ABUSE TRACKER

UNITED STATES
The New York Times

MICHAEL CIEPLY and BROOKS BARNES
DEC. 10, 2015

LOS ANGELES — Leonardo DiCaprio, still chasing his first Oscar victory, edged closer to Hollywoods top laurels on Thursday, as he took a Golden Globe nomination for his performance in Alejandro González Iñárritu’s “The Revenant,” a bloody frontier drama that was also nominated for best drama and best director. …

Best screenplay nominations went to “Room,” “Spotlight,” “The Big Short,” “Steve Jobs” and “The Hateful Eight.”…

Among smaller films, “Spotlight” has beaten the gloom. After well-received festival appearances in Venice; Telluride, Colo; and Toronto, the newspaper drama, about The Boston Globe’s investigation of child abuse and a Catholic Church cover-up, has done well in a relatively confined theatrical release, and now has a shot at the top Oscar. …

Among smaller films, “Spotlight” has beaten the gloom. After well-received festival appearances in Venice; Telluride, Colo; and Toronto, the newspaper drama, about The Boston Globe’s investigation of child abuse and a Catholic Church cover-up, has done well in a relatively confined theatrical release, and now has a shot at the top Oscar.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Information Service

Vatican City, 10 December 2015 (VIS) – This morning the twelfth meeting of the Holy Father with the Council of Cardinals (“C9”) began in Vatican City. The meeting will continue until Saturday 12 December.

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

DECEMBER 11, 2015

Tessa Akerman
Reporter
Melbourne

The principal chaplain in the Australian Army has told the child sex abuse royal commission he “implicitly trusted” former Bishop of Ballarat Ronald Mulkearns, who moved Gerald Ridsdale from parish to parish and did not report Ridsdale’s ­offending to police.

Monsignor Glynn Murphy was the chairman of the Ballarat Special Issues Committee from 1993-97, which he said was set up in part to respond to the Ridsdale situation and to support his ­victims.

He said during his time on the committee, it dealt with three or four historical matters of sexual abuse and no current matters. The committee did not refer anything to police as it believed it was referring anything it needed to refer through the office of the bishop.

“[Bishop Mulkearns] did not report back to us as to what he did with that material,” he said.

In a 1993 interview with Catholic Church Insurance officers, Monsignor Murphy said he met the parents of David Ridsdale, who was abused by his uncle, Gerald, and told them the diocese would defend legal ­action against Bishop Mulkearns.

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AUSTRALIA
The Courier

By Melissa Cunningham
Dec. 10, 2015

FORMER Ballarat Bishop secretary Monsignor Glynn Murphy says despite having knowledge of mounting allegations of sexual abuse against children he never went to police.

Australian army chaplain Monsignor Murphy dealt with sexual abuse allegations from 1993 to 1997 as the special issues committee convenor. He told the inquiry he “implicitly” trusted Bishop Ronald Mulkearns to pass complaints onto police.

“Did I have faith and trust that the Bishop would follow through with information I gave him, yes I did,” he said. “There was no indication to me that he was not passing on any material that he should pass on.”

The inquiry also heard there was a Ballarat policeman on the church committee but no abuse claims were reported to authorties.

The culture of secrecy and concealment of child sex crimes was further exposed at the inquiry with Monsignor Murphy admitting Bishop Mulkearns kept locked files on priests and did not disclose information to other clergy.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Catholic Herald

by Fr Alexander Lucie-Smith
posted Thursday, 10 Dec 2015

Some years ago now, I used to sit in the aula of the Gregorian University and listen to the lectures of Don Rino Fisichella, a Roman priest, who lectured on the credibility of Revelation. He was a stimulating lecturer, though he sometimes got carried away, I seem to remember.

He is now an Archbishop and in charge of the New Evangelisation, and he seems to have got carried away again, suggesting that to criticise the Pope is the equivalent of a physical attack on him, which carries the penalty of automatic excommunication. In fact, a distinguished canon lawyer explains that this is simply not the case.

The Church has been here before. In the period of the Italian Risorgimento, the Piedmontese state made war on the Papal States, eventually driving the Pope out of Rome and making him the prisoner in the Vatican.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Manchester Evening News

BY JOHN SCHEERHOUT

A lawyer fighting for justice for alleged sex abuse victims of a primary school head has urged others to come forward.

In 2012 the M.E.N. revealed how the late John Mulligan, head of St Anne’s Catholic School in Ancoats, was accused of raping and sexually abusing a pupil 40 years earlier.

His alleged victim, now 61 and living in east Manchester, is suing the city council over the claims.

Since our stories 44 witnesses have come forward and 18 of them are mounting a group action against the education authority, Manchester City Council, for compensation.

The former pupils allege Mulligan would make them stand naked after they got out of the showers while he ‘checked’ if they were dry.

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VATICAN CITY
Democrat-Gazette

By The Associated Press
Posted: December 10, 2015

VATICAN CITY — The Vatican confirmed that some “irregularities” were discovered in its doctrine office after a German newspaper reported that investigators found a wad of about $22,000 in euro bills in a desk drawer.

Bild newspaper said the money was discovered during a search of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith office that followed a February request for information about its assets. The Vatican’s new economy secretariat has been trying to gather information about the holdings of various departments.

Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi said Wednesday that “some irregularities” were discovered, corrective measures were taken and the congregation is now “vigorously” following the Vatican’s new administrative rules.

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UNITED STATES
Medill Reports Chicago

By Emma Sandler

The new movie “Spotlight” focuses on an investigative unit of the same name at The Boston Globe that uncovered in 2001 and 2002 the systemic Catholic priest abuse scandal. It involved about 70 local priests and more than 1,000 victims.

The reporting garnered the paper a Pulitzer Prize. The investigative team comes to life with an all-star cast of Rachel McAdams, Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Liev Schreiber, Stanley Tucci, John Slattery and Brian d’Arcy James. No one takes the lead or chews the scenery in this movie, which perfectly mirrors the collaborative efforts of the investigative team. It’s an ensemble piece in its finest form.

There is no glorifying or vilifying of journalists as vigilantes or upstarts in the movie. There are no romantic entanglements and few scenes look into the personal toll that these journalists endure throughout their investigation. It is a simple portrayal of the facts of the reporting, as they are known, with no embellishments—just as an actual journalist would write the script for accuracy rather than Hollywood drama..

What the film does so well is showing the strong ties the Globe and Boston in general had with the Catholic Church. Boston has historically been a Catholic city to its core since it became populated with Irish Catholic immigrants in the 1800s. Demonstration of this relationship shows up with references to the journalists’ Catholic upbringings as well their family ties. Editor Walter ‘Robby’ Robinson (played by Michael Keaton) even makes an appearance at his Catholic alma mater Boston College, where a picture of John F. Kennedy, the only Irish Catholic president, can be seen hanging on a wall.

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ST. LOUIS (MO)
CBS St. Louis

ST. LOUIS (KMOX) – A lawsuit filed by a former Chaminade High School student accuses the Marianist Order of covering up what it knew about abusive clergy at the school.

The suit filed on behalf of former Chaminade student Christoper Wimmer alleges that while he was a student there in the 1970’s, he was abused by two Chaminade Brothers that the Marianist order knew were trouble.

The two Chaminade brothers are deceased.

“We know from prior cases that the Marianists knew that these abusers had been abusing kids before they abused Chris Wimmer, who is our client,” Attorney Nicole Gorvosky says. “So, when he went and asked them about his abusers, they told him he was the first one to come forward and they had information sitting in their records that, that was not true.”

A statement was released by Rev. Martin Solma Provincial of the Marianist Province of the United States:

Regarding the lawsuit filed by Christopher Wimmer, the Marianists have not yet received a copy of the suit. We were first approached by Mr. Wimmer about 10 years ago, have met with him and his lawyers, and have assisted with counseling needs.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Daily Mail

By Chris Greenwood and Eleanor Harding for the Daily Mail

A leading independent Catholic school was plunged into a new scandal yesterday after its deputy head teacher was accused of possessing indecent images of children.

Peter Allott, 36, from St Benedict’s School, Ealing, was arrested by officers from a specialist child abuse team at the National Crime Agency (NCA).

He was charged with possessing almost 400 illegal images and videos, the majority of which were classified as the most depraved available.

The material was allegedly recovered from his iPhone and a hard drive kept in his office at the prestigious £15,000-a-year school.

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AUSTRALIA
Sky News

Some clergy are in denial about pedophilia and do not believe Australia’s worst pedophile priest abused children, a priest says.

Former Diocese of Ballarat priest Gerald Francis Ridsdale is in jail for abusing 53 children but Fr Eric Bryant says some older clergy in particular are still in denial about pedophilia.

‘I know Gerry Ridsdale’s still got friends amongst the clergy who don’t see the severity of what he has done,’ Fr Bryant told the child abuse royal commission.

He said some priests, and a lot of people in society, still did not understand the impact of pedophilia and try to look to the good things Ridsdale did as a priest.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

By Charlotte King

A witness who gave harrowing evidence at the child sex abuse royal commission has called for the Government to enforce a redress scheme that would ensure the Catholic Church pay compensation to victims of past crimes.

Despite the mounting evidence of the horrific legacy of clergy abuse across western Victoria, many survivors have yet to receive any compensation for the harm they endured as children and its lifelong effects.

Gordon Hill, who has given evidence at the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse detailing his treatment at a catholic orphanage in Ballarat, says he has waited 65 years for compensation.

His body is covered in the physical scars of his abuse, making it difficult to ignore his past.

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TEXAS
LMT Online

By Joshua Fechter
San Antonio Express-News

A 68-year-old Central Texas pastor has been charged with continuously sexually abusing a teenage churchgoer for more than a year.

Round Rock police arrested Henry Lee McGee Sr., a pastor at First Baptist Church in East Austin, on Monday, according to Williamson County Jail records.

McGee was released the same day on a $80,000 bond, records show.

Police learned of McGee’s alleged offenses after her friends at a youth group church meeting asked her about their relationship, according to an arrest affidavit. She told her friends that she had been having a sexual relationship with McGee for the past year.

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TEXAS
American-Statesman

By Katie Urbaszewski – American-Statesman Staff

At First Baptist Church on Heflin Lane in East Austin, the name of its pastor, who is accused of having sexual relations with a teenage congregant, has been covered by black duct tape on the church’s front sign.

The Rev. Henry Lee McGee’s name has also been covered on the church van, but one of the other pastors said the church has covered his name on its property for a while.

The church congregation voted out McGee, 68, of Round Rock, as pastor back in the fall, said the Rev. James Limuel. Before McGee’s ouster, the church in September held a special service celebrating McGee and his wife’s 17th wedding anniversary, according to the Austin Villager.

“Everybody was surprised by this,” Limuel said about the allegations. He offered his condolences to the teenage girl’s family. “We didn’t know what was going on.”

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TEXAS
Patch

By REBEKAH MARCARELLI (Patch Staff)
December 9, 2015

EAST AUSTIN, TX — A pastor from East Austin’s First Baptist Church was arrested Tuesday for committing sexual acts with a minor female church member in Round Rock and other locations, and new information suggests he had been voted out of the church months before.

The church congregation of First Baptist Church on Heflin Lane is reported to have voted out Henry Lee McGee, 68, of Round Rock, back in the fall, the American-Statesman reported. This occurred only shortly after the church held a special service celebrating McGee and his wife’s 17th wedding anniversary in September. The pastor‘s name has reportedly been covered by black duct tape on the church’s front sign.

The incidents of abuse were first reported to Austin police by the victim’s parents. The reports suggest McGee had been in a sexual relationship with the young member of his church for about a year, since the victim had been 13-years-old.

The victim told police the first encounter occurred in a storage unit in Georgetown in June 2014, and the abuse continued at the man’s home while his wife was away. The last time the victim and pastor met was reportedly at a hotel in Round Rock on October 9. The victim said she had sex with McGee over 15 times, and some of the incidents occurred in the pastor’s church office.

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OHIO
NBC4i

[with video]

By Ted Hart

SUNBURY, Ohio (WCMH)–The Ohio Supreme Court will hear arguments next week in a case that challenges the constitutionality of the Ohio law that limits compensation for childhood victims of sexual abuse.

At the center of the case is Jessica Simpkins, who was 15 years old when she was raped by her pastor at Grace Brethren Church in Sunbury.

The pastor, Brian Williams, went to prison.

A Delaware County jury awarded Simpkins more than $3.5 million for pain and suffering. But her attorney, John Fitch, says the award was reduced to $250,000 because that’s the maximum for damages under the state law.

Simpkins says she suffers from post-traumatic-stress-disorder and relives the events in her head several times a week.

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JAMAICA
Jamaica Gleaner

Published:Thursday | December 10, 2015

Barbara Gayle

A PASTOR who raped a 15-year-old schoolgirl at a church in May Pen, Clarendon, in April 2012, was yesterday sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment.

Oraine Ellis, 32, was convicted in the Clarendon Circuit Court last month by a seven-member jury. Sentencing was put off until yesterday in the Home Circuit Court.

Ellis has one previous conviction for carnal abuse. He pleaded guilty in 2007 to that offence, and was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment.

The Crown, represented by Kelli-Ann Boyne, Crown counsel, led evidence that the girl went to church one Sunday in April 2012, to get some solace.

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MINNESOTA
Mesabi Daily News

Posted: Wednesday, December 9, 2015
Jerry Burnes Managing Editor

VIRGINIA — A bankruptcy protection filing by the Diocese of Duluth isn’t expected to affect day-to-day operations at the local level.

Rev. James Bissonette, vicar general of the diocese, said his knowledge of the process is that the diocese’s assets go under review and not its services.

“My understanding is that the day-to-day operations of the parishes and schools will remain the same,” he said.

The diocese filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Monday, a month after a victim of priest sex abuse was awarded $8 million in damages. The diocese was found responsible for $4.8 million. On its website, the diocese says the award is greater than its annual budget of $3.2 million.

“If you put together the diocese’s limited assets and its insurance coverage, it doesn’t add up to anywhere near $4.8 million,” said Susan Gaertner, an attorney representing the diocese.

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MASSACHUSETTS
Boston Herald

Thursday, December 10, 2015

Massachusetts’s highest court upheld a law extending the time sexual abuse victims have to file lawsuits against their alleged perpetrators.

The Supreme Judicial Court ruled yesterday in the case of a woman who sued her uncle in 2012, alleging he sexually abused her repeatedly between 1968 and 1977, beginning when she was 5 years old.

The uncle had reached a settlement with his niece for $26,500 in exchange for her not suing him for nine years of sexual abuse. However, after therapy, the woman later alleged her uncle forced her to have sex with other men and sued him again. The uncle’s lawyer, however, had the case dismissed.

The Legislature amended the law in 2014 to extend the statute of limitations for civil cases alleging sexual abuse of a minor from three years to 35 years and allowed it to be applied retroactively. The SJC has now upheld that law, saying it recognizes that in many cases, victims are not able to appreciate the extent of harm caused to them until years after the abuse ended.

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WEST VIRGINIA
Bluefield Daily Telegraph

Posted: Wednesday, December 9, 2015
By SAMANTHA PERRY Bluefield Daily Telegraph

PRINCETON — A physical examination of an alleged victim and the question of whether a pastor violated the priest-penitent privilege were issues brought before the court Wednesday in a pretrial hearing of a former church volunteer accused of sexually abusing boys.

Timothy Probert, 57, of Mercer County, is facing 50 charges related to alleged sexual abuse of children stemming from his time spent as a volunteer at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Bluefield and for the Working to Eliminate Child Abuse and Neglect (WE CAN) program.

Retired Fayette County Judge Charles Vickers heard the motions in Mercer County Circuit Court. Mercer County judges Omar Aboulhosn, Derek Swope and William “Bill” Saddler recused themselves from the case earlier this year citing conflicts of interest.

Addressing the court, defense attorney William Flanigan said one alleged victim spoke of bleeding after anal and rectal sex with Probert. The victim said he had to “use tampons to control the bleeding.”

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AUSTRALIA
The Guardian

Melissa Davey
@MelissaLDavey
Thursday 10 December 2015

A Catholic priest escaped immediate censure for trying to take a bath with a young boy because church leaders in Victoria did not want to arouse suspicion about him, the child abuse inquiry has been told.

In 1991 the archdiocese of Ballarat heard from a mother who complained that Paul David Ryan tried to have a bath with her youngest son when he was 12 or 13.

Giving evidence to the royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse, an Australian army chaplain, Monsignor Glynn Murphy, who was the bishop’s secretary at Ballarat between 1990 and 1997, said the bishop, Ronald Mulkearns, subsequently told him that Ryan was to be sent to another parish, in Ararat.

However, he was not sent there until Easter, weeks after the complaint was made to Murphy, “so that his change would not have been seen as out of the ordinary”, Murphy said. After a few months at Ararat, Ryan was sent to the US for treatment.

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AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald

December 10, 2015

Jane Lee

Only bishops could refer child abuse allegations they discussed within a Catholic Church committee to the police, despite the fact one of its members was a police officer, a royal commission has heard.

Monsignor Glynn Murphy helped establish the church’s Special Issues Committee in the 1990s, initially to help survivors of convicted paedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale. The committee also advised Ballarat Bishop Ronald Mulkearns on child sexual abuse and other issues. The committee members included police officer Paul Murnane, a retired magistrate and another priest who was a clinical psychologist.

Monsignor Murphy told the child abuse royal commission on Thursday that he advised Bishop Mulkearns in 1991 that Father Paul Ryan be “removed immediately and indefinitely pending any investigation” after he heard allegations that the priest had invited a 12-year-old boy to have a bath with him. The boy’s mother did not want to report the allegations to police, as she was worried this would subject him to bullying.

Bishop Mulkearns delayed removing Father Ryan for a number of weeks to keep up appearances, the commission heard, writing in a letter: “It was agreed that (Ryan) would remain there until after Easter when other diocesan changes were to be made so that his change would not be seen as completely out of the ordinary.”

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NORTH CAROLINA
The News & Observer

BY JIM JENKINS

The film “Spotlight” has terrific actors and a sickening, true story for the plot line: It’s 2001, and Boston Globe reporters are researching accusations that some Catholic priests have been molesting scores of young children, perhaps for decades. The city is 50 percent Catholic; the church, its most powerful institution.

The story is double-edged. There is the sexual and spiritual abuse of so many children, and the systematic coverup by the church. Priests found to have engaged in these despicable acts are routinely transferred to other parishes, where they are likely to prey upon other children.

As the world now knows, the church got a scandal for the ages, thanks to the work of some tenacious reporters on the Globe’s Spotlight investigative team, and to a new editor who was not overwhelmed by the magnitude of the story or by the clout of the church — which he experienced first hand in a meeting with Cardinal Bernard Law, perhaps the most powerful man in Boston. After the first story (there would be 600 stories the first year, and 300 the second) was published under the direction of that editor, Marty Baron, the subsequent reports would lead to Law resigning, eventually going to a post in Rome, despite the fact that he had orchestrated settlements with some of the victim’s families, and would be shown a figure in the coverup.

The movie, now playing at the Rialto theater, is said to be an Academy Award favorite. In fact, it may be the big favorite.

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UNITED STATES
Boston Globe

By Dan Adams GLOBE CORRESPONDENT DECEMBER 09, 2015

Inspired by the success of the movie “Spotlight,” the Boston Globe and the Hollywood companies behind the film have set up a $100,000 fellowship to promote investigative journalism.

The selected fellow or team of reporters will work with the Boston Globe Spotlight team on an investigative story that could be published by the paper.

The Spotlight Investigative Journalism Fellowship is being funded by Participant Media and Open Road Films, the Hollywood firms behind “Spotlight,” a recent film that dramatizes the 2001 efforts of the paper’s investigative unit to uncover sexual abuse in the Catholic church. Online news publisher First Look Media is also supporting the fellowship.

“The Boston Globe has an unwavering commitment to produce high-impact investigative stories that pierce secrecy and shine a light on issues, individuals, and institutions to expose the truth,” said the paper’s editor Brian McGrory, in a statement. “Whether it is the Spotlight Team’s investigation of the Catholic Church in 2002; its relentless reporting of the criminal dealings of James ‘Whitey’ Bulger and his ties to federal law enforcement; or its most recent report on hospitals where doctors are running two surgeries at once, accountability reporting is an integral part of The Boston Globe’s daily coverage.”

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IRELAND
The Journal

BISHOP FRANCIS DUFFY has told communities in the diocese of Ardagh and Clonmacnois he is “shamed” by the alleged child abuse of their former parish priest, Fr Brendan Hynds, and apologised for it.

Duffy acknowledged recent testimony he had received about the conduct of Hynds, who was parish priest in Cloghan, Co Offaly and before that, Ballymahon, Co Longford.

He died in 1993.

In statements issued at St Mary’s Church in Cloghan, and St Matthew’s Church in Ballymahon in the past week, the Bishop called the priest’s reported behaviour “appalling,” and sought to reassure the congregations.

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MASSACHUSETTS
Washington Times

By – Associated Press – Wednesday, December 9, 2015

BOSTON (AP) – Massachusetts’s highest court has upheld a law extending the length of time sexual abuse victims have to file lawsuits against their alleged perpetrators.

The Supreme Judicial Court ruled Wednesday in the case of a woman who sued her uncle in 2012, alleging he sexually abused her repeatedly between 1968 and 1977, beginning when she was five years old.

The state Legislature amended the law in 2014 to extend the statute of limitations for civil cases alleging sexual abuse of a minor from three years to 35 years and allowed it to be applied retroactively.

The woman’s lawsuit had been dismissed.

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MASSACHUSETTS
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court

[excerpt]

We recite here the facts alleged in Sliney’s complaint and for purposes of this appeal we assume the facts to be true.

Jarosz v. Palmer, 436 Mass. 526, 529-530 (2002) (motion for judgment on pleadings filed by defendant is essentially motion to dismiss). From the time she was five years old in 1968 until she was fourteen years old in 1977, Sliney was sexually abused many times by Previte, her uncle. She required psychiatric treatment to deal with issues related to the abuse, and was hospitalized on numerous occasions for the same reason, beginning when she was approximately twenty-four years old.

Sliney began to recall some of the abuse by Previte beginning in 1988, and confided in her relatives. Thereafter, Previte wrote a letter of apology to Sliney and asked for her forgiveness. Sliney was under family pressure to forgive Previte, and in March of 1991, Sliney was coerced into signing a document that purportedly released Previte from all claims in exchange for a payment of $26,500; Sliney’s mental state was such at the time that she did not understand the nature of this document. Thereafter, she continued to require mental health hospitalizations. At some point in 2011, Sliney began to recall new, different memories that Previte, in addition to committing acts of sexual abuse himself, had forced her to engage in sexual acts with other men who were unknown to her.

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MASSACHUSETTS
Durso Law

WHAT:
LANDMARK STATE SUPREME COURT OPINION: Sliney v. Previte Decision issued today, constitutional ruling opens court house doors until age 53 for past victims of child sex abuse. Link to Decision: http://www.mass.gov/courts/docs/sjc/reporter-of-decisions/new-opinions/11844.pdf

WHO:
ROSANNE SLINEY:

Plaintiff, who was sexually abused by her uncle between the ages of 5 and 14 years old, and was also instrumental in obtaining passage of the law which the court reviewed in this case

JETTA BERNIER:
Executive Director, Mass Citizens for Children, (Mass Kids), whose organization worked for 11 years to obtain passage of the law

INVITED GUESTS:
Rep. John Lawn & Sen. William Brownsberger, principal sponsors of the legislation
CARMEN DURSO & MARK ITZKOWITZ, Plaintiff’s Attorneys

WHEN: THURSDAY, December 10, 2015, 4:00 P.M.

WHERE: Suite 1425, 175 Federal Street, Boston, 02110-2287

WHY: Very important constitutional decision which will be an example for several other states considering child sex abuse statute of limitations reform

For more information, contact:

CARMEN L. DURSO, ESQUIRE
DURSO LAW
LAW OFFICE OF CARMEN L. DURSO
175 Federal Street, Suite 1425
Boston, MA 02110-2287
Tel: 617-728-9123 – Fax: 617-426-7972
carmen@dursolaw.com

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NEW YORK
Times Herald-Record

By Andrew Beam
Times Herald-Record

Posted Dec. 9, 2015

MONTICELLO – A rabbinical student is a free man after a judge on Wednesday dismissed the case in which he was charged with sexually assaulting an 11-year-old boy in 2011.

Sullivan County Court Judge Frank LaBuda dismissed the case against Haim Boukris because Sullivan County Assistant District Attorney Eamonn Neary was not able to provide enough evidence to prove the charges against the 29-year-old South Fallsburg resident.

“The decision is not based on the credibility of the young man or any witness,” LaBuda said. “It’s because the court was not able to find the innocence or guilt of the defendant.”

LaBuda specifically said the prosecution could not nail down the date or location where the alleged acts occurred. The judge also said that the prosecution’s sole witness gave contradictory testimony.

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MASSACHUSETTS
Boston.com

By Eric Levenson @ejleven
Boston.com Staff | 12.09.15

The Supreme Judicial Court upheld a 2014 state law, supported by survivors of sexual abuse, that extended the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse lawsuits.

Previously, plaintiffs had three years to file civil lawsuits against perpetrators. The law extended that to 35 years, and applied it retroactively.

The judges considered whether that law violated a defendant’s right to fairly gather evidence and witnesses given that length of time. They unanimously ruled on Wednesday that, although that was an issue, the compelling interests of the law were more relevant.

The expanded statute of limitations “appears to be tied directly to the compelling legislative purpose underlying the act, and in particular, the apparent recognition that in many cases, victims of child abuse are not able to appreciate the extent or the cause of harm they experience as a result of sexual abuse perpetrated on them for many years after the abuse has ended,” Justice Margot Botsford wrote for the court.

The case dealt with Rosanne Sliney, who said she was sexually abused by her uncle Domenic Previte from 1968, when she was five years old, up until 1977. Sliney struggled with mental health issues for years, the court writes, and she eventually told family members of the abuse in 1988.

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MASSACHUSETTS
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2015

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

The highest court in Massachusetts today made it easier for sex abuse victims to expose child molesters which will help prevent future sexual violence against the vulnerable. We applaud the court and the brave survivor who brought this case. The unanimous ruling is part of a larger, longer trend toward repealing or reforming archaic, predator-friendly statutes of limitations that keep being exploited by those who commit and conceal child sex crimes as a way to protect their secrets and evade consequences for their horrific acts.

[Boston Globe]

We share Justice Margot Botsford’s view that “in many cases, victims of child abuse are not able to appreciate the extent or the cause of harm they experience as a result of sexual abuse perpetrated on them for many years.’’ We are grateful Massachusetts lawmakers realized this and extended the state’s troubling statute of limitations and that Massachusetts’ highest court upheld the legislature’s wise and compassionate reform.

We hope this ruling will prod more lawmakers to extend or eliminate statutes of limitations which protect wrongdoers, endanger kids and re-victimize victims.,

We also hope it will encourage more victims of sexual violence to use civil courts to expose child molesters and their allies. The legal system can be difficult and draining. But it can also often help prevent more violence to kids, if survivors are strong and brave enough to use it.

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CANADA
Windsor Star

DECEMBER 9, 2015 3:58 PM

The jury retired after a two-hour charge by Superior Court Justice Scott Campbell, reports Trevor Wilhelm from the courthouse.

Earlier, defence lawyer Patrick Ducharme told jurors his defence was simple. Robert Couture, he said, “did not steal any money from Ste. Anne Parish.”

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MICHIGAN
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2015

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

A criminal prosecution of a Catholic youth minister and school employee is proceeding and Detroit’s archbishop should aggressively seek out others with information or suspicions about the alleged predator.

Joseph Sturza, a former director of admissions at Austin Catholic High School in Ray Township, and a former youth minister at St. Isidore Catholic Church in Macomb Township, is charged with four felony counts of sex offenses against a child.

[C & G Newspapers]

Detroit Archbishop Allen Vigneron will likely hide behind his desk, his lawyers and his public relations team and do nothing. That’s irresponsible. As shepherd of the Detroit area flock, Vigneron has a civic and moral duty to help law enforcement learn as much as possible about the truth of these allegations. That means using pulpit announcements, church bulletins and parish websites to beg victims, witnesses and whistleblowers to call police and prosecutors. That’s what a caring shepherd or responsible citizen would do.

If Vignernon refuses to take these quick, simple and inexpensive steps to protect kids and help prosecutors, other Catholic officials at Austin Catholic High School, St. Isidore Catholic Church and the archdiocese should show courage and compassion and do outreach like this.

We hope that every single person who saw, suspected crimes by Sturza or cover ups by his colleagues will find the courage to step forward, get help, expose wrongdoers, protect kids and start healing.

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CANADA
CBC News

Lawyers for the Diocese of Bathurst have told judge Stephen McNally that the church is seeking $3.3 million to recoup some of the money it paid out to victims of sexual abuse.

The diocese has made its final presentation in its civil suit against Aviva Insurance, its former insurer.

In a confidential compensation process, the diocese paid out $5.5 million to 90 victims of abuse by its priests.

Lawyer Chris Blom argued that Aviva Insurance is responsible to help the diocese pay for some of the compensation.

“Aviva drafted the policy, the diocese played no role in it,” said Blom.

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MISSOURI
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

By Joel Currier

ST. LOUIS COUNTY • A Wentzville man who attended Chaminade College Preparatory School in the 1970s has filed a lawsuit accusing the Marianists of concealing knowledge of child sex abuse by priests at the school.

Christopher Wimmer, 57, filed the case Tuesday in St. Louis County Circuit Court alleging the Creve Coeur prep school and its leaders lied to “multiple” sex abuse victims by telling them they were the first to report abuse by clergy.

Wimmer also alleges that he was abused by the Revs. Louis Meinhardt, who worked at the school from 1958 to 1982, and John Woulfe, who left the order in 1977 after nine years. Meinhardt died in 1990. Woulfe died in 2005. Wimmer seeks unspecified damages.

“I went to the Marianists about this abuse years ago and they lied to me about the abusers,” Wimmer said in a prepared statement. “I’m not the only one who has suffered like this. I have lost friends to suicide because what the Marianists have done has been too much to bear.”

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MASSACHUSETTS
Boston Globe

By John R. Ellement GLOBE STAFF DECEMBER 09, 2015

In a ruling long sought by survivors of sexual abuse, the Supreme Judicial Court on Wednesday upheld a law expanding the statute of limitations for civil lawsuits against alleged perpetrators to 35 years and allowing the new standard to be applied retroactively.

The 2014 law flows from the “apparent recognition that in many cases, victims of child abuse are not able to appreciate the extent or the cause of harm they experience as a result of sexual abuse perpetrated on them for many years after the abuse has ended,’’ Justice Margot Botsford wrote for the unanimous court.

Among other reasons, the court upheld the law because anyone who abused a child 35 years ago knew what they were doing was wrong at that time, and they cannot now claim a lawsuit in 2015 is based on a wholly new legal concept.

“The act does not create a new liability; there can be no claim here that acts of sexual abuse committed on a child were permissible,’’ Botsford wrote.

The unanimous ruling came in the case of Rosanne Sliney, who sued her uncle Domenic A. Previte Jr. in 2012, alleging that he sexually abused her from the time she was 5 years old until she turned 14, the SJC said. Those assaults allegedly took place between 1968 and 1977.

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EL SALVADOR
infobae

[Rafael Urrutia, bishop and chancellor of the Salvadoran Catholic church, announced the total suspension of priestly, pastoral and adminsitrative duties of the priest known as “Chus” Delgado. Delgado has been accused to pedophilia.]

El obispo y canciller de la Iglesia salvadoreña, Rafael Urrutia, anunció la suspensión total de las funciones sacerdotales, pastorales y administrativas del que es conocido como padre “Chus” Delgado, a quien se lo involucra en un caso de pedofilia.

El pasado martes, la Secretaria de Inclusión Social y ex Primera Dama de El Salvador, Vanda Pignato, instó a la Iglesia a revelar el nombre del “importante” sacerdote denunciado por una mujer que hoy tiene 40 años, quien dijo haber sufrido abusos desde los nueve a los 17 años por el clérigo.

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VATICAN CITY
Catholic Courier

By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Holy See and Vatican City State have continued to strengthen their institutional, legal and operational frameworks for combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism, an international monitoring organization said.

“Moneyval” — the Council of Europe’s Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism — approved the Vatican’s report on its efforts Dec. 8 during a meeting in Strasbourg, France. The committee also issued an assessment of the Vatican’s report, which was expected to be published by mid-December, a spokesman for Moneyval told Catholic News Service Dec. 9.

The report and assessment are “part of the ordinary reporting process foreseen in the Rules of Procedure of Moneyval for all member states,” the Vatican said in a statement Dec. 9.

“The latest progress report confirms that the Holy See has established a functional, sustainable and effective system, aiming at preventing and fighting financial crimes,” said Msgr. Antoine Camilleri, under-secretary for relations with states and head of the Vatican delegation to the Moneyval plenary.

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VATIKAN
Mittelbayerische

Von Julius Müller-Meiningen und Christine Strasser, MZ

ROM.Im Zuge der Finanz-Reformen von Papst Franziskus ist nun auch der ranghöchste deutsche Mitarbeiter des Papstes im Vatikan ins Visier geraten. Bei einer Kontrolle in der Glaubenskongregation, die vom deutschen Kardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller (67) geleitet wird, entdeckten Vatikan-Fahnder einen ominösen Bargeldbestand. Im Schreibtisch von Müllers inzwischen suspendierten Verwaltungsleiter Mauro Ugolini waren rund 20 000 Euro in bar versteckt, in einer Schublade hinter einer alten Dose Wiener Würstchen. Das berichtete die „Bild“-Zeitung am Mittwoch. Unterrichtete Kreise aus dem Vatikan bestätigten den Fund.

Kardinal Müller wehrte sich gegen Vorwürfe und widersprach der Darstellung, dass nun gegen ihn persönlich ermittelt werde. „Unregelmäßigkeiten“ in seiner Behörde gestand Müller jedoch ein. Sie seien bereits vor einem halben Jahr geklärt worden. Er habe auch nicht, wie behauptet, zunächst die Akteneinsicht verweigert. Auch Vatikansprecher Federico Lombardi sprach am Mittwoch von „einigen Unregelmäßigkeiten“ in der Glaubenskongregation im Zusammenhang mit Finanzen. Vor einem halben Jahr seien aber bereits die nötigen Maßnahmen ergriffen worden. Kardinal Müller hätte „mit diese Angelegenheit nichts zu tun“. …

„Müller hat Menschen in Regensburg immer sehr schnell verfolgt, schon wegen Kleinigkeiten“, schildert Sigrid Grabmeier, Sprecherin der Kirchen-Reformbewegung „Wir sind Kirche“. Wer sich intern „verkehrt geäußert“ habe, sei schon einmal versetzt worden. Was sie an Müller vermisse, sei die Fähigkeit mit Konflikten umzugehen. Grabmeier, die in Deggendorf wohnt, hat Müller in seiner Zeit als Bischof in Regensburg als Menschen erlebt, der ein Problem damit hatte, wenn er kritisiert wurde. Von jemandem, der einen so hohen Posten wie Müller bekleide, erwarte sie aber, auf Konflikte konstruktiver zu reagieren. Müller habe stattdessen immer geleugnet und alles abgelehnt.

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MISSOURI
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2015

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

In a first-ever lawsuit, an abuse victim is suing a St. Louis-based Catholic religious order for deceiving and misleading him as he reported child sexual abuse and sought to warn others about crimes and cover ups at a prominent West County school.

Almost always, child sex abuse victims sue for the abuse and cover up. Rarely, if ever, do they sue for how they’re treated by church officials once they report the abuse. That’s what Chris Wimmer is doing and we commend him for his courage. He suit points out that Catholic officials were deceitful in the past and still are today.

Wimmer was molested by Brother Louis Meinhardt and Brother John Woulfe, both Marianists, at Chaminade. He’s suing Marianist officials, however, not for the abuse but for how they’ve “misled” him in recent years since he reported the abuse.

The suit also charges that Marianists officials have told several victims that they are the first person to ever report abuse against a specific perpetrator while knowing that’s not true, hoping “to prevent lawsuits like this one.”

(One example involves Bryan Bacon 314 566 8386 who was abused as a boy at Vianney.)

The order, the Marianists, run three St. Louis area Catholic high schools: Vianney, Chaminade and St. Mary’s. It’s national headquarters is at 4425 W. Pine (near corner of Newstead) in the city’s CWE.

We are grateful to Wimmer for exposing Brother Meinhardt and Brother Woulfe and Catholic officials, at Chaminade and elsewhere who continue to manipulate already-wounded and still-suffering victims.

How bad are the Marianists?

–A 2014 investigative report by a Pittsburgh newspaper shows 157 adults have accused 31 members of the Marianists of child sexual abuse. Eight of the alleged offenders worked in St. Louis.

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UNITED STATES
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

By David Clohessy

In dioceses where the abuse and cover up crisis has been widely exposed, bishops often do a smart public relations move: they schedule “healing” masses. Bishop James Johnston is holding some of these in Kansas City. It’s worth looking at how one of his staff talks about them.

“There has always been a desire to do more outreach to try and help victims come back to the church, or at least see the church being empathetic and sorrowful,” said Kathleen Chastain, Johnston’s staffer who handles abuse.

[News-Press]

Ponder this quote for a second. I’m grateful Ms. Chastain made this comment. Two parts of it leap out at me.

First, notice Chastain is NOT saying “We care.” She’s saying “We want victims to come back to the church.”

Second, she’s saying “We want victims to see the church being empathetic and sorrowful.” See, it’s not about reality. It’s about perception.

We’ve long felt these events are more about them than about us. Ms. Chastain’s comments reinforce our skepticism.

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CANADA
CTV Windsor

Published Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Closing submissions began Wednesday morning in the case of a former Tecumseh priest charged with theft.

Robert Couture, a former priest at Ste. Anne Roman Catholic Church is facing one count of theft over $5,000.

Couture’s trial st arted on Nov. 24.

In court today, defence lawyer Patrick Ducharme spoke to the jury, recapping Couture’s testimony that he “did not steal any money from the parish.”

Essex County OPP completed a lengthy investigation dating back to 2002. Police say a financial audit of the parishes’ accounts yielded about $180,000 in irregularities.

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AUSTRALIA
9 News

AAP

A priest who warned a family to keep their children away from a pedophile priest says he deeply regrets not giving a broader warning.

Fr Eric Bryant has told an inquiry he heard through the grapevine about possible child abuse issues involving Gerald Francis Ridsdale.

“I began to hear and suspect that he had interfered with young people,” he told the child abuse royal commission.

He said around the same time a parent told him they were great friends with Ridsdale, who is now in jail for abusing 53 children.

“I remember taking him aside and warning him to keep the children away from Ridsdale,” Fr Bryant said.

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IRELAND
Roman Catholic Diocese of Ardagh and Clomacnois

Bishop of Ardagh and Clonmacnois
at St Mary’s Church, Cloghan, Co. Offaly, 5th December 2015
and at St Matthew’s Church, Ballymahon, Co. Longford, 6th December 2015

Some here will remember your former parish priest, Fr Brendan Hynds. He served in the parish of Cloghan from 1972 up until his retirement in 1987. (Ballymahon: 1960-72).

In recent times, I have received a number of historical allegations of child sexual abuse against Fr Hynds. He died over twenty years ago in 1993, and so cannot respond to these allegations.

I have come here today as I feel it is necessary to share this sensitive information with you, as the parish community he served for 15 years. (Ballymahon 12 years). I have been deeply moved by the accounts of trauma suffered by those affected. I am grateful to them for their courage in coming forward to make their experience known.

The betrayal of the trust of a child is an appalling act; furthermore, it greatly shames me that he used his position as a priest to carry out his abuse. I sincerely apologise to those individuals, and their families who have been hurt by Fr Hynds. I hope this public recognition of their suffering might be one further step in the on-going journey of personal healing. I also apologise to you as the parish community he served.

I invite anyone who may have a safeguarding concern regarding Fr Hynds, to please contact our diocesan Designated Liaison Person, or Towards Healing, a free and confidential helpline and counselling referral service, or report the matter to Tusla, the local Child and Family Agency, or the local Gardaí. Details are on parish newsletters and on church notice boards.

In addition, I am available to meet with you personally in my pastoral role as your Bishop, if you so wish.

Finally, I want to reassure you that, at this time, the diocese is in full compliance with the policy and procedures set out by the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland. I take this opportunity to thank all those who are serving in various safeguarding roles in this parish and in our diocese, all of whom are central in ensuring that the Church environment in which we minister continues to be safe for our children into the future.

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IRELAND
RTE News

A Catholic diocese in the north Midlands has apologised to parishioners of a deceased priest for his sexual abuse of an unknown number of children.

Bishop of Ardagh and Clonmacnois Francis Duffy said he had been deeply moved by the accounts of trauma suffered by victims of the late Fr Brendan Hynds.

Hynds served as Administrator of Ballymahon, Co Longford between 1960 and 1972 and as parish priest of Cloghan, Co Offaly from then until his retirement in 1987. He died in 1993.

Bishop Duffy also told mass goers in both parishes he was grateful to survivors for their courage in making their experience known.

According to a statement on the diocesan website, the bishop said that recently he had received an unspecified number of “historical allegations” of child sexual abuse against the late priest.

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MICHIGAN
C & G Newspapers

By Thomas Franz
December 9, 2015

MACOMB TOWNSHIP — The case of a former employee at a local catholic high school is returning to the Macomb County Circuit Court.

Joseph Sturza, a former director of admissions at Austin Catholic High School in Ray Township, and a former youth minister at St. Isidore Catholic Church in Macomb Township, is charged with four felony counts: child sexual abuse activity, accosting a child for immoral purposes, and two counts of using a computer to communicate with a minor in order to commit a crime.

The case was originally bound over to circuit court on July 8, but was remanded to the 42-1 District Court in Romeo later in the summer.

The case was bound back over during a hearing the week of Nov. 24. The next hearing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Dec. 14 before Judge Mary Chrzanowski for an arraignment.

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UNITED STATES
Portland Phoenix

Francis Flisiuk

Spotlight opened in theaters this month, with a gripping realistic story that showed audiences snippets of a process we don’t usually see: what it takes to uncover, research and write a groundbreaking piece of investigative journalism.

The film tells the true story of the Boston Globe’s Spotlight team, who investigated allegations in 2001 that the Roman Catholic Church was involved in covering up the cases of dozens of pedophile priests over the decades. The team of six (played by Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, Stanley Tucci, John Slattery, Michael Keaton and Billy Crudup) dug up proof by demanding public records, pestering abuse lawyers, and interviewing victims, that the Catholic Church and the Boston Archdiocese deliberately knew that over 200 priests were molesting children for years.

Despite the lurid nature of the story, the film spares viewers from flashbacks that detail the awful moments when children as young as four were fondled or abused by men that they thought they could trust the most. We get a sense of the horrors the victims went through, when they open up and reveal details after Sacha Pfeiffer (played by McAdams) insists that simply saying “I was molested,” isn’t enough. Pfeiffer’s pained expression and soft-spoken tone when she insisted that the language used was important to the story, highlighted that although she cared about details, she also cared about respecting the individuals and their dignity. The reporters in Spotlight didn’t sensationalize the abuses, or cause courtroom spectacles, they simply did their job of finding the truth, diligently.

A main focus of the movie is on the craft, process and importance of investigative journalism. Party due to the efforts of unsung players like those Globe journalists (real names: Sacha Pfeiffer, Michael Rezendes, Walter “Robby” Robinson, Marty Baron, Ben Bradlee and Matt Carroll) those monster priests were prosecuted and kept away from children. The Boston Globe’s investigation and subsequent publishing of over 600 articles also accomplished something even more valuable: It taught the world to think critically of the Catholic Church and other organizations that we tend to put blind faith in just because they’ve been established members of authority for centuries. Like the real-life stories that inspired the film, Spotlight does a good job of re-kindling these troubling but valuable thoughts. Spotlight re-illustrated the notion that although the Catholic Church claims to do the work of God with one hand, sometimes it sweeps atrocities under the rug with the other. The journalists who weren’t afraid to relentlessly ask the uncomfortable questions and defy an institution that’s still considered untouchable, were the only ones to drag the harsh nasty truth into the light.

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VATICANO
La Jornada (Mexico)

[Rome. Vatican financial investigators searched the offices of the Curia Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and seized 20,000 euros in cash of dubious origin, the German tabloid Bild reported Tuesday. The newspaper quoted Vatican sources. Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi denied today that Muller had involvement in the case.]

Roma. Investigadores financieros del Vaticano registraron las oficinas del cardenal de la curia Gerhard Ludwig Müller, prefecto de la Congregación para la Doctrina de la Fe, y se incautaron de 20 mil euros en efectivo de origen dudoso, informó hoy el diario sensacionalista alemán Bild citando fuentes vaticanas.

Actualmente, las autoridades del Estado eclesiástico están investigando al cardenal de 67 años y ex obispo de la localidad alemana de Ratisbona. Sin embargo, el portavoz vaticano, Federico Lombardi, negó hoy una implicación de Müller en el caso.

“Los superiores del dicasterio, especialmente el cardenal Müller, mencionados en el artículo de forma incorrecta, no se han visto implicados de ninguna manera”, aseguró.

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UNITED STATES
Telegram & Gazette

By Carlo Baldino
Dec. 8, 2015

We hear this all the time. Muslims who claim to be members of a religion of peace don’t do enough to vocally condemn the terrorists who have hijacked the faith and commit mass murder using their own twisted interpretations of the Koran.

With regard to fairness and consistency, this constant invective is quite baffling.

For example, when Republican conservatives are accused of being racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, and Islamophobic they vehemently protest being generally profiled. They claim they’re all not like that. They say they have gay friends, Black friends, Latino friends, they’re not racist or sexist, and they like Mexican food (OK, I made that last one up).

But these same people support a political party that includes in its platform the passing of a constitutional amendment to make marriage between a man and a woman and the overturning of Roe v. Wade, i.e., a woman’s right to choose. Next year they’ll vote for GOP presidential candidates who promise to achieve these goals. …

In 2004 when the pedophile priest scandal in the Catholic Church made national news, there was no condemnation of those priests by good Catholics, and no punishments inflicted on them by church officials. Devout Catholics would get up and leave the room in a huff when someone brought up the topic. The Holy Mother Church covered up for these priests and stonewalled investigations. They transferred the guilty clerics from parish to parish with the hope they’d stop raping young boys. Donald Trump called the Mexicans ‘rapists.’ He was addressing the wrong group of individuals. Anyone who criticized these pedophiles was accused of being ‘anti-Catholic.’

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VATIKAN
Deutsche Welle

[Financial investigators at the Vatican ransacked the offices of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. According to the Bild newspaper, they found a stack of money behind an old can of wieners in the desk of Mauro Ugolini, chief administrator of Cardinal Gerhard Muller. The newspaper said the confiscated money came from the various dioceses that were paid to have the Vatican investigate cases of sexual abuse in those dioceses and to carry out preventive measures. It is suspected the money was also used for private and business purchases by the cardinal.]

Getroffen hat es einen der mächtigsten Männer der Kurie, Kardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller, den Präfekten der Glaubenskongregation. 20.000 Euro zweifelhafter Herkunft wurden beschlagnahmt.

Finanzermittler des Vatikans durchsuchten die Büros der Kongregation in Rom. Dabei sollen die Fahnder laut einem Bericht der “Bild”-Zeitung hinter einer alten Dose Wiener Würstchen im Schreibtisch von Müllers Verwaltungschef Mauro Ugolini einen Stapel Banknoten gefunden haben. Wie die “Bild”-Zeitung weiter meldet, sollen die konfiszierten 20.000 Euro aus Gebühren stammen, die verschiedene Bistümer an den Vatikan gezahlt haben, um Fälle von sexuellem Missbrauch in Diözesen aufzuklären oder Präventionsmaßnahmen durchzuführen. Es bestehe der Verdacht, dass das Geld auch für private und dienstliche Anschaffungen des Kardinals verwendet wurde. Jetzt ermittelten die Behörden des Kirchenstaats gegen den 67-jährigen deutschen Kardinal.

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VATIKAN
WAZ

[The series of financial scandals in the Vatican does not stop.]

Berlin. Geldbündel hinter Würstchendosen, ein Kardinal unter Verdacht: Ein Finanzskandal erschüttert den Vatikan. Es ist nicht der erste.

Es war eine Weihnachtsbotschaft der besonderen Art. Zwei Tage vor Heiligabend 2014 knöpfte sich der Papst seine Kardinäle vor: Die Kurie, so verkündete Franziskus den verdutzten Würdenträgern, sei von zahlreichen „Krankheiten“ befallen. An der Spitze der vatikanischen Bürokratie hätten sich „Eitelkeit“ und „Rivalität“ ausgebreitet, außerdem die Krankheit, „sich unsterblich fühlen“. Es gebe Symptome von „geistlichem Alzheimer“ in der Kurie. Und dann warnte Franziskus noch vor Gewinn- und Machtstreben, Gier, Doppelmoral.

Der Applaus der Bischöfe für den Pontifex fiel nach der Gardinenpredigt eher knapp aus. Am nächsten Tag mussten sie in der Presse lesen, Franziskus habe ihnen eine „päpstliche Weihnachtsohrfeige“ verpasst.

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VATIKAN
BR

[The office of former Regensburg Bishop – now Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Muller – was raided. The cardinal, who heads the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, is implicated in a financial scandal, according to the Bild newspaper.]

Demnach waren im Büro von Müllers Verwaltungsleiter 20.000 Euro Bargeld versteckt, angeblich hinter einer Würstchendose. Finanzermittler der vatikanischen Generalbuchführung durchsuchten Müllers Diensträume, nachdem er offenbar geforderte Unterlagen nicht aushändigen wollte. Nun ermittelten die Vatikanbehörden gegen den Kardinal, so der Bericht. Müllers Verwaltungsleiter sei seitdem vorübergehend suspendiert.

Geld für private Anschaffungen?

Laut Bild-Zeitung soll das Geld aus Gebühren stammen, die der Vatikan aus Bistümern für die Untersuchung von Missbrauchsfällen bezieht. Es bestehe auch der Verdacht, dass mit dem Geld private Anschaffungen von Kardinal Müller bezahlt wurden. Äußern wollte sich Müller dazu nicht. Gegenüber dem ARD-Studio Rom bestritt ein Mitarbeiter Müllers die Vorwürfe.

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VATIKAN
Spiegel

[Raid at the Vatican: Investigators browse the offices of Cardinal Müller They seized 20,000 euros in cash. The source of the money is not known. Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said there were “administrative irregularities” in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.]

Finanzermittler des Vatikans haben die Büros des Kurienkardinals Gerhard Ludwig Müller durchsucht. Dabei sollen sie 20.000 Euro Bargeld beschlagnahmt haben.

Woher das Geld stammt, ist nicht bekannt: In den Büros des deutschen Kardinals Gerhard Ludwig Müller in Rom haben Vatikan-Ermittler 20.000 Euro konfisziert. Jetzt ermitteln die Behörden des Kirchenstaats.

Im Schreibtisch von Müllers Verwaltungschef Mauro Ugolini sollen die Fahnder laut einem Bericht der “Bild”-Zeitung hinter einer alten Dose Wiener Würstchen einen Stapel Banknoten gefunden haben. Ugolini soll bereits vom Dienst suspendiert worden sein.

Vatikan-Sprecher Federico Lombardi erklärte zu dem Vorfall, in der Glaubenskongregation im Vatikan habe es “Unregelmäßigkeiten in der Verwaltung” gegeben. Kardinal Müller habe aber mit der ganzen Sache überhaupt nichts zu tun gehabt, so Lombardi laut Radio Vatikan. Auch Müller selbst dementierte gegenüber der Agentur KNA, dass gegen ihn ermittelt werde. Entschieden widersprach er der Behauptung, Gebühren für private Anschaffungen verwendet zu haben.

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IRELAND
Irish Examiner

Monday, December 07, 2015

Nick Bramhill

Church leaders are to discuss a resolution from a group representing over 1,000 priests to restore Ireland’s ‘silenced’ clerics to full ministry.

The Association of Catholic Priests (ACP) overwhelmingly backed a proposal at their recent AGM, calling for censured members of the clergy to be reinstated to former roles.

Up to five Irish priests have been disciplined by Church authorities here for their outspoken views, including relaxing strict rules on celibacy and allowing priests to marry.

But the ACP has called for bishops to ask authorities in the Vatican to restore silenced members of the priesthood to “full and unrestricted” ministry.

The group has argued that returning censured priests to their former parishes would be in keeping with the spirit of Pope Francis’s Holy Year of Mercy — which begins tomorrow .

The Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference indicated members would be willing to debate the future for censured clerics.

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VATICAN CITY
ANSA

(ANSA) – Vatican City, December 9 – The Council of Europe’s monitoring committee against money laundering, Moneyval, approved the Vatican’s Second Progress Report on Tuesday during its Plenary Meeting in Strasbourg, said the Holy See Press Office on Wednesday.

“The latest Progress Report confirms that the Holy See has established a functional, sustainable and effective system, aiming at preventing and fighting financial crimes,” said Monsignor Antoine Camilleri, Under-Secretary for Relations with States, and Head of Delegation of the Holy See and Vatican City State to the Moneyval Plenary.

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WASHINGTON
The Columbian

By Jessica Prokop, Columbian Courts Reporter
Published: December 8, 2015

The former priest at Vancouver’s St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church appeared in Superior Court on Tuesday for allegedly stealing more than $50,000 from the parish.

The Rev. Armando Sosa Perez, 55, entered not-guilty pleas to three counts of first-degree theft and one count of money laundering. He is accused of taking the money from the church at 8701 N.E. 119th St. between July 2011 and September 2014, court records show.

The majority of the stolen money came from cash paid for fees and given as donations and offerings by Hispanic parishioners, court documents say. Perez also used the parish’s business debit and credit cards to make substantial personal purchases, according to a probable cause affidavit.

Matt Boswell, the assistant director of human resources for the Archdiocese of Seattle, told Clark County sheriff’s detectives that Perez was assigned to the St. John parish in July 2003. He was transferred in July 2014 to a parish in Renton, the affidavit said.

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

DECEMBER 10, 2015

Tessa Akerman
Reporter
Melbourne

Former bishop of Ballarat Ronald Mulkearns told a meeting of ­advisers, including George Pell, that there was a “problem with homosexuality” and Gerald Ridsdale had to be moved from the parish of Mortlake, the child sex abuse royal commission has heard.

Father Eric Bryant, who is currently a priest in Stawell in the Ballarat Diocese, told the commission he remembered the gathering in September 1982 as it was his first meeting with the group. “I remember him saying we had a problem with homosexuality and he referred to Ridsdale … not a word more except he had to move Ridsdale,” Father Bryant said. “He just informed us what he was doing and that was it, full stop.”

The minutes of the meeting, which have been tendered to the commission, show that Cardinal Pell and Father Daniel Arundell were in attendance.

Both men are to give evidence before the commission. Father Bryant’s comments are potentially significant because they suggest that Ridsdale’s sexuality was discussed.

The minutes state that the bishop advised it had ­“become necessary” for Ridsdale to be moved from the parish of Mortlake and that negotiations were under way to have him work with the Catholic Enquiry Centre in Sydney.

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INDIA
Business Standard

Press Trust of India | Kochi
December 9, 2015

A Catholic priest, arrested for allegedly raping a minor girl, was today remanded to judicial custody by a court in Ernakulam which deals with cases related to offence against women and children, police said.

A day after he surrendered before the investigating officials in Aluva, Edwin Figarez, the priest attached to the Lourdes Matha Church, Puthenvelikkara in Ernakulam district, was produced before the Additional Sessions court which remanded him in judicial custody till December 17, police said.

Police said its team probing the case would seek his custody for questioning.

Figarez surrendered before the police yesterday seven months after a lookout notice was issued against him after the Kerala High Court rejected his anticipatory bail plea.

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VATICAN CITY
Bollettino

Yesterday, in Strasbourg, the Plenary Meeting of Moneyval (the “Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism” of the Council of Europe) approved the Second Progress Report of the Holy See/ Vatican City State. The approval of this latest Report, which follows on the Mutual Evaluation Report of 4 July 2012 and on the Progress Report of 9 December 2013, is part of the ordinary reporting process foreseen in the Rules of Procedure of Moneyval for all member States.

TheMoneyval Committee has welcomed the outcome of the continued efforts by the Holy See and the Vatican City State to further strengthen their institutional, legal and operational framework for combatting money laundering and the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT).

“The latest Progress Report confirms that the Holy See hasestablished a functional, sustainable and effective system, aiming at preventing and fighting financial crimes”, said Monsignor Antoine Camilleri, Under-Secretary for Relations with States, and Head of Delegation of the Holy See and Vatican City State to the Moneyval Plenary.

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VATICAN CITY
Europe Online

Vatican City (dpa) – The Vatican said Wednesday that a European watchdog on financial transparency has recognized its progress in cleaning up its accounting.

The Moneyval committee of the Council of Europe, based in the French city of Strasbourg, approved a report submitted by the Vatican on Tuesday, according to a statement.

The panel “welcomed the outcome of the continued efforts by the Holy See and the Vatican City state to further strengthen their institutional, legal and operational framework for combatting money laundering and the financing of terrorism,” the Vatican said.

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VATICAN CITY
Chiesa

In mid-February Pope Francis will go to Chiapas, where hundreds of deacons with their wives are pushing to be ordained as priests. And in the Amazon as well the turning point seems to be near. It was all written down in the agenda of Cardinal Martini

by Sandro Magister

ROME, December 9, 2015 – While waiting for Pope Francis to rule on communion for the divorced and remarried, which two synods discussed and split over, there is already a glimpse of the theme of the next synodal session: married priests.

The selection of the theme is up to the pope, as happened with the past synods and will take place with the next, independently of what will be proposed by the fourteen cardinals and bishops of the council that acts as a bridge between one assembly and the next.

And that married priests will be the next topic of synodal discussion can be gathered from various indications.

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AUSTRALIA
The Courier

By Melissa Cunningham
Dec. 9, 2015

A Former St Patrick’s College student has told an inquiry of a culture of depraved sexual abuse and brutality which existed inside the school during the 1970s.

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse heard from victim BWF on Tuesday.

He told the hearing how he attempted to seek help from the Catholic Church after his younger brother BWG was brutally bashed and molested by disgraced brother Edward Dowlan in 1973.

His evidence sparked more allegations about Cardinal George Pell’s intricate knowledge of abuse at the school.

“I went to the presbytery on the corner of Sturt Street and Dawson Street to seek out Father George Pell,” he said. “He was a well-known influential priest in the area and I wanted someone of authority outside of the school to know what was happening there and somebody who would be able to do something about it.”

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AUSTRALIA
Herald Sun

December 9, 2015
Padraic Murphy
Herald Sun

A PRIEST named as party to a conversation in which Cardinal George Pell allegedly said paedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale had been abusing boys flatly denies the conversation ever took place.

Earlier this week secret witness BWE told the Child Abuse Royal Commission that in 1983 he overheard Cardinal Pell making the comment to Father Frank Madden at St Patrick’s Cathedral in Ballarat a decade before Ridsdale was first charged.

“George Pell (said) …, ‘I think Gerry’s been r — ting boys again’,” BWE said.

But Father Madden today flatly denied the claim saying he had never performed a funeral mass with Pell, where BWE claimed the conversation took place.

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AUSTRALIA
Herald Sun

AAP

The Catholic Church was in the dark ages when it allowed Australia’s worst pedophile priest to continue offending, says a priest who accepts part of the blame.

Two of former Ballarat bishop Ronald Mulkearns’ consultors have accepted at least some responsibility for Gerald Francis Ridsdale and others being allowed to devastate so many lives.

The church, like a lot of male institutions, gave pedophiles a place to hide, Fr Eric Bryant told the child abuse royal commission on Wednesday.

The 1982-1986 diocesan consultor said the church’s handling of Ridsdale was disastrous.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Ealing Today

The deputy head teacher of an independent school in Ealing has been charged this Tuesday (8 December) with offences relating to indecent images of children.

36-year-old Peter William Allott, who taught at St. Benedict’s School, was arrested on Monday by officers from the National Crime Agency and Metropolitan Police Service.

He was subsequently charged with offences of possessing, showing and making indecent images of children of category A and 2 offences of possession of extreme pornography. He has been remanded in police custody until his next hearing at Ealing Magistrates on 9 December 2015.

The National Crime Agency say they are working in partnership with local child protection agencies to ensure wider child safeguarding. It is not believed at this stage that any of the charges involve any former or current pupil at the school.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Get West London

9 DEC 2015
BY DAVID RIVERS

Peter William Allott, deputy head of St Benedict’s independent school, has been charged possessing, showing and making indecent images of children

A deputy head teacher from a Catholic school in Ealing has been charged with possession of extreme porn and making indecent images of children.

Peter William Allott, the deputy headteacher at St Benedict’s School, Eaton Rise, was arrested by officers from the National Crime Agency(NCA)and Met police in Ealing on Monday (December 7).

According to NCA, the 36-year-old was charged on Tuesday (December 8) with offences of possessing, showing and making indecent images of children of Category A.

He was also charged with two offences of possession of extreme pornography.

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UNITED KINGDOM
The Times

Sean O’Neill Chief Reporter
December 9 2015

A leading independent Roman Catholic school that was at the centre of a child protection investigation has been plunged into a new scandal after its deputy headmaster was charged with possessing extreme paedophile images.

Peter Allott, a former Tory councillor who is deputy head of St Benedict’s School, Ealing, west London, was charged with “possessing, showing and making indecent images of children” of the most explicit category and “possession of extreme pornography”.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Daily Star

By Margi Murphy / Published 9th December 2015

Peter Allot, a politics teacher at private St Benedict’s school, was arrested on Monday (7 December) by the National Crime Agency, which investigates the most serious crimes in the UK.

Allot, 39, was charged with possessing, showing and making indecent images of children as well as possessing extreme pornography yesterday (December 8).

The former Tory councillor has been a teacher at St Benedict’s since 2004.

He left for a year in 2011 to work as a research associate for a project on the Prime Minister’s “Big Society” initiative and Catholic social teaching at Cambridge University.

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AUSTRALIA
The Courier

By Melissa Cunningham
Dec. 8, 2015

A WIDESPREAD conspiracy to conceal child sex abuse by a disgraced priest was orchestrated by leaders of the Catholic Church and Victoria police, an inquiry has heard.

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse heard Former Victorian police chief Reg Jackson was the “architect” of a secret plot to conceal child sex abuse by notorious paedophile Monsignor John Day.

Former Mildura detective Denis Ryan, 83, told the inquiry how his investigation into numerous child sex abuse allegations against Day was thwarted by senior police officers in the early 1970s.

He said the men were actively working for the church and against officers investigating rogue priests.

Mr Ryan told the inquiry the police officers were known as the “Catholic Mafia.”

A group of men who concealed crimes, tipped off offending priests and allowed them to continue to sexually abuse children in a disturbingly misguided attempt to protect the Catholic Church.

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UNITED STATES
South China Morning Post

Story based on the Boston Globe investigation that uncovered the facilitation of child abuse by the Catholic Church dissects the news media’s watchdog role, writes Roy J. Harris Jnr

The best lessons about how journalists work come from seeing them in action. And no film has ever done a better job than Spotlight of showing reporters and editors in their “watchdog” role: digging out important news that others want kept secret.

The film tells the story of four members of The Boston Globe’s investigative unit, the Spotlight team, and follows what happens after the newspaper’s editor, on his first day on the job, in 2001, tasks them with looking into the case of a defrocked Catholic priest who had been repeatedly accused of sexually abusing children in his care. This leads them to investigate whether church leaders in Boston, in the northeastern United States, knew about the abuse by that priest and by others – and protected them by quietly transferring them to new parishes, where they were free to harm other children.

Because the Globe did its job so well – eventually documenting shockingly widespread abuses by priests and the cover-up by the Boston Archdiocese of a pervasive problem – Spotlight offers many lessons about the way news organisations can have a positive impact in their communities and beyond. (The Globe won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service in 2003 for this work.) It is also rich in news literacy teachable moments.

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TEXAS
American-Statesman

By Philip Jankowski – American-Statesman Staff

Round Rock police officers arrested an East Austin pastor accused of having a sexual relationship with a teenage parishioner.

Henry Lee McGee Sr., 68, is charged with continuous sexual abuse of a child after the victim told authorities of numerous sexual encounters with the pastor of First Baptist Church, 4805 Heflin Lane in East Austin. The abuse lasted more than a year, according to an arrest affidavit.

McGee was arrested Monday and released later that day after posting $80,000 bail, according to Williamson County Jail records.

Phone messages to the church and McGee were not immediately returned Tuesday.

McGee was listed as the lead pastor on the church’s website Tuesday afternoon. The church is the oldest African-American Baptist church in Travis County, according to its website.

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MICHIGAN
Chronicle Daily

by Dillon Hess on 09/12/2015

More than a decade after the death of a priest who worked in 17 Detroit-area communities over 40 years, the Archdiocese of Detroit has looked into a sexual abuse allegation against the clergyman and found it to be credible.

He died in 2004 at the age of 65. But church officials “put no time limits on the reporting of sexual abuse of minors” by members of the priesthood or any other personnel connected with churches and related institutions such as parochial schools and seminaries, said Joe Kohn, spokesman for the Archdiocese of Detroit.

Mr. Kohn declined to specify where or when it occurred. They released the information in order to find any other victims and offer them counseling services. West served in about 20 parishes across southeast MI.

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AUSTRALIA
The Age

December 9, 2015

Jane Lee

A priest who was involved in decisions to move paedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale between numerous parishes told a court Ridsdale was an “outstanding priest” without finding out what crimes he was to be sentenced for.

Father Frank Madden was a member of a group of senior priests called the College of Consultors, which advised Ballarat Bishop Ronald Mulkearns on various appointments of priests within the diocese between 1979 and 1982.

Father Madden was among those who provided a character reference for Ridsdale after he pleaded guilty to sexually abusing eight boys, saying he had worked “closely” with Ridsdale for 30 years in various roles in the Ballarat diocese.

“In my judgment Father Ridsdale has been quite an outstanding priest in almost every facet of his work … To the best of my knowledge, Father Ridsdale is held in high regard by the vast number of people he has ministered to throughout the diocese,” the reference to the court said.

Justice Peter McClellan, the chairman of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, asked Father Madden on Wednesday whether he had found out what Ridsdale’s crimes were before providing the reference.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

By Nick McLaren

A Catholic Priest has been found not-guilty of an alleged historical indecent assault at a Wollongong school in the 1980s.

58-year-old Father Patrick Kervin served as a school counsellor, chaplain and teacher at Holy Spirit in Bellambi where it was alleged the assault occurred on the then 15-year-old boy.

The case came to light as a result of the former student detailing his molestation to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

It was then referred the Department of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and concluded at Kiama District Court on Wednesday.

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AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald

December 9, 2015

Jane Lee

A priest has denied a survivor’s allegations that Cardinal George Pell joked to him about paedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale sexually abusing children.

A survivor, known as BWE, told a royal commission on Monday that he overheard then-Father Pell speaking to parish priest Father Frank Madden in the sacristy at St Patrick’s Cathedral in Ballarat while he prepared to serve as an altar boy for a funeral mass in 1983. BWE said Father Madden had asked Father Pell ‘How’s everything your way?’ and that he responded by saying, ‘Ha ha I think Gerry’s been rooting boys again’.”

Father Madden rejected the account to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse on Wednesday, saying, “Absolutely not … I find that totally impossible. I didn’t co-celebrate a requiem mass with George Pell in the cathedral ever.”

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AUSTRALIA
news.com.au

Megan Palin and AAP

VICTORIA Police will apologise and pay compensation to a former detective whose investigation into child abuse allegations against a Catholic priest was stymied by senior officers.

The police and church protected paedophile Monsignor John Day, thwarting a 1971-1972 investigation by former Mildura policeman Denis Ryan, the child abuse royal commission has heard.

Victoria chief commissioner from 1977 to 1987, Mick Miller, told the inquiry he did not know of the existence of a “Catholic mafia”, as described by Mr Ryan, comprising Catholic police officers who protected priests. But he blames his immediate predecessor Reg Jackson for police putting a stop to Mr Ryan’s investigation into Day.

“It is my opinion that chief commissioner Reg Jackson was the architect of the Victoria Police’s response to Denis Ryan’s investigations into Monsignor Day,” Mr Miller told the commission on Tuesday.

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CANADA
Toronto Star

BY SAM PAZZANO, TORONTO SUN
FIRST POSTED: TUESDAY, DECEMBER 08, 2015

TORONTO – A Romanian orthodox priest who sexually assaulted eight women was sentenced Tuesday to seven months in prison and three years’ probation.

“These victims’ special relationship with the church is broken,” Judge Peter Hryn said as he sentenced Ioan Pop, 57.

“It’s a gross breach of trust. These women have suffered from anxiety, depression, fear and paranoia.”

The Scarborough priest threatened to curse one of his victims, as well as her family and “generation after generation,” if she divulged his sexual advances.

She had sought his help while her husband was in a coma after a devastating car crash in 1999.

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AUSTRALIA
7 News

AAP

December 9, 2015

A retired Victorian Catholic vicar-general says he should have challenged the appointment of an accused pedophile priest to another parish.

Monsignor John Day was accused in 1971 and 1972 of indecently assaulting children while the parish priest in Mildura, the Diocese of Ballarat’s northern-most parish, but he was not charged.

After a year off, Day was appointed parish priest of Timboon in the far south of the Ballarat diocese, which covers the western third of Victoria.

Then Ballarat diocese vicar-general Fr Frank Madden said he could not remember the January 1973 College of Consultors meeting approving the Timboon appointment.

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TEXAS
KEYE

Round Rock Police have arrested 68-year-old Henry Lee McGee of Round Rock for sexual abuse of a child.

According to police, the incident was initially reported to the Austin Police Department by the victim’s parents. APD referred the family to Round Rock Police as that is where the abuse occurred.

An investigation by RRPD revealed McGee had committed sexual acts with the victim since June of 2014.

According to an affidavit, the victim told her friends at a church meeting in October of 2015 that she had been in a sexual relationship with McGee for the past year.

Police say McGee had been in a sexual relationship with the girl since she was 13. McGee was her church pastor at First Baptist Church in East Austin.

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TEXAS
KXAN

By Sophia Beausoleil
Published: December 8, 2015

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The pastor of First Baptist Church in East Austin is accused of sexually assaulting a child from the church.

Court records state Rev. Dr. Henry McGee, 68, had a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old youth member for more than a year.

Williamson County records say the relationship was initially reported to the Austin Police Department, but later referred to Round Rock Police because McGee is accused of having sex with the minor at a Round Rock hotel in October.

Police said the teen was at a youth group church meeting when her friends asked her what was going on between Pastor McGee and her. The teen told her friends about the sexual relationship, leading to her parents finding out and calling police.

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UNITED STATES
The Worthy Adversary

Posted by Joelle Casteix on December 8, 2015

**Listen to the StoryCorps interview here**

A clergy abuse survivor, former nun, Catholic elementary school principal, lesbian, gay rights activist, competitive ballroom dancer, and author all walk into a bar …

The “crowd” is just one person: Mary Dispenza. Her story is compelling—rich and complex in the relationships between how our society views sexuality, the roles of women, organized religion, activism, and child sexual abuse.

I’ve known Mary for years, but I had the ultimate honor of interviewing her for StoryCorps in 2014. You can listen to the piece here. We talk about how sexuality—as defined by others—has been a recurrent theme in her life. We also talked about family, love and loss. We both cried.

A blog post can’t do justice to Mary’s intricacy. You can’t talk about her abuse without talking about why she became a nun. You can’t talk about why she left the convent unless you talk about her passion for education. You can’t talk about her life as an adult Catholic without talking about her sexuality. You can’t talk about her activism without talking about her huge and unconditional love for her family. And really, you can’t get to the loving and multi-faceted heart of who she is without seeing this juxtaposition:

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MICHIGAN
MLive

By Khalil AlHajal | kalhajal@mlive.com

DETROIT, MI — More than a decade after the death of a priest who worked in 17 Detroit-area communities over 40 years, the Archdiocese of Detroit has looked into a sexual abuse allegation against the clergyman and found it to be credible.

The accusation of abusing a minor came years after Rev. David West died in 2004, according to the Archdiocese of Detroit.

“The Archdiocese of Detroit places no deadlines or time limits on reporting the sexual abuse of minors by priests, deacons, and other personnel,” the regional representative of the Catholic Church announced.

The complaint was “brought forward to the Archdiocesan Board of Review, considered, and was found to be credible,” the archdiocese announced.

West was ordained in 1964 and served in various capacities in 17 different southeast Michigan communities.

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MINNESOTA
Find A Grave

Birth: Apr. 3, 1923
Death: Jun. 5, 2011

The Reverend Father John Golobich, 88, died on Sunday, June 5, 2011, in St. Ann’s Residence, Duluth.

Father Golobich was born in Ely on April 3, 1923. He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Duluth by Bishop Thomas Welch in Sacred Heart Cathedral on June 5, 1948.

Father Golobich served as Pastor in Hibbing, Kerrick, Lakewood, Gnesen, Tower, Silver Bay and several parishes in Duluth.

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MICHIGAN
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2015

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

Detroit Catholic officials must do aggressive outreach – to 20 parishes and across the entire archdiocese – to seek out and help others who were hurt by a just-accused predator priest.

[CBS Detroit]

Only the most ignorant and callous would assume that over decades, Fr. David West just molested one child. In fact, we strongly suspect that Fr. West’s frequent transfers stem, at least in part, from reports of his abuse to church officials.

We also call on Detroit Archbishop Allen Vigneron to disclose when the credible report was made. We suspect it took months, instead of days, for church staff to respond to, investigate, reach a decision and disclose that decision. If so, that’s wrong. Delays like this are hurtful to victims.

We urge anyone who may have seen, suspected or suffered crimes by Fr. West or cover ups by Catholic officials to speak up, protect others, expose wrongdoers, and start healing.

Fr. West has worked in these communities: Farmington, Troy, Harper Woods, Rochester, Royal Oak, St. Clair Shores, Detroit, Grosse Pointe Woods, Redford, Ferndale, Warren, Temperance, Livonia, Eastpointe, Maybee, Dearborn Heights, Livonia, and Rockwood.

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PHILIPPINES
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Prests

For immediate release: Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2015

Statement by Joelle Casteix of California, SNAP Southern California director (949-322-7434, jcasteix@gmail.com)

A priest who abused in Los Angeles is now accused of molesting a Philippine presidential candidate.

[Coconuts Manila]

Fr. Mark Falvey, a Jesuit, was accused in 2002 & 2003 of sexually abusing at least three LA-area kids. But this week, Rodrigo Duterte disclosed that he too had been molested as a boy by Fr. Falvey in the Philippines, as had some of Duterte’s classmates. We commend Duterte for his courage.

We call on Catholic officials in LA and the Philippines – and China and Washington state, where Fr. Falvey also worked – to aggressive seek out and help others who were assaulted by this predator priest.

Fr. Falvey is deceased. But the pain of his victims remains. And some who he hurt, we believe, are still suffering in shame, isolation and self-blame. They deserve consolation. Catholic officials must use their vast resources to reach out to those who are in pain because of these horrific childhood assaults and betrayals.

We beg anyone who may have seen, suspected or suffered crimes by Fr. Falvey or cover ups by Catholic officials to speak up, protect others, expose wrongdoers, and start healing.

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AUSTRALIA
9 News

AAP

A former Victorian bishop would only tell his advisers what he believed he needed to share, a retired priest says.

Fr William Melican has told an inquiry he has no memory of Ballarat bishop Ronald Mulkearns discussing the real reasons for a number of priests being moved around the diocese.

The child abuse royal commission has heard Bishop Mulkearns told a 1977 College of Consultors meeting that Fr Paul David Ryan was in Washington DC and would be for at least two years.

Fr Melican said he could not recall being told why Ryan was in the US, where he was receiving therapy, nor, in 1978, about a complaint about Ryan’s relationship with a teenager.

“He would share what he needed to share with us in his judgment, and that didn’t necessarily mean everything,” Fr Melican said of Bishop Mulkearns.

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MINNESOTA
Canonical Consultation

12/08/2015

Jennifer Haselberger

Yesterday, it was announced that the US Supreme Court had declined to hear the appeal of Father Christopher Wenthe, a priest of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis who in 2011 was convicted of third degree criminal sexual conduct under a Minnesota law that makes it a felony for a member of the clergy to engage in sexual conduct with a person to whom he or she is providing spiritual care. Wenthe has long admitted to the sexual relationship with the victim; the dispute is over whether that sexual relationship occurred simultaneous to his providing her with religious comfort or support.

None of this is news. The Wenthe case first appeared in the newspapers in February of 2011, when he was arrested from his offices at the Delano Catholic Community (the Churches of St. Joseph and St. Peter). The charges dated back to 2003, when Wenthe was the newly-ordained associate priest at the Church of the Nativity of Our Lord in Saint Paul. The Archdiocese first learned of the relationship shortly after it ended, and both Wenthe and the victim received counseling and other services from the Archdiocese. Then, Wenthe was returned to ministry, first as an associate priest in Stillwater and then as pastor in Delano. The female victim became an employee of the Archdiocese, working in the Office of Marriage and Family Life.

The victim only reported the matter to police in 2010, after learning that Wenthe had been appointed pastor and given spiritual charge of a parish community. According to the Star Tribune, Ramsey County prosecutors argued in court that ‘ the “final straw” for the victim was when the archdiocese appointed Wenthe as a pastor in Delano, and Archbishop John Nienstedt wrote a letter to her saying that she should trust the shepherds of the church.’ The paper also reported the victim as testifying, ‘I felt [then] the burden fell on me to ensure that all the details were known to the public.’

With the Supreme Court declining to hear the case, it seems that the long legal battle over the relationship between Wenthe and the victim is finally at an end. But, what about Father Wenthe’s status as a priest? Clearly, both the Church and the civil authorities investigated this matter years ago (the Church in the early 2000s, and the police for an extended period in 2010-2011). Wenthe was convicted of the criminal charges in 2011, served time until 2012, then was released and placed on probation. Canon law allows penalties to be applied against a priest who has violated his obligation of celibacy, but the canonical statute of limitations for those incidents (unlike for the crime of sexual abuse of a minor) is capped at five years following the occurrence of the behavior and (again unlike cases of sexual abuse of minors) penalties can’t be applied once that five year period has expired.

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MICHIGAN
Fox 2

(WJBK) – More than a decade after his death, authorities say they have a credible allegation of sexual abuse against a popular Roman Catholic priest.

Father David West was well known in the community and served at more than 20 parishes across southeast Michigan since he became ordained in 1964. He died in 2004 at the age of 65.

The allegation of sexual abuse of a minor was recently brought forward to the Archdiocesan Board of Review, and found to be credible. The Archdiocese of Detroit places no deadlines or time limits on reporting the sexual abuse of minors by priests, deacons, or other personnel.

Authorities are naming the parish assignments West received as they believe other victims may be out there.

Associate Pastor at Our Lady of Sorrows, Farmington; Our Lady Queen of Peace, Harper Woods; St. Anastasia, Troy; St. Andrew, Rochester; St. Dennis, Royal Oak; St. Joan of Arc, St. Clair Shores; St. Matthew, Detroit;

Pastor of Our Lady Star of the Sea, Grosse Pointe Woods; St. Agatha, Redford; St. James, Ferndale; St. Louise de Marillac, Warren;

Administrator at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Temperance; St. Aidan, Livonia; St. Basil the Great, Eastpointe; St. Joseph, Maybee; St. Mel, Dearborn Heights; St. Michael, Livonia; St. Victor, Rockwood;

Served on the faculty of Sacred Heart Seminar; as a minister at Wayne State University; and as chaplain at Bishop Gallagher High School.

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MINNESOTA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Monday, Dec. 7, 2015

Statement by Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, SNAP outreach director (314-503-0003 cell, bdorris@SNAPnetwork.org)

The US Supreme Court has rejected an appeal by a Minnesota predator priest. Now, Twin Cities Archbishop Bernard Hebda has no reason to sit back and do nothing. If he cares about healing the wounded and protecting the vulnerable, Hebda will work hard to find and help others who have been hurt by Fr. Christopher Wenthe.

Fr. Wenthe “was convicted in 2011 of third-degree criminal sexual conduct for having sex with (a) woman at a meeting in which she sought counseling in 2003. State law makes it a felony for clergy members to have sex with people they are spiritually advising,” according to the AP.

http://kstp.com/article/stories/s3984285.shtml

http://www.twincities.com/crime/ci_28373255/st-paul-priests-sex-misconduct-conviction-reinstated

http://www.mncourts.gov/opinions/sc/current/OPA120263-062415.pdf

Hebda’s not dumb. He knows that adults who are exploited by clerics are usually filled with shame, confusion and self-blame. He knows that they’ll likely stay silent unless he does aggressive outreach to them. But he’s unwilling to do so. He’s like virtually every other Catholic official who prefers to comfortably sit in offices rather than go out, like Jesus suggested (in the parable of the Good Shepherd), and help the lost and wounded sheep. Shame on him.

As Twin Cities SNAP leader Frank Meuers said earlier this year, “Fr. Wenthe preys on vulnerable, devout women who have been raised since birth to respect and revere allegedly celibate priests who posture as Christ’s representatives on earth. That’s why it’s illegal in Minnesota and other states for clerics to sexually exploit congregants. Bishop Bernard Hebda is essentially a ‘caretaker.’ He can’t initiate radical changes in the archdiocese. He can, however, use church resources to reach out to others who saw, suspected or suffered Fr. Wenthe’s crimes. And if he wants us to believe he’s a better shepherd than his predecessor, that’s precisely what he’ll do. Parish bulletins, pulpit announcements, church websites, news releases – these are a few of the many ways Hebda could prod others with information or suspicions about Fr. Wenthe’s crimes to step forward. We challenge Hebda to do this immediately and to personally go to each place where Fr. Wenthe worked spreading this message.”

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OHIO
WDTN

[with video]

By Tyler Utzka

HUBER HEIGHTS, Ohio (WDTN) – In February the Archdiocese of Cincinnati began tracing the finances of St Peter Church in Huber Heights after receiving an ethics complaint.

Huber Heights police have also been looking into the situation.

According to the Montgomery County Auditor’s website, Earl Simone is the owner of a condo in Huber Heights that went up for sale last month.

It’s one of several properties in the county that lists Simone as the owner.

Earlier this year, the Archdiocese of Cincinnati reported financial irregularities at the St. Peter Church where Simone was the Reverend from 1992 until his resignation in April. He cited his health, age and personal concerns for his departure.

2 NEWS also found that Simone filed paperwork back in 2003 to start the Huber Heights business: Flynn Realty, Inc.

The Archdiocese of Cincinnati has not released how much money is missing but says it’s conducting its own investigation to find out the exact dollar amount.

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MINNESOTA
Kathpress

Washington, 08.12.2015 (KAP/KNA) In den USA hat eine weitere katholische Diözese wegen Missbrauchs-Entschädigungen Insolvenz angemeldet. Die Diözese Duluth in Minnesota stellte am Montag einen entsprechenden Eilantrag, nachdem ihr im November eine Teilschuld an einem Missbrauchsfall von 1978 zugesprochen worden war. Demnach steht die Diözese nun vor einer Schadensersatzforderung von 4,9 Millionen Dollar (4,5 Millionen Euro). Der Gesamthaushalt betrug im vergangenen Jahr nach Diözesanangaben knapp 3,3 Millionen Dollar.

Generalvikar James Bissonette äußerte sich in einer Pressemitteilung am Montag betrübt, dass Versuche einer anderen Einigung gescheitert seien. Der Insolvenzantrag solle nun “sicherstellen, dass die Mittel der Diözese unter allen Opfern gerecht aufgeteilt werden können und zugleich die tägliche Arbeit der Kirche fortgesetzt werden kann”.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Publik Forum

[Everything done right?}

von Christoph Fleischmann 04.12.2015

Das Bistum Hildesheim will nichts falsch gemacht haben bei der Verfolgung eines Priesters, der des Missbrauchs beschuldigt wurde Eilig wurde am Dienstag, dem 1. Dezember, eine Pressekonferenz einberufen; es war mal wieder Zeit fürs Krisenmanagement in der katholischen Kirche. Und die Verteidigungsstrategie lautete: Alles abstreiten. »Die Vorwürfe sind in keiner Weise haltbar«, gab sich der Hildesheimer Weihbischof Heinz-Günter Bongartz empört. Von Selbstkritik keine Spur. Worum es ging? Darum, wie er und Diözesanbischof Norbert Trelle 2010 mit Missbrauchsvorwürfen gegen einen Priester des Bistums Hildesheim umgegangen waren.

Dieser Text stammt von der Webseite https://www.publik-forum.de/Religion-Kirchen/alles-richtig-gemacht# des Internetauftritts von Publik-Forum

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DEUTSCHLAND
Deutschlandfunk

[Bishop Stephan Ackermann told the German Press Agency that he does not believe the chapter of sexual abuse in the church will ever come to an end. People are still reporting past sexual assaults. So far about 1,600 victims have been awarded compensation.]

Die Aufarbeitung von Missbrauchsfällen in der katholischen Kirche ist nach Ansicht des Trierer Bischofs Ackermann noch nicht abgeschlossen.

Er sagte der Deutschen Presse-Agentur, er glaube nicht, dass das Kapitel jemals zu Ende sein werde. Es gebe immer noch Menschen, die sexuelle Übergriffe aus der Vergangenheit meldeten, auch wenn es weniger seien als vor ein paar Jahren. Bisher sind rund 1600 Opfern Entschädigungszahlungen zugesprochen worden. – Ackermann ist seit 2010 Missbrauchsbeauftragter der Deutschen Bischofskonferenz.

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UNITED STATES
The New Yorker

BY SARAH LARSON

Since seeing the movie “Spotlight,” about the Boston Globe investigation of sexual abuse and coverups in the Catholic Church, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it and the questions it raises—about how far institutions will go to protect themselves, about who we listen to and protect, about who and what we ignore, about the power of disclosure and even conversation. It begins with a portrait of institutionalized secrecy—at a police station in Boston in 1976, where cops, a bishop, and an A.D.A. are keeping a molestation accusation quiet—and shows us the process of how the truth came to be revealed. Spotlight, the Globe’s investigative team, published its first story in its series, “Church Allowed Abuse by Priest for Years,” on January 6, 2002; in the next year, it published over six hundred more, using the Church’s own documents to document extensive and almost systemic abuse by clergy.

Recently, I went to the Globe offices and talked to three of the team’s journalists, Walter (Robby) Robinson (Michael Keaton in “Spotlight”), Sacha Pfeiffer (Rachel McAdams), and Michael Rezendes (Mark Ruffalo), and I called their former editor, Martin (Marty) Baron, now the editor of the Washington Post, to ask about their experiences with the story. It begins with Baron’s arrival at the Globe from his previous job at the Miami Herald. He was an outsider—“an unmarried man of the Jewish faith who hates baseball,” as a character in the movie puts it—whose perspective helped him confront what others could not or would not.

Baron told me that before he got to the Globe, he knew little about the clergy sexual-abuse story. He also knew little about Boston. “I knew virtually nobody at the paper and virtually nobody in town,” he said. Copies of the Globe were shipped to him in Miami before his move. While reading them, he saw an article about Father John Geoghan, who had been accused of abusing as many as eighty-four kids. “That was in the Metro section,” he told me. “And I was struck that I hadn’t heard about the case.” The Sunday before his first day, Eileen McNamara published a column in which she noted that the plaintiffs’ attorney, Mitchell Garabedian, had accused Cardinal Bernard F. Law, of the Boston archdiocese, of knowing about Geoghan’s behavior, “and yet reassigning him, notwithstanding the serial abuse,” Baron said. The archdiocese’s lawyers denied it. “And at the end of the column, she said something to the effect of ‘The truth may never be known, because the documents are sealed.’ I was really struck by that.”

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INDIA
Times of India

Rajkot: A 70-year-old temple priest was arrested for allegedly raping a woman from Raiyadhar area in Rajkot city on Monday.

The accused identified as Magandas Nimavat is the mahant of Hanuman Temple in Raiyadhar.

He was arrested after a 30-year-old woman and a mother of three children, lodged a complaint against him with Gandhigram police station.

The woman told the police, “My husband is casual labourer. However, he has been unemployed since the last few weeks. We used to go to Hanuman Temple every week and meet Magandas.

On Saturday, he told me that because of some elements in my body, my husband was not getting work. He needed to perform black magic to get rid of the ill elements.”

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INDIA
Times of India

Wilson Thomas,TNN | Dec 8, 2015

KOCHI: On the run for nearly eight months, a catholic priest who was booked for raping a minor girl, surrendered before the police on Tuesday. Fr Edwin Figarez (41), surrendered before the Aluva DSP office around 1pm on Tuesday. Figarez was later arrested and handed over to the Vadakkekara police for interrogation. He went absconding in April this year following a complaint filed by a 14-year-old girl’s parent.

As per the complaint filed by the girl’s mother, the priest raped her daughter several times between January and March 28 this year. Figarez was the parish priest of Lourdes Matha Church,Puthenvelikkara in Ernakulam rural when he allegedly raped the girl.

Vadakkekara circle inspector T MVarghese said that the priest, in order to avoid arrest, had been shifting locations. He had fled to Dubai on April 2, a day after the complaint was lodged. Later, he returned to India and remained elusive, said the police.

A look-out circular was issued against the priest. Meantime, he moved Kerala High court for anticipatory bail through his counsel. However, the bail was denied and he remained absconding.

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CALIFORNIA
Daily Press

By Monica Solano
Staff Writer
By Paola Baker
Staff Writer

Posted Dec. 7, 2015

ADELANTO — A High Desert pastor was convicted last month of having sex with a minor in connection with an incident dating back to July, according to San Bernardino County court records.

Craig R. Lorick, 54, of Adelanto, head pastor of Down 2 Earth Christian Fellowship in Adelanto, was arrested on suspicion of lewd or lascivious acts with a child 14 to 15 years old and having unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor on July 13, court records show.

Lorick first pleaded not guilty during his original arraignment in September, but was offered a plea bargain on Nov. 19 and changed his plea to no contest, court records show.

Lorick’s plea of no contest found him guilty on one count of having unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor more than three years younger than him, while a count of lewd or lascivious acts with a child was dismissed. Lorick is not required to register as a sex offender as part of the plea bargain, court records show.

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AUSTRALIA
The Advertiser

NEIL KEENE
The Advertiser

THE “extraordinary” police case against Adelaide Archbishop Philip Wilson is both unprecedented and “foredoomed to fail”, a court heard this morning.

An application to grant a permanent stay on proceedings against Wilson got under way in the Newcastle Local Court in NSW on Tuesday, with Wilson’s barrister, Ian Temby QC, arguing there were no grounds for the case to proceed to trial.

Wilson is the highest ranking member of the Catholic Church to be charged with concealing child sex offences.

Police allege a teenage victim of paedophile priest Jim Fletcher told Wilson in 1976 about his abuse – five years after the incident took place in Newcastle.

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AUSTRALIA
news.com.au

A drunk Catholic priest caught in a car with two prostitutes and his pants around his ankles was a regular customer of the women, the child abuse royal commission heard.

“He was pissed to the eyeballs with his strides around his ankles,” former Victorian policeman Denis Ryan recalled.

Mr Ryan and two other officers had pulled over a car that kept bumping into the gutter in St Kilda in early 1956.

The driver was a well-known prostitute named Hazel, Mr Ryan told the commission.

“There was another prostitute and laying across, with his head on the driver and his feet on the other prostitute, was a man with his pants down around his ankles, his genitals showing,” Mr Ryan said.

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AUSTRALIA
Sky News

Former Victorian police chief Reg Jackson was the architect of a conspiracy to conceal child sex abuse by a Catholic priest, his successor has told an inquiry.

The police and church protected pedophile Monsignor John Day, thwarting a 1971-1972 investigation by former Mildura policeman Denis Ryan, the child abuse royal commission has heard.

Mick Miller, chief commissioner from 1977 to 1987, says he did not know of the existence of a ‘Catholic mafia’, as described by Mr Ryan, comprising Catholic police officers who protected priests.

But he blames his immediate predecessor Mr Jackson for police putting a stop to Mr Ryan’s investigation into Day.

‘It is my opinion that chief commissioner Reg Jackson was the architect of the Victoria Police’s response to Denis Ryan’s investigations into Monsignor Day,’ Mr Miller told the commission on Tuesday.

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