ABUSE TRACKER

MISSOURI
Greenwich Times

TROY, Mo. (AP) — Criminal charges against a St. Louis priest accused of molesting a teenage girl in northeast Missouri have been dropped.

The Rev. Xiu Hui “Joseph” Jiang was charged in June 2012 with child endangerment and witness tampering. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch (bit.ly/1cIaTej) reports that Circuit Judge Chris Kunza Mennemeyer of Lincoln and Pike counties dismissed the child endangerment charge on Monday.

Prosecutor Leah Askey filed for dismissal on the witness tampering charge on the same day. Jiang had allegedly left a $20,000 check for the family as hush money.

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ST. LOUIS (MO)
Riverfront Times

By Lindsay Toler Fri., Nov. 22 2013

Criminal charges against a Cathedral Basilica priest accused of sexually abusing a teen in his parish were dropped earlier this month.

Father Xiu Hui “Joseph” Jiang, 30, was not alone with the victim, the court ruled, so child endangerment and witness tampering charges have been dropped, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Two circuit judges filed to dismiss the charges on November 18, and the case was officially dismissed from court record Thursday, according to the Post-Dispatch.

The family of the victim still has a civil lawsuit pending against the archdiocese and Archbishop Robert Carlson for knowingly allowing a sexual predator to interact unsupervised with children.

Nicole Gorovsky, one of the Chakes, Carlson & Halquist lawyers handling the civil suit, says she doesn’t think the news will affect the lawsuit.

“I think our case is a very strong one,” Gorovsky says. “I don’t think this means anything.”

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ST. LOUIS (MO)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

By Jesse Bogan jbogan@post-dispatch.com 314-340-825512

ST. LOUIS • Criminal charges filed against a St. Louis priest over allegations that he molested a teenage girl have been dropped, officials said Friday.

The Rev. Xiu Hiu “Joseph” Jiang, 30, was charged in 2012 with child endangerment and witness tampering.

Circuit Judge Chris Kunza Mennemeyer, of Lincoln and Pike counties, put in an order to dismiss the child endangerment charge Nov. 18 based on an argument by the defense that Jiang was never alone with the alleged victim.

Prosecutor Leah Askey filed for dismissal on the witness tampering charge — Jiang had allegedly left a $20,000 check for the family for hush money — on the same day.

A trial date had been set in Pike County and then recently cancelled.

Pike County Clerk Jerri Harrelson said Friday that the case was officially dismissed from the court record Thursday.

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ST. LOUIS (MO)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Friday, Nov. 22, 2013

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

We are very upset that judge has ended the criminal case against an accused predator priest who has close ties to Archbishop Robert Carlson. Our hearts ache for this courageous victim and her parents who have done their moral and civic duty by helping law enforcement pursue a manipulative child molester.

[St. Louis Post-Dispatch]

There’s something wrong in our justice system when a prosecutor has a prompt abuse report and solid evidence – emails, a $20,000 check, a phone message, a witness – yet a judge tosses out the charges.

It’s possible, of course, that the prosecutor will file other charges against Fr. Jiang. We hope she will.

Regardless, this ruling makes it even more crucial that every single person who saw, suspected or suffered Fr. Jiang’s crimes steps forward. He’s a smart, cunning and young priest. He’ll keep hurting kids unless he’s convicted and imprisoned.

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CALIFORNIA
The Worthy Adversary

Posted by Joelle Casteix on November 22, 2013

The Los Angeles Archdiocese released more clergy sex abuse and cover-up documents today. Priests hail from Orange County, San Bernardino, and Phoenix.

Files include:

John Lenihan
Richard Coughlin
Richard Loomis
Jesse Dominguez
Henry Perez
John Santillian
And others ….

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GHANA
Ghana Web

A 39-year-old Anglican priest, Rev. Fr Emmanuel Quartey, has been remanded in police custody for allegedly raping a 20-year-old woman.

He will be arraigned before the Cape Coast Circuit Court Three on Monday November 25.

The facts are that on Sunday October 17, the victim, a resident of Siwido in Cape Coast, contacted the priest to help her break a blood covenant she had with her boyfriend.

The priest agreed to help the victim and asked her to meet him the following day at a hotel in Elmina.

She complied and met the priest in one of the rooms in the hotel where he forcibly had sex with her and warned her not to tell anyone or else she will die.

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SCOTLAND
The Tablet

22 November 2013 15:00 by Kathleen Nutt

A Scottish priest is fighting to be reinstated after his suspension led parishioners to walk out of church just before Mass.

Fr Matthew Despard was removed from his post at St John Ogilvie’s Church in High Blantyre, South Lanarkshire, last weekend after publishing a controversial memoir earlier this year claiming there was a culture of homosexual bullying in the Catholic Church in Scotland.

On Saturday, just before he was due to say Mass, a statement on the suspension was read to the congregation by Bishop Joseph Toal, the Bishop of Argyll and the Isles and apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Motherwell. It sparked a walkout by parishioners, some in tears, amid scenes described as a near riot. Many in the congregation also left the following day when Bishop Toal turned up to say Sunday morning Mass.

Hugh Neilson, Fr Despard’s lawyer, told The Tablet that the priest has written to Bishop Toal asking to be reinstated.

“Fr Matthew was overwhelmed by the affection that the parishioners have shown him. He is asking Bishop Toal to reconsider his decision. He has written to him already and I will be writing a fuller letter on his behalf,” said Mr Neilson, who was at the church both last Saturday and Sunday.

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ST. LOUIS (MO)
KMOX

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (KMOX) – A Lincoln County family that sued St. Louis Archbishop Robert Carlson for allegedly failing to report child sexual abuse allegations against a priest he lived with has filed a new lawsuit.

The amended suit lays out more allegations against Carlson, claiming he knew that Father Joseph Jiang was saying Mass and hearing confessions in the alleged victim’s home.

“I think its a little bit of a troubling sign that this priest injected himself so deeply into this family and did so with the clear permission of his supervisors,” David Clohessy with Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) told KMOX.

With this week’s filing of an amended lawsuit, the Lincoln County court dismissed as “moot” a request by the Archdiocese to have the original case thrown out. The church now has twenty days to refile its motion to have the lawsuit dismissed.

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ST. LOUIS (MO)
Riverfront Times

By Lindsay Toler Fri., Nov. 22 2013

Even after a Cathedral Basilica priest asked the archdiocese to reassign him for personal reasons, the church allowed Joseph Jiang to have unsupervised contact with the minor he is accused of sexually assaulting in her home and on church property, according to a lawsuit.

The family of the victim — who remains anonymous because she was a minor at the time of the abuse — warned that 25-year-old Jiang was too affectionate and touchy with their 15-year-old daughter, leading Jiang to ask Archbishop Robert Carlson and the pastor of the Cathedral Basilica for a reassignment for personal reasons.

He was not reassigned. Soon after, he returned to the victim’s home crying, said he could not stay away from the family, pinned the girl against a wall and kissed her, according to the lawsuit.

Jiang faces criminal charges, but the family is also suing the archdiocese and Archbishop Carlson for knowingly allowing a sexual predator to serve as a priest and have unsupervised contact with their daughter.

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ST. LOUIS (MO)
Berger’s Beat

. . .A pedophile priest case in New Jersey has just settled out of court. The accused is Fr. John E. Shannon, who is accused of molesting kids in the Camden area but he spent the last 20 years at the Vianney Renewal Center, a church facility here. Shannon passed away several weeks ago. .

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UNITED STATES
Catholic League

Bill Donohue comments on “Philomena,” a movie that opens today:

A half-century ago, an Irish woman gave birth to a son out-of-wedlock, and gave him up for adoption; he was born in an abbey, a venue that allowed the mother to avoid being stigmatized.

There is nothing particularly startling about this, other than the fact that film reviewers are now all aghast about the “horrors” these fallen women experienced; many are making reference to the Magdalene Laundries. As I detailed earlier this year, it’s bunk [click here]. Those who are neither scholars nor principled observers have swallowed this propaganda, so debased is their appetite for anti-Catholic fare.

There is one reviewer who is exceptionally fair, Kyle Smith of the New York Post. He is worth quoting at length:

“The film doesn’t mention that in 1952 Ireland, both mother and child’s life would have been utterly ruined by an out-of-wedlock birth and that the nuns are actually giving both a chance at a fresh start and that both, indeed, in real life, enjoyed. No, this is a diabolical-Catholic film, straight up.”

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UNITED KINGDOM
ITV

Former staff at St William’s school in North Yorkshire say they believe that some of the allegations of abuse are fictitious.

Almost 200 claims have been lodged against the Catholic Diocese of Middlesbrough and the De La Salle Catholic Order of brothers.

Abuse allegations first came out in the 1990’s after the conviction of former teacher Father Anthony McCallen. Jailed for two years for indecent assault and taking indecent pictures of young boys .

That trial prompted allegations against another brother James Carragher, the school principal. He was to be convicted in two separate trials for abusing boys in his care and jailed for a total of 21 years.

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CANADA
Sylvia’s Site

Some details of the afternoon’s testimony at the Iqaluit court house and the sex abuse trial of Father Eric Dejager:

(1) In the afternoon a male testified that when he was a boy Father Eric Dejager ‘raped’ his dog (buggered his dog?) and afterwards sodomized him,(the witness). The witness testified that Dejaeger put him on the table in the furnace room of the church. A nail pierced his chest. He still has the scar. The scar was shown in court.

He told the court that, after his friend was also sodomized by Dejager, his friend bled from the rectum. That friend committed suicide years later

The witness described in graphic detail how he was forced to give Dejaeger oral sex.

He testified that after Dejaeger left Igloolik his father shot Dejaeger’s dog. The dog had apparently been abandoned by Dejaeger;

The witness broke down in tears frequently throughout his testimony;

(4) Father Dejaeger’s lawyer ensured those testifying did not have to face Dejaeger as they testified;

(5) Dejaeger has apparently become quite animated and is passing notes to his lawyer. I am told he appears fit and well. He is very attentive. At times his face reddens.

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AUSTRALIA
lewisblayse.net

The Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse third “case study” hearing has received witness statements from three more victims of the North Coast Children’s Home in New South Wales state. The Home was run by the Anglican Church, known elsewhere as the Episcopalian Church or the Church of England.

It has previously been revealed that the offences were horrendous, and that the local church officials attempted to avoid responsibility for the Home. The chief offenders in this regard were former bishop, Keith Slater, and former administrator, Pat Comben. It has also been revealed that the head of the Anglican Church in Australia, Phillip Aspinall, tried to avoid responsibility for the actions of the local officials by claiming he had no authority over them.

Victim “CD” told the enquiry that sexual, physical and psychological abuse began when he was six years old. He told of witnessing other children being abused, including the rape of a girl by older boys. “She was there, naked and crying, and I couldn’t do or say anything, for fear of being bashed up.” CD also told of being taken away for a weekend at the age of seven or eight by a staff member who sexually abused him

The girl who “CD” was referring to was “CN”, whose statement was read to the hearing. She described her reaction on being admitted to the Home at the age of seven, in the 1950s. “It smelt terrible, like faeces, and there was vomit on the ground. I could see about twenty-odd children, all dirty. It was horrific. I felt that I couldn’t protect myself or my sister … I was told, and I heard other children being told, that we were ‘dirty little heathens’”, her statement read.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Herald-Standard

State police have issued an arrest warrant for a pastor accused of indecent assault among other charges related to having an alleged improper relationship with an 11-year-old girl.

According to the criminal complaint, Ray Scott Teets, 66, of Uniontown has been charged with three felony counts of corruption of minors, concealment of the whereabouts of a child, three counts of luring a child into a motor vehicle or structure, three counts of indecent assault, unlawful restraint of a person, interference with custody of children, three counts of unlawful contact with a minor, three counts of stalking, three misdemeanor counts of corruption of minor, and three counts of criminal trespass.

The criminal complaint said Teets is pastor at Fallen Timbers Community Church on Morgantown Avenue in Springhill Township.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Tribune-Review

By Liz Zemba

Published: Thursday, Nov. 21, 2013

The pastor of a Fayette County church is accused of indecent sexual contact with the 11-year-old daughter of one of his former congregants.

Ray Scott Teets, 66, of South Union is charged by state police at Uniontown with indecent assault, unlawful restraint, interference with custody of children, corruption of minors, unlawful contact with a minor, concealing the whereabouts of a child, child luring, stalking and criminal trespass.

The girl, her mother and her mother’s fiance were members of a church listed as Fallen Timbers Community Church on Fallen Timbers Road in Springhill in an affidavit of probable cause. Teets is the pastor at Fallen Timbers Community Chapel at that address.

As he was leaving the office of Masontown District Judge Randy Abraham, Teets said the charges were “outrageous.”

Abraham set bail at $250,000. Teets told the judge he has a 1986 conviction for child sexual abuse in Maryland.

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UNITED STATES
The Jewish Press

By: Harry Maryles Published: November 22nd, 2013

It seems we have an epidemic on hand. Sex abuse seems to be more prevalent today than at any time in history. Or is it…?

My guess is that it is as prevalent today as it was in the past. It has always been an epidemic. The difference today is that we know about it. The media is all over it and the internet spreads the word widely and quickly. Everyone knows about it instantly.

And thank God for that. I say ‘Thank God’ even though it makes the Torah world look bad by being no different than other communities that have these problems. But ‘knowledge is power’. Now that we know more we can do more to prevent it and to help survivors better deal with it.

Although we have a long way to go, things have been slowly changing for the better as some survivors have come forward to expose their abusers and testify against them in court. And major Orthodox religious organizations like the RCA and the OU have publicly supported reporting abuse to the police immediately. Even Agudah and Lakewood support it in theory as long as you consult with a rabbi first. (That this is woefully inadequate is beyond the scope of this post.) The only religious groups who outright forbid it are major Chasidic enclaves like Satmar, Ger, and Toldos Aharon.

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AUSTRALIA
Newcastle Herald

By JOANNE McCARTHY Nov. 22, 2013

HISTORICAL Newcastle Anglican diocese files alleging ‘‘falsification of records’’, including those of child sex offender priest Allan Kitchingman, were found this year and referred to police, an explosive statement to the royal commission into child abuse has said.

Diocese professional standards director Michael Elliott has told the commission about an anonymous 2002 letter which said the ‘‘disappearance’’ of Kitchingman from a clergy list in 1968 and his subsequent move to the Grafton diocese ‘‘could today be construed as a type of cover-up’’.

‘‘This ‘disappearance’ was deliberate,’’ the letter said.

In 1968 Kitchingman was convicted of an indecent assault on a male, although the commission heard on Monday ‘‘such an act is no longer a criminal offence’’.

He became chaplain to the North Coast Children’s Home at Lismore where he sexually abused a boy, 13, in 1975. He was convicted and jailed in 2002. Despite the jail sentence his name remained on the Newcastle diocese clergy list from 2002 to 2007.

The anonymous 2002 letter accused the diocese of matters that were ‘‘reported to superiors, then dealt with quietly’’, including the case of Kitchingman.

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SOUTH DAKOTA/MINNESOTA
Argus Leader

Written by
John Hult

The movement by church officials of a deceased friar accused of molesting children in South Dakota and Minnesota has resulted in a lawsuit under a recently passed law that extends the statute of limitations in latent abuse cases.

The case against James Vincent Fitzgerald was made possible by the passage this year of the Minnesota Child Victims Act, according to Twin Cities lawyer Jeff Anderson.

Anderson represents a victim of Fitzgerald’s, who is identified as “Doe 19” in a lawsuit filed Thursday in Ramsey County against the Diocese of Crookston and the Oblates of Mary Immaculate.

“It opens up the courthouse for victims to bring actions against the ones who permitted the abuses,” Anderson said, adding the Doe case represents the first claim made under the new Minnesota law.

Fitzgerald abused two Native American children in the late 1960s when working at the Indian Mission in Sisseton under the scope of the Catholic Diocese of Sioux Falls, the complaint said, and was transferred to Squaw Lake, Minn., in the 1970s.

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FLORIDA
CBS Miami

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – An unnamed teacher at a Catholic run pre-school is under investigation for allegedly sexually abusing a 3-year old.

According to a Miami-Dade Police spokesman, authorities were called to the Holy Redeemer Head Start Program.

Thursday the Archdiocese of Miami issued the following statement:

“Today the Archdiocese of Miami’s administrators learned of an allegation of sexual abuse by a teacher at the Catholic Charities’ Head Start Early Childhood Development Center, located at Holy Redeemer Church.

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FLORIDA
NBC South Florida

[with video]

Police Investigating Sexual Abuse Allegation Against Head Start Teacher at Holy Redeemer Church, Archdiocese of Miami Says

Miami-Dade Police are investigating an allegation of sexual abuse against a Head Start teacher at Holy Redeemer Church in northwest Miami-Dade, the Archdiocese of Miami said Thursday.

Archdiocese administrators learned of the allegation involving a teacher at Catholic Charities’ Head Start Early Childhood Development Center, which is located at the church at 1301 Northwest 71st St., on Thursday.

When Catholic Charities’ administrators learned of the allegation, they reported it to the Department of Children and Families, Archdiocese of Miami spokeswoman Mary Ross Agosta said in a statement. Administrators are also fully cooperating with the police investigation, she said.

Police interviewed a teacher, who was cooperative, and she has since been released, Miami-Dade Police spokesman Det. Roy Rutland said.

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AUSTRALIA
SBS

[with audio]

By Ildi Amon
Source World News Australia Radio

The head of the Catholic church’s Truth, Justice and Healing Council says the days of the church investigating sexual abuse complaints against itself are over.

The internal process used by the Catholic Church to deal with sexual abuse claims will be the subject of public hearings in Sydney next month.

The Royal Commission will examine the application of the scheme known as Towards Healing.

Truth, Justice and Healing Council chief executive Francis Sullivan says Towards Healing was an improvement on the previous arrangements.

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LOUISIANA
KSLA

[with video]

By Carolyn Roy

SHREVEPORT, LA (KSLA) –
A Shreveport pastor has been arrested after he was reportedly indicted on federal sex crimes charges.

The FBI confirms that Pastor Andre Lewis is charged with three counts of transporting a child over state lines with intent to engage in sexual acts.

Lewis, pastor of Act on Faith Ministries on Hollywood Avenue, is expected to have a detention hearing in federal court on Monday.

Lewis was arrested early Wednesday morning at his home in the 6200 block of Snowden Drive in the Mooretown neighborhood.

Early Thursday the FBI confirmed that an arrest was made, but according to the clerk at the federal courthouse, the indictment was sealed.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

By Ashleigh Raper and Thomas Oriti

A lawyer for the Anglican Church has told the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse the decision to compensate a group of abuse victims was not motivated by their suffering.

Peter Roland was employed by the Anglican Diocese of Grafton.

He was the Diocese’s legal representative when a group of former residents from the North Coast Children’s Home in Lismore wanted compensation for allegedly being sexually and physically abused.

This latest phase of the Royal Commission is looking into the response from the Diocese to the allegations and how it handled the group claim.

During a tense exchange, Counsel Assisting the Commission, Simeon Beckett asked Mr Roland the motivation behind offering compensation.

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AUSTRALIA
The West Australian

By Annette Blackwell, AAP
Updated November 22, 2013

The former registrar of the Anglican diocese at the centre of a child abuse inquiry has admitted lying about church finances to Richard “Tommy” Campion, who had started a group claim against the church.

Pat Comben, a former Queensland education and environment minister, said when he became registrar at Grafton in 2004, he didn’t find the financial position as bad as he’d been led to believe.

During his time as registrar former residents of the North Coast Children’s Home in Lismore began to come forward with horrific tales of abuse at the hands of clergy and workers at the orphanage.

Mr Comben, a former clergyman, on Friday told the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse he found money “squirrelled away” at the diocese – $50,000 here, $100,000 there in different accounts.

About $2 million was available at the beginning of 2006, he said.

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AUSTRALIA
The West Australian

Annette Blackwell, AAP
November 22, 2013

This is a true story about money, power, sex and religion.

It is about a time when bishops reigned supreme in the Protestant church.

It tells of a hell-hole where decade after decade children were flogged with canes, pony whips and belts until they bled.

It is a horror story about how the very young were often raped by pastors and others and sometimes subjected to pseudo-religious sexual rituals.

For a while there was a grand entrance sign proclaiming the bleak place a Church of England home.

The story is set not in medieval Europe but in a sunny corner of NSW at a time when other Australians were listening to John Farnham singing Sadie (The Cleaning Lady) or INXS belting out Don’t Change.

Through a labyrinthine trail of documents and evidence from seemingly good-hearted professional people who work for the Anglican Church, those attending the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse are piecing the terrible tale together.

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MINNESOTA
Bemidji Pioneer

Stephen J. Lee
Forum News Service

CROOKSTON — A member of the White Earth Band of Chippewa sued the Roman Catholic Diocese of Crookston on Thursday, alleging a priest working under the diocese’s authority sexually abused him when he was 8 and 9 years old on the White Earth Indian Reservation.

Jeff Anderson, the St. Paul attorney who has won hundreds of millions of dollars suing Catholic dioceses in sex abuse cases over the past 20 years, held a news conference at the Polk County Courthouse in Crookston, where the lawsuit was filed Thursday.

He said he has information that the Rev. J. Vincent Fitzgerald, who died in 2009, sexually abused at least four young people from the late 1960s to the mid-1980s while serving as a priest on Indian reservations in South Dakota and Minnesota.

The four alleged victims include two within the Crookston diocese: a boy on the Leech Lake Indian Reservation near Bemidji in the 1970s and “John Doe 19” at White Earth in the mid-1980s. He also has information that Fitzgerald sexually abused two youths in the 1960s in South Dakota, Anderson said.

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UNITED STATES
Stop Baptist Predators

Tucked away in a Washington Post article last month was the news that Baylor University’s president Ken Starr wrote a letter of support on behalf of a child molesting school teacher.

Baylor is the largest Baptist university in the world, and Ken Starr is the man at the top. Formerly, Starr served as a federal judge, as the United States Solicitor General, and as a special prosecutor during the presidency of Bill Clinton.

The child molester who inspired Starr’s letter is Christopher Kloman. For nearly 30 years, Kloman taught at the elite Potomac School in Virginia, which Starr’s own daughter attended.

Faced with multiple accusations of having molested female students, Kloman pled guilty last summer to four counts of indecent liberties with a child younger than 14 and one count of abduction with intent to defile.

At Kloman’s sentencing hearing in October, five victims provided what was described as “harrowing”accounts of the sexual abuse they suffered as kids and of the long-lasting impact it had on their lives. One woman testified that school officials had been informed about Kloman’s conduct, but that they merely sent him for counseling.

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MINNESOTA
MinnPost

By Brian Lambert | 11/19/13
Today in pedophilia … Richard Meryhew and Tony Kennedy of the Strib write: “Lawyers filed suit Tuesday morning in St. Paul against a Catholic-run treatment facility that cared for an abusive priest who then was sent to a new parish where he allegedly targeted a 10-year-old boy for years of repeated abuse. Jeff Anderson, the St. Paul attorney who filed the suit on behalf of “Doe 27,” said it is the first lawsuit under Minnesota’s new Child Victims Act to name St. Luke Institute as a defendant. The facility in Silver Spring, Md., has been a destination for the treatment of Minnesota Catholic monks and priests who have been accused of sexual abuse of children, other sexual misconduct and addiction. The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and St. John’s Abbey in Collegeville are also being sued in the case.”

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CANADA
Winnipeg Free Press

By: Bob Weber, The Canadian Press

IQALUIT, Nunavut – A witness at a child sex abuse trial in the Arctic wept as she described how her relationship with her parents and husband has been damaged by what she says happened to her.
The woman was testifying Thursday against Eric Dejaeger, who faces 69 charges going back to his time as a priest in Igloolik, Nunavut, more than 30 years ago.

BORDERLINE: GRAPHIC CONTENT MAY DISTURB SOME READERS

“My husband is a good man,” the woman told court. “But when it comes to sexual things, we argue and we fight.

“If he would touch me in a way Eric did, I start yelling and getting mad.”

The woman said Dejaeger would pluck her from among the children playing and colouring in the church in Igloolik. He would sit her on his lap, she said, and fondle her while moving his legs underneath her and massaging himself.

“He didn’t talk to me,” she said. “He’d just breathe hard and say, ‘Relax.'”

She said the assaults went on for at least three years, until she was eight years old.

“I was just a kid,” she said. “I didn’t know what he was doing.”

By the time she was 12, other family members realized she was acting strangely.

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MINNESOTA
WDAZ

By: Victor Correa, WDAZ

The Diocese of Crookston is facing more allegations of child sexual abuse, this time on various reservations in Minnesota and South Dakota.

At a news conference Thursday attorney Jeff Anderson announced a lawsuit on behalf of a victim being identified only as Doe 19.

Father J. Vincent Fitzgerald is being accused of sexually abusing children on White Earth, Leech Lake, and Lake Travers reservations. Doe 19 claims father Fitzgerald sexually abused him when he was eight or nine years old in 1984 on the White Earth Indian reservation in Naytahwaush, MN. At that time Doe 19 was Fitzgerald’s 4th victim. While Fitzgerald is now deceased, Anderson is taking action against the Diocese of Crookston, claiming Fitzgeral’s abuse was known but rather than having him removed he was instead relocated.

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MINNESOTA
Grand Forks Herald

By: Stephen J. Lee, Grand Forks Herald

CROOKSTON — A member of the White Earth Band of Chippewa sued the Roman Catholic Diocese of Crookston Thursday, alleging a priest working under the diocese’s authority sexually abused him when he was 8 and 9 years old on the White Earth Indian Reservation.

Jeff Anderson, the St. Paul attorney who has won hundreds of millions of dollars suing Catholic dioceses in sex abuse cases the past 20 years, held a news conference at the Polk County Courthouse in Crookston where the lawsuit was filed Thursday.

He said he has information that the Rev. J. Vincent Fitzgerald, who died in 2009, sexually abused at least four young people from the late 1960s to the mid-1980s while serving as a priest on Indian reservations in South Dakota and Minnesota.

The four victims include two within the Crookston diocese: a boy on the Leech Lake Indian Reservation near Bemidji in the 1970s and “John Doe 19” at White Earth in the mid-1980s. He also has information that Fitzgerald sexually abused two youths in the 1960s in South Dakota, Anderson said.

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RHODE ISLAND/CONNECTICUT
Patch

Posted by Elizabeth McNamara (Editor) , November 21, 2013

When victims of sexual abuse by priests gathered this week in Providence, at least two of them were there because of abuse they say they suffered while growing up in East Greenwich.

Helen McGonigle lived on Dale Hill Drive from 1967 to 1973 and was abused by Fr. Brendan Symth, who was serving at Our Lady of Mercy during those years. Jeffrey Thomas, who grew up nearby to McGonigle, was also sexually abused by Smyth.

Smyth, who was convicted of 141 cases of sexual assault in Ireland, died in an Irish prison in 1994. His story is well known in Ireland and the U.K. but remains much less so here in Rhode Island. The Catholic Diocese of Providence does not release information about Smyth.

McGonigle and Thomas were in Providence on Wednesday in support of victims of more recent abuse. In particular, they were protesting the Catholic Diocese of Providence’s failure to report more than 800 cases of sexual abuse to the R.I. State Police in the past 20 years.

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MINNESOTA
KSTP

By: Scott Theisen

A Minnesota man who claims he was abused by a priest on the White Earth Indian Reservation is suing the Diocese of Crookston and the priest’s religious order.

The man is identified in the lawsuit as Doe 19. He claims he was 8 or 9 years old when a priest at St. Anne’s in Naytahwaush sexually abused him in 1984. The priest wasn’t criminally charged. He died in 2009.

The lawsuit says the priest was accused of molesting three children before going to St. Anne’s. It says the Crookston Diocese and the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, United States Province religious order should’ve known he was dangerous.

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MINNESOTA
Minnesota Public Radio

by Dan Gunderson, Minnesota Public Radio
November 21, 2013

MOORHEAD, Minn. — A lawsuit filed Thursday against the Catholic diocese of Crookston, Minn., and a Catholic missionary organization alleges sexual abuse of children by a priest.

The Rev. James Vincent Fitzgerald was transferred to the White Earth Reservation in 1984 and soon after abused an eight- or nine-year-old boy, according to the lawsuit. Fitzgerald died in 2009.

The defendants knew about a pattern of abuse and failed to stop it, attorney Jeff Anderson said. “We’re really seeking a public disclosure and revelation of secrets that have long been kept and hoping to get the Catholic bishops in all the dioceses in Minnesota to come clean and become both transparent and do outreach,” he said.

There are allegations of sexual abuse against Fitzgerald dating to the 1960s, Anderson added.

The lawsuit was filed against the Catholic Diocese of Crookston and the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, a Catholic missionary organization. Its missionaries began working on Minnesota American Indian reservations in 1923 and continue today, according to the order’s website.

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MINNESOTA
KTTC

[Doe 19 Summons and Complaint
Fitzgerald Timeline
Doe 19 Statement
2010 S.D. Complaint
J. Vincent Fitzgerald Photo]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – A Minnesota man who claims he was abused by a priest on the White Earth Indian Reservation is suing the Diocese of Crookston and the priest’s religious order.

The man is identified in the lawsuit as Doe 19. He claims he was 8 or 9 years old when a priest at St. Anne’s in Naytahwaush sexually abused him in 1984. The priest wasn’t criminally charged. He died in 2009.

The lawsuit says the priest was accused of molesting three children before going to St. Anne’s. It says the Crookston Diocese and the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, United States Province religious order should’ve known he was dangerous.

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MINNESOTA
Crookston Times

[Doe 19 Summons and Complaint
Fitzgerald Timeline
Doe 19 Statement
2010 S.D. Complaint
J. Vincent Fitzgerald Photo]

There will be a press conference Thursday in Crookston in regards to another civil suit to be filed under the Child Victims Act, this time involving sexual abuse on a reservation.

The announcement involves the White Earth Indian Reservation in Naytahwaush on behalf of a man who attended St. Ann’s Parish. This lawsuit, again, names the Diocese of Crookston, alleging negligence in placing the accused Father J. Vincent Fitzgerald in parishes and communities where he had access to children even after learning that he was a child molester.

This is the first time that Fitzgerald’s name has been publicly released in Minnesota.

He allegedly abused children on three reservations, including orphaned children on the Lake Traverse Reservation, as part of the Sisseton, South Dakota Indian Mission. Fitzgerald is deceased and held positions in the Diocese of Duluth, Diocese of Crookston, the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, and others in Illinois, Oregon, Missouri, and South Dakota.

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IOWA
Ottumwa Courier

By MATT MILNER
Courier staff writer

PELLA — Iowa’s Court of Appeals has granted a former Pella pastor a new trial, saying the district court erred.

Patrick Edouard was pastor of Covenant Reformed Church in Pella. He was convicted of multiple counts of sexual exploitation by a counselor after four women from his congregation accused him of engaging in sexual acts. Edouard’s defense said he was not a “counselor or therapist,” providing mental health services, and thus could not be guilty of the exploitation charges. He admitted to engaging in sexual conduct with the women.

Iowa law defines a counselor or therapist as anyone “who provides or purports to provide mental health services.” That can include members of the clergy. But critical terms in the law are undefined, including “treatment,” “assessment” and “counseling.”

A previous ruling from the Iowa Supreme Court held that “strictly personal relationships involving the informal exchange of advice,” did not constitute the counseling role needed for the charge. The district court didn’t include the definition of counseling from that decision in jury instructions, though, and the appeals court says that was a mistake that abused the district court’s discretion.

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IOWA
Seattle PI

By RYAN J. FOLEY, Associated Press
Published 9:38 am, Wednesday, November 20, 2013

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A former Iowa pastor accused of sexually preying on female members of his congregation was improperly convicted of sexual exploitation and must receive a new trial, an appeals court ruled Wednesday.

The Iowa Court of Appeals overturned a verdict that found Patrick Edouard, former pastor at Covenant Reform Church in Pella, guilty of four counts of sexual exploitation by a counselor and one count of having a pattern or scheme to sexually exploit. An improper jury instruction undermined Edouard’s defense in which he admitted to sexual conduct with the women but denied acting as their counselor, the court ruled.

Edouard, 44, has been free on bond while appealing his conviction, which was returned by a Dallas County jury last year. Under the sentence vacated Wednesday, he would have faced up to five years in prison and, upon release, a 10-year mandatory term of supervision as a sex offender.

The Iowa Attorney General’s Office, which has assisted Marion County in prosecuting the case, will ask the Iowa Supreme Court to review Wednesday’s decision to reinstate the conviction and sentence, spokesman Geoff Greenwood said. But justices do not have to review the 3-0 ruling.

If the ruling stands, prosecutors would need to decide whether to retry him. At any retrial, the appeals court said that an expert witness that would help Edouard’s defense must be allowed to testify after being unfairly excluded from the first.

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IOWA
Des Moines Register

Written by
Grant Rodgers

A former Pella pastor who admitted in court that he had sexual contact with four parishioners will get a new trial, the Iowa Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday.

After a 10-day trial, Patrick Edouard, 44, was convicted in August 2012 of four counts of sexual exploitation by a counselor or therapist and one count of pattern, practice or scheme to engage in sexual exploitation.

Edouard was charged after four parishioners of the Covenant Reformed Church in Pella reported that he had “repeatedly engaged in sex acts with them,” court papers said.

The court’s decision further erodes the sexual exploitation statute that was meant to protect potential victims, said Elizabeth Barnhill, executive director of the Iowa Coalition Against Sexual Assault. It could now be time for the Iowa lawmakers to review and strengthen the statute, she said.

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CANADA
Nunatsiaq Online

DAVID MURPHY

Sometimes it’s hard just to walk through the courtroom door, let alone describe in detail the traumas of childhood.

Muttering profanities outside the door and then hiding her face inside a hoodie as she passed Eric Dejaeger — the man accused by dozen of witnesses of child sexual assault in Igloolik from 1978 to 1982 — the next in a long line of witnesses for the prosecution took the stand at the Nunavut Court of Justice Nov. 20.

Avoiding all eye contact, the woman, 36, sat down and looked left, away from Dejaeger and his lawyer, Malcolm Kempt.

“I don’t want to say his name,” she said when Crown prosecutor Doug Curliss asked who she worked for at St. Stephen’s Catholic Church in Igloolik.

Dejaeger, a Belgian-born Oblate missionary who became a Canadian citizen in the 1970s, has already served a five-year prison sentence imposed in 1990 after he was found guilty of sex crimes which occurred in Baker Lake between 1982 and 1989.

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UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter

NCR Editorial Staff | Nov. 21, 2013

EDITORIAL Thirty-seven percent of male clergy of various faith traditions report Internet pornography as “being a current struggle,” and 57 percent of that group report compulsive Internet pornography use, according to a paper, “The Internet and Pornography,” delivered during a 2012 symposium on clergy sexual abuse sponsored by the Vatican at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. Representatives of 110 national bishops’ conferences and 30 religious orders attended that symposium.

“The most significant signs of this vulnerability are issues related to loneliness and isolation, the lack of self-care, higher expectations of themselves, entitlement, and lack of education about this aspect of the Internet,” the paper said.

The paper notes that research on clergy and pornography use is too scant to make wide generalizations, and that no research on Roman Catholic clergy could be found, but initial impressions from the research that is available support a need for more study and seem “to suggest that clergy in the Roman Catholic Church will need better training and education on this issue.”

In July 2011, the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, commonly called the Dallas Charter, was updated to include child pornography in its definition of sexual abuse against a minor, a change necessitated by a similar change in canon law. The latest annual audit of diocesan compliance with the Dallas Charter found in the audit period (July 2011 to June 2102) that five clerics were removed from ministry solely because of allegations of possession of child pornography. That was about 2 percent of all allegations, but pornography is involved in a much higher percentage of all cases of sexual abuse of a minor by clergy.

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MINNESOTA
Star Tribune

Article by: RICHARD MERYHEW , Star Tribune Updated: November 20, 2013

Al Michaud gives a voice to outrage with Catholic Church.

Al Michaud couldn’t believe the reaction.

He had just told the Rev. Kevin McDonough, the vicar general of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, that he’d been molested as a teen by a local Catholic priest. McDonough pulled out the priest’s file, Michaud recalled, and began to cry.

The Rev. Jerome Kern had allegedly groped and fondled at least two boys nearly a decade before he had molested Michaud in a pool at the St. Paul Seminary, and the archdiocese had a file on it. As a visibly shaken McDonough apologized, he told Michaud to give him a few weeks to take action on Kern, who was still in the ministry. “I thought I had an ally,” Michaud said.

But when Michaud called two weeks later, he remembers a completely different tone. He said McDonough acted as though he didn’t remember the conversation and told Michaud to pursue the case through other channels.

Michaud was stunned then. He’s even angrier now.

Two decades after that meeting and nearly 37 years after Kern sexually assaulted him, Michaud wants justice — and a face-to-face explanation.

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Ciudad de México – La Procuraduría General de Justicia de Querétaro (PGJE) detuvo al sacerdote católico Arturo Méndez Camacho, quien es acusado de abuso de menores.

De acuerdo con reportes de la prensa local, el clérigo fue capturado ayer por la noche cuando salía de la iglesia de San Antoñito, ubicada en la capital del estado, tras oficiar una misa.

No está claro cuántas son las acusaciones en su contra. Se habla en plural, es decir: podría tratarse de más de un caso de abuso.

Según la prensa local, el cura detenido fue muy cercano al Papa Juan Pablo II. Él mismo, y sus cercanos, lo habrían referido así durante mucho tiempo; Méndez Camacho cumplió 30 años “de sacerdocio” y el evento fue ampliamente difundido por diarios locales.

El sacerdote estudió Derecho Canónico en Roma, Italia. Fue ordenado sacerdote en 1983 por el entonces obispo de Querétaro, Alfonso Toris Cobián, en la iglesia de San Francisco de Asís, en la comunidad de La Llave.

Ayer mismo, la Diócesis de Querétaro emitió un comunicado en el informa que Méndez Camacho será separado de sus funciones para que se investiguen los hechos.

Expresa su confianza en que se aplique la ley  “con justicia, y se llegue a la verdad”.

“Sus abogados darán mayor información sobre los hechos y  proceso legal que se sigue. En este momento el sacerdote no ejercerá su oficio”, dice el boletín.

“Creemos en el estado de derecho, y en la aplicación justa de las leyes. Pedimos a Dios se llegue a la verdad ante este hecho doloroso”, expresa la Diócesis.

México, con una de las mayores poblaciones de católicos, figura entre los países en donde más abusos sexuales han cometido los sacerdotes católicos.

En México, por ejemplo, el cura Marcial Maciel Degollado fundó la Legión de Cristo; no fue sino hasta hace algunos años que se dio a conocer que abusaba sexualmente de menores.

Durante años fue protegido tanto por autoridades religiosas como civiles.

En 2009 se supo que el cura era padre de una joven española. Los legionarios así lo informaron a través de un comunicado, en febrero de 2010.

Aunque Maciel Degollado fue considerado un depredador sexual –violó niños y tuvo relaciones prolongadas con varias mujeres–, pero jamás pisó la cárcel.

Murió en Estados Unidos, sin perder su estatus dentro de la iglesia católica.

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CANADA
Bay Today

IQALUIT, Nunavut – A witness at the trial of a former priest accused of sex abuse against children in the Arctic has testified that he used to pluck her out of a group of playing children and rape her.

She told an Iqaluit court that Eric Dejaeger (deh’-YAY’-guhr) would take her to a dark corner of a room in the church building where her friends were colouring pictures.

She said the one-time Oblate missionary used to fondle her and force her to do the same to him.

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MAINE
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

He allegedly shared porn with children
Wisconsin police are investigating the case
And Catholic officials say it could be a felony
Victims group calls for outreach to “victims, witnesses & whistleblowers”

For immediate release: Thursday Nov 21, 2013

For more information: David Clohessy of St. Louis, SNAP Director (314) 566-9790 cell, SNAPclohessy@aol.com

A priest who worked at a Portland Catholic church for a decade has been suspended from his job in Wisconsin and is being investigated by police for “questionable use of Facebook.”

Milwaukee archdiocesan officials say the allegations “would likely result in a felony charge.” A parishioner says the cleric is “accused of using his Facebook account to share pornography, primarily with adults, but occasionally with minors.”

[Kenosha News]

Fr. Ireneusz Chodakowski allegedly rebuffed a parish employee’s requests that he “make changes in the video content of his Facebook account,” apparently to prevent minors from seeing “pornographic images [Chodakowski] was distributing.”

From 1998-2009, Fr. Chodakowski headed St. Louis Catholic church in Portland. According to a church website, he was reportedly also assigned to work at a Catholic school in Thomson, Connecticut.

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ST. LOUIS (MO)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

And new allegations made in clergy sex case
Amended lawsuit includes alarming details
A second top archdiocesan staffer is named
Carlson intended to foil civil lawsuit, it says

WHAT
Holding signs and childhood photos at a sidewalk news conference, clergy sex abuse victims and their supporters will announce that a judge is letting a high profile clergy sex abuse case – charging recent child sex crimes and cover ups by Catholic officials – move ahead. They will also disclose that “disturbing” new details about the case are filed in a new court filing, including

–20 new paragraphs about the abuse and top church officials involvement in it,
–a new “count” or charge against St. Louis’ archbishop (“spoilation”), and
–the name of a new bishop – not linked to the case before – who sent the priest to the victim.

It also includes new allegations, not made before, including that Archbishop Robert Carlson

–called the accused priest “often while the priest was in the victim’s home,”
–gave the accused priest permission to perform mass at the victim’s home,
–received a complaint that the accused was babysitting the victim’s siblings,
–ordered a church investigation into the complaint,
–told the priest to stay away from the family “until the investigation cleared him,”
–intentionally tried to “disrupt or defeat” a potential lawsuit, and
–“chose to avoid controversy” and “the result was harm to the victim.”

WHEN:
TODAY, Thursday, November 21 at 2:30 pm

WHERE:
On the sidewalk in front of the “new” Cathedral at 4431 Lindell (at Newstead) in the CWE

WHO:
Four to five people who are concerned Catholics or members of a support group called SNAP (the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests)

WHY:
Earlier this month, Archbishop Robert Carlson tried to have one of the most shocking clergy sex abuse and cover ups lawsuits tossed out of court. But on Tuesday, in a two page order, Judge Chris Kunza Mennemeyer decided that the case will go forward. It involves repeated child sex crimes against a teenager (as recently as last year) by a cleric very close to Carlson, Fr. Joseph Jiang.

[BishopAccountability.org]

Now, that lawsuit has been amended to include new charges and some unusual details, including that Bishop Robert Herman instructed Fr. Jiang to go to plaintiff’s home to pray over the family. (Herman has never been named in connection to this suit before.)

The amended suit also accuses Carlson of intentionally trying to “disrupt or defeat” a potential lawsuit by trying to get the victim’s parents to give him a $20,000 check that Fr. Jiang had left them. (Carlson’s move indicates “fraud and a desire to suppress the truth,” the suit says.)

Other new information and/or charges include that Fr. Jiang

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MINNESOTA
Jeff Anderson & Associates

Crookston Press Conference Thursday
First civil suit to be filed under Child Victims Act involving sexual abuse on a reservation
Father J. Vincent Fitzgerald sexually abused children on White Earth, Leech Lake and Lake Traverse Reservations in Minnesota and South Dakota
Defendants include the Diocese of Crookston and Oblates of Mary Immaculate

What: At a news conference Thursday in the lobby of the Polk County Courthouse in Crookston, Lonna Hunter, a passionate advocate for Native children and sexual abuse attorney Jeff Anderson will:

• Announce the filing of a sexual abuse lawsuit on behalf a man, Doe 19, who was abused by Father J. Vincent Fitzgerald at St. Ann’s Parish in Naytawaush, Minnesota, on the White Earth Indian Reservation. The lawsuit names the Diocese of Crookston, and the Oblates of Mary Immaculate alleging they were negligent in placing Fitzgerald in parishes and communities where he had access to children even after learning that Fitzgerald was a child molester.
• Request the release of names of credibly accused and admitted child molesters from the Diocese of Crookston. This is the first time Fitzgerald’s name has been publicly released in Minnesota.
• Notify sexual abuse survivors who experienced abuse on any reservation in Minnesota that the Child Victims Act may be able to help them achieve healing and justice. Fitzgerald allegedly abused children on all three reservations, including orphaned children on the Lake Traverse Reservation as part of the Sisseton, South Dakota Indian Mission.

WHEN: Thursday November 21, 2013 at 1:00PM CST

WHERE: Inside the Crookston Courthouse
1200 Memorial Drive
Crookston, MN 56716

WHO: Lonna Hunter, an advocate for Native children who has worked tirelessly for policy and effective responses to institutional child sexual abuse. She previously worked with the Minnesota Indian Women’s Sexual Assault Coalition and is currently the program coordinator the federal Office of Victims of Crime project, the Minnesota Network Legal Services for Victims of Crime at the Council on Crime and Justice. Attorney Jeff Anderson, is a St. Paul, Minnesota based attorney who, through the civil justice system, advocates nationwide for sexual abuse survivors.

Notes:
• Copies of the documents and complaint will be available at www.andersonadvocates.com.
• Fitzgerald is deceased and held positions in the Diocese of Duluth, Diocese of Crookston, the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Diocese of Springfield (IL), Diocese of Belleville (IL), Diocese of Sioux Falls, Archdiocese of Portland (OR) and the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau (MO).

Contact: Jeff Anderson: Cell: 612.817.8665 Office: 651.237.5143
Lonna Hunter: Cell: 651.442.3253

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IRELAND
Association of Catholic Priests

Take the Survey Now

In preparation for the Extraordinary Synod on the Family to be held 5th – 19th October 2014, the Vatican has asked national bishops’ conferences around the world to seek the opinions of Catholics on a number of church teachings including contraception, same-sex marriage and divorce.

Archbishop Lorenzo Baldisseri, secretary general of the Vatican’s Synod of Bishops, asked the bishops’ conferences to commence a survey “immediately as widely as possible to deaneries and parishes so that input from local sources can be received.”

We are aware that the Vatican document is difficult to complete, so we are presenting here a version that is as close as we can make it to the original, but is such that we believe will made this canvass of views more readily available to a greater number. We suggest that you fill it in either as individuals or as groups. The important thing is that it represents the livid experience of as many people, single, couples, families, in our Church.

We acknowledge the help of our friends in the reform movement in the United States in the preparation of this survey.

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NEW JERSEY
The Star-Ledger

By Tim Schmalz

Two months ago, news broke that a priest in the Diocese of Trenton had been exchanging sexually charged text messages with someone he thought was a 16-year-old boy.

I was that fictitious boy.

Matthew Riedlinger was an assistant pastor at St. Aloysius Church in Jackson. In 2011, I and another Catholic University of America student complained to Trenton Bishop David M. O’Connell that Riedlinger had sexually harassed us and other young men repeatedly for years. In the summer of 2012, we posed as a 16-year-old boy on Face­book and set up a sting.

Within two weeks of the first contact, Riedlinger talked about pornography, mutual masturbation and sexual encounters. And, he wanted to meet “me.”

In August 2012, we gave transcripts of the conversations to O’Connell, who removed Riedlinger from the parish, but the bishop did not tell parishioners of the allegations against Riedlinger for more than a year — until Sept. 21, after being told The Star-Ledger would be publishing a story on the scandal.

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DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Hispanically Speaking

Dominican Republic prosecutors investigating former Archbishop and Papal Nuncio Jozef Wesolowski, on allegations of child sexual abuse, have concluded he sexually abused at least five boys under the age of 15.

Last fall, a local news program aired allegations that Wesolowski had paid to have sex with minor boys in the capital city of Santo Domingo. The investigative report also indicated Wesolowski was a regular vistor to the Zona Colonial area of Santo Domingo where he was seen drinking and paying for sex in open areas of the Zona.

Wesolowski, 65, had been representing Vatican interests in the predominantly Catholic country for the last six years, when these allegations surfaced. The Polish priest was ordained by then Bishop Karol Wojtyla who later became Pope John II and will soon become a saint.

The Catholic priest has been under investigation by Dominican authorities after the abuse allegations surfaced and officially removed from his duties by the Vatican in August.

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SCOTLAND
Scotsman

The suspension of a priest is the correct course of action to follow as inquiry gets under way, writes Michael Kelly

CONFUSION and misunderstanding, rather than righteous anger, are at the root of protests by his parishioners at the suspension of Fr Matthew Despard while a penal judicial process is undertaken into the way he made his allegations over homosexual bullying in the Catholic Church. Although he wrote his book, Priesthood in Crisis, in 2010 he did not self-publish it on Amazon until April this year. The memoir reflects his own experiences of being solicited by gay priests and the anger he genuinely felt at these abuses continuing in the Church.

However, a number of individuals named, including laity as well as clergy, took exception to the ways in which they had been portrayed and petitioned for the book to be removed from publication. It was, suggesting that at least some of the complainants had advanced compelling cases in law.

Clearly, such allegations as 
Fr Despard made deserve thorough and detailed examination by the Church and, if upheld, for action to be taken. An investigation is also necessary to satisfy those who feel wronged by the book. That process is just beginning. But first the Church wants to examine the way in which Fr Despard brought his claims to the attention of the public. It is suggested that he should have used the Church’s own procedures to have the matters investigated, as did the four priests who anonymously made complaints to the Holy See about Cardinal Keith O’Brien.

Possibly better versed in the legal process and procedures, they took their allegations directly to Rome and, as a result, action was taken against the former Archbishop of Edinburgh. The seismic factor that brought their complaints to light, rather than allowing the process to be completed in private, was that Benedict XVI announced his abdication, raising the possibility that O’Brien would be voting for the new Pope. The complainants, determined to stop that, allowed their private allegations to be made public. They, in fact, achieved all of their objectives in completely removing O’Brien from all his priestly duties.

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SCOTLAND
Herald Scotland

21 November 2013

CATHOLIC Truth has been approached by some concerned parishioners in the parish of St John Ogilvie in Blantyre, deeply upset at the suspension of their priest, Father Matthew Despard.

We have supported Fr Despard – although we have never met him or had any personal contact with him – and we are willing to speak on behalf of these concerned parishioners because we believe that he is being unjustly treated by the hierarchy. Priests who admit to being homosexual are on public record disowning Catholic sexual morality in this area, and even openly work within the “gay rights” movement, yet they are allowed to remain “priests in good standing” without any sanctions imposed upon them.

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AUSTRALIA
Newcastle Herald

By JOANNE McCARTHY Nov. 21, 2013

NEWCASTLE Anglican bishop administrator Peter Stuart expressed his ‘‘deep regret’’ to the royal commission over the diocese’s lack of knowledge about two priests, in a letter he wrote earlier this month.

The diocese was unaware of ‘‘the facts, matters and circumstances’’ relating to convicted child sex offender priest Allan Kitchingman, and Canon Campbell Brown, until the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sex Abuse, Bishop Stuart wrote in a letter on November 14 and tendered as evidence to the commission.

The two priests are the subject of the commission’s third session of public hearings in Sydney.

Reverend Kitchingman was jailed in 2002 for sexually assaulting a boy, 13, at North Coast Children’s Home at Lismore in the 1970s.

Evidence before the commission includes that in 2005 former children’s home resident Tommy Campion alleged Canon Brown sexually abused him at the home.

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AUSTRALIA
Newcastle Herald

By JOANNE McCARTHY Nov. 21, 2013

FORMER Newcastle Anglican Dean Graeme Lawrence was ‘‘a very powerful man’’ who allegedly ‘‘protected’’ people including possibly a convicted child sex offender priest, the royal commission has been told.

The recently defrocked Mr Lawrence was ‘‘quite a powerful person who exercised influence over even bishops’’, former diocese professional standards director Philip Gerber said yesterday.

During his time as Dean, Newcastle Anglican Cathedral became ‘‘a place where people who had less than savoury pasts were congregating’’.

‘‘There was a lot of sort of low-level information that made me very uneasy about who and what was going on at the cathedral,’’ Mr Gerber said.

It was no surprise to Mr Gerber that sex offender priest Allan Kitchingman worshipped at the cathedral after he was released from jail in 2004 for crimes committed against a 13-year-old boy at North Coast Children’s Home at Lismore in 1975.

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

DAN BOX THE AUSTRALIAN NOVEMBER 22, 2013

A PEDOPHILE priest, who was twice convicted of indecently assaulting teenage boys, was never disciplined by the church and continued to worship publicly at an Anglican cathedral until October this year.

Documents tendered to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse show the man, Allan Kitchingman, was one of three church officials able to remain priests despite the church receiving allegations they had sexually abused children.

Philip Gerber, the former professional standards director for the Anglican diocese of Newcastle, NSW, told the commission that Kitchingman continued to worship at the city’s cathedral after his most recent conviction in 2002.

“There were a number of people, including the dean of the cathedral . . . who had some sort of history of misconduct or abuse that were collecting around Newcastle cathedral,” Mr Gerber told the commission.

“Dean Graeme Lawrence was a very powerful man and he protected people who were in his cathedral . . . he was quite a powerful person who exercised influence over people, even bishops.”

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PENNSYLVANIA
ABC 23

[with video]

The non profit charity, Road To Recovery, says it has been helping dozens of people who accused Baker of abusing them in his roles as teacher, coach and athletic trainer. These pare positions Baker held at Bishop McCort Catholic High School in Johnstown in the nineties. Luke Bradescu was a freshman at a high school in Ohio. His mother says she learned of the allegations earlier this year and wants to know who made the call to transfer Baker to Pennsylvania. She also says she wants people who may have been abused to get the help they need….

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PENNSYLVANIA
Tribune-Democrat

David Hurst
dhurst@tribdem.com

JOHNSTOWN — Barbara Aponte said she understands all too well the consequences of silence.

The Ohio woman said her son, Luke, one of hundreds from several states alleged to have been abused by Brother Stephen Baker over a 20-year period, took his own life in 2003 after years of quietly struggling to cope with it.

It’s the reason she brought his story to Johnstown on Wednesday, hopeful those struggling in silence to deal with their own abuse will see they aren’t alone – and learn from it.

“Staying silent doesn’t help. If you don’t deal with it, it will eat at you,” said Aponte, whose son was a student at John F. Kennedy High School in Warren, Ohio, during Baker’s years there. “Whether it’s you or someone you know that was abused, it’s so important that you come forward so the healing process can begin.”

Aponte’s story was part of a press conference Wednesday held by New Jersey-based nonprofit Road to Recovery Inc., which contends there are perhaps hundreds across the country, including local men and women, who still have not come forward about abuse by Baker.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Tribune-Democrat

David Hurst
dhurst@tribdem.com

JOHNSTOWN — An attorney representing 34 alleged victims of the late Brother Stephen Baker called on the local Roman Catholic diocese to “set the truth free” by releasing the former athletic trainer’s personnel files.

Boston-based attorney Mitchell Garabedian called on the Altoona-Johnstown Roman Catholic Diocese to release “secret files” on Baker, who served as a religion teacher, sports trainer and baseball coach at McCort from 1992 to 2000 – a period when it’s alleged Baker sexually assaulted as many as 80 students.

“It’s time for the diocese to come clean,” Garabedian added, saying years of silence at McCort has wrecked countless lives. “Let’s get the truth out, so we can know who knew about this. And these victims can heal.”

Garabedian and Robert Hoatson, a former priest and co-founder of the nonprofit Road to Recovery, a New Jersey charity formed to guide sex abuse victims on a path toward healing, made the statement at a press conference from inside a suite at the downtown Johnstown Holiday Inn on Wednesday.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Mittelbayerische

SENGENTHAL/NÜRNBERG. Seit 20. August war er in Untersuchungshaft gesessen, seit Freitag ist der des sexuellen Missbrauchs beschuldigte Ex-Pfarrer von Reichertshofen wieder auf freiem Fuß.

Der Anwalt des Seelsorgers hatte beim Landgericht Nürnberg-Fürth Beschwerde gegen die U-Haft seines Mandanten eingereicht, daraufhin wurde der Haftbefehl aufgehoben. Aktuell bestehe kein dringender Tatverdacht, zudem stehe Aussage gegen Aussage, so Anita Traud, Justizsprecherin der Staatsanwaltschaft Nürnberg-Fürth, auf MZ-Nachfrage.

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NEW JERSEY
Courier-Post

Written by
Jim Walsh
Courier-Post

The Diocese of Camden and a Ohio man have agreed in principle to settle a lawsuit over alleged incidents of clergy sex abuse.

Mark Bryson sued the diocese in January 2012, alleging he was molested as a child by a parish priest, the late Joseph Shannon, at St. Anthony of Padua Church in Camden’s Cramer Hill section.

The tentative settlement was announced as the two sides sparred in court over Bryson’s claim of repressed memory, a key element in setting a legal deadline for Bryson’s suit.

Bryson, born in 1961, said he was assaulted as a first-grader at St. Anthony of Padua’s parish school. He claimed to recall the abuse in February 2010 after seeing someone who reminded him of Shannon.

The diocese challenged the validity of repressed memory and argued it should not be required to defend itself over incidents that allegedly occurred decades before.

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CALIFORNIA
Monterey County Weekly

Mary Duan and Sara Rubin

A judge has issued a preliminary decision that the Monterey County Weekly can obtain documents in the case of Father Edward Fitz-Henry, a Catholic priest suspended amid allegations he molested a teenage parishioner at Madonna del Sasso Church in Salinas, and may have abused other young boys in the Monterey Diocese decades ago.

Monterey Superior Court Judge Tom Wills’ decision comes after the Weekly filed a motion to intervene in a suit brought by the most recent alleged victim. The man, now in his early 20s, claimed Fitz-Henry assaulted him multiple times while at Madonna del Sasso starting around 2005. The Weekly’s aim is to unseal documents filed in the case, as well as obtain other evidence like deposition transcripts.

Wills issued the preliminary ruling on Nov. 6, but it wasn’t given to reporters until Nov. 13. The Weekly broke the story online.

“We’re grateful the court’s preliminary ruling recognizes the public interest in disclosure of the information,” says Weekly attorney Roger Myers of the San Francisco firm Bryan Cave LLP. “It’s important this order be affirmed at the hearing so the public can know how the Diocese responded to the allegations against Father Fitz-Henry.”

In making his preliminary ruling, Wills ordered the deposition of Don Cline, a former Salinas cop hired by the Diocese to investigate the abuse allegations, to be redacted, meaning portions of the text will be removed or blacked out.

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IDAHO
KTVB

[with video]

by Jamie Grey
Follow: @KTVBJamieGrey
KTVB.COM
Posted on November 20, 2013

BOISE — A former Treasure Valley Boy Scout, a “John Doe,” who’s part of a lawsuit against the scouts and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is speaking exclusively to KTVB, explaining why he’s suing decades after he says he was sexually abused and why he still doesn’t want his identity known.

The lawsuit now includes at least a dozen men, and attorneys on the case say more are expected to join. All but one are listed as John Doe on the filing. Most say they were the victim of one man: Jim Schmidt, a former Caldwell scoutmaster who was convicted of abusing another scout in 1983.

“He seemed to love scouting. He seemed to care about the people that he led, the boys. The boys liked him. He gave us a lot of attention,” Doe, the plaintiff, said.

When this John Doe was 12 and 13 years old, he says his scoutmaster sexually abused him at scout meetings held at an LDS church, at the scoutmaster’s home, in the scoutmaster’s car, but mostly on camping trips.

“Some of us had fathers that were very busy. Some didn’t have fathers, or fathers that were absent, and Jim Schmidt filled a void in the lives of a lot of us boys,” Doe said.

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OREGON
The Oregonian

By David Leslie and Rev. Amy Gopp

On Nov. 24, churches, congregations and other faith communities around the country will be participating in Speak Out Sunday – an annual day set aside to raise awareness and speak out about sexual and gender based violence (SGBV). SGBV includes domestic violence, rape, sex trafficking, child sex abuse and related acts.

We are proud that the Portland area will be among the most active regions of the country on Speak Out Sunday.

Speak Out Sunday was created by WeWillSpeakOut.US, a coalition and movement led by IMA World Health designed to empower faith communities to speak out and take action to prevent and address SGBV. It is the faith community’s way of collectively amplifying the global efforts of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence held annually from Nov. 25 (the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women) to Dec. 10 (Human Rights Day).

Why do we need Speak Out Sunday?

Two years ago, Amy traveled to eastern Congo and held the hands of women who had been savagely raped. Left for dead, they made their way to IMA World Health, which works to provide medical care, counseling, legal support and economic opportunities for women – and occasionally men – brutalized by sexual violence.

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WEST VIRGINIA
WSAZ

MINGO COUNTY, W.Va. (WSAZ) — A former youth leader at a church in Mingo County is facing sexual abuse charges.

West Virginia State Police say the suspect, 52-year-old Gary Adkins, is accused of inappropriately touching a 7-year-old female relative.

Adkins was charged Tuesday.

According to the criminal complaint, the 7-year-old told investigators Adkins had sexually abused her.

The complaint says the alleged activity took place at Adkins’ home along Upper Sheppard Town Road in Delbarton during the summer of 2012.

The complaint says the girl’s mother told investigators she had alarming changes in behavior, including asking frequently “if she is nasty on the inside and out” and repeatedly “asking God to forgive her of all her sins.”

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AUSTRALIA
Sky News

An inquiry has heard of an Anglican official’s regret at not taking disciplinary action against a convicted pedophile, which allowed him to continue representing himself as an ordained minister.

Reverend Allan Kitchingman was convicted in 2002 on five counts of indecently assaulting a 13-year-old boy in 1975 at the North Coast Children’s Home, where he was chaplain.

He presented himself as an ordained minister in the community once he finished his jail term for indecently assaulting a teenager.

The Royal Commission into Institutionalised Responses to Child Sexual Abuse is examining the Anglican Diocese of Grafton’s response to abuse at the Lismore home.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

[with audio]

The Royal Commission has heard from senior officials from the Anglican Church, who’ve criticised the way the Grafton diocese handled complaints from the former residents of the North Coast Children’s Home. The national inquiry into child sexual abuse has been told the Grafton diocese, which ran the orphanage in Lismore, was more concerned about church finances than helping abuse victims. A former head of professional standards admitted that he failed to take disciplinary action against a clergyman who was convicted and jailed for child sex offences.

Transcript

MARK COLVIN: Senior Anglican Church officials have criticised the way the Grafton Diocese in New South Wales handled abuse complaints from former residents of a Church-run children’s home.

The Royal Commission into child sexual abuse has been told that the diocese which ran the orphanage in Lismore was more concerned about its own finances than helping abuse victims.

The inquiry also heard that the leadership of the Grafton Diocese contributed to the mental distress of the victims who were seeking redress and compensation.

PM’s Emily Bourke reports.

EMILY BOURKE: Yet more Anglican Church officials are being quizzed by the Royal Commission about how the church dealt with dozens of abuse victims from the North Coast Children’s Home.

But today the inquiry also looked at how the Church handled offenders in its ranks.

Philip Gerber was a professional standards director in the dioceses of Sydney, Grafton and Newcastle. He told the commission that he regrets taking more than a year to inform police about a suspected paedophile.

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AUSTRALIA
Telegraph

Victim’s warnings about clergyman who assaulted him ignored because offender had common name, inquiry told.

MATTHEW BENNS THE TELEGRAPH NOVEMBER 21, 2013

CHILD sexual abuse victim Richard Campion’s warning about a clergyman who assaulted him was ignored by the Anglican Church’s standards watchdog because the offender had a common name, the royal commission into child sex abuse heard today.

Quizzed about his failure to act, Philip Gerber, former Professional Standards Director for the Dioceses of Sydney, Grafton and Newcastle, admitted: “I am very unhappy with myself.”

Mr Campion’s 2005 letter told how he had been sexually abused at the former North Coast Children’s Home in Lismore by a Reverend Brown.

“It’s not an uncommon name, it’s you know, Brown,” said Mr Gerber.

Counsel assisting the Royal Commission, Simeon Beckett, suggested he could have asked Mr Campion for more detail on his attacker, including his first name.

“It wouldn’t have been much of a stretch would it to have actually done some research to ascertain what his name was and whether he had been licensed to officiate in the Diocese of Grafton,” he said.

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AUSTRALIA
The West Australian

By Ava Benny-Morrison, AAP
Updated November 21, 2013

By not acting on a letter revealing horrific abuse at the hands of an Anglican Church clergyman, Philip Gerber admits he may have put other vulnerable children at risk.

Pressed before a royal commission on why he did not look up the offending cleric, the former professional standards director said the alleged perpetrator had a common surname – Brown.

It is in retrospect that Mr Gerber has admitted his oversight and expressed remorse at not referring the 2005 letter detailing physical and sexual abuse to police.

The letter was from Richard “Tommy” Campion, a survivor of abuse at the North Coast Children’s Home at Lismore in NSW.

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OHIO
Youngstown Vindicator

Staff report

WARREN

The Diocese of Youngstown has received a settlement request on behalf of 25 more purported molestation victims of Brother Stephen Baker, the Franciscan friar who worked at Warren John F. Kennedy High School from 1986 to 1991.

Atty. Mitchell Garabedian of Boston sent the diocese a letter dated Oct. 17, 2013, demanding $1 million for each claim. Baker’s order, The Third Order Regular Franciscans, received a similar letter with the same demand, the Diocese said in a news release.

“The Diocese of Youngstown will follow its standard pastoral practice in this matter, as it does in any allegation of child abuse,” the diocese said.

“First, at the recommendation of the predominately lay Diocesan Review Board, the diocese will investigate each claim. If any of the claims are found to be credible, the diocese will offer financial assistance for counseling.”

Additionally, Bishop George V. Murry will meet with any victim who wants to speak with him personally, the diocese said.

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PROVIDENCE (RI)
NECN

[documents via NBC 10]

November 21, 2013

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A group of men and women who claim sexual abuse by priests have accused the Catholic Diocese of Providence of failing to properly investigate more than 800 allegations over the past 20 years.

The Providence Journal reports ( ) that Jeffrey Thomas of Massachusetts and Helen McGonigle, a Connecticut lawyer, said Wednesday they were raped as children.

The Diocese of Providence says it reports clergy sex abuse of minors to law enforcement and is not aware of priests currently in ministry who have “credible allegations” of sexual abuse of minors.

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PROVIDENCE (RI)
Providence Journal

BY W. ZACHARY MALINOWSKI
Journal Staff Writer
bmalinow@providencejournal.com Twitter@billmalinowski

PROVIDENCE — Victims of sexual abuse gathered for a news conference on Wednesday to condemn the Catholic Diocese of Providence for allegedly failing to properly investigate more than 800 allegations of sexual abuse over the past 20 years.

Among those presenting in a downtown hotel conference room stories of abuse by local parish priests were Ann Hagan-Webb, a representative from Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, SNAP; and Jeffrey Thomas, of Massachusetts, and Helen McGonigle, a lawyer from Connecticut.

Thomas and McGonigle said they were raped as children by the Rev. Brendan Smyth, an Irish priest who was at Our Lady of Mercy Church in East Greenwich from 1965 to 1968. Smyth returned to Ireland and pleaded guilty to 141 counts of sexual abuse there. He died in prison in Ireland in 1997.
Thomas and McGonigle had made similar allegations about Smyth at a news conference in December 2009.

The victims said Wednesday they want the office of Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin and U.S. Attorney Peter F. Neronha to launch an in-depth investigation into what they said were 831 complaints of pedophilia and sexual abuse filed with the diocese. They also said many of the abusive priests continue to serve in parishes in Rhode Island and elsewhere. …

The Diocese of Providence issued a statement claiming they always forward allegations of sexual abuse to the state police or local law enforcement.

“It has been a consistent policy and practice of the Diocese of Providence to report many different issues including those of clergy abuse of minors to law enforcement,” the statement read. “The diocese is not aware of any priests currently in ministry, who have credible allegations of sexual abuse of minors against them.”

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CANADA
Nunatsiaq Online

DAVID MURPHY

Day three of the Eric Dejaeger trial at the Nunavut Court of Justice in Iqaluit heard from a witness who said she had been raped and drugged by the priest with a “little green pill” at the St. Stephen’s Catholic Church in Igloolik decades ago.

The woman, who cannot be identified, told court she was about eight when the sexual assaults took place.

Even before answering Crown prosecutor Doug Curliss’s questions, the witness started wincing at having to recall specific incidents in the church.

The first memory she described took place in the church’s bedroom upstairs on a bunk bed.

“At first he asked me to get undressed. I was scared of him. He told me not to tell anybody,” the witness said.

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WISCONSIN
SNAP Wisconsin

Statement by Peter Isely, SNAP Midwest Director
CONTACT: 414.429.7259

Fr. Ireneusz Chodakowski, pastor of St. Peter Catholic Church in Kenosha, has been permanently removed from his parish by the Archdiocese of Milwaukee and is under police investigation.

According to the Kenosha News, an employee of the parish allegedly confronted Chodakowski about pornography being posted through his Facebook page, to or seen by minors.

While the police will not comment on what, exactly, they are investigating, the Archdiocese of Milwaukee is saying that Chodakowski simply exercised “lack of good judgment” in his social media usage. How lacking? Enough for Archbishop Listecki to take the most severe, immediate action he could take against him.

Despite being under investigation and fired from his parish, Chodakowski was back posting on his Facebook page again today.

Chodakowski, a native of Poland, is a member of the Massachusetts based religious order, Marians of the Immaculate Conception (“MIC”). He was recruited and officially assigned to run St. Peter’s parish and grade school by Listecki in 2010.

Chodakowski, according to a profile posted on the order’s website, has worked as a priest in Poland and England. More recently, he was pastor of St. Louis Catholic Church in Portland, Maine from 1998-2009 where, according to the parish website, he was assigned to Thomson, Connecticut. The MIC’s operate Marianapolis Prep School in Thomson.

As is typical with the Milwaukee Archdiocese, while they have removed Chodakowski from his post and are freely pontificating on this case, they also claim to allegedly have no information or authority over Chodakowski because he is a religious order priest. Over half the priests working or living in the Milwaukee Archdiocese under Listecki belong to religious orders. Ironically, the website for St. Peter’s Parish in Kenosha states: “We are associated with other Catholic parishes under the direction of the Archbishop of Milwaukee.” Perhaps the Archbishop should inform the parish that this is, in fact, not the case.

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

Dan Box
From: The Australian
November 21, 2013

THE Anglican Church failed to take disciplinary action against three alleged paedophile priests – one of whom was later convicted for indecent assault – despite receiving several reports they had abused children, the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse heard this morning.

All three men were allowed to continue to publicly describe themselves as a priest and attend worship.

One, the Reverend Campbell Brown, had a licence to officiate at church services until June this year, the commission has heard.

The former Professional Standards Director of the Anglican Diocese of Grafton in northern NSW, Phillip Gerber, told the commission he did not report allegations of abuse committed by Reverend Brown to police for over a year.

“I’m not trying to defend myself. It might have potentially … put other people at risk, children and vulnerable people at risk. I’m appalled that my actions might have caused that,” he told the commission.

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MINNESOTA
Star Tribune

Article by: TONY KENNEDY , Star Tribune Updated: November 20, 2013

Minnetonka priest has been renting townhouse to a former priest who admitted to child sex abuse in 1984.

A Catholic priest in Minnetonka who told his parishioners two weeks ago that the church needs to rid itself of priests involved in sexual misconduct and “hold those who covered it up very much accountable” has been renting his townhouse to an abusive priest since 2006.

The Rev. David Ostrowski said in an interview Wednesday that his renter, ex-priest Fran Hoefgen, has been a friend since they were monks together at St. John’s Abbey nearly 30 years ago. Ostrowski, who is pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary, said his housing relationship with Hoefgen it is merely an act of friendship.

“I know some people will see it as a criticism of me, but I was just trying to be a friend to him, that’s all,” Ostrowski told the Star Tribune.

Hoefgen admitted to police in 1984 that he sexually abused a 17-year-old boy at a parish in Cold Spring, Minn., where he served as a priest. He wasn’t charged with a crime, and church officials reassigned him to a parish in Hastings without telling parishioners about the previous abuse. On Tuesday, Hoefgen was accused in a new lawsuit of sexually abusing a boy at the Hastings parish.

Hastings Police Chief Bryan Schafer said Wednesday that his department has opened a criminal investigation into the matter.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Seattle PI

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (AP) — Twenty-five additional sex-abuse claims have been filed in the case of a Franciscan brother who killed himself after allegations emerged at a Catholic high school, the Youngstown Diocese said Wednesday.

The diocese said it would review the additional claims and the demand for $1 million in compensation for each alleged victim.

The alleged victims’ attorney, Mitchell Garabedian, said the abuse occurred from 1985 to 1992.

The diocese and Franciscans settled 11 earlier abuse claims against the brother for $75,000 each.

If the latest claims are found credible, Bishop George Murry said the diocese would offer financial assistance for counseling.

Brother Stephen Baker killed himself Jan. 26 at St. Bernardine Monastery in Hollidaysburg, Pa., after the allegations emerged at John F. Kennedy High School in Warren.

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WISCONSIN
Fox 6

November 20, 2013, by Bret Buganski

KENOSHA (WITI) — The priest at St. Peter’s Church in Kenosha is being investigated by police, and placed on administrative leave — and Facebook may have played a role.

The Kenosha parish learned this past weekend that its priest is no longer heading the congregation.

A deacon with St. Peter’s Catholic Church has confirmed the priest was placed on administrative leave for what is being called “a lack of good judgement.”

Kenosha police say the department is investigating a case involving a priest who has been removed from the parish because of his use of Facebook — but it is unclear what specifically the priest is accused of doing on Facebook, as is who may have uncovered his alleged activities.

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PENNSYLVANIA
WJAC

Updated: Wednesday, November 20 2013

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. — As the attorneys for the alleged victims of Brother Stephen Baker continue to form their cases and seek out who knew what and when, an organization that helps victims of sexual abuse is seeking the truth themselves.

Road to Recovery was in Johnstown Wednesday, urging alleged victims and anyone at Bishop McCort Catholic High School who knew something to come forward. Luke Bradescu was 29 years old when he took his life.

For 11 years, his family struggled to figure out why. “What was wrong?” his mother, Barbara Aponte asked through tears Wednesday.

“He seemed happy, he knew he was loved. We knew he loved us.” It wasn’t until this past January when allegations against Baker surfaced and many of Bradescu’s old high school friends in Ohio came forward, that Aponte found her answer.

“The story broke and it was like a flood of images and memories, things that seemed so insignificant just popped out,” said Aponte. “I was like, ‘Oh my God. This is it.”

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SPRINGFIELD (IL)
The Freethinker (UK)

BY BARRY DUKE – NOVEMBER 20, 2013

NO news is good news, so we assume that Illinois still exists, and has not been destroyed amidst roiling black clouds, fire pouring down from the heavens and people spewing pea soup – despite an exorcism that was due to take place today to protest the state’s approval of gay marriage.

I can find no reports that the exorcism by the Church’s Head Ju-Ju man in that neck of the woods actually took place. Bishop Thomas Paprocki of the Springfield diocese may well have changed his mind, given the outpourings of scorn that followed his announcement last week that he would offer prayers:

Of exorcism in reparation for the sin of same-sex marriage.

Paprocki is no stranger to confronting The Forces of Evil. In October Frankie’s Capped Crusader single-handedly prevented a:

Blasphemous, scandalous, and sacrilegious recitation of the Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary by the Rainbow Sash Movement within the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception before the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

According to this report:

In a culture where the concept of exorcism is primarily shaped by a 1970s horror film, the announcement stirred confusion and discomfort, which Paprocki has declined to resolve. Even the Chicago Archdiocese’s designated exorcist declined to answer questions about the public rite that is more often private.

In fact, some Catholics believe the ritual could cast off more Catholics than demons. Yesterday, 14,000 petitioners called on the bishop to cancel the event.

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PROVIDENCE (RI)
NBC 10

[I-Team: Letters detail alleged sex abuse in diocese
I-Team: Letters raise questions about alleged sex abuse in diocese]

Updated: Nov 20, 2013
By Katie Davis

PROVIDENCE –
Alleged victims who said they were sexually abused by priests in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence demanded Wednesday for a full investigation by the attorney general’s office and the U.S. Attorney.

In a recent investigation, the NBC 10 I-Team obtained through a records request 88 pages detailing sexual abuse by priests going back more than 30 years.

In each case, a letter detailing allegations of sexual abuse was sent to the Rhode Island State Police by the diocese.

The diocese began the practice around 2003, although there’s no legal mandate requiring the letters. A total of 45 letters were sent to state police between 2003 and 2013.

The documents which were stamped “confidential” were heavily redacted by state police.

The names of priests were blacked out, even those people who are already dead. Dates and locations were blacked out. The names of the churches were blacked out too.

“This has to change if we’re going to help children,” said Ann Hagan Webb, who joined other victims at a news conference at the Renaissance Hotel in Providence. …

“The red flags that remain in these letters are sufficient to cause great concern that children are at risk in this diocese,” said Anne Barrett Doyle of the watchdog group Bishop Accountability.

Barrett Doyle said she believes some of the priests described in the letters may still be working in local churches, based on details that weren’t blacked out by state police.

But the diocese said in its statement that’s not the case.

“The diocese is not aware of any priests currently in ministry, who have credible allegations of sexual abuse of minors against them,” the statement 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.

CANADA
The Windsor Star

Nov 20, 2013

Don Lajoie

A Windsor woman who offers support for victims of clergy sex abuse wants to expand the service nationwide.

Brenda Brunelle is seeking federal incorporation as a not-for-profit organization that would offer help to victims across Canada. She began the service in Windsor last year.

Brunelle, who was sexually abused by local priest Rev. Michael Fallone when she was a girl, sued the Catholic church four years ago and reached a settlement in 2012.

Brunelle said the local chapter of the U.S.-based international Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests has helped dozens of victims come to terms with their experiences — participants come from as far away as Sarnia and Cambridge to take part in regular meetings. The first session she chaired in Toronto recently drew 16 people, despite little advance notice.

“The experience was overwhelming,” she said. “It was the first time many had ever met someone else who had been abused and the emotions were high. People were still talking in the parking lot well after the meeting ended. They didn’t want to leave. It was the rawest moment I’ve ever experienced in my life.”

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.

SPRINGFIELD (IL)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2013

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

Springfield Bishop Thomas Paprocki often seeks the media limelight to trumpet his views loudly (like with today’s exorcism). But he still quietly sits on child sex abuse allegations for weeks.

In September, Paprocki let a priest who’s accused of child sex crimes temporarily resign, instead of suspending him. Before that, however, Paprocki kept the allegations secret for weeks, giving the accused predator plenty of time to destroy evidence, intimidate victims, threaten witnesses, discredit whistleblowers, fabricate alibis and even flee the country.

[State Journal-Register]

Weeks ago, Paprocki temporarily let Fr. Robert “Bud” DeGrand resign from his posts at Catholic parishes in Sigel, Neoga, Green Creek and Lillyville.

First, Paprocki should have suspended Fr. DeGrand. That’s what the US bishops pledged to do when credible child sex abuse reports surfaced. That’s what the US bishops’ official sex abuse policy mandates. There’s a difference between someone stepping aside and someone being TOLD to step aside. To let a credibly accused child molesting cleric decide whether to temporarily step down minimizes the horror he or she allegedly committed.

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

CANADA
CBC News

A witness testifying at the trial of a priest accused of sexual assault told a court in Iqaluit on Wednesday that the accused once used food to lure her.

The 41-year-old woman said her family in Igloolik, Nunavut, was sometimes hungry for days at a time between 1978 and 1982, the years when Eric Dejaeger was the priest in the remote community.

The Roman Catholic priest, 66, is on trial for dozens of sexual abuse charges, relating to incidents alleged to have occurred while Dejaeger was in Igloolik.

Some shocking allegations have already been made in court this week, including alleged abuse against young girls, boys and animals.

The witness this morning testified that she was sexually assaulted numerous times by Dejaeger. She told the court how her grandmother, who was raising her, often sent her to the church for a meal.

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.

WISCONSIN
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

By Annysa Johnson of the Journal Sentinel Nov. 20, 2013

A Catholic priest has been removed from his post at a Kenosha parish while authorities investigate his postings of videos on Facebook, the Kenosha News has reported.

The Rev. Ireneusz Chodakowski’s removal was announced to parishioners at St. Peter’s Catholic Church over the weekend.

Kenosha Police and the Archdiocese of Milwaukee did not immediately return telephone calls on Wednesday.

The Kenosha News quotes an anonymous parishioner as saying Chodakowski was being investigated for allegedly sharing pornography. It said a spokeswoman for the archdiocese characterized his alleged offense as “a lack of good judgment” in his use of social media.

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.

PROVIDENCE (RI)
Providence Journal

November 20, 2013

BY W. ZACHARY MALINOWSKI
PROVIDENCE — Victims of alleged sexual abuse gathered for a news conference on Wednesday to condemn the Diocese of Providence for failing to properly investigate more than 800 allegations of sexual abuse over the past 20 years.

Among those presenting harrowing tales of abuse by local parish priests were Ann Hagan-Webb, a representative from Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, SNAP; and Jeffrey Thomas, of Massachusetts, and Helen McGonigle, a lawyer from Connecticut.

Thomas and McGonigle said they were raped as children by the Rev. Brendan Smyth, an Irish priest who was at Our Lady of Mercy Church in East Greenwich from 1965 to 1968. Smyth returned to Ireland and pleaded guilty to 141 counts of sexual abuse. He died in prison in 1997.

The victims said they want the office of Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin and U.S. Attorney Peter F. Neronha to launch an in-depth investigation into the 831 complaints of pedophilia and 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.

WISCONSIN
Kenosha News

BY BILL GUIDA
bguida@kenoshanews.com

An ongoing investigation has led to the removal of the Rev. Ireneusz Chodakowski as pastor of St. Peter Catholic Church.

The probe, according to a spokeswoman for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, is for Chodakowki’s alleged “lack of good judgment” regarding use of social media.

An anonymous parishioner told the Kenosha News that Chodakowski is “accused of using his Facebook account to share pornography, primarily with adults, but occasionally with minors.”

The parishioner said he was at Saturday’s Mass when the Rev. Bill Hayward read a prepared statement saying Chodakowski would be replaced by another priest “for at at least three weeks until somebody else could replace him more permanently.”

According to the parishioner, Chodakowski allegedly rebuffed a parish employee’s requests that he “make changes in the video content of his Facebook account,” apparently to prevent minors from seeing “pornographic images (Chodakowski) was distributing.”

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WISCONSIN
WTMJ

[with video]

By Jonah Kaplan

KENOSHA – A stunning change at a Catholic Church: a priest let go potentially because of his social media accounts.

St. Peter Catholic Church has a fill-in priest now, and officials tell parishioners they plan to find a full time replacement soon.

Church members confirmed they heard the abrupt announcement during mass about the fate of their priest, Father Ireneusz Chodakowski. Some parishioners told a Kenosha newspaper it’s because he shared porn on his Facebook account.

Church officials refused to answer our questions, but some church members weren’t so shy.

“With all that’s been in the news with what’s been happening in the churches – to have that here, that’s tough,” comments Tom Odegaard, who grew up at the church.

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

CANADA
Ottawa Citizen

BY THE CANADIAN PRESS NOVEMBER 20, 2013

IQALUIT, Nunavut – A witness at the trial of a priest accused of child abuse in the North says the cleric used hunger to force children into sex.

BORDERLINE: GRAPHIC CONTENT MAY DISTURB SOME READERS

“When I was a child, sometimes we had nothing to eat,” the witness said Wednesday at the trial of Eric Dejaeger. “Mama (her grandmother) would have to leave me there (at the church) so I could eat.”

The witness, who was about eight years old in 1980 when the alleged assault took place in Igloolik, Nunavut, broke down in tears and sighed heavily to compose herself before she could continue her testimony.

She said one night, after Dejaeger fed her, he took her into his bedroom and told her to get undressed.

“I was scared of him,” said the witness, who recalled that the priest was wearing his long black church robe. “He told me not to tell anybody and then he said he was going to do something to me.”

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CANADA
Sun News

QMI AGENCY

A woman testified a Nunavut priest raped her when she was eight years old after she went to the church for a meal because there was no food at home.

The woman, who cannot be identified, testified against former Roman Catholic priest Eric Dejaeger in an Iqaluit courtroom Wednesday.

She said she told her grandmother, who was caring for her, about the rape, but she didn’t believe her, The Canadian Press reported.

On Tuesday, defence lawyer Malcolm Kempt cross-examined another woman who said she was taped to Dejaeger’s bed. Kempt questioned the woman about the details of the alleged attack, and a $16,000 out-of-court settlement from the church, the CBC reported.

Dejaeger, 66, is accused of sexually assaulting Inuit children between about 1978 and 1989 during his time in Igloolik and Baker Lake.

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KANSAS CITY (MO)
National Catholic Reporter

NCR Staff | Nov. 20, 2013

KANSAS CITY, MO. NCR’s board of directors has appointed Caitlin Hendel chief executive officer and president of National Catholic Reporter Publishing Company. The appointment takes effect Jan. 1.

Thomas C. Fox will remain publisher of the company. Fox’s work will focus on development and directing the Global Catholic Sisters Initiative, a multiyear reporting project funded with a grant from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation. Hendel’s responsibility will include oversight of NCR’s editorial products as well as the day-to-day business operations of the company.

The appointment came after a nationwide search for a CEO/president and was made Nov. 16 during the NCR board’s annual fall meeting.

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IRELAND
The Journal

JUSTICE MINISTER ALAN Shatter has confirmed that his Department needs an extra €32 million this year in order to make up a shortfall in the garda budget and to provide compensation for women who were in the Magadelene Laundries.

Speaking at the Justice Committee today, Shatter criticised Fianna Fáil’s justice spokesperson Niall Collins for raising the issue earlier this week and claiming that there would be a €51 million shortfall in the An Garda Siochána budget for next year.

He said that though an additional €51 million is required for the garda budget, as well as €5 million for the payments to victims of the Magdalene Laundries, almost €24 million can be saved from other areas in the Department of Justice’s budget.

This will mean that overall an additional €32 million will be needed for this year.

Some of the savings have been identified in the Prisons Service, the Courts Service, the Property Registration Authority and the overall Justice and Equality Budget, Shatter 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.

PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Catholics4Change

by Susan Matthews

First Father Paul resigned from Our Lady of Calvary, where he remained as pastor while under investigation and review for two allegations of child sex abuse. A week later, without announcement, the archdiocese temporarily removed his faculties and he will not be able to celebrate Mass in public pending the outcome of the canonical investigation. This has been confirmed by an archdiocesan official. The only reason we discovered Father Paul’s removal is because Kathy Kane monitors the clergy list for just such changes.

– Why, after leaving him as pastor during much of the investigation, remove him from ministry now?

– Why wasn’t there a public announcement of this removal? Other victims might be prompted to come forward.

– Do the parishioners of Our Lady of Calvary know Father Paul has been temporarily removed from ministry? The families were not informed of the allegations until he resigned. The archdiocese did not consider them “pertinent parties.” Which is odd, given the Safe Environment statement on the Archdiocesan website. “Parents are the first and most influential teachers of children and are responsible for their spiritual, moral, emotional, physical, and intellectual development. This is an awesome and sometimes daunting responsibility. When armed with proper information, parents can best protect their children from predators.”

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MINNESOTA
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis via KSTP

November 19, 2013

CONTACT
Jim Accurso
Media and Public Relations Manager
T: 651-291-4480
M: 651-261-6070
accursoj@archspm.org

We are investigating the claims in today’s lawsuit which involves Francis Hoefgen, a former priest of St. John’s Abbey who served in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis in the mid-1980’s. In 1992, Hoefegen’s faculties were restricted by the abbey, and he was no longer allowed to serve in public ministry. He was laicized in December 2011.

The Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis continues to encourage anyone who suspects abuse of a minor or vulnerable adult within Church ministry—or any setting including the home or school—to first contact law enforcement. Any act of abuse against a minor or vulnerable adult is reprehensible and morally repugnant and we will not tolerate it.

Our first priority is to create and maintain safe environments where the Gospel of Jesus Christ can flourish. This means ensuring that clergy, employees, volunteers, and the young are aware of healthy boundaries and the societal problem of sexual abuse. It also means creating an environment for and implementing productive steps to promote a healthy clergy.

Anyone having knowledge of sexual abuse within a parish should call the proper authorities, and is encouraged to notify the archdiocese’s Victim Assistance Coordinator at 651-291-4497.

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MINNESOTA
KSTP

Suit: Priest Admitted Abuse, Stayed Active

By: Cassie Hart

Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis released the following statement on Francis Hoefgen, a former priest of St. John’s Abbey who served in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis in the mid-1980’s.

A lawsuit claims Francis Hoefgen was at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton church in Hastings when he molested the plaintiff, who was 10 to 13 years old at the time.

Statement Regarding Francis Hoefgen

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CANADA
The StarPhoenix

BY THE CANADIAN PRESS NOVEMBER 20, 2013

IQALUIT, Nunavut – A witness at a child abuse trial in the North is describing how a priest once used hunger to force children into sex.

The woman says her family in Igloolik, Nunavut, was sometimes hungry for days at a time between 1978 and 1982, the years when Eric Dejaeger (deh-YAY’-guhr) was the priest in the remote community.

She says her grandmother, who was raising her, often sent her to the church for a meal.

The witness says that after one such meal, when she was eight years old, Dejaeger took her upstairs and raped her.

She says she was bleeding after the assault and Dejaeger took her into the bathroom to clean herself up, then spread garbage bags on his bedroom couch so she wouldn’t stain it.

The witness says she told her grandmother about the rape, but the woman didn’t believe her.

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.

CHICAGO (IL)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Cases settle against a nun and a priest
Both abused kids elsewhere but worked in Chicago
SNAP blasts Catholic officials for “on-going secrecy”
It urges Cardinal George to add names to his predators’ list
Group also praises governor & lawmakers for “major child sex reform law”

What:
Holding signs and childhood photos, clergy sex abuse survivors and their supporters will

–disclose that two Catholic clerics – a nun and a priest – molested kids elsewhere but also worked in Chicago, (lawyers settled cases against both of the clerics,) and
–prod Chicago Catholic officials to add their names (and dozens of other child molesting clerics) to the list of such offenders on the archdiocesan website and update the list of Chicago area child molesting clerics regularly and publicly.

They will also
–praise Illinois’ governor and legislators for recently-enacted “major child safety reform” that will enable more child sex abuse victims to file criminal and civil cases against predators, and
–urge citizens, especially Catholics, to spread the word about the opportunity to seek justice in court.

When:
Wednesday, Nov. 20, 1:30 p.m.

Where:
On the sidewalk outside of the Archdiocese of Chicago (835 N Rush St, Chicago)

Who:
Three-four members of a support group called SNAP (the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests), including a Chicago woman who is the organization’s founder and president.

Why:
Catholic officials have paid settlements to victims of two credibly accused child molesting clerics who worked in Chicago. Both clerics were exposed as abusers for the first time. Neither cleric has been publicly “outed” in the Chicago area until today.

1. In September, Fr. Victor Phelan was “named publicly as an alleged abuser for the first time” according to the Associated Press.

[BishopAccountability.org]

Fr. Phelan was “outed” by Boston attorney Mitchell Garabedian (617-523-6250, 617-388-5252, garabedianlaw@msn.com). Garabedian reached a settlement with Catholic officials on behalf of a victim who was sexually assaulted by Fr. Phelan in Plainfield NJ in the Newark Archdiocese in 1977.

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AUSTRALIA
The Courier

By PATRICK BYRNE Nov. 20, 2013

A PEAK body representing the Catholic Church’s response to clerical child sex abuse has called on all states to immediately adopt a national compensation framework for victims.

Speaking to The Courier before giving a speech at St Patrick’s Cathedral Hall last night, Truth Justice Healing Council chief executive officer, Francis Sullivan, said an independent compensation body was needed.

“I wrote yesterday, to all attorney generals in Australia, putting on their agenda that it’s time to put in place this national compensation scheme,” Mr Sullivan said.

“Not in, say, three or four years when the royal commission recommends it.

“I totally get that bit about people saying ‘well this is all very fine, but when are we going to see real action?’”

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