ABUSE TRACKER

MINNESOTA
Minnesota Public Radio

Peter Cox St. Paul, Minn. Jan 19, 2015

Two days after the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis filed for bankruptcy protection, Twin Cities Catholics attended Sunday Masses, many wondering what happens next.

Hundreds of people streamed in to fill the pews for the 11 a.m. service at the Church of the Assumption in downtown St. Paul.

Among them was Melissa Corbo, 46, a lifelong Catholic. She said the bankruptcy won’t change how she gives or whether she attends mass.

“Hopefully it won’t affect church closings and things like that, because that’s sad,” she said. “But hopefully they’ll get through it and keep going.”

The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis filed for bankruptcy protection on Friday, a step taken, church leaders said, out of concerns about the costs of current and possible future clergy abuse lawsuits.

The filing gives the archdiocese time to reorganize its finances. It may have to sell off assets to pay debts. But the archdiocese has said that the nearly 200 Twin Cities parishes, as well as community foundations, chartiies and other Catholic organizations would be protected in bankruptcy.

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CANADA
CBC News

Nine victims spoke at a sentencing hearing today in Iqaluit for Eric Dejaeger, the former Roman Catholic priest convicted last fall of 32 counts of child sexual abuse dating back three decades in Igloolik, Nunavut.

The victims, who were children at the time of the abuse, are now in their 40s, 50s and 60s. They and their families filled the Nunavut Court of Justice’s largest courtroom this morning.

The sentencing hearing gives them an opportunity to voice what emotional, physical and financial impact the crimes have had on their lives.

Dozens of complainants came forward over the course of the trial. Half were male, half female. So far today, six women and three men have submitted victim impact statements. Some read their statements themselves. Others had a family member, court officer or Crown prosecutor read a statement on their behalf.

Many victims cited ongoing anger issues and depression. One said she did not finish school and attempted suicide because of the sexual abuse she suffered as a girl. Another said he wants the Vatican held responsible. One asked that Dejaeger be put away for a long time, saying he never received or wanted financial compensation, just for it all to be over.

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ISRAEL/RUSSIA
The Moscow Times

A Jerusalem court has held that a disgraced Russian Orthodox priest accused in his home country of several counts of pedophilia should be extradited, his sister announced via VKontakte on Monday.

Priest Gleb Grozovsky stands accused of having sexually assaulted two young girls — aged 9 and 12 at the time — at an Orthodox summer camp in Greece in 2013, according to the Times of Israel website. Investigators have reportedly claimed to have evidence that he committed a string of related crimes in and around St. Petersburg.

He maintains that the charges against him are false, and were politically motivated.

Lyubov Grozovskaya said on VKontakte that her brother will appeal the ruling to a higher court, and will also file a claim with the European Court of Human Rights.

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UNITED STATES
Christian Catholicism

Jerry Slevin

* Martin Luther King, a true Christian, dared to dream. One wishes Pope Francis would dream similarly more often. As I observed Pope Francis on his overly scripted public relations trip to the Philippines, I had a dream as well. It was triggered while observing Pope Francis outrageously lobby, in his homily at a massive outdoor Mass a few hours after hugging a twelve year old former “street child”. The pope’s lobbying was, in effect, his real response to the innocent young girl and to the world. The pope in the presence of the leaders of the Philippines amazingly called for an end to the government’s long overdue help to poor couples who want to plan their families. Is Pope Francis really serious? Why does he want to prevent couples worldwide from planning their families? This is cruel and hypocritical, no? Who speaks for the children, Pope Francis, if not you?

* In “dreaming” about the pope’s encounter in the Philippines with the young “street child” on the eve of Martin Luther King’s US holiday, yes, I had a dream! I dreamed that the pope told the young former street girl what the Vatican’s real strategy was. If he had told her the “real deal”, I dreamed it would go something like this. Pope Francis would have said:

* (1) I was elected by frightened cardinals to keep them out of jail for crimes related to child abuse cover-ups and financial corruption;

* (2) My priority is protecting bishops, all 5,000 of them, while maximizing their wealth in their unaccountable lifetime positions;

* (3) I need to preserve the Vatican’s “richest markets” , especially in the USA and Germany, and among the billionaires of the Philippines, South Korea, Mexico, et al. In the USA, I need in 2016 to get a friendly Republican, like the Bushes were, in the White House (God forbid Hillary Clinton gets elected!), now that low tax/low regulatory Republicans control the US Congress and, in effect, the US Supreme Court. Our US billionaire donors like that;

* (4) In the USA, I must also appeal to fundamentalist and Latino voters with a muddled mix of anti-abortion/contraception and anti-gay marriage crusades, and frequent appeals to Our Lady of Guadalupe, Junipero Serra and Oscar Romero, and of course, constant references to the devil;

* (5) In Germany, I must protect the bishops $6 billion annual governmental subsidy, including by getting divorced and remarried Catholics from taking their families and pro rata subsidies out of the Church;

* (6) I must push with my contraception ban to pump up the Catholic birth rate everywhere, especially in light of the high birth rate among our Muslim competitors; and

* (7) If after taking care of my bishops, obedient priests, opportunistic politicians, “scholars” and media supporters and, of course, our 24/7 insatiable civil, criminal and and bankruptcy lawyers, I, as pope, would use the rest of the donations, if any remains, to “trickle down ” what remains to the poor, and to those priest abuse survivors who keep silent.

And then I awoke from my dream.

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MISSOURI/MINNESOTA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Monday, Jan. 19

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

Roughly 150 pages of long-secret Catholic church records about a predator priest who molested at least one Kansas City child have been released. He worked at parishes and high schools in at least four cities, was a military chaplain for three decades, and was active nationally in black Catholic organizations.

[Jeff Anderson & Associates]

Until 2006, Fr. Thaddeus Posey worked as a professor at a Catholic university in Minnesota. But he also worked in as a chaplain at various institutions in Parsons KS and Kansas City KS from 1977-1990. He received an MBA from Rockhurst College.

We beg Bishop Robert Finn and Archbishop Joseph Naumann to show some compassion for those Fr. Posey hurt. We urge them to use their parish bulletins, church websites, pulpit announcements and public relations staffers to aggressively seek out anyone who may have seen, suspected or suffered Fr. Posey’s crimes.

Fr. Posey also worked in St. Louis, at Cardinal Ritter Prep, as a ‘guardian’ at St. Patrick Friary (1986-1990), director of the St. Charles Lwanga Center (1980-1981), and as a theology professor at St. Louis University (1982-1990) where he also began his doctoral studies.

In 2004, Posey and three other priests (Fr. Michael Barry, Fr. Chester Gaiter and Fr. James Theil.) were sued for allegedly molesting Charles Spearman in St. Louis. Spearman’s case settled out of court in 2007.

The documents show that church officials sent Posey to treatment at least twice – once at the St. Michael’s Center in St. Louis and once in Washington DC. (page 51).

They also show that Posey’s victim reported the incident to the St. Louis superintendent of schools.” (page 53) That’s especially worrisome because it suggests he may have had access to city school kids.

We hope that those with information or suspicions about Fr. Posey’s crimes will speak up, get help, expose wrongdoers, protect kids and start healing. And we hope that every single current and former Catholic employee in the Kansas City area will share what they know or suspect about Fr. Posey with the public, police and prosecutors.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Erzbistum Berlin

19. Januar 2015 Stefan Förner Pressesprecher

Bis zum 31. Dezember 2014 wurden im Erzbistum Berlin 31 Kleriker, vom Erzbischof beauftragte Ordensangehörige sowie Mitarbeiterinnen und Mitarbeiter im kirchlichen Dienst des sexuellen Missbrauchs an Minderjährigen und erwachsenen Schutzbefohlenen beschuldigt. Im Jahr 2014 wurden drei neue Vorwürfe erhoben. Insgesamt gehen die Vorwürfe bis auf das Jahr 1947 zurück, die Beschuldigten sind zum Teil verstorben. Seit dem Jahr 2002 werden Verdachtsfälle des sexuellen Missbrauchs systematisch erfasst.

In 5 (Vorjahr: 7) Fällen läuft derzeit ein staatliches bzw. kirchliches Ermittlungsverfahren. Drei Verfahren wurden im Jahr 2014 abgeschlossen, ein neues aufgenommen.
Es wurden im Jahr 2014 drei weitere Anträge gestellt auf Leistungen in Anerkennung des Leids, das Opfern sexuellen Missbrauchs zugefügt wurde, insgesamt also 17 Anträge. Davon wurden 16 bereits bewilligt. Es wurden insgesamt 77.000 € gezahlt.

Die Erstattungssumme für psychotherapeutische Leistungen betrug 13.099 €.

In diesem Bericht sind nicht erfasst die Verdachtsfälle, die bei Orden im Bereich des Erzbistums Berlin eingegangen sind.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Berlin Online

[The Berlin archdiocese said today that it has identified 31 priests who were accused of sexual abuse. The time period is from 1947 to December 2014. Some of the accused priests are dead. Three new charges were brught in 2014 and by cases are being investigated by the church judiciary.]

Berlin (dpa/bb) – Im katholischen Erzbistum Berlin sind bis Ende Dezember 2014 insgesamt 31 Geistliche, vom Erzbischof beauftragte Ordensangehörige sowie Mitarbeiter im Kirchendienst des sexuellen Missbrauchs beschuldigt worden.

Die Vorwürfe gingen bis zum Jahr 1947 zurück, einige Beschuldigte seien bereits gestorben, heißt es in einem am Montag veröffentlichten Bericht des Erzbistums. Im Jahr 2014 seien drei neue Vorwürfe erhoben worden. In fünf Fällen werde von der Justiz beziehungsweise von der Kirche ermittelt.

Bislang wurden den Angaben zufolge für 16 Opfer wegen des erfahrenen Leids Geld bewilligt. Insgesamt seien dabei 77.000 Euro gezahlt worden. Nicht erfasst seien in dem Bericht Verdachtsfälle, die bei religiösen Orden im Erzbistum eingingen.

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CHICAGO (IL)
ABC 7

[with video]

Archbishop Blase Cupich joined the Guatemalan community for Mass at St. Alphonsus church on West Wellington in Chicago.

That parish is where Fr. Michael O’Connell leads the congregation.

Father O’Connell was under investigation for allegedly sexually abusing a boy while serving at a different church, but investigators cleared him of any wrongdoing.

Outside the church, protesters from S.N.A.P. – Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests – handed out fliers.

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CANADA
CBC News

The sentencing hearing began today in Iqaluit for Eric Dejaeger, the Roman Catholic priest convicted last fall on 32 counts of child sexual abuse dating back three decades in Igloolik, Nunavut.

This morning his defence lawyer, Malcolm Kempt, told the court that victim impact statements could take two days.

Justice Robert Kilpatrick is expected to issue his sentence after that.

The CBC’s Peter Worden is tweeting from the courtroom. Follow him right here or on Twitter: @wordenCBC.

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IRELAND
RTE News

The Government has been challenged to honour its promise to provide survivors of Magdalene laundries with the healthcare services recommended in the Quirke report 18 months ago.

Advocates for the women say new draft legislation represents an unacceptable paring back of what the Government promised as part of the women’s redress package.

It is almost two years since Taoiseach Enda Kenny apologised emotionally to the 10,000-plus women who he said had been incarcerated and socially suffocated in Magdalene laundries in Ireland since 1922.

Mr Justice John Quirke was then tasked with designing a restorative justice scheme, which the Government accepted.

It included a special medical card which had originally been designed to help survivors of the Hepatitis-C scandal.

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IRELAND
Irish Central

Cahir O’Doherty @randomirish January 19,2015

One of the most distinguishing characteristics of Irish life is caution. We have learned to tread carefully everywhere. It’s probably a legacy of 800 years of colonialism, which have shown us that you can’t be too careful in a small country.

It’s caution about what might take its place that prevents much needed social and political reforms from happening in Ireland at the pace they do on the European continent. We seem to prefer being stuck with a host of familiar problems in preference to tackling a host of new ones.

All that abundance of caution has a price: paralysis.

Paralysis was the word James Joyce used to describe the state of turn of the century Ireland, and it is suddenly in vogue again. The social and political fault lines that Joyce discerned in “The Dead” have altered, but the tentative, halting Irish response to the challenges of the present is as familiar now as it was then.

Joyce ended his story with a strikingly beautiful image of the nation being carpeted by snow. It’s both a shroud and a spiritual awakening.

The question then was the question now – if we are to escape the prison of our colonial past, don’t we have to confront its challenges head on?

We are now halfway through the third decade of the abuse crisis that has stunned and transformed our society. In the 1990s, when allegations against abusive clerics began as a trickle that eventually became a damn burst, the initial response was so meek, so tempered that it was ineffectual.

It was still possible, as late as the 1990s, for senior church figures to transfer controversial clerics to other parishes or to stonewall their responses in the press. At the time it still seemed possible to brazen it out in the hope that it would all blow over.

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UNITED STATES
The Daily Beast

Mike Barnicle

Pope Francis demoted the reactionary Burke, but that hasn’t stopped him popping off about how the Church panders to radical feminism.

Cardinal Raymond Burke is a 66-year-old guy who lives in Rome, dresses like Queen Elizabeth, and talks like someone who majored in misogyny at some bogus, backwoods, Bible-banging tent school. Until Pope Francis stripped him of the powerful Vatican post Pope Benedict had handed him, Burke behaved like the Catholic Church’s version of Ted Cruz, operating with an ego and an attitude that proclaimed him to always be right on matters of doctrine and dogma.

Burke’s new post makes him the equivalent of a head waiter at the annual Knights of Malta Communion breakfast, but the demotion has only emboldened him. A few days ago the former archbishop of St. Louis was interviewed by some pamphlet geared to restoring guy-talk in Catholicism, and Burke did not disappoint.

“Unfortunately, the radical feminist movement strongly influenced the Church, leading the Church to constantly address women’s issues at the expense of addressing critical issues important to men,” Burke told the correspondent from a pamphlet called (get this) The New Emangelization.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Regenburg-Digital

[People who say they suffered sexual abuse as children in the Regensburg cathedral choir have responded to the Regensburg diocese with an open letter.]

Das Bistum Regensburg hat angekündigt, seinen Fall neu aufrollen zu wollen: Jetzt antwortet der ehemalige Domspatz Georg Auer (hier schildern wir seinen Fall ausführlich) darauf in einem offenen Brief und erklärt, warum er überhaupt den schweren Weg in die Öffentlichkeit gewagt hat. Wir veröffentlichen ihn in kompletter Länge. Post vom Bistum Regensburg hat Auer übrigens schon letzte Woche bekommen: Zwei Jahre nach seinem Kirchenaustritt fordert das Katholische Kirchensteueramt eine Nachzahlung von 7,27 Euro.

Offener Brief an die Leitung des bischöflichen Ordinariats Regensburg

Sehr geehrter Bistumssprecher Clemens Neck und Generalvikar Michael Fuchs,

laut den letzten Medienberichten will das Bistum Regensburg auf die Ausstrahlung der ARD-Dokumentation „Sünden an den Sängerknaben“ meinen Missbrauchsfall bei den Regensburger Domspatzen neu prüfen und neu bewerten, ob nun doch eine Opferentschädigung in meinem Falle infrage kommt. Des Weiteren sprach man davon, dass die Leitung des Bistums in dieser Angelegenheit mit meiner Person erneut Kontakt aufnehmen will.

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CANADA
Sylvia’s Site

Ex-priest, convicted molester and Oblate Eric Dejaeger is due in court in Iqaluit tomorrow for his sentencing hearing.

18 January 2015: Arctic hamlet readies for mental health fallout from priest sex abuse sentencing

It’s good to hear that counselling services and extra staff will be available for victims in both Igloolik and Iqaluit. The day will be extremely difficult for the victims and/or family members who plan to deliver a Victim Impact Statement either in person, by videolink, or in writing to be read into the record on their behalf. It will also be difficult for previous victims, and, yes, for the many “complainants” who unfortunately did not see their charges translate into a conviction, and for the complainants in Alberta whose charges will hopefully be dealt with as soon as Dejaeger is sentenced in Nunavut .

I doubt that the hearing will wrap up tomorrow. There may be quite a few statements, plus both the Crown and defence will probably want to argue why Dejaeger is or is not a threat to children, and why he should or should not spend more time behind bars.

Once that is all done, it is up to the judge to decide if he, the judge, is ready to sentence Dejaeger. Sometime sentencing is done on the heels of the sentencing hearing. Sometimes a new date some days or weeks downstream is set.

We shall see…

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UNITED STATES
Washington Post

By Michelle Boorstein January 18

The committee planning Pope Francis’s fall trip to the United States is considering having him land Sept. 22 in Washington and visit the White House, address Congress and then head to New York for a possible stop at Ground Zero, a member of the committee reportedly said.

The comments made Sunday by Archbishop Bernardito Auza — the Vatican’s representative to the United Nations — are the most detailed thus far about the possible arc of Francis’s trip, which centers on a major meeting in Philadelphia on family issues. Auza spoke to a reporter who works for two Catholic news organizations with close ties to the Vatican: Catholic News Agency and EWTN.

Late Sunday, the Rev. Thomas Rosica, an English-speaking spokesman for the Vatican, declined to comment, other than to say “there is no official confirmation” of anything but the Philadelphia leg.

There have been rumors for months about which other cities, besides Philadelphia, Francis would visit on his trip. John Boehner and Nancy Pelosi — both Catholic — formally invited him in March to speak to Congress. If he does, he will be the first. Other popes, including Pope Benedict XVI in 2008, have visited the White House.

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OREGON
KAJO

Medford Police report the arrest of 36-year-old Jacksonville resident Donald Courtney Biggs on two charges of privacy invasion and a single charge of second degree burglary.

Biggs was an Administrative Pastor at Mountain Church in Medford and oversaw the youth program there. Medford Police began investigating Biggs November 29th after allegations arose about his inappropriate texting with a 14-year-old girl. The Church placed Biggs on administrative leave during the investigation. He has since resigned.

The investigation confirmed the initial suspicions and revealed that Biggs was responsible for secretly video-recording a woman undressing at his home, as well.

Biggs was also questioned after police responded to a burglary alarm at the church on January 12th. That interview prompted the issue of a search warrant for Biggs’ Jacksonville home. Investigators were able to determine that Biggs was responsible for the church burglary aimed at stealing computer hard drives.

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PHILIPPINES
Rappler

Aries Rufo

Jan 19, 2015

AT A GLANCE

* Veteran Vaticanista John Allen cited Tagle’s 3 strong points: “an effective communicator and missionary,” as the face of the “dramatic growth of Catholicism outside the West” and “pastoral experience” as administrator of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila

* Tagle’s “social capital” was enhanced with the papal visit, and its success is sure to catch the attention of Church leaders worldwide

* But it takes more than popularity, even among peers, to be elected pope

MANILA, Philippines – Then there was that hug that ignited the imagination of many Filipinos: Pope Francis embracing his Asian equivalent, Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle, at the tarmac.

This was shortly after the Holy Father arrived at the Villamor Airbase tarmac for a 5-day visit.

Uncannily, that embrace between the 78-year-old Pontiff and the 57-year-old Archbishop of Manila resembled the special set of stamps issued by Philpost to immortalize the historic papal visit.

It lasted only a few seconds but it electrified many, including local members of the Church hierarchy – as if they were witnessing the present and the future of the papacy.

The prophetic scene would be replayed during the Pope’s first Eucharistic celebration at the Manila Cathedral.

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IRELAND
Irish Examiner

A group representing survivors of Magdalene Laundries will today give their reaction to the inquiry into Mother-and-Baby homes.

The Justice For Magdalenes group says they are not satisfied with the terms of reference of the inquiry, which were announced by the Children’s Minister James Reilly less than two weeks ago.

The National Women’s Council of Ireland, the Council for Civil Liberties, and Amnesty International will also participate in today’s event.

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IRELAND
Justice for Magdalenes

Justice for Magdalenes Research (JFMR), the National Women’s Council of Ireland, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties and Amnesty International (Ireland) today called on the government to honour the promise it made to Magdalene survivors in June 2013, to implement all of Mr Justice John Quirke’s recommendations for a Magdalene restorative justice scheme.

Criticising the Redress for Women Resident in Certain Institutions Bill 2014, Maeve O’Rourke of JFMR said: “This draft legislation does not meet Judge Quirke’s recommendation on healthcare for Magdalene women. It is an obvious and unacceptable paring back of what the government promised as part of the women’s redress package.

Judge Quirke could not have been clearer in recommending that each woman should receive a card entitling her to the full range of health services provided to state-infected Hepatitis-C survivors under the HAA card scheme. Instead, the Bill promises little more than the regular medical card, which most of the women already have.”

Ms O’Rourke’s criticism comes exactly 23 months after Enda Kenny’s emotional apology to Magdalene survivors on 19th February 2013.

Dr Katherine O’Donnell of JFMR said: “The women who have received their lump sum compensation and pensions have promised not to sue the State in exchange for the full redress package recommended by Judge Quirke. However, this legislation is in clear breach of the women’s legitimate expectations and puts those waivers on shaky ground.”

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IRELAND
Newstalk

Caoimhseach Connolly

Monday 19 January 2015

A group representing survivors of Magdalene Laundries will today give their reaction to the inquiry into mother and baby homes.

The Justice For Magdalenes group says they are not satisfied with the terms of reference of the inquiry, which were announced by the Children’s Minister James Reilly just under two weeks ago.

The National Women’s Council of Ireland, the Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL), and Amnesty International will also participate in the event.

The group will also call on the government to implement all recommendations for a restorative justice programme for Magdalene survivors.

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MINNESOTA
Star Tribune

Article by: JEAN HOPFENSPERGER and TONY KENNEDY , Star Tribune Updated: January 18, 2015

Catholic parishes take steps to limit impact from archdiocese’s bankruptcy in wake of clergy abuse.

Twin Cities Catholics going to mass this weekend saw something waiting for them along with the bulletins and hymnals — fliers explaining their church’s bankruptcy.

The incongruous fact sheets were a stark outline of the reckoning that has come to the spiritual home of 850,000 Minnesota Catholics after decades of sexual abuse by priests, a scandal that has rocked the faith of some believers and the patience of all.

Reflective and questioning, those coming to mass were still coming to terms with a step that their archbishop said Friday had been made necessary by the damage done to victims and to the church.

Some believers, like Amy Holtan of Maple Grove, kept the news firmly within the framework of their faith.

“We have sinners who lead the church: We’re all sinners,” said Holtan, who attended St. Olaf Catholic Church in downtown Minneapolis shortly after the bankruptcy announcement. “But where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more. God is in the midst of this.”

Other Catholics, like Mary Schrankler of Woodbury, aren’t planning to set foot in a church anytime soon.

“We need to understand better why this decision was made now,” Schrankler said. “Was it in the best interest of the people abused, or in the best interest of the archdiocese?”

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MINNESOTA
KAAL

(KSTP) — Allen Young walked with fellow parishioner Peter Minwegen. Young says he has come to terms with the archdiocese filing for bankruptcy.

“It was their decision to make and what more can I say, we have to go along with the archbishop,” he said.

Archbishop John Nienstedt said Friday that parishes would not be affected by the bankruptcy. The archbishop went on to say filing for bankruptcy protection is the best way for the archdiocese to fairly address victims of sexual abuse. Young thinks it was a smart move.

“I just, think that it’s ok that they did this and now the money is cut off,” Young said.

The trial for any other pending or future cases will never happen because of Friday’s bankruptcy filing in Federal Court. Plaintiffs become creditors. Church officials will not testify.

Peter Minwegen says it’s not that he’s oblivious to the filing, but he’s more angry over the fact that the statutes of limitations was removed.

“Because a lot of the accused are dead and they can no longer even defend themselves. And that’s the reason for having a statutes of limitations,” he said.

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CALIFORNIA
Contra Costa Times

Rebecca Kimitch

POSTED: 01/18/2015

In March 2011, Danny Wooten stood in an old dialysis center on the corner of Garey Avenue and Grevillia Street in Pomona, and amid the 150 dialysis stations and old nursing area, he envisioned a church.

Moved by the voice of God, Wooten, 51, embarked upon a massive and costly renovation of the 13,000-square-foot building. Six months later, New Covenant Christian Fellowship Center, Church of God in Christ opened its doors, . And just beyond those doors, a giant portrait of Pastor Wooten was hung.

Now, barely three years later, the church’s founder is behind bars, accused of embezzling $6.4 million from the city of Pasadena, where he was employed as a management analyst in the Public Works Department.

And the church can’t seem to survive without him, or his money. New Covenant is behind in its rent and “members are aware they are going to have to leave the property soon,” said Bishop Christopher Milton, head of the Southern California Evangelistic Jurisdiction, New Covenant’s parent organization.

Wooten allegedly directed more than $700,000 of the stolen funds to an account bearing the church’s name. The embezzlement scheme, revealed last month when Wooten and two others were arrested and charged on a 60-count felony complaint, involved an obscure fund intended to pay for placing Pasadena’s utility wires underground. Using fake invoices, more than two-thirds of the fund’s total payments were stolen over the course of a decade, according to an audit of the fund.

In addition to New Covenant, Wooten also allegedly directed $2.1 million to the Southern California Evangelistic Jurisdiction Center. Despite its similarity in name to New Covenant’s parent organization, Bishop Milton says they are not related. He said the two churches named in the embezzlement scheme are “affiliated with Pastor Wooten alone.”

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MINNESOTA
Star Tribune

Article by: EMMA NELSON , Star Tribune Updated: January 18, 2015

Bankruptcy halts clergy abuse cases, with victims watching for signs of change.

After nearly four decades, Bob Rich can still draw a map of the room where it happened.

He was 12 years old when a priest who was a visiting speaker at his school took him to lunch, sneaked him into an R-rated movie and then drove him back to the rectory and sexually abused him. The abuse continued until the summer before Rich left for college, all within a few miles of the Minnetonka neighborhood where he grew up.

After years spent away from Minnesota, a recent return has brought with it the flashbacks that Rich has tried for years to escape. He calls them “land mines,” and they’re everywhere: the wooded road where it happened for the last time, inside a parked car. News stories detailing the latest abuse revelations. The sound of church bells.

“You cannot escape it,” he said. “It’s like breathing air.”

Rich and other survivors of clergy sexual abuse across the nation are watching events unfold in the Twin Cities, with reactions to Friday’s bankruptcy filing ranging from hope to frustration.

“I believe very strongly that we are positioned in a way today to make sure the survivors are treated fairly and equitably,” said Jeff Anderson, the St. Paul attorney handling most of the Twin Cities clergy sexual abuse cases, at a news conference Friday.

But some survivors who have already gone through the legal process, either in Minnesota or elsewhere, say they’re apprehensive about what will happen here.

“What that does is it puts a stop to everything,” said Joelle Casteix, Western regional director of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests. “These diocese … always pitch it as a very humane way to treat everyone fairly, but their No. 1 goal is to keep their secrets hidden.”

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MINNESOTA
WJON

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Some Twin Cities-area parishes are fearful about their financial futures after the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis filed for bankruptcy.

While Archbishop John Nienstedt said Friday that parishes would not be affected by the filing for Chapter 11 reorganization, dozens of parishes are taking steps to protect themselves.

Reports say 50 parishes have hired White Bear Lake bankruptcy attorney Mary Jo Jensen-Carter.
Others have hired their own attorneys or are considering joining the larger group.

The archdiocese filed for bankruptcy Friday in the face of dozens of claims of clergy sexual abuse. Archdiocese leaders say the reorganization will allow the church to compensate victims equitably, while still continuing its mission.

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UNITED STATES
Yahoo! News

Washington (AFP) – British Prime Minister David Cameron defended the right to speech that gives offense to others’ religious beliefs, in a rebuttal to Pope Francis who said there should be limits.

In an interview that aired Sunday on CBS’s Face the Nation, Cameron said the West must show that its values, like free speech, are stronger than those of Islamist extremists pursuing a “poisonous death cult narrative.”

“I think in a free society, there is a right to cause offense about someone’s religion. I’m a Christian. If someone says something offensive about Jesus, I might find that offensive but in a free society I don’t have a right to wreak my vengeance upon them,” Cameron said.

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UNITED STATES
The Raw Story

ARTURO GARCIA
16 JAN 2015

Former CNN host Piers Morgan accused Pope Francis on Thursday of promoting aggression against anyone who criticizes religion.

“Here was my Holy Father, supposedly a man who espouses the philosophy of turning the other cheek, telling us all to whack someone in the face if they insult us,” Morgan wrote in the Daily Mail. “Well, isn’t that exactly what Al Qaida did in Paris, metaphorically speaking? They claimed the Charlie Hebdo cartoonists had insulted their religion, and reacted with physical aggression. Albeit aggression of a deadly, despicable varity.”

Morgan’s column was published a day after the Pope condemned the mass shooting that killed 12 Charlie Hebdo staff members, while saying that “there are limits” to freedom of speech and comparing insulting a person’s faith to insulting his mother.

“If my good friend Dr. [Alberto] Gasparri says a curse word against my mother, then a punch awaits him,” the Pope said, using his trip organizer as an example. “It’s normal. One cannot provoke. One cannot insult the faith of others. One cannot make fun of faith.”

While Pope Francis has emerged as “the biggest breath of fresh air since John Paul II,” Morgan argued, his remarks effectively “endorsed violence” against Charlie Hebdo, since their content — which mocked the Islamic Prophet Mohammad, among other religious figures — could lead to them being seen as “provocateurs.”

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UNITED STATES
Christian Catholicism

Jerry Slevin

* Pope Francis’ well scripted trip to the Philippines began and ended with unscripted injections of reality about street children. The trip began with shocking revelations that young street children were being rounded up by Manila officials and held in horrible conditions to clear the streets for Pope Francis’ visit, as reported by the UK Daily Mail here: [Daily Mail]

* The pope’s last full day in the Philippines began with an emotional youth gathering where he faced a tough question from one of the street children.

* Pope Francis concluded his trip in open-air Mass. In his homily, the pope took another swipe at the Philippines’ government’s new program to make effective family planning options accessible to, and affordable by, the countries poor, saying the family was under threat from “insidious attacks and programs contrary to all that we hold true and sacred.”

* Children can be seen living on the streets of the Philippine capital, as they often do in many poor Asian, Latin American and African countries, surviving by begging and picking through garbage in vast dumps.The United Nations reportedly says 1.2 million children live on the streets in the Philippines. According to the Child Protection Network Foundation, 35 percent of Filipino children were living in poverty in 2009, the last year such data was available. Nearly one third of Filipinos live in slums

* At an emotional youth gathering at a Catholic university in Manila this morning (1/18/15), the pope had to face a question posed by a 12-year-old girl who had been abandoned. “Many children are abandoned by their parents. Many of them became victims and bad things have happened to them, like drug addiction and prostitution. Why does God allow this to happen, even if the children are not at fault? Why is it that only a few people help us?” the girl, Glyzelle Iris Palomar, asked him. The girl, who was rescued and found shelter in a Church-run community, broke down in tears and could not finish her prepared welcome. The pope hugged her and later put aside most of his own prepared speech to respond. “Why do children suffer?” the pope reportedly replied, but really had no apt answer.(My emphasis)

* Nevertheless, Pope Francis lobbied a few hours later in his homily for an end to the government’s long overdue help to poor couples who want to plan their families. Is he serious?

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CANADA
CFRA

The Canadian Press

IQALUIT, Nunavut – Extra mental-health workers have been flown to a remote Arctic hamlet as a defrocked priest who sexually abused many of its children is expected to face a sentencing hearing Monday.

“Mental-health support and counselling support are available for the people involved with this hearing,” said William Qamukaq, a community justice worker in Igloolik, Nunavut.

Eric Dejaeger, a 67-year-old former Oblate priest, will face the opening day of a sentencing hearing on 32 counts of child sexual abuse between 1978 and 1982 when he lived in Igloolik on the northern tip of the Melville Peninsula in central Nunavut.

His crimes, which range from indecent assault to bestiality, were so vile that the written judgment from the Nunavut Court of Justice began with a warning about disturbing content.

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MINNESOTA
WXOW

WINONA, Minn. (KTTC) — – After the Archdiocese of St. Paul Minneapolis filed for bankruptcy there was slight concern other diocese involved in the clergy sex abuse cases may do the same. The Diocese of Winona was rumored to be considering filing for bankruptcy in the past but Winona Bishop John Quinn said no steps have been taken to date.

The Diocese of Winona has listed the names of 15 priests who have served local parishes with “credible” claims of sexual abuse against them.

Back in March, Bishop Quinn wrote a letter to the Vatican explaining the diocese anticipated more than just those 15 claims and was considering bankruptcy.

“At this time, there are no plans for the Diocese of Winona to file for bankruptcy. However, there are still a number of months which lawsuits can be filed. We need to find that out and perhaps actions may be necessary but, we at this time are not prepared or thinking about bankruptcy,” said Bishop Quinn.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Deutschlandradio

[An interview with Fr. Klaus Mertes, who opened discussion five years ago on sexual abuse of clergy in the Catholic church.]

Mit der Bekanntmachung der Missbrauchsfälle im Berliner Canisius-Kollegs stieß Pater Klaus Mertes vor fünf Jahren die Aufklärung in der Katholischen Kirche an. Seitdem sei viel passiert, mittlerweile fragen ihn auch staatliche Schulleiter nach präventiven Maßnahmen an.

Philipp Gessler: Die katholische Kirche hat sich verändert, in Deutschland und weltweit. Letzteres liegt vor allem an dem neuen Papst Franziskus, sicherlich. Die Veränderung der katholischen Kirche hierzulande wurde in erster Linie angestoßen durch die Aufdeckung des tausendfachen Missbrauchs junger Menschen durch Priester in den vergangenen Jahrzehnten. Etwas mehr Demut und Nachdenklichkeit ist eingezogen in die Kirche. Angestoßen hat die Aufklärung hierzulande Pater Klaus Mertes, der vor fünf Jahren Leiter des renommierten Canisius-Kollegs war, eines Jesuiten-Gymnasiums in Berlin.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Deutschlandradio

[Hans Zollner, president of the Center for Child Protection, provided the scientific expertise to deal with the abuse scandal in the Catholic Church. That priests have just abused the trust has left the deepest wounds in those who were affected.]

Hans Zollner, Präsident des Zentrums für Kinderschutz, lieferte die wissenschaftliche Expertise, um mit dem Missbrauchsskandal in der katholischen Kirche umzugehen. Dass Priester gerade das Vertrauen missbraucht haben, habe bei Betroffenen mit die tiefsten Wunden hinterlassen, ist sein Fazit.

Philipp Gessler: Wir wollen das Thema Missbrauch noch einmal vertiefen. Am Donnerstag hatte ich die Chance, mit Prof. Hans Zollner zu sprechen. Der Jesuit ist Präsident des Zentrums für Kinderschutz und des Instituts für Psychologie der Päpstlichen Universität Gregoriana in Rom – er liefert, so kann man das wohl zusammenfassen, für die Weltkirche die wissenschaftliche Expertise, um noch intensiver mit dem Missbrauchsskandal in der katholischen Kirche umzugehen. Denn der Skandal ist ja noch lange nicht vorbei. Zunächst stellte ich ihm eine der ersten Fragen, die sich schon vor fünf Jahren aufdrängte: Hat der Missbrauchsskandal in der katholischen Kirche, nach fünf Jahren der Forschung und Erfahrung, wirklich nichts mit dem Zölibat zu tun, was damals gerade katholische Würdenträger sehr schnell behauptet haben?

Hans Zollner: Sexueller Missbrauch, sexualisierte Gewalt kommt in der ganzen Welt vor und die kommt in allen Berufsgruppen, sie kommt in allen familiären Zusammenhängen vor, die man sich vorstellen kann. Es gibt sicherlich katholische Elemente in dem Missbrauch, den katholische Priester oder Bischöfe verüben.

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SCHWEIZ
kath.ch

[Zurich, 18/01/15 (kath.ch) The Catholic Church in Germany has processed approximately 1,500 Indemnity claims of victims. Ninety-five percent of the applications received positive decision.]

Zürich, 18.1.15 (kath.ch) Die katholische Kirche in Deutschland hat rund 1.500 Entschädigungs-Anträge von Opfern bearbeitet, 95 Prozent der Anträge erhielten positiven Bescheid, wie diese Woche bekannt wurde. Auch in der Schweiz nimmt die Frage nach einer materiellen Entschädigung Formen an.

Sylvia Stam

Um wie viele Fälle es in der Schweiz geht, lässt sich so nicht sagen, weil es bislang keine nationale Meldestelle gibt, erklärt Joseph Bonnemain, Sekretär des Fachgremiums «Sexuelle Übergriffe im kirchlichen Umfeld» der Schweizer Bischofskonferenz (SBK), gegenüber kath.ch. Die Fälle wurden jeweils von den einzelnen Bistümern gesammelt. Dennoch hat das Fachgremium für die bereits verjährten Fälle nach kurzen Wegen für eine Entschädigung gesucht:

«Wir haben ein Modell entwickelt, wie wir für die Opfer der verjährten Fälle materiell ein Zeichen setzen können», sagt Giorgio Prestele, Präsident des bischöflichen Fachgremiums, gegenüber kath.ch. Im Idealfall stünden bis Ende Jahr eine Struktur und ein Konto für einen Fonds, in den man Geld einzahlen könne.

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AUSTRALIA
Broken Rites

By a Broken Rites researcher (article posted 18 January 2015)

Australia’s national child-abuse Royal Commission has been told how the Catholic Church allowed a priest, Father Martin Newbold, to commit sex-crimes against young girls. The church concealed his crimes from the police and transferred him from one Australian state to another to protect him. Thus the church inflicted this criminal on more victims in new parishes.

Broken Rites has ascertained that Father Martin Newbold (real name Thomas Parker Newbold) was born in Fremantle, Western Australia, in 1928. In his teens he was recruited as a priest for Western Australia’s Perth diocese and he was ordained as a priest on 28 July 1951, aged 23, using the name Father “Martin” Newbold.

Broken Rites has searched through 30 annual editions of the printed Australian Catholic Directory. This research indicates that, originally, from 1951 onwards, Newbold officially belonged to the Perth diocese, where his early parishes included Northam, Wagin and Belmont.

Normally, a diocesan spends his career in one diocese. In the mid-1950s, however, Newbolt was transferred, on loan, from the Perth Diocese to the Bunbury diocese, which covers WA’s south-west.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Mirror

Jan 18, 2015 By Nigel Nelson

The Sunday People today launches the the May-o-meter to shame the Home Secretary into action before the General Election in May

Today marks 196 days since Theresa May announced her inquiry into historic child sex abuse – and the nation is STILL waiting for it.

The Home Secretary now has the choice of 100 candidates to chair the inquiry after two she appointed slipped through her fingers.

But Mrs May is still dithering over who it should be.

Last week we put six crucial questions to her which she declined to answer.

So today the Sunday People launches the May-o-meter to monitor how long survivors of abuse are to be denied justice.

We want to shame the Home Secretary into pulling her finger out before the General Election in May.

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MEXICO
am

[The letter of apology from Pope]

Cuando Jesús Romero Colín abrió el sobre, sus manos temblaban y el corazón le latía rápidamente. Sentado en una banca sobre Avenida de los Insurgentes, al sur de la Ciudad de México, comenzó a leer la carta que le envió el Papa Francisco. Era la respuesta a una misiva que el mexicano le escribió tres semanas antes.

“Sr. Jesús Romero Colín: Tengo recibida su carta. Con dolor, vergüenza, la releí y también con los mismos sentimientos la respondo. Perdón en nombre de la Iglesia, así con sencillez se lo pido. No me sale otra palabra. Rezo por Usted y por todos los que pasaron por ese martirio. Quiero estar cercano. En Usted, y en los que han sufrido lo mismo, veo la cara de Cristo ultrajada. Estoy a su lado y, por favor, le pido que rece por mí. Que Jesús lo bendiga y la Virgen Santa lo cuide. Fraternalmente, Francisco”.

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MINNESOTA
Star Tribune

[with video]

By: JEAN HOPFENSPERGER Updated: January 16, 2015

2013

May 23: A change in Minnesota law creates a three-year window for filing sex abuse lawsuits previously barred by statute of limitations, triggering a wave of lawsuits against the archdiocese seeking millions of dollars in damages.

May 29:The first lawsuit is filed, by a John Doe 1, in Ramsey District Court.

September 23: Former archdiocese canon lawyer Jennifer Haselberger reveals evidence that church officials overlooked sexual misconduct.

October 13: A task force is formed to investigate clergy sexual misconduct.

October 14: A Twin Cities woman sues a priest for sexual contact.

October 17: St. Paul police ask abuse victims to come forward.

November 12: Archbishop John Nienstedt says he will release a partial list of accused priests.

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MINNESOTA
Star Tribune

[with video]

Article by: JEAN HOPFENSPERGER , Star Tribune Updated: January 17, 2015

Move halts suits; archbishop, lead attorney for victims say step is necessary

The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Friday, becoming the 12th in the nation to say its treasury cannot withstand the unprecedented wave of lawsuits from clergy abuse victims.

The move freezes lawsuits against the church, protecting the archdiocese from creditors while allowing it to develop a reorganization plan. It also halts three abuse trials scheduled to begin Jan. 26.

The archdiocese is facing more than 20 lawsuits, with another 100 pending. The bankruptcy filing didn’t provide precise financial figures, but showed estimated liabilities of $50 million to $100 million, estimated assets of $10 million to $50 million, and estimated creditors of 200 to 999.

“Reorganization will allow the finite resources of the archdiocese to be distributed equitably among all victims/survivors,” said Archbishop John Nienstedt. “It will also permit the archdiocese to provide essential services required to continue its mission.”

The bankruptcy filing will allow the archdiocese to continue its daily operations while giving it time to reorganize its finances as a judge determines how much victims may be entitled to receive.

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MINNESOTA
Star Tribune

Article by: JEAN HOPFENSPERGER and TONY KENNEDY , Star Tribune Updated: January 18, 2015

Catholic parishes take steps to limit fallout from archdiocese’s bankruptcy in wake of clergy abuse

Twin Cities Catholics going to mass this weekend saw something waiting for them along with the bulletins and hymnals — fliers explaining their church’s bankruptcy.

The incongruous fact sheets were a stark outline of the reckoning that has come to the spiritual home of 850,000 Minnesota Catholics after decades of sexual abuse by priests, a scandal that has rocked the faith of some believers and the patience of all.

Reflective and questioning, those coming to mass were still coming to terms with a step that their archbishop said Friday had been made necessary by the damage done to victims and to the church.

Some believers, like Amy Holtan of Maple Grove, kept the news firmly within the framework of their faith.

“We have sinners who lead the church: We’re all sinners,” said Holtan, who attended St. Olaf Catholic Church in downtown Minneapolis shortly after the bankruptcy announcement. “But where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more. God is in the midst of this.”

Other Catholics, like Mary Schrankler of Woodbury, aren’t planning to set foot in a church anytime soon.

“We need to understand better why this decision was made now,” Schrankler said. “Was it in the best interest of the people abused, or in the best interest of the archdiocese?”

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UNITED STATES
Winona Daily News

Leslie Hittner

I am appalled! Employees of the Catholic Church all over this country are being told that if they express their beliefs with respect to same-sex marriage, artificial birth control, abortion and other politically sensitive issues that the Catholic Church has a position on — and if those statements are not in accordance with the beliefs and teachings of the Catholic Church — they will be fired.

So much for free speech in the United States. Are similar threats being made elsewhere in the world — Rome, for instance?

One has to wonder when one of the Church’s worldwide leaders, Raymond Cardinal Burke, former bishop of La Crosse and former Archbishop of St. Louis, can make preposterous and outrageous statements about Catholic men and women and still retain his position as patron of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta — itself a demotion from his previous position in the elite Roman Curia.

But then, maybe his statements are in accordance with the beliefs of the church. Maybe he has not overstepped his bounds. Yes, maybe his statements reflect the culture of the vast majority of men in positions of power in the Catholic Church — in Rome and elsewhere around the world.
What did Burke say, do you ask? I will not go into a lot of detail, but feel free to check the Jan. 9 La Crosse Tribune or the Jan. 7 National Catholic Reporter.
In a nutshell — and I mean that literally — Burke asserts that the Catholic Church has suffered a shortage of priests, endured much priestly sexual abuse and experienced a feminization of the church in general because of — get this — the feminist movement in the last half of the 20th century.

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UNITED STATES
Christian Catholicism

Jerry Slevin

* Catholics have come to expect papal pageantry and scripted settings from its papacy that still operates often in a medieval manner. But Pope Francis’ trip to the Philippines seems to have taken things to a darker side. First, there were the shocking revelations that young street children were being rounded up by Manila officials and held in horrible conditions to clear the streets for Pope Francis’ visit, as reported here:

* [Daily Mail]

* Now there is a significant short Reuters’ video of Manila’s police preventing peaceful Filipino protesters trying to be visible to the pope from doing so, as seen here:

* [Reuters]

* Of course,if Pope Francis really wants to understand what the street children are facing, he should view the PBS report about Fr. Shay Cullen. This prophetic priest had earlier in 2012 discussed his work, over several decades with thousands of sexually abused Filipino children, on USA PBS-TV’s Religion & Ethics Newsweekly, indicating that even then, that the Filipino Catholic hierarchy appeared more concerned with curtailing contraception then with curtailing child sex trafficking and abuse. It is inexplicable why Francis did not meet with Fr. Cullen, as appears to be the case. Fr, Cullen has testified as an expert about child sexual exploitation before a an international relations committee of the US Congress.. Please see Fr. Cullen with some of the street children here:

* [PBS]

* And if Francis wants to get a quick view of life for the many Manila poor, he might also watch the 2008 video showing some of the harsh conditions in the Tondo/Manila slum shown here:

* [YouTube]

* This seemingly carefully planned “image management” of Pope Francis’ visit to the Philippines is disturbing, especially in view of Francis’ recent remarks about limiting free speech reported here:

* [National Catholic Reporter]

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WORCESTER (MA)
Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester

January 15, 2015, WORCESTER, MA — Following a complete audit of its financial accounting, the Diocese of Worcester has issued online Financial Statements and online and printed editions of the Annual Report on Financial Activities for the fiscal year ending August 31, 2014.

In his letter, the Most Reverend Robert J. McManus, S.T.D., Bishop of Worcester, wrote that the reports continue to demonstrate good stewardship of donations received throughout the year. The Combined Statements of Activities showed an operating surplus of $1,276,057 after expenses totaling $25,271,377 for 2014 compared to a surplus of $122,418 the previous year on expenses totaling $24,750,617.

Bishop McManus wrote that even with a subsidy of $550,000 from Partners in Charity, retirement programs for clergy operated at expenses over revenues by $993,535, up from the previous year’s difference of $715,325. He expressed his gratitude “to the committee that came together last year to begin the task of raising awareness of this critical need in our diocese” including the Celebrate Priesthood event held in the fall of 2014 which will benefit the 2015 fiscal year. The total expenses incurred for retired priests care were 3.6% higher than the previous year.

The other area which he noted as a challenge is the need to service outstanding debt, which cost Central Administration $995,956. He thanked the parish and diocesan staff and volunteers who participated in workshops on parish finances this past year and noted that dedicated assistance to help parishes with their goal of balanced budgets will begin in 2015.

The Diocesan Expansion Fund, which provides “a safe and secure resource for parish and diocesan savings while providing for the borrowing needs of our parishes,” ended the year on a positive note at $1,782,652 including unrealized gains of $839,486. This gain contributed significantly to the overall 1,276,057 increase in unrestricted net assets reported on the combined statement of activities.

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MINNESOTA
Canonical Consultation

01/17/2015

Jennifer Haselberger

Charles Dickens was quick to note that ‘the dense fog is densest’ and the mud is ‘muddiest’ at ‘the very heart of the fog’, which he identified as the High Court of Chancery. ‘Chancery’, in his sense and in mine, becomes somewhat of a double entendre. For, I think that anyone who watched the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis press conference yesterday afternoon (filmed from the Saint Paul Chancery) will agree that there was ‘fog everywhere’, and very little sun.

Neither the press conferences nor the documents filed as part of the Archdiocese’s petition for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection shed much light on the current situation of the Archdiocese- financially, morally, or otherwise. However, a close reading of the documents, and in particular the ‘Application of the Debtor to Employ Chapter 11 Counsel’ does raise some interesting questions.

1). How much has it cost?

Per the ‘Verified Statement of Richard D Anderson’, included as page 9 of 42 in the PDF file ‘Application by Debtor‘, as of the date of petition (January 16, 2015) the Archdiocese has been billed by Briggs and Morgan for $900,224.11 in fees and $3281 in expenses. The billings began with the filing of an initial retainer of $300,000 on April 29, 2014, which has been periodically refreshed to maintain a minimum trust balance of $250,000. On January 13, 2015, in advance of filing the petition, the Archdiocese deposited an additional $750,000 into the trust account.

The ‘Verified Statement’ indicates that Briggs and Morgan billed, from this account, ‘for any matter arguably related to a potential bankruptcy filing’. However, it also specifies that ‘any matter’ does not include fees and expenses incurred in connection with:

1. the ‘voluminous’ review of clergy files
2. analyses of insurance issues
‘3. voluntary’ public disclosures of accused clergy
4. police reporting
5. insurance coverage litigation
6. development of child protection policies and protocols

According to the ‘Verified Statement’, payments from the Archdiocese have been made out of its general operating fund, which goes a long way towards explaining the $9.1 million deficit that was announced in November of 2014. At that time the Archdiocese suggested that $4.1 million of that amount went towards addressing allegations of clerical sexual abuse.

2). What happened to Brian Wenger?

In bankruptcy proceedings, the proposed attorney for the debtor (in this case the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis) must list any potential conflicts of interest (again see the Verified Statement of Richard D. Anderson). An interesting aspect to the disclosure filed yesterday has to do with the former Chair of Briggs and Morgan, Brian Wenger. Throughout my tenure as Chancellor in the Archdiocese, Brian Wenger was an influential adviser and friend to Archbishop Nienstedt (at least to the extent that anyone could be considered a friend of the Archbishop). Wenger served as Chair of the Archdiocese Finance Council for a number of years, and was active in drawing up a plan for the reorganization of Chancery departments following the embezzlement scandal (a reorganization plan that did not include, interestingly, a Chancellors’ department). The normally reclusive Archbishop would even, on occasion, have the Wenger family at his residence- a circumstance almost unheard of in other contexts. So great was Wenger’s influence, in fact, the the CFO and my co-Chancellor often griped about the extent to which Wenger’s advice was sought and accepted over theirs.

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UNITED STATES
PopeCrimes& Vatican Evils.

Paris Arrow

Updated January 17, 2015

Pope Francis said, ‘If my good friend Dr. Gasparri says a curse word against my mother, he can expect a punch,’

In reaction to the Charlie Hebdo event in Paris, on the plane to the Philippines, Pope Francis told journalists that, ‘If my good friend Dr. Gasparri says a curse word against my mother, he can expect a punch,’ Francis said, throwing a pretend punch his way. ‘It’s normal. You cannot provoke. You cannot insult the faith of others. You cannot make fun of the faith of others.’ If Pope Francis’ mother had autocratic powers (like he does) and she covered-up and protected criminals like pedophile priests for decades and she abused her powers in limitless ways (like the Vatican had done centuries after centuries) sometimes the only way to expose her crimes is by satire – for the pen is mightier than the sword – see Charlie Hebdo cartoons below. Read also the rebuttal to those who say, “I am not Charlie” below.

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CHICAGO (IL)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Cupich has been in office for a month now
Group has twice invited him to a town hall meeting
Victims are disappointed that he refuses to respond
On anniversary of his installation they’ll leaflet outside church
SNAP: Cleric is still in a parish despite two child sex accusations
Group will hand fliers to mass-goers inviting them to attend an open meeting

WHAT:
On the one month anniversary of the new archbishop’s installation, clergy sex abuse victims and concerned Catholics will hand fliers to church-goers urging them – and him – to come to a “town hall meeting” about a twice-accused predator priest who is still on the job.

WHEN:
Sunday, January 18, 2015 at11:30 a.m.

WHERE:
Outside St Alphonsus Church (1429 West Wellington Avenue, Chicago)

WHO:
Four to five members of a support group called SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests

WHY:
Twice SNAP has invited new Archbishop Blase Cupich to a town-hall meeting to educate and warn church-goers about a twice-accused priest working in their parish. The event will be held Thursday, January 22, regardless of whether Cupich responds or not.

[SNAP]

SNAP also wants Cupich to:

1) Suspend Fr. Michael W. O’Connell from his post at St. Alphonsus, and

2) Personally visit St. Alphonsus and Our Lady of the Woods (Orland Park) and beg anyone who may have information or suspicions about crimes or misdeeds by Fr. O’Connell to call police.

Fr. O’Connell was the subject of a criminal child sex abuse investigation and is accused of abusing two boys, in separate incidents.

Fr. O’Connell was temporarily suspended in December 2013 after the archdiocese received an allegation of sexual misconduct involving a boy at Our Lady of the Woods in Orland Park years earlier. In April of this year, Cardinal Francis George reinstated Fr. O’Connell even though the Cook County Sheriff’s Department never closed the criminal case.

[BishopAccountability.org]

Weeks later, new allegations surfaced involving alleged abuse of a different boy in the 1990s. Authorities have put the investigation on and archdiocesan officials are keeping Fr. O’Connell on the job. Catholic officials claim O’Connell is to avoid the parish school and will not be alone with a child, a contention that SNAP calls “ludicrous and dangerous.”

[BishopAccountability.org]

The “town hall meeting” will be this Thu, Jan 22 at 6:30 p.m. at the Lincoln Belmont Public Library (659 West Melrose Street, 312 744 0166).

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UNITED STATES
Christian Catholicism

Jerry Slevin

* Pope Francis and I are both children of immigrants who lived through the Great Depression and the Second World War. I would have loved him as my pastor in our earlier years. As a “senior citizen beginner” world leader, however, the pope concerns me, especially in light of my long experience as as international lawyer and as a parent. While Francis appears to try to speak humbly at times, he often seems to act arrogantly, as discussed below.

* Pope Francis admitted here [Francis Admits Popes’ Mistakes. Will He Fix Them? ] that he and other popes made mistakes. Fine, yet he seems to operate often, too often, as if he believes that he is “infallible” on complex family, political and economic issues, not just on “faith and morals”. A few examples of this from the pope’s Philippines trip and elsewhere follow.

* Pope Francis is clearly a first rate salesman, but he seems, to me at least, to be at best a second rate manager, and a third rate strategist. He relies too often on secrecy and rhetoric, and on a narrow and opportunistic group of billionaire and clerical advisers, almost all men — “Yes Men”. He frequently pontificates on social, political and economic issues either with insufficient regard for some pertinent factual data or with a lack of direct experience on the issues, or both.. Since he has over a billion followers, and most in the media so often accept as “Gospel” whatever he says, Pope Francis concerns me deeply, more each day.

* Several examples from his trip to the Philippines follow. One example involves politics and economics and another, contraception and confession, and a third, free political speech, and are reported here:

* [National Catholic Reporter]

* [National Catholic Reporter]

* [National Catholic Reporter]

* Two other good examples involve Pope Francis’ serious missteps in international politics. One was his ill advised Vatican welcome of Russia’s President Putin before the Ukraine invasion, as reported here:

* [Daily Kos]

* And the other was on August 18 when Francis ratcheted up the Holy See’s demands for “action” — including a new invasion of Iraq — by the international community, as reported here:

* [National Catholic Register]

* On his current Asian trip, Pope Francis has called on the Philippines’ President Aquino to root out widespread corruption there, indicating “…, it is now, more than ever, necessary that political leaders be outstanding for honesty, integrity and commitment to the common good,” Francis told the President that his country needed to reform social structures “which perpetuate poverty and the exclusion of the poor.” adding “I hope that this prophetic summons will challenge everyone, at all levels of society, to reject every form of corruption which diverts resources from the poor, … ”

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ITALY
Daily Mail (UK)

Lesbian sex, seduction and murder… by NUNS in a Catholic convent: Incredible tale of debauchery that was exposed by a princess whistleblower is unearthed in secret Vatican archive

By JENNY STANTON FOR MAILONLINE

A sordid tale of lesbian sex, murder and seduction in a Catholic convent in 19th-century Rome has been discovered in a secret Vatican archive.

The Sant’Ambrogio scandal involves a beautiful young sister who convinced the nuns she was experiencing visions and visits from heaven – then made them engage in rampant sexual activity.

Herbert Wolf, a leading scholar of the Catholic Church, learned of the Sant’Ambrogio scandal when he became one of the first allowed into the archives of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

The naughty nun also entered into an erotic relationship with a theologian on the pretense he was possessed, and is thought to have murdered three other sisters.

But when a German princess fled the convent in disgust, a sex scandal hidden behind a habit for many years was unveiled.

Wolf, a professor of ecclesiastical his­tory at University of Muenster, Germany, made the discovery and has retold it in his book The Nuns of Sant’Ambrogio.

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DEUTSCHLAND
WDR

[An accusted pastor does not want to testify at it trial. Now the victim must described the deeds again on the witness stand. The priest is said to have abused his godson and his brother for several years.]

Obwohl er es zunächst angekündigt hatte, wird ein wegen mehrfachen sexuellen Missbrauchs von Kindern angeklagter Pfarrer aus dem Bistum Aachen nicht vor Gericht aussagen. Das hat sein Verteidiger mitgeteilt. Nun müssen die Opfer erneut in den Zeugenstand und die Taten schildern. Der Pfarrer soll sein Patenkind und dessen Bruder über mehrere Jahre missbraucht haben.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Merkur

[Five years ago the abuse scandal at the Ettal monastery become public. Father G. allegedly abused four minors. As of Thursday he must stand trial.]

Ettal/München – Vor fünf Jahren wurde der Missbrauchsskandal im Kloster Ettal publik. Pater G. soll sich an vier Minderjährigen vergriffen haben. Ab Donnerstag muss er sich vor Gericht verantworten.

Der älteste Fall spielt im Jahr 2001, der jüngste vier Jahre später. Damals war Pater G. Religionslehrer und Präfekt in der Klosterschule Ettal (Kreis Garmisch-Partenkirchen), ein Vertrauensmann für die Schüler.

Er soll dieses Vertrauen missbraucht und sich an vier Schülern vergangen haben. Wie nun feststeht, beginnt der Prozess gegen den Ordensmann am Donnerstag vor dem Landgericht München II.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Regensburg-Digitial

[After the ARD documentation of sexual violence in the Regensburg cathedral choir, the Regensburg diocese will take another look at the situation. Clemens Neck, spokesman for the bishop, said there are new allegations.]

Von Stefan Aigner in Nachrichten, Überregional

Nach der ARD-Dokumentation zur sexuellen Gewalt bei den Regensburger Domspatzen will das Bistum Regensburg einen Fall „neu aufrollen“. Bischofssprecher Clemens Neck spricht von „neuen Vorwürfen“, die bisher gegenüber dem Bistum nicht geäußert worden seien. Mit der Wahrheit hat das nur wenig zu tun. Die Schwester des Betroffenen sagt: „Es ist jetzt acht Jahre her, seit sich mein Bruder an das Bistum gewandt hat. Seitdem ist dort alles ganz genau bekannt und dokumentiert.“

Am späten Donnerstagnachmittag wurde die Meldung über die Katholische Nachrichtenagentur (KNA) verbreitet: Nach der ARD-Dokumentation „Sünden an den Sängerknaben“ wolle das Bistum Regensburg den Fall des ehemaligen Domspatzen Georg Auer erneut prüfen. Rechtsanwalt Geedo Paprotta, der die Anträge an das Bistum Regensburg juristisch prüft, habe die Initiative ergriffen, heißt es, weil sich „signifikant neue Details“ ergeben hätten. Er, Paprotta, sei mit dem Fall bislang „überhaupt nicht befasst gewesen“, wird berichtet. Nach der Dokumentation hätten sich „neue Vorwürfe“ ergeben, behauptet der bischöfliche Pressesprecher Clemens Neck und bittet andere Opfer, sich doch weiter an die Diözese zu wenden. Ein durchsichtiger Versuch der Schadensbegrenzung.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Der Tagesspiegel

[Harald Dressing, a Mannheim psychologist, said it is still unclear how many minors were sexually abuse by Catholic clergy in Germany and presumably a quantitatives and representative study is not possible.]

von Claudia Keller

Kritik an der katholischen Kirche: Sie kann nicht sagen, wie vielen Kindern und Jugendlichen in der Vergangenheit durch Geistliche und andere Kirchenmitarbeiter sexuelle Gewalt angetan wurde. Das ist wissenschaftlich seriös auch nicht möglich herauszufinden, sagen nun Forscher.

Vor fünf Jahren wurde bekannt, dass am Berliner Canisius-Kolleg in den 70er und 80er Jahren systematisch Jugendliche von Jesuitenpatres sexuell missbraucht wurden. Doch nach wie vor ist nicht klar, wie viele Minderjährige insgesamt im Bereich der katholischen Kirche in Deutschland so etwas erleben mussten. Vermutlich wird es eine solche Statistik nie geben. „Eine quantitative, repräsentative Studie ist nicht möglich“, sagte der Mannheimer Psychologe Harald Dreßing am Donnerstag in Berlin.

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MINNESOTA
Wonkette

by Dan Weber
Jan 16

Minnesota isn’t all Lutherans, though if we’re being honest, yeah, it’s mostly Lutherans. Today, those sola scriptura Scandinavians scored a major victory in their long-running war with Minnesota’s Roman Catholics (shut up, it was too a thing that was happening). The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis is filing for bankruptcy, because it turns out that child sexual abuse cases can be rather expensive!

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis filed for bankruptcy protection on Friday, saying it’s the best way for the church to get as many resources as possible to victims of clergy sexual abuse.

“We’re doing the right thing,” the Rev. Charles Lachowitzer told The Associated Press in an interview in advance of Friday’s filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court. “This decision reflects the end of a process of putting victims first.”[…]

The filing estimated the archdiocese’s assets between $10 million and $50 million, with liabilities between $50 million and $100 million. It estimated 200 and 300 creditors.

Is the Archdiocese actually doing the right thing, for the children? Or is this another use of the shield of bankruptcy as a weapon, y’know, like they did in the movie 300 and also in Milwaukee? Probably too soon to tell, but we assure you that Yr recovering Roman Catholic Wonket will be ON IT like a cassock on a boner.

Yr Wonket attended Catholic schools in the St. Paul-Minneapolis archdiocese. We sang in Catholic choirs growing up, and this past summer, we watched our wonderful sister get married in Minneapolis’ gorgeous Beaux-Arts Basilica of St. Mary. We are still in touch with the nuns who educated us, and our pastor growing up, Fr. John Bauer, remains one of the finest men we have ever met. Really! He played a bit part in our middle school’s production of Oliver! and everything.

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MINNESOTA
Minnesota Public Radio

Martin Moylan , Madeleine Baran St. Paul, Minn.

With three clergy abuse lawsuits nearing trial and concerns mounting over the cost of future claims, the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis on Friday filed for bankruptcy protection.

• Documents: Explore the filing

Betrayed By Silence: An MPR News investigation
Explore the full investigation Clergy abuse, cover-up and crisis in the Twin Cities Catholic church

The Chapter 11 filing buys the archdiocese time to reorganize its troubled finances as it faces huge potential costs tied to clergy sex abuse. Instead of handling claims through civil suits, alleged victims will likely need to file claims in federal court as creditors of the archdiocese.

The shift into bankruptcy court also stops the coming civil trials, which were set to begin Jan. 26.

The move allows the “finite resources” of the archdiocese to go equitably to clergy abuse victims while letting the institution continue its mission, Archbishop John Nienstedt said at an afternoon press conference.

The archdiocese reported assets of $10 million to $50 million — and liabilities of $50 million to $100 million.

Ultimately, the archdiocese may have to sell some assets to pay its debts, Nienstedt said.

He added that he does not intend to resign.

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MINNESOTA
KARE

[with video]

Jay Olstad, KARE January 16, 2015

MINNEAPOLIS – For months people have been predicting the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis would file for bankruptcy. Friday, that prediction became official.

“I’m not surprised. I think it was inevitable,” said Charles Reid, a University of St. Thomas Law professor.

Reid, who is also an expert in Cannon law, was one those who predicted this day.

“They have huge outstanding obligations, they don’t know the amounts,” he said of the Archdiocese. “They don’t know the dollar amounts, but they know the implications are very large.”

Those obligations come from dozens of lawsuits and pending lawsuits over clergy sex abuse.

Church officials reassured parishes and schools they would not be impacted, saying parishes and the Archdiocese have been separate under a religious corporation statute since the 1800’s.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
NBC Washington

[with video]

By James Doubek and Chris Gordon

Jewish women demonstrated Friday outside the D.C. courthouse where an Orthodox rabbi accused of secretly videotaping women taking a ritual bath was appearing, as prosecutors sought to scour his computers for more possible victims.

Barry Freundel, 63, is charged with misdemeanor voyeurism involving six women. Prosecutors say Freundel secretly videotaped women as they undressed to prepare for a ritual bath in the National Capital Mikvah in Georgetown.

A group of demonstrators stood in front of D.C. Superior Court to support women the rabbi is accused of recording. Some carried signs reading “#SAFEMIKVEH” and “#NoPleaDeal.”

“It’s crucial that everyone, Jewish or not, stand up and say, ‘These people need to be treated with respect and with dignity,'” said Carly Pildis, 29, one of the organizers of the demonstration. “I’m Jewish, and if you hurt converts, I’m going to come after you.”

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MINNESOTA
Star Tribune

By Jean Hopfensperger  hopfen@startribune.com

The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Friday, becoming the 12th in the nation to say its treasury cannot withstand the unprecedented wave of lawsuits from clergy abuse victims.

The move freezes lawsuits against the church, protecting the archdiocese from creditors while allowing it to develop a reorganization plan. It also halts three abuse trials scheduled to begin Jan. 26.

The archdiocese is facing more than 20 lawsuits, with another 100 pending. The bankruptcy filing didn’t provide precise financial figures, but showed estimated liabilities of $50 to $100 million, estimated assets of $10 to $50 million, and estimated creditors of 200 to 999.

“Reorganization will allow the finite resources of the archdiocese to be distributed equitably among all victims/survivors,” said Archbishop John Nienstedt. “It will also permit the archdiocese to provide essential services required to continue its mission.”

The bankruptcy filing will allow the archdiocese to continue its daily operations while giving it time to reorganize its finances as a judge determines how much victims may be entitled to receive. …

Not everyone welcomed the move, including Twin Cities victims’ attorney Patrick Noaker, whose client’s lawsuit against the Rev. Thomas Stitts was to go to trial Jan. 26. He said he was disappointed “the archdiocese chose to file bankruptcy rather than have the facts exposed at trial.”

“Bankruptcies do not protect kids,” said Noaker in a written statement. “Trials and disclosures help protect kids. The Archdiocese’s bankruptcy filing just one week before officials would have to testify in a public court with television cameras is not the conduct of an organization committed to transparency and protecting kids.”

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MINNESOTA
KAAL

[with video]

By: Joe Augustine

The Archbishop says filing for bankruptcy protection is the best way for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis to fairly address victims of sexual abuse. An attorney representing more than a hundred alleged victims says filing for bankruptcy is a necessity.

Patrick Noaker says bankruptcy allows the church to keep its failures in the shadows.

“I don’t know if this process is going to be good for victims,” Noaker said Friday, shortly after the archdiocese filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Noaker represents John Doe 104, a 54-year-old man from Minneapolis who claims he was sexually abused by Rev. Thomas Stitts from 1972 to 1974.

Doe 104 would have been the first alleged victim of sexual abuse to go to trial since the Minnesota Child Victim’s Act made cases like this possible.

The law was passed by the state legislature in May 2013. It established a three year window for survivors of childhood sexual abuse to file civil claims outside the old statute of limitations. The window closes May 24, 2016.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
The Irish News

FORMER residents of Kincora Boys’ Home in east Belfast have issued legal proceedings against the secretary of state over her refusal to have the abuse they suffered investigated as part of the Westminster inquiry into historical sexual crime.

In October, Theresa Villiers announced that Kincora would not form part of the Home Office Independent Panel into sexual abuse and would instead be included in the ongoing Sir Anthony Hart inquiry into church and state abuse currently hearing evidence in Banbridge.

There had been calls for Kincora to come under the Westminster probe as it will have greater powers to compel former security and intelligence service personnel to give evidence.

This is amid allegations from whistle blower Colin Wallace that British army intelligence was aware boys at the home were being abused but that members of the RUC and senior political figures conspired to cover up a paedophile ring that included senior members of the establishment.

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UNITED STATES
Winnipeg Free Press

By: John Longhurst

Four years ago, while visiting Elkhart, Ind., on business, my hosts decided to take me on a tour. We saw historic downtown buildings, the river walk, gardens and magnificent old houses. The tour concluded with a visit to the grave of Mennonite theologian John Howard Yoder.

It wasn’t surprising that they wanted to take me there; Yoder, who died in 1997, was possibly the most prominent North American Mennonite theologian of the 20th century. He was best known for his book The Politics of Jesus, for decades a standard text in many seminaries and Christian universities.
Through that book, and his many other works, Yoder influenced millions with his thoughtful and energetic promotion of Christian pacifism and non-violence — including me. He changed the way I viewed how Christians should interact with the world.

So it came as a shock last week when the results of an inquiry into allegations of sexual abuse against him were published.

The allegations go back to the 1970s and 1980s, when Yoder was as a professor at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary in Elkhart. Confronted about his conduct in 1992, Yoder acknowledged that he had behaved inappropriately, but maintained he never meant any harm.

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MINNESOTA
KTTC

[with video]

Bishop Quinn weighs in on bankruptcy rumors; assures parishioners they are not filing at this time

By Alanna Martella, Reporter

WINONA, Minn. (KTTC) — After the Archdiocese of St. Paul Minneapolis filed for bankruptcy there was slight concern other diocese involved in the clergy sex abuse cases may do the same. The Diocese of Winona was rumored to be considering filing for bankruptcy in the past but Winona Bishop Quinn said no steps have been taken to date.

The Diocese of Winona has listed the names of 15 priests who have served local parishes with “credible” claims of sexual abuse against them.

Back in March, Bishop Quinn wrote a letter to the Vatican explaining the diocese anticipated more than just those 15 claims and was considering bankruptcy.

“At this time, there are no plans for the Diocese of Winona to file for bankruptcy. However, there are still a number of months which lawsuits can be filed. We need to find that out and perhaps actions may be necessary but, we at this time are not prepared or thinking about bankruptcy,” said Bishop Quinn.

There is still 18 months remaining for victims to report cases of past sexual abuse by priests as stated in the Minnesota Child Victims Act.

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MAINE
Portland Press Herald

BY EDWARD D. MURPHY STAFF WRITER
emurphy@pressherald.com | 207-791-6465

A Catholic priest who was disciplined in 2000 for running a sexually explicit website for gay clergy has been removed from the priesthood after Maine church officials said they substantiated an allegation that he had sexually abused a minor in the early 1980s.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland said it got word from the Vatican on Friday that its findings against John E. Harris had been upheld and the former priest was “dismissed … from the clerical state.”

Harris, now 59, voluntarily separated himself from a public ministry in 2003 after having served in five Maine parishes over 19 years, said Dave Guthro, the diocese’s spokesman. Guthro said Harris, who now lives in Canada, had waived his right to challenge the accusation of abuse.

The Vatican finding can’t be appealed, Guthro said.

In 2000, Harris was disciplined by the church for setting up the website as part of a gay priests’ online discussion group. The site included photos of the discussion group’s members and pictures of naked men.

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MINNESOTA
National Catholic Reporter

Brian Roewe | Jan. 16, 2015

Editor’s Note: ​This story was last updated at 3:10 p.m., central time.

The St. Paul-Minneapolis archdiocese filed for bankruptcy Friday morning in response to pending lawsuits related to the sexual abuse of minors by clergy.

The Associated Press first reported the development, long expected in a region gripped for more than a year by a sexual abuse scandal that has seen trust deteriorate in the local church. It is the 12th U.S. diocese to file for bankruptcy.

The filing of Chapter 11 reorganization came in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the District of Minnesota. The archdiocese pointedly stated its current situation is “because of the scourge of sexual abuse of minors.”

The archdiocese described bankruptcy as “the fairest way” to resolve existing and future claims of sexual abuse while at the same time continuing its ministries within the local church.

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In its court filing, the archdiocese estimated assets between $10 million and $50 million, and liabilities between $50 million and $100 million. It listed its number of creditors between 200 and 1,000, with clients of attorney Jeff Anderson representing 17 of the 28 largest claimants.

In November, the archdiocese released its 2014 fiscal year financial statements that showed a $9 million deficit in operating activities, net assets down $8.9 million and total cash dropping 60 percent, from $9.5 million to $3.8 million.

At the time, Twin Cities Archbishop John Nienstedt repeatedly used the word “trouble” to describe what the documents detailed. His chief financial officer also allowed for the possibility of bankruptcy as one possible path.

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MINNESOTA
CBS Minnesota

[with video]

John Lauritsen

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – The Archdiocese of Minneapolis and St. Paul has filed for bankruptcy amid lawsuits alleging sexual abuse by some of their clergy members.

Archbishop John Nienstedt said declaring bankruptcy is the “fairest” way to help the victims of sexual abuse.

He said it will also allow the archdiocese to continue the work it does for the more than 800,000 Catholics in the Twin Cities.

Since 2013, the archdiocese has been sued about two dozen times due to sex abuse claims. …

The move by the Archdiocese will likely not impact Catholic churches and schools, but at St. Olaf’s in Minneapolis Friday, long-time Catholics said it’s only one step in recovering from clergy sex abuse allegations.

“That’s not the center of our faith,” one parishioner said. “I think when people lose faith in their center, that’s when they leave the church.”

Others said filing for bankruptcy gives the archdiocese a chance to do the right thing.

“I empathize,” another churchgoer said. “Whatever has to be, they have good administrators, and I think they are doing the best they can.”

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UNITED STATES
Christian Catholicism

Jerry Slevin

* It has been a very tough 24 hours for a weary Pope Francis. He is a 78 year old celibate bachelor, yet he seems to like to pontificate, with little or no input from female advisers, as if he is also “infallible” about families He also claims to care about innocent children, yet he often seems almost oblivious, if not indifferent, about them. The pope, in effect, just indicated to 1,000 families to keep having more Catholic babies in overpopulated and impoverished Manila, and, for good measure, also to frown on same sex marriages. What is really up here?

* Meanwhile, an Irish priest prophet, Fr. Shay Cullen, in effect, just pointed the finger on worldwide CNN at Manila’s Catholic hierarchy for failing to protect street children, including those reportedly horribly locked up to make sure they were off camera during the pope’s Manila visit.

* Fr. Cullen had earlier in 2012 discussed his work, over several decades with thousands of sexually abused Filipino children, on USA PBS-TV’s Religion & Ethics Newsweekly, indicating even then that the Filipino Catholic hierarchy appeared more concerned with curtailing contraception then with curtailing child sex trafficking and abuse. It is inexplicable why Francis did not meet with Fr. Cullen ,who has testified as an expert about child sexual exploitation before a an international relations committee of the US Congress.. Please see:

* [PBS]

* As expected, Manila’s Cardinal Tagle took Francis for a tour of a showpiece center for street children next to Manila’s lavish Cathedral, unlike the harsher centers that many of the estimated 500,000 Filipino street children may be confined to when not living on the street. In a statement issued after the visit, the center said that by taking the time to meet “many children who faced horrors of the street like begging, violence, drugs (and) prostitution,” Pope Francis demonstrated “that he is the Pope of the forgotten.” Really? What about the street children Fr. Cullen brought up on CNN yesterday and in the [Daily Mail] ? How is Pope Francis’ by banning contraception helping these children and their families? What is he thinking?

* And Archbishop John Nienstedt just had his Minneapolis Archdiocese file for bankruptcy, surely with Vatican concurrence. This will likely assure delays in, if not denials of, the delivery of overdue justice for numerous survivors of priest child sexual abuse. It also helps Nienstedt and his colleagues, conveniently, avoid having to testify under oath soon in some messy child abuse trials.

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MINNESOTA
GlobalPost

AFP

A US archdiocese said Friday it is filing for bankruptcy to compensate victims of sexual abuse, the 12th Roman Catholic district to do so in a years-long scandal that has rocked the Church.

The Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis is filing for bankruptcy for the “reorganization of the archdiocese corporation,” Archbishop John Nienstedt said in a letter posted on its website.

“I believe it is the fairest and most helpful recourse for those victims/survivors who have made claims against us,” he wrote.

“Reorganization will allow the finite resources of the archdiocese to be distributed equitably among all victims/ survivors.”

He insisted that the diocese’s mission would not be affected and that it will continue to provide “essential services” to the community.

It is the 12th diocese in the United States to declare bankruptcy in the past decade in order to free assets to repay victims of sexual abuse.

Nienstedt said the church assumes full responsibility for any abuses committed and that it supported victims.

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MAINE
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Friday, Jan. 16

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

A man too dangerous to be a Catholic priest has been formally expelled by the Vatican. But no one seems to know where he is. Maine’s bishop must do more to protect children from him.

[Bangor Daily News]

In 1999, Fr. John E. Harris was disciplined for launching a sexually explicit website. In 2003, after an accusation of nude swimming and boating with youths, he was suspended.

Now, finally, Catholic officials in Rome have finally defrocked Fr. Harris from the priesthood. Why has it taken, at best, a dozen years?

Maine’s bishop should now hold a news conference to warn parents, parishioners, police, prosecutors and the public about Harris. The only decent move would be to alert as many people as possible about his crimes.

It’s irresponsible for bishops to recruit, educate, ordain, hire, train, transfer and protect predators like Harris and then – when they’re finally exposed – cut them loose on society with little or no warning.

The Vatican doesn’t defrock priests willy-nilly. It’s a long process. It’s usually not done unless the cleric’s crimes are many or very well-documented. So once Rome has defrocked a priest, it’s very clear he is in fact guilty of molesting children.

We beg Maine Catholic officials to use their vast diocesan resources – parish bulletins, church web sites, and pulpit announcements – to protect kids and warn parents about a potentially dangerous child predator.

And we beg anyone who saw, suspected or suffered child sex crimes by Harris – or cover ups by his supervisors or his colleagues – to speak up, call police, protect others, expose wrongdoers and start healing.

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

UNITED STATES
Questions from a Ewe

I spoke with a bishop friend this week and asked him to explain to me just exactly what a, “radical feminist” is. He said he didn’t have the foggiest.

Since I wrote my last blog article, I’ve been thinking a lot about poor Cardinal Ray Burke. He would have been a young adult during the Second Vatican Council when Catholics’ proverbial cheese was moved. Being from Wisconsin where people take their cheese seriously enough to adorn their heads with it during sporting events, I realized that cheese moving is no easy thing for poor Ray. So, on this whole “respect women” and “women’s equality” thing, he’s just stuck – culturally incapable of moving his cheese. After all, there’s a Green Bay Packers game this Sunday and that cheese needs to be firmly affixed to his head, like for any good Wisconsin native.

In all seriousness, Ray’s father died when he was very young. I have to wonder how that loss was handled and how all that impacted his development, including his views on gender roles. He speaks of the importance of manly male fathers forming their children properly, yet it seems his own father was gone long before Ray hit adolescence. Could he be projecting his romanticized notions of fathers (and mothers) upon the world as ideal based upon a void from his own life? His words certainly seem to come from an alternate reality than the one I know, but then my father is still with me. I do not have to imagine what it’s like to have a father; I just experience it.

Nonetheless, sometimes when you so insistently remain in one place as Ray tries to do, you wind up moving in comparison to others. If they move forward, you move backward in comparison. Similarly one’s actions or inaction can result in unintended consequences.

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

UNITED STATES
Communities Digital News

by Terry Irving – Jan 16, 2015

WASHINGTON, January 16, 2015 – With the events of the past weeks, the media herd is only talking about the evils of Islam. I would like to take a minute to discuss a very different religious institution that truly deserves to be declared a RICO criminal organization, have it’s assets seized, it’s property sold at auction, and any official status revoked—especially any opportunity to be involved in the care or instruction of children.

Worked it out yet?

OK, here’s a joke that might help clarify things.

“Things are getting better. It’s almost safe to build a children’s playground within 500 yards of a Catholic Church. Not yet, but they’re getting there.”

I’m not talking about the religion. I think Catholics should be free to worship as the spirit leads them without any fear of harm or state-mandated persecution. I just think they have to give up the unimaginable wealth and centuries of accrued political power that has apparently been used to cover up the sexual, physical, and mental abuse of children around the world.

Their churches should be seized and sold at auction, their schools should be closed (at least until they can be certified as safe,) and, assuming that there is anything left in the Vatican’s bank accounts after every be-ringed hand in Italy has taken a portion, the money should be used to treat the victims of the predators in their ranks.

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

CANADA
Indian County Today Media Network

From Lab Rats to Psychics: Canadian Residential Schools Tested ‘Primitive’ Aboriginal Children for ESP

Children ripped away from their parents during the boarding school era in Canada were not only subject to starvation in the name of nutrition experiments, but were also tested for extrasensory perception, or ESP, newly uncovered research shows.

Fifty children between ages 6 and 20 were the subjects of the series of tests at the Indian Residential School in Brandon, Manitoba, during the 1940s, CBC News reported.

The work was uncovered by indigenous community worker Maeengan Linklater. She in turn sent it on to McMaster University researcher Ian Mosby, who had revealed equally troubling nutritional and medical tests on children in British Columbia boarding schools a couple of years ago.

In these tests, designed to gauge whether the “primitive” Indigenous Peoples had some sort of sixth sense, children “were tested based on their ability to guess what was written on a card that was being looked at by the researcher—essentially reading someone’s mind,” the Washington Post reported. “But the results were inconclusive: The children’s performance was no better than chance.”

The study called them “willing participants,” the Washington Post said, because they did it for candy. The Journal of Parapsychology published the inconclusive results in 1943.

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

MAINE
Bangor Daily News

PORTLAND, Maine — The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith at the Vatican has dismissed John E. Harris from the priesthood permanently for a substantiated claim of sexual abuse of a minor in the early 1980s, Maine Bishop Robert P. Deeley announced on Friday.

Harris, who has not been in active ministry since 2003, can no longer function or present himself as a priest, and the Vatican’s decision is final, without an option for appeal, according to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland.

The complaint was received from an individual in March 2013, according to the diocese.

Disciplined in 2000 for his involvement in an adult-content website, Harris returned to ministry until August 2003, when he requested a leave of absence. A month later, Harris became the focus of a new investigation involving inappropriate behavior with a minor that had taken place approximately 20 years earlier and did not involve sexual contact, the diocese detailed in its statement.

Harris never returned to active ministry. The diocese notified civil authorities and released the results of its investigation to the media and to parishioners. The diocese publicly asked for anyone with information about the case to come forward. The later report to the diocese in 2013 marked the first time a complainant had accused Harris of sexual abuse.

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

MINNESOTA
Star Tribune

Article by: JEAN HOPFENSPERGER , Star Tribune Updated: January 16, 2015

Archdiocese declares bankruptcy. Victims’ attorney supports the church’s move, but other victims say filing is a cop-out.

The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Friday, saying it cannot meet its financial obligations from an unprecedented wave of clergy sex abuse lawsuits.

“I make this decision because I believe it is the fairest and most helpful recourse for those victims/survivors who have made claims against us,” wrote Archbishop John Nienstedt on the archdiocese’s website Friday morning.

In a Friday afternoon news conference, Nienstedt said, “We continue to facilitate the healing process for this local church” to restore confidence in the church.

“Obviously, we have a long journey ahead of us,” he said.

The move freezes lawsuits against the church, protecting the archdiocese from creditors while allowing it to develop a reorganization plan.

“Reorganization will allow the finite resources of the Archdiocese to be distributed equitably among all victims/ survivors,” Nienstedt said. “It will also permit the Archdiocese to provide essential services required to continue its mission within this 12-county district.”

Nienstedt said he does not intend to resign. …

Jeff Anderson, the St. Paul attorney handling most of the clergy sex abuse cases, supported the archdiocese’s filing for bankruptcy. “It is our belief that the action taken today is necessary,” Anderson said Friday.

But other victims’ advocates charge that the move is one more example of the archdiocese shirking its responsibility to abuse victims.

“Why is it that when all the dioceses file bankruptcy, they do it on the eve of a trial?” asked Bob Schwiderski, longtime advocate for abuse survivors. “Is it because they can’t put their hand on the Bible and swear to tell the truth?”

Schwiderski was referring to three clergy abuse trials slated for Jan. 26, that will now be halted. The bankruptcy also halts all future trials.

All cases and claims will be reorganized in bankruptcy court, Anderson said.

“The good news is that the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis has insurance and it has a lot of it,” he said.

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

MINNESOTA
Winona Daily News

By Jerome Christenson

The announcement Friday that the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis has filed for bankruptcy does not affect the Diocese of Winona, which last year raised the possibility of doing the same but said it would depend on whether it’s presented with new legal claims.

“The action of the archdiocese has no affect on our plans here,” said Winona Diocese spokesperson Joel Hennessy on Friday. “We have no plan to file (bankruptcy) at this time.”

The Winona Diocese was named, along with the archdiocese, in a suit brought by a Twin Cities man who claimed to have been sexually abused by former priest Thomas Adamson. Settlement of that suit was announced last October, though the amount of the financial settlement was not disclosed.

Following the announcement of that settlement, the Winona Diocese stated it had no plans to file bankruptcy. Hennessy said back in October that the diocese can’t know how many people may sue in the remaining 21 months a new state law allows.

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

PHILIPPINES
The Tablet (UK)

16 January 2015 by CNS

Pope Francis did not disappoint hundreds of former street children who were part of a massive campaign to show him one of the centres where they have found safety and love.

Although it was not in his official programme, Pope Francis walked out of Manila’s Immaculate Conception Cathedral after Mass on Friday and across the street to the Blessed Charles de Foucauld Home for Girls, which is run by the Tulay Ng Kabataan foundation.

Accompanied by Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, a frequent guest, the pope spent about half an hour with some 320 boys and girls and young adults from a number of TNK homes in metropolitan Manila.

“It was a beautiful, beautiful encounter,” Cardinal Tagle told reporters later. “You could see the Holy Father was in his element.”

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

TENNESSEE
WJHL

LEBANON, Tenn. (WKRN) – A former youth pastor at a Lebanon church was arrested Wednesday on charges of statutory rape.

The Wilson County Sheriff’s Department said the allegations against Christopher Ross were reported to authorities in late 2014.

The juvenile reported Ross began abusing her with inappropriate advances in 2010. The advances then allegedly progressed into sexual contact that lasted until early 2012.

Ross, 43, was taken into custody following a lengthy investigation.

Ross is charged with 10 counts of statutory rape by an authority figure.

It is unclear if there are any additional victims.

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

MINNESOTA
NPR

[Letter from Archbishop John Nienstedt – Source: St. Paul and Minneapolis archdiocese]

[Court documents – Source: Jeff Anderson & Associates
Application by Debtor to Employ Chapter 11 Counsel
Archdiocese Chapter 11 Petition
Archdiocese Signature Declaration
Debtor’s Verified Application for Order
Notice of Intention to Seek Expedited Hearing ]

JANUARY 16, 2015
SCOTT NEUMAN

The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis has become the 12th U.S. diocese forced into bankruptcy by claims from alleged victims of clergy sexual abuse.

In a letter posted Friday on the archdiocese’s website, Archbishop John Nienstedt acknowledged the devastating impact of the stories of abuse by priests and the aim of “continuing to work with those representing victims/survivors to make sure we are doing all we can to prevent sexual abuse of minors, as well as to be instruments of healing for those who have been abused.

“To that end, I have directed that a petition for a Chapter 11 Reorganization of the Archdiocese Corporation be filed in the United States Bankruptcy Court of the District of Minnesota. Please note: this filing does not include parishes and schools,” Nienstedt wrote.

The filing does not come as a surprise. As Minnesota Public Radio notes: “In November, archdiocese chief financial officer Thomas Mertens called bankruptcy protection “a way to respond to all victims/survivors by allowing the available funds to be equitably distributed to all who have made claims. …”

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

MINNESOTA
Reuters

(Adds details from lawyer representing sex abuse claimants, details from archdiocese)

By David Bailey

Jan 16 (Reuters) – The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis filed for bankruptcy protection on Friday, saying the move will allow its finite resources to be distributed among victims and survivors of child sex abuse by clergy.

The archdiocese, which has been criticized for its past handling of clergy abuse cases, is the 12th Catholic diocese in the United States to seek bankruptcy protection over sex abuse claims. Most of the Minnesota cases date from the 1950s to the 1980s.

“I make this decision because I believe it is the fairest and most helpful recourse for those victims/survivors who have made claims against us,” Archbishop John Nienstedt said in a statement on the archdiocese’s website.

The filing does not include parishes or schools and will allow the archdiocese to provide essential services, he said.

About 825,000 Catholics live in the archdiocese, which has 187 parishes and 90 schools in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. …

Attorney Jeff Anderson, who has brought dozens of cases against the archdiocese, said the filing halts trials set for later in January, but will not stop disclosure of clergy accused of sex abuse.

“It is our belief that this action taken today is actually necessary, and comes as no surprise,” Anderson told a news conference.

He said the archdiocese is unable to satisfy the claims against it, but has insurance from the 1950s onward that he believes will play an important role in the case.

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

MINNESOTA
Seattle PI

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis filed for bankruptcy protection Friday in what’s become a common move for dioceses around the country facing heavy financial pressure from sexual abuse claims. Some questions and answers about the news:

WHY DID THIS HAPPEN?

Minnesota state lawmakers opened a floodgate of new litigation with a legal change in 2013. It opened a three-year window setting aside the statute of limitations on sexual abuse, allowing attorneys to file claims that in some cases were decades old. In addition to some two dozen lawsuits filed since then, attorneys have given notice that more than 100 cases could also be filed. The archdiocese recognized it didn’t have enough assets to pay all potential claims and keep operating.

WHAT HAPPENS WITH ALL THOSE LAWSUITS NOW?

All victims’ lawsuits, including a few cases that are scheduled for trial later this month, will be halted and they will fold into the Chapter 11 reorganization process. The victims become creditors, and can look to payment from the archdiocese’s assets and insurers.

WHAT WILL VICTIMS GET?

Good question. Friday’s filing gave only a broad range of church assets (between $10 million and $50 million, with much more in liabilities). Some attorneys say the bankruptcy process can open a path to assets that might have appeared to be off-limits to abuse victims. It’s unclear if that will happen in the archdiocese case. Typically, payouts in bankruptcy court come from church assets and insurers. The archdiocese recently sued several of its insurers, asking a federal judge to order that the carriers cover claims and legal fees.

Victims will likely get different amounts, depending on the severity of abuse and harm suffered. It would likely be up to a trustee or creditor’s committee to allocate funds.

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

MINNESOTA
Pulso (Mexico]

AP

La Arquidiócesis de St. Paul y Minneapolis se ha acogido a protección de las leyes de bancarrota, diciendo que es la mejor manera de entregar la mayor cantidad de recursos a las víctimas de supuestos abusos sexuales por parte de sacerdotes.

Abogados dela arquidiócesis presentaron la solicitud de bancarrota el viernes ante el Tribunal Federal de Bancarrota.

Autoridades eclesiásticas han dicho que la bancarrota era una opción en momentos que la entidad enfrenta demandas de víctimas de abuso sexual. Se han presentado unas dos docenas de demandas y la arquidiócesis ha recibido notificaciones de unas 100 reclamaciones potenciales adicionales.

La Arquidiócesis St. Paul-Minneapolis es la número 12 en solicitar la protección de las leyes de bancarrota por reclamaciones de abuso sexual.

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

MINNESOTA
Canonical Consultation

01/16/2015

Jennifer Haselberger

In a move that surprised no one (except perhaps the priests, who were not notified in advance of news bulletins by the AP and others), this morning the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis became the 12th Catholic diocese in the United States to file for bankruptcy protection. Being the twelfth to file should mean that the Archdiocese has the benefit of the hard won experiences of other dioceses. However, not all Catholic bankruptcy filings are equal.

When the Diocese of Helena filed for bankruptcy in January of 2014 (becoming the 11th to file) the move was heralded by plaintiffs’ attorneys as well as diocesan officials as being ‘in the best interests’ of the 362 victims that had filed sexual abuse cases against the diocese, the Ursuline Sisters, and the Jesuits. Described as a ‘consensual, prepackaged bankruptcy’ the reorganization plan filed by the diocese in November of 2014 included not only a $16.4 million settlement for victims of clergy sexual abuse, but also allowed a wrongful termination lawsuit to proceed. The petitioner in that case was a former Catholic school teacher who was fired for being unmarried and pregnant (the teacher was in a same-sex relationship). The reorganization plan was approved by a federal bankruptcy judge this week, less than a year after the diocese officially filed for bankruptcy protection.

As quick as that process was, the record for speedy exits still goes, I believe, to the Diocese of Tucson, which became the second Catholic diocese to seek bankruptcy protection when it filed in September of 2004 and the first to emerge when a bankruptcy judge approved its reorganization plan in July of 2005. That plan provided $22 million for settlements with more than 34 plaintiffs. The money for the settlements came from insurance payouts, the selling of church property (mainly land that was to have been used for new parishes for the growing diocese), and $2 million pledged by the parishes of the diocese, whose pastors promised to ‘dig, scrimp and save’ to make up their portion of the settlement (parish assets were not included in the reorganization plan).

On the other end of the spectrum is the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. It filed for bankruptcy protection in January of 2011, and that process is still ongoing today. The reorganization plan filed by the Archdiocese in February of 2014 included only $4 million to compensate 130 victims of sexual abuse by clergy. Victims quickly rejected the plan, and multiple attempts at mediation have failed. One of the main points of dispute remains the $55 million cemetery trust fund established by Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the former Archbishop of Milwaukee, in advance of the bankruptcy filing. Almost all commentators agree that the Milwaukee bankruptcy is unique for the hardball tactics used by the Catholic Church, and for the Archdiocese’s attempts to limit the claims filed by alleged victims of abuse.

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

MINNESOTA
Los Angeles Times

By BRITTNY MEJIA

The Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis filed for bankruptcy Friday following years of sex abuse claims that have plagued the jurisdiction.

The purpose of filing for bankruptcy is to provide the “fairest and most helpful recourse” for victims and survivors who have made claims against the archdiocese, Archbishop John Nienstedt said in a Friday letter.

The archidocese has been criticized heavily for its handling of the sensitive issue.

“This is not an attempt to silence victims or deny them justice in court,” Nienstedt wrote in the letter. “On the contrary, we want to respond positively in compensating them for their suffering.”

The archdiocese, which serves about 825,000 Catholics in the Twin Cities area, is the 12th U.S. diocese to seek bankruptcy protection after sex abuse claims. The archdiocese has 21 pending clergy sex abuse cases and faces the potential for more than 100 additional suits.

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

MINNESOTA
New York Daily News

[Letter from Archbishop John Nienstedt – Source: St. Paul and Minneapolis archdiocese]

[Court documents – Source: Jeff Anderson & Associates
Application by Debtor to Employ Chapter 11 Counsel
Archdiocese Chapter 11 Petition
Archdiocese Signature Declaration
Debtor’s Verified Application for Order
Notice of Intention to Seek Expedited Hearing ]

BY NICOLE HENSLEY NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Friday, January 16, 2015

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis has filed for bankruptcy in light of dozens of clergy sex abuse claims.

The decision puts several lawsuits alleging sexual assaults against the archdiocese on hold pending the outcome of the bankruptcy case.

“We’re doing the right thing,” Rev. Charles Lachowitzer said before Friday’s filing. “This decision reflects the end of a process of putting victims first.”

The archdiocese faces about two dozen lawsuits with more than 100 claims that could develop into lawsuits before May 2016.

By petitioning for a Chapter 11 reorganization, Archbishop John Nienstedt said the church can focus on victims.

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

MINNESOTA
San Antonio Express-News

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Some attorneys and victims groups are reacting differently to a bankruptcy filing by Minnesota’s largest Catholic archdiocese.

Mike Finnegan is an attorney for a law firm that repeatedly sued the St. Paul-Minneapolis archdiocese for abuse victims. His firm is now working with it on child protection issues. Finnegan says the filing won’t stop scrutiny.

But Patrick Noaker (no-AHK’-er), another attorney for victims, says he’s disappointed. He had a case due for trial this month that is now on hold, and said the filing blocks him from revealing information that could keep children safe in the future.

The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests accused the archdiocese of filing to avoid embarrassing questions in court.

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

ST. LOUIS (MO)
Berger’s Beat

January 16, 2015 10:22 am | Author: berger

The St. Louis archdiocese website has been re-designed and now has nearly indentical tabs for “reporting sexual abuse” and “reporting financial misconduct.” (“So protecting their money is as important as protecting our kids?” asks a critic.

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

UNITED STATES
Religion News Service – Rymes with Religion

Boz Tchividjian | Jan 16, 2015

After a few weeks of taking a break and catching my breath, I am happy to be back and look forward to a great new year of shining some light and pointing to hope in the dark pockets of the Christian community. At least that remains my prayer in 2015.
_____________________________________________________________________________
He’s innocent until proven guilty

During the recent holidays, it seems as if I heard that phrase over and over again whenever the name of Bill Cosby surfaced in a news article or in a conversation. Just recently, I read a report about a Bill Cosby concert that was interrupted by people heckling him about the growing mass of allegations that he has raped numerous women over the past decades. After the show, one of his supporters told a reporter, “I don’t believe he’s been charged with anything and at least in this country you’re innocent until proven guilty.” Similarly, in a recent discussion I was having with a group of friends, those who expressed an opinion that Bill Cosby had committed these assaults were scolded by one member of the group for “jumping the gun” and “convicting him” without all of the information. This person strongly suggested that we refrain from casting “judgment” unless or until Cosby was criminally charged and a verdict rendered.

These type of “innocent until proven guilty” responses to allegations of sexual abuse are not limited to public figures. When a member of a faith community is accused of sexually abuse, it is not uncommon for leaders and other members to caution everyone to hold off forming any opinions and to give the accused the benefit of the doubt until he has been “proven guilty” in a court of law. All too often, this results in the alleged offender being treated like the victim while the victim is ignored, marginalized, and sometimes even rebuked.

So, is a person who has been accused of sexual abuse “innocent until proven guilty”? Yes! Under the law. One legal dictionary states, “One of the most sacred principles in the American criminal justice system holds that a defendant is innocent until proven guilty.” This simply means that a person charged with a crime is legally innocent and cannot have their freedom taken away (sent to prison) unless and until they have been proven guilty in a court of law. It is critical to remember that “innocent until proven guilty” is a legal term and that just because a person is viewed under the law as “innocent” does not mean that they did not commit the offense. It simply means that a jury was unable to unanimously agree that the government was able to prove the crime beyond and to the exclusion of all reasonable doubt. It means that the defendant will be considered “innocent” under the law and will not lose his freedom. It does not mean the offense never occurred. Case in chief: the murder trial of O.J. Simpson. Though the judicial system determined that he was “not guilty”, does that mean that he didn’t murder Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman? Does the fact that he was found “not guilty” mean that we should have no concerns being alone with him…especially when he’s angry?

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

TEXAS
Burnt Orange Report

Church Fighting Plano’s LGBT Non-Discrimination Ordinance Was Once Home To Minister Caught in Underage Sex Sting

By Katie Singh on JANUARY 14, 2015

Last month, the Plano City Council passed a non-discrimination ordinance that extended protection to its LGBT citizens. As we reported then, the measure has drawn the ire of many conservative Christians angry that the law doesn’t protect their right to be bigoted. Since the ordinance passed, they have been organizing in an effort to repeal the ordinance.

Opponents of the ordinance have launched a website to gather signatures for repeal, www.planoequalrights.com/, with the banner “Plano Citizens United: Equal Rights For All/Special Rights For None.” The site is home to lots of reactionary, discriminatory gems such as these:

“Under Plano’s new ordinance (2014-12-7) anything any business owner or employee says or does to another person regarding the person’s gender, sexuality, or “identity” may be a CRIME. Plano now CRIMINALIZES Christians’, Jews’, Muslims’, and others’ beliefs about men and women. City bureaucrats will determine whether citizens’ statements and actions are “unjust”. This policy subjects citizens to CRIMINAL SANCTIONS for our beliefs on topics affecting much of human interaction and is a direct threat to our freedoms of both speech and religion!”

As Towelroad reported, opponents of the ordinance will need 3,822 signatures by January 20 to qualify their repeal effort for the ballot. The efforts are being led by the Houston-based Texas Pastor Council, the same organization whose petition to repeal a similar ordinance was rejected due to invalid signatures, leading to a lawsuit.

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

NORTHERN IRELAND
Irish Times

The chairman of an inquiry into alleged historical abuse at care homes in Northern Ireland is to appeal a ruling that he unfairly denied legal representation to a victim.

Earlier this week High Court judge Mr Justice Treacy held that a bar had effectively been erected against the woman who claims she was molested by a “very high-profile figure”.

But his former judicial colleague, Sir Anthony Hart, has now lodged a challenge to the verdict.

Judges in the Court of Appeal on Friday listed the case for hearing at the start of March.

The woman at the centre of the legal battle is due to give evidence at the ongoing Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry.

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

WASHINGTON (DC)
WUSA

WASHINGTON (WUSA9) — One of our area’s most prominent rabbis, Barry Freundel, has his case continued until next month.

The 62-year-old from Kesher Israel in Georgetown faces voyeurism charges. He is accused of secretly videotaping women in a ritual bath.

Freudel was arrested at his house, just blocks from the synagogue. Kesher Israel has suspended him without pay.

On Friday, his case was continued until Feb. 19th. Prosecution asked for more time to examine evidence.

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

WASHINGTON (DC)
Washington Post

Prosecutors get delay in case of Barry Freundel, the rabbi charged with voyeurism

By Keith L. Alexander January 16

Prosecutors investigating the case of the Orthodox rabbi charged with secretly videotaping nude women as they prepared for a ritual bath asked a D.C. Superior Court judge Friday for additional time as they continue to review and gather evidence in the case.

At a hearing Friday before Judge Franklin Burgess Jr., prosecutors asked to set a new hearing date of Feb. 19 in the case of Barry Freundel. Freundel was arrested and charged in October with misdemeanor voyeurism involving six women. He has pleaded not guilty and faces up to six years in prison if convicted.

The judge granted the delay. It’s not the first time prosecutors have asked for additional time in the case. At a previous hearing in November, prosecutors requested an extension as they looked for any additional victims.

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

WISCONSIN
Catholic Herald

January 14 2015 Written by Brian T. Olszewski, Catholic Herald Staff

Attorneys for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee and “attorneys for certain clients,” i.e., Jeff Anderson and Associates, will be in the courtroom of Chief Judge Susan V. Kelley of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin Thursday, Jan. 15, as she hears a motion filed by Anderson to compel the archdiocese to produce unredacted documents and proof of claims forms relevant to the archdiocese’s latest motions for summary judgment.

“The unredacted documents and proof of claim forms contain the identities of witnesses with discoverable information relevant to certain claimants’ opposition to the archdiocese’s motions for summary judgment,” Anderson argued in the Jan. 8 motion. “As such, certain claimants respectfully request the court to compel the archdiocese to produce the unredacted documents and relevant proof of claim forms.”

Four days later, attorneys for the archdiocese responded, noting that it was following the orders of the court in not releasing documents with unredacted names.

The bar date (Feb. 1, 2012, by which victims could file claims) order “provides that confidential abuse survivor proofs of claim are confidential and that only certain ‘permitted parties’ can have access to the confidential abuse survivor proofs of claim,” the archdiocese’s attorneys wrote, noting that an individual claimant’s attorneys were not “permitted parties” and could only have access to the proofs for the claimants they represent.

The archdiocesan attorneys wrote that the confidentiality agreement, which all people with the confidential abuse survivor proofs of claim signed, “prohibits the debtor (archdiocese) from providing copies of the confidential abuse survivor proofs of claim to the Anderson firm.”

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MINNESOTA
Reuters

(Adds details on archdiocese, number of filings in the United States, background)

Jan 16 (Reuters) – The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis filed for bankruptcy protection on Friday, saying that it will allow its finite resources to be distributed among victims and survivors of child sex abuse by clergy.

The archdiocese, which has been criticized for its past handling of clergy abuse cases, is the 12th Catholic diocese to seek bankruptcy protection under sex abuse claims, according to Bishopaccountability.org, which tracks abuse cases.

“I make this decision because I believe it is the fairest and most helpful recourse for those victims/survivors who have made claims against us,” Archbishop John Nienstedt said in a statement on the archdiocese’s website.

The filing does not includes parishes or schools and will allow the archdiocese to provide essential services, he said.

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MINNESOTA
Jeff Anderson & Associates

Live stream of press conference held by attorney Jeff Anderson in St. Paul, Minn. regarding the bankruptcy filing by the St. Paul-Minneapolis archdiocese.

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MINNESOTA
Jeff Anderson & Associates

[accused Minnesota offenders]

JANUARY 16, 2015
By: Mike Finnegan

Welcome to our Bankruptcy Blog. I am an attorney working with Jeff Anderson and a team of lawyers on the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis bankruptcy cases in St. Paul. Our firm, Jeff Anderson & Associates, has been working with survivors of clergy sexual abuse for over 30 years.

The purpose of this blog is to be a source of information and commentary on the news coming out of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis bankruptcy court process. As motions are filed by the parties and orders issued from the court, I will provide interpretations of court documents so readers are better able to understand what is happening on a weekly basis.

Current Status

As of today, January 16, 2015, the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Chapter 11 bankruptcy is a liquidation bankruptcy process in which the debtor, the Archdiocese, maintains control of its business and property while the court supervises its restructuring and the implementation of a plan to repay creditors. The creditors in this case consist mainly of individual survivors of sexual abuse by priests or other employees of the Archdiocese.

What Does This Mean For Survivors?

We will file cases on behalf of survivors of sexual abuse who were abused by clergy in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis who we represent. The cases will be filed in bankruptcy court instead of state court. Just because the Archdiocese filed for bankruptcy, does not mean that the Archdiocese is or will go out of business. They have filed for reorganization rather than liquidation and will still be operational during and after the bankruptcy. We are experienced in this area of law and have handled several other diocesan bankruptcy cases before.

Claims Bar Date

An important part of this process provides that the court set a “claims bar date,” which is a date marking the deadline by which all survivors must formally file a claim with the court. After the claims bar date, a survivor will be precluded from bringing a claim and could be denied any sort of recovery from the Archdiocese. The bankruptcy court has yet to establish a claims bar date but we expect the court to do so in the coming months.

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

MINNESOTA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Friday, Jan. 16, 2015

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

Archbishop John Nienstedt is exploiting secular bankruptcy laws to protect himself and his top aides from embarrassment and inconvenience. This decision is not about money, it’s about selfishness.

It’s no coincidence that Nienstedt does this on the eve of three trials at which dreadfully damaging testimony by a range of victims, witnesses and whistleblowers would have been laid bare for the public to see. That’s almost always the way Catholic church bankruptcy filings happen.

Nienstedt will say it’s about helping to make sure everyone gets paid. But it’s really about making sure he and his colleagues get off the hook, avoiding having to answer tough questions in open court about how they are concealing and have concealed heinous crimes against kids.

And if there’s one Catholic official who wants to avoid this, it’s Nienstedt. What’s known now about dozens of Twin Cities predator priests is awful. But if even one of these cases would go to trial, even more shocking facts would come to light. And Niensted will do almost anything he possibly can to prevent this from happening.

Chapter 11 enables a bishop to protect what he cares about most: his own reputation, comfort and secrets. It stops depositions, discovery and clergy sex abuse and cover up trials. It’s a smart but selfish legal maneuver that will effectively prevent Catholics from getting key information and victims from getting real justice.

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

Church officials claim they are broke. But if they’ll deceive police, prosecutors, parents, parishioners and the public about predator priests, they’ll also deceive people about their wealth.

As best we can tell, Twin Cities Catholic officials have done virtually nothing to expand the pool of funds that could be used to compensate victims while clearly doing all they can to deceitfully reduce that pool.

(More than decade ago, America’s most disgraced Catholic prelate, Boston’s Cardinal Bernard Law, borrowed $25 million to help compensate victims. Other bishops have sold property that isn’t needed or isn’t being used – most of which was given to the diocese by parishioners who have passed away. But we’ve seen no evidence that Nienstedt has even tried to borrow or raise more funds for this purpose.)

If Nienstedt were a father of a high school senior, he’d borrow money, get a second job and move heaven and earth to send that kid to college. (We all know that ‘where there’s a will, there’s a way,’ especially in the world’s largest, richest, oldest and only global monarchy.) But with adults who were sexually assaulted as kids by clerics, he rubs even more salt into already devastating and still infected wounds by pretending to be poor.

When it’s to their advantage (hiring lobbyists and public relations firms and funding papal visits), bishops pool their resources, talking about “the universal church.” When it’s to their advantage – like clergy sex cases – they pretend it’s “every man for himself,” claiming “we’re a small, independent diocese with limited resources.”

It’s been 12 years since thousands of clergy sex abuse victims began stepping forward following the Boston Globe’s investigation. More and more dioceses have sought bankruptcy protection. It’s a smart way to continue protecting those who commit and conceal horrific crimes against kids by preventing depositions, discovery and trials. We fear more bishops will now be tempted to exploit this maneuver so they can preserve their reputations and careers.

Finally, we are sad for brave Twin Cities victims who has done so much and fought so hard to expose the corruption in their archdiocese. At least three of them wanted and deserved their day in court. Nienstedt, however, in yet another act of betrayal by a bishop against a victim, took that away from them.

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

MINNESOTA
Minnesota Public Radio

The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. But what does that mean? And what will it mean for local parishes, schools and parishioners?

What is bankruptcy?

Filing for bankruptcy allows an organization to put together a plan to pay its debts by dividing its assets among its creditors. When an organization files for bankruptcy, it must declare its assets (what it owns) and its liabilities (what it owes).

But just because an organization files for bankruptcy doesn’t mean it will automatically be granted that status.

A federal bankruptcy judge must approve the organization’s petition for the bankruptcy to move forward.

Bankruptcy law is governed at the federal level — states do not have the authority to regulate bankruptcy — and is handled in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, which is a branch of U.S. District Courts. The Minnesota district has locations in St. Paul, Minneapolis, Duluth and Fergus Falls.

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MINNESOTA
Fox 9

by Fox 9 staff

ST. PAUL, Minn. (KMSP) –
The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis has filed for bankruptcy, with Archbishop John Nienstedt saying it’s the best course of action to ensure a fair distribution of resources to victims of alleged clergy sexual abuse.

“I make this decision because I believe it is the fairest and most helpful recourse for those victims/survivors who have made claims against us,” Nienstedt said in a letter. “Reorganization will allow the finite resources of the Archdiocese to be distributed equitably among all victims/survivors.”

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MINNESOTA
Pioneer Press

By Elizabeth Mohr
emohr@pioneerpress.com

The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in federal court Friday morning.

The move wasn’t unexpected. Archdiocese officials had said in recent months that they were considering bankruptcy, following news of a $9.1 million operating deficit for fiscal year 2014 and expectations of more lawsuits by people who say they are victims of clergy sexual abuse, in addition to the more than two dozen that have already been filed lawsuits.

Bankruptcy protection will put any current lawsuits against the archdiocese on hold, including three sex abuse trials that were slated to begin at the end of the month. However, new claims can be filed while the bankruptcy case is active.

In November, the archdiocese said its operating deficit can be partly attributed to $4.1 million spent to address allegations of clergy sexual abuse since May 2013, when a three-year window opened for abuse victims to file claims that were otherwise barred under the statute of limitations.

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MINNESOTA
The Catholic Spirit

On Jan. 16, the archdiocesan corporation filed a petition for Reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. This decision came after months of consideration and consultation with clergy and lay leadership and input from attorneys representing victims/survivors of clergy sexual abuse. Archbishop John Nienstedt and other archdiocesan leaders determined the way to respond most fairly to victims/survivors, given the finite resources of the archdiocese, was to file Chapter 11 Reorganization. This will allow all the resources available to be distributed equitably among all victims/survivors and allow the archdiocese to continue essential services to fulfill mission of the Catholic Church.

“This is not easy news to share,” said Archbishop Nienstedt. “However, over the past six to seven months, I have looked at all the options available to us and I am convinced that this decision is in the best interests of the victims/survivors and the archdiocese as a whole. I believe that it is consistent with our goal of putting victims/survivors first.”

The archdiocese has 21 pending clergy sexual abuse cases, and faces the potential for more than 100 additional suits. These cases are coming forward now because of the lifting of the civil statute of limitations on child sexual abuse under the Minnesota Child Victims Act signed into law in 2013.

The total cost to separately settle or go to trial with each pending or future claim is impossible to determine definitively. It is unknown how many additional claims there could be before the open statute of limitations window on historical claims closes in May 2016.

Although the archdiocese has insurance coverage, that coverage may not be available to pay every claim or the full amount of every claim. There are a number of reasons for this. For example, some of the archdiocese’s carriers are now insolvent; in other cases the archdiocese’s policies may require that the archdiocese fund legal verdicts before the carrier would pay (similar to a deductible on an auto policy), and policy limits may excuse carriers from covering full verdict amounts.

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MINNESOTA
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis

Q. Why is the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Reorganization?

A. We have realized that the way to most fairly respond to victims/survivors, given the limited resources of the archdiocese, was to file for Reorganization under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code (Reorganization). This will allow all resources available to be distributed equitably among victims/survivors and allow the archdiocese to continue essential ministry. The decision to file for Reorganization was reached after months of prayer, careful consideration and consultation with representative clergy and archdiocesan lay leadership groups and outside experts, as well as input from attorneys representing victims/survivors. We must all come together to care for those who have been hurt during this tragic time in our Church’s history.

Q. Is filing for bankruptcy a way to avoid compensating victims/survivors of clergy sexual abuse?

A. No. Reorganization is our best option to care for victims/survivors. It is the fairest way to respond because it allows available funds to be distributed equitably to victims/survivors. This is a continuation of our working relationship with victims/survivors’ counsel and not a deviation from it. By filing for Reorganization, we are not avoiding our responsibilities, but recognizing them.

Q. What does this mean for my parish or school?

A. Parishes, Catholic schools and other local Catholic entities are separately incorporated and are not part of this filling for Reorganization. (Most Catholic schools are parish ministries. Those that are not, such as most local Catholic high schools, are separately incorporated and are often run by religious orders.)

Q. I thought you settled all the sexual abuse cases against the archdiocese back in October at the time of the announcement with Jeff Anderson and Associates. So why do you need to Reorganize?

A. On Oct. 13, 2014, the archdiocese and Jeff Anderson and Associates reached an agreement to settle the Doe 1 litigation. It was not a settlement of all sexual abuse claims.

Also, as part of ongoing global settlement negotiations, the archdiocese is proceeding under a set of 17 child protection protocols.

Q. Couldn’t the archdiocese find another way to fairly resolve these claims?

A. We tried to identify other options, but were unable to find a solution that was as fair as Reorganization to address the many current claims and the potential future claims arising from the lifting of the Minnesota civil statute of limitations on sexual abuse of a minor. Reorganization is a process designed to bring parties together to resolve difficult claims fairly and with finality, under the neutral supervision of the bankruptcy court. This process resolves all claims collectively and fairly allocates resources to compensate victims/survivors. Through the court process we will find the fairest resolution possible for those harmed while still fulfilling our mission as a Church to make the name of Jesus Christ known and loved.

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MINNESOTA
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis

Date: Friday, January 16, 2015

Source: Archbishop John Nienstedt

Visit information.archspm.org to learn more.

Read more in this special section of The Catholic Spirit and visit thecatholicspirit.com.

We have all been devastated by revelations of the stories from those who have been hurt by clergy sexual abuse. Victims, survivors and their loved ones have personally shared their heartbreaking stories with me. I have sensed their anger, their sorrow, and their intense sense of betrayal because of these unthinkably evil deeds. I deeply regret their suffering. I hope to do all I can to assist them toward healing.

We must come together to care for all those who have been hurt during this tragic time in our Church’s history. As announced in October, we are continuing to work with those representing victims/survivors to make sure we are doing all we can to prevent sexual abuse of minors, as well as to be instruments of healing for those who have been abused.

To that end, I have directed that a petition for a Chapter 11 Reorganization of the Archdiocese Corporation be filed in the United States Bankruptcy Court of the District of Minnesota. Please note: this filing does not include parishes and schools.

I make this decision because I believe it is the fairest and most helpful recourse for those victims/survivors who have made claims against us. Reorganization will allow the finite resources of the Archdiocese to be distributed equitably among all victims/ survivors. It will also permit the Archdiocese to provide essential services required to continue its mission within this 12-county district.

It must be pointed out that this action will not in any way avoid our responsibilities to those who have been affected by clerical sexual abuse. This is not an attempt to silence victims or deny them justice in court. On the contrary, we want to respond positively in compensating them for their suffering. Plaintiffs’ attorneys and I are in agreement that priority should be given to providing resources for the victims/survivors.

We have made this decision thoughtfully, prayerfully and collaboratively. I have consulted experts in the field of bankruptcy, finance, insurance, civil and canon law, law enforcement, child sexual abuse and victim advocacy. They have advised me that Chapter 11 Reorganization is the fairest and most helpful recourse for resolution of victims’ claims. I have received the approval of the consultative boards of the Archdiocese, namely the Archdiocesan Corporate Board, Archdiocesan Finance Council, and the College of Consultors. They agree Reorganization is the best forum in which a negotiated resolution can be established that fairly and equitably compensates claimants and permits the Archdiocese to continue its important mission of evangelization.

Documents included in our Reorganization filing provide detailed financial information about archdiocesan corporation assets. Much of this information has been made public already in our fiscal year 2013 and 2014 financial reports. During the coming weeks and months, additional documents will be filed in court. We will continue to post relevant documents on the archdiocesan website, www.archspm.org, and will include more information in The Catholic Spirit.

Finally, the men and women of my team join me in making this pledge to you, the faithful of the Archdiocese:

* We will keep our focus on creating and maintaining safe environments. In short, the protection of minors is a top priority, and it informs our every action and decision.

* We are making every effort to resolve these issues through collaboration, cooperation and reconciliation.

* All resources that are not essential to core ministries will be directed toward these efforts.

* We will care for those who have been harmed by clergy sexual abuse. We will continue to facilitate the healing process for our local Church in order to restore trust with the Catholic faithful, who are counting on the clergy and leadership of the Church to make virtuous decisions for the well-being of the Body of Christ.

* And we will work hard to restore trust with our clergy, who are dedicated men deserving of our confidence and respect.

We still have a long journey ahead as we restore trust through humility, competency and transparency, in order to respond with compassion to all those who have been hurt, to continue to atone for sins that have been committed, and to foster healing. The filing for Reorganization marks another important step on our way forward as a local Church.

Let us place our trust in Jesus Christ, our great High Priest, and in his holy mother, Mary. May they continue to be our guardians as well as our inspiration and source of confidence.

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MINNESOTA
KEYC

By Mitch Keegan, Anchor, KEYC News 12 Midday

The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis has filed for bankruptcy,

The archdiocese says it’s is the best way to fairly get as many resources as possible to victims of alleged clergy sexual abuse.

Attorneys for the archdiocese filed their petition today in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

Church officials have said bankruptcy was an option as the archdiocese faces lawsuits from victims of past sexual abuse.

Roughly two dozen lawsuits have been filed, and the archdiocese has received more than 100 notices of potential claims.

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