ABUSE TRACKER

MINNESOTA
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Paul and Mnneapolis

Date: Saturday, October 1, 2016

Source: Tom Halden, Director of Communications

From Archbishop Bernard Hebda

Joseph Wajda, who has been forbidden from exercising public priestly ministry since 2003 due to allegations of sexual abuse of minors, has now been definitively dismissed from the clerical state. He may not dress or present himself as a priest and is forbidden from the ordinary exercise of all sacred ministry, private as well as public.

Joseph Wajda was ordained in 1973 and served in our archdiocese. We have advised pastors at parishes where he had been assigned of this change in his clerical status. His complete assignment history is provided on the archdiocesan website and at SafeCatholicSPM.org.

I am profoundly saddened by the effect clergy sexual abuse continues to have on victims/survivors, their families and the community and strongly encourage anyone who has been abused to contact the police immediately.

You may find clergy disclosure information linked on the archdiocesan website and at SafeCatholicSPM.org.

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PENNSYLVANIA
The Times Herald

By Second in a Series, By Kathleen E. Carey, kcarey@21st-centurymedia.com, @dtbusiness on

POSTED: 10/03/16

PHILADELPHIA >> About 40 people sat in the Archdiocesan Pastoral Center one recent evening, their focus intent on the large projection screen in the middle of the front of the room.

“I was 10 years old,” the boy in the film tells the viewers. “I faced my molester every day not knowing if he was every going to mess with me again. And, he did do it again, and again, and again.”

Seven minutes into the two-part film, which lasted about a half hour, a clean-shaven, brown-haired man comes on the screen.

“The first child, as close as I can recall, I was 10, he was 5,” he said. “He was a neighborhood child who looked up to me, and I took advantage of that to lure him into a field behind our parents’ house and to trick him into, force him into taking his clothes off.”

This raw footage, based on testimony from actual abuser survivors, as well as the stories from perpetrators themselves, is part of an intense, two-and-a-half hour training regimen that the Archdiocese of Philadelphia requires of any adult — clergy, employee or volunteer — who has regular interactions with children.

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GUAM
Pacific News Center

Written by Janela Carrera

It was also announced a press conference today that Msgr. James Benavente will be the apostolic administrator for church patrimony.

Guam – Just a day after being cleared of wrongdoing, Msgr. James Benavente has now been appointed to take charge of church assets.

Meanwhile, Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai, the temporary administrator of the Archdiocese of Agana, is demanding that the Catholic Cemeteries board resign in light of the “baseless allegations” made against Msgr. James following his vindication last Friday.

Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai held a news conference today to make some major announcements. He was present and sat in the chairs behind the podium, but it was his delegate, Father Jeff San Nicolas, who made the statements.

“We have asked or are asking all board members of the catholic cemeteries who supported and voted for the resolution and for its release to the public to immediately resign,” San Nicolas read on behalf of Hon.

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GUAM
Pacific News Center

Written by Janela Carrera

Guam – Although no lawsuits have been filed against the church or clergy members since the lifting of the civil statute of limitations on child sex abuse, the Archdiocese of Agana says they are aware of rumors going around of such.

At a press conference today at the Cathedral Basilica, Father Jeff San Nicolas and Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai responded to media inquiries about potential lawsuits.

Currently, the archdiocese is facing a lawsuit from alleged sex abuse victims of Archbishop Anthony Apuron, but it is based on libel and slander.

The civil statute of limitations was lifted late last month opening the door for church sex abuse victims to file suit against the archdiocese.

There are at least four victims who have come forward with sexual assault allegations against Archbishop Anthony Apuron dating back to the 1970s. Two others have come forward with allegations against other priests.

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GUAM
Pacific Daily News

Haidee V Eugenio, Pacific Daily News October 4, 2016

Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai announced Monday that the church is reconstituting the Archdiocesan Finance Council to help the church reposition its assets, including a multimillion-dollar property in Yona, in anticipation of lawsuits by victims of clergy abuse on Guam.

Gov. Eddie Calvo on Sept. 23 signed a law that lifts the statute of limitations to allow victims of child sexual abuse to sue their abusers as well as anyone who helped them and the institutions with which they are affiliated. The church, before the bill was signed, lobbied against it, stating it could open up the church to financially crippling lawsuits. Several former Agat altar boys have accused Archbishop Anthony Apuron of sexually abusing them in the 1970s, when he was parish priest.

The archdiocese will appoint at least four other members of the Archdiocesan Finance Council, which only has three members at this time, said the Rev. Jeff San Nicolas, Hon’s delegate.

The three current members are Sonny Ada, Danny Quichocho and John Weisenberger, San Nicolas said.

San Nicolas said the archdiocese is looking to bring more people on board with the right talent, skills and experience.

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GUAM
Pacific Daily News

Haidee V Eugenio, Pacific Daily News October 4, 2016

A complaint against Monsignor James Benavente, sent by the board of The Catholic Cemeteries of Guam to police and the attorney general’s office last week, contains false statements, according to the Archdiocese of Agana.

Among other things, the resolution, signed by attorney Jacqueline Terlaje, who serves as secretary of the Catholic Cemeteries board, incorrectly states that the resolution was passed unanimously by the board during a meeting Friday, Sept. 30, according to the archdiocese.

There was no board meeting that day, according to the archdiocese, which said it will continue to investigate the matter. There also was no meeting notice, written waiver of notice requirements or telephonic conference, as required by the board’s by-laws, the archdiocese stated.

And the resolution was not approved by unanimous consent of the board, “contrary to the certified statement by attorney Jacqueline Terlaje,” the archdiocese stated during a press conference Monday afternoon. The allegations about Benavente also are untrue, the archdiocese stated, because the past Catholic Cemeteries board had approved the use of funds cited in the complaint.

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MALAWI
Nyasa Times

October 3, 2016 Maurice Nkawihe – Nyasa Times

A 44-year-old Catholic priest, Father Francis Ngalande is currently under police custody for allegedly defiling a 16-year-old girl.

Ngalande, a priest at Mpherere Catholic in Ntchisi district, is a benefactor to the victim (name withheld) and committed the offence on Friday last week at Kasungu Council Rest House, police have confirmed.

According to police on Friday 30 September, Father Ngalande had called the victim- a form two student- claiming he had found a new school for her, and arranged to meet.

The two met at Kasese Bus depot and left for Kasungu; he later on asked the victim to book a room at Kasungu Council Rest House where he defiled her.

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MINNESOTA
Jeff Anderson and Associates

Survivor Megan Peterson will speak publicly about the settlement at press conference Monday

WHAT: At a press conference Monday in St. Paul, live-streamed online from the law office of Jeff Anderson & Associates, sexual abuse survivor Megan Peterson, Barbara Blaine and Peter Isley of SNAP, and Attorney Mike Finnegan will:

· Announce the settlement of a federal lawsuit involving the Diocese of Ootacamund, India, and Fr. Joseph Jeyapaul; and

· Discuss how Megan Peterson took immediate action when it was learned that Bishop Amalraj and Pope Francis were considering returning Jeyapaul to ministry in India after his sexual abuse conviction in Minnesota

In 2015, after his extradition from India, Jeyapaul pleaded guilty to criminal sexual conduct involving the sexual abuse of a minor girl while he worked in the Diocese of Crookston in 2005. On January 16, 2016, with the permission of Pope Francis, Bishop Amalraj lifted the suspension of Father Joseph Jeyapaul. After learning of Jeyapaul’s return to ministry, Megan Peterson filed a federal lawsuit on April 18, 2016 alleging nuisance against the Diocese of Ootacamund for returning Jeyapaul to active ministry and exposing innocent children in India to Jeyapaul’s predatory ways.

WHEN: Monday, October 3, 2016 at 1:00PM CT

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

*THE PRESS EVENT WILL ALSO BE LIVE-STREAMED FROM OUR WEBSITE: www.andersonadvocates.com

Contact Mike Finnegan: Office: 651.538.5049 Mobile: 612-205-5531
Contact Jeff Anderson: Office: 651.538.5049 Mobile: 612.817.8665
Contact Megan Peterson: (218)684-0073; survivor19@live.com
Contact Barbara Blaine: (312)399-4747; bblaine@snapnetwork.org
Contact Peter Isley: (414)429-7259; peterisley@yahoo.com

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UNITED KINGDOM
The Times

DOMINIC LAWSON
October 2 2016

The independent inquiry into historical child sexual abuse resembles one of those Jacobean tragedies in which the stage is piled ever more improbably high with the bodies of the leading characters.

The corpses in this production — based on an original idea by Theresa May — include no fewer than three chairwomen, followed last week by the lead counsel to the inquiry, Ben Emmerson QC, and his deputy. The last of these, Elizabeth Prochaska, had resigned two weeks earlier, it transpired; she was herself a replacement for Hugh Davies QC, who had also failed to survive the course.

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UNITED KINGDOM
BBC News

The independent child sex abuse inquiry has denied claims it has plans to drop the investigation into Lord Janner.

The Sunday Telegraph suggested the inquiry was to abandon examining allegations the former Labour MP abused victims between the 1950s and 1980s.

More than 30 complainants are due to give evidence against Lord Janner, who died in December.

The inquiry has faced various setbacks including the departure of two senior lawyers and three chairwomen.

The newspaper claimed Lord Janner’s son, Daniel Janner, a QC, had been told by a source the investigation into allegations his father was a paedophile would be discontinued.

It quoted Mr Janner as saying: “A wholly reliable source has informed me the strand into my father is to be dropped”.

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IRELAND
Irish Times

Editorial

What is to be done? The 18 religious congregations which managed residential institutions where children were abused into the 1970s refuse to pay a half of costs in resulting compensation. Successive Governments have held such costs should be shared 50:50, with support across the Dáil. The final bill is expected to be around €1.5 billion, involving €1.25 billion compensation paid by the Redress Board to more than 15,000 survivors. Contributions offered by the congregations to date, under the 2002 Indemnity Agreement and subsequent to the 2009 Ryan Report, amount to €480 million. The shortfall on the 50 per cent target is €245 million.

One congregation says it has contributed its 50 per cent share; 15 have either declined to comment on, or disagree with the 50:50 principle; two are unable to pay beyond their share of the 2002 Indemnity Agreement. Four – the Sisters of Mercy, the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity of the Refuge, the Good Shepherd Sisters, and the Sisters of Charity – were also involved in running the 10 Magdalene Laundries. They have refused to make any contribution, either, to a State redress scheme for women who were in the laundries.

After publication of the Ryan report, a State-appointed panel assessed resources of the 18 congregations. These had a value of €3.743 billion, since depleted as property values collapsed. Involved were schools, hospitals, facilities for health and disability services, making it impossible for their value to be realised. Some are held in trust, making transfer problematic. In 2007, possibly anticipating Ryan report findings, five female congregations transferred more than 100 secondary schools to the new Catholic Education – An Irish Schools Trust (Ceist), while in 2008 the new Edmund Rice Trust assumed ownership of Christian Brothers and Presentation schools.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Daily Mail

By REBECCA CAMBER AND IZZY FERRIS FOR THE DAILY MAIL

The beleaguered child sex abuse inquiry was said to be in meltdown yesterday as it emerged that five lawyers have now quit.

Two barristers examining allegations against Lord Janner have recently resigned as the inquiry is having to consider axing its investigation into him.

Junior counsel Abigail Bright and Alexandra Felix are said to have left after the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse postponed hearing claims against the late Labour peer for seven months.

Meanwhile the inquiry’s top lawyer Ben Emmerson QC, who was appointed by Theresa May to be lead counsel, was suspended last week 24 hours before he quit.

His deputy Elizabeth Prochaska, with whom he was said to have worked closely, had quietly resigned for unknown reasons two weeks previously.

And Hugh Davies QC left in December after telling officials he no longer wanted to be part of the management team. It means two of Mr Emmerson’s deputies have quit in the space of a year.

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GUAM
KUAM

Updated: Oct 03, 2016

By Krystal Paco

It could be the first few steps to what could be a lengthy take back of the Redemptoris Mater Seminary. In a press conference today, Guam’s Catholic church has announced they’ll be reconstituting the Archdiocesan Finance Council in an effort to address the controversies surrounding the RMS. The church also provided more detail as to a complaint filed with the Guam Police Department relative to the misuse of church funds.

Just months ago, five former members of the Archdiocesan Finance Council alleged their sudden removal in 2012 wasn’t because their terms were up – but because Archbishop Anthony Apuron needed to cover up a secret handover of the multimillion dollar Redemptoris Mater Seminary. In today’s press conference, it appears the Archdiocese of Agana is reconstituting the AFC in hopes of getting the Yona property back.

The board will be assisted by longtime archdiocesan legal counsel Ed Terlaje. Tasked to bring back the council is Father Jeff San Nicolas, who said, “To ‘reconstitute’ means what the archbishop means and what my task is – to look for membership, to have a balance in our Archdiocesan Finance Council, and to look for the talents, the skills, and the experience of those individuals who can move us through this time.”

The board needs four more members. Current members include Sonny Ada, Danny Quichocho, and John Weisenberger.

KUAM News files show the board was dissolved in 2014 when Monsignor James Benavente was removed as rector of the Hagatna Cathedral and director of Catholic Cemeteries. His removal followed allegations of financial mismanagement – all of which were cleared last Friday. Hours later, however, new allegations surfaced in a complaint filed with the Guam Police Department by the Catholic Cemeteries’ board of directors.

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GUAM
Pacific Daily News

Haidee V Eugenio, Pacific Daily News October 3, 2016

In addition to naming Monsignor James L.G. Benavente as the new pastor of Saint Anthony and Saint Victor Church in Tamuning, Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai also appointed eight other priests to positions in village parishes or within the archdiocese, effective Sept. 30.

The Archdiocese of Agana started a news conference at 1:30 p.m. Monday to discuss steps the church is taking in anticipation of lawsuits by victims of clergy abuse on Guam, the archdiocese stated.

Watch the Pacific Daily News’ recording here or on our Facebook page.

Gov. Eddie Calvo on Sept. 23 signed a law that lifts the statute of limitations to allow victims of child sexual abuse to sue their abusers as well as anyone who helped them and the institutions with which they are affiliated. The church, before the bill was signed, lobbied against it, stating it could open up the church to financially crippling lawsuits.

Archbishop Anthony S. Apuron is among the clergy members who have been publicly accused of sexually abusing and raping altar boys in the 1970s, when he was a parish priest in Agat, and at least one of Apuron’s alleged victims said he plans to sue the archbishop.

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DELAWARE
Crux

AP

WILMINGTON, Del. – A former Navy chaplain and Catholic priest who sexually assaulted a Naval Academy midshipman years ago is facing sentencing on federal child pornography charges.

Sentencing for John Thomas Matthew Lee of Millsboro, which has been postponed several times, is now set for Wednesday, Oct. 5.

Lee, who faces up to 50 years in prison, pleaded guilty last November to production and distribution of child pornography.

Lee was court-martialed in 2007 on charges including forcible sodomy and failing to tell a sex partner he was HIV-positive, and he served time in prison.

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UNITED STATES
Times of Israel

David Cheifetz

A quick thought as we start the Aseret Yemai Teshuva – the Ten Days of Penitence.

There are thousands, tens of thousands, and perhaps more, of victims of sexual abuse in our Jewish Community. While some rabbis have signed proclamations acknowledging the “mistakes of the past” and the poor systemic handling of abuses in our community and calling on victims to reach out directly to the police, many more have not signed onto such a proclamation. In the United States, that includes such Modern Orthodox luminaries as Herschel Schachter and Mordechai Willig, and umbrella organization such as Agudas Yisrael of America.

We are before Rosh Hashana, when the Heavens are supposed to be open to our repentance. But there can be no repentance without direct sincere apologies to the victims, and addressing the needs of the victims in the five part framework defined by the Gemara – Nezek, Tza’ar, Ripui, Shevet and Boshet – Direct damages, pain and suffering, medical bills, reparations for lost wages, and reparations for the public embarrassment and public humiliation of victims.

As long as sexual abusers and their enablers have not asked, begged, forgiveness from their victims, their prayers are empty. For if a Jew cares only about Mitzvot Bain Adam LaMakom – commandments addressing religious requirements between a human being and the Divine, and ignores Mitzvot Bain Adam LeChaveiro, commandments addressing religious requirements between a human being and another human being, there is no justice. We know this well from the teachings of Isaiah and others.

I am told that in heaven there is no Statute of Limitations. So sexual abusers and their enablers have no Halachic structure to hide behind.

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GUAM
Guam Daily Post

GO HOME: Catholic activists continue their weekly protests outside the Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral-Basilica in Hagåtña, yesterday, Oct. 2. They are calling for the laiciation of Archbishop Anthony Apuron for a number of reasons including allegations of sexual abuse of altar boys in the 1970s. They are also calling for the removal of apostolic administrator Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai, for his alleged inaction. Neil Pang/Post

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GUAM
Radio New Zealand

A top official for the Catholic Church on Guam says the Vatican is now preparing a canonical trial for an archbishop accused of sexually abusing boys on the island in the 1970s.

So far, five former altar boys have gone public to accuse Archbishop Anthony Apuron of sexually abusing them.

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

The Reverend Jeff San Nicolas told the Pacific Daily News that the Vatican was now preparing its own trial for Archbishop Apuron, and is in the process of formulating its court.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Telegraph

CHARLES MOORE

Like the house in the Gospel parable, the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (Iicsa) is built on sand. So if it continues on its present foundations, it is certain to fall.

You cannot have a law-based inquiry which mixes the following: individual accusations against bodies or persons, a “Truth Project” in which anyone who wants can send in his or her uncorroborated experiences of child sexual abuse, and an investigation into all state and non-state institutional mishandlings of child abuse in living memory.

Two years on, the subsidence in the foundations laid by the then Home Secretary, Theresa May, are widely visible. The inquiry is on its fourth chairman, Alexis Jay. She is a child abuse expert but, not being a lawyer, has little knowledge of how such an inquiry should be conducted.

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

October 3, 2016

RICK MORTON
Social Affairs reporter
Melbourne
@SquigglyRick

Manny Waks took a razor on the plane bound for Israel and shaved his whiskers after takeoff.

He hoped the journey and clean-shaven face would deliver him not only from his community in Melbourne but from the Ultra Orthodox sect that so reminded him of the sexual abuse he had endured as a boy.

He tried to forget Jewish holidays, customs, language. The abuse had erased his childhood innocence and taken from him his larger identity in the world.

After years of trying to deal with the perpetrators of his abuse in private, Manny Waks blew the whistle on the pedophiles who preyed on him and others at Melbourne’s Yeshiva Centre in 2011.

When the centre’s leaders were called before the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, it became the most watched public hearing, jarring an international Jewish community now confronted with abuse and cover-ups, as with the Catholic Church before it.

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EL SALVADOR
La Prensa Grafica

[For the Catholic Church of El Salvador, 2015 was a turbulent year with the reappearance on the public agenda of issues of pedophilia in the clergy. Two cases occurred in the east of the country and came realization that the phenomenon goes beyond the three processes that were already sent to the Vatican.]

Para la Iglesia católica de El Salvador, 2015 fue un año turbulento, con la reaparición en la agenda pública de problemas de pederastia en su clero. Dos casos ocurridos en el oriente del país dan cuenta de que el fenómeno va más allá de los tres procesos que ya fueron enviados para su última etapa al Vaticano.

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FRANCE
France Time

L’archevêque de Strasbourg Mgr Grallet a invité la presse hier après-midi au centre Saint-Thomas de Strasbourg-Robertsau, où se tenait un conseil épiscopal. Il a assuré n’avoir eu aucune connaissance des faits reprochés au curé Hubert Spitz avant qu’il …

Un prêtre écroué pour viol et agression sexuelle sur une mineure

Un curé de 58 ans d’une paroisse près de Colmar a été mis en examen et écroué à Colmar, soupçonné de viol et agression sexuelle sur une adolescente. L’abbé Hubert Spitz, âgé de 58 ans, a été incarcéré mercredi à Colmar. Il est accusé de viol et

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FRANCE
La Croix

Alice Papin, le 30/09/2016

Le curé de la paroisse de Wintzenheim (Haut-Rhin), âgé de 58 ans, a été mis en examen et écroué à Colmar pour viol et agression sexuelle sur une mineure, a-t-on appris jeudi 29 septembre.

« J’ai été alerté mardi midi par le procureur de Colmar qu’un prêtre du diocèse était en garde à vue. Le mercredi matin, j’ai appris sa mise en examen et le jeudi sa détention », témoigne « stupéfait », Mgr Jean-Pierre Grallet, archevêque de Strasbourg, joint par La Croix vendredi 30 septembre et qui affirme « avoir découvert totalement cette affaire cette semaine ».

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FRANCE
Riposte Catholique

[A priest, 58, of a parish near Colmar was indicted and jailed on suspicion of rape and sexual assault on a teenage girl. Father Hubert Spitz was taken into custody Tuesday. According to the archbishop of Strasbourg, Mgr Jean-Pierre Grallet he was indicted and jailed in Colmar.]

Un curé de 58 ans d’une paroisse près de Colmar a été mis en examen et écroué, soupçonné de viol et agression sexuelle sur une adolescente. L’abbé Hubert Spitz, soupçonné de viol par pénétration digitale, agression sexuelle sur mineure et abus de confiance, a été placé en garde à vue mardi. Selon l’archevêque de Strasbourg, Mgr Jean-Pierre Grallet, il a été mis en examen et incarcéré à Colmar.

En outre, ce curé nommé en 2005 dans la paroisse de Wintzenheim, près de Colmar, détournait des chèques destinés à la paroisse. Il est soupçonné de s’être servi en partie de ces sommes qu’il aurait reversées à la jeune fille en vue d’obtenir des faveurs sexuelles.

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DEUTSCHLAND
SWR

[The Diocese of Speyer has investigated 63 suspected cases of sexual abuse since the adoption of new ecclesial guidelines in 2010. In 31 cases the church paid the victims for the recognition of suffering financial services in a total amount of 229,000 euros, the diocese said on Friday. Often the actions were barred by law or the alleged perpetrators have already died. Three offenders were sentenced by state courts. Currently, the prosecutor dealing yet with four current proceedings.]

Das Bistum Speyer hat seit der Verabschiedung neuer kirchlicher Richtlinien im Umgang mit sexuellem Missbrauch im Jahr 2010 63 Verdachtsfälle untersucht. In 31 Fällen zahlte die Kirche den Betroffenen zur Anerkennung des Leids finanzielle Leistungen in einer Gesamthöhe von 229.000 Euro, teilte das Bistum am Freitag mit. Häufig seien die Taten nach staatlichem Recht verjährt gewesen oder die Beschuldigten bereits gestorben. Drei Täter seien von staatlichen Gerichten verurteilt worden. Aktuell befasse sich die Staatsanwaltschaft noch mit vier laufenden Verfahren. Das Bistum selbst geht zwei Verdachtsfällen nach.

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INDIA
The Hindu

The police has arrested a priest on the charges of raping a 15-year-old girl on the pretext of offering a talisman to help her excel in studies.

The arrested has been identified as Kumar(52), priest of Durga Chowdeshwari temple near Kuvempu Road in the city.

Police said the parents were not happy with the academic performance of the victim and had brought her to the temple seeking solution for the problem. A few days later, the priest had asked the girl to come to the temple to participate in a special puja and collect a talisman from him.

In the complaint, the victim has alleged that the priest took her to his personal room to tie the talisman where he raped her. The man threatened her not to reveal the incident or she would invite the divine wrath on her family, she said.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Mail on Sunday

By MARTIN BECKFORD and MARK NICOL FOR THE MAIL ON SUNDAY

The shock suspension of the top barrister in the troubled child abuse inquiry is closely linked to the departure of his deputy, a senior source close to the investigation has revealed.

Ben Emmerson was suspended by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse last week after it became ‘very concerned about aspects of his leadership’, and resigned soon after.

It then emerged that junior counsel to Britain’s biggest public inquiry, Elizabeth Prochaska, had quietly left her post a fortnight earlier.

Last night insiders told The Mail on Sunday that the two departures, which plunged the investigation into fresh chaos, were closely linked.

‘It is no coincidence that Ben’s suspension comes so soon after Elizabeth’s resignation, that’s what this is about,’ said one source.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Telegraph

Robert Mendick, chief reporter
1 OCTOBER 2016

The national child sex abuse inquiry is planning to ditch its investigation into Lord Janner, the Labour peer’s son said on Saturday.

Alexis Jay, chairman of the inquiry, would neither confirm nor deny the suggestion when it was put to her but said: “The investigation areas are under review.”

Any decision to scrap the Lord Janner strand would devastate his alleged victims while signalling the break-up of an inquiry that has been lambasted for being far too large and unwieldy.

Daniel Janner, a QC, said he had been told by a well-placed source that a strand of the £100 million inquiry into allegations his father was a paedophile and that the Establishment had covered it up was being dropped.

Mr Janner said: “A wholly reliable source has informed me the strand into my father is to be dropped.”

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PENNSYLVANIA
The Times Heald

By First in a Series, By Kathleen E. Carey, kcarey@21st-centurymedia.com, @dtbusiness
POSTED: 10/02/16

Childhood sexual abuse is devastating. Its long-term effects impact many facets of society.

It’s an issue that is complex and disconcerting. Many from our homes, schools, churches, law enforcement agencies and governmental institutions grapple to contain and maybe, someday, eradicate it.

The sexual abuse of minors is a worldwide epidemic that captured much attention here in the United States 14 years ago with the abuse and concealment found in the Archdiocese of Boston. Here, more than 60 priests under the auspices of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia were identified in 2005 and 2011 grand jury reports to have abused dozens of children. Various legislative efforts have been made to address this legacy.

In an Archdiocese of Philadelphia training film shown to create safe environments for children, Dr. David Finkelhor, director of the Crimes Against Children Research Center, explained that between 5 and 10 percent of adult men and 20 percent of women say they were molested as children.

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UNITED KINGDOM
The Sun

BY GARY O’SHEA 2nd October 2016

LAWYERS in a child abuse inquiry over claims of an Establishment cover-up have raked in £3million before it even starts.

The fees are part of a £14.7million bill since Theresa May announced the probe in 2014 as Home Secretary.

The cost was revealed after three top lawyers became the ­latest key figures to quit the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.

QC Ben Emmerson, 53, on £400,000 a year, had been suspended after Professor Alexis Jay, its fourth chairman, said she was “very concerned about aspects of his leadership”.

He went two weeks after his deputy Elizabeth Prochaska left.

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UNITED STATES
Boston Globe

By Jenn Abelson, Bella English, Jonathan Saltzman and Todd Wallack GLOBE STAFF OCTOBER 01, 2016

Vermont Academy fired an assistant dean in 2007 for allegedly propositioning a 16-year-old female student in lewd text messages. Yet the boarding school still produced three recommendations for its former employee, and he landed a job months later at Wesleyan University in Connecticut — overseeing student sexual misconduct hearings.

Brooks School in North Andover kicked a former admissions officer out of her campus residence in 1993 after she was accused of sexual misconduct with a male student. Even after her banishment — and Brooks’s $300,000 settlement with the student and his family — the admissions officer held jobs at two more private schools in Massachusetts.

And at Emma Willard School, a private school in Troy, N.Y., a teacher was fired in 1998 after he allegedly raped a student. But the school still wrote him two recommendations, and he later found a job at a private school in Connecticut.

The Globe Spotlight Team, as part of its ongoing investigation of sexual misconduct at the region’s private schools, identified 31 educators since the 1970s who, after being accused of sexually exploiting, assaulting, or harassing students, moved on to work at other schools or other settings with children, sometimes with a warm recommendation letter in hand. …

That total doesn’t include the notorious case of an athletic trainer at St. George’s School in Rhode Island who got a recommendation but didn’t take a new job. Headmaster Tony Zane wrote a letter of recommendation in 1980 for Al Gibbs, whom he had just dismissed amid allegations that Gibbs had sexually abused female students in the training room. Gibbs “has had a great deal of experience as a trainer, and he is most certainly competent,” Zane wrote — the same day he sent a St. George’s colleague a letter saying that Gibbs could not return to school “because of Al’s behavior in the training room.’’ A total of 31 former St. George’s students recently told investigators that Gibbs — who died in 1996 — harassed, groped, or raped them.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Telegraph

JULIET SAMUEL

1 OCTOBER 2016

Where does history end and the present day begin? It sounds like a trick interview question for Oxford – with a smarty pants answer, like: “Now!” But this strange, metaphysical puzzle is one of the crucial questions that has to be answered by the vast, sprawling and unmanageable Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.

The inquiry was launched in 2014 with the worthy goal of uncovering how various institutions had failed to protect children from abuse. It was going to learn lessons, admit wrongdoing and deliver catharsis and recognition for survivors. Instead, the inquiry is in serious trouble. Only the Home Secretary can save it, but she is sitting on the sidelines with her hands up, refusing to get involved. This is a big mistake: Amber Rudd must stop ducking responsibility and step in to stop the whole thing falling apart.

This week has brought public confidence to a new low. The inquiry saw its most senior lawyer, the highly respected QC Ben Emmerson, quit. We learnt that his deputy, Elizabeth Prochaska, left a fortnight ago. It has not heard a single day of evidence and is on its fourth chairwoman, having lost its first three – all judges – to allegations of conflicts of interest or incompetence. Survivors’ groups are in despair.

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Saturday, October 01, 2016
IRELAND
Irish Examiner

By Conall Ó Fátharta
Irish Examiner Reporter

There are “no specific plans” to carry out excavations on the grounds of other Mother and Baby Homes yet, as a preliminary excavation was approved for a site where almost 800 children from the Tuam Mother and Baby Home are reportedly buried.

The Mother and Baby Homes Commission said work will begin on the site from today and continue for approximately five weeks. It will be led by a team of specialist archaeologists under a forensic archaeologist, with the full co-operation of gardaí.

“The purpose of the excavation is to resolve a number of queries that the Mother and Baby Homes Commission has in relation to the interment of human remains at this location,” said a statement.

To date, the site in Tuam is the only site to have been physically examined for remains. Despite evidence of a higher death rate at Bessborough Mother and Baby Home in Cork and deaths in other institutions, the commission said: “There are no specific plans to carry out other excavations yet” at other sites. But it added that “no definite decisions have been made”.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Express

By JOHN TWOMEY
Fri, Sep 30, 2016

One of Britain’s most eminent lawyers urged the Prime Minister to give the unwieldy investigation a major overhaul. Veteran barrister Michael Mansfield, QC, said he would consider acting as co-chairman of the investigation which he said badly needed shaking up.

He spoke after lead counsel Ben Emmerson, QC, and first junior counsel Elizabeth Prochaska both stepped down.

As chairwoman Alexis Jay was dealing with the resignations, the inquiry was dealt a further blow as it faced a challenge from the family of the late Lord Janner. Allegations against the former Labour MP are the subject of one of the 13 separate investigations by the inquiry.

Lord Janner’s family fear public sessions will descend into a kangaroo court with no chance to cross-examine alleged victims. Mrs May was Home Secretary when she set up the Independent Inquiry into Child Sex Abuse two years ago.

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UNITED KINGDOM
The Guardian

Simon Jenkins

The inquiry into historical sex abuse of children was never fit for purpose and should be dismantled. Something may then be salvaged from the wreck. Like too many inquiries into past history, it was flawed from the start. The reason is that it confused two separate issues, a public interest in the failings of public administration, and a desire from a group of specific victims for justice. The home secretary responsible, Theresa May, clearly never understood the distinction.

No one reading of the suffering of victims of past sex abuse, as of Bloody Sunday, the Hillsborough tragedy or the Iraq war, could do other than sympathise. The survivors have a clear right to know what went wrong, including in their cases. But consideration has to be given to proportionality.

The sex abuse inquiry has become 13 separate inquiries costing tens of millions of pounds. Some have effectively become retrospective trials, but with the victims allowed in effect to vet the judges and the terms of reference. No statute of limitation applies. The inquiries have spawned so much police activity that it is reported that a third of police time in some forces is devoted to it. Is this in the public interest? These inquiries have become monuments to the collapsing self-confidence of British public administration. This cannot be in anyone’s interest, least of all the victims.

The right to justice is absolute. But as soon as it is recognised it is qualified. Historical sex abuse by its nature suffers from the passage of time, from witness reliability, the difficulty of collecting evidence and changed attitudes to sexual behaviour – however welcome that change has been. The impact on an individual of wrongs suffered decades ago is undeniable. But justice for the accuser has to be balanced with justice for the accused. The yearning for individual justice for a past injury is not the same as learning lessons and putting in place today the means of preventing them.

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UNITED KINGDOM
The Guardian

James Rhodes

In early August when I heard that Lowell Goddard had chosen to step down from the child abuse inquiry, I literally started to cry. That she initially resigned without any explanation made it even worse. It was a sharp shock. Survivors of sexual abuse are used to the world opening up underneath their feet and dropping down into nothingness, and that same feeling of upset returned to me from over 30 years ago when I heard the news. The chaos, rumours, resignations and industrial-strength ineptness that have both preceded Goddard and, more disconcertingly, followed her exit – culminating this week in not only the departure of Ben Emmerson QC but also his deputy Elizabeth Prochaska – have left me with just a single question: what the actual fuck is happening here?

The key issue for me, and probably for most of the survivors who this inquiry was designed to give a voice to, is one of trust. Theresa May fought for this inquiry. She fought for us. Back in July 2014 when she announced it as home secretary, you could almost see the eye-rolling going on among certain Tory party members. Yet, to her immense credit, she persevered. And then came the catalogue of mistakes, disasters and obstructions that, to all but the most naive of us, simply scream cover-up.

I don’t like the term “victim”. I prefer “survivor with shrapnel”. And speaking as one of those survivors, let me make it clear that even more debilitating than the physical pain of abuse, is the loneliness: for a child who is suffering sexual abuse, fear, when coupled with exhaustion, leads to indescribable isolation. Family members are often the worst people to speak to (in many cases they are the perpetrators, or they are aware of what is happening and are doing nothing), and there is often no one else to turn to. Even if there is a friendly teacher, the fear of what will happen if you speak out is invariably greater than the courage it takes to do so.

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UNITED KINGDOM
BBC News

By Tom Symonds
Home affairs correspondent, BBC News

Child abuse is a deeply difficult challenge for all institutions. It is hard to prevent, detect, investigate, and, report on.

So no-one expected the work of what is sure to be Britain’s biggest public inquiry to be easy.

But the challenges of trying to get it going will be of interest to students of public policy for decades to come.

The very fact that it is on its fourth chairwoman means that all involved have given up the usual shorthand of referring to it using the name of the person running it.

It is no longer the “Goddard Inquiry”, or the “Jay Inquiry”.

Now, it is simply IICSA, the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.

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UNITED KINGDOM
The Guardian

Owen Bowcott, Sandra Laville and Peter Walker
Friday 30 September 2016

Confidence in the troubled national inquiry into child abuse is in danger of draining away following the latest resignations, lawyers for the victims have said.

A weekly meeting between survivors’ representatives and the leadership of the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse (IICSA) lasted all day on Friday as they sought reassurance that its original, ambitious aims would be preserved.

Confirmation of the departure of Ben Emmerson QC, lead counsel to the inquiry, as well as his deputy, Elizabeth Prochaska, both barristers at Matrix Chambers, have left many of those engaged with the inquiry demoralised and anxious.

Another lawyer has also stepped down. Abigail Bright, a barrister at Doughty Street Chambers, left because of delays in the module dealing with allegations surrounding the former Labour MP Greville Janner.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Telegraph

Robert Mendick, chief reporter
30 SEPTEMBER 2016

Victims are set to withdraw their support from the national inquiry into historic child sex abuse in protest over the suspension and subsequent resignation of the senior lawyer in charge.

A prominent abuse survivor said he and about 100 other victims will stop working with the inquiry unless Ben Emmerson QC is reinstated.

Andi Lavery, of Catholic survivor group White Flowers Alba, accused the inquiry’s chairman Alexis Jay of being “out of her depth” and demanded she be replaced by Mr Emmerson.

The group has issued a legal ultimatum, giving the inquiry a week to justify Mr Emmerson’s departure.

Lawyers acting for the group have sent a legal letter to the inquiry accusing it of ‘dehumanising’ the victims by forcing out Mr Emmerson, adding: “Our clients consider this treatment of them to be a continuation of the abuse they suffered in the past.”

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MINNESOTA
Canonical Consultation

Jennifer Haselberger

10/01/2016

Earlier this week, as media in the Twin Cities were beginning to page through the 900 pages of documents released by the Ramsey County Attorneys Office, the subject of those documents, Archbishop John Nienstedt, was on hand as two seminarians for the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis were ordained to the transitional diaconate.

To anyone familiar with the contents of those 900 documents, his presence at the ordinations was as predictable as it was troubling. It is also another sign that, despite his resignation, there have been few if any consequences for his role in the sexual abuse scandal that continues to plague the Archdiocese.

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UNITED KINGDOM
ITV

[with video]

Hundreds of people gathered today for the official appointment of the new Bishop of Oxford. But his ceremony was overshadowed by controversy – with a man known only as Michael claiming that the Bishop failed to properly investigate allegations of sexual abuse by a priest in the 1980s. Two alleged victims led a peaceful demonstration outside the consecration – calling on the The Rt Rev Dr Steven Croft to address the issues. Reverend Croft becomes the 43rd bishop of Oxford – our reporter Emma Wilkinson went to meet him.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Oxford Times

Sophie Grubb

AN alleged sex abuse survivor protested outside Christ Church as the Rt Rev Steven Croft glided past in his gown for his inauguration service today.

The man, who asked to be called ‘Michael’, claims rape offences committed against him in 1984 were repeatedly ignored by Revd Croft, after he finally found the courage to expose his abuser.

He lodged a formal complaint of misconduct against the Bishop earlier this year to the Church of England, for safeguarding failures, and said it was “inappropriate” that the inauguration went ahead.

He said: “He will never know what it took to tell him, or the hurt he caused by doing absolutely nothing.

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UNITED KINGDOM
The Guardian

Sandra Laville

Friday 30 September 2016

What does the resignation of the lead counsel to the child abuse inquiry mean?

Few doubt that departure of Ben Emmerson QC, who for the last two years has been lead counsel to the national child abuse inquiry, is anything other than a damaging blow to its operations. The inquiry emerged from the shockwaves of the Jimmy Savile revelations, which exposed for the first time how an abuser could operate in plain sight within institutions from the National Health Service to the BBC.

Since its inception in July 2014 as the brainchild of then home secretary Theresa May, the inquiry has had Emmerson at its core. But his departure is unlikely to bring it crashing down. Politically, too much rests on making sure it continues, particularly as May was so personally involved in setting it up in the first place. May has also faced down opportunities to turn her back on the inquiry and see it closed in the past; particularly after the first major debacle, when it was redrawn and given statutory footing, following the departure of two chairwomen.

What is going on behind the scenes?

That is not completely clear. Emmerson, it seemed, wanted to resign as he felt unable to carry out the work under the new chair, Alexis Jay, who is reviewing the inquiry’s procedures. He attempted to resign on Wednesday, but was suspended late in the evening over “recent concerns” about his leadership. Twenty-four hours later, however, Jay allowed him to resign and thanked him for all his work. Whatever is going on behind closed doors, the image is of an inquiry riven by divisions, which are now spilling out in public. Several survivors’ and victims’ groups have expressed grave concerns about what looks like chaos at the heart of the inquiry.

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UNITED STATES
Catholic Culture

September 30, 2016

An Italian film director has said that his latest effort is a bid to prod Italian police to reopen their investigation into the case of Emanuela Orlandi, the teenage daughter of a Vatican employee, who disappeared in 1983.

Roberto Faenza’s movie, The Truth Is in the Sky, explores the efforts by journalists to explain the girl’s disappearance. The film’s title is taken from a phrase used by Pope Francis when he met with the Orlandi family.

Italian investigators have long suspected that Emanuela Orlandi was abducted by a Mafia gang, and speculation about her disappearance has included theories about a plot to assassinate Pope John Paul II, the possible entanglement of the Vatican bank, corruption within the Roman police force, and suspicions of a pedophile ring. But prosecutors have not produced solid evidence to support any of these theories, and earlier this year an Italian court affirmed a decision to suspend the investigation.

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GUAM
KUAM

Updated: Sep 30, 2016

By Krystal Paco

Father Jeff San Nicolas, the delegate to the administrator, confirmed today the Vatican is preparing to hold a canonical trial for Archbishop Anthony Apuron. Among other issues at the church, Apuron stands accused of molesting at least four altar boys when he was a priest at Mount Carmel parish in Agat.

The priest told KUAM News, “I believe they are in the process of formulating the court, as Archbishop Hon had shared with me. It’s not as if they have a sitting or standing court; these kind of cases are very rare in our church, so they need to put together that type of mechanism in order to put that type of trial. So they’re in this type of preliminary stage right now.”

Apuron was placed on leave earlier this year. In his place, the Vatican appointed Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai as Guam’s apostolic administrator. Hon recently traveled to Rome to urge the Holy See to remove Apuron and appoint another bishop for the Archdiocese of Agana.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Oxford Mail

AN alleged sex abuse survivor protested outside Christ Church as the Rt Rev Steven Croft glided past in his gown for his inauguration service today.

The man, who asked to be called ‘Michael’, claims rape offences committed against him in 1984 were repeatedly ignored by Revd Croft, after he finally found the courage to expose his abuser.

He lodged a formal complaint of misconduct against the Bishop earlier this year to the Church of England, for safeguarding failures, and said it was “inappropriate” that the inauguration went ahead.

He said: “He will never know what it took to tell him, or the hurt he caused by doing absolutely nothing.

“He has got such a thick skin to walk through the streets thinking he is above the law. In any other profession he would have been sacked.

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COLORADO
Denver Post

By NOELLE PHILLIPS | nphillips@denverpost.com

A teen-aged girl faced the youth pastor who sexually abused her and told a packed Arapahoe County courtroom how she was considering suicide when the pastor violated her trust and crushed her spirit.

“He never punched me and he never hit me,” the girl said. “But he broke me. As a person I trusted, he shattered what safety was.”

After an hour-long court hearing that featured emotional testimony, fireworks between a judge and prosecutors over sentencing, and a courtroom packed with church members split over the case, Christopher Hutchinson, 37, was sentenced to 20 years of probation as a sex offender. He also received a 90-day jail sentence and was ordered to register as a sex offender by Arapahoe County District Court Judge Natalie Chase.

A jury found Hutchinson guilty in July of one count of sexual assault on a child by a person of in a position of trust and one count of sexual assault on a child. Hutchinson had met his victim while serving as youth pastor at South Fellowship Church in Littleton and was serving as youth pastor at Southeast Christian Church in Parker when he was arrested for the crime.

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WORCESTER (MA)
Telegram & Gazette

By Telegram & Gazette Staff

WORCESTER – Judith Audette has assumed the responsibilities of Victim Assistance Coordinator for the Diocese of Worcester, formally replacing Frances Nugent who died in July, the Catholic Diocese of Worcester announced Thursday.

Mrs. Audette, a licensed clinical social worker, had been assisting in the duties since the vacancy.

“I am grateful for the compassionate expertise that Mrs. Audette brings in helping those who come to us, often decades later, to share the pain of abuse they suffered as children by members of the Church,” Worcester Bishop Robert McManus said in a press release announcing the appointment.

“Her vast experience on the issue, like Mrs. Nugent, will help us to continue to offer healing to victims who come forward seeking healing and hope.”

Mrs. Audette has served as the chairperson of the Diocesan Review Committee for the past seven years and has assisted victims through the Office for Healing and Prevention over the years. She is also the executive director of Pathways of Central Massachusetts and has extensive experience working with both victims and perpetrators of abuse, including for probation or parole.

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PENNSYLVANIA
York Daily Record

[with video]

Brandie Kessler, bkessler@ydr.com October 1, 2016

The Harrisburg diocese, which in the summer had responded to York Daily Record requests for information on specific priests accused of child sexual abuse, now says it will no longer answer questions about the diocese’s clergy abuse history.

“Because of the secret and confidential nature of grand jury investigations, the Diocese can’t discuss any specifics about the investigation except to say that the Diocese is cooperating fully with the Office of Attorney General,” Matt Haverstick, the attorney representing the Harrisburg diocese, said in an email.

The Harrisburg diocese had answered some questions regarding allegations of clergy abuse against priests who had at some point worked in the diocese. In August, the York Daily Record published the names of 15 priests who had worked in the diocese at some time and who had, at some time in their careers, been accused of child sexual abuse.

About three weeks later, the Daily Record reported that three more priests with ties to the Harrisburg diocese had been accused of sexual abuse of children at some time in their career. One allegation was new, the diocese said, and it was investigating whether it was credible. An update wasn’t available Thursday because of Haverstick’s statement that the diocese can’t discuss specifics of cases.

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GUAM
KUAM

[with video]

Updated: Sep 30, 2016

By Krystal Paco

In an interesting twist, just hours after the Archdiocese of Agana held a press conference to announce that all allegations of financial mismanagement made against Monsignor James Benavente were invalid, KUAM News has learned that a complaint has been filed by the Catholic Cemeteries of Guam, Inc. with the Guam Police Department and the Attorney General’s office.

According to the complaint Catholic Cemeteries alleges $13,000 was misused for the personal use of Monsignor James Benavente, specifically for his 20th anniversary dinner in 2014.

According to KUAM News files, Archbishop Anthony Apuron removed Monsignor Benavente one week after his 20th anniversary celebration. Benavente was removed as the Rector of the Cathedral and Director of the Catholic Cemeteries.

During this morning’s press conference, the archdiocese cleared him of any allegations of financial mismanagement.

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GUAM
KUAM

Updated: Sep 30, 2016

By Sabrina Salas Matanane

Just hours after the Archdiocese of Agana cleared Monsignor James Benavente of any wrongdoing, a complaint was filed by the Catholic Cemeteries of Guam, Inc. with the Guam Police Department and the Attorney General’s Office. According to the complaint, Catholic Cemeteries alleges $13,000 was misused for Monsignor Benavente’s 20th anniversary dinner in 2014.

According to KUAM News files, one week after the monsignor’s 20th anniversary celebration, Archbishop Anthony Apuron removed him as rector of the cathedral and director of the Catholic Cemeteries.

The Archdiocese of Agana issued a statement in response to the complaint stating this matter was addressed and the findings determined Monsignor Benavente to be cleared of any financial irregularities. Additionally, Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai also clarified that the Catholic Cemeteries of Guam is an entity of the Archdiocese of Agana and in no way did he authorize any individual to represent the archdiocese nor file such a complaint on behalf of the organization.

He said such misrepresentations constitutes a grave wrong and disobedience that will not be tolerated. Archbishop Hon plans to take immediate and appropriate action to discipline the person or persons involved.

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GUAM
Guam Daily Post

Jacqueline Perry Guzman | Post News Staff

Hours after it was announced by the Archdiocese of Agana that Monsignor James Benavente was to be cleared of any financial irregularities, local news media reported complaints had been filed on behalf of Catholic Cemeteries of Guam Inc.

The Post learned a complaint was filed against a member of the Archdiocese of Agana on Sept. 30, according to a release from Captain Kim Santos, spokeswoman for the Guam Police Department. “The case is open and under investigation. No further details are available at this time,” the release stated.

The Archdiocese of Agana sent a statement in response to the report from local news media.

“Late yesterday afternoon, the Archdiocese learned second-hand, from local news media, that an individual had filed a complaint against Monsignor James Benavente with the Guam Police and Attorney General’s Office on behalf of the Catholic Cemeteries,” the statement from the archdiocese read.

According to the statement, Catholic Cemeteries of Guam Inc. is an entity of the Archdiocese of Agana.

“Pope Francis entrusted full pastoral responsibility and administrative authority of the Archdiocese to Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai, SDB, as Apostolic Administrator of Agana in June,” the statement said.

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GUAM
Pacific News Center

The report states that Msgr. James Benavente misused over $13,000 in church money for his anniversary dinner.

Guam – Just moments after he was vindicated, a complaint was filed against Msgr. James Benavente for allegedly spending over $13,000 in church money for his personal use.

PNC obtained a board resolution from the Catholic Cemeteries of the Archdiocese of Agana, signed by Attorney Jacque Terlaje, who also represents Archbishop Anthony Apuron in a separate libel and slander lawsuit filed by four of the Archbishop’s alleged sex abuse victims.

The report from the catholic cemeteries was sent to both the Guam Police Department and the Attorney General’s Office today. In the report, it states that two checks were written to a Joshua Perez totaling $13,620 dollars for the purpose of Benavente’s 20th anniversary dinner back in June and July of 2014.

However, attached to the report is a receipt from the Catholic Cemeteries for $14,280 in reimbursement for Benavente’s 20th anniversary dinner.

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GUAM
Pacific News Center

Written by Janela Carrera

Msgr. James Benavente was fired as the rector of the Cathedral Basilica and director of the Catholic Cemeteries in 2014.

Guam – Msgr. James Benavente has been vindicated. At a press conference today and in the presence of many of Benavente’s supporters, Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai and Father Jeff San Nicolas cleared him of any wrongdoing.

It’s been two years since Archbishop Anthony Apuron fired Benavente from the position of rector of the Cathedral Basilica and director of the Catholic cemeteries. At the time he was removed, Archbishop Apuron accused Benavente of financial mismanagement.

Apuron never gave Benavente a chance to respond to the allegations. It wasn’t until a few months ago that Benavente finally got that due process. And now, two years later and after a very public outcry over his removal, Benavente has been vindicated. Father Jeff San Nicolas read a statement written by Apostolic Administrator Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai at the press conference today.

“I hereby declare that Msgr. Benavente’s response is found both credible and satisfactory and that none of these alleged major irregularities should be held valid,” Hon stated. “I thus declare that the decision of his removal be considered invalid and any statement released from the archdiocese against him or any of his staff in this matter ought to be considered invalid.”

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GUAM
Guam Daily Post

Jacqueline Perry Guzman | Post News Staff

At a press conference held yesterday morning at the Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral-Basilica in Hagåtña, the delegate to the apostolic administrator Rev. Jeff San Nicolas announced that Monsignor James Benavente had been cleared of the allegations against him regarding irregularities and “financial mismanagement.”

Benavente has been assigned as parochial vicar of St. Anthony Church in Tamuning.

San Nicolas read from a letter written by Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai, the apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of Agana.

The letter stated, “Having examined all the documents and reports made available to me, I hereby declare that Msgr. Benavente’s response is found both credible and satisfactory and that none of these alleged major irregularities should be held valid.”

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ILLINOIS
Beacon-News

A former Aurora priest has pleaded not guilty to charges he sexually abused two children over a three-year span, according to court records.

Alfred Pedraza Arias, 50, is accused in a five-count indictment from March with aggravated sexual abuse between 2012 and 2014 involving the children who were both under the age of 13. Prosecutors have alleged Arias fondled the children at Sacred Heart Church in Aurora, as well as at one youth’s home. Arias, who was arraigned Thursday, remains free on $50,000 bail with a court date set for Nov. 18.

Arias was charged in February and arrested in Rockford on a warrant. He now is listed with a home address in Rockford.

The Rockford Diocese, which covers Kane County, released a statement at the time which explained Arias had been out of the ministry since October 2014 amid an investigation by law enforcement and the diocese into two allegations against him. Aside from Sacred Heart, Arias worked at Our Lady of Good Counsel in Aurora and Hispanic Ministry in DeKalb, the diocese previously stated.

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SOUTH DAKOTA
Press and Dakotan

BY RANDY DOCKENDORF randy.dockendorf@yankton.net

Minnesota authorities are not pursuing a criminal investigation into a sex-abuse allegation against a Roman Catholic priest currently serving two Bon Homme County parishes.

The Rev. Joe Forcelle faces the Minnesota allegation based earlier in his ministry. He currently serves St. Leo Church in Tyndall and St. Vincent Church in Springfield. He denies the Minnesota allegation and has not faced any allegations during his 32-year ministry in South Dakota.

The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis received an allegation of sexual abuse of a minor against Forcelle and immediately reported it to law enforcement, according to archdiocesan spokesman Tom Halden.

“The alleged sexual abuse is from the late 1970s and early 1980s when (Forcelle) was serving as a priest at Saint Mark Church in Saint Paul,” Halden said in a statement.

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GUAM
Pacific Daily News

Joelle Casteix October 1, 2016

Survivors of sexual abuse on Guam are in a very powerful position. That can be a very scary place to be.

The new law protecting sex abuse victims is a watershed moment. Finally, survivors will be able to use the civil courts to seek accountability, justice and healing. Predators hiding in plain sight will be exposed. The public will finally learn the true scope and scale of the cover-up.

But before any of that can happen, victims need to come forward.

As a survivor who used a similar California law for justice, I know firsthand how terrifying the decision can be. As an advocate who has helped hundreds of other survivors, I understand the complex dynamics that many survivors face.

If you are a survivor of child sexual abuse on Guam, here are some important factors to remember:

* You are not hurting the church, your family, or your community by coming forward. By coming forward, you are protecting the child who was hurt so many years ago. You are also protecting children right now. You are making your church a safer place. If anyone tries to tell you that coming forward is wrong or shameful, walk away.

* You don’t have to go public. Brave survivors like Roy Quintanilla, Walter Denton, and Roland Sondia blazed a trail for you. But when it comes to the legal system, crime victims have privacy rights. If you choose to file a lawsuit, you may do so as a John or Jane Doe so that the public, your employer, or your school never needs to know.

* Find your support team. You do not have to go through the decision-making or legal process alone. Talk to a therapist, supportive family and friends, and support groups like Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP. Take care of your health. If you struggle with addiction, get help.

* Be patient. The legal system takes time. Some civil window sex abuse cases have been completed in less than two years. Others take more time. Organizations fight long and hard to keep their secrets hidden. Understand that you need to be patient and that things won’t happen overnight.

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UNITED KINGDOM
The Freethinker

When elders at a mosque in Rugby learned that imam Noor Walile, above, had raped a boy, they banished him to India to avoid prosecution.

But Walile, 38, who claimed that “the devil made him do it”, later returned to the UK and he was arrested at a house in Leicester, according to this report.

He has now been jailed for six years after he pleaded guilty at Warwick Crown Court.
Judge Stephen Eyre QC told him:

The members of your community entrusted their young children to you for guidance and education. You were in a position of responsibility and leadership at the mosque. You abused that position and that trust, and defiled the faith you were paid to uphold.

If you had not pleaded guilty, the sentence would have been one of nine years.

The judge branded Wallie “an offender of particular concern” who would not be released before serving the whole of the six years if the Parole Board considers it safe to do so and will then be on licence for an additional 12 months.

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URUGUAY
El Pais

[Daniel Surla, cardinal and archbishop of Montevideo Daniel Sturla said Wednesday that Uruguayan Catholic Church was able to verify the existence of 40 complaints of sexual abuse.]

El cardenal y arzobispo de Montevideo Daniel Sturla dijo el pasado miércoles que la Iglesia Católica uruguaya pudo comprobar la existencia de 40 denuncias “que había que atender”.

Entrevistado por el programa Código País de Teledoce, el cardenal dijo que se recibieron 25 denuncias de abusos sexuales a través del número de teléfono que la Iglesia habilitó en abril.

Además, el programa Santo y Seña proporcionó, luego del informe sobre que se transmitió a mediados de ese mes, otras 40 denuncias.

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FRANCE
Le Parisien

[Pedophile priests: 400 testimonies from alleged victims have been collected by La Parole Libérée.]

Les révélations sur les scandales dans l’Eglise prennent une ampleur insoupçonnée. L’association «La Parole Libérée», basée à Lyon (Rhône), a recueilli depuis le mois de novembre 2015, 400 témoignages de personnes disant avoir été victimes de prêtres pédophiles, rapporte ce vendredi France Info.

Parmi ces victimes, certaines parlent pour la première fois, plusieurs décennies après les faits,. On peut notamment citer le cas d’un homme âgé de 93 ans : «Il a été victime d’agression sexuelle dans son enfance. Sa femme est décédée et elle n’a jamais su», raconte auprès de France Info François Devaux, cofondateur de «La Parole Libérée».

L’association a été fondée par trois anciennes victimes du père Bernard Preynat, un prêtre soupçonné de pédophilie au cours des années 1980 et 1990. Ils ont également reproché au cardinal Barbarin de ne pas avoir dénoncé ce prêtre à la justice.

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GUAM
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Agana

First of all, I would like to reiterate the position made public in my press conference on July 27, 2016, namely, to recant and to retract all the statements released previously from the Archdiocese that have put a cloud over the name of Msgr. Benavente and compromised his right to due process.

Secondly, in the beginning of July, I instituted a process in which Msgr. Benavente was allowed to present his response to the allegations of some irregularities in the administration of temporary goods of the Church. I also instructed our Delegate to the Apostolic Administrator, Fr. Jeff San Nicolas to coordinate the process by involving different parties concerned.

Having examined all the documents and reports made available to me, I hereby declare that Msgr. Benavente’s response is found both credible and satisfactory and that none of these alleged major irregularities should be held valid. It is clear that these alleged irregularities constituted the cause of the decision to remove him from the offices as Rector of the Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral-Basilica, Director of the Catholic Cemeteries, and to dissolve the Archdiocesan Development Group. I, thus, declare that the decision of his removal be considered invalid and any statement released from the Archdiocese against him or any of his staff in this matter ought to be considered invalid.

Obedient to his Ordinary at the time, Msgr. Benavente submitted himself to his decision and accepted an assignment as Parochial Vicar of St. Anthony’s Church.

In light of the above, and in consultation with the Presbyteral Council and Msgr. Benavente, I have come to the decision that he be given another appointment.

It is my earnest wish that we all may learn a lesson from this matter in view of promoting due vigilance over the administration, linear clarity in policy, and fraternal communication among the clergy.

+ Savio Hon Tai Fai, SDB
Apostolic Administrator
Archdiocese of Agana

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GUAM
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Agana

His Excellency, Most Reverend Savio Hon Tai Fai, SDB, Apostolic Administrator of the Archdiocese of Agaña, in consultation with the Presbyteral Council, announces the following appointments effective Sept. 30, 2016:

Rev. Msgr. Brigido U. Arroyo
Pastor Emeritus of St. Anthony and St. Victor Church in Tamuning, Guam
Given at Hagatña on Sept. 22, 2016

Rev. Msgr. James L.G. Benavente
Pastor of St. Anthony and St. Victor Church in Tamuning, Guam
Given at Hagatña on Sept. 22, 2016

Rev. Fr. Adrian L.F. Cristobal
Pastor of San Dionisio Church in Umatac, Guam
Given at Hagatña on Sept. 22, 2016

Rev. Fr. Julius B. Akinyemi
Pastor of San Dimas and Our Lady of the Rosary Church in Merizo, Guam
Given at Hagatña on Sept. 22, 2016

Rev. Fr. Joel de los Reyes
Parochial Administrator of San Vicente Ferrer Church in Barrigada, Guam
Given at Hagatña on Sept. 22, 2016

Rev. Fr. Carlos S. Vila
Parochial Administrator of Nuestra Señora de la Paz y Buen Viaje in Chalan Pago, Guam
Given at Hagatña on Sept. 22, 2016

Rev. Fr. Edivaldo Da Silva-Oliveira
Catholic Chaplain of Department of Youth Affairs and Department of Corrections in Mangilao, Guam
Given at Hagatña on Sept. 22, 2016

Rev. Fr. Paul Gofigan
Delegate of the Apostolic Administrator for Clergy
Given at Hagatña on Sept. 22, 2016

Rev. Fr. Richard Kidd
Director of Vocation and Permanent Diaconate Program
Given at Hagatña on Sept. 22, 2016

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GUAM
KUAM

Updated: Sep 29, 2016

By Sabrina Salas Matanane

“I’m grateful for the vindication,” Monsignor James Benavente said during a press conference in which it was announced that he was cleared of any allegations of financial mismanagement. In July 2014 Archbishop Anthony Apuron removed him as Rector of the Dulce Nombre De Maria Cathedral Basilica and Director of the Catholic Cemeteries of the Archdiocese.

Monsignor Benavente said although grateful it’s not a time to celebrate but instead to roll up our sleeves to continue the critical work of reconciling and rebuilding our archdiocese. Concerned Catholics of Guam Andrew Camacho was at the press conference he said this is a step in the right direction but adds the CCOG is asking the Archdiocese for the status of the Church’s investigation of Fr. Luis Camacho.

Over a year ago the priest was arrested for Custodial Interference. He allegedly took a minor from school and was caught allegedly engaging in sexual contact with her.

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GUAM
KUAM

Updated: Sep 30, 2016

By Krystal Paco

After two long years of not having an opportunity to defend himself and his reputation, that day finally came for Monsignor James Benavente. In July 2014, one week after the monsignor celebrated 20 years as rector of the Dulce Nombe de Maria Cathedral-Basilica, Archbishop Anthony Apuron suddenly removed him from the position and his position as director of Catholic Cemeteries.

Apuron accused the monsignor of mismanaging millions of dollars in church money.

His prayers were answered. Monsignor Benavente announced, “That’s the greatest thing we can do is to pray for those who have done us harm, and that’s what I had opted to do.” For two years, he’s stood accused of financial mismanagement in the church. When the allegations surfaced, Archbishop Apuron didn’t allow for due process. Under the direction of apostolic administrator Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai, Benavente’s name was cleared.

“I am grateful for the vindication I have received from the present administration of this archdiocese,” Monsignor Benavente continued. “Having been able to respond directly to these alleged financial irregularities, we now know today that truth and justice have once again prevailed.”

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GUAM
Pacific Daily News

Monsignor James Benavente has been cleared of allegations of financial mismanagement and has been named pastor of St. Anthony’s Church, Archdiocese of Agana spokesman Father Jeff San Nicolas announced at a news conference today.

Benavente was the former rector of the Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral-Basilica, before he was removed by Archbishop Anthony Apuron in July 2014. He was reinstated by Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai in July.

When Benavente was removed, Apuron cited financial problems in the church administration, a multimillion dollar church debt, problems with the Catholic cemetery finances and bookkeeping and missing contracts.

For several years, the archdiocese has been embattled over the removal of Benavente and Father Paul Gofigan, a land transfer worth tens of millions of dollars and conflicts between traditional Catholics and followers of the Neocatechumenal Way.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Daily Mail

By BARBARA HEWSON FOR THE DAILY MAIL

Back in January last year, I attended a meeting at the House of Commons for the White Flowers campaign, which lobbies for justice for victims of historic ‘organised sexual abuse’.

It was an experience I can only describe as bizarre, at best.

Because apart from calls for ‘heads on spikes’, no one at the meeting seemed to know what it was they wanted to achieve.

This peculiar evening is what came to mind when I heard the two extraordinary announcements this week that lurched the troubled Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) yet further into turmoil.

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UNITED KINGDOM
AOL

On Thursday the senior lawyer of the Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, Ben Emmerson QC, resigned, in a further development into the troubled independent inquiry.

To get you up to speed with this complicated subject, here’s everything you need to know so far.
Theresa May first set up the inquiry in July 2014 when she was home secretary, with the aim to investigate whether “state and non-state institutions” have taken seriously their duty of care to protect children from sexual abuse within England and Wales.

Baroness Butler-Sloss

The inquiry was troubled from the start: just two days after it was established, its chairwoman Baroness Butler-Sloss faced calls to quit due to a potential conflict of interest. She resigned a couple of days after.

The next chairwoman, Dame Fiona Woolf, a leading tax lawyer and then Lord Mayor of the City of London, was in the role for under two months. She quit after questions over her suitability.

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UNITED KINGDOM
The Argus

Press Association

The national probe into child sex abuse will not work in its current form, a key group representing victims and survivors has warned.

The Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse was thrown into disarray on Thursday after the resignation of its senior lawyer, prompting calls for it to be broken up.

C hairwoman Professor Alexis Jay said she had accepted Ben Emmerson QC’s decision to step down from the post of senior counsel after two years.

The development was labelled a “disaster” for the problematic inquiry that has been blighted by resignations and is on its fourth chairwoman.

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UNITED KINGDOM
The Guardian

Matthew Weaver
Friday 30 September 2016

Michael Mansfield QC says he is willing to replace Ben Emmerson as the top lawyer on the inquiry into institutional child abuse, but only if the inquiry is broken up.

Mansfield, a prominent barrister whom many of the survivors of child abuse have nominated to lead the process, said the inquiry had been “chaotic from beginning” and dogged by “catastrophic appointments”.

Interviewed on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme after Emmerson resigned as lead counsel to the inquiry, Mansfield said the inquiry needed a lawyer at the top, but that it was too complex to be run by one person.

He also questioned the credentials of the fourth and current chair Prof Alexis Jay, a leading social worker who led the Rotherham abuse inquiry, but insisted he could work with her.

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UNITED KINGDOM
BBC News

Victims say they are “saddened, but not surprised” by the resignation of the most senior lawyer working for the independent inquiry into historical child sexual abuse.

The Shirley Oaks Survivors Association described the decision to quit by Ben Emmerson QC as “devastating”.

It said some survivors were losing faith, believing the investigation’s large remit was designed to fail.

Prime Minister Theresa May has said she still has confidence in the inquiry.

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

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TEXAS
WFAA

Cynthia Izaguirre, WFAA September 29, 2016

DALLAS — On Friday, Bishop Kevin Farrell, the man who helped to unify and transform the Catholic Diocese of Dallas, will move on from the job he thought he would retire from.

Bishop Farrell has been promoted to a new position at the Vatican where he will be the highest-ranking American working directly with Pope Francis. He sat down with us for a final interview about what lies ahead both for him and the Diocese of Dallas.

“I thought it was a joke. Why would he have picked me? I do not know,” said Bishop Kevin Farrell.

The bishop of the Diocese of Dallas is still taken aback by the news. How did he get the attention of the pope?

“I don’t know. I would love to know why,” Farrell said during our last interview in his Dallas office.

On Oct. 7, Bishop Farrell will lead a new Vatican office focusing on ordinary Catholics throughout the world. It is part of the Vatican’s effort to reach out to more people in the pews.

The pope personally tapped Bishop Farrell for the position, presumably in part because of how he turned things around in the Diocese of Dallas after a huge sexual abuse scandal that led to a $23 million settlement in 1998.

“You’re sitting in this little room with the pope, and he has all the time in the world to tell you what his plan is and what he wants and why he wants it,” Farrell said. “And what are you going to do? You just can’t say no.”

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MASSACHUSETTS
Dorchester Reporter

By Staff
Sep. 29, 2016

Michael Walsh, 80, was arraigned Wednesday in charges he raped and indecently attacked a Dorchester boy more than two decades ago, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office reports.

In the 1980s and early 1990s, Walsh was an altar-boy coordinator at St. Brendan Church and a coach in the Cedar Grove Baseball League. He is charged with one count of rape of a child and two counts of indecent assault and battery on a child for alleged offenses against a boy who was then in the fourth, fifth, and sixth grades, the DA’s office reports, adding the victim, now in his late 30s, contacted authorities earlier this year:

“Walsh allegedly used his position of authority to gain access to, ‘groom, and ultimately sexually assault’ him. Walsh was said to take the victim and other children out to eat and to the movies, and would drive them home; the abuse of the victim took place within Walsh’s car, his home, and his office.”

Walsh was released on personal recognizance, but has to stay in Massachusetts, wear a GPS monitor and surrender his passport while his case is pending, the DA’s office reports.

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UNITED KINGDOM
The Guardian

Harriet Sherwood Religion correspondent
@harrietsherwood
Friday 30 September 2016

Two high-profile survivors of sexual abuse in the Church of England are to mount a protest during the enthronement of the bishop of Oxford in response to what they claim is the church’s failure to act on their disclosures.

Michael (not his real name), an ordained C of E priest, made a formal complaint of misconduct earlier this year against Steven Croft, the new bishop, claiming that he failed to properly respond to accusations of rapes allegedly committed by a serving priest in 1984.

Similar complaints of misconduct were lodged against John Sentamu, the archbishop of York, and three other serving bishops.

The C of E has rejected the complaints because they were made after a one-year time limit set by the church.

Michael claims that he told Croft – then bishop of Sheffield – about the alleged rapes in December 2012 and again in February 2013. Croft failed to act on the disclosures, Michael says.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Daily Mail

By PRESS ASSOCIATION

The senior lawyer in the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse has quit, a day after being suspended from his role.

Chairwoman Professor Alexis Jay said she had accepted Ben Emmerson QC’s decision to step down from the post of senior counsel after two years.

Mr Emmerson was suspended on Wednesday night amid reports he was about to resign. His departure was announced just hours after it was revealed his junior colleague Elizabeth Prochaska had also left her role.

In a statement Prof Jay said: “There is no truth in suggestions that he has resigned due to a difference of opinion with me about the next steps for the inquiry.”

Prime Minister Theresa May had earlier said that the “really important” inquiry would go ahead as planned, amid claims that it was in “crisis”.

In his resignation letter, posted on the inquiry’s website, Mr Emmerson said he remained “totally committed to securing a fair and just result for those who matter most, the victims and survivors of childhood abuse”

He said: “Shortly after you took over, you announced a review of the inquiry’s ways of working to identify any changes that may be necessary in the public interest.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Telegraph

Robert Mendick, chief reporter, and Tom Morgan
29 SEPTEMBER 2016

The future of the national child sex abuse inquiry was plunged deeper into crisis on Thursday night after the two most senior lawyers in charge announced their resignations.

Ben Emmerson QC, the counsel to the inquiry, quit at 10pm last night, a little over 24 hours after being suspended from the role.

Mr Emmerson’s deputy Elizabeth Prochaska, the inquiry’s junior counsel, announced she had also stood down although it was claimed her decision was not linked to recent events.

In his resignation letter, Mr Emmerson insisted his decision to resign was not caused by a “difference of opinion” with Alexis Jay, the new chairman of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA).

Mr Emmerson added: “It is now time for someone else to take the helm with a different leadership of the Counsel team.”

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UNITED KINGDOM
BBC News

Theresa May has insisted the inquiry into child sexual abuse in England and Wales will not be scaled back despite recent setbacks.

The prime minister said she and Home Secretary Amber Rudd still had confidence in the inquiry.
She spoke after the lead counsel to the hearings, Ben Emmerson, was suspended on Wednesday and the inquiry’s second most senior lawyer resigned.

Elizabeth Prochaska’s resignation is said to be not linked to recent events.

Ms Prochaska told BBC Newsnight’s programme: “I can confirm that after 15 months working on the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, I resigned from my position as junior counsel with effect from 15 September 2016.

“I very much valued the experience of working with the inquiry and I wish all my former colleagues the best as they continue their work.”

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UNITED STATES
In A Mirror Dimley

Christians have a tradition of “laying hands” on each other to impart the Holy Spirit, to heal, and to bless. My church “trains” people to pray, which basically means we teach people to ask questions like, “Can I put my hand on your shoulder as I pray for you.”

Touching and consent go “hand in hand.”

Touch has a foundationally sacred and important place in the Christian tradition.

Touching each other inappropriately undermines the healing and life that God desires to impart in our lives. Our hands can be used to destroy, imprison, and wound or they can be used to impart freedom, spiritual gifts, and blessings.

Our message collapses if we approve inappropriate touching in one moment and then reach out to heal in another. (Trigger warning below for sexual abuse and rape.)

And yet, some evangelical churches and groups have attempted to do just this. If these groups are not directly responsible for sexual abuse or covering up the abuse, they at least are responsible for failing to condemn leaders who abuse women and children. Some of these leaders are even given a free pass because they’re deemed “too important” for the cause of the Gospel.

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NEW YORK
The Journal News

Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, svenugop@lohud.com September 29, 2016

The archdiocese continues to be responsible for providing O’Keefe with a place to live

Lohud and Facebook readers had a lot to say about a former Rockland priest who was permanently removed from ministry by the Archdiocese of New York following allegations that he sexually abused a minor.

Monsignor John O’Keefe, who once led Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains, had been suspended last year from St. Margaret of Antioch Parish in Pearl River based on alleged abuse that occurred more than three decades ago.

Some readers were upset that no criminal charges had been brought against O’Keefe because the incidents were past the statute of limitations.

“There should be no statute of limitations on these creeps, and rather than the church continuing to provide housing, they should be incarcerated,” wrote Anthony Tascione. “Let’s not cover up these horrific deeds no matter how old they are.”

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CANADA
CTV Winnipeg

Published Thursday, September 29, 2016

A former Winnipeg priest convicted of sexual abuse has been granted day parole.

Ronald Leger previously worked at Holy Family Parish on Archibald Street. He pleaded guilty to sexually abusing three boys between 1980 and 2004.

He was sentenced to two years in prison in February 2016.

The parole board has granted him day parole, and denied a request for full parole.

During his time in the community, Leger is to have zero contact with his victims.

He will not be allowed to go near areas where kids under 18 will be. The former priest is also prohibited from having any contact with male children under 18, unless he’s accompanied by an adult who knows his criminal history and have been approved by his parole officer.

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

September 30, 2016

DAN BOX
Crime reporterSydney
@DanBox10

The Catholic Archbishop of Adelaide has asked the NSW Supreme Court to dismiss a criminal charge alleging he failed to tell police about a priest’s child abuse, arguing it could not be proved he believed the allegations at the time.

The dispute, which is ­expected to go to the High Court, is being watched by police and the national child abuse royal commission as a test case for the ­potential prosecution of others ­alleged to have not disclosed such crimes.

Lawyers representing Archbishop Philip Wilson did not yesterday seek to challenge claims he was told by two children in 1976 that the priest, Father James Fletcher, had sexually abused underage boys.

“We are not talking about … moral obligations”, the archbishop’s barrister, Bret Walker SC, told the court, arguing that such abuse was not “a serious ­indictable offence” in the terms of legislation requiring that these crimes be disclosed.

The legislation states that a person who “knows or believes” such an offence has been committed must report that to the police, the court heard.

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UNITED KINGDOM
The Guardian

Sandra Laville
Thursday 29 September 2016

The prime minister has stepped in to shore up the struggling national inquiry into child abuse, saying it was a crucial investigation to stop more children becoming victims in the future.

Theresa May insisted the inquiry, which she set up while she was home secretary, would not be scaled back. She spoke on Thursday after the sudden suspension of the most senior counsel to the inquiry, Ben Emmerson QC, the previous night.

On a visit to meet serving soldiers in Bulford, Wiltshire, May said: “For too many years too many people have been raising their voice saying what had happened to them and people have not been listening, they have not been taken seriously.

“We need to investigate, we need to learn the lessons of the past and if we don’t do that we can’t guarantee we are going to be able to stop such abuse from happening again in the future.”

She said she had faith in the new chair of the inquiry – its fourth to be appointed – Alexis Jay. Jay returned from two weeks’ holiday this week and into a new controversy for the inquiry – this time, the suspension of its lead counsel, Emmerson, over what the inquiry said were recent concerns about his leadership.

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UNITED STATES
Catholic League

Bill Donohue comments on surveys that probe support for religious liberty:

A new Pew Research Center survey on religious liberty found that the public is split on the question of whether businesses that provide wedding services should be able to refuse same-sex couples if the owner has religious objections: 48% are in agreement and 49% are not. Catholics believe, by a margin of 54% to 43%, that businesses should be required to provide services to gay couples.

Other surveys provide a different outcome. Does this mean the Pew survey is flawed? No. It means that the wording of the question strongly influences the respondent’s answer. What also matters is whether self-identification is an accurate measure of reality.

For example, last December an AP and NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey found that 82% of Americans said religious liberty protections were important to Christians. Similarly, 8 in 10 Americans said that it was very or extremely important for people like themselves to be allowed to practice their religion freely.

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AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald

A former Catholic priest has been charged over child sexual assaults between 1999 and 2006 which took place in Leichhardt and Kempsey, NSW.

Police say the 69-year-old was arrested in Port Macquarie last Friday.

He faces multiple charges including sexual intercourse without consent, aggravated indecent assault, inciting an act of indecency with a victim under 16, committing an act of indecency and indecent assault.

Police say the charges relate to the sexual and indecent assault of a boy when he was aged between 12 and 17.

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AUSTRALIA
Christian Today

Ruth Gledhill CHRISTIAN TODAY CONTRIBUTING EDITOR 29 September 2016

More research is needed into child sex abuse in other faiths besides Christianity, a new report says.

Nearly all the academic research that has been done into child sex abuse in an institutional setting has been based on Catholic abusers, with some also done on Anglican abusers.

But there has been little research into abuse by ministers of others faiths, or in non-Christian or non-religious settings.

A report commissioned by the Australian commission investigating institutional child sex abuse says: “The largest body of research from institutional contexts is based on child sexual abuse by clergy, and the majority of this research concerns Roman Catholic clergy.

“Although the research base in this area is sufficient to provide information about patterns of abuse and to allow some comparisons with literature based on perpetrators in general, there is little literature based on or including other religious denominations and almost no literature based on religious non-Christian institutional settings.

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UNITED STATES
BishopAccountability.org

Summary of Case: Ordained for the Society of Jesus in 1898, Louis Taelman spent most of his long career on the Crow and Flathead Indian reservations in Montana. Early on he spent four years as president of Gonzaga College in Spokane WA. Through the 1940s and into the early 1950s he was assigned to Mt. St. Michael’s Scholasticate in Spokane, Washington in the role of “Indian missionary”, as noted in the Official Catholic Directory. He died in 1961.

Taelman’s name was included on the Diocese of Helena’s list of known alleged perpetrators of child sexual abuse. The diocese posted the list to its website in April 2015 as one of the non-monetary terms of its March 2015 bankruptcy settlement.

Ordained: 1898
Died: December 24, 1961

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UNITED KINGDOM
Evening Standard

KATE PROCTOR

The suspension of the leading lawyer handling the national inquiry into child sex abuse has been described as a “blow for justice” by a London MP.

Ben Emmerson QC was suspended from his post as the probe had “become very concerned” about aspects of his leadership, a spokeswoman for the inquiry said. Mr Emmerson, 53, said he learned of the move via the internet and no allegations had been put to him.

The inquiry will cover the abuse of children in care in Lambeth, and Streatham MP Chuka Umunna, who has constituents who are Lambeth abuse survivors, said: , said: “As an MP to the principal survivors’ group I’m extremely concerned about Mr Emmerson’s suspension.

“Yet another blow to the search for justice.”

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UNITED KINGDOM
Sky News

The suspension of the most senior lawyer on the national inquiry into child sexual abuse has been described as a “categorical disaster”.

Ben Emmerson QC said he learned of his suspension from news reports and was yet to hear the allegations that had resulted in him being dropped from the £100m probe.

It is the latest controversy to hit the inquiry, which is already on its fourth chairwoman.

Former director of public prosecutions Lord Macdonald said the inquiry had been “careering out of control since its inception”.

He added that the Government must “face up to the reality that an inquiry lasting years into dozens of public institutions going back decades, quite unable to restrain its own remit, is destined to end as an embarrassing fiasco”.

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CALIFORNIA
UPI

By Allen Cone | Sept. 29, 2016

SACRAMENTO, Sept. 29 (UPI) — Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation that ends a 10-year statute of limitations on rape and child molestation charges.

Beginning next year, the law, SB813, will eliminate a time limit for certain rape and child molestation victims to pursue charges.

The new law will only apply to crimes committed after the legislation takes effect Jan. 1.

That means women who made allegations against comedian Bill Cosby won’t be helped by the new law. Cosby is facing one criminal case stemming form alleged sexual abuse and he has denied allegations by dozens of women nationwide.

The state Senate and Assembly unanimously approved the bill last month and the governor signed it without comment Wednesday.

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NEW YORK
Protect NY Kids

Contact Melanie Blow melaniehdblow@gmail.com

Fighting for Children and Advocates Call for Boycott, protest of Cardinal Dolan’s rededication of Coleman High School chapel

On Monday Oct. 3 at 10 AM members of the political action committee Fighting for Children, survivors of child sexual abuse, and advocates will protest Cardinal Dolan’s rededication of the chapel at the John A Coleman high school, and are urging elected officials to boycott the rededication, on account of Cardinal Dolan’s opposition to eliminating the Statute of Limitations for child sexual abuse and his efforts to keep survivors of clergy sex abuse from receiving fair compensation.

“Cardinal Dolan hid church funds in Wisconsin as Bishop and was ordered by the highest court in Wisconsin to release the funds to victims of sexual abuse within the diocese. Cardinal Dolan has led the opposition to the Omnibus Child Victims Act in NY and has refused to meet with victims. The Catholic Church spent over 2 million dollars to defeat the CVA.” said Gary Greenberg, founder of Fighting for Children, a PAC that supports candidates who pledge to support the Omnibus Child Victims Act, a bill that will eliminate New York’s Statute of Limitations for child sexual abuse and make it easier for victims to sue their abusers or institutions that facilitated their abuse.

“The Catholic Church is the only major organization fighting against the passage of the Omnibus Child Victims Act, but they put up a massive fight. Statutes of Limitations for child sexual abuse ensure most victims of child sexual abuse cannot access justice, and that ensures 90% of sex offenders stay on the street. The church argues ‘this legislation will bankrupt churches’, which is both untrue, and essentially boils down to ‘we don’t want to be held accountable for our actions’, which is not a good argument.” says Melanie Blow, COO of the Stop Abuse Campaign.

“One fifth of New York’s children will be sexually abused by the time they turn 18, and 90% of the people who abuse them never see a day behind bars. The Omnibus Child Victims Act will fix that by ensuring victims have access to justice, which protects children. We urge people who care about children to boycott this event and educate themselves about child sexual abuse and the role the Cardinal Dolan is playing in New York to keep sex offenders on the streets” says Andrew Willis, CEO and co-founder of the Stop Abuse Campaign.

“We must hold those who abuse children accountable regardless of their rank, their affiliation, or how long ago the crime was committed. Passing the Omnibus Child Victims Act now will make New York State a state that protects its children, not predators.” said Ali Boak, senate candidate for the 40th district.

The protest will be in Kingston NY (thruway exit 19) about five minutes from the exit. Stay tuned for more details.

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CANADA
The Globe and Mail

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — The Canadian Press
Published Wednesday, Sep. 28, 2016

An emotional, decade-long battle ended quickly Wednesday for hundreds of former students of Newfoundland and Labrador residential schools.

After a two-day hearing, a provincial Supreme Court judge gave his expedited approval for a $50 million class-action settlement with the federal government.

“Everybody is thrilled,” said the plaintiffs’ lawyer, Steven Cooper.

“You have to remember that when we started this claim, we said it was worth $50 million. Well guess what, we settled for $50 million. That doesn’t happen very often in litigation.”

The settlement was reached in May, but required Justice Robert Stack’s approval before any money could be paid out. Because of his expedited ruling Wednesday, the payment process can begin once the 30-day appeal period ends.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
Amnesty International

Victims of child abuse have told a Northern Ireland Assembly committee today that The Executive Office has failed to prepare for the establishment of a compensation scheme following the conclusion of the Historic Institutional Abuse Inquiry.

The representatives of a range of child abuse survivor groups told the Committee for The Executive Office that despite a November 2015 announcement by Sir Anthony Hart, chair of the Historic Institutional Abuse Inquiry, that he will recommend a financial compensation scheme for victims when he reports in January 2017, Ministers have made no preparations to set up such a scheme and some have repeatedly refused to meet with victims.

Victims from four different survivor groups have come together with experts from Amnesty International, Ulster University and other organisations to establish a Panel of Experts on Redress which has now produced two reports setting out proposals for a compensation scheme. But despite repeated requests over a period of nine months, the groups say that neither the First Minister nor successive DUP Junior Ministers have agreed to meet with victims to discuss the way ahead. Victims say that Sinn Féin Junior Ministers have met the group in their capacity as MLAs on several occasions and that the deputy First Minister has agreed to meet them in the near future.

Victims’ campaigners want The Executive Office to consult with abuse survivors about the establishment of a compensation scheme. They want Ministers to set up a negotiation process to agree the details of the scheme and the financial contribution to be made by religious orders and other organisations which ran many of the children’s homes where abuse took place.

Margaret McGuckin of Survivors and Victims of Institutional Abuse (SAVIA) said:

“It is the responsibility of The Executive Office to set up a redress scheme for victims of institutional abuse. But as far as we can tell, they have done next to nothing to prepare for the establishment of such a fund despite the end of the public inquiry and the imminent delivery of Sir Anthony Hart’s report.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

By Laura Gartry

Charges against a West Australian man accused of raping a child at a Christian mission in Western Australia’s South West more than 40 years ago have been dropped.

Philip Howard Street, 74, pleaded not guilty to six child abuse charges stemming from his employment at the Roelands Christian Mission near Collie in 1974 and 1975.

The mission was once home to hundreds of Stolen Generations’ children, with about 500 Aboriginal children housed there from the 1940s to the 1970s.

In February, Mr Street, from Albany, was charged by a specialist police taskforce set up to investigate claims that came to light during the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

He had pleaded not guilty to two counts of rape and four counts of indecent treatment of a child under 14 in a Bunbury court in May.

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AUSTRALIA
Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse

29 September, 2016

A new research report conducted for the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has examined available evidence regarding the characteristics, motivations and offending behaviour of child sexual abuse perpetrators in both institutional and non-institutional contexts.

Royal Commission acting CEO, Marianne Christmann, said the report, Evidence and frameworks for understanding perpetrators of institutional child sexual abuse, explores the principal themes found in the literature and examines research specific to perpetrators of child sexual abuse in institutional settings.

This report demonstrates that it is possible to identify commonalities in the characteristics of studied adult perpetrators of child sexual abuse and children or young people with harmful sexual behaviours. Despite these identified commonalities, the characteristics of perpetrators are still considerably diverse.

“The report is an important contribution to the work of the Royal Commission through providing a detailed understanding of what is known from the literature about the motivations and behaviours of perpetrators of child sexual abuse. This will be valuable for informing strategies to prevent the perpetration of child sexual abuse in institutional settings in the future” Ms Christmann said.

The key findings of the study included:

* The literature suggests that the majority of identified adult perpetrators of child sexual abuse are male, with between 6 and 11 per cent of child sexual abuse perpetrated by females.

* There appears to be clusters of perpetrators who first commit contact sexual abuse between the ages of 11 and 15, and in their late 20s to early 30s

* Compared to other groups, adult men who sexually abuse children tend to have experienced higher rates of physical and sexual abuse and emotional abuse or neglect as children. Male adolescents with harmful sexual behaviour also report experiencing greater rates of childhood abuse than comparison groups. However, there is a lack of evidence to support a unique association between childhood sexual abuse and subsequent sexual offending.

* Exposure to violent pornography is a concern in relation to harmful sexual behaviour among adolescents.

* Research on perpetrators of child sexual abuse in institutional settings is fairly limited and is most commonly concerned with patterns of child sexual abuse by clergy, with some research on perpetrators in educational, sporting and out of home care settings.

* Descriptions of strategies used by perpetrators to gain access to children and the identification of situational factors that deter them from offending can be used to inform the prevention of child sexual abuse in institutional settings.

In seeking to understand what is known about the characteristics of perpetrators, this review does not diminish or find justification for perpetrator behaviour; there is no justification for child sexual abuse.

The Royal Commission appointed Dr Michael Proeve, Professor Paul Delfabbro, and Ms Catia Malvaso from the University of Adelaide to undertake the research.

Read the full report.

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UNITED KINGDOM
The Guardian

Matthew Weaver and Sandra Laville
Thursday 29 September 2016

The suspension of the most senior lawyer to the troubled public inquiry into institutional child abuse has been called a devastating blow to survivors of abuse.

Ben Emmerson QC was suspended before he was expected to resign over apparent disagreements about the remit of the inquiry under its fourth chair, Alexis Jay. It is the latest setback to the inquiry after the resignations of three previous chairs, and has fuelled fears that the process is “careering out of control”.

Ian McFadyen, a campaigner and survivor of abuse, said the inquiry had been beset by “catastrophe after catastrophe”.

Asked on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme about the impact of Emmerson’s suspension, he said: “It is one of the largest inquiries that the United Kingdom is to undergo and legal advice and counsel of his quality and expertise is essential … This is a devastating blow for survivors.”

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CALIFORNIA
BuzzFeed News

Claudia Koerner
BuzzFeed News Reporter

California will no longer put a deadline on the prosecution of rape and other sexual assaults.

Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday signed the Justice for Victims Act, which eliminates the criminal statute of limitations on rape, sodomy, lewd or lascivious acts, continuous sexual abuse of a child, oral copulation, and sexual penetration. Previously, a perpetrator could only be convicted within 10 years of the crime.

“Rapists should never be able to evade legal consequences simply because an arbitrary time limit has expired,” State Sen. Connie Leyva said in a statement. “There must never be an expiration date on justice!”

The bill had received unanimous support from Republicans and Democrats in the state legislature. The California Women’s Law Center was involved in drafting its language, and local district attorneys and the California Police Chiefs Association also supported it. Six California women who have accused comedian Bill Cosby of sexually assaulting them testified before lawmakers.

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NORTH CAROLINA
The Chronicle

By Kenrick Cai | Thursday, September 29

The real-life investigative reporter in “Spotlight” offered an inside look into the Academy Award-winning movie and the story behind it Wednesday night.

Matt Carroll—former database reporting specialist for The Boston Globe investigative team called Spotlight and self-professed “data geek”—discussed the team’s Pulitzer Prize-winning investigation that uncovered pervasive child sex abuse within the Boston Catholic Church and “Spotlight,” the 2015 film made about it. Sponsored by the DeWitt Wallace Center for Media and Democracy, the event was held in the Sanford School of Public Policy for an audience of about 40 people.

“This whole movie thing was a total whirlwind,” Carroll said. “I was talking to my wife about it, and she said the Pulitzer was a big deal for a weekend. This was a big deal for months.”

The Boston Globe published about 600 stories related to the sexual abuse scandal throughout 2002. Carroll spoke of the drastic effects the articles had on the Boston community just two or three days after the first article was released.

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AUSTRALIA/IRELAND
Forbes Advocate

Timna Jacks, Education Reporter
29 Sep 2016

A serial paedophile and former Geelong Grammar teacher who Victoria Police was set to charge with abusing students at the elite school is free in Ireland after being deported in an extraordinary inter-agency bungle.

The man had served time in a Queensland prison on child abuse charges, but was deported on his release after Victoria Police failed to flag their investigation with Immigration.

The Irish citizen was accused in last year’s federal child abuse royal commission of fondling the penis of a pre-teen Geelong Grammar boy while masturbating in church, stroking a six-year-old student’s penis in bed, and instructing senior students to perform sexual acts in underground rooms.

The man, a former Geelong Grammar student, has been convicted of child abuse offences on four separate occasions, and was set to face new charges over alleged abuse at the prestigious school between the late 1960s and mid-1970s, and in 1980.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Premier

Thu 29 Sep 2016
By Alex Williams

The most senior lawyer on the national inquiry into how the Church and other UK institutions dealt with the sexual abuse of children learned of his suspension from news reports on the internet.

Ben Emmerson QC has been taken off-duty after the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) had “recently become very concerned” about aspects of his leadership, a spokesperson for the probe said.

Lawyers acting for the inquiry’s counsel said last night: “Mr Emmerson has read this evening on the internet that he has been suspended from the [IICSA]. If, and when, allegations are put to him, he will respond appropriately.”

The suspension of Mr Emmerson has been seen as another dent to the credibility of the IICSA, which was established by the then-home secretary Theresa May in 2014.

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