ABUSE TRACKER

ALABAMA
The Raw Story

By Scott Kaufman
Friday, March 14, 2014

On Thursday, a pastor in Muscle Shoals, Alabama pleaded guilty to 16 counts of sodomy, three counts of sexually abusing a child under 12-years-old, and one count of child pornography.

Jeffrey Dale Eddie, also known as “Brother Jeff,” had served as the children’s pastor at Highland Park Baptist Church since 1998. He was first discovered molesting a young boy on January 22, 2014, however, it was not until four days later that church leaders notified police of the abuse, which is a clear violation of Alabama law.

Alabama has a mandatory reporting statute that requires “[a]ll hospitals, clinics, sanitariums, doctors, physicians, surgeons, medical examiners, coroners, dentists, osteopaths, optometrists, chiropractors, podiatrists, nurses, school teachers and officials, peace officers, law enforcement officials, pharmacists, social workers, day care workers or employees, mental health professionals, members of the clergy” to report cases of child abuse or neglect.

According to court documents obtained by WAFF, Eddie confessed to performing acts of oral sex on many of the youths in his charge. When police asked how many youths he may have molested, Eddie said that there were “so many that [he] advised he cannot remember.”

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UNITED STATES
Leon J. Podles: Dialogue

This is from CM:

Pope Francis was visited by George Weigel last week, so it is no surpise that his statements yesterday on the abuse crisis mimick Weigel’s ideological views of the crisis: holiness is what was lacking; abuse is greater among the laity; we are getting blamed unjustly for a common problem; Benedict was at the forefront of the reform.

You, Leon, and so many other reformers have rebutted these false notions with hard facts, which continue to get pushed under the tide of high rhetoric.
Yes, there are slightly more pedophiles among laity than priests but pederasty (abuse of adolescent boys) by priests, which is the main problem, has been at a rate Sipe proved to be between 9% and up to 40% in some urban settings.

Sadly, Pope Benedict only acted under pressure, and after years of knowing the truth, and allowing, for example, Maciel to continue to abuse. I believe his brave stepping aside was in recognition of his failure and the moral impossibility of his leading any reform. It is example all must follow who betrayed children. It will be Francis’ fate if he does not act decisively. …
Francis is a fixer. Whenever a parish or diocese experience a disaster, a fixer is sent in, as O’Malley was to Boston. Francis is the papal fixer. He is changing the subject from sexual abuse by his charm, hominess, and willingness to let people indulge their minor vices without a censoring voice from the clergy.

A fixer differs from a reformer in that a fixer does not address the roots; he is not radical. He merely papers over the problem, merely puts a poultice on the cancer.

Karadima is a terribly abusive priest in Chile. The archbishop of Santiago told him to stop saying mass in Public. Karadima ignored the order, and photos of him saying mass were tweeted to tens of thousands of people.

A prominent Chilean priest who was ordered by the Vatican to never again celebrate a public Mass as punishment for sexually abusing altar boys has been photographed apparently defying the order.

Chile’s top church leaders confirmed the Rev. Fernando Karadima’s act of insubordination Friday and sent the case to the Vatican for investigation. The photos were taken Dec. 4, but they were only released this week by Juan Carlos Cruz, a journalist and one of Karadima’s victims.

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UNITED STATES
Catholic Culture

The former head of a suppressed Pennsylvania religious community is now serving as vicar general of a Paraguayan diocese. In 2005, Bishop Joseph Martino of Scranton suppressed the Society of St. John– which had been known for its promotion of the extraordinary form of the Mass, but also criticized for reports of lavish spending– following accusations of sexual abuse against its founder, Father Carlos Urrutigoity. Bishop Martino’s predecessor, Bishop James Timlin, had suspended the priest’s faculties after a diocesan review board found an abuse allegation credible. Father Urrutigoity was subsequently incardinated in the Diocese of Ciudad del Este, Paraguay and named a monsignor.

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UNITED STATES
Religion News Service

Rachel Marie Stone | Mar 14, 2014

After being raped and repeatedly sexual abused by her pastor, Samantha Nelson was suicidal; her husband Steve Nelson returned home “countless times” just in time to save her life after she’d attempted to take it.

Stories of religious leaders abusing children or minors are more common: conservative Christian Bill Gothard, for example, recently resigned from the organization he founded, Institute in Basic Life Principles after many stories detailing his sexual harassment and abuse of young women and girls came to light.

Less commonly — but no less devastatingly — sexual harassment and abuse is perpetuated by clergy on adult women. That’s what happened to Samantha Nelson.

With the support of her husband, Samantha eventually found healing and grace. She went on to earn credentials in Christian counseling and to found a ministry — The Hope of Survivors — that raises awareness of clergy sexual abuse and offers help to survivors.

In a telephone interview in 2012, Nelson told me, “the devastation of this abuse is that it is so poorly understood, and survivors are subject to all kinds of insensitive behavior — such as being asked, ‘didn’t you like it?’ But because of the power imbalance, this kind of thing can never be a consensual relationship.”

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DEUTSCHLAND
RT1

[Summary: The Unterthurheimer priest who was suspended last year was apparently obsessed with child and adolescent pornography. According to a media report, the Augsburg district court has fined him and he has accepted the sentence. The 65-year-old priest was put on leave last summer by the Augsburg diocese on suspicion of sexual abuse.]

Der Unterthürheimer Pfarrer, der im letzten Jahr vom Dienst suspendiert worden ist, hat offenbar Kinder- und Jugendpornos besessen. Laut einem Medienbericht hat ihn das Augsburger Amtsgericht jetzt deswegen zu einer Geldstrafe von 90 Tagessätzen verurteilt. Weiter heißt es, der Geistliche habe das Urteil bereits angenommen. Der 65-Jährige war im letzten Sommer wegen des Verdachts des sexuellen Mißbrauchs vom Bistum Augsburg beurlaubt worden. Er soll sich als Ordensmann der Benediktiner in den 80-er Jahren in Österreich an einem Jugendlichen vergangen haben. Sein Anwalt Nikolaus Fackler sagte uns damals, man könne man nicht nachvollziehen, wie die Vorwürfe zustande kommen.

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MINNESOTA
KSTP

By: Megan Stewart

The Diocese of St. Cloud is continuing its release of names of priests who have been credibly accused of sexually abusing minors.

The first list was released Jan. 3. Of the 33 names, 21 of them were dead.

Bishop Donald Kettler said he has been reviewing reports from previous diocese records maintained by bishops and clergy before him to determine the names that should be released.

Kettler said since releasing the list, four more names have come to his attention that were not previously documented.

Neil Emon, OSC (Canons Regular of the Order of the Holy Cross (Crosiers)): Saint Peter Parish, Saint Cloud, MN. Currently residing in Phoenix, AZ

Gerald Funcheon, OSC: No official Diocesan assignment but was hired by Cathedral High School, Saint Cloud, MN, as a teacher/spiritual director. Currently residing in Missouri.

Justin Weger, OSC: Saint Therese Parish, Vineland, MN. Deceased.

James Moeglein, OSC: Cathedral of Saint Mary, St. Cloud, MN. Currently residing in Onamia, MN

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UNITED STATES
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Friday, March 14, 2014

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

Only a quarter of respondents in a new poll say Pope Francis’ is doing enough about the Catholic Church’s child sex abuse crisis.

[Beacon News]

The survey of citizens – Catholic and non-Catholic – was taken in USA, Canada and the UK.

For months, we’ve been saying that Pope Francis is making progress on church finances and governance, but he’s done nothing – literally nothing – that protects a single child, exposes a single predator or prevents a single cover up. Sadly, that remains true even as the pontiff marks his first full year on the job.

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MINNESOTA
St. Cloud Times

St. Cloud Diocese has added four names to the list of priests who are believed to have abused children.

The names come to light after they appeared on abuse lists released by other religious communities, St. Cloud Bishop Donald Kettler said in a written statement released Friday.

The names are:

• Neal Emon, who worked at St. Peter Parish in St. Cloud. He lives in Phoenix.

• Gerald Funcheon, a former St. Cloud Cathedral employee as a teacher or spiritual director. He lives in Missouri.

• Justin Weger, St. Therese Parish, Vineland. He is deceased.

• James Moeglein, Cathedral of St. Mary. He lives in Onamia.

The diocese originally released the names Jan. 3 of more than 33 clergy who were believed to have abused children. St. Cloud is one of several diocese and religious organizations that have recently released names of clergy suspected of abusing children.

“I want to assure the public that there was nothing in the records maintained by my predecessor bishops or me which contained any alleged abuse by these clergy while serving in ministry in our diocese,” Kettler said in the statement.

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UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter

Thomas Reese | Mar. 14, 2014 Faith and Justice

During his first year in office, Pope Francis has been such a whirlwind of activity and surprises that it is difficult to know what to say. I have already written extensively about him, so I was uncertain what to write on the anniversary of his election. During the last two weeks, scores of reporters have been calling me with questions about Pope Francis, so I thought I would share with you the most common questions and my responses.

What is the most important achievement of Pope Francis?

The most important achievement of Pope Francis is that he has rebranded Catholicism and the papacy. Prior to Francis, if you asked someone on the street, “What is the Catholic church all about? What does the pope stand for?” the response would be, “They are against abortion, gay marriage and birth control.” Certainly in the media, that was what was portrayed, along with clerical sexual abuse.

Today, the response would be different. “He is concerned about compassion, love, especially for the poor.” He has even won over the media. As one religion reporter told me, “It’s nice to be off the crime beat and back to religion.” The church is making the front page for something other than criminal activity and scandal. Pope Francis has made it fun to be a religion reporter again. …

The second area where he needs to improve is in responding to the sex abuse crisis. He believes that Pope Benedict got it right with zero tolerance of abuse by priests. In an interview with the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, he sounded defensive in talking about how the church was much better at responding to abuse than society at large. While this may be true, for people who feel they were betrayed by bishops who simply moved priests around, such comments are like a cheating husband telling his wife that the other men in the neighborhood cheat more. The only proper response is “I am sorry, I am sorry, I am sorry.” Regaining trust is going to take a lifetime.

As the National Catholic Reporter editorialized, he needs to meet with survivors of sexual abuse by priests. Listening to their stories will affect him as nothing else can. He also needs to take action against bishops who are not responding appropriately to abuse by priests. If a bishop in Germany can be forced to resign because of a financial scandal, why can bishops who scandalize the faithful by not protecting children remain in office? Is money more important than children?

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AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald

Cardinal George Pell has already said that he is deeply sorry for the Catholic Church’s failings in responding to the rape of children by priests.

In the corporate blue and grey surrounds of the child sex abuse royal commission’s 17th floor hearing rooms in Sydney’s CBD next week he may repeat his undertaking to keep striving to make things better. He may declare himself on the side of the victims.

There is much to regret in the church’s handling of child sex abuse claims, and no doubt Cardinal Pell feels that deeply. A decade ago he and victim John Ellis were on opposite sides of the notorious court case in which the former Baker and McKenzie partner sought damages for sexual abuse by the priest Aidan Duggan which started when he was a 13-year-old altar boy in the Bass Hill parish.

The case set a legal precedent that has allowed the Catholic Church in Australia to successfully block victims’ damages claims at court since. It established that the church was not a legal entity that could be sued, and that the archbishop could not be sued because he was not in charge of the archdiocese at the time of the abuse.

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NEW YORK
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Friday, March 14, 2014

Statement by Mary Caplan of New York City, SNAP Leader, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests ( 917 439 4187, mcaplan682@aol.com )

After criticism from outraged victims and concerned Catholics, Cardinal Edward Egan will NOT appear at an upcoming event at Manhattan’s St. Ignatius parish.

[SNAP]

[SNAP]

We learned of this via a short announcement on the parish’s website:

[St. Ignatius Loyola parish]

We know this decision will be a relief to some suffering victims and caring Catholics.

We hope this decision will deter other managers – inside and outside the Catholic church – from concealing heinous child sex crimes in the future.

Obviously, New York Catholics deserve to know who played roles in planning and in cancelling Egan’s appearance. But we doubt that even one church official – Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Egan, the local Jesuit provincial or St. Ignatius staffers – will break the deeply-rooted culture of secrecy in the church around child sex crimes, cover-ups and controversies to share this information.

We are grateful to our supporters at the Voice of the Faithful (the national group and its Bridgeport affiliate) and the National Survivors Advocate Coalition for helping to prevent more pain for already struggling survivors and concerned Catholics.

And we’re especially grateful to the compassionate St. Ignatius parishioners who alerted us to this potentially hurtful move.

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MISSOURI
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

POSTED BY DAVID CLOHESSY ON MARCH 14, 2014

Almost exactly a decade ago, the case of Fr. Alex Anderson was resolved in the St. Louis archdiocese. Remember this case the next time Pope Francis claims the church gets “picked on” over how it deals with child sex crimes.

Three men, who don’t know each other, accused Fr. Anderson of molesting them when they were kids.

When Fr. Anderson was accused in 2002 of abusing one of them at a boys’ home, then-Bishop Timothy Dolan believed Anderson’s denial “on the spot” because Anderson “said it with a lot of peace.”

[BishopAccountability.org]

According to the New York Times, “The same day that he met with the priest, (Dolan) reviewed the allegations with three (abuse panel) members and Archbishop Justin Rigali, and gave his opinion: Father Anderson was telling the truth.”

The Times reported that “there is no evidence that during this time the archdiocese sought witnesses to any abuse; Bishop Dolan later testified that he was unaware of an earlier abuse complaint against Fr. Anderson that had been withdrawn.”

But when deposed later, Dolan said that Fr. Anderson acknowledged that during summers at St. Joseph’s, he had invited boys to sleep in his study, allegedly because it was air-conditioned.

So how did all of this get resolved?

Archdiocesan officials claim one accuser recanted. Another accuser, they said, was “not credible.” However, they ended up paying one of the victims $22,500.

Yet to this day, Fr. Alex Anderson remains pastor of a St. Louis area parish.

And every top archdiocesan officials involved – Dolan, Rigali, his successor Archbishop Raymond Burke, and then-vicar general Fr. Richard Stika – has since been promoted at least once.

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UNITED STATES
Pope Francis the CON Christ.

Updated March 13, 2014

Paris Arrow

It is a coincident or God-incident that as Pope Francis celebrates his first year anniversary as Pope and prepares to canonize his “Holy father of Lies” John Paul II next month, the tiny village of Arecibo is reeling with JP2 Pedophile priests. When Benedict XVI, Francis other gay “Holy Father of Lies” first announced that John Paul II will be waived the usual 5-years wait after his death before qualifying for beatification, 7 theologians in Europe wrote him a letter of protest citing 7 reasons why John Paul II is not qualified to be a saint whatsoever. One of their reasons was the “plague of sexual abuse of children in South America”, read our related article The Beatification of John-Paul II: Appeal for Clarity.” http://jp2m.blogspot.ca/2006/08/john-paul-ii-7-capital-sins.html

Puerto Rico is 80% Catholic and we’d like to share an article, John Paul II Catholic Traditions http://jp2m.blogspot.ca/2006_10_01_archive.html that might help break the Catholic fanaticism because if they want to be liberated from their poverty, they must first be freed from the Vatican Concordats that usurp their taxes, read here Abolition of Vatican Concordat in Dominican Republic

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KANSAS CITY (MO)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Friday, March 14, 2014

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

Some KC Catholics fear Bishop Robert Finn will soon seek bankruptcy protection for the diocese. We think he will and we predicted it a year ago:

[SNAP]

[Kansas City Star]

Chapter 11 enables a bishop to protect what he cares about most: his own reputation, comfort and secrets. It stops depositions and discovery in clergy sex abuse and cover up cases. So it means top Catholic officials won’t have to put their hands on a Bible, swear to be honest, and answer tough questions about their roles in concealing heinous crimes against kids.

And if there’s one Catholic official who wants to avoid this, it’s Bishop Finn. What’s known now about the Fr. Shawn Ratigan case is awful. But we believe that if a Ratigan case would go to trial, or Finn and other church staff were deposed about their actions, even more shocking facts would come to light. And we believe Finn will do everything he possibly can to prevent this from happening.

Chapter 11 also enables Catholic officials to change the subject from “Which priests and bishops put kids in harms’ way” to “How are we going to divide up church funds?” The names and reckless, callous and deceitful actions of those who intimidated victims, stonewalled police, threatened whistleblowers, discredited witnesses, and deceived parishioners will not be revealed.

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

DAN BOX THE AUSTRALIAN MARCH 15, 2014

CHRISSIE and Anthony Foster have sat neatly in the front row of the public gallery throughout each day of this week’s royal commission hearing in Sydney.

The Melbourne couple have travelled at their own expense. Two of their three daughters were raped by a Catholic priest. For them, the hearing represents a chance to see, behind closed doors, into the inner workings of the church.

Asked what, particularly, they are here to see, Mrs Foster replies: “George Pell, of course.” So, too, is everybody else. The first half of this two-week hearing has been dominated by the man who has, to date, not entered the commission room. The former Catholic archbishop of Sydney, recently appointed to a senior Vatican role, is unlikely to appear before he gives evidence in person at the end of next week.

Even in his absence, the evidence before the commission is drawing a close outline of the man and his actions throughout a long and bitterly sad chapter in the history of his church.

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse is at present investigating the church’s handling of a complaint brought by a former altar boy, John Ellis, who was sexually abused by a Sydney priest.

Ellis first formally approached the church in June 2002, saying he had been abused by Father Aidan Duggan over several years from 1974 while at the Bass Hill parish in Sydney’s west. His case, the commission hears, was badly handled under the church’s internal Towards Healing process for dealing with such claims.

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KANSAS CITY (MO)
The Republic

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
March 14, 2014

KANSAS CITY, Missouri — The Kansas City-St. Joseph Diocese is not considering bankruptcy, despite having paid millions of dollars for legal fees and settlements in sexual abuse cases involving priests in recent years, a diocese spokesman said.

The diocese has paid $6 million in settlements on sex abuse cases since May, as well as $7 million on legal fees for sex abuse cases in the last two fiscal years. And it still faces more than two dozen sexual abuse lawsuits and a breach-of-contract case filed by plaintiffs who settled with the diocese for $10 million in 2008, The Kansas City Star reported (http://bit.ly/1iJj2Tc ).

Those costs have raised concerns about possible bankruptcy among parishioners, including a group that has petitioned Pope Francis to remove Bishop Robert Finn for his handling of the sexual abuse allegations.

“Among the active and retired clergy, there is a genuine and sincere concern of diocesan bankruptcy,” said Jeff Weis, a Kansas City Catholic who started a petition drive seeking Finn’s removal. “There’s a fear that this diocese is being driven into the ground financially.”

A diocesan spokesman said those concerns are unfounded.

“The diocese is not contemplating or in a position requiring bankruptcy,” said spokesman Jack Smith, adding the diocese’s insurance carrier covered the costs of the settlements.

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KENTUCKY
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Friday, March 14, 2014

For more information: David Clohessy ( 314-566-9790, SNAPclohessy@aol.com )

Controversial cardinal to speak at event
He’s accused of covering up child sex crimes
Victims feel his visit to KY “sends the wrong message”
“It encourages future cover ups & hurts victims,” they say
SNAP to Lexington diocese: “Tell your complicit prelate to stay home”

A controversial church official will address a Catholic event in Kentucky later this month and a support group for clergy sex abuse victims wants him to be disinvited.

On Saturday, March 22, retired Philadelphia Archbishop Cardinal Rigali is to be a featured speaker at the Catholic Men Servant Leaders annual conference in Lexington.

Rigali headed the Philadelphia archdiocese when prosecutors there released a lengthy grand jury report that harshly criticized the church hierarchy’s role in concealing clergy sex crimes.

In 2011, the New York Times reported that a “cloud hangs over Cardinal Rigali’s legacy — his mishandling of the abuse scandal,” noting that “the scope of crimes committed by priests — including rape, as described graphically by a grand jury in February — had shocked many because it had all been described before, by another grand jury in 2005.”

[New York Times]

At one point, “Cardinal Rigali said there were no priests in active ministry who had been accused of abuse,” but a month later, “he reversed field and suspended 21 of them in one day, prompting criticism that he should have alerted prosecutors sooner,” the Times said.

Because of that, leaders of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests want Lexington Catholic officials to oust Rigali from the upcoming event.

[Lexington diocese]

“Welcoming and honoring Rigali sends precisely the wrong message and hurts already suffering victims and betrayed Catholics,” said Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, outreach director of SNAP. “It encourages future cover ups by saying ‘no matter how much you endanger children you can still be rewarded.”

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MARYLAND
SoMdNews

The Catholic Archdiocese of Washington has confirmed that it contacted St. Mary’s prosecutors last year after a routine financial examination at St. Francis Xavier Church in Compton revealed losses, estimated by local authorities to be at least $300,000.

A spokesperson for the archdiocese said that the review of the church’s finances followed the retirement of the Rev. John Mattingly, and was performed by his successor.

The ongoing investigation, initially reported in last week’s edition of The County Times, followed the Rev. Brian Sanderfoot’s discovery of “some financial irregularities,” according to Chieko Noguchi, the archdiocese’s director of media and public relations.

The information was forwarded to the archdiocese, resulting in the inquiry into possible “improper handling of parishioner contributions by Father John Mattingly, the former pastor,” according to Noguchi.

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UNITED STATES
PopeCrimes&Vatican Evils.

Paris Arrow

Most crystal clear definition of Pope Francis

This is the most crystal clear definition of Pope Francis and all his priests : Pope Francis is the CON Christ, Pretender & Imposter of Jesus, Merlin priest hoax who cannot clone Jesus or dogs. Normal persons will immediately understand this truthful statement and see the CON-Christ beneath the unique white Emperor’s Clothes papal façade who has conquered the social-media and reached the same low moral hype of 20 year old porn singer Miley Cyrus and fickle Justin Bieber rolling in the covers of Rolling Stone…proving that Hollywood and the Vatican are twin cities that “lie for a living”, read our related article, Argo &“saint” John Paul II are make-believe legends of Hollywood and the Vatican: the twin-cities that “lie for a living”

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WORCESTER (MA)
MassLive

By John F. Hill | john.hill@masslive.com
on March 13, 2014

A lawsuit that claims the Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester refused to sell a Northbridge mansion to a gay couple who wanted to host weddings at the property has received the support of the Massachusetts Attorney General.

Martha Coakley’s office said it filed a brief Thursday in Worcester District Court, arguing that anti-discrimination laws should apply to religious institutions.

“Our laws provide important protections for religious organizations and people of faith,” Coakley said in a statement. “These laws also strike a balance between religious freedoms and the rights of individuals to be free from discrimination. In this case, we believe that this family was unfairly discriminated against by the Diocese when it refused to sell them property based on their sexual orientation.”

The case was filed in 2012 by James Fairbanks and Alain Beret, a married couple from Sutton. The pair were looking for a venue in which to run an inn and host weddings, and wanted to buy the historic Oakhurst mansion in Northbridge, according to a Boston Globe story on the lawsuit.

The property was owned by House of Affirmation, Inc., an affiliate of the Worcester Diocese. After the diocese accepted an initial offer for the 26 acre property, the deal fell apart during negotiations, according to the lawsuit.

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AUSTRALIA
SBS

AAP

The country is waiting to hear from Cardinal George Pell what he really meant when he said victims should be able to sue the church in abuse cases.

Is it all incense and mirrors or has the veteran Catholic warhorse George Pell dropped the drawbridge to let thousands of abuse victims storm the legal battlements of the church?

The cardinal takes the stand at the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse sometime next week, but commission counsel Gail Furness SC has already given a brief insight into what he’ll say.

Ms Furness this week read a few lines from a 23-page opening statement, stating that Dr Pell held the view victims in cases “of this kind” should be able to sue the church in Australia grabbed attention.

Ms Furness was laying out the facts for a two-week hearing into how the Archdiocese of Sydney under Dr Pell handled complaints by John Ellis in 2002 that he had been abused as an altar boy by a priest in Bass Hill, Sydney, about 28 years earlier.

Dr Pell’s apparent “backflip”, “change of heart” and “volte face” stole the headlines and led to speculation the church would change its structure to make itself a legal entity that could be sued.

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WORCESTER (MA)
Telegram & Gazette

By Scott J. Croteau TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
scroteau@telegram.com

WORCESTER — Attorney General Martha Coakley is supporting a gay couple’s legal battle against the Diocese of Worcester after the pair was allegedly denied the right to buy a church-owned mansion in Northbridge.

Two Sutton men, James E. Fairbanks and Alain J. Beret, a married gay couple, filed a civil suit in Worcester Superior Court in 2012 against the diocese and its real estate agent after their offer to buy the Oakhurst Conference and Retreat Center, a 44-bedroom mansion in the Whitinsville section of Northbridge, was rejected by the Diocese of Worcester.

The lawsuit contends the diocese ended the deal because the men are gay and might hold same-sex weddings on the property.

“In this case, we believe that this family was unfairly discriminated against by the Diocese when it refused to sell them property based on their sexual orientation,” Ms. Coakley said in a written statement.

The diocese has denied the allegations.

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UNITED STATES
Verdict

Leslie C. Griffin

I am disappointed to see my alma mater, the University of Notre Dame, leading the litigation charge against the contraceptive mandate of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The mandate requires employer health care plans to contain preventive care coverage that includes FDA-approved contraceptive methods and sterilization procedures. The ACA originally exempted purely religious employers like houses of worship from its requirements, but otherwise applied the contraceptive regulations to religious employers like Notre Dame.

The uproar against the Obama Administration about that original rule was equally vigorous and ridiculous. The Catholic bishops and other religious employers like Notre Dame accused the Administration of conducting a war on religious freedom, even though there is no constitutional rule that excuses religious employers from compliance with the law. Amish employers, for example, have long been required to pay Social Security taxes, and fundamentalist Christian employers to pay men and women equally. As the Catholic Church should have learned from its child abuse crisis, moreover, bishop employers are expected to obey the criminal laws and civil reporting statutes even when their rules against public scandal tell them not to. Notre Dame should have obeyed the original law and provided coverage to its 5000 full and part-time employees and 11,500 graduate and undergraduate students, who include Catholics who obey or disobey their church’s teaching, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Agnostics, Atheists and others whose use of contraceptives is their own constitutionally-protected business.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Daily News

SOLOMON LEACH, DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER LEACHS@PHILLYNEWS.COM, 215-854-5903
POSTED: Friday, March 14, 2014

AS IT TRIES to move past the clergy sex-abuse scandal that has rocked the Catholic Church, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia announced earlier this week that it will host its first Mass for survivors of abuse.

The Mass for Healing, which will take place March 22 at Cathedral Basilica of Ss. Peter and Paul, will be led by Archbishop Charles Chaput and focus on prayers for the victims, the healing of the church and all those affected by the abuse.

The Archdiocese said some survivors have been invited and are expected to attend the 5:15 p.m. Mass, which will also be broadcast via a live stream on the Internet.

“The purpose of the Mass is to promote healing through prayer for the victims of clergy sexual abuse and for all who have been affected by clergy sexual abuse,” spokesman Ken Gavin said in an email.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Pocono Record

By Beth Brelje
Pocono Record Writer
March 14, 2014

A Roman Catholic priest who was accused of molesting boys in Shohola and Moscow, Pa., has been promoted to the No. 2 position in his diocese in Paraguay.

That is according to a database released this week, listing Catholic clergy from Argentina involved in sex abuse cases. The database was compiled by BishopAccountability.org, an organization that aims to keep a record of sex abuse in the Catholic Church.

Former Bishop Joseph Martino of the Diocese of Scranton allowed the Rev. Carlos Urrutigoity to transfer to a parish in the South American country of Paraguay after multiple witness statements in several court cases claimed that Urrutigoity routinely slept in bed with and had sex with boys in his care, calling it spiritual guidance.

Currently, Urrutigoity is vicar general of the Ciudad del Este diocese in Paraguay. That makes him the second in command, just under the bishop there. Part of his job is to investigate any claim of sexual abuse that might come to the diocese.

“Now he is in a position of power. I’m concerned for the children of Paraguay. From everything I’ve learned, Father Carlos has not stopped. This is a basic child protection issue,” said Patrick Wall, a former priest who is now a Minnesota-based advocate for victims of sexual abuse by clergy.

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WASHINGTON
KIMA

[with video]

YAKIMA, Wash. — More testimony was heard in the lawsuit against the Catholic Diocese of Yakima Thursday. A mental health counselor and the plaintiff’s foster sister were the latest witnesses in federal court.

The counselor was used as an expert. He told the court he didn’t think the diocese had proper oversight on the deacon candidate accused of raping a man known as John Doe.

That man says the crime happened when he was a teenager. He’s suing the Yakima Diocese for more than $3 million. The trial is adjourned until Tuesday.

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IRELAND
Irish Independent

SARAH MACDONALD – PUBLISHED 14 MARCH 2014

IRISH Catholics have told the Vatican that the church is out of touch on sex, divorce, homosexuality and family planning.

In their responses to the Vatican’s questionnaire on the family, the Irish faithful made it clear that the church’s teachings are disconnected from real life.

The survey is part of a sounding out of the global church on these issues ahead of a synod on the family called by Pope Francis for October in Rome.

According to the Irish bishops, on the basis of the answers they collated from the country’s 26 dioceses, Catholics in Ireland feel the church’s teaching is often not experienced as “realistic, compassionate, or life-enhancing”.

On Thursday, the bishops revealed that some Irish Catholics see the church’s teaching that contraception is intrinsically wrong or that the divorced and remarried cannot receive communion, as disconnected from real-life experience.

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SCOTLAND
Scottish Catholic Observer

IAN DUNN meets with US writer Dawn Eden, an abuse survivor, who was invited by Bishop Hugh Gilbert to speak to Catholics in his diocese and who also spoke in Glasgow during her time in Scotland

US author Dawn Eden was visiting Scotland last week, on a very important mission. She was speaking in Aberdeen and Glasgow about her book My Peace I Give You: Healing Sexual Wounds with the Help of the Saints, which details how the lives of the saints have given her hope and aided her journey of spiritual healing after childhood sexual abuse. Her path to Catholicism is not a conventional one, having being raised as a Jew and being a former rock journalist, but as a victim of childhood abuse herself her book has helped thousands of people all over the world.

On the invitation of Bishop Hugh Gilbert of Aberdeen, she spoke across the diocese including in Fort Augustus, where revelations of sexual abuse at a former Benedictine school there had left deep wounds.

“This whole trip has been so blessed,” she said. “Everyone has been so friendly. Since writing My Peace I Give You, I have felt this is my missionary work, and it is a real joy to me.”

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AUSTRALIA
Echo Netdaily

Annette Blackwell, AAP

A senior Catholic official had to be released from a vow of secrecy before he could freely give evidence to the royal commission into child sexual abuse.

Monsignor Brian Rayner was chancellor and vicar-general in the Archdiocese of Sydney when abuse victim John Ellis sought redress for abuse suffered when he was an altar boy at Bass Hill, in Sydney between 1974 and 1979.

Monsignor Rayner told counsel assisting the commission, Gail Furness SC, that he had gone to the Papal Nuncio to be released from a vow of secrecy he took when he held the chancellor’s position in Sydney.

The nuncio, Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Pope’s diplomat in Australia, is based in Canberra.

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WASHINGTON
Yakima Herald-Republic

By Donald W. Meyers / Yakima Herald-Republic
dmeyers@yakimaherald.com

An expert on sex abuse within the Catholic Church testified Thursday that the Diocese of Yakima failed to properly supervise a deacon accused of raping a man when he was a teen in 1999.

“(The supervision) wasn’t there,” said psychotherapist Richard Sipe. “They didn’t know what was going on, and they didn’t require accountability.”

But an attorney representing the diocese challenged Sipe’s credibility, producing documents showing that then-Bishop Carlos Sevilla advised an Episcopal bishop in Mexico that former Deacon Aaron Ramirez had sexually abused a 17-year-old in Zillah.

“Your statement that Bishop Sevilla failed to provide information is not accurate,” attorney Ted Buck said in one of the trial’s more testy exchanges.

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AUSTRALIA
Newcastle Herald

By JOANNE McCARTHY March 14, 2014

IN 1989 a couple travelled to an isolated farmhouse in the southern highlands for time alone.

The mood was strained.

For the previous year the woman had been recovering from major surgery to correct a serious physical disability involving her hips and legs.

The man was distracted and aloof. Although that had been a feature of their relationship since he first suddenly and forcefully kissed her in her parents’ house in 1976 when she was 22 and he was 30, and a few months later had sex with her, the woman sensed there was something more as they settled in for their four-day getaway.

They had sex over that four days, despite the discomfort that was a consequence of the surgery. But he had never let her discomfort stop him from having sex, she said in a statement to her lawyers many years later.

On the last day the woman tried to break through his distraction.

‘‘Was something wrong?’’ she asked.

There was, he said. The relationship was over. He could not continue to carry on with ‘‘a public and a private life’’.

The man was Catholic priest Father Tom Knowles. The woman was Jennifer Herrick. In 1989 he was 42 and she was 35. He was on his way to becoming Australian head of his order, the Blessed Sacrament Fathers.

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KANSAS CITY (MO)
The Kansas City Star

March 13
BY JUDY L. THOMAS
The Kansas City Star

Six years after a massive settlement closed the curtain on a dark era of priest sexual abuse scandals, the Kansas City-St. Joseph Diocese is spending millions on a new crop of cases.

Settlements last month with two families whose minor daughters were victims of a priest convicted of producing child pornography brought to $6 million the total the diocese has paid out since last May. That doesn’t include $7 million the diocese has spent on legal costs involving those and other sex abuse cases the past two fiscal years.

And the end may not be in sight. With more than two dozen sexual abuse lawsuits pending, along with a breach-of-contract case filed by plaintiffs who settled with the diocese for $10 million in 2008, a number of Catholics are wondering:

Is bankruptcy on the horizon?

“Among the active and retired clergy, there is a genuine and sincere concern of diocesan bankruptcy,” said Jeff Weis, a lifelong Kansas City Catholic who initiated a petition drive seeking the removal of Bishop Robert Finn. “There’s a fear that this diocese is being driven into the ground financially.”

A diocesan spokesman said bankruptcy is not under consideration.

“The diocese is not contemplating or in a position requiring bankruptcy,” said communications director Jack Smith.

That’s not the case in other dioceses across the country. In the past decade, 11 U.S. dioceses and two religious orders have filed for bankruptcy protection, three of them since November.

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UNITED KINGDOM
The Tablet

Papal anniversary: top marks for warmth but now get to work on abuse record, curial reform and the role of women – poll

12 March 2014 by Abigail Frymann

Developing the role of women, reforming the Vatican bureaucracy and improving the Church’s record on abuse are the three areas Pope Francis must most urgently address, according to a survey conducted by The Tablet.

Some 73 per cent said Pope Francis must prioritise developing the role of women, 72 per cent highlighted the need to press ahead with curial reform and 68 per cent said they wanted him to focus on “child protection, the censure of clergy who have abused or covered up abuse, and care for victims”.

More than 1,400 people completed an online poll on The Tablet’s website between 19 February and 4 March. Every continent was represented, with one third of respondents from the UK and one third from the US. One fifth were clergy.

Of the 1,208 of the respondents who said they were Mass-going Catholics, almost two-thirds also wanted Pope Francis to prioritise making the Church more transparent. These priorities were closely followed by communicating Christ and the Gospel, involving the laity in decision-making and discussing Communion for remarried divorcees.

The 299 clergy who took part in the poll listed curial reform as top priority (78 per cent). While 63 per cent highlighted improving the Church’s response to abuse, this priority emerged as seventh, behind developing the role of women, communicating Christ and the Gospel, improving transparency and collegiality and involving the laity more in decision-making.

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UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter

Pam Cohen | Mar. 13, 2014 NCR Today

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) reached out to the Vatican on behalf of House and Senate leaders on Thursday to invite Pope Francis to speak to both houses of Congress should he come to the United States next year, The Washington Post reports.

A copy of the letter:

It is with reverence and admiration that I have invited Pope Francis, as head of state of the Holy See and the first Pope to hail from the Americas, to address a joint meeting of the United States Congress.
Pope Francis has inspired millions of Americans with his pastoral manner and servant leadership, challenging all people to lead lives of mercy, forgiveness, solidarity, and humble service.

His tireless call for the protection of the most vulnerable among us — the ailing, the disadvantaged, the unemployed, the impoverished, the unborn — has awakened hearts on every continent.

His social teachings, rooted in ‘the joy of the gospel,’ have prompted careful reflection and vigorous dialogue among people of all ideologies and religious views in the United States and throughout a rapidly changing world, particularly among those who champion human dignity, freedom, and social justice.

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MASSACHUSETTS
Commonwealth Magazine

BY: JACK SULLIVAN
March 13, 2014

ATTORNEY GENERAL MARTHA COAKLEY thrust her office into the middle of a civil suit against the Worcester Diocese, saying the church’s refusal to sell property it owns in Oxford to a married gay couple is discrimination not protected by any right to religious freedom.

Coakley’s office on Thursday filed an amicus brief in Worcester Superior Court saying the Worcester Diocese violated state law by refusing to sell a former Whitinsville home used for pedophile priests to Alain Beret and James Fairbanks after Bishop Robert McManus learned the couple was gay and planned to turn the home into a function center for a variety of events, including gay weddings.

“[The church’s] interpretation of the law is incorrect and, in the context of this case, the rights of religious freedom do not entitle the Diocesan defendants to discriminate against plaintiffs on the basis of sexual orientation,” the brief states.

Beret and Fairbanks had made an agreement in 2012 to purchase the property, called Oakhurst, for $1 million, paying a $75,000 deposit and contracting for a home inspection. But, after the inspection, they learned they would have to buy a sprinkler system for nearly $250,000 in order to make the 44-bedroom mansion into a bed and breakfast and function hall. After consulting with the realtor, they submitted a revised offer to purchase only the mansion and a smaller portion of the 24-acre property. The following day, the realtor sent the couple an email stating the diocese was pulling out of the deal because they had “other plans” for the property.

Though diocesan officials told a Telegram & Gazette columnist they killed the deal over concern about the couple’s finances, the message the couple received from the realtor inadvertently included a copy of an email sent to her from Monsignor Thomas Sullivan, one of McManus’s top aides.

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NEW JERSEY
The Record

A YEAR ago, the world was introduced to the former archbishop of Buenos Aires on a balcony in St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City. Pope Francis asked the crowds to bless him. It was an act of humility, the first of many.

Pope Francis is an unlikely media rock star, but that is what he has become. Millions of people have found hope in his humble manner. From shunning the official papal apartment to driving around in a Ford Focus, the pontiff is changing the tone of the Catholic Church.

He made headlines when asked about gay clergy by responding, “Who am I to judge?” Some interpret that as a hint that the church’s views on homosexuality will change. That is unlikely.

The pope is not signaling that Catholic teaching will change, but rather that the Vatican’s priorities will. He wants to focus on the needs of the poor and the disenfranchised in society. He also wants his bishops to live simpler lives.

Here in North Jersey, the pope has left his mark with the appointment of Coadjutor Archbishop Bernard Hebda, the presumed replacement for Newark Archbishop John Myers. Myers has been embroiled in controversy over his handling of a priest who violated a legal agreement never to minister to children. Myers also is enlarging his already lavish retirement home.

This stark contrast to the lifestyle embraced by Pope Francis shows the challenges the pontiff faces – internally and externally. In his early years as pontiff, Pope John Paul II was a vigorous force on the world stage challenging autocratic governments and empowering democratic movements. Yet he failed at challenging the autocracy that is the Roman Curia, the Vatican’s governing body.

Pope Francis must reform the Curia before he can attempt to transform a secular world focused on power and money into something more altruistic. Many people are listening to what he says and are heartened by his humility. But the Catholic Church is a large ship that does not change direction quickly. The pontiff rides in a Ford Focus, while Myers plans to retire to a 7,500-square-foot mansion with an indoor exercise pool.

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IRELAND
Irish Mirror

Christine Buckley’s son choked back tears as he described his mother as “my best friend, my hero, my first love” at her funeral yesterday.

Hundreds packed into the Church of St Therese in Mount Merrion, South Dublin, to say farewell to the brave woman who spoke out about the institutional abuse she suffered.

Mourners heard how the 67-year-old played a pivotal role in exposing the horror endured by thousands of children across the country at the hands of religious orders.

And her son Conor took to the altar to tell the world about his courageous mother who battled every day of her life.

Detailing how special a woman she was, he said Christine will leave a lasting impression on him for the rest of his life.

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IRELAND
The Journal

THE FUNERAL MASS of institutional abuse campaigner Christine Buckley was held in Dublin this morning.

Survived by her husband Donal and their adult children Conor, Darragh and Cliona, the 67-year-old passed away on Tuesday from cancer.

President Michael D Higgins was among the mourners at today’s funeral at the church of St Therese in Mount Merrion.

The Taoiseach was represented by his aide de camp as he is out of the country. Health Minister James Reilly also attended, as well as Senator Jillian Van Turnhout and former Minister of State for Children and current CEO of Goal, Barry Andrews.

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IRELAND
Irish Times

Patsy McGarry

Christine Buckley was “a woman of extraordinary courage,” President Michael D Higgins said after her funeral in Dublin this morning.

Speaking after the service at the Church of St Therese in Dublin’s Mount Merrion, which he attended, the president said: “it was appropriate to pay tribute to a figure of such moral strength and purpose.”
He had attended the funeral “to honour her courage”, recalling “the darkness she broke open with the light of her own experience.”

On arrival at the church earlier her remains were received by Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin, President of Blackrock College, Fr Cormac Ó Brolcháin, and parish administrator Fr Tony Coote.

Archbishop Martin welcomed “our great friend Christine Buckley, her immediate family and the huge family she helped.”

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IRELAND
The Journal

NEARLY €9 MILLION has been paid out to survivors of the Magdalene Laundries with the 250 women who have accepted offers sharing an average of €34,800.

The Department of Justice has told the Public Accounts Committee today that 724 applications have been made to the compensation scheme set up on foot of a report by the former senator Martin McAleese into the controversial laundries.

The department’s secretary general Brian Purcell told the committee that progress on compensation has been “broadly in line with expectations” with 250 women accepting offers and €8.7 million paid out.
However, he acknowledged delays in amending current legislation to provide the affected women with healthcare.

The department set aside €23 million for the compensation fund which was set up following a report by Justice Quirke, President of the Law Reform Commission, on the establishment of an ex-gratia scheme and supports for the hundreds of women affected.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
Fox News Latino

Is Congress turning to divine intervention to lift it out of bipartisan bickering and legislative gridlock?

Perhaps.

House Speaker John Boehner wants Pope Francis to come to Washington D.C. and address the entire Congress. It would mark the first time the head of the Catholic Church personally spoke before Congress.

“Pope Francis has inspired millions of Americans with his pastoral manner and servant leadership, challenging all people to lead lives of mercy, forgiveness, solidarity, and humble service,” Boehner said in an email announcing that he had invited the Holy Father. “His tireless call for the protection of the most vulnerable among us – the ailing, the disadvantaged, the unemployed, the impoverished, the unborn – has awakened hearts on every continent.”

Boehner, an Ohio Republican who is Catholic, expressed admiration for the Pope’s success in getting people in the United States from all ideological and religious walks of life to examine human rights and social justice.

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WASHINGTON
Yakima Herald-Republic

By Donald W. Meyers / Yakima Herald-Republic
dmeyers@yakimaherald.com

YAKIMA, Wash. — The foster sister of a man suing the Diocese of Yakima said Thursday that the man, identified as John Doe, was a popular high school athlete before he was reportedly attacked by a church deacon in 1999.

But after the July 29 incident, in which Doe alleges Deacon Aaron Ramirez plied him with alcohol and repeatedly raped him in a trailer at Resurrection Catholic Church in Zillah, he became withdrawn, started drinking and became suicidal. Doe was 17 at the time.

“John Doe looked like someone had torn his soul from him,” the foster sister said, describing when she first saw Doe at the Zillah Police Department after the attack. “He did not look like the John Doe who was my best friend.”

Doe, now 32, is suing the diocese for $3.1 million, claiming that church officials failed to properly check Ramirez’s background when he applied to be a candidate for the priesthood, and failed to supervise him when he served as a deacon in the diocese.

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NEW YORK
Voice of the Faithful

March 13, 2014

Voice of the Faithful®, a movement of Catholics gravely concerned about the Catholic Church’s clergy sexual abuse scandal and Church structures that permit it, said today that Cardinal Edward Egan’s prominent role this Saturday in a celebration featuring a children’s choir is ill-advised considering controversial involvement in that scandal.

Cardinal Egan is scheduled to preside at a Mass following a festival featuring the Pueri Cantores Children’s Choir, with more than 200 children from New York and surrounding communities participating. The festival takes place at St. Ignatius Loyola Parish in New York City.

The juxtaposition of Egan’s statements and attitude about the clergy sexual abuse scandal with a liturgical celebration featuring children is at least insensitive.

Secret Church documents, since made public, show Egan hid clergy sexual abuse crimes during his long tenure in the Diocese of Bridgeport, Connecticut, and was accused of doing the same as archbishop of New York. Many of these transgressions are detailed at BishopAccountablity.org.

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UNITED STATES
Catholic League

Bill Donohue comments on the latest left-wing attack on the pope:

BishopAccountability.org purports to be an abuse watchdog, but in reality its only real agenda is to discredit the Catholic Church. Its latest stab at Pope Francis brings further discredit to its reputation. Indeed, as will be demonstrated, its report on the pope is pure McCarthyism.

Yesterday, it published a report on Pope Francis’ record with priests accused of abuse in Argentina when he was Archbishop Jorge Mario Bergoglio. The report accuses Bergoglio of not having addressed abusive priests during his tenure as Auxiliary and Archbishop of Buenos Aires (1992-1998 Auxiliary; 1998-2013 Archbishop) or as president of the Argentine Bishops Conference (2005-2011).

The report is so seriously flawed that even a high school dropout could shoot holes in it. To read our analysis of it, click here. The heads of every diocese in the U.S. are being sent a copy of our analysis, along with a statement about our previous research on BishopAccountability.org.

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UNITED STATES
Catholic League

[Via BishopAccountability.org:
Pope’s record on abuse in Argentina is posted online
Pope Francis and Clergy Sexual Abuse in Argentina
El papa Francisco y los abusos sexuales del clero en Argentina]

March 13, 2014 by Bill

Filed under Special Reports

According to BishopAccountability.org, “He [the pope when he was a bishop in Argentina] released no documents, no names of accused priests, no tallies of accused priests, no policy for handling abuse, not even an apology to victims.”

The report excerpts a quote from a 2010 interview where Archbishop Bergoglio was asked about pedophilia. In part, he responded by saying, “in my diocese it never happened to me.” What the report left out was his condemnation of pedophilia, and his criticism of the way some bishops handled the problem of sexual abuse.

BishopAccountability highlights five cases where Bergoglio may have had knowledge of abuse allegations, but it is clear that it has no evidence that he knew about any of these cases. Moreover, only one of the priests was an archdiocesan priest from Buenos Aires (more on him below); two were religious order priests and two were from other dioceses.

The report estimates that between 1950 and 2013, “more than 100 Buenos Aires archdiocesan priests offended against children.” Again, the report cites no evidence for this claim. It further undermines its credibility when it makes a strained analogy: it compares the size of the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires to the number of priests accused in the dioceses of Manchester, Providence, and Los Angeles. Even a high school dropout would have chosen a Latin American analogy.

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DEUTSCHLAND
n-tv

[Summary: With a scientific research project, the Catholic Church wants to reappraise the abuse scandal in their own ranks. The bishops decided at their spring general assembly in Munster to have such a research study and to cooperate with new partners. A first attempt failed a year ago.]

Mit einem wissenschaftlichen Forschungsprojekt will die katholische Kirche den Missbrauchsskandal in ihren eigenen Reihen aufarbeiten. In Münster beschlossen die Bischöfe bei ihrer Frühjahrsvollversammlung einen Forschungsplan sowie die Zusammenarbeit mit neuen Partnern. Ein erster Anlauf dazu war vor einem Jahr gescheitert.

Ziel ist, die sexuellen Übergriffe von Priestern und anderen Geistlichen an Minderjährigen von 1945 bis heute zu analysieren, um künftig Missbrauch zu verhindern. “Das Thema liegt uns sehr am Herzen und ist von großer Bedeutung”, erklärte der bisherige Vorsitzende der Bischofskonferenz, Robert Zollitsch. Deshalb werde der Trierer Bischof Stephan Ackermann, der für die Aufarbeitung des Skandals verantwortlich ist, das Projekt “in den kommenden Wochen und in jedem Fall vor Ostern” auf einer eigenen Pressekonferenz mit dem neuen Partner vorstellen.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Deutsche Bischofskongerenz

[Summary: The spring plenary meeting of the German Bishops’ Conference, held in Munster, has ended. The bishops since Monday have consulted on a variety of issues and tasks. Discussions included debate on the situation of the church in Germany and the challenges facing the conference.]

PRESSEBERICHT DES SCHEIDENDEN VORSITZENDEN DER DEUTSCHEN BISCHOFSKONFERENZ, ERZBISCHOF DR. ROBERT ZOLLITSCH

Die Frühjahrs-Vollversammlung der Deutschen Bischofskonferenz ist heute (13. März 2014) in Münster zu Ende gegangen. Seit Montag haben die Mitglieder der Deutschen Bischofskonferenz über vielfältige Fragen und Aufgaben beraten.

62 anwesende und wahlberechtigte Mitglieder der Vollversammlung haben am Mittwoch, den 12. März 2014, Kardinal Reinhard Marx, den Erzbischof von München und Freising zu ihrem neuen Vorsitzenden gewählt.

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UNITED STATES
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Thursday, March 13, 2014

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

What a sad irony: Today is the international Rights of the Child Day and the anniversary of a pope who has done literally nothing to safeguard even one child.

For a year now, Pope Francis has headed a global monarchy that has long been – and still is – mired in well-documented and horrific crisis involving the hiding of clergy sex crimes.

But has refused to take a single step that protects a single child, unveils a single cover up or disciplines a single bishop or deters a single act of recklessness, callousness and deceit. Instead, he has rebuffed

–a United Nations panel’s request for information (and ignored its recommendations),

–parishioners urging that a convicted Missouri bishop be disciplined, and

–prosecutors who want an accused child molesting Polish archbishop extradited.

Instead, he has deemed symbolic gestures and battling Vatican theft, mismanagement and inefficiency higher priorities. And he has made recent comments that exacerbate the wounds of suffering victims and betrayed Catholics and that encourages blame-shifting and self-centered posturing.

More than a year ago, we recommended these steps to the next pope. As best we can tell, Francis has taken none of them. We still hope that he will.

There’s speculation that Francis will soon meet with abuse victims. We hope he does not – until he takes steps like these that will make a tangible impact on children’s safety.

SNAP 20 child safety steps for the new pope’s first “100 days”

Here are 20 simple steps the next pope could and should promptly take with little effort or real controversy. Based on our 25 years of dealing with this crisis, we are convinced these moves will make children much safer by exposing and deterring wrongdoing in child sex cases by church staff.

—Ordering bishops to set up and finance “whistleblower funds” to reward church staff whose actions lead to the criminal charging or conviction of current or former abusive clerics.

—Removing child sex abuse from the CDF’s jurisdiction so that all church officials will clearly see that clergy sex abuse and cover up is a crime, not a sin, and a matter of discipline not of doctrine.

—- Insisting that priests immediately give their passports to their bishops when abuse accusations arise (so they can’t flee overseas).

—-Demanding that bishops hire independent corrections staff to house and monitor child molesting clerics (who cannot be criminally charged) in remote, secure facilities so they will be kept away from children.

—-Instructing bishops to use only licensed therapists (not priests or nuns) to deal with abuse victims.

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ALABAMA
Baptist Press

MUSCLE SHOALS, Ala. (BP) — A Baptist children’s pastor in Alabama has pleaded guilty to 16 counts of sodomy, three counts of sexual abuse of a child under the age of 12 and one count of child pornography.

Jeffrey Dale Eddie, the children’s pastor and administrator of Highland Park Baptist Church in Muscle Shoals, was arrested Feb. 4. Eddie, who was released from his duties upon arrest, had served on the Highland Park staff for 16 years.

Eddie was charged with two counts of child pornography, 31 counts of second-degree sodomy and three counts of sexual abuse of a child under the age of 12, according to The Alabama Baptist newspaper.

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CANADA
CBC News

A commemorative marker to survivors of residential schools, which is coming to more than 100 communities across Canada, was unveiled at Ottawa’s Wabano Centre on Wednesday night.

The circular piece of art has braids on the outside and imagery from different Indigenous cultures on the inside, a collaboration between five artists from different parts of Canada.

Once cast in bronze, they will be placed at or near 139 sites of former residential schools.

“It’s very much part of healing to us, to all of us who had experiences in residential schools,” said Ovilu Goo-Doyle, one of 150,000 First Nations, Inuit and Métis children taken from their families and forced into residential schools.

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MONTANA
Montana Standard

Christians last week marked the beginning of Lent, a time for spiritual reflection and contemplating a broken world in need of salvation.

As Lent begins, the two Montana Roman Catholic dioceses proceed at different points with lawsuits which allege sexual abuse and cover-up by authorities years ago. It’s purely coincidental that news of these lawsuits and a bankruptcy by the Diocese of Helena come on the heels of Lent.

And yet coincidence is indeed beautiful in its timing.

Not enough can be written and not enough damning words can be said about the alleged abuse that took place in the Roman Catholic Church, where priests and institutions may have permitted sexual predators license to prey upon the most vulnerable in the church, the children. Of all the things Jesus made clear in the New Testament, few words were more pointed or unequivocal than those he spoke against those who would harm children.

Yet, this is not an editorial adding our condemnation for a stiff-necked church unwilling to admit its role in unspeakable crimes. It wasn’t just institutional indifference, it went beyond that.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Thursday, March 13, 2014

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

We applaud Philly prosecutors for pledging to re-try Fr. Andrew McCormick on child sex abuse charges. We’re saddened but not surprised by the mistrial, because predator priests are often shrewd and well-educated and get top notch defense lawyers, while their victims, traumatized as kids, don’t often have perfect recall or make the absolute most convincing witnesses.

[Philadelphia Daily News]

Often, when a child molesting cleric is arrested or charged, others who saw, suspected or suffered his crimes choose to be silent, complacently assuming that now justice will be done and kids will be protected. While that approach is tempting, it’s wrong. It’s a violation of our moral and civic duty to safeguard the vulnerable.

So now more than ever, it’s crucial that people step forward with knowledge about or suspicions of crimes or misdeeds by Fr. McCormick.

Here in St. Louis, a decade ago, Fr. Bryan Kuchar’s criminal trial ended in a deadlocked jury. Prosecutors pledged to retry him. And in the next few months, they found a priest, a nun and a lay church employee who all acknowledged that Fr. Kuchar had admitted his crimes to them. Fr. Kuchar was convicted in a second trial.

We suspect the same thing can happen in this case. But it takes individuals who are courageous and compassionate and willing to buck the dangerous and irresponsible culture of self-protection in the church.

Let’s hope that current and former archdiocesan employees who can shed light on Fr. McCormick will search their consciences, pick up their phones, and call police and prosecutors so that horrific crimes against kids will be prevented.

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MINNESOTA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Thursday, March 13, 2014

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

Now that Twin Cities Archbishop John Nienstedt is back on the job, he should immediately stop the destruction of church abuse records and fire – or at least publicly denounce – the staffer who recently admitted doing it or others who have done likewise.

[New York Times]

In an MPR report just over two weeks ago (in paragraph 11 of a 13 paragraph story), an archdiocesan official made a disturbing revelation:

Setter, who carried out investigations of priests for the archdiocese for more than a decade, told police that he had a policy of destroying records after five years and therefore no longer had his final report summarizing the investigation. Setter also said that he recently changed his policy and now destroys records after two years.

[Minnesota Public Radio]

For ten years, this man, Richard Setter, has done ‘investigations’ of child sex abuse reports for the archdiocese. It’s not clear to us whether he’s still with the archdiocese. If he is, he should be fired. If he is not, Nienstedt should still publicly denounce him.

We hope Nienstedt will take strong, clear and public steps to stop the destruction of abuse documents and publicly instruct other church staff and volunteers to stop doing it.

Children are safer and justice is possible when records are preserved, not destroyed.

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LOS ANGELES (CA)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Wednesday, March 12, 2014

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

A controversial Catholic official who once compared media coverage of clergy sex scandals to “Stalin and Hitler” will speak today in Los Angeles at a Catholic Religious Education Congress.

[Angelus News]

He’s Honduran Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez-Maradiaga, one of Pope Francis’ top hand-picked advisors. In 2002, he claimed that The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Boston Globe as ”protagonists of what I do not hesitate to define as a persecution against the church,” He also claimed that the media covered the abuse scandal with ”a fury which reminds me of the times of Diocletian and Nero and more recently, Stalin and Hitler.”

[Huffington Post]

[SNAP]

Maradiaga also opposed proposals that local bishops turn allegations of clerical sex crimes over to civil authorities for investigation and possible prosecution.

“I would be willing to go to jail before harming one of my priests ,” he said. “I am a priest, a bishop.”

[BishopAccountability.org]

But it’s not just what Maradiaga says. His actions are even more alarming.

He repeatedly moved a known child molester, Fr. Enrique Vasquez, to various assignments around the world despite knowing about the priest’s criminal behavior. He kept Fr. Vasquez in parishes until March 2004, when Fr. Vasquez fled the village of Guinope days ahead of police. Fr. Vasquez had escaped criminal prosecutions in Costa Rica in 1998 before arriving in the US and fleeing again.

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VATICAN CITY
National Catholic Reporter

Francis X. Rocca Catholic News Service | Mar. 13, 2014

ANALYSIS

VATICAN CITY
As leader of the universal church, a pope must direct his ministry in both of the ways traditionally described by the Latin terms “ad intra” and “ad extra”: inwardly to the church itself, and outwardly to the rest of the world.

Pope Francis has accordingly spent the first year of his pontificate pursuing two ambitious projects: revitalizing the church’s efforts at evangelization and reforming the church’s central administration.

As he wrote in his first apostolic exhortation in November, Evangelii Gaudium (“The Joy of the Gospel”), Catholics must go out into the world to share their faith with “enthusiasm and vitality” — not “like someone who has just come back from a funeral.”

He wrote that the church’s message “has to concentrate on the essentials, on what is most beautiful, most grand, most appealing and at the same time most necessary,” namely, the “saving love of God made manifest in Jesus Christ who died and rose from the dead.”

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ARGENTINA
SCNow

Associated Press

SAN MIGUEL, Argentina — Gonzalo Mosca was a radical on the run. Hunted by Uruguay’s dictators, he fled to Argentina, where he narrowly escaped a military raid on his hideout. “I thought that they would kill me at any moment,” Mosca says.

With nowhere else to turn, he called his brother, a Jesuit priest, who put him in touch with the man he credits with saving his life: Jorge Mario Bergoglio.

It was 1976, South America’s dictatorship era, and the future Pope Francis was a 30-something leader of Argentina’s Jesuit order. At the time, the country’s church hierarchy openly sided with the military junta as it kidnapped, tortured and killed thousands of leftists like Mosca.

Critics have argued that Bergoglio’s public silence in the face of that repression made him complicit, too, and they warn against what they see as historical revisionism designed to burnish the reputation of a now-popular pope.

But the chilling accounts of survivors who credit Bergoglio with saving their lives are hard to deny. They say he conspired right under the soldiers’ noses at the theological seminary he directed, providing refuge and safe passage to dozens of priests, seminarians and political dissidents marked for elimination by the 1976-1983 military regime.

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VATICAN CITY
Business Insider

PHILIP PULLELLA

Vatican City (Reuters) – When he was elected a year ago, Pope Francis promised to shake up the bureaucracy of the world’s smallest country. He has started at the top – curbing the once-overarching role of the secretary of state.

The cardinal who oversees the Vatican’s relations with other countries has served as the top ranking official in the Holy See’s bureaucracy since the 17th century. And in recent decades the office accumulated increasing authority over finances and job hires, taking on roles analogous to prime minister and chief of staff in the papal court, as well as that of top diplomat.

During the reign of retired Pope Benedict, critics blamed then Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone for failing to prevent the missteps and scandals that marred the German pontiff’s eight years as Roman Catholic leader.

Now, however, Francis is reducing the power of the job, reshaping the department as one primarily involved in diplomacy like the U.S. State Department or foreign ministries elsewhere, stripping it of authority over finances and giving it a smaller role in internal matters.

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UNITED STATES
NBC News

BY TRACY CONNOR

In his first year in Rome, Pope Francis’ comments on everything from gays to atheists have gotten most of the attention, but his aggressive efforts to reform the Vatican’s scandal-scarred financial apparatus show he’s not all talk.

“What has happened is nothing short of an earthquake in the internal governance of the Holy See,” said George Weigel, NBC’s Vatican analyst, who had a private, wide-ranging meeting with the rookie pontiff on March 1.

Robert Mickens, a Vatican watcher for The Tablet, the Catholic weekly, called it “the biggest structural change to the Roman Curia in nearly half a century.”

And Thomas Reese, a Jesuit priest who is an analyst for the National Catholic Reporter, said it’s clear that Francis has gone “full-speed ahead and Vatican finances are going to get cleaned up.”

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UNITED KINGDOM
Liverpool Echo

A disgraced Merseyside vicar is facing expulsion from his Church of England post after being jailed for making and possessing indecent images of children.

Church disciplinary procedures have now been launched against Reverend Ian Hughes after he was handed a 12-month sentence in January.

Under the guidelines issued to church leaders, Rev Hughes could be removed and banned from office for life.

The 46-year-old pleaded guilty to making and possessing thousands of child porn images at a crown court hearing earlier this year.

Rev Hughes, who was priest in charge of Wirral parishes Poulton and Seacombe, admitted 16 counts relating to more than 8,000 images and movies.

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AUSTRALIA
Daily Telegraph

Senior official tells royal commission that Catholic Church has ‘lifelong responsibility’ to child sex abuse victims

JANET FIFE-YEOMANS THE DAILY TELEGRAPH MARCH 14, 2014

CATHOLIC Church barristers cross-examined a victim of child sex abuse for four days in court despite having accepted he was telling the truth, the royal commission was told.

“That doesn’t speak well for the litigation process,” commission chair Peter McClellan said yesterday.

Church NSW director of professional standards Michael Salmon said he never confronted church authorities about it although he knew “all of the church authority … believed he was telling the truth.”

Mr Salmon also had no doubts victim John Ellis was telling the truth about being sexually abused from age 13 by the late Father Aidan Duggan.

Mr Salmon confirmed at the commission that the church’s own assessor had found in favour of Mr Ellis and a private investigator contracted by the church had reported he was telling the truth.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Daily News

MENSAH M. DEAN, DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER DEANM@PHILLYNEWS.COM, 215-568-8278
POSTED: Thursday, March 13, 2014

SOME MEMBERS of a Philadelphia jury answered the prayers yesterday of a Philadelphia Catholic priest on trial for allegedly molesting a 10-year-old altar boy in the late 1990s.

After deliberating 4 1/2 days, an unknown number of jurors refused to convict the Rev. Andrew McCormick, 57.

Common Pleas Judge Gwendolyn N. Bright declared a mistrial after the jury forewoman reported that the nine women and three men were hopelessly deadlocked on five of the seven charges.

Assistant District Attorney Kristen Kemp announced that her office intended to retry McCormick, and Bright set a scheduling hearing for April 28.

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TEXAS
The Monitor

There’s an old axiom to keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

Perhaps that is why Hidalgo County District Attorney Rene Guerra offered his opponent and successor, District Attorney-elect Ricardo Rodriguez, an appointment to act as a special prosecutor on the 54-year-old Irene Garza murder case before he is forced to vacate the office that he has held for 32 years.

We don’t believe this was a wise course of action by Guerra and in some ways trivializes, by making political, the Garza case. So we applaud the decision by Rodriguez this week to decline the offer.

Whatever the motivation, it’s more than curious that Guerra would try and turn over this specific case to Rodriguez just days after a bitter election loss — especially since Rodriguez’ supporters touted the long-cold Garza murder case during the campaign against Guerra.

Some are calling it sour grapes. And that sounds like a likely conclusion, especially since we’ve heard from several people within the community of Guerra’s open disappointment and anger about losing his coveted position.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

By Fidelis Rego and Belinda Sanders

The head of Catholic Education for the Toowoomba diocese on Queensland’s Darling Downs says a failure to follow procedure was to blame for sex abuse at a local school.

Last month, the royal commission into child sexual abuse examined the Catholic Church’s handling of allegations 13 girls were molested at a Toowoomba school in 2007 and 2008.

Teacher Gerard Vincent Byrnes is serving a 10-year prison term, while the principal and two senior education officials were sacked over the incidents.

Catholic Education director John Borserio has defended its child protection policies.

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POLAND
Journal Review

Associated Press

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s Roman Catholic bishops have elected a new leader to succeed Archbishop Jozef Michalik, who angered many with 2013 comments that suggested victims of pedophilia were partly to blame.

Wednesday’s vote was unconnected to the controversy over Michalik, who had served 10 years — the maximum permitted — as leader of the Polish Episcopal Conference. He remains archbishop in the southeast Polish diocese of Przemysl.

Catholic commentators welcomed the election of Archbishop Stanislaw Gadecki, a conservative but conciliatory figure based in the western city of Poznan. Gadecki previously was deputy leader of the bishops conference.

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MINNESOTA
Catholic Online

By Deacon Keith Fournier
3/13/2014
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

MINNEAPOLIS, MN (Catholic Online) – Some of my readers may not know that in a 33 year legal career I served as a prosecuting attorney twice. That is why I understand the implications of the news out of Minneapolis, Minnesota on March 12, 2014.

The allegation against Archbishop John Nienstedt was that he improperly touched a boy upon whom he had the privilege of conferring the Sacrament of Confirmation. The allegation was false. The Prosecuting attorney of Ramsey County informed reporters that, after a lengthy and through investigation, they would not file charges.

The allegation arose after of a confirmation ceremony on May 5, 2009. A boy complained that the Archbishop touched his buttocks during a group picture of those who had just received the Sacrament. When I first read of the allegation, especially as a former prosecutor, I was highly suspect.

I am now convinced my suspicions were correct.

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UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter

Brian Cahill | Mar. 13, 2014

VIEWPOINT
The unprecedented United Nations interrogation of the Vatican regarding the scale of priestly child abuse is long overdue, but it remains to be seen how effective Pope Francis’ child abuse commission will be. In the United States, aside from the unfolding story in Chicago, many questions about the lack of accountability of some American bishops must be answered before the Vatican child protection effort will have any credibility.

The Vatican was obligated to respond to the U.N. representatives because it is a 1990 signatory to the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, which calls for all governments to take adequate measures to protect children. Rome ignored the requirements of this agreement and provided no annual progress reports for the last 18 years until 2012. But there is another story here.

While the Vatican blew off this U.N. mandate when it came to the sexual abuse of children, it took the agreement very seriously when it came to another matter. In 2003, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, then headed by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, issued an updated teaching against gay marriage. The teaching for the first time specifically prohibited same-sex couples from being adoptive parents, and cited the Convention on the Rights of the Child as support for the Roman prohibition. When it came to priests abusing vulnerable children, the agreement was ignored, but when it came to gay and lesbian couples adopting vulnerable children, it was run up the Roman flagpole. The irony is only exceeded by the hypocrisy.

In restoring church credibility, Francis can start by ensuring that the U.N. agreement is used to protect children and not discriminate against loving, nurturing adoptive parents. And if he wants to continue his compassionate and pastoral leadership, he should get rid of the harsh and disrespectful language in the 2003 Vatican document. In referring to same-sex couples, the Vatican language states, “Allowing children to be adopted by persons living in such unions would actually mean doing violence to these children.”

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SOUTH CAROLINA
Gwd Today

A local church has been named in a civil lawsuit following a sexual assault that took place in 2005.

A civil action was filed with the Greenwood County Clerk of Court on March 10 on behalf of a victim who was a minor at the time of the incident in 2006. The suit names William Scott Holladay and South Main Street Baptist Church as defendants.

According to court records, Holladay was charged with committing a lewd act on minor and disseminating obscene material to a minor in March 2005 following an investigation by the Greenwood Police Department.

According to the GPD report, police were called to the church by a pastor on March 9 after the parent of a 9-year-old boy found a pack of cigarettes in the boy’s book bag. When questioned about the cigarettes, the boy told his parents and police that he was given the cigarettes by Holladay. The boy also told police that Holladay had shown him pictures of naked women at Holladay’s house and committed lewd acts in front of him. At the time, Holladay was an employee of the church and lived in a house owned by the church. The victim was in the after school program at the church.

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UNITED STATES
WBUR

Thu, Mar 13, 2014
by Rich Barlow

Pope Francis is a godsend, rejecting Catholicism’s scalding scolding for the soothing tones of a gentle pastor, his admirers insist. Words are cheap, and Francis is a figurehead coasting on rhetoric without changing the church’s antediluvian social stances, critics scoff.

This he’s-floor wax-no-he’s-dessert-topping debate defines the reaction to the 266th pope as he marks his one-year anniversary today. (I purposefully ignore a third, kooky cranny of thought, the braying that Francis’s compassionate statements brand him as too lefty, even Marxist.) As a practicing Catholic, let me suggest a metric for judging this pope on which we all can agree: how will he handle the sexual abuse of children by priests and its cover-up by bishops? His compassion aside, early signs are worrisome.

Just last month, a United Nations panel flayed the Vatican’s handling of abuse cases. The Holy See continues to fight extending statutes of limitations for abuse, while demanding vows of silence from victims before compensating them, said the U.N. investigators, who reported tens of thousands of victims worldwide.

As a practicing Catholic, let me suggest a metric for judging this pope on which we all can agree: how will he handle the sexual abuse of children by priests and its cover-up by bishops?

Even before Francis’s ascension, the traditionalist Catholic George Weigel, justifiably disgruntled over abuse-hiding bishops, hoped that the new pope would man up where his two predecessors didn’t and be “more severe” with pedophiles’ mitered confederates. And while a spokeswoman for the American bishops said run-amok abuse levels were in the past, the financial fallout continues to drain the collection basket. Last month, the financially and morally bankrupt Archdiocese of Milwaukee offered $4 million to abuse victims.

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AUSTRALIA
The Conversation

Joel Hodge

With the recent appointment of Cardinal George Pell to Rome, the Catholic Church in Australia will lose a dominant figure. While there are criticisms, his influence and legacy are broad ranging.

Pell’s time as Archbishop of Melbourne and, more recently, as Archbishop of Sydney was marked by a desire to bring Christ to the world, drawing on the emphasis of John Paul II. He expanded Catholic institutions (investing in Catholic schools, universities and social services), focused on the young and vocations (for example by bringing World Youth Day to Australia and reforming the seminary), maintained a constant public presence and cultivated political links.

Pell’s aim was seemingly to form a church with a strong sense of itself and orientated to mission in the world. Whether he has achieved this aim is contested, along with his vision of the church.

Whatever we make of Cardinal Pell’s legacy, the next Archbishop of Sydney will certainly have large shoes to fill and, along with the whole church, some daunting challenges. The most immediate are twofold: the sexual abuse crisis, and the declining number of regular church-goers.

Embracing a victim-centred response

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse presents the Catholic Church with two challenges: to improve dialogue with and accountability for the victims of abuse, and to examine its culture and processes.

Cardinal Pell’s recent statement that victims should be able to sue the church indicates misgivings about aspects of the church’s approach. While I don’t want to underestimate the task that church leaders faced and the efforts of many to act with goodwill, there have been major failures. These are gradually being acknowledged.

The challenge remains to make the church’s response a victim-centred one that is fair, compassionate and long-term. The establishment of the Truth, Justice and Healing Council, with its commitment to full disclosure and justice, is a positive step. It is clear that the church must fulfil its duty of care to all involved.

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AUSTRALIA
Queensland Times

13th Mar 2014

CATHOLIC Education director for the Toowoomba diocese John Borserio has defended the organisation’s child protection policies.

Mr Borserio told ABC Southern Queensland that: “We had written procedures, we had good training, but in the end the compliance to that let us down.

“I don’t know if it’s naivety but that’s where we fell down.

“What we’ve learnt is it’s not about the paperwork, it’s about the people.”

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SOUTH CAROLINA
The Island Packet

BY JONATHAN MCFADDEN
jmcfadden@heraldonline.comMarch 12, 2014

YORK — The pastor accused of sexually assaulting a girl at two York churches is the son-in-law of a bishop in the Fire Baptized Holiness Church of God of the Americas – the organization that presumably assigned Cory Dean Moses to another church despite knowing he was a convicted sex offender, his mother said Wednesday.

The Rev. Greta Moses, who said she left the Fire Baptized Holiness church last year, denied the allegations lodged against her son, saying he would “never threaten nobody; he’s not that type of person.”

Police have charged Moses, 38, with two counts of criminal sexual conduct with a minor and three counts of assault and battery. They allege he fondled and inappropriately touched the girl several times while he was pastor at New Mount Zion Church on U.S. 321 and then again at Redeemed Christian Ministries on Ross Cannon Drive in York.

New Mount Zion, now defunct, was part of the Fire Baptized Holiness Church of God of the Americas. Redeemed Christian Ministries is not.

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ROME
BBC News

As Pope Francis completes his first year in office, David Willey reports from Rome on the changes that have taken place in the Vatican and the Catholic Church.

Back in 1978 – which went down in history as the “year of the three Popes” – I remember meeting a gregarious American priest and journalist who drew up a pithy job description for the leadership of the Catholic Church on the death of Paul VI. “We need a happy, holy man, who smiles!” he said.

Well, we got just such a man in Papa Luciani, the Patriarch of Venice who charmed the world with his breezy manner and his simple, endearing smile in the 33 days he reigned as Pope John Paul I before his sudden death – most likely from a heart attack.

Dark plots

Conspiracy theorists leapt to the conclusion that he might have been poisoned because some Vatican cardinals feared that he planned revolutionary changes in the running of his Church. …

Some deep wounds suffered by the Church as a result of clerical sexual abuse scandals in many countries are still festering, however, a year after Pope Francis’s election.

True, he has set up a new committee to oversee local guidelines set up by alarmed bishops’ conferences around the world and to ensure better care for the victims of predator priests.

But Francis has apparently turned a deaf ear towards those clamouring for a real zero tolerance policy by the Vatican.

A Polish bishop recently employed as the Pope’s ambassador to Santo Domingo, who was accused by authorities there of sexually abusing children, has been given asylum and protection from extradition proceedings.

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

DAN BOX THE AUSTRALIAN MARCH 13, 2014

A SENIOR Catholic Church official has contradicted the account given by Cardinal George Pell’s private secretary that the church had never accepted the truth of an abuse claim brought by the child victim of a Sydney priest.

The victim, John Ellis, first approached the church in 2002, saying he had been sexually abused for several years during the 1970s by Father Aidan Duggan, the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has heard.

He initially attempted to resolve this through the church’s own “Towards Healing” process, the commission heard, before ultimately launching legal action in August 2004.

In a 2005 email to the church’s lawyers, Cardinal Pell’s secretary Michael Casey wrote “the final position which the Archdiocese came to was that it was not possible to make a determination that Fr Duggan had abused Ellis as alleged.”

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AUSTRALIA
ABC – Religion and Ethics

Scott Stephens et al.
ABC RELIGION AND ETHICS 13 MAR 2014

There are indications the so-called “Francis effect” may be more of a media-driven epiphenomenon.

But what happens when the media can no longer sustain their “progressive” narrative about the pope?

The papacy is, to be sure, an office particularly susceptible to projection, to a sort of idolatrous fixation that cannot help but reflect back to us our own hopes and personal agendas.

Every pope has to navigate that perilously fine line between the apostolic – which demands not just prominence but publicity, a winsome embodiment of the Christian faith that must prove attractive, even beautiful – and the deferential – or, to use the more properly Christian term, the kenotic, the self-emptying refusal to arrogate to himself either adoration or fetishisation, and the corresponding preparedness to embrace the offense that must necessarily follow from bearing courageous witness to Jesus Christ.

In his important essay, “The Primacy of the Pope and the Unity of the People of God,” then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger stressed the inherently martyrological dimension of the papacy, that the “vicariate of Christ is a vicariate of obedience and of the Cross; thus it is suited to the measure of man, and at the same time surpasses him as much as being a Christian does in the first place.” It is for this reason, insists Ratzinger, that

“the man most suited to become pope is the one who, from the perspective of the human choice of candidates, would be considered the least qualified in terms of the ideals of political shrewdness and executive power. The more a man resembles the Lord and thus (objectively) recommends himself as a candidate, the less human reason considers him capable of governing, because reason cannot fathom humiliation or the Cross.”

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AUSTRALIA
Eureka Street

Carmel Ross | 13 March 2014

Commission this week have focused on the efforts of John Ellis to have his experience of sexual abuse as a teenage boy, perpetrated by a Catholic priest, acknowledged and adequately addressed by the Church. The Royal Commission hearing has heard a litany of factors involving legal issues and the internal workings of the Archdiocese of Sydney that must have had a profound impact on Ellis. His courage to continue to fight for justice is admirable.

The finding by the High Court that Australian law as it stands does not allow an individual to sue the Catholic Church is an untenable situation if our nation believes justice for individuals is important. The law will always have its limits, but the Ellis defence implies that no single part of the organisation to which the perpetrator Fr Duggan belonged — which conferred upon him the status and duty of a priest and to which he was bound by vows to obey and serve — is able to be held accountable in law for his illegal and immoral behaviour.

The complexity of the Church as an organisation often defies understanding, even by many who have spent their lives in religious vows or on the Church payroll. Canon Law provides mechanisms for separation into smaller organisations such as parishes and dioceses, and often these establish a civil legal identity by incorporating as an association or company. Yet all remain part of the Church. This legal separation of so many entities within the Church sometimes allows issues of justice and accountability to fall through the cracks.

Laws relating to incorporated bodies strive to protect the interests of those bodies, but may not pay much attention to the achievement of justice. Certainly the legal representatives acting on behalf of the Archdiocese of Sydney appear to have conducted themselves during the court process as if their sole purpose was to avoid any prospect of the Church being held accountable for the abuse suffered by Ellis.

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WASHINGTON
Yakima Herald-Republic

By Donald W. Meyers / Yakima Herald-Republic
dmeyers@yakimaherald.com

YAKIMA, Wash. — Bishop Emeritus Carlos Sevilla testified Wednesday under questioning in federal court that he once described what happened between a deacon and a Zillah teen in 1999 as “sexual assault.”

The questioning came from Bryan Smith, who is representing the teen, known as John Doe, in a $3 million civil lawsuit against the Diocese of Yakima for allegedly failing to properly check Deacon Aaron Ramirez’s background before accepting him as a candidate for the priesthood. The lawsuit also alleges church officials failed to supervise him while he was in the diocese.

Smith asked Sevilla in court about a phone call with Ramirez in Wenatchee after the 1999 incident in a trailer at Zillah’s Resurrection Catholic Church.

In the call, Sevilla — who had been made aware of the situation while vacationing in California — asked Ramirez what happened.

“He described it as mutual masturbation,” Sevilla said of Ramirez.

Smith then confronted Sevilla: “You described it as sexual assault.”

Sevilla repeated Ramirez’s description of the incident.

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IRELAND
RTE News

By Joe Little, Religious and Social Affairs Correspondent

This day last year, the Argentinean Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected the first non-European Pontiff in 1,300 years.

Since then the 77-year-old has frequently broken with precedent, most notably by choosing to live in a Vatican guest-house instead of the Apostolic Palace overlooking Saint Peter’s Square.

Gestures like paying his own hotel bill and using a saloon car have set the tone of his Pontificate, but what else is new about Pope Francis’s first 12 months?

From the word go, he was “Francis The Informal”. …

Children and Families

To confront the most damaging scandal to erode the Church in modern times, Francis is setting up a Commission on Child Abuse. Last month the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child criticised Church cover-ups of clerical child sexual abuse. But in an interview with the Italian daily Corriere della Serra, Francis hit back saying no institution had done more to root out paedophilia.

Mr Vallely says it’s an area where the new Pope will have to do something. “Otherwise the honeymoon will be over because that’s the area where the secular world is most disgusted with the Catholic Church.”

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AUSTRALIA
Newcastle Herald

A SENIOR Catholic official had to be released from a vow of secrecy before he could freely give evidence to the royal commission into child sexual abuse.

Monsignor Brian Rayner was chancellor and vicar-general in the Archdiocese of Sydney when John Ellis sought redress for abuse he suffered when he was an altar boy at Bass Hill, in Sydney, between 1974 and 1979.

Monsignor Rayner told counsel assisting the commission, Gail Furness SC, that he had gone to the papal nuncio to be released from a vow of secrecy he took when he held the chancellor’s position in Sydney.

The nuncio, Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Pope’s diplomat in Australia, is based in Canberra.

Monsignor Rayner said the nuncio advised him to give “whatever evidence was required by the royal commission”. Had he not spoken to the nuncio, he would have been in a dilemma as to what would be appropriate to reveal and “perhaps what should be kept private”.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Big Trial

By Ralph Cipriano
for Bigtrial.net

Around 1:30 p.m., the jury in the Father Andrew McCormick sex abuse case sent a note to the judge saying they were hopelessly deadlocked.

Judge Gwendolyn N. Bright told the jury to give it one more try, but nothing changed. Shortly after 4 p.m., the judge dismissed the jury after four and a half days of fruitless deliberations.

The day began with the court stenographer reading back more than an hour of testimony from the alleged victim. Meanwhile, the alleged victim sat in the second row of the courtroom, listening to his description of the alleged attack by “Father Andy.” Soon, the alleged victim and his mother were sobbing and bowing their heads, while they went through a box of tissues.

No juror, however, was seen glancing their way. The judge followed the reading of the testimony by re-reading her instructions to the jury about how to deal with the victim’s testimony. If you believe his testimony, the judge had instructed the jury, that alone was sufficient evidence to convict the priest.

Apparently, at least one juror didn’t believe the victim. The jury told the judge they did not want to talk to the lawyers in the case, and they left without speaking to reporters. Judge Bright asked Assistant District Attorney Kristen Kemp if the district attorney’s office wanted to retry the case.

“Yes, Your Honor,” Kemp said. The judge promptly issued a new trial date of April 28.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

[with video]

JOSEPH A. SLOBODZIAN, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
LAST UPDATED: Wednesday, March 12, 2014

A Philadelphia judge Wednesday declared a mistrial in the sexual-assault case against the Rev. Andrew McCormick after a tired, despondent-looking jury said it was hopelessly deadlocked.

Common Pleas Court Judge Gwendolyn N. Bright’s late-afternoon ruling came an hour after she urged the jury of nine women and three men to try once more to resolve their differences and reach a unanimous verdict.

“Nothing has changed since your last charge,” read the forewoman’s note to the judge. “We are still deadlocked. Discussions have ceased.”

After the jurors were dismissed, Assistant District Attorney Kristen Kemp told Bright she would retry the 57-year-old Catholic priest on charges he sexually assaulted a 10-year-old altar boy in 1997 in the priest’s rectory bedroom at St. John Cantius church in Bridesburg.

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TEXAS
Christian Post

by Barry Bowen

$600,000 in donations were stolen recently from the safe at Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas. The Houston Chronicle and Fox 26 report the theft included $200,000 in cash along with check and credit card donations given during the Saturday and Sunday services.

Details are scarce as the police conduct an investigation.

Commissary, the Christian songwriter, tweeted, “Can’t tell you how many times I saw people poke fun at Joel Osteen’s theft situation today on social media.” He also asked the question, “When is theft ever funny?”

Here are a couple of questions that come to my mind:

1. Who had access to the safe?
2. Was an alarm system disabled or never turned on?
3. Are there any signs of forced entry?
4. Did security cameras pick up anyone when the church offices were closed?

Embezzlement of church and ministry funds is a serious matter. According to a report in the International Bulletin of Missionary Research, Christian leaders will embezzle an estimated $39 billion in 2014.

This theft was most likely committed by a church employee, usher or deacon that helped collect the offering, or by someone that cased the church for weeks to determine where the money was kept and how to evade security.

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PUERTO RICO
am

Primero, la Iglesia Católica de Puerto Rico anunció que le quitaba los hábitos a seis curas acusados de abusos sexuales en la ciudad de Arecibo. Luego fiscales revelaron que al menos otros 11 sacerdotes estaban siendo investigados por el mismo delito.

Ahora las autoridades estadounidenses admiten que ellas también están investigando denuncias de abusos por parte de curas en esta isla devotamente católica y muchos puertorriqueños están conmocionados por versiones de que uno de los clérigos más queridos de este territorio estadounidense estaría involucrado en abusos.

Los puertorriqueños casi no habían sido salpicados por los relatos de abusos sexuales en la Iglesia Católica y muchos llegaron a pensar que estaban inmunes. Pero Barbara Dorris, directora de la Red de Sobrevivientes de Abusos Sexuales de Sacerdotes, con sede en Estados Unidos, dice que las nuevas denuncias hacen pensar que el problema es mucho más grave de lo que se supuso inicialmente.

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UNITED STATES
The Zalkin Law Firm

Treatment for Prolonged Depression and Justice in Court Are Both Needed by Victims of Childhood Abuse

By Devin Storey, Esq.

In an article published on Allvoices.com, the author discussed a report by researchers at the University of Toronto that was published in January in Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology. The article, entitled “New study reveals childhood abuse prolongs depression recovery” examined the study’s findings that adults who were subjected to physical, sexual or emotional abuse as children, faced a far longer road to recovery from depression than those who were not abused. The study followed 1,128 depressed adults for up to 12 years and determined that adults who survived abusive childhoods experienced an average delay of nine months in bringing their depression into remission when compared to those who were not abused as children.

Over years of representing survivors of childhood sexual abuse, many clients of The Zalkin Law Firm have experienced depression and periods of crisis. And, while childhood abuse may result in physiological changes that prolong recovery, other studies show that professional intervention can be effective in aiding those suffering from depression to recover more quickly than those who remain un-treated by mental health professionals. As childhood sex abuse attorneys, we have seen first-hand the benefit our clients have experienced as a result of timely treatment by mental health practitioners, and that healing can occur when a motivated survivor of abuse secures treatment from a qualified mental health professional.

For those who have not endured depression, it is difficult to fully comprehend how debilitating this condition can be. Depression can rob a person of the motivation to seek help for their condition thereby extending the period of depression and exacerbating the person’s suffering. Any delay in the recovery time of a person suffering from depression can be catastrophic, and the average delay of nine months experienced by survivors of childhood abuse and trauma can seem like a lifetime.

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OHIO
Fox 19

By Amy Wagner

(FOX19) –
FOX19 Investigates has learned a Tri-State principal, who’s still on the job, received notice from the state her license could be revoked.

Mary Blum, who goes by Catie, is the principal at Saint John the Baptist Catholic School in Colerain Township. A letter sent to Blum from the Ohio Board of Education says:

“On or about March 7, 2012, you yelled at Student 1, who you knew was autistic and suffering from anxiety. As a result of your actions, that child was hospitalized for psychiatric treatment.”

FOX19 investigative reporter Amy Wagner went to Saint John the Baptist today, where Blum told us she couldn’t comment on the case and referred us to the Archdiocese of Cincinnati.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
CBS Philly

Tony Hanson

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — A mistrial was declared this afternoon in the case of a Philadelphia priest charged with sexually assaulting a ten-year-old altar boy in 1997.

The jury reported today that it was deadlocked — that all discussions among jurors had ceased.
And although the panel was ordered by the court to keep trying, the jury was back a short time later to report that nothing had changed.

And with that, the case was over. Prosecutor Kristen Kemp told the court the case will be retried.

The judge has imposed a gag order, so the attorneys, defendant Father Andrew McCormick, the alleged victim, and all other witnesses in the case are prohibited from commenting.

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RHODE ISLAND
Turn to 10

By Cierra Putman

BURRILLVILLE, R.I. –
A woman said Wednesday she was infuriated when she learned a priest went off on a tirade against her son in the middle of class.

Dawn Joly’s 15-year-old son Skyler accuses the Rev. Roman Manchester of Our Lady of Good Help in Burrillville of going berserk during his religion class Monday night.

According to Skyler, the priest cursed at him, told him to “rot in hell” and threw out another obscenity at the entire class.

The family said Manchester admitted to using the language, saying it was a tactic to get the children to go to church more often.

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WASHINGTON
Yakima Herald-Republic

By Donald W. Meyers / Yakima Herald-Republic
dmeyers@yakimaherald.com

YAKIMA, Wash. — A former bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Yakima is expected to testify this afternoon in a sexual-assault lawsuit filed against the diocese.

Bishop Emeritus Carlos Sevilla, who presided over the diocese at the time a man says he was raped by a deacon, is on the witness list for the third day of the non-jury trial in U.S. District Court.

The man, identified on court records as John Doe, alleges that Deacon Aaron Ramirez plied him with alcohol and repeatedly raped him in a trailer at a Zillah church parish in 1999. Doe was 17 at the time.

In his suit, Doe says the diocese, under Sevilla, failed to perform an adequate check of Ramirez background in Mexico before admitting him as a candidate for the priesthood in the diocese. Doe’s suit also charges that the diocese failed to properly supervise Ramirez while he was working the diocese.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Pottstown Mercury

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A Philadelphia judge has declared a mistrial in the case of a Roman Catholic priest charged with sexually assaulting an altar boy.

The ruling Wednesday came after jurors said they were deadlocked. They’ve been deliberating since last week.

The 26-year-old accuser testified he was sexually assaulted in a rectory bedroom by the Rev. Andrew McCormick in 1997.

McCormick denies the allegations. He has been suspended from the church since 2011 over complaints about his behavior around children.

The case involves McCormick’s time at a Polish parish in northeast Philadelphia. A small but loyal group of parishioners has attended the trial to support him.

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PENNSYLVANIA
StateCollege.com

by Jennifer Miller on March 12, 2014

UPDATE 4:30 PM
David Clohessy, director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, issued a statement regarding Dottie Sandusky’s comments.

“We hope more rational relatives of Sandusky will persuade Mrs. Sandusky to stop making public statements that will not help her husband and will only further hurt others.

“Mrs. Sandusky apparently believes she’s right and everyone else is wrong – dozens of victims, police, prosecutors, judges, journalists and current and former Penn State officials. We feel sorry for her. But we feel even sorrier for the young men who are in pain because they were sexually assaulted by Jerry Sandusky and who must feel more pain today because of Mrs. Sandusky’s insensitive statements.

“Claiming that suffering child sex abuse victims are motivated by money is like saying adult rape victims ‘asked for it.’ Both are outdated, self-serving myths that only deepen already deep wounds of crime victims.”

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Child Abuse Blog

Pope Francis Must Finally Root Out Child Abuse

by Mary Dispenza

Finally. Finally. Finally, a strong important voice in the world, the United Nations, speaks out on behalf of the rights of children and condemns the Vatican and the bishops for crimes of violence, rape and sexual abuse against children by transferring pedophile priests from parish to parish, withholding documents for prosecution and perpetuating an institutional culture of secrecy and shame.

What’s truly shameful is that the Catholic Church was not itself that strong and important voice, protecting “the least of these.” It’s shameful that in spite of Pope Francis’ refreshing compassion toward the poor and downtrodden, to datehe has not addressed the issue fully. Pope Francis is caught up in the shame and like most of his brother bishops, seems unwilling to say, “Enough is enough — not ever again in our church will one of these little children be harmed.”

The media have said the church is suffering from a “code of secrecy.” Kirsten Sandberg, the chairwoman of the United Nations, put it this way: “We think it is a horrible thing that is being kept silent both by the Holy See itself and in local parishes.”

As a survivor of rape and violence at the hands of a priest when I was a young girl, I understand that secrecy.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Huffington Post

Keith Porteous Wood

Ahead of the first anniversary of his papacy, it’s a good time to review the Pope’s handling of the child abuse crisis, which so plagued the papacy of his predecessor.

Few would dispute that clerical child abuse was the most pressing issue, given that his predecessor’s lamentable performance on this was widely thought to be the main reason that a papal election took place.

The nearest to anything positive in the whole year is the Holy See’s announcement, during the examination of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) (surely no coincidence) of the establishment of a Commission on clerical child abuse. A sceptical New York Times editorial announced this as “long overdue”. Associated Press concluded it had been “hastily put together”, an analysis reinforced by the absence of any more detail three months later.

In a wide-ranging interview in the Corriere della Sera on 5 March 2014, the Pope said the following on clerical child abuse:

“Abuse cases are horrific because they leave the deepest wounds. Benedict XVI has been very courageous and opened a path. The [Catholic] Church has moved very far along this path. Possibly more than most. Statistics on the phenomenon of child abuse are astonishing, but they also show clearly that the great majority of abuse takes place within the family and amongst neighbours. The Catholic Church is probably the only public institution that has acted with transparency and a sense of responsibility. No-one else has done more. And yet the [Catholic] Church is the only institution to have been attacked.”

This short passage is remarkable for its aloofness, its shameless attempt to downplay the seriousness of the abuse by drawing invalid comparisons, its solely positive portrayal of the Church’s role, its failure to acknowledge the worldwide clerical child rape on an industrial scale for decades, and probably centuries. His comments are hardly a display of the transparency demanded by the UNCRC.

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ITALY
Gazzetta del Sud

Rome, March 12 – Fully 87% of Italians surveyed said they approve of the work of Pope Francis, according to an opinion poll released on Wednesday, the eve of celebrations marking the first anniversary of the pontiff’s election. The survey by the private Eurispes institute found support for Francis has given a new impetus to the Catholic Church with 87.1% saying they approve of his work, compared with 4.5% who said they were skeptical and 8.4% undecided. Those findings are only the latest evidence of the worldwide interest and even support for Francis who, since his election on March 13, 2013 has captured the imagination of billions of people with his simple, folksy style, happy smile, and his willingness to speak out on concrete issues of poverty, social justice and human rights. The much-photographed pontiff has been recorded washing the feet of juvenile convicts, including young men, women, Muslims and Catholics; and embracing a man with a deformed face who braved the crowds that throng St. Peter’s Square these days to see the former archbishop of Buenos Aires.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Radio

[with audio]

(Vatican Radio) Thursday marks the first anniversary of the election of Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina as Pope Francis. He was the first ever Pope from Latin America or as he himself jokingly remarked coming almost from “the end of the world.” The new Pope was also the first Jesuit Pope and the first to take the name of Francis. Over the past year, Pope Francis has won fans far and wide thanks to his human warmth and his obvious empathy with the poor and marginalized and he was named Time Magazine’s Person of the Year in 2013.

One of the world’s best-known commentators and authors on the Papacy and Vatican affairs is John Allen who works for the Boston Globe newspaper. So what is his take on this first year with Pope Francis? Susy Hodges spoke to him to find out.

Asked what he believes is the most significant aspect of Pope Francis’ first year in office, Allen says he believes “the most significant point is that he’s accomplished far more than most of us could have reasonably expected … both in terms of style and in terms of sustenance.” “He’s invigorated the Church at the grass roots level” but as Allen goes on to point out, Pope Francis has also notched up some more concrete achievements. He says these include the Pope’s “deep structural reforms such as his most recent decision to create a new Secretariat for the Economy in the Vatican to impose fiscal discipline.”

But could there be too many unrealistic expectations surrounding Pope Francis and what reforms he is planning? Allen agrees that in some quarters there are “over-heated” and unrealistic expectations, especially concerning doctrinal issues. “If there is an expectation that Pope Francis will radically change the doctrine of the Catholic Church, it is destined to be disappointed.”

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UNITED STATES
C21 Media

Broadcasters in Australia, Portugal and Poland have picked up investigative documentary Secrets of the Vatican from US distributor PBS International.

SBS (Australia), TVI (Portugal) and TVN (Poland) have all signed up for the 90-minute doc, which exposes the threats and scandals that rocked Benedict’s papacy and the challenges facing Pope Francis as he tries to reform the powerful Vatican bureaucracy.

The show, from director, writer and producer Antony Thomas, aired on US pubcaster PBS’s Frontline documentary strand last month.

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GERMANY
Reuters

BY ALEXANDRA HUDSON
BERLIN Wed Mar 12, 2014

(Reuters) – Germany’s Catholic bishops elected Munich Cardinal Reinhard Marx their new leader on Wednesday, picking a close associate of Pope Francis already working on Vatican reform to also guide them at home.

Marx’s election in Germany, one of the richest and most influential national churches in the 1.2-billion-strong Roman Catholic world, enhanced his status among the men the pope has called on to help him revitalize the Catholic Church.

Known in Germany as a spokesman for social and economic justice, he gave his 2008 book on a just world economy the title “Das Kapital” in a tongue-in-cheek reference to the magnum opus of Karl Marx, the German founder of communism.

Marx is one of the eight cardinals Francis picked last year for a “kitchen cabinet” to advise him on reforming the Vatican and the world church. Last Saturday, the pope also named him head of a new Vatican Council for the Economy.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

JOSEPH A. SLOBODZIAN, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
LAST UPDATED: Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Defense attorney William J. Brennan Jr. told the Philadelphia jury last week they’d have to decide who to believe: The Rev. Andrew McCormick or the man who alleges the Catholic priest sexually assaulted him when he was a 10-year-old altar boy in 1997.

Now in their fourth day of deliberations, the Common Pleas Court jury of nine women and three men has announced that some believe the priest and some the altar boy.

“We are still undecided,” said Judge Gwendolyn N. Bright, reading the missive she said she received at 3:15 p.m. Tuesday from the deadlocked panel.

In an apparent effort to break the logjam – the verdict must be unanimous – the jurors spent 90 minutes Wednesday morning listening to the court stenographer read back the verbatim testimony the 26-year-old accuser gave Feb. 27.

The accuser, sitting in court with his family and other supporters, began quietly crying as he heard his own words again describe how McCormick in December 1997 took him to the priest’s bedroom of the St. John Cantius parish rectory in Bridesburg, undressed him and tried to force him commit a sex act.

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UNITED STATES
Catholic League

Bill Donohue comments on the decision by the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office not to file charges against St. Paul and Minneapolis Archbishop John Nienstedt; he was accused in December of “inappropriately touching” a young man in 2009:

On December 18, I issued a news release saying the following:

“Archbishop Nienstedt has been the subject of a non-stop crusade orchestrated by ex-Catholics, and Catholics in rebellion against the Church, simply because he stands for everything they are not: he is a loyal son of the Catholic Church.

“Now—out of the blue—comes an unidentified male who claims he was touched on his buttocks in 2009 by the archbishop while posing for a group photo. Nienstedt denies the charge, adding that he has never inappropriately touched anyone. Moreover, he has not been told the identity of his accuser.”

The police identified and interviewed everyone who was in the photograph when the archbishop allegedly touched the boy’s buttocks. No one at the Confirmation ceremony reported seeing anything like this happening. The photo shows Nienstedt standing behind the boy, one step up, meaning that he would have had to bend down to touch the boy’s behind. To top things off, the photo shows Nienstedt with one hand on his crozier and the other on the boy’s left shoulder. The police asked if anyone recalled a touching episode meant as a joke, or saw any touching between people, or remembered if someone was startled during the photo session. The answer to all three was unanimous: No.

What happened to Archbishop Nienstedt was not a mistake. It reflects a deeper problem: We are living in a culture of hate—hatred of all matters Catholic—led by those whose goal it is to take down a bishop. Every bishop is a potential target, but none more than those who are seen as being inimical to the “progressive” agenda.

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MINNESOTA
National Catholic Reporter

Brian Roewe | Mar. 12, 2014

Prosecutors in the Twin Cities have declined to press charges against St. Paul-Minneapolis Archbishop John Nienstedt in relation to allegations of inappropriately touching a boy.

Ramsey County Prosecutor John Choi announced Tuesday evening that an extensive investigation into the claim revealed insufficient evidence to prosecute.

In mid-December, Nienstedt removed himself from public ministry after the archdiocese became aware of the allegation that the archbishop had touched the buttocks of a boy during a post-confirmation group photo session in 2009 at the Cathedral of St. Paul.

The prosecutor’s investigation found none of the other 11 people appearing in the photo had witnessed the archbishop touch the boy’s buttocks or saw anyone react in a startled manner. It added that the boy did not report anything beyond a hand brushing against him and that such touching could happen unintentionally. Without clear sexual intent, the report said, charges could not be filed.

“It also seems unlikely that the Archbishop, if he were so inclined, would pick that moment to sexually touch a random boy openly in front of another clergy member, a deacon, and numerous other confirmands while the confirmands’ family members were preparing to document the moment in photographs,” the report stated.

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MINNESOTA
Catholic News Agency

St. Paul, Minn., Mar 12, 2014 / 12:12 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Archbishop John Nienstedt of St. Paul-Minneapolis is happy to resume public ministry, after he recused himself during an investigation which did not end in charges over accusations he inappropriately touched a youth.

“I look forward to returning to public ministry during this Lenten season, especially during Holy Week and the great feast of Easter,” Archbishop Nienstedt said in a March 11 statement.

He had been accused of touching a male minor’s buttocks during a group photo following a May 5, 2009 confirmation.

On Tuesday, the criminal division director of the Ramsey County Attorney, Richard Dusterhoft, wrote that “this case could not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt and should not be charged.”

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UNITED KINGDOM
The Herald

Police are investigating an allegation a Plymouth Catholic priest committed a sexual offence.

Father Michael Kirkpatrick, based at the Cathedral of St Mary and St Boniface in Plymouth, was arrested on suspicion of an historic sexual offence, alleged to have taken place before he became a priest.

Bishop Mark O’Toole took to the pulpit at every Mass at the cathedral in Stonehouse of St Mary and St Boniface on Sunday, March 2, to deliver the news.

He told the congregation that Fr Kirkpatrick, a priest based at the Stonehouse cathedral, was under investigation.

Fr Kirkpatrick is a former governor and chaplain at Holy Cross primary school in the city centre.

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