ABUSE TRACKER

AUSTRALIA
ABC News

A suspicious fire at a church in Doncaster East is not linked to three blazes at Melbourne Catholic churches historically connected to paedophile priests this week, police believe.

Emergency services were called to St David’s Anglican Church on Doncaster Road just after 2:30pm on Friday, after witnesses reported smoke coming from the building.

The Metropolitan Fire Brigade said the fire started in a storage room and took 10 minutes to bring under control.

Police are investigating the cause of the blaze, which was contained to a small area of the building, and keen to speak to anyone who may have seen anything suspicious in the area.

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

UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter

Thomas C. Fox | Apr. 3, 2015 NCR Today

Robert Blair Kaiser, journalist and inveterate church lover and critic, died at the age of 84 in a hospice center in Phoenix yesterday, on Holy Thursday, with daughter, sons, and grandchildren at his bedside.

Janet Hauter, co-chair of the American Catholic Council, a church reform group, today called Kaiser “a courageous man with the biggest heart of any (church) reformer I ever met; he was dauntless in pushing, prodding and confronting injustice in the church.”

Nearly a decade in the Jesuit order, Kaiser left to become a journalist, covering the Second Vatican Council for Time magazine, and going on to write a half dozen books about church post-conciliar life.

He became an outspoken critic of those he felt were trying to slow down or stop council’s reforms, most notably Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI, and the bishops they were appointing.

He pressed for reform to the last breaths of his life, a computer on his chest while hooked up to oxygen. In recent months he was finishing a book on Dominican Father Tom Doyle, who for forty years has been one of the church’s most outspoken critics of clergy sex abuse. I worked with him, writing an epilogue for that book, “Whistle: Tom Doyle’s Steadfast Witness for Victims of Clerical Sexual Abuse,” set to be published in June.

Kaiser, lecturer and author, found every vehicle he could to fan the flames of church reform. He was the editor of Just Good Company, an online journal of religion and culture, and co-founder of takebackourchurch.org, a web community of American Catholics whose stated mission was to seek “ownership and citizenship in the people’s church envisioned at Vatican II.” The group advocated the election of local bishops and the power to dismiss them. More recently, he co-founded Catholic Church Reform International, with which American Catholic Council, another church reform group, is associated.

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

VATICAN CITY
Wall Street Journal

By FRANCIS X. ROCCA
April 3, 2015

One Saturday last month, Pope Francis celebrated Mass at Ognissanti (All Saints’) Church in one of Rome’s working-class neighborhoods. Little known to tourists or art historians, Ognissanti was the site of a momentous event in the modern history of the Catholic Church: Exactly 50 years earlier, Pope Paul VI had gone there to celebrate the first papal mass in Italian rather than in the traditional Latin.

In marking that anniversary, Pope Francis made plain his view of the vernacular Mass, one of the most visible changes ushered in by the Second Vatican Council (1962-65). The practice still pains Catholic traditionalists who mourn the loss of churchwide unity that came with a common language.

Allowing Catholics to pray in their local languages “was truly a courageous act by the church to draw closer to the people of God,” Pope Francis told a crowd gathered outside. “This is important for us, to follow the Mass this way. And there is no going back…Whoever goes back is mistaken.”

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

NEW YORK
The Record

APRIL 3, 2015

BY KIBRET MARKOS
STAFF WRITER | THE RECORD

A lawsuit alleging years of sexual abuse by a teacher at the Horace Mann school in the Bronx has been settled for an undisclosed amount, an attorney for the plaintiff said Friday.

The suit by Fort Lee attorney Rosemarie Arnold was the only one filed against the elite school after dozens of former students alleged that they were sexually abused by teachers and staff since the 1970s.

Most of the former students were unable to file lawsuits because of New York State’s restrictive statute of limitations, which requires alleged victims of child sex abuse to file suit by the time they turn 23.

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

UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter

Robert Blair Kaiser, journalist and inveterate church lover and critic, died in a Hospice center in Phoenix yesterday. Kaiser covered the Second Vatican Council for Time magazine and became recognized as commentator and lecturer on the post-Vatican II church. (Story developing.)

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

PENNSYLVANIA
Catholics4Change

APRIL 3, 2015 BY SUSAN MATTHEWS

WE NEED YOU! Please come out to support the legislators who are fighting to protect your children. Statute of Limitations Reform for Child Sex Abuse Lobby Day will be held on Wed., April 15 at the state capitol in Harrisburg. There will be a rally in the East Wing Rotunda from 1:30 to 2:30 pm. We need to show our politicians we care.

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

TEXAS
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Friday, April 3

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

We are grateful that the Waxahachie Police Department was making a grand jury referral for aggravated sexual abuse of a child and injury to a child in a case involving the Texas Baptist Home for Children. We hope others who may have seen, suspected or suffered abuse or cover ups by Home officials will call police and prosecutors immediately.

[WFAA]

We also praise Justin Cook for his courage and his family for standing by him through this ordeal. Few abused teens are able to summon the strength to speak up quickly and publicly when they are assaulted. Cook is a brave and resilient individual and we hope the justice system brings him healing and closure.

We hope the Ellis County District Attorney moves quickly and investigates thoroughly. And we hope that anyone who has information or suspicions about Baptist Home predators will come forward and help ensure that others are protected and that justice is done.

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

UNITED STATES
The Worthy Adversary

Posted by Joelle Casteix on April 3, 2015

In his Holy Thursday message, Pope Francis told priests to embrace a “good and healthy” tiredness by spending engaged time with the faithful and doing the “real work” of a priest.

From Reuters:

The faithful never leave us without something to do, unless we hide in our offices or go out in our cars wearing sun glasses. There is a good and healthy tiredness. It is the exhaustion of the priest who wears the smell of the sheep… but also smiles the smile of a father rejoicing in his children or grandchildren. (emphasis mine)

But what about the faithful in southern Chile, who are upset about the appointment of their new bishop—a man who has been accused of not only covering up abuse, but actually witnessing the sexual abuse of children?

That bishop, Juan Barros, according to the AP,

… is said by at least three victims to have witnessed the sexual molestation at the Sacred Heart of Jesus church, part of the El Bosque parish that serves an affluent neighborhood of Santiago.
Allegations are so bad (and include extensive cover-up of a serial molester priest), that Barros’ January appointment (he took office in March) has stirred international outrage. Anger is so great in Chile, that Chilean Catholics and government officials have begged Rome to rescind the appointment.

The sheep—in this case—smell a rat …

Rome has not responded.

Hear that? Pope Francis turned his back on Zero Tolerance.

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

TEXAS
WFAA

Tanya Eiserer, WFAA April 2, 2015

Graphic pictures show black and blue bruises that covered Justin Cook’s body.

The 14-year-old teenager says he received those bruises at the hands of an 18-year-old who beat him, choked him and sexually assaulted him. He says the abuse happened at the Waxahachie foster home run by Texas Baptist Home for Children in 2013.

“They called me a liar and I was punished,” Cook said. “When I tried to report it, they wouldn’t believe me.”

For more than a year, Justin and his mother have been fighting to bring someone to justice for the abuse he says he suffered at the hands of another foster child.

On Wednesday, the family was notified via email that the Waxahachie Police Department was making a grand jury referral for aggravated sexual abuse of a child and injury to a child in the case. Police officials confirmed the cases were sent Thursday to the Ellis County District Attorney’s Office.

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

AUSTRALIA
9 News

A fourth Melbourne church in a week has been set alight in suspicious circumstances.

Police are investigating a fire at a church on Doncaster Rd in Doncaster East after witnesses saw smoke coming from it at 2.30pm on Good Friday.

The blaze was contained to a small area of the building.

Detectives have not determined the exact cause of the fire, but are treating it as suspicious.

Three other churches had fires this week, with all three connected to notorious pedophiles.

St James Church in Brighton was destroyed, while St Mary’s in St Kilda East and St Mary’s Catholic Church in Dandenong had minor damage.

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

UNITED STATES
Waiting for Godot to Leave

Kevin O’Brien

A parish church in Australia is burned to ruins by arson, and its members, in general, celebrate.

“For the community here, it’s kind of the haunted house on the hill,” said one of them.

It was “hard going to this church” said another. “If the church is rebuilt after the fire, it would have served its punishment to some degree.”

These are normal Catholics saying this. Think about that for a moment. Normal suburban Catholics – the kind who, here in the States, grill in the backyard, go to the mall, watch their kids and grandkids play sports – normal suburban Catholics happy that an arsonist burned down their parish church.

Why?

Because one of its priests groomed and abused altar boys, some of whom later committed suicide.

“It’s always been a difficult building for us to drive past because there’s been so much tragedy and complicated feelings, I guess. We’ve all attended many funerals of boys that we now know were abused by [Father Ronald] Pickering … and other perpetrators in the parish – at the actual church that it occurred in.”

Meanwhile, in Chile, Pope Francis appoints as bishop of Osorno a notorious supporter of a known abuser and quasi-cult leader, this appointment causing a riot in the cathedral there. Jennifer Haselberger analyzes the situation and concludes that it would be literally impossible for the pope to appoint as bishops men who aren’t at least somewhat tainted by their participation in the Sex Scandal – either as having participated in it or as having condoned or enabled it. Haselberger saw the situation from the inside in the archdiocese of St. Paul and would, presumably, know what she’s talking about.

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

UNITED STATES
Christian Catholicism

Jerry Slevin

With escalating stresses and strains that Pope Francis still faces at his advancing age, including the strongly reverberating bishop revolt in Chile (see here), the pope must call for a worldwide and open general council while he still can. Otherwise, he will have a failed papacy. He should make his prophetic call for a council at this joyful time of Easter, or as soon thereafter as practicable, before it is too late.

Pope John XXIII wisely, humbly and successfully did this a half century ago when faced with far fewer and less threatening crises than Francis increasingly faces. One of the heroes of the ongoing Chilean protests and revolt, top US communications executive, Juan Carlos Cruz, lives in Philadelphia. He can be expected with many others to greet the pope with similar protests when he visits the USA soon. This will undercut the pope’s “low tax, less regulation and least safety net” financial backers, in their US election efforts next year, that will depend critically on the pope’s charisma to try to swing essential US Latino voters.

The “family absent” Family Synods seem to be a futile public relations farces to preserve papal infallibility, to push baby breeding and to maximize German bishops’ subsidies. The Vatican’s own internal finances still remain untouched by independent auditors and are still under the ultimate control of a secretive and unaccountable monarch. The priest child abuse crisis is accelerating despite the pope’s dissembling rhetoric. Even the pope’s hand picked sex abuse commission lay members are regularly publicly criticizing his management mistakes. Moreover, the leading Jesuit expert on Vatican organization, Thomas Reese, has recently criticized convincingly the pope’s so-called reform of the Vatican bureaucracy. This all may have been a good try, perhaps, for the over-confident and elderly Pope Francis or just the latest Vatican ploy, but other than raising hopes briefly and preparing many Catholics to monitor closely the coming council, it has effected little of permanent value.

Please see the pertinent, “Vatican Defends Chilean Appointment“, by the informed and fair Anne Barrett Doyle, co-director of BishopAccountability, an independent charitable organization that boldly documents child abuse by the Catholic Church and other religious groups, here at,

[BishopAccountability.org]

Pope Francis may be heroic, but he is also imprudent, if not rash and arrogant as well. He may have been able as a young Jesuit provincial to save most of his confreres from military thugs, but at his age he cannot alone be expected to save 5,000 bishops and their wealth — these are his top priorities, it appears from most indications. Paradoxically, worldwide bishops and cardinals are more at risk now than when Pope Francis took over the bad hand the ex-pope dealt him, as the new UK and related investigations make evident. Once again. the key management truth prevails — modern media management can cover-up crises for awhile, but it cannot resolve them. That takes transparent and independent effort over a long period of time. In the final analysis, God cannot be “sold by slogans”.

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

AUSTRALIA
The Australian

TESS LIVINGSTONE THE AUSTRALIAN APRIL 04, 2015

Leading up to Easter, initiatives on opposite sides of the world underlined the value of effective church leadership.

In Sydney, Archbishop Anthony Fisher announced 100,000 Catholic school students and their teachers would pause at noon each school day to pray the Angelus, an ancient prayer recalling the events of the Annunciation, when Mary, visited by the angel Gabriel, said yes to becoming the mother of God.

As well as teaching children how to pray, the Angelus is a lesson in the Christian faith. For centuries it has been heralded by a bell, as depicted in Jean-Francois Millet’s famous painting in the Musee d’Orsay.

It was a chance, Fisher said, to pause briefly in “a wonderful act of solidarity and communion … as we reflect upon and celebrate the great mystery of God becoming one of us in the presence of Jesus”.

In Brisbane, Catholic Archbishop Mark Coleridge, a leading scripture scholar, master of 10 languages and a dynamic speaker, is playing to his strengths, delivering nine monthly lectures on Living Biblically in a Secular World. Unexpectedly, the first was so packed, with 430 attendees, mainly young people, that it generated its own exodus, from the designated room to the cathedral next door. Ninety minutes felt like 30.

In Rome, Pope Francis also has been proactive, welcoming 150 homeless people for an exclusive tour of the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel. He chatted with them and provided lunch. Similar thoughtful acts, such as the showers for the homeless near the Vatican, during the past two years have sent the Pope’s popularity soaring.

A few cracks and controversies are appearing, however. Francis is under fire from the Left and the Right over an episcopal appointment that would have produced deafening protests had it been made by Benedict XVI.

A fortnight ago, angry Catholics protested inside the cathedral at Osorno, a town of 150,000 in southern Chile, when Juan Barros, 58, was installed as bishop. Thirty priests, 1300 parishioners and 51 members of Chile’s 120-member congress had written to the Pope urging him to quash the appointment, but to no avail.

This is a tricky test case for Francis’s “zero tolerance’’ of child abuse by priests, a crime he has described as akin to “celebrating a black mass’’ and betraying “the Lord’s body’’.

Barros’s critics accuse him of witnessing and covering up the abuse of boys by one of his former mentors, the now notorious Father Fernando Karadima, in the 1980s and 90s. In 2011, the Vatican barred Karadima from saying mass in public and sentenced him to a life of “prayer and penance’’ after an investigation.

Pope Francis, as archbishop of Buenos Aires in neighbouring Argentina, would have been familiar with the controversy.

Recently, two of Karadima’s victims told CNN that Barros was in the room when they were abused, a claim the bishop denies emphatically: “I never had knowledge or imagined the serious abuses that this priest (Karadima) committed with his victims.’’

He is entitled to his good name and, arguably, career advancement. But a problem for the Pope was revealed this week when three of his hand-picked advisers on sex abuse, including two female psychiatrists, expressed “concern and incredulity’’ over the appointment. Yet again, they say, victims’ have been swept aside.

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

AUSTRALIA
The Age

April 3, 2015

Alana Schetzer

A church has gone up in flames on Good Friday, the fourth church fire this week.

Firefighters were called just after 2.30pm after at least one witness reported smoke coming from the building in Doncaster East.

The fire on Doncaster Road was contained to a small part of the building and extinguished. The cause has not been determined.

It is the fourth church fire that has occurred in Melbourne since Monday. St James Church in Brighton, St Mary’s in St Kilda East and St Mary’s Catholic Church in Dandenong have all experienced blazes over the past five days.

All three are connected to notorious paedophiles, including priests Kevin O’Donnell and Ronald Dennis Pickering. Police said they were treating the fires as suspicious but would not comment on whether the blazes could be linked.

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

AUSTRALIA
Herald Sun

TOM MINEAR HERALD SUN APRIL 03, 2015

POLICE are investigating a fourth suspicious church fire in the week of Easter.

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

ARGENTINA
Pagina 12

[Files for Rome. After 20 years, a young man decided to sue for “misconduct” by the former pastor of the Basilica of Hope. “We’re in the previous investigation, which is to be sent to the Holy See,” said the Archbishop of Santa Fe.]

Luego de 20 años, un joven decidió denunciar por “comportamientos indebidos” al ex párroco de la Basílica de Esperanza. “Estamos en la investigación previa, que es la que hay que enviar a la Santa Sede”, dijo el arzobispo de Santa Fe.

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

ARGENTINA
Uno Santa Fe

I caso del muchacho que denunció al presbítero Luis Brizzio (expárroco de Esperanza) por abuso sexual ocurrido en la ciudad de Gálvez en 1994, cuando tenía 16 años tuvo esta semana un fuerte impacto en la comunidad santafesina y avizora más consternaciones. Es que lentamente, la historia vuelve a desandar uno de los caminos más escandalosos de la relación entre la Iglesia Católica y los feligreses locales, con un nuevo caso de abuso sexual en el que también estaría vinculado, como encubridor, el ya fallecido monseñor Edgardo Storni. Así lo confirmó ayer a Diario Uno el abogado mendocino, especializado en Derecho Canónico, Carlos Lombardi, quien representará al muchacho que denunció a Brizzio en la investigación canónica que se inició a principios de este año, en el Arzobispado de Santa Fe.

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

CHILE
Bio Bio

[Celebrities join social media campaign against Bishop Juan Barros of Osorno]

Polémica generó el nombramiento del sacerdote Juan Barros como obispo de Osorno, quien fue acusado de haber encubierto los abusos sexuales en los que incurrió Fernando Karadima.

El hecho no sólo generó la molestia en los creyentes quienes protestaron en la Catedral San Mateo de Osorno, sino que también en el mundo artístico y televisivo.

Esto porque uno de los denunciantes del ex párroco Juan Carlos Cruz, comenzó una campaña a través de redes sociales en contra del sacerdote con la etiqueta #FueraBarros.

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

AUSTRALIA
The Age

April 3, 2015

Aisha Dow

There was no Good Friday service held at the blackened ruins of St James Church in Brighton, but that did not stop dozens of locals making a quiet pilgrimage to the gutted building.

On the first day of the Easter holiday, they stood behind a safety fence and gazed at the place they and generations of their family had been baptised and married.

But few were truly shocked, and some were not truly sad.

Even before the fire on Monday morning, the crimes of paedophile Ronald Pickering – who served as the church’s parish priest for 15 years – had tainted many people’s feelings towards it.

One local couple who came to see the damage spent four decades as active members of St James. But they recently stopped going because of their deep disappointment with how the Catholic Church responded to child sexual abuse.

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

CONNECTICUT
Fox CT

APRIL 2, 2015, BY SAMANTHA SCHOENFELD

CLINTON–A pastor was arrested on charges of sexual assault of two woman, one of which is a teenager.

On April 2 Pastor Francisco Moran, 57, of Clinton, was arrested on two outstanding warrants after a long investigation that revealed he had unwanted sexual contact with two parishioners. He is the pastor at The Good Samaritan Church in Old Lyme.

Allegedly, Moran sexually assaulted the two victims on separate occasions in the summer of 2014 in a private home in Clinton. Both victims recently came forward, separately, to disclose the assaults to Clinton Police. Apparently, Moran had threatened them with deportation if they talked about the assaults.

The specific charges against Moran are risk of injury/impairing the morals of a minor, two counts of sexual assault in the fourth degree and two counts of coercion.

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

CONNECTICUT
WTNH

By Matt Buynak, WTNH.com Staff
Published: April 2, 2015

CLINTON, Conn. (WTNH) — The pastor of an Old Lyme church sexually assaulted two parishioners, one a juvenile girl, and threatened them with deportation if they spoke of the assaults, police say.

The Pastor of The Good Samaritan Church, 57-year-old Francisco Moran of Clinton, was arrested Thursday. Police say Moran sexually assaulted the teenage girl and an adult woman at a Clinton home on separate occasions last summer.

According to Clinton police, the victims separately reported the alleged assaults recently, and an investigation was started.

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

CONNECTICUT
Hartford Courant

By Nicholas Rondinone

CLINTON — A local pastor is being charged Thursday with sexually assaulting with an underage and an adult female who were members of his church, police said.

Francisco Moran, 57, of 40 West Main Street, was charged with two counts of fourth-degree sexual assault, two counts of coercion and a single count of risk of injury to a minor, police said. Moran is the pastor at The Good Samaritan Church in Old Lyme.

One of the victim was an underage teenager and the other was an adult, police said.

According to police, the sexual assaults happened on separate occasions last summer in a private residence in Clinton.

Both victims told police that Moran threatened to have them deported if they talked about the sexual assaults, police said.

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

CONNECTICUT
NBC Connecticut

A Clinton pastor has been arrested on sex assault charges after having “unwanted sexual contact” with a woman and teenage girl who attend the Good Samaritan Church in Old Lyme, according to police.

According to police, Francisco Moran, 57, sexually assaulted the female parishioners on two separate occasions at a home in Clinton during the summer of 2014. He threatened to deport them if they told anyone, police said.

Both victims reported the unwanted contact to Clinton police, who launched an investigation.

Moran was arrested Thursday on two warrants charging him with two counts of fourth-degree sexual assault, two counts of coercion and one count of risk of injury to/impairing the morals of a minor.

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

ILLINOIS
CI News

April 2, 2015

PEORIA, Ill. — A motion has been filed to dismiss one of the cases against a former Pekin youth pastor charged in sex crimes against children.

Nicholas Lawrence, 27, is charged with child porn in Peoria County.

He is accused of taking a photo of a naked girl under the age of 13 last May.

Lawrence’s attorney wants the porn charge thrown out because the material was found on his laptop in Tazewell County, where he lives.

If the judge approves the motion, the case will likely be re-opened in Tazewell.
A hearing on the motion is scheduled for May 22.

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

UNITED STATES
Bilgrimage

William D. Lindsey

As a follow-up to the previous items I’ve posted (here and here) on the revolt in the Chilean Catholic church after Pope Francis chose to ignore the pleas of many Catholics that he not appoint Juan Barros bishop of Osorno, Chile, when survivors of abuse report that Barros helped cover up the sex crimes of Father Fernando Karadima, some excerpts from recent articles worth reading:

Kristine Ward for National Survivor Advocates Coalition (NSAC):

It is important to be clear here by making and letting this appointment of Bishop Barros stand Pope Francis is declaring that he is not going to take action against those who aided and abetted abusers. He is going to protect them.

We have Bishop Robert Finn of the Diocese of Kansas City- St. Joseph as a glaring example of that.
Now, Bishop Barros.

The problem of sexual abuse needs no other hand for its correction than Pope Francis’.
This appointment gives the back of it to survivors.

Barbara Dorris for Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP):

Many times, a pontiff has pledged reform but done nothing.

This time, a pontiff has pledged reform but done just the opposite.

Here’s a question worth asking: By every indication, Fr. Karadima’s accusers have been consistent and been deemed credible by multiple sources. So if they are telling the truth about child sex abuse by Fr. Karadima, why would they lie about cover up allegations against Bishop Barros?

And a better question: Why won’t Pope Francis even listen to them or insist that his aides listen to them?

Jennifer Haselberger at her Canonical Consultation blog:

[T]his is the awful truth — this is the situation in which the Church finds itself. It is simply unable to impose, as anything more than a romantic ideal, the requirement that only those with an absolutely 100 percent record of child protection can hold positions of trust in the Church.

It should not come as a surprise to Marie Collins or others on the Pontifical Commission that this is the case. It is obvious to anyone paying attention to these issues that many of those currently in the episcopacy or other important leadership positions are far from meeting the 100% test, and that fact is extremely unlikely to change anytime in the near future. If this is unacceptable to Marie Collins, both she and other like-minded members of the Pontifical Commission may want to hand in their resignations now.

Jerry Slevin at his Christian Catholicism blog:

The Chile Church rebellion, and the pope’s continuing mishandling of it, makes clear that the pope’s top priority as absolute monarch is to protect his “noble bishops” at almost any cost, even risking innocent children. For shame!! Once again, a pope foolishly refuses to admit he made a mistake in transferring this bishop, likely in part since any admission of mistakes by popes undercuts papal claims to “infallible” power, the keystone of post-1870 papal power.

Grant Gallicho at the Commonweal blog:

Some had hoped that pressure brought by members of the pope’s new sexual-abuse commission—several of whom recently expressed grave reservations about the appointment—might persuade Francis to act, or Barros to resign. After all, just last month the pope said that “everything possible must be done to rid the church of the scourge of the sexual abuse of minors and to open pathways of reconciliation and healing for those who were abused.” He even seemed to chide bishops who had used the excuse of not giving scandal to avoid addressing the issue. But yesterday the Holy See released a terse, curiously worded statement responding to the growing controversy: “Prior to the recent appointment of His Excellency Msgr. Juan de la Cruz Barros Madrid as bishop of Osorno, Chile, the Congregation for Bishops carefully examined the prelate’s candidature and did not find objective reasons to preclude the appointment.” If this is Rome’s last word on Barros, then Francis should know that his decision has imperiled not only the Diocese of Osorno, but also his own reputation as a reformer.

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

UNITED STATES
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Why won’t Pope Francis back down on an obviously and severely hurtful move: giving Bishop Juan Barros Madrid his own diocese.

The wise whistleblower of the Twin Cities, Jennifer Haselberger, puts her finger on precisely why. In essence, she says that if every cleric who ignored, concealed and enabled clergy sex crimes were deemed ineligible for promotion, there would be as many rudderless chancery offices as there are shuttered churches. (I suspect that, in fact, there would be more. . .)

Jennifer’s post on this is well worth reading: http://canonicalconsultation.com/blog.html

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

VATICAN CITY
The Times

Philip Willan Rome

During a Maundy Thursday mass in St Peter’s Basilica, the Pope said God was aware of how demanding was the priest’s task of anointing the faithful.

The Pope heightened speculation yesterday that he might step down early because of exhaustion.

His remarks came during a Maundy Thursday mass in St Peter’s Basilica during which priests renew their ordination vows. It follows reports that doctors had advised him to lose weight and his indication last month that he expected his pontificate to be brief.

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

AUSTRALIA
National Catholic Reporter

Sharyn McCowen Catholic News Service | Apr. 2, 2015

Australian police are searching for an arsonist following suspicious fires at three Melbourne area churches with links to clerical sexual abuse.

Three blazes broke out in as many days, beginning in the suburb of Brighton with St. James Church, which was almost destroyed Monday. The church is included on the Australian National Heritage List.

St. Mary Church in St. Kilda East sustained minor damage from a fire believed to have been deliberately set around the same time.

The third incident was reported early Wednesday at St. Mary Church in Dandenong, where firefighters discovered separate fires at the altar and in a storeroom containing vestments. The church sustained more than $190,000 in damage, the fire department reported.

“At this stage, the fires are being investigated by the local crime investigation units,” said Sgt. Kris Hamilton, Victoria Police spokesman.

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

MARYLAND
Washington Post

By Michelle Boorstein April 2

An Episcopal bishop charged in the hit-and-run death of a bicyclist pleaded not guilty Thursday in Baltimore Circuit Court, where a judge set June 4 as the date for her manslaughter trial.

Heather Cook, who last year was installed as the Maryland Diocese’s first female bishop, is charged with driving while inebriated and texting when she struck and killed Thomas Palermo, 41, a father of two, last December.

Cook hasn’t spoken publicly since her arrest, and her lawyer, David Irwin, hasn’t commented except to say that she acknowledges she was involved in the crash and that she has been in a residential treatment center since the incident.

The collision, which police said happened after Cook veered into the bike lane, horrified Baltimore-area cyclists, who noted that she left the scene despite having a heavily broken windshield.

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

UNITED STATES
Religion News Service – Rhymes with Religion

Boz Tchividjian | Apr 2, 2015

As Good Friday approaches, many hurting people deeply struggle with its meaning and its God. It is my hope that we will be challenged as we find hope and comfort in the words written by a dear friend. A friend who has so often been the ‘flash of light’ in my life that reflects the very real presence of God. The same God loves, pursues, and never lets go. May each of you encounter this amazing God during this special week. – Boz
_____________________________________________________________________________

To the believer, Good Friday is the most difficult of days. From Gethsemane to Golgotha, the passion of Christ stirs enormous feeling and leaves behind an ache that can only be relieved by Easter. If not for the joy of that empty tomb, few of us could bear the road to the cross.

To the believer who is also a victim of child abuse, the commemoration of Good Friday can be particularly painful. Although the abuse of our Lord may remind a survivor of their own pain, there is often a deeper anguish, an anguish once taught to me by a woman I didn’t know, a woman I still don’t know.

On a Good Friday afternoon in my hometown, I made my way to the church of my childhood. Little did I know that I was being watched and my presence would impact a young woman and instill in me a lesson I will hold until my dying hour.

Several days after that service, a college student appeared in the doorway of my university office. She didn’t want to give me her name, didn’t want to tell me very much at all about her life, she simply wanted to thank me for getting her through Good Friday. As she spoke, tears filled her eyes and she held up one finger—letting me know that if I could hang on for just a minute, she would be able to collect herself and finish telling me what she had come to say.

When she regained control of her emotions, she told me she was a survivor of sexual abuse, and that she had been abused within the church. Like so many before and after her, she had made an outcry against a respected member of her faith community but she was met with disbelief from her family, her church, from everyone she loved, from everyone who professed to be a Christian.

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

UNITED STATES
National Survivor Advocates Coalition

EDITORIAL

The question has to be asked.

It has to be asked of Pope Francis.

There is no better week to ask it than Holy Week.

No better words than those of the Lord’s.

Words wrung out in the ebbing away of life. Words labored and laden with anguish, pain, and abandonment.

It has to be the place where the Chilean victims and by extension all survivors of sexual abuse by priests and religious are today in the face of the brutal slap they have received from Pope Francis’ backing of the declaration of the Congregation for Bishops supporting Juan de la Cruz Barros Madrid as the newly appointed and installed bishop of Osorno, Chile.

This is the Chilean bishop whose installation was interrupted by loud protestations within the cathedral. And how often has any Catholic seen that happen?

The Vatican’s press statement said this:

Prior to the recent appointment of His Excellency Msgr. Juan de la Cruz Barros Madrid as bishop of Osorno, Chile, the Congregation for Bishops carefully examined the prelate’s candidature and did not find objective reasons to preclude the appointment.

For those who cannot bring themselves to think that Pope Francis does not back this appointment, please read on from the report in ZENIT:

Fr. (Ciro) Benedettini’s (Vice Director of the Holy See Press Office) statement echos those of Archbishop Fernando Chomali Garib of Concepcion, who in an interview with Chile’s El Sur newspaper on March 26th, stated that he spoke personally with Pope Francis regarding the appointment.

“All the documentation that I cited came to him (Pope Francis), whether through the nunciature or the Chilean Embassy to the Holy See. He was very much up to date on Bishop Barros’ situation, and in fact, a few days prior he had spoken with him,” Archbishop Chomali said.

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

UNITED KINGDOM
Family Law

Natasha Phillips

02 APR 2015

With scores of Inquiries already under its belt, and dozens more currently underway, Britain must break the mould with the nation’s inquiry into child abuse, and implement an investigation that is truly ground-breaking. If it does not, it will be consigned to history as an expensive exercise, which helped no one.

To date, there have been over 70 inquiries focusing on child abuse in the UK, 67 of which have taken place in England. Today, we have 18 working child abuse inquiries in the United Kingdom, the largest in scope being the nation’s Statutory Inquiry Into Child Abuse, which will be looking at historic and present day child sexual abuse in England and Wales. If we needed confirmation that cautionary tales and lessons highlighted by previous investigations have gone unheeded, the sheer number of predecessors to the nation’s Inquiry serves to remind us. The prevailing inadequacies of serious case reviews for child abuse scandals also paint a grim picture of justice and welfare systems that either don’t understand how to implement effective child protection policies, or don’t have the resources to do so. The latest research into departmental responses suggests that both are obstacles to prevention. And with children’s services departments around the country still struggling in the aftermath of scandal after scandal, progress is often slow at best and at worst, fleeting.

In some ways, the bar has been set low for the nation’s Inquiry – very little positive change on the ground means that any recommendations the Inquiry makes are likely to be well received, but they are in danger of being repetitive. Every Inquiry that has gone before it has made recommendations, and reading through them the similarities are at once encouraging, and disheartening. That there appears to be, still, a very limited understanding of how child sexual abuse prevails and a continued and worrying variance in the quality of response to this type of abuse within government departments highlights the questionable impact Inquiries have on improving the welfare of children at risk. Needless to say, tolerance levels for more of the same when it comes to Inquiries, is at an all time low. So it is not unreasonable for the public to ask what the Statutory Inquiry thinks its investigations can genuinely offer the many victims of child abuse, both past and present.

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

IRELAND
RTE New

A monument to the residents and survivors of abuse at Ireland’s second largest industrial school has been erected in Glin in Co Limerick.

The move marks the resolution of a long-running dispute between the town’s development association and survivors’ representatives.

In a statement, leaders of the project which commissioned the sculpture, say they hope to bring past pupils to the town later this year for an unveiling ceremony.

Plans for a reunion there two years ago were abandoned after the dispute began.

The statement, the Glin Project said the monument to St Joseph’s Industrial School had been set in place for the town’s Heritage Park “with the support and goodwill of the vast majority of local people”.

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

BALTIMORE (MD)
WBAL

[with video]

BALTIMORE —A trial date is set for the Maryland Episcopal bishop charged in a fatal drunken driving crash.

Bishop Heather Cook appeared in court Thursday morning, entered a not-guilty plea and received a trial date set for June 4.

Prosecutors said they have evidence that Cook did not apply the brakes on her Subaru during the crash that killed cyclist Tom Palermo in December. Cook’s blood-alcohol content was 0.22 — nearly three times the legal limit — and she was texting right before the crash, prosecutors said.

The 58-year-old is facing more than a dozen charges, including manslaughter, driving under the influence and leaving the scene of an accident.

During the brief court proceeding, Palermo’s family sat right behind Cook. No words were exchanged, though Cook’s lawyer spoke with a family representative later.

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

ARIZONA
The Catholic Sun

FLAGSTAFF — In her poem “Healing,” Diane Vreuls writes, “They say the suffering unto health hurts less than suffering unto death. Those suffering don’t say this.”

In an effort to ease the suffering of victims of abuse, especially those abused by the clergy, Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted celebrated Mass at San Francisco de Asís Parish in Flagstaff March 14, offering words of hope and healing.

It’s among a special set of liturgies hosted each year by the diocesan Office of Child and Youth Protection for survivors of abuse and their families. At the Mass, which came ahead of April being Child Abuse Prevention Month, the bishop reflected on the words of the first reading of the Mass: “Come, let us return to the Lord, … it is He who will heal us … he will bind our wounds” (Hosea 6:1).

Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted encourages anyone who has been a victim of child sexual abuse by any employee of the Roman Catholic Church to please come forward by contacting the Office of Child and Youth Protection.

We are here because the love of Jesus prompts us, moves us, impels us,” Bishop Olmsted said. “We want whoever has been abused to know that Jesus loves them and that we love them and that they are not alone.”

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

CHILE
Cooperativa

[Journalist Juan Carlos Cruz repudiated the “cowardice” of the head of the Episcopal Conference of Chile for publicly supporting Bishop Juan Barros. Cardinal Ricardo Ezzati, after supporting Barros inw writing, was absent from the controversial ceremony when Barros took over as bishop of Osorno on March 21.]

mritingbarros i that after ignore the criticisms of Juan Barros and publicly support it in writing , was absent from the controversial ceremony that took over as bishop of Osorno last March 21 .

El periodista Juan Carlos Cruz repudió la “cobardía” de la cúpula de la Conferencia Episcopal de Chile, que tras desoír las críticas a Juan Barros y respaldarlo públicamente por escrito, se ausentó de la polémica ceremonia en la que asumió como obispo de Osorno el pasado 21 de marzo.

“Fue triste para Barros ver que lo nombran obispo de Osorno y toda la jerarquía de la Conferencia Episcopal no va, inventa cosas, y eso es cobarde de parte de ellos también, porque cuando se vieron enfrentados a que no iban a estar de la parte popular, todos empezaron como 10 días antes a decir que estaban perplejos”, dijo Cruz a Cooperativa.

De cara a la ceremonia, “Ezzati inventó que tenía otros compromisos, (Alejandro) Goic inventó que tenía otro compromiso… No fue nadie, más que sus amigos de El Bosque: Tomislav Koljatic, Horacio Valenzuela, y me revolvió el estómago cuando los vi saliendo de ahí, porque ellos son guardias privados, especialmente Koljatic y Barros”, añadió el periodista aludiendo a los obispos de Linares y Talca, también formados por Fernando Karadima.

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

POLAND
GlobalPost

Agence France-Presse
Apr 1, 2015

A decade after his death, John Paul II is still revered in his native Poland with billboards, CDs and other collectibles underscoring his popularity, but experts say the church here is struggling without him.

During his epic 26-year pontificate the only Polish-born pontiff became a pillar of national unity in his homeland and reinforced the Church’s role in the overwhelmingly Catholic nation.

As pontiff, John Paul II was the de facto leader of the Polish Church. But now without his firm hand, divisions abound.

“The Polish Church is divided into several streams and has never been so lacking in strong leadership,” Marcin Przeciszewski, editor-in-chief of the Catholic news agency KAI, told AFP.

Despite the crisis in its leadership, Poland’s church is popular compared to elsewhere in Europe, says Przeciszewski, noting that social secularisation has not taken the high toll it has exacted in other European countries such as France. …

Meanwhile several recent high-profile cases of paedophilia among clergy have compromised the credibility of the Polish Church like never before.

Priest paedophilia has long been a taboo topic in Poland but shot into the public spotlight with the case of Polish Archbishop Jozef Wesolowski, who is alleged to have had sex with boys while serving as a papal envoy in the Dominican Republic.

Poland’s Catholic Church apologised in June 2014 for the paedophilia in its midst at a landmark ceremony attended by top clergy and abuse victims. But it has so far ruled out compensating victims, even as it faces its first civil lawsuit for damages.

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

CALIFORNIA
Easy Reader

A Manhattan Beach mother is suing a priest at American Martyrs Church and the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, alleging that the priest sexually harassed her and then was inappropriately transferred to another church after she complained.

Catherine Bergin, a lifelong church volunteer and married mother of three, filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court last week against Father Nicholas Assi, who served as assistant pastor at American Martyrs from 2009 through last year, and the archdiocese.

On Friday, a spokeswoman for the archdiocese said that they had not yet been served with the lawsuit, but provided a two-paragraph statement.

The statement said that after the district attorney declined to press charges, Assi, who had been placed on administrative leave, had been reinstated.

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

AUSTRALIA
ABC News

Former Canberra priest Edward Evans has been found not guilty of molesting a young girl in the 1990s.

Evans, 85, was facing six charges after the woman claimed he had committed acts of indecency when she was aged between 10 and 13 at the time.

Evans was alleged to have touched the girl inappropriately several times, mostly while at his home after church services, including when he was sitting beside her at the dining table.

During a police interview played to the jury during the trial, Evans conceded he had touched the girl on the bottom but said it was not sexual.

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

UNITED STATES
Canonical Consultation

[with video]

04/01/2015

Jennifer Haselberger

There is a field of study in mathematics known as chaos theory. Students of ‘chaotic’ environments, which include natural systems such as weather and climate, note that even deterministic systems can produce unpredictable outcomes as a result of small differences in initial conditions. As a result, chaotic systems might appear predictable for a period of time, but then give way to uncertainty. Where meaningful predictions cannot be made, the system appears to be either random or ‘chaotic’.

Chaos theory might offer a helpful lens with which to consider the episcopal appointment of Bishop Juan de la Cruz Barros Madrid, recently installed in a scene of utter chaos as the new bishop of Osorno, Chile (see the video above, in which protesters carrying black banners and balloons attempted to disrupt the liturgy and prevent the Bishop-elect from entering the Cathedral). Ordained an auxiliary bishop for the diocese of Valparaiso, Chile in 1995 (when he was just 38 years old), Bishop Barros had received new appointments in 2000 and 2004 without any apparent controversy. Not so, however, for the January 2015 decision, issued under Pope Francis, to appoint him as Bishop of Osorno.

Bishop Barros has not been accused of committing sexual abuse. Nor has he been accused of failing in his episcopal duties. Instead, the outcry over his appointment stems from accusations, which I have no reason to doubt, that he was complicit in abuse committed by another priest, Father Fernando Karadima. Some of the victims of Karadima, led by a fifty-one year old man named Juan Carlos Cruz, have made the following accusations against Barros, as reported in The New York Times.

Mr. Cruz and three other young men who were devoted followers of Father Karadima, and members of a Catholic youth movement he oversaw, accused him of sexually abusing them over two decades, starting when they were teenagers [other news reports indicate that the young men were between 14 and 17, so at least one was a minor given that the canonical age of majority at that time was 16]. Criminal charges were filed against the priest alleging abuse during the years 1980 to 1995, but a Chilean judge dismissed them in 2011, saying the statute of limitations had expired.

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

TEXAS
San Antonio Express-News

BY JACOB BELTRAN, STAFF WRITER : APRIL 2, 2015

A Catholic priest was arrested Wednesday after police say he touched an officer’s crotch Wednesday afternoon on the North Side.

Rocky Henry Lee Grimard, 59, faces a charge of indecent exposure.

While working undercover, two park police covert unit officers were investigating illegal activities at Olmos Park, a police report stated.

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

MINNESOTA
TribTown

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
First Posted: April 01, 2015

NEW ULM, Minnesota — A judge has ruled that three people who claim they were sexually abused by priests can proceed with public nuisance claims against the Diocese of New Ulm in southern Minnesota.

Brown County District Judge Robert Docherty dismissed some counts in the two lawsuits in a ruling dated March 27. But he ruled that the public nuisance claims can go forward.

That’s significant because the plaintiffs’ attorneys, Jeff Anderson and Mike Finnegan, successfully used the same novel legal strategy in other lawsuits against the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis to force Archbishop John Nienstedt and other officials to give sworn depositions and turn over documents.

New Ulm is the only Minnesota diocese that won’t release a full list of its priests that have been credibly accused of abuse, Finnegan said Wednesday. He pointed out that Nienstedt used to be its bishop.

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

INDIA
The Hindu

The Puthenvelikkara police on Wednesday booked a priest for alleged sexual assault of a minor girl several times in the past few months. According to the police, the mother of a Class 9 student lodged a complaint against Fr. Edwin Figares, a priest with the Lourdes Matha Church, Puthenvelikkara.

“The mother, in her complaint, stated that the accused sexually assaulted her 15-year-old daughter several times over the past couple of months. A case has been registered and the probe has begun,” said sub inspector M.S. Shibu. According to the complaint, the girl revealed her ordeal to her mother on March 28. However, a spokesperson of the Verapoly diocese termed the charges “baseless and an act of revenge, done with an intent to tarnish the image of the priest who is well known for his service”. — Staff Reporter

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

TEXAS
Fox 29

By JANICE CARPIO
Fox News San Antonio
Facebook: Janice Carpio
Twitter: @janicecarpio

SAN ANTONIO – Olmos Park police say 59 year old Reverand Rocky Grimard was arrested for allegedly exposing himself to an undercover officer.

“A park police officer was working undercover in plain clothes, the suspect approached the officer on a walking trail,” says Officer Misty Floyd, with the San Antonio Police Department.

Grimard is also an ordained priest and a chaplain for the Kennedy County Sheriff’s Office.

“He solicited sex after beginning a brief conversation, he also exposed himself and he grabbed the officer’s hand to make contact with himself,” says Floyd.

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

INDIA
Kaumudi

KOCHI: A case of sexual abuse has been registered against a priest. The case has been registered against him for sexually abusing a ninth class student continuously for the past three months after inviting her to the parsonage of the church, where he was working as a priest.

The Puthenvelikkara police have registered a case against the priest identified as Fr Edwin Cigrace aged 41. The police were not able to trace him even after a search was conducted yesterday.

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

GUAM
KUAM

By Jolene Toves

The leader of the island’s Catholic faithful addressed his flock last night, finally shedding light on his pastoral visit.

While he’s been noticeably silent on this and other controversies facing the church in recent history, he spoke from the pulpit and used his voice to call for unity from followers, reminding them of the virtue of forgiveness.

And the message seemed to be well received, as parishioners indicated a renewed sense of direction.

“In my pastoral visit, I have seen the suffering of our people and the longing to be healed and made whole again it is our strength. We are and must be supportive in this way and those who support us and work with us are here represented here today. I realize that many people are hurting and suffering and I myself have my share of pain this is our church and coming together which we must do allows us to get healed let us all help in the process we all make mistakes because we are all too human, but God is among us and always he is the one who can bring us together for healing.”

This was the message Archbishop Anthony Apuron shared with hundreds of the Catholic faithful who gathered Wednesday evening to participate in the Chrism Mass, an annual religious service in which the archbishop blesses the sacred oils for the catechumens, the oil for the sick and the oil of the chrism. As we have reported over the course of a year controversies have emerged from within the church to include the removal of Father Paul Gofigan as pastor of Santa Barbara Church in Dededo, and the removal of Monsignor James Benavente as rector of the Cathedral Basilica. But in last night’s the chrism mass both were present as the celebration which holds a special meaning.

Archbishop Apuron officiated jointly with all priests as a sign of their unity.

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

CHILE
Cooperativa

[Journalist Juan Carlos Cruz launched a virtual campaign from the United States, where he lives, to demand the ouster of the new bishop of Osorno, Juan Barros. The bishop is accused of having covered up sexual abuse by priest Fernando Karadima. Connoted theater personalities, film and television made common cause with him around the message “Out Barros”.]

El periodista Juan Carlos Cruz inició una campaña virtual desde Estados Unidos, donde reside, para exigir la salida del nuevo obispo de Osorno, Juan Barros, al que acusa de haber encubierto los abusos sexuales del cura Fernando Karadima. Connotadas personalidades del teatro, el cine y la televisión hicieron causa común con él en torno al mensaje “Fuera Barros”.

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

IRELAND
The Irish News

SINN Féin has urged anyone with information about the sexual abuse of children to contact police, after a deceased Catholic priest was accused of abusing “hundreds” of children in Newry.

The party was speaking after the Catholic Church confirmed that 11 allegations have been made against Fr Seamus Reid since 1997.

One person came forward before the priest, pictured right, died in 2001, with the rest of the claims being made since.

His case was also raised by Bishop John McAreavey during a report on the Diocese of Dromore carried out by the Church’s National Board for Safeguarding Children in 2011, although Fr Reid was not publicly named.

Claims have been made that some of the allegations relate to inappropriate touching, sometimes when children were attending confessions.

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

AUSTRALIA
The Canberra Times

April 2, 2015

Henry Belot
Canberra Times Reporter

A jury has found former Catholic priest Father Edward Evans, 85, not guilty of molesting a young girl in the kitchen of his Braddon home in the 1990s.

The verdict was delivered before Justice Richard Refshauge on the seventh day of an ACT Supreme Court trial, with jurors deliberating for more than eight hours.

The prosecution alleged Father Edward Evans put his hands down the girl’s pants to grab her bottom multiple times, and digitally penetrated her in his home.

He was also alleged to have touched her breast as they sat alone in a car outside a southside shopping centre, before pulling her on top of him into a straddling position.

Father Evans, who plead not guilty to the charges, was in his 60s at the time.

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

CANADA
The Globe and Mail

GARY MASON
VANCOUVER — Globe and Mail update (includes correction)
Published Tuesday, Mar. 31 2015

We may never understand the toll it took on John Furlong, but we can imagine. One minute you’re a hero, the toast of a country grateful and indebted for the role you played in orchestrating one of the greatest events ever to take place on Canadian soil. And then one day, you wake up to find yourself confronting the most odious allegation imaginable – that you sexually abused native children.

Mr. Furlong always denied the claims, but his protests of innocence played a bit part in the front-page stories and television reports that outlined the accusations of the plaintiffs. When three separate people file lawsuits against the same person, there has to be some truth to it, doesn’t there? Where there’s that much smoke, there’s always fire, no?

Except that, when the smoke cleared, all that was left was evidence that the damaging assertions made against the former CEO of the 2010 Winter Olympics were baseless.

On Monday, the third and final sexual-abuse case against Mr. Furlong was dismissed, as was a previous one. Another had already been dropped. By the end of the process, the lawyer who had been representing the three plaintiffs had withdrawn entirely. It was shown that one of the women was not even attending the school where Mr. Furlong was teaching in northern B.C. in 1969-70, when the incidents were said to have occurred. A second complainant simply abandoned her case. The last proceeding was dismissed after the accuser, a man with a criminal history of more than 50 convictions, failed to show up for the start of the trial.

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

AUSTRALIA
news.com.au

THREE Catholic churches set alight in Melbourne in as many days were for decades the scenes of horrific sexual abuse inflicted on scores of children by notorious paedophile priests.

Police are investigating the cause of the string of suspicious blazes at buildings of worship as neighbouring churches increase security.

Early yesterday, emergency crews rushed to extinguish a blaze at St Mary’s in Dandenong a fire was lit on the church’s alter and another in the storeroom of the 151-year-old building.

The blaze is the third to be investigated at a historic Melbourne church in as many days, with St Mary’s Church in St Kilda East and St James’s Church in Brighton each gutted by flames after being set alight in the early hours of Monday morning.

Links to paedophiles at each of the Catholic churches have sparked suspicion of revenge attacks.

The Dandenong church, which sustained $250,000 worth of damages after firefighters battled for 90 minutes to extinguish the fire this morning, was presided over by convicted paedophile priest Kevin O’Donnell from 1958 to 1986.

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

INDIA
Times of India

KOCHI: A case was registered against a priest for allegedly molesting a girl, police said on Wednesday.

The case against parish priest of Puthenvelikkara Lourdes Matha Church was registered based on a complaint by the mother of the class IX student.

Police said the priest, identified only by his first name Fr Edwin, was not arrested.

The girl’s mother alleged that the priest had been abusing the minor at the parish house since January.

“According to the complaint, the girl was called to the parish house several times between January and March. We have found that the girl used to go to the parish house. We are conducting further probe,” Puthenvelikkara police sub-inspector M S Shibu said.

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

UNITED STATES
dotCommonweal

Grant Gallicho April 1, 2015

Episcopal installation Masses don’t usually involve teeming protesters, shouting matches, and popping balloons. But Juan de la Cruz Barros Madrid’s did. Last Saturday, Barros was installed as bishop of Osorno, Chile, following allegations that he covered up for a sexually abusive priest who had been his mentor. “Barros, get out of the city!” chanted the demonstrators, waving black balloons. The bishop’s supporters tried to drown them out, brandishing white balloons. Some demonstrators attempted to climb the cathedral altar. The service was cut short, and Barros was escorted by police through a side door. Chile’s cardinals, along with most of its bishops, were not in attendance. Familiar with recent history, they knew it was going to be an ugly scene.

Four years ago, the Holy See found Fr. Fernando Karadima guilty of molesting minors, and ordered him to a life of “prayer and penance.” The Karadima case has been called the worst scandal ever to befall the Chilean Catholic Church. Karadima, now eighty-four, was once one of Chile’s most influential clerics. He ministered to the wealthy, and had strong ties to Chile’s elite. He developed a devoted following, molding the church’s future leaders. Four of his protégées, including Barros, later became bishops. Now, several of Karadima’s victims—once his devotees—say that Barros not only knew about the decades-old accusations and did nothing, but that he witnessed the abuse himself. Barros denies all of it, and refuses to resign.

After Barros’s appointment was announced in January, about thirteen hundred Chilean laypeople, including dozens of lawmakers, signed a petition seeking Barros’s removal. More than thirty clerics signed a letter asking the pope to reconsider his decision. Two Chilean bishops reportedly met with Francis to brief him on how difficult this has been for the local church. “The pope told me he had analyzed the situation in detail and found no reason” to remove Barros, the archbishop of Concepción, Fernando Chomalí, told the New York Times. Just before Barros’s installation service, the papal envoy to Chile announced that the bishop had his “confidence and support.”

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

TEXAS
News 4

By JANICE CARPIO News 4 San Antonio

SAN ANTONIO – Olmos Park police say 59 year old Reverand Rocky Grimard was arrested for allegedly exposing himself to an undercover officer.

“A park police officer was working undercover in plain clothes, the suspect approached the officer on a walking trail,” says Officer Misty Floyd, with the San Antonio Police Department.

Grimard is also an ordained priest and a chaplain for the Kennedy County Sheriff’s Office “He solicited sex after beginning a brief conversation, he also exposed himself and he grabbed the officer’s hand to make contact with himself,” says Floyd.

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

TEXAS
KENS

A priest was arrested in Olmos Park on allegations of indecent exposure Wednesday.

Rocky Grimard, 59, was arrested in Olmos Park.

According to the San Antonio Police Department, an on-duty park police officer in plain clothes was patrolling the park. The suspect approached the officer and made multiple sexual advances on the officer, both verbal and physical, according to police. The officer identified himself as a peace officer and the suspect was taken into custody.

SAPD would not confirm the name of the suspect until he was formally magistrated. The district clerk’s office confirms the man in the report is Grimard.

Grimard previously served as the director of the Oblate Renewal Center at Oblate School of Theology, according to the school. The school confirms he left two years ago and now works as at Lebh Shomea House of Prayer, a religious retreat center, in Sarita, Texas.

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

MINNESOTA
CBS Minnesota

NEW ULM, Minn. (AP) — A judge says three people who claim they were sexually abused by priests can proceed with public nuisance claims against the Diocese of New Ulm in southern Minnesota.

Brown County District Court Judge Robert Docherty dismissed some counts in the two lawsuits in a ruling dated March 27. But he ruled the public nuisance claims can go forward.

The plaintiffs’ attorneys, Jeff Anderson and Mike Finnegan, successfully used the same strategy in other lawsuits against the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis to force top officials to give sworn depositions, including Archbishop John Nienstedt.

Finnegan says New Ulm is the only Minnesota diocese that won’t release a full list of its priests that have been credibly accused of child sex abuse. And Nienstedt used to the bishop in New Ulm.

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

UNITED KINGDOM
The Times

David Aaronovitch

Enoch Powell is the latest – conveniently dead – politician to be accused of awful crimes. This nonsense has to stop

As headlines go it was a belter. “Enoch Powell accused of satanic sex abuse,” the Mailreported at the weekend. “Bishop of Durham gave his name to Met detectives.”

Bishops are sedate and careful creatures, you might think, not given to being impulsive. If the Bishop of Durham (for it was he) passed on Enoch Powell’s name — along with those of Thatcher’s home secretary Willie Whitelaw and the Labour MP Leo Abse — to the authorities, then he must have had reason to do so.

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

MINNESOTA
Star Tribune

Article by: JEAN HOPFENSPERGER , Star Tribune Updated: April 1, 2015

Judge ruled that diocese created ‘public nuisance’ by allowing suspected priests to serve parishes.

The Diocese of New Ulm must release its list of priests who have been credibly accused of sexually abusing children, under a ruling made by a Brown County judge last week.

New Ulm is the last diocese in the state to keep its list of priest offenders under wraps. The names were compiled in 2003, under a nationwide study by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, when now-archbishop John Nienstedt oversaw the diocese.

The ruling by Judge Robert Docherty came in response to lawsuits filed by attorney Jeff Anderson on behalf of alleged abuse victims of New Ulm priests. Docherty ruled the diocese created a “public nuisance” by allowing the priests to continue serving parishes even as it was aware of previous sexual misconduct that was not reported to police.

Anderson’s office soon will seek the diocese files and other documents related to the child sex offenders, said Mike Finnegan, an attorney with the Anderson law firm. The ruling will “have the same impact” as the decision by Judge John Van de North in Ramsey County in December 2013, which opened thousands of pages of clergy documents from the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, he said.

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

MINNESOTA
Jeff Anderson & Associates

4/1/2015

Court Rules That Survivors’ Public Nuisance Claims Against Diocese of New Ulm May Proceed

Order Will Help Protect Children, Expose Diocese’s Protection of Abusive Priests, and Scrutinize Archbishop Nienstedt’s Decisions Regarding Priest Information

(New Ulm) – Brown County District Court Judge Robert A. Docherty has ruled that three clergy sexual abuse survivors’ public nuisance claims against the Diocese of New Ulm can proceed. Judge Docherty’s March 27, 2015, order will help hold the Diocese of New Ulm accountable for protecting pedophile priests in the past and will help keep children safe in the future.

The Diocese of New Ulm is the only Minnesota diocese that has refused to release a full list of its priests that have been credibly accused of child sex abuse, or any documents regarding sexually abusive priests to the public.

“This order gives us the ability to uncover the dangerous practices of this diocese and make sure the community is better protected,” said Mike Finnegan, attorney for Doe 37, Doe 38 and Doe 10.

In 2014, Plaintiffs Doe 37 and Doe 38 filed suit against the Diocese of New Ulm, claiming that they were sexually abused as children by Father Michael Skoblik, a priest at St. Joseph’s Church in Silver Lake, Minn., in the late 1960s and early 1970s, while they were St. Joseph’s parishioners and altar boys. In a separate lawsuit filed in 2013, Plaintiff Doe 10 alleges that he was sexually abused as a child by Father Francis Markey, a priest at Church of St. Andrew in Granite Falls, Minn., in 1982, while he was a Church of St. Andrew parishioner. Both churches are in the Diocese of New Ulm. All three plaintiffs allege that the diocese created a public nuisance by concealing the histories of Fathers Skoblik and Markey, and other priest offenders, from the community.

In 2003-2004, then-Bishop of New Ulm John Nienstedt, current Archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis, compiled a list of 12 priests who had credible accusations of child sexual abuse, but refused to make the list public. Archbishop Nienstedt’s decisions surrounding that list and any clerics accused of abuse after the list was created will be scrutinized in these cases, Anderson said.

Contact: Mike Finnegan: Office/651.964.3523 Cell/612.205.5531
Jeff Anderson: Office/651.964.3523 Cell/612.817.8665
Mike Bryant: Office/320.259.5414 Cell/800.359.0061

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

UNITED KINGDOM
The Independent

Child sex abuse: Judges, MPs, media entertainers, actors, police and clergy implicated in Met Police corruption probe

LOULLA-MAE ELEFTHERIOU-SMITH Sunday 29 March 2015

The Metropolitan Police is being investigated over further allegations of corruption in relation to child sex offences dating back to the 1970s, including the claim that evidence gathered against MPs, judges, media entertainers, police, clergy and actors was dropped due to police intervention.

The fresh allegations are in addition to the 14 cases being investigated by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), revealed earlier this month, dating from the 1970s to the 2000s.

The three new investigations relate to allegations about police suppressing evidence, hindering or halting investigations, and covering up offences due to the involvement of members of parliament and police officers.

One case addressed the allegation that a child abuse investigation in central London, which gathered evidence against MPs, judges, media entertainers, police, actors, clergy, and others, was dropped. It has been claimed that two months after the file had been submitted to start proceedings against those identified, an officer was called in by a senior Met officer and told to drop the case.

The two further allegations relate to a child abuse investigation conducted in the 1980s, with one relating directly to police actions in the case.

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

ST. LOUIS (MO)
Berger’s Beat

March 30, 2015 | Author: berger

There’s a new judge and a new prosecutor in the criminal child sex case against Fr. Joseph Jiang. Judge Dennis Schaumann has replaced Judge Jack Garvey, who recused himself. Prosecutor Molly Wayne has replaced Anne Kratky. Fr. Jiang, meanwhile, is still repped by Paul D’Agrosa, who’s come under fire for being part of the “old boys’ club,” a cozy group of lawyers who profit from “fixing tickets” and multiple overlapping roles as judges, prosecutors and defense lawyers in municipal courts. (D’Agrosa is a judge in Olivette and U. City and prosecutor in Arnold.)

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

UNITED KINGDOM
Catholic Herald

by Fr Alexander Lucie-Smith posted Wednesday, 1 Apr 2015

The Vatican has made a huge unforced error and it doesn’t seem to realise it

What on earth is happening in the Diocese of Osorno, Chile? Quite a few observers are bewildered by the recent appointment of Bishop Juan Barros to the diocese.

Let us start with what happened when the newly appointed bishop was enthroned in his cathedral this Saturday last. A fight – yes, you read that correctly – broke out as His Lordship entered the cathedral, between the rival factions in the diocese, those who support the new bishop and those who oppose him.

This is hardly what you would expect to see in any church, let alone in a cathedral, let alone at the show of unity that the entry of a new bishop is supposed to be.

Moreover, one sees that no less than 30 priests and deacons of the diocese wrote to the papal nuncio to make clear to him that they did not want Bishop Barros as their bishop.

One thing is certainly clear: Bishop Barros, perhaps through no fault of his own, is a divisive figure. As bishop, he is meant to be the focus of unity. Even before he has started his time as bishop, he has failed. So, why was he appointed?

At this point things become murky. Bishop Barros was already Bishop of the Armed Forces, so this was a transfer, not a promotion. It seems he was a protégé of one Fr Fernando Karadima, who was found guilty of child abuse. While there is no suggestion that Mgr Barros is a child abuser, some allege that he was too close to Karadima and complicit in the cover up of Karadima’s crimes. He firmly denied this.

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

BRAZIL
The Guardian (UK)

Jonathan Watts in Nova Friburgo and Stephanie Kirchgaessner in Rome
Wednesday 1 April 2015

In a secluded monastery in south-eastern Brazil, a breakaway group of ultra-conservative Catholics gathered to participate in an act of rebellion against the pope.

The setting could hardly have been more tranquil: rolling green hills, purple-glory trees, palm leaves swaying in the wind and a temporary chapel made of breeze block walls and a tin roof left partially open to the elements.

But the 50 or so priests, Benedictine monks, nuns and other worshippers who file into Santa Cruz monastery on Saturday were no ordinary congregation. Hailing from Europe, the US and Latin America, they described themselves as a “resistance” movement against Vatican reforms.

In favour of Latin services – and fiercely opposed to ecumenism, freedom of religion and closer relations with Judaism – they had come to defy the authority of Rome with the ordination of a new priest by an excommunicated bishop, Jean-Michel Faure.

It was the second such ceremony in the past month: Faure was consecrated here without papal approval only two weeks ago by the Holocaust-denying British bishop Richard Williamson. In response, both clerics were automatically ejected from the church, but this has not stopped the group’s drive to build an unsanctioned clergy.

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

BRAZIL
Reuters

Two renegade Catholic bishops plan to consecrate a new generation of bishops to spread their ultra-traditionalist movement called “The Resistance” in defiance of the Vatican, one of them said at a remote monastery in Brazil.

French Bishop Jean-Michel Faure, himself consecrated only two weeks ago by the Holocaust-denying British Bishop Richard Williamson, said the new group rejected Pope Francis and what it called his “new religion” and would not engage in a dialogue with Rome until the Vatican turned back the clock.

Williamson and Faure, who were both excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church when the former made the latter a bishop without Vatican approval, are ex-members of a larger dissenting group that has been a thorn in Rome’s side for years.

Their splinter movement is tiny – Faure did not give an estimate of followers – but the fact they plan to consecrate bishops is important because it means their schism can continue as a rebel form of Catholicism.

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

UNITED STATES
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Wednesday, April 1

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

A controversial and archconservative Catholic group says it will grow in Brazil. We hope it doesn’t. And we urge citizens and Catholics to steer clear of this secretive and problematic group.

[Reuters]

Two ex-communicated and “traditionalist” Catholic bishops are trying to expand their sect, called “The Resistance” in Brazil. Its officials have a very troubling track record on children’s safety. Look no further than the disturbing case of Fr. Carlos Urrutigoity who was accused of sexually abusing at least four boys or young men in Pennsylvania between 2002-2004. At least two civil suits were filed and one of them was settled for $380,000. Until recently, Fr. Urrutigoity, of the Society of St. Pius X, was a high ranking church official in Paraguay.

[SNAP]

One of the prelates trying to recruit in Brazil is the Holocaust-denying British Bishop Richard Williamson. The other is French Bishop Jean-Michel Faure. They’ve been associated with the Society of St Pius X (SSPX), “a larger ultra-traditionalist group that was excommunicated in 1988 when its founder consecrated four new bishops, including Williamson, despite warnings from the Vatican not to do so,” according to a Reuters news account.

[BishopAccountability.org]

We’re concerned about the behavior, not the beliefs, of Catholic officials. These bishops can think and feel however they like. They cannot, however, act however they like, especially if they endanger kids, help predators, and conceal crimes. That’s what we fear they have done, are doing and will do.

In our experience, the more rigid, hierarchical, male-dominated and secretive a religious institution is, the more likely it is that the safety of kids will be given a back seat while growth, reputations and careers will be given top priority.

Again, we beg parents to keep their kids away from this bunch. And we urge police and prosecutors to keep a close eye on them.

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

INDIANA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Tuesday, March 31

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 dispute over RFRA laws – in Indiana and elsewhere – involves more than adults with differing beliefs. It also involves innocent young kids and wounded adult victims who suffer when claims of “religious freedom” are used to protect clerics who commit and conceal heinous child sex crimes.

Time and time again, in civil courts across the US, unscrupulous church officials cite RFRA laws to block child sex abuse lawsuits and prevent records about child molesting clerics from being disclosed. These self-serving church officials – fixated on protecting their careers, comfort and reputations – exploit RFRA laws to make sure their reckless and callous decisions to hire, promote, transfer and protect child predators are not exposed or scrutinized.

We urge every lawmaker to resist pressure to vote for these bills. And we urge judges to help make sure that RFRA laws don’t help corrupt church officials keep hiding their complicity in child sex crimes.

Remember: In the US, we adults are free to believe whatever we want. But we’re not free to do whatever we want, especially when the safety of precious children and vulnerable adults is at stake.

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

UNITED STATES
Christian Catholicism

Jerry Slevin

A century ago, Irish nationalists rebelled at Easter well aware they had a dominant Catholic Church behind them. Today, the Church in Ireland is in shambles. Significantly, a new rebellion emanating from Chile is now advancing on the Vatican. Catholic leaders and media flacks will dissemble and tout that 2/3rds of Chileans are Catholic (nominally). Yet a new poll indicates 3/4ths of Chileans have little trust in Catholic leaders and 9/10ths of them say Chileans have less trust now than they did a decade ago.

Pope Francis has had close personal and organizational ties to Chile for over a half century. Where will the Church there (and elsewhere) end up, even in the short term, under the pope’s current trajectory? As one informed observer noted, Chileans’ trust for their Church is in the basement and needs to be rebuilt from the ground up. Despite the pope’s artificially and transitory media star polling, the Vatican has a new crisis — the Latin American Church!

Yes, Pope Francis seems stuck in the basement and just keeps on digging, it appears. The illusory “vibrant Latino Church” is a myth. For much of the last few decades, Pope Francis and several of his clique of protégées of Cardinal Angelo Sodano, with their ties to right wing billionaires, have overseen its demise. And now right wing US billionaires are depending on Francis to deliver more of the US Latino vote next year for their “low tax/less regulation/least safety net” candidates like Jeb Bush. Good luck!

Francis is scrambling to find distractions from the Chile rebellion, including with over hyped Holy Week parades, and well timed government tax deals dictated mainly by prosecutorial pressures from Vatican financial scandals. The pope and a majority of his clerical picks will still control all Vatican finances. I had thought that Pope Francis’s “white” public relations’ balloon as the “happy pope” would float until this Christmas. By then, in the pope’s 80th year, it will have run out of air and he will have completed his fruitless and “family-less” Family Synods with little to show for it.

The Chilean rebellion (with its “black” balloons), that began in the Osorno Cathedral over the pope’s outrageous recent appointment of bishop Juan Barros, indicates that Pope Francis’ PR balloon may not make it to Christmas. He will be visiting the USA and the UN this summer and can now expect Osorno-like demonstrations there, perhaps led by Juan Carlos Cruz, a survivor of the sexual abuse that Cruz and others swear Barros condoned. Cruz now lives in Philadelphia where he is a key executive for a top global corporation.

Courageous UN leaders and political leaders in other nations like Australia, the UK, Chile, Ireland, et al., are already challenging the pope and his subordinates’ indefensible and ongoing records on protecting child abusers. By summer, USA leaders will likely be compelled to get on the bandwagon.

The sad, simple and undeniable truth is that Catholic bishops and priests worldwide will look at Barros’ promotion and now have clear confirmation that, despite all the pledges, policies, protocols, promises and panels, this pope is really no different than any who came before him, when the subject is protecting children, treating abuse survivors mercifully and holding bishops accountable for complicity on sexual abuse.

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

AUSTRALIA
Herald Sun

SHANNON DEERY HERALD SUN APRIL 01, 2015

NOTORIOUS paedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale is being chased for thousands of dollars in compensation by 12 of his victims.

The frail 81-year-old appeared at the County Court via videolink from jail today for a brief hearing where a lawyer for the victims sought extra time to prepare their case.

Ridsdale, who has spent decades behind bars, has admitted abusing at least 54 students during the 1960s, 70s and 80s.

He is currently expected to remain in prison until at least 2019.

Ridsdale portrayed himself as the “friendly priest”, luring his victims with inducements such as lollies and money to gain their trust.

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

WASHINGTON (DC)
Washington Post

By Michelle Boorstein April 1

Many people look to their religious leaders for guidance in getting through trauma. But what about when the leaders are themselves caught up in the trauma?

That’s what happened at Kesher Israel, a prominent D.C. synagogue that was rocked last fall when its longtime rabbi, Barry Freundel, was charged with secretly videotaping women preparing to use a ritual bath. Freundel, a national Orthodox leader whose arrest made global news, hasn’t said anything since except to enter a guilty plea in February. His wife, Sharon, a well-regarded and popular Jewish educator in the District who shared in leadership at Kesher – a common role for a rabbi’s wife, who is called “rebbetzin” – remained publicly silent as well, until last week, when she gave an unusual and striking lecture.

After six months of pained, emotional and sometimes angry community meetings and worldwide media coverage, Sharon Freundel, director of Hebrew and Judaic Studies at the Jewish Primary Day School in Northwest Washington, chose to communicate to her community for the first time with a talk called “Post-Traumatic Stress Responses in the TaNaKH,” or the Hebrew Bible.

The talk on March 22 was simultaneously intimate and removed. Here was the wife of the central figure of this hugely publicized drama, speaking about sex abuse and murder and the mysteries of the human spirit and the limitations of marriage – but never referring specifically to herself. Instead she spoke about trauma – and responses to trauma – in the Bible, assuming the posture of a teacher. The talk was going on at two levels. Freundel declined to comment for this article.

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

VATICAN CITY
swissinfo

APR 1, 2015

(Bloomberg) — The Vatican and Italy signed a tax accord on Wednesday that includes an exchange of financial information as part of Pope Francis’s drive for transparency and preventing money-laundering.

The agreement, signed by Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Vatican’s secretary for relations with states, and Pier Carlo Padoan, Italy’s economy minister, follows guidelines from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the Vatican said in a statement. It ensures exchange of information on taxable sums since January 1, 2009.

The agreement will apply to Italian individuals, institutions and companies with accounts at Vatican financial bodies. It comes after similar accords by the Italian Treasury with Switzerland, Lichtenstein and the Principality of Monaco as Prime Minister Matteo Renzi seeks to boost revenue from fighting tax evasion.

Under pressure from Italian investigators, the Institute for Works of Religion (IOR), known as the Vatican Bank, has started reviewing its account holders amid money-laundering probes. More than 2,000 accounts have so far been blocked. The IOR, set up in 1942, oversees about 6 billion euros ($6.45 billion) of customer assets.

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

VATICAN CITY
The Kansas City Star

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
04/01/2015

ROME

Italy and the Holy See have signed an accord to cooperate on fiscal matters, as the Vatican works to improve transparency after a string of financial scandals.

Italy’s finance ministry and the Vatican announced the agreement on Wednesday.

The ministry said “full cooperation” between Italy and the Holy See was now possible thanks to reforms begun by the Vatican in 2010. It noted that Italy was the first state with which the Vatican signed such a cooperation accord.

Vatican-owned property outside the tiny Vatican City State’s borders and situated in Italy will continue to be exempt from Italian property tax.

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

VATICAN CITY
Reuters

VATICAN CITY | BY PHILIP PULLELLA

(Reuters) – The Vatican and Italy signed a financial information sharing agreement on Wednesday in which the Holy See pledged full cooperation and transparency and effectively relinquished banking secrecy.

The Vatican has long been criticised by international financial organisations for providing a tax haven for well-connected Italians.

In particular, the Vatican bank for decades allowed many Italian citizens to hold bank accounts. That practice, which was in violation of the bank’s mission to manage money for the Church, helped individuals evade taxes and launder cash, Italian law enforcement officials say.

Pope Francis has made financial reform a central plank of his two-year-old papacy and the bank, officially known as the Institute for Works of Religion, has been undergoing change. As of July, it had blocked the accounts of 2,000 clients and ended some 3,000 “customer relationships”.

The deal, announced in two separate statements from the Vatican and the Italian Economy Ministry, came after months of negotiations and will cover information from 2009 onwards.

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

VATICAN CITY
Crux

By Inés San Martín
Vatican correspondent April 1, 2015

ROME — In the latest effort under Pope Francis to reform the Church’s finances, the Vatican and Italy reached an agreement on Wednesday to share financial and tax information, designed to help both states crack down on money-laundering and other illicit behavior.

The agreement is also intended to ensure that the so-called “Vatican bank,” which reportedly controls almost $10 billion in assets, no longer functions as an offshore tax haven for wealthy Italian VIPs, a perception that has long angered both tax officials and financial regulators in Italy.

Among other things, the agreement likely will mean that entities with deposits in the Vatican bank will have pay taxes on interest income to Italy.

Given that some of the most damaging complaints about Vatican money management over the years have come from Italian politicians, bankers, and regulators, the agreement could provide the Vatican with a firebreak against new scandal.

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

VATICAN CITY
Internatinal Business Times

By Lora Moftah @LoraMoftah l.moftah@ibtimes.com on April 01 2015

Criticisms of the Catholic Church’s effort to promote accountability on clergy sex abuse is poised to intensify as the Vatican stood by its decision to back a controversial Chilean bishop who has been linked to an alleged cover-up of child abuse. The controversy over the appointment of Juan Barros as bishop of Osorno is raising doubts about the pace of reforms promised by Pope Francis, who has made a zero tolerance approach to clergy sex abuse a cornerstone of his papacy. But, according to a prominent U.S. expert on Catholic church matters, the controversy is a snag in the reform process, rather than the indication of a retreat.

A spokesperson for the Holy See announced Tuesday that the Church’s Congregation of Bishops had “carefully examined the prelate’s candidature and did not find objective reasons to preclude the appointment,” in the Vatican’s first official comment on the divisive case. The news comes amid a growing controversy over the bishop’s appointment in Chile, where protests broke out last week during his installation ceremony at the cathedral of the southern city of Osorno. About 3,000 people gathered to protest Barros on Saturday, demanding that he resign his post.

The outrage stems from Barros’ connection to one of Chile’s most notorious pedophile priests, Father Fernando Karadima, who was found guilty of abusing teenage boys over the years in a 2011 Vatican investigation. Critics allege that Barros was not only aware of the abuse but also helped to cover it up in his capacity as Karadima’s protégé. The bishop has denied having any knowledge of the abuse, claiming to have only found out about the allegations through news reports.

Catholic clergy in Chile have voiced their opposition to Barros’ installation, with one of the most vocal critics, Father Alex Vigueras of Santiago’s congregation of the Sacred Heart, saying the appointment was “not attuned with the zero tolerance [policy on pedophilia] that is trying to be installed in the church,” the Guardian reported. …

“As a survivor, I’m very surprised at the appointment in Chile because it seems to go against … what the Holy Father has been saying about not wanting anyone in positions of trust in the church who don’t have an absolutely 100 percent record of child protection,” said Marie Collins, an Irish member of the commission, in an interview with the National Catholic Reporter. “[Barros] is not accused of abuse himself in anyway,” she continued. “He may have been aware of it and did nothing. And that’s enough.”

The reaction from members of the commission and from within Chile shows that the appointment was not a prudent decision by the Vatican, said Rev. James Bretzke, a professor of moral theology at Boston College. “I believe it is sending the wrong message. The fact that [Barros] was named shows a certain tone deafness or lack of sensitivity even today among people involved in these decision-making processes.”

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

VATICAN CITY
Vatican Information Service

Vatican City, 1 April 2015 (VIS) – This morning, in the Secretariat of State, an agreement on fiscal matters was signed by the Holy See and the Italian Republic. It was signed on behalf of the Holy See by Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, secretary for Relations with States, and for the Italian Republic by Pier Carlo Padoan, minister of Economics and Finance, with full powers.

The reforms introduced in 2010 and the creation by the Holy See of institutions with specific experience in economics and finance now enable full administrative cooperation, also with regard to fiscal matters. Within the framework of the special importance of bilateral relations, Italy is the first country with which the Holy See has signed an agreement governing the exchange of information.

In accordance with the current process of establishing transparency in the field of financial relations at a global level, the Convention transposes the most up to date international standard in terms of the exchange of information (article 26 of the OSCE Model) to regulate cooperation between the competent authorities of the two contracting Parties. The exchange of information relates to the fiscal year starting 1 January 2009.

The Convention, from the date on which it enters into force, will enable full compliance, with simplified procedures, with the tax obligations relating to financial assets held by institutions engaging in financial activities in the Holy See by various physical and legal persons resident in Italy. The same persons will be able to have access to a procedure for the regularisation of these activities, with the same effects as established by Law 186/2014.

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

CHILE
Cooperativa

[Juan Carlos Cruz: The hierarchy of the Catholic Church has zero credibility.]

El 73 por ciento de los chilenos tiene poca o ninguna confianza en la Iglesia Católica, de acuerdo a la última encuesta de Cooperativa, Imaginacción y la Universidad Central.

El sondeo, dado a conocer este martes, en plena Semana Santa, grafica el impacto provocado por los numerosos casos de abusos sexuales cometidos por sacerdotes y conocidos durante los último años, pero también mide el impacto de polémicas decisiones recientes, como la designación de Juan Barros a cargo de la Diócesis de Osorno, con la que el 79,6 por ciento de los consultados se declaró en desacuerdo.

El resultado de esta encuesta “me da pena, porque soy católico, y me da pena porque hay mucha gente buena en la Iglesia que no se merece esto, pero es cierto que la jerarquía ha encubierto los abusos, que tienen cero credibilidad”, dijo a El Diario de Cooperativa desde Filadelfia, Estados Unidos, el periodista Juan Carlos Cruz, uno de los pocos denunciantes públicos del caso Karadima.

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

NEW JERSEY
NJ.com

By MaryAnn Spoto | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on March 31, 2015

TRENTON —Attorneys in the federal conspiracy trial of a Lakewood rabbi accused of arranging forced religious divorces are clashing over whether one of the charges against his son – accused of beating husbands into compliance– should be dismissed.

As the trial of Rabbi Mendel Epstein wound up its seventh week of testimony on Tuesday, the defense attorney for his son, David “Ari” Epstein continued to press with jurors the younger man’s alibi for one of the alleged beatings.

Jurors have seen phone records, hotel records, photographs and meeting schedules indicating Epstein was in Ohio on Aug. 22, 2011. And they’ve heard from one of Epstein’s business associates and one of his workers who claim Epstein was with them that day on a trip to Kaeser & Blair Inc. in Batavia, Ohio.

Because of that evidence, defense attorney Henry Mazurek wants one of the kidnapping charges against his client dismissed.

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

VATICAN CITY
WISC

By NICOLE WINFIELD

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican finance minister said Tuesday he hopes to avoid financial scandal with the upcoming Jubilee Year, saying the plans will be subject to new Vatican procedures to ensure they follow international standards for transparency and accountability.

Cardinal George Pell outlined the Vatican’s financial reform during a conference Tuesday to launch a book on better managing church assets — a priority for Pope Francis after years of financial scandals and mismanagement at the Holy See.

Francis announced the Jubilee Year earlier this month to focus the church on his priority: mercy. It immediately set off panic among Rome officials who remember well the chaos that surrounded the 2000 Jubilee, when some 25 million pilgrims flocked to the Eternal City to mark the start of Christianity’s third millennium. Millions were spent cleaning up monuments and constructing new buildings, including a huge Vatican garage.

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

AUSTRALIA
The Age

Ex-priest David Rapson suffered breakdown in prison after being found guilty of raping students

April 1, 2015

Adam Cooper
Court reporter for The Age

A former Catholic priest found guilty of raping and sexually assaulting school students in his care abused alcohol in the lead-up to a trial and suffered a breakdown in prison, a court has heard.

David Edwin Rapson was found guilty of five charges of rape and six counts of indecent assault at trials this year, that related to attacks on students aged between 12 and 17 years at two Victorian schools between the mid-1970s and 1990.

Rapson, 61, was originally found guilty of charges during a 2013 trial in the County Court and later sentenced to minimum 10 years in prison.

But the Court of Appeal last year quashed those convictions and ordered new trials take place. Rapson was freed from custody following the Court of Appeal’s ruling.
Advertisement

Across four trials in February and March this year, Rapson was found guilty of 11 charges relating to attacks on six students, five of whom attended a Catholic boarding school where the then-priest was at one stage the school’s vice-principal.

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

AUSTRALIA
Herald Sun

SHANNON DEERY MERCURY APRIL 01, 2015

A FORMER Hobart Catholic priest who plied boys with cigarettes and alco­hol before raping them ­deserves a sentencing discount because he is unwell, a court has heard.

David Edwin Rapson, who taught at Dominic College in the 1980s, has many victims from his offending that spanned three decades.

In 2013 he was jailed for 13 years for crimes on children, but was released on appeal after serving 11 months.

His convictions were quashed by the Court of ­Appeal after a concession by the Office of Public Prosecutions that Rapson should have faced several trials.

It admitted that because of the varying nature of his ­offending it was unfair for all matters to be determined by a single jury, as they had been.

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

GEORGIA
Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Victims of childhood sexual abuse would have additional time in Georgia to seek damages from their abusers, under a bill passed unanimously Tuesday by the Senate.

House Bill 17 would for the next two years extend the statute of limitations for civil suits for anyone who was sexually abused before the age of 18, allowing past victims to seek damages if they have not yet come forward.

The bill would apply to victims of rape, sodomy, child molestation, pandering, incest or sexual battery.

Finally, victims of childhood sexual abuse would have access to records of any investigation related to the case.

The bill does not, however, permanently extend the statute of limitations for civil suits from five years to 35 years, which the bill’s sponsor, state Rep. Jason Spencer, R-Woodbine, originally proposed. The Senate also made other amendments on the floor.

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

AUSTRALIA
Gladstone Adveriser

Ebony Battersby | 1st Apr 2015

A FORMER principal of the Gladstone Catholic high school now known as Chanel College has been jailed for sexually assaulting a student – and new alleged victims are coming forward now the case has hit the headlines.

Brother John Dennis Maguire was principal at the Gladstone school between 1975-1977 when it was operated by Marist Brothers.

Last week he was jailed for sexually assaulting a student at a prestigious Sydney Catholic college.

He moved to Sydney from Gladstone and the incidents happened shortly after. Chanel College yesterday distanced itself from Brother Maguire, and urged anyone with any evidence against him to report their experiences to police.

At least five members of the public had contacted The Observer last night after we started asking questions about his background.

A letter, sent out to parents and members of the Chanel College community late yesterday in the wake of those inquiries is printed below.

In the letter, the college moved to assure parents the school would have measures in place “to respond to any pastoral issues that could arise of these crimes against children being committed by a former principal of our college”.

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

AUSTRALIA
Herald Sun

SHANNON DEERY HERALD SUN APRIL 01, 2015

A DISGRACED priest who plied young boys with cigarettes and alcohol before raping them deserves a sentencing discount because he is unwell, a court has heard.

David Edwin Rapson is one of the most notorious paedophiles in Victorian history with a string of victims from his offending that spanned three decades.

In 2013 he was jailed for 13 years for sickening crimes on kids, but was released on appeal after serving just 11 months of that sentence.

His convictions were quashed by the Court of Appeal after a concession by the Office of Public Prosecutions that Rapson should have faced several trials.

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

AUSTRALIA
BBC News

Police in Victoria are investigating suspicious fires at three Melbourne churches where paedophile priests have served in the past.

St Mary’s Catholic Church in Dandenong is the latest to suffer from what police are calling a suspicious fire.

The blaze started in the early hours of Tuesday, causing extensive damage.

On Monday fire almost destroyed the 123-year-old St James Church in Brighton, while a separate fire damaged St Mary’s Church in St Kilda East.

The Dandenong church was one of eight Catholic churches linked to priest Kevin O’Donnell, who sexually abused children throughout his 50-year career in Melbourne parishes.

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

AUSTRALIA
The New Daily

Apr 1, 2015

EMMA YOUNGER

Suspicious fire – the third this week – on churches linked to paedophile priests.

Another Melbourne Catholic church historically linked to a paedophile priest has been targeted in a suspected arson attack overnight.

Fire crews were called to St Mary’s Catholic Church in Dandenong at 2:30am (AEDT) by the parish’s priest, Father Declan O’Brien, who lives in a detached building.

Fr O’Brien said he was woken by the sound of smoke alarms.

“I came out of my back gate and at the windows there I could see something reminiscent of the Towering Inferno,” he said.

The Country Fire Authority’s Paul Carrigg said it was clear to firefighters that someone had broken in and set several areas of the building alight.

“When they arrived they found a number of areas of the church on fire, extensive smoke damage in some areas,” he said.

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

AUSTRALIA
The Age

April 1, 2015

Nino Bucci, Marissa Calligeros

A victim of paedophile priest Ronald Dennis Pickering called on those suffering not to turn to arson, as police investigate three separate fires this week at churches linked to predator priests.

“Pickering escaped, the church didn’t assist in bringing him to justice, when victims turned to the church they offered them no support, and then he died,” said Mike, who was abused almost 50 years ago when he was an altar boy at St Mary’s in St Kilda East, which someone attempted to set alight early Monday.

“If a victim is lighting these fires, it’s a symptom of anger. But you certainly don’t want to encourage this as a way of dealing with anger.”

Christian holy days such as Easter could trigger strong emotions within some victims, Mike said, but he hoped that the Royal Commission into Institutional Child Sexual Abuse would provide some justice.

It remains unclear whether a sex abuse victim, or victims, are responsible for the three fires at churches in Brighton, St Kilda East and Dandenong since Sunday.

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

AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald

April 1, 2015

Henry Belot
Canberra Times Reporter

A young girl allegedly molested by a former Catholic priest stayed quiet about her ordeal because she did not want to ruin her mother’s faith, a court has heard.

Crown prosecutor Sara Gul, in her closing statement, said the girl was afraid of coming forward with allegations about a man her mother saw as “the representative of God”.

But defence barrister Steven Whybrow told the court the woman’s evidence was unreliable and inconsistent.

The submissions were heard as the ACT Supreme Court trial of Father Edward Evans, 85, entered its sixth day on Wednesday before Justice Richard Refshauge.

Father Evans has pleaded not guilty to charges of committing acts of indecency and sexual assault on the girl, who was aged between 10 and 13 at the time.

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

VATICAN CITY
Irish Times

Paddy Agnew

Wed, Apr 1, 2015

The Holy See yesterday waded into the row about the controversial appointment of Monsignor Juan de la Cruz Barros Madrid as Bishop of Oserno in Chile, an appointment made despite protests from sex abuse victims that Bishop Barros had covered up for Chile’s most notorious paedophile priest.

In a move that hardly seems in keeping with the spirit of the Francis pontificate, the Holy See defended the appointment.

“Prior to the recent appointment of His Excellency Monsignor Juan de la Cruz Barros Madrid as Bishop of Oserno, Chile, the Congregation for Bishops carefully examined the prelate’s candidature and did not find objective reasons to preclude the appointment.”

Protest

The inauguration on March 21st met with unusual opposition, with some 650 people turning up to protest at Oserno Cathedral dressed in black. Many local priests boycotted the ceremony, and more than 1,000 Catholics wrote to Pope Francis, asking him to reconsider the appointment.

Those opposed to Bishop Barros point out that he was a protege of Father Fernando Karadima, one of Chile’s most influential and respected priests. In 2011, at the age of 81, Fr Karadima was sanctioned by the Vatican itself for paedophile crime, being ordered to retire to a life of “penitence and prayer”.

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

AUSTRALIA
The Guardian

Oliver Milman
@olliemilman
Tuesday 31 March 2015

Victoria police are investigating the third suspicious church fire in Melbourne within the past week.

Two separate fires broke out at St Mary’s church in Dandenong at around 2am on Wednesday, causing extensive damage to the 151-year-old church before fire crews were able to extinguish the flames.

The church is linked to Kevin O’Donnell, a priest who has been accused of a number of sexual assaults on children. O’Donnell, who is now deceased, was never charged over the alleged offences.

Early on Monday morning, another suspicious fire destroyed St James church in Brighton, with St Mary’s church in St Kilda suffering damage on the same day due to suspected arson.

Priest Ronald Pickering attended both of the churches in the 1970s and 1980s. Pickering, who died in 2012, fled to the UK in 1993 and did not face prosecution over a number of sexual abuse offences stretching back to 1960.

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

BRAZIL
ABC News (Australia)

A Brazilian priest known for conservative views on moral issues and disapproving in his sermons of kissing and sex has been suspended for sending a nude selfie to an apparent mistress on his mobile phone.

“Father Alfredo Rosa Borges has been suspended from his duties,” and faces ex-communication, a diocesan spokesman at Campos de Goytacazes, a northern town in Rio state said.

Father Borges is seen posing naked in front of a mirror holding his cell phone in pictures posted last week via smartphone service Whatsapp which have since appeared in online media.

Rio daily O Dia reported he had admitted sending suggestive messages to a woman who later posted them but denied having an intimate relationship with her.

“An investigation has been opened but the photo comprises a transgression for the Church,” the bishop of Campos, Roberto Francisco, told O Dia.

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

AUSTRALIA
9 News

Links to pedophile priests are a common factor in a string of suspicious Melbourne church fires, but the Catholic church doesn’t believe this is what motivated the arsonist.

Police are investigating the cause of three suspicious fires over 48 hours in churches at Brighton, St Kilda East and Dandenong.

All three churches have links to known and alleged sexual abuse, but Regional Bishop Peter Elliott has suggested another, more general motivation.

“I would suggest it rests in a very disturbed mind of an arsonist that likes burning churches,” Bishop Elliot told Fairfax Radio on Wednesday.

Emergency crews were called to the most recent blaze at a Dandenong church at 2am on Wednesday and extinguished the fire.

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

AUSTRALIA
Herald Sun

MONIQUE HORE, STAFF WRITER HERALD SUN APRIL 01, 2015

UPDATE: A MELBOURNE bishop believes the third suspicious church fire in as many days is not linked to clergy sexual abuse.

Fire crews and police are investigating a fire at St Mary’s Catholic Church in Foster St, Dandenong, that started about 2.30am.

The fire, which caused $250,000 damage, was started in the church’s storeroom. Another was sparked near the altar.

A team of about 40 firefighters took about an hour to control the blaze.

It comes after fires on Monday at St James in Brighton and St Mary’s in St Kilda East – two parishes home to notorious paedophile priest, Ron Pickering.

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

AUSTRALIA
ABC News

By Emma Younger

Another Melbourne Catholic church linked to a paedophile priest has been targeted in a suspected arson attack overnight.

Fire crews were called to St Mary’s Catholic Church in Dandenong at 2:30am (AEDT) by the priest who lives in a detached building.

The Country Fire Authority’s Paul Carrigg said it was clear to firefighters that someone had broken in and set several areas of the building alight.

“When they arrived they found a number of areas of the church on fire, extensive smoke damage in some areas,” he said.

“They found a fire in a store room area which burnt through the floor and another fire towards the alter.

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

AUSTRALIA
Daily Mail

Who is burning down Melbourne’s churches? Police investigate link to past paedophile attacks after a suspected arsonist torches THREE churches this week

By SARAH MICHAEL FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA

Police are investigating a string of suspected arson attacks on three Melbourne Catholic churches with links to paedophile priests.

Emergency services were called to a fire at St Mary’s Catholic Church in Dandenong, at 2am on Wednesday, and police are treating the blaze as suspicious.

The church is said to be the site of child sex attacks perpetrated by now-deceased convicted paedophile Father Kevin O’Donnell.

Police are investigating whether the blaze is connected to two separate suspicious blazes that were lit on Monday at St James Catholic Church in Brighton and St Mary’s Catholic Church in St Kilda, where paedophile priest Ronald Pickering served as minister.

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

AUSTRALIA
3AW

The Catholic church is denying links between three suspicious fires at suburban churches and paedophile priests.

Police are looking into a series of recent arson attacks including an overnight fire at the 151-year-old St Mary’s Catholic Church in Foster Street, Dandenong, about 2.30am this morning.

Other fires being investigated are at St James Catholic Church in Brighton and St Mary’s Catholic Church at St Kilda East.

Regional bishop Peter Elliott dismissed Ross Stevenson’s suggestion of links to paedophile priests.

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

BRASIL
O Dia

Rio – Adepto da libertinagem e do pecado, o Padre Alfredo Rosa Borges, da cidade de Miracema, no Norte Fluminense, dentro da Igreja pregava sermões bem diferentes daquilo que praticava depois que a missa acabava — como por exemplo, compartilhar fotos nuas pelo Whats App com uma amante.

No blog ‘Catequizando com Jesus’, o pároco destilava um conservadorismo de envergonhar o Papa Francisco, que tem surpreendido o mundo com discursos progressistas no Vaticano.

“Quem vê a sexualidade e o próprio sexo como prazer, normalmente desvia-se e passa a viver de um modo desequilibrado”, escreveu Padre Alfredo num texto intitulado ‘A Sexualidade Humana’, presente no blog.

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

BRAZIL
Brisbane Times

Rio de Janeiro: A Brazilian priest known for delivering sermons disapproving of kissing and sex outside marriage has been suspended for sending a nude selfie to an apparent mistress.

“Father Alfredo Rosa Borges has been suspended from his duties,” and faces ex-communication, a diocesan spokesman at Campos de Goytacazes, a northern town in Rio state told AFP on Tuesday.

Borges is seen posing naked in front of a mirror holding his mobile phone in pictures posted last week via smartphone service Whatsapp which have since appeared in online media.

Rio daily O Dia reported he had admitted sending suggestive messages to a woman who later posted them but denied having an intimate relationship with her.

“An investigation has been opened but the photo comprises a transgression for the church,” the bishop of Campos, Roberto Francisco, told O Dia.

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

CANADA
CBC News

Former Vancouver Olympics CEO John Furlong told reporters at a news conference today that the “unimaginable nightmare” he lived through while under suspicion of abusing his former students has finally ended.

Saying he just wanted to move on with his life, Furlong also announced he would end his defamation lawsuit against Georgia Straight writer Laura Robinson, who published the initial allegations of abuse
However, Robinson, who is suing Furlong for questioning her journalistic credibility, said in a statement she has no intention of dropping her court action.

“At the time the Georgia Straight article was published, I wasn’t even aware of the allegations made by Grace Jessie West and the male whose case was dismissed on Monday,” she said.

“My story was based on serious allegations made by numerous individuals, including allegations contained in eight sworn affidavits, and I stand by the work I did. I feel that the dropping of Mr. Furlong’s lawsuit against me today is recognition that my reporting on the serious allegations was responsible and appropriate.”

“My suit is about an attack on my integrity and professional conduct as a journalist. It has never been about these three cases. “I look forward to my June 15, 2015, court date. I am pleased that the lawsuit against me has been dropped. I stand by the research and work that I did.”

2 accusers didn’t attend Furlong’s school

Furlong’s lawyer, Claire Hunter, told the news conference two of Furlong’s accusers, Grace West and Daniel Morice, never attended Immaculata Elementary School in Burns Lake where the abuse was alleged to have occurred.

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