ABUSE TRACKER

AUSTRALIA
9 News

A Catholic priest will face court charged with indecently assaulting two teenage boys at a school in the NSW Hunter region in the 1960s.

Police on Thursday served court attendance notices on the 83-year-old Glenbrook man’s legal representatives in Sydney.

He is facing eight counts of indecent assault with a child under 16 years.

Police allege the offences occurred in the early to mid 1960s when the man was teaching at a school in Newcastle.

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PHILADELHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

Joseph A. Slobodzian, Inquirer Staff Writer

Posted: Thursday, January 10, 2013

Testimony is to begin Monday in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court in the trial of a priest and a former parochial-school teacher charged with sexually assaulting a 10-year-old altar boy at a Northeast parish in the late 1990s.

Judge Ellen Ceisler confirmed the start of testimony Wednesday after prosecution and defense lawyers completed picking a panel of 12 jurors and six alternates to hear the evidence against the Rev. Charles Engelhardt, 66, and Bernard Shero, 49.

Jury selection began Monday and concluded Wednesday with two final jurors and six alternates. The final panel is composed of eight men and four women, with four male and two female alternates.

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MARYLAND
Delmarva Now

Written by
Brian Shane
Staff Writer

OCEAN CITY — Ocean City Police have brought child abuse and sex offense charges against a former priest, dating to an encounter with a teenage boy in the resort more than 30 years ago.

Bruno Michael Tucci, now 70, is alleged to have fondled a 15-year-old boy while on an excursion to Ocean City in August 1981. Because there is no statute of limitations on child abuse in Maryland, Tucci can still be brought up on charges.

According to court documents, Tucci allegedly inappropriately tickled and put his hands up the boy’s shorts while they were staying at the Tides Motel. A short time later, Tucci excused himself and went into the bathroom and closed the bathroom door.

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UNITED STATES
TheMediaReport

Factual distortion … Misleading claims … Bigoted sources … Here is the definitive review of Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God, a new film by Alex Gibney, scheduled to begin airing on HBO on February 4.

Gibney’s documentary purports to chronicle the stomach-turning case of deceased Catholic priest Rev. Lawrence Murphy, who reportedly abused dozens of students while working at St. John’s School for the Deaf in St. Francis, Wisconsin, from 1950 to 1974. Indeed, there can be no doubt that Murphy wreaked immeasurable harm upon his innocent victims.

However, after thoroughly studying the film, TheMediaReport.com’s Dave Pierre has commented:

“Considering the vast media coverage over the issue in the past two decades, the topic of sex abuse in the Catholic Church is certainly worthy of an honest and compelling documentary. Sadly, Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God does not qualify as one. The film is so consumed by its desire to browbeat the Catholic Church that honesty, fairness, and perspective have been lost.

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NEW YORK
National Catholic Reporter

by Jamie Manson | Jan. 9, 2013

Carmen Villegas occupied the church years before “occupy” became a movement.

Six years ago, she and a group of parishioners made local headlines when they protested the closing of Our Lady Queen of Angels, a church that had served their East Harlem community since 1886. The parish was among 21 churches and nine schools in the Archdiocese of New York that were casualties of Cardinal Edward Egan’s cost-saving closures in 2007.

When almost 40 parishioners assembled for a peaceful witness on the sidewalk outside of the church on East 113th Street on the evening of Feb. 12, 2007, the archdiocese saw fit to send in private security guards to “protect” the church from its lifelong members. …

The Gonzalez family petitioned the archdiocese to again reopen the church for one day in order to honor their mother’s last request to have her funeral held in the parish she called home for more than 50 years. But Egan refused.

Rather than have their mother’s funeral at a church she did not know, the Gonzalez family held her funeral on the sidewalk outside of Our Lady Queen of Angels. Renowned mujerista theologian Ada Maria Isasi-Diaz, a member of the parish who passed away in May 2012, was among many mourners to speak at the streetside service.

“Church is not a building. Church is the community,” Isasi-Diaz said. “We take very literally the teaching that the church is a community of the believers.”

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LAS CRUCES (NM)
Roman Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces

Las Cruces, New Mexico, January 9, 2013

The Most Reverend Ricardo Ramírez, C.S.B, the first and only Roman Catholic Bishop of Las Cruces, to date, announced his retirement on his 75th birthday in 2011. Since that time, Bishop Ramírez has been leading the diocese in prayer for a new bishop, a leader who will guide with wisdom, truth, compassion and care.

Pope Benedict XVI has now chosen his successor and Bishop will announce the name of his successor at a Press Conference at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, 1240 S. Espina, Las Cruces, NM, on Thursday, January 10, 2013 at 10:00 a.m.

In 1982, Bishop Ramírez was appointed by Pope John Paul II to lead the newly formed Diocese of Las Cruces. Bishop accepted the position and took his newly formed diocese from a blank sheet of paper to the thriving diocese that it is today, 30 years later. Along the way he became one of the most preeminent Hispanic bishops in the country.

Bishop Ramírez is an educator, theologian, peacemaker, and spiritual leader for all faiths. Bishop is well-known for his unifying multicultural and ecumenical approach to evangelization and service. During the last three decades, Bishop Ramírez reached out to others to build communities of love, justice, forgiveness and reconciliation. Bishop Ramírez is a humble shepherd whose lifelong endeavors have made a unique contribution in affirming life’s spiritual dimension.

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LAS CRUCES (NM)
Sun-News

Sun-News reportlcsun-news.com
Posted: 01/09/2013

LAS CRUCES – The Most Rev. Ricardo Ramírez, C.S.B, the first and only Roman Catholic Bishop of Las Cruces to date, will announce his successor, chosen by Pope Benedict XVI, at 10 a.m. Thursday at a press conference at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Heart of Mary 1240 S. Espina.

Bishop announced his retirement on his 75th birthday in 2011. Since that time, Bishop Ramírez has been leading the diocese in prayer for a new bishop, a leader who will guide with wisdom, truth, compassion and care.

In 1982, Bishop Ramírez was appointed by Pope John Paul II to lead the newly formed Diocese of Las Cruces. Bishop accepted the position and took his newly formed diocese from a blank sheet of paper to the thriving diocese that it is today, 30 years later. Along the way he became one of the most preeminent Hispanic bishops in the country.

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OKLAHOMA
Washington Post

Ex-Okla. teacher pleads no contest, retired Pa. professor pleads guilty to child porn charges

By Associated Press

Updated: Wednesday, January 9

SHAWNEE, Okla. — A retired college professor pleaded guilty Wednesday and a former third-grade teacher pleaded no contest to child exploitation and pornography charges after prosecutors said the Oklahoma teacher took photos of her students dancing in their underwear and shared them with the man in Pennsylvania.

Kimberly Crain of Shawnee and retired professor of early childhood development Gary Doby of Bloomsburg, Pa., entered pleas in Pottawatomie County District Court. They had been scheduled for trial Monday.

Judge John Carnavan Jr. sentenced Doby to life in prison on each of the exploitation counts and set Crain’s sentencing for March 22. The judge told Crain she faces a minimum of 25 years, but the prosecutor said he’ll seek the maximum.

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OKLAHOMA
Fox 25

Thursday morning former Oklahoma Baptist University professor Gary Doby has plead guilty to 20 counts of crimes against children and was sentenced to life in prison. He will be required to serve more than 38 years before becoming eligible for parole. McLoud District school teacher Kimberly Crain also entered a no contest plea with her formal sentencing March 22nd, 2013, in Pottawatomie District Courts.

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OKLAHOMA
Oklahoman

By Andrew Knittle | Published: January 9, 2013

SHAWNEE — Former McLoud elementary teacher Kimberly Crain pleaded no contest to sex crimes involving children Wednesday and former Oklahoma Baptist University professor Gary Doby pleaded guilty in the case.

Doby, who has gone by the name “Uncle G,” was given a life sentence and must serve more than 38 years before becoming eligible for parole. Crain has not been sentenced yet, but the judge in the case said she will get at least 25 years.

Both were in Pottawatomie County District Court Wednesday. Crain taught third grade at the rural district until her resignation in November 2011.

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VERMONT
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by David Clohessy on January 09, 2013

We are glad these brave victims will be spared the stress of a trial. And we are grateful to those who were courageous enough to step forward and wise enough to seek justice in court. We hope this settlement will help bring them sorely-needed closure and healing.

At the same time, however, no single event can magically erase decades of pain. So we strongly urge these victims to continue in therapy, twelve step programs and support groups. Long after the checks are cut and the public forgets about these cases, these deeply wounded victims will likely still need help coping with the often life-altering impact of horrific childhood betrayal.

At the same time, we are disappointed in the Vermont Catholic hierarchy. Why can’t they help suffering victims promptly and without the pressure of an impending trial?

And how long have they known of but kept secret about credible child sex abuse allegations against Fr. Dussault (who, we believe, has never been publicly accused before). Whatever became of the repeated promises by Catholic bishops to be ‘open and transparent’ about child sex cases?

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CAMDEN (NJ)
Patch

A group of sexual abuse survivors slammed the Catholic Church’s choice of New York Auxiliary Bishop Dennis Sullivan to become the new Bishop of Camden, critizing Sullivan’s record and the Archdiocese of New York’s record on alleged abuse by clergy.

“He’s a member of the completely ineffectual US bishops sex abuse panel which functions largely as window dressing for a public relations campaign masquerading as reform,” said Barbara Dorris, outreach director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), which has a membership of 12,000 nationwide. “He’s part of the New York archdiocese which, in recent years, has had a disappointing and deceptive track record in clergy sex abuse and cover up cases.”

“As he has repeatedly in the past, Pope Benedict is again promoting a cleric who shows no signs whatsoever of acting more responsibly with the safety of kids.”

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GERMANY
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by Barbara Blaine on January 09, 2013

Once again, Catholic officials are backing away from a commitment they’ve made about the pedophile priest crisis.

This time, it’s German prelates. They’re reneging on what they promised would be an independent study of clergy sex crimes.

We’re disappointed but not the least bit surprised. When clergy sex abuse and cover up scandals erupt, bishops often promise the sun and moon and stars to mollify parishioners and the public. When attention begins to shift elsewhere, bishops often quietly pull back from their pledges and go back to “business as usual.”

Church officials can’t or won’t adopt meaningful reform. Such pressure must come from external sources and secular authorities. We hope that government and law enforcement officials understand this and will step up their efforts accordingly, so that German children are safe from child molesting clerics and their complicit church colleagues.

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VERMONT
Rutland Herald

By KEVIN O’CONNOR
STAFF WRITER | January 09,2013

Three years after paying more than $20 million to close almost 30 priest misconduct lawsuits, Vermont’s Catholic Church settled a dozen new cases Wednesday just minutes before the first was set for trial.

The state’s largest religious denomination had hoped to rid itself of nearly a decade of lurid headlines and legal headaches in 2010 when it sold its historic 32-acre Burlington headquarters and 26-acre Colchester Camp Holy Cross to make good with all its then-known accusers. But that settlement didn’t preclude other former altar boys and young male churchgoers alleging sexual abuse from filing later lawsuits.

Lawyers for the first of 12 new plaintiffs were scheduled to argue their case in U.S. District Court in Burlington Wednesday at 10 a.m. But attorneys for the statewide Roman Catholic Diocese offered a settlement just minutes before the start of opening statements.

Neither church counsel Thomas McCormick nor Burlington lawyer Jerome O’Neill, representing all but two of the three dozen past and present plaintiffs, would reveal the amount of the settlement.

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VERMONT
Burlington Free Press

Written by
Sam Hemingway
Free Press Staff Writer

The state’s Roman Catholic diocese agreed Wednesday to settle 11 priest sexual abuse cases moments before a trial on one of the cases was set to get underway today at U.S. District Court in Burlington.

“We settled it,” Jerome O’Neill, the lead attorney for the alleged victims in the cases, said outside the courtroom. “It was a negotiation that had been going on for a long time and the diocese this morning accepted our demand and agreed to pay it.”

O’Neill and Tom McCormick, a lawyer for the diocese, declined to disclose the settlement amount. McCormick said the settlement was approved after the diocese reached an agreement settling a separate lawsuit with its insurer.

“The bishop, in consultation with his board of advisors, authorized the settlement,” McCormick said later Wednesday morning.

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UNITED STATES/UNITED KINGDOM
International Business Times

By Julian Kossoff

January 9, 2013

Orthodox Jewish communities in New York and London are reeling from a series of sex scandals that have exposed a close-knit world which has sought to silence the victims.

In New York, Brooklyn Jewish leader Nechemya Weberman is due to be sent to prison after being found guilty on 60 charges of child sex abuse, for molesting a girl he was counselling over a three-year span beginning when the girl was 12.

Weberman is a member of the fiercely private Satmar Hasidic sect, one of the largest and most powerful within the Charedi (ultra Orthodox) world. In the run up to his trial in December 2012, four Satmar members were arrested for allegedly trying to bribe the victim.

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GERMANY
Reuters

By Tom Heneghan

January 9, 2013

Germany’s Roman Catholic bishops sacked a criminologist studying sexual abuse of minors by their priests on Wednesday, prompting him to accuse them of trying to censor what was to be a major report on the scandals.

The independent study, examining church files sometimes dating back to 1945, was meant to shed light on undiscovered cases of abuse after about 600 people filed claims against molesting priests in 2010 following a wave of revelations there.

The German scandals were part of a series of abuse scandals that also shook the Catholic Church in Ireland, Belgium and the Netherlands and forced Pope Benedict to issue a public apology.

Bishop Stephan Ackermann, spokesman on abuse issues for the German Bishops Conference, said the hierarchy had lost confidence in the researcher, criminologist Christian Pfeiffer, and would look for another specialist to take up the study.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Hamburger Abendblatt

Bonn/Trier/Würzburg. Nach dem vorläufigen Scheitern der Missbrauchsstudie haben Opfervertreter erneut eine unabhängige Aufklärung der Vorfälle durch den Bundestag gefordert. “Die katholische Kirche ist offensichtlich mit der Aufarbeitung überfordert”, teilte der Opferzusammenschluss Eckiger Tisch am Mittwoch in Berlin mit.

“Drei Jahre nach den ersten Veröffentlichungen liegen noch immer keinerlei detaillierte Zahlen und Informationen über das Ausmaß der Missbrauchsfälle in der katholischen Kirche in Deutschland vor.” Ähnlich wie in den Niederlanden solle nun eine vom Parlament eingesetzte Kommission tätig werden, fordert der Eckige Tisch.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Bild

Skandalakten vernichtet?

Sie leiden bis heute, die Opfer von damals. Missbraucht als Kinder – von Priestern, von Vertrauten. Wurde das Treiben doch bekannt, entließ die Kirche die Beteiligten – oder versetzte sie einfach. Und schwieg darüber.

Bis immer mehr Missbrauchsfälle an die Öffentlichkeit kamen, Erwachsene von den schrecklichen Erlebnissen ihrer Kindheit erzählten. Erst da stellte sich die Kirche ihrer Verantwortung und beauftragte im Juli 2011 eine Studie zu sexualisierter Gewalt durch Priester.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Frankfurter Allgemeine

Ein Frühwarnsystem schaffen für Gewalt gegen Kinder: Damit hatte sich der Kriminologe Christian Pfeiffer immer wieder beschäftigt. Nach Amokläufen Jugendlicher oder nach Missbrauchsfällen gegen Kinder, die die Öffentlichkeit bewegten: Stets sind Rat und Einschätzung Pfeiffers gefragt von Politikern oder durch Medien. So gewann er das Bild eines „Medienprofessors“ wie kaum ein anderer.

Die Aufmerksamkeit half ihm auch. Sie trugen dazu bei, dass das von ihm seit 25 Jahren – unterbrochen von drei Jahren als niedersächsischer Justizminister – geleitete unabhängige Kriminologische Institut Niedersachsen Aufträge erhielt und sich damit finanzieren konnte. Äußere und innere Unabhängigkeit ist ihm ein Glaubenssatz.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Die Welt

Berlin/München (dapd-bay). Der vorläufige Stopp einer wissenschaftlichen Aufarbeitung des Missbrauchsskandals bringt die katholische Kirche in Deutschland in Bedrängnis.

Bundesjustizministerin Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger (FDP) forderte vom Vorsitzenden der Bischofskonferenz, Robert Zollitsch, eine schnelle Aufklärung der Zensurvorwürfe des Kriminologen Christian Pfeiffer. Die amtskirchenkritische Bewegung “Wir sind Kirche” hielt den Bischöfen vor, ihnen fehle der ernsthafte Wille zur wirklichen Aufklärung. Die Kirche verteidigte ihr Vorgehen.

Die Deutsche Bischofskonferenz (DBK) hatte zuvor die Zusammenarbeit mit dem Kriminologischen Forschungsinstitut Niedersachsen (KFN) beendet. Das Vertrauensverhältnis zwischen dessen Direktor Pfeiffer und den deutschen Bischöfen sei zerrüttet, begründete der DBK- Missbrauchsbeauftragte Stephan Ackermann die Entscheidung. Der Trierer Bischof betonte: “Vertrauen ist aber für ein so umfangreiches und sensibles Projekt unverzichtbar.” Im Deutschlandfunk warf er dem Wissenschaftler vor, er habe “zwischendurch immer wieder Absprachen, die wir getroffen hatten, uminterpretiert”. Die Bischöfe hätten immer wieder Angst haben müssen, dass Pfeiffer Daten zu früh veröffentliche.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Die Welt

München – Die Laienorganisation «Wir sind Kirche» sieht im vorläufigen Scheitern der Missbrauchsstudie ein verheerendes Signal für die Glaubwürdigkeit der katholischen Bischöfe. «Die verschiedenen Einzelmaßnahmen der vergangenen drei Jahre können nicht darüber hinwegtäuschen, dass die deutschen Bischöfe bisher wohl immer noch nicht zu einer unabhängigen Aufarbeitung und Ursachenforschung sexualisierter Gewalt bereit sind», sagte Sprecher Christian Weisner am Mittwoch in München.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Frankfurter Rundschau

Die katholische Kirche fürchtet wieder einmal sehr wohl die Wahrheit – und gibt im Zweifel dem Selbstschutz den Vorrang vor Selbstkritik und Transparenz.

Die Kirche fürchtet gewiss nicht die Wahrheit. Diesen Satz formulierte Johannes Paul II. im Jahr 1999, vor dem Missbrauchsskandal und mit Blick auf die Öffnung der vatikanischen Archive für die Historiker. Er versah sein beherzt-trotziges Bekenntnis zur Quellenforschung denn auch mit einem wichtigen Nebensatz: keine Furcht vor der Wahrheit, fuhr der Papst fort, „die aus der Geschichte kommt“. Was aber, wenn die unangenehmen Wahrheiten an die Gegenwart heranreichen und Funktionäre betreffen, die bis heute in Ämtern und Würden sind? Gilt dann weiter die Schotten-dicht-Doktrin? Verdrängen, leugnen und beschwichtigen Bischöfe dann weiter so, wie Johannes Paul II. höchst persönlich es tat, als Missbrauchsvorwürfe gegen den Gründer der „Legionäre Christi“ laut wurden, einer vom Papst stark geförderten Ordensgemeinschaft?

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DEUTSCHLAND
Focus

Um die wissenschaftliche Aufarbeitung des Missbrauchsskandals in der katholischen Kirche ist heftiger Streit entbrannt, in dessen Folge das Projekt zu scheitern droht.

Die Deutsche Bischofskonferenz und der von ihr mit der umfassenden Untersuchung beauftragte Kriminologe Christian Pfeiffer erheben schwere Vorwürfe gegeneinander. Noch ist das Aus der bereits 2011 angekündigten Studie noch nicht besiegelt: „Ob mit Pfeiffer oder ohne, das Projekt läuft weiter“, sagte der Sprecher der Deutschen Bischofskonferenz, Matthias Kopp, am Dienstag der Nachrichtenagentur dpa. Beide Seiten haben sich bis Ende dieser Woche eine Frist gesetzt, um über den Fortgang der Studie zu entscheiden.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Heute

Aufklärungsprojekt zum Missbrauch vorerst gescheitert

Es sollte ein Befreiuungsschlag werden: das Aufklärungsprojekt der katholischen Kirche zum Missbrauch Minderjähriger. Doch nun ist es im Streit zwischen Kirche und Kriminologischem Forschungsinstitut erstmal gescheitert.

Die umfassende Aufarbeitung der Missbrauchsfälle in der katholischen Kirche ist vorerst gescheitert. Die Zusammenarbeit zwischen dem Kriminologischen Forschungsinstitut Niedersachsen (KFN) und der Deutschen Bischofskonferenz sei beendet worden, sagte KFN-Leiter Christian Pfeiffer im Morgenmagazin des ZDF. Als Ursache nannte Pfeiffer die zu starken Kontrollwünsche von Seiten der Kirche, denen das Institut nicht nachgeben wollte.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Zeit

Eine unabhängige Missbrauchsstudie passte der Katholischen Kirche nicht mehr, sagt Betroffenensprecher Denef im Interview. Weil sie keine Verantwortung übernehmen will.

ZEIT ONLINE: Die Katholische Kirche hat das Forschungsprojekt zur Aufarbeitung ihres Missbrauchsskandals vorerst gestoppt. Warum ist die Studie ihrer Ansicht nach gescheitert?

Norbert Denef: Die Bischofskonferenz versprach unter dem Druck der Öffentlichkeit eine Aufklärung. Tatsächlich gibt es in der Kirche auch Kreise, die einen Täterschutz wollen und die Taten als “Fehltritte” bagatellisieren. Der römisch-katholischen Kirche selbst fällt es bei jedem konkreten Einzelfall schwer, die Verbrechen einzugestehen und eine Mitverantwortung zu übernehmen. Und natürlich passt eine Schuld der Kirche nicht in das Konzept der stärker werdenden reaktionären Kreise, für die eine Unfehlbarkeit und der moralische Alleinvertretungsanspruch nicht verhandelbar sind. Darum wurden seitens der Kirche immer mehr Nachbesserungen verlangt. Eine unabhängige Studie war nicht mehr gewünscht. Zum Schluss wurde der Vertrag, wie man uns berichtet hat, aufgekündigt. Nach anderthalb Jahren ist also außer Spesen nichts gewesen.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Sueddeutsche

Ein Kommentar von Matthias Drobinski

Die Geschichte vom Jüngling Narzissus, erfüllt vom trotzigen Stolz auf die eigene Schönheit, endet tragisch: Die Götter verdonnern ihn, sich ins eigene Spiegelbild zu verlieben. Getrieben von unstillbarer Selbstliebe bringt er sich um; andere erzählen, er sei ins Wasser gefallen und ertrunken, als ein Blatt herniederfiel und die Wellen das gespiegelte Gesicht verzerrten. Narzissmus jedenfalls – die Unfähigkeit, anderes zu sehen als sich selbst – ist gefährlich. Es kann im sozialen und realen Tod enden.

Die katholische Kirche steckt in dieser Narzissmusfalle, was die Aufarbeitung des Missbrauchsskandals angeht, der vor nun drei Jahren offenbar wurde: Sie kann den Blick nicht von sich selber abwenden. Sie hat, anders als der arme Narziss, in diesen drei Jahren zum Glück gelernt, dass das Gesicht, das ihr da entgegenblickt, auch Falten, Wunden und Flecken hat. Aber sie ist gefangen, kann den Blick nicht heben, fragt furchtsam und auch selbstmitleidig: Wo soll das hingehen mit uns? Was muss geschehen, damit unser Bild, unser Image, wieder besser wird?

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DEUTSCHLAND
Die Presse

Berlin/Gau. „Canisius-Kolleg: Missbrauchsfälle an Berliner Eliteschule“, prangte Ende Jänner 2010 in großen Lettern auf dem Titelblatt der „Berliner Morgenpost“. So erfuhr eine schockierte Öffentlichkeit, dass zwei Patres an dem Jesuitengymnasium in den 1970er- und 1980er-Jahren systematisch Schüler sexuell missbraucht hatten. Der Skandal weitete sich rasch aus. Bald wurde klar: An vielen kirchlichen Einrichtungen in Deutschland (und Österreich und anderen Ländern) hatten sich Priester an Kindern und Jugendlichen vergangen.

Vertrauensverlust, Austrittswelle, Hagel an Kritik: Die deutsche katholische Kirche erlebte die schwerste Krise ihrer jüngeren Geschichte. Nach längerem Zögern traten die Bischöfe die Flucht nach vorne an: Für viele überraschend beauftragten sie im Juli 2011 das Kriminologische Forschungsinstitut Niedersachsen (KFN) mit einer wissenschaftlichen Aufarbeitung der Fälle. Es sollte die weltweit größte Untersuchung zum Thema werden. Rückhaltlose Offenheit statt Vertuschung, lautete die Devise. „Ein Wunder, das es auch in Kirchenkreisen immer wieder gibt“, frohlockte Stephan Ackermann, Missbrauchsbeauftragter und Bischof von Trier. Doch das Wunder blieb aus. Am Mittwoch teilte Ackermann mit, dass man den Vertrag mit sofortiger Wirkung kündige. Grund sei ein „zerrüttetes Vertrauensverhältnis“ zu Institutsleiter Christian Pfeiffer.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Sudwest Presse

Die katholische Kirche wirft Ihnen vor, das Vertrauensverhältnis gestört zu haben. Deshalb habe sie das Forschungsprojekt gekündigt. Was ist vorgefallen?

CHRISTIAN PFEIFFER: Ich muss erst einmal Positives zu Bischof Ackermann sagen. Er hat sich außerordentlich um das Gelingen des Projektes bemüht. Er stand auch an unserer Seite, als es erste Anzeichen gab, dass einige Diözesen mehr Macht für die Kirche wünschen. Doch es ist ihm leider nicht gelungen, die Abweichler zu überzeugen. Der VDD hat uns im Mai 2012 einen neuen Vertrag abverlangt, um die Bischöfe zu beruhigen.

Das heißt ein bestehender Vertrag sollte einseitig verschärft werden .

PFEIFFER: Ja, man hat von uns verlangt, dass wir Regelungen zustimmen, die der Kirche ein Zensurrecht einräumen. Im Einzelnen hieß das, dass wir alle Texte zur Genehmigung vorlegen – Doktorarbeiten, Forschungsaufsätze, Habilitationen – und dass die Kirche dann entscheidet, ob sie den Text freigibt oder Änderungen wünscht. Widersetzten wir uns den Änderungswünschen, hätte sie das Recht gehabt, die Veröffentlichung zu verbieten. Der Vertrauensverlust ist dann, vielleicht dadurch entstanden, dass ich sehr deutlich sagte, dass wir Zensur zuletzt in der DDR hatten. Mit scharfer Kritik können die Bischöfe nicht umgehen.

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VERMONT
Burlington Free Press

Written by
Sam Hemingway
Free Press Staff Writer

A settlement was reached in federal court in Burlington today just before a trial involving clerical sex abuse was set to begin.

Lawyers for the state’s Roman Catholic diocese and a plaintiff alleging he was molested as a boy in 1974, would not disclose the amount of money agreed upon in the settlement as they left the courtroom.

The case involved allegations that a Rutland youth being trained to be an altar boy was molested by the Rev. Edward Paquette in 1974.

The victim, now a resident of California, says he was 12 years old when the incident occurred at Christ the King Church in Rutland, according to court documents. He said Paquette molested him two or three times.

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VERMONT
News-Times

BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) — A lawsuit filed against Vermont’s Catholic Diocese of Burlington by a man who claimed he was sexually abused by a priest has been settled.

The settlement was reached Wednesday before the federal court trial was to get under way.

The Burlington Free Press (http://bfpne.ws/UKYX7A ) reports lawyers for both sides refused to disclose the settlement details.

The former Rutland youth claimed he was molested by the Rev. Edward Paquette in 1974 when he was 12.

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GERMANY
GlobalPost

Jessica Phelan
January 9, 2013

BERLIN, Germany — The Roman Catholic Church in Germany has called off an investigation into alleged sexual abuse by members of the clergy.

The independent inquiry was commissioned in 2011, in response to accusations of abuse at multiple Catholic schools across Germany….

A panel of retired prosecutors and judges, led by Professor Christian Pfeiffer of the Criminological Research Institute of Lower Saxony, was responsible for looking into the allegations against Church employees.

Pfeiffer told German newspaper the Süddeutsche Zeitung that Church officials had attempted to “censor” his team’s findings, seeking to control which results would be made public and to select which researchers were allowed to be involved.

Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger told the paper that she had demanded an immediate explanation from the Church.

The Bishops’ Conference denies that it is failing to confront the issue and says it plans to commission a new abuse inquiry from a different team in the coming months.

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GERMANY
The New Age

Germany’s Roman Catholic Church said on Wednesday it had severed ties with criminologists commissioned to research sexual abuse by clergy in a row over the right to publish their findings.

The Church announced in July 2011 it would open its archives, which date back to the end of World War II, to shed light on abuse claims, tasking the northern Criminological Research Institute of Lower Saxony to analyse evidence.

But “mutual trust” between the Bishops’ Conference and the head of the research centre has been “shattered”, the bishops complained, adding they would now search for a new partner in the project.

Bishop Stephan Ackermann, appointed to handle issues surrounding claims of sexual abuse of minors, said they had been forced to terminate their contract with the institute “for an important reason with immediate effect”.

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GERMANY
Spiegel

By Barbara Hans

An independent inquiry into sex abuse in the German Catholic Church was supposed to restore faith in the embattled institution. But now the Church has called it off, citing a breakdown in trust with the researchers. The country’s justice minister has demanded that an inquiry continue, though.

It was a major promise after a major disaster: In summer 2011, the Catholic Church in Germany pledged full transparency. One year earlier, an abuse scandal had shaken the country’s faithful, as an increasing number of cases surfaced in which priests had sexually abused children and then hidden behind a wall of silence.

The Lower Saxony Criminological Research Institute (KFN) was given the job of investigating the cases in 2011. The personnel files from churches in all 27 dioceses were to be examined for cases of abuse in an attempt to win back some of the Church’s depleted credibility.

But now the Church has called off the study, citing a breakdown in trust. “The relationship of mutual trust between the bishops and the head of the institute has been destroyed,” said the Bishop of Trier, Stephan Ackermann, on Wednesday morning.

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GERMANY
Herald Sun (Australia)

AAP
January 09, 201310:29PM

GERMANY’S Roman Catholic Church has fallen out with a prominent outside expert who was tasked with researching sexual abuse by clergy dating back decades.

The church in 2011 assigned Professor Christian Pfeiffer’s Lower Saxony Criminological Research Institute with analysing data on abuse from German dioceses as far back as 1945. It was part of efforts to address the scandal triggered by revelations in 2010 of abuse in Germany, Pope Benedict XVI’s homeland, and elsewhere.

But the German Bishops Conference said on Wednesday that “mutual trust is shattered” between the bishops and Pfeiffer and it was terminating its agreement with the institute. It said it would seek a new partner for the project.

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GERMANY
Irish Times

Germany’s Roman Catholic bishops cancelled a study into sex abuse scandals within their church today, prompting the lead researcher to accuse them of trying to censor his findings.

Bishop Stephan Ackermann, spokesman on abuse issues for the German Bishops Conference, said the bishops had lost confidence in researcher Christian Pfeiffer and would look for another specialist to continue the study.

Mr Pfeiffer told German Radio the bishops, who had agreed with him in 2011 to open staff files for nine diocese dating back to 1945, had begun demanding changes in the project guidelines including a final veto over publishing its results.

“We regret that this project … cannot be continued and we will have to find a new partner,” Bishop Ackermann said in a statement.

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IRELAND
Irish Times

A report compiled by the committee investigating the treatment of women in Magdalene laundries will be published in about four weeks, Minister for Justice Alan Shatter has said.

It is expected that the final report will be submitted to the Minister within 10 days.

“As soon as I have had an opportunity to read what I understand to be a very substantial report, I will bring it to Government and it will then be published. I expect its publication within approximately four weeks,” Mr Shatter said.

The independent interdepartmental committee, chaired by Senator Martin McAleese,was forced to extend the publication time-frame after new material emerged. The final report was originally due to be published last September and an interim report was published the following month.

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IRELAND
RTE News

Minister for Justice Alan Shatter has announced that he intends to bring the Report on the Magdalene Laundries to Government with a view to publication within four weeks.

The Inter-Departmental Committee chaired by Senator Martin McAleese was set up to establish the facts of the State’s involvement with the Magdalene Laundries.

“I understand that the report will be submitted to me within 10 days by Senator McAleese,” Minister Shatter said.

“As soon as I have had an opportunity to read what I understand to be a very substantial report, I will bring it to Government and it will then be published.”

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IRELAND
Belfast Telegraph

Wednesday, 9 January 2013

A report on state involvement in the slave-like conditions in the Magdalene laundries is expected to be published in four weeks.

Justice Minister Alan Shatter revealed that he will receive what he called a substantial review within 10 days before bringing it to Government.

“As soon as I have had an opportunity to read what I understand to be a very substantial report, I will bring it to Government and it will then be published. I expect its publication within approximately four weeks,” said Mr Shatter.

The timeframe for the review was extended in November after additional material came to light.

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NEW JERSEY
NJ.com

By Anthony G. Attrino/NJ.com
on January 09, 2013

EAST BRUNSWICK – A rabbi who runs a community services program on Lexington Avenue has been arrested and charged with sex crimes that occurred nearly 12 years ago when he was a camp counselor in Pennsylvania, authorities said.

Aryeh Goodman, 30, was arrested Jan. 4 and charged with 12 counts of indecent assault of a person less than 13 years of age – a sex crime categorized as a first-degree misdemeanor, said Trooper Adam Reed of the Pennsylvania State Police.

Goodman is director of Chabbad of East Brunswick, which focuses on educating children.

State police said the assault occurred on June 1, 2001 in Lackawaxen Township, which is in Pike County, Pa.

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GERMANY
Worldcrunch

Germany’s Catholic Church Suddenly Halts Major Study On Priest Sex Abuse

By Roland Preuss*
SUDDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG/Worldcrunch

MUNICH – A major research project set up to shed light on sexual abuse by Catholic priests in Germany has been shelved, according to information obtained by Süddeutsche Zeitung.

Germany’s Catholic Church has cancelled the project, and a letter to that effect has been sent by the German Bishops’ Conference to the Criminal Research Institute of Lower Saxony, which had been mandated by the Church to handle the project.

Project director Christian Pfeiffer told the Süddeutsche Zeitung that the project failed because of the Church’s “wish to censor and control.” Contrary to the original agreement, Church authorities were insisting on a right to choose researchers and determine how and if results would be published.

An agreement had been signed to proceed with the study in July 2011. According to the Criminial Research Institute, the project was to be the most thorough investigation into the subject ever conducted anywhere in the world. The files of all dioceses in Germany – some of them going back to the end of World War II — were to be examined. In-depth interviews with abusers and victims had also been planned.

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NETHERLANDS
National Secular Society (United Kingdom)

Posted: Wed, 09 Jan 2013

After a rush by Catholics in the Netherlands to resign from the Church, a priest, Harm Schilder (right), is putting up the names and photographs of parish members who are attempting to leave “as an encouragement for them to stay”.

Schilder said: “This is a large parish, and I don’t know everyone: by putting up the photos I thought someone might recognise someone they know who they could try to make stay in the Church.”

Mr Schilder denied that it was a form of blackmail. He said: “This isn’t about pointing a finger, naming and shaming”; he intended for the community to pray for the people attempting to leave the church and to “persuade them to stay.”

Members of the church wishing to leave are required to send a letter to their priest along with a photocopy of their identity papers. It is photographs from these documents that will be displayed in the entrance porch to Schilder’s church in the southern city of Tilburg.

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CANADA
Times-Colonist

Louise Dickson , Times Colonist January 9, 2013

Inappropriate conduct is not criminal conduct, the defence argued Tuesday during final submissions at Father Phil Jacobs’s trial for sexual offences against three youths.

Jacobs, 63, who was parish priest at St. Joseph the Worker in Saanich from 1997 to 2002, is charged with sexual assault and sexual touching of a young person under the age of 14. He is also charged with sexually touching a second youth under the age of 14 and, while in a position of trust, sexually touching a third youth under the age of 14.

The offences are alleged to have occurred between September 1996 and June 30, 2001.

Jacobs’s defence lawyer, Chris Considine, urged B.C. Supreme Court Justice Miriam Gropper to look at the Crown’s evidence with a great deal of care and not to be swayed by prior allegations of sexual misconduct by Jacobs in the U.S.

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IRELAND
Irish Examiner

Justice Minister Alan Shatter is to bring the Report on the Magdalene Laundries to Government shortly, with a view to publishing it within four weeks.

The report comes from the Inter-Departmental Committee chaired by Senator McAleese, which was set up to establish the facts of the State’s involvement with the institution.

Minister Shatter said that the report is due to be submitted to him within 10 days and he will then bring it to Government after he has had an opportunity to read it in full.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

Martha Woodall, Inquirer Staff Writer

Posted: Wednesday, January 9, 2013

The Jesuits have told the Philadelphia district attorney that they received a credible allegation that one of their priests had inappropriate physical contact with a student at St. Joseph’s Preparatory School in North Philadelphia in the 1970s.

The Maryland Province of the Society of Jesus said Tuesday that a former St. Joe’s Prep student reported that the Rev. Stephen M. Garrity – a graduate of the school – engaged in inappropriate sexual touching while teaching at the school from 1971 to 1979.

Bill Avington, St. Joe’s Prep spokesman, said Tuesday that the private Catholic boys’ school had notified more than 9,000 members of its community, including alumni and parents, of the allegations against Garrity.

The student, who has requested anonymity, reported the allegations to provincial officials in Towson, Md., last fall and has been offered counseling.

The Jesuits said Garrity, 73, has not been in the ministry since 2007, when he was removed as pastor of Holy Cross parish in Durham, N.C., for sexual misconduct with adults. He now lives in a monitored community with other Jesuits.

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MONTANA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by Barbara Dorris on January 08, 2013

We are disappointed that the child porn charges against Fr. Rudy Bullman have been dropped. Fr. Bullman was caught with images of nude boys on his hand held game console and his personal computer. Children are safest when predators are behind bars.

It is important to remember that children were hurt in the making of these photos. The word ‘porn’ does not accurately describe what has taken place. These are violent child sexual images and the children involved are the victims of a horrific crime.

We fear others have been hurt and are fearful to come forward. We would encourage anyone who has been harmed by Fr. Bullman to come forward, get help, begin healing and work with law enforcement. Often there are people in the community who have seen or suspect Fr. Bullman’s misdeeds. No matter how old or insignificant the information may seem we hope they will contact law enforcement.

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MISSOURI
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by Barbara Dorris on January 08, 2013

When the legislature convenes tomorrow, we hope it will quickly adopt the recommendations of a recent task force on child abuse, especially the one allowing evidence of so-called “signature crimes,” commonly referred to as propensity evidence, to be used in child sexual abuse cases.

It will require a constitutional amendment approved by voters through a statewide election, so it’s important to get started quickly.

One in four girls and one in eight boys is sexually violated in childhood. So minor changes are inadequate. This amendment will help police and prosecutors get and keep dangerous predators off the street. Lawmakers should get this reform moving, starting tomorrow.

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GERMANY
The Local

Cooperation between the Lower Saxony Institute for Criminology (KFN) and the German Bishops’ Conference ended due to unacceptable interference by the Church, KFN director Christian Pfeiffer told broadcaster Deutschlandfunk on Wednesday.

He said the institute had already been told by the Church that its services would no longer be needed after the KFN refused to comply. This will be confirmed in a letter from the Association of German Dioceses (VDD) to the KFN in the coming days, the Süddeutsche Zeitung reported on Wednesday.

The project had been scuppered by the “censorship and control requests of the Church,” Pfeiffer told the paper.

The cooperation had been contractually agreed in July 2011, and was to be the most thorough investigation of its kind in the world, the KFN said. The complete files of all of Germany’s dioceses – some dating as far back as World War II – were to be scrutinized for evidence of child abuse.

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GERMANY
The Associated Press

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s Roman Catholic Church has called off an investigation by a renowned outside expert into sexual abuse by clergy over the past few decades after the two sides fell out.

In 2011, the church asked Prof. Christian Pfeiffer’s Lower Saxony Criminological Research Institute to analyze data on abuse from German dioceses as far back as 1945. It was part of efforts to address the scandal triggered by revelations in 2010 of abuse of children and youth in Germany, Pope Benedict XVI’s homeland, and elsewhere.

However, the German Bishops Conference said Wednesday that “mutual trust is shattered” between the bishops and Pfeiffer, and it was terminating its agreement with the institute. It said it would seek a new partner for the project, without elaborating.

Pfeiffer said that researchers and church worked well together for the first few months, but then resistance emerged, starting with a call from the Munich archdiocese for the researchers “to bow to church requests for stronger controls” on their work.

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GERMANY
BBC News

The Roman Catholic Church in Germany has terminated an independent inquiry it commissioned into sexual abuse by clergy, citing a breakdown in trust.

It said that bishops’ trust in Prof Christian Pfeiffer, head of the Lower Saxony Criminological Research Institute, had been “destroyed”.

Prof Pfeiffer accused the Church of obstructing his team’s work by seeking to control the investigation.

The Church said a new inquiry would be commissioned with a different partner.

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SAN ANTONIO (TX)
My Fox Austin

SAN ANTONIO (AP) – An out-of-court settlement has been reached between a South Texas man and the Archdiocese of San Antonio over alleged priest abuse in the 1970s.

A Floresville man who says he was abused as a boy sued the archdiocese and Louis Paul White, who was removed as a priest in 1989. White formerly served Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Wilson County.

White did not show up for trial Monday so a judge issued a nearly $181 million default judgment again him.

The San Antonio Express-News (http://bit.ly/Xj6F5O ) on Tuesday reported a settlement has been reached with the archdiocese, which denied wrongdoing. Terms haven’t been disclosed.

The archdiocese in 2009 publicly named White as the target of “believable” accusations of sexual assault.

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LOS ANGELES (CA)
KPCC

Ruxandra Guidi | January 8th, 2013

A court has ordered Los Angeles’ Roman Catholic Archdiocese to reveal the identities of priests whose names had been blacked out in documents accusing them of molesting children. The Archdiocese several years ago reached a $660 million settlement with abuse victims.

The news that a court has ordered LA’s Roman Catholic Archdiocese to release thousands of records identifying the names of priests accused of child abuse is stirring discussions among Southland Catholics—especially those who’ve waited years for the ruling.

Some documents the Archdiocese must release are memos between top church officials and their attorneys, medical and psychological records, complaints from parents, and even correspondence with the Vatican about accused priests.

Once that evidence goes public, it will include a file about Esther Miller. When she was a 16-year-old in Van Nuys, a priest singled her out. Today, she’s in her forties.

“I still had this box, and I didn’t even know that was evidence,” Miller says. “The love letters, the cards, the gifts, the jewelry, money he gave me out of the collection basket.”

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CANADA
CBC News

A Roman Catholic priest accused of sexual assault and sexual interference involving young teenage boys in Victoria will learn his legal fate at the end of the month.

Phil Jacobs has admitted to inappropriate conduct involving three boys at St. Joseph’s parish between 1996 and 2001, but his lawyer argues that the Crown has not proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Jacobs touched any of his accusers in a sexual way.

Jacobs has admitted to tickling and rough-housing with one of the boys and that he may have accidently touched another boy during a study session, but it was not for a sexual purpose.

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NETHERLANDS
Expatica

Plans by a Catholic priest to publicly display the names and photographs of people who are formally leaving the church are ‘undesirable and not allowed in law’, church officials say.

Tilburg minister Harm Schilder said he wanted to pin the photographs in the doorway of his parish church. This, says Schilder, ‘will allow the congregation to pray for them and perhaps convince them to stay’.

There has been a sharp rise in the number of people leaving the Catholic church since the pope condemned gay marriage last month.

Prayer

Schilder says he is not planning to ‘name and shame’ people leaving the church but that prayer is the only option open to try and change things.

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VERMONT
Times-Argus

January 09, 2013

A jury was selected in U.S. District Court in Burlington on Tuesday to hear the first of a dozen new priest misconduct lawsuits against Vermont’s Catholic Church.

Lawyers are scheduled to offer opening statements at 10 a.m. today in a case in which a former Rutlander who now lives in California says he was 13 years old when the former Rev. Edward Paquette — the subject of 25 previous lawsuits and three past jury verdicts — sexually abused him in 1974.

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RALEIGH (NC)
Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh

The Maryland Province of the Society of Jesus has informed the Diocese of Raleigh that it has received an allegation of inappropriate contact with a minor by Father Stephen M. Garrity, SJ. In a letter dated January 7, 2013, the Society reported that the allegation pertains to the 1970s, when Father Garrity was assigned to Saint Joseph’s Preparatory School in Philadelphia, PA.

Father Garrity was removed from active priestly ministry in 2007, following an allegation of sexual misconduct with adults, which took place outside the State of North Carolina in the early 1980s. At the time of his removal from active priestly ministry, Father Garrity was serving as Pastor of Holy Cross Church in Durham, where he had served since 2001.

Bishop Michael F. Burbidge, at the time of the removal of Father Garrity, stated that the Diocese of Raleigh had no previous knowledge of any allegation of inappropriate contact with adults or minors made against Father Garrity.

Questions or concerns regarding Father Garrity should be conveyed directly to the Maryland Province of the Society of Jesus, in care of 8600 LaSalle Road, Suite 620, Towson, MD, 21286, or via email at Jesuits@mdsj.org, or by calling Maureen Locher at 443-921-1326.

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MINNESOTA
BishopAccountability.org

Summary of Case: A priest of the Crosier order, Vaughn was accused in a 2006 lawsuit of the sexual abuse of a Minnesota boy in the 1970s. The Directories show that Vaughn was subsequently moved to the Chicago Crosier community, and then to New Rochelle, NY. He is last known to have been a chaplain at a Staten Island hospital in 2000.

Ordained: 1977

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DEUTSCHLAND
Deutsche Bischofskonferenz

09.01.2013: Deutsche Bischofskonferenz will kriminologisches Forschungsprojekt zum Thema sexueller Missbrauch mit neuem Partner durchführen

Zusammenarbeit mit dem Kriminologischen Forschungsinstitut Niedersachsen e. V. wird beendet

Zum Projekt einer kriminologischen Erforschung sexuellen Missbrauchs im Bereich der Deutschen Bischofskonferenz, das zwischen dem Verband der Diözesen Deutschlands (VDD) und dem Kriminologischen Forschungsinstitut Niedersachsen e. V. (KFN) verabredet wurde, erklärt Bischof Dr. Stephan Ackermann als Beauftragter der Deutschen Bischofskonferenz für Fragen sexuellen Missbrauchs Minderjähriger im kirchlichen Bereich:

„Am 13. Juli 2011 haben wir in einer Pressekonferenz das vom VDD als Drittmittelgeber finanzierte Forschungsprojekt ’Der sexuelle Missbrauch an Minderjährigen durch katholische Priester, Diakone und männliche Ordensangehörige im Bereich der Deutschen Bischofskonferenz’ vorgestellt. Es sollte unter der Leitung von Professor Dr. Christian Pfeiffer durch das Kriminologische Forschungsinstitut Niedersachsen e. V. durchgeführt werden. In der Folge begannen die ersten Vorarbeiten, insbesondere die notwendigen PreTests in zwei ausgewählten Bistümern.

Wir bedauern sehr, dass dieses Projekt mit dem KFN nun nicht fortgeführt werden wird und wir einen neuen Partner finden müssen, mit dem das Forschungsprojekt aufgegriffen werden kann. Wir waren gezwungen, heute den Drittelmittelvertrag mit dem KFN aus wichtigem Grund mit sofortiger Wirkung zu kündigen und die überzahlten Forschungsförderungsgelder zurückzufordern.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Frankfurter Allgemeine

09.01.2013 · Die Deutsche Bischofskonferenz hat eine Studie zum Missbrauch in der Katholischen Kirche gestoppt. Der Vertrag mit dem Institut des Kriminologen Pfeiffer wurde gekündigt. Pfeiffer nennt „Zensur- und Kontrollwünsche der Kirche“ als Gründe für das Scheitern.

Das Forschungsprojekt zur Untersuchung des Missbrauchsskandals in der katholischen Kirche ist vorerst gescheitert. Wie die Deutsche Bischofskonferenz an diesem Mittwochmorgen erklärte, wurde der Vertrag mit dem Kriminologischen Forschungsinstitut Niedersachsen (KFN) „aus wichtigem Grund mit sofortiger Wirkung“ gekündigt. Die Kirche suche nun einen „anderen Vertragspartner“ für die Fortsetzung des Projekts.

Zuvor hatte der Direktor des KFN, Christian Pfeiffer, schwere Vorwürfe gegen die katholische Kirche erhoben. Das Projekt sei „an den Zensur- und Kontrollwünschen der Kirche gescheitert“, sagte Peiffer in der in der „Süddeutschen Zeitung“. Entgegen der ursprünglichen Vereinbarung habe die Kirche darauf beharrt, über die Veröffentlichung der Forschungsergebnisse sowie über die Auswahl der beteiligten Mitarbeiter mitbestimmen zu dürfen.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Deutschlandfunk

Vertragsbedingungen für Missbrauchsstudie sollten geändert werden

Das Gespräch führte Dirk Müller

Nach den 2010 bekannt gewordenen Missbrauchsfällen in der katholischen Kirche wurde das Kriminologische Zentralinstitut Niedersachsen mit einer Untersuchung beauftragt. Institutschef Christian Pfeiffer berichtet von Versuchen zweier Diözesen, die Berichte vor der Veröffentlichung genehmigen zu wollen – und von offenbar vernichteten Akten.

Dirk Müller: Priester, Ordensleute und auch angestellt Erzieher – im Januar 2010 berichtet der “Spiegel” über zahlreiche Fälle, bei denen Kinder und Jugendliche sexuell missbraucht wurden, unter dem Dach der katholischen Kirche. Die Ereignisse am Canisius-Kolleg in Berlin standen und stehen dafür stellvertretend. Die deutschen Bischöfe haben daraufhin versprochen, wir klären den Missbrauch auf, wir entschädigen die Opfer. Aber das Ausmaß der sexuellen Übergriffe ist immer noch nicht bekannt. Ein Rechercheprojekt des Kriminologischen Forschungsinstituts in Niedersachsen sollte Licht ins Dunkel bringen. Dieses Projekt ist jetzt aber offenbar gescheitert, berichtet die “Süddeutsche Zeitung”, weil die katholische Kirche die Zusammenarbeit beenden will.
Am Telefon ist nun Institutsleiter Professor Christian Pfeiffer. Guten Morgen!

Christian Pfeiffer: Guten Morgen, Herr Müller!

Müller: Herr Pfeiffer, wollte die Kirche Sie zensieren?

Pfeiffer: Eindeutig ja. Sie hatten uns, nachdem zunächst in den ersten vier, fünf Monaten das Projekt engagiert unterstützt worden war, sie hatten uns dann plötzlich, ausgehend von der Erzdiözese München und Freising, Vorschläge zugeleitet, dass der Vertrag geändert werden sollte, und sie verlangten eindeutig, dass alle Texte ihnen zur Genehmigung vorzulegen sind, und sie machten uns in diesem Vertragstext klar, dass sie dann auch das Recht haben, die Veröffentlichung von Texten zu verbieten.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Sueddeutsche

Von Roland Preuß

Der Wille war da, daran gibt es keinen Zweifel, damals im Sommer 2011. “Wir wollen auch der Wahrheit, die möglicherweise noch unentdeckt in Akten vergangener Jahrzehnte liegt, auf die Spur kommen”, sagte Bischof Stephan Ackermann, der Missbrauchs-Beauftragten der Deutschen Bischöfe vor Journalisten in Bonn. Man wolle mithilfe “unabhängiger Experten” besser verstehen, wie es zu sexuellem Missbrauch durch Kirchenmitarbeiter kommen konnte – und wie dies künftig zu verhindern sei.

Neben ihm schwärmte der Kriminologe Christian Pfeiffer von “Tiefenbohrungen” in Kirchenarchiven. Für beide Seiten schien es jetzt optimal zu laufen: Die von Missbrauchsskandalen erschütterte katholische Kirche zeigte ihren Willen zur schonungslosen Aufklärung, der Kriminologe Pfeiffer, Direktor des Kriminologischen Forschungsinstituts Niedersachsen (KFN), hatte ein spannendes Forschungsprojekt über 450.000 Euro eingefädelt.

Jetzt, eineinhalb Jahre später, liegt das gemeinsame Projekt in Trümmern, und die Beteiligten streiten sich wie ein frisch getrenntes Ehepaar, das gerade den gemeinsamen Hausrat in Stücke geschlagen hat. Der Kampf um die öffentliche Deutung des Scheiterns hat begonnen. Daneben aber ist es ein schwerer Rückschlag für die Aufklärung des sexuellen Missbrauchs durch Priester und andere Kirchenmitarbeiter. Womöglich wird die Öffentlichkeit nun nie ein umfassendes Bild über den Missbrauch in deutschen Diözesen gewinnen.

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GERMANY
Deutsche Welle

The Catholic Church in Germany has terminated an investigation into alleged cases of sexual abuse by clergy members. It is unclear whether the research will be continued by a different team.

The German Bishops’ Conference confirmed that it has ended cooperation with the Criminological Research Institute of Lower Saxony (KFN) which had been investigating sexual abuse cases committed by employees of the Catholic Church, citing the lack of trust.

“The relationship of mutual trust between the bishops and the head of the institute has been destroyed,” the Bishop of Trier, Stephan Ackermann, explained on Wednesday morning, saying that constructive cooperation had become impossible.

“Trust is vital for such an extensive project dealing with such a sensitive issue.”

In an interview with public broadcaster “Deutschlandfunk,” Christian Pfeiffer, the head of the KFN institute accused Church officials of hampering his team’s research efforts by continually attempting to intervene in and control the investigation. In an interview with the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper he spoke of censorship.

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IOWA
World-Herald

By Mike Brownlee
WORLD-HERALD NEWS SERVICE

COUNCIL BLUFFS — A former Harlan, Iowa, resident was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the sexual abuse of a 12-year-old boy.

Pottawattamie County Judge Greg Steensland found Bobby E. Smith, 68, of El Dorado Springs, Mo., guilty of three counts of third-degree sex abuse and one count of indecent contact with a child for crimes committed 14 years ago in Council Bluffs.

Assistant Pottawattamie County Attorney Dan McGinn said Smith met the boy through First Baptist Church in Harlan, where Smith was a volunteer. After the boy was unable to go on a church-sponsored fishing trip in the summer of 1998, Smith offered to take the boy on a separate fishing trip, not sponsored by the church.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Frankfurter Rundschau

Bonn. Der Bruch ist da: Die Deutsche Bischofskonferenz will den Missbrauchsskandal in der katholischen Kirche nicht mehr vom Kriminologischen Forschungsinstitut Niedersachsen aufarbeiten lassen. Sie kündigte sie vorzeitig den Vertrag mit dem Kriminologen Christian Pfeiffer, teilte die Bischofskonferenz in Bonn mit. Das Vertrauensverhältnis zwischen dem Direktor des Instituts und den deutschen Bischöfen sei zerrüttet, hieß es. Bei dem Streit ging vor allem um die Veröffentlichung von Forschungsergebnissen. Die Kirche hatte unter anderem Veröffentlichungen schriftlich genehmigen wollen. (dpa)

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DEUTSCHLAND
Focus

Eigentlich sollte der Kriminologe Christian Pfeiffer den Missbrauchs-Skandal in der Kirche untersuchen. Nun gibt es Streit: Pfeiffer sagt, die Katholiken hätten Veröffentlichen zensieren wollen – und spricht von offenbar vernichteten Akten.

Der Kriminologe Christian Pfeiffer erhebt schwere Vorwürfe gegen die katholische Kirche. Das Projekt um die wissenschaftliche Aufarbeitung des Missbrauchsskandals sei an „Zensur- und Kontrollwünschen“ gescheitert, sagte er der „Süddeutschen Zeitung“ vom Mittwoch. Zudem habe er Hinweise erhalten, dass Akten vernichtet worden seien. „Ich denke, das hängt mit den Akten-Inhalten zusammen, dass da auch Fehler der Kirche passiert sind“, ergänzte er im „Morgenmagazin“ des ZDF. Der Sekretär der deutschen Bischofskonferenz, Hans Langendörfer, widersprach dieser Darstellung. „Für eine Vernichtung von Täterakten habe ich keinerlei Anhaltspunkte.“

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DEUTSCHLAND
Ruhr Nachrichten

Hannover Der Kriminologe Christian Pfeiffer will nach der Aufkündigung der Missbrauchsstudie durch die Deutsche Bischofskonferenz eine eigene Untersuchung zu kirchlichem Missbrauch erstellen. Das sagte der Leiter des Kriminologischen Forschungsinstituts Niedersachsen (KFN) am Mittwoch.

Er rief alle kirchlichen Missbrauchsopfer auf, für eine anonyme Befragung mit dem Forschungsinstitut Kontakt aufzunehmen. Nachdem das KFN bereits für eine andere Studie 500 Opfer von Missbrauch durch unterschiedlichste Täter untersucht habe, sollten diese Ergebnisse nun mit denen von 500 Opfern kirchlichen Missbrauchs verglichen werden.

Die Bischofskonferenz hatte dem KFN am Mittwoch den vor eineinhalb Jahren erteilten Auftrag für eine umfassende Untersuchung von Missbrauchsfällen entzogen und ein zerrüttetes Vertrauensverhältnis mit Pfeiffer als Grund genannt.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Rhein Zeitung

Bonn/Trier (dpa) – Die Deutsche Bischofskonferenz will den Missbrauchsskandal in der katholischen Kirche nicht mehr vom Kriminologischen Forschungsinstitut Niedersachsen wissenschaftlich aufarbeiten lassen.

Am Mittwoch kündigte sie vorzeitig den Vertrag mit dem Kriminologen Christian Pfeiffer, teilte die Bischofskonferenz (DBK) in Bonn mit.

Zur Begründung erklärte ihr Missbrauchsbeauftragter, Triers Bischof Stephan Ackermann: «Das Vertrauensverhältnis zwischen dem Direktor des Instituts und den deutschen Bischöfen ist zerrüttet.» Vertrauen sei aber «für ein so umfangreiches und sensibles Projekt unverzichtbar». Die Bischofskonferenz werde sich einen anderen Partner für das Projekt suchen.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Sueddeutsche

Bundesjustizministerin Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger sendet nach der gescheiterten Untersuchung sexueller Übergriffe in der katholischen Kirche einen Appell an die Bischöfe. Die FDP-Politikerin nimmt das Kriminologische Forschungsinstitut in Schutz, das der Kirche versuchte Zensur vorwirft. Die Kirchenoberen kontern ihrerseits mit Kritik.

Die Deutsche Bischofskonferenz hat die Studie zum Missbrauch in der katholischen Kirche wegen Differenzen mit dem untersuchenden Institut gestoppt, nun schaltet sich Bundesjustizministerin Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger in die Causa ein. Im Gespräch mit der Süddeutschen Zeitung forderte sie die Kirchenoberen zum Handeln auf. “Der Vorwurf, Zensur und Kontrollwünsche behinderten eine unabhängige Aufarbeitung, sollten durch den Vorsitzenden der Bischofskonferenz schnell aus der Welt geschafft werden”, sagte sie.

Gleichzeitig betonte die stellvertretende FDP-Vorsitzende ihre Wertschätzung für das Kriminologische Forschungsinstitut Niedersachsen (KFN), das die Missbrauchsfälle untersuchen sollte. Die Einrichtung sei eine “der ersten Adressen, um eine unabhängige wissenschaftliche Aufarbeitung auf Grundlage der Personalakten seit 1945 vorzunehmen”, sagte die Ministerin.

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GERMANY
Winona Daily News

Germany’s Roman Catholic Church has fallen out with a prominent outside expert who was tasked with researching sexual abuse by clergy dating back decades.

The church in 2011 tasked Prof. Christian Pfeiffer’s Lower Saxony Criminological Research Institute with analyzing data on abuse from German dioceses as far back as 1945. It was part of efforts to address the scandal triggered by revelations in 2010 of abuse in Germany, Pope Benedict XVI’s homeland, and elsewhere.

But the German Bishops Conference said Wednesday that “mutual trust is shattered” between the bishops and Pfeiffer and it was terminating its agreement with the institute. It said it would seek a new partner for the project.

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PHILADELHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

Posted: Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Six more jurors were picked Tuesday for the Philadelphia Common Pleas Court trial of a priest and a former parochial-school teacher charged with sexually assaulting a 10-year-old altar boy at a Northeast parish in the late 1990s.

The six men selected on the second day brought the total to 10. Three women and a man were selected Monday.

Prosecution and defense lawyers and Judge Ellen Ceisler will resume the selection process Wednesday in the hope of getting a jury of 12 and several alternatives to hear the trial of the Rev. Charles Engelhardt, 66, and Bernard Shero, 49.

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UNITED STATES
Pope Crimes & Vatican Evils…

Montreal Police announce arrest of 2 Holy Cross CSC pedophile priests for 14 years sodomy at College Notre Dame

Paris Arrow

When Laszlo Csatary, the 97-year old former Nazi criminal, was caught and arrested in Hungary last year, he had lived a quiet life as an art dealer in Montreal until 1997, see news below and read here http://popecrimes.blogspot.ca/2012/04/trial-of-willaim-lynn-compilation.html In Israel, Efraim Zuroff, director of the Wiesenthal Center’s Jerusalem office, applauded his arrest and said:

“When you look at a person like this, you shouldn’t see an old frail person, but think of a man who at the height of his physical powers devoted all his energy to murdering or persecuting and murdering innocent men, women and children,” Zuroff told the AP.

Montreal Police announced before the New Year that they have caught two CSC pedophile priests, Olivain Leblanc, 70, and Georges Sarrazin, 91, who are Holy Cross brothers of Saint Brother Andre – for their sodomy crimes of 14 years at CollegeNotre Dame right across the Oratory of St. Joseph. Montreal Police, Montreal Justice Courts and Montreal judges should treat Olivain Leblanc, 70, and Georges Sarrazin, 91, (just like the The Hague treats Nazi criminal 97 year old Laszlo Csatary), and shouldn’t see two old frail religious persons, but think of two men who at the height of their physical powers devoted all their energy to sexually abusing and sodomizing innocent students at the College Notre Dame…

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LOS ANGELES (CA)
Catholic News Agency

Los Angeles, Calif., Jan 8, 2013 / 05:05 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The personnel files of priests accused of sexual abuse will soon be released by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, cooperating with county judge Emilie Elias’ order that the files be released without editing.

“The Archdiocese will abide by Judge Elias’s decision. We are now working with all parties involved to facilitate the release of the documents as promptly as possible,” said a Jan. 7 statement from the archdiocese.

Carolina Guevara, associate director for Media Relations, added that the archdiocese “has been committed to the release of the files as part of our continued efforts to inform the public of what had occurred and our efforts to prevent abuse and protect children in our parishes and schools.”

Judge Elias’ order for the release of the files was made at a hearing Jan. 7. In December, attorneys representing plaintiffs had argued that edits proposed by the archdiocese were excessive. The edits were in accord with a 2011 decision by a retired judge named Dickran Tevrizian who was acting as arbiter and who had been chosen by both sides.

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SAN ANTONIO (TX)
San Antonio Express-News

By Abe Levy
Updated 6:50 pm, Tuesday, January 8, 2013

The Archdiocese of San Antonio and a Floresville man who claimed he was 12 when his priest began to molest him in the late 1970s have reached an out-of-court settlement.

The agreement, whose terms were not disclosed, ends more than two years of litigation against the archdiocese.

Also named in the lawsuit was Louis Paul White, whom the Vatican had removed from the priesthood in 1989. When he did not appear in court Monday for the start of a trial, state District Judge Cathleen Stryker issued a nearly $181 million default judgment against him.

Observers said the prospects of collecting the judgment were slim but it sent a strong message of backing the Floresville man’s account.

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UNITED STATES
Times of Israel

By Michael J. Salamon
The Times of Israel – Jan. 8, 2013

If you do not believe the generally accepted statistic that one in four women and about one in eight men are sexually abused I have had an interesting few days outside of my clinical practice that may enlighten you.

In the last two weeks, since news of a possible Yeshiva University abuse cover-up scandal broke, since the guilty verdicts leveled against Nechemya Weberman for his abuse of a young girl entrusted to his care for counseling and since I wrote and posted about Tamar and what had happened to her at the hand of her older brother more than 40 people have come forward telling me of their own history of abuse – but what was most significant was that to date 17 men have quietly and privately found the courage to tell me directly, face to face, of their own abuse. I think it is important to focus on these men. They have had the burden of keeping the secret as most abused children do, but also the burden of never showing weakness.

Most of these men told me that they never mentioned their experiences to anyone until they told me. Seven of the men were sexually abused in sleep away camps, at three camps in particular. Nine others were abused by rabbis or bar mitzvah teachers, two names were repeated by three of the men and some of the victims refused to mention their abusers name. One was abused by an older sibling. Most of the men are over the age of 40 and two of the men are in their late 50′s. They told of having been woken late at night in their camps and being told that they should get up for a special night of skinny dipping in the pool. They told of being in the showers while pictures and videos were taken of them. They told of teachers and rabbis who forced them sit on their laps or being touched sexually by them or being forced to touch the teachers sexually.

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CAMDEN (NJ)
NJ.com

By Jason Laday/South Jersey Times
on January 08, 2013

CAMDEN — Pope Benedict XVI has appointed a new leader for the Camden Diocese following Bishop Joseph Galante’s decision to retire due to ongoing health issues.

Dennis J. Sullivan, ordained as an auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of New York in 2004, will replace the outgoing bishop. The 67-year-old native New Yorker stated he will bring his experience as a priest in some of the poorest areas of Manhattan and the south Bronx to the diocese containing New Jersey’s most dangerous city.

“I bring here to this local church my experience as a priest and a bishop, but I have always been a pastor, leading and guiding different flocks, and allowing myself to be guided by them as well,” said Sullivan at an introductory press conference at the diocesan offices on Market Street.

Explaining what he felt was Catholicism’s role communities such as Camden, Sullivan stated “the church must walk with the poor.”

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CANADA
St. Catharines Standard

By Allan Benner, The Tribune

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

DUNNVILLE – More than two years after filing a lawsuit against the priest convicted of molesting him when he was a teenage alter boy, Dunnville resident Michael Blum is still waiting for closure.

He was one of three victims former priest Donald Grecco was convicted of sexual abusing in Welland and Cayuga in the late 1970s and early 1980s. After pleading guilty to the charges against him in 2010, Grecco was released from custody in December 2011.

“There’s very little progress,” Blum said when contacted at his Dunnville home, Tuesday. “It’s very frustrating. He’s been out of prison now for quite some time.”

In 2010, Blum and two other victims, including former Welland resident James Hennessy who now lives in England and another man whose identity is protected by a publication ban, filed lawsuits for $3 million each against Grecco, the Diocese of St. Catharines and former bishop James Wingle.

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LOS ANGELES (CA)
Vatican Insider

The Archdiocese of Los Angeles has stressed they have complied and that “much of the information in question has already been made public”

VATICAN INSIDER STAFF
Rome

The judge has ordered the Catholic Church of Los Angeles to turn over the names of priests accused of molesting minors. The Archdiocese of Los Angeles has said it will respect Judge Emilie Elias’ decision, which reverses a ruling by retired Judge Dickran Tevrizian, who forbade the publication of the names of the hierarchy for fear they could be used to embarrass the Church further.

Elias, on the other hand, stated that the public has the right to be informed about how the Archdiocese has handled the sex abuse issue, and therefore ordered that all deleted names be re-inserted in the relevant documents. “We are now working with all parties involved to facilitate the release of the documents as promptly as possible,” an archdiocese communiqué reads. The judge and lawyers for the abuse victims and the archdiocese met yesterday to discuss how and when the documents – including psychiatric reports, reports of abuse and letters to the Vatican – will be released according to the Los Angeles Times.

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CAMDEN (NJ)
National Catholic Reporter

by Catholic News Service | Jan. 8, 2013

Washington —
Pope Benedict XVI has accepted the resignation of Bishop Joseph Galante of Camden, N.J., and has named Auxiliary Bishop Dennis Sullivan of New York to succeed him.

Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, papal nuncio to the U.S., announced the changes Tuesday in Washington.

Galante, 74, has headed the Camden Diocese since 2004. He previously served as auxiliary bishop of San Antonio, bishop of Beaumont, Texas, and coadjutor bishop of Dallas.

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NEW YORK
The Journal News

Written by
Gary Stern

Bishop Dennis Sullivan, a former Larchmont pastor who has served as vicar general of the Archdiocese of New York since 2004, was today named by the pope to become bishop of Camden, N.J.

Sullivan, 67, a Bronx native, was pastor of the Church of Sts. John and Paul in Larchmont when he was named an auxiliary bishop of the archdiocese in 2004. Shortly thereafter, he became vicar general, the chief administrative officer of the archdiocese.

Working for Archbishops Edward Egan and Timothy Dolan, Sullivan has been a key player in major planning initiatives for the archdiocese.

“One thing I came to expect above all else from Bishop Sullivan was that he would approach every situation with the heart and mind of a pastor, always asking how we can do more for the people, and reminding us that the Church is not the chancery or a building, but the people of God,” Dolan said in a statement today.

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NEW JERSEY
Patch

By Bryan Littel

The Diocese of Camden will install Dennis J. Sullivan as its eighth bishop next month, following the resignation of Bishop Joseph A. Galante, church officials announced Tuesday.

Sullivan, 67, who was ordained as a priest in 1971, has been an auxiliary bishop of New York since 2004, the same year Galante, 74, was named Bishop of Camden.

Born in the Bronx, NY, Sullivan has served in the Archdiocese of New York, the second-largest archdiocese in the country, since his ordination, including his current title as vicar general.

Galante’s eight-year tenure was marked with controversy, as he presided over the consolidation of about half the parishes in the diocese. He has been in declining health, and announced in a 2011 letter to the diocese that he had been suffering from kidney disease, which required daily dialysis treatments.

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NEW YORK
The New York Times

By SHARON OTTERMAN

Bishop Dennis J. Sullivan, a top administrator in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, will be the next bishop of Camden, N.J., the Vatican announced on Tuesday.

Bishop Sullivan, who is currently the vicar general of the New York Archdiocese, will succeed Bishop Joseph A. Galante. Bishop Galante, who has led the Camden Diocese since 2004, is retiring due to failing health, according to the Vatican. The Camden Diocese includes six southern New Jersey counties that are home to about 500,000 Catholics, the Vatican said.

A 67-year-old Bronx native, Bishop Sullivan attended elementary school in St. Anthony’s parish in the Bronx. The school is among 26 being considered this month for closing by the New York Archdiocese.

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CAMDEN (NJ)
DFW Catholic

Camden, N.J., Jan 8, 2013 / 10:58 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Benedict XVI has appointed Auxiliary Bishop Dennis J. Sullivan of New York to lead the Diocese of Camden, N.J., accepting the resignation of his predecessor.

In a Jan. 8 statement, Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York praised Bishop Sullivan, calling him “one of the finest bishops I know” and describing him as “an invaluable help” and “my right hand.”

The bishop’s years of service have given him “a special closeness and dedication to the immigrant community, particularly the Latino and Asian population,” the cardinal reflected, adding that he has always treated “every situation with the heart and mind of a pastor, always asking how we can do more for the people.”

“Bishop Sullivan always generously shared with me his wise counsel and insights, based on his more than 40 years of priesthood in this archdiocese he proudly calls home,” he explained.

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MONTANA
San Francisco Chronicle

KALISPELL, Mont. (AP) — Flathead County prosecutors have reached a three-year deferred prosecution agreement with a retired Roman Catholic Priest who was charged in a child pornography case last February.

The Daily Inter Lake reports (http://bit.ly/U1hgld ) the agreement with the Rev. Rudy Bullman allows a felony sexual abuse of children charge to be dismissed if he meets several conditions, including attending counseling and a spiritual support group and having his computer checked for pornography every six months.

Bullman was a priest at Risen Christ Parish in Evergreen for about 10 years. He was placed on administrative leave in December 2011 after someone who bought a game system from him reported finding pornographic images of boys.

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MINNESOTA
BishopAccountability.org

Summary of Case: Thurner admitted to archdiocesan officials in 1982 to having “sexual contact” with a boy. He was allowed to remain pastor of a Minnesota parish until six months later, when an allegation surfaced that he had sexually abused another boy. Thurner went on to serve at three more parishes. He abruptly retired in Dec. 1991, just before a lawsuit was filed by the person he admitted to abusing. In 1993 Thurner was accused in another lawsuit of the sexual abuse of a boy from 1972-1977, beginning when the boy was 16 years-old. Thurner admitted to “sexual contact” with this accuser as well. Thurner is said to have plied his victims with pornography and alcohol.

Ordained: 1951
Incardinated: St. Paul
Retired: Dec. 1991

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DALLAS (TX)
The Dallas Morning News

By Brooks Egerton/Reporter
begerton@dallasnews.com
10:56 am on January 8, 2013

Bishop Joseph Galante is retiring early as head of the Catholic diocese in Camden, N.J., nine years after leaving Dallas in frustration over clergy sex-abuse scandals.

Galante is several months shy of the church’s mandatory retirement age of 75 and suffering from chronic kidney disease, according to news reports today.

He became Dallas’ coadjutor bishop in 2000. He expected to soon succeed Bishop Charles Grahmann, whose tenure was marked by a series of abuse scandals. But Grahmann refused to step aside.

Grahmann also refused to suspend a prominent priest who’d admitted “inappropriate contact” with an adult worshipper who sought a pain-relief blessing. The worshipper said the priest agreed to perform the blessing, as I reported in 2002, “then pulled down his jogging pants, groped him and propositioned him.”

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LOS ANGELES (CA)
The Zalkin Law Firm

By Clergy Abuse News on January 8, 2013

In Los Angeles County, a Superior Court judge recently ruled that the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles must release the names of the church officials who abused children. The names are listed in a 30,000 page document that lists what high-ranking officials have been abusing children within the congregation for years. For the past years, the documents have been kept confidential in order to preserve the authorities in the church and avoid embarrassment. Yet the Superior Court who looked to the case the other day ruled that the public has the right to know how the archdiocese handled molestation allegations.

The judge also reversed a previous ruling that said priests that only committed one instance of abuse would have their names blacked out on the document. Instead, the new ruling says that anyone who has been accused of a sex abuse allegation should have their names publically released. While this may bring embarrassment and difficulty to men and women in the archdiocese, the judge believes that this is just punishment for their actions. Many of the records detail abuses that occurred years ago, so adults who were abused as children should be prepared to see the names of their abusers posted in public.

Judges and lawyers for alleged victims and the archdiocese are all meeting to discuss how and when the records will be made public. The archdiocese will also need to release psychiatric reports, letters to the Vatican, reports of abuse, and internal church records for others to read. The Los Angeles Times was also involved in the case, and filed papers arguing that it was not just that the names of the abusers should be blacked out in public papers.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Big Trial

Prospective Juror No. 17 in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia sex abuse case wrote on his questionnaire that he had grave doubts about whether men could abstain from sex.

“Men, no sex? I don’t believe it,” he wrote. When Judge Ellen Ceisler asked Prospective Juror No. 17 what he meant by that, he said, “When I found out about sex it was the last thing I’d give up.”

That prompted a smile from the judge before she dismissed Juror No. 17 for cause.

Prospective Juror No. 21 wrote on his questionnaire that he was taking medication for schizophrenia.

Is there any chance, the judge wanted to know, that you could have a relapse?

“A whole lot of stress” like a trial, yeah, sure, that could bring it back, he said.

Prospective Juror No. 21 was struck for cause.

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ARKANSAS
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by Barbara Dorris on January 08, 2013

Something here doesn’t pass the ‘smell test’ with the defrocking of Fr. Royce Thomas.

A 40 year veteran of the priesthood is not permanently ousted from the priesthood by the Vatican over trivial misdeeds. We strongly suspect that there’s much more here than Bishop Taylor is admitting.

And we know of no priest ever who’s been defrocked because of an alleged drinking problem.

Bishop Taylor and his brother bishops have pledged to be “open and transparent” about clergy sexual misconduct cases. We suspect this may be one of such cases, though we hope we’re wrong. In any event, Bishop Taylor owes his flock more information than he has provided thus far.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Daily Times

By PATTI MENGERS
pmengers@delcotimes.com

Six Roman Catholic parishes in West Philadelphia will be merged into three as part of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s ongoing restructuring, parishioners learned on Sunday.

Meanwhile, 12 Delaware County parishes continue to be reviewed for sustainability as part of the archdiocesan Parish Pastoral Planning Area Initiative, which will determine if they close, remain open or merge with surrounding parishes. The decision will ultimately be made by Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput.

“Final decisions regarding parish mergers in this area are expected by the spring of 2013,” said archdiocesan officials in a prepared statement.

The announcement of the initial mergers of parishes in Philadelphia and Chester counties as a result of the initiative was made last April 15.

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CAMDEN (NJ)
The Daily Journal

CAMDEN — Bishop Joseph Galante is retiring as head of the Diocese of Camden and will be replaced by a New York City cleric, church officials said Tuesday.

The South Jersey diocese now is to be led by Bishop Dennis J. Sullivan, 67, auxiliary bishop of New York. He will oversee some 511,000 Catholics in six counties, or about 35 percent of the region’s population.

The diocese said Pope Benedict XVI has accepted the resignation of Galante, 74. The announcement gave no reason for Galante’s departure, but the bishop has faced health concerns in recent years, including the need for dialysis due to kidney disease.

Sullivan, born in New York City, holds degrees from Iona College and St. Joseph’s Seminary. He also studied Spanish at the Catholic University in Ponce, Puerto Rico.

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UNITED STATES
The Worthy Adversary

Posted by Joelle Casteix on January 8, 2013

On the heels of Judge Emilie Elias’ ruling that high-ranking Catholic officials’ names may NOT be redacted from clergy sex abuse and cover-up files, an upcoming announcement this Thursday may also be a huge win for victims of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.

MEA MAXIMA CULPA: SILENCE IN THE HOUSE OF GOD, Alex Gibney’s groundbreaking and evocative documentary about the sexual abuse of deaf children at a Milwaukee Catholic school has been short-listed for inclusion in the Academy Award’s Best Documentary category. Hopefully, it will make the cut and be one of the movies nominated for the Oscar.

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NEW HAMPSHIRE/PENNSYLVANIA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by Barbara Dorris on January 08, 2013

A predatory New Hampshire priest has just been found working in a Philadelphia area school, despite the fact that Catholic officials have paid a settlement to at least one of his victims and promised he’d never be around kids again.

Fr. Michael Ledoux was accused of sexual abuse in the late 1980s while he was working in Durry, NH. Until last week, he was the dean of Widener University. Catholic officials, however, quietly let him resign when news of the settlement surfaced recently in Philly.

According to reports, the Franciscans first learned of Ledoux’ sexual abuse in September 2002, but allegedly did not tell the Manchester Diocese about it. Catholic officials then let Ledoux move to Philly and gain more access to children.

This irresponsible behavior helps potentially dangerous criminals to avoid justice and hurt others. We hope that anyone who may have seen, suspected or suffered Ledoux’s crimes – whether in Pennsylvania or New Hampshire – will speak up. And we hope those who wrongly assume that Catholic officials have reformed understand that the practice of secretly moving child molesting clerics continues even now.

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CAMDEN (NJ)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by Barbara Dorris on January 08, 2013

New York Auxiliary Bishop Dennis Sullivan is a poor choice to head the Camden diocese.

He’s a member of the completely ineffectual US bishops sex abuse panel which functions largely as “window dressing” for a public relations campaign masquerading as ‘reform.’ He’s part of the New York archdiocese which, in recent years, has had a disappointing and deceptive track record in clergy sex abuse and cover up cases.

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LOS ANGELES (CA)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by Barbara Blaine on January 07, 2013

We’re thrilled and grateful that a California judge is refusing to protect corrupt Catholic officials by keeping long-secret and long-promised church abuse records hidden any longer.

For decades, the Los Angeles Catholic hierarchy has successfully kept under wraps thousands of pages of incriminating documents. Because of the courage and tenacity of hundreds of victims, that will soon end. And children will be safer as a result.

We are confident this disclosure will help achieve three goals. First, it will help bring some measure of healing and closure to the hundreds of LA area clergy sex abuse victims who demanded and fought for these records. Second, it will help protect kids by letting the public know which current and former Catholic staff chose to side with predators and against kids. And third, it will help prevent future child sex crimes and cover ups by showing officials in many institutions that it’s increasingly difficult to intimidate victims, witnesses, and whistleblowers into staying silent about known and suspected child sex crimes.

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ILLINOIS
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by Barbara Dorris on January 08, 2013

It’s hard to feel sympathy for either side in the fight between Belleville Catholic officials and their insurers over a serial predator priest, Fr. Raymond Kownacki.

The real culprit is of course the Belleville Catholic hierarchy. Current and former Belleville Catholic employees knew or suspected Fr. Kownacki’s crimes decades ago, but chose to protect him over his victims.

But even in the 1980s, insurers could and should have done more to find and figure out that bishops were hiding clergy sex crimes.

No matter who ‘wins’ this legal dispute, the real losers are those once innocent and trusting children whose lives were shattered by Fr. Kownacki’s crimes because Belleville Catholic officials ignored and enabled child sexual abuse by refusing to tell the police about this serial predator priest. Our hearts ache for these victims and we applaud them for seeking justice in court.

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CAMDEN (NJ)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by Barbara Polesir on January 08, 2013

Originally, we had high hopes when Bishop Joseph Galante became Camden’s bishop. Those hopes have largely been dashed.

While an auxiliary bishop in Texas, Bishop Galante publicly challenged a corrupt colleague, Bishop Charles Grahmann, about his mishandling of a child sex case against a Dallas cleric. Such “fraternal correction” has been sorely lacking through the course of the clergy abuse crisis throughout the church. We praised Bishop Galante for his courage.

But he has done little while in Camden to change the disturbing status quo regarding clergy sex crimes and cover ups. Some 30 US bishops have posted on their websites the names of predator priests. Bishop Galante, however, is not one of them. He’s basically done little or nothing in recent years to distinguish himself from the majority of his peers who continue to act recklessly, secretively and callously in child sex cases.

We hope his successor will show more courage and compassion. We hope he’ll post the names, photos and whereabouts of proven, admitted and credibly accused child molesting clerics on his website (like Philadelphia’s then-Cardinal Justin Rigali has done). We hope he’ll aggressively seek out others who may have seen, suspected or suffered clergy sex crimes in Camden. We hope he’ll especially warn parishioners and the public about

— Fr. Joseph E. Shannon, who was sued a year ago for child sexual abuse, and

–Fr. David Givey of the Philadelphia archdiocese, who now apparently lives in Somers Point NJ. (Bishop Galante has refused to do this.)

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LITTLE ROCK (AR)
Arkansas Catholic

Published: January 7, 2013

Bishop Anthony B. Taylor announced Jan. 6 that Royce Thomas, a former priest for the Diocese of Little Rock, has been dismissed from the priesthood after a “history of professional misconduct as a priest.”

The bishop released the following statement Jan. 6:

“It is my sad duty to announce that on Dec. 29, 2012, I received from the Congregation for the Clergy in Rome their decree imposing on (former) Msgr. Royce R. Thomas the ecclesiastical penalty of involuntary dismissal from the clerical state. This decree dispenses him from all the obligations connected with sacred ordination, including sacred celibacy, and deprives him of all ecclesiastical honors previously received and offices previously held. This ecclesiastical penalty was imposed due to a history of professional misconduct as a priest, and the decree stipulates that there is no further recourse to this supreme and final decision. I met with (now) Mr. Thomas on Jan. 6, 2013 as directed by the Congregation for the Clergy to inform him of this decree. While he remains a Catholic in good standing, the congregation also required me to inform him of the restrictions imposed on him by Rome regarding any future public ministry as a layman in the Church. Please keep him in your prayers.”

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LITTLE ROCK (AR)
Arkansas Times

[The furor at Holy Souls – Feb 18, 2010 – Arkansas Times]

Posted by Max Brantley on Tue, Jan 8, 2013

From Arkansas Catholic:

Bishop Anthony B. Taylor announced Jan. 6 that Royce Thomas, a former priest for the Diocese of Little Rock, has been dismissed from the priesthood after a “history of professional misconduct as a priest.”

The bishop released the following statement Jan. 6:

“It is my sad duty to announce that on Dec. 29, 2012, I received from the Congregation for the Clergy in Rome their decree imposing on (former) Msgr. Royce R. Thomas the ecclesiastical penalty of involuntary dismissal from the clerical state. This decree dispenses him from all the obligations connected with sacred ordination, including sacred celibacy, and deprives him of all ecclesiastical honors previously received and offices previously held. This ecclesiastical penalty was imposed due to a history of professional misconduct as a priest, and the decree stipulates that there is no further recourse to this supreme and final decision. I met with (now) Mr. Thomas on Jan. 6, 2013 as directed by the Congregation for the Clergy to inform him of this decree. While he remains a Catholic in good standing, the congregation also required me to inform him of the restrictions imposed on him by Rome regarding any future public ministry as a layman in the Church. Please keep him in your prayers.”

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NEW YORK
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York

January 8, 2013

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 8, 2013

STATEMENT OF TIMOTHY CARDINAL DOLAN, ARCHBISHOP OF NEW YORK, ON THE APPOINTMENT OF BISHOP DENNIS SULLIVAN AS BISHOP OF CAMDEN

Our Holy Father has chosen one of the finest bishops I know to be the new Bishop of Camden.

Since my arrival in New York nearly four years ago, Bishop Dennis J. Sullivan has been an invaluable help to me, as my predecessor, Cardinal Edward Egan, predicted he would. As Vicar General, he has been my right hand, and I came to rely on his vast and intimate knowledge of the parishes, priests, religious and people of the Archdiocese of New York. While happily living together at the Cardinal’s residence, and working together at the Cardinal Cooke Catholic Center, Bishop Sullivan always generously shared with me his wise counsel and insights, based on his more than 40 years of priesthood in this archdiocese he proudly calls home.

One thing I came to expect above all else from Bishop Sullivan was that he would approach every situation with the heart and mind of a pastor, always asking how we can do more for the people, and reminding us that the Church is not the chancery or a building, but the people of God. His many years of service on the Lower East Side of Manhattan have given him a special closeness and dedication to the immigrant community, particularly the Latino and Asian population, who continue to be a vital and vibrant part of the Church in New York. …

STATEMENT OF EDWARD CARDINAL EGAN, ARCHBISHOP-EMERITUS OF NEW YORK, ON THE APPOINTMENT OF BISHOP DENNIS SULLIVAN AS BISHOP OF CAMDEN

The appointment of His Excellency, the Most Reverend Dennis J. Sullivan as Bishop of the Diocese of Camden is a singular blessing for the people of God of that splendid community of faith. It is also a loss for the Archdiocese of New York, which Bishop Sullivan has served with extraordinary distinction as Pastor, Auxiliary Bishop, and Vicar General. The Bishop and I worked together at the Catholic Center and lived together at the Cardinal’s residence for many very happy years. For me his total commitment to the clergy, religious, and faithful of the Archdiocese, especially those of Latin American and Asian heritage and those most in need, was always a source of genuine inspiration and admiration as well. Having had the honor of consecrating him a Bishop and naming him Vicar General, I look forward to assisting Bishop Sullivan in any way I can over the years that lie ahead, particularly through my prayers for him and the people he will be shepherding.

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UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter

by NCR Staff | Jan. 8, 2013

Editor’s note: After our editorial “Correct an injustice: Ordain women” appeared in the Dec. 7-20 issue, several readers asked us to provide more background on the history of women leaders in the early church. This is the first in an occasional series of articles looking at the history of leadership roles in the development of the church. This article covers the origins of the church up to the fifth century.

The earliest references to local resident leaders in the Pauline churches are Philippians 1:1 and Romans 16:1-2. Paul addresses his letter to the community at Philippi with their episkopoi and diakonoi (both masculine plural titles in Greek, both terms borrowed from secular leadership). These are the terms that later came to mean “bishop” and “deacon.” The episkopoi cannot mean here “bishop” as we understand it because there are many in one community. The role of the diakonoi also had not yet evolved into that which was later understood as deacon. The revised edition of the New American Bible translates the words as “overseers” and “ministers” and acknowledges in a note that the later development had not yet taken place.

Masculine plural forms are used in Greek to refer either to groups of men or to groups of mixed gender. In Romans 16:1-2, Paul introduces to the letter’s recipients a woman named Phoebe, a benefactor who is also a diakonos of the church at Cenchreae, one of the seaports of Corinth. Thus we know that women could hold this title at the time, and therefore the diakonoi in Philippi could be a mixed group. If the episkopoi of Philippians were heads of house churches, as seems likely, it is not impossible that some of them were also women (for example, Nympha in Colossians 4:15).

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