ABUSE TRACKER

UNITED KINGDOM
The Observer

Catherine Deveney
The Observer, Saturday 6 April 2013

March 13, 2013. The world is waiting. Television screens show days-old footage of cardinals in red and white, processing past Vatican guards into the magnificence of the Sistine Chapel for the papal conclave. Every image, from the polished marble floors and gold ceilings to the priceless frescoes on the walls, tells a story of wealth, pageantry and power. Outside, in St Peter’s Square, the crowds are cheering for a man whose name they do not yet know. But there is another soundtrack. The day before, Pat McEwan, a 62-year-old from Scotland, had described to me how he was raped at the age of eight by a priest. His voice drowns out crowds and choirs. “I ran home shaking like a dog. I had wee short trousers on and the shite was running down my leg. My mum and my auntie had to wipe me down.”

The juxtaposition of those two images: the powerful institution that represents 1.2 billion Catholics and the abused child, tells the story of a church with two faces: one public and one private. Last month, the church was plunged into crisis when the Observer revealed that three priests and one ex-priest had complained to the Papal Nuncio about Cardinal Keith O’Brien, Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh. The cardinal, who publicly decried homosexuals as degenerate, had, they said, privately been making advances to his own priests for years. But the story was never about one man. It wasn’t about personal weakness. Keith O’Brien was merely a symptom of a wider sickness: an institution that chooses cover-up as its default position to conceal moral, sexual and financial scandal.

This was not paedophilia but it was an abuse of power – a man in authority acting inappropriately to young seminarians and priests under his control. It was made clear that a full sexual relationship had been involved. Yet there were attempts to cloud his behaviour in moral ambiguity. First, there was denial. The cardinal “contested” the allegations. A day after publication, he resigned. The next week, he issued a statement admitting his sexual conduct “as a priest, a bishop and a cardinal” had fallen short. Many ignored what that confirmed about the extent and duration of his behaviour: he was made cardinal in 2003.

Next, came obfuscation, with the church claiming it did not know the substance of the allegations, despite being given written notice before publication. Then, anger and the minimising of wrongdoing – the cardinal had been destroyed for mere “drunken fumblings” from 30 years ago. Why, he had probably been to confession and received absolution. But most revealing of all was the attempt to turn the spotlight on the complainants’ motivation, to blame the accusers rather than the accused. It has been a familiar pattern in Catholic abuse cases over the years.

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UNITED STATES
NBC News

Pope Francis ordered the Vatican this week to act “decisively” in protecting children from sexual abuse and punishing predator priests, but his brief statement contained few specifics on how to stem the crisis that has roiled the Catholic Church for a decade.

The new pontiff directed the Vatican office known as the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to “continue the line” on the anti-abuse policies set by his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI.

Observers say that to restore the church’s credibility and ensure the safety of children worldwide, Francis will have to back up his words with actions. Here they offer some recommendations:

Heads should roll
The pope should demote or discipline a few bishops who were found to have covered up misdeeds, said David Clohessy, executive director of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, noting that Bishop Robert Finn of Kansas City has held onto his diocese even though he was convicted of a misdemeanor for failing to report a pedophile priest.

Although others said the pope was just being polite, Clohessy was incensed that he greeted scandal-scarred Cardinal Bernard Law during the traditional visit to St. Mary Major the day after his election. “Actions speak louder than words,” he said.

Name names
“The church needs to be open about the names of offenders who have been found to be abusers,” said Kathleen McChesney, a former FBI official and ex-director of the Office of Child Protection at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. “If you’re a diocese and you know that these 10 clergy members abused children, you should put those on the website.”

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ARGENTINA
Irish Times

Hugh O’Shaughnessy
Sat, Apr 6, 2013

Deep divisions between the conservative Argentine province of the Jesuits, for long headed by Fr Jorge Mario Bergoglio, now Pope Francis, and other Jesuit provinces in the west, are detailed in report in today’s Tablet , the British Catholic weekly, by Fr Michael Campbell-Johnston SJ, a former provincial of the British Jesuits.

Fr Campbell-Johnston spent many years as a priest in San Salvador, the capital of El Salvador. The church there was persecuted by a western-supported military dictatorship – responsible for the murder of Archbishop Oscar Romero in 1980, six Jesuits, two US nuns and many other Christian leaders.

Jesuit provincial
He recounts how, during a visit to the order’s social institutes in Latin America in 1977, he met Fr Bergoglio. The Argentinian had been Jesuit provincial for Argentina for four years.

“At the time,” Fr Campbell- Johnston says, “there were an estimated 6,000 political prisoners in Argentina and another 20,000 desaparecidos , people who had been ‘disappeared’.”

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VATIKAN
Blick

Vatikanstadt – Papst Franziskus hat ein «entschlossenes» Vorgehen gegen sexuellen Missbrauch von Kindern durch Kirchendiener gefordert. Diese Forderung im Sinne seines Vorgängers Benedikt XVI. habe er dem Präfekten der Kongregation für die Glaubenslehre bei einem Treffen am Freitag übermittelt, teilte der Vatikan mit.

Es ist das erste Mal, dass sich der neue Pontifex direkt und öffentlich zu der jahrzehntelangen Missbrauchsserie mit zehntausenden Opfern äussert.

Bei dem Gespräch habe Franziskus gezielte Massnahmen zum Schutz von Minderjährigen und all jenen angemahnt, «die in der Vergangenheit unter derartigen Gewalttaten leiden mussten», hiess es weiter. Gegen die Schuldigen müssten entsprechende Schritte unternommen und «die dazu notwendigen Verordnungen von den Bischofskonferenzen formuliert und umgesetzt werden».

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VATIKAN
Spiegel

In einer der drängendsten Fragen seiner Amtszeit hat sich Papst Franziskus erstmals zu Wort gemeldet: Vom Präfekten der Glaubenskongregation forderte er, entschlossen gegen sexuellen Missbrauch in der Kirche vorzugehen.

Rom – Der Missbrauchsskandal und seine mangelnde Aufarbeitung haben die katholische Kirche schwer getroffen. Nun will sich Papst Franziskus des Problems annehmen: Er kündigte an, entschlossen gegen sexuellen Missbrauch vorgehen zu wollen. Einer Mitteilung des Vatikans zufolge forderte er bei einer Audienz vom Präfekten der vatikanischen Glaubenskongregation, Gerhard Ludwig Müller, bei derartigen Übergriffen konsequent zu handeln.

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DEUTSCHLAND
SR

Immer mehr Missbrauchsopfer melden sich im Zusammenhang mit der Aufarbeitung am Homburger Johanneum. Jetzt haben zwei weitere Betroffene schwere Vorwürfe erhoben. Mittlerweile geht es möglicherweise um acht Täter und rund 20 Geschädigte.

(04.04.2013) Der Missbrauchsskandal am früheren Internat des Homburger Johanneums weitet sich offenbar aus. Der Opferinitiative liegen Berichte von zwei weiteren ehemaligen Internatsschülern vor.

Sie schildern teilweise schwere sexuelle Übergriffe von zwei weiteren Ordensmitgliedern – einem Pater und einem Bruder. Unter dem Pseudonym Dirk Gauberich hat die Initiative einen Bericht ins Internet gestellt – eine Schilderung über schlimmsten sexuellen Missbrauch, über seelisches Leid, über Verdrängung, einen plötzlichen Zusammenbruch Jahrzehnte später und über eine Verarbeitung, die erst vor wenigen Jahren mit ärztlicher Hilfe möglich wurde. Insgesamt hat sich die Anzahl der mutmaßlichen Täter nach Angaben der Opferinitiative auf mindestens acht erhöht.

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DEUTSCHLAND
MissBiT

Aufgrund einer mir vorliegenden aktuellen Korrespondenz aus Südafrika mit sehr brisantem Inhalt über den Sexualstraftäter und Priester K., sowie Ihren Äußerungen, wäre es meines Erachtens äußerst sinnvoll, Priester K., der per internationalem Haftbefehl gesucht wird, zu einer umgehenden freiwilligen Rückkehr nach Deutschland zu bewegen.

Dies dürfte auch Ihr eigenes Interesse widerspiegeln – nicht ohne Grund.

Somit könnte man womöglich zumindest einer – vielleicht aber auch mehreren – Negativ-Schlagzeilen in der “causa K.” zuvorkommen.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Regensburg-Digital

Ausgerechnet Müller? Der ehemalige Bischof von Regensburg ist bekanntermaßen als Chef der Glaubenskongregation gen Rom gezogen. Am Freitagmorgen hat Papst Franziskus Herrn Müller nun seine erste Audienz gewährt und ihn aufgefordert, „mit Entschiedenheit“ gegen sexuellen Missbrauch zu handeln. Müller damit zu beauftragen, ist eine gute Entscheidung.

Es war Müller, der gesagt hat, dass es „keinen Missbrauchskomplex“ gebe, sondern nur „über Jahrzehnte verteilte Einzelfälle“.

Es war Müller, der selbst gegen die Leitlinien der Deutschen Bischofskonferenz verstoßen und einen Pädophilen in Riekofen erneut als Priester eingesetzt hat.

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VATICAN CITY
Miami Herald

The Associated Press

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis has appointed a Spaniard as secretary for the Vatican’s office for religious orders.

The appointment of the Rev. Jose Rodriguez Carballo , announced Saturday, is Francis’ first appointment to the curia, or Vatican administration.

The 60-year-old Carballo, who was also elevated to archbishop, replaces U.S. Archibishop Joseph Tobin, who was transferred from the high-ranking Vatican post to the Indianapolis archdiocese of fewer than 230,000 parishioners following his efforts to resolve tensions between the Vatican and U.S. nuns. Some theological conservatives had complained that the nuns had become too secular and political.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Insider

Pope Francis has begun his appointments to the Roman Curia with a surprise: Franciscan leader Fr Jose Rodriguez Carballo is the new Secretary of the Congregation for institutes of consecrated life

Gerard O’Connell
Rome

In his first significant appointment to the Roman Curia, Pope Francis has taken the highly unusual step of naming the actual head of a religious order, Father Jose Rodriguez Carballo, as Secretary of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Institutes of Consecrated life and the Societies of Apostolic Life (formerly known as ‘The Congregation for Religious’).

When the Pope chose him, the 59-year old Spanish priest was Minister General or head of the largest group of the Franciscan family – the Order of Friars Minor (OFM), which has some 15,000 friars in 113 countries. He was first elected to that post in 2003, and re-elected for another six-year term in 2009 as head of an order that is contracting in Western Europe and North America, holding steady in Latin America, and gaining vocations in Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe.

The Vatican broke the news of Father Carballo’s appointment on April 6, and said Pope Francis has raised him to the rank of archbishop.

Born in Lodoselo, Spain in 1953, Carballo did his early studies in schools run by the Franciscans in that country and, in 1973, was sent to do biblical studies in Jerusalem. After being ordained priest in Jerusalem in 1977, he gained degrees in Biblical Theology in the Holy City and a further degree in Sacred Scripture from Rome’s Biblical Institute. In the following years he held increasingly high posts of responsibility in the Franciscan order in Spain and, in 2003, was elected Master General of the worldwide order.

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ARGENTINA
National Catholic Reporter

by John L. Allen Jr. | Apr. 6, 2013

Buenos Aires, Argentina – When the Vatican released a statement yesterday indicating that Pope Francis wants to move aggressively on the child sexual abuse scandals in the church, it was met by skepticism from victims groups insisting that “actions speak louder than words.”

Over the years, perhaps the most persistent such demand for action has been that bishops who mishandle abuse cases should be held accountable. Yesterday, a senior aide and confidante to then-Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio predicted that Francis will plug this hole as pope.

“Without a doubt,” said Fr. Jorge Oesterheld, who served as the spokesperson for the bishops’ conference in Argentina for the six years Bergoglio was its president from 2005 to 2011.

In an interview with NCR, Oesterheld said Francis will be committed to a “zero tolerance” policy with regard to sexual abuse.

Oesterheld also addressed the failure of the bishop’s conference to meet a Vatican-imposed deadline of May 2012 for submitting anti-sex abuse guidelines, roughly six months after Bergoglio stepped down as president. He said that under Bergoglio’s leadership, the conference was “very respectful” of each bishop’s direct relationship with the Vatican, and the desire not to “supplant” that relationship may be part of the reason it took more time to hammer out common policies.

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OMAHA (NE)
1011

The Vatican says the Archdiocese of Omaha will handle the investigation of a local priest accused of sexual abuse in the 1970s.

Archbishop George Lucas, along with two attorneys from outside the archdiocese, will decide what happens to Rev. Franklin Dvorak. Deacon Timothy McNeil, chancellor of the archdiocese, says Lucas could render a decision by this summer.

Dvorak was accused last year of sexually abusing a female student from 1970 to 1972 when he was stationed at Sacred Heart Parish. It is now called Norfolk Catholic. He is on administrative leave as pastor of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish in Omaha.

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VATICAN CITY
John Thavis

There was Big News and little news out of the Vatican today.

The Big News grabbed the headlines: Pope Francis told the head of the Vatican’s doctrinal congregation that he should “act decisively” with regard to cases of sexual abuse by priests, “continuing along the lines set by Benedict XVI.”

This should be done “first of all by promoting measures for the protection of minors, as well as in offering assistance to those who have suffered abuse, carrying out due proceedings against the guilty, and in the commitment of bishops’ conferences to formulate and implement the necessary directives in this area that is so important for the Church’s witness and credibility.”

“The Holy Father assured that victims of abuse are present in a particular way in his prayers for those who are suffering.”

I’m not even sure what all this means. The first thing to note is that the information came in a statement by the doctrinal congregation after the papal audience. The second thing is its defense of the retired Pope Benedict and his handling of abuse cases.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Insider

The Pope received the Prefect for the Doctrine of the Faith, Müller, in an audience today: “Continue to act decisively with regard to cases of sexual abuse, along the lines set by Benedict XVI”

ANDREA TORNIELLI
Vatican City

The line taken by the Church with regards to sex abuse has not changed. Those who thought Benedict XVI’s resignation and Mgr. Charles Scicluna’s transferral to Malta before this, was a sign the Holy See intended to close a chapter of its recent history, will be disappointed. Yesterday Pope Francis received the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Archbishop Gerhard Ludwig Müller, in an audience, to discuss the various issues on the dicastery’s agenda.

The statement published in the late morning reads: “In particular, the Holy Father recommended that the Congregation, continuing along the lines set by Benedict XVI, act decisively with regard to cases of sexual abuse, first of all by promoting measures for the protection of minors, as well as in offering assistance to those who have suffered abuse, carrying out due proceedings against the guilty, and in the commitment of bishops’ conferences to formulate and implement the necessary directives in this area that is so important for the Church’s witness and credibility.”

The Church will not be taking any steps back or loosening up on this issue.Quite the opposite. Pope Francis wanted to emphasise that he intends to continue the work of his predecessor. Readers will recall that when Ratzinger was still a cardinal he played a key role when the breakthrough move was made in 2002 under John Paul II. That is, when the former Holy Office decided to deal with the abuse cases itself, taking the task out of the hands of the dioceses. He continued his protagonist role when he became Pope in 2005, introducing tighter rules and expressing his closeness to the victims. This line of action will not change under Pope Francis.

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CALIFORNIA
Record Searchlight

By Record Searchlight staff

Posted April 5, 2013

SACRAMENTO — A new trial date was set today in Sacramento County Superior Court for a suspended Redding priest charged with seven felony counts of child molestation, a spokeswoman for the Sacramento County district attorney’s office said.

The Rev. Uriel Ojeda, 33, who had been scheduled to begin standing trial next week, is now set to have his trial begin on June 25, the spokeswoman said.

The spokeswoman did not know the reason for the trial postponement. It’s at least the second time Ojeda’s trial date has been postponed.

Ojeda, who was arrested Nov. 30, 2011, is accused of seven counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a teenage girl over a two-year span — starting when she was 14 — in Sacramento and Shasta counties, according to the criminal complaint.

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ILLINOIS
Chicago Tribune

By Stacy St. Clair, David Heinzmann and Christy Gutowski, Chicago Tribune reporters
April 7, 2013

When Will County sheriff’s deputies found the Rev. William Virtue sneaking into a private quarry in 1986, police records state that the Roman Catholic priest had blankets, two six packs of beer and a 10-year-old boy with him. He fled on foot when officers arrived, leaving the child behind.

Authorities took Virtue into custody after he returned to his car but later released him without charges because the boy’s mother said she had given her son permission to go swimming with the priest. Still, a deputy forwarded the report to Joliet Diocese officials who put it into Virtue’s personnel file — which already contained several accusations involving inappropriate behavior with underage boys.

The arrest report would remain tucked away for 20 years as Virtue continued to have contact with youths, and even after a seemingly repentant Joliet Diocese pledged in 2002 to improve its handling of sex abuse cases and held up guidelines approved by American bishops as proof of its commitment to transparency and victims’ needs.

Virtue’s personnel file, which contains 500 pages of letters, memos and reports, reflects the struggles the church faced since its public vow to better protect children after a bruising, national sex abuse scandal. Records obtained by the Tribune reveal several instances in which the diocese’s handling of abuse allegations contradicted those promises, adding to concerns about the overall efficacy of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People that U.S. bishops signed amid fanfare.

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OMAHA (NE)
World-Herald

By Michael O’Connor
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

A sexual abuse allegation against a local Catholic priest will be resolved through an administrative disciplinary process, the Omaha Archdiocese said Friday.

The case involves the Rev. Franklin A. Dvorak of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church. Dvorak denies the allegation, said Deacon Timothy McNeil, the archdiocese’s chancellor.

The disciplinary process involves two canon lawyers from outside the archdiocese assisting Archbishop George Lucas in determining Dvorak’s innocence or guilt, McNeil said. Dvorak, 69, is accused of sexually abusing a teenage girl in the 1970s.

Dvorak could not be reached for comment.

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FLORIDA
Palm Beach Post

By Alexandra Seltzer
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

The state Department of Children and Families confirmed Friday that they have previously investigated a case involving the Palm Beach County teacher accused of giving out candy for sexual acts to former students.

DCF does not comment on past investigations.

Stephen Budd, 51, the man accused of sexual battery during the 2006-07 school year when he was a teacher at Rosarian Academy in West Palm Beach, has no criminal history in neither Florida, nor the Pennsylvania county he grew up in.

A DCF spokeswoman could only say that the previously investigated case involving Budd “was not recent.”

A Palm Beach County Sheriff’s spokeswoman did say that deputies investigated a complaint made my Budd in October 2006 when he accused his ex-wife of child abuse. Budd reported to deputies that she choked their youngest daughter, who was 16 at the time. No arrests were made in that case.

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FLORIDA
Roman Catholic Diocese of Palm Beach

Date:April 5, 2013

In response to the reported allegations of sexual abuse made by two students against a former teacher, the Diocese of Palm Beach is issuing the following statement:
“The Diocese of Palm Beach is greatly concerned and takes very seriously the recently reported allegations of sexual abuse made by two students against Stephen Budd.

Stephen Budd was a volunteer at St. Luke Catholic Church in Palm Springs in the late 1990s and was employed from 1996 to 2002 as a teacher at the diocese’s school, St. Francis of Assisi in Riviera Beach. That school closed in 2005. Mr. Budd left St. Francis when he gained employment at Rosarian Academy in West Palm Beach in 2002. Rosarian Academy is a private school that is not sponsored by the Diocese of Palm Beach or under the jurisdiction of its Office of Catholic Schools.

At the request of Rosarian Academy, the diocese has sent a Crisis Management Response Team consisting of counselors and psychologists to provide any needed assistance to the students, parents, and staff at Rosarian Academy.

The Diocese of Palm Beach will fully cooperate with legal authorities in their investigation of this matter and will notify the parish communities of St. Luke and St. Francis of Assisi of these reported allegations.

The diocese encourages any victims of abuse to contact the local police department. In addition, the diocese offers counseling to victims of abuse at any diocesan school or parish and asks any victims to contact the following telephone number 561-801-0999.

Our prayers are with the students and the families involved.”

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FLORIDA
WBZT

It’s unthinkable, but authorities say it’s exactly what happened. 51 year old Stephen Budd, currently an ESE specialist at South Tech Academy in Boynton Beach was arrested this week, charged with having sexual contact with little girls.

So far, two girls have come forward with allegations that their teacher at the Rosarian Academy several years ago offered them what he called “Budd Bucks”, which was basically candy, in exchange for performing sex acts.

The two alleged victims are now 14 and 15 years old and the crimes Budd’s accused of happened in 2006 and 2007. The man left the West Palm Beach catholic school in 2007 and went to work for the South Tech Academy, a charter school, which has placed him on administrative leave pending the outcome of this case.

One of the girls says she went to police after Budd tried to contact her via social media.

Cops are convinced that there are more victims, and want girls to feel comfortable coming forward.

Meanwhile, the Rosarian Academy is working with police.

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FLORIDA
Daily News

By Aleese Kopf
Daily News Staff Writer

Parents of Rosarian Academy students expressed shock and disbelief Friday over allegations that a former fourth-grade teacher had sexually abused two girls.

The teacher, Stephen J. Budd, 51, of West Palm Beach, remains in the Palm Beach County Jail. He was arrested after the girls told West Palm Beach police that during the 2006-07 school year, starting when they were 9 years old, that Budd had rewarded them in exchange for sex acts.

“I’m shocked because that’s not the person that I knew,” said Steve Suglia, parent of a former Rosarian student. “It makes me sick to my stomach. My daughter came home from school and was almost in tears because it was all over social media.”

Suglia said his daughter attended Rosarian from kindergarten through fifth grade, and was in Budd’s homeroom class. He said he knew Budd to be an “excellent” teacher who helped his daughter improve her grades in English.

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FLORIDA
WPTV

By: BRIAN ENTIN, News Channel 5

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The public relations firm representing Rosarian Academy said Friday that counselors were on the campus and that the principal was meeting with parents.

Those events were taking place after former teacher Stephen Budd was arrested Thursday. Police say he sexually assaulted two of his former students. Budd was a fourth grade teacher. Police say the incidents happened during the 2006-2007 school year.

The Florida Department of Children and Families is also investigating.

“Our main concern is the children involved and providing them the services they need,” DCF’s Southeast Regional Managing Director Dennis Miles said.

According to police reports, the girls were nine-years-old at the time of the abuse.

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FLORIDA
WPBF

Police: More victims of teacher accused of sex acts could be out there

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. —Police are urging potential additional victims to come forward and a local school has released a statement after one of its former teachers, Stephen Budd, was accused of giving young girls candy in exchange for sex.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation needs your help in identifying these six men who are wanted for crimes ranging from sexually abusing children to distributing child pornography on the Internet.
More

Budd, 51, was arrested Wednesday after detectives set up a sting in which they recorded phone calls, Facebook messages and text messages between Budd and two girls he’s accused of having sex with during the 2006-2007 school year when they were 9 years old.

The alleged sex acts happened while Budd was a teacher at Rosarian Academy, which released the following statement Friday:

“Rosarian Academy’s leadership was shocked and distressed to learn Wednesday of disturbing allegations against a former teacher at the school by two of our alums. We are cooperating fully with local law enforcement in the investigation so that the facts associated with this alleged incident dating back to the 2006-2007 school year are brought to light as quickly and comprehensively as possible.

“Nothing is more important to us at Rosarian Academy than the safety and well-being of our students. Nurturing their healthy growth and intellectual and spiritual development has been at the core of the school’s mission since 1925. We have in place procedures and protocols for interviewing prospective faculty and checking their background and references. As more information comes to light, we will continue to keep the Rosarian family and our community fully informed about this serious matter. Our prayers are with the families involved.”

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UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter

by Joshua J. McElwee | Apr. 5, 2013

A U.S. group that advocates for survivors of clergy sex abuse has sharply criticized reports that Pope Francis told the Vatican’s chief doctrinal enforcer to act “decisively” on the matter.

The pope, the National Survivors Advocates Coalition said in a release Friday afternoon, “doesn’t need to call for action in the Roman Catholic Church regarding the sexual abuse crisis. He can take action.”

“We hope today’s news regarding his meeting with the head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith is a first foray into this issue and not an exit and closed book strategy,” the group continued.

“If this is all Pope Francis is planning on doing, it is crushingly disappointing.”

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OMAHA (NE)
Star-Herald

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Vatican says the Archdiocese of Omaha will handle the investigation of a local priest accused of sexual abuse in the 1970s.

Archbishop George Lucas, along with two attorneys from outside the archdiocese, will decide what happens to Rev. Franklin Dvorak. Deacon Timothy McNeil, chancellor of the archdiocese, says Lucas could render a decision by this summer.

Dvorak was accused last year of sexually abusing a female student from 1970 to 1972 when he was stationed at Sacred Heart Parish. It is now called Norfolk Catholic. He is on administrative leave as pastor of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish in Omaha.

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VATICAN CITY
Washington Post

By Alessandro Speciale And David Gibson| Religion News Service,

Updated: Friday, April 5

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis has won widespread acclaim thus far in his nascent papacy with popular gestures like washing the feet of juveniles during Holy Week and refusing many papal perks. But now comes the hard part of his new job: reforming the Vatican.

The Roman Curia, as the central administration of the Catholic Church is known, has been riven by scandals and allegations of infighting and careerism, which helped undermine Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s reign and reportedly pushed him to resign..

The dysfunction was so bad that reforming the Curia became a rallying cry for many cardinals at the conclave that elected Francis. But will he deliver on the promise of reform?

Much will depend on who Francis will choose as his top aides, starting from the appointments of the new heads of key Vatican offices. So far, he has reconfirmed the Curia leadership, but he has made it clear that this is just a provisional measure while he makes up his mind about his next steps.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Worthing Herald

TWO Sussex men have been convicted today (Friday, April 5) of sexual offences against boys between 23 and 26 years ago.

Keith Wilkie Denford, 78, a priest, of Broad Reach Mews, Shoreham, West Sussex, and Michael Mytton, 69, of South Road, East Chiltington, East Sussex, known locally as Mark, were convicted at Hove Crown Court after a three-week trial.

The case was adjourned for sentencing on Thursday, May 2, and the defendants remain on bail meanwhile.

Denford was convicted of two indecent assaults on a boy then under 16, in or near Shoreham, and one indecent assault on another boy, also aged under 16 and also in or near Shoreham, on dates between June, 1987, and January, 1990.

He was found not guilty of a third charge of indecent assault against the first boy.

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AUSTRALIA
Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse

A transcript of the first sitting is available below.

Where appropriate, hearing transcripts will be available to the public throughout the hearings process.

•3 April 2013 – Hearing transcript [DOC 507KB]
•3 April 2013 – Hearing transcript [PDF 345KB]

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ST. LOUIS (MO)
Berger’s Beat

. .Pressure from abuse victims and a federal judge is prompting Milwaukee Catholic officials to release a deposition of Cardinal Timothy Dolan this summer. Dolan, a St. Louis native, was questioned for three hours about how he dealt with clergy sex abuse and cover up cases in Milwaukee before being promoted to head the NYC archdiocese.

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CALIFORNIA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by Barbara Dorris on April 05, 2013

We hope that this trial gets under way soon. Those victimized by Fr. Uriel Ojeda deserve to have a chance at justice.

We are concerned, however, that Fr. Ojeda remains free on bail as his case gets dangerously close to proceeding. At least three Sacramento predator priests – Fr. Gerardo Beltran, Fr. Jose Luis Urbina and Fr. Francisco Javier Garcia – are believed to have fled California after sexually assaulting kids. Given his youth, we fear that Fr. Ojeda also represents a flight risk.

We hope that the judge will begin this trial immediately and that steps are taken to ensure Fr. Ojeda does not flee like other Sacramento predators.

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NEW YORK/MASSACHUSETTS
Patch

By Michael Woyton

A former Westchester County priest—already charged with five counts of child rape—was arrested on a second charge of child rape in Massaschusetts.

Rev. Richard McCormick, 72, formerly of New Rochelle, was arraigned Friday in Salem (MA) Superior Court on an additional count of rape of a child based on the allegations of a second victim, according to spokeswoman Carrie Kimball Monahan of the Essex District Attorney’s Office.

McCormick was indicted March 7 after the second victim came forward in late 2012. The new indictment alleges he raped a 7- to 9-year-old child between the years 1981 to 1983 at the former Retreat Center of the Salesian Brothers in Ipswich, MA.

McCormick was arrested in New Rochelle in August 2012 and charged with five counts of raping a child in the 1980s.

He was released on the conditions that he reside at the Vianney Renewal Center in Missouri, report to the Superior Court Probation by telephone once a week and in person with every court appearance, attend all court appearances and not hace any unsupervised contact with minors. McCormick was also issued a bail warning, which means he can be held without bail or up to 60 days if he violates any of the conditions.

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VATICAN CITY
New York Daily News

By Corky Siemaszko / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Friday, April 5, 2013

Pope Francis gave the Roman Catholic Church some marching orders Friday — “act decisively” to root out and punish pedophile priests.

Doing so is necessary “for the church and its credibility,” Francis said, according to the Vatican.

It was the first time Francis publically addressed the festering sex abuse issue since he was elected last month — and he did so in a meeting with Archbishop Gerhard Müller, who heads the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which investigates perv priests.

The department should also promote “measures to protect minors, help for those who have suffered such violence in the past,” the pope’s statement said.

But advocates for victims of sexual abuse by priests were not impressed.

“Once again, as have happened hundreds of times already, a top Catholic official says he’s asking another top Catholic official to take action about pedophile priests and complicit bishops,” said Barbara Dorris of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), a U.S.-based organization. “Big deal. Actions speak louder than words.”

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UNITED KINGDOM
Darlington & Stockton Times

By Joe Willis, Regional Chief Reporter

SUSPENDED priest Father Michael Higginbottom may never return to his parish – despite not being charged with any crime, an expert on Catholic Church sexual abuse allegations claimed last night.

Parishioners from St Augustine’s Church, in Darlington, where Fr Higginbottom was priest from 1998 until his suspension in 2004, are also not hopeful of his swift return.

A Northern Echo investigation has revealed that Fr Higginbottom, who has been suspended for nine years, was questioned – but not charged – by police after being accused of molesting a 12-year-old boy.

The former pupil who was taught by the priest at St Joseph’s College, near Wigan, received a £35,000 pay-off from the Catholic Church – which did not accept liability – before the case could go to court.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Daily Mail

Former Church of England priest and retired organist face jail for sexually abusing boys as young as 10

By Olivia Williams

A former Church of England priest and a retired organist were found guilty today of a string of child sex abuse offences.

Father Keith Wilkie Denford, 78, and Michael Mytton, 69, abused their access to young boys while they worked together at St John the Evangelist Church in Burgess Hill, West Sussex.

Hove Crown Court heard how on one occasion Denham had given one of the boys alcohol and then got into a bath with him while aroused. Denham had invited the boy to stay over after he acted as a waiter for a dinner party at his house.

On the same evening he pressed himself up against the other boy intimately in bed while saying: ‘How nice it is to have a cuddle.’

Prosecutors said Denford from Shoreham-by-Sea groomed two 13-year-old boys over 18 months between 1987 and 1990.

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VATICAN CITY
YouTube – Rome Reports

Published on Apr 5, 2013

http://en.romereports.com On Friday, Pope Francis met with the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Gerhard Ludwig Muller. Soon after the Vatican issued a press release explaining that the Pope had asked the Congregation to continue the work that started under Benedict XVI in the fight against sexual abuse.

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VATICAN CITY
U.S. Catholic

By Carol Glatz
Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis reaffirmed the importance of responding decisively to the problem of the sexual abuse of minors by members of the clergy and called on the Vatican office dealing with suspected cases to continue carrying out its mandate.

During an April 5 meeting with Archbishop Gerhard L. Muller, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the pope discussed the office’s various responsibilities.

However, he made a particular point of highlighting its work to counter clerical sexual abuse, telling Archbishop Muller he wanted the congregation “to act decisively concerning cases of sexual abuse,” the Vatican said in a written statement released after the meeting.

The pope, the statement said, asked the congregation to continue: “promoting measures that protect minors, above all; help for those who have suffered such violence in the past; necessary procedures against those found guilty; (and) the commitment of bishops’ conferences in formulating and implementing the necessary directives in this is area that is so important for the church’s witness and credibility.”

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VATICAN CITY
Reuters

By Philip Pullella

VATICAN CITY | Fri Apr 5, 2013

(Reuters) – Pope Francis wants the Catholic Church to “act decisively” to root out sexual abuse of children by priests and ensure the perpetrators are punished, the Vatican said on Friday.

Francis, in a meeting with the Holy See’s doctrinal chief, Archbishop Gerhard Mueller, had declared that combating sexual abuse was important “for the Church and its credibility”, a statement said.

Francis inherited a Church mired in problems and a major scandal over priestly abuse of children. It was believed to be the first time he had taken up the issue of sex abuse with a senior member of his staff since his election on March 13. …

A victims’ group, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) said the statement did not go far enough and criticized it for saying that the Church’s stance against sexual abuse was “a continuation” of the line wanted by Francis’ predecessor, Pope Benedict.

“Action, not discussion, is needed,” SNAP said in a statement.

“We can’t confuse words with actions. When we do, we hurt kids. We must insist on new tangible action that helps vulnerable children protect their bodies, not old vague pledges that help a widely-discredited institution protect its reputation,” it said.

SNAP and other victims groups say there is much still to be discovered about how the Church behaved in the past and want more bishops who were aware of abuse to be held responsible.

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VATICAN CITY
NPR

by Eyder Peralta

April 05, 2013

Pope Francis told his staff to take “decisive action” when it comes to cases of clerical sex abuse of minors.

In a statement, the Vatican said the pontiff ordered the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to “act decisively as far as cases of sexual abuse are concerned, promoting, above all, measures to protect minors, help for those who have suffered such violence in the past (and) the necessary procedures against those who are guilty.”

The BBC reports this was the new pope’s first public statement on the issue, which has plagued the church for years.

The BBC reports:
“When first elected, Benedict XVI promised to rid his Church of the ‘filth’ of clerical sex abuse, but critics accused him of covering up abuse in the past and failing to protect children from paedophile priests.

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VATICAN CITY
RTE News

Pope Francis wants the Catholic Church to “act decisively” to root out sexual abuse of children by priests and ensure the perpetrators are punished.

The Pope, in a meeting with the Holy See’s doctrinal chief, Archbishop Gerhard Muller, declared that combating sexual abuse was important “for the Church and its credibility”.

Pope Francis has inherited a Church mired in problems and a major scandal over the clerical abuse of children.

It was believed to be the first time he had taken up the issue of sex abuse with a senior member of his staff since his election on 13 March.

Archbishop Muller is head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

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VATICAN CITY
Christian Science Monitor

By Nick Squires, Correspondent / April 5, 2013

Rome

Pope Francis called on the Catholic Church to take decisive action against sexually abusive priests, to bring offenders to justice, and to protect children, in his first remarks on an issue that dominated the papacy of his predecessor and is likely to loom large in his own reign.

But groups representing victims of clerical sex abuse dismissed his remarks as empty rhetoric and called into question whether he was really determined to tackle the scandals head on.

Pope Francis, who was elected just three weeks ago, discussed the sex abuse scandals – which have severely harmed the image of the Roman Catholic Church since the first revelations emerged in Boston in 2002 – during a meeting with Archbishop Gerhard Muller, the head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, a Vatican department which investigates cases of sexual abuse and decides if priests should be defrocked.

“The Holy Father in particular asked that the Congregation, continuing the line adopted by Benedict XVI, act decisively in cases of sexual abuse, promoting above all measures to protect minors, help for those who in the past suffered such violence and the necessary procedures against those who are guilty,” the Vatican said in a statement.

It was vital to combat the scourge of sexually abusive priests in order to restore the “credibility” of the church, the pope said.

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VATICAN CITY
Boston Globe

By Frances D’Emilio
Associated Press
April 05, 2013

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis directed the Vatican on Friday to act decisively on clergy sex abuse cases and take measures against pedophile priests, saying the Catholic Church’s ‘‘credibility’’ was on the line. The announcement was quickly dismissed by victims’ advocates as just more talk.

Clergy abuse victims have called for swift and bold action from Francis as soon as he was elected pope last month. Yet in his homeland, Roman Catholic activists had characterized him as being slow to act against such abuse in his years heading the Argentine church.

Friday’s development left victims’ advocates unimpressed.

‘‘Once again, has have happened hundreds of times already, a top Catholic official says he’s asking another top Catholic official to take action about pedophile priests and complicit bishops,’’ said Barbara Dorris, an official of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, a U.S.-based organization.

‘‘Big deal. Actions speak louder than words. And one of the first actions Pope Francis took was to visit perhaps the most high-profile corrupt prelate on the planet, Cardinal Bernard Law, who remains a powerful church official despite having been drummed out of Boston for hiding and enabling crimes by hundreds of child molesting clerics,’’ Dorris said in a statement.

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PENNSYLVANIA
York Dispatch

By CHRISTINA KAUFFMAN 505-5436 / @ydyorkcountyyorkdispatch.com
Updated: 04/05/2013

She looks pretty tough now, sporting big hoop earrings and a spiked, two-toned faux hawk.

But 20 years ago, Stephanie Fessler was a vulnerable 4-year-old girl told she was to blame for being sexually assaulted by a male congregation member at Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

She was 14 the second time it happened. This time, it came at the hands of a 50-year-old woman from the church. Fessler said she was given the same punishment as her abuser.

“I was publicly reproved (disgraced) at a church meeting,” Fessler said Thursday after speaking about the abuse in public for the first time. “Because she was a woman, I should’ve known better. It was against the church …”

The 24-year-old West York woman was one of a few sexual assault survivors to share their stories Thursday for the kickoff ceremony for Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

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UNITED KINGDOM
ITV

A retired West Sussex Church of England priest and a former organist and choirmaster have been found guilty of a string of child sex abuse offences dating back more than 25 years.

A judge said that Father Keith Wilkie Denford and Michael Mytton had committed “a grave and gross breach of trust”. Prosecutors said Denford, 78, used the respectability of the cassock to groom and abuse two boys over an 18-month period from when they were aged around 13.

Following Denford and Mytton’s convictions, the Bishop of Chichester Dr Warner said: “I note the verdict reached by the court today and we will now move swiftly to implement our own disciplinary procedures following this verdict in the case of Mr Denford.

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CALIFORNIA
Record Searchlight

A suspended Redding priest charged with seven felony counts of child molestation will be in Sacramento County Superior Court today for a trial readiness conference.

The Rev. Uriel Ojeda, 33, is scheduled to begin standing trial Tuesday.

Arrested Nov. 30, 2011, Ojeda is accused of seven counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a teenage girl over a two-year span — starting when she was 14 — in Sacramento and Shasta counties, according to the criminal complaint. The allegations came to light when the diocese received a complaint from a parishioner’s family.

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ARGENTINA
National Catholic Reporter

by John L. Allen Jr. | Apr. 5, 2013

Buenos Aires, Argentina —
I spent this week in Argentina in search of insight into Pope Francis from the people who know him best as Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the man who was their archbishop for fifteen years.

For sure, the first impression here is deep national pride. Locals say there’s probably never been a better-attended Holy Week in the history of Argentinian Catholicism than after Francis’ election.

A Via Crucis procession in Rosario, the country’s second city, usually draws 200,000 people, but this time it attracted 350,000; attendance at the cathedral in Buenos Aires was estimated to be two to three times greater than 2012. All across the country, church-goers reported standing-room-only crowds and long lines for confession.

The election of an Argentine pope seems to have had a soothing effect on the culture generally.

A talented young Argentinian journalist named Ines San Martin, my aide and translator this week, tells the following story.

She was on a bus in Buenos Aires when the driver and a passenger got into a shouting match, with the passenger demanding the driver’s license number and threatening to call the police. Just as things seemed on the brink of falling apart, an elderly woman stood up and said: “What are you fighting about? We’ve got an Argentinian pope!”

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UNITED KINGDOM
BBC News

A retired Church of England priest and a church organist have been found guilty of abusing teenage boys.

Father Keith Wilkie Denford, 78, from Shoreham-by-Sea, was found guilty at Hove Crown Court on three charges of indecently assaulting two boys.

Michael Mytton, 68, from East Chiltington, East Sussex, was found guilty on three charges. Both denied abusing the boys between 1987 and 1990.

The judge said the pair had committed “a grave breach of trust”.

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FLORIDA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by Barbara Dorris on April 05, 2013

A school teacher in Palm Beach has been arrested for abusing children as young as nine.

We are grateful to Palm Beach police for not only arresting Stephen Budd, but also for reaching out to families to find more victims. School officials at Rosarian Academy should follow this example and use all of their resources to find other victims and help them come forward.

We agree with the police that there are likely more victims, especially given that Budd worked around special education students. In the past, Budd has also worked at another catholic school (St. Francis of Assisi) where he also prepared students to receive sacraments. It is highly likely that Budd victimized children in those roles as well, and we urge church and school officials there to aggressively reach out to parents of both current and former students.

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VATICAN CITY
Telegraph (UK)

Pope Francis said the Catholic Church must “act decisively” against the scourge of paedophile priests, in his first public remarks on the scandal since being elected last month.

By Nick Squires, Rome
3:01PM BST 05 Apr 2013

Tackling the sexual abuse of children by clergymen was vital for restoring the “credibility” of the Church worldwide, Francis said.

He issued the declaration after holding a meeting with Archbishop Gerhard Muller, the head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican department which investigates cases of sexual abuse and decides if priests should be defrocked.

“The Holy Father in particular asked that the Congregation, continuing the line adopted by Benedict XVI, act decisively in cases of sexual abuse, promoting above all measures to protect minors, help for those who in the past suffered such violence and the necessary procedures against those who are guilty,” the Vatican said in a statement.

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FLORIDA
Daily News

By ALEESE KOPF and DAVID ROGERS
Daily News Staff Writers

A former Rosarian Academy teacher was arrested Thursday on numerous charges, including sexual battery on a child, West Palm Beach police officials said Thursday.

Stephen J. Budd, a fourth-grade teacher at Rosarian at the time of the alleged crimes, was charged with three counts of sexual battery on a child, two counts of sexual performance by a child, two counts of lewd or lascivious exhibition, and two counts of battery of a child.

Budd, 51, of West Palm Beach, was arrested and booked into the Palm Beach County Jail early Thursday morning. He is being held without bail.

“We fear there may be additional victims so the purpose of this today is to announce his arrest with the hopes that if there are additional victims, they will come forward,” said West Palm Beach Police Chief Vincent Demasi at a Thursday news conference.

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UNITED STATES
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by Barbara Dorris on April 05, 2013

Once again, as has happened hundreds of times already, a top Catholic official says he’s asking another top Catholic official to take action about pedophile priests and complicit bishops.

Big deal.

Actions speak louder than words. And one of the first actions Pope Francis took was to visit perhaps the most high profile corrupt prelate on the planet – Cardinal Bernard Law – who remains a powerful church official despite having been drummed out of Boston for hiding and enabling crimes by hundreds of child molesting clerics.

It’s tragic that Pope Francis is asking a top aide to stay on the irresponsible path charted by Pope Benedict. It’s tragic that a pope who’s shown a willingness to send signals that hint at change in several ways is not signaling that he wants no change in how the church deals with child sex crimes and cover ups.

Kids won’t be helped by a “continuation” of the tiny symbolic gestures taken by Pope Benedict. Kids will be helped by decisive changes. Thus far, Pope Francis hasn’t even discussed, much less adopted, even a single reform. In fact, by visiting Law, the pope has continued to ignore – and thus encourage – heinous wrongdoing.

Some will say “At least the new pope is discussing abuse within his first month as head of the church. Isn’t that progress?” It’s not. Catholic officials have long discussed abuse – privately for centuries and publicly for decades. Action, not discussion, is needed.

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UNITED STATES
National Survivor Advocates Coalition

Editorial

Australia

Down under, the hunt for truth is on.

The National Survivor Advocates Coalition (NSAC) salutes the courage of the survivors in Australia who would not rest until a vehicle was created for the truth.

That vehicle, the Australian parliament’s inquiry, backed by Prime Minister Julie Gillard and known as Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, has begun its work. More than 5,000 victims are expected to testify and the commission says the number could go higher.

5,000 – that’s a number that should be left to sink in upon the Church, the religious communities and the state institutions in which victims became victims.

Free basic legal advice will be available to victims, the commission has announced.

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VATICAN CITY
Bloomberg Businessweek

By Lorenzo Totaro and Chiara Vasarri on April 05, 2013

Pope Francis stressed the need for the Catholic Church to act in line with his predecessor Benedict XVI in fighting sexual abuses, according to a statement by the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith.

The statement was issued after a meeting between the pontiff and Archbishop Gerhard Ludwig Mueller, prefect of the congregation ruling on the Catholic doctrine.

“The Holy Father recommended in particular that the Congregation continue the line desired by Benedict XVI of decisive action regarding cases of sexual abuse primarily by promoting measures for child protection,” the statement said. The Pope also highlighted the need to help those who in the past have suffered such violence and that the perpetrators undergo “due process,” according to the statement.

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VATICAN CITY
NEWS.com.au

POPE Francis is urging Vatican disciplinarians to act “with determination” against sexual abuse committed by members of the Catholic clergy, in his first public pronouncement on the issue.

“The Holy Father in particular asked that the congregation … act with determination in cases of sexual abuse,” the Vatican said in a statement, referring to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which handles such cases, after the Pope met with its director.

The statement noted that the policy followed “the line established” by Francis’s predecessor, Benedict XVI.

The Argentine Pope, elected last month, asked for “stepped-up measures to protect minors and help those who were subjected to such violence in the past”.

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VATICAN CITY
CNN

By Livia Borghese and Laura Smith-Spark, CNN

updated 9:29 AM EDT, Fri April 5, 2013

Rome (CNN) — Pope Francis has told the Vatican to “act decisively” against sexual abuse and carry out “due proceedings against the guilty,” the Vatican announced Friday.

Francis last month took the helm of a Roman Catholic Church that has been rocked in recent years by allegations of priests sexually abusing minors.

Francis recommended that the Church’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith “act decisively with regard to cases of sexual abuse, first of all by promoting measures for the protection of minors, as well as in offering assistance to those who have suffered abuse, carrying out due proceedings against the guilty,” the Vatican said.

The statement does not specify who “the guilty” are.

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ILLINOIS
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by David Clohessy on April 04, 2013

A hospital now says that a controversial Catholic priest who had been a chaplain there is being removed. In an email yesterday, an official with Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield disclosed that Fr. Thomas Corbino has been ousted.

Corbino has been accused of inappropriate behavior with youngsters.

On Tuesday, holding signs and childhood photos at a sidewalk news conference, leaders of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, urged hospital officials to fire Corbino.

They also urged

–Joliet Catholic officials to aggressively seek out others who may have experienced inappropriate contact with the cleric, and

–urge anyone who may have seen, suspected, or suffered clergy sex crimes – by Corbino or any other current of former Joliet church official- report to the police immediately.

SNAP recently obtained documents that show concern about Corbino’s behavior while he was worked at St. Pius X church in Lombard, IL. (He left there last year.) The records include an email from a former altar boy addressed to Corbino that alleges sexual abuse, and a statement from an investigator relating to a Will County State’s Attorney Investigative Report into sex abuse allegations against Corbino.

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VATICAN CITY
USA Today

Cathy Lynn Grossman, USA TODAY
9:43a.m. EDT April 5, 2013

Pope Francis, in one of his first substantive actions since his election three weeks ago, signals that local bishops’ conferences should step up to discipline priests, serve victims

Pope Francis has called for strong, specific worldwide measures for the Catholic Church to act “with determination” against clergy sex abuse — the scandal that has rocked the church for more than a decade.

It is one of the first actions on a major issue in Francis’ weeks-old papacy, one marked chiefly by attention to his humble, cut-the-pageantry style.

After he met Friday with the head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, Bishop Gerhard Ludwig Mueller, the Vatican said in a statement: “The Holy Father recommended that the congregation continue the line sought by Benedict XVI, to act with determination in regard to cases of sexual abuse.”

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VATICAN CITY
BBC News

Pope Francis has called for “decisive action” in the fight against sex abuse of minors by priests.

He told Bishop Gerhard Mueller, head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith – the doctrinal watchdog that deals with sex abuse cases – to ensure perpetrators were punished.

It was the Argentine Pope’s first public statement on clerical sex abuse.

He was elected last month, replacing Pope Emeritus Benedict, who became the first pope in 600 years to resign.

When first elected, Benedict XVI promised to rid his Church of the “filth” of clerical sex abuse, but critics accused him of covering up abuse in the past and failing to protect children from paedophile priests.

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FLORIDA
WPTV

[with video]

Stephen Budd, former Rosarian Academy teacher arrested; accused of sexual activity with young girls

By: Tania Rogers

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – A former Rosarian Academy teacher is behind bars, accused of sexual activity with two young girls. The alleged incidents happened in the 2006 school year.

Investigators say Stephen Budd was arrested Wednesday night, accused of sexual activity with two young girls who are former students.

51 year old Stephen Budd appeared in court Thursday morning, accused of sexual assault. According to the West Palm Beach Police Chief, back in 2006, Budd allegedly had sexual encounters with two 4th graders. Budd reportedly would use “Budd Bucks” to reward the girls, as candy, in return for sexual acts.

One victim told police Budd recently tried to get in touch with her through Facebook. That’s when she told her parents, who contacted police.

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FLORIDA
WPTV

[with video]

By: Dan Corcoran

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The alleged crimes occurred inside Rosarian Academy, West Palm Beach police say, at the hands of 51-year old Stephen Budd. Parents who were close with Budd years ago are shocked.

“Yes, my daughter was in his class,” said ‘Steven’, who did not want to publicize his last name, in fear of identifying his daughter. “I got sick to my stomach because you never know now.” ‘Steven’ said his daughter was a fourth grade student of Stephen Budd at Rosarian Academy in 2006 and 2007.

West Palm Beach police say that is when the suspect would use what he called “Budd Bucks”, offering rewards of candy to at least two female students in exchange for sexual acts.

‘Steven’ says neither he nor his daughter knew anything about any alleged abuse. “She was shocked,” he said. “She was almost in tears because that’s not the teacher that she had.”

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FLORIDA
Palm Beach Post

By Alexandra Seltzer
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Just hours after a county judge denied bail for a Palm Beach County school teacher accused of sexually assaulting a former student, West Palm Beach’s police chief called on parents to come forward if their children claim they also were assaulted by the 51-year-old man.

Stephen Budd was arrested late Wednesday at his West Palm Beach apartment, not long after a former student of his at Rosarian Academy School, a private Catholic school in West Palm Beach, told police that during the 2006-07 school year, Budd would give them “Budd bucks,” which she explained was candy in return for sexual acts.

The girls were 9 years old at the time of alleged abuse. The former students shared an oath and didn’t want anyone to know about what happened, a city police spokesman said.

“We, based on our investigation, feel that he is a serial offender,” West Palm Beach Police Chief Vincent Demasi said Thursday at police headquarters. “We’re very confident that there are additional victims out there.”

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VATICAN CITY
Washington Post

Pope Francis says he will act “with determination” against sex abuse cases in church

By Associated Press

Updated: Friday, April 5

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis has indicated that he will act against sex abuse cases in the Roman Catholic Church.

The Vatican said in a statement Friday that the pope has urged the Congregation of the Doctrine of Faith to “act with determination with regard to cases of sexual abuse.” The statement cited measures promoted by Benedict XVI to protect minors, helping victims of sexual violence and taking necessary action against perpetrators..

U.S. victims of clergy abuse have demanded swift and bold actions from the new Jesuit pontiff.

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VATICAN CITY
Reuters

VATICAN CITY | Fri Apr 5, 2013

(Reuters) – Pope Francis wants the Catholic Church to “act decisively” to root out sexual abuse of children by priests and ensure that the perpetrators undergo due process, the Vatican said on Friday.

Officials said that Francis, in a meeting with Holy See doctrinal chief Archbishop Gerhard Muller, had declared that combating sexual abuse was important “for the Church and its credibility”.

Francis inherited a Church mired in problems and a major scandal over priestly abuse of children.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Information Service

Vatican City, 5 April 2013 (VIS) – This morning the Holy Father received in audience Archbishop Gerhard Ludwig Muller, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. A communique released by that dicastery reads that, during the course of the audience, various issues pertaining to the Congregation were discussed. In particular, the Holy Father recommended that the Congregation, continuing along the lines set by Benedict XVI, act decisively with regard to cases of sexual abuse, first of all by promoting measures for the protection of minors, as well as in offering assistance to those who have suffered abuse, carrying out due proceedings against the guilty, and in the commitment of bishops’ conferences to formulate and implement the necessary directives in this area that is so important for the Church’s witness and credibility. The Holy Father assured that victims of abuse are present in a particular way in his prayers for those who are suffering.

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MASSACHUSETTS
Berkshire Eagle

By Andrew Amelinckx, Berkshire Eagle Staff
berkshireeagle.com
Posted: 04/05/2013

BOSTON — A former Roman Catholic priest who was convicted of raping two altar boys in Berkshire County in the 1980s was denied a new trial by a Massachusetts Appeals Court this week.

Gary Mercure, 65, the former pastor at Our Lady of The Annunciation Parish in Queensbury, N.Y., was convicted in February 2011 in Berkshire Superior Court of three counts of rape of a child by force and one count of indecent assault and battery on a child under age 14. He is serving a 20- to 25-year prison sentence.

In the appeal, Mercure’s lawyer argued that the jury had been unduly prejudiced after being allowed to hear testimony concerning uncharged sex crimes involving the two victims and six others that allegedly occurred when they were altar boys in his parish in New York.

The statute of limitations prevented criminal charges being brought in that state.

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ILLINOIS
SaukValley.com

BY DAVID GIULIANI dgiuliani@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 525
Created: Friday, April 5, 2013

DIXON – Local law enforcement authorities still won’t say whether they are investigating a former Dixon priest who was removed from his parish.

Last month, church leaders removed the Rev. John Gow from St. Patrick Parish as the result of a law enforcement investigation into his computer use, according to a statement from Monsignor Eric Barr, vicar of the diocese of Rockford….

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UNITED STATES
Sound Cloud

Judy Jones, SNAP Midwest Associate Director, radio interview on FOX News 1460 AM/101 FM, Salinas, California regarding new pope, Pope Francis I. March 14, 2013.

( SNAP, The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the world’s oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. SNAP was founded in 1988 and has more than 12,000 members. Despite the word priest in our title, we have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, teachers, Protestant ministers and preachers, and, increasingly, victims who were assaulted in a wide range of institutional settings like orphanages, summer camps, athletic programs, Boy Scouts, etc. The SNAP web address is: www.snapnetwork.org )

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MILWAUKEE (WI)
WTMJ

By Jay Sorgi

CREATED Apr. 4, 2013

MILWAUKEE – A spokesman for the Milwaukee Archdiocese told Newsradio 620 WTMJ’s Gene Mueller the reasons why it released thousands of pages of records about sex abuse cases involving members of the clergy.

“This, the Archbishop thought, is a way to say ‘Let’s give the complete picture. Let’s open up these files and documents and let people judge for themselves,” said Milwaukee Archdiocese Chief of Staff Jerry Topczewski on Newsradio 620 WTMJ’s “Wisconsin’s Morning News.”

“People are wondering, ‘What else don’t we know?’ I think this will give people the assurance that this is it. These are the stories.”

He told Gene that the stories are upsetting, but that the church worked proactively to help heal victims.

“Who wouldn’t be upset when you learn of some innocent child being harmed by someone who should have had the trust of the child, the family, the parishioners in the pew?” said Topczewski.

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MILWAUKEE (WI)
Wiscosin Public Radio

By Chuck Quirmbach

Clergy abuse victims in Milwaukee say they want more documents from the Catholic Church than the church is promising to release.

The St. Stanislaus Catholic Church in downtown Milwaukee. The Milwaukee archdiocese plans to publicly release thousands of documents regarding child molestation this summer.

As part of the Catholic Church’s two-year-old bankruptcy case in Milwaukee, Archbishop Jerome Listecki says that on July 1, he will release thousands of pages of documents regarding clergy sex abuse

But the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP) says it also wants information about abuse committed by religious order clerics, deacons and Catholic school employees. SNAP Midwest Director Peter Isely says those other cases may represent at least half of all church-related molestations.

“And so when you talk about half a glass, that may be okay with some things, but it’s not acceptable when it comes to child molesters. The archbishop knows right now that there are 10 child molesters in this neighborhood. Why would he only tell you about five of them?”

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MILWAUKEE (WI)
58 News

by Matt Doyle

Milwaukee—“This is a historic day for child sexual abuse victims,” SNAP Midwest Director Peter Isely said.

The Milwaukee Archdiocese’s decision to release thousands of documents about sex abuse spells temporary relief for some.

“We are halfway to the goal,” Isely said.

It comes as the Archdiocese bankruptcy case continues. A spokesman said this will help move the bankruptcy case forward as well as help victims.

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OSTERREICH
ORF

Der Fall eines ehemaligen Paters des oberösterreichischen Stiftes Kremsmünster, der Zöglinge missbraucht haben soll, könnte nun – gut drei Jahre nach Bekanntwerden – bald vor Gericht landen.

Der Akt über die Missbrauchsvorwürfe gegen den ehemaligen Pater ist nach der Prüfung durch das Ministerium auf dem Weg zurück zur Staatsanwaltschaft Steyr. Opfer üben jedoch immer wieder Kritik an der Justiz, weil das Verfahren so lange dauert.

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MILWAUKEE (WI)
Neue Zurcher Zeitung

(ap) Das Erzbistum Milwaukee in den USA will nun doch die umfassenden Akten zu den Fällen von sexuellem Missbrauch durch Geistliche veröffentlichen. Bisher hatte sich das Bistum dagegen gesträubt. Die Ankündigung erfolgte am Mittwoch – einen Tag vor einer Anhörung vor einem Insolvenzgericht. Anfang Januar 2011 hatte die Erzdiözese bekanntgegeben, wegen Entschädigungszahlungen an Missbrauchsopfer zahlungsunfähig zu sein.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Lancashire Evening Post

Canon Stephen Shield, 53, who was dean at the Roman Catholic cathedral in St Peter’s Road, Lancaster, was arrested by police on March 23.

He was later charged with three sexual offences relating to one male and bailed to appear before Preston magistrates on Wednesday, April 17.

The offences are alleged to have been committed more than two decades ago when the alleged victim was aged between 17 and 24.

A Lancaster diocese spokesman this week confirmed that Canon Shield had withdrawn from the ministry pending the outcome of the court proceedings.

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AUSTRALIA
Western Advocate

THE Australian public should prepare to be shocked, disgusted and saddened by the revelations of a Royal Commission into the institutional sexual abuse of minors.

The commission got under way in Melbourne this week, but already dozens of victims have told their haunting tales of abuse during public hearings in regional Victoria.

In many cases this abuse took place decades ago but, as the sight of grown men and women breaking down while giving evidence shows, their pain is still very real.

We have already heard from victims who say the appalling sexual abuse inflicted on them as children changed their lives forever.

Many have grown into adults leading dysfunctional lives, suspicious of others and unable to love.

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AUSTRALIA
Western Advocate

VICTIMS of sexual abuse will have to wait for some time yet to learn if they will be able to give evidence in Bathurst as part of the new royal commission which started this week.

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse began hearings in Melbourne on Wednesday.

It will examine all institutions in a far-ranging inquiry that will last at least three years.

A spokesman for the Royal Commission said yesterday dates and venues for hearings had yet to be determined.

“Following its opening yesterday, the Royal Commission has now gone into a series of private sessions, which will help determine where and when hearings will be held,” he said.

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PENNSYLVANIA
PhillyBurbs

Posted: Friday, April 5, 2013

By Danielle Camilli Staff writer

MOUNT HOLLY — A Pemberton Township deacon pleaded not guilty to charges that he molested two girls at Calvary Baptist Church during separate alleged incidents over the last three years.

Joseph V. Pullen Jr., 59, of Whispering Pines Boulevard in Pemberton Township, entered the plea at his arraignment in Burlington County Superior Court on Monday. Earlier this year, a Burlington County grand jury indicted him on three counts of first-degree aggravated sexual assault and other related charges, said county First Assistant Prosecutor Raymond Milavsky.

Pullen was arrested last July after a girl and her family reported she had been sexually assaulted during a service at the Scrapetown Church where he served as a deacon, authorities said.

A second victim told police she was molested at Calvary Baptist back in 2010, according to court documents. Authorities also allege he sexually abused the same child in 2009 and 2011.

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MILWAUKEE (WI)
WISC

MILWAUKEE —Victims of sexual abuse by Catholic priests are praising the church’s decision to release thousands of pages of previously sealed documents, but they said it’s not enough.

Archbishop Jerome Listecki is trying to prepare people for what they may see in the records detailing cases of child sexual abuse.

The records also include sworn depositions by former Milwaukee Archbishop Rembert Weakland and New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan.

The promised release of documents marks a turning point in the long legal battle between abuse survivors and the Catholic Church.

“Let’s shed the light where it needs to be shed and let people understand what happened,” Milwaukee Archdiocese spokesman Jerry Topczewski said.

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UNITED STATES
The Indypendent

By
Nicholas Powers.

April 4, 2013
Issue #
185

It comes out of the dark. Memories like steam leave the person confused, ashamed and scared. Survivors of childhood sexual abuse won’t know for years what happened to their bodies. The hot hands of the pedophile are folded into the depths of forgetting until some jarring moment, some odd connection opens a passageway to daylight. When the pedophile’s face becomes visible in the mind, the next shock is that it’s someone they know.

And what if that face is supposed to be the face of God? It is a learned fear and respect for figures of authority that creates silent victims of abuse. Their mute suffering deepens to the degree that the sexual predator has social status, which is why for decades, pedophile priests were invisible: above them was the blinding light of God. It has only been in the past two decades that the mystique of the Catholic Church has been eroded enough for everyone to see the shifty shuffling of pedophiles from one parish to another by church leaders in Rome, including former Pope Benedict Ratzinger.

The Catholic Church, with its 1.2 billion followers, is the largest Christian denomination in the world. It’s a top-down hierarchy: standing at the summit is the Pope, an elderly man who is God’s representative on earth; next are the dioceses, which are led by a bishop; below them are the parishes, which are overseen by priests, deacons or lay ministers. Ornate Catholic churches can be seen in every country, sometimes nestled between tall modern skyscrapers, sometimes in the tangled foliage of the country. For hundreds of years, millions of people have gone through those doors in search of salvation and now we learn, many have emerged scarred with guilt and shame.

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ILLINOIS
Chicago Tribune

By Stacy St. Clair and Christy Gutowski, Chicago Tribune reporters
10:01 p.m. CDT, April 4, 2013

The Joliet Diocese acknowledges church officials allowed a Roman Catholic priest to serve as a hospital chaplain even though the bishop declared him unfit for parish ministry because of “inappropriate behavior” with a boy years earlier.

The Rev. Thomas Corbino was not charged with a crime, but Bishop R. Daniel Conlon placed him on “restricted ministry” in 2012 and barred him from having unsupervised interactions with children before he became a part-time volunteer chaplain at Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield, a diocese spokesman said.

The hospital fired Corbino on Tuesday after learning about the misconduct allegation against him, Central DuPage spokesman Christopher King said. The diocese had not mentioned the allegation when it recommended him for the volunteer post, King said.

“The information that we received on Tuesday was very concerning,” King said. “It was new to us, and we dismissed him that afternoon.”

Corbino could not be reached for comment.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Darlington & Stockton Times

Exclusive By Joe Willis, Regional Chief Reporter

THE Catholic Church has been criticised for failing to reinstate a popular parish priest who The Northern Echo can reveal was accused – but never charged – of child sexual abuse.

Parishioners continue to stand by Father Michael Higginbottom after he was suspended from St Augustine’s Roman Catholic Church, in Darlington, in December 2004.

An Echo investigation today reveals that the Catholic Church paid out £35,000 to a man who claimed he was sexually assaulted by Fr Higginbottom while the priest was teaching at St Joseph’s College, in Upholland, near Wigan, in the late 1970s.

The Northern Echo put the allegations to Fr Higginbottom, he denied knowing the nature of the claims and said he could not discuss the reasons for his suspension for “legal reasons”.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Littlehampton Gazette

A jury trying a retired Church of England priest from West Sussex and his former organist and choirmaster over alleged historic child sex abuse has retired to consider its verdicts for a second day.

Father Keith Wilkie Denford, 78, is accused of using the respectability of his cassock to molest two boys over an 18-month period from when they were aged around 13.

Hove Crown Court heard that one time Denford, who was the vicar at St John the Evangelist Church in Burgess Hill, West Sussex, abused one of the boys aided by organist and choirmaster Michael Mytton, 68.

Following a meal at a restaurant in Cuckfield, Denford asked Mytton to pull his Jaguar over into a layby where he went on to molest the “inconsolable” boy on the back seat, jurors heard.

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ILLINOIS
Daily Herald

David Sharos For The Sun April 4, 2013

Central DuPage Hospital has removed the Rev. Thomas Corbino, a Catholic priest who was a chaplain at the facility, due to allegations he had inappropriate contact with young people in the past.

Corbino had been serving as a chaplain at the hospital in Winfield for the past year after being reassigned from St. Pius X Church in Lombard.

In an email, the hospital announced it would no longer use the services offered by Corbino, who served as a volunteer chaplain. The hospital has been receiving pressure from the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests group to get rid of Corbino.

SNAP President Barbara Blaine said there have been concerns raised about Corbino within the group during the past few weeks and that an article she read a few months ago about the Joliet Diocese’s practice of reassigning priests that have been charged with inappropriate conduct “proved to be the trigger.”

“The Diocese’s decision to put a priest in another position after he has been accused of inappropriate conduct was of interest to me since that’s what my home parish — the Diocese of Toledo — did with one perpetrator,” Blaine said. “They told me then that the priest would be monitored and that this was safe for kids, and yet things got worse. I was concerned when I learned Corbino had been moved to this position after he resigned on April 11 of 2012 from St. Pius.”

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DEUTSCHLAND
Volkskrant

De Rooms-Katholieke Kerk moet alle klachten en schadeclaims over seksueel misbruik zo veel mogelijk voor het einde van dit jaar afhandelen. En dat moet met ‘warmte en ruimhartigheid’, vindt een overgrote meerderheid in de Tweede Kamer van in elk geval VVD, PvdA, PVV, SP, CDA en D66.

De Rooms-Katholieke Kerk zegt doordrongen te zijn van het ‘belang om het leed te erkennen van slachtoffers van seksueel misbruik en hen ruimhartig tegemoet te komen’. Volgens een woordvoerster van de Rooms-Katholieke Kerk hebben bisschoppen en hogere oversten bijvoorbeeld nu al persoonlijke ontmoetingen met slachtoffers en worden klachten voortvarend afgehandeld. Ze zegt dat er vertrouwen is dat alle klachten voor het einde van dit jaar zijn afgehandeld.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Die Welt

Im Prozess gegen einen ehemaligen Kirchenmusiker hat die Mutter eines Opfers ausgesagt. Der Mann soll drei Kinder sexuell missbraucht haben. Angeblich hatte die Frau keine Hinweise auf die Taten.

Die Mütter von drei sexuell missbrauchten Kinder haben nach eigenen Aussagen nichts von den Taten bemerkt. Die Staatsanwaltschaft wirft einem Kirchenmusiker aus Nordenham (Landkreis Wesermarsch) vor, die Kinder von Anfang 2011 bis März 2012 sexuell missbraucht zu haben.

In dem Prozess gegen den Mann vor dem Landgericht Oldenburg sagte eine 44 Jahre alte Frau jetzt als Zeugin aus. Die Mutter sagte, es habe keine Hinweise auf sexuellen Missbrauch ihres Sohnes gegeben.

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ILLINOIS
Chicago Sun-Times

By David Sharos For The Sun April 4, 2013

Central DuPage Hospital has removed the Rev. Thomas Corbino, a Catholic priest who was a chaplain at the facility, due to allegations he had inappropriate contact with young people in the past.

Corbino had been serving as a chaplain at the hospital in Winfield for the past year after being reassigned from St. Pius X Church in Lombard.

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IRELAND
National Catholic Reporter

by Paige Brettingen,Shweta Saraswat | Apr. 4, 2013

Dublin —
Reform-minded Irish Catholics say Pope Francis is unlikely to improve the reputation of the Roman Catholic church as inflexible and out of touch, especially among the young.

“The majority of young people would say they don’t hate the church,” said Dublin Archbishop Diarmuid Martin. “It’s just that the church is irrelevant to them.”

Shortly after Francis’ election last month, Martin spoke with U.S. student journalists in Ireland on a reporting trip.

Though still a bastion of European Catholicism, Ireland has seen a significant decrease in the percentage of residents who identify as Catholic. In 1920, nearly 93 percent of the Irish population described themselves as Catholic, according to census data. By 2011, that number had dropped to 84 percent.

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UNITED STATES
Herman Law

The silence about childhood sexual abuse is finally breaking.

In a Baptist Church, the Pastor and Church leaders are often revered by members of the congregation, especially the young children. It is this enormous power combined with the influence that the Church has over the lives of its members that creates such a dangerous atmosphere for childhood sexual abuse in the Baptist faith.

Studies reveal that childhood sexual abuse is as prevalent in the Baptist Church as it is in the Roman Catholic Church. Yet this denomination often has no procedures for tracking abusive clergy who are transferred out of state, for removing accused abusers from ministry, or for informing congregants that their officials have been accused of violating children. Numerous Baptist clergy have been arrested and convicted for criminal sexual misconduct. The absence of a central agency for Baptist Churches to report known or suspected child molesters has resulted in preachers moving from one church to another without their new congregation ever learning about the history of sexual abuse.

For decades, victims of childhood sexual abuse in Baptist Churches have been silenced by shame, false instruction, and the bully tactics of the Church’s leaders. Most egregiously, abuse survivors have been taught that scripture requires them to forgive their perpetrator and not to make reports to law enforcement. These tactics serve to foster an environment of abuse and allows perpetrators to go unpunished. In a Baptist congregation, the Pastor and church leaders have enormous power and influence over the lives of the Church’s members, which can create a dangerous environment for children. In most Baptist churches, there is a deacon board or committee of church elders who decide whether to hire or retain the Pastor and Church staff. These deacons and elders are responsible for doing background checks and implementing appropriate protocols to protect children. When the Church deacons and elders are negligent in their duties and children are harmed, the Church can be liable.

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MILWAUKEE (WI)
National Catholic Reporter

by Brian Roewe | Apr. 4, 2013

Thousands of documents related to clergy abuse cases in Milwaukee will be released by summer.

Archbishop Jerome Listeki made the announcement Wednesday in an email to Milwaukee Catholics, which was later posted on the archdiocesan website. In the message, he begs forgiveness from the victims, and “for myself and in the name of the Church I give those abuse survivors and their families my sincere apology.”

“My hope is by making these documents public, we will shed much-needed light on how the archdiocese responded to abuse survivors over the past 40-plus years when confronting this issue and that they will aid abuse survivors and others in resolution and healing,” Listeki said.

The documents will go public on the archdiocesan website by July 1. The archbishop’s chief of staff Jerry Topczewski told the Associated Press that time is needed to redact victims’ identities

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ROME
WHEC

(AP) ROME – Italian police have arrested a Catholic priest accused of pocketing 4 million euros ($5.1 million) from the coffers of a Catholic hospital he ran and helping run up 600 million euros in debts that forced the clinic into bankruptcy and prompted the Vatican to intervene.

Italy’s financial police placed the Rev. Franco Decaminada, until 2011 the CEO of the IDI dermatological hospital in Rome, under house arrest Thursday and detained two other people while seizing a Tuscan farmhouse police say he purchased with stolen money.

The plight of IDI workers, who haven’t received paychecks for months, prompted Benedict XVI in one of his last acts as pope to name a delegate to take over the religious order that owns the hospital, though he ruled out providing financial assistance.

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UNITED KINGDOM
BBC News

The jury in the trial of a Church of England priest and a church organist accused of historical child sex abuse has retired to consider its verdict.

Father Wilkie Denford, 78, from Shoreham-by-Sea, has pleaded not guilty to four charges of indecently assaulting two boys.

Michael Mytton, 68, from East Chiltington, East Sussex, has denied aiding and abetting indecent assault.

The pair are accused of abusing the boys between 1987 and 1990.

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ARGENTINA
National Catholic Reporter

by John L. Allen Jr. | Apr. 4, 2013

Buenos Aires, Argentina – A former top aide to Pope Francis said yesterday that a little-known aspect of his record as the archbishop of Buenos Aires lends credence to speculation that sooner or later, he may shut down the Vatican Bank.

On Tuesday, the Reuters news agency quoted two Vatican officials anonymously who said that closing the bank, formally known as the “Institute for the Works of Religion,” is an option Francis might consider.

Yesterday Federico Wals, a layman who served as the future pope’s spokesperson in Buenos Aires since 2007, told NCR he believes that may well be the case.

“I think he’ll move everything to the Bank of Italy, or something like that,” Wals told NCR, citing as a precedent a key decision made by then-Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio when he arrived in Buenos Aires in the late 1990s.

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MILWAUKEE (WI)
New York Daily News

Cardinal Timothy Dolan’s deposition to be released among files on alleged sexual abuse by priests, the Archdiocese of Milwaukee says

By Daniel Beekman / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Timothy Cardinal Dolan’s lawyer said he answered questions in February about his decision to publicize the names of priests who were accused of molestation. Lawyers for those who filed lawsuits believe the disclosure will expose abuse and coverups.

The Archdiocese of Milwaukee will release thousands of documents related to priest sexual abuse lawsuits, including a deposition from its former head, Timothy Cardinal Dolan.

Lawyers for the men and women who filed the suit believe the documents will help expose alleged abuse and coverups.

Dolan, who served as Archbishop in Milwaukee from 2002 to 2009, said Wednesday he welcomes the July 1 disclosure. His lawyer said Dolan answered questions in February about his decision to publicize the names of priests who were accused of molestation.

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

Catholic Church ‘lacking leadership’ to deal with child sex abuse, professor says

PIA AKERMAN
From:The Australian
April 04, 20131

A LACK of decisive leadership within the Catholic church has thwarted a cultural shift which would better address problems of child sexual abuse, a parliamentary inquiry has been told.

Professor Caroline Taylor, social justice foundation chair at Edith Cowan University, today told the Victorian child abuse inquiry that there had not been significant change within the church hierarchy despite the raft of allegations revealed over the past five years.

“Unfortunately I don’t see anything that would have me jumping for joy,” said Professor Taylor who has specialised in research relating to sexual offences.

“I think that there has been no leadership to take this forward, that is what’s missing.

“There hasn’t been that leadership that can grab the community, take the community forward with them and say that we need to have an open discussion, we need to have an exchange of views and opinions.”

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

By state political reporter Peta Carlyon

Victoria’s parliamentary inquiry into child abuse has heard confronting evidence about child sex offenders.

Emeritus Professor Freda Briggs from the University of South Australia said she had come across sex offenders aged as young as four.

She told the hearing that schools are failing to deal with the issue….

Professor Briggs also criticised the Catholic Church’s ongoing handling of offenders within its ranks.

“They still regard child sexual abuse akin to a traffic offence,” Professor Briggs said.

Earlier, an expert on child abuse victims says ongoing public ignorance is allowing offenders within the Catholic clergy to continue grooming children.

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AUSTRALIA
Brisbane Times

April 5, 2013

Barney Zwartz
Religion editor, The Age.

Catholic Church leaders in Australia were contributing to the ostracism and scapegoating of child sex abuse victims, showing little leadership and little ”will to know”, the inquiry into how churches handled sex abuse has heard.

Edith Cowan University social justice professor Caroline Taylor said church leaders, as well as judges and lawyers, too readily followed misleading stereotypes that minimised child abuse.

”The greatest insurance policy offenders have is the ignorance of the community,” Professor Taylor said on Thursday. ”I don’t believe the Catholic hierarchy has changed its attitude … I haven’t seen that probity and will to know, which means setting aside preconceived ideas and being open to learn. It takes courage.”

When she had suggested ways to help educate the community, she had been ”severely rebuffed”.

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

Janet Fife-Yeomans
From:The Daily Telegraph
April 05, 2013

THE child sex abuse royal commission is being urged to look at religious protections that have insulated the Catholic Church from ever being found liable in a court for abuse by its priests or at its schools.

The church has become notorious for hiding behind what has become known as the “Ellis defence”, a NSW Court of Appeal ruling that means the church does not exist as a legal entity that is capable of being sued.

The Australian Lawyers Alliance and other lawyers contacted yesterday by The Daily Telegraph said they were not aware of a single court judgment against the Catholic Church, although numerous cases had been settled.

Former altar boy John Ellis, a solicitor who lost his case to sue Cardinal Pell and the Archdiocese of Sydney in the landmark case, described the defence yesterday as a loaded gun.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Big Trial

By Ralph Cipriano
for Bigtrial.net

At 8:11 p.m. on June 9, 2010, the district attorney’s star witness in the case against the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, a man subsequently identified in a 2011 grand jury report as “Billy Doe,” was walking on the 200 block of Allegheny Avenue when he caught the eye of Police Officer Cesar Torres.

At the time, Torres was on patrol in a marked police car, the officer subsequently testified.

Assistant District Attorney Katie Brown asked the officer what caught his eye about Billy Doe:

Q. What was the defendant wearing when you saw him?

A. I believe he had [on] sweatpants with a hoodie that had a jacket over it …

Q. Did something draw your attention to the defendant that brings you here today?

A. Yes, ma’am. I was traveling eastbound and I observed a large bulge coming out of the right side of the defendant’s waist area.

Q. What happened after that?

A. At that time, myself and the defendant made eye contact and he looked very surprised … um, just like, you know a look of shock. His eyes opened wide.

That large bulge turned out to be 56 bags of heroin. This is the story of how a smart criminal lawyer made that heroin disappear.

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MILWAUKEE (WI)
WUWM

WUWM NEWS | Apr 4, 2013

A years long attempt to access church documents related to the sex abuse scandal by victims and others will end this summer. The Milwaukee Archdiocese says it will release 3,000 pages of material on its website July 1.

Archdiocese spokesperson Jerry Topczewski says officials hope the release of the material will help victims of sexual abuse heal. He says the documents are not being released immediately because the church wants to ensure victims names are not included.

Documents will include depositions from top church officials,including sworn statements made by New York Cardinal, former Milwaukee Archbishop Tim Dolan. Dolan gave a deposition in February as part of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy case against the archdiocese. The Milwaukee archdiocese faced a hearing today in U.S. bankruptcy court in Milwaukee.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

By Kerrin Thomas

A former priest from Armidale has had his bail continued during a brief appearance at Armidale Local Court on Wednesday.

The 59-year-old man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of his victims, is charged with 25 historic child sex offences against three girls in the 1970’s and 80’s.

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MILWAUKEE (WI)
SNAP Wisconsin

Major court victory for victim/survivors: Milwaukee Archdiocese will release half its priest offender files July 1st

WHAT
Victim/survivors of childhood sexual assault by clergy, employees and volunteers of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, including the long time Milwaukee based Midwest Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAPwisconsin.com/SNAPnetwork.org) will be joined by Fr. James Connell, pastor and former Vice-Chancellor of the Milwaukee Archdiocese, to:

–discuss the announcement by victims’ and church lawyers that the Archdiocese will release approximately half the priest offender files from the Archdiocese of Milwaukee on July 1st and its importance for public safety,

–discuss the possible importance of the depositions also to be released of former Milwaukee Archbishop Rembert Weakland, Bishop Richard Sklba, and current New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan,

–urge the release of all church child sex abuser files including documents and files related to religious order clerics, employees, permanent deacons,

–insist that the archdiocese disclose all legal costs related to preventing abuse document release.

WHEN
THURSDAY, April 4, 1:00 p.m.

WHERE
Front steps of the Milwaukee Federal Courthouse, 517 E Wisconsin Ave

WHY
After two years of legal battles to prevent any public release of documents and key depositions related to the sexual abuse of children by clergy of the Milwaukee Archdiocese, it has been filed late Wednesday in the Milwaukee Federal Bankruptcy Court a public notification that the church lawyers will cease their legal efforts to keep secret internal church documents pertaining to 45 Milwaukee clergy known to have assaulted children.

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IRELAND
Limerick Post

by Kathryn Hayes

Thursday, 04 April 2013

A LIMERICK priest has stepped aside from his ministry and duties pending the outcome of an investigation into allegations of child abuse.

The issues alleged against the priest who is currently attached to a parish in county Limerick relate to the mid nineties when he was located in a different part of the diocese.

Gardai say they are aware of the matter but they have not yet received a complaint to instigate an investigation.

However, the church, who were made aware of the allegations via a third-party, is to proceed with its own inquiry into the alleged abuse.

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