ABUSE TRACKER

PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

When defense lawyers go before Philadelphia Common Pleas Court Judge M. Teresa Sarmina on Monday to ask for bail pending appeal for Msgr. William J. Lynn, the guest of honor will not be present.

The 61-year-old cleric, sentenced July 24 to 3 to 6 years in prison after a jury found him guilty of child endangerment in the landmark clergy sex abuse trial involving the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia, is already more than 100 miles away in the state prison at Camp Hill near Harrisburg.

At sentencing, Lynn told his lawyer he did not want to be returned to Philadelphia for his bail hearing, which would have required a rigorous prison bus ride as well as a likely stay at the state prison at Graterford in Montgomery County before his court date.

Lynn was the archdiocesan secretary for clergy from 1992 to 2004, a job in which he was responsible for investigating allegations that priests sexually abused minors. Though Lynn personally was never accused of sexual abuse, city prosecutors maintained that he enabled deviate priests to prey on children by moving them among Philadelphia-area parishes.

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ZIMBABWE
allAfrica

5 August 2012

The Standard

INTERVIEW

Archbishop Robert Ndlovu heads the Harare diocese of the Roman Catholic Church which covers 63 555 square kilometres and boasts of a Catholic population close to 500 000 people. The Standard deputy Editor Walter Marwizi, was granted an exclusive chance to meet the man of cloth, and in excerpts below he speaks candidly about errant priests, politics and the future of the church.

What is the state of Roman Catholic Church in Zimbabwe: Is it growing or declining in terms of numbers?

Well, I would say it’s growing judging by the number of people and records that we have, of those that are being baptised, those that are being confirmed it’s grown, but there is an element that we have to look at. In the past few years, within the last 10 years or so, a good number of Catholics have gone to the diaspora and we can feel that in our parishes. But otherwise in terms of growth, I can say it is balancing.

There are critics who say the church is losing members especially the youth because it has remained too conservative on matters such as condoms and birth control. What is your comment?

We believe that sex is something sacred and it is to be used within a relationship, and therefore it’s an expression of love of two people and they realise in so doing they are co-operating with their creator. And that is God…So if it is morally wrong it does not become morally right because someone has invented a condom…

Let’s turn to the problems in the priesthood. The church has been criticised for failing to rein in wayward priests. Is the church addressing these problems?

You always have problems and a rotten apple here and there because we are human beings and I think action is being taken, a good number of priests have been suspended once they were found out. A good number have just been told to leave the priesthood.

Do you have numbers?

Well, I wouldn’t give you statistics but I know for instance since I came to Harare, I can say more or less with certainty five or six priests have been told to leave the priesthood. And I think two or three were sent on suspension because it depends on the gravity of the matter, some of them are not really (serious offences) but for discipline’s sake we have to do that… But also look at it from this point of view; we are recruiting from a society that we all know. I like to use the term a wounded society, so sometimes these temptations don’t stop because someone has become a priest…

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ST. LOUIS (MO)
Beacon

By Patricia Rice, special to the Beacon

No matter how cool the air-conditioning in the ballroom of the Millennium Hotel downtown next week, no matter how determined 900 leaders of Catholic religious sisters are to be civil with well-modulated voices, many already are hot under the collar.

Tuesday American Catholic sisters who hold leadership roles in 320 Catholic religious communities will be in St. Louis to participate in the four-day Leadership Conference of Women Religious annual summer assembly. These communities take in 80 percent of U.S. sisters.

The leadership group and many of their supporters are deeply concerned about a mandate for change issued this spring by the Vatican. It calls on the conference to reorganize and more strictly observe church teachings.

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NEW YORK
Voice from the Desert

Annual meeting of nuns in Saint Louis excludes discussion of nun sexual abuse

New York rally to pray for nuns does not include victims of sexual abuse

What: A demonstration and leafleting outside a Greenwich Village Church where Catholics will rally in support of the annual meeting of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious convention in Saint Louis, MO, later this week.

The demonstration will call on Catholics to support victims of nun and clerical sexual abuse and not religious orders of nuns that do not give victims of sexual abuse a fair hearing at their convention or when abuse allegations are reported.

Where: On the sidewalk outside St. John in the Village Church, 224 Waverly Place at West 11th Street, NY, NY 10014.

When: Sunday, August 5, 2012 from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

Dan Box
From: The Australian
August 06, 2012

AS an eight-year-old, “Kirsty” became the first known victim of pedophile priest Denis McAlinden, whose alleged abuse was reported to the Catholic Church. Today, she regrets no one passed that information on to the police.

Like other pupils at St Joseph’s Primary School in Merriwa, in country NSW, Kirsty — who asked that her real name not be used — was often sent to church for confession, either on her own or with friends.

“I just have a vivid memory of being sat on Father McAlinden’s lap in the church. I was fully clothed but he would pat me on the crotch,” she said. “Being so young, I knew that it was not right. I remember feeling very uncomfortable and didn’t want to be there.”

The alleged abuse went on for months. Some of Kirsty’s childhood friends told her they had suffered worse treatment at the priest’s hands.

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NEDERLAND
RKnieuws

MAASTRICHT (RKnieuws.net) – Pastoor Jan Schafraad uit Maastricht heeft gisteravond in Nieuwsuur aangekondigd te vechten tegen de beschuldigingen van seksueel misbruik. ’Ik ben onschuldig en dat zal ik bewijzen’ zei hij in de tv uitzending, ’de beschuldigingen zijn fantasie’.

Enkele parochianen steunen de pastoor, waaronder Ad Appels. ’Ik geloof in zijn onschuld’, zei hij. Een van de drie klagers heeft zich inmiddels teruggetrokken. Volgens de pastoor omdat hij toegaf gelogen te hebben. Volgens de andere klagers zou er sprake zijn van chantage.

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UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter

by Alice Popovici on Aug. 02, 2012 Sisters Under Scrutiny

Vigils in support of Catholic sisters are planned in more than 30 cities as the Leadership Conference of Women Religious prepares for its annual meeting in St. Louis, Mo. Individual locations are listed here.

Here’s a statement about the vigils, released today by the Nun Justice Project, a group of organizations that support the LCWR:

Nuns gather to prepare response to Vatican; Catholics across country prepare “Sister City” vigils in support

Washington, DC – While the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) is meeting August 7-11 in St. Louis, MO to discern a response to the Vatican mandate, Catholics will be holding “Sister City” vigils across the country to demonstrate their support with the sisters.

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BELGIE
De Morgen

In Malonne zijn vanmorgen om 10.30 uur een zeventigtal mensen opgedaagd voor een manifestatie tegen de komst van Michelle Martin naar het clarissenklooster in de gemeente. De betoging verliep rustig. .

De deelnemers droegen foto’s bij zich van de slachtoffers van Marc Dutroux en spandoeken met daarop boodschappen als “30 jaar is 30 jaar” en “Zwarte mars”.

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AUSTRALIA
The Armidale Express

STEPHEN JEFFERY

03 Aug, 2012

A SENIOR cleric at the centre of the ‘Father F’ sex abuse scandal has become embroiled in new allegations of concealing evidence of sex offences following a police investigation in the Hunter region.

Australian Bishops Conference general secretary Father Brian Lucas (pictured) is one of three persons of interest to Strike Force Lantle, which has investigated how the Catholic Church handled paedophile priest Denis McAlinden.

McAlinden, who died in 2005 without facing charges, is believed to have sexually assaulted possibly hundreds of girls over four decades in the Maitland-Newcastle diocese.

Although the Church reported McAlinden’s offences to authorities in 2003, it is alleged Father Lucas knew of his actions as early as 1993.

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Vatican Insider interviews the Holy See’s lawyer, Jeffrey Lena who says other countries have a higher money laundering risk rating

Andrea Tornielli
Vatican City

Moneyval assessors claim the Vatican still has a lot of work to do…

“Your statement confirms part of the problem: saying that the Vatican still has a lot of work to do, without comparing its report to those of other countries gives the impression that the Vatican is an exception. If we look at all the reports, one thing is obvious: the results of every single report for each country show that they still have a lot of work to do, because standards are often far more up to date and ahead in terms of the domestic laws of participating countries. One thing that does not appear in all reports but is present in the Holy See one, is that assessors noticed and appreciated the openness and ability of the IOR and the entire Vatican to work hard and effectively and to adapt and make progress in real time, even during the assessment process.”

Why does the report refer to the Vatican situation last November?

“The report illustrates a precise moment in time: November 2011. This is when Moneyval assessors paid their first visit. It should also be noted that the Holy See had until 26 January 2012 to introduce necessary reforms. So the score we achieved for the period being examined is very good. It does not however reflect the situation in the Vatican on the date on which the report was published, July that is. Much progress in the improvement of the money laundering system was made after January 2012, but these further modifications are only mentioned in the report’s footnotes, not in the main body of the text. These footnotes demonstrate that the anti-money laundering system, the IOR’s especially, is in fact a lot more advanced than nine months ago. So the real picture is even better than that painted by the report.”

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WORCESTER (MA)
Telegram & Gazette

By Bronislaus B. Kush TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
bkush@telegram.com

WORCESTER — The Rev. Charles M. Abdelahad — the longtime pastor of St. George Antiochian Orthodox Cathedral, who was convicted in May of physically assaulting a female parishioner during counseling sessions — will complete his jail sentence at the Worcester County Jail and House of Correction on Tuesday.

But his church superiors remain tight-lipped about whether he will be able to resume his ministry in Worcester or elsewhere.

“No decision has been made,” said Bishop Nicholas Ozone, a spokesman for the Most Rev. Philip Saliba, the metropolitan of the Self-Ruled Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America.

Bishop Nicholas said he had little information to share, adding only that Rev. Abdelahad’s future will be determined “in a while.”

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BOSTON (MA)
Boston Herald

By Christine McConville
Sunday, August 5, 2012

Don’t worry about us, a proud member of Boston’s Polish community said yesterday in the wake of the disturbing news that a Catholic priest who served the tight-knit community is facing child pornography possession charges.

“We’re tough and we’ll survive,” said Artur Marek, 42, a Dorchester carpenter whose young children are involved in activities at Our Lady of Czestochowa in South Boston. “It may sound like a paradox, but after something like this, we’ll come out stronger.”

The Rev. Andrzej “Andrew” Urbaniak, 41, a priest at Our Lady of Czestochowa, the Catholic parish that has served Boston’s Polish community since the late 1800s, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges of possession of child pornography and dissemination of images of a nude child.

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IBN Times

Boston: The men came from different walks of life on two continents: a children’s puppeteer in Florida, a hotel manager in Massachusetts, an emergency medical technician in Kansas, a day care worker in the Netherlands. In all, 43 men have been arrested over the past two years in a horrific, far-flung child porn network that unraveled like a sweater with a single loose thread.

In this case, the thread was a stuffed toy bunny.

The bunny, seen in a photo of a half-naked, distraught 18-month-old boy, was used to painstakingly trace a molester to Amsterdam. From there, investigators made one arrest after another of men accused of sexually abusing children, exchanging explicit photos of the attacks and even chatting online about abducting, cooking and eating youngsters.

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BOSTON (MA)
Boston Globe

By Zachary T. Sampson and Gal Tziperman Lotan
| Globe Correspondents
August 05, 2012

Days after their priest was arrested in the church rectory for possession of child pornography, parishioners at Our Lady of Czestochowa in South Boston arrived for evening Mass on Saturday expressing shock.

Many said they were troubled by the charges against the Rev. Andrzej J. Urbaniak who had been well-liked and two people left the church in tears. Others said they maintained confidence in him.

“I liked him,” said George Greenan, a 69-year-old Savin Hill resident who serves as head usher on Saturdays. “A lot of people are upset about it — I’m upset about it — but it could happen at any church.”

Urbaniak was arrested Tuesday and charged with possessing and distributing child pornography. Authorities said he confessed to downloading and sharing pornographic pictures of children, most of whom appeared to be between the ages of 8 and 10.

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UNITED STATES
Los Angeles Times

DOCUMENTS: Read the Boy Scouts files

By Jason Felch and Kim Christensen, Los Angeles Times

August 5, 2012
For nearly a century, the Boy Scouts of America has relied on a confidential blacklist known as the “perversion files” as a crucial line of defense against sexual predators.

Scouting officials say they’ve used the files to prevent hundreds of men who had been expelled for alleged sexual abuse from returning to the ranks. They’ve fought hard in court to keep the records from public view, saying confidentiality was needed to protect victims, witnesses and anyone falsely accused.

“It is a fact that Scouts are safer because the barrier created by these files is real,” Scouts Chief Executive Robert Mazzuca said in video posted on the organization’s website in June.

That barrier, however, has been breached repeatedly.

A Los Angeles Times review of more than 1,200 files dating from 1970 to 1991 found more than 125 cases across the country in which men allegedly continued to molest Scouts after the organization was first presented with detailed allegations of abusive behavior.

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IOWA
WOWT

Sentencing is delayed for a 67-year-old Iowa pastor who pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a teenage boy.

Dennis Brown of Eldora was to be sentenced next Friday for third-degree sexual abuse. His sentencing hearing has been reset for September 4th in Bremer County District Court. Brown faces up to 10 years in prison.

Brown met the boy online and then in person in Waverly. The boy’s family alerted authorities to the encounter.

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DOVER (DE)
The News Journal

Written by
Robin Brown
The News Journal

A longtime Department of Transportation employee who also is a church pastor faces 46 felony charges after an investigation into allegations he had sexual contact decades ago with two girls who were then 8 and 10 years old.

All of the charges filed Thursday against Odell L. Wright, 57, of the Dover area, are felonies, Delaware State Police Master Cpl. Gary E. Fournier said Saturday.

Wright was arraigned on 39 counts of first-degree unlawful sexual intercourse, six counts of unlawful sexual contact and one charge of continual sexual abuse of a child, Fournier said. He was being held in Vaughn Correctional Center near Smyrna on $215,000 secured bail.

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CALIFORNIA
The Press Democrat

By GUY KOVNER
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Reversing his stance on a sensitive issue, Bishop Robert Vasa is allowing the Santa Rosa Diocese to continue offering child safety training in its schools and to participate in a nationwide audit that determines whether dioceses have provided the training intended to prevent child sex abuse.

Auditors working for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops will visit the diocese for two days this month. They will examine records and interview the bishop, some priests and other church officials, including members of the review board that handles sex abuse complaints.

Santa Rosa was among the Catholic dioceses that passed last year’s audit for compliance with the child safety standards, including training for children and adults, adopted by the bishops conference in 2002. …

Facts

‘CIRCLE OF GRACE’ PROGRAM

Catholic schools in the Santa Rosa diocese use a program called Circle of Grace to teach students how to recognize and avoid sexual abuse.

The curriculum, developed by the Archdiocese of Omaha, blends Catholic faith with child psychology, said Mary Beth Hanus, a social worker and mental health provider who manages Omaha’s Office of Victim Outreach and Prevention.

“It is clinically sound and it’s faith-based,” said Hanus, an author of the program now used by 18 Catholic dioceses.

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CONNECTICUT
The Hartford Courant

By DAVE ALTIMARI, daltimar@courant.com
The Hartford Courant

6:58 p.m. EDT, August 4, 2012

The Vatican’s refusal to let the Norwich diocese remove an accused pedophile from the priesthood is expected to play a role in the upcoming trial involving a New London woman who says the priest molested her when she was 12.

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger received the Norwich request days before being elected pope in 2005. It’s unclear, though, if Ratzinger himself decided against laicizing Father Thomas Shea, who was accused of molesting as many as 15 girls at 11 different parishes throughout the Diocese of Norwich in a career that started in 1953.

One of accusers, using the pseudonym Jane Doe, sued the diocese in 2008 alleging that Shea made her perform oral sex on him while he was pastor of St. Joseph’s Church in New London.

As a priest in good standing, Shea was being paid by the diocese a pension of about $15,000 annually and all of his health insurance costs, including his nursing home bills.

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HAMMOND (IN)
Christian Post

By Ed Stetzer, Christian Post Guest Columnist

August 4, 2012

Jack Schaap was the pastor of First Baptist Church of Hammond, Indiana, the largest Independent Fundamental Baptist church in America. If you do not know his name, you may know the name of the church’s founder and his father-in-law, legendary fundamentalist, Jack Hyles.

Schaap has been caught up in what many are calling an “adultery scandal” and was fired this week. Yet, what many are missing is particularly important and requires immediate change.

It is time to stop calling this “adultery” and time to call it what it is, “abuse.”

If you’re not familiar with the situation, here’s a short recap from The Chicago Tribune:

An evangelical megachurch pastor has lost his job and is being investigated by the Lake County, Ind., Sheriff’s Department after admitting that he had an “improper relationship” with a young woman, a spokesman for First Baptist Church of Hammond said.

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HAMMOND (IN)
Atheist Media Blog

[with video]

Jack Schaap, mega-church pastor at First Baptist Church (Indiana) has been fired and is under investigation by the FBI for taking a minor across state lines to have sex. He is married and is infamous for his misogynistic and anti-gay sermons. He is also the chancellor of the Hyles–Anderson Bible College.

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DEUTSCHLAND
MissBiT

Samstag, 4. August 2012

Kronenburg: “Aber wir hielten es wirklich für notwendig, aufgrund dieser staatsanwaltschaftlichen Ermittlungen, jetzt schon diese Maßnahmen zu ergreifen.”

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NEDERLAND
NOS

De commissie-Samson ontvangt veel meldingen van seksueel misbruik of geweld die niet onder de onderzoeksopdracht vallen. De commissie kijkt alleen naar misbruik van kinderen die door de overheid in instellingen zijn geplaatst.

Ongeveer een op de drie meldingen gaat over misbruik in andere sectoren. De commissie vindt dat veel en daarom wordt ook naar die meldingen gekeken. In het eindrapport zal daar meer informatie over gegeven worden.

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DEUTSCHLAND
netzwerkeB

netzwerkB 03.08.2012

Offener Brief an:

Bundesministerin für Familie, Senioren, Frauen und Jugend
Dr. Kristina Schröder
Platz der Republik 1
11011 Berlin
Fax: 030 18555 4400

Sehr geehrte Frau Dr. Schröder,

Wir nehmen Bezug auf Ihr Schreiben vom 01.08.2012 in dem Sie uns mitteilen, dass es Ihnen nicht möglich ist, unseren Antrag auf Kostenübernahme im Rahmen der Unterstützung von Betroffenen-Initiativen zu unterstützen.

Zur Koordination der über 500 Opfervereine gründete sich am 20. August 2011 die Bundesinitiative der Betroffenen von sexualisierter Gewalt und Missbrauch im Kindesalter e.V. (BI) und wurde am 2. Dezember 2011 im Vereinsregister des Amtsgerichtes Charlottenburg eingetragen unter: 95 VR 31053 B. Anspruch war es, den aufwändigen Dialog zwischen den Betroffenen zu koordinieren und eine einheitliche Position der verschiedenen Betroffenenverbände für den Runden Tisch zu erfassen. Es dürfte klar sein, dass sich allein aus diesem Anspruch noch kein Alleinvertretungsanspruch der BI für die Betroffenen ergab. Ein halbes Jahr nach Gründung der BI steht die Einlösung des Anspruchs dieser Initiative mehr als in Frage. Gerade fünf Vereine sind noch Mitglied. Dennoch gilt die Initiative der Regierung als repräsentative Stimme der Betroffenen und wird nun mit mehr als 27.000 Euro finanziert.

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UNITED STATES
OpEd News

By
Rev. Dan Vojir

The Country’s Most Misogynist Minister Proves That Hypocrisy From The Pulpit Has No Bounds.

“At this time, we deeply regret the need to announce that First Baptist Church has dismissed our pastor, Dr. Jack Schaap, due to a sin that has caused him to forfeit his right to be our pastor. First Baptist Church is in full cooperation with our local authorities in their investigation of this matter. Our church grieves over the need to take this action and the impact it will have on our people.” – First Baptist Church of Hammond

The “sin” was extreme hypocrisy in the mode of Bishop Eddie Long and Creflo Dollar.

And the set up to that “sin” could not have been a more “perfect storm” of religious hypocrisy:

– The First Baptist Church of Hammond boasts a huge congregation as far back as 1978: 30,000, with the claim that it ran the “world’s largest Sunday School.” In 2006, it was listed as the 24th most influential chuech in the United States.

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SANTA MONICA (CA)
Santa Monica Mirror

Posted Aug. 3, 2012

Brenton Garen / Editor-in-Chief

The arraignment of St. Anne’s Church priest Rafael Venegas on a sexual battery charge was continued to August 21.

Venegas was originally scheduled to be arraigned at the LAX Courthouse earlier today on two charges – sexual battery and providing a minor under the age of 21 with alcohol. The courthouse’s public information office did not give the reason why the arraignment was moved.

Venegas turned himself into the Santa Monica Police Department on Monday – accompanied by his lawyer – and was released after posting $20,000 bail.

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SANTA MONICA (CA)
Patch

By Kate Parkinson-Morgan

The arraignment of a St. Anne’s Catholic Church and Shrine priest accused of sexual battery is delayed until later this month.

Rafael Raygoza Venegas, 38, was booked and charged Monday with two misdemeanors, sexual battery and supplying alcohol to someone younger than 21.

The date of the arraignment, during which Venegas will plead either guilty, not guilty or no contest to the charges brought against him, is set for August 21.

Accompanied by his attorney, Venegas came to the Santa Monica Police station Monday afternoon and surrendered after the Santa Monica City Attorney’s office filed charges.

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BOSTON (MA)
Boston Globe

Editorial

August 04, 2012

The sentence given to Rabbi Stanley Z. Levitt, the former religious instructor who pleaded guilty to four counts of indecent assault and battery on children, harks back to the long-discredited view that shame alone is enough to punish a prominent person who violates his position of authority. The 66-year-old Levitt was given 10 years of probation and ordered to stay away from children, register as a sex offender, and wear a GPS bracelet. It’s not enough. He should have been put behind bars.

Not all sex-abuse cases are alike, but Levitt’s followed a now-familiar pattern of a teacher or religious leader who shattered the trust that parents placed in him. Levitt’s crimes took place 37 years ago, when he was a teacher at the Orthodox Jewish Maimonides School in Brookline. He touched three boys in a sexual manner, and all were prepared to testify against him.

Though Judge Geraldine Hines could only consider these offenses, Levitt also was charged with molesting three boys in Philadelphia after he left the Boston area in 1980. As Mitchell Garabedian, the lawyer who took on the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston in sex-abuse cases, pointed out, “This could be just the tip of the iceberg.”

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HAMMOND (IN)
Christian Post

By Stoyan Zaimov, Christian Post Reporter

August 3, 2012

Jack Schaap, the former pastor of First Baptist Church of Hammond in Indiana who was fired earlier this week for an alleged adulterous affair, has confessed to cheating on his wife with a teen girl belonging to the megachurch.

The Board of Deacons addressed the scandal at a church meeting Wednesday night, WGN-TV revealed, and said that Schaap, 54, has admitted to the inappropriate relationship with a church member who was not named. The girl, currently 17, was 16 years old when her relationship with Schaap began.

The former pastor, who had led the 15,000-member congregation for the past 11 years, has not yet made any public remarks on his firing nor the affair. The FBI reportedly has launched an investigation into Schaap’s involvement with the young girl – although the age of consent in Indiana is 16, so it is unclear if the married father of two will face any criminal charges.

According to Trisha Kae, a former church member who maintains a Facebook page for ex-congregants, Schaap had forgotten his phone one night at the pulpit, and a deacon who saw it picked it up to return it to the pastor.

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INDIANA
Chicago Tribune

By Dennis Sullivan and Lisa Black, Chicago Tribune

August 5, 2012

The FBI confirmed Friday that it is investigating whether the former pastor of an Indiana megachurch broke any laws during a relationship with a now-17-year-old girl that led to his ouster from First Baptist Church in Hammond.

Former Pastor Jack Schaap, 54, admitted to adultery and “improper behavior” with the teenager, leading a board of deacons to fire him Monday, church spokesman Eddie Wilson has said.

Church officials contacted the Lake County, Ind., sheriff’s office Tuesday and have been cooperating with investigators from the county and federal agency since, Wilson said.

“There is an allegation we’re trying to prove or disprove that the pastor crossed state lines and engaged in an improper sexual relationship with an underage female,” said Robert Ramsey, spokesman for the FBI’s office in Merrillville, Ind.

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DOVER (DE)
Newark Post

Delaware State Police detectives arrested a Dover man Thursday after two victims, now both in their 30s, disclosed he sexually abused them when they were children.

Detectives from Troop 3 Major Crimes Unit arrested Odell L. Wright, 57, of Dover and charged him with 46 sex-related crimes stemming from incidents that allegedly occurred in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, according to a press release from Delaware State Police. The two female victims were 8 and 10 years old at the time of the alleged offenses.

The 8-year-old victim, now 30, told detectives she was sexually abused by Wright between December 1989 and December 1991, when he lived with her family in a house in Cheswold.

The 10-year-old victim, now 32, alleges she was sexually assaulted between July 1992 and July 1995, while attending church functions at the Rescue House of Prayer in Felton, where Wright at the time was a deacon.

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DOVER (DE)
Dover Post

By Staff reports
GateHouse News Service

Dover, Del. —

A Dover man is charged with sexually abusing two children in the late 80s and early 90s.

Odell L. Wright, 57, is accused of 46 sex-related crimes ranging from unlawful sexual intercourse to continuous sexual abuse of a child.

Police say a then-8-year-old victim, who is now 30, told detectives she was sexually abused when Wright lived with her family on Seven Hickories Road in Cheswold.

Another woman, 32, told investigators she was 10 years old when Wright sexually abused her at church functions in Felton where he was a deacon at the time.

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ALABAMA
Fox 54

[with video]

A special prayer service will be held Friday night after a music minister accused of child sex abuse was fired from First United Methodist Church in Sheffield.

“Words can not describe the pain and sorrow that comes with something like this. It’s impossible,” said church spokesman Billy Don Anderson.

Last Friday, Anderson along with other church leaders confronted 78 year old Oliver Brazelle about rumors of sexual misconduct between Brazelle and youth in the church over the years. Shortly after, church leaders said that he confessed.

“After hearing of the admission, he was told immediately under the circumstances he couldn’t continue to be an employee of the church,” said Anderson.

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COLORADO
The Colorado Catholic Herald

8/3/2012

COLORADO SPRINGS. Father C. Robert Manning, in a brief appearance in El Paso County District Court on July 19, waived his right to a preliminary hearing on charges of sexual assault on a minor by a person in a position of trust and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

An arraignment is scheduled for Aug. 23.

Father Manning, a priest of the Archdiocese of St. Louis who resigned as St. Gabriel pastor in January, turned himself in to Colorado Springs police on May 22 after an arrest warrant was issued.

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CANADA
Times Colonist

The Canadian Press
August 3, 2012

Lawyers representing sexual abuse victims of former New Brunswick priest Levi Noel have filed 11 lawsuits alleging that members of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bathurst covered up his crimes.

A statement of claim filed Friday in the province’s Court of Queen’s Bench alleges clergy failed to properly respond to Noel’s conduct and promoted “a culture of secrecy with respect to the sexual misconduct of clergy which was intended to benefit the diocese rather than stop the misconduct or assist the victims.”

In January 2010, Noel was sentenced to eight years in prison after pleading guilty to 22 charges of sexual assault against 18 boys between 1958 and 1980.

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IOWA
WCF Courier

WAVERLY — Sentencing for Dennis Brown, a pastor accused of committing sexual acts with a teenage boy, will be pushed back a month, according to court records.

Brown, 67, of Eldora, pleaded guilty to third-degree sexual abuse and was scheduled to learn his fate Aug. 10. His sentencing hearing is now set to begin at 10 a.m. Sept. 4 in Bremer County District Court.

According to court documents, Brown met his alleged victim online and then in person in Waverly. The boy’s family members alerted authorities to the encounter.

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KANSAS CITY (MO)
Catholic News Agency

By Hillary Senour

Kansas City, Mo., Aug 3, 2012 / 11:37 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph voiced deep sympathy for victims harmed by a diocesan priest who plead guilty in federal court Aug. 2 to child pornography charges.

“The diocese expresses its profound concern for anyone who may have been harmed by Shawn Ratigan and urges prayer for all affected by his actions,” the diocese said in a statement Monday.

Fr. Ratigan, who served as pastor of parishes throughout the diocese, plead guilty to the charge of producing or attempting to produce child pornography in federal court, over a year after his initial arrest.

“The diocese is fundamentally committed to ensure that every report of sexual abuse, boundary violation or misconduct is addressed thoroughly and immediately,” the statement said.

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AUSTRALIA
Newcastle Herald

JOANNE MCCARTHY

04 Aug, 2012

The state government must hold a royal commission into child sex abuse within the Catholic Church. Comment by Joanne McCarthy.

LAST Saturday I sent an email to a fair number of Australia’s bishops after Maitland-Newcastle Bishop Bill Wright acknowledged growing calls for a royal commission into the Catholic Church’s handling of child sex abuse cases, and said he was ‘‘broadly supportive’’ of a public inquiry.

I asked one question: ‘‘Do you support a royal commission into the church’s handling of child sex abuse cases?’’

A Victorian bishop responded fairly quickly, saying he was willing to assist that state’s parliamentary inquiry into church abuse matters. He didn’t respond to my follow-up question: ‘‘But not a royal commission?’’

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CANADA
Montreal Gazette

By The Canadian Press
August 3, 2012

BATHURST, N.B. – A law firm representing sexual abuse victims of former New Brunswick priest Levi Noel has launched 11 lawsuits alleging members of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bathurst covered up the crimes.

In January 2010, Noel was sentenced to eight years in prison after pleading guilty to 22 charges of sexual assault against 18 boys between 1958 and 1980.

A statement of claim filed today in the province’s Court of Queens Bench alleges clergy failed to properly react to Noel’s conduct and promoted “a culture of secrecy” that didn’t help the victims.

The Ontario-based Ledroit Beckett law firm has filed 20 lawsuits in total against Noel and the diocese, but no statements of defence have been filed.

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AUSTRALIA
Newcastle Herald

BY JOANNE MCCARTHY

04 Aug, 2012

IN a car on the side of the road a man wept yesterday for the mates he has lost from St Pius X, Adamstown.

Phil Crosbie, 48, of Jewells, was also angry – at the church that protected a paedophile priest, and at governments that have a responsibility to bring the Catholic church to account.

‘‘I’d like to see every one of these bastards brought to account. Even if they’re dead, I’d like to see it acknowledged what they did, or who they protected,’’ Mr Crosbie said.

‘‘I’d like governments to act. They have a responsibility, but they don’t have the courage because it’s the Catholic church. They don’t have the ticker.’’

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KANAS CITY (MO)
The Columbia Tribune

Friday, August 3, 2012

KANSAS CITY (AP) — A Roman Catholic priest in Kansas City pleaded guilty yesterday to producing child pornography in a federal case that also led to charges against the diocese bishop for failing to report suspected child abuse, and prosecutors said they would recommend that he be sentenced to life in prison.

The Rev. Shawn Ratigan, 46, had been scheduled for trial later this month. He was charged with producing child pornography in May 2011 after police received a flash drive from the priest’s computer that contained hundreds of images of children, most of them clothed, with the focus on their crotch areas. Prosecutors alleged he photographed girls, sometimes under their skirts, in and around churches where he had worked in the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph.

Under terms of the plea deal, Ratigan pleaded guilty to four counts of producing child pornography and one count of attempting to produce child porn. Eight other counts against him were dismissed.

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

CAROLINE OVERINGTON
From:The Australian
August 04, 2012

IT is tempting to start this story with: A truck driver, a police officer and a Catholic priest walk into a bar … because that is what happened.

It was 11pm on a sweaty night in Manila. The bar was called Shinju No Mori – “Forest of the Pearls”. The truck driver was Steve Christie of Cranebrook in Sydney’s west; the police officer was the barrel-chested Ray King of the Liverpool Local Area Command; the priest was the trendily dressed and shaved-of-head Father Kevin Lee of the Padre Pio Catholic Church in Sydney’s Glenmore Park.

The three men had been on a pilgrimage in the Philippines with seven others from their church. They’d visited an orphanage, snorkelled around the islands, and were generally having a good time. The bar was directly below the hotel where they were staying. There were women out the front known as “guest relations officers” – poor girls from the villages who lend a bit of glamour to the joint and encourage Westerners to drink and use the karaoke machine.

So the three men sat down and a couple of bar girls approached, including a 25-year-old mother of two who told the group that her name was Dimple; in fact, it was Josefina. Like the others, this slightly built woman was from a poor village – her own mother had died when she was just 16 and her job before moving to Manila was selling plastic buckets in the streets.

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

Caroline Overington
From:The Australian
August 04, 2012

A CATHOLIC priest has provided NSW Police with information about at least one Catholic school teacher that he believes to be guilty of sex crimes against Catholic schoolboys in Sydney’s west in the 1990s.

Father Kevin Lee, who caused a storm in May when he revealed that despite having been a Catholic priest for 20 years he was secretly married, told The Weekend Australian that a victim of the teacher’s crimes had come to him with information and he had “taken it to police this time because I’m tired of keeping secrets for the Catholic Church”.

“In the past, I’ve taken information about priests to the church and they’ve ignored it, so this time, with the teacher, I’ve gone to police and I’m co-operating with police.”

The church vehemently denies the allegation that it has engaged in a cover-up of any sex crimes by priests. The Bishop of Parramatta, Anthony Fisher, said in a statement: “When in the past Kevin raised with me concerns about particular priests these were thoroughly investigated.

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VATICAN CITY
National Catholic Reporter

by John L Allen Jr on Aug. 02, 2012 All Things Catholic …

On the very day Müller got a new job, Archbishop Róbert Bezák of Trnava, Slovakia, lost his old one. He was removed from office by the Vatican on July 2, and since that’s a fairly rare occurrence, curiosity continues to swirl around what happened in the case of the 52-year-old Redemptorist, appointed to lead the Slovakian church in April 2009.

Prior to his downfall, Bezák had been seen as a figure to watch in the European hierarchy — one of the continent’s youngest major prelates, someone who appealed to the center-left camp in both the church and in European politics. As is customary, the Vatican has declined to provide any official explanation for dumping him, and, as is equally customary, that information vacuum has generated speculation and conspiracy theories.

Three developments have occurred since I last updated this story in mid-July.

First, the Slovakian bishops met July 17 and didn’t line up in defense of their fallen colleague. A statement said: “The Holy Father made this decision after being personally and thoroughly acquainted with the results of a visitation and communication between Bezák and the relevant [Vatican] congregations. The bishops … accept the Holy See’s decision.” …

•Bezák’s choice of aides, charging they included priests who are known homosexuals or who have illegitimate children.
•Bezák’s willingness to accept candidates for the priesthood who had been rejected in other dioceses, either for their doctrinal views or for suspect personal morality.
•Questions about financial management, including Bezák’s reliance on Slovakian laity linked to political and financial scandals.
•Questions about Bezák’s views on issues such as priestly celibacy, Marian devotion, the ordination of women, abortion, euthanasia and extramarital sex.
•Bezák’s allegedly irreverent manner of referring to the pope simply as “Mr. Pope” in public (in Slovakia, it’s apparently common parlance to add “Mr.” before formal titles), and of allegedly referring to other Slovakian bishops as “old men and fools” while styling himself as “modern” and “enlightened.”

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BELGIE
NOS

In de Belgische plaats Malonne hebben honderden mensen gedemonstreerd tegen de komst van Michelle Martin, de ex-vrouw van Marc Dutroux.

Dinsdag oordeelde een rechtbank dat Martin vervroegd vrijkomt en naar een klooster in het Waalse dorp gaat. Inwoners van Malonne zijn daar fel op tegen.

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BELGIE
hbvl

“Duizend maal neen.” “Ik maak haar af.” “Ons dorp is geen vuilbak.” Aan straffe quotes geen gebrek, dinsdag in Malonne, het Naamse dorpje met z’n 4.000 zielen, 10 clarissen en binnenkort ook Michelle Martin. De aangekondigde komst van de ex van Dutroux stoot er op een muur van pure haat. “We begrijpen het niet. De clarissen zouden volgend jaar verhuizen. Is dat klooster dan voor Martin alleen? Of nemen ze haar mee?”

“Dégueulasse, monsieur. Het is walgelijk”, zegt Freddy, bezoeker van de plaatselijke kroeg. “Dat ons dorp op deze manier in de belangstelling moet komen. Malonne is toch niet de vuilbak van het land, hein. Als ze haar toch al naar hier sturen, dat het dan meteen naar het kerkhof is, naast het klooster.”

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KANSAS CITY (MO)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by Mike Hunter on August 03, 2012

Now that Fr. Ratigan has pled guilty to child porn, Bishop Finn should drop his legal maneuver claiming the photos are not child porn.

In late April, without fanfare or public notice, Finn and his lawyers filed a motion saying that the pictures Fr. Ratigan had stored on his computer were not child porn, despite the fact that they included close-up shots of the genitalia of young girls. According to Finn, these pictures did not meet the criteria for “obscenity,” and therefore were not porn.

It defies common sense and common decency for one of Finn’s priests to admit in court that he took child porn photos while Finn is in another court saying they’re not child porn.

Here’s why this is so awful.

First, this desperate and disingenuous move by the bishop rubs even more salt into the already-deep and still-fresh wounds of the families of Fr. Ratigan’s victims.

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HAMMOND (IN)
The Raw Story

By Eric W. Dolan
Thursday, August 2, 2012

The former pastor of an Indiana megachurch is under investigation for having sex with a member of the church when she was only 16, according to USA Today.

Jack Schaap, 54, was dismissed as the pastor of the First Baptist Church of Hammond after he admitted having a relationship with the teenage girl, who is now 17. He had been employed by the fundamentalist church for nearly 30 years.

“At this time, we deeply regret the need to announce that First Baptist Church has dismissed our pastor, Dr. Jack Schaap, due to a sin that has caused him to forfeit his right to be our pastor,” the church said in a statement.

“First Baptist Church is in full cooperation with our local authorities in their investigation of this matter. Our church grieves over the need to take this action and the impact it will have on our people.”

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KANSAS CITY (MO)
The Kansas City Star

Yael T. Abouhalkah

The Rev. Shawn Ratigan has pleaded guilty to charges related to child pornography, staining the reputation of the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph.

Ratigan – a sick older man taking pictures of young children – should be put away for life as punishment for those sins.

But the real test for local Catholics comes in the next month.

After all, Ratigan was just one person going astray, admittedly one of the few that have been identified by name among Catholic priests involved in the abuse of children.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Evangelische Kirke in Mitteldeutschland

[mit video]

In der EKM, der evangelischen Kirche in Mitteldeutschland, gibt es einen Verdacht auf sexuellen Missbrauch an Kindern.

Ein Pfarrer soll die Taten vor über 30 Jahren in Bad Lauchstädt im Saalekreis begangen haben, erklärt EKM-Pressesprecherin Susanne Sobko.

Susanne Sobko: Es gab zwei Zeugen, die sich bei uns gemeldet haben. Und es gab genug Anlass dafür, dass Anzeige bei der Staatsanwaltschaft erstattet wurde, und gleichzeitig hat die EKM ein Disziplinarverfahren eingeleitet, was dann weitreichende Folgen für den Pfarrer haben könnte.

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DEUTSCHLAND
SR

Das Bistum Trier hat einen Pfarrer aus dem Saarland wegen des Verdachtes auf sexuellen Missbrauch beurlaubt. Die Staatsanwaltschaft ermittelt gegen ihn. Der Beschuldigte weist die Vorwürfe zurück.

(03.08.2012) Die katholische Kirche kommt nicht zur Ruhe. Das Bistum Trier hat einen Pfarrer der Pfarreiengemeinschaft Lebach wegen des Verdachtes auf sexuellen Missbrauch beurlaubt. Wie das Bistum am Freitag mitteilte, ermittelt die Staatsanwaltschaft Saarbrücken gegen den Priester.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Merkur

Trier – Ein Priester im Saarland soll einem Jugendlichen Geld für Sex geboten haben. Die Staatsanwaltschaft ermittelt. Das Bistum Trier hat den Priester beurlaubt und untersucht den Fall.

Das Bistum Trier hat einen 65 Jahre alten Priester im Saarland beurlaubt, der einem Jugendlichen Geld für Sex angeboten haben soll. Nach bisheriger Kenntnis habe es aber keine sexuellen Handlungen gegeben, teilte Bistumssprecher Stephan Kronenburg am Freitag mit. Die Staatsanwaltschaft Saarbrücken ermittelt gegen den Priester der Pfarreiengemeinschaft Lebach. Das Bistum hat inzwischen kirchenrechtliche Voruntersuchungen gegen 17 Priester eingeleitet, eine davon ist bereits abgeschlossen.

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IRELAND
The Association of Catholic Priests

The Redemptorist Order seems to be in the firing line of the Vatican and should be proud of such a distinction. After the silencing of two Redemptorist priests, Gerry Moloney and Tony Flannery here now Archbishop Bezak, a 52 year old Redemptorist Archbishop of Trnnava, in Slovakia has been personally dismissed by Pope Benedict after refusing to go quietly . He had been only in the job for three years and appears to have upset his very conservative predecessor Archbishop Sokol by investigating alleged financial irregularities in the running of the Archdiocese over the past twenty years of Sokol’s reign. The dismissed Bezak spoke at his last mass saying only that the Vatican had ordered him ‘not to speak to the media about the circumstances surrounding his dismissal ‘.

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KANSAS CITY (MO)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by Mike Hunter on August 02, 2012

We hope Fr Shawn Ratigan’s guilty plea today will help deeply wounded families recover more quickly. While trials can be cathartic, they can sometimes cause more trauma for survivors and families.

We applaud these families for bravely cooperating with law enforcement to help get a dangerous Catholic cleric away from kids. Too often, victims’ parents stay trapped in fear, shame and self-blame. Wanting desperately to protect their loved ones from any more pain, they shun the legal process. Sadly, when this happens, predators go on to assault others. So again, we are grateful that these struggling families are acting responsibly by helping police and prosecutors pursue Fr. Ratigan and keep him away from kids, like Bishop Finn refused to do.

Nothing Fr. Ratigan or Bishop Finn can do will erase the terrible harm and betrayal they have inflicted on victims, families, and parishioners. Action can be taken to ensure other children are not hurt and other victims get healing. It is still important for other victims, witnesses and whistleblowers to keep coming forward.

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BOSTON (MA)
SE (Polska)

Franciszkanin, ojciec Andrzej Urbaniak (41 l.), proboszcz parafii Matki Boskiej Częstochowskiej z Bostonu aresztowany! Policja znalazła na jego komputerze pedofilskie zdjęcia kilkuletnich dziewczynek. Podczas przesłuchania na policji przyznaje się do ściągania dziecięcej pornografii, ale przed sądem mówi zdecydowanie: „Not guilty!”.

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BOSTON (MA)
The News (Poland)

Priest Andrzej Urbaniak, who serves the Polish community in Boston, Massachusetts, has been charged with downloading and distributing pornographic images of children.

The priest, who moved from Poland to the US 14 years ago, was allegedly in the process of downloading the images of children aged between 8 and 10 years old from file-sharing web sites when police entered the rectory in South Boston, reports the Boston Globe.

Urbaniak, who belongs to an order of Franciscans based in Poland, has been a popular priest working at the Our Lady of Czestochowa Church in South Boston for four years and who served the congregation of Polish ex-pats in the city.

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HAMMOND (IN)
WGN

[with video]

Julie Unruh
WGN News

HAMMOND, Ind.—
Stripped of his duties, the pastor of a northwest Indiana mega-church has confessed to having sex with an underage girl when she was 16.

The Board of Deacons shared that with its congregation in Hammond Wednesday night. The girl was a member of the First Baptist Church of Hammond, the same church where Brother Jack Schaap was the pastor for the past 11 years.

Schaap married the daughter of the church’s founder and is said to be attempting to reconcile with her now.

No charges have been filed, but the FBI is said to be investigating allegations that multiple sexual encounters took place with the same girl across state lines.

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HAMMOND (IN)
NWTimes

July 31, 2012 5:45 pm • Bill Dolan bill.dolan@nwi.com, (219) 662-5328

HAMMOND | The First Baptist Church of Hammond has dismissed Jack Schaap as its pastor in the wake of a Lake County police investigation.

A press release the church issued Tuesday afternoon states Schaap committed “a sin that has caused him to forfeit his right to be our pastor.” A source close to the investigation said Schaap began an affair in April with a 16-year-old girl who was affiliated with the church’s Hyles-Anderson College in Crown Point, though she was not a student.

Eddie Wilson, a spokesman for the church, said its deacon board, a group of more than 100 men who represent the congregation, made the dismissal decision and are cooperating with police in the matter for a behavior that he termed “physically improper.”

Wilson declined to elaborate further because of the police investigation.

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MAINE
WABI

[with video]

by Lauren Morrison – August 2nd 2012

The details released in the State Police report on the investigation into Robert Carlson may come as a shock to some, but for others, as difficult as the details maybe, it wasn’t a surprise.

Rev.Carl Schreiber leads the East Orrington Congregational Church where Carlson was once a pastor.

Rev. Schreiber says “We’re saddened, I don’t know if shock is the right word because Bob was a human and we’re all capable of different things that we didn’t realize.”

The allegations of sexual abuse were made reality with the release of the report.

Rev. Schreiber believes the report may provide the answers that some were looking for.

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MAINE
Bangor Daily News

[State Police report – WABI]

Editorial

Posted Aug. 02, 2012

All that enables wickedness is silence and inaction by those with the power to stop it. The people who worked and were friends with the Rev. Robert Carlson and knew about his potential sex-abuse victims should be held accountable by police if they fail to admit their own complacency. There is no excuse for potentially letting children be traumatized for years. There is no excuse for knowing or suspecting and doing nothing.

Enough of remaining silent. If you received information about or witnessed criminal or inappropriate sexual behavior by Carlson and did not tell police, you displayed the same hypocrisy as the man who claimed to be a reverend. Instead of comfort, he brought torment to multiple children, as evidenced by a Maine State Police report released Wednesday.

The report details interviews police conducted with victims, the former president of Husson University, Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office employees, a Bangor police officer and a therapist who treated some of Carlson’s victims. It shows that Carlson — who was the chaplain of the Penobscot County Jail for 32 years and the chaplain of Husson for 11 years — likely sexually abused several children over four decades, until he jumped off the Penobscot Narrows Bridge on Nov. 13, 2011.

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MAINE
WABI

[State Police report]

[with video]

by Catherine Pegram – August 2nd 2012

State police say no one will face any charges over what they may or may have know about Robert Carlson’s abusive behavior before he killed himself.

Eight months after his death, State police released a final report on the case Wednesday.

Spokesperson Steve McCausland says the report will not be turned over to prosecutors because no one interviewed for it, law enforcement or otherwise, committed any crimes.

Penobscot County District Attorney Chris Almy, someone who could review the case and pursue charges, says he has not read the Carlson report, so he can’t speak specifically about it.

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MAINE
MPBN

08/02/2012 Reported By: Jay Field

A former religious and civic leader in Bangor sexually abused several multiple children over the last forty years, according to people interviewed in an investigation by the Maine State Police.

The Reverend Robert Carlson jumped to his death from the Penobscot Narrows Bridge last November, shortly after learning that he was the target of a probe. A final police report on the now-closed case, obtained by MPBN, suggests people were concerned about Carlson’s behavior as far back as the 1970s. It also raises questions, and provides few answers, about why people didn’t do more to investigate their suspicions or report them to law enforcement.

Last month’s scathing report on Penn State’s handling of allegations against Jerry Sandusky highlights what appears to a pattern of looking the other way that’s all too common in sexual abuse cases.

Nothing in the Maine state police report suggests anyone who was suspicious of Carlson did anything wrong.

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MAINE
WABI

by Caroline Connolly – August 2nd 2012

Bangor – State Conservation Commissioner, William Beardsley, is speaking out in defense of his decision to not report concerns raised about Rev. Robert Carlson during his time at the former Husson College.

Carlson committed suicide last November when he learned state police were investigating him based on allegations of sexual abuse. In a 104 page police report, released Wednesday, an interview with Beardsley reveals the former Husson College president may have had warning signs about Carlson, who was serving as the school’s chaplain at the time.

In 2005 and 2006, Beardsley received two phone calls from people alluding to misconduct by Carlson.

“A friend of mine in Vermont said that he had third hand information about, from somebody, that wanted me to know that Bob Carlson was not who I thought he would be,” said Beardsley.

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MAINE
WABI

[with video]

by Rob Poindexter – August 2nd 2012

The state police investigation into Reverend Robert Carlson has left a lot of unanswered questions about how we fight child sexual abuse in Maine.

The 104 page State Police report in the case of Carlson and his alleged sexual abuse of numerous boys sites numerous red flags and warning signs that were either missed or ignored.

Penobscot County Sheriff Glen Ross was a close friend of Carlson. “I never saw a sign. There’s nobody anymore stunned than myself in this matter,” Ross said Thursday. “He was involved in everything. He was a well respected leader. He apparently did things that were out of the view of a lot.”

According to the state police report, Ross tipped Carlson off about the child sexual abuse investigation being conducted. Shortly after Ross spoke to Carlson about the investigation, police say Carlson committed suicide by jumping off the Penobscot Narrows Bridge. Ross doesn’t think he crossed any ethical lines by alerting Carlson, who also volunteered at the jail, about the investigation. “The bottom line is I did the right things for the right reasons. I did it not to warn him, but to prevent his access into the jail,” Ross said. “You cannot fault somebody for trying to make sure they’ve protected their inmates and their agencies. That’s my job as a sheriff.” According to the report, Carlson never denied the allegations in his conversations with Ross.

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MAINE
WCSH

[with video]

BANGOR, Maine (NEWS CENTER) — One of the men named in the Maine State Police report about the Bob Carlson sex abuse investigation says the police got it wrong.

An anonymous source in the report said Former Husson University President Bill Beardsley knew about two potential victims of sexual abuse at Husson University.

The person told police one student came forward to Beardsley, and a third-party reported abuse for another student to the President.

Beardsley told NEWS CENTER that never happened.

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VATICAN CITY
Chiesa

A new president for the IOR. The future of Cardinal Nicora. More tremors are on the way. But in the meantime, the operation of transparency set in motion by Benedict XVI has knocked down all the alibis. It is an example binding for all Catholic institutions

by Sandro Magister

ROME, August 3, 2012 – Very few have read it, and it isn’t even in bookstores yet, with its five hundred pages of text and annexes. But the report that Moneyval published in the middle of July about the Vatican and finance has marked an historic watershed.

For the first time, the Holy See has submitted its institutions and laws to the judgment of an international external auditor. For the first time, it has allowed itself to be graded and given its homework by a secular authority. In a matter, like God and Mammon, in which it has greatly sinned.

It is an event, that marked by the report from Moneyval, that once again requires a rewriting of the conventional profile of Pope Benedict XVI.

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HAMMOND (IN)
Chicago Tribune

By Lisa Black and Dennis Sullivan, Chicago Tribune

An evangelical megachurch pastor has lost his job and is being investigated by the Lake County, Ind., Sheriff’s Department after admitting that he had an “improper relationship” with a young woman, a spokesman for First Baptist Church of Hammond said.

A board of deacons decided to fire Jack Schaap on Monday night and then reported allegations to the Sheriff’s Department on Tuesday because it was unclear whether the woman was a minor, spokesman Eddie Wilson said.

The sheriff’s office confirmed in a statement released Wednesday that the inquiry involves “alleged misconduct with a juvenile” and said the FBI is also investigating.

The church, which claims 15,000 regular attendees, posted a news release on its website stating that Schaap was dismissed “due to a sin that has caused him to forfeit his right to be our pastor. … Our church grieves over the need to take this action and the impact it will have on our people.”

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ALABAMA
WHNT

[with video]

August 2, 2012, by Melissa Payne

SHEFFIELD, Ala. (WHNT) – Sexual abuse accusations surfaced at Sheffield First United Methodist Church and a police investigation started immediately.

In a statement, the district acknowledges another possible case of inappropriate contact between Oliver Brazelle and another young person.

However, area church officials claim they never knew about those allegations until Thursday.

According to a release by the Sheffield First United Methodist Church, nine years ago a counselor from the Shoals area contacted then bishop, Robert Fannin about a client claiming inappropriate behavior with Brazelle dating back to the 70′s.

Sheffield First United Methodist Church spokesman Billy Don Anderson says in 2003, Bishop Fannin and Brazelle had a private meeting where an agreement was made for Brazelle not to have contact with children.

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MAINE
Bangor Daily News

By Nok-Noi Ricker, BDN Staff

Posted Aug. 02, 2012

BANGOR, Maine — Revelations in a Maine State Police report that the Rev. Robert Carlson sexually abused multiple children have raised questions about how he got away with it for decades, especially since the report revealed police officers, detectives, a former university president and others expressed concerns about Carlson’s disturbing behavior with young people.

Carlson was a serial child sex abuser, Lt. Christopher Coleman, commander of the Maine State Police’s Major Crimes Unit for the northern part of the state, said after the 104-page report was made public Wednesday. Carlson abused children for decades and “it caused a lot of trauma to many people,” the lieutenant said.

“Clearly the report indicates there are several victims and there may be more out there,” Coleman said. “There may be other victims out there who did not participate in this process.”

Robert Gossart of Salisbury Cove, the Maine representative for Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, also known as SNAP, said there is one major reason criminals such as Carlson and Jerry Sandusky, the former Penn State assistant football coach who recently was convicted of 45 counts of child sexual abuse, got away with their deviant crimes for so long.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC Ballarat

By Dominic Brine

The Catholic Bishop of the Ballarat diocese for the past 15 years Bishop Peter Connors has retired a year early due in part to the ongoing controversy over abuse by some members of the Catholic clergy.

“I had some health problems and I had dealt with a lot issues concerning sexual assault cases.”

Bishop Connors has met with 30 to 40 victims over the last 15 years.

“You notice what a horrible affect the abuse has had on the victim and then you come to realise that the victim has a partner who is confused or upset and also the victim’s parents who must have wondered for years what’s been happening to their son or daughter.”

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KANSAS CITY (MO)
WBIR

By Michael Winter, USA TODAY

Averting trial later this month, a Roman Catholic priest in Kansas City pleaded guilty today to child pornography charges for photographing five young girls in and around churches, according to news reports from Missouri.

The girls ranged in age from 2 to 9 years old. The photography occurred between 2006 and last year.

Misdemeanor charges and civil lawsuits are also pending against Bishop Robert Finn and the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph for failing to report child abuse.

The Rev. Shawn Ratigan, 46, pleaded guilty to four counts of producing child pornography and one count of attempting to produce child pornography. Eight other counts involving the girls were dropped.

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KANSAS CITY (MO)
Examiner

By Bill Draper
The Associated Press

Posted Aug 03, 2012

Kansas City, MO —

A Roman Catholic priest in Kansas City arrested in Independence pleaded guilty Thursday to producing child pornography in a federal case that also led to charges against the diocese bishop for failing to report suspected child abuse, and prosecutors said they would recommend that he be sentenced to life in prison.

The Rev. Shawn Ratigan, 46, had been scheduled for trial later this month. He was charged with child pornography in May 2011 in Clay County after police received a flash drive from the priest’s computer that contained hundreds of images of children, most of them clothed, with the focus on their crotch areas. Prosecutors alleged he photographed girls, sometimes under their skirts, in and around churches where he had worked in the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph.

Under terms of the plea deal, Ratigan pleaded guilty to four counts of producing child pornography and one count of attempting to produce child porn. Eight other counts against Ratigan were dismissed.

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MAINE
San Francisco Chronicle

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — A Maine judge has ruled that the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland did not conceal prior sex abuse allegations against a priest accused of molesting a young boy in the late 1980s.

The now 38-year-old Augusta man who made the abuse claim said in a lawsuit that the diocese covered up previous sex abuse complaints against the Rev. Raymond Melville. The alleged victim says he was abused as a boy between September 1986 and June 1988.

Judge Donald Marden wrote in a decision released this week that “it is undisputed” that the diocese received no sexual abuse complaints against Melville prior to 1990.

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MAINE
Kennebec Journal

By Betty Adams
badams@centralmaine.com
Staff Writer

AUGUSTA — A Superior Court judge has cleared the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland in the final count of a civil lawsuit alleging sexual abuse by a former city priest against a young boy.

The ruling says the diocese did not fraudulently conceal information about prior acts committed by Raymond P. Melville that would have alerted the alleged victim or his family to any danger.

William J. Picher, of Augusta, had accused Melville of sexually abusing him while he was a student at St. Mary’s School between September 1986 and June 1988. Melville was ordained in Presque Isle in 1985 and his initial assignment was assistant pastor at St. Mary’s Parish in Augusta.

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KANSAS CITY (MO)
Fox 4

[with video]

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Catholic priest Shawn F. Ratigan changed his plea to guilty in a child pornography case on Thursday, and prosecutors say that they want to make sure he stays behind bars for the rest of his life.

Ratigan, 46, who formerly worked at a church in the Northland, pleaded guilty to four counts of producing child pornography and one count of attempted production of child pornography in a Kansas City federal courtroom on Thursday afternoon.

He had previously pleaded non-guilty to the charges. In exchange for changing his plea, prosecutors agreed to drop seven other charges.

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TEXAS
Daily Tribune

Thursday, 02 August 2012 15:38 Daniel Clifton • Tribune Staff

AUSTIN — A former Horseshoe Bay priest arrested in 2005 and accused of groping a teenager at a Marble Falls movie theater has died.

Paul Maurice Clogan, 81, faced indecency with a child by contact charges after Marble Falls police said he touched a teenage boy Dec. 16, 2005, during a showing of “King Kong” at the former Driftwood Movie Theater, now called Showbiz Cinemas 8.

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UNITED STATES
BishopAccountability.org – Assignment Record

Summary of Case: Ordained a priest of the Winona diocese in 1958, Adamson has been accused of sexually abusing at least 28 children during his 25 years in the priesthood, and is said by experts to have possibly abused as many as 100 boys. He was transfered to the St. Paul-Minneapolis archdiocese in 1975 after multiple complaints by families that he was sexually abusing boys in Winona. Adamson’s sexual abuse of boys continued in the Twin Cities archdiocese. He underwent psychiatric evaluation and treatment numerous times over the decades. Adamson was placed on leave in December 1984, after victims began surfacing and filing lawsuits. He has admitted to sexual misconduct with boys beginning in 1961 and throughout his career. After his dismissal from active ministry, Adamson went on to live in Eau Claire, WI, where he took classes at the University of Wisconsin, and worked as a clerk and nursing home activities assistant. The Winona diocese announced in March 2012 that Adamson had returned to his home town of Rochester, and that he was not permitted on diocesan church or school property.

Born: July 12, 1933
Ordained: May 31, 1958

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UNITED STATES
Joyful Heart Foundation

[with video]

I was telling a friend recently about my emotional reaction the first time I heard the Joyful Heart Foundation’s PSA that talks about about engaging men to “end violence against all people, men women and children.”

I explained that the words “…men, women and children,” brought tears to my eyes, because in my nearly 25 years working in the field of child protection, sexual and domestic violence intervention, I’d never heard anyone else talk so directly about ending violence against men.

As one of the 19 million adult men in the United States who experienced childhood sexual abuse myself, I’m well-acquainted with the impact that that trauma had on my growth and development. I find the choice to include men, as being worthy of protection from violence, profoundly validating.

My friend, a man I deeply respect for his years working tirelessly as an activist in the movement to engage men in ending violence against women and children, seemed shocked by the phrase. “Did they actually say it like that…’men, women and children,” he asked. “I could never say that.”

How unfortunate!

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BOSTON (MA)
U.S. Catholic

Thursday, August 2, 2012

By Catholic News Service

BOSTON (CNS) — The Boston Archdiocese placed a Franciscan priest on administrative leave from his pastoral duties following his arrest on child pornography charges that involved the use of a computer located in the parish rectory.

Father Andrzej Urbaniak, a Conventual Franciscan who serves at Our Lady of Czestochowa Parish, was arrested July 31 and charged with possessing and distributing child pornography. At his arraignment the next day, he pleaded not guilty.

“The provincial superior of his religious order in Poland has been informed of the matter. Father Urbaniak’s faculties have been suspended and he is not allowed to function as a priest in the archdiocese,” said a statement released Aug. 1 by Boston church officials.

The archdiocese said it is “fully cooperating with law enforcement.”

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UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter

Aug. 02, 2012
By Monica Clark

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — When the U.S. bishops adopted the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People in 2002 to put an end to the sexual abuse of children by priests and others in the church, they committed to using “adequate screening and evaluative techniques in deciding the fitness of candidates for ordination.”

Such screening most often includes psychological testing and analysis, something that psychologist Thomas Plante has been doing for dioceses and religious communities for 25 years.

Psychological screening can’t provide a 100 percent guarantee that once ordained, a man won’t subsequently abuse children, said Plante, who has screened nearly 700 seminarians. But it goes a long way toward ensuring that only men who are emotionally healthy and least likely to engage in aberrant sexual behavior are admitted to the priesthood.

“Through screening we can make sure that anyone with a predilection to harm kids is prevented from entering ministry,” said Plante, a professor of psychology and director of the Spirituality and Health Institute at Santa Clara University here.

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ALABAMA
WHNT

August 2, 2012, by Melissa Payne and Carter Watkins

SHEFFIELD, Ala. (WHNT) – A new day brings new developments in the investigation into a former church music director facing allegations of sexual misconduct with church youth.

In a letter from Sheffield First United Methodist Church to its congregation, Pastor/Parish Relations Chairman Billy Don Anderson outlined the events that led to Music Director Oliver Brazelle’s firing.

In the letter, Anderson says a decision was made to confront Brazelle about rumors of sexual misconduct that were circulating.

The letter states “Oliver admitted to us [Anderson and Pastor Zeke Haselden], that he had an inappropriate relationship with a younger member of our church sometime in the 1990s.”

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KANSAS CITY (MO)
Pitch

Posted by Ben Palosaari on Thu, Aug 2, 2012

Shawn Ratigan, a former priest at Sisters of St. Francis of the Holy Eucharist in Independence, has pleaded guilty to five federal felony counts of making or attempting to make child pornography, The Star reports. He faces up to 30 years in prison for each count. Ratigan’s shocking story became public last year. He took his laptop to a repair shop and up-skirt photographs of children were discovered on the hard drive. A technician told church officials, who in turn told the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph.

Officials within the diocese allegedly sat on the information from December 2010 to May 2011 before they told police. They copied the pornography to discs and gave the computer to Ratigan’s family members. They destroyed the computer, and diocese officials gave the images to detectives.

Bishop Robert W. Finn released a statement when the charges were announced in which he said he regretted the way the diocese has handled the situation. Court documents said at the time that Ratigan attempted suicide on December 17, 2010 by running his motorcycle in his closed garage. Documents also said he had left a suicide note apologizing to the girls he allegedly had pictures of.

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KANSAS CITY (MO)
Washington Post

Kansas City priest pleads guilty to 5 federal child pornography charges; 8 others dismissed

By Associated Press, Updated: Thursday, August 2

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Roman Catholic priest in Kansas City pleaded guilty Thursday to producing child pornography in a federal case that also led to charges against the diocese bishop for failing to report suspected child abuse, and prosecutors said they would recommend that he be sentenced to life in prison.

The Rev. Shawn Ratigan, 46, had been scheduled for trial later this month. He was charged with child pornography in May 2011 in Clay County after police received a flash drive from the priest’s computer that contained hundreds of images of children, most of them clothed, with the focus on their crotch areas. Prosecutors alleged he photographed girls, sometimes under their skirts, in and around churches where he had worked in the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph.

Under terms of the plea deal, Ratigan pleaded guilty to four counts of producing child pornography and one count of attempting to produce child porn. Eight other counts against Ratigan were dismissed.

Acting U.S. Attorney David Ketchmark said the guilty pleas represent one charge for each of five victims whose abuse started in June 2005 — one year after Ratigan was ordained as a priest. …

In a statement released Wednesday, the diocese expressed its “profound concern” for anyone harmed by Ratigan and said it is committed to making sure “every report of sexual abuse, boundary violation or misconduct is addressed thoroughly and immediately.”

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KANSAS CITY (MO)
National Catholic Reporter

Aug. 02, 2012
By Joshua J. McElwee

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Fr. Shawn Ratigan, a Kansas City-St. Joseph, Mo., diocesan priest, faces up to life in prison after pleading guilty to five of 13 charges of child pornography leveled against him.

Ratigan originally pleaded not guilty to the federal charges of possession and production of child pornography.

The change in plea was made in federal court Thursday afternoon in Kansas City. The prosecution agreed to drop Ratigan’s other eight charges if he pleaded guilty to the five. Each count carries between 15 and 30 years in prison, which could be served consecutively or cumulatively.

Ratigan’s sentencing date has not yet been set.

The case made headlines in the fall when prosecutors in Jackson County, Mo., separately charged Bishop Robert Finn and the Kansas City diocese with individual counts of failure to report suspected child abuse, which are criminal misdemeanors, regarding their oversight of the priest.

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HAMMOND (IN)
First Baptist Church

First Baptist Church Pastor Dismissed

July 31, 2012

Hammond, IN–At this time, we deeply regret the need to announce that First Baptist Church has dismissed our pastor, Dr. Jack Schaap, due to a sin that has caused him to forfeit his right to be our pastor. First Baptist Church is in full cooperation with our local authorities in their investigation of this matter. Our church grieves over the need to take this action and the impact it will have on our people.

We ask that everyone pray for the families involved and pray that the situation will be handled in a Christ honoring manner. We look forward to the days ahead as we continue to service the needs of our surrounding community and the Chicago area.

For any media-related questions, please contact First Baptist Church spokesman, Eddie Wilson at (219) 945-6475.

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BOSTON (MA)
Boston Herald

By Matt Stout
Thursday, August 2, 2012

The pedophile rabbi who admitted to molesting three young boys in the 1970s was sentenced to 10 years probation today in Suffolk Superior Court, a possibility one of his victims said he was told to expect.

Prosecutors say they asked that Stanley Levitt, 66, be sentenced to 2 ½ years behind bars after he pleaded guilty to four counts of indecent assault and battery on a child.

The rabbi, who lives in Philadelphia, yesterday admitted to sexually assaulting three sixth-grade boys while he working as a Brookline religious teacher more than three decades ago.

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BOSTON (MA)
San Francisco Chronicle

BOSTON (AP) — A rabbi who admitted sexually abusing three boys while working in the Boston area as a religious teacher in the 1970s was sentenced Thursday to 10 years of probation but spared jail time.

Stanley Levitt pleaded guilty Wednesday to four counts of indecent assault and battery on a child as his trial was set to begin.

On Thursday, prosecutors asked for a 2½-year sentence, plus 10 years of probation. But Superior Court Judge Geraldine Hines said she would stick to the terms of a plea agreement reached last year between prosecutors and Levitt’s attorney.

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KANSAS CITY (MO)
The Kansas City Star

By TONY RIZZO And JUDY L. THOMAS
The Kansas City Star

As a priest, he absolved others of their sins in the anonymity of the confessional.

This afternoon, the Rev. Shawn Ratigan stood in the very public forum of a federal courtroom and confessed to some of his own.

Ratigan, 46, pleaded guilty to using five girls to produce or attempt to produce child pornography over several years while serving as pastor to congregations in the Northland and St. Joseph.

Each count carries a maximum sentence of up to 30 years in federal prison. Prosecutors are expected to argue later for a sentence that ensures that Ratigan spends a significant portion of the rest of his life behind bars.

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KANSAS CITY (MO)
The Associated Press

By BILL DRAPER

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Kansas City priest has pleaded guilty to federal child pornography counts in a case that led to misdemeanor criminal charges against his bishop and diocese.

The Rev. Shawn Ratigan on Thursday pleaded guilty to five counts of producing and attempting to produce child pornography. Eight other counts were dismissed.

No sentencing date has been set, but guidelines indicate he’ll spend at least 15 years in prison.

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HAMMOND (IN)
CBS Chicago

CHICAGO (CBS) – Officials First Baptist Church of Hammond., Ind., said Wednesday night fired Pastor Jack Schaap admitted to having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl who is a member of the church, prompting their decision to fire him this week.

CBS 2′s Brad Edwards reports, at a meeting with members of the congregation Wednesday night, church officials acknowledged Schaap is being investigated for misconduct with a 17-year-old girl. The age of consent in Indiana is 16.

Published reports say the church does not expect charges to be filed in the case.

Cameras were not allowed in the meeting, but the congregation was told Schaap admitted to an inappropriate relationship with a minor.

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INDIANA
New York Daily News

By Anthony Bartkewicz / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Thursday, August 2, 2012

The pastor of an Indiana megachurch lost his job after being careless with cell phone pictures showing him making out with a young woman.

The girl may be as young as 16, and police are now investigating Jack Schaap.

Schaap, 54, was fired from First Baptist Church in Hammond on Tuesday after 11 years in the pulpit, a church spokesman told WBBM-TV.

Former First Baptist member Trisha Kee said Schaap left his cell phone behind and a deacon picked it up to bring it to him.

“The deacon then saw a text come through from a teenage girl in the church, and it was a picture of Jack Schaap and this girl making out,” she said.

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INDIANA
Shreveport Times

Written by
Douglas Stanglin
Gannett

An Indiana sheriff’s office is investigating alleged misconduct by the pastor of an evangelical megachurch who was fired after admitting to an “improper relationship” with a teenage girl, the Hammond Post-Tribune reports.

Jack Schaap, 54, was pastor at 15,000-congregation First Baptist Church of Hammond, Ind., for 11 years and broadcast his sermons worldwide.

The church said in a news release that Schaap committed “a sin that has caused him to forfeit his right to be our pastor,” the Associated Press reports.

The Lake County Sheriff’s Department says it is investigating the alleged misconduct but does not expect to file charges, the Post-Tribune reports.

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HAMMOND (IN)
Post-Tribune

HAMMOND — No charges are expected to be filed against Pastor Jack Schaap for his involvement with an underage girl, according to a First Baptist Church of Hammond official, although the church remains resolute in being cooperative with authorities.

A release put out by Lake County Sheriff John Buncich’s office on Wednesday said his office, along with the FBI’s Merrillville office, are continuing the investigation into Schaap for his alleged misconduct with the church member. Church spokesman Eddie Wilson said the girl is 17. The age of consent in Indiana is 16.

“There has been a lot of conjecture regarding the girl in the press,” Wilson said, adding that the girl and her family are church members. He said she isn’t a student at the Schererville-based Hyles-Anderson College, where Schaap was the chancellor until he was relieved of his duties. “We don’t expect charges to be filed against him (with regard to statutory rape).”

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HAMMOND (IN)
Associated Baptist Press

Thursday, August 2, 2012

A prominent Independent Fundamental Baptist church is in the spotlight for sexual scandal, and it isn’t the first time.

By Bob Allen

An Indiana sheriff’s office is investigating a prominent independent Baptist pastor fired from his 15,000-member mega church for alleged sexual misconduct with an underage girl.

First Baptist Church in Hammond, Ind., posted a news release on the church website announcing dismissal of Pastor Jack Schaap “due to a sin that has caused him to forfeit his right to be our pastor.”

The Lake County Sheriff’s Department in Crown Point, Ind., released a statement confirming an inquiry that involves “alleged misconduct with a juvenile.”

The Hammond Post-Tribune quoted a church leader saying they are cooperating with police, but don’t expect any charges to be filed because the girl is 17. Sixteen is the age of consent in Indiana.

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INDIANA
Huffington Post

[with video]

The former pastor of First Baptist Church of Hammond has confessed to having sex with a member of the church when she was 16, board members told the congregation Wednesday night.

The Board of Deacons addressed the church Wednesday to explain their sudden decision to fire pastor Jack Schaap, who had led the church for the past 11 years. The church plans to fully cooperate with an FBI investigation into allegations that multiple sexual encounters involving the same girl took place across state lines.

“Stick with us,” the board asked of the 15,000 member congregation, according to the WGN.

Schaap’s affair was outed accidentally, a former church member told CBS Chicago.

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INDIANA
The Blaze

Churches are far from immune when it comes to scandal. This is the sad reality that has hit First Baptist Church of Hammond in Indiana, where Dr. Jack Schaap, 54, the pastor there for the past 11 years, is under fire. The allegation being waged against him? That the married pastor and father of two had sex with a 16-year-old female church member.

Now, here’s the irony — Schaap is married to the daughter of the Rev. Jack Hyles. Hyles, who ran the church until his death in 2001, was also accused of being involved in sexual and financial scandals. While he denied the charges waged against him, the church is clearly no stranger to controversy.

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BOSTON (MA)
Boston Globe

By Wesley Lowery, Globe Correspondent

A one-time religious instructor for a prominent Brookline school today was sentenced to 10 years probation for sexually abusing three of his students in Boston during the 1975-1976 school year.

The probation sentence was imposed on Rabbi Stanley V. Levitt by Suffolk Superior Court Judge Geraldine Hines one day after Levitt pleaded guilty in the Boston courthouse to four counts of indecent assault and battery on a child.

He faced up to 40 years imprisonment if given the maximum, and Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley’s office today asked Hines to imprison Levitt for 2½ years. But Hines refused the request from prosecutors, saying from the bench that she was going to adhere to a plea agreement that was reached last fall between prosecutors and Levitt’s defense attorney, Scott Curtis.

According to Suffolk prosecutors, two of the assaults took place at Levitt’s home on Chiswick Road in Brighton; the third occurred while the child was recuperating at Boston Children’s Hospital. All three victims were boys, two were 11 years old at the time.

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CHILE
Apocalisse Laica

Father John O’Reilly ist die bekannteste Gesicht in der Gemeinde der Chile Degollado. Er missbraucht ein Kind. Der Priester: “Ich bin unschuldig.”

Andres Beltramo Alvarez – Vatikanstadt

Dies ist das bekannteste Gesicht der Legionäre Christi in Chile Die gebürtige Irin durch 1986 lebt in dem südamerikanischen Land, wo er Bürgerschaft “aus Gnade” vom Parlament in 2008. Sein Name ist John O’Reilly und ist jetzt in der Mitte des Sturms. Steht vor einer Klage des angeblichen sexuellen Missbrauchs gegen ein neues Baby. Er besteht auf seiner Unschuld und sagt, er sei “bereit, vor den staatlichen und kirchlichen Gerichten erscheinen.

Die Bombe explodierte Mittwoch 25 Juli, wenn das Kollegium Cumbres de Santiago de Chile, die ein Kaplan ist, hat eine Erklärung, in der sie bekannt gemacht die Entscheidung der Exekutive, einen Bericht an das Justizministerium einreichen, die Vorwürfe zu klären freigegeben.

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CILE
Vatican Insider

Padre John O’Reilly è il volto più noto in Cile della congregazione di Degollado. Avrebbe abusato di una bambina. Il religioso: “Sono innocente”

Andrés Beltramo Álvarez
Città del Vaticano

Si tratta del volto più noto dei Legionari di Cristo nel Cile. Irlandese di nascita, dal 1986 abita nel paese sudamericano, dove ha ricevuto la cittadinanza “per grazia” dal Parlamento nel 2008. Si chiama John O’Reilly e oggi è nel bel mezzo della tempesta. Sta affrontando una denuncia per presunti abusi sessuali neo confronti di una bambina. Lui insiste sulla sua innocenza, e si dice “disponibile a comparire davanti ai tribunali civili ed ecclesiastici.

La bomba è esplosa mercoledì 25 luglio, quando il Collegio Cumbres de Santiago de Chile, del quale è cappellano, ha divulgato un comunicato nel quale si rendeva nota la decisione dei direttivi di presentare alla giustizia una segnalazione per chiarire le accuse.

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NIEDERLANDE
KIPA-APIC

Amsterdam, 2.8.12 (Kipa) Der niederländische Bischof Gerard de Korte sieht in repressiver Sexualerziehung einen Grund für sexuellen Missbrauch. Früher sei Sexualität nicht nur für die Kirche, sondern für die ganze Gesellschaft ein Tabu gewesen, einschliesslich der Nichtchristen, sagte der Bischof von Groningen-Leeuwarden dem Onlinemagazin “NieuwWij” (Donnerstag).

Jahrhundertelang habe die Kirche unter dem Einfluss der Theologie von Augustinus negativ über Sexualität gesprochen. Diese Angst-Atmosphäre könnte sexuelle Fehlentwicklungen und somit sexuellen Missbrauch begünstigt haben.

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