ABUSE TRACKER

MASSACHUSETTS
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2014

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

Tomorrow, Fall River Catholics officially get a new bishop.

Because he comes from a dreadfully scandal-ridden archdiocese, we are highly skeptical about how he’ll protect the vulnerable and heal the wounded. So we respectfully challenge Bishop Edgar Moreira da Cunha to break the unhealthy and growing silence and inaction among the Catholic hierarchy on the church’s on-going clergy sex abuse and cover up crisis.

Despite repeated pledges to be “open and transparent” about predator priests, nearly the entire church hierarchy discloses virtually nothing about these crimes or cover ups unless forced to do so by public pressure or the actions victims, witnesses, whistleblowers, police, prosecutors courts or journalists.

Da Cunha is from the Newark Archdiocese with 42 publicly identified predator priests and a long, shameful history of protecting child molesting clerics over innocent, vulnerable children. That history continues to the present day.

As best we can tell, da Cunha has shown no real courage or compassion in one of the worst archdioceses in the US for clergy sex abuse victims. We see no evidence that he has ever said or done a single thing to break with the self-serving and irresponsible actions of his Newark colleagues, who continue to put kids in harm’s way and maintain secrecy at all costs.

Last year, da Cunha announced a new policy letting Newark Catholic officials take secretive steps to reduce public attention on predator priests.

Catholic officials claimed that this is about being sensitive to victims. It’s not. Their use of the phrase “negative publicity” shows their true intent: it’s about keeping predator priests out of the news. Church officials know that every time a child molesting cleric is mentioned in public, other victims, witnesses and whistleblowers might step forward. Preventing such disclosures continues to be a top priority in the Catholic hierarchy, especially in Newark.

The list of clergy sex abuse and cover up cases in New Jersey that have been handled in a dreadful way is long. Perhaps the two worst are those involving Fr. Michael Fugee and Fr. Carmine Sita.

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NEW YORK
Saratogian

By Molly Eadie, meadie@troyrecord.com, @mollyeadie on Twitter
POSTED: 09/23/14

ALBANY >> A 39-year-old man Monday publicly announced he was sexually abused by a teacher at LaSalle Institute more than 20 years ago.

At a news conference in front of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany Pastoral Center, Michael Cioppa, of Latham, said his alleged abuser was fired for his actions, but has continued teaching, and is currently a college professor.

Cioppa said when he was 16, the then-principal of LaSalle sent him for private tutoring at this lay teacher’s home, but told him to keep the arrangement a secret.

He received a passing grade in exchange for sexual favors, Cioppa said, and came forward two years after graduation, when he found out his younger brother would have the same teacher.

Cioppa told his father, who informed a State Trooper who was also a deacon on the Catholic Church.

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MICHIGAN
ABC 10

Courtesy: Catholic Diocese of Marquette

MARQUETTE — Officials of the Catholic Diocese of Marquette have deemed credible allegations of sexual abuse of male minors against Father James Menapace.

The reported incidents occurred in the late 1990s after Father Menapace had retired from active ministry.

After consultation with the Diocesan Review Board for the Protection of Children and Young People, Bishop John Doerfler determined that a public announcement of the allegations should be made.

Father Menapace has been removed from all public priestly ministry and prohibited from presenting himself as a priest in accordance with the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People. The diocesan attorney has reported the allegations to the appropriate civil authorities.

“To all victims of clergy sexual abuse, let me say that my heart is open to you. You are in my thoughts and prayers, and I am willing to journey with you to find Christ’s peace and healing,” Bishop Doerfler said.

To bring a complaint to the attention of the diocese, please call one of the Victim’s Assistance Coordinators, Stephen Lynott at 844-495-4330 or Diane Tryan at 844-694-4362. Both phone numbers are toll-free.

Those who wish to put their complaint in writing can direct their correspondence to: Victim’s Assistance Coordinator, c/o Catholic Social Services of the U.P., 1100 Ludington St., Suite 401, Escanaba, MI 49829. The letter should be marked “Personal and Confidential” and indicate whether a response is desired by phone or by letter.

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MICHIGAN
Upper Michigan Source

MARQUETTE — Sexual abuse allegations against a retired diocesan priest have been deemed credible.

The reported allegations of sexual abuse against male minors occurred in the late 1990s after Father Menapace had retired from active ministry.

Father Menapace has been removed from all public priestly ministry and prohibited from presenting himself as a priest in accordance with the charter for the protection of children and young people.

As always the diocese encourages any of those who may have a complaint to report the incident to local civil authorities.

———————————

Official Press Release:

Officials of the Catholic Diocese of Marquette have deemed credible allegations of sexual abuse of male minors against Father James Menapace (pronounced MEN-uh-PAH-chee). The reported incidents occurred in the late 1990s after Father Menapace had retired from active ministry.

After consultation with the Diocesan Review Board for the Protection of Children and Young People, Bishop John Doerfler determined that a public announcement of the allegations should be made. Father Menapace has been removed from all public priestly ministry and prohibited from presenting himself as a priest in accordance with the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.

The diocesan attorney has reported the allegations to the appropriate civil authorities.

Bishop Doerfler said, “To all victims of clergy sexual abuse, let me say that my heart is open to you. You are in my thoughts and prayers, and I am willing to journey with you to find Christ’s peace and healing.”

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MICHIGAN
Fox 11

MARQUETTE, Mich. – A retired priest who worked in Upper Michigan is suspected of sexually abusing boys.

The Catholic Diocese of Marquette says the allegations against Fr. James Menapace, which it has deemed credible, stem from incidents in the late 1990s after Menapace had retired from active ministry.

The diocese says it has reported the allegations to local authorities. It has also removed Menapace from public priestly ministry and prohibited him from presenting himself as a priest.

Menapace was ordained in 1963 and retired in 1996. He worked at parishes in Marquette, Sault Ste. Marie, Brimley and Gulliver. Menapace also worked at Northern Michigan University and Lake Superior State College.

The diocese is asking any other victims to come forward and contact local authorities as well as one of the diocese’s victim’s assistance coordinators, Stephen Lynott at 1-844-495-4330 or Diane Tryan at 1-844-694-4362. Both numbers are toll-free.

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MISSOURI
The Kansas City Star

BY JUDY L. THOMAS
THE KANSAS CITY STAR
09/23/2014

Jury selection is to begin Thursday in a sexual abuse lawsuit filed against the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph by a former altar boy.

If the case goes to trial without a settlement, it will be the first lawsuit alleging sexual abuse of a minor by a priest to go before a jury in the Kansas City area.

The lawsuit, filed in 2011 by Jon David Couzens, alleges that the diocese intentionally failed to supervise a priest who repeatedly abused Couzens three decades ago.

Couzens alleges that Monsignor Thomas J. O’Brien sexually abused Couzens and three other youths in the early 1980s when they were altar boys at Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Independence.

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UNITED STATES
Crux

September 23, 2014

John L. Allen Jr.
Associate editor

Especially on the heels of rumors that Pope Francis is about to demote American Cardinal Raymond Burke to a ceremonial Vatican job, Saturday’s choice of Blase Cupich as the new Archbishop of Chicago cemented impressions in many quarters of a lurch to the left in Catholicism.

On Twitter, one disgruntled reaction termed this one-two punch the beginning of the “soft and fluffy Anglicanization” of the Catholic Church.

Burke is a hero to conservatives and an especially strong voice on pro-life issues, while Cupich is basically what the Europeans would call “center-left,” meaning a moderate whose own sympathies lie a bit more with the liberals. Taken together, these steps seem to paint a clear political picture.

Therein, however, lies the problem.

The impression of a recent turn to the left depends on keeping these two moves in focus – one of which is still unconfirmed, though Francis already took Burke off the Congregation for Bishops last December – and leaving a couple of other important pieces out of the picture.

For instance, there’s last Thursday’s appointment of Anthony Fisher as the new Archbishop of Sydney in Australia. A protégé of Cardinal George Pell, who today is overseeing Francis’ financial reform, Fisher is a Dominican theologian who would almost universally be seen as a conservative.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Information Service

Vatican City, 20 September 2014 (VIS) – The Holy Father has appointed the new members of the International Theological Commission and has renewed the mandate of a number of members from its previous five-year term. For the 2014-2019 term, the Commission will be composed of the following members:

– Fr. Serge Thomas Bonino, O.P., secretary general, France;
– Rev. Terwase Henry Akaabiam, Nigeria;
– Sister Prudence Allen, R.S.M., U.S.A.;
– Sister Alenka Arko, Loyola Community, Russian Federation – Slovenia;
– Msgr. Antonio Luiz Catelan Ferreira, Brazil;
– Msgr. Piero Coda, Italy;
– Rev. Lajos Dolhai, Hungary;
– P. Peter Dubovsky, S.J., Slovakia;
– Rev. Mario Angel Flores Ramos, Mexico;
– Rev. Carlos Maria Galli, Argentina;
– Rev. Krzysztof Gozdz, Poland;
– Rev. Gaby Alfred Hachem, Lebanon;
– Fr. Thomas Kollamparampil, C.M.I., India;
– Rev. Koffi Messan Laurent Kpogo, Togo;
– Rev. Oswaldo Martinez Mendoza, Colombia;
– Professor Moira Mary McQueen, Canada – Great Britain;
– Rev. Karl Heinz Menke, Germany;
– Rev.do John Junyang PARK, Corea;
– Fr. Bernard Pottier, S.J., Belgium;
– Rev. Javier Prades Lopez, Spain;
– Professor Tracey Rowland, Australia;
– Professor Hector Gustavo Sanchez Rojas, S.C.V., Peru;
– Professor Marianne Schlosser, Austria – Germany;
– Rev. Nicholaus Segeja M’Hela, Tanzania;
– Rev. Pierangelo Sequeri, Italy;
– Rev. Zeljko Tanjic, Croatia;
– Fr. Gerard Francisco P. Timoner III, O.P., Philippines;
– Fr. Gabino Uribarri Bilbao, S.J., Spain;
– Rev. Philippe Vallin, France;
– Fr. Thomas G. Weinandy, O.F.M.Cap., U.S.A.

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OKLAHOMA
McAlester News

Parker Perry | Staff writer

A McAlester pastor arrested Friday on a child pornography complaint has been removed from his position at the church.

Missionary Baptist Church released a statement Friday stating Larry Jones, 65, is no longer the leader of the church.

“In regards to the arrest of Pastor Larry Jones, the church held a special business meeting Friday, Sept. 19 at 7 p.m. and voted to remove him as pastor and a member of McAlester Missionary Baptist Church,” a statement reads.

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OKLAHOMA
Enid News

Parker Perry CNHI News Service

A pastor at a McAlester church was arrested Friday morning on an initial complaint of possessing child pornography.

Police said Larry Jones, 65, of McAlester, is the pastor at Missionary Baptist Church on Hereford Lane. Det. Sgt. Chris Morris said Jones was arrested after his wife found a letter written by him telling a story about a fantasy he had about three minors at the church.

“She was messing with the printer and it shot out a print. It was this story about three young girls,” Morris said.

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OKLAHOMA
Fox 23

[with video]

By Angela Hong

MCALESTER, Okla. — New details on a McAlester pastor arrested over the weekend on child pornography charges.

Larry Jones, 65, the pastor at Missionary Baptist Church, is now out of jail. FOX23 learned it was a story he wrote and not pictures or videos that put him in jail.

A McAlester police detective told FOX23 they believe Jones wrote a one-page story that was detailed and graphic and named girls from his church specifically.

The detective said it was the worst thing he’s ever read.

“It is shocking,” said Sgt. Chris Morris.

Morris had a difficult time repeating some of the details in the story.

“What it was, was a very graphic, detailed story about three young girls that went to his church,” said Morris.

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INDIA
Odisha Sun Times

Reported by Santosh Jagdev
Bhubaneswar, Sep 23:

A priest was today ‘caught redhanded’ by people in the Ganapati Nagar slum under the Nayapalli police station area in Odisha’s capital city, while he was allegedly sexually assaulting a six-year old girl at a desolate spot inside the slum.

The mother of the victim along with fellow slum-dwellers lodged a complaint with the Nayapalli police station, who in turn transferred the case to the Mahila police station for further investigation.

According to reports, the incident happened at 10am when parents of the minor girl were not present in their house.

Madhab Chandra Panda, priest of a small temple in the slum, called the little girl to a lonely place and took liberties with her private parts. Groaning in pain, the girl cried aloud for help.

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MICHIGAN
WSBT

DETROIT (AP) — A Catholic priest is scheduled for trial next week in the theft of money from a fund set up to help poor people in Detroit, Hamtramck and Highland Park.

The Wayne County prosecutor’s office says the Rev. Timothy Kane’s trial is scheduled Monday in Circuit Court.

The 58-year-old and an acquaintance, Dorreca Brewer, were charged in February with embezzlement. Brewer on Sept. 15 pleaded no contest to charges that she lied and embezzled. The Detroit Free Press reports (http://on.freep.com/1mI0SIe ) the 35-year-old is expected to avoid jail time.

Prosecutors say that the pair approved false applications for the Angel Fund and pocketed thousands of dollars over four years. The Angel Fund had been run by the Archdiocese of Detroit and granted more than $17 million to needy people since 2005.

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VATICAN CITY
Catholic Herald (UK)

Pope Francis has named Australian theologian Tracey Rowland among the new female members of the International Theological Commission.

The Vatican announced her appointment this morning, along with those of Sister Prudence Allen RSM, Sister Alenka Arko, Dr Moira McQueen and Prof Marianne Schlosser.

Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, announced earlier this month that the number of women serving on the commission would be increased. Until now, the commission had two female members, Sister Sara Butler and Prof Barbara Hallensleben.

Prof Tracey Rowland is Dean of the John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family in Melbourne. Her books include Ratzinger’s Faith: the Theology of Pope Benedict XVI.

The International Theological Commission was created by Pope Paul VI in 1969. Its task is to help the Holy See, and primarily the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, in examining major doctrinal questions.

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NEW YORK
CBS New York

[with video]

HAMPTON BAYS, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) — A little girl was allegedly sexually abused by a suspended Catholic priest who was a close family friend, and who had been charged with similar a crime in the past.

As CBS 2’s Lou Young reported exclusively Monday night, the 6-year-old, who has been diagnosed with a sexually-transmitted disease, said the abuse happened more times than she can remember. CBS 2 met her at her family’s home in Hampton Bays.

The girl identified her assailant as Augusto Cortez, 50, a suspended Catholic priest who should have been on everyone’s radar as a potential threat, Young reported.

Her mother told us how she found Cortez – a once trusted family friend and guest – at a backyard party on a couch with the child four months ago.

“Her face, it showed the fear, but what mostly really assured me was he walked away and he pulled up his zipper right away,” the girl’s mother said.

Cortez was picked up and questioned for several hours at Southampton police headquarters, and was released even though he is a sex offender on probation. After that, he since vanished, and CBS 2 is told the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office is actively looking for him.

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AUSTRALIA
Sky News

A horrifying picture of sustained physical and sexual abuse suffered for decades by mixed-race and Aboriginal children at a home in Darwin is unfolding at a national inquiry.

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse is sitting in Darwin to examine the Retta Dixon Home, which from 1946 until 1980, housed children of mixed descent as well as some unmarried mothers.

The home was run by the Aborigines Inland Mission (AIM).

Monday’s evidence from a number of former residents told of immense cruelty by ‘house parents’ who oversaw cottages housing up to 12 children at a time.

One witness alleged a girl who failed to properly tidy a kitchen was woken by house mother, Judy Fergusson, and stabbed multiple times on her hands with a can opener until she bled.

Children up to the age of 12 who wet the bed would be undressed and paraded in nappies in front of the other children, she said.

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AUSTRALIA
Sky News

Former Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Dr Tom Calma was told of an abuse allegation at Retta Dixon House in Darwin, decades ago, the Child Sex Abuse Royal Commission has been told.

Witness AKV – going under a pseudonym, with a protected identity – said he spoke to Mr Calma when he was a welfare offices.

The witness, a 54-year-old Eastern Arrente man from Alice Springs said he was sexually assaulted twice, and we witnessed horrific abuse.

‘There were times my sister would be tied up to the clothesline,’ AKV said.

‘And have faeces rubbed in her face.

‘(House parent) Henderson would regularly grove me in a sexual way.

‘He really seemed to have a thing for dark-skinned boys … Henderson’s favourite place for abusing boys was in the chook pen.’

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

Human rights campaigner Tom Calma was ‘helpless’ when told of sexual abuse allegations: inquiry

SEPTEMBER 23, 2014

Amos Aikman
Northern Correspondent
Darwin

PROMINENT indigenous human rights campaigner Tom Calma was told of horrific allegations of sexual abuse at a Darwin missionary home that were never followed up, a royal commission has heard.

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, sitting in Darwin, was told the alleged abuse was reported to Dr Calma in the 1970s, while he was working for the Northern Territory government.

The alleged abuse occurred at Retta Dixon Home for children and girls, which operated inside Darwin’s Bagot Aboriginal reserve between 1946 and 1980.

The allegations were made by a witness referred to only as AKV, who said he had informed Dr Calma of the abuse at the hands of “house parent” Don Henderson when he was about 10 years old. He said Dr Calma was working for the Northern Territory government “welfare mob” at the time.

AKV initially did not want to name the man “because he’s in such high standing in the commonwealth government and connection with the United Nations, I don’t want to shame his family”, but under questioning named him as Dr Calma.

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AUSTRALIA
7 News

AAP

BY NEDA VANOVAC
September 23, 2014

Carers at a home for Aboriginal children knew and did nothing for years as their colleague sexually abused their charges, a royal commission has heard.

Former residents of the Retta Dixon home for mixed-race indigenous children in the Northern Territory said no authority could be trusted with allegations that house parent Donald Henderson had molested them.

A former house parent, identified only as AKR, said in a statement to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in Darwin on Tuesday she was “absolutely devastated” when she heard the allegations against Mr Henderson, and reported him to home superintendent Mervyn Pattemore.

This led to a court case in 1976, but the inquiry heard that many children were too frightened to testify and Mr Henderson was acquitted due to a lack of evidence.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC – PM

DAVID MARK: Former residents of the Retta Dixon Children’s Home in Darwin have broken down on the stand while giving evidence to the child sexual abuse royal commission.

Retta Dixon Home was a home for mixed-race Indigenous children run from the 1940s to 1980 by a group of evangelical missionaries.

One witness today told the commission how the former race discrimination commissioner Tom Calma, was told a young boy was sexually abused in the 1970s, but that the allegations were not followed up.

The royal commission is investigating how the missionaries running the home, along with the NT Government and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, handled allegations of severe physical and sexual abuse.

And a warning, Will Ockenden’s story contains distressing details.

WILL OCKENDEN: It was a day packed with emotions, as witnesses at the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse broke down in the witness box.

WITNESS: And the doors were locked. He sexually penetrated me. There was lots of blood. (Sobbing).

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

By Xavier La Canna
Updated 23 Sep 2014

Prominent human rights campaigner Tom Calma was told of sexual assaults against a young boy in the 1970s that were not followed up, a royal commission in Darwin has heard.

On the second day of hearings of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in Darwin, there was more graphic evidence of abuse at the Retta Dixon Home, which mainly housed Aboriginal children between 1946 and 1980.

A witness known only as AKV said he was repeatedly abused by a former house parent at the home, Donald Bruce Henderson, who in 1984 was convicted of sex crimes against two boys unrelated to his time at Retta Dixon.

AKV said Dr Calma was working as a welfare officer with the NT government about the time the abuse took place in the early 1970s.

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LOUISIANA
TheMediaReport

David Pierre

As we have reported many times before, one of the most under-reported elements of the entire Catholic Church abuse story is the prevalence of false claims against innocent priests and priests long ago deceased who are no longer around to defend themselves.

Journalists and public relations-types – being the pack animals that they are – never pursue the ultimate counter-narrative of wrongly accused priests.

Now, in a refreshing episode of honesty, Louis Aguirre, spokesman for the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, a small diocese in Louisiana, has acknowledged that in recent years “there has not been a case that we deemed to be true” even though the diocese has paid out at least one financial settlement for a claim alleging abuse decades ago.

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VATICAN CITY
Religion News Service

Josephine McKenna | September 22, 2014

VATICAN CITY ( RNS) Pope Francis has appointed a special commission to look at ways to make it easier for Roman Catholics to dissolve their marriages in the eyes of the church.

The goal of the 11-member commission announced Saturday (Sept. 20), is to reform the process, “with the objective of simplifying its procedure, making it more streamlined.”

The weekend announcement came as a bitter clash emerged among cardinals over the church’s approach to marriage, divorce and remarriage.

According to church law, Catholics can obtain annulments if they can show their marriage was not valid. But if they opt out of the annulment process, divorce in civil court and then remarry, the church may refuse them Communion.

Five cardinals are publishing a new book reinforcing the sanctity of marriage next week, only days before the world’s bishops gather in Rome for a conference on the subject. The synod will consider issues including divorce, cohabitation, domestic violence and gay unions.

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VIRGINIA
Inside Nova

A volunteer at Park Valley Church in Haymarket has been charged with sending sexually explicit messages to a 15-year-old member of the congregation.

On Sept. 10, officials at the church at 4500 Waverly Farm Drive notified Prince William police of the incident. Police said the volunteer use a cell phone messaging application called KIK to send messages to a 15-year-old girl.

No physical contact was made between the volunteer and the girl.

Police obtained warrants charging Vincent Gunnar Bowes, 22, of Mills River, N.C., with attempted indecent liberties with a minor and use of a communication device to facilitate offenses involving a minor, said Prince William police spokesman Jonathan Perok.

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VIRGINIA
Washington Post

Va. church volunteer charged with sending sexually explicit messages to teenager

By Julie Zauzmer September 22

A church volunteer has been charged with sending sexually explicit messages to a 15-year-old in Haymarket.

Police say that Vincent G. Bowes, 22, sent messages to the teenage girl in August using the smartphone messenger Kik. Staff at Park Valley Church, which the teenager attends, learned about the messages and alerted police.

Prince William County police spokesman Jonathan Perok initially said that Bowes was employed as a youth pastor at Park Valley Church when he sent the messages. But a church employee said Monday that Bowes was a college student volunteering at the church, not a member of the staff, and the police department amended its description of the incident Monday evening to refer to Bowes as a volunteer.

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VIRGINIA
WUSA

HAYMARKET, Va. (WUSA9) — A youth pastor at a Virginia church sent sexually explicit messages to a 15-year-old girl, Prince William County police said.

On August 20, a 16-year-old youth pastor at Park Valley Church located at 4500 Waverly Farm Drive used cell phone app KIK to send sexually explicit messages to a 15-year-old girl, police said.

No physical contact was made between the two, according to police. When church staff found out about what happened, they told police.

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INDIANA
WTHI

[with video]

By Chris Essex

VINCENNES, Ind. (WTHI) – A Vincennes man is behind bars for sexual misconduct with a minor.

On Friday Vincennes Police arrested 34-year-old Derrick “Duke” Hampsch.

Hampsch allegedly had improper sexual contact with a minor on multiple occasions, dating back to 2010 in Vincennes.

The investigation also revealed Hampsch allegedly committed sex acts with a minor outside of Vincennes while working as a youth program administrator.

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INDIANA
WISH

VINCENNES, Ind. (WTHI) – A Vincennes man was arrested for sexual misconduct with a minor on Friday.

Vincennes police arrested 34-year-old Derrick “Duke” Hampsch. Police say he had improper sexual contact with a minor on multiple occasions, dating back to 2010 in Vincennes.

The investigation also revealed Hampsch allegedly committed sex acts with a minor outside of Vincennes while working as a youth program administrator.

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INDIANA
WBIW

(VINCENNES) -A Vincennes youth pastor has been arrested on sexual misconduct with a minor charges.

34-year old Derrick “Duke” Hampsch, the former youth pastor at First Baptist Church, is accused of having improper sexual contact with a minor on multiple occasions dating back to 2010 in Vincennes.

He’s also accused of having committed sexual acts with a minor while outside of Vincennes city limits while working as a youth program administrator.

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IRELAND
Irish Times

Patsy McGarry

Mon, Sep 22, 2014

Traditionalists in Rome’s College of Cardinals have decided to get their revenge in first, so to speak, prior to the Extraordinary Synod of Bishops which begins in Rome on October 5th.
The five men concerned include heavy-hitters such as German cardinal Gerhard Müller, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), and Irish American cardinal Raymond Burke, prefect of the Supreme Court of the Apostolic Signature. Both will be taking part in the Extraordinary Synod.

Involved too are Cardinal Carlo Caffarra of Bologna, Italy, Cardinal Walter Brandmüller, former president of the Vatican’s Committee for Historical Sciences, and Cardinal Velasio De Paolis, former president of the Vatican’s Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See. All contributed essays to the book Remaining With Christ’s Truth, to be published on October 1st.
Pope Francis waves to a poster of the ethnic Albanian missionary Mother Teresa as he is driven through Tirana yesterday. Photograph: Hector Pustina/APCrowd of 200,000 in Albania hear pope speak of tolerance

Pope Francis: among those he married were people who had children out of wedlock, others who had divorced and others who had their marriages annulled Pope may change key rules on marriage

Another heavyweight, Irish Australian cardinal George Pell, prefect of the Vatican Secretariat for the Economy, will take part in the Extraordinary Synod too. He has written a foreword to another book to be published on October 1st, The Hope of the Family. It includes an extended interview with Cardinal Müller.

All make clear that when it comes to church teaching on marriage, including the ban on remarried divorced Catholics from receiving communion, they are not for turning – whatever the noises off from Santa Marta, where Pope Francis resides.

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AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald

September 21, 2014

Geraldine Doogue

What are the ideal characteristics of a man taking on the formidable job of Archbishop of Sydney in this early 21st century? Bishops have always occupied a venerable place in the life of the church. Even though Rome has steadily centralised its power in the last 150 years, the temperament and approach of a local bishop really matters to his people, more than is generally recognised by our largely secular society.

So as a Sydney Catholic, what am I seeking from Anthony Fisher? First, the Archbishop needs to be a pastoral man, who sees his job as nurturing the people of Sydney. He doesn’t have to be an avuncular soul necessarily, like Pope Francis, but he needs to prove that he likes us.
He needs to build on the virtues of Sydney, not merely define its vices; for there are many virtues in this big town, marked by generosity of spirit, vitality and creativity. As St Ironaeus said in the early second century: The greatest testament to the presence of God is a man (or woman) fully alive. That, in my view, is a good description of Sydney, which despite all its flaws, stands ready to contribute much to modern Australia.

He should revel in drawing lay people right insidethe tent, by recognising their readiness to serve and the talents just waiting to be exploited on behalf of the church. He should be humble enough to know that only skills from outside the hierarchy will save the church’s reputation and refresh it now in the eyes of modern Australia. He should especially realise how much women are keen to be invited into the venture. They have been the long-term faithful and lament, more than most, the drift they see in their parishes.

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AUSTRALIA
National Catholic Reporter

Sharyn McCowen Catholic News Service | Sep. 22, 2014

SYDNEY
New Sydney Archbishop Anthony Fisher has pledged to regain the confidence of Australian Catholics and the broader community in the wake of the church’s sexual abuse scandal.
Pope Francis named the bishop of Parramatta and former auxiliary bishop of Sydney to succeed Cardinal George Pell, now prefect of the Vatican’s Secretariat for the Economy.

“There can be no more excuses, no more cover-ups and the victims have to be put first,” Fisher said.

The Catholic church in Australia is going through a period of scrutiny, he said.

“I hope it will emerge from this purified, humbler, more compassionate and spiritually regenerated,” he said.

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NEW JERSEY
Hanover Eagle

MORRIS TWP. ‑ Voice of the Faithful New Jersey will present the documentary, “A Matter of Conscience: Confronting Clergy Abuse,” at 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 19, at, St. Mark Lutheran Church, 100 Harter Road.

A liturgy will follow at 4:30 p.m.

Following the narratives recounted by psychologically-scarred survivors of clergy sex abuse and documented in their first documentary on the topic of clerical sexual transgression, “Who Takes Away the Sins: Witnesses to Clergy Abuse,“ Susan and John Michalczyk said they felt impelled to continue to expose the magnitude of the scandal by also telling the stories of courageous women and men who revealed clergy abuse and were sanctioned by church leaders—some ostracized, some removed from their positions, deemed disloyal, traitors to their religious orders or the church for daring to break the code of silence.

Bob Hoatson, field producer and co-founder of Road to Recovery, invited his colleagues in Catholic Whistleblowers to participate in the new documentary, “A Matter of Conscience: Confronting Clergy Abuse.”

Fathers Patrick Collins, Ronald Lemmert, Bruce Teague, James Connell and Thomas Patrick Doyle, and Sisters. Maureen Paul Turlish, Sally Butler and Claire Smith agreed to tell how they reported occurrences of clergy sexual abuse despite serious repercussions for their actions. Mitchell Garabedian, attorney for countless survivors of clergy abuse, and Anne Barrett-Doyle of Bishop Accountability.org generously participated in the project.

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MINNESOTA
Star Tribune

Article by: JEAN HOPFENSPERGER , Star Tribune Updated: September 22, 2014

Ground rules ensured no robes, collars or media.

It was a first in Minnesota, and perhaps a first in the nation. A support group for survivors of clergy sex abuse hosting the man who represents the church they believe betrayed them — Archbishop John Nienstedt.

The ground rules for last weekend’s meeting quietly were laid in advance. No media allowed. No robes or collar on the archbishop. The survivors would be respectful.

Held in a suburban library conference room, the unlikely meeting allowed survivors to share their painful stories with Minnesota’s top Catholic leader and provided Nienstedt a rare and inside look at the impact of abuse.

“I really didn’t think he’d be there until he actually showed up,” said Shawn Plocher, a Minneapolis man who was abused as a child. “This is a group of hurting people who want some sense of healing or closure. … I’m hoping things are heading in the right direction.”

Nienstedt said after the session that he was “honored and thankful that so many have shared their experiences with me.”

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UNITED STATES
The American Conservative

By ROD DREHER • September 23, 2014

If you haven’t read yesterday’s thread in which people shared their stories about losing their religion, I highly recommend that you do. It’s so moving. Here is the thread for commenting critically on those stories. Today I invite readers who found religion to tell their stories. I will also start a side thread for the critical discussion of these stories. As with yesterday’s posts, please do not place critical commentary in the story thread. It’s only for stories.

I can add something to this. I’m not sure I have ever told this story.

It was 2005, and I was deeply mired in the slough of despond over my Catholic faith, because of the scandal. Discovering that a priest we were getting to know and like was in fact a manipulative liar who was not supposed to be in ministry until the sexual abuse accusations against him had been cleared up, and that the pastor of the parish we had begun attending knew all this and put him into informal ministry anyway — and hid it from most parishioners and his bishop! — was the final straw. My anger, fear, and utter lack of trust in the institutional Catholic Church was working like acid on me. I couldn’t go to mass without having to walk out half the time because I was so angry.

I prayed intensely, desperately for relief and direction. As a Catholic, theologically I believed that the only possible option was Orthodoxy. I read book after book, trying to compare the competing arguments for each church. They only confused me more. I had enough self-awareness to know that it was impossible for me to read these books lucidly. The cloud of darkness around me was like stinging flies. What I recall learning from all that was that the Catholic case for Roman primacy was not nearly as airtight as I had believed. I had only seriously considered the Roman claim versus Protestant claims. Orthodoxy was a new thing. The Orthodox arguments were making some headway with me, but they were far from a slam-dunk, at least with me. What they did was loosen my confidence in the solidity of the Catholic claim. Yet I was highly aware that my own mental and emotional state was inflamed by anger and distrust, such that I was not sure to what extent my deliberations could be trusted.

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WALES
Breitbart

by OLIVER LANE 23 Sep 2014

A new book has expressed in detail the sexual activities of a Satanic sex cult that apparently controlled a single cul-de-sac in the village of Kidwelly, Wales, and submitted a young girl from the age of seven to varied sexual abuse in a bid to appease the imagined God of an Edwardian sadist.

The group, which followed the teaching of ‘The Great Beast’ Aleister Crowley inducted the girl into their ring after she witnessed her mother performing sexual acts as part of a pseudo-religious ceremony when she was only seven years old. At the age of eleven the group leader took her virginity and she was soon being subjected to group orgies.

Although the Satanic group was a relatively small entity, it forced the young girl, who is identified by the pseudonym of Annabelle Forest into prostitution to raise funds for their ‘church’. Through the repeated abuses and being pimped out by the group leader, by the age of 18 she claimed to have been forced into sleeping with more than 1,800 people.

‘Forest’ is not the only young girl to have been initiated into this cult, although the exact number of young people, which involved teenage and pre pubescent boys as well as girls, is not known. When jailed in 2011, the cult leader had been convicted with 11 cases of rape, three of indecent assault, the crime of causing prostitution for personal gain, causing a child to have sex, inciting a child to have sex, six counts of buggery and four counts of possessing child pornography.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC – Central West NSW

By Melanie Pearce

Parishioners of the Anglican Diocese of Bathurst have been updated on the financial troubles facing the organisation.

Western New South Wales Anglican parishes have been asked to double their contributions to the Diocese of Bathurst as it faces a legal challenge over a $25.5m debt.

The Bishop, Ian Palmer made the announcement at Saturday’s Synod, or governing body of the diocese, when he spoke frankly of the financial and legal stress the church is facing, but also of hope and change.

For more than an hour on Saturday he addressed about 90 Synod members, made up of priests and elected lay people.

The Bishop spoke of the latest developments in the Supreme Court action launched on behalf of the Commonwealth Bank which is trying to recoup $25.5m.

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RUSSIA/ISRAEL
International Business Times

By Kalyan Kumar | September 23, 2014

A Russian priest in Israel is facing extradition after Russia sounded an international arrest warrant for the alleged sexual abuse of two minor girls. Grozovsky, 35, belongs to the Russian Orthodox Church. This father of four is a known figure in social circles. Grozovsky is also claimed to have served as adviser to Maksim Mitrofanov, director of FC Zenit sports club, reported AFP.

An Orthodox priest holds a cross as Serbs gather to mark the anniversary of the 1389 Battle of Kosovo at Gazimestan, near the capital Pristina June 28, 2014.

The Israel police arrested Gleb Grozovsky on Sunday and is planning to extradite him to Russia. Grozovsky arrived in Israel in September 2013 as a tourist and applied for citizenship. Israel rejected his request and asked him to leave. But the Russian priest asked the High Court to act against the directive, but the verdict of the court has been released yet.

Sexual Assault

Grozovsky is facing the charge of assaulting two underage girls at an Orthodox summer camp on the Greek island of Kos in June 2013. The investigators have also collected information about a series of similar crimes in Saint-Petersburg by this offender. The priest was active among the Saint-Petersburg drug addicts and ran many church-affiliated youth programmes and hosted its own radio show. Grozovsky has denied all allegations of sexual misconduct. In April 2014, the priest wrote a letter on VKontakte, Russia’s popular social media Web site, defending himself and asserting that he would return to Russia to defend his innocence.

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NEW YORK
Albany Times Union

By Robert Gavin

Albany

A former student at La Salle Institute said Monday he was sexually abused at the Catholic school in Troy more than two decades ago by a teacher who used him as his “personal prostitute” during time designated for private tutoring.

Michael Cioppa, 39, of Latham, said the teacher molested him in the man’s apartment but also treated him to favors like a plum parking spot, and the man even took a Regents exam for him.

During a news conference a teary-eyed Cioppa revealed alleged details of an ordeal he said has left him so emotionally devastated, the married man does not want to bring children into the world.

“Not after what I’ve seen,” Cioppa said.

Now a businessman working as a care provider, he said he was abused starting at age 16. When he finally came forward, he said, he was told to keep quiet.

“I just kept my mouth shut,” Cioppa said. “The internal frustration was unbearable and the confusion I suffered is still crippling my existence. I graduated and disappeared.”

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CONNECTICUT
WNPR

By RAY HARDMAN

The Archdiocese of Hartford is hoping to stem the tide of lawsuits against priests accused of child sexual abuse.

In 2002, the General Assembly passed legislation that retroactively extended the statute of limitations for lawsuits filed by victims of sexual abuse by priests from 17 years to 30 years, because it often takes decades for victims of sexual abuse to comes to terms with their abuse come forward. Lawyers for the Archdiocese of Hartford say that extension is unconstitutional, and they’re using the case of Jacob Doe to argue their point.

Not his real name, Doe and a friend claim they were repeatedly molested by Father Ivan Ferguson and Ferguson’s boyfriend in the early 1980s at a Derby School. Ferguson died in 2002.

Lawyers for Doe say the Archdiocese was aware of previous instances of Ferguson molesting children, and acted recklessly when they moved Ferguson to the Derby school. In 2012, a jury in Waterbury awarded $1 million to Jacob Doe.

The Hartford Archdiocese appealed that award to the Connecticut Supreme Court.

Attorney Wesley Horton, representing the church, reminded the justices on Monday in oral arguments that more and more states are overturning retroactive statute of limitation laws. “One of the major aspects of the rule of law,” he told the justices, “is people should know what their rights are, and they don’t get changed substantively, retroactively. That, in my opinion, is why the cases are going our way, and why this court should add its name to the vast majority of states that agree with the defendant’s position.”

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RUSSIA
The Moscow Times

By Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber
Sep. 22 2014

A Russian Orthodox priest suspected of having committed acts of pedophilia at a children’s summer camp last year has been detained in Israel, Interfax reported Monday.

Gleb Grozovsky, a priest from St. Petersburg, was placed on an international wanted list at Russia’s request based on allegations of having sexually assaulted two girls, aged 9 and 12, at a religious-themed youth camp on the Greek island of Kos in 2013. He is also suspected of having committed “a range of similar crimes in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region” between 2011 and 2013, according to Russia’s Investigative Committee.

Grozovsky left Russia for Israel on a business trip in the fall of 2013 before the Russian Investigative Committee launched a criminal case against him. His diocese in the Leningrad region terminated the mission in November of that year, but the priest failed to return to Russia.

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MINNESOTA
KSTP

By: Megan Matthews

A woman, who says she was abused by Fr. Michael Keating as a teenager, has amended her complaint. This comes after Keating announced he was resigning from the University of St. Thomas last week.

The woman, known only as “Doe 20,” says she believes Keating is stepping down under false pretenses and that he’s still a danger to young women. Her complaint now alleges the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis knew Keating was a threat and should not have kept him in good standing.

The amended complaint was filed Monday by Jeff Anderson and Associates.

“Sadly, over the years I have come to realize that the archdiocese has been more concerned with saving face than with addressing the deep wounds they have caused,” she said in a statement. “What scares me the most is the possibility of more children being abused. No child should have to live with the fear and shame that I carried for years.”

The amended complaint also names Fr. Kevin McDonough, because when the Archdiocese investigated “Doe 20’s” abuse allegations against Keating, McDonough referred to her as “delusional,” according to Attorney Jeff Anderson.

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MINNESOTA
Pioneer Press

By Emily Gurnon
egurnon@pioneerpress.com
POSTED: 09/22/2014

Attorneys with the office of Jeff Anderson filed an amended lawsuit Monday in Ramsey County District Court, alleging that the Twin Cities Catholic archdiocese defamed a woman who had accused the Rev. Michael Keating of sexual abuse.

The Chisago County woman, known as Doe 20, sued Keating in October 2013, alleging that he molested her beginning when she was about 13. Keating was in seminary at the time but later became a priest and joined the faculty of the University of St. Thomas.

The amended lawsuit accuses the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and its former vicar-general the Rev. Kevin McDonough of defaming the woman in published statements. The archdiocese and McDonough have been added as defendants.

The woman accuses Keating, now 58, of abusing her from 1997 to 2000. McDonough investigated the allegations in 2006, when she first came forward.

McDonough wrote that “she had mental and emotional disability that gave her ‘delusions,’ falsely implying that the plaintiff had falsely reported… the harmful and offensive touchings by Keating that she had experienced,” the amended suit said.

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MINNESOTA
Jeff Anderson and Associates

[court document]

September 22, 2014

Survivor of Sexual Abuse by Father Michael Keating Reacts to Keating’s Resignation out of Concern for Children

(St. Paul, MN) – Today an adult woman, Doe 20, abused by Fr. Michael Keating as a teenager, filed an amended complaint and issued a statement expressing deep sorrow and concern about Keating’s announcement last week that he was resigning from the University of St. Thomas for his own career objectives.

This courageous young woman chose to file this complaint because Keating’s resignation was not only under false pretenses, but gives the impression he is not a danger to the public. “Jane Doe’s experience, and our view, is that he has and remains a danger to vulnerable young women,” said her attorney Jeff Anderson. “We applaud this brave, young survivor for her courage in standing up for the truth and protection of other kids.”

The amended complaint now includes the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis because there is good reason to believe that they had sufficient information to prevent Keating from having access to Doe 20 and others before the abuse of Doe 20 occurred, and because the Archdiocese’s review process caused further harm to Doe 20. The Archdiocese made a conscious choice to keep Keating in ministry and in good standing at the University of St. Thomas. The amended complaint also names Fr. Kevin McDonough because when the Archdiocese undertook review and investigation of the abuse allegation, he referred to Doe 20 as “delusional.”

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MINNESOTA
Minnesota Public Radio

Madeleine Baran St. Paul, Minn. Sep 22, 2014

An attorney representing a woman who claims that the Rev. Michael Keating sexually abused her in the late 1990s sued the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis today for conducting a “sham investigation” into her complaint.

The lawsuit filed in Ramsey County District Court also accuses the Rev. Kevin McDonough — a former top church deputy — of defamation for falsely claiming that the woman suffered from “delusions.” Attorney Jeff Anderson said McDonough made the remark in an email to an office at the University of Mary, a Catholic school in Bismarck, North Dakota.

Anderson added the charges to a previous lawsuit he filed against Keating in October 2013. The woman, who is not named in the suit, alleges that Keating sexually abused her when she was about 13 to 15 years old.

Anderson said his client also wanted to speak out about Keating’s resignation last week from his position as a Catholic Studies professor at the University of St. Thomas. Keating, who has denied any wrongdoing, had been on a leave of absence since October 2013.

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MONTANA
Fox News

Published September 22, 2014
Associated Press

GREAT FALLS, Mont. – A Roman Catholic bishop says a central Montana parish is about evenly divided over a new priest’s decision to prohibit a gay couple from receiving Communion unless they divorce, live separately and write a statement affirming that a marriage is between a man and a woman.

Bishop Michael Warfel of the Diocese of Great Falls-Billings met Saturday with about 300 parishioners of St. Leo the Great Catholic Church in Lewistown, where he also led a Mass. About half the parishioners supported the Rev. Samuel Spiering’s decision, while the other half

“There obviously is polarization, and certainly what I want to do is try to effect some healing,” Warfel said Saturday. “At the same time, as a Catholic bishop, I uphold our Catholic teachings.”

Tom Wojtowick, 66, and Paul Huff, 73, are longtime Catholics and have attended St. Leo the Great since 2003. Both sang in the choir, and Wojtowick is an organist.
ionship for more than 30 years and were married in a civil ceremony in Seattle in May 2013.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Anglican Communion News Service

The Right Revd Paul Butler, Bishop of Durham has addressed an international conference on safeguarding within the Church. His speech asked the key question of how can we become the leaders in safeguarding which with our vision of humanity and of God’s future for us all we should be. But we must acknowledge that there are continuing concerns that face the church and other institutions relating to the customer and practice surrounding matters of safeguarding.

Bishop Paul addressed CCPAS’s (The Churches’ Child Protection Advisory Service) 2014 international safeguarding conference in London. The event is being attended by an audience of delegates drawn from across the safeguarding community – both within faith communities and from outside agencies and organisations.

In his speech, Bishop Paul, the lead Bishop for Children and Young in the Church of England and Chair of its Safeguarding Board said: “I am deeply honoured to have been asked to address this conference today, and to begin to open up our thinking about ‘The Contribution Faith Can Make to Safeguarding Worldwide’ – the title of the conference.

“We are all very conscious of how much the world of safeguarding has changed over the past decades, and the rapid changes of recent years.

“The UK Church has come a long way in safeguarding over the past decades. There is much for which we can be thankful. We are in a better place than we were.”

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UNITED KINGDOM
BBC News

A Jersey human rights campaigner has said the woman at the heart of an investigation into abuse allegations within the Anglican Church wants to put the matter behind her.

Bob Hill, a former politician, said the woman, known as “HG”, has been left out of discussions and investigations.

Jersey’s Anglican church split from the Diocese of Winchester over the matter.

The Bishop of Winchester, Tim Dakin, is reviewing the report about how the complaint was handled by the church.

Mr Hill said HG is “fed up with the way in which she has become a political football”.

“What she seeks now is closure, but she cannot get that closure until the reports have been published, if indeed they are ever going to be published,” he said.

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MINNESOTA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Monday, September 22, 2014

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

One of the most prolific child molesting clerics in the US sexually assaulted a boy at the Inver Grove Heights church where Archbishop John Nienstedt will hold his “healing mass” tonight.

He’s Brother Stephen P. Baker who worked at St. Patrick’s parish from 1977 to 1981. That’s where he sexually assaulted Doug Larson. Baker’s accused of molesting more than 80 kids.

Almost a year ago, we in SNAP urged Nienstedt to reach out to others Br. Baker may have assaulted at this church. We were ignored.

In 2005, church officials paid Larson $50,000 but told no one. As a result, “Baker may have had access to children through the late 2000s,” according to the independent archive group BishopAccountability.org.

We believe there is a good chance that Baker abused more Minnesota kids. We want Archbishop Nienstedt to disclose whether his staff has heard from more local Baker victims. And tonight, we want Nienstedt to aggressively seek out others who saw, suspected or suffered Baker’s crimes.

Last year, 11 of Baker’s victims settled their cases with the Youngstown diocese and Baker’s direct supervisors. (Both the accusations and the settlements were kept secret by Catholic officials.) Since then, at least another 69 individuals have reported being victimized by Baker. Many come from the Altoona-Johnstown diocese in Pennsylvania, where Baker worked at a Catholic school. Baker also worked at church facilities in Michigan and Virginia.

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ILLINOIS
WLS

Monday, September 22, 2014

LIBERTYVILLE, Ill. (WLS) — Dario Spasic was charged with indecent solicitation of a child after police said he attempted to meet who he thought was a 14-year-old boy “to engage in sexual activities,” the Lake County Sheriff’s office said.

The 22-year-old man reached out to someone he believed was a teen boy using a mobile social networking app. The person he contacted was actually a Lake County detective with the Cybercrimes Unit.

Spasic arranged a meeting at 10 p.m. Friday with the teen to for sex, he told police, but encountered Lake County Sheriff’s detectives instead and taken into custody.

Spasic, of the 32300-block of Milwaukee Avenue in Libertyville, was charged with two counts of indecent solicitation of a child. His bond was set at $100,000.

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ILLINOIS
Chicago Tribune

By Lisa Black,
Tribune reporter

A 22-year-old student at a theological college in Lake County has been charged with indecent solicitation of a child, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.

Dario Spasic contacted someone who he thought was a 14-year-old boy Friday through a mobile social networking app, and made arrangements for a meeting at 10 p.m. the same day, according to a sheriff’s press release issued today.

Spasic had actually been communicating with a detective from the sheriff’s cybercrimes unit posing as an underage boy, authorities said. When Spasic arrived for the meeting, he was arrested, the news release said.

The sheriff’s office confirmed that Spasic is a student at St. Sava School of Theology in Libertyville, and the address the department provided for him is the same block as the school’s location. St. Sava provides religious education and trains students for the Serbian Orthodox priesthood, according to the school’s website.

A man who answered the phone at the Serbian Orthodox campus in Libertyville, identifying himself as the property manager, confirmed there is a student there by the same name but deferred further questions to another priest, who could not immediately be reached.

According to a sheriff’s press release, the man who was arrested had “requested to meet with (someone) who he believed was the 14-year-old boy” with the intent to engage in sexual activities.

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CONNECTICUT
CT Now

By DAVE ALTIMARI
3:24 p.m. EDT, September 22, 2014

Archdiocese of Hartford attorneys used the case of Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel to argue Monday before the state Supreme Court that a revision to a state law that lengthened the time a sexual-abuse accuser can file a lawsuit should be overturned.

Wesley Horton told the panel of seven justices that Skakel’s case, which came before the court a few years ago, was a relevant example of the church’s issue with the state law.

“Remember the Skakel case where this court said you can’t apply a statute of limitations retroactively after it has expired because it impacts the defendants rights,” Horton told the justices.

The diocese is appealing a $1 million jury verdict from last February in which the accuser, identified in court papers as Jacob Doe, testified that he and another friend were repeatedly sexually assaulted by the Rev. Ivan Ferguson and a friend of the priest from 1981-1983. The diocese also wants the court to overturn the verdict.

The victim was allowed to file that lawsuit because in 2002 the state legislature voted to extend the statute of limitations for civil cases on sexual assault claims to 30 years from when a complainant reaches 18. It had first been amended in 1991 to 17 years. The 2002 change was retroactive. …

Attorney Hugh D. Hughes, who represented Jacob Doe, said the jury was entitled to hear that the church had failed to supervise Ferguson.

“The defendant in effect crossed their fingers and looked the other way,” Hughes said. “They understood from Day 1 the seriousness of this issue and turned a blind eye.”

The diocese was first made aware of Ferguson’s abuse by a phone call in 1979. At the time, Ferguson was a teacher at Northwest Catholic High School in West Hartford.

At the trial, testimony showed that when former Archbishop John F. Whealon confronted him about the 1979 allegation, Ferguson admitted to the abuse. Ferguson was sent to a treatment facility in Massachusetts. Two years later, Whealon appointed Ferguson priest director of a Derby school.

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CANADA
Truro Daily News

A Berwick man will transported to Ontario to face historic sex charges involving a boy under the age of 14.

Robyn Quinton Gwyn, 66, was brought to Windsor provincial court on Sept. 19 in custody on a provincial court warrant out of Kingston, Ontario.

The Crown was opposed to Gwyn’s release and Gwyn was remanded for six days. The Kingston Police Service will make arrangements to transport the accused to Ontario.

Gwyn, who according to court records is a retired priest, faces charges of sexual assault, invitation to sexual touching and sexual interference. The charges stem from incidents alleged to have occurred in Kingston, Ontario, between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2000.

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WISCONSIN
Catholic League

Bill Donohue comments on a decision by the Supreme Court of Wisconsin responding to a complaint we lodged against attorney Rebekah M. Nett:

In a letter to the Catholic League dated September 18, the Supreme Court of Wisconsin responded to the 2011 grievance we filed against Rebekah M. Nett. We asked that she be investigated for making stridently anti-Catholic remarks against U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Nancy Dreher, et al.

The formal complaint we lodged cited the following:

Nett filed a memo written by her client, Naomi Isaacson, which said, “Across the country the court systems and particularly the Bankruptcy Court in Minnesota are composed of a bunch of ignoramus, bigoted Catholics beasts that carry the sword of the church.”

The memo called U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Nancy Dreher “a Catholic Knight Witch Hunter.” [Note: Dreher is not Catholic.]

The memo called one bankruptcy trustee “a priest’s boy,” and another a “Jesuitess.”
For her part, Nett called Dreher and other court personnel “dirty Catholics,” adding that “Catholic deeds throughout the [sic] history have been bloody and murderous.”

Our grievance against Nett was initially taken up by the Wisconsin Office of Lawyer Regulation, but when the Minnesota Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility filed a petition for disciplinary action against Nett in the Minnesota Supreme Court, the Wisconsin court deferred judgment until Minnesota concluded its case. The conclusion: Ms. Nett’s Wisconsin law license has been suspended for a period of one year.

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CONNECTICUT
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Monday, September 22, 2014

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

The Connecticut Supreme Court today heard oral arguments in a case that could be monumental for children.

Hartford Archbishop Leonard Blair wants to fix what isn’t broken and turn back the clock on kids’ safety. He’s asking the justices to overturn a 12 year old law that protects children by helping child sex abuse victims expose child molesters in court. We desperately hope he loses. If he wins, mothers, fathers, boys, girls, employers, neighbors, police and prosecutors all lose.

If Hartford’s archbishop wins, it will be the biggest legal setback for the children’s safety movement since

–Wisconsin’s 1995 Pritzloff decision which, for years, made it almost impossible for clergy sex abuse victims to file civil lawsuits, no matter how egregious the crimes and cover ups

–Missouri’s 1997 Brewer decision, which made it extremely hard for victims to do likewise, and

–the US Supreme Court’s 2003 Stogner decision which enabled hundreds of alleged sex offenders – some being investigated, some who were already charged – go free.

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MINNESOTA
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis

Date(s): Monday, September 22
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: St. Patrick Catholic Church, Inver Grove Heights

Hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer! From the ends of the earth, I call; my heart grows faint. Raise me up, set me on a rock, for you are my refuge. – Psalm 61:2-4

Come together as a community of faith to pray for the healing and reconciliation that God alone can secure. Whether due to the wounds inflicted by a shepherd of the Church, or the loss of a loved one, or the violation of human dignity through domestic abuse or abortion, we all stand in need of the healing power of the Crucified and Risen One. But in these difficult days of confusion, anger and pain within our local Church, it is especially important to cry out to the God who alone can save us.

Join us as we pray for healing, reconciliation, and hope in a celebration of the Eucharist; the source and summit of our faith and the great Sacrament of Charity. All who are in need of healing of any kind are welcome and encouraged to attend.

Monday, September 22
7:00 p.m.
St. Patrick
3535 72nd Street East
Inver Grove Heights
Archbishop John Nienstedt presiding

Following Holy Mass, there will be an opportunity for private prayer with both priests and trained lay pastoral leaders. The Sacrament of Reconciliation will also be available throughout the evening.

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UNITED STATES
National Survivors Advocates Coalition

Editorial

Kristine Ward, Chair, National Survivor Advocates Coalition,

Pope Francis’ choice to replace Cardinal Francis George is Bishop Blase Cupich who will leave the Diocese of Spokane, Washington, to take over the helm at the Archdiocese of Chicago.

Apropos of nature’s season of changing colors, Cupich’s official outerwear will undoubtedly change from magenta to red in the not too distant future, again significantly ratcheting up his influence within the Church’s internal structure.

There will be mountains of words written about this choice now, at his installation, and at the time of the change-of-color events.

For now, deep into this crisis of monumental proportions with a huge Vatican public relations operation underway, we think the proof still remains in the pudding.

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MINNESOTA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Monday, September 22, 2014

Statement by Frank Meuers of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests ( 952-334-5180, frankameuers@gmail.com )

Tonight, Archbishop Nienstedt has scheduled a “healing mass” for clergy sex abuse victims.

At worst, this is a cynical public relations move. At best, it misses the mark.

Nienstedt’s focus should be on real reforms that actually make kids safer, not symbolic gestures that make him seem nicer or that make a few adults temporarily feel better.

Nienstedt’s first job should be protecting the vulnerable. And much remains to be done on this front.

He should discipline – publicly and harshly – those who hid or ignored clergy sex crimes, to deter such irresponsible behavior in the first place. He should start with Fr. Kevin McDonough and those who have most recently been caught protecting predators and endangering kids.

He should support – not oppose – reforming secular child safety laws (specially the archaic, predator-friendly statute of limitations).

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CALIFORNIA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Monday, September 22, 2014

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

An employee at a Salinas church has been arrested after a camera was found in the female bathroom. We are saddened by this gross violation and hope church officials will do everything in their power to reach out to others who may have been victimized.

Daniel Murguia was a maintenance man at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Salinas before being arrested for secretly recording women in the bathroom. According to police reports there are at least 20 incidences of women unknowingly being recorded in the bathroom.

We hope church officials use church bulletins, websites and pulpit announcements to inform parishioners about this gross violation of privacy. We hope anyone hurt by this incident finds the courage to speak up and start healing.

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ROME
The Freethinker (UK)

Barry Duke, Editor

Dutch bishops visiting Rome this week have given Pope Francis grim tidings about the Church’s future in the Netherlands.

The bishops, according to this report, told the Pope in Rome that about two-thirds of all Roman Catholic churches in Holland would have to be shut or sold by 2025, and many parishes merged, because congregations and finances were:

In a long-term shrinking process.

Both Catholic and Protestant Christian ranks have shrunk dramatically across Europe in recent decades, and hundreds of churches have been sold off to be turned into apartments, shops, bars or warehouses.

In the Netherlands, churches have been closing at a rate of one or two a week.

Their five-yearly report blamed a “drastic secularisation” of society, although a critical group of Dutch lay Catholics said the scandal of sexual abuse of minors by priests, which has afflicted many Catholic dioceses around the world, had also driven many people away, as had the closures themselves.

The only bright spot for the Dutch church was the finding that the election of the popular Pope Francis in March appeared to have slowed the exodus this year.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Your Local Guardian

by Laura Proto, Chief Reporter

A vigil for alleged victims of child abuse was held outside a guest house in Barnes being investigated under Operation Fernbridge.

About 20 people gathered outside Elm Guest House, Rocks Lane, on Monday, September 15, to lay flowers and balloons for children whose lives were affected by the alleged abuse.

The guest house is at the centre of a police investigation into allegations of child sex abuse dating back to the 1970s and 1980s.

It is alleged that the guest house was advertised as a place for gay men to have parties, but was the centre of a VIP paedophile ring visited by powerful people.

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

Amos Aikman
Northern Correspondent
Darwin

ABORIGINAL children at the Retta Dixon Home in Darwin suffered harrowing sexual and physical abuse, including being chained up, beaten until they bled and repeatedly touched inappropriately, the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has heard.

Many of those living at the home, which operated between 1946 and 1980, were members of the Stolen Generation, taken from their parents due to their mixed race heritage.

The commission is sitting in Darwin for the next fortnight to hear evidence from nine residents of the home, which housed Aboriginal and mixed race children and unmarried women. It will also hear from a number of experts and government and other agencies.

In her opening statement, Sophie David SC assisting the Royal Commission said the former residents would give “harrowing” testimony about experiences at the RDH.

“The alleged perpetrators were house parents or other children of the home, some of whom were also allegedly sexually abused and sexualised by house parents themselves,” Ms David said.

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AUSTRALIA
Sky News

Aboriginal children in care at the Retta Dixon Home were flogged with belt buckles, sexually abused in cars and chained up in bed ‘like a dog’, a royal commission has heard.

Lorna Cubillo, now 78, was born at Banka Banka Station in Central Australia and was taken away from her family in 1947, when she was aged about eight.

She lived at the home, for Aboriginal children as well as some unmarried mothers, until she was about 16.

One of the girls in her dormitory used to have fits ‘and was chained up with a dog chain to her bed’, Ms Cubillo told the commission sitting in Darwin on Monday.

‘She was fed with an enamel plate and cup, just like a dog, and often had bad chafing around her ankle where the chain would rub.’

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AUSTRALIA
ABC – Indigenous

By Xavier La Canna

Updated September 22, 2014

Children were “chained like dogs” and sexually assaulted at a government-run home for Aboriginal children in Darwin, a child sex abuse inquiry has heard.

A former resident of the Retta Dixon home in Darwin told the Royal Commission Into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse of vicious beatings at the facility.

Lorna Cubillo was taken from her family and moved to the Retta Dixon home around 1946 at the age of seven or eight.

Retta Dixon was a home run by the NT government, which commissioned the Aborigines Inland Mission – an interdenominational Christian group now known as the Australian Indigenous Ministries – to operate the home from 1946 until 1980.

Ms Cubillo told the hearing she was physically and sexually abused by house parent Desmond Walter while at Retta Dixon.

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AUSTRALIA
The Guardian

Helen Davidson
theguardian.com, Monday 22 September 2014

Indigenous children were beaten, sexually assaulted, stripped and chained to beds, and forced to eat their own vomit, it has been alleged at the royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse on Monday.

The 17th public hearing of the royal commission began hearing from members of the stolen generations who say they were sexually abused at a Darwin home.

It’s examining how the government and administrators responded to the allegations of child sexual abuse by employees at the Retta Dixon home between 1946 and 1980, when it closed.

Retta Dixon was one of the main government-run homes for children of mixed Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal descent forcibly removed from their families. Established by Christian missionaries in the 1930s, it also housed unmarried mothers and their babies, and temporary visitors. At its peak it held 120 people, according to the federal government’s 1997 Bringing Them Home report.

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AUSTRALIA
NT News

BY ELLIE TURNER NT NEWS SEPTEMBER 22, 2014

BARBARA Cummings is among thousands of victims of cultural genocide.

She was stolen from her mother at the mission-based Kahlin Compound and raised at the old Retta Dixon Home to be a laundry maid, discouraged from contact with the world outside­ the wire.

“I got terrible thrashings. we all did,” the grandmother said, remembering leather belts and a cane.

“We were separated from society.

“I always liken (missions) to the Amish – the only thing we didn’t have is the duke and the buggy.”

But some children had it worse.

The Royal Commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse will begin a public hearing in Darwin on Monday September 22, delving into the sinister past of stolen children at Retta Dixon from 1946-1980.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC – PM

MARK COLVIN: At the child abuse royal commission in Darwin, a former resident of a home for Aboriginal children and young women has described her stay as like living in a “jailhouse”,

Another resident of the Retta Dixon Home says she was chained up if she did anything wrong.

The opening day of the commission’s case study of the Retta Dixon Home has heard from several former residents.

It’s the first case study to investigate institutional responses to wholly Indigenous people.

Senior counsel assisting the commission this morning warned of harrowing stories.

The victims gave evidence of serious physical and sexual abuse at the hands of “house-parents”, people who were supposed to be providing care. …

WILL OCKENDEN: The Retta Dixon Home ran from after World War II to 1980, as a place for young mixed-race Aboriginal people, removed from families as part of the Stolen Generations.

The Home was operated by a group of Christian missionaries, then known as the Aborigines Inland Mission or AIM, but now go by the name Australian Indigenous Ministries.

The group will face questions on how it handled allegations of sexual abuse and its policies on handling such complaints, later on in the week.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Daily News

WILLIAM BENDER, DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER BENDERW@PHILLYNEWS.COM, 215-854-5255
POSTED: Monday, September 22, 2014

AT 7:36 P.M. on Aug. 21, Andrew “A.J.” Marsico picked up his iPhone and tweeted:

“Overheard at bar ‘what time are we on tonight?’ ‘The Eagles?’ ‘No, the Taney Dragons.’ ”

At 11:06 that night, the popular lobbyist was back on Twitter, posting a nighttime photo of City Hall.

It wasn’t until nearly a month later that cops showed up in the middle of the night at Marsico’s luxury apartment in Center City and arrested him for what they believe happened between those two tweets.

Marsico, 40, a well-connected political player who is married to 6ABC reporter Annie McCormick, was charged Saturday with sexually assaulting a 27-year-old woman inside his office at The Bellevue. The alleged assault occurred about 10 p.m. Aug. 21, police said.

“My client maintains his innocence and we’re continuing to review the allegations,” said Fortunato Perri Jr., Marsico’s lawyer. …

Marsico’s clients include the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference, SugarHouse Casino, the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority, Temple University, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Verizon, Walmart and Altria, the tobacco giant that fought the cigarette tax for Philly schools.

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VATICAN CITY
Catholic Herald (UK)

By MADELEINE TEAHAN on Monday, 22 September 2014

The commission on Vatican media will meet for the first time today.

The 11-member committee, which is chaired by Lord Patten of Barnes, will hold discussions over the next two days at the Domus Sanctae Marthae.

In a statement, Fr Federico Lombardi said: “As a first meeting, it will be dedicated primarily to drawing up a framework for the common base of information necessary to enable the work of the members (several of whom are from contexts external to the Vatican), the planning of the work to be done over the coming months, and the method to be used.

“The commission itself, during its first meeting, will establish its own strategy of communication. Therefore, interviews or communications will not be given prior to the meeting.”

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CALIFORNIA
The Californian

A maintenance worker at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church has been arrested as a suspect in the recording of women in the bathroom, according to the Salinas Police Department.

Officers were called to the church in south Salinas on Friday after a church member found a small video camera in the woman’s bathroom that appeared to have fallen from a hidden location.

With the help of the church administration, officers contacted Daniel Murguia, 60, a longtime maintenance worker for the church. The investigation revealed he was the owner of the camera and had placed it in various bathrooms within the church to record unsuspecting females.

Officers were able to determine at least 20 different instances where females were unknowingly recorded. Other electronic devices were seized from his home and will be reviewed by the Salinas Police Department’s Computer Forensic Unit. Detectives are working to identify any victims and the investigation is ongoing.

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CALIFORNIA
KSBW

By Jeff Cousins

SALINAS, Calif. —A longtime maintenance worker at a Salinas church has been accused of recording women in the restroom.

Authorities with the Salinas Police Department said Daniel Murguia, 60, was arrested after a member of the church found a camera that had fallen on the floor from a hidden location in the restroom.

Murguia was contacted by police, who determined he was the owner of the camera.

Investigators said they were able to determine at least 20 instances when women were unknowingly recorded.

Murguia was taken to the Monterey County Jail on several charges of disorderly conduct.

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CALIFORNIA
KION

[with video]

Monica Jacquez, Reporter, monicajacquez@kionrightnow.com

SALINAS, Calif. –
As afternoon Mass wrapped up at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Salinas, parishioners in their Sunday best listened to the words of the priest. But this time it wasn’t a sermon that was read, it was a letter announcing a church employee had been arrested for reportedly placing hidden cameras inside the women’s bathroom.

“This was something that took all of us by surprise,” said the Rev. Jim Ezell.

Ezell said 60-year-old Daniel Murguia, a longtime maintenance worker at the church has been let go. This after Ezell said Murguia admitted to church staff and officers that the camera was his.

Church officials said the camera was discovered by a female parishioner.

“She found a black object on the floor. Then she picked it up and examined it and realized it was a camera,” said Ezell.

Together, the woman and the reverend turned on the camera, he said they were both saddened and shocked at what they found.

“It was clear that we could see who it was attaching the file in place and at that point we didn’t want to go any further because we didn’t want to see what was on there,” said Ezell.

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RUSSIA/ISRAEL
RIA Novosti

TEL-AVIV, September 22 (RIA Novosti) – Gleb Grozovsky, a Russian priest wanted for suspected child sex abuse, has been detained by Interpol in Israel, an Israeli police spokesman told RIA Novosti Monday.

“Grozovsky was detained by our Interpol office,” the spokesman said without elaborating.

Grozovsky, 34, is suspected of abusing two girls, aged 9 and 12, in June 2013 at a hotel on the territory of the Philadelphia Orthodox travel club on the Greek island of Kos, as well as of committing “a range of similar crimes in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region,” according to Russia’s Investigative Committee. Last year, he was put on an international wanted list on Russia’s request.

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CANADA
Blackburn News

By Matt Weverink on September 22, 2014

A woman who claims she was sexually abused by now dead priest Charles Sylvestre during his time in Pain Court is expected to begin her civil case in a London courtroom today.

Kelly Grenier is making the allegations. Diocese of London spokesperson Mark Adkinson says it’s still possible that the sides will reach a settlement before the trial concludes.

“Our lawyers have been talking to the victim’s lawyers pretty constantly and consistently,” says Adkinson. “We might settle Monday, we might go through the whole case. We’ve had various scenarios that have played out, it’s hard to predict.”

Adkinson declined to comment on how much Grenier is asking for. More than 70 civil suits have been filed against Charles Sylvestre so far.

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ISRAEL
Arutz Sheva

The International Department of the Attorney-General’s Office today (Monday) filed a petition with the Jerusalem District Court to announce the extradition of the priest Gleb Grozovsky to Russia for his molestation of several minors under the age of 14 here in Israel.

In addition, a request was made of the court to delay Grozovsky’s release until the end of the legal proceedings here. Yesterday the priest was arrested by police for the purpose of being extradited from Israel.

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AUSTRALIA
Broken Rites

By a Broken Rites researcher (article updated 22 September 2014)

At last, in September 2014, a victim (John Parmeter) has spoken publicly about how he was sexually abused for years by a prominent Australian priest, Father Peter Brock, beginning at the age of nine in 1968. The Catholic Church culture of silence blocked John from complaining until 2007 when he was aged nearly 50 and, by then, the church’s cover-up had damaged John’s life. In 2008 John received a written apology from the priest and later a financial settlement from the church. But the church authorities still praised Father Brock and elevated him to a prominent national role, thereby making John Parmeter feel abused again by the continuing cover-up. John’s public statement in September 2014 exposes the church’s cover-up, thereby helping other victims.

Broken Rites has researched Father Peter Julian Brock. Born on 18 Sept 1945, he was ordained as a priest, in the late 1960s, for the Maitland-Newcastle diocese, north of Sydney. Maitland-Newcastle, with about 40 parishes, is one of the eleven Catholic dioceses in the state of New South Wales.

Early in his ministry, Father Brock started taking an interest in nine-year-old John Parmeter and John’s twin brother. He befriended the twins’ father and mother and became a regular visitor to their house, where he would drink alcohol and play cards. As “loyal Catholics”, the Parmeter family automatically trusted this priest.

Father Brock, who had musical expertise, arranged to give the twins some musical tuition at his parish house, the presbytery.

John Parmeter says that, from the outset, Brock’s behaviour was physical (with hugs) and it gradually became increasingly sexual. By the time the twins were 13 (in 1972), Brock’s offences had become serious child-abuse crimes. But, because his family was “so Catholic”, John realised that he would not be able to say anything negative to his parents about this Catholic priest. John says that he had to suffer the sexual abuse (and the church’s culture of cover-up) in silence.

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CHICAGO (IL)
Chicago Tribune

By Cynthia Dizikes,
Tribune reporter

In this largely rural church between the Cascades and the Rocky Mountains, Roman Catholics say Chicago’s next archbishop steered his own course — even when it meant risking offense or contradicting other U.S. bishops.

Bishop Blase Cupich’s bold efforts to direct the Spokane Diocese after it had emerged from bankruptcy included a malpractice lawsuit against the law firm that handled the legal proceedings, a move that drew praise from some but criticism from others who saw it as an attack on his predecessor.

He launched an effort to enroll thousands of eastern Washington’s poor in health care under the Affordable Care Act, despite the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ opposition to the law’s contraception mandate.

And, shortly after arriving in Spokane, he would not endorse curbside vigils outside abortion clinics, which drew the ire of local opponents of abortion rights.

“This guy is not lukewarm about anything,” said Rob McCann, executive director of the local Catholic Charities, the diocese’s social ministry arm. “He’s a guy that doesn’t shy from a fight, and that’s exactly what the Catholic Church needs.”

When Cupich arrived in 2010, the diocese of 90,000 parishioners was on the brink of losing properties, including its cathedral, said the Rev. Darrin Connall, rector of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes in Spokane.

“That was a pretty dark time, and, frankly, I think it was touch-and-go,” Connall said. “It was a nervous time for all of us.”

Although the diocese emerged from bankruptcy in 2008, the church was still mired in ongoing legal struggles related to unresolved sex abuse claims.

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CHICAGO (IL)
Daily Herald

[with video]

Madhu Krishnamurthy

“A sense of relief” is how Cardinal Francis George described his emotions as he introduced his successor, Bishop Blase Cupich, of Spokane, Washington, who will head the Archdiocese of Chicago come November.

At a news conference Saturday, Cardinal George, the first archbishop of Chicago to retire in office after leading the diocese for 17 years, expressed his gratitude to Pope Francis for speeding up the appointment of a new archbishop and allowing him to tend to his own health.

“I leave this church in better hands than mine,” said the 77-year-old prelate, who continues to struggle with health issues related to his bladder cancer and a new experimental treatment he is undergoing.

Cupich said Saturday people should not read too much into Pope Francis’ decision to appoint him being a harbinger of the American Catholic Church’s future direction. …

“We would not have zero tolerance with regard to child protection if it were not for this man here,” Cupich said. “Not only do we have that in the church of the United States, we have it universally now.”

However, a statement by the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests criticized Cupich for not doing enough on his home turf of Spokane, where more than 200 victims have come forward, according to the Spokesman-Review newspaper. “Prudent people will remain skeptical and let Cupich hopefully prove through his deeds (not his words) that he is committed to the safety of children,” the group said in a news release.

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ROME
Chiesa

And the fourth is the newest: to entrust the verification of the validity of a marriage directly to the bishop or one of his delegates, in a nonjudicial forum. With the archbishop of the Milan, there are now ten cardinals who have taken the field against the ideas of Kasper-Bergoglio

by Sandro Magister

ROME, September 22, 2014 – With the synod approaching, the clash between supporters of change and defenders of the bimillennial doctrine and practice of the Catholic Church in the matter of marriage is becoming ever more heated.

The clash is being fought also and above all at the highest levels of the hierarchy, among cardinals of the first rank. In particular over the dilemma of whether or not to give sacramental communion to divorced Catholics who have remarried civilly.

The innovators have their combative leader in the German cardinal and theologian Walter Kasper. No other cardinal has yet taken sides with him publicly in a substantiated form. The only one who has promised to support him has been Cardinal Reinhard Marx, archbishop of Munich, who announced that he will bring a document to the synod signed by the German bishops in favor of the change.

But it is no mystery that Pope Francis is on Kasper’s side, although he has never publicly and clearly stated what his thinking is, but has implied this with the simple gesture of entrusting to Kasper the introductory presentation at the consistory last February, a dry run for the upcoming synod, and of “agreeing” with him – as Kasper himself revealed – on the proposals for change contained in the presentation.

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CONNECTICUT
Fox CT

SEPTEMBER 22, 2014, BY KATIE CORRADO

The state Supreme Court will begin hearing arguments Monday in a controversial case involving the Archdiocese of Hartford.

Two years ago, a jury awarded $1 million to a former alter boy, only referred to as Jacob Doe, who claimed he and a friend were repeatedly molested and sexually assaulted by Reverend Ivan Ferguson and one of Ferguson’s friends between 1981-1983. The boys said the abuse happened in a number of places, including their school in Derby, where Ferguson was reassigned after completing treatment for sexual abuse he admitted to committing in 1979.

The archdiocese is asking the court to overturn the $1 million verdict, and wants to reverse the state law that extended the statute of limitations for filing sexual assault lawsuits.

The law previously gave victims 17 years to file, but in 2002, it was extended to 30 years.

The diocese claims Jacob Doe could only file his lawsuit after the statute was changed, and says that’s unfair and unconstitutional.

Protesters gathered outside state Supreme Court last week, fighting against the church and saying they do not want the archdiocese to challenge the law.

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CALIFORNIA
Bakersfield Californian

By Jose Gaspar

The priest approached the podium as he does every Sunday ready to give a sermon. Except this time he did not. With a somber look and holding a document in his hand, the priest said, “Instead of a homily, I’ve been asked by the bishop to read this letter.” I perked up a little bit, wondering what the message might be. In a serious tone, the priest began to read the letter.

“Dear people of God, it is with great sorrow that I inform you that Father Robert Gamel was placed on administrative leave on August 15, 2014, after the Diocese of Fresno received a complaint from the parent of a teenage youth.”

What? Where was this heading, I thought as my wife slightly poked me in my ribs to see if I was paying attention. I confess my mind wanders at church sometimes. But this time, I was focused.

The priest continued, “Any allegation of abuse involving a member of the clergy with a minor is a serious matter.”

The letter by Bishop Armando X. Ochoa of the Diocese of Fresno said the diocese contacted police who then began an investigation into the complaint. A copy of the letter was inserted into the weekly church bulletin.

Here is what is known so far: 64-year-old Father Robert Gamel of St. Joseph Parish in Los Banos is under investigation for allegedly having child pornography on his computer.

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RUSSIA
Interfax

Moscow, September 22, Interfax – The Israeli embassy in Moscow has confirmed the detention in Israel of Russian priest Gleb Grozovsky, who is accused of child molestation.

“I can confirm his detention,” Alex Kagalsky, Israeli embassy press liaison officer, told Interfax.

In the meantime, the St. Petersburg police have received confirmation of Grozovsky’s detention from Interpol.

“The St. Petersburg police received confirmation of the detention of priest Gleb Grozovsky on Sunday,” a source in the law enforcement agencies told Interfax.

Grozovsky, whose extradition is being sought by Russia, has been detained in Israel for 48 hours, a source with knowledge on the situation told Interfax.

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RUSSIA/ISRAEL
RIA Novosti

Updated 1:07 p.m. Moscow Time

MOSCOW, September 22 (RIA Novosti) – Russian authorities are taking measures to have Gleb Grozovsky, an Orthodox priest suspected of sexually abusing children, extradited from Israel to Russia, a Russian Interior Ministry spokesman said Monday.

“The [Russian] national central Interpol bureau received a notification about his detention in Israel. Measures are being taken for his extradition to Russia,” the spokesman said.

The Russian Prosecutor General’s Office said the priest was detained on Russia’s request.

Grozovsky, 34, is suspected of abusing two girls, aged 9 and 12, in June 2013 at a hotel on the territory of the Philadelphia Orthodox travel club on the Greek island of Kos, and of committing “a range of similar crimes in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region,” according to Russia’s Investigative Committee. The priest has denied all the charges.

The whereabouts of Grozovsky became known last year, and he was put on an international wanted list on Russia’s request. In April 2014, the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office sent a request to Israel demanding his extradition.

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CHICAGO (IL)
Chicago Tribune

By Dahleen Glanton, Lisa Black, Annemarie Mannion,
Tribune reporters

Roman Catholics across the Chicago area flocked to their parishes Sunday, expressing hope that their next archbishop, Blase Cupich, will be an extension of Pope Francis by welcoming more voices on matters such as same-sex marriage and helping to heal the wounds of the clergy sex abuse crisis.

From the city to the suburbs, many parishioners said the Vatican’s selection of Cupich to succeed Cardinal Francis George as the leader of the Chicago Archdiocese indicates the church might place greater emphasis on addressing social issues such as immigration reform and at least give an ear to those who disagree with some aspects of church doctrine. Many members have clashed with the more conservative George.

“He seems like someone who could be a breath of fresh air, like Pope Francis,” said Rita King, a member of St. James Catholic Church in Arlington Heights and a teacher at St. Viator Catholic High School in the village. “If he just kind of walks in, listening and learning, I think great things can happen.” …

Cupich also won praise from Chicago Archdiocese parishioners for his handling of the church’s sex abuse crisis: He had a reputation in Spokane for zero tolerance on the issue.

“He seems to have a vision and marched right into (addressing) it,” she said. “He’s going to be strong and lend that strength to the people, the victims and the priests who are good priests.”
e Francis, who surprised many when he was elected last year to succeed Pope Benedict XVI.

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CHICAGO (IL)
Chicago Tribune

Editorial

“Pray hard.”

—Archbishop-designate Blase Cupich, texting a Spokane priest who congratulated him on his papal appointment in Chicago.

What kind of archbishop will Blase Cupich be? The question swept this metropolis over the weekend, and not only among the 2.2 million Roman Catholics in the Archdiocese of Chicago. His easy manner, gentle humor and track record suggest that he may be a reflection of Pope Francis — hewing closely to immutable church teachings and policies, but warmly welcoming in tone to those who question or disagree.

If the yearning to understand a new spiritual leader comes naturally — especially for the diverse flock he’ll shepherd — it isn’t the most important question for greater Chicago. To its members, the Catholic Church is foremost a faith, a protocol of personal beliefs and other-oriented actions. For all of us, though, this particular organization is something more: As our largest private provider of education, health care and social services, the Catholic Church touches vast numbers of Chicagoland lives. Whoever runs the show matters — to us all.

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CALIFORNIA
U-T San Diego

5 P.M.SEPT. 20, 2014

At some point in coming weeks, the Holy See, the Roman Catholic papal bureaucracy at the Vatican, is expected to decide who will become the sixth bishop in the history of the diocese of San Diego. The fifth bishop, Cirilo Flores, died earlier this month after a battle with prostate cancer.

Flores was a Corona native who served more than 20 years in the diocese of Orange before coming to San Diego in 2012 and taking over as bishop in 2013. He made an enduring impression before being incapacitated by health problems. We mourn his loss and believe he lived up to his goal of being “a good shepherd sharing the good news of God’s mercy and love” while bishop.

His successor must be, of course, another “good shepherd,” one who provides clear, compassionate moral leadership in a challenging time of inequality, political division and cultural stress.

However, we also believe that local Catholics would be best served by the selection of a local priest as bishop. The diocese has 14 missions and 99 parishes in San Diego and Imperial counties serving nearly 1 million Catholics. The region has 47 Catholic elementary schools, six Catholic high schools and two Catholic universities.

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FLORIDA
Call to Action

WRITTEN BY ELLEN EUCLIDE | SEPTEMBER 9, 2014

FL Catholics want pastoral leadership, Bishop held accountable

Since 2006, Catholics in the diocese of Venice, Florida have been tirelessly trying to save their Church from the effects of a Bishop who’s intimidation and bullying have harmed many.

Over 50 letters to the editor have been published locally to publicly expose the injustices of the Bishop which range from outbursts of anger and sexism directed at students to firing school officials who reported sexual predators and mismanaging diocesan funds. Earlier this year, at the risk of losing their own jobs, ten pastors signed their names to a letter reporting the Bishop’s misconduct to his superiors.

Now, local Catholics have collected local signatures to the following letter, and are asking Catholics across the country to support their call for justice. Sign the petition to stand with them!
—————–

Dear Francis

August 28, 2014

Pope Francis
Domus Sanctae Marthae
00120 Vatican City State

Your Holiness, Pope Francis:

It is with great sorrow that we report to you that the diocese of Venice in Florida is suffering from the rule of our bishop, a man who operates more like the CEO of a large corporation than the shepherd of his community. Morale in our diocese has never been so low and the discontent as acute as it is now. Despite a very real fear of retribution from the bishop, ten pastors appealed for justice to Papal Nuncio Carlo Vigano in January 2014. Essentially, their contention is that Bishop Dewane is violating canons 492 and 495 and is guilty of other violations of justice while using intimidation, fear, shaming, and bullying behaviors. While Catholic tradition grants each bishop the power to control his diocese, it does not grant any bishop the right to govern in a manner which violates justice, ignores Canon Law, and mocks the ideal of Christian behavior.

Canon Law 212, paragraph 3, makes clear that the laity have the right and even the duty to speak out to Church authorities against injustice and abuse and on behalf of the common good. While Pope Francis values openness, dialogue, and consultation, our bishop suppresses the open exchange of ideas. We find ourselves in a diocese in which both laity and priests dare not differ with the bishop in any matter, large or small, for fear of retribution.

At least two dozen employees of the diocese have been terminated by Bishop Dewane, not because they are not good workers or good Catholics but simply because Bishop Dewane chooses to exercise an unhealthy need to control others in thought, word, and deed. Intimidation and banishment without a hearing have become commonplace. While one such case would not necessarily be significant, dozens of similar cases reflect a pattern, a pattern which, in the name of justice, calls for an investigation. Once terminated in this diocese, workers usually cannot find work in other parishes, which further compounds the original injustice.

The names and contact information of victims in this diocese can quickly be provided to anyone able to offer protection from further retribution. While the bishop contends he has nothing to do with these terminations, common sense tells any reasonable person that when termination after termination occurs immediately after the bishop’s parish visit or immediately after the bishop’s meeting with the individual involved, there’s an obvious link between the bishop and these many terminations.

Given this obvious pattern of unfair treatment of laity, priests and organizations in the Diocese of Venice, Florida, we, the undersigned, humbly ask that you delegate someone with the authority to investigate this situation before even more harm is done to our diocese. While Bishop Dewane lives in luxury in his $1,000,000 mansion renovated at a cost of $500,000, his priests and the people of God suffer from his treatment and his exorbitant 26% tax on all parishes, many of which are struggling financially.

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FLORIDA
Breitbart

by THOMAS D. WILLIAMS, PH.D. 21 Sep 2014

A letter and petition accusing Bishop Frank Dewane of the Diocese of Venice, Florida, of authoritarian leadership will soon be on its way to Rome, asking Pope Francis to intervene.
The campaign has been orchestrated by two liberal groups agitating for a more lay-directed Church. The Southwest Florida chapter of Call to Action wrote the letter, together with the support of the local chapter of Voice of the Faithful.

Call to Action, a group pushing for radical reform such as the ordination of women and a relaxing of sexual ethics, has accused Bishop Dewane of employing scare tactics including bullying and intimidation in his dealing with lay people. It also accuses him of dismissing several pastors and firing more than 20 workers without reason or hearing.

The letter calls Bishop Dewane “a man who operates more like the CEO of a large corporation than the shepherd of his community.”

Call to Action, though a Catholic dissident group, apparently thinks it can harness Pope Francis for its cause. “While Pope Francis values openness, dialogue, and consultation,” their letter states, “our bishop suppresses the open exchange of ideas.”

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FLORIDA
ABC 7

[with video]

By Brittany Weiner, Reporter

PUNTA GORDA, FL –
“We’ve been looking for a church that reaches our heart and this church does,” North Port resident Diana Hull said.

Nothing but praise for the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Punta Gorda.

“Absolutely love Sacred Heart. I live in North Port, I wouldn’t go any place else,” Sacred Heart member Joan Zammett said.

“Father Jerry you can’t get any better than that, that man is the best priest I’ve ever met,” Sacred Heart member Bob Pulver said.

But not everyone has the same praise when it come to those higher up in the Catholic church.

“I think anytime you get up to that point of being a Bishop they are a little bit stick in the mud or whatever you want to call it,” Pulver said.

Call For Action, a group that’s mission is to inspire Catholics and transform church, wants Bishop Frank Dewane of the Diocese of Venice investigated.

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CHICAGO (IL)
WLS

Sunday, September 21, 2014

CHICAGO — The Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP), was handing out leaflets in Chicago Sunday in reaction to the selection of the city’s next archbishop.

The leaflets encourage Catholics to learn about Archbishop-Designate Blase Cupich’s record on children’s safety and prod him about abuse in his prior diocese.

The group says both his words and actions are disturbing by not being tough enough on the subject.

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ROME
The Daily Beast

Barbie Latza Nadeau

ROME, Italy — Forget such lofty aspirations as ridding the Church of child abusers or clamping down on financial corruption, Pope Francis’s biggest obstacle in reforming the Catholic Church comes down to a tiny round gluten-rich Styrofoam-tasting wafer.

The Blessed Eucharist, Holy Communion, the breaking of bread, panis triticeus, the host with the most – whatever Catholics call the thin round wafer made of unleavened wheat, the sacrament of the Eucharist is the culminating point of any Catholic mass. And, according to Catholic teaching, the most important of the seven sacraments.

Taking communion is when Catholics accept the ultimate sacrifice made for them– the body and blood of Christ who died for their sins– preferably on an empty stomach and with a clear conscience in a sin-free state of grace. In some Catholic families (disclaimer: like the one I grew up in), Saturday night confession was a pretty good way to ensure one could still be free of sin by Sunday morning mass (or in some cases, confession was followed directly by Saturday night mass in lieu of Sunday, just to be safe).

Communion in the Catholic Church is extremely important, but it is rife with hypocrisy. In some Catholic communities, eyebrows are raised when certain members of the congregation join the queue to take communion; in others, nobody balks because everybody’s straddling the same thin sinner-saint line. Many Catholics who stand up for communion know they are unworthy, but they are far too worried what the neighbors might think if they sit out a Sunday, speculating on what sins weren’t forgiven in time.

The sin-free checklist is no joke: no birth control, no premarital sex, no masturbation, no homosexual acts, no fertility treatments, no taking the name of God in vain, the list goes on. Oddly perhaps, the Catholics who generally do follow the rules to the letter and abstain from communion, proudly confined to the pew, are those who are divorced. For them, abstaining is a cross to bear, never mind that worshiping in a seemingly unforgiving Church at all is a major hurdle for many. The divorced are often the congregation’s obvious sinners, but the Catholic Church might consider a pre-communion litmus test questionnaire to make sure everyone who gets a host deserves it. They might be surprised how much money they would save on altar bread. ,,,

The biggest backlash on the communion question will come on October 1 with the publication of a book called Remaining In The Truth of Christ on marriage and the Catholic Church. The book will come out on the eve of the upcoming Synod on the Family extraordinary general assembly – the first for Pope Francis – to be held October 5-19 in Rome. It is jointly authored by five prominent cardinals who seek to draw a clear line among the Roman Curia on the issue of Catholic marriage, divorce and communion. The authors (Gerhard Ludwig Muller from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Raymond Leo Burke, who is rumored to be about to lose his post as the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, Walter Brandmuller, former head of the pontifical committee for Historical Sciences, Carlo Caffarra, archbishop of Bologna, and Velasio De Paolis, former Prefecture for the Economic Affairs) come down hard on Francis’s perceived leniency on the issue of communion and marriage, according to a preview piece in Italy’s Corriere Della Sera newspaper this week, which starts with the line “non possumus” Latin for “it is not possible.”

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INDIA
India TV

New Delhi: A temple priest in Pataudi has been arrested for raping a minor girl for over two weeks.

According to the victim’s mother, her 12-year old daughter used to visit the temple every day. The priest at the temple, Sita Ram, used to lure the girl with food.

Fifteen days ago, Sita Ram’s acquaintance took the girl from the village to Gurgaon after which Sita Ram took the girl to Vrindavan where he raped her repeatedly.

He threw the girl outside her village on Friday and threatened her to remain quiet.

The girl was found draped in white sari by the villagers, after which the girl told the entire incident to her family.

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AUSTRALIA
The Age

September 22, 2014

Jewel Topsfield Education Editor

A grassroots Jewish group will this week call for the resignation of the two most senior members of the Yeshivah Centre and Chabad movement in Melbourne over the child sex abuse scandal in the 1980s and ’90s.

The group will launch a petition to coincide with the Jewish high holidays calling for Yeshivah Centre spiritual committee chairman Rabbi Avrohom Glick and Yeshivah Centre chairman Don Wolf to personally apologise to the victims and resign from all positions of leadership in the community.

David Cyprys, a former security guard and karate teacher at Yeshivah, was jailed last year for raping a 15-year-old boy in 1991 and sexually abusing eight other boys.

Cyprys was employed in the security role, as well as appointed to youth group leadership positions, within the Yeshivah Centre, despite him pleading guilty in 1992 to a charge of indecent assault over an incident at St Kilda in 1991.

Former Yeshivah College teacher David Kramer was also jailed for molesting four boys while teaching at the school between 1989 and 1992.

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AUSTRALIA
Sky News

From her birthplace at Banka Banka Station in central Australia in 1938 to Darwin’s Supreme Court on Monday morning, it has been a long walk to justice for Lorna Cubillo.

Ms Cubillo, 76, will be the first Northern Territory witness to give evidence at the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, which will focus for the next fortnight on the Retta Dixon home, where Ms Cubillo lived from 1947 to 1956.

The Territory government commissioned the Aborigines Inland Mission (AIM) to operate the home from 1946 to 1980 inside a building reclaimed from the Army occupation during the Second World War.

Wedged between the Bagot Aboriginal Hospital and the Bagot Aboriginal Reserve, about eight kilometres from Darwin’s CBD, the home’s residents were primarily part-Aboriginal children and some unmarried mothers and women.

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CHICAGO (IL)
National Catholic Reporter

Joshua J. McElwee | Sep. 21, 2014

Challenges facing the Catholic church throughout the U.S. require leaders to be “real” and to not “get caught up in living in our own little bubble of an idea,” Chicago’s new archbishop told NCR in an exclusive interview Sunday.

“You cannot base your decisions on a past era where things were different,” said Archbishop-designate Blase Cupich, who was appointed by Pope Francis Saturday as Chicago’s new Catholic leader. “I think that’s where we’re going to get in trouble.”

Cupich, 65, bishop of Spokane, Wash., since 2010, will succeed Cardinal Francis George, 77, as Chicago archbishop at an installation Mass Nov. 18.

Describing himself primarily as the “son of my parents,” Cupich also said he is someone who is “going to work with the system” but is also going to “look for a way in which things have to move forward and especially when feeling strongly about something, be willing to move forward with it.”

The new posting will bring special prominence to the Omaha, Neb., native, as Chicago is the third most populous Catholic diocese in the U.S. and historically one of the most important, playing a major role among the American episcopate as well as in Rome.

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NEW YORK
Road to Recovery

Contact: John Aretakis – 917-304-4885

On Monday, September 22, 2014, at 12:45 PM in front of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany Pastoral Center at 40 North Main Avenue, Albany, NY, 12203, there will be a press conference.

A young man, who was abused at a Catholic high school by a teacher, will name his abuser and set out a graphic and disturbing story of abuse. The Principal of the school sent him to the abuser to be tutored at the teacher’s home where the teacher directed the boy to keep it all secret.

When the abuse was reported to a State Trooper, the teacher was allowed to leave the school and set up shop elsewhere, including at schools in the south and currently in Vermont, where it is likely he has been abusing boys for the past 15-20 years.

The Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests and Road to Recovery will support the victim.

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UNITED STATES
Ms. Magazine

The following is an excerpt from “Misplaced Faith” in the Fall 2014 issue of Ms. Read the whole article by getting a digital subscription to the magazine.

She is special.

That’s what club swim coach Norm Havercroft in Saratoga, California, told the mother of 15-year-old competitive swimmer Jancy Thompson in 1997. And because she was so special, Havercroft needed to spend one-on-one time with her every morning, at 5 a.m. So the mother, who also had an infant son, got up before dawn to drive her daughter to the pool and wait in the parking lot, breastfeeding the baby.

But, according to the allegations of Thompson’s 2010 lawsuit, the coach wasn’t giving her training tips. Before the rest of the team arrived for practice, Thompson claimed, Havercroft allegedly was taking her into a private room and molesting her. …

Sounds like the Catholic Church hierarchy. Indeed, over the past decade, sexual-abuse scandals have emerged in a number of corners of American culture—from the priesthood to the military to college campuses. It’s not that those abuses hadn’t been going on for decades, or even centuries, but survivors have typically been scared or shamed into silence. No more. One of the latest actions taken by abuse survivors from the swimming world was to challenge the induction of longtime USA Swimming executive director Chuck Wielgus into the International Swimming Hall of Fame. Nineteen victims of coaching sexual abuse—including Cuba-to-U.S. marathon swimmer Diana Nyad (who has alleged that her coach Jack Nelson molested her 50 years ago)—signed a petition pointing out Wielgus’ longtime inaction against abusive coaches.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
Ocaleni

…i to dzień w dzień, każdego popołudnia od 1998 roku, w Waszyngtonie na Massachusetts Avenue. Nazywa się John Wojnowski, urodził się w Warszawie w 1943 roku i mieliśmy okazję już parokrotnie rozmawiać z nim przez telefon. Jest świetnym, miłym człowiekiem i prowadzi jednoosobową, antypedofilską krucjatę przeciwko Kościołowi katolickiemu. Jego codzienny happening przed watykańską ambasadą to przemarsz z wielkimi bannerami z napisami (ang) typu: “Moje życie zostało zrujnowane przez katolickiego księdza pedofila”. …

John Wojnowski (born 1943 in Warsaw, Poland) is an anti-pedophile activist who has maintained a one-man protest outside the Apostolic Nunciature in Washington DC since 1998. Wojnowski, a retired ironworker, stands on Massachusetts Avenue during afternoon rush hour holding signs with slogans such as “My Life Was Ruined by a Catholic Pedophile Priest” and “Pedophilia: Catholic Clergy’s Sordid ‘Professional Secret’”

We would like to thanks SNAP for supporting our compatriot! We keep in touch with John.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Mail on Sunday

Vicars set to reveal secrets of confession: Church of England may axe 400-year-old sacred law to let clergy report sex attackers

By JONATHAN PETRE FOR THE MAIL ON SUNDAY

For centuries the secrecy of the confessional has been sacrosanct, but the Church of England may relax the rules to allow clergy to reveal serious crimes such as child abuse.

Former Bishop of Chelmsford John Gladwin – who last year led an inquiry into clerical sex abuse in the Church of England – is pressing for the changes, along with members of the Church’s ‘parliament’, the General Synod.

But any change will be fiercely resisted by traditionalists who think clergy should retain the trust of worshippers. It will also cause tensions with Roman Catholics, who believe the seal of the confessional should remain inviolable.

Bishop Gladwin’s moves follow a decision by the Anglican Church of Australia to allow its priests to report crimes they hear during confession to the police.

The sacrament of penance, in which a believer privately confesses their sins to a priest, is usually associated with the Catholic Church.

However about a quarter of the Church of England’s clergy hear confessions – usually face to face in a private room rather than in a booth in a church. The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby last year urged more Anglicans to adopt the practice, saying the experience could be ‘enormously powerful’.

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UNITED KINGDOM
International Business Times

September 21, 2014

Church of England Vicars could be allowed to report serious crimes they hear during confessions, including confessions of child or sexual abuse, if sweeping changes to the Church of England are introduced later this year.

The changes will come as a shock to churchgoers, who have shared a pact whereby the secrecy of the confessional booth has remained sacrosanct for more than 400 years.

Former bishop John Gladwin is leading the drive to compel vicars to report serious crimes that members admit to during a confession.

Gladwin led last year’s inquiry into sex abuse crimes committed by members of the Church of England clergy. He has the support of members of the General Synod, the legislative body of the Church of England.

The sacrament of confession, or penance, usually takes place in the Catholic Church, although some Church of England vicars do hear confessions. Christians believe privately confessing sins and shortcomings to a vicar or priest and showing contrition can earn forgiveness from God.

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