ABUSE TRACKER

A digest of links to media coverage of clergy abuse. For recent coverage listed in this blog, read the full article in the newspaper or other media source by clicking “Read original article.” For earlier coverage, click the title to read the original article.

July 5, 2016

Child abuse victims urge Archbishop Eamon Martin to set aside compensation money

NORTHERN IRELAND
Belfast Telegraph

Victims of child abuse at residential homes in Northern Ireland have urged the head of the Catholic Church in Ireland to set aside money for compensation.

Archbishop Eamon Martin met campaigners in Armagh on Tuesday.

The Historical Institutional Abuse (HIA) inquiry is due to report to the Executive next January and could recommend a pay-out for survivors.

Margaret McGuckin from Survivors and Victims of Institutional Abuse said: “It is the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Executive to set up a redress scheme for victims of institutional abuse here, but the Catholic Church and religious orders which ran homes where we were abused have a moral and financial responsibility to victims.

“We have asked the Archbishop to tell Executive ministers that the Church stands ready to contribute significant funds to a government-run redress scheme.

“Other organisations, private or public, which ran homes where abuse took place bear a similar responsibility.”

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.

State Police Withhold Prep School Abuse Investigation Report

RHODE ISLAND
ABC News

By JENNIFER MCDERMOTT AND AMY ANTHONY, ASSOCIATED PRESS
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Jul 5, 2016

Rhode Island state police won’t release their report into dozens of sexual abuse allegations at a prestigious boarding school because the matter is being investigated in other states.

The investigation into allegations of abuse of students at St. George’s School concluded in June with no criminal charges.

Police denied a request by The Associated Press for the investigative report on Tuesday. The denial said police determined the report isn’t releasable under state law because of ongoing investigations in other state jurisdictions.

Col. Steven O’Donnell said state police turned over information they had to agencies in Massachusetts and North Carolina. He couldn’t immediately say which agencies are conducting the investigations in those states.

Attorney Eric MacLeish, who represents some of the victims, also was aware of potential criminal cases that could be brought in Massachusetts and North Carolina. He said those cases involve former St. George’s staff 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.

Outspoken clergy abuse advocate found hanged at home

PENNSYLVANIA
MSN

EBENSBURG, Pa. — A Pennsylvania man who spoke out against clergy abuse after publicly identifying himself as a victim of a predator priest has killed himself, authorities said.

Brian Gergely, 46, was found hanged in his home in Ebensburg on Friday, Cambria County Coroner Jeffrey Lees told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

Gergely went public in 2003 while suing Monsignor Francis McCaa and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown, saying he was abused as a 10-year-old altar boy.

“It takes a great deal of courage to step forward, and even more courage to go public and give your identity instead of a pseudonym. Brian overcame that because he felt so strongly about the sexual abuse of children,” said Richard Serbin, the Altoona attorney who represented Gergely said Tuesday. “Tragically, the demons he’s been dealing with since he was molested by Monsignor McCaa finally won out.”

Gergely and other plaintiffs settled their lawsuit against McCaa, other priests and the diocese in 2005. McCaa died in 2007.

McCaa was described as a “monster” in a state grand jury report released in March that criticized the diocese’s handling of clergy abuse claims. He fondled altar boys whom he had told to go without pants under their cassocks, molesting them in a church sacristy, a rectory and even while taking their confession, the grand jury found.

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.

Man, 46, who said ‘monster’ priest abused him when he was a 10-year-old altar boy is found hanged at his Pennsylvania home

PENNSYLVANIA
Daily Mail (UK)

By ASSOCIATED PRESS and CLEMENCE MICHALLON FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

A Pennsylvania man who said a priest abused him when he was only 10 and spoke out against clergy abuse has killed himself, authorities said.

Brian Gergely, 46, was found hanged in his home in Ebensburg on Friday, Cambria County Coroner Jeffrey Lees said Tuesday.

Gergely sued Monsignor Francis McCaa and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown in 2003, saying the priest had abused him when he was a 10-year-old altar boy.

‘Tragically, the demons he’s been dealing with since he was molested by Monsignor McCaa finally won out,’ attorney Richard Serbin, who represented Gergely, said Tuesday.

‘It takes a great deal of courage to step forward, and even more courage to go public and give your identity instead of a pseudonym,’ Serbin added.

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.

Lawyer to Vatican court: Client not likable, but not guilty

VATICAN CITY
U.S. News

By NICOLE WINFIELD, Associated Press

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The lawyer for a woman at the heart of a trial over leaks from the Vatican said Tuesday her client may not be likable, but that she shouldn’t be convicted just because she’s “unpleasant, insufferable, arrogant and presumptuous.”

Lawyers for the five defendants in the case began their closing arguments Tuesday after prosecutors rested their case. Prosecutors requested the stiffest sentence, three years and nine months, for Francesca Chaouqui, a communications expert who gave birth during the trial.

Chaouqui was a member of a papal reform commission investigating Vatican finances. She, the commission’s No. 2 and his secretary were accused of forming a criminal association and providing commission documents to two Italian journalists.

The journalists wrote books last year based on confidential documents exposing greed, mismanagement and corruption in the Vatican. They too were put on trial, accused of conspiracy and publishing confidential information — a crime under Vatican City State 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.

Beginning of the final phase in the trial for dissemination of reserved information and documents, 05.07.2016

VATICAN CITY
Vatican Information Service – Bollettino

Vatican City, 5 July 2016 – Today, Monday 4 July, at 3.40 p.m. in Vatican City State Tribunal, the concluding phase began in the ongoing trial for the dissemination of reserved information and documents. It was attended by the members of the Tribunal (Professors Giuseppe Dalla Torre, Piero Antonio Bonnet, Paolo Papanti-Pelletier and Venerando Marano), the Promoter of Justice (Professors Gianpiero Milano and Roberto Zannotti), and all the defendants, Ángel Lucio Vallejo Balda, Francesca Immacolata Chaouqui, Nicola Maio, Emiliano Fittipaldi and Gianluigi Nuzzi with their respective legal representatives Emanuela Bellardini, Laura Sgrò, Rita Claudia Baffioni, Lucia Teresa Musso and Roberto Palombi.

The session was entirely dedicated to the indictment by the Promoter of Justice. The conclusions presented by the two Promoters led to a call for a conviction for criminal association, limited to Vallejo Balda, Chaouqui and Maio, regarding the disclosure of information and documents regarding fundamental matters of State (arts. 248 and 116-bis of the Penal Code), while the journalists were accused of complicity in the dissemination of documents through the publication of the books Avarizia (Fittipaldi) and Via Crucis (Nuzzi).

The sentences requested were, for Msgr. Vallejo Balda: a custodial sentence of three years and one month; for Chaouqui, considered the instigator and responsible for the conduct: a custodial sentence of three years and nine months; and for Maio, considering his limited role in the events, a custodial sentence of one year and nine months. For the two journalists, the two positions were differentiated on the basis of findings during the inquiry and the trial: the acquittal of Emiliano Fittipaldi was requested due to lack of evidence, whereas for Gianluigi Nuzzi, a one-year prison sentence, with the possibility of suspension, was called for.

The session ended around 5.30 p.m.

The interventions by the counsels for the defence will begin tomorrow, Tuesday, at 9.30 a.m. and will continue on Wednesday afternoon at 3.30 p.m.

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.

MEDIA RELEASE – JULY 5, 2016

NEW JERSEY
Road to Recovery

Jesuit priest psychologist and head of the Northeast Province of the Jesuit religious order, Fr. John Cecero, SJ, who refuses to help a childhood sexual abuse victim of a Jesuit priest, Fr. Roy Alan Drake, SJ, for whom he is responsible, is giving a week-long workshop to other priests and religious persons on the topic:

“FLOURISHING IN MINISTRY: ISSUES OF SPIRITUAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL SELF-CARE AND SPIRITUAL LEADERSHIP”

Fr. John Cecero, SJ, head of the Jesuit religious order based in New York City, refuses to give care, acknowledgment, and recovery services to Neal E. Gumpel who was sexually abused by Fr. Roy Alan Drake, SJ, when Neal E. Gumpel was a minor child and Fr. Roy Alan Drake, SJ was a Jesuit priest and a visiting professor of science at Maine Maritime Academy in Castine, Maine, even though the Jesuits have found Neal Gumpel credible.

What
A demonstration and leafleting alerting Catholics, members of the clergy and religious orders, residents of the Jersey shore, and neighbors of a popular New Jersey retreat center of the lack of care, concern, and compassion on the part of the leader of the Northeast Province of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), Fr. John Cecero, SJ, who refuses to help a childhood sexual abuse victim of a Jesuit priest but finds time to “lecture” other priests and religious men and women about being spiritual leaders

When
Wednesday, July 6, 2016 from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm

Where
On the public sidewalk outside San Alfonso Retreat House, 755 Ocean Avenue, Long Branch, New Jersey 07740 (also called West End, New Jersey)

Who
Neal E. Gumpel, a victim/survivor of childhood sexual abuse; his wife, Helen Gumpel; Robert M. Hoatson, Ph.D., President of Road to Recovery, Inc., a non-profit charity based in New Jersey that assists victims of sexual abuse and their families; supporters, and friends

Why
Fr. John Cecero, SJ, Provincial of the Society of Jesus’ (Jesuits) Northeast Province and a trained psychologist is presenting a week-long workshop at a popular New Jersey retreat house on the topic of psychological self-care and spiritual leadership. Recently, he and his New York City-based Jesuit colleagues told a seriously harmed childhood sexual abuse victim of a Jesuit priest, Fr. Roy Alan Drake, SJ, that the Jesuits would not settle his claim and allow him to gain validation and try to heal, even though the Jesuits have found Neal Gumpel to be credible. The Jesuits have settled other claims against Fr. Roy Alan Drake, SJ, a serial pedophile, for hundreds of thousands of dollars, but they have told Neal E. Gumpel to take a hike. Demonstrators will call upon Fr. John Cecero, SJ, to do the right thing and settle Neal E. Gumpel’s claim so he can gain validation and try to heal.

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

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.

NJ–Abusive minister strikes again; Victims respond

NEW JERSEY
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Tuesday, July 5,2016

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)

It’s heartbreaking that a fugitive child molesting New Jersey minister has apparently assaulted another youngster while his church colleagues do little or nothing to help law enforcement catch him or help warn other church members about him.

[NJ.com]

According to NJ.com, “Rev. Gregorio Martinez, a former Jersey City resident who grew up in the Dominican Republic, was convicted in February 2015 of molesting a 13-year-old boy he knew from his Union City church. He also is charged with sexually assaulting or attempting to sexually assault three young adults, ages 18 and 19.”

We call on the Assembly of United Christian Churches, a Pentecostal denomination based in the Bronx, to immediately suspend Martinez’s preacher’s license. We call on Pedro Matamoros, Enrique Osorio, Jessenia Zarate, and every church official and member – in New Jersey and Nicaragua – to use social media, church bulletins, parish websites and pulpit announcements to warn others about Martinez and beg witnesses, victims and whistleblowers to contact secular authorities immediately. And we call on friends and family of Paula and Kelvin Martinez to step up efforts to persuade them to share what they know or suspect about Rev. Martinez with law enforcement.

We applaud Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez for pursuing Martinez and hope she and her staff will never give up this quest. We urge Suarez and Jersey City police to do all they can to charge someone with ignoring or concealing Martinez’ crimes (or obstructing justice, witness tampering, victim intimidation, evidence destruction or similar crime.) We also applaud Wilson Melendez and his youth minister, Jonathan Olavarria, who believed the victim and helped him report to law enforcement. Most of all, of course, we admire and appreciate the courage of the victim himself. We are grateful he found the strength to contact police and help prosecutors.

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.

Deep pocketed interests denied justice to church abuse survivors: Sister Maureen Paul Turlish

PENNSYLVANIA
PennLive

By Sister Maureen Paul Turlish

I have said it before and I will say it again:

Accountability and transparency for the crimes of childhood sexual abuse today and in the future absolves no one from the accountability and transparency for the sexual crimes committed against children in the past.

Deep pockets denied the rights of all those who were sexually abused as children.

Their right to access justice in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania was denied them by groups that had much to lose; the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese along with the other Pennsylvania dioceses as well as the insurance industry and and several business lobby groups.

Survivors of clergy sex abuse are pointing to the fact that Brian Gergely, who was sexually abused for years by his priest, came just days after the defeat of a “look-back” measure in reform legislation.

Mostly, however, the opposition to the retroactive measure, statute of limitation reform, was led by Archbishop Charles Chaput, by way of the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference which he leads, and the heads of the Pennsylvania dioceses who dutifully follow orders.

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.

Before It’s Too Late: Local Prof Speaks To Survivors Of Magdalene Laundries

CANADA
VOCM

A sociology professor with Memorial University Grenfell Campus is researching a shocking and painful part of recent history which few people are even aware of; the Magdalene Laundries.

The laundries started out as an attempt by the Roman Catholic church to reform so-called wayward and incorrigible women. They were originally intended as a short-term experience to teach women a trade and change their path in life.

Dr. Rie Croll says the laundries, which operated in Ireland, England, Australia and Canada eventually became more punitive institutions.

She says the women and girls were sent there by men, and could only be released by men, and ended up doing laundry work 364 days a year, amounting to slave labour.

Dr. Croll says what few people know is that the laundries also operated in Canada, and she decided to speak to women affected, some of whom are in their 60s and 70s, before it was too late. One of the women she spoke with was actually born in a laundry in Saint John, New Brunswick.

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Jail for Catholic student priest who sought sex with infants

UNITED STATES
The Freethinker (UK)

Former student priest, Joel Alexander Wright, above, has been sentenced to almost 16 years in prison for attempting to procure infant girls for sex.

Wright, 23, of Columbus, Ohio, was studying to be a Catholic priest at the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus when he was arrested in January this year on federal charges. He was accused of trying to travel to Mexico to sexually assault infant girls.

Wright had faced a maximum sentence of life in prison after pleading guilty to a charge of attempted enticement of a minor. After entering the guilty plea, last Friday he received a sentence of 15 years, eight months.

Wright admitted in the plea agreement that he authored sexually explicit emails in which he described his desire to assault little girls aged three or under.

He also confessed that he placed ads on Craigslist Tijuana starting in November 2015, purporting to seek a tour guide. Upon being contacted, he confided that he wanted to:

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Church committees to visit parishes

GUAM
Guam Daily Post

Louella Losinio | Post News Staff

Following the formation of new ad hoc committees in the Archdiocese of Agana, Apostolic Administrator Savio Hon Tai Fai said they will be making planned canonical visits to the two major seminaries on the island and to parishes during the first part of July.

Hon, in a message released this week, said the ad hoc committees are working hard to fulfill their mandate of providing him with information and counsel for any further decisions he may need to make in the archdiocese.

He said the committees’ work is already bearing fruit with the planned canonical visits.

Last month, Hon announced the formation of four ad hoc committees that will oversee various matters within the church.

The committees are:

* Scenario of the archdiocese, which will report on the situation of the church;
* Ongoing formation, which will plan for the formation of the clergy;
* Proposal for repositioning of priests, which will suggest the repositioning of all clergy officials; and
* Seminary visitation, which will visit the major seminaries and assess their status.

Rev. Adrian Cristobal and Monsignor David Quitigua, the former chancellor and vicar general of the archdiocese, respectively, have been assigned to the committee of the scenario of the archdiocese.

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Duluth diocese sues insurers to cover abuse lawsuits

MINNESOTA
Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal

Mark Reilly

The Diocese of Duluth, which entered bankruptcy proceedings after a $4.9 million verdict in a child sexual abuse case, wants to ensure that its insurance companies help pay the bill.

The Duluth News-Tribune reports that the diocese is suing five insurance companies— Liberty Mutual Group, Catholic Mutual Relief Society of America, Fireman’s Fund Insurance Co., Church Mutual Insurance Co. and Continental Insurance Co. — to compel them to participate in a mediation process between the church and 125 people who have filed abuse claims.

The diocese filed for bankruptcy last December. It’s facing many claims apart from the already-announced $4.9 million verdict and has an annual budget of just $3.3 million.

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Church delegate: Archdiocese studying lawsuit

GUAM
Pacific Daily News

Haidee V Eugenio, Pacific Daily News July 5, 2016

Archbishop Hon talks of progress in local Church

The Rev. Jeffrey San Nicolas said the archdiocese is “studying the matter seriously,” referring to a libel and slander lawsuit filed Friday by four people who publicly accused Archbishop Anthony S. Apuron of sexually abusing altar boys in the 1970s.

San Nicolas was appointed delegate of the administrator, assuming responsibilities similar to those of the vicar general and moderator of the Curia, on June 30, a day before the lawsuit was filed.

Apuron and other archdiocese representatives previously threatened to sue accusers and others for allegedly spreading malicious and calumnious lies against the archbishop and the Archdiocese of Agana.

The plaintiffs — Doris Y. Concepcion, Roy T. Quintanilla, Walter G. Denton and Roland Paul L. Sondia — said they filed the lawsuit against Apuron, the archdiocese and up to 50 other unnamed defendants for calling them liars and for accusing them of “instilling hatred, ignorance and violence in the people” after the plaintiffs publicly accused Apuron of molesting altar boys when he was parish priest at the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Agat.

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July 3, 2016 Message from the Apostolic Administrator

GUAM
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Agana

As the Church enters the 14th week of Ordinary Time, the people on this island will celebrate July 4th, America’s “Independence Day”, remembering the birth of a nation, where its citizens are asked to recite the following declaration: “I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” I note that God is at the centre of this pledge. The Bible teaches us Christians to love our own countries and that is why American Catholics pray that “God bless America.”

This week also marks a new phase in the life of the Archdiocese of Agaña, with the appointment of a new Chancellor and a new Delegate of the Apostolic Administrator, who will assume the responsibilities of the Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia. These appointments came after speaking with all of the Clergy on the island and many other members of this local Church. It was the result of the weekly meetings of the Presbyteral Council of the Archdiocese and must be seen as a collegial effort for the purpose of promoting unity and stability in the local Church.

I would also like to add that the ad hoc committees organized last week are working hard to fulfill their mandate of providing me with information and wise council for any further decisions I may need to make in the Archdiocese. Their work is already bearing fruit with planned canonical visitations of the two Major Seminaries on the island and parish canonical visitations that will take place during the first part of July.

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New archbishop reports progress for church

GUAM
KUAM

Updated: Jul 05, 2016

By Krystal Paco

Guam’s interim archbishop has been on the job for almost a month and reports positive progress out of the Archdiocese of Agana. In his July 3 message posted on the Archdiocese Website, Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai says it’s a new phase in life for the local archdiocese and cites the changes he’s made in curia leadership as well as his creation of ad hoc committees to provide him with wise council.

Next on his agenda is visiting the two major seminaries and parishes.

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John Swinney says child abuse inquiry row centred on use of public cash

SCOTLAND
The Courier

The Deputy First Minister defended officials against claims they undermined the inquiry, saying they acted “legitimately and appropriately” within the law.

Helen Holland, a spokeswoman for survivors group In Care Survivors, said she currently has no faith in the inquiry and called for assurances of its “absolute independence”.

The inquiry’s chair Susan O’Brien QC resigned on Monday after formal proceedings were launched to remove her following claims she made comments that were “offensive” to survivors.

Panel member Professor Michael Lamb has also stepped down, saying the review is “doomed” due to interference by ministers.

In her resignation letter, Ms O’Brien’s lawyer said the inquiry’s work “will have no value” if its independence cannot be guaranteed.

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In Care Survivors group lose faith in child abuse inquiry

SCOTLAND
BBC News

A survivors’ group has said they have lost confidence in the Scottish government’s child abuse inquiry

It follows the resignation of chairwomen Susan O’Brien, who stepped down after the deputy first minister began formal proceedings to sack her.

The In Care Survivors group said the handling of the inquiry and accusations of government interference had been “traumatising” for abuse victims.

John Swinney denied interfering and said due process was being followed.

Mr Swinney had begun formal proceedings to sack Susan O’Brien QC over inappropriate comments she reportedly made at a training event in February.

He said that Ms O’Brien had “revealed views” which child abuse trauma experts had judged to “indicate a belief system that is incompatible with the post of chair of such an inquiry”.

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Timeline: Events leading to Susan O’Brien’s resignation

SCOTLAND
BBC News

December 2014 – Abuse inquiry set up
Following a series of disclosures of abuse in childcare institutions in Scotland, the Scottish government announced that it would be setting up an inquiry to examine the details. Ministers said panel members and a chairman would be appointed in due course.

May 2015 – Susan O’Brien appointed
Leading QC Susan O’Brien was appointed to chair the inquiry, which will have statutory powers to compel witnesses to give evidence.
The new head said she would give full details of how the inquiry would operate once panel members had been appointed by the Scottish government.
She added at the time: “It would be helpful if all other interested parties made themselves known to the inquiry now, so that their views can also be taken into account.”

22 February 2016 – Susan O’Brien QC makes comments
During a training session attended by 10 inquiry team members, she appeared to make light of the abuse suffered by an individual at a boarding school.

09 May 2016 – Scottish government informed of concerns
Psychologist Claire Fyvie, who attended training session, emails government to say that she has concerns about comments made by Ms O’Brien.

10 May 2016 – Susan O’Brien rejects criticism
The chair, other panel members and senior counsel to the inquiry, reject characterisation of Ms O’Brien as a “person whose attitudes, values and beliefs are incompatible with the post of chair of a public inquiry into child abuse”.

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Violence by church leaders will not be tolerated

FIJI
Fiji Broadcasting Corporation

The Methodist Church in Fiji has warned church leaders that issues of domestic violence, physical, emotional and sexual abuse will not be tolerated.

The statement comes after the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions in its June statistics on sexual cases revealed that a pastor was charged for a serious sexual offence.

Methodist Church spokesperson Rev. James Bhagwan says they will not entertain immoral behavior where church leaders use their powers to take advantage of its people.

“People with responsibilities, with authority and various religious committees have abused that power in the community in terms of sexual abuse, rape and the violation of women and children and so this is nothing new for the church in terms of its stance. The church remains very steadfast in the fact that we do not tolerate any of this in any way shape or form.”

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Fugitive molester accused of sexually abusing teen while on the run

NEW JERSEY
NJ.com

By Mark Mueller and Enrique Lavin | NJ Advance Media, For NJ.com

An evangelical preacher wanted by authorities in New Jersey for molesting a teenage boy and for allegedly abusing three other young men has been accused by a parishioner of groping a teen in Nicaragua, where the fugitive had been in hiding, according to church officials there.

Gregorio Martinez, whose flight from justice was profiled in a special report by NJ Advance Media in May, allegedly groped a 15-year-old boy in Estelí, Nicaragua, earlier this year, said Pedro Matamoros, the pastor of the church where Martinez lived for about seven months.

Martinez, 48, left the city Feb. 1, after Matamoros learned of his past and confronted him, the pastor said. Later in February, the alleged victim’s mother told the pastor Martinez had touched her son inappropriately in January, Matamoros said in a recent interview. Martinez remains at large.

Enrique Osorio, who presides over a council of Pentecostal churches in the city, confirmed the allegation had been lodged and said he reported it to the national police in Nicaragua.

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Newcastle Anglican diocese prepares for a Royal Commission public hearing in August

AUSTRALIA
Newcastle Herald

JOANNE MCCARTHY
July 5, 2016

THEY were some of the most respected men in the region.

Now the culture that supported powerful Newcastle Anglican Church child sex offenders, and failed to respond to allegations of abuse, will be revealed at a public hearing of the royal commission established after a Hunter-led campaign.

On Tuesday the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse announced Case Study 42 into Newcastle Anglican diocese.

A two-week public hearing at Newcastle Courthouse from August 2 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.

It will also inquire into St John’s Theological College at Morpeth, one of the Anglican Church’s most significant Australian priest training institutions, but also the subject of a warning to the church in 2009 about an apparent “significant over-representation” of child sex offenders from its ranks.

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The Mercy Impostor

UNITED STATES
The Remnant

Written by Elizabeth Yore

“I love them innocently, says God. That’s the way you should love these innocents.” ~Charles Peguy

From all corners of the universal Church, hundreds of clergy abuse survivors gathered recently at the16th Annual SNAP Conference held in Chicago describing their gut-wrenching childhoods of sexual molestation by clerics. A haunting aura dominated the conference: Pope Francis’ unwillingness to tr uly reform the Church and protect children by punishing predators and their protectors.

Is this the Pope of Mercy?

Has Francis’ self-styled theology of mercy blinded him to the need for justice for the Church’s violent betrayal of children? Has mercy replaced justice in the lexicon of papal rules necessary to protect children? Is clergy sex abuse too bothersome and unfashionable for the popular globalist media star fixated on global warming and income redistribution? Or, is he simply the mercy impostor, unwilling to address the crisis, similar to his years in Argentina?

Victim survivors at the conference describe Pope Francis as disengaged and indifferent on this issue. His stance toward the clergy sex abuse crisis is littered with frivolous half measures and empty words to address this endemic global scourge. More than one speaker described him as, “This is a Pope of Smoke and Mirrors.”

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Public hearing into Anglican Diocese of Newcastle

AUSTRALIA
Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse

5 July, 2016

The Royal Commission will hold a public hearing in Newcastle, commencing Tuesday 2 August 2016.

The scope and purpose of the public hearing is to inquire into:

!. The experiences of survivors of child sexual abuse perpetrated by clergy and lay people involved in or associated with the Anglican Diocese of Newcastle.

2. The response of the Anglican Diocese of Newcastle and associated institutions to allegations of child sexual abuse made against clergy and lay people associated with the Anglican Diocese of Newcastle, including Graeme Lawrence, Gregory Goyette, Andrew Duncan, Bruce Hoare, Graeme Sturt, Peter Rushton, Ian Barrack, James Michael Brown and another Anglican priest.

3. The past and present systems, policies and practices in place within the Anglican Diocese of Newcastle for responding to instances and allegations of child sexual abuse.

4. Any related matters.

Any person or institution who believes that they have a direct and substantial interest in the scope and purpose of the public hearing is invited to lodge a written application for leave to appear at the public hearing by Monday 18 July 2016.

Applications for leave to appear should be made using the form available on the Royal Commission website.

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Vatican Prosecutors Seek Prison for ‘Vatileaks II’ Defendants

VATICAN CITY
America Magazine

Gerard O’Connell | Jul 4 2016

But papal pardons are likely

Two Vatican Promoters of Justice (or prosecutors) asked for prison sentences on July 4 for a Spanish monsignor, an Italian public relations professional and an Italian layman who were all involved in leaking confidential information regarding Vatican finances. Those documents had been considered protected by law in the Vatican City State.

The promoters also asked for a prison sentence for one of the two journalists who wrote books based on this leaked information.

The law of the Vatican City State, revised by Pope Francis in 2013, considers the revealing of information and documents regarding the fundamental interests of the state as a criminal offence (Articles 248 and 116-bis of the penal code). After a trial that started last November, based on this law, the prosecutors—Professors Giampiero Milano and Roberto Zannotti—called for prison sentences for the three people that were employed by the Vatican at the time of the crime. All three had access to the confidential information that was produced by a finance commission set up by Pope Francis in July 2013 as part of his reform project. The Vatican employees had been charged with “the crime of criminal association.”

After a long investigation and court discussion, the prosecutors demanded a sentence of three years and one month in prison for the Spanish monsignor, Angel Lucio Vallejo Balda, who was secretary of the reform commission. He has already spent several months in prison to prevent him from interfering with evidence. They also asked for a prison sentence of three years and nine months for Dr. Francesca Immacolata Chaouqui, whom they charged with being “the inspirer and person responsible” for leaking the information.

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War of words as QC leading abuse inquiry is forced out claiming she was ‘undermined’

SCOTLAND
Herald Scotland

Scotland’s national child abuse inquiry has descended into chaos after its chair Susan O’Brien QC resigned amid a furious war of words with the Deputy First Minister John Swinney.

The Scottish Government began proceedings to remove the leading lawyer from the independent inquiry in May, it has emerged.

It follows comments Ms O’Brien made during a private training session which had led a trauma expert to accuse her of a “shocking level of misjudgement”.

However, Ms O’Brien decided to quit before an investigation into the comments could be concluded. She insisted she was unable to continue as inquiry’s independence was being compromised by interference and micromanagement on the part of ministers and civil servants.

In a letter to Mr Swinney yesterday, she said: “My position as independent chair of this inquiry has been actively undermined by some Scottish Government officials over the past months.”

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Herald View: The child abuse inquiry and the principle of independence

SCOTLAND
Herald Scotland

WHEN the Scottish Government announced the public inquiry into historic cases of child abuse in care in 2014, the then Education Secretary Angela Constance said it was an opportunity to confront the mistakes of the past and learn from them. She also insisted the Government would learn from the debacle of a similar UK inquiry and consult with abuse survivors about who should sit on the panel. The aim, said Ms Constance, was to ensure a brighter future for every child.

Sadly, it has not gone according to plan. Only last week, one member of the inquiry, Professor Michael Lamb, stood down because he said he did not believe it could act independently. And now the chair herself, Susan O’Brien, has resigned after facing the sack over comments she made at one of the inquiry’s sessions.

There are widely different interpretations of what was actually said but Ms O’Brien insists she was trying to lighten the mood. The consultant clinical psychologist Dr Claire Fyvie, who was also present, has a different view and says the comments were inappropriate, and the Deputy First Minister John Swinney appears to agree with her – before Ms O’Brien resigned, he had started the process to remove her.

Miss O’Brien may well, as she says, have been trying to lift the mood and it will not have been easy to take on what is in many ways an impossible job given the complex brief. But as the chair of such a difficult inquiry involving vulnerable witnesses, she should have been aware of the need for extreme sensitivity and how remarks can be mis-interpreted. Survivors of abuse have also had a difficult relationship with the inquiry and from the start an ill-judged comment from the chair had the potential to upset the inquiry, as indeed it now has.

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Church sex abuse victim takes his own life

PENNSYLVANIA
We Are Central PA

Ebensburg, Cambria County, Pa.

An altar boy who was among the victims of child sex abuse in the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese took his own life on Saturday.

Brian Gergely served under Monsignor Francis McCaa at Holy Name Parish in Ebensburg.

In 2003, Gergely filed a civil lawsuit with the diocese, but his friends say his life was forever changed by the abuse.

Included in that suit was, Kevin Hoover, who WTAJ News spoke to after the grand jury report was released earlier this year.

Hoover was also abused by McCaa. He pointed to the timing of his friend’s death, which came just days after the state Senate voted 49-0 that part of the statute of limitations bill was unconstitutional.

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Diocese of Duluth sues insurers, seeking coverage of abuse claims

MINNESOTA
Duluth News Tribune

By Tom Olsen on Jul 4, 2016

The Diocese of Duluth has filed a federal lawsuit against five insurance companies, seeking to force their participation in settlement discussions.

The diocese, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December in the wake of a $4.9 million verdict in a child sexual abuse case, filed the suit on June 24.

Mediation between the diocese and representatives of the 125 people who filed abuse claims in the bankruptcy process is set to begin July 19.

“The action was commenced as a precautionary measure to ensure that all appropriate parties would participate in the mediation process,” diocese spokesman Kyle Eller told the News Tribune. “The mediator now has authority to compel participation in the mediation process if necessary.”

The suit names as defendants the Liberty Mutual Group, Catholic Mutual Relief Society of America, Fireman’s Fund Insurance Co., Church Mutual Insurance Co. and Continental Insurance Co.

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Royal Commission releases details about hearing into the Anglican Diocese of Newcastle

AUSTRALIA
ABC News

More details have been released about the scope of Royal Commission hearings into child sexual abuse to be held in Newcastle next month.

The hearing, starting on August 2, will look at the past and present systems, policies and practices within the Anglican Diocese of Newcastle for responding to allegations of child sexual abuse.

In particular it will look at the response by the diocese to allegations made against a number of clergy and lay people, including Graeme Lawrence, Gregory Goyette, Andrew Duncan, Bruce Hoare, Graeme Sturt, Peter Rushton, Ian Barrack, James Michael Brown and another Anglican priest.

The hearing will investigate links between any institutional culture at St John’s College Morpeth and the perpetration of child sexual abuse.

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July 4, 2016

A change to protect the abused

NEW YORK
Times Union

By Christopher F. Davis, Commentary Monday, July 4, 2016

One in five. That’s 20 percent. That is the approximate number of children in New York who are sexually abused. As a husband and a father than sickens me. As a public health professional, the statistic indicates quite clearly we have an epidemic, a silent public health crisis on our hands.

One way to tackle the crisis? We have to hold those responsible for perpetuating child sexual abuse accountable. Another frightening statistic jumps out at me: children report only about 10 percent of sexual assaults. The way our statute of limitations law is written, few if any of those unreported predators are ever brought to justice.

I believe that government is involved in far too many facets of our daily lives. I believe government is broken. It simply tries to do too much, and does it ineffectively. However, this is a time where government must act.

Being a victim of child sex abuse has lifelong consequences. There is epidemiological data that suggests exposure to childhood sexual abuse is associated with a range of future public health issues, including cancer and heart disease, as well as severe mental health issues. This is not only detrimental for those who are abused, but it becomes an economic issue as well. Treating such conditions is expensive. The federal government estimates the average economic impact to those who are abused is over $200,000. One in five children are sexually abused. We cannot afford this economically, and we cannot allow this morally.

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Prosecutors ask Vatican court to jail PR adviser for ‘inspiring’ leak of documents

VATICAN CITY
Catholic Herald (UK)

The prosecutors have requested Francesca Chaouqui serve three years and nine months in prison

Vatican prosecutors have requested that PR expert Francesca Chaouqui be given a tough jail sentence for “inspiring” the leaking of confidential documents.

In their closing arguments on Monday, prosecutors asked the Vatican tribunal to hand down a sentence of three years and nine months to Chaouqui, as well as convicting Mgr Angel Lucio Vallejo Balda and his secretary, Nicola Maio, for having formed a “criminal association” with the aim of divulging secret information to two journalists, Gianluigi Nuzzi and Emiliano Fittipaldi.

The sentence recommended for Mgr Vallejo is three years and one month, while prosecutors have request Maio be jailed for one year and nine months.

Chaouqui, who gave birth to a boy last month, responded to the request by saying: “How shameful”.

Prosecutors asked the tribunal to absolve Fittipaldi and give a suspended one-year sentence to Nuzzi for publishing books based on confidential Vatican documents which allegedly show financial mismanagement and corruption in the top ranks of the Church.

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Fray en una tormenta

TLALNEPANTLA DE BAZ (MEXICO)
Metro Monterrey [Monterrey, Nuevo León]

July 4, 2016

Read original article

[Via vLex] 

NAUCALPAN.- The Attorney for the Protection of Children and Adolescents of the Naucalpan DIF System, Graciela Galvany Pescador, denounced on May 11 the priest Sergio Gutiérrez Benítez, known in wrestling as Fray Tormenta, for the alleged sexual abuse of a minor.

This is a 16-year-old adolescent, identified by the acronym GSR, who was transferred two years ago from the Naucalpan Namiqui Pilli municipal shelter to the Casa Hogar Cachorros de Fray Tormenta AC, located in Texcoco.

According to the complaint filed with the Mexican Attorney General whose Investigation File is 554530360044516, to which METRO had access, the minor reported having been sexually abused.

In the lawsuit, Galvany Pescador narrates that staff from the municipal shelter came to pick up the minor from the wrestler’s home, as they reported him for allegedly bad behavior and drug use.

“C. (citizen) Emilia Trejo transferred the minor to the Namiqui Pilli Temporary Children’s Shelter the same day, telling him (the minor) about various situations and facts presumably constituting crimes of rape and sexual abuse perpetrated against him and other minors whose identity unknown,” the document read.

In the minor’s psychological report, attached to the complaint, it is noted that GSR presents emotional damage and acknowledges drug use to “endure” the sexual abuse by the priest.

In this regard, the 73-year-old priest Fray Tormenta said he was unaware of the complaint filed against him, since up to now he has not been notified by any authority about the crime he is accused of.

The priest confirmed by telephone that he had a minor in his custody, whom, due to misconduct and addiction, he asked to be taken from his shelter.

“It probably belongs to a boy who was with me from there in Naucalpan, and precisely I spoke to her (the attorney) because she used a lot of drugs, so I spoke to her telling her that she couldn’t be there, I even told this boy that I was going to take him to do an anti-doping test and he didn’t want to”, he commented.

Fray Tormenta denied that he had sexually abused the minor, who, according to his calculations, was under his care for two or three years.

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‘Singing priest’ will get maximum sentence of two years for raping a boy with a crucifix

IRELAND
The Journal

FORMER ‘SINGING PRIEST’ Tony Walsh faces a maximum sentence of up two years in prison for the offence of raping a boy with a crucifix, a court has heard.

Anthony Walsh (62) committed the offence and two other rapes of the same victim before the Criminal Law (Rape) Amendment Act came into effect in 1990, limiting the maximum penalty on each offence to two years.

He is charged with indecent assault, as that was the offence which existed at the time.

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.

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Altoona man abused by priest kills himself just days after defeat of reform measure in bill

PENNSYLVANIA
PennLive

By Ivey DeJesus | idejesus@pennlive.com

He was 10 years old, the product of a devout Catholic family that worshipped at Holy Name Catholic Church in Ebensburg.

An altar boy, Brian Gergely should have been preoccupied with the task of assisting his priest with the rites of Mass. Instead, he was consumed with the idea of escaping the monster behind the black robe who sexually abused him in the sacristy and the confessional.

“I was standing in the sacristy and he pinned me to the desk. I was just a little guy,” Gergely said during an interview in March with The Guardian, recounting the violent abuse at the hands of Monsignor Francis McCaa.

“My parents were patrons,” Gergely said. “They were going door to door raising money for the church. The community put Monsignor McCaa on a pedestal.”

As an adult, Gergely shared his story of abuse with others — from his high school biology class, where he first broke the news of his abuse, to national and international media covering the worldwide clergy sex abuse scandal.

On Friday, Gergely, 46, took his own life. He hung himself. His father found him.

His friends, other survivors of sexual abuse and victims advocates point to the fact that his death comes just days after the state Senate voted in favor of a bill that reforms the state’s child sex crimes law.

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Former ‘singing’ priest Tony Walsh found guilty of raping boy with crucifix

IRELAND
Irish Independent

Sonya McLean
PUBLISHED
04/07/2016

Former “singing” priest Tony Walsh faces a maximum sentence of two years in prison for raping a boy with a crucifix, a court has heard.

Anthony Walsh (62) committed the offence and two other rapes of the same victim before the Criminal Law (Rape) Amendment Act came into effect in 1990, meaning that the maximum penalty the judge can impose on each offence is two years.

He is charged with indecent assault as that was the offence which existed at the time. 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 last month that he never knew the boy and said he never assaulted him.

Walsh, formerly of North Circular Road, Dublin 7 had pleaded not guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to five counts of indecently assaulting the boy on dates between January 1980 and December 1982. The boy was aged between 10 and 13 years old at the time of the abuse.

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Vatileaks: 3 years and 9 months for Francesca Chaouqui and 3 years and 1 month for Vallejo Balda

VATICAN CITY
Rome Reports

[with video]

The prosecutor of the “Vatileaks II” trail has petitioned his request for the sentencing of the accused.

He considers Francesca Chaouqui responsible as a conspirator for the plot and has recommended that she serve 3 years and 9 months in prison.

For Lucio Angel Vallejo Balda, 3 years and 1 month of imprisonment. The prosecutor believes that he was the engine of this “conspiracy.”

For Nicola Maio to serve 1 year and 9 months in prison because of his limited responsibility and involvement during the events.

A 1-year jail term is recommended for Journalist Gianluigi Nuzzi.

The prosecutor has only asked for the acquittal of the other journalist involved, Emiliano Fittipaldi, for lack of evidence.

The prosecution accuses Chaouqui, Vallejo and Maio of forming a criminal association. They consider that the three formed a structure within the Vatican State to disseminate information. For the prosecutor, this association has been “a danger to public order and security for the Vatican.”

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Prosecutors seek four convictions, one acquittal, at Vatileaks trial

VATICAN CITY
Daily Mail (UK)

By Philip Pullella

VATICAN CITY, July 4 (Reuters) – Vatican prosecutors on Monday asked for sentences ranging from one year to nearly four years for four defendants accused of leaking or publishing sensitive documents depicting a Vatican plagued by graft.

The prosecutors in the so-called Vatileaks II trial asked for charges to be dropped against Emiliano Fittipaldi, one of the two journalists who published books based on the leaks last year, saying there was insufficient evidence to convict him.

The longest sentence requested was three year and nine months for Francesca Chaouqui, 35. An Italian public relations consultant, she was part of a now-defunct Vatican commission on financial reform.

The prosecution asked for a sentence of three years and one month for Spanish Monsignor Angel Lucio Vallejo Balda, also a member of the commission, and one year and nine months for his assistant, Nicola Maio.

During the trial Chaouqui denied Vallejo Balda’s suggestion that she had seduced him.

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Prosecutors roll out recommended sentences in ‘Vatileaks 2.0’ trial

VATICAN CITY
Crux

As the “Vatileaks 2.0” trial nears its end, the Vatican on Monday announced the penalties its chief prosecutors are seeking for the five defendants charged with stealing secret documents related to Vatican finances and making them public.

Those defendants include three former members or aides to a papal commission that studied financial reform of the Vatican in 2013-2014, and two Italian journalists who published books based on the leaked documents from that commission, known by its Italian acronym COSEA.

The the former Vatican officials were charged with the offense of “criminal association” under the laws of the Vatican City State in November 2015, while the journalists were charged with the illegal dissemination of confidential information, and their trial has been underway in on-and-off fashion ever since.

According to a statement on Monday from the Vatican spokesman, Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, the two prosecutors in the case, Giampiero Milano and Roberto Zannotti, believe that Italian laywoman and PR expert Francesca Chaouqui was the “inspirer and responsible party for the contested conduct,” and are recommending she face a prison sentence of three years and nine months.

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Prosecutors ask Vatican court to jail PR adviser for ‘inspiring’ leak of documents

VATICAN CITY
Catholic Herald (UK)

The prosecutors have requested Francesca Chaouqui serve three years and nine months in prison

Vatican prosecutors have requested that PR expert Francesca Chaouqui be given a tough jail sentence for “inspiring” the leaking of confidential documents.

In their closing arguments on Monday, prosecutors asked the Vatican tribunal to hand down a sentence of three years and nine months to Chaouqui, as well as convicting Mgr Angel Lucio Vallejo Balda and his secretary, Nicola Maio, for having formed a “criminal association” with the aim of divulging secret information to two journalists, Gianluigi Nuzzi and Emiliano Fittipaldi.

The sentence recommended for Mgr Vallejo is three years and one month, while prosecutors have request Maio be jailed for one year and nine months.

Chaouqui, who gave birth to a boy last month, responded to the request by saying: “How shameful”.

Prosecutors asked the tribunal to absolve Fittipaldi and give a suspended one-year sentence to Nuzzi for publishing books based on confidential Vatican documents which allegedly show financial mismanagement and corruption in the top ranks of the Church.

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Prosecutors seek prison terms in ‘Vatileaks’ case

VATICAN CITY
7 News

Vatican City (AFP) – Vatican prosecutors Monday demanded prison sentences for a senior clergyman, a communications consultant and a journalist accused of involvement in the leak of sensitive Holy See documents dubbed “Vatileaks”.

The prosecution called for three years and nine months prison for communications consultant Francesca Chaouqui who had been involved in a review of Vatican finances and is accused of both “inspiring” and of ultimate responsibility for the leaks.

Chaouqui is accused of conspiring with a Spanish Vatican official, monsignor Angel Vallejo Balda, and his assistant, to leak data and documents they had access to as members of a commission appointed by Francis to spearhead a financial clean-up shortly after his election in 2013.

Prosecutors called for a sentence of three years and one month for Balda who is being held on remand in Vatican prison but is being allowed out on day release and one year and nine months for his assistant Nicola Maio.

The two journalists on trial, Gianluigi Nuzzi and Emiliano Fittipaldi, have published books based on the documents at the heart of the trial.

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Susan O’Brien QC resigns as chairwoman of child abuse inquiry

SCOTLAND
Herald Scotland

Susan O’Brien QC has resigned as chair of the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry, Deputy First Minister John Swinney said in a statement.

The incident comes less than a week after another member of the three person panel resigned citing government ‘interference’ in the probe.

He said it came after an incident in which Ms O’Brien revealed ‘views that were interpreted by an expert in child abuse trauma’ who heard them to indicate a ‘belief system that is incompatible with the post of chair of such an inquiry.’ Mr Swinney added that her comments were viewed to be ‘offensive’ to victims and unacceptable.

Mr Swinney said: “Our priority has always been to support the successful operation of the Inquiry, ensuring it continues to make progress. Sadly, the comments of the chair raised serious concerns.

“The comments made were considered by a leading abuse trauma expert to be totally unacceptable and to indicate a belief system that is incompatible with the post of chair of such an inquiry; to be offensive to survivors and to lack any context in which they could be seen as acceptable. What’s more, these actions had the potential to cause the loss of confidence of survivors – the very people at the heart of the inquiry.

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Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry

SCOTLAND
Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry

Susan O’Brien QC has today written to Scottish Ministers resigning her position as Chair of the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry. While this is clearly a significant change, the important work of the Inquiry continues. The Inquiry has been, and continues to be, independent of the Scottish Government. The senior team of the Inquiry remains unchanged. Panel member Glenn Houston has indicated that he would like to continue in post. All evidence heard by the Inquiry to date remains important and relevant, is being held securely by the Inquiry and remains confidential. Importantly, none of this evidence will have to be repeated. The Inquiry continues to take evidence from survivors of abuse at private sessions across Scotland and beyond. We do not anticipate that there will be any delay in these sessions taking place. We are about to start the process of obtaining documents from organisations with information relevant to the Inquiry. The website will be updated regularly with information about our work and news. If anyone has any questions, please contact our Witness Support team: by phone on 0800 092 9300, by email to talktous@childabuseinquiry.scot or by post to PO Box 24085, Edinburgh, EH7 9EA. For media queries, please contact 3×1: by phone on 0131 225 7700 or 0141 221 0707, by email to SCAI@3×1.com

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Vatican leaks trial nears end with requests for convictions

VATICAN CITY
WBOC

Posted: Jul 04, 2016
By NICOLE WINFIELD
Associated Press

VATICAN CITY (AP) – Prosecutors asked a Vatican tribunal on Monday to absolve one journalist and give a suspended, one-year sentence to another for publishing books based on confidential Vatican documents exposing greed, mismanagement and corruption in the highest echelons of the Catholic Church.

In their closing arguments, prosecutors also asked the Vatican tribunal to convict a flamboyant PR executive, a Vatican monsignor and his secretary for having formed a “criminal association” with the aim of divulging confidential information.

Defense attorneys were to give closing statements Tuesday with a final ruling due Wednesday.

Italian journalists Gianluigi Nuzzi and Emiliano Fittipaldi wrote blockbuster books last year based on Vatican documentation exposing the greed of bishops and cardinals lusting after big apartments, the extraordinarily high costs of getting a saint made and the loss to the Holy See of millions of euros in rental income because of undervalued real estate.

The two journalists were put on trial, amid outcry by media watchdog groups, on charges they published confidential documentation acquired by a papal reform commission. Prosecutors on Monday said they were guilty of a “moral conspiracy” to divulge the news.

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A plea from the brother and victim of a predator

UNITED STATES
The Times of Israel

Yehuda Pogrow

Meir Pogrow, the justly-condemned sexual predator, is my older brother. He is roughly nine years my senior. I share my story because I hope to launch a movement that will raise from the ashes of this tragedy a new hope for all victims of child abuse – whether or not the specific abuse is a crime in a given jurisdiction, or whether the victim is a minor or a young adult vulnerable to abuse by a perpetrator who holds a position of authority.

I identify with my brother’s victims, because I was – perhaps – his first. He first abused me approximately 30 years ago, in my boyhood years. My brother did not attack me sexually. Rather, over a period of roughly 10 years, he subjected me to severe physical, verbal and emotional abuse. He is short, but he was strong. He would lift me above his head, my whole body parallel to the floor, just let go, and walk away as I crashed to the floor.

I was 17 the last time my brother physically abused me. I had finally grown strong enough to defend myself. He chased me and tried to hit me, but I deflected him. When I thought he had quit trying to hurt me, I dropped my guard. He then stared me in the eyes with a gruesome expression. My arms were at my sides when he punched me, breaking my nose and giving me a concussion. The next day he told me – gleefully — that he broke my nose intentionally. He also explained that I deserved it, because I did not spend enough time studying Torah during my time off from Yeshiva.

In my journey of recovery from my brother’s abuses, what has been most difficult to overcome is not the impact of the physical pain – what is most enduring is the psychological trauma and manipulation that he used in order to groom me for the physical pain.

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Other Pontifical Acts, 04.07.2016

VATICAN CITY
Vatican Information Service – Bollettino

Vatican City, 4 July 2016 – The Holy Father:

– appointed Bishop Francisco Ozoria Acosta of San Pedro de Macorís, Dominican Republic, as metropolitan archbishop of the archdiocese of Santo Domingo (area 4,032, population 3,821,278, Catholics 3,490,035, priests 402, permanent deacons 159, religious ), Dominican Republic. He succeeds Cardinal archbishop Nicolás de Jesús López Rodríguez, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same archdiocese upon reaching the age limit was accepted by the Holy Father.

– accepted the resignation presented by Bishop Amancia Escapa Aparicio from the office of auxiliary of the archdiocese of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, upon reaching the age limit.

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Pope Francis accepts anti-LGBT Dominican cardinal’s resignation

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Washington Blade

The Vatican announced on Monday that Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Cardinal Nicolás de Jesús López Rodríguez of the Archbishop of Santo Domingo.

The Holy See said in a statement that the pontiff has named Monsignor Francisco Ozoria Acosta of the Diocese of San Pedro de Macorís as López’s successor.

López has repeatedly used homophobic slurs to describe gay U.S. Ambassador to the Dominican Republic James “Wally” Brewster.

López told reporters during a 2015 press conference that Brewster should “go back to his embassy” and “stick to housework, since he is a man’s wife.” The cardinal in 2013 referred to Brewster — who is married to Bob Satawake — as a “faggot” after President Obama nominated him to become the next American ambassador to the predominantly Catholic country.

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Scottish child abuse inquiry chair resigns over “unacceptable” comments allegations

SCOTLAND
Holyrood

Written by Tom Freeman on 4 July 2016

Susan O’Brien QC has resigned as chair of the Scottish Government’s child abuse inquiry, claiming plans to remove her over an official complaint about “unacceptable” comments was ministerial interference.

Deputy First Minister John Swinney said the complaint had brought to light “serious concerns” and he had started the formal procedure to remove her from office.

In her resignation letter, O’Brien said government interference had left her with “no alternative” but to step down.

Her departure comes a week after psychology professor Michael Lamb also resigned from the inquiry, saying it was “doomed” because of “repeated threats to the inquiry’s independence”.

“I agree with him. Scottish Government officials have sought to micromanage and control the inquiry, and I have resisted this,” O’Brien said.

In their complaint, the Rivers Centre for Traumatic Stress claimed O’Brien had made remarks which “may be well intentioned” but “are totally unacceptable and indicate a belief system that is totally incompatible with the post of chair of a child abuse inquiry”.

O’Brien said the complaint arose from “a misunderstanding” of the specific case she had referred to.

She had been asked to resign over the complaint on May 16 but had refused as “I have done nothing wrong”.

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Chair of Scottish abuse inquiry quits over ‘government interference’

SCOTLAND
The Guardian

Libby Brooks Scotland correspondent
Monday 4 July 2016

The chair of the Scottish government’s inquiry into historical child abuse, Susan O’Brien QC, has resigned, stating that her position has been “actively undermined” by officials in recent months.

Scotland’s deputy first minister, John Swinney, announced on Monday afternoon that he had accepted O’Brien’s resignation after initiating the formal procedure to remove her from her post.

Swinney said he had done so following an incident in which O’Brien had “revealed views that were interpreted by an expert in child abuse trauma who witnessed them to indicate a belief system that is incompatible with the post of chair of such an inquiry” and to be “offensive to survivors”.

O’Brien did not dispute that she had made the comments, but insisted they had been taken out of context and said she would “never underestimate the gravity of child abuse”.

Swinney said O’Brien’s comments, made during a private training session for inquiry team members, had raised serious concerns and “lacked any context in which they could be seen as acceptable”.

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Child abuse inquiry in disarray after chairwoman quits in row over ‘offensive’ comments to survivors

SCOTLAND
Daily Record

THE chair of a major inquiry into child abuse in Scotland has resigned following claims she made comments that were “offensive” to survivors.

Susan O’Brien QC will no longer lead the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry , which is due to begin public hearings in November.

It comes less than a week after panel member Professor Michael Lamb stepped down, citing interference by ministers.

Deputy First Minister John Swinney said a new chair will be recruited and inquiry staff will “continue to deliver the highest quality of work”.

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Resignation of Inquiry Chair

SCOTLAND
The Government of Scotland

Latest updates

Resignation of Inquiry Chair

On Monday 4 July 2016 the Chair of the Inquiry, Ms Susan O’Brien QC, wrote to Ministers tendering her resignation from the position with immediate effect. The Deputy First Minister has issued a statement on Ms O’Brien’s resignation and copies of correspondence to which that statement refers are published below.

Letter 1

Letter 2

Letter 3

Letter 4

Resignation Letter – Susan O’Brien QC

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Child abuse inquiry chairwoman Susan O’Brien QC resigns

SCOTLAND
BBC News

The chairwoman of the Scottish government’s child abuse inquiry, Susan O’Brien QC, has resigned after facing the sack over “unacceptable” comments.

Deputy First Minister John Swinney said he had accepted Ms O’Brien’s resignation after starting the formal procedure to remove her from her post.

However, Ms O’Brien insisted she had “done nothing wrong”, complaining of government interference in the probe.

Her fellow panellist Prof Michael Lamb quit the inquiry over similar concerns.

Ms O’Brien’s resignation leaves the inquiry, which concerns historical allegations of child abuse in Scotland, with only one panel member. It is scheduled to last four years, but has been criticised by survivors of abuse.

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‘What happened is horrific’

CANADA
The Western Star

Jeff Green /Research and Reason columnist
Published on July 04, 2016

Survivors of Magdalene Laundries deserve peace after years of suffering

It’s often gut-wrenching, but Dr. Rie Croll says there’s a sense of “urgency” in her research aimed at collecting stories of women forcibly confined in female-only laundries and reformatories before “they are forever lost to history.”

Her current research brings together stories of women from Ireland, Canada and Australia who spent time in institutions known as Magdalene Laundries. Many of these facilities were run by various orders of Roman Catholic nuns. The laundries operated from as early as the 18th Century before the last one closed in Dublin, Ireland 20 years ago.

“While the stated purpose of these institutions was the reform of prostitutes, unwed mothers, and ‘incorrigible’ girls, the stories I’ve gathered tell us that the inmate population contained countless unwanted, stolen, socially inconvenient, disregarded and/or neglected girls and women,” explained Dr. Croll, an associate professor and chair of Teaching and Learning at Memorial University’s Grenfell Campus in Corner Brook.

“Confinement in the laundries — and related reformatories — essentially served to regulate and curtail the sexuality of generations of girls and women while the church exploited all of them as unpaid laundry labourers.”

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Ex-priest faces maximum of two years for raping boy with crucifix

IRELAND
Irish Times

Sonya McLean

Former “singing” priest Tony Walsh faces a maximum sentence of two years in prison for raping a boy with a crucifix, a court has heard.

Anthony Walsh (62) committed the offence and two other rapes of the same victim before the Criminal Law (Rape) Amendment Act came into effect in 1990, meaning that the maximum penalty the judge can impose on each offence is two years.

He is charged with indecent assault as that was the offence which existed at the time. 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 last month that he never knew the boy and said he never assaulted him.

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Rintracciato il prete accusato di abusi in Toscana. La diocesi di Pisa lo ha nascosto a Perugia.

ITALIA
Rete L’Abuso

[He tracked the priest accused of abuse in Tuscany. The Diocese of Pisa hid it in Perugia.]

Si chiama padre Kodijan Ouso Thomas (nella foto) di origine indiana, accusato a Lucca di aver abusato di un bimbo di 12 anni.

Purtroppo l’ennesimo caso che però questa volta assume contorni raccapriccianti che si evincono dalle lettere “d’amore” che la piccola vittima, pesantemente plagiata dalla figura del “padre” scriveva al sacerdote.

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Caso Ilarraz: elevan a juicio la causa por abuso

ARGENTINA
La Capital

[The Parana prosecutor will seek elevation to trial the case against priest Justo Jose Illaraz, who is accused to abusing minors more than 20 years ago at a Catholic seminary in this city.]

El fiscal de Paraná, Juan Francisco Ramírez Montrull, confirmó que pedirá la elevación a juicio la causa contra el sacerdote Justo José Ilarraz, quien habría perpetrado abusos sexuales contra menores de edad hace más de veinte años en un seminario católico de esta ciudad.

El sacerdote está imputado del presunto delito de promoción a la corrupción agravada, tras ser denunciado por los abusos contra niños y adolescente cuando era responsable del Seminario Menor de Paraná.

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Prozessauftakt gegen den Ex-Pfarrer von Can Picafort

MALLORCA
Mallorca Zeitung

[A former priest of Can Picafort tomorrow (July 7) will answer in court to a charge of child abuse and rape. Prosecutors are seeking a 42-year prison sentence for the 64-year-old.]

Am Montagmorgen (4.7.) beginnt in Palma der Prozess gegen den ehemaligen Pfarrer von Can Picafort, der sich wegen Kindesmissbrauch und Vergewaltigung vor Gericht verantworten muss. Die Staatsanwaltschaft auf Mallorca fordert 42 Jahre Haft für den 64-Jährigen.

Dem Beschuldigten Pere B. wird vorgeworfen, in den Jahren 1997 und 1998 eine zu dem Zeitpunkt zehnjährige Ministrantin wiederholt an intimen Stellen berührt zu haben. Später soll er das Mädchen mehrmals in seinem Wagen zu sexuellen Handlungen gezwungen haben. Ausgenutzt habe er dabei, dass er das Kind im Auto nach Hause brachte, so die Vorwürfe der Anklage.

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Another Sunday, Another Picket at Cathedral

GUAM
Pacific News Center

Written by Janela Carrera

Catholic protesters held signs that read “Defrock Apuron.”

Guam – Another Sunday, another picket. Again, it was held in front of the Cathedral-Basilica. Protesters continue their call for Archbishop Anthony Apuron to be defrocked.

The protests have been ongoing on a weekly basis now for the last several weeks. Initially the message was for Archbishop Apuron to resign.

Now, Catholic protesters want Apuron defrocked which would take away his title, ecclesiastical rights and it would also remove his right to be buried in consecrated ground.

Archbishop Apuron is facing multiple allegations of sexual abuse. At least four alleged victims have come forward, all of whom say the abuse happened in the 1970s at the Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church in Agat.

In the wake of the serious allegations, Pope Francis sent apostolic administrator Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai to oversee the Archdiocese of Agana pending an investigation into Archbishop Apuron.

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Catholics continue weekly protests, demand defrocking

GUAM
KUAM

Updated: Jul 03, 2016
By Krystal Paco

Despite the Prayer for Unity Service on Saturday evening, the next morning protestors were back it again. Dozens of concerned Catholics continued what have now become weekly protests in front of the Hagatna Cathedral, wanting Archbishop Anthony Apuron removed and defrocked.

Apuron is accused of sexual molestation. Last week four of his accusers filed a libel and slander lawsuit in the Superior Court of Guam against the archbishop and the Archdiocese of Agana. They not only want the archbishop to tell the truth, but also are seeking damages of $2 million – $500,000 for each of the victims.

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More lawsuits filed against beleagured Archbishop of Guam

GUAM
Radio New Zealand

Four people who accuse the Archbishop of Guam of historical child sex abuse have filed a lawsuit against the Archbishop, the island’s archdiocese and up to 50 other people.

In the past two months, four former altar boys have alleged they were molested or raped by Anthony Apuron in the 1970s.

Pope Francis has appointed a temporary administrator to manage the Catholic Church on the island following the allegations.

Archbishop Apuron has denied the allegations.

But the plaintiffs filed a libel and slander lawsuit against Archbishop Apuron and the church for calling them liars, and for accusing them of “instilling hatred, ignorance and violence in the people” after coming forward with their allegations.

One of them, Walter Denton, told the Pacific Daily News that instead of conducting a transparent investigation, the church has instead called every one of them a liar.

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Waiting for Goddard

UNITED KINGDOM
Lexology

Bond Dickinson LLP

In July 2014 the Home Secretary, Theresa May set up an Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), to examine how the country’s institutions handled their duty of care to protect children from sexual abuse.

The IICSA has launched 13 investigations into a broad range of institutions, one of which is the Roman Catholic Church.

In June last year the Inquiry wrote to all Religious Organisations.

A preliminary hearing in relation to this investigation will be held on 28 July. …

What should you do?

It is critical for the reputation of your organisation that it complies, in so far as it can, with any request made of it by the Inquiry, within any timescales identified.

You should therefore be in a position to act quickly should any request be made of your organisation.

This will include, amongst other things:

* A review of historical cases
* Review of any on-going cases
* Review of historic and current safeguarding practices that were, and are now, in place

Time scales for responding to any request for information are likely to be short and it therefore critical that you are in a position to respond swiftly.

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Chile Olympic Runner Reveals Sexual Abuse, Wins Broad Support

CHILE
Telesur

Chile’s feminist organizations spoke out Sunday against sexist violence, following revelations by a national marathoner, due to run in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, that she suffered from systematic sexual abuse from her stepfather for 12 years.

“We deeply value the courage of Erika (Olivera) to break silence after so many years of hardship and suffering,” said the Movement for Sexual and Reproductive Rights in a communique.

Olivera, mother of 5, filed a complaint against her stepfather, Ricardo Olivera, on June 23 accusing him of sexual abuse from when she was five until 17 years old. In an interview issued Saturday by daily El Mercurio, the marathoner said that the abuses only stopped when she could defend herself against her stepfather, an Argentine evangelical pastor. In many occasions she thought about killing herself or killing him, she added.

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July 3, 2016

Protests against Apuron, archdiocese to continue

GUAM
Guam Daily Post

Louella Losinio | Post News Staff

Members of the Concerned Catholics of Guam said they will continue protesting until the Archdiocese of Agana has formally addressed the issues which, they say, have divided the church on Guam.

Nearly a month has passed since the arrival of Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai as apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of Agana, but protests by members of the groups Concerned Catholics of Guam (CCOG), Laity Forward Movement (LFM) and Silent No More have continued in front of the Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral Basilica in Hagåtña on Sunday mornings.

“Hon is calling for unity in the church but how can we have unity when we all have this dissension in the church. We are separated. There is a division. We have to address the issues first before we’ll have unity,” said Lou Klitzkie, a member of Laity Forward.

Klitzkie referred to the decisions made by Apuron in the past, which the group, together with Concerned Catholics, had publicly opposed such as the removal of Rev. Paul Gofigan and Monsignor James Benavente from their positions as pastor of Santa Barbara and as rector of the cathedral, respectively.

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More victims come forward alleging they were sexually abused by former NJ church pastor

NEW JERSEY
Fios 1

[with video]

The Archdiocese of Newark confirms Father Mitch Walters was removed from ministry last October after 2 others made similar claims

More victims are coming forward claiming they were abused at the hands of a Catholic priest in new Jersey.

“He molested me on two occasions. He fondled me on by buttocks and breast outside my clothes. I was also subject to years of predatory grooming by him,” Danielle Polemeni, said.

The former upper Montclair native is the latest to speak up, alleging her former church pastor, Father Mitch Walters sexually abused her when she was only 13.

“I had been processing my abuse from Father Mitch for many years. I didn’t feel like I would be ready to come forward myself.”

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Methodist Church will not tolerate any church leader abusing their power

FIJI
Fiji Village

By Semi Turaga
Monday 04/07/2016

The Methodist Church in Fiji has clearly stated that it will not tolerate any church leader abusing their power on issues of domestic violence or physical, emotional and sexual abuse.

Church President, Rev. Dr. Tevita Banivanua said it is a serious abuse of power to use the ministry relationship to meet one’s own emotional, sexual, financial or other needs.

Banivanua said safe communities are part and parcel of spiritual salvation.

The Methodist Church in Fiji is making its stance clear after another church pastor was charged with rape last month.

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Challenge for clerics

FIJI
Fiji Times

Aqela Susu
Monday, July 04, 2016

RELIGIOUS institutions and the congregation should not cover up for pastors, ministers or priests involved in alleged sexual offences, says Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre co-ordinator Shamima Ali.

Ms Ali made the comment following the release of sexual offences statistics by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions for the month of June.

The report highlighted that there were 47 separate incidents of sexual offences, 36 of which were rape offences. Out of this, 22 people were charged. A church pastor was charged with a serious sexual offence allegedly committed on a 16-year-old.

Ms Ali said such acts by church pastors were a betrayal to the victims and society as a whole because they were in a position of great trust.

“There needs to be a zero tolerance policy and processes as to how to deal with this,” Ms Ali said.

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Ruben Rosario: Well done, good and faithful servant

MINNESOTA
Pioneer Press

By RUBÉN ROSARIO | rrosario@pioneerpress.com
PUBLISHED: July 3, 2016

I invited him to meet face-to-face over coffee at some point. He preferred green tea. Then, in a recent chat over the phone, Mike Tegeder apologized.

“I am feeling really tired right now,” he told me. “Let’s make it another time.” We agreed on a raincheck.

On June 24, several days after the call, the 67-year-old Minneapolis native and longtime Catholic priest and church pastor learned from his oncologist that further chemotherapy and immunotherapy infusion treatments to curb his aggressive cancer would be fruitless. Tegeder decided then to discontinue treatment and live his final days in hospice care.

The name Tegeder may be familiar to the state’s 1.2 million Catholics, as well as others. He was the priest — the only priest — who publicly, like me, called for Archbishop John Nienstedt’s resignation, well before it happened, for his mishandling of the clergy sexual-abuse scandal and Nienstedt’s expensive but unsuccessful lobbying effort to support a proposed state constitutional amendment to ban same-sex civil marriages.

Tegeder said openly what a handful of priests and others in the church who called me in recent years also felt but who implored me not to identify them for fear of retribution.

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Brian Gergley

PENNSYLVANIA
Tribune-Democrat

[‘He was a monster’: how priest child abuse tore apart Pennsylvania towns – The Guardian]

Jan 26, 1970 – Jul 1, 2016

Brian’s Story

Brian Joseph, 46, Ebensburg, went to be with his Lord July 1, 2016. He was born Jan. 26, 1970, in Ebensburg, son of Jerry and Esther (Wargo) Gergely Sr. Preceded in death by infant sister, Jeanette; grandparents, Anna Mae (Wargo) Gergely and Joseph Wargo, and Jeanette (Hankinson) and Joseph Gergely. Survived by parents, Esther and Jerry Gergely Sr.; sister, Brenda; and brothers, Jerry Jr. and Mark, all of Ebensburg; and numerous aunts, uncles and cousins. Brian graduated in 1988 from Bishop Carroll High Sschool, where he was a star running back. He received a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Edinboro University in 1992. He also is a graduate of the Applied Behavioral Analysis Institute of Pennsylvania and went on to pursue a career in the mental health/mental retardation field. He has been a behavioral specialist and held management positions, but was most recently employed as a therapeutic support staff (TSS) working with troubled youth and with children with mental illnesses. He was an advocate for victims of sexual abuse within the church, and wrote a book, “The Last Altar Boy: A Memoir,” which was in the process of being published. He was a personal trainer and competed in the Mr. Pennsylvania Natural Bodybuilding Competition, where he placed second and third two years consecutively. Brian loved fishing and antiques. He had an antique shop called Cross Roads Antiques for several years. Friends received from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at Matevish and Matevish Funeral Home, 307 N. Center St., Ebensburg. Funeral Mass at 11 a.m. Wednesday at Holy Name Catholic Church, the Rev. Monsignor David Lockard. Committal, Holy Name Cemetery.

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Church petitions court to reveal the identities of teenage sexual abuse victims who sued them

KANSAS
Independent (UK)

Elsa Vulliamy

A Kansas church is asking a court to punish two young girls who sued them over sexual abuse by a former Bible school volunteer by forcing them to reveal their identities.

The volunteer, Kessler Lichtenegger, pleaded guilty last year to attempted rape and attempted electronic solicitation involving two girls under the age of 14, who attended the church.

The girls and their families filed a lawsuit last month, alleging that Church officials at Westside Family Church in Lenexa, Kansas knew about Lichtenegger’s history of violent and sexual crimes involving children, and still allowed him to volunteer.

The suit alleged that one of the girls was raped on church property, and that Lichtenegger had forced her to perform sexual acts on him by threatening that he would go after her younger sister if she did not comply.

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Danville man hopes testimony helps to change state law

ILLINOIS
Commercial-News

BY CAROL ROEHM croehm@dancomnews.com

DANVILLE — A Danville man who says a teacher molested him 30 years ago hopes his experience will persuade state lawmakers to eliminate the statute of limitations for cases involving sexual abuse of children.

Doug Goff, 46, said he was a student at Danville High School at the time he was abused. Last fall he decided to report the details to officials only to be told it was too late to prosecute the alleged perpetrator.

After that, Goff turned his attention to changing the law that restricts the time in which child sexual abuse cases can be reported and legally pursued.

He testified May 25 before the House Judiciary-Criminal Committee in Springfield in support of House Bill 1128, which would remove all time limits on reporting and filing charges in felony sexual abuse cases if the victim was younger than 18 years old when the crime occurred.

“Mr. Goff contacted our office and offered his support,” said Annie Thompson, press secretary for Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office.

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Religious Liberty: It’s About Money

UNITED STATES
The Open Tabernacle: Here Comes Everybody

Posted on July 3, 2016 by Betty Clermont

Tomorrow, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) will complete their annual “Fortnight for Freedom” campaign, a call-to-arms in defense of their “freedom” to deny women and LGBT persons theirs.

As they so often do, the bishops tell us, “We are dedicated … to remain free to provide education, to care for the sick, the poor, and the migrant,” in a paid advertisement for this year’s campaign. The USCCB is selling a four minute video “featuring stories of the importance of religious freedom for institutions that perform the works of mercy – educating children, feeding the hungry, and healing the sick.”

Their last meeting open to the press ended with USCCB president, Archbishop Joseph Kurtz, “highlighting the bishops’ push for religious exemptions for charities, schools and individual for-profit business owners who oppose gay marriage and other laws and regulations.”

On Wednesday, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles announced a new multimedia platform that “will reach Catholics and non-Catholics alike about the good works in the parishes, schools and ministries not only in the archdiocese, but around the world.”

The bishops would have us believe that Catholic charity has an enormous impact on the well-being of our society. While it’s true that many Catholics are generous with their time and money – as are many Americans – the funding coming from the bishops is very small in proportion to their wealth and minuscule in proportion to total U.S. charity.

Government funding of Catholic charity

When Pope Francis was in the U.S. ten months ago, he visited with people helped by Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington D.C. The archdiocese lists $123 million in net assets on its financial report for 2014 and total revenues of $95.6 million. Of that, Cardinal Donald Wuerl gave only $254,000 to Catholic Charities in 2014 while taxpayers provided $32 million.

This is usual. The Economist estimated that of the total expenditures by “the U.S. Church and entities” just 2.7 percent goes to charity and 62 percent of the income of its charitable activities “came from local, state and federal government agencies.”

Catholic Charities USA received 63 percent of its revenue from government support in 2014. Of that, 85 percent was spent on charitable services. According to the Forbes list of the “50 Largest U.S. Charities,” these organizations combined received $33 billion in private support. Catholic Charities USA received $757 million, or less than 2 percent of the private support for only the largest of the thousands of U.S. charities – not exactly the behemoth the bishops would have us believe.

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Word of Life Church trial: 11 things we learned this week (and a few lingering questions)

NEW YORK
Syracuse.com

By Elizabeth Doran | edoran@syracuse.com

Eight months ago, two teen-agers were beaten and whipped by their own parents and sister with an electrical cord in a brutal beating that lasted for hours inside a Utica-area church.

That beating, which ultimately killed 19-year-old Lucas Leonard and severely injured his brother, Christopher Leonard,17, took place in the Word of Life Christian Church in Chadwicks, near New Hartford.

The first trial started this week, with Sarah Ferguson, 33, the boys’ half-sister, facing murder, assault and other charges. Nine people are accused of participating in the beatings including the boys’ parents, Bruce and Deborah Leonard, who have both accepted plea deals.

Here are 11 things we discovered from the trial:

1) Demons and exorcism. Sarah Ferguson testified she performed an exorcism on her brothers’ rooms at one point. She said she believed there were “cowering demons” in her brothers’ rooms. She testified that she believes in angels and demons as a scientific thing.

2) Locks to keep brothers out. Sarah Ferguson and her sister, Grace Leonard, 16, testified to placing padlocks on the doors of their attic apartment so the brothers could not molest Grace or Ferguson’s four children. Ferguson also said she boarded up a side entrance.

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Sioux City Diocese asks for information on children victimized by deceased priest

IOWA
Sioux City Journal

IAN RICHARDSON irichardson@siouxcityjournal.com

SIOUX CITY | After more than 55 years, a new sexual abuse allegation is casting a shadow on the career of a now-deceased priest who served in the Sioux City Diocese during the 1960s.

The Rev. Peter Murphy, who served at eight parishes throughout Northwestern Iowa in the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s, has been accused of raping and sexually abusing a 12-year-old boy while he was a temporary assistant at Blessed Sacrament Parish in Sioux City in 1960.

In early June, the diocese published an article in the Catholic Globe newspaper explaining it had received information that Murphy had committed sexually abusive acts against a minor that year.

The article requested anyone with information of sexual abuse against minors by Murphy contact the diocese or the Mercy Child Advocacy Center. Notices have also been distributed to the parishes where Murphy worked.

“By putting that into the Catholic Globe about Father Peter Murphy and in parish bulletins where he served, we are searching for information if there are other potential abuse victims out there,” said Sioux City Diocese spokeswoman Kristie Arlt.

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July 2, 2016

Priests take oath at unity prayer meeting

GUAM
KUAM

Updated: Jul 02, 2016

By Sabrina Salas Matanane

Rev. Father Jeffrey San Nicolas and Rev. Father Jose Antonio “Lito” Abad made their public Profession of Faith and took an Oath of Fidelity during a Prayer Meeting for Unity held this evening at the Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral-Basilica. Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai recently appointed Fr. Jeff as Delegate of the Administrator. He now assumes responsibilities similar to those of the Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia. Father Lito was appointed as the new Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Agana.

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A CROSS TO BEAR: Abuse victim seeks reconciliation with church

MINNESOTA
Owatonna.com

By JEFFREY JACKSON jjackson@owatonna.com

OWATONNA — Despite all that has happened, Gerald Lynch still wears a cross around his neck.

“I still believe in Jesus,” said the 64-year-old Owatonnan.

And Lynch still considers himself a practicing Catholic, though he admits that it’s not always easy to go to Mass, to be around priests or even to face Sunday mornings. Those things — “triggers,” he calls them — bring back memories he’d rather not face.

“I want to be involved. I want to go to Mass on Sunday,” he said. “But there are circumstances within myself that make it difficult.”

He paused.

“I feel dirty,” he added

Now, if there is anything Lynch is seeking in life, for himself and others like him, it’s reconciliation — reconciliation with the Catholic church, with the priest who sexually abused him as a young man, and, yes, with God.

But Lynch realizes that the healing process for a person like himself who was abused by a priest can be a long journey: In his case, a journey of more than 40 years. And for Lynch, that journey began by admitting what happened to him.

“The first thing I wanted to do was to deny it,” Lynch said. “But what you bury alive, stays alive.”

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Hyperfundies Think A Sexual Assault Victim ‘Asked For What She Got’

SOUTH CAROLINA
Liberal America

By Darrell Lucus on July 1, 2016

Two months ago, I was dumbfounded to discover that two girls who graduated with by girlfriend’s son are on their way to Bob Jones University in the fall. For the better part of four years, the ultrafundamentalist school in Greenville, South Carolina has been under well-deserved fire for its shameful response to sexual assault–including victim blaming and victim shaming of the worst type. As much lunacy as I’ve seen over the years from fundies, I couldn’t understand how any parent would send their children to a school that finds it acceptable to treat a sexual assault victim in this way.

Recently, I’ve gotten at least a few answers. On the same day of the graduation, now-former BJU student Micah Pretlove was arrested for molesting at least two girls during his days at BJU’s attached Christian school, Bob Jones Academy. Since I told you about that arrest, a number of walkaways from the independent fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) churches that are BJU’s main constituency have reached out to me to share some insights on what drives the rampant rape culture in that world.

When I first read about how rampant victim blaming and victim shaming are at BJU, my first impression was that it was mainly driven by the desire to get more notches in everyone’s Bibles. Former student Cathy Harris learned that the hard way when she tried to tell then-dean of students Jim Berg about how she had been victimized by a sex trafficking ring when she was younger. Berg told her that if she went forward, she would be “damaging the cause of Christ.”

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MEDIA RELEASE – JULY 2, 2016 – ROAD TO RECOVERY, INC.

NEW JERSEY
Road to Recovery

Danielle Polemeni, a courageous childhood sexual abuse victim living out of state, returns to the New Jersey town and parish (St. Cassian’s, Upper Montclair, NJ) where she was repeatedly sexually abused by Fr. Michael “Mitch” Walters to discuss the abuse she experienced and encourage others who have been sexually abused to come forward and speak the truth

Fr. Michael “Mitch” Walters, a priest of the Archdiocese of Newark, New Jersey, is accused of sexually abusing a minor girl at St. Cassian’s Parish, Upper Montclair, NJ; four (4) minor male children from St. Cassian’s Parish, Upper Montclair, New Jersey (Essex County); and one (1) minor male child from St. John Nepomucene Parish, Guttenberg, New Jersey (Hudson County). The sexual abuse of these minor children took place from approximately 1982 to 1994.

Danielle Polemeni follows another courageous childhood sexual abuse victim, Dave Ohlmuller, who revealed the details of his childhood sexual abuse by Fr. Michael “Mitch” Walters at St. Cassian’s Parish, Upper Montclair, New Jersey, in a Star Ledger (nj.com) article of January 15, 2016

What
A leafleting and press conference to discuss the childhood sexual abuse of a minor child, Danielle Polemeni, and five (5) other minor children by Fr. Michael “Mitch” Walters, at St. Cassian’s Parish, Upper Montclair, NJ, St. John Nepomucene Parish, Guttenberg, NJ, and other locations

When
Saturday, July 2, 2016 from 5:00 pm until 6:30 pm (leafleting only)
Sunday, July 3, 2016 from 8:30 am until Noon (press conference with Danielle Polemeni at 11:45 am)

Where
On the public sidewalk in front of St. Cassian’s Church and School, 187 Bellevue Avenue, Montclair, New Jersey 07043

Who
Danielle Polemeni, a childhood sexual abuse victim of Fr. Michael “Mitch” Walters, originally from Upper Montclair, NJ and who now lives out of state; Robert M. Hoatson, Ph.D., (roberthoatson@gmail.com) advocate for Danielle Polemeni and President of Road to Recovery, Inc., a non-profit charity based in New Jersey that assists victims of sexual abuse and their families; family members of Danielle Polemeni, including her sister, Madeleine, and the daughter of Danielle Polemeni; other family members; and, supporters from the victim/survivor community

Why
Danielle Polemeni attended St. Cassian’s Church and School in Upper Montclair, NJ, as a minor child. Fr. Michael “Mitch” Walters sexually abused her when she was a minor child at St. Cassian’s Parish and at other locations in and around Upper Montclair, NJ, and, as a result, the sexual abuse caused her harm. She and her supporters will call on the Archdiocese of Newark, NJ, to permanently remove Fr. Michael “Mitch” Walters from the priesthood and help her try to heal by validating her sexual abuse claim. Danielle Polemeni will encourage other childhood sexual abuse victims of Fr. Michael “Mitch” Walters to come forward to begin their healing.

Contacts
Robert M. Hoatson, Ph.D., Road to Recovery, Inc., P.O. Box 279, Livingston, NJ – 862-368-2800
Attorney Mitchell Garabedian, Boston, MA – 617-523-6250

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Former Thomas More student sentenced in child sex case

OHIO
Cincinnati.com

Cameron Knight, cknight@enquirer.com

A former seminarian who had studied at Thomas More College was sentenced in San Diego to nearly 16 years in prison for trying to adopt or purchase infants from Mexico to sexually molest them.

Joel Wright of Ohio pleaded guilty in April to a federal charge of attempted enticement of a minor. A judge on Friday sentenced him to 15 years, eight months.

Wright placed Craigslist ads for a Tijuana tour guide, then told someone who responded that he wanted a baby girl for sex. Wright acknowledged sending explicit emails describing his desires to assault children, from infants up to the age of 4.

The person he contacted was cooperating with authorities, and Wright was arrested when he flew into San Diego in January.

Wright was a seminarian in the Columbus diocese, but he was also sponsored by the Steubenville diocese in Ohio. He also studied in Kentucky and is originally from Vermont, according to the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP).

Rev. John Allen, vice president for advancement at Pontifical College Josephinum, said Wright began attending the school last fall and that he’d undergone a battery of psychological tests, interviews and a background check before being accepted. Wright lost his status at the seminary when he left the campus without authorization.

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Former seminary student gets nearly 16 years in prison for seeking Mexican infants, toddlers for sex

CALIFORNIA
Los Angeles Times

Associated Press

A former Ohio seminarian was sentenced Friday to nearly 16 years in prison for trying to adopt or purchase infants from Mexico to sexually molest them.

Joel Wright, 23, pleaded guilty in April to a federal charge of attempted enticement of a minor. The former student at Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio, admitted that he wrote sexually explicit emails in which he described his desire to assault children, from infants up to the age of 4.

Wright placed Craigslist ads for a Tijuana tour guide starting in November and told someone who responded that he wanted a girl under 3 years old for sex. In one message, he wrote that he picked up infant pain-relief medication and a “pretty outfit which I think should fit the 1 or 2 year old.”

The person he contacted was cooperating with federal agents. Wright was arrested when he flew into San Diego in January.

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Nicht hinter Ethikrichtlinien verstecken!

DEUTSCHLAND
NDR

[Do not hide behind Ethics!]

Ein Kommentar von Florian Breitmeier, NDR Redaktion Religion und Gesellschaft

Der Nebel lichtet sich nur langsam, doch erste Zahlen werden sichtbar. Der Zwischenbericht zeigt, dass im katholischen Bereich auffällig viele Betroffene sexualisierter Gewalt männlich sind – rund 80 Prozent. Die Forscher haben hier zweifelsfrei ein Spezifikum entdeckt. Denn in anderen Institutionen wie zum Beispiel Sportvereinen oder staatlichen Schulen suchen sich die Täter mehrheitlich weibliche Opfer.

Warum aber vergehen sich katholische Geistliche mehrheitlich an Jungen? Liegt es daran, dass es bis weit in die 1970er-Jahre hinein kaum Messdienerinnen gab? Warum wird das Thema Homosexualität tabuisiert? Welchen Aspekt spielt die kritische Auseinandersetzung mit der sexuellen Reife in der Priesterausbildung? Fragen über Fragen, die die Forscher noch beantworten müssen.

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Word of Life trial: Prosecutor questions if accused killer telling truth about abuse

NEW YORK
Syracuse.com

By Elizabeth Doran | edoran@syracuse.com

Utica, N.Y. – An Oneida County prosecutor tried in court today to poke holes in Sarah Ferguson’s claim that two brothers that she and other brutally beat sexually abused her children.

Sarah Ferguson, 33, took the stand to testify in her defense in her murder trial

She is accused of taking part in the beatings, along with her parents and others, that killed her half-brother, Lucas Leonard, 19, and severely injured her other half-brother, Christopher Leonard, 17. The beatings happend at the Word of Life Christian Church in October 2015.

She is charged with second-degree murder, first- and second-degree manslaughter, two counts of first-degree assault and two counts of first-degree gang assault.

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Video: Convicted sex offender is a deacon at Brentwood church

CALIFORNIA
KRON 4

[with video]

By Alecia Reid
Published: July 1, 2016

BRENTWOOD (KRON) — An East Bay deacon is the center of a lot of outrage right now.

Andrew Wright, from the Power of Living Ministries, is a convicted sex offender. Now, some members of his church are defending him.

Andrew Julius Wright is a convicted sex offender. He is also an ordained deacon at Power for Living Ministries.

“He was convicted of continuous sexual abuse of a child…,” Child Predators Most Wanted spokesman Alex Zabel said.

This topic touches home for Zabel, who is a survivor. He joined forces with a few friends, and together, they run the California Child Predators Most Wanted Facebook page.

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46-year-old pastor gets 10-year-old girl pregnant, police say

FLORIDA
Local 10

By Andrea Torres – Digital Reporter/Producer

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – When a 10-year-old girl ended up in the hospital with stomach pain, doctors learned she was pregnant.

Detectives from the special victims unit met the girl at Broward Health Medical Center earlier this year.

The man accused of getting the little girl pregnant, police said, was a youth pastor who used to live in Fort Lauderdale. But he was gone.

The U.S Marshals International Investigations tracked Raymond Vincent, 46, to Haiti. They flew him from Port-au-Prince and turned him over to the Fort Lauderdale Police Department.

Vincent had been accused of molesting a child back in 2011. Police said he offered a girl food to lure her into his apartment. The girl said he molested her several times.

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Defendant Ferguson describes day of beatings

NEW YORK
Observer-Dispatch

Sarah Ferguson was suspicious of her teen brothers. A younger sister “alluded” that they sexually abused her when she was a child and Ferguson grew concerned for the safety of her four young children in the Clayville house they all shared, she testified Friday.

By MICAELA PARKERmparker@uticaod.com

UTICA – Sarah Ferguson was suspicious of her teen brothers.

A younger sister “alluded” that they sexually abused her when she was a child and Ferguson grew concerned for the safety of her four young children in the Clayville house they all shared, she testified Friday in Oneida County Court during her trial.

When the teens admitted under questioning to sexually abusing her children, her sister and children in the neighborhood, she was “shocked” and “angered” by what they said and aimed for their groins while she whipped them.

“I struck them on their genitalia,” Ferguson told her attorney, describing the events at an October counseling session at Word of Life Christian Church in Chadwicks. “Was I thinking? No ma’am, I was not. Did I have any intentions? No ma’am, it was a reaction to what I had heard. No, there was no thought process, there was no thought pattern involved.”

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Diocese of Providence Bans Rev. Turillo Following Allegations of Misconduct

RHODE ISLAND
GoLocalProv

Friday, July 01, 2016
GoLocalProv News Team

The Diocese of Providence has announced that Reverend B. Samuel Turillo, a senior priest of the Diocese is prohibited from exercising the sacred ministry after the Diocese received credible accusations regarding alleged misconduct involving a minor that took place 60 years ago.
Turillo’s faculties or permission to serve as a priest have been removed in accordance with the Charter.

Turillo will soon be 96-years-old and retired from active ministry in June of 1994 and is living in a private residence.

Turilo as a Priest

Father Turillo was ordained to the priesthood in 1946 and had assignments at St. Benedict, Warwick 1946-1946; St. Patrick, Providence 1946-1948; Sacred Heart, West Warwick 1948-1953; St. Mary, Cranston 1953-1954; Holy Angels, Barrington 1954-1962; St. Joseph Hospital, Providence 1962-1962; St. Anthony, Woonsocket 1962-1965; St. Ann, Providence 1965-1971; St. Joseph, Hope Valley 1971-1979 and Sacred Heart, West Warwick 1979-1994.

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Apology for abuse received

MISSOURI
News-Press Now

Editorial

Victims of child sexual abuse are due every reasonable form of redress and compensation. An apology might seem the least of these things, but a sincere apology still has value.

Bishop James V. Johnston Jr. was installed last fall to lead the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph. He was not the bishop when the diocese, like too many others, became embroiled in a series of claims about sexual abuse, paid financial settlements and saw his predecessor charged with a crime for failing to report suspected child sexual abuse.

Nevertheless, Johnston has offered the most compelling statement of official diocese sentiment since the scandal first unfolded. The words are welcomed even in the context of the harm that was caused:

“I am here to confess, apologize and repent for the sins of those who held a sacred trust in the church and who betrayed that trust,” Johnston told those gathered June 26 in Kansas City for a Service of Lament. Church members, victims and survivors of sexual abuse attended, as well as nearly all priests in the diocese.

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Former Columbus seminarian sentenced for trying to buy babies

CALIFORNIA
WTOV

BY ASSOCIATED PRESS, WTOV9 FRIDAY, JULY 1ST 2016

SAN DIEGO, Ca. — A former seminarian has been sentenced in San Diego to nearly 16 years in prison for trying to adopt or purchase infants from Mexico to sexually molest them.

Joel Wright of Ohio pleaded guilty in April to a federal charge of attempted enticement of a minor. A judge on Friday sentenced him to 15 years, eight months.

Wright placed Craigslist ads for a Tijuana tour guide, then told someone who responded that he wanted a baby girl for sex. Wright acknowledged sending explicit emails describing his desires to assault children, from infants up to the age of 4.

The person he contacted was cooperating with authorities, and Wright was arrested when he flew into San Diego in January.

Wright is a former student of Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio.

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VT–Abusive seminarian is sentenced; Victims respond

VERMONT
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Friday, July 1, 2016

Statement by Judy Jones, SNAP associate Midwest director (636 422 2511,SNAPjudy@gmail.com)

A former Catholic seminarian from Vermont who tried to arrange to sexually abuse babies was just sentenced, but the crux and cause of his crimes has basically been ignored – a secretive, self-serving clerical culture that gives troubled clerics repeated chances to hurt kids.

[CBS 8]

Joel A. Wright, a Vermont native, spent time in Kentucky and Ohio. Today, a San Diego judge decided Wright will be locked up for 188 months and be supervised for life. We are glad he’ll always be monitored by the secular justice system and not purportedly monitored by his church colleagues.

Over 40 seminaries rejected Wright. But because so few men want to become priests, church officials – including Steubenville’s Bishop Jeffrey Monforton, Columbus’s Bishop Frederick F. Campbell and Josephinum seminary staff – recklessly rolled the dice on him. In the most narrow and selfish sense, their gamble paid off: none of them are experiencing any consequences for their irresponsible actions.

And sadly, none of them are aggressively reaching out to others who may have knowledge of or suspicions about other crimes by Wright.

Let’s hope that Vermont Bishop Christopher Coyne, and his colleagues in Columbus and Steubenville, will use pulpit announcements, parish bulletins and church websites to do what they should have done long ago – do outreach to others who may be suffering from Wright’s wrongdoing.

No matter what church officials do or don’t do, we urge every single person who saw, suspected or suffered child sex crimes and cover ups in Catholic 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.

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Ghana–Victims want Vatican to discipline Ghana bishop

UNITED STATES
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Friday, July 1, 2016

Statement by Joelle Casteix of Orange County, SNAP volunteer western regional director, 949 322 7434, jcasteix@gmail.com

[Ghana Web]

Vatican officials should discipline a retired bishop in Ghana.

Bishop Peter Akwasi Sarpong says crimes by pedophile priests are

— not the worse form of sin,
— experience “temptation” and are basically “having sex,”
— attract an inappropriate amount of public attention, and
— commit sins of weakness rather than malice, so their wrongdoing is less severe.

He also said “Politicians killing people to come to power, can you compare the sin of a priest who has seen a beautiful girl and has sex with her to that?”

These remarks hurt victims. They perpetuate widely-dispelled myths about abuse. They minimize the horror and damage of clergy sex crimes and cover ups.

And they should be denounced, at the highest levels, by the church hierarchy and by Sarpong’s colleagues. Otherwise clerics will continue to accept them and use them to justify committing and concealing heinous acts of violence against the most vulnerable, and those who see, suspect or suffer child sex crimes will continue to be dismissed, ignored and disbelieved, becoming even more helpless and hopeless.

Time and time and time again, across the globe, bishops make hurtful comments and take hurtful actions about his continuing crisis with impunity. Church defenders dismiss them as “isolated incidents,” much like they dismiss the actual crimes and cover ups. So the wrongdoing continues, the predators stay hidden, the victims remain depressed and the children ultimately get assaulted when these crimes could have been prevented.

No matter what lawmakers or church officials do or don’t do, we urge every single person with information or suspicions about child sex crimes and cover ups in Catholic churches or institutions – especially in the developing world – 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.

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Iowa priest reinstated; claims he abused minors not proved

IOWA
National Catholic Reporter

Barb Arland-Fye Catholic News Service | Jul. 1, 2016 NCR Today

DAVENPORT, IOWA
Fr. John Stack, a priest of the Davenport Diocese, celebrated his reinstatement to active ministry with his first public Mass in 38 months on Father’s Day, June 19, at the Clinton nursing home where his late father once resided.

A church trial outside the diocese found that accusations of clergy sexual abuse against Stack were not proved. The Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith concurred with the trial judges’ finding and Davenport Bishop Martin J. Amos announced Stack’s reinstatement June 15.

“I just felt that the Lord and the Blessed Mother were always close to me. I felt God was telling me, ‘you are a priest forever, in the line of Melchizedek,'” Stack told The Catholic Messenger, the diocesan newspaper. He can’t reveal details about the accusations, but said he holds no animosity toward his accusers.

Stack recalls the day — April 20, 2013 — when he learned about accusations against him. The previous day, Cardinal Francis E. George of Chicago honored Stack and other alumni of the University of St. Mary of the Lake in Mundelein, Illinois, celebrating their 25th anniversary as priests.

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Duluth priest sues man who accused him of sexual abuse

MINNESOTA
Duluth News Tribune

By Tom Olsen

A Duluth priest has turned the tables on a man who is accusing him of sexual abuse.

The Rev. William C. Graham, pastor at St. Michael’s Catholic Church in the Lakeside neighborhood, is suing his accuser, who claims that he was abused by the priest nearly four decades ago.

Graham, 66, has been on administrative leave from the Diocese of Duluth since May 23, when his name surfaced in a lawsuit filed anonymously by a man identified as Doe 446.

The filing identifies St. John’s Church, St. Benedict’s Church and the Marshall School (formerly Cathedral High School) as defendants. Graham is not personally named as a defendant, but is mentioned in the suit as the focus of the abuse allegations.

On Friday, Patrick Neaton, a Chanhassen, Minn., attorney for Graham, provided the News Tribune with a nine-page complaint that he said will be served on Doe 446.

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Brothers in arms: how Benedict is helping Francis fight intrigue in the Vatican

IRELAND
Irish Independent

Michael Kelly
PUBLISHED
02/07/2016

To the casual observer, Pope Francis’s recent admission that he believes retired Pope Benedict XVI “had my back” over the past three years may seem like nothing more than a polite hat-tip to his predecessor. But the remark actually reveals a deep undercurrent of resistance to reform that Benedict’s steady presence in a small residence in the Vatican gardens is helping the Argentine Pope overcome.

It’s not by accident that when Francis gives public addresses, he reserves his sharpest criticism for Vatican officials. While the overwhelming majority of people who work in the Church’s central administration are dedicated and hard-working officials, there has long been a hard-core element machinating against reform, often for alleged financial gain.

It has long been a staple of the Italian press to report on controversial allegations emanating from the Holy See – whether it has been links to the Sicilian Mafia or Masonic bodies, there has been plenty of smoke.

When Jorge Bergoglio was elected Pope three years ago, the first item in his in-tray was a blistering 300-page report from a special commission that his predecessor Benedict XVI had established to investigate alleged corruption in the heart of the Vatican.

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July 1, 2016

Pervert priest free to work with children after getting ban overturned

AUSTRALIA
Daily Telegraph

ANTHONY DE CEGLIE, The Daily Telegraph
July 1, 2016

A THIEVING alcoholic priest accused of molesting orphaned teenage boys can work with children again after winning an appeal against a Working With Children Check (WWCC) lifetime ban.

Family and Community Services Minister Brad Hazzard slammed the decision as “extremely concerning”.

Mr Hazzard told The Saturday Telegraph he was “calling on the Catholic Church to reconsider the man’s involvement in pastoral activities”.

“(It should) do what it probably should have done years ago by erring on the side of protecting our kids and not the former priest,” he said.

The case has also exposed how potential predators can work for months while their applications are assessed.

The 68-year-old former priest, known only as “BQC” in court, was banned from working with children by the Children’s Guardian in April 2014 after an investigation discovered “sustained” historical workplace allegations he had sexually abused two teenage Aboriginal siblings. One was a ward of the state.

The alleged conduct involved genitalia fondling and masturbation.

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Priest allowed to work with youngsters again despite being a lifetime ban after he was accused of molesting two Aboriginal children

AUSTRALIA
Daily Mail

By BELINDA CLEARY FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA
PUBLISHED: 17:20 EST, 1 July 2016

A former priest has won the right to work with children in his retirement despite being accused of molesting two teenage girls in the 1980s.

The former Australian priest, 68, was banned from working with children in 2014 when the Children’s Guardian found the historical allegations relating to two Aboriginal sisters.

He launched an appeal and won – because no police report had been filed over the alleged assaults, Newscorp reports.

During the appeals process the man was allowed to continue working with children even though he had previously been banned.

The Children’s Guardian found workplace reports accusing the priest, known only as BQV, of theft and alcoholism.

Investigations into the clergyman also found he was part of the church’s Encompass program which has been known to shield paedophiles.

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Sex abuse group to Jeff church: ‘Shame on them’

KENTUCKY
Courier-Journal

Bobby Shipman, The Courier-Journal July 1, 2016

A priest sex abuse victims group has criticized Jeffersonville church officials for requesting prayers for an accused child molester instead of his potential victims.

David Clohessy, director the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, released a statement calling First Christian Church’s actions “stunningly callous.”

“Shame on them,” the statement read.

The church’s former head pastor David James Brown was arrested in Frankfort earlier this month after police said he traveled to meet with a minor he had been communicating with over a messaging app. The minor was actually an undercover officer from the state attorney general’s cyber crimes unit, and Brown was charged with one count of prohibited use of an electronic communication system for the purpose of procuring a minor for a sex offense.

The 46-year-old died Wednesday in an apparent suicide in Atlanta, Ga., police officials said.

The church’s youth minister, Chad Boseker, sent out a statement following Brown’s death asking for prayers for the pastor’s family and for the church’s congregation.

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CPS appeals as monk accused of child abuse remains in Kosovo

UNITED KINGDOM
Premier

Fri 01 Jul 2016
By Aaron James

The Crown Prosecution Service is appealing a decision by a Kosovan court not to extradite a British monk accused of child abuse.

Laurence Soper was arrested and questioned in Italy, where he was living at the time, in 2010 after an alleged victim approached police claiming he had abused him.

He was later released and has not been charged with any crimes.

When British police summoned him again for questioning in 2011 he did not return, sparking what became a five-year Europe-wide manhunt before he was eventually found and arrested in the Kosovan city of Peja earlier this year.

British authorities had requested that he be extradited to the UK, however a Kosovan court blocked the move because under Kosovan law the child abuse allegations against him – some of which date back to the 1970s – had expired.

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Pope Benedict Dishes on Vatican’s ‘Powerful Gay Lobby’

VATICAN CITY
The Daily Beast

Barbie Latza Nadeau

Pope Benedict is destroying the diary he kept as pope, but not before releasing his tell-all memoir.

ROME—It’s a rare, and indeed, singularly unique opportunity to read what a pope really thinks of the job after it has finished. Pontificates generally end in funerals, not retirements. But in the case of Pope Benedict XVI, who spectacularly retired in 2013, we will soon get that rare glimpse of what it’s really like to be pope when his memoir, Benedict XVI: The Last Conversations, is published on September 9 in Italy and Germany.

Benedict, who has been living in relative seclusion at a convent inside Vatican City, has only been seen a handful of times since stepping out of the limelight. But he has apparently been incredibly busy working with German journalist Peter Seewald on his side of history. Italian national daily Corriere Della Sera obtained rights to excerpt the book, which they announced in a full page spread in Friday’s edition called “My Years as Pope.”

Among what will be the most anticipated nuggets in the memoir are Benedict’s struggle with what he refers to as a “powerful gay lobby” of four or five key people who did all they could to influence key decision makers inside the Roman Curia, according to the paper. The existence of a gay lobby is not surprising since Francis admitted as much when he took the reigns of the Roman Catholic Church in March 2013. But what’s extraordinary is the admission by a pope how much power they truly had.

Benedict, who retired amid the Vatileaks scandal during which his butler was convicted of stealing papers from his desk, apparently writes in great detail how he struggled to “break up the group” but stops short of blaming them for his landmark decision to retire, which he says he did out of sheer exhaustion and his own admission that he was not such a good manager, or, as he puts it, lacked “resoluteness in governing.”

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Ex-Seminary Student Who Wanted to Molest Toddler Girls in Mexico Prison-Bound

CALIFORNIA
Times of San Diego

POSTED BY DEBBIE L. SKLAR ON JULY 1, 2016

A former seminary student from Ohio, who traveled to San Diego to try to adopt or purchase female toddlers in Tijuana so he could sexually molest them, was sentenced Friday to nearly 16 years in federal prison.

Joel Alexander Wright, 23, pleaded guilty in April to attempted enticement of a minor.

In pronouncing the 188-month sentence, U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw called Wright’s conduct “incredibly deeply disturbing and horrific.”

The judge said Wright — who was born severely disabled and has a litany of health problems including blindness — accomplished many things in life but for whatever reason, over the past few years, pursued children.

“It’s an extremely predatory sign,” the judge said. Wright has been diagnosed with paraphilia — a condition characterized by unusual sexual desires — and could be rehabilitated, Sabraw said.

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Seminary student sentenced to 16 years in child sex case

CALIFORNIA
10 News

SAN DIEGO — A former seminary student from Ohio, who traveled to San Diego to try to adopt or purchase female toddlers in Tijuana so he could sexually molest them, was sentenced Friday to nearly 16 years in federal prison.

Joel Alexander Wright, 23, pleaded guilty in April to attempted enticement of a minor.

In pronouncing the 188-month sentence, U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw called Wright’s conduct “incredibly deeply disturbing and horrific.”

The judge said Wright — who was born severely disabled and has a litany of health problems including blindness — accomplished many things in life but for whatever reason, over the past few years, pursued children.

“It’s an extremely predatory sign,” the judge said.

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Joel Wright, former seminarian, sentenced to 15 years in child sex case

CALIFORNIA
10 TV

SAN DIEGO
A former Ohio seminarian who pleaded guilty to trying to adopt or purchase infants from Mexico to sexually molest them has been sentenced to 15 years.

Friday’s sentencing in San Diego comes after Joel Wright, 23, pleaded guilty in April to a federal charge of attempted enticement of a minor. He was also sentenced to lifetime supervision .

Beginning in November 2015, Wright placed Craigslist ads for a Tijuana tour guide, and then told a cooperating witness who responded that he wanted a baby girl for sex. He confided that he wanted to “adopt/own a baby girl and I want to have intercourse with her after I own her but don’t be telling people that.” Wright continued, “I won’t pay until I have seen the baby and I will pay the parents then…the cheapest baby under 3 would be good.”

TIMELINE: Horrifying details uncovered in seminary student’s quest for child sex

Wright acknowledged sending explicit emails describing his desires to assault children, that included infants up to the age of 4.

The person he contacted was cooperating with federal agents and Wright was arrested when he flew into San Diego in January while en route to Tijuana. There, he believed he would film and eventually sell videos of himself raping at least three children under the age of three. He was carrying $2,000 in cash along with baby clothes, lubricant, two cell phones, sleep aids, toys and candy in his luggage.

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.