ABUSE TRACKER

CHILE
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[Ricardo Ezzati is called to testify at the request of victims of Karadima.]

Este lunes el ministro de fuero Mario Gómez, citó a declarar al arzobispo de Santiago Ricardo Ezzati, luego de que el pasado viernes la defensa de las víctimas del caso Karadima solicitaron esta diligencia ante tribunales.

Recordemos que esta solicitud se enmarca en la demanda civil de la víctimas en contra del Arzobispado de Santiago, debido a su eventual responsabilidad en torno a los crímenes de abusos sexuales por los que fue condenado canónicamente el ex párroco de El Bosque, Fernando Karadima.

Tres escritos fueron presentados en el proceso que se instruye por la demanda indemnizatoria de 450 millones de pesos que interpusieron James Hamilton, Juan Carlos Cruz y José Murillo.

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ROME
Crux

By John L. Allen Jr.
Associate editor October 5, 2015

ROME – Perhaps the best-known sexual abuse survivor on a panel created by Pope Francis to lead the Church on a path of reform has criticized the pontiff’s comments on an abuse case in Chile, saying she is “discouraged and saddened” by his response.

Irish laywoman Marie Collins made the comments via Twitter, in reaction to news of a five-month-old video made public Friday that shows the pontiff brushing off criticism of his appointment of a bishop in Chile accused of covering up allegations against his country’s most notorious abuser priest.

“Don’t be led around by the nose by these leftists who are the ones who put this [opposition] together,” the pope is heard saying.

It appeared Francis used the term “leftists” to refer to Chilean politicians, mostly members of the country’s main left-wing political party, who have signed a petition opposing the bishop’s nomination.

Francis was speaking about protests against his January selection of Juan de la Cruz Barros Madrid as bishop of the small Osorno diocese in Chile. Barros is widely seen in Chile as a defender of the Rev. Fernando Karadima, a prominent Chilean priest found guilty of abuse by the Vatican in 2011 and sentenced to a life of “prayer and penance.”

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ITALY
Telegraph

By Nick Squires, Rome 05 Oct 2015

A row over the Vatican’s attitude towards gay priests has been stoked further by a claim that priests with “homosexual tendencies” are packed off to a religious retreat in order to be “cured”.

The Holy See had already been embarrassed by a senior Vatican official’s decision to come out publicly as gay at the weekend, just as 270 bishops from around the world gathered in Rome to attend a synod on family issues.

Krzysztof Charamsa, 43, a Polish priest and theologian who worked in one of the Vatican’s most influential departments, was summarily sacked after criticising what he called “institutionalised homophobia in the Church” and claiming that a majority of priests were gay.

As angry Vatican officials called his provocative gesture “very serious and irresponsible”, it was claimed on Monday that priests suspected of being gay are often sent to a convent in the northern city of Trento in order to “reflect” on their futures.

The Trento convent’s role in trying to “cure” priests of homosexuality was revealed by a former priest who was thrown out of the Church three years ago for being gay.

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NEW JERSEY
The Republic

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: 10/5/15

LITTLE FERRY, New Jersey — A New Jersey priest accused of pointing a functioning but unloaded musket at an 8-year-old boy in a church’s rectory will plead not guilty, his lawyer said, explaining it as a joke spurred by a football rivalry.

The Rev. Kevin Carter is to be arraigned Tuesday on charges of child endangerment and aggravated assault by pointing a firearm, lawyer Harold Cassidy told The Record (http://bit.ly/1FSF7yH ).

Bergen County prosecutors charged Carter on Friday; he is free on $15,000 cash bail. Both charges stem from a Sept. 13 incident at St. Margaret of Cortona Roman Catholic Church in Little Ferry.

Authorities have said the incident apparently was spurred by a football rivalry, although Carter maintains it was a joke. A parishioner reported it to the Archdiocese of Newark late last month, and officials there soon notified the prosecutor’s office.

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ITALY
Independent (UK)

Michael Day @michael2day Monday 5 October 2015

The Vatican has secretly been sending gay priests to a monastery near the Alps to be “cured” alongside paedophiles and drug addicts, it has emerged.

Priests who “show inappropriate sexual tendencies” are removed to the Venturini monastery in Trento for “a period of training, personal reflection and enlightenment”, according to Italian press reports.

The revelation came as hundreds of Catholic bishops, priests and laity began three weeks of deliberations in Rome over the church’s teachings on family life – including gay relationships – at a special synod. It followed a row at the weekend when a Polish theologian, 43-year-old Monsignor Krzysztof Charamsa, was sacked from Vatican posts within hours of declaring he was gay and had a long-term partner.

British clerical abuse victim Peter Saunders, who has been appointed to a Vatican child protection commission by Pope Francis, told The Independent that the Church was too soft on paedophile priests and their protectors, and contrasted this with their swift sacking of Msgr Charamsa.

One former clergyman, Mario Bonfante, was told to go to Venturini when his superiors discovered he was gay, in order for him “to rediscover the right path” – and after he refused, he was dismissed.

The all-male institute, and its order, the Priestly Heart of Jesus, was founded by Fr Mario Venturini in 1928 in a large house in Trento, in the foothills of Alps. As many as a dozen priests can stay there.

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CHILE
El Nuevo Herald

The Associated Press

SANTIAGO, CHILE

Una estación televisiva en Chile transmitió un video en el que muestra al papa Francisco defendiendo a un obispo de Santiago cuyos oponentes dicen ha encubierto abusos sexuales por un notorio sacerdote pederasta.

En el video, grabado en mayo y transmitido el viernes por el canal Mega, Francisco culpa a izquierdistas por una campaña contra el obispo de Osorno, Juan Barros.

“No se dejan llevar por las narices de todos los zurdos que son los que han armado la cosa”, dice el papa en el video, hablando con visitantes chilenos al Vaticano. Francisco hizo notar que las acusaciones contra Barros habían sido desestimadas por un tribunal chileno.

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CANADA
Gander Beacon

James McLeod
Published on October 05, 2015

An Inuit man broke down sobbing and wailing on the witness stand this morning at Newfoundland Supreme Court in St. John’s as he recounted physical, emotional and sexual abuse at the residential school in Northwest River, Labrador.

Toby Obed described being beaten with a strap for speaking Inukitut, and a worker at the school forcing two older children to have sex, and younger students being made to watch.

“I didn’t want to watch,” he said, sobbing.

The testimony Monday morning is part of a class-action lawsuit which represents more than 1,000 survivors of five residential schools in this province who were not included in a federal settlement in 2007 for survivors in other parts of Canada.

Mediation this summer failed, due to lack of instruction by provincial and federal governments.

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UNITED KINGDOM
ITV

By Rebecca Barry: ITV News Correspondent

The Church of England has announced it will investigate claims that senior clerics helped cover-up sex crimes committed by a former Bishop.

Peter Ball, 83, will be sentenced at the Old Bailey this week after admitting a string of offences against young men from the 1970s to 1990s. But his victims claim, for decades, the Church of England prevented him from facing justice.

Graham Sawyer, who was abused by Ball when he was a teenager tells ITV News the church’s behaviour had been “deeply corrupt, deeply sinister and it must be exposed”.

“The truth must come out about those who protected him at that time,” he adds.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Chad

Monday 05 October 2015

Survivors of child abuse across Nottinghamshire’s care homes are hopeful that an independent inquiry into the scandal will get underway in the coming months.

The victims have been pushing for the investigation into the homes run by Nottinghamshire’s county and the city council.

Nottinghamshire Police are already looking into the case, having launched Operation Daybreak five years ago and Operation Xeres earlier this year, but there is yet to be a prosecution.

Many survivors have questioned the value of the operations, and feel the only way to ensure a fair hearing is to bring in outside bodies to look at the police and both councils.

Hundreds have broken their silence about the systematic sex abuse they suffered at the hands of care home workers stretching back to the 1960s, but remain sceptical about the what the outcome will eventually be, and whether the perpetrators will ever be brought to justice.

The Nottinghamshire Child Sex Abuse (CSA) action group, set up with the help of former Forest Town man and abuse survivor Mickey Summer, recently met with the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse -led by New Zealand’s Judge Lowell 
Goddard.

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

OCTOBER 6, 2015

A victim of abuse at the Salvation Army’s former Eden Park home in the Adelaide Hills will today provide documents to a royal commission showing the state of South Australia and its child protection agencies knew about what was happening, but did nothing.

The former Salvation Army- run children’s home — where state wards were beaten and raped — will be at the centre of four days of hearings from today when the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse sits in Adelaide for its 33rd case inquiry.

The commission will investigate how the Salvation Army ran Eden Park between 1940 and 1990, and how it responded to child sexual abuse allegations.

Graham Rundle, 63, who was at Eden Park from 1960-68 from the age of seven, told The Australian yesterday that he would give evidence about documents that proved how much the state and its agencies knew.

He said government representatives were sent to Eden Park following complaints, but children continued to be sent there for years.

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PENNSYLVANIA
ABC 27

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. (AP) — The attorney for a Roman Catholic priest wants a federal judge to grant a new trial on charges the cleric traveled to Honduras to molest poor street children during missionary trips.

The 70-year-old priest, the Rev. Joseph Maurizio was convicted of charges that he had sex with two of three alleged victims identified by federal prosecutors in Johnstown. The third boy recanted his claims that he was molested.

The priest’s attorney, Steven Passarello, says the boys’ testimony contradicted one another with regard to dates and the priest’s alleged behavior, and that prosecutors prejudiced the jury by noting the defense did not cross-examine the one alleged victim who changed his story.

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CHILE
Buenos Aires Herald

SANTIAGO — Hundreds of protesters opposing the controversial appointment of a Santiago bishop, accused of being involved in a cover-up of sexual abuse, protested yesterday outside St Matthew’s Cathedral in Osorno, a day after supportive comments by Pope Francis were aired on Chilean television.

A local television station on Friday aired a video in which Pope Francis defends the bishop of Osorno, Monsignor Juan Barros, whose opponents allege was involved in a cover-up pertaining to a notorious paedophile priest. In the video, shot in May and broadcast only this week by Chilean TV channel Mega, Francis attacks “leftists,” blaming them for a campaign against Barros’ appointment.

“Don’t let yourselves be led by the noses, by the leftists who have plotted this,” the pope says in the video, speaking to Chilean visitors at the Vatican.

“Osorno is suffering from stupidity, and for not opening its heart to what God says. And for letting itself get carried away by the garbage everybody says,” he added, according to one translation of the video.

The pontiff also noted that the allegations against Barros had been dismissed by a Chilean court. The video was reportedly filmed by an Argentine on an iPad, who remains unidentified thus far.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Information Service

Vatican City, 5 October 2015 (VIS) – The Holy Father has appointed:

– Archbishop Salvatore Ligorio of Matera-Irsina, Italy, as metropolitan archbishop of Potenza-Muro-Lucano-Marsico Nuovo (area 1,634, population 154,600, Catholics 152,600, priests 113, permanent deacons 23, religious 124), Italy. He succeeds Archbishop Agostino Superbo, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same archdiocese upon reaching the age limit was accepted by the Holy Father.

– Msgr. Andrea Migliavacca as bishop of San Miniato (area 691, population 176,794, Catholics 161,000, priests 79, permanent deacons 10, religious 122), Italy. The bishop-elect was born in Pavia, Italy in 1967 and was ordained a priest in 1992. He holds a degree in canon law from the Pontifical Gregorian University and has served in a number of pastoral and administrative roles in Pavia, including notary of the diocesan ecclesiastical tribunal, adjunct judicial vicar, head of youth pastoral, Catholic Action assistant for youth, parish administrator of the San Genesio ed Uniti. He is currently vice chancellor and judge of the Lombard Regional Ecclesiastical Tribunal, rector of the diocesan seminary and head of vocations, judicial vicar and canon of the Cathedral Chapter.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Information Service

Vatican City, 3 October 2015 (VIS) – The Director of the Holy See Press Office, Fr. Federico Lombardi, S.J., today made the following statement:

“With regard to the declarations and interview given by Msgr. Krzystof Charamsa it should be observed that, notwithstanding the respect due to the events and personal situations, and reflections on the issue, the decision to make such a pointed statement on the eve of the opening of the Synod appears very serious and irresponsible, since it aims to subject the Synod assembly to undue media pressure. Msgr. Charamsa will certainly be unable to continue to carry out his previous work in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and the Pontifical universities, while the other aspects of his situation shall remain the competence of his diocesan Ordinary”.

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UNITED STATES
Counter Punch

by BARBARA DORRIS

The head of the largest religion on earth understands the importance of first impressions. But you couldn’t tell that by his initial remarks the other day when he set foot in the US for the first time ever.

When elected pope, Francis made a spectacular first impression. He asked the crowd in St. Peter’s Square to bless him. (It’s usually the other way around.) The next day, he paid his own hotel bill and carried his own suitcase. And he continued in this humble, self-effacing way and so won the hearts of millions.

But last week, when he set foot in the US for the first time, his first impression was less successful.

Twice in two days, Pope Francis has made vague and brief references to the on-going abuse and cover up crisis, mentioning the pain of church staff but not the pain of abused children and betrayed parishioners. He refused to even call the scandal by its name.

In Washington DC, to bishops, the pontiff made virtually no mention of victims, offered no apology, praised US bishops being “courageous” and “generous” in the handling of the crisis.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis addressed the General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on Monday morning – the morning of their first full day of sessions. Below, please find Vatican Radio’s full English translation of the Holy Father’s remarks.

**********************************************
Dear Beatitudes, Eminences, Excellencies, brothers and sisters,

The Church today takes up once again the dialogue begun with the announcement of the extraordinary Synod on the family, and certainly even long before that, to evaluate and reflect on the text of the Working Document (Lt. Instrumentum laboris), elaborated on the basis of the [Extraordinary Assembly’s] final report (Relatio Synodi) and the responses of the Bishops’ Conferences and from the other organizations with the right to contribute.

The Synod, as we know, is a journey undertaken together in the spirit of collegiality and synodality, on which participants bravely adopt parrhesia, pastoral zeal and doctrinal wisdom, frankness, and always keep before our eyes the good of the Church, of families and the suprema lex, the Salus animarum.

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NEW YORK
New York Post

By Tom Wilson and Bruce Golding
October 5, 2015

Parishioners at a Manhattan church showed little support Sunday for their disgraced former pastor, who got the boot for knocking up his married mistress during an affair that included making kinky “cake crush” sex tapes.

The pews were emptier than usual Sunday at the St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church in Washington Heights, which was led by the Rev. George Passias before his downfall, which was revealed by The Post.

Modal Trigger“He used to be a good priest, he talked nice and everything. He got people into church,” said Nicholas Karaniaks, 68, who has been praying at St. Spyridon over the past 36 years. “Now it’s more empty, because the scandal scares people away.”

Passias, 67, was suspended by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America on Sept. 16 after the husband of his mistress, Ethel Bouzalas, 45, blew the whistle on their bizarre affair.

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NEW JERSEY
The Record

BY LINDA MOSS
STAFF WRITER | THE RECORD

LITTLE FERRY — Blasting law enforcement officials, an eyewitness Sunday disputed the Bergen County prosecutor’s allegation that a Catholic priest aimed an unloaded replica of a Civil War rifle at an 8-year-old boy last month. .

Richard Fritzky, an adjunct professor at Fairleigh Dickinson University, came to the defense of the Rev. Kevin Carter, 54, pastor of St. Margaret of Cortona Church in the borough.

“I neither saw Father Kevin raise the rifle nor threaten anyone,” said Fritzky, former president of the Meadowlands Regional Chamber of Commerce.

At Masses on Sunday, parishioners also voiced support for the priest and applauded when he began the services by reading a statement maintaining his innocence. Carter told his congregation that the charges reflect misinterpreted “jesting” between him — a fervent New York Giants fan — and the boy, who came to church wearing a Dallas Cowboys jersey. One churchgoer called the person who reported Carter to authorities a “Judas.”

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CALIFORNIA
Broadway World

CASA 0101 Theater will present a Panel Discussion on the subject of physical abuse following the 5:00 p.m. Matinee performance of the play DRUNK GIRL on Sunday, October 11, 2015 on the Main Stage of the CASA 0101 Theater, 2102 East First Street (at St. Louis Street), Boyle Heights, CA 90033. Discussion Panelists with include select members of the cast and production team of DRUNK GIRL, along with representatives from the Survivor’s Network of Those Abused by Priests, Alcoholics Anonymous and the East Los Angeles Women’s Center.

CASA 0101 Theater’s World Premiere production of DRUNK GIRL, part the theater’s 15th “Quinceañera” Anniversary Season, is currently receiving critical acclaim. LA Weekly wrote: “Involving 83 characters, nine actors and three directors, squeezed into a breathless 98 minutes…The tone of these pieces – defiant, resilient, refusing to speak in the hushed voices of victims – is admirable….” East Los Angeles College’s Campus News wrote: “The stories were told boldly and captivated the audience. The show opened with the wildly hilarious ‘Red Flag Game Show’ and closed on a musical note with ‘Yes, Let’s Have Sex.'” www.vivasalsera.com wrote: “The show is only an hour and a half long (no intermission) moving quickly from one scene to the next, bringing equally along moments of laughter, emotion, and thoughtfulness…I recommend that you check it out and bring your late teens and early 20-year-old sons and daughters with you.”

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NEW YORK
Pokrov

Author: Theodore Kalmoukos
Date Published: 10/03/2015
Publication: The National Herald

NEW YORK – Rev. George Passias, 68, presiding priest at St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church in the Upper Manhattan neighborhood of Washington Heights in New York City, is embroiled in a sex scandal with Ethel Bouzalas, to whom he has referred as his “spiritual daughter.” Rev. Passias has impregnated Bouzalas, 45, who has been his close associate for years. Both are married and with children.

Bouzalas’ name was first revealed publicly by the New York Post in a June 1, 2013 article.

TNH has obtained irrefutable evidence that Passias has carried on sexual relations with Bouzalas. Specifically, that they would often frequent the Courtesy Motel in Fort Lee, NJ – as “husband and wife.” Other evidence, including photographs and video footage, shows the couple going to the Countryside Hotel in Cold Spring, NY, and dining at Cliff’s Steak House in Englewood Cliffs, NJ.

The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America has suspended Passias from every liturgical, pastoral, and administrative ministry.

Archbishop Demetrios of America, expressed to TNH his “deep sorrow for this grievous event” and added that “the Church will take all the necessary measures for this case, according to the law of God.”

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UNITED KINGDOM
Daily Mail

By ARTHUR MARTIN FOR THE DAILY MAIL

A leading child abuse campaigner has suggested that the memories of some witnesses in the VIP paedophile inquiry may have become distorted over time.

Peter Saunders, founder of the National Association for People Abused in Childhood, said it was important not to ‘make something huge’ out of the fact that one or two accounts were misleading.
Such a move would be detrimental to child protection and to the current inquiry into abuse, he said.

Mr Saunders voiced his concern ahead of a BBC documentary that calls into question Scotland Yard’s investigation into claims of a historical paedophile ring at the heart of the Establishment.

Panorama – the Corporation’s flagship investigative programme – will scrutinise the lurid claims of ‘Nick’, the anonymous witness at the heart of Operation Midland. The programme, to be shown tomorrow night, will examine the validity of Nick’s claims that senior Establishment figures were responsible for murdering three boys in the 1970s and 1980s.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Christian Today

Ruth Gledhill CHRISTIAN TODAY CONTRIBUTING EDITOR 05 October 2015

The Archbishop of Canterbury has commissioned an independent review into how the Church of England responded to abuse allegations against the disgraced former Bishop of Gloucester Peter Ball.

Bishop Ball, a former Anglican monk who set up his own religious order, pleaded guilty last month to two charges of indecent assault against young men and one charge of misconduct in public office by sexually exploiting 18 men who sought religious guidance from him. Two indecent assault charges against boys aged under 16 were left on file. He is due to be sentenced at the Central Criminal Court in London this week.

The Times reports today that the role of former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey of Clifton is to be examined in the affair, in particular regarding what he knew about secret talks in 1992-93 between the Church of England, police and the Crown Prosecution Service concerning Bishop Ball.

In 1993 Bishop Ball was issued with a caution for one act of gross indecency rather than put on trial.

Operation Dunhill, which finally brought the Bishop to book and led to his arrest in 2011, began after the safeguarding officer at Lambeth Palace, a retired police officer, raised concerns. This followed a review of files initiated by the Church, which worked closely with Sussex Police.

“The independent review will examine the Church of England’s cooperation with the police and other statutory agencies and the extent to which it shared information in a timely manner, identifying both good practice and shortcomings alike. It will also assess the extent to which the Church both properly assessed the possible risk that Bishop Ball might pose to others and responded adequately to concerns and representations submitted by survivors,” the Church said in a statement.

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VATICAN CITY
National Catholic Reporter

Joshua J. McElwee | Oct. 5, 2015

VATICAN CITY
Pope Francis has called on the hundreds of prelates gathered for his second worldwide meeting of Catholic bishops on family issues to remain open in their deliberations to the call of the Holy Spirit, repeating his frequent assertion that God is a God of surprises.

Yet, within minutes of the pope’s call, one of the cardinals leading the meeting seemed to say there could be no surprise in one of its most anticipated discussions — indicating no foreseeable movement on the church’s stance towards couples who are civilly divorced and remarried.

The back-and-forth took place at the first open session of the Synod of Bishops, a highly anticipated meeting that has brought some 318 people to Rome — mainly male prelates — for discussions Oct. 4-25.

Francis opened the event Monday at one of the three-week gathering’s only public sessions by calling on the gathered prelates to work in their deliberations with “apostolic courage, evangelical humility, and trust-filled prayer.”

The Synod, the pope said, is not a parliament or a senate, but an “ecclesial expression” of a church “that walks together to read reality with eyes of faith and the heart of God.”

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UNITED KINGDOM
ITV

The Church of England has launched a review into how it handled complaints of sexual abuse against a former Bishop of Gloucester.

83-year-old Peter Ball, who lives in Somerset and was also once a Bishop of Lewes, has admitted abusing 18 young men from the 1970s to 1990s.

The Archbishop of Canterbury has commissioned an independent report into how the Church dealt with the allegations, which emerged 22 years ago. This will include how it co-operated with the police, and whether the concerns of survivors were responded to.

Ball accepted a caution for one act of gross indecency and resigned his post in 1993 – but was allowed to keep working for the church until 2010 despite several complaints against him.

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UNITED KINGDOM
The Guardian

Harriet Sherwood
@harrietsherwood
Monday 5 October 2015

The archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has ordered an independent review of the Church of England’s handling of the case of Peter Ball, the former bishop of Lewes and Gloucester, amid allegations of a cover-up of sexual abuse.

Ball, 83, admitted last month to indecently assaulting two people between 1980 and 1983 and between 1990 and 1991, and will be sentenced on Wednesday. He also admitted misconduct in public office by “misusing his position in authority to manipulate and prevail upon others for his own sexual gratification” in relation to 16 men between 1977 and 1992.

Claims of Ball’s offences surfaced in 1993, when he was cautioned by police, but he was not brought to trial. He resigned from his position, but continued to officiate in churches until 2010.

The Church of England announced on Monday that Welby had commissioned an independent review to examine whether the church “properly assessed the possible risk that Bishop Ball might pose to others and responded adequately to concerns and representations submitted by survivors”.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Express & Star

Former Bishop of Gloucester and Bishop of Lewes Peter Ball, 83, will be sentenced at the Old Bailey this week after admitting a string of offences against young men from the 1970s to 1990s.

Troubling questions have emerged over the Church’s handling of the case, prompting the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, to commission an independent report.

Claims against Ball surfaced in 1993 when he accepted a caution for one act of gross indecency, and he resigned from his post.

However, he was allowed to continue working for the church until 2010, despite several complaints being made against him.

It emerged in court that Ball and former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey had been assured in 1993 that there would be no further action against Ball.

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IRELAND
Irish Examiner

Monday, October 05, 2015

The image of Pope Francis as a great reformer doesn’t yet hold true, writes TP O’Mahony

IS A section of the media in danger of creating a ‘fantasy’ Francis — a Pope whose perceived liberalism is not really rooted in reality?

As the Synod of the Family opens in Rome and speculation begins about a possible papal visit to Ireland in 2018, we are left to ponder the enigma that is Jorge Mario Bergoglio.

Hailed in the current edition of Vanity Fair as “the people’s pontiff”, there is no denying the popularity of Francis. The huge crowds that turned out to greet him during his recent visit to Cuba and the US were further testimony to this. It was at the end of this visit, at the closing mass in Philadelphia, that he announced that the next World Meeting of Families will be held in Dublin in 2018. Whether the pope himself will travel to Ireland for this event — held every three years — remains a matter of speculation. …

As archbishop of Buenos Aires, Jorge Mario Bergoglio opposed plans by the government in Argentina to introduce family planning programmes involving the use of contraceptives. This continues to be Vatican policy globally, a policy whose effects on families in some of the poorest and more deprived regions of the world may be very harsh indeed.

Francis has declared it part of his mission to restore credibility and authenticity to a Church deeply scarred and bedevilled by clerical sex abuse and cover-ups. Some of the worst examples of the latter have occurred in the US, where if justice was properly done, several American bishops would now be behind bars for their complicity and criminal negligence.
Yet, during his recent visit, Francis praised US bishops for their “courage” in handling sex abuse cases — a decision described by one of the pope’s biographers, Paul Vallely, as “a bizarre response”.

Little wonder that there was an angry reaction from abuse victims who said the Church has not done enough. David Clohessy, head of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, who himself was abused by a priest, said he unimpressed by Francis’s words.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Reading Eagle

When he was in Philadelphia, Pope Francis said “God weeps” for those who were sexually abused by priests.

“I pledge to you that we will follow the path of truth wherever it may lead,” the pope said. “Clergy and bishops will be held accountable when they abuse or fail to protect children.”

State Rep. Mark Rozzi bristles at those words.

Rozzi, a Muhlenberg Township Democrat, has sponsored legislation that would extend the statute of limitations for sex abuse victims to file claims in court. The Pennsylvania Catholic Conference continues to fight bills to extend the statute of limitations.

“While the pope was in the U.S., the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference was in Harrisburg lobbying against victims of sexual abuse,” Rozzi said.

The issue couldn’t be more personal to Rozzi. A priest sexually abused Rozzi when he was 13 years old. Rozzi has said three of his friends who were abused by priests later committed suicide.

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NEW YORK
Gothamist

BY BEN YAKAS

A staunchly conservative high-ranking Greek Orthodox priest at a Manhattan church has been suspended and forced to resign after evidence of a longtime affair with a practitioner he once called his “goddaughter” came out.

The Post has the exposé on Father George Passias, the married 67-year-old former pastor of St. Spyridon Church in Washington Heights, who they say has impregnated his longtime lover and parish-school principal Ethel Bouzalas. In addition, Passias has been accused of misusing church funds, as documented both by the Post and NY Magazine.

The Post levied these accusations at Passias in 2013—he denied everything at the time, telling them, “They have been saying I’m having a private affair with her. She is a goddaughter to me. That’s it.” Steve Papadatos, the Parish Council president, told The National Herald at the time that the allegations against Passias were “lies,” blasting the tabloid for publishing a story “replete with slander.”

But it seems a series of “shocking” sex tapes leaked to church officials have ended Passias’ career. The Post reviewed the tapes, which apparently involved “cake porn.”

In one scene, the bearded cleric, wearing only a white T-shirt, watches his long-haired brunette lover plant her thong-clad bottom on a piece of banana bread wrapped in cellophane.

Bouzalas, wearing stiletto heels, oddly wiggles on the loaf until it is flattened — apparently a fetish known as “cake crush” or “cake sitting.”

In another video clip, the pretty Peruvian rubs her feet on the priest’s face as they lie under a mirrored ceiling and she records his ecstasy at the encounter. In another tape, the priest performs oral sex on his lover while she is still clad in sheer pantyhose.

The videos, along with an email from Bouzalas’ husband to Bishop Andonios Paropoulos (the chancellor of the Greek Orthodox church in the United States), was enough for the church to suspend him. Passias officially gave his goodbye to his St. Spyridon parish in an email last week, saying he was leaving for “personal and health reasons,” and confessing to “multitudinous sins and shortcomings.”

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NEW YORK
Daily Mail (UK)

By ALEXANDRA KLAUSNER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
4 October 2015

A high ranking Greek Orthodox priest was forced to resign last week after kinky sex tapes of his much younger parish school principal sitting on cakes in a thong and rubbing her feet in his face surfaced.

Father George Passias, 67, a married pastor at St. Spyridon in New York City at St. Spyridion church in Washington Heights is said to have impregnated Ethel Bouzalas, 45, with whom he had an alleged affair.

The New York Post reports that Passias was once the chancellor of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America and was in charge of all Greek Orthodox priests in the US.

The scandal came to light in September after Bouzalas’ husband emailed the current chancellor of the Greek Orthodox Church in the United States, Bishop Andonios Paropoulos.

Bishop Paropoulos told The New York Post that Passias and Bouzalas came to meet with him and that Passias was suspended on September 16.

Bishop Andonios said he had not seen the sex tapes which were sent anonymously to the New York Post but that he ‘learned of their existence during our meetings with both parties.’

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ILLINOIS
Daily Herald

Steve Zalusky

Shock, sadness and surprise were expressed by worshippers the day after a prominent priest was removed as rector of a Des Plaines shrine.

Rev. Marco A. Mercado was relieved of his duties Saturday at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe because of his “inappropriate relationship with an adult man,” according to a statement from the Archdiocese of Chicago.

The shrine draws more than 100,000 people for its annual observance of Our Lady of Guadalupe, a 36-hour event on the Maryville campus at Central and River roads.

“I feel surprised, because, for me, he was a very good person and he helped out a lot here,” said Georgina Rodriguez of Chicago.

“I heard he was a good guy,” said Dexter Jasso, of Evanston, whose father attends the church. “He was a director. He was pretty much raising money for the church, and he had plans for making it bigger, growing it,”

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CANADA
The Telegram

Louis Power
Published on October 04, 2015

A letter written by Raymond Lahey, a Canadian bishop who served time in 2011-12 for importing child pornography, remains in the pews of Catholic churches across the country.

Now — 3 1/2 years after Lahey was defrocked by the Catholic Church — a survivor of clergy sexual abuse is asking for it to be removed.

It’s a letter of introduction in the “Catholic Book of Worship III,” a widely distributed hymn book published in 1994 by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops. Lahey was the Bishop of St. George’s at the time of publication; he went on to become the Bishop of Antigonish in 2003.

Gemma Hickey, founder of The Pathways Foundation, said she first learned of the letter six months ago when a woman told her she saw it at St. Paul’s church in St. John’s. The woman approached her about the letter after she contacted Archbishop Martin Currie of the St. John’s archdiocese, but didn’t get the results she was looking for.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
Belfast Telegraph

Victims of child abuse within the Jehovah’s Witnesses may never see the perpetrators brought to justice unless the Government closes a loophole allowing criminals to evade justice, campaigners have warned.

The Government has been asked to introduce mandatory reporting to police whenever an allegation of child sex abuse is made within the faith group.

Currently, the so-called “two-witness rule” means Jehovah’s Witnesses deal with allegations of “sins” internally and only investigate themselves if the claim is corroborated by a second testimony – something lawyers say is unlikely given that many victims are abused on their own, in private.

Concern over the number of “hidden” victims has prompted campaigners to hand a letter to Downing Street calling on the government to take action.

Victim Nick French, 43, who was abused by his stepfather Gary Moscrop from the ages of seven to 13, said introducing mandatory reporting would reduce the risk of paedophiles offending.

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UNITED STATES
The Legal Examiner

Posted by Joseph H. Saunders
October 4, 2015

This book is subtitled: A Parent’s Guide to Preventing Sexual Abuse. Here, Ms. Casteix provides the reader with compelling and concise information about the dynamics of child sexual abuse. She lists and dispels a number of myths that have served to mislead parents and children for decades.

For example, she addresses the myth that “stranger danger” is the greatest risk. In fact, the closest and most trusted individuals with authority over children have been proven to be the greatest risk. These individuals could include priests, ministers, coaches, scouting leaders, or family friends or relatives.

The book contains chapters about communication between parents and children and discusses red flags in relationships between children and other adults that might not be apparent to a parent.

Joelle Casteix speaks from decades of experience helping survivors of childhood sexual abuse many of whom were unable to come forward for years or decades after their abuse. She also is a survivor of childhood sexual abuse herself. She has worked closely with law enforcement, the National Crime Victim Bar Association, and SNAP, The Survivor’s Network of Those Abused by Priests as well as many other organizations.

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UNITED KINGDOM
BBC News

The Archbishop of Canterbury has commissioned an independent review into the way the Church of England responded to sex offence allegations made against a former bishop 22 years ago.

Peter Ball, 83, formerly Bishop of Gloucester and Bishop of Lewes, pleaded guilty last month to charges of sex abuse involving men from the 1970s-90s.

The claims emerged in 1993 but he was allowed to work in churches until 2010.

Ball will be sentenced at the Old Bailey on Wednesday.

Survivors of sexual abuse have been highly critical of the Church’s handling of the case even before Ball pleaded guilty last month.

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ESPANA
El Mundo

El padre del menor que denunció abusos en el colegio Gaztelueta de Vizcaya ha afirmado que la carta del Papa Francisco “ha sido un rayo de luz en la oscuridad” y cree que su actuación demuestra que considera que “hay pruebas suficientes” para darles la razón “de lejos”.

Además, ha afirmado que el profesor, presunto culpable, está imputado, y el caso está en el proceso de toma de declaración y realización de pruebas.

El joven denunciante, que ahora tiene 19 años y habría sufrido los presuntos abusos en el curso 2008-2009, tal y como publicó EL MUNDO, envió una carta al Papa Francisco contándole lo sucedido y el Pontífice le respondió a finales de 2014 mostrando su cercanía y asegurando que entregaría la documentación a la Congregación para la Doctrina de la Fe para dar comienzo a un juicio canónico al educador y al colegio, “pero sin molestar al chico”.

En una entrevista concedida a Radio Euskadi, el padre del chico ha afirmado que la misiva del Papa “fue realmente un rayo de luz dentro de la oscuridad”. “Cuando recogí la carta personalmente, se me saltaron las lágrimas de la emoción que me produjo”, ha indicado.

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VATICAN CITY
Crux

By Inés San Martín
Vatican correspondent October 3, 2015

ROME — In a handwritten letter by Pope Francis to a survivor of sexual abuse in a Catholic school in Spain that surfaced on Friday, the pontiff said he requested a Church trial against the teacher who allegedly committed the abuse eight years ago.

News of the letter will likely be seen as a sign of the pontiff’s personal involvement in the abuse issue, coming on the heels of a private meeting with five abuse survivors in Philadelphia during his visit to the United States.

The letter is dated Dec. 29, 2014, and is addressed to the father of a 20-year-old who claimed to have been abused between 2008 and 2010 by an official of his school, called Gaztelueta, which is located in Bilbao, Spain.

The institution is run by the Catholic group Opus Dei, typically seen as fairly conservative, and the alleged abuser is an Opus Dei member, technically known as a numerary.

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UNITED STATES
CommonDreams

by Andrea Germanos, staff writer

Somalia on Thursday completed its ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child—becoming the 196th nation to do so and making the United States the only United Nations state outside of the treaty.

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child explains that the Convention, adopted in 1989, “is the most widely ratified international human rights treaty, sets out a number of children’s rights including the right to life, to health, to education and to play, as well as the right to family life, to be protected from violence, to not be discriminated, and to have their views heard.”

As for why the U.S. would not ratify this convention that it helped draft and has already signed, Amnesty International has explained that conservative organizations like the Christian Coalition, Family Research Council, and Focus on the Family, “have made a significant effort to portray the Convention as a threat. The majority of the oppositions claims stem from unfounded concerns related to national sovereignty, states’ rights, and the parent-child relationship.”

The convention needs the approval of two-thirds of the U.S. Senate, where, Amnesty continues, it “has encountered a notable level of opposition” as a result of these misconceptions.

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VATICAN CITY
Crux

By Inés San Martín
Vatican correspondent October 4, 2015

ROME — Pope Francis opened this year’s Synod of Bishops on the family Sunday with a stirring defense of traditional marriage coupled with an insistence that the Church must, at the same time, be merciful and compassionate to those who struggle.

During a solemn Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, concelebrated by the more than 270 bishops from around the world gathered in Rome for the meeting, the pope tackled one of the thorniest issues the prelates will discuss and debate during the next three weeks: How the Church should approach pastoral care for divorced and separated Catholics.

“The man who falls or who errs must be understood and loved,” Francis said in his homily, quoting Pope St. John Paul II. A Church with closed doors “betrays herself and her mission, and, instead of being a bridge, becomes a roadblock.”

The synod, which lasts until Oct. 25, is the second half of a process started last year to examine issues related to the family. A 39-question survey sent to parishes and filled out by clergy and ordinary Catholics showed a significant gap on many issues, such as birth control, between what the Church teaches and what Catholics practice or believe.

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UNITED STATES
PopeCrimes& Vatican Evils.

Paris Arrow

David Pierre of TheMediaReport is the doppelganger of Goliath-bully Bill Donohue of Catholic League

David Pierre is the twin of Goliath-bully Bill Donohue and their main job is to be the henchmen of the Opus Dei Beast PR Deceits Team and Pope Francis. In the Medieval Ages, kings had foot soldiers and spies who went furtively among the people – to scout and catch critics whom they’d turn-in and were either jailed or hanged if they refused to recant their criticism against the monarch. In the (VA) Vatican Autocracy of the 21st century, David Pierre and Bill Donohue are the foot soldiers and spies for the Opus Dei Beast PR Deceits Team. But when they catch critics – instead of turning them in, they personally and – immediately – deliver the brutal blows of insults and whatever it takes to stop and shut-up those critics. Pierre and Donohue are the verbal terrorists of the Vatican. They have a mandate of verbal “shoot-to-kill” – meaning thrash and bash the opponents and critics – especially SNAP – and wipe them out from the face of the earth ASAP – literally.

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NEW YORK
Adelaide Now (Australia)

A HIGH-RANKING Greek Orthodox priest starred in kinky sex tapes with his much-younger parish-school principal and was forced to resign after the affair — which he’d denied for years — was confirmed by church elders.

Father George Passias, the married 67-year-old pastor of St. Spyridon Church in Manhattan, even impregnated his married lover, 45-year-old Ethel Bouzalas, according to sources.

Passias was once the chancellor of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, in charge of all of the religion’s US priests, reports the New York Post.

An adherent to a fundamentalist faction of Greek Orthodoxy led by a controversial cleric in Arizona, he took the helm of St. Spyridon nine years ago — and immediately ordered female worshippers to cover their heads during confession.

But there was no such nod to modesty in their shocking sex videos. In one scene, the bearded cleric, wearing only a white T-shirt, watches his long-haired brunette lover plant her G-string clad bottom on a piece of banana bread wrapped in cling wrap.

Mrs Bouzalas, wearing stiletto heels, oddly wiggles on the loaf until it is flattened — a fetish known as “cake crush” or “cake sitting”.

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ILLINOIS
Chicago Tribune

Manya Brachear Pashman
Chicago Tribune

A popular Roman Catholic priest who attended the pope’s address to Congress last month has been removed from ministry because of an “inappropriate relationship with an adult man,” the Chicago Archdiocese announced Sunday.

Chicago Archbishop Blase Cupich removed the Rev. Marco Mercado, rector of the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Des Plaines, withdrawing his authority to minister. The Rev. Adan Sandoval Duron, head of the archdiocese’s new Hispanic Council, has been appointed interim administrator, and Mercado will live away from the shrine.

“As a human being I am not perfect, but as a priest my priority has always been the work of the Gospel and the struggle for immigrants and the most vulnerable,” Mercado said in a statement. “I pray that this issue is resolved soon, and I ask for your prayers, at the same time that I apologize if this scandal has caused any hardship to the faithful.”

Ordained in 1998, Mercado grew up in Morelia, Mexico, and attended seminary in that country before coming to Casa Jesus, a renowned archdiocese training program for Latin American men who aspire to become priests. He graduated from the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary and became associate pastor of St. Anthony of Padua church in west suburban Cicero.

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VATICAN CITY
Crux

By Inés San Martín
Vatican correspondent October 4, 2015

ROME — A five-month-old video released Friday shows Pope Francis accusing critics in Chile of “foolishness” for protesting his appointment of a bishop accused of covering up for the country’s most notorious abuser priest.

In January, Francis tapped Juan de la Cruz Barros Madrid as bishop of the small Osorno diocese, a move that sparked nationwide protest because Barros was accused of concealing sexual abuse allegations against the Rev. Fernando Karadima, a well-known local priest.

The video shows Jaime Coiro, a former spokesman for the Chilean Bishops Conference and its current assistant secretary, in St. Peter’s Square, where he greets Francis personally and tells him that the Chilean church is “praying and suffering for you.”

With no prompting, Francis tells Coiro that the local Church in Chile has “lost its head,” allowing a group of politicians to judge a bishop “with no proof whatsoever.”

“Think with the head, don’t be led around by the nose by these leftists who are the ones who put this [opposition] together,” the pope is heard saying.

The “leftists” to whom Francis referred are presumably 51 members of Chile’s Congress, most from the Socialist government of President Michelle Bachelet, who signed a petition opposing Barro’s nomination.

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CHILE
Diario Registrado

[Video: Pope calls critics of Chilean bishop “lefties.”]

Francisco respaldó Monseñor Juan Barros, a quien designó como Obispo de Osorno, en el sur de Chile. El religioso fue señalado por las víctimas del sacerdote Fernando Karadima como supuesto encubridor de abusos. La acusación siempre fue negada por el Prelado, y hasta fue desacreditada por las autoridades competentes.

El Papa Francisco realizó una férrea defensa al obispo de Osorno, Juan Barros, en un vídeo publicado en la red social YouTube.

El Pontífice señala que las acusaciones que lo vinculan al caso Karadima fueron hechas “por políticos sin ninguna prueba”.

Juan Barros asumió en marzo como obispo de Osorno y en ese momento fue duramente cuestionado por su cercanía con el sacerdote Fernando Karadima, acusado de abusos sexuales.

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CHILE
Star Tribune

Associated Press OCTOBER 4, 2015

SANTIAGO, Chile — A Chilean television station has aired a video that shows Pope Francis defending a Santiago bishop whose opponents allege has covered up sexual abuse by a notorious pedophile priest.

In the video, shot in May and broadcast on Friday by Chilean TV channel Mega, Francis blames “leftists” for a campaign against the bishop of Osorno, Monsignor Juan Barros.

“Don’t let yourselves be led by the noses, by the leftists who have plotted this,” the pope says in the video, speaking to Chilean visitors at the Vatican. He noted that the allegations against Barros had been dismissed by a Chilean court.

Jaime Coiro, a deacon and former spokesman for the church in Chile, said on his Twitter account that he was there when the video was made and that Francis was speaking to him. He said the comments were recorded on an iPad by an Argentine standing nearby.

A spokeswoman for Mega told The Associated Press that it obtained the video from a confidential source on Friday.

The office of the Vatican’s spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Sunday. But Francis’ comments were in line with his past support of Barros.

In late March, the Vatican released a statement defending Barros, saying the Congregation for Bishops examined his candidacy for bishop “and did not find objective reasons to preclude the appointment.”

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ILLINOIS
NBC Chicago

Father Marco Mercado recently traveled to Washington, D.C., as Congressman Luis Gutierrez’s guest for Pope Francis’ speech to Congress

Archbishop Blase Cupich has removed a popular suburban priest from the ministry after the Archdiocese discovered the priest had an “inappropriate relationship” with an adult man.

The Archdiocese removed Father Marco Mercado, who was the rector of the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Des Plaines, on Thursday. The Rev. Adan Sandoval Duron was appointed as the interim administrator.

“On October 1, 2015, Archbishop Blase J. Cupich removed Rev. Marco A. Mercado, Rector of the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Des Plaines from ministry because of Fr. Mercado’s inappropriate relationship with an adult man,” a statement from the Archdiocese reads. “Archbishop Cupich has withdrawn Fr. Mercado’s faculties, his authority to minister … Fr. Mercado will reside away from the Shrine, effective immediately.

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MASSACHUSETTS
O’Donnell Funeral Home

BOSTON- Reverend Edward M. Keohan 83, of Boston, died Saturday, Sept 12th, 2015 at Marian Manor in Boston following a brief illness.

Born in Weymouth, he was the son of the late Edward M. and Josephine (Andrew) Keohan. He was raised and educated in Weymouth and was a graduate of Weymouth High School. He continued his education at Boston College graduating in 1954. He then entered St. John Seminary and was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Boston in 1959.

Father’s first assignment was as associate pastor at St. John Church in Haverhill (1959-1961), he then traveled to Peru and served as a member of the Society of St. James the Apostle (1961-1966). Upon his returned he was assigned as associate pastor of St. Charles in Woburn (1966-1972), St. Rose in Chelsea (1972-1984). He was then made Chaplain of Salem Hospital Complex (1984-1987). His longest tenure would come as Administrator of St. Mary’s Italian Church in Salem where he served from 1987 until 2003. He was then Administrator of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Revere (2003-2005). He became senior priest in residence at the Immaculate Conception Church in Salem. He was again called to serve as temporary Administrator of St. Margaret’s Church in Beverly Farms in 2009. He spent many years serving the catholic community of the North Shore and more recently resided at Regina Cleri and Marion Manor.

Reverend Keohan served where he was called to the best of his abilities through many transitions in his parishes while never losing his faith and the faith of his parishioners was always at the forefront. He was an ardent supporter of Boston College and the Boston College Eagles Football team and would often go to games. He was an animal lover who enjoyed walking the Salem Common.

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CHILE
El Mostrador

[About 100 people protested again this Sunday at the San Mateo de Osorno Cathedral while Bishop Juan Barros officiated at mass. Demonsrations against Barros have been recorded since his arrival in the region because he has been accused of covering up sexual abuse by former pastor of El Bosque, Fernando Karadima. However, this new protest is part of the controversy behind the defense made by Pope Francis of Barros. The pope said the bishop was being accused without evidence and he said parishioners were being swayed by “lefties.”]

Unas 100 personas protestaron nuevamente este domingo frente a la Catedral San Mateo de Osorno, mientras el obispo Juan Barros oficiaba la misa del adulto mayor.

Las manifestaciones contra Barros se han registrado desde su llegada a la región, debido a que ha sido acusado de encubrir los abusos sexuales del ex párroco de El Bosque, Fernando Karadima.

Sin embargo, esta nueva protesta se enmarca dentro de la polémica surgida tras la defensa que hizo el Papa Francisco a Barros, afirmando que el obispo estaba siendo juzgado sin ninguna prueba y pidiendo a los feligreses pensar con la cabeza y no dejarse llevar por “los zurdos que son los armaron la cosa”.

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CHILE
Publimetro

[Osorno: Protests against Bishop Barros revitalized after Pope’s words.]

Luego que el Papa Francisco respaldara a Juan Barros, las manifestaciones en contra del representante de la Iglesia en el sur volvió a reunir a fieles que piden su renuncia

Las manifestaciones en Osorno para destituir al obispo de la ciudad, Juan Barros, no han desaparecido desde que se anunció que él ocuparía el cargo, sin embargo habían quedado sin tanta exposición mediática luego que pasaran los días. Sin embargo, tras las palabras de respaldo del Papa al representante de la Iglesia en el sur, las protestas se robustecieron.

De esta manera, un grupo de personas contrarias a la figura de Juan Barros se instaló afuera de la parroquia del centro de la ciudad -ubicada frente a la Plaza de Armas- y con globos negros y carteles piden la destitución del obispo.

El principal grupo que respalda estas manifestaciones es la Organización de Laicos y Laicas de Osorno. Ellos piden que Juan Barros renuncie pues lo acusan de encubrir a Fernando Karadima cuando estaba siendo investigado por su presunta participación en ataques sexuales a tres miembros de la iglesia de El Bosque.

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ILLINOIS
Chicago Sun-Times

WRITTEN BY JORDAN OWEN POSTED: 10/04/2015

A priest has been removed from a northwest suburban church because of his “inappropriate relationship with an adult man.”

Archbishop Blase J. Cupich removed the Rev. Marco A. Mercado from the Shrine of our Lady of Guadalupe in Des Plaines Thursday because of Mercado’s inappropriate relationship with an adult man, according to a statement from the Archdiocese of Chicago.

The Rev. Adan Sandoval Duron has been appointed interim administrator, and Mercado will move out of the shrine, according to the statement.

“The archdiocese is committed to ensuring those serving our parishioners are fit for ministry,” according to the archdiocese’s statement.

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ROME
Crux

By John L. Allen Jr.
Associate editor October 3, 2015

ROME – In the wake of bitter controversy surrounding a private meeting with Kentucky clerk Kim Davis during his trip to the United States last week, Pope Francis has a chance beginning Sunday to get back “on message” with the opening of a Synod of Bishops on the family in Rome.

The Oct. 4-25 summit of prelates from around the world is a critically important moment for the pontiff, one he’s been building toward for more than a year. If past is prologue, however, he may face a stiff challenge in steering it toward his desired outcome.

On Friday, the Vatican issued a brief statement on the encounter with Davis, saying it was not intended to endorse her position “in all its particular and complex aspects.”

Whatever one makes of how the meeting happened, or what it ultimately says about Francis’ views – and theories on both matters abound – the big picture remains intact and works to validate a fairly firm conclusion about this pope.

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ILLINOIS
WGN

OCTOBER 4, 2015, BY ADRIENNE BALOW

DES PLAINES, Ill. – A high profile priest in the Chicago Archdiocese has been removed from ministry for what’s being described as an “inappropriate relationship” with an adult man.

Archbishop Blase Cupich announced Father Marco Mercado would no longer serve as rector of the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Des Plaines.

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VATICAN CITY
Yahoo! News

By Jean-Louis De La Vaissiere

Vatican City (AFP) – Pope Francis on Sunday defended marriage and heterosexual couples as he opened a synod on the family overshadowed by a challenge to Vatican orthodoxy by a gay priest.

During a mass to mark the three-week meeting of Roman Catholic bishops, the pope delivered a homily on “solitude, love between man and woman, and the family”.

He referred to Genesis, the first book of the Bible, as a bedrock for understanding human relationships.

“This is God’s dream for his beloved creation: to see it fulfilled in the loving union between a man and a woman, rejoicing in their shared journey, fruitful in their mutual gift of self,” he said.

“God,” the pope said, “joins the hearts of two people who love one another… (and) joins them together in unity and indissolubility.”

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UNITED STATES
Daily Kos

Betty Clermont

The Vatican embassy is operated by the most experienced and oldest continuous foreign affairs department in the world. So, no, no one “duped” or “trapped” any official into having Pope Francis meet with Kim Davis, especially when the pope specifically stated after their meeting that “conscientious objection” by “government employees” is a “human right.”

Today, the pope opened a synod for bishops: ““This is God’s dream for his beloved creation: to see it fulfilled in the loving union between a man and a woman.”

The pope has consistently, since his time as cardinal primate of Argentina, shared Davis’ opposition to same-sex marriage. He has referred to such a union as “the work of the devil,” an “anthropological regression,” and “disfiguring God’s plan for creation.” He has called the movement in many countries to accept same-sex marriage as “ideological colonization that we have to be careful about that is trying to destroy the family.”

In his speech to the UN, Pope Francis “reminded the UN of their duty to recognize ethical limits, … ‘for carrying out an ideological colonization by the imposition of anomalous models and lifestyles which are alien to people’s identity and, in the end, irresponsible.’”

“Taken together with his unscheduled stop to see the Little Sisters of the Poor the Davis encounter means Francis has expressed personal support to leading symbols of the two most contentious fronts in America’s religious freedom debates – the contraception mandates imposed by the Obama administration, and conscientious objection on gay marriage.” …

The only “reform” Jorge Mario Bergoglio has brought to the Vatican curia was creating a Secretariat of the Economy under Australian Cardinal George Pell, friend of Rupert Murdoch, and a Secretariat for Communications – which shows where his priorities lie. (The Vatican Bank was forced to begin adopting standardized financial reporting and tightening up its loopholes for money laundering in 2010 or risk being excluded from international financial markets.)

The Secretariat for Communications should be proud of what was accomplished. After the pope had twice sympathized with his US bishops about how much they had suffered from the sex abuse scandal and praised their “courage,” a meeting with five victims abused by clergy or teachers or family members was arranged for the pope’s last day in this country so that that would be the final headline as he boarded the plane for his return to Rome.

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MINNESOTA
Canonical Consultation

10/03/2015

Jennifer Haselberger

In 2013 or 2014, the Communications Office of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis instituted the practice of sending clergy and other ‘stakeholders’ weekly emails listing media coverage about the Archdiocese and specifically about the local abuse crisis. The intent was to keep clergy informed of the coverage so that they were not blindsided by parishioners or members of the media. Now, it would appear that the weekly emails have become more self-serving, as the example below indicates.

In the interests of ‘transparency’, let me mention three things that ought to have appeared in this week’s mentions, but did not.

1). The Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis appeared in bankruptcy court again this past week, and requested, but did not receive, permission for additional expenditures. The story was covered by MPR, which reported that bankruptcy costs have now exceeded $3.6 million.

2). The week prior, the Archdiocese, represented by Joe Dixon, appeared in Ramsey County Court in response to the criminal charges and civil petition filed by the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office. This was not covered by the media, in part because it was widely believed that the next court date was scheduled for the end of October.

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ILLINOIS
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago

October 3, 2015

On October 1, 2015, Archbishop Blase J. Cupich removed Rev. Marco A. Mercado, Rector of the Shrine of our Lady of Guadalupe in Des Plaines from ministry because of Fr. Mercado’s inappropriate relationship with an adult man. Archbishop Cupich has withdrawn Fr. Mercado’s faculties, his authority to minister. Rev. Adan Sandoval Duron has been appointed Interim Administrator and Fr. Mercado will reside away from the Shrine, effective immediately.

The Archdiocese is committed to ensuring those serving our parishioners are fit for ministry. Archbishop Cupich knows this news will be difficult to hear and he offers his assurance of prayers and solidarity with the community at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe. We will provide updates on the situation as they become available.

Declaración sobre el Padre Marco A. Mercado
3 de octubre de 2015

El 1o de octubre de 2015, el Arzobispo Blase J. Cupich retiró del ministerio al Padre Marco A. Mercado, Rector del Santuario de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe en Des Plaines, debido a una conducta inapropiada que el Padre Mercado sostuvo con una persona mayor de edad. El Arzobispo Cupich ha retirado al Padre Mercado sus facultades, su autoridad para ministrar. El Padre Adán Sandoval Duron ha sido nombrado administrador interino y el Padre Mercado residirá lejos del Santuario, de manera inmediata.

La Arquidiócesis tiene el firme compromiso de asegurarse que aquellos que sirven a nuestros feligreses son aptos para el ministerio. El Arzobispo Cupich sabe que esta noticia será muy difícil de escuchar y ofrece la promesa de sus oraciones y su solidaridad con la comunidad del Santuario de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe. Les proporcionaremos información actualizada sobre la situación a medida que surja nueva información.

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ILLINOIS
ABC 7

DES PLAINES, Ill. (WLS) — A suburban priest was removed from ministry by Chicago Archbishop Blase Cupich for having “an inappropriate relationship with a man.”

Reverend Marco Mercado was the rector of the shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Des Plaines.

Late Saturday night Mercado he issued a statement saying that he prays the issue will be resolved soon and apologized if the “scandal has caused any hardship to the faithful.”

Archbishop Cupich withdrew Fr. Mercado’s faculties and his authority to minister. Rev. Adan Sandoval Duron was appointed interim administrator.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Mirror

BY KEIR MUDIE

A leading campaigner for justice for victims of child abuse has voiced concerns over the upcoming documentary

A Panorama episode could ruin ongoing probes into ­historical child sex abuse by VIP perverts, a campaigner has warned.

Peter Saunders, founder of the National Association of People Abused in Childhood, says if victims’ stories are not handled sympathetically others will be less likely to speak out.

The hour-long show by the BBC – which was ­accused of botching its ­handling of the Jimmy Savile furore – screens this week. It will focus on how news about probes has come out and who has been driving it.

The episode – The VIP Paedophile Ring: What’s the Truth? – is not expected to ­restrict itself to one particular police ­operation or set of allegations.

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CHILE
Bio Bio

[Juan Carlos Cruz, alleged victim of priest Fernando Karadima, said the pope in backing Osorno Bishop Juan Barros was relying on misinformation from third parties. He noted the pope is not stupid and is responsible for his words that show he is protecting bishops. Hea added that he never imagined the pope was using hard and brutial words.]

El denunciante del caso Karadima, Juan Carlos Cruz, aseguró que el apoyo que le dio el papa Francisco al obispo de Osorno, Juan Barros “se siente como una bofetada muy muy grande”.

Además, descartó que las palabras del Pontífice se deban a una mala información de terceros. Según Cruz el papa “no es tonto”, es responsable de sus dichos y sus declaraciones evidencian la protección que le está dando a los obispos.

“Jamás me imagine que el Papa fuera usar palabras tan duras y tan brutales”, aseguróa la Radio Bío Bío el denunciante del caso Karadima Juan Carlos Cruz, horas después de enterarse de los dichos con las que el Papa Francisco defendió al obispo de Osorno, Juan Barros.

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UNITED STATES
Bilgrimage

William D. Lindsey

OMG. Did someone say head-turners? (Yes, I’m between popcorn runs, and very glad I bought in a big new supply of popcorn today, because it looks like the telenovela is only going to get, well, more hilarious and dramatic, steamier and more engrossing in the build-up to the Synod on the Family.)

I’m between two commitments today and have had a moment to read your thread of welcome comments to my last posting, and am now learning about the Polish (Polish!) theologian Monsignor Krzysztof Charamsa who got sacked after holding a public coming-out press conference and introducing his attractive Spanish partner to the world. A theologian with the conservative Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, no less!

The same Vatican congregation over which Pope John Paul II placed as his right-wing, right-hand theological watchdog Cardinal Ratzinger, who later became Pope Benedict XVI (and who is still pope — EPope, as Colleen has tagged him. We really need a little guide to the cast of characters for this engrossing telenovela; it’s getting hard to keep them all sorted out) . . . .

The same Vatican congregation that, under Ratzinger, produced the horrendous “pastoral” letter for Halloween 1986 (did someone say telenovela?) that defined homosexual human beings as intrinsically disordered . . . .

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CANADA
StarPhoenix

BY CREEDEN MARTELL, THE STARPHOENIX OCTOBER 3, 2015

People waiting for an apology from Pope Francis for the Catholic Church’s role in sending aboriginal children to residential schools will have to keep waiting.

Apostolic Nuncio to Canada Luigi Bonazzi was in Saskatoon on Friday afternoon to attend a conference on restorative justice in Canada.

Earlier this summer, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) released its groundbreaking report, which chronicled years of assimilation efforts and emotional, sexual and physical abuse of young children at the hands of the residential school staff. The report called for a papal apology from Pope Francis for the church’s role in residential schools, similar to the apology delivered by former Pope Benedict XVI in 2010 to worldwide survivors of sexual assault by disgraced priests.

“We have listened carefully, given serious attention, to this call for action,” Bonazzi said. “We are seriously trying to see how we can respond positively.”

Bonazzi said Pope Francis’s trips are projects which have to be planned and prepared far in advance. He said the request is not one that is easy to accommodate.

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AUSTRALIA
Canberra Times

October 3, 2015

Georgina Connery
Reporter at The Chronicle

The Pope is proving popular with the masses, but evidence his charisma is reinvigorating the Australian Catholic Church is harder to find.

The faithful in our hemisphere have watched as the cult of celebrity surrounding Pope Francis has amplified during his recent three-city visit to the United States.

His Holiness reaches out to followers via Twitter, preaches tolerance, encourages care of the environment, has announced that abortion can be forgiven as a sin and offered open-armed acceptance to gay and lesbian Catholics who have felt alienated from their church for decades.

Dr Bob Dixon, director of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference Pastoral Research Office, said it was difficult to gauge to what degree the “Francis factor” was at play in Australia.

“Is there a Francis effect? Quite possibly, but not one that shows up in [religious] personnel numbers,” he said.

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ZIMBABWE
Nehanda Radio

By Desire Ncube

Sexual manipulation of women has become rampant in the Church and aspiring pastors should be thoroughly examined to curtail such abuse.

Congregants should also raise alarm whenever “holy men” hide behind the Scriptures to win sexual favours. This was said by Anglican Church Harare Bishop (Central Africa Province) Chad Gandiya in a frank discussion on sex scandals rocking the Church.

He also spoke of how Anglicans in the capital have set up a “Gender Desk” to help victims, and the rigorous vetting that would-be priests go through.

For years, various churches across the globe have been grappling with improper conduct involving some of their leaders.

Though statistics are not readily available, Zimbabwe’s courts and church tribunals have handled their fair share of such cases. Most accounts have culprits abusing their immense influence to push sex as a gateway to prosperity and spiritual healing. The victims are largely vulnerable women desperate to escape problems.

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NEW YORK
New York Post

By Isabel Vincent and Melissa Klein
October 4, 2015

A high-ranking Greek Orthodox priest starred in kinky sex tapes with his much-younger parish-school principal and was forced to resign after the affair — which he’d denied for years — was confirmed by church elders.

Father George Passias, the married 67-year-old pastor of St. Spyridon Church in Washington Heights, even impregnated his married lover, 45-year-old Ethel Bouzalas, according to sources.

Passias was once the chancellor of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, in charge of all of the religion’s US priests.

An adherent to a fundamentalist faction of Greek Orthodoxy led by a controversial cleric in Arizona, he took the helm of St. Spyridon nine years ago — and immediately ordered female worshippers to cover their heads during confession.

But there was no such nod to modesty in the shocking sex videos viewed by The Post.

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CHILE
Yahoo! News

AFP

Pope Francis called critics protesting the appointment of a new bishop in Chile, who has been accused of covering up sexual abuse crimes committed by priests, “lefties” in a video message Saturday.

The installation of Juan Barros earlier this year as the Bishop of Osorno, in southern Chile, was heavily protested by those accusing him of having protected Fernando Karadima, a priest the Vatican in 2011 found guilty of child sex abuse, committed in the 1980s.

Barros has denied the allegations against him. But 51 members of the Chilean Congress sent a letter protesting his appointment to the Vatican.

Parishioners in Osorno, some of whom opposed the nomination of Barros, had asked the Vatican for a message.

“Think — with your head — and do not be swayed by the unfounded allegations of lefties,” Pope Francis said in footage broadcast Saturday by the Chilean TV channel Mega.

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IRELAND
Irish Times

Paddy Agnew

Sat, Oct 3, 2015

Former president Mary McAleese has ridiculed the concept of 300 elderly celibates coming together to discuss family questions.

Addressing a meeting of the Global Network of Rainbow (LGBT) Catholics on the eve of the Vatican’s Synod on the Family, Ms MacAleese said:

“In the days when I was president, we had workshops on various issues and if I wanted to look at an issue, I would consult the experts… But look at the Synod, I have to ask the question: If I wanted expertise on the family, I honestly cannot say that the first thing that would come into my mind would be to call together 300 celibate males who, as far we know, have never raised a child…

“Let me repeat a question I asked last year when I saw the Vatican’s lengthy pre-Synod questionnaire, namely how many of these men have ever changed a child’s nappy? For me that is a very important question because it is one thing to say that we all grew up in families, we had mothers, we had fathers but it is a very different thing to raise a gay child, a very different thing to live daily in a relationship and to police the relationships between children and the world.”

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CHILE
ACI Prensa

[SANTIAGO, October 3, 15 / 3:13 pm ( CNA ) .- Pope Francis made ​​a strong defense of Bishop Juan Barros, who was appointed as Bishop of Osorno (Southern Chile). Victims of priest Fernando Karadima say Barros helped cover-up the abuse.]

Por Carolina Requena

SANTIAGO, 03 Oct. 15 / 03:13 pm (ACI).- El Papa Francisco hizo una firme defensa de Mons. Juan Barros, a quien designó como Obispo de Osorno (sur de Chile), que ha sido señalado por las víctimas del sacerdote Fernando Karadima como supuesto encubridor de abusos, una acusación que el Prelado siempre ha negado y que incluso ha sido desacreditada por las autoridades competentes.

En una grabación en video realizada en mayo de este año, y dada a conocer recién este viernes 2 de octubre por el medio ahoranoticias.cl se puede apreciar al Santo Padre hablando del Obispo de Osorno y de las acusaciones en su contra.

En el video se escucha a Jaime Coiro, actual Secretario General Adjunto de la Conferencia Episcopal de Chile y entonces vocero de la institución, cuando le dice al Papa que la Iglesia en ese país “está sufriendo y rezando por usted”, en el contexto de la violenta manifestación de algunos grupos que atacaron a Mons. Barros cuando tomó posesión como Obispo de la diócesis de Osorno en marzo.

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CHILE
Puranoticia

[According to Juan Carlos Cruz the pope can not be in favor of a “bishop who is putting Catholics against Catholics and Osorninos against Osorninos.”]

La victima de los abusos sexuales del padre Fernando Karadima, Juan Carlos Cruz, se refirió en duros términos a las opiniones emitidas por el Papa a través de un polémico video donde defiende al cuestionado Obsipo de Osorno, Juan Barros.

“Me parece lamentable el video y las declaraciones del papa, no sólo por el descrédito que le hace a las víctimas que están denunciando a Barros”, aseguró Cruz a radio Cooperativa.

Además repaso las palabras del Sumo Pontífice, donde descalificó a la gente de Osorno, tratándolas de “tontas”, “Mucho más me duele, como trata a la gente de Osorno, a nuestros compatriotas que son hombres y mujeres buenos, cuya vida gira en torno a sus parroquias y que han estado luchando justamente por tener un obispo que sea un pastor y no un encubridor”, reflexionó.

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UNITED STATES
Question from a Ewe

The soap opera around, “Did he? Didn’t he? Did she? Didn’t she” seems to be fading as the Vatican claims Pope Francis’ meeting with Kim Davis did not endorse her behavior refusing to issue same sex couples marriage licenses. And now his meeting with an openly gay man and that man’s longtime partner are paraded before us as evidence to refute any political intentions on Francis’ part by meeting with Kim.

Whatever…. I think the pope can meet with whomever he wants. Jesus met with sinners and social pariahs all the time. I applaud anyone willing to receive any human being with Christ-like, humble, non-judgmental hospitality. That we could all have genuine warmth towards all people…

That being said, I do question why, despite requests, he did not meet with Catholic women ordained as priests. Why didn’t he meet with any of the plethora of sanctioned and excommunicated people in this country – enduring marginalization due to their support of women priests? Just curious….

I also question Francis’ dismissive and patronizing statements about women made during his homeward flight press conference. On one hand he calls for and lauds conscientious objection while in the same press conference he repeats his unwillingness to engage in his signature “dialogue” activities regarding women’s ordination…with some of those pesky conscientious objectors to unjust hierarchical edicts. Irony…or perhaps hypocrisy.

He repeated his call for a “theology of women” and joked about not having done a darn thing about it like actually reviewing the compendium of female theologians’ works that already begin to describe such a theology. He found time to meet Kim but not meet with any one of the many outstanding female theologians living in the U.S. who could help him make his wish about a “theology of women” a reality. Elizabeth Johnson, Joan Chittister, Mary Hunt, Rosemary Radford Ruether, and Elisabeth Scussler Fiorenza are a few who come to mind. Many live in the very geographic localities Francis visited.

Perhaps he prefers talking to regular folk versus professional theologians. I did extend multiple invitations to meet and discuss this very topic beginning with a request in my Christmas card last year…which I know arrived because I got a nice impersonal acknowledgment of its arrival. Yet, his schedule evidently was too packed to spend time with such women though he claims they are more important than men in the church…so important that he could not squeeze in one meeting on the topic…

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SCOTLAND
Historical Child Abuse Inquiry

An independent inquiry into the historical abuse of children in care in Scotland has formally started work today (Thursday 1 October).

The Historical Child Abuse Inquiry will seek to raise public awareness of the abuse of children in care, provide an opportunity for public acknowledgement of their suffering and serve as a forum or validation of their experience.

The Inquiry – which will report to Scottish Ministers within four years (or such other period as Ministers may provide) – will cover the period within living memory of any person who suffered such abuse, up until such date as the Chair may determine, but no later than 17 December 2014.

A dedicated Inquiry website – www.childabuseinquiry.scot – has also gone live today to keep the public updated on the work of the Inquiry.

Inquiry Chair Susan O’Brien QC today undertook to give full details of the steps that the Inquiry will take, once the Inquiry panel members have been appointed by the Scottish Government.

During the start-up period, those who believe that they may have information to share are being asked to make initial contact with the Inquiry either by email, information@childabuseinquiry.scot or post, Historical Child Abuse Inquiry, PO Box 24085, Edinburgh, EH7 9EA. They should only send in their names and addresses at this stage, with one sentence about how they can help. As the inquiry operations and office are established, a phone number will also be introduced.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse

1 October

The Chair of the IICSA, Lowell Goddard, “I am delighted the Victims and Survivors Consultative Panel have agreed their Terms of Reference. Already they are helping to shape and inform the work of the Inquiry in a number of important respects. Each member of the Panel brings with them their unique perspectives and experience in their field. They will play a vital role in delivering the important work of the Inquiry.”

From the VSCP, “The Victims and Survivors Consultative Panel (VSCP) are pleased to have agreed our Terms of Reference with the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse. The scale and complexity of the task at hand and the impact of this work on the lives of millions of people nationwide are of paramount importance. We are committed to sharing best practice to help shape aspects on the Inquiry that will directly assist victims and survivors. We are currently concentrating our efforts on developing safe engagement practices for people who chose to make contact through any of the developing Inquiry channels.”

VSCP Statement

VSCP Terms of Reference

VSCP Biographies

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VATICAN CITY
Corriere della Sera

di Elena Tebano

“I want the Church and my community to know who I am: a gay priest who is happy, and proud of his identity. I’m prepared to pay the consequences, but it’s time the Church opened its eyes, and realised that offering gay believers total abstinence from a life of love is inhuman”. Monsignor Krzysztof Charamsa, 43 and Polish, who has been living in Rome for 17 years, speaks with a calm smile on his face. He is not just any priest, but has been a member of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith since 2003, is assistant secretary of the International Theological Commission of the Vatican, and teaches theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University and the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum in Rome. Never before has a priest with such a high-profile role in the Vatican made a similar statement. Today, on the eve of the Synod on the family, Monsignor Charamsa will be in Rome at the LGBT Catholic International Meeting organized by the Global Network of Rainbow Catholics, to support the discussion on gay Catholics. …

Catholic Catechism based on the Bible defines homosexuality as an “intrinsically disordered” tendency…

“The Bible says nothing on the subject of homosexuality. It instead speaks of acts that I would call “homogenital”. Even heterosexual people may perform such acts, as happens in many prisons, but in that case they are acting against their nature and therefore committing a sin. When a gay person engages in those same acts, they are instead expressing their nature. The biblical sodomite has nothing to do with two gays that love each other in modern-day Italy and want to marry. I am unable to find a single passage, even in St Paul, that may be seen as referring to homosexual persons asking to be respected as such, since at the time the concept was unknown”. Catholic Catechism based on the Bible defines homosexuality as an “intrinsically disordered” tendency…

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CITTA’ DEL VATICANO
Corriere della Sera

di Elena Tebano

«Voglio che la Chiesa e la mia comunità sappiano chi sono: un sacerdote omosessuale, felice e orgoglioso della propria identità. Sono pronto a pagarne le conseguenze, ma è il momento che la Chiesa apra gli occhi di fronte ai gay credenti e capisca che la soluzione che propone loro, l’astinenza totale dalla vita d’amore, è disumana». Monsignor Krzysztof Charamsa, 43 anni, polacco da 17 anni residente a Roma, lo dice con un sorriso serio e pacato. Non è un sacerdote qualunque: ufficiale della Congregazione per la Dottrina della Fede dal 2003, è segretario aggiunto della Commissione Teologica Internazionale vaticana e insegna teologia alla Pontificia Università Gregoriana e al Pontificio Ateneo Regina Apostolorum a Roma. Mai prima d’ora un religioso con un ruolo attivo in Vaticano aveva fatto una dichiarazione del genere. Oggi monsignor Charamsa sarà a Roma alla prima assemblea internazionale dei cattolici lgbt organizzata dal Global Network of Rainbow Catholics alla vigilia del Sinodo sulla famiglia, per sostenere il dialogo sui gay cattolici.

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VATICAN CITY
GlobalPost

Agence France-Presse on Oct 3, 2015

The Vatican reacted furiously on Saturday after a Polish priest employed as a senior official publicly declared his homosexuality on the eve of a bishops’ synod set to touch on the divisive issue of the Catholic Church’s relationship to gay believers.

In a statement, a spokesman for Pope Francis said Krzystof Charamsa’s action had been “very serious and irresponsible”, and that the priest would be automatically kicked out of his post as a theologian in the Vatican.

Flanked by his Catalan boyfriend and wearing his priest’s collar, Charamsa told a news conference in Rome he had been compelled to speak out against what he said was the hypocrisy and paranoia that shapes the Church’s attitude to sexual minorities.

While appearing resigned to the fact that his life as a priest is over, he said: “I’m out of the closet and I’m very happy about that.”

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NEW JERSEY
The Record

BY JOHN SEASLY
STAFF WRITER | THE RECORD

An incident in which a Little Ferry priest allegedly pointed an unloaded Civil War-style rifle at an 8-year-old boy was preceded by a conversation between the two about their football loyalties and a game to take place that night, Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli said.

Rev. Kevin Carter, 54, of St. Margaret of Cortona Catholic Church, was talking about football with the boy in the church before Mass on Sunday, Sept. 13, Molinelli said. Carter reminded the boy, who was wearing a Dallas Cowboys jersey, that the priest is a fan of the New York Giants. The two teams were scheduled to play each other that night. The boy has not been identified by police.

A few minutes later, Molinelli said, Carter called the boy into one of the rectory rooms and had the boy stand against a wall. Carter then pointed an unloaded, Civil War-style musket at him and said, “I’m going to shoot you,” Molinelli said in an interview Saturday.

“Even if it was a joke, you don’t play that kind of a joke on an 8-year-old,” Molinelli said Saturday.

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NEW JERSEY
Gothamist

BY BEN YAKAS

A NJ priest has been arrested after he allegedly pointed a musket at an 8-year-old boy and threatened him because the child was rooting against the Giants. Which, yeah, that sounds like a Giants fan alright.

Father Kevin Carter, a 54-year-old priest at St. Margaret of Cortona Roman Catholic Church in Little Ferry, has been charged with endangering the welfare of a child and aggravated assault by pointing a firearm for the incident.

According to NBC, the priest allegedly approached the child before Mass services at the church on September 13th. Prosecutors say that Carter asked to see him in one of the rectory rooms, where he then retrieved a musket and pointed it at him. “As he raised his weapon and pointed it at the boy, he said, ‘I’m going to shoot you,'” Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli told NBC.

The whole thing was apparently sparked because Carter was upset that the child was going to root for the Cowboys instead of the Giants in their NFL season opener. “The young boy was apparently a fan of a particular football team, the priest was not. So perhaps we have indication it started out as that,” said Molinelli. “There’s no such thing as joking around with a weapon when you’re dealing with an 8-year-old kid.”

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NEW JERSEY
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Saturday, Oct. 3

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

A priest points a gun at an eight year old. Another priest is being investigated for taking $250,000 in money and expensive gifts from elderly parishioners. A third priest admits abusing a child. Two other church officials, he says, told him to flee the US when the boy reported the crimes.

All of this happens or comes to light in just over a month. Decades of corruption is catching up to the Newark Archdiocese.

And this is an archdiocese with TWO archbishops, Bernard Hebda and John Myers, where presumably there should more and better supervision of priests.

It’s not just priests breaking laws and acting unethically. It’s Hebda and Myers behaving irresponsibly too.

In the latest incident – Fr. Kevin Carter aiming a gun at a boy and threatening to shoot him – Hebda and Myers waited three days to call the police.

[New York Daily News]

In the money scandal – Fr. Alex Orozco manipulating and lying to elderly women to enrich himself – Hebda and Myers refuse to even suspend him.

[SNAP]

In the admitted predator case – Fr. Manuel Gallo Espinoza – Hebda and Myers refuse to even investigate, much less discipline, the two clerics who reportedly told the child molester to run from law enforcement.

[SNAP]

We hope Newark Catholics vote with their wallets and stop donating to an institution that endangers the vulnerable and start donating to agencies that protect the vulnerable.

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VATICAN CITY
USA Today

Yamiche Alcindor, USA TODAY October 3, 2015

The Vatican fired a priest Saturday after he came out as gay and revealed he has a boyfriend on the eve of an important meeting of the world’s bishops to discuss church teachings on family life, a topic that encompasses divorce, homosexuality and cohabitation.

Considered a high-ranking Vatican official, Monsignor Krzysztof Charamsa, 43, lived in Rome for the last 17 years and worked at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith since 2003.

In several interviews, Charamsa said he was happy and proud to be a gay priest, and was in love with a man whom he identified as his boyfriend, according to the Associated Press. He said he wanted to challenge the church’s “backwards” attitude to homosexuality, the BBC reported.

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VATICAN CITY
Daily Mail

By IMOGEN CALDERWOOD FOR MAILONLINE
3 October 2015

The Vatican has come under fire after dismissing a high-ranking Polish priest on the same day he revealed that he was gay.

Father Krzystof Charamsa, who held a post in the Vatican’s branch for protecting Catholic dogma, urged the Catholic church to change its ‘backwards’ attitude to homosexuality.

The 43-year-old revealed that he also had a Spanish partner, in two separate interviews with an Italian newspaper and a Polish news programme.

‘It’s time for the Church to open its eyes about gay Catholics and to understand that the solution it proposes to them – total abstinence from a life of love – is inhuman,’ he told the Italian daily Corriere della Sera, saying he wanted to challenge the Church’s ‘paranoia’.

‘I know that I will have to give up my ministry which is my whole life.

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VATICAN CITY
National Catholic Reporter

Joshua J. McElwee Dennis Coday | Oct. 2, 2015

The 14th general assembly of the Synod of Bishops opens in Rome Oct. 4. It will bring together some 300 cardinals and bishops, along with a few dozen lay and religious advisers and consultors to discuss pressing issues around family life.

The synod — its official theme is “The Vocation and Mission of the Family in the Church and Contemporary World” — runs until Oct. 25 and is the culmination of more than two years of preparation that included among the widest consultations the Vatican has ever undertaken.

In the fall of 2013 and early 2015, the Vatican distributed questionnaires about family life and church teaching on the family to the world’s bishops with the instructions that the questionnaires be used as tools to consult parishes and deaneries.

Although how individual bishops consulted with their people varied widely, the Vatican did receive thousands of responses to questions like:

* “Is cohabitation ad experimentum a pastoral reality in your particular Church?”
* “What knowledge do Christians have today of the teachings of Humanae Vitae on responsible parenthood? … Is this moral teaching accepted?”
* “What questions do divorced and remarried people pose to the Church concerning the Sacraments of the Eucharist and of Reconciliation?”

The Vatican’s call for consultation and the fact that many bishops and some national bishops’ conferences did consult the faithful openly and widely, coupled with the intimate nature of the subjects under discussion, caused great interest and wide anticipation.

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NEW JERSEY
New York Daily News

BY LAURIE HANNA NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Saturday, October 3, 2015

A New Jersey priest has been arrested over claims he pointed a musket at an 8-year-old boy because of a football rivalry.

Father Kevin Carter allegedly threatened the child because he was planning to root for the Dallas Cowboys instead of his beloved New York Giants.

The 54-year-old priest of St. Margaret of Cortona Roman Catholic Church in Little Ferry was arrested Friday on charges of endangering the welfare of a child and aggravated assault by pointing a firearm, say authorities.

The priest allegedly approached the boy before Mass services at the church on Sunday, Sept. 13, and asked to see him in one of the rectory rooms, reported NBC 4 New York.

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UNITED STATES
The New Civil Rights Movement

Now that the Vatican has distanced itself from Kim Davis, saying it feels a “sense of regret” over the Pope’s meeting with her, who’s to blame for arranging it in the first place?

This week, after days of obfuscation, the Vatican finally confirmed that Pope Francis did indeed meet with Kim Davis, the Rowan County Clerk who spent six days in jail for refusing to comply with a court order directing her to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Today, the Vatican went even further, distancing itself by labeling it a “brief greeting,” and stating the meeting “should not be considered a form of support of her position” by the Pope.

Davis and her current husband, Joe, met with the Pope in secret when they were in Washington, D.C., where Kim received the Cost of Discipleship award from the Family Research Council for denying gay couples their constitutional right to marry. According to Mathew Staver, Kim Davis’s attorney, the invitation to meet with Davis came from the Vatican a week or so before the Pope’s six-day visit to the United States, and not from American Catholic institutions.

Staver’s reliability on this point is questionable. The same day, Tuesday, that he announced Kim Davis met with the Pope, he also falsely claimed that 100,000 Peruvians had come together to pray for Kim Davis. It was later revealed that the picture he posted of the alleged event was actually a photo of a gathering from May 2014.

The New Civil Rights Movement has learned through a source within the Apostolic Nunciature, the Vatican embassy, that Kim Davis’ meeting with the Pope was arranged – contrary to theories espoused in the media – by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The USCCB is led by President Joseph E. Kurtz, the Archbishop of Louisville, in Davis’ home state of Kentucky, and by the Archdiocese of Washington led by Cardinal Donald Wuerl. Both institutions have actively opposed same-sex marriage. In 2009, Cardinal Wuerl signed the Manhattan Declaration, an ecumenical statement calling on Evangelical, Orthodox, and Catholic Christians to defy laws permitting same-sex marriage and other issues they claim challenge their religious freedom.

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NEW JERSEY
NBC New York

By Checkey Beckford

A New Jersey church priest pointed a musket at an 8-year-old child inside his church and threatened him with it over an apparent sports rivalry, prosecutors say.

The 54-year-old priest at St. Margaret of Cortona Roman Catholic Church in Little Ferry was arrested Friday on charges of endangering the welfare of a child and aggravated assault by pointing a firearm, the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office said.

The priest allegedly approached the boy before Mass services at the church on Sunday, Sept. 13, and asked to see him in one of the rectory rooms, according to prosecutors.

Once they were in the room, the priest allegedly had the boy stand against the wall, then retrieved a musket and pointed it at him, prosecutors said, citing several witnesses.

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MASSACHUSETTS
Eagle-Tribune

By Mike LaBella mlabella@eagletribune.com

HAVERHILL — One of his victims says it will be up to society to keep an eye on convicted pedophile and defrocked priest Ronald H. Paquin.

Mike Emerton, 49, a Haverhill native now living in Newburyport, told The Eagle-Tribune that he was one of Paquin’s victims and that he was hoping Paquin would be found sexually dangerous and continue to be held. At the time of the assaults, Emerton was an altar boy at St. John the Baptist in Haverhill.

“There is no cure for pedophilia,” Emerton said. “It was my hope that he would be found as a sexually dangerous person and be held indefinitely.”

The Essex District Attorney’s Office on Friday withdrew its petition to hold defrocked Haverhill priest Ronald H. Paquin as a sexually dangerous person. Neither of the experts who examined him found him “sexually dangerous,” therefore, the District Attorney’s Office must, by law, withdraw its petition.

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VATICAN CITY
Irish Times

On the eve of the Catholic’s Church’s Synod on the Family, the Holy See was rocked on Saturday by the public coming out of 43-year-old Monsignor Krzysztof Charamsa, a senior official at the Vatican’s Congregation For the Doctrine Of The Faith (CDF), ex-Holy Office.

In an interview in Saturday’s Corriere Della Sera, timed to coincide with Sunday’s opening of the Synod, Monsignor Charamsa declared himself to be gay.

“I want the Church and my community to know who I am – a homosexual priest, happy and proud of his own identity.

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VATICAN CITY
Appeal-Democrat

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican has fired a monsignor who came out as gay on the eve of a big meeting of the world’s bishops to discuss church outreach to gays, divorcees and more traditional Catholic families.

Monsignor Kryzstof Charamsa was a mid-level official in the Vatican’s doctrine office. In newspaper interviews published in Italy and Poland Saturday, Charamsa said he was happy and proud to be a gay priest, and was in love with a man whom he identified as his boyfriend.

In a statement Saturday, the Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said Charamsa’s public statements were “serious and irresponsible” coming on the eve of the synod and that he could no longer continue working at the Vatican or its pontifical universities.

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UNITED STATES
Baltimore Sun

Mary E. Hunt

Pope Francis came, saw and conquered during his U.S. visit. A gracious guest with the heart of a grateful immigrant, he experienced American life from the tables of the poor to the lofty spires of the rich. He challenged Americans to share wealth, safeguard the environment and work for the common good. What can he do for an encore?

First, there is a disconnect between the pope’s rhetoric about equality and the institutional Roman Catholic Church’s practice with regard to women. It was unmistakable during the televised masses and meetings. Hundreds of robed men — priests, bishops, cardinals and their successor seminarians — were visible at every turn. The principal of a school and the head of a social service agency were among the very few women in evidence. Women sang, led music and voiced the occasional prayer, but it was hard to miss that Pope Francis’ organization is virtually all male-led. Young male seminarians serenading the Pope assured that the future will mirror the past. So much for Francis’ call for education of girls as well as boys.

To be a decision-maker in Catholicism, to have jurisdiction, requires ordination. Women are prohibited from being ordained because they are not men — a tautology postmodern people reject. Equality is equality. Women’s ordination is important not so women can dress up like men on ceremonial occasions and celebrate the sacraments. It is to give women voice and vote in every church decision from parish to synod. Women’s participation will erase the impression that some people, namely men, are more equal than others because of gender, race, class and the like. That could change the world.

Currently, more American Catholic women than men minister in parishes and similar settings. A pope who calls people and nations to open their doors and embrace immigrants cannot say “the door is closed” on women’s ordination.

Second, the pope needs to make good on his promise to survivors of clergy sexual abuse. While his pastoral touch is deft, the pain of survivors of priest pedophiles and other criminals remains an open wound salved only by action. To commend bishops — some of whom covered up for their brother priests and/or moved them around to avoid prosecution — and to suggest that God weeps is inadequate and insulting.

It is time to rout out bishops who act illegally and to create structures of accountability to prevent future problems. A robust airing of sexual abuse cases with Francis and bishops in full listening mode would begin to put this disgraceful chapter of church history to rest. It is time to redirect energies away from individual cases that wind their way slowly, if at all, through the courts and focus instead on structural problems that require systemic change.

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TEXAS
Baptist News

By Bob Allen

A Texas Baptist church is facing a multi-million dollar lawsuit filed by parents claiming sexual abuse by a youth minster in the 1990s led to their son’s death by suicide.

A lawsuit filed in Dallas County District Court accused First Baptist Church in Rockwall, Texas, of negligence and fraud that ultimately gave rise to the Jan. 19 suicide death of 37-year-old John Jeremy Sweet-Gomez in Dallas.

Parents Carla Sweet and Ed Gomez claim their son’s abuse began when he was 12 or 13 years old. The lawsuit alleges “a civil conspiracy, accompanied by a meeting of the minds regarding concerted actions” for the purpose of concealing and minimizing public knowledge about their son’s abuse.

Representatives of First Baptist Church of Rockwall, it claims, “engaged in this conspiracy to avoid prosecution, to cover up sexual misconduct and abuse and to conceal claims arising from crimes or conduct of their youth pastor.”

Steve Swofford, pastor of First Baptist Church of Rockwall since 1989, did not respond to an email request for comment.

Swofford is a past president of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention. In 2005 he received the M.E. Dodd Award at the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in Nashville, Tenn., for his church’s longstanding denominational support through the Cooperative Program giving plan.

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CANADA
CNW

ST. JOHN’S, Oct. 2, 2015 /CNW/ – On Monday, September 28, 2015, the four-month trial began in Anderson v. Canada, the class action that concerns historical abuse at five Indian Residential Schools in Newfoundland and Labrador.

The opening statements are now complete and all key documents have been admitted into evidence. These documents demonstrate that in the 1950s and 1960s Canada and its lawyers drafted two internal legal opinions in which Canada recognized it held a legal responsibility for Aboriginals in Newfoundland and Labrador. Despite this, Canada failed to comply with its responsibilities. To this day, Canada continues to refuse to take responsibility for the Indian Residential Schools in Newfoundland and Labrador.

In 2007, a national Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement was reached between Canada and the survivors of the Indian Residential School system in every province and territory except Newfoundland and Labrador. This was the largest class action settlement in Canadian history. The settlement recognized the damage inflicted by the Indian Residential School system on the lives and culture of Canadian Aboriginals and established a $5 billion compensation package for the approximately 150,000 people who were forced to attend these schools.

In 2008, on the floor of the House of Commons, the Prime Minister publicly apologized on behalf of Canada for the forcible removal of Aboriginal children from their homes and communities to attend Indian Residential School schools throughout Canada.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

By Mark Solomons

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has made a direct appeal to children in care to give evidence.

Commissioner Robert Fitzgerald addressed more than 100 children under 18, many of whom are in the child protection system, at a youth conference in Brisbane today.

He invited them to tell their stories and give advice to the commission based on their experiences.

“I, as a Commissioner, don’t know how it feels to be in and out of home care,” he told delegates.

“You’ve felt it, experienced it. You know what we need to do. Tell us.”

Mr Fitzgerald said much of the evidence already heard in the royal commission involved historic allegations of abuse in schools, religious institutions and other organisations.

But with about 50,000 children moving in and out of care each year in Australia, he said it was important to hear contemporary accounts of their experiences.

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CHILE
AhoraNoticias

[Pope Francis made a strong defense of Bishop Juan Barros in a video said to have been made last May at the Vatican where a group of Catholics asked the pope to send a message to the community of Osorno who were upset by the arrival of Barros. The pope said he is the first to try and punish someone who had such allegations but he said there was no clear evidence against Barros. It is alleged that Barros had knowledge that priest Fernando Karadima was abusing minors but told no one.]

El Pontífice se refirió a los cuestionamientos al sacerdote, a quien sindican como presunto cómplice de los vejámenes cometidos por Fernando Karadima.

Una férrea defensa hizo el Papa Francisco del cuestionado obispo de Osorno, Juan Barros, quien ha sido señalado por las víctimas del sacerdote Fernando Karadima, como uno de los cómplices de sus abusos sexuales.

El registro, exclusivo de “AhoraNoticias”, fue grabado en mayo pasado en el Vaticano, donde un grupo de fieles le pide al pontífice que mande un mensaje a la comunidad de Osorno, molesta por la llegada de Juan Barros.

Las imágenes muestran al Santo Padre pidiendo que “piensen con la cabeza y no se dejen llevar por acusaciones infundadas de los zurdos”

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CHILE
El Vaca Nudo

[An as yet unpublished video presented Friday night on a television newscast, AhoraNoticias, seems to show Pope Francis making a strong defense of the Bishop of Osorno, Juan Barros, who has been criticized for possible knowledge that priest Fernando Karadima was abusing minors. The pope appears to have said on the video that accusations linking Barros to the Karadima case were made by politicans who had no proof.]

03 de Octubre, 2015 03:10

Un video inédito que fue una verdadera bomba, fue el que presentó este viernes en la noche el noticiario central de Mega, AhoraNoticias, en el cual el Papa Francisco hace una férrea defensa del Obispo de Osorno, Juan Barros, por su posible vinculación en el caso Karadima en el cual se le señala como uno de los encubridores del ex párroco de El Bosque.

En el registro, el sumo pontífice señala que las acusaciones que vinculan a Barros Madrid al caso Karadima fueron hechas “por políticos sin ninguna prueba”.

En la frase que más llama la atención, el Santo Padre les pide a los fieles chilenos que “piensen con la cabeza y no se dejen llevar por acusaciones infundadas de los zurdos”.

“Soy el primero en juzgar y castigar a alguien, que tiene acusaciones de este tipo, pero en este caso, ninguna prueba, de corazón se los digo”, dijo Francisco, pidiendo que el mensaje sea compartido con los osorninos.

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UTAH
Journal Review

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — As a young teen, Roy Jeffs would spend long days typing up his father’s sermons while stuck inside a house in an Albuquerque subdivision where he and his mother were sent to live in hiding. In the middle of the night, the phone would ring. It was his father, polygamous leader Warren Jeffs.

“There would be like this piercing of despair in your heart,” Roy Jeffs said. “What’s he going to say now? Is he going tell me I’ve lost my place? Is he going to kick me out?”

Roy Jeffs, now 23, says he was controlled, manipulated and shuffled around the country and assigned to work crews to atone for his perceived transgressions before leaving the sect last year.

His stories provide a window into the secretive sect based on the Utah-Arizona border in which cellphones, toys, movies, the Internet, bicycles and even swimming were strictly forbidden. He said Jeffs imposed his control over followers by reassigning children and wives to different men, sending people to “houses of hiding” and wielding the constant threat of exile.

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TEXAS
Odessa American

[the complaint]

Posted: Friday, October 2, 2015

BY JON VANDERLAAN jvanderlaan@oaoa.com

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story contains graphic sexual descriptions.

The Odessa missionary accused of abusing 11 orphans at a children’s home in Malawi will continue to be held without bond after he waived a preliminary hearing regarding the probable cause for his arrest.

Gerald Dean Campbell, who is charged with engaging in illicit sexual conduct in foreign places, could face up to life in federal prison if convicted.

By waiving his hearing, Campbell will be held without bond and declined to contest his arrest.

According to a federal complaint, Campbell was the general manager of the Victory Christian Children’s Home from 1997 until he resigned in 2009 amid the sexual abuse claims.

Campbell is a member of Grace Fellowship Church, which has had ties with the children’s home for a number of years.

Roy Key, the former business manager at the church and occasional pastor, said he’s known Campbell since shortly after joining the church in 2008, and he heard rumors of the reported sexual abuse when he became business manager.

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OHIO
The Columbus Dispatch

By Earl Rinehart
The Columbus Dispatch • Friday October 2, 2015

A former Watterson High School teacher accused of having sexual contact with an underage male student from the high school was charged today with producing child pornography.

Brian Sze, who was assistant director of music at Watterson last school year, is accused in a federal complaint of giving his phone to the boy and telling him to record himself masturbating at Sze’s Lewis Center home.

The boy told investigators that he and Sze also watched pornography together. Investigators said they found sexually explicit emails and text messages from Sze on two of the student’s electronic devices.

The acts occurred between April 2014 and May 2015, according to the complaint filed on Friday in U.S. District Court in Columbus. …

In a letter to families, Joseph Brettnacher, superintendent of schools for the Catholic Diocese of Columbus, said Sze was fired on June 15 after admitting that he sent inappropriate text messages to a student and the matter was reported to the Ohio Department of Education.

“At that time, there was absolutely no other indication of any other wrongdoing,” the letter says. “At the time of his termination we had no knowledge or suspicion of any sexual contact or sexual abuse.”

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MASSACHUSETTS
Boston Herald

Saturday, October 3, 2015

By:
O’Ryan Johnson

Defrocked pedophile priest Ronald H. Paquin, who admitted to sexually abusing boys throughout his two decades as a pastor, has been sprung from a state mental hospital over the protests of prosecutors who say the convicted child predator is still a danger to the community.

Two taxpayer-funded independent psychologists found that Paquin, 72, is no longer sexually dangerous because of his age and health problems. Essex District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett, who tried to have the convicted rapist civilly committed, said he remains a threat.

“Our contention is that Mr. Paquin poses a danger to the community,” Blodgett said. “Unfortunately, we have no further legal options available to hold Mr. Paquin.”

Paquin, who will not be under any parole or probation supervision when he is released, pleaded guilty to three counts of rape of a child in December 2002 and was sentenced to 12 to 15 years in state prison. The rapes took place in Haverhill between 1989 and 1992, beginning when the victim was 12.

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NEW JERSEY
The Bergen Dispatch

By Paul Nichols
Friday, Oct 02, 2015

The Bergen County Prosecutor announced the arrest of Father Kevin Carter, 54, of St. Margaret of Cortona Roman Catholic Church in Little Ferry, New Jersey on charges of Endangering the Welfare of a Child and Aggravated Assault by Pointing a Firearm. The arrest came about as a result of an investigation conducted by members of the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, Special Victims Unit and the Little Ferry Police Department.

On Friday, September 25, 2015, a parishioner of St. Margaret of Cortona Church made officials of the Newark Archdiocese aware of an alleged incident that took place at the church several weeks prior, involving a priest of the parish pointing a firearm at an eight year old child.

On Monday, September 28, 2015, the Archdiocese made the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office aware of the allegation. Once learning of the alleged assault, The Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, Special Victims Unit initiated a joint investigation with the Little Ferry Police Department.

The investigation revealed the following: On Sunday, September 13, 2015, the victim and several family members arrived at the church for Sunday services. Prior to the mass beginning, Father Kevin Carter asked to see him in one of the rectory rooms. Once in the room, Father Carter had the victim stand against a wall. He then retrieved a long gun from nearby and pointed it at the child with an indication that he would shoot him. This was witnessed by several individuals that were standing outside of the room.

On Friday, October 2, 2015, Father Carter was located at the rectory and interviewed by detectives. A search of his room located the weapon in question, as well as gun powder, ammunition and associated items for the gun. The weapon was found to be a functioning civil war style musket. Father Carter was subsequently placed under arrest.

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NEW JERSEY
The Record

BY JAMES M. O’NEILL
STAFF WRITER | THE RECORD

A Catholic priest in Little Ferry was arrested Friday after allegedly aiming a functioning Civil War style musket at an 8-year-old boy.

The Rev. Kevin Carter, 54, pastor of St. Margaret of Cortona Catholic Church, has been charged with endangering the welfare of a child and aggravated assault by pointing a firearm, Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli said.

The incident allegedly occurred when the boy and several family members arrived for Mass on Sept. 13.

Carter asked to see the boy in one of the rectory’s rooms and had him stand against a wall, Molinelli said in a press release. The priest then got out a long gun and pointed it at the child with an indication he would shoot, Molinelli said.

Several witnesses standing outside the room saw the incident take place, according to the release.

During a search of Carter’s room at the rectory on Friday, the musket was found, along with gunpowder, ammunition and other items related to the gun, Molinelli said. Carter was arrested, and was being held at the Little Ferry police station Friday evening. Bail has been set at $15,000 with the stipulation that Carter have no contact with the child and that he surrender all firearms.

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NEW JERSEY
Fox 5

FOX 5 NEWS – A pastor at a Catholic Church in Bergen County, New Jersey, who also apparently serves as a police chaplain is accused of aiming a Civil War-style musket at a child and threatening to shoot him, according to the county prosecutor.

Detectives arrested Father Kevin Carter, 54, of St. Margaret of Cortona Roman Catholic Church in Little Ferry on Friday and confiscated the musket, gun powder, ammunition, and accessories for the gun, according to a press release from Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli. Authorities charged him with endangering the welfare of a child and aggravated assault by pointing a firearm.

According to prosecutors, a parishioner told officials at the Archdiocese of Newark that on Sunday, September 13, Father Carter made an 8-year-old boy — who was there with his family for Mass — in the stand against the wall of the rectory, aimed the unloaded but fully functional musket at him, and said he would shoot him. Authorities said that several people standing outside the room witnessed what happened.

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NEW JERSEY
WABC

LITTLE FERRY, N.J. (WABC) — A priest in Bergen County has been arrested for allegedly pointing a gun at a child.

Father Kevin Carter, 54, of St. Margaret of Cortona Roman Catholic Church in Little Ferry is charged with endangering the welfare of a child and aggravated assault by pointing a firearm.

On Friday, September 25th a parishioner made officials of the Newark Archdiocese aware of an alleged incident that took place at the church several weeks prior.

On Sunday, September 13th the 8-year-old victim and several family members arrived at the church for Sunday services.

Prior to the mass beginning, police say Father Carter asked to see him in one of the rectory rooms.

Once in the room, Father Carter allegedly had the victim stand against a wall. He then retrieved a long gun from nearby and pointed it at the child with an indication that he would shoot him.

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