ABUSE TRACKER

AUSTRALIA
Cairns Post

Megan Neil, Australian Associated Press
November 18, 2016

Compensation payments to people sexually abused as children by Catholic clergy in the Melbourne archdiocese are expected to surpass $31 million after the church doubled the maximum available payout.

The compensation cap under the church’s Melbourne Response scheme will rise from $75,000 to $150,000, putting it in line with the maximum payment under the federal government’s planned commonwealth redress scheme.

Past payments to abuse survivors under the much-criticised Melbourne Response, set up in 1996 by then Melbourne archbishop Cardinal George Pell, will be topped up if the victim would have received a higher offer had the new system been in force when their compensation was determined.

Melbourne Archbishop Denis Hart said the $15 million the archdiocese had paid in compensation under the scheme was expected to rise to $31.7 million under the new system, which brings in changes recommended in a review by retired Federal Court judge Donnell Ryan QC.

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AUSTRALIA
Newcastle Herald

IAN KIRKWOOD
18 Nov 2016

NEWCASTLE’S assistant Anglican Bishop Peter Stuart has told the Royal Commission that Newcastle had more of a problem with clerical child sexual abuse than either Adelaide or Tasmania, where he had also worked.

Concluding his evidence to the Royal Commission, Bishop Stuart said Tasmania had developed a “culture of awareness and an arena of safety” and he did not think such a set-up had been in place in Newcastle.

Resuming after the morning adjournment, Bishop Stuart was asked about the congregation at St Stephens, Adamstown, where the defrocked former dean of Newcastle, Graeme Lawrence, has been worshipping in the congregation of Reverend Chris Bird.

Bishop Stuart said he had concerns about Mr Lawrence worshipping there.

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AUSTRALIA
The Guardian

Australian Associated Press

The Catholic church has doubled the maximum compensation payment to people sexually abused as children by clergy in the Melbourne archdiocese to $150,000.

Abuse survivors who have already received payments under the Melbourne Response can have their cases reviewed to determine if they are eligible for additional compensation.

The doubling of the compensation cap from 1 January 2017 puts it in line with the maximum payment under the federal government’s redress scheme starting in 2018.

On Friday Melbourne archbishop Denis Hart said the archdiocese was committed to a fair system of redress.

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AUSTRALIA
7 News

Miranda Forster – AAP on November 18, 2016,

Former Anglican dean of Newcastle Graeme Lawrence says allegations he sexually abused children are “incorrect”, and denies ever being asked about them by senior clergy despite documents that suggest he was.

Lawrence, now defrocked, appeared at the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in Sydney on Friday.

He was taken to a 1995 letter from then-Bishop of Newcastle Roger Herft to youth camp leader Robert Wall, who has made a statement to the commission that two boys told him Lawrence sexually interfered with them.

“Mr Wall is absolutely incorrect,” Lawrence said of the statement, and maintained he’d never been to a youth camp.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Telegraph

Telegraph Reporters
18 NOVEMBER 2016

One of the biggest victims’ groups involved in the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse has announced it is formally pulling out of the probe.

In the latest setback for the inquiry, set up by then home secretary Theresa May, the Shirley Oaks Survivors Association, described it as a “stage-managed event which has now been contrived in such a way that it enables the guilty to wash their dirty hands, whilst the establishment pats itself on the back”.

The group, which represents people affected by abuse at children’s homes run by Lambeth council in south London, said in a statement: “Having watched the IICSA unpalatable circus stumble and lurch from crisis to crisis with multiple resignations and claims of racial and sexual abuse thrown into the mix, it no longer matters whether we think the inquiry is just another stitch-up because it’s clearly a botch job that needs a drastic overhaul if it is ever to achieve its initial objectives.”
The announcement comes two days after it emerged that another senior lawyer at the inquiry, chaired by Professor Alexis Jay, had resigned.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Care Appointments

Written by The Press Association

One of the biggest victims’ groups involved in the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse has announced it is formally pulling out of the probe.

In the latest setback for the inquiry, set up by then home secretary Theresa May, the Shirley Oaks Survivors Association, described it as a “stage-managed event which has now been contrived in such a way that it enables the guilty to wash their dirty hands, whilst the establishment pats itself on the back”.

The group, which represents people affected by abuse at children’s homes run by Lambeth council in south London, said in a statement: “Having watched the IICSA unpalatable circus stumble and lurch from crisis to crisis with multiple resignations and claims of racial and sexual abuse thrown into the mix, it no longer matters whether we think the inquiry is just another stitch-up because it’s clearly a botch job that needs a drastic overhaul if it is ever to achieve its initial objectives.”

The announcement comes two days after it emerged that another senior lawyer at the inquiry had resigned.

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AUSTRALIA
Premier (UK)

Fri 18 Nov 2016
By Premier Journalist

Compensation pay outs to child abuse survivors are expected to cost the Catholic Church in Australia £18.4 million ($31million).

After a review, the church made the decision to raise the compensation cap for victims from £44,500 to £89,000 ($75,000 to $150,000).

After a series of allegations against the conduct of Catholic priests in the Australian city, the Archdiocese of Melbourne set up the Melbourne Response to investigate the accusations in 1996.

Complaints are assessed by an independent commissioner and referred on to a compensation panel.

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CONNECTICUT
Yale News

It was fear of a new boss that prompted longtime Boston Globe journalist Walter “Robbie” Robinson and his investigative team to get the ball rolling on its Pulitzer Prize-winning series about the Catholic church’s cover-up of sexual abuse by priests in the Boston archdiocese.

Robinson, now editor-at-large of the Boston Globe, led the newspaper’s investigative Spotlight team for seven years until 2006. In 2002, the team began the series of stories revealing that for years the church knew about and covered up sexual abuse in its ranks — sometimes with secret settlements with victims. The team’s investigative efforts were portrayed in the Academy Award-winning 2015 movie “Spotlight” (in which Michael Keaton played Robinson).

Robinson and other Boston Globe reporters reacted like “deer caught in the headlights” when their new boss, Marty Barron, asked his staff during his first news meeting with them about a lawsuit involving one priest, the journalist told the audience during a well-attended conversation with Dr. Richard Schottenfeld, head of Davenport College, in the college’s common room. The judge had put the records that the church provided the plaintiff under seal, and Barron asked the reporters what was being done to gain access to them.

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AUSTRALIA
The Age

Chris Vedelago Cameron Houston

The Catholic Church has pledged to double potential compensation payments for child sex abuse survivors to $150,000 but has back-tracked on a promise to publicly release an independent review into its controversial Melbourne response victim compensation scheme.

The decision is expected to upset survivors, their families and victims advocates who have been waiting for more than a year for Archbishop of Melbourne Denis Hart to authorise the release of the report, some of whom contributed to its creation.

In 2014, retired Federal Court judge Donnell Ryan was commissioned to examine the operation of the Melbourne Response program following complaints about its fairness.

The report was handed more than a year ago to Archbishop Hart, who had pledged to release its findings.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

By David Marchese

A disgraced former Anglican dean facing allegations of child sexual abuse has emphatically denied any wrongdoing to a royal commission during a dramatic afternoon of questioning.

Graeme Lawrence has been one of the most anticipated witnesses at a child abuse royal commission hearing that is probing the response to widespread paedophile activity in the Newcastle diocese spanning several decades.

Mr Lawrence served as dean of Newcastle’s Anglican cathedral from 1984 until 2008 and was defrocked in 2012 in the wake of abuse allegations levelled at him.

Counsel assisting the commission, Naomi Sharp, asked Mr Lawrence about whether he had had any involvement in handling allegations of child abuse in the diocese.

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NEW YORK
Esquire

BY ERIC LEWIS NOV 17, 2016

During the summer of 1968, Robert and Pamela DiBenedetto spent four weeks at sleepaway camp in upstate New York. The siblings, twins from Brooklyn, were twelve years old, and their camps were on opposite sides of a lake. One morning, Pamela woke up in her cabin with a swollen arm, an injury that puzzled the camp nurse: Pamela had not fallen or tripped, been bitten or stung. At the end of the season, however, she learned that her brother had broken his arm across the lake the day her swelling began.

As a high school student at Fontbonne Hall, a Catholic girls’ school in Bay Ridge, Pamela came to every football game at Poly Prep, the nearby boys’ school where Robert and I were both students. Now sixty-one, she long ago took the last name, Romano, of her late husband. But when I saw her recently, she had the same bright green eyes and balletic grace that she had in her youth. She told me the story about her arm to illustrate the bond that she and her brother had shared until his death in 1984.

Robert had been two grades ahead of me at Poly Prep. A smart kid with wiry hair and glasses, he was always laughing at the center of a gang of football players. He wasn’t big enough to play on the great teams of our era, but from ninth grade on, he served as a manager for the varsity squad. Known to everyone as DiBo, Robert had close friends among the players, and he took it upon himself to introduce new guys like me to the team, whether at school or at Short’s, the dive bar where we hung out on the weekends. (A sign over the bar said STRICT PROOF OF AGE REQUIRED, which, we joked, meant you had to prove you had an age.)

After the twins’ father died suddenly when they were in ninth grade, Robert was taken under the wing of Poly’s head football coach, a squat colossus of a man named Philip Foglietta. Fat and muscular, Foglietta was around five foot five and weighed well over 250 pounds. From the moment he’d arrived at Poly Prep, in 1966, he had dominated the campus; players, students, and colleagues all saw him as the ultimate macho man. Those of us on the football team were desperate to please him, but we also feared his wrath, which often found expression in his unique dialect of Neapolitan Brooklynese. (“Gamine Gotz, Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!” was a favorite curse.) By 1972, when Foglietta took Poly to the Ivy Prep School league championship, he was widely regarded as one of the best high school football coaches in New York City.

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CANADA
Brampton Guardian

KENTVILLE, N.S. — His face streaked with tears, the middle-aged man put his head in his hands and breathed heavily.

Testifying about an alleged sexual encounter with Brent Hawkes as a teen more than 40 years ago, his face was red with emotion. The man declined suggestions, however, that he should take a break from the witness stand.

“I think this is as good as it’s going to get,” the man quietly said of his emotional state Tuesday.

It was his first day of testimony at the well-known Toronto pastor’s trial on charges of indecent assault and gross indecency. The man, the complainant in the case, will return to the stand Thursday after an off-day Wednesday.

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CANADA
Local Express

by: Ian Fairclough

The trial of Rev. Brent Hawkes continued in Kentville provincial court Thursday morning, with defence lawyer Clayton Ruby again questioning the memory of a man who alleges that Hawkes sexually assaulted him in the 1970s.

Hawkes is charged with indecent assault and gross indecency for allegedly assaulting the man when he was a student at West Kings District High School in the 1970s.

He showed the man a document that indicated Hawkes wasn’t a teacher when the man was in Grade 9, as he had testified. The man said he couldn’t explain that.

“That’s my memory,” the man said of his assertion that he had Hawkes as a teacher.

“That’s my point,” Ruby replied.

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CANADA
Newstalk

Don Mitchell
November 17, 2016

The Toronto pastor accused of sexually assaulting a minor back in the ’70s took to the stand in a Nova Scotia courtroom on Thursday.

Brent Hawkes said there was no sexual activity at his then home, a trailer in the Annapolis Valley, during what a witness described as a drinking party.

Hawkes is facing charges of indecent assault and gross indecency.

Earlier in the trial, a witness testified that Hawkes had taken him to a bedroom in the trailer and performed sexual acts on him.

“I do not recall… walking (the complainant) down the hallway,” Hawkes said.

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CANADA
CBC News

By Blair Rhodes, CBC News Posted: Nov 17, 2016

Two very different versions of what happened on a night some 40 years ago emerged Thursday as Toronto pastor Brent Hawkes and his accuser both testified in a Nova Scotia courtroom.

Hawkes, a prominent rights activist, is charged with gross indecency and indecent assault for incidents that allegedly occurred in the 1970s. His trial began Monday in provincial court in Kentville, N.S.

When asked by Crown Prosecutor Bob Morrison about the night in question, Hawkes was emphatic.

“It’s not true,” he told the court. “It did not happen.”

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CANADA
Toronto Star

By ALY THOMSON
The Canadian Press
Thu., Nov. 17, 2016

KENTVILLE, N.S.—Prominent Toronto pastor Brent Hawkes appeared calm on the witness stand Thursday as he categorically denied that he performed sex acts on a teenage boy at his trailer in Nova Scotia in the mid-1970s.

“It’s not true. It did not happen,” Hawkes said in a hushed voice, shaking his head in the Kentville, N.S., courtroom.

On Tuesday, a man testified that Hawkes led him down a hallway during a drunken get-together at his trailer in Greenwood, N.S., and forced oral sex on him in a bedroom.

Hawkes, then a teacher in his mid-20s in the Annapolis Valley, said Thursday it wasn’t unusual for students and teachers to stop by his trailer, especially around that time, as they wanted to say goodbye before he moved to Toronto to work with a church.

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NEW YORK
Road to Recovery

Clergy sexual abuse victim, Neal E. Gumpel, his wife, and supporters to demonstrate at Fordham University and Fordham Prep in the Bronx in the aftermath of a Business Insider article (http://www.businessinsider.com/catholic-church-sexual-abuse-victims-compensation-fund-2016-11) that told his story of sexual abuse by a Catholic Jesuit priest, Fr. Roy Alan Drake, SJ, a deceased Fordham Prep and Fordham University teacher and professor, who has been previously identified as a sexual abuser, and the refusal of the Northeast Province of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), Fordham University, and Fordham Prep to fairly compensate him. After an investigation, Mr. Gumple was found to be credible by the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) with regard to his claim.

Business Insider, the largest business news site on the web, published an article during the week of November 14, 2016, entitled, “The Catholic Church has a plan to compensate sexual-abuse victims, but many will get nothing.” It described the compensation plan of the Archdiocese of New York which assists victims of clergy (Archdiocesan priests and deacons only) sexual abuse but does not include sexual abuse victims of religious order priests, sisters (nuns), brothers, deacons, and all lay Church employees who work or have worked in the Archdiocese of New York with the express consent of the Cardinal/Archbishop of New York.

Demonstrators will urge Fordham University and Fordham Prep students, faculty, administrators, and the general public to demand that Fordham University, Fordham Prep, and the Society of Jesus do the right thing by fairly and justly compensating sexual abuse victims of Jesuit priests, like Neal E. Gumpel, whose allegations of sexual abuse by Fr. Roy Alan Drake, SJ, have been found credible. In addition, Cardinal Timothy Dolan must demand of religious orders that they fairly and justly compensate sexual abuse victims of their members and lay employees or else they may not serve in the Archdiocese of New York

What and Why
A demonstration and leafleting alerting faculty, students, administrators, and the general public about the unfair and re-victimizing policy of the Archdiocese of New York to NOT include in its recently-announced compensation program for victims of Archdiocese of New York clergy, sexual abuse victims of religious order personnel, like Jesuits, who sexually abused children; and the unfair and re-victimizing policy of the Society of Jesus, Fordham University, and Fordham Prep NOT to compensate a sexual abuse victim of Fr. Roy Alan Drake, SJ, previously identified as a sexual abuser, Neal E. Gumpel, whose allegations have been found credible by the Society of Jesus, Fordham University, and Fordham Prep

When
Friday, November 18, 2016 from 11:00 am until 1:00 pm

Where
Outside the main gates of Fordham University and Fordham Prep, 400 Southern Boulevard, Bronx, NY (near the entrance of the New York Botanical Garden)

Who
Neal E. Gumpel, his wife, Helen, and Dr. Robert M. Hoatson, President of Road to Recovery, Inc., a non-profit charity based in New Jersey that assists victims of sexual abuse and their families

Contact
Robert M. Hoatson, Ph.D., Road to Recovery, Inc. – 862-368-2800 – roberthoatson@gmail.com
Attorney Mitchell Garabedian, Boston, MA – 617-523-6250 – garabedianlaw@msn.com

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SCOTLAND
Herald Scotland

Tom Gordon , Scottish Political Editor

JOHN SWINNEY has been accused of letting down the survivors of child abuse after refusing to extend the remit of the inquiry established by the Scottish Government into the issue.

The Education Secretary was criticised after he said he would not expand the independent Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry to cover day schools and youth groups.

The four year inquiry will focus on sexual, physical and emotional abuse in foster care, children’s homes, boarding schools and long-term hospital care.

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BELGIE
HLN

[The facts of sexual abuse in the College in Waregem, dozens of years ago, are barred. So says the Office of West Flanders, department Kortrijk. There is a claim made to dismiss the case. In March 2015 a complaint was filed with a civil action in the courts. That complaint was directed against four different parties within the Sacred Heart College. Some priest-teachers were accused of sexual offenses in the 70s and 80s.]

De feiten van seksueel misbruik in het College in Waregem, van tientallen jaar geleden, zijn verjaard. Dat zegt het parket van West-Vlaanderen, afdeling Kortrijk. Er is een vordering tot buitenvervolgingstelling opgesteld.

In maart 2015 werd een klacht met burgerlijke partijstelling ingediend bij het parket. Die klacht richtte zich tegen vier verschillende partijen binnen het Heilig-Hartcollege. Enkele priester-leraars werden beschuldigd van zedenfeiten in de jaren 70 en 80.

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URUGUAY
MDZ

[Uruguay Three priests of the Catholic Church were charged with sexually assaulting several children. The cases were recorded in the province of Entre Ríos.]

Tres sacerdotes de la Iglesia Católica fueron imputados por atacar sexualmente a varios niños. Los casos se registraron en la provincia de Entre Ríos.

Según reveló Jorge Riani en diario La Nación, el caso que mayor repercusión generó fue el que involucra al cura Justo José Ilarraz, que dentro de poco tiempo irá a juicio, acusado de haber violado a seminaristas, menores de edad, entre 1984 y 1992.

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PARGUAY
La Vanguardia

[A court in Asuncion condemned a priest to six years in prison for a crime of sexual abuse against two minors who helped him as altar servers, the Paraguayan prosecutor said Wednesday.]

Asunción, 15 nov (EFE).- Un tribunal de Asunción condenó a un sacerdote a seis años de prisión por un delito de abuso sexual contra dos menores de edad que le ayudaban como monaguillos, informó hoy la Fiscalía paraguaya.

Los hechos ocurrieron a finales de 2013 en una parroquia del barrio San Vicente de Asunción, cuando las víctimas tenían trece años de edad, de acuerdo con un comunicado de la Fiscalía.

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URUGUAY
Prensa Latina (Cuba)

[The Episcopal Conference of Uruguay announced today that four priests of its ministry were suspended for committing sexual abuse against minors.]

Montevideo, 16 nov (PL) La Conferencia Episcopal de Uruguay anunció hoy que cuatro sacerdotes de su ministerio fueron separados por cometer abusos sexuales contra menores.

Hoy queremos informar sobre los resultados del estudio que emprendimos para conocer ‘con exactitud esta triste situación’, y las medidas que hemos adoptado, señaló un comunicado publicado en su sitio web.

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LUXEMBURG
L’essentiel

[LUXEMBOURG – “It began with a kiss from the pastor” – a Luxembourgian said in court how a priest from Belair became abusive on a Taizé trip.]

LUXEMBURG – «Es begann mit einem Kuss vom Pastor» – ein Luxemburger Messdiener berichtet vor Gericht, wie ein Priester aus Belair auf einer Taizé-Fahrt zudringlich wurde.

Stille im Gerichtssaal in Luxemburg-Stadt: In einem Prozess um Missbrauchsvorwürfe gegen einen Luxemburger Pastor berichtet das mutmaßliche Opfer gestern, wie sich die Tat abgespielt haben soll. Die Aussage des inzwischen 22-Jährigen wurde per Video in den Saal gespielt, die Verhandlung fand öffentlich statt. Das berichtet RTL.

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ISRAEL
Arutz Sheva

Rabbi Eliezer Berland, who fled Israel after allegations of sexual misconduct against female followers came to light in 2012, will serve 18 months in prison for sexual abuse.

Berland, 79, is the founder of the Shuvu Banim yeshiva in the Old City of Jerusalem and was a prominent figure within the Breslov community. He managed to evade Israeli authorities until his capture in South Africa in late 2015. Rabbi Berland was finally returned to Israel in July, 2016.

According to a plea bargain agreement signed on Thursday, Berland will plead guilty to two charges of sexual assault against two of his female followers, and will be sentenced to 18 months imprisonment.

The nearly four months Berland has already served will be counted towards his jail term.

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UTAH
Daily Utah Chronicle

CONNOR RICHARDS on November 8, 2016

The Book of Mormon. You’ve probably heard of it. A holy book that contains the official beliefs and teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it is ultimately a narrative of an intense battle between good and evil, black and white. Literally. Translated by LDS founder and prophet Joseph Smith in the early 1800s, it tells the tale of two lost tribes of Israel — the Nephites and Lamanites — that left the holy land in 600 B.C. In traditional Mormon teachings, the Nephites are described as being noble, handsome and fair-skinned. The Lamanites, on the other hand, are portrayed as being brute, savage and dark-skinned.

You can guess who the good and bad guys in the story are.

The story goes that the Lamanites beat out their white and holy counterparts and claimed the Americas for their own. Thus, the origin of Native Americans, according to Mormon leaders and scholars.

One implication of this history is an inherent and intellectually inescapable belief that Native Americans, as well as other races cursed with “skin of blackness,” for that matter, are inferior to white folk. This is well-documented in Mormon and Utah history. It explains why black men were barred from holding the priesthood until 1978, as well as why black and interracial couples were disqualified from having their marriages sealed in the temple until that same year.

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UNITED STATES
The Atlantic

LILLY FOWLER OCT 23, 2016

Native Americans who were part of a little-known Mormon program from 1947 to the mid-1990s share much of the same story. Year after year, missionaries or other members of the Church of Jesus-Christ of Latter-day Saints approached these families and invited their children into Mormon foster homes. As part of the Mormon Indian Student Placement Program, Native American children would live with Mormon families during the school year, an experience designed to “provide educational, spiritual, social, and cultural opportunities in non-Indian community life,” according to the Church. Typically, the Mormon foster families were white and financially stable. Native American children who weren’t already Mormon were baptized. And some of them now claim they were sexually abused.

“They knew there were things going on. They just turned around and closed their eyes to it,” said BN, a former participant of the program who has filed a sexual-abuse lawsuit against the LDS Church, and who remains anonymous in court documents, in an interview. So far, three sexual-abuse lawsuits involving four past participants have been filed in Navajo Nation District Court. No criminal charges have been brought against the defendants, who are also anonymous in all pleadings. The alleged victims include a brother and sister who were both in the program. The brother, referred to in court documents as RJ, claims in the lawsuit that he was not only sexually abused, but physically and emotionally abused, and forcibly had “his mouth washed out with soap whenever he spoke Navajo to the other placement children in the home,” according to court documents. A fourth lawsuit is pending, according to their lawyer, Craig Vernon.

The LDS Church maintains that the “plaintiffs’ allegations are just that—allegations,” according to David Jordan, its lawyer. While many of the perpetrators named in the suits are dead, “I can tell you that the surviving family members of the alleged abusers with whom we have been able to speak do not believe the allegations,” Jordan claimed. “I also want to emphasize that the Church would have had absolutely no motive to send a child back into an abusive environment if a report of improper conduct had been made by any of the plaintiffs.” The Church has not answered the allegations other than to challenge the jurisdiction of Navajo court, and has asked a federal judge to prevent the cases from going forward in tribal court.

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SCOTLAND
Scotsman

TOM PETERKIN

John Swinney is to remove a three year time bar which constrains the ability of child abuse victims to seek civil damages in court.

The Deputy First Minister published legislation to get rid of the time bar, which requires those who want to raise a personal injury action for damages to do so within three years of the date on which the injuries were sustained.

The current law means that child abuse survivors are usually required to raise civil action by the date of their 19th birthday – three years after they reach the age of 16.

Survivors have campaigned for the removal of the time bar while the Scottish Government has been working on its inquiry into historical abuse, chaired by Lady Smith.

The bar will be abolished under the forthcoming Limitation (Childhood Abuse) (Scotland) Bill, which will be the Scottish Government’s first piece of legislation of the 2016/17 parliamentary year.

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SCOTLAND
STV

Aidan Kerr

The inquiry into child abuse in Scotland will only investigate incidents which took place against those who were not in the legal care of their parents, John Swinney has said.

In a statement to MSPs on Thursday, the education secretary said he has made the remit of the inquiry clearer to make sure there was no confusion over what the panel could investigate.

The inquiry, chaired by Lady Smith, will hear evidence of abuse carried out against children who were in long-term legal care of institutions and bodies.

If abuse against those individuals was carried out outside the institution but while they were still under their care, the inquiry will investigate it.

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GUAM
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Agana

Message by Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai, SDB

We all were saddened by the news that the Carmelite Sisters were to leave the Island. It was absolutely a very difficult move both for them and for the faithful on Guam. The Archdiocese has been so privileged to have them among us ever since 1966. With their dedication to contemplation and prayer, the Carmelite community has become a power station for Church activities.

To the beloved Carmelite Sisters, I have to apologize and to admit certain damages of the “toxic environment” they experienced. In the month of July, eight seminarians were asked by their bishops to return to their dioceses from the RMS. Before their departure, I met them one by one and started to better realize the complexity of the issues which gave rise to the so-called “toxic environment”.

The Sisters did not only assist the Archdiocese spiritually but also materially. We are now in a position to express our heartfelt gratitude publicly to you and your community, for it was through your effort that we received two million dollars to settle our big loan from the bank for the purchase of the Yona seminary property in view of the formation of future priests.

We appreciate the clarification made by Mother Dawn Marie this week regarding the genuine intent of the benefactor, which was unfortunately twisted by some people. The Sisters tried hard to tolerate it and to remain silent as much as possible. I personally knew of their suffering because as a Secretary working in the Holy See I was able to read those correspondences mentioned by the Mother Prioress and I respect their willingness to suffer in silence. However, silence in this case did not suffice, because things were getting worse to a point that the reputation of their community was at stake. I am glad that before her departure this week Mother Dawn Marie was able to reveal the truth in a limpid way.

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GUAM
KUAM

Updated: Nov 17, 2016

By Sabrina Salas Matanane

Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai is expressing his gratitude and issuing an apology to the Carmelite Sisters. This week, Mother Superior Dawn Marie of the Carmelite Sisters on Guam broke her silence about what happened several years ago as it related to the Archdiocese of Agana’s acquisition of the Redemptoris Mater Seminary in Yona. She also shared the reasons for the departure of the Carmelite Sisters from Guam. One month after celebrating 50 years on island, the Carmelite nuns packed up and moved to California because of what Mother Dawn described as a “toxic environment” surrounding the local church embroiled in controversy over allegations of child sex abuse and questions of ownership of the RMS property.

During a press conference held at the Carmelite’s home in Tamuning, Mother Dawn revealed that she was the one who was able to secure $2 million dollars from her Carmelite Sisters in the states to pay off a loan that was used by the Archdiocese of Agana to purchase the RMS property in Yona. The donor was supposed to be kept anonymous. Mother Dawn said Archbishop Apuron not only revealed that the Carmelite Sisters in the states were the benefactor but also years later he would write a letter asking that they say the donation was purposely earmarked for the RMS and the San Vitores Theological Institute of Oceania. Mother Dawn said they did not agree to do that because “that was completely untrue”. She told media that this was reported to the Vatican and to their attorneys, but the Carmelites decided to remain silent and not litigate the issue. That was until this week.

In a statement issued Thursday evening, Archbishop Hon said they were all saddened by the news that the Carmelite Sisters were to leave Guam. He also apologized and admitted to certain damages of the toxic environment that they experienced. “We appreciate the clarification made by Mother Dawn Marie this week regarding the genuine intent of the benefactor, which was unfortunately twisted by some people. The Sisters tried hard to tolerate it and to remain silent as much as possible. I personally knew of their suffering because as a Secretary working in the Holy See I was able to read those correspondences mentioned by the Mother Prioress and I respect their willingness to suffer in silence. However, silence in this case did not suffice, because things were getting worse to a point that the reputation of their community was at stake. I am glad that before her departure this week Mother Dawn Marie was able to reveal the truth in a limpid way,” Archbishop Hon stated in a press release.

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CONNECTICUT
National Catholic Reporter

Peter Feuerherd | Nov. 17, 2016

If the late comic Rodney Dangerfield were a state, he might be Connecticut.

It doesn’t get a lot of respect. Small in size (number 48 out of 50); with a name difficult to spell, it suffers from an identity crisis: is it a New York City suburb? Or a slice of New England with leanings towards Boston? Its baseball sympathies includes a mythical dividing line between Red Sox Nation and New York Yankeedom.

The state does lead the nation in per capita personal income. At the same time, its combination of affluent suburban towns mixed with struggling cities like Bridgeport and Hartford makes it number two in income inequality.

Now Connecticut can add another number one to its list: it is tops, according to a 2015 Pew study, in the percentage of baptized Catholics who no longer consider themselves Catholics (see page 143 of this study appendix).

According to Pew, the number of nones — those who respond that they do not consider themselves part of any religious tradition — is growing. Many of the nones are former Catholics. Nationwide, over a seven-year period from 2007 to 2014, self-identifying Catholics in the U.S. population fell from 23 to 20 percent. Connecticut leads with a 10 percent drop.

What’s up with the Nutmeg State?

NCR asked prominent Connecticut Catholics and Mark Silk, a non-Catholic religion scholar and writer, to address reasons and suggest solutions.

First, the possible reasons:

The Pew study indicates that Catholics in Massachusetts, just behind Connecticut in this category, were hit hard by the Boston Archdiocese sex abuse scandals.

The fallout may well have infected bordering states as well. Boston is a media link for much of Connecticut.

Connecticut’s three dioceses were not immune. When then Bridgeport Bishop Edward Egan’s testimony in a priest sex abuse case was made public, many Catholics were outraged as he distanced himself from priest sex abusers, calling them independent contractors whom the church had little control over.

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GUAM
Guam Daily Post

John O’Connor | Post News Staff

On the heels of the relocation of the Order of the Discalced Carmelites from Guam to California, Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai – the apostolic administrator for the Archdiocese of Agana – has issued a statement expressing gratitude and apologizing to members of the sisterhood. Prior to her leaving, The Mother Superior Dawn Marie called for a press conference to explain the reason for the departure.

According to Marie, the decision to relocate came after a series of events that resulted in what she called a “toxic environment” that made it difficult for the nuns to continue in their way of life. Those events, she said, stemmed from the archdiocese’s acquisition of the former Hotel Accion property in Yona and the subsequent establishment of the Redemptoris Mater Seminary and the formation of the Blessed Diego Luis de San Vitores Theological Institute (BDTI).

Marie revealed that she was the one who was able to secure about $2 million from another Carmelite monastery to purchase the Yona property, but that Archbishop Anthony Apuron violated her trust by asking the sisterhood to lie about the original purpose of the money.

Marie indicated that it was never her or the donor’s desire that the property be used specifically for RMS, nor was it their wish that it be used for the establishment of BDTI and that, even as the issue grew in its controversy, she remained silent.

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VIRGINIA
Augusta Free Press

Capping a month-long series of events around the topic of healthy sexuality and sexual violence, EMU welcomed Father Tom Doyle, a Roman Catholic sexual abuse victim advocate, to campus Monday, Nov. 7. Doyle, a priest who has worked with abuse victims for more than three decades, was the keynote speaker and panel presenter for a symposium for EMU faculty and staff on institutional harms and healing in response to sexual violence. He also gave an evening lecture, open to the public, on the spiritual impact of sexual abuse in religious contexts, and gave a sermon at an Eastern Mennonite Seminary worship service.

The symposium and public lecture were organized and facilitated by Professor Carolyn Stauffer as part of her multi-year “Silent Violence” project. Her research, which began in 2015 with a grant from The JustPax Fund, has focused on how abused individuals in marginalized communities employ resilient strategies to survive, endure and sometimes escape their situations.

While the first year of the project focused on surfacing individual stories and the second year on community services, the third year has emphasized the role of institutions. In March 2016, Stauffer organized a community education forum with both preventative goals and healing through arts-based approaches. One of Stauffer’s research questions, which widened the investigative scope to communities and institutions, was “How are our ideologies or institutions complicit?”

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KENTUCKY
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Thursday, Nov. 17, 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)

Lexington Catholic officials are being callous and secretive about the death of a predator priest. We hope they will reverse course and tell the public about his passing. And we hope his death will prompt others who may have seen, suspected or suffered his crimes – or crimes by other clerics- to come forward.

Fr. John B. Modica passed away a year ago. http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/nky/obituary.aspx?pid=176300773

As best we can tell, Kentucky Catholic officials did little or nothing to publicize this fact, putting their own comfort and convenience ahead of the pain of Fr. Modica’s victims. Shame on them.
We learned this news from an ex-nun in Kentucky (We also confirmed it on-line). That’s sad. Parents, parishioners and the public should have learned this from Lexington Bishop John Stowe. Why? Because a caring shepherd would do. And because that’s what the official US church abuse policy purportedly requires: “openness and transparency” in clergy sex abuse cases.

We are glad that Fr. Modica can no longer hurt kids. We’re glad too that his victims can hopefully sleep better at night knowing that he can’t assault any more children. More of them could sleep better, and could have done so months ago, had Bishop Stowe and his staff been honest.
We hope that all of Fr. Modica’s victims – whether hurt long ago or more recently – find the strength and courage to step forward, get help, expose wrongdoing and start healing. And we hope they find consolation.

Now that he’s passed on, we hope all Lexington Catholic officials will be more forthcoming about Fr. Modica’s crimes and about those who ignored, concealed and enabled them.

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UTAH
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Thursday, Nov. 17, 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)

A Utah judge is letting an alleged abuse victim have his day in court in a Mormon-related child sex abuse and cover up case. We are relieved and thrilled. Now, we hope church officials will now cooperate fully and quickly so the full truth can be revealed about a troubling church program which involved tens of thousands of kids over more than a half century. http://www.sltrib.com/news/4596141-155/abuse-case-against-mormon-church-to

For the safety of kids and the healing of victims, they must resist the temptation to delay justice by trying to evade discovery, block depositions and exploit legal technicalities to keep the truth concealed while discouraging other victims from coming forward and exposing those who commit and conceal sexual violence.

We especially hope Thomas S. Monson, the high-ranking Mormon official, won’t fight his deposition. Monson is old and victims are hurting. Moving quickly to shed light on the Indian Student Placement Program may embarrass some Mormon staff. But it will also go far to deter future wrongdoing and console suffering victims.

We applaud Judge U.S. District Judge Robert Shelby for this common sense ruling. We especially applaud the four wounded individuals who have found the strength to hopefully turn something horrific into something positive. They are working to use their suffering to expose crimes and cover ups so that more crimes and cover ups can be prevented. For that, they deserve the gratitude of police, prosecutors, parents and the public in both Utah and Arizona.

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SCOTLAND
Holyrood

Written by Tom Freeman on 17 November 2016

The Scottish child abuse inquiry will not widen its remit to include non-residential incidents of abuse, Deputy First Minister John Swinney has announced.

In a statement to the Scottish Parliament, Swinney said he had informed the chair Lady Anne Smith the only change to the remit would be to take into account abuse of children in care “wherever it occurred”.

The decision comes after survivor groups had called for children’s’ organisations, clubs and local parish churches to be included in the investigation.

However, Swinney said: “To set a remit which would in practice take many more years to conclude, we would be failing to respond to those survivors of in-care abuse who have taken us at our word – in Government and in Parliament – that we will learn from their experience and, by addressing the systematic failures that existed, ensure it can never happen again.”

He also announced the Scottish Government’s first legislation of the new parliamentary term, which will remove the three-year time limit that prevents childhood abuse survivors from seeking civil damages in court.

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MASSACHUSETTS
Telegram & Gazette

By Scott O’Connell
Telegram & Gazette Staff

WORCESTER – A retired Catholic priest pleaded guilty in federal court Wednesday to a money laundering charge stemming from his involvement in an overseas scheme that allegedly defrauded women seeking companionship online.

The Rev. Thomas B. Fleming originally pleaded not guilty to 12 counts of money laundering included in an indictment against him last year. He signed a plea agreement with U.S. prosecutors on Monday, he told U.S. District Court Judge Timothy S. Hillman at his plea change hearing in U.S. District Court Wednesday.

According to an online record of the plea agreement, the recommendation is for the Rev. Fleming to be incarcerated for a period of time served, and pay $90,105 in restitution to five victims. The Rev. Fleming was held in custody for roughly three weeks following his arrest in Florida last July.

Rev. Fleming, 67, of Worcester, could have faced up to 20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine for each of the counts against him; per his plea agreement, he only pleaded guilty to the first count. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for Feb. 8.

According to Assistant U.S. Attorney David G. Tobin, Rev. Fleming helped orchestrate an online dating scheme for a person who identified himself to Rev. Fleming as a serviceman overseas. U.S. investigators believe that person was using a false identity, and was actually operating a scam in Nigeria.

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MASSACHUSETTS
Boston Herald

Associated Press Thursday, November 17, 2016

WORCESTER, Mass. — A retired Roman Catholic priest has pleaded guilty to his role in an international online dating scam.

The Telegram & Gazette (http://bit.ly/2fYTwPm ) reports that the Rev. Thomas Fleming reached a deal with federal authorities in which he agreed to plead guilty to one count of money laundering.

Prosecutors say the 67-year-old Fleming helped orchestrate the scheme for a person who identified himself as a serviceman overseas. Investigators say that person was using a false identity.

Women who responded to the online ads were asked to send money, which prosecutors say moved through two bank accounts belonging to Fleming.

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UNITED STATES
YouTube

Published on Nov 16, 2016

The Center for Study of Responsive Law held its second four-day conference on securing long-overdue democratic solutions in Washington, D.C. from September 26-28, 2016

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AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald

Who Gave You Permission?

MANNY WAKS WITH MICHAEL VISONTAY

SCRIBE, $35

When Manny Waks told the leaders of his ultra-orthodox Jewish community in Melbourne about his experience of child sexual abuse by some of its members, he was shunned and ostracised. When his father stood up for him, Waks’ family were cast out of the only world they had ever known. As a result, his parents now live in Israel and Waks and his family have fled to France. It is an extreme case of a story that has become familiar from the testimonies of those at the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse where the initial abuse is compounded by the failure of those in authority to acknowledge the problem. In this absorbing memoir, Waks tells how he became a “reluctant troublemaker”, speaking out on behalf of those who fear to do so, and of the renewed sense of purpose this role has given him.

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CANADA
VOCM

Eighteen claims of abuse involving former residents of Mount Cashel orphanage remain outstanding.

The news comes following a recent $750,000 dollar settlement reached between the provincial government and a former resident who, as a young child, reported alleged abuse to police back in 1975. The subsequent investigation helped to form the basis of the Hughes Inquiry.

The man’s lawyer, Will Hiscock of Budden and Associates says more claims remain outstanding.

The recent settlement, which took six years to reach, came to light through a provincial government Order in Council.

The provincial government says there have been approximately 130 settlements involving allegations of abuse suffered at Mount Cashel, resulting in a total of about $29.2 million dollars.

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IRELAND
Irish Examiner

By Conall Ó Fátharta
Irish Examiner Reporter

Since around 1997, investigators have been trying to get to the bottom of vaccine trials, writes Conall Ó Fátharta

THE current commission of investigation into mother-and-baby homes is the second State inquiry that will attempt to examine the issue of vaccine trials carried out on children in the homes.

Further revelations in the Irish Examiner this week showed that the files of vaccine trial victims in Bessborough mother-and-baby home were altered in 2002 — just weeks after the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse sought discovery of records from the order running the home. The revelation will no doubt be examined as part of the latest inquiry.

The history of how and why large-scale vaccine trials were carried out on children in care in Ireland is still emerging, usually through media exposés.

The fact vaccine trials were carried out on children in mother-and-baby homes and other institutional settings first hit the headlines in the early 1990s.

Questions were raised in the Dáil on the subject but it wasn’t until 1997 that then health minister Brian Cowen gave assurances the matter would be examined.

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INDIANA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Wednesday, November 16, 2015

Statement by Melanie Jula Sakoda of Moraga, California, Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), SNAP East Bay Director (925-708-6175, melanie.sakoda@gmail.com)

The Indiana Supreme Court has ruled that the University of Notre Dame’s campus police department is not a “public agency” under Indiana law. The decision means that the school does not have to release information about investigations requested by sports media company ESPN.

[South Bend Tribune]

We here at SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, are concerned that this ruling will make it harder, not easier, to expose sex crimes committed on the campuses of private universities, and we hope that Indiana lawmakers will immediately get to work to close this loophole in the Access to Public Records law. College students will be safer if private schools cannot hide information about campus police investigations from the public.

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TENNESSEE
Local Memphis

[with video]

By Maria Hallas | mhallas@localmemphis.com

MEMPHIS, TN

New information in an a case of sex-abuse allegations at a local church against a man who now works for the Memphis city library. The victims say the abuse happened decades ago.

The three victims, Kenny Stubblefield, Michael Hansen, and Brooks Hansen, who came forward on camera Monday, say they’ve heard from eight people claiming Chris Carwile sexually assaulted them. Of those, six claim abuse while Carwile attended Cherokee Baptist Church.

“Since the story has been told on Channel 24 and on Facebook social media, things like that, we have had people reach out to us and say that, yes, they were abused by Chris Carwile after our abuse story,” said Stubblefield.

Stubblefield claims eight people contacted him or brothers Michael and Brooks Hansen to claim Chris Carwile also abused them. Six of those victims say they were abused while Carwile attended Cherokee Baptist Church. The most recent allegation was in 2003. Stubblefield says none are ready to go on camera.

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AUSTRALIA
Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse

17 November, 2016

The Royal Commission will hold a public hearing in Sydney commencing on Monday, 28 November 2016.

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

1. Issues raised in the Royal Commission’s Consultation Paper on Criminal Justice.

2. The experience of a survivor of child sexual abuse in an institutional context in the criminal justice system in a recently concluded prosecution in New South Wales.

3. Any related matters.

The Royal Commission may invite selected individuals or organisations to speak to, or give evidence about, the submissions they have provided, however it is not proposed that leave to appear will be granted to these individuals or organisations, on the basis that they are speaking or giving evidence in this capacity.

It is not essential for others who give evidence in a hearing to apply for leave to appear – witnesses may give evidence without applying for leave.

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SCOTLAND
BBC News

John Swinney is to update MSPs on issues relating to the independent inquiry into child abuse in Scotland.

A ministerial statement has been scheduled at Holyrood for the education secretary to address the chamber.

Mr Swinney recently told MSPs he had spoken to inquiry chairwoman Lady Smith about potentially expanding the remit of the inquiry.

A bill has been introduced at Holyrood removing any time bar on people seeking damages over childhood abuse.

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GUAM
Pacific News Center

Written by Janela Carrera

Two of the claimants say former Guam priest, Father Louis Brouillard, forced the altar boys to perform “oral copulation.”

Guam – More lawsuits have been filed against the Archdiocese of Agana for civil claims of sexual abuse, two of which involve “oral copulation.”

This afternoon, Attorney David Lujan filed an additional three new complaints on behalf of his clients. The three are Bruce Diaz, Vicente Guerrero Perez and the Estate of Joseph Anthony Quinata. There are now a total of seven lawsuits filed against the church since the civil statute of limitations for filing sexual abuse claims was lifted.

Diaz and Perez both allege that they were sexually abused by former Guam priest Father Louis Brouillard while Quinata’s mother claimed that her late son had revealed on his deathbed 11 years ago that Archbishop Anthony Apuron sexually molested him in the 1970s.

Three of the first four lawsuits were also filed against Apuron by Roland Sondia, Roy Quintanilla and Walter Denton, while the fourth lawsuit was filed by Leo Tudela against Brouillard.

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GUAM
Pacific News Center

Haidee V Eugenio , heugenio@guampdn.com November 17, 2016

When Coadjutor Archbishop Michael Jude Byrnes signed documents to regain full control of the Redemptoris Mater Seminary property in Yona, he also cut the seminary’s ties to the Neocatechumenal Way by, among other things, making sure the seminarians will be prepared for priesthood in accordance with the precepts of the Holy Roman Catholic faith.

Byrnes used his authority to take back control of the multimillion property that hosts the RMS and the Blessed Diego Luis de San Vitores Catholic Theological Institute for Oceania, both controlled by the Neocatechumenal Way.

The Neocatechumenal Way is an organization within the Catholic Church founded by Kiko Arguello in Spain in 1964 but its beliefs and practices conflict with Guam’s Catholic faithful.

The Way, as it is also called, came to Guam in 1996 and Archbishop Anthony S. Apuron became one of its members.

“I guess you could say this is the start of the dismantling of the Neocatechumenal Way on Guam,” Concerned Catholics of Guam President David Sablan said Thursday. The group has opposed actions taken by Apuron in recent years, including his decision to deed the seminary to The Way, and has called for his removal. “One can see how the NCW has influenced Apuron and he allowed himself, as archbishop of Agana, to do the bidding of the hierarchy of the Neocatechumenal Way — Pius Sammut, the Gennarinis, Arguello. They destroyed the fabric of our church by creating a division between them and the rest of the Catholics.”

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GUAM
Pacific Daily News

Haidee V Eugenio , heugenio@guampdn.com November 17, 2016

Archbishop Anthony S. Apuron and former priest Louis Brouillard, along with the Archdiocese of Agana, face three new lawsuits alleging child sex abuse, which were filed Thursday afternoon by two former altar boys and by the estate of a deceased former altar boy.

The lawsuits are possible because of a recently passed Guam law that lifts the civil statute of limitations for those accused of abusing children, as well as the institutions that supported them.

Vicente Guerrero Perez, 51, and Bruce A. Diaz, 47, in their separate complaints, said Brouillard sexually abused them for about four years each, from 1976 to 1980, when they served as altar boys and as members of the Boy Scouts of America.

Brouillard, now 95 and living in Minnesota, also served as scoutmaster in the Guam chapter of the Boy Scouts. He was a priest on Guam from the late 1940s to 1981.

The late Joseph “Sonny” Quinata, through his estate administrator Mary Jane Quinata Cruz, also filed a separate lawsuit against Apuron, the archdiocese and up to 50 others.

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GUAM
KUAM

Updated: Nov 17, 2016

By Sabrina Salas Matanane

Three more cases have been filed in the Superior Court of Guam related to child sex abuse allegations involving local clergy.

The total now stands at seven complaints for damages involving allegations of child sex abuse in the local catholic church filed by attorney David Lujan. Late Thursday afternoon Lujan filed three more cases.

Bruce Diaz alleges he was 8 years old when he was sexually molested multiple times by Fr. Louis Brouillard. Diaz alleges the abuse occurred while he was an altar boy at the catholic church in Barrigada and while he was a boy scout, where Broiullard was scout master. The abuse he alleged occurred over a four year period beginning in 1976.

Vicente Guerrero Perez is next to come forward. He alleges that when he was 11 years old he was sexually molested multiple times by Fr. Brouillard in the 1970’s when he was an altar boy at the Barrigada Catholic Church and as a Boy scout. Additionally he alleges he had made an appointment with Archbishop Anthony Apruon in 2000 and told him about his years of abuse, but nothing was ever done.

As we reported Broiullard in October recorded a video confessing he abused dozens of boys on Guam when he served as a priest here from 1940’s through the 1970’s. Court documents stated he said he even told the head of the Catholic Church at the time about the abuse, but Bishop Apollinaris Baumgartner didn’t do anything except tell him to do “prayers as penance”.

As for the third case it was filed on behalf of Joseph “Sonny'” Quinata. Although he is deceased the plaintiff is identified as Mary Jane Quinata Cruz– the administrator for his estate.

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UNITED KINGDOM
The Guardian

Sandra Laville

A public hearing into allegations of child abuse against the late Lord Janner is to be put back to an undisclosed date, the national inquiry into institutional abuse has said.

The first public hearing to be held by the national abuse investigation was to be held in March next year and focus on the institutional responses to allegations made against Janner. But the chair, Prof Alexis Jay, having looked again at the case, and the pace of ongoing investigations by the police and the IPCC, decided the hearing had to be delayed to avoid prejudicing these inquiries.

The development came after news that another lawyer had left the national inquiry, which was set up in 2014 to examine institutional failings to investigate child abuse. Aileen McColgan, who was leading the inquiry’s investigation into abuse in the Anglican and Catholic churches, quit over concerns about the inquiry’s leadership, according to BBC Newsnight.

The latest departure led Yvette Cooper, the chair of the Commons home affairs select committee, to urge the inquiry to be more transparent, and said her committee would seek evidence from McColgan and other lawyers who have quit.

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ALASKA
KTVA

ANCHORAGE — An Anchorage man has been arrested for sexually abusing two young victims and possessing child pornography, according to the Anchorage Police Department.

Police announced the arrest of 56-year-old Bernard Droege on Wednesday. He faces 28 charges — eight counts of second-degree sexual abuse of a minor, 10 counts of unlawful exploitation of a minor and 10 counts of child pornography possession.

Police spokeswoman Renee Oistad said in a statement that the investigation into Droege began after the parent of one of the victims contacted the Office of Children’s Services to report a sexual assault in June. OCS then contacted police.

Droege volunteered as a volleyball coach at the Boys and Girls Club of Anchorage and worked weekends at the Holy Rosary Academy for maintenance and lawn care, according to Oistad.

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UTAH
The Salt Lake Journal

By TOM HARVEY | The Salt Lake Tribune

Attorneys for four Navajos suing the LDS Church over alleged sexual abuse said Wednesday they intend to subpoena the faith’s president, Thomas S. Monson, to testify about the former program that placed children in Mormon homes off the reservation during the school year.

The remarks came after a federal judge in Salt Lake City rejected a church argument that Navajo tribal courts do not have jurisdiction over three lawsuits alleging that the Utah-based religion is liable for damages resulting from sexual abuse to tribal members while they participated in the church’s Indian Student Placement Program between 1965 and 1983.

U.S. District Judge Robert Shelby ruled that there was insufficient evidence to determine whether the tribal court was exercising proper jurisdiction over the lawsuits.

That ruling may clear the way for attorneys to subpoena Monson, the increasingly frail 89-year-old leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

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UTAH
Arizona Daily Sun

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST Associated Press

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A federal judge on Wednesday denied a Mormon church push to move a lawsuit claiming sexual abuse of Navajo children in a church-run foster program out of tribal court.

U.S. District Judge Robert Shelby ruled the church hasn’t shown any compelling reasons why Navajo Nation courts should be blocked from considering the suit filed by four people who say the church didn’t do enough to protect them from abuse when they were children.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints wanted the case moved to federal court in Salt Lake City because the allegations do not involve any abuse on tribal land.

Church officials didn’t immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs contended the case should stay in the Window Rock, Arizona-based court because decisions about where to put children in the now-defunct program had occurred on tribal land as did failures to act on reports of abuse.

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GUAM
Pacific Daily News

As more individuals step forward with allegations of clergy sex abuse, and the possibility there may be others, we urge the Archdiocese of Agana to adopt a sensible plan to address the claims.

Church officials should consider the seven-point plan recommended by the Concerned Catholics of Guam.

The plan states:

* Petition the Guam Bar Association president to establish a lawyer referral service practice area for child sex abuse.

* Petition the Victims Advocate Reaching Out, Child Protective Services and the Healing Hearts Crisis Center to establish user-friendly procedures to provide help to child sexual abuse victims.

* Petition the Guam Legal Services Corp. to establish a victims of child sexual abuse contact office, which will be a central source for provision of information services available to victims.

* Establish a nonprofit foundation, whose board of directors shall be comprised of Catholic laymen with no interests in any of the Archdiocese of Agana’s affairs, and who are professionals in the area of financial trust management. The foundation would solicit, maintain, and disburse funds pursuant to its rules, to help victims achieve closure for their past ordeals.

* Petition the Guam Crime Stoppers to establish specific procedures to deal with child sexual abuse victims.

* Establish a board of visitors comprised of Catholic laymen having no financial interest in archdiocesan affairs. The board shall conduct inquiries into archdiocesan matters as are appropriate to ensure implementation of plans, agreements and compliance with the provisions of recommendations one through five.

* Commit funds collected through the Archdiocesan Annual Appeal to be allocated to the activities set forth in recommendations one through five.

The plan would go a long way toward preventing and detecting abuse as well as helping victims heal.

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CANADA
Huffington Post

By Aly Thomson, The Canadian Press

KENTVILLE, N.S. — His face streaked with tears, the middle-aged man put his head in his hands and breathed heavily.

Testifying about an alleged sexual encounter with Brent Hawkes as a teen more than 40 years ago, his face was red with emotion. The man declined suggestions, however, that he should take a break from the witness stand.

“I think this is as good as it’s going to get,” the man quietly said of his emotional state Tuesday.

It was his first day of testimony at the well-known Toronto pastor’s trial on charges of indecent assault and gross indecency. The man, the complainant in the case, will return to the stand Thursday after an off-day Wednesday.

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NIGERIA
Nigeria Today

A 48-year-old pastor identified as Micheal Adeniran, has been ordered to be remanded in prison custody by an Abeokuta Chief Magistrates’ Court sitting on Wednesday for allegedly impregnating a 17-year-old girl.

According to a report by Vanguard, Inspector Kayode Emnmanuel, who is the prosecutor, told the court that the accused committed the offence in June at El-Bethel Church, Ita Aka, in Abeokuta, Ogun.

The prosecutor who disclosed further that the accused, a pastor at El- Bethel Church, sexually abused a teenage girl, which resulted into pregnancy, added that the pastor failed to take responsibility of the girl in the last six months of his impregnating her.

Emmanuel who revealed that the pastor who is facing a charge of sexual abuse, added that that the offence contravened Section 32 of the Child Rights Law of Ogun, 2006.

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NIGERIA
Information Nigeria

A 48-year old Pastor identified as Michael Adeniran has been arrested in Abeokuta for impregnating a 17- year old girl. The Pastor who heads the El- Bethel Church is facing a charge of sexual abuse has pleaded not guilty to the offence.

The magistrate presiding over his case ordered that he be remanded in Police custody while the case was adjourned to November 30, 2016.

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AUSTRALIA
7 News

By Rebekah Ison, AAP Updated November 17, 2016

A former Newcastle bishop says the Anglican Church’s morality has been compromised by child sex scandals and it should play no part in decisions to defrock priests.

Bishop Brian Farran on Thursday testified that he thought the church’s professional standards process was too “in-house”” and that decisions would be better made by an independent statutory body.

“I think really the morality of the church has been compromised,” he told the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

“There has to be absolute transparency and it needs to move out … of the church and into a body like that.”

Bishop Farran has told the royal commission he felt that a group of influential parishioners were out to get him during the professional standards process that led to the defrocking of influential priest Graeme Lawrence in 2012.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

By David Marchese

A former Anglican bishop has told the child abuse royal commission the power to discipline clergy needs to be removed from the church because its morality “has been compromised”.

Brian Farran held the position of bishop of Newcastle from 2005 until his retirement in 2012, and has been questioned about widespread abuse carried out in the diocese over several decades.

Bishop Farran told the commission of how he “agonised” over whether he should defrock his long time friend, the former Dean of Newcastle, Graeme Lawrence.

Mr Lawrence was ultimately defrocked in 2012, along with reverends Bruce Hoare and Andrew Duncan over what were described as “disturbing” allegations of abuse that allegedly occurred in the 1970s and 1980s.

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INDIA
First Post

By Maya Palit

“If it comes out, it will be like a tsunami,” the nun Manju Kulapuram said, earlier this year, about the rampant sexual abuse of women by the men of the Catholic church in India. Evidently, Kulapuram was onto something — and it’s across denominations, nor confined just to the Catholic church. Unlike other work places, which in theory are meant to have set up mandatory internal complaints committees, there is no formal institution in place that addresses sexual abuse inflicted by members of the clergy.

On 14 November, a woman based in Kozhikode registered a police complaint about a parish priest in Nadakkavu St Mary’s English Church. She alleged that he sexually harassed her over email and messages after she contacted him with a request to pray for her daughter on her birthday in August. She complained to the bishop at the Malabar Diocese of the Church of South India, even showing him copies of the interactions with the priest, but was not taken seriously: the bishop said there were plenty of other churches in Kozhikode that she could attend. Although the priest was briefly transferred to Nilambur in September, he was back at Nadakkavu in just over a month. It was only after she contacted the police through Anweshi, a women’s counselling centre that a case was registered and the priest was charged under Section 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman).

Numerous cases have not made it that far. A 2016 report suggested that when higher-ups of the church are alerted to these incidents, they often choose to either ignore them or, at the most, transfer the perpetrator. Sr. Kulapuram says that a fellow nun was videotaped while bathing, by a seminarian, while they were both attending a seminar away from home; she was dissuaded from pursuing the legal route and told that she’d get justice from the church. This never materialised — the priest was sent to Rome to continue his theological studies, and the victim abandoned religious life altogether. A version of the familiar promotion-for-accused and demotion-for-victim model.

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CANADA
CBC News

By Katie Nicholson, CBC News Posted: Nov 16, 2016

A priest convicted of sexual assault is seeking bail following his October arrest on eight new charges involving the alleged sexual abuse of four men.

Ron Léger had just been granted day parole when Winnipeg police took him into custody Oct. 19.

Léger was sentenced to two years in jail in February 2016 for sexually assaulting three men who were youths at the time the abuse began.

The new charges were laid after four more men came forward to police with similar allegations that they were abused after meeting the priest at a youth centre. Léger ran a number of teen drop-in centres from the 1970s to the mid-90s, including Teen Stop Jeunesse and Ron’s Drop-in Centre.

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GUAM
Guam Daily Post

John O’Connor | Post News Staff

While Archbishop Anthony Apuron has been implicated in civil suits filed by victims of alleged sexual abuse, it appears the Superior Court of Guam has been unable to actually serve him the summons to defend against the complaints.

According to documents provided to the Post, when a process server attempted to provide the summons to Apuron at his last known residence – the Episcopal Residence – he was simply met with a sign that stated Apuron vacated the premises. Documents stated that the archbishop was unable to be located and has not been served.

James Brooks, senior paralegal at Law Guam, told the Post that attorney David Lujan “will file a motion with (the) Superior Court for authorization to serve Apuron by publication.”

Meanwhile, Rev. Jeffrey San Nicolas was able to accept service for the Archdiocese of Agana, which is implicated in civil suits filed by Roland Sondia, Walter Denton, Roy Quintanilla and Leo Tudela – all victims of alleged sexual abuse. Three of the men have named Apuron specifically but all four are represented by Lujan, who has indicated that additional suits from other victims will be coming in the following weeks.

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CHICAGO (IL)
Daily Herald

Daily Herald report

The Archdiocese of Chicago has appointed William R. Kunkel as its general counsel.

Kunkel previously served as executive vice president-legal and general counsel of American Equity Investment Life Holding Company and as a partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. He also serves on the board of directors of American Equity and as chairman of the board’s Risk Committee.

“Bill’s impressive background and reputation in the corporate sector is but one of his many assets; he is also a product of Catholic education in Chicago and has carried this foundation through his family life and considerable service to the community.” Archbishop Blase J. Cupich said in a news release.

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IRELAND
Irish Times

Patsy McGarry in Athlone

The diocesan priest in Ireland today was “often pitied, patronised, reviled, insulted, disrespected, ignored and resented,” Fr Brendan Hoban said at the Association of Catholic Priests (ACP) annual meeting in Athlone on Wednesday.

“A gale-force wind is now in our faces, it’s the middle of the second half and we’re 6-0 down,” said Fr Hoban, a co-founder of the association.

Priests were “the equivalent of Plymouth Argyle, struggling to stay in the third division.”

They were being bullied and were prone to depression with an increase in suicide rates over recent years, he added.

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IRELAND
Irish Times

Patsy McGarry

Many priests at the well-attended annual general meeting of the Association of Catholic Priests (ACP) in Athlone on Wednesday expressed dissatisfaction with the response of the bishops to a meeting last May with a delegation from the association. The bishops were accused of “trying to fob us off”.

Fr Kevin Hegarty of Killala diocese said a letter sent to the ACP last month was “a marvellous illumination of the Seamus Heaney line ‘whatever you say, say nothing’.”

Mill Hill priest Fr Kevin Reynolds, now of Elphin diocese, said “the bishops do not and will not recognise the ACP as an existing reality. They don’t want their exclusive clerical club changed by an association representing 1,000 priests. They least they could do is respect us, acknowledge we exist and that we have something to say.”

Fr Tim Murphy of the Dublin archdiocese warned against a scattergun approach in dealing with the bishops and suggested that “we should go bald-headed for a synod of the Irish church.”

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INDIANA
South Bend Tribune

By Margaret Fosmoe South Bend Tribune

The University of Notre Dame’s campus police department is not a “public agency” under Indiana law and does not have to release information about investigations requested by sports media company ESPN, the Indiana Supreme Court has ruled in a widely watched case.

The ruling was released Wednesday afternoon.

The decision means Notre Dame and other private colleges in Indiana with professional police forces have no obligation to provide details of campus police reports and investigations.

City, county and other professional police forces must make such information available to the public under Indiana’s Access to Public Records law.

ESPN in 2014 sought campus police records from Notre Dame Security Police for cases involving a list of student athletes. The university refused the request, citing its status as a private university, and the sports media company sued.

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CANADA
CBC News

By Rob Antle, CBC News Posted: Nov 16, 2016

The Newfoundland and Labrador government has agreed to pay $750,000 to settle a lawsuit related to the Mount Cashel orphanage, in the latest chapter of a grim story that began decades ago, but continues to have an impact today.

The province confirmed Wednesday morning it is the highest settlement to date for a case related to Mount Cashel.

The plaintiff, named only as John Doe in court documents, had accused the government of negligence.

John Doe alleged that he was sexually abused at the Christian Brothers-run orphanage, beginning more than four decades ago.

“His experiences, they were truly horrific,” said John Doe’s lawyer, Will Hiscock.

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AUSTRALIEN
religion@orf

[Surivors of sexual abuse have criticized plans for a memorial at a cathedral in the Armidale diocese.]

Die katholische Diözese von Armidale in Australien will mit einem Mahnmal an die Opfer sexuellen Missbrauchs erinnern. Missbrauchsopfer üben Kritik an der Entscheidung.

Das Mahnmal vor der Kathedrale Saints Mary & Joseph werde aus einer Statue der Gottesmutter Maria, einer Gebetsbank und bunten Schleifen der sogenannten „Loud Fence“-Bewegung bestehen, berichtete das australische Nachrichtenportal Cathnews am Dienstag.

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PARAGUAY
Cafe Paraguay

[The Catholic priest Estanislao Arévalos Pedrozo was sentenced to six years imprisonment after being declared guilty of the sexual abuse of two children. These children took part in the catechism classes in the parish “Espíritu Santo de San Vicente” in Asunción.]

DANIEL WIENS KEINE KOMMENTARE 15. NOVEMBER 2016

Der katholische Priester Estanislao Arévalos Pedrozo wurde zu sechs Jahren Gefängnis verurteilt, nachdem er als schuldig des sexuellen Missbrauchs von zwei Kindern erklärt wurde. Diese Kinder nahmen teil am Katechismus-Unterricht in der Pfarrei „Espíritu Santo de San Vicente“ in Asunción.

Während dem Gerichtsprozess offenbarten die Staatsanwältinnen Clara Ruiz und Cinthia Espínola, dass der Priester der katholischen Kirche seine Opfer schon im Jahr 2013 mehrmals missbraucht hat. Zu der Zeit waren die Minderjährigen 12 und 13 Jahre alt. Die jungen „Apostel“ nahmen gerade am Katechismusunterricht in der oben erwähnten Pfarrei teil.

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TENNESSEE
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Tuesday, Nov. 15, 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)

The Memphis Public library has suspended a former youth minister who is accused of molesting at least three kids. That’s not enough.

[Local Memphis]

Police reports have been filed. An alleged child molester walks free. His reported victims are suffering. And other kids are at risk. So officials at the main public library downtown and the Church at Schilling Farms in Collierville (formerly Immanuel Baptist Church) must take aggressive steps to reach out to anyone else who may have seen, suspected or suffered crimes by Chris Carwile or cover ups by church officials.

Rev. Scott Payne admits he didn’t call police and now asks forgiveness. But forgiveness is premature. Payne must help police, prosecutors and Carwile’s victims first, by doing everything he can to help ensure that Carwile is successfully prosecuted. The same is true of current and former supervisors and colleagues of Carwile’s.

Church officials should make pulpit announcements, use church websites, post notices in church buildings and mail congregants (current and former) begging anyone with information or suspicions to come forward, get help, safeguard kids and call law enforcement.

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GEORGIA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release, November 16, 2016

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

Atlanta area church officials admit they had a convicted child molester in their midst but kept this information from their flock. Now he’s hurt more kids. This is alarming. Heads must roll.

[11 Alive]

Mark Greer volunteered in youth ministry at Harvest Baptist Church in Acworth, despite being convicted in Tennessee for sexual battery.

Now, members of the congregation say their church didn’t tell them about Greer’s past and want to know why they were kept them in the dark. The answer is both sad and simple: Church officials who hide abuse are never punished. So they keep doing it, because it’s easy and convenient and self-serving for them. Being brave enough to honor our civic and moral duty to call police is hard.

So three steps must be taken now.

We call on law enforcement officials to investigate church officials and see if any of them can be prosecuted for intimidating victims, threatening witnesses, destroying evidence, endangering kids, obstructing justice or similar charges.

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GUAM
Guam Daily Post

John O’Connor | Post News Staff

Superior Court Judge Anita Sukola has recused herself from hearing a civil case filed by Leo Tudela against former Guam priest Rev. Louis Brouillard and the Archdiocese of Agana, stating that she was “closely related to several members of the Neocatechumenal Way, an organization within the Archdiocese of Hagåtña.”

Sukola added that she is also a regular attendant in the Blessed Diego Luis de San Vitores Church in Tumon, which has exposed her to information regarding the case through prayers, announcements and petitions – specifically, a petition requesting that Governor Eddie Calvo veto Bill 326-33. That measure was ultimately enacted into law, lifting the statute of limitations in child sex abuse cases, allowing Tudela and others to bring civil suits against the church and their alleged abusers.

Moreover, Sukola stated that she knew Archbishop Anthony Apuron personally. The archbishop is implicated in other civil cases from victims of alleged sexual abuse. Tudela, now in his 70s, levied similar complaints against Brouillard.

Brouillard statement

But while Apuron has denied the allegations against him, Brouillard has publicly admitted to abusing boys in his ministry. Supplements to Tudela’s suits include a written statement from Brouillard in which he admitted to abusing boys in the 1950s and that Bishop Apollinaris Baumgartner, the bishop of Guam at the time, and others in the church knew about the abuse.

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UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter

Michael Sean Winters | Nov. 16, 2016

Watching the USCCB meeting this week was frustrating. The conference seems stuck. At a time when the country desperately needs a strong moral voice, the united voice of the bishops is sidelined, fretting about things that don’t matter and tepidly addressing the things that do. And, it was apparent to all that the concerns of Pope Francis are far from the concerns of the USCCB.

In his update to the body on the work of the ad hoc Committee on Religious Liberty, Archbishop William Lori said they were making a difference. Are they? The centerpiece of their campaign, the “Fortnight for Freedom,” garners little attention. In the popular press, religious liberty is now usually accompanied by scare quotes. In the popular mind, the cause of religious liberty is linked to discrimination against gays and lesbians, and not without reason. If that will be the faultline for religious freedom litigation in the years ahead, I shudder at the prospects for religious freedom.

I heard almost no mention of the environment or Laudato Si’ at the USCCB meeting. Think about that for a minute. The pope issues an encyclical, the only one he has issued so far, and it is dedicated to concern for the environment. And the bishops of the country that has caused more damage to the environment than any other are silent. How is this possible? If they fancy themselves to be pro-life, why are they so unconcerned with one of two threats, the other being nuclear proliferation, that could kill us all? Fighting abortion is a moral thing to do, to be sure, but it makes no sense to defend unborn life so the kids can grow up to live in an increasingly unlivable world. The bishops of other countries are not so reticent. Cardinal Charles Maung Bo of Myanmar gave a recent talk at the Pontifical Academy of Sciences in which he said, “Unless rich countries agree to reduce the global warming, more people will die. This to me is a criminal genocide, when the poor and the weak are exposed violent nature created by unrestricted use of fossil fuels by rich countries.” Criminal genocide. And the U.S. bishops can’t be bothered.

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UNITED KINGDOM
BBC News

The government needs to intervene in the inquiry into child sexual abuse in England and Wales, after another of its lawyers resigned, Labour says.

Aileen McColgan quit amid concerns about the inquiry’s leadership.

Labour said the inquiry was facing a “crisis of credibility” but the PM said she had “full confidence” in it.

Meanwhile, the IPCC has confirmed it is investigating officers involved in the Met Police’s investigation into paedophile allegations against VIPs.

‘Clearly not working’

The investigation was set up to examine whether public bodies, including the police, had failed in their duty to protect children from sexual abuse and to examine allegations of abuse involving “well-known people”.

The inquiry has suffered a series of setbacks, including resignations of three chairwomen and senior lawyers.

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NEW JERSEY
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2016

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

A Newark NJ Catholic priest faces child pornography charges and a court hearing this week. We hope he’s convicted. We call on Newark’s top Catholic official, Archbishop John Myers, to aggressively reach out to anyone who may have information or suspicions about his crimes.

And we hope this news prompts others who may have seen, suspected or suffered his crimes to call police so Fr. Kevin A. Gugliotta might be charged with and convicted on other offenses and be kept away from kids even longer.

[Asbury Park Press]

All too often, when child sex offenders are caught, their supervisors and colleagues clam up. But if kids are to be safer, everyone who saw, suspected or suffered child sex crimes must call law enforcement immediately. Those who hire or work with predators must do all they can to find others who have been assaulted and beg them to call law enforcement. This is especially true of Catholic bishops, who recruit, educate, ordain, hire, train and often transfer and cover up for predator priests. These bishops can’t wash their hands of these pedophiles just because they’ve been sent somewhere else or have moved somewhere else.

We hope that no one in the NJ Catholic hierarchy ignored or concealed Fr. Gugliotta’s alleged crimes. But we also hope police and prosecutors have investigated or will closely investigate this possibility. We also hope that officials Newark Catholic officials will find the courage to do what’s right – search for and help anyone else who is in pain because of Fr. Gugliotta.

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NEW MEXICO
Gallup Independent

Published in the Gallup Independent, Gallup, N.M., Nov. 14, 2016

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

GALLUP – Although the Diocese of Gallup’s Chapter 11 plan of reorganization was confirmed in June, its formal exit from U.S. Bankruptcy Court is being stalled because of a legal dispute between two other parties.

As a result of the dispute, the Gallup Diocese marked yet another anniversary in the bankruptcy court system Saturday. The diocese filed its Chapter 11 petition three years ago on Nov. 12, 2013.

The two parties in the dispute are the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, the Pennsylvania religious order that founded St. Michael Indian School in St. Michaels, Arizona, and Phoenix attorney Robert E. Pastor, who filed a civil lawsuit in Arizona on behalf of a Navajo woman who claims she was sexually abused as a child at St. Michael Indian School by Brother Mark Schornack, a Franciscan friar. Schornack died in 2012.

The Diocese of Gallup, the Franciscans and St. Michael Mission Church have already entered into a settlement agreement with another Navajo woman for the abuse she was subjected to by Schornack at the St. Michael Parish. That settlement agreement was part of the diocese’s bankruptcy case and confirmation of its Chapter 11 reorganization. As a result, the Diocese of Gallup, the Franciscans and St. Michael’s Church are protected parties and not named as defendants in Pastor’s lawsuit.

However, the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament and St. Michael Indian School did not contribute any funds to the Diocese of Gallup’s settlement; therefore, they are not protected parties under the terms of the Chapter 11 plan of reorganization.

The dispute centers on a claim the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament filed against the Diocese of Gallup on May 9, 2016, related to Pastor’s lawsuit. In documents and brief court hearings, attorneys for the diocese have stated they are “sympathetic to the plight” of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, but they are asking U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge David T. Thuma to disallow the religious order’s claim.

Thuma has scheduled a final hearing on the matter Dec. 12. The deadline for Pastor to file a response with the court is Nov. 28, and the deadline for attorneys for the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament to file a reply is Dec. 9

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LUXEMBOURG
Journal

[After thousands of cases of sexual abuse in the churches of the USA and Ireland, there is a scandal in the Catholic Church of Luxembourg, which has now landed in court.]

Der 60-Jährige bestreitet die Vergewaltigungen

Nach tausenden Fällen von sexuellem Missbrauch in den Kirchen der USA und Irlands gibt es einen Skandal in der katholischen Kirche Luxemburgs, der nun vor Gericht gelandet ist. Es ist damit der bislang aktuellste Fall von sexuellem Missbrauch im Land, denn Fälle die Anfang 2010 bekannt wurden, lagen oft 30 Jahre und mehr zurück und sind verjährt. Auf der Anklagebank des Bezirksgerichts Luxemburg sitzt jetzt ein ehemaliger Pfarrer des katholischen Pfarrverbands Belair-Merl-Zessingen.

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MINNESOTA
KDAL

by Dave Strandberg

MINNEAPOLIS, MN (MNN) – Victims’ attorney Jeff Anderson says a new plan by Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis still doesn’t do enough to compensate priest sex-abuse survivors, because church officials are hiding the truth about their ability to pay. Anderson says the plan, “instead of putting the survivors first, puts the archdiocese first and the insurance companies second, and then the survivors last in line.” Archdiocese attorney Charles Rogers responds there’s “no other asset that hasn’t been brought forward.”

Rogers says to go with another plan will put survivors in legal battles with insurance companies. He says “then there would be an assignment of rights of recovery under those policies, and all that would be ensured is years upon years of litigation.” Victims’ attorney Anderson responds, “The assertion that it will result in years and years of litigation will only be because it was the archdiocese that chooses not to tell the truth, to disclose their assets and to work with the survivors.”

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GUAM
KUAM

Updated: Nov 16, 2016

By Isa Baza

After controversy in Guam’s Catholic church stretched on for years over the Redemptoris Mater Seminary in Yona, the head of the Concerned Catholics of Guam group says he’s cautious, but relieved, that the multimillion dollar property has finally been restored to the Archdiocese of Agana.

“Cautionary elation,” said Dave Sablan of his feelings after yesterday’s announcement at the Hagatna Cathedral. “I’m happy that Archbishop Byrnes has done what he did.” However, Sablan, the head of the Concerned Catholics of Guam, says it’s not over yet. He adds his organization will not rest until the documents are reviewed to ensure that two key aspects have been resolved – one of which is to remove the provision tying the seminary to the Neocatechumenal Way.

“And if he removed that provision, great. Secondly, I wanted to see how he removed the board of directors,” he said.

Meanwhile on Tuesday Mother Superior Dawn Marie of the Carmelite Nuns in Guam also spoke out revealing that her order was asked to lie for Archbishop Anthony Apuron in an attempt to cover-up the misuse of the RMS. Mother Dawn told local media that she was able to secure the $2 million that was used to pay off a loan to purchase the Yona property.

“Mother Dawn Marie, a very courageous person to come out, and speak the truth of what was asked of her of her order of Carmelites to do,” said Sablan.

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UNITED STATES
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

November 15, 2016

BALTIMORE—Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, was elected president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) during today’s annual fall General Assembly in Baltimore. Cardinal DiNardo has served as vice president of the USCCB since 2013. Archbishop Jose Gomez was elected as USCCB vice president.

Cardinal DiNardo and Archbishop Gomez are elected to three-year terms and succeed Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Kentucky, and Cardinal DiNardo, respectively. The new president and vice president terms begin at the conclusion of the General Assembly on November 15.

Cardinal DiNardo was elected president on the first ballot with 113 votes. Archbishop Gomez was elected vice president on the third ballot by 131-84 in a runoff vote against Archbishop Gregory Aymond of New Orleans.

The president and vice president are elected by a simple majority from a slate of 10 nominees. If no president or vice president is chosen after the second round of voting, a third ballot is a run-off between the two bishops who received the most votes on the second ballot.

Cardinal DiNardo was born May 23, 1949, and ordained a priest of Pittsburgh on June 16, 1977. He previously served as bishop of Sioux City, Iowa, from 1998-2004 before being appointed to coadjutor bishop, then archbishop, of Galveston-Houston. Pope Benedict XVI named him a cardinal in 2007, making him the first cardinal from Texas. Archbishop Gomez was born December 26, 1951, in Monterrey, Mexico. He was ordained a priest on August 15, 1978. He was appointed auxiliary bishop of Denver in 2001, and in 2004, he was appointed archbishop of San Antonio. He was appointed coadjutor archbishop of Los Angeles in 2010, and was installed as archbishop of Los Angeles in 2011.

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UNITED STATES
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

November 15, 2016

BALTIMORE—The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) voted on a new MRS chairman and approved several items, including, establishing a permanent Subcommittee on the Church in Africa and extending the Retirement Fund for Religious Appeal, during their annual Fall General Assembly in Baltimore, November 15.

In November 2015, Archbishop Gomez was elected to chair the USCCB Committee on Migration for a term beginning this week. Since his election as USCCB vice-president prevents him from assuming leadership of the committee, the bishops elected a new chairman. Bishop Joe S. Vasquez of Austin, Texas, was elected chairman of the Committee on Migration in a 109-91 vote over Archbishop John C. Wester.

The bishops voted 155 in favor, 8 against and 1 abstaining, to approve a 10-year extension of the Retirement Fund for Religious Appeal. This annual collection was initiated to address the profound deficit in retirement funding among religious congregations in the United States. The National Religious Retirement Office (NRRO) coordinates the collection and distributes the proceeds to religious communities in need.

The bishops also approved establishing a permanent Subcommittee on the Church in Africa. The proposal received a vote of 164-26-12. The USCCB’s Subcommittee on the Church in Africa works as part of the Committee on National Collections. It administers the voluntary Solidarity Fund for the Church in Africa and allocates the revenue received as grants to African episcopal conferences and their regional associations in Africa for programs that support the growth of the Church, especially in the areas of leadership training, church administration, evangelization, communications, justice and peace.

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WASHINGTON
Yakima Herald

By Jane Gargas
jgargas@yakimaherald.com

Bishop Joseph Tyson of the Yakima Catholic Diocese has lost an election to chair a committee for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Instead, Bishop Timothy Doherty of Lafayette, Ind., is the new chairman-elect of the Committee on Protection of Children and Young People.

Elections were held Tuesday during the fall meeting of the national bishops’ conference in Baltimore.

Doherty received 128 votes to Tyson’s 86.

Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, Texas, was elected president of the national bishop’s group, succeeding Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville, Ky. The bishops also chose the chairmen-elect of five committees and new members of the board of Catholic Relief Services.

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AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald

[with video]

Tom McIlroy

A national system to compensate victims of child sexual abuse looks to be in doubt as states and territories withhold their support amid questions about the efficacy of an opt-in redress scheme.

The federal government surprised some states with Social Services Minister Christian Porter’s November 4 announcement of a $4.3 billion scheme, following a recommendation of the royal commission into child sexual abuse.

The government has announced a plan to give victims of institutional sexual abuse compensation and counselling. Courtesy ABC News 24.

No further details have been provided, leaving states including Western Australia and Victoria seeking answers and the development of some state schemes in limbo.

West Australian Premier Colin Barnett told Fairfax Media he’d had no consultation from the federal government, despite Mr Porter saying it would seek national co-operation and even force the ACT and Northern Territory governments to sign up.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Herald Scotland

Martin Williams , Senior News Reporter / @MWilliamsHT

A Scots university graduate is the latest to senior solictior to resign from the struggling national inquiry into child abuse.

It is understood that Aileen McColgan, has quit because of serious concerns over the leadership within The Independent Inquiry into Child Abuse set up by then Home Secretary Theresa May.

Originally from Derry, Northern Ireland, and holding degrees from Trinity College Cambridge and Edinburgh University, Ms McColgan was the barrister leading the inquiry’s investigations into the Anglican and Catholic Church.

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UNITED KINGDOM
The Sun

BY FELIX ALLEN 15th November 2016

THE shambolic £100m probe into Establishment child sex abuse was rocked today by the resignation of ANOTHER senior lawyer.

Aileen McColgan – in charge of investigating paedophiles in the Anglican and Catholic Church – quit because of serious concerns over the inquiry’s leadership, BBC Newsnight reports.

The high-profile probe into VIP paedophiles in Westminster, councils, the Church and schools has been blighted by resignations and cover-up claims and is now on its fourth chairman.

It is understood barrister Ms McColgan, who is also a professor of law at King’s College London, had concerns over the competency of the inquiry’s leadership and the way it had responded to the earlier resignation of her colleagues.

Two other lawyers also reportedly plan to quit over similar worries, the BBC reports.

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UNITED KINGDOM
BBC News

By Jake Morris
BBC Newsnight

The Independent Inquiry into Child Abuse has been hit by the resignation of another senior lawyer.

BBC Newsnight understands that Aileen McColgan has quit because of serious concerns over the inquiry’s leadership.

She was the barrister leading the inquiry’s investigations into the Anglican and Catholic Churches.
The inquiry said that lawyers come and go according to their professional obligations – and a spokeswoman declined to “comment on specifics”.

It is understood Aileen McColgan had concerns over the competency of the inquiry’s leadership and the way it had previously responded to the resignation of lawyers instructed by it. As well as working on the inquiry, she is also a Professor of Law at King’s College London.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Telegraph

Another senior lawyer has reportedly quit the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse.

Aileen McColgan has resigned from the investigation due to concerns over its leadership, BBC Newsnight reported.

Ms McColgan, who is also a law professor at Kings’ College London, was involved in the inquiry’s investigations into the Anglican and Catholic Church.

Her reported departure follows senior counsel Ben Emmerson’s resignation a day after he was suspended.

Mr Emmerson’s junior colleague, Elizabeth Prochaska, also stood down.

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UNITED KINGDOM
The Guardian

Matthew Weaver

The troubled inquiry into historical child sexual abuse is facing further questions from MPs about its future after another senior lawyer resigned and two more are threatening to do so.

Aileen McColgan, who was leading the inquiry’s investigation into abuse in the Anglican and Catholic churches, quit over concerns about the inquiry’s leadership, according to BBC Newsnight.

Two other barristers have told the inquiry of their desire to leave over similar concerns, the programme reported. An inquiry spokeswoman refused to comment on McColgan’s departure.

Yvette Cooper, the chair of the House of Commons home affairs select committee, called on the inquiry to be more transparent and said her committee would be seeking evidence from McColgan about why she quit.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Daily Mail

By PRESS ASSOCIATION

Home Secretary Amber Rudd has said she still has confidence in the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse despite the resignation of another senior lawyer.

Aileen McColgan, a law professor at Kings’ College London involved in the inquiry’s investigations into the Anglican and Catholic Church, reportedly quit due to concerns over the inquiry’s leadership.

Her departure follows the resignation of the inquiry’s senior counsel Ben Emmerson and his junior colleague, Elizabeth Prochaska.

The inquiry has also had four different chairwomen since it was set up in 2014.

Asked about the latest departure, Ms Rudd said: ” Yes, I still have confidence in the inquiry.”

Speaking at a policing conference in London, she said: “I saw the latest news on the inquiry today. I would say it is a matter for the inquiry.

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AUSTRALIA
The Advertiser

Rebekah Ison, Australian Associated Press
November 16, 2016

A former Newcastle Anglican bishop says “vehement” supporters of a priest accused of abusing children were out to get him from the moment a professional standards probe began.

The abuse commission has heard a group of Newcastle parishioners are concerned about the process that led to the highly influential former Dean of Newcastle Graeme Lawrence being defrocked in 2012.

“They were out to get me,” Bishop Brian Farran, who was the head of the diocese from 2005 to 2012 and oversaw the defrocking of Lawrence, said on Wednesday.

“I got this anonymous text … saying, ‘Have a great holiday. Come back and resign’.'”

The royal commission has previously heard Lawrence, who had been the second most senior priest in the diocese, faced allegations of abuse against numerous children.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Daily Mail

By REBECCA CAMBER FOR THE DAILY MAIL

A law professor leading inquiries into child sexual abuse in the church became the latest to desert Britain’s biggest public inquiry last night.

Professor Aileen McColgan has quit the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) amid serious concerns about the competency of its fourth chair, Professor Alexis Jay.

The law professor at Kings College London who was the lead lawyer in the inquiry’s investigation into child abuse in the Anglican and Catholic Church is the seventh lawyer to leave.

Another two barristers are also poised to quit after telling the inquiry that they have no desire to work there any more, BBC Newsnight reported last night.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Sky News

The beleaguered child sex abuse inquiry has been hit by the resignation of another senior lawyer.

Aileen McColgan has reportedly resigned from the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse because of leadership concerns.

The inquiry is not on to its fourth chairwoman, Professor Alexis Jay, after Dame Lowell Goddard resigned at the end of the summer amid claims over her conduct, which she has denied.

Since then the inquiry’s lead counsel Ben Emmerson QC has quit, days after he was suspended. His junior colleague Elizabeth Prochaska also left.

Ms McColgan was leading the inquiry’s investigations into the Anglican and Catholic Church.

Speaking at a policing conference on Wednesday, Home Secretary Amber Rudd said: “I saw the latest news on the inquiry today. I would say it is a matter for the inquiry.

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GUAM
Pacific News Center

Written by Janela Carrera

Mother Dawn Marie Tuesday revealed that Archbishop Apuron asked the carmelite nuns to lie.

Guam – Mother Prioress Dawn Marie confirms that there was a plot against her life after she dropped a bombshell on Archbishop Anthony Apuron.

Mother Dawn Marie revealed yesterday that she, on behalf of the Carmelite Order, was the anonymous donor of $2 million dollars to the Archdiocese back in 2003. The purpose of the donation was to pay off a loan for the acquisition of the Yona property.

Mother Dawn Marie says Archbishop Apuron pressured the Carmelite Order to lie about the what the donation was intended for. The Carmelite Order, she notes, never intended for the seminary to be run as a seminary under the Neocatechumenal Way.

On News Talk K57’s Mornings with Patti, Mother Dawn said she had received word that there is a credible threat against her life.

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GUAM
Pacific Daily News

Haidee V Eugenio , heugenio@guampdn.com November 16, 2016

A group of Catholics seeking Archbishop Anthony S. Apuron’s removal over multiple sex abuse allegations and other leadership decisions they find questionable has recommended a seven-point plan to address child sexual abuse within the Archdiocese of Agana, including tapping the resources of other agencies on Guam.

The Concerned Catholics of Guam reached out to those who believe they are victims of clergy sex abuse, including those who have publicly accused Archbishop Anthony S. Apuron, who has not been charged with any crime, and former priest Louis Brouillard, who admitted to sexually abusing at least 20 minors when he was on Guam.

Andrew Camacho, vice president of the Concerned Catholics of Guam, said the group wants the archdiocese to provide every possible option and opportunity for survivors of child sexual abuse by members of the clergy and officials within the archdiocese and its organizations.

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CANADA
LifeSite News

Pete Baklinski

KENTVILLE, Nova Scotia, November 14, 2016 (LifeSiteNews) — Rev. Brent Hawkes, Canada’s most celebrated homosexual activist minister, is in court for allegedly sexually abusing a 16-year-old boy in the 1970s.

The Court in Kentville heard the first witness testify that he saw Hawkes performing oral-genital actions on a teenage male at the pastor’s Nova Scotia home about 40 years ago.

Witness Douglas Aylward said he was 16 years old when a group of friends returned to Hawkes’ home after drinking at a local tavern. At one point, the minister pulled the teenager inside a small bathroom, told him he had been watching him and was “80 percent sure I was gay.”

“It was pretty uncomfortable,” the witness said.

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TEXAS
Houston Chronicle

By Jay R. Jordan, jjordan@hcnonline.com Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Prosecutors filed additional child sexual assault charges against a Magnolia pastor accused of coercing a 16-year-old congregation member into sex on multiple occasions.

Body of Christ Church pastor Ronald Mitchell, 56, is now facing four second-degree felony counts of sexual assault of a child – one for every time prosecutors say Mitchell had sex with the underage girl over a four-month period from 2015 into 2016. He is facing up to 80 years in prison for those charges, but Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office detectives believe there could be more victims.

“As the investigation goes on in any type of case and you learn additional facts and get information from victims and witnesses, we’re able to potentially add additional charges as things progress,” Assistant District Attorney Tyler Dunman said. “We’ve had people come forward, and we’re still requesting people come forward with more information whether they’re victims or witnesses.”

Court documents show Mitchell had the girl staying with him at his church in the 40200 block of Garwood Court near Magnolia, telling the girl’s mother that she needed to be “watched” and have “more supervision.”

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TENNESSEE
WBRC

[with video]

By Sasha Jones

MEMPHIS, TN (WMC) –
Allegations against a current Memphis Library worker have not only prompted a city and police investigation, but tied a Mid-South church to the case.

The City of Memphis has confirmed a current Memphis Public Library worker is on paid leave while they investigate previous allegations of sexual abuse.

Kenny Stubblefield says he suffered at the hands of Christopher Carwile.

He says it the reason he filed this Police Report with the City of Memphis, and why he is speaking out about the alleged abuse he says he suffered at the hands of Christopher Carwile.

What he told us, is what he says he told police.

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TENNESSEE
Local Memphis

[with video]

By Maria Hallas | mhallas@localmemphis.com
Published 11/15 2016

MEMPHIS, TN

New information tonight on an investigation the Local I-Team broke last night. Three men claim Memphis library worker Chris Carwile sexually abused them as teens nearly 20 years ago when he was an associate youth minister at Immanuel Baptist Church in Germantown.

Victims tell Local I-Team’s Maria Hallas they believe they suffered lasting spiritual and emotional damage in the way the church responded to their claims.

“The coverup of the way the leadership of our church handled our situation created long lasting pain,” says Kenny Stubblefield, one of the victims.

Boz Tchividjian a former prosecutor, grandson of Reverend Billy Graham, and victims’ rights advocate said the three men’s feelings are not unusual.

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GUAM
Crux

Associated Press
November 15, 2016

HAGATNAM, Guam – Guam is preparing a series of events in late November to welcome the man who could become its next archbishop.

Coadjutor Archbishop Michael Jude Byrnes will arrive from Detroit on Nov. 28 and be welcomed by Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai and other clergy members, the Archdiocese of Agana told The Pacific Daily News.

Hon was sent to Guam in June to temporarily replace current Archbishop Anthony S. Apuron on an administrative basis.

Apuron, 71, has been Guam’s highest Catholic leader for 30 years but faces a trial in Rome over multiple allegations of sex abuse of altar boys in the 1970s.

Byrnes, 58, will have the right to succeed Apuron if he resigns, retires or is removed. Byrnes was auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Detroit before Pope Francis appointed him to the Guam post.

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