drop this instrument, but that he works with it; that he never ceases to show himself through and in the Church.

UNITED KINGDOM
The Telegraph

By Jonathan Wynne-Jones

Flying to Cameroon for his first papal visit to the continent, his words were viewed by critics as confirmation of a Church out of touch with the modern world.

It was further proof of a Pope more concerned with upholding dogma and tradition than risking change to tackle an epidemic that leaves two million people dead each year, they said.

This week however, the German pontiff will say for the first time that there are some circumstances in which it can be acceptable for condoms to be used. ...

Speaking at the Frankfurt Book Fair earlier this year, Mr Seewald said: "The events in the news around the abuse scandals and the wider situation of the Church naturally give this conversation an incredible explosiveness and I can only already reveal to you now that you are expecting a very exciting, very extensive book."

While the Pope tackles many controversial subjects in the book, from the sex abuse crisis to the Church's teaching on clerical celibacy, his comments on condoms are likely to cause the greatest shock.

VATICAANSTADT
NOS

In het Vaticaan zijn 24 kardinalen gecreëerd, oftewel verheven in het ambt. Paus Benedictus las hun namen voor in het Latijn, waarna ze in hun nieuwe rode toga's de Sint-Pieterskerk inliepen.

Onder de groep nieuwe kardinalen zijn aartsbisschoppen uit Europa, Afrika, Azië en Noord- en Zuid-Amerika. Opvallend is vooral het grote aantal Italianen onder de nieuwelingen: acht van de 24 zijn Italiaan.

VATICAANSTAD
NOS

Het Vaticaan stelt nieuwe regels op over seksueel misbruik. Dat heeft de Congregatie voor de Geloofsleer van het Vaticaan laten weten tijdens een bijeenkomst van kardinalen. De nieuwe richtlijnen moeten worden uitgevoerd door de bisschoppen wereldwijd.

Het Vaticaan bereidt een brief voor waarin een "gecoördineerd en doelmatig programma" is verwoord. Met de regels wil het Vaticaan nieuw seksueel misbruik van kinderen door geestelijken voorkomen. Voortaan moeten bisdommen samenwerken met de lokale autoriteiten, luidt een van de regels.

VATICAANSTAD
parool (Nederland)

VATICAANSTAD - Het Vaticaan bereidt een brief aan de plaatselijke kerken voor over het seksueel misbruik. Daarin geeft de leiding van de Rooms-Katholieke Kerk richtlijnen voor ''een gecoördineerd en doelmatig programma'' om het seksueel misbruik van minderjarigen en anderen door geestelijken te bestrijden.

Dat heeft de Amerikaanse kardinaal William Joseph Levada, president van de Vaticaanse Congregatie voor de Geloofsleer, vrijdag volgens het Vaticaan meegedeeld tijdens een bijeenkomst van kardinalen in het Vaticaan.

NEDERLAND
RKnieuws

ROTTERDAM (RKnieuws.net) - Het Openbaar Ministerie in Rotterdam heeft drie aangiften binnengekregen van seksueel misbruik door een 77-jarige koster van de Bethelkerk in Overschie. De slachtoffers zijn tussen de 5 en 12 jaar oud.

De man zou de meisjes hebben betast. De zaak kwam aan het rollen toen de ouders van een meisje van 5 aangifte hebben gedaan bij de politie. Het misbruik heeft in de kerk zelf plaatsgevonden. Dat zou gebeurd zijn in 2008 en dit jaar.

GERMANY
AFP

BERLIN — Pope Benedict XVI says that condom use is acceptable "in certain cases", notably "to reduce the risk of infection" with HIV, in a book due out Tuesday, apparently softening his once hardline stance.

In a series of interviews published in his native German, the 83-year-old Benedict is asked whether "the Catholic Church is not fundamentally against the use of condoms." ...

Other than condoms, the book, set to be translated into 18 languages, addresses many other sensitive issues, including the paedophile priest scandals, celibacy and female ordination.

Concerning the paedophile scandal that has rocked Benedict's native Germany as well as other countries around the world, the pope said he was "deeply shocked" by it.

CHICAGO (IL)
WLS

A lawsuit filed Friday in Cook County Circuit Court claims a woman grieving over the impending loss of her mother was lured into a sexual relationship with a Northwest Side priest who was counseling her.

The suit claims the woman met Fr. Fernando Zuleta in November 2008 when her mother was admitted to a hospice where he served as chaplain and grief counselor. She began daily counseling sessions to deal with the impending death of her mother from a terminal illness.

The priest encouraged the woman to meet him for a counseling session at a local restaurant for coffee, according to the suit. He began ordering alcohol for the woman until she became intoxicated.

VATICAANSTAD
Nieuws (Belgie)

[met video]

De slachtoffers van seksueel misbruik binnen de kerk verwachten niet dat het Vaticaan maatregelen zal nemen. De kans is groot dat ze gelijk zullen krijgen, want de kerk blijft meestal erg vaag over actuele thema's. Barend Leyts is in Rome.

VATICAANSTADT
De Pers (Nederland)

Kardinalen uit de hele wereld zijn vrijdag bijeengekomen in Vaticaanstad om met paus Benedictus XVI te praten, onder meer over het seksueel misbruik binnen de Rooms-Katholieke Kerk. Ook de Nederlandse kardinaal Ad Simonis is bij de discussie aanwezig.

Aan de discussie doen op verzoek van Benedictus meer dan honderd kardinalen mee. In totaal telt de kerk 203 kardinalen, die een belangrijke rol hebben omdat zij bepalen wie de nieuwe paus wordt. De kardinalen vormen samen een soort raadgevend orgaan, vergelijkbaar met de raad van commissarissen in een groot bedrijf.

De kerkelijke leiders zullen in Vaticaanstad ook spreken over de procedure om anglicanen tot de kerk toe te laten die het oneens zijn met de wijding van vrouwen tot priester en bisschop en de toelating van homoseksuelen tot de kerkelijke ambten binnen hun kerk.

VATICAN CITY
San Francisco Chronicle

(11-20) 10:02 PST VATICAN CITY, (AP) --

Pope Benedict XVI says in a new book that condoms can be justified for male prostitutes seeking to stop HIV, a stunning turnaround for a church that has long opposed condoms and a pontiff who has blamed them for making the AIDS crisis worse.

The pontiff made the comments in a book-length interview with a German journalist, "Light of the World: The Pope, the Church and the Signs of the Times," which is being released Tuesday. The Vatican newspaper ran excerpts on Saturday. ...

Christian Weisner, of the pro-reform group We Are Church in the pope's native Germany, said it was "surprising, and if that's the case one can be happy about the pope's ability to learn.

VATICAN CITY
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

The Vatican is preparing new guidelines for Roman Catholic bishops to combat sexual abuse of children by priests in the wake of a series of highly publicized abuse scandals around the world.

Cardinal William Levada, who heads the Vatican office that deals with sex-abuse cases, informed some 150 cardinals of the guidelines at an extraordinary meeting that included an appearance by Pope Benedict XVI on November 19.

A Vatican statement said Levada discussed recommendations for prevention programs, better screening of priests, and the need for bishops to collaborate with civil authorities in reporting abuse.

VATICAN CITY
The New York Times

By RACHEL DONADIO
Published: November 20, 2010

ROME — Pope Benedict XVI elevated 24 new cardinals in a festive ceremony in Saint Peter’s Basilica on Saturday, bestowing quadrangular red hats on the new members of a group that will one day elect his successor.

Two Americans were among the newly elected. Archbishop Donald Wuerl of Washington D.C., is seen as a bridge-builder and was greeted with waves of applause from the hundreds of supporters who came for Saturday’s ceremony. Archbishop Raymond Burke, a former archbishop of Saint Louis, is now the prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, a Vatican court, and is known for his outspoken criticism of President Obama and of Catholics who support a woman’s right to choose abortion.

Dressed in heavy golden vestments, Benedict called on the new cardinals to devote themselves entirely to humble service to the church, whose force, he said, is “not the logic of supremacy, of power according to human criteria, but the logic of bowing down to wash feet, the logic of service, the logic of the cross which is at the base of every exercise of power.”

Cardinals from around the world had come to Rome for Saturday’s consistory, and on Friday they convened for a day-long meeting to discuss pressing issues facing the church, including the sex abuse crisis, religious liberty, the liturgy and a new rite for allowing Anglicans to convert en masse to Catholicism.

UNITED STATES
Corrections.com

There was a recent debate raging in California about legislation aimed at requiring sex offenders disclose Internet identifiers during registration and prohibiting them from accessing social networking sites, such as Facebook®. Several notable criminal justice and correctional experts were cited in the debate provided reasons why such measures were ill-advised. These reasons and others have been cited over the years as justifications for overlooking cyber-supervision strategies for sex offenders. These myths need to be addressed if we hope to manage the risk posed by sex offenders in the 21st Century.

Myth 1:
Restricting Internet Use Will Negatively Impact Offender's Ability to Obtain/Maintain Employment and Other Needed Services.

In today's environment it is true that many services and employment opportunities are only available via the Internet. However, this does not mean officers should turn a blind eye to a sex offender's Internet use. This is particularly the case for those whose offense conduct involved computer use. Any officer would not hesitate to prohibit or restrict a sex offender's employment opportunities if it placed the community, particularly minors, at risk. Somehow, officers and others are hesitate to show the same due diligence when it comes to the Internet, where literally millions of minors are present. A complete ban may not be appropriate in all cases but for some, particularly those with a willingness to seek out minors and/or child pornography on-line, such a prohibition or monitoring can be legally justified. Nevertheless, such measures do not have to be permanent, but can be as reduced as the monitored sex offender shows real progress in treatment and through the supervision process.

UNITED KINGDOM
Wisbech Standard

A ROMAN Catholic priest from Fenland will appear at Durham Crown Court charged with possessing child pornography.

Father John Terence Paul Shannon, 57, of The Elms, Chatteris, is facing 17 charges of making an indecent photograph of a child on or before June 16, and possession of 763 indecent photographs of children.

Fr Shannon was suspended from his duties at the 200-year-old St Cuthbert’s Seminary at Ushaw College, near Esh, County Durham, in June.

NEW YORK
The Jewish Week

Hella Winston
Special to the Jewish Week

The father of a 12-year-old boy who alleges that he was sexually molested by Rabbi Yehuda Kolko has filed a criminal complaint against Kolko for violating a protection order signed after the rabbi plead guilty in 2008 to two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, The Jewish Week has learned.

The boy’s family brought criminal charges against Rabbi Kolko in 2007, which — along with charges made by the family of another boy — resulted in Kolko’s guilty plea.

The father told The Jewish Week that in the complaint, made at the 70th Precinct Wednesday night, he alleges that Rabbi Kolko stopped and glared at him and his son as they made their way to shul in Brooklyn last Friday night. The boy noticed Kolko’s actions and alerted his father. The father said in the complaint that the boy was frightened and unable to sleep as a result. According to the father this was not the first instance of Rabbi Kolko allegedly violating the order.

CONNECTICUT
West Hartford News

St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center is offering settlements of up to $100,000 to 60 people, some from West Hartford, who allege they were sexually abused by a doctor.

Dr. George Reardon, who died in 1998, is accused of molesting hundreds of children and taking explicit photos of them. He worked at the hospital for 30 years. Nearly 140 lawsuits claim St. Francis failed to adequately supervise Reardon or stop the abuse and covered up his crimes, according to the Associated Press.

“I am pleased that the hospital is recognizing the struggles of the victims and the impact that Dr. Reardon has had on their lives,” state Rep. Beth Bye, D-West Hartford, said in a statement. “I am encouraged that the two sides appear to be closer to reaching a mutually agreed upon settlement. This has been a very difficult time for both the victims and the hospital.”

ROME
Chiesa

They discussed it with the pope on the eve of the consistory. For some, it is risky to centralize all of the cases in Rome. For others, it is a mistake to proceed by judicial order rather than with regular canonical trials. The pros and cons of an emergency system

by Sandro Magister

ROME, November 20, 2010 – On the "day of reflection and prayer" that preceded today's consistory, Benedict XVI proposed five topics of discussion to the cardinals.

One of these was "the response of the Church to cases of sexual abuse." It was the first time that this has been discussed at such a high level, on the part of a college of cardinals representing the the universal Church, gathered around the pope.

The discussion was introduced by Cardinal William J. Levada, prefect of the congregation for the doctrine of the faith, and lasted for more than an hour, behind strictly closed doors.

VATICAN CITY
BBC News

The Vatican has said it will issue guidelines on how to combat sexual abuse, which will be circulated to bishops around the world.

Work was being done for "guidelines to offer for a coordinated and efficient programme" against abuse, the Vatican said.

Pope Benedict has been taking part in a rare, closed-door meeting of about 150 cardinals from around the world.

VATICAN CITY
The New York Times

By RACHEL DONADIO
Published: November 19, 2010

VATICAN CITY — The Vatican announced on Friday that it was preparing a new set of guidelines to help bishops offer a “coordinated and efficient” response to sexual abuse, one that emphasizes protecting children, cooperating with civil authorities and careful selection of future priests.

The Vatican did not reveal details of the guidelines or when they would be published, but they appear to be one of the most decisive remedial measures it has taken to tackle a sexual abuse crisis that roared back last spring, challenging its moral authority and underscoring widespread confusion about its own rules for handling abuse.

Cardinal William J. Levada, the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which is responsible for disciplining abusive priests, announced the guidelines at a meeting of more than 200 cardinals at the Vatican on Friday. The cardinals had been summoned by Pope Benedict XVI to discuss key issues facing the church on the eve of his elevating new cardinals on Saturday.

UNITED KINGDOM
This is Plymouth

A former church youth club worker has been jailed for seven years after admitting a string of sex attacks on boys and young men.

Predatory paedophile Dean Madavan, 44, targeted young boys while working at the Ford Baptist Church youth club in Plymouth between 1992 and 2003. On the first day of his trial he entered a plea of guilty to 13 counts of indecent assault against eight boys and young men.

He also admitted seven counts of making indecent images of children, ranging from category one to category four.

VATICAN CITY
Wall Street Journal

By STACY MEICHTRY
ROME—The Vatican plans to send guidelines around the world instructing church officials on how to lead a "coordinated" crackdown on abusive priests, in the Holy See's latest attempt to address the sex-abuse scandal that has hit the Catholic Church over the past year.

Cardinals from around the world met with Pope Benedict to discuss the response of the Roman Catholic church to the multitude of cases of sexual abuse by priests worldwide. Video courtesy of Reuters. ...

"We didn't have high hopes for this meeting because these church officials are the same men who ignored and concealed, and are largely still ignoring and concealing, horrific crimes against kids," said David Clohessy, National Director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.

VATICAN CITY
Deutsche Welle

The Vatican has said it is working on a new set of guidelines for bishops, making them more responsible for protecting victims of abuse by clerics. Cooperation with civilian authorities is said to be a core principle.

The Roman Catholic Church has announced that it's working on a new set of guidelines for bishops on preventing and responding to cases of abuse by clerics.

About three quarters of the world's Catholic cardinals converged at the Vatican Friday to hold a rare gathering discussing this issue, as well as religious freedom and accepting converts from the Anglican Church.

VATICAN CITY
Reuters

By Philip Pullella
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict installed 24 new Roman Catholic cardinals from around the world on Saturday in his latest batch of appointments that could include his successor as leader of the 1.2 billion member church. ...

The new cardinals include Archbishop Donald Wuerl of Washington D.C., who, as a senior figure in the American capital, will likely play a leading role in the U.S. church's response to the sexual abuse scandal.

At a pre-consistory meeting on Friday, the Vatican told bishops they would have to take more responsibility to prevent sexual abuse of children by priests and said it was preparing new guidelines for bishops on how to deal with the sexual abuse, including cooperation with local authorities.

MALTA
Times of Malta

John Micallef, Sliema

Martin Scicluna gives the impression he is driven by emotions that necessarily cloud his judgement.

Take his contribution on Tuesday which, to all intents and purposes, was supposed to deal with the government’s child offenders’ register. For most of the time he rattled on about clerical child abuse, the Church’s apparent inability to deal conclusively with abuse cases, the Church’s function “as a sort of state within a state”, the separation of Church and state and, with not a little arrogance, the assertion that the Church, as a consequence of the clerical abuse scandal, “does not hold a monopoly on establishing the moral foundations in society”. But it remains its mission and she has established the moral foundations of society.

His negative assumption is, however, juvenile. By the same argument, society, through its government, is not in a position to legislate on child abuse once parents, carers, policemen, nurses, doctors, judges, lawyers and thieves, who form part of society, have abused children – and the evidence is overwhelming that the incidence of child abuse by these groups (reported and known and often known and unreported in many countries) is significantly and proportionately greater. When the world is manifestly and consistently guilty of worldliness it is not in a position to stand in judgement over anybody’s worldliness. Fifteen years before he became a Catholic, Chesterton, whom Mr Scicluna regards balefully because one of the greatest writers (if not the greatest) of the 20th century cannot help bringing God or the Catholic Church into his arguments, wrote in one of his contributions to the Illustrated London News that “When people impute special vices to the Christian Church, they seem entirely to forget the world (which is the only other thing there is) has these vices much more. The Church has been cruel; but the world has been much more cruel. The Church has plotted; but the world has plotted much more. The Church has been superstitious; but it has never been as superstitious as the world is when left to itself”.

UNITED KINGDOM
Daily Mail

By Daily Mail Reporter

A blackmailer who drove a Roman Catholic cleric to quit the priesthood in a bogus child porn photo scam was jailed for five years today.

The jury at Swansea Crown Court took just 46 minutes to find Michael Costello, 38, of Sherwood Street, Reading, guilty at the end of a four-day trial.

The judge said he was jailed for the 'colossal damage' he had inflicted on Father Michael Manning, who remains so marked by his experience he has quit his vocation and shows no sign of returning.

The Huffington Post

William F. McMurry

The world continues to watch with genuine interest as the leadership of the Roman Catholic Church parades masks of contrition before the media, in an effort to convince the faithful that the Church has turned the corner on the clergy sexual abuse crisis. On Nov. 19, a gathering of Cardinals from every corner of the Church's influence will convene in Rome at the request of the Supreme Pontiff, Pope Benedict XVI. This meeting of Cardinals will include a discussion about the Vatican's response to sexually abusive priests.

"And as Catholic cardinals from around the world talk about abuse in Rome, clergy sex abuse victims from four countries will hold two events nearby," said Barbara Blain, president of SNAP (Survivors Network for those Abused by Priests).

"SNAP leaders will also present detailed steps, urging world-wide Catholic prelates to protect the safety of vulnerable children now. They will ask the bishops and cardinals to act immediately regardless of the Vatican actions," said Kim Michele Richardson, SNAP spokeswoman, survivor and author of The Unbreakable Child.

IRELAND
Belfast Telegraph

The Catholic Primate of All-Ireland last night expressed his personal sadness at the banking crisis which has impaled the nation's sovereignty with the financial intervention of the International Monetary Fund and the EU.

Cardinal Sean Brady was speaking in Rome where he was attending an unprecedented summit on the clerical child abuse crisis convened by Pope Benedict with 150 ‘Princes of the Church'.

For the past decade Cardinal Brady has been at the centre of the paedophile priest scandals that have rocked the Irish Church.

BRIDGEPORT (CT)
CT Post

Daniel Tepfer, Staff Writer

A state Superior Court judge in Waterbury Friday issued a judgment against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport in a lawsuit brought by a man who claimed he was abused by a priest at a Trumbull church in the 1980s.

Judge William Cremins issued the judgment without a trial for the plaintiff, who is only identified in court papers as "David Doe," after the diocese did not comply with the judge's order to turn over hundreds of secret documents purporting to detail abuse of children by priests at St. Theresa's Church.

"We are very pleased that our state court judges will not be intimidated by the stonewalling and bullying tactics of the Catholic church," said Joel Faxon, who represents the plaintiff in the lawsuit.

Diocese officials did not immediately return phone calls for comment.

MONTROSE (PA)
The Times-Tribune

BY STACI WILSON (Staff Writer)

MONTROSE - A former Episcopal priest pleaded guilty in Susquehanna County Court on Friday to sexually assaulting two teen boys.

Ralph Johnson, 83, of Gibson Twp., entered guilty pleas to two counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse lodged against him in two separate cases. Each count carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

One of the boys - now in his 20s - was 14 at the time of the alleged abuse and has a mental disability.

VATICAN CITY
Catholic News Service

By Cindy Wooden
Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Vatican is preparing a document for all bishops' conferences offering guidelines for a "coordinated and effective program" of child protection and for dealing with allegations of clerical sexual abuse, said Cardinal William J. Levada, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

During the evening session of a meeting Nov. 19 with Pope Benedict XVI and about 150 prelates -- members of the College of Cardinals and the 24 churchmen who were scheduled to receive their red hats Nov. 20 -- the cardinal spoke about the church's efforts to deal with the abuse crisis.

The cardinal "made some observations about the greater responsibility of bishops for safeguarding the faithful entrusted to them," said a Vatican statement issued after the meeting.

VATICAN CITY
Beliefnet

Friday November 19, 2010
VATICAN CITY (RNS) The Vatican announced on Friday (Nov. 19) that it is preparing international guidelines to prevent the sexual abuse of children by Roman Catholic clergy, a long-awaited response to a scandal that has seeped into countless corners of the church.

Cardinal William Levada, head of the Vatican's doctrinal office, announced the plan to the assembled College of Cardinals on Friday evening (Nov. 19).

Levada, a former archbishop of San Francisco who is one of the highest-ranking Americans at the Vatican, told the cardinals that his office was preparing a letter to national bishops' conferences offering guidelines "for a coordinated and efficacious program" on clerical sex abuse.

VATICAN CITY
Wall Street Journal

By STACY MEICHTRY
ROME—The Vatican plans to send guidelines around the world instructing church officials on how to lead a "coordinated" crackdown on abusive priests, in the Holy See's latest attempt to address the sex-abuse scandal that has hit the Catholic Church over the past year.

Cardinal William Levada, head of the Vatican office that disciplines abusive priests, told a worldwide meeting of cardinals on Friday that his office is drafting a circular that will contain guidelines for bishops to take measures in protecting children, assisting victims and working with civil authorities, the Vatican said in a statement issued late Friday.

The group was informed of "preparation work for a circular...on the guidelines to offer a coordinated and efficient program," against abuse, the statement said. The Vatican didn't release further information about the guidelines' severity or how they would be implemented.

VATICAN CITY
Telegraph (United Kingdom)

By Nick Squires in Rome

The new appointments will boost the number of Italian cardinals to 25, giving them huge clout when it comes to electing a new pontiff on the death of Benedict XVI.

The "Italianisation" of the Catholic Church's hierarchy fuelled speculation that after Benedict, a German, and his Polish predecessor, John Paul II, the leadership of the world's one billion Catholics could swing back to Italy.

VATICAN CITY
Vatican Information Service

VATICAN CITY, 19 NOV 2010 (VIS) - As part of the consistory during which the Holy Father will create twenty-four new cardinals, the College of Cardinals is today meeting in the Vatican's New Synod Hall to hold a day of reflection and prayer.

The meeting began at 9.30 a.m. with a greeting from the Pope who focused his remarks on the two themes of the morning session. Considering the first of these themes, he noted that the Lord's command to announce the Gospel implicitly embraces the need for the freedom to do so, although, over the course of history, it has encountered various forms of opposition. The relationship between truth and freedom is essential but today faces the great challenge of relativism, which seems to complete the concept of freedom but which actually risks destroying it and becoming an authentic 'dictatorship'. We are then, he suggested, facing a difficult period in our commitment to affirm the freedom to announce the truth of the Gospel and the great achievements of Christian culture. The Pope also recalled the essential importance of liturgy in Church life, being the place of God's presence with us.

The cardinals then turned their attention to the two chosen themes: the situation of religious freedom in the world and new challenges, with an introductory talk by Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B., and the liturgy in the life of the Church today, with a preliminary contribution from Cardinal Antonio Canizares Llovera, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.

CITTA' DEL VATICANO

COMUNICATO DELLA SALA STAMPA DELLA SANTA SEDE: INCONTRO DI PREGHIERA E STUDIO DEL SANTO PADRE CON I MEMBRI DEL COLLEGIO CARDINALIZIO IN OCCASIONE DEL CONCISTORO

1. Oggi, venerdì 19 novembre, ha avuto inizio in Vaticano la giornata di preghiera e di studio del Collegio Cardinalizio, convocata dal Santo Padre Benedetto XVI, in occasione della creazione di 24 nuovi Cardinali.

2. All’inizio dell’incontro, tenutosi nell’Aula Nuova del Sinodo, il Card. Angelo Sodano, Decano del Collegio Cardinalizio, ha rivolto al Papa un indirizzo di saluto a nome di tutti i presenti, ringraziandolo pure per la recente Beatificazione del Card. Newman e per l’introduzione di un’analoga Causa di Beatificazione per il compianto Card. Van Thuan, gloria della Chiesa in Vietnam.

3. Successivamente ha preso la parola il Santo Padre, il quale ha introdotto, in particolare, i due temi proposti per la mattinata. Quanto al primo, ha ricordato che, nel mandato del Signore di annunciare il Vangelo, è implicita l’esigenza della libertà di farlo e tuttavia ciò incontra, nella storia, diverse opposizioni. Il rapporto fra verità e libertà è essenziale, ma oggi si trova di fronte alla grande sfida del relativismo, che sembra completare il concetto di libertà ma in realtà rischia di distruggerla proponendosi come una vera "dittatura". Ci troviamo dunque in un tempo di difficile impegno per affermare la libertà di annunciare la verità del Vangelo e delle grandi acquisizioni della cultura cristiana. Quanto al secondo tema, il Papa ha richiamato l’importanza essenziale della liturgia nella vita della Chiesa, perché è il luogo della presenza di Dio con noi. Quindi, il luogo in cui la Verità vive con noi.

CITTA' DEL VATICANO

COMUNICATO DELLA SALA STAMPA DELLA SANTA SEDE: INCONTRO DI PREGHIERA E STUDIO DEL SANTO PADRE CON I MEMBRI DEL COLLEGIO CARDINALIZIO IN OCCASIONE DEL CONCISTORO - SESSIONE POMERIDIANA

La sessione pomeridiana è iniziata alle ore 17 con la celebrazione del Vespro ed è poi continuata con le tre comunicazioni in programma.

Anzitutto l’Arcivescovo Angelo Amato ha parlato su "La Dichiarazione "Dominus Iesus" della Congregazione per la Dottrina della Fede a dieci anni dalla pubblicazione". Ha osservato che essa ha fatto chiarezza su alcune fondamentali verità cristologiche ed ecclesiologiche e ha rilanciato i dialoghi ecumenici ed interreligiosi a partire da una precisa identità cattolica; allo stesso tempo non ha chiuso le vie di ricerca positive indicate dal Concilio sulla grande questione della salvezza dei non cristiani. La Dominus Iesus, mettendo in guardia da un malinteso pluralismo, resta un valido richiamo di chiarezza dottrinale e pastorale, come base della catechesi, della nuova evangelizzazione e della "missio ad gentes".

Il Cardinale William Levada ha poi svolto le due comunicazioni a lui affidate, rispettivamente su "Risposta della Chiesa ai casi di abuso sessuale: verso un orientamento comune", e su "La Costituzione apostolica "Anglicanorum coetibus"". Nella prima il Cardinale ha offerto un aggiornamento circa la legislazione canonica riguardante il delitto di abuso sessuale sui minori, e ha quindi svolto alcune osservazioni circa la più ampia responsabilità dei Vescovi per la tutela dei fedeli loro affidati. In ciò si è ispirato alle parole del Santo Padre, al suo esempio di ascolto e di accoglienza per le vittime, e ha parlato della collaborazione con le autorità civili e della necessità di un efficace impegno di protezione dei bambini e dei giovani e di un’attenta selezione e formazione dei futuri sacerdoti e religiosi. Infine ha informato sul lavoro di preparazione di una Lettera circolare della Congregazione alle Conferenze episcopali sulle linee guida da offrire per un programma coordinato ed efficace nella direzione sopra descritta.

VATICAN CITY
Houston Chronicle

By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press

VATICAN CITY — The Vatican said Friday it was planning to issue a set of guidelines to bishops around the world on how to respond effectively to the sexual abuse of children by priests that will include recommendations for prevention programs, better screening of priests and responding to civil reporting requirements.

Cardinal William Levada, who heads the Vatican office that deals with clerical sex abuse cases, told cardinals from around the world of the guidelines during a daylong summit Friday that dealt in part with the sex abuse scandal.

A Vatican statement said Levada discussed the need for bishops to collaborate with civil authorities in reporting abuse, the need to protect children and the need for an "attentive selection and formation" of future priests. It said the guidelines, in the form of a letter to bishops' conferences, would suggest a "coordinated and efficient program" to crack down on abuse.

VATICAN CITY
Rome Reports

[with video]

November 19, 2010. Benedict XVI met with the College of Cardinals to discuss major issues of the Catholic Church. At the meeting were 150 cardinals from around the world. Also in attendance were the 24 new cardinals appointed on November 20 in St. Peter's Basilica. The meeting took place in the New Synod Hall. During the morning, the Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, spoke about religious freedom in the world and the attacks on Christians in Iraq and other Muslim countries.

The prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, the Spanish Cardinal Antonio Cañizares, spoke about the liturgy in the life of the Church.

After lunch, Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints said the Vatican document “Dominus Iesus” published in 2000 by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

VATICAN CITY
euronews

For the first time Cardinals from all over the world have been invited by the Pope himself to participate in a reflection and prayer day at the Vatican. This highly-unusual event is further proof that the Catholic Church is facing its worst-ever crisis.

During this weekend’s Consistory, the Pope will elevate 24 bishops to the rank of cardinal, the first opportunity for these cardinal-designates to better integrate into the elite group of “Princes of the Church”.

Tensions with China and the sexual abuse scandal are Friday’s main topics of discussion, even if some cardinals say they do not feel concerned about these matters.

ROME
352 Lux Mag

Lucy Duckworth, who protested against paedophile priests in Rome on Friday, was just five years old when she was first abused at her Sunday school in the quiet village of Oxted in Surrey.

Duckworth, 28, said she was abused at All Saints Church until she was 11 by a "paedophile ring" involving a Catholic priest, his helper and a Church of England vicar, who was later jailed for abuse of minors.

"They'd take me into a room and abuse me in front of a poor man with Down's Syndrome who was told to watch the door and make sure no-one came in," said Duckworth, a member of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP).

PENNSYLVANIA/NEW YORK
WBNG

By WBNG News

Montrose, PA (WBNG Binghamton) A man accused of coercing minors to have sex while he was a priest pleads guilty in Susquehanna County.

Ralph Johnson, 82, of Gibson appeared at the courthouse in Montrose.

He plead guilty to two charges related to engaging in sex with minors.

Johnson was a priest at St Ann's Church in Afton

ESPANA
Europe Press

PALMA DE MALLORCA, 19 Nov. (EUROPA PRESS) -

La Asociación Rana celebrará este sábado en Palma una marcha en la que se escenificará a ritmo de tambores y de manera simbólica la actitud social ante el abuso sexual infantil y el "silencio forzado" de las víctimas menores, ante la "indiferencia" de los adultos que "miran para otro lado eludiendo el problema".

En un comunicado, Rana ha explicado que la marcha, que se llevará a cabo, con motivo del Día Internacional del Niño y bajo el lema 'No le des la espalda a la infancia', comenzará a las 11.00 horas en las Ramblas, frente al número 13, sede de la entidad, y concluirá en el Parc de la Mar a las 12.00 horas. ...

Por otra parte, coincidiendo con la reunión celebrada este viernes entre el Papa y el Consejo Cardenalicio, con la que se pretende dar respuesta a los casos de abusos sexuales cometidos por sus sacerdotes en todo el mundo, la asociación Rana incluye desde hoy en su web, www.asociacionrana.org, un enlace al 'Foro para las víctimas de abuso sexual por miembros de la Iglesia'.

GEORGIA
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

By Shelia M. Poole
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A status conference hearing was held Friday in DeKalb County State Court related to the lawsuits against Bishop Eddie Long and New Birth Missionary Baptist Church.

Lawyers for both sides met with Judge Johnny Panos and tentatively set a a February date for a mediation session and pre-trial conference for July.

"Both sides seemed to be pretty open to discussion of a quick resolution of the case whether through trial or negotiation settlements," Panos said.

GEORGIA
My Fox Atlanta

By MYFOXATLANTA STAFF/myfoxatlanta

ATLANTA - It was the first court hearing Friday in the Bishop Eddie Long sexual misconduct case.

During a status conference held Friday, lawyers for both sides gave a road map of what's going to happen throughout the case, when it's going to happen and why it's going to happen.

Jamal Parris and three other young men have filed sexual misconduct lawsuits against the popular Bishop and his 10,000 seat New Birth Missionary Baptist church.

UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter

by John L Allen Jr on Nov. 19, 2010 All Things Catholic

Under the best of circumstances, the Vatican and the secular media struggle to understand each other, and the first half of 2010 was hardly the best of times. As a new wave of the sexual abuse crisis swept across Europe and raised critical questions about Pope Benedict XVI, Vatican officials accused the press of bias, while news reports and editorial pages blasted the Vatican for dishonesty and denial.

Now that the dust has begun to settle, thoughtful figures on both sides realize the need to take a dispassionate look back. Many in the news business want to know if they got the story right, and at least some in Rome — not to mention frustrated Catholics elsewhere — wonder if the Vatican's crisis management strategy, such as it was, backfired.

On Monday, I was in Miami Beach for a gathering of journalists from mainstream secular outlets, sponsored by the "Faith Angle" project of the Washington, D.C.-based Ethics and Public Policy Center. Papal biographer George Weigel and I were asked to lead a discussion of coverage of the crisis, especially its most recent wave.

BELGIE
De Morgen

Kerkjournalist André Truyman stelt dat aartsbisschop Léonard gewoon de spreekbuis is van de paus. Truyman is auteur van Johannes Paulus II (2002) en het pas verschenen Schijn van heiligheid. Hij is oud-priester en voormalig KRO-televisiejournalist. Hij verdedigt het recht om als gelovige kritiek te geven op aartsbisschop Léonard, die door de paus is opgedrongen aan de Belgische kerk.

Het zat eraan te komen. Eerst Gerard Bodifee in De Standaard, vervolgens Herman De Dijn en René Stockman in deze krant. Alle drie achten ze zich geroepen om aartsbisschop André Léonard te hulp te snellen. Het is maar wat je - in hun woorden - "niets ontziende progressiviteit", "erosie van katholieke identiteit" of "promoten van eigen kerkbeeld" wilt noemen.

VIRGINIA
WBDJ

A Pulaski County pastor will spend a little over six years in prison for having an inappropriate relationship with two minors.

Seventy-four-year-old Reverend J.P. Hale plead no contest Friday to seven charges of taking indecent liberties with a minor and six charges of non-forcible sodomy.

CANADA
BCLocalNews

Author and human rights activist Kevin Annett launches his international book tour in Nanaimo Thursday (Nov 25).

Annett is known for his work to document and confront crimes in Canada’s Indian residential schools.

He recently helped lead a protest against Pope Benedict in London, England, where he served a public summons on the Pope for what he calls “crimes against the innocent”.

Much of this work is documented in his latest book, Unrepentant: Disrobing the Emperor, released by O Books in England.

CANADA
National Post

Suffer the Children Unto Me: An Inquiry into Canada’s Clerical Abuse Scandal

By Michael W. Higgins and Peter Kavanagh
Novalis
160 pp; $18.95

Reviewed by Charlie Lewis

On a cold spring day this year, Toronto’s Archbishop Thomas Collins was presiding over the annual chrism Mass, one of the key rituals in the Catholic Church that announces the coming of Easter Sunday. During the ceremony, the oils that will be used for baptisms, confirmations and anointing the sick are blessed.

In attendance that day at St. Michael’s Cathedral were 500 priests and hundreds of lay worshippers.

The homily the Archbishop delivered was unusual for such a solemn occasion, but everyone agreed later that it needed to be said — especially given the crummy year the Church was having, what with all the revelations of abuse in Canada and throughout the world.

“We cannot escape the horror of this by pointing out that almost all priests serve faithfully — though that fact is a grace that gives joy to the Catholic people. But even one priest gone wrong causes immense harm, and throughout the world, priests have done unspeakable evil. We should be grateful for the attention which the media devotes to the sins of the Catholic clergy, even if constant repetition may give the false impression that Catholic clergy are particularly sinful. That attention is a profound tribute to the priesthood …”

GERMANY
Deutsche Welle

Pope Benedict XVI will make an official state visit to his native Germany in late 2011, according to the German Episcopal Conference. The visit will most likely happen in September.

Arrangements for Pope Benedict XVI's first official visit to his home country are under way, after the pontiff accepted the invitation of German President Christian Wulff. ...

The pontiff is likely to receive a cooler reception from German victims of sexual abuse by priests of the Roman Catholic Church. Not much has been done after Zollitsch announced in September that the church was preparing compensation payments for abuse victims.

The German church has admitted it had failed to properly investigate claims of abuse, simply moving pedophile priests to another diocese instead of reporting them to the police. The pope himself has faced allegations that he, as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, failed to act against molesting priests while he was heading the Vatican morals watchdog.

VATICAN CITY
Aljazeera

The Roman Catholic Church is holding an extraordinary meeting to discuss sexual abuse of children by priests and conversion of people from the Anglican to the Catholic Church.

Closed-door meeting on Friday of more than 100 of the Church's 203 cardinals from around the world at the Vatican will also cover debates on religious freedoms.

Controversy over the abuse of children in the institution has dogged the Church for decades, and victims of sexual abuse were protesting in Rome to coincide with the meeting. They are calling for greater protection of children from future abuse by priests.

UNITED KINGDOM
Independent Catholic News

The Catholic Bishops’ of England and Wales to the Visit of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI to the United Kingdom issued the following statement today after their autumn meeting.

At our meeting we have reflected deeply on the recent Apostolic Visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the United Kingdom. We offer our thanks to God who blessed the days of the Visit in answer to countless prayers. For so many people these were days of joy, of celebration and of the public expression of faith in God, especially the Christian faith. ...

We are grateful to the Holy Father for the time he spent meeting survivors of abuse. This emphasises again for us the importance of the response and care we offer to those who have suffered abuse as children. Through our National Catholic Safeguarding Commission we are working with survivors to fashion a ‘Care Pathway’ to guide the Church in this task.

We are also grateful to the Holy Father for meeting with a representative group of safeguarding professionals from within the Catholic community. He acknowledged that we "have taken serious steps to remedy this situation, to ensure that children are effectively protected from harm and to deal properly and transparently with allegations when they arise". We thank him for this encouragement and for the invitation to share the lessons we have learned with the wider community.

CANADA
Abbotsford Times

By Rafe Arnott

An Abbotsford Hindu priest was fired Tuesday after being charged with sex offences against two young girls who worshipped at the temple where he worked.

Karam Vir, 31, was arrested Monday, appeared in court Tuesday, and then was released on bail after surrendering his passport.

Vir, who holds Indian citizenship, is in Canada on a work visa and has been involved with the Hindu Temple at 31545 Walmsley Ave. in Abbotsford for about two years. Prior to that he spent time in Ontario.

VATICAN CITY
The Associated Press

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The world's cardinals met Friday at the Vatican to discuss religious freedom, sex abuse by clergy and other issues amid a new dispute with China over an illicit ordination that threatens delicate relations between the two.

Pope Benedict XVI summoned the cardinals for a day of reflection before a ceremony Saturday to create 24 new cardinals. The top agenda item, religious freedom, was remarkably timely given China's planned ordination Saturday of a bishop who doesn't have the pope's approval.

VATICAN CITY
Vatican Radio

The extra-ordinary consistory of the College of Cardinals began Friday in the Vatican’s Synod Hall. A day of prayer and reflection on the most urgent issues currently facing the Universal Church: the lack of religious freedom, the Churches response to cases of sex abuse, the liturgy and Anglicanorum coetibus, the norms on welcoming Anglicans into the Catholic Church.

Cardinal Angelo Sodano, dean of the College of Cardinals, began the one day session by welcoming the Pope on behalf of all 150 cardinals present and thanking him the recent beatification of Cardinal Newman and the introduction of a similar cause of beatification for the late Cardinal Van Thuan, for glory of the Church in Vietnam.

Pope Benedict then took the floor giving a brief introduction to the two main topics for discussion in the session, religious freedom and the liturgy.

VATICAN CITY
Montreal Gazette

Dario Thuburn, AFP November 19, 2010

VATICAN CITY - Cardinals from around the world met Friday for unprecedented talks on pedophile clergy, as activists called on the Church to end "symbolic gestures" and release files on the abuses.

Around 150 of the Roman Catholic Church's 203 cardinals prayed for guidance during the meeting in the Vatican, which also debated the issue of religious freedom and conversions of Anglicans to Catholicism.

The closed-door meeting was referred to by the Vatican as "a day of prayer and reflection" on the challenges facing the Church. Talks on "the Church's response to sexual abuse cases" were expected to start at 1600 GMT.

LUXEMBURG
Wort

(vb) – Die katholische Kirche in Luxemburg macht Ernst mit der Aufarbeitung von Gewalt an Minderjährigen. Nachdem die Opfer vier Monate lang Zeit hatten, sich per Telefon kirchlichen Mitarbeitern anzuvertrauen, sollen nun Konsequenzen innerhalb der Kirche folgen.

Von April bis Juli meldeten sich 138 Menschen bei der Hotline. 100 berichteten von sexuellen oder gewalttätigen Übergriffen, die sie selbst erlebt oder beobachtet haben. Die Mitarbeiter der Hotline beschränkten sich darauf, den Opfern Gehör zu schenken, sie zu beraten oder ihnen eine Therapie zu empfehlen.

WALES
Wales Online

By Robin Turner

AN IRISH labourer has been found guilty today of blackmailing a Llanelli priest after pretending to have found indecent images on the cleric’s mobile phone.

At Swansea Crown Court Cork born Michael Joseph Costello, 38, of Reading, had denied stealing Father Michael Manning’s Blackberry and pressurising him for money.

But today a jury took just 45 minutes to find Costello guilty of blackmail and theft.

VATICAANSTAD
De Telegraaf

VATICAANSTAD - De kardinalen spreken vrijdag in het Vaticaan onder meer over het seksueel misbruik binnen de Rooms-Katholieke Kerk. De voorzitter van het zogeheten consistorie is de Amerikaanse kardinaal William Joseph Levada, president van de Congregatie voor de Geloofsleer, die waakt over de zuiverheid van het rooms-katholieke geloof. Volgens de woordvoerder van het Vaticaan gaat het om ?communicatie, informatie, verduidelijking en bezinning over sommige vraagstukken, maar niet om een grondig onderzoek?. Tijdens het besloten beraad zijn geen besluiten te verwachten.

De afgelopen jaren zijn in diverse landen schandalen over seksueel misbruik van minderjarigen en anderen door geestelijken naar buiten gekomen. Hieronder volgt een beknopt overzicht.

ROME
Het Nieuwsblad

De paus ontvangt vandaag 203 kardinalen in het Vaticaan om het seksueel misbruik binnen de Kerk te bespreken. Onder hen de Belgische kardinaal Danneels. Voor Danneels is het zijn eerste publieke optreden sinds hij zelf in opspraak kwam.

De bijeenkomst is bijzonder, want het gebeurt zelden dat zo veel kardinalen tegelijk in het Vaticaan zijn. Normaal is dat alleen het geval bij de dood van een paus en het kiezen van een opvolger.

Volgens het Vaticaan zullen er vermoedelijk geen concrete besluiten genomen worden. Het moet een dag van 'reflectie en gebed' worden.

BELGIE
De Standaard

BRUSSEL - De Belgische bisschoppen laten zich voor de Kamercommissie seksueel misbruik bijstaan door advocaat Paul Quirynen.

De Belgische bisschoppen zullen zich voor de 'Bijzondere commissie betreffende de behandeling van seksueel misbruik en feiten van pedofilie binnen een gezagsrelatie, inzonderheid binnen de Kerk' laten bijstaan door advocaat Paul Quirynen. Dat maakte de Belgische Bisschoppenconferentie gisteren bekend.

Van de Bisschoppenconferentie maken alle huidige Belgische bisschoppen en ook kardinaal Godfried Danneels en aartsbisschop André Leonard deel uit.

WASHINGTON
RKnieuws

Prof. Kurt Martens

WASHINGTON (RKnieuws.net) - Nu de bijzondere commissie voor seksueel misbruik in de Kamer met haar werkzaamheden is begonnen, is het belangrijk goed zicht te krijgen op de verhouding tussen kerk en staat, meent kerkjurist Kurt Martens. Zo kan de kerk – vanuit de godsdienstvrijheid – gerust een eigen rechtssysteem hanteren.

In de marge van de eerste vergadering van de ‘Bijzondere commissie betreffende de behandeling van seksueel misbruik en feiten van pedofilie binnen een gezagsrelatie, inzonderheid binnen de kerk’ legden politici en anderen verklaringen af die doen nadenken. Er lijkt bij de commissie of minstens bij enkelen van haar leden een zekere interesse te bestaan voor het kerkelijk recht en de wijze waarop dat rechtssysteem functioneert. Tot daar is er niets aan de hand, wel integendeel: dat er belangstelling is voor kerkelijk recht kan alleen maar worden toegejuicht. Maar het wordt problematisch als die belangstelling gepaard gaat met het uitspreken van waardeoordelen.

NEW HAMPSHIRE
New Hampshire Union Leader

By PAULA TRACY
New Hampshire Union Leader Staff

CONCORD – A defrocked Manchester priest convicted of sexually assaulting a boy under the age of 13 sought but did not receive a medical parole yesterday.

Francis A. Talbot, 74, who has been in the infirmary at the prison in Berlin with heart disease, depression, diabetes and dementia, did receive parole to one of his three consecutive sentences for aggravated felonious sexual assault, but he did not get a medical parole out of the prison system yesterday.

John Eckert, administrative assistant to the New Hampshire Adult Parole Board, said all seven of the members of the parole board must weigh in on such paroles and only three board members were presiding yesterday.

NEW HAMPSHIRE
Boston Globe

CONCORD, N.H.—A defrocked New Hampshire priest in prison for sexually assaulting a young boy won't be released because of ill health.

Seventy-four-year-old Francis Talbot is suffering from heart disease, depression, diabetes and dementia. He is being held in the infirmary of the state prison in Berlin.

In 2002 Talbot pleaded guilty to five counts of felony sexual assault stemming from the abuse of a boy at his Manchester home in 1990 and 1991. Talbot was later given a combined sentence of 10 to 20 years in prison.

UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter

The American anti-incumbency mood of 2010 hit the U.S. bishops’ conference this month when the group, for the first time in the history of the modern conference, declined to elect an eligible sitting vice president.

This year’s shakeup, in which New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan defeated Bishop Gerald Kicanas of Tucson, Ariz., is telling in several respects. For starters, the defeat of Kicanas punctuated the end of the “Bernardin era,” a loose designation that honors the approach of the late Cardinal Joseph Bernardin of Chicago.

Bernardin took a broad and generally progressive outlook on the big cultural issues and employed a conciliatory style within the church. One of the consistent hallmarks of that era was its strong advocacy for those on the margins. At the era’s most robust point during the 1980s and early 1990s, bishops were known to swallow individual disagreements so that the conference could present a unified face, whether toward the wider culture or the Vatican.

INDIANAPOLIS (IN)
TheIndyChannel

INDIANAPOLIS -- An Indianapolis youth minister who pleaded guilty to charges in connection with a sexual battery case may have violated the terms of his home detention by attending a meeting between clergy and city officials this week.

Byron Alston, the former executive director of Save The Youth Ministries, pleaded guilty to felony criminal confinement and habitual offender charges in exchange for sex-related charges being dropped in the case.

Two women had accused Alston of exposing his genitals and offering them jobs at the organization in exchange for sex in separate incidents in June and August 2009.

BELGIE
Het Nieuwsblad

Facebook laat Roger Vangheluwe niet los. Woensdag kondigde Kris Sierens, oprichter van de Facebookgroep Waar is Vangheluwe?, aan dat hij ermee ophoudt omdat hij naar eigen zeggen weet waar de Brugse ex-bisschop verblijft maar met die informatie niets kan aanvangen.

Maar gisteren al doken twee nieuwe groepen op: Waar is Roger Vangheluwe zijn schuilplaats? en Nu willen wij ook wel eens weten waar Vangheluwe zit.

BELGIE
Metro Time

(Belga) Het Vaticaan heeft het dossier van oud-bisschop van Brugge Roger Vangheluwe opgevraagd in België. "Ik kan niet zeggen hoeveel tijd er nodig zal zijn en welke maatregelen genomen zullen worden. Maar er is vast en zeker een kerkelijke procedure aan de gang of er maatregelen moeten worden genomen", aldus woordvoerder Frederico Lombardi. Dat schrijven De Morgen en Gazet van Antwerpen vrijdag.

BELGIE
Gazet van Antwerpen

Het Vaticaan heeft een kerkelijk onderzoek geopend tegen mgr. Roger Vangheluwe. Dat kan ertoe leiden dat hij zijn priesterwijding verliest.

Woordvoerder Federico Lombardi bevestigde gisteren dat het Vaticaan het dossier van de oud-bisschop van Brugge heeft opgevraagd in België. “Ik kan niet zeggen hoeveel tijd er nodig zal zijn en welke maatregelen genomen zullen worden. Maar er is vast en zeker een kerkelijke procedure aan de gang of er maatregelen moeten worden genomen”, zei hij.

Paus Benedictus XVI roept vandaag alle bisschoppen bijeen om de gevolgen van de seksuele schandalen in de Kerk te bespreken. De Kerk wil wel niet tussenbeide komen in eventuele gerechtelijke procedures. "Het is belangrijk dat slachtoffers zich blijven wenden tot de bevoegde diensten”, aldus nog Lombardi.

[summary]

The Vatican is investigating Bishop Roger Vangheluwe. He has been accused of sexual abuse of a minor.

BELGIE
Katholiek Nederland

Hilversum (Van onze redactie) 19 november 2010 - De woordvoerder van het Vaticaan heeft bevestigd dat het Vaticaan het dossier heeft opgevraagd van de wegens seksueel misbruik opgestapte bisschop Roger Vangheluwe. Dat melden Belgische media vandaag.

Procedure
"Ik kan niet zeggen hoeveel tijd er nodig zal zijn en welke maatregelen genomen zullen worden. Maar er is vast en zeker een kerkelijke procedure aan de gang om dat na te gaan", aldus de Vaticaanse zegsman Federico Lombardi.

BELGIE
Het Nieuwsblad

BRUSSEL - De bisschoppen zullen hun volle medewerking verlenen aan de werkzaamheden van de kamercommissie Seksueel Misbruik.

Dat hebben de bisschoppen gemeld na de bijeenkomst van de Bisschoppenconferentie van België van vandaag. Op die bijeenkomst waren ook kardinaal Danneels en de bisschoppen emeriti aanwezig..

"Op dit ogenblik kwam er nog geen concrete uitnodiging om te komen getuigen", zegt Osaer. "Maar als de bisschoppen uitgenodigd worden, zullen ze hun volle medewerking verlenen. De kans is natuurlijk heel reëel dat die uitnodiging er komt."

BELGIE
De Redactie

De Belgische bisschoppen zijn bereid om te getuigen voor de Kamercommissie over seksueel misbruik. Die gaat volgende maandag van start.

Vandaag zijn de bisschoppen en kardinaal Godfried Danneels bijeengekomen. Na afloop heeft een woordvoerder gezegd dat ze allen bereid zijn te getuigen als de Kamercommissie voor seksueel misbruik daarom vraagt. Een uitnodiging is er nog niet, maar de bisschoppen verwachten die.

VATICAN CITY
Bloomberg Businessweek

By NICOLE WINFIELD

VATICAN CITY

Cardinals from around the world are flocking to Rome for a daylong discussion of some of the most critical issues facing the church, including the sexual abuse of children by priests and persecution of Christians for their faith.

Friday's meeting comes on the eve of a ceremony to create 24 more cardinals, the third time the 83-year-old Pope Benedict XVI has hand-picked the "princes of the church" who will eventually choose his successor.

ROME
The Irish Times

PADDY AGNEW in Rome

IT SAYS much about today’s Catholic Church that this weekend’s Consistory of Cardinals, always an occasion for self-congratulatory, full technicolour, Holy See pomp and circumstance, may be marked by a series of protests from the US clerical sex abuse survivors group Snap.

Even as the 203-strong College of Cardinals is meeting in the Synod Hall today, Snap activists will be staging protests nearby urging the so-called “Princes of the Church” to “stop making symbolic gestures about abuse” but rather to “each spend two hours publicly reaching out to victims”.

The reason for the protest is that earlier this month the Vatican announced that Pope Benedict XVI wanted the cardinals to begin the consistory today with a day of prayer and reflection on a series of key issues affecting the life of the church. Thus it is that the cardinals will today discuss religious freedom, contemporary liturgy, relations with the worldwide Anglican community and, last but not least, “the response of the church to cases of sexual abuse”.

IRELAND
Belfast Telegraph

The leader of the Catholic Church in Ireland, Cardinal Sean Brady, will join the world's 203 cardinals today in Rome to hold their first collective debate on the Church's response to the global paedophile clergy crisis.

Summoned by the Pope to enable the College of Cardinals “to reflect and pray” about child sex abuse, the special meeting will address the burning issue of decades-long scandals.

Cardinal William Levada, the powerful American head of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, which deals with abuse cases, will address the princes of the Church on the subject of ‘The Response of the Church to Sexual Abuse’.

NEW YORK
Times Herald-Record

By Victor Whitman
Times Herald-Record

MONTICELLO — A former gym teacher at Liberty's Light & Life Christian School was led out of Sullivan County Court on Thursday handcuffed behind his back and bound for state prison after he was sentenced for sending an obscene photo to an underage girl last spring and fondling another girl.

Joshua DiMeo, 21, showed little emotion before Judge Frank LaBuda sentenced him on charges of first-degree disseminating indecent material to a minor, a felony, and second-degree sexual abuse, a misdemeanor.

"Really, I am sorry for what I did," said DiMeo, his only comment.

VATICAN CITY
Monsters and Critics

Vatican City - Pope Benedict XVI on Friday began talks with top clerics focusing on pressing issues facing the Catholic church, including sexual abuse of minors by priests and the topic of religious freedom.

The meeting comes on the eve of a consistory ceremony to create 24 new cardinals.

Some 150 cardinals were expected to attend Friday's day-long meeting of 'prayer and reflection,' the Vatican said.

VATICAN CITY
Reuters

By Philip Pullella

VATICAN CITY | Fri Nov 19, 2010

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Roman Catholic cardinals from around the world met in a rare gathering at the Vatican on Friday to discuss religious freedom, sexual abuse of children by priests and accepting converts from the Anglican church.

The debate on religious freedom unfolded against the backdrop of a fresh Vatican conflict with China's communist government over the ordination of a bishop without papal permission.

The closed-door meetings were taking place on the eve of a ceremony known as a consistory at which the pope will create 24 new cardinals, including 20 who are under 80 and thus eligible to enter a secret conclave to elect his successor.

INDIA
CathNews

An archdiocese in Kerala has suspended a priest for allegedly abusing a woman and fathering a child.

“It is a case of sexual abuse and investigations are on. But we could not interrogate the priest since he is absconding,” Inspector General of Police B. Sandhya told ucanews.com on Nov. 19.

Verapoly, a Latin archdiocese, on Nov. 18 suspended Father Martin Kuttikatt after police registered the case against him.

ROME
CNN

Rome, Italy (CNN) -- Victims of clerical sexual abuse planned rallies in Rome on Friday as cardinals held a day of reflection and prayer on the issue.

Members of the group SNAP (The Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests) planned to hold signs and hand out flyers urging Roman Catholic cardinals to stop making symbolic gestures about abuse and instead meet with victims and give case files to the authorities.

"SNAP members believe that genuine reformers solicit outside help, rather than merely meeting with one another," the group said in a news release. "They want church officials to turn over files and cases to independent authorities in government and law enforcement."

ROY (UT)
Standard-Examiner

By Jessica Miller, Standard-Examiner staff

ROY -- Police have identified four more possible victims of sexual misconduct by Aaron Witcher, a 38-year-old pastor from Roy.

Witcher, a Christian hip-hop singer also known as Pastor Soulja, was charged two weeks ago with eight counts of rape after a police investigation into allegations he had a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old girl.

All four of the potential new victims are from the Salt Lake County area, said Roy Police Chief Greg Whinham.

VATICAN CITY
RFI (France)

By RFI
More than 100 cardinals from around the world are gathering for a rare meeting Friday in the Vatican to discuss, among other things, Anglican conversions and sexual abuse scandals.

Hosted by Pope Benedict XVI, the meeting will also look at growing concern over the persecution of Christians in some countries.

After the talks, 24 new cardinals are to be named in the Pope’s third consistory.

BELGIUM
GetReligion

What we have here is a really interesting New York Times story about a significant development among liberal mainline Protestants in Belgium that could end up spreading to other parts of Europe.

It seems that, in response to the hellish clergy-abuse scandals in the Catholic church in their land, small circles of Catholics have decided to leave the church and start their own independent Protestant congregations that offer an interesting blend of free-church, egalitarian church government and their own versions of catholic, small “c,” liturgies.

The end result sounds like a blend of the United Church of Christ and a liberal Lutheran body, such as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. It’s kind of hard to tell, however, if this new Belgium church has any kind of hierarchy at all. It sounds like a network of free churches.

ROME
NPR (United States)

by Sylvia Poggioli

November 19, 2010 Pope Benedict XVI in an unusual move has invited cardinals from around the world to a daylong summit Friday at the Vatican to discuss some of the key issues facing the church, including its handling of clerical sex abuse scandals.

While attention has focused on many abuse cases in the U.S. and Northern Europe, revelations are now emerging on the Vatican's doorstep: A trial has been under way in Italy for months, and the defendant, Don Ruggero Conti, a charismatic 55-year-old priest, is charged with molesting seven boys.

At each hearing, many parents, including Giovanna Baretta, come to cheer the priest and show their support. Baretta, who has known Conti for decades, entrusted her son, now 30, to his care.

SAN ANTONIO (TX)
Express-News

By Abe Levy - Express-News

The Archdiocese of San Antonio is accused of covering up the repeated sexual assault of a 12-year-old boy by a priest and failing to adequately notify the Floresville parish where the alleged abuse took place nearly 35 years ago, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday in Bexar County.

The suit also claims the archdiocese sent a priest to intimidate the parish from helping abuse victims.

No longer a priest, Louis White was associate pastor of Wilson County's Sacred Heart Catholic Church in 1976-77 when he is alleged to have molested the boy up to three times a week for six months in his bedroom, a shop at the rectory and the church.

GERMANY
Monsters and Critics

Berlin - Pope Benedict XVI is to visit Germany next year, his third trip to his homeland since becoming pope five years ago, the office of President Christian Wulff announced Friday.

Unlike the past visits, where the former Joseph Ratzinger arrived as a guest of German Catholics, the trip in the second half of September will be a state visit that includes Berlin. ...

Benedict's biggest challenge in Germany is likely to be winning over a sceptical public. The German media have generally portrayed him as a religious reactionary. Only 26 million of Germany's 80- million population are Catholic.

The Catholic Church in Germany has been shaken this year by revelations of sexual abuse by some priests and talks are still under way at a government round table on compensation to victims.

VATICAN CITY
ABC News (Australia)

Cardinals from around the world have met for unprecedented talks on paedophile priests, as activists called for the Church to end "symbolic gestures" and release files on the abuses.

More than 100 of the Roman Catholic Church's 203 cardinals took part in the meeting in the Vatican, which was also expected to discuss the issue of religious freedom and conversions of Anglicans to Catholicism.

Pope Benedict XVI invited the cardinals to take part earlier this month.

UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter

by Thomas C. Fox on Nov. 18, 2010 NCR Today

I find myself thinking about Bishop Gerald Kicanas of Tucson, Ariz., and how me must feel at this time. What’s going on inside him, really going on – despite the good face he has put on to the world in the wake of the surprise, historic, and unprecedented rejection by his fellow U.S. bishops.

As most who follow church matters know by now, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops earlier this week rejected conference vice-president Kicanas to be its next president. The bishops broke with four decades of precedent and essentially threw the Tucson bishop out. Such a move had never happened before. Each vice-president to this time served three years and then became president. The bishops have chosen their presidents by choosing vice-presidents. The three years was considered to be a learning period.

No longer.

ROME
parool (Nederland)

18-11-10 09:08 uur

ROME - De Nederlandse kardinaal Ad Simonis zal vrijdag een bijeenkomst in Rome bijwonen op initiatief van de paus waarin onder meer het seksueel misbruik binnen de Rooms-Katholieke Kerk wordt besproken.

Alle kardinalen zijn voor de bijeenkomst in het Vaticaan uitgenodigd door Paus Benedictus XVI aan de vooravond van de creatie van 24 nieuwe kardinalen.

De kerkelijke leiders zullen in Vaticaanstad ook spreken over de procedure om anglicanen tot de kerk toe te laten die het oneens zijn met de wijding van vrouwen tot priester en bisschop en de toelating van homoseksuelen tot de kerkelijke ambten binnen hun kerk.

IERLAND
RKnieuws

DUBLIN (RKnieuws.net) - ‘Ik ben gekomen om uw lijden en uw verontwaardiging te beluisteren maar ook uw hoop en verlangens’. Dat zei kardinaal Sean O’Malley, aartsbisschop van Boston, één van de vier visitators die door paus Benedictus XVI na de pedofilieschandalen in de Ierse Kerk naar Ierland werden gestuurd, in Dublin.

De visitators bezoeken een aantal bisdommen, seminaries en religieuze instituten als gevolg van het seksueel misbruik gepleegd door priesters en religieuzen in Ierland.

‘Ik ben niet gekomen om een snelle oplossing aan te bieden maar om te luisteren en een nieuwe kijk te krijgen op de situatie. Ik wil ook nagaan of de maatregelen die tot nu toe werden genomen om seksueel misbruik tegen te gaan efficiënt zijn’, aldus de kardinaal.

NEDERLAND
RKnieuws

HILVERSUM (RKnieuws.net) - Het was een roerig jaar in rooms-katholiek Nederland. Een priester in het bisdom Den Bosch weigerde een homoseksuele prins Carnaval de hostie. In Obdam organiseerde een priester een WK-mis. En na Amerika, Ierland en Duitsland kwamen ook in Nederland verhalen over seksueel misbruik door priesters en geestelijken aan het licht.

De NOS wil graag weten wat deze gebeurtenissen met u als rooms-katholiek hebben gedaan. Wat heeft u ervan gemerkt in uw omgeving of juist niet? En wat betekent het voor uw persoonlijke geloofsleven?

Daarom willen we u vragen de bijgaande vragenlijst in te vullen. Wij zullen uw antwoorden uiteraard anoniem behandelen. Mochten wij er voor een uitzending uit willen citeren, dan vragen we u eerst om medewerking.

FALMOUTH (MA)
Cape Cod Times

By CAPE COD TIMES
November 18, 2010

FALMOUTH – A former local priest filed a defamation suit this month against two other Cape priests, accusing them of making false statements about his character.

The Rev. John P. Harrington, a priest at the Catholic Diocese of Fall River, filed the civil suit in Norfolk Superior Court against the Rev. Msgr. John A. Perry and the Rev. William M. Costello.

Perry is the pastor at St. Patrick's Church in Falmouth and vicar general of the Fall River Diocese. Costello is pastor of St. Anthony's Parish in Falmouth.

COHASSET (MA)
TheBostonChannel

COHASSET, Mass. -- A Massachusetts priest accused of stalking comedian Conan O'Brien is in trouble again.

The Rev. David Ajemian was arrested Thursday afternoon in Cohasset for violating a court order petitioned by WCVB Chronicle Anchor Anthony Everett.

Ajemian is accused of harassing Everett. The Cohasset police allege Ajemian continued his harassing behavior which violated the order.

MINNESOTA
MN SNAP

(St. Paul) A lawsuit filed in Portage County Wisconsin Circuit Court claims Christian Brother Raimond Rose was on a sexual rampage that included at least twenty-one minor student victims at 7 schools in 4 states—including Pacelli in Stevens Point; De La Salle High School in Minneapolis, Minnesota; Shanley High School in Fargo, North Dakota; and De La Salle High School in Concord, California.

Patrick Noaker, an attorney with the St. Paul, Minnesota-based Jeff Anderson and Associates, said the current lawsuit on behalf of a Wisconsin man and a former student of Rose’s at Pacelli High school in Stevens Point, charges the Christian Brother religious order with knowing of Rose’s molesting history but moving him from assignment to assignment without regard for the danger presented to children under his supervision.

The student asserts specifically that Illinois-based Provinicial Brother Frances Carr, F.S.C., as well as other leaders of the order, assigned Rose to Stevens Point Pacelli while knowing that he had sexually abused a student at a prior assignment.

LOS ANGELES (CA) - ALBUQUERQUE (NM)
City of Angels

By Kay Ebeling

November 17, 2010