ABUSE TRACKER

AUSTRALIA
The Australian

Cardinal George Pell has confessed to creation of false documents and ‘reprehensible’ cover-ups of child sex abuse

MATT JOHNSTON, MICHELLE AINSWORTH From: Herald Sun May 27, 2013

CARDINAL George Pell has confessed false documents were created and priests took part in “reprehensible” cover-ups of child sexual abuse.

The most prominent Catholic in Australia was grilled by a Victorian parliamentary committee for 4 1/2 hours about systemic failings by the church to deal with abuse.

Cardinal Pell said the fear of scandals drove much of the reaction to rampant abuse in the 1970s and ’80s, but that a concern about money was also involved.

“I am fully apologetic and absolutely sorry,” he said.

“I would agree that we’ve been slow to address the anguish of the victims and dealt with it very imperfectly,” the cardinal said.

In a victory for victims, Cardinal Pell said he would ask the Vatican to send all documents it holds on Victorian sex abuse accusations to the inquiry – a promise he had also made to the federal royal commission into abuse.

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AUSTRALIEN
Radio Vatikan

Die durch katholische Kleriker verübten Missbräuche täten ihm „absolut leid“: diese Aussage tätigte der höchste Würdenträger der katholischen Kirche in Australien, George Pell, vor dem Untersuchungsausschuss des Parlaments, der sich in diesen Tagen im Staat von Victoria mit der Aufarbeitung von Missbrauchsfällen in Nichtregierungsorganisationen beschäftigt. Dennoch, so der Erzbischof von Sydney, glaube er nicht daran, dass es in der katholischen Kirche eine „Kultur des Missbrauchs“ gebe. Pell war in den Jahren von 1996 bis 2001 Erzbischof von Melbourne in Victoria, dem Staat, der im Zentrum der Untersuchungen des Ausschusses steht und in dem nach Kirchenangaben 620 Minderjährige durch Kleriker missbraucht worden seien. Pell erinnerte in seiner Aussage auch daran, dass die katholische Kirche in Australien das Phänomen des Missbrauchs bereits 1988 als gravierendes Problem erkannt habe. Die Kirche, so der Kardinal, hätte jedoch wie andere Institutionen auch behandelt werden sollen, insbesondere, was die Frage nach Schadenersatzzahlungen angehe.

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AUSTRALIA
The Courier

By FIONA HENDERSON May 27, 2013

Cardinal George Pell’s appearance at the state government inquiry into institutionalised child abuse was less than convincing yesterday.

Cardinal Pell blustered his way through some tough grilling, exchanging particularly terse words with committee member Andrea Coote over any potential church compensation.

He gave long-winded answers, often veered off topic and was critical of a committee decision not to allow him a brief opening statement, which is in line with previous testimonies by anyone dealing with abused children.

He constantly defended the church’s actions but provoked laughter when he accidentally referred to the Holy See as a company.

A huge crowd turned up for Cardinal Pell’s appearance, with the Parliament House Legislative Council committee room and a second viewing area both overflowing.

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NEWARK (NJ)
The Star-Ledger

[letter to parishioners]

By Ryan Hutchins and Victoria St. Martin/The Star-Ledger

NEWARK — Parishioners across the Archdiocese of Newark said this weekend that Archbishop John J. Myers appropriately handled a dogging scandal that has threatened his legacy, while others said the demotion of his top deputy was merely a scapegoating tactic that came amid calls for his own resignation.

Congregants listened in mostly hushed churches across the region as priests read a letter from the archbishop announcing the removal of Monsignor John E. Doran, who stepped down from his leadership position for mishandling the supervision of a priest who violated a lifetime ban on ministry to children.

Myers, whose letter was first run in a longer form as an opinion piece in Saturday’s Star-Ledger, said he was implementing a series of reforms to “strengthen internal protocols” and “ensure we are doing everything we can to safeguard the children of our community.”

As in other parishes, the letter was read without commentary at Holy Family Church in Nutley, where the priest in question — the Rev. Michael Fugee — was a familiar face and had frequent interactions with teenagers. Few people were willing to discuss the matter after one Mass there Sunday, rushing through the windy morning to their cars.

Parishioners at Holy Family and elsewhere gave a range of reactions — from satisfaction to ambivalence to disappointment. While many Catholics said they supported Myers’ handling of the situation, others did not mince words and called for Myers to resign.

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AUSTRALIA
Sky News

Australia’s most senior Catholic did nothing to ease the pain caused by clergy sexual abuse when he gave an “insincere” apology, victims and their supporters say.

Cardinal George Pell told the Victorian parliamentary inquiry he was “fully apologetic and absolutely sorry” for the abuse at the hands of clergy.

During intense questioning on Monday that lasted more than four hours, Cardinal Pell admitted that abuse had been covered up, documents destroyed and priests had been moved on.

A fear of scandal led to the cover-up and the primary reason would have been to protect the reputation of the church, he said.

He also admitted a priest’s resignation letter had been backdated and made no mention of his crimes.

But Cardinal Pell denied personally being involved in any cover-up.

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AUSTRALIA
9 News

Victims of clergy sexual abuse say the Catholic Church must change and end an era of cover-ups and unaccountability.

Australia’s most senior Catholic, Cardinal George Pell, has apologised to victims and said he accepted moral responsibility for failures committed by his predecessors.

Hundreds of victims and their supporters attended Monday’s hearing of the Victorian parliamentary abuse inquiry in Melbourne, with many queueing for several hours to hear the cardinal’s evidence.

Some victims protested outside the hearing, holding banners that urged Cardinal Pell to tell the truth.

There were angry scenes before the hearing when it appeared space would not be able to be found for people in an overflow room, but they were all accommodated.

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PEORIA (IL)
Pantagraph

By Edith Brady-Lunny | eblunny@pantagraph.com

PEORIA — The bishop and the vicar general of the Catholic Diocese of Peoria must answer questions in a sexual abuse lawsuit filed five years ago against the diocese and a deceased Twin City priest, under an order entered in Peoria County Circuit Court.

Lawyers for Andrew Ward, 25, a former student at Epiphany School in Normal, challenged the diocese’s refusal to require that Bishop Daniel Jenky and Chancellor Patricia Gibson appear for a deposition in Ward’s 2008 lawsuit. Ward, who now lives in Michigan, has accused Monsignor Thomas Maloney, who died in 2009, of sexually abusing him at Epiphany Catholic Church between 1995 and 1996 when he was in second grade.

The diocese resisted the deposition, saying both leaders took office in 2002, long after the alleged abuse took place, and the same year Maloney retired from active ministry for health reasons.

The deadline for the depositions, initially set for May 25, has been extended to accommodate scheduling conflicts, said Jeff Anderson, one of Ward’s lawyers. A Sept. 9 trial is scheduled in the lawsuit.

The order for the depositions sets out strict rules for how the bishop and chancellor will respond to questions about the alleged abuse.

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AUSTRALIA
9 News

A letter accepting the resignation of a pedophile priest was backdated, contained no reference to abuse allegations and praised him for his “good deeds”, an inquiry has heard.

Cardinal George Pell has admitted the letter written by former Melbourne archbishop Francis Little was evidence of a cover-up.

Victoria’s parliamentary inquiry into child sex abuse heard that when pedophile priest Desmond Gannon was stood down in 1993 the reason nominated was “poor health”.

The title of Pastor Emeritus was conferred on Fr Gannon, meaning he was no longer an active priest.
Inquiry committee member David O’Brien said the title also indicated he was a person of merit.

In 1995 Fr Gannon was jailed for 25 months for molesting an altar boy in the 1960s, and in 209 he received a suspended sentence after being found guilty of molesting boys at Victorian parishes between 1958 and 1976.

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AUSTRALIA
SBS

27 MAY 2013, 8:20 PM – SOURCE: AAP

Victims of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church are disappointed with Cardinal George Pell’s response to their plight, says Father Kevin Dillon.

Outspoken Victorian priest Father Kevin Dillon says the victims of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church remain disappointed after Cardinal George Pell said he was sorry for their suffering.

Fr Dillon said church officials “still don’t get it” and have failed to introduce practical measures that meet the needs of victims.

“If we had been doing things well then why do we have so many dissatisfied victims?” Fr Dillon told AAP.

Cardinal Pell, Australia’s most senior Catholic, told a Victorian parliamentary inquiry on Monday that fear of scandal led to the church covering up sexual abuse by priests.

Fr Dillon said courageous victims had come forward to acknowledge what had happened to them but they had never been asked what the church could do for them.

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AUSTRALIA
3AW

Posted by: 3AW News | 27 May, 2013

Cardinal George Pell has told a Victorian parliamentary inquiry into child sexual abuse that he is fully apologetic and deeply sorry that child sex abuse occurred in the Catholic Church.

But he has denied there is a culture of abuse within the ranks of the clergy.

Some people in the packed public gallery today wept as Cardinal Pell told the inquiry that he agreed there had been a systemic cover-up that allowed paedophile priests to prey on innocent children.

He also said there was no doubt that crimes by pedophile priests contributed to too many suicides.

Cardinal Pell has admitted that, in hindsight, one of the worst offending priests, Father Kevin O’Donnell, should have been sacked as a priest.

He denied he personally covered up offending and he said he was ”fully apologetic and absolutely sorry” for abuse by clergy.

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AUSTRALIA
WA Today

May 28, 2013

Barney Zwartz
Religion editor, The Age

Cardinal George Pell has admitted the Catholic Church had put paedophile priests ”above the law”, covered up abuse and moved abusers.

In a gruelling session of more than four hours, he told the Victorian inquiry into child abuse that the church had changed the date on a document making serial abuser Des Gannon a priest emeritus and had kept paying a stipend to another paedophile, Ron Pickering, who fled Australia to avoid police.

The Sydney Archbishop said he and his successor as Melbourne Archbishop, Denis Hart, took moral responsibility for helping victims and that the church was open to paying higher sums in compensation – whatever the law deemed necessary.

The church would be happy to contribute to an independently managed redress fund for victims, provided ”others are asked too”.

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AUSTRALIA
9 News

The priest and the church stole part of their souls and shattered their lives.

Melbourne priest Kevin O’Donnell, who raped Anthony and Christine Foster’s two daughters while they were in primary school, was “certainly among the worst of them”, Australia’s most senior Catholic admits.

But Cardinal George Pell drew the line at extending the family’s description of the impact of O’Donnell’s actions to all victims of clergy abuse, sparking an angry response from some in the public gallery at Victoria’s abuse inquiry.

“I understand people feel deeply about this,” the Sydney archbishop and former Melbourne archbishop said.

“There’s no doubt whatsoever about the terrible spiritual and emotional turmoil that he produced. It’s totally reprehensible.”

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AUSTRALIA
The Journal (Ireland)

THE LEADING FIGURE in Australia’s Catholic Church has admitted that a fear of scandal and a greater concern for reputation led to a systemic and massive cover-up of abuse within the organisation.

Facing a formal inquiry by Victoria’s parliament, Cardinal George Pell said he was “fully apologetic and absolutely sorry” for how the Church dealt with abusers and victims. He said that there was awareness of the problem as early as 1988.

“There’s no doubt about it that lives have been blighted,” he said.

When asked if “the fear of the scandal led to the cover up”, he answered simply: “Yes, it did.” And the follow-up question: “Do you agree that the systemic cover-up allowed paedophile priests to prey on innocent children?”

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AUSTRALIA
NEWS.com.au

By Daniel Fogarty and Genevieve Gannon
From: AAP
May 27, 2013

AUSTRALIA’S most senior Catholic did nothing to ease the pain caused by clergy sexual abuse when he gave an “insincere” apology, victims and their supporters say.

Cardinal George Pell told the Victorian parliamentary inquiry he was “fully apologetic and absolutely sorry” for the abuse at the hands of clergy.

During intense questioning on Monday that lasted more than four hours, Cardinal Pell admitted that abuse had been covered up, documents destroyed and priests had been moved on.

A fear of scandal led to the cover-up and the primary reason would have been to protect the reputation of the church, he said.

He also admitted a priest’s resignation letter had been backdated and made no mention of his crimes.

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SCOTLAND/IRELAND
Daily Record

A PRIEST at the centre of child sex abuse claims has left the country.

The clergyman moved back to his native Ireland. Police have started an investigation but have not questioned him.

Catholic Church officials claimed the priest’s move was pre-planned and had nothing to do with the claims.

The clergyman, who is in his 80s, has been accused of being part of a ring of paedophile priests who abused Pat McEwan as a boy more than 50 years ago.

Pat, now 63, claimed the priests molested him many times.

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NEW JERSEY
The Record

SUNDAY MAY 26, 2013
BY JEFF GREEN
STAFF WRITER

Churchgoers in the Archdiocese of Newark on Sunday were read a letter written by Archbishop John J. Myers, who for the first time addressed a scandal in which a former Wyckoff assistant pastor has been charged with violating a ban on ministering to children.

And at three Bergen County churches — each where the Rev. Michael Fugee left footprints — parishioners gave the letter mixed reviews — some saying it was reassuring with others saying Myers should resign. Myers said in the letter — which had been made public late last week — and in a video on the archdiocese website that his top aide had resigned and the church would bolster its sex-abuse prevention policies.

Meanwhile, pastors of two Bergen County parishes where prosecutors say Fugee had heard confessions of children refused to discuss the allegations on Sunday — as they have since Fugee was arrested last Monday and charged with seven counts of violating a judicial order.

Prosecutors said then that Fugee heard children’s confessions twice last year at Sacred Heart Church in Rochelle Park, where archdiocese officials allowed him to live for two years, and once in December at Our Lady of Visitation in Paramus.

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WORCESTER (MA)
Boston Globe

By Lisa Wangsness | GLOBE STAFF MAY 27, 2013

The drunken driving case against Bishop Robert J. McManus of Worcester is scheduled to take its next turn this week in a Rhode Island courtroom. The prelate faces civil penalties and criminal charges, which include an allegation that he left the scene of an accident.

But past practice suggests it is unlikely that his employer, the Roman Catholic Church, will take strong action against him.

“There is no clear mathematical formula for deciding exactly how they will react,” the Rev. Thomas J. Reese, a senior analyst for the National Catholic Reporter, said of the Vatican’s process for disciplining bishops. “They look at the whole context of the situation. But the desire is to save the bishop and keep him in his ministry, as long as it’s not harmful to the diocese.”

Reese noted that a number of US bishops have survived drunken driving cases in the past. Salvatore J. Cordileone, the archbishop of San Francisco, was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving in 2012, when he was still archbishop-elect; he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge and went on to be installed. The late Archbishop John Roach of St. Paul and Minneapolis was arrested for drunken driving in 1985; he lost his license temporarily but served another decade before retiring.

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CHICAGO (IL)
Failed Messiah

Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com

Rabbi Aryeh Leib “Larry” Dodovitz, 45-year-old messianist Chabad rabbi from the Chicago neighborhood of West Rogers Park, was arrested Saturday and charged with sexually assaulting a child six years ago, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Dudovitz was charged with criminal sexual assault of a victim between the ages of 13 and 17, police told reporters.

He was remanded to custody until he meets a $100,000 bail requirement.

Dudovitz serves as the assistant rabbi of a Chabad messianist synagogue in the Chicago area and has taught in a Chabad girls school in the Chicago area, as well.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

by state political reporter Peta Carlyon

A handful of abuse victims stood on the steps of Parliament holding red signs calling on Cardinal Pell to tell the truth.

Valda Hogan, 66, and her brother were both victims of abuse.

Ms Hogan was abused in church and state-run orphanages and was 50-years-old before she learned to read or write.

She used to draw pictures to express her feelings

She had at least one child, a daughter, to an abuser and put her up for adoption.

“It’s disgusting, degrading, deceitful and dishonest,” Ms Hogan said of the church’s response to complaints of child abuse.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

[with video]

By Brigid Andersen

Australia’s top-ranking Catholic has admitted to a Victorian parliamentary inquiry that some members of the Church tried to cover up child sexual abuse by other members of the clergy.

Cardinal George Pell told the inquiry he was “fully apologetic and absolutely sorry” about decades of child sex abuse within the Church.

Some members of the packed public gallery wept as Cardinal Pell was forced to answer questions about the Church’s systemic cover-up of cases of rape of children as young as five-years old.

“I’m certainly totally committed to improving the situation. I know the Holy Father is too,” he told the inquiry.

————
Key points

*Cardinal George Pell apologises for decades of abuse in Melbourne diocese.
*Cardinal Pell admits a systemic cover-up of child abuse within the Church.
*He says former Ballarat Bishop Ronald Mulkearns destroyed documents relating to abuse cases.
*He says former Melbourne archbishop Frank Little covered up cases of abuse.
*Cardinal Pell says abuse became widespread because the Clergy did not talk about the problem.
*Cardinal Pell has defended the Melbourne Response which he established to deal with abuse cases.
*He defended maximum compensation level of $75,000 for victims of abuse.

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AUSTRALIA
Herald Sun

AAP MAY 27, 2013

CARDINAL George Pell has defended the independence of the commissioner in charge of handling Melbourne abuse complaints against the Catholic Church.

Cardinal Pell, the archbishop of Sydney and former archbishop of Melbourne, has defended Melbourne Response commissioner Peter O’Callaghan QC saying he has received shabby treatment.

Cardinal Pell said Mr O’Callaghan was given complete independence and any suggestion that either he or his successor as Melbourne archbishop Denis Hart interfered with his independence was totally incorrect.

“A suggestion that somehow he was not independent is I think totally misleading and unfair to one of the most senior members of the bar who is constrained by the principles of the bar to be independent,” he told a Victorian parliamentary inquiry.

“The suggestion that somehow he wasn’t independent I totally reject.”

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AUSTRALIA
Huffington Post

Agence France Presse
Posted: 05/27/2013

Fear of scandal prompted the cover-up of child sex abuse allegations within the Catholic Church, Australia’s top-ranking Cardinal George Pell admitted Monday.

Pell, speaking at an inquiry by Victoria’s parliament into child sex abuse in the state, denied being personally involved in the cover-up of paedophile priests, but said it was clear it happened.

“The primary motivation would have been to respect the reputation of the church,” he told the inquiry into the abuse of children by religious and non-government bodies.

“There was a fear of scandal.”

Pell, one of eight cardinals selected by Pope Francis to advise him on reforming the Catholic Church’s opaque administration, was speaking on the final day of the probe.

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

AAP May 27, 2013

AUSTRALIA’S most senior Catholic Cardinal George Pell should resign, a victim of Catholic Church sexual abuse says.

Cardinal Pell, the final witness at the Victorian parliamentary inquiry into child abuse, spent more than four and a half hours giving evidence on Monday.

Victim Stephen Woods called for Pell to resign.

“He needs to resign. His era is finished,” Mr Woods said.

“The little care for the victims that he showed, showed that they still don’t get it.”

Mr Woods said Pell’s apology was a political one and not real.

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AUSTRALIA
Herald Sun

AAP

AUSTRALIA’S most senior Catholic, Cardinal George Pell, has admitted the fear of scandal led to cover-up in the church.

He said former Melbourne archbishop Sir Frank Little was involved in a cover-up and a former Ballarat archbishop destroyed documents.

He denied he personally covered up offending.

“No. Never,” he told a Victorian parliamentary inquiry into child abuse on Monday.

He agreed under questioning that the fear of scandal led to a cover-up.

“The primary motivation would have been to respect the reputation of the church.

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AUSTRALIA
The Age

AAP

May 27, 2013

Cardinal George Pell has acknowledged that senior figures in the Australian Catholic Church covered up evidence about child abuse.

Before Victorian inquiry into institutional child sexual abuse, Cardinal Pell said the Catholic Church’s history of child abuse stems from loose entry requirements for priests, past errors of judgement and inaction.

Australia’s most senior Catholic admitted that the fear of scandal had led to the cover-up of instances of abuse by some within the church but he denied that there was a culture of abuse among priests.

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AUSTRALIA
My Daily News

APN Newsdesk 27th May 2013

CARDINAL George Pell has conceded it was “a mistake” for him to appear in court during the trial of convicted Victorian paedophile Father Gerard Ridsdale in the 1990s.

In 1994, Father Ridsdale was jailed after pleading guilty to numerous charges of sexually abusing children in his care in Victoria.

During the trial Cardinal Pell, the Australia’s only Archbishop in the Catholic Church, appeared in court supporting Father Ridsdale.

He said at the time Father Ridsdale had committed “terrible mistakes”, but did not refer to the criminality of Ridsdale’s actions.

On Monday, Cardinal Pell appeared before the Victorian parliamentary inquiry into sexual abuse in the church.

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AUSTRALIA
Herald Sun

BY GENEVIEVE GANNON AAP MAY 27, 2013

CARDINAL George Pell says the Catholic Church will pay victims of child sex abuse appropriate compensation but he doesn’t think it has a moral obligation to match the billions paid out in the United States.

Australia’s most senior Catholic says the church will pay whatever the law deems necessary.

“We are always ready to pay whatever the law of the land says about compensation,” Cardinal Pell told a Victorian child abuse inquiry.

“Many of the victims aren’t particularly interested in money.

“The more important thing is due process, justice and help with getting on with their lives.

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AUSTRALIA
Oye! Times (Canada)

Written by Chris Harper

Cardinal George Pell expressed grief and concern over the child sex abuse that has taken place in Australian churches. Many cried in disbelief and agony when Cardinal Pell told a Victorian parliamentary inquiry that he is fully apologetic and absolutely sorry.

Cardinal Pell acknowledged the existence of a systemic plan that sheltered the pedophile priests who abused young children. Also, he did not hesitate to acknowledge that there have been cases in which clergymen successfully dodged the law.

However, Cardinal Pell clarified that these incidents were very strategically kept hidden from common discussions and most of the leadership was not aware of the bitter truth.

“I think many persons in the leadership of the Church, I don’t think they knew what a horrendous widespread [issue] we were sitting on,” he said.

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AUSTRALIA
eNCA (South Africa)

AUSTRALIA – Fear of scandal prompted the cover-up of child sex abuse allegations within the Catholic Church, Australia’s top-ranking Cardinal George Pell admitted Monday.

Pell, speaking at an inquiry by Victoria’s parliament into child sex abuse in the state, denied being personally involved in the cover-up of paedophile priests, but said it was clear it happened.

“The primary motivation would have been to respect the reputation of the church,” he told the inquiry into the abuse of children by religious and non-government bodies.

“There was a fear of scandal.”

Pell, one of eight cardinals selected by Pope Francis to advise him on reforming the Catholic Church’s opaque administration, was speaking on the final day of the probe.

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AUSTRALIA
The Courier

By FIONA HENDERSON May 27, 2013

No questions have been asked about Cardinal George Pell’s time in Ballarat in the 1970s at the state government inquiry into institutionalised child abuse.

Cardinal Pell was in Ballarat at the same time as disgraced paedophiles Gerald Ridsdale, Edward Dowlan, Robert Best and Stephen Farrell.

It was expected Cardinal Pell would be asked what he knew of their child sexual abuse but was not quizzed at all.

Instead, he was asked to publicly denounce former Ballarat bishop Ronald Mulkearns.

Cardinal Pell told the inquiry he would take the request by committee member Andrea Coote on notice.

Ms Coote’s request came after former Pope Benedict said there were grave judgement errors and leadership failures in the treatment of Irish paedophile priests.

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AUSTRALIA
Herald Sun

MEGAN NEIL AAP MAY 27, 2013

A $30 million palace or a hostel for Australian pilgrims in Rome?

The Domus Australia is no palace, Australia’s most senior Catholic says.

The “casa per ferie” or holiday home has been drawn into the Catholic Church’s child sex abuse scandal, with Victorian MP Andrea Coote suggesting the church sell its “splendid residence” to help pay compensation to victims.

The cost of the Rome property could have been enough to provide $75,000 – the cap the church places on compensation – to 400 abuse victims, she said.

Cardinal George Pell took exception to the ‘misleading’ classification of the guest house during his appearance before Victoria’s parliamentary inquiry into child abuse on Monday.

He says he has two nice rooms at Domus Australia which he uses as a base while in Rome but it is no palace and is not his home.

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AUSTRALIA
Hurriyet Daily News (Turkey)

CANBERRA – Reuters

The head of the Catholic Church in Australia on Monday blamed a former culture of silence for the cover-up of child abuse by clergy, making it difficult to know the full extend of abuse, but added that the number of cases had dropped significantly since the church started taking stronger action.

Cardinal George Pell, an advisor to Pope Francis on Vatican reforms, told a parliamentary hearing the church had been slow to address the suffering of victims and again issued an apology.

“I am fully apologetic, and absolutely sorry,” said Pell in a tense hearing marked by at times angry questioning over the church’s compensation and investigations. Pell was questioned for more than four hours.

Pell said the number of reports of abuse by clergy members peaked in the 1970s and 80s, but had fallen as the church changed its approach.

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

Catholic church covered up child sex abuse, Cardinal George Pell tells Victoria’s inquiry

PIA AKERMAN From: The Australian May 27, 2013

CARDINAL George Pell has acknowledged the Catholic Church within Australia covered up the “foul crime” of child abuse, leading to suicides.

Australia’s most senior Catholic cleric has taken the stage today as the final witness for the Victorian inquiry into how religious and non-government organisations have responded to sexual abuse claims.

Cardinal Pell said while he had personally never covered up offending, it had largely escaped the view of church officials who didn’t know what a “mess” they were presiding over.

He vehemently rejected claims that there had been a “culture of abuse” among priests.

“I think the bigger fault was nobody would talk about it, nobody would mention it,” he said, admitting his predecessor as Melbourne archbishop had “mishandled” one abuse case by destroying

“He clearly did the wrong thing.”

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AUSTRALIA
7 News

By Brigid Andersen, ABC
Updated May 27, 2013

Australia’s top-ranking Catholic has admitted to a Victorian parliamentary inquiry that some members of the Church tried to cover up child sexual abuse by other members of the clergy.

Cardinal George Pell told the inquiry he was “fully apologetic and absolutely sorry” about decades of child sex abuse within the Church.

Some members of the packed public gallery wept as Cardinal Pell was forced to answer questions about the Church’s systemic cover-up of cases of rape of children as young as five-years old.

“I’m certainly totally committed to improving the situation. I know the Holy Father is too,” he told the inquiry.

Despite being heckled during parts of the inquiry, Cardinal Pell defended the action the Church had taken action to tackle abuse.

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AUSTRALIA
The Age

AAP

May 27, 2013

All the documents the Vatican has on child sex abuse will be made available to the royal commission, Australia’s most senior Catholic says.

Cardinal George Pell says he has discussed the royal commission with a senior Vatican official.

“He assured me that every document that the Vatican had will be available to the royal commission,” Cardinal Pell told Victoria’s parliamentary inquiry into child abuse.

He added the proper channels would have to be followed, “recognising that the Holy See is an independent company”.

He corrected himself to say country, but this was drowned out by uproar from the public gallery at Monday’s hearing.

“We’ve said we will co-operate fully with the royal commission and we mean to,” Cardinal Pell said.

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AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald

AAP May 27, 2013

Cardinal George Pell has acknowledged that senior figures in the Australian Catholic Church covered up evidence about child abuse.

Before Victorian inquiry into institutional child sexual abuse, Cardinal Pell said the Catholic Church’s history of child abuse stems from loose entry requirements for priests, past errors of judgement and inaction.

Australia’s most senior Catholic admitted that the fear of scandal had led to the cover-up of instances of abuse by some within the church but he denied that there was a culture of abuse among priests.
He said his predecessar as Archbishop of Melborune, Sir Frank Little, was involved in a cover-up and he said that a former Ballarat archbishop had destroyed documents.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

CAROLYN DAVIS AND SARAH SMITH, INQUIRER STAFF WRITERS
POSTED: Sunday, May 26, 2013

Archbishop Charles J. Chaput placed a priest on administrative leave after an accusation was made this month that he sexually abused a child more than 40 years ago, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia said Sunday.

The Rev. James J. Collins, 74, retired earlier this year from a faculty position at Holy Family University in Northeast Philadelphia, where he had served since 1976. The school’s website still lists him as a professor of religious studies with an expertise in Eastern Christian studies.

Collins served at numerous parishes, schools and offices in Philadelphia since being ordained in 1964, including at Roman Catholic School for Boys, Our Lady of Pompeii, and Cardinal Dougherty High School, said a statement released Sunday by the archdiocese announcing Chaput’s decision.

About 40 years ago, the statement said, Collins was working at Roman Catholic High School for Boys.

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AUSTRALIA
The Age

May 27, 2013

Barney Zwartz
Religion editor, The Age.

It was meeting George Pell that that severed Chrissie Foster from her faith in the Catholic Church.

The mother of two daughters who were horrifically abused by a priest went to her 1997 meeting with the then archbishop of Melbourne still a committed servant of the church. She left it crushed, embittered and furious.

Displaying what her husband Anthony Foster later described as a ”sociopathic lack of empathy”, Archbishop Pell was bullying and confrontational from the start of the meeting organised so Pell could listen to their experiences.

Chrissie Foster describes the encounter in her book Hell on the Way to Heaven. She had prepared a dossier of her varied church involvements, but never had a chance to show it. The Fosters were shown into a cramped furniture storage room in the presbytery and given a small wooden bench for both of them to sit on. The only other seat was a throne-like red leather armchair in which Pell was stretched out in a way they found intimidating.

When Anthony Foster told how Father Kevin O’Donnell repeatedly raped Emma and Katie Foster, starting when each was five years old, Pell replied: “I hope you can substantiate that in court.”

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AUSTRALIA
Parliament of Victoria

[submissions]

INQUIRY INTO THE HANDLING OF CHILD ABUSE BY RELIGIOUS AND OTHER ORGANISATIONS

Transcripts will be available once they have been checked by witnesses.

Hearings in May 2013
Attending a hearing
Hearings will be open to the public and held in the Legislative Council Committee Room on level 1 at Parliament House.

People are welcome to attend hearings however space will be limited.

The Legislative Council Committee Room will be open 30 minutes before hearings commence and seating for the public will be on a first-in, first-seated basis. Once all seats are full, people will be shown to another room in Parliament House where they can view proceedings via a live video link.

Hearings will not be broadcast on the Parliamentary website.

Monday 27 May, Legislative Council Committee Room, Parliament House
1.30pm – Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney

Cardinal George Pell

Monday 20 May, Legislative Council Committee Room, Parliament House
Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne

Archbishop Denis Hart

Friday 3 May, Legislative Council Committee Room, Parliament House
Christian Brothers

Brother Brian Brandon, Executive Officer for Professional Standards
Brother Julian McDonald, Deputy Province Leader
Mr Shane Wall, Co‑Executive Officer, Professional Standards Office

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AUSTRALIA
TVNZ

Australia’s most senior Catholic has been urged to be honest about crimes committed against children by clergy when he appears before a parliamentary inquiry.

Cardinal George Pell will be the last witness to give evidence at Victoria’s child sex abuse inquiry on Monday afternoon.

Victims rights groups are calling on Cardinal Pell to face up to the horrors committed by members of the Catholic Church.

And Victorian Premier Denis Napthine has called on him to be completely open and frank about the church’s handling of such crimes within its ranks.

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AUSTRALIA
The Courier

By BARNEY ZWARTZ May 26, 2013

CARDINAL George Pell’s spokeswoman has replied to a victim’s mother three years after she wrote and just before he gives evidence today at the Victorian inquiry into how the churches handled sex abuse.

The victims said the timing was insulting and the charm offensive merely offensive after Sydney Archdiocese communications director Katrina Lee told the mother that the cardinal believed that helping victims and treating them with compassion and respect must be the church’s first priority.

Ms Lee told Ballarat mother Clare Linane that she was looking at previous correspondence in the light of the Victorian inquiry, and offered to help Mrs Linane’s son report the abuse to police if he had not done so.

The son, Ballarat survivor and victims’ advocate Peter Blenkiron, asked: “Do they think we are idiots? Do they think the community are stupid?’’

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AUSTRALIA
Perth Now

Protests promised as Cardinal George Pell fronts Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry into Child Abuse

ANNIKA SMETHURST, WITH AAP HERALD SUN MAY 27, 2013

AUSTRALIA’S most senior Catholic, Cardinal George Pell, will be the final witness at the Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry into Child Abuse when he appears before the committee today.

To date, the committee has received more than 400 written submissions and heard from more than 160 witnesses since October.

But many victims have been waiting to hear from Cardinal Pell, who helped establish the Melbourne Response to deal with victims of child sexual abuse when he was the Archbishop of Melbourne

Hundreds of people are expected to gather at Parliament House ahead of the hearing to protest, including members of the Care Leavers Australia Network.

Co-founder Leonie Sheedy said she wanted to see Cardinal George Pell face up to crimes committed against children by members of the Catholic Church.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

Victorian Premier Denis Napthine says the Catholic Archbishop of Sydney George Pell needs to be open, apologetic, and frank when he appears before a parliamentary committee today.

Cardinal Pell will give evidence to the Victorian parliamentary inquiry into the sexual abuse of children by members of non-government organisations this afternoon.

Cardinal Pell was the Archbishop of Melbourne between 1996 and 2001.

In its submission to the inquiry, the Catholic Church said at least 620 Victorian children had been abused by its clergy in the past 80 years.

Dr Napthine says Cardinal Pell needs to be upfront about the church’s failings in its handling of abuse allegations and paedophile clergy.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
NBC 10

By David Chang | Sunday, May 26, 2013

A Philadelphia priest has been placed on leave following allegations of child sex abuse.

Reverend James Collins, 74, is accused of sexually abusing a minor over 40 years ago., according to the Philadelphia Archdiocese. Collins has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of a police investigation. The Archdiocese says his case is not connected to the February 2011 Grand Jury Report which followed an investigation into accusations that two priests and a teacher sexually abused a 10-year-old boy while another priest sexually abused a 14-year-old boy.

The Archdiocese says they immediately contacted police after they received the allegations against Collins.

The announcement was made at the Saint Martha Parish where Collins was living. Collins did not have any formal duties at the parish, did not assist at masses and did not make any visits to the school, according to the archdiocese.

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UNITED STATES
Failed Messiah

Only The Very Top Haredi Rabbis Can Decide Whether Child Sex Abuse Should Be Reported To Police, Neturei Karta-Linked Rabbi Writes

The Jewish Press has posted an op-ed on child sexual abuse reporting written by a sometime spokesperson for Neturei Karta, Rabbi Hillel “William” Handler. Handler also served as a spokesperson for the campaign to raise funds to support convicted child rapist Rabbi Yisroel Weingarten, who Handler insisted was innocent because the girl Weingarten raped – Weingarten’s own daughter – couldn’t be believed, despite the evidence supporting her. The Jewish Press posted this atrocity less than a week after posting a “news report” from its Internet editor, Yori Yanover, that attacked little children who say they were sexually abused by their teacher.

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AUSTRALIA
The Standard

By MARY ALEXANDER May 27, 2013

FORMER senior Catholic Ballarat diocese official Cardinal George Pell will today appear before a parliamentary inquiry into child sexual abuse by members of the clergy.

Australia’s head Catholic was the vicar-in-charge of the Catholic education system in the Ballarat diocese from 1973 to 1984 when many south-west children suffered at the hands of priests and brothers.

Dr Pell was heavily criticised for providing moral support to the diocese’s worst serial offender Gerald Ridsdale when he faced paedophile charges in May 1993.

Then an auxiliary bishop in Melbourne, Dr Pell said Ridsdale “had made terrible mistakes” and his decision to accompany the former priest to court “was simply a gesture on my part”.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia

Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap. has placed Reverend James J. Collins on administrative leave following an allegation that he sexually abused a minor over forty years ago. No other allegation of this nature has been received against him. While on administrative leave he is not permitted to exercise his public ministry pending the outcome of the investigation. His leave is not connected to the cases of priests placed on administrative leave following the February 2011 Grand Jury Report.

Consistent with the Archdiocesan Policy for the Protection of Children and Young People promulgated in October of 2012, the allegation was received and immediately reported to law enforcement. The information was also reviewed by the Office of Investigations, the Office for Child and Youth Protection and the Office of the Vicar for Clergy. Those offices provided a joint recommendation to the Archbishop, who decided to place Father Collins on administrative leave pending any possible action by law enforcement and a full internal investigation. In keeping with standing Archdiocesan policy, that internal investigation will not proceed until after the allegation is reviewed by the district attorney’s office.

An announcement regarding Father Collins was made this weekend at Saint Martha Parish in Philadelphia, where he had been residing, and crisis counselors were made available. Although he was in residence there, he had no formal duties at the parish, did not assist at Masses or make visits to the school. The Archdiocese also communicated information about this allegation to Holy Family University where Father Collins had been a faculty member since 1976. He retired from that position earlier this year.

Biographical Information
Father Collins is 74 years old. He was ordained in 1964. He served at the following parishes, schools and offices: Saint John the Evangelist, Philadelphia (1964); Roman Catholic High School for Boys (1964-1965); Saint Paul, Philadelphia (1964-1965); Office of the Metropolitan Tribunal (1964-1965); Our Lady of Pompeii, Philadelphia (1965); Student Priest at the Pontifical North American College, Rome (1965-1968); Saint Stephen, Philadelphia (1966); Cardinal Dougherty High School, Philadelphia (1968-1969); Immaculate Conception, Philadelphia (1968-1975); Roman Catholic High School for Boys, Philadelphia (1969-1976); Saint Paul, Philadelphia (1975-1976); Saint Christopher, Philadelphia (1976); Holy Family University (1976-2013); placed on administrative leave (2013).

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Catholic Philly

BY MATTHEW GAMBINO
Father James J. Collins, 74, has been suspended from ministry following an allegation that he sexually abused a minor over 40 years ago. No other such allegation has been received against him.

Archbishop Charles Chaput placed the priest on administrative leave Sunday, May 26, the Archdiocese announced in a statement. The decision is not connected to the cases of priests placed on administrative leave following the February 2011 Philadelphia grand jury report on sexual abuse of minors by clergy.

Father Collins, ordained in 1964, had been a professor at Holy Family University since 1976 before he retired early this year. He had been living at St. Martha Rectory in Northeast Philadelphia. Parishioners there were informed of the action at Masses this weekend.

The archdiocesan statement said that although the priest lived at the rectory, “he had no formal duties at the parish, did not assist at Masses or make visits to the school. The archdiocese also communicated information about this allegation to Holy Family University.”

The archdiocese provided no details on the nature of the allegation, which said was received and immediately reported to law enforcement officials. The information was also reviewed by the archdiocesan Office of Investigations, the Office for Child and Youth Protection and the Office of the Vicar for Clergy. Those offices provided a joint recommendation to the Archbishop, who decided to place Father Collins on administrative leave pending any possible action by law enforcement and a full internal investigation.

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OSTERREICH
Gegen Sexuelle Gewalt

Zivilklage gegen Stift abgewiesen

Die Zivilklage, die zwei Missbrauchsopfer gegen das Stift Kremsmünster eingebracht haben, ist vom Landesgericht Steyr abgewiesen worden. Die ehemaligen Klosterschüler sind der Ansicht, dass Abt Ambros Ebhart Zusagen nicht eingehalten habe.

Im Mittelpunkt der Klage mit einem Streitwert von 30.000 Euro steht ein Treffen im Jänner 2012 im Stift, an dem Missbrauchsopfer, der Abt, der Prior sowie zwei vom Kloster bestellte Mediatoren teilnahmen.

Die Kläger sagen, der Abt habe ihnen dabei die Aufarbeitung durch externe Historiker, ein Mahnmal am Stiftsgelände und eine Entschuldigung samt Eingeständnis der Mitwisserschaft über die Missbrauchsfälle versprochen. Der Geistliche will hingegen nur zugesagt haben, darüber nachzudenken. Der Richter schloss sich allerdings der Position

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AUSTRALIEN
kath.web

Regierung fordert von Kardinal Pell vor Anhörung vor dem Missbrauchsausschuss im Bundesstaat Victoria Ehrlichkeit

26.05.2013

Melbourne, 26.05.2013 (KAP) Sydneys Kardinal George Pell ist von Regierungsseite zu Offenheit und Ehrlichkeit bei seiner Anhörung vor dem Missbrauchsausschuss im Bundesstaat Victoria aufgerufen worden. “Es ist an der Zeit, dass George Pell im Namen der Katholischen Kirche nicht nur gegenüber dem Ausschuss, sondern gegenüber dem Volk von Victoria und Australien offen und ehrlich ist”, zitierte die katholische deutsche Nachrichtenagentur KNA Aussagen des Premierministers im Bundesstaat Victoria, Denis Naphtine vor australischen Journalisten. Pell wird am Montag vor dem parlamentarischen Untersuchungsausschuss erwartet. Das Parlament in Victoria hatte den Ausschuss eingesetzt, nachdem Polizei und Missbrauchsopfer schwere Vorwürfe gegen die Erzdiözese Melbourne erhoben hatten.

Der Kardinal war vor seiner Berufung zum Erzbischof von Sydney von 1996 bis 2001 Erzbischof von Melbourne. Er gilt als einer der Wegbereiter von Standards der katholischen Kirche Australiens in der Handhabung von Missbrauchsfällen. Gleichzeitig steht Pell aber auch in dem Ruf, den Missbrauchsskandal nicht ausreichend ernst zu nehmen. Auf einer Pressekonferenz in Sydney im vergangenen November hatte Pell den Medien vorgeworfen, das Ausmaß des Missbrauchs von Kindern und Jugendlichen durch Priester und Kirchenmitarbeiter zu übertreiben. Die Kirche sei einer “Schmierenkampagne” ausgesetzt, mit der der Eindruck geweckt werden solle, “dass wir vertuschen”, klagte Pell seinerzeit.

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NEW JERSEY
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

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

The voluntary resignation of one Newark Catholic official changes virtually nothing.

It’s Myers, not Doran, who put an admitted child molesting cleric in a hospital job, live in rectories, work in other dioceses, let him be around kids, hear their confessions and go to Canada with them.

It’s Myers, not Doran, who refused to say “Fr. Fugee admitted sexually abusing a child, so he’s gone, no matter what the prosecutor does or doesn’t do.”

It’s Myers, nor Doran, who won’t post the names of his predator priests on his website or force them to live in remote treatment centers. It’s Myers, not Doran, who won’t reveal the names of the people on his abuse panel.

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UNITED STATES
The Star-Ledger

By Star-Ledger Guest Columnist
on May 26, 2013

By David Clohessy

There are plenty of reasons to be upset about Newark Archbishop John J. Myers’ actions and inaction that kept an admitted pedophile priest around kids for years despite a legal agreement forbidding such contact.

I’m troubled about it, though, for a different reason than most. The Rev. Michael Fugee controversy is considered by many — and is depicted by Catholic officials — to be a disturbing anomaly. But it’s not.

Tragically, a number of U.S. bishops are, like Myers, letting proven, admitted or credibly accused child-molesting clerics stay on the job near children. Consider these recent examples:

• Earlier this month, a Wisconsin Benedictine monk, Thomas Chmura, was out of jail on bail, but was found back at an abbey working with children, so he was arrested again.

• In the Joliet, Ill., Diocese, Bishop Daniel Conlon lets the Rev. Carroll Howlin essentially live and work, as he has for 30 years, among poor families in eastern Kentucky, despite four clergy sex-abuse settlements involving Howlin as well as a Vatican order that he be kept away from children.

• In the Fresno, Calif., Diocese, Bishop John Steinbock lets the Rev. Eric Swearingen remain on the job as a pastor despite the fact that a jury found Swearingen guilty of molesting a boy.

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AUSTRALIA
lewisblayse.net

Cardinal George Pell, Australia’s most senior Catholic, may not be aware of it, but he is about to shape the country’s history.

On Monday, when he fronts the Victorian Parliamentary enquiry, he will send the nation down one of two very different paths. One will lead to a continuing cohesive, yet varied, society. The other will see a generation of conflict between the secular and the religious movements.

On Monday, George Pell can come clean. He can abolish all confidentiality agreements. He can give up the names of all of his abusive priests, together with the names of all of those involved in the cover-ups. He can renounce the seal of the confessional. He can show real remorse for his past transgressions of public trust. He can decline to continue with his arrogant disregard for the welfare of victims. He can sack his PR advisors and lawyers. He can place the Church’s wealth and power at the disposal of his victims.

On Monday, he can achieve both power and glory.

On Monday, he can continue with the lies of the past. He can treat the committee with disdain. He can follow the PR script of those members of his organisation who have preceded him at the enquiry. He can continue to lead an organisation that protects criminals. He can continue to hold power without glory.

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SCOTLAND
Gay Star News

26 MAY 2013 | BY JEAN PAUL ZAPATA

Amazon.com has dropped from its website a book that reveals alleged gay sex cover-ups in the Catholic Church.

Priesthood in Crisis, written by Father Matthew Despard of St John Ogilvie church in High Blantyre, Lanarkshire, accuses the Catholic Church in Scotland of concealing a ‘powerful gay mafia’ of priests who engage in sexual acts with other men.

Despard says he warned Church leaders of what he saw, but nothing was done. The book is a personal account of the abuse and bullying the priest allegedly endured after rejecting sexual advances of other priests and fellow students.

Since its release earlier this year, the book became a best-seller online, ranking 125 out of 1.9 million books available for download to portable reading device Kindle. The book is no longer for sale on that website.

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TROY (MI)
Patch

By Timothy Rath May 25, 2013

A former priest at the St. Thomas More Catholic Church on North Adams Road in Troy, accused of mishandling hundreds of thousands of dollars in church money, is suing the city in an effort to have his assets unfrozen.

It was reported in The Oakland Press that attorneys for Edward Belczak filed the suit this week in an attempt to have his Merrill Lynch funds and bank safe deposit box unfrozen following an order from the Troy Police Department.

Belczak’s attorneys, Ernest Essad Jr. and William Hosler, argue that Belczak “is being wrongfully deprived of his lawful rights,” The Press reports.

Belczak was removed from his position at the parish after an audit by the Archdiocese of Detroit revealed “questionable financial transactions and practices.”

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UNITED KINGDOM
Birmingham Mail

An elderly priest has been given a police caution after lewd behaviour in a Birmingham shopping centre toilet.

Sixty-eight year-old Father Pat Costello is said to have approached a 17-year-old youth in a bathroom and made lewd comments before stroking him on the shoulder last Wednesday.

He was quickly arrested after security staff at the centre called for the police.

Costello, an Irish priest in the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament, said he had behaved “shamefully” in a “moment of madness”.

Now his biggest concern is that his family will suffer because of his “terrible” actions. “I am prepared to accept all the consequences of my action and any punishment including losing my priestly ministry,” he reportedly said.

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SCOTLAND
Daily Record

A WHISTLE-BLOWING churchman’s best-selling book featuring explosive claims about gay bullies in the Catholic priesthood has been pulled by web giants Amazon.

Priesthood in Crisis by Father Matthew Despard was released in the wake of the Cardinal Keith O’Brien scandal.

The shocking account – which accuses church leaders of covering up powerful homosexual cliques in the priesthood – became an online bestseller, charting at No.125 out of 1.9 million digital books available on Amazon.

But the controversial book has been axed from the website’s Kindle store.

Amazon say it is no longer available because it does not adhere to their guidelines.

Sources in the Catholic Church have suggested that Father Despard could face legal action from one of the subjects named in his self-published book.

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NEW JERSEY
The Record

SATURDAY MAY 25, 2013
BY JEFF GREEN
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD

The day after Newark Archbishop John J. Myers announced the resignation of his top deputy in response to a growing scandal centered on a former Wyckoff assistant pastor, Catholic officials provided more detail about a series of initiatives designed to prevent future instances of sexual abuse by clergy members.

Critics, meanwhile, said they were not swayed by the archbishop’s move and maintained their calls for his resignation.

In a letter that will be read Sunday in Catholic parishes throughout the four-county archdiocese, Myers wrote that he accepted the resignation of Vicar General John E. Doran, who signed an agreement in 2007 with Bergen County prosecutors that barred the Rev. Michael Fugee from working with children for as long as he remained a priest. Fugee, who had initially been found guilty of groping a teenage boy, recently was charged with violating the agreement.

Politicians and victims’ advocates said the resignation and Myers’ other proposals did not go far enough. A spokesman for state Sen. Barbara Buono, the leading Democratic contender for governor, said she had not reviewed Myers’ statement but she stood by her demand for his resignation.

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NEW JERSEY
The Star-Ledger

[Myers: Newark Archdiocese is doing all we can to safeguard kids]

By Star-Ledger Editorial Board
on May 26, 2013

Newark Archbishop John J. Myers has broken his long silence with a remarkable statement in yesterday’s Star-Ledger that attempts to evade any personal responsibility for allowing a known sex offender under his supervision to mingle with children.

He offers no apology to the families whose children were put in harm’s way. He offers no explanation for the breathtaking lapses in this case. And he makes no significant policy changes.

In the place of moral leadership, Myers offers a carefully parsed and legalistic dodge, while demoting one of his senior aides in a transparent attempt to mollify critics who have called for his own resignation.

Myers, it seems, still doesn’t get it. While many bishops are making sincere efforts to root out abusive priests and to make amends for past efforts to cover up the problem, he remains stuck in the past. He has long been too tolerant of priests facing credible accusations, and too secretive about his responses.

Myers, for example, will not release the names of people he appointed to an internal review panel — again, as many others do. In this case, the review panel found that no abuse occurred, an impossible conclusion when you consider the detailed confession of the accused priest, the Rev. Michael Fugee, who told police he groped a boy’s genitals and derived sexual pleasure from the act. The panel, as The Star-Ledger’s Mark Mueller reported, made virtually no effort to find the victim or his parents and did not hear their testimony.

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UNITED KINGDOM
BBC News

A senior police officer will help in the investigation into how Jersey’s Dean dealt with allegations of abuse.

Det Supt Stewart Gull, head of special branch and CID in Jersey, will join a team lead by Dame Heather Steel.

The inquiry will look at how the Very Reverend Bob Key, the head of Jersey’s Anglican Church, handled a woman’s claims of abuse by a church warden.

It will look specifically at the actions of the Dean from when the unnamed woman came to him in 2008.

It will be used to inform a review led by Bishop John Gladwin into how victims of abuse are treated across the Diocese of Winchester, of which Jersey is a part.

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AUSTRALIA
Canberra Times

May 26, 2013

Australia’s most senior Catholic has been urged to face up to child sex crimes committed by members of the church and to apologise when he fronts a parliamentary inquiry on Monday.

Cardinal George Pell will be the last witness to give evidence at Victoria’s child sex abuse inquiry.

Victorian Premier Denis Napthine has called on him to be open and honest with the public about the church’s handling of child sexual abuse within its ranks.

“It’s time for George Pell, on behalf of the Catholic Church, to be open and frank, not only with the inquiry but with the people of Victoria and Australia,” Dr Napthine said on Sunday.

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AUSTRALIA
Herald Sun

[with video]

AAP MAY 26, 2013

THE world will be watching when Australia’s most senior Catholic faces Victoria’s child sex abuse inquiry tomorrow, a victim’s advocate says.

Co-founder of the Care Leavers Australia Network (CLAN) Leonie Sheedy says she wants to see Cardinal George Pell face up to crimes committed against children by members of the Catholic church.

CLAN will protest outside parliament before Cardinal Pell appears as the final witness at the inquiry, she says. The protest will include a poster depicting him with pedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale labelled “mates”.

It’s pressure like this that victims’ father Anthony Foster hopes will open cracks in Cardinal Pell’s armour.

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UNITED STATES
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

“MORTAL SINS: SEX, CRIME AND THE ERA OF CATHOLIC SCANDAL”
By Michael D’Antonio
St. Martin’s Press ($26.99).

By Nicholas P. Cafardi

Every time I think that the American Catholic bishops have the clergy child sexual abuse crisis behind them and that they are committed to the changes they made in Dallas in 2002, when they adopted a Charter and Norms assuring no priest with a credible allegation of child sexual abuse would remain in active ministry, reality sets in.

Just this past month it came to light that John Myers, the archbishop of Newark, maintained in active ministry a priest who had confessed to two instances of sexual misconduct with a young boy. Lest we forget, the bishop of Kansas City, Mo., Robert Finn, is himself a convicted criminal, having pleaded guilty last year to the charge of failure to report suspected child abuse by one of his priests. Yet he continues to serve as a diocesan bishop in our church.
.
Reading Michael D’Antonio’s “Mortal Sins: Sex, Crime and the Era of Catholic Scandal” in this context is a chilling experience. Mr. D’Antonio’s book is a reasonably complete history of clergy child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church in the United States, starting from 1984, when the first case of a serial child molester priest, Gilbert Gauthe of the diocese of Lafayette, La., came to light. There are some side trips into the clergy child sexual abuse crisis in Ireland, which in many ways, parallels the American crisis, but Mr. D’Antonio’s story is primarily about American monsters.

Mr. D’Antonio, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, tells his story mainly through courtroom battles. He writes of plaintiffs’ lawyers who sued dioceses for keeping men in ministry, priests whom the bishops knew to be active child sexual abusers, who then went on to use their Roman collars to gain the trust of yet more victims.

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NEW JERSEY
Chicago Tribune

David Jones
Reuters
3:13 p.m. CDT, May 25, 2013

NEWARK, New Jersey (Reuters) – A leading official from the Catholic archdiocese of Newark has resigned his post as vicar general following the arrest of a priest accused of violating a deal that barred him from interacting with children, the archdiocese said on Saturday.

Monsignor John E. Doran, the No. 2 official within the archdiocese, has stepped down due to “operational failures” and will no longer hold a leadership position, according to letter to parishioners by Archbishop John J. Myers.

The resignation came after Bergen County, New Jersey, prosecutors arrested Father Michael Fugee on Monday on accusations of violating a 2007 judicial order to avoid working with children after he confessed years before to groping a teenage boy, according to court documents.

“The seriousness of the situation with Father Fugee necessitated a thoughtful and effective response,” Meyers wrote in the letter posted on the archdiocese website.

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ITALY
Voice from the Desert

SAVONA, ITALY—The following is a summary of what Kevin Annett presented before the Italian media in Savona, Italy today May 23, 2013.

“Hello. My name is Kevin Annett, and I am the acting Field Secretary of the International Tribunal into Crimes of Church and State, the ITCCS, which represents over fifty organizations of survivors of church torture in nine countries, including Italy.

It is an honor to be present here today with Francesco Zanardi and the organization Rette L’abuse, at their invitation, and to join with them in an historica compaign to stop forver the religious torture of children.

For years now, Francesco has been conducting a heroic fight here in Italy for the same things that our Tribunal is campaigning for, by exposing child torture within the Roman Catholic church and bringing those responsible to justice. I look forward to working with Francesco and many others in Italy in the months ahead.

I have been authorized by the ITCCS Central Office to issue the following public statement:

1. As a Citizens’ Tribunal of Conscience with standing under international law, we call upon Italian President Giorgio Napolitano to seek the immediate extradition from the Vatican and the arrest of former Pope Benedict, Joseph Ratzinger, on the grounds that Ratzinger is a fugitive from justice and a wanted criminal duly convicted of crimes against humanity on February 25, 2013 by an international common law court of justice.

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NEW JERSEY
Christian Science Monitor

NEWARK, N.J.
The second-highest official in the Catholic Archdiocese of Newark is stepping down in the wake of a sex scandal involving a former priest accused of violating an agreement with law enforcement barring him from working with children.

Roman Catholic church officials say Monsignor John Doran resigned Friday as vicar general and will no longer hold a leadership position with the archdiocese. Doran signed the agreement the former priest had reached with prosecutors in 2007.

The move is among several changes the archdiocese says it’s implementing to protect children. The changes are noted in a letter from Archbishop John Myers, which will be read in Catholic parishes across the archdiocese this weekend.

Myers wrote that an outside review found “operational failures” in the handling of the Rev. Michael Fugee, who resigned this month. But he didn’t place the blame for lax oversight on Doran, who had been vicar general for six years.

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NEW JERSEY
The Star-Ledger

Tuesday, May 21, 2013
By John O’Boyle / The Star-Ledger

Robert Hoatson blasts Archbishop Myers after Rev. Michael Fugee’s arrest on charges of violating a court-sanctioned agreement that bars him from working with children. Hoatson, a former priest, is president of Road to Recover.

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NEW JERSEY
CBS New York

NEWARK, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) — The second highest official in the Archdiocese of Newark has resigned from his post, in the wake of a scandal involving a priest who had contact with minors allegedly in violation of an agreement with prosecutors.

Monsignor John Doran resigned as vicar general — a move that takes effect immediately — and he will no longer hold a leadership position with the Archdiocese.

Doran could not be reached for comment Saturday.

Newark Archbishop John Myers wrote in an op-ed piece for the Star Ledger that an outside law firm found the strong protocols presently in place were not always observed, and thus, Doran – the man tasked with monitoring the Rev. Michael Fugee – had to resign.

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NEW JERSEY
The New York Times

By MARC SANTORA
Published: May 25, 2013

[Archbishop Myers letter to parishioners]

One of the top officials in the Archdiocese of Newark has been forced out for failing to properly monitor the activities of a priest who had been forbidden from having contact with children, the archdiocese announced on Saturday.

The dismissal of Msgr. John E. Doran, who reported to Archbishop John J. Myers, is the latest fallout from a sexual abuse scandal that stretches back more than a decade.

In 2003, the Rev. Michael Fugee was convicted on charges that he groped a young boy. Although the verdict was later overturned over a judicial error, Father Fugee confessed to the authorities that he improperly touched the boy and agreed to undergo counseling. As part of an agreement with the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, he also pledged never to minister to young children for the rest of his life.

Monsignor Doran was responsible for supervising Father Fugee, according to court documents.

However, an investigation by The Star Ledger that was published in April found that Father Fugee had been openly working with children again, hearing their confessions, attending youth retreats and even posting photos of himself with boys on his Facebook page.

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IRELAND
Sunday World

According to Dublin City Council the last Magdalene Laundry to close will soon become housing.

The building on Sean McDermott street in Dublin city is derelict but will be renovated and converted into housing.

The laundry was the last one in the country to close in 1996.

The malpractice that went on behind the closed doors of the Magdalene Laundries has been brought to light in recent years following a number of reports and investigations.

Thousands of women have come forward over the years and made complaints about the treatment of women in the Laundries.

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CANADA
CBC News

Police have charged a second person with defrauding an Anglican church in Conception Bay South.

The 51-year-old woman stands accused of fraud, uttering forged documents, forgery, and possession of property obtained by crime.

CBC News reported earlier this week that the priest at St. John the Evangelist Church in Topsail is facing similar fraud charges. John Dinn, 54, has been on leave since the RNC began investigating financial irregularities in January.

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MICHIGAN
Deadline Detroit

May 25th, 2013

Suspended suburban priest Edward Belczak isn’t waiting quietly while authorities investigate Detroit Archdiocese embezzlement claims against him.

Edward Belczak was suspended in February as pastor of St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Troy.
The former pastor of St, Thomas More Catholic Church is suing Troy in an attempt to have his bank safe deposit box and Merrill Lynch brokerage account unfrozen, Dave Phillips reports in The Oakland Press.

Attorneys for Belczak, 67, filed the suit this week in Oakland County Circuit Court. . . .Belczak’s assets have been frozen since Feb. 5, when a search warrant was obtained by the Troy Police Department. . . .

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MASSACHUSETTS
Cape Cod Times

May 25, 2013
Roman Catholic priest Joseph F. Byrne, who was reinstated to the status of “senior priest” Thursday because the Archdiocese of Boston found no evidence to substantiate an accusation he sexually abused a child in the 1970s, was not investigated by the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office after the allegation was forwarded to the office when the complaint was made in May 2012.

“We reviewed the case and concluded the statute of limitations bars any prosecution of the case,” said Jake Wark, spokesman for the Suffolk DA’s office. Wark said he could not comment on “the state of the evidence.”

The office could not be reached for comment on Thursday when Byrne’s reinstatement was announced.

Byrne was pastor at St. Matthew’s in Dorchester from 1969 to 1975, which is in Suffolk County.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Daily Review

BY ROBERT L. BAKER (TIMES-SHAMROCK WRITER) Published: May 25, 2013

Charges were filed Friday afternoon against a Tunkhannock priest and female acquaintance who were allegedly involved in a lewd act May 17 in a public park in Wyalusing.

Rev. Daniel Joseph Doherty, 49, and Joanne Mirabelli, 47, both of Tunkhannock, were each charged by Laceyville police with a misdemeanor count of open lewdness, and summary counts of under the influence of an intoxicating beverage, participating in any obscene or indecent act and being in the park after it was closed.

Laceyville Chief Scott Parry said the charges were filed in the court of Magisterial District Judge Fred Wheaton.

According to police criminal complaints, Laceyville patrolmen Matthew Chamberlain and Patrick Butkiewicz said they saw a 2011 Jeep Liberty and a 2011 Subaru parked in the Wyalusing Borough Park around 10 p.m. on Friday, May 17.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Times-Tribune

BY ROBERT L. BAKER (STAFF WRITER) Published: May 25, 2013

The police’s discovery of a local priest and a Tunkhannock woman naked in the back seat of a Jeep at the Wyalusing Borough Park led to criminal charges this week.

More details emerged Friday about the incident on May 17 involving the Rev. Daniel Joseph Doherty, 49, who has been working as an assistant pastor in Tunkhannock and Lake Winola. On Thursday, the Diocese of Scranton announced that the Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, bishop of Scranton, removed the Rev. Doherty’s ability to exercise ministry pending the results of the investigation.

The Rev. Doherty and Joanne Mirabelli, 47, both of Tunkhannock, are each facing a misdemeanor count of open lewdness, and summary counts of being under the influence of an intoxicating beverage, participating in an obscene or indecent act and being in the park after it was closed.

Laceyville Patrolmen Matthew Chamberlain and Patrick Butkiewicz said they saw a 2011 Jeep Liberty and a 2011 Subaru parked in the Wyalusing Borough Park about 10 p.m.

They approached the vehicles to perform a welfare check, and as they drove up closer to the Jeep, Officer Chamberlain said he observed an unclothed female’s back with her hair covering her face. Officer Butkiewicz activated the spotlight on the patrol car, and according to the complaint, “a male’s head appeared from below the level of the window.”

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NEW JERSEY
The Star-Ledger

By Mark Mueller/The Star-Ledger
on May 24, 2013

A top official in the Archdiocese of Newark — second only to Archbishop John J. Myers — has been sacked from his leadership position for mishandling the supervision of a priest who violated a lifetime ban on ministry to children.

Myers, speaking out for the first time on the scandal that has imperiled his future in Newark, described the removal of Monsignor John E. Doran as one step in a series of reforms meant to “strengthen internal protocols” and “ensure we are doing everything we can to safeguard the children of our community.”

Myers made the announcement in an opinion piece scheduled to run in Saturday’s Star-Ledger. An abbreviated version of the letter is to be read aloud at parishes in the archdiocese Saturday and Sunday.

Doran, who served as vicar general and moderator of the curia, is among the highest-ranking Roman Catholic officials in the country to be demoted over the handling of a priest accused of sexual abuse, observers say.

“This is a very significant decision,” said the Rev. Thomas Reese, a senior analyst with the National Catholic Reporter and a former editor of America, a Catholic magazine. “Short of being a bishop, vicar general and moderator of the curia is as high as you can get.”

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NEW JERSEY
The Star-Ledger

By Star-Ledger Guest Columnist
on May 24, 2013

By John J. Myers

When I first learned several weeks ago that Father Michael Fugee may have violated a lifetime ban on ministry to minors, I immediately ordered an outside law firm to conduct a full and thorough investigation of the matter. I told the firm I wanted to know what happened and why. I said I not only wanted to know if there was any wrongdoing, but that if there was wrongdoing and it rose to the point that authorities should be notified, I wanted them notified as well.

The investigation uncovered certain operational vulnerabilities in our own systems. We found that the strong protocols presently in place were not always observed.

The seriousness of the situation with Father Fugee required a thoughtful and effective response. Appointing a new vicar general will be just one step in a comprehensive plan to review and, where necessary, strengthen our internal protocols and ensure we are doing everything we can to safeguard the children of our community.

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NEWARK (NJ)
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark

May 26, 2013

My Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

When I first learned several weeks ago that Father Michael Fugee may have violated a lifetime ban on ministry to minors, I immediately ordered an outside law firm to conduct a full and thorough investigation ofthe matter and to cooperate with the Bergen County Prosecutor in all areas. I told the firm that I wanted to know what happened and why.

The investigation found that the strong protocols we presently have in place were not always observed.

The seriousness of the situation with Father Fugee necessitated a thoughtful and effective response. Appointing a new Vicar General will be just one step in a comprehensive plan to review, and, where necessary, strengthen our internal protocols and ensure we are doing everything we can to safeguard the children of our community.

So, effective immediately, the Vicar General, Monsignor John E. Doran, has resigned his post and will no longer hold a leadership position with the Archdiocese. As a result of operational failures, both Monsignor Doran and I felt that the Archdiocese would be best served by his stepping down as Vicar General. This action clears the way for making more effective changes in our monitoring function. I am transferring that function to the Office of the Judicial Vicar of the Archdiocese.

We want our procedures to be among the strictest in the Catholic Church. This has been one of my priorities since becoming your Archbishop in 2001 and that will not change. In fact, the Archdiocese has an exemplary record of addressing allegations against our clergy. We, along with all dioceses in the state ofNew Jersey, report all allegations of misconduct to the appropriate prosecutors’ office. I have personally removed 19 priests for substantiated allegations. I want to assure you that our strict
oversight of, and adherence to, The Dallas Charter will continue.

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NEWARK (NJ)
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark

Op‐Ed, Newark Star Ledger 5‐26‐13

By The Most Reverend John J. Myers
Archbishop of Newark

When I first learned several weeks ago that Fr. Michael Fugee may have violated a lifetime ban on ministry to minors, I immediately ordered an outside law firm to conduct a full and thorough investigation of the matter. I told the firm I wanted to know what happened and why. I said I not only wanted to know if there was any wrongdoing, but that if there was wrongdoing and it rose to the point that authorities should be notified, I wanted them notified as well.

The investigation uncovered certain operational vulnerabilities in our own systems.

We found that the strong protocols presently in place were not always observed. The seriousness of the situation with Fr. Fugee required a thoughtful and effective response. Appointing a new Vicar General will be just one step in a comprehensive plan to review, and where necessary, strengthen our internal protocols and ensure we are doing everything we can to safeguard the children of our community.

So, effective immediately, the Vicar General, Msgr. John E. Doran, has resigned his post and will no longer hold a leadership position with the Archdiocese. As a result of operational failures, both Msgr. Doran and I felt that the Archdiocese would be best served by his stepping down as Vicar General. This action clears the way for making more effective changes in our monitoring function. I am transferring that function to the Office of the Judicial Vicar of the Archdiocese.

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NEW JERSEY
Patch

By Devin McGinley May 24, 2013

An official overseeing former Wyckoff pastor Michael Fugee will step down following allegations that the priest broke an agreement not to work with children after being accused of sexual misconduct, northjersey.com reported.

Archbishop John Meyers told parishioners in a letter Friday that John E. Doran will step down as vicar general of the archdiocese, as part of a broader effort to protect children.

“Both Monsignor Doran and I felt that the archdiocese would be best served by his stepping down,” wrote Meyers, according to the Record.

Doran had signed on to an agreement between Fugee and prosecutors in 2007 that the accused pastor would cease work with children, after a conviction on charges of sexual misconduct for allegedly groping a Wyckoff teenager was overtuned due to judicial error.

Controversy flared up following reports earlier this month that Fugee had continued to hear confessions from minors and accompany youth retreats, and prominent politicians have called for resignations at the archdiocese.

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NEW JERSEY
Asbury Park Press

Written by
| By Stephanie Loder
@Loder1

The Archdiocese of Newark has removed a top official from its organization amid a scandal involving an ex-Colts Neck priest banned from ministering to children, according to a statement released by church officials.

The top official, Vicar General, Monsignor John E. Doran — second in command in the Archdiocese — has resigned his post at the request of Archbishop John J. Myers and will no longer hold a leadership position, according to the statement on the Archdiocese website.

The announcement about Doran follows the arrest Monday of the Rev. Michael Fugee, who until weeks ago was a priest serving parishioners and young adults at St. Mary’s in Colts Neck. Fugee is charged with contempt of a judicial order.

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NEW JERSEY
The Jersey Journal

By Ron Zeitlinger/The Jersey Journal
on May 25, 2013

The archbishop of the Archdiocese of Newark has resisted calls for his resignation.

Instead, at churches across Hudson, Bergen and Essex counties this weekend, priests will read a letter from John J. Myers announcing the someone else in the archdiocese, Vicar General John Doran, is taking the blame — and taking it alone.

Fugee was charged last week with violating a lifetime ban on ministry to children by working with a Monmouth County youth group.

A jury convicted him in 2003 of aggravated criminal sexual contact, but three years later the verdict was overturned in appellate court. In that decision, the panel said that the trial judge should not have allowed jurors to hear the part of Fugee’s confession in which he questioned his sexual identity.

Fugee, 52, signed the agreement in July 2007 to avoid retrial on the groping charges. The archdiocese also signed onto the agreement, pledging to supervise the priest. Doran’s signature is on the document.

With the news of Doran’s demotion from a leadership position online, there is a new outcry for Myers to step forward and resign as well, with his critics saying that ultimately, this is his mess.

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CANADA
VOCM

Friday , May 24 2013

St. Johns’ lawyer Bob Buckingham says he doesn’t expect the compensation owed to the victims of the Mount Cashel sex abuse scandal to be distributed until some time next year. Buckingham was weighing in on a mediation settlement reached this week for survivors of abuse at the hands of the Irish Christian Brothers. Buckingham says the claims should have been settled years ago, and the process should not have taken so long to settle. He says the resistance of the Christian Brothers, the Roman Catholic Church, and responsible governments to settle the matter delayed the process to get survivors of abuse the justice and compensation they were due.

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CANADA
CBC

[with Mount Cashel timeline]

Lawyers for scores of victims of abuse at the notorious Mount Cashel Orphanage in St. John’s say Thursday’s settlement with the Christian Brothers of Ireland does not end their clients’ legal battles, but at least marks a major milestone in a years-long campaign for justice.

The Christian Brothers of Ireland settled with 422 people across North America who claimed abuse at the hands of the lay Roman Catholic order, including 160 from Newfoundland and Labrador.

The vast majority of those 160 men had been residents at Mount Cashel, a prominent institution that ran for more than a century in the east end of St. John’s before a sexual abuse scandal erupted in 1989, triggering a harrowing public inquiry and a series of criminal convictions.

The settlement is worth more than $16.5 million, which will be put into a trust.

“This is not nearly enough money to fully satisfy 400 claims,” said Geoff Budden, who represented about 90 clients, most of whom were residents of Mount Cashel.

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By Manya A. Brachear, Chicago Tribune reporter
2:27 a.m. CDT, May 25, 2013
UNITED STATES
Chicago Tribune

Even after settling a multimillion-dollar lawsuit last week that accused nearly a dozen men of abuse at Brother Rice, St. Laurence and Leo high schools, the Irish Christian Brothers wouldn’t say whether allegations of sexual misconduct against those clergy were substantiated.

And although the leader of Chicago’s Jesuits apologized last week for his order’s failure to stop Donald McGuire, a priest they knew was abusing children for 40 years, the order doesn’t publish a list of other members with allegations of abuse against them.

The Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, passed by the nation’s Roman Catholic bishops in 2002, doesn’t require that level of transparency. Those dioceses that do publicize names of credibly accused clergy aren’t bound to do so, experts say.

But religious orders like the Irish Christian Brothers and Jesuits have been far less forthcoming than many dioceses.

Yet, as lawsuits and cases continue to surface 11 years after bishops adopted that charter, some orders are starting to weigh the pros and cons of naming those they have established as sexual offenders. Among the lessons learned from last week’s settlements totaling $36 million was the danger of keeping secrets.

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AUSTRALIA
Perth Now

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH MAY 24, 2013

IN AN INCREDIBLE SPECIAL REPORT, ABUSE SURVIVOR TOMMY CAMPION REVEALS HIS STRUGGLE FOR ACKNOWLEDGEMENT FOR THE ANGLICAN CHURCH, WHILE THE CHURCH’S HEAD PHILLIP ASPINALL REVEALS HIS EFFORTS TO REPAIR THE DAMAGE HIS CHURCH HAS CAUSED.

By Tommy Campion

DEAR members of the royal commission,

I would think seriously about donating a kidney if I am given the opportunity to stand before the Royal Commission into Child Sexual Abuse. And after eight years of battling the Anglican Church for answers, something exciting has happened concerning the sexual and physical abuse of more than 200 children.

Yes, to hell with the kidney, it means nothing compared to the horrific and violent abuse children suffered at the hands of Anglican clergy and staff over the five decades the Church of England North Coast Children’s Home was functioning.

I was raised in that Anglican home for 14 years, 10 of which were brutal. I was sexually violated and physically abused. To this day I bear the scars on my back from a flogging.

The scars in my mind are deeper.

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CANADA
VOCM

St. John’s lawyer Bob Buckingham says they will continue to pursue compensation for victims of the Mount Cashel Orphanage sex abuse scandal through the provincial government and the Roman Catholic Church. A mediation settlement was reached this week for some 400 survivors of sexual abuse at the hands of the Irish Christian Brothers in North America. The settlement affects some 160 men in this province. Buckingham says while it’s too late for victims to make a claim against the Irish Christian Brothers, claims can still be pursued against the provincial government and the Roman Catholic Church itself for failing to act on complaints of abuse.

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TEXAS
WTVR

[with video]

May 25, 2013, by Nick Dutton

TARRANT COUNTY, Texas (WTVR) — A Richmond pastor accused of sexually abusing two girls is being held in a Texas jail cell.

Geronimo Aguilar’s latest mugshot was taken Friday night in Tarrant County.

Aguilar, also known as Pastor G, boarded a flight at RIC Friday morning to face charges in Fort Worth with a Texas extradition team at his side.

The 43-year-old had been jailed for three days in Richmond after waiving extradition earlier this week.
He will now face a judge in Texas where bond has already been set at $200,000.

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NEW JERSEY
National Catholic Reporter

Brian Roewe Dennis Coday | May. 24, 2013

The vicar general of the Newark, N.J., archdiocese is resigning effective immediately “as a result of operational failures” stemming from the case of a Newark priest who was ministering to youth in violation of a court agreement banning him from such ministry, a letter signed by the Newark archbishop says.

The letter obtained by NCR Friday evening is signed by Archbishop John J. Myers of Newark. It says that when Myers “learned several weeks ago that Father Michael Fugee may have violated a lifetime ban on ministry to minors, I [Myers] immediately ordered an outside law firm to conduct a full and thorough investigation of the matter and to cooperate with the Bergen County Prosecutor in all areas.”

“The investigation found that the strong protocols we presently have in place [to handle accusations of sexual abuse of minors by clergy] were not always observed,” the letter reads.

Fugee was arrested May 20 for violating a court agreement not to minister to children. In July 2007, Fugee, his lawyer, the Bergen County prosecutor and the Newark vicar general, Msgr. John Doran, signed a memorandum of understanding that restricted the priest from “any unsupervised contact with or to supervise or minister to any child/minor under the age of 18 or work in any position in which children are involved.”

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NEW JERSEY
The Record

BY ABBOTT KOLOFF
STAFF WRITER

The second-highest official in the Newark Archdiocese has resigned in the wake of a scandal involving a former Wyckoff associate pastor who allegedly violated an agreement with law enforcement barring him from working with children, church officials confirmed Friday.

Monsignor John E. Doran will step down immediately as vicar general of the archdiocese as part of larger changes being implemented to protect children, Archbishop John J. Myers said in a letter that will be read in parishes across the archdiocese this weekend. In the letter, which church officials provided to The Record on Friday, Myers wrote that the move was being made “as a result of operational failures.”

Doran, who has been vicar general for six years, signed an agreement in 2007 with the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office that barred the Rev. Michael Fugee, a former associate pastor at the Church of St. Elizabeth of Hungary in Wyckoff who had initially been found guilty of groping an adolescent boy, from working with children for as long as he remained a priest.

Myers has faced heavy criticism over his handling of the case, with victims’ advocates and some politicians calling for him to resign. On Friday, a national victims’ advocacy group characterized Doran’s resignation as a face-saving move by Myers.

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NEW JERSEY
The Record

SATURDAY MAY 25, 2013
BY STEPHANIE AKIN AND ABBOTT KOLOFF
STAFF WRITERS
THE RECORD

At least 13 people who say they were sexually abused while attending Bergen Catholic High School years ago have filed claims in federal court to be part of a $16.5 million settlement agreement reached with the order that runs the school, an attorney said Friday.

The Christian Brothers of Ireland, an order that runs schools across North America, including Bergen Catholic, agreed to the settlement as part of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization in federal court. Officials with the order said they filed for bankruptcy two years ago because they were operating at a significant loss due to the legal costs related to the settlements of abuse cases. The settlement was made public on Thursday.

In response to the settlement, several people who said they have been abused by Catholic priests gathered outside a house in Elizabeth belonging to the brotherhood Friday morning. Among them was a Ramsey resident who said she was abused by a priest from the Christian Brothers order who taught at the high school she attended in New York state decades ago. The woman, who asked that her name not be published, is one of more than 400 people who have filed to be eligible to receive money from the settlement.

A federal judge in White Plains, N.Y., ordered that money be set aside in a trust for abuse victims, including those who never before made a claim.

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VIRGINIA
WTVR

[with video]

May 24, 2013, by Raymond Hawkes and Mark Holmberg

RICHMOND, Va (WTVR)- The Richmond Outreach Center has an amazing rags to riches story. But what will happen to it now that its charismatic founder is facing child sex charges and has stepped down until they’re resolved?

According to its non-profit, tax-exempt income report, the Richmond Outreach Center is a $17 million dollar independent church organization that brings in some $3 million a year.

But it started here on a wing and prayer 12 years ago when Pastor Geronimo Aguilar, his wife Samantha and a core group of fellow believers in inner city ministry came from California and opened up an outreach center a Midlothian Turnpike warehouse across the street from a strip club.

The energetic Pastor G, then 31, quickly built up a following based on a rock-and-roll, rough-and-ready, reach-the-unreachable ministry very similar to that of his LA based father, Phil, a former Hells Angels and drug dealer whose style has stirred up controversy.

The effectiveness, the tangible power of Pastor G’s ministry led to explosive growth, first to as vast site on Warwick Road – now the ROC’s youth ministry headquarters and site of its Spanish-speaking church body – then to it’s current multimillion dollar facility on Midlothian Turnpike, a rehabbed former flea market.

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RICHMOND (VA)
Richmond Times-Dispatch

BY LOUIS LLOVIO
Richmond Times-Dispatch

RICHMOND — Geronimo Aguilar, senior pastor at the Richmond Outreach Center, was released from a Richmond jail this morning for his scheduled transfer to Texas to face sexual assault charges.

“We do not discus prisoner movement before the fact for what I hope you will understand are obvious security concerns,” Terry Grisham, executive administrator for the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office, said in an email.

Aguilar waived extradition after a series of hearings in Richmond Wednesday and was scheduled to be picked up by Texas authorities within about 48 hours.

He was released from the Richmond jail this morning at 8:33, according to the jail.

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VIRGINIA
NBC 12

By Ray Daudani

RICHMOND, VA (WWBT) –
Texas authorities took over custody from of Geronimo Aguilar from the Richmond Sheriff’s Office Friday morning. He is now headed to Texas to face charges.

Geronimo Aguilar, also known as Pastor G, temporarily stepped down from his positions as President of the Board and Pastor at the Richmond Outreach Center Thursday due to child sexual abuse charges.

The move was announced in a statement from the ROC’s Board of Directors on the church’s website Thursday afternoon. The board voted to give Aguilar a paid leave of absence, according to the statement. The ROC’s Executive Team will make day-to-day operational decisions and an outside, interim pastor will fill Aguilar’s role.

Some Richmond faith leaders called for Aguilar to step down after prosecutors in Texas charged Aguilar with seven felony counts in two child sex abuse cases. The cases involve claims by two women dating back to 1996. Four of the counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child under 14, are first degree felonies that could carry life in prison.

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UNITED STATES
Washington Post

By Sarah Pulliam Bailey| Religion News Service, Updated: Friday, May 24

Several leading evangelical pastors and authors have come to the defense of a pastor accused in a lawsuit for covering up sexual abuse of children.

C. J. Mahaney was named as a defendant in a lawsuit, which charged that he and other leaders of Sovereign Grace Ministries permitted the abuse of children to occur in churches that formed part of the group. Sovereign Grace, an association of 80 Reformed evangelical churches, is based in Louisville, Ky.

Maryland Judge Sharon V. Burrell dismissed the lawsuit ruling that nine of 11 plaintiffs waited too long to sue under the statute of limitations. Their attorney plans to appeal the judge’s decision.

After the dismissal, leading evangelicals are stepping up to defend Mahaney.

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UNITED STATES
Thinking Out Loud

Okay, so it turns out there’s a blog called Stop Baptist Predators.

Okay, so it turns out there’s a blog called Stop Baptist Predators and it’s been around since late 2006.

Okay so it turns out there’s a blog called Stop Baptist Predators and each blog post deals with a new case of abuse or a new article in the media on the topic, and in the years 2007 to 2010, they published 122, 109, 109 and 113 posts respectively. Things slowed down in 2011 and 2012, but then again, I would get weary of dealing with this topic every 2-3 days for four years.

And I had to quote this comment from April 18, directed to Ed Stetzer:

Since LifeWay provides research and data on so many other topics relevant to Baptist life, I often wondered why you yourself weren’t keeping track of Baptist clergy sex abuse cases. I imagine that most parents would find it “enlightening” to learn how widespread the problem really is – and how easy it is for clergy predators to simply church-hop their way to new prey.

It’s a shame that someone has had to devote nearly seven years to documenting this type of thing online.

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NEW JERSEY
The Jersey Journal

By Ron Zeitlinger/The Jersey Journal
on May 24, 2013

An Archdiocese of Newark official who was born and raised in Jersey City is resigning in the wake of the Rev. Michael Fugee scandal.

In a letter that will be read to all parishioners during this weekend’s Masses, Archbishop John J. Myers said that Monsignor John E. Doran, who once served at St. Nicholas in the Heights, is stepping down as Vicar General, effective immediately.

Fugee was charged last week with violating a lifetime ban on ministry to children by working with a Monmouth County youth group. The Star-Ledger has reported that Fugee has gone on numerous retreats with children over the years since the agreement, an that the interactions were never hidden from the Archdiocese.

A jury convicted him in 2003 of aggravated criminal sexual contact, but three years later the verdict was overturned in appellate court. In that decision, the panel said that the trial judge should not have allowed jurors to hear the part of Fugee’s confession in which he questioned his sexual identity.

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FRANCE
BBC News

A Roman Catholic parish priest at an elite French ski resort has been stripped of his Church functions for refusing to renounce Freemasonry.

Father Pascal Vesin was ordered by his bishop to cease his work in the Alpine resort of Megeve, the parish said.

Bishop Yves Boivineau had warned Fr Vesin about his “active membership” of the Grand Orient de France lodge.

Freemasonry has been condemned as anti-Christian and anti-clerical by various popes through history.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Rocket-Courier

By David Keeler

Officials at the Diocese of Scranton have announced they’ve suspended Father Daniel J. Doherty, in the wake of an alleged May 17 incident at the Wyalusing Borough Park, which was reported in the May 23 issue of the Rocket-Courier.

In a statement issued by the Diocese on May 23, Diocesan officials stated they learned through local media that on Friday, May 17, 2013, Father Daniel J. Doherty, whom they confirmed is a priest of the Diocese of Scranton and a member of the Society of the Priests of Saint Sulpice, who has been serving as Assistant Pastor at Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish, Tunkhannock, and Saint Mary of the Lake, Lake Winola, was allegedly involved in an incident at the Wyalusing Borough Park.

“The accusation is that Father Doherty and an adult female were engaged in behavior that resulted in them being charged with open lewdness and for violating local ordinances that prohibit, among other things, consuming alcohol on the borough park property,” the Diocesan officials stated. “The Diocese of Scranton will cooperate fully as this matter is properly handled by law enforcement.”

In response to this situation, the Diocese stated that the Most Reverend Joseph C. Bambera, D.D., J.C.L., Bishop of Scranton, has removed Father Doherty’s faculties and has prohibited him from exercising public ministry pending a legal disposition. In reaction to this matter, Bishop Bambera expressed anger with the apparent inappropriate, immoral and seemingly illegal behavior.

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NEW YORK
National Catholic Reporter

Ben Feuerherd | May. 24, 2013

NEW YORK A group calling itself “Catholic Whistleblowers” celebrated its launch at a Manhattan news conference May 22.

The group’s message:

*Catholics who blow the whistle on the sexual abuse of minors in the church deserve a network they can turn to for support;
*A decade after the church issued “zero tolerance guidelines” for abuse, it is still mishandling these cases;
*The bishops who mishandle these cases must be held accountable.

Founding member Dominican Sr. Sally Butler of Brooklyn, N.Y., said the creation of a nationwide “whistleblower protection program” is necessary. “Clearly, the women and men who work for the church now fear reprisals for speaking out,” she said.

Attorney Marci A. Hamilton, the Paul R. Verkuil Chair in Public Law at Cardozo Law School in Manhattan, said that she and her team of five law students have promised to defend any whistleblowers who come forward.

Hamilton, a children’s rights activist, said she sees the current sexual abuse crisis as a civil rights issue for children. “This boils down to the pursuit of truth,” she said

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