ABUSE TRACKER

A digest of links to media coverage of clergy abuse. For recent coverage listed in this blog, read the full article in the newspaper or other media source by clicking “Read original article.” For earlier coverage, click the title to read the original article.

October 1, 2015

Enfield judge lifts house arrest for priest accused of sexual assault

CONNECTICUT
Journal Enquirer

By Aysha Mahmood
Journal Inquirer

An Enfield Superior Court judge on Wednesday modified the release of a former East Windsor priest accused of sexual assault, allowing him to leave his home during certain hours rather than be under house arrest.

Judge Jorge Simon ruled that the former priest, Paul Gotta, 57, of Bridgeport, can leave his home from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Gotta was arrested in March 2014 on charges of two counts of two counts of second-degree sexual assault and five counts of four-degree sexual assault in connection with the sexual assault of a teenage parishioner, according to East Windsor police.

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.

Comments Keep Pouring In re: Pope’s Choice to Meet with Kim Davis: “Lost Me,” “Wonder If Francis Realizes That He Now Stands Shoulder to Shoulder with Mike Huckabee”

UNITED STATES
Bilgrimage

William D. Lindsey

And the comments just keep pouring in to my email box and my Facebook feed, people crushed and angry that the pope chose to meet with Kim and Joe Davis and Mat Staver while he was on a U.S. tour preaching mercy, and, we were told, encouraging the rest of us to rise above the culture-war fixations:

This is from a friend of mine who has a truly remarkable record of working for social justice for many years now in my state, a highly regarded minister:

The fact that Pope Francis met with Kim Davis, and that he did so secretively, is beyond disappointing.

From another wonderful friend of mine, a gay person who’s not Catholic, who long since gave up on religion, but who found the pope inspiring up to now:

When I saw the news that he had dissembled, and that he actually had met with Kim Davis and made out on the plane that he was not referring to her necessarily, that was it for me. I’m done with all the protestations that he’s such a nice, kindly, old man.

From a friend of a friend on Facebook, also not Catholic but who found the pope inspiring — until this:

I watched so much of his visit – felt inspired. Now I kind of feel that watching The Cartoon Network would have done a better job of sustained inspiration.

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.

Other Pontifical Acts

VATICAN CITY
Vatican Information Service

Vatican City, 1 October 2015 (VIS) – The Holy Father has:

– appointed Msgr. Luigi Renna as bishop of Cerignola-Ascoli Satriano (area 1,327, population 110,889, Catholics 101,672, priests 58, permanent deacons 14, religious 87), Italy. The bishop-elect was born in 1966 in Corato, Italy, and was ordained a priest in 1991. He holds a licentiate in moral theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University, and a doctorate from the Pontifical Lateran University. He has served in a number of pastoral and academic roles in the diocese of Andria, Italy, including vice rector of the episcopal seminary; director of the diocesan “Msgr. Di Donna” school of formation; rector of the diocesan minor seminary, and lecturer in moral theology at the Pugliese Theological Faculty in Molfetta. He is currently canon of the cathedral chapter of Andria; director of the diocesan “San Tommaso d’Aquino” library; member of the college of consultors; director of the “San Luca Evangelista” diocesan archive; director of the school for training pastoral workers and rector of the Pius XI Pontifical regional seminary of Molfetta. He was named Chaplain of His Holiness in 2009.

– appointed Fr. Giovanni Roncari, O.F.M. Cap., as bishop of Pitigliano – Sovana – Orbetello (area 2,177, population 72,100, Catholics 70,000, priests 65, permanent deacons 9, religious 68), Italy. The bishop-elect was born in 1949 in Verona, Italy, gave his religious vows in 1972 and was ordained a priest in 1975. He holds a licentiate in Church history and has served in a number of roles in his order and as parish priest and delegate for the archdiocese of Florence for the lay apostolate. He is currently a parish priest, member of the college of consultors, episcopal vicar for the Florentine clergy and professor of theology in the Central Italy Faculty of Theology.

– confirmed the election of Rev. Sarkis Davidian as Armenian bishop of Ispahan (Catholics 2,000, priests 1, religious 12), Iran. The bishop-elect was born in 1943 in Aleppo, Syria and was ordained a priest in 1970. He has served as parish priest in France and Lebanon, and currently exercises his ministry as pastor in Armenia.

– accepted the resignation from the office of auxiliary of the diocese of Cebu, Philippines, presented by Bishop Emilio L. Bataclan, upon reaching the age limit.

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.

Priest took more than $250K from ‘grandmas’ at wealthy church, authorities say

NEW JERSEY
NJ.com

By Mark Mueller | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on October 01, 2015

He called them his grandmas.

The Rev. Alex Orozco befriended the elderly women shortly after his assignment to St. Rose of Lima parish in Short Hills.

Orozco was a new priest, charming and kind and afire with enthusiasm.

And always, it seemed, willing to accept money, parishioners said.

For a car. For a big-screen TV. For a house in the Poconos. For another house in his native Colombia. For credit card bills. For a second car. For plane tickets. For furniture. For dental work.

From 2013 through the end of last year, Orozco allegedly took more than $250,000 in cash and goods from women in the wealthy parish after telling them hard-luck stories about the financial woes afflicting him, his family members and his friends.

The case has sparked a criminal investigation by the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office and has raised broader questions about the limits on what clergymen should accept from generous parishioners and whether some of those transactions rise to the level of fraud or theft.

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.

Minn. Catholics Invited to Weigh in on Qualities of Next Archbishop

MINNESOTA
KSTP

By: Jennie Lissarrague

Minnesota Catholics are invited to weigh in on what qualities they are looking for in the next archbishop of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis.

Archbishop Bernard Hebda, who has been the archdiocese’s apostolic administrator since the resignation of Archbishop John Nienstedt in June, is asking for input on the strengths and challenges of the archdiocese. A series of listening sessions will take place in October and November.

Hebda says the meetings are an opportunity for the local church to help Pope Francis make the decision about the next archbishop. He also said the listening sessions are a reminder for people to be praying about the process and for the right leader.

It’s not known when Pope Francis will appoint a new archbishop to the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, and few people will know about the decision before the Vatican officially announces it.

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.

Former Adass leaders could face charges

AUSTRALIA
The Australian Jewish News

POLICE this week confirmed to The AJN they are considering laying criminal charges against a former president of the Adass Israel School and a former board member relating to their alleged roles in spiriting Malka Leifer out of Australia seven years ago.

Leifer, then the school’s headmistress, was helped to flee to Israel in March 2008 after allegations she sexually abused students became public. She is currently fighting attempts to extradite her to face criminal charges in Victoria.

In a civil trial this year in which the school and Leifer were co-defendants, the Supreme Court of Victoria was told that then Adass School president Yitzhok Benedikt and board member Mark “Mair” Ernst played key roles in hurriedly arranging for Leifer and some of her family to take an airline flight from Melbourne via Hong Kong to Israel.

Evidence at the trial showed that on the same night as an emergency meeting of the school to discuss the accusations against Leifer on March 6, 2008, Ernst’s wife Hadassa contacted a travel agent who rapidly arranged the airline tickets, which were paid for by members of the Adass community, enabling the Leifers to depart Australia at 1.20am the following morning.

Justice Jack Rush, in a judgment last month that awarded more than $1.2 million to the plaintiff, one of Leifer’s alleged victims, stated that for Benedikt and Ernst, making Leifer answerable to Victoria’s justice system apparently was “not a priority” and most likely they were planning a “deliberate flouting of jurisdiction”.

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.

Same As It Ever Was: NY Times’ Laurie Goodstein Gives Free Publicity to SNAP and Its Claim That Pope Francis Ignores Abuse Victims

UNITED STATES
TheMediaReport

David Pierre

Question: What does a good reporter do when a decades-old story line continues to get old and stale?

Answer: Nothing at all.

Despite nearly $3 billion in settlements, over $80 million in therapy payments, endless mea culpas, and countless apologies to accusers of priest sex abuse from decades ago, the New York Times’ National Religion Correspondent Laurie Goodstein continues to trumpet the tired claims from the lawyer-funded attack group SNAP that the Catholic Church and Pope Francis have somehow “ignored” and “infuriated” victims of clergy abuse.

A sea of protesters

When Barbara Dorris, the “outreach director” of SNAP, and Becky Ianni, Washington D.C.’s SNAP leader, staged a massive two-person protest in Philadelphia where Pope Francis was appearing, Goodstein was apparently eager to push through the crowd for a quote.

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.

Philadelphia. Vatican Circus of Deception: ‘God weeps’ as Pope Francis laughs, laughs and laughs!

UNITED STATES
PopeCrimes& Vatican Evils.

Paris Arrow

The Foundation to Abolish Child Sex Abuse (FACSA) Statement Regarding Comments by Pope Francis on Clergy Sex Abuse has listed immediate steps for Pope Francis to substantiate his lofty speech. It says: “Most importantly, we implore the U.S. Department of Justice and the Attorneys General of each state in America to investigate the criminal behavior of the Roman Catholic Church in America and take the steps necessary to hold them accountable for their despicable actions.”

Pope Francis knows very well that his JP2 Army- John Paul II Pedophile Priests Army and their Vatican crimes for half-the-20th-century and their Catholic victimssurpass King Herod’s Army and its Jewish children victims in Jerusalem in the first century after Jesus was born. 2,000 years later, today, after American victims’ painstaking lawsuits against all Catholic dioceses across the USA, there are more than 6,500 pedophile priests in the USA alone.

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.

Judge Puts Milwaukee Archdiocese Settlement to a Vote

MILWAUKEE (WI)
Wall Street Journal

By TOM CORRIGAN

Clergy sexual abuse victims will soon begin voting on a $21 million settlement, which the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee hopes will put its nearly five-year-old chapter 11 case to rest.

Judge Susan Kelley of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Milwaukee on Wednesday approved a plain-language version of the archdiocese’s chapter 11 reorganization plan, at the heart of which is the settlement. Now, the plan will be sent out for a vote by victims and other creditors. Judge Kelley will consider the plan itself at a Nov. 9 hearing.

The terms of the settlement, announced in August, divide about 580 abuse victims into several groups. About 350 victims will share the bulk of the $21 million settlement, and another 105 victims will each receive $2,000, court papers show. The remaining 123 victims, who had previously settled with the archdiocese or otherwise did not qualify for the settlement, won’t receive any monetary compensation.

The settlement also provides a total of $250,000 for victims who come forward in the future, plus $500,000 to provide therapy for victims in any of the three groups.

Non-monetary terms built into the settlement include requirements that the archdiocese publish the names of allegedly abusive priests on its website and that the archbishop send a personal letter of apology to any victim who requests it.

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.

Public hearing into The Salvation Army (Southern Territory)

AUSTRALIA
Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse

1 October, 2015

The Royal Commission will hold a public hearing in Adelaide commencing on 6 October 2015 at the Roma Mitchell Commonwealth Law Court Building, 3 Angas Street, Adelaide.

The scope and purpose of the public hearing is to inquire into:

1. The experiences of former child residents of the following institutions operated by The Salvation Army (Southern Territory) between 1940 and 1990:

a. Eden Park Boys’ Home, South Australia (Eden Park);

b. Box Hill Boys’ Home, Victoria (Box Hill);

c. Bayswater Boys’ Home, Victoria (Bayswater); and

d. The Salvation Army Boys’ Home (also known as Hollywood Children’s Village), Nedlands, Western Australia (Nedlands).

2. The response of The Salvation Army (Southern Territory) to allegations of child sexual abuse of former residents of Eden Park, Box Hill, Bayswater and Nedlands.

3. The past and current policies, practices and procedures of The Salvation Army (Southern Territory) for responding to claims of child sexual abuse in the institutions it operated.

4. Some aspects of the criminal law that govern the prosecution of child sexual abuse offences in South Australia, in particular the issue of joinder.

5. Any related matters.

Any person or institution who believes that they have a direct and substantial interest in the scope and purpose of the public hearing is invited to lodge a written application for leave to appear at the public hearing by 18 September 2015.

Applications for leave to appear should be made using the form available on the Royal Commission website www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au.

The form should be lodged with the Royal Commission via: Email: solicitor@childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au;or Mail: GPO Box 5283, Sydney NSW 2001.

The public hearing will be streamed live to the public via webcast on the Royal Commission’s website at www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au.

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.

Issues paper released into advocacy and support, and therapeutic treatment services

AUSTRALIA
Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse

1 October, 2015

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse is calling for submissions from interested parties on issues relating to advocacy and support and therapeutic treatment services.

Advocacy and support and therapeutic treatment encompass a range of services survivors need to address the impact of child sexual abuse and trauma and help them to heal and lead a fulfilling and meaningful life.

Royal Commission CEO Philip Reed said that the Royal Commission is required by its Terms of Reference to ensure justice for victims through the provision of support services.

“Through our case studies and private sessions we have heard about the lack of quality support services as well as a range of difficulties survivors face when seeking support and therapeutic treatment services,” Mr Reed said.

“We now seek submissions from all interested parties on their experiences of advocacy and support and therapeutic treatment services for survivors of child sexual abuse to further increase our understanding of these issues,” he said.

“Through the Royal Commission’s consultations on redress and civil litigation, it is clear that survivors have a range of needs beyond being able to access counselling and psychological care as part of a redress scheme. We noted in our final report on redress and civil litigation that a separate project would investigate the adequacy of advocacy and support services,” Mr Reed said.

It is anticipated that following a review of the submissions a consultation paper will be published, which will call for public submissions. Final recommendations on advocacy and support and therapeutic services will be contained in the Royal Commission’s final report in 2017.

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Support for abuse victims ‘flawed’

AUSTRALIA
Sky News

Australia’s support and treatment services for victims of child sexual abuse will be investigated.

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse on Thursday called for submissions on issues relating to advocacy, support and therapeutic treatment services.

Commission CEO Philip Reed said that through case studies and private sessions, attention had been drawn to the lack of quality support services, as well as difficulties that survivors faced when seeking support and therapeutic treatment services.

The commission has held more than 4000 private sessions and is starting its 33rd public hearing on Tuesday next week.

It will be investigating how former child residents of Salvation Army homes in South Australia were treated between 1940 and 1990.

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Angela Constance: Now let’s get results for survivors

SCOTLAND
The National

OCTOBER 1ST, 2015 ANGELA CONSTANCE

TODAY sees the launch of Scotland’s independent National Inquiry into the Historical Abuse of Children in Care.

It is a significant landmark coming less than four months after the appointment of the chair, Susan O’Brien QC and marks the start of the Inquiry’s official business.

When I addressed the Scottish Parliament in May I said that I expected the inquiry to report within four years of its start date. While the remit of the inquiry now extends beyond that originally envisioned and is ambitious in its scope, it is vitally important that the survivors who have campaigned for justice for so long know that they will receive answers within a reasonable timescale

The inquiry will examine instances of abuse of children in care, including residential care; children’s homes; secure care; borstals and young offenders institutions and those placed in foster care. It will also take in allegations from survivors who were boarded out, part of child migrant schemes; those in school hostels and health care units providing long term care; as well as independent boarding schools.

In reaching the decision to commission a national Inquiry I met with survivors and their advocates. They bravely shared their experiences of abuse, but also the effect of fighting to make their voice heard, be believed and answer questions about what happened to them.

I understand that many have become frustrated at the wait this summer to see everything in place to fully examine the failures that allowed these horrific abuses and betrayals of vulnerable young people to take place. My aim throughout this has always been to get the terms and arrangements of this inquiry right to ensure we do not raise the hopes and expectations of all those who have worked with us only to come up short by rushing into decisions that will not deliver for them.

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Survivors blast ‘shambolic’ child abuse probe

SCOTLAND
Scotsman

SURVIVORS of historical child abuse have branded a long-awaited inquiry “a shambles” as work finally gets underway today.

Led by Susan O’Brien QC, the inquiry will look into allegations of physical and sexual abuse endured by children in care dating back decades.

The inquiry is expected to report to Scottish Government ministers within four years and will provide a “public acknowledgement” of survivors’ suffering.

But survivors’ groups have expressed frustration at the lack of progress so far, including failure to appoint a panel to assist Ms O’Brien and failure to respond to a request for survivors to be legally represented in accordance with the Inquires Act.

Alan Draper, a spokesman for In-Care Abuse Survivors (Incas), said: “The failure to appoint a panel to assist Susan O’Brien prior to the start date suggests incompetence and will only result in yet further delays to the work of the inquiry, as we assume that anybody appointed will not be able to start work immediately .

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Child abuse victims criticise arrangements as inquiry opens

SCOTLAND
The Times

Paris Gourtsoyannis
October 1 2015

Victims’ groups have criticised a public inquiry into historical child abuse that formally begins work today over fears they will be shut out of proceedings.

Charities blasted as “shambolic” the fact that arrangements to guarantee them legal representation within the inquiry have not been finalised in the ten months since it was announced.

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Child abuse survivors slam ‘shambolic’ inquiry delays

SCOTLAND
BBC News

By Reevel Alderson
BBC Scotland’s social affairs correspondent

Survivors’ groups have criticised a “lack of progress” in the work of a public inquiry into historical allegations of child abuse in Scotland.

They said they felt let down by delays which looked ‘shambolic’ and suggested incompetence.

The inquiry, announced in December 2014, formally began its work on Thursday, although no panel members have been appointed.

It followed a series of disclosures of abuse in childcare institutions.

In May 2015, leading QC, Susan O’Brien was appointed to chair the inquiry, which will have statutory powers to compel witnesses to give evidence.

Although its work has officially started, no hearings are yet planned. Only a website has been launched.

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Inquiry into historical care abuse gets under way

SCOTLAND
Herald Scotland

A PUBLIC inquiry into the historical abuse of children in care in Scotland will formally start its work today.

The Scottish Government pledged to ”shine a light in the dark corners of the past” earlier this year when it announced Susan O’Brien QC would chair the inquiry.

It will cover allegations of abuse of children in formal institutional care including faith-based organisations, children’s homes and secure care as well as those in foster care, long-term hospital care and boarding schools.

The inquiry, which could take up to four years, covers the period “within living memory” up to December 17 last year – the date Education Secretary Angela Constance announced it was being established.

It will have the power to compel witnesses to attend and give evidence, and Ms Constance previously pledged that where crimes are uncovered the ”full force of the law” would be used to bring those responsible to justice.

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Quebec City pastor under investigation for child abuse

CANADA
Our Windsor

By Allan Woods

MONTREAL — Quebec City police say they are investigating allegations of abuse involving a religious leader accused of keeping at least seven young boys confined in his basement — in one case for 13 years.

At least three of the alleged victims testified they were handed over to the Baptist pastor by their parents at a young age and forced to live in the basement of the home he shared with his wife and children, according to court documents.

The boys, who were ages 5, 8 and 10 when their alleged ordeals began, were home-schooled by the pastor and taught a rigid interpretation of the Bible, according to the boys’ testimony summarized in Quebec family court judgments that ordered two boys into foster care earlier this year.

When the pastor’s orders were disobeyed, the boys testified they suffered cruel and severe punishments such as slaps and punches, the withholding of food and water or being subjected to extreme physical exercise, according to the court judgments.

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ADVOCATES PRESS CHURCH TO SEEK POTENTIAL VICTIMS IN CASE ALLEGING SEXUAL ABUSE

TEXAS
Dallas Observer

BY AMY MARTYN
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2015

The Baptist pastor with bright blonde hair was popular among preteen boys in the small town of Commerce, a former resident remembers. Pastor Billy Bob Burge worked in Commerce around 12 years ago, says the man, who asked not to be named. His son’s friends who were involved in the church youth group used to talk about going over to Burge’s house to play video games or have sleepovers. Though Burge had a wife, the arrangement still sounded suspicious to him. “I knew there is a basic rule that you don’t get one-on-one [time] with children,” the man says. At events held at the church, the man recalls seeing Burge in person occasionally. The pastor wore baggy pants and sounded like a teenager when he talked. The man says he confided in one close friend about his concerns and then tried to warn the father of one of the boys who spent time with Burge. The boy’s father was dismissive, “and that was the last I ever said to anybody.” He says he felt in his gut something was off. “In a small town like that, even if you think it, you can’t say it … all you’re doing is making yourself look like a dick accusing someone of that kind of stuff.”

Burge fell off the man’s radar as his son and his friends grew older and graduated from high school. At some point, Burge left town. Last week, the family of another one of Burge’s former young charges, in another town, filed a lawsuit against Burge in Dallas County. At the time the lawsuit was filed, Burge was employed as the “connect pastor” at the Grace Community Church in Greenville.

The lawsuit accuses Burge of sexually abusing a boy in the 1990s. At that time, the suit says, Burge was a youth pastor at the First Baptist Rockwall Church, which is also named as a defendant in the suit:

“In the early to mid-1990s, Billy Bob Burge a Youth Pastor at First Baptist Church of Rockwall engaged in repeated sexual conduct with John Jeremy Sweet-Gomez, a minor. This sexual conduct began when Mr. Sweet-Gomez was approximately twelve to thirteen years old. Pastor Burge’s sexual abuse of Mr. Sweet-Gomez included sodomy, oral sex, and inappropriate sexual touching. These abuses occurred at various locations and times: including on church property and during church-sponsored religious trips.”

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Former Delaware County Teacher Accused Of Sexual Misconduct

OHIO
10TV

A former central Ohio teacher sits in a Seattle Jail accused of sexual conduct with a student here.

Brian Sze, 34, was a music teacher at Bishop Watterson High School.

Investigators said that’s where he came in contact with a 15-year-old male student.

A search warrant obtained by 10TV says Sze was also hired by the boy’s parents to give him private music lessons at Sze’s Lewis Center home.

That’s where the boy says Sze initiated sexual contact with him.

After their first sexual encounter, the boy says Sze told him “not to tell anyone because he could go to jail.”

The boy estimated they’d had sexual contact 10 times over a one-year period.

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