ABUSE TRACKER

NEW JERSEY
Patch

Posted by Tom Davis (Editor) , October 03, 2013

A Catholic priest who once ministered to an Ocean County congregation has been suspended following a sexting scandal with a man he reportedly thought was a 16-year-old boy.

The Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Trenton, Rev. David M. O’Connell, C.M., has formally suspended Rev. Matthew Riedlinger from all priestly ministry, including presenting himself as a priest or wearing clerical garb.

Riedlinger preached at St. Aloysius Church in Jackson until August 2012, when he entered counseling following complaints of inappropriate cellphone text conversations with other adults, according to USA Today.

The Diocese of Trenton said it has taken this “rare, but significant, step due to Father Riedlinger’s actions which form a ‘betrayal of trust and confidence,’ not only for those whom Father Riedlinger has hurt with his online and cell phone activities, but also for the Catholic community and beyond.”

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

NEW JERSEY
The Star-Ledger

By Mark Mueller/The Star-Ledger
on October 03, 2013

A Roman Catholic priest caught up in a sexting sting with someone he thought was a 16-year-old boy last year has been suspended from ministry by Trenton Bishop David M. O’Connell, who called the priest’s behavior “a betrayal of trust and confidence.”

The Rev. Matthew Riedlinger, formerly an assistant pastor at St. Aloysius Church in Jackson, may not serve as a priest in any capacity and may not wear clerical garb, O’Connell said in a statement issued late this afternoon.

Riedlinger, the subject of a lengthy story in The Sunday Star-Ledger, had already been on restricted ministry, attending to the needs of retired Bishop John M. Smith.

O’Connell removed Riedlinger from the Jackson parish in August 2012 after learning he was the subject of an elaborate sting in which he thought he was corresponding with a teenage boy. Riedlinger also frequently texted in sexually explicit terms with young adults, according to a complaint filed with the diocese and The Star-Ledger’s findings.

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NEW JERSEY
The Republic

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
October 03, 2013

TRENTON, New Jersey — The Roman Catholic Diocese of Trenton has suspended a priest for online and cellphone activities it says represented a “betrayal of trust.”

Bishop David M. O’Connell announced Thursday the suspension of Rev. Matthew Riedlinger from all priestly ministry. Riedlinger had worked at St. Aloysius Church in Jackson until August of 2012.

Allegations had been made that he had sent sexually explicit messages to a person he believed to be an underaged boy. A church administrator said sexual conversations had even taken place while Riedlinger was receiving church-ordered counseling.

The diocese said it turned over all the information it has to prosecutors.

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NEW YORK
Boston.com

NEW YORK (AP) — Subjecting a sex offender who is no longer imprisoned to ‘‘extraordinarily invasive’’ penile stimulation testing risks violating the premise that even convicts retain their humanity, a federal appeals court said Thursday.

The ruling by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan frees former police officer David McLaurin of a requirement that he submit to penile plethysmography, a test in which a man’s erectile responses are measured as he is shown sexually stimulating images.

An all-male three-judge appeals panel said it saw a ‘‘clear distinction’’ between penis measurement and other conditions of supervised release, including restrictions on where sex offenders may live, their interactions with children and their access to pornographic material.

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NEW YORK
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Thursday, Oct. 3

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

A convicted sex offender who lived in Vermont and Alabama has won a court ruling in New York that means he won’t have to submit to a test to determine whether he’s attracted to underage girls.

[Boston.com]

Everyone, even pedophiles, deserves his humanity. But the humanity of a predator doesn’t trump the humanity of innocent kids.

Those who oppose this test should propose alternative ways to protect kids from predators. One in four girls and one in eight boys will be sexually assaulted. Given these horrific numbers, and the devastating life-long effects of childhood sexual abuse, something must change. We as a society must re-examine some of our archaic notions if we are to do more to safeguard the vulnerable.

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MINNESOTA
Star Tribune

Article by: JEFF STRICKLER , Star Tribune Updated: October 3, 2013

The Rev. Peter Laird resigned Thursday as vicar general and moderator of the curia for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

He was appointed to the position, which serves as an assistant to Archbishop John Nienstedt in administration of the archdiocese, in 2009. His resignation takes place immediately.

The Rev. Charles Lachowitzer, who is serving as pastor of the Church of St. John Neumann in Eagan, was named to replace Laird, but he won’t assume the post until his current position is filled. In the meantime, the auxiliary bishop, the Rev. Lee Piche, who preceded Laird in the job, will oversee it.

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MINNESOTA
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis

Date:Thursday, October 3, 2013
Source:Jim Accurso

Archbishop John C. Nienstedt announced today the resignation of the Father Peter Laird as Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia for the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, effective immediately.

“Over the last few years, this Archdiocese has made significant progress in many areas, including how we have strengthened policies and practices regarding clergy misconduct. The challenge to do better can never end until we have done everything in our power to prevent all acts of misconduct,” Father Laird said.

“I am hopeful my decision to step aside at this time, along with the formation of a new task force can help repair the trust of many, especially the victims of abuse,” he said. “I know the leadership, the dedicated staff and my fellow priests in the Archdiocese are sincerely committed to proactively addressing these difficult issues.”

Father Laird has served since November 2009 in the position which is responsible for assisting the Archbishop in the general care and administration of the archdiocese. Father Laird will continue to serve in a variety of roles within the archdiocese, including as the temporary administrator at the Church of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Maplewood.

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MINNESOTA
Minnesota Public Radio

by Madeleine Baran, Minnesota Public Radio,
Rupa Shenoy, Minnesota Public Radio
October 3, 2013

The top deputy of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis resigned that post today amid growing concerns about the church’s approach to clergy sex abuse cases.

The Rev. Peter Laird explained his sudden departure as vicar general in a statement posted on the archdiocese’s website Thursday afternoon.

“Over the last few years, this Archdiocese has made significant progress in many areas, including how we have strengthened policies and practices regarding clergy misconduct,” Laird said in the statement. “I am hopeful my decision to step aside at this time, along with the formation of a new task force can help repair the trust of many, especially the victims of abuse.”

Archdiocese leaders, staff and priests, he added, “are sincerely committed to proactively addressing these difficult issues.”

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POLAND
GlobalPost

AFP

Poland’s powerful Roman Catholic Church on Thursday rejected a first-ever request for damages by a victim of a convicted paedophile priest, opening the door to legal action, judicial officials said.

A demand for 47,500 euros ($63,500) in damages was made by a 25-year-old male plaintiff, identified only Marcin K., who was molested as a child.

A Catholic priest was last year sentenced to two years behind bars in the case, but his diocese refused to be held financially liable.

“The parties did not arrive at an agreement. The door is now open for a civil lawsuit,” Slawomir Przykucki, a court spokesman in Koszalin, northern Poland, told AFP after the mediation hearing at the court failed.

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UNITED STATES
TheMediaReport

‘I’m Not Listening!’: Mainstream Media Ignores Current Epidemic of Abuse in Evangelical Church, Instead Focuses on Stale Claims in Catholic Church

Just last week, Boz Tchividjian, a prominent Liberty University law professor and the grandson of Billy Graham, stood before a roomful of journalists and declared that Evangelical missions are a “magnet” for sexual abusers and that Evangelicals “are worse” than the Catholic Church at handling the problem.

Speaking to the annual gathering of the Religion Newswriters Association (RNA) in Austin, Texas, Tchividjian said that Evangelicals have “sacrificed the souls” of innocent children, and of known data from abuse cases, a shocking 25 percent are repeat cases, he claimed.

Tchividjian is also the executive director of an organization called Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment (GRACE), which works on combating abuse in the Evangelical community.

Last summer, GRACE spearheaded an online petition condemning the “silence” and “inattention” to sex abuse in Evangelical organizations, especially its missions.

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CHICAGO (IL)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Cardinal Francis George
Archdiocese of Chicago
835 N Rush St
Chicago IL 60611

October 3, 2013

Dear Cardinal George:

We belong to a support group called SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. Despite the word “priest” in our title, we have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, and Protestant ministers. Our mission is to heal the wounded and protect the vulnerable.

As you know, one of your priests, Fr. Robert Stepek, now works for the Burbank police department.

At least three men say he molested them as children.

At least three men have filed civil child sex abuse lawsuits against the archdiocese because of him.

At least two of these cases have settled.

Your abuse panel determined that child sex abuse allegations against him are credible.

And this week, it was revealed that Vatican officials say he “engaged in behaviors inappropriate for a priest.”

And this week, you said you would not put him back in a parish.

So while you are protecting yourself and your archdiocese from legal liability (by not giving Fr. Stepek a church job), you’re doing little if anything to really protect others from him. You’re letting him work at the police department, refusing to put him in a treatment center, hiding records about his alleged crimes and sitting behind your desk instead of aggressively reaching out to other who might be able to help put Fr. Stepek in prison.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Radio

[with full text of Father Lombardi’s briefing]

(Vatican Radio) A new Apostolic Constitution will probably be written to replace Pastor Bonus, which will emphasize the Curia’s service to the universal Church and local churches. The Council of Cardinals appointed by Pope Francis to assist him in his governance of the Church and reform of the Curia has been meeting at the Vatican since Tuesday.

In a briefing, the head of the Vatican Press Office Father Federico Lombardi, SJ, said we can “expect a new Constitution.” He said changes will not be a “simple upgrade” nor “marginal”, but will be “substantial”. He said an important reorientation will be with the Secretariat of State, which should be in all respects a “Secretary of the Pope,” and that this will be part of the guidelines he gives the next Secretary of State, who takes office on October 15th.

In addition, a separate figure acting as a “Moderator of the Curia” could be appointed to coordinate relations between the Pope and the heads of the various Departments and offices.

The Council also spoke about the role of the laity in the Church, and how this role may be more appropriately and effectively recognized and followed in the government of the Church.

The Cardinals also continued their discussion from Tuesday on the Synod of Bishops, as Pope Francis prepares to decide its theme and implementation.

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VATICAN CITY
Rome Reports

[with video]

October 3, 2013. (Romereports.com) The Vatican spokesman has announced that Pope Francis isn’t planning on reforming the Vatican’s Apostolic Constitution. Rather, he’s planning on drafting a completely new document, that deals with the governance of the Church.

FR. FEDERICO LOMBARDI
Vatican Spokesman
“The idea is not limited to updating the current ‘Pastor Bonus’ constitution, with small tweaks here and there. Instead the Pope plans on drafting a new constitution that includes new relevant changes. I think we can expect a new constitution.”

The new law will highlight two main aspects. First, that the Roman Curia shouldn’t be a power house, but instead it should be ‘at the service’ of the Universal Church. Also the Vatican’s State Department will more of a branch rather than a full governing body.

The Council of Cardinals recommended that a ‘moderator’ be assigned to coordinate the relationship between the Pope and the dicasteries of the Church. The council of eight cardinals is also analyzing how the role and work of the laity can be recognized more directly within the Church.

FR. FEDERICO LOMBARDI
Vatican Spokesman
“Special attention will be given so that institutions can adequately respond to the laity and the service they provide to the Church. Currently we have a Pontifical Council, but that relationship and presence could be strengthened so that the Curia is more involved with the laity.”

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Reuters

By Tom Heneghan OCTOBER 3, 2013

Hans Küng, Roman Catholicism’s best known rebel theologian, is considering capping a life of challenges to the Vatican with a final act of dissent – assisted suicide.

Küng, now 85 and suffering from Parkinson’s disease, writes in the final volume of his memoirs that people have a right to “surrender” their lives to God voluntarily if illness, pain or dementia make further

Küng has championed reform of the Catholic Church since its 1962-1965 Second Vatican Council, where he was a young adviser arguing for a decentralized church, married priests and artificial birth control. The Council did not adopt these ideas.

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VATICAN CITY
GlobalPost

By Philip Pullella

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Cardinals advising Pope Francis on how to reform the Vatican believe the Holy See’s central government is so problem-ridden that only a total overhaul can fix it, the Vatican said on Thursday.

The unusually stark acknowledgement came on the third and final day of closed-door meetings between the pope and eight cardinals from around the world who are discussing the Vatican’s troubled administration and mapping out possible changes in the worldwide Church.

Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said the cardinals were no longer considering adjustments or changes to a 1998 constitution on the workings of the Vatican’s various departments, known as “Pastor Bonus” (Good Shepherd).

“(The cardinals) are leaning towards a constitution with very significant new elements; in short, a new constitution,” Lombardi told reporters at a briefing.

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VATICAN CITY
adnkronos

Vatican City, 3 Oct. (AKI) – The scandal-tainted Vatican Curia or central administration needs completely overhauling with a new constitution, a group of cardinals advising Pope Francis has reported.

“They are leaning towards a constitution with very significant new elements; in short, a new constitution,” Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi told a media briefing on Thursday.

At the end of three days of closed-door meetings with the Argentinian pontiff, the group of eight cardinals concluded that more was needed than amendments to the current constitution governing the Vatican department, Lombardi said.

The bulky 1998 constitution is known by its Latin name of “Pastor Bonus” (The Good Shepherd) and re-writing the document will be a major task, according to Lombardi. He said he did not know how long this would take.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Insider

Fr. Lombardi spoke of a “complete overhaul in the organisation of the Curia” in his briefing with journalists today: the Secretariat of State becomes the papal Secretariat

GIACOMO GALEAZZI
VATICAN CITY

The Holy See waves goodbye to the Apostolic Constitution “Pastor Bonus” which regulates the way the Curia works. The Constitution is soon to be replaced by a new “Charter”. In today’s briefing with journalists, Vatican spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi announced that the work of the “C8”, Francis’ eight-member group of cardinal advisors, would not involve “amendments or minor changes” but a “complete overhaul of the organisation of the Curia”. All the necessary amount of time needed for this process will be taken but the outcome has already been decided: the Pastor Bonus will be replaced by a “newly configured Constitution that will be include relevant points” and will be inspired on the principle of subsidiarity. The result will be a Curia that serves local Churches.

The aim is to put an end to “Roman centralism”. The “C8” will discuss the following: the pastoral care of families (including the issue of communion for remarried divorcees); the next Synod of Bishops (which bishops have already set the agenda for); turning the Secretariat of State into a papal Secretariat; the introduction of a new “moderator curiae” role to improve coordination between Vatican offices; giving greater weight to the issue of the role lay people play in the Church. These are some of the ideas that emerged from the Council of Cardinals’ meetings. The Council will meet again in January and February. “The Council seemed particularly keen to work towards highlighting the Curia’s role as a body that serves the universal Church and local Churches,” Fr. Lombardi said. Pope Francis’ eight cardinal advisors discussed “subsidiarity”, in other words ensuring the Vatican has less of a “centralist” role so that Rome becomes the place where all necessary work is carried out in order to help the Church’s good actions throughout the rest of the world.

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ITALIA
Il Mattino

di Petronilla Carillo

È lungo 146 pagine il verbale dell’interrogatorio reso da Nunzio Scarano il 24 luglio scorso al procuratore aggiunto di Roma Nello Rossi, al sostituto Stefano Fava e al capitano della guardia di finanza Nisi.

Un interrogatorio che parte con toni sommessi da parte del prelato salernitano il quale ridisegna tutta la geografia politica di Apsa e Ior, lanciando accuse e riferendosi di continuo al memoriale inviato a papa Francesco, ma che termina con una messa all’angolo dell’indagato.

«È mio espresso desiderio dirvi che vi fornirò tutti gli elementi di cui dispongo e che possono essere utili alle indagini». Inizia così don Nunzio rimarcando anche le sue cattive condizioni di salute: «Sono in precarie condizioni di salute fisiche e morali in quanto mi sento molto male, ho avuto un ecodopler arterioso alla gamba destra, sono affetto dal morbo di Pucher, ho avuto due ictus che hanno evidenziato la presenza di una placca all’arteria del piede destro.

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ITALIA
Il Fatto Quotidiano

L’ex contabile dell’Amministrazione del patrimonio della Santa Sede interrogato dai pm nell’ambito dell’inchiesta della Procura di Roma: “L’Apsa non poteva avere clienti esterni, ma facevamo banca”. E sul Segretario di Stato Tarcisio Bertone: “Gli ho chiesto di mettere ordine, ma non mi ha considerato”

di Redazione Il Fatto Quotidiano | 2 ottobre 2013

“Pur non potendo l’Apsa avere clienti esterni, facevamo banca, offrendo ai clienti laici tassi più vantaggiosi rispetto allo Ior”. A dichiararlo è Monsignor Nunzio Scarano, ex contabile dell’Amministrazione del patrimonio della Sede Apostolica (Apsa). “Io quando sono andato dal cardinal Tarcisio Bertone (Segretario di Stato del Vaticano, ndr) a chiedere di mettere ordine all’interno dell’amministrazione (Apsa, ndr) non sono stato per niente considerato”, continua la sua confessione Scarano.

L’alto prelato è attualmente detenuto in una struttura ospedaliera a seguito dell’inchiesta della procura di Roma sul fallito tentativo di far rientrare illecitamente in Italia 20 milioni di euro. Le dichiarazioni di Scarano su attività finanziarie dell’Apsa emergono dall’interrogatorio del 24 luglio scorso. Il testo è stato depositato insieme agli atti dell’inchiesta, dopo la richiesta del giudizio immediato per l’alto prelato e altri due protagonisti della vicenda – l’operatore finanziario Giovanni Carenzio e l’ex 007 Giovanni Maria Zito. L’udienza è fissata per il 3 dicembre prossimo.

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VATICAN CITY
National Catholic Reporter

John L. Allen Jr. | Oct. 3, 2013 NCR Today

ROME
Just days after the Vatican bank attempted to project a new image of transparency with a first-ever audited financial statement, another Vatican financial department faced fresh charges of corruption and shady practices.

Italian newspapers today contained extracts from testimony given to Italian investigators by Msgr. Nunzio Scarano, a former accountant at the Administration of the Patrimony of the Holy See (APSA), who was arrested in June for alleged involvement in a plot to smuggle $26 million in cash into Italy from Switzerland at the behest of a family of shipping magnates.

APSA is the primary department that manages the Vatican’s assets, including an “ordinary section” responsible for physical property and an “extraordinary section” that oversees an investment portfolio resulting from a large cash settlement paid to the Vatican by the Italian state in 1929.

While most of the assets of the Vatican bank – technically, the “Institute for the Works of Religion” – belong to dioceses and religious orders, the properties and funds overseen by APSA directly belong to the pope.

According to the newspaper extracts, Scarano charged that during his time at APSA, officials routinely accepted gifts from banks looking to capture part of the Vatican’s assets, including “trips, cruises, five-star hotels, massages, etc.” He claimed that APSA officials frequently transferred funds from one bank to another, in part in order to keep the stream of benefits flowing.

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VATICAN CITY
Telegraph (UK)

Priests working in the Vatican’s finance department were offered massages, luxury holidays and cruises by banks keen for their business, Italian investigators have been told.

The claims were made by Monsignor Nunzio Scarano, a senior Vatican accountant who was arrested and imprisoned in June on suspicion of trying to smuggle £17 million (20 million euros) into Italy from Switzerland on a private jet.

The allegations concern priests and lay officials working in the Administration of the Patrimony of the Holy See or Apsa, a Vatican department which manages the Holy See’s property.

In questioning by prosecutors in Rome, Msgr Scarano was asked why the department appeared to have frequently changed the banks it dealt with and whether there were any “advantages” for its managers in doing so.

“Many, many advantages – holidays, cruises, staying in five-star hotels, massages, etcetera,” said the priest, according to leaked transcripts of the questioning, which took place in July but has only now come to light.

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CHICAGO (IL)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

They’re paying a suspended predator priest
Cleric faces at least three child sex allegations
Yet he’s on payroll of Burbank police department
SNAP: “The real culprit is Cardinal’s continuing secrecy”
In wake of Vatican action, Chicago church officials must act, group says

WHAT:
Holding signs and childhood photos at a sidewalk news conference, clergy sex abuse victims will

— harshly criticize Burbank officials for hiring a priest accused of molesting three boys,
— urge them to fire the priest and punish those responsible for the move, and
— prod Chicago archdiocesan officials to release more information about the priest.

WHEN:
Today, Thursday, Oct. 3 at 2:00 p.m.

WHERE:
Outside the Archdiocesan headquarters (‘chancery office’), 835 N Rush St Chicago, IL 60611

WHO:
Two – three clergy sex abuse victims who belong to a support group called SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAPnetwork.org)

WHY:
A suspended predator priest – accused of molesting at least three children – now sometimes works around children, because of Burbank city officials and Chicago Catholic officials, SNAP says.

Fr. Robert Stepek now works with the Burbank police department in Burbank “counseling grieving families” and “helping victims who sometimes included children,” according to today’s Chicago Tribune.

Both church and city authorities are to blame here and should take immediate action, SNAP says.

The group wants Burbank Mayor Harry Klein and Police Chief Bruce Radowicz to fire Fr. Stepek and Cardinal Francis George to publicly release details on Fr. Stepek’s alleged crimes and personally visit Fr. Stepek’s former parishes and explain why key archdiocesan staffer convinced Fr. Stepek is a child molester.

SNAP says that the on-going secrecy of top Chicago archdiocesan staffers – including Cardinal George – helps child molesters- perhaps dozens of them – get secular jobs, sometimes around kids.

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

PIA AKERMAN THE AUSTRALIAN OCTOBER 04, 2013

PROPOSED reform of the Catholic Church’s Towards Healing process for dealing with sexual abuse claims has been rejected by victims’ advocates, who have called for the in-house system to be dumped immediately.

In its submission to the royal commission investigating institutional responses to child sexual abuse, released this week, the church’s Truth, Justice and Healing Council foreshadowed changes including the appointment of independent commissioners who would determine payments to victims.

Broken Rites spokesman Wayne Chamley yesterday said the measures were inadequate and the church should instead dump Towards Healing and take legal steps to enable victims to successfully sue for compensation.

“They have had plenty of opportunity to get it right and it has never been right,” Dr Chamley said. “The church has got to vacate the field. If they are genuine they will repeal all the obstacles that currently exist for people going to civil law.”

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AUSTRALIA
Newcastle Herald

By JOANNE McCARTHY Oct. 3, 2013

NSW Police and the Catholic Church worked together for years under informal agreements that were in direct conflict with requirements to report child abuse, internal police documents have shown.

The arrangements allowed the church to produce edited abuse reports, carry out investigations and decline to release the results to police without court orders.

When a senior NSW Police officer advised the church in August 2003 that an unsigned memorandum of understanding (MOU) appeared to be ‘‘in direct conflict’’ with legal requirements to report crime, police did not investigate whether the church had failed to report abuse cases.

A year later the church proposed a fresh MOU giving accused clergy and employees effective veto over the release of internal church investigations to police.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

[with video]

Police records accesssed under Freedom of Information laws have revealed that the Catholic Church tried to strike an agreement with NSW police to allow it withold information about paedophile priests.

Transcript

TONY JONES, PRESENTER: Police records obtained under Freedom of Information laws have revealed that the Catholic Church was trying to strike an illegal agreement with the New South Wales Police, damaging to investigations of child sex abuse.

The police say the memorandum of understanding was never signed and never in force. But a senior official of the Catholic Church has told Lateline the agreement was in fact operational and the Catholic Church dealt with the police under its provisions. Under the draft agreement, the Church could withhold personnel files from police. That and other provisions were found to be in breach of the Crimes Act.

Steve Cannane has this exclusive report. The producer was Sashka Koloff.

STEVE CANNANE, REPORTER: In recent years the Catholic Church has been accused of covering up child sexual abuse committed by its own clergy.

Now they’re being accused of trying to co-opt NSW Police to help them suppress evidence against paedophile priests.

This draft agreement between police and the Church contains clauses that would allow the Church to withhold evidence from police.

(female voiceover): “Church authorities shall make available the report of an assessment and any other matter relevant to the accused’s account of events only if required to do so by court order.”

GEOFFREY WATSON, BARRISTER: The point is that under our law, you must report it if you become aware of a serious criminal offence and you’ve got to give all the particulars of that. You’ve got to tell the police. When I looked at the MOUs, they were really in effect trying to get the police to condone the failure to comply with that law, or even perhaps worse, get the police to participate in it.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

Exclusive by Steve Cannane and Sashka Koloff

The Catholic Church tried to strike an agreement with New South Wales Police that would have helped shutdown investigations into paedophile priests and placed police in breach of the Crimes Act.

Police records, accessed under freedom of information laws by Greens MP David Shoebridge, show two attempts were made to finalise memorandums of understanding (MOUs) between police and the church over how to deal with complaints of sexual and physical abuse by Catholic Church personnel.

The first agreement, which was unsigned, includes a clause that reads: “Church authorities shall make available the report of an assessment and any other matter relevant to the accused’s account of events only if required to do so by court order.”

Barrister Geoffrey Watson SC says the agreement would have placed police in breach of the Crimes Act.

“If you become aware of a serious criminal offence, you’ve got to tell the police,” he told the ABC’s Lateline program.

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CALIFORNIA
Daily Mail (UK)

The Catholic priest who quit after getting a woman pregnant has revealed that the mother of his child was a member of his congregation and he now thinks that the Church should allow priests to marry.

Father Daniel McFalls left his post at St Mary’s in Stockton, California after making the shocking announcement to his parish that he was going to be a first-time father.

The baby- a boy, named Daniel Gabriel- has since been born and the former priest is speaking out about how he feels the Church needs to change with the times.

‘It’s sad I had to choose between caring for this child and all the people I care for at our church. It’s sad I was put in that position,’ he told The New York Daily News.

‘I know I’m not worthy to be speaking publicly about this because I’m a sinner, but I hope this might help the Catholic Church to look more deeply at the possibility of finding some way to open the door to a married priesthood.’

One of those parishioners who was particularly close to his heart was the mother of his newborn child.

He has not revealed her name, but said that she is a ‘discreet’ member of his church.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

By Ewan Gilbert

A Canberra priest is expected to be charged with more child abuse offences.

Father Edward Evans, 84, was arrested earlier this year on allegations he indecently assaulted a young girl at his home during the 1990s.

He pleaded not guilty.

But on Thursday in the ACT Magistrates Court, the prosecution announced the investigation was still open and they expected to lay further charges in the coming weeks.

Evans did not appear in court, but his lawyer argued that he didn’t know anything about the fresh charges and that, in the meantime, the case should progress regardless.

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ARGENTINA
The Tablet

[Detailed Summary of Case of Julio César Grassi, Drawn from Media Coverage and Public Reports – BishopAccountability.org]

3 October 2013

A priest who was defended by Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, now Pope Francis, has begun a 15-year prison sentence for the sexual abuse of an adolescent boy in the 1990s. Fr Julio Cesar Grassi, 57, was the nationally known leader of Buenos Aires’ Happy Children Foundation, a centre for troubled boys, at the time the crime took place.

Grassi has consistently maintained his innocence. He told the provincial court in Moron that jailed him on Monday: “The prosecutors have lied and set up a case against me.”

Vatican spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi declined to comment on the case, which is making headlines in Argentina.

According to the Wall Street Journal, in a 2006 interview with the Argentine magazine Veintitres, Cardinal Bergoglio Fr Grassi had not been suspended from his priestly duties because his case was “different” from other cases of alleged sexual abuse that had emerged at the time.

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CALIFORNIA
Irish Central

Father Daniel McFalls, who quit his post at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Stockton, CA, has announced that his son Gabriel has arrived. Last week Father McFalls, known as Dean, told his congregation “A child will soon be born, and I am the baby’s father”.

With these words McFalls voluntarily quit his post recently, admitting he had gotten a woman pregnant and leaving his congregants reeling.

But at least one member of his congregations professed herself glad, calling him ‘flirty.’

Diana Garcia, who has attended the church for 15 years, told Fox News: ‘He’s gone after girls before and he’s gone after my daughters.’

‘He’s just lustful, he didn’t say he was in love or would marry the girl, no. It’s not about being a sinner, it’s about playing with God, he made a vow, this is a priest we’re talking about.’

In a letter sent to the church and read to his congregation, McFalls said: ‘I know this comes as a shock to you, and to many a disappointment.

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REPUBLICA DOMINICANA
Entorno Inteligente

El Caribe / El sacerdote Rogelio Cruz calificó ayer de “enfermos” a los religiosos acusados de violaciones a menores y consideró que la Iglesia debe ayudarles, al igual que las supuestas víctimas. “No justificamos ningún tipo de violación y si se trata de casos de menores, pues mucho menos. Estoy de acuerdo en que el que hizo un mal, pues tiene que pagarlo”, explicó el padre, quien agregó que no está de acuerdo con que una persona sea condenada antes de ser juzgada por la justicia. Dijo que hasta la misma iglesia está juzgando a los supuestos violadores cuando aún no han sido condenados por la Justicia. “Son seres humanos que necesitan ayuda, así como la necesitan las víctimas”.

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DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Dominican Today

Santo Domingo.- Radical priest Rogelio Cruz described on Wednesday called the prelates charged with sexually abusing minors “sick” and said the Church should help them, as well as the alleged victims.

“We don’t justify any kind of violation and when it’s about cases of minors, even much less. I agree that if they did wrong, they have to pay,” he said.

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AUSTRALIA
Canberra Times

October 3, 2013

Michael Inman
Courts reporter for The Canberra Times.

A Canberra Catholic priest will stand trial over allegations of historical offences against a child in the 1990s.

The ACT Magistrates Court also heard Father Edward Evans was under police investigation over further allegations and fresh charges could be laid in the coming weeks.

Father Evans, 84, was arrested and charged earlier this year with three acts of indecency between 1994 and 1997.

The German-language chaplain is accused of indecently touching a girl three times, twice when she was between 11 and 12, and a third time when she was 13.

He has pleaded not guilty to the allegations.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Information Service

Vatican City, 3 October 2013 (VIS) – The reform of the Curia and the attribution of of more incisive role to the laity were among the principal themes considered yesterday afternoon and this morning in the meeting of the Council of Cardinals, instituted by the Pope to assist him in the governance of the Church, said the director of the Holy See Press Office, Fr. Federico Lombardi S.J., in a briefing with journalists.

Before commenting on the issues discussed by the cardinals, Fr. Lombardi referred to the words of the Pope at the end of the audience with participants in the meeting held to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of John XXIII’s encyclical, “Pacem in terris”, in which he recalled the victims, currently numbered at 90, of the shipwreck this morning near the Italian island of Lampedusa. “In the light of this new tragedy”, he said, “we understand more clearly the value and meaning of the first trip of Francis’ pontificate”.

Moving on to the work of the Council of Cardinals, he stated that the Pope was present yesterday in the afternoon session, held between 4 and 7 p.m. “The Holy Father goes to pray at the Chapel at seven o’clock, and that is the end of their collaboration, although the the cardinals may join him together, if they see fit. This morning he was not present as he received in audience the participants in the meeting organised by the Pontifical Council ‘Justice and Peace’”.

The cardinals worked principally on the reform of the Curia. “The direction of their work would not indicate an updating of the apostolic Constitution ‘Pastor Bonus’, with retouches and marginal modifications”, explained Lombardi, “but rather, a new constitution with significant new aspects. It will be necessary to wait a reasonable amount of time following this Council, but the idea is this. The cardinals have made it clear that they do not intend to make cosmetic retouches or minor modifications to ‘Pastor bonus’”.

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CHILE
Terra

Una funcionaria del Colegio Cumbres declaró como testigo “protegida” en el marco de la investigación de la Fiscalía Oriente en contra del sacerdote John O’Reilly, quien se encuentra formalizado por presuntos abusos sexuales a dos alumnas del establecimiento ubicado en la comuna de Las Condes.

“Generalmente me encontraba en las mañanas con el padre John recibiendo niños y después, al mediodía, lo veía que sacaba alumnos chicos a comprar dulces”, relató, agregando que el religioso “se ponía en la entrada del preescolar a saludar a los niños y después se los llevaba a misa”.

“El padre generalmente sacaba a niños de la sala y les regalaba muchos dulces y eso, en un contexto de educación, no es normal. Además, él siempre estaba rodeado de niños”, afirmó la mujer, según consigna Emol.

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AUSTRALIA
Daily Examiner

APN Newsdesk 3rd Oct 2013

THE Catholic Church has admitted it betrayed its own people and the expectations of the wider community in its handling of sex abuse allegations.

But despite the admission, contained in a submission to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, the church’s Truth, Justice and Healing Council has made no significant changes to internal processes designed to bring closure to victims.

The 200-page submission outlines the church’s Towards Healing process, which was created in 1996 to help victims of abuse by Catholic priests.

The program will be the subject of a fortnight of intense scrutiny by the commission, starting on December 9 this year.

While the council has admitted grave faults across its investigation and response to allegations of child sexual abuse, the submission says only it is open to suggestions for improvements from the commission.

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AUSTRALIA
Sky News

Thursday October 3, 2013

Catholic Church reforms to its handling of clerical abuse claims are an attempt to maintain private control of a compensation scheme for victims of abuse, a NSW MP says.

The church announced on Thursday that it was looking at a separation of its pastoral and compensation roles when it came to dealing with victims of child sexual abuse.

Under the proposal the reparation elements of the church’s Towards Healing process could work alongside any future national compensation scheme.

Towards Healing was set up by the church in 1996 to deal with complaints from abuse victims and to pay compensation.

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AUSTRALIA
The Guardian (UK)

David Marr
theguardian.com, Wednesday 2 October 2013

The Catholic church has admitted grave faults in its dealings with victims of sex abuse by priests. The peak body that represents the church, the Truth Justice and Healing Council, has reported shoddy record-keeping, secrecy, inconsistent outcomes and lack of effective supervision of the dioceses and religious orders responsible for the care of victims.

These admissions come in a submission to the royal commission into institutional responses to child sex abuse, which is soon to examine the church’s Towards Healing process that offers care and compensation to victims of priests everywhere in Australia but the parishes of Melbourne.

“The submission presents to the royal commission a warts and all approach that outlines the strengths but also recognises how Towards Healing operates,” Francis Sullivan, the chief executive of the Truth, Justice and Healing Council, which was set up last year to co-ordinate the church’s response to the royal commission, told Guardian Australia.

“We need to put in place much more rigorous, contemporary best-practice governance arrangements including accountability for all church authorities about the operation of Towards Healing, the safeguards that are in the Catholic church for children, the measures to prevent sex abuse and the achievement of standards across the whole church.”

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AUSTRALIA
Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse

Public submissions received by the Royal Commission for Issues Paper 2 on Towards Healing that discuss principles and procedures are listed below in order of receipt. Information has been withheld in accordance with the advertised conditions.

1. Australian Human Rights Commission

2. Concerned Queensland Catholics

3. Lewis Holdway Lawyers

4. Catholics for Renewal Incorporated

5. Australian Lawyers Alliance

6. Broken Rites

7. Knowmore

8. UTS Business School – Centre for Health Economics Research and Education

9. Bravehearts

10. Australian Association of Social Workers

11. NSW Ombudsman

12. Law Council of Australia

13. Slater and Gordon

14. Judy Courtin

15. Truth Justice and Healing Council

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AUSTRALIA
Herald Sun

BY ANNETTE BLACKWELL AAP OCTOBER 03, 2013

LACK of oversight and accountability by the Catholic Church in handling child sex abuse complaints has led to mixed outcomes for victims, a church spokesman says.

Francis Sullivan, chief executive of the church’s Truth Justice and Healing Council has announced proposals to reform the approach to clerical sexual abuse.

The reforms would include a separation of the pastoral and compensation elements of the Towards Healing process, which deals with victims of Catholic Church abuse.

“There has been a contamination of the pastoral approaches by legal approaches,” Mr Sullivan told AAP on Thursday.

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VATICAN CITY
Chiesa

He has unveiled the true program of his pontificate in two interviews and a letter to an atheist intellectual. With respect to the popes who preceded him the separation appears ever more clear. In words and in deeds

by Sandro Magister

ROME, October 3, 2013 – The first meeting, in these days, of the eight cardinals called to consultation by Pope Francis and his visit tomorrow to Assisi, the city of the saint whose name he has taken, are acts that certainly characterize the beginning of this pontificate.

But even more characterizing, in defining its approach, have been four media events of the month just ended:

– the interview of pope Jorge Mario Bergoglio with “La Civiltà Cattolica,”

– his letter in reply to the questions addressed to him publicly by Eugenio Scalfari (in the photo), the founder of the leading secular Italian newspaper, “la Repubblica,”

– his subsequent conversation-interview with Scalfari,

– and another letter in reply to another champion of militant atheism, the mathematician Piergiorgio Odifreddi, this last written not by the current pope but by his living predecessor.

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VATICAN CITY
The Daily Beast

by Barbie Latza Nadeau Oct 3, 2013

As his global popularity soars, the pope is meeting with eight cardinals charged with solving the church’s crises. Barbie Latza Nadeau on what Francis might decide to fix.

While the picturesque Umbrian hamlet of Assisi prepares for what will surely be an epic love-fest when Pope Francis follows the footsteps of his papal namesake St. Francis in Assisi on Friday, a quiet storm is brewing back in Rome.

This week, Francis called his group of eight reformist cardinals to the Holy See for their inaugural summit on reform. The pope appointed the eight in April, tasking them with the tough job of prioritizing the Vatican’s many woes. The group is made up of Sean O’Malley of the United States, Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga of Honduras, Giuseppe Bertello of Italy, Francisco Javier Errazuriz Ossa of Chile, Reinhard Marx of Germany, Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya of the Congo, George Pell of Australia and Oswald Gracias of India. They have been interviewing church leaders and clergy in their home continents to bring what should be a comprehensive list of problems to the pope’s table.

In July, O’Malley told National Catholic Reporter’s John Allen he was interviewing cardinals in the United States and Canada to “get ideas for reform.” Allen, who has his pulse on the Vatican heartbeat like few others, says the so-called G-8 cardinals will have far more reach than as just advisors, even though it remains to be seen whether they will just be “a kitchen cabinet that doesn’t appear anywhere on formal Vatican flowcharts,” he wrote in his recent column on the summit. “The pope takes the G-8 seriously, which means everybody else in the Vatican is obliged to do so as well.”

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PERU
Caretas

Summary: The devil seemed to seize Father Felix Pariona, chaplain of the cathedral in Ayacucho last Sunday. “String of liars!” roared the white cassocked priest who then grabbed the neck and shoved a Caretas reporter. Pariona and a group of folllowers support former Bishop Gabina Miranda who has been accused of pedophilia. They demanded to know the details about explusion of Miranda.Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani of Lima, speaking from Rome, said he did not know the details of the case.]

El diablo pareció apoderarse del padre Félix Pariona, capellán de la Basílica Catedral de Ayacucho, el domingo último.

–“¡Sarta de mentirosos!”– bramó el cura de blanca sotana para después agarrar del cuello y empujar a un reportero de CARETAS.

Pariona y un grupo de seguidores del suspendido obispo de Ayacucho, Gabino Miranda (53), lucían fuera de sí.

Exigían saber los detalles de la expulsión de Miranda de la Iglesia y atacaban a quienes recordaban las acusaciones de pedofilia contra el sacerdote.

“Hermano Gabino, esperamos tu retorno”, gritaban.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Oxford Mail

A VICAR and former magistrate is on trial accused of sexually assaulting a girl.

Christopher Tadman-Robins, 66, pictured, is accused of touching and kissing the complainant, who cannot be named for legal reasons, when she lived in Oxfordshire.

Ann Evans, prosecuting, told a jury at Luton Crown Court yesterday that the musician and former musical director of the Northern Ballet had touched his victim and warned her not to tell anyone.

The barrister said Tadman-Robins had tried to make the girl “blame herself” for the abuse and sent her letters to “express sorrow for his actions”.

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AUSTRALIA
Sky News

Australia’s Catholic church will consider an overhaul of how it handles clerical sexual abuse claims with plans to appoint independent experts and move away from the pastoral management of victim reparation and child protection standards.

In a recommendation endorsed by church leaders and due to be submitted to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, the church’s advisory body – the Truth, Justice and Healing Council – has suggested the church should hand over responsibility for determining and distributing who is eligible for compensation and how it should be paid.

‘We think that it is time now to look at a distinct separation of the pastoral responsibility and response of a church and its responsibility and contribution to compensation,’ Council CEO Francis Sullivan told ABC Radio on Thursday.

‘This is a new direction based on accountability, transparency and independent oversight.’

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AUSTRALIA
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Canberra & Goulburn

03 October 2013

The Catholic Church is developing a reform agenda, including wide-ranging independent input, as part of an overhaul of its approach to clerical sexual abuse.

Chief executive officer of the Truth Justice and Healing Council Francis Sullivan said the reforms would be presented to Church leaders in the first half of next year and could be put in place late next year.

The reform proposals are outlined in the Truth Justice and Healing Council’s Towards Healing submission to the Royal Commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse.

“These proposals recognise that we must do better when we are dealing with victims of sexual abuse and as we work to make sure our institutions are as safe as possibly for children,” Mr Sullivan said.

The proposals include:

* Appointing independent compensation commissioners to determine payments to victims who go through the victim response process known as Towards Healing. This would separate the pastoral responses in Towards Healing from the determination of financial payments.

* Appointing lay and independent experts to strengthen the Church’s National Committee of Professional Standards.

* Introducing an independent national board to develop and administer national child protection standards. The board would monitor adherence to these standards and publicly report on compliance. It would also provide more rigorous assessment, monitoring, auditing and enforcement of Towards Healing practices.

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VATICAN CITY
The Sun Daily

Posted on 3 October 2013

VATICAN CITY (Oct 3, 2013): Pope Francis on Tuesday accepted the resignation of bishop William Lee whom the Catholic Church in Ireland said was stepping down for health reasons.

The Holy See said Lee was relieved of his functions under paragraph 2 of article 401 of the Code of Canon Law, which covers resignations on health grounds as well as offences linked to the handling of child abuse cases and corruption.

In a story on October 1, AFP erroneously linked Lee’s resignation to his handling of a complaint of child sex abuse made against a priest dating back to 1993.

Sources close to the Vatican said Lee is suffering from cancer.

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AUSTRALIA
Pedestrian TV

The Catholic Church has told the Royal Commission Into Institutional Responses To Child Sexual Abuse that it intends to implement new organisation-wide policies and strategies for dealing with complaints of sexual abuse by priests.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that the Catholic Church has put forward a range of policy reforms in a formal submission to the Royal Commission, including agreeing to contribute to “an independent national compensation scheme if that is what the commission investigating child sex abuse in institutions recommends.”

The submission also addresses criticisms of the Catholic Church’s own Towards Healing, the set of principles “form the basis of the Church’s response to complaints of abuse and the procedures to be followed in responding to individual complaints,” which has been accused of being inconsistent in the way it deals with complaints, and that it lacks “transparency, accountability or independence”. The reforms will include the creation of “an independent lay-led board to audit, enforce and report publicly the Towards Healing abuse protocol”.

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VATICAN CITY
National Catholic Reporter

John L. Allen Jr. | Oct. 3, 2013 NCR Today

Rome – Although Pope Francis has earned a reputation for taking on tough questions and shaking up the status quo, so far he’s been relatively quiet on at least one issue that’s arguably done greater harm to the image and morale of the church over the last decade than any other: the child sexual abuse scandals.

Even when the pontiff has had opportunities to express concern, he’s sometimes let them pass by. For instance, there was no meeting with victims of abuse during his July 22-29 trip to Brazil, even though such encounters had become almost a routine feature of papal travel under Benedict XVI.

The activist group BishopAccountability.org recently asserted of Francis, “He has expressed solidarity with nearly every vulnerable population except for those who were sexually abused within the church.”

Neither have there been many substantive developments on the policy front. On July 11, Francis approved a revision to the laws of the Vatican City State adding crimes for sexual abuse of children, child prostitution, and possession of child pornography, but that merely codified changes already announced under Benedict.

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AUSTRALIA
Gulf News

[Submission from the Truth Justice and Healing Council]

AFP
Published: October 3, 2013

Sydney: Australia’s Catholic Church on Thursday unveiled a major reform of the way it handles child sex abuse cases, as it acknowledged it had “betrayed” the public with cover-ups which put itself before victims.

The Church’s Truth, Justice and Healing Council, established in response to Australia’s ongoing royal commission into institutional child sex abuse, released what it described as the “most significant” reforms in its 200-year history to its processes for dealing with claims of clergy abuse of children.

It came as the commission made public one of the Church’s submissions to the inquiry, in which it admitted it was “deeply ashamed” of the extent of clergy sex abuse of children and said many victims “were not believed when they should have been.”

“The church is also ashamed to acknowledge that, in some cases, those in positions of authority concealed or covered up what they knew of the facts; moved perpetrators to another place thereby enabling them to offend again, or failed to report matters to the police when they should have,” the submission said, describing it as “indefensible.”

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COLORADO
Coloradoan

A Fort Collins man connected to Windsor church Iglesia del Dios Vivo has been found guilty of sexual assault on a child, making him the second man in the church’s recent history to face such charges.

Hugo Ornelas, 49, was found guilty in early September by a jury on four counts of sexual assault on a child stemming from his December 2012 arrest.

Ornelas was ordered not to be in contact with anyone under the age of 18. But in June, he was arrested again, this time on misdemeanor charges of violating the terms and conditions of his protection order, after Windsor Police, working with Fort Collins police, found Ornelas interacting with children ages 3 to 8 at the Iglesia del Dios Vivo church.

According to his arrest affidavit, Ornelas told police he thought the protection order didn’t apply to his church.

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ILLINOIS
Chicago Tribune

By Jennifer Delgado
Tribne reporter
8:34 p.m. CDT, October 2, 2013

Seven years ago, the Archdiocese of Chicago removed the popular pastor of a southwest suburban church after he was accused of molesting two brothers.

But Burbank Mayor Harry Klein thought the Rev. Robert Stepek was innocent. So, in 2007, he recommended the priest for a different position of authority: police department counselor, helping victims who sometimes included children. Stepek got the job.

The hiring came at a time of increasing public furor over the church’s handling of molestation allegations and divided many in Burbank.

Klein, like some other parishioners at St. Albert the Great, put his trust in Stepek and defended the decision to hire the priest.

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UNITED STATES
Christian Catholicism

Jerry Slevin

Pope Francis and his Council of Cardinals this week could well paraphrase the ”Veni, Vidi, Vici” of an earlier Roman pontiff, Julius Caesar. Instead, “Venemus, Vidimus, Curia Vicit”, in English, “We came, we saw and the Curia conquered”.

After years of financial and sexual scandals among the Catholic hierarchy and six months’ of propaganda previews, Pope Francis and the “usual suspects” basically preserved the Curia in secret, after some opportunistic tinkering . The “conquered” remain the same, the People of God, especially women and children. Of course, none of these People of God had any real say with respect to the Council of Cardinals.

The titanic Vatican continues to sink, despite the rearranged deck chairs and this new Argentinian paintjob , which didn’t fix the leaks. The papal strategy of ex-Pope Benedict remains intact, along with the time honored papal tactic of saying one thing and doing another.

The strategy is simple. Protect the hierarchy, even criminal ones like Bishop Finn, and their personal assets at all costs, maximize the papal mystique and push docile Catholics to breed more Catholics. These new Catholic rabbits can then fund and staff the future Church and vote for preferred politicians in exchange for continued protection and subsidies for the hierarchy.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Insider

The Pope has proposed a strategy for speeding up trials, involving cases being heard in first and second instance courts, by different judges

ANDREA TORNIELLI
VATICAN CITY

The fight against paedophilia and abuse against minors by members of the clergy remains a priority under Francis’ pontificate as it was under Benedict XVI’s. One of the ideas currently being examined for the improvement of the existing system, is to establish national and regional ecclesiastical courts, specialising in these types of cases. This would speed the trial process up.

The idea was discussed during the second part of the Concistory which took place on Monday morning. All cardinals present in Rome attended. After John Paul Ii and John XXIII’s canonization dates were officially announced, Francis consulted the cardinals on the anti-paedophilia regulations currently in place.

Last 6 April, after receiving the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Gerhard Müller, Francis “strongly urged the Congregation to continue the work Benedict XVI had begun against sex abuse and act with determination to combat it.” Francis asked the Congregation above all to “promote measures for the protection of minors, help past victims of sex abuse, take all necessary measures to bring guilty parties to justice and ensure Bishops’ Conferences introduced and implemented all necessary regulations relating to sex abuse. This is so important for the Church’s testimony and credibility.” This is an unmistakable sign that the clampdown on paedophilia in the Church continues.

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IRELAND
Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference

Statement by Bishop Lee on his resignation on health grounds as Bishop of Waterford and Lismore

My dear Priests, Religious and People of the diocese of Waterford and Lismore,

As you are aware in July 2011 I was diagnosed with serious illness and, since diagnosis, I have been under medical care. This has impacted greatly on my health and ministry. Recently the medical advice to me has been that, in the interests of my health, I should retire from the office of Bishop of Waterford and Lismore. Even though I found the time since diagnosis quite demanding, I had hoped that I would be able to continue in office and looked forward to doing so. Now, my doctors have advised otherwise.

Accordingly, I have in the past few weeks submitted my letter of resignation as Bishop of Waterford and Lismore to Pope Francis. The Holy Father has considered my request and graciously accepted my resignation.

It is with reluctance and sadness that I have come to this decision to retire as I have been very happy and blessed amongst you the priests, religious and people of the diocese. It was a great privilege for me to be your Bishop. I have been ministering in that capacity for just over twenty years since I was ordained Bishop on 25 July 1993. It is a long time and you have been very patient with my shortcomings. My years as Bishop have been so fulfilling and, as well, very challenging. Today I recall with gratitude all who have shared in making God’s love present among us – building community, forming the young, safeguarding children, supporting the vulnerable, caring for the elderly, nurturing goodness and hope at every opportunity. I thank you for your dedication and generosity.

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IRELAND
Catholics4Change

OCTOBER 2, 2013 BY SUSAN MATTHEWS

I was contacted today by Martin Long, director of communications at the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference, on behalf on Bishop William Lee. He shared Bishop Lee’s statement which explains his resignation was due to serious health reasons that have recently worsened. Long states that Agence France-Presse Foundation (AFP), which reported the original story, gravely defamed Bishop Lee in their coverage. He goes on to say that AFP acknowledges their mistake and has apologized. They have since removed the story from their Web site.

As a blog, we frequently link to press stories and broadcast reports. When we find that those outlets have pulled their coverage due to inaccuracy, we will follow suit. We have no interest in furthering lies. The laity has had enough of that. There is no shortage of horrible truths to expose.

He goes on to share an independent audit published by the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic in Ireland. Click to read report. The content includes comments such as, “The review team strongly commends Bishop Lee for his personal commitment, leadership and absolute desire to keep children safe.”

According to IrishCentral, Bishop Lee publicly apologized in 2010 after admitting his “response to child abuse allegations in the mid-1990s was ‘seriously inadequate.’” We are happy the audit showed progress in the protection of children.

That’s where I would have liked to have ended this post. But Long continues with another request to “publish an apology to Bishop Lee in a phrasing to be approved in advance by me on his behalf. Your website is available in Ireland on the internet and accordingly your defamatory statements are subject to the laws of Ireland. Bishop Lee has consulted lawyers in relation to this matter. His instruction to me is that he would wish that the continuation of the grave wrong done to him be halted by you immediately in order to avert further damage to his reputation. The effectiveness with which you act will determine his next steps. Your response is demanded before 10.00am (Irish time) tomorrow.

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

PIA AKERMAN THE AUSTRALIAN OCTOBER 03, 2013

THE Catholic Church has pledged to reform its controversial Towards Healing program for victims of clerical sexual abuse, emphasising greater transparency and independent management of compensation.

The royal commission investigating institutional responses to child sexual abuse has already received numerous submissions from victims’ advocates accusing church representatives of undermining victims and taking a defensive or hostile position in meetings.

In its submission to the inquiry, the church’s Truth, Justice and Healing Council acknowledged some of the problems and said it was developing proposals for greater oversight of its in-house settlement process.

“The church readily accepts that Towards Healing is not a complete, or perfect, solution for what is a complex and very difficult issue, and that it will inevitably have shortcomings from the perspective of some victims,” the council said.

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AUSTRALIA
The Age

October 3, 2013

Barney Zwartz
Religion editor, The Age.

The Catholic Church will create independent strategies for handling clergy sex abuse complaints by the end of next year in response to widespread criticisms, it has told the royal commission.

In its formal submission, to be released on Thursday, the church says it is happy to contribute to an independent national compensation scheme if that is what the commission investigating child sex abuse in institutions recommends.

But that would take years, whereas the church recognises it needs to act immediately to make its response more open, accountable and independent, according to Francis Sullivan, CEO of the Truth, Justice and Healing Council.

“We don’t want the legal mindset to contaminate what should be a pastoral response,” Mr Sullivan told Fairfax Media.

The council was set up by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference and religious orders after the royal commission was announced late last year to co-ordinate the church’s response. It represents 31 Australian dioceses and more than 100 orders.

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AUSTRALIA
9 News

Australia’s Catholic church will consider an overhaul of how it handles clerical sexual abuse claims with plans to appoint independent experts and move away from the pastoral management of victim reparation and child protection standards.

In a recommendation endorsed by church leaders and due to be submitted to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, the church’s advisory body – the Truth, Justice and Healing Council – has suggested the church should hand over responsibility for determining and distributing who is eligible for compensation and how it should be paid.

“We think that it is time now to look at a distinct separation of the pastoral responsibility and response of a church and its responsibility and contribution to compensation,” Council CEO Francis Sullivan told ABC Radio on Thursday.

“This is a new direction based on accountability, transparency and independent oversight.”

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ARGENTINA
BishopAccountability.org – Monitor

[SUBSCRIBE TO OUR MONITOR NEWSLETTER]

– An Argentine court finally sends to prison a priest convicted of child sex abuse in 2009 and defended by the Pope
– This is an opportunity for Pope Francis to be transparent and pastoral
– See our new summary, with translated articles and court documents, of then-Cardinal Bergoglio’s involvement in this controversial case

Dear Friend,

A pedophile priest in Argentina who has stayed free since his criminal conviction four years ago in part because of covert lobbying of judges by the Argentine bishops’ conference, headed by then-Cardinal Bergoglio, finally has started serving his 15-year sentence. This week, an Argentine criminal court ordered Father Julio César Grassi immediately to go to prison for molesting a 13-year-old boy in the late 1990s.

According to news reports, Cardinal Bergoglio, now Pope Francis, led a private campaign to exonerate Grassi and discredit his victims after Grassi was convicted in June 2009. See our analysis of the Grassi case and dossier of articles and documents, which we made public this week.

Bergoglio and GrassiNow, as leader of the Catholic church, Pope Francis has an opportunity to order a full account of child sexual abuse by clerics in Argentina, and the cover-up by Argentine bishops. Six months into his papacy, the Pope has addressed financial corruption but not the corrupt shielding of sex offenders by bishops. He has expressed solidarity with nearly every vulnerable population except for those who were sexually abused within the church.

We are especially troubled that the Pope lobbied for Grassi so recently – in 2009 and 2010, years after the worldwide cover-up scandal broke and bishops in the US and Europe began implementing reforms, and soon after Bergoglio was nearly elected Pope in 2005.

Pope Francis in his America interview was contrite about his management failings as provincial of the Jesuits in Argentina during the dirty war, though he doesn’t mention his Jesuit subordinates, Orlando Yorio and Francisco Jalics, who were arrested, tortured, and released, let alone Mónica María Candelaria Mignone and her friends, who were arrested with the priests, tortured, and murdered. (See also a Google translation into English of the Mignone page.) The Grassi decision is the moment for Pope Francis to use the discernment also discussed in the interview to bring transparency to his time as a high archdiocesan official, archbishop, and cardinal in Buenos Aires. We urge that he order the release of a complete list of all credibly accused clerics with whom he dealt, both as an archdiocesan official and a Jesuit provincial, and that he compel Argentine bishops and religious superiors to publish similar lists, as 26 US bishops and religious superiors have done.

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AUSTRALIA
Telegraph

FRANCIS SULLIVAN THE DAILY TELEGRAPH OCTOBER 03, 2013

THE Daily Telegraph recently reported the case of a Catholic brother jailed for at least three and half years for abusing children at a western Sydney school.

It was the sort of report that is often seen in the pages of most of our newspapers and across other media and which reflects an appalling history of sexual abuse of children within the Catholic Church.

The victims of this type of abuse go through extreme damage and suffering and the impact it can have on their lives is profound.

It is this damage and suffering that is at the centre of the Catholic Church’s Towards Healing victims’ reparation protocol.

For the better part of 20 years the Catholic Church in Australia has used Toward Healing to offer victims of sex abuse by catholic priests, brothers, teachers and others church workers a way to tell their story and to receive pastoral care and reparation.

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UNITED STATES
BishopAccountability.org

Summary of Case: Rev. Alan E. Caparella was ordained a Franciscan priest in 1966. He worked at a high school in the Pittsburgh, PA diocese early in his career, moving to the Boston archdiocese in 1972 where he did parish work and some hospital ministry. He died in March 1991. Caparella was accused of the sexual abuse of a minor in a lawsuit that was settled in May 2013.

Ordained: 1966
Died: March 31, 1991

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KANSAS CITY (MO)
WGEM

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – An attorney for a girl and her parents says a lawsuit involving a western Missouri priest convicted of producing child pornography has reached a tentative settlement.

Rebecca Randles, who has represented dozens of clients who claim to have been abused by Roman Catholic priests, declined Wednesday to discuss terms of the agreement.

The Kansas City Star (http://bit.ly/15JldnV ) reports a spokesman for the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph also declined to comment before a judge approves the deal.

The lawsuit against the Rev. Shawn Ratigan, Bishop Robert Finn and the diocese was scheduled for trial Monday. A hearing on the settlement agreement is set for Oct. 25.

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ARGENTINA
El Civico

[Detailed Summary of Case of Julio César Grassi, Drawn from Media Coverage and Public Reports – BishopAccountability.org]

Buenos Aires.- La defensa de Julio César Grassi, presentó en las últimas horas un recurso extraordinario ante la Corte Suprema de Justicia para que revean la condena del sacerdote a 15 años de prisión por abuso sexual de menores, fallo que ratificó la Suprema Corte bonaerense.

Ante esta decisión, el patrocinante de la defensa de Grassi, Carlos Irisarri, argumentó: “El tribunal de juicio partió de la base de que la palabra del acusador valía más que la palabra del acusado, decapitando así la palabra de éste sin dar ninguna razón crítico-racionalista para tal diferenciación, que, en principio, a falta de otra prueba, sólo podría basarse en razones extraordinarias, mientras que su acusador está en la doble debilidad de ser ‘declarante único’ + ‘interesado en la causa'”.

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ARGENTINA
Terra

[Summary: Priest Julio Cesar Grassi has appealed his 15-year sentence for abusing minors to the Supreme Court.]

El cura Julio César Grassi apeló el fallo de la Suprema Corte Bonaerense que confirmó la pena en su contra de 15 años de prisión por abuso sexual de menores y por la cual fue detenido la semana pasada tras recibir la condena en 2009.

Con un recurso extraordinario, el abogado Carlos Irisarri, patrocinante del sacerdote, pretende llevar el caso a la Corte Suprema de Justicia para que revise la condena a 15 años por “abuso sexual agravado por resultar sacerdote, encargado de la educación y de la guarda del menor víctima, reiterado, dos hechos, en concurso real entre sí, que a su vez concurren formalmente con corrupción de menores agravada”.

“El tribunal de juicio partió de la base de que la palabra del acusador valía más que la palabra del acusado, decapitando así la palabra de éste sin dar ninguna razón crítico-racionalista para tal diferenciación, que, en principio, a falta de otra prueba, sólo podría basarse en razones extraordinarias, mientras que su acusador está en la doble debilidad de ser ‘declarante único’ + ‘interesado en la causa'”, acusó el letrado.

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CHICAGO (IL)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Wednesday, Oct. 2

Statement by Barbara Blaine of Chicago, president of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests ( 312-399-4747, SNAPblaine@gmail.com )

A “permanently” suspended predator priest will be restored as “a priest in good standing” because Vatican bureaucrats have overruled Chicago church figures and claim that they can’t “find evidence strong enough to merit a judgment that (he) had sexually abused a minor.”

The cleric is Fr. Robert A. Stepek. Cardinal George should put him in a remote, secure treatment center immediately, so that kids will be safer. And every single Catholic church employee and church member – current and former – who saw, suspected or suffered crimes or misdeeds by Fr. Stepek should step forward.

[Catholic New World]

At the same time, however, Vatican officials “also found that Father Stepek had engaged in behaviors inappropriate for a priest.”

Cardinal George promises he’ll keep Fr. Stepek out of ministry. We hope George will honor this pledge. We’re skeptical, however, because we see pledges like this broken by bishops often. And we’re worried because a child molester without a job is still a child molester.

Kids are safer when predators like Fr. Stepek are behind bars. Since Catholic officials recruited, educated, ordained, hired, transferred and protected Fr. Stepek – and continue to pay him now – Catholic officials have a duty to help police and prosecutors go after him.

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KANSAS CITY (MO)
The Kansas City Star

October 2

BY JUDY L. THOMAS
The Kansas City Star

Days before the case was to go to trial, the Kansas City-St. Joseph Diocese has tentatively settled a second civil lawsuit involving a priest convicted of producing child pornography.

The lawsuit, filed in Jackson County Circuit Court against the diocese, the Rev. Shawn Ratigan and Bishop Robert Finn by a minor girl and her parents, was resolved this week, the attorney for the girl’s family said Wednesday.

It is the third settlement involving allegations of sexual abuse by a priest in five months. The previous cases resulted in settlements totaling nearly $3 million.

“There’s a tentative agreement, but we can’t discuss any of the terms until the court approves the settlement, because a minor is involved,” said Rebecca Randles, the plaintiffs’ attorney.

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ST. LOUIS (MO)
Bowling Green Times

Posted on Tuesday, October 1, 2013

A Catholic priest from St. Louis accused of sexual crimes with a minor was granted continuance Monday, just a day before he was slated to be seen in a Pike County courtroom for trial by jury.

Father Xiuhui “Joseph” Jiang, 30, of the Cathedral Basilica in St. Louis, was scheduled for a two-day jury trial to begin Oct. 1. This continuance grant will yet again delay his case, which began over a year ago in Lincoln County.

Jiang was charged in the summer of 2012 with one count of Endangering the Welfare of a Child First Degree – First Offense – Sexual Conduct after he reportedly had inappropriate, sexual relations with a 16-year-old girl on several occasions earlier in the year.

The priest, who was a friend of the victim’s family, is also charged with felony witness tampering after he allegedly admitted his actions and placed a check for $20,000 on the victim’s family car.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Insider

Waste and external consulting were among the issues addressed at Francis’ meeting with the eight-member Council of Cardinals. The Pope’s advisor task force also discussed the possibility of nominating a moderator of the Curia

GIACOMO GALEAZZI
VATICAN CITY

Nothing will ever be the same again. Francis has opened the “G8” meetings for the reform of the Curia entrusting them with the mission of freely discussing everything that can help improve the Holy See. The eight cardinals took him by his word, immediately putting innovative proposals on the table to simplify Vatican bureaucracy.

The number one priority is to make the Curia n machine more efficient by cutting costs and positions of power. Ideas currently being discussed are the merging of dicasteries and the nomination of a “moderator curiae” (a moderator of the Curia). There are too many bodies that share the same tasks, particularly in the financial field (Prefecture, APSA, Governorate) and the field of welfare (Pontifical Councils for Justice and Peace, Health and Migrants). Too many external consultants have been hired to oversee the Secretariat of State, the Vatican bank (IOR) and the Holy See’s communications in particular. A spending review is currently being studied to prune the incomes of individuals in certain roles within the ecclesiastical “caste” system. The Curia needs to help spread the faith not act as an obstacle. So career-focused clerics would do well to leave the Holy See and go back to ministering in the parishes. The president of the Vatican bank (IOR), Ernst von Freyberg told Vatican Radio that the bank is ready for an inspection of its management system and embassies with Vatican bank accounts will have to conform to international financial transparency standards. The first “G8” meeting was held in the private library of the papal apartment in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace. The papal apartment has remained vacant since Ratzinger resigned on 28 February.

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NEW JERSEY
Newsworks

Phil Gregory

A group that assists victims of sexual abuse is calling for the resignation of the bishop of the Trenton Catholic Diocese.

The Road to Recovery group claims Bishop David O’Connell waited more than a year to tell the parish of St. Aloysius Church in Jackson that assistant pastor Matthew Riedlinger was removed from his position for exchanging more than 1,000 sexually explicit text messages with someone he thought was a 16-year-old boy.

Parishioners should have been informed immediately, said Robert Hoatson, a former priest and the president of Road to Recovery.

“In 2002, the bishops with the Charter for the Protection of Children and Youth made a pledge that they would be open and transparent about all allegations of sexual abuse,” Hoatson said. “This is another example where they have not been.”

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VATICAN CITY
Huffington Post

Religion News Service | By David Gibson
Posted: 10/01/2013

(RNS) Pope Francis has done it again: Just two weeks after the publication of a lengthy, detailed interview in which he expounded on his new vision for the church he has given another interview, this time with the atheist editor of an Italian daily.

Francis had recently written an open letter to Eugenio Scalfari of La Repubblica, and then called the editor up out of the blue — as is his habit. The exchange, Scalfari wrote, went like this:

“Hello, this is Pope Francis.”

“Hello Your Holiness,” I say and then: “I am shocked. I did not expect you to call me.”

“Why so surprised? You wrote me a letter asking to meet me in person. I had the same wish, so I’m calling to fix an appointment. Let me look at my diary: I can’t do Wednesday, nor Monday, would Tuesday suit you?”

“That’s fine,” I answer.

“The time is a little awkward, three in the afternoon, is that OK? Otherwise it’ll have to be another day.”

“Your Holiness, the time is fine.”

“So we agree: Tuesday 24 at 3 o’clock. At Santa Marta. You have to come into the door at the Sant’Uffizio.”

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FLORIDA
Orlando Sentinel

By Jeff Kunerth, Staff writer
1:01 p.m. EDT, October 2, 2013

A lawsuit filed this week against the Catholic Diocese of Orlando alleges that the diocese covered up the sexual abuse of an altar boy by a Catholic priest serving in Sanford.

The lawsuit contends Father William Authenreith sexually molested a 14-year-old altar boy at All Souls Church in Sanford between 1983 and 1984. The suit alleges that the diocese, after learning of the molestation, transferred Authenreith to a parish in Mount Dora, but did nothing to punish the priest.

“Indeed, Father Authenreith climbed the ladder of the Diocese of Orlando’s hierarchy while simultaneously being transferred between and among parishes to prevent parishioners from learning of Father Authenreith’s pattern of abuse,” said the suit filed Monday by Jeff Herman, a Boca Raton attorney who represents sexual abuse victims.

In response, the diocese said it has not yet been served with the lawsuit, but Chancellor for Administration Carol Brinati issued this statement: “We are saddened at the allegation of abuse which occurred more than twenty-five years ago and pray for this person and those who have been victims of acts of abuse by any person. We pray that the healing process may begin for each one of them.”

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COLOMBIA
Aleteia

[Summary: Cardinal Ruben Salazar Gomez, Metropolitan Archbishop of Bogota, has called for people to report cases of clergy sexual abuse to civil authorities. The Catholic Church has a zero tolerance policy on child sexual abuse, he said.]

El cardenal Rubén Salazar Gómez, arzobispo metropolitano de Bogotá, en Colombia, hizo un fuerte llamado a denunciar –no solamente ante los obispos—los casos de abusos sexuales del clero.

“La invitación es a que denuncien cuando sepan de algún caso de estos. Sin denuncias es imposible proceder. Se necesita la denuncia ante las autoridades civiles, que no se contenten con denunciar ante el obispo o la autoridad eclesiástica competente, sino que recurran también a las autoridades civiles”.

Posición muy clara

En declaraciones recogidas por la prensa colombiana durante un foro multisectorial sobre reconciliación nacional, monseñor Salazar Gómez puntualizó: “La posición de la Iglesia frente a los casos de pederastia cometidos por sacerdotes y miembros de la Iglesia es perfectamente clara: tolerancia cero”.

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AUSTRALIA
Group of Concerned Queensland Catholics as submitted to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse

PART 1: INTRODUCTION

1. The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse is seeking submissions from all interested parties about the content and operation of the Catholic Church’s Towards Healing process. The authors of this submission come from a variety of walks of life. However, the overwhelming driving force in us making this submission is not our varied skills and life experiences but, rather, our deep concern for the victims of abuse within the Catholic Church (“Church”) and our condemnation of the manner in which the Church treated those victims in the past and continues, under present Church leadership, to treat those victims at the present time.

2. This submission does not dwell on the past treatment of victims as the Church Leadership has publicly acknowledged its failings in the past. We are concerned here with how the Church treats victims of abuse now, and into the future. To this end the Church puts Towards Healing forward as its successful vehicle for providing healing, support and justice to victims of abuse. For example, the Church, through its advisory organisation, the Truth, Justice and Healing Council, recently stated that “Towards Healing is evidence of the Church’s professional approach to the scourge of sex abuse” and also that “ The Towards Healing protocols have radically improved the Church’s handling of sex abuse allegations and its treatment of victims of abuse”. Of course, at its highest levels, the Church
has had to address the sexual abuse of minors by clergy and religious. Whilst in Australia in 2008, Pope Benedict XVI stated, “Victims should receive compassion and care, and those responsible for these evils must be brought to justice”.

3. Accordingly, we are left in no doubt that Towards Healing is the Church’s flagship in regard to the treatment of victims of sex abuse. The Church will be judged, ultimately, if it is established that Towards Healing truly provides compassion, care and justice. To assist the Royal Commission we have set out to examine, in some detail, the content and operation of Towards Healing so that we can express our views on the extent to which this process does give victims compassion, care and justice. Unfortunately, we have concluded that Towards Healing fails on all accounts and we will call upon the Royal Commission to recommend the dismantling of Towards Healing, and in its place,
recommend the creation of a truly independent and transparent body, funded by the Church, to investigate and determine complaints of abuse against the Church.

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AUSTRALIA
Truth Justice and Healing Council as submitted to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse

30 September 2013

Our Commitment

The leaders of the Catholic Church in Australia recognise and acknowledge the devastating harm caused to people by the crime of child sexual abuse. We take this opportunity to state:

1 Sexual abuse of a child by a priest or religious is a crime under Australian law and under canon law.

2 Sexual abuse of a child by any Church personnel, whenever it occurred, was then and is now indefensible.

3 That such abuse has occurred at all, and the extent to which it has occurred, are facts of which the whole Church in Australia is deeply ashamed.

4 The Church fully and unreservedly acknowledges the devastating, deep and ongoing impact of sexual abuse on the lives of the victims and their families.

5 The Church acknowledges that many victims were not believed when they should have been.

6 The Church is also ashamed to acknowledge that, in some cases, those in positions of authority
concealed or covered up what they knew of the facts, moved perpetrators to another place, thereby enabling them to offend again, or failed to report matters to the police when they should have. That behaviour too is indefensible.

7 Too often in the past it is clear some Church leaders gave too high a priority to protecting the
reputation of the Church, its priests, religious and other personnel, over the protection of children and their families, and over compassion and concern for those who suffered at the hands of Church personnel. That too was and is inexcusable.

8 In such ways, Church leaders betrayed the trust of their own people and the expectations of the wider community.

9 For all these things the Church is deeply sorry. It apologises to all those who have been harmed and betrayed. It humbly asks for forgiveness.

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AUSTRALIA
The Age

October 3, 2013

Barney Zwartz
Religion editor, The Age.

Analysis

The Catholic Church in Australia has learnt some sharp lessons, Thursday’s official submission to the royal commission shows.

The church, often described as the world’s last mediaeval monarchy, seems to be coming reluctantly to terms with aspects of 21st century governance, which should not be confused with its unchanging magisterium, the official doctrines. Francis, elected Pope in March, has been promulgating a different attitude, wanting his cardinals to be pastors rather than princes, and the scandal-plagued Vatican bank has just disclosed its annual report for the first time.

This week, Sydney Archbishop George Pell is in Rome as part of the “G8” group of cardinals advising Francis on reforming the Vatican.

Not the least important lesson the Australian church has absorbed was the need to replace Cardinal Pell as its public face on the abuse issue.

Cardinal Pell insists he has been determined in tackling abuse and that his first priority has been the victims.

But those who have come forward have described a different response. After his catastrophic press conference “welcoming” the announcement of the royal commission last November, in which he blamed a “persistent” anti-church “press campaign”, the nation’s bishops moved swiftly to appoint a lay-led council to represent the church to the commission, and to the faithful and the public.

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GALLUP (NM)
Voice of the Southwest – Roman Catholic Diocese of Gallup

Chapter 11 Reorganization: Questions and Answers

Please note: we will be posting further updates as we receive more information.

To contact Fr. Tim Farrell, media liaison for the Diocese of Gallup, please use the following:
Email: fathertim@qwestoffice.net Telephone: (505)325-9743, ext. 2

The following is Bishop James S. Wall’s letter to all the people of the Diocese of Gallup that was read at all Masses this past weekend:

August 29, 2013

To the Clergy, Religious, and Laity of the Diocese of Gallup,

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ Jesus:

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

Since taking over as Bishop, I have tried to resolve these claims outside of litigation, unfortunately with limited success. I have also explored the alternatives available to the Diocese which would allow us to treat all of those who have been harmed by workers of the Church in a just, equitable and merciful manner while at the same time being able to continue the mission of the Diocese to bring the Good News of Jesus to all the people within the Diocese and to help those who are hurting and broken to find hope through the charitable work of the Church.

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

The filing of this petition will begin the process of financial reorganization that is provided under Chapter 11 of the federal bankruptcy code. Under Chapter 11, the Diocese will have the opportunity to present a plan of reorganization that provides for a fair and equitable way to compensate all those who suffered sexual abuse as children by workers of the Church in our Diocese – those who are currently known, those who haven’t yet made the decision to come forward, and those who might come forward in the future.

Chapter 11 will provide for an orderly process by which those who have been harmed can make a claim, and for the Diocese to propose and confirm a plan that will compensate those who were harmed while, at the same time, continue its ministry and mission now and into the future.

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GALLUP (NM)
Gallup Independent

Published in the Gallup Independent, Gallup, NM, Sept. 30, 2013:

By Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola
Independent correspondent

GALLUP — The Diocese of Gallup published a series of questions and answers on its website Thursday concerning its announced plan to file for Chapter 11 reorganization in federal bankruptcy court.

According to the information posted, Gallup Catholic School will be the only school in the diocese to be part of the Chapter 11 filing. How that will affect the school, which recently shuttered its high school, was not explained. The diocese continues to emphasize that a number of the sex abuse claims reach back 40 or 50 years ago. However, according to the Official Catholic Directory, many of Gallup’s publicly accused abusive priests also worked in the diocese throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, and a number are still living.

Here is what the diocese published:

The Diocese of Gallup has determined that it will file for Chapter 11 reorganization. As many of you know, unfortunately, there are priests and other workers in the Diocese who took advantage of their positions of trust and sexually abused children. As a result, a number of claims have been made against the Diocese for the harm that was caused 40 or 50 years ago. As you also know, the Diocese provides critical services to the Catholic faithful and others in need regardless of their faith and it is important that the Diocese is able to carry on its mission and ministry while at the same time dealing equitably and mercifully with those who have been harmed. The Diocese believes the best way to accomplish these goals is through the filing of the Chapter 11. Below are a list of questions and answers that the Diocese hopes will assist you in understanding the process better and the reasons for the Diocese making this very difficult decision.

Q: What does Chapter 11 or reorganization mean? Doesn’t that really mean bankruptcy?

A: Reorganization is exactly what the name signals. While it is a case that will be filed in the United States Bankruptcy Court, it is a proceeding that allows the Diocese to equitably resolve the claims of those who were harmed by those few workers in the Church who took advantage of their positions and committed acts of sexual abuse. Reorganization allows the Diocese to continue to serve parishioners and members of our community, while at the same time provide ongoing services to the claimants. Reorganization will allow the Diocese to present a plan that pays all the claimants who have been sexually abused on an equitable basis within the limited financial resources of the Diocese. What this means is that anyone with a claim of sexual abuse that is recognized by the court will share in a fund on some type of equitable basis. On the other hand, if these claims are determined through the normal litigation process, it is a race to the courthouse and to collect and when the assets of the Diocese are exhausted (which they will be with the first judgment), there is nothing left for any other claimants. Reorganization also allows the Diocese to address the claims of those who have already come forward, those who were harmed but have not yet come forward and those who may come forward in the future.

Q: Why is the Diocese filing Chapter 11?

A: The Diocese fully realizes its responsibility to heal the hurt of those who were abused. The Diocese also realizes its responsibility to continue the mission that we believe we have received from Jesus Christ: to provide spiritual care, to educate children in the faith, to feed, clothe, and shelter the needy, and to advocate for the least among us. We believe that continuing this mission is essential to our communities and is an expression of our very being as Catholics. Given the financial circumstances of the Diocese, the Diocese has come to the conclusion that the only fair, equitable and merciful way to balance these obligations is by filing a Chapter 11 Reorganization.

Q: Has a Diocese ever filed for reorganization before?

A: Yes. The first Diocese to file was the Archdiocese of Portland in 2004. Since then there have been at least 6 other Dioceses that have filed for reorganization.

Q: Where will the case be filed?

A: The Chapter 11 will be filed in Albuquerque, New Mexico which is where the Bankruptcy Court for New Mexico is located.

Q: How long will the process take?

A: At this early stage there is really no way to tell. A lot will depend on whether all interested parties are able to negotiate a resolution and agree on a plan. If there are a lot of objections to the Diocese’s proposals, the process will likely take longer and be more expensive.

Q: When will the Diocese file its plan?

A: At this point the Diocese does not have an exact date. It is hopeful that when the Chapter 11 is filed, all parties will come together quickly and agree on the terms of a plan. It is the desire of the Diocese to move the process along as quickly as possible while at the same time trying to have a negotiated plan that is acceptable to everyone.

Q: Even though the Diocese does not know exactly what the plan will look like at this point, what is the Diocese hoping to accomplish through this?

A: The Diocese wants to achieve a solution to the increasing number of claims that involves a fair and equitable process for all the claimants. Also, it is important that the Diocese continue to provide other services and healing to those who were harmed as well as be able to carry on the mission of the Church in the Diocese. The Chapter 11 process will allow for that and allow for future claimants to be assured that these services and compensation are available to them as well.

Q: Are the Parishes and Schools part of the filing?

A: No, the Parishes are not part of the filing. The only school that is part of the filing is Gallup Catholic School which is part of the Diocese. The other Catholic schools are either part of a Parish or are not part of the Diocese.

Q: How can we continue to be informed about the Chapter 11?

A: It is our intent to update the website on a regular basis and provide copies of important pleadings on the website. We will also periodically update this Q&A. If you have any questions, you can contact Suzanne Hammons at media@dioceseofgallup.org

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NEW YORK
New York Daily News

BY DANIEL BEEKMAN / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2013

New and shocking allegations are still emerging in the $680 million sexual and physical abuse lawsuit brought against Yeshiva University by former students.

In court papers Monday, a lawyer for the 34 plaintiffs wrote that he received calls on Aug. 15 and Sept. 2 from two former students, who are not yet plaintiffs, with appalling stories.

The first caller claimed that in the mid-1980s, staffer George Finkelstein “constantly” used a “master key” to enter dorm rooms at the Yeshiva high school to accost students.

Finkelstein is accused in the suit of abusing students, but the key allegation is new.

The second caller claimed that around 1955, he was attacked by staffer Macy Gordon, who attempted for about 15 minutes to give the student a “mishey” — pinning a boy down and rubbing toothpaste over his genitals.

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NEW YORK
New York Post

By Rich Calder
October 1, 2013

Already facing a $380 million sex-abuse lawsuit brought by 34 former students of its prestigious all-boys high school, Yeshiva University on Monday was hit with two more such allegations — one dating back nearly 60 years.

Kevin Mulhearn, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, filed papers in Manhattan federal court saying that he recently had received phone calls from two other former students, who are not yet part of the lawsuit but who offered their own horror stories.

One claims that in 1955, Rabbi Macy Gordon tried for 15 minutes to give him a “mishey” — a term for pinning a boy down and rubbing toothpaste on his penis.

Gordon in the suit is accused of sodomizing one victim with a toothbrush during a 1980 attack in a school dorm room.

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CALIFORNIA
The Worthy Adversary

Posted by Joelle Casteix on October 2, 2013

Here is the latest on SB 131:

Governor Brown has until October 13 (a previous blog post said October 10) to sign the bill, veto the bill, or do nothing.

If he signs the bill or does nothing, SB 131 becomes law. As written, the law would go into effect on January 1, 2014.

If Brown vetoes the bill, SB 131 is dead.

What is the difference between signing the bill and doing nothing? Think of the bill like it’s your 40th birthday. Signing the bill is throwing yourself a 40th birthday party. You invite all of your friends, laugh, take photos and have a great time. If you do nothing, you turn 40 anyway. Quietly. Hoping that no one notices.

A veto is another story. In that case, the bill is dead and victims lose the right to use the civil court system for justice.

There is still time to write Brown and tell him to support SB 131. Click here to write him right now, and tell all of your friends.

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NEW JERSEY
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

POSTED BY DAVID CLOHESSY ON OCTOBER 02, 2013

I’m not talking about the outrageous Fr. Michael Fugee case in Newark. I’m talking about these recent cases, all of which have surfaced in less than one month:

— Fr. Matthew Riedlinger, who was exposed Sunday as having sent 1,200 inappropriate sexual text messages to what he thought was a teenaged boy and had sexually harassed at least five teenagers and young men, some of whom were seminarians. (For months, Trenton Bishop David O’Connell has kept this hidden.)

— Fr. Kevin Keelan, who said in a church bulletin that “blabbing” was a sin and that they were not entitled to more information about Fr. Riedlinger.

[NJ.com]

— Fr. Vincent Inghilterra, against whom at least one child sex abuse case has settled. (For at least three months, Trenton Bishop O’Connell has kept silent about these accusations).

— Fr. Victor Phelan, whose status as a credibly accused child molesting cleric was hidden for months. (Newark’s Archbishop Myers has said nothing about them, even though a settlement was paid to at least one victim.)

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POLSKA
Newsweek

Wśród biedy, z dala od ludzi, w piekielnym tropiku łatwo uwierzyć, że jest się poza dobrem i złem. Jako wysłannik Kościoła i postępu możesz być jak bóg.

Turyści tu nie przychodzą. Deptak Malecon zaczyna się hen na zachodzie Santo Domingo i ciągnie wzdłuż brzegu morza aż do portu. Palmy, szum samochodów, upał. Przed portem, gdzie deptak się zwęża, stoi pomnik księdza Antonia Montesinosa, obrońcy praw Indian. Krajobraz: zmęczony facet z wózkiem pełnym kokosów, dwa burdele, dwa bary z widokiem na morze.

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DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Dominican Today

Santo Domingo.- Dominican Republic’s top prosecutor on Wednesday said the formal process of the case against Polish priest Wojciech Gil are being completed, in reference to charges of sexually abusing several minors during his work for the Catholic Church in the country.

Francisco Domínguez referred to the announcement by Polish police that it knows Gil’s whereabouts, but didn’t apprehend him because Dominican authorities had ye to request it.

“After the capture and arrest warrants were issued, we are now completing the formal process, following procedures,” said Dominguez on Twitter, adding that a team of prosecutors is working the case.

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BELGIQUE
DH

Trente-neuf victimes présumées voulaient lancer une action collective mais seule la plainte d’une victime présumée a été déclarée recevable.

Une plainte contre les évêques belges et le Saint-Siège déposée par des victimes présumées d’abus sexuels a été déclarée nulle mardi par le tribunal de première instance de Gand.

Trente-neuf victimes présumées voulaient lancer une action collective mais seule la plainte d’une victime présumée a été déclarée recevable. Le bureau d’avocats qui représente les victimes d’abus sexuels au sein de l’Eglise avait pour objectif, via cette action, de faire reconnaître la responsabilité du Saint-Siège et des évêques belges.

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BELGIE
VTM Nieuws

De groepsklacht van een veertigtal slachtoffers van seksueel misbruik in de Kerk, zal zonder gevolg blijven. De dagvaarding van de Heilige Stoel en de Belgische bisschoppen is namelijk nietig verklaard. De rechtbank van eerste aanleg in Gent heeft dat dinsdag beslist.

Met de groepsklacht wilden de slachtoffers niet zozeer de feiten zelf aanklagen –die zijn trouwens ook verjaard – maar wel de verantwoordelijkheid van de kerkelijke overheid. Die zouden een onvoorzichtig beleid hebben gevoerd, en daardoor de slachtoffers in de kou hebben laten staan.

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BELGIE
KerkNet

BRUSSEL (KerkNet/DS/Belga) – De rechtbank van eerste aanleg in Gent heeft een gezamenlijke vordering door een groep slachtoffers van seksueel misbruik tegen de internationale en nationale leiding van de katholieke Kerk over de hele lijn afgewezen.

Een veertigtal slachtoffers van seksueel misbruik in een pastorale relatie stapte in groep naar de rechtbank en diende via een advocatenkantoor een gezamenlijke klacht in tegen de kerkleiding – de Heilige Stoel (Vaticaan) en de Belgische bisschoppen en hogere oversten – wegens schuldig verzuim. Zij verwijten de kerkleiding ‘onzorgvuldig beleid’, waardoor slachtoffers decennia in de kou bleven staan. ‘Class action’ is een in de Verenigde Staten, maar (nog) niet in ons land bestaand rechtssysteem waarbij meerdere klachten over hetzelfde onderwerp gebundeld worden en gezamenlijk voor de rechter worden gebracht.

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BELGIE
De Telegraaf

GENT –
Een vordering van een groep Belgische slachtoffers van seksueel misbruik tegen de Heilige Stoel en de Belgische bisschoppen is afgewezen. De klagers vroegen per persoon 10.000 euro schadevergoeding omdat de Rooms-Katholieke Kerk de misstanden in de doofpot zou hebben gestopt.

Een rechtbank in Gent verklaarde dinsdag de dagvaarding tegen het Vaticaan en de geestelijken nietig. De rechtbank wees onder meer op de immuniteit van de Heilige Stoel. Ongeveer 40 slachtoffers hadden gezamenlijk geprobeerd actie te ondernemen.

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BELGIE
De Standaard

De katholieke Kerk is niet aansprakelijk voor de ‘doofpotschade’ die de slachtoffers van seksueel misbruik hebben geleden. Dat heeft de Gentse rechtbank vandaag beslist. Verscheidene slachtoffers van seksueel misbruik binnen de Kerk stapten in groep naar de rechter en dienden een klacht in tegen de Heilige Stoel – de ‘ceo’s van de Kerk’ – voor schuldig verzuim. Ze eisten 1 miljoen euro schadevergoeding voor die ‘doofpotschade’. De Gentse rechtbank sprak de Kerk echter vrij. De rechter volgde de verdediging van de Kerk dat de Heilige Stoel niet vervolgd kan worden omdat die soevereine immuniteit geniet. De slachtoffers nemen daarmee geen genoegen en zien nog mogelijkheden.

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BELGIE
Nieuwsblad

De katholieke kerk is niet aansprakelijk voor de ‘doofpotschade’ die de slachtoffers van seksueel misbruik hebben geleden. Dat heeft de Gentse rechtbank beslist.

Verschillende slachtoffers van seksueel misbruik stapten in groep naar de rechter en dienden een klacht in tegen de ‘ceo’s van de kerk’ voor schuldig verzuim. Het ging de slachtoffers niet om de feiten van misbruik zelf – die zijn al lang verjaard – maar om het ‘onzorgvuldig beleid’ van de kerk, waardoor slachtoffers decennia in de kou zijn blijven staan.

De Gentse rechtbank sprak de kerk vandaag over de hele lijn vrij in een drievoudig vonnis. Het hof volgde de verdediging van de kerk dat de Heilige Stoel niet kan vervolgd worden omdat die soevereine immuniteit geniet.

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BELGIE
De Standaard

De beslissing van de rechtbank van eerste aanleg in Gent om de dagvaarding van de Heilige Stoel en de Belgische bisschoppen door slachtoffers van seksueel misbruik af te wijzen, is ‘slechts een tussenstadium’. Dat zegt Christine Mussche, de advocaat van de 39 slachtoffers. ‘We hebben nog niets gehoord over de morele verantwoordelijkheid van de verweerders, die zich enkel op basis van procedurele elementen verdedigd hebben.’

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BELGIE
De Standaard

De katholieke kerk is niet aansprakelijk voor de ‘doofpotschade’ die de slachtoffers van seksueel misbruik hebben geleden. Dat heeft de Gentse rechtbank dinsdag beslist.

Verschillende slachtoffers van seksueel misbruik binnen de kerk stapten in groep naar de rechter en dienden een klacht in tegen de Heilige Stoel – de ‘ceo’s van de kerk’ – voor schuldig verzuim. Het ging de slachtoffers niet om de feiten van misbruik zelf, die al lang verjaard zijn, maar om het ‘onzorgvuldig beleid’ van de kerk, waardoor slachtoffers decennia in de kou zijn blijven staan. Ze eisten 1 miljoen euro schadevergoeding voor deze ‘doofpotschade’.

De Gentse rechtbank sprak de kerk dinsdag echter over de hele lijn vrij. De rechter volgde de verdediging van de kerk dat de Heilige Stoel niet kan vervolgd worden omdat die soevereine immuniteit geniet.

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BELGIE
De Redactie

Een groep slachtoffers van seksueel misbruik in de kerk krijgt geen schadevergoeding. De groep vroeg een miljoen euro schadevergoeding omdat de kerk zaken van seksueel misbruik in de doofpot had gestopt.

De bedoeling van de klacht was om de aansprakelijkheid van de Heilige Stoel, de Belgische bisschoppen en de hogere oversten te laten vaststellen. De 39 slachtoffers hebben van de rechter echter over de hele lijn ongelijk gekregen. Zo kan de Heilige Stoel volgens de rechter niet vanuit België worden veroordeeld, omdat dat een buitenlandse regering is.

Daarnaast hadden de slachtoffers één klacht ingediend in naam van de hele groep, maar ook dat kan niet volgens de rechtbank. De slachtoffers hadden allemaal apart een vordering moeten indienen. Doordat dit niet gebeurd is, bleef er maar één klacht meer over. De rechter heeft ook die klacht onontvankelijk verklaard, omdat de klacht niet concreet vermeld zou hebben wat de concrete fout van de bisschoppen geweest is.

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This summary is provided by Lieve Halsberghe

– The court has decided that the Holy See cannot be sued because as a state it has immunity

– The complaint of the group of victims, represented by Roel Verschueren, is not accepted. Each individual should make their own individual complaint.

– They have studied the complaint of Roel, but found that he did not give enough evidence as to what happened to him, by whom, who was informed, etc.

– By some rare legal technique, the court has also said that Roel did not give enough evidence regarding the alleged cover-up and negligence by the RCC although there are many documents and a public confession of the bishops.

– There still is possibility for an appeal which is likely to happen.

– This is not seen as a defeat by the survivors, but is a first step of many in the long process of trying to hold the bishops accountable.

– The criminal case against the church called “Operation Chalice” – the investigation that started after the raid of the archdiocese – is still ongoing. Should anyone be found guilty of guilty negligence (and with the amount of evidence it would be highly suspicious if that did not happen), then a civil suit of the victims will have more chances for success. However, at the rate the investigation is going the judge who started the investigation, Wim De Troy, has been replaced by Judge Callewaert and there is question whether he wants to take the case further. The police inspector who headed the investigation has changed jobs.

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BELGIE
Knack

Het in Gent uitgesproken vonnis over de schadeclaims tegen de Heilige Stoel en de bisschoppen valt uiteen in drie hoofdstukken met een verschillend resultaat. Maar er komt alvast een tweede ronde.

Samengevat: het Vaticaan zit op een veilige stoel, en de Belgische bisschoppen ontspringen voorlopig de dans in verband met de dagvaarding van Roel Verschueren. Dat is echter maar een tussenstand. Daarenboven volstaat het de 38 andere eisers om elk 100 euro op te hoesten (het verleden jaar verhoogde ‘rolrecht’) om hun aanspraken beoordeeld te zien. Die nieuwe afspraak in de enkel “opgeschorte” procedure kan dus snel volgen.

De Heilige Stoel lijkt nog een veilige stoel

Het lijkt er op dat er in Vaticaanstad op beide oren kan geslapen worden, volgens dat Gentse vonnis in eerste aanleg althans. De zgn. ‘Heilige Stoel’ is het bestuur, dus de “regering” van zowel Vaticaanstad als de Rooms-Katholieke kerk. Vaticaanstad wordt door België erkend als “vreemde mogendheid”. “Hoeveel divisies heeft de paus ?” zou Stalin in 1945 bij het begin van de Yalta-conferentie gespot hebben. Dat was nu net het prototype voor de onderschatting van de invloed van de Kerk natuurlijk.

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ARGENTINA
La Voz

[Summary: Priest Justo Jose Illarraz, accused to sexual abuse at the Parana minor seminary, asked the judge for permission to leave the country. Plaintiff attorney Marcelo Baridon argued against allowing him to leave. Illarraz has enough money to move permanently from the country and could flee justice, he said. The priest is accused of more than 50 cases of sexual abuse against minors between 1984 and 1992 when he was responsible for the Parana minor seminary.]

Fecha: 02/10/2013

– El sacerdote Justo José Ilarraz, acusado por abusos sexuales en el Seminario Menor de Paraná, solicitó al juez Alejandro Grippo un permiso para salir del país

El magistrado había hecho lugar a una medida de “interdicción” (prohibición para salir del país), solicitada por la querella apenas comenzada la investigación judicial, de ahí la necesidad del cura de solicitar autorización para viajar al exterior.

Ilarraz tiene doble nacionalidad argentino-española y, según el abogado querellante Marcelo Baridón, “se han acreditado por la Dirección Nacional de Migraciones frondosos antecedentes en materia de salidas del país por parte del cura” y precisó que ha realizado viajes a Italia y Brasil. Baridón consideró que “se debe mantener la prohibición de salir del país, ya que Ilarraz no fundamenta la razón por la que quiere viajar, solamente pide que se levante la interdicción, aunque no acredita ninguna necesidad de viaje” y advirtió que “Ilarraz es una persona que tiene la capacidad económica suficiente como para moverse en el extranjero”, dando a entender que en caso de ser autorizado a viajar podría profugarse y eludir la acción de la Justicia.

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NEW YORK
Frum Follies

Posted on 09/30/2013 by Yerachmiel Lopin

Back in July, (along with Shmarya Rosenberg) I reported that Rabbi Norman Lamm suffered from serious dementia. This has now been confirmed according to the NY Post.

After administering a battery of tests conducted over a period of nearly five hours, Dr. Caccopolo determined [in her written report] that ‘the pattern of Dr. Lamm’s cognitive impairment impedes his ability to independently comprehend and adequately respond to questions posed to him, as well to reliably retrieve and report past information.

I hate belaboring this point, but we are dealing with severe mental incompetence. An ordinary janitor is fit for court testimony but is lucky to earn more than $25,000 a year. Yet YU retained Rabbi Lamm as Chancellor and Rosh Yeshiva and paid him over $500,000 a year. These sort of salaries are shocking to most people but we are told that this is the market rate for exceptional talent. So how the hell could YU retain Rabbi Lamm in that position when he was no longer able to function in a court room at the level of an ordinary janitor?

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UNITED STATES
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

[Click here for the story.]

For immediate release: Tuesday, Oct. 1

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

It’s official – on April 27, Pope John Paul II becomes a saint.

And it’s hurtful.

It sends precisely the most harmful signal to Catholic employees across the globe – that no matter how much you endanger kids, you’ll be honored by and in the church.

It rubs even more salt into the still-fresh and already-deep wounds of millions of betrayed Catholics and thousands of suffering victims.

Under him, the US bishops’ grudging, belated and weak abuse policy was delayed and further weakened allowing predators to remain in ministry and offering no consequences to those that enabled and shielded them.

Under him, repeated warnings and reports about child sex crimes and misdeeds by the Legion of Christ founder Father Marcel Maciel were repeatedly ignored, keeping children needlessly at risk.

At a bare minimum, Pope Francis should put this canonization on hold, giving victims, witnesses and whistleblowers more time to reveal the truth about Pope John Paul II’s papacy.

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VATICAN CITY
National Catholic Reporter

Joshua J. McElwee John L. Allen Jr. | Oct. 2, 2013

VATICAN CITY
Pope Francis’ first meeting with eight cardinals advising him on reforming the church saw the group take up a wide range of themes, including reform of the Vatican bureaucracy and the role of the laity, the Vatican said Wednesday.

The group also talked about preparing a study to improve the church’s pastoral work with families, said Vatican spokesman Jesuit Fr. Federico Lombardi.

The spokesman made available some details of the group’s meetings at a press briefing Wednesday. But Lombardi said observers should not expect too much more information about the sessions, saying they are a “council for the pope’s governance.”

The meetings are not meant to generate documents for review by the faithful, Lombardi said. The pope will communicate any decisions made as a result of the cardinals’ advice personally, he said.

“We have to liberate ourselves from the expectation of [having] documents or decisions from this council,” Lombardi said. “The fruits are in good decisions of the pope, borne in knowledge of the needs of the universal church, form the cardinals and from others the pope may consult.”

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Information Service

Vatican City, 2 October 2013 (VIS) – In a press conference held in the Holy See Press Office this morning, director Fr. Federico Lombardi, S.J., gave information on the meeting of the Council of Cardinals, taking place in the Vatican from 1 to 3 October.

The members of the Council, before the beginning of the meeting, concelebrate with the Pope the morning Holy Mass in the Santa Marta chapel, said Fr. Lombardi. Following the first meeting yesterday morning in the third loggia of the papal apartment, they decided to continue the meetings in the Santa Marta guesthouse, where they all currently reside. The meetings will take place in a small room, not far from the Chapel, for logistic reasons, ensuring that the members do not need to transfer to the apostolic palace. The meetings follow an intense schedule: from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Pope Francis will participate in the morning and evening sessions on Tuesday. Today he was not present due to the general Audience, but he will be present this afternoon and tomorrow.

The Pope emphasised the significance of the chirograph by which he instituted the Council of Cardinals, “a document that gives this group juridical status, stability and continuity and which makes the Council a more consistent tool, especially from a juridical point of view”. He also specified that the members are not “continental delegates”, but rather members of the episcopal college who are also cardinals, who have rich pastoral experience, and who come from large dioceses. The Holy Father chose them for this reason, but they are not delegates of the episcopates of various parts of the world.

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