ABUSE TRACKER

NORTHERN IRELAND
News Letter

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

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

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

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

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

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NORTHERN IRELAND
News Letter

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

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

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

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

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

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UNITED STATES
City of Angels

Kay Ebeling

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

Moral authority. Responsibility

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

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

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DEUTSCHLAND
Westfalen Post

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

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

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

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DEUTSCHLAND
Berliner Zeitung

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

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

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

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

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GENEVA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Thursday, Jan. 16

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

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

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

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

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

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

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Radio

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

The Holy See ratified the convention in 1990

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

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

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

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

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

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Radio

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

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

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

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NIGERIA
Nigerian Tribune

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

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

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

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GENEVA
CBS News

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

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

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

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

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GENEVA
Time

By Nate Rawlings @naterawlings
Jan. 16, 20141

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

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

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

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GENEVA
CBC News

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

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

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

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

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

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CALIFORNIA
Zeit

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

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

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

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NORTHERN IRELAND
BBC News

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

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

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

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

Lifelong scars

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

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

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INDIANA
Indiana News Center

By Emily Dwire

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

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

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NEW JERSEY
NorthJersey.com

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

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

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

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NEW JERSEY
Patch

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

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

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

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

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

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UNITED KINGDOM
ITV

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

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

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

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

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GENEVA
CNN

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

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

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

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

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GENEVA
The New York Times

By NICK CUMMING-BRUCEJAN. 16, 2014

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

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

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

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

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

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GENEVA
Aljazeera

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

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

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

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

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

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VATICAN CITY
Gazzetta del Sud

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

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TEXAS
WTVR

[with video]

January 15, 2014, by Alix Bryan and Jon Burkett

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

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

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

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

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TEXAS
WTOP

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

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

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

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

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

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VIRGINIA/TEXAS
Richmond Times-Dispatch

BY LOUIS LLOVIO
Richmond Times-Dispatch

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

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

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

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

Wednesday’s indictment means Aguilar will face two trials.

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MASSACHUSETTS
Boston Herald

By:
Bob McGovern

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

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

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

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

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

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CALIFORNIA
Santa Barbara Independent

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

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

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

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CHICAGO (IL)
Medill Reports

BY RACHEL MENITOFF
JAN 15, 2014

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

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

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

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

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STOCKTON (CA)
The Record

By Kevin Parrish
Record Staff Writer
January 16, 2014

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rally today

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

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CHICAGO (IL)
Chicago Sun-Times

BY FRANCINE KNOWLES Religion Reporter January 15, 2014

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

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

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

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

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AUSTRALIA
The West Australian

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

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

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

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

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INDIANA
The News-Sentinel

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

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

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

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

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

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CHICAGO (IL)
Renew America

By Matt C. Abbott

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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GENEVA
National Secular Society (United Kingdom)

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

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

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

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

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

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GENEVA
United National Regional Information Center

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

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

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

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

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INDIANA
The Journal Gazette

Rosa Salter Rodriguez | The Journal Gazette

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

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

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

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

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

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GENEVA
National Catholic Reporter

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

Rome

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

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

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

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

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GENEVA
Artesia News

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

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

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

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

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GENEVA
BBC News

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

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

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

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

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

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CHICAGO (IL)
Houston Chronicle

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

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

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

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

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CHICAGO (IL)
Wall Street Journal

Chicago Archdiocese Releases Documents Tied to Child Sex Abuse by Priests

By BEN KESLING And TAMARA AUDI
Jan. 15, 2014

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

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

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

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

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WASHINGTON
Spokesman-Review

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

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

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

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

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GENEVA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

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

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

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

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

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

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

In Europe from 3 pm to 6 pm CET

**This will be broadcast in the English language.

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

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

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

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

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

All the best,
Barbara Blaine

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INDIANA
WNDU

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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INDIANA
ABC 57

By Melissa Hudson
Story Created: Jan 15, 2014

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

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

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

That investigation revealed strong evidence the abuse did occur.

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CHICAGO (IL)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

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

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

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

[Chicago archdiocese]

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

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

[BishopAccountability.org]

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

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

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

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STOCKTON (CA)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

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

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

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

When: Thursday, January 16 at 11:00 am

Where: Outside of the Stockton Diocese Headquarters

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

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

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

[Modesto Bee]

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

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

[Stockton diocese]

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

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

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INDIANA
Fort Wayne Journal Gazette

Rosa Salter Rodriguez | The Journal Gazette

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

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

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

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

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

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UNITED KINGDOM
ITV

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

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

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

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VATICAN CITY
Washington Post

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

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

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

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

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

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

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CHICAGO (IL)
WLS

[with video]

Michelle Gallardo

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

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

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

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

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INDIANA
WNDU

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

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

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

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CHICAGO (IL)
City of Angels

by Kay Ebeling

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

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

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

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UNITED STATES
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2014

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

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

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MINNESOTA
BishopAccountability.org

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

Ordained: 2003

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GUAM
Pacific Daily News

Written by
Gaynor Dumat-ol Daleno
Pacific Daily News

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

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

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

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

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

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

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CHICAGO (IL)
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago

January 15, 2014

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

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

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

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

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

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CHICAGO (IL)
WGN

[with video]

by Tonya Francisco
Reporter

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

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

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

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

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

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VATICAN CITY
Fox News Latino

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

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

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

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

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UNITED STATES
Legal Examiner

Posted by Mike Bryant
January 15, 2014

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

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

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NEW JERSEY
Daily Record

Written by
Peggy Wright
@peggywrightDR

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

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

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

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

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CANADA
Quinte News

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

The Kingston Whig-Standard reports the father testified yesterday.

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

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

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CHICAGO (IL)
WLS

[with video]

Michelle Gallardo

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

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

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

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

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

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ST. LOUIS (MO)
Riverfront Times

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

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

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

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

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CHICAGO (IL)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Wednesday, January 15, 2014

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

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

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

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

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

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VATICAN CITY
Reuters

BY PHILIP PULLELLA
VATICAN CITY Wed Jan 15, 2014

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

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

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

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

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

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AUSTRALIA
Pearls and Irritations

Posted on January 15, 2014 by John Menadue

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

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

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

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

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UNITED STATES
National Survivor Advocates Coalition

The news broke out of Geneva yesterday.

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

From the UN News Centre, the announcement:

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

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

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

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

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CHICAGO (IL)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

POSTED BY BARBARA DORRIS ON JANUARY 15, 2014

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

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

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

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

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

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

–Fr. John J. Burke

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

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

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

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

There’s a clear photo of him there too.

–Fr. Ignatius M. Burrill

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

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

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

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CHICAGO (IL)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

POSTED BY BARBARA DORRIS ON JANUARY 15, 2014

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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COLORADO
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2014

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

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

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

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

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

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

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NORTHERN IRELAND
News Letter

by Philip Bradfield
p.bradfield@newsletter.co.uk
Published on the 15 January 2014

The chairman of the UK’s largest ever child abuse inquiry has praised representatives of various residential care homes for making apologies at the start of the process.

Sir Anthony Hart was speaking in Banbridge courthouse yesterday at the second day of public evidence in the Independent Historical Abuse Inquiry.

It will hear from over 300 witnesses in relation to 13 residential institutions in Northern Ireland, spanning 73 years up until 1995.

Sir Anthony yesterday commended representatives from key participants for their “willingness to work in a sensible and cooperative fashion” rather than “keeping their cards as close to their chests for as long as possible”.

He urged “wholehearted cooperation from everyone” and commended the core participants for apologies made yesterday.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
BBC News

The Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry could face a challenge from lawyers representing some of those accused of abuse, the BBC has learned.

The public phase of the inquiry began on Monday and, over 18 months, it will examine allegations of abuse at 13 institutions across Northern Ireland.

Two Catholic orders have already apologised for any abuse by members.

One person accused of abuse is trying to establish if there are grounds for more rights for accused individuals.

That challenge could be to the inquiry itself or through a judicial review in the High Court.

The comments by lawyers for the De La Salle Brothers and Sisters of Nazareth were made on the second day of the inquiry into historical abuse in the care homes and borstals between 1922 and 1995.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Big Trial

By Ralph Cipriano
for Bigtrial.net

To Taleah Grimmage, Juror No. 7 in the Msgr. Lynn case, the news that Lynn’s conviction had been reversed came as a “slight shock.”

“While I still think he [Msgr. Lynn] ultimately played a part in the atrocities that occurred, he certainly was not the ONLY person that should have been held responsible,” Grimmage wrote in an email. “[I’m looking at YOU Cardinals Krol and Bevilacqua].”

Grimmage, who voted to convict Lynn in 2012 after sitting through a 13 week trial, as well as 13 days of deliberations, said she never understood the district attorney’s strategy of charging Lynn with endangering the welfare of a child. She did, however, believe the D.A. had succeeded in sending a message to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

As far as the monsignor is concerned, Grimmage was curious to know what effect being “unjustly” imprisoned for 18 months has had on the monsignor, who so far, has declined to talk to reporters.

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PUEBLO (CO)
Roman Catholic Diocese of Pueblo

January 15, 2014

His Holiness, Pope Francis on Wednesday, January 15, 2014 named Rev. Msgr. Stephen J. Berg as the fifth bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Pueblo. Bishop-elect Berg was formerly the Diocesan Administrator of the Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth. He succeeds Bishop Emeritus Fernando Isern who retired in June 2013. The announcement of the appointment was made Wednesday by Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, the Apostolic Nuncio to the United States—the Vatican’s ambassador to the U.S.

Bishop-elect Berg will be introduced at 10:30 a.m., on Wednesday, January 15, 2014 at the Pueblo Pastoral Center at 101 North Greenwood Street. Bishop-elect Berg will be ordained and installed as Bishop of Pueblo on February 27, 2014, by Denver Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila at a Mass in Pueblo. Archbishop Viganò will represent His Holiness Pope Francis at the ordination.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Information Service

Vatican City, 15 January 2014 (VIS) – Today the Holy Father: …

– appointed Msgr. Stephen J. Berg as Bishop of Pueblo (area 124,754, population 665,906, Catholics 128,000, priests 83, permanent deacons 48, religious 70), Colorado, U.S.A. The bishop-elect was born in Miles City, Montana, U.S.A. in 1951 and was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.A. in 1999. From 1999 to 2001 he was pastor of Saint Michael Parish in Bedford, from 2001 to 2002 of Saint John the Apostle Parish in North Richland Hills, and from 2002 to 2008 of the Saint Mary Parish in Henrietta, Saint Jerome Parish in Bowie, Saint William Parish in Montague, and Saint Joseph Parish in Nocona. From 2008 to 2012 he was vicar general and pastor of Saint Peter the Apostle Parish in Fort Worth. From 2010 to 2012 he was a moderator of the Curia. From 2009 he was spiritual director at the Holy Trinity Seminary in Dallas. From 2012 he has been the diocesan administrator and pastor of Holy Name Parish for Fort Worth.

– confirmed Cardinal Marc Ouellet, P.S.S., as president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.

– confirmed Professor Guzman Carriquiry as secretary of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.

– confirmed the following members of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America: Cardinal Nicolas de Jesus Lopez Rodriguez, archbishop of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; Cardinal Jaime Lucas Ortega y Alamino, archbishop of San Cristobal de la Habana, Cuba; Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera, archbishop of Mexico, Mexico; Cardinal Julio Terrazas Sandoval, C.SS.R., archbishop emeritus of Santa Cruz della Sierra, Bolivia; Cardinal Oscar Andres Rodriguez Maradiaga, archbishop of Tegucigalpa, Honduras; Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani Thorne, archbishop of Lima, Peru; Cardinal Claudio Hummes O.F.M., prefect emertirus of the Congregation for the Clergy; Cardinal Jorge Liberato Urosa Savino, archbishop of Caracas, Venezuela; Cardinal Francisco Robles Ortega, archbishop of Guadalajara, Mexico; Cardinal Odilo Pedro Scherer, archbishop of São Paulo, Brazil; Cardinal Paolo Romeo, archbishop of Palermo, Italy; Cardinal Raymundo Damasceno Assis, archbishop of Aparecida, Brazil; Cardinal Ruben Salazar Gomez, archbishop of Bogota, Colombia; Cardinal Stanislaw Rylko, president of the Pontifical Council for the Laity; Archbishop Emilio Carlos Berlie Belaunzaran of Yucatan, Mexico; Archbishop Mario Antonio Cargnello of Salta, Argentina; Archbishop Hector Ruben Aguer of La Plata, Argentina; Archbishop Nicolas Cotugno Fanizzi, S.D.B., of Montevideo, Uruguay; Archbishop Hector Miguel Cabrejos Vidarte, O.F.M., of Trujillo, Peru; Archbishop Geraldo Lyrio Rocha of Mariana, Brazil; Archbishop Leopoldo Jose Brenes Solorzano of Managua, Nicaragua; Archbishop Emeritus Jose Guadalupe Martin Rabago of Leon, Mexico; Archbishop Orlando Antonio Corrales Garcia of Santa Fe de Antioquia, Colombia; Archbishop Juan Jose Asenjo Pelegrina of Seville, Spain; and Bishop Franz-Josef Overbeck of Essen, Germany.

– appointed Archbishop Lorenzo Baldisseri, currently secretary general of the Synod of Bishops, as a counsellor of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.

– confirmed the following counsellors of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America: Cardinal Antonio Canizares Llovera, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments; Cardinal William Joseph Levada, prefect emeritus of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith; Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches; Cardinal Francesco Monterisi, archpriest emeritus of the papal basilica of Saint Paul Outside-the-Walls; Archbishop Jean-Louis Brugues, O.P., archivist and librarian of the Holy Roman Church; Archbishop Jose Horacio Gomez Velasco of Los Angeles, U.S.A.; and Bishop Marcelo Sanchez-Sorondo, chancellor of the Pontifical Academies of Sciences and of the Social Sciences.

– confirmed Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran as a member of the Commission of Cardinals for oversight of the Institute for the Works of Religion (IOR) for the for the next five-year period.

– appointed as members of the Commission of Cardinals for oversight of the Institute for the Works of Religion (IOR) for the next five-year period: Cardinal Christoph Schonborn, archbishop of Vienna, Austria; Cardinal Thomas Christopher Collins, archbishop of Toronto, Canada; Cardinal Santos Abril y Castello, archpriest of the papal basilica of St. Mary Major; and Archbishop Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State.

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GUAM
KUAM

by Jolene Toves

Guam – No apology, no retraction, but one thing Father Paul Gofigan did get was a meeting with Archbishop Anthony Apuron.

“It was just a meeting where he asked me to cool it down especially with the media and I really thought that I was going to get the letter with my request regarding the manila event with the slanderous remarks but I didn’t we didn’t get anywhere with that,” said the priest.

As we reported Father Paul Gofigan has been contemplating taking legal action against Archbishop Apuron for allegedly making slanderous and defamatory statements about him and another man. According to Father Gofigan the archbishop during a recent retreat to the Philippines for the clergy allegedly made statements suggesting he was having a homosexual relationship with a married man. Father Gofigan gave the archbishop until Tuesday at noon to put in writing a retraction of those statements the deadline however came and went.

He said, “I thought I was going to get a written letter of apology which I didn’t receive he apologize very very much in general but that was about it – it wasn’t really a meeting it was a very short meeting.”

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RUSSIA
Interfax

St. Petersburg, January 15, Interfax – Priest Gleb Grozovsky said he intended to return to Russia only after all charges of sexually abusing minors were lifted from him.

“I will return as soon as my arrest in absentia is lifted, my status as a defendant is dropped and my safe return as a Russian citizen with all constitutional rights is guaranteed,” Grozovsky said in an interview with the Orthodoxy and the World Internet portal.

“My Israeli lawyer is sending a request to the Investigative Committee on the prospects for lifting the restrictions and the status of a defendant from me and asking that it guarantee my safe return to Russia in order to cooperate with investigators and return my right for the presumption of innocence,” the priest was quoted as saying.

At the same time, Grozovsky said that despite his decision not to return to Russia until the charges were dropped, he did not hide from investigators.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
UTV

A former curate of St Matthew’s Catholic Church in Belfast has been found not guilty of sexually abusing a young female parishioner in the 1980s.

The jury was sworn in at Belfast Crown Court to try Father Peter Donnelly, from Drumaroad Hill, Castlewellan for allegedly sexually abusing a girl in the parochial house of the church in east Belfast over a five year period.

Fr Donnelly, 71, was charged with six counts of indecently assaulting the girl and a further count of gross indecency with the girl.

He denied all the charges which were alleged to have taken place between 1983 and 1988.

Two previous juries in the case were unable to reach a verdict on the charges against Fr Donnelly.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
News Letter

A former curate at St Matthew’s Catholic Church in Belfast accused of sex abuse has walked free from court after he was found not guilty by a jury on the direction of the trial judge.

The jury was sworn in at Belfast Crown Court to try Father Peter Donnelly, from Drumaroad Hill, Castlewellan for allegedly sexually abusing a girl in the parochial house of the church in east Belfast over a five year period.

Donnelly (71) was charged with six counts of indecently assaulting the girl and a further count of gross indecency with the girl.

He denied all the charges which were alleged to have taken place between 1983 and 1988.

Two previous juries in the case were unable to reach a verdict on the charges against Fr Donnelly.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
BBC News

A former curate at St Matthew’s Catholic Church in east Belfast has been cleared of sex abuse charges.

Father Peter Donnelly was found not guilty by a jury on the direction of the trial judge.

The jury had been sworn in at Belfast Crown Court to try him for allegedly abusing a girl in the church parochial house over a five year period.

Fr Donnelly, 71, was charged with six counts of indecent assault and a further count of gross indecency.

He denied all the charges which were alleged to have taken place between 1983 and 1988.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
Coleraine Times

A former priest who served in Coleraine for almost ten years has been cleared of sex abuse charges.

Peter Donnelly (71), from Drumaroad Hill in Castlewellan is a former priest of St Matthew’s Catholic Church, Belfast,

He Fwas found not guilty today (Wednesday) by a jury on the direction of the trial judge.

The jury had been sworn in at Belfast Crown Court to try him for allegedly abusing a girl in the church parochial house over a five year period.

Fr Donnelly was charged with six counts of indecent assault and a further count of gross indecency.

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MASSACHUSETTS
NECN

[with video]

(NECN: Jackie Bruno) – According to Attleboro, Mass. police, an Attleboro school principal is facing charges, accused of molesting a student.

Reverend Jeffery Nichols worked at the Grace Baptist Christian Academy in Attleboro. The academy is part of the Grace Baptist Church.

The school is shocked and saddened by the news. But now they’re focused on trying to console and counsel their community through this unbelievable ordeal.

The school is still reeling from the news that Nichols has been accused of molesting a female student for last five years. The abuse allegedly started at age 13. Now the victim is a senior, the same age as one of Nichols’ three children. His wife also works at the school as a teacher.

Head Pastor Jeff Bailey told NECN that he found out about the allegations on Monday, when Nichols appeared in his driveway.

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MASSACHUSETTS
Seattle PI

ATTLEBORO, Mass. (AP) — The assistant pastor of an Attleboro church who’s also the principal of an affiliated school has been charged with sexually abusing a student starting when she was a seventh-grader.

The Rev. Jeffrey Nichols of Grace Baptist Church and Grace Baptist Christian Academy was ordered held on $25,000 bail after not guilty pleas to charges including aggravated indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 were entered on his behalf Tuesday.

Prosecutors say he molested a seventh-grade student beginning in 2008 when she was 13 and continued until last June.

Church Pastor Jeff Bailey tells The Sun Chronicle (http://bit.ly/1d6jqWA ) he immediately fired Nichols when Nichols told him about the allegations Monday.

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UNITED STATES
The New York Times

Although Pope Francis has shown no intention of changing church doctrine on issues like homosexuality and contraception, he has clearly started to alter the tone of the papacy in his first 10 months in the Vatican, making it less judgmental.

“Who am I to judge?” he has said when asked about homosexuals. In an interview published in September, he said he thought the church had been “obsessed” with abortion, gay marriage and contraception, and that he had chosen not to dwell on these issues.

More significant, as reported by Jason Horowitz and Jim Yardley in The New York Times on Tuesday, has been the 77-year-old pontiff’s efforts to focus the church more on ministering to the poor and marginalized, as well as his efforts to address the issue of child sexual abuse by priests after years of Vatican indifference and evasion.

Francis took a hugely important first step by appointing a commission to propose measures to end these scandalous abuses, and much of his legacy will depend on what action he and the commission take.

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VATICAN CITY
Kentucky.com

BY NICOLE WINFIELD
Associated Press
January 15, 2014

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis made another move to clean house at the troubled Vatican bank on Wednesday, naming a new roster of cardinal advisers to replace the ones who were in place during its latest brushes with scandal.

Only one cardinal from the previous commission overseeing the bank’s operations, Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, survived the cut.

Francis on Wednesday named four others to round out the commission, including his hand-picked secretary of state, Cardinal-elect Pietro Parolin, and Francis’ close friend Cardinal Santos Abril y Castello.

The other members include Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn, archbishop of Vienna, and Cardinal Thomas Collins, archbishop of Toronto.

On Feb. 16, 2013, just days after announcing his resignation, Pope Benedict XVI confirmed the existing members of the bank’s supervisory body for another five years. The members included Benedict’s longtime deputy and secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, who was widely blamed for many of the Vatican’s administrative shortcomings during Benedict’s papacy.

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MASSACHUSETTS
Patch

Posted by Patrick Maguire (Editor) , January 14, 2014

The principal and assistant pastor at Grace Baptist Christian Academy was reportedly held on $25,000 bail Tuesday at Attleboro District Court and charged with molesting one of his students.

The Attleboro Sun Chronicle is reporting that Pastor Jeffery Nichols of Fourth St. in Attleboro turned himself into police on Monday and, according to Assistant District Attorney Erin Aiello, admitted to molesting a student from 2008 through 2013. Grace Baptist Christian Church Pastor Jeff Bailey, who is challenging for State Rep. Paul Heroux’s seat in November, told the Sun Chronicle that he was in “complete shock” when he learned, and immediately fired Nichols.

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MASSACHUSETTS
The Sun Chronicle

Principal of Grace Baptist school in Attleboro charged with molesting female student

BY DAVID LINTON and JIM HAND SUN CHRONICLE STAFF

ATTLEBORO — The assistant pastor of the Grace Baptist Church and principal of the Grace Baptist Christian Academy has been charged with repeatedly molesting one of his female students.

The Rev. Jeffrey A. Nichols, 47, was ordered held in jail on $25,000 cash bail this afternoon in Attleboro District Court. A prosecutor said he violated a position of trust by molesting one of his seventh-grade students beginning in 2008 when she was 13 and continuing until the end of the school year in June 2013.

“He admitted to all the allegations made by the victim” after he voluntarily went to the police station for questioning Monday, Assistant District Attorney Erin Aiello said during a bail hearing.

The allegations came as a shock to church Pastor Jeff Bailey, who told The Sun Chronicle he immediately fired Nichols when Nichols told him about the allegations Monday.

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MASSACHUSETTS
WHDH

[with video]

ATTLEBORO, Mass. (WHDH) – The Principal at the Grace Baptist Christian Academy is accused of molesting one of his female students.

Rev. Jeffrey Nichols appeared in court Tuesday morning on several indecent assault charges.
Nichols is also the assistant pastor at the Grace Baptist Church.

Prosecutors said he admitted to molesting a seventh grade student starting in 2008 and lasting until June 2013.

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CIUDAD DEL VATICAN0
La Razon (Espana)

El Vaticano presenta un informe a la ONU sobre las medidas para proteger a los menores de abusos

[Summary: A Vatican delegation in Geneva will report on Thursday measures it has taken to condemn and prevent cases of child sexual abuse to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. Representatives of the Holy See will include Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, permanent observer of the Holy See to the UN, Auxiliary Bishop Charles J. Scicluna, who for years was Promoter of Justice in cases of pedophilia handled by the Vatican; Monsignor Christophe El-Kassis, professor of international law at the Pontifical University of Vincenzo Buonomo Lateran, Jane Adolphe, law professor at Ave Maria law school in the United States. The delegation will also includes Greg Burke, representing the Vatican press office and communications consultant to the Vatican Secretary of State. Burke is, however, not an official delegation member.]

Una delegación vaticana presentará este jueves en Ginebra un informe sobre las medidas adoptadas para condenar y prevenir los casos de abusos sexuales y proteger a los menores ante la Convención de la ONU relativa a los Derechos del Niño.

Los representantes de la Santa Sede serán el observador permanente de la Santa Sede ante la ONU en Ginebra, monseñor Silvano Tomasi; el obispo auxiliar de Malta, monseñor Charles J. Sciclunapero, durante años Promotor de Justicia (Fiscal General) en los casos de pedofilia en la Congregación vaticana para la Doctrina de la Fe; el funcionario de la Secretaría de Estado monseñor Christophe El-Kassis; el profesor de Derecho Internacional en la Universidad Pontificia de Letrán Vincenzo Buonomo; y el profesor de Derecho de la Ave Maria School of Law de Estados Unidos Jane Adolphe.

Según un comunicado publicado por la Misión de la Santa Sede en Ginebra, también estará presente como “representante de la oficina de prensa de la Santa Sede”, Greg Burke, asesor de comunicación de la Secretaría de Estado del Vaticano, “aunque no es un miembro de la delegación oficial”.

El órgano de las Naciones Unidas se encarga de revisar regularmente la aplicación de la Convención sobre los Derechos del Niño, tratado de la ONU de 1989, del que la Santa Sede fue uno de los primeros países promotores en 1990. La Santa Sede deberá responder de su acción ante los expertos de las Naciones Unidas, como el resto de países miembro.

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REPUBLICA DOMINICANA
La Opinion

[Summary: The Women and Health Collective has called on the UN Committee on the Rights of Children to investigate abuse by priests in the Dominican Republic, especially ex-nuncio Archbishop Joseph Wesolowski and Father Wjciech Gil. The organization also wants clarification of the whereabouts of Wesolowski and wants the archbishop to be trial for sexual abuse of minors. They are also asking investigation of any link between the archbishop and Gil and possible links to an international pedophile ring.]

Santo Domingo – La Colectiva Mujer y Salud (CMS) reclamó al Comité de los Derechos del Niño de las Naciones Unidas (ONU) que se investiguen las acciones de encubrimiento en que habría incurrido la Iglesia Católica dominicana en beneficio de los sacerdotes acusados de abuso sexual, sobre todo el exnuncio Joseph Wesolowski y Wjciech Waldemar (padre Alberto Gil).

La entidad también solicitó que se esclarezca el paradero de Wesolowki, y solicita “con carácter de urgencia” la entrega del diplomático eclesial ante las autoridades dominicanas para que sea juzgado por el abuso sexual a menores, según la legislación penal nacional.

De igual manera, pidieron “investigar urgentemente el vínculo entre el sacerdote Wojciech (padre Alberto Gil) y el exnuncio, y sus posibles vínculos a una red internacional de pederastia y corrupción de menores”.

La CMS entregó al organismo de la ONU un documento conocido como “El Informe Sombra” sobre denuncias públicas de casos de abuso sexual por parte de autoridades eclesiales contra niños, niñas y adolescentes ocurridos en República Dominicana.
.

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WORCESTER (MA)
Telegram & Gazette

By Jennifer Toland TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
jtoland@telegram.com

WORCESTER — Holy Cross women’s basketball coach Bill Gibbons, who had been on a paid administrative leave since Oct. 17, the day after a former player brought a civil suit against him, returned to his position Tuesday.

“After a thorough review, the college has concluded that there is no reason for Coach Gibbons’ continued absence from the team,” Holy Cross spokeswoman Ellen Ryder said. “The college believes the lawsuit’s allegations have no legal merit. Over a 29-year span, Coach Gibbons has amassed an impressive track record. That’s why so many players, parents and alumni support him and the college’s women’s basketball program. We are focused now on completing the season and the academic year as a team and a community.”

Gibbons will be on the bench for Holy Cross’ game against Patriot League rival Army at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Hart Center.

“I am thrilled to be resuming my role at Holy Cross,” Gibbons said in a statement. “I am excited to get back on the court, and to work alongside our stellar student-athletes and coaches to focus on the rest of the basketball season. While I feel confident that I will be fully vindicated, I cannot comment on the allegations in the lawsuit that has been filed against the College and me.”

On Oct. 16, former Holy Cross guard Ashley Cooper filed a civil lawsuit against Gibbons, alleging he physically and verbally abused her. Gibbons stepped aside from his coaching duties while a review was undertaken of the allegations made in the lawsuit.

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WORCESTER (MA)
Boston.com

WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) — Bill Gibbons has returned to his position as Holy Cross women’s basketball coach, the school announced on its website Tuesday.

Gibbons had voluntarily stepped aside in October after a former student filed a lawsuit claiming verbal and physical abuse while she was a member of the team. The school believed the lawsuit’s allegations had no legal merit after a thorough review.

The suit said Gibbons had yanked and pulled on the player’s shirt collar, shook her by the shoulder and struck her on the back during a game, leaving a handprint.

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WORCESTER (MA)
MassLive

By Megan Bard, MassLive.com
Follow on Twitter
on January 14, 2014

WORCESTER – Women’s basketball coach Bill Gibbons resumed the post that he’s held for 29 years on Tuesday, returning to The College of the Holy Cross after a voluntary leave of absence.

Gibbons is accused of being “verbally, emotionally and physically abusive” to a former player, Ashley Cooper, who filed a lawsuit in October detailing the allegations. Since mid-October, Gibbons has been on paid leave from the college.

In a statement Tuesday night, Holy Cross Director of Public Affairs Ellen Ryder said:

“Coach Gibbons had voluntarily stepped aside while a review was undertaken of allegations made in a lawsuit by a former student-athlete. After a thorough review, the college has concluded that there is no reason for Coach Gibbons’ continued absence from the team. The college believes the lawsuit’s allegations have no legal merit. Over a 29-year span, Coach Gibbons has amassed an impressive track record. That’s why so many players, parents, and alumni support him and the college’s women’s basketball program. We are focused now on completing the season and the academic year as a team and a community.”

Cooper’s attorney, Elizabeth Eilender, said in a phone interview Wednesday evening the college’s statement was “lawyer code.”

“To us, it looks like a carefully crafted non-denial,” Eilender said.

Eilender said the coach’s reinstatement wouldn’t affect the lawsuit, which is proceeding.

“I am concerned for the welfare of the current players, I think it’s a mistake by Holy Cross,” Eilender said. “I think he’s a loose cannon.”

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CHICAGO (IL)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

POSTED BY BARBARA DORRIS ON JANUARY 14, 2014

Victims “out” nine Catholic predators
They have not been exposed in Chicago before
And none of their records will be released by archdiocese
Yet all worked and lived in the area, sometimes for years
George keeps “hairsplitting” & hiding religious order offenders
Group to church officials: “Disclose ALL child molesting clerics”
SNAP begs Catholics: “Read the actual documents when posted next week”

WHAT
Holding signs and childhood photos at a sidewalk news conference, on the day hundreds of pages of long secret clergy sex abuse and cover up records will be turned over, victims and supporters will release names and information about nine child molesting clerics who worked in the Chicago area, abused elsewhere and have almost never been publicly disclosed in this area before as offenders.

They will also

—urge Cardinal Francis George to post names, photos & records of ALL archdiocesan predators (not just the ones who are sued),
— do the same with religious order clerics, so that kids can be protected and victims can heal, and
—blast him for continuing to protect a third or more of the abusive clerics who have been in Chicago.

WHEN
Wednesday, Jan. 15 at 11:15 a.m.

WHERE
On the sidewalk outside the Chicago archdiocesan headquarters, 835 N. Rush Street (corner of East Chestnut) in downtown Chicago

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

WHY
Today, because he has been forced to, Cardinal Francis George turns over records about 30 credibly accused predator priests to victims’ attorneys. Next week, those documents will be made public.

But George and his staff continue to hide the identities of dozens and dozens of other proven, admitted and credibly accused Chicago child molesting clerics. For the healing of victims and the safety of kids, SNAP believes their names, photos, whereabouts and work histories should be disclosed by church officials (whether they are diocesan or religious order clerics and whether they have been sued or not).

George refuses to give information about 1/3 of all predator priests who are or have been in Chicago, because they belong to religious orders. But SNAP considers this “self-serving hair-splitting.”

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CHICAGO (IL)
Christian Post

BY MICHAEL GRYBOSKI, CHRISTIAN POST REPORTER
January 14, 2014

A Roman Catholic Archdiocese plans to release its files on priests under its jurisdiction reported to have committed sexual abuse.

In a January edition of the Chicago Archdiocese’s newspaper Catholic New World, Cardinal Francis George wrote that the files on 30 priests will be released as part of a legal settlement.

“All these incidents were reported over the years to the civil authorities and claims have been mediated civilly. Almost all of the incidents happened decades ago, perpetrated by priests whom neither I nor many younger clergy have ever met or talked to,” wrote George. “Nevertheless, the publication puts the actions of these men and the archdiocese itself in the spotlight. Painful though publicly reviewing the past can be, it is part of the accountability and transparency to which the archdiocese is committed.”

Cardinal George also wrote that the Archdiocese “is committed to trying to help victims of sexual abuse achieve the freedom necessary to live with dignity.”

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NEW YORK
New York Daily News

BY OREN YANIV / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

PUBLISHED: MONDAY, JANUARY 13, 2014

A Brooklyn Hasid charged with posting a Twitter photo of a teen sex abuse victim testifying against her former counselor claims the picture was actually uploaded by a fraudster.

The defendant, known as Lemon Juice, was arrested in November 2012 during the explosive trial of Nechemya Weberman after a photo of the victim — who was 18 at the time — appeared on Twitter showing her testifying. Lemon Juice and two others are charged with criminal contempt.

Legal papers obtained by the Daily News show the real poster is believed to be Moses Klein, the personal driver of the Satmar sect’s grand rabbi. Weberman was a counselor for the Satmars.

The document said the AOL email address associated with the Lemon Juice account is registered to Klein, “the driver and right-hand man to Rabbi Zalman Teitelbaum.”

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CANADA
APTN

APTN National News

The federal government has been ordered to provide police documents detailing abuse at the former St. Anne’s Residential School to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Ontario Justice Paul Perell ordered the feds Tuesday to give over the documents to the TRC.

“Canada has too narrowly interpreted its disclosure obligations…[T]here has been non-compliance [with the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, IRSSA], and Canada can and must do more in producing documents about the events at St. Anne’s,” wrote Perell in his decision.

The documents stem from a five-year Ontario Provincial Police investigation between 1992-1997 into sexual and physical abuse at St. Anne’s in Fort Albany, Ont.

The police investigation resulted in criminal convictions.

It’s the second time in a year the federal government has been forced to produce documents to the TRC.

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CANADA
The Globe and Mail

GLORIA GALLOWAY
OTTAWA — The Globe and Mail
Published Tuesday, Jan. 14 2014

A judge has ordered the federal government to provide survivors of one of the country’s most notorious aboriginal residential schools with thousands of documents created by police during a multiyear investigation into physical and sexual abuse at the institution.

In a strongly worded ruling Tuesday, Justice Paul Perell of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, said Canada must hand over all Ontario Provincial Police documents in its possession related to the investigation at the St. Anne’s Indian Residential School in Fort Albany, Ont. and must search out and disclose those it does not have.

“Based on its unduly narrow interpretation of its obligations, Canada has not adequately complied with its disclosure obligations with respect to the St. Anne’s narrative,” Justice Perell wrote in his ruling. He also ordered the federal government to pay the legal costs of the roughly 60 school survivors who took the government to court to obtain the documents that could support their claims for compensation.

Fay Brunning, the lawyer who represented the former students, said the ruling is a huge victory for her clients. “They had to go to this school, starting at age five or six, for up to eight years of their life and they lost their childhood innocence,” Ms. Brunning said.

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