ABUSE TRACKER

VERMONT
Burlington Free Press

Paris Achen, Free Press Staff Writer April 10, 2015

MONTPELIER – The House Committee on Human Services has unanimously advanced an overarching child-protection bill after scrapping a controversial provision that would have created a new felony crime of failure to protect a child.

The committee’s adaptation of S. 9 would ratchet up fines for three existing crimes against children and provide a road map for scrutinizing and improving all the moving parts of the child-welfare system. The deaths of two toddlers whose families were in the state’s child-welfare system provided the impetus for the legislation.

“Clearly, a bill cannot prevent child abuse and neglect, but this bill is a good start to an ongoing conversation about how to improve the system,” said committee Chairwoman Ann Pugh, D-South Burlington.

The bill, approved in February by the Senate, now proceeds to the House Judiciary Committee.

The committee wrapped into its 55-page draft separate legislation (H-41) known as “Jordan’s Bill” that is designed to help provide child protection from hazing.

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GOERGIA
Times-Herald

by W. WINSTON SKINNER

Emmett Winston Smith, 66, has been arraigned on federal charges of distributing, receiving and possessing child pornography.

Smith – who has been more commonly known in Coweta County as Everett Smith – was indicted by a federal grand jury on March 24. Smith, who was a former facilities assistant and Sunday school teacher at First Baptist Church in Newnan, was arrested March 5. “Smith allegedly traded images and videos of child pornography with others, and went into Internet chat rooms looking to make contact with others who shared his same interests,” said Acting U.S. Attorney John Horn. “This case, which began with a lead from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, illustrates our strong partnership with international law enforcement to combat child pornography and to identify and prosecute those who trade images of the sexual abuse of children.”

In 2014, the RCMP investigated a person on allegations that he traded in child pornography, according to Horn. That investigation revealed the Canadian subject had traded more than 200 e-mails containing child pornography with a person using an e-mail address that eventually led back to a house in Newnan.

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CANADA
The StarPhoenix

BY BILL ROBERTSON, FOR THE STARPHOENIX APRIL 10, 2015

The Education of Augie Merasty.

What a title. It’s meant to hearken back to other such ‘Education of ‘ titles, some of which should be taken seriously, others ironically. In the case of Merasty’s story, there’s a good chance that both he, now living in Prince Albert, and the man who helped him get his story into print, Saskatoon writer David Carpenter, wanted the title to have a savage degree of irony to it.

Like many of his generation, Joseph Auguste Merasty was sent by his parents to a church-run residential school, in his case the Roman Catholic St. Therese school in Sturgeon Landing, Sask., just across the border from Manitoba. This was August 1935. There he would be kept until 1944, when he could legally quit and get away.

The surprising thing about this little book – hardcover, 76 pages, including the introduction and afterword – is the obvious delight Merasty still takes in some of the teachers and keepers he encountered at St. Therese. In the opening chapter, he takes time to acknowledge one principal about whom “(n)o one can ever say anything bad,” or a sister who “played with us and really enjoyed her time at our playroom. She loved doing us favours.” He closes, after more encomiums about various sisters and brothers, by saying of the engineer who looked after the boiler room, “He was a great guy.”

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OKLAHOMA
Tulsa World

By AMANDA BLAND World Staff Writer

A Tulsa pastor who was accused of lewd molestation was convicted of two counts and acquitted of seven Friday night.

A jury returned its verdicts against Damien Keith Bonner Sr., 33, who was charged with nine counts of lewd molestation, after deliberating until nearly 11 p.m. The jury recommended a 20-year prison term on one conviction and three years on the other.

Bonner testified for the better part of three hours Friday afternoon.

Prosecutors had charged him with molesting three teen parishioners on a total of nine occasions.

He was found guilty of having intercourse with a 14- to 15-year-old member of Galilee Baptist Church, 721 E. Pine St., in 2013 or 2014 as well as groping a girl of the same age whom he met when he was a youth pastor for Mount Zion Baptist Church, 419 N. Elgin Ave., in 2006.

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UNITED STATES
The Evangelical Pulpit

Warren Throckmorton recently did a series of posts regarding the alleged bullying tactics of Faith Christian Church. In addition to reports about bizarre teachings on spanking infants, former members have described feeling forced to give money to the church. One Former staff minister Jeff Phillips said that “tithing is strictly enforced. We were taught that if we did not tithe, we were cursed.”

Phillips recalled FCC pastor Steve Hall saying, “‘I WILL NOT pastor cursed people.’”

Phillips related the following account:

“There was one occasion when some of the staff, including me, were caught not tithing soon enough. We were waiting until we had deposited our checks into the bank to tithe to the church. Steve found a verse in the OT about paying late fees for late tithes, so we were forced to pay extra for our lateness. So, essentially the ministers raised their own salaries and gave 13% of that and beyond to the church, which went to pay Steve’s salary along with the other members’ tithes.”

In another separate incident close to 100 people attended a protest across the street from Sterling’s Calvary Temple church in an effort to raise awareness to practices they say have gone on for decades behind its closed doors. The protest was sparked after an article broke where two women said they were physically and sexually abused for years by the church’s leadership and teachers.

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VATICAN CITY
Crux

By Inés San Martín
Vatican correspondent April 10, 2015

ROME — Two survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy who now sit on a Vatican anti-abuse commission are traveling to Rome this weekend to meet with Boston Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley, and are hoping to see Pope Francis as well, to protest his recent appointment of a Chilean bishop linked to a notorious sex abuser.

A commission member speaking on background because he’s not authorized to discuss the matter confirmed to Crux that the meeting between O’Malley and the two victims who sit on the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors — Marie Collins of Ireland and Peter Saunders of the United Kingdom — will happen on Sunday.

Collins and Saunders will be joined by two other abuse survivors who are not part of the Vatican panel.

Saunders spoke on Friday about the upcoming meeting in an interview with the National Catholic Reporter.

“I’m hoping Francis will be there as well, because we’re going to meet [O’Malley] in the Domus Santa Marta about this Chilean bishop situation, which is really quite disturbing,” Saunders said.

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VATICAN CITY
Yahoo! News

Vatican City (AFP) – Three months after appointing an openly gay diplomat as France’s ambassador to the Vatican, Paris is still waiting for the green light from Rome.

With Pope Francis entering his third year in the post, some activists see the Vatican’s silence as a test of the depth of reform in the Catholic Church.

While the Vatican usually declares it has accepted a candidate around a month after an appointment is made, it makes no public statements at all if the answer is no.

Paris appears determined to stick with seasoned candidate Laurent Stefanini, a 55-year-old practising Catholic whom the foreign ministry described as “one of our best diplomats”.

“That’s why we appointed him. We are waiting for a reply to our request,” it said.

Sources close to President Francois Hollande said his appointment was “the wish of the president” and the cabinet of ministers.

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AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald

Brett O’Connor, head of child protection in Queensland schools, charged with historical sex abuse offences against pupils at two Sydney private schools

April 11, 2015

Louise Hall
Court Reporter

The man responsible for child protection in Queensland public schools has been charged with a series of child sex offences against students at two prominent Sydney private schools where he taught as a Catholic Brother in the 1980s.

Brett Anthony O’Connor, 52, is the director of child safety at Queensland’s Department of Education and Training.

Last month, Mr O’Connor was charged by NSW detectives over indecent and sexual assaults allegedly committed against a 12-year-old boy when he was a Marist Brother at Sydney’s prestigious St Joseph’s College, Hunters Hill in 1987.

He was also charged with sexually and indecently assaulting a 12-year-old-boy at St Gregory’s College, Campbelltown in 1989. Both colleges are large independent Catholic day and boarding schools for boys, run by the Marist Brothers.

O’Connor later left the religious order and qualified as a psychologist.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Big Trial

FRIDAY, APRIL 10, 2015

By Ralph Cipriano
for Bigtrial.net

District Attorney Seth Williams has decided not to retry Father Andrew McCormick a third time for the alleged attempted rape of a former 10-year-old altar boy.

In a brief appearance today before Judge Gwendolyn N. Bright, Assistant District Attorney Kristen Kemp tersely announced that the D.A. would not retry the case.

Twice in the last 14 months, the district attorney had brought the case to trial. And twice the end result was a mistrial after both juries wound up hopelessly deadlocked.

At today’s brief hearing, Trevan Borum, Father Andy’s defense lawyer, asked the judge to lift a gag order in the case. But even though there’s no future jury pool to worry about tainting, the judge told Kemp and Borum that she wanted her gag order to remain in efffect until May 16th. Later the judge changed her mind and announced she would rule Monday on Borum’s motion to lift the gag order.

In the absence of official comment, one loyal member of the “Friends of Father Andy” support group said the D.A.’s decision to finally give up was a “long time coming, especially when there is no evidence.”

In a last desperate move while the jury was still deliberating, ADA Kemp had offered Father Andy a sweetheart deal. If the priest would plead guilty to a single charge, corrupting the morals of a minor, he would receive no jail time, four years probation, and not even have to register as a sex offender under Megan’s Law.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
CBS Philly

By Dan Wing

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — The Philadelphia District Attorney’s office announced Friday that they will not to retry a former Philadelphia priest accused of sexual assault.

After two juries failed to reach a verdict in the trial of Father Andrew McCormick in 12 months, the DA’s office made the announcement saying it will no longer seek jail time for the 58-year-old priest. A gag order on all parties involved in the case remains in place until April 16th, but the attorney representing McCormick is expected to try to have that lifted early next week.

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SLOVAKIA
Prague Post

Bratislava/Vatican, April 10 (ČTK) — The reception of former Slovak archbishop Róbert Bezák, the circumstances of whose dismissal three years ago are still unclear, by Pope Francis in a private audience today is an important shift in the case, Slovak church analyst Imrich Gazda has said.

The information about the reception was carried by the Vatican press center and the Vatican Insider server. They did not say what the Pope and Bezák spoke about.

The popular priest Bezák was dismissed as archbishop of Trnava by Pope Francis’s predecessor, Benedict XVI in 2012. The church allegedly criticized the presence of homosexual priests in his surroundings and his stance on certain church issues.

The Vatican also allegedly had objections to Bezák often wearing civilian clothing, saying this discredited the church attire. However, no official reasons for Bezák’s dismissal were given.
Slovak President Andrej Kiska also spoke about Bezák with Pope Francis during his first visit to the Vatican on Thursday.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
WPVI

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — After two hung juries, the sex abuse case against a Philadelphia priest has been dropped.

The district attorney’s office confirmed to Action News they will not retry Rev. Andrew McCormick for a third time.

The Roman Catholic priest was accused of sexually assaulting a 10-year-old altar boy at Bridesburg’s St. John Cantius back in 1997.

Though McCormick no longer faces the threat of prison, it’s unlikely he will return to a parish.

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MINNESOTA
Post-Bulletin

Kay Fate, kfate@postbulletin.com

WINONA — The Diocese of Winona on Friday morning publicly released and added the names of two more priests to their list of accused clerics: Father Harold Mountain and Father Thomas Duane.

Neither name had been released to the public before Friday’s announcement; both are dead.

Bishop John Quinn, in a statement, acknowledges that “these accusations have been deemed to be not manifestly false or frivolous.”

According to documents provided Jeff Anderson and Associates, a law firm that represents several people sexually abused by clerics in the diocese, the accusations against Mountain and Duane came following their deaths.

Mountain served the southeastern Minnesota parishes of Stewartville, Hayfield, Winona, Minnieska and Minnesota City.

The accusation came to light in 2011, but the year it occurred is redacted from church documents. The victim believes he was in second or third grade. He was sent to Mountain’s office for discipline, the report says, but Mountain began to talk about sex, then pulled down the boy’s pants and touched his genitals.

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UNITED STATES
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Friday, April 10

Statement by Joelle Casteix of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests 949 322 7434, jcasteix@gmail.com

We’re encouraged that four abuse victims will meet this weekend with Cardinal Sean O’Malley about Pope Francis’ irresponsible appointment of a corrupt Chilean bishop.

But every single member of the pontiff’s commission should be shouting from the rooftops about this callous and hurtful appointment that will only discourage other victims, witnesses and whistleblowers from exposing clergy who commit and conceal child sex crimes.

[National Catholic Reporter]

And what of the world’s thousands of bishops? Why hasn’t a single one found the courage to criticize – or even publicly question – this insensitive move by Pope Francis? The pope has repeatedly said that more honest discussion in the church, even criticism of other church officials, is important and healthy. The pope has prided himself on more open decision-making in the highest echelons of the church hierarchy.

But not a single bishop on the planet – in office or in retirement – can bring themselves to challenge the boss.

The fact is that Bishop Juan Barros Madrid should be demoted and denounced, not elevated.

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MINNESOTA
Minnesota Public Radio

Elizabeth Baier · Rochester, Minn. · Apr 10, 2015

The Diocese of Winona on Friday released the names of two more priests accused of sexual abuse and said it doesn’t expect more disclosures.

The men — the Rev. Harold Mountain and the Rev. Thomas Duane — were previously unknown to the public. They served in the diocese for more than four decades. Both men have since died.

Mountain served in several parishes during his 47 years with the diocese. He retired in 1989 and died in 2006. According to his priest file, Mountain’s victim was a young boy.

Duane served in parishes and at a high school during his 41 years with the diocese. He retired in 1979 and died in 1993. According to his file, Duane’s victim was an adolescent woman.

The disclosures were prompted by recently obtained information by the Diocese of Winona and the review of the diocese’s priest files as part of a settlement in a clergy abuse lawsuit, said victims’ attorney Mike Finnegan.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Catholic Philly

BY MATTHEW GAMBINO

The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office announced Friday, April 10, that it will not retry Father Andrew McCormick on charges that he sexually assaulted a boy in 1997. Two previous trials of the case ended in hung juries.

The Philadelphia priest, 58, has been on administrative leave since 2011. He was ordained in 1982 and is a former pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Swedesburg.

Father McCormick was arrested in July 2012 for the alleged assault of a 10-year-old boy, now 27, in the rectory of St. John Cantius Parish in Philadelphia’s Bridesburg section.

Archdiocesan spokesman Ken Gavin said Father McCormick will remain on leave, meaning he may not celebrate the sacraments publicly, wear priest garb or present himself publicly as a priest.

Gavin said now that there will be no third trial of the case, Father McCormick’s “canonical process” – an investigation under church law – may now begin, which will determine his future status as a priest.

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MINNESOTA
Wall Street Journal

By TOM CORRIGAN

A Minnesota bankruptcy judge agreed to give the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and alleged victims of clergy sexual abuse more time to negotiate the terms of a settlement, but the two sides remain at odds of over the proposed deadline by which victims must file claims in order to be compensated.

Following a hearing Thursday, Judge Robert Kressel of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Minneapolis gave the archdiocese through at least Nov. 30 to draft a reorganization plan. The plan likely will center on a settlement among the archdiocese, its insurance carriers and alleged victims, all of whom were ordered to begin mediation shortly after the archdiocese filed for chapter 11 protection in January.

The archdiocese says it needs more time to work out deals with its insurance carriers, which could significantly increase the assets available to compensate victims. The archdiocese’s efforts have been complicated by that fact that it has more than 30 different insurance policies issued by about 15 different carriers spanning the late 1940s to present, court papers show.

The archdiocese has also proposed an Aug. 3 deadline for alleged sexual-abuse victims to come forward with formal claims, which is sooner than the deadline proposed by victims’ lawyers, who say more time is needed to contact victims and to help them file claims.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Friday, April 10

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

We’re disappointed that Fr. Andrew McCormick won’t be retried. But we hope that others who may have seen, suspected or suffered his crimes will now speak out. And we urge Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput to use his vast resources to reach out to any other victims, witnesses or whistleblowers who may have knowledge or suspicions about possible wrongdoing by Fr. McCormick.

[Philadelphia Inquirer]

It’s not enough for Chaput to keep McCormick out of a parish. Chaput’s insurers, defense lawyers and public relations team will insist that the priest not be given an assignment. That’s the absolute bare minimum Chaput should and will do for purely selfish reasons.

Chaput should also

–put Fr. McCormick in a remote, secure, independent and professionally run treatment facility for sex offenders,
–disclose where that is, and
–personally visit every parish where Fr. McCormick worked, begging others to step forward.

We predict, however, that Chaput will do none of this. He’ll likely say and do the absolute bare minimum. And he’ll keep his fingers crossed that Fr. McCormick. But that’s irresponsible, especially because Chaput has the power to severely limit Fr. McCormick’s access to kids, the resources to help find other victims and the duty to help law enforcement file more charges, if possible, against Fr. McCormick.

Obviously, Fr. McCormick hasn’t been convicted. But let’s remember that parents, police and prosecutors believe this alleged victim. And Fr. McCormick has been accused of inappropriate actions with kids before. Let’s err, if we must, on the side of safeguarding several innocent children versus one popular, well-educated alleged child molesting cleric.

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UNITED STATES
dotCommonweal

Grant Gallicho April 10, 2015

In an interview with La Croix this week (English translation here), Cardinal Gerhard Müller, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, suggested a new area of work for the Holy Office: theological architecture. The cardinal was asked how he viewed his role under Pope Francis, especially given that Benedict XVI was a theologian. “The arrival of a theologian like Benedict XVI in the chair of St. Peter was no doubt an exception,” Müller replied. “But John XXIII was not a professional theologian. Pope Francis is also more pastoral and our mission at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith is to provide the theological structure of a pontificate.” If that’s how the cardinal views his role, that might explain why he’s given more interviews than any of his predecessors, according to Andrea Tornielli at La Stampa.

Of course, as Tornielli notes, providing the “theological structure” of a pontificate has never been part of the CDF’s job description. “The proper duty of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith is to promote and safeguard the doctrine on faith and morals in the whole Catholic world,” as John Paul II wrote in Pastor bonus, his apostolic constitution on the Roman Curia. Until the pontificate of Paul VI, Tornielli reminds readers, the CDF was run by the pope. That’s because he is “supreme pastor and teacher of all the faithful,” as canon law puts it. In other words, the work of building a theological structure for a pontificate finally falls to one man: the pope.

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ROME
National Catholic Reporter

Joshua J. McElwee | Apr. 10, 2015

ROME Members of the Vatican commission advising Pope Francis on clergy sexual abuse are making an unscheduled visit to Rome on Sunday, hoping to personally tell the pope their concerns about his appointment of a Chilean bishop accused of covering up abuse.

Two members of the commission who are survivors of abuse will make the trip with two other survivors and are scheduled to meet Sunday evening with Boston’s Cardinal Sean O’Malley, head of the Vatican commission and also a member of Francis’ Council of Cardinals.

Speaking exclusively to NCR on Friday evening, commission member Peter Saunders said he and the rest of the group will meet with O’Malley for a meal at the Vatican hotel where Francis lives and hope to encounter the pope there.

The members, Saunders said, are making the trip “to have a very, very urgent and important discussion with Cardinal O’Malley.”

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

Joseph A. Slobodzian, Inquirer Staff Writer
Last updated: Friday, April 10, 2015

After two Philadelphia juries failed to reach a verdict in 12 months, the District Attorney’s Office announced Friday it would not retry Rev. Andrew McCormick, a Roman Catholic priest accused of sexually assaulting a 10-year-old altar boy almost 18 years ago in a Bridesburg parish.

Assistant District Attorney Kristen Kemp, backed by key members of her office’s sex-crimes unit, announced the decision in a brief hearing before Common Pleas Court Judge Gwendolyn N. Bright.

While approving the dismissal, Bright told Kemp and defense attorney Trevan Borum that she wanted her gag order barring them or the parties, including McCormick, from commenting obeyed until April 16.

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MINNESOTA
KAAL

By: Jennie Olson

The Diocese of Winona had released the names of two more priests who have been accused of sexually abusing minors.

The Rev. Harold Mountain and the Rev. Thomas Duane were named in a release by lawyer Jeff Anderson on Friday. Both names hadn’t been released before today.

A total of 17 clerics who worked in the Diocese of Winona have now been accused of sexual abuse.

The disclosure is part of an October 2014 settlement agreement that includes a child protection plan and the public release of the names of clerics who have substantiated claims of sexual abuse against them.

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NEW JERSEY
Road to Recovery

MEDIA RELEASE

APRIL 10, 2015

Rev. Michael H. Hansen took innocent children to the “Jersey shore” where he gave them alcohol and sexually abused them

Rev. Michael H. Hansen, deceased, was a volunteer firefighter in Glen Ridge, New Jersey and chaplain of the New Jersey State Firemen’s Association where he had access to many minor children

What
A demonstration and leafleting alerting parishioners and the general public about allegations of sexual abuse against a deceased Archdiocese of Newark priest, Rev. Michael H. Hansen, who served at Sacred Heart Parish, Bloomfield, Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, West Orange, and Assumption Parish in Emerson, New Jersey, and acted as a firefighter and fire chaplain.

When
Saturday afternoon, April 11, 2015 from 4:45 PM until 6:30 PM (before and after the 5:30 PM Mass)
Sunday morning, April 12, 2015 from 8:15 AM until 12:30 PM (corresponding to the 7:30, 9:30 and 11:30 AM Masses)

Where
On the public sidewalks outside Our Lady of Lourdes Church, 1 Eagle Rock Avenue, West Orange, New Jersey

Who
Members of Road to Recovery, Inc., a non-profit charity that assists victims of sexual abuse and their families, including its co-founder and President who is a native of West Orange, New Jersey

Why
Fr. Michael H. Hansen has been accused of giving innocent minor children alcohol and sexually abusing them. Fr. Hansen allegedly took innocent minor children to the Jersey shore, gave them alcohol, and sexually abused them. Fr. Hansen also worked as a volunteer firefighter and fire chaplain, giving him access to thousands of children throughout towns and cities of New Jersey. It is alleged that the irate parent of an abused child at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish threatened Fr. Hansen as he distributed communion during a Mass. Demonstrators will distribute leaflets to parishioners and the public to alert them to the allegations against Fr. Michael Hansen and urge them to come forward to begin their healing.

Contacts
Robert M. Hoatson, Ph.D., Road to Recovery, Inc., Livingston, NJ, 07039 – 862-368-2800
Attorney Mitchell Garabedian, Boston, MA – 617-523-6250

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VATICAN CITY
The Australian

APRIL 11, 2015

Dennis Shanahan
Political Editor
Canberra

Not long after being appointed as fin­ancial controller of the Holy See, essentially the Vatican’s Treasurer and effectively one of the top four positions of the Catholic Church, Australia’s Cardinal George Pell shocked the ancient ways of the Curia in Rome by announcing he had discovered hundreds of millions of euros in lost funds.

As he prepares to deliver his first real budget on modern financial terms next month it seems Pell has built substantially on that fast start by uncovering more than €1 billion in lost funds.

The uncovering of unused funds through modern accounting and international standards is only part of the reform challenge the Catholic Church faces as Pope Francis revives interest in the papacy worldwide with his fresh and spontaneous approach.

The administrative reforms run in parallel to theological changes and include the Pope’s impending encyclical on climate change and the Vatican’s global diplomatic push as the centre of gravity of the Catholic Church moves from Europe to Asia.

The issue for Francis, who has shocked some Vatican officials with his references to the possibility of following Pope Benedict in retiring early, is whether his burst of energy and quest for reform will be matched by the capabilities and will of the Vatican to deliver on the modernisation.

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MASSACHUSETTS
WGBH

By EDGAR B. HERWICK III

According to the 2010 Religion Census, a study conducted every 10 years, 45 percent of Massachusetts residents consider themselves Catholic, making the Bay State one of the most heavily Catholic states in the US. This fact would surely surprise William Bradford, and the rest of the Mayflower pilgrims who first established the Commonwealth.

From parades to politics, Catholicism is such an integral part of the cultural fabric here in Massachusetts that it’s hard to believe that it hasn’t always been that way. And yet, as Boston College history professor James O’Toole explains: “In the very early years of Massachusetts, Catholics were few in number and not particularly welcome.”

Not welcomed is one way to put it. Illegal would be another. Consider Massachusetts’ so-called anti-priest laws, established in the 1640s. O’Toole explains: “If a priest came in he’d be ordered out of the colony. If he came back, he’d be put in jail for a while and thrown out of the colony again and if he came back a third time he’d be hanged.” …

Today, Boston remains an influential center for American Catholicism – for good and for bad. America’s first and only Catholic president, JFK, is from here. But the archdiocese was also the center of clergy sex abuse scandal that the church continues to grapple with. O’Toole says that two centuries on, for Chevrus’ successor, Cardinal Sean O’Malley, the job may be very different, but that doesn’t mean it’s any easier.

“Cardinal O’Malley’s challenge is now that the church has grown into this big institution. How to maintain an institution of that size, so that it actually connect to people.”

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MINNESOTA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Friday, April 10

Statement by Frank Meuers of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests ( 952-334-5180, frankameuers@gmail.com )

Two more names of Minnesota predator priests have been made public. We challenge every priest in the Winona diocese to mention their names at masses this weekend and beg anyone who has been hurt by the clerics to come forward and get help.

[Jeff Anderson & Associates]

This disclosure isn’t voluntary. It’s happening because a brave and compassionate victim was strong enough to file a lawsuit and caring enough to insist that child molesting clerics be “outed.” So we ask Winona priests to go beyond the legal bare minimum. We urge them to use pulpit announcements, parish websites and church bulletins to do as Christ taught us: to reach out to the “lost sheep.”

Somewhere in Minnesota is a man or woman who was assaulted as a child by Fr. Thomas Duane or Fr. Harold Mountain. She drinks herself into a stupor nightly to dull her pain from that trauma. Or he drugs himself daily to numb his suffering. And their relatives wonder “Why did Sally’s life go south?” or “Why does Bill isolate himself from the rest of our family?”

This long-standing misery can end. But only if Sally or Bill break their silence and share their burdens with loved ones. And that often happens when victims learn that their predators are deceased or are publicly “outed.” That, in turn, often happens when those with “bully pulpits” show real leadership and use their resources to beg victims to step forward.

We are grateful to him and to every single victim of clergy sexual violence who has taken steps to protect children, expose wrongdoers, seek justice and deter cover ups. We’re especially grateful to those individuals who reported being abused by these two priests. We hope this disclosure brings some comfort and closure to those hurt by Fr. Mountain and Fr. Duane. And we hope this disclosure will prod others who are suffering in shame, silence and self-blame to begin to recover.

If Winona priests don’t take this outreach step voluntarily, we urge Bishop John Quinn to insist that they do so. And we hope every single current and former Winona Catholic church employee and member to spread the word as best they can about these two predator 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.

UNITED STATES
Religion News Service – Rhymes with Religion

Boz Tchividjian | Apr 10, 2015

As you may know, April is designated as National Child Abuse Prevention Month. What does this mean for us? More importantly, what does this mean for children? I have little doubt that most reading this post acknowledge the evil of this offense and would be overjoyed if no more children were ever abused or neglected. Unfortunately, taking a few minutes during one month of the year to give thought to this evil with the hope that it will end is simply not enough. I am convinced that in order to prevent child abuse, the world community (that means you and I!) is going to have to become much more aware of its prevalence and its destruction. An awareness that will hopefully become the fuel to action. An action not limited to thoughts and hopes. I plead with you to be aware:

Be aware that in 2013, over 3.5 million children were reported as abused or neglected involving over 6 million children.

Be aware that a report of child abuse in the United States is made every 10 seconds.

Be aware that in 2013, approximately one-fifth of every child abuse report was found to be “substantiated”. This means that almost 700,000 children were confirmed abused or neglected. For every 1000 children, 9 of them were victims of abuse or neglect. Keep in mind, this doesn’t include the vast majority of child abuse that never gets reported or investigated.

Be aware that child sexual abuse is 75x more common than pediatric cancer.

Be aware that there is at least one child molester per square mile in the United States.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Friday, April 10

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

Pastor sentenced for child sex abuse
Prosecutor says he was in Mercer County PA
Group seeks “victims, witnesses & whistleblowers”
It urges “anyone with info” to “speak up & get help”

A Protestant minister who worked in Mercer County was sentenced this week to 15 years in prison for abusing two girls in 2001 and 2002 in New York.

[The Daily News]

Rev. Roy Harriger was pastor of Ashwood Wesleyan Church in Yates, NY. He was arrested at his home in Middleport, NY in November 2013 after a state police investigation.

Rev. Harriger also spent time in Michigan, in the Milford—Oakland County area.

“We desperately hope that anyone else who may have seen, suspected or suffered Rev. Harriger’s crimes – in Pennsylvania, Michigan or New York – will find the courage and strength to step forward now,” said David Clohessy of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. “It’s possible that Rev. Harriger could be prosecuted for more child sex crimes or that his church colleagues might be prosecuted for helping to conceal those crimes.”

Clohessy also stressed that coming forward often helps victims heal.

“You can recover from childhood trauma and betrayal, but not if you insist on trying to carry this awful burden alone,” he said. “It’s crucial that you break your silence and tell a relative, partner, friend, therapist or a support group like ours. That’s the first step toward rebuilding your shattered trust and self-esteem.”

Orleans County District Attorney Joe Cardone (Joe.Cardone@orleanscountyny.gov), in an email, informed SNAP that Rev. Harriger spent time in Mercer County.

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 Australian

APRIL 11, 2015

Dennis Shanahan
Political Editor
Canberra

More than a billion euros in previously “hidden” Catholic Church funds is about to be revealed in new Vatican budget audit.

The vast sums of undeclared money have been hidden in various bank accounts by organisations and groups within the Holy See in Rome.

The funds have not been misused and are not part of corruption and scandal that have previously shamed the Vatican but the money has not been properly disclosed or available for the full use of the Vatican because it has been hidden away in an Italian practice of keeping aside undeclared finds.

It is now expected that Australia’s Cardinal George Pell, ­appointed by the Pope a year ago as the Vatican treasurer, will disclose in his audit of Vatican funds as part of next month’s budget that more than a billion euros has been hidden away.

Cardinal Pell, who is introducing tough, modern financial rules for the Vatican, said previously he found hundreds of thousands of hidden euros as he applied his new audit standards to the Holy See.

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MINNESOTA
Roman Catholic Diocese of Winona

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA CONTACT:
Joel Hennessy, Director of Mission Advancement & Communications
jhennessy@dow.org office 507.858.1249 cell 507.254.3948

A Statement from Most Rev. John M. Quinn, Bishop of Winona

WINONA, MN – April 10, 2015 – Today, the Diocese of Winona is releasing the names of two priests who are accused of committing child sexual abuse while serving as priests within the Diocese of Winona. Today’s release, comes as part of an ongoing effort to identify and publically disclose names of priests that have been accused of child sexual abuse. These accusations have been deemed to be not manifestly false or frivolous.

Fr. Harold B. Mountain has been accused of child sexual abuse. Fr. Mountain was ordained on May 30, 1942 and served in the following parishes over the course of his 47 years with the Diocese of Winona.
June 9, 1943 – Mater Dolorosa, Madelia, MN
June, 1943- September, 1947 – Saint Thomas Pro Cathedral , Winona, MN
June, 1943- September, 1947 – Precious Blood, LaMoille, MN and Saints Peter and Paul, Hart, MN
1946-1947 – Spiritual Director for the Newman Center in Winona, MN
September 1, 1947 – Saint Bernard, Stewartville, MN and Sacred Heart, Hayfield, MN
June 18, 1948 – Saint Bernard, Stewartville, MN and Sacred Heart, Hayfield, MN
June 15, 1950 – Diocesan Director of Blessed Sacrament
January 30, 1952 – Christ the King, Medford, MN and Corpus Christi, Deerfield, MN
August 5, 1968 – Saint Casimir, Wells, MN
July 14, 1977 – Immaculate Conception, Saint Clair, MN
May 30, 1989 – Retired
November 12, 2006 – Died

Because Fr. Harold Mountain died prior to the accusation of abuse was made to the Diocese of Winona, Fr. Harold Mountain was never able to confirm or deny the allegation.

Fr. Thomas E. Duane has been accused of child sexual abuse. Fr. Duane was ordained on June 5, 1938 and served in the following parishes over the course of his 41 years with the Diocese of Winona.
August 22, 1938 – Saint Charles Borromeo, Saint Charles, MN
November 14, 1945 –Saint Bernard, Stewartville, MN and Sacred Heart, Hayfield, MN
June 3, 1947 – Saint Ignatius, Spring Valley, MN and Saint Patrick, LeRoy, MN
June 30, 1954 – Saint John the Baptist, Caledonia, MN and Loretto High School, Caledonia, MN
August 22, 1961 – Saint Gabriel, Fulda, MN
August 11, 1966 – Leave of Absence for Medical Reasons
August 12, 1966 – Resigned as pastor for Saint Gabriel, Fulda, MN
September 1, 1966 – Chaplain for Mother Frances Rest Home, Mankato, MN
March 1, 1967 – Saint Patrick, LeRoy, MN
March 3, 1969 – Saint Patrick, LeRoy, MN
March 1971 – Requested leave of absence until June 15, 1971
July 11, 1974 – Saint John, Dodge Center, MN and Saint Olaf, Kasson, MN
June 11, 1976 – Saint Francis de Sales, Claremont, MN
May 18, 1979 – Retired
April 28, 1993 – Died

Fr. Thomas Duane died prior to the Diocese of Winona becoming aware of the accusation of abuse, therefore Fr. Duane was not able to confirm or deny the allegation.

These disclosures have been prompted by information that was recently obtained by the Diocese of Winona and the complete and comprehensive review that has been conducted by the Diocese of Winona of all priest files in its possession. The Diocese of Winona is committed to transparency and ensuring that crimes against children do not go undisclosed or unreported. The Diocese of Winona has implemented one of the most thorough background search and safety training protocol in the nation to ensure those entrusted in our care are safe. Our prayers remain with those who have been victimized by members of the clergy and we stand committed to providing support and healing to those who have been tragically abused by clergy. We encourage anyone that has been abused recently or in the past to come forward and report the abuse to civil authorities.

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MINNESOTA
Winona Daily News

The Diocese of Winona on Friday for the first time released the names of two additional priests suspected of sexual abuse.

The names of Fathers Harold Mountain and Thomas Duane were released as part of the ongoing settlement agreement with the diocese and the Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis. Both names have never been released to the public before. The two names bring to 17 the total list of diocese priests suspected of sexual abuse.

Neither priest is alive. Duane died in 1993, and Mountain in 2006. There were not abuse complaints filed against either when they were alive.

Joel Hennessy, speaking for the Diocese of Winona, said the release of was prompted by the receipt of new victim information by the diocese. “The priests did not meet the disclosure protocols prior to the new information,” Hennessy said.

“This is a good day for child protection,” said Patrick Wall, researcher for Anderson & Associates, the law firm representing the plaintiffs in the suit. “This is another forward step,” he said, “we are not done…there will be more priest files.”

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SCOTLAND
Scottish Legal News

Survivors of historical child abuse in institutions including schools and places run by religious organisations are calling for compensation to be included in a forthcoming inquiry.

The education secretary Angela Constance (pictured) will announce the scope of the inquiry at the end of April after having discussed the issues with victims as well as people who ran the institutions over recent months.

Survivors seek interim payments, similar to the system in Ireland.

In Care Abuse Survivors (INCAS), which represents almost 400 victims of institutional abuse, said that in the last 17 years, while calls were made for an inquiry, numerous victims have died of old age as well as ill-health and suicide.

Helen Holland, chairwoman of the charity, said: “We want the scope to be as wide as possible and should not be narrowed down. It should cover everyone who was abused under the care of the state.

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VATICAN CITY
Washington Post

By Abby Ohlheiser and Michelle Boorstein April 10

It’s been a few months since France appointed Laurent Stéfanini, a practicing Catholic who is also openly gay, to be the country’s next ambassador to the Holy See. This week, the European press noticed that the Vatican has yet to accept the appointment, which many are interpreting as an implicit rejection of candidate.

The Rev. Thomas Rosica, a Vatican spokesman, declined via e-mail on Thursday to comment on Stéfanini’s appointment, adding that “any host government has the right to grant agrément or refuse it for their own reasons.”

An agrément is a formal diplomatic approval of another country’s choice of an ambassador. That the Vatican has reportedly thus far withheld agrément for an ambassador who has been chosen will be seen as a rejection.

Federico Lombardi, the head of the Holy See’s press office, added in a second e-mail, “The Press Office has never done comments about appointments of ambassadors to the Holy See.”

Stéfanini worked at France’s embassy to the Vatican from 2001 to 2005, Le Monde reported, before French President François Hollande decided to appoint him to the job in early January of this year. According to Le Monde, Stéfanini is unmarried and has no children.

The rumors about the meaning of the Vatican’s apparent non-response to the appointment seem to stem from a report in “Le Journal du Dimanche.” The report, citing an unnamed Vatican insider, alleges that a decision to essentially freeze the application came from the “pope himself.”

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CANADA
The Globe and Mail

ALLAN MAKI
CALGARY — The Globe and Mail
Published Friday, Apr. 10 2015

Young aboriginal women in B.C. are more likely to be victims of violence if they were sexually abused as children or had a parent who attended a residential school, a landmark study has found.

Researchers for a survey called the Cedar Project say their study to be released on Friday is the first in Canada to show a statistical connection between continued abuse and the residential schools. (B.C. had 22 of them, the most of any Canadian province.)

The Cedar Project interviewed 259 women, ages 14 to 30, several times over seven years. The report says they were “nearly 10 times more likely to be sexually assaulted later in life if they had a history of childhood sexual abuse.” It said the women were also at a high risk if at least one of their parents had spent time at a residential school.

Until the late 20th century, native children were taken from their families and placed in residential schools, where many were beaten and sexually abused. At least 3,000 children died at the schools. Some survivors suffering from the effects of the abuse became abusers themselves.

Of the 259 women recruited from Vancouver and Prince George, B.C., all used drugs, 28 per cent reported that they were sexually assaulted during the seven-year period, and 41 per cent of that group were assaulted more than once.

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MINNESOTA
Jeff Anderson & Associates

4/10/2015

Winona Diocese Publicly Releases Names of Two Priests Accused of Sexually Abusing Minors Father Harold Mountain and Father Thomas Duane added to the list of accused priests (Winona, MN) – Today the Diocese of Winona publicly released and added the names of two more priests to their list of accused clerics, Father Harold Mountain and Father Thomas Duane. Both names have never been released to the public before. There are now 17 clerics accused of sexual abuse who worked in the Winona Diocese. This disclosure is a result of the October 2014 settlement agreement in the civil lawsuit Doe 1 v. Archdiocese of Saint Paul & Minneapolis and Diocese of Winona. The settlement agreement contained a multi-step child protection plan which included the ongoing, public release of individual names of clerics with substantiated claims of the sexual abuse of minors. “Today’s release is a step forward in transparency and making our communities safer,” said Jeff Anderson who represents several sexual abuse survivors abused by clerics who worked in the Diocese of Winona.

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

MINNESOTA
Jeff Anderson & Associates

Winona Diocese Publicly Releases Names of Two Priests Accused of Sexually Abusing Minors

Father Harold Mountain and Father Thomas Duane added to the list of accused priests

(Winona, MN) – Today the Diocese of Winona publicly released and added the names of two more priests to their list of accused clerics, Father Harold Mountain and Father Thomas Duane. Both names have never been released to the public before. There are now 17 clerics accused of sexual abuse who worked in the Winona Diocese.

This disclosure is a result of the October 2014 settlement agreement in the civil lawsuit Doe 1 v. Archdiocese of Saint Paul & Minneapolis and Diocese of Winona. The settlement agreement contained a multi-step child protection plan which included the ongoing, public release of individual names of clerics with substantiated claims of the sexual abuse of minors.

“Today’s release is a step forward in transparency and making our communities safer,” said Jeff Anderson who represents several sexual abuse survivors abused by clerics who worked in the Diocese of Winona.

Thomas Duane Timeline
Thomas Duane Priest File
Harold Mountain Timeline
Harold Mountain Priest File

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VATICAN CITY/FRANCE
The Local

Pope Francis’ liberal credentials have taken a blow after the Vatican reportedly refused to accept the nomination of the new French ambassador, a close aide of President François Hollande, because he is gay.

Laurent Stefanini, a senior diplomat and French President François Hollande’s chief of protocol, was nominated in early January but the Vatican has yet to accept his credentials, officials in Paris said.

Normally a new ambassador’s credentials are accepted within a month and a half. The Vatican does not usually explicitly refuse an envoy’s credentials, but a prolonged silence after a nomination is interpreted as a rejection.

The Vatican declined to comment when asked by The Local if Stefanini, who is openly gay, was being rejected and if this was due to his sexuality.

A French presidential aide said that the choice of the 54-year-old to represent France at the Vatican resulted from “a wish by the president and a cabinet decision” and that the president regarded him as “one of our best diplomats.”

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VATICAN CITY/FRANCE
Catholic Culture

In January, the French government appointed Laurent Stefanini as its ambassador to the Holy See, but three months later, the Vatican has not approved the appointment—leading to European media reports that the lack of approval stems from Stefanini’s homosexuality.

Le Monde and Corriere della Sera reported that Cardinal André Vingt-Trois of Paris interceded with Pope Francis on behalf of the nomination of Stefanini, a former official of the French embassy at the Vatican. La Croix reported that Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, the former Vatican foreign minister who now serves as president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, also supports the appointment.

According to Le Monde, Pope Francis has decided to “freeze the dossier,” while La Croix reported that French President François Hollande maintained his support for Stefanini in a recent private conversation.

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ITALY
The Daily Beast

Barbie Latza Nadeau

The alleged victim of a horny cleric in Southern Italy takes him to court, and (once again) blows the lid off sexual corruption in the Catholic Church.

If only there was an online hookup site especially for gay priests, perhaps it could save the Vatican some of the embarrassment that comes when celibacy-challenged prelates start snooping around for some action. Instead, we are reminded once again about the secret desires of the not-really-so-chaste.

The latest awkward moment for the Catholic Church came this week when the archbishop of Taranto in the southern Italian province of Puglia dismissed Father Antonio Calvieri, a priest in his 50s who worked at the monastery of the local Carmelite order. Calvieri is the subject of a sexual harassment charge and lawsuit by Andrea Baldon, a 32-year-old man the priest apparently had set his sights on. According to court documents filed in Taranto, Baldon is seeking unspecified damages against Calvieri as well as the church of the Santissimo Crocefisso after apparent aggressive sexual harassment.

His fantasy was that I was Judas Iscariot and, since I had betrayed Jesus, I had to pay the price by becoming his slave.

Baldon, who met Calvieri online when he was seeking spiritual guidance, gave the court photos including screenshots of the priest, Facebook messages and chat messages the two exchanged. There are also reportedly hard core videos of Calvieri with other men assumed to be priests and in solo acts, according to local press reports.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

Police have released a computer-generated image of a man wanted for questioning over a suspicious fire at a Dandenong church historically linked to a paedophile priest.

Fire crews were called to St Mary’s Catholic Church in Dandenong at 2:30am on April 1 by the parish’s priest, Father Declan O’Brien, who lives in a detached building, when he was woken by the sound of smoke alarms.

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

The fire brigade said it was clear to firefighters that someone had broken in and set several areas of the building alight.

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NEW MEXICO
Gallup Independent

Published in the Gallup Independent, Gallup, N.M., April 2, 2015

By Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola
Independent correspondent
religion@gallupindependent.com

ALBUQUERQUE – U.S. Bankruptcy Judge David T. Thuma issued an order in the Diocese of Gallup’s bankruptcy case related to possible clergy sex abuse victims who may come forward in the future with claims against the diocese.

Thuma signed an order Friday appointing a legal representative to represent the interests of such future claimants, including individuals who might currently be minors. In his order, Thuma approved the employment of Michael P. Murphy, the managing director of AlixPartners, LLP, as the representative. AlixPartners, an international business advisory firm, was also approved to assist Murphy with his duties.

Unknown tort claimants

Referred to as the “unknown claims representative,” Murphy and AlixPartners will be paid a flat fee of $50,000, plus expenses to represent the interests of clergy sex abuse victims who might possibly come forward in the future. Those individuals are referred to as “unknown tort claimants” in court documents.

According to Murphy, he is currently serving as the future claims representative in the Diocese of Stockton’s bankruptcy case. In addition, he previously was appointed to that same position in church bankruptcy cases in Fairbanks, Alaska, and Davenport, Iowa.

On Feb. 11, bankruptcy attorneys for the Gallup Diocese, referred to as “the debtors” in the case, filed the motion requesting Murphy’s employment be approved by the court. The Unsecured Creditors Committee, which represents the interests of clergy sex abuse victims who have come forward and filed abuse claims with the court, supported the motion.

“Although the debtors are not currently aware of any such adults, the Arizona and New Mexico statutes of limitations for such claims may be tolled by certain circumstances,” diocesan attorney Elizabeth S. Fella stated in the motion. “Additionally, while the debtors are not yet aware of any tort claimants who may be younger than the age of legal majority, the interest of such minor tort claimants should also be represented, because they may be presently unable to come forward as a result of their minority.”

Funds for such claimants

The Gallup Diocese admitted in the motion that any plan of reorganization must provide for unknown tort claimants “that are currently unable to assert or are excused from asserting their Tort Claims because they are currently unable to advocate for themselves.” The motion said the Diocese of Gallup will preserve a portion of the funds under its reorganization plan to compensate such individuals.

In the motion, Fella set clear limitations to the pool of possible future claimants. “The class of Unknown Tort Claimants should include only those individuals who experienced sexual abuse as minors,” she stated.

The Diocese of Gallup continues to have a small number of active priests who have been accused of the sexual harassment and/or assault of adult victims. Since his arrival in Gallup in 2009, Bishop James S. Wall has not removed the priestly faculties of any of these alleged offenders.

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OKLAHOMA
Stillwater News Press

A 4-year old girl will only be 16 when she must choose to confront her abuser in court. Because of her minor status, she may still be living with her abuser during this difficult decision.

Without prospects of gaining independence, finding her own job and place to live, or attending college, the 16-year-old girl feels trapped and simply lets her abuser go unchallenged in court.

The state of Oklahoma secretly promotes this child’s psychological conflict. With the statute of limitations being merely 12 years, the state is promoting further injustice against a minor by leaving her voiceless and fearful of formally charging her abuser.

According to the Oklahoma Department of Health Services, 60.73 percent of child abuse victims were under 6 years old when the abuse occurred. Of their perpetrators, 78.62 percent were their mothers and fathers. Therefore, over half of our Oklahoma children will still be in their parents’ care when the statute of limitations will run out.

We can easily change this unacceptable policy. By simply freezing the statute of limitations for victims until they are 18, a child will be able to face her abuser as an adult rather than a minor. The 12-year statute of limitations would not begin to tick away until the child gains adult status as an 18-year old.

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UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter

Thomas Reese | Apr. 10, 2015 Faith and Justice

In his pre-Christmas talk to the cardinals and bishops of the Vatican Curia, Pope Francis shocked his audience and the world by his scathing words on the failings of those working in the Vatican. He warned them against 15 separate “diseases” in their work and attitudes.

In this “examination of conscience,” among other sins, he spoke of “spiritual Alzheimer’s,” “existential schizophrenia” and the “terrorism of gossip.”

“They are diseases and temptations which weaken our service to the Lord,” he said.

“The list paints a picture of an institution full of gossip, backstabbing and lack of contact with the reality lived by most Catholics around the world,” Joshua J. McElwee wrote.

The pope argued that these sins were rooted in a feeling of indispensability that often stems from “the pathology of power, from a superiority complex.”

News stories of this talk naturally connected it with Pope Francis’ plans to reform the Curia, but the speech notwithstanding, little progress has been seen except in the area of financial reform.

After such a speech, one would have expected heads to roll, but they did not. Despite the rhetoric, curial cardinals are still treated like princes.

True, Cardinal Raymond Burke was sidelined to the Knights of Malta from being the head of the Apostolic Signatura, the church’s highest court. But no other curial cardinal was removed from his job in a way that looked like an embarrassing demotion. For example:

* Cardinal Mauro Piacenza went from being prefect of the Congregation for Clergy to being head of the Apostolic Penitentiary in 2013.

* Cardinal Antonio Canizares Llovera, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship, was transferred in 2014 to his home archdiocese of Valencia, Spain.

These cardinals can continue to serve the church with their heads held high.

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AUSTRALIA
Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse

10 April, 2015

The Royal Commission public hearing into Knox Grammar School will re-commence on Tuesday 28 April 2015 at 9:00am.

The hearing will continue to inquire into the response of Knox Grammar School and the Uniting Church in Australia between 1970 and 2012 to concerns raised about inappropriate conduct by a number of teachers towards students at the school.

Mr Fotis has been summonsed and will be called to appear on 28 April 2015.

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

Interested individuals and organisations are encouraged to view the proceedings via the webcast.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

By Sarah Farnsworth

Child sexual abuse prevention programs for preschoolers can be effective, according to a new report.

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has found children as young as five can be taught how to recognise abuse.

However, while the report found child abuse prevention programs for preschoolers do appear to work, there is not enough evidence to say whether they result in more children disclosing abuse.

But child safety advocates are convinced they do.

Bravehearts founder Hetty Johnston said although it is a sensitive topic for teachers and parents, it is possible to get a young child to recognise if they are being sexually abused and to speak out.

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MINNESOTA
KSTP

By: Cassie Hart

A federal bankruptcy judge has given the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis more time to submit a reorganization plan.

Judge Robert Kressel on Thursday extended the deadline for filing the plan to Nov. 30.

Attorneys for the archdiocese argued it needed more time to both work with insurance carriers and to determine a more precise total number of abuse claims. The attorneys said it would be counterproductive to file without that information.

Kressel denied a motion that would allow the archdiocese to pay its attorneys on a more frequent basis.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Telegraph

By David Barrett, Home Affairs Correspondent 10 Apr 2015

Victims of child sexual abuse are poised to launch legal action against the Home Office over the set-up of the Government’s inquiry into allegations of high-level paedophile rings.

Lawyers acting for a number of abuse survivors intend to challenge a decision by Theresa May, the Home Secretary, to exclude representatives of victim’s groups from the inquiry panel.

Justice Lowell Goddard, the inquiry chairman, said last month that it would be inappropriate to appoint survivors to the panel – which will hear evidence alongside her – because they may lack “objectivity”.

Victims now intend to challenge her over those comments and demand an apology.

Unless the Home Office appoints survivors’ representatives to the panel they also intend to launch judicial review proceedings in the High Court.

“We think this is necessary because they are not listening to survivors,” said Phil Frampton, of the White Flowers Campaign Group, an umbrella organisation for survivors’ groups.

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ILLINOIS
Daily Herald

Justin Kmitch

A former Elmhurst church youth minister was sentenced to 10 years in prison Thursday after pleading guilty to criminal sexual assault of a teenage girl he previously mentored.

With his plea, 43-year-old Darin Evans, a former associate pastor and youth minister at West suburban Community Church, admitted to having sexual contact with the girl in parks, cemeteries, men’s restrooms, and during a religious retreat in Wisconsin.

The encounters began in 2004 when the victim was 16 and being spiritually counseled by Evans for “adolescent issues,” authorities said. The abuse lasted until about September 2005.

Prosecutors said Evans groomed the girl for abuse by showering her with gifts and attention while being in a position of “trust, supervision or authority.”

Some of the abuse took place in a vehicle outside College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn while the girl was still in high school. Prosecutors said Evans told the girl to keep the encounters secret and threatened to kill himself if anyone found out.

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VIRGINIA
WUSA

[with video]

Surae Chinn, WUSA April 10, 2015

STERLING, Va. (WUSA9) — Calvary Temple Ministries has been investigated for years following the alleged sex abuse scandal at Calvary Temple Church in Sterling. The case was recently re-opened after ex-members spoke out. They say the pastor’s son has threatened them on social media.

The head pastor’s son, Star Scott Jr. recently posted this message on Facebook: “I have dirt on everyone! Both sides, protesters included.” He later deleted it.

John Muiccio left the church after 27 years of what he calls brainwashing that cost him his marriage.

“Six years ago, I wanted to leave and she said I will go if they let me go with you,” said Muiccio. Apparently, they didn’t. “They convinced her that I was going to hell.”

Muiccio says he was part of the abusive and controlling environment.

The pastor’s son leaked a 2008 email to members, accusing his father of molesting children, which is part of the criminal investigation.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Philadelphia Tribne

Larry Miller Tribune Staff Writer

Experts have said child abuse is a crime — its very nature something no one wants to talk about.

It affects every ethnicity and economic class, and is something that happens every day in Pennsylvania and across the country.

April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month and Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane encourages all Pennsylvanians to do their part this month and throughout the year to make the commonwealth a safe and nurturing place for children. National Child Abuse Prevention Month is a nationwide campaign designed to acknowledge the importance of families and communities working together to prevent abuse and neglect, and to promote the social and emotional well-being of children.

Kane said by providing parents, educators and community leaders with the skills and resources they need to properly raise and care for children, child abuse can be substantially decreased.

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CANADA
Toronto Star

By: Jacques Gallant Staff Reporter, Published on Fri Apr 10 2015

A GTA Catholic school board did not disclose to parents recent allegations that a board priest had sexually assaulted a child a decade ago in the United States, while the Archdiocese of Toronto made the allegations public only this week — nearly three months after they surfaced.

Although the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board and the archdiocese were kept informed throughout the investigation into Rev. James Roth by his U.S.-based religious order, they repeatedly chose not to publicly reveal the allegations until Thursday, when the Star began making inquiries. That was almost two months after the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales deemed the allegations credible.

The archdiocese now has a statement on its website. The school board, which briefed staff earlier this week, said it will “make an exception” and post a statement as well, likely on Friday, said spokesman Bruce Campbell.

“It’s not our practice to communicate, on a broad basis, on issues where a staff member may be charged criminally or there are allegations against them,” said Campbell, when asked why the board didn’t speak up sooner.

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AUSTRALIA
Daily Mail

Pictured: The young man police want to speak to over the torching of a Catholic church where an evil paedophile priest dubbed the ‘two-a-day man’ once reigned

By SARAH DEAN and SARAH MICHAEL FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA

Police have released an image of a bearded young man in relation to a suspected arson attack on a Melbourne church which was once presided over by a paedophile priest.

Detectives have issued a photo of a brown haired, Caucasian male wearing a black top who they want to speak to after a fire was started at St Mary’s Catholic Church in Dandenong, at 2.15am on April 1.

Victoria Police said: ‘Detectives have released a FACE image of a man that may be able to assist with their enquiries.’

Dandenong Crime Investigation Unit detectives are yet to determine the exact cause of the fire which is being treated as suspicious.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Daily Mail

Sex crimes may run in a family’s male genes: Brothers of men convicted of offences five times more likely to commit similar crimes

By Jenny Hope Medical Correspondent For The Daily Mail

The brothers of men convicted of sex offences are five times more likely than average to commit similar crimes, according to researchers.

They also found the sons of fathers with a criminal record for sex offending were nearly four times more likely to be convicted of such crimes.

The biggest study of its kind suggests sex offending could run in the family along the male genetic line.

The findings show that 40 to 50 per cent of the differences in risk between close relatives of offenders and men from the general population were genetically driven.

But the researchers stressed that this did not mean a man with a brother or father convicted of rape would inevitably follow in their footsteps.

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IRELAND
Irish Times

Patsy McGarry

A major international conference of Catholic Church reform movements will take place in Limerick next week.

The International Network of Church Reform Movements conference is being hosted by Redemptorist priest Fr Tony Flannery. Since 2012 Fr Flannery has been forbidden by the Vatican to exercise his ministry as a priest following articles he wrote for the Redemptorists’ Reality magazine.

The conference will be the first time such a large gathering of leaders of Catholic Church reform movements has taken place and will be the first such event hosted in Ireland.

The four-day conference will be facilitated by Austrian and Canadian leaders, with participants from 12 countries, including the US, Canada, Australia, India and various countries in Europe.

Among those attending will be Fr Donald Cozzens, Sr Jeannine Gramick, Deborah Rose-Milavec from the US, Fr Helmut Schüller from Austria, former priest Paul Collins and his wife Marilyn Hatton of the Australian Catholic Coalition of Church Renewal, Dr Astrid Lobo Gajiwala from India, Christian Weisner and Martha Heizer of We Are Church International.

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MINNESOTA
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis

Date: Thursday, April 2, 2015

Source: Anne Steffens, Interim Director of Communications

From Archbishop John Nienstedt, Archbishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis

This weekend, Rev. William Stolzman returned to public ministry as a retired priest who celebrates Masses on a fill-in basis.

In 2008, the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis received an allegation that Rev. William Stolzman sexually abused a minor in the 1970s while serving in the Diocese of Rapid City, S.D. At the time, law enforcement investigated and did not refer the case for criminal charges. After an investigation by the Archdiocese, the Clergy Review Board reviewed the case and recommended that Rev. Stolzman remain in ministry.

In January 2015, the Archdiocese reopened its investigation of the alleged 1970s abuse and Rev. Stolzman was placed on a leave of absence. He has not exercised priestly ministry during the investigation. The recent investigation did not uncover any additional information that was not known to the Clergy Review Board in 2008 that would support the allegation of abuse. Therefore, I have decided to reinstate his faculties and permit Rev. Stolzman to resume public ministry.

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MINNESOTA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Thursday, April 9

Statement by Frank Meuers of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests ( 952-334-5180, frankameuers@gmail.com )

We’re disappointed that Catholic officials are already seeking to delay the bankruptcy process.

[Star Tribune]

St. Paul church officials have known for a long time they were going to seek Chapter 11 protection. They have a legion of lawyers. They consulted with bankruptcy lawyers in early or mid 2013.

So it’s distressing to see that already Catholic officials are trying to slow events down. Many survivors struggle daily with depression, addictions, sleeplessness, agoraphobic, eating disorders, and suicidal thoughts. They need justice, help and closure sooner, not later.

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CHICAGO (IL)
WGN

APRIL 9, 2015, BY CHARLES HAYES AND JULIAN CREWS

Two new lawsuits are filed on Thursday against disgraced, former priest Daniel McCormack and the Chicago Archdiocese.

Two people claim he sexually assaulted them at St. Agatha’s on the West Side. The lawsuit claims the Archdiocese ignored obvious warning signs.

The lawsuit claims McCormack targeted vulnerable kids through basketball and after-school programs.

One of the alleged victims says he was abused between 2001 and 2006 starting at the age of seven.

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MINNESOTA
Star Tribune

Article by: JEAN HOPFENSPERGER , Star Tribune Updated: April 9, 2015

Church wants more time to determine number of claims by abuse victims and response from insurance carriers.

The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis was granted more time to construct a financial reorganization plan Thursday, when a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge extended its deadline for filing the plan to Nov. 30.

Archdiocese attorneys argued that it needed more time to both work with insurance carriers and to determine a more precise total number of abuse claims. To file without that information would be counterproductive, they said.

“This gives us time to continue to pursue discussions with all parties,” said Richard Anderson, an attorney representing the archdiocese. “It insures that we won’t have to file something before it is fully vetted.”

However, Judge Robert Kressel denied a motion that would allow the archdiocese to pay its attorneys on a more frequent basis. The archdiocese argued that paying them every 120 days, as permitted by U.S. Bankruptcy code, “imposes an undue burden.” Kressel denied a motion to authorize 60-day payment periods.

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ILLINOIS
Illinois Times

Thursday, March 12, 2015 1

By Cap City

Bishop Thomas Paprocki this week summoned reporters to refute a recent suggestion made by Survivors Network Of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) that pedophile priests from Chicago might have been assigned to the Springfield diocese in the 1990s. SNAP’s evidence? Six pedophile priests, back in 1993, had a phone number that rings to a Litchfield address, SNAP had said at a March 5 press conference. During his press conference, Paprocki told reporters that the Litchfield address in question is a house where a priest from Chicago once lived. Somehow, a church directory from the 1990s had erroneously contained the same Litchfield phone number for 265 priests, including the pedophiles. “The repetition of this same phone number for 265 priests was clearly a mistake,” Paprocki said. Anyone who should suspect that a priest has sexually abused a child should call either the diocese or the state Department of Children and Family Services, Paprocki said. After the bishop spoke, David Clohessy, SNAP director, said that he did not know whether he would again call a press conference with old phone numbers as his chief evidence. “That’s a good question,” Clohessy said. “I’m just hearing this explanation today, that it was a typographical error. I have no reason to doubt that.” But Clohessy stood firm on one point: If someone suspects a priest of sexually abusing kids, they should call the cops, not the church.

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CHICAGO (IL)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Wednesday, April 8

Statement by Kate Bochte of Chicago, SNAP leader ( 630 768 1860, keight@sbcglobal.net )

Archbishop Blasé Cupich showed today that he deals with clergy sex crimes and cover ups no better than his predecessor did.

Two more civil abuses and cover up lawsuits are being filed tomorrow against the archdiocese for the dreadfully deceitful and reckless way top Catholic officials kept Fr. Daniel McCormack on the job around unsuspecting families despite repeated warnings and “red flags” of inappropriate behavior.

Instead of a truly pastoral response, Cupich’s public relations team repeated the old “distancing” maneuvers that Catholic bishops have used for decades when discussing predator priests.

“Daniel McCormack is no longer a priest,” archdiocese spokeswoman Susan Burritt said in a statement. “He was removed from public ministry in February of 2006 and laicized (removed from the priesthood) in November 2007.”

That’s common knowledge. That tells no one anything that’s helpful.

Wouldn’t it have been reassuring had Cupich shown real courage and compassion and told his public relations team to say something like:

“I won’t be satisfied until every single McCormack victim has been found and helped and until every single McCormack enabler on the church payroll has been exposed and punished.

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UNITED KINGDOM
The Tablet

09 April 2015 by Joanna Moorhead

The Diocese of East Anglia is to commission an independent review into the circumstances surrounding the deployment of a priest who has been jailed for three years for abusing a boy at a children’s home.

Fr Anthony McSweeney’s crimes occurred between 1979 and 1981 although he was not arrested until two years ago when he was parish priest of St George’s Church in Norwich. The 68-year-old cleric, who will now be laicised, is a one-time chaplain at Norwich City FC.

During his trial Southwark Crown Court was told that he watched as care home manager John Stingemore carried out acts of abuse against a 15-year-old boy.

Stingemore, who died before he could be tried, was eventually dismissed after the authorities learned he had taken indecent photographs of children in his care, and at this point McSweeney – by now an ordained priest working in the Diocese of Brentwood – dropped all contact with him.

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OSTERREICH
Der Standard

[Church abuse victim: “Hell can not be worse”]

KATHARINA MITTELSTAEDT
9. April 2015

Folterähnliche Bestrafungen, unbezahlte Arbeit, Vergewaltigung: Eine 62-Jährige berichtet von ihrer Kindheit in einem Tiroler Heim

Innsbruck – Sonja Graf will nicht mehr schweigen. Das hat sie lange genug. Nun soll die Welt von ihrer Geschichte erfahren, sagt sie. Von dem Ekel und Schrecken, der Gewalt, dem Missbrauch, der Ausbeutung: von den 14 Jahren ihres Lebens im Tiroler Landeskinderheim Martinsbühel – und wie Staat und Kirche danach mit ihr umgingen. “Sie hatten keine Skrupel, jetzt habe ich keine mehr”, sagt Graf, zupft eine Zigarette aus der vollen Schachtel vor ihr und beginnt zu erzählen.

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UNITED KINGDOM
The Guardian

Alan Travis Home affairs editor
Wednesday 8 April 2015

There has been a 60% increase in child sexual abuse reported to the police over the past four years, according to official figures which make public for the first time the scale of the problem in England and Wales.

A House of Commons library analysis based on freedom of information releases by individual forces shows that the number of offences of child sexual abuse reported to the police has soared from 5,557 cases in 2011 to 8,892 last year.

Child sexual abuse includes grooming, facilitating abuse and child rape.

At the same time the number of arrests for child sexual abuse offences in England and Wales has fallen from 3,511 in 2011 to 3,208 – a drop of 9%.

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ROMA
El Periodico

[‘Impunity’ pedophiles]

IRENE SAVIO / ROMA
SÁBADO, 4 DE ABRIL DEL 2015

Cuando hace una semana el tribunal de Wolomin (Polonia) condenó por pederastia a siete años de prisión al exsacerdote Wojciech Gil -conocido del más famoso Józef Wesołowski, el exnuncio que se encuentra recluido en el Vaticano por ese mismo delito-, a la periodista Agnieszka Zakrzewicz se le removieron las entrañas. «Increíble. Con tal de no celebrar el juicio y debatir el caso, el tribunal aceptó la condena propuesta por el abogado defensor de Gil en la primera vista del proceso. Una vez más, se prefiere la opción menos escandalosa a la verdad», argumenta Zakrzewicz. «Además, le han impuesto siete años, es decir, la mitad de la pena máxima a la que se enfrentaba», añade la periodista, que lleva una década investigando y denunciando los abusos del clero polaco.

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NEDERLAND
Pauw

De medewerker van het Leger des Heils die 850.000 euro heeft verduisterd, is teleurgesteld in minister Dijsselbloem van Financiën. Volgens de man, die anoniem wil blijven, zou Dijsselbloem hebben toegezegd dat hij de oplichting publiekelijk zou verdedigen. Dijsselbloem stelt echter dat de man ervan op de hoogte was dat het kabinet niet achter de diefstal staat: En dan nog dit: Dries Roelvink wil nog niet weten wat het geslacht is van zijn zoon Dave. De zanger heeft liever dat het een verrassing blijft. “We zien het wel”, aldus Dries.

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NEDERLAND
Gelderlander

EDE – Een 36-jarige man uit Ede wordt ervan verdacht het Leger des Heils voor 850.000 euro te hebben opgelicht. De fraude is eind 2014 ontdekt, de medewerker is op staande voet ontslagen.
Dat heeft het Leger des Heils vrijdag gemeld.

Verduistering

De man was in dienst bij de afdeling jeugdbescherming en reclassering van het Leger des Heils in Utrecht. Hij verduisterde in zijn functie als administratief medewerker in 6 jaar tijd in kleine porties het geld door nepfacturen van zorgaanbieders te maken. De fraude werd ontdekt toen hij met ziekteverlof was.

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NETHERLANDS
NL Times

by Marvin Hokstam

The Salvation Army has said it is going after an employee to retrieve more than €850,000 this person embezzled from this charitable organization.

The organization reported in a press release today that the embezzlement was discovered, when a colleague took over the clerk’s tasks. The employee whose name was not provided was immediately dismissed, Salvation Army says.

An external bureau was asked to look into the case and the investigation was concluded this week.

It showed that the clerk had falsified invoices to look like they had been submitted by care providers. “By combining the fake invoices with false signatures the clerk was able to sluice money to private accounts. He embezzled some 850 thousand euros over a period of six years,” said Cornel Vader, the director of Salvation Army Welfare and Healthcare.

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MEXICO
etcetera

[The San Luis Potosi archdiocese suspended priest Noe Francisco Estrada Hernández, vicar of the parish community of Rio Verde, for allegedly being involved in a case of sexual abuse.]

La arquidócesis de San Luis Potosí suspendió al sacerdote Noé Francisco Estrada Hernández, vicario de la parroquia de la comunidad de Rioverde, por presuntamente estar implicado en un caso de abuso sexual.

El sacerdote fue notificado de su suspensión canónica Ad cautelum la noche del domingo, por un emisario del arzobispo Jesús Carlos Cabrero Romero. Sin embargo, él asegura que se trata de una “cacería de brujas” y advirtió que impondrá una denuncia penal contra la arquidiócesis por daño moral.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Main Line Media News

By Gary Puleo
gpuleo@timesherald.com
@MustangMan48 on Twitter

BRIDGEPORT >> The Rev. Ronald Popivchak recently took Pope Francis up on his invitation last fall for clergy and laymen to submit their ideas on ways the Catholic Church can upgrade its profile.

And so the pastor of Ss. Peter and Paul Ukrainian Catholic Church in Bridgeport appointed himself administrator, overseer, leader – a metaphorical bishop for a day, as it were.

In his newly published book, “Bishop for a Day: Ideas to Heal and Renew the Catholic Church,” Popivchak — a gregarious man who is a self-avowed fishing buff and prefers being called Father Ron — covers a lot of ground in a quick and easy read of 91 pages filled with opinions and solutions surrounding such issues as parish closures, abortion, clergy sex abuse scandals, contraception, women in the church and youth.

“About a year and a half ago I decided to sit down and gather up all the facts I could and my ideas to try to help the church and the bishops and present them,” Popivchak noted. “I saw five or six priests in our town and neighboring towns charged with sex abuse and the church couldn’t get a handle on it. It bothered me, and also seeing the diocese going bankrupt. None of this is healthy for the church.”

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CANADA
Yahoo! News

The Canadian Press

MONTREAL – Cardinal Jean-Claude Turcotte, who oversaw the funerals of NHL great Maurice (Rocket) Richard and former prime minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau during his 22 years as archbishop of Montreal, died early Wednesday after a lengthy illness. He was 78.

The Montreal native was hospitalized in the summer of 2014 and was admitted to a palliative care unit last March 24.

A statement from the archdiocese of Montreal said Turcotte died at Marie-Clarac Hospital in the city.

In July 2014, Turcotte spoke out about pedophile scandals in the church and the estimate by Pope Francis that only two per cent of priests were pedophiles.

“We’re talking about two per cent … it’s not a lot, but even if one priest is a pedophile, that’s one too many,” Turcotte told The Canadian Press.

He also said victims of sexual assaults that occurred within the walls of Catholic establishments should be compensated.

“If there are people who behaved badly, they (must) pay for their behaviour,” Turcotte declared. “It’s normal that we pay for the wrongs that were committed.”

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AUSTRALIA
Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse

Royal Commission releases report on effectiveness of current child sexual abuse prevention programs for pre-schoolers

9 April, 2015

The Royal Commission has released a report that reviews evidence of the effectiveness of child sexual abuse prevention programs for pre-schoolers.

Royal Commission CEO Philip Reed said “The report found that current child sexual abuse prevention programs for pre-schoolers appear to be effective at increasing children’s ability to recognise inappropriate touching and that in general, this knowledge is maintained over time.

“The report also found current programs increase pre-schoolers behavioural skills around what to do and say and who to tell if they experienced inappropriate touching.

“Current prevention programs for pre-schoolers are well received by parents and pre-school teachers, and do not appear to increase fear or anxiety in children, one of the common criticisms of these programs.

“The report concludes that more rigorous studies using large, culturally diverse samples of pre-schoolers are required before strong conclusions can be made about the effectiveness of these programs,” he said.

Mr Reed said the views expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect the final views of the Royal Commission.

“This report offers valuable insight into what steps the Royal Commission should take to ensure its recommendations bring about lasting change in institutions and create a safer future for children.”

Read the report.

About the report

Key findings include:

* Child sexual abuse prevention programs for preschoolers appear to be effective at increasing young children’s ability to detect inappropriate touch requests, and increase their behavioural skills around what to do and say, who to tell and what to report if confronted by an inappropriate touch request. Inappropriate touch requests are verbal and nonverbal signals from adults to touch or look at the child’s private parts, or for the child to touch or look at the adult’s.

* Prevention programs for preschoolers are well received by parents and preschool teachers, and appear not to have adverse effects (e.g. increases in fear and anxiety) for preschoolers.

* There is very limited evidence available to suggest that child sexual abuse prevention programs for preschoolers have an effect on rates of disclosure of child sexual abuse.

* More methodologically rigorous studies using large, culturally diverse samples of preschoolers are required before strong conclusions can be made about the overall efficacy of child sexual abuse prevention programs for preschoolers.

* More research is needed to determine the size of the effect of prevention programs; the extent to which training during preschool years acts as a critical foundation for later learning; whether some groups benefit more than others; and optimal instructional techniques to maximize learning and behavioural outcomes from young children.

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AUSTRALIA
The Guardian

Joshua Robertson
Wednesday 8 April 2015

Victims of institutional childhood sexual abuse may have to rethink expectations about money payments and the level of scrutiny applied to claims for redress, according to a criminologist who has studied the issue in depth.

Griffith University professor Kathleen Daly said she was concerned with a “misfit” between what survivors wish to receive and what will be required in an assessment process in the wake of the royal commission.

The commission has said it had “no fixed view on what payments should be” but released a consultation paper with a report in January by Finity consulting which modelled different average payments of $50,000 to $80,000.

A scheme that offered an estimated 65,000 claimants an average of $65,000 would cost $3.8bn in payments alone before other costs including counselling, the report found.

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SCOTLAND
Christian Today

Ruth Gledhill 09 April 2015

The Catholic Church is facing massive structural reorganisation in Scotland in the face of unprecedented decline in numbers of priests and parishes, according to a pastoral letter to clergy and laity. Numbers of parishes in one diocese could be cut by nearly two-thirds.

The Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, the Most Rev Leo Cushley, warns that the archdiocese is becoming financially unsustainable and is at a turning point. He says “unpleasant” change is ahead.

Two years after he was nominated to the post, succeeding the disgraced Cardinal Keith O’Brien who resigned in the wake of allegations of sexual misconduct, Archbishop Cushley says he has been “taking stock” and the archdiocese now has to face up to the next steps.

Among the causes of decline in the fortunes of God’s people, Archbishop Cushley blames “bad shepherds”. But he says the “gates of hell” will not prevail and cautions against pessimism.

By 2020 the archdiocese will have just 33 diocesan priests to celebrate Mass, he says. Yet there are at present 111 parishes.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
Slugger O’Toole

[with video]

Last night’s powerful Channel 4 news report has led to fresh calls for Kincora to be included in the Westminster paedophile inquiry.

Richard Kerr, a victim of abuse at Kincora told Channel 4 News that he was taken from the east Belfast home to London where he was molested by members of a VIP paedophile ring. Mr. Kerr alleges that he was abused by “very powerful people” at Elm Guest House and Dolphin Square – locations at the centre of the ongoing inquiry which has been mired in controversy.

Last month Home Secretary Theresa May ruled out extending the scope of a child sexual abuse inquiry to cover Northern Ireland and Scotland saying that child protection is “a devolved matter” despite Home recommendations by a Home Affairs Committee report:

In the 13 minute report Richard Kerr meets former army intelligence officer Brian Gemmell who claims he put in an official report about Kincora to a senior MI5 officer but was ordered to “stop digging and forget about it”.

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NEW JERSEY
NJ.com

By Sue Epstein | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on April 08, 2015

NEW BRUNSWICK — A youth minister at a church in Franklin Township has been charged with sexually assaulting two teenaged girls in separate incidents, Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew Carey announced Wednesday.

Shawn Butler, 48, of Hillsborough, was arrested at a relative’s home in Millsboro, Delaware by members of the Delaware State Police Troop 7 on April 3, according to a statement released by Carey, South Brunswick Police Chief Raymond Hayducka and North Brunswick Police Director Kenneth McCormick.

Carey said Butler, a youth minister at the Eternal Life Christian Center, was charged with one count of sexual assault and two counts each of criminal sexual contact and endangering the welfare of a child.

The prosecutor said police began the investigation after a 15-year-old girl contacted South Brunswick police in July.

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NEW JERSEY
CentralJersey.com

NEW BRUNSWICK – A Hillsborough man, who works as a youth minister at a Franklin Township church, is facing charges related to allegedly sexually assaulting and sexually touching two teenage girls in separate incidents in Middlesex and Somerset counties.

Shawn Butler, 48, was arrested April 3 at a relative’s home in Millsboro, Delaware by members of the Delaware State Police Troop 7, according to Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew C. Carey.

He has been charged with one count of sexual assault and two counts of criminal sexual contact and endangering the welfare of a child.

Butler was released from custody in Delaware after posting $50,000 bail. He is scheduled to surrender to New Jersey authorities on May 1. Bail in New Jersey has been set at $300,000.

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NEW JERSEY
CBS New York

FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP, N.J. (CBSNewYork) — A Franklin Township, New Jersey youth minister has been charged with sexually assaulting and molesting two teenage girls, prosecutors announced Wednesday.

Shawn Butler, 48, of Hillsborough, New Jersey, was arrested at a relative’s home in Millsboro, Delaware on Friday of last week, according to the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s office.

Butler was charged with one count of sexual assault, and two counts each of criminal sexual contact and endangering the welfare of a child.

Prosecutors and South Brunswick police alleged that Butler sexually assaulted a 16-year-old girl in North Brunswick between July 2012 and August 2013.

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NEW JERSEY
NBC New York

A New Jersey youth minister has been arrested on charges he sexually assaulted two teenage girls, prosecutors say.

Shawn Butler, 48, of Hillsborough, is accused of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl in North Brunswick multiple times between July 2012 and August 2013, and of improperly touching a 15-year-old girl in South Brunswick and in Hillsborough numerous times between March 2014 and June 2014, prosecutors say.

Police began investigating Butler after the 15-year-old girl contacted South Brunswick police last July.

Butler was working as a youth minister at the Eternal Life Christian Center in the Somerset section of Franklin Township and served on the church’s executive board at the time of the alleged assaults, prosecutors said. It’s not clear if he knew his victims through the church.

Butler was arrested by Delaware State Police at a relative’s home in Millsboro, Del., prosecutors said. He was released on $50,000 bail there and is expected to surrender to authorities in New Jersey on May 1.

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GEORGIA
Fox 5

By Jennifer Banks, FOX 5 News

NEWNAN, Ga. –
A former Newnan Sunday school teacher was arraigned on federal charges of distributing, receiving, and possessing child pornography.

Emmett Winston Smith, 66, was indicted by a federal grand jury on March 24, 2015.

According to U.S. Attorney Horn, Smith allegedly traded images and videos of child pornography with others, and went into Internet chat rooms looking to make contact with others who shared his same interests.

“This case, which began with a lead from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, illustrates our strong partnership with international law enforcement to combat child pornography and to identify and prosecute those who trade images of the sexual abuse of children,” said U.S. Attorney John Horn.

Homeland Security Investigations searched Smith’s house in Newnan on March 5, 2015, where they found child pornography on three computers at the house.

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GEORGIA
Times Free Press

A former custodian and Sunday school teacher at a church in North Georgia has been arraigned on child porn charges.

Emmett Winston Smith, 66, worked at church in Newnan, Ga. He has been arraigned on federal charges of distributing, receiving, and possessing child pornography.

“Smith allegedly traded images and videos of child pornography with others, and went into Internet chat rooms looking to make contact with others who shared his same interests,” said Acting U.S. Attorney John Horn. “This case, which began with a lead from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, illustrates our strong partnership with international law enforcement to combat child pornography and to identify and prosecute those who trade images of the sexual abuse of children.”

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GEORGIA
Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A now former custodian and Sunday school teacher at a Coweta County church was arraigned Wednesday on child pornography charges stemming from an investigation that began in Canada.

Emmett Winston Smith, 66, was arraigned in U.S. District Court in Atlanta on charges of distributing, receiving and possessing child pornography. According to a news release issued by the office of acting U.S. Attorney John Horn, Smith was indicted late last month after an investigation that started with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

“In 2014, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police investigated a person on allegations that he traded in child pornography,” the news release said. “That investigation revealed that the Canadian subject had traded more than 200 e-mails containing child pornography with a person using an e-mail address that eventually led back to a house in Newnan, Georgia.”

That information was passed on to the Department of Homeland Security, which ultimately identified Smith as the suspect. While executing a search warrant on March 5, federal authorities allegedly found child pornography on three computers at Smith’s home.

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GEORGIA
Times-Herald

by W. WINSTON SKINNER

Emmett Winston Smith, 66, has been arraigned on federal charges of distributing, receiving and possessing child pornography.

Smith – who has been more commonly known in Coweta County as Everett Smith – was indicted by a federal grand jury on March 24. Smith, who was a former facilities assistant and Sunday school teacher at First Baptist Church in Newnan, was arrested March 5. “Smith allegedly traded images and videos of child pornography with others, and went into Internet chat rooms looking to make contact with others who shared his same interests,” said Acting U.S. Attorney John Horn. “This case, which began with a lead from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, illustrates our strong partnership with international law enforcement to combat child pornography and to identify and prosecute those who trade images of the sexual abuse of children.”

In 2014, the RCMP investigated a person on allegations that he traded in child pornography, according to Horn. That investigation revealed the Canadian subject had traded more than 200 e-mails containing child pornography with a person using an e-mail address that eventually led back to a house in Newnan.

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INDIA
Scroll

The Syro Malabar Church in Kerala gave Rs 12 lakh to a former nun as settlement to ‘build a new life’. The nun had accused a priest of trying to sexually abuse her.

TK Devasia

A few months ago, Pope Francis appointed a British victim of sex abuse by Catholic priests to a special commission established to advise the Vatican on child protection policies. He warned that the Church would face “big trouble” if it failed to take concrete measures to bring to justice those priests who are accused of molestation and rape. Despite that, no lessons were learned.

The Syro Malabar Church, the most powerful of the three Catholic rites in Kerala, has been embroiled in a scandal, with a nun alleging that a priest tried to sexually abuse her. But instead of taking action against the accused priest, the Church has turned the nun out.

The 40-year-old nun, Anitha, had complained of unwanted sexual advances by the priest while she worked as a teacher at the Providence Convent High School at Pachore in Madhya Pradesh in 2011. The convent authorities denied the allegation and transferred her to Italy.

Forced out of convent

When she returned in February this year, Anitha was denied entry into her parent convent at Thottakkattukara near Aluva in Ernakulam district. Her luggage was thrown out and she was asked to leave the convent. Luckily, locals took her to Janaseva Sisubhavan, an orphanage at Aluva.

The St. Agata Congregation – to which Anitha belonged – asked her to give up the nun’s robes, but Anitha refused. She asked the authorities to state the reason for her expulsion or compensate her for the service she rendered to the Church.

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UNITED STATES
Catholic and Enjoying It

April 8, 2015 by Mark Shea

Bill Doino, Jr. writes:

Pope Francis has done many admirable things during his pontificate, not least taking numerous initiatives against the evil of sexual abuse in the Church. He has spoken about the victims’ pain, promised zero tolerance for such crimes, and supported transparency and full accountability for anyone involved. He has followed those strong words up with impressive actions, including punishing, defrocking and removing guilty clergymen.

For all those reasons, I cannot understand–and neither can many others–why Francis, who has been so strong on this issue, has made an incomprehensible decision for Chile–and the entire Church- appointing a bishop in Osorno who has a terrible track record on this issue, for all the reasons I lay out in my new First Things column. …

It’s my hope too. However, my track record in influencing papal decisions is not 100%. Hopefully, the vociferous reaction of the Chilean flock will get his attention though. I think this appointment is an expression of the shadow side of the Petrine office: Peter’s mercurial ability to go from “You are the Christ” to earning the rebuke “Get behind me, Satan”; to pass from promulgating the dogma of salvation by grace apart from works of the law to chickening out at Antioch and getting chewed out by Paul.

I sometimes wonder if there is a horse race in Francis’ makeup between a genuine sympathy for the poor and a Jesuit habit of expecting military obedience to the orders of a superior. My prayers are with this good man as he struggles to do the right thing.

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MINNESOTA
Canonical Consultation

04/08/2015

Jennifer Haselberger

Over the weekend I had a conversation about the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis that left me more than a little despondent. My conversational partner was someone whom I can generally trust to have a fairly good read of the state of things in the Roman Curia, which is why the information he had to impart troubled me more than most of what I hear. For, after speaking for a while about the different personas of Pope Francis- the much-loved public persona as opposed to the actual man himself- the person I was speaking with assured me that the ‘real Francis’ was extremely unlikely to take any action regarding the situation in Saint Paul. In other words, barring some unforeseen development, Archbishop Nienstedt was here to stay.

For months journalists have been telling me that the ‘unforeseen development’ has to be for Nienstedt’s accusers to make public their sworn affidavits (something I think we have all realized that the Archdiocese, despite its claims of transparency, is extremely unlikely to do). Proponents of this argument will point out that the difference between Saint Paul and both Scotland and Chile is that in the other scenarios the victims had gone public with their claims. That is, of course, true, but I am adamantly opposed to the idea that the cure for what ails us must rest on the shoulders of those whom have already suffered. Those men- whether there are ten or twenty of them- offered sworn statements at considerable risk to themselves. In response, at least some of them have been harassed by the Archdiocese and its never-ending pool of lawyers, who apparently have been tasked with discrediting them. We cannot ask anything more of those men.

But we can ask for quite a bit more from another group of people with a stake in the outcome of the investigation into the conduct of the Archbishop, as well as in the broader troubles plaguing the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. This group is our clergy, and most specifically our Archdiocesan priests. To be fair, many of these men are not in a position to provide any assistance to the cause beyond minor acts of rebellion, and we should also recognize that there are many priests who fall into this category and who have demonstrated through means large and small their opposition to the current holder of the See and his methods of governance. At the same time, I have not heard of any letters signed by a majority of the presbyterate calling for the Archbishop’s resignation and removal (as was done in Chile), although back in 2003 more than 100 of them were willing to sign a letter calling for a discussion of mandatory celibacy, and in 2006 nearly thirty signed a letter to Archbishop Flynn promising to oppose any attempts to pass a constitutional amendment barring same-sex marriage.

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VATICAN CITY
Radio Cadena Agramonte (Cuba)

Rome, Apr 8.- Pope Francis condemned today child abuse, exploitation, and abandonment, treatments that he considered a shame on society.

During his usual general speech at Saint Peter’s Square before thousands of people, the Supreme Pontiff said that children are the first victims of family problems, conflicts, wars and persecution.

Unfortunately, there are children that are victims of criminals, who exploit and subject them to indignant trafficking and smuggling or train them for war and violence, he said.

He also denounced the existence of minors that have no access to education or health assistance, and children that are mistreated and robed of their childhood and youth.

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ITALY
Mirror (UK)

8 April 2015 By Chris Richards

The clergyman was dismissed this week after evidence came to light of his activities – which included sex with gay prostitutes and Christ-based role play

A Catholic priest has been fired – for organising gay orgies in which men were asked to re-enact the betrayal of Jesus by Judas Iscariot.

The clergyman, who served in a religious order in Taranto, Italy, was dismissed this week after evidence came to light of his activities – which included sex with gay prostitutes and Christ-based role play.

His seedy behaviour emerged when the man who played the part of Judas betrayed him to church authorities.

Newspaper Corriere del Mezzogiorno reported how a 32-year-old man, from Rovigo, blew the whistle.

He told the paper: “I needed spiritual help… He (the priest) told me my pictures made him excited and asked me to send him an intimate photo.

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CHICAGO (IL)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Statement by Barbara Blaine of Chicago, president of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests ( 312 399 4747, bblaine@snapnetwork.org )

We applaud Archbishop Blase Cupich for saying, at Parish Leadership Day at Marist High School, that “People are leaving (the church). A lot of people left because of the abuse crisis.”

(See YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJ2hwxSeF8Y&feature=youtu.be)

Catholic officials often minimize the impact of the abuse and cover-up crisis on church attendance. We are grateful any time a Catholic figure talks honestly about this on-going scandal.

It would be more accurate, of course, to say that parishioners leave because of the cover-up, rather than the abuse. Most parishioners understand that there are child predators in every occupation or institution. What outrages and frustrates them the most, surveys show, is that bishops often ignore, minimize, hide and enable these horrific crimes against children and help the predators while endangering the kids.

“Yes, they may have been hurt,” Cupich goes on to say about Catholics who leave. We hope he will also acknowledge that many times, people actually feel driven out of the church by deceitful, arrogant and callous clerics, including the church officials who have concealed and still conceal heinous crimes against children.

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UNITED STATES
Christian Catholicism

Jerry Slevin

Catholics are revolting and reforming on their own in Chile, Ireland and many other places, while threatened power hungry Vatican bureaucrats fiddle like Nero as Rome burned. The Vatican’s two resident popes appear to be in an “infallibility” tug-of-war — Pope Francis with his “champion”, Cardinal Kasper, versus emeritus Pope Benedict XVI with his champion, Cardinal Müller. Now Müller is apparently publicly and patronizingly trashing Francis’ theological competence as compared to the purported superior ability of the ex-pope and himself, naturally.

So according to Müller’s recent statement, his office (presumably with hidden help from the ex-pope) must “theologically structure” Pope Francis’ theologically deficient pontificate like he disastrously tried to restructure American nuns presumably. Müller spoke on the occasion of the release of the first volume of the complete works of Joseph Ratzinger, the ex-pope. Müller is helping to edit these voluminous works, instead of spending more time cleaning up the priest sex abuse scandal that his office continues to mismanage. Ironically, this first volume appears to contain the remnants of the ex-pope’s dissertation on Augustine that had been rejected in longer form by the leading Munich theologian for whom it was prepared! So much for theological superiority!

The ex-pope appears to be in a race with his half century long nemesis, Hans Kung, who is also publishing his superior and better selling complete works at the same publishing house, Herder. Francis is apparently getting input from Hans Kung, reportedly in their informal communications as well as presumably via Kasper, who had earlier been Kung’s assistant.

Whatever Müller’s game is, his arrogance mostly serves to undercut the absurdity of the 1870 invention of an “infallible pope”, or ex-pope for that matter. This further underscores the reason why Francis must convene a truly infallible and broadly representative general council, which has been the Catholic Church’s final and exclusive authority on doctrinal matters for almost 2,000 years. Multiple and serially infallible popes since 1870 have failed and will always fail — subsequent popes can too easily reverse their predecessors as the last two popes often did.

Francis’ limitations extend far beyond theology, it appears. The strong ex-bouncer Latino Pope Francis seems to have underestimated brave Celtic priest abuse survivor, Marie Collins, and her colleague, Peter Saunders. A charter member of the pope’s almost illusory abuse commission, she at times complained to AP about the commission’s inexcusable long delays, she boldly, in effect, threaten to quit if bishops were not held at last accountable for protecting priest predators, and she recently challenged the pope publicly on his selection of the tainted Bishop Barros in Chile. Welcome to Ireland, Pope Francis!

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CHICAGO (IL)
YouTube

Published on Apr 7, 2015
Archbishop Cupich answers questions at Parish Leadership Day 2015 at Marist High School.

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ITALY
International Business Times

By Maria Khan
April 8, 2015

The Vatican is at the centre of two major allegations of Italian priests being involved in gay orgies and murder.

The first allegation was made against a north Italian priest, who was alleged to be browsing the Internet in search of gay lovers and accused of being involved in gay orgies.

According to the allegations, made by a 32-year-old man from Rovigo, an unidentified 50-year-old priest approached him through Facebook and after they developed a close friendship, the priest confessed his homosexuality.

The man allegedly filed an official complaint to the Ecclesiastical Court of the Puglia region against the priest and handed in recorded conversations.

He alleged the priest was sexually involved with other religious figures as well, including members of the Vatican’s elite Swiss Guard, and was actively using the internet to search for new partners to engage in sexual encounters.

Following the allegations and once the “reliability of the facts” was determined, the Archbishop of Taranto Filippo Santoro became involved in the case and the priest was removed from office, reported The Independent.

“Needless to say, the feelings of the archbishop and the Curia are those of the regret and dismay,” a Vatican spokesperson told the Italian newspaper Corriere del Mezzogiorno.

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CHICAGO (IL)
Chicago Sun-Times

04/08/2015

Two more lawsuits will be filed Thursday against the Archdiocese of Chicago, alleging sexual abuse by convicted child molester and defrocked priest Daniel McCormack.

The lawsuits, filed on behalf of “John T. Doe 24” and “John M. Doe,” will be filed in Cook County Circuit Court on Thursday by the law offices of Lyndsay A. Markley, according to a statement from the law firm.

One of the men alleges he was abused on and off between 2001 and 2006, beginning when he was 7 years old, according to the attorneys. The other alleges he was sexually abused on two occasions in 2001, when he was 14. Both were part of an after-school program—”Safe”—at St. Agatha Parish on the West Side.

“Daniel McCormack is no longer a priest,” archdiocese spokeswoman Susan Burritt said in a statement. “He was removed from public ministry in February of 2006 and laicized (removed from the priesthood) in November 2007.”

“No priest with even one substantiated allegation of sexual abuse of a minor serves in ministry in the Archdiocese of Chicago today,” Burritt added.

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UNITED STATES
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Wednesday, April 8

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

A government panel ostensibly set up to help child sex abuse survivors is, sadly, already hurting them by excluding them.

[Telegraph]

This isn’t just an insult to those already wounded by child sex crimes and inadequate official response to those crimes. It’s also self-destructive because it deprives the Home Office’s inquiry of both sorely-needed credibility and vital experience.

This must seem like a third betrayal to men and women who have already been harmed twice, first by a shrewd predator and second by callous institutions.

We hope Theresa May rectifies this hurtful injustice quickly. Most survivors are resilient and smart, not helpless and ignorant. We deserve to be treated with respect and decency. And we deserve to be listened to.

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UNITED STATES
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Wednesday, April 8

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

A Congo priest is a suspect in a murder in Italy.

[Independent]

We urge Congo bishops to

–share what they know about Fr. Gratien Alabi with law enforcement officials, and

–use their “bully pulpits” to tell parishioners to do likewise.

We call on Catholic officials in Congo and Italy to take aggressive steps to help secular officials solve this alleged crime and other crimes by church personnel or in church facilities. We urge priests and bishops to show real compassion and courage – by using pulpit announcements, church bulletins, parish websites and other resources – to prod victims, witnesses and whistleblowers to step forward and call police and prosecutors when crimes are committed or suspected in churches.

For the safety of others, we urge everyone – Catholics and non-Catholics – to share what they may know about Fr. Gratien Alabi.

If innocent children and vulnerable adults are to be safer, inside and outside of churches, parishioners should be aggressively prodded to overcome their fears, break their silence and call law enforcement with even the slightest bit of information they may have about crimes and possible crimes.

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ITALY
Pink News

A Catholic priest has been fired in Italy – after throwing steamy gay orgies in which he’d ask men to re-enact the betrayal of Jesus by Judas.

The priest, who served in a religious order in Taranto, Italy, was let go this week after the Church obtained evidence of his activites – including sex with gay prostitutes and Christ-based role play.

The clergyman’s activities came to light when one of his lovers – who played Judas during their roleplay sessions – ironically betrayed him in real life to the church authorities.

According to the newspaper Corriere del Mezzogiorno, a 32-year-old man, from Rovigo in northeast Italy blew the whistle on his online conversations and cam sessions with the priest.

He said: “I needed spiritual help… He told me my pictures made him excited and asked me to send him an intimate photo.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Telegraph

By David Barrett, Home Affairs Correspondent 08 Apr 2015

The Government’s child sex abuse inquiry is facing further turmoil after survivors and campaigners condemned the new set-up as “discriminatory”.

In a letter delivered to the Home Office more than 500 signatories voiced their strong objections to a decision by Theresa May, the Home Secretary, to exclude survivors from the inquiry panel.

Mrs May went back to the drawing board last month after a series of false starts and set up a new four-strong panel to hear the inquiry alongside Justice Lowell Goddard, a senior New Zealand judge.

Unlike the first panel, it did not include any adult victims of sexual abuse and a separate victims and survivors consultative panel is due to be created to advise the main inquiry.

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ITALIA
Romagna Noi

[Father Gratien Alabi had nude photos of nuns on his PC.]

21/Novembre/2014

CA’ RAFFAELLO – Gratien Alabi, il frate congolese indagato per la scomparsa di Guerrina Piscaglia a Ca’ Raffello – enclave della Provincia di Arezzo in Romagna – teneva all’interno del suo Pc delle fotografie di suore nude dalla cintola in giù. Non si tratterebbe di immagini scaricate da siti web osè, ma di suore che conosceva personalmente e con cui, a suo dire, aveva rapporti di amicizia. Le fotografie al momento non costituiscono materiale per l’inchiesta.

Le fotografie sono state rilevate dai carabinieri del Ris, durante l’ispezione del suo computer relative alle indagini sulla scomparsa di Guerrina Piscaglia. Di lei non si sa più nulla dal primo maggio scorso. Dopo quattro mesi senza un ufficiale piano di ricerche, l’autorità giudiziaria ha aperto un fascicolo con gravi ipotesi di reato nei confronti del religioso e incaricato le forze dell’ordine di fare le indagini a tutto campo.

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ITALY
Daily Star (UK)

By Cyrus Engineer / Published 21st November 2014

Father Gratien Alabi, 39, was being investigated over the disappearance of a local woman when cops found the X-rated images.

A police spokesman said: “He had somehow managed to persuade them to provide him with naked pictures. We are looking at his email traffic to find out what tricks he used.”

Alabi’s computer was full of the snaps and was seized following his arrest in connection with the disappearance of Guerrina Piscaglia, 36, from her home in the area of Ca Raffaello near the central town of Arezzo last May.

The woman’s husband Mirko Alessandrini, 40, has organised a massive search for his missing wife, and police reportedly moved to arrest and question the priest after a threatening text message was found on the missing woman’s mobile phone.

Sent from the a device belonging to Father Gratien Alabi, it warned her that talking poorly about a priest is something that she should avoid doing in the future.

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ST. LOUIS (MO)
Berger’s Beat

April 8, 2015 8:58 am | Author: berger

A St. Louis priest who was ordained by then-Archbiship Raymond Burke is making waves in the Bay Area and headlines across the U.S. At Fr. Patrick Driscoll’s parish, girls can no longer be altar servers, non-Catholic kids can’t read Scripture at school masses, and the pastor said anyone who voted for Obama must go to confession before taking communion. According to the National Catholic Reporter, Driscoll gave “to even young students” a pamphlet called “Examination of Conscience and Catholic Doctrine,” an extensive listing of “potential sins, including adultery, masturbation, fornication, entertaining impure thoughts, and abortion – without notifying teachers or the principal.” He later apologized.

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