ABUSE TRACKER

VATICAN CITY
Vatican Insider

“Papal Presidentialism” and an expanded conclave Galli Della Loggia’s proposal: all bishops should be Papal electors. Melloni’s reply: “This would distort his position as Bishop of Rome”

Andrea Tornielli
Rome

“The papacy is weak,” and it must be strengthened, in a presidentalist sense, broadening the electoral base of the conclave to include bishops and superiors of religious orders. This is the proposal of political scientist Ernesto Galli Della Loggia, in an article published in the latest issue of “La Lettura,” the cultural insert of the Corriere della Sera.

Galli Della Loggia starts by analyzing the “malicious rumors,” the “more or less controlled leaks,” and the unedifying “behind the scenes” drama that have recently characterized the Roman curia: elements that reveal “a fierce battle over the direction of the ecclesiastical institution” – a “clash of power” that ends up discrediting the Church. According to the political scientist, the Pope’s power only appears to be absolute, as in reality he must- even in nominations- consider “factions” and the “inevitable dominance of alliances and cliques over the careers of senior clergymen” as well as “exaggerated personal ambitions.”

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OREGON
Leagle

JOHN DOE 150, etc., Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
THE ARCHDIOCESE OF PORTLAND IN OREGON, et al., Defendants-Appellees.
No. 10-36126.
United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit.

Argued and Submitted February 7, 2012, Seattle, Washington.
Filed March 1, 2012.

Before: GOULD, SCHROEDER, Circuit Judges, and BEISTLINE,** Chief District Judge.

MEMORANDUM*

The undisputed facts of this case and the procedural history are known to the parties. Appellant, John Doe 150, appeals the United States District Court for the District of Oregon’s decision that, as a matter of law, delayed discovery of the causal connection between Doe’s known sexual abuse at the hands of a priest and the consequent harm to Doe was unreasonable. Doe claims that the district court committed two errors when it granted summary judgment in favor of Appellee, the Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon. Doe argues that the district court: (1) usurped the role of the jury in determining the reasonableness of Doe’s delayed discovery as a question of law; and (2) ignored the compelling testimony of Doe’s expert concerning whether the nature of Doe’s harm might reasonably have masked the causal connection between his childhood abuse and the consequent harm. The district court found that no trier of fact could conclude that it was reasonable for Doe to fail to discover the causal connection between the abuse he suffered and his consequent harm prior to the bankruptcy court’s claims bar date of April 29, 2005, or prior to the applicable Oregon statute of limitations deadline of June 6, 2003. We affirm the lower court’s decision.

Standard of Review

We review de novo a district court’s grant of summary judgment. Davis v. Las Vegas, 478 F.3d 1048, 1053 (9th Cir. 2007). The parties argue that we should use a clear error standard of review. The clear error standard applies to the mixed question of law and fact of whether a person should have discovered the existence and cause of their injuries. Colleen v. United States, 843 F.2d 329, 331 (9th Cir. 1987). That case was an appeal from the district court’s ruling on the merits, not an appeal from the grant of summary judgment. We decline to depart from our well-established precedent that we review a district court’s grant of summary judgment de novo. Under the de novo standard, a reviewing “`court should make an independent determination of the issues’ and should `not . . . give any special weight to the [prior] determination of'” a lower court. United States v. Raddatz, 447 U.S. 667, 690 (1980) (quoting United States v. First City Nat’l Bank of Houston, 386 U.S. 361, 368 (1967)).

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NEDERLAND
SGP

Rapport-Deetman
De commissie-Deetman heeft een gedegen en onafhankelijk onderzoek gedaan naar de afschuwelijke gevallen van kindermisbruik die onder meer in internaten hebben plaatsgevonden. Het rapport biedt goede handvatten voor preventie in de toekomst. Er zijn waardevolle aanbevelingen gedaan voor het hulp bieden en recht doen aan slachtoffers.

Het is heel belangrijk dat erkenning wordt geboden aan mensen die soms jarenlang hebben gezwegen – of er het zwijgen toe deden toen zij merkten dat hun pijnlijke boodschap niet serieus werd genomen. Velen van hen voelen nog dagelijks pijnlijk de littekens. Uit alle verhalen blijkt telkens weer: seksueel misbruik richt een onvoorstelbare, en vaak ook onherstelbare ravage aan in de levens van mensen.

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NEDERLAND
L1

Ook een groep meerderjarige slachtoffers van misbruik in de rooms-katholieke kerk kan een beroep doen op de compensatieregeling voor minderjarigen.

Het gaat dan bijvoorbeeld om verstandelijk gehandicapten die net als kinderen als weerloze slachtoffers moeten worden beschouwd. Dat heeft het Meldpunt Seksueel Misbruik in de rooms-katholieke kerk bekendgemaakt.

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NEDERLAND
RKnieuws

UTRECHT (RKnieuws.net) – Vandaag wordt een compensatieregeling van kracht voor slachtoffers van seksueel misbruik gepleegd tijdens hun meerderjarigheid. Meerderjarigen die ten tijde van het seksueel misbruik golden als zwakzinnig of daaraan gelijk zijn te stellen en meerderjarigen die ten tijde van het seksueel misbruik in een weerloze toestand verkeerden kunnen een beroep doen op de Compensatieregeling voor minderjarigen. Die regeling kent hogere compensatie mogelijkheden.

Er zijn 3 categorieën:
1.In geval van seksueel getinte handelingen of uitlatingen waardoor de lichamelijke of geestelijke integriteit werd geschonden, incidentele betasting van intieme delen daaronderbegrepen, afhankelijk van zwaarte en bijkomende omstandigheden: compensatie tot € 5.000,-.

2.In geval van frequente betasting van intieme delen gedurende een langere periode of anderszins aanhoudende ongewenste seksuele intimiteiten: compensatie tot € 10.000,-.

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NEDERLAND
AD

Slachtoffers die als volwassene zijn misbruikt door een kerkelijk medewerker krijgen ook compensatie van de Rooms-Katholieke Kerk (RKK). Dat heeft het Meldpunt Seksueel Misbruik RKK laten weten.

Het gaat om zwakzinnige volwassenen. Daarnaast kunnen mensen die in een weerloze toestand waren ten tijde van het misbruik zich eveneens aanmelden voor de regeling. ‘Het gaat niet om veel slachtoffers, maar ook deze mensen moet recht worden gedaan’, aldus een woordvoerder van het meldpunt.

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TEXAS
Fort Worth Star-Telegram

SAN ANGELO — The West Texas judge who has presided over the investigation and trials of a polygamist sect has been replaced for this month’s bigamy trial of a former lieutenant to sect leader Warren Jeffs.

In a terse court order, the presiding judge of the 7th Administrative Judicial Region ordered senior Judge Robert Moore of Big Spring to replace state District Judge Barbara Walther for the trial of Wendell Loy Nielsen, the San Angelo Standard-Times reported.

The order gave no reason for the change, and Walther declined to comment, the newspaper reported.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Erie Times-News

SMETHPORT — A Catholic Diocese of Erie priest has been sentenced to two years of probation for having an inappropriate relationship with a 15-year-old boy in McKean County.

The Rev. Samuel Slocum, 60, was sentenced Monday in McKean County Court, where he was convicted in January of concealment of the whereabouts of a child, the Bradford Era reported Tuesday.

Prosecutors accused Slocum of allowing the boy to visit his residence after the boy’s mother had forbidden it, and of lying to the mother when she asked if her son had gone to his residence.

Slocum was not accused of having sexual contact with the boy.

Testimony in earlier proceeding indicated Slocum had given the teen two iPhones, an iPod and an Apple laptop computer on which they secretly communicated using the parish Wi-Fi connection.

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AUSTRALIA
Newcastle Herald

SAM RIGNEY

02 Mar, 2012

Serial paedophile James Michael Brown was sentenced to six years behind bars in East Maitland District Court today.

Brown, 61, sexually abused 20 victims while he was a volunteer with the Anglican Church at Kurri Kurri between 1974 and 1995.

He pleaded guilty to a string of indecent and sexual assault charges in April last year.

He first went into custody in November last year after pleading guilty to further offences.

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UNITED STATES
The Media Report

Dave Pierre

*EXCLUSIVE* Deposition of SNAP’s Clohessy Revealed! Clohessy Evades Questions and Subverts Court Order While Lawyers Shred Clohessy’s Defense That SNAP is a ‘Rape Crisis Center’

Late today (3/1/12), TheMediaReport.com obtained a copy of the high-profile but carefully guarded deposition given by David Clohessy, the national director of SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests), on January 2, 2012. The deposition was conducted in Clayton, Missouri, as part of an effort to determine the violation of a court-imposed gag order in the case of an accused Catholic priest.

[Click here to read the complete deposition]

The deposition exposes Clohessy as steadfastly refusing to answer many of the questions asked of him and declining to hand over important documents ordered by a judge. Clohessy did this despite losing a number of appeals before being forced to be deposed.

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CANADA
CTV

[with video]

CAMPBELL RIVER – The Federal Government’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission has made it’s way farther down Vancouver Island, today reaching Campbell River. The commission is crossing the country to hear stories from survivors of Canada’s Indian Residential School System.

More than 150,000 First Nations children are believed to have gone through the system, which removed young children out of the public school system and forced them into native-only facilities across the country.

The commission is hearing from thousands of presenters who are sharing their stories which often include accounts of emotional, physical and sexual abuse.

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MICHIGAN
Detroit Free Press

By Niraj Warikoo
Detroit Free Press Staff Writer

A new court filing says Saginaw Bishop Joseph Cistone witnessed the shredding of a document in Philadelphia that listed 35 Catholic priests suspected of sexually abusing children. The revelation prompted a victims advocacy group this week to call for Cistone to be investigated. He is not charged.

The allegations came out in a criminal case involving a possible cover-up of child abuse by Msgr. William Lynn of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, where Cistone once worked. The court filing indicates that Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, who died last month, had ordered his aides to destroy the list.

The list came to light last week after defense attorneys filed a 1994 handwritten memo from the late Msgr. James Molloy, an assistant to Bevilacqua, in which he informed the cardinal that the list was destroyed.

“On 3-22-94 at 10:45 AM I shredded, in the presence of Reverend Joseph R. Cistone, four copies of these lists from the secret archives,” Molloy wrote in the memo, according to a copy cited by CNN. “The action was taken on the basis of a directive I received from Cardinal Bevilacqua.” The memo was recently found in a locked safe in an archdiocesan office.

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TENNESSEE
Times News

By Kacie Breeding

Published March 1st, 2012

An Abingdon minister has been arrested for sex offenses allegedly committed against a juvenile female.

A Washington County, Virginia, Sheriff’s Office news release states John Wesley Price, 63, 206 Baugh Lane, Abingdon, Va., was arrested at noon Thursday on four counts of “animate object sexual penetration.”

Sheriff Fred Newman confirmed Price is the minister of Temple Baptist Church, 15157 Inspiration Dr.. He said the offenses allege Price sexually penetrated a former 17-year-old student of Temple Christian School.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC Newcastle

Updated March 02, 2012

Anglican Church officials in the New South Wales Hunter Valley have been accused of ignoring sexual abuse allegations against a former youth worker, who has been jailed today.

Sixty-two-year-old James Michael Brown, known as Brother Jim, has been sentenced to 10 years in jail for sexually abusing 20 boys.

Brown showed no emotion as the sentence was handed down.

He pleaded guilty to 27 offences, including indecent and sexual assault and buggery.

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WEST VIRGINIA
The Journal

March 2, 2012

By Matt Armstrong, Journal Staff Writer, journal-news.net

CHARLES TOWN – A Harpers Ferry man was arrested earlier this week and arraigned on several felony sexual abuse charges in Jefferson County Magistrate Court, according to court records.

Brian Scott Whitehair, 47, was arrested following an investigation by the West Virginia State Police Charles Town Detachment and the Harpers Ferry Police Department. He was charged with six felony counts of first degree sexual abuse and one misdemeanor count of third degree sexual abuse of juveniles, records show.

Whitehair confessed to sexually abusing three victims officers previously had interviewed, in addition to two other victims.

Patrolman M.T. Schul, with the HFPD, was notified on Sunday of a sexual abuse complaint filed by the mother of a victim. The complaint alleged that, earlier in the day, at a Harpers Ferry church, Whitehair sexually abused the victim in a vacant room, records show.

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AUSTRALIA
The Maitland Mercury

02 Mar, 2012

A volunteer parish youth worker has been sentenced to 10 years jail with a non-paraole period of six years after being charged with a range of sexual offences in the Hunter during the 1970s and 80s.

James Michael Brown was sentenced at East Maitland District Court today.

He was found guilty of offences including homosexual intercourse with a male between 10 years and 18 years, indecent assault on a male, act of indecency, sexual assault, sexual intercourse without consent and buggery.

The Anglican Bishop of Newcastle, the Right Reverend Dr Brian Farran has expressed deep regret for the abuse perpetrated by Brown during his time as a parish youth worker.

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CALIFORNIA
Lodi News-Sentinel

Friday, March 2, 2012

By Ross Farrow/News-Sentinel Staff Writer

A Tracy man who was 13 years old at the time said he punched Father Michael Kelly in the face and apparently broke his jaw after Kelly allegedly tickled him too hard, according to testimony Thursday in San Joaquin County Superior Court.

Joe Bacchetti, 45, testified during Kelly’s civil trial that Kelly tickled him so hard during the 1979 incident that it began to hurt him.

Kelly didn’t stop tickling him even though Bacchetti said he asked him to stop, until Bacchetti finally punched the priest in the face.

Although Kelly continually tickled Bacchetti, the Tracy resident said he was never abused sexually, nor did he observe Kelly sexually abuse anyone else.

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IRELAND/UNITED STATES
CBS – 60 Minutes

(CBS News) The child sex abuse crisis and cover-up in the Catholic Church of Ireland has taken a devastating toll on one of the most Catholic countries in the world. Some parishes that once saw 90 percent Sunday Mass attendance are down to 2 percent. A country that once produced so many priests that they were considered an important export now doesn’t have enough for its own churches. And, despite the publication of the Murphy Commission’s report, a scathing analysis of the abuse and cover-up, the scandal is not over, says Dublin Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, one of the highest ranking church officials to openly criticize the Catholic Church. The archbishop speaks to Bob Simon for a “60 Minutes” report about the effects of the scandal on Ireland to be broadcast Sunday, March 4 at 7:00 p.m. ET/PT.

When Martin became archbishop, he provided the Murphy Commission with 65,000 files his predecessor had refused to turn over. In his sermons, he confronted the Church head-on for the behavior that caused the scandal. Now the church is at a breaking point; now is not the time to forget he says. “There’s a real danger today of people saying, ‘The child abuse scandal is over. Let’s bury it. Let’s move on,'” he tells Simon. “It isn’t over. Child protection and the protection of children is something that will go on…for the rest of our lives and into the future. Because the problems are there,” says the archbishop.

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Bertone has come under attack because of financial questions and the discontent aroused among diplomats. Among the names of potential substitutes for the post of Secretary of State, is Cardinal Leonardo Sandri

Marco Tosatti
Vatican City

Behind the Vatican Walls is a cunning old fox, which is very close to the upper echelons of the Vatican and told me what is going on in the world’s smallest state. It struck me as a plausible story so I will tell it to you now; bear in mind, however, that all that I was told may not be one hundred per cent true.

The objective of this series of revelations, pseudo-revelations, leaked news (which is mostly dated) and resentments, is to get rid of the Vatican Secretary of State, Tarcisio Bertone, who will turn 78 next December, and to substitute him with someone else. But with whom? Well, a candidate may have already been picked out; two in fact; but this I will go into at another moment. There are a number of different forces and sentiments that seem to be converging on this operation. Looking at the list of the figures that were described to me as the main characters of this anti-Bertonian environment, they could be defined as “diplomats of the Kabbalah”; obviously not all of the Pope’s diplomats. But some of them, either actively or passively.

The first person to become implicated was Carlo Maria Viganò. This occurred when the famous television programme case broke out following the letter he had addressed to the Pope (which was copied to Bertone). His cool feelings towards the current Secretary of State are due to a number of factors. Rumour has it that Bertone had dangled before him the prospect of a position in the Curia, a promise which he was then unable or unwilling to keep. Rightly or wrongly, Viganò holds him responsible for what he sees as an exile. Viganò had been head of staff in the Secretariat of State for ten years. In short, he knows everything about everyone. His enemies speak of a chest of letters that was supposedly sent to America, which is allegedly being guarded jealously. This could all be fantasy, but it still gives an idea of the climate in recent days. It must not be forgotten that one of his predecessors as Secretary of the Governorate has gone to Spoleto and the other to Loreto, two cities in Italy; or the fact that he could become Nuncio to Washington, the Pope’s most important embassy in the world. But word has it that Viganò wants to return to Rome and this is the reason why he has not given up his Vatican apartment.

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MINNESOTA
The Catholic Spirit

March 1, 2012

The following comments elaborate on the condensed financial statements of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2011

By John F. Bierbaum

At June 30, 2011, the financial condition of the archdiocese is improved, and the financial result of activities in the fiscal year then ended resulted in a surplus of $3.4 million. The bulk of the surplus can be attributed to the insurance program ($1.1 million) and appreciation of investments ($1.9 million).

Revenues and gains

Total revenue for 2011 reached $39,951,000 as compared to $40,446,000 in 2010.

After significant increases in 2010, the primary sources of revenue, parish assessments and the Catholic Services Appeal (CSA) were down 6 percent and 7 percent respectively in 2011. The slight decrease in assessments is reflective of decreased contributions at parishes during the economic downturn in 2009 (base year for assessments).

CSA receipts, as reported, are after deductions for rebates to parishes and allowances. On a pre-deduction basis, the CSA generated $9.5 million, greater than goal and prior year by $200,000. Both speak to the generosity of the Catholic community despite the severe economic conditions and slow recovery.

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UNITED STATES
The Media Report

Dave Pierre

According to Al Jazeera opinion writer Rose Aguilar, United States Catholic bishops have been “given a pass on pedophilia” and “widespread child abuse scandals continue to this day.”

What has prompted Aguilar to unleash her venom against the Church? Does it really have anything to do with the awful abuse of children? Not really.

Aguilar does not like the fact that Catholic bishops have forcefully spoken out against the government’s recent attack on religious freedom that attempts to force them to provide contraceptives in health insurance. (Her article is entitled, “The birth control bishops,” if you can stomach it.)

Aguilar realized, however, that she could not attack the Church on her own. So she did what most slippery journalists do when an attack on the Church is in order, and facts and honesty are not all that important.

She went to the angry folks at SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests) and BishopAccountability.org for support.

First up for Aguilar was SNAP “Outreach Director” Barbara Dorris, who, according to Aguilar, “says the [Church abuse] cover-ups are still happening across the country, yet we rarely hear about them in the national dialogue … ‘Bishops have gotten away with moving these predators from place to place, allowing them to start fresh. They are far more dangerous than the predators,’ [said Dorris].” Uh-huh.

(By the way, the article relays an oft-told story by Dorris of her walking in on a priest in 1991 at her parish abusing a young girl. Dorris has claimed that she called the police and social services, yet the man remains in ministry to this day. Yet, most notably, she refuses to divulge the name of this allegedly abusive priest. Why? Who is “covering up” now?)

Then there was the crabby Terence McKiernan from BishopAccountability.org, who, without a shred of supporting documentation, actually claimed, “Over the course of our conversation, a priest is abusing a child.”

Really? …

The bottom line: Al Jazeera, SNAP, and BishopAccountability.org reveal – again – that honesty and truth are not important when attacking the Catholic Church.

(Thank you for the story tip, Matt!)

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CHARLOTTE (NC)
WCNC

by Dave Wagner / NewsChannel 36

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — He is a Charlotte pastor who calls himself an “apostle” and is described by some as “charming” and “charismatic.” But former church members tell the I-Team, there is a darker side to this self-proclaimed disciple.

Pastor Clavon Leonard started the Church of Philadelphia in Charlotte’s Hidden Valley neighborhood. “We live by the word. People do by the word. It’s a church of love,” said Leonard.

But six former church leaders have come forward with accusations of spiritual, physical and sexual abuse. “I would describe him as barbaric,” said former minister of music Talitha Williams. Former church member Ayanna Armstrong described Leonard as a cult leader. “His whole being, that’s all he is, is mind control,” said Armstrong.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Yorkshire Post

Published on Thursday 1 March 2012

*The Church of England has offered an “unreserved apology” for historic cases of child abuse by some members of its clergy.

Officials said it was a matter of “great sorrow and deep regret” and they recognised the harm caused to the victims.

The apology coincided with the publication of another critical report detailing how convicted paedophile Roy Cotton went on to be ordained as a priest.

Cotton was convicted of indecent behaviour with a child in 1954 aged 25 while in training for the priesthood and further damaging allegations were made against him years later.

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AUSTIN (TX)
RushPR

Austin, TX (RPRN) 03/01/12 — New lawsuit filed against Roman Catholic Diocese of Austin – Diocese yet to answer

Houston personal injury law firm Sutliff & Stout, PLLC filed a lawsuit in Travis County District Court this week on behalf of a man who was sexually abused by a Catholic Priest at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in San Saba, Texas. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Austin is in charge of St. Mary’s Catholic Church. The abuse occurred when the man was 11 years old and happened on many occasions until the man moved away from San Saba, Texas.

The lawsuit alleges, among other things, negligence on behalf of the Catholic Diocese in
addition to sexual assault charges against the priest in question.

When asked to comment on this lawsuit, Graham Sutliff was quoted as aying, “Unfortunately, our client’s lawsuit cannot undo the abuse that he suffered. But it can give our client, as well as other victims of sexual abuse, a voice. As a society, we have an obligation to bring these actions to light and hold the parties involved accountable for the abuse that occurred.”

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ISRAEL
YNet News

The Kfar Saba Magistrate’s Court extended by six additional days the remand of Rabbi Yigal Krispel, a former principal of a haredi school for girls in Netanya who is suspected of sexually assaulting his students.

The court ruled there are evidence linking Krispel to many offences and said he is a danger to society. It is also feared the suspect will cause obstruction of justice. (Raanan Ben-Zur)

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ISRAEL
Press TV (Iran)

An Israeli rabbi has been charged with repeated sexual assault on students in a girls’ school in a city north of Tel Aviv where he used to work as principal.

Rabbi Yigal Krispel, 47, was arrested last week after two former students at a school for Haredi (Orthodox Jewish) girls filed complaints against him saying he had sexually assaulted them.

The Kfar Saba Magistrate’s Court has extended the remand of the Netanya rabbi, who has also been accused of raping a young teacher.

The family of the 20-year-old teacher complained that Krispel had abused his power to have sexual relations with her.

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ITALIA
IVG

Savona. La richiesta di archiviazione per l’ex Vescovo di Savona, Monsignor Dante Lafranconi, indagato per violenza sessuale perché non avrebbe impedito ad alcuni sacerdoti della sua Diocesi di compiere atti di pedofilia, è arrivata sul tavolo del giudice per le indagini preliminari Fiorenza Giorgi. Già da qualche settimana era noto che il pubblico ministero Giovanni Battista Ferro avesse chiesto l’archiviazione dell’inchiesta in questione per prescrizione del reato.

Se non ci fosse stata un’opposizione all’archiviazione, presentata dall’associazione della Rete L’abuso, che tutela le vittime di preti pedofili ed è rappresentata da Francesco Zanardi, il gip avrebbe potuto decidere immediatamente se archiviare o meno. Davanti all’opposizione della Rete L’Abuso il giudice ha invece fissato un’udienza, prevista per i primi giorni di maggio (forse il 2), durante la quale verrà deciso se accogliere la richiesta del pm o meno.

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WHEELING (WV)
The Intelligencer

March 1, 2012

WHEELING – Wheeling Jesuit University spokeswoman Michelle Rejonis on Wednesday said the university is cooperating with federal investigators who seized records from the offices of J. Davitt McAteer, the school’s vice president for federally sponsored research programs.

The records were removed Feb. 15, but Rejonis said she didn’t know which federal agency was involved.

McAteer, a former head of the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration, did not return calls seeking comment. University President Richard Beyer’s office referred all questions on the matter to Rejonis.

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ITALIA
Savona News

“Ci riteniamo soddisfatti di questo risultato in precedenza annunciato dai nostri legali, riteniamo anche che l’opposizione presentata insieme ad una nuova querela per violenza sessuale prolungata dal 1997 al 2003 cambi notevolmente le cose.

La richiesta di archiviazione era motivata nei confronti di diverse vittime tra le quali Francesco Zanardi per prescrizione.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

[with video]

Updated March 01, 2012

Transcript

TONY JONES, PRESENTER: Victims of sex abuse by Catholic clergy in Victoria are calling for a Royal Commission into the church.

Victims’ support groups say they’ve traced dozens of suicides among people molested by Catholic clergymen in the Ballarat area.

And in the wake of an inquiry into child protection, the Victorian Government is scrambling for the right response.

Hamish Fitzsimmons reports

HAMISH FITZSIMMONS, REPORTER: Victoria’s Community Services Minister is under pressure over comments comparing the rights of paedophiles to the rights of victims.

MARY WOOLDRIDGE, VICTORIAN MINISTER FOR COMMUNITY SERVICES (Fairfax Radio): We have to balance the rights of children and families…

NEIL MITCHELL, RADIO HOST: Against the rights of paedophiles.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
Irish Central

By
KERRY O’SHEA,
IrishCentral Staff Writer

Published Thursday, March 1, 2012, 8:03 AM

A priest from Co. Down has been convicted for the fourth time of sexually abusing young boys. He has since been sentenced to four years in prison for his crimes.

BBC News reports that one of the victims of Fr. Daniel Curran’s abuse, a man who wishes to remain unidentified, has grappled with the trauma of the incidents that occurred between 1989 and 1994.

“It’s been very traumatic, because you would spend your life in doubt, you would spend your life in fear, you spend your whole life questioning yourself, doubting your ability, you feel dirty,” said the man, who also added that he’s had nightmares most of his life about Curran.

The victim admits that coming forth about his abuse was no easy feat.

“Back then, being a Catholic and having a strong religious background you would never be able to go and tell anyone because you knew that it was wrong,” he said.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Huffington Post

The Church of England has offered an “unreserved apology” for historic cases of child abuse by some members of its clergy, including one priest who was allowed to be a Scout leader.

Officials said it was a matter of “great sorrow and deep regret” and they recognised the harm caused to the victims.

The apology, released on Thursday, coincides with the publication of a report detailing how convicted paedophile Roy Cotton went on to be ordained as a priest.

Cotton was convicted of indecent behaviour with a child in 1954 aged 25 while in training for the priesthood and further damaging allegations were made against him years later.

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INDIA
DNA

The Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights along with some NGOs and police rescued 42 children who had allegedly been abused at a children’s home in Challaghatta village near Marathahalli.

The home is run by an organisation called the Church of Christ.

The priest of the church, John Charles (42), is being interrogated. The police said that he admitted to having beaten some children for not doing their homework. Some girls have alleged that he also used to misbehave with them. Till the time of going to press, the police were interrogating Charles. A police officer said the children have been spoken to and, in some cases, bruise marks are fairly visible.

The police said that some girls told the rescue team that Charles used to misbehave with them in the kitchen.

They said that at times Charles used to spend the night at the premises. He lives in Cox Town with his family.

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CANADA
Ottawa Citizen

By Chloé Fedio, Ottawa Citizen March 1, 2012

An Ottawa Valley priest faces several sexual assaults charges against pre-teenage boys and one man that date back to 1970, Ontario Provincial Police said Wednesday.

Daniel Miller, 67, was charged with three counts each of gross indecency and indecent assault for offences that occurred between 1970 and 1980.

Miller was ordained priest in the Pembroke diocese in May 1969. He served the Roman Catholic church in Eganville, Arnprior, Deep River and Petawawa prior to 1999, said Bruce Pappin, spokesman for the Pembroke diocese.

Miller currently lives in a residence at Our Lady of Lourdes church in Pembroke but does not serve as a priest for that congregation, Pap-pin said. “He has not been in active pastoral duty for over a decade. He’s living in the rectory at Lourdes church,” Pap-pin said.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Irish Examiner

Thursday, March 01, 2012 –

The Church of England has offered an “unreserved apology” for historic cases of child abuse by some members of its clergy.

Officials said it was a matter of “great sorrow and deep regret” and they recognised the harm caused to the victims.

The apology coincided with the publication of another critical report detailing how convicted paedophile Roy Cotton went on to be ordained as a priest.

Cotton was convicted of indecent behaviour with a child in 1954 aged 25 while in training for the priesthood and further damaging allegations were made against him years later.

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CANADA
CFRA

Kristi Soble with Lauren Davis
Wednesday, February 29, 2012

A Pembroke priest faces charges in relation to a historical sexual assault.

OPP say the man is accused of assaulting preteen boys and an adult man between 1970 and 1980.

Sixty-seven-year-old Daniel M. Miller has been charged with three counts of gross indecency and three counts of indecent assault.

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AUSTRALIA
The Age

Paul McDonald
March 1, 2012
Opinion

Improvements to child protection will not come cheaply but must be made.

THE figures are staggering: over the past 10 years, reports of child abuse and neglect in Victoria have risen by 45 per cent. Families under-capable and over-stressed, children traumatised by family violence, addictions creating chaotic routines for babies and erratic relationships have resulted in a stretched and struggling system.

There has been no shortage of reviews in this policy area: one every three years on average over the past three decades.

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AUSTRALIA
The Age

March 1, 2012
Opinion

Will Spring Street finally take action to properly protect those at risk?

The Baillieu government should at the very least be congratulated for commissioning and promptly releasing the Cummins report on child protection. By any measure it is a landmark study, laying bare an issue that the previous Labor government shamefully squibbed.

Depending on how this government ultimately responds, the report will be held up as a glowing achievement of the Coalition’s first term or an emblem of yet more political inaction.

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

John Ferguson, Victorian political editor
From:The Australian
February 29, 2012

A LOST generation of vulnerable Victorian children has been failed by governments and the legal system, but those responsible for overseeing the systemic departmental chaos will not be pursued by the Baillieu government.

The Cummins inquiry into child protection yesterday backed a ground-up overhaul of child services in Victoria as well as broad changes to the way the Children’s Court operates.

It found the growth in suspected child abuse and neglect was so great that almost one in every four children born last year would be the subject of at least one welfare protection report by their 18th birthday.

The inquiry has recommended greater reporting demands on the clergy, with exemptions for the rite of confession, and a whole-of-government response to the child welfare crisis. It has backed a new Commission for Children and Young People and accused Victorian governments over many years of having failed on crucial early-intervention procedures.

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CALIFORNIA
The Record

By Jennie Rodriguez-Moore
Record Staff Writer

March 01, 2012

STOCKTON – Witness testimony in a civil lawsuit alleging Lockeford’s the Rev. Michael Kelly sexually molested an altar boy began Wednesday in a courtroom full of the priest’s supporters.

Now a 37-year-old man, the plaintiff is seeking damages from Kelly and the Diocese of Stockton, saying he recovered repressed memories of him being molested by the priest.

The plaintiff was a student at Annunciation School during the mid-1980s and an altar boy at Cathedral of the Annunciation, where Kelly has served.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

Lawyers on Wednesday added two more people to the jury for the conspiracy and child sex-abuse trial of three current or former Archdiocese of Philadelphia priests.

After an eighth day of screening, prosecutors and defense attorneys had chosen six men and six women for the panel.

Lawyers for both sides still need to pick 10 alternate jurors, who could be tapped if any of the original 12 were disqualified or forced to leave the case. That process could extend into next week.

The trial is projected to last between three and four months.

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NEDERLAND
VVD

De gehele Kamer steunt de VVD in het uitspreken van afschuw over wat de slachtoffers van het misbruik in de katholieke kerk is aangedaan.

Ard van der Steur: “Ik heb mijn collega’s bij motie gevraagd hun afschuw uit te spreken, evenals hun medeleven met de slachtoffers en hun familie die dit leed zonder erkenning jaren hebben moeten dragen. Vanaf 1945 heeft zeer ernstig seksueel misbruik van minderjarigen plaatsgevonden. Door de zwijgcultuur binnen de rooms-katholieke kerk is dat misbruik nooit openbaar gemaakt, en zijn dus ook geen stappen gezet om het te beëindigen. Het feit dat slachtoffers daarmee stelselmatig leed is toegebracht en dat zij vervolgens gewoonweg in de steek zijn gelaten, is voor mij onacceptabel. Gelukkig hebben al mijn collega’s zich bij dit gevoelen aangesloten.”

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SOUTH CAROLINA
Patch

By Andrew Moore

A 58-year-old Taylors man was arrested Wednesday for allegedly initiating inappropriate sexual conduct 26 years ago with a teenage boy at a Hampton Park Baptist Church youth function.

According to the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office, a sex crimes investigation was conducted after the department’s Crimes Against Children Unit received a report earlier this year alleging that Kenneth Johnson had engaged in sexual behavior with a child at an Amy Street address in Taylors from June to August of 1985. Warrants indicate Johnson allegedly touched a 14-year-old boy’s genitals on multiple occassions. During the time of the alleged abuse, the victim was a juvenile and an active participant in the youth group at the church, where Johnson was a volunteer assistant.

The victim has not indicated that there were any such incidences on church property.

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INDIA
Times of India

BANGALORE: Two officials of a non-governmental organisation were detained by police for allegedly sexually harassing and brutally assaulting children at its shelter. Devanahalli Airport police station officers confirmed that John Charles, general manager, Church of Christ, an NGO located on Bellary Road in Chellaghatta, and board member, John Williams, were picked up for questioning.

They said a case with multiple charges, including sexual abuse and assault, will be booked against the duo after interrogation. On Wednesday evening, Child Welfare Committee (CWC) members raided the home following a complaint lodged with them through Childline, a children’s helpline, on Tuesday night by anonymous persons and rescued 42 children – 19 girls and 23 boys all between the age of 8 and 18.

Nina Nayak, chairperson, Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (KSCPCR), said girls in the home told counsellors they had been sexually abused. After the complaint from Childline, CWC first visited the home and realized the matter was grave before conducting the raid.

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INDIA
Deccan Herald

Bangalore, Feb 29, 2012:

As many as 42 children were rescued from an orphanage late Wednesday night, following complaints of severe physical and sexual abuse.

Twenty-three girls and 19 boys were rescued from Church of Christ Home located in Challaghatta by teams from Child Rights Commission, Child Welfare Committee, Childline Bangalore and HAL Airport police. The manager of the orphanage Charles and another person John Williams have been arrested by the Airport police.

According to one of the members involved in the rescue operation, the children were found to bear marks of brutality and in a severely traumatic condition.

The home was registered as a society and not registered either with the Child Welfare Committee or the Department of Women and Child Development as an orphanage.

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CALIFORNIA
Lodi News-Sentinel

By Ross Farrow/News-Sentinel Staff Writer

Two parishioners at a Stockton Catholic church testified Wednesday about Father Michael Kelly touching children in 1984. However, both of them said they didn’t consider the acts to be sexual misconduct.

The testimony came from the first two witnesses in the civil trial in San Joaquin County Superior Court. The plaintiff, a man in his late 30s, has sued Kelly and the Stockton Diocese, accusing Kelly of sexually abusing him when the plaintiff was an altar boy at Cathedral of the Annunciation in Stockton in the 1980s.

Kelly hasn’t been arrested or charged with criminal sexual misconduct. The case is being tried before a civil jury.

Kelly has been pastor of St. Joachim’s Catholic Church in Lockeford since 2004 and previously served in Stockton, Sonora, San Andreas and Ceres before being assigned to St. Joachim’s.

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TEXAS
Reporter News

By Brian Bethel

Posted February 29, 2012

Bishop Michael Pfeifer, head of the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Angelo, will travel in mid-March to visit Pope Benedict XVI.

Pfeifer, along with other bishops who make up the Vatican’s Region X of the United States, will visit Benedict March 13—21, a diocese statement said. …

“Definitely we will talk about the sexual abuse situation that really came to the forefront 10 years ago,” he said. “The pope has been very, very concerned what the American bishops are doing about that, and in our reports to Rome, that’s one of the major points.”

The San Angelo Diocese has a yearly audit, a regularly-revised policy book, orientation classes and other items in place to both educate those within it and prevent abuse, Pfeifer said.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

With the deeply troubling disclosure that Cardinal Anthony J. Bevilacqua ordered aides to shred a memo identifying 35 suspected predator priests, there’s no longer any question that Pennsylvania should give victims of long-ago abuse an avenue to have their day in court.

The revelations about Bevilacqua present a textbook illustration of what’s at stake in victims’ efforts to uncover the truth about the apparent cover-up of alleged abuse by clergy spanning decades. The cardinal died Jan. 31, on the eve of the sex-abuse trial of a former church administrator and two former parish priests.

Just as two Philadelphia grand juries concluded, Bevilacqua’s reported 1994 shredding directive, brought to light only last week, appears to confirm that there was a carefully orchestrated effort by Archdiocese of Philadelphia officials to shield predators.

Similarly, it has been revealed that Bevilacqua joined with other Pennsylvania bishops “to examine how the dioceses . . . can better protect their secret archives from civil-law discovery,” according to court records.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Daily News

THE FINAL juror was selected yesterday to hear the child-sexual-abuse trial of two current Philadelphia Catholic priests and one former priest.

Common Pleas Judge M. Teresa Sarmina and the trial’s attorneys must now select 10 alternate jurors. The trial is expected to last 12 to 16 weeks. Opening arguments are slated for March 26.

Monsignor William Lynn, 61, is charged with child endangerment and conspiracy for allegedly enabling the crimes of predator priests.

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