ABUSE TRACKER

A digest of links to media coverage of clergy abuse. For recent coverage listed in this blog, read the full article in the newspaper or other media source by clicking “Read original article.” For earlier coverage, click the title to read the original article.

September 4, 2013

Vatican recalls its envoy to the Dominican Republic over paedophilia accusations

VATICAN CITY
GMA News (Philippines)

VATICAN CITY – The Vatican has recalled its ambassador to the Dominican Republic and relieved him of his duties pending an investigation, after local media accused him of paedophilia, a spokesman said on Wednesday.

Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi told Reuters that the Holy See had started an investigation into Archbishop Josef Wesolowski, who has been nuncio (ambassador) in Santo Domingo for nearly six years.

“He has been recalled. He has been relieved of his duties and the Holy See has begun an investigation,” Lombardi said when asked about allegations against Wesolowski in the local media.

Lombardi said Wesolowski was recalled “in the last few weeks” specifically over the paedophilia accusations.

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

Dice Papa destituyó nuncio por pederasta

REPUBLICA DOMINICANA
al Momento

SANTO DOMINGO.- El rector de la Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra (PUCMM), monseñor Agripino Núñez Collado, declaró que tan pronto el Sumo Pontífice se enteró de que el nuncio apostólico en Santo Domingo, monseñor Joseph Wesolowski, andaba “en malos pasos” lo destituyó.

Dijo que es una situación que realmente avergüenza y lastima la conciencia de todos los católicos.

“Una persona puede tener sus debilidades si se quiere, pero los abusos con los menores, con los niños, son cosas imperdonables; eso no cabe en una cabeza normal y por lo tanto nadie puede aprobar eso”, sostuvo.

Recordó que el papa Francisco fue el que aumentó los castigos para los sacerdotes pederastas.

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Fiscalía dominicana investiga si Nuncio abusó de niños

REPUBLICA DOMINICANA
La Opinion

Por: Panky Corcino⁄Corresponsal EDLP

PUBLICADO: SEP, 4, 2013

Santo Domingo – La Fiscalía del Distrito Nacional abrió una investigación en contra del destituido representante del Vaticano en República Dominicana, el polaco Jósef Wesoloswski, a raíz de las denuncias periodísticas que vinculan al diplomático con casos de pederastia.

La fiscal Yeni Berenice Reynoso informó que abrió la investigación a raíz de los rumores difundidos en la televisión por Nuria Piera, quien a su vez se apoya en un reporte anterior de la periodista Addy Burgos sobre el sacerdote polaco Wojciech Gil Nojache (Alberto) denunciado ante la Justicia por violación de al menos 14 menores de edad en la comunidad Juncalito, Santiago (noroeste).

Berenice Reynoso asegura que además tomó en cuenta las declaraciones del líder religioso monseñor Agripino Núñez Collado, rector de la Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra (PUCMM), quien aseguró que el destituido Nuncio Apostólico de su Santidad “andaba en malos pasos”.

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Vatican’s rep in Dominican Republic at center of pedophile scandal

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Dominican Today

Santo Domingo. – Monsignor Agripino Nuñez on Tuesday confirmed that Pope Francis recalled papal nuncio Jozef Wesolowski from the country, after a report linking him to child abuse.

He said the Vatican has begun an investigation and as an ambassador, the nuncio’s case must be treated from government to government.

He said Cardinal Nicolas de Jesus Lopez Rodriguez sent the report to the Vatican. “Nobody is above the law and everyone who commits a crime, which I consider shameful, must accept the consequences.”

Nuñez, speaking in the Chamber of Deputies, said the Polish priest Alberto Gil Nojache should be subjected to the same consequence for his alleged abuse of minors in the town of Juncalito, Janico, Santiago.

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Vatican envoy sacked over child sex probe

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
GlobalPost

AFP

The Vatican’s envoy to the Dominican Republic has been sacked amid an investigation in Rome into accusations he had sex with children, a spokesman was quoted as saying on Wednesday.

Monsignor Josef Wesolowski, a 65-year-old Pole, has been the papal nuncio in Santo Domingo for over five years, the I.Media news agency on Vatican affairs reported quoting the spokesman.

The Dominican press said the diplomat had sex for money with underage boys in the “Zona colonial”, the historic centre of Santo Domingo.

The cleric was ordained in 1972 by the then archbishop of Krakow, cardinal Karol Wojtyla, who later became pope John Paul II.

John Paul II appointed him nuncio to Bolivia, his first posting. Wesolowski also worked in several countries in Central Asia and was appointed to the Dominican Republic by Benedict XVI in 2008.

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Milwaukee Archdiocese lawyers dispute conflict claim leveled at judge

MILWAUKEE (WI)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

By Annysa Johnson of the Journal Sentinel Sept. 4, 2013

Lawyers for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee’s $50 million-plus cemetery trust say efforts to force a federal judge to set aside his recent decision in favor of the church and recuse himself from the case border on frivolous and amount to judge shopping, according to a new brief filed in the lawsuit.

The brief, filed this week by attorneys for Milwaukee Archbishop Jerome Listecki, the trust’s sole trustee, says U.S. District Judge Rudolph T. Randa has no financial interest in the cemeteries — contrary to claims by the archdiocese’s bankruptcy creditors — and that the issue is moot because the case is already headed to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

“The pending motions targeting Judge Randa are a thinly disguised attempt to shop for a new district court judge who will agree with the (creditors) committee on the merits,” attorneys Jennifer Vandermeuse and Brady Williamson argued in the brief.

“The Court of Appeals will ultimately decide for itself whether the committee has any… right to pursue the trust funds,” they said.

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Prosecutor to probe Vatican-Dom. Rep. pedophilia scandal

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Dominican Today

Santo Domingo.- National District prosecutor Yeni Berenice Reynoso on Wednesday announced an investigation into Vatican ambassador in Dominican Republic, Josef Wesolowski, in the heels of alleged sexual abuses of minors, just 24 hours after bishop Agripino Nuñez Collado confirmed the diplomat’s dismissal.

Despite that the announced probe comes before any complaints filed by alleged victims, Reynoso citing the country’s Penal Code, noted that prosecution is the exclusive competence of the criminal courts

Speaking to local media, the official said Wesolowski, aside from potential sanction in the Vatican, would be investigated and if guilty, punished in the country. “Sexual abuse against children and adolescents is a felony with a terrible aftermath usually marking a human being’s life forever.”

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Núñez Collado confirma que el papa retiró a Wesolowski tras informe abuso de menores

REPUBLICA DOMINICANA
Listin Diario

Ramón Pérez Reyes
Santo Domingo

Monseñor Agripino Núñez Collado confirmó hoy que el nuncio apostólico Józef Wesolowski fue retirado del país por orden del papa, luego que un informe lo relacionara con abuso de menores.

Dijo que el Vaticano ha abierto una investigación y por tratarse de un embajador y por la figura dentro del orden eclesiástico su situación debe ser tratada de gobierno a gobierno.

Cuando se le preguntó qué persona o institución remitió el informe al Vaticano, consideró que habría sido el cardenal Nicolás de Jesús López Rodríguez.

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El Papa destituye al Nuncio …

REPUBLICAN DOMINICANA
Periodista Digital

El Papa destituye al Nuncio de República Dominicana acusado de abusos

Habría sido el cardenal Nicolás de Jesús López Rodríguez quien comunicó al papa Francisco “los malos pasos” en que andaba el nuncio apostólico en el país, Joseph Weselowski, y que obligaron a su retiro por la Santa Sede. Lo cuenta 7 dias, el diario de la República Dominicana.

La presunción, que no afirmación, la hizo este martes monseñor Agripino Núñez Collado, quien confirmó que el nuncio Joseph Wesolowski fue retirado del cargo por las denuncias de pederastia en su contra.

Núñez Collado, que espera que el retirado tenga “su propio castigo personal” a la luz del endurecimiento del Código Penal vaticano introducido recientemente por Francisco, calificó de inadmisible la conducta del prelado.

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Destituido el nuncio de R.Dominicana por acusaciones sobre supuestos abusos

CIUDAD DEL VATICANO/REPUBLICA DOMINICANA
El Rioja

Ciudad del Vaticano, 4 sep (EFE).- El nuncio apostólico de la República Dominicana, Josef Wesolowski, ha sido destituido del cargo y existe una investigación en curso sobre las acusaciones que pesan sobre él en relación con varios casos de supuestos abusos de menores, confirmó hoy a Efe el portavoz vaticano, Federico Lombardi.

La confirmación de la Santa Sede llega después de que Agripino Núñez Collado, rector de la Universidad Pontificia Católica Madre y Maestra, fuera ayer el primer alto jerarca de la Iglesia dominicana en informar del caso.

El religioso dominicano señaló que nadie está por encima de la ley y que todo aquel que comete un delito, que él considera “bochornoso”, debe asumir las consecuencias.

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

Repubblica Domenicana, ex nunzio sotto inchiesta per abusi

CITTA DEL VATICANO
Vatican Insider

Josef Wesolowski, l’ex delegato apostolico in Porto Rico, è stato allontanato dallo stesso Papa Francesco

ANDRÉS BELTRAMO ÁLVAREZ
CITTÀ DEL VATICANO

L’ex nunzio apostolico nella Repubblica Domenicana è stato allontanato dal suo incarico, ma non per lo scontro con l’arcivescovo di San Juan (Porto Rico). Josef Wesolowski ha dovuto lasciare tempestivamente qualche giorno fa per le pesanti denunce contro di lui. Il Vaticano ha aperto un’inchiesta per abusi sessuali a danni di minori.

Mercoledì scorso la sala stampa della Santa Sede ha confermato a Vatican Insider che l’ex delegato apostolico in Porto Rico non ha lasciato il suo posto, volontariamente ma è stato allontanato dallo stesso Papa Francesco. E ha confermato anche l’esistenza di un’inchiesta ufficiale sul suo caso.

Nonostante le fonti ufficiali si siano rifiutate di confermare le motivazioni dell’inchiesta, in questi momenti la vicenda è diventata uno scandalo nazionale nella Repubblica Domenicana, dopo che una trasmisione televisiva aveva mandato in onda un reportage nel quale si mostravano delle immagini del nunzio apostolico in una zona della capitale domenicana nota per l’esercizio della prostituzione maschile.

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Vaticano confirma destitución de nuncio tras ser acusado de abuso sexual

REPUBLICA DOMINICANA
El Nuevo Dia

Por Agencia EFE

El nuncio apostólico de la República Dominicana, Josef Wesolowski, ha sido destituido del cargo y existe una investigación en curso sobre las acusaciones que pesan sobre él en relación con varios casos de supuestos abusos de menores, confirmó hoy a Efe el portavoz del Vaticano, Federico Lombardi.

La confirmación de la Santa Sede llega después de que Agripino Núñez Collado, rector de la Universidad Pontificia Católica Madre y Maestra, fuera ayer el primer alto jerarca de la Iglesia dominicana en informar del caso.

El religioso dominicano señaló que nadie está por encima de la ley y que todo aquel que comete un delito, que él considera “bochornoso”, debe asumir las consecuencias.

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

The Vatican confirms firing in Dominican Republic pedophilia scandal

VATICAN CITY/DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Dominican Today

Vatican City (EFE). – The apostolic nuncio in the Dominican Republic, Josef Wesolowski, has been removed from office and there’s an ongoing investigation into allegations in his connection with several cases of alleged child abuse, Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi told Efe.

The confirmation comes just hours after senior bishop Agripino Nuñez Collado, head of the Catholic University (PUCCM) on Tuesday was the first senior official of the Dominican Church to cite the case.

“No one is above the law and anyone who commits a shameful crime must bear the consequences,” the Dominican bishop said.

Journalist Nuria Piera, in a TV report resulting from a year-long investigation, alleges that Wesolowski paid for sex with minors in the Dominican Republic. “The fact is that we already had news that in the Colonial Zone (in the Dominican capital) they knew him very well, for going to look for minors.”

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Scandal poses Dominican Catholic Church’s toughest test since tyranny

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Dominican Today

The Vatican’s confirmation that its ambassador in the Dominican Republic has been pushed out of office in the wake of a pedophilia scandal subjects the local Catholic Church to its biggest test since the 30-year reign of terror from the dictator Rafael Trujillo.

I had a chance to speak with the Vatican’s representatives when he first arrived in the country, and he struck me as a decent, open and hard-working priest.

But now, Josef Wesolowski, together with another Polish priest, Alberto Gil Nojache, and several similar cases reflects the Catholic Church’s battle with the specters of child abuse that erode its credibility and faith among the nation’s overwhelming majority of Catholics.

The depth of the scandal also became evident when bishop and Catholic University (PUCCM) president Agripino Nuñez Collado stumbled on a reporter’s question about who alerted The Vatican on the alleged abuses.

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Safe in the Sanctuary Protecting children is top priority

IOWA
Clayton County Register

By Molly Moser

Pastor Shane Anderson and Youth Leader Kyle Jaeger, of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Guttenberg, hosted a public child abuse prevention program titled Safe in the Sanctuary: Learn Skills to Protect Your Kids last week. Pastor Darrel Gerrietts and Rev. Mark A. Anderson, assistants to the Bishop of the Northeast Iowa Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, led the presentation.

This program comes on the heels of charges against Roger Carrier, 49, of Guttenberg, alleging five counts of sexual abuse in the third degree. Shane Anderson noted that Carrier was involved in many activities at St. John’s, and commented, “We want to address the issue and raise awareness.”

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Diocese of Gallup, N.M., poised to file for bankruptcy protection

NEW MEXICO
National Catholic Reporter

Joseph J. Kolb Catholic News Service | Sep. 4, 2013

GALLUP, N.M. When Bishop James Wall was installed by the Vatican as bishop of the diocese of Gallup in 2009, he knew there were festering issues regarding allegations of priest sex abuse, but not to the extent that has brought the sprawling Southwestern diocese to the doors of U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

At Masses throughout the diocese over the weekend, parishioners were read a letter from Wall that said in the face of insurmountable lawsuits, the diocese intends to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Wall set no date for the court filing in his letter. He could not be reached for comment.

Seven other U.S. dioceses have filed for bankruptcy protection in the aftermath of sexual abuse lawsuits.

“While some of the claims relate to times when the diocese had some insurance, many relate to times when the diocese does not appear to have had insurance or the insurance is limited and not likely to cover the damages for which the diocese might be found liable,” Wall wrote. “Given the financial circumstances of the diocese, I have come to the conclusion that the only fair, equitable and merciful way to balance these obligations is by filing a Chapter 11 reorganization.”

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Former Armidale priest back in court

AUSTRALIA
ABC News

By Catherine Clifford

A barrister has told Armidale Local Court online comments made about a former priest facing multiple child sexual abuse allegations amount to “a threat to kill”.

Barrister Peter Hamill, SC appeared for the Defendent, who’s been charged with nearly 140 counts of alleged abuse against 10 children in the 1970s and 1980s at various locations in Moree, Narrabri, Inverell and Armidale.

Mr Hamill tendered evidence of blog posts, among them two that read, ‘The Church can’t stop him so we must …’ and ‘All paedophiles should be castrated …’.

He described these comments as vitriolic, without restraint and a threat to kill and urged Magistrate Stafford to keep in place an order stopping the media from identifying the accused.

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Case of Father Howard Chabot, retired Catholic priest, adjourned until Oct. 1

CANADA
The Daily Observer

By Tina Peplinskie, OBSERVER MULTIMEDIA JOURNALIST
Wednesday, September 4, 2013

The matter of a retired Catholic priest facing two charges in relation to an incident alleged to have occurred in 1985 has been adjourned for a month.

Father Howard Chabot, 73, was arrested July 29, 2013 and charged with one count of sexual assault and one count of gross indecency. The charges are the result of an investigation by the Upper Ottawa Valley OPP Crime Unit, which began after a complainant came forward earlier this year.

Chabot was serving at Holy Name Parish in Pembroke at the time of the alleged incident. He was ordained in 1968 and retired from full-time ministry in 2005 at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish because of health problems. In 2009, he was honoured for more than 20 years service as chaplain for the Pembroke Police Service when he stepped down from the position.

At the time of Chabot’s arrest, the Diocese of Pembroke indicated it will continue to offer its complete co-operation with civil officials as the process unfolds and will encourage and support the healing process for all parties concerned following the resolution of the case.

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Former Pensacola priest faces abuse allegations

FLORIDA
Pensacola News Journal

[statement from the diocese]

[statement from Msgr. Cherup that appeared in the parish bulletin]

Written by
Rhema Thompson

A former Pensacola priest has been removed from his duties after allegations that he sexually abused a minor, the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee said in a news release.

Msgr. Michael Cherup, pastor of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Fort Walton Beach, is being investigated by the State Attorney’s Office for the reported abuse which took place 20 years ago while he served as pastor of the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Pensacola, according to Diocese spokeswoman Peggy DeKeyser.

The Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee was informed July 19 of the allegations stemming from an incident in August 1993 when the victim was 15 years old.

After learning of the victims accusations, the Diocese stated the victim was encouraged to report the incident to the appropriate law enforcement and to the Florida Department of Children and Families Abuse Hotline. An internal investigation into the victim’s claims determined them to credible, according to the Diocese.

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Archdiocese of Dubuque pays $5.2 million to priests’ victims

IOWA
Dyersville Commercial

Wed Sep 4, 2013.
By Will Cushman
Staff Writer • will.cushman@wcinet.com

A law firm representing sexual abuse victims of priests in the Archdiocese of Dubuque and the Archdiocese itself revealed last Wednesday that the Archdiocese paid $5.2 million to 26 victims in a recent settlement.

Chad Swanson, of Dutton, Braun, Staack and Hellman law firm in Waterloo, said in a press release that the claims came from 22 men and four women who were victims of sexual abuse at the hands of 10 Archdiocese priests from the 1940-70s. In addition to the monetary payments, the Archdiocese agreed to pay for up to 12 counseling sessions for each of the victims.

“The settlement is significant and the amount of money included in the settlement may appear substantial, but on a per person basis, it will never be sufficient to compensate these claimants for all of the years of living with the shame, embarrassment and stigma of the abuse,” Swanson said in a press release. “The injuries to this group of survivors cannot be overstated. The settlement does offer the opportunity for each survivor to continue or start their personal healing process.”

In its own release, the Archdiocese offered a public apology to the victims.

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Desde el Vaticano pidieron investigar las acusaciones de abuso contra el sacerdote Justo José Ilarraz

ARGENTINA
Analisis

La Santa Sede pidió que el vicario de justicia del Tribunal Interdiocesano de Santa Fe, con jurisdicción sobre la Diócesis de Paraná, el sacerdote Alejandro Bovero, inicie una investigación previa sobre las acusaciones por abuso de menores contra el cura Justo José Ilarraz. Ya escuchó el testimonio de una víctima, que antes declaró en la Justicia de Entre Ríos; aunque por delante podrían incorporarse tres nuevos testimonios. “Esta causa viene derivada directamente de la Santa Sede. No es un caso más del tribunal interdiocesano, que nosotros juzgamos. Además, esto no es un juicio. Es una instrucción previa”, aclaró el sacerdote, párroco de la Sagrada Familia, de Santo Tomé, docente en el Seminario de Santa Fe y en la Universidad Católica.

Ante la consulta de si es común este tipo de investigaciones ordenadas por el Vaticano, el sacerdote respondió: “Está contemplado en el Código de Derecho Canónico. La Santa Sede o el mismo obispo del lugar pueden encomendarle al tribunal o a otro sacerdote esta instancia de investigación previa”.

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Another NJ predator priest “outed” – SNAP responds

NEW JERSEY
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Wednesday, Sept. 4

Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests ( 314 566 9790, SNAPclohessy@aol.com )

Trenton’s Catholic bishop has kept silent for months about another predatory priest who has been just been publicly exposed thanks to a brave victim and a compassionate attorney.

[The Republic]

The cleric is Fr. Vincent Inghilterra, who, according to the Associated Press, “was chaplain at Trenton State Teachers College when he allegedly abused a minor in the 1970s.”

In May, Trenton Catholic officials found the charge against Fr. Inghilterra credible and suspended him. But apparently, Bishop David M. O’Connell told no one.

Bishop O’Connell, like his brother bishops, has repeatedly promised to be “open” in clergy sex cases. But he has apparently done nothing to disclose four things:

–the accusation,
–the “credible” determination,
–the priest’s suspension, or
–the settlement with the priest’s victim(s).

That’s not openness. That’s secrecy. And that’s irresponsible. It’s what enables more abuse to happen.

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Chairman’s Remarks at Third Public Hearing of the Inquiry in the Ramada Encore Hotel, St Anne’s Square, Belfast

NORTHERN IRELAND
Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry

4th September 2013

Good morning ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the third public session of the HIA Inquiry.

As some time has passed since the last public session of the Inquiry I want to take this opportunity to explain some of what we have been doing; and to announce a number of important matters that will have a bearing on the work of the Inquiry over the coming months. In addition, you will hear from one of the members of the Acknowledgement Forum and from senior counsel to the Inquiry. They will describe some of the aspects of our work in greater detail. Read more …. (PDF 476 KB)

Press Release

Issued 22nd August 2013 for immediate use.

Forthcoming public hearing and Australia visit

The Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry will be holding its third public hearing at 11am on Wednesday, 4th September, 2013.

At the hearing, the Inquiry’s Chairman, Sir Anthony Hart, will provide an update on the work of the Inquiry to date. He will also speak about proposed timelines, and will deal with associated procedural issues which will be of interest to institutions and applicants. The hearing will take place at the Ramada Encore, St Anne’s Square in Belfast.

To date, 355 individuals have made a formal application to speak to the Inquiry. Most of the applications (224) have come from individuals residing in Northern Ireland. However, there have also been 57 applications from Australia, 47 applications from Great Britain, 17 applications from the Republic of Ireland and 5 from other countries.

The Inquiry’s Acknowledgement Forum has now met with 173 applicants, while its legal team has interviewed 60 potential witnesses to help prepare witness statements.

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Abuse inquiry reveals institutions list

NORTHERN IRELAND
UTV

The chair of the Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry has revealed the list of the 13 institutions which are currently under investigation in Northern Ireland.

Speaking at a press briefing on Wednesday, Sir Anthony Hart said the inquiry will not accept witness applications past Friday 29 November this year.

The deadline has been put in place to ensure the first public hearings into cases will begin in January.

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Authorities to probe Derry children’s homes as part of abuse inquiry

NORTHERN IRELAND
Irish Examiner

Two children’s homes run by the Catholic Church will be investigated first as part of a major inquiry into institutional abuse in the North, it has been revealed.

St Joseph’s Home, Termonbacca and Nazareth House Children’s Home in Bishop Street, both of which were run by the Sisters of Nazareth in Derry, are among 13 residential facilities currently under investigation.

Anthony Hart, chairman of the inquiry, told the third public hearing in Belfast that investigations into a number of other institutions had been dropped because the small number of allegations or allegations of a less serious nature could not be regarded as amounting to systemic failings.

He said: “In those cases we have decided that at the present time we would not be justified in subjecting the institutions to further investigation, and we have informed them. However, I want to emphasise that we have made it clear to those institutions that this decision will be reviewed if further allegations come to light at a later stage of our investigations. If that should happen, then we have reserved the right to re-open our investigations.”

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Two Derry homes to be focus of historical abuse hearings

NORTHERN IRELAND
BBC News

Two Londonderry homes runs by the Sisters of Nazareth will be the focus of the first public hearings of the Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry.

Allegations of abuse at St Joseph’s Home, Termonbacca, and Nazareth House Children’s Home in Bishop Street will be considered in January.

Statements from alleged victims from the homes will be heard when inquiry members visit Australia this month.

Another visit to Australia next year will hear about other institutions.

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Two in court on ‘abuse’ charges

UNITED KINGDOM
Littlehampton Gazette

A Roman Catholic priest from West Sussex has appeared in court charged in relation to alleged historic sexual abuse at a children’s home.

Father Anthony McSweeney, 66, was in the dock at Westminster Magistrates’ Court with a former manager at the home, John Stingemore, 71.

The men, who face child sex charges, were sent to Southwark Crown Court, where they will appear on September 18.

McSweeney faces three counts of indecent assault, three of making indecent images of a child, one of taking indecent images of a child and one of possessing indecent images of a child, following an investigation into abuse alleged to have taken place at Grafton Close Children’s Home in Hounslow, west London.

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Former chaplain at Norwich City Football Club…

UNITED KINGDOM
Norwich Evening News

Former chaplain at Norwich City Football Club who officiated Frank Bruno’s wedding in court on child sex charges

A former chaplain at Norwich City Football Club appeared in court today with the former manager of a children’s home accused of sexually abusing boys in the 1980s.

Father Tony McSweeney, 66, and John Stingemore, 71, allegedly molested children as young as nine from the now closed Grafton Close Children’s Home in Hounslow, west London.

They are accused of abusing the children between 1980 and 1981 while Stingemore was in charge of the council-run home and McSweeney was a local trainee priest.

McSweeney, who officiated at the 1990 wedding of boxer Frank Bruno and his former wife Laura, and was once the part-time chaplain at Norwich City, is facing three counts of indecent assault on young boys.

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Fr Tony Flannery believes silencing to be an attack on priests’ association

IRELAND
Irish Times

Patsy McGarry

Tue, Sep 3, 2013

Redemptorist priest Fr Tony Flannery said he believes the Vatican’s silencing of him last year was really about dismantling the Association of Catholic Priests, of which he is co-founder.

“If they could sideline the current leadership, they would frighten off any others who might take our place, and in this way crush the whole movement,” he has said in a new book, A Question of Conscience, to be published on September 12th.

‘Lack of justice’

He has written the book to “let people know the methods they [Rome] were using in this investigation and their lack of justice and fairness,” he said.

It also explains how the Redemptorists’ Irish provincial warned each of Fr Flannery’s colleagues, when it came to supporting him publicly, “that if even one of them spoke out of turn, he [the provincial] would be forced to resign”.

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Norfolk priest due in court over historic sex abuse claims

UNITED KINGDOM
ITV

Last updated Wed 4 Sep 2013

A Roman Catholic priest from Norfolk is due to appear in court this morning over allegations of sex abuse more than 30 years ago.

Father Tony McSweeney, 66, of Old Brighton Road North, Pease Pottage, is charged with a number of sex offences.

They include indecent assault, taking indecent images of a child, and making indecent images of a child. He will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court today.

The offences involve seven alleged victims aged between nine and 15 during the 1970s and 1980s.

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Gag order remains for defrocked priest

AUSTRALIA
Armidale Express

By VICTORIA NUGENT Sept. 4, 2013

An Armidale magistrate has upheld a gag on the identity of a defrocked priest charged with historic child sex offences.

Magistrate Karen Stafford reviewed the non-publication order in court today and decided to uphold it on the grounds that lifting the gag “would be an objectively magnified risk” to his personal safety.

The 59-year-old man was present in court as Magistrate Stafford reviewed an order put into place by Magistrate Richardson in November and a further application for a non-publication relating to charges laid since then.

The former priest faces a total of 139 charges and has not yet entered a plea.

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‘Priest oral sex video not a hoax’: Police

SPAIN
The Local

[with video]

Spanish Police have announced that a video released last May showing a priest receiving oral sex from a young man in a forest is indeed real.

Francisco Javier Ruiz, a priest in the Murcian town of Churra, claimed the video in which a cleric is seen engaging in fellatio with another man was not him.

“I have never been to Cotos Cuadros forest and I do not recognize myself in these images that are said to be of me,” online daily La Verdad reported him as saying back in May.

“This must be a fake. This material should be destroyed because if it is not it is going to create a scandal.”

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VÍCTIMAS DE KARADIMA DEMANDAN POR $450 MILLONES A LA IGLESIA CATÓLICA

CHILE
La Nacion

Una demanda por indemnización de perjuicios presentaron en contra del Arzobispado de Santiago tres de las víctimas que sufrieron abusos sexuales por parte del sacerdote Fernando Karadima. El total demandado es de $450 millones que de ser concedidos por la justicia se destinarán íntegramente a obras de beneficencia.

Los demandantes son el médico James Hamilton, el periodista Juan Carlos Cruz, y el filósofo y presidente de la Fundación para la Confianza, José Andrés Murillo, quienes llegaron al Palacio de Tribunales a interponer la demanda con el patrocinio del abogado Juan Pablo Hermosilla.

El grupo apunta a la Iglesia Católica por no haber hecho nada ante las denuncias que apuntaban a Karadima, puntualmente por haber encubierto los delitos sexuales del ex párroco de la Iglesia El Bosque.

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Arzobispado de Santiago dice que aún no ha sido notificado por demanda de víctimas de Karadima

CHILE
Bio Bio

Publicado por Solange Garrido

El arzobispado de Santiago se refirió a la demanda civil de las tres víctimas del sacerdote Fernando Karadima. Mediante un comunicado de prensa, aseguró que “no ha sido notificado de la demanda interpuesta en su contra por Juan Carlos Cruz, James Hamilton y José Andrés Murillo”.

A esto agregó que en cuanto ello ocurra, será analizada detenidamente para determinar cómo proceder y qué pasos corresponde adoptar.

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Denunciantes de Karadima demandan al Arzobispado por 450 millones

CHILE
Cooperativa

Este martes los denunciantes del sacerdote Fernando Karadima interpondrán ante la Justicia una demanda indemnizatoria de 450 millones de pesos contra el Arzobispado de Santiago, al que acusan de negligencia en los casos de abusos sexuales.

La acción judicial será presentada por James Hamilton, Juan Carlos Cruz y José Andrés Murillo, quienes demandaron a Karadima ante la justicia penal, lo que llevó a que la ministra Jéssica González resolviera que el sacerdote es culpable de las imputaciones, pero sus delitos estaban prescritos.

En la acción eclesiástica paralela, el Vaticano condenó a Karadima a una vida de penitencia y oración por los delitos de abusos sexuales de menores y adultos y abusos de poder.

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Denunciantes de Karadima tras presentar demanda civil: “La Iglesia no ha aprendido nada”

CHILE
La Tercera

por Karen Soto – 03/09/2013

Por $450 millones las víctimas del ex párroco de El Bosque, Fernando Karadima, presentaron este mediodía una demanda civil en contra del Arzobispado de Santiago.

Según los denunciantes, José Andrés Murillo, James Hamilton y Juan Carlos Cruz, esta acción es de carácter simbólica, pues “es la única acción que la justicia permite por la prescripción del delito”.

Parte de los fundamentos para demandar al arzobispado, según los demandantes, es que la Iglesia conocía la abusos del sacerdote, sin prestar colaboración a la víctimas.

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Francisco F. Firmat: Disregarding statute of limitations is wrong

CALIFORNIA
Orange County Register

By FRANCISCO F. FIRMAT / For the Register

As early as this week the California State Assembly will vote on Senate Bill 131, proposed legislation authored by state Sen. Jim Beall, D-Campbell, that seeks to amend the current California Statute of Limitations (Code of Civil Procedure Section 340.1). It relates to the filing of civil lawsuits concerning the abuse of minors. Senate Bill 131 offers no additional protections to children nor does it increase criminal penalties for abusers. This is bad legislation that should not be enacted.

Childhood sexual abuse is wrong, evil and an affront to all our concepts of decency. It is a crime against the innocent and the defenseless that causes lifetime harm. It is a betrayal of trust, a violation of the child’s dignity and a scandal that it occurs in America within our public and private institutions. It deserves to be extinguished and its perpetrators severely punished. The victims deserve monetary compensation. However, allowing a lawsuit to be brought 20 or more years after the abuse is a wrong solution and very bad public policy.

Article Tab: Victoria Martin, a victim of sexual abuse by a priest, holds a quilt with faces of other victims at the Los Angeles County Courthouse where a record $660 million settlement between the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and plaintiffs who alleged they were sexually abused by clergy members was presented for approval by a judge on July 16, 2007 in Los Angeles.

Statutes of limitations have existed in this country since our nation was founded and serve the important purpose of assuring that evidence be fresh and thus trustworthy and that the plaintiff be diligent; it is deemed unfair that a defendant have to defend a stale lawsuit where evidence has not been preserved. Some of the best-known California Statutes of Limitations have the following filing limitations:

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Most abused children know their attackers: police

AUSTRALIA
The West Australian

[with video]

GABRIELLE KNOWLES and CHRISTIANA JONES, The West Australian
Updated September 4, 2013

The head of the police child abuse squad has warned that statistics reveal the crippling crime is mostly committed by trusted friends or relatives rather than strangers on the street.

Det-Sen. Sgt Simon Hubbard said despite its prevalence, the extent that predators were close to their victims often remained hidden, leaving parents at the risk of believing the “stranger danger” myth.

The warning comes during National Child Protection Week, with police saying that more than 30,000 children are abused or neglected every year in Australia.

Advocate Bravehearts said one in five Australian children would be sexually assaulted before their 18th birthday.

In 85 per cent of cases the offender knew the child.

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Northern Ireland historical abuse inquiry in two Australia visits

AUSTRALIA/NORTHERN IRELAND
BBC News

A team from the Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry is to make two visits to Australia to meet potential witnesses.

One of the visits will take place this month and the other some time in 2014.

Last month it was revealed that of the 355 individuals who have applied to speak to the inquiry so far, 57 are from Australia.

The inquiry is examining the extent of child abuse in the Catholic church and state-run institutions in NI.

It is due to report to the Northern Ireland Executive in 2016.

The first block of the public hearing, in January, will consider allegations relating to St Joseph’s Home, Termonbacca, and Nazareth House Children’s Home in Bishop Street – both in Londonderry and run by the Sisters of Nazareth.

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UK abuse inquiry team to meet Aust victims

AUSTRALIA
Herald Sun

AAP

A TEAM from a Northern Ireland inquiry into institutional child sex abuse is heading to Australia to talk to 57 people who were sent here under controversial UK child migration policies in the 1950s.

The Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry is holding its third public hearing in Belfast on Wednesday.

The inquiry’s chairman, Sir Anthony Hart, will announce the mid-September departure date for the Australian visit.

In all the inquiry has received formal applications to present evidence from 355 individuals, including 57 from Australia.

“It is for this reason that it has decided to send a team to Australia to meet the large number of applicants there,” a spokesman for the inquiry said in a statement.

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Sex abuse suit filed against Catholic church in Chile

CHILE
GlobalPost

Three men allegedly abused as boys by prominent priest Fernando Karadima in the 1980s filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the Chilean Catholic Church.

In the 450 million peso ($900,000) suit, Juan Carlos Cruz, James Hamilton and Jose Andres Murillo accuse the church of negligence for initially ignoring their complaints about the priest.

“We really want to establish the responsibility of the church,” Cruz said.

The compensation, if granted, would be donated to charity.

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Melbourne police charge American Catholic brother over child sex offences

AUSTRALIA
ABC News

Victorian detectives have charged a 73-year-old American Catholic brother over child sex offences in Melbourne.

The man is facing 14 counts of indecent assault.

Taskforce Sano detectives say the offences are alleged to have occurred at a number of schools in Melbourne’s western suburbs in the 1970s and early 80s.

The victims are said to be both boys and girls, aged eight to 16.

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Catholic brother voluntarily returned to Australia to face child sex abuse charges, court hears

AUSTRALIA
ABC News

By court reporter Sarah Farnsworth

A court has heard a Catholic Brother from America voluntarily returned to Australia to face allegations of child sex abuse.

73-year-old Bernard Hartman appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates Court charged over the alleged abuse of four children during his time at St Paul’s college in the 1970s and 80s.

The Prosecution told the court his alleged victims are two boys and two girls aged between six and 16 and the alleged crimes took place both at the college and the homes of the children.

The court heard the first complaint against Hartman was made in 2003, but no action was taken until more complaints came forward last year.

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Elderly Catholic brother charged over child-sex claims

AUSTRALIA
The Age

September 4, 2013

Rania Spooner
Court and crime reporter

An elderly American Catholic brother has been charged over child sex abuse allegedly committed almost 40 years ago in Melbourne.

The alleged offences occurred while Bernard Hartman was working at St Paul’s College in Altona between 1976 and 1982, and were committed against two male and two female victims aged between six and 16.

The 73-year-old brother has been charged with 14 counts of indecent assault.

Detectives from Taskforce Sano, which was created last year following the Victorian parliamentary inquiry into child sex abuse, arrested him on Wednesday.

Brother Hartman was the focus of allegations from Altona Meadows woman Mairead Ashcroft during evidence at the inquiry in November. Allegations were also made against him in 2003.

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Catholic brother Bernard Hartman charged over alleged child sex offences

AUSTRALIA
Herald Sun

[with video]

JAMES DOWLING HERALD SUN SEPTEMBER 04, 2013

AN AMERICAN Catholic brother has been charged with a series of alleged historical sex offences in Melbourne schools.

Police arrested Brother Bernard Hartman, 73, at Melbourne Airport this morning over the alleged offences between 1976 and 1982.

Brother Hartman has been charged with 14 counts of indecent assault.

He is expected to face court this afternoon.

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Judge Is Asked by Creditors of Archdiocese to Leave Case

MILWAUKEE (WI)
The New York Times

By LAURIE GOODSTEIN
Published: September 3, 2013

A federal judge who ruled in favor of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee in bankruptcy proceedings, and against sexual abuse victims and other creditors, is being asked by the creditors to recuse himself because they say he has a conflict of interest.

Judge Rudolph T. Randa ruled in late July that the archdiocese did not have to turn over the millions in its cemetery trust fund to a group of creditors who include hundreds of abuse victims. But lawyers for plaintiffs say the judge has a conflict of interest because many of his family members are buried in archdiocesan cemeteries.

In his ruling, Judge Randa decided that forcing the archdiocese to tap its cemetery fund would violate the First Amendment’s free exercise of religion clause and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, a law passed by Congress in 1993.

“For the church and therefore Catholics, cemeteries reflect the Catholic belief in the resurrection of Jesus and the community’s commitment to the corporeal work of mercy of burying the dead,” Judge Randa wrote.

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US Catholic brother facing Melbourne charges

AUSTRALIA
9 News

A 73-year-old American Catholic brother has returned from the US to face accusations he sexually assaulted four children at a Melbourne school more than 30 years ago.

Bernard Joseph Hartman is facing 14 charges of indecently assaulting two boys and two girls at St Paul’s College in Altona.

The assaults allegedly happened between 1976 and 1982, when Hartman was working at the school, with victims aged from six to 16.

The Melbourne Magistrates Court heard Hartman voluntarily returned to Melbourne on Wednesday and was arrested at the airport on arrival.

Hartman had returned to the US in 1984 and has been working at the Archdiocese of Cincinnati in Ohio.

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Boston lawyer clergy sex abuse victims releases new list of alleged abusers

MASSACHUSETTS
The Republic

By JAY LINDSAY Associated Press
September 04, 2013

BOSTON — Six Roman Catholic clerics and a choir director were named publicly as alleged abusers for the first time by a prominent lawyer for clergy sex abuse victims.

Attorney Mitchell Garabedian released the names of the five priests, one nun and the choir director 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.

Garabedian periodically releases new names publicly, and is highly critical of Catholic church officials for what he says is their refusal to consistently do so. …

The Rev. Alan Caparella, a Franciscan, worked at St. Leonard’s of Port Maurice Parish in Boston. Brother Paul White, a Capuchin, worked at St. Lawrence Friary in Milton. The Rev. Joseph Maffei, of the Salesians of Don Bosco, worked at Sacred Heart Retreat House in Ipswich. W. Emmitt O’Brien was children’s choir director at St. John Chrysostom Church in West Roxbury. …
The others named by Garabedian on Wednesday include:

— The Rev. Vincent Inghilterra, who was chaplain at Trenton State Teachers College when he allegedly abused a minor in the 1970s

— Sister Agnes Daniels, who worked at St. Mary school in Boston when she alleged committed the abuse.

— The Rev. Victor Phelan, who worked in the African countries of Burkina Faso and Ghana.

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Suits spur diocese to file for bankruptcy

ARIZONA/NEW MEXICO
The Republic

By Michael Clancy
The Republic | azcentral.com
Tue Sep 3, 2013

The Catholic Diocese of Gallup, N.M., announced at weekend Masses that it would seek Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as a result of more than a dozen clergy abuse lawsuits.

Bishop James Wall, who formerly worked as a parish priest in Phoenix, said bankruptcy protection is “the most effective and thoughtful course to take in light of claims from those who were abused.”

The Gallup Diocese encompasses Arizona’s Apache and Mohave counties, and seven of 13 plaintiffs in the lawsuits reside in Maricopa County.

A filing date with federal bankruptcy court in Albuquerque was not specified.

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Church opposes bill allowing sex abuse victims more time to sue

CALIFORNIA
News 10

[with video]

Nick Monacelli

SACRAMENTO, CA – Is the state of California waging a war against the Catholic church?

Some say yes, and others say for good reason.

“There’s no war on anybody,” Sen. Jim Beall, D-San Jose, said. “It’s a law that allows people to have justice against people who molested them. How simple can you get?”

Right now, a victim only has until the age of 26 to seek punitive damages.

Senate Bill 131 changes the statute of limitations only for 2014, giving victims of sexual abuse a 1-year window to sue, regardless of when the molestation happened. In 2002, a similar law was written, opening a 1-year window in 2003 allowing abuse victims of any age to sue, regardless of the statute of limitations.

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Church-state issues and the Royal Commission

AUSTRALIA
Eureka Street

Frank Brennan | 03 September 2013

Remembering the passing of Seamus Heaney let’s commence with the first stanza of his poem ‘From the Republic of Conscience’:

When I landed in the republic of conscience
It was so noiseless when the engines stopped
I could hear a curlew high above the runway
At immigration, the clerk was an old man
Who produced a wallet from his homespun coat
And showed me a photograph of my grandfather

The woman in customs asked me to declare
The words of our traditional cures and charms
To heal dumbness and avert the evil eye
No porters. No interpreter. No taxi.
You carried your own burden and very soon
Your symptoms of creeping privilege disappeared.

Attentive to the silence, the curlew, the old man, and the woman, let’s reflect on the burdens we carry and the privileges which are disappearing as we confront the enormity of child abuse in our society and in our Church.

Putting the case for state intervention in Church affairs

On 31 October 2012, I was privileged to deliver the 2012 Law and Justice Oration at Parliament House in Sydney. I said:

You will all know that these are not easy times for Catholic priests; and they have never been easy times for those children in our society who have been sexually abused, a disproportionate number of them by Catholic priests. When in Sydney in July 2008, Pope Benedict XVI apologised in these words: ‘I…acknowledge the shame which we have all felt as a result of the sexual abuse of minors by some clergy and religious in this country. Indeed, I am deeply sorry for the pain and suffering the victims have endured and I assure them that, as their pastor, I too share in their suffering. These misdeeds, which constitute so grave a betrayal of trust, deserve unequivocal condemnation.’ I adopt his apology without demurrer.

Whatever our religion or none, whatever our love or loathing of the Catholic Church, what is to be done in the name of law and justice? Clearly, the Church itself cannot be left alone to get its house in order. That would be a wrongful invocation of freedom of religion in a pluralist, democratic society. The State may have a role to play. As our elected politicians prudentially decide how best to proceed, they need assistance from lawyers committed to justice, not lawyers acting primarily to protect the Church or to condemn it. The Catholic Church in Victoria has admitted that ‘in the past 16 years, about 620 cases of criminal child abuse have been upheld by the Church in Victoria’. In the Archdiocese of Melbourne alone, 301 complaints have been upheld since 1996.

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St. Mary parishioners shocked at pastor’s removal (DOCUMENTS)

FLORIDA
NWF Daily

[statement from the diocese]

[statement from Msgr. Cherup that appeared in the parish bulletin]

By JULIE HATFIELD / Daily News
Published: Tuesday, September 3, 2013

FORT WALTON BEACH — Parishioners at St. Mary Catholic Church continue to be shocked and saddened at the removal of their pastor following a single allegation of sexual abuse of a minor 20 years ago.

Church members say they are “heartbroken” and “hurting,” and that they saw nothing in Monsignor Michael Cherup’s behavior to warrant an accusation.

“I do not believe Father Mike is capable of this, based on what I have witnessed with him over the last five years,” said Katie Canna, a mother of four whose teens have been involved with the youth group and whose younger children attended St. Mary School.

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Abuse claims ‘devastated’ Gallup Diocese

NEW MEXICO
KOB

[with video]

Posted at: 09/03/2013

By: Ryan Luby, KOB Eyewitness News 4

A long-time pastor in the Gallup Diocese said the organization cannot afford to address 20 claims of clergy sex abuse on its own, some of which date to the 1950’s.

Father Timothy Farrell, a pastor of a Farmington church, told KOB Eyewitness News 4 that the diocese is – or certainly is among – the poorest in the United States.

“We operate the Diocese on a wing and a prayer, because there’s not really any money, and, so yeah, this is devastating,” Farrell said.

He said a large percentage of the parishioners worship in small missions – in trailers or in log cabins – not in big churches.

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America’s poorest diocese set to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy amid sex abuse claims

NEW MEXICO
NBC News

[statement from the bishop via BishopAccountability.org]

By Mary Wisniewski, Reuters

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Gallup, New Mexico, plans to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this month to cope with mounting costs of litigation arising from claims of child sexual abuse by members of its clergy, the church confirmed on Tuesday.

The Gallup Diocese, which includes several Native American reservations, would become the ninth U.S. diocese or archdiocese to file for bankruptcy protection since 2004 in financial fallout from child molestation cases against the church.

Child sex abuse litigation has cost the U.S. Catholic Church some $3 billion in settlements in the two decades since the ongoing scandal erupted with a series of molestation cases uncovered in Boston in 1992.

In a letter read to parishioners over the weekend, Gallup Bishop James S. Wall denied that the diocese was filing for Chapter 11 “to avoid responsibility for what happened or to hide anything.”
“I firmly believe that the process of Chapter 11 is the best and only way that will allow us to work constructively with all those who suffered from sexual abuse,” wrote Wall, who became bishop in 2009. “Those who have been abused deserve the church’s respect, compassion and love.”

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Accused sex abuse priest charged

AUSTRALIA
7 News

A Catholic brother, who has been on the run for more than 30 years, has been arrested over allegations of child abuse spanning two decades.

A 73-year-old Catholic brother has been accused of sexually assaulting four children at a Melbourne school more than 30 years ago.

US-born Bernard Hartman is facing 14 charges relating to sexual assaults on two boys and two girls at St Paul’s College in Altona.

The alleged attacks occurred between 1976 and 1982 when Hartman worked at the school, on victims aged between six and 16.

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Diocese seeks bankruptcy

NEW MEXICO
ABQ Journal

By Olivier Uyttebrouck / Journal Staff Writer

The Diocese of Gallup intends to petition for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization in response to a growing number of lawsuits filed by alleged victims of clerical sex abuse.

Leaders of the diocese described bankruptcy as a way of ensuring justice and fairness for victims of sexual abuse by providing for an orderly distribution of the diocese’s limited resources.

Diocese of Gallup Bishop James Wall said in a letter read to parishioners over the Labor Day weekend that bankruptcy is intended to treat abuse victims “in a just, equitable and more merciful manner” while allowing the diocese to continue its pastoral mission.

“Under Chapter 11, the diocese will have the opportunity to present a plan of reorganization that provides for a fair and equitable way to compensate all those who suffered sexual abuse as children” by priests, the letter said.

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September 3, 2013

Chile- three clergy abuse victims sue Santiago bishop

CHILE
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Statement by 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 )

We applaud these brave men who have had the persistence and strength to seek justice and protect others from harm.

Now more than ever we encourage anyone who has been hurt by Father Fernando Karadima to come forward and begin to heal. We beg anyone who has seen or suspected misdeeds by Karadima report the information to law enforcement officials.

These survivors are seeking to have the truth exposed so that they can protect other children. Karadima is no longer active, however, those who enabled him are. By exposing how much they knew and how little they did to protect these survivors, the parishioners and public will know how church officials refused to protect children.

Karadima was found guilty of sexually abusing minors in February 2011.

[New York Times]

Church officials were warned as early as 1984 about Karadima’s “improper conduct.” Church officials were warned again in 2003 but it was not until 2004 that the first investigation was opened. Two years later the investigator stated to Cardinal Francisco Javier Errazuiriz Ossa he believed the allegations were credible. The Cardinal stopped the investigation for more than three years to wait for new evidence.

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Abuse suit against Catholic church in Chile

CHILE
The Peninsula (Qatar)

SANTIAGO: Three men allegedly abused as boys by prominent priest Fernando Karadima in the 1980s filed a lawsuit yesterday against the Chilean Catholic Church.

In the 450 million peso ($900,000) suit, Juan Carlos Cruz, James Hamilton and Jose Andres Murillo accuse the church of negligence for initially ignoring their complaints about the priest.

“We really want to establish the responsibility of the church,” Cruz said.

The compensation, if granted, would be donated to charity.

The case against Karadima, who trained many priests who took top positions in the Chilean Catholic Church, was dismissed in December 2010 because the 10-year statute of limitation on such crimes had expired.

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Chile: 3 Sue Over Sexual Abuse Cases

CHILE
The New York Times

By PASCALE BONNEFOY
Published: September 3, 2013

Three men who say they were sexually abused as teenagers by a prominent Catholic priest filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santiago for failing to protect them or to investigate their accusations. Juan Carlos Cruz said that he and the others who have accused the Rev. Fernando Karadima of abusing them when he headed the El Bosque parish in Santiago in the 1980s “hope to establish the responsibility of the church, which always knew what was going on and looked the other way.” In 2011, the Vatican found Rev. Karadima guilty of the abuses and ordered him to retire “to a life of prayer and penitence.” A Chilean judge dismissed criminal charges later that year because a statute of limitations had expired, but he also described the accusations as “truthful and reliable.”

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

Is our papal nuncio too much Pope Benedict’s man?

IRELAND
The Association of Catholic Priests

Brendan Hoban speaks out on behalf of diocesan priests who find themselves disenfranchised when new bishops are being chosen and asks if it is right that an appointee of the previous pope should have such crucial decision-making placed in his exclusive hands.

As priests age and our numbers decrease, inevitably a great deal of soul-searching takes place. Instead of retirement at a reasonable age there’s the uninviting prospect of an increased work-load as energy and health diminish. Instead of the satisfaction of looking back over decades of effective service there’s the reality of the haemorrhaging of congregations and the decline of the Church on our watch. Instead of the appreciation of our people, there’s the sense that we are increasingly incapable of responding to their ever-growing and often (we priests feel) unreasonable demands. Instead of receiving credit where credit due there is the feeling that we have become endless and disparaging news, reviled by some, pitied by many, taken for granted by most.

For many priests moving on in years, hardly surprisingly in view of the troubles of the last few decades, disenchantment is the order of the day. And to a large extent, this disenchantment that can lead so easily to cynicism, resentment and anger is almost invariably associated with the experience of being taken for granted.

The appointment of bishops is a glaring example. For years this has been a running sore in the Irish Church. Once there was some effort at consultation, even though it was minimal at best and often had the appearance of a public relations exercise more than anything else. Now no one is even pretending that priests have any say anymore in the appointment of their bishops.

In recent months, five new bishops have been appointed to dioceses other than their own. All of them no doubt are good men and my criticism is not of them personally but it’s a safe bet that none of the priests of their new dioceses voted for them. For example, a Roscommon priest, a worthy candidate in his own right, was appointed to Kerry and I don’t think anyone would pretend that any priest in Kerry was aware of his suitability to the extent that they actually voted for him.

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

Papal nuncio’s qualifications to appoint …

IRELAND
Irish Times

Patsy McGarry

First published:
Wed, Sep 4, 2013

The role of papal nuncio Archbishop Charles Brown in the recent appointment of new bishops has been forcefully criticised by founder member of the Association of Catholic Priests Fr Brendan Hoban.

Writing under the heading ‘Is our papal nuncio too much Pope Benedict’s man?’ on the association’s website, Fr Hoban noted that “in recent months, five new bishops have been appointed to dioceses other than their own”.

Single-handed

Saying his criticisms were not of the men personally, he said he was “not too sure” the nuncio was “the right man to appoint, effectively on his own, a whole phalanx of new bishops, five in the last few months and two others apparently in the pipeline, almost a third of the Irish episcopal bench, as we rather grandly call it”.

“Archbishop Brown, it seems, spent very little time in parish work and he has no formal training as a papal nuncio, in that he was catapulted out of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith into the diplomatic service by Pope Benedict, as Rome’s answer to the dysfunctional Irish Catholic Church. ”

Fr Hoban said he was “not too sure with these two disabilities plus the inevitable problem of appreciating the nuances of a different culture that such crucial decision-making should be placed effectively in his exclusive hands”.

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

The Double Dirty Dozen

NEW MEXICO
Patrick J. Wall

The Roman Catholic Bishop of Gallup New Mexico has become the twelfth Bishop or Provincial to seek bankruptcy protection. Gallup rounds out the first dirty dozen of Dioceses and religious orders to hide behind the federal bankruptcy courts.

The filing is not a surprise. It broadcasts the clear intention of avoiding depositions under oath. Bishop James Wall and Father Lawrence O’Keefe J.C.D. are leveraging the civil courts to avoid disclosing what they learned in auditing all the Gallup Secret Archive files.

Why file for bankruptcy protection? Look at these 24 clerics who have been in the Diocese of Gallup.

Father William G. Allison is a Diocese of Alexandria, Louisiana priest who was sent for treatment at the Servants of the Paraclete in Jemez Springs, NM. After treatment, Bishop Bernard Espelage OFM accepted him into the Gallup diocese ad experimentum where Allison sexually abused three minors in Flagstaff, AZ (before Flagstaff became part of the Phoenix Diocese). Bishop Espelage then shipped Allison to the Diocese of Fresno. His status is unknown.

Father Michael Aten was removed for childhood sexual abuse in 1991.

Father John Boland plead guilty to childhood sexual abuse in 1993.

Father James Burns plead guilty to molesting minors in 2004.

Father Santino Casimano was a Diocesan priest who worked in the Navajo Nation and is accused of sexually abusing minors in several dioceses, including the Diocese of Orange, CA.

Father Charles Chicanowicz O.F.M. is a Franciscan Friar to abused children on the Navajo Nation.

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

Gallup Diocese planning to file for bankruptcy protection

GALLUP (NM)
ABQ Journal

By Olivier Uyttebrouck / Journal Staff Writer

The Diocese of Gallup intends to petition for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization in response to a growing number of lawsuits filed by alleged victims of clerical sex abuse.

Leaders of the diocese described bankruptcy as a way of assuring justice and fairness for victims of sexual abuse by providing for an orderly distribution of the diocese’s limited resources.

Diocese of Gallup Bishop James Wall said in a letter read to parishioners over the Labor Day weekend that bankruptcy is intended to treat abuse victims “in a just, equitable and more merciful manner” while allowing the diocese to continue its pastoral mission.

But representatives for victims of clergy sex abuse described the move as a tactic that will allow Wall and others diocesan officials to sidestep testimony that could lead to additional claims.

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

Diocese of Gallup, N.M., poised to file for bankruptcy protection

GALLUP (NM)
The Catholic Sun

GALLUP, N.M. (CNS) — When James Wall was installed by the Vatican as Bishop of the Diocese of Gallup in 2009, he knew there were festering issues regarding allegations of priest sex abuse, but not to the extent that has brought the sprawling southwestern diocese to the doors of U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

At Masses throughout the diocese Aug. 31 and Sept. 1, shocked parishioners were pre-emptively read a letter from Bishop Wall that in the face of insurmountable law suits the diocese intends to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Bishop Wall set no date for the court filing in his letter.

Seven other U.S. dioceses have filed for bankruptcy protection in the aftermath of sexual abuse lawsuits.

“While some of the claims relate to times when the diocese had some insurance, many relate to times when the diocese does not appear to have had insurance or the insurance is limited and not likely to cover the damages for which the diocese might be found liable,” Bishop Wall wrote. “Given the financial circumstances of the diocese, I have come to the conclusion that the only fair, equitable and merciful way to balance these obligations is by filing a Chapter 11 reorganization.”

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

Milwaukee- SNAP challenges claims about Catholic officials and abuse

MILWAUKEE (WI)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Tuesday, Sept. 3

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 )

Today’s AP report about whether and when Milwaukee Catholic officials did and didn’t call police about predator priests is inherently flawed. It’s based solely on information from church staff.

[Daily Journal]

Reporting known or suspected abuse is the bare minimum. What bishops virtually never do it take real steps to help law enforcement convict predator priests.

When abuse reports or admissions surface against clerics, bishops should promptly hold a news conference and beg victims, witnesses and whistleblowers to call police. They should personally go to each parish or school where the accused worked and beg those with knowledge or suspicions to call police.

They should post notices on every parish website and in every church bulletin and make pulpit announcements everywhere, urging victims, witnesses and whistleblowers to contact law enforcement. And they should immediately give every single piece of written information about the accused to police.

But virtually no Catholic official has ever done this.

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

Afrikaanse geestelijken …

AFRIKA
Trouw (Nederland)

Robin de Wever − 03/09/13

Anglicaanse priesters in Afrika maken zich zorgen: hun collega’s in het Westen hebben wel erg weinig moeite met homoseksuele bisschoppen. Ze spreken nu van een ‘crisis’, een ‘spirituele kanker’ die de hele anglicaanse gemeenschap bedreigt.

De Afrikanen hopen het probleem te kunnen aanpakken tijdens een internationale bijeenkomst. Die vindt eind oktober plaats, meldt Religion News Service. De zogeheten Gafcon II-conferentie moet helpen om ‘de goede orde te herstellen’, ‘theologische integriteit’ terug te brengen en ‘trouw aan de Bijbel’ te bevorderen’. Ook het kerkelijke homohuwelijk staat op de agenda.

De anglicaanse gemeenschap, die na enkele breuken in de 16e eeuw voortkwam uit de rooms-katholieke kerk, is een van de grootste stromingen binnen het christendom. Diversiteit is troef.

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

Two Disgraced New Jersey Clerics Ousted From Priesthood

NEW JERSEY
NJToday

STATE — The Roman Catholic Church defrocked two priests who molested children, one of whom admitted to accosting an 8-year-old boy in Elizabeth, according to a report in the Archdiocese of Newark’s online magazine Catholic Advocate.

Horacio Daniel Medina and Richard J. Mieliwocki were each removed from the priesthood for sexual abuse of minors, according to church officials.

A Vatican tribunal decided to oust the former pedophile priests after a lengthy process called laicization, which was approved by the Pope.

Medina was arrested in 2004 on charges of having oral sex with an 8-year-old boy in the sacristy of Blessed Sacrament Church in Elizabeth in mid-1999.

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

Former Dixon priest cleared

ILLINOIS
SaukValley.com

BY DAVID GIULIANI dgiuliani@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 525
Created: Tuesday, September 3, 2013

DIXON – A former Dixon priest has returned to the ministry after law enforcement authorities cleared him of wrongdoing in a computer usage investigation, the area’s Catholic bishop said.

In March, the Diocese of Rockford relieved the Rev. John Gow of St. Patrick Parish in Dixon as a result of the investigation, Bishop David Malloy of Rockford said in a statement. It was done as a precaution while Gow and the diocese cooperated with authorities, the bishop said.

Gow has now been assigned as associate pastor at St. John Neumann Parish in St. Charles. He started Sunday.

“Father Gow is returning to the full exercise of his priestly duties and deserves the total restoration of his good name and reputation,” Malloy said. “The information that prompted the investigation was baseless.”

Malloy’s statement was read Sunday during weekend Masses at St. Patrick.

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

Not Enough Progress By Rabbis, Leaders On Sexual Abuse

UNITED STATES
The Jewish Week

Heshie Billet

The time for serious vigilance of child abuse in the Modern Orthodox community is long overdue. It is time that lay and religious communal leaders have zero tolerance for child abusers and cease to cover up, enable or protect them.

In recent years, both in Israel and in America, our community has learned many painful lessons on this topic, and institutions that have owned up to mistakes made in the past and seek ways to create policies that would avoid repeating these mistakes have made some progress. But we have not done enough. The progress made has been insufficient.

The most severe consequence of sexual abuse of children (and of enabling abuse by protecting offenders) is suicide. Tragically, this has occurred in the Orthodox community. That makes it a form of murder. It is time that parents learn to overcome the taboo of reporting abusers to the authorities. Therapists tell me that it is in the best mental health interest of their children to do so. Parents who don’t report abuse often say they are trying to protect their children by allowing the incident to quietly blow over, lest their children become publicly shamed or stigmatized. But in fact the opposite is true. Children are harmed much more when incidents are not reported and dealt with.

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

Diocese of Gallup in NM to file for reorganization

GALLUP (NM)
Fort Worth Star-Telegram

The Associated Press

GALLUP, N.M. — The Diocese of Gallup in New Mexico plans to petition for Chapter 11 reorganization in federal bankruptcy court because of mounting clergy sex abuse legal claims, according to Bishop James Wall.

In a statement read in parishes during Mass over the Labor Day weekend, Wall said the filing “is the most effective and thoughtful course to take in light of the claims from those who were abused.

“Under Chapter 11, the Diocese will have the opportunity to present a plan of reorganization that provides for a fair and equitable way to compensate all those who suffered sexual abuse as children by workers for the church in our Diocese those who are currently known, those who haven’t yet made the decision to come forward, and those who might come forward in the future,” Wall added.

The bishop promised to “be open and transparent” during the bankruptcy process. Wall said he would be available to meet with concerned individuals or groups, and he invited people to email or write him about the decision.

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

What did Damien’s board of directors know?

HAWAII
The Worthy Adversry

Posted by Joelle Casteix on September 3, 2013

Over the weekend, we learned that Damien Memorial School officials lied on a grant application that resulted in a $1.5 million award to the school from the State of Hawaii for “capital improvements.”
Here is a quick recap:

School officials conveniently “forgot” to mention that at the time the application was filed in January, the school had 15 outstanding legal claims against them for child sexual abuse, all of which could be converted into lawsuits against the school and the Diocese of Honolulu under Hawaii’s landmark civil window for victims.

The application said there were only three lawsuits.

Here is they didn’t mention on the application:

* As of January 2013, there were at least FIVE child sex abuse lawsuits against Damien Memorial School and the Diocese of Honolulu. John Roes 1-5 include victims of Fr. Gerald Funcheon, Brother John Paul Medvit, Brother Robert Brouillette, and Fr. George DeCosta,

*At that time, there were 15 active child sex abuse legal claims against the school in the Irish Christian Brothers’ bankruptcy proceedings,

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

NJ predator priests are defrocked; SNAP responds

NEW JERSEY
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Tuesday, Sept. 3

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 )

Two New Jersey predator priests have finally been defrocked by the Vatican. Shame on Newark’s archbishop for not doing more to spread the word about this news and warn more families about these dangerous men.

[NJ.com]

Child molesting Catholic clerics don’t just hurt Catholic kids. So it’s wrong for Archbishop John Myers to only alert Catholic parents when predatory Catholic priests are demoted. Myers should alert as many parents as possible, especially in light of his repeatedly pledges to be “open” about clergy sex crimes.

Instead of one small notice in one issue of the archdiocesan newspaper, Myers should have held a news conference or at least issued a news release and put prominent notices in every parish bulletin urging anyone who might have seen, suspected or suffered these clerics’ crimes to call police.

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

NM – Catholic bishop seeks bankruptcy protection; SNAP responds

NEW MEXICO/ARIZONA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Tuesday, Sept. 3

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 )

Shame on Gallup’s Catholic bishop for seeking bankruptcy protection.

It’s a selfish cop-out when Catholic institutions misuse the Chapter 11 process to protect their secrets and deny child sex abuse victims a chance to expose predators in court. Make no mistake about it: that’s the real motivation here. It’s a lack of courage, not a lack of funds. It’s to protect reputations, not assets.

When bishops seek bankruptcy protection, all lawsuits, depositions, discovery and trials come to a screeching halt. The court plays no role in exposing wrongdoers or preventing wrongdoing. It just divides up money. So Catholics and citizens learn nothing about who is committing and concealing clergy child sex crimes.

This isn’t about protecting church money. It’s about protecting the power and reputations of powerful church officials who desperately want to keep their complicity in child sex cases under wraps.

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

A Gallup Primer

NEW MEXICO/ARIZONA
The Worthy Adversary

Posted by Joelle Casteix on September 3, 2013

Citing mounting child sex abuse civil cases, the Diocese of Gallup announced over the weekend that it will be filing bankruptcy. And it’s not going to be pretty.

Don’t know much about Gallup? Here’s a primer on the sex abuse and cover-up crisis in the Southwest diocese.

* The Diocese of Gallup “includes parishes in six counties in New Mexico, three counties in Arizona and seven Native American reservations.“

* At its peak, the Diocese of Gallup also included parishes in Flagstaff and central Arizona. Those parishes became a part of the Diocese of Phoenix in 1969. That means that the Diocese of Phoenix will probably be involved in some of the cases that will come forward.

* At least 13 child sex abuse cases are outstanding against the diocese, although it is estimated that there may have been dozens of secret settlements with other victims.

* Current Bishop James Wall and Fr. Alfred Tachias are scheduled to be deposed on September 18. The depositions are in the case of Fr. Clement Hageman, the infamous “Route 66″ priest. Tachias was an assistant priest under Hageman. A bankruptcy filing will stop the deposition.

* The Fr. Clement Hageman clergy file, which can be viewed here, shows a man who repeatedly molested kids up and down the small towns of Route 66. Church officials knew he was molesting kids as far back as 1927. He came to Gallup in 1954 and allegedly molested children until his death in the 1970s. As one of the first and most complete files ever released out of Gallup, we can only guess that it is typical of the abuse and cover-up in the area.

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

Diocese of Gallup to file bankruptcy

NEW MEXICO/ARIZONA
Gallup Independent

Published in the Gallup Independent, Gallup, NM, Sept. 3, 2013

Mounting clergy sex abuse legal claims spark Chapter 11 reorganization

By Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola
Independent correspondent
religion@gallupindependent.com

GALLUP — Catholics across western New Mexico and northern Arizona received bombshell news while attending Mass over the Labor Day weekend.

The Diocese of Gallup announced it will petition for Chapter 11 reorganization in federal bankruptcy court because of mounting clergy sex abuse legal claims, according to a statement issued by Bishop James Wall.

“After considering all of the options and consulting with advisors inside and outside the Diocese, I have determined that filing a petition for Chapter 11 reorganization for the Gallup Diocese of Gallup (sic) is the most effective and thoughtful course to take in light of the claims from those who were abused,” Wall stated.

Priests across the diocese, which includes parishes in six counties in New Mexico, three counties in Arizona and seven Native American reservations, were given the task of delivering the bad news by reading the bishop’s letter during weekend Masses.

With this announcement, the Gallup Diocese will become the ninth U.S. Roman Catholic diocese or archdiocese to seek financial reorganization through bankruptcy court as a method of dealing with clergy sex abuse claims and their associated costs. Two Catholic religious orders have also done so.

“Under Chapter 11, the Diocese will have the opportunity to present a plan of reorganization that provides for a fair and equitable way to compensate all those who suffered sexual abuse as children by workers for the Church in our Diocese those who are currently known, those who haven’t yet made the decision to come forward, and those who might come forward in the future,” Wall said.

The bishop promised to “be open and transparent” during the bankruptcy process. He said he would be available to meet with concerned individuals or groups, and he invited people to email or write him about the decision.

“It is very important to me that you all understand that I have not taken this step to avoid responsibility for what happened or to hide anything,” he said.

Questions about the bishop’s announcement were emailed to the diocese Sunday. The Rev. Tim Farrell, the diocese’s media liaison, said he forwarded the questions to the bishop, who agreed to provide responses. However, Farrell said, the bishop recently returned from a vacation in Spain and first needed to consult with his diocesan attorneys about his answers.

‘Not coincidental’

Robert Pastor, a Phoenix attorney who has filed 13 clergy sex abuse lawsuits against the diocese, expressed surprise at the announcement when contacted Saturday. He said he has not received notice from diocesan attorneys about their intent to file the Chapter 11 petition.

Pastor’s first lawsuit, which involves abuse allegations against the late Rev. Clement Hageman, is scheduled to go to trial Feb. 11, 2014. As part of discovery for that case, the Gallup bishop and the Rev. Alfred Tachias are scheduled to be deposed Sept. 18. Tachias served as an assistant to Hageman in Kingman, Ariz., where Hageman allegedly sexually abused many Catholic school children and altar servers.

“If the diocese files a petition for bankruptcy, typically any case pending in any state or federal court will be stayed or put on hold,” Pastor said in an email Monday.

As a result, all of Pastor’s clergy abuse cases, the upcoming deposition of Wall and Tachias, and the scheduled trial could be halted.

Pastor described the timing of the bishop’s letter, less than three weeks from the bishop’s scheduled deposition, as “not coincidental.”

“We have seen time and time again that Catholic bishops will file bankruptcy to avoid having to answer questions about a systemic and cultural pattern and practice of covering up clergy sexual abuse,” he said. “Our clients deserve to hear their Bishop explain under oath why so many pedophile priests were allowed to hurt children even though the bishop knew these priests were a danger.

“Chapter 11 bankruptcy was designed to help companies restructure debt,” Pastor added.

“Bankruptcy was never intended to be a tool to help Catholic Bishops hide other perpetrators or the knowledge it had about pedophile priests working in the diocese.”

Advocates’ concerns

A number of national advocates for clergy sex abuse survivors were contacted by email about the Diocese of Gallup’s decision. Several of them expressed concern that abuse survivors might miss the “bar date” that will be set once the Chapter 11 process begins. It is the date by which claims against the diocese must be filed.

“The negative aspects are that if survivors do not come forward soon they are forever time barred,” Patrick Wall said.

Patrick Wall, a former Catholic priest not related to the Gallup bishop, works as an advocate and researcher for Jeff Anderson & Associates.

Joelle Casteix is the Western Regional Director for the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. “If victims are not ready, not aware or not healthy enough to come forward by the bar date, they lose the opportunity to expose their abuser and hold wrong-doers accountable,” Casteix said.

“The bar date and notification will be important early concerns, because of the size of the diocese and the special effort that will be required to reach a far-flung and diverse population,” Terence McKiernan, president and founder of the Bishop Accountability website, said. Noting the bishop’s mention of victims “who might come forward in the future,” McKiernan said, “It is also important that Bishop Wall make good on his commitment to honor future claims.”

Casteix and McKiernan, both citing examples from the bankruptcy cases of the Diocese of San Diego and the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, expressed concern that the Gallup Diocese might attempt to hide some of its assets or divert money or assets to other entities. In addition, McKiernan said, Milwaukee Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki has fought to disallow claimants, prevent the release of documents and avoid the release of an accurate list of accused clergy.

“Given these precedents, Bishop Wall will be closely watched in the early stages of the Gallup reorganization, to determine whether he is seeking a ‘merciful and equitable’ reorganization, as he says in his letter, or whether he will resort to the tactics developed by the Milwaukee archdiocese,” McKiernan said.

Open and public

The Chapter 11 bankruptcy process holds some positive features for abuse survivors, the advocates agreed.

David Clohessy, director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said a higher percentage of victims receive some financial help through the bankruptcy court. And Patrick Wall said abuse survivors whose claims were previously barred by the statute of limitations in both Arizona and New Mexico can come forward.

Bankruptcy court hearings are open and public, Casteix said, and witnesses and whistleblowers tend to be more inclined to come forward and report.

“Survivors will have an opportunity during the reorganization to require a full release of pertinent documents, a full listing of accused clerics, a binding commitment to reporting and transparency, and other nonmonetary conditions of settlement,” McKiernan said.

Patrick Wall said it remains to be seen whether the Gallup Diocese will finally release the results of its audit of priest personnel files. In 2009, James Wall announced the review of more than 400 personnel files, and he promised to publicly release the audit’s findings about abusive clergy. More than four years later, he has yet to release the information.

Pastor said he expects that to happen now. “I expect the bishop to release the names and files of pedophile priests,” he said. “Anything less would be just another attempt by the Catholic Church to hide the truth.”

Pastor, a former prosecutor, said he also expects the Gallup Diocese to turn over information to law enforcement officials about the whereabouts and alleged crimes of living and credibly accused clergy.

“We not only will insist, but I believe the law in Arizona requires that they inform law enforcement,” he said.

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

Statement to the Laity, Religious, and Clergy of the Diocese of Gallup

GALLUP (NM)
Diocese of Gallup

By Bishop James Wall

August 31, 2013

PDF of Wall statement provided by Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola, Diocese of Gallup to file bankruptcy, by Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola, Gallup Independent, September 3, 2013 (with links to a dozen lawsuits and two personnel files)

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ Jesus:

First, I would like to thank: all of you for your support of the Diocese of Gallup. Since becoming the Bishop to Gallup, I have worked to seek a way to bring healing to those who were harmed by the sexual abuse. Unfortunately, since becoming Bishop, the number of claims has continued to increase. These claims primarily relate to events that occurred more than 40 years ago. While some of the claims relate to times when the Diocese had some insurance, many relate to times when the Diocese does not appear to have had insurance or the insurance is limited and not likely to cover the damages for which the Diocese might be found liable.

Since taking over as Bishop, I have tried to resolve these claims outside of litigation, unfortunately with limited success. I have also explored the alternatives available to the Diocese which would allow us to treat all of those who have been abused by workers for the Church in a just, equitable and more than merciful manner while at the same time being able to continue the mission of the Diocese which is so important to many of you.

After considering all of the options and consulting with advisors inside and outside the Diocese, I have determined that filing a petition for Chapter 11 Reorganization for the Gallup Diocese of Gallup is the most effective and thoughtful course to take in light of the claims from those who were abused.

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

Naked Church Camp Counselor Touches 13 Year Old Boy With Penis; Church Calls It “Horseplay”

TENNESSEE
Addicting Info

While I do admit it has been some time since I have played the role of camp counselor (at church camp or otherwise) unless I am horribly mistaken, touching a child with your penis is not one of the recommended “horseplay” activities. Nor for that matter, is it a recommended disciplinary action, although Attorney Allen Trapp, who is representing a church camp counselor and pastor’s son, Zachary Anderle, has stated that he believes it is. I could look back to the trainer’s manuals just to be sure, but in all honesty, I think I am safe here.

The Chattanooga Times Freepress reported that Vineyard Community Church Camp Counselor, Zachary Anderle, was charged with simple battery, two counts of third-degree cruelty to children and sexual assault, following an incident in which he climbed, naked, on top of a 13-year-old boy. Anderle placed his penis on top of the boy’s crotch, while a group of other boys were watching. He also slapped the boy in the face. Vineyard Community Church is located in Chattanooga, TN. The incident between Anderle and the boy took place at the Church’s Camp site, which it was hosting in Temple, GA.

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

CONTROVERSIAL PRIEST

MISSOURI
Berger’s Beat

September 2, 2013 2:19 pm | Author: berger

Tongues are wagging at St. Dominic Savio Catholic parish in south St. Louis county about new pastor Fr. Paul Rothschild. When he gave his first sermon there, Rothschild mentioned that he had been falsely accused of child sexual abuse.

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

Diocese of Gallup to declare bankruptcy

GALLUP (NM)
The Worthy Adversary

Posted by Joelle Casteix on September 3, 2013

The Diocese of Gallup, which owns parishes and employs priests in both New Mexico and Arizona, has said that it will declare bankruptcy to avoid embarrassing civil child sex abuse and cover-up trials.

Published in The Gallup Independent, Gallup, NM, Sept. 3, 2013 (the paper does not publish stories online):

Diocese of Gallup to file bankruptcy
Mounting clergy sex abuse legal claims spark Chapter 11 reorganization

By Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola
Independent correspondent

GALLUP — Catholics across western New Mexico and northern Arizona received bombshell news while attending Mass over the Labor Day weekend.

The Diocese of Gallup announced it will petition for Chapter 11 reorganization in federal bankruptcy court because of mounting clergy sex abuse legal claims, according to a statement issued by Bishop James Wall.

“After considering all of the options and consulting with advisors inside and outside the Diocese, I have determined that filing a petition for Chapter 11 reorganization for the Gallup Diocese of Gallup (sic) is the most effective and thoughtful course to take in light of the claims from those who were abused,” Wall stated.

Priests across the diocese, which includes parishes in six counties in New Mexico, three counties in Arizona and seven Native American reservations, were given the task of delivering the bad news by

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Aspinall’s Underlings (Or: Not My Bishops’ Keeper)

AUSTRALIA
lewisblayse.net

George Pell routinely deflects questions about his priests by claiming he has no power over clergy outside his diocese, and also none over religious orders (which report directly to Rome). This has been very useful for him.

So too, the Anglican Primate, Phillip Aspinall, claims to have no control over dioceses other than his own of Brisbane. This is useful for him. When the Bishop of Grafton does something wrong, Aspinall is not responsible (see previous posting).

So he is only the equivalent of the Westminster system’s form of government where the Prime Minister is the “first among equals”. In this system, no-one would really claim the Prime Minister has no control over his or her cabinet ministers. Similarly, it is quite unbelievable to accept that Aspinall has no influence on his underlings.

As it stands at the moment, cases must be brought against individual dioceses. Consequently, it may prove useful to some to have a bit of background information about Aspinall’s underlings.

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Bischof Tebartz-van Elst klagt über «Zerrbild» in Medienberichten

DEUTSCHLAND
Frankfurter Rundschau

KÖNIGSTEIN –
Der umstrittene Limburger Bischof Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst sieht sich in den Medien falsch dargestellt. Es werde ein Zerrbild von ihm gezeichnet, sagte er am Montagabend bei einer Veranstaltung in Königstein (Hochtaunuskreis). «Da stehen Sachen in den Zeitungen, die gar nicht stimmen. So wurde etwa ein Luftfeuchtigkeitsmesser als Diktiergerät beschrieben, mit dem ich Menschen abhören würde.» Dagegen anzukommen sei schwierig. Er fühle sich ohnmächtig. Konkret nahm der Bischof zu den Vorwürfen gegen ihn keine Stellung.

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Van Elst öffnet seine Dienstvilla

DEUTSCHLAND
Frankfurter Rundschau

Der Limburger Bischof van Elst steht vor allem wegen seiner teuren Dienstvilla in der Kritik. Jetzt öffnet der umstrittene Gottesmann die Türen zu seiner Dienstvilla. Interessierte sollen hinter die abgeschirmten Mauern blicken. Journalisten sind nicht zugelassen.

LIMBURG –
Limburgs Bischof Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst öffnet die Türen zu seinem neuen Amtssitz, der nach Meinung von Kritikern zu groß und teuer geworden ist. Am Donnerstag werden Neugierige in mehreren Gruppen durch die Residenz auf dem Domberg geführt, wie das Bistum ankündigte. Insgesamt 200 Interessierte sollten über den Tag verteilt die Gelegenheit haben, sich die Räume anzuschauen und anschließend kurz mit Tebartz-van Elst zu sprechen, sagte ein Sprecher am Dienstag. Pro Führung erhalten 20 Personen Zutritt (Beginn 10.00 Uhr). Journalisten sind nach Aussage des Sprechers nicht zugelassen. Im Laufe dieses Jahres soll es noch drei weitere Führungen durch das Diözesane Zentrum St. Nikolaus geben.

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Theologe über Tebartz-van Elst: “Eines Bischofs unwürdig”

DEUTSCHLAND
Spiegel

Von Birger Menke und Peter Wensierski

Seit Monaten steht der Limburger Bischof Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst für seine Amtsführung in der Kritik. Nun meldet sich der renommierte Theologe Hermann Häring zu Wort: In einem Brief tadelt er den Bischof mit scharfen Sätzen – und sieht in dem Fall ein grundsätzliches Problem der Kirche.

Limburg – Der Theologe Hermann Häring hat in einem Brief an Limburger Pfarrer den Bischof Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst scharf kritisiert. In dem wortgewaltigen Schreiben konstatiert Häring, “dass in der Amtsführung von Bischof Tebartz-van Elst keine Korrektur zu erwarten ist”.

Nach Häring seien “die Ablenkungen und Verschleierungen, Ausflüchte, Vertröstungen und halbrichtige Behauptungen” zur Routine geworden. Dieses Verhalten habe “ein jedes Vertrauen in das, was uns der Bischof und seine offiziellen Instanzen zur Selbstverteidigung erklären, schwinden lassen”.

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Newark Archdiocese removes two from priesthood

NEW JERSEY
The Record

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2013

BY JEFF GREEN
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD

Two priests in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark who were accused of molesting children have been stripped of their collars, according to church officials.

In August, the archdiocese announced in its online newspaper that Horacio Daniel Medina and Richard J. Mieliwocki were no longer priests. A Vatican tribunal arrived at the conclusions this summer after going through a lengthy process called laicization, said Jim Goodness, an archdiocese spokesman.

Medina was accused in 2004 of having oral sex with an 8-year-old boy in the sacristy of Blessed Sacrament Church in Elizabeth. The archdiocese removed him from ministry after his arrest. He pleaded guilty to child endangerment in 2006 and was sentenced to probation.

In 2008, victims’ advocacy groups found a memo that the archdiocese sent to bishops around the country alerting them of Medina’s status and that he could not be found.

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Removal of 2 N.J. priests accused of sexual misconduct finalized by Vatican

NEW JERSEY
NJ.com

By The Associated Press
on September 03, 2013

NEWARK — The Vatican has finalized the removal of two former New Jersey priests from their posts.

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark announced the changes in its online newspaper last month.

One of the removed clerics, Richard Mieliwocki was accused of sexual misconduct involving minors in 1994. He was removed from ministry and put into treatment that he didn’t complete.

He left the priesthood and became a social worker. He pleaded guilty in 2007 to abusing two teenagers and was sentenced to probation.

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Abuse records show Milwaukee archdiocese reported some but not all allegations to police

MILWAUKEE (WI)
Daily Journal

By DINESH RAMDE Associated Press
First Posted: September 03, 2013

MILWAUKEE — While clergy sex abuse victims have long accused the Archdiocese of Milwaukee of failing to report priests’ crimes to police, recently released records show that church officials often did go to authorities.

Yet few charges were filed, and even fewer priests served jail time when they were convicted. And, in at least three cases, no mention is made of police when a timely report might have allowed justice to be served.

The archdiocese released files on 42 priests in July as part of a deal with victims suing it for fraud in federal bankruptcy court. The 6,000 pages of documents provide the first detailed look at when the church reported crimes, the response from police and how cases were resolved.

Twenty-eight of the files mention reports to police or a prosecutor; nine do not. In the five remaining cases, either the victim didn’t want to involve police or the priest died before the allegations were made.

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Please Join Two Initiatives for Reform Focused on Baptized – Not Bishops

UNITED STATES
Catholics4Change

From Martin J. Leahy, Ph.D.

Years ago I concluded that my dysfunctional church family would never change. But, along came Catholics 4 Change, people here gave me new hope. The courage of many (I could name names) inspired and challenged me to act.

I have been active for the last year in the American Catholic Council. Just like C4C focuses exclusively on protecting children, ACC has a single focus: changing church governance – how we are led, who holds power, and how decisions are made. Unless we have a new leadership model and new ways of decision making none of the other issues that matter will change. We are also different in that our energies are directed toward the grassroots – the baptized not the bishops. Reform and renewal groups have tried tirelessly to effect change through appeals to the bishops for 35 years with few results. We leave it to Francis to challenge the bishops; some are already unhappy (see Archbishop Chaput’s Right-Wing Funk). We do not see ourselves replacing any reform group rather we want to support them by, as Father Michael Doyle would say, “doing our bit,” in our case — changing who holds power.

Two initiatives are being rolled out this Fall.

The Leadership Development Weekend will strengthen the leadership competencies of anyone who identifies as a leader or feels called to leadership in Church reform/renewal. A leader is someone who influences; he or she might or might not fold a formal leadership position. This is also an opportunity to bring people together with diverse causes in a movement whose power is weakened because it is fragmented. The first weekend is taking place in Chicago on October 25-27. Given my day jobs as leadership development professor and consultant, ACC leaders have asked me to facilitate this weekend. Future weekends are planned for NY, FL, and CA. If interested in attending, see ACC Launches Leadership Seminars Across US.

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Police investigate sex abuse allegations against Catholic priests in Mirfield

UNITED KINGDOM
Dewsbury Reporter

Published on 03/09/2013

Police are investigating allegations of sexual abuse at a former seminary in Mirfield.

Several men have claimed they were abused by Catholic priests at St Peter’s Seminary in Mirfield in the 1960s and 1970s.

Some are preparing civil cases against the order which ran the school at Roe Head.

And a formal complaint by at least one person has been made to West Yorkshire Police.

Allegations of abuse by members of the Verona Fathers have been made on several websites.

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Furthering the New Evangelization: Consulting the Laity on Candidates for the Episcopacy

UNITED STATES
Voice of the Faithful

[letter to the pope]

Voice of the Faithful—whose members are among the most committed Catholics and active members of their parishes1—is promoting the participation of all members of a diocese in recommending candidates for their bishop prior to his appointment by the Pope.

We respectfully request the Holy Father to invite interested Conferences of Catholic Bishops to develop demonstration projects on participation of all the laity and clergy of a diocese in recommending candidates for their bishop. These projects would provide the Holy See with best practices that could be promulgated for use throughout the Church.

Voice of the Faithful proffers this request in hope that it promotes the good of the Church.

It expresses our commitment to be “co-responsible for the being and action of the Church, promoting a mature and dedicated laity.”2 In this way we promote the “new evangelization,” because a warm reciprocal relationship between a bishop and his diocese is indispensable to its success.

We have developed this supporting document for the consideration of the Holy See and the various national Conferences of Bishops. The document includes an overview of the proposal and a rationale for adopting it; namely, consideration of the new evangelization and the bishop, the history and current practice generally followed in selecting and appointing bishops, and the timeliness of expanding the laity’s role in the recommendation process.

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Victoria clergy abuse victims meet this week

CANADA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Monday, Sept. 2, 2013

A self help group for men and women who were abused by clergy will hold a confidential support meeting in Victoria this week.

The organization is SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests”. The meeting will be Tuesday, September 3.

“Victims, family members, and supporters are welcome and encouraged to attend,” said Leona Huggins of B.C., SNAP’s B.C. leader. “The trial of Fr. Phil Jacobs, and the recent installation of the new Pope has been a trigger for many clergy abuse victims. There has been an unprecedented number of calls from Survivors to SNAP who are looking for support. 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, Leona 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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Deceptive Dubuque & its “List of accused priests”

IOWA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

POSTED BY DAVID CLOHESSY ON SEPTEMBER 03, 2013

Smart, brave victims of Dubuque area predator priests have forced Catholic officials there – as part of lawsuit settlements – to post names of child molesting clerics on the archdiocesan website. We’re always thrilled when survivors use lawsuits to pry information from the church hierarchy and use that information to warn parents about pedophiles.

But there is helpful information that illuminates and less helpful information that obfuscates.

The Dubuque Archdiocese seems committed to less helpful information that obfuscates.

Let’s carefully look at the details on the archdiocesan website about child molesting clerics.

First, Archbishop Michael Jackels calls the list a “Table of Accused Priests.” The implication is, of course, that every person listed is merely “accused.”

[Dubuque archdiocese]

But of course, this isn’t true. At least two of them have pled guilty to child sex crimes in criminal court. At least one has been defrocked. (See footnotes below.)

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Canada – Victims make ‘last ditch’ plea

CANADA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Tuesday, Sept. 3

Victims make ‘last ditch’ plea
Priest will be sentenced next week
He was found guilty on child sex charges
But cleric faces only five years behind bars
SNAP to bishop: “Help keep predator locked up”
Group wants Catholic officials & public to write to judge & prosecutor

A support group for clergy sex abuse victims and their supporters are urging Victoria’s Catholic bishop to write a judge and prosecutor about a predator priest who will be sentenced soon for child sex crimes.

Leaders of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, are writing to Bishop Richard J. Gagnon begging him to

–give the priest’s personnel file to the prosecutor in the case,
–contact the judge, begging her to lock up the predator for “as long as possible,” and
–use his vast resources to urge prod his flock to do likewise.

The victims are also asking anyone “who many have seen, suspected or suffered” the cleric’s crimes or church cover ups – to call law enforcement officials immediately, so he might face new charges and be jailed longer.

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Myers says he wasn’t close to accused priest, but records reveal gifts, trip invite

ILLINOIS/NEW JERSEY
The Record

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 2, 2013
BY JEFF GREEN
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD

Newark Archbishop John J. Myers said in sworn testimony that a priest accused of child sexual abuse in the Illinois diocese he once led was “not a close personal friend.”

And in a letter to clergy last month, Myers dismissed press accounts that Monsignor Thomas W. Maloney vacationed with him and gave him gifts of gold, silver and cash. He recalled receiving only one gift from Maloney, a collector’s coin he said was of “minimal value,” and he defended any gifts he received as bishop as tokens of appreciation customary from all his priests.

But a trove of documents, released last month after a lawsuit against the Diocese of Peoria was settled for $1.35 million, show that their relationship lasted from the 1960s to 2009, when Maloney died.

Over the course of the relationship, Myers received numerous gifts from Maloney, including on his birthday and on holidays. The two dined together and visited each other informally on several occasions. And Myers also invited Maloney on vacation at least two times, the documents show.

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Church abuse case in Peoria raises questions in North Jersey

ILLINOIS/NEW JERSEY
The Record

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2013
BY JEFF GREEN
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD

Complaints about the Rev. Thomas W. Maloney – that he dressed sloppily, made inappropriate remarks during Mass, and was seen kissing a teenage girl – began piling up within months of his assignment as pastor to an Illinois parish in 1995.

The most serious was contained in a memo written that year that documented a woman’s claim that Maloney sexually abused her when she was 10. Diocese of Peoria officials took no action on her report, and a month after they received it Maloney allegedly molested an 8-year-old boy, according to a lawsuit filed years later by the boy’s attorney.

At the time, the Peoria Diocese was headed by John J. Myers, now the archbishop of Newark, who is facing criticism from state lawmakers and others that he has failed to adequately protect church members from clergy in New Jersey who have been accused of inappropriate behavior.

How those complaints in Peoria were handled — detailed in the lawsuit which was settled for $1.35 million in June — heighten questions about Myers’ methods there and whether they may have carried over to his tenure in New Jersey.

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Don’t mess with Texas Baptists

TEXAS
Stop Baptist Predators

I was cleaning out some boxes recently and ran across the January 1986 sesquicentennial edition of Texas Monthly magazine. In it was a fascinating article called “Bane of the Baptists” by Gary Cleve Wilson, which I’ve excerpted below. (This, of course, is why my cleaning process invariably stalls out – I stop to read things.)

The article that distracted me was about William Cowper Brann, who was described as “the most controversial and widely read Texan of his day.” After serving as chief editorial writer on the Houston Post, he moved to Austin where he founded the Iconoclast, a journal that by the end of 1894, its first year of publication, had a circulation of 100,000. In effect, Brann was something like a pre-blogging version of a blogger.

Brann took on Texas Baptists in his writings, and Texas Baptists didn’t like it. Not one bit. Brann paid a high price. The lesson: Don’t mess with Texas Baptists.

Nowadays, I see so much of Texas Baptists’ complicity in clergy sex abuse and cover-ups, and so much of Texas Baptists’ bullying and intimidation tactics against those who speak out about abuse that, sometimes, I think some Texas Baptists couldn’t possibly get any badder if they tried. But then I ponder the long history of connections between Texas Baptists and the Texas Klan. And then I run across an article like this one about Brann. And then I remember just how deeply entrenched violence actually is in the institutionalized heart of Texas Baptists.

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Challenge For Kevin O’Brien

ST. LOUIS (MO)
Friends of Fr. Joseph Jiang

In a July 19th blog post,”Fantasy vs. Reality among Super-Catholics”, Kevin O’Brien claimed we know some things about the Fr. Joseph case for “certain”. One of the established facts claimed by Kevin particularly troubles us:

“The parents became concerned about inappropriate contact between the priest and their 15-year-old daughter – stroking, physical displays of affection. When they confronted the priest about this, he stopped seeing the family, asked for a transfer from St. Louis for “personal reasons”, but eventually ingratiated himself back into the family, visiting them frequently.”

[Waiting for Godot to Leave]

We wish to challenge Kevin on this “fact”. Is it established by anything beyond the claims of the accusing girl and her family?

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Abuse at the Abbey: How paedophile monks were finally exposed

SCOTLAND
The Independent

MARK DALY MONDAY 19 AUGUST 2013

For a century, children were sent to the exclusive Fort Augustus Abbey and its prep school for what their parents hoped would be a first-class Catholic education. Run by the devout monks of the Benedictine order, this fee-paying school was the jewel in the crown of Catholic education in Scotland.

Yet a six-month investigation into the Abbey and its monks has uncovered five decades of systematic physical and sexual abuse reportedly carried out by a series of sadistic and predatory paedophile monks. Men of God, supposedly.

When BBC journalists started investigating this story, Fort Augustus Abbey, in the Highlands, had been closed for 20 years; its prep school, Carlekemp, in East Lothian, for longer.

But there were whispers about the brutal practices carried out by some of the monks who had lived in the Abbey and taught in the school.

Given that nearly every Benedictine school in England had been involved in a child sex abuse scandal, one had to ask if the boys of Fort Augustus had just had a lucky escape, or if this foreboding old Abbey had closed with its dark secrets intact. The latter would soon emerge to be true.

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Priest faces 14 sex charges against boy in Derby

UNITED KINGDOM
Derby Telegraph

By Martin Naylor

FOURTEEN of the 27 alleged sexual offences that a Catholic priest has been charged with relate to the time he was living in Derby, it has been revealed.

Francis Paul Cullen is accused of seven indecent assaults, six charges of gross indecency and one other serious sexual offence between 1963 and 1970, when he was living in the city.

Nine of the other offences allegedly took place while he was in Nottinghamshire between 1957 and 1962 and the final four counts allegedly happened between 1989 and 1991. The location of those four charges has not yet been revealed.

A police spokesman said: “Fourteen of the charges relate to one boy when Cullen was living in Derby.

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Learning trombone is a practice in humility for Bishop Robert Finn

KANSAS CITY (MO)
The Kansas City Star

September 2

BY LEE HILL KAVANAUGH
The Kansas City Star

He didn’t know that Beethoven proclaimed centuries ago that the trombone was “God’s Instrument” because its sound was the closest to the human voice.

“God’s instrument? Really?” asks the 60-year-old trombone student, Bishop Robert Finn. He smiles at this holy connection to the silver Conn trombone now perched on its stand.

Or maybe he is musing that his own efforts to make a joyful noise are perhaps less Godly, more worldly.

“You could say I’m definitely not ready for prime time,” he says. But he’s learning. …

Maybe the bishop’s life has felt like an opera, too.

He knows well that he will be remembered as the first American Catholic bishop convicted of failing to report a pedophile priest.

Painful memories for all.

“It was a very, very difficult time,” he says, his body slumping at its mention. “But when you are the leader and you make mistakes, the target is on your back.”

He hopes the hate mail won’t rain down again.

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Caso O’Reilly: Fiscalía insistirá en la prisión para imputado por abuso sexual

CHILE
La Tercera

por Karen Soto Galindo – 02/09/2013

En libertad sin ninguna medida cautelar quedó el sacertote Legionario de Cristo, John O’Reilly el pasado 27 de agosto, cuando fue formalizado por dos casos de abuso sexual contra menores, al interior del colegio Cumbres de Las Condes.

Hoy la fiscalía Oriente buscará revertir la decisión del Cuarto Juzgado de Garantía de Santiago, y presentará un recurso ante la Corte de Apelaciones de Santiago, luego que la jueza Andrea Díaz-Muñoz resolviera que no se justifica la existencia de los delitos investigados, y rechazara decretar la prisión preventiva en su contra.

Según explicó a La Tercera el fiscal Matías Moya, “estimamos que los antecedentes son suficientes como para estimar la existencia del delito y la participación del imputado en éste, porque creemos que las víctimas están diciendo la verdad”.

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