ABUSE TRACKER

CANADA
National Post

George Jonas | Jan 16, 2013

Liberal Justice Minister Irwin Cotler called it “the single most harmful, disgraceful and racist act in our history” and he was right. He was talking about Canada’s attempt to assimilate its indigenous population through compulsory residential boarding schools for native children. Such programs operated in various forms between the mid-1880s and the late 1940s, and merited Cotler’s description in every particular.

It’s important to note that the residential school programs were disgraceful, not just from the perspective of our times, but from the perspective of their own. Forcibly removing children from their families to place them in an alien, loveless, institutional environment and deliberately deprive them of their language and culture, even without subjecting them to routine humiliation and frequent physical or sexual abuse, would have been viewed as cruel, inexcusable, un-Christian and very possibly criminal in the late 19th and early 20th centuries no less than in ours.

The reason we didn’t view our own conduct in this light at the time was due to civilizational arrogance, combined with a type of social engineering fallacy that gives people a licence to do evil when they think they’re doing good. One might call it a missionary’s licence to do the devil’s work or a do-gooder’s exemption from common decency. The very names we gave to some of our legislation, such as the 1857 Gradual Civilization Act (it included, among other measures, gifting 50 acres of arable Crown land to indigenous males who completed elementary schooling) reflected this smug fallacy. We wanted our “Indians,” as we called them, to be more like us, little understanding how flawed we were as role models.

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AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald

January 16, 2013

Michael Kennedy

For 20 years I was a detective in the NSW Police force and for a time specialised in child abuse and sexual assault investigations. Whilst in the force, I was constantly reminded by sexual assault and child abuse experts, particularly in the NSW Health Department, that as a police officer I did not understand the plight of victims. I even recall a group writing an article accusing me of delivering ”prescribed advice” to a group of women who were concerned about the potential of sexual assault during a ”law and order” electoral campaign.

This couldn’t have been further from the truth. I did understand how it felt to be a victim of sexual abuse. In 1963 my three sisters and I were placed into an orphanage. Along with others in the home, we were all abused in the most horrible manner. Our cries for help were ignored by the institution. Eventually, after many years, the abuser was sent to jail. There was a civil matter that took many more years. At every turn the ”caring” institution seemed to stall the process on legal advice. All we ever wanted was some family support. But at every turn we were told ”this is a police matter” or ”this is a matter for the courts”.

The forthcoming royal commission on child sexual abuse is an opportunity to change the way we deal with the child abuse investigations. The statement by Julia Gillard that ”too many people have turned a blind eye to the shocking crime of child sexual abuse” hit home with me. Despite my own history, I am as guilty of turning a blind eye as many others.

Over the years the dogmatic approach to this serious social issue lacked both the natural and empirical scientific ingredients that would allow child protection specialists in the public and private sector to manage this problem effectively. The notion that mandatory reporting and demonising offenders would stop child abuse was always an irrational dream. This is particularly the case within an adversarial legal system. The recent action of the Indian defence lawyer, who blamed the deceased victim in a horrible sexual assault on a bus, is all too familiar. It is about the better argument and not the truth. The Australian legal system is exactly the same.

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AUSTRALIA
Advertiser

By Ben Chenoweth
Jan. 15, 2013

INGLEBURN resident John Hennessey celebrated a mini victory last week when Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced the terms of reference for a Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

Mr Hennessey was among the victims of Britain’s child migrant policy and one of many children who were cast into virtual slavery and sexually abused while institutionalised.

The policy saw more than 130,000 British children shipped to Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the then Southern Rhodesia from the 1920s to the 1960s.

Mr Hennessey who was taken from his mother at birth said he had been, “seeking justice for a long time”. He will also be called to testify at the royal commission.

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AUSTRALIA
Lawyers Weekly

16 January, 2013

Justin Whealing

Legal groups, including the Law Council of Australia, have welcomed the appointment of Justice Peter McClellan as chair of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sex Abuse.

On Friday (11 January), the Federal Government formally established the Royal Commission, with Mclellan heading a six-member team of commissioners.

Mclellan is currently the chief judge at Common Law of the Supreme Court of NSW.

His almost 40 years of legal experience include being appointed as a Queen’s Counsel in 1985, being appointed to the Supreme Court of NSW in 2001 and being appointed the chief judge of the Land and Environment Court of NSW in 2003.

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AUSTRALIA
The Age

Harriet Alexander

The head of the Royal Commission into child sexual abuse has described the task facing the body as “huge” after the six commissioners met for the first time in Sydney on Wednesday.

Justice Peter McClellan said that in order to run it as efficiently as possible, the Government would amend the Royal Commission Act to allow hearings to take place without all commissioners being present, and some hearings may need to be held in private to protect victims.

Speaking publicly for the first time since his appointment on Friday, Justice McClellan also sought to allay concerns that some matters may be excluded from examination by the commission because of confidentiality agreements.

“We wish to emphasize that under the Royal Commission Act the commission has powers to compel the production of evidence including documentation and we will not hesitate in appropriate circumstances to exercise those powers,” Justice McClellan said.

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AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald

AAP

The head of the royal commission into child sex abuse says he will not hesitate to investigate alleged assaults that are the subject of confidentiality agreements.

Fronting the media with his five co-commissioners for the first time since they were appointed last week, Justice Peter McClellan said non-disclosure agreements would not stop the commission inquiring into institutional responses to child sex assault.

He indicated the likelihood of a lengthy wait for victims and their families anticipating the start of public hearings, saying the evidence gathering process would take months.

“Our task is complex and it will take significant time,” Justice McClellan said.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

[with video]

The head of the royal commission into child sexual abuse has vowed to use its powers to override confidentiality agreements between victims and institutions if the information is necessary to its investigation.

The six commissioners appointed by the Federal Government to investigate allegations of systemic abuse within religious and state-run institutions have held their first face-to-face meeting in Sydney today.

Justice Peter McClellan says it is too early to say when public hearings will begin, adding the task before the commission is “complex and will take significant time”.

He has also sought to address public concerns about how the commission will deal with the issue of confidentiality agreements and whether it has the power to override them.

“We wish to emphasise that under the Royal Commission Act, the commission has powers to compel the production of evidence, including documents, and we will not hesitate in an appropriate case to exercise those powers,” Justice McClellan told reporters in Sydney.

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UNITED STATES
Associated Baptist Press

By Bob Allen

Five new anonymous plaintiffs have joined the three original litigants in a lawsuit alleging a cover-up of sexual abuse by a church-planting network with ties to Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky.

New allegations in an amended lawsuit filed Jan. 11 accuse a co-founder of Sovereign Grace Ministries of physically abusing a female over a 25-year period spanning her childhood and young adulthood. The expanded complaint also describes a “pedophilia ring” on Sovereign Grace church and school premises, where perpetrators were not reported to police and went on to prey on additional children.

C.J. MahaneySovereign Grace Ministries, which recently relocated from Maryland to Louisville in part to strengthen informal ties with Southern Seminary, responded to amendments added to a class action lawsuit originally filed Oct. 17, 2012, in Maryland’s Montgomery County Circuit Court with a statement requesting “patience as we continue to investigate these new allegations.”

“As we initially stated and continue to reiterate, SGM considers the mistreatment of any child reprehensible and evil,” Tommy Hill, director of administration for Sovereign Grace Ministries, said in the statement. “We grieve deeply for any individual who has been a victim of abuse. We want to minister the love, grace, and healing of God to every child we encounter who has suffered such horror.”

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KENTUCKY
Times-News

By Associated Press

Published January 15th, 2013

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Five people have joined a Maryland lawsuit that claims a Kentucky-based evangelical church group covered up allegations of sexual abuse against children and failed to alert police and shield children from known sexual predators.

The new plaintiffs join three women who filed a civil lawsuit against Sovereign Grace Ministries in October. The suit accuses church leadership of encouraging parents of alleged victims to refrain from reporting abuses to police and creating “a culture in which sexual predators were protected from accountability and victims were silenced.”

The church moved its headquarters to Louisville last year after three decades in Maryland. The group has struggled in recent years with fractured leadership and criticism over its discipline methods. Leaders at the church must be men and women are not permitted to teach or to have authority over a man, according its website.

A message left at the church office in Louisville on Tuesday was not immediately returned. The church said in a statement about the suit last year that the suit contains “a number of misleading allegations, as well as considerable mischaracterizations of intent.”

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UNITED STATES
Courier-Journal

Posted on January 15, 2013 by Peter Smith

Two more congregations, including one named as a defendant in an expanding sexual-abuse lawsuit, have voted to leave the Louisville-based Sovereign Grace Ministries.

The congregations, both named Sovereign Grace Church, are in Fairfax and Chesapeake, Va.

The Fairfax church’s members voted by a 98-2 percent margin to accept its leaders’ recommendation to leave on Sunday, according to Executive Pastor Vince Hinders. He declined to go into details about the reasons but cited concerns about the denomination’s leadership and polity, which have been widely aired in controversies since 2011.

The Chesapeake church’s leaders also announced the congregation’s departure on Sunday. Both churches claim about 500 members.

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UNITED STATES
Christian Post

by Yvonne Perkins

The Washington (AP) reported on 10-17-12 three female plaintiffs claim in a lawsuit that Sovereign Grace Ministries, covered up allegations of sexual abuse against children. The lawsuit involving Sovereign Grace alleges that: 1) The Church failed to take the necessary steps to ensure the safety of children under its care, such as requiring that pastors be licensed or ordained.2) The Church failed to alert law enforcement authorities, and failed to take any steps whatsoever to protect the children from sexual predation….

How can churches prevent sexual abuse in their churches? What is the common theme in churches where the abuse has taken place? We have heard many similar stories of cover up of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. Unfortunately, this situation occurs in churches of all sizes and all denominations. The common thread between churches where sexual abuse was reported to the church and cover us occurred is simple to see. They fail to protect the child, failed to warn parents of the threat thus allowing more children to be victimized and did not make a report to the police and state agency monitoring these situations. Clergy are mandated reporters which mean that the law requires them to report suspected child/sexual abuse. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandated_reporter

How can churches prevent sexual abuse in their church? We are living in a time when churches must take steps to prevent sexual abuse from taking place in the church. There are many resources online to help provide guidance in this matter. The same guidelines that apply to day care homes, groups, camp settings and centers should also apply to children church programs and churches in general.

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TENNESSEE
The Tennessean

Written by
Bob Smietana
The Tennessean

A Franklin pastor known for promoting corporal punishment has been accused of physically abusing a woman for 25 years, beginning during her childhood.

The Rev. Larry Tomczak, an associate pastor at Bethel World Outreach Church in southern Davidson County near Brentwood, was named in a Maryland lawsuit filed against leaders of Sovereign Grace Ministries, a denomination he helped found in the 1980s.

The suit was originally filed in October by three alleged victims of abuse and was amended Friday to add five others. All eight were given pseudonyms.

It alleges that Tomczak, who lives in Franklin, and other church leaders covered up sexual abuse in the denomination and at a Christian school in Gaithersburg, Md., in the 1980s and 1990s.

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WASHINGTON
Yakima Herald Republic

By Robert Fontana
Coordinator, Voice of the Faithful Central Washington
Yakima

To the editor — I’m confused. Catholic officials have reported that 40 years ago visiting priest Father Horatio Ramirez abused four boys in Moses Lake. Yet these officials have still not released the names of all clergy and lay persons on its list of credibly accused sexual predators who served at churches in Central Washington including Holy Redeemer, St. Joe’s, St. Paul’s and Holy Family.

Also, the Yakima Herald-Republic reported on a lawsuit related to sexual predator Father Dale Calhoun. He is one of seven known sexual predators serving at St. Paul Cathedral within a 10-year period in the 1960s and ’70s who preyed on minors: Fathers Sondergeld, Calhoun, Scully, Dolan, Breen, O’Connor, and an unnamed priest (see votfcentralwashington.org). There are also allegations against an unnamed layman from that time.

How could eight sexual predators at one church get away with their crimes for over a decade, and at the Cathedral Parish?

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Big Trial

Ralph Cipriano

He was a slender, dark-eyed 24-year-old who sported close-cropped hair and a wispy goatee. He was also a methodical and more confident witness this time around as he grimly recounted the horror of being a 10-year-old altar boy who was callously passed from one child rapist to another.

The man dubbed “Billy Doe” in a 2011 grand jury report returned to Courtroom 304 today, after an absence of nine months, to testify against Father Charles Engelhardt and former teacher Bernard Shero in the second round of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia sex abuse case.

For nearly two hours, Billy told his story on the witness stand, and it seemed to have a profound effect on the jury. One man lowered his head and buried his face in one hand as Billy related the gory details of one rape, while other male jurors averted their eyes in obvious embarrassment. When Billy talked about his descent into drugs, another male juror sadly shook his head.

In short, it was a great day for the prosecution, but the big test is still to come. On Wednesday, Billy Doe will be cross-examined for the first time by defense lawyers for Engelhardt and Shero. It’s a battle that will probably decide the case.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

Allison Steele, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

Posted: Tuesday, January 15, 2013, 8:03 PM

Speaking quietly but firmly, a 24-year-old man testified for more than two hours Tuesday about enduring a series of childhood sexual assaults by two Catholic priests and a teacher, all of whom worked at a church and middle school less than a mile from his Northeast Philadelphia home.

The molestation began in the late 1990s when the man was a 10-year-old altar boy at St. Jerome’s, a Catholic school near Pennypack Park, and left him overwhelmed by fear, guilt, and shame, he testified in Common Pleas Court. In his family and community, priests and nuns were given unquestioned authority, he said, and it would be years before he told anyone he had been abused.

“I was scared, I was embarrassed,” said the man, who was identified in a grand jury report as “Billy Doe.” The Inquirer does not identify alleged victims of sexual assault. “I was afraid I was going to get in trouble. I thought I did something wrong.”

After the assaults, Billy testified, he stopped seeing his friends, dropped out of most clubs and sports teams, and was expelled from two high schools. Within five years, he went from smoking marijuana to trying pills and hard drugs and, eventually, he said, developed a “full-blown heroin addiction.”

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CALIFORNIA
Los Angeles Times

By Ashley Powers, Los Angeles Times
January 15, 2013

There is something about me that is happier when accompanied by a small boy…. Perhaps besides the sexual element, the child in me wants a playmate.

— Father Robert Van Handel

Damian Eckert turned on the computer in his in-laws’ home office, a tiny, dim, book-strewn space. He left the door open so he could hear his 5-year-old daughter playing in the next room.

He pulled up a website and scanned it for Father Robert Van Handel, the priest who led the community boys choir he and his younger brother sang in when they were growing up in Santa Barbara. There he was — receding hairline, bulbous nose, gap-toothed smile.

Eckert opened a document: 27 pages that Van Handel wrote for a therapist years ago, his so-called sexual autobiography. It made Eckert’s palms sweat and his back knot.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Washington Post

Philadelphia man testifies he withdrew, turned to drugs after abuse by 2 priests, teachers

By Associated Press
Updated: Tuesday, January 15

PHILADELPHIA — A policeman’s son with a history of heroin addiction has testified that he withdrew from friends, sports and school clubs after he was molested by two Roman Catholic priests and a teacher.

The 24-year-old has become a central figure in the prosecution of priest sexual abuse in Philadelphia.

His 2009 complaint led to the landmark conviction of a church official who sent accused pedophile-priests to new assignments.

The man says he was first abused at St. Jerome’s Parish at age 10 after the Rev. Charles Engelhardt caught him drinking altar wine. And he says sixth-grade teacher Bernard Shero sexually assaulted him when Shero drove him home after detention.

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UNITED STATES
Catholic League

Bill Donohue comments on a media blackout:

“Jimmy Savile beat and raped a 12-year-old girl during a secret satanic ritual in a hospital.” This is the opening line in an English newspaper’s story on Sunday about BBC child rapist Jimmy Savile. The BBC icon, who died in 2011, is believed to be responsible for abusing at least 450 males and females, aged eight to 47.

Dr. Valerie Sinason, president of the Institute of Psychotherapy and Disability in the U.K., revealed that the aforementioned girl told her in 1992 what happened to her in 1975. Savile wore a robe and a mask while he abused the girl in the basement of a hospital; during the rape, Savile and his cohorts (also pedophiles) chanted, “Hail Satan” in the candle-lit room. Five years later, Dr. Sinason says, Savile abused another girl during a Black Mass ceremony; she, too, heard Latin chanting and witnessed a group of men wearing Satanist regalia. Neither girl knew one another and lived in different parts of the country.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Catholics4Change

by Kathy Kane

The section of the 2011 Grand Jury Report regarding the case of lay teacher Bernard Shero, documents that a mother had safety concerns about him when he taught at her child’s parish school. She contacted the local police to share her concerns. Subsequently, the pastor called the mother to the parish rectory and chastised her.

Think of the “hand slap,” familiar to many Catholic school graduates of a certain age, involving a ruler and an extended hand. The pastor was not pleased this mother made her concerns public and she received a verbal hand slap. This happened in the 1990’s, not that long ago.

I’ve been thinking about all of the Archdiocesan news developments this past year. When the high school teachers went on strike in September of 2011 and the Archdiocese would not agree to use a mediator, a local mother called a press conference and formed the group Catholic Parents Respond. When the Blue Ribbon Commission called for the closing of many schools in their 2012 report, people organized within hours to protest and challenge the decisions. People were very public with their opinions in broadcast interviews and newspaper articles. Some schools held rallies that the press covered. Social media was flooded with Facebook pages set up to protest the closings and the comments left on Archbishop Chaput’s pages were anything but passive.

There were other stories in the news. A student from Archbishop Carroll was banned from attending the prom without a date. That made local and national news. In recent weeks, a young girl made national headlines for protesting the Archdiocesan policy that prohibits her from playing football on her local parish CYO team. The petition on Change.org has over 30,000 signatures and was “retweeted “by Ellen DeGeneres.

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FLORIDA
WSNV

[with video]

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A retired Roman Catholic priest accused of sexually abusing dozens of boys for decades pleaded no contest under a plea agreement in a Fort Lauderdale courtroom Monday.

A graying Father Neil Doherty appeared frail as he entered a plea reducing sex abuse charges from a capital felony to a second-degree felony, which could require him to serve up to 15 years in prison and register as a sex offender.

The plea comes after several other alleged victims came forward and were planning to testify in the case.

“It just came time for the case to be concluded,” Doherty’s attorney David Bogenschutz said.

Attorneys for the victims said Doherty befriended troubled young boys for years, plied them with drugs and alcohol and paid them to run errands and do odd jobs. But the relationships often turned to sexual acts.

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SWITZERLAND
National Catholic Reporter

by Christa Pongratz-Lippitt | Jan. 15, 2013

A leading Swiss abbot is calling for a change in how bishops are selected, saying that the nomination process should include greater local input, and he wants bishops and theologians to join him in pressing for the change.

“We are faced with serious systemic problems in our church. For me, as a canon lawyer, solving these systemic problems has absolute priority, as our other problems can only be solved if the structures are consistent and the procedures transparent,” Benedictine Abbot Peter von Sury of Mariastein said in an interview with the Swiss Catholic press agency Kipa/Apic last month.

Von Sury, 62, was elected abbot of the Mariastein Abbey, considered Switzerland’s second-most important monastery, in 2008.

Von Sury said that during the first millennium, three authorities were decisive in nominating a new bishop to a diocese, namely the local faithful, the local clergy and the neighboring bishops, which today would be the equivalent of the local bishops’ conference.

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UNITED STATES
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by Barbara Dorris on January 15, 2013

Today’s Washington Post reports that a Tennessee pastor has been accused, in a new civil lawsuit filed in Maryland, of:

—“forcing a victim over a period of 25 years to strip ‘against her will’ and assaulting her, and

— “covering up sexual abuse of minors, forcing small children to ‘forgive’ abusers and ostracizing families who wouldn’t hide the alleged crimes.”

He’s Larry Tomczak, a co-founder of the controversial Sovereign Grace Ministries, a 100-church evangelical denomination.

We fear deeply for the safety of kids in these strict, patriarchal, and secretive church groups like Sovereign Grace. We desperately hope that every single current or former Sovereign Grace member or staff will share whatever knowledge or suspicions they may have about child sex crimes or cover ups with law enforcement.

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BELGIUM
Vatican Insider

A storm of anti-Catholic fury has hit Belgium as the public protests against allowances granted to royals. These are taxing times for Queen Fabiola who is being accused of trying to dodge taxes

Giacomo Galeazzi
Vatican city

Belgium’s Catholic sovereign is under attack. “Fabiola is channelling the annual stipend she receives from the government to the Catholic Church and relatives of hers.” The widow of King Baudouin has sparked controversy in Brussels as mass media and lay parties revealed she has created a private fund to bequeath part of her fortune to a number of Catholic charities established by her late husband and to relatives such as her nieces and nephews.

Television channels, newspapers and anti-monarchy political representatives have branded the establishment of her new foundation as ethically flawed as it is claimed it is a means to dodge Belgium’s extremely high inheritance taxes. Separatist MPs, the government, republicans, lay people and constitutionalists have pointed the finger at the Queen, in protest.

The most serious accusation against her is related to fiscal evasion: one minister explicitly mentioned her trying to dodge taxes. Questions have also been raised about the fairness of the Queen’s allowance as she is able to bequeath part of her fortune to her favourite charities, avoiding regular tax amounts. Above all, the monarchy has been criticised for its denominational neutrality.

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UNITED KINGDOM
The New York Times

By ALAN COWELL

Published: January 14, 2013

LONDON — Is it ridiculous to be a Christian in England? Or, to put it another way, are Anglicans increasingly the object of ridicule in the land that enshrined their denomination as the established state church centuries ago?

The answer to the first question relates mostly to faith, or upbringing, or perhaps to the eternal yearning to unlock life’s myriad riddles. But the second is virtually a statement of fact since church leaders in recent weeks became embroiled in doctrinal contortions over gender and sexuality, prompting mockery, outrage and division.

The first ruling came in December when the Church of England voted — narrowly and against the judgment of its priests and bishops — to reject the notion of women’s joining the episcopate, even though the titular supreme governor of the church is a woman: Queen Elizabeth II.

In January, the bishops themselves followed up with a potentially epochal ruling admitting openly gay priests in civil partnerships to their ranks, provided that, unlike heterosexual bishops, they remain celibate. …

Such debates are not limited to the Church of England. Indeed, given the sexual abuse scandals that have roiled the Roman Catholic Church in particular, it is hardly surprising if the view from outside is, as one radio broadcaster observed, that the church is “obsessed with sex.”

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AUSTRALIA
Dungog Chronicle

By Janelle O’Neill
Jan. 15, 2013

A family broken by the alleged sexual assault by a priest 50 years ago was devastated to find an integrity award in his name presented annually to a student at St Joseph’s Primary School in Dungog.

Jan Van-Even said her sister was only seven-and-a-half when she was sexually assaulted by Fr William Cantwell when he worked as a parish priest in the Mayfield diocese in the 1960s.

Fr Cantwell was also a parish priest at St Mary’s in Dungog from 1975 to 1984.

“He had access to her as she and class members were studying for their first Communion,” Ms Van-Even said.

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AUSTRALIA
Melton Weekly

By ANDRIA COZZA
Jan. 15, 2013

A FREE counselling service is encouraging survivors to seek help following the announcement of a Royal Commission into child sexual abuse.

Western Region Centre Against Sexual Assault CEO Jane Vanderstoel said it could be more difficult for survivors to manage their symptoms because of constant reminders in the media and public discussion of abuse.

“Victims may find themselves experiencing nightmares, flashbacks, an inability to sleep, intrusive thoughts and issues with trust and intimacy,” she said.

“Many have tried to forget their experiences of sexual assault as children. With the issue being raised . . . some survivors no longer wish to keep their experiences hidden.”

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AUSTRALIA
Canberra Times

January 16, 2013

Bianca Hall and Jane Lee

CHURCHES and charities should pay compensation directly to survivors of childhood sexual abuse, and the terms of reference should be broadened, says the chief executive of the group of those formerly in child institutions.

The six royal commissioners examining past sexual abuse of children in institutional and organisational settings will meet for the first time on Wednesday.

But, said chief executive of Care Leavers Australia Network Leonie Sheedy, who represents about 1000 people who spent time as children in homes, orphanages and other institutions, many were shattered that physical abuse, neglect, forced and unpaid work and other forms of abuse would not be investigated by the commission.

”How do I tell the members of CLAN that were left dangling over orphanage balconies and never knew whether they were going to be dropped on their heads, and that they’d live or die, how can I tell them that, well, sorry, if you’d have been sodomised, they’d be interested? But that sort of torture’s not covered.”

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

By Catherine Clifford

A legal academic says one of the most difficult tasks confronting the Royal Commission into Child Sexual Abuse is to ensure those accused of sexual assault are treated fairly.

Foundation Professor of Law and lecturer in evidence at the University of New England, Professor Eilis Magner, says vast amounts of evidence will be tendered naming alleged perpetrators.

She says some of that evidence and testimony will be impacted by the passage of time and will not be pristine.

“There’s always an issue when the memory is being invoked from that long ago as to whether or not the memory can be relied upon,” she said.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Yahoo! Nachrichten

München/Ettal (dapd-bay). Drei Jahre nach Bekanntwerden des Missbrauchsskandals im oberbayerischen Kloster Ettal wirft der ehemalige Sonderermittler Thomas Pfister der Benediktinerabtei eine Vertuschungsstrategie vor. Bis heute unterbinde das Kloster die Publikation seines Schlussberichts, sagte der Anwalt der “Süddeutschen Zeitung”. Dagegen kündigte die Benediktinerabtei an, im Frühjahr eine Studie zur Aufarbeitung vorzulegen. Sie stehe kurz vor dem Abschluss.

Pfister war auf Initiative des Erzbistums München und Freising als externer Ermittler eingesetzt worden, nachdem im Februar 2010 die Jahrzehnte zurückreichenden Fälle bekannt geworden waren. Später beendete das Kloster die Zusammenarbeit mit ihm. “Die Leitung der Diözese wollte, dass ich den Bericht öffentlich vortrage, aber das Kloster gab nur eine kleine Pressekonferenz, auf der verkündet wurde, dass meine Arbeit abgeschlossen sei. Zu dieser Konferenz war ich gar nicht mehr eingeladen”, erläuterte der Anwalt.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Augsburger Allgemeine

Zwei Tage, nachdem die Bischöfe ihre Studie zum sexuellen Missbrauch in der katholischen Kirche auf Eis legen, erklärt das Kloster Ettal, seine Studie bald zu veröffentlichen.

Im Gegensatz zu den deutschen Bischöfen will die Benediktinerabtei Ettal ihre Studie zur Aufarbeitung des Missbrauchsskandals hinter Klostermauern schon bald vorstellen. Das Papier stehe kurz vor seiner Veröffentlichung, teilten Kloster, Verein der Ettaler Misshandlungs- und Missbrauchsopfer sowie das Institut für Praxisforschung und Projektberatung (IPP) am Freitag in einer gemeinsamen Erklärung mit. Unterdessen wies der Münchner Kardinal Reinhard Marx den Zensurvorwurf um die gestoppte Studie zum sexuellen Missbrauch in der katholischen Kirche zurück.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

A Warrnambool law firm says the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse should have followed Ireland’s lead.

The terms of reference include provisions for victims to seek compensation from institutions.

However, Gary Foster of Maddens Lawyers says, in Ireland, a separate body was established to fund compensation claims so victims did not have to deal with the churches and institutions where they were abused.

He says institutions usually make compensation claims difficult.

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MARYLAND
Washington Post

Suit accuses Sovereign Grace Ministries of covering up alleged child sexual abuse

By Michelle Boorstein

A Montgomery County Circuit Court lawsuit accuses past and current leaders of a 100-church evangelical denomination of covering up sexual abuse of minors, forcing small children to “forgive” abusers and ostracizing families who wouldn’t hide the alleged crimes.

The lawsuit filed Friday adds more accusers and more accused to a complaint filed last fall against Sovereign Grace Ministries, a movement founded in the 1970s in Gaithersburg. Among those named now is co-founder Larry Tomczak, who was a key figure in the movement’s early years but split from it bitterly in the 1990s.

Eight alleged victims are named. Tomczak is the only alleged abuser named. He is accused of forcing a victim over a period of 25 years to strip “against her will” and assaulting her .

Tomczak became well-known with Sovereign Grace leader C.J. Mahaney years ago for launching what is now a thriving trend of neo-Calvinism. Neo-Calvinism teaches that people are steeped in sin and need strict spiritual oversight.

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CANADA
Winnipeg Free Press

By: Mike McIntyre

A rural Manitoba church has been hit with allegations of sexual abuse and negligence in a pair of separate court filings.

Documents obtained by the Free Press on Monday confirm a member of the congregation was recently arrested following a lengthy RCMP investigation. The man has been charged with sexual assault against a young woman who also attended the church, although the incidents allegedly occurred outside of the church in a work environment. He is also facing the rare Criminal Code offence of “surreptitiously observing by mechanical device.”

None of the offences has been proven and the accused remains before the courts. The Free Press is not naming the church or the accused to avoid identifying the alleged victim.

The young woman has also taken civil action, filing a statement of claim on Monday against the church and her pastor. She is seeking unspecified financial damages. In her lawsuit, the woman claims the pastor was aware another member of his congregation was abusing her but took no action to stop it. She claims he turned a blind eye at a time she went to him seeking “spiritual guidance and emotional care.”

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ILLINOIS
Courthouse News Service

By JOE HARRIS

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. (CN) – TIG Insurance has no obligation to defend the Diocese of Belleville and its former priest Raymond Kownacki in two sex abuse cases, the insurer claims in court.

In its request for declaratory judgment, TIG claims the sexual abuse charges two John Does are excluded from its bodily injury policy, which covers injuries caused by Diocese members “within the scope of their respective duties.”

In its federal complaint, TIG also says the policy contains a child molestation exclusion that states: “This policy does not apply to any injury sustained by any person arising out of or resulting from molesting of minors by:

“1. any Insured;
“2. any employee of any Insured, or
“3. any person performing volunteer services for or on behalf of any Insured.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
The New York Times

By JON HURDLE

Published: January 14, 2013

PHILADELPHIA — A Roman Catholic priest and a schoolteacher sexually abused a 10-year-old altar boy at different times more than a decade ago, assaulting him in a church sacristy in Northeast Philadelphia and in the back of a car, a prosecutor alleged on Monday.

In opening statements before a jury of eight men and four women in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court, Evangelia Manos, an assistant district attorney, said the boy was abused first by the Rev. Charles Engelhardt, a priest with the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales, a teaching order, and then by Bernard Shero, a Catholic schoolteacher, during the 1998-99 school year. Ms. Manos said the boy was also assaulted by Edward V. Avery, a former priest who has admitted the abuse and is serving two and a half to five years in a Pennsylvania prison.

“He was subjected to the most vile of acts by not one but three of those who were entrusted with his care,” Ms. Manos said. She said Mr. Avery would appear as a witness for the prosecution during the trial, which is expected to last several weeks.

Father Engelhardt, 66, who wore a black jacket with a clerical collar in court, pleaded not guilty to four charges including involuntary deviant sexual intercourse with a child and indecent assault. Mr. Shero, 49, pleaded not guilty to five charges including the rape of a child and endangering the welfare of a child.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

Allison Steele, Inquirer Staff Writer

Posted: Tuesday, January 15, 2013

The trial of a priest and a former teacher charged with sexually assaulting a 10-year-old altar boy at a Northeast Philadelphia parish opened Monday with prosecutors portraying the men as predators who turned a happy-go-lucky honors student into a despondent teenager who was expelled from school, attempted suicide, and turned to drugs.

Defense attorneys questioned the credibility of the accuser, saying he had told many different versions of the abuse since reporting it in 2009. They described him as a “damaged” man whose personality shift was the result of drug addiction.

Defense attorney Michael McGovern, who represents the Rev. Charles Engelhardt, also spoke of a “presumption of guilt” that now exists in regard to Catholic priests.

“People look at a Roman collar and they see a bull’s-eye,” McGovern said Monday in his opening statement before Common Pleas Court Judge Ellen Ceisler.

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FLORIDA
News Chief

By KELLI KENNEDY
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

FORT LAUDERDALE | A retired Roman Catholic priest accused of sexually abusing dozens of boys for decades pleaded no contest under a plea agreement in a Fort Lauderdale courtroom Monday.

A graying Father Neil Doherty appeared frail as he entered a plea reducing sex abuse charges from a capital felony to a second-degree felony, which could require him to serve up to 15 years in prison and register as a sex offender.

The plea comes after several other alleged victims came forward and were planning to testify in the case.

“It just came time for the case to be concluded,” Doherty’s lawyer David Bogenschutz said.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Big Trial

Monday, January 14, 2013

Ralph Cipriano

In the first Archdiocese of Philadelphia sex abuse trial, nobody got to cross-examine a key witness known as “Billy Doe,” a former 10-year-old altar boy whose testimony about sins committed in a sacristy led to the historic conviction of a monsignor.

At that first trial, defense lawyers in the case, facing a hostile judge, ultimately decided that the cost of cross-examing Billy was too high, so they reluctantly gave him a pass. That decision preceded the conviction of Msgr. William J. Lynn, the first Catholic administrator in the country to be sent to jail for the sexual sins of the clergy.

But this time around, at the second Archdiocese of Philadelphia sex abuse trial, Billy Doe is going to be tested, probably severely. And the fate of two additional defendants, a priest and a former Catholic teacher, will depend solely on whether the jury buys Billy’s story, because there’s not one shred of physical evidence in the case.

That’s the message delivered today in the opening statements of the second Archdiocese of Philadelphia sex abuse trial.

Assistant District Attorney Evangelina Manos got things started by describing the two defendants on trial as predators out stalking youthful victims. As she strode purposefully back and forth in front of the jury box, gesturing with one hand, and speaking in a loud, clear voice, the prosecutor sounded more like a preacher giving a sermon.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Daily Times

Published: Tuesday, January 15, 2013

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A troubled young man who says he was raped by two Roman Catholic priests and his sixth-grade teacher could testify Tuesday in a Philadelphia criminal trial.

The policeman’s son’s complaint led to the 2012 landmark conviction of a church official over his handling of abuse complaints at the Philadelphia archdiocese.

The Rev. Charles Engelhardt and ex-teacher Bernard Shero are on trial for alleged sexual assault. The other priest is in prison after pleading guilty.

The accuser’s mother, the first trial witness Monday, says her son was a good student until he was expelled in 9th grade.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Daily Times

By MARYCLAIRE DALE
Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Priests have been marked with a “bull’s eye” by manipulative accusers who plan to sue the church, a defense lawyer said as Philadelphia’s latest priest-abuse trial opened Monday.

The case involves a single accuser: a policeman’s son-turned-heroin addict who said he was serially raped by two priests and his Catholic school teacher as a 10-year-old altar boy.

His 2009 complaint provided the hook for Philadelphia prosecutors to bring the nation’s first criminal charges against a U.S. church official for allegedly covering up sexual abuse by priests. The man’s accusation was pivotal because the now-24-year-old said he was assaulted in 1999 — within the time limit for prosecutors to file charges and pursue church higher-ups.

The case spawned last year’s landmark conviction of the Rev. William Lynn, who handled priest assignments at the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia. He is now serving three to six years in prison for child endangerment.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Philadelphia Inquirer

John P. Martin, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

Posted: Monday, January 14, 2013

A former Catholic chaplain at Graterford State Prison says state officials defamed him, wrongfully fired him and tried to block his unemployment benefits after the Archdiocese of Philadelphia suspended him in 2011 amid a review of past misconduct by priests.

The Rev. Robert Povish, 47, of Boyertown, was ultimately removed last year from active ministry by Archbishop Charles Chaput for what the prelate called violations of “boundary issues” with children.

But in a lawsuit filed Monday in federal court, Povish accuses prison officials of ignoring his spotless record there over a decade and savaging his reputation by portraying him as a child-sex abuser, something he says he is not.

“To this day, Reverend Povish has never been accused of sexual misconduct. He was not named in any grand jury report, nor have charges ever been filed against him, nor will there ever be,” said the lawsuit, filed by North Wales lawyer Brian K. Wiley. “What Reverend Povish no longer has is his reputation. Defendants took that away from him. Then, they took away his job.”

The complaint reflects the ripples that continue from the archdiocese’s mass suspension two years ago, the largest of its kind since the clergy sex abuse scandal unfolded in the United States.

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FLORIDA
GlobalPost

Thomson Reuters
January 14, 2013

* Church placed Father Neil Doherty on “leave” in 2002
* Victims’ lawyer says Doherty drugged his victims
* Doherty’s lawyer says plea deal was in his best interest (Adds comment from Doherty’s lawyer)

By Zachary Fagenson

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla,. Jan 14 (Reuters) – A South Florida priest accused of sexually assaulting young boys for decades pleaded no contest to a half dozen charges on Monday and could face up to 15 years in prison under a plea deal.

It is the first time criminal charges have been brought against Father Neil Doherty, 69, despite numerous civil cases that named him.

A civil case involving Doherty last year ended in a jury awarding $100 million to one victim, among the largest awards in the United States to compensate for abuses committed by a Roman Catholic priest.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Big Trial

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Ralph Cipriano

Prospective Juror No. 61 told a judge today that his first cousin was a priest who got in trouble over “something he wrote to a fifth-grader.”

The prospective juror mentioned to the judge that he had talked over his potential jury service last night with his wife, something the judge had specifically asked him not to do, and that the wife suggested that maybe you should mention your first cousin.

Father Michael Murtha was a priest at St. Anselm’s in Northeast Philadelphia who in 1995 was found by a roommate to have a trove of pornographic magazines and videos stashed in his rectory bedroom. The roommate also discovered a love letter that Father Murtha had written but never sent to a seventh-grade altar boy that described the priest’s sexual fantasies involving the youngster, signed your “secret lover.”

Assistant District Attorney Mark Cipolletti challenged the candidacy of Prospective Juror 61. “I am disturbed about that relation,”Judge Ellen Ceisler said, as well as the fact that “he talked with his wife.”

The judge granted Cipolletti’s challenge to boot Prospective Juror No. 61. It was the most peculiar interview of the day as the judge and lawyers in the case slogged through questionnaires from 129 prospective jurors, before finally choosing six more, for a total of ten jurors in the case.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Big Trial

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Ralph Cipriano

When it comes to picking a jury, it’s interesting to see who doesn’t get picked.

As far as the prosecution in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia sex abuse case is concerned, it wasn’t exactly a plus to be a faithful, practicing Catholic.

The prosecution today bounced another earnest young woman who told the judge she went to Mass every Sunday. Lapsed Catholics, however, seemed to fare better; the prosecution even approved as an alternate juror a former altar boy who no longer attends church, and was convicted of assault at an Eagles game.

As far as the defense was concerned, defense lawyers on Tuesday rejected a born-again Protestant minister who proclaimed that she herself had been healed of sex abuse. Today, defense lawyers bounced the wife of an ordained Baptist minister. They also used a preemptory challenge to pass on an openly gay prospective juror who had previously served as a juror in a child rape case, and found it to be emotionally draining.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Yahoo! News

By Dave Warner | Reuters

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) – Prosecutors on Monday laid out a case of what they described as vile sexual attacks on a child by a priest and a former teacher, opening a new chapter in the sexual abuse scandal that has rocked the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

Reverend Charles Engelhardt, 66, and former teacher Bernard Shero, 49, are accused of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child, endangering the welfare of a child and corruption of a minor, in Common Pleas Court in Philadelphia.

A third accused abuser, former priest Edward Avery, 71, pleaded guilty to sexual abuse and is serving a prison sentence of 2 1/2 to 5 years.

The district attorney’s office said if Engelhardt and Shero are convicted, the maximum sentence for Engelhardt would be 28 1/2 to 57 years in prison and for Shero 33 to 67 years

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NEW YORK
The Jewish Week

01/14/13

Hella Winston
Special To The Jewish Week

For Jews, Chanukah is a season of light and miracles. It wasn’t like that last month for Sam Kellner, a chasidic resident of Brooklyn’s Borough Park.

Unemployed and facing mounting debt from his lonely fight against both the powers that be in his community and the Brooklyn district attorney, Kellner, 50, was contemplating a Chanukah in darkness: he had pawned the family silver, and the menorah along with it, to free up some cash to pay his attorney.

When his wife found out, she was upset, so Kellner trudged back to the silver shop on 13th Avenue to retrieve the menorah.

If anyone could use a miracle, it’s Sam Kellner.

“They took everything from me,” Kellner says. “They’ve killed me on the street, kicked me out of my shul. I have no job, no money, no friends. And the DA is going after me. All because I committed the sin of fighting for my son.”

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FLORIDA
Prensa Latina

Washington, Jan 14 (Prensa Latina) Arrested U.S. priest Neil Doherty, pastor at St. Vincent Catholic Church, appears in a Florida court today to respond for criminal charges related to sexual abuse of some kids.

His attorney expects that Doherty accepts an extra-judicial agreement at the Broward county Court and pleads guilty of multiple sexual molestation crimes, lust acts in front of infants and sexual assault to numerous victims under 12 years old.

Doherty, 69, remains in that county’s prison without a right to bail for sexually assaulting a boy.

His name also appears in 20 lawsuits for the same crime from 1970 to 2002, while in 2011, the Miami Archdiocese compensated one of his victims with 100 million USD.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Washington Post

Lawyer says accuser can’t be believed in Philadelphia abuse trial involving priest, ex-teacher

By Associated Press

Updated: Monday, January 14

PHILADELPHIA — A defense lawyer for a priest charged with sexually assaulting an altar boy says the Philadelphia accuser has never told the same story twice.

Defense lawyer Michael McGovern represents the Rev. Charles Engelhardt, who went on trial Monday along with former teacher Bernard Shero.

McGovern says people now look at priests in clerical collars and “see a bull’s-eye” — because they hope to get money by suing the church.

Engelhardt and Shero are charged with sexually assaulting the now 24-year-old man at St. Jerome’s Parish in northeast Philadelphia in 1999. They have pleaded not guilty.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
CBS Philly

By Tony Hanson

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — It was attack and counterattack today in a Philadelphia courtroom, as another case of alleged clergy sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia begins (see related stories).

Father Charles Engelhardt and former lay teacher Bernard Shero are charged with sexually abusing the same boy during the 1998 and 1999 school years (see related story).

Today, during opening statements, prosecutor Evangelia Manos told the jury that “evil lurks disguised in sheep’s clothing” — in this case a priest’s collar or the clothing of a teacher.

According to Manos, Engelhardt and Shero abused the boy, ultimately damaging his mind, his body, and his soul.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

Allison Steele, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

Posted: Monday, January 14, 2013

The trial of a priest and former parochial-school teacher charged with sexually assaulting a 10-year-old altar boy at a Northeast parish in the late 1990s opened this morning in Common Pleas Court, with prosecutors portraying the men as predators who shattered the boy’s childhood, and caused him to turn to drugs to numb his pain.

Defense attorneys told jurors that the boy, identified in a grand jury report as “Billy Doe,” has told many different versions of the abuse since reporting it in 2010. They described him as a troubled, now-24-year-old man who has spent his life in and out of jail and drug treatment programs.

Defense attorney Michael McGovern, who represents the Rev. Charles Engelhardt, also spoke of a “presumption of guilt” sweeping the country when in comes to Catholic priests.

“People look at a Roman collar and they see a bulls-eye,” McGovern said Monday in his opening statements.

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FLORIDA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by Barbara Blaine on January 14, 2013

For almost 35 years, Miami Catholic officials have known about credible child sex abuse allegations against Fr. Neil Doherty. Only now, however, is Fr. Doherty finally pleading guilty to criminal charges.

So while an egregious child molesting cleric will be deemed guilty today, dozens of his complicit Catholic colleagues will continue to escape responsibility for their recklessness, callousness and deception.

It’s still possible, of course, that both Fr. Doherty and other current and former Miami archdiocesan staffers can still face other charges – for either committing or concealing more child sex crimes. But it will take even more brave victims, witnesses and whistleblowers to step up for that to happen. We hope it does.

Doherty has been jailed before. This time, we hope he stays there forever. By any measure, he’s a sick and dangerous man.

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OKLAHOMA
Tulsa World

By JARREL WADE World Staff Writer
Published: 1/8/2013

A judge denied Victory Christian Center’s motion to dismiss a civil case against the megachurch on Monday, moving the lawsuit on behalf of a 13-year-old rape victim closer to trial.

The lawsuit, filed in Tulsa County District Court in September, claims that the church intentionally inflicted emotional distress by not reporting the rape to police or the victim’s parents for about two weeks after learning of the allegations.

The mother of the victim is identified as the plaintiff in the lawsuit. It is the Tulsa World’s policy not to identify victims of sexual assault.

District Judge Rebecca Nightingale heard arguments from both parties before denying the motion to dismiss on all points except for accusations that Victory Christian Center was vicariously responsible for the criminal conduct of their employee.

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NEW YORK
Patch

By David Reich-Hale

West Islip Patch on Friday reported that Thomas Bouklas, a retired teacher and former elite soccer coach at St. John the Baptist was arrested and charged with possessing child pornography.

He was taken into custody at the Seventh Precinct in Shirley and transported to First District Court in Central Islip.

According to Suffolk County Police, an investigation by detectives in the Computer Crimes Unit found evidence that Bouklas had child pornography downloaded from the Internet on his computer.

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NEW YORK
Moriches Daily

By Zachary Reis

Holbrook, N.Y. (MorichesDaily) — Suffolk police have arrested a retired Catholic school teacher and soccer coach from Holbrook on a child pornography charge, police said Friday.

An investigation by computer crimes detectives led to evidence that Thomas Bouklas, 64, “was downloading and possessing child pornography via the Internet,” police said.

A search warrant was executed at Bouklas’ home on Arnold Street in Holbrook and computers, hard drives as well as assorted media were seized.

Bouklas, who worked at St. John the Baptist Diocesan High School in West Islip from 1969 to 2006, was charged with possessing a sexual performance of a child, police and school officials said.

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NEW YORK
Empire State News

SHIRLEY – Suffolk County Police today arrested a retired teacher for possessing child pornography on his computer in Holbrook.

An investigation by detectives in the Computer Crimes Unit led to evidence that Thomas Bouklas was downloading and possessing child pornography via the internet. A search warrant was executed at Bouklas’ home on Arnold Street and computers, hard drives as well as assorted media were seized.

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NEW YORK
Long Island Press

By Rashed Mian on January 11, 2013

A retired teacher from St. John the Baptist Diocesan High School in West Islip was arrested Friday for allegedly possessing child pornography on his computer, Suffolk County police said.

An investigation by detectives with the computer crimes unit led to evidence that 64-year-old Thomas Bouklas was allegedly downloading and possessing child pornography over the Internet, police said.

Authorities executed a search warrant at the former teacher’s home in Holbrook, police said. Investigators seized computers, hard drives “as well as assorted media,” police said in a news release.

Bouklas is also a former soccer coach at the catholic school.

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NEW YORK
Back of the Net

A retired high schoolteacher from Holbrook who was an accomplished soccer coach was arrested Friday on a child pornography charge, police said.

An investigation by computer crimes detectives led to evidence that Thomas Bouklas, 64, “was downloading and possessing child pornography via the Internet,” Suffolk police said.

Bouklas, who worked at St. John the Baptist Diocesan High School in West Islip from 1969 to 2006, was charged with possessing a sexual performance of a child, officials said.

Among Bouklas’ accomplishments as boys soccer coach: 18 Catholic High School Athletic Association league titles, a perfect 18-0 season in 1993 and state CHSAA titles in 1996 and 1998.

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OREGON
The Columbian

By Patty Hastings
Columbian staff writer

Friday, January 11, 2013

A Vancouver man who was active in his local church group and enrolled in courses to become a child sex abuse counselor was arrested Tuesday on federal child pornography charges.

Bradley J. Gilliam, 24, was charged in U.S. District Court with allegedly possessing, receiving and distributing child porn, according to a news release from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He made his first court appearance Wednesday.

Gilliam allegedly shared illicit images of children, including toddlers, on an Internet file sharing network under the username “Bllover69,” the release said. Investigators traced the Internet messages back to Gilliam’s Vancouver home.

Homeland Security special agents and Vancouver police executed a search warrant at Gilliam’s home last summer, seizing a laptop and digital storage device. The equipment contained a library of images and video files of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct, the release said.

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OREGON
The Oregonian

By Everton Bailey Jr., The Oregonian
on January 11, 2013

A Vancouver man aspiring to become a child sex abuse counselor is facing federal child pornography charges.

Bradley J. Gilliam, 24, is accused of possessing, receiving and distributing illicit images of children, including toddlers, according to Andrew Munoz, a spokesman in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Seattle office. Gilliam was arrested Tuesday and appeared in federal court in Washington on Wednesday.

Authorities traced Gilliam’s IP address from his username, “Bllover69”, on a peer-to-peer network to his Vancouver home.

Homeland Security investigators and local police searched Gilliam’s home last summer and seized a laptop and digital storage devices as evidence, Munoz said. Thousands of images and video files depicting child pornography were found, he added.

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OREGON
KOIN

Reported by: Faris Tanyos
Email: ftanyos@koin.com

A 24-year-old man who volunteered at a Camas church youth group and was reportedly studying to become a child sex abuse counselor was taken into custody this week on federal child pornography charges.

Bradley J. Gilliam of Vancouver was arrested Tuesday on counts of possession, receipt and distribution of child pornography, following an ongoing, multiagency investigation lead by U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

According to a press release from ICE, Gilliam is accused of sharing illicit images through a peer-to-peer online network, where he used the username ‘Bllover69.’ Investigators traced the username to Gilliam’s Vancouver residence using his Internet protocol address.

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FLORIDA
CBS Miami

FORT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) – Retired South Florida priest Neil Doherty has pleaded no contest to six counts of lewd and lascivious acts on a child.

Circuit Judge Kenneth Gillespie in Broward Circuit Court also set sentencing for January 28th.

Doherty, 69, now retired from the Archdiocese of Miami, has served at several South Florida churches, including St. Vincent’s in Margate, St. Anthony in Fort Lauderdale and St. Phillip in Northwest Miami-Dade.

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FLORIDA
Miami Herald

By Daniel Chang and Diana Moskovitz
dchang@MiamiHerald.com

One of South Florida’s most notorious priests — accused by several men of molesting them in their youth — was in Broward Circuit Court Monday morning pleading no contest to half a dozen criminal charges.

Circuit Judge Kenneth Gillespie accepted the plea deal and will render sentencing Jan. 28.

The Rev. Neil Doherty faces 12 to 15 years imprisonment under the agreement.

Doherty, now retired from the Archdiocese of Miami, has served at several South Florida churches, including St. Vincent’s in Margate, St. Anthony in Fort Lauderdale and St. Phillip in Northwest Miami-Dade.

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FLORIDA
NBC Miami

A South Florida priest accused of molesting several boys entered a no contest plea to six counts in a Broward court Monday.

Neil Doherty, 69, had been charged with eight counts including sexual battery, lewd or lascivious molestation and committing a lewd act in the presence of a child.

He’s scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 28.

Doherty, a former priest at St. Vincent’s Catholic Church in Margate, has been accused in several alleged incidents dating back to the early 1970s.

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AUSTRALIA
Bendigo Advertiser

Jan. 15, 2013

The Law Council of Australia welcomes the appointment of commissioners and the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

The council is pleased the chair of the commission, Justice Peter McClellan AM, is an experienced judge and Queens Counsel.

The Law Council is pleased multiple commissioners have been appointed, including a commissioner of Aboriginal descent.

The sexual abuse of indigenous children raises particular issues, which require familiarity with indigenous peoples and culture.

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

MILANDA ROUT and DAVID CROWE
From:The Australian
January 15, 2013

AUSTRALIA’S peak legal body says it is “not clear” whether the royal commission into child sexual abuse has the power to override confidentiality agreements, despite assurances from the Attorney-General, Nicola Roxon, that all survivors can be heard.

As the six commissioners prepare to meet in Sydney tomorrow for the first time since their appointment, victims and lawyers called for further clarity on the key issue and said legislation might be needed to protect survivors from the risk of breaching old legal settlements.

Ms Roxon has insisted that past settlements should not prevent victims giving evidence because the commissioners had the authority to compel witnesses to give evidence “regardless” of private agreements.

But Law Council of Australia president Joseph Catanzariti says the power of the Royal Commissions Act 1902 was not definitive on this subject. “It is not clear whether the provisions of the act would override any confidentiality agreement signed by persons answering questions before the royal commission,” he said.

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FLORIDA
Miami Herald

By Diana Moskovitz
dmoskovitz@MiamiHerald.com

One of South Florida’s most notorious priests — accused by multiple men of molesting them as youth — is expected to accept plead guilty to criminal charges Monday morning in Broward Circuit Court.

The Rev. Neil Doherty is scheduled to appear before Circuit Judge Kenneth Gillespie, where he will accept a plea deal, according to his lawyer, David Bogenschutz.

The details of the plea deal were not released Sunday.

Doherty, now retired from the Archdiocese of Miami, has served at several South Florida churches, including St. Vincent’s in Margate, St. Anthony in Fort Lauderdale and St. Phillip in Northwest Miami-Dade.

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FLORIDA
Sun-Sentinel

January 13, 2013

A priest, accused by many men of molesting them as youth, is expected to accept a plea deal Monday morning in Broward Circuit Court, said his lawyer, David Bogenschutz.

Rev. Neil Doherty served at several South Florida churches, including St. Vincent’s in Margate and St. Anthony’s in Fort Lauderdale. He is now retired from the Archdiocese of Miami.

Many of the men who said they were molested by Doherty said he used his power as a priest to drug and rape them when they were boys.

In the case before the court Monday, Doherty, 69, is charged with multiple counts of lewd or lascivious molestation, lewd acts in the presence of a child and sexual battery on a victim younger than 12, court records show.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

Nicky Davis from the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) says the royal commission into child abuse will reveal a scale of abuse that even survivors have a hard time believing.

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AUSTRALIA
YouTube

Australia’s most senior Catholic has used his annual festive message to deliver an apology years in the waiting.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Debattier Salon

Von Uta Ranke-Heinemann

Es war tatsächlich das FernSEHEN, und zwar der italienische Vatikansender Telepace, der mir erstmals die Augen öffnete, daß die Sexualfeindlichkeit der Kirche dramatische Auswirkungen hat, daß sie zu widerwärtigen sexuellen Verirrungen führt.

Die Verbrechen, die von zwangsentsexualisierten Priestern an Kindern und Jugendlichen geschahen und noch geschehen, dies unaussprechliche Leid der wehrlosen Betroffenen schreit zum Himmel: 2002 also SAH ich, wie Papst Johannes Paul II. Krokodilstränen über die Pädophiliefälle vergoß und Kardinal Bernard Francis Law von Boston reuig vor ihm kniete und sein Amt dem Papst zurückgab, weil er durch ständiges Versetzen der Priester und durch Verheimlichung vor den staatlichen Behörden großen Schaden angerichtet hatte.

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AUSTRALIA
YouTube

The Catholic Church is under fire over its Truth Justice and Healing Council, after accusations of both witness interference and attempts to distance blame from the church were made.

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AUSTRALIA
Newcastle Herald

By PETER KELSO
Jan. 14, 2013

Peter Kelso is director of the Newcastle based Kelso’s – The Law Firm which specialises in victims of crime matters. He has been a practicing solicitor for almost 30 years.

WORK came to a standstill in my office last Friday.

Staff left their desks and crowded into the boardroom to watch our Prime Minister on television outlining the terms of reference of the royal commission.

There was a sense that something big and significant was happening.

The Royal Commission into child sexual abuse will be the largest royal commission in Australia’s history.

It will be focusing on the sexual abuse of children in the institutions that were supposed to care for them. It will put a spotlight on church, secular and state institutions. It will run for at least three years.

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BOSTON (MA)
The New York Times

By KATHARINE Q. SEELYE

Published: January 13, 2013

BOSTON — When he was a boy in North Carolina in the 1960s, Michael Mack wanted to be a priest, until his priest sexually molested him. He prayed he would forget the experience, but, he said, “the memory tingled like a phantom limb.”

As he grew up, he revisited the moment over and over in his mind. He told no one about it, this secret that was obsessing him, “binding me to someone I never talked to, never saw, but who lived and breathed in my memory.”

In 2002, The Boston Globe began documenting the widespread sexual abuse of children by Roman Catholic priests. The articles, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service, prompted Mr. Mack, who was by then living in Cambridge, to consider finding the priest who had abused him.

In 2005, he plugged the name into Google and discovered that the priest was living less than an hour away. Eventually, he arrived on the priest’s doorstep.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
CBS Philly

By Tony Hanson

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – A priest and a former lay teacher at St. Jerome’s Parish in Northeast Philadelphia are scheduled to go to trial today on sexual assault charges. The two men are charged with sexually assaulting the same young boy when he was in 5th and 6th grade in 1999.

Sixty-six-year-old Father Charles Engelhardt is charged with sexually assaulting the boy in the church sacristy after he had assisted at mass. According to the grand jury presentment, Father Engelhardt caught the boy drinking sacramental wine after mass, allegedly poured him more wine and showed him pornographic magazines, then assaulted him a week later after another mass.

Former lay teacher, 49-year-old Bernard Shero, allegedly attacked the boy in a car while giving him a ride home.

The defense has adamantly denied the allegations and both men have pleaded not guilty.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Daily Times

Published: Monday, January 14, 2013

For more than a decade now, since a Boston priest was convicted in 2002 of molesting a child, awareness of clerical sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church has been expanding nationwide.

Residents of Delaware County, one of five counties in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, were rudely awakened by the results of two Philadelphia grand jury investigations. The first grand jury report, spearheaded by former Philadelphia District Attorney Lynne Abraham, identified 63 priests who had allegedly abused children as far back as the late 1940s, at least 43 of whom had connections to Delaware County. It also revealed the church hierarchy’s disturbing practice of reassigning accused abusers to new, unsuspecting parishes where they could feasibly victimize more children. None of the suspected pedophile priests could be prosecuted because the Pennsylvania statute of limitations had expired.

In 2006 that statute was expanded and a second grand jury investigation, launched by Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams, resulted in the arrest of two priests, a defrocked priest and a Catholic school lay teacher. Also arrested was the Rev. Monsignor William Lynn for allegedly allowing suspected pedophiles to have continued access to children by not turning them over to civil authorities when he was secretary for clergy under former Philadelphia archbishop, the late Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua.

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VATICAN CITY
Independent Catholic News (United Kingdom)

The new Director of the Vatican’s Financial Information Authority (AIF), Rene Bruelhart, has spoken about moves by the Bank of Italy to block electronic cash and payment machines.

In an interview published by the Italian daily Corriere della sera and translated by the Vatican press office Mr Bruelhart said: “I’m surprised by the measures taken by the Bank of Italy blocking all the credit card services of Deutsche Bank in the Vatican.

“In July, the Holy See passed the third round evaluation of the Moneyval Committee of the Council of Europe with a ‘good’ report card, passing 9 of 16 ‘core and key’ recommendations. So the Vatican was not subject to any special measures for monitoring money laundering, neither by Moneyval nor by any other international body.

“We don’t have problems with other European countries. On the contrary, we have close collaboration. No other country in the world has adopted similar measures. I repeat, therefore, that I’m truly surprised.”

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AUSTRALIA
Eureka Street

Ray Cassin
January 13, 2013

An old adage has it that governments only agree to hold an inquiry when they know what it will find. Yet that has not always been true of royal commissions, and it is certainly not true of the royal commission into the sexual abuse of children in institutions, whose members and terms of reference the Gillard Government announced last week.

At this stage all that can be predicted with any confidence is that the task of Justice Peter McClelland and his fellow commissioners will be long and expensive, and that the evidence they will gather is likely to shame profoundly many of the institutions that come under their scrutiny.

That the commission will cost many millions of dollars and may need to continue well beyond the three years initially allotted for it can be seen as obstacles only by those who think that a desire for quick fixes outweighs the obligation to expose fundamental injustice and acknowledge longstanding grievances.

The nearest equivalent to this Australian inquiry is the Ryan commission in Ireland, which submitted its final report nearly ten years after it began hearings. If that is what it takes here, too, so be it.

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AUSTRALIA
The Advocate

By KYE WHITE
Jan. 14, 2013

BEYOND Abuse spokesman Steve Fisher believes the state government needs to set aside extra resources to deal with the “avalanche of allegations” that will arise out of the royal commission into child abuse.

“There’s a lot of institutions around Australia at the moment I think would be squirming, and that’s the way it should be,” he said.

“Police and departments like that are going to have to be prepared for what I would call an avalanche of allegations and so forth that are going to come forward.

“The state government is going to have to give them extra resources if they need it to start investigating.”

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AUSTRALIA
The Conversation

[terms of reference – Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse]

Judy Courtin

The terms of reference for the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sex Abuse, as announced by the prime minister on Friday, certainly seem to tick all the right boxes if survivors and victims are to receive justice. The very broad ranging terms of reference and powers of the commission, which is to be headed by the Justice Peter McLellan, are capable of capturing and addressing the reasons the commission was called.

While interviewing victims of abuse and their families for my research, I asked them what they would require to attain justice. One emphatic and universal response was that the truth be told. This “truth”, forcibly pushed into retreat and suppressed for so long, now has the opportunity to be welcomed and validated. This first element of acquiring justice is imperative.

Another requisite element for justice is accountability. This is not only for the original sex crimes but also the subsequent crimes of concealment by the hierarchy of the Catholic Church and other organisations which enabled perpetrators to roam free and sexually assault or rape thousands of children.

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RHODE ISLAND
Providence Journal

[statement from the diocese]

January 13, 2013

By Karen Lee Ziner

WARWICK, RI — Roman Catholic Diocese Auxiliary Bishop Robert C. Evans on Sunday announced the resignation of the Rev. Barry Meehan as pastor of St. Timothy Catholic Church in Warwick, following “credible” allegations of sexual abuse.

Evans said the diocese “immediately” reported the allegations, that date back more 25 years, to the R.I. State Police. A simultaneous investigation by the diocese found the allegation “of a credible nature.”

“This is a very difficult time for the victim of this alleged abuse and his family, for Father Meehan and his family and friends, and for you, the people of St. Timothy’s parish,” Evans said at Mass on Saturday and Sunday.

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RHODE ISLAND
ABC 6

By Chris Sheppard
csheppard@abc6.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/abc6

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Diocese of Providence has placed Father Barry Meehan, pastor of St. Timothy’s Parish in Warwick, on administrative leave after “credible allegations” of sexual misconduct surfaced. Meehan has resigned as pastor of St. Timothy’s in light of the allegations.

According to the diocese, the incident in question allegedly took place more than 25 years ago. When they received word of the alleged incident, the diocese immediately reported the information to Rhode Island State Police and launched an investigation of their own, which concluded the allegation was of a credible nature.

Meehan has denied any wrongdoing. …

The diocese urges anyone who has been a victim of sexual abuse or with credible knowledge of such abuse by any member of the Church to call Rhode Island State Police Major Crimes Unit at 401-444-1000 or the Diocesan Office of Education and Compliance at 401-941-0760.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
ABC News

By MARYCLAIRE DALE Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA January 13, 2013

The second trial to stem from a landmark investigation of priest sexual abuse in the Philadelphia Archdiocese is set to start Monday.

The accuser says he was abused by two Roman Catholic priests and his sixth-grade teacher in the late 1990s. One has pleaded guilty, while the others are fighting the charges at trial.

The young man’s credibility is expected to be the crux of the case.

A policeman’s son, he’s battled drugs and alcohol and been arrested for petty crimes.

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RHODE ISLAND
WPRI

Published : Sunday, 13 Jan 2013

By Neil Remiesiewicz

WARWICK, R.I. (WPRI) — A Catholic priest in Warwick has resigned as pastor of a church after allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced.

The Diocese of Providence has placed Father Barry Meehan, the pastor of St. Timothy’s in Warwick, on administrative leave after determining that the allegations regarding an incident occurring 25 years ago were credible. The allegations came to light recently and the Diocese reported them to the State Police.

Meehan has denied any wrongdoing.

Meehan was the pastor at St. Timothy’s since 2002 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1978, having served in several locations in Rhode Island since then.

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RHODE ISLAND
GoLocalProv

Sunday, January 13, 2013

GoLocalProv News Staff

The Catholic Diocese of Providence today announced that a Rhode Island Priest has been removed from his parish due to allegations of sexual crimes.

Diocese of Providence reported that Father Barry Meehan has resigned as pastor of St. Timothy’s Parish, Warwick and “placed on administrative leave as a result of a credible allegation of sexual misconduct that allegedly took place more than 25 years ago.”

Father Meehan has denied the allegations.

The Diocese says, “Upon recently receiving the allegation, The diocese immediately reported the information to The Rhode Island State Police. Simultaneously, Diocesan officials launched an investigation that concluded the allegation was of a credible nature.”

“This unfortunate news is very distressing, however, The Diocese of Providence takes very seriously and will act upon credible allegations of abuse,” said The Most Rev. Thomas J. Tobin, Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence. “This is a very difficult time for the victim of the alleged abuse and his family, for Fr. Meehan and his family and friends and for the people of St. Timothy’s Parish. I would like to offer my prayers and support to all who are affected by this news.”

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RHODE ISLAND
Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence

(PROVIDENCE, R.I.)- In accordance with The Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People and diocesan policy, the Diocese of Providence today announced that Father Barry Meehan has resigned as pastor of St. Timothy’s Parish, Warwick and placed on administrative leave as a result of a credible allegation of sexual misconduct that allegedly took place more than 25 years ago. Father Meehan has denied any improper activity.

Upon recently receiving the allegation, The diocese immediately reported the information to The Rhode Island State Police. Simultaneously, Diocesan officials launched an investigation that concluded the allegation was of a credible nature.

“This unfortunate news is very distressing, however, The Diocese of Providence takes very seriously and will act upon credible allegations of abuse,” said The Most Rev. Thomas J. Tobin, Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence. “This is a very difficult time for the victim of the alleged abuse and his family, for Fr. Meehan and his family and friends and for the people of St. Timothy’s Parish. I would like to offer my prayers and support to all who are affected by this news.”

Auxiliary Bishop Robert Evans shared this information with St. Timothy’s parishioners at Masses yesterday and today. Bishop Tobin has met with parish leaders and will make a visit to the parish in the near future to provide parishioners spiritual and pastoral support. The Bishop has appointed Rev. Francis O’Hara as a temporary administrator to care for the parish.

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RHODE ISLAND
Houston Chronicle

WARWICK, R.I. (AP) — Roman Catholic Church officials say a Rhode Island priest has resigned from his parish and has been placed on administrative leave because of a “credible” allegation of sexual misconduct from more than 25 years ago.

The Diocese of Providence announced Sunday that the Rev. Barry Meehan has resigned as pastor of St. Timothy’s Church in Warwick and that church officials have reported the allegation to state police. Details of the allegations weren’t released.

The diocese says Meehan has denied any improper activity.

Meehan couldn’t be reached for comment Sunday. A phone message for him was left at St. Timothy’s Church.

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VATICAN CITY
Seattle Times

The Associated Press

VATICAN CITY —
A senior Vatican official says he is “truly surprised” by the Bank of Italy’s decision to enforce the suspension of credit card payments in the tiny city-state and insists the Vatican has taken adequate measures to fight money laundering.

The Vatican has been cash-only since Jan. 1 after Italy’s central bank compelled Deutsche Bank Italia to stop providing electronic payment services. That has meant visitors to the Vatican Museums and the Vatican post office have had to pay cash for any transactions.

Bankitalia said it had no choice but to act because the Vatican has no banking regulatory framework or EU-recognized alternative for anti-money-laundering purposes.

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VATICAN CITY
Reuters

By Philip Pullella

VATICAN CITY, Jan 13 (Reuters) – The Vatican insisted on Sunday that it had taken adequate measures to combat money laundering and so could not understand why the Bank of Italy had blocked the use of credit and debit cards inside Vatican City.

The central bank stopped Deutsche Bank Italy from providing electronic payment services for the Vatican on Jan. 1 because the Holy See was seen as lacking anti-money-laundering controls and oversight, a move that left thousands of tourists visiting the Vatican museums and gift shops in the lurch, forcing them to use cash.

“I am truly surprised,” Rene Bruelhart, the head of the Vatican’s Financial Information Authority (FIA), told the Corriere della Sera newspaper in an interview Vatican Radio posted on its website.

Bruelhart, 40, said the Holy See had implemented EU-required controls and did not understand the action.

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UNITED KINGDOM
International Business Times

[full report – Giving Victims a Voice: Joint Report into Sexual Allegations Made Against Jimmy Savile]

By Dominic Gover

January 13, 2013

Pervert Jimmy Savile sexually abused vulnerable girls during sinister black masses, it has been claimed.

The BBC star dressed in black robes during the rituals which allegedly took place in the basement of Stoke Mandeville hospital, in 1975.

Five years later, the Jim’ll Fix It star supposedly took part in more satanic abuse at a plush London residence. A 21-year-old was reportedly forced to take part in an orgy in a room decked out with satanic symbols.

Disgraced Savile hid his face with a mask during the abuse, but was identified by the 12-year-old victim in the Stoke Mandeville case. She spotted his distinctive white hair sprouting from beneath the garments and recognised his voice.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Express

[full report – Giving Victims a Voice: Joint Report into Sexual Allegations Made Against Jimmy Savile]

Sunday January 13, 2013

By James Fielding

JIMMY SAVILE beat and raped a 12-year-old girl during a secret satanic ritual in a hospital.

The perverted star wore a hooded robe and mask as he abused the terrified victim in a candle-lit basement.

He also chanted “Hail Satan” in Latin as other paedophile devil worshippers joined in and assaulted the girl at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Buckinghamshire. The attack, which happened in 1975, shines a sinister new light on the former DJ’s 54-year reign of terror.

Savile, who died aged 84 in October 2011, is now Britain’s worst sex offender after police revealed he preyed on at least 450 victims aged eight to 47.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Insider

As the Vatican Judicial Year begins Cardinal Bertone condemns “self-promotion”. “The Vatican is continues to integrate itself further into international legislation”

GIACOMO GALEAZZI
Vatican City

The machine of justice is hard at work in the Holy See to dispel all doubts surrounding the Vatileaks scandal. “Justice needs to be done with humility and truthfulness,” said the Vatican Secretary of State, Tarcisio Bertone, during the opening of the Judicial Year, celebrated in the Vatican City. Present at the inaugural ceremony were a number of figures who played key roles in last autumn’s trials against the Pope’s former butler, Paolo Gabriele and Vatican IT technician, Claudio Sciarpelletti (both of whom were recently pardoned by the Pope): President Giuseppe dalla Torre, associate judges Marano and Pellettier, investigating judge Piero Antonio Bonnet and lawyers Cristina Arrù (who defended Paolo Gabriele) and Gianluca Benedetti (Sciarpelletti’s lawyer).

During the ceremony, the Secretary of State, Tarcisio Bertone, urged faithful to “desist from self-promotion”. He criticised people’s desire to “show off” and suggested faithful should deflate their ego and allow their love for Jesus to grow in them and in others.

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AUSTRALIA
The Courier-Mail

Daryl Passmore
From:The Courier-Mail
January 14, 2013

A PHONE link-up today marks the start of the historic national inquiry into child sex abuse – and a personal triumph for one determined woman.

As the six royal commissioners appointed by Prime Minister Julia Gillard begin planning how they will conduct one of the most wide-ranging investigations ever, Hetty Johnston – founder of Queensland-based child protection group Bravehearts – will allow herself a brief period of satisfaction and celebration.

“I’m so excited. I feel like a giggly little girl,” said the 53-year-old, who has waged a 16-year battle to give survivors a voice – and persuade the rest of the country to listen.

“I feel vindicated. Sixteen years slogging away, beating the drum, being ignored … it’s amazing. I can see light at the end of the tunnel. I can see we will actually achieve what we set out to achieve when my husband (Ian) and I started this whole campaign.”

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

Rick Morton
From:The Australian
January 14, 2013

THE royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse will be “the most expensive in the history of royal commissions”, according to a key member of the Australian Law Reform Commission’s review into minimising costs of public inquiries in Australia.

Scott Prasser, the executive director of the Australian Catholic University’s Public Policy Institute and member of the ALRC reference committee during its 2009 review of inquiry expenses, said the abuse commission would cost “at least $100 million”.

“The most expensive royal commission to date was the Howard government inquiry into the building and construction industry, which ran for 18 months from 2001 and cost $60 million then,” he told The Australian.

“It had a much narrower scope compared to the current commission, which has six commissioners and is scheduled to run for three years. It’s going to cost the community a lot of money.”

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DEUTSCHLAND
Deutschlandradio

Opferverband äußert Zweifel am Aufarbeitungswillen

Matthias Katsch im Gespräch mit Philipp Gessler

Nach Beendigung der Zusammenarbeit zwischen der katholischen Kirche und dem Kriminologen Christian Pfeiffer fühlen sich viele, wie auch Matthias Katsch vom Opferverband “Eckiger Tisch”, bestätigt: Der katholischen Kirche liege wenig an einer Aufarbeitung im Missbrauchsskandals.

Philipp Gessler: Da können einem doch Zweifel kommen: In der nun zu Ende gehenden Woche standen die katholischen Bischöfe Deutschlands mal wieder in einem sehr unschönen Licht der Öffentlichkeit. Mit einem Paukenschlag sind sie aus ihrem Vertrag mit dem Kriminologen Christian Pfeiffer ausgestiegen. Der Hannoveraner Wissenschaftler sollte seit 2010 im Auftrag der Kirche mit seinen Fachleuten und mithilfe der Personalakten aus allen 27 deutschen Bistümern die Missbrauchsfälle in der katholischen Kirche erforschen. Darunter auch Fälle, die Jahrzehnte zurückliegen. Doch die riesige Studie kam nie voran. Pfeiffer wirft der Kirche nun vor, sie habe ihn zensieren wollen.

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MILWAUKEE (WI)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The headline on a story Saturday about the Milwaukee Catholic Archdiocese’s bankruptcy case overstated the effect of a judge’s opinion. Bankruptcy Judge Susan V. Kelley did not state that the archdiocese cemetery trust fund was part of the bankruptcy estate, as the headline said, but only that the fund was not protected by the First Amendment or the 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Kelley’s opinion addressed only the religious freedom questions; numerous others remain.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Skydaddy’s Blog

Es fällt auf, dass Bischof Ackermann am 13. Juli 2011 mit der Präsentation zweier Forschungskonzepte (darunter die offenbar vorschnell unterzeichnete Pfeiffer-Studie) Aufklärungswillen demonstrierte, zwei Tage bevor in Salzgitter ein pädophiler Priester verhaftet wurde, der bereits im Juni gegen ein Kontaktverbot verstoßen hatte und kurz darauf angezeigt worden war.

In der Öffentlichkeitsarbeit ist das richtige Timing von großer Bedeutung. Rein professionell gesehen leistete Jo Moore exzellente Arbeit, als sie am 11. September 2001, nachdem die beiden Flugzeuge ins World Trade Center geflogen waren – aber noch bevor die Türme zusammenstürzten – eine E-Mail an ihre Presseabteilung schickte mit den Worten:

“Jetzt ist ein guter Tag, alles zu veröffentlichen, was wir begraben wollen.”

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DEUTSCHLAND
Regensburg-Digital

[Google translate]

Das geplatzte Forschungsprojekt zum sexuellen Missbrauch innerhalb der katholischen Kirche ist für einige Opfer kein Grund zur Trauer. Beim „Unabhängigen Archiv ehemaliger Regensburger Domspatzen“ hat man vom Anfang an an dessen Sinn gezweifelt. Nun wollen die dort zusammengeschlossenen Missbrauchsopfer dem Kriminologen Dr. Christian Pfeiffer ihre Zahlen zur Verfügung stellen. Die Deutsche Bischofskonferenz hat unterdessen angekündigt, Pfeiffer zu verklagen. Der sieht einer solchen Auseinandersetzung „mit Freuden“ entgegen.

„Ich habe lauthals gelacht“, beschreibt Michael Sieber seine Reaktion auf das geplatzte Forschungsprojekt zur Aufklärung sexuellen Missbrauchs innerhalb der katholischen Kirche. Wie berichtet, hat die Deutsche Bischofskonferenz am Mittwoch den 2011 vereinbarten Forschungsauftrag mit dem „Kriminologischen Forschungsinstitut Niedersachsen“ gekündigt. Begründung: Das Vertrauensverhältnis zu Institutsleiter Dr. Christian Pfeiffer sei „zerrüttet“. Der spricht im Gegenzug von Zensur- und Kontrollwünschen der Bischofskonferenz, die insbesondere aus den Diözesen München und Regensburg gekommen seien. Nun droht ihm die Bischofskonferenz mit juristischen Schritten. Dazu später mehr.

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TEXAS
credarcreeklake.com

by David Webb

David Webb is a veteran journalist who has written for the mainstream and alternative media for three decades. He is now a freelancer who lives in the Cedar Creek Lake area. He is the editor of cedarcreeklake.com. E-mail story ideas to davidwaynewebb@yahoo.com.

CORSICANA — Joey Dauben, former blog publisher of the Ellis County Observer who maintained a home office on Cedar Creek Lake and covered some local municipal issues, was convicted of child sexual assault Friday, Nov. 12.

A Navarro County jury in Judge James Lagomarsino’s 13th District Court took only two hours to convict Dauben of one count of indecency with a child and three counts of child sexual assault. The molestation occurred at a church camping trip Sept. 30, 2007 at Navarro Mills Reservoir Park at a Feast of Tabernacles celebration sponsored by the now-defunct Olive Tree Ministries Church of Waxahachie.

The 14-year-old male teenager who was assaulted did not make an outcry about the assault until the summer of 2008. His mother, who is divorced from the father of the youth who is now 20, did not start contacting law enforcement authorities until about January of 2009 because she thought his father had filed a complaint with the FBI.

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INDIA
Times of India

V Narayan, TNN Jan 11, 2013

MUMBAI: A middle-aged man who agreed to watch a ‘dirty’ MMS clip on his friend’s phone got the shock of his life when he saw it was a recording of the molestation and sexual abuse of his 13-year-old daughter. After confirming the incident with her, he and his neighbours caught the perpetrator, a 70-year-old dargah priest, thrashed him and handed him over to the local police.

Niyad Ahmed Hasan Ansari , sadar of a dargah in Govandi , was arrested on Thursday and his phone, which he used to make the MMS, was seized. As the news spread, two more minor girls and their parents came forward against Ansari and were made witnesses in the case.

“The two minor girls, too, are his victims. The accused had dismissed the teachers who used to come to the dargah to teach students Arabic. After sacking them, he started taking the classes and on this pretext, he sexually abused the minor girls,” said the police source

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UNITED STATES
BishopAccountability.org

Summary of Case: A Dominican priest, Liles was accused in a 1997 lawsuit of the sexual abuse of two boys, who were brothers, beginning when they were 11 and 12 years old in 1969 and ending in 1975. Liles’ modus operandi was said to have been to treat the boys to dinners, movies and miniature golf, and to ply them with alcohol. His accusers said they were also sexually abused by Dominican Brother Edmund Frost, who “tag-teamed” with Liles. Both Dominicans resided at the Minneapolis parish where the abuse is said to have taken place. Liles is deceased.

Ordained: 1969

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