ABUSE TRACKER

CANADA
Toronto Star

By: Donovan Vincent News reporter, Published on Sat Jun 13 2015

Some of the youngsters were locked up in cells like animals or beaten severely, and everyone had to eat oatmeal, day and night.

But former students of the Mohawk Institute Indian Residential School in Brantford, like Audrey Hill, still want to preserve the building that housed these horrors decades ago.

“At first I was so very ashamed (of the building). I would have been one of the people saying ‘why would you save that?’ Now, I’m completely supportive of saving it,’’ says Hill, 61, a Mohawk who was sent to the now defunct residential school at age 10 by her mother.

Known at the time as the “mush hole” — a nickname given by aboriginal students who were forced to eat mushy oatmeal all day — the building stands for everything that was wrong with Canada’s residential school system: brutal racism, forced assimilation, and utter disdain for indigenous culture, customs and language.

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

IRELAND
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin

Speaking notes of Most Rev. Diarmuid Martin Archbishop of Dublin
Holy Cross College, Clonliffe, 12th June 2015

“First of all I would like to thank Andrew Fagan and his team – and those working in our parishes, for the work they have been doing over these years in establishing and embedding effective safeguarding practices right across the Archdiocese.

I have been asked to respond to a threefold question: what have we learned, where are we now, what next? The answer to all three questions is the same: there is no room for complacency.

From the past, we have learned that for many years Church leaders thought they knew how best to deal with child abuse by clergy and they had locked themselves into complacency; it took years then to get norms in place; it took years even to get the information that was in our files into shape; it took years to put into place the action which we knew was necessary; it took years to learn that survivors were not people out to challenge the Church; survivors and their families had simply got things right.

Where are we now? The culture of safeguarding is being imbedded within the Church and great credit is due to the many lay men and women who offer their service willingly and voluntarily, working with their priests, to ensure that this is so and remains so. There is a long way to go. Paradoxically, the good things that have been achieved could become a temptation towards complacency. There is a tendency for people to feel that the child abuse challenge has been addressed and we can let our protective fences down. There is a tendency among some to say that the Church over-reacted, perhaps understandably, but now we can get back to a regime that is somehow less robust. It would be foolish to think that all our structures have fully satisfactory safeguarding procedures in place. There is no room for complacency. We need vigilance.

Where are we going? The future lies in keeping a culture of safeguarding alive in our parishes, among clergy, in our schools and activities and institutions.

That said there are remarkable changes. Who would have thought just a few years ago that in a major radio interview, Marie Collins would be the one challenging Church authorities as one representing the positions of the Pope?

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

MINNESOTA
Star Tribune

By Chao Xiong Star Tribune JUNE 13, 2015

They’re calling his actions “bold” and “brilliant” now, but it wasn’t so long ago that Ramsey County Attorney John Choi was roundly criticized for not being tough enough on the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

In fact, when Choi announced in late 2014 and early 2015 that his office wouldn’t file charges in nine cases of alleged clergy sex abuse because the statute of limitations had expired, and for lack of evidence and other complications, his critics pounced. One went so far to say that Choi was no “profile in courage.”

So when Choi’s office laid out its dual-pronged strategy June 5 of filing criminal and civil charges against the archdiocese for its handling of child sex abuse cases, critics and supporters, some of whom heralded the effort as “unprecedented” and “transformational,” were stunned. Yet to those who know him best, it was no real surprise. The way it quietly came together was hallmark Choi — subtle, straightforward and by-the-book.

“I just felt really terrible how John endured some criticism, yet, in the end, he found the perfect way to deal with this factious issue,” said Washington County Attorney Pete Orput. “I think it was brilliant and courageous on his part. I think he went back — looked at it in a more macro view.

“This is the John I know.”

Choi, 45, charged the archdiocese with six gross misdemeanors for allegedly “failing to protect children” against former priest Curtis Wehmeyer, now in prison for abusing two boys.

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

ARKANSAS
Arkansas Online

By Mike Masterson

Please, we implore you national media types who insist on rehashing and second-guessing the sad plight of the Duggar family–give your sensationalized repetitions a rest.

One aspect of the Duggar deluge that does deserve deeper scrutiny is to discover how the system so bizarrely mishandled it. Washington County Juvenile Court Judge Stacy Zimmerman on May 21 ordered that young Josh Duggar’s police report from a 2006 investigation be destroyed. However, a day earlier, May 20, Springdale Police Chief Kathy O’Kelley had agreed to release redacted copies of the same report, as political reporter Doug Thompson writes.

As folks from Arkansas to Timbuktu must know by now, that report implicated the now 27-year-old Josh Duggar in admittedly fondling five female victims through their clothing in 2002 and 2003. Four of those were his sisters. Fear not, I’m not about to review the entire mess yet again.

Josh Duggar got a “very stern talk” at the time by former Arkansas State Police Cpl. Joseph T. Hutchens (now imprisoned on child pornography offenses) but wasn’t charged with a crime. Last month he resigned as a lobbyist with the D.C.- based conservative Family Research Council. God knows, there’s been plenty of personal and professional hemorrhaging from this debacle and subsequent “official” decisions surrounding it.

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

OHIO
Hub-Times

By Briana Barker | News Leader Published: June 14, 2015

Northfield Center — A national group has asked Cleveland Catholic Diocese Bishop Richard Lennon to visit St. Barnabas Catholic Church to evaluate and “punish” the Rev. Ralph Wiatrowski for his support of a man convicted of child pornography related charges.

Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests stated in a letter to Bishop Lennon it released June 4 that “Wiatrowski must be publicly punished for trying to keep a convicted predator walking free, and for siding with a guilty friend over innocent children.”

The letter called for the discipline of Wiatrowski for the letter he wrote April 13 asking the court for leniency on behalf of former Nordonia Hills School Board President Steve Bittel, who pleaded guilty in March to felony charges related to child pornography and a police standoff he initiated last September. The Rev. Wiatrowski had also appeared in court on Bittel’s behalf.

The Rev. Wiatrowski did not return calls by press time. He told the News Leader in May that he thinks his actions have been misconstrued.

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

UNITED STATES
PopeCrimes& Vatican Evils.

Paris Arrow

Papal Tribunal for Bishops: an affront to The Hague, United Nations, International Criminal Court, civil courts of justice, suffering victims; a Vatican Empire PR campaign

*Another Emperor’s New Clothes fairy-pope-tale of the Vatican Roman Catholic Church.
*Another Devil-as-Angel-of-Light PR stunt by Pope Francis!
*Another Opus Dei Beast Deceits Team PR Stunt of the Day!
*Another Jesuits Masters of Deceits strategy to camouflage Vatican Mammon Evil Beast!
*The Vatican Roman Catholic Church’s JP2 Army – John Paul II Pedophile Priests Army is the largest religious pedophile ring on the planet earth – thanks to its cooperators of popes, cardinals and bishops who covered it up and its Eucharist modus operandi that makes 1.2 billion Catholics feel-good about it.

The new tribunal set up by Pope Francis to judge and discipline bishops accused of covering up or failing to report pedophile priests –– is an insult to long-suffering countless victims, a farce, a sham and a mockery to The Hague, The United Nations, the International Criminal Court, the Ramsey County Office of the Attorney, and all civil courts of law and justice –– because it will not examine the known decades old past cases – and not try the already guilty cardinals and bishops who admitted guilt in public or who have been found guilty by civil courts of law in cities, counties and countries including the United Nations.

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

UNTIED STATES
The Worthy Adversary

Posted by Joelle Casteix on June 13, 2015

The Compassionate Response: How to help and empower the adult victim of child sexual abuse is now available in Spanish. Paperback and Kindle editions.

About the book:

One of the hardest things that many adult survivors of child sexual abuse will ever do is come forward and tell someone. Even if the survivor finally discloses decades after the crime, the pain is still fresh and the shame still stings.

But for the person the survivor tells, hearing the news and knowing how to react in a compassionate, safe, and empowering way can be almost as difficult.

This easy-to-use book gives friends, spouses, and loved ones guidelines on compassionate responses and appropriate resources—including services, information on civil and criminal statutes of limitation, and support—that can help adult survivors of child sex begin the path towards healing.

La Respuesta Compasiva: Cómo ayudar y fortalecer a la víctima adulta de abuso sexual infantil.

Una de las situaciones más difíciles que pueden experimentar muchos sobrevivientes adultos de abuso sexual es tomar la decisión de contárselo a alguien. Incluso si el sobreviviente finalmente lo revela muchas décadas después de que el abuso sucedió, el dolor todavía se seguirá sintiendo como algo reciente y la vergüenza todavía lastimará.

No obstante, para la persona a quien el sobreviviente le cuenta el suceso, puede ser casi igual de difícil escuchar la noticia y saber cómo reaccionar de manera compasiva, segura y fortalecedora.

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

UNITED STATES
the Daily Review

The Jerry Sandusky child sexual abuse scandal has resulted in several legal reforms in Pennsylvania, including expanded and clearer reporting requirements and a pending effort to eliminate the statute of limitations for such crimes.

Those changes are in response not just to the circumstances of Mr. Sandusky’s crimes, but to research that has produced a better understanding of the obstacles faced by surviving victims.

Now, the Sandusky case is one in a series of high-profile cases involving an array of criminally and civilly alleged sex crimes. Most recently, former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert pleaded not guilty Tuesday to alleged financial crimes underlying his alleged cover-up of a long-ago incident involving a minor. Allegations of sex crimes also have been made in recent years against Bill Cosby and reality TV personality Josh Duggar.

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

AUSTRALIA
Newcastle Herald

By JOANNE McCARTHY June 13, 2015

A MARIST Brother who was jailed in 2001 for sexual intercourse with a 12-year-old boy, but remains a Marist Brother, is selling comic books and school resources for the order through its official Australian schools website.

Brother Terry Gilsenan was jailed for offences against the boy in the 1980s, but has been the order’s contact person for sales of the ‘‘Champagnat Comic Book’’, and ‘‘cards, posters and publications for your school or ministry’’, for an unknown period until this week.

He was a teacher at Hamilton Marist Brothers in 1995-96.

He is identified only as ‘‘Brother Terry’’ on the Marist Schools Australia website, but can be contacted directly on an email address, land line and mobile phone numbers that are available from the website.

Gilsenan’s email address is also listed as contact point for the ‘‘Champagnat Comic Book’’ about Marist Brothers founder, St Marcellin Champagnat, in a Marist Brothers newsletter advertisement in March.

Marist Brothers Provincial Brother Jeffrey Crowe this week defended the order’s decision to place a convicted child sex offender’s direct contact details on a Marist Schools Australia website, but it has outraged victims’ advocate Bob O’Toole and NSW Greens Justice spokesman David Shoebridge.

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

CANADA
APTN

Julien Gignac
APTN National News

Notes released by the Vatican recounting a 10-minute meeting between Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Pope Francis Thursday failed to mention the topic of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Harper said he reminded the Pope of the letter sent by his Aboriginal Affairs minister regarding the Truth and Reconciliation commission.

The letter, sent last week, notifies the Holy See of the commission.

But in meeting notes released by officials at the Vatican, there is no mention of Harper raising the issue of the TRC.

The TRC released 94 recommendations June 2, one of which asks for an official apology to be made by the Pope in Canada for abuses carried out by the Roman Catholic Church in its residential school system.

The release made by Harper’s office does not specify which recommendation was presented or whether the prime minister personally invited Pope Francis to Canada to apologize.

Many hoped Harper would use the meeting with the Pope to secure an apology for what the TRC calls the “the Roman Catholic Church’s role in the spiritual, cultural, emotional, physical, and sexual abuse of First Nations, Inuit, and Metis children in Catholic-run residential schools.”

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

AUSTRALIA
ABC News

Natasha Harradine

The Catholic Archbishop of Perth says a new project to protect children from child abuse is his major priority during his time in the role.

Archbishop Timothy Costelloe said the Safeguarding Project, believed to be the first of its kind nationally, has been launched in response to what he described as the “terrible scandal of sexual abuse of children” in the care of the Catholic Church.

The church has been identified during the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse as repeatedly failing to act on reports that members and clergy had abused children.

The Safeguarding Project has been welcomed by 720 ABC Perth presenter Eoin Cameron who was abused as a child by a priest and won compensation from the church.

Archbishop Costelloe said while the church would respond to issues raised in the royal commission, it was important to act now.

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

AUSTRALIA
Newcastle Herald

By JOANNE McCARTHY June 12, 2015

THE Catholic Education Office provided a record of service statement for a sacked lay teacher and convicted child sex offender in 1979, but did not report him to police, after it was allegedly told he had sexually abused four children.

Former St Patricks Sutherland principal Brother Anthony Whelan, who retired as director of Broken Bay Catholic Schools Office in 2012, told a church investigator in 2010 that he reported ‘‘sexual misconduct’’ by teacher Thomas Keady to the Catholic Education Sydney Office in 1979 and was advised to ‘‘summarily dismiss’’ Keady.

The investigation was terminated by the Christian Brothers before Catholic Education Office records could be obtained or witnesses interviewed.

Brother Whelan did not report the allegations against Keady to police in 1979, and said he advised the 12- and 13-year-old male students to tell their parents.

The 2010 church investigation was launched after Hunter man and Keady victim Rob Roseworne complained to Maitland-Newcastle diocese.

On Wednesday Mr Roseworne lodged a submission with the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse about the church’s handling of Keady, and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions’ decision in 2013 not to charge Brother Whelan with concealing Keady’s offences because it was ‘‘not in the public interest’’, despite a prima facie case against him.

After Brother Whelan wrote to the Catholic Education Office about whether Keady was entitled to a statement of service, the office responded with a statement noting Keady had been employed as a full-time teacher at the school from 1966 to 1979. It did not say he had been sacked or make any reference to child sex allegations.

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

UNITED STATES
The Blaze

Stephen Herreid

This week the Vatican announced the creation of a new tribunal to hold bishops accountable for sex abuse cover-ups. A Vatican spokesman echoed the pleas of many victim advocates when he went beyond the topic of individual predator priests and singled out negligent bishops.

“This is another kind of responsibility and shortcoming, and has to be judged in an appropriate way with appropriate rules,” he said.

While conservatives may have serious qualms with Pope Francis, his handling of sex-abuse cover-ups provides an opportunity to practice humility when seeming ideological allies are implicated. This week’s tribunal announcement should remind us of earlier actions the pope has taken to combat cover-ups. Embarrassingly, not all of us have welcomed his efforts.

Last February, hundreds of priests rustled into the Paul VI Audience Hall for a meeting with Pope Francis. Some of them, dressed in the now-rare black cassocks that were once commonplace before the Second Vatican Council, must have shifted in their seats as the Holy Father delivered his remarks. The word “traditionalist” echoed through the hall several times, and it sounded almost derogatory coming from the progressive pope.

Zenit News reports:

[Pope Francis] referred to the case of some bishops who accepted “traditionalist” seminarians who were kicked out of other dioceses, without finding out information on them, because “they presented themselves very well, very devout.” They were then ordained, but these were later revealed to have “psychological and moral problems.” … It is not a practice, but it “happens often” in these environments, the Pope stressed, and to ordain these types of seminarians is like placing a “mortgage on the Church.”

The Holy Father did not specify which cases he was referring to, but some of the priests in his audience could guess: Recent headlines tell the story of Father Carlos Urrutigoity of the Diocese of Ciudad del Este in Paraguay, where Pope Francis recently removed a traditionalist bishop who had accepted and even promoted Urrutigoity, despite the priest’s long and gruesome reputation as a sociopathic homosexual predator.

Carlos Urrutigoity’s “Intimate Acquaintances”

Shortly before landing in Paraguay, Urrutigoity escaped prosecution for molesting a minor in the U.S. (thanks to Pennsylvania’s statute of limitations). “John Doe,” the minor who came forward, was a student at St. Gregory’s Academy in Elmhurst, Pennsylcvania, where Urrutigoity served as a chaplain.

St. Gregory’s Academy was a tiny, experimental school run by Catholics devoted to the traditional Latin Mass, who barred their students from TV, CD’s, and cell phones in an attempt to shield them from the decadence of modern popular culture.

But according to whistleblowers and sworn testimonies, this “experiment in tradition” went horribly wrong: Heavy underage drinking, bed-sharing, and group nudity were standard occurrences among students, and the Academy’s close, unwholesome atmosphere provided an easy playing field for Urrutigoity’s methods of manipulation and seduction, which included plying students with alcohol and tobacco, and convincing them to sleep in his bed as part of their “spiritual direction.”

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

MINNESOTA
Star Tribune

By Hank Shea JUNE 12, 2015

The recent criminal charges filed against the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis compel me to write to you, via the newspaper. I have hoped and prayed for many months that you would step down as head of the archdiocese. But now I feel both morally and ethically obligated to communicate my views to you and our community before more pain and harm is suffered by the members of the archdiocese, our Catholic Church and you.

You and other persons now stand criminally accused of wrongdoing by the Ramsey County attorney. As you know, the complaint specifically alleges that you participated in criminal conduct. Although only the archdiocese has been actually charged as a criminal defendant, an organization such as the archdiocese, like any corporation, can only commit a criminal offense based on the conduct of persons in that organization, such as you and the others named in the complaint.

The archdiocese (and anyone named in the complaint) is, of course, presumed to be innocent of any criminal offense at this stage of the state’s prosecution. Absent a plea agreement between the county attorney and the archdiocese, the government will have to present evidence to prove its charges in a court of law in one or more hearings and, ultimately, a trial. Based on my 20 years of experience as a former federal prosecutor here in Minnesota, I can tell you that any such hearings and trial will be a disaster for the archdiocese, its members, the church and you. This is true regardless of the outcome of the case.

For some time now, you have ignored calls for you to step down as head of the archdiocese. Whatever the reasons for your remaining in office, this no longer matters. The criminal complaint and its allegations virtually assure that either you will be leaving your position on your own initiative or you will be removed from it. It is time for you to accept that the status quo cannot continue. The archdiocese more than ever needs new leadership to put its legal troubles behind it and, more important, to allow genuine healing to begin, including for the victims of clergy abuse.

There are many reasons for you to step down immediately. Here are just a few of them:

First, it will help stop the bleeding. The entire archdiocese has been suffering spiritual death caused by a thousand cuts due to a failure of leadership. Although the wrongdoing did not begin with you, it continued under your watch and you remained willfully blind to it.

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

CHICAGO (IL)
Chicago Sun-Times

WRITTEN BY ASHLEE REZIN

A man filed a lawsuit Friday against the Archdiocese of Chicago, claiming he was sexually abused by convicted former Catholic priest Nortbert Maday at a South Side parish from 1979 to 1982.

The plaintiff, listed in the lawsuit as John Doe, was a 10-year-old altar boy at Saint Bede the Venerable Parish, 8200 S. Kostner Ave., when Maday began abusing him in 1979, he claims in the suit, which was filed Friday in Cook County Circuit Court.

Maday, who was ordained in 1964, was a priest at Saint Bede from 1977 to 1983, records show.

The suit claims Maday would take the altar boy and other children on various trips to pizza parlors, amusements parks and Maday’s adult friends’ houses.

The boy — the youngest of his parents’ seven children, who all worshiped at the parish — was sexually abused by Maday at various locations, including the church’s sacristy, Maday’s bedroom in the church rectory, other residences and Maday’s car, the suit claims.

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

CHICAGO (IL)
Chicago Tribune

By Lauren Zumbach
Chicago Tribune

A former Chicago priest is facing new allegations from a man who says the convicted, defrocked priest abused him as a boy, according to court records.

The lawsuit, filed Friday in Cook County court, claims Norbert Maday sexually abused the Cook County man, identified only as John Doe, when he was a student at St. Bede the Venerable, starting in 1979 when Doe was a 10-year-old altar boy.

The three-count suit accuses Maday of battery, alleging he “engaged in the intentional, non-consensual, harmful and offensive touching and sexual abuse of Plaintiff on multiple occasions from 1979 to 1981,” in Maday’s bedroom and car and in the church sacristy.

The man also accuses the Catholic Bishop of Chicago and the Archdiocese of Chicago of negligence and willful and wanton misconduct, including failing to properly investigate reports of inappropriate sexual behavior or abuse by priests including Maday.

The suit also faults the archdiocese and Catholic Bishop with failing to report Maday when they knew or should have known about his sexual misconduct, with allowing Maday to have unsupervised contact with minor boys and with not warning Doe and his family about Maday, according to the lawsuit.

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

CALIFORNIA
The Record

By Julie Najjar

A History of Loneliness
by John Boyne (Doubleday Canada, 384 pages $24.95 trade paperback)

We have heard much about the shocking allegations of the sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests worldwide over the past several decades, so it was with a sense of trepidation that I approached John Boyne’s latest novel.

“A History of Loneliness” tells the achingly sad story of Odran Yates, a Catholic priest in Dublin as he looks back over his life, from the time he was a young boy in the 1970s up to the present day, when he must face the role he, too, may have played in the vast and far-reaching coverup of sexual abuse by the Roman Catholic Church over the past five decades.

Odran tells how his Irish family went from three to five and back to three again when tragedy struck while he was still a young boy. Seeking consolation, his mother becomes involved in the church, and she tells Odran he has a calling — a vocation to become a priest.

Faced with no better options, he enters the seminary at Conliffe at 17, where he and Tom Cardle become “cellmates” and, by default, best friends.

Tom, unlike Odran, is not cut out for the life of a priest, but he has no choice in the matter. This relationship, and Tom’s subsequent actions, form the basis for Odran’s conflicted feelings as he struggles to stay true to his calling in a world where priests have gone from being respected and revered members of the community to being shunned and looked upon with suspicion and even disgust.

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

IRELAND
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dublinn

Child safeguarding measures increase as level of complaints decrease

An ongoing decline in the number of abuse allegations against priests has allowed the Dublin Diocesan Safeguarding service to significantly increase the level of child protection training it offers to parishes.

Today (Friday 12th June) the SCPS, Child Safeguarding and Protection Service, launched its annual update of statistical information and also highlighted the availability of Towards Peace, a national service aimed at providing spiritual support to victims of abuse.

The Director of Safeguarding for the Dublin Archdiocese, Andrew Fagan, said the number of allegations of abuse processed by the service has dropped significantly over the past five years. This has allowed them to apply more resources in the area of safeguarding and increase the effort around prevention of child abuse.

This includes providing training to child safeguarding representatives in parishes, meeting regularly with parish teams and identifying and improving areas where prevention measures can be improved.

Close to 1,000 people availed of training and information services last year. The number of Dublin Diocesan trainers accredited by the National Board has increased and another 7,000 people including clergy, lay staff and volunteers were Garda vetted.

Mr. Fagan paid tribute to the many external agencies represented that supported them in their work, including members of An Garda Síochána and representatives from Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. He said it was also crucial to the work of the SCPS that they can rely on the support and expertise of the staff of the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church and organisations that support those who have experienced sexual crime. He said over the years they have developed very positive working relationships with One in Four, the Rape Crisis Centre and others.

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

IRELAND
Irish Examiner

Saturday, June 13, 2015

by Caroline O’Doherty

Allegations of child sex abuse have been made against five more Catholic priests from the country’s largest diocese.

The new claims came as Archbishop Diarmuid Martin admitted he was still not satisfied that all clergy were doing enough to protect children and survivors of abuse.

“The culture of safeguarding is not evenly embedded across the Church and that is a cause of concern,” he said.

Three of the five priests who were reported to the Dublin Archdiocese during 2014 are now dead and the other two are retired.

Archbishop Martin said while this made investigation difficult, it revealed much about the trauma inflicted on those who were abused.

“Survivors are still coming forward which means that for years they have been suffering without feeling able to tell their story and share their grief,” he said.

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

TEXAS
El Paso Times

By Aaron Martinez / El Paso Times /
POSTED: 06/12/2015

An El Paso man who claims that he was sexually abused by a Catholic priest in El Paso in the 1970s filed a lawsuit on Wednesday against the Catholic Diocese of El Paso claiming negligence on the church’s part, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit claims that the Rev. Denis Tejada, who was serving at St. Patrick Cathedral at the time, allegedly abused the man who was 10-year-old at the time between 1974 and 1975. Tejada is no longer a priest and could not be found for comment.

The alleged victim, who is identified in the lawsuit as John Doe, said he was as an altar server at the church and would help Tejada with church services. In 1974, Tejada asked the victim to help with a Mass early in the morning.

Tejada reportedly asked the victim’s mother if the 10-year-old could stay the night at the St. Patrick Cathedral’s rectory since the Mass was early in the morning, according to the lawsuit.

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

CANADA
Medicine Hat News

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission recently delivered its final report about Canada’s residential schools. Briefly in the news, it was quickly shoved so far in the back of the bus as to almost be on another bus entirely.

Justice Murray Sinclair, the TRC chair, and SCOC Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin, acknowledged the true nature of the crime against aboriginal people in Canada, calling it “cultural genocide.”.

For the sake of informing the argument, it’s helpful to review what happened.

Little kids were kidnapped by the state and packed off to boarding schools — sometimes hundreds of miles away — where they were routinely beaten, starved, exploited, sexually abused, experimented on, psychologically tortured and, in the case of at least 6,000 little kids, killed — by disease, neglect and, even though no one wants to say the words out loud, by design.

Their parents were powerless to prevent the abductions. And when their little kids never came home, they had no recourse. They didn’t speak the language, they didn’t know how to negotiate the endless bureaucracy, and they were prohibited by law from having any money of their own to hire a lawyer to do it for them.

Most of the non-aboriginal people alive today had little to do with any decisions about residential schools. The mentality that invented the scheme to assassinate Indian society, culture, heritage and hope for the future was a product of bigoted 19th century savages, imbued with European imperial superiority, and bolstered by the absolute conviction that they were entitled to rid the world of all influences but their own. Modern Canadians can hardly assume responsibility for those guys. And we shouldn’t feel guilty about it.

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

FLORIDA
Sun Sentinel

By Paula McMahon
Sun Sentinel

To the outside world, Jeffery London was an upright, God-fearing pastor, a dean of students, a youth group leader and school security guard who benevolently brought needy boys to live with him.

But witnesses who testified for the prosecution Friday in London’s trial on a federal sex charge, said London’s public persona belied his manipulative, abusive behavior in private.

London, 51, has pleaded not guilty to one count of using a cellphone to lure a minor into sexual activity with him.

Former church and school official, Jeffery London, 51, is now facing a federal charge accusing him of using a cell phone to lure an underage boy into sexual activity. (Broward Sheriffs Office/Handout)
The alleged victim, now 20, told jurors London sexually abused him between the ages 7 and 16. The man is not being identified by the Sun Sentinel because of the nature of the allegations.

Jurors also heard Friday from London’s ex-wife, Aretha Wimberly, who testified she came home unexpectedly one day to their Coral Springs home and found London in bed — under the covers and behind a locked bedroom door — with another underaged boy.

Though she saw no sexual activity, after unlocking the door with a spare key her husband did not know she had, she said the incident made her “very uncomfortable.”

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

MINNESOTA
KFGO

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Minnesota prosecutors have taken legal action against the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, accusing church leaders of failing to protect children from an abusive priest. The case includes criminal charges as well as a civil petition that asks the court to order the archdiocese to restrain from its alleged behavior.

Some questions and answers about the case:

CRIMINAL VS. CIVIL: WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE? The criminal charges and civil petition both stem from church leaders’ alleged failure to protect children from Curtis Wehmeyer, a former priest who remained in ministry for years despite signs that he was a risk. Wehmeyer was ultimately convicted of molesting two boys and faces prosecution in Wisconsin for molesting a third.

The criminal case charges the archdiocese with six gross misdemeanor counts. The archdiocese could face a maximum of $18,000 in fines if convicted.

While the criminal charges hold the archdiocese accountable for past crimes, the civil petition seeks “legal remedies to prevent the archdiocese from allowing this behavior to ever happen again,” Ramsey County Attorney John Choi said earlier this month. It seeks no monetary damages. In the petition, prosecutors are asking the court to restrain the archdiocese from repeating the behavior, require it to correct and eliminate conditions that allowed the cover-up and order any other remedies the court deems appropriate.

Bishop Andrew Cozzens said on June 5 that the archdiocese will cooperate with prosecutors.

“We all share the same goal: To provide safe environments for all children in our churches and in our communities,” he said.

WOULD COURTS HAVE OVERSIGHT OF THE CHURCH?

Under church law, the bishop has ultimate supervision of his priests and priests take vows to obey. If the state intrudes on that relationship, the church can claim it infringes on religious liberty, said Charles Reid Jr., a professor of canon law at St. Thomas University.

Reid said Ramsey County’s civil petition is carefully worded to avoid that. He said the document seeks assurances that the archdiocese is doing what it promised to do and following its own charters to protect children.

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

MINNESOTA
Pioneer Press

By Ruben Rosario
rrosario@pioneerpress.com

Linette Gavin was not surprised when she heard the news that criminal charges were filed this month against the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis for failing to protect children from pedophiles in their midst.

The charges were “long overdue and probably the only way to bring a catalyst for change,” said Gavin, 57, a married mother of two who was raised Catholic. “Their lack of transparency over the past decades put a lot of children in harm’s way, including myself.”

Gavin is not a victim of clergy sexual abuse. But she has a related story to tell, one that involves surviving a brutal abduction and rape, an attempted suicide and a scary bout with breast cancer. Yet, one lingering emotional scar is what she strongly feels, in hindsight, was neglect and betrayal by church officials in her parish during the most traumatic year of her life more than three decades ago.

Gavin was 15 years old when a stranger lured her into his car while she was walking home from school in South Minneapolis one September afternoon in 1972. Her eyes were duct-taped shut and she was driven at gunpoint to a motel in St. Paul and sexually assaulted. She was let go on the Minneapolis side and walked home in a state of shock. The case was never solved.

When informed, her parents, devout Catholics, contacted police and turned to their parish at St. Albert the Great, staffed by the Dominican order, for spiritual guidance and help for their daughter.

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

CANADA
The Telegram

Barb Sweet
Published on June 12, 2015

A long and tangly civil case against the Catholic Church and the Christian Brothers involving alleged victims of physical and sexual abuse at Mount Cashel from the 1940s and ’60s has taken another turn, The Telegram has learned.

The Mount Cashel orphanage, shown above in a file photo. — Telegram file photo

According to the lawyer for those alleged victims, the case clears the last hurdle to give them their day in court.

“Our plan is to bring this to trial as soon as possible — we anticipate this coming fall, lawyer Geoff Budden told The Telegram Friday.

“We’re ready for court. Let’s do it, if there is to be a trial.”

A decision handed down this week scores a procedural win for the victims’ side in the pretrial saga.

The Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador has ruled against the first defendant Roman Catholic Episcopal Corp. of St. John’s.

Thomas O’Reilly, lawyer for the Episcopal Corp. did not have much comment on the case Friday.

“That judge didn’t agree. That’s fine,” O’Reilly said, adding the application wasn’t an unusual procedure.

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

VIRGINIA
Richmond Times-Dispatch

BY NED OLIVER Richmond Times-Dispatch

Three days before the trial of its former pastor is scheduled to begin, the Richmond Outreach Center announced that it’s changing its name to Celebration Church and Outreach Ministry and is hiring a new transitional pastor.

The South Richmond church posted on its Facebook page Friday that it has hired Robert Rhoden, who has a history working with struggling and scandal-touched churches.

According to the Orlando Sentinel, Rhoden served in 2013 as the transitional pastor at Calvary Assembly, whose congregation shrank from 5,000 members to about 650 after a series of crises that included a pastor caught in an extramarital affair and a heavy debt load.

“Dr. Rhoden has the integrity, experience and faith to lead our church and make a lasting difference in Richmond for generations to come,” David Lynn, Chairman of the Richmond Outreach Center’s board, said in a statement. “His heart to empower the needy and strengthen the hearts of the membership has touched us deeply. We are honored to have him on board.”

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

UNITED STATES
Eastbourne Herald

A retired priest from Eastbourne, Robert Coles, has been sentenced to sixteen months imprisonment after admitting sex offences against a young boy in Portslade between 38 and 41 years ago.

He is already serving an eight-year sentence for similar offences against three other young boys in West Sussex between 31 and 38 years ago.

The 16-month sentence will run consecutively to that eight-year sentence.

Coles, 74, of Upperton Road, Eastbourne, a now retired Church of England priest, pleaded guilty at Hove Crown Court on Friday (June 12) to eight offences of indecent assault against a boy then aged under 16, between 1974 and 1977 – all at a vicarage where Coles formerly lived and worked in Foredown Drive, Portslade.

Coles is already in prison, serving an eight-year sentence imposed at Brighton Crown Court on February 14 2013 having pleaded guilty to 11 offences, ie; one offence of buggery and four indecent assaults against a boy at a location in Chichester between 1982 and 1984, two of indecent assault of the same boy between 1982 and 1983, and to three indecent assaults against each of two other boys in West Sussex and elsewhere, between 1978 and 1979.

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

UNITED KINGDOM
BBC News

A retired Church of England priest already serving an eight-year jail term for sex attacks on boys has admitted two further offences.

Robert Coles, 74, from Eastbourne, in East Sussex, admitted two indecent assaults against boys in East Sussex and Hampshire at Lewes Crown Court.

For one attack, he was given a 16-month jail term to run consecutively with the prison term he is already serving.

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

DEUTSCHLAND
Die Welt

[Serious sexual violence has been uncovered at a Catholic daycare center in Mainz. The abuse is said to have gone on for months. Leaders are wondering: How did we get here?]

Generalvikar Prälat Dietmar Giebelmann ringt mit seinen Worten. Der Begriff, mit dem er seine Sätze an diesem Tag häufig beschließt, ist “fassungslos”. Giebelmann will erklären wie es in einer katholischen Kita in seinem Bistum zu sexueller Gewalt unter Kindern gekommen sein soll und kann es nur mit Mühe. “Wir können uns kaum erklären, wie diese Vorfälle über einen langen Zeitraum unbemerkt bleiben konnten”, sagt der 68-Jährige am Donnerstag in Mainz.

Obwohl die Erzieher erste Hinweise schon vor Monaten erhalten hätten, sei nichts nach außen gedrungen – es habe sich um ein geschlossenes System gehandelt. Ein System, das nun offenbar traumatisierte Kinder im Alter von drei bis sechs Jahren hinterlassen hat.

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

DEUTSCHLAND
General-Anzeiger

[Establishment of a tribunal at the Vatican to assess bishops who cover-up abuse is a first step but it does not replace action by law enforcement.]

Von Julius Müller-Meiningen

ROM. Die Einrichtung des neuen Vatikan-Tribunals ist ein wichtiger Schritt, das staatliche Monopol auf Strafverfolgung ist dadurch jedoch nicht zu ersetzen. Ein Kommentar von GA-Korrespondent Julius Müller-Meiningen.

Die Geschichte der Missbrauchsbekämpfung ist wesentlich kürzer als die Geschichte sexuellen Missbrauchs in der katholischen Kirche. Papst Benedikt XVI. verschärfte entsprechende Rechtsvorschriften und traf sich erstmals mit Missbrauchsopfern. Papst Franziskus führte diese Linie fort und legte die Problematik mit der Gründung einer Kommission für Kinderschutz in kompetente Hände. An einem der Grundprobleme, dem falsch verstandenen katholischen Korpsgeist, setzt die Kirche erst jetzt mit der Gründung eines Tribunals für Fälle von Amtsmissbrauch durch Bischöfe an. Das ist eine positive, wenn auch überfällige Entwicklung.

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

DEUTSCHLAND
Katholisch

Kein Pardon mehr für Bischöfe, die Kindesmissbrauch vonseiten ihrer Priester durchgehen lassen: Papst Franziskus richtet im Vatikan eine neue Abteilung ein, die solche Vertuschungsfälle untersucht.

Missbrauchsvorwürfe gegen Priester werden schon seit 2001 – ein Verdienst des damaligen Kardinals Joseph Ratzinger – direkt im Vatikan durchleuchtet, weil das in den meisten Ortskirchen nicht entschieden genug geschah. Neu ist, dass sich der Vatikan nun offensiv auch für das Versagen der Bischöfe in solchen Fällen interessiert.

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

AUSTRALIA
Broken Rites

By a Broken Rites researcher (article updated 12 June 2015)

On 12 June 2015, in Sydney’s Downing Centre District Court, pre-sentence proceedings began for a Marist Brother, Francis William Cable (known as Brother “Romuald”), who has been found guilty of 13 serious child sex offences against two schoolboys after a jury trial. After the jury’s verdict, he entered guilty pleas to offences against another 17 schoolboys. The offences occurred in the 1960s and 1970s, when Brother “Romuald” Cable was aged in his thirties and forties. The offences include buggery, plus multiple counts of indecent assault. These 19 schoolboys are not necessarily Brother “Romuald” Cable’s only victims – these are merely those who have taken the opportunity to speak with police detectives. Too often, other similar victims remain silent.

Francis William Cable was born on 3 May 1932. He has been a Marist Brother since the 1950s. On becoming a Brother, he was assigned the name “Brother Romuald”, in honour of an ancient saint. But, as shown in this court case, Francis Cable was no saint. His colleagues and superiors ignored Brother Romuald’s crimes until finally one of his victims spoke to the detectives, who then found some more of Romuald’s victims.

How the court case began

On 29 January 2013 Brother “Romuald” Cable appeared in Newcastle Local court, where the first charges were officially recorded. The detectives then increased the number of indecent assault charges to 23, and added two buggery charges. The number of alleged victims increased from two to six. After this court appearance, more former students contacted Strike Force Georgiana detectives in Newcastle.

On 13 March 2013 the case came up for mention again in the same court.The number of charges against Cable was increased to 33 and the number of alleged victims was increased to 12.

When the case came up for mention again in court on 3 July 2013, the prosecutor told the court that another 13 charges would be laid against Cable, bringing the total to 46.

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

UNITED STATES
PBS

[with video]

TRANSCRIPT

JUDY WOODRUFF: Pope Francis has made his most significant move yet to deal with the sexual abuse scandals that have plagued the Catholic Church for more than three decades.

Yesterday, the Vatican announced an unprecedented step that victims have long sought: a tribunal to judge and discipline bishops accused of covering up or failing to act on reports of child sexual abuse.

Hari Sreenivasan has the story.

HARI SREENIVASAN: More than 800 priests have been defrocked over the years, and 2,500 have been penalized. But, until now, no pope has publicly confronted or punished a bishop himself for such offenses.

Several bishops here and aboard are under investigation after being accused of covering up such crimes. A number of victims’ groups supported the move, but some also said it didn’t go far enough.

John Allen closely covers the Vatican. He is an associate editor of The Boston Globe and the Crux, The Globe’s Web site covering the Catholic Church.

So, John, I remember how momentous it was when Pope John Paul II apologized for sexual abuse. How big of a deal is this tribunal that will go after bishops?

JOHN ALLEN, Associate Editor, The Boston Globe: Well, Hari, I think it’s an enormously big deal, if it works as it’s been described.

The central bone of contention among survivors of abuse and their advocacy groups over the years has been that the Catholic Church has adopted very stern policies for abuse. They have officially embraced zero tolerance. Today, if a priest is accused of abusing a minor, he’s going to be yanked out of ministry and probably ultimately kicked out of the priesthood relatively quickly.

Their complaint has been that there hasn’t been a similar system of accountability for bishops who covered up these crimes. And that’s, obviously, the hole that Pope Francis is trying to fill.

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

UNITED STATES
SNAP Australia

Ray Mouton

USA, June 10, 2015

[Ray Mouton is the author of the celebrated novel In God’s House. He is also a co-author of the celebrated report offered to the bishops in 1985 and subsequently ignored by them. This report not only recommended but urged the bishops to take several concrete steps lest they face disastrous consequences in the future. They ignored the report, refused to take any steps and suffered the consequences predicted. Ray Mouton was in the middle of the volcano when it exploded.]

This is the biggest non-story in the history of the clergy child sex abuse scandal.

Read the headline and then read the whole story.

The headline proclaims that Pope Francis has created an abuse tribunal for cases of bishop’s negligence.

First, it should be noted a bishop does not “negligently” cover up heinous crimes committed by priests against innocent children. A bishop’s actions in covering up crimes are “intentional” actions, not “negligent” actions.

The body of the article that explains the headline is inaccurate.

The pope has authorized the formation of a tribunal. No tribunal has been formed.

Much more importantly, the tribunal to be formed has been given no substantive guidelines to be employed in reviewing a case of any bishop or how the case would be brought before the tribunal or what kind of punishment would be authorized by the tribunal.

The formation of the tribunal was a recommendation of the Vatican commission on child protection, the group studying clergy sex abuse.

The man the pope selected to head the commission, Cardinal Sean O’Malley, who is the pope’s roommate in the papal apartment when he is in Rome is himself a bishop who has for over ten years refused to divulge the identity of a number of priests in Boston against whom credible abuse complaints were brought, and thus one wonders whether this close friend of the pope should be a bishop in line to receive punitive measures like removal from office.

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

UNTIED STATES
NECN

Anne Barrett Doyle, the founder of BishopAccountability.org, discusses Pope Francis’ new program that would discipline bishops who failed to take measures to prevent sexual abuse of minors.

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

UNITED STATES
Island Packet

BY MARY SANCHEZ
The Kansas City Star
June 12, 2015

The Vatican announced it will establish a new tribunal to sanction bishops who fail to protect children from sexual abuse by members of the clergy.

Forgive me if I’m unimpressed.

Maybe that’s a reporter’s jadedness. I’ve spent too many years with the grim details, listening to testimony of victims, reading their depositions in civil cases and seeing how bishops did a stellar job of shielding not the child victims but the accused priests.

And it’s from living in a diocese whose bishop was convicted of failing to report suspected child abuse and was allowed by the Vatican to quietly resign this spring – more than two years after his conviction.

Yes, this move by the Holy See is a positive one. It will exist solely to hear cases involving bishops who have covered up abuse. The bishops, the leaders of the church’s dioceses, have largely escaped punishment in sex abuse scandals.

This is the Vatican playing catch-up. For many victims, altar boys and former parochial school children who are now grown men and women, it’s too late.

Rome cannot sanction the bishops who deserve the most scrutiny. Many of them – the ones who so callously ruled their dioceses in the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s – are deceased. Likewise, many pedophile priests from those eras took the secret of their sins to the grave.

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

FLORIDA
Sun Sentinel

By Tonya Alanez
Sun Sentinel

He was only 7 and he knew it was wrong, yet he said nothing. And it went on for nine confusing years: sexual victimization at the hands of his trusted youth pastor.

The man, now 20, recounted his story to jurors Thursday in a Fort Lauderdale federal coutroom.

“Something told me it wasn’t right, and I still laid there anyways. I didn’t know whether to say something or get up,” said the man, whom the Sun Sentinel is not identifying. “I knew it was going too far.”

The alleged victim was the first witness to take the stand in the federal trial against Jeffery London, 51, former youth pastor at Bible Church of God in Fort Lauderdale and dean of students at Eagle Charter Academy in Lauderdale Lakes.

London, who also worked at a Boys & Girls Club in Broward County in the 1990s, was acquitted in state court last year on 27 charges that he sexually abused four at-risk boys who lived at his unlicensed foster home, London’s Hotel.

London now faces a lone federal charge of using a cellphone to lure one of those boys, a distant relative, into sexual activity. He has pleaded not guilty and faces 10 years to life in prison if convicted.

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

VATICAN CITY
Vatican Radio

[with audio]

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis’ and his ‘C9’ Council of cardinal advisors concluded a meeting at the Santa Marta residence on Wednesday, after discussing key changes regarding child protection, financial transparency and the reorganization of Vatican communications. The three day encounter was the tenth session since the Pope first announced the setting up of the new group one month after his election in 2013.

The primary task of the nine Church leaders from across the globe over the coming months is to offer advice on the crucial work of reforming the Roman Curia – an ambitious goal that has largely eluded popes of the past century who’ve attempted the same task.

Originally from Ferrara in northern Italy, church historian, author and professor Massimo Faggioli is director of the Institute for Catholicism and Citizenship at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul- Minnesota in the United States. He’s currently researching the history of the Roman Curia and he spoke to Philippa Hitchen about the challenges facing Pope Francis as he seeks to guide and implement the reform of this ancient institution:

There is no one book on the history of the Roman Curia, Massimo says, so he’s currently working in the Vatican Library and Archives to try and reconstruct the history of the past ten centuries of an institution that is “the oldest functioning bureaucracy in the world”….

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

NEW YORK
Wall Street Journal

By SOPHIA HOLLANDER
June 11, 2015

A renewed drive to overhaul New York’s statute of limitations for sexual-abuse cases involving minors appears to have stalled in the state Legislature, despite attracting a record number of sponsors this year, advocates said.

Legislative attempts to revamp the statute date back a decade. Versions of the bill have passed four times in the Assembly, but never received a vote in the Senate. The legislative session ends on June 17.

Under current law, people who were sexually abused as minors have five years after they turn 18 to file a claim against their alleged abuser.

The bill, which attracted more than 60 sponsors in the Assembly, including more than a dozen Republicans, would eliminate civil and criminal statutes of limitations for sex crimes against minors.

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

GUAM
Marianas Variety

BY JASMINE STOLE | VARIETY NEWS STAFF

ABOUT 30 Catholic parishioners, most from the Immaculate Heart of Mary parish in Toto, gathered in peaceful prayer in front of the Archdiocese of Agana Chancery Office in Hagåtña yesterday afternoon.

A letter from the chancery office to Rev. Mike Crisostomo, pastor of the Toto church, indicated Crisostomo was to meet with Archbishop Anthony Apuron at 3 p.m. yesterday which was also when the prayer service began. Parishioner John Taitano told the crowd gathered that the prayer service was for Crisostomo.

When Crisostomo arrived at about 3 p.m., he walked up the hill to the Chancery Office with the crowd praying the Divine Mercy chaplet following.

According to Catholic blogger Tim Rohr and the letter from Apuron to Crisostomo, at issue is the Archdiocesan Annual Appeal. Catholics upset with Apuron have stopped contributing to the appeal, according to Rohr.

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

NEW YORK
JWeekly

The Riverdale Jewish Center in the Bronx, New York, reportedly is seeking to get rid of Rabbi Jonathan Rosenblatt, whose habit of inviting young males to join him for naked heart-to-heart talks in the sauna was the subject of a recent article in the New York Times.

In a meeting June 8, the board of directors of Rosenblatt’s Orthodox synagogue, voted 34-8 to seek a financial settlement to get Rosenblatt to resign his pulpit position, the N.Y. Jewish Week reported. Though Rosenblatt’s unusual behavior long was known in his synagogue community, the board surmised that the publicity that now surrounds Rosenblatt would make it impossible for him to fulfill his rabbinic duties at the 700-member shul, the newspaper reported.

The Times story that prompted the firestorm focused on Rosenblatt’s custom of inviting male congregants or students, some as young as 12, to play squash or racquetball, then join him in the public shower and sauna or steam room, often naked. No one cited in the story accused Rosenblatt of sexual touching, but several expressed their discomfort with the practice and described the behavior as deeply inappropriate for a rabbi and mentor.

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

NEW YORK
Riverdale Press

By Shant Shahrigian
Posted 6/11/15

Nearly 200 members of the Riverdale Jewish Center (RJC) have signed a petition calling for Rabbi Jonathan Rosenblatt to remain the leader of the 700-strong synagogue, a petition organizer says.

The move came after RJC’s board appeared poised to oust the longtime leader of the synagogue following a May 29 New York Times article reporting that Rabbi Rosenblatt had led boys to a sauna naked in the 1980s and 1990s.

Mark Friedlander, a recently retired Supreme Court judge and 43-year-long RJC member, said as of Thursday afternoon, 187 total members have signed a document saying they “have never supported, do not support and will not support any effort to ‘buy out’ the rabbi’s contract and we urge all members, trustees and officers of the synagogue to continue to treat the rabbi with the full respect required.”

A Tuesday article in The Jewish Week quoted unnamed sources as saying the board had voted 34-8 “to seek a financial settlement with the rabbi and for him to step down.” The move followed a petition from at least 44 RJC members calling for the rabbi to leave.

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

UNITED STATES
Arizona Jewish Post

Posted June 11, 2015 / Deborah Rosenbloom, JTA

WASHINGTON (JTA) — When I read the article in The New York Times detailing the accusations against Rabbi Jonathan Rosenblatt of the Riverdale Jewish Center, I was deeply saddened.

This is the synagogue and community where I grew up. My parents moved to Riverdale in the 1950s and are among the RJC’s founding members. Rosenblatt — like the synagogue’s four rabbis before him — played an important part in the life of my family. However, my focus is not the RJC or any one rabbi.

My concerns are with the institutions in which we place our trust — institutions that seem to ignore the simple fact that rabbis and teachers are human and subject to temptations and personal demons. We hold our leaders in high esteem, but our institutions fail to monitor them to ensure that their power is not being abused and that the esteem is merited.

Whispers, like those in Riverdale, have been present in dark corners of many communities over the years. Those whispers have been hushed by men and women who choose to protect the institution to the detriment of those it’s supposed to serve. This is what happened at Penn State, which ignored or mishandled numerous episodes over the years in which football coach Jerry Sandusky sexually abused children. Our leaders often demonstrate poor judgment, pretending that if they ignore the underlying problem or handle it quietly among themselves the behavior will stop and the problems disappear

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

NEW YORK
The New York Times

By ANDY NEWMAN
JUNE 11, 2015

The prominent rabbi of a Bronx synagogue who has been the focus of attention for having taken boys and young men to the sauna naked is negotiating a buyout and expects to reach an agreement to step down “in the near future,” his lawyer said on Thursday.

The rabbi, Jonathan Rosenblatt of the Riverdale Jewish Center, anticipates a “very fair” settlement that recognizes his 30 years as the leader of the 700-member Modern Orthodox synagogue, his lawyer Benjamin Brafman said in a statement.

The synagogue board told congregation members on Tuesday that it had voted to try to “achieve an amicable resolution with Rabbi Rosenblatt.”

Rabbi Rosenblatt, 58, has three years left on his contract, Mr. Brafman said. He and synagogue officials declined to say how much the rabbi’s salary is.

For at least 25 years, Rabbi Rosenblatt would take younger male members of his congregation, other young men and rabbinical interns to play squash and then to the shower and sauna where, often naked, he would engage them in long talks that he described as critical to his mentoring process.

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

ISRAEL
Haaretz

By Yael Shahar

What would you do if rumors of sexual impropriety were circulating about someone in your community?

Whom would you approach and where would you get advice? It all depends. If the rumors concerned someone in your child’s school, you might go to the principal. If they concerned someone in your congregation you would likely talk to the rabbi; after all, the rabbi is expected to know everyone and to be above personal squabbles. He would be able to sniff out the source of the rumor discreetly, and if the matter were found to be serious, he would know whom to contact.

But what if the rumors were about the rabbi himself? Further, what if the rabbi in question is beloved by many, and in any case you’re not sure that any serious transgressions have occurred?

In a culture as reverent of tradition as ours, the veneration of rabbis is understandable. But this is not without risk: it removes the checks and balances that might keep inappropriate behavior from escalating to actual transgression.

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

UNITED STATES
Skip Shea

Today the Vatican announced that they would create a tribunal “for judging bishops accused of covering up or failing to act in cases of child sexual abuse by priests.” writes Elisabetta Povoledo and Laurie Goodstein for the New York Times. Not so buried in the story are two examples of criminal charges against Archbishop John C. Nienstedt of Minneapolis and St. Paul, whose archdiocese was indicted last week on charges related to the cover-up of sexual abuse of children. Then we have “Bishop Robert W. Finn of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph in Missouri, who was convicted on a misdemeanor charge for negligently handling a case involving a pedophile priest.” Plus Pell in Australia, the gay marriage vote in Ireland, which was seen as an “an unmitigated disaster” for the Catholic Church and well, that whole UN investigation and committee hearings into crimes against humanity and torture of children. Not the best PR for the PR Pope.

So what will this tribunal do? Who tells them that someone needs to be investigated?
For instance this past March the vatican appointed Bishop Juan Barros as the new Bishop of the southern Chilean diocese of Osorno. Barros has been not only accused of covering up for the notorious pedophile Reverend Fernando Karadima, in some cases Barros is accused of observing the abuse. Just to make sure he was actually covering up for a pedophile and not some poser. Still the Holy See found “no objective reason” not to make the appointment. Even as the Vatican found Karadima guilty of sexually abusing kids. Obviously Barros would never make it in front of this tribunal. He gets a new appointment.

Then there is the case of Jozef Wesolowski, defrocked archbishop of the Dominican who was called back to Rome avoiding criminal charges in the Dominican and who has been under house arrest within the walls of the Vatican. In an apartment. Because of his health. An awful lot of people pay 15 euros to get inside the walls of the Vatican to see the Sistine Chapel. His apartment is somewhere around there. For free.

The tribunal is good PR, especially with the charges filed in Minnesota. They want to look like they are in the prosecution game too. But if their very recent past actions are any indication, it’s just another PR stunt.

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

CANADA
StarPhoenix

BY MATTHEW FISHER, NATIONAL POST

At a Thursday meeting with Pope Francis, Prime Minister Stephen Harper only indirectly raised the issue of an apology from the Roman Catholic Church in the residential schools scandal – angering those who had hoped for a more personal appeal.

Harper did draw the pontiff ‘s attention to a letter to the Vatican from Aboriginal Affairs Minister Bernard Valcourt. It takes no stand on what the Pope should do, but does note that Harper had already issued an apology in 2008 to former residential school students – to the day seven years ago, in fact – and that the TRC released an executive summary of its final report last week, with 94 recommendations, including one related to “the Churches which operated residential schools in Canada.”

But in a news release issued after Harper had his private papal audience, the Vatican did not mention the Valcourt letter or the possibility of an apology.

The ostensible reason for Harper’s meeting with the Pope on Thursday was to invite him to Canada for the 150th anniversary of Confederation, in 2017. There was no indication from the Vatican whether the Pope would take the prime minister up on his offer.

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

PARAGUAY
Ultima Hora

El padre Carlos Urrutigoity abandonó la Parroquia de Ciudad del Este, Alto Paraná, según informó la Diócesis de esta ciudad a través de su cuenta en Facebook. El sacerdote fue acusado de abuso sexual en el extranjero y en su momento ha sido hombre de confianza del destituido obispo Rogelio Livieres Plano.

Urrutigoity abandonó la Parroquia del Espíritu Santo del Área 4 de CDE el pasado sábado 6 de junio. Sin embargo, recién este jueves fue publicada la noticia por la Diócesis local a través de su página de Facebook. El hombre fue nombrado en 2008 como Vicario General y era, además, superior de una congregación en la referida parroquia.

“Damos la bienvenida al padre Javier de los Misioneros de Jesús, que se reintegra en la Diócesis de Ciudad del Este, volviendo de Argentina. Acompañamos con nuestras oraciones a dos sacerdotes que dejan la Diócesis: el P. Adalberto Pelc, que tomó el avión el día 10 rumbo a Polonia para residir en su país, y el padre Carlos Urrutigoity, que viajó el 6 de junio a la Argentina, donde se quedará”, refiere el comunicado de la Diócesis publicado en la fecha.

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

PARAGUAY
ABC

[Priest Carlos Urrutigoity has left the Ciudad del Este diocese by order of Bishop Guillermo Steckling. The decision was taken after the pope decided to form a tribunal to judge bishops who protect child molesters. The decision was announced in a short statement released on Facebook. Urrutigoity was accused of abusing minors in other countries before coming to Paraguay.]

El sacerdote Carlos Urrutigoity fue sacado de la diócesis de Ciudad del Este por disposición del obispo Guillermo Steckling. El párroco había sido acusado en el extranjero por abuso sexual y pese a eso fue nombrado vicario general por monseñor Rogelio Livieres. Su expulsión sucede después de que el papa Francisco haya decidido crear un tribunal para juzgar por el delito de “abuso de poder” a los obispos que han encubierto a curas pederastas.

CIUDAD DEL ESTE (De nuestra redacción regional).Mediante un escueto comunicado divulgado en la red social de Facebook, la diócesis de esta comunidad altoparanaense informó ayer que el cuestionado sacerdote Carlos Urrutigoity fue sacado de esta comunidad.

Esta decisión se tomó después de que el papa Francisco decidiera conformar un tribunal que juzgará a los obispos protectores de abusadores de menores. Los prelados fueron comunicados cinco días antes de que se crearía dicho colegiado, lo cual fue informado oficialmente el miércoles último. Para evitar cualquier problema en dicho sentido, monseñor Guillermo Steckling invitó a Urrutigoity a que se retire de su diócesis y regrese a su país, Argentina.

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

ITALY
ANSA

(ANSA) – Rome, June 10 – Information provided by the Institute for Religious Works (IOR), the Vatican bank, allowed investigators to “close the circle” in their probe of the 500 million euro fraudulent bankruptcy of the Divine Providence nursing homes chain, judicial sources said Wednesday.

Replies supplied by the Holy See bankers allowed investigators in Puglia to undertake “a more pregnant technical examination” of financial flows through bank account data in which assets of the Congregation of Divine Providence had been hidden, the sources said.

Meanwhile it was disclosed that a Socialist MP, Raffaele Di Gioia, also is among those under investigation in the probe in addition to an NCD Senator and two nuns.

Finance police confiscated 32 million euros and a building that the nuns were planning to turn into a private clinic in Guidonia in Rome province.

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

ITALY
ANSA

(ANSA) – Rome, June 10 – Two nuns were arrested and a request to arrest a Senator filed Wednesday over the fraudulent bankruptcy of a southern Italian nursing-home chain called Divine Providence.

The case highlighted the progress made by the Vatican Bank towards full transparency of its formerly opaque affairs, investigators said.

“The IOR’s collaboration was precious,” prosecutors told reporters.

An arrest warrant was issued for the Senator from the conservative New Centre Right-Popular Area (NCD-AP) party, Antonio Azzolini, on charges of involvement in the fake crash.

A request for Azzolini’s immunity to be lifted already has been presented to parliament, judicial sources said.

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

AUSTRALIA
Red Flag

Mick Armstrong

The Royal Commission into Institutional Child Sexual Abuse has revealed some of the outrageous abuse of children at the hands of Catholic priests, brothers and nuns.

It was not just the abuse itself that was appalling, but the decades-long coordinated cover-up by the church hierarchy, and the penny pinching that has denied the victims anything approaching adequate financial compensation for their torment.

There are a whole series of factors that come together as a toxic cocktail to explain the scale of the crimes.

First, there is the authoritarian nature of the church, which gives virtually unfettered power to the hierarchy. There is absolutely no democracy in the church. Parishioners don’t get to elect their priest, let alone their bishop. They have no say over church policy.

This was even more the case in the 1950s, 1960s and into the 1970s. In those days, most Catholics were poor working class people who were often viewed with ill-disguised contempt, or at best paternalism, by the bishops and many priests.

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

IRELAND
The Journal

THE ARCHDIOCESE OF Dublin has revealed today that there has been an increase in the number of its priests accused of child abuse in the last year.

A meeting to discuss the Archdiocese’s child safeguarding and protection service is taking place in Dublin today as it emerges another five priests from the Diocese have been the subject of child sexual abuse allegations.

Three of the accused were deceased and the other two were retired. This brings the total number of priests accused since 1940 to 106. This includes confirmed, inconclusive and unfounded allegations, the Archdiocese said today.

The number of allegations of abuse have fallen in the past five years, from around 100 per year back in 2010 and 2011 to less than 40 in the last two years.

However there was an increase in the number of priests subject to complaints in the last year.

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

IRELAND
Irish Times

Patsy McGarry

At least 12 of Ireland’s Catholic bishops may be subject to investigation by the new Vatican tribunal announced this week by Pope Francis.

The tribunal will hold bishops to account where it is claimed they failed to protect children from sexual abuse by priests.

It is being established following a proposal by the Vatican Commission for the Protection of Minors. It was unclear on Wednesday whether the tribunal could deal with retrospective cases of negligence by
Speaking to The Irish Times on Thursday, Dublin abuse survivor Marie Collins, a member of the commission, said she had that morning sought clarification on the matter and it was confirmed to her the new tribunal will have such retrospective powers.

It was also confirmed the tribunal will include lay members, men and women. She believed a similar tribunal would be set up to deal with religious superiors in the same situation.
Serious criticisms

Among living Irish bishops who have faced serious criticisms over their handling of clerical child sex abuse allegations in the past are Cardinals Desmond Connell and Seán Brady, as well as Bishops Brendan Comiskey, Donal Murray and Jim Moriarty, who resigned following such criticisms.
The current Bishop of Clonfert John Kirby and the current Bishop of Raphoe Philip Boyce, as well as retired Bishops Dermot O’ Mahony, Edward Daly, Seamus Hegarty, Eamon Casey, and Joseph Duffy could all also be investigated.

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

UNITED KINGDOM
The Times

Nicola Woolcock
Education Correspondent

June 11 2015

A vicar who worked as a primary school teacher has been struck off for life by a misconduct panel for allegedly repeatedly sexually abusing pupils while they read to him in front of the class.

James Wilson was cleared in a court case in 2010 of fondling young children while working as a teacher in the 1970s and 80s.

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

CANADA
Toronto Sun

BY FARZANA HASSAN, TORONTO SUN

I attended a Roman Catholic school in the late 1960s, run by the Sisters of Charity at Sacred Heart in Lahore, Pakistan.

The sisters worked hard to promote the English language and European culture and values among a predominantly Muslim and Punjabi student population.

We were often chastised for speaking our native language.

We were Muslim, but we even recited the Lord’s Prayer.

The punishments for not following the rules felt draconian at the time, but no one complained, and our families supported the school’s policies.

The idea was to promote a culture of elitism in a country born out of the ashes of colonialism.

English speakers were considered upper class. They still are.

Canada’s residential schools were, of course, a different matter.

Their policy was to obliterate local cultures, against the will of the people they were attempting to assimilate.

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

VATICAN CITY
John Thavis

Pope Francis has approved a system of reporting and judging bishops who fail to protect minors, a critical development in the Vatican’s actions on sexual abuse.

Announced June 10, the move authorizes three Vatican offices to receive and investigate complaints against bishops, and establishes a special tribunal under the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to determine whether a bishop is guilty of “abuse of office.”

The pope still has the ultimate say in requesting a bishop’s resignation, but as a Vatican spokesman said, the tribunal’s findings would normally be accepted and acted upon by the pope.

For years, bishops’ accountability has been the missing element in the Vatican’s approach to sexual abuse by priests. Despite the many cases of mismanagement and negligence on the part of bishops who turned a blind eye or moved abusive priests from parish to parish, very few bishops have been removed from office.

That’s because, until now, there was no systematic process for discipline and dismissal when such failures occurred.

There are several remarkable aspects of Pope Francis’ decision:

— It demonstrated that bishops are no longer considered “untouchable,” and will face serious consequences for their actions or inaction.

— It made clear that bishops answer not only to the pope, but also to their people. That reflects a new willingness at the Vatican to implement the church law provision that says bishops can lose their office for “culpable negligence” that harms the faithful.

— By inviting complaints against bishops – saying, in fact, that Catholics have a “duty” to report such failings – the Vatican has opened a new and important channel of communication for Catholic laity.

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

ST. LOUIS (MO)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

By Lilly Fowler

Religious freedom, vocations to the priesthood, family and marriage were among the top priorities Roman Catholic bishops from across the U.S. gathered here in St. Louis outlined on Thursday.
Some bishops, however, left the discussion feeling dissatisfied.

They argued bishops should follow in the steps of Pope Francis and place a greater emphasis on alleviating poverty.

“There needs to be given greater visibility to plight of the poor,” said Bishop George Thomas of Helena, Mont.

Approximately 250 U.S. bishops gathered at the Hyatt Regency at the Arch for a second day of meetings. They were here for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops annual spring assembly.

Other priorities outlined by bishops included evangelization, as well as human life and dignity — combating the “throwaway culture of abortion and euthanasia.”

Regarding religion freedom, the persecution of Christians was of specific concern.

“I am burning. Christianity is burning,” said Bishop Yousif Habash of the Syrian Catholic Church in Newark, N.J.

A draft of the priorities is expected to be finalized at the 2016 general assembly, held in November in Baltimore.

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

TEXAS
KFOX

EL PASO, Texas – A man who says he’s the victim of a pedophile priest filed a lawsuit against the El Paso Catholic Diocese.

The alleged victim said he was sexually molested by Father Denis Tejada, when he was 10 and 11 years old in the 1970s.

He accuses Tejada of abusing him when he was an altar boy at Saint Patrick Cathedral.

According to El Paso Times, the Catholic Church removed Tejada from his pastoral and administrative duties in 2002 after someone else came forward with sexual abuse allegations.

In response to the lawsuit, El Paso’s Catholic Bishop Mark Seitz sent the following statement:

“We are very concerned about anyone who has suffered abuse. Though time passes, we know the pain for the victim remains. And we know that to be true for many of the nation’s sex abuse victims.

“The lawsuit that was filed on Wednesday, June 10, pertains to an event that is decades old. As noted by the attorney for the complainant, Fr. Denis Tejada was removed from his ministry in the Diocese of Las Cruces 13 years ago. He no longer serves as a priest.

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

UNITED STATES
Catholic Culture

By Phil Lawler
Jun 11, 2015

By creating a new Vatican tribunal that will judge bishops accused of negligence in abuse cases, Pope Francis has addressed the second of three companion scandals that have rocked the Catholic Church worldwide in the early 21st century.

As I explained a decade ago in The Faithful Departed, it’s inaccurate to speak about the “sex-abuse scandal” as a single problem. The scandal actually involved three different problems, which came to light in quick sequence.

First we learned that many Catholic priests—a small minority of priests, but still a large number—had molested children and adolescents. That was horrifying news, and the public rightly demanded action. At their historic meeting in Dallas in June 2002, the US bishops instituted a “zero tolerance” policy that called for effective disciplinary action against any cleric credibly accused of abuse.

But there was one crucial flaw in the Dallas Charter. To work effectively, it required conscientious leadership from the bishops. And unfortunately, the second scandal – which had been exhaustively documented by the time of the Dallas meeting—was the massive failure of leadership in the part of the American hierarchy.

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

MAINE
ABC News

PORTLAND, Maine — Jun 11, 2015
By DAVID SHARP Associated Press

The lawyer for an orphanage founder accused of sexually abusing boys in Haiti got into a heated confrontation with a man who advocates for child victims, shouting “Shut up!” as the sides met in Maine for a deposition in a defamation lawsuit.

The tense exchange erupted as orphanage founder Michael Geilenfeld arrived for a deposition in a lobby where Paul Kendrick suggested that the truth was being covered up and that Geilenfeld left Haiti illegally.

Geilenfeld’s lawyer, Peter DeTroy, advised his client not to answer any questions and snapped “shut up!” and “keep your mouth shut!” to Kendrick.

“Get him under control!” DeTroy angrily told Kendrick’s lawyer, David Walker, as DeTroy waited for elevator doors to close.

The group later met behind closed doors for the deposition as plaintiff and defendant met face-to-face in Maine, where the defamation lawsuit is due to proceed next month.

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

CANADA
Ottawa Citizen

MARK KENNEDY, OTTAWA CITIZEN

Prime Minister Stephen Harper is under fire for turning his back on aboriginal residential school survivors after he skipped a chance to personally urge the Pope to apologize for the Catholic Church’s role in the abusive system.

Harper met with Pope Francis at the Vatican on Thursday, just nine days after the release of the report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).

Instead of backing that commission’s call for a papal apology, Harper merely “drew attention” to a four-paragraph letter that Aboriginal Affairs Minister Bernard Valcourt wrote last week to the Vatican to inform it of the TRC report.

By coincidence, Harper’s meeting with the Pope came on the seventh anniversary of his own June 11, 2008, apology in the House of Commons for the federal government’s role in establishing and supervising the church-run residential school system.

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

CANADA
CTV

[with video]

Don Martin, Power Play Host
@DonMartinCTV

Published Thursday, June 11, 2015

Seven years ago today, Stephen Harper had his finest moment in aboriginal relations.
The Prime Minister stood in the House of Commons and apologized for the residential school tragedy. He said it was sincere. He said it was profound. He vowed that all of Canada would share the burden of aboriginal reconciliation in the future.

Today, there are legitimate grounds to wonder if it was all just an act.

By what could’ve been a beautiful coincidence, the Prime Minister had an audience with Pope Francis Thursday morning.

The coincidence is that just last week, the reconciliation commission which Harper created, recommended the Pope be asked to apologize this year for the Catholic church’s shameful role in a school system which was fronting a cultural genocide.

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

ST. LOUIS (MO)
ABC News

ST. LOUIS — Jun 11, 2015

By RACHEL ZOLL AP Religion Writer

The nation’s Roman Catholic bishops engaged Thursday in a rare public discussion about whether their priorities properly reflect those of Pope Francis, with one church leader urging an emphasis on helping immigrants that’s at least as energetic as the bishops’ focus on religious freedom.

The issue arose at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ mid-year assembly in St. Louis, where church leaders considered their programming through the end of the decade.

In recent years, American bishops have channeled significant resources toward securing religious exemptions from laws they consider immoral such as gay marriage, seeking carve-outs for the church, its massive network of charities and individual for-profit business owners. Francis, elected in 2013, has a far different focus, dedicating his pontificate to the poor and most marginalized, from immigrants to the elderly.

In the morning session Thursday, Archbishop Blase Cupich, chosen by Francis last fall as Chicago archbishop, noted the effort U.S. bishops have made on behalf of “individual employers, secular employers,” with religious objections to some laws. He argued church leaders should give equal ranking to changing U.S. immigration policy in their planning for the years ahead.

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

NEW YORK
Jewish Link

THURSDAY, 11 JUNE 2015 06:28 BY PHIL JACOBS

It’s been a week of emails, petitions, articles, comments and more emails.

Riverdale Jewish Center members have experienced any number of statements concerning Rabbi Jonathan Rosenblatt and his very future as the shul’s spiritual leader.

First came the May 31 New York Times article covering the rabbi’s practice of playing squash, showering and then sitting in the sauna with youths to young men over the years.

RJC’s Executive Committee released a letter June 2 to its membership directed at the Times article.

“As you know, Rabbi Rosenblatt is a highly respected member of the community who has given decades of devoted service to the Riverdale Jewish Center and its members,” reads a paragraph from the statement. “That said, we take any allegations of impropriety very seriously. Years ago when RJC leadership heard rumors about the Rabbi’s alleged interactions surrounding athletic activities, the details were assessed and no evidence of misconduct was found. In order to avoid even the appearance of impropriety as to such activities, in the 2011 time frame the Rabbinical Council of America issued explicit guidelines regarding participation in athletic activities by clergy. The RJC has followed those guidelines.

“It bears emphasis that as far as we are aware, Rabbi Rosenblatt has fully complied with the guidelines, and there is nothing in The New York Times article that indicates otherwise. Significantly, if we ever saw evidence to the contrary, we would of course take appropriate measures.”

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

GUAM
Pacific Daily News

Shawn F Raymundo June 11, 2015

The pastor of the Immaculate Heart of Mary parish in Toto was summoned to the Archdiocese of Agana Chancery Office on Wednesday to discuss why the church’s donations in an annual campaign for funds were “not favorable.”

During the roughly three-month period in which the island’s Catholic churchgoers donate toward what’s called the annual appeal, Rev. Michael Crisostomo and the Toto church only raised $150 toward its goal of more than $5,000, said John Taitano, member of the Toto parish council.

“The results of the Immaculate Heart was unfavorable,” Taitano said. “The archbishop wanted to meet with our pastor to discuss the unfavorable results.”

From Ash Wednesday to Pentecost Sunday, churches collect money meant to fund the religious education of prospective priests attending seminaries. The annual appeal donations also assist chaplains at Guam Memorial Hospital, the Department of Corrections and Department of Youth Affairs.

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

UNITED KINGDOM
BBC News

A priest has been banned from teaching “indefinitely” over allegations he touched pupils inappropriately.

James Wilson, 66, taught at Pennycross Primary School in Plymouth between 1970 and 1985.

Five former pupils gave evidence to an education professional conduct panel which has banned him from teaching in any school or college in England.

He was previously charged with a number of offences but found not guilty at Plymouth Crown Court in September 2010.

Mr Wilson denied the allegations and did not attend the final hearing of a professional conduct panel of the National College for Teaching and Leadership.

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

VATICAN CITY
The Daily Beast

Barbie Latza Nadeau

Pope Francis’ new judicial tribunal will now tackle the enablers of child abuse by priests: the bishops.
For the first time in the long and sordid history of the Catholic Church’s saga with pedophile priests, the Vatican has approved a special judicial tribunal that could bring to justice the bishops who have helped protect offending priests.

But is it enough to protect kids? Survivors groups hope that this time the Vatican has come up with an approach that will work.

“It could be, but only time will tell,” David Clohessy, the national director of the Survivors Network of Those Abused By Priests (SNAP), told The Daily Beast. “But this isn’t like horseshoes. Every ‘miss’—however close it seems to be to the peg—means more kids will be raped.”

The new tribunal was the brainchild of American cardinal Sean O’Malley, who has become a central figure in the popular papacy of Pope Francis, which may make him a major contender when it comes time for the next conclave. As head of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, and one of the pope’s trusted confidantes who sit on the elite Commission of Cardinals, O’Malley presented the plan at a meeting of the pope’s key men in Rome this week. They adopted it unanimously. …

The real question, though, is whether the new process will actually translate into effective punishment for proven offenders, and whether the secular courts will still be kept at bay when it comes to punishing child abusers and sex offenders. The organization Bishop Accountability, which keeps a database of extensive public records of accusations against abusers, warned that the very office that enforces accountability must itself be accountable. …

Survivors groups are hopeful, but they say they would prefer that all sex abuse cases are all handled in the secular courts, not dealt with in a Vatican-operated tribunal.

“I don’t think we welcome any new internal cleric-dominated process, especially when it’s in the CDF, which, for decades, has refused to defrock or delayed defrocking some of the worst predator priests,” Clohessy says. “On paper, a mechanism like this looks good. But church abuse mechanisms always look good on paper. If this one is used to prevent cover-ups and punish ‘enablers,’ we’ll be surprised and pleased. If, however, it’s used to mollify distraught parishioners and generate good headlines, we won’t be surprised. That’s been the history of nearly all of the hundreds of church abuse panels over the past three decades.”

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

UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter

EDITORIAL

Never before has the language describing the mishandling of these cases by bishops been so strong.

It has been slow in coming and the steps taken are incremental, but there is little doubt that the Catholic church has entered a new phase in the decadeslong crisis and scandal of clergy sexually abusing children. For the first time, there is clear evidence that the people’s cry for justice and action has reached the pope and his closest advisers. For the first time, there is clear evidence that bishops who perpetuated and extended this scandal by covering up, dismissing or ignoring abuse are going to be held accountable.

The clearest evidence is the Vatican’s announcement June 10 that Pope Francis, on the recommendation of his nine-member Council of Cardinals, has approved a plan for holding responsible bishops who mishandle cases concerning the sexual abuse of children (Page 3).

The outline of the policy, prepared by the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, calls the mishandling of these cases an “abuse of office.” Members of the church have “the duty to report” these offenses and accused bishops must stand in judgment. Never before has the language describing the mishandling of these cases by bishops — and by extension their diocesan officers — been so strong.

A tribunal will be appointed to judge bishops for these abuses of episcopal office, and a new section with permanent personnel within the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to handle these cases will be established. The person in charge will be a secretary of the congregation reporting directly to the prefect of the congregation. Most important, Francis has “authorized that sufficient resources will be provided for this purpose.”

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

TEXAS
Valley Central

DALLAS (AP) — A 37-year-old former minister at a North Texas church faces up to life in prison for luring a girl in his youth group into having sex with him.

Derek Hutter pleaded guilty Wednesday to enticement of a minor in the case involving a 13-year-old girl.

Hutter, who was arrested last fall, remains in custody pending sentencing by a federal judge in Dallas.

Authorities say Hutter was a youth pastor at South Garland Baptist Church and married when he began an online and cellphone relationship with the teen.

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

ST. LOUIS (MO)
Berger’s Beat

SIDEWALK OUTSIDE THE CONFERENCE OF BISHOPS AT THE HYATT REGENCY
SNAP members chided Cleveland Bishop Richard Lennon because one of his priests argued to a judge that a convicted sex offender should get no jail time. And Carol Kuhnert hawked her new book, “No Longer on Pedestals.” She’s a south county grandmother who comforted victims of her brother, Fr. Norman Christian, who molested kids in Affton, Normandy, Woodson Terrace and the city. (Despite the accusations, lawsuits and settlements, the Archbishop Raymond Burke gave Christian a burial with full priestly honors.)

AND KUDOS TO THE GREY LADY

Only The New York Times pointed out that the church’s abuse scandal that erupted on the national scene 30 years ago (when a Louisiana pedophile priest garnered national headlines for assaulting dozens of kids) versus the more common but false narrative that “it all began in Boston in 2002.” And the Times noted that a spokesman yesterday at the conference was Vermont Bishop Christopher Coyne who spent years as a flak for Boston’s disgraced Cardinal Bernard Law.

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

VATICAN CITY
New Zealand Herald

Pope Francis has taken the biggest step yet to crack down on bishops who cover up for priests who rape and molest children, creating a new tribunal inside the Vatican to hear cases of bishops accused of failing to protect their flock.

The initiative, announced yesterday, has significant legal and theological implications, since bishops have long been considered masters of their dioceses and largely unaccountable when they bungle their job, with the Vatican stepping in only in cases of gross negligence.

That reluctance to intervene has prompted years of criticism from abuse victims, advocacy groups and others that the Vatican had failed to punish or forcibly remove bishops who moved predator priests around from parish to parish, where they could rape again, rather than report them to police or remove them from ministry.

The Vatican said Francis had approved proposals made by his sexual abuse advisory board, which includes survivors of abuse as well as experts in child protection policies. The proposals call for a new mechanism by which the Vatican can receive and examine complaints of “abuse of office” by bishops, and bring them to trial in a Vatican tribunal.

A special new judicial section, with permanent staff, will be created inside the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith “to judge bishops with regard to crimes of the abuse of office when connected to the abuse of minors”, a Vatican statement said.

Details must still be worked out, including possible punishments and the statute of limitations to determine whether old cases of negligence by bishops dating back 20 or 30 years can now be heard.

The congregation currently reviews all cases of priests who have abused minors and the statute of limitations is 20 years, though the congregation can waive that limit.

“I sincerely believe this is a real step forward,” commission member Marie Collins, herself a survivor of abuse, wrote in an email. “Time will tell the effectiveness of the new measure, but I am hopeful.”

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

AUSTRALIA
The Australian

JUNE 12, 2015

John Ferguson
Victoria Editor
Melbourne

Two of Australia’s highest profile Catholics could be scrutinised by the Vatican’s new sex abuse tribun­al empowered to try bishops accused of shielding abusers and to punish offenders.

Some of the church’s most senior figures in Australia, living and dead, have been accused, or were found either to have shielded ­perpetrators or failed to act to ­prevent further cases of sex abuse.

Former bishop of Ballarat Ron­al­d Mulkearns, now a priest, has been widely condemned for his failure to halt offending in his diocese, where hundreds of assaults occurred. However, he has not faced legal or internal action over his management, under which serial offender Gerald Ridsdale assaulted hundreds of minors.

Archbishop of Adelaide Philip Wilson is also fighting allegations he failed to report abuse allegedly committed by pedophile priest Jim Fletcher in the 1970s, while both were working in the Maitland diocese, near Newcastle, in NSW. Fletcher was jailed for raping a 13-year-old boy between 1989 and 1991, and died in 2006.

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

UNITED STATES
TheMediaReport

David Pierre

In covering the issue of the media and Catholic sex abuse for over a decade now, we do not believe we have seen reporting as dishonest and biased as that from Madeleiene Baran from Minnesota Public Radio (MPR).

Indeed, Baran has shamelessly smeared an innocent priest, has claimed facts which were either outright false and misleading, and has produced a three-part series that was an inaccurate and irresponsible screed against Church officials based upon thin evidence and innuendo.

Perfect soulmates

Therefore, it was little surprise when we saw that MPR’s Baran will be a headline speaker at this year’s annual conference for the lawyer-funded, anti-Catholic group SNAP.

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

UNITED STATES
Religion News Service – Spiritual Politics

Mark Silk | Jun 11, 2015

It is hard to overstate the importance of Pope Francis’ decision to establish a standing tribunal at the Vatican to deal with bishops who fail to deal properly with charges of child sexual abuse against priests and other diocesan personnel. Ever since the issue of the sexual abuse of minors in the Catholic Church began to be raised publicly three decades ago, the principal cause of scandal has not been the abuse itself, but its coverup by diocesan officials — bishops above all.

After years of pretending that all that was needed were procedures for handling accusations of abuse, Rome has finally recognized that without a formal mechanism for holding accountable bishops who “abuse their office” by flouting them. All credit is due to the papal commission on sex abuse for proposing the tribunal, to the pope’s Council of Cardinals for approving it, and to the pope himself for giving it his blessing.

The tribunal will be attached to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), and appropriately so. The CDF was given responsibility for handling clergy abuse cases by Pope John Paul II in 2001. That’s where the Vatican’s evidence and expertise in this area resides — evidence and expertise that will be required to assess an accused bishop’s conduct in a particular case. Headed by a secretary, and equipped with additional staff and resources, the tribunal will be constituted into a new judicial branch of the CDF to address abuse cases in just such an integrated way.

To be sure, there is much that is unclear about how the tribunal will operate. Cases of clerical abuse are currently referred to the CDF by their bishops. What will be the procedure for referring “abuse of office” cases against bishops? With what degree of openness will such cases be handled? Will there be a set of rules for how bishops should handle abuse cases and a set of sanctions for failure to observe them? If anyone in the Vatican imagines that a closed and obscure process will solve the problem, he should think again.

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

UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter

Michael Sean Winters | Jun. 11, 2015

The Holy Father’s approval of a new procedure and process for holding bishops accountable if they fail in their responsibilities to protect children, and to assign this task to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, is an enormous step forward in the Church’s long effort to rid itself of the scourge of clergy sex abuse and to create a culture that sees the protection of children as one of its highest duties. The issue, given its gravity, has become a threshold issue for many Catholics, that is to say, if the Church hierarchy can’t deal with us, many people in the pews will not listen to anything else the Church’s leaders have to say.

The key issue here is the accountability of bishops. As Msgr. Stephen Rossetti said this morning in the Washington Post article on the story, “It’s a major thing it’s putting bishops on notice. ‘If you don’t deal with this, you have to face the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith,’ and no one wants to face the CDF.” The Church’s canons have consequences, and now they have consequences for bishops who drag their feet or otherwise compromise the Church’s effort to deal with this insidious problem.

It is hard to overstate the degree to which bishops have not previously felt accountable. Of course, many, indeed I think most, bishops feel a deep sense of accountability – to the Word of God, to the traditions and teachings of the Church and, importantly, to the people entrusted to their care. But, the clerical culture does not always strengthen that last, vital sense of accountability. By way of example, a priest friend of mine recalls studying in Rome. He was at a reception and fell into conversation with a bishop. The bishop asked him where he was from and he named the diocese. The bishop then said something about that city being in a particular state, but not being an American, he understandably got the state wrong. My friend gently corrected him, naming the correct location of the diocese. His superior, who was part of the conversation, then chastised him: “Never contradict a bishop!” If a bishop cannot be corrected on a small matter of no consequence, multiply that incident by a million over the years, and you will have an insight into what is wrong in the curia.

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

ST. LOUIS (MO)
Catholic Philly

BY CAROL ZIMMERMANN
Catholic News Service

ST. LOUIS (CNS) — When the U.S. bishops opened their spring general assembly in St. Louis June 10, the Catholic Church was already in the day’s news with the announcement from the Vatican about a new process for holding bishops accountable for protecting children from abuse.

The bishops did not mention the new procedures during the opening session of their gathering, but when some of them were asked about it by reporters during a midday news conference, they said they supported the Vatican’s decision.

Boston Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley, president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, was noticeably not at the U.S. bishops meeting, because his commission had been meeting with Pope Francis about the need for greater accountability of bishops in dealing with clerical abuse cases.

Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Kentucky, who is president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said the bishops welcomed the new procedure and would cooperate with it.

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

VATICAN CITY
CP24

Mike Blanchfield, The Canadian Press
Published Thursday, June 11, 2015

VATICAN CITY, Italy — Prime Minister Stephen Harper raised the troubling findings of the residential schools commission during his unusually brief meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican Thursday, but appeared to have stopped short of inviting him to Canada to apologize.

Instead, Harper referred to letter sent earlier in the week to the Vatican by his aboriginal affairs minister that merely informed the Holy See of the commission.

“Prime Minister Harper also drew attention to the letter sent by Minister (Bernard) Valcourt to the Holy See regarding the Truth and Reconciliation Commission,” Harper’s office said without elaborating.
Harper’s spokesman did not respond to a request for clarification.

Harper’s 10-minute meeting with the Pope Francis was unusually short by Vatican standards. Russian President Vladimir Putin had a nearly 50-minute private audience with the pontiff a day earlier.

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

CANADA
Toronto Sun

Prime Minister Stephen Harper brought up last week’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) report on Canada’s residential schools with Pope Francis during a visit to the Vatican Thursday, the PMO says.

But the news release issued Thursday morning doesn’t say whether Harper asked the Pope to apologize for the Catholic Church’s role in ripping more than 150,000 First Nations, Metis and Inuit children from their families and forcing them to attend the schools in what the TRC report says amounted to a “cultural genocide.”

In its report, the commission specifically calls on the Pope to issue an apology “for the Roman Catholic Church’s role in the spiritual, cultural, emotional, physical and sexual abuse…in Catholic-run residential schools.”

NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair echoed that call during question period Wednesday, asking if Harper would make that request during his scheduled meeting with the Pope Thursday.

Aboriginal Affairs Minister Bernard Valcourt responded by saying he had written to the Vatican to inform the Pope about the TRC report.

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

ARKANSAS
InTouch Weekly

[with audio of the 911 call]

The new issue of In Touch Magazine reveals that the Duggar family is under investigation again by the Arkansas Department of Human Services and police were called when the family refused to cooperate.

Now, In Touch has the audio of that 911 call made by a representative from the Washington County DHS on May 27 at around 11 a.m. to the Springdale Police Department asking for police assistance when DHS was not allowed to see the minor they were concerned about. In Touch, which broke the story of Josh Duggar’s sexual molestation scandal, has the full transcript of the emergency call in the new issue.

The new investigation comes as the family tries to save its TLC reality show, 19 Kids and Counting, which the network pulled off the air, while determining its fate. Jim Bob, Michelle and two of their daughters sat for interviews with Fox News, attempting to minimize the damage, but much of what they said was widely condemned as misinformation and not full disclosure.

The Duggars made no mention of the fact that they have been under investigation again, but In Touch discovered what they are hiding via another Freedom of Information Act request that produced the 911 call.

After identifying himself as a Washington Country DHS employee and stating the Duggar family address, the caller tells the 911 operator, “We have an investigation and I guess they’re not being cooperative. We have to see the child to make sure the child is all right. So we just need police assistance.” The 911 call was then transferred to Washington County authorities.

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

ARKANSAS
Politics USA

The DHS in Arkansas has launched a new investigation into the Duggars, and it looks like Fox News helped Jim Bob and Michelle cover up the new investigation into the welfare of their children.

InTouch Weekly reported:

The Duggar family is under investigation again by the Arkansas Department of Human Services and police were called when the family refused to cooperate, In Touch magazine is reporting exclusively in its new issue that hits newsstands today.

A representative from the Washington County DHS called 911 on May 27 at around 11 a.m. asking for police assistance when DHS was not allowed to see the minor they were concerned about.
….

After identifying himself as a Washington Country DHS employee and stating the Duggar family address, the caller tells the 911 operator, “We have an investigation and I guess they’re not being cooperative. We have to see the child to make sure the child is all right. So we just need police assistance.”

The Duggars first interview with Fox News aired on June 3. Fox News had days before the Duggar interview to learn about and disclose to their viewers the new investigation, but they did nothing. It is possible that Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar lied to Megyn Kelly and Fox News. It is just as possible that Fox News never bothered to look and invested themselves in supporting the Duggars.

If Fox News was not aware of this new investigation, it is because they didn’t want to know. The new investigation also explains why the Duggars and Kelly put so much effort into trying to discredit the police and social services. Fox News defended a family that was uncooperative with the authorities and under a new investigation related to the welfare of their children.

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

VATICAAN
RKK (Nederland)

Rome (RKK) 10 juni 2015 – Paus Franciscus heeft ingestemd met de vijf voorstellen van de Pauselijke Commissie voor de Bescherming van Minderjarigen. Een daarvan betreft de instelling van een speciaal tribunaal voor bisschoppen die seksueel misbruik van kinderen door katholieke geestelijken niet bestraffen en in de doofpot stoppen. Dat is vandaag bekendgemaakt door de persdienst van de Heilige Stoel na afloop van een driedaagse sessie (8-10 juni) van de Raad van Kardinalen.

Voorzitter van de Pauselijke Commissie voor de Bescherming van Minderjarigen is kardinaal Seán O’Malley, aartsbisschop van Boston. Tevens is hij lid van de Raad van Kardinalen. Hij legde de vijf commissievoorstellen voor aan zijn mederaadsleden. De Raad van Kardinalen stemde er unaniem mee in en besloot ze voor te leggen aan de paus. Franciscus heeft ze inmiddels goedgekeurd en heeft de uitvoering ervan bevolen.

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

VATICAAN
De Redactie (Belgie)

Bisschoppen die ervan beticht worden dat ze gevallen van kindermisbruik door priesters hebben toegedekt of onvoldoende deden om het misbruik te doen ophouden, zullen binnenkort voor een nieuw op te richten tribunaal moeten verschijnen. Paus Franciscus heeft ingestemd met de oprichting van de nieuwe dienst. Slachtoffers van kindermisbruik binnen de Katholieke Kerk drongen daar al jaren op aan.

Vorig jaar nog haalden de Verenigde Naties nog scherp uit naar het Vaticaan omdat het er maar niet in slaagde komaf te maken met het kindermisbruik binnen de kerk en omdat het doofpotoperaties tolereerde.

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

VATICANO
Rete L’Abuso

Non che si voglia essere critici su quanto il Papa stia cercando di fare a livello canonico in materia di pedofilia, ma è sufficiente ?

Va intanto detto che la massima pena che un tribunale canonico può infliggere è la riduzione allo stato laicale, la scomunica. Come vediamo però viene usata solo in casi che sono balzati all’onore delle cronache, come ad esempio il caso di don Mauro Inzoli.

Il più delle volte viene invece applicata la sospensione a divinis, che altro non è che una sospensione temporanea dal sacerdozio, giusto il tempo di redimersi dai peccati per poi ritornare a fare il sacerdote, magari in un posto lontano dal precedente.

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

VATIKAN
Domradio

[No immunity for bishops.]

Papst Franziskus will konsequenter gegen Bischöfe vorgehen, die sexuellen Missbrauch durch Priester vertuschen oder die Aufklärung verzögern. Bei der Glaubenskongregation soll eine neue Gerichtssektion für solche Fälle errichtet werden.

Vatikanfinanzen, die Struktur der Medien sowie Rechtsnormen für Bischöfe, die in Missbrauchsskandale verstrickt sind, standen im Mittelpunkt der zehnten Konferenzrunde des sogenannten Kardinalsrates für die Kurienreform (“K9-Rat”).

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

DEUTSCHLAND
netzwerkB

[Survivor advocate Norbert Denef commented on the pope’s new plan to hold bishops accountabile for cover-ups. Mr. Denef said he asked Pope John Paul II for help in 2003 because the bishop of Magdeburg wanted to silence him with 23,000 euros. He got a letter back from the pope saying he’d pray for him.]

Papst Franziskus stimmte Vorschlägen zu, die die Päpstliche Kommission für Kinderschutz wie folgt benannte:

1. Die Bischofskonferenzen, die Missions- und die Ostkirchen-Kongregationen sollen künftig für Fälle von Amtsmissbrauch durch Bischöfe (im Bereich sexueller Missbrauch durch Kirchenleute) zuständig sein und die entsprechenden Anzeigen entgegennehmen.
2. Die Glaubenskongregation soll den Auftrag bekommen, in diesen Fällen einen Prozess gegen Bischöfe zu führen.
3. In der Glaubenskongregation soll eine neue Justizabteilung eingerichtet werden.

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

MASSACHUSETTS
Boston Herald

By: Laurel J. Sweet

An attorney for Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley vowed to a state Appeals Court justice yesterday that the Archdiocese of Boston will not sell or tear down St. Frances X. Cabrini Church in Scituate while the legal battle to resurrect the parish rages on — if the judge agrees to evict the protesting parishioners now.

“It’s been 10 1⁄2 years. What is the harm to the archdiocese? Why wouldn’t you give the parishioners their day in court, so to speak?” Judge Judd J. Carhart asked O’Malley’s counsel William J. Dailey, while considering the parishioners’ request to stay the eviction order while their appeal of the eviction is pending.

Dailey replied, “I would suggest there’s absolutely no harm to the (parishioners) if they’re ordered to vacate the property with the understanding we’re not going to do anything with the property. … We have no intent of selling the property or razing the property or doing anything while the appeal is pending.”

Dedham Superior Court Judge Edward P. Leibensperger one month ago gave the parishioners until last Friday to leave the church that’s been shuttered since 2004 while the Vatican’s Supreme Court decides whether to validate the archdiocese’s claims of financial hardship or reopen St. Frances. But he also stayed his order so the parishioners’ attorney Mary Elizabeth Carmody could argue for lifting it indefinitely while her appeal to have the eviction order overturned is pending.

Carhart took arguments by both sides under advisement.

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

UNITED STATES
Christian Catholicism

Jerry Slevin

‘Top Bishop seeks review of earlier Bishops’ misdeeds too! Why not? Let’s start with Ratzinger, Sodano, Bertone, Levada, Law, Rigali, Mahony, Pell, et al.

Bravo ! Instead of amnesty for old crimes, the top leader of the Irish Catholic Church, Primate Eamon Martin, has said that Pope Francis’ newly announced tribunal, which will judge bishops accused of covering up child sexual abuse, should also investigate abuse allegations relating to events a long time ago. Irish bishops, it appears, are likely still reeling from Irish voters’ overwhelming rejection of the pope’s civil marriage position.

Meanwhile, US bishops seemed typically clueless about the pope’s new decision on bishop accountability. They appear understandably to be preoccupied with the serious criminal and civil law implications for all US bishops of the unprecedented and unexpected recent criminal and civil actions triggered by the Minneapolis Archdiocese’s ongoing rampant and horrible child endangerment record.

Martin rightly noted that child abuse related crimes are serious and are not diminished by the passage of time — certainly not for the survivors. The new tribunal could readily begin by reviewing the International Criminal Court’s online file on ex-pope Ratzinger, and Cardinals Sodano, Bertone and Levada, then move on to readily available records on Cardinals Law, Rigali, Mahony, Brady, O’Brien, Danneels, Dolan, Pell, Murphy-O’Conner, Mueller (Regensburg), et al. and Bishops Finn, Vangelhuwe, Mueller (Norway), Barros, et al. The pope needs to provide a big budget here, as he did to save the Vatican Bank!

The Vatican had told the UN committees, in effect, the pope did not have authority to hold bishops accountable. Now we see otherwise. All it took was a papal decision. Why has this taken decades, if not centuries, when so many innocent children and their loved ones have needlessly suffered?

Interestingly, the Boston Globe’s John Allen in a co-authored column reports support for investigating Cardinal Law now. He notes that Roderick MacLeish, a lawyer whose firm represented hundreds of victims in the Boston Archdiocese sex-abuse scandal, said, ” The first person who should be on the list is Cardinal Law. If this tribunal is going to be meaningful, it has to start in Boston, … ”. On the other hand, Allen adds that Mitchell Garabedian, another Boston lawyer who has represented clergy sex-abuse victims, called the creation of the tribunal “cosmetic in nature.’’ “The members of the tribunal will probably be made up of church officials who had known of the sexual abuse of children by priests for decades yet did not act to protect children,” Garabedian added according to Allen’s report. (emphasis mine)

Nicky Davis, leader of (SNAP) Australia, said, “The most appalling aspect of this announcement [of the new tribunal] is that this move should have been made decades ago, could have saved much suffering and lives lost to suicide, and is treated as something worthy of congratulation.” She indicated that the tribunal ” … certainly should never replace independent criminal or civil investigations or accountability.” She added, “I worry that this panel will be used as smokescreen to delay other much-needed changes until the current crop of officeholders are old enough or dead enough to permanently evade responsibility for their actions.” (emphasis mine)

Ireland’s Archbishop Eamon Martin spoke following the Vatican’s announcement about the pope’s decision, apparently made under pressure from significant negative publicity about numerous allegations, including some about his No. 3, Cardinal George Pell, and Chile’s Bishop Juan Barros, raised prophetically by Peter Saunders and others.

The pope accepted a proposal for such a tribunal that was reportedly pressed by the papal abuse commission that Saunders sits on. The trade off for Saunders, et al., appears to be that the tribunal will be under Cardinal Mueller’s clerical and flawed CDF, rather than under the papal abuse commission, where it belongs with its independent lay members, like Saunders and Marie Collins. Lay oversight is coming, voluntarily or involuntarily — I am confident of that.

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

IRELAND
Irish Times

Sorcha Pollak, Patsy McGarry

The new Vatican tribunal created by Pope Francis to deal with bishops who fail to protect children from being sexually abused by priests should deal retrospectively with past allegations of sexual abuse, says survivor Marie Collins.

Ms Collins, who is the only Irish member of the Vatican Commission for the Protection of Minors, told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland programme that the main recommendations of the commission would focus on accountability for incidences of sexual abuse.

“If he (a bishop) doesn’t have the right attitude to abuse, or if he doesn’t deal with a case properly and it means a child is not kept safe, then he will have to answer to his own higher authority as well as to civil authority,” said Ms Collins.

“This is to make sure that as far as the church laws go, a bishop can longer… just behave as he wishes.”

The new tribunal within the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith will be able to hold bishops to account for mishandling or covering up allegations of clerical child sex abuse. To date no Catholic bishop has been removed from office by the Vatican for his role in covering up clerical child sex abuse.

Archbishop of Armagh Eamon Martin said he would support any initiative that made clear the church was not a safe haven for people who abuse children, adding that justice would be treated retrospectively.

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

CANADA
CTV

[Comunicato della Sala Stampa: Udienza al Primo Ministro del Canada, 11.06.2015]

Mike Blanchfield, The Canadian Press
Published Thursday, June 11, 2015

VATICAN CITY, Italy — Prime Minister Stephen Harper raised the troubling findings of the residential schools commission with Pope Francis at the Vatican Thursday, but appeared to have stopped short of inviting him to Canada to apologize.

Instead, Harper referred to letter sent earlier in the week to the Vatican by his aboriginal affairs minister that merely informed the Holy See of the commission.

“Prime Minister Harper also drew attention to the letter sent by Minister (Bernard) Valcourt to the Holy See regarding the Truth and Reconciliation Commission,” Harper’s office said without elaborating.

Harper’s spokesman did not respond to a request for clarification.

A separate readout from the Vatican did not mention the residential schools issue among the topics discussed.

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

AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald

June 11, 2015

A Vatican tribunal to judge bishops accused of covering up child sex abuse is unlikely to investigate any Australian bishops until after the royal commission has concluded, the church’s Truth, Justice and Healing Council says.

The Vatican announced on Wednesday night that it had established a tribunal under its doctrinal arm, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, “to judge bishops with regard to crimes of the abuse of office when connected to the abuse of minors”.

Victims’ advocates have for years called for the Vatican to establish clear procedures to make bishops more accountable for abuse in their dioceses, even if they were not directly responsible for it.

The Royal Commission Into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has heard how former Australian Bishop of Ballarat Ronald Mulkearns decided to move serial child sex offender Gerald Ridsdale around churches in Victoria and to a posting in Sydney, where he continued to abuse children. It also heard that Cardinal George Pell, then a priest, was previously a member of the College of Consultors, a group of priests who advised Bishop Mulkearns on such moves.

Francis Sullivan, chief of the Catholic Church’s Truth, Justice and Healing Council in Australia, said he “wouldn’t speculate” on whether the Vatican’s new tribunal would investigate Ronald Mulkearns.

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

CALIFORNIA
The Intelligencer

Lancaster, CA (PRWEB) June 10, 2015

The Zalkin Law Firm has announced the filing of a childhood sexual abuse civil lawsuit today on behalf of a victim of alleged childhood sexual abuse at an Assembly of God church in Lancaster, CA. The lawsuit has been filed on behalf of the Plaintiff, Leonor Vasquez, who was a minor at the time of the sexual abuse alleged in the complaint. The complaint was filed this morning in the Los Angeles Superior Court Case No. MC 25512.

The civil complaint identifies four Defendants; the Assembly of God Pentecostal Church in Lancaster, California, the national organization, the General Council of the Assemblies of God located in Springfield, MO, and several John Doe defendants, two who the firm identified as agents of the church, Michael Walsh, the alleged perpetrator, and his wife, Sharon Walsh. According to the civil complaint, the Plaintiff began attending the Assembly of God Church in Lancaster in 1995 at the age of 13 and she participated in services, youth events and stayed at a church camp. During this time, she allegedly met the defendants Michael and Sharon Walsh on a church mission trip to Mexico.

According to the complaint, in 1998 when the Plaintiff’s mother left the country, Leonor was left in the care of the Walsh’s based on their involvement with the church. The complaint then alleges that Michael Walsh sexually abused and molested the plaintiff on multiple occasions from 1998 to 2001, when the Plaintiff was 16 to 18 years old and was living with the Walshs. According to the complaint, the Walshs acted as youth group leaders for the Church and also facilitated other church activities, including Bible study and chaperoned other events.

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

ST. LOUIS (MO)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

U.S. Catholic bishops condemn racism and police misconduct at St. Louis meeting

By Lilly Fowler

The president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops kicked off on Wednesday a gathering in St. Louis of approximately 250 of the nation’s bishops by referring to Ferguson.
“We mourn those tragic events in which African-Americans and others have lost their lives in altercations with law enforcement,” said a statement prepared by Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Ky., which was read by Bishop Ronny Jenkins, general secretary of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

“Racism is an evil which endures in our society and in our church.” ….

Francesco Cesareo of the National Review Board, a committee established in 2002 to help prevent the sexual abuse of minors in the church, warned against complacency. Cesareo noted that although the church had made much progress, six allegations of sexual abuse in 2014 had been substantiated.

Bishops at the conference also announced a new, free Catholic mobile app that will offer news about Pope Francis, Mass schedules and parish locations, among other features. The app is expected to launch in July.

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

CALIFORNIA
The Orange County Register

BY SEAN EMERY / STAFF WRITER

The trial of a volunteer Sunday school teacher suspected of sexually assaulting more than a half-dozen children began Wednesday, as attorneys painted opposing portraits of the man as a devout religious leader and father figure or a serial child molester.

Christopher Bryan McKenzie Sr., 51, is facing two dozen felonies after being accused of having unlawful sexual contact with seven teen and pre-teen boys.

Among the accusers are neighbors and Sunday school students McKenzie met through Rock Harbor church in Costa Mesa, along with two boys whose mother had a long-term relationship with McKenzie. Most of the boys worked with McKenzie, assisting him with his pool cleaning business.

“He seemed to be a man of God; he seemed to have a love in his heart for children,” Deputy District Attorney Heather Brown told the jury during her opening statements Wednesday morning, explaining why parents trusted him with their children.

McKenzie kept his face down and appeared to be taking detailed notes as the prosecutor outlined the sexual abuse claims provided to authorities by seven boys. The alleged misconduct ran from the late 1990s to 2010.

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

LOUISIANA
Herald Argus

LA PORTE — A La Porte pastor has been accused of sexually touching a member of his church and could face prison time if found guilty.

Curtis Southwood, 77, is charged with sexual battery of a mentally disabled victim, a level 6 felony.
Southwood is a pastor with Calvary Baptist Church. He was arrested on a warrant on May 6 and will be appearing in court for his next hearing on July 8.

According to La Porte City Police reports, the 35-year-old victim claimed that while she was speaking to her grandmother on the phone during a Thanksgiving Dinner at the church, Southwood allegedly stuck his hand down her shirt and pinched her breast.

The victim also said she was at the hospital with Southwood, whose wife was receiving surgery, and that he began to talk sexually, telling her that women should wear shorter skirts and wear their shorts higher to show more leg.

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

FLORIDA
Sun Sentinel

By Paula McMahon
Sun Sentinel

Jurors found Jeffery London not guilty of 27 sex charges involving underage boys last year but the former youth pastor and charter school official will be back in court Thursday — this time facing a related federal charge.

London, 51, was acquitted of the state charges after a lengthy trial in Broward Circuit Court but stayed in jail because he was facing other criminal allegations.

Federal prosecutors took over the case against London in December and filed a lone criminal charge —using a cellphone to lure an underage boy into sexual activity — against him.

London has pleaded not guilty and jury selection is scheduled to begin Thursday in federal court in Fort Lauderdale. If convicted, he would face 10 years to life in federal prison.

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

KANSAS CITY (MO)
The Kansas City Star

BY GLENN E. RICE
grice@kcstar.com

Prosecutors have accused a man from Kansas City, North, of offering youths cellphones, other electronic devices and sometimes money to look at sexually inappropriate material.

Anthony R. Snyder, 30, allegedly met the boys, ages 12 to 15, through his church, a gym and a flag football team.

Platte County prosecutors charged Snyder with two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor and seven counts of first-degree promoting obscenity. Police arrested him early Tuesday. Bond was set at $200,000.

“There are predators who misuse the Internet in ways to hurt children,” Platte County Prosecutor Eric Zahnd said as he announced the charges Wednesday afternoon. “Just as good parents would not leave children unattended in a dark alley, parents should not leave their children unattended in the dark corners of the Internet.”

According to allegations outlined in court records, Snyder met the boys at St. Therese Catholic Church, where Snyder is a parishioner; at the Edge gym in Riverside; and through a YMCA flag football team he coached. The team practiced at Congress Middle School in the Park Hill School District.

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

KANSAS CITY (MO)
Fox 4

[with video]

BY MICHELLE PEKARSKY, SHANNON O’BRIEN AND KATIE BANKS

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A 30-year-old man has been charged in Platte County with two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor child and seven counts of promoting obscenity. He could face up to 58 years in
Wednesday afternoon during a news conference, Platte County Prosecutor Eric Zahnd said he believes Anthony Snyder, 30, enticed the boys at Northland locations where children spent time.

Zahnd said Snyder encouraged seven boys, between the ages of 12 and 15, to view pornography on phones or computers that Snyder allegedly provided them. Two of the boys told child services advocates that Snyder connected them to what he said were teenage girls on a messaging service called KIK. The children said Snyder encouraged them to send pictures of their genitals to the girls. Instead, Prosecutor Zahnd alleges that some of the pictures went to an IP address belonging to Snyder rather than these purported girls.

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

KANSAS CITY (MO)
KMBC

[with video]

KANSAS CITY, Mo. —Announcing sexual exploitation charges against a former youth volunteer at a Catholic parish in Kansas City, Platte County Prosecutor Eric Zahnd made a point of saying how cooperative the Kansas City-St. Joseph Catholic Diocese has been in the investigation.

Anthony R. Snyder is accused of encouraging boys to look at pornographic materials on cellphones and computers that he provided or altered in a way that they could receive them.

Snyder who has been a youth athletics coach, also worked as a youth ministry volunteer at St. Therese Parish from 2006-2008. Last spring, Snyder had been a confirmation sponsor for a teenager at Holy Family Parish. He had previously been a sponsor for another student at St. Therese.

Prosecutors said he met at least two of his victims at church.

Archbishop Joseph Naumann sent a letter to parishioners at St. Therese and the Holy Family parishes. He said the pastor at the church was first informed of suspicious behavior involving Snyder last month.

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

UNITED STATES
The New York Times

By KARIN ROBERTS
JUNE 10, 2015

In setting up a Vatican tribunal to discipline negligent Roman Catholic bishops, Pope Francis has taken the most concrete step of any pope in holding accountable church leaders who failed to prevent the sexual abuse of minors by priests. Although Francis and his most recent predecessors, Pope Benedict XVI and Pope John Paul II, made efforts to punish abusive priests, the tribunal is the Vatican’s first mechanism to punish their superiors.

Here is a look at responses to scandals by the last three popes.

John Paul II

Many of the known cases of sexual abuse by priests took place during the 27-year reign of John Paul II. Despite being widely loved, John Paul II was criticized for ignoring or failing to become aware of the problem. In particular, his long friendship with the Rev. Marcial Maciel Degollado, founder of a powerful Catholic religious order, raised questions about whether John Paul was willing to overlook abuse. Father Maciel molested seminarians and young boys for decades. Vatican investigations also revealed that he fathered several children with at least two women.

John Paul II apologized for the sexual abuse of children by priests for the first time in 2001 in an email sent to churches around the world. A year later, the Vatican said it would use ecclesiastical courts to try priests suspected of abuse. But the trials were secret, and critics said they would only reinforce the belief that the church was trying to hide its dark past.

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