ABUSE TRACKER

ISRAEL
Arutz Sheva

Rachel Kaplan, 21/07/16

Shuvu Banim sect leader Rabbi Eliezer Berland, suspected of sexual abuse against a number of women, will be held under arrest for one more day, and then spend 10 days under house arrest.

The Magistrate’s Court of Rishon Letzion ruled to extend Rabbi Berland’s arrest, after he was returned to Israel on Tuesday to stand trial.

Rabbi Berland fled Israel four years ago, when the Israeli police opened an investigation into complaints of sexual abuse, and evaded authorities in a number of countries.

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

MINNESOTA
America

Michael O’Loughlin | Jul 21 2016

Criminal charges against the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis were dropped on July 20, after the archdiocese admitted that it failed to protect children who were sexually abused by a former priest. As part of the settlement, internal documents were unsealed, including a memo from an archdiocesan official that accuses the pope’s former ambassador to the United States of trying to squash an investigation into the alleged sexual improprieties of a former archbishop.

“Today I, as the leader of this archdiocese, stand before you to say we have failed, in what we have done and what we have failed to do,” Archbishop Bernard Hebda said at a news conference following a court hearing.

He also apologized on behalf of the archdiocese.

“Those children, their parents, their family, their parish and others were harmed. We are sorry. I am sorry,” he said.

Prosecutors had been pushing the church to admit wrongdoing in how it handled complaints against former priest Curtis Wehmeyer. And with that admission, the case was closed.

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

MINNESOTA
National Catholic Reporter

Brian Roewe | Jul. 21, 2016

The Vatican envoy to the United States quashed an investigation into alleged homosexual activity on the part of Archbishop John Nienstedt and ordered a piece of evidence destroyed, according to an 11-page memo unsealed Wednesday afternoon.

In the memo, Fr. Dan Griffith, then-Delegate for Safe Environment for the St. Paul-Minneapolis archdiocese, stated that in April 2014 Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, apostolic nuncio to the U.S., ordered two auxiliary bishops to have a St. Paul law firm quickly wrap its investigation and later that month instructed them to destroy a letter they had sent Vigano pushing back on his request.

The memo, dated July 7, 2014, was a part of numerous legal documents disclosed Wednesday following the conclusion of a criminal investigation into the archdiocese by Ramsey County prosecutors. The six criminal charges brought last summer were dropped after the archdiocese agreed to add an admission of wrongdoing to the civil settlement it reached with the county in December. No charges were brought against individuals, with Ramsey County Prosecutor John Choi saying there was insufficient evidence to do so against any one person.

The documents, though, give perhaps the clearest view to date into the until-now largely concealed investigation of Nienstedt, which explored allegations that he engaged in sexual misconduct with other adult males, including seminarians. In previous months, local media had obtained and reported on several of the allegations.

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

UNITED KINGDOM
The Packet

Helen Dale, Reporter

The Church of England in Cornwall has teamed up with a charity to provide free and independent help for anybody who feels they may have been subject to any form of abuse from within a church context.

The Diocese of Truro has commissioned Skoodhya to provide its Authorised Listeners, who are there to provide a first point of contact for people who feel they may have experienced abuse.

Diocesan safeguarding adviser, Sarah Acraman, said: “We wanted to provide somewhere people could go and be actively, professionally and confidentially listened to, while they decide whether or not they want to take things any further, and maybe consult police or seek formal counselling for example.

“It is about us taking responsibility for those who may have been let down by the church, and offering a first step to recovery for those who need to talk. Sadly this has not always been the case for the church. While of course we are doing everything we can to prevent abuse, we have to acknowledge that it can and does happen within lots of organisations and the church is no different. Therefore the time has come to take responsibility, and really listen to our members.

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

MINNESOTA
Pioneer Press

By MARINO ECCHER | meccher@pioneerpress.com
PUBLISHED: July 21, 2016

John Nienstedt, the former archbishop of the Archdiocese of Minneapolis and St. Paul, said accusations of sexual misconduct against him were part of a false smear campaign in response to his opposition to gay marriage.

Nienstedt’s denial came in a statement Wednesday night, first issued to KSTP and Minnesota Public Radio. That followed the release of internal church documents alleging the Vatican had sought to derail an independent investigation that turned up credible evidence against him.

Nienstedt resigned last year as archbishop and returned to his home state of Michigan. He was briefly involved with a diocese there but left when parishioners objected to his presence.

He said the accusations — which range from him frequenting gay clubs to making unwanted advances toward priests and seminary students — were decades old and baseless. He said he believes they’re “due to my unwavering stance on issues consistent with Catholic Church teaching, such as opposition to so-called same sex marriage.

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

MINNESOTA
Catholic Culture

July 21, 2016

Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, then apostolic nuncio to the United States, directed that an investigation into Archbishop John Nienstedt’s alleged homosexual activity be curtailed, and subsequently asked two auxiliary bishops to destroy a letter about the case, according to a 2014 memo released on July 20 by prosecutors in Minnesota.

The memo’s author, identified in press reports as Father Daniel Griffith, served as liaison between the archdiocese and members of the investigative team. Archbishop Nienstedt, then archbishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, authorized the investigation into his alleged homosexual activity in January 2014.

In the memo—written in July 2014 after the investigation ceased—Father Griffith recounted in detail the history of the investigation. By April, ten affidavits contained “compelling” allegations of “sexual misconduct; sexual harassment; reprisals in response to the rejection of unwelcome advances; and excessive drinking.”

“Even if the Archbishop was innocent, the evidence was damaging enough that it would render him incapable of leading the Archdiocese,” wrote Father Griffith, who noted that the investigators still had 24 leads to pursue.

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

MINNESOTA
CBS Minnesota

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Vatican is declining to comment on an internal church document that indicates the Vatican’s emissary in Washington interfered with an investigation into alleged misconduct by the former archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

The newly released memo from the Rev. Daniel Griffith, one of the archdiocese’s key leaders for ensuring the safety of children, accuses the apostolic nuncio of ordering Minnesota church leaders to wrap up the investigation into Archbishop John Nienstedt without pursuing all leads. Griffith also accused the delegate at the time, Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, of ordering two auxiliary bishops under Nienstedt to destroy a letter in which they disagreed with Vigano.

A Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said Thursday that “the situation is complex” and that the Vatican needs more information before commenting.

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

UNITED STATES/BRAZIL
BishopAccountability.org

Summary of Case: Donald Bolton was ordained for the Redemptorist Order’s Baltimore Province in 1952. He worked in Brazil for many years, returning to the U.S. in 1970 to a Redemptorist retreat house in Canaidagua NY. From 1974-84 Bolton was assigned to St. Gregory’s in North East PA. It was there that the parents of a 7-year-old girl reported to the Redemptorists that Bolton had molested their daughter over a two-year period. He was transferred to a Brooklyn NY parish. When the parents of the little girl discovered he was teaching school in NY, they went to law enforcement. Bolton was charged in November 1986 with indecent assault and corruption of minors. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced in February 1987 to three years’ probation. He spent those three years at a Hampton VA retreat house. In 1990 he moved to a New Smyrna Beach FL Redemptorist residence, and to another in Saratoga Springs NY in 2003. He died October 27, 2006.

Ordained: 1952
Died: October 27, 2006

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

AUSTRALIA/ROME
The Tablet

21 July 2016 | by Christopher Lamb

Danny Casey who worked with Pell in Sydney was in charge of creating greater accountability for Vatican’s finances

One of Cardinal George Pell’s chief aides working on reforming Vatican finances is leaving his post, The Tablet can report. Danny Casey, in charge of the “project management office” in the Holy See economy secretariat, had been brought to Rome two years ago by his fellow countryman Cardinal Pell: the two had previously worked closely together in Sydney when Casey was the archdiocese’s business manager.

“We are happy to confirm, as was anticipated when Danny commenced working in the Secretariat in 2014 for a 2-year term, he is leaving us at the end of September to return to Australia,” a statement from Cardinal Pell’s office confirmed. “We are enormously grateful for the contribution Danny has made to implementing the Holy Father’s Reforms.”

Casey (pictured left with Cardinal Pell) had been put in charge of implementing series of changes to the management of Holy See finances including greater accountability and a more robust management of budgets. Among them was the transfer of APSA – the Vatican financial powerhouse which oversees properties and assets – into Cardinal Pell’s Secretariat for the Economy.

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

MINNESOTA
Catholic Online

By Marshall Connolly (CALIFORNIA NETWORK)

A memo from an outraged priest has been published, along with a trove of other documents in a sex abuse cover up. The aim of the memo and the document release is to convince the Vatican to take action against two high ranking individuals.

LOS ANGELES, CA (California Network) – In 2014, the Vatican’s ambassador to the United States ended an independent investigation into possible sexual abuse and misconduct by Archbishop john C. Nienstedt of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

According to one priest, Rev. Dan Griffith, the decision to end the investigation was a cover up.

Fr. Griffith worked for the Archdiocese and had detailed inside knowledge of what was going on with the Archbishop. According to Fr. Griffith, the Archbishop mishandled priests accused of abusing children and participated in his own sexual misconduct. Then, the Papal nuncio in Washington, Archbishop Carlo Vigano, ordered the termination of an internal investigation after it uncovered evidence against the Archbishop.

Archbishop Nienstedt has been accused of sexual misconduct with seminarians and priests, and possibly even with a member of the Swiss Papal Guard in Rome.

The accusations follow an independent investigation by the law firm, Greene Espel, retained by the Church to look into the matter. According to Fr. Griffith, the investigation revealed 11 witnesses who had credible testimony against the Archbishop. The investigation adds that the Archbishop took retaliatory actions against those who rejected his advances.

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

AUSTRALIA
Newcastle Herald

JOANNE MCCARTHY
21 Jul 2016

THE Anglican Primate of Australia Archbishop Philip Freier has expressed solidarity with Newcastle Anglican Bishop Greg Thompson and his officers before a Royal Commission public hearing in Newcastle on August 2.

Archbishop Freier said evidence of clergy sexual abuse and predatory behaviour in Newcastle that included a former bishop was “shocking and distressing”.

“We express our solidarity with and prayers for Newcastle Bishop Greg Thompson and his officers who have worked diligently to end the culture of abuse and silence within the diocese,” the archbishop said.

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse will sit for two weeks in Newcastle.

It will consider how the diocese responded to allegations of child sexual abuse made against clergy and lay people including former Dean of Newcastle Graeme Lawrence, teacher Gregory Goyette, priests Andrew Duncan, Bruce Hoare, Graeme Sturt, Peter Rushton and Ian Barrack, and church worker James Michael Brown.

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.

SCOTLAND
The Extra

Thursday 21 July 2016

A jury in the trial of two men accused of abusing pupils at a former school for boys will resume its deliberations on Thursday.

John Farrell, 73, and Paul Kelly, 63, face charges of sexual and physical abuse against more than 20 ex pupils of St Ninian’s School in Falkland, Fife.

A trial at the High Court in Glasgow heard how the men committed indecent acts on boys aged 11 to 16 and punished pupils in their care by making them stand in a hallway naked or wearing only their underwear.

Farrell, from Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, and Kelly, from Plymouth, Devon, deny the charges which date from 1977 to 1983.

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

WASHINGTON
KIRO

[with video]

by: Joanna Small Updated: Jul 20, 2016

BELLINGHAM, Wash. —
A North Sound pastor is suspected of preying on a 12-year-old girl in abuse that continued for years, eventually having sex with her and promising to marry her.

The house next door to Bellingham Baptist Church where police believe 37-year-old Christopher Trent lived with his wife and seven children appeared vacant Wednesday.

“He’s packing a U-Haul and packing a transport van with all of their gear and it appears they’re going to head out, and so we made the contact with him and learned they were planning to leave the state,” explained Lt. Bob Vander Yacht.

Instead, Trent is in the Whatcom County Jail accused of grooming one of his church girls for sex — police say over a period of more than two years, police say.

Just last month he posted on social media about hosting a Vacation Bible School for 120 kids at the same church where police say he sexually abused the girl.

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

UNITED STATES
Huffington Post

Nikki DuBose
Former Model, Commercial Actress & Host turned Author, Speaker & Mental Health Advocate

If money is one hell of a drug, then denial is one of the biggest drug dealers in the world. And no group understands that truth better than survivors of child sexual abuse. While survivors, advocates and some lawmakers have fought hard to bring justice, there’s been little progress made; if anything, we’ve been forced to take giant steps backwards. And by forced, I’m referring to the tremendous power of, more than anything, denial.

Take, for example, the recent killing of the child victims act by NY state lawmakers. Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan offered little explanation when asked as to why a deal couldn’t be reached by Governor Cuomo, Senate, and the Assembly. As quoted by the NY Daily News, Flanagan merely said, “There was no agreement, that’s it.” Senator Brad Hoylman, a Democrat from Manhattan who supported the Child Victims Act, noted that the Senate gave the green light to authorize online fantasy sports betting. But yet, historically, isn’t this usually how things go down? Nonsensical bills such as the online fantasy sports betting and the act pushing for food to be served in funeral services establishments are cleared through the Senate and Assembly; however, it can take years and years to see any change in the areas of mental health reform, child sexual abuse prevention, and of course, gun control.

Thus, the killing of the Child Victims Act in New York equals no statute of limitations reform for child sexual abuse survivors. The Catholic Church paid over $2M for lobbyists to block the reform. Of course, they did. Why wouldn’t they? Like I said, scoot some money in, look the other way; denial is the biggest drug trafficker, and money is the most abused drug in the world. Flash some money in front of some lawmakers’ faces, and they will do just about anything they are paid to do.

In America, there are over 42,000,000 survivors of child sexual abuse, and that’s just the reported estimate. I am a survivor; mind you, the word “survivor” has absolutely no glamorous connotation attached to it. Recovery has been like swimming in a blood bath; for the most part, many of us deal with a variety of mental health conditions. Getting to a place of recovery can be a literal miracle. And yet there is slim justice I or any survivor can seek currently for the horrors we have had to face; horrors that are equivalent to being murdered silently over and over again.

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

MINNESOTA
WDAY

[Affidavit of Thomas E. Ring – Redacted
July 7, 2014 Memo]

The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis publicly admitted wrongdoing for the way it handled sexual abuse allegations against a former priest, while prosecutors dropped criminal charges that alleged the archdiocese turned a blind eye to repeated misconduct by the defrocked cleric.

“I stand before you to say we have failed,” said Archbishop Bernard Hebda.

“We pledge to move forward openly, collaboratively and humbly… always mindful of our past. We will never forget,” he said.

The admission was part of an agreement in a lawsuit that calls for Archbishop Bernard Hebda to personally participate in at least three and likely more restorative justice sessions with abuse victims. The archbishop took the unusual step of attending the Wednesday hearing where the agreement was announced.

Ramsey County prosecutors filed civil and criminal charges against the archdiocese last year. The six gross misdemeanor child endangerment charges against the archdiocese involved Curtis Wehmeyer, who is serving prison time for molesting two boys in Minnesota and a third in Wisconsin.

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

AUSTRALIA
ABC News

By Anne Connolly

One of the nation’s most senior Anglicans, the Archbishop of Perth, Roger Herft, received complaints about a priest involved in a paedophile ring but allegedly failed to formally report him to police, according to an Anglican Church insider.

7.30 has obtained a confidential note showing Archbishop Herft received a complaint about Father Peter Rushton’s abuse when they both worked in the Hunter region of New South Wales in 2002.

Archbishop Herft wrote that the complaint “left me in an unenviable position” because “Father Peter had my licence [to be a priest] and if he reoffended I would be held liable as I now had prior knowledge of his alleged behaviour”.

Director of professional standards for the Newcastle diocese, Michael Elliott, said there was no record of Archbishop Herft contacting police about allegations regarding Rushton.

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

AUSTRALIA
Daily Mail

By STEVEN TRASK FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA

The portrait of a prolific sexual predator still hangs in the church where one of his victims now preaches.

Bishop of Newcastle Greg Thompson was sexually abused as a teenager by Ian Shevill, a celebrated priest who led the church in the 1970s.

Shevill was just one of the sexual predators inside the church who abused children in an infamous Anglican paedophile ring that was covered up for decades,The ABC reported.

Right Reverend Thompson was named Bishop of Newcastle in 2013 and leads the church as it faces a historic government investigation into child sexual abuse.

A black and white portrait of Shevill, his abuser, hangs in the church’s gallery alongside other infamous paedophiles such as Father Peter Rushton, the Archdeacon of Maitland.

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

AUSTRALIA
Northern Star

Leah White | 21st Jul 2016

IT WAS seeing Father John Casey during a broadcast of Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes’ funeral in 2014 that prompted a second victim to finally come forward and join his younger brother in making formal allegations of child sexual abuse against the Lismore priest.

The father of the two brothers was in the witness stand at Casey’s trial in Lismore District Court yesterday, where he was cross-examined by defence barrister Charles Waterstreet.

Casey is facing 27 charges relating to the historical rape, sexual assault and indecent assault of three young boys in Mallanganee in the 1980s.

All but one charge relates to incidents that allegedly involved the two brothers.

The court heard the third victim, who is the youngest of the three complainants and was between nine and 10 years old when the assaults occurred, told his father in 2005 he was sexually assaulted by Casey as a child.

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

MINNESOTA
New York Times

By LAURIE GOODSTEIN and RICHARD PÉREZ-PEÑA
JULY 20, 2016

The Vatican’s former ambassador to the United States quashed an independent investigation in 2014 into sexual and possible criminal misconduct by Archbishop John C. Nienstedt of St. Paul and Minneapolis and ordered church officials to destroy a letter they wrote to him protesting the decision, according to a memo made public on Wednesday.

The detailed memo was written by an outraged priest, the Rev. Dan Griffith, who was working in the top ranks of the archdiocese and was the liaison to the lawyers conducting the inquiry. He wrote that the ambassador’s order to call off the investigation and destroy evidence amounted to “a good old fashioned cover-up to preserve power and avoid scandal.”

The document offers a grave indictment of the conduct of the Vatican’s ambassador, and will probably put pressure on Pope Francis to discipline him and Archbishop Nienstedt. The former ambassador, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, served as Pope Francis’ representative to the church until he retired in April.

Archbishop Nienstedt stepped down as leader of the Twin Cities archdiocese last year amid lawsuits and criminal inquiries into his handling of priests accused of sexually abusing children. But he remains an archbishop in good standing, and recently celebrated Mass at a California retreat for prominent Catholics.

With sexual abuse victims clamoring for Francis to take action against negligent bishops, the pope recently announced that an array of Vatican departments should keep bishops accountable.

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

MINNESOTA
Pioneer Press

[Affidavit of Thomas E. Ring – Redacted
July 7, 2014 Memo]

By MARINO ECCHER | meccher@pioneerpress.com
PUBLISHED: July 20, 2016

From the outset, Daniel Griffith assured the investigators the church didn’t want “a white-wash or a witch hunt,” but the unvarnished truth.

One priest had already been convicted of sexual abuse. John Nienstedt, the sitting archbishop, was facing allegations of misconduct. The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis hired the law firm Greene Espel to get to the bottom of it, promising free rein and seeking an investigation that would be beyond reproach.

But when confronted with early results, a top Vatican official sought to snuff out the findings and plunge the archdiocese into what Griffith — a priest dismayed and disillusioned by the church’s maneuvering — deemed “a good old fashioned cover-up,” according to documents released this week.

Announced Wednesday, the archdiocese struck a deal with Ramsey County prosecutors to avoid criminal prosecution for its handling of sex abuse cases but to confess wrongdoing and improve its practices. The same day, Jeff Anderson, an attorney who has represented hundreds of people making sex abuse claims against the church, made public more than 100 pages of related documents.

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

MINNESOTA
Minnesota Public Radio

[Affidavit of Thomas E. Ring – Redacted
July 7, 2014 Memo]

Laura Yuen, Peter Cox
St. Paul · Jul 21, 2016

Documents released by the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office Wednesday showed the extraordinary measures Catholic officials took to quash a private investigation into former Twin Cities Archbishop John Nienstedt.

Nienstedt himself had ordered the investigation, citing unspecified allegations against himself. He said at the time that the allegations did not “involve minors or lay members of the faithful, and they do not implicate any kind of illegal or criminal behavior” and “involve events alleged to have occurred at least a decade ago, before I began serving in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.”

He called those unspecified claims, at the time, “absolutely and entirely false.”

But as MPR News previously reported, once the lawyers hired to conduct the investigation started uncovering allegations of Nienstedt’s alleged sexual misconduct with adult men, the archbishop attempted to obstruct their work.

One new document, released Wednesday, goes even further: It suggests that the order to halt the investigation came not from Nienstedt, but straight from the Vatican.

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

AUSTRALIA
7 News

AAP on July 21, 2016

A senior Australian Anglican bishop has been accused of failing to report a priest’s sexual abuse to police after he received complaints about the behaviour in 2002.

ABC’s 7.30 program has reported the Archbishop of Perth, Roger Heft, allegedly failed to formally report Father Peter Rushton’s abuse to police when they both worked in NSW’s Hunter region.

Alleged victims of Mr Rushton’s abuse have told the ABC they were raped and sexually assaulted by him and other abusers involved in a paedophile ring.

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

MINNESOTA
Wall Street Journal

By TOM CORRIGAN
July 20, 2016

Criminal prosecutors in Minnesota won a rare admission of wrongdoing from the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, which conceded it protected a priest who was later convicted of sexually abusing children.

“We failed,” Archbishop Bernard Hebda said Wednesday. “Those children, their parents, their family, their parish and others were harmed. We are sorry. I am sorry.”

The admission is a victory for prosecutors and for clergy abuse victims who have long pressed for a mea culpa from the archdiocese. Acknowledgment of wrongdoing was absent when the archdiocese settled related civil charges last year.

“Today that missing piece has been provided by the archdiocese,” said Ramsey County Attorney John Choi on Wednesday, calling the admission “a solemn moment for our community.”

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

MINNESOTA
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis

Date: Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Source: Most Reverend Bernard A. Hebda

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Traditionally, at the beginning of each Mass, we stand and ask God and each other to forgive “what we have done and what we have failed to do.” It is a humbling prayer.

Today has been a day of asking for forgiveness for what we have done and what we have failed to do. In our statement filed in court this morning, the Archdiocese admitted to failures in the handling of Curtis Wehmeyer, who once served as priest of this Archdiocese. We failed to give priority to the safety and wellbeing of the children he hurt over his interests and those of the Archdiocese. In particular, we failed to prevent him from sexually abusing children. Those children, their parents, their family, their parish and others were harmed. We are sorry. I am sorry.

I know that words alone are not enough. We must do better. Far-reaching changes have already been underway. The Archdiocese has added lay personnel with relevant experience and solid expertise to help create the safest environments possible. The Civil Settlement Agreement with the Ramsey County Attorney, which today we expanded and extended for a total of four years, holds the Archdiocese accountable and ensures that our actions will continue to match our words. In court this morning, we presented our first progress report to Judge Teresa Warner and laid out to her our progress so far and our commitment going forward.

When I arrived here about a year ago, criminal and civil charges against the Archdiocese had just been announced. A decision had to be made: do we fight the charges in court – which would have taken years of time and resources — or do we work with the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office to try to make amends to those harmed and achieve justice for all in the broadest possible way. I am grateful that the Lord seems to have offered guidance in many different forms. I am particularly appreciative for the advice that was provided by our lay leadership at the Archdiocesan level, as well as for the wise counsel and support of my brother priests and deacons.

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 HAMPSHIRE
WMRA

By REBECCA HERSHER

Administrators at Phillips Exeter Academy acknowledge that the prep school failed to respond adequately when a student was accused of sexual assault, and was assigned an “act of penance” that included baking and delivering bread to the girl he allegedly assaulted.

The Boston Globe’s Spotlight investigative team, which wrote extensively this spring on sexual assault at New England boarding schools including Phillips Exeter Academy, reports that school administrators wrote in a letter to alumni, “Without question, the situation could and should have been handled in a better way.”

The Globe reports:

“[Phillips Exeter Academy] also announced the creation of a new ‘director for student well-being’ to handle future sexual misconduct complaints.

“The admission and the announcement of the new position came the day after the elite boarding school received a petition with more than 1,000 signatures of alumni who vowed to withhold donations until the school cracked down on sexual abuse.”

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

ISRAEL
Arutz Sheva

Head of the Rabbinical services organization ‘Tzohar,’ Rabbi David Stav, criticized on Wednesday rabbis who hush up sexual abuse cases in their communities rather than reporting them to the authorities.

“Sexual abuse is physical and psychological damage of the highest order. Rabbis that attempt to silence these matters without dealing with them through the appropriate channels are transgressing the Torah,” he said.

Rabbi Stav asserted that one who has committed sexual abuse is likely to do so again if he is not treated by a qualified professional. “This is unrelated to the Talmudic adage that one should not think badly of a Torah scholar that sinned, for surely he has done Teshuva [repentance]; here, we are dealing with one who is sick, and a sick man does not heal by himself.”

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

MINNESOTA
Houston Chronicle

[Affidavit of Thomas E. Ring – Redacted
July 7, 2014 Memo]

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Latest on the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis’ handling of child abuse allegations (all times local):

4:15 p.m.

An attorney for victims of clergy abuse is accusing the Vatican of interfering in the investigation of a Minnesota archbishop.

Jeffrey Anderson made the claim in a case involving former archbishop John Nienstedt (NINE’-stedt), whose personal conduct was being examined in 2014 as the archdiocese was criticized for its handling of abuse allegations.

Anderson cited a newly released 2014 memo from the Rev. Daniel Griffith, an archdiocese leader for ensuring a safe environment for children.

In it, Griffith accused the Vatican’s delegate in Washington, D.C., of ordering church leaders to wrap up the Nienstedt investigation without pursuing all leads. Griffith also accused the then-delegate, Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, of ordering leaders to destroy a letter in which they disagreed with him.

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

MINNESOTA
National Catholic Reporter

Brian Roewe | Jul. 20, 2016

Criminal charges against the St. Paul-Minneapolis archdiocese were dropped Wednesday after it agreed to a revision of its civil settlement that added “direct and public admission of wrongdoing” for its role in the sexual abuse of three minors by a former priest.

The charges, brought last summer by Ramsey County Attorney John Choi, alleged a “failure to protect children” on the part of the archdiocese in relation to three minors sexually abused in 2010 by former priest Curtis Wehmeyer. In court Wednesday, Ramsey County District Judge Teresa Warner accepted an amendment to the civil agreement, originally reached in December, that added several new requirements and also inserted an admission of wrongdoing.

“It was not only Curtis Wehmeyer who harmed children. It was the archdiocese, as well,” Choi said at a midday news conference. “Today, through the leadership of the new, permanent archbishop, Bernard Hebda, that direct and public admission of wrongdoing has now been made.”

The record for the civil case will be amended to state:

Curtis Wehmeyer was a priest in this Archdiocese. The Archdiocese admits that it failed to adequately respond and prevent the sexual abuse of Victim 1, Victim 2, and Victim 3. The Archdiocese failed to keep the safety and wellbeing of these three children ahead of protecting the interests of Curtis Wehmeyer and the Archdiocese. The actions and omissions of the Archdiocese failed to prevent the abuse that resulted in the need for protection and services for these three children.

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

WASHINGTON
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Statement by Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, Outreach Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 503 0003 cell, bdorris@SNAPnetwork.org)

A Bellingham pastor is accused of sexually abusing a girl for two years. Now, his current and former church colleagues and members must aggressively reach out to others who may have information or suspicions about his alleged crimes or possible church cover ups.

[Bellingham Herald]

Christopher L. Trent of the Orleans Street Baptist Church will soon face formal charges. But we strongly suspect he has abused others – either in Washington or Oklahoma. It’s not enough for his supervisors and colleagues to claim they’re “cooperating” with law enforcement. They must use their resources – church websites, bulletins, mailing lists and pulpit announcements – to seek out victims, witnesses and whistleblowers and beg them to call secular authorities.

Josh Carter, the top pastor at Bellingham Baptist, must lead the way with courage and compassion. But this duty – to reach out to the lost, wounded sheep – falls on every person who is or was associated with this congregation.

No matter what prosecutors, judges or church officials do or don’t do, we urge every single person who saw, suspected or suffered child sex crimes and cover ups in Baptist churches or institutions to protect kids by calling police, get help by calling therapists, expose wrongdoers by calling law enforcement, get justice by calling attorneys, and be comforted by calling support groups like ours. This is how kids will be safer, adults will recover, criminals will be prosecuted, cover ups will be deterred and the truth will surface.

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

MINNESOTA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Affidavit of Thomas E. Ring – Redacted
July 7, 2014 Memo

For immediate release: Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 566 9790, 314 645 5915 home, davidgclohessy@gmail.com)

Newly released records on an archbishop who rose through Catholic church ranks in Michigan – and worked in a Michigan parish months ago – detail his allegedly “promiscuous” sexual activity “as a priest and bishop in Detroit.”

[Fox 9]

Archbishop John Nienstedt is a Michigan native who became an auxiliary bishop in the Detroit Archdiocese, before being promoted to head two Minnesota dioceses: New Ulm and St. Paul/Minneapolis. He’s been repeatedly accused of committing sexual misdeeds and concealing sex crimes. He resigned his post overseeing the St. Paul archdiocese.

Now, internal church documents are raising questions again about how he dealt with priests who were proven, admitted or credibly accused child molesters.

Everyone knows that quietly moving molesters elsewhere is risky. But it’s also risky to quietly move “enablers.” That’s happening with Archbishop Nienstedt now. Just two weeks ago, he was found at a plush hotel in California’s Napa Valley saying mass at and participating in a conservative Catholic event.

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

MINNESOTA
Star Tribune

By JEAN HOPFENSPERGER JULY 20, 2016

A look back at the history of events in the child sex abuse scandal at the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis.

2013
May 23: A change in Minnesota law creates a three-year window for filing sex abuse lawsuits previously barred by statute of limitations, triggering a wave of lawsuits against the archdiocese seeking millions of dollars in damages.

May 29:The first lawsuit is filed, by a John Doe 1, in Ramsey District Court.

September 23: Former archdiocese canon lawyer Jennifer Haselberger reveals evidence that church officials overlooked sexual misconduct.

October 13: A task force is formed to investigate clergy sexual misconduct.

October 14: A Twin Cities woman sues a priest for sexual contact.

October 17: St. Paul police ask abuse victims to come forward.

November 12: Archbishop John Nienstedt says he will release a partial list of accused priests.

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

MINNESOTA
KVRR

TJ Nelson, 6 & 9 PM News Anchor / Producer / Reporter, tjnelson@kvrr.com

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. –
The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis has agreed to publicly admit wrongdoing for the way it handled abuse allegations against a former priest.

Prosecutors say they’ll drop six criminal child endangerment charges that alleged the archdiocese turned a blind eye to repeated misconduct by Curtis Wehmeyer.

He was convicted of molesting two boys in Minnesota and one in Wisconsin.

The admission of wrongdoing is part of a beefed–up civil agreement.

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

MINNESOTA
Fox 9

ST. PAUL, Minn. (KMSP) – Documents released Wednesday in Ramsey County District Court detail former Archbishop John Nienstedt’s “gay lifestyle” in his early days as a priest and bishop in Detroit. A confidential memo from the Delegate for Safe Environment for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, dated Nov. 22, 2013, raises concerns that Nienstedt’s past behavior may have affected his decisions involving Father Curtis Wehmeyer.

In Dec. 2015, Ramsey County Attorney John Choi filed 6 criminal child endangerment charges against the archdiocese “to hold it criminally accountable for its failure to protect children.” The church was accused of keeping Father Curtis Wehmeyer in the ministry despite knowledge of his sexual misconduct. Wednesday morning, Choi agreed to drop the 6 criminal charges as part of the updated civil settlement.

The confidential memo lists the following allegations:

“A priest in Detroit has alleged that while staying overnight at the rectory of the National Shrine of the Little Flower in Royal Oak, Michigan (then) Fr. Nienstedt sexually solicited him. The alleged advance was not reciprocated. In a discussion with the source, wherein the incident was recounted, the priest stated: ‘I know when I’m being hit on.’”

A former priests discussed an incident in Michigan where Bishop Nienstedt “began massaging his neck” while he was driving.

Another protest said that a number of years ago he was in Detroit for a conference, shortly after Nienstedt was named coadjutor archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis. A number of priests spoke told him about Nienstedt’s “promiscuous gay lifestyle” while serving as a priest in Detroit and while living in Rome.

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

NEW JERSEY
NJ.com

By Steve Strunsky | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

GUTTENBERG — A Catholic priest is under criminal investigation by the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office following allegations he sexually abused a young parishioner at a Guttenberg church where the priest worked in the 1990’s, a victims rights group said.

The Rev. Michael “Mitch” Walters had been accused by the parishioner at the St. John Nepomucene Parish in Guttenberg of molesting him two decades ago, Road to Recovery, a Livingston-based group that advocates for victims of clergy abuse, announced on Wednesday.

“Fr. Michael “Mitch” Walters was stationed in the 1990s at St. John Nepomucene Parish in Guttenberg, New Jersey, in Hudson County, and a man has come forward to allege that he was sexually abused by Fr. Michael “Mitch” Walters at St. John Nepomucene Parish when he was a minor child,” the Road to Recovery stated in an announcement in advance of a press conference it had scheduled for Wednesday morning at the Guttenberg church on Polk Street.

Ray Worrall, a spokesman for Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez, declined to confirm whether the office was investigating the allegations.

“We can’t comment whether or not this office is even involved in an investigation,” Worrall said in an email.

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

MINNESOTA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Wednesday, July 20

Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 566 9790, 314 645 5915 home, davidgclohessy@gmail.com)

We remain convinced that John Choi could and should have filed criminal charges against individual complicit Catholic officials, not Catholic institution, especially had he acted sooner and more aggressively. We’re disappointed that well-educated, self-serving church bureaucrats have again spent parishioners’ donations on high-priced lawyers and are successfully evading consequences for repeatedly and callously putting children in harms’ way so they could protect their clerical careers and reputations.

Wrongdoing is deterred when wrongdoers are punished. But not one Twin Cities Catholic official is being punished – in the courts or in the church – for repeatedly deceiving parishioners, moving predators, hiding evidence, stone-walling police or endangering kids.

[Pioneer Press]

[WDAY]

We know that law enforcement has limited resources and child safety laws are outdated and Catholic officials defend themselves vigorously.

Still, the old saying “Where there’s a will, there’s a way” applies here. Across the country, for nearly three decades, we’ve seen police and prosecutors slowly becoming more determined and creative at pursuing even older child sex crimes and cover ups when they put their minds to it and put aside their timidity. We’ve seen law enforcement staff become more vigorous and savvy in their outreach efforts to find more victims, witnesses and whistleblowers. We wish more of that had happened here.

Some say a settlement between Choi and archdiocesan officials will result in the disclosure of secret church records about crimes and cover ups. We hope so. But disclosure alone doesn’t deter. Discipline is what deters. And despite 30+ years of devastating and widely-documented scandal, virtually no Catholic official has lost even one day’s pay no matter how deceitfully or recklessly he acted with pedophile priests and vulnerable kids or wounded victims.

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

MINNESOTA
CBS Minnesota

ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) – Ramsey County Attorney John Choi announced Wednesday that legal documents between the attorney’s office and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis will be released.

The announcement came in a press conference in which Choi said that criminal charges against the Twin Cities archdiocese will be dropped following the church’s admission to wrongdoing in a child abuse case.

Choi said the documents will be released Wednesday afternoon after the attorney’s office has finished going over them and making redactions.

While the county attorney did not speak on the contents of the documents, he said that it’s important that they are made public.

“There will be a lot of things that people will get to look through,” Choi said. “It’s an important thing for the public to have.”

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

MINNESOTA
Canonical Consultation

[includes Archbishop Hebda’s letter to priests]

For Immediate Release

Today’s announcement brings to conclusion a process that I began in June of 2012, shortly after the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis learned of the abuse committed by Curtis Wehmeyer.

While I share the general sense of disappointment that individual criminal charges were not filed, I see the resolution announced today as a positive result. Thanks to the hard work of the local and national media, the Saint Paul Police Department, and the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office, I believe my objectives in coming forward have been met. My first objective was to ensure that the boys that were harmed by Curtis Wehmeyer understood that they (and all victims of sexual abuse) were not at fault for what occurred, that they had done nothing to deserve their abuse, and to force the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis to accept responsibility for having so egregiously failed to protect them. My second objective was to send a warning to all the parents and guardians who entrust their children and other vulnerable individuals to the institutions and programs in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. I wanted them to be aware that the Archdiocese’s promises of having a safe environment, of having removed sexually abusive clergy from ministry, and of having committed itself to the protection of children and the healing of victims cannot be trusted.

Over the past four years, and especially with today’s conclusion of the criminal case, I believe these objectives have been met.

However, we ought not to forget that today’s announcement, and the admission of responsibility, applies only to the victims of Curtis Wehmeyer. It does not address the hurt of the many victims who have never received such acknowledgement, including those who are still waiting to be compensated for the harm that was done to them. Finally, the conclusion of the criminal process does not mean that all is well within the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. The failures acknowledged in today’s admission of guilt are systemic, pervasive, and longstanding. It is beyond the power of any civil authority to bring about the changes that are required in order to truly create a safe environment in the Catholic Church. Therefore, we must all continue to be vigilant and to work for justice inside the Church and without.

###

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

MINNESOTA
Jeff Anderson & Associates

Updated Media Advisory

*Note location change

Affidavit of Thomas E. Ring – Redacted
July 7, 2014 Memo

July 20, 2016

Vatican Official Ordered Archdiocese Officials to Destroy Evidence and Shut Down Investigation of Former Archbishop John Nienstedt

What: At a news conference today in St. Paul, Attorney Jeff Anderson will:

· Release documents that directly implicate top Vatican and Archdiocesan officials in their failure to protect children, concealment of misconduct, and destruction of evidence;

· Discuss the outcome of today’s hearing in Ramsey County regarding the criminal charges brought against the Archdiocese of St. Paul & Minneapolis in June 2015 for failing to protect children; and

· Credit the courageous survivors, the true heroes, who came forward and reported sexual abuse by former priest Curtis Wehmeyer and made this investigation and outcome possible.

WHEN: Wednesday, July 20, 2016 at 2:30PM

WHERE: Jeff Anderson & Associates, PA
366 Jackson St. Suite 100
St. Paul, MN 55101

**NEWS CONFERENCE WILL BE LIVE-STREAMED FROM OUR WEBSITE – LINK WILL BE AVAILABLE SHORTLY BEFORE NEWS CONFERENCE AT www.andersonadvocates.com **

Please note there is construction on Jackson and 5th Streets. Parking is available on the west side of Jackson Street prior to the news conference.

Contact: Jeff Anderson: Cell: 612.817.8665 Office: 651.227.9990

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

MINNESOTA
Pioneer Press

By TORY COONEY | vcooney@pioneerpress.com

Criminal charges against the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis over its handling of a child sexual-abuse case are expected to be dropped later Wednesday after prosecutors announced additional oversights measures.

Also part of the latest deal: Archdiocese officials agree to publicly admit wrongdoing for the way it handled abuse allegations.

Said Archbishop Hebda after a court hearing Wednesday: “Today I, as the leader of this archdiocese, stand before you to say we have failed — in what we have done and what we have failed to do.”

The Catholic archdiocese faced six gross misdemeanor counts of child endangerment for allegedly turning a blind eye to repeated misconduct by Curtis Wehmeyer, a former priest at Church of the Blessed Sacrament in St. Paul who is now in prison. Wehmeyer was convicted of molesting two boys in Minnesota and one in Wisconsin.

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

MINNESOTA
Fox 9

ST. PAUL, Minn. (KMSP) – The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis will publicly admit wrongdoing in its handling of 3 abuse allegations involving a former priest. The admission of wrongdoing is among 4 major developments announced at a Wednesday morning civil settlement hearing in Ramsey County District Court.

As part of the settlement, Ramsey County Attorney John Choi agreed to drop 6 criminal child endangerment charges against the archdiocese. In Dec. 2015, Choi filed criminal charges against the archdiocese “to hold it criminally accountable for its failure to protect children.” The church was accused of keeping Father Curtis Wehmeyer in the ministry despite knowledge of his sexual misconduct. In 2013, Wehmeyer was convicted on 20 felony charges for sexually abusing two minors in Minnesota. He was also charged in Chippewa County, Wisconsin with second-degree sexual assault. Wehmeyer was defrocked by Pope Francis in March 2015.

As part of the updated settlement, Archbishop Bernard Hebda will personally participate in restorative justice programs. Another significant development announced Wednesday was the release of any victims’ prior confidentiality agreements, within 30 days.

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

MINNESOTA
ABC News

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Jul 20, 2016

The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis has agreed to publicly admit wrongdoing for the way it handled abuse allegations against a former priest.

And prosecutors say they’ll drop six criminal child endangerment charges that alleged the archdiocese turned a blind eye to repeated misconduct by Curtis Wehmeyer, who was convicted of molesting two boys in Minnesota and one in Wisconsin.

The admission of wrongdoing is part of a beefed-up civil agreement announced in court Wednesday. Archbishop Bernard Hebda will also personally participate in restorative justice sessions — taking a more active role.

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

MINNESOTA
KARE

ST. PAUL, Minn. – A hearing in Ramsey County Wednesday indicates that the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis is holding up its end of a far-reaching agreement designed to keep children safe and out of the hands of abusive priests.

The biggest development from the hearing is the announcement that Ramsey County is dropping criminal charges filed against the Archdiocese. Those charges involved allegations that the Archdiocese turned a blind eye to repeated misconduct by Curtis Wehmeyer, who was convicted of molesting two boys in Minnesota and one in Wisconsin.

The Archdiocese was met with praise from the judge and Ramsey County Attorney John Choi for the new initiative called “Virtues Protecting God’s Children,” where everyone who works with children has to go through criminal background checks. They also undergo three hours of specialized training and sign a code of contact. At this point, 576 active clergy have completed the program.

Attorneys for the Archdiocese also spoke of an emphasis on notifying law enforcement immediately when allegations of abuse surface.

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

MINNESOTA
Jeff Anderson & Associates

Media Advisory

July 20, 2016

Attorney Jeff Anderson to Release Documents and Comment on Archdiocese of St. Paul & Minneapolis Criminal Case Today

Vatican, Former Archbishop John Nienstedt Implicated in Documents to be Released Publicly Today

What: At a news conference today outside the Federal Courthouse in Minneapolis, Attorney Jeff Anderson will:

· Release documents concerning the Vatican, Former Archbishop John Nienstedt, and defrocked priest Curtis Wehmeyer; and

· Discuss today’s hearing in Ramsey County regarding the criminal charges brought against the Archdiocese of St. Paul & Minneapolis in June 2015.

WHEN: Wednesday, July 20, 2016 at 2:30PM

WHERE: Outside the Minneapolis Federal Courthouse
300 S. 4th St.
Minneapolis, MN 55415

Notes: The documents will be posted to our website at www.andersonadvocates.com.

Contact: Jeff Anderson: Cell: 612.817.8665 Office: 651.227.9990

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

MINNESOTA
Star Tribune

By Jean Hopfensperger Star Tribune JULY 20, 2016

In a court appearance Wednesday morning, lawyers for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis said it is complying with a historic clergy sex abuse settlement reached last year. It was the first report required under a settlement of civil charges against the church.

The Ramsey County attorney’s office had filed both civil and criminal charges against the archdiocese last year for failure to protect children from the former St. Paul priest Curtis Wehmeyer, now serving time in prison for abusing two sons of a parish employee in a trailer outside his church.

An unusual settlement was reached in the civil case last December, requiring the archdiocese to follow a new child protection accountability system outlined by the court. Provisions include creating new procedures for responding to clergy abuse claims, appointing an independent ombudsperson to assist abuse victims and their families, and allowing the Ramsey County attorney’s office to make recommendations for appointments to the archdiocese’s Ministerial Review Board — among other things.

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

TEXAS
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Wednesday, July 20

Statement by Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, Outreach Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 503 0003 cell, bdorris@SNAPnetwork.org)

A girl and her family are suing a Catholic priest and his church supervisors, charging that Fr. Stephen Tarleton Dougherty repeatedly abused her for six years, starting when she was seven, from 2005-2011. We applaud her for her courage and hope her bravery will inspire others who are suffering to come forward.

[Caller-Times]

Catholic officials should yank Fr. Dougherty’s passport, so he can’t flee overseas. They should use pulpit announcements, church bulletins and parish websites, across the Corpus Christi diocese, to aggressively seek out other victims, witnesses and whistleblowers and beg them to call police. But they won’t. They’ll passively sit back and do the bare minimum.

It’s important to remember that accused child molesting clerics often get top notch, church-funded defense lawyers who exploit every possible legal loophole and technicality to evade responsibility for their heinous crimes. Many times, they succeed in their well-financed, shrewd legal maneuvers and go free or get short sentences. And more kids are assaulted.

We hope that doesn’t happen here. One way to prevent it: every person with information or suspicions about Fr. Dougherty must pick up the phone now and call law enforcement.

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

AUSTRALIA
ABC News

By Anne Connolly

The Anglican Church of Newcastle buried complaints about sex abusers, including reports of a senior priest who was part of a paedophile ring that involved priests and lay people.

In exclusive interviews with 7.30, whistleblowers revealed how they have been harassed and had their lives threatened for their work to expose the truth.

“I was subject to a death threat and on advice from the police and with the support of the Church’s insurer, they agreed to relocate me and my family for a period of two weeks,” John Cleary, the diocese’s business manager, said.

His colleague Michael Elliott, the director of professional standards, moved house five times within a year because of weekly vandalism to his car and house.

His family’s dog also disappeared.

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

MINNESOTA
WDAY

By Nate Leding, KSTP

Sources tell us that internal church documents could be released as soon as Wednesday regarding what officials knew about priests sexually abusing children.

Ramsey County reached a civil settlement with the Archdiocese in December and ordered them to make changes in how it reports alleged priest abuse.

Those charges came after former priest Curtis Wehmeyer pleaded guilty in 2013 to sexually abusing two brothers.

The documents could tell us what former Archbishop John Nienstedt knew about the abuse by priests under his watch.

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.

SCOTLAND
Times of Malta

A Catholic priest has been jailed for 10 months in Scotland for stealing nearly £100,000 from his church.

Fr Graeme Bell, 41, admitted to being addicted to an online roulette game which led him to commit embezzlement and taking £96,000 from his parish, “Our Lady Star of the Sea” in Saltcoats, Ayrshire, Scotland.

He managed to return £25,000.

His lawyer, Gerard Brown, declared that his client would return the rest of the money with the help of his insurance and donations by his friends.

He insisted that his client was “a good man who had given his life to God, to the church and to his parishioners.” He also pointed out that “the priest’s anxiety and depression reached a stage where he was not behaving as a law-abiding individual.”

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

Elizabeth Eisenstadt Evans | Jul. 19, 2016

PHILADELPHIA
Berks County lawmaker Mark Rozzi, flanked by sex abuse survivors and victim-rights advocates on the pavement outside the Cathedral Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul here on Monday, July 18, was steaming mad.

Rozzi had attempted to shepherd a bill through the legislature that would revamp the state’s sex abuse laws, allowing victims to pursue legal claims for decades-old abuses against private institutions. Though it passed the Pennsylvania State House, the statute of limitations retroactivity was strongly opposed by church officials including the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference, and was eliminated from the bill that eventually passed the Senate.

Earlier this month, Brian Gergely, a victim of one of the Altoona-Johnstown diocese’s most infamous clergy predators, the late Msgr. Francis McCaa, took his own life.

Rozzi, who is also a sex abuse survivor, tossed the grand jury reports from Philadelphia and the Altoona-Johnstown diocese on the steps of the Cathedral, laying the blame for the provision’s failure directly at the feet of Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput.

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

MINNESOTA
CBS Minnesota

[with video]

July 19, 2016 By Esme Murphy

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — WCCO-TV has learned that a long-scheduled hearing in the civil case against the Archdiocese of Minneapolis and St. Paul could result in a historic settlement in the criminal case.

The criminal case involves a priest who molested three young Minnesota boys. The hearing is scheduled for Wednesday in Ramsey County District Court.

In June of last year, the archdiocese was charged in both civil and criminal cases for failing to protect children from an abusive priest, Father Curtis Wehmeyer.

In 2012, Wehmeyer pleaded guilty to assaulting two of the brothers in a camper outside Blessed Sacrament Church in St. Paul. In 2015, he pleaded guilty to assaulting the third brother back in 2011 in Wisconsin.

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

MINNESOTA
Fox 9

[with video]

ST. PAUL, Minn. (KMSP) – Just over a year ago, the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis was criminally charged for failing to protect children from clergy sex abuse. Now, it appears a settlement could be in the works.

According to the Archdiocese, Wednesday morning’s hearing will be a progress report on the steps they’ve taken to keep kids safe from sexual abuse. But there could also be new developments in the criminal charges against them as well.

The Ramsey County Attorney will not say whether a settlement has been reached. But multiple sources tell Fox 9 those talks have been ongoing.

In June 2015, Ramsey County Attorney John Choi filed criminal charges against the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis “to hold it criminally accountable for its failure to protect children.”

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

WASHINGTON
Bellingham Herald

BY CALEB HUTTON
chutton@bhamherald.com

A former youth pastor at Bellingham Baptist Church has been arrested on suspicion of sexually abusing a teenage girl over the course of two years.

Christopher L. Trent, 37, a pastor at the Orleans Street church for the past three years, rubbed his face with his hands and wiped away tears with the collar of a green inmate uniform, as a deputy prosecutor read from a Bellingham detective’s report in court Tuesday afternoon, July 19.

The alleged victim reported she was under the age of 14 when the relationship turned inappropriate.

About two years ago, Trent started driving the girl home from church, said Deputy Prosecutor Christopher Quinn. Sometimes he showed her physical affection by giving a “side hug,” she reported, and over time they started hugging chest to chest. Eventually he told her he wanted to kiss her, that he was falling in love with her, and that he wanted to marry her when she turned 18, according to her report to police.

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 HAMPSHIRE
Boston Globe

By Jonathan Saltzman GLOBE STAFF JULY 20, 2016

Leaders of Phillips Exeter Academy acknowledged Tuesday that the school mishandled a recent accusation of sexual misconduct in which a male student was asked — as an “act of penance” — to bake bread for a classmate he allegedly sexually assaulted.

The school also announced the creation of a new “director for student well-being” to handle future sexual misconduct complaints.

The admission and the announcement of the new position came the day after the elite boarding school received a petition with more than 1,000 signatures of alumni who vowed to withhold donations until the school cracked down on sexual abuse.

“Exeter’s handling of a recent allegation of sexual assault, reported in the Boston Globe, is a disturbing reminder that we still have much work to do,’’ said the letter to alumni from the president of the trustees and the principal of the New Hampshire school.

“We know many of you are profoundly disappointed,’’ it went on. “We are as well. Without question, the situation could and should have been handled in a better way.’’ …

Michael Whitfield Jones, a 1975 graduate who received the letter on Tuesday, was delighted that the school acknowledged it mishandled the recent sexual assault report by Michaella Henry, 17, who last October told administrators she was groped by fellow student, Chukwudi “Chudi’’ Ikpeazu, a star athlete. Henry alleged that Ikpeazu had put his hands under her shirt and grabbed her backside as she repeatedly said “no.’’

Instead of going to the police, Henry accepted the school minister’s proposal that the young man bake bread for her weekly, as an act of “penance,” as the Globe’s Spotlight Team reported last week. Henry eventually went to police herself after months of frustration with the school’s response.

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

UNITED KINGDOM
Yorkshire Post

LINDSAY PANTRY

Wednesday 20 July 2016

THE MAJOR inquiry into historical child sexual abuse in England and Wales will today start its work in the region as it opens a regional office.

The Government announced an independent inquiry into the way public bodies investigated and handled child sex abuse claims in July 2014.

But the inquiry was dogged by the resignations of two women appointed as chair of the investigation before New Zealand judge Dame Lowell Goddard was appointed in February 2015.

The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse has already started 13 investigations, including those into Lord Janner and into child abuse by the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches, and has launched regional offices in Liverpool and Manchester.

A visit to York today by Dame Goddard today marks the start of the Inquiry’s Truth Project in the North East, which aims to gain a better understanding of patterns of abuse by speaking to victims and survivors. The project will be separate from the Inquiry’s public hearings to ensure privacy for victims. Specialist support will be given to anyone who shares their experience.

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

UNITED KINGDOM
Chronicle Live

An investigation which will give a voice to victims of institutional child sex abuse is coming to the North East.

The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) aims to identify organisations and institutions that have failed in their duty to protect children from sexual abuse.

The first stage of the wide-scale inquiry, known as the Truth Project, launches in the North East on Wednesday.

Dame Lowell Goddard, who is leading the inquiry, is visiting York to mark the start of the Truth Project in the region and the opening of the Inquiry’s office in the North East.

The project allows victims and survivors to share their experience with the Inquiry during private sessions or via written statements.

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

CANADA
ABC News

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

CORNER BROOK, Newfoundland — Jul 19, 2016

A retired Roman Catholic priest who was sentenced to 11 years in prison for sex offences involving young boys in eastern Canada has been granted full parole after serving a third of his sentence.

George Ansel Smith was sentenced in March 2013 after he pleaded guilty to more than three dozen charges, including sexual assault, indecent assault and assault with intent. The offences occurred from 1969 to 1989 in several Newfoundland communities.

Smith was sentenced to 11 years. The term was reduced to nine years and 11 months for time already served in pre-trial custody.

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

AUSTRALIA
The Record

20 Jul 2016 by Marco Ceccarelli

One of the Catholic schools to receive much publicity about historical cases of child sexual abuse has become the first Victorian secondary school to introduce the “gold standard”, Keeping Them Safe program.

The Ballarat Courier last month reported that St Patrick’s College has worked with sexual abuse survivors in an effort to see the college have the “gold standard around child protection”.

Principal John Crowley said it would ensure the entire school community worked together on child protection in the wake of the Royal Commission into Institutionalised Child Sex Abuse Ballarat hearings.

He added that it was also part of the Victorian government’s new child safety standards that need to be introduced by 1 August 2016.

“We have to change the way certain things are done to ensure protection of children is at the forefront of everything we do,” Mr Crowley said.

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

AUSTRALIA/TANZANIA
Mercury

PATRICK BILLINGS, Police Reporter, Mercury
July 19, 2016

ONE of Tasmania’s most notorious paedophiles has died in Tanzania but the suffering of his many victims will never end, abuse advocates say.

Paul Ronald Goldsmith was jailed for abusing 20 teenage boys and fled to Africa after his release from prison in 2010.

It is not clear how he died. Consular staff said Goldsmith was “sick” while an unconfirmed report suggested he died from complications from a broken leg two months ago.

Beyond Abuse spokesman Steve Fisher said the 71-year-old left a trail of destroyed lives.

“I hope Goldsmith suffered as much as his victims,’’ Mr Fisher said.

“They are still suffering. It will never end for them.”

Hobart-born Goldsmith trained as a Catholic priest and, despite never being ordained, had a long association with the church.

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

TEXAS
Caller-Times

By Fares Sabawi of the Caller-Times

A woman is suing the Diocese of Corpus Christi, a religious order and a former priest accused of sexual assault of a child in Bee County.

The lawsuit, filed July 12 in Nueces County on behalf of “Jane Doe 108,” accuses Stephen Tarleton Dougherty of sexually assaulting her multiple times starting when she was 7 years old.

Dougherty, who could not be reached for comment, was ordained as a Catholic priest in 2003, according to the lawsuit.

The 59-year-old was indicted by a Bee County grand jury in June on one count of sexual assault of a child, a first degree felony. The indictment references a December 2011 assault. Bee County District Attorney Jose Aliseda confirmed Dougherty was indicted but declined further comment.

The lawsuit names the Diocese of Corpus Christi, Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity and Dougherty as defendants.

Diocese spokesman Marty Wind said the diocese had not been served with the lawsuit as of Tuesday afternoon. He declined to comment on the allegations and on Dougherty.

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.

MICHIGAN
The Detroit News

James David Dickson, The Detroit News July 19, 2016

Detroit — The Rev. Timothy Kane will spend at least three and as many as the next 20 years in prison after being resentenced Tuesday in Wayne County Circuit Court for stealing from a charity for the poor.

Kane — convicted in 2014 of using “straw” applicants to apply for Angel Fund grants through the Archdiocese of Detroit then pocketing some of the money for himself via kickbacks — had originally been sentenced by Judge Bruce Morrow to 12 months in county jail, to be served over a five-year period, during which he’d report to jail in Julys and Decembers and for two additional months.

But the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office thought that sentence was too light, appealed it, and won, prompting Tuesday’s resentencing before Judge Margaret Van Houten.

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

UNITED KINGDOM
National Secular Society

Posted: Tue, 19 Jul 2016 by Richard Scorer

Church documents expose an even bigger cover-up than suspected in the Peter Ball case
The recent release of more internal Church of England documents relating to the Peter Ball case exposes an even bigger cover-up than previously suspected, writes specialist abuse lawyer Richard Scorer.

To recap: Peter Ball was a prominent Church of England Bishop who served from 1977 to 1991 as Bishop of Lewes (part of the now notorious Chichester diocese) and then, until his resignation in 1993, as Bishop of Gloucester. Ball was more than just another Bishop, however: exceptionally well connected in establishment circles, he was a personal friend of Prince Charles and dined regularly with Margaret Thatcher. In 1992 Ball was investigated by the police for sexual offences against a 15 year old boy, Neil Todd. There followed an extraordinary campaign in support of Ball: nearly 2000 letters of support including from many prominent establishment figures. In March 1993, on the basis that the Todd offence was a one-off lapse, Ball was let off with a caution. He resigned as Bishop of Gloucester, but continued to officiate at church services. The suspicion persisted, however, that Ball had committed many other offences. Eventually, in 2015, following a second police inquiry, he was convicted of multiple sexual crimes spanning several decades, and imprisoned.

Yet the question remains: what did the Church of England know about Ball’s criminal behaviour, and when did it have that knowledge? In early 1993, when Ball was being investigated for the Todd offence, the then Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey wrote to the Chief Constable of Gloucester. The Todd allegation, Carey suggested, seemed “most improbable”. Carey went on: “if he (Ball) is guilty of unprofessional behaviour it is quite unrepresentative of his style”. Whilst noting that “special pleading” on Ball’s behalf would be “entirely inappropriate”, Carey went on to explain to the Chief Constable that he felt “justified in drawing to your attention the excruciating pain and torment ” which these allegations have inevitably brought upon Ball, whom Carey described in the letter as an “honourable man, firmly concerned for the welfare of young people”.

We have long suspected that at the time Carey’s letter was written – in February 1993 – the Church of England had far more information about Ball’s sexual offending than it had disclosed publicly, or indeed shared with police and prosecutors. Earlier this year, in oral submissions to the Goddard inquiry, I highlighted that another man – I called him AB – had written to Archbishop Carey in late 1992 to express concern about an incident 10 years earlier in which Ball had indecently assaulted him. We know from documents released in March that AB’s allegation was considered in late 1992 by Carey’s then chief of staff, the Right Rev Ronald Gordon. Gordon did not pursue it further; his notes of a meeting at which it was discussed indicate that he considered further investigation unnecessary because “there is already enough evidence to suggest a picture of what has been happening”. By implication, the Church of England at that time already had extensive knowledge of allegations against Ball. AB’s letter was never shared with the police- one reason, I explained, why Ball escaped justice for another 20 years.

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.

SCOTLAND
Herald Scotland

A jury in the trial of two men accused of abusing pupils at a former school for boys will resume its deliberations on Wednesday.

John Farrell, 73, and Paul Kelly, 63, face charges of sexual and physical abuse against more than 20 ex-pupils of St Ninian’s School in Falkland, Fife.

A trial at the High Court in Glasgow was told the men committed indecent acts on boys aged 11 to 16 and punished pupils in their care by making them stand in a hallway naked or wearing only their underwear.

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.

FRANCE
Lyon Capitale

[New delay in the investigation of Cardinal Barbarin.]

Par Antoine Sillières

La phase contradictoire de l’enquête préliminaire pour “non-dénonciation d’agressions sexuelles sur mineurs” et “mise en danger d’autrui” visant notamment le cardinal Barbarin est close. Entrés en possession du dossier il y a un mois, les avocats des deux parties ont remis leurs observations au procureur de la République de Lyon ce lundi.

Au parquet de trancher. Ouverte en mars dernier, la longue procédure d’enquête préliminaire visant quatre responsables du diocèse de Lyon, dont son archevêque, s’était achevée le 17 juin avec la remise d’une copie du dossier d’instruction aux avocats des deux parties. Mais il avait alors été décidé d’ouvrir une phase contradictoire, permettant aux défenseurs de formuler les observations et les demandes d’actes qu’ils auraient jugés pertinents. Au terme de ce mois de délai, les requêtes ont été remises au procureur de la République de Lyon ce lundi 18 juillet. Reste désormais au parquet à décider s’il classe l’affaire, demande l’ouverture d’une information judiciaire ou la renvoie immédiatement devant un tribunal.

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

UNITED STATES
Americans United for Separation of Church and State

Jul 19, 2016 by Rob Boston in Wall of Separation

A few days ago, I receive the July-August issue of Catalyst, the newsletter of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights.

If you’re not familiar with the Catholic League, it’s a right-wing outfit that exists mainly to scream loudly anytime anyone anywhere dares to criticize the clerical leaders in the Catholic Church or the political goals of the bishops. The group, based in New York City, is run by William Donohue, a man who, when it comes to the issue of sexual abuse of minors by priests, is either deliberately provocative or remarkably tone deaf.

That’s a heavy charge, but I can back it up with a headline from the newsletter: “BIG LOSS FOR VICTIMS’ LOBBY; PERSISTENCE PAYS OFF.”

What Donohue is referring to here is the defeat of a New York state bill that would have expanded the statute of limitations in cases of child sexual abuse. Adults who suffered sexual abuse as children would have been given a one-year window to pursue civil cases in court.

The measure, Donohue asserted, “was a vindictive bill pushed by lawyers and activists out to rape the Catholic Church.”

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.

KENTUCKY
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Trial set for twice-accused predator priest
Victims group begs others to “come forward” with info
For 30 years, cleric headed a camp for children in Kentucky
SNAP: “We suspect there are other witnesses, whistleblowers & victims”
Staying “trapped in silence” helps no one, victims say, & “endangers kids”

A November 28 trial date has been set for a Louisville priest who is accused of molesting two children and spent 30 years running a camp for kids.

The cases are being prosecuted separately and there’s no date yet for the second trial.

Fr. R. Joseph Hemmerle was suspended twice – in 2002 and again in 2014 – by Louisville archdiocesan officials because of abuse reports.

The trial date – November 28 – was set last week by Assistant Commonwealth Attorney Jeremy Logsdon (270 287 0034) of Leitchfield who is prosecuting the case. (For more information about the criminal cases: Constance K. Miller (46th JC) ckmiller@prosecutors.ky.gov)

“These two brave men deserve our gratitude for coming forward. Their courage has made kids safer,” said David Clohessy, SNAP’s director. “But they shouldn’t have to carry the burden of prosecuting this predator alone. We firmly believe that there are others who saw, suspected or suffered crimes by Fr. Hemmerle. Those individuals should summon the strength to step up and call police or prosecutors right away.”

“There’s been very little attention given to the fact that Fr. Hemmerle faces two criminal trials,” said Barbara Dorris, SNAP’s outreach director. “Louisville Archbishop Joseph Kurtz should be making pulpit announcements and posting notices in church bulletins and on parish websites begging others with information or suspicions about Fr. Hemmerle to call law enforcement.”

In January 2002, Fr. Hemmerle was put on leave because of an accusation of child sexual abuse. “The archdiocese was aware of the accusation in Sept. 2001, but Fr. Hemmerle wasn’t removed until the accuser went to the police,” according to BishopAccountability.org.

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.

MEXICO
Proceso

[Judge Juan Gomez Rios ordered the release of Carlos Franco Petez Mendes, vicar of the metropolitan cathedral of the Oaxaca capital, for lack of evidence in allegations of aggravated sexual abuse. He was arrested last Friday.]

POR PEDRO MATÍAS 18 JULIO, 2016

OAXACA, Oax. (apro).- El juez Juan Gómez Ríos otorgó el auto de libertad al vicario de la catedral metropolitana de esta capital, Carlos Franco Pérez Méndez, por falta de elementos en el presunto abuso sexual agravado por el que fue detenido el viernes pasado.

Antes de que venciera el término constitucional, el titular del Juzgado Cuarto Penal otorgó la libertad del presbítero Carlos Franco Pérez Méndez, quien desde el pasado 10 de abril fue separado de su cargo “como medida preventiva” y con el fin de facilitar las investigaciones civiles y eclesiásticas.

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

ISRAEL
Jerusalem Postal

Fugitive Breslov rabbi Eliezer Berland, 79, was successfully extradited from South Africa to Israel on Tuesday morning, with the Israel police arresting him upon arrival at Ben-Gurion Airport on suspicion of various sex offenses.

Berland has been wanted by the authorities since he fled the country in February 2013, and was arrested in South Africa in April this year, leading finally to his extradition back to Israel after a lengthy legal process.

Upon his arrest, police took the rabbi for questioning. Depending on the developments of the interrogation, police will ask for court approval of an extension of Berland’s custody.

Berland, the leader of the Shuvu Banim community of the Breslov Hassidic sect, fled Israel after claims of sexual abuse were made against him by several women, including a 15-year-old girl.

He has since resided in Florida, Switzerland, Morocco, Holland, and Zimbabwe along with a band of devoted followers in his efforts to escape extradition to Israel.

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

IRELAND
Journal

MOTHER AND BABY home survivors are to protest against the government’s commission of inquiry into the homes today.

The survivors are all part of the Coalition of Mother and Baby Home Survivors (CMABS), and they will be lodging a formal complaint with the government over the fact some homes are not included in the inquiry.

Protest

The group will hold a short protest outside the Dáil before meeting at the commission of inquiry’s headquarters on Baggot St, where they will hand in the official complaint. They are expected to hold a picket outside the building.

They are also appealing for a legal team to take on their case pro bono so that they can undertake a judicial review of the inquiry.

They say that Northern Ireland’s comparable historical abuse inquiry is making Ireland “look ridiculous”.

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

IRELAND
Breaking News

The inquiry into mother and baby homes is to be picketed at 1.30pm today in Dublin by groups excluded from the investigation.

The Government has selected 14 individual institutions to be examined as part of the current inquiry.

The Coalition of Mother and Baby Home Survivors (CMABS) said this means an estimated two-thirds of victims will be potentially excluded.

“The survivor community has been sliced in two by the Terms of Reference for the Inquiry and thousands have been excluded,” the group stated.

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

IRELAND
Irish Times

Former “singing” priest Tony Walsh has been jailed for seven and half years for raping a boy three times, once with a crucifix.

Anthony Walsh (62) committed the offence at a time when the maximum penalty for this offence, then legally termed indecent assault, was two years. But Judge Elma Sheahan used her discretion to impose consecutive sentences.

The Criminal Law (Rape) Amendment 1990 increased the maximum penalty for sexually assaulting a child under 17 to 14 years.

He forced the child to have sex twice, once in the parochial house in his parish and on another occasion in a tunnel under the Phoenix Park. He also used a crucifix to rape the boy.

Walsh told the jury during the trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court last month that he never knew the boy and said he never assaulted him.

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.

GERMANY
Breitbart

by THOMAS D. WILLIAMS, PH.D.
19 Jul 20161

A new report issued by the German bishops’ conference paints a dismal picture of a Church in steady decline according to every relevant indicator.

During the year 2015, a total of 181,925 people left the Catholic Church in Germany, while only 2,685 people became Catholic and 6,474 came back to Catholicism. This follows on the worst year in the German Catholicism’s modern history, when in 2014 the Church lost a total of 218,000 people.

Average church attendance in Germany has also suffered a precipitous decline in the last 20 years, down from 18.6 percent in 1995 to just 10.4 percent in 2015.

Participation in other sacraments has revealed a similar downward trend. Between 1995 and the present the number of baptisms in Germany has fallen by more than a third, from almost 260,000 babies baptized 20 years ago to just over 167,000 in 2015.

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.

SCOTLAND
Christian Today

James Macintyre 19 July 2016

A Scottish Catholic priest serving a ten month jail sentence for embezzling £100,000 of church money to fund an alleged gambling problem has apparently asked that Pope Francis allow him to quit the clergy.

Fr Graeme Bell was parish priest of Our Lady Star of the Sea church, known locally as St Mary’s, in Saltcoats before being convicted of stealing from the Ayrshire parish between March and May 2015 after admitting to an online gambling problem.

Kilmarnock Sheriff Court heard last month how Bell, 41, suffered from anxiety and depression which “reached a stage where he was not behaving as a law abiding individual”.

Now, according to The Herald, the local bishop, William Nolan, has visited the congregation and informed parishioners that Bell has asked to leave the priesthood, a process known as laicisation.

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

IRELAND
Irish Independent

Sonya McLean
PUBLISHED
19/07/2016

Former “singing” priest Tony Walsh has been jailed for seven and half years for raping a boy three times, once with a crucifix.

Anthony Walsh (62) committed the offence at a time when the maximum penalty for this offence, then legally termed indecent assault, was two years.

But on Tuesday Judge Elma Sheahan used her discretion to impose consecutive sentences.

The Criminal Law (Rape) Amendment 1990 increased the maximum penalty for sexually assaulting a child under 17 to 14 years.

He forced the child to have sex twice, once in the parochial house in his parish and on another occasion in a tunnel under the Phoenix Park. He also used a crucifix to rape the boy.

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

UNITED STATES
Catholic News Agency

Poughkeepsie, N.Y., Jul 18, 2016 / 03:54 pm (CNA).- By a 2-to-1 margin, Americans believe it is unfair to extend the statute of limitations regarding sex abuse cases for private institutions but not public ones.

A new national survey, which polled 1,009 adults in the U.S., was conducted by the Marist Institute for Public Opinion July 5-12, 2016. It was sponsored by Catholic News Agency.

Participants were asked if they think it is fair or not fair to allow people more time to come forward and sue a private school or institution, but not if they claim abuse from a public one.

Statute of limitations laws limit the amount of time in which a lawsuit may be filed.

Efforts have been made in some states to change the statute of limitations in order to allow more time for people who say they were sexually abused as children to come forward. In some of these cases – including New York and Pennsylvania – the longer time period would apply to private organizations but not to public schools or government institutions.

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

ISRAEL
Haaretz

Yair Ettinger and Yaniv Kubovich Jul 19, 2016

Rabbi Eliezer Berland, leader of the Shuvu Banim community, was extradited from South Africa and arrested after he landed in Israel on Tuesday, on suspicion of perpetrating sexual abuse and harassment, Israel Police said.

Hundreds of Berland supporters, many of whom were in their cars, were waiting outside the airport for the police van containing Berland.

Berland’s extradition marks the end of an international saga that began when he fled Israel more than three years ago after he was suspected of a number of sex crimes against women, namely in his community.

Followers of the rabbi said a group of them accompanied him on an El Al flight from Johannesburg.

“Rabbi Eliezer Berland’s extradition on suspicion of sex crimes has been completed,” police said in a statement. “After a continuous effort, the Israel Police arrested Rabbi Eliezer Berland, wanted for some time for investigation on suspicion of perpetrating sexual abuse and harassment,” a police statement said.

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

SCOTLAND
The National

JULY 19TH, 2016 JANICE BURNS

SURVIVORS have written to Deputy First Minister recommending three big names to replace the former chair of Scotland’s controversial child abuse inquiry.

In Care Abuse Survivors (INCAS), which represents the largest number of survivors in Scotland, has asked John Swinney to consider giving the job to leading English human rights barrister Michael Mansfield, or Scottish lawyers Lord Malcolm or Lord McEwan.

Earlier this month, the inquiry’s former chair Susan O’Brien QC resigned after formal proceedings were launched to remove her following claims she made comments that were offensive to survivors.

Panel member Professor Michael Lamb had stepped down just days before, saying the review was “doomed’’ due to interference by Scottish Government ministers.

Education Minister Swinney then met with child abuse survivors after saying they had lost faith in the inquiry. He denied claims of interference from ministers, said he was “utterly committed to an independent inquiry” and agreed to consider expanding the remit of the inquiry.

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

AUSTRALIA
Bendigo Advertiser

Mark KearneyMark Kearney
@mnkearney

19 Jul 2016

A documentary detailing the pain endured by survivors of sexual abuse will screen at a Bendigo church on Wednesday night.

Epsom Community Church will show Humble Hope, a film featuring the stories of nine people who were victims of sexual assault in their childhood.

It also explains the role religion has played in their recovery.

Survivor Mark Stiles, who was interviewed for the film, will appear at the screening on Wednesday.

Mr Stiles was abused by Salvation Army officers while living at Gill Memorial Boys’ Home in Goulburn, New South Wales, in the early 1970s, crimes he has recounted to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

He hoped the film could help ease other survivors’ suffering.

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 HAMPSHIRE
Union Leader

By JASON SCHREIBER
Union Leader Correspondent

EXETER – The president of the trustees at Phillips Exeter Academy says she’s been brought to tears by many of the messages received from alumni in the wake of an investigation into alleged sexual misconduct on campus.

In a message to alumni posted on Facebook last Thursday, Eunice Panetta said trustees were grateful to those who were speaking up.

The school administration has faced harsh criticism from many alumni who claim officials mishandled sexual abuse claims for years.

“We hear your criticisms, and we sincerely welcome your involvement, particularly that of our most recent graduates, who can shed the most light on what our current students may experience. We will organize ways for you to share your stories, your views, and your suggestions. I have already received scores of passionate, thoughtful, and constructive messages from Exonians of all generations, many of which have brought me to tears,” Panetta’s message said in part.

Her statement came on the same day that alumni revealed publicly that an open letter to trustees had been signed by hundreds threatening to withhold financial support for the academy and demanding the board take action to address sexual misconduct issues.

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

UNITED KINGDOM
Heart

19th July 2016, 00:01

Teresa Cooper, who has waived her right to anonymity, says she was regularly drugged and sexually abused during the time she was at Kendall House and has been campaigning for years for the truth about what happened there to come to light.

Last week an independent review said the Church of England girls home was a “toxic and destructive” environment, and revealed the scale of sexual abuse, ill-treatment and physical abuse at the site between 1967 and 1986.

It disclosed how girls as young as 11 were routinely, and often without medical assessment, given powerful anti-depressants, sedatives and anti-psychotic drugs.

Those that resisted, challenged or overcame the drugs’ effects faced sanctions, including being locked alone in a room for days on end or emotionally abused.

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

TEXAS
Statesman

An ousted former pastor who is criminally charged with continuous sexual abuse of a child is now responsible for a lawsuit brought against his former East Austin church.

A mother who says her daughter was molested by former Rev. Henry Lee McGee is suing McGee, his wife and First Baptist Church on Heflin Lane. The mother says McGee, now 69, sexually molested her daughter beginning when she was 13 in June 2014 until October last year.

“Church administrators were suspicious of the relationship between Pastor McGee and the minor and approached him, but failed to report the abuse,” the lawsuit says.

When reached Monday, the church’s current pastor Rev. James Limuel, who knows McGee, declined to comment because he said he had not yet seen the lawsuit. Limuel said McGee was voted out as pastor of the church last fall. Round Rock police arrested McGee, who lives in Round Rock, in December.

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

TEXAS
Patch

By Tony Cantu (Patch Staff) – July 19, 2016

EAST AUSTIN, TX — The family of am alleged sexual abuse victim is suing an East Austin church after allegations surfaced a pastor there had sex with a teen parishioner, according to published reports.

A mother claiming her daughter was molested by former Rev. Henry Lee McGee is now suing him, his wife and First Baptist Church stemming from the allegations. The woman said McGee, 69, had sex with her daughter starting when she was 13 two years ago until October of last year, the Austin American-Statesman reported.

According to the lawsuit: “Church administrators were suspicious of the relationship between Pastor McGee and the minor and approached him, but failed to report the abuse.” The alleged victim now has suffers “severe emotional distress and mental anguish” as a result, the lawsuit continues.

A parish spokesman declined comment when reached by the Statesman, and an attorney for McGee said his client vehemently denies the allegations. The church is located in the 4800 block of Heflin Lane.

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

AUSTRALIA
Bendigo Advertiser

JOANNE McCARTHY
19 Jul 2016

BRIAN Burston was distraught and desperate in July, 1992 when he wrote a letter about his wife and a priest to one of the Hunter region’s most senior Catholic clergymen.

Pauline Hanson’s future One Nation Senate colleague had three young children in 1992, his marriage was on the rocks and the man he blamed – the now convicted Catholic child sex offender priest David O’Hearn – was unmoved by appeals or anger.

“Through his deliberate deception, Father David O’Hearn has almost certainly put an end to my marriage,” Mr Burston wrote to the then Monsignor Allan Hart, in a letter warning that he “feared for others” because O’Hearn’s “words and actions are in total conflict with the teachings of our faith”.

Mr Burston and his former wife Yvonne now agree O’Hearn used his relationship with her – which was close but not sexual – as a cover for his child sex offending. He was just one of a number of Hunter paedophile priests, including Vince Ryan and Denis McAlinden, who used very public friendships with women to hide their crimes.

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

LOUISIANA
The Advocate

BY JOE GYAN JR | JGYAN@THEADVOCATE.COM JUL 18, 2016

A state judge Monday dismissed a Catholic priest’s defamation lawsuit against a Baton Rouge television station over its reporting of a long-running court case involving the secrecy of the confessional and allegations of sexual abuse against a now-deceased church parishioner.

The Rev. Jeff Bayhi contends WBRZ-TV defamed him in a graphic that stated “woman claims priest abused her at age 14” and “priest died while authorities were investigating.”

The graphic accompanied a January 2015 news report about the woman, Rebecca Mayeux; the deceased parishioner, George Charlet Jr.; and her pastor, Bayhi.

One of WBRZ’s attorneys argued last month before state District Judge Wilson Fields that the verbal news report was “completely accurate” and that the station corrected the graphic at the end of the newscast. The graphic did not include Bayhi’s name.

The lawyer, Sharonda Williams, acknowledged at the June 20 hearing that the station made an error but did not do so with malice toward Bayhi.

“That does not rise to the level of actual malice,” she argued in asking Fields, of Baton Rouge, to throw out the priest’s defamation claims.

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

PENNSYLVANIA
Philly.com

by Maria Panaritis, STAFF WRITER

Standing with others who had been abused by Catholic clergy, State Rep. Mark Rozzi hurled stacks of grand jury reports onto the steps of the Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul on Monday, and loudly vowed to continue trying to change Pennsylvania law so victims like himself can file suit in decades-old cases.

Stoking a legislative fight over the civil statute of limitations, the Berks County Democrat pledged to rewrite a pending House bill to include a two-year window in which any adult of any age could sue private institutions and individuals for abuse that occurred when they were children.

“For over 50 years, this institution, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, and its leadership, the archbishops, and in fact all Roman Catholic dioceses across the state of Pennsylvania believed they were above the law, that they didn’t have to abide by our laws,” Rozzi said, shouting. “And now, they hide behind our laws.”

His version would be more favorable to victims than that passed by the House in April. Under pressure from church and insurance lobbyists, the Senate unanimously voted last month to strip it of language that would have allowed people up to age 50 to sue for past abuse.

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

GUAM
Pacific Daily News

Haidee V Eugenio, Pacific Daily News 2:51 a.m. ChST July 19, 2016

The archbishop named by the Vatican to temporarily oversee the administration of the Catholic Church in Guam said Sunday that his actions and decisions “may be far from perfect” but are geared toward promoting unity in the church, among other things.

Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai has been in Guam for more than five weeks since Pope Francis appointed him on June 6 to temporarily replace Archbishop Anthony S. Apuron, while sex abuse allegations involving Apuron are investigated.

To date, the Vatican hasn’t released any details about an investigation relating to Apuron, who’s been accused publicly of sexually abusing four altar boys in the 1970s when he was parish priest at the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Agat.

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

MASSACHUSETTS
Boston Globe

By Andy Rosen GLOBE STAFF JULY 18, 2016

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston on Monday announced a set of appointments and changes affecting church leadership, parishes, and institutions around the region.

The moves follow the announcement last month that Pope Francis had named two new auxiliary bishops. Bishops-elect Robert Reed and Mark O’Connell are set to be ordained Aug. 24 at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross.

Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley announced the appointments Monday, citing “the ongoing work of responding to the pastoral and ministerial needs of our Catholic family.”

“We are pleased that these gifted priests and religious have accepted the call to these new assignments,” O’Malley said in a statement. “We are blessed by their commitment to bring the spiritual and corporal works of mercy to the people we serve, through the vision established in Disciples in Mission.”

Reed will become regional bishop for the archdiocese’s West Region after he is ordained. He will also become the pastor of Good Shepherd Parish in Wayland starting Sept. 21, O’Malley announced.

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
Reading Eagle

By David Mekeel
PHILADELPHIA, PA

State Rep. Mark Rozzi took the fight right to his opponent’s doorstep Monday.

A Muhlenberg Township Democrat, Rozzi was part of a news conference and rally at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul in Philadelphia.

The event was designed to support victims of child sexual abuse and criticize the Catholic Church for its opposition to measures expanding victims’ rights.

The news conference was spurred by the recent passage by the state Senate of a bill overhauling Pennsylvania’s child sex abuse laws, as well as the suicide of victim and victim rights advocate Brian Gergely earlier this month.

The legislation was stripped of a key provision crafted by Rozzi that would have allowed victims to pursue claims for abuses that occurred decades ago.

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

UNITED STATES
ProtectJewishKids.com

This now marks the eighth month since I began contacting Rabbi Mark Dratch, executive vice-president of the Rabbinical Council of America by phone and email. I asked Rabbi Dratch to address the numerous areas in which I believe that the RCA has done little or nothing to protect Jewish children from the rampant sexual abuse found in Orthodox communities throughout the world.

The RCA is the world’s largest rabbinical organization with over 1,000 members who are rabbis in 18 countries. The RCA has close ties to the Orthodox Union, Yeshiva University, the Beth Din of America and the Chief Rabbinate of Israel.

Thousands of parents assume that their rabbis are doing everything necessary to make our summer camps, synagogues, Jewish schools, yeshivas and mikvas safe for our children. They couldn’t be more mistaken.

When I first discussed Orthodox child sexual abuse with Rabbi Dratch 8 months ago, he told me that this was an issue that is close to his heart. I asked him to take the following 3 steps that would greatly help to protect Orthodox children from sexual abuse:

I asked him to implement and enforce the 4 separate sets of child safety resolutions that the RCA has adopted over the last 23 years. I don’t know of a single rabbi or Orthodox institution that has implemented or enforced these resolutions.

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
PhillyVoice

BY BRIAN HICKEY
PhillyVoice Staff

Monday could have been the day that clergy sex-abuse victim John-Michael Delaney finally got decades of frustration off his chest during a private meeting with Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput.

But in the days since Delaney told PhillyVoice of that meeting – something he’d avoided for decades on account of “not being able to be in the same room as a priest” – officials told the victim of one of the “archdiocese’s most brutal abusers” that the meeting was off.

Delaney said it was payback for going public; an archdiocesan spokesman said the meeting “will take place in due time provided all the parameters [of privacy] are respected.”

That didn’t sit too well with Delaney, who flew up from Tennessee this weekend to speak at a Monday afternoon press conference on the sidewalk outside of the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul on Logan Circle.

There, abuse victims railed against the church’s opposition to House Bill 1947, which proposed an extension of statutes of limitation dictating how long they had to file complaints against their alleged abusers.

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

TEXAS
KENS

SAN ANTONIO — A youth pastor was arrested and accused of child sexual assault, according to an arrest warrant from the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office.

Edgar Gonzalez, 24, is accused of having sex with a 16-year-old girl. According to the warrant, he was her youth pastor at one time.

A deputy reportedly spoke with the victim last week. BCSO said she reported that Gonzalez texted her to meet up for sex after communicating with him for 2-3 weeks.

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

CANADA
CBC News

By Jeremy Eaton, CBC News Posted: Jul 18, 2016

A former Roman Catholic priest on Newfoundland’s west coast who pleaded guilty to abusing more than a dozen boys between the ages of eight and 13 has been granted full parole after serving just over a third of his sentence.

George Ansel Smith was sentenced in March 2013 to 11 years in jail, with credit for a year spent in custody, after pleading guilty to 23 counts of indecent assault, 7 counts of sexual assault and 8 counts of assault with intent.

The majority of his offences happened in communities around western Newfoundland between 1969 and 1989.

“Mr. Smith’s crimes are serious, involve more victims, and result in more convictions than any of the offenders from the Mount Cashel Orphanage cases,” said Supreme Court Judge William Goodridge at the time of sentencing.

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

ITALY
Crux

John L. Allen Jr.July 17, 2016
EDITOR

The Italian Church netted $1.3 billion from its share of income taxes that go to religious groups, according to the latest annual data, while in Germany the figure is a staggering $6 billion. That means German and Italian support for the Vatican is inflated by tax dollars, while American offerings come from voluntary contributions.

Last week the Italian government released its latest data on the distribution of annual income tax proceeds, covering the year 2012. The results show that the Catholic Church netted a little over $1.3 billion from what’s known as the otto per mille (“eight per thousand”) system.

Under Italian law, 0.8 percent of everyone’s income tax is devoted either to support of one of the organized religions recognized by the state or to a government-run social assistance program. In a country where distrust of government is pervasive, roughly 80 percent of taxpayers who express a preference each year choose a religion, and the lion’s share goes to the Catholic Church.

Moreover, the law says that for those taxpayers who fail to designate a choice, their 0.8 percent will be allocated on the basis of the shares created by those who did, meaning that the Church gets the bulk of that money too. That’s hugely significant, given that in 2012 almost 55 percent of taxpayers didn’t express an option.

The total yearly haul for the Church for some time now has been north of $1 billion. It’s often erroneously reported that the money goes to “the Vatican,” but that’s not the case – it goes to the Italian bishops. They put out a breakdown each year of where it goes, with the largest line items being clergy salaries and pastoral operations.

Italy is not the only country to have some version of a “church tax.” Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Sweden, Austria and Germany all have such a national system, and some cantons in Switzerland also have a local version.

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

VATICAN CITY
kath.net

[A media report states that Vienna Cardinal Christoph Schönborn (71) is set to take over management of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The Herald, a Malaysian Catholic weekly, has suggested that CDF Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Muller (68) will move to the Mainz archdiocese to replace Cardinal Karl Lehmann, who has resigned due to age..]

Medienbericht: Im Gegenzug solle der Wiener Kardinal Christoph Schönborn (71) in den Vatikan wechseln und dort die Leitung der Glaubenskongregation übernehmen

Kuala Lumpur (kath.net/KNA) Nach Darstellung der in Malaysia erscheinenden katholischen Wochenzeitung «Herald» plant Papst Franziskus personelle Veränderungen innerhalb der Kurie. Demnach könnte der bisherige Präfekt der Glaubenskongregation, Kardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller (68), den seit dem altersbedingten Rücktritt von Kardinal Karl Lehmann vakanten Bischofsposten in Mainz besetzen. Im Gegenzug solle der Wiener Kardinal Christoph Schönborn (71) in den Vatikan wechseln und dort die Leitung der Glaubenskongregation übernehmen, berichtete das Blatt am Wochenende unter Berufung auf «gut informierte Vatikanquellen» auf seiner Internetseite.

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

DEUTSCHLAND
Feinschwarz

[A bureaucratic church wants to prevent sexual violence in their ranks.]

Die Missbrauchsskandale haben (nicht nur) die katholische Kirche erschüttert. Eine Folge davon ist eine höhere Sensibilisierung für das Thema – aber auch entsprechende Maßnahmen, um Missbrauch zu verhindern. Stefan Gärtner (Tilburg) schaut sich kritisch ein Feld des Umgangs mit Kindern an – die Vorbereitung auf die Erstkommunion. Vor allem hinterfragt er die gegenwärtige bürokratische Reaktion auf ihre Angemessenheit.

Das Erschrecken über die Fälle sexueller Gewalt gegenüber Kindern und Jugendlichen sitzt der Kirche bis heute in den Gliedern. Die Missbrauchsskandale offenbarten „eine große Norm-Praxis-Kluft im innersten (klerikalen) Bereich und am sensibelsten Ort heutiger Beziehungsrealitäten, den Kindern“.[1] Das tastet die Glaubwürdigkeit insbesondere des Lehramts an.

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

DEUTSCHLAND
WDR

[No abuse cases against priests in Horstmar.]

Die Staatsanwaltschaft Münster hat Ermittlungen gegen einen Priester, der in Horstmar tätig war, eingestellt. Ihm war vorgeworfen worden, ein Kind sexuell belästigt zu haben. Ein strafbares Verhalten war nicht nachzuweisen, so der Staatsanwalt.

Was genau dem Priester vorgeworfen worden war, ist nicht bekannt. Münsters Bischof Felix Genn hatte den aus Nigeria stammenden Geistlichen im Februar beurlaubt. Die Missbrauchs-Kommission des Bistums leitete den Fall an die Staatsanwaltschaft weiter. Bistumssprecher Stephan Kronenburg sprach damals davon, dass der 48-Jährige “im vergangenen Jahr sexuell intendierte Handlungen an einem Kind vorgenommen” haben soll.

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

DEUTSCHLAND
Saabruecker Zeitung

Von Matthias Zimmermann, 16. Juli 2016

Kindesmissbrauch in der Kirche – ein harter Vorwurf. Drei Aspekte sind bei der gründlichen Aufklärung unabdingbar: Die Unschuldsvermutung gilt, bis Richter anders entscheiden. Zweitens: Aussagewillige mutmaßliche Opfer dürfen keine Repressalien fürchten, weil in der Kirche nicht sein kann, was nicht sein darf. Und: Hinweisgeber, denen es um die Wahrheit geht, sind von Denunzianten, die unliebsame Menschen kaltstellen wollen, zu unterscheiden. Das muss auch bei Ermittlungen gegen einen ehemaligen Freisener Pastor uneingeschränkt gelten. Diese Woche ging’s Involvierten des Trierer Bistums und der betroffenen Pfarrei weniger um Aufklärung. Vielmehr sollte ein Hinweisgeber enttarnt werden.

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

MASSACHUSETTS
PennLive

By Ivey DeJesus | idejesus@pennlive.com

A highway exit sign triggered the flood of memories.

Rosanne Sliney was 24 years old when the sight of the exit sign unleashed a tide of memories long repressed: Her uncle sexually abusing her in his car.

She was 5. He was her mother’s brother, a beloved member of a large Italian-American family from Massachusetts, her godfather.

Roseanne Sliney was 5 years old in 1968 when her uncle began sexually molesting her. The abuse would continue for 10 years. Her story helped tip the Massachusetts Legislature in favor of reforming the statute of limitations.
Submitted

That one trigger brought back the years of abuse, the pain, shame and guilt. Her uncle did unspeakable things to the young girl – in his home, his car, his business. Rumors long circulated among her relatives, but no adult – not family member, teacher or coach – sounded the alarm. Sliney endured the horror in silence for nearly 10 years, retreating from her school studies and the conventions of teen life.

The flood of memories prompted Sliney to confront her predator. He in turn sent her a letter of apology filled with anguished remorse for what he had done. He had mistaken “sex” for love, he wrote, and had asked God for forgiveness.

Nearly two decades would pass before Sliney worked up the nerve to take the next step: In 2012 she filed a lawsuit against him. Her decision would splinter her family, but she could have little imagined that it would tip the effort to overhaul Massachusetts law.

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

UNITED KINGDOM
Christian Today

Ruth Gledhill CHRISTIAN TODAY CONTRIBUTING EDITOR 18 July 2016

A lawyer is calling for Lord Carey to be investigated following the release of files by police under a freedom of information request, according to The Times.

The files include detailed Church of England internal reviews of the case of disgraced bishop Peter Ball, 84, jailed for 32 month last October after pleading guilty to misconduct in public office and indecent assaults on 18 young men between 1977 and 1992.

According to the files, Lambeth Palace received six letters after Ball was cautioned in 1992 revealing that he encouraged victims to pray naked, perform sex acts in front of him and share his bed.

He received a caution in 1993 for gross indecency, after he had been made Bishop of Gloucester in 1992. He resigned as bishop yet was still allowed to return to ministry, even though the Church knew there were other survivors who had come forward.

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.