ABUSE TRACKER

NEW JERSEY
Courier-Post

Written by
Phil Dunn
Courier-Post

A historic Woodbury mansion once home to the past president of Rowan University has been sold to the Camden Diocese for $500,000.

Diocesan spokesman Peter Feuerherd said the 7,000-square-foot mansion will now be home to Bishop Dennis Sullivan, who took over leadership of the diocese after Bishop Joseph Galante retired in 2012.

The purchase was finalized Dec. 23.

Feuerherd said Sullivan currently lives in an apartment situated off the St. Pius X Retreat House in Blackwood. He has sought a new home to hold meetings with church donors and dignitaries.

The diocese also is nearing final sale of the Blackwood home where both Galante and Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio resided during their time with the diocese. The sale price is $400,000, Feuerherd said.

“Bishop Sullivan felt the apartment was not a large enough to meet the needs of potential donors, benefactors or for workspace,” he added. “It’s analogous to the reasons Rowan bought the property.”

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NEW MEXICO
NECN

January 6, 2014

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santa Fe has incorporated dozens of its parishes as nonprofits, a move that an attorney who has represented victims of clerical sexual abuse says could be an attempt to protect church assets.

“If they are separately incorporated entities, the parish can say they have no responsibility for abuses at another parish,” said the attorney, James Stang of Los Angeles.

Incorporation of most of the archdiocese’s 92 parishes follows similar steps by several other dioceses in the region, including those in Las Cruces, Phoenix and Tucson, Ariz., the Albuquerque Journal ( ) reported.

Diocese of Tucson officials said its 2005 incorporation of parishes provided them with “protection from liability for the acts of the diocese or for the acts of the other parishes.”

Incorporation makes parishes legally distinct from the diocese, according to the Tucson diocese’s website. “Thus, the parishes will not pay for the debts or shortcomings of the diocese or its bishop.”

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MINNESOTA
KEYC

By Tyler Utzka, Reporter

The Catholic church abuse scandal continues with every diocese in the state releasing its list of credibly accused priests, except one.

This morning was the first court hearing concerning the battle of releasing the list for the Diocese of New Ulm.

In Brown County District Court this morning, attorneys met before District court judge Robert Docherty.

The Diocese of New Ulm requested the dismissal of a nuisance claim alleging sexual misconduct with two minors by a deceased priest.

This nuisance claim demands the list of names– compiled 10 years ago– be made public.

Attorney, Michael Bryant says, “One of the arguments they made was that they had an intervention, meaning we’ve got two attorneys here that are arguing that certain priests names shouldn’t be disclosed in the list.

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VATICAN CITY
Catholic Culture

Pope Francis will name a Spanish prelate, Cardinal Santos Abril y Castello, to chair the commission of cardinals supervising the work of the Vatican bank, the Institute for Religious Works (IOR), according to the Italian daily Corriere della Sera.

Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the former Secretary of State, has been chairing the supervisory commission. When he stepped down as Secretary of State, Cardinal Bertone asked to remain in his post with the IRS commission until the completion of a report by European banking inspectors, which was delivered in December.

Pope Francis is expected to announce a complete overhaul of the supervisory commission within the next few days, according to Corriere della Sera.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
National Catholic Reporter

Brian Roewe | Jan. 6, 2014 NCR Today

Following his first weekend as a free man in 18 months, Msgr. William J. Lynn returned to a Philadelphia courtroom Monday to learn the terms of his release.

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Common Pleas Court Judge M. Teresa Sarmina informed Lynn that he must wear an electronic monitor as part of his parole, as well as remain in the area and report weekly to a probation officer, or face a return to prison.

The noticeably slimmer, 62-year-old monsignor (several media reports indicated he lost 80 pounds while serving his sentence) actually left a Philadelphia prison Friday morning. A Superior Court decision Dec. 26 overturned the June 2012 ruling that convicted him on one count of child endangerment and sentenced him to three to six years in prison. Lynn, the Philadelphia archdiocese’s secretary for clergy from 1992 to 2004, was the first U.S. church official convicted for his handling of abuse claims.

In an unanimous, 43-page decision, the three-judge panel ruled that a 2007 amendment to the state’s endangerment of the welfare of a child, or EWOC, law did not apply to Lynn, and that the interpretation of the law by Sarmina, who presided over the three-month trial, was “fundamentally flawed.”

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
NBC 10

[with video]

By Geoff Mulvihill | Monday, Jan 6, 2014

A judge on Monday told a Roman Catholic church official that she already has signed an arrest warrant that she would issue if he violates the term of his release on electronic monitoring following the reversal of his conviction in the priest sex-abuse scandal.

Common Pleas Judge M. Teresa Sarmina also told 63-year-old Monsignor William Lynn to report to a probation officer weekly.

Monday’s brief court hearing was the first public appearance for Lynn since he was released from prison on Friday after serving 18 months of a three- to six-year prison term for felony child endangerment.

The pre-signed arrest warrant is standard for defendants released on bail.

Several supporters were there to see the priest, who lost 80 pounds during his time in prison.

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MINNESOTA
Mankato Free Press

By Dan Nienaber
dnienaber@mankatofreepress.com

NEW ULM — Attorneys leading a statewide effort to have lists of priests credibly accused of molesting children released were asking why the Diocese of New Ulm is fighting to keep its list secret after a court hearing Monday.

The diocese is the only diocese in the state that hasn’t released a list that was provided to the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City in 2004. The lists were created for a study, started by Catholic bishops, to determine the scope of child sexual abuse by priests in the United States.

Jeff Anderson, a St. Paul attorney, and his law firm have been filing lawsuits in several Minnesota District Courts, including Brown County, on behalf of victims claiming they were sexually abused by priests. Many of those lawsuits included motions to have the lists released to the public.

Similar lists created by dioceses in Minneapolis and St. Paul, St. Cloud, Winona, Duluth and Crookston were released by court order or voluntarily after the motions were filed. During Monday’s hearing, Thomas Wieser, an attorney for the Diocese of New Ulm, argued to keep the New Ulm list secret.

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WEST VIRGINIA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Monday, January 6, 2013

Statement by Barbara Dorris, SNAP Outreach Director, 314-503-0003 SNAPdorris@gmail.com

We are grateful that Rev. Johnnie Winnell of Kanawha County has admitted molesting a girl and will likely be imprisoned. That’s the best way to protect kids – locking up child predators.

[WSAZ]

We are also grateful to the brave girl and her family. It’s crucial that victims find the courage and strength to call police and cooperate with prosecutors.

We hope that every current and former member and employee at United Methodist Gospel Church in Charleston will aggressively seek out others who Rev. Winnell may have hurt and beg them to call law enforcement. It’s possible that Rev. Winnell could face more charges. And it’s possible others at the church could be charged with ignoring or concealing his crimes.

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UNITED STATES
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Monday, January 6, 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 former member of the Swiss Guard says that he was fondled by a high ranking Catholic official in Rome and that cardinals, bishops and other clergy made sexual advances towards him roughly two dozen times.

[Daily Mail]

We’re saddened but not surprised by this. We feel sorry for this man and the abuse and harassment he had to endure. And we are grateful he’s joined the tens of thousands of brave victims who are exposing the corruption in the Catholic hierarchy.

We encourage him – and others who were sexually exploited, harassed or exploited by clergy, whether as kids or adults – to get professional help and keep speaking up so that others might be protected from predatory church officials.

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PHILADLEPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

ALLISON STEELE, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
POSTED: Monday, January 6, 2014

Msgr. William J. Lynn left a Philadelphia court Monday afternoon, free on bail after spending more than 18 months behind bars for a now-overturned conviction.

Surrounded by supporters, a noticeably slimmer Lynn smiled and embraced relatives after the brief court hearing before Common Pleas Court Judge M. Teresa Sarmina, who had called him to court to explain the conditions of his release on bail.

Lynn, 63, declined to comment on anything but his 80-pound weight loss. Asked how he lost the weight during his prison stint, he responded: “Taking care of myself and exercising.”

It was the first public appearance for the former Archdiocese of Philadelphia administrator since his sentencing last year on child endangerment charges.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
CBS Philly

By Steve Tawa

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Free on bail pending an appeal by the Philadelphia district attorney’s office, Monsignor William Lynn today walked out of the Criminal Justice Center to the delight of friends and relatives.

Lynn was greeted warmly by those friends and relatives before the hearing, which lasted just a few moments before Judge Teresa Sarmina, who reminded him that if he violated any condition of his release, back to prison he would go.

As he left the courtroom, Msgr. Lynn said nothing as he walked a gauntlet of reporters and photographers — along with a few hecklers.

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia is putting Lynn up at St. Williams Parish, in the Lawncrest section of the city, while he is on house arrest.

“This particular parish does not have a school — it’s a large rectory. He has access to two floors — that’s it,” says Thomas Bergstrom, Lynn’s attorney.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
The Republic

By GEOFF MULVIHILL Associated Press
January 06, 2014

PHILADELPHIA — A judge on Monday told a Roman Catholic church official that she already has signed an arrest warrant that she would issue if he violates the term of his release on electronic monitoring following the reversal of his conviction in the priest sex-abuse scandal.

Common Pleas Judge M. Teresa Sarmina also told 63-year-old Monsignor William Lynn to report to a probation officer weekly.

Monday’s brief court hearing was the first public appearance for Lynn since he was released from prison on Friday after serving 18 months of a three- to six-year prison term for felony child endangerment.

The pre-signed arrest warrant is standard for defendants released on bail.

Several supporters were there to see the priest, who lost 80 pounds during his time in prison.

Lynn was the first U.S. church official ever convicted in the handling of abuse complaints. But a state appeals court ruled Dec. 26 that the state’s child-endangerment law in the late 1990s did not apply to supervisors like Lynn.

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AUSTRALIA
Courier Mail

A QUEENSLAND church has been accused of covering up a parishioner’s alleged sexual abuse of children, with a victim’s father threatened with death if he went to the police.

Police believe senior members of the evangelical church, including a pastor, have been actively influencing parents and the child victims not to report sexual abuse to authorities over the past year.

Allegations of the cover-up emerged after a Brisbane Magistrates Court bail hearing for the accused abuser, who was involved with the church’s youth choir and is facing 11 charges, including rape and indecent treatment of a child.

The Courier-Mail is prevented from naming the accused, who allegedly sexually abused four girls between 2010 and 2012, or identifying the church for legal reasons.

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WEST VIRGINIA
WSAZ

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) — A Kanawha County pastor has admitted to sexually abusing a little girl.

Johnnie Winnell pleaded guilty in the case Monday morning.

Winnell was arrested in April of last year after confessing to abusing a young girl.

He groped a girl three times while she was sleeping at his home in Elkview, according to investigators.

Investigators say the abuse happened during several years.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
Belfast Telegram

BY ASHLEIGH MCDONALD – 06 JANUARY 2014

The former priest of St Matthew’s Catholic Church in the Short Strand area of Belfast has denied sexually abusing a young female parishioner in the 1980s.

71-year old Peter Donnelly, from Drumaroad Hill in Castlewellan, appeared in the dock of Belfast Crown Court on Monday, accused of sexually assaulting the girl in the parochial house of the church over a period spanning from July 1982 to August 1987.

Donnelly has been charged with six counts of indecently assaulting the girl, and a further charge of gross indecency with a child. The pensioner denies all seven charges against him.

Opening the case against Donnelly, Crown prosecutor Kate McKay told a jury that the alleged abuse was carried out when the victim was aged around 10, up until her early teens.

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VATICAN CITY
Telegraph

By Nick Squires, Rome
06 Jan 2014

A former Swiss Guard has claimed that he received sexual advances from cardinals, bishops and other clergy while serving in the elite corps, the Pope’s personal bodyguard.

The ex-soldier claimed that he received 20 to 25 explicit sexual advances, including on one occasion from a cardinal who invited him up to his rooms in the Vatican.

The former Swiss Guard, who insisted on remaining anonymous, made the allegations to a Swiss newspaper, Schweiz am Sonntag, which published them on its front page on Sunday.

The unnamed soldier served in the Swiss Guard during the papacy of John Paul II, which lasted from 1978 until 2005, and it was not clear why he had only now decided to come forward with the claims.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
BBC News

A former Belfast priest has denied sexually abusing a girl while she was member of his parish in the 1980s.

Peter Donnelly, from Drumaroad Hill in Castlewellan, County Down, is a former priest at St Matthew’s Catholic church in east Belfast.

The 71-year-old is accused of sexually assaulting the girl in the parochial house of the church over a period spanning from July 1982 to August 1987.

At Belfast Crown Court, the pensioner denies all seven charges against him.

He has been charged with six counts of indecently assaulting the girl, and a further charge of gross indecency with a child

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SCHWEIZ
Schweiz am Sonntag

Von Henry Habegger und Beat Kraushaar
Samstag, 04. Januar 2014

Ein Ex-Gardist packt über die Schwulen-Lobby im Vatikan aus. Die päpstliche Schweizergarde sieht darin kein Problem

Nun gerät auch die Schweizergarde in den Dunstkreis der Schwulen-Lobby im Vatikan. Ein Ex-Gardist erzählt erstmals, dass die Schweizer Schutztruppe des Papstes zu ihren bevorzugten Zielen gehört.

.Der junge Schweizer gibt an, dass er Objekt der Begierde einer ganzen Reihe von Gottesleuten geworden sei. Dazu gehört auch ein hoher Würdenträger, der im Innern des Machtzentrums des Vatikans sass. Detailliert schildert der Ex-Gardist, wie er nach dem Ausgang um Mitternacht von der Person auf sein Handy angerufen wurde und ihn auf sein Zimmer einlud. Die Person wird von Insidern in direkten Zusammenhang mit dem ominösen Schwulen-Netzwerk gebracht und logierte im Papstpalast, in der Nähe vom Heiligen Vater.

Der Schweizergardist erzählt davon, dass dies kein Einzelfall war. In seiner Dienstzeit habe er von bis zu 20 Geistlichen unzweideutige Angebote erhalten. Dazu gehören Bischöfe, Kardinäle, Priester und Pater.

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VATICAN CITY
Daily Mail (United Kingdom)

Former member of the Swiss Guard says he was regularly asked for sex by ‘gay lobby’ of bishops, cardinals and priests while serving at the Vatican

By TOM GARDNER
PUBLISHED: 05:28 EST, 6 January 2014

A former Swiss Guard has claimed he was regularly asked for sex by a ‘gay lobby’ of high-ranking clergy in the Vatican.

Cardinals, bishops, priests and other officials in the Vatican had regularly attempted to engage the unnamed man, who was responsible for the Pope’s security, in illicit rendezvous, according to new claims.

The former guard said he received up to 20 ‘unambiguous requests’ from members of the clergy and was asked for sex by a dignitary close to Pope John Paul II, a Swiss weekly newspaper Schweiz am Sonntag reported.

In the latest sex scandal to engulf the Catholic church, the security guard said a senior official fondled him. He also claimed a bishop left a bottle of whisky on his bed with a visiting card placed next to it.

During another incident a priest had invited him to dinner saying that the guard would be served after for dessert.

He also claimed that he reported the harassment to officials in the Vatican who offered him no support and attacked the Church’s ‘hypocrisy’ of opposing sex outside of marriage and supporting the excommunication of divorcees.

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VATICAN CITY
Gay Star News

06 JANUARY 2014 | BY JOE MORGAN

One of the Pope’s former personal bodyguards has claimed he received several sexual advances from priests while serving at the Vatican.

He claims he received 20 to 25 explicit sexual advances from cardinals, bishops and other members of the clergy.

On one occasion, a cardinal even invited him up to his rooms in the Vatican.

The unnamed soldier served in the Swiss Guard during the papacy of John Paul II, which lasted from 1978 until 2005.

‘One night, sometime after midnight, I received a call on my mobile phone. The person on the other end said he was a cardinal and asked me to come to his room,’ he told Swiss newspaper Schweiz am Sonntag.

In the latest sex scandal involving the Catholic Church, the security guard also claimed a bishop left a bottle of whisky on his bed with a visiting card placed next to it.

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UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter

Thomas Reese | Jan. 6, 2014

ANALYSIS
Next month, Pope Francis will create at least 14 cardinals, an action that will not only impact his papacy and the church today, but will also determine the direction of the church after his papacy. One of these cardinals may even be the next pope.

Because of the cardinals’ role in the church, their creation is one of the most important actions of a pope. Cardinals fulfill three important functions in the church.

First, cardinals provide leadership in their own countries. Although canonically they do not have any power over other bishops, they tend to head the largest archdioceses and have great influence in their episcopal conferences. They also get more attention in the media; people in red hats tend to stand out in a crowd.

Second, cardinals help the pope in the governance of the universal church. Not only are cardinals the heads of major offices in the Roman Curia; diocesan cardinals also serve as members of Vatican congregations and councils advising these offices and the pope. They are also more likely to be chosen to attend Synods of Bishops.

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UNITED STATES
Tom’s Blog

Thomas Hampson

Any time a politician wants to raise taxes or start some new program the simplest way to gain acceptance is to claim “it’s for the children.” We all want to be on the side of the children. At least we want to say we’re on the side of the children. But what does that mean? Are we nurturing and raising our children toward a healthy, responsible, happy adulthood? We can gain some insight into this by looking at the issue of child sexual abuse.

There are 60 million adult survivors of child sexual abuse in the United States today. Some experts report that one in four women and one in six men were sexually abused before they turned 18. That’s a staggering number.

While some sources report these figures as fact, in reality there is little agreement on the actual numbers of children who are sexually abused every year. Some experts claim the problem is growing. Others that it is decreasing. Regardless, just about everyone agrees that the problem is very serious and involves significant numbers.

One reason there is so little agreement on the size and scope of the problem is that most victims of this kind of abuse never tell anyone about it. They keep it a secret. Sometimes they remain silent out of fear, sometimes because of shame or guilt, sometimes it’s because they believe they engaged in the activity willingly and enthusiastically. Sometimes the victims don’t even know what happened to them.

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ITALY
Telegraph (United Kingdom)

By AFP 30 Dec 2013

An Italian high court has overturned the conviction of a 60-year-old man for having sex with an 11-year-old girl, because the verdict failed to take into account their “amorous relationship”.

Pietro Lamberti, a social services worker in Catanzaro in southern Italy, was convicted in February 2011 and sentenced to five years in prison for sexual acts with a minor.

The verdict was later upheld by an appeals court.

But the Italian supreme court ruled that the verdict did not sufficiently consider “the ‘consensus’, the existence of an amorous relationship, the absence of physical force, the girl’s feelings of love”.

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

JOHN FERGUSON, VICTORIAN POLITICAL EDITOR THE AUSTRALIAN JANUARY 07, 2014

ONE of the nation’s most respected Catholics has lashed out at Victoria Police’s conduct during the state’s parliamentary inquiry into child sex abuse, singling out for criticism a former high-ranking member of the now defunct Office of Police Integrity.

Father Frank Brennan called into question the behaviour by now Deputy Commissioner Graham Ashton and accused the force of mounting a campaign of spin as part of unfair and false attacks on the church. He dismissed as “bunkum” key elements of Mr Ashton’s commentary.

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NEW MEXICO
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Monday, January 6, 2014

Statement by Barbara Dorris, SNAP Outreach Director, 314-503-0003 SNAPdorris@gmail.com

New Mexico Catholic officials are taking steps to protect their wealth from clergy sex abuse victims who are seeking justice by restructuring their diocese and parishes.

[ABQ Journal]

This is a disgusting, self-serving legal maneuver that goes against everything that Pope Francis has said over the past year. New Mexico Catholics officials should be ashamed of themselves. And New Mexico Catholics should donate elsewhere until the church hierarchy reverses this callous move.

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ST. LOUIS (MO)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Wednesday, Jan. 1, 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 )

In a rare move, yesterday a judge sanctioned St. Louis’ archbishop and ordered to turn over possibly dozens and dozens of names of victims and child molesting clerics – over two decades – to a 20 year old woman and her attorney. Both parts of the ruling are unusual and significant.

[St. Louis Post-Dispatch]

Sadly, it’s not that unusual for Catholic officials to repeatedly break a judge’s orders and claim special status that allegedly exempts them from honoring the rules and responsibilities that govern other people’s behavior. But it IS unusual when Catholic officials so severely and repeatedly try a judge’s patience and violate a judge’s orders that a judge formally sanctions them for their egregious and arrogant wrongdoing.

That’s what’s happened here. St. Louis City Judge Robert Dierker harshly criticized that Archbishop Robert Carlson’s conduct in the case of “Jane Doe v. Fr. Joseph D. Ross and the St. Louis Archdiocese,” writing that “the archdiocese’s dogged refusal to comply with court orders has inflicted unnecessary trouble and expense on the plaintiff, manifestly interfered with trial preparations, and borders on if not actually (amounts) to contempt.”

He also criticized the archdiocese for “insisting that an archbishop does not have the control of records of the various parishes as an excuse” for not producing the required information.

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ITALY
Telegraph (United Kingdom)

By Nick Squires, Rome 04 Jan 2014

Dioceses across Italy, as well as in countries such as Spain, are increasing the number of priests schooled in administering the rite of exorcism, fabled to rid people of possession by the Devil.

The rise in demonic cases is a result of more people dabbling in practices such as black magic, paganism, Satanic rites and Ouija boards, often exploring the dark arts with the help of information readily found on the internet, the Church said.

The increase in the number of priests being trained to tackle the phenomenon is also an effort by the Church to sideline unauthorised, self-proclaimed exorcists, and its tacit recognition that belief in Satan, once regarded by Catholic progressives as an embarrassment, is still very much alive. …

During the papacy of Benedict XVI he said that the sex abuse scandals which engulfed the Church in the US, Ireland, Australia and other countries were proof that the Antichrist was waging a war against the Holy See.

The Church insists that the majority of people who claim to be possessed by the Devil are suffering from a variety of mental health issues, from paranoia to depression. Priests generally advise them to seek medical help.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Newsworks

BY ASSOCIATED PRESS

Monsignor William Lynn is due in court Monday for the first time since his conviction in the priest sex-abuse scandal was reversed.

The Roman Catholic church official is not quite a free man. He must remain under electronic monitoring while prosecutors try to restore the conviction.

Lynn served 18 months in prison for felony child-endangerment. He was the first U.S. church official ever convicted over his handling of abuse complaints.

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UNITED STATES
Whispers in the Loggia

Indeed, this Saturday’s cycle has been topped by word of a “Purple Drought” of Apocalyptic proportions: after a ten-month moratorium on the naming of monsignori while studying the practice’s future, the Pope has reportedly restricted future awards of the honorary prelature to priests over age 65, and then only to the juniormost rank of Chaplain of His Holiness, which entitles the recipient to the black cassock with violet sash and piping for choir and non-liturgical use alike.

According to the initial report by Turin’s La Stampa, all current monsignors retain their rank and privileges as conferred.

Having spanned some 15 degrees of varying titles, vesture and perks before Vatican II – including some which lasted only for the lifetime of the Pope who conferred them – the last major reform to the monsignorial honors came in 1968, when Paul VI folded the classes into three grades, all given for life, restricting all but a handful of Vatican officials to the simplified style of “Reverend Monsignor.” In the late 1990s – after perceived abuses of the system by bishops in the US and Western Europe – the Holy See restricted the honorees to comprising no more than ten percent of a diocesan presbyterate at any one time, as well as ending the then-common practice of allowing younger priests to become purple-cassocked Prelates of Honor without at least several years as Chaplains first.

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AUSTRALIA
Royal Commission Into Institution Responses to Child Sexual Abuse

Please note that the schedule below may change at short notice.

Details of the subject matter to be covered at public hearings, including the scope and purpose of each case study, will be published on the Royal Commission’s website closer to the date of each hearing.

Date Planned Activity

January 2014

Tue 21 – Fri 31 Private sessions in capital cities
Tue 22 Public hearing: Case Study 4 Towards Healing (continued)
Tue 28 – Fri 31 Public hearing: Case Study 5 Salvation Army (Eastern Territory)
Sydney

February 2014

Mon 3 – Fri 7 Public hearing: Case Study 5 Salvation Army (Eastern Territory)
Sydney
Mon 3 – Fri 28 Private sessions in capital cities
Wed 12 – Fri 14 Private sessions in regional areas
Mon 17 – Fri 28 Public hearing: Case Study 6
Queensland
Mon 24 – Fri 28 Public hearing: Case Study 7
Sydney

March 2014

Mon 3 – Fri 7 Private sessions in capital cities and regional areas
Wed 5 Roundtable Discussion* – Out-of-home care
Tue 11 – Fri 21 Public hearing: Case Study 8
South Australia
Mon 10 – Fri 14 Public hearing: Case Study 9
Sydney
Mon 17 – Mon 31 Private sessions in capital cities
Wed 19 – Fri 21 Private sessions in regional areas
Mon 24 – Fri 28 Public hearing: Case Study 10
Sydney
Mon 24 – Fri 28 Public hearing: Case Study 11
Sydney

April 2014

Mon 31 Mar – Fri 17 Public hearing: Case Study 12
Sydney
Tues 1 – Wed 30 Private sessions in capital cities
Wed 16 Roundtable Discussion* – Working with Children Check
Wed 23 – Fri 2 May Public hearing: Case Study 13
Sydney
Mon 28 – Wed 30 Public hearing: Case Study 14
Western Australia

May 2014

Thu 1 – Fri 9 Public hearing: Case Study 14
Western Australia
Mon 5 – Fri 30 Private sessions in capital cities
Wed 14 – Thu 15 Public hearing: Case Study 15
Sydney
Thu 15 Roundtable Discussion* (topic to be advised)
Mon 19 – Fri 30 Public hearing: Case Study 16
Sydney
Mon 19 – Fri 23 Private sessions in regional areas
Mon 26 – Fri 30 Public hearing: Case Study 17
Sydney

June 2014

Mon 2 – Wed 11 Public hearing: Case Study 18
ACT
Mon 2 – Fri 27 Private sessions in capital cities
Wed 11 Roundtable Discussion* (topic to be advised)
Mon 16 – Mon 30 Public hearing: Case Study 19
Sydney

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

IRELAND
Irish Independent

06 JANUARY 2014

SIX Catholic religious orders were placed on a list of “politically exposed” investors who entrusted more than €250m to Anglo Irish Bank’s private wealth management division.

The orders were placed on a list of “sensitive” investors along with a retired senior judge, an RTE star, an insolvency expert, a bestselling novelist and a member of the Seanad.

Lawyers, journalists and some of the country’s leading pension funds as well as high net worth business people were also placed on Anglo’s politically exposed persons (PEP) investor list.

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

UNITED KINGDOM
Daily Record

JIMMY Savile’s victims are calling for one, judge-led inquiry into how the former DJ was able to evade justice for so many years.

Alan Collins, a lawyer representing around 60 victims of the disgraced TV presenter said he feared an opportunity could be “missed” by all the other investigations into Savile.

He said there should be one inquiry led by a High Court judge with “considerable” experience in criminal law who would have access to all the work undertaken by the other investigations.

He told BBC Breakfast: “We have a number of inquiries under way at the moment – there must be at least a dozen – we have got the BBC being investigated, the NHS, various hospitals, and… we have the police and Crown Prosecution Service.”

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

UNITED KINGDOM
BBC News

A man who says he was abused by Jimmy Savile at a recording of Top of the Pops in 1964 has called for there to be a single inquiry into the activities of the former DJ.

There are currently 32 separate investigations into abuse at NHS institutions and another one being carried out at the BBC.

A significant number of Savile’s victims say they are dissatisfied with the way in which those investigations are being run and are now demanding more action.

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

UNITED STATES
Bilgrimage

William D. Lindsey

Another Prediction for 2014: Talk of the Dying of Catholicism Even as Lay-Led Catholic Movements Flourish

Another prediction I’d be willing to go out onto a limb and make as the new year begins: we will be hearing more in this year about the death of the Catholic church in this culture and that culture–though counter-indicators in many of these cultures will indicate that Catholicism is alive and well within the culture. But the Catholicism that is flourishing in these cultures is often a new (and simultaneously old) expression of the Catholic tradition.

What is dying in many Catholic cultures is the clericalized notion of Catholicism that dominated the Catholic imagination from the Counter-Reformation period up to Vatican II.

I’ve been thinking a lot about these themes since news broke of the meeting of Pope Francis with the Dutch bishops this last December. One of the themes of that meeting is that perhaps two-thirds of Catholic parishes in the Netherlands will soon have to be closed, because churches are empty. “The Catholic church is dying in the Netherlands,” many news outlets stated following Francis’s meeting with the Dutch bishops.

And yet this comment at a recent National Catholic Reporter thread by a Dutch lay Catholic, as well as many articles I’ve read in the past decade or so, suggest to me that Catholicism remains alive and well in the Netherlands even as parishes close. It remains alive and well as a lay phenomenon with lay leadership.

What has begun to die–what is rapidly dying or now all but dead–in the Netherlands and elsewhere in Catholic Europe (and parts of the U.S.) is a clericalized understanding of the Catholic faith that hinges everything on the presence of an ordained man as the leader of each local Catholic community of faith, dispensing sacraments available only at the hands of that man, and indispensable for the salvation of the members of the community of faith.

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

UNITED KINGDOM
Metro

Graeme Green Monday 6 Jan 2014

A few weeks ago, Pope Francis delivered his first ever Christmas Day speech to thousands of followers in St Peter’s Square.

He highlighted the lives ‘shattered’ in Syria, Iraq and the Israel-Palestine conflict and called for an end to ‘further suffering’. But simply wishing for ‘world peace’ is for Miss World contestants; the leader of one of the world’s wealthiest and most influential bodies has the power to make real change.

On January 16, a Vatican delegation is due to appear before the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child at a hearing in Geneva as part of an investigation into allegations of child sexual abuse by Catholic clergy around the world and an alleged system of cover-ups by the Holy See. Pope Francis and the Catholic Church have a clear opportunity to help victims whose lives have been ‘shattered’ by child abuse and help prevent ‘further suffering’, campaigners say.

‘This is the first time the Holy See’s been pressed on child sexual abuse by the world’s children’s rights body and that’s of international significance,’ said Veronica Yates, director of Child Rights International Network (CRIN). ‘We know child abuse happens in other closed institutions, but what’s unique about the Catholic Church is the Holy See is a UN State that’s voluntarily signed up to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, a legally binding document that includes, among others, a child’s right to protection from violence and sexual abuse.’

She added: ‘Child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church is a global problem affecting thousands of children. Some of the “techniques” employed by the church indicate its disregard for children’s rights and the law. An example is the “geographical cure”, designed to relocate, forget and sweep under the rug cases of child abuse to protect the institution. There are numerous examples of priests accused of abuse being transferred, usually from Europe or North America to Africa or Latin America. The Holy See’s given no indication these practices have stopped.’

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

NETHERLANDS
Dutch News

Monday 06 January 2014

The Catholic bishop of Roermond has suggested a Limburg church official who was murdered in China in 1937 could be declared the patron saint of sexual abuse victims.

Frans Schraven, who was bishop of Zhengding at the time, refused to hand several hundred Chinese women over to the Japanese occupiers to work as prostitutes.

The women were under the protection of the Catholic authorities at the time. The Japanese authorities left the women alone but Schraven and eight other Catholics were then executed.

Vatican

This weekend, the Dutch Catholic church’s documentation on Schraven was taken to the Vatican where pope Francis will decide if he should be beatified.

Roermond bishop Franz Wiertz, who supports the beatification drive, suggested in a sermon on Friday that Schraven could eventually become the patron saint of abuse victims.

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

MINNESOTA
Legal Examiner

Posted by Mike Bryant
January 5, 2014

Hearing Monday at 10 AM in New Ulm Regarding Release of Secret List of Priests with Credible Allegations of Sexual Abuse

Diocese of New Ulm denying survivor’s request to make public its list of accused priests; is one of two MN dioceses yet to release list

What: Hearing on release of Diocese of New Ulm priests list

When: Monday, January 6, 2014, at 10:00 a.m.

Where: Brown County Courthouse, 14 South State Street, New Ulm, MN 56073, before the Honorable Judge Robert A. Docherty.

Tomorrow at 10 a.m. in a Brown County courtroom, a courageous sexual abuse survivor, along with her attorneys, will request the public release of a secret list possessed and maintained by the Diocese of New Ulm that contains the names of several priests who have credible allegations of sexual abuse. The Diocese of New Ulm and the Diocese of Crookston are the only two Minnesota dioceses that have refused to release the lists.

In a lawsuit filed in 2013 in Brown County, the survivor claims the Diocese of New Ulm was negligent in allowing the now-deceased Father David Roney continued access to children. Father Roney is suspected of abusing several children in Minnesota while he was a priest. The survivor and the survivor’s attorneys are also seeking the public release of the list maintained by the Diocese of New Ulm. Similar efforts have resulted in the release of the lists held by the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the Diocese of Winona, the Diocese of Duluth, the Diocese of St. Cloud and St. John’s Abbey.

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

NEW MEXICO
ABQ Journal

By Olivier Uyttebrouck / Journal Staff Writer

The Archdiocese of Santa Fe has incorporated most of its 92 parishes as nonprofits over the past year – a strategy used by some U.S. dioceses seeking legal protection from sexual abuse lawsuits.

The archdiocese’s action follows those of neighboring dioceses that have incorporated parishes in recent years, including the Diocese of Las Cruces, and the Arizona dioceses of Phoenix and Tucson.

Officials with the Archdiocese of Santa Fe have said the incorporations are an attempt to “describe each parish as a unique civil entity,” but have provided little information about the purpose of the action.

James Stang, a Los Angeles attorney who has represented victims of clerical sexual abuse in bankruptcies filed by six U.S. dioceses, said some dioceses have incorporated parishes in an attempt to shield parish assets from claimants in sex abuse lawsuits.

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

SCOTLAND
Herald Scotland

Monday 6 January 2014

A CONGREGATION has been divided over the treatment of a parish priest who was suspended over his claims that there is a culture of homosexual bullying in the Catholic Church.

Parishioners turning up at John Ogilvie RC church in High Blantyre yesterday were given copies of a letter by Bishop Joseph Toal, who is in temporary charge of Motherwell diocese and suspended Father Matthew Despard last November. That action followed the allegations made by Father Despard in a self-published book.

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

WISCONSIN
Fox 11

KIEL – A retired Catholic priest serving in Kiel has been removed from active ministry.

Rev. Loren Nys is leaving Saints Peter and Paul Parish, in light of allegations made more than 40 years ago.

The allegations were discovered during a recent review of Nys’ personnel files, which including the letters from two parents.

The letters indicate Nys engaged in inappropriate conduct with children.

The Salvatorian order, which Nys is a part of, says the conduct did not involve the touching of private parts. However, the order did conclude the touching was inappropriate.

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

VATICAN CITY
Addicting Info

Pope Francis wasted no time kicking off the New Year by labeling priestly pedophiles as “little monsters” according to a just released report of a meeting held in November.

Sex abuse scandals have plagued the Catholic Church for decades (centuries?) and the lack of action on the part of church officials has been a source of anger across the world. Rather than immediately handing known pedophiles over to the police, the “little monsters” were simply shuffled off to a new city or even country. There, they would continue to abuse children. It has been suggested that one of the reasons the Catholic Church has so many degenerates in it is because it shields, even enables, predators.

Because of this, the reputation of the Church has been seriously damaged over the years and the Pope has taken great strides to repair it. Pope Francis has already shaken the comfortable world of the religious right by openly condemning the pursuit of wealth and the harassment of homosexuals. He’s also taken on financial corruption. If he is serious about fixing the Church’s sexual abuse problem and not just fixing its public relations problem, Pope Francis may go down in history as the man who restored the Church’s moral clarity.
The phrase “little monsters” is likely to rub some people the wrong way. More specifically, the parents and victims of the hundreds (thousands?) of pious predators. Lady Gaga will surely not be amused.

To be fair, Pope Francis was not only referring to sexual predators but also “clericalism.” This is when a person enters the church for the purpose of rising through the ranks as a career instead of a calling. The church is quite wealthy and a high ranking official, like the “Bishop of Bling,” can live like a king. Further in his defense, the Pope was not mincing words:

In his remarks to the superiors, Francis flagged as a risk the “huge problem” of accepting into the seminary someone who has already been asked to leave another religious institute, and cited Pope Benedict XVI’s tough line on priests who commit sexual abuse.

“I am not speaking about people who recognize that they are sinners: we are all sinners, but we are all not corrupt,” Francis said. “Sinners are accepted, but not people who are corrupt.”

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

WISCONSIN
Sheboygan Press

A retired priest serving in Kiel has been removed from active ministry after a review of personnel files from 43 years ago found accounts of inappropriate physical contact between him and minors, the priest’s order announced in a press release.

According to the press release from Salvatorian provincialate, Rev. Loren Nys of Saints Peter and Paul Parish, will move to Milwaukee to live with other retired Salvatorian priests and brothers under the supervision of the provincialate.

During a file review, two letters were found from parents indicating inappropriate conduct with youth by Fr. Loren Nys, the press release said.

“Though the physical conduct did not involve private parts, it was inappropriate. The situation was handled by the Salvatorians at the time and was noted in his personnel file. There have been no other allegations made against Fr. Nys in the 43 years since,” the press release said.

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

WISCONSIN
SNAP Wisconsin

Priest’s removal raises more questions than it answers
Kiel parish priest permanently suspended by Milwaukee based religious order

Statement by Peter Isely, SNAP Midwest Director (Milwaukee)
CONTACT: 414.429.7259

The permanent removal yesterday from ministry of Rev. Loren Nys, a Salvatorian priest serving at Saints Peter and Paul Parish in Kiel, while an indication that the Milwaukee based religious order is finally taking steps to reverse their recent documented history of mismanaging and covering up for abusive clergy, still leaves far too many questions unanswered.

The action taken against Nys means that he has committed a criminal or professional act of misconduct or abuse against a child so serious he can never conduct or present himself as a priest again and never should have been allowed to professionally practice for decades.

The Salvatorians, in a press release yesterday, state that the allegations against Nys were proven years ago. Yet, the order kept him working with children and families. And that’s the problem. The Salvatorians have publically and repeatedly claimed for years, including last year when it was proven that current and ongoing revelations of a string of reports of child abuse to church officials against Wauwatosa priest Robert Marsicek were never forwarded to police, that they conduct complete reviews of all reports and files concerning abuse against children by priests. With no criminal justice and independent review of all church abuse files and reports by law enforcement officials or the Wisconsin Attorney General of dioceses and religious orders operating in the state, parents and the public are simply left with what church officials want to tell them in one or two paragraph Saturday press releases.

The biggest question concerning Nys is what could he possibly have done to warrant such serious punitive action? Church officials will only say that it didn’t involve a child’s “private parts”, whatever that means. What professional board of credentialed and licensed occupations working with children in civil society—teachers, social workers or doctors—could possibly issue a ruling against a member like this without describing exactly what the professional and criminal misconduct was and why the license is now being permanently revoked?

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

MINNESOTA
Legal Examiner

Posted by Mike Bryant
January 5, 2014

Earlier in the week, Archbishop John Nienstedt was dealing with the release of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis list of accused priests. The list is already under fire as being incomplete and possibly including names of priests who are currently active or at least still in the public. He took to the pulpit and preached. In a homily that was released a day early and reported by the Minneapolis Tribune he wrote:

“The negative news reports about past incidents of clerical sexual abuse in this local church have rightly been met with shame, embarrassment and outrage that such heinous acts could be perpetrated by men who had taken priestly vows as well as bishops who failed to remove them from ministry,”

He followed the appearances with public comments where the Tribune reported that he said:

“When I arrived here seven years ago, one of the first things I was told was that this whole issue of clerical sex abuse had been taken care of and I didn’t have to worry about it,” he told reporters. “Unfortunately I believed that. … And so my biggest apology today is to say I overlooked this. I should have investigated it a lot more than I did. When the story started to break at the end of September, I was as surprised as anyone else.”

The early release was a good way to get the message out to many more than would be sitting in the church in Edina. However, concerning the comments after raise some additional questions because he was previously the Bishop in the New Ulm Dioceses, their list has not yet been released. Will he be surprised about that one also? If the Minneapolis St Paul list hadn’t been released yet, how was he told it was taken care of? Was the real way it was taken care of that they had been successfully defending the cases with the statute of limitations?

Then later in the week, he was forced to take a leave because he had been accused of inappropriately touching a boy. There are differing opinions on how much cooperation there has been with the police in the investigation. We will continue to watch as the story unfolds.

The one pattern which is emerging is that the more current the issue, the less forthcoming the Church seems to be. The LA Times looked at the problems Archbishop Roger Mahony has dealt with and the effect his inaction has had.

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

VATICAN CITY
National Catholic Reporter

Joshua J. McElwee | Jan. 5, 2014 NCR Today

Pope Francis has reportedly abolished the practice of granting priests the honorary title of “monsignor,” and has communicated the decision through Vatican ambassadors around the world.

From now on, only diocesan priests over the age of 65 will be eligible to receive the title, according to a report Saturday at the Italian newspaper La Stampa’s website Vatican Insider.

The title monsignor is an honorific of sorts normally granted to priests as a reward for service to the church or as a sign of some special function they serve in church governance. The title had usually been granted by the pope on the recommendation of the priest’s local bishop.

Some have criticized the practice, saying it leads to an air of careerism in the church.

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

MINNESOTA
Legal Examiner

Posted by Mike Bryant
January 4, 2014

The Diocese of Duluth released a of 17 priests accused of sexually abusing minors.. Included in that list were the names of 3 former St John’s Abby Priests:

Rev. Othmar Hohmann, OSB
Date of birth: 1/28/1900
Date of ordination: 6/7/1931
Cleric’s prior assignments in diocese:
Asst. Pastor: St. Joseph’s Church, Grand Rapids – 8/1/1966-1976
Diocese or religious order:
Priest of the Order of St. Benedict
Date removed from ministry: Retired in 1976
Current location: Deceased
Current status: Died 1/24/1980

Rev. Brennen Maiers, OSB
Date of birth: 4/27/1936
Date of ordination: 6/1/1963
Cleric’s prior assignments in diocese:
Chaplain: St. Scholastica Priory – 1/ 4/1991 – 4/1996
Adjunct Chaplain: St. Mary’s Medical Center, Duluth – 1/4/1991 -4/1996
Chaplain: Federal Prison Camp – 6/1/1992 – 4/1996
Diocese or religious order:
Priest of the Order of St. Benedict
Date permanently removed from ministry: 6/2002
Current location: St. John’s Abbey, Collegeville, MN
Current status: Permanently removed from ministry

Rev. Angelo Zankl, OSB
Date of birth: 04/19/1901
Date of ordination: 5/29/1926
Cleric’s prior assignments in diocese:
St. Clement’s, Duluth – 7/18/1951 – 8/8/1967
Chaplain: St. Scholastica Priory – 10/1/1974 – 5/30/1987
Left the Diocese: 5/30/1987
Diocese or religious order:
Priest of the Order of St. Benedict03
Date removed from ministry: Deceased at time of allegation
Current location: Deceased
Current status: Died 7/12/2007

There are still other lists out there, including lists that have been kept by the Abbey.

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

UNITED KINGDOM
Express

A DISGRACED vicar is facing jail after admitting to possessing thousands of pornographic images and videos of children – with one involving animals.

Reverend Ian Hughes, 46, admitted to 16 counts involving more than 8,000 pieces of material that police recovered from his home in Wallasey, Merseyside.

The evidence showed 6,000 images and movies were classed in the lowest category of seriousness, while 60 were put in category five, the most serious.

There were 1,500 images and videos that were categorised between two and four.

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

UNITED KINGDOM
Liverpool Echo

A Merseyside vicar is facing jail after pleading guilty to making and possessing thousands of indecent images of children.

The Rev Ian Hughes, who was priest in charge of the Wirral parishes Poulton and Seacombe, admitted 16 counts relating to more than 8,000 images and movies when he appeared at Liverpool Crown Court today.

Hughes, 46, appeared in the dock wearing a dark suit and tie without his trademark nose ring and dog collar and replied guilty as each charge was put to him.

He also admitted possession of an extreme pornographic image that was “grossly offensive and disgusting” involving an animal.

Hughes was charged following a search of his home on Brougham Road, Wallasey , on May 22 last year.

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

UNITED KINGDOM
Round News

Written by James Mahoney Published: 04 January 2014

Forty six year old vicar, Rev Ian Hughes, is now facing jail after pleading guilty to sixteen accusation counts. In the Liverpool Crown trial the man admitted to have made indecent pictures of children and to still posses these as well as porn images of animals.

Initial charges against Hughes were issued in May last year following a search of his home.

A spokesman of the Church publicly announced the fact that the man was suspended from his church activities as soon as charges were brought against him. The man was the priest in charge of the Wirral parishes Seacombe and Poulton, Wallasey at St Paul’s and St Luke’s Church. Hughes appeared in court without his trademark dog collar and nose ring. He wore a tie and a dark suit. The evidence against him was overwhelming and the man couldn’t do anything else but admit of being guilty of all 16 accusation counts brought against him. The child porn charges alone are something that would make anyone sick. The vicar who is now facing serious jail time pleaded guilty to the accusation of indecent images of children possession. Investigators found over 8000 such images in his home.

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

MINNESOTA
Legal Examiner

Posted by Mike Bryant
January 5, 2014

The Winona Diocese has released a list of 14 names of priests that have been accused of sexual abuse. This list contains, the names, birth dates and year which each priest was ordained. It also provides information on whether the priest is still alive, all parishes they served within the Winona diocese, and their current status within the ministry. The Star Tribune reports that of these 14 names only 5 of them are still living. While it is a step in the right direction, we still have a long way to go. As more of these lists begin to surface it will paint a better picture of where and when these offenses have taken place. What’s concerning is that the dioceses has now asked the court and received until February 6th to add additional names to their lists. This creates a lot of questions and doubt in parishioners and the public as a whole. Why has there been so much time given to these parishes to produce these lists? What more could they be trying to hide?

With the amount of time that has passed since some of these accusations have first been brought to attention, what other information has slipped through the cracks? What needs to happen now is fast action. Continuing to allow time to lapse on these cases means we risk losing vital information about them. The dioceses have been given too much freedom to cover their tracks. It’s no secret that they have been consistent in moving pieces to the puzzles around in order to avoid exposure. This should not be allowed to go on any longer. The survivors are who we should be concerned with and getting them the help they deserve, not protecting the offenders.

As the facts keep slowly coming out what we really need to focus on is not only revealing the truth but getting help to the survivors of these crimes. They all have a long road of recovery ahead of them and the more support as a society we can give them the better. The more pressure that is put on the Catholic Churches to stop hiding vital information the better off these survivors will be.

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

WISCONSIN
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

By Journal Sentinel staff Jan. 5, 2014

A retired Wisconsin priest has been removed from active ministry after a review of personnel files found inappropriate physical conduct from 43 years ago.

The Rev. Loren Nys, a Salvatorian priest serving at Saints Peter and Paul Parish in Kiel, will leave the Catholic parish and move to Milwaukee to live with other retired priests and brothers under supervision of the Salvatorian provincialate, the Salvatorians said Saturday in a news release.

The allegations against Nys were contained in two decades-old letters from parents that were discovered during a personnel review conducted as part of broader reform efforts in response to the Catholic clergy abuse scandal.

The Salvatorians said Nys’ physical contact, though not involving private parts, was inappropriate and was addressed at the time of the allegations.

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

AUSTRALIA
Broken Rites

By a Broken Rites researcher (article updated 5 January 2014)

A schoolgirl (named Joan) was sexually abused by a Catholic priest, Father Francis Edward (Frank) Derriman when she was 14 and 15. Later (when she was an adult) she was victimised again by the church’s controversial Towards Healing system. Meanwhile, this priest left his parish job and eventually gained a university position, supervising Social Work students whose careers might include (of all things!) child protection.

In December 2013, aged 60, Joan gave evidence at a public hearing of Australia’s national Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. Joan explained how Towards Healing acted as a “front” for the church-owned insurance business, Catholic Church Insurances Limited.

The December 2013 hearings, which went for ten days, examined four examples in the operation of Towards Healing, and the Father Derriman case was one of these. Joan spoke forcefully from the witness box, later receiving a standing ovation from a large number of observers (including Broken Rites representatives) in the public gallery.

Joan, born in 1953, told the royal commission that, when she was aged 14 and 15 in 1967 and 1968, she was one of a group of teenage children abused by Father Frank Derriman while he was a priest of the Archdiocese of Brisbane and chaplain of the Sacred Heart Convent girls’ school at Sandgate in Brisbane. Derriman was then aged 28 and 29 years.

Father Derriman called the group the ”Brown” family after the Peanuts comic character Charlie Brown, giving each of them a new name from characters in the Peanuts comics.

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

UNITED STATES
Deep Dish

By Andrew Sullivan – Dec 17, 2013

What Is The Meaning Of Pope Francis?

You don’t have to be a believer to recognize a moment of grace. By grace I mean those precious, rare times when exactly what you were expecting gives way to something utterly different, when patterns of thought and behavior we have grown accustomed to and at times despaired of, suddenly cede to something new and marvelous. It may be the moment when a warrior unexpectedly lays down his weapon, when the sternest disciplinarian breaks into a smile, when an ideologue admits error, when a criminal seeks forgiveness, or when an addict hits bottom and finally sees a future. Grace is the proof that hope is not groundless.

How to describe the debut of Pope Francis and not immediately think of grace? For much of this new century, Christianity seemed to be in close to terminal crisis. Among the fastest-growing groups in society were the nones – those indifferent to religion entirely. Especially among the young, Christians became increasingly identified with harsh judgments, acrid fundamentalism, the smug bromides of the Prosperity Gospel or, more trivially, neurotic cultural obsessions like the alleged “war on Christmas.” Evangelical leaders often came and went in scandal, or intolerance or both. Obsessed with issues of sexual morality, mainstream evangelicalism and the Catholic hierarchy in America entered into an alliance with one major political party, the GOP, further weakening Christianity’s role in transcending politics, let alone partisanship. Christian leaders seemed too often intent on denial of what intelligent people of good will saw simply as reality – of evolution, of science, of human diversity, of the actual lives of modern Christians themselves. Christian defensiveness was everywhere, as atheism grew in numbers and confidence and zeal.

To make matters far, far worse, the Catholic hierarchy was exposed these past two decades as, in part, a criminal conspiracy to rape the most innocent and vulnerable and to protect their predators. There is almost nothing as evil as the rape of a child – and yet the institution allegedly representing the love of God on earth perpetrated it, covered it up, and escaped full accountability for it on a scale that is still hard to fathom. You cannot overstate the brutal toll this rightly took on Catholicism’s moral authority. Even once-reflexively Catholic countries – like Ireland and Belgium – collapsed into secularism almost overnight, as ordinary Catholics couldn’t begin to comprehend how the successors to Peter could have perpetrated and enabled such evil. And meanwhile, the great argument of the modern, post-1968 papacy – against non-procreative and non-marital sex for straights and against all sex for gays – ended in intellectual and practical defeat in almost the entire West, including among most Catholics themselves. American Catholics have long been one of the most supportive religious demographics for marriage equality. And when a debate about contraception and healthcare reform emerged in the U.S. early last year, the Catholic bishops chose to launch a defining crusade against something that countless Catholic women had used at some point in their lives.

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

WISCONSIN
Post-Crescent

KIEL — A retired Salvatorian priest serving in Kiel is being removed from active ministry for inappropriate conduct.

The Rev. Loren Nys was pulled from priestly ministry after the Roman Catholic Salvatorian province reviewed his personnel file and found two letters from parents accusing Nys of inappropriate conduct with children, the Salvatorians said in a statement released Saturday.

The Milwaukee-based religious community is completing a review of all the personnel files of Salvatorian priests and brothers. The review implements the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ revised standards for protecting children, which state that any priest, deacon or brother must be restricted from public ministry if they have acted inappropriately toward minors.

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WISCONSIN
Fox 6

by Stacy Oatman

MILWAUKEE (WITI) — A retired Salvatorian priest serving in Kiel, Wisconsin is being removed from active priestly ministry after a review of personnel files found documentation of inappropriate conduct.

The review implements revised standards for the protection of youth growing out the Dallas Charter formulated by the Unites States Catholic Bishops, which states that any priest, deacon or brother who has been involved in any inappropriate conduct with minors is restricted from any and all public ministry.

While completing a thorough review of the personnel files of Salvatorian priests and brothers, two letters were found from parents indicating inappropriate conduct with youth by Fr. Loren Nys. The physical conduct did not involve private parts, but was deemed inappropriate.

The situation was handled by the Salvatorians at the time and was noted in Nys’ personnel file. There have been no other allegations made against Fr. Nys in the 43 years since the incident.

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NEW YORK
The Journal News

Written by
Shawn P. Cohen
and Steve Lieberman

“Look at the moon,” Herschel Taubenfeld mused.

Yossi was 16, out for a stroll when he came across the older man who pointed him to a bright light encircling the moon one night in early 2011.

Having grown up in the insular Hasidic enclave of New Square, Yossi knew little about sex, or sexual abuse, and didn’t find it strange when the man then invited him into his house.

Nor did he understand what was happening during subsequent visits when he said the man convinced him to pull down his underwear. The 38-year-old married father, a respected teacher in a religious school for boys, fondled him under the ruse that he was a fortune-teller “reading” his genitals.

It wasn’t until months later that Yossi, who asked that his last name not be used, told his parents and then, he said, the cover-up began.

The Vaad, a community group set up to handle sex abuse allegations, referred Yossi and his abuser to therapy. Taubenfeld offered him hush money, Yossi said, and even some relatives pressured him to keep quiet in the interest of community harmony.

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NEW YORK
The Journal News

Written by
Shawn Cohen
and Steve Lieberman

Ramapo police Detective Sgt. John Lynch said he’s heard “whisperings” of several unreported sex crimes in New Square, but is continually frustrated because the victims fear being shunned by the community.

“It’s well known in that community; it’s well known who the perpetrators are,” Lynch said. “But we have not had people who come forward, sign complaints and are willing to testify in court.”

He blames this largely on New Square’s leadership, which established a community group, the Vaad, to handle sex-abuse allegations in-house.

“Why do they stand for it? We can’t understand,” Lynch said. “We try to apply our logic and theories of right and wrong. They have a totally different reaction and a different way of looking at it.”

Ramapo detectives, for instance, suspect that one man who was once part of Grand Rabbi David Twersky’s inner circle has preyed on numerous boys over at least a decade, Lynch said. They’ve spoken to some of the alleged victims, but none is willing to press charges.

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SCOTLAND
Herald Scotland

Sunday 5 January 2014

A BISHOP will today tell parishioners he is struggling to control a priest he suspended after making claims of sexual bullying within the Catholic Church.

Bishop Joseph Toal, who is in temporary charge of the Motherwell Diocese, will also appeal to supporters of Father Matthew Despard to help bring him into line.

Last year Despard, the parish priest at St John Ogilvie’s Church in High Blantyre, Lanarkshire, self-published a book, Priesthood In Crisis, which alleged that the Catholic Church in Scotland was dominated by a “powerful gay mafia”.

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AUSTRALIA
lewisblayse.net

The next hearings, due to begin 28th January, of the Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, will focus on four Salvation Army Boys’ Homes. As covered in a previous posting, there is much less information on Girls’ Homes than on Boys’ Homes.

It is presumed that the Royal Commission intends to cover Salvation Army Girls’ Homes, and those run by other churches and the State, at future hearings. One of the Girls’ Homes worthy of consideration is the Salvation Army’s Kardinia Children’s Home in Belmont (Geelong), Victoria State.

One of the victims at this Home was Eunice Allsop. From the age of 16, she has claimed, she was molested every day for two years. Her abuser reshuffled other children’s’ sleeping arrangements to improve his access to her. The abuse began when other children had gone to church.

Her abuser was very controlling. She says he “kept coming into my room. He destroyed all the friendships I had. He hated me taking the bus and tried to control where I went after school. When I got out of there, I had nightmares. As time went on, I blocked it out, did nothing and told no one.”

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Big Trial

FRIDAY, JANUARY 3, 2014

By Ralph Cipriano
for Bigtrial.net

After more than 18 months in prison, Msgr. William J. Lynn is a free man.

Shortly before 10 a.m. this morning, Lynn walked out of the Currann-Fromhold Correctional Facility on State Road in Northeast Philadelphia, where he was greeted by family members and some friends in collars.

He doesn’t look the same. In prison, Lynn lost some 80 pounds.

“He looks good,” said his lawyer, Thomas A. Bergstrom. “He was on the treadmill every day and [in prison] the food is not that great.”

Lynn was wearing an electronic ankle bracelet when he walked out of jail. On Monday at 12:30 a.m., he has to report to Courtroom 507 in the Criminal Justice Center, where Judge M. Teresa Sarmina will personally review her conditions for paroling Lynn.

“He’s prepared to go in Monday and tolerate whatever he has to tolerate,” Bergstrom said. “He has no problem abiding by the court’s rules.”

Lynn will remain on administrative leave with the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, according to a letter issued today by Archbishop Charles J. Chaput.

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MINNESOTA
Legal Examiner

Posted by Mike Bryant
January 4, 2014

The Diocese of St Cloud has released a list of 33 names of priests that have been accused of sexual abuse. This list contains, the names, birthdates and year which each priest was ordained. It also provides information on whether the priest is still alive, all parishes they served within the Diocese of St Cloud, and their current status within the ministry. The Star Tribune reports that of these 33 names 21 of them are still living. While it is a step in the right direction, we still have a long way to go. As more of these lists begin to surface it will paint a better picture of where and when these offenses have taken place.

The Tribune also reported that there are questions about who isn’t on the list:

Victims’ advocates immediately questioned whether the list was complete, pointing out that it contains the name of only one member of the Crosier religious order, which ran a prep school in the town of Onamia in the diocese. In 2002, the Crosiers publicly identified eight members who have sexually abused minors, according to news reports.

“There’s more to this list,” said Bob Schwiderski, Minnesota director of Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP).

(Update) Behind the Pine Curtain has added the following information:

At least one name is missing:

Rev. Angelo Zankl, OSB Rev. Angelo Zankl was recently named as a perpetrator by the Diocese of Duluth [ View ]. Zankl was assistant pastor in St. Joseph, Minnesota from 1940-1943. Rev. Killian Heid was lead priest at the time.

Several others should be considered for inclusion, including:

Rev. Jonathan Licari, OSB According to an October 22, 2013 email from Abbot John Klassen, “Fr. Jonathan voluntarily submitted to an evaluation by a qualified, highly-regarded therapist. This evaluation was thorough and covered all relevant issues.” The “evaluation” came after Fr. Jonathan Licari’s removal from the External Review Board in September of 2003, following an allegation of misconduct involving a minor. Rev. Licari served in Albany (MN) and is currently the headmaster at Saint John’s Prep School.

Rev. Mel Taylor, OSB An investigation into sexual misconduct by Rev. Mel Taylor began in October of 2012 [ View ]. In January of 2013, the abbey’s investigator claimed (following a phone conversation with Taylor’s victim) that the victim’s account was credible. Rev. Taylor served in Cold Spring, MN.

Rev. Dan Ward, OSB An investigation into sexual misconduct by Rev. Dan Ward began in October of 2012 [ View ]. In January of 2013, the abbey’s investigator claimed (following a phone conversation with three of Ward’s victims) that the victims’ accounts were credible. Rev. Dan Ward served in the Diocese of Saint Cloud in 1996 [ View ].

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia

January 3, 2014

Dear friends in Christ,

On December 26, Pennsylvania’s Superior Court unanimously reversed the 2012 conviction of Msgr. William Lynn on a charge of endangering the welfare of children. At my direction, the Archdiocese has provided 10 percent of Msgr. Lynn’s bail – $25,000 – to assist his release from prison. Msgr. Lynn is free but constrained by a number of court restrictions pending an appeal of the reversal by civil authorities to the commonwealth’s Supreme Court.

Msgr. Lynn remains on administrative leave. As such, he may not function publicly as a priest.

The Superior Court ruling does not vindicate Msgr. Lynn’s past decisions. Nor does it absolve the Archdiocese from deeply flawed thinking and actions in the past that resulted in bitter suffering for victims of sexual abuse and their families. Above all, it does not and cannot erase the Archdiocese’s duty to help survivors heal. We remain committed to that healing – now and in the future.

For the past three years the Archdiocese has worked vigorously to reform the way it protects the children and families it serves. New policies and procedures, new standards of ministerial behavior, new Archdiocesan Review Board members, mandated reporter training for thousands of volunteers, clergy and staff: All these things are a matter of public record. Throughout the trial of Msgr. Lynn, the Archdiocese cooperated fully and honestly with law enforcement and the court. And that cooperation will continue, whatever the final outcome of Msgr. Lynn’s case. We cannot change the past. But we can and will do everything in our power to prevent it from being repeated.

I understand and accept the anger felt toward the Archdiocese by many of our people and priests, as well as the general public, for the ugly events of the past decade. Only time and a record of honest conversion by the Archdiocese can change that. Msgr. Lynn has already spent 18 months in prison on a conviction which Pennsylvania’s state appellate court has reversed – unanimously – as “fundamentally flawed.” This reversal is not a matter of technicalities but of legal substance. That is made very clear in the text of the Superior Court’s decision.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Insider

Seeking to eliminate careerism in the Catholic clergy, Pope Francis has abolished the conferral of the title of ‘monsignor’ on secular or diocesan priests under the age of 65

GERARD O’CONNELL
ROME

In a new move aimed at reforming the clergy and eliminating careerism in the Catholic Church, Pope Francis has abolished the conferral of the Pontifical Honor of ‘Monsignor’ on secular priests under the age of 65.

Henceforth, the only Pontifical Honor that will be conferred on ‘secular priests’ will be that of ‘Chaplain to His Holiness’ and this will be conferred only on ‘worthy priests’ who are over 65 years of age. (‘Secular priests’ are priests in a diocese, who are not monks or members of religious institutes or orders).

The Vatican’s Secretariat of State has communicated this news to Apostolic Nuncios around the world, and has asked them to inform all bishops in their respective countries of the decision in this regard taken by Pope Francis.

Thus, for example, on January 2, the Apostolic Nuncio to Great Britain, Archbishop Antonio Mennini, wrote to all the bishops in Great Britain to inform them of the Pope’s decision. He confirmed that “the privileges in this regard” that have already been granted by the Roman Pontiff to “physical or juridical persons” remain in force. This would suggest that the papal decree is not retroactive, those who are already monsignors will not lose their title.

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MINNESOTA
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis

Date: Friday, January 3, 2014

Source: Jim Accurso

The Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis is pleased that Judge Van de North carefully reviewed and considered the pending motion for clarification of the Court’s Protective Order.

Judge Van de North affirmed his intention that all accusations of sexual abuse of a minor that have been made known to the archdiocese after 2004 should be disclosed to the Court. In doing so, he also considered the reasonable need for potential third-party review of claims that could be false or frivolous. The archdiocese is grateful to the Court for considering the importance of avoiding needless damage to the reputations of clergy members who have been falsely accused.

The archdiocese looks forward to working with the Court and all affected parties to promote the protection of children and the healing of victims as we also address these reasonable concerns.

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MISSOURI
The Open Tabernacle: Here Comes Everybody

It’s that time of the year again, folks. It’s time for the presentation of the annual Coughlin Award. As it is every year, the competition was stiff, so much so that this year for the first time it is a group award. This year award goes to Kansas City-St. Joseph, Missouri Bishop Robert Finn and his legion of supporters.

The Coughlin Award — affectionately known as “The Coughie” — is our way of recognizing the person who has best exemplified an exclusionary, strident interpretation of the Catholic faith in the preceding year. The award is named for Father Charles Coughlin, the notorious radio priest of the 1930s who is the role model for today’s Religious Right radio and television evangelists, and other conservative media personalities.

Best known for his diatribes against FDR, Judaism and open sympathy with the racist policies of Adolph Hitler, Coughlin’s advocacy was clearly antithetical the very definition of the word “catholic,” which, according to Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary means:

Catholic Cath”o*lic\ (k[a^]th”[-o]*[i^]k), a. [L. catholicus, Gr. kaqoliko`s, universal, general; kata` down, wholly + “o`los whole, probably akin to E. solid: cf. F. catholique.]
1. Universal or general; as, the catholic faith.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

ALLISON STEELE, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
LAST UPDATED: Saturday, January 4, 2014

PHILADELPHIA Philadelphia Archbishop Charles J. Chaput on Friday defended his decision to post bail for Msgr. William J. Lynn, saying it was reasonable and just for the archdiocese to help him.

“Msgr. Lynn presents no danger to anyone. He poses no flight risk,” Chaput said in a letter to parishioners that was released by the archdiocese.

“The funding for his bail has been taken from no parish, school or ministry resources, impacts no ongoing work of the church, and will be returned when the terms of bail are completed.

“Nor does it diminish in any way our determination to root out the possibility of sexual abuse from the life of our local church.”

Lynn, 62, was released from a Northeastern Pennsylvania prison on Thursday and taken to Philadelphia to have his electronic monitoring arranged. He walked out of jail a free man on Friday, following 18 months in prison for a child-endangerment conviction that was overturned by an appeals court last week.

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VATICAN CITY
Irish Times

Paddy Agnew

Sat, Jan 4, 2014

We are all sinners, but we are not all corrupt, according to Pope Francis. That observation, made in relation to clerical sex abuse, is just one of many made in yet another intriguing papal document.
In effect, Pope Francis appears to argue that formation for the priesthood must involve some sort of screening if young men with paedophile tendencies are to be excluded.

The new document is an account of a closed-doors, three-hour meeting with 120 leaders of male religious orders last November.

At the time, the Vatican press office issued a limited report, but yesterday’s edition of the Italian Jesuit magazine La Civiltà Cattolica provided more detail. Theologian Antonio Spadaro, the magazine’s editor and the man who interviewed the pope last year, reports: “Finally, Pope Francis wanted to highlight a further risk . . . ‘Accepting a young man in a seminary who has been asked to leave a religious institute because of problems with formation and for serious reasons is a huge problem. I am not speaking about people who recognise that they are sinners: we are all sinners but we are not all corrupt’.”

Here the pope recalled Benedict XVI’s decision in dealing with abuse cases: “This should be a lesson to us to approach personal formation as a serious challenge, always keeping in mind the People of God.”

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CANADA
Sault Star

Carol Mulligan, QMI Agency
Saturday, January 4, 2014

SUDBURY, ONT. – A man who wrote Pope Francis asking him to defrock the Roman Catholic priest convicted of sexually assaulting him is not sure what to make of the reply he received from the Vatican.

Jerome Myre doubts the Pontiff read the missive he sent in October in which he asked that Bernard Cloutier be stripped of his rights as a priest.

Cloutier, 71, was convicted in July 2009 of four counts of indecent assault against a male, four acts of gross indecency and four counts of sexual assault against four boys aged 13-16 between 1974 and 1983. He appealed those convictions, but they were upheld in July 2011.

One of Cloutier’s victims was Myre, who is now 43.

In October, Myre addressed the Parole Board of Canada, which denied the priest parole partly because he has never accepted responsibility or showed remorse.

Myre then appealed to the Pope. He received a reply dated Dec. 10 from Msgr. Peter B. Wells, a top official in the Vatican Secretariat of State, similar to a deputy chief of staff.

In it, Wells acknowledged Myre’s letter to the Holy Father and told him it had been “transmitted” to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, “which has competence in such matters.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Daily News

JULIE SHAW, DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER SHAWJ@PHILLYNEWS.COM, 215-854-2592
POSTED: Sunday, January 5, 2014

THE ARCHDIOCESE of Philadelphia for the first time yesterday confirmed that it paid the $25,000 needed to bail out Monsignor William Lynn so that he could be released from state prison while prosecutors appeal his recently overturned conviction for child endangerment.

In a statement yesterday, Archbishop Charles Chaput said the decision to provide the $25,000, or 10 percent of Lynn’s $250,000 bail, was made at “my direction.”

“Monsignor Lynn remains on administrative leave,” Chaput said. “As such, he may not function publicly as a priest.”

Chaput also explained that the “funding for [Lynn’s] bail has been taken from no parish, school or ministry resources, impacts no ongoing work of the church and will be returned when the terms of bail are completed.”

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MINNESOTA
Roman Catholic Diocese of St. Cloud via WJON

[with list of names]

For immediate release……………

When I became Bishop of the Diocese of Saint Cloud, in November 2013, I immediately
began connecting with people, familiarizing myself with policies, and reviewing
important documents that I am responsible for as Bishop. Part of that process has
involved reviewing files regarding claims of sexual abuse of minors by clergy who
served in parishes within the Diocese of Saint Cloud. I am struck by the courage and
strength of the victims of abuse who have come forward. And I am impressed with the
pastoral responses of my predecessors. So in mid-December, I decided to release the
names of those clergy. Therefore, I asked my senior staff to make certain I had a
complete list of all the clergy who had likely abused minors. It is my intent to continue to
provide a pastoral response to such abuse. In that spirit, I am now disclosing a list of all
clergy identified, to date, who were likely involved in the sexual abuse of minors. I am
also disclosing the parishes where each of those clergy served within the Diocese of
Saint Cloud. The list includes Diocesan priests as well as clergy who are members of
religious communities who served in parishes in the Diocese. Additionally on this list are
the names of several men of a religious community from outside the Diocese who
served in schools within our Diocese.

It is my hope that the release of these names will provide validation to those victims who
have been sexually abused and have already come forward. I pray it will also give
strength to those who have remained silent and allow them to come forward.

The following statement is a part the Sexual Misconduct policy for the
Diocese of Saint Cloud:

If someone has sexually abused you or exploited you, and you feel that the time
is right to come forward, there are professionals you can talk to about your
experience. They can assist you in getting the help you need. You do not have to
face or name your abuser. You don’t have to give any information you are not
comfortable disclosing. It does not matter how long ago the abuse was.
Assistance is available to you

Contact information:

Assistance Coordinator:
Roxann Storms, MSW, LICSW, FT
(320) 529-4615 (Confidential Line)
Advocates:

Jane Blee: St. Cloud @ 320-251-3430
Tom Klecker: St. Joseph @ 320-253-2866
Jim Otremba: Sauk Rapids @ 320-253-3450
Dolores Saurer: Fergus Fall @ 218-736-3592
Rev. Stanley Wieser: Wheaton (Spanish) 320-815-9696
Jennifer Wirz: Central MN 320-339-0622

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MINNESOTA
WJON

By Alex Svejkovsky January 3, 2014

ST. CLOUD — A day after a Sartell man filed a lawsuit against the Diocese of St. Cloud, Bishop Donald Kettler has released the names of those accused of sexual abuse of minors.

The move comes as other Minnesota Catholic Dioceses and the Archdiocese of Minneapolis-St. Paul are dealing with similar disclosures or lawsuits to release similar lists of clergy members.

In a new release issued today, Kettler said:

When I became Bishop of the Diocese of St. Cloud, I immediately began connecting with the people, familiarizing myself with policies and reviewing important documents that I am responsible for as Bishop. It is my intent to continue to provide a pastoral response to such abuse. I hope that the release of these names will provide validation to those victims.

According to the Bishop’s release, at least seven of the clergy members are still living. Four of them in Collegeville, one in St. Cloud, one in the Twin Cities, and one in New York.

Twenty-one others have died. And the status of five other clergy members are unknown.

Here is the list of clergy:

Robert Blumeyer, OSB (Order of Saint Benedict): St. Augustine, St. Cloud; St. Benedict’s, Avon; St. Catherine, Farming. Deceased

Michael Brennan, TOR (Third Order Regular of Saint Francis): Our Lady of the Angels Boarding School, Belle Prairie. Status Unknown

Anthony Canu, TOR: Our Lady of the Angels Boarding School, Belle Prairie. Status Unknown

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MINNESOTA
St. Cloud Times

Written by
Frank Lee

The Diocese of St. Cloud released a list of Central Minnesota clergy credibly accused of sexual abuse Friday amid pressure from a sex abuse survivor and his attorneys.

Bishop Donald Kettler released the names of clergy involved in incidents of “likely claims of sexual abuse of minors,” according to Jane Marrin, communications consultant for the diocese.

“We’ve been working on this for a couple of weeks, so the lawsuit that was filed was done in the middle of compiling this information,” Marrin said.

Abuse survivor Robert Ethen of Sartell and his attorneys, Jeff Anderson and Mike Bryant, spoke at a news conference Thursday in Waite Park.

The list was emailed to local media outlets by the diocese Friday afternoon.

“An investigation was done in each case, in some instances by the civil authorities and in some instances by the church authorities,” she said. …

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MINNESOTA
Winona Daily News

By Madeleine Baran l Minnesota Public Radio News

A Ramsey County judge extended the deadline Friday for the Diocese of Winona and Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis to disclose new lists of priests accused of sexually abusing children since 2004.

Judge John Van de North already forced church officials in December to disclose the names of “credibly accused” priests on an earlier list. But the dioceses now have until Feb. 5 to produce the new list, which would include the names of all priests who have been accused of child sexual abuse since 2004.

In court Friday, archdiocese lawyer Tom Wieser objected to the broad scope of the order, as did the attorney for the Diocese of Winona. “It’s not reasonable,” Wieser said. “It’s not fair that every allegation, every mere allegation be disclosed.”

“We are delighted the judge didn’t retreat” in ordering full disclosure of the names of all the accused, not just the credibly accused, said attorney Jeff Anderson in an interview Friday.

The judge “tilted in favor of safety for children,” he said.

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MINNESOTA
Faribault County Register

January 4, 2014

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A judge on Friday gave the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis more time to release a second list of priests who have been accused of child sexual abuse.

Ramsey County Judge John Van de North extended the deadline until Feb. 5.

Archdiocese officials went to court Friday morning to argue that the names of some priests accused of child sexual abuse should not be included on the list that it had been ordered to file by this coming Monday.

The second list updates a list the church prepared a decade ago of priests who it deemed had been “credibly accused.”

Attorneys for the archdiocese argued that the court order requiring the release of the names is ambiguous and could harm the reputation of innocent priests. This time, the list would include the names of all priests accused of abuse after 2004, regardless of whether the church had deemed the accusations against an individual priest to be credible, the Star Tribune reported (http://strib.mn/1crOcsN ).

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MINNESOTA
KARE

[with video]

ST. PAUL, Minn. – A judge has given the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and the Diocese of Winona more time to release a second list of priests accused of child sexual abuse.

The new list is made up of priests accused of sexual abuse of minors after 2004. That list was supposed to be released by the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and the Diocese of Winona on Monday.

But, lawyers for the Archdiocese requested court clarification on the term credibly accused because it was concerned about priests being falsely accused.

Jeff Anderson, who represents a plaintiff known as Doe No. 1, says the churches determination of falsely accused cannot be trusted.

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UNITED STATES
Pope Crimes & Vatican Evils…

Updated January 2, 2014

Paris Arrow

News from the Dominican Republic today shows the unrest and clamor for the ending of the Vatican Concordats which is especially spearheaded by a leading evangelist Ezequiel Molina who slammed the Concordat, which in his view protects priests accused of pedophilia. The Vatican Concordat in the Dominican Republic forced the country to adopt Catholicism as its “official and one-and only religion” and therefore forbids and quashes Evangelists and other religion to preach or to thrive. A Catholic Youth Ministry Coordinator, Luis Rosario, said that he wrote his thesis, 30 years ago, about ‘the need of an overall review of the Concordat, because in his view that kind of agreement has to be revised as time passes’.

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MINNESOTA
Legal Examiner

The Diocese of St Cloud Release Their List of 33 Priests Accused of Sexually Abusing Minors

Posted by Mike Bryant
January 3, 2014

The Diocese of St Cloud released a list today of 33 priests accused of sexually abusing minors. The release comes the day after a lawsuit was filed seeking the release of the information. These lists have been hidden until now. Along with the list the Bishop of St Cloud, Rev. Donald J. Kettler released a statement.

The List

Robert Blumeyer, OSB (Order of Saint Benedict): St. Augustine, St. Cloud; St. Benedict’s, Avon; St. Catherine, Farming. Deceased

Michael Brennan, TOR (Third Order Regular of Saint Francis): Our Lady of the Angels Boarding School, Belle Prairie. Status Unknown

Anthony Canu, TOR: Our Lady of the Angels Boarding School, Belle Prairie. Status Unknown

Cosmos Dalheimer, OSB: St. Mary’s, St. Cloud; St. Benedict’s Monastery and College, St. Joseph; St. Augustine, St. Cloud; St. Joseph, St. Joseph; St. Scholastica Convent, St. Cloud. Deceased

John Eccleston: Sacred Heart, Staples; St. Edward’s, Henning; Ave Maria, Wheaton; Chaplain St. Francis Convent, Little Falls. Deceased

Richard Eckroth, OSB: St. Benedict High School, St. Joseph; St. Augustine, St. Cloud; Seven Dolors, Albany; St. Raphael’s Convent, St. Cloud; St. Scholastica Convent, St. Cloud. Currently residing in Collegeville, MN.

Sylvester Gall: assistant pastor, Church of St. Joseph, Pierz, September 1938-December 1938; Cathedral of St. Mary December 1938-July 1942; Chaplain at St. Raphael’s Convent, August 1941-July 1942; pastor, Church of St. John, Swanville and Church of St. Bernard, Ward Springs, July 1942-September 1954; Church of St. Nicholas, Belle River, September 1954-June 1958; Church of St. Nicholas, St. Nicholas, June 1958-August 1959; Church of St. Andrew, Elk River, August 1959-June 1969; Church of St. Michael, Motley, June 1969-July 1981; and Church of St. John Nepomuk, Lastrup, July 1981-July 1993. Father Gall retired in July 1993. Deceased.

William Garding: St. Mary’s, Melrose; St. Paul’s, Sauk Centre; St. John the Baptist, Bluffton; Holy Cross, Butler; Assumption, Menagha; Director, Cemetary Office, St. Cloud. Deceased

Raoul Gauthier: Chaplain, St. Michael’s Hospital, Sauk Centre. Deceased

Thomas Gillespie, OSB: St. Boniface, Cold Spring; St. Joseph, St. Joseph; St. Raphael’s Convent, St. Cloud; St. Scholastica Convent, St. Cloud; St. Benedict’s Monastery, St. Joseph. Currently residing in Collegeville, MN

Stanislaus Goryczka: Holy Cross, Harding (Pulaski); St. Edward’s Elmdale; Our Lady of Lourdes, Little Falls. Deceased

Francis Hoefgen, OSB: St. Bonface, Cold Spring; St. Benedict’s Monastery, St. Joseph. Laicized. Address unknown

Othmar Hohmann, OSB: Immaculate Conception, New Munich; St. Boniface, Cold Spring; St. Joseph, St. Joseph. Deceased

Raymond Jacques: St. Peter and Paul, Sauk Centre; Assumption, Morris; St. Anne’s, Kimball. Deceased

Val Klimek: St. Mary’s Cathedral, St. Cloud; Spiritual Director, Cathedral High School; St. Columbkill, St. Wendel; St. Lawrence, Duelm; Director, Catholic Charities; Holy Trinity, Royalton; Mary of the Immaculate Conception, Rockville. Deceased

Reginald Krakowski, TOR: Local Superior, St. Louis Monastery, St. Cloud; Cathedral High School. Current Status Unknown

Joseph Kremer: Sacred Heart, Sauk Rapids; Staff, St. John’s Seminary/Diocese of St. Cloud; St. Michael’s, Spring Hill; Holy Spirit, St.Cloud. Deceased

Richard Kujawa: St. Mary’s, Breckenridge; St. Joseph, Bertha; St. Edward’s, Henning; Sacred Heart, Flensburg; St. Mary’s, Melrose; St. Hubert, Blue Grass; Our Lady of the Assumption, Menagha. Deceased

Henry Lutgen: St. Mary’s, Alexandria; Superintendent, St. Cloud Children’s Home; Director, Catholic Charities. Deceased

Brennan Maiers, OSB: St. Joseph, St. Joseph; St. Boniface, Cold Spring; St. Raphael’s Convent, St. Cloud; St. Benedict’s Monastery, St. Joseph; St. Scholastica Convent, St. Cloud. Currently residing in Collegeville, MN

James Mohm: St. Joseph, Pierz; St. Joseph, Brushvale; St. James, Maine; Immaculate Conception, Osakis. Deceased

Donald Rieder: St. Mary’s, Alexandria; St. James, Randall; St. Anne’s, Kimball; Assumption, Morris; St. Agnes, Roscoe; St. Louis, Paynesville; Chaplain, St. Gabriel’s Hospital, Little Falls; St. Stanislaus, Sobieski; St. John Cantius, St. Cloud. Deceased

Francisco Schulte, OSB: St. Boniface, Cold Spring. Collegeville, MN

Robert Smith: Holy Angels, St. Cloud; Holy Family, Belle Prairie; Our Lady of Victory, Fergus Falls; St. Leonard’s, Pelican Rapids; St. Paul’s, Sauk Centre; Chaplain, Poor Clare Sisters, Sauk Rapids; Holy Cross, North Prairie; St. Stanislaus, Sobieski. Deceased

Peter Snyers: Immaculate Conception, Rice; St. Mary’s, Breckenridge; St. Kathyrn’s, Ogilvie; St. Louis, Foreston; Assumption, Eden Valley; St. Hedwig’s and St. Mary’s, Holdingford; St. John Cantius, St. Cloud. Deceased

Allan Speiser: St. Ann’s, Wadena; Sacred Heart, Sauk Rapids; Holy Angels, St. Cloud; Chaplain, St. Raphael’s, St. Cloud; Cathedral High School, St. Cloud; St. Anthony, St. Anthony; St. Nicholas, St. Nicholas; Immaculate Conception, Becker; St. Francis Xavier, Sartell; St. John Nepomuk, Lake Reno; Our Lady of the Runestone, Kensington;Holy Cross, Butler; St. John the Baptist, Bluffton; Holy Spirit, St. Cloud; St. Francis, St. Francis. Deceased

James Thoennes: St. Anthony’s, St. Cloud; St. Mary’s, Melrose; St. Joseph, Waite Park; St. John’s, Foley; St. Anne’s, Kimball; Sacred Heart, Dent; St. Leonard’s, Pelican Rapids; St. Joseph, Bertha; St. Edward’s. Henning; Chaplain, St. Mary’s Villa, Pierz. Currently residing in St. Cloud, MN

Roger Vaughn, OSC (Canons Regular of the Order of the Holy Cross (Crosiers)) : St. Peter’s, St. Cloud. Currently residing in New York.

Michael Weber : Holy Spirit, St. Cloud as transitional deacon. Currently residing in Twin Cities, MN

William Wey: St. Mary’s Cathedral, St. Cloud; St. Donatus, Brooten; Immaculate Conception, Sedan; St. Gall, Tintah; Sacred Heart, Dent; St. Peter, Dumont; St. Patrick, Collis. Deceased

Adelbert Wolski, TOR: Cathedral High School. Current Status Unknown

Vincent Yzermanns: St. Boniface, Melrose; St. Mary’s Cathedral, St. Cloud; St. John the Baptist, Swanville; Editor, Saint Cloud Visitor; St. Nicholas, St. Nicholas; St. Rose, St. Rosa; St. Anthony, St. Anthony. Deceased

Francis Zilkowski: Chancellor, Diocese of Saint Cloud; St. Louis, Foreston; Sacred Heart, Flensburg; Our Lady of Lourdes, Little Falls; Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Opole. Deceased

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MINNESOTA
Star Tribune

Article by: JEAN HOPFENSPERGER , Star Tribune Updated: January 3, 2014

33 priests are on latest church list of priests accused of abusing minors.

The St. Cloud Diocese on Friday released the names of 33 priests that have been credibly accused of sexual misconduct with children.

“It is my hope that the release of these names will provide validation to those victims who have been sexually abused and have already come forward,” St. Cloud Bishop Donald Kettler said in a statement released Friday afternoon. …

The names on the list are of priests accused of child sexual misconduct for 50 years, ending in 2004. It was compiled by the diocese for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The names are: Robert Blumeyer, Michael Brennan, Anthony Canu, Cosmos Dalheimer, John Eccleston, Richard Eckroth, Sylvester Gall, William Garding, Raoul Gauthier, Thomas Gillespie, Stanislaus Goryczka, Francis Hoefgen, Othmar Hohmann, Raymond Jacques, Val Klimek, Reginald Krakowski, Joseph Kremer, Richard Kujawa, Henry Lutgen, Brennan Maiers, James Mohm, Donald Rieder, Francisco Schulte, Robert Smith, Peter Snyers, Allan Speiser, James Thoennes, Roger Vaughn, Michael Weber, William Wey, Adelbert Wolski, Vincent Yzermanns, Francis Zilkowski.

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MINNESOTA
Seattle PI

ST. CLOUD, Minn. (AP) — The Diocese of St. Cloud has joined other Catholic dioceses around Minnesota in releasing lists of clergy credibly accused of sexually abusing minors.

The St. Cloud diocese released a list of 33 names Friday. Twenty-one people on the list are dead.

On Thursday, a man who says he was sexually abused by a priest in the mid-1960s held a news conference with his attorneys to demand the list’s release.

But a diocese spokeswoman tells the St. Cloud Times (http://on.sctimes.com/JOV10B ) the diocese already had been working on the list.

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ST. LOUIS (MO)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

By Doug Moore dmoore@post-dispatch.com 314-340-81254

The Archdiocese of St. Louis on Friday succeeded in delaying a circuit judge’s order that the church hand over the names of all priests accused of sexual abuse in the past 20 years.

But the archdiocese in its successful appeal included a list, marked “confidential,” of 115 complaints that have been lodged against archdiocese employees over the last three decades.

Deep in a court filing of about 400 pages, an exhibit lists 234 people who have made complaints against archdiocese employees dating back to 1986. The accusers are identified only by a number.

The church employees also are referred to by a number. Some employees, such as No. 1, had one complaint; employee No. 5 had 15.

Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, a victims’ advocacy group, said 115 represents more than double the number of previously known alleged abusers in the archdiocese.

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ST. LOUIS (MO)
Houston Chronicle

By JIM SALTER, Associated Press | January 3, 2014

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A Missouri appeals court ruled Friday that the Archdiocese of St. Louis did not have to release the names of priests accused of sexual abuse in the past 20 years as part of a lawsuit against the archdiocese.

A St. Louis judge had given the archdiocese a Friday deadline to turn over the names to a woman who sued, alleging that she was molested by a priest when she was a child, and to the woman’s attorney. Otherwise, the names were to be kept under seal.

The Eastern District of the Missouri Court of Appeals ruling did not say if release of the names would eventually be required, nor did it set a new deadline.

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MINNESOTA
KSTP

By: Megan Stewart

The deadline for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and Diocese of Winona to release the list of credibly accused priests since 2004 has been extended to Feb. 5.

The change came after a hearing to determine whether the priests included in the list should be those “credibly accused,” where the allegations had been verified by the church, or all those accused.

On Dec. 3, Ramsey County District Judge John Van de North ordered the archdiocese and the diocese to release two sets of names. The first list was 46 names that had been compiled as of 2004.

The second list was set to be released on Jan. 6. It was originally outlined to consist of all names the archdiocese and diocese had learned about since 2004.

On Thursday, the archdiocese and diocese filed letters with the court seeking to clarify the criteria for the second list of names.

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MINNESOTA
Pioneer Press

By Emily Gurnon
egurnon@pioneerpress.com

A Ramsey County judge has given the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis and the Diocese of Winona an additional month to disclose the names of priests who have been accused of sexually abusing children since 2004.

Those names were to be disclosed by Monday; the new deadline is Feb. 5.

At the same time, Judge John Van de North took church officials to task for failing to report previous cases of abuse to police and for recently using terminology like “boundary issues” to describe certain priests’ behavior.

“I don’t think anybody knows what that means,” Van de North said. “One person’s boundary violation is another person’s sexual abuse.”

The Archdiocese used the term in reference to allegations against two priests who were suspended Sunday: Rev. Joseph Gallatin of the Church of St. Peter in Mendota and Rev. Mark Wehmann of St. Boniface Catholic Church in Minneapolis.

Attorneys for the archdiocese and diocese, as well as plaintiff’s attorney Jeff Anderson, appeared in court Friday to discuss the judge’s Dec. 3 order regarding priests accused of abuse.

A list of “credibly accused” archdiocese priests compiled by 2004 was released Dec. 5. The Winona diocese released its 2004 list Dec. 16. The judge set Monday for disclosure of priests accused since then.

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ST. LOUIS (MO)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Friday, Jan. 3, 2014

For more information: David Clohessy of St. Louis, SNAP Director (314) 566-9790 cell,SNAPclohessy@aol.com

Catholic archbishop admits 115 St. Louis church staff accused of abuse

Revelation comes in a new court filing that church officials wanted to be kept secret

A legal document filed late yesterday by the St. Louis Catholic archdiocese reveals that 115 church employees have been accused of child sexual abuse.

Lawyers Archbishop Robert Carlson asked that the document be kept secret. But a Missouri appeals court disagreed. It is available on CaseNet. (ED 100882) and on the SNAP website:

Doc 1 – See pages 188 – 194
Doc 2
Doc 3
Doc 4
Doc 5
Doc 6
Doc 7
Doc 8
Doc 9

This is more than double the number of previously known predators in the archdiocese. Leaders of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, believe the real number of predatory priests, nuns, seminarians, brothers, and other church employees is substantially higher.

“On a well-documented and widely-respected website called BishopAccountability.org, there are 52 names of local child molesting clerics,” said SNAP’s Barbara Dorris. “So Carlson is hiding more predators than have been exposed over decades of disclosures. In other words, local parents and parishioners know fewer than half of the proven, admitted and credibly accused child molesting clerics than the archdiocese does.”

“For the safety of kids, Carlson should post on church websites the names, photos, whereabouts and work histories of every last one of these individuals, starting with those who are alive and have never been ‘outed’ before,” said David Clohessy of St. Louis, SNAP’s director. “.”

The figure comes in an appeal sought by Carlson to delay having to turn over predators’ names to attorneys representing a 20 year old woman who says she was repeatedly molested by Fr. Joseph D. Ross at St. Cronan’s parish in St. Louis city.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
NBC 10

The Archbishop of Philadelphia released a statement Friday explaining the Roman Catholic Church’s decision to supply bail money for Monsignor William Lynn.

“The funding for his bail has been taken from no parish, school or ministry resources, impacts no ongoing work of the Church and will be returned when the terms of bail are completed,” wrote Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput. “As a result, I believe that assisting Msgr. Lynn’s family and attorney with resources for his bail is both reasonable and just.”

But contributing to Lynn’s bail shows the church hierarchy will continue to support church officials regardless of their actions, according to the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.

“Catholic officials have for decades helped their corrupt colleagues who have committed or concealed heinous crimes against children,” said David Clohessy, SNAP director, in a response to Chaput’s statement. “And they’re still doing this.”

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
CSN Philly

The Archbishop of Philadelphia released a statement Friday explaining the Roman Catholic Church’s decision to supply bail money for Monsignor William Lynn.

“The funding for his bail has been taken from no parish, school or ministry resources, impacts no ongoing work of the Church and will be returned when the terms of bail are completed,” wrote Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput. “As a result, I believe that assisting Msgr. Lynn’s family and attorney with resources for his bail is both reasonable and just.”

But contributing to Lynn’s bail shows the church hierarchy will continue to support church officials regardless of their actions, according to the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.

“Catholic officials have for decades helped their corrupt colleagues who have committed or concealed heinous crimes against children,” said David Clohessy, SNAP director, in a response to Chaput’s statement. “And they’re still doing this.”

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Newsworks

BY HOLLY OTTERBEIN

A Catholic Church official whose child-endangerment conviction was overturned last month will stay out of public ministry for now.

Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput said in a statement that Monsignor William Lynn will remain on “administrative leave” and therefore “may not function publicly as a priest.”

This week, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia provided the 10 percent of the $250,000 bail needed to release Lynn from prison.

Lynn was convicted in 2012 for his lax oversight of a priest accused of sexual assault. But a Superior Court panel found that the child-endangerment law at the time did not apply to supervisors such as Lynn.

Chaput defended the Archdiocese’s decision to bail out Lynn.

“Msgr. Lynn has already spent 18 months in prison on a conviction which Pennsylvania’s state appellate court has reversed — unanimously — as ‘fundamentally flawed,'” he said. “This reversal is not a matter of technicalities but of legal substance.”

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Miami Herald

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
PHILADELPHIA — A church official who recently won an appeal of his landmark conviction in the priest-abuse scandal was released from custody Friday, and the city’s Roman Catholic archbishop defended the decision to use church funds to help with bail.

Monsignor William Lynn was staying at an undisclosed location in Philadelphia after being processed at a city jail and being fitted with an electronic monitoring device Friday morning, defense attorney Thomas Bergstrom said. He was due in court Monday for a bail hearing.

Lynn, who left a state prison on Thursday after 18 months behind bars, is the first U.S. church official to have been charged for hiding complaints that priests were molesting children.

City prosecutors had charged him with felony child endangerment, but the state Superior Court ruled that the law that existed at the time did not cover people who did not directly supervise children.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

ALLISON STEELE, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
POSTED: Friday, January 3, 2014

Philadelphia Archbishop Charles J. Chaput on Friday defended his decision to post bail for Msgr. William J. Lynn, saying it was reasonable and just for the archdiocese to help him.

“Msgr. Lynn presents no danger to anyone. He poses no flight risk,” Chaput said in a letter to parishioners that was released by the church.

“The funding for his bail has been taken from no parish, school or ministry resources, impacts no ongoing work of the Church and will be returned when the terms of bail are completed.

“Nor does it diminish in any way our determination to root out the possibility of sexual abuse from the life of our local Church.”

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CANADA
National Post

Mark Kennedy, Postmedia News | January 3, 2014

OTTAWA — Thousands of Canada’s aboriginal children died in residential schools that failed to keep them safe from fires, protected from abusers, and healthy from deadly disease, a commission into the saga has found.

So far, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission has determined that more than 4,000 of the school children died.

But that figure is based on partial federal government records, and commission officials expect the number to rise as its researchers get their hands in future months on much more complete files from Library and Archives Canada and elsewhere.

The disturbing discovery has cast a new light on the century-long school system that scarred the country’s First Nations peoples.

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ST. LOUIS (MO)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release Friday, January 3, 2013

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

Despite multiple orders from a judge and actual sanctions against him by that same judge, St. Louis Archbishop Robert Carlson will not be turning over any records today about predator priests.

Late yesterday, he sought, and today he won, a “stay” or delay, from an appeals court.

We’re sad that Carlson keeps spending the generous donations of his flock to pay lawyers, protect predators, endanger kids, maintain secrecy and cause more delays for the brave 20 year old woman who was sexually assaulted by a priest and is seeking justice.

Carlson should have publicly released these names years ago. For the safety of kids, the healing of victims and the benefit of his flock, he should publicly release these names right now – like 30 of his colleagues have done – and post them on parish and archdiocesan websites.

But at the very least, he should stop these costly and hurtful legal maneuvers that contradict his repeated pledges to be sensitive to victims and forthcoming about abuse. If clergy sex abuse and cover ups are all in the past and real reforms have been made, why is Carlson fighting this very limited disclosure so hard?

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MINNESOTA
MinnPost

By Brian Lambert

It does have the feel of everyone working from the same script … Tom Olsen of the Duluth News Tribune reports: “The Diocese of Duluth’s decision to conduct a private investigation rather than contact authorities about child sexual abuse allegations against a former priest was ‘unacceptable,’ St. Louis County Attorney Mark Rubin said Thursday. … ‘Maybe statutes run out on priests that were offenders, but I have to wonder as to why folks who did the covering up are not being held responsible for concealing this,’ [survivors group spokesman Verne] Wagner said. ‘I really believe the county attorney should hold a grand jury and find out what happened … ’ ”

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MINNESOTA
Star Tribune

Article by: JEAN HOPFENSPERGER , Star Tribune Updated: January 3, 2014

Attorney for archdiocese told judge that court order could harm reputation of innocent priests.

A Ramsey County District judge Friday extended the deadline for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis to release a second list of priests accused of child sexual abuse until Feb. 5.

Archdiocese officials went to court Friday morning to argue that the names of some priests accused of child sexual abuse should not be included in the list it had been ordered to file by Monday.

The second list updates a list of priests the church deemed “credibly accused” that was prepared a decade ago. Attorneys for the archdiocese argued that the court order requiring the release of the names — this time of all priests accused of abuse after 2004, regardless of whether they were “credibly accused” — is ambiguous and could harm the reputation of innocent priests.

The diocese of Winona wrote a letter to the court, supporting the archdiocese.

“Rumors spread by a mentally unbalanced individual, by a disgruntled parish employee, by conservative parishioners disliking a liberal pastor [or vice versa] … would have to be publicly disclosed without regard to credibility,” wrote the archdiocese’ attorney Tom Wieser, in a Dec. 18 letter to Ramsey County Judge John Van de North.

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MINNESOTA
WQOW

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – A judge has given the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis more time to release a second list of priests accused of child sexual abuse.

Ramsey County Judge John Van de North granted the archdiocese’s request on Friday. The new deadline is Feb. 5.

Archdiocese officials went to court Friday morning to argue that the names of some priests accused of child sexual abuse should not be included in the list it had been ordered to file by Monday.

The second list updates a list of priests the church deemed “credibly accused” that was prepared a decade ago.

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ST. LOUIS (MO)
The Republic

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
January 03, 2014

ST. LOUIS — A Missouri appeals court has ruled that the Archdiocese of St. Louis will not have to immediately turn over name of priests accused of sexual abuse in the past 20 years.

A St. Louis judge had given the archdiocese a Friday deadline to turn over the names to a woman who sued, alleging that she was molested by a priest when she was a child, and to the woman’s attorney. Otherwise, the names were to be kept under seal.

The Eastern District of the Missouri Court of Appeals ruling on Friday did not say if turning over the names would eventually be required, or set a new deadline.

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CHILE
Bio Bio

Defensa de sacerdote Audín Araya insiste en su inocencia a días de concluir juicio por abuso sexual

En los alegatos de clausura ante el Tribunal Oral de Concepción, el abogado Marcelo Torres calificó como débiles las pruebas presentadas por el Ministerio Público contra su cliente, el sacerdote Audín Araya. El veredicto en el emblemático juicio por abuso sexual de menores sería entregado el próximo martes.

El abogado Marcelo Torres siguió a la Fiscalía y los querellantes en la entrega de los argumentos de cierre, luego de tres semanas desde el inicio del juicio contra el ex rector del colegio Salesianos de Concepción.

En su intervención ante la sexta sala del tribunal oral penquista la defensa del religioso cuestionó la fuerza de los antecedentes recopilados por el Ministerio Público durante la investigación por abuso sexual contra tres jóvenes. Así lo explicó a Radio Bío Bío el abogado Torres.

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VATICAN CITY
Canoe (Canada)

PHILIP PULLELLA, REUTERS
Jan 3, 2014

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis has said men studying for the Roman Catholic priesthood should be properly trained or the Church could risk “creating little monsters” more concerned with their careers than serving people.

In comments made in November but only published on Friday, Francis also said priests should leave their comfort zone and get out among people on the margins of society, otherwise they may turn into “abstract ideologists”.

The Italian Jesuit journal Civilta Cattolica published an exclusive text of the comments, made in a three-hour, closed-door meeting the Argentinian-born pontiff had in late November with heads of orders of priests from around the world.

“Formation (of future priests) is a work of art, not a police action. We must form their hearts. Otherwise we are creating little monsters. And then these little monsters mould the people of God. This really gives me goose bumps,” he said.

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UNITED STATES
BishopAccountability.org

Summary of Case: A Jesuit of the Chicago Province ordained in 1978, Knoth was known for his work as an educator. His career took him from Chicago to Indianapolis, Washington DC and New Orleans. In 2003, nine years into his position as President of Loyola University in New Orleans, Knoth was accused of having sexually abused a high school student in Indiana in 1986. Knoth was the school’s principal during the time in question. The accusation was deemed credible by his superiors and Knoth was removed from public ministry. He denied the allegation. Knoth moved to Florida and is last known to have been working as a management consultant.

Ordained: 1978

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MINNESOTA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Statement by Megan Peterson, Twin Cities SNAP leader, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests ( 218-689-9049 cell,survivor19@live.com )

For immediate release: Friday January 3, 2014

The foxes who have for decades ‘guarded the chicken coop’ want to keep doing so. Corrupt St. Paul Catholic officials who for decades have protected proven and accused predator priests are asking a judge to let them keep doing so. Shame on them.

[Star Tribune]

We doubt that documents about “rumors spread by a mentally unbalanced individual, by a disgruntled parish employee” are kept in church files. We believe that now, as before, claims of concern about allegedly wrongly accused clerics are a ruse. St. Paul Catholic officials are worried about themselves and their reputations and their power.

We imagine it must be very hard for an adult to be wrongly accused of child sexual abuse. But we don’t have to imagine something much harder: to be sexually assaulted as a child and watch your perpetrator be protected and hidden for decades and keep on assaulting kids thanks to allegedly spiritual figures who you were taught to believe were Christ’s representatives on earth.

For decades, we as a society have given Catholic officials every benefit of the doubt in clergy sex abuse and cover up cases. It’s time that innocent kids and wounded adults are given the benefit of the doubt.

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MINNESOTA
KAAL

By: Megan Stewart
A hearing to determine which additional names will be released by the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and the Diocese of Winona is under way.

On Dec. 3, Ramsey County District Judge John Van de North ordered the Archdiocese and the Diocese to release two sets of names. The first list was 46 names that had been compiled as of 2004.

A second list is set to be released on Jan. 6. It was originally outlined to consist of all names the Archdiocese and Diocese had learned about since 2004.

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