ABUSE TRACKER

CONNECTICUT
CT Post

Michael P. Mayko, Staff Writer

Published 11:28 p.m., Wednesday, January 25, 2012

For the past five years Rod Khattabi’s work as a federal agent has taken him through the sewers of child pornography, the degradation of teenage prostitutes and the horrific sexual abuse of Haitian and South African children in humanitarian programs.

Each time, Khattabi has come back with evidence to arrest and convict people like Edgardo Sensi, who with his girlfriend made child pornography of sexual encounters with the woman’s 8-year old daughter in Fairfield County; Corey Davis, of New York; Theodore Briggs, of Norwalk, for running separate prostitution rings involving teenage girls; Douglas Perlitz, who admitted abusing Haitian street boys in a program he designed to feed, educate and clothe them; and Jessie Osmun, a Peace Corps volunteer from Milford, now under arrest for abusing girls as young as 4 in a South African HIV-encampment.

“I’ve put narcotics traffickers, money launderers and gun runners behind bars and that feels good,” Khattabi said. “But being able to build a case against a sexual abuser and knowing that you may have saved a child … there’s no better feeling than that. You feel like you made a difference.”

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AUSTRALIA
Clan.org

The Greens MP David Shoebridge has produced a consultation paper regarding a proposed legal reform which will make it easier for victims of sexual abuse to seek fair compensation from the Catholic Church.

David Shoebridge Greens MP is asking interested parties to read this consultation paper and put in submissions based on the ten consultation questions.

Please understand this is not about you writing your personal story, it is a chance to comment on the consultation paper only and you need to answer the 10 questions.

Click HERE to view the consultation paper

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NEDERLAND
Klokk

Als we alles op een rijtje zetten, dan staat de zaak van seksueel misbruik binnen de katholieke kerk totaal op zijn kop. In ons huidig Nederlands Strafrecht wordt de verdachte als dader gestraft. Wat ondenkbaar is, is dat de verdachte bepaald welke regels en normen aanwezig zijn betreffende het onderzoek naar ´zijn daderschap´ en als veroordeelde dader nooit kan bepalen welke straf of boete hij/zij krijgt.

De kerk zag in begin 2010 de bui al hangen en nam ogenblikkelijk veel initiatieven. Bij te grote publiciteit, vond de kerk – waarom juist de kerk?- het noodzakelijk dit onafhankelijk te laten onderzoeken. De kerk stelde een onafhankelijke commissie in, de commissie Deetman. En daarover wil ik alleen maar kwijt dat mijn gevoelens van onafhankelijkheid bij de commissie Deetman volledig aanwezig was. Alleen mocht de commissie alleen dat onderzoeken wat de kerk – de daders- aan opdracht hadden meegegeven. Het is dan zo simpel om jezelf in dat onderzoek te beschermen.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

By John P. Martin
Inquirer Staff Writer

A letter written by a Philadelphia priest four decades ago about teenage brothers on a sadomasochistic outing could help prove that church officials endangered children 30 years later, a prosecutor contended Wednesday.

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia learned about the letter in 1968, but allowed the Rev. John Mulholland to work and minister at parishes across the region until 2002, Assistant District Attorney Mariana Sorensen said.

“It shows that they put blinders on,” Sorensen told Common Pleas Court Judge M. Teresa Sarmina.

Prosecutors want to be allowed to tell jurors about decades-old conduct by Mulholland, who no longer is a priest, and dozens of other priests during the March trial for William J. Lynn, the archdiocese’s former secretary for clergy. They say the evidence will help them prove that Lynn’s actions regarding two other priests, facing trial with him, are part of a long-term pattern or practice by the church of protecting abusive clergy and hiding their conduct from parishioners.

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UNITED KINGDOM
The Sentinel

A TEENAGER was so upset after being sexually abused by a priest that he tried to kill himself, a court heard.

The alleged victim is one of eight people who have come forward to claim they were abused by Alexander Bede Walsh as youngsters. The alleged abuse is said to have taken place over 20 years between 1974 and 1994.

Walsh, aged 58, is currently on trial at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court facing 27 charges including indecent assault and indecency.

Yesterday, jurors heard from one alleged victim who claimed he went to stay with Walsh when he worked at Cotton College in the Staffordshire Moorlands.

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IRELAND
Irish Catholic

Senior Vatican officials will hear first hand of the experiences of Irish abuse victims at a major conference in Rome early next month aimed at ensuring better Church guidelines worldwide to ensure abuse allegations are handled properly.

Marie Collins, who was abused by Dublin priest Fr Paul McGennis, was one of the first people to come forward on how the Church failed to respond properly to her abuse.

She was instrumental in the Government’s decision to set up the Murphy Commission. She will speak of her experiences before Church leaders from all over the globe as well as senior Vatican officials such as Cardinal William Levada.

Irish Church leaders will also be among the delegates. The Conference of Religious in Ireland (Cori) — which represents more than 9,000 women and men religious — will be represented by Sr Marianne O’Connor.

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VATICAN CITY
IOL News (South Africa)

January 26 2012
By NICOLE WINFIELD

An Italian news programme has obtained letters from a top Vatican official to the pope in which he begs not to be transferred after exposing corruption in the awarding of Vatican contracts that cost the Holy See millions of euros (dollars).

Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano was removed in October as the No 2 administrator of the Vatican city-state and was named the pope’s ambassador to Washington. While the job is highly prestigious, the posting took Vigano far from headquarters and out of the running for the Vatican’s top administrative job, which carries with it the rank of cardinal.

The investigative news programme “The Untouchables” on the private La7 network broadcast a series of letters Vigano sent Pope Benedict XVI and the secretary of state last year in which he claimed to have exposed corruption and abuse of office in the running of the Vatican’s administration.

Vigano said he corrected them during his two years as secretary-general of the Vatican city-state, the Vatican department that is responsible for everything from maintaining the pope’s gardens to running the Vatican Museums.

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VATICAN CITY
AGI

(AGI) Vatican City – The Italian bishops call for “a renewed support by the ecclesial community to paedophilia victims”.

They ask that the issue of sexual abuse of underage children by members of the church be addressed “with a spirit of justice, first of all showing great consideration for the victims of such abuses and also focusing on the training of future priests”. CEI spokesman, monsignor Domenico Pompili, said so, reporting on the works of the permanent episcopal council, under way in Rome. . .

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AUSTRALIA
Waverley Leader

by Tim Michell

AN Oakleigh family is praying they have not been victims of a three-month smokescreen as the State Government prepares to release a report into vulnerable children on Friday.

Chrissie and Anthony Foster, who have campaigned for a Royal Commission into sex abuse in the Catholic Church, are awaiting the results of the Protecting Victoria’s Vulnerable Children Inquiry.

Ms Foster said they hoped adding the terms of reference relating to church sexual abuses to an existing inquiry was not simply a stalling tactic.

“We’re hopeful that it’s not just a delaying tactic and we can get the response we’re after.”

In October last year, the government announced the inquiry would include an examination of the reporting of alleged abuses by Victorian churches and whether it should be made mandatory.

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UNITED STATES
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

PAT EATON-ROBB, Associated Press

Updated 01:22 p.m., Wednesday, January 25, 2012

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — The child sexual abuse scandal at Penn State University has prompted state lawmakers across the nation to take another look at laws designed to protect children and punish child predators.

Thirty-eight legislatures are back in session this month, most for the first time since retired assistant Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky was charged in November with child sex abuse and two school officials were charged with failing to properly report abuse allegations. At least 12 states are considering mandatory reporting legislation this year, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, and more are expected to craft bills as their sessions get into full swing.

In addition to measures to improve the reporting of suspected child sex abuse, bills have been drafted across the country that would increase or even eliminate the statutes of limitations for bringing criminal or civil cases against alleged abusers.

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WISCONSIN
Lake Geneva News

Rob Ireland

January 25, 2012 |
ELKHORN — A judge twice dismissing criminal charges against a former Walworth minister hasn’t dissuaded the District Attorney’s Office from pursuing the case.

On Monday, Walworth County District Attorney Phil Koss filed, for the third time, a criminal complaint against Joseph R. Fultz, who was the minister at Grace Evangelical Church.

Fultz is accused of having knowledge, but not reporting to law enforcement, sexual assaults that occurred between young boys at his church, at Faith Christian School and at the Abbey Resort. Fultz is not accused of having direct inappropriate contact with children.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Grantham Journal

Published on Thursday 26 January 2012

A Church of England priest has been arrested by Sussex Police investigating historic allegations of sexual abuse on young boys in the late 1980s.

Semi-retired Father Wilkie Denford, 76, was held with an unnamed 68-year-old man who worked as an organist in the Lewes area of East Sussex, sources confirmed.

Both were arrested by Sussex Police child protection detectives on November 3 on suspicion of sexually abusing two young boys at locations in West Sussex in 1988.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
CBS Philly

By Tony Hanson

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – The prosecution presents evidence of decades of what it calls “prior bad acts” it hopes to present in the clergy abuse trial. Authorities say this shows a pattern of ignoring abuse and protecting ‘predator priests’ long before the crimes allegedly committed in this case. Authorities allege the motive was money.

The prosecution has cited countless instances in which Archdiocesan officials were aware of alleged abuse by dozens of priests over decades, even cases in which priests admitted abuse, but allegedly the Archdiocese failed to act, often until the threat of a leak or legal action.

One prosecutor has told the court that was the concern of the Archdiocese. Another prosecutor told the court that church officials were not concerned about victims. They were concerned about liability, the almighty dollar, mother church.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

By John P. Martin
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

A letter written by a Philadelphia priest four decades ago about teenage brothers on a sadomasochistic outing could help prove that church officials endangered children 30 years later, a prosecutor contended Wednesday.

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia learned about the letter in 1968, but allowed the former Rev. John Mulholland to work and minister at parishes across the region until 2002, Assistant District Attorney Mariana Sorensen said.

“It shows that they put blinders on,” Sorensen told Common Pleas Court Judge M. Teresa Sarmina.

Prosecutors want to be allowed to tell jurors about decades-old conduct by Mulholland and dozens of other priests during the March trial for William J. Lynn, the archdiocese’s former secretary for clergy. They say the evidence will help them prove that Lynn’s actions regarding two other priests, facing trial with him, are part of a long-term pattern or practice by the church of protecting abusive clergy and hiding their conduct from parishioners.

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KANSAS CITY (MO)
KCTV

By DeAnn Smith, Digital Content Manager – email

KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV) –
A Catholic priest in the Sugar Creek area has been placed on administrative leave and removed from the ministry.

Bishop Robert Finn said in a statement that information from the ombudsman of the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph had prompted “a strict application of all diocesan policies and procedures.”

Finn emphasized that the investigation is the preliminary stages.

“The diocese urges everyone to understand that further information only can be made available once the facts are known,” Finn said in the statement.

The diocese identified the priest in their statement, but KCTV5 is not doing so because he has not been charged or sued civilly.

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UNITED STATES
The Worthy Adversary

Posted by Joelle Casteix on January 25, 2012

From the Office of Keep Your Trap Shut, You Pesky Victims’ Activists:

Pope Benedict yesterday espoused the virtues of silence:

By remaining silent, we allow the other person to speak, to express him or herself, and we avoid being tied simply to our own words and ideas without them being adequately tested.

Ah, the irony. I am honestly surprised I didn’t receive a signed copy of the speech in the mail with a gift-wrapped roll of duct tape.

Here’s my favorite:

The most authentic communication takes place between people who are in love: gestures, facial expressions and body language are signs by which they reveal themselves to each other.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
SNAP Wisconsin

The Philadelphia Daily News reported today on developments in the upcoming trial of Monsignor William Lynn. Lynn, the secretary for clergy under cardinal Belivacqua, is charged with endangering the welfare of children and conspiracy for his role in transferring known sex offending clerics into unsuspecting parishes.

Philadelphia prosecutors appeared before Common Pleas Judge M. Teresa Sarmina and attempted to persuade her to allow into evidence earlier reports of child sex crimes against dozens of priests from the archdiocese. Prosecutors believe that these reports of childhood sexual assault, made during Lynn’s tenure as secretary of clergy, clearly demonstrate a pattern of behavior by Monsignor Lynn.

Lynn, as secretary of the clergy in the archdiocese of Philadelphia, was responsible for investigating reports of clergy sexual assault. He is the highest ranking Catholic cleric in the United States to face trial for his role in knowingly providing priest predators with continued access to children. He is being tried with Fr. James Brennan who is reported to have raped a 14 year old altar boy, Fr. Charles Engelhardt, and former priest Edward Avery. Engelhardt and Avery are each charged with raping a 10 year old boy.

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UNITED STATES
The Huffington Post

Danielle Tumminio

This January marks the 10th anniversary of the clergy sex abuse scandal that rocked the foundations of the Roman Catholic Church and other Christian denominations. What began as a series of news reports in the Boston Globe about six Roman Catholic priests and the cover-up arranged by Cardinal Law led to accusations against Christian leaders across the United States and internationally.

Ten years after the scandal erupted, clergy sexual abuse has been reported everywhere from Austria to Australia, and while it remains the case that only a small percentage of Christian clergy perpetrate sexual abuse, the effects of this small number of individuals is felt, at some level, by every Christian and by clergy trying to understand what the scandal means for them as leaders.

While they don’t make news headlines, the majority of priests and pastors across denominations do not commit abuse, and this group of individuals take their vocation very seriously. They dedicate their lives to bringing Christianity’s hope to their communities, to allowing God’s light to permeate the darkness.

What effect, then, has the sexual abuse scandal in the Church had on them?

Clergy realize that one of the most prominent ramifications of the scandal is the way in which the safety of the Church is no longer assumed. Ten years ago, many people, including clergy, assumed the church was a safe place for all people, including children, just as prior to Sept. 11, a certain amount of airport security was assumed in the United States that we no longer take for granted, as we remove our shoes at security checkpoints, stand in full-body scanners and submit to questioning by TSA officials. Likewise, clergy ordained prior to the sex abuse scandal remember a time when the Church was an assumed safe place. Today, that assumption is not made in the same way.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Washington Post

Lawyer: Church official threw monsignor ‘under the bus’ amid child sex accusations in Philly

By Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA — An indicted Catholic church official is showing signs he won’t take the fall alone for the priest abuse scandal in Philadelphia, with his lawyer saying Wednesday that a successor threw him “under the bus.”

Monsignor William Lynn, 61, is the only official from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia facing trial for allegedly failing to remove accused predators from the priesthood. He served as secretary of clergy from 1992 to 2004.

Defense lawyers argue that Lynn took orders from then-Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua and other superiors in the church hierarchy.

Prosecutors hope to include dozens of old abuse allegations to show a pattern of conduct at the trial, which is scheduled to start in late March and last several months.

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CHILE
La Tercera

por Angélica Baeza Palavecino – 25/01/2012

Fernando Karadima fue dado de alta ayer a las 15.45 horas, luego de haber ingresado el sábado por la tarde al Hospital Clínico de la UC tras sufrir un shock glicémico.

La información fue confirmada por su abogado Cristián Muga, quien indicó a La Tercera que se encuentra en buen estado de salud y estable.

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MISSOURI
The Kansas City Star

By JUDY L. THOMAS

Bishop Robert Finn has placed a priest in the Kansas City-St. Joseph Diocese on administrative leave and restricted him from public ministry, the diocese confirmed today.

“In recent weeks, information came to the Ombudsman that prompted Bishop Finn and the Independent Review Board to invoke a strict application of all diocesan policies and procedures,” the diocese said in a statement.

The diocese announced the action at the priest’s church Sunday but provided no further details about the case or what the allegations involved.

“While this investigation is in a preliminary phase, the diocese urges everyone to understand that further information only can be made available once the facts are known,” the statement said.

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CANADA
Guelph Mercury

GUELPH —Former Catholic priest James Boudreau took advantage of a young man’s friendship and another’s interest in the clergy when he sexually assaulted the two in the 1980s, a city courtroom heard Wednesday.

The 68-year-old bald, heavy-set man, wearing silver-rimmed glasses stood beside his lawyer Roger Yachetti as he pleaded guilty to two sexual assaults in Guelph’s provincial court.

Boudreau served as pastor at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, on Victoria Road North, from 1978 to 1985. He went on to work at six other Ontario churches, including Kitchener’s St. John’s Catholic Church.

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CANADA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by Barbara Dorris on January 25, 2012

Let’s hope Fr. Boudreau is put behind bars for a long time so no more kids are hurt. Let’s also hope that others who saw, suspected or suffered his crimes will step forward, get help, expose wrongdoers and start healing.

His bishop must personally go to each parish where Boudreau worked, begging anyone with suspicions or information about his crimes to step forward and call law enforcement. Anything short of that is irresponsible.

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NEW YORK
Observer-Dispatch

By ROCCO LaDUCA
Observer-Dispatch

Posted Jan 25, 2012

UTICA —

Whenever the collection was taken at the Church of the Sacred Heart and St. Mary Our Lady of Czestochowa in New York Mills, the parishioners believed their charity was going to benefit the church.

Instead, the money went to help their longtime pastor, the Rev. Valentine Krul, live a better a life, including buying a condominium in Florida, prosecutors said.

On Wednesday, Krul, 61, of Forestport, pleaded guilty in Oneida County Court to second-degree grand larceny for stealing more than $87,000 from the church between October 2008 and January 2011.

Krul was taken into custody after his plea to begin serving six months in Oneida County jail, where he once worked as chaplain for the Sheriff’s Office.

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BELGIE
Klokk

Tegen de achtergrond van het seksueel kindermisbruik door de bisschop van Brugge Roger Vangheluwe werd bij het aantreden van de nieuwe aartsbisschop André-Joseph Léonard door hem nadrukkelijk beloofd dat seksueel kindermisbruik in een pastorale relatie van dan af altijd zou worden aangegeven bij justitie. Hij baseerde zich daarbij op een officieuze richtlijn van het Vaticaan die reageerde op het stilzwijgen van Benedictus XVI op Pasen 2010. Die werd gepubliceerd op de public relations website van het Vaticaan: ‘Gids voor het verstaan van de basisprocedure van de congregatie van de geloofsleer betreffende beschuldigingen van seksueel misbruik’ (http://www.vatican.va/ressources/resources_guide-CDF-procedures_en.html).

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CALIFORNIA
TheMediaReport

Dave Pierre

The Los Angeles Daily Journal, a publication serving the law community, has reported that a leading Los Angeles abuse victim attorney, Raymond P. Boucher, has filed for bankruptcy protection.

At the time that the Archdiocese of Los Angeles paid out $660 million to 508 alleged abuse victims in July of 2007, Boucher was representing as many as 245 plaintiffs who were suing the Catholic Church.

The Journal cites “lengthy divorce proceedings” as the cause for the bankruptcy filing. Although Boucher and his wife made their divorce final in 2008, they continue to dispute over money issues.

The Journal reveals some eye-opening numbers related to the earnings Boucher may have garnered from clergy settlements in recent years.

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NEW YORK
WKTV

By JOLEEN FERRIS

UTICA, N.Y. (WKTV) – A longtime priest in the Village of New York Mills was in Oneida County Court in Utica on Wednesday, where he admitted to taking money from the church’s bank account for his own use.

Father Valentine Krul pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree grand larceny, facing five years probation with the first six months spent in the Oneida County Jail.

Father Valentine, as he was known by many in the community, was actually the chaplain for the Oneida County Sheriff’s Department for more than 20 years. A priest for 34 years, he had been assigned to St. Mary’s Church in New York Mills for the past 17 years.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
My Fox Philly

[with video]

PHILADELPHIA – Prosecutors in the church abuse case will be in court Wednesday morning pushing to include some 30 child endangerment cases as part of the trial against Monsignor William Lynn.

Lynn is accused of keeping priests around who were suspected of abusing children.

Lynn’s defense lawyers argue that he was only doing what Cardinal Bevilaqua told him to do.

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CONNECTICUT
Valley Independent Sentinel

by STAFF | Jan 25, 2012

A 43-year-old man testified that he was molested in the 1980s by a priest who was assigned to a grammar school in Derby, the Hartford Courant reported Tuesday (Jan. 24).

The victim, identified only as “Jacob Doe,” took the stand during the first day of a trial in a civil lawsuit against the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hartford.

The lawsuit claims the Archdiocese knew that the priest, Ivan Ferguson, was a pedophile, but kept transferring to different assignments when complaints arose.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
ABC News

By MARYCLAIRE DALE Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA January 25, 2012 (AP)

Will a Catholic monsignor be left to defend the sins of the Philadelphia archdiocese in the child sex-abuse scandal?

A judge Wednesday may rule on whether prosecutors can use dozens of old priest-abuse allegations at Monsignor William Lynn’s upcoming child-endangerment trial.

Defense lawyers insist Lynn should only be tried for his oversight of the priest and ex-priest on trial with him on rape charges.

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CITTA DEL VATICANO
Libero

Beatissimo Padre, un mio trasferimento in questo momento provocherebbe smarrimento e scoramento in quanti hanno creduto fosse possibile risanare tante situazioni di corruzione e prevaricazione da tempo radicate nella gestione delle diverse Direzioni (del governatorato, l’amministrazione vaticana, nda)». È il 27 marzo del 2011. A rivolgersi in termini così drammatici direttamente a Benedetto XVI, denunciando privilegi, corrutele e zone opache Oltretevere, è un sacerdote di primo piano. Carlo Maria Viganò, un monsignore che viene incaricato nell’estate del 2009 su fiducia del Santo Padre a controllare tutti gli appalti e le forniture del Vaticano. La sua opera di tagli e pulizia dà fastidio. Tanto che finisce vittima di una congiura per bloccare l’opera di pulizia che aveva avviato. Da novembre Viganò è stato rimosso. È diventando nunzio apostolico a Washington negli Stati Uniti, andando a ricoprire la più prestigiosa rappresentanza diplomatica della Santa Sede nel mondo.

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CITTA DEL VATICANO
Blitz

di Alessandro Camilli

CITTÀ DEL VATICANO – Rimuovereste voi dall’incarico un amministratore che in un anno ha portato i vostri conti da meno 8 milioni di euro a più 34? Probabilmente no, ma le vie del Signore, oltre che infinite, sono anche imperscrutabili. E così a monsignor Carlo Maria Viganò è stata tolta la guida della struttura che gestisce gli appalti e le forniture del più piccolo e, in proporzione, potente Stato della Terra: il Vaticano. In realtà però in questa vicenda il Signore con la “s” maiuscola c’entra poco o niente. I motivi dell’affidamento ad altro, prestigioso per carità, incarico di Viganò sono molto più prosaici: nella sua opera di risanamento forse ha scoperto un sistema di malaffare e corruzione noto e diffuso, pestando i piedi a personaggi molto più potenti di lui.

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VATICAN CITY
Times of Malta

A top Vatican official who is now the envoy to Washington denounced corruption and waste in the Holy See in a series of letters to Pope Benedict XVI, Italian media reported today.

Carlo Maria Vigano was secretary general of the governorate of the Vatican — the person in charge of the administration — until October, when he was named ambassador to the United States in what was seen as a demotion.

In extracts from the letters published in Corriere della Sera and Libero, Vigano said he had faced a “disastrous” situation when he became head of the governorate in 2009 and said his transfer to Washington was “punishment”.

“My transfer is causing disarray and discouragement among those who believed it was possible to resolve the numerous situations of corruption and waste” in the Vatican, he said in one letter to the pope in March 2011.

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VATICAN CITY
Boston Globe

January 25, 2012

VATICAN CITY—The Vatican says it has no comment on a media report that an Italian prelate was transferred to Washington as papal ambassador after he wrote to the pope complaining about corruption in the awarding of Vatican contracts.

The allegation is carried in a report, being televised Wednesday night, by Gian Luigi Nuzzi, author of a 2009 book outlining the shady dealings by the Vatican bank.

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BELGIE
Reformatorisch Dagblad

BRUSSEL (ANP) – Bij de Rooms-Katholieke Kerk in België zijn opnieuw huiszoekingen verricht in verband met het grootscheepse onderzoek naar seksueel misbruik. De politie voerde maandag een 30-tal huiszoekingen uit bij ordes, congregaties en kloostergemeenschappen in Oost- en West-Vlaanderen en Brabant, maakte justitie dinsdag bekend.

Volgens Vlaamse media zijn een kleine honderd persoonlijke dossiers van mogelijk verdachte geestelijken meegenomen. Vorige week waren er een reeks huiszoekingen in de bisdommen.

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BELGIE
De Redactie

Politie en gerecht hebben gisteren opnieuw een 30-tal huiszoekingen uitgevoerd in het kader van het onderzoek naar seksueel misbruik in de kerk. Daarbij zijn een kleine honderd persoonlijke dossiers van geestelijken in beslag genomen.

De huiszoekingen vonden plaats bij 15 verschillende ordes, congregaties en kloostergemeenschappen in de provincies Oost- en West-Vlaanderen en Brabant. Vorige week waren er al gelijkaardige huiszoekingen bij de verschillende bisdommen in ons land (foto boven).

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ITALIA
Pianetanews

«Corruzione». La parola è sinonimo di malaffare e degrado morale. Ma se a pronunciarla è un altissimo prelato vicino al Papa, come rivela questa sera «Gli intoccabili », il programma d’inchiesta del giornalista Gian Luigi Nuzzi che va in onda su La7, allora vengono i brividi. Il suo nome: Carlo Maria Viganò, fino a qualche mese fa segretario generale del governatorato del Vaticano, la struttura che gestisce gli appalti e le forniture del più piccolo e potente Stato della Terra. «Corruzione» è proprio il termine che quel monsignore usa per descrivere in una clamorosa lettera a Benedetto XVI l’incredibile situazione che si è trovato davanti dopo aver assunto nel luglio del 2009 il delicatissimo incarico. Una bomba sganciata nelle stanze del potere vaticano il 27 marzo del 2011, nell’estremo tentativo di sventare una manovra di corridoio che culminerà con la sua rimozione.

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ITALIA
Corriere della Sera

Gianluigi Nuzzi torna in prima serata. Il giornalista, che ama le inchieste, costruirà in ognuna delle puntate un’indagine su fenomeni legati alla criminalità organizzata, alla corruzione politica e all’illegalità. Stasera Nuzzi si occupa di un tema su cui ha scritto anche un libro: gli affari del Vaticano.

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VATICAN CITY
ABC News (United States)

VATICAN CITY January 25, 2012 (AP)

The Vatican says it has no comment on a media report that an Italian prelate was transferred to Washington as papal ambassador after he wrote to the pope complaining about corruption in the awarding of Vatican contracts.

The allegation is carried in a report, being televised Wednesday night, by Gian Luigi Nuzzi, author of a 2009 book outlining the shady dealings by the Vatican bank.

A report in Corriere della Sera on Wednesday said Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano used the term “corruption” in a letter to Pope Benedict XVI to explain the difficulties he faced in his position as secretary-general of the Vatican city-state.

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IRELAND
The Associated Press

DUBLIN (AP) — A defrocked Irish priest who was extradited from Brazil with British help has appeared in a Dublin court charged with 55 counts of sexually abusing 18 children.

The judge ordered 72-year-old Peter Kennedy held without bail Wednesday in Dublin’s Cloverhill Prison until his next court appearance Feb. 8.

Kennedy fled to England in 2002 after his accusers told police he had molested them when they were children from 1968 to 1984.

The church removed Kennedy from the priesthood in 2003 by which time he had emigrated to Brazil using his British passport. The church that year paid one of Kennedy’s accusers euro325,000 ($425,000) in damages, the biggest abuse settlement reported in Ireland.

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BELGIE
Nieuws

Het gerecht heeft opnieuw huiszoekingen verricht in het onderzoek naar seksueel misbruik binnen de kerk. Speurders zijn gisteren binnengevallen bij een 30-tal kloosterordes en congregaties. Maar ook bij de paters Oblaten in Blanden vielen ze binnen.

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MASSACHUSETTS
The Patriot-Ledger

By Roy J. Harris Jr.

Jan. 25, is not a particularly remarkable day for most journalists, except among the top editors of America’s newspapers and news websites.

It is the deadline for submitting entries for the Pulitzer Prizes, the most prestigious awards for U.S. journalism, dating to 1917. That’s 95 years of honoring great reporting, along with accomplishment in arts and letters acknowledged by the non-journalism branch of the prizes.

As it happens, I’m in Los Angeles talking today to classes at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School of Journalism. My topic: what I consider the best example of Pulitzer-winning team investigative reporting since Watergate. That reporting, in the Boston Globe, began running 10 years ago this month.

On Jan. 6, 2002, the Globe first vividly documented the Catholic Church hierarchy’s cover-up of priests who sexually abused young parishioners – igniting a scandal still resonating around the U.S. and the world. Rightly, most of the anniversary’s attention so far has focused on the progress made by abuse victims and their families, and the way the issue still resonates within the Church.

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NEW MEXICO
El Defensor Chieftain

by Staff | January 25, 2012

Socorroans are mourning the loss of a native son, the much-revered, first New Mexico-born archbishop of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, Rev. Robert Fortune Sanchez, who once played baseball on the dirt grounds of Mt. Carmel Catholic School as Bobby Sanchez.

A simple purple and black wreath on the doors of San Miguel Mission over the weekend reminded parishioners and other passers-by that the former archbishop was very much a respected and beloved member of this community.

His onetime classmates at Mt. Carmel held a vigil last Friday night, after learning of his death earlier that day, gathering in front of the historic mission church, now closed for renovations.

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NEW MEXICO
El Defensor Chieftain

The Rev. Robert Fortune Sanchez became a state hero in 1974 when he was ordained as the first New Mexico-born Archbishop of Santa Fe and the first Hispanic in the nation to hold the post.

He resigned in disgrace in 1993 as part of a sex scandal that took a heavy toll on the church.

The ordination of Sanchez, then 40, as the nation’s youngest archbishop drew 14,000 jubilant New Mexicans to the Pit at the University of New Mexico.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

By John P. Martin
Inquirer Staff Writer

Prosecutors and defense lawyers in the forthcoming child endangerment trial of a Philadelphia cleric sparred for a second day Tuesday over whether jurors should hear how the monsignor and the Archdiocese of Philadelphia responded to dozens of claims of priests sexually abusing children.

Lawyers for Msgr. William J. Lynn, who is accused of making decisions that enabled two priests to molest boys in the 1990s, say letting prosecutors bring up allegations against 27 other priests not charged in the case would be unfair and irrelevant.

They also contend that as the archdiocese’s secretary for clergy between 1992 and 2004, Lynn supervised 800 priests but did not have unilateral authority to reassign them, order them into treatment, or remove them from ministry.

Those decisions fell to his superiors, in particular Cardinal Anthony J. Bevilacqua, the attorneys said, and were often dictated by broader church policies about how to handle abuse allegations.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
UTV

A convicted paedophile priest from Lisburn has been granted compassionate bail for 24 hours to allow him to attend the funeral of a family member.

James Martin Donaghy, 53, has been in custody since December 15 – when he was convicted by a jury of a litany of sex crimes against two altar boys and a trainee priest over a period of 17 years.

During his trial, Belfast Crown Court heard how Donaghy had told one of his victims that a priest’s vow of celibacy was “only man-made rules and it’s up to your conscience”.

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BELGIE
Knack

Er werden opnieuw op 31 locaties, bij ordes, congregaties en kloostergemeenschappen, huiszoekingen gedaan.

Gisteren voerde het federaal parket huiszoekingen uit op 31 locaties: bij ordes, congregaties en kloostergemeenschappen. De huiszoekingen kaderen in het onderzoek naar schuldig verzuim binnen de kerk, dat mogelijk sowieso verjaard zou kunnen zijn.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Chichester Observer

Published on Wednesday 25 January 2012

A Church of England priest has been arrested by Sussex Police investigating historic allegations of sexual abuse on young boys in the late 1980s.

Semi-retired Father Wilkie Denford, 76, was held with an unnamed 68-year-old man who worked as an organist in the Lewes area of East Sussex, sources confirmed.

Both were arrested by Sussex Police child protection detectives on November 3 on suspicion of sexually abusing two young boys at locations in West Sussex in 1988.

The pair, whose arrests have only just emerged, have since been released on police bail until March 1.

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SOUTH DAKOTA
The Daily Republic

By: KRISTI EATON, The Associated Press

SIOUX FALLS (AP) — It has taken Jolene Loetscher more than 15 years to come to terms with a rape she says she endured as a teenager in Nebraska, but according to state law at the time, she waited too long to seek punishment for the man she accuses of stealing her childhood in the back of the store where she worked.

While 23 states currently have no statute of limitations on some form of sexual assault, prosecutors in several states — including South Dakota, where Loetscher now lives — remain bound by laws that restrict the length of time they can charge someone for a sex crime.

In South Dakota, prosecutors can only charge a suspect in a rape case up to seven years after the crime was committed or until the victim is 25, whichever is longer.

Loetscher, now 33, hopes to change that with the help of her friend, South Dakota state Sen. Mark Johnston, who has introduced a bill in the state Senate that would eliminate the state’s statute of limitations for rape cases.

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AUSTRALIA
Eureka Street

Frank Brennan January 24, 2012

The Toowoomba Diocese has been without a resident bishop now for nine months since Pope Benedict removed Bishop Bill Morris, who refused to submit his resignation when requested by three curial cardinals who formed an adverse view of him.

Morris had offered to retire by August last year provided only that the sexual abuse cases in the diocese had been resolved. This timetable was judged inappropriate by the Vatican cardinals who conducted an ongoing inquiry into Morris’ fitness for office. They wanted him out, now. Nine months later, no one is able credibly to defend their methods.

Morris was denied natural justice. No one, including the Australian bishops, quite knows why he was sacked — or at least they cannot tell us; the charges and the evidence remain a moving target, a mystery. Clearly Morris has not been judged a heretic or schismatic. He has maintained his standing as a bishop, being asked to assist with Episcopal tasks in his home diocese of Brisbane.

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KENTUCKY
The Republic

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
First Posted: January 24, 2012

COVINGTON, Ky. — A northern Kentucky judge has dismissed two lawsuits that accused a Cincinnati lawyer of defrauding clients in a sexual-abuse lawsuit against the Diocese of Covington.

Kenton County Circuit Judge Gregory M. Bartlett filed orders Friday dismissing the lawsuits against Stan Chesley, his law firm and colleague Robert Steinberg, The Courier-Journal reported (http://cjky.it/zY28CQ ).

The plaintiffs were among 252 people who shared in an $84 million settlement with the Roman Catholic diocese. One of the lawsuits was filed by three clients represented by Louisville attorney Thomas Clay, and the other by another victim who represented herself. Clay said he planned to appeal.

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KENTUCKY
The Courier-Journal

Written by
Peter Smith
The Courier-Journal

Embattled Cincinnati trial lawyer Stan Chesley has won a legal victory with the dismissal of two Kenton Circuit Court lawsuits that had accused him of defrauding clients in a sexual-abuse lawsuit against the Diocese of Covington.

Kenton Circuit Judge Gregory M. Bartlett, in orders filed Jan. 20, dismissed the lawsuits against Chesley, his law firm and colleague Robert Steinberg.

Bartlett said the lawsuits failed on multiple legal grounds — including that the plaintiffs missed their chance to challenge the diocese settlement while that case was still open in nearby Boone Circuit Court.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Daily News

BY MENSAH M. DEAN
Philadelphia Daily News
deanm@phillynews.com 215-854-5949

CITY PROSECUTORS yesterday continued to pile on the allegations that a former high-ranking official of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia facilitated the sexual abuse of church children by repeatedly looking the other way when confronted with jaw-dropping crimes of predator priests.

“Time and time and time again, they lie to victims because they are not concerned about the victims; they are just concerned about the almighty dollar and mother Church,” Chief of Special Investigations Patrick Blessington said of the Archdiocese, which once employed the four defendants who are to stand trial in March.

Defendant Monsignor William Lynn, 61, at times appeared red-faced during the second day of a “prior-bad-acts” hearing at the Criminal Justice Center.

Lynn, secretary for clergy from 1992 to 2004, is charged with two counts of endangering the welfare of a child and conspiracy for allegedly shuffling dangerous priests among parishes instead of calling the police.

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UNITED KINGDOM
The Sentinel

MEN who claim they were sexually abused by a priest when they were young boys have told how respected he was in their community.

Catholic priest Alexander Bede Walsh is on trial accused of 27 counts of sexual abuse on eight boys over a 20-year period.

Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard yesterday from three of the alleged victims, none of whom can be named for legal reasons.

They say the 58-year-old, pictured, known to them at the time as Father Bede, was seen as a ‘father figure and guardian’ to them.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Huffington Post UK

A Church of England priest has been arrested by police investigating historic allegations of sexual abuse on young boys in the late 1980s.

Semi-retired Father Wilkie Denford, 76, was held with an unnamed 68-year-old man who worked as an organist in the Lewes area of East Sussex, sources confirmed.

Both were arrested by Sussex Police child protection detectives on November 3 on suspicion of sexually abusing two young boys at locations in West Sussex in 1988.

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ERLANGER (KY)
nky.com

Ronald William Bohl, 67, of Erlanger, passed away on Thursday, January 19th at his residence. He was a member of the Knights of Columbus, a retired Franciscan, an extensive world traveler, and a Vietnam Veteran. He was preceded in death by his parents, his brother James Bohl, and his nephew William Bohl.

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HAWAII
Honolulu Civil Beat

A group called Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests held a press conference outside of the Honolulu Catholic Diocese Tuesday (Jan. 24).

Judy Jones, SNAP’s midwest associate director, delivered a letter to the diocese asking Bishop Larry Silva to “disclose all allegations against Fr. Marc Alexander and why he left his priesthood.”

Alexander resigned earlier this month as homeless coordinator for the Abercrombie administration. Jones said she wanted Silva to disclose whether he had informed the governor about allegations of sexual abuses made against Alexander while he was still with the church.

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CONNECTICUT
The Hartford Courant

By EDMUND H. MAHONY, emahony@courant.com
The Hartford Courant

8:33 p.m. EST, January 24, 2012

WATERBURY—
The first trial of a sexual abuse complaint against the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hartford opened in Superior Court Tuesday amid allegations that high church officials, including a former archbishop, shifted an offending priest between parishes after learning of complaints that he had abused boys.

Evidence presented to the jury Tuesday also indicated that archdiocese administrators, including the late Archbishop John Francis Whealon, moved the priest, Ivan Ferguson, between church schools where he had access to children.

The suit contends that Ferguson was a pedophile who molested and sexually assaulted boys in the 1970s and 1980s. The archdiocese, which employed Ferguson, knew of the abuse but failed to stop it, the suit contends.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

By John P. Martin
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

Prosecutors and defense lawyers in the forthcoming child endangerment trial of a Philadelphia monsignor sparred for a second day Tuesday over whether jurors should hear how the monsignor and the Archdiocese of Philadelphia responded to dozens of claims of priests sexually abusing children.

Lawyers for Msgr. William J. Lynn, who is accused of making decisions that enabled two priests to molest boys in the 1990s, say that letting prosecutors bring up allegations against 27 other priests not charged in the case would be unfair and irrelevant.

They also contend that as the archdiocese Secretary for Clergy between 1992 and 2004, Lynn supervised 800 priests but didn’t have unilateral authority to reassign them, order them into treatment or remove them from ministry.

Those decisions fell to his superiors, in particular Cardinal Anthony J. Bevilacqua, the attorneys said, and were often dictated by broader church policies about how to handle abuse allegations.

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UNITED STATES
Civil Commotion

Posted on January 24, 2012 by Bob Felton

A Philadelphia prosecutor has decisively — and good for him — ended 2000-years of unwarranted deference to the Catholic Church.

Prosecutors on Monday accused the Archdiocese of Philadelphia of being an “unindicted co-conspirator” in a clergy sex abuse case and said the Roman Catholic Church fed predators a steady supply of children.

Everybody willing to know the truth has known the truth for a long time: The Catholic Church has masterminded a global criminal conspiracy centered on the sexual abuse of children for a long time.

What is so striking is that now a state prosecutor is saying so, too, instead of a few hundred cranky bloggers. However naturally this may follow from the past decade of revelations, however easily it may be overlooked in the cataracts of abuse stories, this is a milestone.

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BOSTON (MA)
NPR

January 24, 2012

The Boston Globe broke the story of sex abuse within the Catholic Church’s Boston diocese, and a systematic cover up, in 2002. Since then, hundreds of victims have come forward with their stories. After resistance, the Church changed course, but many complain it hasn’t gone far enough.

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UNITED STATES
The New Civil Rights Movement

by David Badash on January 24, 2012

Bill Donohue, the head of the pedophile priests supporting Catholic League, in an attempt to deflect attention from the regular, serious, and unresolved sexual transgressions, sexual assault, and child rape within the Catholic Church, today pointed the finger at Orthodox Jewish Rabbis, saying, “[t]he most serious cases of the sexual abuse of minors currently taking place are among Orthodox Jewish rabbis in Brooklyn.” Donohue, proving the ludicrousness of the existence and purpose of his entire organization, lambasted Jay Leno for a joke he made last night about an L.A. Bishop who recently resigned after revealing he had fathered two children. Donohue claims also that Leno has “a long track record of bashing Catholicism.” So, rather than work to fix the root causes of systemic and felonious issues within the Church, Donohue chooses instead to attacks its critics, hoping, praying that no one will notice the Catholic Church’s role and reputation in America is rapidly diminishing, even among America’s Catholics.

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UNITED STATES
Catholic League

In last night’s monologue, Jay Leno commented on an auxiliary bishop from Los Angeles who recently stepped down after admitting he fathered two children. After explaining what happened, Leno said, “I thought bishops could only move diagonally. I didn’t know they could move up and down.” When making these remarks, Leno gestured with his hands, waving them side to side, and then up and down.

Leno went on to say, “Isn’t it amazing the bishop of L.A. confessed to fathering two children? But, hey, he didn’t use birth control, so at least he followed the church rules. Ya gotta give him credit for that.”

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments as follows:

There are those who will say, sure, Leno was tough on the bishop, but what do you expect from a late-night talk show host? After all, had there been no wrongdoing, there would have been no wise crack. This view is seriously mistaken.

The most serious cases of the sexual abuse of minors currently taking place are among Orthodox Jewish rabbis in Brooklyn, yet Leno would never tell a joke at their expense. The rate of HIV/AIDS among homosexuals is 50 times higher than in the rest of the population, yet Leno would never tell a joke at their expense. [Note: making such jokes would be equally offensive.] But if there is one wayward Catholic clergyman, it’s not only acceptable to ridicule him, it’s okay to mock the teachings of the Catholic Church.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
The Sacramento Bee

By MARYCLAIRE DALE
Associated Press

Published: Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012

PHILADELPHIA — Lawyers for a Catholic Church official say prosecutors are trying to hold him alone responsible for the priest abuse scandal in Philadelphia.

Prosecutors want to include accusations against dozens of priests when Monsignor William Lynn goes on trial in March on child endangerment and conspiracy charges.

Lynn served as secretary of clergy for the archdiocese from 1992 to 2004. Many of the accusations are decades old.

Prosecutors say Lynn kept priests on the job despite explosive allegations in secret church files.

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GARDINER (ME)
Kennebec Journal

By Mechele Cooper mcooper@centralmaine.com
Staff Writer

GARDINER — A longtime minister of Christ Episcopal Church has been placed on a two-year suspension following a months-long church investigation that found he engaged in sexual misconduct consisting of “inappropriate language and interpersonal boundary violations.”

Church members were told at Sunday’s service that the Rev. Jacob Fles had been suspended. Fles has conducted services at the city’s landmark church, at the corner of Gardiner Common on Dresden Avenue, for 17 years.

A joint statement issued by both Bishop Stephen Lane and Fles said that the church’s inquiry did not uncover any evidence of criminal behavior.

“The past four months have been difficult for all parties: the complainants, the people of Christ Church, Father Fles and his family, and all involved in the investigation,” the statement said.

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TEXAS
KTRH

Should Texas therapists be compelled to report adult patients who talk about their childhood problems in therapy to law enforcement? State psychologists are asking the Attorney General to revisit the current policy. We talk to: Amy Schmidt-Houston Branch of SNAP.

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UNITED KINGDOM
BBC news

A Church of England priest has been arrested on suspicion of sexually abusing two young boys in the late 1980s.

Father Wilkie Denford, 76, who is semi-retired and lives in Lewes, and a 68 year-old-man, also from the Lewes area, were arrested in November.

The pair are accused of abusing the boys at a number of locations in West Sussex in 1988.

Both men have been questioned by Sussex Police and bailed until 1 March.

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BELGIE
Knack

(Belga) Bij de huiszoekingen die maandag zijn uitgevoerd op een 30-tal verschillende plaatsen in Oost- en West-Vlaanderen en Brabant, hebben speurders van de Brusselse federale gerechtelijke politie een kleine honderd persoonlijke dossiers van geestelijken in beslag genomen. Dat meldt het federaal parket dinsdag. De huiszoekingen en het gerechtelijk onderzoek van onderzoeksrechter De Troy lopen daarmee op hun eind, maar voorlopig is er nog geen sprake van inverdenkingstellingen.

De huiszoekingen van maandag, bij een 15-tal verschillende ordes, congregaties en kloostergemeenschappen, volgen op de huiszoekingen die vorige week werden uitgevoerd bij de verschillende bisdommen in België. Net als vorige week waren de speurders op zoek naar de persoonlijke dossiers van geestelijken die genoemd werden in de klachten en burgerlijke partijstellingen die het federaal parket ontvangen heeft in het kader van Operatie Kelk, het gerechtelijk onderzoek dat onderzoeksrechter De Troy voert naar feiten van schuldig verzuim inzake seksueel misbruik van minderjarigen door geestelijken

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Fox News

Published January 24, 2012

| Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA – A Philadelphia judge could decide Tuesday if prosecutors can tell a jury that the Catholic Church long ignored sex abuse complaints and fed dangerous priests a steady supply of children.

Prosecutors want to use dozens of old allegations at the upcoming March trial of a church official charged with child endangerment and two priests charged with rape.

Monsignor William Lynn is the first U.S. church official to face trial for his handling of sex abuse complaints.

Prosecutors at a pretrial hearing this week called the archdiocese “an unindicted co-conspirator.”

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BELGIE
Het Nieuwsblad

Het federaal parket heeft maandag een dertigtal huiszoekingen uitgevoerd in ordes, congregaties en kloostergemeenschappen. Dat schrijft Het Laatste Nieuws.

Het gerecht zocht er naar bewijzen dat geestelijke leiders jarenlang op de hoogte waren van kindermisbruik in hun gemeenschap, maar daar niets tegen deden.

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BELGIE
Katholiek Nieuwsblad

De Belgische Justitie heeft afgelopen maandag huiszoekingen gedaan bij ongeveer dertig orden en congregaties.

De huiszoekingen zouden verband houden met beschuldigingen van het verdoezelen van seksueel misbruik.

Volgens ‘Het Laatste Nieuws’ zouden de invallen niets hebben opgeleverd.

Onlangs werden ook huiszoekingen gedaan in verschillende Belgische bisdommen waarbij personeelsdossiers in beslag werden genomen. Daarbij zou zijn gezocht naar bewijs dat kerkelijk verantwoordelijken op de hoogte waren van misbruikzaken, maar geen maatregelen troffen.

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UNITED STATES
Catholic League

Catholic League president Bill Donohue points to some instances of bias in today’s New York Times:

The reason I read the New York Times every day is because of its comprehensive coverage and tremendous influence on other media outlets. Editorially, at least on cultural issues, the positions of the New York Times are diametrically opposed to the teachings of the Catholic Church. They are entitled to their opinion. What bothers me are the subtleties of bias that creep in, as in today’s edition.

In the “Arts, Briefly” section today, there is a story on how some of India’s Sikhs are angry at Jay Leno for making a disrespectful joke about their religion. The piece begins by saying, “It’s the rare Jay Leno joke that results in ruffled feathers in the United States.” Really? I guess the reporter, Dave Itzkoff, never heard of one of Leno’s endless stream of jokes painting all priests as predators. [By the way, Leno is so relentless in bashing priests that we prepared a report detailing his offenses from April 29, 1996 to February 4, 2010 and sent it to NBC executives.]

When someone dies who may have had a checkered past, it is not unusual for a news story to cite the comments of his adversaries. And while an obituary may quote a critic of the deceased, it is highly unusual to see the remarks of an official from an advocacy organization make that page. Yet in today’s obituary on Archbishop Robert F. Sanchez, Dennis Hevesi allows a spokesman from a notoriously anti-Catholic group, SNAP, to hammer the late archbishop. [We issued a report on SNAP last year demonstrating its open hostility to the Catholic Church.]

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NEW JERSEY
The Star-Ledger

By Kevin Manahan/The Star-Ledger

BERNARDS — In a candlelit room at St. James School in Basking Ridge, Brian Kvederas remembers confessing the overwhelming fears of his adolescence to Rev. Luke Travers some 25 years ago.

As part of a weekend youth-ministry retreat at adjacent St. James Church, high school juniors and seniors were meeting one-on-one with clergy in informal settings to confess their sins or simply chat about what was on their minds. On this Saturday night, Kvederas chose Travers “because he seemed cool to talk to.”

As Kvederas spilled his innermost anxieties, the two sat knees to knees, candles flickering, in a secluded corner of an office or small classroom, Kvederas recalls.

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UNITED STATES
The Worthy Adversary

Posted by Joelle Casteix on January 23, 2012

Joe Paterno’s death last weekend came as a bit of a shock and a huge disappointment. I knew he was sick, but my disappointment did not come from grief. My upset was quite different: The man at the center of the biggest child sex abuse scandal of 2011 is gone, and we will never know exactly what he knew and when he knew it.

Some may say that I am overly critical to demand full truth and disclosure about the past of a man who is gone. As a culture, we are trained to “never speak ill of the dead.” In fact, I have been told by more than a few people, “Paterno’s gone now. Can’t we focus on the good he did?” Some news outlets have even wondered if Paterno died of a broken heart. (If anyone broke Paterno’s heart, it was Paterno. And I think that it was his ego, not his heart, that truly suffered. If he had a heart that could break, I think he would have done more to help the kids.)

Paterno’s supporters want us to redeem a flawed hero. They want us to honor the outward good deeds while ignoring the destruction that his actions caused.

And that reminded me of something ….

In the ten years since the Catholic Clergy Sex Abuse Scandal broke, experts such as Tom Doyle have aptly discussed the phenomena of “Bella Figura” (literally beautiful figure or good image). The term describes the desire of the Catholic hierarchy to maintain outward appearances and the best possible presentation, despite the ugliness, crimes and cover-up going on behind the scenes. (Think if it as a global “ignore the man behind the curtain” philosophy.)

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BOSTON (MA)
WBUR

By Jessica Alpert (@jessprk)
Jan 23, 2012, 3:50 PM

Ten years after the clergy sex abuse crisis hit the news, we talk with two reporters who were instrumental in uncovering the scandal, WBUR’s Sacha Pfeiffer and Northeastern University distinguished professor Walter V. Robinson, who won a Pulitzer Prize for their reporting on the subject.

Guests:
Sacha Pfeiffer, WBUR host of All Things Considered
Walter V. Robinson, distinguished professor at Northeastern University

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

By John P. Martin
Inquirer Staff Writer

One by one, the assistant district attorneys walked to a courtroom lectern Monday to tell, at times explicitly, different versions of what sounded like the same story: priests molesting children, and Archdiocese of Philadelphia leaders failing to act on claims or signs of abuse.

One cited testimony from altar boys who said the former Rev. Edward Avery got them drunk in the 1970s, then proposed to “sober them up” by rubbing ice on their genitals.

Another detailed more than a dozen abuse claims against Nicholas Cudemo, who was shuffled among parishes and high schools over decades before he was defrocked.

A third said church leaders left the Rev. Michael Murtha in ministry for years after allegedly finding a cache of child pornography and a sexually graphic “fantasy letter” he had written to a boy in his Northeast Philadelphia parish.

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NEDERLAND
BNR Nieuwsradio

Hengelo krijgt een monument voor misbruikslachtoffers binnen de Rooms-Katholieke Kerk.

Het beeld van de zelf misbruikte kunstenaar Frans Houben uit Ootmarsum komt voor de Onze Lieve Vrouwekerk in de Twentse stad te staan. De twee meter hoge madonna van roestvrij staal zal op tweede paasdag worden onthuld.

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NEDERLAND
Klik

Minister Opstelten van Veiligheid en justitie stelt samen met staatssecretaris Veldhuijzen van Zanten van Vws een organisatie in voor de bestrijding van kindermishandeling en seksueel misbruik (Taskforce). Het kabinet vindt met de Commissie Deetman (die misbruik in de rooms-katholieke kerk onderzoekt) dat seksueel misbruik moet worden voorkomen, zowel in instellingen als in huiselijke kring. Daders moeten stevig worden aangepakt, en de overheid moet daar een centrale rol in spelen.

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NEDERLAND
Kerknieuws

De rooms-katholieke parochie Hengelo in Overijssel onthult op 9 april (Tweede Paasdag) op het kerkplein voor de Onze Lieve Vrouwekerk een permanent monument voor slachtoffers van seksueel misbruik in de kerk.

Dat meldt de website Katholiek.nl. De kerk geeft daarmee gehoor aan de oproep van een misbruikslachtoffer dat vroeg om een concreet en permanent gebaar te maken naar slachtoffers toe.

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NEDERLAND
Friesch Dagblad

De christelijke kerk heeft geen meerderheid in Nederland. En eigenlijk is dat geen verkeerde zaak nu blijkt dat macht door bepaalde personen zo slecht is gebruikt. Het is nu tijd om een vitale minderheidskerk te worden.

Frank Bosman

Het is de opinie van prof. dr. Jozef Wissink, die daarmee een verwijzing maakt naar het rapport van de commissie-Deetman over het misbruik in rooms-katholieke instellingen. Wissink neemt per 1 februari afscheid als hoogleraar Praktische Theologie aan de Tilburg School of Theology. Daarom werd vrijdag in Tilburg een symposium gehouden onder de titel De toekomst van de katholieke kerk. Hoe die toekomst eruit ziet werd vanuit verschillende standpunten belicht.

Prominent spreker was bisschop Gerard de Korte: ,,Dat de Katholieke Kerk, of eigenlijk de christelijke kerken, in Nederland het zwaar heeft, dat weet iedereen. De kerk kampt met de gevolgen van globalisering, democratisering en individualisering.” Het is echter geen zaak zondebokken aan te wijzen, aldus de bisschop van Groningen-Leeuwarden, maar juist ,,om de kerk te vernieuwen”.

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NEDERLAND
NZG

HENGELO (Novum) – Op het plein voor de Onze Lieve Vrouwekerk in het Overijsselse Hengelo komt een monument voor slachtoffers van seksueel misbruik binnen de rooms-katholieke kerk. Het beeld wordt op tweede paasdag onthuld, zegt een woordvoerder van de parochie maandag.

Vorig jaar maakte de commissie-Deetman haar onderzoek naar seksueel misbruik in katholieke instellingen tussen 1945 een 1981 openbaar. Daaruit bleek dat er tussen de tien- en twintigduizend kinderen zijn misbruikt.

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NEDERLAND
Metro

Op het plein voor de Onze Lieve Vrouwekerk in het Overijsselse Hengelo komt een monument voor slachtoffers van seksueel misbruik binnen de rooms-katholieke kerk. Het beeld wordt op tweede paasdag onthuld, zegt een woordvoerder van de parochie maandag.

Vorig jaar maakte de commissie-Deetman haar onderzoek naar seksueel misbruik in katholieke instellingen tussen 1945 een 1981 openbaar. Daaruit bleek dat er tussen de tien- en twintigduizend kinderen zijn misbruikt.

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NEDERLAND
RTV Oost

Het monument voor slachtoffers van seksueel misbruik binnen de katholieke kerk, dat in Hengelo komt te staan, kan misschien een landelijk monument worden.

Dat zeggen vertegenwoordigers van de Onze Lieve Vrouwekerk. Binnen de parochie is het initiatief genomen voor een monument, dat op Tweede Paasdag wordt onthuld bij hun kerk. Het beeld, Madonna met daarvoor enkele kinderen, wordt gemaakt door kunstenaar Frans Houben uit Ootmarsum. Houben is zelf slachtoffer van seksueel misbruik en heeft onder meer een boek geschreven over zijn ervaringen.

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UTAH
The Salt Lake Tribune

By Lindsay Whitehurst

The Salt Lake Tribune
First published Jan 23 2012

A judge has granted a permanent restraining order barring polygamous sect leaders loyal to Warren Jeffs from a large school building used as a church by followers of a rival prophet.

In a hearing Monday, 3rd District Judge Denise Lindberg ordered the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints not to “interfere” or “harass” people using the Holm School Building. FLDS attorneys did not appear at the hearing.

The ruling comes after a high-tension December standoff over growing divisions in the community and control of the sect’s property trust, which was taken over by the state of Utah in 2005.

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UNITED STATES
The Tennessean

Written by
Bob Smietana
The Tennessean

Jesus has a message for America, say leaders of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Let Warren Jeffs go.

That claim is made in published copies of the polygamist sect leader’s jailhouse revelations, being sold by his followers for $1 to $10. Jeffs’ followers are promoting the message through tens of thousands of dollars of paid ads placed in national and regional newspapers, including two in The Tennessean. Students of charismatic leaders like Jeffs said it’s not unusual for them to claim God will rescue them after they get in trouble with the law.

The ads claim that Jesus is coming back soon to judge America for its sins, including abortion and persecuting Jeffs, who is serving a life sentence plus 20 years in a Texas prison for sexually assaulting two young girls.

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ZIMBABWE
New Zimbabwe

by Tendai R. Mbofana and Tinta Mbofana

IS TODAY’S Christian church truly the body of Christ, which was established by the original apostles in the New Testament, or is merely a man-made establishment that has been founded on man-made rules seeking self- aggrandisement?

Are we truly making disciples of all nations and leading people to Christ and salvation, or are people being misled from one evil world into another?

Are churches obeying everything Christ commanded (Matthew 28:18-20), or have they become collection points for money, instead of predominantly teaching the gospel?

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UNITED STATES
The New York Times

By RONI CARYN RABIN

Published: January 23, 2012

Keith Smith was 14 when he was raped by a driver who picked him up after a hockey team meeting. He had hitchhiked home, which is why, for decades, he continued to blame himself for the assault.

When the driver barreled past Hartley’s Pork Pies on the outskirts of Providence, R.I., where Mr. Smith had asked to be dropped off, and then past a firehouse, he knew something was wrong.

“I tried to open the car door, but he had rigged the lock,” said Mr. Smith, of East Windsor, N.J., now 52. Still, he said, “I had no idea it was going to be a sexual assault.”

Even today, years after the disclosure of the still-unfolding child abuse scandal in the Catholic Church and the arrest of a former Pennsylvania State University assistant football coach accused of sexually abusing boys, rape is widely thought of as a crime against women.

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CANADA
The Chronicle-Herald

By AARON BESWICK Truro Bureau

PORT HAWKESBURY — If Dave Mantin gets your cell number, you’d better have a good service plan.

If he doesn’t have it yet and you are a possible tool in his campaign to haul sexual abusers to justice, he’ll have it soon.

And he will call you and call you and show up at your work­place and your house, if neces­sary.

“I used to be submissive and I’d get the run-around from people in authority, like other victims,” said Mantin. “No more.”

The maritime director of SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests) was in Port Hawkesbury on Monday meet­ing with victims of sexual abuse, as well as Mayor Billy Joe Mac-Lean, Cape Breton-Canso MP Rodger Cuzner and Richmond MLA Michel Samson.

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CANADA
Nunatsiaq News

Roman Catholic priest Father Eric Dejaeger, who faces nearly 40 charges, most of them related to the sexual molestation of children, made a brief appearance in the Nunavut Court of Justice in Iqaluit Jan. 23.

Prosecutor Scott Hughes said the Crown’s intention was to file an indictment against Dejaeger Jan. 23.

But he said his office is still waiting for some statement transcripts from the investigation and that they were not quite prepared to file.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Daily Mirror

by Paul Byrne, Daily Mirror 24/01/2012

A priest exploited his “revered and trusted” status to sexually abuse young boys, a court was told yesterday.

Alexander Bede Walsh, 58, allegedly attacked eight victims from 1975 to 1994.

Prosecutors claim he gave one of them a strong ­alcoholic cocktail, saying it was the “blood of Christ”, before abusing him.

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NEW MEXICO
The New York Times

By DENNIS HEVESI

Published: January 23, 2012

Archbishop Robert F. Sanchez, who as the nation’s first Hispanic archbishop fought discrimination within the Roman Catholic Church, but who resigned in 1993 while facing accusations that he had had sex with several women when they were teenagers, died on Friday in Albuquerque. He was 77.

The Archdiocese of Santa Fe, which he led for nearly two decades, said he died in a nursing home for Alzheimer’s patients.

Appointed by Pope Paul VI in 1974, Archbishop Sanchez was a descendant of the first Spanish settlers in New Mexico, the archdiocese said. …

Archbishop Sanchez resigned amid a rising tide of complaints about sexual abuse by priests around the country. He made the announcement in March 1993, two days before a “60 Minutes” report on CBS was to name three women who said he had had sex with them when they were teenagers, in the 1970s and early ’80s. He released a statement expressing regret for his actions, without specifying what they were.

Earlier that month, The Albuquerque Journal reported that the women had gone public after the archbishop told reporters that he could not remember complaints from parents about priests molesting their children. At the time, more than a dozen lawsuits were pending against the archdiocese alleging sexual abuse by priests.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Daily News

BY MENSAH M. DEAN
Philadelphia Daily News
deanm@phillynews.com 215-854-5949

JUST TWO altar boys are alleged to have been sexually assaulted by three Philadelphia Catholic priests who will stand trial in March with a church official accused of enabling the crimes by covering them up.

But the misdeeds of those priests and of Monsignor William Lynn ensnared a much larger pool of child victims, according to city prosecutors who spent much of yesterday trying to persuade a judge to let a jury hear about those incidents.

The “prior bad acts” hearing before Common Pleas Judge M. Teresa Sarmina is scheduled to resume this morning at the Criminal Justice Center.

Lynn, 61, a former top administrator for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, is charged with two counts of endangering the welfare of a child. Also to be tried are priest James Brennan, 48, charged with raping a 14-year-old boy in the summer of 1996 at his West Chester apartment while on leave from Springfield’s Cardinal O’Hara High School; priest Charles Engelhardt, 65, and defrocked priest Edward Avery, 69, both of whom are accused of raping a boy at St. Jerome Parish in the Northeast beginning in 1998, when the boy was 10.

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UNITED STATES
McDermott, Will & Emery

January 23, 2012
The provision of financial assistance to victims of clergy sexual abuse seeking to obtain mental health counseling and treatment may result in civil liability for religious and other organizations undertaking such aid if precautions are not observed. This newsletter highlights how Pennsylvania law has recently been applied and issues organizations in every state should consider before stepping into the role of Good Samaritans.

On September 29, 2011, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania issued a decision in Unglo v. Zubik, No. 1749 WDA 2010, 2011 PA Super 207 (Sup. Ct. PA Sept. 29, 2011), addressing the issue of whether a religious organization that gratuitously undertakes to provide financial assistance to a victim of clergy sexual abuse, and then unilaterally terminates that assistance is liable for damages incurred by the victim after the termination of the assistance. The court held that an entity that provides financial assistance is not obligated to continue that aid indefinitely. Rather, that assistance may be discontinued as long as the recipient is not left in a worse position than when the aid began. The Unglo case raises questions about the nature of so-called Good Samaritan laws and the liability implications for religious organizations that voluntarily undertake to provide financial assistance for mental health counseling and treatment to victims of clergy sexual abuse.

Factual Background

Michael Unglo was a victim of sexual abuse at the hands of a Catholic priest from 1982 to 1985, while he was a student at All Saints School and an altar boy at All Saints Church. In June 2008 Mr. Unglo attempted to take his life. In response to outreach by Mr. Unglo’s family in December 2008, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh committed to pay for counseling and treatment services for Mr. Unglo. This decision was based in large part on the fact that there was no question surrounding the credibility of Mr. Unglo’s allegations against the priest whom he named as his abuser. The priest was known to the diocese as a pedophile and had previously been convicted of molesting another boy. Despite the diocese’s commitment to Mr. Unglo’s treatment, he again attempted suicide in June 2009.

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UNITED KINGDOM
The Sentinel

CATHOLIC priest Alexander Bede Walsh befriended boys ‘in awe’ of his position before sexually abusing them in swimming pools and at their family homes, a court heard.

The 58-year-old, pictured right, is on trial accused of 27 counts of sexual abuse on eight boys over a 20-year period.

Some of the boys were as young as seven when the incidents allegedly took place between July 1974 and December 1994.

Walsh served as a priest in Cheadle for 14 years.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Coventry Telegraph

by Helen Thomas, Coventry Telegraph
Jan 24 2012

A FORMER Coventry priest has gone on trial accused of sexually abusing eight boys over a 20-year period.

Alexander Bede Walsh denies 23 counts of indecent assault, two counts of serious sexual assaults and two of gross indecency.

The alleged offences were committed against boys aged eight to 16 between 1975 and 1994, with most taking place in the 1980s.

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COLORADO
KJCT

Associated Press

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.– — A Colorado Springs priest has been placed on administrative leave amid allegations of sex abuse involving a child.

The Colorado Springs Archdiocese announced Monday that church officials placed Rev. Charles Robert Manning on administrative leave and called police following a Jan. 4 report of sex abuse allegations. Officials also suspended Manning’s duties as a priest. He was serving as pastor of St. Gabriel the Archangel Catholic Church.

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MARYLAND
The Baltimore Sun

[letter to parishioners\

By Mary Gail Hare and Alison Knezevich, The Baltimore Sun

6:38 p.m. EST, January 23, 2012

The Archdiocese of Baltimore has launched its own investigation into a Towson priest arrested this month on charges of indecent exposure at an adult store.

Mark Stewart Bullock, 47, is scheduled for a March 6 court appearance in District Court in Harford County on misdemeanor charges that carry a maximum fine of $1,000 and three years in prison. Church officials have removed “all his faculties to function as a priest,” said Sean Caine, archdiocese spokesman.

“The archdiocese is doing its own investigation and will be speaking to anyone who might help us understand what is happening in his life,” Caine said. “We need to understand what circumstances led to this incident. In the meantime, he is not allowed to present himself as a priest.”

Those who attend the Immaculate Conception parish in Towson called Bullock — who had entered the priesthood when he was middle-aged — a thoughtful preacher with a beautiful singing voice. He had been serving as associate pastor.

Known as “Father Stew,” Bullock was ordained in 2006 with six others, the largest group of candidates in the past decade. He was 41, the oldest of the group, and had run a floral business before entering the seminary. His first assignment as an associate pastor was at St. John the Evangelist parish in Severna Park. He came to the Towson parish in July 2010.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
The Associated Press

By MARYCLAIRE DALE, Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Prosecutors on Monday accused the Archdiocese of Philadelphia of being an “unindicted co-conspirator” in a clergy sex abuse case and said the Roman Catholic Church fed predators a steady supply of children.

The comments came in a key hearing before the March trial of a high-ranking church official, a priest and a former priest.

Monsignor William Lynn, 61, is charged with conspiring with priests and church officials to keep priests accused of sex abuse in ministry and parishioners in the dark.

Common Pleas District Judge M. Teresa Sarmina must decide how much the jury will hear about the archdiocese’s overall handling of sex abuse complaints.

Lynn’s lawyer, Thomas Bergstrom, called it “nutty” and “dangerous” for prosecutors to bring in allegations that came before or after Lynn’s stint as secretary for clergy. Lynn served in that role from 1992 to 2004, most of it under retired Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, who’s now 88 and in failing health.

Assistant District Attorney Mark Cipolletti compared the accused priests to live bombs that Lynn left in a room without defusing.

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MISSOURI
Catholic Culture

January 23, 2012

The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) has cooperated with plaintiffs’ lawyers in publicity campaigns against the Catholic Church, charges The Media Report.

In a Missouri case, the lawyers for an accused priest have persuaded the court to subpoena documents from SNAP and require testimony from the group’s executive director, David Clohessy. Documents filed by the accused priest’s lawyers show that public statements issued by SNAP show that the group had prior knowledge of the plaintiff lawyer’s plans. The court had forbidden lawyers from issuing their own public statements. The priest’s lawyers charged: “Plaintiff’s counsel, in violation of this court’s prior Order precluding extrajudicial statements, has assisted SNAP in issuing press releases that prejudice both Father Tierney and the Diocese.”

SNAP’s public statements showed an insider’s knowledge of the plaintiff lawyer’s plans, the court documents show. On one occasion SNAP issued a detailed press release about a lawsuit before the suit was filed.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
The Catholic League

The Philadelphia Archdiocese was named an “unindicted co-conspirator” today by prosecutors in a case involving clergy sexual abuse. At the pretrial hearing, Assistant District Attorney Mark Cipolletti made accusations against a defrocked priest, Edward Avery, and the archdiocese. Cipolletti said “the archdiocese was supplying him [Avery] with an endless amount of victims.” Msgr. William Lynn will also face trial in March. He is charged with covering up incidents of sexual abuse for the archdiocese.

[The article by John P. Martin of the Philadelphia Inquirer is the source of the remarks attributed to the parties in this dispute.]

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments as follows:

Attorney Thomas Bergstrom, who is representing Msgr. William Lynn, calls Assistant District Attorney Mark Cipolletti’s remarks “nutty.” He does so by citing the fact that all but one of the seven allegations made against Edward Avery were made after Lynn had left his post in the archdiocese where he was responsible for dealing with these cases. Bergstrom notes that the prosecutors are conceding this issue—they know that Lynn wasn’t aware of these cases—yet they continue to hammer away.

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