ABUSE TRACKER

AUSTRALIA
The Courier

By TOM McILROY
Dec. 5, 2012

BALLARAT’S Catholic Bishop Paul Bird has welcomed tomorrow’s sitting of a Victorian parliamentary inquiry into institutional child sexual abuse and said he was committed to improved safety standards.

Bishop Bird said priests, religious leaders and parishioners in the Ballarat Diocese had welcomed the inquiry and a forthcoming national royal commission as a chance for healing for the church and victims of abuse.

He said the church had changed its practices in dealing with “the tragedy of child sexual abuse”.

“It has been welcomed by many who want an independent look at what has happened, and as an exercise which will bring to light some important lessons,” he said.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

INDIANA
Washington Times-Herald

May 2, 2012

By Nate Smith Washington Times-Herald

WASHINGTON — The trial of a Hispanic girl who claimed the Evansville Catholic Diocese and the Catholic Community of Washington covered up a rape was delayed again.

According to court records, attorneys for the Diocese asked to have the trial, set for June 18, canceled. Daviess County Circuit Court Judge Gregory Smith granted the request last week, against objections from the plaintiff’s attorneys.

A pretrial conference is set for May 18 to determine the future of the case.

The alleged cover-up, according to records, happened five years ago when a then-23-year-old girl was raped by Fredy Mendez-Morales, then 27, at the old St. Mary’s School. Morales was later convicted of rape, but family members of the mentally challenged girl say church officials tried to coerce her and the family.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

INDIANA
Washington Times-Herald

March 20, 2012

By Nate Smith Washington Times-Herald

WASHINGTON — A trial date has been set in the case of a Hispanic woman alleging the Evansville Catholic Diocese persuaded her not to report a rape at the old St. Mary’s School.

Parties in the case against the Diocese, the Catholic Community of Washington, and three indviduals will have their day in Daviess Circuit Court from June 18 to 26. The last pre-trial conference is set for May 18.

The case stems from an alleged cover-up over five years ago involving a then 23-year-old girl, who was raped by Fredy Mendez-Morales, then 27, at the old St. Mary’s School. The school was since sold to Harvest Community Fellowship and houses Cornerstone Christian Academy. No members of the Catholic Community of Washington were named in the suit, but because the church owned the building in 2007, they were named.

It is the policy of the Times Herald not to name victims of rape or sexual abuse nor family members of the victims.

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CALIFORNIA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by David Clohessy on December 05, 2012

We are glad that Fr. Cuevas’ victims will be spared the difficulty of a trial. And we hope that Fr. Cuevas will spend a long time behind bars so he won’t be able to hurt others.

We also hope that next month, when Fr. Cuevas is sentenced, the parishioners who so loudly proclaimed his innocence will show up in court again, but this time supporting the victims, not the perpetrator.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

AUSTRALIA
Eureka Street

Sandie Cornish
December 05, 2012

In an effort to encourage and support Catholics shaken by clergy sexual abuse scandals, Bishop Greg O’Kelly of Port Pirie wrote a pastoral letter to his people on 20 November. He rejected generalisations and inaccuarcies in some media reporting, insisted that responsibility for wrongdoing lies with ‘individuals within the Church’ rather than with ‘the Church’, and pointed to the good done by many church organisations.

Much of what Bishop O’Kelly says is true, but he misses the opportunity to examine the relationship between personal and collective responsibility. There is such a thing as social responsibility and the Catholic Social Teaching concept of structures of sin can help Catholics to understand and deal constructively with their shame.

Bishop O’Kelly objects to the assertion that ‘the Church’ has committed sexual crimes against children, shielded offenders or obscured police investigations, yet presents examples of ‘all the good that the Church continues to do’. I don’t think we can argue that ‘the Church’ is responsible when individuals and Catholic organisations do good things, but that ‘individuals within the Church’ are responsible when evil acts are committed.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

AUSTRALIA
CathNews

The Bishop of Ballarat Paul Bird has welcomed tomorrow’s sitting of a Victorian parliamentary inquiry into institutional child sexual abuse and said he was committed to improved safety standards. reports The Courier.

Bishop Bird said priests, religious leaders and parishioners in the Ballarat Diocese had welcomed the inquiry and a forthcoming national royal commission as a chance for healing for the church and victims of abuse.

He said the church had changed its practices in dealing with “the tragedy of child sexual abuse”.

“It has been welcomed by many who want an independent look at what has happened, and as an exercise which will bring to light some important lessons,” he said. …

The Church is keeping the community informed about the Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry into child abuse through its website, www.facingthetruth.org.au. Readers can subscribe to receive updates including Fact Sheets and FAQs.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

VATICAN CITY
Vatican Insider

As a result of the document leak scandal, each Vatican employee has now been given a swipe card with a microchip so that they can be traced at all times

Andrea Tornielli
Vatican City

Having greeted the Swiss Guard in his magnificent uniform, an impeccably dressed monsignor walks briskly past until his eyes catch sight of the two security barriers located beyond the marble door frame. And his heart sinks with disappointment: from 1 january, anyone who enters or exits will have to swipe their new magnetic ID cards which are fitted with a chip that makes it possible to locate the card’s owner at any time.

Vatican City, Apostolic Palace, frescoed corridor in the Third Loggia: security checks in the Secretariat of State, the Holy See’s control room, have been boosted. And not just in terms of the times when the building can be accessed. This is just one of the consequences of the Vatileaks scandal. Locked archives, more stringent checks on those who wish to view dossiers and the obligation to declare every document that is photocopied. The Holy See has introduced a set of new, tougher rules, which even apply to the few members of the papal household. The personal secretaries’ office has been declared off limits to prevent a repeat of the leaked document incident.

Next to the Pope’s study

The Pope’s secretaries, Georg Gänswein and Alfred Xuereb share an office that is adjacent to Benedict XVI’s study. In this office, apart from the photocopier, there was also a desk with a computer for the papal butler. Angelo Guger, the now retired papal butler who served three Popes, used it for small secretarial tasks assigned to him by Fr. Stanislao Dziwisz. This is where Paolo Gabriele, Benedict XVI’s former butler, made copies of the famous leaked confidential documents that were passed on to Fr. Georg when the Pope had finished reading them. Because of the Vatileaks scandal, not only is the new papal butler, Sandro Mariotti, also known as Sandrone, not given any secretarial tasks, he is forbidden from spending time in the secretaries’ office. Security has also been tightened with regards to the handling of documents that make their way from the Secretariat of State to the Pope’s desk. These documents are then returned to the Secretariat of State with any additional notes and the unmistakable “B16” the Pope adds in his own writing to all letters read by him personally.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

VATICAN CITY
Vatican Insider

Six months have passed since the IOR’s director Ettore Gotti Tedeschi was dismissed but the Vatican Bank is still without leader. His successor will not be Italian

ANDREA TORNIELLI
Vatican City

The IOR (Institute for Works of Religion) board, which is still leaderless having controversially dismissed its president, Ettore Gotti Tedeschi, meets tomorrow. Vatican sources have confirmed that no announcement of a successor is expected any time soon and that the appointment of the new president – a long and well-thought out process – will take place in 2013.

The lay members of the Vatican bank are: German acting president, Ronaldo Hermann Schmitz, of Deutsche Bank; the American, Carl Anderson, Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus and one of the signatories of the accusation act against Gitti Tedeschi which was deliberately leaked to the papers; the Spaniard Manuel Soto Serrano of Banco Santander and Antonio Maria Marocco, a notary from the Italian city of Turin. Together, they will discuss future arrangements and ways in which to bring the IOR in line with international money laundering directives. No significant updates are expected, however, on the name of the new president. This will be another point that will be discussed during the meeting.

The past few months seem to have proven that the IOR functions just fine even without a president. A number of names ended up on the list of figures that could potentially succeed Gotti Tedeschi. The choice will be made very carefully: timing, prudence and careful evaluation are crucial and show how delicate a choice this will be and how much care the Vatican wishes to take in appointing the person for the job. The Vatican will have to choose a distinguished European figure of international standing and not an Italian. The person chosen will have to guide the bank out of the shallows, where it has remained for some time and at the same time use teamwork to guarantee the bank’s autonomy, making it less “Italian”.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

CALIFORNIA
Long Beach Post

By Sarah Bennett | Wednesday, 05 December 2012

A Long Beach priest arrested in July on sexual assault charges pleaded no contest Tuesday to three sex-related charges involving a 17 year-old girl and two women.

Luis Jose Cuevas, 68, entered the plea to one felony count of committing a lewd act on a child and two misdemeanor sexual battery charges, according to Sandi Gibbons of the District Attorney’s Office.

Cuevas will be sententenced January 23 and faces lifetime registration as a sex offender, one year of sex offendor counseling, five years of formal probation and 40 hours of community service.

The case began in April, when the Long Beach Police Department received information from the two adult victims, who say they initially reported the incidents to the Archdiocese. After an investigation, during which the 17 year-old victim came forward, the Long Beach Police Department presented the case to the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office, which subsequently filed charges.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

CALIFORNIA
The Worthy Adversary

[note: The Clergy Abuse Tracker also posted the story which turned out to be incorrect. The story has been withdrawn from the site.]

Posted by Joelle Casteix on December 3, 2012

The story this post was based on is incorrect. I am sorry for any confusion this post caused and pain that any victims may have suffered as a result.

I accept full responsibility.

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DELAWARE
News Times

RANDALL CHASE, Associated Press

Updated 3:07 p.m., Wednesday, December 5, 2012

DOVER, Del. (AP) — A Delaware bankruptcy judge has granted motions filed by two former priests challenging the release of their personnel files as part of a settlement in the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington’s bankruptcy.

Charles Wiggins and Kenneth Martin both sought protective orders to prevent the diocese from releasing their files to members of a creditors committee for possible subsequent disclosure to the public.

Judge Christopher Sontchi on Tuesday issued one-page orders granting the motions, almost six months after hearing arguments behind closed doors and barring reporters from the courtroom.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

OSTERREICH
Pressetext

Wien (pts028/05.12.2012/15:20) – Am 18. Dezember veranstaltet die überparteiliche Initiative “Heimkinder-Aktiv-Community” die erste Gedenkkundgebung der Betroffenen der kirchlichen und staatlichen Befürsorgung. Die Kundgebung findet in Wien statt. Die Missbrauchsfälle in Heimen sind nach umfangreicher Medienberichterstattung noch in aller Munde. Die entsetzliche Gewalt, insbesondere der sexuelle Missbrauch an Kindern durch Nonnen und Priester der katholischen Kirche, erschüttert die Welt.

Zur Zeit leben in Österreich über 11.000 Kinder in Heimen, von denen nach wie vor nicht alle ein Hort der guten und fürsorglichen Erziehung sind. Die Heimkinder Österreichs solidarisieren sich. Sie wurden in den vergangenen Jahrzehnten sexuell missbraucht, unter Druck gesetzt, gedemütigt, schwer gezüchtigt, zu schweren Arbeiten herangezogen, ohne Geld erhalten zu haben, um ihre Bildungsmöglichkeiten betrogen, ihrer Pensionsanteile beraubt, als ungewollte Menschen zweiter Klasse behandelt und für Humanversuche benutzt.

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OSTERREICH
Kurier

Das wird die erste Veranstaltung, wo endlich wir am Wort sind“, sagt Johann Kailich. Der 65-Jährige ist einer der Organisatoren einer Demonstration ehemaliger Heimkinder, die am 18. Dezember vom Wiener Stephansplatz bis zum Parlament führen soll.

Das „Wir“ sind ehemalige Zöglinge von Heimen der Stadt Wien, anderer Bundesländer und der katholischen Kirche. Kailich ist vor allem ein Anliegen, das damalige Heimsystem aufzurollen. „Jedes Opfer einzeln zu entschädigen, hat keinen Sinn – eine Rente, eine Wiedergutmachung. Wir fordern, dass der Staat alle ehemaligen Heimkinder als Opfer anerkennt und abfindet.“ Es gebe „Zigtausende“, die sich noch nicht bei einer der Opferschutzkommissionen gemeldet haben. Die müssten von den offiziellen Stellen kontaktiert werden, fordert Kailich.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

UNITED KINGDOM
Click Manchester

by Mark Langshaw. Published Wed 05 Dec 2012

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) have arrested a man from Trafford following reports of historic sexual abuse.

The 63-year-old suspect was taken into custody on suspicion of indecent assault and possession of indecent images relating to an incident in the early 1980s involving a 17-year-old pupil from St Ambrose RC College in Altrincham.

He has been bailed until 12th March next year, pending further inquiries.

GMP subsequently received reports of sexual abuse at the school dating back to the 1960s, so of which referred to incidents that took place on the premises, while others that took place off site are said to have involved members of staff.

Detective Inspector Jed Pidd, from Trafford’s Public Protection Investigation Unit (PPIU), said: “First and foremost I want to stress that we are looking at historical incidents.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

BALTIMORE (MD)
About.com

By Austin Cline, About.com Guide
December 4, 2012

In Baltimore, Maryland, a teacher named John Joseph Merzbacher apparently not only raped pre-teen students, but did so in front of at least one nun who did nothing to help. This occurred in the 1970s but it wasn’t reported until the 1990s and it’s only hitting the public media now.

This is meaningful because it involves church officials who weren’t priests. Granted, the nuns themselves weren’t raping children (isn’t it disturbing that this has to be mentioned?), but at least one was (according to the reports) facilitating and covering up the rape of children.

This indicates that the problem with Catholic priests molesting and raping children while bishops facilitated it and covered it up isn’t a problem that can be traced solely to something in the Catholic priesthood. Something about the priesthood may have played a role, but it can’t be the only issue. Something else in the nature of Catholic Church power and institutional structures must be playing an important role as well.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

AUSTRALIA
The Age

December 4, 2012

Judy Courtin

Victims were wronged by the Catholic church and governments too.

WITH a celebratory, yet very holy, time of the year approaching, it is time to reflect on the rapidly unfolding religious revolution in Australia.

This uprising is the stuff of the thousands of victims of Catholic clergy sex crimes, and their families. After decades of obstruction and further harm from a self-serving, dishonest and defiant church, these courageous people have rallied with their loud and clear collective voice.

This voice has finally overpowered what have previously been resistant federal governments, all of which have been shamefully beholden to the Catholic Church.

The national royal commission, announced by Prime Minister Julia Gillard, will indeed nourish this revolution.

While governments can be congratulated for taking a stand and doing the right thing, it is not for governments to politicise these matters or to demand the spotlight. The acclaim must go to those so badly and criminally wronged. Wronged primarily by the institution of the Catholic Church, but also by the inexcusable neglect and deaf ears of all governments over too many years. Governments should be hanging their heads in shame and saying sorry for past failures to act.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

CANADA
The Chronicle Journal

North Shore Bureau

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Victims of Canada’s legacy of residential schools are expected to share their pain at two Truth and Reconciliation Commission forums to be held in Thunder Bay starting this morning.

The hearings “provide an opportunity for those affected by the Indian Residential School system and its legacy to share their experiences,” the commission said in a news release.

The hearings, which are often emotionally charged, are presided by one of three commissioners.
The forums in Thunder Bay are to be presided by Justice Murray Sinclair, Manitoba’s first aboriginal judge and a noted expert on aboriginal legal issues.

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AUSTRALIA
Hobsons Bay Weekly

By GOYA DMYTRYSHCHAK
Dec. 4, 2012

VICTIM of paedophile Catholic priest Victor Rubeo has come forward to praise moves to change the Altona Meadows street name that honours the man she labels a ‘‘psychopathic monster’’.

Marie, who asked that only her first name be used, said she had written to Hobsons Bay Council in a bid to find out if Rubeo Avenue was named after the priest, who she says first abused her when she was five.

In October 1996, Rubeo pleaded guilty in the Ringwood Magistrates Court to two counts of indecent assault against Tony Hersbach and his twin brother Will, committed at Laverton in 1967 when the boys were 14. Rubeo, 78, died last December 16, the day he was meant to front a committal hearing in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on 30 new child sex abuse charges committed against the Hersbach twins.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

AUSTRALIA
National Catholic Reporter

by Chris McGillion,Stephen Crittenden | Dec. 5, 2012

A statement by Australia’s Federal Attorney General Nicola Roxon that the national royal commission into child sex abuse should look into requiring Catholic priests to break the seal of confession in cases of serious sex offenses generated much discussion inside and outside the church, even as Roxon tried to downplay the issue.

Roxon, who is responsible for setting up the commission, said that of far more importance was the failure to report to police known cases of abuse and “open secrets” that came to the attention of priests and church authorities by means other than the confessional.

New South Wales Premier Barry O’Farrell said that priests hearing confessions of pedophilia should be subject to mandatory reporting. “I struggle to understand … that if a priest confesses to another priest that he’s been involved in pedophile activities, that that information should not be brought to police,’’ he told the state parliament.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has said that she believes it is an issue that the royal commission should consider and one member of parliament has described the government’s recognition of the seal as a “medieval law that needs to change.”

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

UNITED KINGDOM
Messenger

By Kate Banks, Reporter

TOP Catholic school St Ambrose RC College in Hale Barns, is subject of a police investigation into historic sexual abuse, resulting in the arrest of a Trafford man.

Greater Manchester Police has confirmed that five former pupils have alleged they were abused by teachers between the early 1960s and early 1980s and more than one former staff member is being investigated, although it cannot currently confirm how many.

A 63-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of indecent assault and possession of indecent images on November 9 and has been bailed pending further enquiries until March 12, 2013.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

UNITED KINGDOM
ITV

An Altrincham school has released a statement after Greater Manchester Police arrested a man following a report of historic sexual abuse.

The alleged offences relate to an incident in the early 1980s, when the victim was 17 years old and a pupil at St Ambrose RC College at the time.

“”We are deeply concerned by the allegations and are cooperating fully with the police investigation.

“Our thoughts are with those who have made the allegations – but we can not comment further at this point.”
– St Ambrose RC College spokesperson

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MONTANA
Missoulian

Associated Press

HELENA – Attorneys for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Helena, an order of nuns and hundreds of alleged sex abuse victims said Tuesday they will try to hammer out a settlement during a mediation conference in April.

If the sides fail to reach a deal, the case will head to trial tentatively set for December of next year. Judge Jeffrey Sherlock would have to decide whether to hold individual or group trials for more than 300 plaintiffs.

That’s the number of people who have claimed they were abused as children by priests and nuns in western Montana. The claims go back as far as the 1940s.

The plaintiffs, many of them Native Americans, are from two combined lawsuits filed last year against the diocese and the Ursuline Sisters of the Western Province. They contend the diocese and the nuns knew or should have known about the abuse, but covered it up instead of stopping it.

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WYOMING
KOTA Territory News

Updated: Dec 05, 2012

LANDER, Wyo. (AP) – Wyoming Catholic College officials say the Lander school’s chaplain has been fired amid allegations of improper conduct with students.

School spokesman Matthew Brasmer says the chaplain was dismissed effective Nov. 19.

The termination follows an internal investigation by the college, which revealed conduct and a pattern of behavior Brasmer called unacceptable as a Catholic college chaplain.

Lander Police Chief Jim Carey tells The Riverton Ranger (http://bit.ly/YMtkLc ) that his department is investigating but he declined to release details.

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NEW YORK
CBS New York

(CBS/AP) NEW YORK – The mother of a teenage girl who is accusing a member of an ultra-orthodox Jewish sect of sexual abuse claims says she paid her daughter’s alleged abuser, Nechemya Weberman, $12,800 for “counseling” services that the girl’s school demanded she receive.

The woman testified Monday that her daughter’s Brooklyn school told her she had to send the then- 12-year-old girl to see Weberman – who was an unlicensed counselor – otherwise she’d be expelled from school, because she had questioned her teachers about their religion and had worn clothing that wasn’t modest enough.

Prosecutors say the girl was molested by Weberman, 54, for years. Defense attorneys say the counselor is the victim of a vindictive child, angry that he had betrayed her trust.

The case has been a crash course for jurors about the customs and rules in Weberman’s ultra-Orthodox Jewish community in Brooklyn, home to about 250,000 followers and the largest such community outside Israel. His trial has rocked their insular, tight-knit group, not only because of the shocking charges but also because the case is being played out in a public court and its guarded society strongly discourages going to outside authorities.

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UNITED KINGDOM
BBC News

Reports of historical sex abuse at a Catholic college in Greater Manchester are being investigated by police.

The alleged offences involved staff at boys-only St Ambrose RC College in Altrincham from the 1960s to 1980s.

A man, 63, from Trafford was arrested on suspicion of indecent assault and possession of indecent images in November and released on bail.

Police said current students should not be concerned, but asked former pupils with information to come forward.

The 63-year-old man was arrested over allegations of an incident in the early 1980s when the victim was a 17-year-old pupil.

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NEW YORK
New York Daily News

By Oren Yaniv / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

A once-respected Hasidic counselor accused of sexually assaulting a Brooklyn girl is expected to take the stand in his own defense Wednesday .

Nechemya Weberman, 54, is accused by the teenager of forcing her to perform oral sex and reenact porn during three years of spiritual counseling that started when she was 12.

Tuesday’s witnesses represented the torturous journey of the alleged victim — who turns 18 Wednesday — from a student who rebelled against the strict modesty rules at her Satmar school to a “depressed” teen who reported the purported abuse. In December 2010, social worker Sarah Fried testified in Brooklyn Supreme Court, the “very anxious” girl recounted her “trauma.”

“At the end of the session, she uttered the words ‘I was molested,’” Fried testified, “then ran out of the office.”

It wasn’t until February 2011 that the girl named Weberman – an accusation the defense contends was motivated by revenge upon learning the counselor set up her boyfriend to be arrested.

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COSTA MESA (CA)
The Orange County Register

By DEEPA BHARATH / THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

COSTA MESA – Congregants at Rock Harbor church are dealing with a slew of emotions after four victims came forward saying that they were sexually abused by a Sunday school teacher.

Jeff Gideon, communications director for the church, said the congregation feels “shocked and betrayed.”

Christopher Bryan McKenzie Sr., 48, a pool cleaner and Sunday school teacher at Rock Harbor Church in Costa Mesa, was arrested on suspicion of lewd acts with a child after two men complained to Newport Beach police.

“Our whole community is just dealing with this betrayal and searching for answers at this point,” he said. “We are just flabbergasted by the fact that this happened in spite of all the policies and procedures we had put in place to ensure the safety and security of our families.”

Christopher Bryan McKenzie Sr., 48, a pool cleaner, was arrested Friday on suspicion of committing lewd acts on a child and distributing pornography to minors. According to court documents, McKenzie has now been charged with 10 felony counts of lewd acts upon a child under 14, four felony counts of using a minor for the distribution of obscene matter and two felony counts of distributing pornography to minors. In addition, he faces sentencing enhancement allegations for substantial sexual conduct with a child – including masturbation, oral copulation and sexual penetration – against more than one victim.

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CALIFORNIA
Daily Pilot

By Jeremiah Dobruck

December 4, 2012

A Sunday school volunteer at Rock Harbor Church in Costa Mesa allegedly formed relationships with boys in his congregation and went on to sexually abuse at least one of them multiple times between November 2009 and November 2011, according to a criminal complaint and interviews with church leaders.

These charges came to light after Newport Beach police announced Saturday that Christopher Bryan McKenzie, 48, of Costa Mesa, had been arrested for allegedly having years-long sexual relationships with two boys.

Deputy District Attorney Cynthia Herrera said two families came forward over the weekend with new allegations. The victims were as young as 8, she said.

Punishment In total, McKenzie is accused of inappropriate interaction with four boys, including substantial sexual contact on multiple occasions with three of them. He allegedly involved all of them in the production or distribution of obscene material.

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UTAH
Standard-Examiner

By Loretta Park
Standard-Examiner staff

Tue, 12/04/2012

FARMINGTON — A Centerville man entered not-guilty pleas to child sex abuse charges.

Timothy William Bothell, 43, appeared in 2nd District Court on Tuesday. He is charged with two first-degree felony counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child and four counts of class A misdemeanor charges of lewdness involving a child. Another hearing is set for Dec. 18.

Bothell served on a local Stake High Council for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and was also employed by the LDS Church at the time of his arrest in August, police said.

According to court documents, the abuse occurred between Dec. 1, 2011, and Aug. 9, 2012.

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AUSTRALIA
National Catholic Reporter

Dec. 5, 2012

Analysis

Sydney —
The Catholic church in Australia is about to be put under the spotlight of the most sweeping inquiry into child sexual abuse ever conducted in this country.

Describing child abuse as “vile and evil,” Prime Minister Julia Gillard said a national royal commission will examine the treatment of children in all churches, charities and private bodies. But it is clear that a major factor in her decision has been the mounting public outcry at ongoing scandals involving Catholic personnel and procedures.

These scandals include:
• Recent suicides of victims of sexual abuse by priests;
• Allegations of children dying in the care of Catholic institutions;
• Ongoing arrests and convictions of priests in relation to matters involving child sexual abuse;
• New allegations that some church authorities failed to report abusive priests;
• Claims by police in two state jurisdictions — three states are currently conducting their own inquiries into child abuse in institutional care — that existing church protocols fail to address the long-term interests of victims and that the Catholic church, in the words of one detective, “covers up, silences victims, hinders police investigations, alerts offenders, destroys evidence and moves priests to protect the good name of the church.”

“Beyond the evidence of abuse,” Gillard told a press conference, “there is also cause for concern that other adults who could have done something to make a difference to the lives of these children didn’t do what they should have done, either by becoming complicit in people being moved around, for example, or by averting their eyes and by acts of omission.”

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

MAINE
Portland Press Herald

By Dennis Hoey dhoey@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer

PORTLAND — An independent review of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland has shown that the Diocese is in “full compliance” with the Church’s charter that was established to protect minors from sexual abuse by Catholic clergy, and that there’s no evidence abuse has occurred.

Dave Guthro, a spokesman for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland, said the audit, reviewed the period from July 1, 2011 through June 30, 2012.

The three-day-long audit, which was conducted by StoneBridge Business Partners of Rochester, N.Y., found that one hundred percent of all diocesan employees and active clergy had undergone criminal background checks and that employees were implementing programs to protect children from abuse.

“We are 100 percent compliant in all areas of the audit, which was a three-day, thorough, on-site review by independent auditors,” Bishop Richard Malone, Apostolic Administrator for the Portland Diocese, said in a press release issued Tuesday.

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MAINE
WCSH

Written by
Mike Kmack

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) – The Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland is in full compliance with nationally mandated child-protection policies for a seventh consecutive year.

The church each year undergoes an audit to ensure it’s complying with standards implemented in 2002 amid the clergy abuse scandal.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops that year adopted the Dallas Charter, which contains mandates on how the church works with sexual abuse victims, responds to allegations of abuse and protects children in the future.

An outside company each year audits the Catholic dioceses around the country to assess their compliance with the policy.

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AUSTRALIA
National Catholic Reporter

by Stephen Crittenden | Dec. 5, 2012

Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced Nov. 12 that a national royal commission would investigate institutional responses to allegations of child sexual abuse in Australia.

The commission will look at a wide array of public and private institutions that serve youth, from schools and residential homes to the Boy and Girl Scouts, but the abuse of minors in the Catholic church is undeniably an impetus for the announcement.

The decision, taken at a meeting of the federal cabinet, has received overwhelming public support; 95 precent of Australians approve of the commission, according to a Herald-Nielsen opinion poll.

Pressure for a national royal commission has been mounting for years, led by abuse victims and some sections of the Australian media. Child sexual abuse is already the subject of an ongoing parliamentary inquiry in the state of Victoria, and in early November another inquiry was announced in the state of New South Wales.

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UNITED STATES
We the People – White House

Establish a National Commission To Investigate Organizational Child Sexual Abuse and Identify Federal Responses

Children are being sexually abused in religious, educational and youth organizations, Federally funded and/or tax exempt. All abuse victims suffer; some commit suicide. A few cases, Penn State, Philly/Boston/K. C. dioceses, Mormon/Boy Scouts, are publicized. Predatory priests, rabbis, ministers, nuns, teachers, coaches, and scout leaders, are secretly protected by unaccountable superiors and abuse again. Local laws are inadequate. Local officials and media are unduly influenced. Victims are denied justice. Prior responses have been inadequate.

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NEW YORK
Gothamist

More disturbing details have emerged from the trial of Nechemya Weberman, the ultra-Orthodox Jewish counselor accused of sexually abusing a teen girl in Brooklyn for years. Yesterday the girl’s mother took the stand, and told the jury how United Talmudical Academy administrators pressured her into sending her daughter to counseling with Weberman, who is not a licensed therapist. During the sessions, prosecutors say Weberman repeatedly showed her pornography and then made her reenact the sex acts.

Testifying yesterday, the mother said, “The school gave her a hard time and said she was a [heretic]. They wanted to make sure that I would send [her] to Weberman.” She claims the choice was simple: either turn her daughter over to Weberman for regular counseling, or find another place for her to go to school. The alleged victim’s mother also says the United Talmudical Academy forced her to pay Weberman $12,800 in advance.

If you’ve been following along with this trial, you won’t be surprised to hear that it gets worse. According to the mother’s testimony, Weberman at one point told the family he would be taking the teen on a daylong roadtrip. When the mother protested that this violated religious rules prohibiting unmarried men and women from spending time alone together, the school ordered the family to comply. The girl went on the trip, and the mother says she was compelled to write a letter of apology to Weberman.

The unidentified teen says Weberman’s sexual abuse started in 2007, when she was 12. But despite the severity of the allegations, the South Williamsburg neighborhood has rallied around Weberman, who is still widely viewed as a pillar of the community. After finally reporting the abuse, some members of the community have screamed “moser, moser,” at the teen, which is a Yiddish term for a Jew who reports another Jew to secular authorities. And several men were arrested last week for taking photos of the victim in the courtroom and posting them online.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

Posted Tue Dec 4, 2012

Hundreds of people have joined a register set up by a Warrnambool-based law firm in response to the royal commission into child sex abuse.

The Federal Government announced the royal commission last month to investigate how institutions have handled cases of child abuse.

Gary Foster from Maddens Lawyers says the register will provide information to victims and allow people to indicate their interest in any compensation scheme.

He says people from all over Australia have contacted him to add their names to the register.

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AUSTRALIA
In My Community

05/Dec/2012

By Caroline Frank, Advocate

A FORMER abuse victim says he would like to testify before the Royal Commission into institutional child sex abuse on behalf of the “Bindoon boys” and other sufferers.

Former Bindoon resident and author Robert Taylor (73) said he would “gladly” testify about his experiences detailed in his book Who Am I?

“I welcome the Gillard Government’s Royal Commission with open arms but it should have been invested at the time the cruelty was happening,” Mr Taylor said.

The now Atherton Tablelands resident said there was slave labour and sexual abuse by the priests and Christian Brothers through the 1940s, 50s and 60s.

“I and 12 other boys arrived at Boys’ Town, Bindoon, on June 1, 1950 and I remained there for six-and-a-half years,” he said.

“Boys’ Town was the cruellest place on earth and I will stand as a witness should I be asked for all the Bindoon boys I knew that suffered at the hands of the Christian Brothers.”

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AUSTRALIA
Newcastle Herald

By JOANNE McCARTHY
Dec. 5, 2012

DANIEL Feenan thanked two women yesterday for helping him deal with being sexually assaulted by a priest as a child.

The first was his mother, Patricia Feenan, who will launch her book about the church’s betrayal, Holy Hell, in Newcastle tomorrow.

The second was Prime Minister Julia Gillard, whose decision to hold a royal commission into child sexual abuse ‘‘validated what happened’’ to him and sent a message to the many Catholics who refused to accept Father Jim Fletcher was a paedophile.

‘‘I cried, I don’t mind telling you. It was just a massive relief,’’ Mr Feenan said.

‘‘To actually have the Prime Minister say a royal commission was needed, told everyone that children were sexually assaulted by adults, and the government believed them.’’

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WYOMING
The Ranger

Nov 30, 2012 – By Christina George, Staff Writer

Wyoming Catholic College took the action against the Rev. Stuart MacDonald.

Wyoming Catholic College officials said a chaplain was fired from the Lander school last week amid allegations of improper conduct with students.

WCC public relations official Matthew Brasmer used a press release to announce that the Rev. Stuart MacDonald’s dismissal was effective Nov. 19.

The termination follows an internal investigation by the college, which revealed MacDonald’s improper conduct and language with students and a pattern of behavior Brasmer called unacceptable as a Catholic college chaplain.

“I will confirm we currently have an open investigation into allegations of misconduct,” Lander police chief Jim Carey said.

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WYOMING
County 10

Catholic College’s Fr. MacDonald fired for improper conduct and language with students; LPD investigating

(Updated Nov. 27 to include comment from the Lander Police Department.)

By Joshua Scheer, reporter, county10.com

(Lander, Wyo.) – Wyoming Catholic College’s Chaplain Father Stuart MacDonald has been fired, effective Nov. 19, apparently for “unacceptable” behavior. The Lander Police Department said today an investigation was launched this month after allegations were lodged against the Chaplain.

“His dismissal is subsequent to an internal investigation by the College which revealed Reverend MacDonald’s improper conduct and language with the College’s students and a pattern of behavior unacceptable as a Catholic college chaplain,” states a news release from the college. The release was dated Nov. 19, though it was not received until Nov. 26.

When contacted by County10.com on Monday, WCC President Father Robert Cook said he had no additional comment on the situation. He said the press release speaks for itself.

“We currently have an open investigation into allegations of misconduct,” Lander Police Chief Jim Carey said Tuesday morning.

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CALIFORNIA
Press-Telegram

By Tracy Manzer Staff Writer presstelegram.com
Posted: 12/04/2012

LONG BEACH — A Catholic priest once assigned to a North Long Beach church pleaded no contest Tuesday to charges of sexual battery involving two women and a teen girl.

The Rev. Luis Jose Cuevas, the former parish priest at St. Athanasius Catholic Church, 5390 Linden Ave., was formally charged earlier this year with nine counts of sexual assault following accusations from three alleged victims.

Cuevas’ attorney, George Bird, repeatedly denied the allegations at his client’s arraignment in July, noting the massive community support for the 67-year-old priest demonstrated by nearly 100 members of the church who came to the courhouse that day.

“People who know Father Cuevas know what’s in his heart,” Bird said gesturing at the crowd of parishioners.

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CANADA
St Catharines Standard

By Ray Spiteri, Niagara Falls Review

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

NIAGARA FALLS – A Roman Catholic priest who recently worked in Niagara Falls is being investigated by police in a Wyoming city following allegations of misconduct levelled against him by the college where he worked.

Lander Police Chief Jim Carey confirmed to The Review his department is investigating Rev. Stuart MacDonald, a former priest at St. Thomas More Roman Catholic church on Dorchester Rd. and most recently the chaplain at Wyoming Catholic College.

A statement released by Wyoming Catholic College said that effective Nov. 19, “Reverend Stuart MacDonald is dismissed from service to the college as chaplain.”

It adds his dismissal was subsequent “to an internal investigation by the college which revealed Reverend MacDonald’s improper conduct and language with the college’s students and a pattern of behaviour unacceptable as a Catholic college chaplain.”

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UNITED STATES
ENews Park Forest

Attorney General Eric Holder and High-level Officials Launch Global Alliance Against Child Sexual Abuse Online

Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–December 4, 2012. Attorney General Eric Holder and European Union (EU) Commissioner for Home Affairs Cecilia Malmström will launch the Global Alliance Against Child Sexual Abuse Online at a ministerial conference tomorrow, Dec. 5, 2012, in Brussels. The initiative aims to unite decision-makers all around the world to better identify and assist victims and to prosecute the perpetrators.

Participants at the launch include ministers and high-level officials from 27 EU member states, who are also joined by 22 countries outside the EU, including Albania, Australia, Cambodia, Canada Croatia, Georgia, Ghana, Japan, Moldova, Montenegro, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, the Philippines, Serbia, Republic of Korea, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, United States and Vietnam.

“This international initiative will strengthen our mutual resources to bring more perpetrators to justice, identify more victims of child sexual abuse, and ensure that they receive our help and support,” said Attorney General Holder. “Through this global alliance we can build on the success of previous cross-border police operations that have dismantled international pedophile networks and safeguard more of the world’s children.”

“Behind every child abuse image is an abused child, an exploited and helpless victim. When these images are circulated online, they can live on forever. Our responsibility is to protect children wherever they live and to bring criminals to justice wherever they operate. The only way to achieve this is to team up for more intensive and better coordinated action worldwide,” said Commissioner for Home Affairs Cecilia Malmström.

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UNITED STATES
Huffington Post

By PETE YOST 12/04/12

WASHINGTON — Attorney General Eric Holder and European Union Commissioner for Home Affairs Cecilia Malmström will launch a global alliance targeting online child sexual abuse, building on the success of cross-border police operations that have dismantled international pedophile networks.

Officials from 27 EU member nations will participate in a ministerial conference Wednesday in Brussels, along with officials from 22 countries outside the EU, including the United States.

The participating nations are making a commitment to caring for victims, enhancing efforts to prosecute offenders, increasing children’s awareness of online risks and reducing the availability of child abuse material online.

Representatives from outside the EU include Albania, Australia, Cambodia, Canada, Croatia, Georgia, Ghana, Japan, Moldova, Montenegro, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, the Philippines, Serbia, Republic of Korea, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine and Vietnam.

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FLORIDA
Huffington Post

A Miami priest named in multiple sexual abuse lawsuits has resigned, weeks after fresh allegations were filed in court.

Father Rolando Garcia, formerly of the St. Agatha Catholic Church in west Miami-Dade, submitted a formal letter of resignation to Archdiocese of Miami effective November 21st.

Garcia and the Archdiocese have been plagued by numerous lawsuits alleging the sexual abuse or coverup of sexual abuse of young boys in the last few years, with purported incidents dating as far back as the 1980s. He was placed on administrative leave in October, and told his flock he resigned of his own free will after prayer and reflection.

“I want to do what is best for the parishioners, school[,] parents and students of St. Agatha,” Garcia said in a letter to his parishioners, an excerpt of which was made public Friday.

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MISSOURI
Catholics4Change

December 4, 2012 by Susan Matthews

Click here to read: “Missouri Bishop’s Conviction Leaves Clergy Divided,” by John Eligon and Laurie Goodstein, The New York Times, December 2, 2012

Excerpt: “In the three months since Bishop Robert W. Finn became the first American prelate convicted of failing to report a pedophile priest, lay people and victims’ advocates have repeatedly called for his resignation. Now, recent interviews and a private survey by a company working for the Roman Catholic diocese here show for the first time that a significant number of the bishop’s own priests have lost confidence in him.”

Editor’s Note: Seems like hopeful news for common sense until one reads the following, “But the bishop also has a strong base of supporters who contend that the critical priests do not appreciate Bishop Finn’s doctrinally conservative approach. He belongs to Opus Dei, a conservative Roman Catholic organization. Yes, there is a divide in the presbyterate, but in my opinion it’s the same old tired divide that has existed from the day he arrived,” the Rev. Vince Rogers, the pastor at St. Andrew the Apostle in Gladstone, Mo., and a 20-year veteran of the diocese, wrote in an e-mail. “In a word, some of the priests wish that we had a more liberal bishop, and they are willing to use any means to achieve that end.”

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CHICAGO (IL)
Courthouse News Service

By JACK BOUBOUSHIAN

CHICAGO (CN) – A Pentecostal church knew its pastor sexually abused minors but kept him on even after his wife divorced him for it, an alleged victim claims in court.

The plaintiff claims Pentecostal Tabernacle Bible Church Pastor Christopher L. Johnson pastor sexually abused her as a minor, after the church knew or should have known that he had fathered a child with another woman with whom he first had sexual relations when she was a minor.

Cecelia Brown sued Christopher Johnson, Chaun Johnson, Pentecostal Tabernacle Bible Church, New Testament Assemblies of Christ, New Life United Christian Ministries Worldwide Fellowship and Mission of Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church, in Cook County Court.

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VATICAN CITY
Huffington Post

Religion News Service | By Alessandro Speciale Posted: 12/03/2012

VATICAN CITY (RNS) Bishops must exercise closer supervision over Catholic charities and ensure that their activities do not contradict church doctrine, according to new rules issued by Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday (Dec. 1).

The new guidelines state that charities with links to the church must “follow Catholic principles in their activity” and may not “accept commitments” that could undermine those principles in any way.

They also bar charities from accepting funding “from groups or institutions that pursue ends contrary to the church’s teaching” or for initiatives that are “not in conformity with the Church’s teaching.”

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ISRAEL
Israel Hayom

Yehuda Shlezinger

The trial of religious Zionist leader Rabbi Mordechai (Moti) Elon on charges of having sexually abused two young boys resumed on Tuesday after a series of delays caused by changes to the indictment sheet.

The prominent rabbi, one of the most admired leaders in the religious Zionist movement, is accused of indecent assault against minors and indecent assault that exploited student-teacher relations.

Forum Takanah, a group that purports to fight sexual harassment by religious authority figures, first publicized allegations against the rabbi in February 2010, and a criminal investigation was launched later that year. A formal indictment was issued in November 2011 and Elon’s trial officially opened a month later. However, in April this year, the prosecution requested changes in the original indictment. A further change was made two weeks ago to add new witnesses said to have additional information in the case.

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AUSTRALIA
Canberra Times

December 5, 2012

Barney Zwartz

GREG Reynolds, the dissident priest who resigned last year over his support for women priests, has been offered just $5000 by the Catholic Church for his 32 years of service.

Supporters of his Inclusive Catholics group described the payout, to take the form of rent to his landlord, as harsh in light of the unwritten guideline of $1500 a year of service, which should have brought him $48,000. Fairfax understands two other priests who resigned recently each got about $50,000.

Priests who retire are given independent accommodation, a car if they can still drive, and money to supplement the pension, according to Father Reynolds: ”They live quite comfortably.

”The day I resigned, both the Archbishop [Denis Hart] and Vicar General [Les Tomlinson, now Bishop of Sandhurst] told me that they’d look after me financially, but I’d have to apply to the St Patrick’s Trust Fund.”

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MISSOURI
Spiritual Politics

Mark Silk
Dec 4, 2012

“I know it when I see it,” Justice Potter Stewart famously wrote in a 1964 pornography case. Evidently, Bill Donohue doesn’t.

Bill’s got his knickers in a twist because the New York Times has stated that Kansas City Bishop Robert Finn’s criminal conviction “stemmed from his failure to report the Rev. Shawn Ratigan to the authorities after hundreds of pornographic pictures that Father Ratigan had taken of young girls were discovered on his laptop in December 2010.” Asserteth Donohue: “That statement is factually wrong.”

He then goes on to argue, as he has before, that what was discovered on Ratigan’s computer was not pornography. So what was Finn convicted of? He doesn’t say.

Factually speaking, Ratigan did have child porn. Here’s a passage from the Graves Report, commissioned by the diocese of K.C. itself, describing a series of the priest’s photos as described by diocesan information systems manager Julie Creech:

The first showed a little girl, face visible, standing and holding a blanket. In a “staged sequence,” the photos depicted a girl lying in a bed, from the waist down, and focused on the crotch. The girl was wearing a diaper, but with each photo, the diaper was moved gradually to expose her genitals. By the last photo, her genitals were fully exposed. According to Ms. Creech, there were approximately six to eight pictures in this sequence of photos; two displayed fully exposed genitals and one displayed her fully exposed buttocks. The little girl’s face was not visible in the staged sequence, but due to her apparent physical size and the fact that the photos were in the same folder, Ms. Creech assumed the photos were of the same little girl whose face appeared in the initial picture.

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MOBILE (AL)
Fox 10

Updated: Monday, 03 Dec 2012

Renee Dials
Photojournalist: Guy Turnbow

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) – A local pastor may have some explaining to do to his small congregation following his arrest last week.

There was no answer at Donald Knizley’s home or his church on Tanner Williams Road on Dec. 3. FOX10 News wanted to ask the 70-year-old pastor about his Nov. 30 arrest at the Japanese Gardens and Fish Hatchery in Mobile.

Knizley is charged with loitering for the purpose of deviate sexual activity, a charge that’s surprising to some of his neighbors.

“Shocking, It’s just, to have a biblical background like he has, it’s just shocking,” David Fleming said.

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MISSOURI
KMBZ

A child protection group says it still wants Bishop Robert Finn to go. SNAP weighed in on a report showing as many 16 of the 70 active priests in the Kansas City/St. Joseph Diocese have doubts as to whether Finn should continue to serve.

In September, he became the first sitting U.S. bishop convicted of failing to report a pedophile priest. SNAP has issued a call for all priests opposing Bishop Finn step forward, but it’s spokesperson Barbara Dorris doesn’t expect a big push.

“The feeling can be out there that if I say anything I’m going to end up in some God-forsaken perish out in the middle of nowhere, where no one will speak to me, but when it comes to the safety of kids, we have to make that sacrifice,” says Dorris.

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UNITED STATES
Boston Globe

By Beth Teitell

Globe Staff / December 3, 2012

Pollyanna Santos doesn’t let her 6-year-old son play at a friend’s house unless she knows all of the adults who live in the home — and those who might be visiting. “You don’t know what can happen in the next room,” said Santos, a waitress from East Boston.

In Braintree, Debbie Currie feels anxious when she leaves her 7-year-old daughter at gymnastics class. “There are 20 other kids in there, and we live in a nice town, but you just never know,” said Currie, a customer service supervisor for Comcast.

Bernice Ferrara, a retired MBTA bus driver from Brockton, will not let her 15-month-old granddaughter sit on Santa’s lap because she doesn’t know the man behind the beard. “I don’t want to feel that way,” she said. “But I do.” …

Data from the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System showed that the rate of substantiated child sexual abuse dropped 62 percent between 1992 and 2010, from 150,000 cases to 63,000 cases, said the center’s director, David Finkelhor.

The trend was confirmed by data from six other sources, including governmental agencies, the FBI, and reports by victims, he added.

A combination of factors has led to the decline, said Finkelhor, a UNH sociology professor, including: more aggressive law enforcement; prevention education; public awareness; and cultural changes such as the empowerment of women.

But even so, the list of organizations that have housed molesters keeps growing.

While the Catholic Church has been at the center of sexual abuse scandals for years, the Penn State football program and the Boy Scouts of America have now been implicated.

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NEW YORK
Forward

The principal of a private Jewish high school in Brooklyn was convicted of sexually abusing three boys over the course of a decade, authorities said.

Emanuel Yegutkin, 33, the principal of Elite High School in the Bensonhurst section, was found guilty of 75 counts of sex abuse.

He faces up to 25 years in prison on each of several counts when he is sentenced on December 17.

“This violent sexual predator faces the remainder of his life behind bars,” Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes said. “This should serve as a clear message that those who would sexually abuse children in this county will be punished severely.”

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UNITED KINGDOM
Daily Mail

The deputy head teacher falsely accused of child abuse and the ambulance-chasing lawyer who advertises for ‘victims’ in prisons

By David Rose

Beaming in his black bow tie and dinner jacket, solicitor David Greenwood clutched his glass-engraved award. Unkind souls might have called it the ‘2012 ambulance-chasing solicitor prize’.

Officially, he had been presented with it by TV personality Patrick Kielty as the Eclipse Proclaim Personal Injury Lawyer Of The Year.

For the past 14 years, Mr Greenwood, a partner at the big Yorkshire law firm Jordans, has specialised in fighting for compensation for victims of child abuse.

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UNITED KINGDOM
TheMediaReport

A new blockbuster investigation by the British newspaper Daily Mail has uncovered what it calls “a benchmark for a modern culture of ‘witch-hunt’ persecutions.”

The paper conducted a “wide-ranging” inquiry into decades-old abuse allegations at a Catholic institution made by clients of abuse lawyer David Greenwood. Greenwood recently collected a national “Personal Injury Lawyer of the Year” prize, but now the Daily Mail is calling him an “ambulance chaser.”

After studying claims made against workers at the now-defunct St. William’s School, an institution for troubled youth once run by the De La Salle Brotherhood, the paper’s investigation concluded that “lives of innocent ex-staff members have been blighted by repeated false accusations” and “palpably false abuse accusations were generated by promises of compensation” by Greenwood.

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AUSTRALIA
SNAP Australia

WHAT
Holding signs and childhood photos at a footpath news conference, clergy sex abuse victims and their supporters will pass out leaflets to passersby seeking information about a controversial Catholic religious order. The fliers urge church officials to

— turn over all information about known and suspected child molesting clerics to secular authorities,

— post the names, photos and whereabouts of known and suspected sex offender clerics on church websites, and

— insist that accused abusers return to Australia to face justice.

Victims are also encouraging current and former members of the order to “come clean” and contact law enforcement officials “so that wrongdoers can be prosecuted, children can be protected and crimes and cover ups can be exposed and deterred.”

WHEN
Tuesday, December 4th at 2 p.m.

WHERE
Catholic Church Offices
Polding Centre,
133 Liverpool Street,
Sydney NSW 2000
Australia

WHO
4 or 5 members of an international support group called SNAP (the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priest) including an American woman who is the organisation’s president and founder

WHY
Many orders of the Catholic Church have harbored sex predators over many years. These orders include the Christian Brothers and Salesians of Don Bosco. Almost three in four clerics in Australia and New Zealand who belong to one Catholic religious order face child sex abuse allegations, according to testimony a few months ago by a respected psychologist before an inquiry launched by the parliament of Victoria. The Vatican -based order is called St John of God Brothers.

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NEW YORK
Failed Messiah

PROTESTING THE NAME SMEARING AND INTIMIDATION OF VICTIMS AND WITNESSES
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
8:00pm EST
355 Marcy Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11206

The grand Rebbe of Satmar in Monroe (Rabbi Aron Teitelbaum) used the weekly Torah portion yesterday to call the victim in the Weberman rape trial a whore and a shame onto the community. While despicable in nature, it is also intended to drive a wedge in the community, and eliminate any little support she is getting. Decent people cannot allow this to go unchecked.

Tomorrow, Satmar is having their annual Chuf Alef Kislev event at the armory in Williamsburg. Please come out and lend support, as we peacefully stand outside and protest the tactics being employed by this community towards the victim and her family. This not only impacts this case, but sets a precedent for future cases, and will hopefully have the general effect of minimizing and trivializing molestation and rape.

We have secured permits with the 90th precinct, and have been assured ‘sight and sound’, meaning they will set up our area within eye and earshot of people entering the premises so we make a statement. I have assured the deputy inspector that we will be civil even in our rage, and we would like to show who the decent people here are. So please do not make our side look bad with inappropriate behavior. Signs may and should be made, but you cannot use sticks on the bottom and please refrain from making it too outrageous or offensive.

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NEW YORK
New York Post

By JOSH SAUL
December 4, 2012

If she stopped seeing her alleged abuser, she would have been expelled from school.

The mother of a teenage Brooklyn girl who was allegedly sexually abused by a prominent Hasidic leader testified yesterday that she was forced by her daughter’s yeshiva to send the girl to the man for counseling — and even had to pay for the dubious privilege.

Nechemya Weberman, 54, allegedly abused the girl during their frequent counseling sessions beginning when she was just 12 years old, prosecutors charge.

“The school gave her a hard time and said she was ‘apikoros,’ ” a Hebrew and Greek word that means heretic, the mother testified in Brooklyn Supreme Court.

When asked the repercussion of not sending her youngest daughter to Weberman, she answered in halting English, “They wouldn’t accept her. They wouldn’t allow her to go to school.”

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NEW YORK
New York Daily News

By Oren Yaniv / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

THE MOTHER of a Hasidic teen defended her daughter’s character on Monday in the molestation trial of Satmar Hasidic counselor Nechemya Weberman.

But the defense attempted to attack the mother’s credibility by claiming she committed Medicaid fraud.

Rejecting the defense’s characterization of the 17-year-old alleged victim as driven by vengeance, her mother described her as “very loving, respectful, understanding, smart — what every mother would wish for.”

The teen said Weberman, 54, started sexually abusing in 2007, when she was 12.

The mother added that Weberman had previously counseled two of her older daughters. But her testimony stopped when the defense attempted to grill her on Medicaid fraud she allegedly committed by using her elderly mother’s name in an insurance application.

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PENNSYLVANIA
WGAL

[with video]

Lower Paxton Township police have charged an Enola man with rape of a child among other charges following an investigation.

A 15-year-old township resident disclosed to police that Joshua Mitchell Markelwitz, 26, had sexual contact with her beginning when she was 12 years old.

Police said the incidents occurred at the accuser’s residence, at a township church where he was involved with youth programs, and in his car.

Court documents show that Markelwitz gave the girl rides to and from church and guitar practice.

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AUSTRALIA
9 News

The federal royal commission into child sexual abuse should work well with similar inquiries already under way around the nation, Prime Minister Julia Gillard says.

Ms Gillard said with a parliamentary inquiry into child sexual abuse in train in Victoria, and similar inquiries in progress in other parts of the nation, the royal commission she announced should work productively with them.

“We’ll certainly be working with our state and territory colleagues so that the royal commission we’re creating works well with what has already been done through those inquiries,” she told reporters in Melbourne on Tuesday.

Victoria’s parliamentary inquiry into sexual abuse within religious organisations began hearings in October and is due to report to the government in April.

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PENNSYLVANIA
The Patriot-News

BY MARY KLAUS AND DAN MILLER

A youth leader at a Lower Paxton Township church used his position to sexually prey on a teenage girl, township police said Sunday.

Police arrested Joshua Mitchell Markelwitz, 26, of South Enola Drive in Enola, on charges of sexual contact with the girl, now 15, since she was 12.

Lt. Gary R. Seefeldt said that the sexual contact occurred in the girl’s home, in Markelwitz’s car and at the church.

He listed the charges as rape of a child, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child, aggravated indecent assault, indecent assault and related charges.

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AUSTRALIA
The Guardian (CPA)

Bob Briton

The enormity of the task before the child sex abuse royal commission is becoming clearer by the day. Decades of criminal acts and cover-up are not going to be exposed and considered quickly or easily. Commissioners on the royal commission announced by Prime Minister Gillard will have to confront thorny questions of the meddling power and influence of large religious organisations like the Catholic Church in modern-day Australia. Lawyers and insurers are moving to protect their clients as thousands of victims prepare to recount their harrowing experiences in the care of once-trusted institutions.

A week set aside for public comment on the proposed terms of reference has concluded. Attorney-General Nicola Roxon received 33 formal and 270 email responses. Many complained that the time allowed for submissions was too short and that the original terms of reference were too restrictive. Ms Roxon would rather the inquiry didn’t emphasise the exposing of past abuse. “Our real focus is to make sure that we can identify what is in our institutions, or our systems, our laws, or our public service … that has made it difficult for people to make complaints,” she said recently. “What might have made it easy for perpetrators to actually commit these offences?”

A continuing stream of media reports suggests that the answers to those questions will be relatively easy to find in the culture of cover-up in the hierarchies of churches and the various state and federal police forces. The real question before the royal commission is not so much “what is it?” but “who was it?”.

For example, who authorised or recommended the transfer of former St John of God (SJOG) brother Bernard McGrath from church-run institutions in the Newcastle-Maitland diocese to be a teacher and dormitory master at the SJOG boarding school at Marylands near Christchurch in New Zealand? He also worked at the Hebron Trust, which is a learning centre for street kids.

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CALIFORNIA
Daily Pilot

By Jeremiah Dobruck

December 3, 2012 | 10:16 p.m.

A Sunday school volunteer at Rock Harbor Church in Costa Mesa allegedly formed relationships with children in his church and went on to sexually abuse at least one of them multiple times between November 2009 and November 2011, according to church leaders and court documents.

Two families at Rock Harbor came forward with new allegations against Christopher Bryan McKenzie, the pool cleaner accused of years-long sexual relationships with at least three children younger than 14, pastors said Monday night.

McKenzie, 48, of Costa Mesa, attended Rock Harbor and applied to be a child-care volunteer at the 3,000-member campus in late 2007, Communications Director Jeff Gideon said.

On Saturday, Newport Beach police announced they had arrested McKenzie on suspicion of sexually abusing two boys, one from the late 1990s to 2005 and one from 2005 to 2007. Neither had ties to the church, police said.

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IRELAND
Belfast Telegraph

By Sarah MacDonald
Tuesday, 4 December 2012

Priests accused of sexual abuse want their accusers identified and allegations against them in writing, a group representing liberal Irish Catholic clergymen has said.

The Association of Catholic Priests (ACP), which now represents over 1,000 priests in the Republic and Northern Ireland, has outlined a series of changes it is seeking to the guidelines on the standing aside from ministry for priests accused of abuse.

The ACP believes accused priests need to know the name of their accusers and to see the accusations in writing. They are also seeking changes in the way the news of an allegation is conveyed.

However, abuse survivor Marie Collins says such changes could deter victims from coming forward, particularly if they know their name is to be given to their abuser before a full investigation is under way.

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NEW YORK
The New York Times

By SHARON OTTERMAN

Published: December 3, 2012

The former principal of a private school in Brooklyn was found guilty in State Supreme Court on Monday of sexually abusing three boys over the course of a decade, including one boy who was 7 years old when the abuse started.

After three days of deliberation, a jury in Brooklyn found the man, Emanuel Yegutkin, 33, guilty of 75 counts of sexual abuse, including the top charge, sexual conduct against a child in the first degree, which carries a maximum 25-year prison sentence. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

Mr. Yegutkin’s lawyer, Jeffrey Schwartz, could not be reached for comment Monday evening.

The case is among a wave of sexual abuse cases involving Orthodox Jews that the Brooklyn district attorney, Charles J. Hynes, is prosecuting after decades in which such prosecutions were rare. Another trial, involving Nechemya Weberman, an unlicensed religious counselor accused of molesting a girl he was treating, continues Tuesday in the same courthouse with testimony from the girl’s mother.

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NEW YORK
New York Post

By JOSH SAUL
Last Updated: 7:13 PM, December 3, 2012

The principal of a Brooklyn yeshiva was convicted today of sexually abusing three young brothers, authorities said.

Emanuel Yegutkin, 33, abused the boys after he became close friends with their father and was invited regularly to Friday night shabbat dinners, the meal that marks the start of the weekly Jewish day of rest.

The abuse began when two of the boys were just 7 years old, according to the Brooklyn District attorney’s office.

“He would touch me under the table,” one of the brothers testified last month. “I wasn’t taught about sexuality so I wasn’t sure if it was right or wrong.”

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IRELAND
Irish Times

PATSY McGARRY

Priests accused of child sex abuse should never be stood down at parish Masses and should not be asked to vacate their places of residence unless particular circumstances demand it.

These were among proposals put to the Catholic Church child protection watchdog, its National Board for Safeguarding Children, at a recent meeting with the Association of Catholic Priests .

The association’s team of Fr Séan McDonagh, Fr Tony Flannery and Fr Brendan Hoban met board chief executive Ian Elliott last Friday as part of a review of church guidelines in the area of child protection.

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NEW YORK
AFP

By Sebastian Smith (AFP)

NEW YORK — The mother of a girl who says she was abused by a powerful and respected spiritual counselor in a New York community of ultra-Orthodox Jews testified Monday that she never suspected the accused man, given their sect’s radical restrictions on sexual behavior.

In a dramatic moment, Rachel Krausz took the stand in the trial that has upended the normally closed Satmar branch of Hasidic Jews and pointed across the Brooklyn courtroom at Nechemya Weberman.

Weberman, a heavyset 54-year-old with a traditional Hasidic beard and dark clothing, is alleged to have repeatedly abused Krausz’s daughter for three years starting in 2007, when she was 12.

Krausz said she could never have known what would happen when she sent her daughter to Weberman for counseling sessions, given his standing and the community’s strict separation of the sexes.

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NEW YORK
Washington Post

Orthodox counselor on trial in NY sex abuse case; girl testifies she was molested

By Associated Press
Updated: Monday, December 3

NEW YORK — A young girl with questions about her ultra-Orthodox Jewish religion was sent to a respected counselor to help her back on a path of faith. Prosecutors say the girl was instead molested by the man for years behind a locked office door starting when she was just 12. Defense attorneys say the counselor is the victim of a vindictive child, angry that he had betrayed her trust.

The ongoing sex abuse trial of Nechemya Weberman in Brooklyn court has rocked the insular, tight-knit group of ultra-Orthodox Jews, not only because of the shocking charges but also because the case is being played out in a public court and the guarded society strongly discourages going to outside authorities. The girl, now 17, testified that she and her family were harassed and shunned for coming forward; her father lost his business and her nieces were kicked out of school.

During the trial, which began last week, four men were charged with criminal contempt for snapping images of the accuser on the witness stand with cellphone cameras and posting them online. And before the trial began, Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes charged other men with trying to bribe the girl to drop the charges.

The girl testified for three days about the abuse, detailing that the 54-year-old Weberman, who was not a licensed counselor, forced her to perform oral sex and act out porn films. She said the abuse lasted from 2007 to 2010. Her family paid him $12,800 in counseling fees during that time, the girl’s mother testified Monday.

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NORTH CAROLINE
WECT

By: WECT Staff

WILMINGTON, NC (WECT) – A preacher from Wilmington was sentenced in superior court Monday to six to nine years in prison for sex charges that date back to 1998.

Thomas Archie Wiggins took a plea deal Monday, pleading guilty to six counts of sex offense in a parental role.

He confessed in 2011 to five charges of first degree sex offense and five counts of indecent liberties with a minor for incidents that happened in 1998.

The charges stem from allegations of a boy who was 14 years old at the time of the incident. Prosecutors said Wiggins asked the victim about his sexual experience when he turned 14 and started sleeping in the same bed as the adolescent, cuddling him.

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NORTH CAROLINA
WWAY

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — A Wilmington pastor charged last year with sex crimes against a minor pleaded guilty today.

Thomas Wiggins Jr. pleaded guilty to six counts of felony sex offense as a substitute parent for crimes that happened in 1998.

Prosecutors say Wiggins’s victim was a 14-year-old boy, who was a member of Wiggins’s church and whose parents were divorced. They say Wiggins became a father-figure to the victim, but over the course of the next two years began to sexually violate him.

Today, wiggins said he did commit the crimes. His lawyer said there is not a day that goes by Wiggins does not ask for forgiveness.

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NORTH CAROLINA
Star News

A Wilmington pastor accused of indecent liberties with a minor pleaded guilty Monday in New Hanover County Superior Court to six counts of felony sexual abuse of a minor by a substitute parent.

Thomas Archie Wiggins, 54, former pastor of Wilmington’s Faith Temple Church of God in Christ, was given a prison sentence of between six years and three months and nine years and nine months. He was taken into custody Monday.

Wiggins was arrested in November 2011 on five counts of first-degree sexual offense and five counts of indecent liberties with a minor.

The crimes involved a teen boy and took place in 1998, according to officials.

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CANADA
APTN

APTN National News
OTTAWA–The commission created to delve into the dark chapter of residential schools is taking its battle for “control over history” with Ottawa to the courts, says a lawyer for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

The federal government has refused to hand over millions of Indian residential school documents still locked away in its vaults, despite the Truth and Reconciliation Commission inching closer to the end of its mandate in 2014. The documents originate from 23 federal departments and agencies ranging from the RCMP, the Office of the Privy Council to Parks Canada and are held by the Library and Archives Canada.

The TRC is applying to the Ontario Supreme Court of Justice to force Ottawa’s hand to release the documents. The TRC wants the court to issue a definition on Canada’s responsibility on the production of residential school documents. A decision by the court could order Canada to pay.

The TRC believes Canada is obligated to hand over all documents under the multi-billion dollar Indian Residential School settlement which created the commission. Canada, however, is refusing to pay for the cost of digitizing, processing and organizing the documents, which range from reports to photographs of residential schools.

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CANADA
APTN

By Jorge Barrera
APTN National News
OTTAWA–Indian residential school records on dead and missing children and abuse complaints to the RCMP may never see the light of day if Ottawa gets its way in its battle with the commission created to shed light on Canada’s darkest chapter, according to court documents.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) is taking Ottawa to court over its refusal to hand over millions of records related to the 150 year existence of Indian residential schools. The court fight has been described as a battle for control over the history of residential schools.

The TRC alleges in court documents that the Harper government is refusing to release documents and files written following the closure of a residential school, even though some of these schools opened and closed on an ongoing basis and sometimes shut down and reopened in the same building.

“To the extent that documents were generated by Canada about a particular residential school after its closure, these materials would be necessary to complete the historical record of the (Indian residential school system),” stated Ken Roach, research advisor to the TRC, in an affidavit. “(The documents) would be essential to understand the particular legacy of that school.”

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CANADA
Toronto Star

Colin Perkel
The Canadian Press

Years of mounting frustration over access to government records has prompted the commission of inquiry into Canada’s residential school system to turn to the courts for help, The Canadian Press has learned.

In court filings, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission accuses Ottawa of stymying requests for documents the inquiry says are vital to its core mandate: “delivery on truth, reconciliation and ultimately healing.”

Documents filed with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice show the commission worries that Ottawa’s alleged intransigence will make it impossible to complete its work as required by July 1, 2014 and within budget.

“If the parties, through incompetence, delays or deliberate stonewalling (or a combination thereof) sabotage the work of the commission, then Canadians are certain to forget (and never fully learn) what has happened,” the commission’s factum states.

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CANADA
Vancouver Sun

OTTAWA – The federal government will release millions of files documenting the abuse suffered by aboriginal children who attended Canada’s Indian residential schools, Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan said Monday.

His statement comes as the Truth and Reconciliation Commission prepares to take the government to court on Dec. 20 to gain access to the files.

Although the government has released 937,000 documents to the commission, millions of records are still sitting in archives across the country. The commission says it wants the remaining files in order to fulfil its mandate of recording the controversial and tragic history of Canada’s residential school system.

In a lawsuit filed in the Superior Court of Ontario, Toronto lawyer Julian Falconer states the commission has encountered “serious difficulties” in obtaining the enormous amount of paperwork it requires.

By withholding millions of records, the government is reneging on its promise to create a national residential school research centre, according to Falconer. In a statement Monday, he dubbed the court case a battle over “control of history.”

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UNITED STATES
Slate

By L.V. Anderson|Posted Monday, Dec. 3, 2012

survey of 40 Catholic priests in the Kansas City, Mo., area indicates that Bishop Robert Finn has lost the support of his priests since he was convicted earlier this year of failing to report child abuse by a priest in his diocese. Many priests and other critics have suggested that Finn resign. If he does not, the only way for him to be removed from office is for the pope to fire him. How common is it for a bishop to be fired?

Quite uncommon. As a rule, the Vatican avoids firing bishops outright, since doing so reflects poorly on the church and implies that it was a mistake for the pope to have appointed the fired bishop in the first place. In cases of conflict between the Vatican and a bishop, the Vatican usually pressures a problematic bishop to resign before resorting to actively dismissing him.

In recent years, the most famous cases of bishops being fired by the Vatican have been cases of liberal bishops who question church doctrine. In 1995, Pope John Paul II fired Jacques Gaillot, the Bishop of Evreux in France, after Gaillot offered to bless gay couples, endorsed condom use and the abortion pill, and expressed support for the ordination of married priests. In a similar case in Australia last year, the bishop of Toowoomba, William Morris, was fired by Pope Benedict XVI five years after writing a letter to his parish suggesting that the church should consider ordaining women and married men. Pope Benedict XVI appears to have a more liberal attitude toward firing than his predecessor; he has also fired three other bishops (in Slovakia, Congo, and Italy) for financial mismanagement.

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WISCONSIN
National Catholic Reporter

by Joshua J. McElwee | Dec. 3, 2012

A Catholic priest who participated in a eucharistic liturgy with a woman priest last month has been ordered to no longer celebrate the Mass or perform any other priestly duties.

Jesuit Fr. Bill Brennan, a 92-year-old Milwaukee-area priest, said the superior of his religious community told him of the restrictions Nov. 29, saying they came at the request of Archbishop Jerome Listecki.

Brennan, a retired parish priest and former missionary to Belize, participated in a liturgy Nov. 17 with Janice Sevre-Duszynska, a woman ordained in the Roman Catholic Womenpriests movement.

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MISSOURI
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

FAIR: To the priests in the Kansas City-St. Joseph Diocese who were courageous enough in a private survey commissioned by the diocese itself to say they have lost confidence in their leader, Bishop Robert W. Finn. The survey of 40 priests was conducted by Church Development. The New York Times reported Monday that it had obtained 32 of the responses and that the priests in half of those expressed serious doubt about whether Bishop Finn should continue as their leader. Several of those priests suggested that he resign. The priests were identified by name and by the churches they lead.

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Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by David Clohessy38pc on December 03, 2012

Could there be a more shrewd way for child molesting clerics to avoid getting caught than this: legally changing their names?

The Catholic clergy sex abuse and cover up crisis is exploding in Australia. A few months back, a newspaper there noted the case of Fr. Peter Chalk.

In a story that seems ripped from Hollywood, Peter Murphy, a sex abuse victim, went into a meeting with senior church officials wearing a wire, with police listening in on their conversation. During the meeting, Fr. Brian Gallagher – the head of Chalk’s order, the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart –revealed that at least eight allegations had been levied at Fr. Chalk. Yet somehow, Gallagher did not believe it was his responsibility to report Chalk to police.

Instead of being in jail where he belonged, Chalk was able to leave Australia. He moved to Japan where he changed his name and became a teacher, giving him numerous opportunities to abuse more kids. Instead of doing the right thing and reporting this predator to police, the MSC allowed him to escape justice and public scrutiny, and likely allowed him to hurt more kids.

Sadly, this is not unique. Right here in Missouri, two such cases leap to mind:

–In 1983, Fr. Carmine Sita was convicted of abusing a New Jersey boy. He was sentenced to five years on probation. Less than a year later, however, Catholic officials urged him to legally change his name – to Fr. Jerry Howard – and quietly sent him to Boonville MO, without warning parishioners. There, he sexually assaulted several boys from 1983-1988. (He’s in jail now, but may soon be freed if a judge deems that the statute of limitations on his crimes has run out).

–In 2003, Fr. James Beine was sentenced to 12 years behind bars for exposing himself to three elementary school students in 2000-2001. However, the decision was overturned on a technicality in 2005, at which point Fr. Beine was released from prison and began to call himself “Mar James.” Although he was defrocked in 2005 and had his teaching certificate revoked in Missouri in 2007, he was last known to be living in the Las Vegas area where he applied for a teaching license that same year. While that license was denied, Fr. Beine remains free from jail and using his assumed name.

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CALIFORNIA
Modesto Bee

By Andy Furillo
afurillo@sacbee.com

The trial of a Catholic priest accused of child molestation has been rescheduled for April 11.

The Rev. Uriel Ojeda had initially been set for trial this Thursday in Sacramento Superior Court.

Ojeda, 33, is accused on seven counts of molesting a girl under the age of 14 while he served at Holy Rosary Parish in Woodland and later at Our Lady of Mercy Parish in Redding.

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KANSAS
WIBW

Nov 15, 2012

GEARY COUNTY, Kan. (WIBW) – Prosecutors say they’re still waiting to receive vital DNA results in the shocking investigation of a minister accused of molesting young boys at a Junction City church.

Jordan Young, 25, is facing child molestation charges in six cases involving separate victims. The state will be charging Young in connection with four more cases, prosecutors told WIBW. It will bring the number of victims to 10 in the church sex scandal.

Young appeared in Geary County District Court Thursday for a status hearing on his cases.

He was originally arrested in August after the Junction City Police Department launched an investigation into reports of sexual misconduct at Faith Tabernacle Apostolic Church where he’d been serving as the music minister.

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SPRINGFIELD (VA)
St. Raymond of Penafort Roman Catholic Church

In the midst of all this media flurry over the failure of the Catholic Church’s officials in the past to quickly “defrock” priests who were guilty of the heinous sin of sexual abuse of children, one question never seems to be actually addressed – “how does a decree laicizing such a priest in any way protect children?” The reason the question is never asked surely cannot be that the question is unimportant. One reason it is never asked is that the underlying but never stated assumption has to be, at least for the lawyers and reporters, “yes it does.” But I can immediately think of at least two other reasons why the question is never asked and more than one argument why the real answer is more likely “no, this process does not really safeguard children.” It safeguards only the Church.

Another reason this question is ignored today may be that the people who are feeding this firestorm are not at all interested in that question simply because their immediate purpose is to discredit the Catholic Church and hold it up to ridicule. It’s most interesting that this onslaught on the Catholic hierarchy, now including the Pope, is happening after the Catholic Bishops in this country, – with the assistance of the Vatican that has streamlined its ancient procedures precisely to laicize such clergy – have moved to safeguard children in concrete ways that have dramatically reduced the incidence of this terrible crime by Church employees of any kind and have made our schools and other activities the safest environments in the country for children. Each year the public school system alone has thousands of such cases, while in the Catholic Church, there are now only a few credible incidences each year. No institution can guarantee that the crime will never happen under its auspices, but the Catholic Church has come close to that promise.

However, the people feeding this firestorm are not interested in this effort of the Church because their real motives go beyond protecting children. The media like AP and The New York Times have their own agenda, i.e., discrediting a whole Church that they find an recalcitrant obstacle to the transformation of the morals of modern society, and of course the media today feeds on any story that has traction with a lot of people who hate the Catholic Church, the last respectable bigotry even among the intelligentsia.

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

Pia Akerman
From:The Australian
December 04, 2012

A RABBI accused of sexually assaulting students at a Jewish school in Melbourne has appeared in court following his extradition from the US.

David Kramer, a 52-year old American citizen who was living in Missouri, was surrendered by US authorities last week and flown back to Melbourne, where he has not lived since the 1990s.

A Victorian warrant was issued for his arrest last year amid allegations he abused four boys while teaching at Yeshivah College in St Kilda East between 1990 and 1992.

He was arrested in the US in April and unsuccessfully fought the extradition order through the courts.

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NEW YORK
CBS NewYork

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – Testimony continued Monday in the sex abuse case of a prominent ultra Orthodox leader in Brooklyn’s Satmar community.

The mother of the now-17-year-old accuser testified that she trusted counselor Nechemya Weberman. But the woman testified that she had no idea that her daughter was locked in a room alone with a man, which is a clear violation of Satmar law.

The mother testified that it was always a struggle to keep her youngest daughter out of trouble at her Satmar school because the girl fought modesty rules.

It was the school that ordered the girl to continue counseling with Weberman, 54, or be kicked out, WCBS 880′s Irene Cornell reported.

The school reportedly considered the accuser an angry, damaged child with pure hatred in her heart, Cornell reported.

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MISSOURI
Inquisitr

Kansas City, MO — Reverand Matthew Brumleve is waiting for an apology. Like many other priests in the diocese headed by Bishop Robert Finn, he is waiting for the bishop to give a “robust” apology for his actions.

Father Brumleve wants to know why — when Finn knew that one of his priests was exploiting children, photographing hundreds of pornographic images and storing them on his computer — the bishop didn’t turn the priest over to authorities.

Finn is the leader of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, and “an outspoken conservative in the American hierarchy,” according to USA Today. Not so outspoken, however, that he would turn one of his own priests over to authorities, even after discovering that the Reverand Shawn Ratigan had taken hundreds of lewd images of children in Catholic schools and parishes.

Instead, Finn sent Ratigan to a convent, and called it good. While the crimes were discovered by Finn in December of 2010, authorities were not notified until another priest notified went over the bishop’s head to notify police in May 2011.

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MISSOURI
Catholic League

Bill Donohue released the following comments today:

The Catholic Left has been trying to unseat Kansas City-St. Joseph Bishop Robert Finn for well over a year. Their effort received another boost today from the New York Times. It deserves a response.

The Times says that Finn’s conviction of a misdemeanor “stemmed from his failure to report the Rev. Shawn Ratigan to the authorities after hundreds of pornographic pictures that Father Ratigan had taken of young girls were discovered on his laptop in December 2010.”

That statement is factually wrong. On October 15, 2011 the Times mentioned there was “a single photo of a young girl, nude from the waist down,” and “hundreds of photographs of children” showing “upskirt images and images focused on the crotch.”

Now anyone who takes such pictures is clearly disturbed. But it also needs to be said that crotch shots are not pornographic. Moreover, the diocese described the “single photo” of a naked girl to a police officer who served on the diocesan sexual review board, and he said it did not constitute pornography. So why would the Times say that “hundreds of pornographic pictures” were found two years ago this month? The record shows that it was not until after the diocese called the cops in May 2011 that porn pictures were found on Ratigan’s computer.

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UNITED STATES
Channel 3000

I’ve read a couple of strange reports recently that lead me to an idea for how the Catholic Church might redeem itself.

The first came out of Rome. The Vatican is urging Catholic religious leaders to wear black cassocks when visiting Rome. A cassock is an ankle-length robe that buttons down the front.

“The very example of those who, sealed with the episcopal dignity are faithful to the daily use of the cassock proper to them during daily office hours becomes an explicit encouragement to all,” the Vatican said.

OK, that was one story: The pope apparently wants to class up the clergy in Rome.

The second report came from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops meeting held recently in Baltimore. Well, actually, it wasn’t a report. What happened is Bishop Robert Finn of Kansas City attended the meeting, participated in its legislation – and no one said a word about the fact that he was recently convicted of criminally endangering children by knowingly covering up evidence that one of his priests was molesting kids.

There are those who thought Finn’s fellow bishops might have noticed. There are even those who think that, once a bishop is convicted of a major crime, he might consider retiring.

What do these stories have in common? Each of them suggests a mindset within the church that clergy are not bound to the same rules of the road as are lesser folk.

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UNITED STATES
Huffington Post

Jaweed Kaleem
Huffington Post

In an editorial published Monday morning, a prominent Catholic newspaper endorsed the controversial movement to ordain women priests.

Calling the priesthood a “gift from God … rooted in baptism,” the National Catholic Reporter says that “barring women from ordination to the priesthood is an injustice that cannot be allowed to stand.”

The Kansas City, Mo.-based newspaper’s editorial pits it directly against the Vatican, where church leadership has strongly rejected any possibility of women being ordained, even as a small pro-ordination movement has grown and independently ordained several women in recent years.

The editorial comes weeks after the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith’s laicization and excommunication of Roy Bourgeois, a former American priest and peace activist who was a member of the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers and an outspoken supporter of the women’s ordination movement in the U.S., was made public. In a high-profile Mass in 2008 in Lexington, Ky., Bourgeois claimed to ordain a woman into the Roman Catholic priesthood. His religious order later said that he was part of an “invalid ordination of a woman and a simulated Mass.”

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MIAMI (FL)
CBS Miami

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Embattled Miami priest Father Rolando Garcia has resigned in the wake of a new sexual abuse accusation.

Fr. Garcia, pastor of St. Agatha Catholic Church in West Miami-Dade, submitted his letter of resignation to Archbishop Thomas Wenski, which was accepted, effective November 21st, 2012.

In his resignation letter, Fr. Garcia wrote that he wished not to be a distraction to the parish during this tumultuous time in his life. “I want to do what is best for the parishioners, school parents and students of St. Agatha,” he stated. Fr. Garcia added that he has resigned in good conscience and of his own free will and volition after much prayer and reflection.

In accepting his resignation, Archbishop Wenski expressed his gratitude to Fr. Garcia for his years of service in St. Agatha parish, and that he will be in his prayers.

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by NCR Editorial Staff | Dec. 3, 2012

Editorial

The call to the priesthood is a gift from God. It is rooted in baptism and is called forth and affirmed by the community because it is authentic and evident in the person as a charism. Catholic women who have discerned a call to the priesthood and have had that call affirmed by the community should be ordained in the Roman Catholic church. Barring women from ordination to the priesthood is an injustice that cannot be allowed to stand.

The most egregious statement in the Nov. 19 press release announcing Roy Bourgeois’ “excommunication, dismissal and laicization” is the assertion that Bourgeois’ “disobedience” and “campaign against the teachings of the Catholic church” was “ignoring the sensitivities of the faithful.” Nothing could be further from the truth. Bourgeois, attuned by a lifetime of listening to the marginalized, has heard the voice of the faithful and he has responded to that voice.

Bourgeois brings this issue to the real heart of the matter. He has said that no one can say who God can and cannot call to the priesthood, and to say that anatomy is somehow a barrier to God’s ability to call one of God’s own children forward places absurd limits on God’s power. The majority of the faithful believe this.

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VATICAN CITY
Irish Times

PADDY AGNEW, in Rome

The so-called “Vatileaks” trials which last month saw the Pope’s butler, Paolo Gabriele, sentenced to 18 months in prison for leaking sensitive documents, can now be considered a “closed chapter”, according to Vatican spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi.

He made the comment during the presentation of the motivazioni or judges’ reasoning behind the decision which in a separate trial, also in November, saw computer technician Claudio Sciarpelletti given a two-month suspended sentence for having lied to protect Gabriele.

Various documents, some of which appeared in the controversial book, His Holiness: The Secret Papers of Benedict XVI, had been found by police in Sciarpelletti’s desk.

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VATICAN CITY
The Telegraph (United Kingdom)

Vatican clergy and employees will be issued with an identity card complete with a microchip-tracking device in sweeping new security measures designed to prevent a repeat of the Vatileaks scandal.

By Josephine McKenna in Rome
4:28PM GMT 02 Dec 2012

Much tighter controls have already been introduced for anyone seeking access or photocopies of the Holy See’s archives, dossiers and documents.

The Papal Apartments, which include the living quarters of Pope Benedict XVI and the offices of his personal staff inside the Apostolic Palace, are totally off limits to anyone without strict authorisation.

Slovenian priest, Mitja Leskovar, an anti-espionage expert nicknamed ‘Monsignor 007’, is in charge of implementing the new security procedures with the identity cards expected to be introduced from January 1.

Leskovar, who grew up in the former Yugoslavia under Communism, is responsible for the transmission of confidential documents between the Vatican and its papal nuncios or diplomats inside the Secretariat of State and also supervises all requests for document photocopying within the secretariat.

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VATICAN CITY
Catholic News Service

By Cindy Wooden
Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Explaining why they found a Vatican computer technician guilty of aiding and abetting the papal butler who stole private papal correspondence, Vatican judges said they found much of his testimony hard to believe.

The Vatican court Nov. 10 found Claudio Sciarpelletti, 48, a computer technician in the Vatican Secretariat of State, guilty of obstructing the investigation into the leak of Vatican documents. The court gave Sciarpelletti a two-month suspended jail sentence.

As is the normal practice at the Vatican and in Italy, the judges released a detailed explanation of their findings and of their sentence weeks after the verdict was delivered.

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