ABUSE TRACKER

AUSTRALIA
The Guardian

Kristina Keneally

Facebook reminder from 2008 popped up in my husband’s newsfeed last week. It was a photo from World Youth Day in Sydney. He sent me the link with a note, “Hard to believe that this was just eight years ago.”

Just eight years ago, Australia’s Cardinal George Pell walked the streets of Sydney unencumbered, basking in the glow of World Youth Day and the adulation of its 250,000 young attendees. The royal commission into institutional responses to sexual abuse hadn’t taken place. The Irish government hadn’t yet released its official report into sexual abuse in the Catholic church in that country. No one had seen the movie Spotlight. Most people assumed the isolated reports of clerical sexual abuse of children were just that – isolated.

Eight years later, and another round of World Youth Day celebrations has just finished, held this time in Poland. Around 2.5 million young people from across the globe attended. Pope Francis used the five-day celebration to speak to young Catholics about issues as diverse as terrorism, poverty, and technology. He also spoke about faith and God’s call to them. He was – as you might expect for such a popular pope – very well received.

Then Francis left World Youth Day, got on a plane home and spent his time on the flight talking to journalists about police investigations into allegations of child sexual abuse against Pell.

This juxtaposition is jarring, to say the least.

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MINNESOTA
The Catholic Spirit

Maria Wiering | August 2, 2016

With the closure of the criminal case, the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office made public documents from its investigation of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, including memos and affidavits addressing an inquiry of whether Archbishop John Nienstedt, then head of the archdiocese, may have mishandled a clergy sex abuse case because of his friendship with former priest Curtis Wehmeyer and his own alleged sexual misconduct.

The documents include references to an internal investigation of Archbishop Nienstedt the archdiocese initiated in January 2014 into allegations of sexual misconduct as a priest and bishop of Detroit and New Ulm.

In a statement to The Catholic Spirit, Archbishop Nienstedt reiterated that the allegations are “absolutely and entirely false” and said he was “relieved by the release of the information.” He stated that he is heterosexual and has been celibate his whole life.

“I believe that the allegations have been made as a personal attack against me due to my unwavering stance on issues consistent with Church teaching, such as opposition to so-called same sex marriage,” he said, acknowledging the “he said, he said” nature of the allegations. “It is my word against the accusers, and, as much as they want to seem to discredit me, I don’t want to harm them.”

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IRELAND
The Journal

MAYNOOTH SEMINARY HAS said there is “no concrete or credible evidence” of alleged misbehaviour at the priest training college.

The statement comes amid allegations of gay sexual activity and other misconduct at the seminary which is currently training 55 people for the priesthood.

The allegations led to a decision by Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin to not send any trainee Catholic priests to the Kildare-based seminary.

These allegations, Martin said, have come from anonymous sources including letters, blogs and whistleblowers and include claims that gay dating app Grindr is being used by some trainee priests at the college.

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IRELAND
America

Rhona Tarrant | Aug 2 2016

The news this week that the Archbishop of Dublin is withdrawing his student priests from St. Patrick’s College, Maynooth, and sending them instead to the Irish College in Rome has cast a further shadow over Ireland’s national seminary.

Archbishop Diarmuid Martin told The Irish Times that his decision was based on the fact that he “wasn’t happy with Maynooth.” He cited “an atmosphere of strange goings-on there, it seems like a quarrelsome place with anonymous letters being sent around.” He added, “I don’t think this is a good place for students. However, when I informed the president of Maynooth of my decision, I did add ‘at least for the moment.’”

The decision from Archbishop Martin, one of Ireland’s most respected religious leaders, comes after anonymous letters were circulated in clerical circles alleging a culture of gay activity at the college, including the use of the gay dating app, Grindr. Other claims of sexual harassment of seminarians by staff members in the college have been reported, with allegations that the confidentiality clause for seminarians has prevented more from coming forward.

Archbishop Martin, a trustee of St. Patrick’s, made no comment on the reports, but said he had a “certain bonding” with Rome and the Irish College in Rome. The archbishop, who was recently appointed to the newly established Vatican Secretariat for Communications, worked in Rome for more than 25 years, mainly with the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and as the Holy See’s Permanent Observer to the United Nations.

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IRELAND
Irish Independent

Sarah MacDonald
PUBLISHED
03/08/2016

Another former priest who studied at St Patrick’s seminary in Thurles before it was shut down in 2002 has said that the problems in seminary formation are wider than just Maynooth.

The individual is the second man to report to the Irish Independent about allegations of inappropriate behaviour at training institutions for priests.

The man spoke out ­after Archbishop of Dublin ­Diarmuid Martin explained that his decision not to send trainee priests to St Patrick’s College was due to a “worrying” atmosphere.

The fresh claims come after a former trainee priest, who alleges that he was harassed by a member of staff while studying in Maynooth, made an official complaint to gardaí yesterday.

He said that a priest who was meant to be his “spiritual father” acted inappropriately towards him on a number of occasions.

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AUSTRALIA
The Daily Telegraph

NEIL KEENE, The Daily Telegraph
August 2, 2016

A PRIEST who tried to expose paedophilia within the Anglican Diocese of Newcastle was ostracised by colleagues and undermined by senior members of the church.

Reverend Roger Dyer, former Rector at Wallsend Parish, told the Royal Commission today that he raised concerns about the sexual history of paedophile priest Peter Rushton to no avail.

At a church Synod in 2010, he attempted to raise a motion “for the Newcastle Diocese acknowledge the effect of allegations of child sexual abuse and the effect of this on the work of the ministry of the church”.

But a group of influential church leaders at the Synod tried to thwart his motion and accompanying speech, to the point where one of them attempted to physically stop him taking the stage.

Rev Dyer ignored their remonstrations and had the motion successfully passed.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

By Dan Cox

A former bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Newcastle has denied ever being told allegations that one of his priests, Peter Rushton, had sexually abused children.

Former bishop Alfred Holland today gave evidence at the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, which is examining abuse within the Anglican Diocese of Newcastle.

The commission yesterday heard paedophile priest Rushton worked across the diocese from 1963, but allegations of sexual abuse involving him only came to light after his death in 2007.

Former Wallsend Sunday school teacher Pamela Wilson today said she was told the son of an assistant priest had been abused by Rushton when he was four or five years old.

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

DAN BOX
Crime reporterSydney
@DanBox10

Two police detectives joked with a paedophile Anglican priest about the children “they would have in their tent that night,” a royal commission has heard.

The evidence, given on oath before the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse today, is the first time it has heard the child abuse scandal now consuming the Anglican diocese of Newcastle in NSW may extend beyond the church.

Eight current or former Newcastle bishops, including the current Archbishop of Perth Roger Herft, have been called to give evidence during the current hearing. The commission has heard evidence that powerful people within the church were allegedly complicit in the cover-up of child abuse and the diocese is “harbouring a large number of active offenders with little or no accountability in place.”

Anglican priest Roger Dyer told the commission today that a former parishioner told him about a conversation he overheard involving the late Newcastle priest Peter Rushton.

Rushton was a repeat offender who was protected by senior clerics known as “the gang of three” within the city’s Anglican diocese, the commission has heard. Evidence before the commission suggests he was allowed to foster children from an Anglican-run boys’ home to live with him, and provided one such boy to be gang-raped by other men.

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AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald

Ian Kirkwood

An Anglican priest who spoke out against serial paedophile priest Peter Rushton told the royal commission on Wednesday the process had taken a huge toll on him.

He has also told of hearing that Rushton had been with two vice squad detectives joking about which boys they would take to their tents one night after a scouting trip to the Williams River, in the Hunter Valley.

This anecdote – which came from a church member – marks a potential wider link to paedophile activity outside of the church.

The Rev Roger Dyer told the commission’s hearing in Newcastle he was the priest at St Luke’s Wallsend from 2006 to 2010, following Rushton into the parish.

Having worked in parishes that had been damaged by paedophilia, he said “the signs are the way the men relate to you and I just had a really, really bad feeling”.

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GUAM
KUAM

Updated: Aug 03, 2016

By Krystal Paco

A former Archdiocese of Agana finance officer says a priest who was recently accused of molestation remained on payroll years after he had left the island. According to Deacon Steve Martinez, he has a clear recollection that from 2006 to 2012 while serving as the church finance officer, the Archdiocese of Agana was paying Father Louis Brouillard a monthly stipend of $900, which later decreased to $650 a month.

On Monday, former Saipan resident Leo Tudela publicly accused Father Louis and two other church members of sexually abusing him in the late 1950s while he lived here on Guam. At the time, Tudela was only 13 years old and Father Louis was a priest at Santa Terisita Church in Mangilao.

Father Louis was listed on an official list of clergy members released by the Archdiocese of Duluth with credible allegations of child sexual abuse. He was removed from ministry in 1985.

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IRELAND
Catholic Herald (UK)

Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin made the decision after allegations of inappropriate sexual behaviour

Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin said he would no longer send students to the national seminary at Maynooth amid allegations of inappropriate sexual behaviour.

The archbishop referred to allegations of what he described as a “gay culture” in the seminary and further allegations that some seminarians have been using a gay dating app.

The archbishop said he was “somewhat unhappy about an atmosphere that was growing” at St Patrick’s College, Maynooth, saying he felt it was not the healthiest place for his students to be.

“There are people saying that anyone who tries to go to the authorities with an allegation are being dismissed from the seminary,” the archbishop said in an interview with RTE Radio. He said his intention was to send students to Rome’s Pontifical Irish College.

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AUSTRALIA
7 News

By Annette Blackwell – AAP on August 3, 2016

An Anglican bishop who appointed and promoted pedophile clergy in a NSW diocese has repeatedly denied he knew anything about their sexual activities.

In an extraordinary day of evidence at a royal commission hearing into child sex abuse in the Anglican diocese of Newcastle, NSW, Bishop Alfred Holland who ran the diocese for 14 years to 1992 repeatedly denied any knowledge of extensive child sex abuse on his watch.

Bishop Holland said several times he could not recall ever being made aware of allegations against prolific pedophile Peter Rushton, whom he made archdeacon of Maitland.

He also could not recall ever hearing that there was a pedophile ring operating out of Anglican-run boys home St Alban’s at Cessnock, or being contacted by an assistant priest reporting that Rushton had abused his five-year-old son.

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PENNSYLVANIA
PhillyVoice

BY RALPH CIPRIANO
PhillyVoice Contributor

On the day that Msgr. William J. Lynn got out of jail, District Attorney R. Seth Williams announced he would retry the priest for allegedly endangering the welfare of children.

Today, Lynn’s sister and brother-in-law showed up at the State Correctional Institute at Waymart, in Northeast Pennsylvania, where Lynn has served 33 months out of his minimum 36-month sentence, to pick up the monsignor and drive him to their home in Reading.

About 145 miles south of the prison, at the Criminal Justice Center in Center City Philadelphia, Common Pleas Court Judge Gwendolyn N. Bright set bail at 10 percent of $250,000 for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s former secretary for clergy, while he awaits a retrial next year.

Lynn’s lawyer, Thomas A. Bergstrom, said the district attorney’s decision will waste taxpayers’ money, and doesn’t make much sense from a legal standpoint.

“He’s hell-bent to retry the case,” Bergstrom said of Williams. “For some reason, he continues to want to beat on [Lynn].”

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UNITED KINGDOM
The Northern Echo

Stuart Minting

POLICE are investigating two cases of alleged historic sexual abuse at a boarding school dubbed the Catholic Eton.

North Yorkshire Police confirmed one man has been arrested and enquires are ongoing at Ampleforth College, near Thirsk.

The school, which opened in 1802 and is run by the Benedictine monks and lay staff of Ampleforth Abbey, is being investigated by the Goddard Inquiry into child sexual abuse.

The independent inquiry was launched in 2014 to investigate how seriously public bodies and other non-state institutions have taken their duty of care to protect children from sexual abuse.

The inquiry team has pledged to demand accountability for past institutional failings, support victims to share their experience of abuse and make practical recommendations to ensure children are protected.

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TEXAS
BishopAccountability.org

Summary of Case: Stephen Tarleton Dougherty was ordained for the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity in 2003. He resided at the S.O.L.T. headquarters in Robstown TX and worked in parishes in Mathis and Corpus Christi in the Diocese of Corpus Christi. Dougherty was removed from active ministry in December 2011 after the diocese received an allegation that he had engaged in sexual misconduct. In June 2016 he was arrested and indicted by a Grand Jury for felony sexual assault of a child. He pled not guilty. His accuser filed a civil lawsuit in July 2016 claiming Dougherty sexually abused her from 2005-2011, beginning when she was 7 years-old.

Ordained: 2003

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IRELAND
Irish Times

Paddy Agnew, Patsy McGarry

The Catholic Archbishop of Dublin Dr Diarmuid Martin is to cease sending trainee priests from the diocese to St Patrick’s College, Maynooth, because of a worrying “atmosphere” at the national seminary.

Meanwhile a former Maynooth seminarian has in recent days made a complaint to the Garda in Dublin about alleged sexual harassment at the college between 2007 and 2009.

Asked why Dublin is to send its three seminary students next autumn to the Irish College in Rome rather than to Maynooth, Dr Martin told The Irish Times he “wasn’t happy” with Maynooth.

“There seems to be an atmosphere of strange goings-on there, it seems like a quarrelsome place with anonymous letters being sent around,” he said in Krakow, Poland, where he was attending World Youth Day. “I don’t think this is a good place for students. However, when I informed the president of Maynooth of my decision, I did add ‘at least for the moment’.” …

A former Maynooth seminarian told The Irish Times yesterday how, as a seminarian there from 2007-2009, he felt he was being continuously sexually harassed by an individual. He made a formal complaint to authorities. An internal inquiry was set up which found the allegations unproven.

Senior church figures

College authorities tried to persuade him to forget it and stay on but he said he felt so aggrieved he could not. He brought his complaints to other senior church figures and it was suggested he might attend a seminary abroad.

Now in his mid 30s, he is married and works in Dublin.

He said it remained a concern to him that the individual about whom he had complained at Maynooth never faced any discipline, while a seminarian who witnessed an incident he complained about was badly treated later.

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IRELAND
The Guardian

Henry McDonald Ireland correspondent
Tuesday 2 August 2016

The archbishop of Dublin will no longer send his student priests to be trained at Ireland’s oldest seminary amid claims of sexual harassment, a culture of gay sex and the use of the gay dating app Grindr on the campus.

Dr Diarmuid Martin has condemned the atmosphere at St Patrick’s College in Maynooth and will instead advise his seminarians either to be trained at Irish College in Rome or to work in parishes in Dublin.

The leader of Ireland’s largest diocese said there had been “poisonous” claims contained in anonymous letters about sex scandals at the college, 16 miles (26 km) from the capital.

Responding to reports coming out of the college, the head of Dublin’s Roman Catholics told RTE Radio on Tuesday that he was “somewhat unhappy about an atmosphere that was growing” there. Martin said he felt it was not the healthiest place for his student priests to be.

“There are allegations on different sides,” Martin said. “One is that there is a homosexual, a gay culture, that students have been using an app called Grindr, which is a gay dating app, which would be inappropriate for seminarians, not just because they are trained to be celibate priests but because an app like that is something which would be fostering promiscuous sexuality, which is certainly not in any way the mature vision of sexuality one would expect a priest to understand.”

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UNITED KINGDOM
The Northern Echo

22 Mar 2016 / Bruce Unwin, Chief Reporter (Durham)

A THEOLOGY professor avoided a prison sentence after indecent images of children were found stored on his domestic computer equipment.

But the discovery of the 165 images in a police raid at the home of Professor Charles Thomas Robert Hayward, led to the loss of the esteemed academic’s good character.

The 68-year-old bachelor was arrested after police visited his home in Neville’s Cross, Durham, last January.

Durham Crown Court was told three computers and 11 memory sticks contained 165 indecent images of male youngsters.

Chris Baker, prosecuting, said three were in the most serious category, while 45 other film clips, were of eight hours and 25 minutes’ duration.

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ISRAEL
YNet News

Gilad Morag
Published: 02.08.16

Six teachers from a Talmud Torah school (“Cheder”) belonging to the Belz Hasidic dynasty were indicted on Tuesday for the abuse and assault of minors, with the main defendant accused of many cases of sodomy with minors, indecent assault, and extortion.

According to the indictments, the offenses were allegedly committed over the course of 11 years from 2000 to 2011 against 22 complainants aged 3-10, who were taught by the defendants.

During that time, the defendants committed daily physical and emotional violence against the students, which was characterized by cruelty, humiliation, and intimidation.

According to the indictments, the students called the school “Bergen-Belsen,” referring to the Nazi concentration camp, while the main defendant, 49-year-old Avraham Mordechai Rosenfeld, was dubbed “Rosenazi.”

Rosenfeld, the indictment states, brought students to a lounge at the school that contained beds and a closet in which he kept sweets, some of which he confiscated from the students. He allegedly ordered the students to come with him into the room, where he sexually assaulted them. After they stopped crying, he gave them sweets and sent them on their way.

In many of the cases, Rosenfeld beat the students using wooden sticks or planks that he ordered the students to gather during recess.

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PENNSYLVANIA
New York Daily News

BY
MAX GELMAN
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Tuesday, August 2, 2016

The first U.S. church official to be jailed for shielding pedophile priests will be released from prison, a judge ruled Tuesday.

Monsignor William Lynn, 65, can be released on bail after his conviction was tossed out by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on July 26.

In 2012, Lynn became the first U.S. Roman Catholic Church official to be charged with or convicted of protecting child molesters within the church.

Lynn served almost his entire three-year sentence and was up for parole in October. He was able to post 10% of his $250,000 bail.

Even though Lynn’s conviction has now been overturned twice, Philadelphia’s top prosecutor vowed to bring Lynn to trial a third time, saying there is “substantial evidence” against him.

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PENNSYLVANIA
National Catholic Reporter

Brian Roewe | Aug. 2, 2016

Msgr. William Lynn, the first U.S. church official convicted for his handling of clergy sexual abuse allegations, was released from prison on $250,000 bail Tuesday, the Associated Press reported.

Lynn, 65, served as secretary for clergy for the Philadelphia archdiocese from 1992 to 2004. In June 2012 a jury found him guilty on one charge of child endangerment in relation to former priest Edward Avery.

Last week, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court rejected a petition to review a December appeals court ruling that vacated the conviction and ordered a new trial. The Supreme Court decision opened the door for Lynn’s release Tuesday from Waymart State Prison. He is expected to live with family as he awaits a new trial.

At the bail hearing, Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams confirmed that his office will retry Lynn on the child endangerment charge.

“There is substantial evidence, including testimony from the defendant himself, to establish his guilt. A retrial is the right thing to do in the pursuit of justice,” Williams said in a statement.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Metro

SAM NEWHOUSE

The highest ranking Catholic clergy member convicted of criminal charges as a result of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia sex abuse scandal walked out of court a free man Tuesday for the second time, but a retrial is awaiting him.

Monsignor William Lynn, who was sentenced to three to six years in prison on charges of child endangerment in 2012, was freed on bail Tuesday morning, prosecutors said. An appeals court had ruled that certain evidence was improperly allowed in at his first trial and ordered a new trial.

This marks the second time Lynn, 65, was let out of jail.

An appeals court previously freed Lynn after ruling that child endangerment laws shouldn’t apply to administrators like him in 2013. But the state Supreme Court disagreed and sent Lynn back to jail in 2015.

Prosecutors from the office of District Attorney Seth Williams announced their intentions to pursue a new conviction of Lynn at trial at the hearing during which he was released.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Tuesday, Aug. 2

Statement by Karen Polesir, Philadelphia area volunteer director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (karenpolesir@yahoo.com)

A Philadelphia church staffer who repeatedly refused to call 911 about child molesting clerics will soon be released from prison. We applaud prosecutor Seth Williams’ vow to retry him.

[CBS Philly]

For the morale of deeply suffering Philly area Catholics, victims, witnesses and whistleblowers, it’s important to see the glass as “half full” – finally, a Catholic enabler – a church official who put kids in harms’ way – has been punished. And he may be punished further. That should make many employers think again when they’re tempted to hide known or suspected child sex crimes.

However, some who are hiding child sex crimes will be relieved or maybe even emboldened by this news. They’re both wrong and stupid. Increasingly, law enforcement officials are pursuing both those who commit and those who conceal sexual violence.

We hope Msgr. William Lynn is convicted again. That will be even more effective at deterring cover ups of child sex crimes.

Since Lynn will be re-tried, it’s critical that every single person who saw, suspected or suffered child sex crimes and cover ups in Catholic churches or institutions to protect kids by calling police, get help by calling therapists, expose wrongdoers by calling law enforcement, get justice by calling attorneys, and be comforted by calling support groups like ours. No matter how small, old or seemingly insignificant your information or suspicions might be, you have a moral and civic duty to call the independent professionals in law enforcement now. Staying silent hurts kids, adults and the church itself.

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PENNSYLVANIA
NBC 10

[with video]

A former Philadelphia church official who made history when he faced charges of helping to shield pedophile priests will walk free on bail after a court overturned his conviction, a judge ruled on Tuesday.

Monsignor William Lynn already posted 10 percent of his $250,000 bail about 11 a.m., less than an hour after a Philadelphia judge ruled that he can be released on bail. Pennsylvania’s highest court affirmed a lower court’s decision to overturn Lynn’s conviction, granting him a new trial.

Philadelphia’s district attorney is vowing to retry Lynn, who will likely be able to leave Waymart State Correctional Institution, in Wayne County, Pennsylvania, sometime Tuesday, according to his attorney.

Lynn’s attorney, Tom Bergstrom, told NBC10’s Rosemary Connors that Lynn plans to go live with his sister and her family. He is due back in Philadelphia court on Thursday morning for a status hearing.

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PENNSYLVANIA
PhillyVoice

BY Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams is vowing to retry a former church official over his handling of abuse complaints, even though his conviction has been twice overturned.

A judge on Tuesday said Monsignor William Lynn can be released on $250,000 bail after Pennsylvania’s highest court granted him a new trial. Family members are expected to pick him up later Tuesday from a state prison in northeastern Pennsylvania.

Lynn was the first U.S. Roman Catholic Church official ever charged and convicted of helping to shield child molesters within its ranks.

Appeals courts have wrestled ever since with the legality of his conviction.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Fox 29

UPDATED:AUG 02 2016

PHILADELPHIA (AP) – The former Philadelphia church official who has served nearly three years over his handling of abuse complaints will soon be free in lieu of $250,000 bail, but the district attorney is vowing to retry him.

Monsignor William Lynn, 65, was granted bail during a Tuesday morning hearing. Family members are expected to pick him up later in the day from a state prison in northeastern Pennsylvania.

Lynn was the first U.S. Roman Catholic Church official ever charged and convicted of helping to shield child molesters within its ranks.

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GUAM
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Agana

On Wednesday, July 27 during a news conference, I read out loud a long statement in which I spoke of the allegations of child abuse against Archbishop Apuron while he was a priest in the parish of Agat in the 1970s. This is an extremely serious matter and the people we serve are rightly expecting us, in particular the Clergy, to treat it as such.

The Archdiocese should always assume and believe that the intent of those who make allegations of this sort is to bring to light serious claims of abuse. Allow me to quote Pope Francis who met with “survivors” in Philadelphia last September. “I am grateful for this opportunity to meet you. I am blessed by your presence. Thank you for coming here today, (…) I deeply regret that some bishops failed in their responsibility to protect children. It is very disturbing to know that in some cases bishops were even abusers. I pledge to you that we will follow the path of truth wherever it may lead. Clergy and bishops will be held accountable when they abuse or fail to protect children.”

Again with no less earnestness I, as pastor appointed by Pope Francis for the care of souls in the Archdiocese of Agaña, want to express my sincere desire to personally meet with Mr. Quintanilla, Mrs. Conception, Mr. Denton and Mr. Sondia.

Dear Brothers and Sisters let us pray continuously for healing and reconciliation.

God bless you all.

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

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GUAM
KUAM

Updated: Aug 02, 2016

By Sabrina Salas Matanane

The Archdiocese of Agana makes it official. In a release to media on Tuesday, Apostolic Administrator Savio Hon Tai Fai issues a revised policy on Sexual Misconduct. Should the Archbishop stand as the accused, the policy states he must recuse himself from proceedings immediately. Then the Moderator of the Curia must present the case to the Holy See via the Apostolic Delegate in the Pacific Oceania and keep the Chancellor’s Office as well as the Presbyteral Council informed. Archbishop Hon was appointed by the Vatican to care for the Archdiocese of Agana amid allegations of molestation made against Archbishop Anthony Apuron who has been placed on leave.

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IRELAND
Irish Independent

Jane O’Faherty
PUBLISHED
02/08/2016

A Bethany Home survivor is taking a case to the European Court of Human Rights over his treatment at the mother and baby home.

Derek Leinster was born at the home in Rathgar, Dublin and has campaigned since 1998 for abuse victims who suffered there. Mr Leinster said taking the case to Strasbourg was one of the biggest undertakings the Bethany survivors had faced.

“I’ve been planning this for 17 years,” he said, adding that the remaining Bethany survivors were now “well into their 70s and 80s”.

“I’ve had solicitors telling me what a great case I have, but none have offered me anything more than their sympathy. I don’t need or want their sympathy. I want action.”

Bethany Home was a privately- run residential institution mainly for women of the Protestant faith.

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ISRAEL
Times of Israel

BY STUART WINER August 2, 2016

Idictments were filed Tuesday against six teachers at an ultra-Orthodox school in Tel Aviv for alleged severe physical abuse of pupils. One of the suspects is also accused of serious sexual abuse.

Suspects Avraham Rosenfeld, 49; Yisrael Haim Shapira, 65; Haim Fishgrund, 69; Moshe Hirsch, 39; Menachem Alberstein, 62; and Avraham Pinhas Deitish, 53, were indicted at Tel Aviv District Court for abuse of and attacks on minors in their care.

An additional an indictment was filed against Rosenfeld on multiple incidents of sexually assaulting a minor below the age of 16, indecent acts, extortion under threats, and making threats.

The incidents all happened at the Talmud Torah Machzikei Hadass School of the Belz Hasidic sect between the years 2000 and 2011. Some 22 pupils are suspected of having suffered abuse during that time, beginning when they were aged 3-4 years, and continuing on until sixth grade, when they were around 10-11 years old.

Rosenfeld allegedly ordered individual pupils to go alone with him into a room, offering candies as an incentive, Channel 2 reported. He would then allegedly sexually abuse the children, according to the indictments. Afterwards, he would give the children candies and release them.

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ISRAEL
Arutz Sheva

Ido ben Porat, 02/08/16

An indictment was filed this morning (Tuesday) against 6 teachers at a Tel Aviv haredi boys school associated with the Belz hassidic sect, on charges of child abuse against 22 of their students.

According to the indictment, the six were educators at the institution, and taught minors aged 3 to 10.

From 2000 to 2011, beginning when the students were 3-4 years old, until they were 10, the 6 men took advantage of their positions of power to enact daily systematic physical and mental abuse against the boys.

In addition, one of the educators was charged with sodomy and indecent acts against the boys during the period that the boys were aged 7 until age 10.

The same man was charged with blackmail, realized threats, and abuse of minors in his custody, in light of the fact that he physically abused his own son for years until his son left the house, and instilled an atmosphere of deep in fear among members of his household.

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CANADA/UNITED STATES
Washington Post

By Naomi Schaefer Riley
August 2

“The majority of the kids I went to school with are dead,” says Manny Jules, “because of the experience they had, the abuse.”

Jules, 63, is the former chief of the Kamloops band of First Nations in British Columbia. As a child, he attended a residential Catholic school, where he remembers students experiencing physical, sexual and emotional abuse while separated from their families and community.

This trauma, shared for decades by Native American youths across Canada and the United States who were sent to Catholic schools, is at least in part to blame for the high level of alcoholism, drug abuse and suicide in Indian communities.

Today, the Catholic Church has apologized – Pope Benedict XVI did so in 2009; Pope Francis did in 2015. But the Church still operates schools for Native children. And that is where the real reconciliation is happening.

Take the St. Labre mission in southeastern Montana. Named after the French saint Benedict Joseph Labre, St. Labre was founded in 1884 by a small group of Catholic Ursuline Sisters from Toledo. Today, Saint Labre runs a variety of programs for the Crow and Northern Cheyenne peoples, including group homes for children whose parents can’t care for them, elder services, day care and job training.

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IRELAND
Clare FM

2 August, 2016

The Bishop elect of the Killaloe Diocese has defended the record of the National Seminary in Maynooth.

It comes amidst reports that the Archbishop of Dublin is sending trainee priests to study in Rome, saying that he doesn’t believe Maynooth is a good place for students as there appears to be an “atmosphere of strange goings on” there.

Fr Fintan Monaghan was appointed Bishop of the Killaloe Diocese by Pope Francis on Friday, 18 months after the departure of Kieran O’Reilly.

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IRELAND
Irish Independent

The Church has been under sustained attack for more than a decade.

Abject failure to deal head on with a series of scandals has done irreparable damage. There has been a clamour amongst its enemies to tear down its structures; but by far the greatest reputational threat to its standing has come from within.

Confirmation by Archbishop Diarmuid Martin that he would no longer be sending priests of the Dublin Diocese to St Patrick’s College, Maynooth, and would instead be sending them to the Irish College in Rome, begs many questions.

Dr Martin has refused to elaborate, obliquely referring to “strange goings on,” and “a quarrelsome atmosphere.”

Neither, one would imagine, would be conducive for preparation for a life of service. All the same, the difficulty is that refusal to clarify what precisely is the problem will not do much for either the standing of the college or, indeed, the church.

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IRELAND
Irish Independent

Sarah MacDonald
PUBLISHED
02/08/2016

Once again, the national seminary in Maynooth, which has been educating men for the catholic priesthood since 1795, finds itself mired in scandal.

There are currently approximately 80 men studying for the priesthood at Maynooth.

For most of its recent history, Maynooth comprised three colleges in one: the national seminary; St Patrick’s College, a pontifical university; and NUI Maynooth, a secular college.

Under the 1997 Universities Act, the seminary and pontifical college formally split from NUIM, giving it greater autonomy as a secular university.

It was Monsignor Micheál Ledwith, who, in his final year as president of Maynooth, oversaw that separation.

A priest of the diocese of Ferns, Ledwith was first appointed a lecturer in theology at St Patrick’s College in 1977.

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IRELAND
Irish Independent

Sarah McDonald
PUBLISHED
02/08/2016

The latest scandal to hit the Catholic seminary in Maynooth has implications not only for a college with a venerable 200-year history, but it also appears to be tearing apart the country’s bishops, while forcing some of the Irish Church’s most loyal Catholics to question a few sacred cows.

Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin has referred to “strange goings-on” in the Co Kildare seminary and a host of people are becoming increasingly frustrated by the lack of transparency.

Anthony Murphy, the editor of the ‘Catholic Voice’, a weekly paper that in Catholic circles would ordinarily be seen as a cheerleader for the hierarchy, has described the bishops’ inaction on the situation in Maynooth as “a great scandal” and he has castigated them for not prioritising the welfare of young seminarians.

He told the Irish Independent that, by their inaction, the bishops “have betrayed their obligation to protect both faith and faithful”.

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IRELAND
Irish Independent

David Quinn
PUBLISHED
02/08/2016

Following one official report after another into the disastrous handling of clerical child abuse scandals by the Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI, at the end of 2010, announced an ‘Apostolic Visitation’ to Irish dioceses, religious orders and seminaries.

To put it more simply, he sent an inspection team to investigate the church’s child-protection systems. In the case of the seminaries, in particular St Patrick’s College, Maynooth, the national seminary, the purpose was to see how well they were being run.

The man who headed up the inspection of the seminaries was the Archbishop of New York, the ebullient Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who was himself rector for a time of the National American College in Rome – that is the North American seminary in Rome, the American equivalent of our Irish College there.

The details of his subsequent investigation into the seminaries were never published. All we got was an outline of his recommendations.

One recommendation was that the ‘episcopal governance’ of the seminaries be improved; that is, the bishops should exercise more oversight. In the case of Maynooth, that means those who are its trustees.

What must Cardinal Dolan be thinking now, several years on from his inspection, assuming he has heard that Dublin will not be sending any of its trainee priests to Maynooth this autumn?

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IRELAND
Christian Today

James Macintyre
02 August 2016

The Catholic Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, has decided to stop sending trainee priests from the diocese to the Irish national seminary because of what he calls “strange goings-on” there, amid reports of a “gay sub-culture”.

Instead of sending the would-be priests to St Patrick’s College in Maynooth, in north County Kildare, Archbishop Martin will dispatch them to the Irish College in Rome. This process will begin with three seminarians going to Rome next autumn.

The move comes after claims in the Irish press of rumours that some of the 60 resident seminarians at Maynooth have been using the homosexual dating app ‘Grindr’.

Martin told The Irish Times: “I wasn’t happy with Maynooth…There seems to be an atmosphere of strange goings-on there, it seems like a quarrelsome place with anonymous letters being sent around. I don’t think this is a good place for students”. He added: “However, when I informed the president of Maynooth of my decision, I did add ‘at least for the moment’.”

The anonymous letters were reportedly circulated in clerical circles about the use of the dating app.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Main Post

[New crisis management in cases of abuse?]

Christine Jeske

Ofizielle Stellungnahmen würden nicht weiterhelfen. Durch sie bestehe die Gefahr, dass Gräben und Verletzungen neu aufgerissen werden. So lauteten die Worte von Thomas Keßler, Generalvikar der Diözese Würzburg, im Herbst 2015. Sie stehen in einem Brief an ein weibliches Missbrauchsopfer aus Eichenbühl im Landkreis Miltenberg.

Es war die Ablehnung einer Bitte. Die Frau hat den Würzburger Bischof Friedhelm Hofmann im September in einem Brief um eine persönliche Stellungnahme im Fall des ehemaligen Pfarrers W. gebeten – „in der Kirche im Gottesdienst“. Damit würde die „Angelegenheit“ in Eichenbühl endlich zu Ende gebracht werden. Abschlägig geantwortet hat einige Wochen später der Generalvikar.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) In the course of a dialogue during a meeting with the participants in the Plenary Assembly of Superiors General, which took place in May, Pope Francis expressed his intention to “establish an official commission that could study the question” of the diaconate of women, “especially with regard to the first ages of the Church.”

After intense prayer and mature reflection, Pope Francis has decided to institute the Commission for the Study of the Diaconate of Women. As president of the Commission, Pope Francis has appointed Archbishop Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferrer, SJ. In addition to Archbishop Ladaria, the commission is composed of six women and six men from academic institutions around the world.

Below, please find the complete list of the members of the Commission for the Study of the Diaconate of Women:

President:

Abp Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferrer, S.J., Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
Members:

Sr. Nuria Calduch‑Benages, M.H.S.F.N., member of the Pontifical Biblical Commission;

Prof. Francesca Cocchini, of the «La Sapienza» University, and of the Patristic Institute “Augustinianum,” Rome;

Msgr. Piero Coda, President of the University Institute «Sophia», Loppiano, and member of the International Theological Commission;

Fr Robert Dodaro, O.S.A., President of the Patristic Institute “Augustinianum,” Rome and professor of patrology;

Fr Santiago Madrigal Terrazas, S.J., professor of ecclesiology at the Pontifical University “Comillas,” Madrid;

Sr Mary Melone, S.F.A., Rector of the Pontifical University “Anonianum,” Rome;

Fr Karl‑Heinz Menke, professor emeritus of dogmatic theology at the University of Bonn and member of the International Theological Commission;

Fr Aimable Musoni, S.D.B., professor of ecclesiology at the Pontifical Salesian University, Rome;

Fr Bernard Pottier, S.J., professor at the “Institut d’Etudes Théologiques,” Brussels, and member of the International Theological Commission;

Prof. Marianne Schlosser, professor of spiritual theology at the University of Vienana, and member of the International Theological Commission;

Prof. Michelina Tenace, professor of fundamental theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome;

Prof. Phyllis Zagano, professor at Hofstra University, Hempstead, New York.

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VATICAN CITY
KITV

By Lindsay Isaac CNN

(CNN) — Pope Francis has created a commission to study the historical role of female deacons in the Catholic Church, the Vatican’s press office said.

The commission was initially promised by the Pope after a meeting with a group of nuns on May 12.

“In the course of a dialogue during a meeting with the participants in the Plenary Assembly of Superiors General, Pope Francis expressed his intention to establish an official commission that could study the question” of the diaconate of women, “especially with regard to the first ages of the Church.”

“After intense prayer and mature reflection, Pope Francis has decided to institute the Commission for the Study of the Diaconate of Women,” the statement said.

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IRELAND
Irish Times

Patsy McGarry

The decision by Catholic Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin to send seminarians from his archdiocese to Rome instead of Maynooth has very serious implications for the future of Ireland’s national seminary.

More immediately, it poses a very serious question for the remaining three of Ireland’s four Catholic Archbishops and those 13 other bishops who are also trustees at St Patrick’s College Maynooth.

Dr Martin withdrew Dublin seminarians from Maynooth because “there seems to an atmosphere of strange goings-on there, it seems like a quarrelsome place with anonymous letters being sent around. I don’t think this is a good place for students.”

If he feels that way, how can other bishops continue to send seminarians to Maynooth? What of the 55 men currently studying there?

If the Catholic leader, who has earned and retained a rare respect among the wider Irish public, has lost confidence in Maynooth, how can others do but follow suit?

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CONNECTICUT
Republican-American

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hartford has won a judgment against an insurer it sued for failing to reimburse the archdiocese for payments it made to settle sexual misconduct cases involving priests and minors.

A federal judge in New Haven ruled against Interstate Fire & Casualty on Thursday and ordered the Chicago-based company to pay the archdiocese $945,000 plus an amount of interest to be determined later.

The insurer denied allegations that it breached its contract by refusing to reimburse church officials for more than $1 million in payments made in four abuse cases after the company reimbursed them for previous settlements.

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GUAM
KUAM

Updated: Aug 02, 2016

By Krystal Paco

Insincere and cold – that’s how one concerned Catholic described his meet with Guam’s interim archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai early last month. Bob Klitzkie continues to speak out on the Redemptoris Mater Seminary, despite Archbishop Hon’s assurance that the Yona property is owned by the Archdiocese of Agana.

“The archbishop gave the property to a group controlled by the Gennarinis in New Jersey,” Klitzke told KUAM News. “Archbishop Hon says that the archbishop owns it, without a doubt. They’re at the very minimum is a good faced dispute about who owns the seminary property and for him to say without a doubt means that he either doesn’t know what’s going on in his own diocese, he doesn’t care, or something more sinister than that.”

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PENNSYLVANIA
Times Union

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A former Philadelphia church official imprisoned over his handling of abuse complaints is seeking bail after Pennsylvania’s highest court granted him a new trial.

Monsignor William Lynn is the first person ever charged and convicted of helping the Roman Catholic Church shield child molesters within its ranks.

Appeals courts have wrestled ever since with the legality of his conviction.

Lynn has been in and out of prison as the courts have twice thrown out his conviction. He’s served nearly three years of a three- to six-year sentence, and is due to be paroled in October.

Defense lawyer Thomas Bergstrom plans to ask a judge on Tuesday to release the 65-year-old Lynn.

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AUSTRALIA
The Canberra Times

The ACT government’s decision to introduce a bill to scrap the time limits restricting the ability of alleged survivors of child sexual abuse to seek compensation will finally bring the territory into step with NSW and Victoria.

Victoria scrapped its statute of limitations provisions a year ago and the NSW government’s decision took effect on March 17. Neither jurisdiction has had its court system overwhelmed by a sudden flood of historic compensation cases.

Why the ACT government has taken so long to act remains a mystery. Its previous argument, that it was holding off on such action until it was determined whether or not other states or territories would commit to a national redress scheme for abuse survivors, does not compute.

NSW and Victoria were happy to abolish their statute of limitations provisions while simultaneously pushing for the scheme of redress.

By bowing to the obvious and acknowledging the terms of a redress scheme will take some time to finalise, Attorney-General, Simon Corbell, has belatedly put the needs of the victims – many of whom have been suffering the consequences of their abuse for decades – before political process.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Northern Echo

Bruce Unwin, Chief Reporter (Durham)

A JURY was urged not to take the modern “broad brush” view that every accuser must be believed when it deliberates in the case of a former senior clergyman accused of historic abuse.

Defence counsel Andrew Stubbs was addressing the juryon the sixth day of the Durham Crown Court trial of the ex-Archdeacon of Auckland, Granville Gibson.

The 80-year-old now retired Anglican cleric, from Darlington, denies six counts of indecent assault and one further serious sexual offence.

All the allegations relate to his days as minister at St Clare’s Church, in Newton Aycliffe, in the late 1970s and early eighties.

They were said to have been committed on a teenage member of congregation, an 18-year-old community service worker and a fledgling churchman, in his mid-20s.

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AUSTRALIA
Brisbane Times

Amy Remeikis

Having taken steps to remove legal barriers stopping institutionalised child sex abuse survivors from applying to have their civil cases heard in the courts, the state government is considering broadening the reforms to encompass other victims.

The removal of the statute of limitations for those who suffered sexual abuse while in state institutions opens the way for those victims to apply to the court for damages.

Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath said the state would adopt a “model litigant” attitude, meaning it would not use the statute as an excuse for why a case should not go ahead before the legislation making it official is passed.

In cases where it is a litigant, the government will also allow those who have previously received damages – such as in the Forde Inquiry redress scheme – to move forward with civil cases.

Queensland has followed in the footsteps of New South Wales and Victoria in following the recommendation of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse and removing the statute of limitations, with the ACT government also announcing on Monday it would follow suit.

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AUSTRALIA
The Daily Telegraph

Neil Keene, The Daily Telegraph
August 1, 2016

A PAEDOPHILE Anglican minister used a knife to cut one of his victims while he raped him to symbolise the “blood of Christ”, a Royal Commission has heard.

Giving evidence in Newcastle this afternoon, Paul Gray described how he was in the Church of England Boys Brigade in Newcastle in the 1960s and became an altar boy aged 12.

Speaking through tears, Mr Gray said he was first raped when he was 10 by now-deceased Fr Peter Rushton — the first assault of years of weekly or fortnightly abuse to come.

Fr Rushton, who was Mr Gray’s godfather, would sometimes cut into Mr Gray’s back, “symbolic of the blood of Christ”, Mr Gray said.

He recounted a church camp during which he was chased by two men and raped in the bush while another boy was raped nearby.

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RHODE ISLAND
Boston Globe

By Kevin Cullen GLOBE COLUMNIST AUGUST 02, 2016

Pope Francis made a powerful statement last week without saying a word. His silent visit to Auschwitz allowed the stilled voices of all those murdered there to be heard.

The pope’s respectful silence showed that moral authority does not have to be shouted, that sometimes it’s what you don’t say that speaks louder.

The pope has gone some way toward restoring some of the moral authority of a church that was severely eroded by generations of covering up the sexual abuse of young people by priests. His success has been rooted as much in how he says things as what he says.

“Who am I to judge?” he says, and for someone who is deemed infallible on matters of his faith he has managed to maintain the tenets of Catholic teaching without coming off like a self-righteous, judgmental know-it-all.

And then there’s the bishop of Providence.

Every once in a while, Bishop Tom Tobin comes up with an ecclesiastical dope slap, a bracing reminder that not all of the hierarchy agree with the pope’s distaste for judgmental finger-wagging.

Years ago, Tobin decreed that Patrick Kennedy, then a Rhode Island congressman, should be denied Communion because Kennedy supported abortion rights.

When Nelson Mandela died, Tobin denounced Mandela’s “shameful promotion of abortion” in South Africa.

Last week, the good bishop took to his Facebook page to take a slap at Tim Kaine, the Democratic vice presidential nominee.

“Tim Kaine has been widely identified as a Roman Catholic. It is also reported that he publicly supports ‘freedom of choice’ for abortion, same-sex marriage, gay adoptions, and the ordination of women as priests,” Tobin wrote. “All of these positions are clearly contrary to well-established Catholic teachings; all of them have been opposed by Pope Francis as well. Senator Kaine has said, ‘My faith is central to everything I do.’ But apparently, and unfortunately, his faith isn’t central to his public, political life.”

And apparently, and unfortunately, as he sits in judgment of others, Bishop Tobin’s obsession with following Catholic teaching didn’t apply to the cases of Helen McGonigle and Jeff Thomas. Tobin’s response in those cases was not pastoral, it was dryly legalistic. It was not in keeping with the well-established Catholic teachings of humility and compassion.

A month before Tobin called Kaine out, Tobin’s lawyers succeeded in getting lawsuits against him by McGonigle and Thomas thrown out. The Rhode Island Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling that agreed with the bishop’s lawyers that McGonigle and Thomas didn’t file their suits in time.

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IRELAND
Irish Independent

Sarah MacDonald
PUBLISHED
02/08/2016

A former trainee priest who alleges he was harassed by a member of staff while studying at the national seminary in Maynooth is to meet members of the Garda sexual assault unit over the coming days to file a formal complaint against the priest.

The man, who wishes to remain anonymous for now, told the Irish Independent that the priest concerned was meant to be his “spiritual father” who would help him to “discern if God was calling” him to serve in the priesthood, and also to “act as a support and guide in living a chaste and celibate life”.

Instead, he alleges that the priest placed his hand on him inappropriately on a number of occasions, and that he asked him very intimate questions concerning his sexuality during meetings. This, he said, was not part of the priest’s remit.

He also told salacious jokes during the meetings.

“I am now, thank God, a happily married man. My faith was severely shaken after my experience in Maynooth, and I suffered from severe depression for a long time,” he recounted.

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AUSTRALIA
SBS

AAP

A mother has told an inquiry she informed the local bishop that an Anglican priest and a youth worker who were fostering children had booked a “sex tour” in Europe, but she never heard from the Church again.

Susan Aslin, who has four boys, said in the late 1970s she became concerned that Anglican youth worker James (Jim) Brown was preying on one of her sons.

Ms Aslin was giving evidence on Tuesday at a child sex abuse royal commission hearing into how the Anglican Diocese of Newcastle responded to repeated allegations of child sex abuse against a number of its clergy and lay workers over three decades.

In 2011 Brown pleaded guilty to 27 charges of child sexual abuse of boys and was sentenced to 20 years in jail with a non-parole period of 12 years.

The commission has heard Brown was closely associated with senior priest Peter Rushton who headed a pedophile ring in the Hunter region of NSW.

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

DAN BOX
Crime reporterSydney
@DanBox10

The Anglican Church in Newcastle, NSW, is “harbouring” a large number of active child abusers and has a history of violent abuse dating back decades and involving some of the city’s most influential people, a royal commission has heard.

The commission, whose public hearing opened this morning, has heard evidence that church officials provided boys to be raped and were allegedly protected by senior figures in the diocese.

Several abusive priests went to the same training college and subsequently occupied powerful positions in and around the city’s cathedral, including being appointed to church bodies established to respond to allegations of abuse.

“Records concerning professional standards matters in the diocese have been improperly altered or destroyed by members of the diocese,” counsel assisting the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, Naomi Sharp said.

The diocese’s Professional Standards Director, Michael Elliott, is expected to tell the commission “of his belief that the Diocese is harbouring a large number of active offenders with little or no accountability in place,” Ms Sharp said.

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AUSTRALIA
The Guardian

Australian Associated Press
Tuesday 2 August 2016

Paul Gray broke down in the witness stand at a royal commission hearing when he told how he was repeatedly raped by a gang of men at a boys’ home run by the Anglican church in the New South Wales Hunter Valley.

Gray wept as he recalled on Tuesday how his godfather, Father Peter Rushton, who was a priest at Cessnock, had anally raped him when he was just 10.

In the mid-1960s Rushton began taking Gray to St Alban’s Home for Boys where he was locked in a room and a number of men would rape or have oral sex with him, the royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse was told.

Gray told how Rushton would cut his back with a knife and smear the blood on his body, “symbolic of the blood of Christ”.

He was taken to St Alban’s regularly by Rushton for 18 months. He recalled how once a number of boys were made to lie on beds and six or eight men would choose a boy and take him to a separate room.

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AUSTRALIA
Daily Mail

By AUSTRALIAN ASSOCIATED PRESS AND CAMERON PHELPS FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA

An Anglican home for boys in the Hunter region of NSW was used by a paedophile ring headed by a senior clergyman to access and sexually abuse children.

On Tuesday the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse opened a two-week hearing into what the Anglican Diocese of Newcastle did to stop priest Peter Rushton and a pedophile network of clergy and laypeople who preyed on children for decades.

Victim Paul Gray gave evidence and said he was taken to St Albans School for Boys in the Hunter Valley in the 1960s, where there was a locked room called the ‘f***ing room’ where boys would be forced to have group oral and anal sex with adult men.

Mr Gray broke down in the witness stand when he told how he was repeatedly raped by a gang of men at the boys home.

Mr Gray wept as he recalled how his godfather Father Peter Rushton, who was a priest at Cessnock, had anally raped him when he was just 10.

In the mid-1960s Rushton began taking Mr Gray to St Alban’s Boys Home where he was locked in a room and a number of men would rape or have oral sex with him, the commission was told.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

By Dan Cox

An Anglican Church abuse survivor has told a royal commission’s hearings in Newcastle his back was cut while he was raped to symbolise Christ’s blood.

Abuse within the Anglican Diocese of Newcastle is being examined by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

Public hearings in the city are expected to go for two weeks and will focus on the experiences of survivors of child sexual abuse, as well as potential paedophile networks.

It will look at the past and present systems, policies and practices within the Newcastle diocese for responding to allegations of child sexual abuse.

Counsel assisting the commission Naomi Sharp said the hearings would also investigate St John’s College at Morpeth.

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AUSTRALIA
Newcastle Herald

JOANNE MCCARTHY
2 Aug 2016

HE was the man who brought Newcastle together in 1989 after an earthquake killed 13 people and severely damaged the Anglican Christchurch Cathedral.

He was the senior Newcastle cleric with a prominent role on the Anglican Church’s sexual abuse working group in 2003 that developed national professional standards.

But the 13th Anglican Dean of Newcastle, Graeme Lawrence, was also in a “gang of three” protecting a notorious Hunter paedophile priest, and led a Griffith group of offenders to the Hunter who were later defrocked after child sex allegations, the royal commission has heard.

Over the next two weeks the commission will hear evidence Mr Lawrence’s power and influence protected child sex offenders for several decades, but did not end with his defrocking in 2012.

“It is anticipated there will be evidence that Lawrence had, and continues to have, considerable influence in the diocese,” counsel assisting Naomi Sharp told the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse sitting in Newcastle on Tuesday.

That influence includes an allegation he has continued to preach at Adamstown parish despite the defrocking.

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AUSTRALIA
Newcastle Herald

IAN KIRKWOOD
2 Aug 2016

MORE than 30 years of child sexual abuse and cover-ups by clergy and lay members of various Anglican parishes have been laid bare on the opening day of the royal commission’s two-week hearing into the Anglican diocese of Newcastle.

In her opening address, counsel assisting the commission Naomi Sharp outlined in forensic detail the allegations against various well-known church figures – some dead, one in jail and others thrown out of the church.

Some of the abuse took place at St Alban’s Home for Boys at Cessnock, which was run by the church.

A number of the clerics involved had all studied together at St John’s Theological College at Morpeth. Some went on to hold senior positions in a clique of power that centred on the city’s Christ Church Cathedral. And as Ms Sharp recounted, these same men were even made members of committees or other church bodies charged with overseeing the response to the child sexual abuse scandal when it finally arose to public controversy.

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AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald

Ian Kirkwood

More than 30 years of child sexual abuse by clergy and lay members of various Anglican parishes have been laid bare on the opening day of the royal commission’s two-week hearing into the Anglican diocese of Newcastle.

In her opening address, counsel assisting the commission Naomi Sharp outlined allegations against various church figures – some of them dead, others alive and still fighting to stay out of jail.

Some of the abuse took place at St Alban’s Home for Boys at Cessnock, which was run by the church.

A number of the clerics involved had all studied together at St John’s Theological College at Morpeth. Some went on to hold senior positions in a clique of power that centred on the city’s Christ Church Cathedral. And as Ms Sharp recounted, these same men were even made members of committees or other church bodies charged with overseeing the response to the child sexual abuse scandal when it finally arose to public controversy.

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AUSTRALIA
Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse

live stream

The Royal Commission is holding a public hearing in Newcastle from Tuesday, 2 August 2016 commencing at 10:00am AEST.

The public hearing will inquire into the experiences of survivors of child sexual abuse perpetrated by clergy and lay people involved in or associated with the Anglican Diocese of Newcastle.

Location
The hearing will be held at Newcastle Courthouse, 343 Hunter Street, Newcastle.

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AUSTRALIA
Newcastle Herald

Joanne McCarthy and Dominica Sanda
2 Aug 2016

Tuesday, August 2

Opening address

10.45AM

Peter Rushton named. Born in 1940, completed diploma in theology at Morpeth college in 1963. Ordained as a priest in 1964. Met survivor Paul Gray in Cessnock at that time.

10.35AM

Counsel assisting Naomi Sharp opens her address.

Newcastle diocese established in 1847, stretching from the Central Coast to the Manning and Paterson areas in the north, and the Hunter region.

“This is the sixth public hearing that relates to the Anglican Church,”
– Ms Sharp.

Newcastle Anglican diocese is largely Anglo Catholic in theology, explains why many of the priests in the diocese refer to themselves as Father rather than Reverend.

Newcastle Bishops Ian Shevill (1973-77), Bishop Alfred Holland (1978-1992), Bishop Roger Herft (1992-2005), Bishop Brian Farran (2005-2012) and current Bishop Greg Thompson (2012 to the present.)

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LOUISIANA
The Advocate

BY JOE GYAN JR. | JGYAN@THEADVOCATE.COM AUG 1, 2016

A young woman who claims she was just 14 when she told a Baton Rouge-area Catholic priest that a longtime church parishioner was sexually abusing her, but that the priest did nothing to stop or report the alleged abuse, can tell a jury what she allegedly told the priest in a confession, a divided state appeals court ruled.

But the dissenting member of the three-judge 1st Circuit Court of Appeal panel warned that allowing Rebecca Mayeux to mention the confessions will “place an undue burden” on the Rev. Jeff Bayhi’s “right to the free exercise of his religion and violates the constitutional command of separation of church and state.”

The appellate court, in its Friday decision, backed state District Judge Mike Caldwell, who also stated in his February ruling that Mayeux’s attorneys won’t be allowed to argue to an East Baton Rouge Parish jury that Bayhi was mandated to report her allegations to the authorities.

Caldwell declared unconstitutional a provision of the Louisiana Children’s Code that requires clergy to report allegations of wrongdoing, even if learned in the privacy of the confessional.

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PENNSYLVANIA
PhillyVoice

BY RALPH CIPRIANO
PhillyVoice Contributor

At a bail hearing set for Tuesday morning, Msgr. William J. Lynn is expected to walk out of court as a free man.

The next move in the legal odyssey will be up to Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams.

Four years ago, it was Williams who successfully oversaw the prosecution of Lynn. The monsignor, who served as the Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s secretary for clergy from 1992 to 2004, was convicted by a jury in 2012 on one count of endangering the welfare of a child. The trial judge, M. Teresa Sarmina, subsequently sentenced Lynn to three to six years in prison.

The act of child endangerment involved the transfer of the Rev. Edward V. Avery, a priest with a prior accusation of sex abuse, to a new parish, without any notice to parishioners. Avery subsequently pleaded guilty to deviate sexual intercourse with a former 10-year-old altar boy dubbed “Billy Doe.”

It was a “historic” prosecution, the district attorney proclaimed. Lynn became the first Catholic administrator in the country to be sent to jail in the church’s ongoing sex abuse scandal, not for touching anybody, but for failing to adequately supervise an abusive priest.

But last December, the state Superior Court overturned Lynn’s conviction, and ordered a new trial on the grounds that the trial judge had let in too much prejudicial evidence against the church. Williams appealed to the state Supreme Court. Last week, the state’s highest court denied the district attorney’s petition, clearing the way for Lynn’s freedom.

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FRANKREICH
Katholisch

Die französische Staatsanwaltschaft hat die Ermittlungen gegen Lyons Kardinal Philippe Barbarin eingestellt. Das berichten französische Medien am Montag. Es habe keine Hinweise auf mögliche Straftaten gegeben, hieß es.

Der Anwalt Barbarins, Andre Soulier, begrüßte die Entscheidung laut dem Fernsehsender France Info, betonte jedoch zugleich, diese komme nicht überraschend. Es gehe nun nicht darum, zu triumphieren oder Revanche zu fordern, sondern allein um die Feststellung, dass Barbarin und seine Mitarbeiter keine Fehler gemacht hätten. Der Kardinal sei in Gedanken stets bei den Opfern, so Soulier.

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AUSTRALIA
Canberra Times

Christopher Knaus

The passage of time will no longer be a barrier for ACT survivors of child sexual abuse to sue institutions like the Catholic church for justice.

The ACT government will introduce a bill on Tuesday to scrap time limits that prevent survivors from lodging civil claims too long after their abuse has occurred.

Such time limits have been criticised as “clearly inappropriate” for abuse victims, and fail to recognise the terrible psychological toll the crimes take.

The current statute of limitations is six years, which begins when the young person turns 18.

That limit would, for example, prevent more victims of Marist Brother John William Chute – who abused boys repeatedly at Marist College Canberra in the 1970s and 1980s – from now coming forward with a civil claim, unless they could adequately justify the delay.

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AUSTRALIA
7 News

Annette Blackwell – AAP on August 2, 2016

The first of two major inquiries into child sex abuse by clergy and workers from Australia’s main Christian churches starts in Newcastle, NSW on Tuesday.

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse will spend two weeks investigating what senior Anglican clergy did to stop priest Peter Rushton and a pedophile network of clergy and church workers who operated in the Diocese of Newcastle for decades.

Rushton died in 2007 without ever being convicted.

There were believed to be up to 30 child sex abusers in the network, among them James Michael Brown who was jailed in 2012 for multiple offences against 20 boys while he was a youth worker.

Brown and Rushton were board members of the Anglican Church’s St Alban’s Boys Home at Aberdare, Cessnock.

In 2010 the Anglican Church named Rushton as a pedophile who organised boys to be abused by others.

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NEW YORK
New York Daily News

KENNETH LOVETT
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Updated: Monday, July 25, 2016

ALBANY — An upstate investor who has targeted Senate Republicans for not passing a measure making it easier for child sex abuse victims to seek justice hasn’t forgotten about the Assembly Democratic inaction on the issue this year.

Gary Greenberg, a child sex abuse survivor who has created a political action committee called Fighting For Children, has endorsed Rochester Democrat Rachel Barnhart, a long-time news anchor who is running a primary against three-term incumbent Harry Bronson.

“This endorsement is the only one I will be making in the Assembly,” he said. “The Assembly failed to take a vote on the Child Victims Act. Shame on them.”

Greenberg through his PAC will make a maximum $4,400 donation to Barnhart’s campaign.

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NEW YORK
New York Daily News

KENNETH LOVETT
DAILY NEWS ALBANY BUREAU CHIEF
Monday, August 1, 2016

ALBANY – The Democrat who won disgraced state Senate GOP Majority Leader Dean Skelos’ Long Island seat has the backing of a political action committee pushing for enactment of the Child Victims Act.

The Fighting for Children PAC, created by upstate investor and child sex abuse survivor Gary Greenberg, has endorsed Sen. Todd Kaminsky’s reelection. Kaminsky, a former federal prosecutor, won the seat in a special election in April.

“Todd’s work as a long time advocate for children’s issues and rights has allowed him to see firsthand the devastating impacts of child sex abuse,” Greenberg said.

Different versions of the Child Victims Act would either extend the time that child sex abuse victims can bring legal cases, or eliminate the time limit for doing so. The Senate Republicans blocked the measures from coming to a vote before the 2016 legislative session ended in June.

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FRANCE
Catholic Herald (UK)

AP

nsufficient evidence means that Cardinal Philippe Barbarin will not be prosecuted

A French prosecutor has thrown out the case of a prominent cardinal who was under investigation for alleged failure to report suspected paedophilia by a priest under his watch.

Lyon prosecutor Marc Cimamonti told The Associated Press on Monday that there wasn’t sufficient evidence against Cardinal Philippe Barbarin and the statute of limitations had expired for some of the allegations.

Barbarin had been questioned in June by investigators in the case of Rev. Bernard Preynat, a priest charged with sexual aggression and rape of a minor and accused of abusing boy scouts in the 1980s. Fr Preynat was removed from parish work in August 2015.

Barbarin said he was convinced Fr Preynat had reformed by 2007-2008 when they met. However, in April this year Barbarin admitted that “some mistakes” had been made in the management and nomination of certain priests.

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AFGHANISTAN
Independent (UK)

Siobhan Fenton @siobhanfenton

An Afghan cleric has defended his marriage to a six-year-old girl, saying she was a “religious offering” to him.

Mohammad Karim, who is believed to be in his sixties, was arrested after marrying the girl. He has told officials that he had been given the girl as a “religious offering” by her parents, Agence France-Presse reports.

However, her parents reportedly claim she was abducted without their consent from the Herat province.

He is being held by authorities in the central Ghor province, while investigations are underway.

Head of the Women Affairs Department in Ghor, Masoom Anwari, said: “This girl does not speak, but only repeats one thing: ‘I am afraid of this man’.”

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AFGHANISTAN
The Freethinker

Afghan Muslim cleric Mohammad Karim has been arrested after marrying a six-year-old girl.

According to this report, Karim – thought to be in his sixties – defended the marriage, saying she was a “religious offering” to him.

However, her parents claim she was abducted without their consent from the Herat province.

He is being held by authorities in the central Ghor province, while investigations are underway.

Head of the Women Affairs Department in Ghor, Masoom Anwari, said:
This girl does not speak, but only repeats one thing: ‘I am afraid of this man’.

The legal age for marriage in Afghanistan is 16 for women and 18 for men. However, child marriages continue to be common, particularly in rural areas.

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FRANCE
France 24

A French prosecutor on Monday dismissed a probe into allegations that Cardinal Philippe Barbarin covered up the sexual abuse of boy scouts, in a case that threatened to derail the career of France’s most prominent clergyman.

Barbarin, the archbishop of Lyon since 2002 and France’s highest-ranking Catholic prelate, had been accused of failing to remove a priest from his diocese when he became aware the man had sexually abused young boys 25 years ago.

The cardinal has said he learned in 2007 that the priest, Bernard Preynat, had been accused of sexually abusing scouts in the past.

Preynat was only charged in January after a victim who was allegedly abused in the 1980s realised in 2015 that the priest was still in service. Several other victims have also come forward.

Barbarin has said that when he learned of the priest’s past he immediately called a meeting with him and when he asked Preynat if he had committed further abuses since 1991 the priest swore he had not.

“You can reproach me for having believed him… but covering up means knowing and letting it happen,” Barbarin said, adding he had “absolutely never” done that.

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NEW YORK
Times Union

By Matthew Hamilton on August 1, 2016

Gotta catch ’em all — unless you’re a sex offender.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday directed the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision to restrict sex offenders on parole from playing the popular Pokemon Go and similar games. Cuomo also sent a letter to game developer Niantic requesting the company’s help in barring sex offenders from playing the game.

DOCCS has imposed a new condition of sex offenders’ parole that prohibits them from downloading and engaging in any internet enabled gaming activities. The new regulation applies to nearly 3,000 Level 1, 2 and 3 sex offenders currently on parole, Cuomo’s office said.

Cuomo also directed the state Division of Criminal Justice Services to provide Niantic with the most up-to-date sex offender registry information and to contact Apple and Google to notify them of public safety concerns and to work with them to enhance user safety.

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GUAM
Pacific News Center

[with video]

Haidee V Eugenio, Pacific Daily News
August 2, 2016

Expert: Apuron is a ‘serial child molester’

Another former altar boy told senators Monday morning that a priest and two other church members sexually abused him in the 1950s.

He is the fifth person since May to publicly accuse Guam clergy of sexual assault. Three former Agat altar boys since May have accused Archbishop Anthony Apuron of sexually abusing them in the 1970s, when he was parish priest. The mother of a dead former altar boy also has accused Apuron of molesting her son in the 1970s.

Leo B. Tudela, now 73, said he was sexually abused on three separate occasions by three people, including a priest, connected to the Archdiocese of Agana when he came to Guam in 1956.

Tudela testified during a public hearing on a bill that would lift the statute of limitations on civil lawsuits against those who sexually abuse children.

“I have cried on many occasions since then and continue to have memory flashbacks of the horrible things that happened to me,” said Tudela, who broke down several times as he narrated his ordeal. “I feel cheated and molested by people who were supposed to be my protector, comforter and God’s guardian angels.”

The sexual abuse happened after Tudela, who lived in Saipan, was invited to come to Guam to attend Catholic school, he said. He was 13 years old.

He was born and raised in Saipan in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and served as an altar boy at Mount Carmel Church in Chalan Kanoa, starting in 1954. Two other boys from Saipan and Tinian were invited to Guam at the time, he said.

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GUAM
Pacific Daily News

A deadline shouldn’t be imposed on justice.

Lawmakers should pass Bill 326-33, which would lift the 2-year civil statute of limitations in child sex abuse cases.

By removing the time restriction for suing child sex abusers, Sen. Frank Blas Jr.’s bill would give victims a better chance to seek justice. Blas recently revised the bill to strengthen it.

During a public hearing on the bill, three former altar boys who accused Archbishop Anthony Apuron of sexual abuse in the 1970s testified in support of the legislation. A man also testified and accused Apuron of raping his brother, a former altar boy.

When the hearing resumed Monday, a man came forward with other clergy sex abuse allegations.

As Guam and other jurisdictions address clergy sex abuse allegations, they are looking at reforms for child sexual abuse laws.

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GUAM
Senate Hearings on SOL Reform

[This testimony was given on August 1, 2016, in support of Guam Bill 326-33. A video of Tudela’s testimony is available here; scroll down to the second video and advance the video to 19:34. Tudela was introduced by Mr. Anthony B. San Nicolas, former Postmaster General of Guam; his remarks begin at 19:34. The video contains other testimony as well.]

While I was staying at the Capuchin Fathers Monastery [St. Fidelis Friary] in Agana Heights, one night in the early morning hours, I was awakened by someone touching my private area (penis) and massaging it. I was shocked, very frightened, scared and shaking to have a big shadow of a man sitting next to me. I started to cry as I could not believe what was going on. This was in the monastery of God and how could this be happening to me. He told me “it is okay, I am Brother Mariano.” I told him to please leave me alone but he continued to do what was doing. Finally, he got up and left the room. I took my blanket and covered my face and my whole body. I was crying and shaking. It was a night I would never forget. The next day, I told Brother Ferdinand Pangelinan what happened to me and soon after that, we were moved to Sinajana Catholic Church Rectory, to stay there.

While I was at the Sinajana Rectory [of St. Jude Thaddaeus parish], I met Father Louis Brouillard [at the time, Diocesan Chaplain of the Boy Scouts]. I believe he was teaching at St. Jude Catholic School and assisting Father Kieran [Hickey, OFM Cap, Superior Regular of the Diocese of Agana]. Father Louis invited me to come to Santa Teresita Church in Mangilao and help him as an Altar Boy and to clean the rectory. While I was staying there, I was told to join the Boy Scouts as part of my duty, along with the other three Altar Boys staying at the rectory.

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FRANCE
BBC News

Prosecutors in France have dropped an investigation into allegations that the Roman Catholic archbishop of Lyon failed to act against a priest accused of child sexual abuse.

Cardinal Philippe Barbarin was questioned by police in June over the case of Father Bernard Preynat, who is alleged to have abused boy scouts.

The French Catholic church has been accused of covering up abuse.

Cardinal Barbarin denied any wrongdoing but earlier admitted making mistakes.

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FRANCE
Daily Star

Agence France Presse

LYON: A French prosecutor on Monday dismissed a probe into allegations that Cardinal Philippe Barbarin covered up the sexual abuse of Scouts, in a case which shook the country’s Catholic Church.

Barbarin, the archbishop of Lyon in central France since 2002, had been accused of failing to remove a priest from his diocese when he became aware the man had sexually abused young boys 25 years ago.

At the end of a preliminary investigation in March, the prosecutor Marc Cimamonti had said the accusation that Barbarin had covered up the abuse had not been proven.

Barbarin has said he learnt in 2007 that the priest, Bernard Preynat, had been accused of sexually abusing Scouts in the past.

Preynat was only charged in January after a victim who was allegedly abused in the 1980s realised in 2015 that the priest was still in service. Several other victims have also come forward.

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FRANCE
Le Monde

Le procureur de Lyon a rendu sa décision, lundi 1er août, dans l’affaire dite « Barbarin » en classant sans suite l’enquête préliminaire ouverte en février pour « non-dénonciation » d’agressions sexuelles sur mineurs.

Au terme d’une enquête préliminaire ordonnée en mars, le procureur Marc Cimamonti a estimé que les infractions visées n’étaient pas constituées.

Période couverte par la prescription

Des victimes du père Bernard Preynat, mis en examen pour des agressions sexuelles commises il y a plus de vingt-cinq ans, reprochaient, en particulier au cardinal Barbarin, de ne pas avoir dénoncé les agissements du religieux à la justice et de l’avoir laissé en poste trop longtemps, jusqu’en août 2015, dans une paroisse où il était au contact d’enfants.

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FRANCE
France Soir

L’enquête pour “non-dénonciation” d’agressions sexuelles sur mineurs et “non-assistance à personne en danger”, dans laquelle le cardinal Philippe Barbarin a été mis en cause, a été classée sans suite, a indiqué ce lundi 1er à l’AFP le procureur de la République de Lyon. Des victimes du père Bernard Preynat, mis en examen fin janvier pour des agressions sexuelles commises sur des scouts lyonnais il y a plus de 25 ans, reprochaient en particulier au cardinal de ne pas avoir dénoncé les agissements du religieux à la justice et de l’avoir laissé en poste trop longtemps, jusqu’en août 2015, dans une paroisse où il était au contact d’enfants.

Au terme d’une enquête préliminaire ordonnée en mars, le procureur Marc Cimamonti a estimé que les infractions visées n’étaient pas constituées, notamment celle particulièrement sensible de la “non-dénonciation”. Plusieurs plaintes visant Mgr Barbarin, une des personnalités les plus influentes de l’Église catholique en France, et d’autres membres de l’Église avaient été déposées par des victimes du père Preynat, mis en examen pour des faits commis entre 1986 et 1991.

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FRANCE
The Local

A French prosecutor dismissed on Monday a probe into allegations that Cardinal Philippe Barbarin covered up the sexual abuse of scouts, in a case which shook the country’s Catholic Church.

Barbarin, the archbishop of Lyon in central France since 2002, had been accused of failing to remove a priest from his diocese when he became aware the man had sexually abused young boys 25 years ago.

Barbarin has said he learned in 2007 that the priest, Bernard Preynat, had been accused of sexually abusing Scouts in the past.

Preynat was only charged in January after a victim who was allegedly abused in the 1980s realised in 2015 that the priest was still in service.

Several other victims have also come forward.

Barbarin has said that when he learned of the priest’s past he immediately called a meeting with him and when he asked Preynat if he had committed further abuses since 1991 the priest swore he had not.

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IRELAND
The Register

A group of Irish trainee priests are being packed off to Roma, after claims some fathers-in-training at their existing berth in the Emerald Isle had developed a predilection for gay hookup site Grindr.

Catholic archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin, has reportedly pulled the diocese’s three trainees from St Partick’s College, Maynooth, citing “strange goings on” and a worrying “atmosphere” at the venerable seminary, The Irish Times reports.

“There seems to an atmosphere of strange goings-on there, it seems like a quarrelsome place with anonymous letters being sent around,” the archbish said obliquely. The three will instead continue their training at the Irish College in Rome.

The Irish Independent went into more detail, reporting that there had been accusations of “inappropriate” behaviour at Maynooth, with some seminarians apparently using Grindr.

The Irish Independent added that at least one other bishop is considering withdrawing his trainees from the Kildare college, which has 60 seminarians in all.

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IRELAND
Irish Mirror

BY BARRY ARNOLD

The three students will be sent to the Irish college in Rome in the autumn

Archbishop Diarmuid Martin will not be sending trainee priests to study at Maynooth’s national seminary the autumn.

The students for Dublin will instead be sent to the Irish college in Rome.

The move comes after it was reported seminarians at Maynooth had been using Grindr, a gay dating app, until recently.

Dublin Live reports that the Archbishop has denied that his decision is linked to the scandal, stating “I have my own reasons for doing this”.

But he added that he had made his decision “some months ago”.

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IRELAND
Irish Independent

Sarah McDonald
PUBLISHED
01/08/2016

Pope Francis surprised the Irish Church when he announced the resignation of two Irish bishops.

Bishop Martin Drennan of Galway and Kilmacduagh and Bishop Seamus Freeman of Ossory both cited health concerns as their reason for stepping down three years early. The announcements were made last Friday.

While Bishop Drennan’s decision to retire appears to have been unexpected, there had been mounting disquiet in the diocese of Ossory over Bishop Freeman’s leadership in the face of a financial crisis linked to the spiralling costs of a renovation programme at St Mary’s Cathedral in Kilkenny.

Disagreements and concerns over the management of the project had caused some members of the diocesan finance committee to resign last year.
Last January, Bishop Freeman instigated a listening process within the diocese in a bid to allow all sides to be heard.

However, the process is believed to have exacerbated tensions, with some clergy voicing strong criticism of Bishop Freeman’s stewardship.

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IRELAND
Irish Independent

Sarah MacDonald
PUBLISHED
01/08/2016

The country’s largest Catholic diocese has confirmed it will not be sending any of its trainee priests to study at the national seminary in Maynooth this autumn.

Amid reports of a crisis at the Co Kildare seminary, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin has now opted to send his student priests to the Irish College in Rome.

The seminary is headed up by Dubliner Monsignor Ciaran O’Carroll, who has worked closely with Dr Martin in the past.

Three trainee priests from the archdiocese of Dublin will move to the Rome this autumn to further their studies and training.

The seminarians are all at various stages in their training.

There are roughly 60 resident seminarians studying at Maynooth.

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IRELAND
Dublin Live

1 AUG 2016

BY BARRY ARNOLD

Three students will instead be sent to the Irish college in Rome

Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin will be sending trainee priests to study at the National Seminary in Maynooth this Autumn.

Instead, three students will be sent to the Irish college in Rome, reports the Irish Independent.

The decision comes after it was reported that some seminarians have, until recently, been using the gay dating app Grindr.

The Archbishop has denied that his decision is linked to the scandal, stating “I have my own reasons for doing this”.

But he added that he had made his decision “some months ago”.

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IRELAND
Clare FM

1 August, 2016

The Archbishop of Dublin has denied that a rumoured gay sub culture at the National Seminary is the reason he’s not sending his trainee priests there.

According to the Irish Independent the three student priests will study at the Irish college in Rome instead.

It comes after the scandal in May where it was revealed that some seminarians in Maynooth had been using a gay dating app.

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IRELAND
98 FM

The Archdiocese of Dublin won’t be sending its trainee priests to the National Seminary in Maynooth.

It’s been confirmed the three students will instead be sent to the Irish college in Rome, the Irish Independent reports.

Suggestions had been made that a gay subculture exists at the Maynooth seminary, after it was revealed in May that some student priests had been using a gay dating app.

Dublin’s Archbishop Diarmuid Martin has denied that his decision is linked to the scandal.

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IRELAND
Sunday World

The country’s largest Catholic diocese has confirmed it will not be sending any of its trainee priests to study at the national seminary in Maynooth this autumn.

Amid reports of a crisis at the Co Kildare seminary, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin has now opted to send his student priests to the Irish College in Rome.

The seminary is headed up by Dubliner Monsignor Ciaran O’Carroll, who has worked closely with Dr Martin in the past.

Three trainee priests from the archdiocese of Dublin will move to the Rome this autumn to further their studies and training.

The seminarians are all at various stages in their training.

There are roughly 60 resident seminarians studying at Maynooth.

Archbishop Martin is a trustee of Maynooth along with the three other catholic archbishops in the Irish Church and a number of bishops.

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IRELAND/ROME
Irish Times

Paddy Agnew

The Catholic Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin has decided to cease sending trainee priests from the diocese to St Patrick’s College, Maynooth because of a worrying “atmosphere” at the national seminary.

Asked about the decision of the Dublin archdiocese to send its three seminary students next autumn to the Irish Pontifical College in Rome rather than to Maynooth, Dr Martin told The Irish Times: “I wasn’t happy with Maynooth…

“There seems to an atmosphere of strange goings-on there, it seems like a quarrelsome place with anonymous letters being sent around.

“I don’t think this is a good place for students,” he said. “However, when I informed the president of Maynooth of my decision, I did add ‘at least for the moment’.”

The Archbishop’s decision to send his students to Rome comes after anonymous letters were circulated in clerical circles about student activities in Maynooth, including an allegation that some seminarians had used a dating app.

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NEW JERSEY
Star-Ledger

Archbishop John Myers finally turned 75 Tuesday, the mandatory retirement age for bishops, and announced he intends to step down.

Blessed are we to be rid of this man. During his 15-year tenure as New Jersey’s highest-ranking Catholic, he protected pedophile priests and used church funds to expand an already large weekend house into an opulent retirement mansion.

He urged his flock to vote based on two issues — abortion and gay marriage — at the threat of being denied Holy Communion.

He refused to meet with any of the thousands of parishioners protesting his extravagance, who said the money would be better spent feeding the hungry or housing the homeless; or to answer questions from the press.

And now, in an exit interview with the Bergen Record, he is giving the Pope lessons on how to handle the media. Priceless.

The Catholic Church does tremendous good in this state. It’s not just the schools, the hospitals, the food pantries, and all the charity that helps hold communities together and bind its wounds. It is also a spiritual home that gives so many people meaning and solace. Myers will soon be just a bad memory.

But we hope Pope Francis replaces Myers quickly with someone more in line with his message of change. Could you ever imagine the “people’s pope” building himself a house with six bedrooms, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, three fireplaces, a three-car garage, an elevator and a hot tub?

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GUAM
KUAM

[with copy of Mr. Tudela’s full statement]

Updated: Jul 31, 2016

By Jason Salas

Another person has come forward, alleging members of Guam’s Catholic clergy of sexual molestation. Born in 1943, Leo Tudela, originally from Saipan, openly wept before the community as he detailed a series of traumatic events involving clergy after he came to Guam to attend Catholic school in the summer of 1956. Tudela testified at a continued public hearing at the Guam Legislature over a substitute version of Bill 326, which seeks to lift the statute of limitations for cases involving child sex abuse. Last week, Archbishop Anthony Apuron’s accusers testified at a similar public hearing for the bill.

While strongly urging passage of the legislation, Tudela shared his very personal and painful recollection of a series of events that happened to him when he was 13 years old. Now 73, he tearfully detailed how on three occasions, he was molested and forced to perform sexual acts upon himself.

Tudela began by describing how he came to Guam in the summer of 1956 to attend Catholic school, residing at the monastery in Agana Heights. One night, he recalled, he awoke to discover a man touching his penis, who Tudela said identified himself as “Brother Mariano”. He also detailed that while later staying in the rectory, one night he felt someone massaging his penis, who he identified as “Father Luis”.

Additionally, he said that while in the Boy Scouts, he was also told by a scout leader to remove his pants and masturbate. Tudela explained that altar boys were required to join the Boy Scouts – if they refused to perform lascivious acts, they would be forced to work duties around the campgrounds.

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GUAM
KUAM

Updated: Aug 01, 2016

By Krystal Paco

Dozens of picketers continued their Sunday ritual outside the Hagatna Cathedral holding signs directed towards Guam’s interim Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai, telling him to stop collecting money for the Redemptoris Mater Seminary as well as messages to defrock Archbishop Anthony Apuron. Archbishop Hon was appointed by the Vatican to serve the Archdiocese of Agana as an apostolic administrator while Apuron has been placed on leave.

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National Catholic Register

ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE — During his flight from Krakow to Rome on Sunday, Pope Francis gave a press conference to the journalists assembled aboard the papal plane. He reflected on the World Youth Day gathering in the Polish city, and the recent attempted coup in Turkey.

He also addressed abuse accusations against Cardinal Pell, the crisis in Venezuela, Islam and violence, and Panama – which will host the next World Youth Day.

Below is the full text of the July 31 press conference, translated by Catholic News Agency: …

Father Lombardi: Now we give the word to Frances D’Emilio, who is a colleague from the Associated Press, the large English-language agency

Frances D’Emilio, AP: Good evening. My question is a question that many are asking in these days because it has come to light in Australia that the Australian police would be investigating new accusations against Cardinal Pell, and that this time the accusations involve the abuse of minors that are very different from the previous accusations. So, the question that I ask which many others ask is: according to you, what would be the right thing for Cardinal Pell to do, given his serious situation and in such an important position and the confidence that he enjoys from you?

Pope Francis: Thank you. The first information that arrived was confusing. It was news from 40 years back that not even the police made a case about at first. It was a confusing thing. Then, all the rest of the accusations were sent to justice. Right now, they are in the hands of justice. And one mustn’t judge before justice judges, eh. If I were to say a judgement in favor of or against Cardinal Pell, it wouldn’t be good because I [would] judge before. It’s true that there there is doubt and there’s that clear principal of the law: in dubio pro reo (Editor’s note: the phrase is a Latin expression meaning in favor of the alleged guilty party), no? But, we must wait for justice and not make a first judgement ourselves, a media trial, or … because this doesn’t help. The judgement of gossip and then, one can…we don’t know what the result will be but be attentive to what justice decides. Once justice speaks, I will speak. Thank you.

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International Business Times

By Lara Rebello
August 1, 2016

Pope Francis has stated that he will not take a position in the case against cardinal George Pell and will allow justice to take its course regarding allegations that the Australian priest sexually abused children.

Speaking to reporters aboard the papal airplane, the Pope said that while waiting for the court to pass its judgement, it was important that there was no trial by media regarding Pell, who is the Vatican finance chief.

“We must avoid a media verdict, a verdict based on gossip,” he said during the flight back from Poland on 31 July. “It’s in the hands of the justice system and one cannot judge before the justice system.

“Justice has to take its course and justice by the media or justice by rumour does not help. After the justice system speaks, I will speak,” he said in response to a question, adding that he had his “doubts” regarding the case.

Victoria state police commissioner Graham Ashton had confirmed last week that the authorities were investigating Pell regarding complaints he molested children while still a young priest. The 75-year-old priest had earlier been accused of mishandling cases of abusive clergy when he was archbishop of Melbourne and later Sydney. He has denied all charges while criticising the Australian Broadcasting Corporation for mounting a smear campaign against him. He said that they had “no licence to destroy the reputation of innocent people”.

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MISSOURI
TheMediaReport

David Pierre

After years of haranguing the Catholic Church over its alleged “lack of transparency” in its handling of abuse cases, David Clohessy, the national director of the lawyer-funded hate group SNAP, is again not only defying a federal judge’s orders to hand over important documents in the case of a falsely accused priest, but he is also now orchestrating a fraudulent media campaign about it.

As we have reported before, Rev. Xiu Hui “Joseph” Jiang has filed a federal lawsuit against his accusers, SNAP, and members of the St. Louis police department for publicly and wrongfully accusing him of being a child molester.

After SNAP openly defied two court orders directing them to turn over important documents in its possession, Fr. Jiang’s lawyers are now asking the court to sanction SNAP for its contumacious refusal to obey the court’s discovery orders.

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UNITED KINGDOM
IOL

Arthur Martin and Rachel Watson

London – More than 30 million images of child sex abuse have been discovered and over 500 young victims have been identified by a major police operation.

Police in Scotland have charged 77 people with crimes against children, including the rape of some as young as three.

Other charges relate to sharing indecent images of children, grooming for sexual purposes, sexual extortion and indecent communication with children.

In one case, a computer with ten million images depicting child abuse was found. Police said it would take four full-time officers six months just to view the images uncovered.

Of the 523 victims and potential victims, 122 have been referred to child protection services.

The crackdown, called Operation Lattise, involved 134 separate investigations, carried out between June 6 and July 15. The victims were identified after the homes of 83 people were searched and 547 computers and other devices were seized.

Assistant Chief Constable Malcolm Graham of Police Scotland said some of the material involved abuse of babies. He described the online grooming of children and sharing of indecent images as a “national threat”.

Almost 400 charges have been brought so far – but police expect this figure to rise as they identify more suspects. Of those arrested, six are already registered sex offenders and four were in “positions of trust”. One suspect was found to be communicating with more than 110 children. …

Meanwhile, police probing an alleged sex abuse cover-up by Church of England leaders have interviewed Australian victims.

Former archbishop of York Lord David Hope of Thornes, 76, is being investigated for possible misconduct in public office over his handling of complaints of abuse by a fellow clergyman.

The late Rev Robert Waddington was suspected of having raped pupils at a north Queensland boarding school in the 1960s before allegedly abusing choir boys as the Dean of Manchester.

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GUAM
KUAM

[with video]

Updated: Aug 01, 2016

By Krystal Paco

A public hearing for a substitute version of Bill 326 turned into the tearful testimony of one alleged victim of child sex abuse by multiple members of the church. While Archbishop Anthony Apuron has had four alleged victims come forward and accuse him of molestation, three others of the Archdiocese of Agana stand accused as of today.

Not once, but three times 73-year-old Leo Tudela alleges he fell victim to child sex abuse in the church. In support of a substitute version of Bill 326, which lifts the statute of limitations for such cases, he detailed three painful and personal memories as a young altar boy leaving his home in Saipan to live in Guam to attend Catholic school. The year was 1956.

“While I was staying at the Capuchin Fathers Monastery in Agana Heights, one night in the early morning hours, I was awakened by someone touching my private area, my penis, and massaging and masturbating me,” he recalled, tearing up repeatedly. “He told me, ‘It’s okay. I’m Brother Mariano.’ I told him to please leave me alone, but he continued to do what he was doing.”

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GUAM
KUAM

Updated: Aug 01, 2016

By Krystal Paco

Longtime social worker and licensed mental health counselor Vincent Pereda testified in support of Bill 326. He also gave examples of the punishment that Archbishop Anthony Apuron would have faced if convicted of rape or molestation in today’s justice system.

He explained, “Had he been reported when he committed these criminal acts back in the 70s when he was a parish priest, he would today by current law be charged with 1st and 2nd degree criminal sexual conduct as 1st degree felonies, which are the most serious level of sexual conduct offenses. If convicted for these crimes, he would be facing a minimum of 15 years to life.”

Pereda was a member of the Archdiocesan Review Board, the group tasked with investigating sex abuse allegations in the church. Earlier this year, Pereda resigned from his position on the board because he recognized flaws in the policy that enabled the archbishop to make all the decisions, even if he was the accused perpetrator.

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AUSTRALIA
Newcastle Herald

JOANNE MCCARTHY
1 Aug 2016

EIGHT Anglican bishops and archbishops, including six current or past bishops of Newcastle, will give evidence during a royal commission public hearing from Tuesday into child sexual abuse in the Hunter region.

Former Newcastle Bishops Alfred Holland and Richard Appleby will give evidence in the first few days of the hearing after survivors Phillip D’Ammond and Paul Gray give evidence on Tuesday about being sexually abused as children.

The hearing will start with allegations about the late Anglican priest Peter Rushton, and sexual abuse of children at St Alban’s Children’s Home at Cessnock.

The list of 30 witnesses includes former Bishops of Newcastle Roger Herft and Brian Farran, former trustee and member of Newcastle Diocesan Council Keith Allen, former diocese registrar Peter Mitchell, former diocesan solicitor Robert Caddies, and former chancellor Paul Rosser, QC.

The witness list does not include former Anglican Dean of Newcastle Graeme Lawrence, despite the defrocked clergyman being named by the royal commission as a subject of inquiry into how the diocese responded to child sex allegations against him.

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