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ROM
Die Presse

Die Zahl der wegen sexueller Übergriffe entlassenen Priester hat sich in vier Jahren auf mehr als 384 verdoppelt. Papst übt Kritik wegen Missbrauchsfällen in der Kirche.

19.01.2014 | 18:13 | von unserem Korrespondenten PAUL KREINER (Rom) (Die Presse)

Rund 400 katholische Priester sind 2011 und 2012 aus dem Klerikerstand entlassen worden, weil sie sich des sexuellen Missbrauchs Minderjähriger schuldig gemacht haben: Diese von der Nachrichtenagentur AP am Samstag genannte Zahl – genau: 384 – hat der Vatikan am Wochenende erst als „irrige Interpretation statistischer Daten“ bezeichnet, später aber bestätigt. Damit ist auch klar, dass sich die Zahl der Entlassungen mehr als verdoppelt hat; 2008/09 bekamen weltweit 171Priester die kirchenrechtliche Höchststrafe für Pädophiliedelikte.

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GENF
Die Welt

[Summary:Representatives of the Vatican were asked this past week by the UN Committee on Rights of the child what countermeasures they had taken and why were there attempts to cover-up abuse.]

Die Entlassung von 384 Priestern wegen Kindesmissbrauchs soll die harte Linie des Vatikans beweisen. Doch erst am Fall eines ranghohen Täters wird sich entscheiden, wie ernst es der Kirche damit ist.

Von Tobias Bayer, Mailand

“Welche Gegenmaßnahmen habt ihr getroffen?” und “Warum gab es Vertuschungsversuche?”: Das sind zwei der vielen kritischen Fragen, die der UN-Ausschuss für die Rechte des Kindes dem Vatikan stellt. Eine sechsköpfige Delegation des Heiligen Stuhls reiste vergangene Woche nach Genf und gab Auskunft über eines der delikatesten Themen der Katholischen Kirche: der Missbrauch an Kindern durch Geistliche.

Bereits 1990 unterschrieb der Vatikan die Kinderschutzkonvention der Vereinten Nationen. 2001 unterzeichnete er die Zusatzprotokolle gegen Prostitution und Pornografie sowie gegen den Einsatz von Kindersoldaten. Doch trotzdem haperte es lange Zeit mit der Auskunftsfreudigkeit und der Entschlossenheit des Heiligen Stuhles. Geantwortet und gehandelt wurde, wenn überhaupt, zaghaft. Selbst noch im Dezember 2013 weigerte sich der Vatikan, den umfassenden Fragebogen des UN-Ausschusses auszufüllen. Zu Einzelfällen äußerte er sich gar nicht.

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DEUTSCHLAND
netzwerkB

Benedikt versetzte 400 Priester wegen Missbrauchs – Opfer werden ausgegrenzt, verschwiegen, verleugnet und vertuscht

[Summary: Former Pope Benedict XVI reduced hundreds of priests accused of pedophilia reduced to the lay state in 2011 and 2012. The victims are still marginalized, concealed and covered up.]

Der frühere Papst Benedikt XVI. hatte 2011 und 2012 Hunderte Priester wegen Pädophilie-Vorwürfen in den Laienstand versetzt. Die Opfer werden nach wie vor ausgegrenzt, verschwiegen, verleugnet und vertuscht.

Dass eine Täterorganisation ihre eigenen Verbrechen aufarbeiten könnte, ist ein Irrglaube, was das nachfolgende Beispiel beweist:

Serientäter Pfarrer Alfons Kamphusmann

Lebenslauf und Tatorte

geb. am 10.10.1924 in Wanne-Eickel
Priesterweihe am 29.03.1952 in Paderborn
Tatort Bistum Magdeburg:

1950 Gerbstedt (zwischen Eisleben und Hettstedt)
danach in Hettstedt
1952 Vikar und Kurator Propstei zu Halle (Elisabeth-Krankenhaus)
1952 Vikar Droyßig
1959 Vikar Delitzsch

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DEUTSCHLAND
MissBiT

A chart containing the number of “cases” handled by the Vatican 2006 to 2012.

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VATIKAN
BR (Deutschland)

Die katholische Kirche wurde seit 2001 weltweit mit tausenden Vorwürfen des Kindesmissbrauchs konfrontiert. Eine Statistik zeigt jetzt, dass die Kirche in den Jahren 2011 und 2012 fast 400 Priester ihres Amtes enthoben hat.

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CHILE
Puranoticia

[Summary: Convicted priest Osvaldo Audin Araya Aarcon has been imprisoned for two years due to two offtenses of sexual abuse but the penalty was served while he was in custody.]

Nacional
A la pena única de dos años de presidio menor en su grado medio fue condenado el sacerdote Audín Osvaldo Araya Alarcón como autor de dos delitos consumados de abuso sexual. No obstante, la pena fue dada por cumplida debido al tiempo que estuvo privado de libertad.

El Tribunal Oral en lo Penal de Concepción, debido al mayor tiempo que el condenado se mantuvo privado de libertad con la medida de prisión preventiva (del 13 al 23 de mayo de 2011), como también con restricción de su libertad con arresto domiciliario total (desde el 24 de mayo de 2011 hasta el domingo 19 de enero de 2014), “contabilizándose un total de 982 días, los cuales superan la pena privativa de libertad impuesta, por lo que se da por cumplida”, según el fallo.

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UNITED STATES
Aljazeera via YouTube

Judy Jones, SNAP Midwest Associate Director, responds to questions regarding the Vatican’s announcement of 400 defrocked priests during 2011-2012 and the Vatican’s appearance before the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child. The Interview was with Al Jazeera Network on January 18, 2014.

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UNITED STATES
Bilgrimage

William D. Lindsey

Following the recent grilling of Vatican officials by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Nicole Winfield and John Heilprin of AP published a report stating that, in his last two years of papal ministry, Pope Benedict defrocked 400 priests who had abused minors. After the release of this report, a comedy of errors ensued; it’s documented by postings of John Allen at the National Catholic Reporter website:

1. The Vatican media spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi, denied the AP report.

2 The Vatican then quickly retracted its denial.

3. And John Allen published a post mortem of the denial-retraction, noting that AP reporters had winkled the data about priests defrocked by Benedict out of a spreadsheet prepared by Bishop Charles Scicluna for the UN hearing, and “apparently obtained by the AP” after the UN hearing.

I am strongly inclined to agree with the responses to the AP report by Barbara Dorris and David Clohessy of Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests. Barbara writes,

Numbers don’t protect kids. Decisive action protects kids. Parents, police, prosecutors and parishioners need the names and whereabouts of every child molesting Catholic cleric. That’s the information that the Vatican should be making public.

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AUSTRALIA
lewisblayse.net

The Australian Salvation Army officials (Eastern Territory – Queensland and New South Wales States and the Australian Capital Territory) are due to appear before the royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse. The focus will be on four Boys’ Homes – Bexley, Box Hill, Riverview and Alkira. [The author was in Alkira.]

The Salvation Army claims it believes in restorative justice for its many victims. Time will tell if this is just more spin.

Under the signature of the Territorial head of the organisation, “major” Pete Condom, people are asked to: “Please join with me in prayer that those who testify will find some healing through this experience,” and finishes with “Please pray as we approach the hearing.” For what? That their reputation survives?

Condon also states that: “A working group led by Major Peter Farthing, Royal Commission Response Coordinator, and including Luke Geary of Salvos Legal, members of the Professional Standards office team, and Major Bruce Harmer, meet regularly to develop our best response. The Communications and Public Relations Team is also developing careful plans for media work.”

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MALTA
Telegraph (Australia)

AAP

THE “most terrible” cases of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have come to light, but the Church should not lower its guard, says the Vatican’s former sex crimes prosecutor.

Malta Auxiliary Bishop Charles Scicluna told the Sunday Times of Malta that he expected the number of priests banned from the clergy on pedophile charges to stabilise at around 100 per year, after a peak of 384 cases in 2011-12.

“It’s not the time for complacency, but time to be aware and proactive. The innocence of children is non-negotiable,” said Scicluna, who until 2012 worked at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican’s disciplinary watchdog.

He said the spike in defrocking cases recorded in 2011-12 was due to a backlog of cases.

The figures were publicised after Thursday’s hearing of the Holy See before the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, in which Scicluna and another Vatican envoy were grilled about the long-running worldwide scandal of pedophile priests.

Scicluna said facing eight hours of questioning “was tough”.

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PHOENIX (AZ)
Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix

Statement of the Diocese of Phoenix; Re: Judgment Reached in Ecclesiastical Trial

The Diocese of Phoenix has been notified that a judgment has been made in the canonical penal trial involving Rev. John D. Spaulding. The judgment was reached by a Special Tribunal, an independent panel of three judges from around the country who are priests with doctorates in canon law. The panel was convened at the direction of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) in Rome and tasked with the responsibility of investigating abuse allegations against Rev. Spaulding.

The Special Tribunal found Rev. Spaulding guilty of sins against the Sixth Commandment with a minor, and recommended that he be dismissed from the clerical state, a process commonly known as “laicization.” As a result of this judgment and penalty, he would no longer be permitted to function in any way as a priest of the Church and could not identify himself as a Catholic priest. The penalty would become effective upon finalization of the case by the CDF, following the completion of any appeal made by Rev. Spaulding and confirmation by the Holy See.

In June 2011, the faculties of Rev. Spaulding, then pastor of St. Timothy Parish in Mesa, were suspended and he was placed on administrative leave following an investigation and determination that an allegation against Rev. Spaulding of sexual misconduct with a minor was credible. The accusation dated back over 25 years. In the following months, three new claims were made, alleging that Rev. Spaulding engaged in sexual misconduct with three other individuals when they were minors in the 1970s and 1980s.

In accordance with its normal practice, and in compliance with the “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People,” and the “Essential Norms for Diocesan/Eparchial Policies Dealing with Allegations of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Priests, Deacons, or Other Church Personnel,” the Diocese of Phoenix conducted an independent investigation into each allegation. The Diocesan Review Board found that each allegation was credible. As mandated by canon law, all four cases were referred to the CDF for further proceedings.

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PENNSYLVANIA
NBC 10

By David Chang | Sunday, Jan 19, 2014

A Pennsylvania priest was arrested on Friday after he allegedly groped a man inside a YMCA locker room.

Police say Father John Roebuck, 64, of Lansdale, was at the North Penn YMCA back on December 15 around 7 p.m.

Roebuck approached another man inside the sauna and the two talked briefly, according to investigators. Police say Roebuck then followed the man into the locker room a short time later. As the man began to leave, police say Roebuck extended his hand to say goodbye. Roebuck then allegedly grabbed the man’s genitals with his other hand.

Police say the alleged victim reported the incident to the YMCA staff. An employee confronted Roebuck and questioned him but Roebuck denied the accusations against him, according to investigators.

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ALABAMA
Dothan Eagle

Matt Elofson

A former Enterprise youth pastor received an eight-year split sentence with three years to serve in jail after he pleaded guilty to the rape of a teenage girl.

Assistant Coffee County District Attorney Chris Kamanski said Timothy Thomas, 26, pleaded guilty to a felony second-degree rape charge. Kamanski said Thomas received an eight-year split with three years to serve in the Coffee County Jail. Kamanski said Thomas has already served about 280 days in jail waiting for trial.

“He’ll serve what he doesn’t have credit for day for day at the county jail,” Kamanski said. “He was the youth pastor at St. Luke United Methodist Church, and of course he’s no longer employed there.”

Enterprise police arrested Thomas in March of 2013 on the second-degree rape charge. Enterprise police said the rape occurred between Feb. 28 and March 18, 2013.

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ALABAMA
Moulton Advertiser

Associated Press

A former youth pastor for an Enterprise church has been sentenced to serve three years in jail after he pleaded guilty to raping a teenage girl

The Dothan Eagle reports ( http://bit.ly/1hBuHUs) 26-year-old Timothy Thomas pleaded guilty to a charge of second-degree rape after being arrested last March.

Thomas was fired after his arrest from his job as a youth pastor at St. Luke United Methodist Church.

Police say the rape took place sometime between February and March last year and that Thomas sent sexually explicit text messages to the girl he was charged with raping.

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VATICAN
Liberation (France)

[Summary: The Vatican said Saturday that some 400 priests have been defrocked during the pontificate of Benedict XVI as a result of the proliferation of accusations of child sexual abuse by clergy. In 2012 there were about 100 and about 300 in 2011, according to Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman. The Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests said this is not satisfactory disciplinary action and the pope must also begin to defrock those who cover-up sexual crimes and not just those who commit these crimes.]

Le Vatican a révélé samedi que quelque 400 prêtres ont été défroqués au cours du pontificat de Benoît XVI, à la suite de la multiplication des dénonciations d’abus sexuels d’enfants par des membres du clergé.

«En 2012 ils étaient environ 100, et environ 300 en 2011», a déclaré le porte-parole du Vatican Federico Lombardi. Mais le Réseau des survivants des personnes victimes de violence par des prêtres (SNAP) juge ces mesures disciplinaires insuffisantes.

«Le Pape doit commencer à défroquer également les prêtres qui couvrent les crimes sexuels, et pas seulement ceux qui les commettent», a déclaré le SNAP dans un communiqué.

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VATICAN
TVA Nouvelles

Agence France-Presse

Le Vatican a révélé samedi que quelque 400 prêtres ont été défroqués au cours du pontificat de Benoît XVI, à la suite de la multiplication des dénonciations d’abus sexuels d’enfants par des membres du clergé.

«En 2012 ils étaient environ 100, et environ 300 en 2011», a déclaré le porte-parole du Vatican Federico Lombardi.

Mais le Réseau des survivants des personnes victimes de violence par des prêtres (SNAP) juge ces mesures disciplinaires insuffisantes.

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MASSACHUSETTS
Boston Herald

By:
Erin Smith

Pope Francis will likely continue — if not ramp up — the church’s tough stance in recent years on clergy sex abuse, theologians and Vatican watchers say.

Catholic blogger Brandon Vogt said the pope appears to be continuing his predecessor’s zero tolerance policy on clergy sex abuse and seems to be following the lead of Boston Cardinal Sean O’Malley.

“I think he’s trusting bishops more and letting them know they shouldn’t just wait for the Vatican to act and that bishops are responsible for their priests and that they’re responsible for their own dioceses,” Vogt said. “This is certainly how Cardinal O’Malley has approached this in Boston. He’s looking to that as a model for the rest of the world.”

A new Vatican document shows Pope Francis’ predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, defrocked nearly 400 priests from 2011-12 for sexually assaulting children — more than double the number of priests removed in 2008 and 2009.

The Rev. James Bretzke, a professor of moral theology at Boston College, said the large number of clergy removals in the past two years are the result of completed reviews in a backlog of cases.

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AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald

At this time of year we proudly, rightly, celebrate Australia and its achievements. But we acknowledge that success has not come without cost, and that we are not always – and in many aspects – as we would wish to be.

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sex Abuse is laying bare a side of society that many would prefer not to know about. In some of the institutions entrusted to protect them, our children have suffered prolonged sexual abuse. A hideous secret has been covered up.

The commission has marked its first birthday with what is becoming a characteristic blizzard of numbers. Thousands of phone calls and letters from victims, hundreds of meetings held around the country, hundreds of submissions received, hundreds of notices served on institutions to produce documents.

Its schedule of activity for this year is no less exhausting. This week it concludes hearings into the Catholic Church’s Towards Healing protocol for handling sex abuse complaints. Next week it starts hearings to investigate how the Salvation Army responded to abuse claims in four of its homes: Bexley and Goulburn in NSW and Indooroopilly and Riverview in Queensland.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Reporter

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
First Posted: January 18, 2014

EBENSBURG, Pennsylvania — A county prosecutor says the state attorney general’s office is taking over the investigation of sex abuse allegations against a Franciscan friar who helped as an athletic trainer at a Roman Catholic high school in Johnstown from 1992 to 2001.

The (Johnstown) Tribune-Democrat (http://bit.ly/1eIO4rL ) reports Cambria County District Attorney Kelly Callihan received a letter Friday from Attorney General Kathleen Kane.

Several former students at Bishop McCort High School in Johnstown are suing school officials and the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese, which formerly ran the school, for the alleged actions of Brother Stephen Baker.

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MALTA
The Sunday Times of Malta

Auxiliary Bishop Charles Scicluna believes the “most terrible” cases of sexual abuse by the clergy have come to light, but the Church can never lower its guard.

“This is a work in progress. It’s not the time for complacency, but time to be aware and proactive. The innocence of children is non-negotiable,” he told The Sunday Times of Malta.

In a telephone interview on his return from Geneva, the Vatican’s former sex crimes prosecutor said the eight-hour grilling before the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child on Thursday was a tough but positive experience.

During the live webcast hearing, UN child protection experts pushed the Holy See delegates to reveal the extent of the decades-long sexual abuse of minors by priests.

Mgr Scicluna said this meeting gave the Vatican the chance to respond to the committee’s concerns and reaffirm its commitment to protect children throughout the Catholic Church and its institutions.

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MALTA
Voice of Russia

The “most terrible” cases of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have come to light, but the Church should not lower its guard, said the Vatican’s former sex crimes prosecutor in comments published Sunday.

Malta Auxiliary Bishop Charles Scicluna told the Sunday Times of Malta that he expected the number of priests banned from the clergy on paedophile charges to stabilize at around 100 per year, after a peak of 384 cases in 2011-12.

“It’s not the time for complacency, but time to be aware and proactive. The innocence of children is non-negotiable,” said Scicluna, who until 2012 worked at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican’s disciplinary watchdog.

He said the spike in defrocking cases recorded in 2011-12 was due to a backlog of cases.

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MINNESOTA
Star Tribune

Article by: TONY KENNEDY , Star Tribune Updated: January 19, 2014

Documents show the Rev. Michael Keating’s career was advancing as investigators gathered information about alleged improprieties.

Students wept in the Department of Catholic Studies at the University of St. Thomas when the Rev. Michael Keating took a leave of absence last fall over a child sexual abuse lawsuit filed against him in St. Paul.

Few could reconcile the allegations in the suit — that Keating had abused a 13-year-old girl while studying to be a priest — with the charismatic 57-year-old professor known for his spellbinding lectures and aggressive defense of traditional Catholic values.

When the suit was filed, former Archbishop Harry Flynn and his top aide, who had known about the allegations, abruptly resigned from the St. Thomas board of trustees. The university launched its own investigation of Keating, including why university officials were not told about the alleged abuse, about a church investigation that raised some questions about Keating’s behavior with other women, or a set of recommendations that Keating’s contact with adolescents and young women be restricted.

“That was certainly not on my radar,” said Marisa Kelly, a former dean at St. Thomas who had responsibility over Catholic Studies from 2006 to 2011, a period when Keating was building his reputation in the department even as he was being investigated.

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UNITED STATES
MSNBC

Father Thomas Reese, a senior analyst for the National Catholic Church Reporter, and Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests’ Joelle Casteix, speak with Milissa Rehberger about the Vatican and Pope Benedict’s decision to defrock nearly 400 priests.

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UNITED STATES
Christian Catholicism

Jerry Slevin

“The Holy See gets it,” Bishop Charles Scicluna, the Vatican’s former sex-crimes prosecutor, this week told the UN child protection committee in Geneva. Under an intense grilling, he hesitatingly added ”Let’s not say ‘too late’ or not. But there are certain things that need to be done differently.”

But will things be done differently by the Vatican? There is little evidence of positive changes underway. The Vatican continues to deny responsiblity for many of the abuse cases and to try to handle many of the remaining cases secretly in Vatican courts that impose minor penalties. Less than two years ago, Scicluna at a large public symposium criticized the Vatican’s approach to priest child sexual abuse as being characterized by “omerta”, the Italian word for the Mafia’s code of silence. For that surprising candor, Scicluna apparently was “promoted out” to become a bishop in Malta. Omerta seems alive and well at the Vatican.

What is much clearer after the UN hearings, as indicated below, is that the Vatican will most likely continue to try to operate above the law that applies to everyone else, unless compelled by outside governments to act according to international legal rules that protect children.

A potentially last hope for protecting children from this clique of self interested celibates, who are a law unto themselves, appears now to be President Obama, who as discussed below appears to be on a collision course with Pope Francis on several fronts. Many have already asked the President to act on priest child abuse by signing the active online petition available here, see:

[Change.org]

The UN, the International Criminal Court, Ireland and other European governments to date have been thwarted in protecting children adequately from predatory priests by a really ruthless, fully funded and well connected Vatican hierarchy of childless men. Even the highly regarded and well funded Australian Royal Commission now investigating institutional child sexual abuse is apparently beginning to show signs of bending to new political and media pressure.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Tribune-Democrat

Kathy Mellott
kmellott@tribdem.com

EBENSBURG — State Attorney General Kathleen Kane’s office will investigate sexual abuse allegations involving Brother Stephen Baker while he was on staff at Bishop McCort High School.

Cambria County District Attorney Kelly Callihan received a letter from Kane’s office Friday in response to A request Callihan made last month asking for an agency with greater resources to take over the investigation.

Word that Kane’s office will investigate the Baker case was met with elation by some victims’ organizations, while there was little response from some others.

“My clients hope that the attorney general will find answers as to why Brother Stephen Baker was allowed to sexually abuse several hundred innocent children,” said attorney Mitchell Garabedian.

The Boston attorney, who is believed to be representing several dozen mostly men who claim they were abused by Baker while he taught at Bishop McCort between 1992 and 2001, said the big question the state’s top prosecutor needs to look at is who were the supervisors.

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VATICAN CITY
International Business Times

By Dennis Lynch
on January 18 2014

Yesterday the Associated Press reported the Vatican defrocked a total of 384 priests in 2011-12 for sexual abuse of children. That’s more than twice as many as the Vatican defrocked between 2008 and 2009. Here are some of the facts related to the recent revelations about the Church.

1. “Defrocking” is a common term used to describe the dismissal or loss of the clerical state of a priest. A loss of the clerical state means the offender is forbidden from exercising any powers or rights granted via ordination. Priests can be defrocked for a number of reasons, but the punishment is considered the harshest penalty within the Church.

One such offense is the violation of the sixth commandment, ‘thou shall not commit adultery’. A priest can be defrocked for child abuse via Can. 1295.2 of the Code of Canon Law, which specifically mentions abuse of minors under 16. Can. 1295.2 does not require a cleric to be defrocked however, only that the offender be “punished with just penalties.”

2. 2011 and 2012 were the last two years Benedict XVI served as pope. The 384 cases of defrock and came after reports of abuse exploded in 2010. That year they doubled the statute of limitations on abuse within the church, allowing victims to report abuse up to 20 years after said abuse.

3. The Vatican has been handling sex abuses cases for over 10 years however, starting in 2001 when Benedict, who was then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger decided to have all abuse cases to be sent to his office at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in Rome. 3,000 reports were accusations of abuse were made between 2001 and 2009, said the Washington Post back in 2010.

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UNITED STATES
PopeCrimes&Vatican Evils.

Paris Arrow

Updated January 18, 2014

Pope hypocrisy, Vatican insanity: Francis preaches on the “shame of the church” but glorifies shameful Cardinal Mahony. Benedict XVI defrocked 400 priests?

Pope Francis’s hypocrisy with Cardinal Mahony of Los Angeles

The Vatican’s Opus Dei PR stunt army are doing an excellent Luciferian job in bamboozling robot Catholics into cheering chameleon Jesuit Pope Francis who preaches one thing and completely does the opposite. Best example of papal hypocrisy? Last Thursday at the Vatican, to coincide with the Vatican well-staged rebuff at the UN, Pope Francis was preaching about the “shame of the church” concerning pedophile priests — but at the same time he was glorifying (worst criminal) Cardinal Mahony right by his side at a public papal Mass.

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VATICAN CITY
Inquisitr

Are the slew of defrocked priests just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the latest Vatican sex abuse scandal?

In a related report from The Inquisitr, a recent report revealed that 400 priests had been defrocked by Pope Benedict. This comes right on top of the Vatican banking scandal.

The hits just keep on coming for the Catholic church, and the report of the defrocked priests was confirmed by Vatican reps. While it’s good that Pope Benedict put some energy towards cracking down on sex abuse within the Catholic church before he resigned from the Papacy, the documentation seemed to show an inexplicable explosion of sex abuse cases in 2011, possibly related to increased reporting from 2010.

The Vatican’s ambassador to the UN, Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, was likely sweating bullets under the pointed scrutiny of the Geneva committee this week. The annual reports from the Church revealed the 384 priests had left, voluntarily or otherwise, in 2011 and 2012. The information came from the “Activity of the Holy See,” what is essentially a Vatican yearbook, showing 125 priests were defrocked for sexual abused allegations from children in 2011 and 135 were “dispensed,” meaning they voluntarily resigned. Basically,t they got off scot-free for sexual abuse of children. In 2012, 57 priests were removed and 67 resigned from the priesthood.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Patch

Posted by Tony Di Domizio (Editor) , January 18, 2014

Former St. Stanislaus parochial vicar Father John Roebuck has been arrested Friday and charged with indecent assault without consent and harassment after allegedly grabbing a man’s genitals in the locker room at North Penn YMCA, after they both had just used the sauna on the evening of Dec. 15, police said.

Roebuck, 64, of Lansdale, has been placed on administrative leave and relieved of his duties at St. Stanislaus Catholic Church, per the Archdiocese.

The Archdiocese called Roebuck’s alleged actions “deeply troubling.”

The investigation began Dec. 16, 2013, when the alleged victim, an adult man, reported to police that he was in the locker room of the YMCA around 7 p.m., when he met Roebuck in the sauna, police said. The two had a brief conversation, police said.

A short time later, the alleged victim was using the sink in the locker room. Suddenly, Roebuck was standing behind him, police said.

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PENNSYLVANIA
The Reporter

By MICHAEL GOLDBERG , mgoldberg@thereporteronline.com
POSTED: 01/18/14

LANSDALE — A Lansdale priest arrested Friday and charged with indecent assault is accused of grabbing a man’s genitals in the locker room of the North Penn YMCA in December, Lansdale police said Saturday afternoon.

Police said that an investigation into John H. Roebuck, 64 — a parochial vicar at Saint Stanislaus Roman Catholic Church since last July — began on Dec. 16 after the alleged victim in the case, an adult male, reported to police a locker room incident that purportedly took place around 7 p.m. on Dec. 15.

The victim said that he met an older male, later identified as Roebuck, in the YMCA sauna, where the pair engaged in a brief conversation, according to police.

Shortly after that, police said, the victim was using a sink in the locker room when he saw Roebuck standing behind him, and as he began to walk away from the sink, Roebuck extended his hand to say goodbye. As they were shaking hands, the man said he felt Roebuck’s other hands grabbing his genitals, police said.

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CIUDAD DEL VATICANO
Telemundo

[con video]

CIUDAD DEL VATICANO – Un documento obtenido por The Associated Press el viernes reveló que el papa Benedicto XVI destituyó a casi 400 sacerdotes en dos años por abusar sexualmente de niños.

Estas estadísticas corresponden a los años 2011 y 2012 y son mucho más que los 170 sacerdotes destituidos entre 2008 y 2009, cuando el Vaticano reveló por primera vez detalles sobre el número de sacerdotes despedidos.

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PENNSYLVANIA
The Morning Call

By Kevin Amerman, Of The Morning Call
12:52 p.m. EST, January 18, 2014

A Montgomery County Roman Catholic priest was arrested Friday and charged with indecent assault without consent and harassment, but police have not released details of his alleged crime.

The Rev. John Roebuck, 64, a priest at St. Stanislaus in Lansdale, is free on $50,000 unsecured bail, according to online court records.

The records say the alleged offense occurred Dec. 15.

Lansdale police did not immediately provide information on the case Saturday.

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VATICAN CITY
The Guardian (UK)

Reuters
theguardian.com, Saturday 18 January 2014

Pope Francis will not show leniency towards paedophile priests as truth and justice are more important than protecting the church, the Vatican’s former sex crimes prosecutor has pledged.

Monsignor Charles Scicluna, the most authoritative Catholic official on the church’s abuse crisis, said on Saturday that the number of clerics defrocked by the Vatican was likely to have fallen to about 100 in 2013 from about 125 in 2012 and a peak of 260 in 2011.

Scicluna said Francis would, despite his merciful nature, be very tough on paedophile priests after an abuse crisis that the pope on Thursday called “the shame of the church”.

“I have met with Francis and he has expressed great determination to continue on the line of his predecessors,” said Scicluna, who served in the Vatican for 17 years before he was named an auxiliary bishop in his native Malta in 2012.

“His gospel of mercy is very important but it is not cheap mercy. It has to respect the truth and the demands of justice,” Scicluna said.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Lancaster Guardian

A former Lancaster Cathedral canon who was jailed for sexually abusing a young man who had hopes of joining the priesthood will not have his sentence reviewed.

The Attorney General’s Office – the Government’s legal department – received a complaint that the one-year prison term given to Stephen Shield on December 13 was “unduly lenient”.

The 55-year-old was found guilty of three counts of indecent assault after a trial at Preston Crown Court.

But a spokeswoman for the department this week confirmed that the sentence would not be reviewed.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Newsworks

Roman Catholic church officials say a priest in suburban Philadelphia has been arrested and charged with harassment and indecent assault.

The alleged conduct by the Rev. John Roebuck did not involve a minor, according to a statement from the Philadelphia archdiocese issued Friday.

A message left at Roebuck’s parish office was not immediately returned. It’s not clear if he has a lawyer.

Court records indicate the alleged incident took place Dec. 15. No other details were available.

Church officials call the charges “deeply troubling.” The 64-year-old priest is on administrative leave from his job as parochial vicar at St. Stanislaus in Lansdale.

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GINEVRA
L’Espresso

[Summary: The meeting in Geneva of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has put pressure on the delegation of the Holy See regarding the minefield of abuse of minors committed by members of the clergy.]

La sessione in corso a Ginevra del comitato dell’ONU per i diritti del fanciullo ha messo sotto torchio la delegazione della Santa Sede, sul terreno minato degli abusi sessuali su minori compiuti da esponenti del clero. La delegazione era composta dagli arcivescovi Silvano M. Tomasi e Charles J. Scicluna, quest’ultimo fino a un anno fa promotore di giustizia della congregazione vaticana per la dottrina della fede.

In particolare, il comitato ha voluto che la Santa Sede rispondesse a una serie di domande sulla sua condotta riguardo agli abusi, molte delle quali formulate come se i vescovi e i superiori religiosi di tutto il mondo agiscano alle dirette dipendenze del papa.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Main Line

By Michael Goldberg,
Mgoldberg@21st-Centurymedia.com

LANSDALE — A priest at Saint Stanislaus Roman Catholic Church was arrested Friday and charged with misdemeanor indecent assault without consent and summary harassment in connection with an incident that occurred on Dec. 15, 2013, court records show.

Father John H. Roebuck, 64, a parochial vicar at the church, was arraigned Friday afternoon before District Judge Albert Augustine of Skippack, who set bail at $50,000 unsecured.

Details of the criminal complaint were not immediately available. Lansdale police could not be reached for comment Friday evening.

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia issued a statement Friday that read, in part, “The alleged conduct leading to his arrest did not involve a minor,” adding that the allegations are “deeply troubling.”

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Insider

The Vatican confirms that 260 priests were defrocked by Pope Benedict XVI in 2011 and another 124 in 2012, but the actual number of priests dismissed from the ministry could be higher

GERARD O’CONNELL
ROME

Pope Benedict defrocked 384 priests in the two year period, 2011 and 2012, for the sexual abuse of minors.

The Vatican confirmed the story, first broken by the Associated Press news (AP) news agency on January 17, after earlier denying it.

It confirmed that 260 priests were defrocked or removed from the ministry in 2011 and another 124 priests in the year 2012.

The data is contained in the relevant Yearbook of the Holy See’s Activities for the years in question. The Holy See presented this and other raw data to the UN Committee for the Rights of the Child earlier in the week.

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CANADA
Sylvia’s Site

A GUILTY verdict in the Kingston Frontenac court this morning for Father Rene Labelle.

17 January 2014: “Priest found guilty of sexual assault ” & related article

A merciful end to a difficult week for the complainant and his family.

As I have said before, there is no rejoicing on occasions such as this. I can speak for myself here and say that I personally was relieved. Not because I didn’t think he was guilty, but because one truly never knows for certain how a judge will view the evidence. So, relief yes, but, for myself and the others in the small packed courtroom, – no rejoicing. Tears. A smile or two. No jubilation.

I will reiterate again that the Crown did an outstanding job on cross-examination, and again in closing submissions.

And I must right now tell you that Justice Timothy Ray`s rendering of the verdict would truly have warmed the cockles of your heart. My but he spoke with such strength and passion. He essentially determined that nothing Labelle had to say in his denials was credible, and that everything he heard from the victim and the young man`s mother and father was credible.

After the verdict, when it came time sort out what conditions Father Labelle would be under pending sentencing his lawyer Mr. Ecclestone mentioned that Labelle likes to go out for walks and sometimes he might walk through a park and, well, wouldn`t that be alright?

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AUSTRALIA
lewisblayse.net

Ah! If only we here in Australia had the benefit of the members of the United Nations (U.N.) committee who have just given the Vatican officials such a grilling over that “state’s” failures under it obligations under the International Rights of the Child convention.

These few committee members were referred to as members of an “obscure” committee of the U.N., yet they have put the world spotlight on the Vatican’s duplicity in handling its abusive priests. None of them had the grandiose title of something like “Royal Commissioner”. They were not in awe of the Vatican officials, like the Vatican’s “ambassador” to the U.N. Their questions were spot on, to the point and consistent.

Here in Australia we have had a royal commission running for over a year and it has only spent a few days on the Catholic Church. Even with this, it has only investigated the small matter of how victim complaints were dealt with. It did not call up (as it has the power to do), the head of the church in Australia, Cardinal George Pell, to explain himself.

The U.N. committee was composed of “young Turks” who still had a bit of fire in their blood. Here, we have a chief commissioner who is old, establishment and should have retired to one of his vineyards by now.

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VATIKAN
TAZ

Der emeritierte Papst Benedikt XVI. hat 2011 und 2012 rund 400 Priester wegen Kindesmissbrauchs ihres Amtes enthoben. Dies belegt eine interne Statistik des Vatikan.

Als Präfekt der Glaubenskongregation entschied Joseph Ratzinger 2001, dass Bischöfe in vielen Ländern nicht mit dem Kirchenrecht gegen Priester vorgingen, denen sexueller Missbrauch vorgeworfen wurde. Der Vatikan wies die Bischöfe damals an, alle einschlägigen Fälle an die Glaubenskongregation zu übermitteln. Die von Ratzinger eingeleiteten Reformen gaben den Bischöfen in jedem von der Kongregation geprüften Fall vor, wie sie vorzugehen hatten.

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VATIKAN
Zeit

Papst Benedikt hat in den Jahren 2011 und 2012 mehr als 400 Priester wegen Kindesmissbrauchs ihres Amtes enthoben. In den Jahren zuvor waren es deutlich weniger.

Der emeritierte Papst Benedikt XVI. hat 2011 und 2012 mehr als 400 Priester wegen Kindesmissbrauchs ihres Amtes enthoben. Das gehe aus einer Statistik des Vatikans hervor, die der Nachrichtenagentur AP vorliegt. Im Vergleich zu den Vorjahren ist die Zahl deutlich gestiegen: 2008 und 2009 sind nur 170 Priester verstoßen worden, wie aus der Statistik hervorgehe.

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VATIKAN
Tages Anzeiger

In den Jahren 2011 und 2012 hat der emeritierte Papst Benedikt XVI. fast 400 Priester des Amtes enthoben. Laut einem Dokument sollen sie sich an Kinder vergriffen haben.

Anfang des vergangenen Jahrzehnts überrollten Vorwürfe des Kindesmissbrauchs durch ihre Geistlichen die katholische Kirche. Unter Benedikt XVI. stieg die Zahl der Amtsenthebungen von Priestern schliesslich an.

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VATICAN CITY
Deutsche Welle

The Vatican has confirmed reports that former Pope Benedict XVI defrocked nearly 400 priests for child sex abuse in the last two years of his pontificate – a dramatic increase over previous years.

The Vatican revealed on Saturday that almost 400 priests had been officially stripped of their privileges and functions by Benedict XVI in the last two years of his pontificate.

“In 2012 there were around 100, while in 2011 there were around 300,” Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said on Saturday.

Lombardi thus confirmed a report by the Associated Press news agency, which said it had gained access to a document showing that 260 priests were defrocked in 2011 and 124 in 2012, a total of 384. This represents a dramatic increase over the 171 priests defrocked in 2008 and 2009.

The document was a file put together by the Vatican for a hearing before the United Nations on Thursday.

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UNITED STATES
Catholic Culture

By Dr. Jeff Mirus January 17, 2014

On Thursday, Pope Francis preached against scandal and harm caused by corrupt clergy when he concelebrated Mass with two cardinals. One of the cardinals was Roger Mahony, the former archbishop of Los Angeles. A fair evaluation of Mahony’s ecclesiastical career would suggest, among other things, that he showed greater interest in fashionable causes than in the counter-cultural moral demands of the Catholic faith, that he conveyed a noticeably “thin” understanding of the Mass, that he had no qualms about showing ecclesiastical approval of pro-abortion politicians, and that at the very least he handled cases of sexual abuse extraordinarily badly, deliberately protecting abusive priests.

In a move clearly connected to the abuse scandal, Cardinal Mahony was relieved by his successor early last year of all his remaining duties in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Years earlier, his lack of opposition to abortion had angered the American Life League enough to call for his resignation. Similarly, the absence of any clear sense of the Eucharistic Presence of Christ in his worship guidelines so infuriated Mother Angelica of EWTN that she (unwisely) publicly counseled disobedience to his episcopal authority.

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MASSACHUSETTS
Boston Herald

By:
O’Ryan Johnson

Recent moves inside the Holy See to sideline conservative cardinals have solidified Cardinal Sean O’Malley’s status as a Vatican insider who has the ear of Pope Francis, experts on the Catholic Church say.

“It cements his role as a trusted advisor,” said the Rev. James Bretzke, professor of moral theology at Boston College. “I wouldn’t use the term ‘power broker,’ because I think that’s the wrong nuance. In terms of trying to develop a pastoral vision, as well as a strategic plan, O’Malley is clearly in the inner circle, and the single American cardinal that is in the inner circle.”

Terrance McKiernan, president of BishopAccountability.org, said O’Malley ignores the “culture warrior” rhetoric of past prelates in favor of finding common ground with all believers. That resonates with Francis, who has already benched cardinals who courted controversy in public fights over church doctrine.

“O’Malley is kind of consolidating power within the Francis administration without having any official title,” McKiernan said. “Pope Francis is a shrewd guy. By establishing this side group of cardinals, he side-steps the hierarchy while he’s restructuring it.”

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TEXAS
Click2Houston

[with local video]

January 17, 2014: A document obtained by The Associated Press shows Pope Benedict defrocked nearly 400 priests over just two years — 2011 and 2012 — for sexually molesting children. Amanda Perez reports.

VATICAN CITY –
The document was prepared from data the Vatican had been collecting and was compiled to help officials defend the church before a U.N. committee this week in Geneva. The panel demanded answers about thousands of cases of sexual assault around the world.

The statistics for 2011 and 2012 show a dramatic increase over the 171 priests removed in 2008 and 2009. In 2010, there was an explosion in the number of cases reported in the media in Europe and beyond.

For centuries, the church has had its own in-house procedures to deal with priests who sexually abuse children. Bishops routinely moved problem priests from parish to parish rather than subject them to canonical trials — or turn them into police.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Patch

Posted by Tony Di Domizio (Editor) , January 18, 2014

A parochial vicar at St. Stanislaus Church in Lansdale has been arrested and charged with misdemeanor indecent assault without consent of another and harassment, according to 6abc.com.

Father John Roebuck, 64, of Lansdale, has been placed on administrative leave and relieved of his duties, per the report.

The Archdiocese is being hush-hush about details, but called Roebuck’s alleged actions “deeply troubling.”

A child was not the alleged victim, per 6abc.

The charges stem from a Dec. 15, 2013 incident, according to court records.

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KYRGYZSTAN
Huffington Post

Harris Zafar

Last week, the Grand Mufti of Kyrgyzstan was forced to resign amidst allegations of adultery with a woman he says is his second wife. He claimed he had the proper Islamic marriage ceremony with her, but since Article 153 of Kyrgyzstan’s criminal code forbids polygamy, this woman could not have legally been a second wife. Thus came allegations of adultery and calls for his resignation.

It is disappointing to see another religious leader embroiled in a sex scandal. People may remember popular evangelical Christian icon Jim Bakker, whose sexual misconduct with a church secretary was revealed in 1987, followed by convictions of fraud and conspiracy that led to imprisonment. World-famous Christian leader Jimmy Swaggart criticized Bakker for his infidelity but later hypocritically availed the services of a prostitute on multiple occasions and even publicly apologized for having sinned. Ted Haggart — president of the National Association of Evangelicals — was forced to resign in 2006 after it was discovered that he paid a male masseur for sex and crystal methamphetamine for three years. The Catholic sexual abuse scandal exposed priests and even archbishops internationally who had sexually abused their congregants. The 2004 John Jay report found that in the U.S. alone 4,392 priests and deacons were accused of sexually abusing 10,667 victims (all under the age of 18) between 1950 and 2002. Also, two rabbis who allegedly sexually abused more than 20 young students of Yeshiva University High School are among a list of Jewish leaders accused of sexual misconduct — including Rabbi Alan J. Shneur Horowitz, Rabbi Sheldon Zimmerman, Rabbi Yehudah Friedlander and many others.

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DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Dominican Today

Santo Domingo.- Former Vatican envoy to the Dominican Republic, Jozef Wesolowski, charged with sex crimes against several boys will face criminal prosecution by the Vatican Court, said Papacy representative to the UN Monsignor Silvano Tomasi on Thursday.

The investigation, said Tomasi, is underway and the Polish prelate will be tried “with the severity he deserves,” reports Vatican Insider, of the daily La Stampa.

Responding to the UN expert on the issue of non-extradition, Tomasi noted that, in adherence to the new rules approved by Pope Francis, Wesolowski, as a diplomat of the Holy See will be prosecuted in the Vatican, and not extradited.

Wesolowski, who was whisked out of the Dominican Republic August 21, is at the center of two investigations, in the Caribbean nation as well as in his homeland.

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MINNESOTA
KAAL

[with video]

Created: 01/17/2014
By: Steph Crock

(ABC 6 News) — A new document reveals former Pope Benedict XVI defrocked hundreds of priests over a span of 2 years. The defrocking involving nearly 400 priests occurred during 2011 and 2012 for sexually molesting children. The information was compiled from data the Vatican was collecting to help defend the church before a U.N. committee this week in Geneva.

There was an explosion in the number of cases reported in the media across the world, country, even in our state. Just recently, 13 priests from the Winona Diocese were accused of sexual abuse. “There is no room in the priesthood for anyone that abuses children,” said Bishop John Quinn with the Winona Diocese.

Those men have either passed or have been removed from priesthood. An action, Bishop John Quinn with the Winona Diocese says, is necessary for this type of behavior. “If we see something that isn’t right, bring it to the supervisor, bring it to someone in charge so that this never happens again,” said Bishop Quinn.

As more cases hit the surface, victims are growing skeptical of the church. “All these years and it’s still going on, not one thing has changed,” said one victim at a press conference overseas. However, a Vatican Correspondent out of Italy, says a lot has changed over the years. “2002 they had the rules in place, 2003 they started to get a large number of reports coming in and every year you got a bigger description of how The Holy See is handling the cases,” said Vatican Correspondent Nicole Winfiel.

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UNITED STATES
Catholic Online

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) – The pope had only the highest words of condemnation in a heated homily. Having addressed the sexual abuse issue as part of his Vatican reforms with the creation of a commission on abuse, the pope on Vatican radio proclaimed, “But are we ashamed? So many scandals that I do not want to mention individually, but all of us know…We know where they are! Scandals, some who charged a lot of money…. The shame of the Church!

“But are we all ashamed of those scandals, of those failings of priests, bishops, laity? Where was the Word of God in those scandals; where was the Word of God in those men and in those women? They did not have a relationship with God! They had a position in the Church, a position of power, even of comfort. But the Word of God, no! ‘But, I wear a medal,’ ‘I carry the Cross’ . Yes, just as those bore the Ark!

“Without the living relationship with God and the Word of God! I am reminded of the words of Jesus about those for whom scandals come … And here the scandal hit: bringing decay (it: decadenza) to the people of God, including (it: fino alla) the weakness and corruption of the priests.”

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PENNSYLVANIA
The Reporter

By MICHAEL GOLDBERG, mgoldberg@thereporteronline.com
POSTED: 01/17/14

LANSDALE — A priest at Saint Stanislaus Roman Catholic Church was arrested Friday and charged with misdemeanor indecent assault without consent and summary harassment in connection with an incident that occurred on Dec. 15, 2013, court records show.

Father John H. Roebuck, 64, a parochial vicar at the church, was arraigned Friday afternoon before District Judge Albert Augustine of Skippack, who set bail at $50,000 unsecured.

Details of the criminal complaint were not immediately available. Lansdale police could not be reached for comment Friday evening.

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia issued a statement Friday that read, in part, “The alleged conduct leading to his arrest did not involve a minor,” adding that the allegations are “deeply troubling.”

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SCOTLAND
Herald Scotland

Saturday 18 January 2014

THE newly installed Bishop of Dunkeld has acknowledged “hypocrisy” as the greatest criticism facing the Catholic Church in Scotland as he spoke about the downfall of disgraced cardinal Keith O’Brien.

Bishop Stephen Robson, who was installed at St Andrew’s Cathedral in Dundee last week, said it would be “gravely wrong” not to forgive the cardinal, who resigned as Archbishop of St Andrew’s and Edinburgh last year after ­admitting to inappropriate behaviour.

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DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Dominican Today

Santo Domingo.– The Holy See told Polish prosecutors that its former ambassador to the Dominican Republic, Polish Archbishop Josef Wesolowski, is covered by diplomatic immunity and that the Vatican does not extradite its citizens.

Wesolowski´s case has raised questions about whether the Vatican, in recalling him from Dominican jurisdiction, was shielding him and giving its own investigations priority over those of the Dominican Republic.

The former ambassador is the highest-ranking Vatican official ever to be investigated for alleged sex abuse. Poland also opened an investigation into the archbishop and a fellow Polish priest.

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MEXICO
Criterio

[Summary: The Vatican has finally entered a process of reviewing cases of child sexual abuse by priests, bishops and other clergy, according to former priest Alberto Athie.]

sábado, 18 de enero de 2014
Por: Georgina Montalvo Agencia Reforma

El Vaticano entró finalmente a un proceso de revisión de casos de abuso sexual infantil cometido por sacerdotes, obispos u otros clérigos, consideró el ex sacerdote Alberto Athié.

El especialista consideró que después de la comparecencia de El Vaticano ante el Comité de los Derechos del Niño de la ONU se acumuló información sobre cómo la Iglesia castólica dio un trato privilegiado a los abusadores.

“Yo creo que ahora sí (El Vaticano) va a entrar en un proceso de revisión para ir terminando ya con este modelo institucional que hizo tanto daño a tantas niñas y niños en el mundo.

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UNITED STATES
Boston Herald

By:
Bob McGovern

The nearly 400 Catholic priests a bombshell report yesterday revealed were defrocked over two years for molesting children represent just a small fraction of a huge backlog of accused clergy that have yet to face consequences, according to theologians and victim’s advocacy groups.

“I’ve seen a reliable report that more than 700 cases have been sent over by America alone,” said Nicholas Cafardi, a canon and civil lawyer at the Duquesne Law School in Pittsburgh. “So 400, that’s not surprising.”

A Vatican document obtained by The Associated Press shows Pope Benedict XVI defrocked nearly 400 priests from 2011-12 for sexually assaulting children — more than double the priest removals in 2008 and 2009.

The names and whereabouts of priests on the list were not immediately available. However, according to information on the Archdiocese of Boston’s website, eight local priests were defrocked during the 2011-12 timeframe.

Terrence C. Donilon, spokesman for the archdiocese, declined to answer questions about the report, referring reporters to the Vatican.

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ROM
Handelsblatt

Rom
Seit 2001 versucht die katholische Kirche, Tausende von Vorwürfen des Kindesmissbrauchs durch ihre Priester in aller Welt in den Griff zu bekommen. Eine zentrale Rolle dabei nahm der inzwischen emeritierte Papst Benedikt XVI. ein – zunächst als Kardinal und Präfekt der Glaubenskongregation, dann als Kirchenoberhaupt ab 2005. Eine Statistik des Vatikans zeigt nun, wie im Laufe der Zeit das Vorgehen gegen Priester, denen sexueller Missbrauch vorgeworfen wurde, verschärft wurde.

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UNITED STATES
My Fox Houston

By Tom Zizka, Business Reporter

HOUSTON (FOX 26) –
For the first time, the Vatican is publicly answering questions about its troubled history with priests committing sexual abuse and revealing some startling statistics.

A United Nations committee on protecting children called the Vatican to testify.

Documents show Pope Benedict XVI defrocked 400 priests in the year before he stepped down.

The church says there is no excuse for such violation of children, but victims groups say it’s only a first step.

Amy Smith, of the Houston chapter of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, says, “It’s not numbers and statistics that will protect kids: It’s the decisive action that would entail not just releasing statistics but the names and whereabouts of those accused predator priests.”

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MASSACHUSETTS
Boston Herald

Saturday, January 18, 2014

By:
Raymond L. Flynn

Vatican representative Archbishop Silvano Tomasi’s testimony yesterday before the U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child was painful for all to hear. It is depressing to learn about the sexual abuse of children and there is no explanation that is acceptable.

This is a crime and as many people have said, this is a matter for law enforcement authorities to prosecute, not church officials. The pain that these children and their parents experience defies explanation. The only resolution is full disclosure and transparency. Church leaders owe this to the public and the good name of the overwhelming majority of decent and faithful priests.

Pedophile priests have been a problem for many years and only a fundamental change in church policy can put this problem behind the church. Nobody wants to see swift and decisive action more than faithful Catholics. This is not just a matter of forgiveness, but of justice and the protection of children.

Catholics have always felt that such a serious and sensitive matter as sexual abuse of children could not be effectively dealt with in-house by church personnel. The process must be more open and accountable to the public and press. Until that happens, we will continue to hear about these shocking revelations. A more sexually permissive society is no excuse for even one case of sexual abuse of a child by a priest.

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MASSACHUSETTS
Boston Herald

By:
Margery Eagan

Here’s the great paradox of Pope Francis. His sincere and humble outreach to the poor and marginalized has inspired millions. Yet his embrace hasn’t extended to the very group his fellow priests, and the church itself, tormented by their crimes and cover-up: survivors of clergy sex abuse.

And the news that the Vatican has defrocked 400 priest abusers over the past two years changed nothing.

It was Francis’ predecessor, Pope Benedict, who defrocked them. We’re still waiting to see if Francis finally brings to justice the priests and the bishops who covered for them.

Four hundred is but a tiny percentage of the likely thousands of predator priests worldwide. To put it in another perspective, there have been 276 priests accused of sexual abuse in the Boston archdiocese alone, according to BishopAccountability.org, a website that tracks the church’s continued mishandling of the abuse crisis.

Defrocking only means these abusers aren’t priests anymore. They can certainly molest again. We don’t know their names or if they’ve been reported to police. For all we know, one could be living next door.

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VATICAN CITY
National Catholic Reporter

John L. Allen Jr. | Jan. 18, 2014 NCR Today

Rome
We have a new winner in the sweepstakes for shortest shelf-life of any Vatican denial of a news story ever, with the nearly instantaneous retraction Jan. 17 of a statement disputing an Associated Press report that almost 400 priests had been defrocked in 2011/2012 in cases involving sexual abuse.

The denial was issued by Jesuit Fr. Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, at 9:31 pm Rome time last night and retracted at 10:32 pm, which means that it survived barely an hour.

In retrospect, the breakdown seems a classic illustration of the perils of today’s instant news cycles.

The Associated Press moved the story on Jan. 17, basing it on data prepared for the Vatican delegation at a session of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child in Geneva the day before devoted to exploring the church’s record on child sexual abuse.
.
That delegation was composed of Italian Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, the Vatican’s representative to the U.N. in Geneva, and Auxiliary Bishop Charles Scicluna of Malta, the Vatican’s former top sex abuse prosecutor. Among other materials, they had a spreadsheet with numbers of abuse cases reported to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in recent years and the dispensation of those cases, which was apparently obtained by the AP.

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UNITED STATES
Christian Catholicism

Jerry Slevin

Pope Francis showed much of his hand this week, and his priority is cardinals before children from key indications. It has been almost a year since the ex-pope shocked, if not also frightened, many cardinals by suddenly resigning amidst escalating scandals. This led to the unexpected selection of Pope Francis to save the cardinals, at least by changing the subject from the scandals and gaining time for the Vatican to try to find a path that eluded the ex-pope through the scandals.

The cardinals had been picked by the ex-pope and Pope John Paul II as men who apparently would mostly follow orders unquestionably. In exchange, the popes provided these men with the generally unaccountable power and considerable wealth inherent in most cardinals’ permanent positions.

It appears evident that the trigger for the ex-pope’s abrupt resignation was the esclating priest child sexual abuse scandal that he mismanaged so badly. The financial scandals could likely have been fixed eventually by spending more money, which popes have plenty of access to and which appears to be happening now, as noted here at: [Chiesa] ; but the abuse scandal raises possibilities of the imprisonment of some cardinals and bishops, money notwithstanding. This was quite clear at this week’s disturbing UN hearings in Geneva as shown here at: [The New York Times], and further reported here at: [The Globe and Mail]

It also became clearer this week that Francis, and his Secretary of State Parolin, a former longtime top aide to Cardinal Sodano, are following a geopolitical survival strategy very similar to the one that Sodano and Parolin followed in 2004 to help secure President Bush’s relection as discussed further below. The Vatican’s UN response was also led by another longtime subordinate of Cardinal Sodano, Vatican diplomat, Archbishop Silvano Tomasi.

Relevantly, John Allen, a well informed Vatican reporter and CNN commentator just perceptively noted, as follows: ” … the sex abuse crisis is where two powerful narratives about Catholicism collide. One is that the church is a secretive institution devoted above all to protecting its own interests, so that claims of turning over a new leaf are viewed through a lens of suspicion; the other is that Francis is a reforming pope genuinely committed to the poor and the vulnerable, and people seem hungry to believe that he’ll do the right thing” .

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VATICAN CITY
CBC News

The Associated Press
Posted: Jan 17, 2014

A document obtained by The Associated Press on Friday shows Pope Benedict XVI defrocked nearly 400 priests over just two years for sexually molesting children.

The statistics for 2011 and 2012 show a dramatic increase over the 171 priests removed in 2008 and 2009, when the Vatican first provided details on the number of priests who have been defrocked. Prior to that, it had only publicly revealed the number of alleged cases of sexual abuse it had received and the number of trials it had authorized.

While it’s not clear why the numbers spiked in 2011, it could be because 2010 saw a new explosion in the number of cases reported in the media in Europe and beyond.

The document was prepared from data the Vatican had been collecting and was compiled to help the Holy See defend itself before a United Nations committee this week in Geneva.

Criticism, questions from UN committee

Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, the Vatican’s UN ambassador in Geneva, referred to just one of the statistics in the course of eight hours of oftentimes pointed criticism and questioning from the UN human rights committee.

The statistics were compiled from the Vatican’s own annual reports about the activities of its various offices, including the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which handles sex abuse cases. Although public, the annual reports are not readily available or sold outside Rome and are usually found in Vatican offices or Catholic university libraries.

An AP review of the reference books shows a remarkable evolution in the Holy See’s in-house procedures to discipline pedophiles since 2001, when the Vatican ordered bishops to send cases of all credibly accused priests to Rome for review.

Then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger took action after determining that bishops around the world weren’t following church law to put accused clerics on trial in church tribunals. Bishops routinely moved problem priests from parish to parish rather than subject them to canonical trials — or turn them in to police.

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GENEVA
Boston.com

[with video]

By JOHN HEILPRIN and NICOLE WINFIELD / Associated Press / January 16, 2014

GENEVA (AP) — It resembled a courtroom cross-examination, except no question was off-limits, dodging the answer wasn’t an option and the proceedings were webcast live.

After decades of accusations that its culture of secrecy contributed to priest sex abuse, the Vatican was forced for the first time Thursday to defend its record in public and at length.

In a stuffy U.N. conference room before an obscure human rights committee, the Holy See was interrogated for eight hours about the scale of abuse and what it was doing to prevent it.

The Vatican was compelled to appear before the committee as a signatory to the U.N. Convention for the Rights of the Child, which requires governments to take all adequate measures to protect children from harm and ensure their interests are placed above all else.

The Holy See was one of the first states to ratify the treaty in 1990, eager to contribute the church’s experience in caring for children in Catholic schools, hospitals, orphanages and refugee centers. It submitted a first implementation report in 1994, but didn’t provide progress assessments for nearly two decades, until 2012.

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KENTUCKY
Owensboro-Daviess

OWENSBORO, KY (WFIE)- Father James Meredith will keep his position as a priest; but according to the assistant to the Bishop, no date has been set for him to return from his suspension.

No word yet on whether he will return to Blessed Mother Church.

On Thursday we told you that Father Meredith would not be facing criminal charges after allegations of inappropriate conduct with a minor.

Owensboro police tell us the minor, now an adult, declined to be interviewed and they determined the alleged conduct was not criminal.

Since the inquiry was unfounded, police closed their investigation.

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VATICAN CITY
BBC News

Close to 400 priests were defrocked in only two years by the former Pope Benedict XVI over claims of child abuse, the Vatican has confirmed.

The statistics for 2011 and 2012 show a dramatic increase compared to previous years, according to a document obtained by the Associated Press (AP).

The file was part of Vatican data collected for a UN hearing on Thursday.

It was the first time the Holy See was publicly confronted over the sexual abuse of children by clergy.

Church officials at the hearing in Geneva faced a barrage of hard questions covering why they were withholding data and what they were doing to prevent future abuse.

Victims’ advocates complained there was still too little transparency.

‘Shame of the Church’

Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi initially said the AP report had been based on a mistaken reading of data.

But he later retracted his statement, confirming to the BBC that the story was correct. …

Catholic Church abuse scandals

Germany – A priest, named only as Andreas L, admitted in 2012 to 280 counts of sexual abuse involving three boys over a decade

United States – Revelations about abuses in the 1990s by two Boston priests, Paul Shanley and John Geoghan, caused public outrage

Belgium – The bishop of Bruges, Roger Vangheluwe, resigned in April 2010 after admitting that he had sexually abused a boy for years

Italy – The Catholic Church in Italy admitted in 2010 that about 100 cases of paedophile priests had been reported over 10 years

Ireland – A report in 2009 found that sexual and psychological abuse was “endemic” in Catholic-run industrial schools and orphanages for most of the 20th century

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Albany Times Union

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Roman Catholic church officials say a priest in suburban Philadelphia has been arrested and charged with harassment and indecent assault.

The alleged conduct by the Rev. John Roebuck did not involve a minor, according to a statement from the Philadelphia archdiocese issued Friday.

A message left at Roebuck’s parish office was not immediately returned. It’s not clear if he has a lawyer.

Court records indicate the alleged incident took place Dec. 15. No other details were available.

Church officials call the charges “deeply troubling.” The 64-year-old priest is on administrative leave from his job as parochial vicar at St. Stanislaus in Lansdale.

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NEW JERSEY
Star-Ledger

By Star-Ledger Editorial Board
on January 17, 2014

After years of high-level obstruction and denial, there’s an air of justification in watching Vatican envoys squirm as a United Nations panel grilled them on the church’s worldwide clergy abuse epidemic. The Holy See’s represenative finds himself in the uncomfortable crosshairs of a high-profile interrogation – a long-anticipated moment for victims of the priests’ abuse.

The U.N. investigation drives home the point – particularly for U.S. Catholics – that priest abuse isn’t a Boston issue, nor an exclusively American problem, but rather a global crisis.

The official Vatican response to U.N. questioning falls short of accepting full responsibility for decades of child sexual abuse by its clerics. But the answers include refreshing pledges, finally, that Rome “gets it.”

In concert with the U.N. probe, Pope Francis delivered powerful remarks about the scandal in his homily during Thursday’s Mass at the Vatican.

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VATICAN CITY
Religion News Service

Cathy Lynn Grossman | Jan 17, 2014

Newly released documents show Pope Benedict XVI “defrocked” 400 priests in two years.
While he was pope in 2011-12, Benedict XVI laicized (the proper term for de-frocking) about 400 priests who had abused minors, according to documents obtained by the Associated Press.

It’s certainly news that the Vatican, however, begrudgingly, has released some statistics in this global scandal. But was it effective in creating a safer world for young people?

Not necessarily.

According story by ABC Radio religion blogger in Australia, the retired bishop of Sydney Geoffrey Robinson, author of the book Confronting sex and power in the Catholic church, explained this it this way,

“Laicisation removes a priest from the clerical state. It removes church obligations for upkeep towards the resulting “non-priest”. But it also severs the ties of mutual responsibility between the ex-priest and the church. The church is no longer canonically responsible for the ex-priest.”

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VATICAN CITY
NPR

by BILL CHAPPELL
January 17, 2014

In a period of just over two years, Pope Benedict XVI defrocked nearly 400 priests for molesting children, according to the AP, which says it obtained a document representing a rare collection of such data.

As of Friday afternoon, NPR hasn’t independently confirmed the AP’s information, not having seen the document. Here’s a bit of context from NPR’s Sylvia Poggioli in Rome:

“If confirmed, the number of nearly 400 marks a sharp increase over the 170 priests removed in 2008 and 2009, when the Vatican first provided details on the number of defrocked priests.

“Before that, the Vatican only revealed the number of alleged cases of sexual abuse it had received.”

The reported defrockings span a period from 2011-2012, meaning they would have taken place well before the election of Pope Francis in March of 2013. The document that allegedly lists the incidents is part of the Catholic Church’s ongoing effort to cope with a legacy of child sex abuse.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philly.com

A Roman Catholic priest was arrested today and charged with harassment and indecent assault, according to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

Father John Roebuck, who in July had been appointed the Parochial Vicar of Saint Stanislaus Church in Lansdale, was placed on administrative leave. Roebuck formerly served at Saint Thomas the Apostle, in Glen Mills. He has also taught at Lansdale Catholic High School

“This information is deeply troubling,” an archdiocese spokesman said in a statement, adding that the alleged misconduct did not involve a minor.

Roebuck, who was placed on administrative leave, has been relieved of all of his duties within the Archdiocese.

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VATICAN CITY
Christian Post

BY MORGAN LEE , CHRISTIAN POST REPORTER
January 17, 2014

Documents released by the Associated Press suggest that from 2011 to 2012 Pope Benedict worked to defrock nearly 400 priests on claims that the men molested children – news that comes in the aftermath of the U.N.’s harsh critique of the Catholic Church’s handling of the global sex abuse scandal on Thursday.

The reports also demonstrate a shift in the Church’s approach towards handling sex abuse cases, which historically were dealt with by switching the parish where the priest served, rather than involving local law enforcement or Vatican tribunals.

But in 2001, former Pope Benedict, then a cardinal, mandated that accused priests be put on trial in church tribunals, with a maximum penalty of being defrocked.

In 2005, the Vatican began reporting numbers of defrocked priests and authorized Church trials against 21 accused clerics. Since 2005, the numbers began to increase to between 300-400 cases a year in 2007 and 2008.

In 2010, following a wave of media coverage of sex abuse scandals in Europe, 527 cases were reported, though the Vatican did not report how many priests had been defrocked. In 2011 and 2012, however, 260 and 124 priests were defrocked respectively.

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VATICAN CITY
Daily Mail (UK)

Revealed: Pope Benedict XVI defrocked 400 priests for sexually molesting children in just two years

By WILLS ROBINSON
PUBLISHED: 18:07 EST, 17 January 2014

Pope Benedict XVI removed nearly 400 priests in two years for molesting children, it has been revealed.

The shocking statistics for 2011-12 represent the first time the Vatican has revealed how many priests who have been defrocked.

Prior to that, the Catholic Church only revealed the number of alleged sexual abuse cases it had received.

The revelations come after centuries of tradition which saw the Vatican dealing with cases internally, without the involvement of police.

The document was prepared from data the Vatican had been collecting to help the Holy See defend itself before a UN committee in Geneva, Switzerland, this week.

Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, the Vatican’s UN ambassador in Geneva, referred to just one of the damning statistics during eight hours of criticism and questioning from the UN human rights committee.

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VATICAN CITY
Digital Journal

By Andrew Dyer
Jan 17, 2014

A newly revealed report revealed that Pope Benedict XVI defrocked 400 priests for molestation in two years of of his Papacy.

Statistics show that the number of priests defrocked in 2011 and 2012 spiked from the 171 priests removed in 2008 and 2009. According to CBC News, numbers of defrocked priests before 2008 are unavailable as the Vatican only made public the number of alleged reports of sexual abuse it had received and the number of trials it had authorized to move forward. The report was composed of data the Vatican had been collecting intended to help the Catholic Church to defend itself before a United Nations committee.

In 2008, the report stated that 68 priests were defrocked with 191 abuse cases reported. The number of defrocked priests rose in 2009 to 103 out of 223 cases reported. 2010 saw 527 abuse cases reported however no numbers of defrocked priests have been made available to the public. 260 priests were removed from their positions in 2011 with 404 cases reported to the Vatican and 419 priests had lesser penalties passed down to them for crimes involving abuse. 2012 saw 124 priests defrocked and 418 cases reported.

Pope Benedict’s actions are far removed from the Vatican’s tendency to move priests accused of sexual abuse from parish to parish rather than see them brought to trial. This has often led to victims accusing the Catholic Church of being autonomous and putting their procedures ahead of law enforcement.

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VATICAN CITY
The Stir

by Maressa Brown

Documents uncovered this week by the Associated Press are shedding light on just how many priests were defrocked by Pope Benedict XVI over the past two years for sexually molesting children. And the number is horrifyingly high. Back in 2008 and 2009 — when the Vatican first offered specifics on this — 171 priests were removed, but in 2011 and 2012, the stats show a scary spike to 400 priests defrocked.

While it isn’t exactly clear why the numbers went up so much over the last two years, it’s possible that more cases were being reported as the unnerving phenomenon became more widely covered in the news media. In other words, a lot more priests were probably guilty of these unthinkable acts before 2011, but they’ve only recently been reported and punished. Crazy.

Doesn’t sound like there should be any question about how legit these stats are. The AP explains that the numbers were compiled from the Vatican’s own annual reports about the activities of its various offices, including the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which handles sex abuse cases. The reason: To help the Holy See defend itself in front of a U.N. committee this week in Geneva.

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GENEVA
RH Reality Check

by Erin Matson, Editor at Large, RH Reality Check
January 17, 2014

Thursday, representatives from the Vatican went before a United Nations panel to discuss the way the Catholic Church has handled, and covered up, numerous instances of sexual abuse by priests worldwide.

The public record from this hearing, the first time representatives from the Holy See had been subjected to public questioning of this nature, offers little consolation to those who had been waiting for Pope Francis to offer meaningful reforms that might help him live up to his “Person of the Year” designation. Instead, we were given additional reasons to believe that the all-male hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church must not be entrusted to come up with a program that will resolve and redress sexual crimes within its flock. Further, we were given additional reasons to question the Vatican’s role in the international law community.

First, the hearing came a bit overdue. The Vatican ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1990. After an initial report in 1994, the Holy See did not submit a progress report to the international body until 2012. It’s shocking that those reports and Thursday’s hearing took so long; those 18 years were filled with revelations of sex abuse by priests, associated cover-ups by Vatican officials, and international cries for accountability.

To those who think Pope Francis, the alleged reformer, has it covered, a closer examination of the facts suggests otherwise: It wasn’t until last year that the criminal code was updated to specify sexual violence against children as a crime. Further, a new commission established by the pope to address the crisis of child molestation by priests lacks judicial authority and instead focuses on providing care to victims of abuse—quite a sick idea, given that internal supervision mechanisms from the Vatican have no track record of providing appropriate care, much less justice, for the victims of abuse by Catholic priests.

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VATICAN CITY
MSNBC

By Trymaine Lee

As the Vatican was being blistered by a U.N. committee this week for its decades-long mishandling and cover up of a global sex abuse scandal involving priests and children, new disclosures show the extraordinary steps that Pope Benedict XVI took to get rid of problem priests.

In just two years, Benedict defrocked nearly 400 priests, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press, which first reported the story on Friday. The number of priests defrocked by Benedict in 2011 and 2012 reflected a dramatic spike over the 171 priests removed in 2008 and 2009, according to the AP.

The newly uncovered statistics come from data from annual reports compiled by the Vatican to help the Holy See defend itself before a U.N. committee this week in Geneva.

While Benedict has been seen as remote, dogmatic, and lacking the charisma of both his predecessor, John Paul II, and his successor, Pope Francis, he was aggressive in pushing the Holy See to address the scourge of child molestation within the Church.

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NEW YORK/VERMONT
Albany Times Union

By Brendan J. Lyons

The Albany Roman Catholic Diocese, which was ordered by a Vermont judge to turn over nearly 40 years worth of sexual abuse records to a victim who filed a lawsuit, has filed an unusual petition asking a federal appeals court to strike down the ruling and dismiss the case.

The diocese argues that U.S. District Court Judge William K. Sessions III made errors and ignored U.S. Supreme Court decisions when he ruled last year that the Albany diocese can be sued in Vermont by a New York man who was taken across state lines and raped by Gary Mercure, a priest serving up to 20 years in prison for raping Albany-area altar boys.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued an order this week that will put the Vermont case on hold while the panel considers the diocese’s petition, which is known as a writ of mandamus. The petition seeks appellate intervention and challenges whether Sessions improperly ruled that the diocese’s limited business ties to Vermont were enough to establish jurisdiction in a state. The diocese said the lawsuit was filed in that state because the statute of limitations time-barred any claim being filed in New York.

In the petition, the diocese notes that Sessions “has ordered the production of thousands of documents spanning decades—most notably, all allegations of sexual abuse of minors, and the details of all investigations resulting from such allegations, dating back to 1975. This will require the collection and review of files on thousands of employees maintained in hundreds of locations, at great effort and expense, and calls for the disclosure of highly sensitive private information relating to employees who are not parties to this lawsuit.”

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VATIKAAN
NCR (Nederland)

[Summary: Pope Benedict XVI in 2011 and 2012 defrocked nearly 400 priests because they had molested children, according to a document obtained by the Associated Press.]

Paus Benedictus XVI heeft in 2011 en 2012 bijna vierhonderd priesters uit hun ambt gezet, omdat ze zich hadden vergrepen aan kinderen. Dat blijkt uit een document dat in handen is gekomen van AP.
Het is voor het eerst dat details bekend zijn gemaakt over het aantal priesters dat door het Vaticaan is ontslagen. Voorheen liet de Heilige Stoel alleen weten over hoeveel gevallen van seksueel misbruik zij was ingelicht.

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VATICAN CITY
National Catholic Reporter

John L. Allen Jr. | Jan. 17, 2014 NCR Today

In spite of an earlier Vatican statement denying an Associated Press story that almost 400 priests had been defrocked for the sexual abuse of minors during 2011/2012, a bishop with knowledge of the statistics says the AP story was correct.

The Vatican spokesman also confirmed the AP story in response to an NCR inquiry.

Auxiliary Bishop Charles Scicluna of Malta, who served for 10 years as the Vatican’s top sex abuse prosecutor and who represented the Vatican during a Jan. 16 hearing of the U.N.’s Committee of the Rights of the Child, told NCR that in 2011 and 2012, 384 priests were either voluntarily dismissed from the clerical state or had laicization imposed as a penalty in cases related to sexual abuse.

Scicluna spoke to NCR Jan. 17 by phone.

Based on information provided in the published volume “Activity of the Holy See,” according to Scicluna, there were 135 priests in 2011 who voluntarily requested dismissal from the clerical state and 125 for whom laicization was imposed as a penalty.

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VATICAN CITY
CNN

(CNN) The Vatican acknowledged on Friday that close to 400 priests left the priesthood in 2011 and 2012 because of accusations that they had sexually abused children.

That acknowledgment followed a report by the Associated Press that nearly 400 priests had been defrocked during those two years. The Vatican initially disputed that report.

Bishop Charles Scicluna, formerly the Vatican’s top prosecutor of sexually abusive clergy, said 384 priests left the priesthood – either voluntarily or not – in 2011 and 2012, the last two years of Pope Benedict XVI’s papacy.

In 2011, 125 priests were dismissed from ministry by the Vatican because of accusations they had sexually abused children, Scicluna told CNN on Friday, citing the “Activity of the Holy See,” a kind of Vatican yearbook. The same year, 135 priests were “dispensed,” meaning they voluntarily resigned, Scicluna said.

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CHICAGO (IL)
Jeff Anderson & Associates

Chicago News Conference Tuesday, January 21

Documents to be Released Tuesday on 30 Archdiocese of Chicago
Priests Accused of Sexually Abusing Children

Sexual abuse survivors and their attorneys will share and discuss the documents
turned over January 15, 2014 by the Archdiocese as part of a 2006 mediation agreement

What: At a news conference on Tuesday, January 21, 2014 in Chicago, sexual abuse attorneys Jeff Anderson and Marc Pearlman will:
• Publicly release the files of 30 priests credibly accused of sexually abusing minors in the Archdiocese of Chicago.
• Reveal secret Archdiocesan communications detailing the Archdiocese’s efforts to conceal abuse and protect itself at the expense of innocent children.
• Introduce several sexual abuse survivors who will respond to the release of the files and share their experiences in fighting to make these files public.

WHEN: Tuesday, January 21, 2014 at 11:00 AM CST

WHERE: The Allerton Hotel – 23rd Floor, Tip Top Tap
701 N. Michigan Ave.
Chicago, IL 60611

WHO: Attorneys Jeff Anderson and Marc Pearlman, lawyers specializing in sexual abuse litigation who work together on behalf of sexual abuse survivors in Illinois helping them achieve justice and healing. Patrick J. Wall, former priest and monk who is now a consultant and advocate for sexual abuse survivors.

Notes:
• All documents will be available online Tuesday morning prior to the press event at www.abusedinchicago.com and www.andersonadvocates.com.
• Press packets will be available at the press conference Tuesday.

Contact Jeff Anderson: Office: 651.927.7872 Mobile: 612.817.8665
Contact Marc Pearlman: Office: 312.261.4550 Mobile: 773.368.0142

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SCOTLAND
The Tablet (UK)

17 January 2014 14:51 by Brian Morton

The new Bishop of Dunkeld says that not to forgive Cardinal Keith O’Brien would be “gravely wrong” but that the disgraced archbishop needs to make reparation for the harm he has done.

Speaking after his installation at St Andrew’s Cathedral, Dundee, last week, Bishop Stephen Robson acknowledged that “hypocrisy” was the greatest criticism facing the Church in Scotland.

Cardinal O’Brien, who resigned following allegations of sexual misconduct made by priests, had been an outspoken opponent of gay marriage.

Bishop Robson worked with Cardinal O’Brien for 35 years.

“Never once in all that time did I experience anything of the behaviour he was accused of. That is why his downfall came as such a shock to me and to so many. The Cardinal was much loved in the archdiocese. I was a bishop only a few months when this sad narrative began to unravel. The cardinal admitted behaviour unbecoming in a man of God and I do not believe forgiveness of him is at question.”

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UNITED STATES
BishopAccountability.org

BishopAccountability.org submitted this letter and report to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) to assist in the CRC’s historic review of the Holy See’s compliance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child. In our submissions, we discuss the Holy See’s knowledge and management of cases of clergy sexual abuse worldwide, its continued refusal to require reporting to civil authorities, and Pope Francis’s problematic choice to head the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

On January 16, 2014, in Geneva, Switzerland, Committee members closely questioned Bishop Charles Scicluna, formerly of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and Archbishop Silvano M. Tomasi, the Holy See’s Permanent Observer to the UN. The Committee focused on the Holy See’s replies to the CRC’s July 2013 List of Issues.

See PDFs of our letter and report, or see our web versions below. See also the response to the Holy See Replies filed December 2013 by the Center for Constitutional Rights and SNAP (the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests); the Holy See’s 2011 report to the CRC; and CCR/SNAP’s February 2013 alternative report. Click here to see all related documents on file with the CRC.

Letter to the CRC from BishopAccountability.org
• Detailed information on abuse cases brought to the attention of the Holy See
• Command and control structures
• Current leadership of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
• The record of Pope Francis in Buenos Aires and in Rome

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UNITED STATES
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Friday, Jan. 17, 2014

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

This is a decades-late drop in bucket. Defrocking predator priests is less about safeguarding kids. It’s more about church damage control.

[New York Daily News]

Yesterday in Geneva, Catholic officials claimed to be essentially powerless over pedophile priests. Today, Catholic officials are saying how many they’ve defrocked.

Here’s the number Catholics should remember: zero. That’s how many Catholic supervisors have been punished, worldwide, for enabling and hiding horrific clergy sex crimes. The Pope must start defrocking clerics who cover up sex crimes, not just clerics who commit them. Until that happens, little will change.

So why the alleged increase in defrocked pedophile priests? It’s likely because more victims across the globe are gaining the strength and courage to come forward and are reporting to (and pressuring) church officials because archaic, predator-friendly secular laws prevent most victims from seeking justice in court. And it’s likely because more bishops are convincing Vatican officials that defrocking predators is a smart public relations and legal defense strategy. Cutting all ties with the most egregious serial sex offender clerics helps convince Catholics that progress is being made.

But it’s irresponsible for Catholic officials to recruit, educate, ordain, train, transfer and protect predator priests, then defrock them when they’re caught and the heat gets too intense. Catholic officials should help make sure child molesting clerics are criminally prosecuted. If that can’t happen, then Catholic officials should house them in remote, secure treatment centers. And Catholic officials should lobby for, not against, reforming outdated, secular laws that enable many who commit and conceal child sex crimes to escape punishment.

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UNITED STATES
Huffington Post

By Barbara Blaine, President of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP)

Since 1988, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) has been working to help survivors of clergy sex abuse heal one another and to protect children and vulnerable adults from continuing sexual violence. We have formed a vast network of mutual support among survivors, exposed this global crisis to the public, and repeatedly confronted perpetrators and their protectors, demanding that the Catholic church stop enabling – and start helping to end – this widespread and systemic violence. When we realized we needed to take our work global, we reached out to human rights attorneys at the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR)–a partnership that has brought us all the way to the United Nations in Geneva yesterday to witness the Vatican being called to account for the crisis by an international body for the first time.

In 2011, CCR and SNAP joined together to file a complaint with the International Criminal Court (ICC), requesting that the ICC prosecutor investigate the Vatican for crimes against humanity and hold accountable high-level Vatican officials, including Pope Benedict, in their supervisory and direct roles. Along with the complaint, we submitted more than 20,000 pages of supporting materials, including reports, policy papers, and evidence of the crimes. In addition to the obvious impact that an ICC investigation would have on efforts to obtain justice and accountability, by framing the sexual violence scandal as an international human rights issue and taking it directly to the tribunal that has handled some of the most horrific human rights abuses in recent history, we made an important statement about the extent of the clergy sex abuse crisis, the gravity of the harm of rape and sexual violence, the depth of the wounds it has left, and where responsibility lies. This is not a problem of a few bad priests, it is not a problem of the past, and it is not a problem confined to the United States. It is a global culture of violence that is concealed and enabled by those at the highest levels of an entity that purports to be a sovereign state.

In the wake of worldwide media coverage of the filing, SNAP heard from thousands of survivors in more than 70 countries, and, in April, we held our first international conference, in Dublin, which drew survivors from twelve countries and five continents. Shortly after our ICC filing, Amnesty International released a report affirming that physical and sexual abuse within the Catholic Church in Ireland included “acts that amounted to torture and inhuman and degrading treatment.” Though the ICC prosecutor has indicated that the office will not pursue an investigation at this time while leaving open the possibility of doing so in the future, the filing has sparked a worldwide movement urging international human rights bodies to provide accountability–which ultimately led us to the United Nations.

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GENEVA
WBUR

[with audio]

By Deborah Becker January 17, 2014

BOSTON — Vatican officials faced intense questioning Thursday in Geneva, Switzerland, when a United Nations committee demanded answers about the church’s handling of the clergy sex abuse scandal.

Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, representing the Vatican, said the church is committed to protecting children.

“The Holy See and local church structures in all parts of the world are committed to holding inviolable the dignity and entire person of every child: body, mind and spirit,” Tomasi said.

Helen McGonigle, a Connecticut attorney and clergy abuse survivor, joined WBUR’s Morning Edition to talk about her experience in Geneva, where she says she wanted to witness the first public questioning of Vatican officials about clergy abuse.

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VATICAN CITY
National Catholic Reporter

[Update: In spite of an earlier Vatican statement denying an Associated Press story that almost 400 priests had been defrocked for the sexual abuse of minors during 2011/2012, a bishop with knowledge of the statistics says the AP story was correct.]

John L. Allen Jr. | Jan. 17, 2014 NCR Today

In response to a story by The Associated Press asserting that Pope Benedict XVI defrocked nearly 400 priests during 2011-2012 for the sexual abuse of minors, the Vatican released a statement Friday saying that the number in the AP story refers to the number of new cases opened during that span rather than the outcome of those cases.

The following is the full text of the statement from Jesuit Fr. Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, in an NCR translation from Italian.

“Information diffused this evening by the Associated Press appears to be based on an incorrect reading of data published in the volume ‘Activity of the Holy See 2011,’ where there’s a reference to the activity of the disciplinary office of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (p.466).”

“That volume speaks about the 612 new cases opened in 2012, which come from the entire world, including 418 cases involving abuse of minors.”

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VATICAN CITY
Telegraph (UK)

Nearly 400 priests were defrocked by the Vatican over just two years for molesting children, according to a leaked document.

The statistics for 2011-12 show a dramatic increase over the 171 priests removed in 2008 and 2009, when the Vatican first provided details on the number of priests who have been defrocked. Prior to that, it had only publicly revealed the number of alleged cases of sexual abuse it had received.

The document was obtained by The Associated Press and was prepared from data the Vatican had been collecting to help the Holy See defend itself before a U.N. committee this week in Geneva.

Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, the Vatican’s U.N. ambassador in Geneva, referred to just one of the statistics in the course of eight hours of oftentimes pointed criticism and questioning from the U.N. human rights committee.

The statistics were compiled from the Vatican’s own annual reports about the activities of its various offices, including the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which handles sex abuse cases.

Although public, the annual reports are not readily available or sold outside Rome and are usually found in Vatican offices or Catholic university libraries.

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CANADA
Nunatsiaq Online

DAVID MURPHY

With their case completed, Crown prosecutors expect that Father Eric Dejaeger will take the stand in his own defence when his trial at the Nunavut Court of Justice building in Iqaluit resumes Monday, Jan. 20.

The Catholic priest is accused of sex crimes against Inuit children alleged to have occurred through the late 1970s and early 1980s in Igloolik.

“I’m only guessing what they’ll do. But as far as I know, they’re going to start calling evidence,” said Crown prosecutor Doug Curliss, adding he had been informed by defence lawyer Malcolm Kempt that Dejaeger would appear as a witness.

“The defence lawyer has told us he will. But that was what he told us back in December,” Curliss said.

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VATICAN CITY
WCF Courier

By NICOLE WINFIELD and JOHN HEILPRIN

A document obtained by The Associated Press on Friday shows Pope Benedict XVI defrocked nearly 400 priests over just two years for sexually molesting children.

The statistics for 2011 and 2012 show a dramatic increase over the 171 priests removed in 2008 and 2009, when the Vatican first provided details on the number of priests who have been defrocked. Prior to that, it had only publicly revealed the number of alleged cases of sexual abuse it had received and the number of trials it had authorized.

While it’s not clear why the numbers spiked in 2011, it could be because 2010 saw a new explosion in the number of cases reported in the media in Europe and beyond.

The document was prepared from data the Vatican had been collecting and was compiled to help the Holy See defend itself before a U.N. committee this week in Geneva.

Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, the Vatican’s U.N. ambassador in Geneva, referred to just one of the statistics in the course of eight hours of oftentimes pointed criticism and questioning from the U.N. human rights committee.

The statistics were compiled from the Vatican’s own annual reports about the activities of its various offices, including the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which handles sex abuse cases. Although public, the annual reports are not readily available or sold outside Rome and are usually found in Vatican offices or Catholic university libraries.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

MISSOURI
BishopAccountability.org

Summary of Case: A priest of the Missouri Province of the Society of Jesus ordained in 1974, Lehmkuhl worked as a high school teacher before earning a law degree in 1983 and establishing a legal aid center at St. Louis University. In 1995 he was caught ordering a child pornography video; investigators found him to be in posession of seven other such videos. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced in May 1996 to one year in prison. Lehmkuhl returned to the Jesuit Community at St. Louis University, working as a hospital chaplain and eventually resuming his legal aid work. He died in March 9, 2012.

Ordained: 1974
Died:March 2012

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CALIFORNIA
National Catholic Reporter

Catholic News Service | Jan. 17, 2014

STOCKTON, CALIF. The decision to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection was difficult for the diocese of Stockton but will allow it to “compensate as fairly as possible” victims of abuse, “including those who have not yet come forward or had their day in court,” said Bishop Stephen Blaire.

Bankruptcy protection, filed Wednesday, also will “provide a way for us to continue the ministry and support we provide to the parishes, the poor and the communities located within our diocese,” he said in a statement Monday.

“After months of careful consideration and prayer,” Blaire said, it became clear to him it was the right course of action. “This decision was reached through consultation with experts in finance and law, as well as with priests, parishioners and many others in the community our diocese serves,” he added.

In the past 20 years, the Stockton diocese has paid more than $14 million in legal settlements for victims of clergy sexual abuse and the total amount of payments, including funds from insurers and others, amounts to $32 million.

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PENNSYLVANIA
WJAC

Updated: Friday, January 17 2014
By: WJAC Web Staff

EBENSBURG, Pa. — The Cambria County District Attorney announced Friday that the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office would be taking over the investigation into the alleged sexual abuse of students at a Cambria County high school.

District Attorney Kelly Callihan said the Attorney General’s Office, headed by Attorney General Kathleen Kane, accepted jurisdiction of the investigation of sex assault cases involving Brother Stephen Baker at Bishop McCort High School in Johnstown.

Baker worked in several capacities, including with injured athletes, at Bishop McCort from 1992-2001. More than 80 former students, mostly men, have come forward accusing Baker of sexual abuse.

Baker committed suicide at a monastery in Blair County almost a year ago at age 62. He was a Franciscan friar of the Third Order Regular.

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CANADA
Ottawa Sun

KINGSTON – A local priest was convicted Friday of sexual assault involving a teenage boy 10 years ago.

Before a packed courtroom, Superior Court Justice Timothy Ray ruled Rene Paul Emile Labelle, 64, guilty of sexual assault, sexual exploitation and invitation to sexual exploitation, following four days of testimony.

Labelle had pleaded not guilty on all counts and, testified in his own defence on Wednesday, denying the allegations.

Labelle, who is now retired, surrendered his parish in the Brewers Mills area just prior to his arrest in January 2012, withdrawing as well from service as a priest-chaplain at Holy Cross Catholic Secondary School under the Algonquin and Lakeshore Catholic District School Board system.

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ILLINOIS
SW News Herald

By DERMOT CONNOLLY • Friday, January 17, 2014

A two-page letter from Cardinal Francis George entitled “Accountability and Transparency” regarding the archdiocese’s policy regarding priests accused or convicted of child sexual abuse in recent decades was included in Sunday bulletins at parishes across the archdiocese last weekend.

Representatives of groups such as SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests) who saw the letter maintain that the cardinal is still withholding information, but according to many local pastors, the letter elicited little reaction from parishioners.

“I haven’t gotten any feedback. People have talked about it, but not in a negative way,” said the Rev. John Noga, pastor of St. Daniel the Prophet Church, 5330 S. Nashville Ave., Chicago.

“I guess people see it as somewhat old news. People are aware that the archdiocese has put in place safeguards to prevent abuse from happening in the future,” said Noga.

“Quite honestly, more people seem to be concerned with the announcement (made last week) that six Catholic elementary schools will have to close this year,” said the Rev. Michael J. Furlan, pastor of St. Germaine Church, 9735 S. Kolin Ave., Oak Lawn.

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UNITED STATES
Bilgrimage

William D. Lindsey

There’s a wealth of outstanding commentary yesterday and today about the Vatican’s grilling by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child. One way that you can keep abreast of the commentary is by visiting Kathy Shaw’s marvelous Abuse Tracker site sponsored by Bishop Accountability. Among the good articles I’ve read up to now:

Kris Ward, National Survivor Advocates Coalition, who responds to the claim of Bishop Charles Scicluna that the Vatican is “getting it” about child abuse:

Not only is “getting it” not an accomplishment, it’s not an “ah hah” moment, it’s not even Christianity.
Getting the rape and sodomy of children is basic humanity.
Raping and sodomizing children is criminal.
Luring children into situations where you can rape and sodomized them is criminal.
This is not a complex theological argument.

Barbara Dorris, Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, asks what on earth Pope Francis imagined he was communicating when he chose to concelebrate Mass with Cardinal Roger Mahony on the very day of the UN hearing:

Pope Francis just rubbed salt into the wounds of LA clergy sex abuse victims and Catholics.
Maybe more than any of his predecessors, Pope Francis is keenly aware that images and gestures matter. So why did he concelebrate mass and privately meet with America’s least deserving and most polarizing retired Catholic official – Cardinal Roger Mahony, on whose watch hundreds of children were raped, sodomized, fondled and assaulted by hundreds of priests, nuns, brothers, seminarians and other Catholic employees, many of whom were deliberately and repeatedly moved and protected by Mahony and his top aides?

Anthea Butler, Religion Dispatches: after noting that Pope Francis may have made a “misstep” in concelebrating Mass with Mahony, Anthea notes, as I did yesterday, the weakness of the Vatican argument that it has no control over the actions of bishops and dioceses around the world:

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CANADA
Sun News

12:16 pm, January 17th, 2014

QMI AGENCY

KINGSTON, Ont. — A local priest was convicted Friday of sexual assault involving a teenage boy 10 years ago.

Before a packed courtroom, Superior Court Justice Timothy Ray ruled Rene Paul Emile Labelle, 64, guilty of sexual assault, sexual exploitation and invitation to sexual touching, following four days of testimony.

Labelle had pleaded not guilty on all counts and testified in his own defence on Wednesday, denying the allegations.

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RUSSIA/ISRAEL
Interfax

Moscow, January 17, Interfax – St. Petersburg priest Gleb Grozovsky, who has been accused of pedophilia and who is currently in Israel, could be deported to Russia, sources familiar with the situation told Interfax.

“Israel has said unofficially it was ready to deport the fugitive priest without resorting to the extradition procedure,” a source told.

According to the source, the reason for Grozovsky’s deportation will most likely be lack of legal grounds for his further stay in Israel.

The Orthodox priest accused of sexually assaulting minors is counting on getting Israeli citizenship in order to avoid being extradited to Russia, another source said.

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