ABUSE TRACKER

SCOTLAND
Herald Scotland

Thursday 22 August 2013

The Church Of Scotland has launched an investigation after a predatory and violent paedophile was able to get a job at a care home solely to prey on children in the 1970s and early 1980s.

Ian Samson, 72, is starting a 14-year jail sentence for a catalogue of abuse that included a number of attacks on youngsters at the Lord and Lady Polwarth Children’s Home in Polwarth, Edinburgh. The home closed in 1982.

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TENNESSEE
Times Free Press

by Beth Burger

A 21-year-old pastor’s son won’t be allowed to work with children or hold a leadership position at the Vineyard Community Church in Chattanooga after being charged with simple battery, two counts of third-degree cruelty to children and sexual assault in connection with an incident at a church camp.

The church, which holds services at Tyner Middle Academy, 6837 Tyner Road, hosted a church camp in Temple, Ga., last month and Zachary Anderle served as a camp counselor.

Affidavits in Carroll County, Ga., allege that Anderle climbed on top of a 13-year-old camper and placed his penis on top of the boy’s crotch while other boys were watching. Anderle also slapped the child’s face, the report states.

The Times Free Press does not name victims of sex crimes.

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ARIZONA
AZFamily

[with video]

by Tami Hoey
azfamily.com
Posted on August 21, 2013

GLENDALE, Ariz.– A deacon at a Valley Catholic church is facing accusations of sexual abuse of a minor.

Ron Gonzales, 62, served at St. Thomas More Church in Glendale. He stands accused of sexual abuse of a minor. The accusations stem from incidents in Texas and Pennsylvania, 15 to 20 years ago.

The Diocese of Phoenix has relieved Gonzales of his duties at St. Thomas More parish. Gonzales has been at that church since 2003. There have been no accusations against him at that parish.

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CALIFORNIA
Press-Enterprise

AUGUST 21, 2013 BY DAVID OLSON

As my colleague Jim Miller from the Press-Enterprise Sacramento bureau reported, the Assembly appropriations committee today approved a bill temporarily lifting the statute of limitations for some older cases of alleged sexual abuse.

The 11-3 vote came a week after the bill failed to muster enough votes in the same panel. Several legislators – including Assemblyman Eric Linder, a Corona Republican – who had abstained Aug. 14 voted in favor the measure today.

The California Catholic Conference, which represents the state’s dioceses, is lobbying against the bill, as are the YMCA and private athletic, school and university associations. They say the bill unfairly excludes public institutions – and victims abused by public-school teachers and other public employees – from its coverage.

Bishop Gerald Barnes, of the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Bernardino, is continuing to contact Inland legislators to urge them to vote against the bill, diocesan spokesman John Andrews said.

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CALIFORNIA
The Worthy Adversary

[Assembly members]

Posted by Joelle Casteix on August 21, 2013

The news broke this morning, but I was swamped buying school supplies, picking up kids, and trying to find new size 1 soccer cleats.

SB 131, The California Child Victims Act, has passed out of the Assembly Appropriations Committee and now is now heading to the Assembly floor.

The vote is a huge win for all victims of abuse, who see this bill as a tremendous opportunity to expose abusers and hold wrongdoers accountable. It is also an important first step in the long-term goal holding of ALL institutions accountable for abuse.

What can you do?

Write your Assembly Member NOW and tell him or her that you support SB 131. Tell them that ALL victims support exposing as many predators as possible and keeping kids safer NOW. Be sure to also say that we will NEVER be able to hold public institutions accountable unless we take this important first step.

You can also throw in the crimes that have been exposed in your area ONLY because of the 2003 window.

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CHILE
Univision

Los abusos ocurrieron cerca del altar de la parroquia

Omar Rogel Pinuer, un exsacerdote chileno fue declarado culpable de abusar sexualmente de cuatro niños de al menos 14 años de edad.

De acuerdo con declaraciones del un fiscal chileno, Pinuer, de 53 años, cometió los abusos entre 2006 y 2011, cuando se desempeñaba como administrador del internado en San Francisco de Cunco, al sur de Chile.

Los menores, cuya edad oscilaba entre los 14 y 16 años habrían recibido alcohol y dinero a cambio mantener relaciones sexuales con el sacerdote, según refieren los informes difundidos por el tribunal.

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CALIFORNIA
Press-Enterprise

AUGUST 21, 2013 BY JIM MILLER

The Assembly Appropriations Committee approved legislation Wednesday that would extend the statute of limitations for some alleged victims of childhood sexual abuse, reversing course from a week ago.

Senate Bill 131, sponsored by the National Center for Victims of Crime, would create a one-year window for people to sue groups who otherwise would be immune from litigation because of the amount of time elapsed since the alleged abuse.

Supporters say the measure would override a recent California Supreme Court ruling that prevents some childhood sex abuse victims from having their day in court.

The California Catholic Conference, private schools and nonprofit groups such as the YMCA and USA Swimming strongly oppose the proposal. They say it would be unfair to extend the statute of limitations on previously expired claims.

The measure passed the Senate and another Assembly committee. Last Wednesday, though, it fell three votes short of the nine necessary to pass the appropriations panel after several lawmakers abstained.

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CALIFORNIA
Fresno Bee

By Melody Gutierrez — mgutierrez@sacbee.com

The Assembly Appropriations Committee resurrected a bill extending the statute of limitations for some sex abuse victims after it failed last week amid fierce lobbying.

Senate Bill 131 by Jim Beall, D-San Jose, would open a one-year window for victims who were excluded from a 2003 law that extended the time during which sexual abuse victims can file a civil lawsuit.

Opponents have argued that the bill unfairly excludes public agencies, such as school districts, and instead only revives abuse claims against private institutions, such as the Catholic Church and Boy Scouts.

An umbrella organization of groups like the California Catholic Conference and California Association of Private School Organizations spent $250,000 in the fist six months of this year to fight the bill.

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CALIFORNIA
Houston Chronicle

LAURA OLSON, Associated Press | August 21, 2013

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Some victims of childhood sexual abuse would have more time to file civil lawsuits against private or nonprofit organizations that protected their alleged abusers under a bill that passed a key legislative committee Wednesday.

The bill has already passed the Senate and is similar — although narrower in scope — to a 2002 bill that passed during the height of the Catholic Church sex-abuse scandal.

SB131 by Sen. Jim Beall, D-San Jose, heads to the full Assembly after passing the Assembly Appropriations Committee on a 12-4 vote. Wednesday’s action came after the bill fell three votes shy of advancing from the same committee last week.

It would lift the statute of limitations for one year for a group of alleged victims who were 26 and older and missed the previous window to file lawsuits in 2003. Beall said he introduced the legislation after hearing from people who said they had been victims of sexual abuse as children and had been unable to seek restitution. …

The National Center for Victims of Crime, which sponsored the bill, and other supporters say victims need the extra time to file lawsuits because it might take years for them to acknowledge that they were molested.

David Clohessy, director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, issued a statement after the vote praising the committee’s action and calling on the Legislature to give final approval to the bill.

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CALIFORNIA
San Francisco Chronicle

Ellen Huet
Published 2:55 pm, Wednesday, August 21, 2013

LAKEPORT, LAKE COUNTY — A Lake County family is suing a Roman Catholic parish and the Diocese of Santa Rosa, claiming they knew a priest had a history of sexual abuse and didn’t protect an altar boy from being molested.

The suit, filed Tuesday in Sonoma County Superior Court, claims that the late Rev. Ted Oswald of St. Mary Immaculate in Lakeport had already been accused several times of abusing young parishioners, but was still promoted to pastor and allowed unsupervised access to young boys at and outside the church.

The suit claims that unfettered access allowed Oswald to abuse an altar boy, now 16 years old, whose mother is also a plaintiff in the suit.

Oswald targeted the boy when he was about 10 years old, said the plaintiffs’ lawyer, Skye Daley. The priest invited the boy to wash his recreational vehicle at his house, which is where the alleged abuse began, Daley said.

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PHOENIX (AZ)
Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix

Re: Deacon Ron Gonzalez
Aug. 19, 2013

On Aug. 13, 2013, the Diocese of Phoenix received an allegation of sexual abuse of a minor against Ron Gonzalez, a deacon of the Diocese of Dallas who has been serving in Arizona since 1999. The allegations relate to incidents reported to have occurred in Texas and Pennsylvania 15 to 20 years ago, prior to his arrival in Arizona.

Gonzalez, 62, assisted at St. Thomas More Parish in Glendale since 2003 and was officially assigned to the parish in January 2011. He had been the parish manager since May 1, 2013. There have been no reported allegations or incidents of any wrongdoing at St. Thomas More or elsewhere within the Diocese of Phoenix.

According to Diocese records, Gonzalez was a chaplain for the Federal Bureau of Prisons in the Diocese of Harrisburg, Pa., from 1983 to 1999, and a supervisory chaplain for the Federal Bureau of Prisons in the Diocese of Phoenix from 1999 to 2010.

Gonzalez’s faculties to function in ministry within the Diocese of Phoenix have been revoked and he is no longer employed by the parish. The Diocese of Phoenix has also contacted the authorities regarding the allegations.

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ARIZONA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

for immediate release: Wednesday, Aug. 21

Statement by Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, Outreach Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests ( 314 862 7688 home, 314 503 0003 cell, SNAPdorris@gmail.com )

Phoenix Catholic officials admit having gotten a child sex abuse report on 8/13. They admit suspending the accused cleric on 8/19. And they apparently posted a small notice on their website, rather than warning Phoenix parents and parishioners by holding a news conference or sending out a news release.

The alleged offender is Deacon Ron Gonzalez. Phoenix Bishop Thomas Olmstead doesn’t disclose why a deacon from Dallas was sent to work in Harrisburg Pennsylvania and then to Phoenix. Nor does Bishop Olmstead doesn’t disclose where Gonzalez is now. We call on Bishop Olmstead to reveal these facts.

These delays and this secrecy is troubling because every day the identity of a credibly accused child molester remains hidden, there are more opportunities for the offender and his supervisors to intimidate victims, threaten witnesses, discredit whistleblowers, destroy evidence, fabricate alibis and even flee the country. And every day the whereabouts of a credibly accused child molester are unknown is a day when kids are needlessly at risk.

And we call on Bishop Olmstead to personally visit any and all Phoenix parishes where Gonzalez worked, even briefly, begging victims, witnesses and whistleblowers to contact law enforcement officials, not Catholic church officials.

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CALIFORNIA
Pope Crimes & Vatican Evils…

Paris Arrow

California Assembly Appropriations Committee,voteD YES to SB 131… Contact/ Write to members of the House Appropriations Committee – let them know you support the bill!

Updated August 21, 2013

Muchas Gracias! Thank you, California State Assembly Appropriations Committee – for voting YES to SB 131 – you did the right thing and may God bless you all.

Now victims – especially of JP2 Army – the Los Angeles branch of John Paul II Pedophile Priests Army – can proceed and claim the ONLY JUSTICE they have left – from the living hell 27 years of Opus Dei papacy could not let them taste. Cardinal Mahony have some unfinished business left – which Opus Dei Archbishop Gomez must now finish to pay out to victims, read our related article, Los Angeles files. Mahony must be jailed as Nazis caught in their old age and retirement http://popecrimes.blogspot.ca/2013/01/los-angeles-files-mahony-must-be-jailed.html. .

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NEW YORK
Failed Messiah

Satmar Man Who Tried To Force Child Sex Abuse Victim To Drop Charges Gets Sweetheart Plea Deal

Yesterday, I reported that Abe Rubin – who is charged with bribery, witness tampering and coercion for trying to force Nechemya Weberman’s victim to leave the country and not testify against Weberman – would get a sweetheart plea deal and will not receive any prison time. In exchange for that, Brooklyn’s challenged DA Charles J. Hynes would get the Satmar bloc vote.

Today as part of a sweetheart plea deal, Rubin admitted he offered the victim’s then-boyfriend $500,000 to get her out of the country so she could not testify against Weberman. For that crime, Rubin could serve at most 6 months in jail – but he likely won’t serve any time at all.

The DA ‘asked’ for prison time. But the DA had also allowed Rubin to plead guilty to a an E felony. People convicted of E felonies with no prior criminal history rarely get prison sentences, and the judge therefore said he will sentence Rubin, in late October at the earliest, likely to no prison time – another coodinated travesty of justice in corrupt Brooklyn.

Satmar got what it wanted and Brooklyn DA Charles J. Hynes will now get what he wants – the Satmar bloc vote.

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NEW YORK
New York Post

By JOSH SAUL
Last Updated: 2:43 PM, August 21, 2013

An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man who tried to bribe a pretty young Brooklyn teen in a slimy attempt to get her to drop her sex abuse case against a once-prominent Hasidic counselor pleaded guilty today to bribing a witness in a deal that could let him off with no jail time.

Abraham Rubin, 49, admitted in Brooklyn Supreme Court that he spoke directly to the teen’s then-boyfriend – now husband – when he offered the bribe.

Brooklyn prosecutors charged that Rubin offered the couple $500,000 to leave the country so the case against Nechemya Weberman would be dropped.

Weberman was convicted last year on the strength of his victim’s multi-day testimony about the abuse and was sentenced to 103 years behind bars.
The victim’s husband said he accepts the deal but wishes Rubin would get some jail time.

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NEW YORK
New York Daily News

BY OREN YANIV / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 21, 2013

A Brooklyn Hasid admitted Wednesday to offering $500,000 to buy the silence of victim in a sensational sex abuse case – but the cash-flush offender may still skirt jail time.

Abraham Rubin, 49, acknowledged offering the hefty sum to the husband of a teenage girl who testified against Satmar counselor Nechemya Weberman, pleading guilty in Brooklyn Supreme Court to a felony of bribing a witness.

The couple declined the bribe and the 18-year-old took the stand for four days last winter, sealing Weberman’s conviction on 59 counts in a high-profile trial that highlighted abuse in the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community and intimidation of those who report it. Weberman is currently serving a 50-year prison sentence.

While prosecutors offered Rubin a deal of six months in jail plus five-year probation, Justice Danny Chun agreed to the defense’s request and will consider giving a lesser or no jail time at the Oct. 29 sentencing.

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NEW YORK
Huffington Post

Nechemya Weberman, an esteemed religious counselor in New York’s Hasidic Jewish community, was sentenced in January to 103 years in prison for sexually abusing a young girl who came to him for guidance about her faith. Now the story of Weberman’s transgressions is being told in a new book called “The Devil of Williamsburg.”

Author Allison Yarrow joined HuffPost Live’s Mike Sacks to discuss what she learned about the man who was convicted of 59 counts of sexually abusing a minor.

Weberman’s trial sparked a wave of controversy among a religion known for its carefully composed way of life.

“These are the Satmars. They are a sect of ultra-religious Jews that have very strict rules,” Yarrow said. “They have strict rules of dress. They have strict codas of marriage and children and family. When something goes wrong of this magnitude, it’s really not discussed.”

The situation was complicated by the support Weberman received from the Satmar community despite the egregious charges against him.

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CALIFORNIA
Contra Costa Times

LAURA OLSON Associated Press
POSTED: 08/21/2013

SACRAMENTO, Calif.—A bill that would give some victims of childhood sexual abuse more time to file civil lawsuits is heading to the Assembly floor after it previously failed to clear a key committee.

The legislation from Democratic Sen. Jim Beall of San Jose would lift the statute of limitations for one year for a group of alleged victims who were 26 and older and missed a similar window to file lawsuits in 2003.

The Assembly Appropriations Committee passed the bill Wednesday, 12-4.

The Catholic Church is a main opponent of SB131. Representatives of the church and other institutions say it unfairly applies only to private or nonprofit groups.

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CALIFORNIA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Wednesday, August 21, 2013

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

A California legislative panel today passed a bill that will enable more child sex abuse victims to warn parents about molesters through the civil justice system.

[Los Angeles Times]

California kids are the winners today. Lawmakers can make it easier or harder for crime victims to expose predators.

These lawmakers are making it easier.

Those who commit and conceal heinous child sex crimes in California can’t breathe easier now. Those who want to prevent and expose such crimes still have a tough road. We hope the rest of the California legislature will fully pass this measure so that California kids will be safer.

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NEW JERSEY
Bilgrimage

William D. Lindsey

For a contemporary example of Catholic hierarchical scapegoating that doesn’t seem to get the church very far down the road to credibility as it proclaims the gospel in the public square:

1. Read Grant Gallicho at Commonweal on the problems poor Opus Dei Archbishop Myers of Newark, New Jersey, appears to have with memory–understandable, perhaps, with all his trips to the race track to distract him from remembrance, all the silver and gold gewgaws given him by priests who serve under him to take his attention away from the dreary task of remembering.

2. Read poor Archbishop Myers’s response to his critics, which Brian Roewe discusses yesterday at National Catholic Reporter. A précis: said critics are “evil,” and in cahoots with a secular media and politicians out to attack the Catholic church and its truths.

3. Then read the response of the New Jersey Record to poor Archbishop Myers’s attempt to engage in a bit of nasty (and entirely unconvincing) scapegoating, as he attacks his critics, the media, politicians–faithful Catholics asking for transparency and accountability from him and other bishops:

The archbishop apparently believes criticism is an act of evil. Not all men of the church have felt that way. The Gospel of Matthew says: “Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?”
Myers should start sawing.

The Record is clearly correct. The days in which Catholic prelates could count on wild allegations about the evil of their critics and the anti-Catholicism of the media and politicians to carry the day, when said prelates are asked to account for their indefensible actions, are long since over and done with. That kind of shoddy scapegoating to avoid responsibility for indefensible episcopal actions no longer plays even in Peoria.

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CALIFORNIA
Los Angeles Times

By Melanie Mason
August 21, 2013, 12:09 p.m.

SACRAMENTO — After failing to muster enough support last week, a bill that would give some sex-abuse victims more time to file lawsuits advanced in an Assembly committee Wednesday.

SB 131, sponsored by Sen. Jim Beall (D-San Jose), would lift the statute of limitations for one year to enable some victims of childhood sexual abuse to sue private or nonprofit employers that failed to protect them from known molesters.

The Catholic Church has fiercely lobbied against the measure, saying a flood of new suits could cripple the church economically, forcing parochial schools to close.

At an emotional hearing of the Assembly Appropriations committee last week, victims told stories of grappling with their abuse for decades after it occurred. Supporters of the measure say that because some victims can take years to acknowledge they were molested, they need more time to file lawsuits.

The church and other opponents, including private-school consortiums and organizations such as the YMCA, argued that the bill unfairly targets private and nonprofit employers.

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CALIFORNIA
Digital Journal

SANTA ROSA, Calif., Aug. 21, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — Attorneys representing the victim of child sexual abuse, allegedly committed by a former priest and pastor of St. Mary Immaculate Parish in Lakeport, filed a civil lawsuit late yesterday against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Santa Rosa and St. Mary Immaculate Parish. The case was filed in Superior Court in Sonoma County.

The lawsuit accuses the Diocese and the Parish of failing to protect plaintiff, and all children, from a known sexual predator. Father Ted Oswald, the alleged perpetrator had been previously accused of sexual misconduct with minors dating back to the 1980’s. In 2009, the Diocese of Santa Rosa paid $1.3 million to settle another sexual abuse lawsuit against Father Oswald.

This suit alleges that Father Ted Oswald sexually abused the victim, while the victim was serving as an altar boy and participating in the parish youth group under Father Ted Oswald’s supervision.

Plaintiff’s attorney Skye Daley said, “Knowing the alleged perpetrator had a history of child sexual abuse, the Diocese of Santa Rosa and St. Mary Immaculate Parish had a responsibility to keep its parish members and their children safe from child sexual abusers. Instead, the Diocese allowed Father Ted Oswald to continue with his duties of hearing confessions from minors, overseeing altar servers, running youth programs, counseling programs and church-sponsored trips and events. The parish members were led to believe their children were safe. They were not.”
eling to the victim’s home under the guise of providing spiritual guidance and support to his family.

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NEW HAMPSHIRE
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Statement by Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, Outreach Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests ( 314 862 7688 home, 314 503 0003 cell, SNAPdorris@gmail.com )

We are grateful to New Hampshire’s highest court for recognizing that kids’ actual safety trumps adults’ professed beliefs. We hope this ruling will deter other ministers from trying to exploit legal loopholes and evade responsibility for child sex crimes and cover ups.

Not every sentence uttered between clergy is protected or privileged, especially when it relates to endangering or protecting children.

We still hope that Rev. Phelps’ church demotes or disciplines him. It’s dreadfully wrong for anyone, especially a minister, to mistreat an abuse victim like he mistreated this girl.

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SCOTLAND
STV

More than 20 potential victims of alleged abuse by monks at two Catholic boarding schools have been identified by police.

Former pupils at the Fort Augustus Abbey school in the Highlands and its East Lothian feeder school, Carlekemp, have claimed that they were molested and beaten by the monks who taught them decades ago. Both schools are now closed.

Police said they have been investigating since March following a report from a former pupil and more allegations came to light in a recent BBC documentary.

Charity Children 1st has set up a dedicated support line for anyone affected to contact them.

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SCOTLAND
Ross-Shire Journal

MORE than 20 possible victims of sex and physical abuse at a former Highland school have been identified following a police probe.

Police confirmed today that a joint investigation into reports of historic physical and sexual abuse carried out at Fort Augustus Abbey and Carlekemp School are continuing.

In a joint statement, Police Scotland and the Crown Office

said the probe – started in March 2013 following a report from a previous pupil “has so far identified more than 20 possible victims and extends to liaison with a number of law enforcement agencies across and outwith the UK2.

Specialist Officers from Police Scotland will carry out a thorough investigation and then report their findings to the Procurator Fiscal for the North of Scotland.

Police have appealed to anyone with information about this case to come forward and report it using the 101 number or by emailing fortaugustusabbeyenq@scotland.pnn.police.uk

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SCOTLAND
Inverness Courier

Written byJamie Durent

MORE than 20 possible victims of the Fort Augustus Abbey and Carlekemp School sexual abuse scandals have been identified by police.

In a joint investigation with the crown office, the police are continuing their enquiries into the historic physical and sexual abuse at the schools, which dates back to the 1970s.

The investigation was launched in March after a former pupil came forward with the allegations against staff at the school.

Specialist Officers from Police Scotland will carry out a thorough investigation and thereafter will report their findings to the Procurator Fiscal.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Insider

A Holy See representative is to meet with members of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR)

ALESSANDRO SPECIALE
ROME
The new climate of dialogue and trust which has settled in the Vatican since Francis arrival seems to have spread to the U.S., to the point of healing the split between the LCWR’s nuns and U.S. bishops, which had been worsening in recent years.

The Vatican appointed a commissioner to oversee the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) in April 2012, when Benedict XVI was still Pope, after the nuns were accused “radical feminism” and of failing to obey church teaching on matters such as the possible ordination of women priests and contraception. Rome’s decision was met with indignation by a majority of faithful but was also supported by the more conservative sectors of U.S. Catholicism which have always accused the nuns of not contributing enough to the cultural battles against abortion and same-sex marriage. These issues have been top priorities for U.S. bishops in terms of public commitments.

During their annual assembly held in Orlando, Florida between 13 and 16 August, the LCWR extended an olive branch to the Archbishop of Seattle, J. Peter Sartain – the Vatican-appointed commissioner who was given the task of overseeing the group’s reform -, inviting him to speak at their meeting. The prelate promptly accepted the invitation and attended three closed-door meetings, the content of which was closely examined during the group’s plenary assembly. He also participated in a three-day meeting with the heads of the LCWR.

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NEW HAMPSHIRE
Concord Monitor

By ANNMARIE TIMMINS
Monitor staff
Wednesday, August 21, 2013

The state Supreme Court has unanimously upheld the rape and sexual assault convictions against Ernest Willis who is serving a 15-to-30 year prison sentence for forcibly raping his teenage babysitter twice, whom he knew through Trinity Baptist Church in Concord, in 1997.

The court issued its ruling this morning.

The girl, who became pregnant, was later made to stand before their congregation to apologize by then-pastor Chuck Phelps. A Merrimack County jury convicted Ellis of three counts of rape and one count of felonious sexual assault in 2011.

Willis’s attorneys appealed the conviction on several grounds, including the admission of testimony from Phelps, who told jurors Willis had confessed to twice having sexual contact with the 15-year-old girl and described himself as the “aggressor.”

In their appeal, attorneys for Willis asked the Supreme Court justices to decide whether the trial court erred in deciding that conversations between Willis and his Phelps weren’t protected by religious privilege.

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NEW HAMPSHIRE
ABC News

By LYNNE TUOHY Associated Press

New Hampshire’s highest court on Wednesday rejected a new trial for a man convicted of raping and impregnating a 15-year-old member of his church, a case that gained national attention because the church’s pastor made the teen apologize to the congregation.

Ernest Willis was convicted in May 2011 of raping the girl in 1997. His lawyer argued that statements he made to the pastor of the fundamentalist Trinity Baptist Church should not have been used against him. But prosecutors countered that Willis’ statements were not protected by religious privilege because they involved the sexual abuse of a child.

Willis’ lawyer, chief appellate public defender Christopher Johnson, said he had no comment on the unanimous ruling by the New Hampshire Supreme Court.

Jurors at Willis’ trial heard testimony by former Trinity Baptist Church pastor Charles Phelps that Willis told him that he was “the aggressor” and that there were two instances of sexual assault — one during driving lessons he was giving the girl, Tina Anderson — and again at her apartment a month later. The Associated Press does not typically identify victims of sexual assault, but Anderson wanted her name publicized to highlight church abuse and has discussed her case on nationally televised shows.

The justices noted that all 50 states have laws protecting the confidence of clergy-parishioner communications, but New Hampshire is one of six states that revokes that privilege in its child abuse reporting statutes.

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MALTA
Malta Independent

Wednesday, 21 August 2013

We had expressed our opinion on this subject once, but of course, the powers that be in the Maltese Church took no notice of us.

The Curia’s legal representatives recently made their submissions in court in reference to the abuse of boys at the St Joseph’s Home. Just as Bishop Scicluna had claimed right from the start of his appointment, the Church’s legal team said its client is not legally responsible for the (pedophile) crimes committed by ordained and practicing Churchmen. It said that while it sympathized with the victims, the Church does not intend to pay any compensation. This is an ugly scene, a very ugly one.

We can think of no other country in the world where Church leaders tried this argument and got away with it. The defendants would have been laughed right out of court with such an argument, which is why no other diocese used this sort of argument and why many have bankrupted themselves in paying out compensation, rather than try it. Can we say that it is only in Malta that Church finances outweigh all other considerations?

Around the world, faced with charges and accusations from victims who told of infinite pain they suffered, the Church suffered a huge loss of face. Popes, such as Pope Benedict and even Pope Francis have been scathing in their condemnation of the crimes committed by priests and have apologized to the victims, in some cases, as happened in Malta, the Pope personally to the victims.

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UNITED STATES
dotCommonweal

Grant Gallicho August 19, 2013

The Diocese of Peoria, Illinois, has agreed to pay $1.35 million to settle a lawsuit claiming that Archbishop John J. Myers–who served there as bishop from 1990 to 2001–failed to remove a priest from ministry despite having evidence that he had abused a minor. (Myers, you’ll recall, has come in for some criticism regarding his handling of accused priests in his current diocese, Newark.)

The plaintiff, Andrew Ward, now twenty-five, accused the late Rev. Thomas Maloney of molesting him in 1995 and ’96, when Ward was eight. About a year earlier, a woman informed the diocese that Maloney had abused her sister when she was ten years old. Myers denies knowing anything about it. Indeed, if anything comes through in the 2010 deposition of Myers, just unsealed as part of the settlement, it’s that the archbishop’s memory is less than ideal.

For example, Myers doesn’t remember much about the generous gifts Maloney gave him over the years (starting in the late 1980s, apparently). Does he recall receiving Maloney’s own “precious” camera? No. What about gold coins? Sort of. The silver object so large “it could be tied around one’s neck like the proverbial millstone,” as Myers desrcibed it to Maloney in a thank-you note? Hard to say.

Now, it’s not unusual for priests to give gifts to their bishop following confirmations. Such offerings usually amount to $1 per child, rarely totaling more than $500. But many bishops set up trusts to receive such funds for later disbursemet to charity. Myers apparently used them to cover personal expenses–including his mother’s health care, his vacations, and his trips to the track.) (SEE UPDATE BELOW.)

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Insider

The U.S. has criticised Pope Francis for not having replaced the Vatican Secretary of State yet

ANDREA TORNIELLI
VATICAN CITY

“We also wanted someone with good managerial skills and leadership skills, and so far that hasn’t been as obvious.” This is what the Archbishop of New York and American papal candidate, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, had to say about Pope Francis at World Youth Day in Rio a few weeks ago. The cardinal voiced this rather frank criticism during an interview with Vatican correspondent John Allen, published on the National Catholic Register website last 24 July.

Basically, one of the most media-friendly protagonists of the last Conclave that elected Bergoglio to the Throne of Peter just four months ago has said that Francis, the Argentinean Pope “from the other side of the world” has not been enough of a “manager”. In his comment, Dolan was particularly referring to the fact that the Vatican Secretary of State, Tarcisio Bertone, has not been replaced yet. Bertone, who was Benedict XVI’s right hand man, was widely criticised during the pre-Conclave discussions. “I would expect that after the summer lull, we’ll see some more signs of management changes,” Cardinal Dolan added, after stating that he had expected the replacement to happen before the summer, as many had wrongly predicted.

Dolan’s comment is completely separate from other statements made by top figures in the U.S. Catholic Church, such as the Archbishop of Philadelphia, Charles Chaput, who admitted he was quite disappointed Francis was elected Pope by “members of the right wing of the Catholic Church” in an interview with the National Catholic Register. Many websites and blogs had the same reaction. Unlike certain conservative and traditionalist circles, the Archbishop of New York does not complain about such things as the little changes made to the liturgy, about the current Pope’s simple style or about the fact he has not repeatedly stressed the Church’s well-known position with regard to abortion, euthanasia and homosexuality. But Dolan has not hidden his dissatisfaction regarding Francis’ failure so far to act as a real “manager” – a typically American concern.

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DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Dominican Today

Santiago, Dominican Republic.- The Santiago Office of the Prosecutor on Tuesday declared Polish priest Wojciech Gil (Alberto) a fugitive, on charges that he sexually abused three children in the Janico community of Juncalito.

Santiago prosecutor Luisa Liranzo said the Justice Ministry awaits the 4th Instruction Court to evaluate the charges, to then seek the priest’s extradition from Poland.

She said the court was petitioned after the Catholic priest allegedly fled to Poland and the ensuing difficulties to expedite the return.

Although the scandal broke in late May, the case had faded from public attention, despite attempts to get the Catholic Church to secure the return of the prelate who worked in the community for eight years.

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NEW JERSEY
The Star-Ledger

By Star-Ledger Editorial Board
on August 21, 2013

Last weekend’s letter from Newark Archbishop John J. Myers regarding his handling of sexual abuse cases is so crowded with falsehoods and insults that it’s difficult to know where to begin.

What’s most revealing is what is missing: There’s not a single word of sympathy for the victims and their families. Myers instead insults them by suggesting they are blaming the church for problems in their own families. “One can understand when family difficulties lead parents, even by conjecture, to blame someone outside the family,” he wrote. “But conjecture is no reason to undermine the Ministry of individual Priests (or Bishops for that matter.)”

It boggles the mind that in 2013 an archbishop would dare speak of families like this. But it is vintage Myers. While many bishops are working hard to rehabilitate the church, he offers only haughty disdain for those who question his judgment.

This time, he calls his critics “evil, wrong, and immoral” and suggests that they may burn in hell: “God will surely address them in due time.”

The latest damning information comes from a lawsuit the church recently settled for $1.35 million. It accuses Myers of ignoring a credible accusation against a priest on his watch. The lawsuit claimed that the Rev. Thomas Maloney went on to repeatedly abuse an 8-year-old boy.

In his deposition, Myers says he never saw written warnings that went to the diocese, perhaps because of his “slipshod” filing system. If that were true, if it was an innocent mistake, you would expect Myers to offer a heartfelt apology to the victim and his family for his failure to red-flag these cases. Instead, he has refused for years to meet with them.

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NEW JERSEY
The Record

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 21, 2013

NEWARK ARCHBISHOP John J. Myers does not like criticism. In an Aug. 15 letter to priests of his archdiocese, Myers declared that those who question his or the Catholic Church’s role in protecting children are “simply evil, wrong, immoral, and seemingly focused on their own self-aggrandizement.”

Myers has the advantage of being in a job not affected by popular opinion or newspaper editorials. Only Pope Francis can remove him from his position in Newark.

The archbishop is miffed that the media, politicians and, yes, the children victimized by clergy, most of them now adults, and their families continue to demand answers and accountability from him. The sexual abuse of minors by clergy is not a myth or the brainchild of anti-Catholic publicity seekers. The U.S. bishops have acknowledged that too many predator priests were allowed to emotionally scar the children they were ordained to protect because too many bishops put the image of the institutional church ahead of the image of the man upon whom that church was founded.

Myers, before coming to Newark, was the bishop of Peoria, Ill. That diocese reached a $1.35 million settlement, announced last week, with a man who claimed he had been molested by a priest in 1996, a month after the diocese received a complaint from a woman claiming to have been abused as a child by the same priest. Myers denies any knowledge of that woman’s complaint and said the diocese may have lost it because of a “slipshod filing system.”

His explanation is slipshod as well. In New Jersey, the Newark Archdiocese entered into an agreement with the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office that barred a priest who had been convicted of groping a minor from having future contact with minors. The conviction had been overturned because of a judicial error; the agreement with county law enforcement was supposed to keep the priest, Michael Fugee, away from children. That did not occur. Myers did not take responsibility for that either. But the archdiocese’s second-in-command, Monsignor John E. Doran, resigned in the wake of the scandal.

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VATICAN CITY
The Australian

JOHN FOLLAIN, IN ROME From: The Sunday Times August 19, 2013

WITH her film-star looks, flowing hair and leather jacket provocatively unzipped, Francesca Chaouqui cuts an unusual figure alongside the elderly men who run the Catholic church.

But when the 27-year-old public relations consultant was appointed to a key Vatican commission last month, the step was hailed as a symbol of Pope Francis’s determination to bring in fresh blood.

Last week, however, the unconventional choice turned into an embarrassment for the Argentine Pontiff as attention focused on a series of tweets sent from Ms Chaouqui’s account in the months before her nomination – including one in which Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican’s secretary of state, was labelled as “corrupt”.

The row has exposed a Vatican power-struggle appearing to pit the Pope, whose vision is of “a poor church, for the poor”, against the Roman Curia, the bureaucracy that has been tainted by scandals over corruption, pedophilia and cronyism.

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NEW JERSEY
Radio Vatikan

Der Erzbischof von Newark, John Joseph Myers, hat sich in einem Brief zu der Kritik an seinem Umgang mit den Vorwürfen des sexuellen Missbrauchs durch Priester in seiner früheren Diözese Illinois geäußert. In dem Brief an Geistliche verteidigt sich der Erzbischof im Falle eines Mannes, der das Bistum Peoria, in dem Myers von 1990-2001 als Bischof tätig war, verklagt hat. Die Aussage, in der der Mann einen Priester wegen sexuellen Missbrauchs beschuldigt, war in der vergangenen Woche veröffentlicht worden. Wie die Nachrichtenagentur AP am Dienstag mitteilte, bestreitet Erzbischof Myers, von den Vorwürfen gegen den Priester gewusst zu haben. In dem Brief schreibt er, dass Kinder niemals einem Risiko ausgesetzt sein sollten. Er bezeichnete die Vorwürfe seiner Kritiker und der Medien, die verbreiten würden, dass er Kinder nicht schützen würde, als „böse, falsch und unmoralisch“.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Insider

During the course of a private meeting Benedict XVI said that a mystical experience led him to resign

ANDREA TORNIELLI
VATICAN CITY

“God told me to.” This was Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s reason for stepping down from the pontificate. An anonymous individual who visited Ratzinger about a week ago gave a statement recounting what was said during the private meeting, Catholic news agency Zenit reports.

Ratzinger’s decision to stay out of the limelight still raises many questions, six months after the shock announcement of his resignation, Zenit says. One person was lucky enough to hear the reasons for this decision from Ratzinger’s very lips. Although the Pope Emeritus lives a cloistered life, he does very occasionally accept highly private visits in the Mater Ecclesiae monastery in the Vatican which is his current residence.

During these meetings, the former Pope does not comment, reveal secrets or make any statements that may weigh on the new pontificate as “the words that were said by the other Pope.” He is as discreet as he has always been. At most, all he does is observe the wonders that the Holy Spirit is doing through his successor, or he talks about himself and about how his decision to resign was the result of divine inspiration.

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ST. LOUIS (MO)
Riverfront Times

By Sam Levin
Wed., Aug. 21 2013

Last month, a Lincoln county family filed a lawsuit against St. Louis Archbishop Robert Carlson alleging that he tried to cover up a sex abuse case involving a local priest and even attempted to tamper with incriminating evidence. The priest in question is Father Xiu Hui “Joseph” Jiang who reportedly has very close ties to Carlson — and who is accused of repeatedly molesting a teenage girl.

Now, Carlson has filed a formal response to the suit, asking the courts to dismiss it, arguing that neither he nor the Archdiocese of St. Louis is liable.

Victims’ rights advocates say this move is not surprising but still troubling. “It’s like no matter what the facts are or what the allegations are, his response is stunningly uniform: ‘You can’t hold me responsible,'” David Clohessy, executive director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, tells Daily RFT.

SNAP, along with the attorneys representing the accuser, say the case against Jiang and the Archdiocese is unique for several reasons. Notably, the accusations refer to very recent incidents; Jiang, according to the suit, molested the girl several times last year and admitted his actions to the victims’ parents in June of 2012. The suit also says notes clear evidence of the abuse — including text messages from Jiang who allegedly tried to pay off the family.

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PENNSYLVANIA
The Reporter

Archbishop Chaput has decided to market six nursing homes and one assisted living facility — Lansdale’s Saint Mary Manor is among them — operated by Catholic Health Care Services for potential sale. He has also decided to pursue a possible outsourced management and leasing agreement for the 11 active Archdiocesan cemeteries and two sites designated for future cemetery development.

This July, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia published audited financial statements for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2012. The financial statements disclosed a $39.2 million operating deficit for that period as well as several very significant and ongoing balance sheet issues that measure in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

Since his arrival in Philadelphia nearly two years ago, Archbishop Chaput has repeatedly expressed his commitment to financial transparency and prudent stewardship of the resources of the Archdiocese. Beginning last summer, a series of steps were taken to begin to remedy Archdiocesan fiscal challenges. The Archbishop’s residence along with a property in Ventnor, New Jersey, were both sold to provide necessary immediate cash flow. Many other actions followed including a reduction of 25 percent of the workforce at the Archdiocesan Pastoral Center in order to stem the operating deficit. Additionally, an evaluation of various Archdiocesan real estate assets and operating entities was undertaken. This evaluation focused on assets that could potentially be used to remedy the balance sheet issues. None of those measures were taken lightly, but all were essential to maintaining the presence of the Catholic Church in the Philadelphia region and the good works accomplished through its various ministries.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Daily Times

By PATTI MENGERS
pmengers@delcotimes.com

Officials in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia are marketing St. Francis Country House in Darby for potential sale along with five other nursing homes and one assisted-living facility operated by Catholic Health Care Services in an effort to defray a multimillion-dollar operating deficit.

Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput said Tuesday he may also hire private contractors to manage and operate Immaculate Heart of Mary Cemetery in Upper Chichester, St. Michael’s Cemetery in Chester, SS. Peter and Paul Cemetery in Marple, eight other archdiocesan cemeteries and two sites targeted for future cemeteries in Bucks and Chester counties to try and save money.

“Our difficult financial situation must be addressed and the actions that we need to take may be painful ones. I understand this fact fully, but it is of critical importance that we rebuild our financial foundation so that we can continue our collective good works,” said Chaput in a prepared statement.

Audited financial statements published by the archdiocese in July revealed a $39.2 million operating deficit for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2012, “as well as several very significant and ongoing balance sheet issues that measure in the hundreds of millions of dollars,” according to a press release.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia

These potential actions follow the recent release of the Archdiocesan financial report and seek to rebuild a solid financial foundation for the Church of Philadelphia

Contextual Background

This July, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia published audited financial statements for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2012. The financial statements disclosed a $39.2 million operating deficit for that period as well as several very significant and ongoing balance sheet issues that measure in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

Since his arrival in Philadelphia nearly two years ago, Archbishop Chaput has repeatedly expressed his commitment to financial transparency and prudent stewardship of the resources of the Archdiocese. Beginning last summer, a series of steps were taken to begin to remedy Archdiocesan fiscal challenges. The Archbishop’s residence along with a property in Ventnor, New Jersey, were both sold to provide necessary immediate cash flow. Many other actions followed including a reduction of 25% of the workforce at the Archdiocesan Pastoral Center in order to stem the operating deficit. Additionally, an evaluation of various Archdiocesan real estate assets and operating entities was undertaken. This evaluation focused on assets that could potentially be used to remedy the balance sheet issues. None of those measures were taken lightly, but all were essential to maintaining the presence of the Catholic Church in the Philadelphia region and the good works accomplished through its various ministries.

Background Regarding Today’s Announcement

Among the operating entities evaluated were Catholic Health Care Services and the Office of Catholic Cemeteries, which have both been well managed for many years. As a result, Archbishop Chaput has decided to market the six nursing homes and one assisted living facility operated by Catholic Health Care Services for potential sale. He has also decided to pursue a possible outsourced management and leasing agreement for the 11 active Archdiocesan cemeteries and two sites designated for future cemetery development.

In making this announcement, Archbishop Chaput said, “Our difficult financial situation must be addressed and the actions that we need to take may be painful ones. I understand this fact fully, but it is of critical importance that we rebuild our financial foundation so that we can continue our collective good works.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

Harold Brubaker, Inquirer Staff Writer LAST UPDATED: Wednesday, August 21, 2013

In an aggressive move to help remedy its deep financial woes, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia said Tuesday that it had put its six nursing homes up for sale.

The archdiocese also said it would attempt to lease out 11 cemeteries and two parcels that could be used as cemeteries.

In addition, the archdiocese said it would try to outsource the management of the cemeteries, a move that could cut costs and increase revenue.

“Our difficult financial situation must be addressed and the actions that we need to take may be painful ones,” Archbishop Charles J. Chaput said in a news release.

“I understand this fact fully, but it is of critical importance that we rebuild our financial foundation so that we can continue our collective good works.”

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Main Line

By PATTI MENGERS
pmengers@21st-centurymedia.com

Officials in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia are marketing St. Francis Country House in Darby for potential sale along with five other nursing homes and one assisted-living facility operated by Catholic Health Care Services in an effort to defray a multimillion-dollar operating deficit.

Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput said Tuesday he may also hire private contractors to manage and operate Immaculate Heart of Mary Cemetery in Upper Chichester, St. Michael’s Cemetery in Chester, SS. Peter and Paul Cemetery in Marple, eight other archdiocesan cemeteries and two sites targeted for future cemeteries in Bucks and Chester counties to try and save money.

“Our difficult financial situation must be addressed and the actions that we need to take may be painful ones. I understand this fact fully, but it is of critical importance that we rebuild our financial foundation so that we can continue our collective good works,” said Chaput in a prepared statement.

Audited financial statements published by the archdiocese in July revealed a $39.2 million operating deficit for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2012, “as well as several very significant and ongoing balance sheet issues that measure in the hundreds of millions of dollars,” according to a press release.

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NORWAY
News in English

August 21, 2013

A Catholic priest employed by the diocese in Oslo has been defrocked and charged with assault after admitting to having had sexual relations with a 15-year-old girl in Bergen. Oslo Bishop Bernt Eidsvig went public with the case on Tuesday, despite objections from police in Bergen.

“We’ve been criticized by the police for reporting this, but it was already known in Bergen,” Eidsvig said. He said he wanted to avoid speculation or accusations that the Catholic Church in Norway was withholding information on the case. The police, however, would have preferred to launch their own investigation before the case became known.

Eidsvig told reporters that the relation between the priest and the teenager went on for around a week this past summer. The girl, who is not Catholic, later reported it to another priest who immediately contacted Eidsvig. He told Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) that he flew to Bergen the next day, where the priest now charged with assault confessed.

It’s the latest in a string of cases involving assault within the Catholic Church worldwide, but Eidsvig said it’s the first he’s aware of in Oslo. Three years ago, a former bishop in Trondheim admitted sexual assault against an alter boy years earlier, though, and the church has an archive of other cases deemed “sensitive.”

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UNITED STATES
Christian Newswire

Catholic Religious Women continue claim to the right to ‘faithful dissent’ and their own understandings of faith, ecclesial authority and religious obedience, says expert.

Contact: Lisa Wheeler, Carmel Communications, 770-591-0045, Media@CarmelCommunications.com

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 20, 2013 /Christian Newswire/ — The annual assembly of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious took place August 13-16 in Orlando, Fla. The main topic of the meeting was how to respond to a mandate of reform of the organization issued by the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) on April 17, 2012. That mandate directed Archbishop J. Peter Sartain of Seattle to accomplish in five years: a revision of the LCWR’s statutes; review and reform of LCWR plans and programs; creation of LCWR programs to help member congregations deeper formation in Church doctrine; review and application of liturgical norms and texts; and review of LCWR links with the affiliated organizations Network and Resource Center for Religious Institutes.

Archbishop Sartain met in closed session with the entire membership to discuss the CDF assessment and to answer questions. An LCWR press release issued at the end of that three-day meeting said: “Although we remain uncertain as to how our work with the bishop delegates will proceed, we maintain hope that continued conversations of this depth will lead to a resolution of this situation that maintains the integrity of the LCWR and is healthy for the whole church.”

Ann Carey, considered by many to be the foremost expert on women religious, and whose book, SISTERS IN CRISIS REVISITED, spends an entire chapter reporting on the CDF doctrinal assessment of the LCWR, and includes for readers the actual Vatican document as an Appendix, had this reaction:

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ISRAEL
Jerusalem Post

Former cabinet minister Michael Melchior attacked former MK Haim Druckman on Tuesday for defending Rabbi Mordechai Elon, a recently convicted sex offender, and inviting him to his yeshiva.

Writing on his Facebook page, Melchior, like Druckman a rabbi, recalled that he refused to join a long list of prominent people who congratulated Druckman when he won the Israel Prize. Melchior said that when he was told he was the only one who had refused, he responded that he could not back anyone who covered for or protected someone who harmed youth.

“I was not at all surprised to read that Rabbi Druckman continues to invite Rabbi Elon to teach young men in his yeshiva in Or Etzion, even after his conviction in court,” Melchior wrote in both English and Hebrew.

Melchior praised the Takana Forum of prominent religious Zionist figures, which fights sexual abuse in the National Religious sector, for the way it handled the allegations against Elon. He said he wished the ruling of the forum and the court was respected by Druckman and others who continue to back Elon.

“I wonder, what more needs to happen before Religious Zionism, Bnei Akiva yeshivas and yeshivot hesder will no longer consider this person [Druckman] suitable to lead them,” Melchior wrote. “Is it possible to enter the month of mercy and forgiveness, and the Days of Awe and claim to The Almighty that we have done all that we must do in order to set an example for, and to protect our children? Is it not said that in a place where God’s name is being desecrated, we do not give respect to Rabbis? In this instance, when a Rabbi is an icon, I ask what could be a bigger desecration of God’s name than to pay tribute to a man that has turned a blind-eye to harm done to innocent children?” Elon was convicted on two counts of indecent assault by force against a minor by the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court two weeks ago. He could serve up to seven years in prison.

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ISRAEL
Failed Messiah

Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com

Writing on his Facebook page, former MK and cabinet minister Rabbi Michael Melchior ripped into Rabbi Haim Druckman, a former member of Knesset who heads Israel’s state conversion authority and the Bnei Akiva system of yeshivas, the Jerusalem Post reported.

Druckman is both an enabler of and an apologist for Rabbi Mordechai Elon, who was convicted almost two weeks ago of sexually abusing a minor who was his student.

Druckman previously viciously attacked Elon’s victims and publicly endorsed Elon. Despite that behavior, Druckman was awarded the Israel Prize. Melchior was the lone Zionist Orthodox/Modern Orthodox rabbi of note who publicly refused to congratulate him.

Then after Elon was convicted almost two weeks ago, Druckman invited Elon to continue to teach a weekly class at Druckman’s yeshiva despite that conviction.

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CHILE
Channels

A former Chilean priest was convicted in four sexual abuse cases on Tuesday and could face up to 15 years in prison.

The former priest was the administrator for the Hogar de Menores (Young Persons Home) San Juan Bosco and priest at the Immaculate Conception Parish of Cunco in Temuco, Chile about 650 kilometres (400 miles) south of Santiago from 2004 to 2011.

The crimes were carried out between the years 2006 and 2011, though the public prosecutor of Temuco, Omar Merida, said there was evidence the 53-year-old priest had been abusing youngsters for years before.

“The evidence we presented showed that these same acts had been occurring for at least the last 20 years,” Merida said.

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NEDERLAND
Trouw

Nederland moet het pedoseksuelen moeilijker maken om in het buitenland slachtoffers te maken. Daarom moeten veroordeelde pedoseksuelen met een hoog recidive-risico aan het Register Paspoortsignaleringen worden toegevoegd, zegt Corinne Dettmeijer-Vermeulen, nationaal rapporteur mensenhandel en seksueel geweld tegen kinderen. Zij presenteerde gisteren haar rapport ‘Barrières tegen kindersekstoerisme’.

Waarom moet er iets gebeuren met de reizende pedoseksuelen?
“Deze mensen mogen binnen Nederland niet op een school werken, of vrijwilliger zijn bij de padvinderij, maar we vinden het wel best dat ze naar het buitenland gaan om daar kinderen te misbruiken. Ik bestrijd de gedachte van ‘opgeruimd staat netjes’. Nee, we zijn als land, als samenleving ook verantwoordelijk voor de bescherming van buitenlandse kinderen tegen deze pedoseksuelen.”

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MALTA
Malta Independent

Wednesday, 21 August 2013
by Martin Scicluna

The jury is still out on Francis I, who surprised the world only five months ago when he stepped out onto the balcony above St Peter’s Square in Rome as the 266th Pope. Since his election this Argentinian cardinal has won plaudits for his humility, common touch and way with words as he has said repeatedly he wants to lead “a poor church, for the poor”.

On his recent debut abroad in Brazil, the first Latin American pope injected a spring in the church’s step in the largest Roman Catholic country. In a long, informal press conference on the flight home, he also underlined the new style that his papacy has brought, heralding a softer tone on sexual issues and a tougher line on Vatican cliques – the latter having been the undoing of his cerebral but lacklustre predecessor, Benedict XVI.

Humble and plain-speaking, Francis’ energy and urgency on this trip were in marked contrast with the sense of drift that has afflicted the Church in the last decade. At a meeting of bishops, he called for a new “missionary spirit” and decried “obsolete structures”, strictures which should strike a distinct chord with the hierarchy of the Maltese Church. …

Pope Francis is clearly determined to clean out the Augean Stables at the Vatican. By contrast, the Maltese Church, against the trend of virtually every Catholic Diocese in the world which has been involved in child-abuse scandals and has agreed to pay financial compensation for priestly misdeeds, is resisting in the Maltese Courts any settlement with the ten victims concerned. It argues that the Maltese Archdiocese was never accused or convicted of having committed the criminal acts in question and it could not know in advance that some consecrated person or member was likely to commit a crime.

The Maltese Church would be more honest if it said plainly that its reason for resisting compensation to the victims is that it fears the financial consequences. But that should surely be beside the point, demonstrating too much earthly acquisitiveness and being utterly bereft of moral responsibility. Other Archdioceses around the world have gone bankrupt, and it may be that this must be the price to pay for restoring the Maltese Church’s integrity.

The central issue should be the well-being of those who have suffered as a consequence of the Church’s lack of care. To argue, as some have, that the victims are only in it for the money is cynical and a diversion. The victims are entitled to whatever the law will allow for the grotesque crimes perpetrated on them as children.

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CALIFORNIA
Press-Enterprise

AUGUST 20, 2013 BY DAVID OLSON

I wrote today on the debate over a bill in the California legislature that would allow some alleged victims of childhood sexual abuse a chance to sue even if their cases are decades old.

On Monday, I sat down for four hours with David Nickell in his Riverside backyard as he told me the wrenching story of how, he said, a priest in San Bernardino repeatedly abused him when he was 11 and 12 years old.

Nickell’s hands were shaking during much of the interview. Other times, they were clasped together tightly.

“This is one of the hardest things I’ve ever done,” he told me.

I was struck how even at age 45, Nickell still partially blames himself.

“I just don’t know what I did to make him do this,” he told me.

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CALIFORNIA
Press-Enterprise

BY DAVID OLSON August 20, 2013

David Nickell said the repeated sexual abuse he suffered at the hands of a Catholic priest in 1980 still haunts him today.

Nickell, 45, of Riverside, looks back at years of “self-medicating” and drifting from job to job and relationship to relationship and believes at least some of the instability in his life is the result of what he said was sexual abuse he suffered when he was 11 and 12 years old.

“I’ve lost a lot of years,” Nickell said.

Current law does not allow Nickell to pursue legal action against the Diocese of San Bernardino, because the alleged abuse happened so long ago. But a bill now being debated in the state legislature would give Nickell and some other alleged victims one year to file suit, exempting them from the statute of limitations for sexual abuse.

A 2002 law granted a similar one-year window but supporters of the new bill say many victims don’t realize the effects of their abuse until later in life.

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CHILE
BBC News

A Chilean priest has been convicted of sexually abusing four children who were under his care at a young people’s home in the city of Temuco.

The court heard how Orlando Rogel Pinuer, 53, gave teenagers alcohol and money in exchange for sexual acts.

Prosecutor Omar Merida said there was evidence Rogel had abused other youths for years. He accused the Catholic Church of failing to co-operate.

The priest faces 15 years in prison, and will be sentenced on Sunday.

He carried out the abuse while acting as administrator of the San Juan Bosco young people’s home in Temuco between 2006 and 2011.

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UNITED KINGDOM
The Press

Exclusive By Mike Laycock, Chief reporter

THE Archbishop of York’s Office is investigating claims of a Church cover-up after a retired York vicar admitted sexually assaulting boys.

York Minster Canon Emeritus John Norman, who died in 2005, was cautioned and placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register in 2004 – but not prosecuted – after he confessed to offences against three youngsters, The Press can reveal.

The sister of one of his victims claims the only penalty from the Church was to be barred from administering the sacraments and he was allowed to remain a Canon Emeritus at the Minster. She said he died the following year on his 90th birthday with his high reputation intact, and he was praised with glowing obituaries in publications such as The Church Times.

The woman, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, also claimed the Church had never apologised to her brother for the abuse, which happened on boys-only camping trips organised by Canon Norman as well as in the village rectory, when her brother was a chorister at Dunnington church and Canon Norman was rector.

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CHILE
Nigerian Times

Orlando Rogel Pinuer, a former Chilean priest has been convicted on four counts of sexual abuse cases and faces up to 15 years in prison. The former priest was the administrator for the Hogar de Menores (Young Person’s Home), San Juan Bosco, and a priest at the Immaculate Conception Parish of Cunco in Temuco, Chile.

His crimes were carried out between 2006 – 2011, although the prosecutor said that there was evidence that the 53 year old priest had been abusing young boys for at least 20 years, even though previous charges do not exist.

The priest would use his religious control over his young victims, and would even give them alcohol and spending money in order for them to continue to perform sexual acts on him. All his victims were in boarding school, aged between 14 – 16 years old age.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Patch

Posted by Eric Campbell (Editor) , August 20, 2013

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia announced Tuesday it will seek to sell some nursing homes it operates and outsource management of some of its cemeteries.

The move comes after last month’s report that the archdiocese ran a $39.2 million deficit in the 2012 fiscal year.

The health-care facilities that may be affected include the following, according to Kenneth A. Gavin, the archdiocese’s director of communications:

Immaculate Mary Home, Philadelphia
Villa Saint Martha, Downingtown (Chester County)
Saint Francis Country House, Darby (Delaware County)
Saint John Neumann Home, Philadelphia
Saint Martha Manor, Downingtown (Chester County)
Saint Mary Manor, Lansdale (Montgomery County)
Saint Monica Manor, Philadelphia
The following existing cemeteries and planned cemetery sites also could be affected:
All Souls Cemetery, Coatesville (Chester County)
Calvary Cemetery, West Conshohocken (Montgomery County)
Cathedral Cemetery, Philadelphia
New Cathedral Cemetery, Philadelphia
Holy Cross Cemetery, Yeadon (Delaware County)
Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Philadelphia
Immaculate Heart of Mary Cemetery, Linwood (Delaware County)
Resurrection Cemetery, Bensalem (Bucks County)
Saint John Neumann Cemetery, Chalfont (Bucks County)
Saint Michael Cemetery, Chester (Delaware County)
Saints Peter and Paul Cemetery, Springfield (Delaware County)
All Saints Cemetery, Newtown (Bucks County)
Holy Savior Cemetery, Penn Township (Bucks County)

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AUSTRALIA
Sky News

A retired priest from the NSW Central Coast has been charged with possessing child abuse material.

Detectives from the Sex Crimes Squad’s Child Exploitation Internet Unit raided a home on the Central Coast on Tuesday.

They arrested a 72-year-old man and seized computer equipment, a DVD and other items for forensic examination.

The man was taken to Wyong police station and charged with two counts of possessing child abuse material.

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CHILE
Bio-Bio

Declaran culpable a sacerdote de Cunco por cuatro casos de abuso sexual

Culpable de cuatro de los seis hechos de abuso sexual por los que fue acusado fue declarado este martes un sacerdote de Cunco, tras desarrollarse el respectivo juicio oral en Temuco.

Los jueces integrantes de la Primera Sala del Tribunal Oral de Temuco resolvieron declarar culpable por unanimidad del delito de abuso sexual reiterado al sacerdote Orlando Rogel Pinuer, absolviéndolo de dos de las imputaciones, tal como lo confirmó el fiscal de la Unidad de Delitos Sexuales Omar Mérida.

El persecutor no descartó, en caso de establecer que existe algún delito, iniciar una nueva causa respecto de la negativa de la Iglesia Católica y particularmente del obispo de la Diócesis de Villarrica, Francisco Javier Stegmeier, de apoyar la investigación, además de negar acceso a una supuesta investigación canónica.

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AUSTRALIA
Newcastle Herald

By DAN PROUDMAN Aug. 21, 2013

A RETIRED Catholic priest has been charged with child pornography offences after detectives raided

Detectives from the sex crime squad’s child exploitation internet unit seized computer equipment and a DVD for forensic examination.

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AUSTRALIA
9 News

Detectives from the Sex Crimes Squad’s Child Exploitation Internet Unit raided a home on the Central Coast on Tuesday.

They arrested a 72-year-old man and seized computer equipment, a DVD and other items for forensic examination.

The man was taken to Wyong police station and charged with two counts of possessing child abuse material.

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AUSTRALIA
NSW Police Force

Wednesday, 21 August 2013

Detectives from the Sex Crimes Squad’s Child Exploitation Internet Unit (CEIU) have charged a retired Catholic priest with offences relating to child pornography.

As part of their ongoing investigations into the possession, production and dissemination of online child-abuse material, detectives executed a search warrant on a home at the Central Coast about 8.30am yesterday (Tuesday 20 August 2013).

A 72-year-old man was arrested at the premises and police seized a number of items, including computer equipment and a DVD for forensic examination.

The man was taken to Wyong Police Station and charged with two counts of possess child-abuse material.

He was given strict conditional bail to appear at Wyong Local Court on Wednesday 4 September 2013.

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CALIFORNIA
Pope Crimes & Vatican Evils…

Paris Arrow

Updated August 20, 2013

We beg all members of the California State Assembly Appropriations Committee – – the California legislative panel to vote “YES” on SB 131 this Wednesday (8/21) – and make it easier for California child sex abuse victims to expose their child molesters in court. We invite all Committee members to read our letter to Los Angeles Judge Emilie H. Elias who made – the historic decision and judgement – to release all pedophile priests’ files of the Los Angeles Archdiocese – against the million dollars lawyers of Cardinal Mahony who wanted them all to be shredded and hidden and denied to the public.

Our letter – New Year’s plea to the judge of Los Angeles: Reveal the whole truth, the entire truth now – today apply as well to the California State Assembly Appropriations Committee when they’ll make their historic vote on SB 131.

Dear (Judge Emilie H. Elias) California State Assembly Appropriations Committee,

You are our final hope for the whole truth and nothing but the truth…and May the Almighty God help you and give you the courage to do the right thing.

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CALIFORNIA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

POSTED BY DAVID CLOHESSY ON AUGUST 20, 2013

Tomorrow, a California legislative panel will vote on SB 131, a measure that would make it easier for child sex abuse victims to expose child molesters in court.

Leading the charge against the measure: California’s Catholic bishops.

The highest ranking prelate in the state, Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles, claims that the bill

–“fails to protect all victims of childhood sexual abuse” (So if a bill doesn’t protect EVERYONE or fix EVERYTHING, it should be defeated?)
–“discriminates against Catholic schools” (Really? The bill doesn’t mention Catholic schools.)
–“discriminates against other private employers” (No, the bill focuses on private employers because that’s where history and common sense tell us abuse is more apt to be covered up. That’s not “discrimination,” that’s smart public policy.)
–“puts the Church’s social services and educational mission at risk” (Really? That’s what virtually every bishop says every time anyone proposes reforming the archaic, arbitrary, predator-friendly statute of limitations.)

Gomez isn’t the only Catholic official who’s wrong about this. The bishops’ lead public relations guy, Kevin Eckery, claims “Nobody who may have been abused in a public daycare will have any rights under this law whatsoever.”

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NEW JERSEY
New Jersey 101.5

By Ray Rossi August 20, 2013

I take my salvation in my hands, according to Archbishop Myers of Newark, for suggesting that perhaps the sexual abuse that’s taken place by priests on his watch is a reflection of his ministry.

The tip of the iceberg goes back to the scandal of Rev. Michael Fugee, where the Archbishop took heat for his handling of the affair, or lack thereof.

Since then, his stewardship has been called into question again, this time over revelations that a priest in the Diocese of Peoria where the Archbishop served and with whom he was friendly, says warning signs of sexual abuse by said priest ‘got by me’!

According to this:

In late 1994 or early 1995, a woman told church officials Maloney had molested her when she was a child, documents show. Later in 1995, the woman’s sister wrote to the diocese on her behalf, again insisting action be taken against the priest.

Four years later, a couple wrote to the vicar general, second-in-command of the diocese, complaining Maloney had an explicit sexual conversation with their 13-year-old son during confession, the documents show.

But Newark Archbishop John J. Myers, then bishop of Peoria, says he missed it all.
In a deposition unsealed as part of a $1.35 million settlement with one of Maloney’s alleged victims, Myers said he had no inkling Maloney — a friend who vacationed with him and lavished him with gifts of jewelry, gold coins and cash — was a potential molester.

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CALIFORNIA
The Worthy Adversary

Posted by Joelle Casteix on August 20, 2013

**********************ACTION ALERT******************************

Want to take action TODAY to help victims and protect kids? Here’s how:

Tomorrow, Wednesday (8/21), the California State Assembly Appropriations Committee will consider a measure that makes it easier for child sex abuse victims to expose predators in court, keep kids safe right now and hold wrongdoers accountable.

Please take just a few minutes and contact the lawmakers below, urging them to vote YES on SB 131.

The San Jose Mercury News—as well as other papers across the state—have urged a yes vote. You can also read my previous posts about the bill here and here.

You CAN HELP! Please send an email TODAY. And please circulate this request to others you know understand the importance of shining the light of truth on child sexual abuse.

Here is the list of important legislators to contact. You can find their email address and phone numbers here.

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NEW JERSEY
TheMediaReport

In an open letter last week to all of the priests of his archdiocese, Newark Archbishop John J. Myers responded to “false” and “deceitful” reporting that has characterized the recent frenzied media coverage of a case involving Myers’ supervision of a now-dead priest decades ago in the 1990s in the Diocese of Peoria (Illinois) when he was a bishop there.

The New Jersey Star-Ledger newspaper – which has relentlessly attacked Archbishop Myers this year – has claimed that Myers did nothing after he received first-hand knowledge that a priest under his watch in Peoria was accused of abuse.

In truth, after a thorough examination of the matter by TheMediaReport.com, the facts are clear: Myers, while he was Bishop of Peoria, had absolutely no knowledge whatsoever of any sex abuse committed by the particular priest in question, and the Star-Ledger has uncritically trumpeted the unfounded claims of Jeff Anderson, the high-profile contingency lawyer who has an extensive history of disseminating misinformation and malice against the Church, and who has been at the center of a money-seeking lawsuit in this case.

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ESPANA
El Mundo

El Juzgado de Instrucción 1 de Castellón ha archivado provisionalmente el primer caso que se conoció en España en el que la propia Iglesia denunció ante la Justicia ordinaria los presuntos abusos sexuales de un sacerdote hacia un menor, siguiendo las nuevas directrices del anterior Papa, Benedicto XVI.

El auto del 30 de julio de 2013, hecho público este martes por el Tribunal Superior de Justicia de la Comunidad Valenciana, expone que al cierre de la Instrucción, el titular del Juzgado 1 de Castellón ordena el sobreseimiento provisional de la denuncia contra J. M. M. V., fraile carmelita que ejercía en la localidad de Burriana (Castellón), acusado de un presunto delito de abuso sexual a un monaguillo cuando el joven era menor de edad.

El sobreseimiento de la causa llega tras la petición de archivo por parte del Ministerio Fiscal, que no considera “debidamente acreditada la concurrencia de los elementos exigidos por los tipos de los abusos sexuales del Código Penal” y al no haber formalizado la acusación particular -formada por el propio monaguillo, J. S. G., y su padre- su denuncia contra el imputado.

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

For immediate release: Tuesday, Aug. 20

Statement by Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, Outreach Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests ( 314 862 7688 home, 314 503 0003 cell, SNAPdorris@gmail.com )

It’s interesting what Archbishop Robert Carlson does NOT say, either in public or in his new eight page legal response.

He doesn’t say “Fr. Jiang never admitted his crimes to me.” (In their civil suit, that’s what the parents say happened.)

He doesn’t say “I never called the girl’s mom.” (In their civil suit, that’s what the parents say happened.)

He doesn’t say “I never asked anyone to turn over the $20,000 check to me.” (In their civil suit, that’s what the girl’s parents say Carlson did.)

He doesn’t even say “I think Fr. Jiang is innocent.”

In a footnote, he does say the charge that he tried to tamper with evidence is “baseless.” But again, he refuses to say whether he called the mom or asked for Jiang’s $20,000 check. Why won’t he just come clean and answer even these two simple questions?

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NEW JERSEY
National Catholic Reporter

Brian Roewe | Aug. 20, 2013 NCR Today

Pulling few punches, Newark Archbishop John Myers responded over the weekend to what he classified as “deceitful and misleading” news reports of a deposition he made related to a clergy sex abuse lawsuit in his previous Peoria, Ill., diocese.

In a letter sent to Newark archdiocesan priests, encouraging them to share its content with “parishioners, and all who are interested in the truth,” Myers accused his critics — many of whom have called for his resignation — of raising false and misleading statements of his handling of abuse allegations in both Peoria and Newark.

“For those who are truly with us — the Church — in the protection of children, they have my respect, gratitude, and embrace,” he said. “For any who set out to claim that I or the Church have had no effective part in the love and protection of children, is simply evil, wrong, immoral, and seemingly focused on their own self-aggrandizement.”

“God only knows their personal reasons and agenda. We are still called to love them. And God will surely address them in due time,” Myers wrote in the letter, a version of which was made public online through the personal blog of Fr. Jim Chern, chaplain of the Newman Catholic Center at Montclair State University in Montclair, N.J.

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
Washington Post

[Archbishop Myers deposition via BishopAccountability.org]

NJ archbishop calls critics ‘evil, wrong’ over accounts of settlement from previous Ill. post

By Associated Press,
NEWARK, N.J. — The Roman Catholic archbishop of Newark, N.J., has issued a scathing rebuke to his critics, blasting them as “evil, wrong, immoral” for questioning his handling of an allegation of sex abuse in his previous diocese in Illinois.

In a letter to clergy, Archbishop John J. Myers defends himself in the case of a man who sued the Diocese of Peoria, Ill., which Myers helmed from 1990 to 2001. In a 2010 deposition that a lawyer for the accuser recently released, Myers said he did not know of other allegations against Monsignor Thomas Maloney. The diocese of Peoria reached a $1.35 million settlement in the case this month.

The deposition said diocesan correspondence recorded one allegation of abuse and another of inappropriate behavior against Maloney, but Myers said they may have been lost in the diocese’s slipshod filing system and did not cross his desk. Myers said he wasn’t alerted to the allegations and didn’t see them when reviewing Maloney’s files while recommending him for a promotion in 2000. Maloney died in 2009.

“At no time was I ever aware that some people thought him to be a threat to children or young people,” Myers wrote, noting the case that recently settled was brought to the attention of the Diocese of Peoria in 2007, years after he left.

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
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Tuesday, Aug. 20

Statement by Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, Outreach Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests ( 314 862 7688 home, 314 503 0003 cell, SNAPdorris@gmail.com )

It’s inappropriate and unseemly for a purported shepherd to use religious services to harshly attack the motives of others. It’s always suspect when a powerful officials claims the news media is to blame for his difficulties.

And it’s extraordinarily cruel to publicly accuse an abuse victims parents of trying to “undermine the Ministry of individual Priests . . .or Bishops (sic),” as Myers did on Sunday.

Andrew Ward’s brave and caring mom and dad are trying to deter cover ups, not “undermine Ministry.” They are to be commended, not censured, and especially not censured from pulpits paid for by parishioners.

Shame on Myers for heaping even more pain on this family that has already suffered immeasurably.

Myers selfishly exploited his “captive audience” last Sunday for his personal defense. He cynically tries to conflate his own justifiably-tattered reputation with “our Roman Catholic Faith and its Teachings.” But every Catholic knows there’s a difference between one individual bishop’s wrongdoing and the entire collective Catholic faith. To claim otherwise is perverse.

Demanding that Myers apologize or step down is meaningless. The Vatican, not Myers, should take the next step. And that step should be to denounce and demote this selfish man.

Finally, almost 15 years ago, when the first clergy sex abuse and cover up case began to attract national attention, Catholic officials in Louisiana urged their flock to stop reading and buying a local newspaper.

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

Archbishop wants case against him tossed out
He dodges recent & unusual accusations, SNAP says
But he “vehemently” denies trying to tamper with evidence
SNAP: “Carlson promised ‘answers,’ but offers only legal excuses”
He claims church can’t be held responsible for recent alleged abuse
“Disclose where suspended predator priest is living now?” abuse victims ask
Chinese cleric is one of six wrongdoers who worked at Cathedral on Lindell
Self help group wants archbishop to hold public meeting about all offenders

What:
Holding signs and childhood photos at a sidewalk news conference, clergy sex abuse victims will hand out copies of a new legal defense motion filed by St. Louis’ archbishop in response to a disturbing recent civil child sex abuse and cover up lawsuit that charges Catholic officials with evidence tampering. They will, also blast the archbishop’s “legalistic, non-response” and

–point out that five credibly accused priests and one convicted bishop worked at the Cathedral on Lindell,
–prod the archbishop to hold an open public meeting about the predators, and
–urge him to turn over records about all five alleged child molesting clerics to local law enforcement.

When:
TODAY, Tuesday, Aug. 20 at 1:30 p.m.

Where:
Outside the St. Louis Cathedral on Lindell at Taylor in the city’s Central West End

Who:
Three-four members of a support group called SNAP (the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests), including a St. Louis man who is the group’s long time director

Why:
Last month, a shocking lawsuit alleging very recent child sex crimes and attempted cover up by St. Louis’ archbishop was filed. Now, Archbishop Robert Carlson has responded to those accusations with a new, eight-page legal response in which he calls “baseless” the charge that he tried to tamper with evidence. On five other charges, however, Carlson basically argues that he can’t be held responsible even if the allegations in the case are true. Carlson’s lawyers want the entire case against him tossed out.

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.

UNITED STATES
National Catholic Register

LCWR 2013 Assembly: Little Evidence Yet of Any Reforms

NEWS ANALYSIS: More than a year after the Vatican mandated changes, the U.S. women religious leaders’ group appears uninterested in complying.

by ANN CAREY
08/20/2013

When the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) met in its annual assembly Aug. 13-16 in Orlando, Fla., the main topic of business was how the sisters would respond to a 2012 mandate of reform from the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF). The LCWR is a canonically erected superiors’ organization of nearly 1,400 sisters who are leaders of about 80% of the women religious in this country.

Interest in their 2013 assembly was heightened by the presence of the Vatican’s apostolic delegate charged with conducting the reform, Archbishop J. Peter Sartain of Seattle. He had offered to attend the LCWR 2012 assembly to discuss the mandate that had come out April 18 of that year, but had been told then by LCWR leaders that his presence “would not be helpful.”

This year, Archbishop Sartain addressed the entire membership in a closed session and fielded questions about the mandate from LCWR members. He also met with the LCWR’s 21-member national board during the first of three days of board meetings after the assembly closed.

However, the only decision announced by LCWR in an Aug. 19 press release was simply to continue talking with Archbishop Sartain and Bishops Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Ill., and Leonard Blair of Toledo, Ohio, who the Vatican appointed to assist him.

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IRELAND
Association of Catholic Priests

+Diarmuid Martin surveys the Irish Church in the wake of the sexual abuse crisis and the economic downturn. This article, first published in America on 20 May 2013, is adapted from an address at the Fordham Center on Religion and Culture in New York. Read the original article and comments here

I entered the seminary in Dublin in October 1962, just one week before the opening of the Second Vatican Council. The winter of 1962-63 was one of the bleakest in decades, and our seminary was a very cold place in more ways than one. My memory of the seminary is of a building and a routine, a discipline and a way of life that seemed to have been like that for decades. Even to someone who was not a revolutionary, it all seemed very out of touch with the world from which I had just come, and in which my friends were thriving. But one was not supposed to think that way. Things were to be done as they had always been done. The Catholic Church was unchanging, but that was about to change.

For decades Ireland was looked on as one of the world’s most deeply and stably Catholic countries. Today Ireland finds itself, along with other parts of Europe, being classified as “post-Catholic.” Everyone has his or her own definition of the term. You can fully define post-Catholic only in terms of the Catholicism that has been displaced. Irish Catholicism has its own unique history and culture. Renewal in the Irish church will not come from imported plans and programs; it must be home-grown.

Ireland does, of course, share the same currents of secularization with other countries of the Western world and thus shares many of the same challenges. There are specific challenges within Europe; there are specific challenges common to the English-speaking world. Yet the fact that Ireland is an English-speaking country does not mean it can be put into the same category as the United States and Great Britain. …

The effects of the child abuse scandals have had a demoralizing effect on the entire church in Ireland and continue to do so. In one sense the scandal crisis could not have come at a worse time, in that confidence in the church was well on the wane; and when the scandals broke, their effects were devastating. Today Ireland has strong child protection measures in place, and the Irish church is a much safer place for children than in the past. I would like to pay tribute to the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church, and in particular Ian Elliot, for their extraordinary contribution to helping make the church a safer place for children. One still has to ask, however, where the roots of this scandal and its mismanagement were to be found within the church. Was the issue simply the action of a few deviant priests who did not represent the church, or was there something deeper?

Certainly the overwhelming majority of priests in Ireland led and lead an exemplary moral life; they carry out their ministry with great dedication and enjoy great support and affection from their people and contribute and support the new ethos of child safeguarding.

What is extraordinarily high is the number of children who were abused. We are talking about thousands. There is no way you can simply explain away the huge number of those who were abused and the fact that this took place undetected and unrecognized within the church of Jesus Christ. Today we are in a safer place, but it took decades to attain this.

One of the great challenges the Irish Catholic Church still has to face is that of strong remnants of inherited clericalism. The days of the dominant or at times domineering role of clergy within what people call the “institutional church” have changed, but part of the culture still remains and from time to time reappears in new forms. We often overlook the fact that the very term “institutional church” has meaning only in a context of clericalism.

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AUSTRALIA
lewisblayse.net

The Royal Commission warm-up acts, the NSW and Victorian enquiries, are finished, pending their reports next month. The Queensland enquiry, the Carmody Enquiry, was a real let down and is best forgotten about. The federal enquiry is not due to have its first public hearings until after the federal election.

On the bright side, Cardinal Pell will return from his Roman summer holiday shortly, complete with suitcase full of new outfits, and briefcases full of books. One would hope that none of those pesky protestors take the opportunity to meet him at the airport, wearing offensive T-shirts!

He can then take a firm hand at the helm steering the church through the minefield of the Royal Commission. The absence of his steady influence caused some problems at the NSW enquiry.

One of the problems he would undoubtedly have avoided was the embarrassing matter of the shredding of documents by police from the Church-Police paedophile liaison meetings. He would also have avoided the problems of having the NSW Police minister being caught out saying the Ombudsman had given the ethical nod to these meetings, which the former head prosecutor had implied demonstrated a conflict of interest for the police.

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AUSTRALIA
Herald Sun

THOMAS CHAMBERLIN THE COURIER-MAIL AUGUST 19, 2013

A RETIRED Catholic priest facing more than 50 child sex abuse charges says he is still too ill to appear in court.

The Father, 77, who taught in southeast Queensland schools in the 1970s and 1980s, is accused of abusing girls and boys under the age of 16.

Detectives earlier this year charged the man with 57 counts of indecent treatment of children and one count of common assault relating to offences alleged to have taken place between 1977 and 1988.

The retired priest, who cannot be named, did not appear in the Beenleigh Magistrates Court on Monday and his lawyer Barry Ryan tendered a medical certificate to excuse his client’s appearance.

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FLORIDA
Orlando Sentinel

Jeff Kunerth
August 19, 2013

Leadership Conference of Women Religious concluded their meeting in Orlando Monday no less defiant of the Vatican.

The LCWR, which represents about 43,000 American nuns, has been criticized by the Vatican for deviating from Catholic doctrine, including its positions on gays, women in the ministry, and the gender of God, who is sometimes referred to as “she.”

The sisters, who represent about 43,000 American nuns, met several times with a representative from the Vatican during their convention in Orlando. Archbishop J. Peter Sartain was given five years in 2012 to bring the nuns in line with the strict teachings of the church.

On Monday, the LCWR issued a statement that said, “The session with Archbishop Sartain allowed a profound and honest sharing of views…The extraordinarily rich and deeply reverent conversation during the board meeting gave us a greater understanding of Archbishop Sartain, and we believe he now also better understands us…”

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AUSTRALIA
lewisblayse.net

The economic costs of child sexual abuse are very difficult to estimate. Most authors err on the side of caution and use the lowest estimate as the basis of their papers. Taylor et al. (2008) (see references below), for example, use the lowest rates of reported abuse, to arrive at a figure for an “incidence cost” (cost to the taxpayer plus cost to victims) of between $13.7 billion and $38.7 billion, in Australia.

Since this is a preliminary article, the average figure of about $25 billion will be used, even though most would agree that even the higher figure of $38.7 billion is probably far too small in reality.

Again, using the lower bounds of the statistics, about 10% of child abuse is child sexual abuse. This means that this abuse costs $2.5 billion.

Allowing, yet again, for the minimum figure, 7% of child sexual abuse comes from strangers, mainly religious sources, and others such as Scouting. This yields a final figure of $175 million, as the cost of clerical and other offenders’ child sexual abuse, to the taxpayer and the victims.

Of this, to be really conservative with the figures, it can be deduced that the minimum cost of clerical child sexual abuse is of the order of $100 million to the taxpayer and victims.

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NEW JERSEY
The Star-Ledger

RELATED DOCUMENTS

• Myers’ letter to priests of the archdiocese
• Myers’ 2010 deposition related to a lawsuit in the Diocese of Peoria
• Myers’ letter thanking Maloney for his ‘much-loved’ camera
• Myers thanks Maloney for the ‘wonderful gift’
• Myers’ thank-you letter indicating he will gamble at the dog track
• Myers thanks Maloney for ‘your most generous gift,’ invites him to Florida
• Myers thank-you letter for a silver object
• Myers invites Maloney to Crete
• Myers assures a parishioner Maloney has not been accused of impropriety

By Mark Mueller/The Star-Ledger
on August 20, 2013

NEWARK — In a sharply worded offensive, Newark Archbishop John J. Myers lashed out at the media and his critics in a letter released over the weekend, saying he has been the target of “deceitful and misleading” information about his oversight of sexually abusive priests.

Myers, who has limited his public comments in the face of recent scandals, took broad aim in the letter, addressed to priests of the archdiocese and distributed to parishioners at weekend services in Essex, Union, Bergen and Hudson counties.

In addition to the media, he questioned the motivations of politicians and former or retired clergy members who have spoken out against him, terming them “traveling bandwagons” and suggesting they have a prejudiced and spiteful view of the Roman Catholic faith. He suggested, too, they would be judged by God.

“For any who set out to claim that I or the Church have had no effective part in the love and protection of children, is simply evil, wrong, immoral, and seemingly focused on their own self-aggrandizement,” Myers wrote. “God only knows their personal reasons and agenda. We are still called to love them. And God will surely address them in due time.”

Myers wrote the letter in response to newspaper and television reports last week about a $1.35 million legal settlement reached between the Diocese of Peoria, Ill., and the family of a man who contends an Illinois priest abused him as a child in 1995 and 1996.

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NEW JERSEY
The Star-Ledger

By Star-Ledger Guest Columnist
on August 20, 2013

Editor’s note: This letter by Newark Archbishop John J. Myers was distributed to priests of the archdiocese over the weekend. Myers was responding to news stories about a $1.35 million settlement between the Diocese of Peoria, his former post, and the family of a boy who was allegedly abused by a priest there. The family and its attorney blamed Myers for failing to take action against the priest despite repeated warning signs.

August 15, 2013

Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

My Dear Brother Priests in the Archdiocese of Newark:

This past week local media, once again, provided deceitful and misleading information about situations in the Diocese of Peoria and in this Archdiocese. I am dutybound to denounce the impressions presented as false and harmful to many people. They can also be confusing to many others.

To the best of my knowledge, the particular case cited was brought to the attention of the officials in the Peoria Diocese in or about 2007, more than five years after I left that Diocese and arrived in New Jersey.

In the deposition given by me and selectively quoted by an interested attorney, some upset parents, and a former Priest of this Archdiocese, I spoke under oath and truthfully about matters relating to a certain Priest. I never vacationed with him, and I received no gifts other than those often given to a bishop by Pastors or Parishes. Since we were both coin collectors, I recall that he once gave me a coin of minimal value, of which he had several examples. At no time was I ever aware that some people thought him to be a threat to children or young people. Officials at the Diocese of Peoria who investigated an earlier case during my years there found that no allegation was sufficiently supported by evidence. In 2007, when Law Enforcement officials investigated the case cited in the lawsuit, the Diocese of Peoria provided all information concerning the earlier case. That investigation by the authorities determined that neither allegation had any basis for any criminal action. If the opposite had been the case, I would have acted to protect children and young people as I did on any other occasions in Illinois and here in New Jersey. Priests would have been taken out of Ministry as I have done in both locations. Children should never be at risk in so far as we can know.

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UNITED STATES
Tikkun

by: Timothy Villareal on August 15th, 2013

Steve Theisen, 61, is the Iowa director for the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP). Unlike the vast majority of men and women whose lives have been positively affected by the support SNAP provides to victims of clergy abuse, Theisen was not sexually abused by a Catholic priest: he was sexually abused by a Catholic nun.

The abuse began in the 4th grade, when Theisen was just nine-years-old. He stayed after class one day to wash the blackboards. Alone with the nun in the classroom, she showed him how the Eskimos kiss: by rubbing noses. Some weeks later, she then showed him how Americans kiss. Then a few more weeks passed. The nun then said to the boy, “This is how the French kiss.” And with that, the forty-something nun stuck her tongue in the boy’s mouth. It escalated from there. As Thiesen recalls, the nun never touched his genitals, and neither of them were ever disrobed. But from 4th through 6th grade, after school and sometimes on weekends, the nun would have him on the floor, French kissing and necking. Sometimes the nun would be on top of him, other times she put the boy on top of her.

Theisen also recalls sitting next to the nun in chapel. She would hold his hand under her religious habit so that no one would see.

It was not until well into adulthood that Theisen told someone what had happened to him: his therapist. It took 18 sessions with the therapist to finally open up about the experience that so affected his life. As Theisen explained to me, trust does not come easy to victims of child sex abuse.

Theisen’s testimony is gut-wrenching to hear, for those who are willing to listen. Not only did he live in daily fear as a child that someone would find out what was happening between him and the nun, he was also wracked by guilt. For when the school children would ask the nuns why they wore rings on their fingers, the nuns would tell the children that they were married to Christ. During the abuse, Theisen thought he was committing “the most grievous sin in the entire world because he was fooling around with Jesus’s wife.”

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SCOTLAND
Daily Record

OFFICERS are asking people to contact them after former pupils claimed that they were molested and beaten by the monks who taught them decades ago.

VICTIMS of alleged abuse by monks at two Catholic boarding schools are being encouraged to contact police.

Dozens of former pupils at the Fort Augustus Abbey school in the Highlands and its East Lothian feeder school, Carlekemp, have claimed that they were molested and beaten by the monks who taught them decades ago.

A group of former pupils told a BBC documentary that they were raped or sexually abused by Father Aidan Duggan, an Australian monk who taught at Carlekemp and Fort Augustus between 1953 and 1974.

Fr Duggan died in 2004 but some abuse claims relate to men who are still alive and police said they have been investigating since March.

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AUSTRALIA/SCOTLAND
Herald Sun

AAP AUGUST 20, 2013

VICTIMS of alleged abuse by monks, including an Australian, at two Catholic boarding schools in Scotland are being encouraged to contact police.

Dozens of former pupils at the Fort Augustus Abbey school in the Highlands and its East Lothian feeder school, Carlekemp, have claimed they were molested and beaten by the monks who taught them decades ago.

A group of former pupils told a BBC documentary that they were raped or sexually abused by Father Aidan Duggan, an Australian monk who taught at Carlekemp and Fort Augustus between 1953 and 1974.

Duggan died in 2004 but some abuse claims relate to men who are still alive and police said they have been investigating since March.

One former headmaster of Fort Augustus, Father Francis Davidson, resigned from a role at Oxford University last week amid accusations that he failed to act on reports of abuse during his time in charge in the 1970s.

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CANADA
Cape Breton Post

SYDNEY — A review of churches by the Diocese of Antigonish isn’t about closing churches but instead about ensuring the diocese is properly fulfilling its mandate, an official says.

The diocese already completed a review of churches in Cape Breton and Victoria counties, which led to a number of closures. It is now turning its scrutiny to churches in Richmond, Inverness, Antigonish, Guysborough and Pictou counties.

Rev. Donald MacGillivray, the director of pastoral planning, said the region covered by the diocese is undergoing tremendous demographic change.

“Cape Breton is in decline, in terms of the population, we lose about one per cent of our population per year on Cape Breton Island, and that is pretty well true of most of rural Nova Scotia,” MacGillivray said.

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AUSTRALIA
The Courier

By FIONA HENDERSON Aug. 20, 2013

The full extent of the horror inflicted on Ballarat children by Catholic priests Gerald Ridsdale and Ronald Claffy, and Christian Brothers Robert Best, Edward Dowlan, Stephen Farrell and Gerald Fitzgerald may never be known.

We know 107 cases have been substantiated during former Bishop Ronald Mulkearn’s 26-year term from 1971 until 1997.

We know through the recent state government inquiry into institutionalised child abuse, the Catholic Church Insurance has a list of clergy they would not cover because of their paedophilic activities, yet they remained in service and were just relocated.

We know 40 of the victims committed suicide.

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SCOTLAND
Herald Scotland

Tuesday 20 August 2013

THE leading Catholic cleric announced as the successor to shamed Cardinal Keith O’Brien has confirmed he has had meetings with the Pope over the role he inherits next month.

Monsignor Leo Cushley, the Archbishop-elect of St Andrews and Edinburgh, said he held talks last Tuesday with Pope Francis over the situation facing the Archdiocese since Cardinal O’Brien was forced to resign after allegations of abuse and admitting decades of sexual behaviour with other clerics earlier this year.

Mgr Cushley, a Vatican diplomat unveiled as Cardinal O’Brien’s successor last month, had said he had not spoken with the Pontiff about the situation despite working closely with both him and Benedict in Rome.

But the former Diocese of Motherwell parish said of his meeting with Pope Francis: “It was encouraging and very heartening to learn how well the Holy Father knows and appreciates the situation of the Archdiocese and its priests and people.

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AUSTRALIA
Eureka Street

Andrew Hamilton | 24 July 2013

The culture of an organisation comprises the shared attitudes, values, patterns of relationship and practices that make it more likely that members will act in particular ways. In an army unit where there is a culture of binge drinking and contempt for women, more incidents of sexual assault may well occur than in other units where these features are absent.

Bishop Geoffrey Robinson’s recent book on the culture of the Catholic Church carries on his critique of the factors that have contributed to clerical sexual abuse of children and to denial and concealment of it. The aspects of Catholic culture that he believes conducive to it include: a relationship with God dominated by fear; immaturity; compulsory clerical celibacy, an exclusively male caste standing over the church; a lonely way of life; a cult of privacy and secrecy; a compulsive need to defend the actions and attitudes of the Pope.

Together these things made it more likely that priests will be tempted to abuse children, will have the opportunity to do so, will abuse with impunity, and have their actions denied and covered up by others.

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NEW JERSEY
The Record

MONDAY AUGUST 19, 2013
BY JEFF GREEN
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD

A defiant Newark archbishop lashed out at critics in a letter to Catholic clergy, defending his handling of an alleged pedophile priest and denouncing the media, victims’ advocates and politicians as “evil” for distorting his record.

John J. Myers distributed the letter in response to press accounts that detailed a 2010 deposition in which he denied knowing about a priest’s alleged sexual abuses while he was bishop of an Illinois diocese. But during Myers’ time as bishop in Peoria, the diocese received an allegation that the priest had molested a child and that no action was taken, according to records made public in the settlement.

In the letter, which Myers urged priests to share with churchgoers, the archbishop declared that anyone who claims that he had “no effective part” in protecting children from abuse is “simply evil, wrong, immoral and seemingly focused on their own self-aggrandizement.”

“God only knows their personal reasons and agenda,” the archbishop wrote. “We are still called to love them. And God will surely address them in due time.”

Francis Fiorenza, professor of Catholic Theological Studies at Harvard Divinity School, said he has never seen such a strongly worded statement from a bishop. Many Roman Catholic prelates have gone on the defensive during the decades-long sex-abuse scandal, but Myers may be the first to cast their critics and the media as sinners, he said.

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NEW JERSEY
Father Jim Chern’s Blog

LETTER FROM ARCHBISHOP MYERS

Over the last few months, certain media outlets in our state — including a newspaper which used to be a staple in our family home growing up (that has removed any pretense of objectivity and is blatantly hateful to the Catholic Church, both locally and universally) — have made one of their goals to force our Archbishop John J. Myers to resign. They’ve been selectively reporting and manipulating facts to advance their distorted narrative.

Today, Archbishop Myers sent the following letter to all of the priests of the Archdiocese and has given us permission to share it with people of good will, especially those who, understandably, have been so troubled with scandal plagued headlines.

I appreciate your taking the time to read this and ask that you continue to hold the Archbishop and our Archdiocese in your prayers. As a priest, reading legitimate accounts about the abuse of children by some priests, and some of the actions (or inactions) by superiors when these crimes came to light has been a horror to learn about and has saddened me considerably personally as I’ve witnessed the immense hurt this has caused to the entire body of Christ that is the Church.

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NEW JERSEY
Catholic Culture

In a letter to priests, Archbishop John Myers of Newark strongly denounced recent media coverage of a settlement in which the plaintiff charged that the prelate allowed a priest to remain in ministry despite evidence of prior sexual abuse.

The Diocese of Peoria, which Archbishop Myers led from 1990 to 2001, was party to the $1.35-million settlement.

“This past week local media, once again, provided deceitful and misleading information about situations in the Diocese of Peoria and in this Archdiocese,” Archbishop Myers said in his letter, as quoted on the blog of Father Jim Chern, the archdiocese’s vocations director.

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NEW YORK
Observer-Dispatch

By PHILIP A. VANNO
Observer-Dispatch
Posted Aug 19, 2013

UTICA —
The Very Rev. Stephen Enea has until Sept. 5 to decide if he will accept a deal offered by the District Attorney’s Office, or go to trial to answer charges that he failed to pay contractors close to $500,000 for renovations to his Cornhill church.

Flanked by a handful of supporters, Enea, head of the Cathedral of the Theotokos of Great Grace, appeared before Judge Michael Dwyer in Oneida County Court Monday morning alongside public defender Corey Zennamo, and pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The archbishop of the Italo-Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of the Americas and Canada, along with his chief operating officer, Phillip G. Barker Jr., were indicted without counsel on Aug. 13, but were required to re-appear Monday with attorneys.

Barker did not enter a plea since he still has no representation — it was determined Monday that he doesn’t qualify for public defense. Dwyer gave him until Thursday to find an attorney, and return to court.

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NEW JERSEY
The Record

SUNDAY, AUGUST 18, 2013
BY JEFF GREEN
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD

One churchgoer on Sunday said he has a hard time buying the Newark archbishop’s explanation after a settlement was announced last week between an alleged sex-abuse victim and the Illinois diocese the archbishop once led. Others said he has made mistakes, with a few echoing the suggestion of some state lawmakers that he step down.

Only a few of the more than dozen parishioners interviewed on Sunday praised Archbishop John J. Myers’ leadership and his handling of three priests accused of molesting children.

Following the 10:30 Mass at Our Lady of Visitation in Paramus, Dr. Lino Mier called on Myers to “accept responsibility” in the case that led to the Illinois settlement. The victim’s parents charged that Myers, who led the Peoria Diocese between 1990 and 2001, failed to keep a predator priest from their child and others by not acting on a woman’s abuse claim.

Documents released last week revealed that a top Myers aide received a molestation complaint about the priest and that no action was taken. Myers testified in a deposition that the complaint got lost in the diocese’s “slipshod filing system” and he never saw it.

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CALIFORNIA
Sacramento Bee

The Associated Press
Published: Friday, Aug. 16, 2013

LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles police have arrested a man accused of sexually assaulting children he met while working as an usher at a Jehovah’s Witness church.

Police announced 34-year-old Marcelo Alonso Lozano’s arrest Friday, but didn’t say how many children have accused him.

For six years, Lozano was an usher at Jehovah’s Witness Kingdom Hall in Sun Valley.

Police say he used his position to initiate relationships with victims and their families.

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CALIFORNIA
Guardian Express

On July 29, 2013, around 4:30 p.m., North Hollywood Detective Division detectives arrested 34-year-old Marcelo Alonso Lozano, a suspect North Hollywood Detectives Arrest Serial Child Sexual Assault Suspectidentified in a series of child sexual assaults in the San Fernando Valley. A subsequent investigation has revealed that the he is possibly involved in additional sexual assaults of victims throughout the San Fernando Valley area of the City of Los Angeles. The known victims ranged from eight to fifteen years of age at the time of the sexual assaults.

Lozano was affiliated with the Jehovah’s Witness Kingdom Hall in Sun Valley as an usher for approximately six years and used this position to initiate a relationship with his victims and their families.

Anyone with additional information about this case is urged to contact LAPD North Hollywood Sexual Assault Detectives at (818) 623-4090 or (818) 623-4045. During non-business hours or on weekends, calls may be directed to 1-877-LAPD-24-7. Anyone wishing to remain anonymous may call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (800-222-8477). Tipsters may also contact Crime Stoppers by texting to phone number 274637 (C-R-I-M-E-S on most keypads) using a cell phone. All text messages should begin with the letters “LAPD.” Tipsters can also go to LAPDOnline.org, click on “Anonymous Web Tips.”

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CALIFORNIA
NBC Southern California

[with video]

By Beverly White | Saturday, Aug 17, 2013

After an usher at a Jehovah’s Witnesses congregation in Sun Valley was charged with sexually abusing four boys he met at the church, investigators are searching for more possible victims.

Los Angeles police are asking families, especially in the San Fernando Valley, to take a good look at the booking photo of Marcelo Alonzo Lozano.

The 34-year-old was charged July 31 with nine felony counts that he sexually abused four boys. He pleaded not guilty and his bail was set at $1.8 million.

Before his arrest for alleged serial child sex assault, Lozano worked as an usher at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Sun Valley.

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LOS ANGELES (CA)
Los Angeles Times

BY RUBEN VIVES
August 16, 2013

The Los Angeles Police Department released a photo of a man on Friday suspected of sexually assaulting several children in the San Fernando Valley and hope other victims and witnesses will come forward.

Detectives arrested Marcelo Alonso Lozano at 4:30 p.m. Monday, July 29, after he was allegedly identified in a series of child sexual assaults in the Valley, the department said in a statement.

Investigators say Lozano may have been involved in additional attacks and are searching for potential victims or eyewitnesses. The victims ranged from 8 to 15 years of age at the time of the assaults, police said.

Investigators say Lozano was affiliated with the Jehovah’s Witness Kingdom Hall in Sun Valley as an usher for six years. They say he used that position to initiate a relationship with his victims and their families.

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