ABUSE TRACKER

IOWA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: August 8, 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 Des Moines youth pastor has been charged with child sex crimes. His church supervisors and members must now seek out others who he may have hurt.

Ryan M. McKelvey Heritage Assembly Church is accused of molesting two girls. The church’s pastor claims to be “unaware” of any of McKelvey’s inappropriate behavior. We doubt that.

In almost every case, evidence surfaces showing that church officials or members saw and ignored or hid “warning signs” of abuse.

We applaud the two victims and their families for courageously coming forward and cooperating with the police despite threats of doing so by the predator. We urge current and former Heritage Assembly Church members and staff to aggressively seek out others who may have been hurt by McKelvey and prod them to call police and prosecutors so that McKelvey can be convicted and kept away from kids for a long time.

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.

AUSTRALIA
National Catholic Reporter

Stephen Crittenden | Aug. 8, 2013

SYDNEY After eight weeks of intense, graphic and sometimes sad testimony, public hearings have ended for the New South Wales special commission of inquiry into clerical abuse in the Maitland-Newcastle diocese, north of Sydney.

Forty witnesses have given testimony in open court before Commissioner Margaret Cunneen, and many others have been heard in camera, or in closed proceedings.

New South Wales Premier Barry O’Farrell created the inquiry in November, days before former Prime Minister Julia Gillard called a national royal commission into child sexual abuse in Australia.

O’Farrell and Gillard were responding to allegations by a senior police whistleblower, Chief Inspector Peter Fox, who said he could “testify from my own experience that the church covers up, silences victims, hinders police investigations, alerts offenders, destroys evidence and moves priests to protect the good name of the church.”

The inquiry’s mandate was to look into whether the Catholic church covered up abuse by two late priests, Denis McAlinden and James Fletcher, and whether Fox was inappropriately removed from his investigations.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC

[with audio]

Stephen Crittenden gives a summary so far in the Newcastle Inquiry into the handling of clerical sexual abuse.

* the specific and narrow scope of the inquiry

* how the Inquiry relates to the Royal Commission into sexual abuse, and the Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry

* the testimony and examination of Detective Chief Inspector Fox

* “Misprision of felony” and possible consequences for church leaders who did not report felonies historically

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UNITED KINGDOM
BBC NEWS

A disgraced former Catholic priest has been given a three-year community order after admitting sexually abusing an altar boy in the late 1980s.

Malcolm McLennan, 69, then an assistant priest in Walderslade, Kent abused the boy when he was 12 and 13.

McLennan, who has a string of previous convictions, lives in a closed church community in Quedgeley, Gloucester.

A judge at Maidstone Crown Court ordered him to attend a treatment programme.

McLennan was also put on the sex offenders’ register for five years.

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SCOTLAND
The Tablet

10 August 2013

Safeguarding in the Catholic Church in Scotland does not command public confidence, yet the attitude of some senior church leaders suggests defensiveness and even complacency. Bishop Joseph Devine, retired Bishop of Motherwell, is quoted in The Tablet this week as saying that an independent investigation into alleged abuse by priests – parallel, for instance, to the Nolan inquiry in England and Wales – was not necessary. The number of cases was “tiny” and most happened 20 or more years ago. “What about the number of people in other professions who have been involved in abuse?” He is entitled to make these points, but his tone does not reassure the public that the issue is being taken seriously. This is a Church, after all, that has seen its reputation all but destroyed by the sexual scandal involving Cardinal Keith O’Brien.

On top of that case comes the painful disclosures concerning abuse by priests at Fort Augustus School in the Scottish Highlands. It closed in 1993, and most allegations date from years before. Judging by the continuing mental distress suffered by some of the survivors, however, the abuse could have happened yesterday. The public, and that includes the Catholic public, will take some convincing that attitudes have now changed so much that further cases are impossible. Even the Catholic Church in England and Wales, streets ahead of Scotland in these respects, is still seeing a trickle of new cases reported to the authorities, as well as allegations of a more historical nature. And it has begun to flesh out its concerns to do right by those who were damaged by abuse, with an extensive programme being piloted in Hallam Diocese.

Child protection has to be managed independently of church administrative structures and their personnel, and has to have three guiding principles. The first is the priority of caring for survivors (the term “victim” is no longer deemed appropriate). They must say what they need – it is not for the Church to tell them – with the aid where necessary of independent professional advice. The second is to give prime responsibility to the statutory agencies, the police and local social services departments, in deciding how to respond to allegations, when to take them seriously and whether to prosecute. And the third, perhaps secondary to these but no less essential, is transparency. Subject only to the protection of survivors’ privacy and regardless of possible damage to the Church’s good name, detailed figures must be published annually by an independent authority whose work must be open to media and public scrutiny. The Catholic Church in England and Wales meets these criteria; the Scottish Church has a long way to go.

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SCOTLAND
The Tablet

8 August 2013

The Church in Scotland may call in an outside body to review its safeguarding records, a senior member of the bishops’ conference has revealed.

Fr Tom Boyle, Assistant Secretary General of the Scottish Bishops’ Conference, confirmed the Church would review historic files detailing alleged abuse kept in diocesan archives and that an independent agency may be used to carry this out.

He said the Church planned to publish the review next year, although no time span has been set for how far back the cases being examined would go.

The Scottish bishops have also revealed that they will hold an internal review of abuse cases handled by the dioceses for the period 2006 to 2012.

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KENTUCKY
The Courier-Journal

Posted on August 8, 2013 by Peter Smith

The Council of Elders of the Louisville-based Sovereign Grace Ministries is denouncing as a slanderer a former high-ranking official in the denomination who sparked upheaval in the denomination after his 2011 release of internal church documents.

Brent Detwiler of North Carolina, who has been a vocal and persistent critic of the ministry’s leadership, said he would respond on Friday to the charges.

The statement by the elders — who represent local churches in the denomination — defends the church and its former longtime president, C.J. Mahaney, pastor of Sovereign Grace Church of Louisville.

Here are excerpts:

“…we believe that Brent Detwiler has repeatedly and grievously slandered our churches and our leaders. We denounce as sinful and unbiblical his determined effort to accuse our brethren. Consequently, we urge our brothers and sisters in Christ to avoid giving audience to Brent Detwiler’s unbiblical speech until such a time that he repents of this ungodly pattern. Such harmful speech is ruinous to the church of God.

“Furthermore, in contradiction to Brent Detwiler’s ongoing statements, we vigorously reiterate our support of C.J. Mahaney as a qualified minister of the gospel….”

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UNITED STATES
TheMediaReport

[This is another entry in a continuing series of profiles about individuals whom the mainstream media often cites in its coverage of the Catholic Church abuse narrative.]

When the media needs a reliable voice to bludgeon the Catholic Church over the issue of sex abuse from decades ago, one of its favorite voices is Richard Sipe, an 80-year-old ex-priest and mental health counselor.

What the mainstream media never reports, however, is Sipe’s troubling track record of falsehoods, distortions, and nastiness. As is frequently the case with other purported experts cited by the media, Sipe uses the issue of clergy sex abuse as a means to advance his attack on the Catholic Church, especially its teachings regarding human sexuality.

Priest celibacy caused the Holocaust?!

To understand how disdainful Sipe can be of the Church and its teachings, especially those related to sexuality and priest celibacy, one can simply look to his 1995 book, Sex, Priests, And Power: Anatomy Of A Crisis.

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CONNECTICUT
Boston.com

AP / August 8, 2013

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — Fairfield University and others that supported a charity designed to help feed and educate boys in Haiti are facing another lawsuit by a man alleging he was sexually abused by a founder of the school.

The federal lawsuit, filed Thursday in Connecticut, seeks $20 million in damages. The man was about 15 at the time of the abuse, according to the suit.

The university and others reached a $12 million settlement last month with children sexually abused by Douglas Perlitz, who was sentenced to nearly 20 years in prison for sexually abusing boys who attended Project Pierre Toussaint School in Cap-Haitien.

The victims’ attorney, Mitchell Garabedian, said he’s investigating another 31 claims of sexual abuse by Perlitz and may file additional lawsuits.

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VATICAN CITY
Rome Reports

[with video]

August 8, 2013. (Romereports.com) An appeal has been withdrawn by a man who claimed the Vatican was financially responsible for the sexual abuse he endured back in the 60’s, when he was abused by a parish priest in Portland, Oregon.

The case ended in the 9th U.S Circuit Court of Appeals. The plaintiff had already reached a financial settlement with the religious order the priest belonged to, but he argued the Vatican should also be held liable, claiming the priest was ultimately a Vatican employee.

The man claims he was sexually abused in 1965 and the case itself had been opened since 2002. Last year, U.S District Court Judge Michael Mosman, concluded that the Vatican did not employ the pedophile priest, nor was it involved in transferring the priest to another diocese.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Kent Online

by Rebecca Hughes
rhughes@thekmgroup.co.uk

A former Catholic priest who molested an altar boy at a Medway church more than 20 years ago has today avoided a jail sentence.

Malcolm McLennan admitted molesting the boy, who is now in his late-30s, when he appeared before Medway magistrates last month.

The 69-year-old was handed a three-year community order at Maidstone Crown Court today.

After the sentence, the victim said: “I am devastated. Justice has not been served.”

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VATICAN CITY
The Daily Star (Lebanon)

August 08, 2013
By Peter McDonough
The Daily Star

Catholicism, among the most tradition-bound religions, contains at its core a paradox that has become increasingly sharp. With Pope Francis having just finished his first overseas trip – to Brazil, the world’s most populous Catholic country – it is difficult, despite the inertia of the past, to tell where the church is headed.

The accession of Jorge Mario Bergoglio to the papacy adds to the puzzle. The chief Jesuit confessor at the papal court used to be called “the black pope,” owing to his simple black cassock (if not his sinister intent). For the first time, a Jesuit has become pope – and has compounded the novelty by assuming the very un-Jesuit name of Francis.

As curious as such gestures are in an institution that thrives on imagery, they are symbolic frills. We already have plenty of pictures of Francis kissing babies; what he faces now are strategic matters of genuine substance.

One such challenge, the Vatican Bank, is equivalent to cleaning up the Augean stables. It is enough to mention the words “Vatican” and “bank” in the same sentence to start a cascade of jokes about comic-opera ineptness and skullduggery.

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VATICAN CITY
BBC News

The Pope has stepped up the fight against corruption at the Vatican by strengthening supervision of financial transactions at its internal bank.

Pope Francis issued a decree designed to combat money-laundering and prevent any financing of terrorism.

It is the latest move to stamp out abuses at the Vatican bank, which handles funds for the Catholic Church.

The Pope recently set up a commission to investigate the bank and report back to him personally.

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VATICAN CITY
The Raw Story

By Agence France-Presse
Thursday, August 8, 2013

Pope Francis intensified the fight against corruption in the Vatican on Thursday, strengthening the law to counter “money laundering, the financing of terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.”

The short “Motu Proprio”, a decree of Francis’s own initiative, strengthens the supervision of financial transactions “in response to a recommendation of the Moneyval Committee,” the European watchdog which carried out a review of the Vatican bank last year.

The decree is just the latest in a series of bold moves on the part of the pontiff to clean up the institution’s murky financial image.

“It is a means of ensuring the road (towards transparency) continues,” Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said in a press conference.

“In today’s world, it is all about resisting increasingly insidious forms of financial criminality. We have to be equal to the challenges in order to protect legality, and not be left behind,” he said.

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VATICAN CITY
Reuters

Thu Aug 8, 2013

* Francis issues special decree to tackle financial crime
* Watchdog given greater monitoring powers over Vatican bank
* Francis boosting bid to meet global transparency standards

By Catherine Hornby

VATICAN CITY, Aug 8 (Reuters) – Pope Francis on Thursday strengthened monitoring of the Vatican bank to prevent money laundering or the financing of terrorism as part of his campaign to clean it up after decades of scandal.

Issuing a “Motu Proprio” – a decree at his own initiative, Francis said the Vatican’s internal watchdog, the Financial Information Authority (FIA), would have increased powers of supervision over the bank and other Holy See departments involved in financial activities.

The move will lead to closer monitoring of the Institute for Works of Religion (IOR) – the formal name of the Vatican bank – and responds to a recommendation from the European anti-money laundering committee Moneyval last year.

The Vatican is trying to meet international standards on fighting crimes such as money laundering, funding of terrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Moneyval said in a July 2012 report that the Vatican still had some way to go.

It said FIA’s powers should include reviewing policies, procedures, accounts and records and that it should have the right to enter Vatican premises and demand access to information.

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ILLINOIS
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Aug. 5, 2013

Dear Bishop Braxton:

You and your brother bishops have repeatedly pledged to be “open and transparent” about clergy sex abuse. Yet you refuse to tell your flock

–that no Belleville predator priest is being housed and monitored by the diocese,
–that other dioceses do, in fact, house and monitor predator priests,
–that only two Belleville predator priests have been defrocked,
–that six or seven of Belleville predator priests are still on the payroll, and
— how many victims have contacted you or how much you’re spending on their therapy. (The last such figures, provided by your predecessor, are almost a decade old).

At the same time, you’re quietly renovating your home again and quietly and repeatedly traveling abroad. Who’s paying for this?

We respectfully but firmly urge you to reveal who paid for your trips overseas. We urge you to halt your new kitchen renovation and be honest about who paid for it.

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UNITED STATES
Stop Baptist Predators

A reader recently sent me an article with these comments:

“My childhood church had a young man who volunteered for years with AWANA and the youth group. I had also heard from adults that he was so wonderful to be a ‘father figure’ to several boys in the church whose parents were divorced. You can guess the result – he was eventually found out to be molesting these boys, and one case went to court.

Several of the boys he was close to seemed to ‘go off the rails’ and disappear. I am pretty sure that there must have been many more victims. He was described in the paper as volunteering for ‘several years’ with youth and children, but I was in that church back in the mid-nineties and he didn’t get prosecuted till 2005, so it was at least 10 years. He was basically a volunteer youth and children minister, extremely active in the ministries. He starred in the children’s musical I was in . . . . Knowing that there must have been more victims, I think it would be helpful to post this . . . . ”

I agree. So I’m posting this excerpt from a front-page article that was in the Daily News of Northwest Florida on November 5, 2005.

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TENNESSEE
Courthouse News Service

By KEVIN KOENINGER

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CN) – After a youth minister was charged with sex offenses, a Baptist church promised to protect its children, but all it did was offer an optional first aid course, and a second employee sexually abused another child, the family claims in court.

Parents John and Jane Doe sued Spring Creek Baptist Church on behalf of their minor daughter Janie, in Montgomery County Court. The church itself is the only defendant.

“In 2009, a youth minister at Spring Creek was criminally charged with having sexual contact with minors in Spring Creek’s youth groups. The youth minister resigned voluntarily,” the complaint states.

“Afterwards, at least one member of Spring Creek communicated to Senior Pastor Paul Bunger that Spring Creek should adopt policies for protecting children in its care.

“Spring Creek adopted no policies for protecting children other than offering a first aid course for Sunday School teachers on a voluntary basis.”

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UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter

David Gibson Religion News Service | Aug. 8, 2013

For more than three decades, the Vatican of Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI operated on a version of the conservative maxim, “No enemies to the right.”

While left-wing theologians were silenced and liberal-to-moderate bishops were shunted aside in favor of hard-liners, and liturgical traditionalists and cultural conservatives were diligently courted and given direct access to the apostolic palace.

But in a few short months, Pope Francis has upended that dynamic, alienating many on the Catholic right by refusing to play favorites and ignoring their preferred agenda items even as he stressed the kind of social justice issues that are near and dear to progressives.

“I’ve personally found many aspects of this papacy to be annoying, and struggled against that feeling from the beginning. I’m hardly alone in this,” Jeffrey Tucker, editor of the New Liturgical Movement blog, wrote as Francis basked in the glow of media coverage of his recent trip to Brazil.

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ROME
National Catholic Reporter

Joshua J. McElwee Biagio Mazza | Aug. 8, 2013

ROME A “new attitude” of cooperation and equality must govern relations between the Vatican and Catholic sisters around the world, a key Vatican cardinal said in May.

That attitude, Cardinal João Braz de Aviz said, must be grounded in the understanding that both the church hierarchy and the sisters “are two dimensions essential in the church.”

“Neither is greater than the other,” Braz de Aviz said. “Both the prophetic and the governing dimensions form the church.”

Braz de Aviz, the prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for Religious, made his comments in May in Rome during a talk at the triennial meeting of the International Union of Superiors General (UISG), a membership group for approximately 2,000 leaders of Catholic sisters around the world.

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UNITED STATES
AlterNet

AlterNet / By Amanda Marcotte

August 7, 2013

Right-wing Christians have a lot of ridiculous sexual rules to control and direct sexual behavior: Everything from frowning on all nomarital sex to denouncing homosexuality to objecting to divorce. Of course, the problem they run up against is that consenting adults have lives that are complex, emotional and messy, and they’re going to make decisions based on their own circumstances and not the rules. This is so true that the very people espousing these strict rules about sex and marriage can’t even be bothered to follow them. Here’s some examples.

1) Catholic vicar Arthur M. Coyle caught with a prostitute.The Catholic Church has a long, long list of “nos” when it comes to sex, so long that it’s easier to list what you can do than what you can’t under their rules: Have contraception-free sex within marriage. That’s it, and if you’re a priest, even that is off the table for you. Which is why it’s newsworthy that Monsignor Arthur Coyle, who has been holding the high office of episcopal vicar for the Archdiocese of Boston was recently arrested for soliciting sex from a prostitute. The cops noted that Coyle was routinely spotted in the area where the prostitutes hung out, and so really, it was just a matter of time before he got caught. As usual, any lessons about what kind of behavior people will get up to if they’re denied healthy outlets for their sexuality will be ignored by the Catholic hierarchy.

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NEW YORK
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Thursday, August 8, 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 )

Shame on the Franciscan Brothers of Brooklyn and the board and staff of St. Francis Prep for trying to intimidate victims of sexual abuse and harassment.

For decades, judges, courts, prosecutors and lawmakers across the US have let victims of sex crimes and sexual harassment seek justice while protecting their privacy. A small number of ruthless defendants, however, insist on trying to force victims to disclose their identities. This mean-spirited and desperate maneuver is designed to scare other victims, witnesses, and whistleblowers into keeping quiet.

We believe and hope it will backfire. We hope every single person who saw, suspected or suffered crimes, misdeeds or cover ups by Franciscan Brothers – at St. Francis Prep or elsewhere – will find the courage to speak up, get help, expose wrongdoers, warn parents, protect the vulnerable and deter future misconduct.

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AUSTRALIA
lewisblayse.net

The case of Fr. Richard John James Robinson, although occurring in the U.K., gives a clear indication of just how the Catholic Church has adopted the same strategy for its paedophile priests world-wide.

Robinson was shifted from parish to parish over a period of 25 years where he abused many boys, despite clear evidence that church officials knew of his offending. When, eventually, charges were mooted, the church sent him out of the country, to the U.S., in 1985.

About twenty years later, a victim tracked him down to California, but it was not possible to extradite him to the U.K. because of an American law placing a 10 year limit on extraditable offences. It was only when this law was changed, and a victim alerted U.K. authorities to that change, that Robinson was taken back to the U.K. He received a 21 year sentence for his offences, some dating back to 1959.

According to Anna Wheeler, a senior prosecutor with West Midlands Crown Prosecution Service’s Complex Casework Unit, who finally extradited Robinson back to Britain to face justice, it is likely that Robinson had offended in the 20 years he was in the U.S. She thinks more victims will eventually come forward.

In a curious fact of the U.K. justice system, two victims who came forward after Robinson’s extradition were unable to have their case prosecuted in the courts. However, they were permitted to give evidence in the case against Robinson by other victims.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Insider

Pope Francis has issued a new Motu Proprio which states that Vatican money-laundering laws now also apply to dicasteries of the Roman Curia. The document also gives greater supervisory powers to the Vatican Financial Information Authority

ANDREA TORNIELLI
VATICAN CITY

The Pope has taken yet another step to bring the Holy See’s structures in line with international money-laundering standards. Today he issued a Motu Proprio for “the prevention and countering of money laundering, the financing of terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction,” a Holy See Press Office statement said. It follows on from the action taken by Benedict XVI in this field “reaffirm[ing] the Holy See’s commitment to the goal of preventing and countering money laundering.”

The new law “broadens the application of the relevant Vatican laws to the Dicasteries of the Roman Curia and to other institutes and entities dependent on the Holy See, as well as to non-profit organizations enjoying juridical personality in canon law and based in the Vatican City State”; it “strengthens the supervisory and regulatory function of the Financial Information Authority” headed by Cardinal Attilio Nicora; it “establishes the function of prudential supervision over entities habitually engaged in financial activities, in response to a recommendation of the MONEYVAL Committee of the Council of Europe, and assigns that function to the Financial Information Authority”; finally, it “establishes the Financial Security Committee, whose Statutes are appended to the Motu Proprio, for the purpose of coordinating the competent authorities of the Holy See and the Vatican City State in the area of prevention and countering of money laundering, the financing of terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.”

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VATICAN CITY
Chiesa

Name by name, Bergoglio’s personal team. A miniscule but highly active parallel curia in which he makes all the decisions. Including the mishaps of the appointments of Monsignor Ricca and Francesca Chaouqui

by Sandro Magister

ROME, August 8, 2013 – Francis is in no hurry to reform the curia, and some of his big electors are starting to get impatient. “We wanted someone with good managerial skills and leadership skills, and so far that hasn’t been as obvious,” the cardinal of New York, Timothy Dolan, complained in an interview a few days ago.

But pope Jorge Mario Bergoglio certainly does not like the curia the way it is. And in fact he often and intentionally does without it. The latest chirograph signed “Francis,” that of July 18 which instituted a commission of eight experts to rethink the organization of the economic-administrative structure of the Holy See, was made known to the Vatican secretariat of state only as a done deal.

This means that in the little office of pope Bergoglio on the second floor of the Casa di Santa Marta, where he has chosen to reside, many things are decided and done that never even pass through the majestic curial offices of the first and third loggia of the Apostolic Palace, a few steps away from the now-deserted pontifical apartment.

The secretariat of state continues its routine work, but much more at work is another secretariat, miniscule but highly active, which in direct service to the pope attends to the matters that he wants to resolve himself, without any interference whatsoever.

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CHILE
Diario U Chile

Para este jueves está contemplado que el ex párroco de El Bosque, Fernando Karadima, declare ante el ministro Juan Manuel Muñoz.

El ministro concurriría a las 16:00 hrs. hasta el convento de las Siervas de Jesús de la Caridad ubicado en Avenida Bustamante, en el marco de la acción civil presentada en contra del arzobispado por los denunciantes de Karadima, que lo acusan de abusos sexuales y abuso de poder.

Se trata del médico James Hamilton, el periodista Juan Carlos Cruz y el presidente de la Fundación para la Confianza, José Andrés Murillo, quienes, representados por el abogado Juan Pablo Hermosilla, preparan una demanda civil contra la Iglesia de Santiago.

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NEW YORK
Time

The 2012 trial of Nechemya Weberman captivated New Yorkers: the prominent and respected counselor of the Satmar Hasidim sect stood accused of sexually abusing a young girl entrusted in his care. Incredibly, the youthful victim—who was 12 at the start of her four-year ordeal—and her family were ridiculed and defamed by many in this intensely insular ultra-Orthodox Jewish community, nestled in a Brooklyn neighborhood famous for its hipster clubs and cafes.

In her new Kindle ebook The Devil of Williamsburg, which goes on sale today, writer-editor Allison Yarrow offers a compelling account of a crime that horrified a city and forced a devout group of believers to confront some unpleasant truths. It is a piece of long-form investigative journalism—based on reporting, interviews, and courtroom testimony—that has as its narrative spine the story of two women: the young (and now married) victim and Weberman’s wife, who even now professes her husband’s innocence.

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VENEZUELA
La Opinion

SAN CRISTOBAL | 06 DE AGOSTO DE 2013

La comunidad de San Cristóbal continúa esperando los resultados de la investigación que adelanta la Fiscalía, respecto a la responsabilidad del sacerdote Isaías Albarrán Villasmil, de 35 años, en cinco casos de abuso sexual registrados en la capital del estado Táchira.

El jefe del Cicpc, Luis Monroy, aseguró que aun no se pueden dar detalles de la investigación, en la que se conoció ya ha declarado un importante número de personas. Además, extraoficialmente se ha comentado que las mujeres violadas por el sacerdote podrían incluso llegar a ser diez, y no cinco como se viene informando.

Asimismo, dentro de las evidencias encontradas en el automóvil Spark, vehículo propiedad de Albarrán Villasmil y donde supuestamente cometía las violaciones, fueron hallados cabellos femenínos, un lapiz labial, papel higiénico y sangre, además de tres teléfonos celulares donde estarían los videos de las atrocidades que cometía el sacerdote.

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ILLINOIS
Univision

CHICAGO (AP) — Un ex sacerdote católico del área de Chicago que fue sentenciado a prisión por abuso sexual de un niño fue deportado a Bolivia, se conoció el miércoles.

Funcionarios de la Oficina de Inmigración y Aduanas (ICE) dijeron que Alejandro Flores, de 40 años, fue deportado el martes a La Paz. Fue enviado en un vuelo comercial y acompañado por dos agentes federales. Las autoridades dijeron que Flores tiene prohibido de por vida regresar a Estados Unidos.

Flores se declaró culpable en 2010 de abuso sexual criminal y fue condenado a cuatro años en prisión. Abusó de niño cuando trabajaba en la iglesia de St. Mary en West Chicago.

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CIUDAD DEL VATICANO
La Opinion

Ciudad del Vaticano – Una sentencia dictada en Estados Unidos considera que la Santa Sede no puede ser acusada de responsabilidad directa en los casos de abusos sexuales cometidos por algún miembro del clero en el mundo, informó este miércoles Radio Vaticano en su edición digital en inglés.

El Tribunal de Apelación de Oregón rechazó el pasado lunes una causa puesta en marcha en 2002 sobre la supuesta responsabilidad de la Santa Sede en un caso de abuso sexual.

Los hechos se refieren a un sacerdote irlandés demandado por abuso sexual por un menor de edad en 1965 y que la Santa Sede pasó al estado laico pocas semanas después de que su orden religiosa le informara de lo sucedido.

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AUSTRALIA
Victoria Police

The SANO Task Force was established to investigate historic and new allegations that have emanated from the Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry into child sex abuse involving Religious and Non-Government organisations. The task force will also coordinate investigations emerging from the Australian Government Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

SANO Task Force is based within Victoria Police’s Crime Command and comprises specialist sexual assault detectives. SANO investigators will identify links between offenders and offences through the use of modern, specialist investigation methods.

SANO investigators are trained experts in sexual assault matters who will maintain the confidentiality of anyone who makes a complaint or wishes to provide information regarding child sexual abuse. Victoria Police are dedicated to accessing justice for victims, whether that is though a full judicial process by going to court or by simply telling their story.

How to contact the SANO Task Force

If you or someone you know has experienced child sexual abuse in an institutional context, we encourage you contact SANO Task Force via email sanotaskforce@police.vic.gov.au

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TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
Guardian

Published:
Thursday, August 8, 2013
Geisha Kowlessar

Minister of Gender, Youth and Child Development, Marlene Coudray, yesterday warned managers and caregivers of children’s homes they would feel the full brunt of the law if it was found children have been abused in any form. She made the comment at the formal opening of four newly-constructed residential units at the St Mary’s Children’s Home, Tacarigua, saying Government may soon take the action of placing cameras within homes to monitor activity.

“The abuse of children would be met with aggressive action from this ministry and we are now setting up mechanisms by which we can monitor,” she said, when asked about how the ministry could put mechanisms in place to ensure children were properly taken care of. “One of the options we have is to install cameras that can be monitored remotely. We know there is privacy and other issues involved but I want to assure the ministry is actively working on reports of abuse,” she added.

Saying she was not singling out the St Mary’s Home, Coudray said she made the remark after several complaints of abuse at children’s homes had reached the ministry. Urging that at all times children need love, care and guidance, Coudray said a child was most confident when he or she was exposed to such qualities. The St Mary’s Home, Coudray said, would serve as a model on which other children’s homes would be fashioned.

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TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
Newsday

By RACHAEL ESPINET Thursday, August 8 2013

GENDER, Youth and Child Development Minister Marlene Coudray yesterday warned anyone caught abusing children, be it physical, sexual or mental abuse, will feel the full brunt of the law.

Addressing the opening of the residential units at the St Mary’s Children’s Home in Tacarigua, Coudray said, “The Ministry is taking very seriously all reports of abuse. Anyone who takes charge of the care of children and abuses them, will feel the full weight of the justice system.”

Coudray said she has received many reports about child abuse and her Ministry is working assiduously to protect children. An initiative the Ministry is contemplating is installing cameras at public Children’s Homes, but she said that due to privacy and legal issues, feasibility studies must first be done. She encouraged the children to speak out against abuse.

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TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
Trinidad Express

By Verdel Bishop
Story Created: Aug 7, 2013

Gender, Youth and Child Development Minister Marlene Coudray has signalled a warning to perpetrators of abuse of children in various homes and institutions.

Coudray, who was speaking yesterday at the official opening of four new buildings at the St Mary’s Children’s’ Home (SMCH) in Tacarigua, said there are numerous reports to her Ministry about abuse in children’s homes across the country.

“We are getting reports very regularly on abuse to children. I want to assure you that the Ministry is taking very seriously all these reports of abuse to children at homes and institutions. I want to make it quite clear that anyone who takes charge of the care of children and abuses their rights will feel the full weight of the justice system,” said Coudray.

“The abuse of children of any form will be met with aggressive action from this Ministry. Abuse of children must stop.”

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NEW YORK
The Jewish Daily Forward

By Seth Berkman
Published August 07, 2013.

Twelve more former students of Yeshiva University High School for Boys who claimed that they were molested by staff members have joined a $380 million lawsuit against the school.

The additioan cases were revealed in court papers revealed in a hearing on Tuesday, according to the New York Daily News.

The plaintiffs’ attorney Kevin Mulhearn said the number of alleged victims in the suit now stands at 31. Last month, the initial claim, filed in U.S. District Court in White Plains, N.Y., alleged a, “massive cover-up of the sexual abuse of [high school] students…facilitated, for several decades, by various prominent Y.U. and [high school] administrators, trustees, directors, and other faculty members.”
Click to see the rest of the section, Click for more stories about abuse at Y.U.

Some of the alleged assaults allegedly took place as far back as the 1970s. Even though sexual abuse cases in New York must be brought forward before a victim’s 23rd birthday, Mulhearn is arguing that the alleged cover up negates the statute of limitations.

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OAKLAND (CA)
Univision 14

Sacerdote que admitió abuso de 100 niños vivía en vecindario de Oakland

El Padre Rubén Martínez estuvo en una residencia de su orden por varios años, al parecer sin supervisión, y los vecinos no sabían nada

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CALIFORNIA
KGO

(KGO) — A new tactic is being used in hopes of locating a Catholic priest who admitted in 2005 to abusing at least 100 children.

KGO’s Lisa Campbell reports that The Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP) spent Tuesday protesting outside the priest’s last known home. The group hopes its effort will bring information or at least attention to the issue, again.

Group member Melanie Sakoda says over 100 children — most under 12 — were abused by Father Rubin Martinez. And his last known address is this house they’ve just found here in Oakland.

KGO has reached out to the Catholic Church for comment and so far received no response.

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NEW YORK
New York Daily News

BY MICHAEL O’KEEFFE / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 7, 2013

An attorney for St. Francis Prep says it is inappropriate for a former student who claims she was sexually harassed by a Spanish teacher to sue the school under a fictitious name, according to papers filed in Brooklyn federal court this week.

But “Jane Doe” says she has to pursue the civil suit she filed in June anonymously because the harassment and bullying from Brother Ben O’Reilly contributed to the mental illness that caused her to abuse alcohol and attempt suicide.

If U.S. District Judge Sterling Johnson rules she can’t remain anonymous, Doe said, future employers and school admissions officers would learn the most intimate details of her life simply by searching Google for her name.

“It is extremely important for me to remain anonymous because the case contains a lot of details about my medical history,” Doe said. “I was sexually abused as a child, I’ve battled with substance abuse, I’ve had suicide attempts. I’m in my early 20s. If I were to go public, this would follow me for the rest of my life.”

The suit filed in June on behalf of Doe and another former student, as well as an ex-St. Francis Prep teacher, claims the Queens school ignored sexual and physical abuse by longtime assistant football coach Robert Stenger. St. Francis Prep, the Franciscan Brothers of Brooklyn — the order that operates the school — and longtime principal Brother Leonard Conway are listed as defendants in the suit.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

A man has been charged with sexually assaulting two girls he met through their church in Sydney’s north.

Detectives from the Child Abuse Squad at Chatswood arrested the 23-year-old man at his Westleigh home yesterday morning.

Police say the man met his victims, aged 13 and 15, through their church and several of the offences took place between March and July this year.

The man has been charged with 40 offences, including 24 counts of committing an act of indecency against a person under the age of 16 and 12 charges related to sexual acts.

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CALIFORNIA
Justia Verdict

Marci A. Hamilton

At the end of July, Los Angeles Roman Catholic Archbishop Jose Gomez sent the following letter to the editor of California Catholic, Bob McPhail, asking him to publish Gomez’s letter encouraging parishioners to contact their state elected representatives urging them to vote against statute-of-limitations (SOL) reform for child-sex- abuse victims, by voting against Bill SB131. The primary target of the Catholic bishops, and bishops nationwide, is this statute-of-limitations window which would open a one-year period during which those victims of clergy child sex abuse whose statutes of limitations had expired (which is the vast majority) could still file lawsuits against their abusers and those who covered up the abuse.

Here is an excerpt of what Gomez said:

Friends, my brother bishops and I in the California Catholic Conference are asking all Catholics to contact their Assembly members and Senators and urge them to vote “No” on Senate Bill 131.

SB-131 fails to protect all victims of childhood sexual abuse, discriminates against Catholic schools and other private employers, and puts the Church’s social services and educational mission at risk.

This is the same playbook that was first conjured up by now-Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput when he was the Archbishop of Denver, Colorado. The main idea is that, once SOL reform is proposed in the legislature, the bishops then mobilize their parishioners against it, with messages that misrepresent the actual impact of such legislation, and then play a false anti-Catholic card to really get their parishioners out of the pews and onto their computers and phones. The trouble is that neither claim is true, nor is either truly in the spirit of Catholic teachings.

Who Is Listening to Catholic Bishops on the Issue of Child Sex Abuse, and What Religious Values Fuel Their Opposition to Victims’ Access to Justice?

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ILLINOIS
Bolivia.com

El exsacerdote católico bolivano Alejandro Flores fue deportado a Bolivia, después de cumplir una condena de prisión por pedofilia, informó la Oficina de Inmigración y Aduanas (ICE) de Chicago.

Según lo informado, el 8 de septiembre de 2010 el entonces sacerdote de la diócesis de Joliet (Illinois) se declaró culpable de haber abusado de un menor durante cinco años, cuando era seminarista asignado a la parroquia Santa María de la ciudad de West Chicago.

Flores, que fue criado en un orfanato en Bolivia, alegó en su defensa que había sido abusado sexualmente durante años cuando era niño.

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ILLINOIS
Vive Lo Hoy

Por Leticia Espinosa, 8/7/2013

Alejandro Flores, un ex sacerdote católico de la Diócesis de Joliet, quien fuera condenado por abusar sexualmente de un niño durante cinco años, fue deportado a Bolivia el martes por el Buró de Inmigración y Aduanas de Estados Unidos (USICE).

Flores, de 40 años, fue repatriado a La Paz, Bolivia, el 6 de agosto por una línea aérea comercial, escoltado por agentes, informaron las autoridades de inmigración en un comunicado.

El 8 de septiembre de 2010, Flores se declaró culpable de asalto sexual criminal de un menor, en una corte del Condado de Kane, y fue condenado a cuatro años de prisión.

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ILLINOIS
Northwest Herald

By The ASSOCIATED PRESS
Created: Thursday, August 8, 2013

CHICAGO – A former Chicago-area Roman Catholic priest who was sentenced to prison for abusing a boy has been deported to Bolivia.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials say 40-year-old Alejandro Flores was deported to La Paz, Bolivia, on Tuesday. He was sent on a commercial aircraft and accompanied by two federal officers. Federal officials say Flores is barred for life from entering the U.S.

Flores pleaded guilty in 2010 to felony criminal sexual abuse and sentenced to four years in prison. He abused the boy while working at St. Mary’s Church in West Chicago.

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IOWA
WHO

[with video]

August 7, 2013, by Kelly Maricle and Jannay Towne

Des Moines police arrested a former youth pastor and charged him with sexual abuse.

“This has been going on for a brief period of time, but I can’t go into details as exactly how long,” says Des Moines Police Sgt. Daniel Blom.

Police were contacted Monday by a teenage girl and her parents. The girl reported an alleged sexual assault perpetrated by 27-year-old Ryan McKelvey.

“Looking into it, doing their investigation, they discovered there might be a second victim. They made contact with the second victim and confirmed that there was an inappropriate sexual contact,” says Blom.

McKelvey is a former youth pastor at Heritage Assembly Church. The church issued a statement saying it is working with police. It goes on to say, “Our prayers and concern go out to the families involved.”

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IOWA
Radio Iowa

August 7, 2013 By Dar Danielson

A former youth pastor at a Des Moines church is facing sexual abuse charges.

Des Moines police say they were contacted by a female juvenile and her parents who said she had been sexually assaulted by Ryan McKelvey, the former youth pastor at Heritage Assembly Church.

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IOWA
Des Moines Register

Aug 7, 2013 | by Regina Zilbermints

A former Des Moines youth pastor is charged with sexually abusing two teenage members of the congregation, police said today.

Ryan McKelvey, 27, a former youth pastor at Heritage Assembly Church, 5051 NE Fifth St., was charged with two counts of sexual exploitation by clergy and two counts of third-degree sexual abuse.

A female victim and her parents reported the abuse to Des Moines police Monday, officials said. While investigating, detectives discovered a second victim, who also confirmed inappropriate sexual incidents had occurred.

Authorities declined to say where the incidents occurred but said none occurred at the church.

McKelvey was arrested at his home on Tuesday. He remains in the Polk County Jail on a $100,000 cash-only bond.

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IOWA
KCCI

[with video]

DES MOINES, Iowa —A youth pastor was charged with sexual abuse Tuesday.

Ryan McKelvey, 27, of Des Moines, is charged with two counts of third-degree sexual abuse and two counts of sexual exploitation by a counselor or therapist. McKelvey was booked into the Polk County Jail on Tuesday night.

Des Moines police said they were contacted on Monday by a girl and her parents regarding a sexual assault. The girl reported the suspect in the incident was McKelvey.

Police said that during the investigation it was discovered there could be a second victim. Investigators made contact with the second female, also a juvenile, and confirmed inappropriate sexual incidents had occurred with her as well.

McKelvey was a youth pastor at Heritage Assembly of God church at 5051 Northeast 5th St. in Des Moines.

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NEW YORK
WHAM

[with video]

Rochester, N.Y.– A teenager who was sexually abused by a priest will now spend ten years in federal prison for sexually exploiting other children. Paul Hearty is now 37-years-old. He pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography and will get an enhanced sentence in spite of letters written on his behalf from members of the Catholic Church.

“It’s really a tragic day that we’ve come to this point,” said Federal Judge Frank Geraci. He acknowledged the letters written by a Syracuse bishop and a Catholic priest from Rochester expressing the partial responsibility of the church for what happened but said the sentence is mandatory because it is Hearty’s second offence.

Federal prosecutor Tina Lee said because Hearty himself was a child victim “he of all people would understand the pain sexually abused minors experience.” Hearty agreed. He told the court, “I am struggling against a wall of past trauma and fear.” He said he accepts full responsibility and apologized.

“I ask forgiveness from those exploited by these events,” he said. More than a decade ago, Paul Hearty came forward to say he was sexually abused as a teenager by a Rochester priest. Father William Lum later pleaded guilty to sexual misconduct and Hearty received a settlement from the Catholic church.

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ROME
DFW Catholic

Rome, Italy, Aug 7, 2013 / 09:04 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The Vatican’s judicial authorities have requested that their Italian counterparts interrogate Monsignor Nunzio Scarano about withdraws he made from his Vatican bank account, putting a brand new agreement between the two countries to its first test.

The request to have the Italian authorities question the monsignor was made last week by Giampiero Milano, the Promoter of Justice for the Vatican Court, just days after the two countries signed an pact to exchange information related to the prevention of money laundering.

Msgr. Scarano is currently being held in an Italian jail for allegedly planning to smuggle 20 million euros ($26 million) from Switzerland to Italy aboard an Italian government airplane.

He is also being investigated by the public prosecutor in his home town of Salerno, Italy for supposedly laundering 560,000 euros ($744,000) that he took from his account at the Institute for Religious Works – the so-called Vatican bank – to pay off the mortgage of a house in Salerno.

This second case led the Vatican authorities to freeze Msgr. Scarano’s funds on July 9 and suspend him from his job in early June. The case against Msgr. Scarano, a suspended accountant for the Administration for the Patrimony of the Apostolic See, first became public June 28 when he was arrested by the Italian authorities for the smuggling attempt.

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ILLINOIS
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Wednesday, Aug. 7

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 )

Fr. Alejandro Flores, a convicted Joliet predator priest, has been deported to Bolivia. Those who enabled him to hurt kids, however, are escaping scot-free.

(We believe he has not been defrocked. So he should be referred to as “Fr. Flores.” He is NOT, we believe, “a former Catholic priest.” We believe he’s still being paid.)

Top Catholic officials in Joliet, we are convinced, ignored warning signs about Fr. Flores. In fact, prosecutors disclosed that, according to one newspaper, “Catholic officials had some warning signs about Flores.” The Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office said that “Flores was caught with gay porn on his computer by Catholic officials in the spring of 2009. Though the website posted a disclaimer saying the people involved in the sex acts were not minors, [prosecutors] said some of the images appeared to be those of young boys.”

Yet these church officials let Fr. Flores be around kids, and even now they are cleverly managing to avoid being exposed as corrupt and complicit.

We worry about the safety of Bolivian kids. We urge Bolivia’s bishops to warn their flock about Fr. Flores. And we urge Joliet’s Bishop Daniel Conlon to write to his Bolivian colleagues urging them to take this simple public safety step.

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ISRAEL
Artuz Sheva

By Maayana Miskin
First Publish: 8/7/2013

MK Moshe Feiglin (Likud Beytenu) related Wednesday to the verdict finding Rabbi Mordechai (Moti) Elon guilty of performing an indecent act with a minor and of exploiting his position of authority.

Feiglin began by noting that he does not automatically support whatever a court says. In the case of former President Moshe Katzav, he said, while he supported the decision to send Katzav to jail, “the description of his actions as ‘rape’ seemed to me more like giving in to a feminist media attack than a serious verdict.”

However, he said, in Rabbi Elon’s case, “It seems like this is a serious verdict, free of outside considerations. It would be right to give him a very harsh punishment.”

Rabbi Tzfania Drori, the rabbi of the city of Kiryat Shemona and the local Hesder yeshiva, spoke to Arutz Sheva about the verdict in Rabbi Elon’s case.

The ultimate lesson, he said, is “to understand that there are problems here, and to be careful.”

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ISRAEL
YNet News

[with video]

Sex offender Rabbi Elon holds first Torah lesson since conviction, but confronted by man who claims was sexually assaulted in past by another esteemed rabbi, beseeches Elon to ‘admit he sinned,’ says If he wasn’t such a great man I wouldn’t have bothered’

Maor Buchnik
Published: 08.07.13

Rabbi Moti Elon conducted his weekly Torah lesson in the Midgal Yeshiva Wednesday evening, just hours after being convicted for performing indecent sexual acts on a minor.

During the lesson, Rabbi Elon was confronted by Nahum Pechnik, a man attending the lesson, who stood up and yelled: “I want to tell you that you are a great man, but you need to find the courage to say ‘I have sinned’. You are a great man, admit that you’ve sinned.”

Pechnik, 40, a resident of Jerusalem, is a married father of four. According to him, in 1993 he himself was a victim of sexual abuse at the hands of another famous rabbi which he refused to name.

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ISRAEL
Jerusalem Post

By GIL HOFFMAN0
8/07/2013

Analysis: Motti Elon incident, others possibly resulted in the religious Zionist community becoming so skeptical of its rabbis that it cannot crown a leader out of fear of disappointment.

There are rabbis who are respected in their own sector but not in others. There are some who can cross sectors but not appeal to the masses.

And then there was Rabbi Motti Elon.

The charismatic rabbi had shows on TV and radio. His classes in Jerusalem and at Bar-Ilan University attracted huge and impressively diverse crowds. A son of a Supreme Court justice, he appealed to the secular, was respected by haredim, and was adored by religious Zionists of all ages.

That all changed seven years ago when Elon mysteriously gave up his public posts and moved to Migdal, a small northern community, and then three years later when the rabbinical star’s image came crashing down amid the charges against him that were the reason for his exile.

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ILLINOIS
Chicago Tribune

By Clifford Ward
Special to the Tribune
2:22 p.m. CDT, August 7, 2013

A Roman Catholic priest who was convicted of sexually assaulting an 8-year-old west suburban boy has been deported to his native Bolivia, federal immigration authorities said Wednesday.

Alejandro Flores, accompanied by two immigration agents, was repatriated Tuesday via a commercial flight to La Paz, according to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.

“Flores held a position of trust in the Catholic Church and has proven to be an extreme danger to our children,” said Ricardo Wong, field office director for ICE’s Chicago Enforcement and Removal Operations.

Flores, 40, had been detained by federal officials following his release in June from prison in Illinois, where he had been sentenced to a 4-year term for sexually assaulting the boy in St. Charles.

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UNITED STATES
Vatican Insider

According to the court’s verdict the Vatican cannot be accused for sexual abuse acts committed by priests

VATICAN INSIDER STAFF
ROME

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has ruled that the Holy See cannot be accused of being directly responsible for acts of sexual abuse committed by any member of the clergy in the world, Vatican Radio reports.

The lawsuit against the Holy See for alleged involvement in a sex abuse case was filed in 2002 and was dismissed by the appeals court today. The case involved an Irish priest who was sued for child abuse in 1965, was reported to the Holy See by his religious order and was consequently reduced to the lay state within the space of a few weeks.

The court ruled that the lawsuit “never should have been filed in the first place” and dismissed the premise that the Holy See is directly informed about the activities of all Catholic priests and that it has control over all priests across the world and should therefore be held directly responsible for sexual crimes committed by any member of the clergy. The case was dismissed precisely because the court recognised that this was a false premise.

As the Holy See’s lawyer Jeffrey S. Lena explained in a statement, priests are under the control of their local superiors and that the Vatican was not the priests’ “employer” as would be the case in a company context. He also said the Holy See did not receive or hold information on all priests across the world.

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ILLINOIS
Patch

By Ron Kremer

A 40-year-old priest who served briefly at Holy Family Church in Shorewood and later attempted to commit suicide after being charged with sexually molesting a 7-year-old boy was deported to Boliva on Tuesday, according to a Sun-Times News Group report.

Alejandro Flores, 40, was repatriated to La Paz, Bolivia—his homeland—via commercial aircraft, according to the report. Flores pleaded guilty in September 2010 to one count of criminal sexual assault in a case involving a then-7-year-old boy that occurred while he was a seminarian at St. Mary’s Church in West Chicago, according to the report.

Flores had repeated sexual contact with the boy over a five-year period, according to the report. He attempted to commit suicide after being confronted by investigators. After Flores eventually entered a guilty plea, he was sent to jail, released on June 7 and turned over to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement unit, according to the Sun-Times News Group report.

Flores was deported as a criminal alien convicted of an aggravated felony and is barred from entering the United States for life, according to the report.

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VATICAN CITY
National Catholic Reporter

Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service | Aug. 7, 2013

VATICAN CITY At the request of a man allegedly abused by a priest in 1965, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed his case claiming the Vatican was the priest’s employer and could be liable for damages.

Jeffrey Lena, the counsel for the Holy See, said in a statement that the lawsuit “never should have been filed in the first place.”

He told Vatican Radio in an email interview, “This case was based on a couple of simple and erroneous ideas about the Catholic Church. First, that all priests are controlled by the Holy See and second that the Holy See receives information about the activities of all priests and makes specific decisions, either directly or ‘by and through’ dioceses and religious orders.”

The plaintiff, a former Oregon resident known as John V. Doe, and his attorneys were trying to prove that the Vatican exercised direct control over priests, Lena said, but “this is not how the Catholic Church works.”

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ILLINOIS
WBEZ

August 7, 2013
The Associated Press

A former Chicago-area Roman Catholic priest who was sentenced to prison for abusing a boy has been deported to Bolivia.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials say 40-year-old Alejandro Flores was deported to La Paz, Bolivia, on Tuesday. He was sent on a commercial aircraft and accompanied by two federal officers. Federal officials say Flores is barred for life from entering the U.S.

Flores pleaded guilty in 2010 to felony criminal sexual abuse and sentenced to four years in prison. He abused the boy while working at St. Mary’s Church in West Chicago.

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ILLINOIS
CBS Chicago

(STMW) – A former west suburban Catholic priest who attempted to commit suicide after being charged with sexually molesting a young boy for five years was deported to Bolivia on Tuesday.

Alejandro Flores, 40, a Bolivian native, was repatriated to La Paz, Bolivia, on Tuesday via commercial aircraft, according to a statement by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

In 2004, Flores, a priest in the Diocese of Joliet, befriended a then-7-year-old boy while a seminarian at St. Mary’s Church in West Chicago, and had repeated sexual contact with him over a five-year period. In June 2009, Flores was ordained and sent to Holy Family Church in Shorewood to serve as parochial vicar.

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KANSAS CITY (MO)
Tony’s Kansas City

Critics of Bishop Finn’s tactics when dealing with patterns of abuse are connecting the dots regarding a recent case in St. Louis case that’s reminiscent of so much Kansas City sex abuse drama.

To wit . . .

CHECK THIS EXCLUSIVE MESSAGE REGARDING A KANSAS CITY CONNECTION TO CURRENT STL CATHOLIC DRAMA!!!

Check it:

ROUND-UP OF MORE RECENT MISSOURI CATHOLIC SCANDAL CONNECTED BACK TO BISHOP FINN!!!

St. Louis’s top Catholic official is accused of “almost exactly what Kansas City Bishop Finn did, when he saw to it that evidence was destroyed in a similar case a while back,” says Catholic blogger Kevin O’Brien.

And the St. Louis Post Dispatch apparently agrees, in this unusual editorial questioning Archbishop Robert Carlson:

The case involves a recently ordained priest who reportedly abused a girl and gave her parents a check for $20,000 after they confronted him and he admitted his guilt. Carlson, a civil suit alleges, tried to get the check, but the parents had already given it to police as evidence.

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UNITED STATES
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: August 7, 2013

Statement by Barbara Dorris, Outreach Director, 314-862-7688 SNAPdorris@gmail.com

Religious figures attack a man who reported “serial physical and sexual abuse of children covered up” by church officials” claiming that his account is slander and “unbiblical”.

Brent Detwiler filed a lawsuit in January against the Sovereign Grace Ministries, a national network of churches, saying that the defendants, despite knowing the facts on multiple child abuse cases, “cared more about protecting its financial and institutional standing than about protecting children, its most vulnerable members” and therefore “failed to stop repeated and ongoing sexual predation occurring at SGM churches and organization”.

We applaud Detwiler for doing the right thing and not backing down. These serious accusations should be met with genuine concern, not adamant denial. Church officials should be welcoming those who report suspected abuse, not intimidating them.

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NEW YORK
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: August 7, 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 )

More victims have signed up in a civil child sex abuse and cover up lawsuit against a prestigious Manhattan high school.

The suit charges that crimes by principal Rabbi George Finkelstein and teacher Rabbi Macy Gordon have been concealed by Yeshiva University High School for decades.

We applaud the courage of all those who have come forward against the school. We hope that their testimony will help with both the healing of the victims and the preventing of future child sex crimes.

A lawyer for Yeshiva University High School stresses how long ago the alleged crimes happened. So what? Wrongdoers deserve to be exposed and punished, no matter how old their wrongdoing may have been. Otherwise, wrongdoing is rewarded.

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UNITED STATES
Catholic League

Bill Donohue comments on a ruling by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals that dismissed a federal lawsuit against the Holy See:

On April 3, 2002, Jeffrey Anderson filed suit against the Holy See claiming that it was responsible for the conduct of a priest who had allegedly molested a young man in Oregon in 1965. Anderson contended that the priest worked for the Vatican and that officials there knew about his sexual exploits. On April 4, 2002, I issued a news release stating the following: “Anderson’s crusade is malicious. He knows he will lose in court.”

I was right. On Monday, Anderson told the Ninth Circuit that he was withdrawing his appeal of a federal district court ruling that said the Holy See did not employ the priest and was not liable for damages.

Anderson knew from day one that he would lose. While his knowledge of the way the Catholic Church works is deficient, he had to know—unless he is truly a conspiratorial maniac—that his stunt would go nowhere. Moreover, his actions were exploitative: 2002 was the year the sex scandal hit the newspapers, so he thought he could cash in on it.

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CHILE
Cooperativa

Sumergido en la depresión el sacerdote Fernando Karadima, quien ayer cumplió 83 años, “reafirma su inocencia”.

Así contó el médico Santiago Soto, quien ayer por la mañana visitó al cura en el convento de las Siervas de Jesús de la Caridad, en Providencia, donde permanece recluido desde enero de 2011, cuando fue notificado de la condena del Vaticano por abusos sexuales.

“Lo vengo a ver cada dos semanas, a veces una vez al mes (…). Está con una gran depresión, tristeza, angustia. Mal”, contó al diario La Tercera Soto, quien conoce a Karadima hace tres décadas.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Bristol Post

By Tom Morris

A 76-YEAR-OLD Bristol bishop faces being sent to jail after admitting stealing £180,000 from his church.

Former magistrate Gerald Edmund, right, of Lansdown Road, Kingswood, pleaded guilty to swindling the huge sum from Bethel United Church of Jesus Christ Apostolic.

Edmund, who was bishop at Bethel Apostolic Church in St George between 1962 and 2002, pleaded guilty to two counts of theft and one of fraud by false representation between July 2010 and February 2011.

The married father made the pleas when he appeared before magistrates in Birmingham last month.

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UNITED KINGDOM
This is Cornwall

A RETIRED priest found dead in the sea off Padstow was anxious and depressed in the months leading up to his death, and was concerned that the Jimmy Savile police inquiry was spreading to Cornwall.

The Reverend Barry Kinsmen left a suicide note at his home in the town. Two friends found it after becoming concerned when he failed to turn up for a lunch together. …

Giving evidence to the Cornwall Coroner, Dr Emma Carlyon, the Reverend Canon Christopher Malkinson, one of the two friends who found the suicide note, said Mr Kinsmen had been depressed and anxious in the months leading up to his death, and no longer wanted to preach or deliver eulogies in church.

“Barry was very concerned about the amount of coverage the Jimmy Savile enquiry was getting, especially the fact the enquiry was spreading to Cornwall,” Mr Malkinson said in a statement.

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UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter

Jason Berry | Jul. 31, 2013

The Benedictine priest who long headed one of the organizations that brought the ire of the Vatican down on U.S. women religious last year is stepping down at the end of this year.

Benedictine Fr. Dan Ward will leave as executive director of the Resource Center for Religious Institutes effective Dec. 31, according to a notice on the center’s website dated May 28 and signed by St. Agnes Sr. Hertha Longo, chair of the center’s board of directors.

“Fr. Dan believes that now is the time to pass on the leadership … to slow down and take a sabbatical,” the announcement says.

For 14 years, Ward has quietly dispensed advice to religious orders on their canonical and financial rights through the resource center and its precursor organizations. Armed with civil and canon law degrees, he earned a reputation as a complex character and a behind-the-scenes player.

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UNITED STATES
Plant & Build

August 5, 2013

The Sovereign Grace Council of Elders held their inaugural meeting May 23-25, 2013, in Orlando, Florida. In addition to approving a motion to form a Strategy Committee for International Missions and confirming Mark Prater as the first Executive Director, the Council of Elders also approved, by a supermajority, the following statement to be sent to every Sovereign Grace church and posted on the Sovereign Grace Ministries website.

As the Sovereign Grace Council of Elders, representing the elderships that govern local churches, we believe that Brent Detwiler has repeatedly and grievously slandered our churches and our leaders.[1] We denounce as sinful and unbiblical his determined effort to accuse our brethren.[2] Consequently, we urge our brothers and sisters in Christ to avoid giving audience to Brent Detwiler’s unbiblical speech until such a time that he repents of this ungodly pattern. Such harmful speech is ruinous to the church of God.

Furthermore, in contradiction to Brent Detwiler’s ongoing statements, we vigorously reiterate our support of C.J. Mahaney as a qualified minister of the gospel.[3] While we wholeheartedly support our reformation in polity, we also publicly declare our gratefulness for C.J.’s many years of service and commend his ongoing ministry of the gospel.[4]

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UNTIED STATES
Associated Baptist Press

By Bob Allen

Sovereign Grace Ministries in Louisville, Ky., has released a statement adopted in May by the organization’s leaders commending founder C.J. Mahaney and denouncing a former associate turned vocal critic of the well-known evangelical leader.

A website posting dated Aug. 5 carries a statement by the Sovereign Grace Council of Elders, the highest governing body within the 80 church union, which met for the first time May 23-25 in Orlando, Fla.

The statement alleges that whistleblower Brent Detwiler, a former Sovereign Grace pastor, “has repeatedly and grievously slandered our churches and our leaders.”

“We denounce as sinful and unbiblical his determined effort to accuse our brethren,” the council says of Detwiler, who blogs at BrentDetwiler.com. “Consequently, we urge our brothers and sisters in Christ to avoid giving audience to Brent Detwiler’s unbiblical speech until such a time that he repents of this ungodly pattern. Such harmful speech is ruinous to the church of God.”

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CANADA
CBC News

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada is heading into the federal government’s archives Tuesday to gather more of the 3.5 million documents related to residential schools.

At first, the federal government refused to give the TRC access to all federal residential school documents, but in January, a judge ordered the government to hand over all relevant documents.

“We want to know the truth,” said Terri Brown, a member of the Tahltan First Nation and a survivor from a residential school sytem in Whitehorse.

“We were really like little robots doing what people told us to do. We didn’t have a choice. And whatever was conducted in there, whatever happened, as painful as it may be, we need to know that information because it can help us in the future.”

The federal government has given the TRC $400,000 to pay a small team to dig through photographs and documents from Health Canada. But those are just a portion of the close to 3.5 million federal archive documents now accessible to the TRC.

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CALIFORNIA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests via Facebook

OAKLAND, CA (8/6)- Members of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) gathered on the sidewalk outside the Oblate Provincial Mission House, 290 Lenox Avenue (between Montecito Ave. & Van Buren Ave.) in Oakland. Holding signs and childhood photos at a sidewalk news conference, clergy sex abuse victims will disclosed that a credibly accused child molesting Catholic priest quietly lived in Oakland for ten years, and 521 pages of his personnel files were released last week and are now available on line. (The Associated Press say they “paint a devastating picture.”). Going door-to-door, they handed out leaflet to neighbors urging anyone who may have seen, suspected or suffered his crimes to call police. They also called on local Catholic officials to reveal the names of other proven, admitted and credibly accused child molesting clerics who live or lived at this church building.

A predator Catholic priest from Southern California who admitted abusing at least 100 kids lived for at least a decade at the Oblate Provincial Mission House. The AP reports that he “confessed shocking details” including that he abused his 5-year-old brother, had sex with male prostitutes, and frequented gay strip clubs.

[The Blaze]

His file was released last week because victims insisted that the documents be made public when they settled their abuse and cover up lawsuits back in 2007.

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ISRAEL
The Jewish Press

By: Yori Yanover Published: August 7th, 2013

Three years after the scandal exploded, shaking up the Religious Zionist movement, a magistrate court in Jerusalem found Rabbi Motti Elon, scion of an exulted family of scholars and public servants, and himself a charismatic teacher and leader, guilty of sexual assault on a minor.

The indictment against Rabbi Elon charged him with indecent assault and indecent assault against a minor using his position as the victim’s mentor.

Another young man who initially wanted to testify about crimes committed against him recanted during the trial, and the State Attorney was forced to delete some of the charges against the defendant.

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ISRAEL
Arutz Sheva

In his first reaction to the verdict against him handed down Tuesday morning in the Jerusalem Courts, Rabbi Elon offered his thanks to God for everything bestowed upon him.

He also thanked his family and attorney, and asked his supporters to refrain from attacking those who spoke against him.

Attorney Ohayon, who defended the rabbi, expressed disappointment at the judge’s decision, but added that this is only the first stage of the battle. “We were surprised” , he said, “at the verdict, which was contrary to all expectations, and will, please G-d, not be the end of the story.”

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ISRAEL
YNet News

Aviel Magnezi
Published: 08.07.13

The Jerusalem Magistrates’ Court convicted prominent Religious Zionism leader Rabbi Moti Elon of sexually assaulting a minor on Wednesday. He was found guilty of performing indecent acts against a minor.

The Israeli Institute for behavioral Risk Assessment has been asked to give an opinion on the threat posed by Elon ahead of sentencing.

Asked how he felt about the conviction the rabbi chose to recite a verse of Psalms.

Upon leaving the court, Elon said, “Anything brought down on us by God Almighty we accept with pleasure and kindness.”

Elon was indicted in late 2011 for offenses perpetrated in 2005. The prosecution claimed he abused his position as an educator and molested two teenagers on various occasions in 2003 and 2005.

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ISRAEL
Los Angeles Times

By Edmund Sanders
August 7, 2013

JERUSALEM — A once-prominent Orthodox rabbi accused of molesting male students was convicted Wednesday by a Jerusalem court of performing indecent acts against a minor.

Mordechai Elon, former dean of a prestigious Old City religious school, faces up to seven years in prison when sentencing is handed down later this year.

Elon was indicted in 2011 after former students came forward with allegations of kissing, fondling and touching. Graver allegations of sexual misconduct were not prosecuted because the statute of limitations had run out or victims refused to testify, Israeli media reported.

The two main witnesses in the case testified that Elon kissed and stroked them in private meetings between 2003 and 2005 in which they were seeking his guidance on personal issues. He was convicted in one of those cases.

Elon publicly denied the allegations. His supporters said students misinterpreted the rabbi’s affectionate manner and attempts to console them.

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ISRAEL
Haaretz

By Nir Hasson | Aug. 7, 2013

The Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday convicted Rabbi Moti Elon, a highly regarded figure in the Religious Zionist community, on two counts of forcible sexual assault against a minor.

Elon, the former head of Yeshivat Hakotel in Jerusalem, was charged last year with sexually assaulting two of his students in 2003 and 2005. The investigation against him began more than three years ago.

The first incident involved a student named B., who was 17-years-old at the time of the alleged assault. According to the indictment, The indictment states that Elon began to periodically touch B. inappropriately starting in December 2002,. Elon explained the contact as consoling his student, who had recently experienced a tragedy.

B. refused to testify during the trial, however, and the parts of the indictment involving the incident were stricken from the record.

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ISRAEL
Jerusalem Post

By LAHAV HARKOV
08/07/2013

Female lawmakers sympathized with Rabbi Motti Elon’s victim Wednesday, after a court ruled him guilty of indecent assault by force against a minor.

MK Aliza Lavie (Yesh Atid), one of the founders of the Committee on Sexual Harassment in the religious feminist organization Kolech, said “it is a sad day for religious Zionism, but an important one and a milestone.”

Lavie expressed support for the members of the Takana Forum against sexual abuse in the religious Zionist community and commended their dedication and trust in those who complained.

“We should remember that even though the Rabbi Elon case raised a lot of public interest, it is one out of many cases that the Takana Forum has heard since its foundation,” Lavie said. “If a few years ago the assumption in the religious world was ‘it doesn’t happen to us,’ today it is clear that sexual harassment exists in the religious community like in any other, but unlike in the past, now there is where to turn.”

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ISRAEL
AFP

JERUSALEM — An Israeli rabbi was on Wednesday found guilty of sexually abusing a minor, public radio said.

A Jerusalem court ruled that influential Zionist rabbi Mordechai Elon had “inappropriately” touched a young boy on two separate occasions in 2005, the radio quoted a lawyer as saying.

Elon, 53, had repeatedly professed his innocence and pleaded not guilty, saying the charges amounted to “defamation”. It was unclear when he will be sentenced.

Elon is a leading Zionist rabbi and belongs to a branch of Judaism popular among Israeli settlers that distinguishes itself from the country’s ultra-Orthodox establishment.

The rabbi has hosted a weekly television show discussing the Torah and takes an openly anti-homosexual stance.

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ISRAEL
JTA

August 7, 2013

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israeli Modern Orthodox leader Rabbi Mordechai “Motti” Elon was convicted of sexually assaulting a minor.

Elon, former rosh yeshiva of Yeshivat HaKotel in Jerusalem, was found guilty Wednesday in Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court of the incidents that occurred in 2003 and 2005 on students that had come to him for advice.

He was found guilty of two charges of indecent acts against a minor, but acquitted on to other sexual assault and sexual harassment charges. One of the complainants refused to testify against Elon in court.

Accusations of sexual misconduct against Elon were first investigated by a Modern Orthodox forum, Takana, which deals with complaints of sexual harassment in the religious school system. The forum in 2006 ordered that Elon no longer have contact with students. Shortly after, Elon left his teaching positions and moved from Jerusalem to the northern moshav Migdal, citing health reasons.

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NEW YORK
New York Daily News

BY THOMAS TRACY / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 7, 2013

A dozen former Yeshiva University High School students have joined a bombshell $380 million lawsuit, claiming they were molested by staffers, an attorney for the plaintiffs said Tuesday.

The number of alleged victims in the suit against the prestigious Manhattan school now stands at 31 — up from the initial 19, said attorney Kevin Mulhearn.

Former students said in the initial claim filed last month that officials covered up decades of sexual abuse by Rabbi George Finkelstein, the school’s former principal, and Rabbi Macy Gordon, a former Judaic studies teacher. The accusers come from all over the country and at least one was abused in the early 1970s, Mulhearn said.

Attorneys for Yeshiva University asked the court to dismiss the suit because the allegations “occurred between 42 and 25 years ago.”

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CHILE
La Tercera

por Natalia Ramos – 07/08/2013

A las 11.20 de ayer llegó hasta el número 586 de Avenida General Bustamante, en Providencia, el médico Santiago Soto. El propósito del profesional era visitar al ex párroco de El Bosque Fernando Karadima, en el convento de las Siervas de Jesús de la Caridad, donde el clérigo reside desde enero de 2011, luego de que fuera notificado de la condena del Vaticano en su contra por abusos de adultos y menores, además de abusos de poder.

La visita de Soto, quien conoce a Karadima desde hace cerca de tres décadas, fue la primera que recibió el sacerdote, en su cumpleaños número 83.

El médico, quien dejó el lugar a las 12.40, dijo al salir del convento que “lo vengo a ver cada dos semanas, a veces una vez al mes (…). Está con una gran depresión, tristeza, angustia. Mal”.

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UNITED STATES
Catholic Whistleblowers

By Fr. Jim Connell

What stops the bishops from providing thorough explanations and detailed information about the clergy sexual abuse crisis confronting the Church? Here are my top five picks.

1. The Cardinals’ Oath. This is an oath taken by each new cardinal as he is about to receive his red biretta. For example, here is a key portion of that Oath (printed pages 20-21) as spoken by Cardinal Timothy Dolan and 21 other new cardinals on February 18, 2012: “I, N., Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church, promise and swear, from this day forth and as long as I live ….. not to make known to anyone matters entrusted to me in confidence, the disclosure of which could bring damage or dishonor to the Holy Church …..”

Surely, this oath contributes to the crisis. In other words, if the cardinals promise to be silent, and if other bishops follow their example, can truth and justice ever be served? Can this crisis ever be resolved? Also, do all bishops take an oath similar to the Cardinals’ Oath? Secrecy must not reign. The Pope needs to release the cardinals from this oath and secrecy, and require them and all the bishops to speak the complete truth.

2. Attorney-Client Privilege. At least by the late 1980s bishops were becoming aware of an increasing number of allegations against priests. So, what advice did the attorneys give? Did they help to shape the strategies used by bishops.

The attorney-client privilege means that an attorney cannot divulge information provided by a client. But, the client holds the privilege and can waive the privilege, thus releasing the attorney from that restriction, either totally or partially. Consequently, if each diocesan bishop would waive the privilege in respect to clergy sexual abuse, the attorney for the diocese and the attorney’s firm would be free to speak about the advice that was given when the first cases of clergy sexual abuse were brought to the attention of the attorney or the firm, as well as regarding cases in more current times.

What did the attorneys say? Did they inform the bishops that these actions were crimes and that the police should be notified? We need to know what the attorneys said. It’s a major part of the needed and yet-to-be-told truth.

3. Embarrassment and loss of reputation. All too frequently, victims/survivors and their supporters were not believed, traumatized, and regarded as the ones having done wrong. But, the victims are the victims! They were sexually assaulted by priests. They loved the Church and were involved in the Church, which is why they were available to be preyed upon. Why, therefore, this reaction by so many Church leaders? Why hide the truth and be so defensive? As one parishioner asked me: “Father, how much worse can the truth be as compared to what our minds dream up as our imaginations run wild?” So, what’s under the lid? What’s the secret?

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UNITED STATES
Catholic Whistleblowers

By Patrick Collins

Ten years ago, on my 39th anniversary of ordination, I sent this letter to the bishops of the United States. On this May 31, 2013, my 49th anniversary, I share these words because they remain painfully true in my opinion.

Nevertheless I rejoice today in 49 years of priestly life and ministry. Despite these leadership problems, our faith community continues to deepen and do good works for the Reign of God. And my spiritual life continues to deepen, be enriched and bring me great joy each day.

Dear Bishops,

As I have witnessed men and women committing themselves to the “for better or for worse” in the Sacrament of Marriage, I have often thought: “You really don’t know what you are in for!” And, as I have listened to their marital difficulties unfolding over the years, I realize how correct I was. Only over the years of trying to be faithful to that vow can they come to understand the great difficulties associated with keeping the promises they made on the day of their marriage.

Similarly for me on the day my ordination to the ministerial priesthood. When I placed my hands into those of Peoria, Illinois bishop John Baptist Franz on May 31, 1964, I heard him ask me, in Latin of course, “Do you promise to me and to my successors obedience and respect?” With trust in God and the goodness of bishops, I, without a clue as to the future implications of my response, responded innocently “I promise.” …

Too many in our church leadership have engaged in embarrassing secrecy and complicity in the crisis of clerical sexual abuse. Past systemic forms of episcopal governance have facilitated this. And this not only in Boston. Some bishops continue to protect their brother bishops whom they know to be guilty by not investigating allegations against them for improper handling of cases. Many of us priests know as well of examples in which priests have given incriminating information about other priests to bishops and nothing has happened. In one case I have in mind, the offending priest was even promoted to a prominent position after his bishop was informed of the priest’s inappropriate sexual conduct.

Which is worse, many of us priests are asking: The unspeakable sin and crime of abusing children committed by less than 6 percent of priests in this nation – or the much larger percentage of bishops who have covered up, paid off and lied for the sake of their self-protective behaviors?

In the years prior to the current sexual scandals many bishops seemed to protect the institution of the church and its assets by protecting the violating priests but not adequately respecting and serving the violated. Now it seems they are bending over backwards to make up for those errors by almost failing to honor the due process deserved by the violating priests while being totally dedicated to the violated. There is a noted consistency here, it would seem. The primary driving energy would appear to be to protect themselves and the patrimony of the institutional church. In neither case is the energy primarily about protecting and honoring persons – either the priest or the children and the family. That is sad to realize. Because this is becoming more and more obvious, our leaders are finding diminished respect from more than just the clergy.

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UNITED STATES
Catholic Whistleblowers

June 24, 2013

Dear Bishop Robinson and Bishop Power,

Catholic Whistleblowers is a newly formed network of current and former priests, women religious, brothers, deacons, and laypersons who actively support survivors of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. Indeed, the Church’s tragic and scandalous sexual abuse crisis is our sole and specific focus.

From that perspective we strongly support your call for a worldwide council to take effective measures to end sexual abuse in the Church and to initiate the necessary changes in the Church to solve the ongoing sexual abuse issue.

We note with appreciation the common thought linking your call for a worldwide council that would include laity and clergy in addition to bishops and our recommendation to Pope Francis in our letter of April 29, 2013, in which we ask him to establish within the Holy See an international body composed of survivors of clergy sexual abuse, lay professionals and clergy who will be responsible for the facilitation in all dioceses of a dialogue between the Church and victims/survivors of clergy sexual abuse, so as to nurture understanding. No one understands victims/survivors better than victims/survivors.

Indeed, the sexual abuse crisis, cover-up and scandal in the Church is worldwide in scope, thus requiring a response of equal magnitude. Moreover, Pope Francis can initiate the process to bring forth justice and healing for the crimes of the past and also to change the Church so that the horrific crime of sexual abuse of minors and vulnerable adults never surfaces again.

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UNITED STATES
Catholic Whistleblowers

By Sally Butler, O.P.

August 7, 2013

It is hard for some people to imagine a woman as a sexual abuser of children and, for some, even harder to place a woman religious in that role. But there are approximately five hundred victims of nun-abusers in this country, according to SNAP [Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests]. These victims have extreme difficulty finding support.

In 2003, several such victims approached the Leadership Council of Women Religious [LCWR] This is an association of most of the leaders of religious orders in the United States, and was designed to help them carry out their gospel mission. The SNAP members asked to address the LCWR general assembly of about four hundred sisters in order to describe their abuse and suggest preventive measures to be taken by the religious orders. The victims were refused, but were offered time with the group’s executive committee. The victims did not want their message filtered through a committee, so nothing came of it.

This scenario was repeated for eight years. The sisters seemed bent on following the bishops’ path, choosing the advice of lawyers over the message of the gospel.

This year, Catholic Whistleblowers now offers the victims of nun-abusers the chance to connect with people throughout the country who can help them find a voice. Please email me if you are interested. Victims will use this website to make contacts and “blow the whistle” when appropriate. We suggest they take the first step, using this timeline, which offers a brief history of what has happened, or failed to happen, in the past eight years.

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KANSAS
WIBW

By: Lindsey Rogers

JUNCTION CITY, Kan. (WIBW) — At the last minute, a former Junction City minister opted not to take a plea deal in connection with sexual abuse allegations involving young boys in the church’s congregation.

Jordan Young, 26, appeared in Geary County District Court Tuesday morning and was expected to plead guilty after agreeing to a negotiated settlement. Prosecutors said Young even signed the plea agreement Tuesday but when he walked into the courtroom, he informed the judge that he wanted to fire his attorney and that he did not want to move forward with the plea deal.

Young has been in jail for nearly a year after his arrest last August. The Junction City Police Department launched an investigation into reports of sexual misconduct at Faith Tabernacle Apostolic Church where he’d been serving as the music minister. He is the son of former Faith Tabernacle pastor Edwin Young.

Assistant Geary County Attorney Michelle Brown says Young sexually abused underage males at Faith Tabernacle (located on Burke Drive in Junction City) and at the church’s school called the Apostolic Academy (located several miles away from the church on Rucker Road in Junction City), as well as “outside of both” of those locations from 2008 to 2012. Few other details have been released about the alleged child sex abuse. Facts of the case were supposed to be presented during Tuesday’s hearing.

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KANSAS
The Republic

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
August 06, 2013

JUNCTION CITY, Kansas — A former Junction City minister has backed out of a plea bargain involving allegations he sexually abused young boys in his church’s congregation.

WIBW-TV (http://bit.ly/13DZhaS) reports 26-year-old Jordan Young was expected to plead guilty Tuesday to several charges as part of a negotiated settlement, but when he went into the courtroom he told the judge he didn’t want to go ahead with the deal.

Young also said he wanted to fire his attorney, which Judge David Platt approved.

Young has been in jail since his arrest last August after Junction City police investigated reports of sexual misconduct at Faith Tabernacle Apostolic Church, where Young served as youth minister.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

The Catholic Church in Victoria has hit back at claims that “hundreds” of victims of child sexual abuse are critical of the church’s complaints systems.

Earlier this year the chairwoman of a Victorian parliamentary inquiry, Georgie Crozier, said her committee had heard from more than 140 victims who are highly dissatisfied.

But in a right of reply published on the committee’s website, the church says from its analysis of submissions and hearings in the public domain, only 61 victims have complained.

The parliamentary committee is yet to release details of how many private submissions and hearings were from victims critical of the church.

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UNITED STATES
Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit dismissed the Plaintiff’s appeal in the Oregon federal case of John V. Doe v Holy See on Monday, bringing to an end the litigation which began in 2002. The case involved an alleged case of the sexual abuse of a minor by a priest in Oregon in 1965.

Jeffrey S. Lena, Counsel for the Holy See, published the entire documentation held by the Vatican concerning the case in 2011. This showed that the Holy See was only informed of the misconduct a year after the abuse was reported, and the priest was then laicized within weeks. …

Interview via email by Jeffrey Lena with Vatican Radio

1. What has happened in the current case, in layman’s terms.

This case was based on a couple of simple and erroneous ideas about the Catholic Church. First, that all priests are controlled by the Holy See and second that the Holy See receives information about the activities of all priests and makes specific decisions, either directly or “by and through” dioceses and religious orders, about them. Plaintiff’s basic theory of the case was that if this control existed it would show that the Holy See should be held responsible for the sexual abuse committed by priests.

The problem with the plaintiff’s theory is fairly straightforward: this is not how the Catholic Church works. In reality, priests are under the control of their local superiors, who make decisions about their worthiness to serve in any particular position; priests are not “employees” of the Holy See by virtue of their clerical status, and the Holy See does not receive and maintain information on all the world’s priests or on all the sexual abuse cases relating to priests throughout the world.

There is another aspect of the case important to recall. The attorneys for the plaintiff wanted to try to show that the United States federal court could assert jurisdiction over the Holy See on the theory that the Holy See engaged in “commercial activity” by virtue of the fact that some contributions to the Peter’s Pence fund are made by the faithful every year and that priests “solicit” these contributions. Under this theory, the Church would have been treated effectively as a large corporation with the Pope a sort of Chief Executive Officer. This idea was strongly rejected by the court, and every court to have examined the issue.

One other notable feature of this case is that the judge had the opportunity to closely examine the facts. Normally in these cases, the issues are decided on a purely legal basis. But in this case, all the parties and witnesses exchanged documents and provided all those documents to the judge. This permitted the judge to examine very closely the actual facts related to the priest involved and whether there were any connections to the Holy See. What the documents show, very clearly, is that the Holy See did not have any knowledge of this priest’s propensity for abuse until after the abuse occurred, when it was notified by the petition for laicization that arrived from the Priest’s religious order. And when that petition arrived, it was granted by the Holy See without delay.

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OREGON
Bend Bulletin

By Steven Dubois / The Associated Press
Published: August 07. 2013
PORTLAND — A former Oregon man who said he was sexually abused by a pedophile priest nearly 50 years ago has withdrawn his appeal of a ruling that said the Vatican did not employ the priest and is not liable for damages.

Lawyer Jeff Anderson named the Vatican as one of the defendants in the 2002 lawsuit he filed on behalf of the man identified as John Doe. Anderson said Tuesday his client still believes “all roads lead to Rome” but has grown weary of the long legal odyssey. The decision was made shortly before a deadline to reply to the Vatican’s appellate briefing. …

U.S. District Court Judge Michael Mosman examined thousands of pages of documents before determining last year that the Vatican did not employ Ronan and was not involved in the priest’s transfers. An employee relationship between the Vatican and Ronan could have allowed for an exception to a federal law that generally prohibits lawsuits against foreign sovereign entities.

Lena said Doe and Anderson had the documents showing that only the religious order knew about Ronan’s abuse. “They just continued to beat on this case way beyond when they knew it should have died.”

He said in a statement that the case is the third of its kind to “disintegrate in the face of legal and factual challenge,” referring to lawsuits against the Holy See that were filed in Kentucky and Wisconsin and later withdrawn.

Anderson said an earlier ruling in which the judge said the Vatican is not immune under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act was an important win, and the dropping of Doe’s lawsuit will not end his effort to hold the Vatican accountable.

“Far from the end,” he said. “For us, it’s the beginning because this case is the one that opened the door.”

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UNITED STATES
Merced Sun-Star

By STEVEN DUBOIS — Associated Press

PORTLAND, ORE. — A former Oregon man who said he was sexually abused by a pedophile priest nearly 50 years ago has withdrawn his appeal of a ruling that said the Vatican did not employ the priest and is not liable for damages.

Lawyer Jeff Anderson named the Vatican as one of the defendants in the 2002 lawsuit he filed on behalf of the man identified as John Doe. Anderson said Tuesday his client still believes “all roads lead to Rome” but has grown weary of the long legal odyssey.

“This survivor decided that we should pursue this effort, but through other means and not his case,” said Anderson, who is based in Minnesota.

The Vatican’s lawyer, Jeffrey Lena, said the case that ended at the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was “way over the top” and should have never been filed.

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ILLINOIS
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: August 6, 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 Chicago man’s report of clergy sexual misconduct at a Chicago seminary is preventing a Catholic priest from taking over a parish in New Jersey.

Paterson Catholic diocese officials have reversed their decision to make Fr. Brando Ibarra head of a Budd Lake NJ church, after David Fagersten of Chicago complained to city officials that Fr. Ibarra tried to rape him years ago at Saint Mary of the Lake Seminary, Mundelein.

We hope Catholic officials – in Chicago and in Paterson – will investigate these allegations and stop acting so secretively and irresponsibly in clergy sex cases, no matter when they may have happened or what the ages of the alleged victims may be.

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UNITED STATES
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Tuesday, Aug. 6

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 )

Once again, smart and aggressive lawyering has protected top Catholic officials from having to answer in court for their repeated and reckless secrecy and complicity in a troubling child sex abuse and cover up case.

The 11 year old case of Joe V. Doe v. the Holy See, filed in Oregon federal court, has been withdrawn.

Fortunately, however, a similar case in the UK is proceeding. It involves a woman who was sexually assaulted by Father Wilfred Baldwin.

[Daily Mail]

[Daily Mail]

In response to Doe’s withdrawal, the Pope’s lawyer makes the vague claim that this suit has “factual” difficulties. But here are the real facts:

–After facing child sex abuse allegations or admissions each time, numerous Catholic officials moved this priest from Ireland to Illinois to Oregon.

–Because popes insist on exploiting legal technicalities, more facts about this case will likely remain forever hidden.

–Because popes insist on exploiting legal technicalities, high ranking Catholic officials won’t likely ever face consequences for knowingly putting kids in harm’s way, exploiting unsuspecting parents’ trust, and causing this Oregon man to be sexually violated.

This brave man was able, through this suit, to force Vatican officials – for the first time ever – to turn over records about a pedophile priest. Given the historic and on-going secrecy of the Catholic hierarchy, that’s a huge achievement. We hope he is proud of that accomplishment. We certainly are proud of him.

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NEW JERSEY
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: August 6, 2013

Statement by SNAP director David Clohessy ( 314-566-9790 cell, SNAPclohessy@aol.com )

A man’s report of clergy sexual misconduct at a seminary is preventing a Catholic priest from taking over a New Jersey parish.

In June, Paterson Catholic diocese officials announced that Fr. Brando Ibarra would head St. Jude’s parish in Budd Lake. But after David Fagersten of Chicago complained to Mount Olive officials that Fr. Ibarra tried to rape him years ago, Fr. Ibarra has opted to not take the Budd Lake assignment.

Paterson’s bishop has pledged to be “open and transparent” in clergy sex cases. We hope he’ll start now with this one.

We applaud Mount Olive Mayor Rob Greenbaum for expressing his concern to church officials. And we deplore Paterson’s bishop for, in the words of one news account, “never directly addressing whether the diocese investigated the allegations.”

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit dismissed the Plaintiff’s appeal in the Oregon federal case of John V. Doe v Holy See on Monday, bringing to an end the litigation which began in 2002. The case involved an alleged case of the sexual abuse of a minor by a priest in Oregon in 1965.

Jeffrey S. Lena, Counsel for the Holy See, published the entire documentation held by the Vatican concerning the case in 2011. This showed that the Holy See was only informed of the misconduct a year after the abuse was reported, and the priest was then laicized within weeks.

In response to the latest development, Lena pointed out “the dismissal – which was not the result of any settlement or other payment by the Holy See – was entered at the voluntary request of the Plaintiff’s own lawyers, who were faced with an impending deadline to reply to the Holy See’s appellate briefing in the case,” and said the lawsuit “never should have been filed in the first place.”

Please find the full statement by Jeffrey S. Lena below

STATEMENT OF JEFFREY S. LENA, COUNSEL FOR THE HOLY SEE
REGARDING WITHDRAWAL OF PLAINTIFF’S APPEAL IN
JOHN V. DOE v. HOLY SEE

On August 5, 2013, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit dismissed Plaintiff’s appeal in the Oregon federal case of John V. Doe v Holy See, thereby definitively drawing to a close litigation commenced with media fanfare in 2002. The dismissal – which was not the result of any settlement or other payment by the Holy See – was entered at the voluntary request of the Plaintiff’s own lawyers, who were faced with an impending deadline to reply to the Holy See’s appellate briefing in the case.

John V. Doe is the third case of its kind against the Holy See to disintegrate in the face of legal and factual challenge. O’Bryan v. Holy See, filed in a Kentucky federal court in 2004, was withdrawn by the plaintiffs’ counsel in 2010 in the face of the Holy See’s pending motion to dismiss. John Doe 16 v. Holy See – a case filed in a Wisconsin federal court in 2010 in a circus-like media atmosphere – was withdrawn under similar circumstances.

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SEATTLE (WA)
National Catholic Reporter

Caitlin Hendel | Aug. 6, 2013 NCR Today

The 13-year-old effort by a Seattle man to hold the Vatican responsible for priest abuse ended Monday, according to this report by Vatican Radio. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has dismissed the plaintiff’s appeal in John V. Doe v Holy See, after years of wrangling over the legality of suing the Vatican and whether it acts as the employer of U.S. priests.

The suit involved a man now in his 60s who had accused the late Fr. Andrew Ronan of molesting him when he was a child in Oregon in 1965. The plaintiff tried to place the blame on the Vatican, saying that as Ronan’s employer, it was ultimately responsible for his actions. U.S. District Judge Michael Mosman in Portland ruled last year that the Vatican was not Ronan’s employer and therefore not liable in this case.

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NEW JERSEY
NJ.com

By Louis C. Hochman/NJ.com
on August 06, 2013

MOUNT OLIVE — The Roman Catholic Diocese of Paterson has cancelled plans to appoint the Rev. Brando Ibarra to a Budd Lake church — at Ibarra’s request — after township officials inquired about an allegation of sexual impropriety first made more than a decade ago.

But the priest’s lawyer, Bruce S. Rosen, says allegations are the result of a “ridiculous obsession” by accuser David Fagersten III, and has threatened to sue Fagersten over making them.

Rosen told NJ.com Brando has never been charged in connection with the allegations, doesn’t know of any criminal inquiry into the allegations and denies them outright.

“Beginning more than a decade ago, and resuming in the past few weeks (since it was announced that Father Brando Ibarra was to be appointed as pastor to St. Jude Church in Budd Lake), David Fagersten III has engaged in a campaign of falsely accusing Fr. Brando of a criminal and reprehensible offense which purportedly took place 15 years ago, as well as other vague and untrue allegations of misconduct,” Rosen wrote in a July 29 statement sent to NJ.com on Brando’s behalf.

In a series of letters to the diocese beginning in 2001, Fagersten alleges he and Ibarra were engaged in a sexually intimate relationship from February 1996 to June 1998. In a 2004 letter to Bishop Arthur J. Serratelli, he says that relationship “became dysfunctional and ended when Brando attempted to rape me.” In the various letters, he repeatedly refers to Ibarra as a “sexual predator.”

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COLOMBIA
La Opinion

SAN CRISTOBAL | 06 DE AGOSTO DE 2013

La comunidad de San Cristóbal continúa esperando los resultados de la investigación que adelanta la Fiscalía, respecto a la responsabilidad del sacerdote Isaías Albarrán Villasmil, de 35 años, en cinco casos de abuso sexual registrados en la capital del estado Táchira.

El jefe del Cicpc, Luis Monroy, aseguró que aun no se pueden dar detalles de la investigación, en la que se conoció ya ha declarado un importante número de personas. Además, extraoficialmente se ha comentado que las mujeres violadas por el sacerdote podrían incluso llegar a ser diez, y no cinco como se viene informando.

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ARGENTINA
La Gaceta

A Justo José Ilarraz le gustaría regresar a Monteros y volver a hacerse cargo de la Parroquia Sagrado Corazón de Jesús, la misma que abandonó hace casi un año. El sacerdote dirigía esa Iglesia desde 2002, pero en septiembre de 2012 pidió un año de licencia y se refugió en la casa de un allegado. Eso fue a partir del escándalo que generó una publicación de la revista entrerriana “Análisis Digital”, donde se mencionaban los abusos sexuales que habría cometido Ilarraz contra al menos 50 niños, entre 1984 y 1992, cuando estuvo al frente del Seminario Menor de Paraná.

Pero ayer la Sala 1 de la Cámara del Crimen de Paraná consideró que la causa está prescripta y sobreseyó al religioso. Aunque el procurador general del Superior Tribunal, Jorge García, anticipó que recurrirá a la Corte Suprema de Justicia para que revea el fallo.

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ARGENTINA
Clarin

POR OSCAR LONDERO
Justo Ilarraz había sido denunciado por un ex seminarista. La Justicia consideró prescripta la causa.

La Sala I de la Cámara del Crimen de Paraná sobreseyó al sacerdote Justo Ilarraz y declaró prescripta la causa en la que se lo investigaba por presunta corrupción agravada de menores en perjuicio de ex seminaristas que tuvo a su cargo en el Seminario de Paraná entre los años 1984 y 1992.

La resolución, firmada por los vocales Hugo Perotti y Miguel Angel Giorgio –el restante, José María Chemes, no intervino por encontrarse enfermo-, se conoció 11 meses después de haberse iniciado el expediente y sin que el religioso hubiese declarado.

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