ABUSE TRACKER

VATICAN CITY
Windsor Star

The Vatican is gearing up for a bruising showdown over the global priest sex abuse scandal, forced for the first time to defend itself at length and in public against allegations it protected pedophile priests and its reputation over victims. (Jan. 15)

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GENEVA
The Star

BY STEPHANIE NEBEHAY

GENEVA (Reuters) – United Nations child protection experts grilled Vatican delegates on Thursday on how Roman Catholic officials handled the decades-long sexual abuse of minors by priests that Pope Francis called “the shame of the Church”.

The officials, called to account for the first time since the Holy See signed the U.N. children’s rights charter in 1990, argued that the Church recognised the problem and had drawn up clear guidelines to protect children from predator priests.

But members of the U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child and abuse victims attending the session in Geneva demanded far more transparency on a scandal that has hounded the Church for more than two decades in countries from Ireland to Australia.

“The view of committee is that the best way to prevent abuses is to reveal old ones – openness instead of sweeping offences under the carpet,” Kirsten Sandberg, chairwoman of the 18-strong U.N. committee, told the Vatican delegation.

“It seems to date your procedures are not very transparent.”

Barbara Blaine, president of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP), which has 15,000 U.S. members and 4,000 foreign members since being launched 25 years ago, said the Vatican response fell far short of what victims wanted.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Information Service

Vatican City, 16 January 2014 (VIS) – Today, the Holy Father received in audience:

– Cardinal Roger Michael Mahony, archbishop emeritus of Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.,

– Cardinal Vinko Puljic, archbishop of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina,

– members of the presidency of the French Episcopal Conference:
Archbishop Georges Pontier of Marseilles, President,
Bishop Pascal Delannoy of Saint-Denis, Vice President,
Archbishop Pierre-Marie Carre of Montpellier, Vice President,
Fr. Olivier Ribadeau Dumas, Secretary General, and

– a group of Argentinian Rabbis.

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VATICAN CITY/GENEVA
Catholic News Service

By Cindy Wooden and Carol Glatz
Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Testifying before the U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child, a Vatican representative acknowledged the horror of clerical sexual abuse and insisted the Vatican was serious about protecting children.

Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, the Vatican observer to U.N. agencies in Geneva, said the church recognizes abuse of children as both a crime and sin, and the Vatican has been promoting policies that, “when properly applied, will help eliminate the occurrence of child sexual abuse by clergy and other church personnel.”

The archbishop spoke in Geneva Jan. 16 during the committee’s annual session to review reports from states that signed the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Holy See signed the treaty in 1990.

“There is no excuse for any form of violence or exploitation of children,” the archbishop said. “Such crimes can never be justified, whether committed in the home, in schools, in community and sports programs, in religious organizations and structures.”

Pope Francis, in a homily at his early morning Mass the same day, spoke generally about the shame of the “many scandals” perpetrated by members of the church. Those who abuse and exploit others, he said, may wear a holy medal or a cross, but they have no “living relationship with God or with his word.”

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UNITED STATES
Religion News Service

Boz Tchividjian | Jan 16, 2014

On January 2nd, a priest who was partly responsible for the sexual abuse of a 10 year old child, walked out of prison after his conviction was overturned. Monsignor William J. Lynn, a former official of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia was convicted in 2012 of Endangering the Welfare of a Child (EWOC). Monsignor Lynn is one of the first members of clergy to face criminal charges for failing to adequately supervise a priest with a known history of child sexual abuse. In addition to the devastation perpetrated upon an innocent child, the great tragedy of this case was best articulated by the appellate judge who wrote,

….the Commonwealth presented more than adequate evidence to sufficiently demonstrate that Appellant [Lynn] prioritized the Archdiocese’s reputation over the safety of potential victims of sexually abusing priests…

In the 1990’s, Monsignor William Lynn was in charge of addressing clergy abuse issues within the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. In 1992, Monsignor Lynn allowed a priest with known sexual abuse history to move into a parish rectory. A parish that included a grade school.

In early 1999, Edward Avery repeatedly sexually abused a ten year old boy who attended the parish grade school and had assisted Avery in serving mass.

In 2011, Monsignor William Lynn was charged with and convicted of the felony offense of Endangering the Welfare of a Child (EWOC) stemming from the 1999 offenses. He was sentenced to a prison term of three to six years. He appealed.

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GENEVA
NPR

by SCOTT NEUMAN
January 16, 2014

The Vatican is coming in for tough scrutiny on its handling of the priest sex abuse scandal from a United Nations committee meeting in Geneva on Thursday.

The U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) took church officials to task during what The Associated Press described as a “grilling” that insisted the Holy See “take all appropriate measures to keep children out of harm.”

The Vatican ratified the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1990, but as the BBC reports, it failed to submit any progress reports until 2012, well after revelations of child sex abuse in the U.S., Europe and elsewhere.

“The Holy See gets it,” Monsignor Charles Scicluna, the Vatican’s former sex crimes prosecutor, told the committee. “Let’s not say too late or not. But there are certain things that need to be done differently.”

NPR’s Sylvia Poggioli reports from Rome that Scicluna was the Holy See’s chief sex crimes prosecutor for the past decade. He’s credited “with overhauling Vatican procedures to prosecute pedophile priests, but the Vatican has refused to instruct its bishops to report suspected cases of abuse to police whether required to do by local law or not,” she says.

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GENEVA
euronews

In Geneva – and in the glare of the public for the first time – the Vatican is answering questions from the United Nations on child sex abuse by clergy.

The Holy See is a signatory of the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child. That requires it to answer questions about the scandal.

It was alleged the Church enabled the sexual abuse of thousands of children by protecting pedophile priests at the expense of its victims.

“The Holy See has also committed to listen carefully to victims of abuse and to address the impact such situations have on survivors of abuse and on their families,” Archbishop Silvano Tomasi told the hearing.

There was anger that the Vatican had earlier refused a request for data on abuse. Victims hope the hearing will prompt the Church to end what they see as secrecy.

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GENF
Mittelbayerische

Auch unter Franziskus wage es die katholische Kirche bislang nicht, sexuellen Missbrauch vollständig aufzuklären, kritisiert eine UN-Organisation.

Genf.
Mitglieder eines UN-Komitees haben den Vatikan wegen mangelnder Transparenz im Umgang mit dem sexuellen Missbrauch von Kindern durch katholische Geistliche kritisiert. Der Kirchenstaat weigere sich nach wie vor, die von den UN geforderten genauen Angaben zu Umfang des Skandals und zu Tätern zu machen, bemängelten sie am Donnerstag bei der ersten öffentlichen Anhörung zu diesem Thema vor dem UN-Komitee für die Rechte des Kindes in Genf. Papst Franziskus prangerte die Skandale am selben Tag bei seiner Frühmesse im Vatikan als „die Schande der Kirche“ an.

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GENF
Blick

Genf – Deutliche Worte des UNO-Komitees für die Rechte des Kindes: Auch unter Papst Franziskus wage es der Vatikan bislang nicht, sexuellen Missbrauch in der katholischen Kirche vollständig und öffentlich aufzuklären. Franziskus äusserte sich gleichentags zu den Skandalen.

Der Kirchenstaat weigere sich nach wie vor, die von der UNO geforderten genauen Angaben zu Umfang des Skandals und zu Tätern zu machen, bemängelten die Teilnehmer am Donnerstag bei der ersten öffentlichen Anhörung zu diesem Thema vor dem UNO-Komitee für die Rechte des Kindes in Genf.

Vor dem Ausschuss in Genf beteuerte der UNO-Gesandte des Heiligen Stuhls, Erzbischof Silvano Tomasi, der Vatikan gehe mit aller Kraft gegen den Missbrauch von Kindern vor. So habe der Papst eigens die Bildung einer Kommission für den Schutz von Minderjährigen veranlasst.

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GENF
Frankfurter Allgemeine

Der UN-Ausschuss für die Rechte des Kindes hat das Verhalten des Vatikans in dem Missbrauchsskandal kritisiert, der seit Jahren die katholische Kirche erschüttert. Die Expertin Sara Oviedo forderte bei einer Anhörung am Donnerstag in Genf, dass der Vatikan mehr Informationen über die getroffenen Maßnahmen zur Prävention von Kindesmissbrauch gibt. „Welche Änderungen beim Verhaltenskodex wurden getroffen, um sexuellen Missbrauch zu verhindern? Welche Strafen wurden gegen Priester verhängt, deren Verhalten unangemessen war?“, fragte Oviedo.

Der Vatikan hatte es im Dezember abgelehnt, dem UN-Ausschuss auf im Juli übermittelte Fragen zu antworten, in welchen Missbrauchsfällen die Glaubenskongregation des Vatikan derzeit ermittelt. Insgesamt wurden von den Diözesen in den vergangenen Jahren rund 4000 Fälle an die Glaubenskongregation weitergeleitet. Kritiker werfen dem Vatikan vor, mit seinem Schweigen die Missbrauchsvorwürfe gegen Kirchenmitarbeiter vertuschen zu wollen, doch der Vatikan erklärt, dadurch Zeugen und Opfer schützen zu wollen.

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GENEVA
The Tablet (United Kingdom)

16 January 2014 12:54 by Liz Dodd

Vatican officials are appearing today in front of a United Nations inquiry to answer questions about the Holy See’s record on tackling child sex abuse by clergy.

It is the first time that the Vatican has been confronted publicly about the abuse crisis.

Pope Francis’s delegation of five is led by Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, the Vatican’s envoy to the UN, and Bishop Charles Scicluna, the Vatican’s former chief prosecutor of sexual abuse.

The hearing, which marks the conclusion of the UN’s investigation into the Holy See’s compliance with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which it is a signatory, is taking place in Geneva.

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RHODE ISLAND
TheMediaReport

WJAR, an NBC television affiliate in Providence, recently trumpeted a trove of documents it obtained from Rhode Island’s state police. They contain letters alleging old sex abuse claims against priests which the Diocese of Providence sent to the police over the past several years.

And while WJAR reporter Katie Davis proudly proclaimed the papers as “detailing sexual abuse by Rhode Island Roman Catholic priests,” what is most noteworthy about the documents is the large number of bogus accusations and outright attempts of fraud against the Church, none of which was mentioned by Davis.

Media credence and mental illness

The documents contain a number of claims which are clearly untrue and even preposterous:
an “obviously troubled individual” made “numerous calls” to the diocese claiming that a priest who had never been accused of anything was “a pedophile and had killed a young boy and buried him on the church property” (doc);

a man left a phone message and claimed he had a list of “73 active priests” who may have molested children, but the man never responded to any return phone calls by the diocese seeking additional information (doc);

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VIRGINIA/TEXAS
WRIC

RICHMOND (WRIC)—Geronimo Scott “Pastor G” Aguilar, the ex-founder and former head pastor of the Richmond Outreach Center, commonly known as the ROC, was indicted in a second sexual assault case on Wednesday.

ABC 8 News Anchor Kerri O’Brien broke this story last year, and has been following it closely ever since.

Aguilar, 43, was arrested in May 2013 and charged with sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl and her 13-year-old sister while he was their youth pastor in Fort Worth, Texas in 1996 and 1997. In September, a grand jury indicted him on two counts of aggravated sexual assault in the case involving the younger sister. Wednesday’s indictment pertains to the case involving the then-13-year-old sister, who spoke to ABC 8 News exclusively more than nine months ago.

“I was 13 and it started out the same way, where he was very flirtatious and then it progressed … within a month’s time where we started having sexual intercourse,” she said.

Her younger sister said, “I was about 11 when I had my first encounter with Geronimo that was inappropriate.”

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GENF
euronews

Vertretern des Vatikan werden heute in Genf vor dem UN-Kinderrechtskomitee u.a. zum Kindesmissbrauch in der Katholischen Kirche Stellung nehmen. Die Anhörung ist eine turnusmäßige Prüfung, der sich alle 193 Unterzeichnerstaaten der UN-Kinderrechtskonvention zu unterziehen haben.

Vatikansprecher Pater Federico Lombardi betonte man müsse unterscheiden zwischen der Kirche als Organisation und der Kirche als einer Gemeinschaft von Gläubigen. “Die Gemeinschaft der Gläubigen besteht aus Menschen verschiedener Länder mit verschiedenen Gesetzen. Und wenn sie in ihrem Land gegen Gesetze verstoßen haben, dann müssen sie sich vor den Behörden ihres Landes gemäß den Gesetzen des Landes verantworten”, sagte Pater Lombardi.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Deutschlandfunk

Ein Kirchengericht hat einen früheren Jesuitenpater wegen sexuellen Missbrauchs verurteilt. Der heute 72-Jährige muss eine Geldstrafe an einen Fonds für Missbrauchsopfer zahlen. Er bleibt Priester, darf das Amt aber nicht ausüben.

Das Kirchengericht des Erzbistums Berlin hat einen früheren Jesuitenpater wegen sexuellen Missbrauchs verurteilt. Hierbei handelt es sich um einen der beiden mutmaßlichen Haupttäter am Canisius-Kolleg Berlin, einem Gymnasium des Jesuitenordens. Der damalige Rektor des Canisius-Kollegs Pater Klaus Mertes hatte die Vorfälle Anfang 2010 öffentlich gemacht und damit den Missbrauchsskandal ins Rollen gebracht. Der Sprecher des Erzbistums Berlin Stefan Förner:

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DEUTSCHLAND
RBB

[Summary: A scandal involving sexual abuse at Berlin’s Canisius College became public in 2010. Today a 72-year-old Jesuit priest was convicted in a church court for violations of criminal and civil law. The acts are time-barred in secular law. According to the Berlin archdiocese, the priest accepted the 4,000-euro fine and has paid the first installment. The money to will into a fund for victims.]

2010 erschütterte der Skandal um den sexuellen Missbrauch am Berliner Canisius-Kolleg die Katholische Kirche. Nun wurde ein heute 72-jähriger Jesuitenpater deswegen verurteilt – von einem Kirchengericht, denn straf- und zivilrechtlich sind die Taten verjährt.

Das Kirchengericht des Erzbistums Berlin hat einen der mutmaßlichen Haupttäter bei den langjährigen Fällen von sexuellem Missbrauch am Canisius-Kolleg verurteilt. Der heute 72-jährige Jesuitenpater sei auf Lebenszeit vom Priesterdienst ausgeschlossen und zu einer Geldstrafe verurteilt worden, sagte der Sprecher des Erzbistums Berlin, Stefan Förner, am Mittwoch. Der Geistliche habe das Urteil akzeptiert und bereits eine erste Rate der Strafe in Höhe von 4.000 Euro an einen Fonds für Missbrauchsopfer bezahlt. Straf- und zivilrechtlich sind die Taten verjährt.

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MASSACHUSETTS
WPRI

[with video]

By Nancy Krause
Reporting by Sean Daly

ATTLEBORO, Mass. (WPRI) — The principal of an Attleboro school accused of repeatedly sexually assaulting a female student over several years admitted to the allegations, according a police report obtained by Eyewitness News.

The Rev. Jeffrey Nichols, 47, pleaded not guilty to several charges against him, including aggravated indecent assault and battery on a child under 14.

According to the police report, a student told officers Nichols, a principal at Grace Baptist Christian Academy and assistant pastor at Grace Baptist Church, began assaulting her in 2008 – when she was a 13-year-old seventh grader – until June of 2013.

The report stated the student told police Nichols exposed himself to her several times, touched her inappropriately and frequently asked her for sexual favors. She told police she “continually denied his requests for sexual favors.”

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VATICAN CITY
Cardinal Roger Mahony Blogs LA

Today, Thursday, January 16, it was a great grace to concelebrate Mass with Pope Francis in the Chapel at Domus Sanctae Martae, and then later in the morning, to have a private Audience with him.

The MASS Each weekday morning Pope Francis celebrates Mass at 7:00 AM in the Chapel of his residence, Domus Sanctae Martae. Today, Cardinal Carlos Amigo Vallejo, OFM, the Archbishop Emeritus of Seville in Spain, also concelebrated, together with a group of Italian priests

It is so evident that Pope Francis is a man of prayer, a holy Successor to St. Peter. It is remarkable how he is able to reflect on the Scriptures of the day without any notes or text–but flowing directly from his prayer life and from his heart. Today’s Gospel was about the leper who begged Jesus to heal him. St. Mark recounts that Jesus reached out and touched the leper in great mercy, and healed him. Pope Francis reminded all of us that as disciples of Jesus we are called to reach to all our brothers and sisters in need.

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GENEVA
Vatican Information Service

Vatican City, 16 January 2014 (VIS) – Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, C.S., Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations in Geneva, spoke this morning before the Committee on the Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC). He presented the Holy See’s periodic report on this issue.

“The protection of children remains a major concern for contemporary society and for the Holy See,” the prelate said. “… Abusers are found among members of the world’s most respected professions, most regrettably, including members of the clergy and other church personnel. …”

“Confronted with this reality, the Holy See has carefully delineated policies and procedures designed to help eliminate such abuse and to collaborate with respective State authorities to fight against this crime. The Holy See is also committed to listen carefully to victims of abuse and to address the impact such situations have on survivors of abuse and on their families. The vast majority of church personnel and institutions on the local level have provided, and continue to provide, a wide variety of services to children by educating them, and by supporting their families, and by responding to their physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. Egregious crimes of abuse committed against children have rightly been adjudicated and punished by the competent civil authorities in the respective countries.”

“Therefore, the response of the Holy See to the sad phenomenon of the sexual abuse of minors has been articulated in different ambits. On the level of the Holy See, as the Sovereign of Vatican City State, the response to sexual abuse has been in accord with its direct responsibility over the territory of Vatican City State. In this regard, special legislation has been enacted to implement international legal obligations, and covers the State, and its tiny population.”

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

The Perth Magistrates Court has been told a Catholic priest intends to plead not guilty to child sex charges dating back to the 1980s.

Father Glen Humphreys was charged last year with abusing a boy, south of Perth, between 1983 and 1986 when he aged between 15 and 17-years-old.

Father Humphreys did not appear in court.

The court heard he has reported to police in New South Wales where he now lives.

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GENF
Sueddeutsche

Der Vatikan stellt sich erstmals einer Befragung des UN-Kinderrechtskomitees in Genf zum Schutz von Minderjährigen. Es wird um Maßnahmen gegen sexuellen Missbrauch und Diskriminierung von Mädchen gehen. Einige Fragen bleiben wohl unbeantwortet.

Der Vatikan stellt sich heute erstmals den Fragen des UN-Kinderrechtskomitees (CRC) in Genf. Dabei soll es vor allem um die unzähligen Missbrauchsskandale in der katholischen Kirche gehen – und welche Maßnahmen getroffen wurden und getroffen werden müssen, um Kinder in Zukunft besser zu schützen. Ein anderes großes Thema soll Kinderpornografie und die Diskrimierung von Mädchen sein. Die 18 unabhängigen Experten des Gremiums stellen ihre Ergebnisse am 5. Februar vor.

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GENEVA
BBC News

The Vatican is being confronted publicly for the first time over the sexual abuse of children by clergy, at a UN hearing in Geneva.

Officials faced a barrage of hard questions such as why would they not release full data and what were they doing to prevent future abuse.

Archbishop Silvano Tomasi said such crimes could “never be justified” and every child should be “inviolable”.

A fellow official said “things need to be done differently”.

The Vatican earlier refused a request from the UN’s Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) for data on abuse, and was accused of responding inadequately to abuse allegations.

The Holy See gets it that there are things that need to be done differently”

The Vatican came to Geneva expecting a rough ride and so far it is getting one, the BBC’s Imogen Foulkes reports.

Victims say they hope the hearing, which is being broadcast live, will prompt the Church to end its “secrecy”.

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GENEVA
Vatican Information Service

PRESENTATION OF THE PERIODIC REPORTS OF THE HOLY SEE TO THE COMMITTEE ON THE CONVENTION OF THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD AND THE OPTIONAL PROTOCOLS (JANUARY 16, 2014 PALAIS WILSON, GENEVA), 16.01.2014

Pubblichiamo di seguito l’intervento tenuto questa mattina dal Capo Delegazione della Santa Sede al Comitato che oggi esamina a Ginevra il Rapporto presentato dalla Santa Sede sull’applicazione della Convenzione sui Diritti del Fanciullo:

● S.E.R. MONS. SILVANO TOMASI, HEAD OF HOLY SEE DELEGATION

Madame Chairperson, Members of the Committee,

At the time of the ratification in 1990, the Holy See made the following declaration.

“The Holy See regards the present Convention as a proper and laudable instrument aimed at protecting the rights and interests of children, who are ‘that precious treasure given to each generation as a challenge to its wisdom and humanity.”

“By acceding to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Holy See intends to give renewed expression to its constant concern for the well-being of children and families. In consideration of its singular nature and position, the Holy See, in acceding to this Convention, does not intend to prescind in any way from its specific mission which is of a religious and moral character.”

The protection of children remains a major concern for contemporary society and for the Holy See. The UN report on Violence Against Children, issued in 2006, cited shocking WHO estimates that 150 million girls and 73 million boys under 18 “experienced forced sexual intercourse and other forms of sexual violence involving physical contact”.1 Even if they contain a significant margin of error, these estimates should never be ignored nor overshadowed by other priorities or interests on the part of the international community. Moreover, this estimate does not include projections on the number of victims of child labour and child trafficking, whether for sexual exploitation, forced work, sale of organs, and other shameful reasons. Although little is known about the magnitude of the problem, the International Labor Organization, in 2002, estimated that there were 1.2 million children being trafficked each year2.

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BBC News

The Vatican is facing tough questions from UN investigators in Geneva on the sexual abuse of thousands of children by Roman Catholic clergy.

Pope Francis has said that dealing with abuse is vital for the Church’s credibility, but the Church has been criticised over its inadequate response to some of the allegations.

When did the sex abuse scandals in the Church first come to light?

The sexual abuse of children was rarely discussed in public before the 1970s, and it was not until the 1980s that the first cases of molestation by priests came to light, in the United States and Canada.

In the 1990s, revelations began of widespread abuse in Ireland.

In the new century, more cases of abuse have been revealed in more than a dozen countries around the world.

What are the most salient cases of abuse?

Two major reports into Irish allegations of paedophilia in 2009 revealed the shocking extent of abuse, cover-ups and hierarchical failings involving thousands of victims, and stretching back decades.

In one, four Dublin archbishops were found to have in effect turned a blind eye to cases of abuse from 1975 to 2004.

A fresh scandal erupted in March 2010 when it emerged the head of the Irish Catholic Church, Cardinal Sean Brady, was present at meetings in 1975 where children signed vows of silence over complaints against a paedophile priest, Fr Brendan Smyth. This prompted Pope Benedict XVI to apologise to Irish victims.

In the US, the Boston Archdiocese has been worst hit, with the activities of two of its priests, Paul Shanley and John Geoghan, causing public outrage.

Cardinal Bernard Law resigned over the scandal in 2002.

In Mexico, the founder of the Legion of Christ order, Marcial Maciel, long admired by Pope John Paul II, was disciplined by the Vatican in 2006 over the abuse of boys and young men over a period of 30 years.

The Legion insisted his was an isolated case, but seven more priests of the order have been investigated.

The bishop of the Belgian city of Bruges, Roger Vangheluwe, resigned in 2010 after admitting that he had sexually abused a boy for years.

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GENEVA
RTE News

The Vatican is being questioned by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) over how it handled allegations of child sexual abuse committed by priests.

The six-hour meeting at the Palais Wilson in Geneva is the first time the Holy See has been publicly questioned by an international panel over the child abuse scandal.

The UN panel will assess the church’s adherence to the 1990 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The treaty guarantees a full range of human rights for children and was signed by the Holy See.

Alleged victims of abuse at the hands of Catholic priests are among those in attendance at the event, including representatives from the Survivors’ Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP).

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GENEVA
The Hindu

The Catholic Church must be more transparent in dealing with child sexual abuse by its clergy and mete out fair punishments, a UN human rights panel said on Thursday, as a Vatican envoy said it has taken steps to eliminate such crimes in the future.

The Holy See had issued guidance to national churches, some of which had also drawn up their own guidelines, and Catholic non-governmental groups had set up educational programmes on sexual abuse, Archbishop Silvano Tomasi told the Committee on the Rights of the Child.

“The results of combined efforts taken by local churches and by the Holy See presents a framework that when properly applied will help eliminate the occurrence of child sexual abuse by clergy and other church personnel,” the Vatican’s Geneva envoy said.

More than 4,000 cases of sexual abuse of children had been reported to the Vatican in the past decade, US Cardinal Levada said in early 2012.

The UN committee’s vice-chairwoman, Sara De Jesus Oviedo Fierro, demanded that the Vatican provide more details on abuse cases and on the countermeasures as demanded previously by the UN body.

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GENEVA
Toronto Star

By: John Heilprin The Associated Press, Published on Thu Jan 16 2014

GENEVA—The Vatican came under blistering criticism from a UN committee Thursday for its handling of the global priest sex abuse scandal, facing its most intense public grilling ever over allegations that it protected pedophile priests at the expense of victims.

Monsignor Charles Scicluna, the Vatican’s former sex crimes prosecutor, acknowledged that the Holy See had been slow to face the crisis but said that it was now committed to doing so. He encouraged prosecutors to take action against anyone who obstructs justice — a suggestion that bishops who moved priests from diocese to diocese should be held accountable.

He was responding to a grilling by the UN committee over the Holy See’s failure to abide by terms of a treaty that calls for signatories to take all appropriate measures to keep children from harm. Critics allege the church enabled the rape of thousands of children by protecting pedophile priests to defend its reputation.

The committee’s main human rights investigator, Sara Oviedo, was particularly tough, pressing the Vatican on the frequent ways abusive priests were transferred rather than turned in to police. Given the church’s “zero tolerance” policy, she asked, why were there “efforts to cover up and obscure these types of cases.”

Another committee member, Maria Rita Parsi, an Italian psychologist and psychotherapist, pressed further: “If these events continue to be hidden and covered up, to what extent will children be affected?”

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GENEVA
NBC News

By Alexander Smith, NBC News contributor

The Vatican came under blistering criticism from a United Nations committee Thursday over allegations it protected pedophile priests at the expense of victims in what constituted a worldwide sex abuse scandal.

The U.N. committee’s main human rights investigator, Sara Oviedo, led the most intense grilling the Holy See has received on the issue, according to a report by The Associated Press.

Given the “zero tolerance” policy of the Vatican, she asked, why were there “efforts to cover up and obscure these types of cases?”

According to the AP, another committee member, psychologist Maria Rita Parsi, added: “If these events continue to be hidden and covered up, to what extent will children be affected?”

The U.N. committee in Geneva, Switzerland, was pressing the Holy See about its failure to provide reports for almost two decades on the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, which it ratified in 1990.

The Vatican insists it is not responsible for the actions of priests, who it says are not its employees but citizens of their own countries.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
News Letter

Illegitimacy was historically viewed by some as a moral failure not just on the part of the parents but for the child his or herself, it was claimed in Banbridge yesterday.

Counsel for the inquiry Christine Smith QC yesterday detailed the development of the care system both before and after partition.

In the 1800s a wave of Catholic institutions were built, with French models of care imported. Larger institutions were seen as giving economies of scale.

The intention was to save souls and the Victorian idea of redeeming individuals was also a factor.

From 1859 to 1969, she said that 1,005 children passed through industrial schools on the island.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
News Letter

Had official guidance been followed many cases of abuse would not have arisen, the abuse inquiry heard yesterday.

Christine Smith QC said that a 1952 memo for homes advised that bed wetting could not be attributed to any one cause, citing possible delays in learned bladder control or development.

Other factors could be feelings of not being wanted and related hopelessness in the child, she said.

If cases persisted the child should be seen by medical experts, the memo advised.

However, the inquiry has had reports from former home residents that from 1952 until during the 1970s children were being punished for wetting beds, she said.

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UNITED STATES
City of Angels

Kay Ebeling

(They are on a 15 min break. I typed this real fast while it was taking place. Missed Vatican opening statement as links sent out did not work for me. At bottom is link to hearings that does work, courtesy of a friend in Australia. Here are my notes: )

Moral authority. Responsibility

Article 4 of convention of rights of child establishes legal responsibility of parties to adopt all measures to ensure rights respected.
Committee has tried to shed light on number five re implementation.
Need to review domestic legislation.

Ought to be a revision
Question of terminology used
Legitimate and illegitimate children and how viewed in canon law.
Information and training to what extent provided in Catholic schools?
(Shoot, they are not talking about pedophile priests at all.)
Child as a rights holder

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DEUTSCHLAND
Westfalen Post

[A 72-year-old priest has been condemned by a Berlin church court for sexual abuse at Canisius College. He is not allowed to be an active priest and has been fined 4,000 euros to go to a fund to pay abuse victims.]

Berlin. Ein 72-jähriger Pater ist von einem Berliner Kirchengericht wegen sexuellen Missbrauchs am Canisius-Kolleg verurteilt worden. Er darf Zeit seines Lebens nicht mehr als Priester tätig werden und muss eine Geldstrafe in Höhe von 4000 Euro an einen Fonds für Missbrauchsopfer bezahlen.

Das Kirchengericht des Erzbistums Berlin hat einen der mutmaßlichen Haupttäter bei den langjährigen Fällen sexuellen Missbrauchs am Canisius-Kolleg verurteilt. Der heute 72-jährige Jesuitenpater sei auf Lebenszeit vom Priesterdienst ausgeschlossen worden, sagte der Sprecher des Erzbistums Berlin, Stefan Förner, am Mittwoch. Er bestätigte damit einen Bericht vom “Deutschlandfunk”. Der Geistliche habe das Urteil akzeptiert und bereits eine erste Rate der Geldstrafe in Höhe von 4000 Euro an einen Fonds für Missbrauchsopfer bezahlt. Straf- und zivilrechtlich sind die Taten verjährt

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DEUTSCHLAND
Berliner Zeitung

[Summary: The Berlin archdiocese in a report to be submitted on sexual abuse said church officials know of a total of 28 clerics, members of religious orders and church employees who have been accused of sexual abuse since 2002.]

BERLIN –
Das Berliner Erzbistum legt einen Bericht zu sexuellem Missbrauch vor. Auch weiterhin sollen Beauftragte sich um Verdachtsfälle kümmern und als Ansprechpartner bereit stehen.

Im Erzbistum Berlin sind seit dem Jahr 2002 insgesamt 28 Kleriker, Ordensangehörige sowie Mitarbeiterinnen und Mitarbeiter im kirchlichen Dienst des sexuellen Missbrauchs beschuldigt worden. Das geht aus einem Zwischenbericht hervor, den die katholische Kirche jetzt vorlegte.

Seit dem Jahr 2010, als die enorme Anzahl von Missbrauchsfällen am Canisius-Kolleg in Tiergarten bekanntwurde, hat die Kirche in Berlin ein System zur Prävention und Aufarbeitung von Missbrauchsfällen etabliert. Dazu gehört, dass Ansprechpersonen benannt wurden, die sich mit Verdachtsfällen befassen, Anträge auf Entschädigungszahlungen bearbeiten und Auskunft über Vorwürfe und Ergebnisse über entsprechende Untersuchungen geben.

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GENEVA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Thursday, Jan. 16

Statement by Mary Caplan of Manhattan, national board member of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests ( Mcaplan682@aol.com )

Two high-ranking Catholic officials today basically told a United Nations panel that the Vatican has little real power to stop bishops from hiding clergy sex crimes. We’re very saddened that such a huge and powerful church bureaucracy continues to pretend it’s powerless over its own officials.

These clerics said some nice things today in Geneva. But unfortunately, the nice public words today by Catholic officials differ radically from the actual and distressing private behavior of Catholic officials. Before the cameras, the church hierarchy often denounces predators and thanks victims. But behind closed doors, the church hierarchy often protects predators and rebuffs victims (despite repeated pledges of reform).

The Catholic officials today repeatedly cited vague, minor, new and unenforced internal church abuse guidelines. But these are meaningless because no one is ever punished for breaking church abuse guidelines.

And many of the guidelines focus on child molesting clerics while ignoring the bigger problem: corrupt church officials who are still endangering kids, moving offenders, stonewalling law enforcement and deceiving parishioners and the public.

Catholic officials couldn’t cite a single case in which the Vatican punished even a single church staff for endangering a single child or helping a single predator. That’s because this almost never happens. And until it does, kids won’t be measurably safer in the church.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) The Holy See, will discuss Thursday, at the United Nations Office in Geneva, a report on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The agreement includes calls for signatories to take all appropriate measures to protect children from harm and to put children’s interests above all else.

The Holy See ratified the convention in 1990

The Vatican will be represented by Monsignor Charles Scicluna who previously served as Promoter of Justice at the Congregation of for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Lydia O’Kane spoke to Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations.

See below the transcript of Vatican Radio’s interview with Archbishop Tomasi

Q. What is happening today in Geneva regarding this subject?
A. today is in session the committee of experts of the convention of the rights of the child. It is the seat of the Human Rights Office of the United Nations. This committee presents its observations, suggestions, advice to every state that has ratified the convention and therefore has an obligation to present a report on how the convention is implemented in the territory of this state. It’s an occasion to start a dialogue between the state involved and the experts in order to facilitate and to improve the protection of children. Today in this current session of the committee will be examined the reports of Russia, Germany, the Holy See, Portugal, Congo, Yemen, and we will very gladly take this occasion as a constructive moment, an important occasion, to reaffirm the value and the procedures of the convention and to accept any good advice that is given for that can be helpful in the protection of children. The Holy See is more than willing to, as it has declared already when it ratified the convention in 1990, to promote and to sustain the good principles and the good values that are contained in this convention. So, today is a normal day of work for the United Nations. The attention that is given to the Holy See is understandable but it is part of a series of other states that are being examined and we are convinced that some very good results are coming out of this dialogue with the experts.

Q. There has however been criticism of the Holy See. What is your response to that?
A. There are several criticisms that are made on the policies or the presumed policies of the Holy See like that they covered up some crimes but I would say that the policy of the Holy See is to recognize that any crime is bad and when children are involved it becomes a crime that needs to be addressed more forcefully. So the obstruction of justice to the detriment of the legitimate jurisdiction of the individual state should be prosecuted by those states in every case. The policy and good sense of the Holy See is to encourage the prosecution of any crime, including crimes, and especially crimes, against children. So my sense is that some of these accusations or criticisms derive from a lack of knowledge of the activity, the measures taken by the Holy See in the last several years and also by the local churches and by the attitude and the directives given by the Holy See that are for transparency and protection in any case of, as a priority of all the children.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) Vatican officials are appearing Thursday before the UN committee in Geneva that is responsible for overseeing the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which the Holy See is a party. The Director of the Press Office of the Holy See, Fr. Federico Lombardi, SJ, issued a Note detailing the history of the Holy See’s adherence to the Convention and its response to a series of questions posed by the committee subsequent to the Holy See’s 2nd Report on implementation of the Convention, submitted in 2011.

The three-page Note, written in Italian, stresses that, “The Holy See is deeply saddened by the scourge of sexual abuse of minors, which harms millions of children throughout the world,” and “laments that, sadly, certain members of the clergy have been involved in such abuse.” The Note goes on to say that the dramatic problem of child sex abuse, lived with unspeakable suffering in the community of the Church, has posed a direct challenge to the credibility of the Church’s commitment to the welfare of children – “[A challenge],” writes Fr. Lombardi, “that has led to the development, in the spirit of the Convention [and] under the Holy See’s guidance, of a series of initiatives and directives [that have proven] extremely helpful also outside the Church community.”

The Note also explains the nature of the Holy See as a sovereign subject of international law, and the limits of the Holy See’s rights and responsibilities vis à vis the conduct of clergy and religious throughout the world. “In fact,” explains Fr. Lombardi, “it is not rare to find that the questions posed [by the committee] – above all where they refer to the sexual abuse of minors – seem to presuppose that bishops or religious superiors act as representatives or delegates of the Pope – [though this is] utterly without foundation.” Fr. Lombardi goes on to clarify that civil authorities in countries that are party to the Convention are directly responsible for the Convention’s implementation and for enforcement of laws for the protection of minors.

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NIGERIA
Nigerian Tribune

The Roman Catholic Church is still choosing self-preservation over full disclosure in child sex abuse cases, according to a report mapping the phemonenon of clerical paedophilia.

A 48-page document, published on Wednesday by the UK-based charity Child Rights International Network (CRIN), said there were still no global guidelines to directly deal with the welfare of the victims and that serious cases were not being sent to civil judicial authorities, despite decades of allegations and controversy.

CRIN director Veronica Yates said: “Child sexual abuse in religious institutions is one of the worst crimes ever committed against children.

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GENEVA
CBS News

GENEVA — The Vatican has acknowledged there can be “no excuse” for child abuse, confronted for the first time at length and in public over the global priest sex abuse scandal.

At a U.N. hearing, Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, the Vatican’s representative in Geneva, said, “Such crimes can never be justified” whether committed at home, school, sports activities or in religious organizations and structures.

Tomasi told a U.N. committee Thursday the Holy See welcomes any suggestions that could help it in promoting and encouraging the respect of the rights of the child.

He spoke at the beginning of a hearing at which the Vatican is being challenged with allegations it enabled the rape of thousands of children by protecting pedophile priests and its own reputation at the expense of victims.

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GENEVA
Time

By Nate Rawlings @naterawlings
Jan. 16, 20141

The Vatican publicly confronted the sex abuse scandal that has rocked the Catholic Church at length Thursday, saying there can be “no excuse” for child abuse.

Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, the Vatican’s representative in Geneva, told a U.N. hearing “such crimes can never be justified.” Tomasi said that the church welcomes suggestions that could help promote respect for the rights of children.

The hearing is part of a U.N. investigation into the Holy See’s compliance with the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child. The church sent a five-person delegation to Geneva for the hearings, including its former chief sex-crimes prosecutor Monsignor Charles Scicluna. Advocacy groups acknowledge a different tone under Pope Francis, but want to see more sweeping changes in how the Vatican deals with sexual molestation by members of the clergy.

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GENEVA
CBC News

The Vatican came under blistering criticism from a UN committee Thursday for its handling of the global priest sex abuse scandal, facing its most intense public grilling ever over allegations that it protected pedophile priests at the expense of victims.

Monsignor Charles Scicluna, the Vatican’s former sex crimes prosecutor, acknowledged that the Holy See had been slow to face the crisis but said that it was now committed to doing so. He encouraged prosecutors to take action against anyone who obstructs justice — a suggestion that bishops who moved priests from diocese to diocese should be held accountable.

“The Holy See gets it,” Scicluna told the committee. “Let’s not say too late or not. But there are certain things that need to be done differently.”

He was responding to a grilling by the UN committee over the Holy See’s failure to abide by terms of a treaty that calls for signatories to take all appropriate measures to keep children from harm. Critics allege the church enabled the rape of thousands of children by protecting pedophile priests to defend its reputation.

The committee’s main human rights investigator, Sara Oviedo, was particularly tough, pressing the Vatican on the frequent ways abusive priests were transferred rather than turned in to police. Given the church’s “zero tolerance” policy, she asked, why were there “efforts to cover up and obscure these types of cases.”

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CALIFORNIA
Zeit

[Summary: After decades of child sexual abuse allegations, the Stockton diocese has filed for bankruptcy. The diocese says its resources are depleted.]

Der jahrzehntelange Kindesmissbrauch durch ihre Priester macht die US-Diözese Stockton zu einem Fall für das Insolvenzgericht. Die Mittel des Bistums sind aufgebraucht.

Aufgrund millionenschwerer Entschädigungszahlungen für Missbrauchsopfer ist die römisch-katholische Diözese Stockton in Kalifornien pleite. Sie hat deshalb in Sacramento Insolvenz angemeldet. “Wir sind in dieser Situation aufgrund der vielen Priester, die in unserer Diözese Kinder sexuell missbraucht haben”, heißt es in einer Erklärung des zuständigen Bischofs Stephen E. Blaire. “Wir sollten niemals vergessen, dass diese bösen Handlungen – und nicht die Opfer des Missbrauchs – für unsere finanziellen Schwierigkeiten verantwortlich sind.”

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NORTHERN IRELAND
BBC News

A man who alleges he was abused in a County Down children’s home almost 60 years ago has welcomed an apology but said it does not go far enough.

Conor Ryan said he was physically and sexually abused by staff at Rubane House in Kircubbin in the late 1950s.

Mr Ryan said his younger brother was also abused at Rubane House, but did not confide this in him until shortly before his death three years ago.

The home was run by a Catholic Church order – the De La Salle Brothers.

Lifelong scars

Mr Ryan told BBC Good Morning Ulster that at one stage he was hospitalised as a result of the order’s abuse.

“I ended up in hospital in Newtownards, I had my head split open with a hurley stick with metal bands on it.”

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INDIANA
Indiana News Center

By Emily Dwire

Walkerton, IND. (21 Alive) – A Priest with ties to the Fort Wayne area has resigned and retired amid allegations that he sexually abused a minor 44 years ago.

The Fort Wayne-South Bend Diocese launched a preliminary investigation once it got word of the allegations, saying it has strong evidence that Father James Seculoff did sexually abuse a minor decades ago.

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NEW JERSEY
NorthJersey.com

MORRISTOWN — A New Jersey man has admitted using a sledgehammer to destroy a monument to victims of clergy sexual abuse.

Morris County authorities say Gordon Ellis pleaded guilty Wednesday to a downgraded charge of criminal mischief as a disorderly person offense. The 39-year-old Mendham man won’t have to serve a jail term but must pay $7,500 in restitution and will be put on probation when he’s sentenced Feb. 7.

Ellis, who authorities say has a history of psychiatric problems, destroyed the 400-pound millstone memorial outside St. Joseph Church in Mendham in November 2011. Authorities say the reasons behind the vandalism will be disclosed at the sentencing hearing.

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NEW JERSEY
Patch

Posted by Jason Koestenblatt (Editor) , January 15, 2014

More than two years after a monument dedicated to victims of clergy sex abuse was destroyed, a Mendham man pleaded guilty to the crime.

Gordon Ellis, 39, pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of criminal mischief as a disorderly persons offense on Wednesday in Superior Court in Morristown, according to nj.com.

Third-degree criminal mischief and desecrating religious or sectarian premises were the original charges filed against Ellis, the report said.

Under the plea agreement, in which Ellis admitted taking a sledgehammer to the 400-lb. monument outside St. Joseph Church in Mendham, the man must pay $7,500 in restitution and will be given probation with no jail time, the report said.

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UNITED KINGDOM
ITV

When allegations of sexual abuse against young children in the Catholic Church came to light “the Church was found seriously wanting”, the head of a watchdog told Daybreak.

However, the Catholic Church in the UK was in “a much better place” since the initial scandal, the chair of the National Catholic Safeguarding Committee said.

Speaking ahead of a UN committee in Geneva on paedophile priests, David Sullivan said: “I think initially when the abuse scandal broke…it is absolutely valid to say the Church was found wanting.

“There had been cover up, priests that they knew had been abusing church leaders were moving around, victims were not believed or not listened to.”

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GENEVA
CNN

Rome (CNN) — For the first time, the Vatican is being forced to answer allegations it enabled the sexual abuse of children by protecting pedophile priests as a U.N. committee concludes its investigation of the Holy See.

A handful of Vatican officials, including Monsignor Silvano Tomasi, permanent observer of the Holy See to the United Nations in Geneva, and Monsignor Charles Scicluna, the Vatican’s former chief sex-crimes prosecutor, stood ready to answer questions during two Thursday sessions.

“It’s a first step,” said Joelle Casteix, a regional director for SNAP — the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. “Five years ago we never thought that something like this would even be possible.”

Since taking the helm of the Roman Catholic Church in March, Pope Francis has told a senior Vatican official to “act decisively” against sexual abuse and carry out “due proceedings against the guilty.”

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GENEVA
The New York Times

By NICK CUMMING-BRUCEJAN. 16, 2014

GENEVA — In an unusual appearance before a United Nations committee, Vatican officials faced questions on Thursday about the Holy See’s handling of sexual abuse of children by the clergy.

The officials, including Msgr. Charles J. Scicluna, who served as the Vatican’s chief sex crimes prosecutor for a decade up to 2012, are appearing before the Committee on the Rights of the Child to show how the Vatican is implementing a legally binding convention promoting child rights, which it signed in 1990.

Human rights organizations and groups representing victims of clerical abuse welcomed the hearing as the first occasion the Vatican has had to publicly defend its record.

“It’s a moment that has given hope and encouragement to victims across the globe,” Barbara Blaine, president of the Chicago-based Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said in Geneva ahead of the hearing.

Amid the shake-up launched by Pope Francis in the 10 months since he took office, rights groups also saw Thursday’s hearing as an occasion that could shed light on the pontiff’s approach to dealing with the clerical abuse scandal.

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GENEVA
Aljazeera

The Roman Catholic Church has defended its record on tackling clerical sexual abuse, telling a UN committee it was keen to become “an example of best practice” in the field of child protection.

At a hearing in Geneva on Thursday, Monsignor Silvano Tomasi told the committee that the Holy See, which is recognised by international law as a sovereign entity headed by the Pope, had “carefully delineated policies and procedures” to help eliminate priestly paedophilia and to work with state authorities to fight such crime.

He made the remarks at the start of a hearing that will challenge the church over allegations it enabled the abuse of children by protecting paedophile priests and its own reputation at the expense of victims.

But his initial statement made no reference to the controversies that have dogged the church for decades.

Tomasi, who is the Holy See’s representative to the UN, said: “The result of the combined action taken by local churches and by the Holy See presents a framework that, when properly applied, will help eliminate the occurrence of child sexual abuse by clergy and other church personnel.

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VATICAN CITY
Gazzetta del Sud

Vatican City, January 16 – Scandals that have “shamed” the Catholic Church often occurred when people did not listen to the word of God, Pope Francis said Thursday. Speaking during Mass in St. Martha House, the Vatican guesthouse where the pope lives, Francis said that when a person’s “heart is closed to the word of God,” terrible things can happen. His comments came the same day that the Vatican was being publicly confronted for the first time over allegation of sexual abuse of children by clergy, before a United Nations hearing in Geneva. Pope Francis announced last month that a Vatican committee would be established to deal with sexual abuse of children in the Church and help to victims. During his homily, Francis referred to financial scandals that have involved “a lot of money” as well as misbehavior by priests, bishops and lay members of the Church. “The word of God was rare in those scandals…they did not have a relationship with God,” he said of those who misbehaved.

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TEXAS
WTVR

[with video]

January 15, 2014, by Alix Bryan and Jon Burkett

TARRANT COUNTY, Texas (WTVR) – A Tarrant County grand jury has indicted Geronimo Scott Aguilar in connection with the sexual assault of a second child in the late 1990s in Fort Worth, Texas.

The eight-count indictment was returned on Wednesday and involves a victim who is identified by the pseudonym April More.

The indictment states that the child at the time was younger than 14 years old and is not the spouse of the defendant.

Aguilar, 43, was indicted on two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child under 14, a first-degree felony that carries a maximum punishment of life in prison.

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TEXAS
WTOP

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — A Virginia pastor has been indicted a second time by a North Texas grand jury for allegedly sexually assaulting a child more than 15 years ago.

The indictment against Geronimo Aguilar (AG’-yih-lar) was returned Wednesday in Tarrant County and includes two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child under 14.

The indictment contends the abuse occurred in 1996 and 1997 in North Texas.

The 43-year-old Aguilar was indicted in September for the sexual assault of another child those same years. He remains free on bond.

He was arrested in May at his Richmond, Va., home based on allegations made by the alleged victims, now grown.

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VIRGINIA/TEXAS
Richmond Times-Dispatch

BY LOUIS LLOVIO
Richmond Times-Dispatch

A Texas grand jury on Wednesday indicted Geronimo Aguilar, the disgraced former senior pastor of the Richmond Outreach Center, in an alleged sexual assault of a second child.

Aguilar, who founded the Midlothian Turnpike megachurch known as the ROC, was indicted Wednesday on two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child under 14, three counts of sexual assault of a child under 17 and three counts of indecency with a child.

The two aggravated sexual assault charges are first-degree felonies that carry a maximum term of life in prison. The remaining charges are second-degree felonies with a maximum sentence of 20 years each in prison.

The new charges stem from allegations of abuse beginning in 1996 involving a then-13-year-old girl, the older of two sisters. Aguilar already had been indicted on charges alleging abuse of her younger sister, who was 11 at the time.

Wednesday’s indictment means Aguilar will face two trials.

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MASSACHUSETTS
Boston Herald

By:
Bob McGovern

Parents and employees at a small Baptist school in Attleboro were “devastated” when they heard the school’s principal had been charged with sexually abusing a student on campus over nearly five years, and the alleged victim said she felt “relieved” after speaking to police.

The Rev. Jeffrey Nichols, 47, principal of Grace Baptist Christian Academy and assistant pastor at an affiliated church, was arrested early Tuesday after an 18-year-old senior reported to Attleboro police that he had “victimized” her from September 2008 to June 2013, according to a police report obtained by the Herald. Nichols was arraigned Tuesday and is being held on $25,000 cash bail.

“I’m just relieved now, and I feel like he deserves everything he’s getting,” Nichols’ accuser told the Herald.

Church pastor and school co-founder the Rev. Jeffrey Bailey, who has been friends with Nichols for 23 years, said the school community is “devastated.”

“I had no inkling that there were any issues here at all. There was nothing in his behavior, nothing that gave us any clue that this was possible,” Bailey said.

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CALIFORNIA
Santa Barbara Independent

Thursday, January 16, 2014
by NICK WELSH (CONTACT)

An activist with SNAP ​— ​the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests ​— ​has complained that members of Carpinteria’s St. Joseph’s parish were not notified that sexual abuse allegations had been leveled in the past against their new pastor, Fr. Richard Martini. “The fact that parishioners were not informed is very upsetting,” declared Joelle Casteix, SNAP’s western regional director. “It’s a case of the archdiocese ‘dumping’ troublesome priests in hopes that they will not be discovered.” Martini was transferred to St. Joseph’s in November from a Santa Clarita parish to fill a void because St. Joseph’s pastor had been seriously ill and could not perform his ministerial functions for several months.

Martini had been accused 10 years ago by a former student and water polo player at Our Lady Queen of Angels Seminary in Mission Hills of having molested him in 1990 and 1991. Police investigated the allegation and did not press charges. The archdiocese internal review committee reviewed the allegations and concluded they never happened. The complainant sued the archdiocese nonetheless and was one of 45 with whom the church reached a $60 million settlement. “A false accusation is a false accusation,” Martini stated. “I don’t know what else to say.” Of the settlement, he said, “For the good of real victims, some not-so-real victims have benefited.”

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CHICAGO (IL)
Medill Reports

BY RACHEL MENITOFF
JAN 15, 2014

Activists gathered outside the Archdiocese of Chicago Wednesday, demanding Cardinal Francis George be transparent and “come clean.” They say he is deliberately concealing the identities of roughly one-third of all child molesting clerics who work or have worked in his archdiocese.

“We urge Cardinal George to disclose the names, photos, work histories and personnel records of all child molesting Catholic clerics,” said Kate Bochte, spokeswoman for The Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, also known as SNAP. “Not just those that are sued. Not just those on the archdiocesan payroll. All of them. Anything less is selfish and irresponsible.”

The archdiocese said Wednesday that he would release 6,000 documents explaining what he knows of the decades of clergy sex abuse and how the church handled them as he endeavors to “bring healing to the victims and their families.” The documents are expected to identify 30 former clergy members accused of sex abuse.

“What they are releasing now is nothing more than what they were forced to do,” said David Rudofski, a survivor of clergy sexual abuse and longtime member of SNAP. “This was not of their own accord. These are all from settlements.

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STOCKTON (CA)
The Record

By Kevin Parrish
Record Staff Writer
January 16, 2014

STOCKTON – A Southern California lawyer, after appearing in San Joaquin County Superior Court in the morning, stood in front of the Diocese of Stockton offices Wednesday afternoon to accuse local Catholic officials of deceit and obstruction of justice.

Irvine-based attorney John Manly used his visit to Stockton as an opportunity to tie the ongoing civil case against the Rev. Michael Eugene Kelly to bankruptcy, a process in its infancy.

The diocese’s Chapter 11 protection plan was formally filed at noon in Sacramento following months of communication with Catholic parishioners and consideration by Bishop Stephen Blaire.

“The filing is no coincidence,” Manly said. “There is an automatic stay (suspension) with bankruptcy. You can’t take depositions.”

On Wednesday, the deposition of Douglass Wilhoit, president and CEO of the Greater Stockton Chamber of Commerce, was scheduled but never took place.

“I had been subpoenaed, but then I was told ‘not today’ because of the filing,” Wilhoit said. …

Rally today

• What: A rally sponsored by Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests
• Where: Outside offices of the Catholic Diocese of Stockton, 212 N. San Joaquin St.
• When: 11 a.m. today.
• Why: To urge Bishop Stephen Blaire to apologize for keeping the Rev. Michael Kelly in ministry “during a civil child-abuse trial” and to turn over additional evidence

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CHICAGO (IL)
Chicago Sun-Times

BY FRANCINE KNOWLES Religion Reporter January 15, 2014

In the past, priests from the Archdiocese of Chicago with substantiated allegations of child sex abuse were sometimes relocated to another parish, but that wasn’t a cover-up, an archdiocese representative said Wednesday — the same day local church officials released documents to attorneys detailing accusations against dozens of priests.

The relocations happened “after” the priests underwent therapy, Bishop Francis Kane, vicar general of the archdiocese, told reporters at the archdiocese’s Near North Side offices. “You wouldn’t do that today. That’s something we learned.

“One of the things that we’ve learned is that we sent people off for evaluation and we got reports back saying. . .it’s safe to put them back in ministry” with monitoring, Kane said. “We found out that isn’t true. That was a mistake. We didn’t realize the depth of this terrible, terrible sin and crime . . . child sex abuse.”

The documents released to attorneys representing those who filed sex abuse lawsuits won’t be made public for at least a week, but Kane told reporters on Wednesday what the public can expect, including details about priest relocations.

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AUSTRALIA
The West Australian

A Catholic priest accused of child sexual abuse thirty years ago has indicated he intends to plead not guilty.

Glenn Humphreys is accused of sexually abusing a teenage boy between 1983 and 1986.

Mr Humphreys was charged last year with four counts of unlawful and indecent assault and one charge each of carnal knowledge and attempted carnal knowledge.

He was not required to attend Perth Magistrate’s Court this morning, with his lawyer Seamus Rafferty saying he was reporting to police in New South Wales where he now lives.

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INDIANA
The News-Sentinel

By Kevin Kilbane of The News-Sentinel
Wednesday, January 15, 2014

The Rev. James F. Seculoff has been removed as pastor of St. Patrick Catholic Church in Walkerton after the Catholic Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend received what it deemed to be a credible allegation of sexual abuse.

The abuse allegedly took place about 40 years ago involving a person who then was a youth, Sean McBride, diocesan communications director, told The News-Sentinel on Wednesday. McBride declined to say if the alleged victim is male or female, saying, “We really are doing our best to protect that person’s identity.”

The alleged abuse took place within the diocese, but, to help protect the alleged victim, diocesan officials also are not specifying the location, McBride earlier told the South Bend Tribune.

The allegation recently was presented to the diocesan review board, which deemed it credible, McBride said.

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CHICAGO (IL)
Renew America

By Matt C. Abbott

Cardinal Francis George of Chicago recently had a detailed letter placed in all archdiocesan parish bulletins regarding “accountability and transparency.” He wrote:

This January, as was announced a month ago in a press conference by a plaintiff’s lawyer, documents relating to the sexual misconduct of 30 priests of the archdiocese will be released as part of settlement agreements over the past years. All these incidents were reported over the years to the civil authorities and claims have been mediated civilly. Almost all of the incidents happened decades ago, perpetrated by priests whom neither I nor many younger clergy have ever met or talked to, because the priests were either dead or out of ministry before I came to Chicago as archbishop.

Nevertheless, the publication puts the actions of these men and the archdiocese itself in the spotlight. Painful though publicly reviewing the past can be, it is part of the accountability and transparency to which the archdiocese is committed. For more than 20 years, the archdiocese has reported all allegations of sexual abuse to the civil authorities and to DCFS. Records of priests have been shared with civil authorities when asked for. Accountability to the civil authorities constitutionally responsible for the protection of children is part of the life of the church here. …

Two individuals for whom I have a great deal of respect have sharply divergent views on this matter (although both are supportive of abuse victims).

Veteran investigator Thomas Hampson, founder of the Truth Alliance Foundation, writes:

Cardinal George’s letter is largely revisionist history… He admits clericalism – that is, the tendency for priests and bishops to see themselves as unaccountable – had infected the church. He claims all that has changed. If that is so, how has the church disciplined members of the hierarchy for their roles in the cover-ups?

I know of cases in this archdiocese and others where priests were taking children to their rooms in the rectory, were later caught, confessed and were removed from ministry. But I also know that the investigations by these dioceses of these priests did not include questioning staff of the rectory, or the other priests, or members of the chancery, about what they observed and what they knew, what they reported and to whom. Certainly no action was taken against anyone for failing to report a concern or problem they knew about. On the other hand, there was action taken against some who came forward and complained. There was, and I believe still is, a culture that is hostile to whistleblowers in the vast majority of the diocese of the church, certainly in Chicago. There is no coming clean about this in his letter.

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GENEVA
National Secular Society (United Kingdom)

The Vatican will today be questioned about its record on child sexual violence by a UN Committee.
The Holy See will face questions over its compliance with the Convention on Rights of the Child, and will be expected to answer allegations that it enabled the sexual abuse of thousands of children by protecting paedophile priests at the expense of victims.

This is the first time the Holy See has been pressed on child sexual abuse by the UN.

In July the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) published a list of detailed questions over clerical child abuse for the Holy See to address before its examination before the Committee.

In its response, the Vatican failed to answer detailed questions insisting that it was “separate and distinct” from the Roman Catholic Church, and that it was not its practice to disclose information about the religious discipline of clergy unless requested by the authorities in the country where they were serving.

Victims’ groups and the National Secular Society have submitted reports to the UNCRC detailing how the Holy See has violated the core principles of Convention.The NSS was invited along with abuse survivors’ groups, on the basis of written submissions, to give oral evidence to the Committee’s private session in June.

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GENEVA
United National Regional Information Center

Today, a UN panel in Geneva has begun hearing a report by Vatican officials on the sexual abuse of thousands of children by Roman Catholic clergy.

The Holy See is a signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, a legally binding instrument which commits it to protecting and nurturing the most vulnerable in society.

The Holy See ratified the convention in 1990 and submitted a first implementation report in 1994. However, it did not provide progress reports for almost ten years, and only submitted one in 2012 after receiving a storm of criticism following the revelations in 2010 of child sex abuse cases in Europe and beyond, the Associated Press has reported.

The Committee on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) is expected to ask wide-ranging questions, forcing the Holy See to defend itself in public for the first time. It faces allegations that it enabled the sexual abuse of thousands of children by protecting paedophile priests at the expense of victims.

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INDIANA
The Journal Gazette

Rosa Salter Rodriguez | The Journal Gazette

A priest with a long history in the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend parishes and schools has resigned and was removed from ministry after a “credible” allegation of sexual abuse of a minor 44 years ago, diocesan officials said Wednesday.

The Rev. James F. Seculoff, 77, most recently was pastor of St. Patrick Catholic Church in Walkerton – in St. Joseph County, southwest of South Bend – where he had served for about six months, said Sean McBride, diocese spokesman.

Previously, Seculoff, a Fort Wayne native, was pastor at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in New Haven for several years, McBride said.

About the time of the alleged abuse, Seculoff was elevated from principal at the former Huntington Catholic High School to superintendent of diocesan schools. He held that post until 1978.

Before being named principal, he taught at Bishop Dwenger High School in Fort Wayne and St. Joseph High School in South Bend.

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GENEVA
National Catholic Reporter

John L. Allen Jr. | Jan. 16, 2014 NCR Today

Rome

Facing a virtually unprecedented examination of its record on child sexual abuse by a U.N. panel, a senior Vatican official today asserted that the Catholic church wants to be “an example of best practice” in the prevention of abuse.

Italian Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, the Vatican’s representative to the United Nations in Geneva, spoke this morning to the Committee on the Convention of the Rights of the Child, a 1989 United Nations treaty which the Vatican ratified in 1990.

Although the U.N. panel has no power to compel the Vatican to do anything, its body of independent experts is expected to make recommendations after the day-long hearing.

The seriousness with which the Vatican is taking the process is reflected in the fact that it dispatched not only Tomasi but also Maltese Bishop Charles Scicluna, who served for ten years as the Vatican’s top sex abuse prosecutor and is widely seen as a leading reformer.

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GENEVA
Artesia News

GENEVA (AP) — The Vatican has acknowledged there can be “no excuse” for child abuse, confronted for the first time at length and in public over the global priest sex abuse scandal.

At a U.N. hearing, Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, the Vatican’s representative in Geneva, says “such crimes can never be justified” whether committed at home, school, sports activities or in religious organizations and structures.

Tomasi told a U.N. committee Thursday the Holy See welcomes any suggestions that could help it in promoting and encouraging the respect of the rights of the child.

He spoke at the beginning of a hearing at which the Vatican is being challenged with allegations it enabled the rape of thousands of children by protecting pedophile priests and its own reputation at the expense of victims.

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GENEVA
BBC News

Vatican officials are expected to face tough questions from the UN on the sexual abuse of thousands of children by Catholic clergy.

Members of the Holy See – the city state’s diplomatic entity – will be grilled by a UN committee in Geneva.

The Vatican refused an earlier request for information, saying the cases were the responsibility of the judiciary of countries where abuse took place.

The Pope has said dealing with abuse is vital for the Church’s credibility.

The Catholic Church has faced a raft of allegations of child sex abuse by priests around the world and criticism over inadequate responses by bishops.

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CHICAGO (IL)
Houston Chronicle

CHICAGO (AP) — The Archdiocese of Chicago says it plans eventually to release documents on all the former priests with substantiated abuse claims against them.

Church files being released Wednesday as part of a settlement account for slightly fewer than half the 65 ex-clergy members who have been identified on an archdiocese website.

The rest were not sought as part of the 2006 settlement.

But archdiocese attorney John O’Malley says it plans to review them and devise a plan for releasing them.

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CHICAGO (IL)
Wall Street Journal

Chicago Archdiocese Releases Documents Tied to Child Sex Abuse by Priests

By BEN KESLING And TAMARA AUDI
Jan. 15, 2014

CHICAGO—The Archdiocese of Chicago released thousands of documents Wednesday to attorneys representing sex-abuse victims, and said it plans to eventually release many more detailing the efforts, and mistakes, church hierarchy made in handling abuse allegations and priests who were known offenders.

As part of a court mediation process, the archdiocese turned over roughly 6,000 pages of documents relating to 30 priests with substantiated allegations of sexual offenses against children whose cases have been mediated civilly. Some of those cases stretch back a half century and involve more than a dozen priests who have died. Four of the 30 priests have been prosecuted.

“It’s humiliating as a priest to know there were other priests who did something like that,” Bishop Francis Kane, the vicar general of the archdiocese, said at a news conference. “I hope it will bring healing and hope.”

The document release comes nearly eight years after the church began a mediation process that has paid victims about $100 million in compensation, according to Bishop Kane. The archdiocese said it would make available documents on 35 more priests with substantiated allegations of sexual abuse—those believed to be true after an archdiocesan review—but didn’t provide a timeline for the release.

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WASHINGTON
Spokesman-Review

The Catholic Diocese of Spokane has refiled its multimillion-dollar bankruptcy malpractice lawsuit against law firm Paine Hamblen.

The case was originally filed in U.S. District Court in 2012, and then dismissed on a technicality last spring.

The diocese and Bishop Blase Cupich accuse the Spokane firm and two of its lawyers of mishandling its historic bankruptcy that took several years and $50 million to resolve.

Paine Hamblen managing partner Jane Brown said the firm provided excellent counsel and guided the diocese out of a crisis that included more than 180 claims of Catholic priests and other clergy sexually abusing children during the course of many decades.

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GENEVA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Tomorrow, January 16th, the Vatican will be questioned about its record on child sexual violence by an international body.

SNAP and our attorneys from CCR will be there. And you can join us! Watch the UN review via livestream here!

If you are joining us from the US, you’ll want to grab a cup of coffee. The video is streaming live from the UN. Below are the times it will be in the US during the livestream:

The Vatican will be reviewed on their compliance with the Convention on Rights of the Child:
4am- 7am EST
3am- 6am CST
2am- 5am MST
1am- 4am PST

In Europe it will be broadcast from 10 am to 1 pm CET

The Vatican will be reviewed on their compliance with the Optional Protocols on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography:
9am – noon EST
8am- 11am CST
7am- 10am MST
6am- 9am PST

In Europe from 3 pm to 6 pm CET

**This will be broadcast in the English language.

Two hours later (2pm EST, 1 pm CST, 12am MST, 11am PST ) we will have the “reportback” by CCR and SNAP. In Europe at 8 pm CET Tune in here

You can follow the conversation on Twitter and ask questions before or during the livestream by tweeting to the hashtag #HolySeeConfess or by emailing questions to askCCR@ccrjustice.org.

SNAP and CCR submitted reports to the Committee on the Rights of the Child detailing how the Holy See has violated the core principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

If you have questions please email or call the SNAP office at: 312 455 1499 or Chicagoffice@snapnetwork.org.

Don’t miss the chance to participate in this historic event!

All the best,
Barbara Blaine

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INDIANA
WNDU

By: Mark Peterson
Posted: Wed 6:17 PM, Jan 15, 2014

The pastor of a Catholic church in Walkerton has resigned and retired in the face of allegations that he sexually abused a minor.

The alleged abuse took place “many years ago,” according to a letter to parishioners of St. Patrick Parish from Most Reverend Kevin C. Rhoades, Bishop of the Fort Wayne-South Bend Diocese.

While Rev. James Seculoff has been a priest for more than 50 years, he has only been at St. Patrick Parish since August of 2013.

Prior to coming to Walkerton, Seculoff was assigned (since 2007) to St. John the Baptist Church in New Haven, Indiana—east of Fort Wayne.

The bishop’s letter to St. Patrick parishioners says “a preliminary investigation has revealed sufficient evidence that sexual abuse of a minor did occur, and that a review board found the allegation to be credible. As required by Church law, we have notified the Vatican Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith.”

A spokesman for the Diocese today said that Indiana’s Department of Child Services was alerted to the situation on January 8th.

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INDIANA
ABC 57

By Melissa Hudson
Story Created: Jan 15, 2014

WALKERTON, Ind. — The pastor of Saint Patrick Parish has resigned and retired after an investigation by the Diocese of Fort Wayne – South Bend found evidence he sexually abused a minor more than 40 years ago.

Father James Seculoff has been in the clergy for more than 50 years.

According to Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades, once they received the allegation of sexual abuse of a minor, they launched a preliminary investigation.

That investigation revealed strong evidence the abuse did occur.

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CHICAGO (IL)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Statement by SNAP spokesman Kate Bochte 630 768 1860 (cell), keight@sbcglobal.net

Chicago Cardinal Francis George must answer two simple questions. First, why not disclose the names and the records of ALL Chicago child molesting clerics, whether they’ve been sued or not and whether he’s been forced to or not. And second, why not disclose the names and records of dozens of Chicago child molesting religious order clerics (Jesuits, Marianists, etc.) like 14 of his colleagues have done?

He claims he’s “committed” to “transparency.”

[Chicago archdiocese]

But he deliberately protects the roughly 1/3 of all child molesting clerics who work or have worked in his archdiocese by hiding their identities.

In 2010, Chicago native Bishop Gerald Kicanas, who heads the Tucson diocese, told the New York Times that excluding religious order priests from predator priest lists “doesn’t seem appropriate … Our goal is to demonstrate to the person harmed that the church understood their pain and the harm that had been done to them, and to get as many victims as possible to come forward.”

[BishopAccountability.org]

We urged Cardinal George to disclose the names, photos, work histories and personnel records of all child molesting Catholic clerics. Not just those that are sued. Not just those on the archdiocesan payroll. All of them. Anything less is selfish and irresponsible.

He should stop burnishing his image. He should start protecting his flock.
He should stop splitting hairs. He should start acting responsibly.
He should stop pledging “transparency” and start practicing transparency.
He should stop disclosing when forced and start disclosing voluntarily.

We’re a support group. We have a tiny staff. We have no investigators. We certainly have no subpoena powers.

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STOCKTON (CA)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Victims to Bishop: Come clean about fugitive cleric
Stop defending indicted priest, SNAP urges Catholic official
Bishop must not use bankruptcy to stonewall victims, they say

What: Holding signs and childhood photos at a sidewalk news conference, clergy sex abuse victims and supporters will urge the bishop of Stockton to:

— “come clean” and turn over evidence about a local priest indicted Monday for child sex crimes,
— publicly apologize for keeping that priest in ministry during a civil child sex abuse trial,
— reach out to child sex abuse victims in the diocese and urge them to report to law enforcement, and
— stop using bankruptcy to stonewall victims, dupe public, delay justice

When: Thursday, January 16 at 11:00 am

Where: Outside of the Stockton Diocese Headquarters

212 N. San Joaquin St. (between Miner and Channel) in Stockton

Who: Two-to-three adults who belong to a self-help group called SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAPnetwork.org). Some were molested as kids; others are concerned Catholics.

Why: On Monday, a Calaveras County grand jury indicted Fr. Michael Kelly on four felony counts of child molestation.

[Modesto Bee]

Kelly, who in April 2012 was found liable for sexually abusing a Stockton boy, fled to Ireland after the verdict and amid rumors that he was under criminal investigation.

Thoughout the five-year litigation with Kelly victim Travis Trotter, Stockton Bishop Stephen Blaire maintained Kelly’s innocence, even publicly disagreeing with the unanimous verdict against the priest

[Stockton diocese]

If convicted, Kelly could face up to 14 years in prison.

The same day that Kelly was indicted, Blaire announced that the Stockton Diocese filing for bankruptcy protection on Wednesday, January 15. In a statement, Blaire claimed he wants “compensation for victims who have not had their day in court,” but said that legal costs had depleted the diocesan treasury. More than a decade ago, the diocese spun off parishes, schools and charities as separate corporations, a move, victims believe, to protect those assets from civil liability in sex abuse cases.

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INDIANA
Fort Wayne Journal Gazette

Rosa Salter Rodriguez | The Journal Gazette

A priest with a long history in Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend parishes and schools has been removed from ministry after a “credible” allegation of sexual abuse of a minor 44 years ago, diocesan officials said Wednesday.

The Rev. James F. Seculoff resigned as the pastor of St. Patrick Catholic Church, Walkerton, where he had served for about six months, said Sean McBride, diocese spokesman.

Before that, Seculoff, a native of Fort Wayne, was pastor at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, New Haven, for several years, McBride said. Seculoff also served other Fort Wayne area parishes.

Around the time the abuse is alleged to have occurred, Seculoff was elevated from principal at the former Huntington Catholic High School to superintendant of diocesan schools. He held that post until 1978.

McBride said the Rev. Kevin C. Rhoades, diocesan bishop, sent a letter disclosing the allegation and announcing the removal that was read at Mass at St. Patrick last weekend.

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UNITED KINGDOM
ITV

A woman from Warwickshire who was raped by a Catholic priest when she was a child is travelling to Switzerland to hear leaders of the Catholic Church explain what it is doing to prevent child abuse in churches.

Sue Cox gave up her right to remain anonymous and now represents hundreds of people who say they were abused by priests.

Senior figures of the Vatican will be questioned by the United Nation’s committee tomorrow.

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VATICAN CITY
Washington Post

Pope Francis shakes up Vatican Bank, sets financial cap for sainthood

By Eric J. Lyman | Religion News Service, Wednesday, January 15

ROME — Pope Francis on Wednesday (Jan. 15) took his biggest step yet at cleaning house at the scandal-ridden Vatican Bank, replacing most of the institution’s advisers with fresh faces.

Among the new appointees: Vatican Secretary of State and Cardinal-designate Pietro Parolin; Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn from Vienna; Cardinal Thomas Collins of Toronto; and veteran diplomat Cardinal Santos Abril y Castello, a close friend of the pontiff’s.

French Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran is the lone cardinal adviser who was retained.

Francis’ move essentially undid a decree issued last year by his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, who confirmed the Vatican Bank’s supervisory body for another five years, just days before announcing his retirement. The most high-profile figure sacked on Wednesday was Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Benedict’s secretary of state and the face of administrative woes of Benedict’s papacy.

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CHICAGO (IL)
WLS

[with video]

Michelle Gallardo

January 15, 2014 (CHICAGO) (WLS) — Thousands of pages of documents were handed over to they attorneys of sex abuse victims by the Archdiocese of Chicago on Wednesday.

“I want to offer apologies to all victims affected by these sins and crimes” Bishop Francis Kane said during the news conference.

The documents include complaints, personnel files and more and are expected to identify 30 former clergy members accused of abusing children, and the church officials who help protect the accused. They are being released as part of a legal settlement.

The archdiocese says 95 percent of the incidents in these cases, all of which were reported to the police, occurred prior to 1988.

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INDIANA
WNDU

WALKERTON, Ind. The pastor of St. Patrick Parrish in Walkerton, Rev. James Seculoff, has resigned amid allegations of sexual abuse of a minor.

A letter from Bishop Kevin Rhoades of the Fort Wayne-South Bend Diocese was read to parishioners on Sunday, January 12 telling of the accusations.

It stated a preliminary investigation revealed sufficient evidence that sexual abuse of minor did occur “many” years ago.

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CHICAGO (IL)
City of Angels

by Kay Ebeling

My luck. I click on Chicago radio to hear about the snow and instead find out Cardinal George is releasing names of 30 priests credibly accused as pedophiles. (30 more priests, why doesn’t the Archdiocese release say 30 more priests?) Standing there in my kitchen hearing the news I shout out loud, as I doubt the Chicago Archdiocese and Francis George are ever going to acknowledge my perp priest and what they let him do to me and my sister in the 1950s.

Father Thomas Barry Horne was founding pastor at St. Peter Damian Church in Bartlett, which today is a Northwest Suburb but in 1949, when the parish began, was just a small country farm town with a few thriving nightclubs downtown near the train station. In all there have been three pedophile priests as pastors of this one small town church, which curiously, was named for the monk who first wrote about the perils of pedophilia in the priesthood in the Eleventh Century.

Last week Cardinal George said in his muddled explanation for the release of the list and the church’s handling of pedophile priests, “The response, in retrospect, was not always adequate to all the facts, but a mistake is not a cover up.”

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UNITED STATES
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2014

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 Pope made another move today to purportedly ‘clean up’ the Vatican bank.

It may seem like an odd question, but does Pope Francis care more about money than children? He pushes out church officials who are allegedly complicit with financial misdeeds but not those complicit with sex crime cover ups.

He gently moves aside a few bishops who are too stern in their demeanor or too ostentatious in their dress. But he won’t act against bishops who are too close to child molesting clerics, too reckless with kids’ safety or too callous toward wounded victims.

The well-being of vulnerable children should trump the re-organization of church finances.

Fewer Catholics leave due to monetary scandals. More leave due to child sex scandals. Any “reform” efforts should start there.

Pope Francis has spoken several times about his priorities – a focus on the poor, priests close to their flocks, a dedication to service instead of careerism. But by neglecting the clergy sex abuse and cover up crisis, the Pope is revealing that his priorities need re-alignment too.

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

A CHILD sex abuse victim has accused whistleblower policeman Peter Fox of exploiting her ordeal and giving false information in the national television interview that triggered the royal commission into institutional abuse, saying she no longer trusts him. Previously confidential documents released by a state government inquiry reveal the victim, who cannot be named, explicitly contradicts the description of her given on the ABC’s Lateline program and is deeply upset her case was discussed on air.

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MINNESOTA
BishopAccountability.org

Summary of Case: A St. Paul-Minneapolis priest ordained in 2003, Wehmann has been the subject of several reported incidents of “boundary violations” with children. Among these was a 2006 report by a family about Wehmann’s overly intimate behavior with their children when he was a guest in their home. He admitted to the behavior, which included what the priest called “root beer kisses.” Wehmann was placed on leave in December 2013.

Ordained: 2003

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GUAM
Pacific Daily News

Written by
Gaynor Dumat-ol Daleno
Pacific Daily News

Father Paul Gofigan’s dispute with Archbishop Anthony Apuron may end up in court.

Gofigan issued a statement on Tuesday, saying Apuron hasn’t retracted comments that Gofigan allege tainted the priest’s reputation.

A phone call and an email to the Archdiocese of Agana leadership for comment were not returned as of press time.

Gofigan had sent the archbishop a letter on Jan. 13, which gave the archbishop until noon Tuesday “to make the retraction in writing, and to give a copy of (Apuron’s) retraction to every member of Guam’s clergy.”

Gofigan’s letter to the archbishop states Apuron allegedly made slanderous comments about Gofigan and a parishioner friend and a friend’s family at a gathering of more than 30 members of the clergy from Guam and the Philippines.

Gofigan wrote that the archbishop made the alleged comments at an archdiocesan retreat in the Philippines.

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CHICAGO (IL)
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago

January 15, 2014

Today the Archdiocese of Chicago will release to plaintiffs’ lawyer, Jeffrey Anderson, documents related to 30 Archdiocesan priests who have been accused of abusing minors at various times during the last half century. This release of documents is part of a mediation agreement between the Archdiocese and claimants’ lawyers. All of the documents relate to cases that date back many years, in some cases decades. Ninety-five percent of these cases occurred prior to 1988. These cases were reported to civil authorities and the Archdiocese did not hide abuse or protect abusers. All of the priests involved in this document release are out of ministry and 14 are deceased. No priest with even one substantiated allegation of sexual abuse of a minor serves in ministry in the Archdiocese of Chicago today.

The Archdiocese’s concern is for the rights of everyone involved, which both the Archdiocese and claimants acknowledge require careful consideration. Some portions of the documents are redacted to comply with legal restrictions about privacy of medical and mental health information and to protect the innocent. Nothing is redacted to conceal the identity of abusers.

The Archdiocese of Chicago is in full compliance with the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, adopted by the U.S. Bishops in Dallas in June 2002. The charter requires that no priest with even one substantiated allegation of sexual abuse of a minor can serve in public ministry. The Archdiocese of Chicago refers all reports of sexual abuse immediately to civil authorities. The Archdiocese’s independent Review Board examines the findings of all investigations and makes recommendations to the archbishop regarding fitness for ministry and safety of children.

The Archdiocese of Chicago is concerned first and foremost with the healing of abuse victims and has maintained a victim assistance ministry for more than 25 years. In addition, the Archdiocesan Office for the Protection of Children and Youth, charged with assisting victims and their families and preventing abuse, has trained and processed background checks on more than 160,000 priests, deacons, religious, lay employees and volunteers; conducted more than 3,000 training sessions; and trained more than 200,000 children to protect themselves from sexual predators.

The abuse of any child is a crime and a sin. The Archdiocese encourages anyone who has been sexually abused by a priest, deacon, religious or lay employee, to come forward. Complete information about reporting sexual abuse can be found on the Archdiocesan website at www.archchicago.org/departments/protection/protection.shtm.

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CHICAGO (IL)
WGN

[with video]

by Tonya Francisco
Reporter

The Chicago Archdiocese released thousands of documents Wednesday, detailing how church officials responded to abuse claims against 30 priests.

The documents are being released as part of settlements with abuse victims.

The files include complaints, reports from internal investigations and actions taken by the Archdiocese of Chicago.

Bishop Francis Kane, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Chicago, apologized for past sins and promised transparency in the future. “I personally have also felt the betrayal that priests and others have expressed about the few among us who have cast a shadow on all that we’re trying to do. And I want to assure the public that no priest with even one substantiated accusation of child abuse against him serves in public ministry in the Archdiocese.”

The organization SNAP, The Survivors Network of those abused by Priests, says the Archdiocese is not being completely forthcoming and is hiding the identities of dozens of other priests who are accused of molesting.

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VATICAN CITY
Fox News Latino

On Thursday, the Vatican will be forced for the first time to defend itself to the United Nations, at length in public, against allegations it enabled the rape of thousands of children. Meanwhile, Pope Francis made another move to clean house at the troubled Vatican bank on Wednesday naming a new roster of cardinal advisers to replace the ones who were in place during the bank’s latest brushes with scandal.

Only one cardinal from the previous commission overseeing the bank’s operations, Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, survived the cut. The five-member Cardinal’s Commission, as it is known, names the lay board of the Vatican bank and its top two general managers and makes sure they adhere to the bank’s mission to administer money for works of charity.

The bank cleanup comes as the Vatican is gearing up for a bruising showdown over the another black eye for the Catholic Church – the global priest sex abuse scandal. The Vatican will be forced for the first time on Thursday to defend itself at length and in public against allegations that it enabled the rape of thousands of children by protecting pedophile priests, and its own reputation, at the expense of victims.

The Holy See will be grilled by a U.N. committee in Geneva on its implementation of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child. Among other things, the treaty calls for signatories to take all appropriate measures to protect children from harm and to put children’s interests above all else.

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UNITED STATES
Legal Examiner

Posted by Mike Bryant
January 15, 2014

With all the new information that has been coming out around Minnesota about the sex abuse scandal in the Catholic Church, one has to wonder, who can we trust? Those who have known about these crimes and continue to attempt to cover them up, are just as bad as those committing them. Even though the dioceses have been ordered to reveal a list of names of those priests accused of sexual misconduct, the fact that they have been given so much time to compile these lists is worrisome. For decades they have been accused and charged with sexual abuse crimes and for decades most of those accused of these crimes have been either moved to a different parish, or hidden away.

In the past 15 years the St. John Vianney Residence for Retired Priests, located in Rutherford, NJ has housed 7 alleged sexual predators. Until recently no one in the surrounding areas had any idea these priest, who have been living right next door to children, families, schools and churches, were accused of sexual abuse. When a sexual offender moves to a new neighborhood their information and whereabouts becomes public knowledge, so why should it be any different for priest who have been accused of these same crimes? Why are they being protected? While shining light on the names of the accused is definite progress, the church itself should be doing more to help the survivors of these crimes. As we continue to unravel the truths the most important thing to remember is getting help to those who have been abused. The protection belongs to those who have suffered the damaged caused by these transgressions.

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NEW JERSEY
Daily Record

Written by
Peggy Wright
@peggywrightDR

A Mendham man with a history of psychiatric problems pleaded guilty Wednesday to criminal mischief and agreed to pay $7,500 to resolve a charge that he used a sledgehammer to destroy a monument dedicated to victims of sexual abuse by priests.

Gordon Ellis, 39, pleaded guilty before Superior Court Judge Mary Gibbons Whipple in Morristown to a disorderly persons offense of criminal mischief, according to defense lawyer Neill Hamilton and Morris County Assistant Prosecutor Anthony Scibetta.

Hamilton called the plea offer “reasonable” and said that reasons behind the vandalism will be given at sentencing on Feb. 7 but were not laid out by Ellis during his guilty plea. Hamilton said that the plea agreement calls for Ellis to make restitution, serve a period of probation that will be determined by the judge, and continue with mental health treatment.

Ellis had been indicted by a Morris County grand jury on a third-degree charge of criminal mischief but in negotiations between Scibetta and Hamilton, the charge was downgraded to a disorderly persons offense. Both sides had recognized that Ellis had a documented history of psychiatric problems.

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CANADA
Quinte News

The father of the 26-year-old man who says he was sexually molested by a locally known Roman Catholic Priest says he noticed his son’s behaviour changing during his last year of high school.

The Kingston Whig-Standard reports the father testified yesterday.

Father Rene Labelle is being tried in a Kingston courtroom. He served as priest at a church in Read, north of Shannonville in the 1980′s and 1990′s.

Father Labelle resigned his post in 2012 as Chaplin of Holy Cross Secondary School in Kingston.

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CHICAGO (IL)
WLS

[with video]

Michelle Gallardo

January 15, 2014 (CHICAGO) (WLS) — Thousands of pages of documents were handed over to they attorneys of sex abuse victims by the Archdiocese of Chicago on Wednesday.

“I want to offer apologies to all victims affected by these sins and crimes” Bishop Francis Kane said during the news conference.

The documents include complaints, personnel files and more and are expected to identify 30 former clergy members accused of abusing children and the church officials who help protect the accused. They are being released as part of a legal settlement.

The Archdiocese of Chicago is the nation’s third largest archdiocese. Last Sunday, Francis Cardinal George released a letter to Chicago-area parishioners informing them of Wednesday’s release. He said he wrote the letter to be accountable and transparent.
“It’s always important to tell the truth. Since the publications of dozens of events that happened in the [19]80s before I got here is going to be, nonetheless, the occasion for a lot of conversation, I thought I better put it in some perspective. So, that was the purpose of the letter,” he said Sunday.

“It’s just a dishonest letter. It’s a disingenuous letter,” said Kate Bochte of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP.

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ST. LOUIS (MO)
Riverfront Times

It has been a week of starts and stops for Ken Chackes, the attorney representing Jane Doe, a young woman who claims she was sexually abused in the late 1990s and early 2000s at the hands of the now de-frocked priest Father Joseph Ross.

Last week the Missouri Court of Appeals upheld a ruling by St. Louis Circuit Court Judge Robert Dierker demanding that the St. Louis Archdiocese turn over to Chackes and the victim, now in her early twenties, the names of 115 of its employees accused of molesting children from 1983 to 2003. But the ruling was fleeting. On Monday the archdiocese won a stay from the Missouri Supreme Court that, at best, will further delay the release of the names or, at worst, ensure they remain a secret as the Church desires.

But even if the names of the accused and the victims are turned over, it’s unclear what impact they’ll have at trial.

For one, the “matrix” of sex allegations that the archdiocese wanted to keep under wraps (but which sneaked out as part of its appellate filing), is incredibly vague even with the inclusion of names. Secondly, the archdiocese’s cat-and-mouse game in court — with Dierker threatening to charge the archdiocese with contempt for dragging its feet — has already cost Chackes and his client precious time for discovery. The trial is slated to begin in a scant five weeks on February 24.

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CHICAGO (IL)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Statement by SNAP spokesman Kate Bochte 630 768 1860 (cell), keight@sbcglobal.net

Chicago Cardinal Francis George must answer two simple questions. First, why not disclose the names and the records of ALL Chicago child molesting clerics, whether they’ve been sued or not and whether he’s been forced to or not. And second, why not disclose the names and records of dozens of Chicago child molesting religious order clerics (Jesuits, Marianists, etc.) like 14 of his colleagues have done?

He claims he’s “committed” to “transparency.” [Catholic New World]

But he deliberately protects the roughly 1/3 of all child molesting clerics who work or have worked in his archdiocese by hiding their identities.

In 2010, Chicago native Bishop Gerald Kicanas, who heads the Tucson diocese, told the New York Times that excluding religious order priests from predator priest lists “doesn’t seem appropriate … Our goal is to demonstrate to the person harmed that the church understood their pain and the harm that had been done to them, and to get as many victims as possible to come forward.”

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VATICAN CITY
Reuters

BY PHILIP PULLELLA
VATICAN CITY Wed Jan 15, 2014

(Reuters) – Pope Francis shook up the scandal-plagued Vatican bank on Wednesday, removing four of five cardinals from an oversight body in a break with the clerical financial establishment he inherited from his predecessor.

It was his latest move to get to grips with an institution that has often been an embarrassment for the Holy See and which he has vowed to either reform or close.

The four cardinals were removed just 11 months into their five-year terms as commissioners, which began under former Pope Benedict, who resigned last February.

The changes came as Francis approached the first anniversary of a pontificate marked by austerity and sobriety, underlined by his decision to give up the papal apartments in favor of a modest suite.

The new team includes two cardinals – Toronto’s Christopher Collins and Vienna’s Christoph Schoenborn – from relatively rich dioceses who have had extensive dealings with financial affairs.

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AUSTRALIA
Pearls and Irritations

Posted on January 15, 2014 by John Menadue

On 29 December 1170, four armed knights from the Court of King Henry II of England entered Canterbury Cathedral. They had previously heard the King complain about the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas a’Becket, who was in dispute with Henry over “privilege of clergy”, the right of clergy to be tried exclusively in Church or canonical courts for any kind of crime. “Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?” Henry is reported to have said. Four knights of his Court took the hint, went to Canterbury Cathedral, and sliced the top off a’Becket’s head.

Privilege of clergy was whittled away over the years, and was finally abolished by the English parliament in 1827, but the Catholic Church has always hankered back to the 12th century when it had the exclusive right to try clergy for every kind of crime. Priests were special people, ontologically changed by God on ordination, and therefore deserving of special treatment. A secret canonical trial avoided “scandal”, which has a special meaning in Catholicism: the loss of faith when adherents realise that those who represent Christ are misbehaving badly.

In those countries where the Church exerted some influence, it has written some form of the privilege into the civil laws. The Vatican’s treaties with Latvia (1922), Poland (1925), Italy (1929) and the Dominican Republic (1954) provided that convicted clergy would serve their sentences separated from “lay people” or in a monastery. In Spain, Franco’s 1953 Concordat with the Vatican provided that a bishop could only be tried in a civil court with the consent of the Vatican, and clergy with the consent of the bishop. Any deprivation of liberty was to be spent in a religious house, not in jail, and the trial was not to be publicised.

Colombia’s 1973 Concordat with the Vatican provides that bishops cannot be tried by the State Courts, but only by Church Courts. Priests can be tried in State Courts, but the proceedings are not to be publicised. In 1993, the Colombian Constitutional Court declared the Concordat inconsistent with the 1991 Constitution, but the Vatican, as recently as 2007, insisted that the Concordat be honoured, that bishops should be above the law, and that trials of priests be held in secret.

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UNITED STATES
National Survivor Advocates Coalition

The news broke out of Geneva yesterday.

It’s a victory.
There are too few of them.
It deserves a full measure of standing back and just knowing it happened.
A pause in the pain.
Children will have a voice.
How loud, how listened to, how effective?
All to be known in time’s true telling.
But for today. It’s a victory. It is to be savored.
Hip, Hip Hooray!

From the UN News Centre, the announcement:

A new legal instrument allowing children or their representatives to file a complaint with the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child is set to go into effect in April, following its final required ratification, the United Nations today announced.

This means, the UN News Centre announcement, goes on to say:

Starting in April, individual children or groups of children from the countries that have ratified the Optional Protocol will be able to submit complaints to the Committee on specific violations related to the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The Convention is a universally agreed set of non-negotiable standards and obligations, providing protection and support for the rights of children. Its three Optional Protocols deal, respectively, with protecting children from trafficking, prostitution and child pornography; prohibiting their recruitment in armed conflict; and allowing them to bring their complaints to the UN if their rights are being abused.

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CHICAGO (IL)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

POSTED BY BARBARA DORRIS ON JANUARY 15, 2014

Child molesting clerics who have worked/lived in Chicago
Each has received little or virtually no public attention in the area
Most have molested children elsewhere in one case, dozens of them
And none have ever been disclosed by Cardinal Francis George or his staff

(None of these names appear as proven, admitted or credibly accused abusers on the Chicago archdiocesan website. Nearly all of them have attracted no public attention in the Chicagoland area, even though some of them have molested dozens of kids elsewhere.)

Each has come to SNAP’s attention over just the past few months. All have been publicly exposed by media elsewhere.

In each case, SNAP believes Chicago Catholic officials (archdiocesan and religious order) should have disclosed the allegations and/or settlements against the clerics. And Chicago Catholic officials should now be reaching out to others who saw, suspected or suffered their crimes.

The names below are a few of the dozens and dozens of religious order clerics who worked or live/lived – and sometimes molested – in Chicago. But their known or alleged crimes and their years in the Chicago area are being kept hidden by archdiocesan and religious order officials. (Roughly 1/3 of US priests belong to such orders, including Jesuits, Marianists, and Franciscans.)

Information about most of these predators can be found at BishopAccountability.org (but likely NOT in the Chicago archdiocesan section, since many of their crimes took place in other cities, states or countries).

–Fr. John J. Burke

He is accused of molesting at least one child in Kankakee in the 19___s, according to newspaper reports.

Burke spent most of his long clerical career in the Chicagoland area, working at three assignments (maybe more) in the Chicago archdiocese. Two were in Arlington Heights: – at the Viatorian Provincial Center () from 1983-1986 and at the Viatorian Mission House (1115 E. Euclid Ave.) from 1961-1962. Burke also worked at St. Viator Parish, 4170 Addison St. in Chicago from 1944-1952.

He was ordained in Boston and worked in at least two other dioceses besides Chicago: Savannah, Georgia (St. Thomas Vocational School from 1943-1944) and in Joliet (St. George Parish in Bourbonnais from 1962-1983, St. Patrick’s Parish in Kankakee from 1952-1961, and Kankakee State Boys Camp for troubleed boys – from 1954-1966).

He died in 1986 at age 78 but is still memorialized glowingly on a church website run by the Viatorians, a Chicago-based religious order to which he belonged:http://viatorians.com/vc-memorial-us/burke/

There’s a clear photo of him there too.

–Fr. Ignatius M. Burrill

For 25 years, Burrill was a faculty member and counselor at Loyola Academy in Wilmette. In 8/11, the Jesuit Province of Chicago-Detroit announced that a former student at St. Ignatius High School in Cleveland had come forward to allege abuse by Burrill between 1952-1956 when the priest worked at the school. In 4/12, Boston attorney Mitch Garabedian announced a settlement of one child sex abuse case against Burrill.

He also taught at St. Mary of the Lake Seminary and worked in Michigan, Indiana and Kansas.

Burrill died in March, 1987. He also worked in Cleveland. His photo is available at BishopAccountability.org

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CHICAGO (IL)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

POSTED BY BARBARA DORRIS ON JANUARY 15, 2014

For the third time in a week, at a news conference this morning, Chicago Catholic officials will put their spin on abuse records which will be made public next week. Here are some questions they should be asked:

1) A third of the priests in the archdiocese are religious order priests. Fourteen bishops list those predators on their websites. You unilaterally refuse to do likewise. Why?

2) Almost 30 U.S. bishops voluntarily list names of predator priests on their websites. You had to be forced to do so through litigation. Why?

3) An independent archive group,BishopAccountability.org, lists 121 publicly accused Chicago child molesting clerics. Your website lists only around 65 such clerics. Why the discrepancy?

4) The Philadelphia archdiocesan predator priest list includes photographs, assignment histories (including time in treatment facilities), and current status. http://archphila.org/delegate/restricted.htm

Why won’t you provide this helpful information about Chicago predator priests?

5) Why did the archdiocese fight the disclosure of these records for eight years?

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COLORADO
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2014

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

A high ranking Ft. Worth Catholic official, Msgr. Stephen Berg, is the new bishop of Pueblo. He takes over a diocese with a dismal record on children’s safety.

We hope that he will take decisive action to safeguard kids, instead of just posturing and promising the way most bishops do.

Specifically, we hope he will expose and punish Pueblo church staffers who ignored or concealed child sex crimes and aggressively seek out others who have been hurt by the 11 proven, admitted and credibly accused Pueblo clerics. (We suspect there are more pedophile priests’ whose identities have yet to be made public.)

But Berg’s first act in Pueblo should be to immediately announce that a convicted Pueblo predator priest now heads a church in North Carolina. For the safety of kids, Berg should insist that his colleagues in North Carolina disclose this fact too.

Two weeks ago, we in SNAP learned that William Groves is now the paid president of the Spiritual Life Center in Franklin North Carolina. For years, Catholic officials claim they didn’t know where he was.

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