ABUSE TRACKER

RHODE ISLAND
Rhode Island Public Radio

[with audio]

By ELISABETH HARRISON

In the aftermath of the sex abuse scandal at St. George’s School, Rhode Island lawmakers are considering legislation that would close a loophole in the state’s mandatory child abuse reporting law.

The loophole, first reported by Rhode Island Public Radio, seems to allow schools and other institutions to avoid reporting abuse allegations against their employees.

Peg Langhammer pulls up a chair in a conference room at Day One, the organization she runs for survivors of sexual abuse. She is driving an amendment to Rhode Island’s mandatory child abuse and neglect reporting law to make it clear that schools must report employees suspected of abusing students to the State Department of Children Youth and Families, or DCYF.

“This really came to light as a result of all of the St. George’s cases,” said Langhammer. “When St. George’s interpretation of the statute was that they didn’t have to report to DCYF, and therefore there was no investigation after many cases of alleged abuse.”

Those cases include a former athletic director, a choir director and a chaplain, all at the Episcopal St. George’s boarding school. And while the school fired some of the employees, they never reported them to child welfare officials.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Foundation to Abolish Child Sexual Abuse – FACSA

This should be easy for our legislators. Help them hear the message. We need you to take three steps to ensure children will be protected and hope for justice will be restored.

SHOW UP/SHOUT OUT to support passage of HB 1947.
SHOW UP for Survivors and Supporters THIS coming Monday!
SHOW UP for SOL Reform Rally/Press Event
WHEN: Monday, June 13th, at 8:00am and 12:00pm
WHERE: Pennsylvania Capitol Steps, Harrisburg
WHO: Survivors, supporters, good people
WHY: Justice for victims of child sex abuse
Posters and Signs will be available for you to hold
(More info and videos on our website)

SHOW UP for Senate Judicial Committee Hearing on HB 1947
WHEN: THIS Monday 6/13/16 at 10 AM
WHERE: Hearing Room A
North Office Building
Harrisburg, PA
WHO: Survivors, supporters, good people
WHY: Justice for victims of child sex abuse
SHOUT OUT your support for HB 1947
SHOUT OUT TO: Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee and key Senate Leadership. Tell them you support HB 1947 with NO changes that would further limit the prohibitive time barriers for adult survivors of child sex abuse to come forward and identify their perpetrators and have some measure of justice. Names and emails listed below. …

PA Senate House Judiciary Committee

Greenleaf, Stewart J., Chair sgreenleaf@pasen.gov
Leach, Daylin, Minority Chair leach@pasen.gov
Rafferty, John C., Jr., Vice Chair jrafferty@pasen.gov
Scarnati, Joseph B., III, Ex‑Officio jscarnati@pasen.gov
Alloway, Richard L., II alloway@pasen.gov
Eichelberger, John H., Jr. jeichelberger@pasen.gov
Gordner, John R. jgordner@pasen.gov
Reschenthaler, Guy greschenthaler@pasen.gov
Vulakovich, Randy rvulakovich@pasen.gov
Yaw, Gene gyaw@pasen.gov
Boscola, Lisa M. boscola@pasen.gov
Farnese, Lawrence M., Jr. lfarnese@pasen.gov
Haywood, Art senatorhaywood@pasen.gov
Sabatina, John P., Jr. jsabatina@pasenate.com

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

PENNSYLVANIA
Catholic Philly

By Matthew Gambino • Posted June 10, 2016

The advance of a Pennsylvania bill that would lift the statutes of limitation for civil lawsuits concerning child sexual abuse enters an important new phase next week.

The state Senate Judiciary Committee begins hearings at 10 a.m. Monday, June 13 in Harrisburg to examine the bill’s constitutionality under state law.

HB 1947 passed overwhelmingly in the House, 180-15, in April. The bill would allow individuals up to age 50 to sue private institutions including churches, other religious congregations, youth organizations and sports leagues retroactively for abuse that occurred years or decades ago, and for unlimited damages.

Public institutions such as school districts could also be sued but only for cases in the future, not in the past. Settlement damages would be capped at $250,000 per plaintiff or $1 million in total related claims for state agencies, and $500,000 for local and county agencies, including school districts.

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

NEW YORK
National Catholic Reporter

Peter Feuerherd | Jun. 9, 2016

NEW YORK

Editor’s note: This story was updated with new information at 10 a.m., central time.

As the New York state legislature plans to close up shop for its annual session by the end of this month, the Catholic bishops are hoping to run out the clock on a bill that would lift the statute of limitations on sex abuse crimes.

A bill passed by the state Assembly would lift the statute of limitations on future sex abuse crimes against minors, which now prohibits lawsuits five years after victims pass their 18th birthday. In its most contentious provision, the bill would also provide a one-year window allowing for lawsuits in old cases.

Proponents say the measure would balance the scales of justice and provide child sex abuse victims with their day in court. Opponents argue that it would be impossible to fairly judge decades-old cases, that the legislation unfairly exempts public institutions, and that the legal costs would bankrupt the Catholic church in the state. The bishops, while supporting lifting the statue of limitations on future sex abuse, say that lifting it retroactively would open the church to unfair lawsuits. ​

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

PENNSYLVANIA
National Catholic Reporter

Peter Feuerherd | Jun. 10, 2016

When it comes to H.B. 1947, it’s personal for State Rep. Mark Rozzi of Pennsylvania, a Democrat who represents the Reading area.

His bill, which would extend the statute of limitations on sex abuse lawsuits, is adamantly opposed by the commonwealth’s Catholic bishops, who see it as a threat which will ultimately bankrupt them.

By contrast, Rozzi says the in-the-pew Catholics are with him.

“The outrage my office hears is unbelievable, especially from the most devout,” he told NCR in a June 8 phone conversation, just days before a pivotal legislative hearing on his bill.

He has been backed by some Catholic groups, including Catholic Whistleblowers, an organization which says it is dedicated to ensuring that the church clean house about sex abuse.

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COLORADO
9 News

DENVER (AP) – Inspired by the Bill Cosby rape allegations, Colorado has doubled the amount of time sexual assault victims can seek charges from 10 to 20 years.

Gov. John Hickenlooper signed into law Friday a bill extending the statute of limitations for pursuing sex assault charges.

Democratic Rep. Rhonda Fields crafted the bill after being approached by two Colorado women who claim Cosby assaulted them decades ago.

Los Angeles attorney Gloria Allred attended the bill signing. She has said such laws empower traumatized victims by giving them more time to come forward.

Cosby has denied abuse allegations made by women around the country. But he faces trial in Pennsylvania, where the comedian is accused of drugging and sexually assaulting a woman at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004.

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MAINE
Portland Press Herald

The Vatican has defrocked a retired Maine priest after substantiating claims that he sexually abused a minor in the 1980s.

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith at the Vatican gave a final decision regarding Antonin R. Caron, who has been retired since 1994, according to a news release from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland. He was stripped of his ability to perform priestly duties after diocese received a complaint in November 2012 about sexual abuse that occurred decades before.

The diocese began investigating Caron for “reported incidents” of abuse between 1982 and 1986, according to a press release issued in 2012.

Caron had a history of disciplinary and legal troubles, the diocese said at the time.

In 1993, he was brought to trial and acquitted of sexually assaulting a woman.

In March 2000, the church suspended Caron for several months for his involvement with a now-defunct website for gay clergymen. After his suspension in 2000, Caron resumed his ministry throughout Maine until 2010.

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WASHINGTON
The Columbian

By Jessica Prokop, Columbian Courts Reporter
Published: June 10, 2016

A Catholic priest who was sentenced last month to four months in jail for trying to lure a 14-year-old girl into his car in Vancouver’s Image neighborhood will now serve a portion of his sentence on a work crew.

Michael T. Patrick, 60, was back in Clark County Superior Court on Friday to review whether he had qualified to serve his four-month sentence through the Clark County Jail’s work-release program. The program allows inmates to work outside in the community and be confined when they’re not at work.

Patrick’s defense attorney, Thomas Phelan, told the court it is still unclear if Patrick will have his job, which would allow him to qualify for the program.

Patrick, the former pastor of St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church in Scappoose, Ore., is not currently assigned to a parish and is being investigated by the Archdiocese of Portland, spokesman David Renshaw previously told The Columbian. Patrick’s status will not change until the investigation is complete, he said.

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UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter

EDITORIAL

In recent decades, the Vatican apparatus has found the means to reach deep into the ranks of the faithful to banish, condemn, excommunicate and otherwise impose disciplines on those who advanced a discordant idea or advocated for the wrong cause or dared to question the exclusion of women from any meaningful level of decision-making within the church.

Yet, more than 30 years after the first national exposé of the sex abuse crisis ran in the pages of NCR, we are still waiting for a clear, transparent and workable system for getting rid of bishops who ignore, abet or cover up crimes against the community’s children or fail to abide by rudimentary cautions and procedures for accountability.

We hope the latest iteration of Vatican determination to hold members of the hierarchy accountable, Pope Francis’ newly promulgated universal law, will finally address that long-standing deficiency.

Unfortunately, the motu proprio with which we were presented June 4 raises many questions.

For years, theologians and other thinkers have been banished from Catholic academic grounds, their reputations ruined in a wide swath of the community, for ideas considered out of bounds. We watched as Pope John Paul II engaged in the equivalent of a hostile takeover of the Society of Jesus and replaced its leadership. We watched then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger engineer the removal of an editor of America magazine because he didn’t like some of the topics covered. In the last eight years, at least half a dozen priests have been removed from active ministry for publicly supporting the ordination of women to the priesthood.

But bishops who covered up abuse, kept secret files and shuffled predatory priests from parish to parish and sometimes to other dioceses and even other countries to avoid detection? Nothing.

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UNITED STATES
BishopAccounability.org

Summary of Case: Kevin J. Downey was ordained for the Franciscan Friars of the Holy Name Province in 1982. He went on to parish assignments in the dioceses of Buffalo NY, Butler NJ, Raleigh NC, Paterson NJ and Arlington VA. Through much of the 1980s until 1991 he worked in the Springfield IL diocese, at the Franciscan’s Quincy College. In May 2016 the Arlington diocese quietly announced that Downey had been placed on leave, pending the investigation of an allegation of sexual misconduct toward a male minor in 1990, “in another state.” Downey was working at Quincy College during the year in question. At the time of his suspension he was serving as pastor of a Triangle VA parish.

Ordained: 1982

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MAINE
Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland

PORTLAND—A final decision has been returned from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith at the Vatican regarding Antonin R. Caron, ordained a priest for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland, who has been retired since 1994. The Holy See has dismissed Caron from the clerical state for a substantiated claim of sexual abuse of a minor. The complaint was received from an individual in November of 2012 who reported that the sexual abuse occurred in the early 1980s.

After receiving the complaint, the Diocesan Office of Professional Responsibility conducted a full investigation and, as with every report of possible sexual abuse of a minor by a church representative, immediately notified public authorities. Upon completion of the investigation, the case was referred to the Diocesan Review Board, an independent review entity comprised mostly of lay people, which confirmed the findings of the Office of Professional Responsibility that the claim of abuse was substantiated. Subsequently, Bishop Robert P. Deeley sent Caron’s case to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith which has competence to determine the course of action to be taken in such cases. The diocese investigates all allegations of sexual abuse of minors by clergy. The removal of any church personnel from ministry due to such complaints is always publicized.

Inasmuch as the decision of the Congregation has been confirmed by Pope Francis, it does not allow for any possibility of appeal. Dismissal from the clerical state means that Antonin Caron can no longer function or present himself as a priest. Caron retired from active ministry due to medical reasons in 1994 and stepped down from all public ministry in 2010.

Antonin R. Caron was born in Lewiston and ordained to the priesthood in 1969. During his time in active ministry, he was assigned to Notre Dame Parish in Waterville; St. Margaret Parish in Old Orchard Beach; St. Mary Parish in Lewiston; St. Mary Parish in Presque Isle; St. Michael Parish in South Berwick; Cathedral Parish in Portland; St. Ignatius Parish in Sanford; Our Lady of Ransom Parish, Mechanic Falls; St. Gregory Parish, Gray; St. Mary Parish, Eagle Lake; and St. James Parish, Woodland.

Bishop Deeley encourages anyone who may have information about this or any case of sexual abuse of a minor by a church representative to contact civil authorities as well as Michael Magalski, Director of the Office of Professional Responsibility for the Diocese of Portland, at (207) 321-7836 or at michael.magalski@portlanddiocese.org.

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MAINE
Sun Journal

PORTLAND —The Portland Diocese announced Friday that the Vatican has dismissed former Lewiston priest Antonin R. Caron from the priesthood following a complaint of sex abuse.

According to a written statement from the diocese, Caron was ordained a priest for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland but has been retired since 1994. Following an investigation of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith at the Vatican, “the Holy See has dismissed Caron from the clerical state for a substantiated claim of sexual abuse of a minor,” according to the statement.

According to the diocese, the complaint was received from an individual in November of 2012 who reported that the sexual abuse occurred in the early 1980s.

After receiving the complaint, the Diocesan Office of Professional Responsibility conducted a full investigation and, as with every report of possible sexual abuse of a minor by a church representative, immediately notified public authorities, according to the diocese.

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MAINE
Bangor Daily News

By Judy Harrison, BDN Staff
Posted June 10, 2016

PORTLAND, Maine — A retired Catholic priest who was found not guilty in 1994 by a Washington County jury of sexually abusing a 13-year-old girl has been stripped by the Vatican of his ability to function as or to present himself as a priest, the Roman Catholic diocese of Portland announced Friday.

“The Holy See has dismissed Antonin R. Caron from the clerical state for a substantiated claim of sexual abuse of a minor,” the diocese said in a news release. “ The complaint was received from an individual in November of 2012 who reported that the sexual abuse occurred in the early 1980s.”

In the 1994 trial, according to a previously published report, Caron was accused of sexually assaulting the girl with a pencil and his hands on May 9, 1992, in the sacristy — a small, open room behind the altar — in St. James the Greater Catholic Church in Baileyville, where he was parish priest, moments before the start of a Saturday afternoon Mass.

The girl, who is not being identified, waited a year before reporting the incident to a teacher, who then notified authorities. Despite parishioners being seated only a few feet away from the room, there were no witnesses to corroborate the girl’s story.

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CANADA
The Telegram

Barb Sweet
Published on June 09, 2016

Updated story:

Three of four John Does involved in the Mount Cashel civil trial in Newfoundland Supreme Court don’t suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), says an American psychiatrist testifying for the Catholic Church.

Dr. Robert Toborowsky said the fourth John Doe does have PTSD “that can be traced — along with the associated angst — reasonably to various experiences he had prior to, during and after the years he spent in Mount Cashel.”

Those experiences include losing his mother — the man’s father, a Second World War double-amputee, couldn’t take care of his sons — as well as later life events such as the death of a beloved grandchild, financial struggles, various medical problems — including cancer — and the litigation itself, Toborowsky said.

There were other mental diagnoses that Toborowsky ruled out in his opinions on the John Does’ cases. And in the case of a man who says his marriage and career were ruined, Toborowsky concluded there was an alcoholism disorder and recurrent depression, but didn’t link those problems directly to Mount Cashel.

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WASHINGTON
KOMO

CLYDE HILL, Wash. – A longtime teacher at Bellevue Christian School has been charged with child molestation after he made sexual contact with a 13-year-old girl in his classes, according to court papers that also say school officials took no action when they first learned of the allegation four years ago.

Documents filed Wednesday in King County Superior Court also show that school administrators knew of at least two similar incidents involving the same teacher and other young girls as far back as 1999, but never reported any of the incidents to law enforcement officials.

The teacher, identified as Edward T. Sloan, 45, has been employed with the school since 1997. He was recently placed on administrative leave through the end of the school year and will not return in the fall, school officials said.

“The defendant has a clear pattern of inappropriate behavior with female students and should not be teaching minors, particularly minor females,” say charging documents filed by the King County Prosecutor’s Office.

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WASHINGTON
Seattle Times

By Sarah Jarvis
Seattle Times staff reporter

A Bellevue Christian School teacher has been charged with one count of second-degree child molestation, accused of molesting a 13-year-old student during a field trip in 2012.

Edward Sloan, 45, of Seattle, was placed on leave by the private school in January after the incident was reported to Clyde Hill police, according to charging documents filed Wednesday. Sloan has been a teacher at the school since 1997.

In addition, King County prosecutors say student complaints to the school about Sloan’s inappropriate touching date as far back as 2001.

In a statement, Interim Bellevue Christian School Superintendent Tim Krell said the school is reviewing its safety guidelines and protocols following the allegations against Sloan.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Catholic League

Bill Donohue comments on Pennsylvania Catholic lawmakers:

They are crying foul. What is really foul is the basis of the complaint made by Pennsylvania Catholic lawmakers: they are upset that priests are calling them out for working against their own religion.

In Pennsylvania, as in virtually all states, if a bill to lift the statute of limitations on offenses involving the sexual abuse of minors does not specifically say that it covers the public sector, it means that kids raped by public school teachers are treated like second-class citizens. To be exact, because of the antiquated doctrine of sovereign immunity, public school students have a very short window—usually 90 days—to press charges, otherwise they are out of luck.

The bill being considered by the Pennsylvania legislature gives the public schools a pass—the reform does not affect them. Which means that kids who are sexually abused in a public school, or were abused by a public school employee in the past, have less rights than private school students; the latter, under the proposed bill, could now sue for alleged offenses that took place decades ago.

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RHODE ISLAND
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

FACT SHEET: Five “under the radar” who abused elsewhere but spent time in RI

—Fr. Joseph Rocha OP, ordained: 1966

He appears on the most recent list of “new” priests added to Boston attorney Mitchell Garabedian’s website. Rocha worked quite a few years in the Providence diocese and even held a diocesan post (on the diocesan tribunal). There’s been no publicity about him since 2001 when a small article mentioned he had been arrested, but it didn’t mention that he was a priest.

He worked in Providence and Warwick. His assignment history:

[BishopAccountability.org]

His status as an accused cleric was first made public by Boston attorney Mitchell Garabedian in March 2016:

[BishopAccountability.org]

—Brother Shawn McEnany, S.C., ordained: 1983

He was criminally convicted in Maine in 1988 and appears to be working now as a counselor in RI.

His Linked In page:

[Linked-In]

His Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/shawn.mcenany

His assignment history:

[BishopAccountability.org]

According to BishopAccountability.org, “McEnany is last known to be living in the Order’s Pascoag, RI community and working as a clinical social worker.”

—Fr. Dennis P. Murphy, ordained: 1974

Suspended: 2004 due to complaints about his interaction with teenage youths. Murphy was on loan to the Military Archdiocese, working in Providence RI at the VA hospital for nine years. In 2007, he was listed as “retired from ministry” on the diocesan website but he is also shown as affiliated with the Univ. of Virginia in Charlottesville. Murphy also worked in Boston. He also worked in Cumberland RI.

[BishopAccountability.org]

—Fr. Donald E. Messier, ordained: 1968

His name appeared on a list of 21 priests accused of abuse which District Attorney released 2002. In 1973, Messier left the Fall River diocese to work in Providence Diocese.

[BishopAccountability.org]

—Br. Roger B. Argencourt, ordained: 1965

He belonged to the Brothers of Sacred Heart and was also known as Br. Odillon. Placed on leave Jan. 2002 and sued April 2002 for abuse in 1973-1974 at Bishop Guertin High School in Manchester, NH. He admitted abuse in court records. Also admitted abuse of another student. Second suit filed at a later date. One case settled 2003. Authorities in RI were preparing to file charges re abuse at Mount Saint Charles Academy when Argencourt died in 2002. Several other abusers at Bishop Guerin. He worked in Pascoag and Woonsocket.

[BishopAccountability.org]

(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the world’s oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. SNAP was founded in 1988 and has more than 20,000 members)(www.SNAPnetwork.org) Contact – David Clohessy (314-566-9790 cell,davidgclohessy@gmail.com), Barbara Dorris (314-503-0003 cell, bdorris@SNAPnetwork.org). At BishopAccountability.org, contact Anne Barrett Doyle 781-439-5208.

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RHODE ISLAND
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Victims prod RI bishop on accused priests
He’s keeping names of at least 95 accused clerics hidden
Five other predators abused elsewhere but worked in RI
Support group discloses their identities & pushes for “openness”
It says Catholic officials “endanger kids” with “continued secrecy”
Bishop should also post child molesting clerics’ names, victims say
SNAP: “Roughly thirty other bishops across the US have done this”

WHAT
Holding signs and childhood photos at a sidewalk news conference, clergy sex abuse victims and their supporters will disclose that at least

–95 accused predator priests in Rhode Island remain hidden, and
–five predator priests who abused elsewhere also worked in RI but have attracted little or no public or media attention here.

They will also beg Providence’s Catholic bishop to

–publicly reveal the names of ALL accused abusive clerics, and
–-post their names, photos, whereabouts and work histories on his diocesan website.

And they will beg anyone who saw, suspected or suffered clergy sex crimes or cover ups to call secular authorities, not church staff, and “protect kids, expose wrongdoers and start healing.”

WHEN
Friday, June 10 at 1:30 p.m.

WHERE
Outside the Cathedral of Saints Peter & Paul, 30 Fenner St (corner of Pond St.) in Providence

WHO
Three child sex abuse victims who belong to a support group called SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (including a Missouri man who is the organization’s long time executive director)

WHY
For almost a decade, Rhode Island Catholic officials have kept hidden the names of 125 accused predator priests. SNAP wants Bishop Thomas Tobin to “protect the vulnerable and end continuing cover ups by honoring his pledges of ‘transparency’ and disclosing these names. And the group is disclosing the identities of five child molesting clerics who abused kids elsewhere but quietly worked in Rhode Island but attracted little or no attention or media coverage here.

1.Thirty five RI Catholic clerics have been publicly accused of molesting kids. (See BishopAccountability.org) But in 2007, the Providence diocese admitted in a court filing that 125 clerics have been accused overall.

[BishopAccountability.org]

SNAP wants these 95 names disclosed to parents, police, prosecutors, parishioners and the public.

2.According to court records or mainstream news outlets in other states, at least five Catholic clerics are proven, admitted or credibly accused child molesters – having hurt children outside RI but having also worked in RI. They remain largely or totally “under the radar” in Rhode Island. SNAP wants Tobin to “aggressively reach out to anyone else who may have seen, suspected or suffered their crimes” using church bulletins, parish websites and pulpit announcements.

They are Fr. Joseph Rocha, Brother Shawn McEnany, Fr. Dennis P. Murphy, Fr. Donald E. Messier and Brother Roger B. Argencourt. (See Fact Sheet on Hidden RI Predator Priests at SNAPnetwork.org)

3. For “the safety of kids, the healing of victims and the recovery of the church,” SNAP also wants Bishop Tobin to release the identities of ALL child molesting clerics (proven, admitted and credibly accused) who live/lived or work/worked in the Providence diocese (which covers the whole state) and post them permanently on his web page (along with their photos, whereabouts and work histories).

Over the past three years, about 15 bishops have done this. And since 2002, a total of roughly 30 US bishops have taken this step over the past decade.

[BishopAccountability.org]

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IRELAND
The Tablet

02 June 2016 | by Sarah Mac Donald

An Irish priest falsely accused of sexual abuse calls for the Church to rethink the way it treats clergy who are placed under investigation

The Church “cut me loose, hung me out to dry, and disowned me,” says Fr Tim Hazelwood, who has been a Catholic priest for 34 years. He has recently won a six-year struggle to clear his name after being falsely accused of sexual abuse. He is deeply concerned at the way in which the Church handled his case, and he warns that the Irish hierarchy must rethink its treatment of accused priests and its policy on anonymous accusations.

Fr Hazelwood says there is a climate in both church and society which presumes priests are guilty unless they prove their innocence. The 57-year-old parish priest of Killeagh in the Cloyne diocese, a qualified psychotherapist, believes it is time for priests in Ireland to establish a national body which will lobby the bishops and the current safeguarding structures on their behalf to ensure that natural justice is not undermined.

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VATIKAN
Radio Vatikan

[The pope’s motu proprio issued last Saturday has attracted attention. A bishop can be removed if he has not fulfilled his duties in protection of children and young people from abuse. Are the bishops trembling everywhere in the world? No, says Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta who worked for many years at the Vatican. The procedure set down by the pope also give bishops a certain security, he said. They are guaranteed a particular procedure wihen it comes to neglect of their duties, the archbishop said.]

Es hat einige Aufmerksamkeit erregt: das Motu Proprio von Franziskus vom letzten Samstag. Damit legt der Papst fest, dass ein Bischof auch dann seines Amtes enthoben werden kann, wenn er seinen Amtspflichten beim Schutz von Kindern und Jugendlichen vor Missbrauch nicht genügend nachgekommen ist. Zittern jetzt überall in der Welt die Bischöfe? Nein, sagt Charles Scicluna. Der 57-Jährige ist Erzbischof auf der Insel Malta und hat sich zugleich jahrelang an der vatikanischen Glaubenskongregation mit kirchlichen Missbrauchsfällen beschäftigt.

„Als Bischof einer kleinen Diözese sehe ich vor allem, dass die Prozedur, die der Papst mit diesem Motu Proprio festlegt, uns auch eine gewisse Sicherheit gibt. Wir werden nicht einfach nur zu großer Wachsamkeit in unserem pastoralen Dienst angehalten, sondern wir bekommen auch die Garantie einer bestimmten Prozedur, wenn es zu Anzeigen wegen Vernachlässigung unserer Amtspflichten kommt. Der Papst will eine Untersuchung – und dass dann auch in der Gemeinschaft Gerechtigkeit einkehrt. Es geht hier also um Verantwortung; gleichzeitig sehen wir, dass der Papst der jeweiligen (christlichen) Gemeinschaft mit ihren Schwierigkeiten sehr, sehr nahe sein will, wenn er feststellt, dass da einige sehr wichtige Dinge nicht respektiert werden.“

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VATICAN CITY
Crux

ROME – In the latest twist to the saga of Pope Francis’s financial reform, the Vatican announced Friday it has entered into a new contract for auditing and consulting services with the global firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), this time as a resource for its own in-house auditing agency as well as other departments.

“PwC will play an assisting role, and will also be available to those [departments] that wish to avail themselves of its support and consulting services,” a Vatican statement released Friday said.

The new contract, according to the statement, “provides for a broader collaboration with PwC that is adaptable to the Holy See’s needs,” and means the Vatican will “promptly resume its collaboration with PwC.”

The statement also says that by law, primary responsibility for performing the Vatican’s annual audits “is entrusted to the Office of the Auditor General (URG), as is normally the case for every sovereign state.”

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MASSACHUSETTS
MassLive

By Lindsay Corcoran | lindsay.corcoran@masslive.com

WORCESTER — Charges have been dropped against one of two former Santeria priests suspected of involvement in the theft of eight skeletons from Hope Cemetery in Worcester last year.

Felix Delgado, 40, of 518 Hallett St., Bridgeport, will no longer face charges of disinterment of a body after authorities say the bones found in his apartment were determined not to match those missing from Worcester.

A joint investigation by Massachusetts and Connecticut authorities found the human remains discovered in Delgado’s Bridgeport apartment in February are not consistent with the remains stolen from Hope Cemetery in Worcester, according to Tim Connolly, spokesperson for the Worcester County district attorney’s office.

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NEW YORK
PIX 11

[with video]

BY JAMES FORD

WOODSIDE, Queens — He’s the pastor of a church with a major outreach to young people, but now Rev. James E. Love is charged with repeatedly sexually assaulting a 6-year-old girl.

Love posted bail Monday night and on Tuesday his friends, neighbors and congregation tried to cope with the accusations.

“I’m still in shock,” said family friend Regina Jennings.

She’d shown up Tuesday afternoon at the pastor’s apartment in the Woodside Houses public housing complex to offer support to Love and his wife.

Love’s wife regularly babysat the girl in the couple’s first floor apartment. According to the criminal complaint from the Queens district attorney’s office, between March and last week, Love exposed himself to the girl, made her touch his genitals and he touched her inappropriately, multiple times.

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LOUISIANA
Louisiana Record

Dawn Brotherton Jun. 9, 2016

BATON ROUGE—State Sen. J.P. Morrell (D-District 3) has requested a state inquiry into allegations of child abuse at a Shreveport Episcopal school for not following mandated reporting laws, but the head of one advocacy group says mandated reporting, while well-intentioned, doesn’t address the real needs of the children.

A mother is suing St. Mark’s Cathedral School (SMCS) because she believes her son, identified only as M.R. was wrongfully expelled from the school. According to the lawsuit, her 6th-grade son stayed in a cabin with four other male students at Pine Cove when they were on a weekend trip in 2014. After the trip, one of the other students who stayed in M.R.’s cabin accused him of inappropriate behavior, and the student’s mom filed a complaint with the school. According to news reports, the chaperones did not witness the behavior and reported that M.R.’s conduct was appropriate.

Two days after the field trip, SCMS Head of School Chris Carter expelled the young boy. The Withdrawal Certificate states that he was expelled for “inappropriate touching of other students when not in the presence of adults.”

In October 2015, the mother sued Carter and SCMS for disability discrimination, breach of contract, disparate treatment, defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and violation of the family educational rights and privacy act.

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NEW YORK
New York Daily News

KENNETH LOVETT
DAILY NEWS ALBANY BUREAU CHIEF
Thursday, June 9, 2016

ALBANY — Despite criticism from those on both sides of the issue, the state Assembly still intends to take up a bill dealing with child sex abuse victims.

“The plan is still to do the bill next week,” Assembly Democratic spokesman Michael Whyland said Thursday. “Nothing has changed.”

Introduced Tuesday night, the bill designed to make it easier for victims to bring lawsuits was assailed by survivors for not going far enough while the Catholic Church opposes a provision that would allow for old cases to be revived.

Whyland said he doesn’t expect any changes to the Assembly bill unless a deal on the issue is reached with Gov. Cuomo and the state Senate.

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UNITED STATES
Father Lasch

Rev. Kenneth Lasch

Monday June 6, 2016

Website Editor’s Note: As you will read below, this is the third in a series of four articles by Mary Gail Frawley-O’Dea, noted psychologist She has expressed sentiments that I have felt for a long time. As most of you know, I have been an‘active’ perhaps even an aggressive advocate for victim of clergy abuse. Having been engaged in that initiative for over thirty years, I have experienced the highs and lows – mostly the lows of that ‘ministry.’ At one point in anger I initiated a website ‘blog’ entitled, ‘The Harvey Interviews’ as a vehicle to expose the issue on a local level. That endeavor was costly on many counts. Though the content was factual, the blog did not have the desired effect – dialogue did not occur nor was the situation described therein remedied. The personal trauma that resulted from this effort was heavy and lasting.

I have been involved intermittently with SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests) for several years. St. Joseph in Mendham that as you may recall, became the epicenter of sexual abuse in New Jersey. St Joseph hosted a weekly meeting of SNAP in the parish center. It was very helpful in enabling victims of clergy abuse to name what happened to them and to have their stories validated. In essence it was a significant step forward for many victims. However, there were no ‘next steps’ provided by the group. As a result, victims who already had their story validated were not offered an opportunity to move on to the next level of healing. I felt then and feel even more so now that once victims of abuse have told their story, they need professional help to begin the long painful journey toward healing and recovery. The memory of what took place during their childhood, teen or young adult years may never be permanently erased but they can learn to turn their trauma around and it can actually become a source of growth for many, perhaps for most. In essence they can learn to disallow their trauma to control their lives.

One of the difficulties with the Bishops’ Dallas Charter of 2002 is that it did not provide for the proper response to the clergy abuse of ‘vulnerable adults.’ This category pertains to anything from sexual harassment to sexual assault of an adult who may be permanently or temporarily impaired, e.g., a person with a disability or someone who was given alcohol or drugs with the intention of obtaining a sexual favor or worse, sexual assault, i.e., the imposition of unwanted sexual contact. An example of the later occurs when a victim 18 years of age or more is ‘groomed’ with favors, e.g., alcohol over a period of time and then sexually assaulted. We certainly have any number of examples in the press these days. Sexual intimidation, harassment or assault by clergy or religious is particularly damaging because it effects not only the emotional and psychological aspects of a victim’s life but also the spiritual.

The Pope’s Motu Proprio pertains not only to the cover-up of the sexual abuse of minors but also the cover-up of the abuse of “vulnerable adults.”

Accountability for such cover-ups has not been forthcoming and remains to be adjudicated by the Holy See. Many advocates are skeptical that the Vatican will indeed follow through on the procedures that are being established. However, we need to move from an adversarial posture to one in which the principles of ‘Restorative Justice’ can be applied evenhandedly. Unfortunately neither church officials nor victims’ advocates are willing to promote this viable path toward healing – healing not only of victims but also treatment for predators.

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NEW YORK
Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn

Posted on June 7, 2016

What follows is Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio’s response to Assemblywoman Margaret Markey’s accusations, published in The New York Daily News on June 7, 2016.

Download the Complete Letter

Read Bishop DiMarzio’s letter to the faithful.

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IRELAND
Irish Independent

Sarah MacDonald
PUBLISHED
10/06/2016

The head of the watchdog for clerical sex abuse has warned there is “no room for complacency” as it emerged 116 new allegations or concerns were reported last year.

Another 37 allegations of physical and emotional abuse were also reported to the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church (NBSCCCI), bringing the total complaints dealt with over that period to 153.

The figures represent a significant reduction in allegations, down by 112 compared to 2014 when 265 new allegations were reported.

The most recent incident of abuse reported to the National Board occurred in 2015.
The watchdog’s CEO Teresa Devlin warned: “They do, however, still demonstrate a significant number of new allegations during the period under review.

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TEXAS
OA Online

By Silvio Panta spanta@oaoa.com

A former Odessa youth minister was among the six suspects state and federal authorities arrested in a sting operation last weekend targeting suspected sexual predators who solicited minors online.

Matthew Holman, 35, who directed the youth ministry program at Westwood Baptist Church for the past six months, was arrested on a state charge of second-degree felony online solicitation of a minor younger than 15.

Holman’s name, along with the names of two other Odessa residents, was disclosed Thursday during a press conference by the Texas Department of Public Safety in Midland. Fabian Ray Galindo, 20, and Chad Alan Potts, 46, were also among the six suspects arrested on the online solicitation charge for which they were all booked in Midland County Jail.

Holman, Galindo and Potts were all being held Thursday at the Midland County Jail on $75,000 bond.

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TEXAS
Newswest 9

By Eric Onyechefule, Reporter

MIDLAND-ODESSA, TX (KWES) –
On Thursday, Dr. Weeks DuBose pastor, of the church where Matthew Holman was the youth minister described how hard the arrest has been on his church who has 60 congregants and over a dozen kids who attend.

“Matthew Holman who has been an employee of the church, a youth minister since mid-January, was dismissed from his position as of Sunday morning June 5th,” said DuBose.

DuBose said Holman was in charge of the youth programs that were being run at the church. He added they do their due diligence on potential employees including Matt who he’s known since he was a little kid.

“We do background checks on our employees. Matthew was known to us,” said DuBose.

Holman was one of the six men arrested after a two day sting where authorities said they tried solicit sex from minors.

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CANADA
CTV

Rachael D’Amore, CTV Toronto
Published Thursday, June 9, 2016

A Mississauga teacher has been charged with sexual assault in connection with an investigation into four GTA schools over the last four years, a spokesperson with the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board confirmed.

According to the spokesperson, the teacher was a long-term occasional teacher with the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board.

The teacher had been teaching a Grade two and three class at St. James Catholic Global Learning Centre for the last two school terms.

On Tuesday, the teacher was arrested and faces several charges, including sexual assault, sexual interference and making sexually explicit material available to a child.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

By Sarah Hawke

A Catholic brother found guilty of indecently assaulting 18 boys at a boarding school in southern New South Wales has been sentenced to more than nine years in prison.

William Peter Standen was sentenced on 18 charges in the District Court in Sydney over offences that occurred in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

In March, he pleaded guilty to the offences, which happened when he was a year seven boarding-house master.

In sentencing the 67-year-old, Judge Anthony Blackmore described what the victims, who were mostly 12, had suffered.

The court heard Standen repeatedly asked the victims to go to his room after dark where he slapped and rubbed their naked buttocks, in another case he rubbed the genitals of a boy on a camping trip.

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SCOTLAND
Scottish Catholic Observer

Tina Campbell, head of safeguarding, reacts to Pope Francis’ latest Apostolic letter, issued motu proprio, and speaks of Scottish progress

POPE Francis has established new legal procedures to remove bishops who mishandle sex abuse cases, saying they can be removed from office if the Vatican finds they were negligent in doing their jobs.

In an Apostolic letter published last Saturday, the Holy Father answered a long-running demand by victims of abuse and their advocates to hold bishops accountable for failing to prevent clerical sex abuse. Victims have long accused bishops of covering up for abuse, moving rapists from parish to parish rather than reporting them to police.

In Scotland, the Church’s national safeguarding co-ordinator, Tina Campbell (above) said the motu proprio letter was another sign of ‘serious and ongoing commitment’ to tackling the scourge of clerical child abuse.

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GUAM
KUAM

By Krystal Paco

A mass for healing was held at the Father Duenas Boys Chapel in Mangilao earlier today. In Father Jeff San Nicolas’ homily, he agreed with the apostolic administrator Archbishop Savio Tai Fai Hon who on Thursday asked that we address the church’s ongoing issues in the right climate.

“He said we want to address the issues. There’s no doubt about it. He said it’s important for us to do it in the right climate. A climate of a church. A climate of peace. A climate of sincerity. A climate of serenity,” he detailed. “And it thought that was so wise. Because you and I know that when we have attitude in our hearts and we want to solve a problem, that attitude just oozes out. And we’re not coming with the right disposition.”

In attendance were Archbishop Anthony Apuron’s accusers – Walter Denton, Doris Concepcion, and John Toves. All are former Agat residents have returned on island to address allegations of molestation and rape made against Apuron.

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GUAM
KUAM

By Sabrina Salas Matanane

Former Guam resident John Toves is back on island. Toves was the first person to come forward making allegations of sex abuse against Archbishop Anthony Apuron. In 2014 he arrived on island accusing the Archbishop of abusing his cousin when he was a seminarian. His relative however never came forward and the allegation was never investigated.

Toves attended a mass held on Thursday by the Apostolic Administrator Archbishop Savio Tai Fai Hon. The Archbishop was appointed by the Pope sede plena to take temporary control of the Archdiocese of Agana.

During his homily the Archbishop outlined his task assigned by the Pope while here on Guam. He told those in attendance at St. Anthony Church in Tamuning that Archbishop Apuron keeps his title but he will not make any decisions about the diocese and should cooperate in total serene and fulfillment of the Apostolic Administrators mandate.

He also explained that when an Apostolic Administrator is appointed “sede plena” it means that the Holy Father and a particular diocesan bishop have decided together that for whatever reason is no longer available or fit for the function and will take leave. The diocesan bishop is then relieved of pastoral responsibility and all administrative authority of their Church. The Pope then takes over the church and appoints an Apostolic Administrator to act on his behalf.

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KANSAS
Kansas City Star

BY LAURA BAUER
lbauer@kcstar.com

A lawsuit filed this week alleges that a Lenexa church allowed a teen member to volunteer around children even though officials knew he had a history of sexual abuse.

Officials of Westside Family Church deny the allegation, a lawyer for the church said.

Kessler Lichtenegger pleaded guilty last year to attempted rape and attempted electronic solicitation involving two girls under age 14 who attended Westside. The lawsuit, filed Wednesday by lawyers Rebecca Randles and Antwaun Smith on behalf of the two victims, alleges the church knew of Lichtenegger’s extensive past sexual conduct and crimes involving children.

“But nevertheless (the church) allowed him to have unsupervised and dangerous access to all children in the congregation,” the lawsuit says. “Plaintiffs’ parents believed their children were safe while attending Westside and trusted (the church) to protect their children and not put them in harm’s way.”

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IRELAND
Irish Examiner

Friday, June 10, 2016

Joyce Fegan

A total of 116 new allegations of sexual abuse were reported to the Catholic Church’s National Board for Safeguarding Children from last April to March 2016.

There were 65 allegations made against diocesan priests and 51 were reported in relation to religious priests and Brothers and Sisters.

Separately, there were 37 allegations of emotional and physical abuse against one religious congregation.

The majority of the abuse reported in this period of April 2015 to March 2016, related to incidences that took place in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.

There was also an incident of alleged abuse that took place in 2015.

“This one case [2015] deserves particular mention as it happened so recently, demonstrating that a risk to children still exists,” the report published said.

Overall, there was an increase in allegations made against diocesan priests from 58 in the last report to this year’s 65.

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GUAM
Daily Reporter

By GRACE GARCES BORDALLO Associated Press
First Posted: June 09, 2016

HAGATNA, Guam — Members of the Catholic church in Guam are reacting with devastation to the accusations that Archbishop Anthony Apuron sexually abused young boys decades ago, but they’re saying they’re still resilient in their faith.

“Everybody’s talking about it. It’s causing a lot of mistrust, anger, and pointing fingers. It’s devastating,” said Patricia Perry, 73.

“We’re neighbors. We grew up together. It’s very conflicting to believe anything,” Perry said. “I just can’t see the archbishop doing those things.”

Pope Francis on Monday named Archbishop Savio Hon Tai-Fai to take over the Hagatna archdiocese after abuse allegations against Apuron resurfaced in recent weeks. A church deacon publicly accused Apuron of keeping the archdiocese’s sex abuse policy weak to protect himself.

In a prayer meeting with clergy and faithful in a packed church on Thursday, Hon sought cooperation and said he was following the Holy Father’s instructions to restore unity, harmony and stability in the local church. Apuron will continue to hold his title, but any decisions are removed from him, Hon said.

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ROME
Crux

Inés San Martín
June 10, 2016
VATICAN CORRESPONDENT

ROME- A leading Catholic expert on the fight against child sexual abuse says Pope Francis has just fired a shot across the bow to Catholic bishops across the world, the substance of which is, “They have to follow the rules.”

The pontiff recently issued a legal document laying out a process for removing bishops who are negligent in responding to abuse allegations. German Jesuit Father Hans Zollner said that while it “doesn’t clarify everything,” it nonetheless “gives a clear signal to bishops: they have to follow the rules.”

Zollner, a member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors created by Francis in 2014, is academic vice-rector of the Jesuit-run Gregorian University in Rome and head of its Institute of Psychology, home of the “Center for Child Protection,” which runs a one-of-a-kind seminar on preventing and responding to sexual abuse.

Next Tuesday, the first 19 students in the “Safeguarding of Minors” program will graduate, and the quota for next year’s course is already full.

Of the new graduates, 11 come from African countries, a continent where, according to Zollner, “sensitivity for the issue of safeguarding children’s rights is very underdeveloped,” and not only within the Church but in society at large. …

Speaking of his decades-old experience fighting clerical sexual abuse, he admitted to being “frustrated” at the fact that in some Eastern European countries, as well as parts of Africa, Asia and Latin America, there are still priests who see this as a “Western problem.”

“That’s frustrating, because this is an obvious denial of reality by people who should know better,” he said.

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UNITED STATES
Philly.com

JUNE 10, 2016

By Thomas G. Plante

The Boston Globe Spotlight team that reported on the clergy abuse crisis in the Catholic Church in 2002, and whose efforts were highlighted in an Academy Award-winning movie, recently uncovered widespread sexual abuse perpetrated by teachers and other employees against children under their charge at many of the nation’s elite private schools.

According to the Globe’s recent report, 67 private schools, including Phillips Exeter, Deerfield, Taft, Thayer, and, most famously, St. George’s School, had more than 200 sexual abuse victims and 90 family lawsuits over sexual victimization during the past 25 years. Their data is based on responses from more than 200 schools at a 10 percent rate, so we are left wondering what the other 90 percent might be hiding.

When these crimes came to light, the perpetrators often were protected and transferred to other schools, and efforts were made by administrators to silence and intimidate victims and to protect the image and reputation of these prestigious educational institutions. Sound familiar?

A quick review of the news last month:

In Western Pennsylvania, a grand jury found “systematic failures” to protect students from several teachers in the Plum School District. The teachers, news articles stated, engaged in both sexual abuse and witness intimidation. Sadly, only so much can be done to the perpetrators due to the statute of limitations.

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AUSTRALIA
Daily Advertiser

Ken Grimson
June 10, 2016

BETH Heinrich’s fight for recognition of the immense damage done to her life by a senior Anglican Church cleric takes another step forward on Sunday when she receives an apology from the Bishop of Grafton.

The apology for the former Wagga and Temora woman will be delivered by Bishop Sarah Macneil in Christ Church Cathedral in front of her congregation.

Ms Heinrich is driving more than 1200 kilometres in a small car from her home in north-eastern Victoria to receive the apology more than 10 years in the making.

She went public in 2005 to reveal she had been sexually abused as a 14-year-old girl in a Forbes Anglican Church hostel in the 1950s by then assistant priest and hostel warden, Donald Shearman.

Shearman rose to become the Bishop of Grafton and the pair had an on-and-off adult relationship which Ms Heinrich puts down to the cleric having an emotional hold over her as a result of the earlier abuse.

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OKLAHOMA
The Duncan Banner

By Christian Betancourt The Duncan Banner

Jody Hilliard, a 71-year-old retired assistant pastor accused of molesting an out-of-town 10-year-old female relative while she visited Duncan, will see a special district judge at 1:30 p.m. Aug. 16 for a preliminary hearing.

The hearing will qualify the evidence of the case in order to proceed to a higher court. Court documents state the mother of the victim and the investigating detective will be called as witnesses.

Hilliard faces two counts of lewd or indecent acts with a child under 12, a felony.

If convicted, court document state he could face a minimum of 25 years imprisonment and would have to serve 85 percent of his sentence.

The charges stem from an incident that allegedly occurred while the minor visited and stayed with Hilliard.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

Archivist comes forward with details about boys’ home records thought to be missing

By Giselle Wakatama

A retired police officer has alleged decades of documents have been destroyed or gone missing from a New South Wales Anglican boys’ home, which is expected to be the focus of an upcoming royal commission.

The St Albans boys’ home is expected to be part of a Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse case study looking at abuse allegations in Newcastle’s Anglican diocese.

The lack of documentation has raised alarm bells with retired 20-year police veteran Greg Harding.

Mr Harding pursued convicted paedophile and ex-St Albans board member James Michael Brown, who abused 20 boys.

Brown is currently serving a minimum 12-year jail sentence.

Speaking for publicly for the first time, Mr Harding told the ABC his investigations showed decades of documents were either missing or destroyed.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Shocktivist

June 9, 2016 by Fred Clark

So this waiting for parents, aunts and uncles, on every seat of a local Catholic-school, eighth-grade graduation ceremony this week:

That’s a postcard intended to be signed and sent to state legislators by every parent of every child at this school. “Oppose H.B. 1947” the postcard says, referring to a Pennsylvania bill that would eliminate the statute of limitations for sexual crimes against children.

So what we have here is a school — an elementary school — assuring every parent of every child there that school officials actively support shorter statutes of limitations for sexual crimes against children. “We want to make it harder for the state to prosecute those who prey on children sexually,” school officials are telling the parents of the children in their care. “And we’d like you to help us do it.”
This is, quite simply, reprehensible.

I understand why these school officials, along with the entire Catholic Diocese of Philadelphia, are doing this. To be clear, they’re not fighting to make it harder to prosecute criminals who prey on children because they like criminals who prey on children. They’re not fighting to create a context in which more children will be sexually assaulted and abused because they want that to happen. But they’re still working to make that happen. They’re still taking sides with sexual predators and taking sides against the protection of Pennsylvania’s children.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Philly.com

BY KRISTEN DE GROOT
Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA — Roman Catholic legislators say they have been publicly shamed during Mass, called out in church bulletins and disinvited to parish events as the Philadelphia Archdiocese campaigns against a bill that would give victims of child sexual abuse more time to sue the church.

Rep. Nick Miccarelli, a Delaware County Republican, said he was shocked to learn that the weekly bulletin at his church mentioned that he had voted for the bill.

“I’ve been to Iraq and back and there’s very little that makes my jaw drop, but seeing that in parish bulletin, my jaw hit the floor,” said Miccarelli, who served two tours in Iraq in the Army National Guard. “I was in disbelief.”

Under the headline “JUST SO YOU ARE AWARE” the announcement reads, “State Representative Miccarelli voted in favor of House Bill 1947, which states that private institutions can be sued as far as 40 years ago for millions of dollars, while public institutions may not be sued for any crimes.”

Last weekend, a letter by Archbishop Charles Chaput was given to all 219 archdiocese parishes urging parishioners to ask their senators to vote against it.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

By Giselle Wakatama

Records from a boys’ home that is set to be the focus of a case study at a royal commission into child sexual abuse are being held at the University of Newcastle, it has emerged, after it was believed the records had been destroyed or had gone missing.

The ABC earlier today reported on claims by a retired police detective, who said he had found no records, minutes or other documents from the St Albans Anglican boys’ home, despite a “relentless pursuit” for the records.

An archivist has come forward, saying records are being held in the university’s Archives of the Anglican Diocese of Newcastle.

The archivist has passed that information on to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

The previous lack of documentation had raised alarm bells with retired 20-year police veteran Greg Harding, who had pursued convicted paedophile and ex-St Albans board member James Michael Brown, who abused 20 boys.

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FRANCE
Reuters

By Paul Taylor June 10, 2016

French police questioned the Roman Catholic cardinal-archbishop of Lyon on Wednesday for over 10 hours in an inquiry into the activities of a pedophile priest in the early 1990s and why they were not reported to the civil authorities, lawyers said.

Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, 65, who has denied covering up the activities of Father Bernard Preynat, was questioned as a witness by officers of the child and family protection brigade at a police station in the central city.

“He’s been dragged in the mud for numerous months and he wanted to respond,” Barbarin’s lawyer Jean-Felix Luciani told journalists after the cardinal emerged from questioning.

Several victims of alleged pedophile abuse have filed complaints against the prelate, who holds the honorific title of Primate of the Gauls, for failing to report the incidents to the justice authorities and leaving the accused priest in place.

Preynat was placed under judicial investigation in January for alleged sexual abuse of Catholic boy scouts in 1991 and released on bail. His lawyer said he had admitted the facts of “sexual abuse on minors under 15 years old by a person in a position of authority” to an investigating magistrate.

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PENNSYLVANIA
PennLive

By John L. Micek | jmicek@pennlive.com

As they work their way through the thicket of complicated legislation that routinely comes before them, state lawmakers face constant pressure from the legion of clout-wielding lobbyists and impassioned advocates who prowl the halls of the state Capitol.

But what happens when one of those lobbyists also, theoretically, has the power of the Creator of the Universe on their side?

Roman Catholic lawmakers who supported a state House bill that eliminates the statute of limitations for criminal cases of child sex abuse and extends the window for civil lawsuits until the victim is 50 years old, are finding out firsthand.

Take, for example, Rep. Nick Miccarelli, a Delaware County Republican, who was called out by name in the parish bulletin for St. Rose of Lima church in Eddystone, Pa.

“JUST SO YOU AWARE,” the update tucked among the routine church notices read, “State Rep. Nick Miccarelli voted in favor of House Bill 1947 which states that private institutions can be sued as far as 40 years ago for millions of dollars, while public institutions may not be sued for any crimes committed in the past.”

Miccarelli, who’s been attending the church for years, said he was shocked by the very public scolding.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Philly.com

by Maria Panaritis, STAFF WRITER

Bruce L. Castor, Jr., the former Montgomery County prosecutor now serving as the highest-ranking lawyer in the state Attorney General’s Office, plans to testify next week in a key Senate hearing on a bill that has pitted child sexual abuse victims against the Catholic Church.

In an interview Thursday, Castor confirmed his appearance Monday before the Judiciary Committee to discuss the constitutionality of a measure to let victims sue attackers and the institutions that employed them decades after the abuse occurred.

Castor wouldn’t say if he will argue for or against the bill. “I’d just as soon people find out my opinion when I testify,” he said.

He said, however, it seemed less clear-cut that such a law would be allowed by the Pennsylvania constitution than by the U.S. Constitution.

“All of us who are in law enforcement want there to be opportunities to catch criminals whether civil or criminal,” said Castor. “But there are constraints that the constitution imposes upon executive officers in carrying out those duties.”

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MICHIGAN
Central Michigan Life

By Johnathan Hogan

A motion hearing to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a former Central Michigan University student against the former priest at St. Mary’s University Parish is scheduled for 9:45 a.m. June 10.

Megan Winans is suing Father Denis Heames for alleged abuse that occurred while the two had a sexual relationship between 2012 and 2014.

The lawsuit was filed January 14. A new lawsuit was submitted after Heames was removed as a defendant from the original lawsuit, said a courthouse official.

The lawsuit claims Heames committed battery, defamation, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The lawsuit names the Roman Catholic Dioceses of Saginaw as a defendant, alleging negligent supervision and retention. The diocese and St. Mary’s, are also being sued for vicarious liability. The lawsuit also names Trudy McCaffery.

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ISRAEL
Haaretz

Yair Ettinger Jun 09, 2016

A 15-page indictment filed last month against a well-known ultra-Orthodox rabbi included detailed descriptions of sex crimes he allegedly committed against female relatives over many years. The indictment, filed in the Jerusalem District Court, caused an earthquake in ultra-Orthodox society.

The affair has been covered with unprecedented intensity on news sites for the Haredi community, but most of the ultra-Orthodox media – newspapers and radio stations – haven’t even hinted that such an affair exists.

The indictment has been shared on Haredi Facebook pages and in internet forums. It has been sent out via email and WhatsApp, and has penetrated the layer that has thickened in the ultra-Orthodox community over decades, if not generations.

The dissemination of the indictment hasn’t just broken down conspiracies of silence, it has ended the automatic lack of trust against the complainants and the accuser – the Israeli government.

Everyone is talking about it on the street and in synagogues. Teachers and parents are talking about it at schools. No one can ignore it, and many people are terrified.

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NEW YORK
The Journal News

Steve Lieberman, slieberm@lohud.com

Two state legislators from Rockland are urging the state Education Department to strictly review new fire safety inspections reports done at dozens of private schools or order new, independent reviews of the buildings.

The county, at the state’s behest, had sought to inspect many of the schools itself only to have the schools secure required inspections and certifications elsewhere. Ramapo also did 23 re-inspections of schools after its then fire inspector was accused of filing false inspection reports.

Assemblyman Kenneth Zebrowski, D-New City, and state Sen. David Carlucci, D-Rockland, both wrote to Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia questioning the circumstances surrounding both sets of inspections – including whether it was right to have Ramapo re-inspect the work of its own tainted inspector.

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NEW YORK
National Catholic Reporter

Peter Feuerherd | Jun. 9, 2016

NEW YORK
As the New York state legislature plans to close up shop for its annual session by the end of this month, the Catholic bishops are hoping to run out the clock on a bill that would lift the statute of limitations on sex abuse crimes.

A bill passed by the state Assembly would lift the statute of limitations on future sex abuse crimes against minors, which now prohibits lawsuits five years after victims pass their 18th birthday. The bill would also provide a one-year window allowing for lawsuits in old cases.

Proponents say the measure would balance the scales of justice and provide child sex abuse victims with their day in court. Opponents argue that it would be impossible to fairly judge decades-old cases, that the legislation unfairly exempts public institutions, and that the legal costs would bankrupt the Catholic church in the state.

Similar measures enacted elsewhere eventually resulted in the Wilmington, Del., diocese filing for bankruptcy and for an increase in liabilities for dioceses in California and Minnesota.

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ROME
National Catholic Reporer – Global Sisters Report

by Joshua J. McElwee

The Vatican’s congregation for religious life has summoned to Rome the superior of one of the major orders of U.S. Catholic sisters, asking her to “report on some areas of concern” following the controversial six-year investigation of the country’s communities of women religious.

The head of the Sisters of Loretto, a Kentucky-based community founded in the early 19th century to educate pioneer children but now known for strong stands on social justice issues, has been asked to explain alleged “ambiguity” in the order’s adherence to church teaching and its way of living religious life.

While the summons from the Vatican’s Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life is directed specifically at the Sisters of Loretto, it may raise questions for other U.S. women religious communities of apostolic life, who were subject to an unprecedented Vatican inquiry, known as an apostolic visitation, starting in 2008.

Although the congregation formally closed that visitation in December 2014 with the release of a report on the state of religious life in the U.S., it has in at least this instance used material gathered in the investigation to inquire into the life of the order.

Loretto President Sr. Pearl McGivney announced her summoning to Rome in a short June 1 letter to her order’s members. In her letter, a copy of which was obtained by GSR, McGivney says she has been asked to visit the Vatican Oct. 18 to report on five so-called “areas of concern.” …

One of the order’s members has however drawn the Vatican’s interest several times in the past.

Sr. Jeannine Gramick — who was a member of the School Sisters of Notre Dame before joining the Loretto community in 2001 — was first criticized by the Vatican’s religious congregation in 1984 for cofounding New Ways Ministry, a Maryland-based group that advocates for LGBT Catholics.

In 1999, the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a public notification about Gramick’s work.

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NEW YORK
The Island Now

It is hard to believe that in 2016 New York State law still prohibits victims of child sex abuse from bringing criminal charges or civil claims against abusers after their 23 birthday.

The trauma of a child sexually abused by an adult, usually one in a position of authority, can last for decades and coming forward to seek justice is often a gut-wrenching decision.

To then deny the victims — children assaulted by adults — the chance for justice is unimaginably cruel.
North Shore residents were recently reminded of this when the Catholic order that runs Chaminade High School suspended its former president from serving as a priest after finding allegations that he sexually abused a former student “were credible.”

The current Chaminade president, Brother Thomas Cleary, said the prestigious Mineola parochial school did not learn about the alleged abuse in 2011 until February 2015.

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GUAM
Guam Daily Post

Louella Losinio | Post News Staff

The Vatican’s newly appointed apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of Agana, Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai, addressed the island’s Catholic community and clergy at St. Anthony Church in Tamuning for the first time yesterday, saying that “he will not work alone” in his duties, hinting that a team will help him accomplish his ministry on Guam.

Hon also called on those who were there to “contribute something for the unity of the island.”

Hon was named apostolic administrator sede plena for the Archdiocese of Agana by the Vatican on Monday following an announcement that Pope Francis had relieved Archbishop Anthony Apuron of his duties and appointed an interim administrator for the archdiocese.

During his address yesterday, Hon said “Apuron will still bear the title as the archbishop of Agana but from this appointment on, he will not take on any decision about the archdiocese.”

He added that Apuron should also cooperate in the fulfillment of the apostolic administrator’s mandate.

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GUAM
Guam Daily Post

Louella Losinio | Post News Staff

Walter Denton, who has accused Archbishop Anthony Apuron of sexual molestation, yesterday attended a prayer vigil in Agat, the site of his alleged rape, and disclosed that he has spoken to other victims of sex abuse by the archbishop.

“I’ve spoken with other victims but it is up to those victims to come out,” Denton said. “I am encouraging them to please come out.”

Denton and Doris Concepcion, accompanied by family and supporters, walked the path toward the building which used to be the rectory of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church in Agat – the same building where Denton said then-parish priest, now Archbishop Anthony Apuron raped him nearly four decades ago.

Denton and Concepcion, the mother of Joseph Quinata, comforted each other at the steps of the building, which is now an administration office of Mount Carmel School.

Conception has said that Quinata told her he was sexually abused by Apuron in the late 1970s shortly before his death in 2005.

“That is the door that I opened but couldn’t go anywhere. That is the door that I opened up. It was so dark outside. I couldn’t leave. I was so afraid. I closed that door and I just stayed in that living room,” Denton said.

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WALES
Wales Online

BY TYLER MEARS

A Roman Catholic priest arrested on suspicion of historical child sexual abuse died on the day he was due to report to police.

An inquest held at Aberdare Coroner’s Court on Wednesday heard how Father Ernest Sands, 67, was found hanged at his home in Hirnant, Oswestry, on April 11.

Father Sands was arrested last year on suspicion of sexually abusing five boys aged between 11 and 15. The allegations related to him serving as a Catholic priest in the late 1970s and 1980s.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Natonal Catholic Register

by CNA/EWTN NEWS 06/09/2016

PHILADELPHIA — A proposed Pennsylvania bill unfairly targets religious entities over public institutions — despite its claim to aid sex-abuse victims, Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia said June 6.

“The problem with HB 1947 is its prejudicial content. It covers both public and religious institutions — but in drastically different and unjust ways. The bill fails to support all survivors of abuse equally, and it’s a clear attack on the Church, her parishes and her people,” the archbishop said in a letter to the parishioners of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

He charged that the bill poses “serious dangers” to Catholic parishes and ministries.

“In other states where similar legislation passed, local parishes have been sued, resulting in parish and school closures and charity work being crippled,” the archbishop wrote.

The bill passed the state House of Representatives by a vote of 180-15.

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KANSAS
KCTV

[with video]

By Kylie Callura, Digital Producer
kylie.callura2@kctv5.com
By Jeanene Kiesling, Reporter

LENEXA, KS (KCTV) –
A Lenexa church is facing a hefty lawsuit after a teenage member sexually abused children and one of the assaults happened at the church.

In October 2015, Kessler Lichtenegger was convicted on half a dozen charges including rape and sodomy after he was accused of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl in the parking lot of the Westside Family Church. He was also accused of using social media to make sexual advances toward an 11-year-old girl who was also a member of the church.

On Wednesday, the young girls’ families filed a lawsuit against the church insisting church leaders knew Lichtenegger had a previous conviction for sexual assault from 2012.

“We weren’t aware of events of 2012 where he was convicted of some kind of sexual offense,” said Brad Russell, who represents the church.

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UTAH
Herald & Review

BRADY McCOMBS Associated Press Writer

SALT LAKE CITY – A fourth Navajo is suing the Mormon church, alleging religious leaders didn’t do enough to protect him from sexual abuse he endured by his foster father in a now-defunct church program that placed thousands of American Indian children with Mormon families.

The man says in a complaint filed this week in Navajo Nation court that he reported the abuse that occurred in the late 1970s in northern Utah to workers in the Mormon program, but he was told to remain at the home.

The man, who is identified as L.K. in the lawsuit, said he felt relief to discover that he wasn’t alone when he read an article in March about two Navajo siblings who filed the first lawsuit making similar allegations. He has spent most his adult life trying to avoid facing the abuse, struggling with feelings of inferiority, he said after a news conference held by his attorney and sexual abuse prevention advocates.

“It’s horrible. You relive it. You see the person who did this. You see their silhouette,” he said about abuse that occurred when he was a seventh-grader. “It broke me. When a Native American is broken, he has to fix himself.”

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NEW YORK
Epic Times

May 19, 2016

Matthew Sandusky, the abused son of infamous child molester Jerry Sandusky, has revealed plans to join anti-abuse protesters at a Whole Foods Market demonstration in New York City at the end of May.

The upcoming protest is supported by the junior Sandusky’s organization, Peaceful Hearts Foundation, with additional support by Survivors Network of those Abused By Priests (SNAP), and the National Association of Adult Survivors of Child Abuse (NAASCA).

The protest targets Whole Foods co-CEO and co-founder John Mackey’s ties with so-called “spiritual leader” Marc Gafni, who has been repeatedly accused of sexually abusing children.

The New York Times described Gafni as a former rabbi with a “troubled past.”

Mackey has referred to Gafni as a “bold visionary,” and has yet to disavow the spiritual leader.

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CANADA
Catholic Register

BY CATHOLIC REGISTER EDITORIAL
June 9, 2016

Change comes slowly at the Vatican. On the issue of clerical sexual abuse of children, Rome’s methodical approach has caused Pope Francis to endure barbs for dallying on a pledge to get tough on abusers within the Church.

So it was good news on June 3 when Francis was able, at last, to issue an edict that puts bishops on the front line of accountability. By formalizing new rules that provide for the removal of bishops who fail to act, or who act insufficiently, when becoming aware of an abuser priest, the Pope has not only advanced the cause of justice for child victims and vulnerable adults, but has taken a small but important step on the long road towards repairing the Church’s wounded reputation.

The apostolic letter is appropriately titled “As a loving Mother.” That is how bishops are expected to act — like mothers nurturing their children. Of course, the vast majority of them already do. Many individual dioceses have been way ahead of the Vatican in implementing strict guidelines and accepting responsibility on this subject.

But there has also been numerous cases of bishops, confronted by a guilty priest, who have protected, transferred or covered up for an abuser. Almost as much as the crime itself, that response appalled the general public and particularly horrified Catholics. A see-no-evil response also left many dioceses exposed to multi-million-dollar lawsuits while undermining trust and tarnishing the Church’s moral authority.

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UNITED STATES
Boston.com

By Bryanna Cappadona

Though Spotlight, the movie about The Boston Globe’s uncovering of a sex abuse scandal in the Catholic Church, took home the biggest award of the night at the 2016 Academy Awards, humble guy Mark Ruffalo, who was nominated for his supporting role in the movie, didn’t think the movie would actually nab the trophy.

“That kind of blew my mind a little bit,” Ruffalo said on Wednesday’s The Tonight Show when host Jimmy Fallon mentioned Spotlight’s Oscar win.

“You guys didn’t think you were going to win?” Fallon asked.

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MASSACHUSETTS
Worcester Magazine

By Walter Bird Jr. -June 9, 2016022

He has been bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Worcester for 12 years and celebrated his 17th anniversary of being ordained as bishop in February. Late last month, he observed his 38th anniversary of being ordained as a priest. Bishop Robert McManus will turn 65 in July, and it is safe to say he has seen a lot transpire in and around the Catholic Church. The clergy sex abuse scandal would qualify as the lowest of lows during his time with the Church, and the closing of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Worcester earlier this year has generated more controversy for the Diocese – and McManus, in particular. We sat with McManus recently to talk about the state of Church, the drama surrounding Mount Carmel and more.

What is the overall health of the Catholic faith and the Catholic Church? I would say it is in a weakening position, only because as I said I was ordained as a priest 38 years ago. If you had told me the Church in New England would be in the state it is today, I would have found it very hard to believe. My first parish, there were four full-time priests. There were 120 people in what is called CYC here. There were 50-60 kids on our ski trip every winter. Every Mass was packed. There were a number of sisters of mercy teaching at school. That same parish today has one priest. The school is closed. Attendance at Mass is less than superlative. A perfect storm descended on the Church, in New England, especially. I was astounded that New England has now become one of the most un-churched areas, sections of the U.S.

Has it? When you say un-churched, you mean number of churches closed? No, the people claiming to be religious, whatever their religious denomination in terms of church practices. And I have not seen the statistic myself, but someone said to me in passing a couple weeks ago that there was a survey done of religiosity — a practice of any religion throughout the country, the 50 states — somebody told me that Massachusetts was 49th, 50th being the worst. It’s hard to believe, because New England especially, for example growing up in Rhode Island, we were 65 percent Roman Catholic. Same with Massachusetts, they used to call it Catholic Boston, it was so, so catholic.You say “perfect storm.” Talk about that. I would describe the perfect storm as radical secularism that has descended on our country, western civilization, but certainly on the United States. That scandal that happened broke out with terrible ferocity in 2002, and the effect that it had on people of the faith, those three things came together and it has weakened the position of the church in New England and here in Massachusetts and … the Catholic Diocese Worcester. However, what it has forced us to do is to commit ourselves to what Pope John Paul II, what Pope Benedict and Pope Francis now has coined: the new Evangelization. I believe that there is what is called a vestigial Catholicism. If people were trained and raised as Catholics in a real solid fashion, there is a basis there of the faith that I hope, with the grace of God, can be revitalized and brought to the floor.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Catholics4Change

JUNE 9, 2016 BY SUSAN MATTHEWS

FACT SHEET:
On the Constitutionality of HB 1947

Background: Currently in Pennsylvania, a survivor of child sex abuse has until age 50 to file criminal charges and age 30 to initiate a civil suit if the abuse occurred after 2002. Anyone abused before that year has much less time to report abuse.

HB 1947 seeks to eliminate time barriers to file criminal and civil cases for those abused after the bill becomes law. It would affect both private and public institutions, however much misinformation has been spread about this bill and its constitutionality.

Claim: HB 1947 is unconstitutional.

Fact: This charge has been leveled against attempts to reform the statute of limitations in numerous other states, including California, Delaware, Massachusetts and Connecticut. In all of these cases, the legislation was found to be constitutional.

Claim: HB 1947 does not apply to public institutions.

Fact: HB 1947 will apply equally to private and public institutions going forward. Due to the sovereign immunity protections afforded to state institutions by the Constitution
of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, it appears that this reform cannot apply retroactively to them.

Claim: HB 1947 specifically targets the Catholic Church.

Fact: Statute of limitations reform is not limited to any specific group or organization, religious or otherwise. In fact, there are countless institutions that have protected abusers, such as schools, hospitals, scout organizations, sports programs and juvenile facilities. Furthermore, over 90 percent of survivors were abused by family members or close acquaintances, which will also be covered by HB 1947.

From the Foundation to Abolish Child Sex Abuse – Protecting Children/Restoring Hope

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UNITED STATES
The New Yorker

By Rebecca Makkai , JUNE 8, 2016

Last week, the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s office released a victim-impact statement written by the twenty-three-year-old woman raped on the Stanford campus. The statement, which has gone viral, is sharp, clear, stunningly open, occasionally funny. Its author is a very good writer in the purest way: she makes us feel some sliver of what she felt.

I was startled to learn that she’d read this statement out loud in court to her assailant—that she hadn’t just been able to slip it under the judge’s door in the middle of the night and leave it at that. I wrote my own victim-impact statement at sixteen, and, on Monday, as I read about the Stanford case, I tried to remember what the procedure had been; I thought I had handed mine in like a term paper, or sent it through the mail. And then, on Monday night, it came back to me, twenty-two years after the fact: I did read my own statement out loud, in court, to my abuser. I’d had a choice, and I chose to do it. I might have been braver then than I am now.

That I didn’t remember this before has less to do with my blocking it out than with the fact that the memory is overshadowed by bigger plot points. Because as soon as I delivered the statement, I was accused of plagiarism.

It was the summer of 1994, and I’d been listening to “Janie’s Got a Gun” on repeat since May. That summer, I read James Joyce for the first time; I also still had an American Girl doll in my closet. I was ten years past learning to ride a two-wheeler; I was ten years from publishing my first short story. From the age of seven to thirteen, I had been sexually molested by a family friend who occasionally lived in our house; in the summer of 1994, I was a few months from losing my virginity to someone I liked. I was closer to a healthy sense of sexuality, both chronologically and emotionally, than I was to the abuse.

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NEW YORK
Syracuse.com

By Special to syracuse.com
on June 09, 2016

The writer is an adjunct professor at Onondaga Community College, serves on the board of Vera House and speaks publicly about the issue of sexual abuse.

By Jennifer Nadler

I went back and forth about writing about the Child Victims Act that appears to be dead in the water. The state Senate recently voted it down 30 to 29. I can’t change the vote. Sen. DeFrancisco’s opinion is the statutes of limitations in child sexual abuse cases should not be eliminated. I probably won’t change his opinion. While there are many things I cannot change, I choose to focus on what I can. I stayed silent for so many years about the sexual abuse that was destroying my life. I can no longer stay silent. Today, I choose to use my voice.

I am a professor, a wife, a mother, and I am a sexual abuse survivor. I was repeatedly abused by a family member when I was 12 and 13 years old. It took 25 years to be able to say this without embarrassment or shame, without guilt or regret, without fear or self-loathing. It was 25 years too long.

I did not tell. I could not tell. I would not tell a soul. Frequently, children don’t tell. They believe it is their fault. I believed it was mine. I carried around a suitcase full of guilt and shame. With every passing year, that suitcase became heavier and heavier. In my mid-20s, my life unraveled until there was nothing left of me but that scared, ashamed, broken little 12-year-old girl.

Many people don’t understand why it takes so long for survivors to come forward. It is not a choice. It is a coping mechanism. Each survivor has his or her way of dealing with the trauma and emotional pain of sexual abuse. Drinking, doing drugs, binge eating, being a workaholic, gambling, acting out sexually are just some of the destructive behaviors that get survivors through their darkest of days. Eventually our coping mechanisms are no longer enough to keep our secrets and our pain at bay.

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IRELAND
KCLR

By MaryAnn Vaughan

A local hospital is being included in an investigation into Mother and Baby homes.

St Columba’s Hospital in Thomastown is one of just four county homes to be included in the investigation.

14 mother and baby homes are also being looked into.

The Commission of Investigation are appealing to any locals who may have been a resident in or worked in St Columba’s, or any of the other institutions, up to 1998 to contact them.

Their freephone number is 1800 80 66 88.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Westdeutche Zeitung

[Georg K. has been defrocked by the Vatican for sexually abusing minors.]

Willich/Kreis Viersen. Der aus Willich stammende Georg K. ist nicht länger Priester. Das teilt das Bistum Aachen in einer Presseerklärung mit. Zu Beginn 2015 war K. vor dem Landgericht Krefeld zu sechs Jahren Haft verurteilt worden, weil er sich an Minderjährigen vergangen hatte.

Aus der Presseerklärung geht auch indirekt hervor, warum dieser Schritt jetzt so schnell erfolgte. Zwar hatte die Glaubenskongregation in Rom die Akten geprüft, letztlich hatte aber wohl den Ausschlag gegeben, dass K. selbst seine Laisierung angestrebt hatte. Diesem Entlassungsgesuch war Papst Franziskus nachgekommen. Mit dem Verlust des Priesteramtes verbundes ist, dass Georg K. kein Amt mehr ausüben darf, das die Weihe voraussetzt. „Von Herzen wünsche ich den betroffenen Opfern, dass der Abschluss des Verfahrens und die Entlassung aus dem Priesteramt bei der Verarbeitung des erlittenen Leids hilft“, erklärt Andreas Frick, ständiger Vertreter des Diözesanadministrators. Und: „Wir werden weiterhin das uns Mögliche tun, hierbei zu helfen“, so Frick weiter.

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VATICAN CITY/SPAIN
Crux

Inés San Martín
June 9, 2016
VATICAN CORRESPONDENT

After Cardinal Antonio Cañizares of Valencia said “we have legislation contrary to the family, the action of political and social forces, with added movements and actions of the gay empire,” a coalition of pro-LGBT groups charged him with hate crimes under Spanish law.

ROME- Criminal proceedings under hate speech laws have been initiated against a Spanish cardinal for his commentary on theories styling gender as a personal preference, in which he termed them “the most insidious ideology in the history of humanity,” and for his warnings against a “gay empire.”

The Spanish Network of Help to Refugees has filed a complaint against Cardinal Antonio Cañizares of Valencia for his remarks, made on May 13. Under Spanish law, such a charge is required to be investigated.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis warned on Thursday against an excessive rigidity, saying those within the Church who tell us “it’s this or nothing” are heretics and not Catholics. His remarks came the morning Mass on Thursday celebrated at the Santa Marta residence.

In his homily the Pope reflected on the harm caused by Churchmen who do the opposite of what they preach and urged them to free themselves from a rigid idealism that prevents reconciliation between each other.

Taking his cue from Jesus’ warning to his disciples that unless their righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees they will not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, Pope Francis stressed the importance of Christian realism. Jesus, he said, asks us to go beyond the laws and love God and neighbour, stressing that whoever is angry with their brother will be liable to judgement.

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GUAM
KUAM

[with video]

By Sabrina Salas Matanane

The new temporary leader of the Archdiocese of Agana, Archbishop Savio Tai Fai Hon, met with local clergy, religious and dedicated lay faithful this afternoon as part of a mass at St. Anthony’s Church in Tamuning. Archbishop Hon was appointed by the Pope on Monday as the apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of Agana amid sex abuse allegations against Archbishop Anthony Apuron.

Archbishop Hon delivered his homily with a message of love and unity. He explained what his responsibilities are as apostolic administrator. He said that although Archbishop Apuron is still archbishop, he will not make any decisions about the archdiocese and should cooperate in total fulfillment of the apostolic administration. He asked that as he fulfills his task and mission that each and everyone present during the mass and outside put their energy toward unity of the church.

Archbishop Hon has been tasked by the Pope to take stock of the present pastoral situation of the diocese, to identify the difficulties present among the clergy, religious and lay faithful and to take urgent measures, at the earliest, in order to promote and restore unity and harmony in the local church.

After carefully discerning the archdiocese needs he will take all necessary actions to assure that that goal is implemented.

Parishioners from Barrigada and Santa Rita reacted to the call for unity with hope.

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AUSTRALIA
Herald Sun

AAP

Abuse survivors have reacted angrily to a Salvation Army decision to top up less than a quarter of compensation claims for South Australian abuse victims.

The Salvation Army Southern Territory revisited payouts to hundreds of people who were brutally abused in Salvo homes in Adelaide between 1940 and 1990.

The review followed a child abuse royal commission hearing last October, which found the SAST’s approach to redress was legalistic and at times uncaring.

Floyd Tidd, the army’s territorial commander in South Australia committed to a review of the claims during the commission hearing.

He announced on Wednesday the review was completed and 73 of 422 claims had been identified as warranting a top-up payment because victims may not have been “treated fairly and consistently relative to the bulk of other settled claims”.

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KENTUCKY
Insider Louisville

By SARA HAVENS | June 8, 2016

Kentucky State Rep. Jim Wayne, D-Louisville, has been quite busy working on a passion he’s had for years. Somewhere in the midst of serving in public office (since 1991) and working as a psychotherapist, he went back to school and received his MFA in fiction from Spalding University in 2012. And now, he’s debuting his first novel, “The Unfinished Man,” a fictional story that examines sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.

Wayne says the idea for the book had been brewing for years, and after he received his formal training from Spalding, he used his downtime to write.

“To tell you the truth, I most often relax when I write,” he tells Insider. “Most of my work in psychotherapy and the legislature taxes the side of my brain that is logical, sequential and focused on goals. In writing, some of those skills are used, but the writing muses play best in the other side of the brain. It all keeps me balanced.”

The story of “The Unfinished Man” tackles a subject that is important to Wayne: Throughout his time as a representative, he has worked closely with victims of Catholic clergy sexual abuse and sponsored legislation to tighten the reporting requirements and penalties for sexual abuse of minors.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Daily Mail

A former Archbishop of York is under investigation by police over allegations he covered up for a paedophile colleague.

Lord Hope is suspected of shielding the Very Reverend Robert Waddington, who died in 2007.

North Yorkshire police yesterday confirmed it was looking into the Church of England’s ‘handling of allegations of historic child abuse’. Officers said the inquiry is ‘at an early stage’.

Lord Hope, 76, quit his post as a bishop in the Diocese of Bradford shortly after a damning report was published into sex abuse within the Church in 2014.

Judge Sally Cahill’s findings claimed that while serving as Archbishop, he had put children in harm’s way by protecting Waddington from a series of allegations.

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GUAM
KUAM

[with video]

By Krystal Paco

It was an emotional homecoming for former Agat residents Walter Denton and Doris Concepcion. United by tragedy, but moving forward with one purpose – to ensure the removal of Archbishop Anthony Apuron – who they believe is hiding behind the cloth. Both live in separate cities in Arizona, but are here on Guam to share with everyone and anyone their story.

“That’s where it happened – right there. That’s the room. Right there where everything happened,” said Denton tearfully upon approaching what used to be the rectory for the Mount Carmel Catholic Church, now the used as the administration building for Mount Carmel School. He alleges he was 13 years old when he was raped by archbishop apuron. Denton was an altar boy at Mount Carmel Church in Agat and Apuron a priest. On Thursday, he looked back at the scene of the alleged crime.

“I always believed, when I left the island, I always knew there were others,” he shared. “Coming here brought back the pain. It brought back the pain and it hurts.”

Last week Concepcion came forward alleging her son Joseph “Sonny” Quinata was on his deathbed 11 years ago when he shared his secret – that he too was allegedly molested by Apuron when he was an altar boy in the southern village. Concepcion was compelled by Roy Quinatanillla – who just weeks prior – publicly accused Apuron of molesting him.

Since the allegations of sexual abuse, the archbishop denied them, and the archdiocese stood by him claimed he was the victim of a malicious smear campaign and conspiracy to take him down. Concepcion said, “He’s not a man of God, I’m sorry. He hides behind that cloth. That’s all he does. And we are not attacking the church or our religion.”

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ILLINOIS
Univision

[Break the silence victim of sexual abuse by the Father Wellems.]

El hombre de 50 años de edad, casado y con hijos, asegura que el padre Wellems abusó de él cuando era un niño.

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UNITED KINGDOM
The Times

Anthony Heaton-Armstrong and David Wolchover
June 9 2016
The Times

New Zealand judge Lowell Goddard’s Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) was primarily tasked with scrutinising failures by officials to investigate abuse allegations. But with the revelation last month of the vast scale of the IICSA’s so-called “truth programme” it has become clear that the inquiry has taken on itself a pseudo-judicial function quite beyond its original remit, write Anthony Heaton-Armstrong and David Wolchover.

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NEW YORK
Times Newsweekly

BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
rpozarycki@ridgewoodtimes.com @robbpoz

Things are getting personal in the fight over legislation designed to help child sex abuse victims seek justice from their attackers and those who may have protected them.

Maspeth-based Assemblywoman Margaret Markey told the Daily News on Tuesday that Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio, leader of the Diocese of Brooklyn, offered her a $5,000 payment nearly a decade ago in exchange for dropping her support of legislation known as the Child Victims Act that would expand the statute of limitations for lawsuits over child sex abuse allegations.

Markey has advocated for the bill’s passage for more than a decade and it is currently under consideration in the state legislature. The Daily News is currently running a series of articles about the bill and supports its passage.

But the Diocese of Brooklyn, which leads 1.5 million Roman Catholics in Brooklyn and Queens, opposes the act, claiming that the bill’s provisions would open the church up to a fresh round of lawsuits that would put its parishes in financial peril.

Markey claimed that DiMarzio made the offer at a December 2007 meeting at his chancery in the nowclosed Bishop Ford High School in Brooklyn. The meeting, which focused on the bill, also included Assemblyman Joseph Lentol of Brooklyn, the late Assemblyman Vito Lopez, Monsignor Kieran Harrington (now communications director for the diocese) and Sister Ellen Patricia Finn, a child sex abuse victim’s advocate and former employee of Catholic Charities.

Markey told the Daily News that she saw no reason to report the offer at the time: “Who could I report it to? He said, I said,” she was quoted as saying in the report. Although she originally stated the meeting took place in 2010, she later corrected the date.

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IRELAND
The Irish Catholic

by Greg Daly
June 9, 2016

The sole Irish member of the Vatican’s child protection commission has cautiously welcomed new rules to enable the removal from office of bishops whose actions endanger children.

The personal papal decree Comeuna madre amorevole (‘Like a loving mother’) facilitates disciplinary action against negligent bishops and their equivalents in canon law, including patriarchs of Eastern Catholic Churches and major superiors of religious orders.

Marie Collins, who has been a member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors since its foundation two years ago, welcomed the decree, telling The Irish Catholic that “anything that can improve accountability is welcome in my book”.

“What’s important to me is that it emphasises the gravity of being negligent in the area of child protection,” she added, continuing, “It’s very important that that emphasis is there now, and it’s very clearly a reason for removing a bishop.”

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UNITED STATES
Bilgrimage

William D. Lindsey

Before we left for our recent vacation, I made a promise here, I seem to recall, to read and comment on the 22 May affidavit of Jennifer Haselberger, former Chancellor for Canonical Affairs of the Catholic archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis. The affidavit is Haselberger’s testimony in the bankruptcy case of the archdiocese now pending in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Minnesota (case no. 15-30125).

I believe it was Mary Q, a good reader of this blog, who pointed me to this document, which is uploaded to the website (pdf file) of Jeff Anderson, who is representing abuse survivors suing the archdiocese. At her blog, Haselberger wrote about the affidavit the day after she made it. As she explains in this posting, she testified in support of “substantive consolidation.” She explains:

Substantive consolidation is an equitable remedy available to bankruptcy courts whereby the assets of entities closely related to the debtor, in this case the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, are combined into the bankruptcy estate.

At the heart of a motion for substantive consolidation is the question of equity and fairness. American law does not allow a corporation like the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis to misuse the benefits of the separate corporate forms of, say, parishes or foundations, to unfairly deprive creditors like the victims of sexual abuse by clergy. In other words, the test for whether substantive consolidation is appropriate in a given case is determined by the degree of interrelatedness between the entities to be consolidated and the parent organization.

And then she provides four reasons for why she supports a motion for substantive consolidation in this case:

1. “The request to consolidate does not include Catholic Charities or Commonbond Communities.” And so these Catholic, but quasi-independent entities doing works of mercy, will not be pulled into a bankruptcy settlement requiring that the archdiocese itself bear responsibility for having covered up sexual abuse cases, and can continue doing their works of mercy without penalization.

2. “The request seeks to make more assets available to compensate the victims of sexual abuse of minors by clergy.” And why is this necessary? “I believe we cannot turn a blind eye to the harm and suffering experienced by those individuals, most of whom are or were members of our Catholic community, to preserve advantages for others.”

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NEW YORK
New York Daily News

BY KENNETH LOVETT MICHAEL O’KEEFFE STEPHEN REX BROWN
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Updated: Thursday, June 9, 2016

The state Assembly may have inadvertently done the unthinkable — getting sexual abuse survivors and the Catholic Church to agree.

Advocates for reform and the church said Wednesday they opposed a bill to reform New York’s statute of limitations on claims of child sexual abuse — but for different reasons.

Advocates don’t believe the bill gives victims enough time to bring lawsuits.

“To me it’s just garbage,” said Gary Greenberg, an upstate investor who says he was sexually abused in 1966. “It’s not what we want. I think if that’s what they want to pass, don’t waste our time. We’ll just come back next year.”

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AUSTRALIA
The Canberra Times

June 9 2016

Christopher Knaus

Damian De Marco sat in the gallery of ACT parliament on Thursday, watching as new laws were introduced that could have stopped the Catholic brother who abused him so many years ago.

“In all probability, it would have saved lives,” Mr De Marco said.

It took the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse and repeated revelations about cover-ups of child abuse within the Catholic Church and other institutions to get to this point.

But, on Thursday morning, Chief Minister Andrew Barr introduced his reportable conduct scheme to the Legislative Assembly, a law designed to force institutions to report abuse complaints to an independent authority.

“The royal commission has shown that there are still too many dark places within institutions to hide those who would harm children, and there are still those who draw the blinds rather than face the embarrassment or damage that illumination may bring,” Mr Barr told the Assembly.

The scheme is modelled on the NSW system, which has been described as the best of its kind in the world.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Verdict

9 JUN 2016 MARCI A. HAMILTON

Archbishop Chaput of Philadelphia is circulating a letter to parishioners and schools to enlist Catholics to join him in his scorched earth battle against the child sex abuse victims his institution created as well as the rest of them, including the incest victims. As someone who is familiar with Chaput’s tactics against victims and statute of limitations reform ten years ago in Denver, Colorado, I am performing the public service of providing the public a factual translation of his letter, which leaves out a few details.

Dear friends,

A bill is currently pending in our state senate, HB 1947, that poses serious dangers for all of our local parishes, schools, PREP programs, charities and other Church ministries.

Translation: Well, HB 1947 is actually a watered-down version of the robust statute of limitations (SOL) reform in Delaware, Hawaii, and Minnesota. It caps all civil claims at age 50, which is actually a pretty big win for us bishops, who know that there are many victims well over the age of 50 who have yet to tell their story publicly. Especially good news for us is that many of the survivors of serial Philly predator Stanley Gana will be blocked. Thank God for small miracles! Between us: we have insurance to cover claims, and the insurance guys don’t want to have to pay on those policies, so we do have some powerful friends on our side.

With this letter, I urge you to write or telephone your local state senator and members of the state Senate Judiciary Committee to vote against HB 1947, and especially to oppose any retroactivity provision in the civil statute of limitation covering sexual abuse.

Translation: The Grand Jury reports of the Philadelphia and Altoona-Johnstown dioceses have already revealed way too many facts about our callous disregard for Catholic children. If a retroactive bill is enacted, more truth will be spilled and we will look really, really bad. Look at the tens of thousands of pages released in California! Besides, we need to get this bottled up quickly so we can divert everyone’s attention to the glorious Fortnight for Freedom for us to impose our faith on others in as many arenas as possible, whether we are talking abortion, contraception, or same-sex “behavior.” It starts June 21. I can’t wait!

All of us are rightly angered by the crime of sexual abuse.

Translation: The crime itself is just, well, despicable. The cover up, was, well, you know, necessary.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Times Herald

By Nick Miccarelli, Times Guest Columnist
POSTED: 06/09/16

I was nothing short of shocked when a dear friend of mine sent me a picture of the St. Rose of Lima Church bulletin on Saturday. It read, “State Representative Nick Miccarelli voted in favor of House Bill 1947 which states that private institutions can be sued as far as 40 years ago for millions of dollars, while public institutions may not be sued for any crimes committed in the past.” This statement, printed in the church bulletin, is patently untrue. The simplicity of this statement leaves out much, but most glaringly it leaves out the true goal of the bill. I did vote in favor of HB1947 because as I reviewed the legislation, forefront in my mind was justice for the victims, not sympathy for the predators that committed heinous crimes against children or any public or private institution that allowed sexual abuse to continue unaddressed. HB1947 will allow those who have been molested as children to have their day in court.

There is no one, and I mean no one, with any understanding of the law who would claim “public institutions may not be sued for any crimes committed in the past.” Google “Jerry Sandusky Penn State Lawsuit” if you need to see evidence that public institutions can be sued. What this bill did was to expand the statute of limitations for claims of child molestation. Put simply, it allows those people who are raped as children more time to face those who raped them. I was one of 180 members of the House of Representatives who believe this bill will help victims. We also believe that this bill would let child predators across Pennsylvania know that they will not be free from punishment if they simply run out the clock.

At first, I was shocked that my own parish would print something so misleading without so much as a phone call to me. I myself sat in the pews of St. Rose two days before the bulletin was brought to my attention by my friend. Lastly, many of my constituents have my cell phone number, and my office number is a 10-second google search away. I would have gladly made myself available to discuss this legislation with Father Canavan, a man I have immense respect for, or anyone else from St. Rose or any other organization that had concerns regarding the intent of this legislation.

It wasn’t until today that I realized the lies about this bill are being preached at more places than St. Rose. When I arrived in Harrisburg, I saw Rep. Tom Murt of Montgomery County. Tom is a fellow Iraq War veteran and possibly the kindest and most mild-mannered person I’ve met since being elected. By the way, Tom goes to a Catholic Church every single day. For the first time in almost eight years, I saw Tom Murt visibly upset. He told me how his parish, sold the same falsehoods to their parishioners as did St. Rose with him sitting right in the pews.

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GUAM
KUAM

[with video]

Updated: Jun 08, 2016

By Sabrina Salas Matanane

During an interview Thursday morning on Isla63-AM, Walter Denton revealed that the Vatican has been investigating his allegations of rape since August 2015. On Tuesday, Denton appeared before island media and alleged that he was raped by Archbishop Anthony Apuron when he was 13 years old. He alleged that the sexual abuse happened when Apuron was a priest in Agat and Denton was an altar boy.

Denton in his interview with radio host Jess Lujan said he was on Guam in January 2015 when he had heard about his cousin who had allegedly been sexually abused by Apuron several years ago. Denton said his cousin was a seminarian at the time. Denton said he realized he needed to come forward and sought advice on how he should go about filing a complaint about what happened to him.

He realized that he could not report it to the local archdiocese because the Archbishop was the accused and controlled all investigations of sexual abuse. He says he was referred to Archbishop Martin Krebs, the Apostolic Delegate to the Pacific Islands. Although Archbishop Krebs was on Guam in January 2015, Denton said he was not aware of the visit. Denton says it wasn’t until August 2015 that he sent a notarized letter to Archbishop Krebs detailing what happened to him.

He said Archbishop Krebs then took his statement directly to the Vatican. From there he said it was around October or November of that same year he was contacted by Bishop Olmsted in Phoenix, Arizona for an interview. Denton said Bishop Olmsted told him that he had been appointed by the Vatican to gather information about the alleged abuse. Although he has not heard from the Vatican since, he did say Bishop Olmsted assured him that the Vatican is conducting an investigation.

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GUAM
Pacific Daily News

Two people who’ve recently accused Archbishop Anthony Apuron of sexual abuse visited Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church in Agat today for a scheduled prayer vigil.

One of the accusers, Walter Denton, publicly alleged earlier this week that Apuron raped him in April 1977. The other accuser, Doris Concepcion, recently said her son, who passed away 11 years ago, told her Apuron molested him as a child. Both Denton and Concepcion are Arizona residents.

Apuron has not been charged with any crime. The Vatican, however, recently appointed another archbishop, Savio Tai Fai Hon, to temporarily govern the Archdiocese of Agana while the allegations against Apuron are investigated.

Three people have come forward in recent weeks with accusations of sexual abuse against Apuron.

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IRELAND
National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church

National Board staff will be facilitating a training session on conducting a preliminary investigation

On the 6th of July 2016
Between 10.00 and 15:30.
At the Glenroyal Hotel, Maynooth
Price is 60 euro per person
Given the imminent change over to a new website- online booking for this event is not available.

Should you wish to book places on this course please contact ann.doyle@safeguarding.ie or imeldaashe@safeguarding.ie.

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IRELAND
National Board for the Safeguarding of Children in the Catholic Church

The National Board for the Safeguarding of Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland (NBSCCCI) published its annual report today. It details the work done by the Board and its National Office during the year ending 31st March 2016. The Annual Report for 2015 and the accompanying press release can be downloaded by following the links below.

Press Statement

NBSCCCI Annual Report 20l5

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IRELAND
Irish Times

Patsy McGarry

A total of 116 new allegations, suspicions or concerns of sexual abuse were reported to the Catholic Church’s National Board for Safeguarding Children, in the year to the end of March last.

There were a further 37 allegations of physical and emotional abuse against one religious congregation.

In total, 153 allegations were made to the board in the year April 1st, 2015 to March 31st, 2016.

It represents a reduction of 112 on the 265 total (including those from one organisation as a batch) reported to the board in the 2014/15 year.

The figures were published on Thursday morning in the board’s annual report for the 2015/16 year.

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FRANCE
The Nation

AFP

LYON – One of France’s most powerful Catholic leaders, Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, was questioned by police on Wednesday over allegations he covered up the sexual abuse of Scouts, a source close to the case said.

Barbarin, the archbishop of Lyon in central France since 2002, has been accused of failing to remove a priest from his diocese when he became aware the man had sexually abused young boys 25 years ago.

Barbarin was being questioned by the police’s family protection unit as part of a preliminary investigation, but has not been taken into custody, the source said.

State prosecutors will have to decide whether to pursue the case against Barbarin, which has shaken France’s Catholic Church.

The scandal has raised questions over how deep Church authorities should dig into abuse cases lurking in their past.

Barbarin’s interrogation comes four days after Pope Francis issued a decree that senior Catholic officials guilty of negligence in child abuse cases can now be dismissed from office.

It was not immediately clear whether the papal decree would affect the Barbarin case.

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GUAM
Radio New Zealand

[with audio]

The lawyer for several victims who claim they were abused by Guam’s archbishop is accusing him of a coverup, and says he expects more people to come forward with allegations against him and other priests.

Transcript

The lawyer for several victims who claim they were abused by Guam’s archbishop is accusing him of a coverup, and says he expects more people to come forward with allegations against him and other priests.

A claim of rape against Archbishop Anthony Apuron came shortly after Pope Francis appointed an administrator to manage the Catholic Church in Guam while an investigation is conducted into abuse claims.

Jo O’Brien reports:

Walter Denton is the third person to make an allegation of sexual abuse against the Archbishop. In an emotional account to the media reported on the Pacific News Center website, the 52 year-old says he was raped by Archbishop Apuron in 1977 when he was just 13 years old.

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FRANCE
Premier

Thu 09 Jun 2016
By Aaron James

French investigators have questioned a prominent cardinal about alleged failures to report on suspected paedophilia by a priest under his watch, in the highest-profile church abuse investigation in France to date.

Cardinal Philippe Barbarin was named in two investigations of accusations of sexual abuse of children by priests.

Mr Barbarin, one of the highest-ranking figures in the French Catholic Church, is among several church officials accused of failing to report paedophile priests to judicial authorities.

He has denied covering up abuse, but acknowledged some mistakes in handling and appointing priests.

His lawyer, Andre Soulier, said the cardinal is being questioned in Lyon as part of normal proceedings. “He is a witness, and is being questioned as a witness,” Mr Soulier said. “We’ll see how it goes.”

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FRANCE
The Local

One of France’s most powerful Catholic leaders, Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, has been questioned by police over allegations he covered up the sexual abuse of Scouts.

Barbarin, the archbishop of Lyon in central France since 2002, has been accused of failing to remove a priest from his diocese when he became aware the man had sexually abused young boys 25 years ago.

Barbarin spent 10 hours at the police’s family protection unit on Wednesday where he was interrogated as part of a preliminary investigation, but has not been taken into custody, his lawyer said.

State prosecutors will now have to decide whether to pursue the case against Barbarin, which has shaken France’s Catholic Church.

The diocese of Lyon said in a statement after Wednesday’s quizzing that the cardinal would continue to cooperate with the inquiry and that he hoped his testimony would “contribute to the establishment of the truth”

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AUSTRALIA
Australian Jewish News

NEWS that former Adass Israel head teacher Malka Leifer will not be returning from Israel to face justice any time soon and will be freed from home detention has caused shock waves in Australia, prompting more than 3500 people so far to sign petitions protesting last week’s ruling by an Israeli court.

Child sex-abuse victims group Tzedek has launched an online petition calling on Israel’s Minister for Justice Ayelet Shaked to “stop this injustice” and extradite Leifer, stating, “It’s heartbreaking – this school teacher left vulnerable children traumatised. She can’t get away with it.”

Meanwhile, Canberra-based Tzedek supporter Fiona Sweet-Formiatti has also launched an online petition, expressing “profound shock” at the ruling and urging Israel’s Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit to place Leifer in a state hospital until she is fit to face ­proceedings.

The petition added, “We are concerned that Israel’s reputation is also suffering from being perceived as a haven for alleged paedophiles wishing to avoid justice.”

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WASHINGTON
Seattle PI

BY JOEL CONNELLY, SEATTLEPI.COM Wednesday, June 8, 2016

The Archdiocese of Seattle must release “all files” and settlements related to credible claims of abuse by clergy and religious who have ministered in the diocese, according to an on-line letter petition addressed by lay Catholics to Archbishop J. Peter Sartain.

“Full disclosure of secret files and the ongoing involvement of an independent Review Board are necessary to create a sustainable culture and structure of deterrence and accountability, thereby significantly reducing the possibility that this systematic evil will ever happen again,” said the letter, which has garnered 155 signatures.

The archdiocese, last January, released the names of 77 priests, members of religious orders and one nun where allegations had been admitted, established or able to be substantiated.
Forty one of the individuals on the list were deceased.

The Archdiocese has released names but not investigative reports. Two early signers of the petition are Seattle University law professor and former King County Superior Court Judge Terry Carroll, and ex-U.S. Attorney Mike McKay.

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PENNSYLVANIA
WJAC

BY ERIKA STANISH WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8TH 2016

HOLLIDAYSBURG – The Diocese of Harrisburg sent out a letter warning its parishioners of financial hardship to the church if the statute of limitations changes.

The new law would allow for a victim of child abuse not over 50 to seek criminal investigations in their case and allow them to file civil lawsuits.

The letter was sent to Harrisburg’s Catholic School Community, openly opposing some of the proposed law to eliminate the statute of limitations.

The letter goes on to say more lawsuits could flood their diocese and force the closing of parishes, schools and ministries.

Tony DeGol, secretary of communications for the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown, told 6 News if the law passes, the Catholic Church would be in the position to address cases up to 50 years old.

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KANSAS
KMBZ

LENEXA, Kan. – A rally outside a Lenexa church had members of SNAP, members of those Sexually Abused by Priests, voicing their support for the families of two girls who were sexually assaulted by Kessler Lichtnegger. The families have filed a lawsuit against Westside Family Church, claiming they knew about Lichtnegger’s past crimes, but still allowed him to have access to children. Rebecca Randels is handling the case for the victims, and says that Lichtnegger was a “table leader for a small group, and also a volunteer at vacation Bible school, where he had direct contact with students, and at vacation Bible school is where the sexual abuses occurred.” The attorney for Westside Family Church says since the allegations came to light they’ve made some changes, including more background checks and requiring parents to sign off on minor volunteers.

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