ABUSE TRACKER

UNITED KINGDOM
BBC News

Dame Lowell Goddard, the former head of the inquiry into child sexual abuse, has blamed “relentless” media pressure for undermining confidence in her.

In a letter to the Commons Home Affairs Committee, the New Zealand judge outlined her reasons for resigning from the role – the third person to do so.

She said campaigners had published articles aimed at forcing her out and dealing a “fatal” blow to the inquiry.

She was succeeded by one of the panel members, Prof Alexis Jay, in August.

Dame Lowell acknowledged in her written submission that there had been tensions within the inquiry team, but said concerns about her leadership qualities had never been raised with her.

She wrote that a “real and increasing strain, particularly for me but in fact for everyone, was the intensifying media criticism of the inquiry” which had begun in March and “developed into widening personal attacks on me and my competence”.

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UNITED KINGDOM
The Guardian

Sandra Laville
Wednesday 2 November 2016 1

Yvette Cooper has clashed with the chair of the national child abuse inquiry, warning her that transparency is crucial to maintain public confidence after two years of problems within the investigation.

Cooper, the new chair of the powerful home affairs select committee, has rejected a demand from Prof Alexis Jay – the inquiry’s fourth chair – that MPs desist from calling her or other inquiry members to give evidence before them. In a letter to Cooper published on Wednesday, Jay said it was important for the inquiry to maintain its independence and to be seen to be doing so.

“It is for this reason that I would urge the committee to consider carefully before requesting that anyone from the inquiry attends to give further evidence,” she said.

But Cooper made clear that transparency was vital, and that the committee would call whoever it wished to give evidence as the £100m public inquiry proceeded with its work.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Daily Mail

By TIM SCULTHORPE, MAILONLINE DEPUTY POLITICAL EDITOR

The ex-head of the Child Sexual Abuse Inquiry has blamed a ‘relentless’ media ‘campaign’ for undermining confidence in her leadership and forcing her to quit.

Dame Lowell Goddard has refused to appear before MPs to explain her shock resignation in person, insisting she cab better explain her position in writing.

The New Zealand judge told MPs she believed campaigners published articles in the press in the hope of dealing a ‘fatal’ blow to the inquiry by forcing her to become the third head to resign the post.

In an eight-page written submission to the House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee (HASC), the New Zealand judge acknowledged there were ‘tensions’ within the inquiry team.
But amid allegations of a string of concerns about her conduct before she resigned, the judge today insisted that concerns about the quality of her leadership were never raised with her.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Herald Scotland

The former head of the Child Sexual Abuse Inquiry has blamed “relentless” media pressure for undermining colleagues’ confidence in her leadership.

Dame Lowell Goddard told a parliamentary committee that she believed campaigners published articles in the press in the hope of dealing a “fatal” blow to the inquiry by forcing her to become the third head to resign the post.

In an eight-page written submission to the House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee (HASC), the New Zealand judge – who sensationally resigned in August – acknowledged there were “tensions” within the inquiry team but insisted that concerns about the quality of her leadership were never raised with her.

HASC chairwoman Yvette Cooper urged Dame Lowell to give evidence in person to the cross-party committee, to allow MPs to put “precise and specific questions” to her.

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GUAM
KUAM

Updated: Nov 02, 2016

By Krystal Paco

Plaintiffs in the $2 million defamation suit against the Archdiocese of Agana and Archbishop Anthony Apuron have responded to defense’s motion to dismiss. According to filings by Attorney David Lujan, there’s a valid claim for slander.

“The defamatory nature of the defendants’ statements is highlighted by the continual exertion of church status and authority to influence the public, and specifically Catholics on Guam (a predominant population) to turn against the plaintiffs,” the lawyer wrote.

The listed plaintiffs are all alleged victims of Apuron – Roy Quintanilla, Walter Denton, Roland Sondia and Doris Concepcion on behalf of her late son Joseph “Sonny” Quinata. As we reported, defense’s motion to dismiss called the defamation suit unusual as it was sparked by print ads paid for by the Concerned Catholics of Guam organization.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
CBS Philly

By Molly Daly

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Members of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests held a silent protest in front of archdiocesan headquarters in Center City Monday afternoon to demand that Archbishop Charles Chaput explain why a member of a highly controversial Peru-based society is providing pastoral services to the university communities in West Philadelphia.

St. Agatha and St. James pastor Father Carlos Keen is a member of SCV (Sodalitium Christianae Vitae), an organization whose founder and top aide were found to have engaged in longtime pattern of sexual abuse and other human rights violations. They no longer run the group. SNAP president Barbara Blaine wants answers from the archbishop.

“He’s allowing this extremely dangerous organization into the Archdiocese of Philadelphia,” Blaine said. “We need assurances that those who have been brought in with this organization are not perpetrators themselves.”

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SCOTLAND
Herald Scotland

The Education Secretary has insisted he is still “wrestling” with whether to extend the remit of Scotland’s historical child abuse inquiry.

John Swinney told Holyrood’s Education Committee he has held discussions with the inquiry’s chair, judge Lady Smith, about expanding its scope.

However, he warned MSPs that widening the inquiry will inevitably extend the length of time it takes to conclude.

Ministers set up the inquiry in 2014 to examine allegations of abuse from youngsters placed in children’s homes and foster care, as well as those cared for by faith-based organisations or in long-term hospital care and boarding schools.

Survivor groups have called for the remit to be extended to cover abuse that took place out with residential settings, but in comments made last month Lady Smith said the terms had been set when the inquiry began.

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SCOTLAND
BBC News

John Swinney is “considering” extending the remit of the Scottish child abuse inquiry, he has told MSPs.

The education secretary said he had discussed the matter with the inquiry chairwoman Lady Smith, amid criticism from abuse survivor groups that the remit of the investigation is “fixed”.

Mr Swinney said he was “wrestling” with the issue as an extended remit would “inevitably” prolong the inquiry.

The probe of historical allegations of abuse is expected to last four years.

The inquiry, which is tasked with investigating the nature and extent of abuse of children in care in Scotland, has been dogged by problems from the outset.

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UNITED KINGDOM
The Times

Sean O’Neill, Chief Reporter
November 2 2016
The Times

The public inquiry into child abuse in major institutions could drop its investigations into the BBC and the Jimmy Savile case under a review of its workload. The Independent Investigation into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) has begun 13 investigations but said in a progress report yesterday that it will “commission new investigations only if we consider they are necessary”.

The inquiry, now chaired by Alexis Jay, had said that it would undertake 25 investigations under its remit to examine institutional child abuse in England and Wales. Those it has committed to carrying out include the cases of Lord Janner, the Catholic and Anglican churches, abuse of children sent overseas and Cyril Smith, MP, and his involvement with children’s homes in Rochdale.

In its opening statement in July 2015 the inquiry said it would also hold investigations into the media, the NHS, the armed forces, the police and the Crown Prosecution Service. None of those investigations has been formally commissioned and, with the inquiry yet to hear a word of evidence in public, it is unclear if they will ever start.

Abandoning proposals to look at the BBC and abusers such as Savile and Stuart Hall would be a major blow to victims. The Savile case is seen as pivotal in exposing the extent of child sex abuse in Britain and helped to create the momentum that led Theresa May to establish the public inquiry in 2014. Professor Jay, its fourth chairwoman, could drop the BBC strand without breaching her terms of reference, which make no mention of the organisation. She is holding an internal review of the inquiry’s workload with a view to speeding up its work. Professor Jay has said that if it adopted the traditional public inquiry format for all the institutions that it is meant to investigate then the inquiry would never finish.

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MICHIGAN
Detroit Free Press

Niraj Warikoo , Detroit Free Press November 1, 2016

Pope Francis has named a Detroit bishop, Michael Byrnes, to lead Catholics in the U.S. territory of Guam amid accusations that the previous leader in Guam abused children.

Byrnes, who has been an auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of Detroit since 2011, will be the Coadjutor Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Agana in the South Pacific, the Vatican announced Monday.

In June, the Vatican relieved Archbishop Anthony Sablan Apuron of the Archdiocese of Agana of his pastoral and administrative authority. He now faces a church trial on accusations that he allegedly abused altar boys, a church leader said Tuesday, according to the Associated Press. Apuron denies the allegations and hasn’t been charged criminally.

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GUAM
Pacific Daily News

Haidee V Eugenio , heugenio@guampdn.com November 2, 2016

Archbishop Anthony S. Apuron on Wednesday issued a written statement, welcoming the appointment of his likely successor to the leadership of the Catholic Church on Guam, and stating he is preparing to prove his innocence in an upcoming canonical trial over his alleged sexual abuse of altar boys in the 1970s.

The Vatican on Monday announced Pope Francis’ appointment of Detroit Bishop Michael Jude Byrnes as coadjutor archbishop of the Archdiocese of Agana.

Byrnes, as coadjutor archbishop, has the right to succeed Apuron if Apuron resigns, retires or is removed. Under church law, bishops are required to resign at 75.

“It is with great joy that I welcome the news of the appointment of Bishop Michael J. Byrnes as coadjutor archbishop of Agana by the Holy Father. This is a most welcome answer to my requests for help in the governance of the island at this time,” Apuron said in a statement sent Wednesday afternoon by his attorney, Jacqueline T. Terlaje.

Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai, who was sent to Guam by the Vatican in June to temporarily replace Apuron, said the pope actually started looking for a coadjutor archbishop in early 2015, after Hon’s visit to the island at that time. …

Advocates and victims’ groups react

Apuron is one of 84 bishops worldwide who have been accused publicly of sexual wrongdoing, according to BishopAccountability.org, a group tracking public records involving bishops.

Canon lawyer Jennifer Haselberger, a Minnesota-based expert in church law, has said there haven’t been enough trials of bishops to reach any conclusion about what penalty is normal, so it will be up to the judges to determine the penalty warranted, which she said could be dismissal from the clerical state or removal from office.

The world’s largest and oldest support group for clergy abuse victims, meanwhile, said the pope’s appointment of Byrnes is a “very good sign that Apuron’s removal is on the horizon.”

“Unfortunately, we will never know what is exposed in Apuron’s canonical trial, but it looks like the Vatican is planning for Apuron’s eventual removal or forced retirement,” Joelle Casteix, Western Regional Director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, said Wednesday.

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AUSTRALIA
The Courier-Mail

Lauren Martyn-Jones, The Courier-Mail
November 2, 2016

THE parents of a women allegedly raped at an indigenous boarding school in Townsville when she was 14, have told a royal commission they believe the school tried to cover up the attack on their daughter.

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse is hearing evidence about an alleged sexual assault that took place at Shalom Christian College in Townsville in 2006.

The victim’s mother broke down this morning in the witness box, as she recalled the attack on her daughter and the long-term psychological consequences it has had on her family.

The woman, known to the commission as EAL, said she sent her daughter to the Townsville-based boarding school for indigenous students because she felt inclined to trust a school established to educate Aboriginal children.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

By Ben Millington

A north Queensland school principal allegedly discouraged the parents of a girl who was raped by four boys from reporting the matter to police, the child abuse royal commission has heard.

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse is looking into how Townsville’s Shalom Christian College handled the sexual assault of a 14-year-old female student known as CLF.

The girl’s parents gave evidence at a hearing in Sydney on Wednesday, and said the school’s principal at the time, Christopher Shirley, told them the boys involved were from influential Indigenous families in the area.

“At this point I got [Christopher] Shirley’s message, get over it and leave it alone,” said the girl’s mother.

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AUSTRALIA
The Age

Timna Jacks

It took time for Ken Mahlab to find his voice as a child abuse victim advocate. The Melbourne businessman and father of two preferred to keep his sexual abuse out of the spotlight.

But the former Geelong Grammar student is coming forward to tell his story, after learning that his abuser could evade criminal charges due to an extraordinary inter-agency blunder.

Fairfax Media revealed in September that Victoria Police was set to charge a 74-year-old paedophile with abusing students at the elite school between the late 1960s and mid-1970s, and in 1980. However, the man, who was an Irish citizen, was deported by the Australian Border Force to Ireland before facing charges under tough new laws introduced in 2014.

Australian Border Force have said they were not aware of the police investigation. It is understood that Victoria Police did not know the man was deported until it was too late.

Ken is raising the alarm about the risk he believes the man poses to children in Ireland, and is urging for the man’s extradition.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

By Giselle Wakatama

An evangelical preacher and former Christian radio station boss intends to plead guilty to several sexual abuse charges, a Newcastle court has heard.

Earlier this year Doctor Gary Alexander Forbes, 73, was charged with seven offences relating to two men.

The charges include two counts of assaulting a male and two counts of committing an act of indecency.

He was also charged with five counts of performing an indecent act on a male, relating to both men in the Newcastle suburb of Hamilton between 1960 and 1966.

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NORTH CAROLINA
Winston-Salem Journal

By Michael Hewlett
Winston-Salem Journal

For years, Robert Allen Shutt served as a youth leader for Salem Baptist Church and raised money for church camps.

But according to a Forsyth County prosecutor, Shutt also used his position at the church to molest young boys.

On Tuesday, Shutt, 71, of Royalton Street, pleaded guilty in Forsyth Superior Court to 16 counts of taking indecent liberties with a child. The allegations involved three boys, who were between 12 and 16, and occurred in the 1990s at Shutt’s house. In each instance, Shutt would have one of the boys spend the night at his house, then he would sexually abuse that boy.

Assistant District Attorney Pansy Glanton said the abuse occurred on multiple occasions. She also said Shutt molested a fourth boy in the 1990s. That boy, who is now an adult, didn’t want to prosecute but was willing to testify if the case had gone to trial.

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TENNESSEE
Lebanon Democrat

STAFF REPORTS • UPDATED NOV 1, 2016

The 15th Judicial District Child Advocacy Center’s facilitator Amanda Dardy trained 93 volunteers with The Glade Church to prevent, recognize and react responsibly to child sexual abuse using Darkness to Light’s award-winning Stewards of Children program.

It was a pleasure to work with these dedicated adults who are very vested in the safety of the children in their church and community, Nancy Willis, executive director of the CAC, said.

Stewards of Children focuses on adult education because ultimately, it is adults’ responsibility to keep children safe.

This training approaches the difficult topic of child sexual abuse in a way that is empowering, not fear-focused or depressing. It uses a practical, five-step approach to prevention and response that enables adults to protect the children in their lives and youth-serving organizations.

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CALIFORNIA
My News LA

POSTED BY DEBBIE L. SKLAR ON NOVEMBER 1, 2016

A defrocked Roman Catholic priest who was convicted of molesting two boys and sentenced to eight years in prison resurfaced at a non-sanctioned South Los Angeles church, where he resumed leading church services using an alias, according to a broadcast report.

Fox11 reported that former priest Carlos Rodriguez, who was convicted in Ventura County in 2004 of molesting the boys in Santa Paula, was defrocked in 1998 and prevented from having any affiliation with the Catholic church. Despite that, he used the name Carlos Ramirez and began preaching at the small South Los Angeles church, to the surprise of some parishioners.

“I’m shocked,” one parishioner told Fox11 when told of Rodriguez’s past. Another said she was “indignant” and prayed the church community would take the appropriate action.

Following the station’s inquiries, Rodriguez was barred from the church, Fox11 reported.

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GUAM
KUAM

Updated: Nov 02, 2016

By Krystal Paco

In a statement to local press on Wednesday, Archbishop Anthony Apuron welcomes his successor to Guam as the new leader of the island’s Catholic faithful. “It is with great joy that I welcome the news of the appointment of Bishop Michael J. Byrnes as coadjutor archbishop of Agana by the Holy Father,” Apuon wrote.

Apuron’s last known location was in Rome, as captured in a video statement after allegations of child molestation surfaced against him. Although he doesn’t specify, Apuron states he remains on retreat “working with the authorities in the Vatican to establish my innocence.”

As we’ve been reporting, Apuron stands accused of sexually assaulting Roy Quintanilla, Walter Denton, Roland Sondia, and the late Joseph “Sonny” Quinata – all from Agat and all former altar servers at Mount Carmel Parish in the southern village where Apuron was a priest decades ago. In later months, Ramon Afaisen DePlata also publicly accused Apuron, stating he had witnessed the priest engaging in sexual affairs with an altar boy in the 1960s.

Apuron will have the opportunity to clear his name in a canonical trial to be held in the Vatican. Limited information has been made available on when that trial will take place.

Meanwhile, here at home Apuron faces a $2 million defamation suit and most recently a civil case for child sex abuse, which was filed at the Superior Court of Guam on Tuesday. “Despite my necessary absence,” Apuron wrote, “I offer my heartfelt thanks to the Archbishop Designate Byrnes for accepting this appointment. I commend him to the hearts and prayers of all the people of Guam, whom I know will give the warmest of welcomes.”

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AUSTRALIA
New Zealand Herald

WARNING: DISTURBING CONTENT

He was a paedophile, a psychopath and a thief who despised women, had a fetish for children and a sneering hatred for the locals of the tiny community.

The creepy Father Peter Searson, who wore his yellow fingernails long and manicured, liked dressing up in an army uniform and carried a pistol he sometimes pointed at parishioners.

He stole A$40,000 from the parish finances, killed or tortured animals in front of children and showed them a dead body in a coffin.

He got children to touch his penis, made them kneel between his legs, loitered around the children’s toilets and audio-taped primary schoolers in the confessional box when their admissions became “hot”.

Searson was the fifth child-molesting priest sent by the Catholic Church to the working class community of Doveton, 31km southeast of Melbourne.

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FLORIDA
WINK News

SANIBEL, Fla. — An investigation focusing on a Sanibel priest is now closed due to insufficient evidence, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office said.

Father Christopher Senk of St. Isabel Parish was being investigated for allegedly stealing money from an elderly church member with dementia.

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NEW YORK
The Journal News

Jordan Fenster , jfenster@lohud.com October 22, 2016

Actor, comedian and Valhalla native Kevin Meaney died Friday, according to multiple news sources. He was 60 years old.

Meaney, perhaps most famous for the catchphrase “That’s not right!” was also known for his appearances on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, his stint on Saturday Night Live. He also appeared on Broadway in the musical Hairspray.

Meaney was a former altar boy at Cardinal Bernard Law, but found comedic fodder from sex abuse scandals in the Catholic Church.

“Let me just tell you one thing: I was never molested in Catholic school. I had to wait until I got to public school to get molested,” he told The Journal News in 2002.

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CALIFORNIA
Fox 11

By: Gina Silva
POSTED:OCT 31 2016

(FOX 11) – A former Roman Catholic priest was convicted and sent to prison for molesting children during a period lasting many years.

Gina Silva reports that the priest is not only out of prison, but back in church pretending to still be a man of the cloth.

Statement from the Archdiocese of Los Angeles:

The Archdiocese of Los Angeles is committed to providing pastoral care and support to all Catholics and other people of faith in our five pastoral regions covering Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties. If anyone in the Archdiocese has any questions regarding a persons’ eligibility to minister as a Roman Catholic priest, please call the Archdiocese Catholic Center, at (213) 637-7000 or visit http://www.la-archdiocese.org/org/clergy.

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AUSTRALIA
Western Advocate

Melissa Cunningham
@MeljCunningham

2 Nov 2016,

Clergy sexual abuse victims have called on Cardinal George Pell to reaffirm a commitment he made to help those wounded by the scourge of sexual abuse in Ballarat.

Peter Blenkiron said Cardinal Pell had a moral obligation to stand by the promises he made to survivors in his hometown of Ballarat in the final act of his appearance at the Royal Commission into Child Sexual Abuse in Rome in March.

“Cardinal Pell either knew about the abuse of children did nothing and therefore has a responsibility to fix the damage,” he said.

“Or he knew nothing but still has a responsibility to protect future generations of children and be a part of the solution and not just part of the cause of the problem which allowed paedophiles to flourish.”

His words in comes in the wake of the counsel assisting the child abuse royal commission, rejecting key evidence and accusing the Cardinal of failing to act on sexual misconduct complaints.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Eastern Mennonite University

When Monday November 7, 2016 @ 7:30 PM (6 days away)
Where Martin Chapel, Seminary Building
Duration 1 hour 30 minutes
Gather with Father Tom Doyle for a presentation on The Spiritual Impact of Sexual Abuse in Religious Contexts.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Following the speaker, we invite you to move in and out and from EXPRESSION STATIONS as a way to process, make sense and join the community in expressing ourselves to our university.

Stations will include: facilitated discussion, reflection corner, vigil candle lighting, hymn sing, writing letters to EMU, and word mural. Counselors, pastors and support people will be on scene for chats. Hot chocolate and brownies available too!

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GUAM
Marianas Variety

02 Nov 2016 By Mar-Vic Cagurangan – For Variety

HAGATNA — A new Guam law that lifted the statute of limitation on sex abuse cases has spawned lawsuits against local Catholic Church officials accused of molesting former altar boys almost five decades ago.

“It is each victim’s hope that the filing of the lawsuits will bring positive change in the lives of all victims of abuse resulting in a cleansing and healing of decades-old feelings of fear, embarrassment, shame, hatred, bitterness and blaming of oneself,” said David Lujan, the attorney who represents former altar boys Roland Sondia, Roy Quintanilla, Walter Danton, and Leo Tudela.

Sondia, Quintanilla and Danton filed the civil lawsuit against Archbishop Anthony Apuron, whom they accused of molesting them when he was a priest at Mount Carmel Parish in Agat in the 1970s. Tudela named Father Louis Brouillard as his alleged molester.

“The lawsuits,” Lujan said, “will cause the church to remove the cancer caused by these pedophile priests and restore the Catholic Church to its rightful glory.”

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UNITED KINGDOM
Gazette Live

A High Court trial has begun to decide the first cases in one of the biggest compensation claims involving the Roman Catholic church arising from allegations of historical sexual abuse.

A total of 249 men have lodged claims against the Diocese of Middlesbrough and the De La Salle Institute, which ran the St William’s children’s home in Market Weighton, East Yorkshire.

If the claims are successful the pay-outs are expected to run to millions of pounds.

Earlier this year, the former head of St William’s, James Carragher, was jailed for the third time after he was found guilty of sexually abusing boys.

Carragher, 75, had already been sentenced to 21 years in prison for sexually abusing boys when he was jailed for a further nine years in January.

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CONNECTICUT
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2016

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

Bridgeport Catholic officials have scheduled a “healing service” on Wednesday, Nov. 2. At worst, this is a cynical public relations move. At best, it misses the mark.

Bishop Frank Caggiano’s focus should be on real reforms that actually make kids safer, not symbolic gestures that make him seem nicer or that make a few adults temporarily feel better. And events like this imply that the crisis is past when in fact it’s not.

By focusing on “healing,” Caggiano wants us all to believe that prevention is no longer needed. That’s backwards. Only when every cleric who has committed or concealed child sex crimes is identified, ousted, punished and kept away from kids should bishops concentrate on healing.

Caggiano’s first job should be protecting the vulnerable. And much remains to be done on this front. There are 40 publicly accused Bridgeport diocese predator priests. Where are they now?

Caggiano should permanently and prominently post on parish websites – the names, photos, whereabouts and work histories of these proven, admitted and credibly accused clerics. (About 30 US bishops have done this.)

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MINNESOTA
Raw Story

TRAVIS GETTYS
01 NOV 2016

A Minnesota pastor admitted to taking innocent photos of children that he then turned into sexually explicit images, police said.

Investigators were tipped off Oct. 21 after Facebook and Instagram reported that the same user was suspected of trading child pornography through instant messaging with another user in Finland, reported KAAL-TV.

Facebook, which owns Instagram, identified the American user as 47-year-old William Helker, of Pine City, who served as a youth pastor at All Saints Lutheran Church in Cottage Grove.

The three photos involved girls as young as 5 years old, and investigators identified two of the children as victims of criminal sexual conduct.

Authorities said Helker traded the images from computers at both his home and church.

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AUSTRALIA
The Courier

Melissa Cunningham
@MeljCunningham

1 Nov 2016

Clergy abuse victims are calling for proceeds of a $2.1 million beach house owned by disgraced Catholic bishop Ronald Mulkearns to be used to start a fund to help those still impacted by the scourge of sexual abuse.

The beach house owned by the former bishop at the exclusive Great Ocean Rd enclave of Fairhaven sold at an auction on Saturday.

Mulkearns facilitated the abuse of hundreds of children over decades during his reign as Ballarat bishop. He was the first Ballarat bishop to be denied a crypt burial when he died this year.

Ballarat survivor Peter Blenkiron called for the money to be stored in a trust fund which allowed interest to grow ensuring the funds didn’t dwindle.

“It should be used to start a whole community pot of money,” he said. “This account could be run by medical staff and support workers and could be used for emergency relief fund to help people struggling especially as a result of sexual abuse and mental illness.”

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GUAM
KUAM

Updated: Nov 01, 2016

By Krystal Paco

While his whereabouts remain unknown, Archbishop Anthony Apuron still has an opportunity to clear his name of allegations of child molestation. According to Guam’s apostolic administrator, Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai, the process is moving forward and a canonical trial will be held in the Vatican.

“They just formed all the conditions for the trial, so I’m going to receive some updates later,” he announced during a press conference at the Cathedral in Hagatna this morning.

KUAM News did ask newly-appointed Bishop MIchael Byrnes what would happen if Apuron was cleared of any wrongdoing – Bishop Byrnes said he didn’t know the answer to that question.

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NEW YORK
National Catholic Reporter

Oct. 28, 2016

EDITORIAL

New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan may have the purest of motives in designing the new compensation program for victims of clergy sex abuse. He must realize, however, that he is working against a history of activity, including his own, of members of the U.S. hierarchy that hardly inspires trust.

Dolan’s effort, understandably applauded in some quarters as an act inspired by Pope Francis’ Year of Mercy, sets a legal framework for compensating victims outside of court procedures. The process will be administered by respected professionals, by most measures impeccably independent, and the compensation offered will be delivered quickly.

So, what’s not to like about it? Anne Barrett Doyle does a service to abuse victims and to the Catholic community at large in raising serious questions about the process and whether the plan is an unalloyed benefit to all victims.

Doyle is co-director with Terry McKiernan of BishopAccountability.org, a unique repository of data and arguably the most extensive catalogued collection anywhere of newspaper stories, court records, depositions, analyses and internal church correspondence having to do with the Catholic church’s clergy sex abuse scandal.

Consequently, it is not too much of a stretch to say that Doyle knows more detail about the scandal than most people, including bishops, ever will.

The devil, in this instance, is in both the details and the larger context. Two details raise concerns for Doyle:

* Victims are required to sign a legal agreement that appears to bind them to privacy and confidentiality.

* As part of the agreement, victims receiving an award agree, in releasing the archdiocese from future liability, not to sue the church in the future.

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UNITED KINGDOM
BBC Newsnight

By Jake Morris
BBC Newsnight

A key lawyer for the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse has resigned, BBC Newsnight has learned.

Toby Fisher, one of the first three barristers appointed to the inquiry, said he wanted to stand down in August.

It is understood he was concerned by the inquiry’s “progress and direction” and was not otherwise planning on leaving.

A spokesman for the inquiry would not comment on specifics and Mr Fisher declined to comment.

Mr Fisher had served as first junior counsel – the joint-second most senior barrister on the inquiry – and previously worked on two of the inquiry’s most high profile investigations – into Lord Janner and alleged abuse in Westminster.

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GUAM
Pacific News Center

Written by Rebecca Elmore

Attorney David Lujan holds press conference for sexual assault abuse victims.

Guam – The statute of limitations for sex abuse has been lifted and now, in a series of unprecedented lawsuits, four victims are seeking damages against archbishop Apuron and the Catholic church.

But according to the victims’ legal counsel, Attorney David Lujan, this is only the beginning.

More will come forward – that from Attorney David Lujan in a press conference today addressing the concerns of the victims of abuse within the Catholic church.

According to Lujan, the press conference was called to “remove the cancer caused by these pedophile priests and restore the Catholic church to its glory.”

He reiterated that sentiment stating: “It is each victim’s hope that the filings of the lawsuit will bring positive changes in the lives of all victims of abuse, resulting in a cleansing and healing of decades of old feelings of fear, embarrassment, shame, hatred, bitterness, and blaming oneself.”

Lawsuits were filed by four victims against the Archdioces of Agana, they are Roland Sondia, Roy Quintanilla, Walter Denton, and Leo Tudela. The first three allege that Apuron sexually abused them while Tudela says former Gua, priest Louis Brouillard sexually assaulted him.

Even more concerning, Lujan says “I can tell you that I’ve got an additional 12 clients besides the four here and I can tell you that I’m more aware of more people and that I’m in discussion with others and that its just not the Catholic church.”

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GUAM
Pacific News Center

Written by Timothy Mchenry

The new co-adjutor says he hopes to be on Guam by the end of November.

Guam – Meanwhile, newly appointed co-adjutor archbishop Michael Byrnes responds to some of the biggest issues and controversies surrounding Guam’s catholic church.

Newly appointed co-adjutor archbishop Michael Byrnes responded to some of the most pressing issues and controversies surrounding the church.

One of the biggest issues is what’s going to happen with Archbishop Anthony Apuron?

Archbishop Byrnes says Archbishop Apuron will remain the archbishop until death or the mandatory age of retirement.

“As far as I know, I mean that’s my understanding. I know the difference here is that the holy father has removed his faculty to exercise pastoral care and assigned them to me for the time being,” said Byrnes.

On Tuesday, attorney David Lujan called a press conference to announce that three of the victims who allege that Archbishop Anthony Apuron molested them while he was a priest at Mt. Carmel church in Agat filed a lawsuit against the archdiocese. Byrne responded to the allegations of molestation against archdiocesan priests.

“My first comment is, uh you know uh, is just uh, one of deep concern for the alleged victims and so that’s the first, the second is to uh you know again I only have hearsay and so ill enlist the best help we can,” said Byrnes. “On their mainland the bishops have taken very strong measures to protect God’s children and so I will bring that concern to see if we can implement some of the steps and measure that we’ve taken here on the mainland.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Telegraph

Michael Wilkinson, political correspondent
1 NOVEMBER 2016

A key lawyer for the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse has become the latest figure to quit, it has been reported.

Tony Fisher, one of the first three barristers appointed to the inquiry, was said to be concerned by the inquiry’s “progress and direction”, BBC Newsnight said.

Mr Fisher did not comment on the suggestion that he had left the inquiry.
Asked about Mr Fisher’s departure, a spokesman for the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse said the inquiry had “a large legal team comprising a number of junior counsel, senior counsel and solicitors”.

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GUAM
New York Times

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NOV. 1, 2016.

HAGATNA, Guam — The new leader of the Catholic Church in Guam will immediately assume all responsibilities in the archdiocese while its suspended archbishop faces a church trial for allegedly sexually abusing altar boys.

Pope Francis on Monday named Bishop Michael Jude Byrnes, the auxiliary bishop of Detroit, as coadjutor bishop of the Guam archdiocese. Coadjutors have succession rights when bishops resign, retire or are removed.

At a news conference Tuesday, Archbishop Savio Hon Tai-Fai, the temporary apostolic administrator, said Francis gave Byrnes special rights to carry out all the duties as archbishop effective immediately.

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GUAM
KUAM

[with poll]

Updated: Nov 01, 2016

By Krystal Paco

Not everyone is pleased with the new bishop-designee for the Archdiocese of Agana. According to Attorney David Lujan, he’s offended by Rome’s pick for Guam. He stated, “We’ve got numerous brown priests that were born here, that grew up here, that know the people of Guam and are part of the people of Guam, whether they be Chamorros or Filipinos. But we have more than enough qualified leadership in the local clergy really, who Rome should have contemplated.”

Meanwhile, the Concerned Catholics of Guam say they are supportive and cautious.

Organization president Dave Sablan tells KUAM News they look forward to meeting the new bishop, but remain concerned that Apuron has not be laicized.

Also commenting on Bishop Michael Byrnes’ appointment is Junglewatch blogger Tim Rohr, who tells KUAM News that Rome realizes Archbishop Anthony Apuron is incapacitated and incapable and “confirmation that Apuron is out.”

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UNITED KINGDOM
Catholic Herald

The diocese is subject to a civil claim following the imprisonment of a former principal and chaplain earlier this year

A test court case claiming compensation against a Catholic diocese opens today, after a former principal and a chaplain at a children’s home run by the diocese were imprisoned for historic sex offences earlier this year.

Five survivors have brought a civil claim, due to be heard at the high court in Leeds, against the Catholic diocese of Middlesbrough and the De La Salle Brothers, whose members ran St William’s Home in Market Weighton, east Yorkshire.

If the case is successful, the Catholic Church in the UK could be liable to pay compensation of millions of pounds.

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TENNESSEE
WVLT

TEN MILE, Tenn. (WVLT) — An assistant pastor at a church in Ten Mile is accused of sexually assaulted two minors.

According to reports, two victims ages 17 and 12 were subjected to sexual assault by Hugh McDowell, 62, who served as an assistant pastor at Spoken Words Ministry Church.

The investigation into McDowell started in June when a Department of Children’s Services representative told the Roane County Sheriff’s Office about multiple reported incidents at Spoken Words Ministry Church that went on for an undetermined amount of time.

Officers were told the last possible alleged sexual incident happened on June 21. The incident report says McDowell threatened the family’s lives after he was approached about the alleged attacks.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Yorkshire Press

FIVE child sex abuse victims have launched a High Court bid for compensation over abuse at a Catholic school in East Yorkshire.

A total of 249 men have lodged claims of historical sexual abuse against the Diocese of Middlesbrough and the De La Salle Institute, which ran the St William’s children’s home in Market Weighton.

The trial, at the High Court in Leeds, involves claims from five of the claimants. If the claims are successful the pay-outs are expected to run to millions of pounds.

Earlier this year, the former head of St William’s, James Carragher, was jailed for the third time after he was found guilty of sexually abusing boys.

Carragher, 75, had already been sentenced to 21 years in prison for sexually abusing boys when he was jailed for a further nine years in January.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Belfast Telegraph

By Dave Higgens
PUBLISHED
01/11/2016

A High Court action has begun to decide the first cases in one of the biggest compensation claims involving the Catholic Church arising from allegations of historical sexual abuse.

A total of 249 men have lodged claims against the Diocese of Middlesbrough and the De La Salle Institute, which ran the St William’s children’s home in Market Weighton, East Yorkshire.

If the claims are successful the payouts are expected to run to millions of pounds.

Earlier this year the former head of St William’s, James Carragher, was jailed for a third time after he was found guilty of sexually abusing boys.

Carragher (75) was jailed for nine years in January.

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AUSTRALIA
The Guardian

Melissa Davey
@MelissaLDavey

Monday 31 October 2016

Cardinal George Pell has said he will not be drawn into responding to criticism by the counsel assisting the royal commission on child sexual abuse.

A submission from Gail Furness SC and Stephen Free, the counsel, argued that based on the cardinal’s’s evidence to the commission, as well as evidence from Catholic Education Office staff and child sexual abuse victims, Pell should have taken stronger action against a paedophile priest, Peter Searson.

On Tuesday Pell’s office in Rome said: “The cardinal has already responded directly to counsel assisting’s submissions in the written submissions published under his name on the royal commission website. As the royal commission has not yet made findings in these case studies, it is not appropriate, at this time, for parties to comment.”

Searson was the parish priest of Doveton, south-east of Melbourne, from 1984 until 1997. Pell, now the Vatican’s financial controller in Rome, was at the time auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Melbourne and oversaw positions such as Searson’s.

The commission has previously heard Searson abused children in parishes and schools across three districts over more than a decade, and displayed strange behaviours such as animal cruelty and carrying a gun to school.

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GUAM
Jungle Watch

[with video]

The news keeps quoting me as saying that I said Bishop Brynes will only be here 2-5 years and then someone local will be appointed to replace him.

I only proposed this as a possibility this morning when Patti Arroyo called me. I qualified my speculation in the context of Rome’s post-Vatican II penchant for “inculturation” which includes appointing bishops, mostly in areas considered to be the “developing Church,”who are ethnically and culturally related to their dioceses.

Unlike the rest of Micronesia, if not all of Oceania, Guam does not fit this mold. Thanks to the Spanish, Guam has been Catholic for at least 100 years longer than the United States has been a nation. We are NOT a developing Church, nor are we a mission territory, a designation Apuron has played up for years in order to qualify for grants from the Catholic Extension society, taking money away from true mission territories.

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GUAM
Pacific News Center

Interview on K57 between Patti Arroyo and Archbishop Michael Byrnes.

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GUAM
Pacific News Center

Written by Rebecca Elmore

Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai discusses transition to newly elected Co-Adjutor Michael Byrnes.
In a press conference delivered by temporary Administrator Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai, Hon stated the transition to Guam’s newly elected Co-Adjutor Archbishop, Michael Byrnes, was a “smooth transition process.”

Archbishop Hon expressed his sincerest gratitude for both the clergy and the people of Guam and when asked about the selection process Though Archbishop Hon would not reveal any names, he did state that three individuals were selected before Byrnes was ultimately chosen.

When asked to describe how he felt about an “outsider” filling in the new position, Archbishop Hon stated that “no bishop can work all alone” reiterating that Byrnes has been well-informed of the needs of the people of Guam.

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GUAM
Guam Daily Post

Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai has announced that Pope Francis has appointed Monsignor Michael Jude Byrnes to Coadjutor Archbishop, with Special Faculties, of the Archdiocese of Agana.

This announcement ends the tenure of Hon as the apostolic administrator for the Archdiocese of Agana.

Archbishop Hon said that the Coadjutor Archbishop will have complete responsibility over the Archdiocese, which includes its financial administration, discipline of the clergy, and pastoral life.

According to Hon, the appointment from Rome is to be effective Oct. 31, at noon.

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GUAM
Pacific Daily News

Haidee V Eugenio , heugenio@guampdn.com November 1, 2016

Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai held a press conference today, following Pope Francis’ appointment of a new coadjutor archbishop for the Archdiocese of Agana.

The coadjutor archbishop will have the right to succeed Archbishop Anthony S. Apuron if he resigns, retires or is removed. Apuron is facing canonical trial at the Vatican over alleged sexual abuse of altar boys.

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GUAM
Radio New Zealand

The pope has appointed a new archbishop for Guam where the current head of the Catholic Church faces potential charges for historical sex abuse.

The Archdiocese of Detroit says Pope Francis has appointed Bishop Michael Byrnes to lead the Guam archdiocese in the absence of Anthony Apuron.

So far, five former altar boys have gone public to accuse Archbishop Apuron of sexually abusing them in the 1970s.

The Vatican relieved him of his duties in June, although he officially remains the Archbishop of Agana.

In September, Guam’s governor signed into law a bill that removed the statute of limitations, which allows the church to be sued for historical allegations.

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GUAM
KUAM

[with video]

Updated: Nov 01, 2016

By Sabrina Salas Matanane

While many of you were sleeping last night, the Vatican made it official announcing the appointment of an archbishop coadjutor for the Archdiocese of Agana. Many of you may ask: what does that mean? During a press conference at the Cathedral De Basilica this morning, it was made clear that this coadjutor general is taking over as the head of the local Catholic Church.

Tuesday may have been Archbishop Anthony Apuron’s birthday, but it’s Detroit bishop Michael Byrnes who was celebrating. The Pope appointed him as the successor to lead the Agana archdiocese. “It’s all happened very quickly,” His Excellency told KUAM News over FaceTime. Bishop Byrnes says he found out about the appointment two weeks ago, met with the Holy Father last Friday and the announcement was officially made Monday night.

In a press conference held by the local archdiocese on Tuesday, Apostolic Administrator Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai says this appears to be a permanent solution amid the controversy involving Archbishop Apuron, who as of June was removed of pastoral governance over the local church. “In this appointment the Holy Father has expressly granted his Excellency, Monsignor Byrne, all the faculties, rights and obligations of Archbishop of Agana,” Hon announced.

Archbishop Hon confirmed the process to find a new archbishop started last year shortly after his visit to Guam. Bishop Byrnes says he will permanently move to Guam in January but will pay a visit to the island in late-November. He adds he is aware of the issues confronting the local church such as the allegations of sexual molestation, the question of ownership of the Redemportis Mater Seminary and divisions in the church involving the Neocathechumenal Way.

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GUAM
KUAM

Updated: Nov 01, 2016

By Krystal Paco

While the local archdiocese got the good news about its new shepherd, it also got some bad news that’s it being taken to court for a second time. It’s a first for Guam…and likely not the last.

Attorney David Lujan announced, “The lawsuits will cause the church to remove the cancer caused by these pedophile priests and restore the Catholic Church to its rightful glory. On Tuesday, Roland Sondia, Roy Quintanilla, Walter Denton and Leo Tudela filed a lawsuit against the Archdiocese of Agana, Archbishop Anthony Apuron, and former Guam priest Father Louis Brouillard. Each of the plaintiffs is represented by Lujan, who says he anticipates another dozen alleged victims to file suit in coming weeks.

The action was made possible through Bill 326 – signed into law last month – and lifts the civil statute of limitations for child sex abuse cases. The legislation wasn’t well received by the Archdiocese of Agana, who predicted the unlimited financial liabilities would result in bankruptcy, school closures, and end vital community services.

“The lawsuits will not result in the destruction of the church,” Lujan promised. After all, the church has outlived every empire and civil government known to man. The church will reform itself and become even greater.”

The civil suit demands for jury trial of six and lists damages for child sexual abuse, negligence, negligent supervision, negligent hiring and retention, and breach of fiduciary duty/confidential relationship. It doesn’t however, list how much relief plaintiffs are seeking in monetary damages.

As we reported, Sondia, Quintanilla and Denton allege they were molested by Apuron decades ago while serving as altar boys at Mount Carmel Church in Agat. At a public hearing in support of Bill 326, Tudela testified he was sexually abused by Father Brouillard who in a later interview with KUAM News confessed to molesting several boys while on Guam. He has since moved to Minnesota but continues to receive monthly stipends from the Archdiocese of Agana.

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GUAM
Pacific Daily News

Haidee V Eugenio, heugenio@guampdn.com November 1, 2016

Four former altar boys who publicly accused Catholic priests on Guam of sexually abusing them in the 1950s and 1970s filed separate lawsuits Tuesday against the Archdiocese of Agana, Archbishop Anthony S. Apuron and former island priest Louis Brouillard.

The plaintiffs are Leo Tudela, 73; Roland Sondia, 54; Walter Denton, 52; and Roy Quintanilla, 52.

Attorney David Lujan filed the lawsuits on behalf of the four victims of alleged sex abuse.

The filing of the lawsuits comes over a month after Gov. Eddie B. Calvo signed into law on Sept. 23 a controversial bill that allows victims of child sex abuse to sue their abusers and the institutions with which they are associated, at any time.

“It is each victim’s hope that the filings of the lawsuits will bring positive changes in the lives of all victims of abuse resulting in a cleansing and healing of decades-old feelings of fear, embarrassment, shame, hatred, bitterness, blaming of oneself and restore each victim’s dignity and respect,” Lujan said at a press conference at 1 p.m. Tuesday.

Two of the plaintiffs were at the press conference — Tudela, now a resident of Hawaii, and Sondia, who lives on Guam.

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AUSTRALIA
The Tablet (UK)

31 October 2016 | by Mark Brolly

Cardinal George Pell has been criticised by counsel assisting Australia’s Royal Commission over his part in the Catholic Church’s response to abuse by clergy and religious in his home town of Ballarat, when he was a consultor to the bishop, and in Melbourne, where he was an auxiliary bishop.

On 31 October, the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse published written submissions for its public hearings into the response of the Church to allegations of abuse against clergy and religious in the two Victorian cities – including those of counsel assisting the Commission and the Cardinal.

Cardinal Pell maintained in his submissions that he could not be subject to adverse findings by the Commission. In his Ballarat submission, the Cardinal’s counsel, Sam Duggan, concluded that the Royal Commission could not be “comfortably satisfied” that any one of the allegations made against Cardinal Pell had been made. In his submission on the response of the Cardinal when an auxiliary bishop in Melbourne to the case of Fr Peter Searson, parish priest of Holy Family in Doveton, Mr Duggan concluded that “there is no basis for making adverse findings against Bishop Pell, as he then was, with respect to his time in Melbourne as an Auxiliary Bishop”.

“George Pell may now be a Cardinal of the Catholic Church, and he accepts by virtue of that position that he is subjected to greater scrutiny than others,” Duggan wrote. “But that does not mean that his involvement in historical events should be inflated or exaggerated because of the position he now holds, nor should the Royal Commission more readily make findings against him because of his title, as opposed to his actual involvement. It is submitted that consistent with the principle of even-handed justice, Cardinal Pell should be treated with the same level of fairness as any other person involved in the matters being considered by the Royal Commission.”

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GUAM
Catholic News Agency

Hagatna, Guam, Oct 31, 2016 / 03:10 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis on Monday appointed Bishop Michael Byrnes as the successor to Guam’s archbishop, who has been accused of sexual abuse of minors.

Bishop Byrnes has until now served as an auxiliary bishop in Detroit. His apointment as coadjutor comes with special faculties.

As Coadjutor Archbishop of Agaña, Bishop Byrnes possesses the right of succession and will automatically be appointed Archbishop of Agaña when it’s current ordinary, Archbishop Anthony Apuron, retires.

Though he is still formally archbishop, Apuron was relieved of his pastoral and administrative authority in June. Since then, the Agaña archdiocese has been cared for by an apostolic administrator, Archbishop Savio Hon Tai-Fai.

“I am humbled by the Holy Father’s decision to entrust the Archdiocese of Agaña to my pastoral care,” Bishop Byrnes said upon his Oct. 31 appointment. “The great spiritual writer, Blessed Columba Marmion, wrote, ‘The task of the priest is to give Jesus to the world.’ That is what I have endeavored to do as an auxiliary bishop here in Detroit, and I look forward to giving Jesus to the thousands of people who live in the island of Guam.”

The Archdiocese of Agaña serves Catholics in Guam, a U.S. island territory in the northwestern Pacific Ocean. Bishop Byrnes commented that “I have learned that the Catholic faith has long been embraced on the island, and the faith of the people is rooted in a rich history of devotion to Jesus and to His Blessed Mother.”

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FLORIDA
NBC 2

[with video]

Updated: Oct 31, 2016

By Jaclyn Bevis, Reporter

SANIBEL ISLAND, FL –
The State Attorney’s Office said there’s no proof of deception or intimidation in an investigation into a Catholic priest who may have swindled an elderly parishioner.

The Diocese of Venice announced Father Christopher Senk is on paid leave. Senk’s attorney said he doesn’t understand the timing of the decision by the diocese or the release of information to the media.

Senk was accused of exploiting an elderly woman in the church. The Diocese reported an investigation that started in January 2015 conducted by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.

The State Attorney’s Office said they determined no criminal charges were appropriate, saying the parishioner willingly gave money and was not deceived by Father Senk.

The church denied a request for comment. The Diocese of Venice refused to answer further questions about the investigation or Senk’s current status.

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TEXAS
MSN

The sexual assault scandal rocking Baylor University and its powerhouse football team was far worse than previously disclosed.

“60 Minutes Sports” has learned that, since 2011, 17 female students reported sexual or domestic assault charges against 19 Baylor football players. That includes at least four alleged gang rapes. Former Baylor President Ken Starr and celebrated football coach Art Briles lost their jobs.

Baylor prides itself on its Christian values and creating a caring community. But the “60 Minutes Sports” investigation found a culture where victims who came forward found themselves blamed for violating the university’s code of conduct, which prohibits drinking and premarital sex.

Correspondent Armen Keteyian has been investigating since May. His investigation revealed the senior vice president in charge of campus safety, Reagan Ramsower, often clashed with Patty Crawford, the university’s former Title IX coordinator.

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AUSTRALIA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Monday, Oct. 31, 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)

Independent attorneys have concluded that the second or third most powerful Catholic prelate on the planet should have taken more action to safeguard kids from predators. We’re not surprised.

For decades, all across the globe, virtually every independent investigation into child sex crimes by Catholic clergy has determined that high-ranking church officials often hid, protected and enabled child molesting clerics. So too has Cardinal George Pell.

[SBS]

We share the view of Gail Furness and Stephen Free who say there’s no grounds to accept Pell’s claim that he was intentionally deceived by Catholic Education Office about predator priest Peter Searson. Pell seems desperate as he tries to throw fellow church officials “under the bus” and deny his culpability, as we’ve seen so many bishops do when their wrongdoing is exposed. Pell also seems desperate when he tries to sift blame onto police, who he claims had more information about a child molesting cleric than he did.

However, we disagree with Furness and Free when they talk of Pell’s “failure” to take steps to prevent child sex crimes and when they say he “missed an important opportunity to recognise and deal with the serious risks” posed by one predator. We believe these were deliberate, repeated and self-serving decisions – not “failures” or slip-ups or oversights.

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

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UNITED KINGDOM
BBC News

A retired clergyman convicted of what was described in court as “sinister and deliberate” sexual abuse in the 1970s and 80s has been jailed.

Granville Gibson, 80, abused two men aged 18 and 26 while he was vicar at St Claire’s Church in Newton Aycliffe.

He was found guilty of two counts of indecent assault at Durham Crown Court in August.

Judge Christopher Price said Gibson had shown no remorse for the offences and sentenced him to 12 months in jail.

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VATICAN CITY
Religion News Service

By Josephine McKenna

VATICAN CITY (RNS) Detroit Auxiliary Bishop Michael J. Byrnes has been appointed by Pope Francis to take over the Archdiocese of Guam, effectively replacing an embattled archbishop accused of sexually abusing altar boys.

The Vatican announced the pope’s decision soon after he left Rome Monday (Oct. 31) for his two-day official visit to Sweden to mark the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. But there was no indication of whether Guam’s Coadjutor Archbishop Anthony Apuron had resigned or when the succession would take place.

A coadjutor usually has the automatic right to succeed a bishop.

In September, the special investigator appointed by the pope to look into allegations of abuse urged the Vatican to remove Apuron after he refused to stand down voluntarily.

“I can assure you that the gravely serious allegations against Archbishop Apuron will continue to be dealt with by the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, which will hold a canonical trial,” wrote the investigator, Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai, in a statement read at services in the island’s 26 Catholic churches in September. “His Holiness, Pope Francis, is monitoring the proceedings.”

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UNITED KINGDOM
The Northern Echo

THE Church of England has issued profound apologies to the two victims of jailed sex abuser Granville Gibson.

The Bishop of Durham, the Right Reverend Paul Butler, also stated that there are “no excuses” for what took place to them at the hands of the man who rose to become Archdeacon of Auckland, one of the most senior posts within the Durham diocese.

As the 80-year-old former General Synod member, from Darlington, was given a 12-month prison sentence at Durham Crown Court, it emerged that both victims have received written apologies from the Bishop of Jarrow, on behalf of the diocese.

One of the pair has also received a personal apology in a meeting with the Right Reverend Mark Bryant, in his role as acting Bishop of Durham, in the absence of the bishop himself, who was on study leave.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
Belfast Telegraph

Compensating everybody who spent time in a residential home in Northern Ireland run by or on behalf of the state could cost £300 million, a lawyer who specialises in abuse cases suggested.

Sir Anthony Hart is drawing up his report for ministers following two-and-a-half years of Historical Institutional Abuse (HIA) inquiry hearings involving abuse victims and institutions.

He has already said there should be an award of compensation to those children who suffered abuse in children’s homes and other institutions in Northern Ireland between 1922 and 1995.

A group of survivors is calling for a common experience payment of £10,000 per resident and an additional payment of £3,000 for each year spent in an institution. Each person could then apply for a further “top up” award to reflect any abusive experiences suffered in the institution.

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DEUTSCHLAND
cath.ch

Würzburg, 31.10.16 (kath.ch) Wunibald Müller leitete als Theologe und Psychotherapeut 25 Jahre lang das Recollectio-Haus in Münsterschwarzach. Im Ruhestand hat er nun seine Erfahrungen in der Einrichtung für kirchliche Mitarbeiter in psychologischen Ausnahmesituationen in einem Buch verarbeitet. Im Interview mit der Katholischen Nachrichten-Agentur (KNA) spricht der katholische Theologe über seine Kritik, aber begründet auch, wieso er den Buchtitel «Warum ich dennoch in der Kirche bleibe» gewählt hat. Christian Wölfel

Wunibald Müller, ist Ihr Buch eine Abrechnung mit der Kirche?

Müller: Es ist eine Bilanz meiner persönlichen Erfahrungen in der Kirche, vor allem vor dem Hintergrund meiner Tätigkeit im Rahmen der Kirche.

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GROSSBRITANNIEN
domradio

[Abuse trial against the Catholic church in Britain begins.]

In Großbritannien hat ein millionenschwerer Missbrauchsprozess gegen die katholische Kirche begonnen. Es geht um Schadensersatz-Klagen von fünf Missbrauchsopfern und früheren Kinderheimbewohnern.

Der Oberste Gerichtshof in Leeds verhandelt die Schadensersatz-Klagen von fünf Missbrauchsopfern und früheren Kinderheimbewohnern gegen die Diözese Middlesborough und den Orden der Brüder der Christlichen Schulen. Das Verfahren bezeichneten Opfervertreter als Präzedenzfall. Sollten die Kläger in dem dreiwöchigen Prozess Erfolg haben, drohe der katholischen Kirche in Großbritannien eine Klagewelle mit “den höchsten Auszahlungen in ihrer Geschichte”, so die Tageszeitung “The Guardian” (Montag).

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AUSTRALIEN
religion@orf

Kurz nach seiner Befragung durch die australische Polizei in Rom muss Kurienkardinal George Pell einen Rückschlag bei der Untersuchung seiner Rolle im australischen Missbrauchsskandal hinnehmen.

Die australische Missbrauchskommission hält Aussagen von Kardinal Pell und anderen Kirchenoffiziellen der Diözesen Melbourne und Ballarat für unglaubwürdig. Gail Furness, Anwältin der Missbrauchskommission, „glaubt den Aussagen einer Reihe von Zeugen aus Ballarat und Melbourne und nicht denen von Kardinal Pell“, hieß es in den am Montag veröffentlichten Dokumenten der Kommissions-Anhörung zu den Missbrauchsfällen in den Diözesen.

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AUSTRALIEN
Domradio

Kurz nach seiner Befragung durch die australische Polizei in Rom muss Kardinal George Pell einen Rückschlag bei der Untersuchung seiner Rolle im australischen Missbrauchsskandal hinnehmen.

Die australische Missbrauchskommission hält Aussagen von Kardinal Pell und anderen Kirchenoffiziellen der Diözesen Melbourne und Ballarat für unglaubwürdig. Gail Furness, Anwältin der Missbrauchskommission, “glaubt den Aussagen einer Reihe von Zeugen aus Ballarat und Melbourne und nicht den von Kardinal Pell”, hieß es in den am Montag veröffentlichten Dokumenten der Kommissions-Anhörung zu den Missbrauchsfällen in den Diözesen.

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MICHIGAN/GUAM
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oct 31, 2016
For more information contact:
Joe Kohn, Director of Public Relations
Kohn.Joseph@aod.org
313-237-5943

Bishop Michael J. Byrnes, who has been serving as a regional bishop in the Archdiocese of Detroit since his ordination as a bishop in May 2011, today was named by Pope Francis to be the Coadjutor Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Agana, the archdiocese in the U.S. territory of Guam in the South Pacific. Bishop Byrnes will lead the diocese in the absence of Archbishop Anthony Sablan Apuron(a-puh-RON), OFM-Cap., who in June was relieved by the Vatican of his pastoral and administrative authority. The archdiocese had been led in the interim by apostolic administrator Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai, SDB (Sah-vee-o Hahn T-eye F-EYE). Bishop Byrnes will be given the full pastoral responsibility and administrative authority in the archdiocese. Guam is an island of 210 square miles situated north of Australia, south of Japan and east of the Philippines. Approximately 80 percent of the territory’s 165,000 inhabitants are Catholic.

“I am humbled by the Holy Father’s decision to entrust the Archdiocese of Agana to my pastoral care,” said Bishop Byrnes. “The great spiritual writer, Blessed Columba Marmion, wrote, ‘The task of the priest is to give Jesus to the world.’ That is what I have endeavored to do as an auxiliary bishop here in Detroit, and I look forward to giving Jesus to the thousands of people who live in the island of Guam. I have learned that the Catholic faith has long been embraced on the island, and the faith of the people is rooted in a rich history of devotion to Jesus and to His Blessed Mother. At the same time, there are always challenges to face. With my brother priests and deacons, with the catechists and other pastoral workers, and above all with the spiritual gifts of the People of God, I trust we will persevere in faith, hope and love, and will exercise the ‘wisdom from above’ (James 3:17) to meet these challenges.”

Bishop Byrnes has assisted Archbishop Vigneron in pastoral oversight in the northeast region of the Archdiocese of Detroit, which includes parts of Macomb, St. Clair and Lapeer counties. He also has been the director of the Archdiocese of Detroit’s evangelization initiative, which this year was branded Unleash the Gospel and which entails the Archdiocesan Synod which will take place Nov. 18-20 in downtown Detroit. Prior to being a bishop, Bishop Byrnes served as vice rector at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit and pastor of Presentation/Our Lady of Victory Parish in Detroit. He was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Detroit in 1996. His full biography is available here on the Archdiocese of Detroit website.

“Archbishop Byrnes has given exemplary pastoral service in the Archdiocese of Detroit, most recently in leading us to prepare for Synod 16 as part of our efforts to Unleash the Gospel,” said Detroit Archbishop Allen Vigneron. “Now God has chosen him for a challenging mission almost a half-a-world away. Pope Francis, in sending Archbishop Byrnes to Guam, has recognized that he possesses not only the talents, but above all the deep faith in Jesus Christ that make him suitable for this apostolic work. He goes with our love and our prayers.”

Bishop Byrnes will remain in Detroit until late November to help lead the Archdiocese of Detroit’s first Synod since 1969 before transitioning to his new role in the Archdiocese of Agana.

The following resources are available for editorial use by news media without restriction:

* Bio
* Formal portrait
* Official photo
* Coat of Arms
* B-roll video package of Bishop Byrnes at events in metro Detroit

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GUAM
KUAM

Updated: Oct 31, 2016

By Sabrina Salas Matanane

The Vatican has announced the Pope has appointed an Archbishop Coadjutor with special faculties of Agana. The Holy Father has appointed SE Mons. Jude Michael Byrnes. Prior to his appointment he was serving as the titular Bishop of Eguga and auxiliary of Detroit. According to Catholic-Heirachy.org “this is a special type of Auxiliary Bishop. They have more authority than a regular Auxiliary, but not as much as the bishop. Usually they have a “right to succession” which means that when the current bishop leaves office (by Death, Resignation, etc.) the Coadjutor automatically becomes the new bishop. It is sometimes used to help ease the transition from one bishop to the next as it allows them to work together before the new bishop takes over all responsibility. Before 1978, Coadjutor bishops were normally assigned a titular see, but that is no longer the case.” The local Catholic Church has been embroiled in controversy after several men came forward alleging that Archbishop Anthony Apuron molested them when they were altar boys decades ago when Apruon was a priest at Mt. Carmel Church in Agat. Following the allegations, the Pope sent Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai to Guam to take over while an investigation was conducted. Additionally, Apuron’s actions involving the Redemptoris Mater Seminary in Yona have also come under scrutiny.

The attorney representing the men who have accused Archbishop Anthon Apuron of sexual molestation is holding a press conference Tuesday morning. According to a media release from attorney David Lujan’s office, the press conference will provide “a significant update regarding our interaction with the Archdiocese and its leadership.” According to Catholic-Heirachy.org, SE Mons. Byrnes was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Detroit 20 years ago. He was born in 1958. Monsignor Byrnes attended the University of Michigan and Sacred Heart Seminary. He later attended the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome where he earned a Ph.D. in biblical studies.

Bishop Michael Byrnes says he humbled by the Pope’s appointment as Coadjutor Archbishop of Agana. “The great spiritual writer, Blessed Columba Marmion, wrote, ‘The task of the priest is to give Jesus to the world.’ That is what I have endeavored to do as an auxiliary bishop here in Detroit, and I look forward to giving Jesus to the thousands of people who live in the island of Guam. I have learned that the Catholic faith has long been embraced on the island, and the faith of the people is rooted in a rich history of devotion to Jesus and to His Blessed Mother. At the same time, there are always challenges to face. With my brother priests and deacons, with the catechists and other pastoral workers, and above all with the spiritual gifts of the People of God, I trust we will persevere in faith, hope and love, and will exercise the ‘wisdom from above’ (James 3:17) to meet these challenges,” stated Bishop Byrnes in a statement released by the Archdiocese of Detroit.

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MASSACHUSETTS
Progressive Secular Humanist

October 30, 2016 by Michael Stone

The Boston Archdiocese spends big money in last-minute effort to prevent legal marijuana in Massachusetts.

According to reports the Catholic church in Boston is dumping nearly a million dollars to defeat the ballot measure known as Question 4. The measure would legalize marijuana in Massachusetts.

The Boston Globe reported Friday that the local archdiocese is spending $850,000 in an effort to beat the ballot measure known as Question 4.

However, despite the Catholic church’s efforts, the most recent poll numbers suggest the measure will likely pass. …

Technically, the Catholic church is doing nothing illegal by acting as an anti-marijuana super Pac. Although the money would be better used compensating the numerous victims of pedphile priests, or simply by doing good works for the people of Massachusetts.

Ultimately, the fact that church funds are being used to influence American elections is not only only morally obnoxious, it is also yet another good reason why all churches should be taxed like any other business.

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GUAM
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

October 31, 2016

WASHINGTON—Pope Francis has named Most Reverend Michael J. Byrnes, up until now Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Detroit, as Coadjutor Archbishop of the Diocese of Agana. The territory of the archdiocese of Agana comprises the island of Guam.

The appointment was made public in Washington, October 31, by Archbishop Christophe Pierre, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States. Archbishop Michael J. Byrnes was born in Detroit, Michigan on Aug. 23, 1958. He pursued seminary studies at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit and was ordained a priest on May 25, 1996.

Assignments after ordination included serving as associate pastor at St. Joan of Arc Parish in St. Clair Shores and as an adjunct faculty member at Sacred Heart Major Seminary. He pursued post-graduate studies in 1999, at the Pontifical Gregorian University where he earned a Doctorate in Sacred Theology in 2003. Returning to Detroit, he joined the faculty of Sacred Heart Major Seminary and served as a weekend assistant at three Detroit parishes: Presentation/ Our Lady of Victory, St. Gregory the Great, and the Church of the Madonna. In 2004, he was named vice rector of Sacred Heart Major Seminary and served as pastor of Presentation/Our Lady of Victory.

Archbishop Byrnes was appointed auxiliary bishop of Detroit and titular bishop of Eguga, Tunisia on March 22, 2011. He was ordained auxiliary bishop of Detroit, May, 5, 2011 and serves as episcopal vicar and regional moderator for the Northeast Region of the archdiocese. The appointment as coadjutor archbishop confers on Archbishop Byrnes the full power of a diocesan archbishop.

The diocese of Agana was established on October 14, 1965, as a suffragan of the Archdiocese of San Francisco, California. The diocese was elevated to a Metropolitan Archdiocese, May 20, 1984 with suffragan Sees of the Diocese of the Caroline Marshalls and Diocese of Chalan Kanoa (subsequently added January 13, 1985). A member of the Episcopal Conference of the Pacific (CEPAC) and of the Federation of Catholic Bishops Conference of Oceania (FCBCO), the archdiocese is also an observer to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Guam is an unincorporated Territory of the U.S.A. by an Act of U.S. Congress, July 21, 1949.

The Archdiocese of Agana comprises 215 square miles and has a population of 155,687 people, of whom 132,494 or 85 percent, are Catholic. The island, the largest and southernmost of the Marianas Islands, is located in the western Pacific.

# # #
MEDIA CONTACT:
Judy Keane
O: 202-541-3200

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GUAM
Pacific Daily News

Haidee V Eugenio , heugenio@guampdn.com November 1, 2016

Pope Francis appointed a new coadjutor archbishop on Monday for the Archdiocese of Agana who will have the right to succeed Archbishop Anthony S. Apuron, who is facing canonical trial at the Vatican over alleged sexual abuse of altar boys.

The pope appointed Monsignor Michael Jude Byrnes, currently an auxiliary bishop in Detroit, as coadjutor archbishop for Guam, according to a press release from the Archdiocese of Detroit.

“I am humbled by the Holy Father’s decision to entrust the Archdiocese of Agana to my pastoral care,” said Bishop Byrnes in the release.

A coadjutor archbishop has succession rights when a bishop or archbishop resigns, retires or is removed.

The Vatican placed Apuron, 70, on temporary leave on June 6 after former altar boys publicly accused him of rape and molestation when he was a parish priest in the 1970s, according to news files.

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VATICAN CITY
Fox News

Published October 31, 2016 Associated Press

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis has named a successor to Guam’s archbishop, who is accused of sexually molesting altar boys, tapping an American and giving him special authority in the Pacific island archdiocese.

Monsignor Michael Jude Byrnes, currently an auxiliary bishop in Detroit, is moving to the U.S. territory as a coadjutor bishop. Coadjutors have succession rights when bishops resign, retire or are removed.

Archbishop Anthony Apuron, 70, has been accused of molesting at least five altar boys in the 1960s and ’70s. He has denied the allegations, has not been charged and has refused calls to step down.

In response to the allegations, the Vatican appointed a temporary apostolic administrator for Guam.

Byrnes’ nomination Monday suggests a more permanent solution, but there was no word on when the succession would occur.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Information Service – Bulletin

The Holy Father appointed: …

– Bishop Michael Jude Byrnes, auxiliary of Detroit, U.S.A., as coadjutor archbishop with special faculties in Agaña, Guam (are 474, population 165,404, Catholics 140,593, priests 50, permanent deacons religious 96), Pacific Islands.

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VATICAN CITY
Catholic Register

BY CAROL GLATZ, CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE
October 31, 2016

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis appointed a Detroit auxiliary bishop to a Guam archdiocese whose leader is under a Vatican investigation for the alleged sexual abuse of minors.

Coadjutor Archbishop Michael J. Byrnes, 58, also was given “special faculties” or authority in the Archdiocese of Agana, according to a Vatican press release Oct. 31.

The appointment came several weeks after the apostolic administrator of the Agana Archdiocese requested the Vatican remove the current leader, Archbishop Anthony S. Apuron, and name a successor. A coadjutor archbishop – as opposed to an auxiliary bishop – immediately succeeds an archbishop who retires or dies.

Archbishop Savio Hon Tai-Fai, apostolic administrator of the Agana Archdiocese, said in mid-September that he had asked the Vatican to remove Archbishop Apuron, given his refusal to resign on his own accord.

“Gravely serious allegations” of sexual abuse have been made against Archbishop Apuron, Archbishop Hon had said, adding that the situation was still being “dealt with by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which will hold a canonical trial.”

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

PETER HOYSTED
ColumnistCanberra
@JacktheInsider

There is a general sense of fatigue throughout western Victoria. In Ballarat it is palpable.

Peter Blenkiron is a victim of clerical child sexual abuse. An erudite and articulate man, he ­remains convinced his future lies in Ballarat but worries the challenges for the city and its 100,000 strong population may prove ­insurmountable.

“For the last 20 years, all we’ve been doing is mopping up the blood,” Blenkiron says. “Twenty years from now are we going to still be doing the same thing?”

The Catholic Diocese of Balla­rat extends across 58,000 square kilometres of western Victoria, from Portland in the southwest of the state to the Murray River towns of Swan Hill and Mildura in the north. Travelling from town to town for The Australian’s podcast “Ballarat’s Children”, it slowly dawned on me that there is not a single city, town, village or tiny hamlet that is not in some way stained by clerical child sex abuse.

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse case studies across Australia have uncovered appalling tales of abuse wherever children have congregated; religious and social groups and sporting ­associations. Even the country’s most prestigious schools have ­failed children. But there is ­nowhere quite like the Ballarat Diocese, where pedophile rings were active for decades and some of the worst sex offenders this country has ever seen preyed on children without hindrance.

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

John Ferguson
Victorian Editor
Melbourne
@fergusonjw

Counsel assisting the royal commission have fired both barrels into the heart of St Peter’s Basilica.

It seems odds-on that George Pell will be excoriated by the commission’s final report, which is a development that is not greatly surprising, given the direction of the questioning.

Those who have heard the commission evidence will know that Pell has been exposed on several fronts, substantively as a clergyman who held multiple senior roles after arriving in Melbourne in 1987, when he was promoted to auxiliary bishop.

Pell’s chief defence is that he played no major role in the affairs that unfolded in the Doveton parish and he was not a senior church decision-maker at the time.

More broadly, he was even more junior when working in the crime-stricken diocese of Ballarat.

The big-picture problem for Pell, the Pope and the church in Australia is how much damage it is prepared to continue to wear in defending the nation’s most powerful Catholic.

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

Rebecca Urban
Journalist
Melbourne
@RurbsOz

Cardinal George Pell has launched a vociferous defence of his handling of sexual abuse allegations within the Catholic Church, insisting he was being made a “scapegoat” for others’ failings.

In a series of strongly worded submissions to the Royal Commission into Institutional Res­ponses to Child Sexual Abuse, Australia’s most senior church ­official denies he had the knowledge or authority required to take ­direct action against priests ­accused of sexual abuse, including the notorious priests Gerard Ridsdale and Peter Searson.

Cardinal Pell dismisses the credibility of numerous witnesses and accuses counsel assisting the commission of overstating evidence, making gratuitous submissions and relying on surmise and conjecture.

“There is not a single aspect of that evidence which establishes that Father Pell acted inappropriately in any way,” said Sam Duggan, counsel acting on behalf of Cardinal Pell, in a submission ­released yesterday.

“Ultimately, when one assesses all of the evidence placed before the commission, including that of Cardinal Pell, the commission could not be ‘comfortably satisfied’ that any one of the alle­gations made against Cardinal Pell has been made out.”

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

November 1, 2016

Tessa Akerman
Reporter
Melbourne
@TessaAkerman

Pia Akerman
Reporter
Melbourne
@pia_akerman

Rebecca Urban
Journalist
Melbourne
@RurbsOz

Cardinal George Pell is facing the gravest threat to his besieged reputation after counsel assisting the child abuse royal commission rejected key evidence, accused him of failing to act on sexual misconduct complaints and more broadly excoriated the church’s capitulation to offenders.

Counsel assisting the royal commission yesterday criticised Cardinal Pell’s failure to deal ­adequately with offending in Melbourne and Ballarat, and called for key evidence from Cardinal Pell to be rejected. The explosive recommendations in nearly 1000 pages critiquing Cardinal Pell and the church will place growing pressure on the Vatican to deal with its third most senior figure.

They suggest Cardinal Pell faces heavy criticism in the royal commission’s final report, which will include multiple references to the Catholic Church’s systemic failures on abuse.

Cardinal Pell has rejected the key submissions of counsel assisting, arguing his position was being used to make an example of him when he had limited power, even though he has been auxiliary bishop or higher since 1987.

Victims, of whom there are hundreds and possibly thousands in Victoria alone, hailed the recommendations but warned that a national redress schemes needed to be set up urgently.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

By Charlotte King

A senior member of the Christian Brothers religious order failed to tell police the truth about the nature of historic child sexual abuse complaints in Ballarat, lawyers assisting the sex abuse royal commission have submitted.

The Christian Brothers operated four schools in Ballarat in the 1970s and much of the 437-page submission from the counsel assisting the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse detailed the religious order’s handling of abuse complaints.

The submission, now made public, singles out Brother Paul Nangle, one of Ballarat’s most senior Christian Brothers in the 1970s, for providing inconsistent testimony in relation to a complaint from the father of a student at the St Alipius boys school.

In his February evidence to the royal commission, the 84-year-old accepted that the 1974 complaint, made against a St Alipius primary school teacher, Brother Stephen Farrell, had a “sexual element” to it.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC – Mornings with Genevieve Jacobs

When the history books are written about Australia’s social history, it’s fair to say time and space will be devoted to one of the great crises of our time for many.

The revelations of enduring and grievous child sexual abuse by various people in authority: scout masters; school teachers; priests and ministers of religion; all of them doing the most terrible damage to their victims through abuse of trust.

In the case of the Church, it’s torn apart the lives of communities of people for whom Catholicism was absolutely central.

This is the world where the famed Australian author of ‘Schindler’s Ark’, Thomas Keneally, grew up and it’s the focus of his new book, ‘Crimes of the Father’.

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UNITED KINGDOM
BBC News

Five child sex abuse victims have launched a High Court bid for compensation over abuse at a Catholic school in East Yorkshire.

More than 200 men claim they were abused at St William’s residential school in Market Weighton between 1970 and 1991, run by the De La Salle order.

The order has apologised “unreservedly” to those affected by the abuse and for the actions of its former principal.

James Carragher is in jail for sex offences against children at the home.
If the compensation claim succeeds, the eventual payout could run into millions of pounds.

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AUSTRALIA
SBS

Source: AAP
31 OCT 2016

The child sex abuse royal commission is being urged to reject evidence from Cardinal George Pell, who has been accused of failing to stop a Melbourne pedophile priest.

Lawyers for the commission argue there are no grounds to accept Cardinal Pell’s evidence that he was intentionally deceived by Catholic Education Office about abuse carried out by Doveton parish priest Peter Searson in the 1980s.

In their submission to the commission the lawyers say Cardinal Pell knew enough about child abuse claims linked to Searson to consider sacking him or, at the very least, launch an investigation.

While the CEO should have done more to respond to the threat posed by Searson, there was no evidence it had intentionally concealed evidence from the archdiocese or wanted to keep him in Doveton, they said.

“The royal commission should find that the CEO officers had no motive to deceive Cardinal Pell and did not do so,” lawyers Gail Furness SC and Stephen Free wrote in their submission published on Monday.

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UNITED KINGDOM
The Guardian

Harriet Sherwood Religion correspondent
@harrietsherwood
Monday 31 October 2016

The Catholic church could face a compensation bill of millions of pounds following a test case on sexual abuse at a former children’s home which opens on Monday.

The civil case at the high court in Leeds follows the imprisonment this year of the home’s former principal and chaplain for sexual offences against 11 boys between 1970 and 1991.

Five survivors have brought a civil claim against the Catholic diocese of Middlesbrough and the De La Salle brotherhood, whose members ran St William’s Home in Market Weighton in east Yorkshire.

In total, 249 people have alleged that they were sexually and physically abused by staff at the home. If the civil case is successful, the Catholic church in the UK could face one of the biggest payouts in its history.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Christian Today

James Macintyre
31 October 2016

The Catholic Church in the UK could face a multi-million pound compensation bill following a test case which opens today on sexual abuse at a former children’s home.

The civil case, at the high court in Leeds, comes after the imprisonment earlier this year of the former principal and the chaplain at the home for offences against 11 boys between 1970 and 1991.

Five survivors have brought a civil claim against the Catholic Diocese of Middlesbrough and the De La Salle brotherhood, whose members ran St William’s Home in Market Weighton, east Yorkshire.

The Catholic Church in the UK could face one of the biggest payouts in its history if the civil case is successful.

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

October 31, 2016

PIA AKERMAN
ReporterMelbourne
@pia_akerman

PETER HOYSTED
ColumnistCanberra
@JacktheInsider

A church lawyer tasked with helping victims of child-sex abuse in the country’s most scandal­-plagued Catholic diocese has ­declared they no longer have to jump through any “hoops” for ­assistance, as a veteran police ­detective described how victims earlier had been pursued by ­private investigators working for the church.

In an interview for The Australian’s podcast Ballarat’s Children, Michael Myers has vowed the Ballarat diocese is taking ­victims “at face value” to offer counselling and support amid mounting pressure for a national redress scheme.

“It is a big problem that’s going to last for a long time and we’re just working at it as best we can,” said Mr Myers, a local lawyer ­appointed in 2014 to steer the ­diocese’s professional standards.

“In the past 10 years there’s been about $150,000 paid in counselling fees, for example. And in addition to that the ­diocese has made payments for other support costs — for med­ical costs, some financial assistance … they don’t have to go through any hoops, they’ll get it from the diocese.”

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

By investigative reporter Louise Milligan

Cardinal George Pell and other senior officials failed to exercise proper care for children in a Melbourne parish by not acting on information of sexual misconduct by a paedophile priest, according to final submissions to the royal commission into child abuse.

In her submissions to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Abuse, Counsel Assisting Gail Furness SC also stated she believed the evidence of a number of witnesses in the Ballarat and Melbourne dioceses instead of Cardinal Pell’s in relation to the Cardinal being told by children and adults of inappropriate clerical conduct towards children in the 1970s and 1980s.

Counsel Assisting has found that Cardinal Pell, along with a number of other priestly consultors to Bishop Ronald Mulkearns of the Ballarat diocese, knew notorious serial paedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale was being moved from parish to parish because he was sexually abusing children, despite the Cardinal’s strong denials.

Allegations about Ridsdale’s behaviour were never sent to police.

The report has been released less than a week after Victoria Police confirmed three of its Taskforce SANO detectives had flown to Rome to interview the Cardinal separately about historic child abuse allegations, which he has strongly denied.

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AUSTRALIA
The Courier

Ballarat’s Cardinal George Pell had sufficient evidence to act on the behaviour of paedophile priest but failed to do so, a royal commission into child sexual abuse has been told.

The child sex abuse royal commission has been told to reject evidence from Cardinal Pell regarding disgraced Catholic priest Peter Searson.

In late February and early March Cardinal Pell gave evidence before a Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse over four days via video-link in Rome.

In his third day of evidence he accused the school administrators and the Archbishop of deceiving him about Searson.

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AUSTRALIA
Daily Mail

By JOHN CARNEY FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA and AUSTRALIAN ASSOCIATED PRESS

Cardinal George Pell failed to take direct action against a Melbourne pedophile priest and evidence given by him should be rejected, the royal commission into child sex abuse has been told.

Cardinal Pell – the world’s third most senior Catholic – and other senior Melbourne archdiocesan clergy also failed to exercise proper care for children when dealing with Doveton parish priest Peter Searson, counsel assisting the inquiry said in a submission.

Known for his yellowing long fingernails and icy stare, complaints against Father Searson included keeping a gun at school, showing a body in a coffin to children, sexual contact with children, animal cruelty and holding a knife to a girl’s chest.

Searson was accused of sexual misconduct among a number of accusations while a parish priest under effective control of the now Cardinal Pell in Melbourne’s Doveton parish in the 1980s.

He also stabbed a bird with a screwdriver in front of students, and was accused of making children kneel between knees and sit on lap during confession, during which he had a tape recorder.

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AUSTRALIA
The Age

Beau Donelly

Cardinal George Pell knew enough to conclude that more serious action should have been taken against a paedophile priest, according to counsel assisting the child sex abuse royal commission.

In their submission to the royal commission, published on Monday, counsel assisting Gail Furness SC and Stephen Free urged the commission to reject evidence from Australia’s highest ranking Catholic that he had been intentionally deceived about former Doveton priest Peter Searson.

Cardinal Pell, who testified to the commission in March via video link from Rome, said he was told about Searson’s bizarre behaviour in 1989, when he was an auxiliary bishop. But he said the reports of Searson abusing animals and going to the children’s toilets were not enough for him to act and that it was not his responsibility to investigate the priest.

He also said allegations against Searson had been kept from him by the Catholic Education Office, but claims of a cover up were denied by former Catholic officials who testified before the royal commission earlier this year.

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AUSTRALIA
Daily Telegraph

Shannon Deery, The Daily Telegraph
October 31, 2016

AUSTRALIA’S most senior Catholic Cardinal, George Pell, was involved in knowingly shuffling paedophile priests between parishes, according to the counsel assisting the child sex abuse inquiry.

And there was strong evidence implicating Cardinal Pell in a church cover-up, the counsel said in submissions to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse published yesterday.

Cardinal Pell strongly denied the claims in his 71-page submission, which was also published yesterday.

Counsel assisting Gail Furness SC, Angus Steward SC and Stephen Free, said Cardinal Pell knew paedophile Gerald Ridsdale was being moved between parishes because of his crimes against children

Cardinal Pell served as a consulter to former Ballarat bishop Ronald Mulkearns, who oversaw the movement of several paedophile priests. At a consultors meeting in 1982 it was decided to move Ridsdale from the parish of Mortlake, where he committed some of his worst offences.

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

Australian Associated Press October 31, 2016

Cardinal George Pell failed to take direct action against a Melbourne pedophile priest, missing the chance to deal with risks he posed, the royal commission has been told.

Cardinal Pell and other senior Melbourne archdiocesan clergy also failed to exercise proper care for children when dealing with Doveton parish priest Peter Searson, counsel assisting the inquiry said in a submission.

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AUSTRALIA
The Guardian

Melissa Davey
@MelissaLDavey
Sunday 30 October 2016

Australia’s most senior Catholic, Cardinal George Pell, had enough evidence to conclude that serious action was needed against a paedophile priest who worked under him at the Ballarat archdiocese, counsel assisting the royal commission have said.

During his evidence before the child sex abuse royal commission in March, Pell said investigating Peter Searson was not his responsibility because he believed the Catholic Education Office and the Bishop of Ballarat, Ronald Mulkearns, were handling allegations that Searson was abusing children.

But in a submission published on the commission’s website on Monday, counsel assisting the royal commission Gail Furness SC and Stephen Free concluded: “It was incumbent on Cardinal Pell, having regard to his responsibilities as Auxiliary Bishop, including for the welfare of children in the parish, to take such action as he could to advocate that Searson be removed or suspended, or, at least, that a thorough investigation be undertaken.”

Pell gave evidence that he was handed a list of incidents and grievances about Searson in 1989. These should have been “sufficient that he ought reasonably have concluded that more serious action needed to be taken in relation to Searson”, counsel assisting wrote.

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

October 31, 2016

TESSA AKERMAN
ReporterMelbourne
@TessaAkerman

The child sex abuse royal commission has been told to reject evidence from Cardinal George Pell, the world’s third most senior Catholic, regarding a former priest.

In submissions by counsel assisting to case study 35 into the Melbourne Archdiocese, Gail Furness SC and Stephen Free submitted that the commission should reject Cardinal Pell’s evidence that he was intentionally deceived by the Catholic Education Office regarding former priest Peter Searson.

They submitted the CEO should have done much more to respond to the obvious threat posed by Searson, however there was no evidence any of the officer at any time intentionally concealed from the Archdiocese information that it received about Searson.

“Nor is there any evidence, or logical reason, despite the theory advanced by Cardinal Pell, that the CEO or any of its officers wished to keep Searson in Doveton and were resistant to any moves to the contrary,” they said.

“The matters known to Cardinal Pell on his own evidence … were sufficient that he ought reasonably to have concluded that more serious action needed to be taken in relation to Searson.”

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GUAM
Guam Daily Post

PROTESTERS: More than 50 protesters from the Concerned Catholics of Guam and Laity Forward Movement carried on their weekly protest yesterday in front of the Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral-Basilica in Hagåtña. Among their demands, they are calling for the defrocking of Archbishop Anthony Apuron, who is accused of sexually abusing altar boys when he was a priest at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Agat in the 1970s. Photo contributed by Lou Klitzkie

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AUSTRALIA
Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse

31 October, 2016

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has published the written submissions for the public hearing into Catholic Church authorities in Ballarat.

The public hearing inquired into the response of the Catholic Diocese of Ballarat and other Catholic Church authorities in Ballarat to allegations of child sexual abuse against clergy or religious.

It also inquired into the response of the Congregation of Christian Brothers in St Patrick’s Province, Australia, to allegations of child sexual abuse against Christian Brothers.

The submissions can be found on the Case Study 28 page.

The Royal Commission has also published the written submissions for the public hearing into the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne.

The submissions can be found on the Case Study 35 page.

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UNITED STATES
OCP Media Network

[ANTIOCHIAN WESTERN DIOCESE EPISCOPAL APPOINTMENT CAUSES CONCERN – Pravoslavie.ru]

Pravoslavie.ru – 29/10/16

On Wednesday, October 26, a press conference was held outside the St. Nicholas Antiochian Orthodox Cathedral in Los Angeles, reports pokrov.org . The topic was unpleasant, but one which has many in the diocese deeply concerned—clergy and laity alike.

In a letter dated October 6, His Eminence Metropolitan Joseph of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America announced the appointment of Bishop Demetri as vicar bishop of the Diocese of the West, saying “I would like and expect you to welcome His Grace Bishop DEMETRI to your parishes and to treat him as though I myself was visiting you.”

The concern arises from Bishop Demetri Matta Khoury’s February 25, 2004 conviction for attempted fourth degree criminal sexual misconduct. He was arrested July 9, 2003 after appearing plain-clothed and visibly intoxicated in a Michigan casino where he grabbed a woman’s breast. He stated that he didn’t remember the night, but plead guilty after viewing the casino’s security footage.

He was sentenced to twenty-eight days in jail with two years of probation, and required to register as a sex offender, although his conviction and classification were both later revokedafter he appealed in 2014.

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INDIA
The News Minute

Kerala police on Saturday arrested a Christian catechism teacher for allegedly sexually assaulting a minor boy.

According to reports, the 16-year-old teenager said in his complaint that his teacher Suresh Esthapanos had assaulted him twice in September last year and once in July this year.

The 56-year-old teacher who hails from Kothamangalam in Ernakulam district, reportedly assaulted the boy after taking him to deserted spots including his house. He has been charged under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (Pocso) and was sent to judicial custody.

The incident came to light after the boy revealed to his mother his traumatic experiences, following which the boy’s parents filed a complaint with Childline.

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UNITED STATES
The Open Tabernacle: Here Comes Everybody

Posted on October 30, 2016 by Betty Clermont

Pope Francis refused multiple requests for his participation or presence during the peace process. He also advocated the ideology and vocabulary for those who opposed the peace agreement.

In April 2015, Pope Francis’ secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, sent a letter to Colombian bishops on behalf of the pope “in the hope of seeing them soon during one of his trips to Latin America.” (Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay in July 2015, Cuba in September 2015, Mexico in February 2016). Archbishop Luis Augusto Castro Quiroga, president of the Colombian bishops’ conference, said he hoped it would be in “early 2016 …. This date was tentatively picked as it should coincide with the eventual ratification of the peace agreement should it be completed on time.”

[As of April 2015] in the peace talks which the government of President Juan Manuel Santos has held since October of 2012 with the left-wing Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), Latin America’s oldest insurgency group that has been in existence since 1964, there is ample progress.

The talks were started in hopes of ending a conflict that has claimed more than 220,000 lives in over half a century of violence, and displaced several million more ….

Although there is opposition from the most conservative sectors, led by former president Álvaro Uribe (2002-2010) who is the most outspoken opponent of the peace talks and a man with links to illegal right-wing paramilitary groups and sectors of the Armed Forces, the overwhelming majority of the populace supports an end to the violence and the beginning of a new stage of peace.

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AUSTRALIA
Geelong Advertiser

NAVARONE FARRELL, Property reporter, Geelong Advertiser
October 29, 2016

THE Surf Coast home of a bishop at the heart of one of Australia’s biggest child sex scandals has sold after auction for $2.1 million.

Bishop Ronald Mulkearns died earlier this year and left his estate to the Catholic diocese of Ballarat, for current Bishop Paul Bird to distribute.

In September, when the property was announced for auction, Bishop Bird said that the profits from the sale of the Mulkearns’ estate would be donated to the victims of child sex abuse.

The majority of his estate, including the four-bedroom cliff top house in the picturesque town of Fairhaven, and $40,000 in cash were left to the church

The four-bedroom house at 56 Banool Rd, last sold in 1986 for $55,000 went for was passed in on a vendor bid. Around 50 people turned out, including members of the Catholic Church, child sex abuse survivors and the general public.

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AUSTRALIA
Geelong Advertiser

NAVARONE FARRELL, Geelong Advertiser
October 29, 2016

A SURVIVOR of the child sex abuse scandal that plagued the Ballarat diocese has spoken out about the sale of disgraced Bishop Ronald Mulkearns’ assets.

Stephen Woods, now 55-years-old, attended the auction of Mulkearns’ multi-million dollar Fairhaven home and called for the funds to be easily accessible to survivors.

“I was molested between the ages of 11 and 14. I was molested and raped by three clergymen, Brother [Robert] Best, Brother [Edward] Dowlin, and Father [Gerald] Ridsdale,” he said.

The three clergymen were among many the offenders that were touted as the worse among the scandal that spanned from 1971 to 1997.

“I’m a retired secondary school teacher. I had to stop after my body physically, emotionally and mentally just couldn’t handle it. I was studying my masters at a university in Melbourne and I collapsed and couldn’t keep going.

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CONNECTICUT
Hartford Courant

Dave Altimari

A former member of the Legionaries of Christ has filed a lawsuit against the Cheshire-based religious group, claiming that when he was 12 years old he was molested by its leader, Marcial Maciel Degollado.

The civil lawsuit, filed in Waterbury Superior Court last week by New Haven attorney Joel Faxon, refers to the victim as John Roe and alleges that he was molested not only by Maciel but also by two other priests, Father Luis Garza, the former head of the North American chapter of the Legionaries, and Father Jose Sabin.

The lawsuit said John Roe enrolled in a Legionaries seminary school in 1989 when he was 12 and was supposed to attend a school in New Hampshire but instead ended up in a school the group ran in Mexico.

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