ABUSE TRACKER

FLORIDA
Miami Herald

By Daniel Chang and Diana Moskovitz
dchang@MiamiHerald.com

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

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

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

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

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FLORIDA
NBC Miami

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

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

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

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

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AUSTRALIA
Bendigo Advertiser

Jan. 15, 2013

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

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

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

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

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

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

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

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

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

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

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FLORIDA
Miami Herald

By Diana Moskovitz
dmoskovitz@MiamiHerald.com

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

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

The details of the plea deal were not released Sunday.

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

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FLORIDA
Sun-Sentinel

January 13, 2013

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

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

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

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

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

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

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AUSTRALIA
YouTube

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

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DEUTSCHLAND
Debattier Salon

Von Uta Ranke-Heinemann

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

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

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AUSTRALIA
YouTube

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

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AUSTRALIA
Newcastle Herald

By PETER KELSO
Jan. 14, 2013

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

WORK came to a standstill in my office last Friday.

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

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

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

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

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BOSTON (MA)
The New York Times

By KATHARINE Q. SEELYE

Published: January 13, 2013

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

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

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

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

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
CBS Philly

By Tony Hanson

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

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

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

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

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PENNSYLVANIA
Daily Times

Published: Monday, January 14, 2013

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

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

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

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VATICAN CITY
Independent Catholic News (United Kingdom)

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

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

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

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

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AUSTRALIA
Eureka Street

Ray Cassin
January 13, 2013

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

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

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

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

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AUSTRALIA
The Advocate

By KYE WHITE
Jan. 14, 2013

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

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

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

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

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AUSTRALIA
The Conversation

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

Judy Courtin

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

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

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

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RHODE ISLAND
Providence Journal

[statement from the diocese]

January 13, 2013

By Karen Lee Ziner

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

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

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

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RHODE ISLAND
ABC 6

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

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

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

Meehan has denied any wrongdoing. …

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

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
ABC News

By MARYCLAIRE DALE Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA January 13, 2013

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

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

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

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

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RHODE ISLAND
WPRI

Published : Sunday, 13 Jan 2013

By Neil Remiesiewicz

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

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

Meehan has denied any wrongdoing.

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

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RHODE ISLAND
GoLocalProv

Sunday, January 13, 2013

GoLocalProv News Staff

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

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

Father Meehan has denied the allegations.

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

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

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RHODE ISLAND
Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence

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

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

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

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

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RHODE ISLAND
Houston Chronicle

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

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

The diocese says Meehan has denied any improper activity.

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

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VATICAN CITY
Seattle Times

The Associated Press

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

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

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

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VATICAN CITY
Reuters

By Philip Pullella

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

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

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

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

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UNITED KINGDOM
International Business Times

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

By Dominic Gover

January 13, 2013

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

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

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

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

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UNITED KINGDOM
Express

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

Sunday January 13, 2013

By James Fielding

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

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

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

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

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Insider

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

GIACOMO GALEAZZI
Vatican City

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

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

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AUSTRALIA
The Courier-Mail

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

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

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

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

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

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

Rick Morton
From:The Australian
January 14, 2013

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

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

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

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

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DEUTSCHLAND
Deutschlandradio

Opferverband äußert Zweifel am Aufarbeitungswillen

Matthias Katsch im Gespräch mit Philipp Gessler

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

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

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MILWAUKEE (WI)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

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

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DEUTSCHLAND
Skydaddy’s Blog

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

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

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

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DEUTSCHLAND
Regensburg-Digital

[Google translate]

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

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

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TEXAS
credarcreeklake.com

by David Webb

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

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

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

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

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INDIA
Times of India

V Narayan, TNN Jan 11, 2013

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

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

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

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UNITED STATES
BishopAccountability.org

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

Ordained: 1969

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DEUTSCHLAND
Frankfurter Allgemeine

12.01.2013 · Die katholische Kirche wollte Missbrauch aufarbeiten – mit dem Kriminologischen Forschungsinstitut Niedersachsen. Das ist gescheitert. Kein Wunder. Denn es geht um mehr als persönliche Befindlichkeiten.

Von Philip Eppelsheim

Anderthalb Jahre ist es her, dass die Katholische Kirche Deutschlands mit dem Kriminologischen Forschungsinstitut Niedersachsen (KFN) ein Forschungsprojekt auf den Weg brachte, um den „sexuellen Missbrauch an Minderjährigen durch katholische Priester, Diakone und männliche Ordensangehörige“ zu untersuchen. In dieser Woche ist das Projekt mit einem großen Eklat gescheitert. Der Leiter des Kriminologischen Forschungsinstituts, Christian Pfeiffer, wirft der Kirche Zensur vor, sogar Aktenvernichtung. Die Kirche wehrt sich: Pfeiffer sei maßlos, das Vertrauensverhältnis zerrüttet. Eine Schlammschlacht, ausgetragen von Alphatieren: hier der medienerfahrene und selbstbewusste Forscher, dort die Katholische Kirche.

Die Ursache dieses Streits ist jedoch nicht das Gebaren der ehemaligen Forschungspartner. Es geht mittlerweile zwar auch um persönliche Befindlichkeiten, aber angelegt ist das Zerwürfnis schon in dem Vertrag, den Pfeiffer Anfang Juli 2011 mit dem Verband der Diözesen schloss. Darin hieß es: „Neun (Erz-)Bistümer haben verbindlich zugesagt, sich an dem Forschungsprojekt zu beteiligen und werden dem KFN alle in den (Erz-)Bistümern erreichbaren Informationen über Fälle des sexuellen Missbrauchs an Minderjährigen durch katholische Priester, Diakone und männliche Ordensangehörige im Bereich der Deutschen Bischofskonferenz seit 1945 für eine Längsschnittanalyse zur Verfügung stellen. Für den Zeitraum von 2000 bis 2010 haben alle (Erz-)Bistümer ihre Mitwirkung am Forschungsprojekt zugesagt. Dies betrifft sowohl Akteninhalte über solche Fälle, die nicht der Strafjustiz bekannt geworden sind, als auch die Aktenzeichen aller Strafverfahren, die in dieser Zeit gegen die Personengruppe, die Gegenstand des Forschungsprojekts ist, wegen sexuellen Missbrauchs an Minderjährigen durchgeführt worden sind.“

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AUSTRALIA
The Examiner

By MICHAEL LOWE
Jan. 12, 2013

THE nation’s royal commission into child abuse will unleash a “tsunami” of allegations in Tasmania, a child protection advocacy group says.

Bravehearts Tasmanian spokesman Stephen Noone said yesterday that the group had been calling for a royal commission for 15 years.

Welcoming the inquiry’s broad terms of reference, announced by Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Friday, Mr Noone said that he expected a “tsunami” of Tasmanians to come forward with abuse allegations.

Beyond Abuse spokesman Steve Fisher also praised the reach of the inquiry, to be headed by New South Wales Supreme Court judge Peter McClellan.

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DEUTSCHLAND
MissBiT

1. Grundsätzlich: Der Punkt schien vermeintlich an das Bistum Trier zu gehen. Dennoch gibt Uzulis hiermit eine Steilvorlage, die noch weitere Fragen aufwirft und das Bistum Trier in Erklärungsnot bringen dürfte.

2. André Uzulis, neuer Pressesprecher im Bistum Trier, behauptet unter anderem: „Die ‘Seitenreste’ (man beachte die Anführungszeichen seinerseits an dieser Stelle!) wiesen auf eine bei der damaligen Aktenführung verwendete Bindetechnik hin. Auf den verbleibenden Rand seien Dokumente aufgeklebt worden. „Die in der Akte ‘freien Ränder’ seien nicht entstanden, weil man etwas nachträglich abgeschnitten hätte, sondern weil sie noch nicht ‘beklebt“ waren.“, sagt Uzulis.

Bei einer so sorgfältigen Aktenführung, die sämtliche Korrespondenz zwischen dem Täter und dem Bistum Trier und die so manch’ kuriose Einträge enthält, fällt es auf, dass die Akte abrupt endet. – Zufällig zum Tatzeitraum. Man will mir also glaubhaft machen, dass es angeblich über einen Zeitraum von mehreren Jahren keinerlei schriftliche Kontakte zwischen Bischof und Priester gab. Als wären beide von der Bildfläche verschwunden. Mit Verlaub, meine Herren. Dies ist mehr als unwahrscheinlich.

3. Wenn die in der Akte ‘freien Ränder“ lt. Meinung von Ackermann/Uzulis nicht „beklebt“ worden sind, frage ich mich also: Warum eigentlich nicht? Über einen Zeitraum von mehreren Jahren, keine Visitationsbesichtigungen mehr? Keinerlei Genehmigungsanfragen auf Urlaub zwischen dem Priester und dem Bischöflichen Stuhl? Keinerlei Anträge mehr auf ein neues Fahrzeug? Merkwürdig. Warum wurde dies alles nicht festgehalten, so wie dies in der Akte in den Jahren zuvor nachlesbar ist? Dass der Priester nicht in einer Art Bermuda-Dreieck verschwand, ist ebenfalls nachweisbar. Denn er war ja hier in seiner Pfarrei präsent und verübte mehrfach sexuellen Missbrauch.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Westfalische Nachrichten

Münster –

Vehement wehrt sich Bischof Dr. Felix Genn gegen den Vorwurf, die Katholische Kirche würde die Aufklärung des Missbrauchsskandals stoppen. Das Gegenteil ist der Fall, betonte der Bischof am Samstagnachmittag während eines Festgottesdienstes in der Überwasserkirche im Rahmen des Neujahrsempfangs des Diözesankomitees der Katholiken im Bistum Münster.

Von Peter Sauer

Ausführlich ging Bischof Genn auf die aktuelle Debatte ein. Die Deutsche Bischofskonferenz hatte die Zusammenarbeit bei der Erforschung von Fällen sexuellen Missbrauchs mit dem Kriminologischen Institut Niedersachsen unter der Leitung von Professor Dr. Christian Pfeiffer beendet. Das Institut hatte den Auftrag, die Taten sexualisierter Gewalt durch Priester, Diakone und männliche Ordensangehörige kriminologisch zu erforschen. Pfeiffer warf den Bischöfen unter anderem “Zensur” vor.

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DEUTSCHLAND
kirkensite – Munster

Bistum. Die Kündigung der Zusammenarbeit der Deutschen Bischofskonferenz mit dem Kriminologen Christian Pfeiffer bei der Erforschung von Fällen sexuellen Missbrauchs in der katholischen Kirche am Mittwoch (09.01.2013) hat erhebliche Irritationen ausgelöst. Zu Beginn der Predigt im Gottesdienst aus Anlass des Neujahrsempfangs des Diözesankomitees der Katholiken im Bistum Münster am Samstag (12.01.2013) gab Bischof Felix Genn dazu folgende Erklärung ab:

Liebe Schwestern und Brüder im Glauben, der jährliche Neujahrsempfang des Diözesankomitees der Katholiken im Bistum Münster ist für mich immer eine willkommene Gelegenheit, allen zu danken, die auf den unterschiedlichen Ebenen in den verschiedenen Verbänden unseres Bistums und nicht zuletzt eben im Diözesankomitee mitarbeiten, um Kirche in unserem Bistum ein Gesicht zu geben. Deshalb nehmen Sie auch immer wieder Anteil an Entwicklungen und Prozessen, die in der Öffentlichkeit mit dem Thema Kirche in Verbindung gebracht werden.

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DEUTSCHLAND
domradio

Opferverband äußert Zweifel am Aufarbeitungswillen

Matthias Katsch im Gespräch mit Philipp Gessler

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

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

Die Bischofskonferenz behauptet dagegen, mit Pfeiffer könne man einfach nicht zusammenarbeiten. Das Vertrauensverhältnis zu ihm sei zerrüttet. Und sie betont, die Aufklärung gehe weiter, eben nur nicht mit Pfeiffer. Wie denken die Opfer sexuellen Missbrauchs durch katholische Geistliche über das Ende dieser Zusammenarbeit mit dem Hannoveraner Wissenschaftler? Wollen die katholischen Bischöfe überhaupt eine Aufklärung? Darüber habe ich vor der Sendung mit Matthias Katsch vom Opferverband “Eckiger Tisch” gesprochen, einem ehemaligen Opfer von sexueller Gewalt in Berlin, der die Kraft und den Mut hat, für die so lange verdrängten Opfer solcher Verbrechen durch Priesterhand zu kämpfen. Herr Katsch, die katholische Kirche betont, ihr Ausstieg, also der Ausstieg der Kirche aus dem Vertrag mit dem kriminologischen Institut von Professor Pfeiffer zur Aufklärung des Missbrauchsskandals liege vor allem an diesem Kriminologen selbst. Nehmen Sie der Kirche dies ab?

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DEUTSCHLAND
SWR

Der Missbrauchsbeauftragte der Deutschen Bischofskonferenz, Stephan Ackermann, lässt offen, ob alle Bistümer eine Fortsetzung der Missbrauchsstudie mittragen werden. Auch bei einzelnen Absagen “stünde die Studie immer noch auf einer empirisch belastbaren Basis”, sagte er der Tageszeitung “Welt”.

Der Trierer Bischof verwies auf eine vergleichbare Studie zu sexuellem Missbrauch durch Geistliche in den USA. “Da haben sich auch nicht alle Bistümer beteiligt. Das hat aber der Repräsentativität keinen Abbruch getan”, sagte er laut Zeitungsbericht. Er wies Vorwürfe zurück, die Bischöfe würden die Aufklärung von sexuellem Missbrauch behindern. “Unsere ehrlichen Aufklärungsbemühungen werden leider zu wenig gesehen.”

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DEUTSCHLAND
Die Welt

Berlin (dapd). Der Missbrauchsbeauftragte der Deutschen Bischofskonferenz, der Trierer Bischof Stephan Ackermann, lässt offen, ob alle Bistümer eine Fortsetzung der Missbrauchsstudie mittragen werden. “Ich möchte mich an Voraussagen nicht beteiligen”, sagte Ackermann der Zeitung “Die Welt” (Samstagausgabe) laut Vorabbericht. “Aber selbst wenn der eine oder andere Bischof absagen sollte, stünde die Studie immer noch auf einer empirisch belastbaren Basis.”

Das Kriminologische Forschungsinstitut Niedersachsen sollte die sexuellen Missbrauchsfälle in der Kirche wissenschaftlich bewerten. Institutsleiter Christian Pfeiffer warf insbesondere dem Erzbistum München vor, es habe seine Arbeit kontrollieren wollen. Die Bischofskonferenz beendete daraufhin die Zusammenarbeit.

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AUSTRALIA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

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

Posted by Nicky Davis on January 11, 2013

We applaud the prime minister for establishing this inquiry and setting the terms of reference.

It’s crucial that current and former employees be questioned under oath as to how much church officials have known and how little they have done to protect the children. The commission must be aggressive in finding and questioning these officials, even if they have retired or moved elsewhere or claim special privileges or protections of some sort.

It’s also crucial that no one get complacent now. It will be tempting for many concerned individuals to sit back and convince themselves that they’re “off the hook” and that the commission will “fix” everything. Nothing could be further from the truth.

One reason tens of thousands of Australian kids have been sexually assaulted is because of naïve beliefs like this. No adult can ever be passive about children’s safety. No adult can ever assume “Someone else will expose this predator,” “report these troubling behaviors,” or “call police.”

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AUSTRALIA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests]

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

Posted by Mark Fabbro on January 11, 2013

Survivors who were concerned about the potential for Commissioners having a conflict of interest or lack of impartiality can be reassured that the large contingent of commissioners chosen appears to be as appropriate as possible for the purpose of getting to the truth.

The delay in the formal release of the Terms of Reference is a minor concern. We keep our fingers crossed that there is adequate powers to subpoena documents and compel witnesses to attend hearings where there is evidence of systemic cover-up by institutions.

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AUSTRALIA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by Sylvia Blayse on January 11, 2013

What matters most are not the professional backgrounds of the individuals chosen for this role. What matters most is their courage. Time and time again, we’ve seen people with impressive credentials “tread lightly” when investigating powerful institutions and their officials.

Regardless of this commission’s role and members, we urge anyone who has seen, suspected or suffered child sex crimes and cover ups in institutions to report first to local law enforcement. That’s the best and quickest way to safeguard kids. These are crimes and should be treated as crimes.

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BELGIEN
OstBelgien

Der Lütticher Bischof Aloys Jousten rechnet damit, dass in diesem Jahr 2013 ein Nachfolger für ihn gefunden wird und dieser zumindest passive Kenntnisse der deutschen Sprache haben muss. In einem Interview ging der 75-Jährige auch auf die 2012 bekannt gewordenen Fälle von Missbrauch in der katholischen Kirche ein. “Ein Tsunami”, so Aloys Jousten.

Mit dem Erreichen des 75. Lebensjahres hat Jousten sein Bischofsamt zur Verfügung gestellt. “Der Papst hat mich gebeten, vorerst weiterzumachen, und das tue ich gerne”, sagte er dem Grenz-Echo in einem Interview. Auf die Frage, wie lange er gedenke, das Amt weiter auszuüben, betonte der Bischof: “Ich gehe davon aus, dass ein Nachfolger in diesem Jahr gefunden wird.” Einige Zeilen später präzisierte er dazu: “Deutsch wird sicher eine Grundbedingung bei der Bezeichnung sein. Wer die Sprache nicht zumindest passiv beherrscht und keine Lust hat, Deutsch zu lernen, kommt nicht in Frage.”

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DEUTSCHLAND
SPD

Anlässlich des vorläufigen Stopps der Studie, zum sexuellen Missbrauch in der katholischen Kirche erklären die stellvertretende Vorsitzende der SPD-Bundestagsfraktion Dagmar Ziegler und die familienpolitische Sprecherin Caren Marks:

Es ist bedauerlich, dass das Forschungsvorhaben zum sexuellen Missbrauch in der katholischen Kirche vorerst gestoppt ist. Für Betroffene ist dies ein schlechtes Signal.

Die Bundesregierung muss so schnell wie möglich dafür sorgen, dass die Aufklärung von Missbrauchsfällen vorangebracht wird. Der Abschlussbericht des Runden Tischs „Sexueller Kindesmissbrauch“ liegt bereits seit Ende 2011 vor und seitdem kommt die Umsetzung nur schleppend voran.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Augsburger Allgemeine

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

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

Vor allem im Internat des Benediktinerklosters Ettal (Landkreis Garmisch-Partenkirchen) waren Schüler jahrzehntelang von Ordensgeistlichen missbraucht und körperlich sowie seelisch misshandelt worden. Vor zwei Jahren wurden die Fälle bekannt.

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MILWAUKEE (WI)
SNAP Wisconsin

Milwaukee Federal Judge rules against Dolan’s “cemetary scheme” to hide 55 million from sex abuse victims

Statement by Peter Isely, SNAP Midwest Director
CONTACT: 414.429.7259

Before the Milwaukee Archdiocese filed for Federal Bankruptcy two years ago, former Archbishop Timothy Dolan, now Cardinal Archbishop of New York, moved tens of millions of dollars into a newly invented, unnecessary, and sham “cemetery trust” so that church officials could later claim that they did not have the resources to provide restitution and aid to victims of clerical child molesters.

On Friday, Federal Judge Susan V. Kelley ruled that the archdiocese could not hide these assets from the 570 victims of childhood sex crimes who have filed cases in bankruptcy court.

When Dolan’s creative accounting was discovered and challenged by the court appointed Creditors Committee, he publically scoffed and dismissed charges that he had hid money or that he would ever be engaged in shady and questionable financial practices.

Then it was learned through documents filed in court that Dolan had taken Milwaukee church money to pay pedophile priests a “signing bonus” to quietly leave the priesthood and disappear into unsuspecting communities, including finding new employment working directly with children.

Friday’s ruling in Milwaukee, especially It’s dismissal of the argument that the court examining anything church officials do is some kind of attack on religious freedom, is a major defeat for Dolan. And it sends a message to the new cadre of bishops Dolan leads that they cannot wield social, financial and political power without embracing and exercising public transparency, corporate responsibility, and good citizenship–particularly when it concerns the fundamental duty of all social institutions to protect children.

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INDIA
Express India

Express news service
Posted: Jan 12, 2013

To strengthen the case against a 70-year-old priest arrested for allegedly molesting and filming a 13-year-old girl from Shivaji Nagar, Mumbai Police will record her statement in the presence of NGOs that work with victims of sexual abuse.

Niyad Ansari was arrested Thursday for allegedly making a compromising video of the girl who takes Arabic lessons at the dargah in Shivaji Nagar where he serves. The priest allegedly blackmailed the girl into submission threatening to make the clip public.

The matter came to light after Ansari lost his phone and another man living in the area found it. He showed the clip to the father of the girl, who approached police.

Sources said police want to handle the case sensitively and also ensure the victim does not change statement or withdraw out of shame or intimidation.

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ILLINOIS
Quincy Herald-Whig

By THE HERALD-WHIG STAFF

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. –A Catholic priest who served two different periods in Quincy is now on leave, according to the Diocese of Springfield, after a late November incident.

The CatholicWorldReport.com website reports the Rev. Tom Donovan, pastor of St. Aloysius Church in Springfield, is on leave after he dialed 911 asking for help getting out of handcuffs – a call that has been replayed across the internet almost 100,000 times in recent days.

Police said the priest was wearing an orange jumpsuit and a mask with a gag in his mouth, NBC affiliate KSDK of St. Louis reported.

Diocesan spokeswoman Kathie Sass told CWR that Donovan approached Bishop Thomas Paprocki about the incident before Christmas and before it attracted media attention.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Cornish Guardian

FURIOUS friends of a missing retired priest from Padstow have condemned those spreading rumours that his disappearance was connected to a police investigation into child abuse.

The Reverend Barry Kinsmen is believed to have taken his own life on New Year’s Eve; a note was found in his blue Ford Ka, which was abandoned at Porthmissen. His body has yet to be found.

There has been gossip in Padstow and elsewhere that Mr Kinsmen was interviewed by the police on Christmas Eve over child abuse allegations dating back 20 years.

However, police have confirmed there was no current investigation under way and Mr Kinsmen, 72, had not been interviewed on Christmas Eve or at any time last year.

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AUSTRALIA
Brisbane Times

January 13, 2013

Mark Russell and Jared Lynch

This country mansion seemingly offered an idyllic setting to educate Catholic boys, but behind closed doors, Rupertswood was anything but peaceful.

AT THE end of a winding road overlooking Sunbury is Rupertswood, an ornate 1874 mansion that today serves as a boutique hotel. But the grand residence, where butlers and doormen wait on guests paying up to $500 a night, was for decades a house of horror.

It is alleged that from 1960 to 1990, when Rupertswood was a Catholic boarding and day school, Salesian brothers, including two former school principals and a boarding master, routinely abused boys in their care.

Over the past decade, four brothers have been convicted separately of multiple counts of indecent assault, while another will face trial in August. Two other alleged offenders have left the country.

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MARYLAND
Washington Post

By Matt Zapotosky

A former girls soccer coach at a Largo-area private school was convicted of five counts of child sexual abuse in connection with contact he had with a 16-year-old student, authorities said Friday.

Charles Vasser, 35, of Seat Pleasant, faces more than 100 years in prison at his Feb. 8 sentencing, and will have to register as a sex offender, authorities said. The former coach at Riverdale Baptist School was accused of having sexual contact with a 16-year-old from October 2008 through July 2009, authorities said. The 16-year-old, they said, was a student at the school and played on the soccer team.

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MARYLAND
WUSA

LANDOVER, Md. (WUSA) — A former soccer coach was found guilty on five counts of child sex abuse in Prince George’s County on Friday, the State’s Attorney said in a news release.

Charles Vasser, 35, of Seat Pleasant, faces 100 years in prison for sexually abusing a 15-year-old player on the soccer team he coached, at Riverdale Baptist School in Landover.

“From October 2008 through July of 2009, Vassar had an array of sexual contacts with the victim, who was 15 years old at the time the incidents started. Vasser’s criminal sexual acts against the victim included sexual intercourse; digital penetration and kissing,” officials said in a news release.

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MARYLAND
Patch

By Ryan McDermott

A former Riverdale Baptist School soccer coach is facing 100 years in prison after he was found guilty of five counts of child sex abuse Friday, according to Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Angela D. Alsobrooks.

Charles Vasser was convicted of sexually abusing an underage student athlete at the Upper Marlboro school while he was the coach of the girls’ soccer team. The victim was a member of the soccer team, according to Alsobrooks.

From Oct. 2008 through July 2009, Vassar had sexual contact with the victim, who was 15 years old at the time the incidents started, according to Alsobrooks. The sexual acts against the victim included “sexual intercourse, digital penetration and kissing,” officials said in a release.

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MILWAUKEE (WI)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

By Annysa Johnson of the Journal Sentinel

Taking funds the Archdiocese of Milwaukee set aside for cemetery operations to help settle its bankruptcy debts would not hinder its free exercise of religion under the First Amendment and a 1993 federal law aimed at protecting religious freedom, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Susan V. Kelley said in a hearing Friday.

Kelley’s opinion, which is expected to be filed early next week, is a victory for sex-abuse victims and other creditors working to expand the archdiocese’s bankruptcy estate – the pool of money used to fund settlements and the church’s reorganization.

But it could be short-lived.

Lawyers for the creditors committee and the archdiocese’s cemetery trust have agreed to seek a separate decision from the U.S. District Court in a procedural move that reduces Kelley’s findings from a final order to essentially recommendations – a development that appeared to blindside and anger the judge.

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DUITSLAND
RKnieuws

BERLIJN (RKnieuws.net) – Het geplande wetenschappelijk onderzoek naar seksueel misbruik in de Rooms-Katholieke Kerk in Duitsland gaat voorlopig niet door. De Duitse bisschoppenconferentie had in 2011 een onderzoeksopdracht gegeven aan het Criminologische Onderzoeksinstituut Nedersaksen.

De bisschoppen hebben officieel laten weten dat er gebrek aan vertrouwen is. Het instituut heeft gezegd dat de kerkleiding eist dat de uitkomst van het onderzoek naar seksueel misbruik eerst aan de kerk wordt voorgelegd. Dat weigeren de onderzoekers.

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DUITSLAND
Reformatorisch Dagblad

HANNOVER/TRIER (ANP/DPA) – Het Criminologisch Onderzoeksinstituut Nedersaksen begint een eigen onderzoek naar seksueel misbruik in de Duitse Rooms-Katholieke Kerk. Dat heeft directeur Christian Pfeiffer woensdag gezegd, nadat de Duitse bisschoppen de samenwerking met de instelling hadden opgezegd.

Pfeiffer roept alle slachtoffers van misbruik op met zijn instituut contact op te nemen. De bisschoppen gaven in 2011 het instituut de opdracht voor een wetenschappelijk onderzoek, maar volgens bisschop Stephan Ackermann van Trier, binnen de bisschoppenconferentie belast met misbruikzaken, is er geen enkel vertrouwen meer tussen de kerkleiding en Pfeiffer. Hij gaf geen details.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

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

A Hunter Valley clergy abuse victim has applauded the Federal Government for taking victims into account as it compiled the terms of reference for its Royal Commission.

The probe was partly prompted by child sex cover up claims made by Hunter Valley Detective Peter Fox.

The main focus will be to investigate systemic failures within church and state-run institutions in preventing and dealing with child abuse.

The terms of reference specifically ask the Commissioners to consider what action governments and institutions should take to help victims.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

[with video]

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has hosted a morning tea for victims of child sexual abuse, a day after announcing the terms of reference for the royal commission into the issue.

Victims and their advocates were invited to Sydney’s Kirribilli House to share their stories, and the small group that gathered on the lawn this morning did just that.

They also thanked Ms Gillard for allowing their voices to be heard.

“Upmost gratification. Gratitude to the Prime Minister,” said Pamella Vernon, who attended the event.

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AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald

January 12, 2013

Christine Sams

A day after announcing details about the most extensive royal commission in Australian history, Prime Minister Julia Gillard has thanked advocates against child sexual abuse for years of tireless campaigning.

The Prime Minister hosted a morning tea at Kirribilli House on Saturday and comforted some overwhelmed guests who had themselves been affected by abuse.

She said she wanted to show victims the community silence surrounding child sexual abuse is over.

“I know there a lot of people here, as individuals and as representatives of their groups who probably thought they would never see this day,” Prime Minister Gillard said. “I’m really aware that I’m looking out at a group of people who over years, indeed decades, have fought for justice for people who were abused as children. I know that people here have raised their voices time after time after time to say that our nation has to face up to the consequences of what happened, we have to shine a light on it. It’s going to be painful, it’s going to be hard but we’ve got to do that so that we can learn for the future.”

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AUSTRALIA
NEWS.com.au

PRIME Minister Julia Gillard has cautioned victims of child sexual abuse of traumatic times ahead as the royal commission starts its inquiries but stressed that it should eventually bring healing.

Around 30 people gathered at Kirribilli House in Sydney for a morning tea hosted by the Prime Minister a day after the commission’s term of reference were announced.

“Establishing the royal commission is the start of something really big, really emotional, really hard,” Ms Gillard said.

“A lot of people are going to need a lot of support as we go through that process. I can’t promise that these are easy days ahead. I suspect that there are some very traumatic days ahead as people come and tell what happened to them.”

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

THERE are traumatic times ahead for child sexual abuse victims as the royal commission swings into action, Prime Minister Julia Gillard warned.

But eventually, the inquiry’s recommendations will hopefully bring healing to the Australian nation, Ms Gillard told child sex abuse survivors today.

A day after she announced the appointments to the royal commission into child sexual abuse in institutions, Ms Gillard met with about 30 child sexual abuse survivors and advocates at Kirribilli House in Sydney.

“Yesterday’s announcement is a tribute to you for having sustained that campaign after many, many long years,” Ms Gillard told them. “I can’t promise you there are easy days ahead … I suspect there are some very traumatic days ahead as people come and tell what happened to them, many of them for the very first time.”

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AUSTRALIA
Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse

ELIZABETH THE SECOND, by the Grace of God Queen of Australia and Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth:

TO

The Honourable Justice Peter David McClellan AM,
Mr Robert Atkinson,
The Honourable Justice Jennifer Ann Coate,
Mr Robert William Fitzgerald AM,
Dr Helen Mary Milroy, and
Mr Andrew James Marshall Murray

GREETING

WHEREAS all children deserve a safe and happy childhood.

AND Australia has undertaken international obligations to take all appropriate legislative, administrative, social and educational measures to protect children from sexual abuse and other forms of abuse, including measures for the prevention, identification, reporting, referral, investigation, treatment and follow up of incidents of child abuse.

AND all forms of child sexual abuse are a gross violation of a child’s right to this protection and a crime under Australian law and may be accompanied by other unlawful or improper treatment of children, including physical assault, exploitation, deprivation and neglect.

AND child sexual abuse and other related unlawful or improper treatment of children have a long-term cost to individuals, the economy and society.

AND public and private institutions, including child-care, cultural, educational, religious, sporting and other institutions, provide important services and support for children and their families that are beneficial to children’s development.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

[with audio]

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

by Timothy McDonald

A group representing people who were abused while in care has criticised the Federal Government’s decision to limit the terms of reference for the Royal Commission to cover only cases of sexual abuse.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s announcement of the terms of reference for the royal commission into child sexual abuse has been widely embraced by advocacy groups.

The commission will have the power to set up a special investigations unit which can provide evidence to police, and it will also recommend law changes and consider compensation.

But the Care Leavers of Australia Network (CLAN) says it is a mistake to limit the inquiry’s investigation to the sexual abuse of children, when many other forms of abuse have also been common.

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NAPLES (FL)
Naples Daily News

Sister Simone Campbell, nationally known as the “nun on the bus,” will be one of the speakers in a series on nuns in the Roman Catholic Church sponsored by Voice of the Faithful of Southwest Florida.

Under its 2013 theme, “It’s All About the Nuns,” the group is bringing in a Cleveland priest whose sermon on the role of nuns in today’s world went viral on the Internet. Also attending will be a former religion correspondent for the New York times whose book, “Double Crossed: Uncovering the Catholic Church’s Betrayal of American Nuns” was published in 2006.

The series will be on consecutive Thursdays and are free. Speakers, who will appear at Vanderbilt Presbyterian Church at 7 p.m. on their dates, are as follows:

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IRELAND
Build

Labour TD for Dublin Bay North, Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, has stated that the Catholic Church cannot credibly say that it has sympathy and compassion for those pregnant as a result of rape, while it still has not paid the state the €380 million it owes to help compensate victims of child rape, sexual assault and physical abuse.

He said: “At the Oireachtas Health Committee hearings into the judgement of the European Court of Human Rights in the ABC case, Bishop Christopher Jones and Fr Tim Barlett both stated that in the case of a pregnancy caused through rape, agents of the Church would first and foremost show the utmost compassion for those who find themselves in that tragic situation. Bishop Jones also stated that rapists should be brought to justice.

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OHIO
The Chronicle-Telegram

Filed by Brad Dicken January 11th, 2013

ELYRIA — A former church youth leader is set to go on trial later this month on allegations he lured 11- and 12-year-old boys from his Cleveland church to his North Ridgeville home and sexually abused them.

Jeremy Pettry, who now is an ordained minister, has been incarcerated in the Lorain County Jail since October and faces two counts of rape and six counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor.

North Ridgeville police Detective Randall Young said the 32-year-old Pettry was a youth leader at the Pearlbrook Church of God in Cleveland and would invite boys he taught to stay over at his home on Saturday nights to watch movies and play video games before they went to church Sunday mornings.

While the victims were at Pettry’s house he would allegedly engage in sexual conduct with them, Young said.

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OHIO
The Plain Dealer

By Bruce Geiselman, Sun News
on January 11, 2013

NORTH RIDGEVILLE – A former church instructor is accused of sexual abuse involving young boys.

A Lorain County grand jury indicted Jeremy A. Pettry, 32, on two counts of rape and six counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor. The charges are outlined in an indictment filed in Lorain County Common Pleas Court. The indictment was returned in December.

It states the alleged offenses took place between July 2004 and September 2008. It does not specify the number of victims.

North Ridgeville police Detective Randall Young said he could not release many details.

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CANADA
Legal Examiner

Posted by John McKiggan
January 11, 2013

Last week the Archdiocese of Moncton announced that two New Brunswick priests have been suspended indefinitely: “from any ministry whatsoever following allegations of serious sexual abuse on minors on their part.”

The priests, Rev. Yvon Arsenault (70) and Irois Despres (82) were both retired but the official suspension prevents them from performing any priestly duties.

While the two priests have been suspended, they have not yet been removed as priests. The decision came as a result of some information that was provided to the Archdiocese by retired Supreme Court of Canada Judge Michel Bastarache.

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CANADA
The Chronicle-Herald

By FRANK CAMPBELL

Sister Nuala Kenny is the heal deal.

Involved in the healing business for more than 40 years, Kenny’s biggest therapeutic challenge has come in her quest over the past two decades to help diagnose and treat the clergy sexual abuse crisis in her beloved Catholic Church.

“I’ve dealt with dying children my whole life,” says the pediatrician and ethicist.

“I’ve dealt with cancer-care children my whole life. Nothing takes the stuffing out of me like doing this stuff, because it’s the church.”

Kenny has had to replenish much of that stuffing during an extensive quarter-century of clerical abuse work that has taken her from an archdiocesan inquiry in St. John’s, N.L., in the late 1980s to numerous public lectures, including a conference at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax last month, and a recently published book, Healing the Church.

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OMAHA (NE)
World-Herald

By Christopher Burbach
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

The Vatican has sent a priest sex abuse allegation case back to the Archdiocese of Omaha for resolution, the archdiocese said Friday.

The case involves the Rev. Alfred J. Salanitro of Omaha, whom a man accused in December 2011 of having abused him in the early 1990s, when the man was a boy. Salanitro has denied the allegations. He has been on paid leave for more than a year, and remains barred from public ministry while the matter is pending.

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican entity with jurisdiction in resolving allegations of sexual abuse of minors by clerics, has told Omaha Archbishop George Lucas to resolve the case administratively.

Vatican officials told Lucas to use an “administrative penal process.” That involves sending the testimony in the archdiocese’s initial investigation to two canon lawyers outside the Omaha Archdiocese. Those lawyers will assist Lucas in determining Salanitro’s innocence or guilt.

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ALABAMA
North Jefferson Nes

By Robert Carter North Jefferson News

GARDENDALE — The Rev. Dr. Terry Greer is charged with one count of murder and another count of attempted murder, as a result of the shooting Thursday afternoon that left Greer’s wife Lisa dead, and his daughter Suzanna injured from gunshot wounds.

Greer remains in UAB Hospital Friday afternoon, but his condition has been upgraded from critical to stable, according to Gardendale Police Chief Mike Walker.

Walker held a press conference at the Public Safety Center Friday afternoon to give updates on the case, as well as release some details of the incident, which took place at the parsonage of Gardendale-Mt. Vernon United Methodist Church. The parsonage is located on Country Meadow Drive in Mt. Olive, near the Mt. Olive Road exit on Interstate 65.

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ALABAMA
KLTV

[with video]

By Melynda Sides

GARDENDALE, AL (WBRC) –
A pastor’s wife who was in critical condition after a shooting and stabbing at her Gardendale home has died, according to an Associated Press report.

The Jefferson County coroner’s office confirmed that Lisa Greer died at 12:38 a.m. Friday, Jan. 11. The AP says she was married to Rev. Terry Greer, the senior pastor at Gardendale-Mt. Vernon United Methodist Church.

Rev. Greer’s bio on the church’s website says he was married to the former Lisa Eidson of Scottsboro, and the couple have a daughter named Suzanna Faith Greer.

Officials have not released many details, but said that two females were shot inside a home on Country Meadow Drive in Gardendale on Thursday, Jan. 10. One female was critically injured and another was in stable condition after the shooting. Authorities said the male suspect in the case was stabbed and in critical condition. According to the AP, the man and woman are still in the hospital.

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ALABAMA
Houston Chronicle

By JAY REEVES, Associated Press | January 11, 2013

GARDENDALE, Ala. (AP) — A prominent Alabama pastor fatally shot his wife and wounded their 18-year-old daughter in their church-owned home before grabbing a kitchen knife and trying to stab himself to death, police said Friday.

The Rev. Terry Greer, 54, is being charged with murder in the slaying of 52-year-old Lisa Greer and attempted murder in the wounding of Suzanna Greer, a University of South Alabama student, according to police in Gardendale, a suburb about 10 miles north of Birmingham.

Greer is senior pastor at Gardendale-Mt. Vernon United Methodist Church near Birmingham. Prominent in Methodist circles in the area, he leads a church with an average Sunday attendance of about 670.

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DEUTSCHLAND
MissBiT

Wurden nun im Bistum Trier seit Bekanntwerden der Missbrauchsfälle im März 2010 Akten vernichtet?

“Für den angefragten Zeitraum kann für das Bistum Trier klar garantiert werden, dass Inhalte der Personalakten nicht vernichtet worden sind”, sagt der Bistumssprecher.

weiter in dem Artikel heißt es jedoch:

Laut André Uzulis, Sprecher des Bistums Trier, müssen Dokumente über Missbrauchsfälle nicht unweigerlich in der Personalakte des Priesters stehen. Diesbezügliche Unterlagen könnten vielmehr Bestandteil eines Archivs im Generalvikariat sein, zu dem nur eine sehr begrenzte, vom Bischof festgelegte Personengruppe Zugang hat, sagte Uzulis.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Volksfreund

Nach dem Aus für die Missbrauchsstudie des Kriminologischen Forschungsinstituts Niedersachsen wirft dessen Leiter, Kriminologe Christian Pfeiffer, der katholischen Kirche die Vernichtung von Akten vor. Auch Opfer aus dem Bistum Trier vermuten, dass Akten manipuliert worden sein könnten. Das Bistum garantiert die Vollständigkeit der Dokumente.

Trier. Der überraschende Stopp der Missbrauchsstudie durch die katholische Kirche erzeugt heftige Nachwehen: Studien-Leiter Christian Pfeiffer, der Direktor des Kriminologischen Forschungsinstituts Niedersachsen (KFN), äußerte Zensurvorwürfe und vermutet Aktenvernichtung. Damit steht der KFN-Chef nicht alleine da. Auch Missbrauchsopfer aus dem Bistum Trier vermuten Manipulation.

Claudia Adams, Opfer und Bloggerin (www.missbrauch-im-bistum-trier.blogspot.de) hatte 2011 einen Antrag auf Einsicht in die Personalakte ihres Peinigers gestellt. Im Trierer Bistumsarchiv studierte sie Wort für Wort. “Am Ende fehlten sieben Seiten”, sagt Adams. Das schloss sie aus daumenbreiten Seitenresten. Auch fand sie keine Eintragungen für den Zeitraum von 1975 bis 1979 – die Zeit, in der sie als Kindergartenkind von dem Priester mehrfach missbraucht worden war.

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OMAHA (NE)
NECN

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Omaha says it’s taking the next steps in an investigation into child sex abuse allegations against a Bellevue priest.

Omaha television station KETV reports (http://bit.ly/WJYLzr) that two canon lawyers will help Archbishop George Lucas determine whether the complaint against 53-year-old Alfred Salanitro is valid. …

On Friday, the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests blasted the Omaha archbishop, saying Catholic officials should not “drag their feet in child sex abuse cases.”

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DEUTSCHLAND
ZVW

Markus Brauer, vom 11.01.2013

Stuttgart/Hannover – Der Direktor des Kriminologischen Forschungsinstituts Niedersachsen (KFN), Christian Pfeiffer, ist um Entspannung im Streit mit der Katholischen Kirche bemüht. Er will das Forschungsvorhaben zum sexuellen Missbrauch fortführen und hofft dabei auf die breite Zusammenarbeit mit Opferverbänden, der Politik – und den katholischen Bischöfen.

Herr Pfeifer, Sie wollen nach der Kündigung des Vertrages durch die Kirche in Eigenregie eine Missbrauchsstudie erstellen. Wie ist der Stand der Dinge?
Wir haben schon sehr viele Rückmeldungen von Opfern sexuellen Missbrauchs. Es ist erfreulich, wie viele sich melden. Ich habe sie noch gar nicht zählen können. Wenn der Medienrummel vorbei ist, werden sie in aller Ruhe wahrgenommen. Aber im Augenblick ist es für die Opfer wahnsinnig schwer zu uns durchzudringen.

In den letzten Tagen haben sich wahrscheinlich vermehrt Betroffene gemeldet.
Ja natürlich. Das ist ganz klar. Ich warte jetzt aber erst einmal ab, ob es zu einer großen Lösung kommt und ob die Politik eingreift und die Katholische Kirche dazu motiviert, eine Kommission zu bilden. Dann wäre die Sache klar, dass wir alle Opfer, die sich bei uns melden, bitten werden mit dieser Kommission zusammenzuarbeiten. Wir würden alle un-sere Erkenntnisse dorthin liefern.

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OMAHA (NE)
KETV

The Archdiocese of Omaha says two canon lawyers will help Archbishop George Lucas determine whether a priest is guilty of sexually abusing a minor.

The archbishop received a complaint in December 2011 that Alfred J. Salanitro, 53, sexually abused a minor between 1991 and 1994.

While Salanitro denied the accusation, the archdiocese said that Lucas found the complaint “carried with it semblance of truth.”

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OMAHA (NE)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by Barbara Dorris on January 11, 2013

It’s irresponsible for Catholic officials to drag their feet in child sex abuse cases like this. It hurts victims, endangers kids, confuses parishioners and thwarts law enforcement.

Archbishop Lucas knows the right thing to do. He should shove aside his defense lawyers and public relations team. He should leave the comfort of his office and personally go to each parish where Fr. Salanitro worked. And he should beg anyone who may have seen, suspected or suffered misdeeds by the priest to contact law enforcement immediately.

Beyond that, Lucas and his brother bishops across the world should insist that the Vatican speed up these cases so that dangerous child molesting clerics can be kept away from kids. He should also transfer Fr. Salanitro to a remote, secure, independently-run treatment center so that he will get help and have no access to kids.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Sueddeutsche

Der Streit über das Forschungsprojekt zu Missbrauch in der katholischen Kirche eskaliert immer mehr – und könnte demnächst vor Gericht weitergeführt werden. Der Chef des Kriminologischen Forschungsinstitutes Niedersachsen, Christian Pfeiffer, spricht von “Zensurwünschen” der Kirche. Deren Anwalt wiederum wirft Pfeiffer vor, mit forschen Briefwechseln das Verhältnis zerrüttet zu haben.

Von Roland Preuß und Matthias Drobinski

Christian Pfeiffer spricht heute von einem “tragischen Missverständnis”. Die katholische Kirche habe geglaubt, sich einer wissenschaftlichen Aufarbeitung ihrer Missbrauchsfälle stellen zu können – und dennoch die Kontrolle zu behalten. Der Direktor des Kriminologischen Forschungsinstituts Niedersachsen (KFN) spricht deshalb von “Zensurwünschen”, an denen das gemeinsame Forschungsprojekt gescheitert sei. Der Streit wird nun voraussichtlich vor Gericht ausgetragen werden. Die Bischofskonferenz ließ ihm eine Unterlassungserklärung zukommen, in der Pfeiffer zusichern soll, den Vorwurf der Zensur nicht zu wiederholen. “Die werden wir natürlich nicht unterzeichnen”, sagt Pfeiffer.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Stern

Im Streit um eine Studie zu kirchlichem Kindesmissbrauch hat der Hannoveraner Kriminologe Christian Pfeiffer die Einbindung des Missbrauchsbeauftragten der Bundesregierung angeregt. Eine Kommission unter Vorsitz des Beauftragten Johannes-Wilhelm Rörig und unter Beteiligung von Kirchenvertretern könne die Aufklärung übernehmen, schlug Pfeiffer in den “Stuttgarter Nachrichten” vor. “Ich warte jetzt erst einmal ab, ob es zu einer großen Lösung kommt und ob die Politik eingreift und die Katholische Kirche dazu motiviert, eine Kommission zu bilden.” Rörig sagte der Zeitung, Pfeiffer habe mit ihm keinen Kontakt aufgenommen, um seine Idee zu besprechen. Für ihn sei es noch zu früh, um über einen solchen Vorstoß nachzudenken.

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OMAHA (NE)
WOWT

The Archdiocese of Omaha announced Friday it is beginning the next step of an investigation into an Omaha priest, accused of sexually abusing minors.

The complaint was brought against Rev. Alfred Salanitro about one year ago.

According to Deacon Timothy McNeil, chancellor of the Archdiocese of Omaha, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) reviewed the findings of the archdiocese’s investigation, and advised Archbishop George Lucas to resolve the matter through an administrative process.

That process consists of two canon lawyers who live outside of the Archdiocese of Omaha, and will assist Lucas in determining Rev. Salanitro’s innocence or guilt.

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NEDERLAND
Dagblad De Limburger

De commissie Deetman komt waarschijnlijk in februari met het rapport over kerkelijk misbruik en mishandeling bij vrouwen. Tot nu toe is er nog maar weinig aandacht geweest voor de misstanden in vrouwenkloosters. In de Limburgse kranten van zaterdag komt Annemiek Knibbe aan het woord.

Venray
Van onze verslaggever

Zij is deskundige van het Vrouwenplatform Kerkelijk Kindermisbruik (VPKK) en is blij met het rapport dat eraan zit te komen: “Het is goed dat er zoveel aandacht is voor kerkelijk misbruik bij jongens, maar de meisjes moeten niet vergeten worden.” Knibbe zat zelf als klein meisje bij de zusters Ursulinen in Venray.

In het voorjaar van 2012 kondigde Wim Deetman aan met een tweede onderzoek naar misbruik in de rooms-katholieke kerk te komen. In dit nieuwe onderzoek staat het leed van vrouwen centraal die ooit als minderjarige zijn misbruikt. Het onderzoek concentreert zich niet alleen op seksueel misbruik, zoals Deetman eerder deed, maar ook op lichamelijke en geestelijke mishandeling van de meisjes. Afgelopen voorjaar, nadat Deetman zijn eerste rapport had gepresenteerd, vroeg de Tweede Kamer om een vervolgonderzoek. Volgens de Kamer en groepen slachtoffers bleven vrouwen in het eerste rapport van Wim Deetman onderbelicht.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
BBC News

A former priest who sexually abused more than a dozen boys over a 16-year period has secured a reduced jail sentence for one set of assaults.

The Court of Appeal ruled that Daniel Curran’s jail term for attacks on two victims should be cut from four to three years.

Based on the 62-year-old’s guilty pleas, remorse, and the consequences of multiple sentencing exercises, the penalty imposed was held to be excessive.

Curran, of Bryansford Road, Newcastle, was jailed at Downpatrick Crown Court in February 2012 on five counts of indecent assault.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Augsburger Allgemeine

Die Studie zu Missbrauchfällen in der Katholischen Kirche scheiterte. Der Verantwortlich für die Studie, Christian Pfeiffer, sprach mit der Augsburger Allgemeinen über die Gründe.

Von Michael Pohl

Der niedersächsische Kriminologe Christian Pfeiffer erklärt im Interview, wie es zum Scheitern der Missbrauchsstudie kam, die sein Institut im Auftrag der katholischen Bistümer erstellen sollte, und warum er trotz juristischer Drohungen im Streit mit den Bischöfen hart bleiben will.

Gab es einen unmittelbaren Auslöser für das Scheitern der Studie?

Pfeiffer: Das Scheitern hat eine Geschichte von mehr als zwölf Monaten. Wir hatten eine sehr gute Startphase und einen guten Vertrag mit der Kirche ausgehandelt. Pater Hans Langendörfer und Bischof Stephan Ackermann hatten das Projekt beim Start mit sehr großem Engagement unterstützt. Bis dann im Herbst 2011 aus der Erzdiözese München-Freising Widerstände erkennbar wurden. Generalvikar Peter Beer hat mehr Kontrollrechte für die Kirche gefordert, die es ihr ermöglichen würden, gegebenenfalls auch Veröffentlichungen unseres Instituts zu verbieten.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Berliner Zeitung

Von Florian Leclerc

Als Christian Pfeiffer die Zensurwünsche der katholischen Kirche anprangerte, meinte er damit das von Kardinal Marx geleitete Erzbistum München und Freising. Der Angegriffene holt zum Gegenschlag aus.

Der Erzbischof von München und Freising, Kardinal Reinhard Marx, hat den Zensurvorwurf um die gestoppte Studie zu Missbrauchsfällen in der katholischen Kirche zurückgewiesen. “Von Zensur kann überhaupt nicht die Rede sein”, sagte Marx dem Bayerischen Rundfunk.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Die Welt

Hannover/Berlin (dapd-bay). Im Streit über die Aufklärung der Missbrauchsfälle in der katholischen Kirche verschärft der Kriminologe Christian Pfeiffer den Angriffe auf das Erzbistum München und Freising. Der dortige Generalvikar Peter Beer sei vielleicht der Einzige gewesen, der die möglichen Konsequenzen der Forschungsergebnisse habe ermessen können, sagte Pfeiffer in einem dapd-Interview und verwies darauf, dass München als erstes Bistum einen Missbrauchsbericht erstellen ließ.

Der Zeitung “Augsburger Allgemeine” sagte der Kriminologe: “Vielleicht waren die Ergebnisse ja so katastrophal, dass der dortige Generalvikar die Folgerung zog, dass die Kirche eine weitere Forschung nur zulassen könne, wenn man die Wissenschaftler unter ähnlicher Kontrolle hat wie eigene Anwälte.” Wenn die “allererste Probebohrung” sehr erschreckende Erkenntnisse gebracht habe, “dann kann ich nachvollziehen, dass der Einzige, der diese unveröffentlichten Ergebnisse kennt, mehr Kontrolle verlangt”.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Business-on

Hannover/Hamburg. In dem Streit um die Gründe für das Scheitern der Missbrauchsstudie haben nun die Juristen das Wort. Die Deutsche Bischofskonferenz wehrt sich gegen die Zensur-Vorwürfe, die der Kriminologe Christian Pfeiffer erhoben hat.

Der Leiter des Kriminologischen Forschungsinstituts Niedersachsen sagte dem Hörfunksender NDR Kultur, er sei von der katholischen Kirche aufgefordert worden, eine Unterlassungserklärung zu unterschreiben.

Der Leiter des Forschungsinstituts erklärte: “Ich habe gestern eine Mail bekommen, die nicht mit einer rechtsgültigen Unterschrift versehen ist und bei der die Vollmacht fehlte. Solange ich nicht durch Unterschrift bestätigt bekommen habe, dass die Bischofskonferenz tatsächlich eine solche Erklärung von mir wünscht, habe ich keine Veranlassung, darauf überhaupt irgendwie zu reagieren. Also, ich warte darauf, dass in rechtsgültiger Form mir das Ganze versehen mit einer Vollmacht, die ordentlich unterschrieben ist, zugeht. Ohne dieses geht nichts.”

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DEUTSCHLAND
Ruhr Nachrichten

BERLIN Nach der Aufkündigung der Zusammenarbeit mit dem Kriminologen Christian Pfeiffer bei der Aufklärung des Missbrauchsskandals hält die Kritik an den katholischen Bischöfen an. Im Interview mit Rasmus Buchsteiner wehrt sich Stephan Ackermann, Bischof von Trier und Missbrauchsbeauftragter der Deutschen Bischofskonferenz.

Von Rasmus Buchsteiner

Bischof Ackermann, die katholische Kirche hat ein Forschungsvorhaben des Kriminologen Christian Pfeiffer zur Aufarbeitung des sexuellen Missbrauchs durch Priester gestoppt. Wurde die Arbeit eines unabhängigen Forschers zensiert und kontrolliert?

Ackermann: Von Zensur oder Kontrolle kann keine Rede sein. Es geht nicht nur um Zahlen, sondern auch um Interpretation. Unser Anliegen war, dass wir unsere Sicht auf die Dinge ebenfalls öffentlich darlegen können. Wir wollten unser Votum mit einbringen. Es ging uns ausdrücklich nicht darum, unliebsame Dinge unter den Teppich zu kehren oder wegzustreichen. Wir erwarten, dass Professor Pfeiffer seinen Zensurvorwurf nicht mehr wiederholt, und haben ihm daher eine Unterlassungserklärung zukommen lassen.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Badische Zeitung

Erst vereinbaren alle deutschen Bistümer die Aufklärung von jahrzehntelang vertuschten Missbrauchsfällen, dann platzt die Studie. Was sagt Klaus Mertes, Leiter des Jesuitenkollegs in St. Blasien, dazu?

ST. BLASIEN. Erst vereinbaren alle deutschen Bistümer die Aufklärung von jahrzehntelang vertuschten Missbrauchsfällen, dann platzt die Studie nach Gegenwind aus Teilen der katholischen Kirche. Einen Machtkampf zwischen konservativen und reformgesinnten Kräften in der Deutschen Bischofskonferenz vermuten Experten. Sebastian Barthmes sprach darüber mit dem Direktor des Jesuitenkollegs in St. Blasien, Klaus Mertes (58). Er hatte die Aufdeckung von Missbrauchsfällen in der katholischen Kirche ausgelöst.

BZ: Die Aufarbeitung der Missbrauchsfälle und das Verhindern von Gewalt jeglicher Art sind für Sie und das damals auch betroffene Kolleg St. Blasien ein wichtiges Anliegen. Welche Folgen hat die Kündigung des Vertrags mit dem Forschungsinstitut durch die Bischofskonferenz aus Ihrer Sicht?
Mertes: Ich kenne weder das Forschungsinstitut noch das Konzept der geplanten Studie und auch nicht den Konflikt, der jetzt aufgebrochen ist. Deswegen kann ich nichts Seriöses dazu beitragen. Die Aufarbeitung der Missbrauchsfälle bleibt natürlich ein wichtiges Anliegen. Schlimm ist: Der Vorgang, den Herr Pfeiffer und die Bischofskonferenz zu verantworten haben, erschüttert das Vertrauen in den innerkirchlichen Aufklärungswillen – und das ist ein großer Schaden, sowohl für die betroffenen Opfer als auch für diejenigen, die konkret vor Ort die Arbeit machen.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Sueddeutsche

Von Roland Preuß und Matthias Drobinski

Christian Pfeiffer spricht heute von einem “tragischen Missverständnis”. Die katholische Kirche habe geglaubt, sich einer wissenschaftlichen Aufarbeitung ihrer Missbrauchsfälle stellen zu können – und dennoch die Kontrolle zu behalten. Der Direktor des Kriminologischen Forschungsinstituts Niedersachsen (KFN) spricht deshalb von “Zensurwünschen”, an denen das gemeinsame Forschungsprojekt gescheitert sei. Der Streit wird nun voraussichtlich vor Gericht ausgetragen werden. Die Bischofskonferenz ließ ihm eine Unterlassungserklärung zukommen, in der Pfeiffer zusichern soll, den Vorwurf der Zensur nicht zu wiederholen. “Die werden wir natürlich nicht unterzeichnen”, sagt Pfeiffer.

Damit bahnt sich eine weitere Eskalation an in der Zerrüttungsgeschichte, die der Kirche bereits reichlich Kritik eingetragen hat. Selbst der Präsident des Zentralkomitees der deutschen Katholiken (ZDK), Alois Glück, nannte das Scheitern der KFN-Studie einen “außerordentlich schädlichen Vorgang”. Dem SWR sagte Glück, er erwarte von der nächsten Sitzung der Bischofskonferenz Ende Januar, dass dort der “Aufklärungswillen” bekräftigt werde. Wie das Projekt weitergehen soll, ist noch unklar.

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AUSTRALIA
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney

Catholic Communications, Sydney Archdiocese,
11 Jan 2013

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has announced the Terms of Reference for the Royal Commission into institutionalised child sexual abuse and named the six commissioners.

The chief commissioner is Justice Peter McClellan AM, currently the Chief Judge at Common Law of the Supreme Court of New South Wales.

Announcing the details in Sydney with the Attorney-General, Nicola Roxon and Family Services Minister, Jenny Macklin, the Prime Minister said she believed too many children were subjected to shocking sexual abuse and were not provided with a safe childhood.

She said the Royal Commission would provide advice and recommendations to the government “in as timely a way as possible” with an interim report expected in 18 months and a final report in three years – although this could be extended.

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