ABUSE TRACKER

NEW YORK
New York Daily News

The race for Brooklyn district attorney pits a 24-year incumbent finishing a deeply troubled sixth term against a lawyer who has never faced a challenge remotely on the scale of leading New York’s largest prosecution office.

Charles Hynes, 78, is running for a seventh term on a record that includes findings by two federal judges of grievous misconduct by a top aide, an investigation into whether dozens of cases produced wrongful convictions and credible charges of having failed to effectively act on sexual abuse in the politically powerful ultra-Orthodox Jewish community.

Hynes’ challenger is Kenneth Thompson. Harlem-born and raised by a single mother who served as an NYPD cop, Thompson, 48, has a legal career that encompasses only five years as a Brooklyn federal prosecutor, three years as a Manhattan law firm associate and 10 years running his own small firm — plus the use of divisive rhetoric in his biggest case. …

Further undermining confidence in the quality of justice, Hynes acknowledged an almost two-decade failure to prosecute sexual abuse in the insular ultra-Orthodox Jewish community. He has since become more effective but he shields the names of defendants, asserting that the unique abandonment of public disclosure prevents reprisals against accusers.

The double standard leaped to the fore when, at a press conference, Hynes identified four black men as having subjected an ultra-Orthodox Jewish woman to nine years of sexual servitude. Later, Hynes dismissed the indictments because a top aide had concealed that the accuser had recanted her claims.

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AUSTRALIA
The Age

September 9, 2013

Caroline Zielinski
Police Reporter at The Age

The royal commission on child sex abuse is ”not enough” to compensate abused children, according to a group representing former victims.

Care Leavers Australia Network is demanding the Victorian government, churches and charities acknowledge the full extent of abuse, neglect and slave labour forced on thousands of orphaned children.

The group staged a protest outside St Paul’s Cathedral in the city on Sunday to let people know about the ”abuse the orphans copped, and the abuse children suffer in general”.

The group’s chief executive, Leonie Sheedy, said the government, churches and charities in Victoria should contribute to a redress scheme for people who were abused as children under their care. She said many former victims lived in poverty and on disability pensions and were finding it difficult to move on.

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WEST ROXBURY (MA)
Patch

Posted by David Ertischek (Editor) , September 08, 2013

A new exhibit at the West Roxbury Library includes a photo collection of several pages of a handcrafted book created in 2008 to acknowledge clerical sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Boston. The exhibit ‘Hope and Inspiration’ features the calligraphy work of West Roxbury’s Jan Boyd.

“I am very pleased that photographs of many of the individual pages I created for a book of names of clerical abuse survivors, presented to Pope Benedict XVI in 2008, are on display in West Roxbury,” said Boyd. “This work, which includes almost 1500 first names of Boston Archdiocese survivors, has never been shown here. It is my hope that the photos might be a healing tool – allowing people to find their name in the artwork and to view a written, artistic representation that the church recognizes their name and their individual struggle. The exhibit will also include many original pieces of my calligraphic art.”

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AUSTRALIA
lewisblayse.net

The Chief Commissioner, Peter McClellan (see previous posting), has chosen a $180 a head fund-raising, invitation-only, luncheon for the Bravehearts organisation, to make a few announcements concerning the progress of the Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

The most disturbing revelation concerns the rate at which it is taking complaints from victims. McClellan says the calls are coming in at the rate of 23 per day. However, in six months, the Commissioners have only heard the accounts of 326 child sex abuse victims, a figure which amounts to about two weeks worth of complaints.

Another 423 are waiting in the queue to give evidence, while over 1,000 have yet to be assessed about whether or not they will have a hearing at all. An unknown number have had their requests to give evidence refused.

Given that public hearings begin in less than 2 weeks, the queue is likely to become even longer. Indeed, it is disturbing that there have been reports that some people who have contacted the Commission to either give evidence, or provide a submission, have not received a reply after an extended period of time.

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SCOTLAND
Scotland on Sunday

by MARTYN McLAUGHLIN
Published on the 08 September 2013

A PRIEST who has campaigned for the Catholic Church’s hierarchy to act against a fellow priest he claims abused him has been dismissed from his diocese and issued with a formal warning for speaking to the press, it has been claimed.

Father Patrick Lawson, who has described the church as a “big mafia” which is seeking to “destroy him,” is understood to have been issued a decree of removal by Bishop John Cunningham last week.

Fr Lawson claims that as a seminarian, he was abused in 1996 by Father Paul Moore, a parish priest, at St Quivox Church in Prestwick. He has also said that the church has failed to deal appropriately with his complaint over the intervening 17 years.

The allegations strike yet another blow to the church’s credibility as it seeks to move on from the scandal surrounding Cardinal Keith O’Brien and decades of abuse in the Catholic boarding school, Fort Augustus Abbey.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Tagesschau

Seit Wochen steht der Limburger Bischof Tebartz-van Elst in der Kritik. Nun reagiert der Vatikan und schickt Kardinal Lajolo nach Hessen. Laut dem Bistum handle es sich aber nicht um eine Apostolische Visitation – also nicht um einen Kontrollbesuch.

Von Tilmann Kleinjung, BR, ARD-Hörfunkstudio Rom

Nun schaltet sich auch der Vatikan in den Konflikt um den Limburger Bischof Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst ein: Einem Bericht der “Frankfurter Allgemeinen Sonntagszeitung” zufolge hat Rom einen Apostolischen Visitator in das Bistum geschickt. Kardinal Giovanni Lajolo soll bereits ab Montag seine Arbeit vor Ort aufnehmen. Vatikankreise bestätigten dem ARD Studio Rom den Besuch des italienischen Kardinals in Limburg.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Frankfurter Rundschau

Die Querelen um den Limburger Oberhirten schlagen so hohe Wellen, dass Papst Franziskus nun einen hochrangigen Diplomaten schickt. Dieser soll das “brüderliche Gespräch” in dem Zwist suchen.

Nun greift Papst Franziskus in die Konflikte im Bistum Limburg ein: Er schickt einen hochrangigen Vatikan-Diplomaten. Kardinal Giovanni Lajolo wird an diesem Montag in der Diözese erwartet. Viele Gläubige werfen dem Limburger Bischof Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst einen autoritären Führungsstil vor.

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VATIKAN/DEUTSCHLAND
Handelsblatt

Rom/LimburgDer Vatikan greift in den Konflikt um die umstrittene Amtsführung des Limburger Bischofs ein. An diesem Montag werde Kardinal Giovanni Lajolo in Deutschland erwartet, um sich ein Bild von dem Streit um den Limburger Oberhirten Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst zu machen. Damit bestätigte Bistumssprecher Stephan Schnelle einen Bericht der „Frankfurter Allgemeinen Sonntagszeitung“ (FAS). Der Kardinal gilt als hochrangiger Vatikan-Diplomat.

„Das dient aber der Rückenstärkung für den Bischof“, sagte Schnelle der Nachrichtenagentur dpa. „Er plant nicht eine Untersuchung oder Absetzung, sondern der Besuch dient dem brüderlichen Gespräch.“ Es handele sich gerade nicht um eine „Apostolische Visitation“ mit besonderen Befugnissen bei einer tiefgreifenden Untersuchung – dies hatte die Zeitung berichtet.

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CALIFORNIA
Political Blotter

By Josh Richman
Friday, September 6th, 2013

A bill to re-open a window so certain sexual-abuse victims can sue the organizations that put them at risk is headed for Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk.

The state Senate on Friday concurred in Assembly amendments to SB 131 by Sen. Jim Beall, D-San Jose, which closes a gap that has prevented certain victims from seeking restitution.

A 2003 law that passed the Legislature with unanimous votes had expanded the statute of limitations for victims to file claims against third parties who knew their employees were a danger to children but still allowed them to work with kids. It gave victims over age 26 the opportunity to sue if they discovered their emotional and physical problems stemmed from the abuse they suffered as children, giving them three years from the time of discovery to file lawsuits. It also opened a one-year window – from 2003 to 2004 – for victims who were previously barred from filing.

But that law didn’t do anything for victims over 26 who made connection between their abuse and their problems after 2004. If signed into law, SB 131 would let those people sue and seek restitution in 2014.

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NEW JERSEY
Failed Messiah

Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com

An attorney for an admitted haredi pedophile has now told a New Jersey court that the pedophile wants to withdraw his guilty plea entered last May, the Associated Press reported.

Rabbi Yosef Kolko pleaded guilty on May 13 in the middle of his trial. He now says he was pressured by his Lakewood haredi community to enter that guilty plea.

The attorney for the former haredi camp counselor filed the motion, apparently on Friday.

Kolko had originally pleaded guilty to aggravated sexual assault, attempted aggravated sex assault, sexual assault and child endangerment. The victim was 11 when the abuse began in August 2008.

The victim’s family was savagely harassed and ostracized by the Lakewood haredi community after they brought the accusation of sex abuse against Kolko to police after haredi rabbis failed to handle the it internally. The boy’s father, who was a prominent rabbi in the community lost his job and eventually was forced to move his family to Michigan to escape the harassment – much of it endorsed and allegedly orchestrated by Rabbi Yisroel Belsky of Yeshiva Torah Vodaas in Brooklyn.

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NEW JERSEY
New Jersey 101.5

By Townsquare News Network September 7, 2013

An attorney for a former New Jersey yeshiva camp counselor says his client will seek to withdraw his guilty plea to child sexual assault charges.

Yosef Kolko pleaded guilty in May to abusing the then-11-year-old boy in 2008 and 2009. He had been scheduled to be sentenced last week and faced up to 40 years in prison.

Attorney Alan Zegas has filed a motion to withdraw the guilty plea. Zegas tells The Asbury Park Press that Kolko was under pressure from his community at the time he pleaded guilty.

A judge gave Zegas until the end of the month to file a brief in support of his motion to withdraw the plea. A hearing on the matter is scheduled for October 17.

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AUSTRALIA
Westender

September 8, 2013
by Kerrod Trott

Show your support adult survivors of childhood trauma and abuse.

Adults Surviving Child Abuse (ASCA) invites community members, churches, religious groups and leaders to organise and host events in support of Blue Knot Day, this October 28th and the week to follow until November 3rd 2013. With the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse well under away, ASCA is calling for people to take action and show their support.

Blue Knot Day is an annual initiative run by ASCA, the national peak body, advancing the needs of Australian adults who have experienced childhood abuse and trauma. In Australia there are an estimated 4-5 million adult survivors of childhood trauma[i].

President of ASCA, Dr Cathy Kezelman, said that the day is important not only for survivors of childhood trauma, but for all Australians.

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CHICAGO (IL)
Chicago Tribune

September 06, 2013|By Steve Schmadeke | Tribune reporter

A 71-year-old Chicago man charged with sexually abusing two young girls at a church last month was accused today of previously sexually abusing an 8-year-old girl who was shopping with her mom in Uptown.

Prosecutors say Loreto Gaspar, who is retired and lives with his wife in the 1700 block of West Balmoral Avenue, has a habit of chatting up mothers out in public with their daughters and then touching their children while their mom is distracted.

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SCOTLAND
Scotsman

by STEPHEN MCGINTY
Published on the 08 September 2013

VICTIMS of physical and sexual abuse by monks at a boarding school in the Highlands are to launch a lawsuit for hundreds of thousands of pounds in compensation against the Catholic Church.

Six former pupils of Fort Augustus Abbey school, which was run by the Benedictine Order, have instructed Switalskis, an English law firm with a reputation for securing compensation for the victims of child sexual abuse, to sue the Benedictines. Legal proceedings are expected to begin within the next few weeks.

A solicitor for Switalskis, David Greenwood, said the firm would be seeking from £30,000 to more than £100,000 per person depending on the abuse suffered and how it has impacted on each former pupil’s life and ability to secure employment.

However, he criticised the Catholic Church in Scotland and the Benedictine Order in England for failing to offer support to victims.

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SCOTLAND
Daily Record

PAUL Smyth, who says he was 11 when paedophile Father Paul Moore sexually assaulted him, wants an apology after the clergyman was never brought to trial despite his victims co-operating with police.

THE victim of a paedophile priest who escaped being prosecuted even though he confessed to his crimes has broken his silence over his ordeal and his despair.

Paul Smyth, who says he was just 11 when Father Paul Moore sexually assaulted him, reveals his anger that the priest was never brought to trial, despite his victims co-operating fully with the police.

In the 1990s, Moore admitted to former Bishop Maurice Taylor that he had abused children over several years.

But prosecutors decided not to pursue a criminal case against the pervert priest. Instead, he was sent away to a special centre in Canada for treatment before returning to Ayrshire, where he now lives in a church-owned house.

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SCOTLAND
The Observer

Catherine Deveney
The Observer, Saturday 7 September 2013

A Scottish Catholic priest, who has fought for 17 years to force the hierarchy to act against a fellow priest who abused him, has been dismissed from the diocese of Galloway while recovering from cancer and issued with a formal warning for talking to the Observer.

Father Patrick Lawson, who spoke out in the Observer in July using the pseudonym “Father Michael”, was sent a decree of removal by Bishop John Cunningham last Wednesday, forcing him to hand over the keys of his parish house within two days. The bishop had consistently refused to accept Father Lawson’s pleas, on the advice of doctors, to drop one of his two parishes – St Paul’s, Hurlford – while convalescing.

The case is a potentially explosive development in an increasingly tense relationship between the Scottish hierarchy and the laity over abuse and cover-up. There is now a standoff in Father Lawson’s other parish – St Sophia’s, Galston – with many parishioners telling the Observer that they will walk out of masses this weekend in protest, cancel their church subscriptions, and refuse to return unless the priest is reinstated.

Parishioner Manuela Kevan says around 200 people have signed a petition backing the popular, hardworking priest. “We know what this is really about.”

Significantly, there are now signs of rebellion among the clergy themselves. The Catholic church insists on silence and obedience from its priests but Father Gerard Magee of St Winin’s in Kilwinning, has written to the papal nuncio in London, backing Father Lawson and criticising the diocese. “What they are doing is underhand, malicious and sinister,” he writes. “They hide behind … canon law and, by doing so, they abuse the same law and make a mockery of it.”

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NEW JERSEY
Ashbury Park Press

Written by
Kathleen Hopkins
@Khopkinsapp

TOMS RIVER — The lawyer representing a former yeshiva camp counselor in a Lakewood sexual abuse case wants to have his client’s guilty plea nullified, claiming the defendant was pressured by the community into admitting guilt in the case.

Alan L. Zegas, a Chatham attorney representing Yosef Kolko, filed a motion to withdraw his client’s guilty plea.

Kolko, 39, of Geffen Drive in Lakewood, had been scheduled to be sentenced in the child sex-abuse case on Wednesday, but Zegas’ motion prompted its postponement.

When reached by telephone and asked for the reasons why Kolko should be allowed to withdraw his guilty plea, Zegas responded, “He was significantly pressured to pleaded (guilty). There are other reasons as well that interfered with his ability to make a voluntary, willing decision.

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NEW JERSEY
NJ.com

AP

TOMS RIVER — A former yeshiva camp counselor who pleaded guilty in May to sexually abusing a child is seeking to withdraw his guilty plea and claims he was pressured by his Orthodox Jewish community in Lakewood.

The attorney for Yosef Kolko said he has filed a motion to withdraw Kolko’s guilty plea. Kolko pleaded guilty May 13 in the middle of a trial in Superior Court in Toms River to aggravated sexual assault, attempted aggravated sex assault, sexual assault and child endangerment.

Prosecutors allege the abuse occurred from August 2008 to February 2009 and ranged from fondling to oral sex and stopped when the boy told his father, who confronted Kolko. The boy was 11 when the alleged abuse began. He testified during the trial.

Attorney Alan Zegas told the Asbury Park Press that Kolko, 39, “was significantly pressured” from the community to plead guilty.

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AUSTRALIA
Royal Commission into Institutional Response to Child Sexual Abuse

Justice Peter McClellan AM
Chair
Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse

Thank you.

I am pleased to be here with you today to help bring public attention to White Balloon Day and mark its significance in National Child Protection Week. Bravehearts and the many other organisations concerned with the welfare of children have played a significant role in raising public awareness of the prevalence and consequences of both the sexual and physical abuse of children in the community. Along with others their efforts resulted in the Australian Government, supported by the Opposition and the governments of each of the States coming together to set up a national Royal Commission to look at the response of institutions to the sexual abuse of children in an institutional context, with the purpose of exposing what has happened in the past and bringing forward recommendations directed to ensuring it does not happen in the future.

It is now well known that the sexual abuse of children has been widespread in the Australian community. However, the full range of institutions in which it has occurred is not generally understood. Furthermore the character and effectiveness of the response to allegations of abuse by institutions in which it has occurred has not generally been exposed. The prosecution of a perpetrator who has abused a child within an institution brings the existence of the abuse to public knowledge but does not, in most cases, tell the community anything about the response of the institution in which the abuse occurred. Furthermore, although many recommendations have been made as to how institutions should be managed to minimise the sexual abuse of children and effectively respond to it when it has occurred, it is readily apparent that many of those issues require a coordinated national response.

I have previously talked about the size of the task facing the Royal Commission. In order to assist its work the Australian Parliament amended the Royal Commissions Act to allow the Commission to hear from victims in private sessions. This followed a similar provision to facilitate the gathering of information in private as part of the Ryan Commission into similar problems in Ireland. It means that the Commission can receive the personal stories of people in private and in circumstances where they feel secure and not threatened by having to confront their alleged abuser. Although the Act provides that information obtained by the Royal Commission in private sessions is not evidence, it may be included in a report if it is “de-identified”, that is, the anonymity of the person is preserved.

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VATICAN CITY
International Business Times

By Esther Tanquintic-Misa | September 6, 2013

In what could be a first for his 6-month tenure as chief spiritual leader of the 1.2-billion strong Roman Catholic church, the popularity of Pope Francis has hit a snag following the Vatican’s recall of its envoy to the Dominican Republic amid child abuse allegations.

The US-based Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), in a statement, blasted the half-year reigning pope for covering up the pedophile scandal in Dominican Republic, asserting further that he was in no way different from his immediate predecessor, Benedict XVI, and those way before him.

“Like all of his predecessors, Pope Francis is acting belatedly, secretively and recklessly. Catholic officials act only when forced to do so by media pressure,” the group said on Thursday.

On Wednesday, the Vatican confirmed that Monsignor Josef Wesolowski was indeed sacked from his job. But what irked SNAP and other victims groups was that the Vatican never made the matter public, only when it happened to be leaked. Monsignor Wesolowski had been removed from his post as the papal nuncio in Santo Domingo since Aug 21.

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DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Dominican Today

Santo Domingo.– The bishops have voiced support for the investigation launched into accusations of sexual misconduct against the former nuncio to the Dominican Republic, Archbishop Jozef Wesolowski.

The bishops called for a “purification of the Church and for the removal of those who unworthily exercise this ministry and do not deserve to be called priests,” in a letter signed by Cardinal Nicolas Lopez Rodriguez of Santo Domingo and president of the Dominican bishops’ conference.

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CALIFORNIA
Pope Crimes & Vatican Evils…

Paris Arrow

Updated September 7, 2013

21-8. Thank you Senators, for voting YES to SB 131… you’ve given another victory for California children

Please tell Governor Brown you support SB 131. You can write his office directly here http://govnews.ca.gov/gov39mail/mail.php

Dear Governor Jerry Brown,

With your good moral conscience – and compassionate heart, please sign immediately bill SB 131 – because the people of California have spoken unanimously through their Representatives and Senators – and now it is time for the victims who’ve been waiting for years to have their day in court. The crimes against American children systemically covered-up by (especially by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese) in Los Angeles and throughout California must not be hidden in the dust of history — nor must they be given the chance to be shredded and forgotten forever into oblivion .

As a Catholic and former Jesuit seminarian, for sure you believe in the Patroness of California, Our Lady of Guadalupe. She inspires us to invite you to please take time to gaze at this image where she carries a child and protect children away from the evil serpent.

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CANADA
CBC

The University of British Columbia has pledged an investigation after its students reportedly sang a chant advocating rape during frosh week.

The incident took place on a bus ride during the Sauder FROSH, a three-day orientation for the Sauder School of Business, organized by the Commerce Undergraduate Society (CUS).

The chant condones non-consensual sex with underage girls saying, “Y-O-U-N-G at UBC, we like ’em young, Y is for your sister, O is for oh so tight, U is for underage, N is for no consent, G is for go to jail.” …

The revelations come only days after student leaders at Nova Scotia’s St. Mary’s University were caught on camera chanting about non-consensual underage sex during frosh week at the Halifax school.

Jared Perry, chair of Students Nova Scotia and president of the student council at St. Mary’s, stepped down from his position in light of the controversy.

St. Mary’s president Colin Dodds is forming a presidential council to investigate the incident and ways to prevent any other situations.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Die Welt

[Summary: The Vatican is intervening in the dispute between members of the Limburg diocese and Bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst. Cardinal Giovanni Lajolo is expected to be in Germany by Monday afternoon. The 78-year-old church diplomat will act as “apostolic visitor” in conversations with bishops and members of the diocese. The cardinal may want to see the files of the diocese and after the visitation will make a comprehensive report to the pope on the situation and will make recommendations where appropriate on how grievances can be resolved.]

Der Vatikan greift in den Konflikt über die Amts- und Lebensführung des Bischofs von Limburg, Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst, ein. Nach Informationen der “Frankfurter Allgemeinen Sonntagszeitung” wird Kardinal Giovanni Lajolo am Montagnachmittag in Deutschland erwartet. Der 78 Jahre alte Kirchendiplomat soll sich als sogenannter “Apostolischer Visitator” im Gespräch mit Bischöfen und Mitgliedern der Bistumsleitung ein Bild verschaffen.

Ein Apostolischer Visitator kann mit päpstlicher Vollmacht ausgestattet unter anderem Einblick in alle Akten des Bistums und des Bischöflichen Stuhls verlangen. Nach der Visitation legt er dem Papst einen umfassenden Bericht über die Lage vor und gibt gegebenenfalls Empfehlungen, wie Missstände ausgeräumt werden können.

Der Limburger Bistumssprecher Stephan Schnelle bestätigte, dass Lajolo erwartet werde. “Das dient aber der Rückenstärkung für den Bischof”, sagte Schnelle der dpa. “Er plant nicht eine Untersuchung oder Absetzung, sondern der Besuch dient dem brüderlichen Gespräch.” Hintergrund sei auch, dass Tebartz-van Elst kürzlich in den Vatikan gereist war.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Frankfurter Allgemeine

Der Vatikan greift in den Konflikt über die Amts- und Lebensführung des Bischofs von Limburg ein. Das Bistum bestätigte am Samstag Informationen der F.A.S., dass Kardinal Giovanni Lajolo am Montagnachmittag in Deutschland erwartet wird. Es veröffentlichte zudem ein Schreiben des Vatikans an den Bischof, in dem von einem „brüderlichen Besuch“ die Rede ist.

Der Kardinal werde den brüderlichen Austausch mit dem Bischof und dem Domkapitel sowie weiteren relevanten Personen führen, „um wachen Auges auf die Gegebenheiten Ihrer Ortskirche zu schauen, die Geister zu unterscheiden helfen, gegebenenfalls brüderlich zu ermahnen, vor allem aber um Ihren bischöflichen Dienst zu stützen und zum Frieden und zur Einheit zu ermutigen“, heißt es in dem Brief weiter, der von Kardinal Ouellet unterzeichnet ist. Es handle sich nicht um eine formelle Apostolische Visitation, um die Bischof Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst Ende August geben habe. Der Heilige Stuhl hege volles Vertrauen in die Amtsführung des Bischofs, nehme aber die Kritik in Medien und Öffentlichkeit ernst.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Zeit

Der Vatikan greift einem Bericht der Frankfurter Allgemeinen Sonntagszeitung (FAS) zufolge in den Konflikt um die Lebens- und Amtsführung des Limburger Bischofs Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst ein. Kardinal Giovanni Lajolo werde sich am Montag ein Bild von dem Streit machen.

Das Limburger Bistum bestätigte zwar den geplanten Besuch Lajolos, bestritt aber, dass es sich dabei um eine “Apostolische Visitation” handle. “Das dient der Rückenstärkung für den Bischof”, sagte ein Sprecher. Lajolo plane keine Untersuchung oder Absetzung, “sondern der Besuch dient dem brüderlichen Gespräch.” Das Bistum verwies auf ein Unterstützungsschreiben von Kardinal Ouellet.

In dem Brief heißt es, der Heilige Stuhl habe volles Vertrauen in die Amtsführung des Bischofs. Gleichwohl seien der Unfriede in der Diözese ernst zu nehmen und die Reaktionen der Medien nicht zu übersehen.

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UNITED STATES
Voice from the Desert

A study of the influence of pathological narcissism on the clerical sub-culture of the Roman Catholic Church and its influence on the formation of clerical and lay spirituality.

By
A.W. Richard Sipe
Marianne Benkert, M.D.
Thomas P. Doyle, J.C.D., C.A.D.C.
August 30, 2013

Spirituality and the Culture of Narcissism
Part one, The Clerical Sub-Culture

A.W.Richard Sipe

Abstract: Catholic deacons, priests and bishops live in a unique psychological environment commonly referred to as the “clerical world.” A fundamental characteristic of this sub-culture is narcissism which in some clerics becomes pathological. The narcissistic component of the clerical world has a toxic effect on its spirituality.

Spirituality is an awareness of a personal relationship with a transcendent reality.
Every religious tradition allows for persons of spirituality. Spirituality is independent of doctrine and discipline. The biblical psalms are preeminent examples of this traditional expression. A prominent example of this expression is a prayer of St. Augustine recorded in his Confessions:

Late have I loved you
O Beauty ever ancient ever new.
Late have I loved you!
You were within me, but I was outside.
And it was there that I searched for you.
In my unloveliness I plunged into the lovely things that you created.
You were with me, but I was not with you.
Created things kept me from you;
Yet if they had not been in you they would not have been at all.
You called, you shouted, and you broke through my deafness.
You flashed, you shone, and you dispelled my blindness.
You breathed your fragrance on me.
I drew in breath and now I pant for you.
I have tasted you, now I hunger and thirst for more.
You touched me, and I burned for your peace. (J. Ryan, 1960, p. 254)

Two main sources support the development of Roman Catholic spirituality, the cult of saints and personal contact with a Catholic clergy person.

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CANADA
Huffington Post

[with video]

Toula Foscolos

“SMU boys, we like them young…
Y is for your sister…
O is for oh so tight…
U is for underage…
N is for no consent…
G is for grab that ass..”

Offended, ladies?

Oh, you shouldn’t be. It was all just “in good fun.” Just a silly chant that, has apparently, been going on for years during frosh week activities at St. Mary’s University in Halifax. What’s that you say? Derogatory to women? Nonsense! Lighten up…

For as long as feminists have been complaining about sexism, they’ve been accused of not having a sense of humour. Of not getting that “it’s just a joke.” It’s the easiest — and frankly, the laziest — way for someone to dismiss an actual concern, because, saying that something wasn’t meant to be “intentionally offensive” doesn’t, of course, prevent it from being so. That’s just wishful thinking.

Listen… I get it. I was a university student once, too. I remember the excitement and newness of it all. Rare is a frosh week that goes by without some sort of controversy and displays of bad taste. Mix young, excitable students with peer pressure, the desperate need to fit in, and loads and loads of alcohol, and you’ve got the perfect recipe for all sorts of unacceptable behaviour, and inevitably some sort of PR fiasco. But there are limits to what one considers acceptable, even during a week specifically designed to cross the line.

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CANADA
Chronicle-Herald

Editorial

Saint Mary’s University, its administration and student leaders have been harshly criticized after an online video showed a group of students performing an offensive, sexist chant earlier this week at an event attended by some 350 freshmen.

The incident is a prime example of a failure of leadership.

None of the student leaders involved had the wits to veto the chant, a ditty that condones rape and underage sex under the scarcely credible pretext of boosting school spirit.

SMU student Alexandria Bennett, a 2012 frosh week leader, says she complained to a students’ association staffer last year about the chant — and nothing was done.

Although the university had coached this year’s frosh week organizers on appropriate behaviour, including a police talk on sexual assault, it apparently didn’t take.

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CANADA
Chronicle-Herald

BY GAIL LETHBRIDGE

Let’s call a spade a spade, shall we? Sex with underage girls who don’t consent is rape.

Chanting about rape in a public place and encouraging others to do so is inciting rape.

Rape is a criminal activity.

Ergo, the boys of Saint Mary’s University were promoting crime when they sang their pro-rape songs on campus last weekend.

And from what I could tell, they weren’t just singing. No, they were screaming it at the top of their post-pubescent lungs.

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CANADA
St. Catharines Standard

[with video]

The same week that a video showing first-year students at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax chanting about non-consensual sex with underage girls surfaced online, students at UBC were singing a variation of the song.

The students at SMU sparked a firestorm of protest for singing, “Y is for your sister, O is for oh so tight, U is for underage, N is for no consent, G is for grab that ass, SMU boys we like them young,” in a video that appeared online Wednesday.

According to The Ubyssey, UBC’s newspaper, students participating in Sauder FROSH, a three-day orientation organized by the Commerce Undergraduate Society, chanted: “Y-O-U-N-G at UBC we like em young Y is for yourrr sister O is for ohh so tight U is for under age N is for noo consent G is for goo to jail.”

FROSH co-chair Jacqueline Chen told The Ubyssey the chants have been going on for many years, and while the CUS had been chastized in the past for the cheers, the undergraduate society now works to make sure the chant stays private.

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CANADA
St. Mary’s University

6 September, 2013

Two student organizers will face a disciplinary hearing following an orientation week event involving a sexually inappropriate chant at Saint Mary’s University.

A formal complaint was received Friday, September 6. The complaint alleges violations of the Student Code of Conduct for the use of abusive or offensive language or gestures at University sponsored functions.

The code states that non-academic standards of behaviour are as important as academic standards.

Under the code, any member of the University community (i.e. students, faculty, administrators or employees) may lodge a complaint within five days of the complainant having become aware of the misconduct.

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CANADA
CTV

[with video]

CTVNews.ca Staff
Published Thursday, September 5, 2013

The student union president of Halifax’s Saint Mary’s University says he made the “biggest mistake” of his life after a notorious chant promoting non-consensual sex with underage girls was used to rally first-year students during frosh week.

The chant, which was captured on video during orientation week activities and later posted on Instagram, has sparked outrage both across the country and on the east-coast university campus.

“It’s a mistake. It’s definitely the biggest mistake I’ve made throughout my university career and probably my life,” Jared Perry, president of Saint Mary’s University Student Association, told reporters on Thursday.

A controversial chant was performed by 80 student leaders in front of about 300 of their first-year peers at Saint Mary’s University on Monday.

He was joined by the 80 student leaders who led the chant, which included the phrases: “Y is for your sister,” “U is for underage,” and “N is for no consent.” It was performed on Monday in front of approximately 300 first-year students.

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CANADA
The Globe and Mail

JANE TABER
Halifax — The Globe and Mail
Published Friday, Sep. 06 2013

Saint Mary’s University is calling on an expert in bullying to lead a new task force on preventing sexual violence, following a national controversy over a rape-themed cheer at a frosh week event.

Wayne MacKay, the former chair of a provincial task force on bullying, was appointed by the school after a video surfaced of a chant during frosh week activities at the Halifax university.

“As I watched events unfold at Saint Mary’s University over the last week, I saw that there is clearly more work to be done along the road I have already been travelling in relation to human rights,” Mr. MacKay said in a statement released by Saint Mary’s Friday morning.

Mr. MacKay is a professor at Dalhousie’s Schulich School of Law.

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CANADA
St. Mary’s University

A recent Orientation Week event involving student leaders chanting inappropriate and offensive lyrics is completely inexcusable and violates our University’s commitment to upholding the values of equality and respect.

My colleagues and I were shocked by this incident and are deeply sorry that our students, and now the community at large, were exposed to disturbing sexually charged material. The University regrets that this was allowed to occur and we apologize unreservedly. I am taking measures to ensure it does not happen in the future.

While Orientation Week is a student-led initiative, the Senior Director of Student Services Keith Hotchkiss, and others, including an HRM Community police officer met with the Orientation Week leaders prior to the event and spoke with them specifically about the issue of sexual assault and sexual consent.

However, I accept that I and the University administration have a role to oversee and guide student leaders. We failed in that responsibility.

As immediate steps to address that issue, I have called for a special meeting with the executive and board of the Student Association, asking them to account for their actions.

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CANADA
Huffington Post

By Tyler Kingkade
Posted: 09/06/2013

A video of student leaders at Saint Mary’s University participating in a chant that endorses sexual assault is causing outrage among college students, officials and local politicians alike.

The chant happened at a Monday event called “Turf Burn” for hundreds of incoming freshmen at the university in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, during “Frosh Week.”

In a video originally posted to Instagram — which was later deleted but resurfaced online — both male and female students are heard chanting: “SMU boys, we like them young. Y is for your sister. O is for oh-so-tight. U is for underage. N is for no consent. G is for grab that ass.”

Hundreds of students participated in the chant, including 80 student leaders, the Chronicle Herald reports.

“My colleagues and I were shocked by this incident and are deeply sorry that our students, and now the community at large, were exposed to disturbing sexually charged material,” SMU President Colin Dodd said in a statement.

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TEXAS
Outlook India

The author of Sex, Lies and Two Hindu Gurus shares her experiences

KAREN JONSON

In 1991, American writer Karen Jonson wasn’t in love and was in a dead-end job when she joined an ashram, the Jagad­guru Kripalu Parishat (JKP) in Austin, Texas, attrac­ted by local guru Prakashanand Sara­swati’s talks “about god and loving god”. The JKP proclaims the divi­nity of Kripaluji Maharaj. In the beginning, she was happy to be among a group of people who had the same feeling and purpose, picking green beans by the moonlight, cooking meals, acting in skits. After living in the ashram for 15 years, she quit in 2008, three years before Prakashanand was found guilty on 20 counts of child sex abuse. Jonson published a tell-all book, Sex, Lies and Two Hindu Gurus, which JKP followers dismiss as a ‘Christian conspiracy’. Here Jonson tells Debarshi Dasgupta how her spiritual quest went awry:

In hindsight, I always had some small doubts about both Kripalu and Prakash. But I had no proof of anything. I was also very religious and wanted to believe what they were telling us, about achieving God realisation and becoming a gopi in divine Vrindavan. All we had to do was ‘surrender’ to them, they said. So I tried really hard to do that, and whenever I stumbled, I believed it was because of my own lack of devotional qualities. So whenever I had doubts, I would push them back into the corners of my mind.

But the major onset of scepticism occurred when Kripalu was arrested in Trinidad for raping a young woman in May 2007. It was while he was on a ‘world tour’ that year for a few months. He had just spent about four weeks in the JKP ashram in Austin where I had lived full-time since April 1993. His plan was to go to Trinidad, then Canada, then come back to Austin.

Some uncomfortable events took place when he was in the Austin ashram, called Barsana Dham at the time (the name was changed to Radha Madhav Dham later, after Prakashanand fled to Mexico on his own cases becoming public). For the first time ever, I was invited to Kripalu’s bedroom to perform a secret ritual they called ‘charan seva’. I had never heard of it before. But I later learned that many of the women in JKP’s ashrams participated in this ritual, which took place several times every day at specific times.

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DEUTSCHLAND
HNA

Ehemalige, die die Ansprache hörten, werfen ihm eine Relativierung der Hexenverbrennungen und des sexuellen Missbrauchs durch katholische Priester vor. Einige hätten den Raum entrüstet verlassen, berichtet Frauke Gromotka aus Fritzlar. Sie spricht von einer „erbärmlichen Argumentation“.

Schulleiterin Jutta Ramisch hat auf der Internetseite der Schule eine Erklärung veröffentlicht, in der sie im Namen von Schulleitung und Kollegium „die entstandenen Irritationen zutiefst“ bedauert. Den Inhalt der Rede habe sie nicht gekannt, sagte Ramisch.

„Es ist eine unglückliche Geschichte gewesen“, erklärte Pfarrer Maleja auf Anfrage der HNA. Er habe einen zentralen Satz der Ursulinengründerin Angela Merici zugrunde gelegt: „Haltet euch an den alten Weg und lebt ein neues Leben.“

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DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
DFW Catholic

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Sep 6, 2013 / 04:14 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The bishops of the Dominican Republic have voiced support for the investigation launched into accusations of sexual misconduct against the former nuncio to the country, Archbishop Józef Wesolowski.

The bishops called for a “purification of the Church and for the removal of those who unworthily exercise this ministry and do not deserve to be called priests,” in a letter signed by Cardinal Nicolás López Rodríguez of Santo Domingo and president of the Dominican bishops’ conference.

This purification should take place with “the collaboration of authentic priests, who are the majority, and of the church community.”

Archbishop Wesolowski resigned from his post Aug. 21 in the wake of accusations of sexual misconduct that were reported in the media.

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CALIFORNIA
Monterey Herald

By JULIA REYNOLDS
Herald Staff Writer
POSTED: 09/06/2013

After several fits and starts, a bill extending the statute of limitations for some childhood sexual abuse victims was approved by the California Legislature on Friday — paving the way for possible lawsuits against Palma High School in Salinas.

Nine people who say they were abused by priests while attending Palma may be among the first to sue if Gov. Jerry Brown doesn’t veto the bill, known as SB 131.

The bill extends the civil statute of limitations for child sex abuse victims.

Seven of the nine former Palma students say they were sexually assaulted by the Rev. Gerald Funcheon when he was a chaplain at the school from 1984-85. Funcheon, who is still a priest but is housed in a secure “treatment” facility, admitted in sworn testimony last year that he molested one of the men, but denied the others.

The two other alleged victims say they were molested by Brother Marcos Chavira and the late Brother Jerome Heustis.

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CALIFORNIA
Turlock Journal

By Sabra Stafford
Crime Desk sstafford@turlockjournal.com 209-634-9141, ext. 2002
POSTED September 6, 2013

A series of costly payments to settle multiple claims of sexual abuse has the Diocese of Stockton moving closer to a decision to file for bankruptcy, church officials stated Friday.

The Diocese of Stockton oversees Catholic entities between Lodi and Turlock, including All Saints University Parish, Sacred Heart Church, and Our Lady of the Assumption of the Portuguese Church, all in Turlock, and St. Anthony’s Church in Hughson. It also includes Sacred Heart’s Turlock schools.

“The funds we have used to settle sexual abuse lawsuits have been almost depleted, and we have no apparent way to meet the expenses of pending lawsuits and possible future claims,” said Bishop Stephen E. Blaire in a released statement.

“We continue to investigate our options, and no final decisions have been reached. I feel, however, that it is important to tell you that options other than filing for bankruptcy protection have not emerged,” Blaire continued. “It appears likely to me that the Diocese will need to re-organize financially under the protection of the Bankruptcy Court.”

Blaire said all the local Catholic entities organized as separate corporations would not be subjected to the bankruptcy filing.

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STOCKTON (CA)
Fox 40

by Lonnie Wong
Reporter

STOCKTON –

Bishop Stephen Blaire of Stockton Catholic Diocese didn’t dodge the numbers—the result of up to four lawsuits filed by victims of sexual abuse.

“Over seven million, maybe ten million,” Blaire said.

That’s on top of about 18 million dollars already paid to victims. Some money came at the hands of the notorious Oliver O’Grady and Michael Kelly, both convicted of abusing children.

The relatively small diocese covering six rural counties is making its $5 million budget.

“It’s just that we do not have any funds for these future lawsuits,” Blaire said.

Practicing Catholic Rosa Gaxiola is concerned that so much of her donations are being redirected to abuse victims.
“It does hurt a lot of efforts that the Catholic Church supports in helping the poor,” said Gaxiola.

Elysse Brown doesn’t begrudge victims for getting compensated even though it’s a blow to the diocese.

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STOCKTON (CA)
The Record

By Joe Goldeen
Record Staff Writer
September 07, 2013

STOCKTON – Churches within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Stockton will distribute a letter this weekend to their 250,000 parishioners from Bishop Stephen Blaire, describing just how close the diocese is to filing for bankruptcy protection.

“We continue to investigate our options, and no final decisions have been reached. I feel, however, that it is important to tell you that options other than filing for bankruptcy protection have not emerged. It appears likely to me that the diocese will need to reorganize financially under the protection of the Bankruptcy Court,” Blaire wrote in an advance statement issued to the media Friday.

“I want to keep you and the wider community informed as best I can in this process. That is why I am meeting in the days and weeks ahead with your pastors and with others who may be affected by a bankruptcy filing by the diocese,” the statement continued.

During an interview Friday afternoon at the six-county diocesan headquarters in downtown Stockton, Blaire explained why he was issuing his statement now.

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CALIFORNIA
Signal

After several fits and starts, a bill extending the statute of limitations for some childhood sexual abuse victims was approved by the California Legislature on Friday — paving the way for possible lawsuits against Palma High School in Salinas.

Nine people who say they were abused by priests while attending Palma may be among the first to sue if Gov. Jerry Brown doesn’t veto the bill, known as SB 131.

The bill extends the civil statute of limitations for child sex abuse victims.

Seven of the nine former Palma students say they were sexually assaulted by the Rev. Gerald Funcheon when he was a chaplain at the school from 1984-85. Funcheon, who is still a priest but is housed in a secure “treatment” facility, admitted in sworn testimony last year that he molested one of the men, but denied the others.

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STOCKTON (CA)
Fox 40

by Ian McDonald
Web Producer

STOCKTON-

The Catholic Diocese of Stockton said Friday that it may file for bankruptcy after sexual abuse lawsuit settlements have “depleted” their funds.

“I feel, however, that it is important to tell you that options other than filing for bankruptcy protection have not emerged,” Bishop Stephen Blaire said in a written statement. “It appears likely to me that the Diocese will need to re-organize [sic] financially under the protection of Bankruptcy Court.”

No final decision has been made, however.

The Diocese serves 250,000 Catholics, it says. Bishop Blaire says he will keep everyone informed once a financial decision has been made.

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STOCKTON (CA)
Catholic Culture

The Diocese of Stockton, California, could soon become the 10th Catholic diocese in the US to file for bankruptcy in the face of costly legal settlements with sex-abuse victims.

Stockton’s Bishop Stephen Blaire announced that the diocese is exploring every available option for meeting its financial obligations. But he warned that “options other than filing for bankruptcy protection have not emerged.” The bishop said that it “appears likely” the diocese will enter federal bankruptcy court.

The announcement from Stockton comes close on the heels of the news that the Diocese of Gallup, New Mexico will file for bankruptcy protection.

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WISCONSIN
Fox 6

[with video]

WAUWATOSA (WITI) – A former priest at Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in Wauwatosa is suspected of stealing money from his congregation. FOX6 has uncovered recently released subpoenas that detail how much money he may have taken, and what he spent it on. The documents suggest Father James Dokos may have spent money that was supposed to be donated to the church on everything from $1,000 worth of flowers, to a racquet club membership.

The Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office is investigating Father Dokos, who was the pastor at the Wauwatosa church for over two decades.

In 2011, Father Dokos gave FOX6 News a tour of the church building, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

Court records show wealthy donors left the church more than $1 million in a trust Father Dokos oversaw.

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WISCONSIN
WTMJ

[with video]

WAUWATOSA – It’s now up to the district attorney’s office to determine if a crime was committed at the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in Wauwatosa.

The parish council said tens of thousands of dollars may be missing, and council members think a former priest is to blame.

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CALIFORNIA
The Worthy Adversary

Posted by Joelle Casteix on September 6, 2013

SB 131 – the Child Victims’ Act – has become the “little bill that could.” Despite great odds and millions of dollars spent on lobbying to kill the bill (by Roman Catholic and USA Swimming officials), SB 131 passed the senate floor vote 21-8 and is heading to Governor Jerry Brown’s desk.

There is talk that California’s bishops have heavily (and personally) lobbied Brown, a former Jesuit seminarian, to veto the bill.

Brown needs to know that this anti-crime bill—which holds wrong-doers accountable and protects kids RIGHT NOW—is a top priority for California.

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CALIFORNIA
Los Angeles Times

By Patrick McGreevy
September 6, 2013

SACRAMENTO — The Senate approved a measure Friday that would make it easier for some child abuse victims to sue private or nonprofit employers for failing to protect them from molesters.

The bill, which is opposed by the Catholic Church, squeaked by on a 21-8 vote and now heads to the governor. The bill would allow some child abuse victims more time to file lawsuits against private institutions such as parochial schools, but would not apply to public schools. Some victims for whom the statute of limitations has expired would get a new one-year window during which they could bring a lawsuit.

Sen. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) disclosed during the floor debate that he was a victim of child abuse by a family member. He said the legislation is needed because it sometimes takes decades for people to admit they were molested.

“I was alone trying to understand what happened to me for many years,” Lara said. “I couldn’t go to anyone.”

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CALIFORNIA
Fresno Bee

By Christopher Cadelago — ccadelago@sacbee.com

A bill to extend the statute of limitations for some sex abuse victims narrowly passed the state Senate on Friday.

The vote was 21-8 in the 40-member house, the minimum required for passage. It now heads to Gov. Jerry Brown.

The bill, which was resurrected after failing last month amid fierce lobbying from the Catholic Church and others, would open a yearlong window for those excluded from a 2003 law that extended the time during which sexual abuse victims can file a civil lawsuit.

Sen. Ricardo Lara, D-Bell Gardens, punctuated the debate with moving testimony about his own struggles arising from the abuse he suffered from a member of his own family. Lara, who referred to himself as a “high-level survivor,” said he knows many of his legislative colleagues have been pressured by the church not to support the bill.

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AUSTRALIA
lewisblayse.net

Victoria’s chief Anglican, Philip Freier (see previous posting), has fronted the Victorian Parliamentary enquiry into clerical child sexual abuse, but his underling Bishops have not. They do not seem to have much to say on the topic at all, apparently preferring to leave it all to their boss.

The exception is the Bendigo guy, Andrew Curnow, who has previously worked in New York and Virginia. He acknowledges seven cases of “inappropriate behaviour” in the past nine years. These were passed on to his Director of Professional Standards, and believed that only one of them was passed on to police. He claims that “We have no evidence to believe sexual abuse is widespread” in his diocese, although he admits there could be more where victims approached police first.

Archbishop Freier’s bishops seem to be much more concerned with same sex relationships.

The Gippsland guy, John McIntyre, recently appointed an openly gay priest, and supports marriage equality. The Ballarat guy, Barry Weatherill has previously said that same-sex couples should not be discriminated against in any way by the law and should have access to the same superannuation and the like, but was not in favour of marriage equality. Weatherill had been in charge when an openly gay priest quit after complaining about “persecution” for being in a lesbian relationship.

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UNITED STATES
Wonkette

by SNIPY

We know you people have not approved of our recurring NewPopeNiceTime feature, but we do not care. However, we’ll throw you a bone today and talk about how really super terrible one Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Illinois is on account of how he thinks that we’re gonna close all the churches because of being all pagan now and because the Catholic Church has handled the sexual abuse scandal pretty much better than anyone else would, yep yep.

Let’s kick it off with how since pagans have taken over the world, the First Amendment is barely hanging on and also communism:

“And now I think we are moving in a direction that – not only is it more than secular – it’s a rejection. It’s an outright rejection [of Judeo-Christian values]. It’s a pagan kind of a culture.”

“The reality is that – ironically, it is becoming more like the Church was in the time of John Paul II in Poland under Communism where you [Christians] lived in a very hostile environment. We still have the First Amendment of our Constitution but that is being sorely tested.“

The good folks at the Washington Times go on to explain at us about how communism works but neglect to explain how we are all currently arresting and murdering the Catholics, probably on account of how we are not last time we checked.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Augsburger Allgemeine

Bei den Durchsuchungen bei den Zwölf Stämmen wurden nicht nur Ruten und Stöcke gefunden. Ein Sprecher der Augsburger Staatsanwaltschaft berichtet von speziellen Räumen. Von Ina Kresse und Anika Taiber

Die Kinder der Glaubensgemeinschaft Zwölf Stämme sollen von Erwachsenen immer wieder mit Stöcken und Ruten gezüchtigt, Babys streng gewickelt worden sein. In einem großangelegten Einsatz am frühen Donnerstagmorgen haben Polizisten 28 Kinder im Alter zwischen sieben Monaten und 17 Jahren aus dem Schlaf geholt und von ihren Familien weggebracht.

Ermittlungsverfahren gegen Unbekannt

Wie die Staatsanwaltschaft Augsburg gegenüber unserer Zeitung sagt, wurde ein Ermittlungsverfahren eingeleitet. “Wir ermitteln wegen Misshandlung Schutzbefohlener und gefährlicher Körperverletzung”, sagt Christian Engelsberger, stellvertretender Sprecher der Staatsanwaltschaft. Das Verfahren richte sich derzeit gegen Unbekannt. Man müsse ersteinmal herausfinden, wer die Beschuldigten seien. “Wir können nicht alle Mitglieder unter Generalverdacht stellen.”

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SPRINGFIELD (IL)
Berger’s Beat

September 6, 2013 1:50 pm | Author: berger

Springfield Illinois Bishop Thomas Paprocki made national headlines in 2007, when he claimed that the main force behind child sex cases was “none other than the devil.” Now, in an interview with the Washington Times, he attacks Letterman for pedophile priest jokes and says that “of an institution in the country – perhaps in the world – I don’t think anyone is dealing with (child sex abuse) as responsibly as the Catholic Church has.” (Ironically, one of Paprocki’s predecessors – former Springfield bishop Daniel Ryan – resigned after abuse lawsuits against him were filed.)

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AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald

Sept. 7, 2013

Catherine Armitage
Senior Writer

The Catholic Church is pursuing hard-line legal tactics against victims of sex abuse in civil claims despite publicly promising to put victims’ needs first, lawyers say.

The church has promised to ”promote lasting healing” by avoiding litigation and ”putting the needs of victims first” since a national royal commission and two state inquiries into child sex abuse began.

Yet its legal representatives persist with obstructive and combative actions inconsistent with its public statements, says John Ellis, a solicitor with Clinch Long Letherbarrow whose unsuccessful case against the church set a legal precedent and famously led to an apology by Cardinal George Pell for ”legal abuse”.

Mr Ellis said it was difficult to provide specific examples because of client confidentiality, but victims continued to be threatened with court if they didn’t accept settlements.

He said the so-called Ellis defence kept surfacing in negotiations, despite Catholic Church Insurances telling the Victorian parliamentary inquiry it was not used in civil cases.

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AUSTRALIA
The Satellite

Jessica Grewal 6th Sep 2013

QUEENSLANDERS who experienced childhood sex abuse in an institution will have the chance to tell their stories when the royal commission returns to Brisbane next week.

Royal Commission CEO Janette Dines said there had been a strong response from people interested in attending private sessions.

She said more than 326 people had already given accounts and the commission expected to hear from at least 850 more by the end of the year.

Private sessions have been held Perth, Adelaide, Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne and sessions are currently scheduled in Darwin and Tasmania.

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AUSTRALIA
Herald Sun

ANNE MATHER MERCURY SEPTEMBER 07, 2013

TASMANIANS who experienced childhood sexual abuse in an institution will have their chance to speak privately before a royal commission next week.

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse will be holding private sessions in Tasmania from Tuesday.

A Tasmanian advocate for the sexually abused has reassured victims that the royal commission is a compassionate and supportive process.

Beyond Abuse spokesman Steve Fisher said the private sessions being run by the royal commission were a world away from facing a court or church tribunal.

“These are designed to ensure people are not re-traumatised,” he said.

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AUSTRALIA
Newcastle Herald

By JOANNE McCARTHY Sept. 6, 2013

A RETIRED Catholic priest who has a family resource centre named in his honour has appeared in Wyong Local Court on child pornography charges.

Father Edward Sedevic, 72, of Lake Haven, successfully requested an order suppressing his personal details when he appeared in the court on Wednesday on three charges of possessing child abuse material and using a service to access child pornography.

He did not enter pleas and the matter returns to court in October.

Wyong Local Court magistrate Susan McIntyre revoked the order yesterday after a media application argued other men on similar charges, including a former police officer, a prominent Sydney dance teacher and a radio personality, had been named in media reports.

Police from the State Crime Command’s sex crimes squad charged Father Sedevic on August 20 with possessing a child pornography film.

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LITTLE ROCK (AR)
Arkansas Times

Posted by Max Brantley on Fri, Sep 6, 2013

The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) has announced it will hold a confidential supporting meeting next Wednesday at the downtown library. You can find more details here. The group emphasizes that, though the group name mentions priests, it is open to anyone harmed by a predator in an institutional setting.

The meeting precedes by less than a week Little Rock court dates in which SNAP has announced an interest. Kelly Ann O’Rourke, a former Mount St. Mary Academy teacher, is to appear in court Sept. 16 to answer a charge that she violated probation by continuing to attempt to contact a former student she sexually assaulted. Her former supervisor, Kathy Gene Griffin, is to appear in court the next day on a charge that she failed to report the abuse.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Spiegel

Limburg – Der umstrittene Bischof Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst hat von seinen Kritikern einen Protestbrief bekommen, den rund 4400 Gläubige unterzeichnet haben. In dem sogenannten Frankfurter Appell kritisieren Gemeindemitglieder, kirchliche Mitarbeiter und Priester den Führungsstil des Kirchenmannes. “Die Bistumsleitung muss umgehend einen anderen Weg einschlagen”, heißt es in dem Schreiben, das am 25. August am Ende eines Gottesdienstes im Frankfurter Dom verlesen worden war.

Vertreter der katholischen Stadtkirche Frankfurts übergaben dem Bischof die Unterschriftensammlung nun hinter verschlossenen Türen. “Ich denke, es ist ein guter Anfang”, sagte hinterher Christoph Hefter, der Vorsitzende der Stadtversammlung der Frankfurter Katholiken. Wenn es zu Veränderungen im Bistum führe, sei es ein sehr wertvolles Gespräch gewesen.

Tebartz-van Elst äußerte sich nicht persönlich zu dem Treffen. Sein Sprecher sprach von einem “offenen, konstruktiven” Gespräch, bei dem auch kritische Punkte angesprochen worden seien.

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SPRINGFIELD (IL)
Addicting Info

Catholic Bishop: Ignorance Leads To Blaming Priests For Sex Abuse; Church Has Dealt With Problem ‘Responsibly’

If there are two things I’ve never before put in the same sentence, it’s ‘Catholic sex abuse’ and ‘dealing with it responsibly.’ They just don’t make sense.

However, Bishop Thomas Paprocki feels differently. In an interview with the very conservative Washington Times, the Bishop talked about a number of topics, ranging from what he called “anti-Catholic bigotry” to David Letterman. But by far the most interesting tidbit in Paprocki’s interview came when discussing a joke made by Letterman a few months back. Letterman said:

“I am telling you if there is anything kids can’t get enough of it’s a 76-year old virgin. Come on, world youth day, or as the Vatican calls it, a salute to altar boys.”

Of course, Paprocki feels that this kind of mocking is unfair, given that the Catholic church has dealt so competently with the issue.

“You ask what else could it be other than anti-Catholic bigotry – well, it certainly is that. What else could it be? It certainly is ignorance. Profound ignorance for anyone to make comments like that. For one thing it shows the ignorance of someone who identifies the Catholic Church and, particularly the priesthood, with sexual abuse. Certainly, we have had our unfortunate share of scandals and sin and the church is dealing with that. I would venture to say that of any institution in the country – perhaps in the world – I don’t think anyone is dealing with it as responsibly as the Catholic Church has. So public figures like that continue to point their finger at the Catholic Church and say you have a problem with sexual abuse and people are ignoring where most sexual abuse is taking place. It’s occurring in families. It’s occurring in schools.” (emphasis added)

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CANADA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Friday, September 6, 2013

Statement by Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, Outreach Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests ( 314 862 7688 home, 314 503 0003 cell, SNAPdorris@gmail.com )

Father Damian Cooper, an accused predator Catholic priest, is expected to be in the Vancouver, BC courthouse (800 Smith Street) today.

[Sylvia’s Site]

An abuse and cover up lawsuit involving him was filed in December 2012 alleging that he sexually abused a teenage girl in the late 1980s to early 1990s. And an application was filed August 8th requesting the BC Supreme Court to order Vancouver Catholic officials to produce documents pertaining to Cooper’s crimes.

[BishopAccountability.org]

[The Inquiry]

No matter how today’s hearing turns out, we hope every single person who saw, suspected or suffered crimes by Cooper or cover ups by Catholic officials will step forward. Staying silent only helps those who commit and conceal child sex crimes.

We also hope they’ll contact the independent professionals in law enforcement, not the biased bureaucrats in church offices.

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SPRINGFIELD (IL)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Friday, September 6, 2013

Statement by Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, Outreach Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests ( 314 862 7688 home, 314 503 0003 cell, SNAPdorris@gmail.com )

Controversial Springfield Catholic Bishop Thomas Paprocki is at it again. First, he claimed that child sex cases were the work of Satan. Now he claims that “of any institution in the country – perhaps in the world – I don’t think anyone is dealing with (child sex abuse) as responsibly as the Catholic Church has.”

[Washington Times]

How can he ignore the fact that one of his predecessors –Springfield bishop Daniel Ryan – resigned after abuse lawsuits against him were filed?

How can he ignore the fact that one of his peers – Kansas City Bishop Robert Finn – was convicted two years ago for endangering kids and hiding evidence of child sex crimes from police?

How can he ignore the fact that another of his peers – St. Louis Archbishop Robert Carlson – was accused weeks ago of evidence tampering in a case involving an arrested priest’s child sex crimes from last summer?

How can he ignore the fact that no other institution on the planet has such a long, extensive and well-documented history of ignoring, concealing and enabling sexual violence against girls, boys, teens and vulnerable adults than the Catholic church?

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ARKANSAS
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Friday, September 6, 2013

Little Rock clergy abuse victims meet this week
Organization works to “heal the wounded & protect the vulnerable”

A self-help group for men and women who were abused by clergy will hold a confidential support meeting in Little Rock next week.

The organization is SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. It is based in Chicago, claims 13,000 members and has been around since 1988.

“Victims, family members, and supporters are encouraged to attend,” said Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, SNAP’s outreach director. “Getting together in a private setting can help to start the healing of anyone who has been abused as a child or exploited as an adult.”

Sometimes, SNAP is perceived as an “activist” group, Dorris said. “But the bulk of what we do is to just listen and offer consolation – quietly and privately – to people who are in pain.”

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ST. LOUIS (MO)
Virtue Online

by Chris Regnier
KTVI
Sept. 4, 2013

A north St. Louis church that was in a bitter legal fight for years with the St. Louis Archdiocese may be changing its denomination entirely.

St. Stanislaus Church could become part of the Episcopal church. The possible switch to the Episcopal church is laid out in a letter from Bishop Geroge Wayne Smith who leads the Episcopal Diocese of Missouri.

Bishop Smith’s letter to the clergy and church members say Episcopal Diocese of Missouri and St. Stanislaus Kostka are in discussions that could lead to the church “coming into union” with the Episcopal church.

Smith calls the news “exciting.” The letter says that St. Stanislaus could retain its Cherished Polish identity along with its practices and rites, or it could choose any or all of the liturgies in the Episcopal church.

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PHILIPPINES
GMA News

By LUIS B. GORGONIO, GMA NewsSeptember 6, 2013

For members of the Catholic flock who may want to know how some bishops and priests sired children, squandered money offerings, and jockeyed for power to get plum positions in the hierarchical institution, the long-awaited “Altar of Secrets: Sex, Politics, and Money in the Philippine Catholic Church” by veteran journalist Aries Rufo is a worthy addition on the bookshelf.

While some of the sources were anonymous, rendering as anecdotal some of the narratives, the wealth of inside information gathered by Rufo through decades of experience in covering the church beat has lent credence to his claim that some “princes” of the Catholic Church lived immoral lives.

In the introduction, Rufo takes pains to note that the book is not “divinely inspired” and that he believes the men of the cloth are also “made of clay.”

It is not about faith, or religion, or the Catholic Church as a whole. It is about the sexual misconduct as well as injustice, corruption, financial mismanagement, and abuse of power by people who happen to be bishops and priests.

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NEW JERSEY
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Friday, Sept. 6

Two more NJ predator priests “outed”
They worked in Newark and Trenton
And a settlement involving a third was just revealed
Victims’ group blast two bishops for “ongoing secrecy”

Two credibly accused New Jersey predator priests have been publicly exposed for the first time this week. Settlements involving the two, plus a third accused local priest, were also disclosed. In each case, the news came from alleged victims and attorneys, not Catholic officials.

Accusations against Fr. John P. Nickas first surfaced publicly in May. But until this week, no one knew of the allegations against Fr. Victor Phelan and Fr. Vincent Inghilterra.

At a news conference in Boston, attorney Mitchell Garabedian revealed that he represents child sex abuse victims of each cleric and that church officials paid them settlements.

Fr. Inghilterra and Fr. Nickas are diocesan priests, in Trenton and Newark, respectively. Fr. Phelan is with a Catholic religious order called the Society of Missionaries of Africa but he worked at least one year (1977) in Plainfield in the Newark archdiocese, according to the Official Catholic Directory.

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CANADA/OHIO
The Columbus Dispatch

By JoAnne Viviano
The Columbus Dispatch Friday September 6, 2013

A priest who once worked in central Ohio has been sentenced in Canada to two months under house arrest and three additional months under curfew for sexually assaulting a teenager in British Columbia.

The Rev. Phil Jacobs, 63, will be on two years of probation after serving the sentence and must meet criteria that include 50 hours of community service, counseling, limited contact with young people and registering as a sex offender, said his attorney, Chris Considine.

Jacobs was found guilty in February of sexually touching a person between the ages of 14 and 18. On Wednesday, Justice J. Miriam Gropper said he could avoid jail because he is a low to moderate risk to re-offend, the Saanich News reported.

Court testimony showed that Jacobs touched the genitals of a boy he was tutoring at St. Joseph the Worker School in Saanich, British Columbia, where he served in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Jacobs said he unintentionally brushed the boy’s groin.

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AUSTRALIA
Canberra Times

September 7, 2013

Tom McIlroy
Reporter at The Canberra Times

The fallout from the royal commission on institutional child sexual abuse will shake Australian churches ”to their foundations”, the leader of Canberra’s Anglican community said on Friday.

Delivering his annual synod charge address to members of the church, Bishop Stuart Robinson said the diocese was not immune from the commission’s consideration of decades of clerical sexual abuse, and staff were examining records which dated back to the 1920s.

”I am currently expending around one-third of my energy on professional standards matters,” Bishop Robinson said.

”My expectation is that the findings will shake the churches to their foundations.”

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DEUTSCHLAND
Die Welt

Die Religionsgemeinschaft “Zwölf Stämme” macht wieder von sich reden. Auch diesmal geht es um Schulverweigerung und einen Polizeieinsatz, bei dem mehrere Kinder von Beamten weggebracht wurden.

Die Polizei hat 40 Kinder aus der umstrittenen Glaubensgemeinschaft “Zwölf Stämme” im schwäbischen Klosterzimmern geholt. Das Amtsgericht Nördlingen hatte einen vorläufigen Sorgerechtsentzug angeordnet. In der Vergangenheit hatte es immer wieder Hinweise darauf gegeben, dass die Kinder geprügelt und gezüchtigt werden.

Wie ein Sprecher des Polizeipräsidiums in Augsburg sagte, handelt es sich um 28 Mädchen und Jungen, die in der umstrittenen Gemeinschaft bei Deiningen leben. Dazu kamen zwölf weitere Kinder aus Wörnitz (Kreis Ansbach).

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DEUTSCHLAND
Focus

In zwei Zentren der Glaubensgemeinschaft „Zwölf Stämme“ hat die Polizei insgesamt 40 Kinder aus ihren Familien geholt. Er besteht Verdacht auf „erheblichen Kindesmissbrauch“: Säuglinge sollen zu eng gewickelt worden sein, Kinder mit Stöcken gezüchtigt.

Bei dem Polizeieinsatz im bayerischen Klosterzimmern im Landkreis Donau-Ries wurden am Donnerstagmorgen 28 Kinder aus dem Sitz der Glaubensgemeinschaft „Zwölf Stämme“ geholt.

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GERMANY
Telegraph (United Kingdom)

German police have raided a Christian sect, taking away 40 children, alleging that they had been beaten and abused, according to reports.

More than 100 police targeted two locations of “The Twelve Tribes” in the southern German state of Bavaria, the local Augsburger Allgemeine and Spiegel Online said.

The dawn raids followed “new evidence pointing to significant and ongoing child abuse by the members”, local officials were quoted as saying.

In all, police withdrew from the community’s custody 28 children from one monastery near the town of Deiningen and 12 from a second location, Woernitz.

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POLEN
SZ (Deutschland)

Warschau. Nachdem der päpstlichen Nuntius in der Dominikanischen Republik wegen des Verdachts auf sexuellen Missbrauch abberufen wurden, suchen die Behörden nach Medienberichten einen zweiten polnischen Priester. Nach Informationen des polnischen Nachrichtensenders TVN 24 soll der Geistliche Ausflüge und Ferienfreizeiten für Kinder organisiert haben, bei denen es zu Missbrauch gekommen sein soll.

Der ebenfalls aus Polen stammende Nuntius in der Karibikrepublik, Erzbischof Józef Wesolowski, soll sexuelle Kontakte zu minderjährigen Prostituierten gehabt haben. Ein Vatikansprecher hatte vor wenigen Tagen die Abberufung des Nuntius bestätigt.

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AUSTRALIA
Newcastle Herald

By JOANNE McCARTHY Sept. 6, 2013

A RETIRED Catholic priest who has a family resource centre named in his honour has appeared in Wyong Local Court on child pornography charges.

Father Edward Sedevic, 72, of Lake Haven, successfully requested an order suppressing his personal details when he appeared in the court on Wednesday on three charges of possessing child abuse material and using a service to access child pornography.

He did not enter pleas and the matter returns to court in October.

Wyong Local Court magistrate Susan McIntyre revoked the order yesterday after a media application argued other men on similar charges, including a former police officer, a prominent Sydney dance teacher and a radio personality, had been named in media reports.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

[with audio]

One in five children will be sexually assaulted before their 18th birthday. That’s a schocking statistic.

This week is National Child’s Protection Week and today is a day to “lift the cone of silence” that surrounds child sexual assault and increase the understanding of the difficult issue.

It’s the 17th annual Bravehearts White Balloon Day. Jill had a chat with Carol Ronkin who is a Criminologist with Bravehearts.

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AUSTRALIA
Brisbane Times

A royal commission set to expose how institutions have failed child sex abuse victims is receiving an average of 23 phone calls a day.

More than 4300 people have called since the inquiry began to report abuse perpetrated against children.

The response to the commission has been so overwhelming that commissioners say it will be impossible to make findings in relation to every institute where child sex abuse allegedly occurred.

Speaking at a Bravehearts White Balloon Day in Brisbane on Friday, Justice Peter McClellan AM said the commission would have to be selective when investigating and holding public hearings into allegations of abuse.

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UNITED STATES
Right Wing Watch

[with video]

SUBMITTED BY Brian Tashman on Thursday, 9/5/2013

The Roman Catholic bishop who suggested that voting for Democratic candidates will doom a person to Hell recently sat down with the Washington Times, which is controlled by the Unification Church, to discuss how Catholics should respond to issues like same-sex marriage. Ignoring the advice of former Anglican Archbishop Rowan Williams that Christians shouldn’t mistake unpopularity for persecution, Springfield, Illinois Bishop Thomas Paprocki said that the United States is now a “pagan” culture no different from the era of the Roman Empire when Christians were oppressed and martyred.

He was especially offended by a David Letterman joke about the Catholic Church child abuse scandal, which he reflected “anti-Catholic bigotry” and “profound ignorance.”

According to Paprocki, no institution in the world has handled sex abuse cases better than the Catholic Church: “Certainly, we have had our unfortunate share of scandals and sin and the church is dealing with that. I would venture to say that of any institution in the country – perhaps in the world – I don’t think anyone is dealing with it as responsibly as the Catholic Church has.”

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UNITED STATES
BishopAccountability.org

Summary of Case: A priest of the Oregon Province of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), ordained in 1950, Doyle worked in high schools in Missoula MT and Spokane WA. He also did parish ministry in the dioceses of Boise City ID, Great Falls MT, and Spokane WA. He was involved for many years as a missionary with native Americans on reservations in Washington State and Idaho. In a 2002 lawsuit Doyle was accused of sexually abusing a girl for years, beginning when she was 15 years-old and he was nearly 60. His accuser said she met him when she attended horse camp on the Kalipsel Reservation in Washington. The allegations were deemed credible by the Spokane diocese. Doyle died in 2005.

Ordained: 1950
Died: 2005

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CANADA
Lez Get Real

Posted by: Bridgette P. LaVictoire on September 5, 2013.

FlagFather Philip Jacobs will be getting only a five month conditional sentence and two years of probation for sexually touching a teenage boy when he was serving in hic capacity as a Catholic priest at St. Joseph the Worker Church in Saanich, British Columbia.

However, that incident is not the only one that he has admitted to. Jacobs molested children and teens in both British Columbia, Canada and in Ohio, USA.

BC Supreme Court Justice Miriam Gropper chose not to send Jacobs, who is 63, to jail for the six months requested by the Crown prosecutor. Gropper did find that the priest did act deliberately when rubbing the young man’s leg up to the groin and that Jacobs’ attempts to claim it was accidental or absent-minded in nature was not credible.

Gropper, however, acquitted Jacobs back in March of three other charges including sexual touching and sexual assault.

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MILWAUKEE (WI)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

By Annysa Johnson of the Journal Sentinel
Sept. 5, 2013

New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan called on Milwaukee-area Catholics Thursday to embrace the church as their spiritual family — despite its flaws — and to fight those forces in the secular culture that would seek to destroy it.

“Are you prepared to defend your faith from those who would take it from us?” Dolan asked an enthusiastic and near-sold-out audience at the Milwaukee Theatre.

“These liberators might be the late night talk show hosts, classmates of our kids … or editorial page journalists who misunderstand the beauty of our Catholic faith,” he said. “Are we prepared to engage them … to live and die for the church? That, my friends, is apologetics. And that, my friends, we need more than ever.”

The former archbishop of Milwaukee and one of the nation’s most influential American prelates was the featured speaker for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee’s 10th annual Pallium Lecture series, which he founded during his tenure here. Thursday’s talk, which stressed the beauty and mystery of the church, as well as its sins, gave local Catholics insight into Dolan’s role as the Vatican’s point man for what it calls the new evangelization to spread the faith.

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MILWAUKEE (WI)
Charlotte Observer

By M.L. JOHNSON
Associated Press
Posted: Thursday, Sep. 05, 2013

MILWAUKEE New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan said Thursday that one of the biggest problems facing the Roman Catholic Church is the number of people who identify as former Catholics, including many who left because of the ‘sinful’ behavior of clergy and other Church members.

Dolan, the former Milwaukee archbishop, made the comments during his first appearance in the city since the archdiocese released the personnel files of 42 priests with substantiated allegations of child sexual abuse against them in July.

Dolan didn’t explicitly mention abuse, but he acknowledged that some Catholics who left the church because “they have been shocked, saddened and nauseated by the sinful behavior” of some of its members. He said Catholics should not hide from that.

“It’s not a bad idea to fess up to the sinful side of the Church,” Dolan said.

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CIUDAD DEL VATICANA
El Nuevo Herald

CIUDAD DEL VATICANO — Una asociación de víctimas de pederastia lamentó el jueves la destitución “secreta y tardía” por parte del Vaticano del nuncio del Vaticano en República Dominicana, decidida en agosto debido a acusaciones de abuso sexual a menores pero que no se difundió hasta el miércoles.

El 21 de agosto, el nuncio (embajador) del Vaticano en República Dominicana, el polaco Jozef Wesolowski, de 65 años, fue destituido de sus funciones, una información que el Vaticano no anunció pero que fue confirmada el miércoles por Federico Lombardi, portavoz del Papa, quien confirmó la existencia de una investigación en curso del Vaticano sobre esas acusaciones.

“Los responsables católicos sólo actúan cuando están obligados a hacerlo bajo presión mediática. Y cuando lo hacen es siempre en secreto, en este caso sin revelar las acusaciones, la suspensión o la razón de la suspensión”, lamentó en un comunicado Barbara Dorris, directora de la Red estadounidense de Supervivientes de Víctimas de Abusos Cometidos por Sacerdotes (Snap).

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REPUBLICA DOMINICANA
EFE

Santo Domingo, 5 sep (EFE).- El cardenal de la República Dominicana, Nicolás de Jesús López Rodríguez, pidió hoy a la Justicia actuar con “firmeza” y “claridad” ante denuncias de presunto abuso sexual a menores por parte de sacerdotes y el destituido nuncio apostólico en el país, Jósef Wesolowski.

Las declaraciones del arzobispo de Santo Domingo, leídas en una rueda de prensa en la que no estuvo presente, se producen un día después de que la Fiscalía de Santo Domingo informara de que abrió una investigación sobre Jósef Wesolowski, ante las investigaciones periodísticas que le acusan de pederastia.

La Justicia también indaga denuncias de presunto abuso sexual cometido contra varias mujeres por el cura de Constanza (norte), Juan Manuel de Jesús Mota (conocido en la comunidad eclesiásticas como el Padre Johnny) y quien ha sido apartado del cargo.

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REPUBLICA DOMINICANA
Noticias SIN

[con video]

CONSTANZA, República Dominicana.- Tres de las jóvenes que denuncian abuso sexual contra Juan Manuel Mota de Jesús, “padre Johnny”, presentaron querella formalmente este miércoles.

Hoy dos de ellas se mostraron ante las cámaras y hablaron para Noticias SIN, solicitando justicia por los supuestos abusos a los que fueron sometidas.

Las supuestas víctimas identificadas como Yudelkis Trinidad y Alexandra Soriano ambas de 21 años, estuvieron acompañadas por su representante legal el abogado Félix Portes, quien depositó la querella.

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REPUBLICA DOMINICANA
Panorama Diario

Santo Domingo.- El cardenal de República Dominicana, Nicolás de Jesús López Rodríguez, pidió este jueves a la justicia actuar en base a “investigaciones muy serias” en relación a los últimos escándalos de pederastias que involucra a sacerdotes. En un documento de prensa leído en la Conferencia del Episcopado Dominicano, López Rodríguez solicitó al entramado judicial proceder con firmeza y claridad y aplicar las sanciones establecidas en el Código Penal.

De su lado, el sacerdote Manuel Ruiz quien habló en representación del cardenal, afirmó que hasta el momento no hay una acusación formal en contra del destituido nuncio apostólico, Józef Wesolowski, acusado de pederastia.

Tras leer el documento, el secretario general de la Conferencia del Episcopado, Carmelo Santana Jerez, restó competencia y calidad a Monseñor Agripino Núñez Collado para hablar de pederastia con relación al nuncio, porque sostiene que las comunicaciones han sido directas entre el cardenal López Rodríguez y el papa Francisco.

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REPUBLICA DOMINICANA
Hoy

Escrito por: ANBARELI ESPINOZA (a.espinoza@hoy.com.do)

El cardenal Nicolás de Jesús López Rodríguez pidió perdón a la sociedad por los casos de abuso sexual que se les imputa a varios sacerdotes, solicitó a la justicia que actúe con firmeza y claridad ante esos hechos y criticó que “profesionales de la intriga” se ceban en denostar a la Iglesia Católica “como si fuera la única institución en que estas realidades humanas suceden”.

En n un documento leído ayer en el Episcopado Dominicano, el arzobispo metropolitano de Santo Domingo plantea que urge purificar a la Iglesia, “sacando del ministerio a quienes lo ejercen indignamente y no merecen llamarse sacerdotes”. “Esta súplica de perdón la extiendo a la comunidad de la Iglesia Católica que se siente humillada por estos abusos incalificables, pero también a todo el pueblo dominicano que está contemplando este lamentable espectáculo con incredulidad e indignación. Lo que todos hemos visto no tiene justificación”.

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REPUBLICA DOMINICANA
Listin Diario

Editorial

De manera clara, responsable e indubitable, la Iglesia Católica dominicana ha condenado los actos incorrectos e indecorosos en que han incurrido algunos miembros del clero en nuestro país, y ha pedido perdón por esas humillaciones.

Una sentida reflexión sobre el particular ha emitido el cardenal Nicolás de Jesús López Rodríguez, patentizando el rechazo de la Iglesia a estas prácticas que “nos preocupa y avergüenza”, pidiendo perdón a las víctimas de los sacerdotes que han abusado de ellas y a sus familiares, y encareciendo a la justicia a “actuar con firmeza y claridad, en base a investigaciones muy serias estableciendo las sanciones que están previstas en el Código Penal”.

Aprovechando esta cruda y escandalosa circunstancia, el cardenal López Rodríguez plantea que se purifique a la Iglesia “sacando del ministerio a quienes lo ejercen indignamente y no merecen llamarse sacerdotes”.

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REPUBLICA DOMINICANA
Hoy

A raíz de las distintas denuncias hechas públicas en el país acerca de los casos de sacerdotes católicos acusados de abuso sexual a menores de edad, el Episcopado Dominicano dio a conocer esta mañana un comunicado con la posición que tiene en este sentido el cardenal Nicolás de Jesús López Rodríguez.

Ver comunicado aquí: http://goo.gl/3fdY7l

A través del documento presentado en rueda de prensa, el arzobispo de Santo Domingo expresó su pesar ante los últimos escándalos ventilados en medios de comunicación sobre acusaciones emitidas a sacerdotes y al nuncio saliente.

“Me consta que muchas personas, sobre todo los de fe sencilla, pero también otros que se sienten parte activa de la gran familia católica, están observando con preocupación y profunda tristeza el presente cuadro”, dijo.

¿Qué hacer ante lo que estamos viviendo?, se preguntó. Agregó: “Reconocer con humildad que estamos ante una situación que a los hijos e hijas de la Iglesia Católica nos preocupa y avergüenza; pedir perdón a las víctimas de los desalmados que han abusados de ellos y a sus familiares”.

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DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Press TV (Iran)

The pope of the Roman Catholic Church has been denounced for secretly firing Vatican’s envoy to the Dominican Republic over allegations of child sexual abuse.

On Wednesday, Pope Francis recalled Archbishop Jozef Wesolowski and launched a probe following the news in local media outlets that the archbishop was involved in pedophilia.

And Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi announced that Wesolowski had been “relieved of his duties”.

A day later, human rights activists censured the pope for making surreptitious and reckless decisions.

“Like all of his predecessors, Pope Francis is acting belatedly, secretively and recklessly,” Barbara Dorris, the director for the US-based Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), said in a statement published on Thursday.

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INDIA
The Times of India

NEW DELHI: Asaram is being pilloried by everybody, from parliamentarians to journalists, for alleged sexual assault on a teenager and is in jail now. Some of the horrified public responses at his alleged act can also be attributed to the general notion that dissociates sex from spirituality. This notion considers everybody on the spiritual path as ‘wedded’ to celibacy. But is this perception correct?

A spiritual person, such orthodoxy goes, must not have a carnal side, a belief that stems from the sanyasi tradition where it is popularly believed that a seeker after God renounces all desires. This possibly explains why many Hindi newspapers and TV channels are aghast at the preacher’s “fall from grace”. In the English language media, the same horror is related: that men of cloth, like the Christian missionaries, must be celibate and breaking the vows of chastity would call for de-frocking of the erring priest.

In fact, the Boston Globe in the United States had run a series of reports on sex abuse in the Catholic church. Several such reports have appeared also in TOI. Since 2002, much of the US media has been critical of the approach of the bishops while dealing with sex abuse by priests. The net has a number of reports like this and this. This is because in Catholic church priests are bound by religion to be celibates. The instances of aggravated sexual transgressions by priests are worse as they involve under-age children, often of the same sex.

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NEW MEXICO
Daily Times

By Hannah Grover The Daily Times
Updated: 09/05/2013

FARMINGTON — On Sunday, Catholic churches throughout the Diocese of Gallup surprised parishioners with a letter from Bishop James S. Wall announcing that the diocese would file Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The letter explained that sexual abuse lawsuits brought against the diocese prompted the bankruptcy.

In the past decade, more than a dozen priests in the Diocese of Gallup, which includes parishes in San Juan County, have been accused of sexually assaulting minors, according to BishopAccountability.org, a website based out of Massachusetts that documents abuse in the Catholic Church.

By the time Wall became bishop in 2009, the diocese was already troubled with lawsuits.

“Since becoming the Bishop of Gallup, I have worked to seek ways to bring healing to those who were harmed by sexual abuse,” Wall wrote in his letter. “Unfortunately, since becoming Bishop, the number of claims has continued to increase.”

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REPUBLICA DOMINICANA
Listin Diario

Guillermo Pérez y Ramón Cruz Benzán
Santo Domingo

La fiscal del Distrito Nacional, Yeni Berenice Reynoso, anunció ayer el inicio de una investigación sobre el destituido nuncio apostólico Jósef Wesolowski, basada en la revelación de su presunta participación en abusos a menores en el país.

Mientras tanto, el portavoz del Vaticano, Federico Lombardi, confirmó a la agencia EFE que el exnuncio, Wesolowski, fue destituido del cargo, y existe una investigación en curso sobre las acusaciones que pesan sobre él en relación con varios casos de pederastia.

De otra parte, un enviado de la Congregación para la Doctrina de la Fe está en el país desde hace varios días haciendo las investigaciones de lugar, según supo LISTÍN DIARIO de fuentes eclesiásticas, que agregaron que “la iglesia es respetuosa de las competencias del ministerio público dominicano”.

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MASSACHUSETTS
Wicked Local Roslindale

By Julie M. Cohen/Wicked Local West Roxbury and Roslindale
Wicked Local West Roxbury
Posted Sep 05, 2013

West Roxbury —
Six Roman Catholic clerics and a choir director who taught at a West Roxbury church were named publicly as alleged abusers for the first time by a prominent lawyer for clergy sex abuse victims, according to our news partners at WCVB.

William Emmett O’Brien, who died in 2004 on Cape Cod at the age of 72, was a West Roxbury resident and the children’s choir director at St. John Chrysostom Church in West Roxbury at the time of the incidents, attorney Mitchell Garabedian said.

Garabedian released the names of the five priests, one nun and O’Brien on Wednesday.
Each of the alleged victims is a client of Garabedian’s and all their cases were settled within the last year for amounts ranging from the high five figures to the low six figures, he said.

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REPUBLICA DOMINICANA
El Nuevo Herald

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

SANTO DOMINGO, República Dominicana — La iglesia católica dominicana aseguró el miércoles que no existe ninguna denuncia formal sobre abuso sexual infantil contra el ex nuncio apostólico Józef Wesolowski, pero se negó a dar detalles de la reciente remoción del sacerdote polaco por parte del Vaticano, y quien en este país es investigado por pederastia.

Las familias de varios menores de edad denunciaron a finales de mayo ante la prensa agresiones sexuales a monaguillos por parte de Wojciech, quien en ese momento se encontraba de vacaciones en Polonia. El sacerdote no ha vuelto a República Dominicana, pero ha hablado con medios de comunicación locales para insistir en su inocencia. Sólo una familia presentó una querella formal, mientras surgieron voces que lo defienden.

“Las autoridades sacerdotales van evaluando año por año a cada sacerdote, no necesariamente puede ser un asunto penal (la destitución de Wesolowski)”, dijo el sacerdote Manuel Ruiz, quien actuó como vocero en una rueda de prensa de la Conferencia del Episcopado Dominicano.

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NEW ZEALAND
New Zealand Herald

By Lincoln Tan
5:30 AM Friday Sep 6, 2013

A senior pastor who founded the Korean Presbyterian Church of Auckland will be struck off the ministerial roll after an internal church investigation found him guilty of sexual misconduct and abuse.

Reverend David Ock-Youn Jang has been found guilty by the Auckland Presbytery Complaints Hearing Committee for “gross impropriety on three representative charges which relate to sexual misconduct, and physical, verbal and emotional abuse against a single complainant”.

He denies any wrongdoing and says he has the backing of his congregation to stay.

The complainant is a woman who is linked to the Presbyterian church, the third largest Christian denomination in New Zealand.

Some details of the complaint and judgment cannot be reported for legal reasons.

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DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
VOXXI

By Ana Lopez

The Dominican Conference of Bishops have asked for pardon from the persons affected by alleged abuses committed by representatives of the Catholic Church in a series of new scandals of pederasty.

The scandals affect several priests and in a separate case to Monsignor Josef Wesolowski, a 65-year-old Pole, that was fired in his post of Papal Nuncio in Santo Domingo due to “missteps” related to accusations of pederasty.

According to he Dominican newspapers, Monsignor Wesolowski had sex for money with underage boys in the “Zona colonial,” the historic center of Santo Domingo.

Catholic Church scandals

John Paul II appointed him nuncio to Bolivia in his first posting. Wesolowski was ordained in 1972 by the then archbishop of Krakow, cardinal Karol Wojtyla, who later became pope John Paul II.

He also worked in several countries in Central Asia and was appointed as Papal Nuncio to the Dominican Republic by Benedict XVI in 2008.

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DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
TribTown

By EZEQUIEL ABIU LOPEZ Associated Press
First Posted: September 05, 2013

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — The Vatican’s recently ousted ambassador to the Dominican Republic has not been accused of child sex abuse, Catholic Church officials in the country said Thursday, while refusing to shed any light on the envoy’s sudden ouster.

Amid an outcry in the largely Catholic country, and a newly opened investigation by the attorney general’s office, senior church leaders portrayed the removal of Archbishop Jozef Wesolowski as an administrative matter.

“Church authorities are always evaluating on an annual basis every priest. It doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a criminal matter,” said the Rev. Manuel Ruiz, who acted as a spokesman for the Dominican church’s leadership at a news conference in the capital.

Pedro Joaquin Dominguez, general secretary of the Dominican bishop’s conference, said that there have been no accusations of child sex abuse against Wesolowski, who was the Vatican’s representative in the country from 2008 until he was removed Aug. 21.

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DOMINICAN REPUBLIC/VATICAN CITY
The Independent (United Kingdom)

Missing Vatican ambassador recalled following child abuse accusations in Dominican Republic

ADAM WITHNALL THURSDAY 05 SEPTEMBER 2013

A Catholic priest has been relieved of his role as ambassador for the Vatican to the Dominican Republic after local news reports accused him of paedophilia.

Archbishop Josef Wesolowski had been the nuncio, an envoy representing the interests of the church leadership, in the capital of Santo Domingo for nearly six years.

That was until Dominican television network NCDN, quoting the director of a community group called Pedro Espinal, ran a story saying Archbishop Wesolowski and a fellow Polish priest took several altar boys back to his beach house and slept in the same room as them.

Both prosecutors in the country and Vatican officials have begun separate investigations into the conduct of Archbishop Wesolowski – but neither knows where he is now.

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DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Dominican Today

Call for prosecution

Santo Domingo.- Dominican Republic’s Catholic bishops on Thursday pulled the rug out from Agripino Nuñez Collado one of their most prominent colleagues, in the wake of an exploding scandal centered on former nuncio Josef Wesolowski, removed by the Vatican after reports of alleged sexual abuse of minors.

The bishops grouped in the Dominican Episcopal Conference said Nuñez doesn’t speak for Catholic Church on recent cases of priests accused of pedophilia, including Wesolowski.

In a statement read by spokesperson and priest Manuel Ruiz at Episcopal Conference headquarters, the bishops said that only Church representatives responsible for dioceses can state its position, which isn’t Nuñez’s case.

On Tuesday Nuñez became the Dominican Church’s first senior prelate to publicly acknowledge the pedophilia allegations against the Vatican’s representative, even stating that Wesolowski was “traveling in bad steps.”

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