ABUSE TRACKER

UNITED STATES
Patrick J. Wall

Every once in a while, real religious history is written. Those of us trained in religion know this firsthand—we have read thousands of pages of hagiography that simply skim over the truth, avoid scandal and paint a rosy, unquestioned picture of religious history.

Then there was John Cavanagh.

John Cavanagh was a former Trappist monk who blew the whistle on his Abbot and the Abbot’s boy toys in the monastery. The Abbot was removed. But he wasn’t the only one punished: the whistleblowers were also pushed out of the monastery. With the troublemakers gone, the Order could create a perfect cover story.

The reason to read this story is to see how John Cavanagh found a deeper spirituality after he lost his religion. His evocative and personal story was published the day before he died.

“A Modern Monk’s Tale,” by John Cavanagh.

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CHILE
Publimetro

En entrevista con TVN, el obispo de Rancagua y ex presidente de la Confederación Episcopal, Alejandro Goic, negó la posibilidad de alguna compensación económica para las víctimas de abusos sexuales del sacerdote Fernando Karadima.

“Sin duda alguna reparación deberíamos dar, pero económica, no sé dónde, ya que la diócesis no contaría con los recursos necesarios para esto”, aseguró Goic.

Las declaraciones del obispo de Rancagua, fueron respaldadas por el arzobispo de Santiago, Ricardo Ezzati, quien comentó “que las indemnizaciones dependen de lo que las víctimas hayan pedido y dependen de las posibilidades reales que existan de pagar”.

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IRELAND
Irish Examiner

By Conor Ryan, Investigative reporter

Monday, October 01, 2012

THE State’s exposure to the child abuse redress bill is growing but efforts to coax religious orders to accept half the costs have failed.

One by one, the 18 congregations have told the Government its desire to split the bill on a 50:50 basis was too much; they would not allow the redress process to bankrupt them.

Negotiations are ongoing on an alternative plan, to sign over school sites, but there has been no resolution and the process has staggered.

The immediate effect is that the State will now have to find at least €1.1bn to fund its portion of a compensation and inquiry scheme that was expected to cost €240m when the indemnity deal was signed in 2002.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by Barbara Dorris on October 01, 2012

It is distressing that the man who has been heading the scandal-plagued Archdiocese of Philadelphia for over a year now still seems unwilling to recognize the depth of the clergy sex abuse epidemic. By blaming reports of abuse on “media bias,” Archbishop Chaput only makes himself appear silly, especially given that his archdiocese has suspended numerous priests this year and was the home of the first ever Catholic official, Msgr. William Lynn, convicted of a felony for covering up sex abuse.

Instead of blaming the problem on the media, Chaput should look inward at the way he and his predecessors have dealt with child predators. Even today, church officials continue to endanger kids by failing to take proper steps with child predators. Recent situations in Joliet, IL and Fall River, MA indicate that this is not a problem in one or two dioceses, but persists across the country.

We think that Archbishop Chaput should stop blaming the media, but rather blame his brother bishops who hide behind policies that they tout in their own press releases but fail to actually follow when it matters. Instead of whining about bias, Chaput should take a serious look at how every abuse allegation is handled, and in the future should allow secular authorities to verify the claims instead of secretive internal processes.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

September 30, 2012|By Harold Brubaker, Inquirer Staff Writer

The fortunes of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and its more than 250 parishes are deeply and torturously entwined.

The archdiocese, the central organizing force for 1.46 million Catholics in Southeastern Pennsylvania, depends on money from member parishes to pay for churchwide activities and to shift money to weaker parishes.

But that formula is broken: Too many parishes have seen attendance fall and offerings shrivel, rendering them unable to support themselves. Ten have been shuttered in the last year, including Ascension of Our Lord in Kensington, which is closing Sunday.

There is no easy way out.

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CHILE
Cooperativa

El abogado Juan Pablo Hermosilla, que representa a las víctimas de abuso sexual del sacerdote Fernando Karadima, consideró una “falta de respeto” que el arzobispo de Santiago, Ricardo Ezzati, cerrara la puerta a cualquier indemnización por parte de la Iglesia Católica.

La necesidad de una reparación fue planteada en una entrevista emitida ayer, domingo, por el obispo de Rancagua y ex presidente de la Conferencia Episcopal Alejandro Goic.

“Sin duda que alguna reparación deberíamos dar, pero económica, no sé de dónde”, ya que “las diócesis no contarían con los recursos necesarios para esto”, dijo Goic en “La entrevista del domingo” de TVN.

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UNITED STATES
America Magazine

A bishop makes a case for expanding the diaconate.

Emil A. Wcela | OCTOBER 1, 2012

C an women receive sacred orders? Let us consult several authoritative sources. Canon 1024 of the Code of Canon Law states, “A baptized male alone receives sacred ordination validly.” In 1994 Pope John Paul II said, “I declare that the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church’s faithful.” And the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has weighed in on the issue more than once. A statement in 1995 read, “This teaching requires definitive assent, since, founded on the written word of God and from the beginning constantly preserved and applied in the tradition of the Church, it has been set forth infallibly by the ordinary and universal magisterium.” And in 2010 the doctrinal congregation stated, “both the one who attempts to confer sacred ordination on a woman, and she who attempts to receive sacred ordination incur a latae sententiae [automatic] excommunication reserved to the Apostolic See.” And so the issue is settled.

Or is it?

Development of Early Church Ministries

Jesus chose the Twelve and others to help spread the word that God was working in the world uniquely through him. After his death and resurrection, local communities of believers formed; and within them leaders emerged or were chosen. In a natural way, the shape of such leadership was often borrowed from contemporary society. There were episkopoi, or “overseers,” in synagogues, who managed finances and sometimes settled disputes, and overseers in the civic world responsible for community projects, like the building of a road. There were presbyteroi, or “elders,” councils of men who formed administrative boards in synagogues and other religious institutions. Adopted by the Christian communities, these offices would develop into the episcopate and priesthood.

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IRELAND
Irish Independent

By Cormac McQuinn

Monday October 01 2012

A SENIOR figure in the Association of Catholic Priests (ACPS) has said he agrees with a distinguished Italian cardinal who has said that the church is 200 years out of date.

Co Mayo priest Fr Brendan Hoban, one of the leaders of the organisation, has spoken of how the church needs to face its current crises such as the series of child sex abuse scandals and the fall in vocations.

And speaking ahead of two conferences aimed at increasing the participation of lay Catholics, he said bishops and priests can’t solve the church’s problems on their own, that it needs the help of ordinary Catholics.

Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini died at the end of August but in an interview given two weeks before his death, he said the Catholic Church is “200 years behind the times”.

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NEW YORK
The New York Times

By SHARON OTTERMAN

Published: October 01, 2012

New York’s most powerful politicians have lined up to call for the resignation of Assemblyman Vito J. Lopez, the onetime Brooklyn Democratic kingmaker, since news broke in August that an ethics panel censured him for what it said was the sexual harassment of two female employees earlier in the summer.

But there has been a conspicuous silence from religious leaders who have regularly cooperated with him politically in Brooklyn, notably Bishop Nicholas A. DiMarzio, head of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn. The bishop went as far as recording a robocall in 2009 in support of a City Council candidate Mr. Lopez was backing, and when he was recently asked, through a spokesman, what he thought about the allegations, he responded with a carefully worded statement.

“There is no place in our society for sexual harassment,” said Bishop DiMarzio, who has led the diocese, which also includes Queens, since 2003.

“In our nation, the courts determine whether someone is guilty of a crime,” he added. “Voters are charged with determining the suitability of individuals for elected office. As a priest and bishop, my primary concern is for the salvation of those souls in my care. My responsibility is to remind us all that we are called to seek repentance and forgiveness.”

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SLOVAKIA
Chiesa

Anna Hušcavová defends the correctness of her actions as administrative adviser of the archdiocese of Trnava. But the Vatican authorities hold firm their negative judgment, which has led to the removal of Archbishop Bezák

by Sandro Magister

ROME, October 1, 2012 – The article from www.chiesa on the removal of the archbishop of Trnava has vigorously rekindled, in Slovakia but not only there, the controversy ignited by the Vatican decision:

> The Case of the “Bishop with a Human Face” Dismissed by the Pope

In particular, reactions were prompted by what was written on www.chiesa – in reporting the results of the inspections by the Vatican authorities – concerning the administrative disorder of the assets of the archdiocese placed under the management of the commercial companies Ninett and Hanalex by deposed archbishop Róbert Bezák.

The directors of these companies, Ondrej Studenec and Anna Hušcavová, have asked www.chiesa for a correction of the allegations made against them, which they both call “false and unfounded.”

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CALIFORNIA
Loyolan

Posted: Sunday, September 30, 2012

The Department of Public Safety (DPS) sent a letter to the Loyola Marymount University community late Wednesday regarding an instance of alleged sexual assault on campus. Two students were arrested by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and, according to DPS Chief Hampton Cantrell, the LAPD’s investigation is ongoing.

According to the letter sent, a female LMU undergraduate student called DPS to report that she was the victim of a sexual assault. She claimed it occurred at approximately 3 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 26 in an on-campus residence hall. She named two male LMU students as the perpetrators.

In response, LAPD was called to campus and, after conducting a number of interviews, they arrested the two male students.

The LAPD refused to comment on this story, instead referring the Loyolan to DPS. LAPD, DPS and Judicial Affairs all declined to release the names of the students arrested or the location of the alleged assault, other than that it occurred in a residence hall on campus.

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AUSTRALIA
Brisbane Times

October 1, 2012

Neda Vanovac

AAP

The cancer death of a priest accused of sexually assaulting a boy and covering up other sexual abuse in the Catholic Church has left alleged victims feeling robbed of justice, a support group says.

Father Tom Brennan, 74, died on Sunday at the Hunter Valley Private Hospital after battling cancer for several years.

The priest was the first member of the Australian Catholic clergy to be charged with covering up sex abuse by another priest and was also charged with sexually abusing a young boy.

He was too unwell to face Newcastle Local Court on a total of 14 charges last Tuesday.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

By Giselle Wakatama

The first Australian priest to be charged with covering up clerical sex abuse will never face prosecution after dying in hospital.

Hunter Valley priest Father Tom Brennan had been gravelly ill for some time, suffering from cancer.

Last week the 74-year-old was too ill to attend Newcastle Local Court for his first appearance after becoming the first person in Australia to be charged with failing to report sexual abuse by another priest.

The charges stemmed from his time as a principal at a Newcastle Catholic high school.

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PHILADELHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

By Barbara Boyer
Inquirer Staff Writer

About four months after being defrocked by the Diocese of Camden in 2002, Thomas Harkins had a new job as a security officer, including patting down passengers, with the Transportation Security Administration at Philadelphia International Airport.

The TSA hired the former priest before completing a background check, the agency recently confirmed. According to a church document, the diocese revealed to the TSA in 2003 as part of the background check that Harkins had been removed from ministry because of allegations he had molested two grade-school girls. Harkins was never criminally prosecuted, but the diocese settled civil lawsuits for $195,000.

The TSA took no action as a result of the disclosure.

“An allegation alone does not warrant dismissal or automatically disqualify applicants from employment with the TSA,” spokeswoman Ann Davis said.

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

THE first Australian priest to be charged with covering up sex abuse by another priest has died in hospital before his matter could be heard in court.

Hunter Valley priest Father Tom Brennan was too unwell to appear when his case was due for a first mention in court last week.

He died last night following a long battle with cancer, the ABC reported.

Earlier this year, the 74-year-old became the first member of the Australian Catholic clergy to be charged with failing to report sexual abuse by another priest.

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AUSTRALIA
IOL (South Africa)

October 1 2012
By Sid Astbury

Sydney –

The first Australian priest to be charged with covering up sexual abuse inside the Catholic Church has died before facing court, news reports said on Monday.

Cancer patient Father Tom Brennan died on Sunday in a hospital in Newcastle, 160 kilometres north of Sydney.

The 74-year-old was too ill last week to attend court to answer a charge of failing to report to police claims of sexual abuse by another priest.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Catholic Philly

Archbishop Charles Chaput

In early September, the Gallup Organization found that 60 percent of Americans – a record high — have little or no trust in the mass media’s ability “to report the news fully, accurately and fairly.” The sharpest decline in trust occurred among political independents, the least partisan American voters.

This isn’t much of a surprise. Media coverage of religion, for example, has been eroding in both quality and fairness for years, as tracked by excellent web sites like getreligion.org. But the shift to social advocacy and the decay of professional standards have hurt the credibility of journalism on a whole range of issues. For Gallup, the trend “poses a challenge to democracy and to creating a fully engaged citizenry.”

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Daily Times

Opinion

Published: Monday, October 01, 2012

Archbishop Charles Chaput, in his latest weekly column written for the 1.5 million Roman Catholics in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, seems to blame the media for the church’s recent problems.

He refers to a Gallup Poll in which 60 percent of Americans have little or no trust in the mass media’s ability “to report the news fully, accurately and fairly.” He claims media coverage of religion “has been eroding in both quality and fairness for years” and contains “a disdain for Catholic belief.”

The fact of the matter is, if it were not for the media, Americans would most likely never have known the extent of the clerical sexual abuse that has occurred nationally and internationally in the Roman Catholic Church over at least the last five decades. More importantly, church officials might still be covering up this abuse by handling complaints on their own and not contacting civil authorities, thereby allowing suspected pedophile priests to have continued access to children of all faiths.

Before 2002 when the child molestation conviction of a Boston priest first broke the scandal open nationwide, church officials handled abuse complaints by sending suspected predator priests to church treatment clinics, then often sending them to new parishes where the faithful had no knowledge of the suspected pedophile’s history. This pattern was documented in the last 10 years by two Philadelphia grand juries. They found that not only did church officials fail to turn suspected pedophiles over to law enforcement officials, they ordered other priests and nuns to leave matters to them if child abuse was suspected.

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