ABUSE TRACKER

AUSTRALIA
The Canberra Times

New allegations of alleged conspiracies, cover-ups and broken lives have emerged, with questions about what Pell knew about paedophilia in the Catholic Church before he become Archbishop of Melbourne.

Louise Milligan

When the Most Reverend George Pell was still Auxiliary Bishop of Melbourne, he had the passing acquaintance of a priest in his region called Father Noel Brady. Brady is now parish priest at Resurrection Kings Park, a thriving western suburbs community where he ministers to a distinctly multicultural group of worshippers. He is an understated man and he blanches from any colourful descriptors of Pell or indeed of Pell’s motives. Brady says he prefers to stick to the facts. And the facts he alleges fly in the face of everything Pell now says about what he knew about paedophilia and how he handled it in the Catholic Church before becoming Archbishop of Melbourne in 1996.

Brady was ordained a priest in 1992 and his first parish, where he worked as assistant priest, was St Mary’s, Dandenong, in Melbourne’s outer south-east. Dandenong was in the southern region for which Pell was responsible for ministering as auxiliary bishop. Brady was appointed to St Mary’s on July 8, 1992, and that date is significant, he tells me. About four months after Brady arrived at the parish, he says a young couple who were parishioners came to see him after Mass.

They were extremely concerned about the husband’s brother, who lived a bit further out in Narre Warren. The young man was a victim of Father Kevin O’Donnell and Brady went to see him. “I will never forget walking around the property with [him] and the telling of his story reducing us both to tears,” Brady later wrote.

O’Donnell was by then a retired priest who was still living in a house on Church property in Dandenong. “It was awkward to say the least,” says Brady of the living arrangement – particularly since O’Donnell was good friends with Brady’s superior, the parish priest. In a 1989 confirmation ceremony video at Sacred Heart in south-west Melbourne’s Oakleigh, where O’Donnell was ministering at the time, Pell praised O’Donnell and another priest “for all the work they are doing here”.

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AUSTRALIA
The Age

Beau Donelly

Explosive claims of child sex abuse have been levelled against Australia’s highest-ranking Catholic official, Cardinal George Pell.

A soon-to-be-released book about Cardinal Pell contains detailed claims that he sexually abused two choirboys at St Patrick’s Cathedral in Melbourne in the late 1990s.

The book, Cardinal: The Rise And Fall of George Pell, also contains new information about the child abuse cover-up within the church, including allegations that he knew about paedophile priests earlier than he claimed.

It is written by ABC journalist Louise Milligan, who revealed historic sex abuse allegations against Cardinal Pell in a 2016 report for the 7.30 program.

Earlier this year, Milligan and her colleague Andy Burns won the Melbourne Press Club’s Gold Quill for their report.

Milligan interviewed two men, Lyndon Monument and Damian Dignan, who claimed they were sexually assaulted by Cardinal Pell, then a priest, at Ballarat’s Eureka Pool in the late 1970’s.

Police confirmed earlier this year that a brief of evidence against Cardinal Pell had been returned to the Office of Public Prosecutions for consideration.

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INDIA
India.com

By Zeeshan Shaikh | Updated: May 12, 2017

Thrissur, May 12: A Pastor who was once attached with the Salvation Army Church at Peechi, in Thrissur has been given life sentence until death by a POCSO court after he was found guilty of raping a 13-year-old girl. The judgement was given today by session court judge Nickson M Joseph, as the court found Pastor Sanal K James (35) guilty of sexually abusing a minor girl on several occasions at his official residence from 2013 to 2015. According to a report, the victim belonged to a poor Dalit family who lived near the Salvation Army Church.

According to Deccan Chronicle, Pastor Sanal K James had also sexually abused another minor girl during the same period for which he was sentenced to 40 years’ imprisonment by the same court a few months ago.

The Pastor was slapped with charges under both POCSO and Indian Penal Code. The child sexual abuse was reported after the victim revealed her ordeal to her teacher who alerted the Childline. After the case came on the public domain the issue was first brought before the Child Welfare Committee, which later informed that the police after which a case was filed against Pastor James. The pastor was then arrested after the medical report found the girl was raped several times.

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GUAM
The Guam Daily Post

Mindy Aguon |For The Guam Daily Post May 12, 2017

A swimming outing to Agana Springs in 1960 will forever haunt a man who was 9 years old at the time, according to documents filed in court yesterday.

P.W., whose initials are being used to protect his identity, filed a lawsuit in the District Court of Guam yesterday against the Archdiocese of Agana, the Boy Scouts of America and Louis Brouillard, a former priest and Boy Scout Master on Guam.

The complaint states P.W. met Brouillard during weekly outings with the Mangilao parish and Boy Scouts, but he was not an altar boy or Boy Scout.

He alleges Brouillard would routinely drive around the village of Mangilao to pick up boys at their homes to take them swimming.

On one occasion, Brouillard allegedly picked up P.W. from his home and took him to Agana Springs to swim.

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ISRAEL
Israel Blogger

By Zev M. Shandalov
May 12, 2017

I recently posted an article in which I made a suggestion about how, perhaps, the residents of Bet Shemesh can come together to try to resolve the ongoing religious conflicts and violence in their community. I wrote this as a total outsider, but with the intention of trying to voice an opinion of a potential way to move forward. While many were very complimentary about the ideas, there were some who felt I was blaming the victim; preaching only to the choir; putting the burden on the Dati LeUmi community, etc.

I hear all of the arguments on both sides.

First, let me say that I, in no way, believe that I have THE answers. I simply sit in utter frustration, watching from the sidelines, as Jews act in ways that are similar to the pre-Churban days. It is frustrating to no end to KNOW that there are good people out there, who are trying to right this immeasurable wrong of Jews taking to the street to attack other Jews, and they are met with deafening silence.

In yet an earlier post, I wrote about the potential tragic results of leaders NOT publicly condemning these acts of violence–and that was BEFORE a woman was recently sent to the hospital after being attacked.

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AUSTRALIA
Newcastle Herald

Megan Neil
12 May 2017

NEWCASTLE’S Anglican diocese maintains it will pay proper compensation to child abuse victims despite needing to find almost $1 million after underestimating its redress obligations.

The diocese has already paid almost $5 million in compensation to people sexually abused as children by Anglican clergy and lay people. It had budgeted for $1.5 million in redress for 2017 and 2018.

But Bishop Peter Stuart says the estimates for redress funding for 2017 and 2018 may be too low and many of the claims relate to events not covered by insurance, or where the insurer has refused to pay due to the failure of diocesan processes.

The projected funding shortfall for 2018 is nearly $950,000, he said.

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GUAM
KUAM

May 12, 2017

By Krystal Paco

He’s 66 years old now, but when he was nine or ten years old P.W. alleges he was molested by a Mangilao priest. That priest was Fr. Louis Brouillard. Although the latest victim says he was not an altar boy nor a boy scout, he was invited to go along on a swimming outing. P.W. alleges on his first trip he along with the other boys was told to swim naked, as did the priest. They were taken back to the rectory where Fr. Brouillard then took nude pictures of the children. P.W. marks the 63rd person to come forward alleging childhood clergy sex abuse perpetrated by priests in Guam.

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GUAM
Pacific News Center

Written by Donna De Jesus

A total of five lawsuits were filed this week against the church.

Guam – After five recent child sex abuse filings in recent weeks, there are now 65 lawsuits against the Archdiocese of Agana.

Three out of the five alleged victims, using their initials E.T., J.S., and R.B.R., claimed that former priest and Boy Scout master, Louis Brouillard, abused them in the late 1970s when they were altar boys at the Barrigada Parish as well as boy scouts in the Barrigada troop. All three allege that Brouillard would grope them when he would make them swim naked. They claim he would also sexually abuse them in the church rectory. R.B.R.’s complaint states that Brouillard reassured him by saying “It’s okay. All of the other boys do it,” before forcing him to perform various sex acts.

The latest to file, P.W., claims Brouillard abused him in the early 60s when Brouillard was a priest at the Mangilao parish. P.W. was not an altar boy or a boy scout, but the complaint states that the former priest allowed him to hang out at the parish. P.W. claims that Brouillard would line the boys up in front of a mirror and take nude photos of them.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
WHYY

05/09/2017

The List tells the hidden story of one of the worst criminal cover-ups in America’s history. The victims, hundreds of children whose lives were destroyed. The perpetrators, Catholic clergy protected by their church.

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IRELAND
Irish Independent

Eilish O’Regan
May 12 2017

The response of banks to loans linked to St Vincent’s Hospital campus in Dublin is believed to be key to defusing the row over ownership of the new National Maternity Hospital.

Health Minister Simon Harris and his officials met with members of the St Vincent’s Healthcare Group yesterday to discuss securing a lease which would allow the State to own the €300m maternity hospital to be built on the campus.

The revelation that the Order of the Sisters of Charity, which controls the group, will own the hospital caused a public outcry. This is despite the insistence that an agreement between the existing National Maternity Hospital in Holles Street and St Vincent’s guarantees its independence.

The new effort by the State to gain ownership is complicated by the fact that the banks have fixed and floating charges on the entire campus.

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ISRAEL
Haaretz

The practice was simple: If you don’t speak about sexual violence, it doesn’t exist. Then these three started a Haredi awareness revolution

Nati Tucker May 11, 2017

Jerusalem in late 2015 was a place marked by fear. It was mainly fear of lone wolf terrorists with knives, but Avigail Karlinsky thought it time to explain something to men: Maybe they weren’t used to constantly being alert, warily looking left and right for attackers, but women were. “I hereby tell you that a woman walking in the street alone at night walks just like that,” the 28-year-old Karlinsky, who is ultra-Orthodox, wrote on Facebook. “Every woman knows what I’m talking about. There isn’t a single one who doesn’t.”

Publishing a post like that in October 2015 was highly unusual in the Haredi community. Sexual violence isn’t a topic for conversation, certainly not something to be spoken about out loud. It turned out she had touched a very sore nerve.

“I wasn’t prepared for what happened after I posted that,” says Karlinsky, who belongs to the non-Hasidic (Lithuanian) ultra-Orthodox community. “I had entered a vacuum so immense in the Haredi community that everybody who had anything to say about sexual harassment, a personal story or somebody near them – everybody came to me. Dreadful stories started to pour in. I was inundated. It affected me physically. For two weeks I was just sick. I couldn’t stand on my feet.”

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UNITED STATES
Jewish Community Watch

Posted on May 11, 2017
Written By Meyer Seewald

It’s been almost six years since I found myself in tears, sitting on a floor as a victim of childhood sexual abuse described to me in detail how, at 14 years old, Mendel Tevel performed oral sex on him. Tevel was seen by many as a beloved, caring, and charming “mashpia” (spiritual guidance counselor) within the Chabad community of Crown heights Brooklyn and beyond. I remember this conversation as if it happened yesterday. It would be one of many sleepless nights to come which I experienced during my years of confronting childhood sexual abuse within the Orthodox Jewish community.

At the time he told me of the matter, this victim was not ready to press charges. I started doing research on Tevel and found out that he was a staff member at a school and camp in upstate New York. After months of investigation that included hundreds of hours taking phone calls, ten separate people alleged to me that they were victims of Mendel Tevel. The acts theydescribed Tevel forcing them to be a part of where some of the most depraved and terrifying accounts of sexual torture I have ever heard. These included, but are not limited to, whipping them with hangers until they bled, and leaving one victim tied up naked and left on the floor. (Click here to read more stories in the Jewish Journal.)

Shortly after Jewish Community Watch warned the Los Angeles Jewish community of the danger he posed to their children, several people contacted us with stories of how tevel tried groom their children for potential sexual abuse. Instead of taking action, the JEM Community Center, which is owned and operated by the Illulian family – and the family that Tevel married into – continued to support Mendel Tevel and provide him with unfettered access to children at the JEM center.

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UNITED STATES
SOME PEOPLE LIVE MORE IN 20 YEARS…

MAY 11, 2017
ASHER LOVY

Apparently, the Moetzes Gedolei Yisrael of Israel have called for a “Day of Tefilos” to raise awareness about the spiritual problems technology posed by technology. As a community, we’ve become accustomed to these mass displays of piety, and international calls for prayer in hopes of inspiring a generation, and perhaps some divine assistance, to rid itself from the potential stumbling blocks in the way of spiritual purity, and connection to God. From asifos against the Internet in Citi Field, to international days of prayer, the Charedi world is awash in the mass organization of truly astounding feats of community organizing. One imagines that this kind of response could only be triggered by something perceived as an existential thread to the international charedi community. That is, after all, how they perceive modern technologies like smartphones and the ubiquity of the Internet: as an evil ploy of the Evil Inclination, whose only interest is in making sinning easier than its ever been before.

But what of the other existential threats that plague our communities? What of the rampant sexual abuse that is enabled by polices like those of Agudath Israel of America, which enable abuse and protect abusers, by mandating that victims of abuse and their families go to rabbis rather than law enforcement when they are abused? Surely this is as much an existential crisis as any other. Surely, with the number of people who eventually leave Orthodoxy, going “off the derech,” as a result of abuse they’ve suffered at the hands of a seemingly indifferent community, something must be done!

Apparently not.

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AUSTRALIA
Australian Jewish News

VICTORIA Police is working with Bialik College to identify students who may have been photographed by a former teacher who has been charged with making child pornography.

The media studies teacher, a 52-year-old man from Noble Park, worked at Bialik until 2015. He then moved to Mount Scopus, where he worked until he was suspended last week.

In an exclusive interview with The AJN this week, Bialik principal Jeremy Stowe-Lindner and Mount Scopus principal Rabbi James Kennard explained what happened and how they dealt with the issue.

Stowe-Lindner said that the teacher left a hard drive at Bialik when he left the school.

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UNITED KINGDOM
The Jewish News

BY FRANCINE WOLFISZ May 11, 2017

My life is not what it was. I had a comfortable job, a serene life, I was involved communally. Things were going very well. Then this happened and it changed my world.”

Three decades may have passed, but Manny Waks, now 41, admits not a day goes by without acknowledging the sexual abuse he suffered as a child.

Raised in a strictly-Orthodox Jewish home in Melbourne, the second oldest of 17 children was betrayed by two men trusted by his family.

For years, Waks resisted telling anyone, but in 2011 he went public about his experiences in an attempt to bring his abusers to justice.

That testimony was more explosive than he imagined: it became the catalyst for an Orthodox sex abuse scandal that rocked Australia and resulted in the conviction of several men for sexually abusing boys during the 1980s and 1990s.

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MINNESOTA
Star Tribune

By Staff and wire reports MAY 11, 2017

An overwhelming majority of victims of clergy sex abuse in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis favor a compensation plan submitted by a creditors’ committee, attorneys representing the victims said Thursday.

According to the attorneys, 406 people who have been victims of abuse in the archdiocese, which filed for bankruptcy protection in 2015, recently voted on competing compensation plans. U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Robert Kressel ruled late last year that the proposals would be voted on by victims, but the final decision on what plan prevails remains up to the court.

Of those voting, 94 percent favored a plan submitted by an abuse survivors’ committee over one submitted by the archdiocese, according to victims’ attorney Jeff Anderson.

The plan from the archdiocese includes a fund of more than $155 million for abuse victims who filed claims in bankruptcy court. Most of that money would come from insurance payments. The survivors’ committee plan calls for the archdiocese to increase its contributions to the victims’ fund to at least $80 million.

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AUSTRALIA
WA Today

Brendan Foster

A former member of the Jehovah Witness congregation will appear in court next week after he was charged with sexually assaulting four boys.

The charges stem from ongoing investigations linked to the Royal Commission into institutional child sexual offences.

Police allege between 1993 to 2013, the 44-year-old man sexually assaulted four boys aged between 14 and 16 at the time of the offences.

The alleged abuse is said to have occurred in Chidlow and Mundaring and during the period in question the man was an active member of the Mundaring Jehovah Witness congregation.

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AUSTRALIA
PerthNow

AAP, PerthNow
May 11, 2017

A PERTH man has been charged with sexually abusing four teenage boys over a 20 year period while he was a Jehovah’s Witness.

Police say the man abused the boys between 1993 and 2013 when they were aged between 14 and 16.

The 44-year-old faces numerous charges, including four counts of indecent assault, and will appear at Midland Magistrates Court on May 23.

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MINNESOTA
Pioneer Press

By TAD VEZNER | tvezner@pioneerpress.com | Pioneer Press
May 11, 2017

A group of sexual abuse survivors engaged in bankruptcy court mediation with the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis has overwhelmingly rejected the archdiocese’s proposed bankruptcy reorganization plan, which includes how much it should pay victims.

The archdiocese and a group of survivors — the largest class of the archdiocese’s “creditors” in the bankruptcy court — have submitted opposing plans over how much the archdiocese should offer survivors for abuse that occurred at the hands its clergy.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Kressel ruled in December to allow both plans to move forward to a vote by all creditors.

On Thursday, 94 percent of the survivor group — comprising over 400 members — voted that they preferred their plan over the archdiocese’s.

Kressel could still rule in favor of the archdiocese plan over that vote.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Care Appointments

Written by Helen William

The independent inquiry into child sex abuse in England and Wales is looking at “tens of thousands of pages” of information about any potential failures to protect children in the care of the Nottinghamshire Councils alone, its counsel said.

The scale of the task of officials currently trawling through information, including material from councils, police, the Crown Prosecution Service and the Health Department, “cannot be underestimated”, Inquiry counsel Patrick Sadd said.

He told a preliminary hearing of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA): “To date this investigation has received tens of thousands of pages of which a large proportion have already been reviewed in some form.

“This means that we are considering the contents, deciding upon their relevance and using them to inform our decisions about the approach that the investigation will take going forward.”

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AUSTRALIA
The Guardian (UK)

Melissa Davey
@MelissaLDavey
Friday 12 May 2017

The Anglican church of Newcastle has told its members it may sell some of its assets to meet redress payments for victims and survivors of child sexual abuse.

In a background briefing document sent to the church’s members before a Synod meeting on 27 May, the bishop Peter Stuart said the Synod must renew its commitment to facing abuse within the church.

“We fully support the establishment of a best practice Commonwealth Redress Scheme for abuse survivors and will do all that we can to enable the Diocese to exercise the option to ‘opt in’ into the scheme,” the document, seen by Guardian Australia, says.

“We welcome the fact that the scheme will be independent of the Church and will assist survivors access the support and counselling they seek.”

The Synod meeting will occur one week after the retiring bishop Greg Thompson delivers his final service in Newcastle. Thompson had announced that he would stand down in May, citing the unrelenting abuse he received for helping the child sexual abuse royal commission gather information. He also told his own story of abuse, and faced subsequent harassment from members of his own church for doing so.

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JAMAICA
St. Lucia News

JAMAICA OBSERVER – Embattled pastor of the Bunker’s Hill New Testament Church of God in Trelawny, Presley Smith, who has been charged with a sexual offence against a minor, was granted bail in the sum of $450,000 when he appeared in the Falmouth Parish Court yesterday.

He is scheduled to return to court on June 22 when the matter will again be mentioned.

As part of his bail condition, the 27-year-old pastor, who is a native of Kingston, is to report to the Constant Spring Police Station three days per week (Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays) between the hours of 6:00am and 7:00pm.

He is also to surrender his travel documents, have no communication with the complainant, and not to visit the parish of Trelawny unless he is attending court in that parish.

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INDIA
The News Minute

Both the girls were raped repeatedly but were scared to reveal the deeds of a ‘man of god.’

TNM Staff

Friday, May 12, 2017

A serial child rapist in Kerala was sentenced to life imprisonment until death by a special court in Thrissur on Friday. Pastor Sanil K James, already serving a 40-year sentence for raping a minor girl, was convicted for a second time. Sanil was found guilty of raping a 13-year-old girl multiple times since 2013.

The Sessions court judge Nixon M Joseph, sentenced the 36-year-old pastor under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

Public Prosecutor Pious Mathew told TNM, “This sentence should be a deterrent to others, there should be no leniency. The man did this heinous crime on two girls, and misused his position. He should never be allowed to ever abuse a girl.”

Sanil reportedly raped the minor thrice over the years. The first time was in 2013, after the Christmas Carols were sung at the Church. The second time was in 2014, where the pastor raped the minor at her residence. The third time was at his residence.

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MINNESOTA
KSTP

A group of over 400 clergy abuse victims rejected a reorganization plan submitted by the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis in the archdiocese’s bankruptcy case, according to a release from the law firm Stinson Leonard Street.

The archdiocese originally filed a reorganization plan in May of 2016. The sexual abuse survivors submitted their plan in August of 2016, after the court denied a request from the Creditor’s Committee that the archdiocese’s assets be consolidated.

Both parties amended their plan in November.

In December, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Kressel allowed both plans to be moved to a vote.

According to the release, the plan submitted by the creditor’s committee received 94 percent of the votes. According to a release from Jeff Anderson & Associates, 406 of the 447 people eligible to vote participated.

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MINNESOTA
Catholic Philly

By Maria Wiering • Catholic News Service • Posted May 11, 2017

ST. PAUL, Minn. (CNS) — Bishop Michael J. Hoeppner of Crookston “categorically denies that he in any way forced, coerced or encouraged” a candidate for the permanent diaconate not to report his claim of sexual abuse against a priest of the diocese, the Diocese of Crookston stated May 9.

The diocese issued the statement in response to a lawsuit filed that day against the bishop and the diocese.

At a news conference held at attorney Jeff Anderson’s St. Paul office, the plaintiff, Ron Vasek, said he told Bishop Hoeppner about the abuse, which he said he suffered as a teenager, while he was considering becoming a permanent deacon for the diocese in 2009 or 2010. He said the bishop told him that he couldn’t tell anyone, including his wife, because it would damage the reputation of the accused priest, Msgr. Roger Grundhaus, who had held leadership positions in the diocese.

According to the Diocese of Crookston, the abuse allegation was reported to law enforcement in 2011. According to Anderson, Msgr. Grundhaus’ name was not included on a list of priests accused of abuse that the diocese released in 2014.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Church Times

by Hattie Williams

Posted: 12 May 2017

A PRESSURE group that campaigns for mandatory reporting of suspected or known child abuse in the UK has criticised the Church of England for prioritising its reputation over the protection of children.

The group, Mandate Now, is supporting an ongoing government consultation, Reporting and Acting on Child Abuse, which was tabled by Baroness Walmsley in 2014 as an amendment to the Serious Crimes Act 2015.

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MINNESOTA
Minnesota Public Radio

Martin Moylan May 11, 2017

In a landslide vote, sex abuse survivors have rejected a reorganization and compensation plan from the bankrupt Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

The church was offering at least $155 million. But 94 percent of abuse victims voting endorsed a competing plan that they expect would treat them more justly and extract much more money from the church and its insurers.

“The vote speaks volumes to the unity and perseverance of victims and survivors,” said James Keenan, an abuse survivor and chair of the creditors’ committee. “We’re going to stand together and see this thing through to the end. And we’re going to do this thing right.

The creditors’ committee believes there could be more than $1 billion available from insurers. But insurers would no doubt fight claims tenaciously. They can, for instance, argue they can’t be on the hook for abuse that the church knew about but failed to stop.

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MINNESOTA
KAAL

A group of over 400 clergy abuse victims rejected a reorganization plan submitted by the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis in the archdiocese’s bankruptcy case, according to a release from the law firm Stinson Leonard Street.

The archdiocese originally filed a reorganization plan in May of 2016. The sexual abuse survivors submitted their plan in August of 2016, after the court denied a request from the Creditor’s Committee that the archdiocese’s assets be consolidated.

Both parties amended their plan in November.

According to the release, the plan submitted by the creditor’s committee received 94 percent of the votes. According to a release from Jeff Anderson & Associates, 406 of the 447 people eligible to vote participated.

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MINNESOTA
Fox 9

By: Rose Heaphy
POSTED:MAY 11 2017

MINNEAPOLIS (KMSP) – The sexual abuse survivors have voted for a plan in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis bankruptcy case.

In December 2016, a U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge decided the survivors would vote on the two proposed reorganization plans.

The Archdiocese submitted one plan and the Creditors’ Committee submitted the other. Last May, the Archdiocese filed its plan, which called for a total of $155 million in payments to abuse survivors and other creditors – with $65 million coming from the Archdiocese and the rest from insurance.

Attorneys representing the survivors believed the Archdiocese was attempting to conceal its assets. The survivors and the Creditors’ Committee submitted their plan, which states the Archdiocese would provide $80 million and more to be received from insurance in payments to survivors.

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MINNESOTA
Jeff Anderson and Associates

Archdiocese Ballot Report Tabulation

(Minneapolis, MN) – In December 2016, United States Bankruptcy Court Judge Robert J. Kressel ruled that two proposed reorganization plans would move forward to a vote in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul & Minneapolis bankruptcy case. One plan was submitted by the Archdiocese and one plan was submitted by the Creditors’ Committee.

Of the 447 people eligible to vote, 406 people participated in the voting process. The plan submitted by the Creditors’ Committee received 94% of survivors’ votes and 93% of the survivors who participated voted to reject the plan proposed by the Archdiocese.

“We applaud all the courageous survivors who have come forward to speak their truth. Your voices have been heard,” said Attorney Jeff Anderson.

This is the first time in a Diocesan or Religious Order bankruptcy that two competing plans went to vote. The plan filed by the Creditors’ committee in August of 2016 was the first of its kind filed by sexual abuse survivors in a bankruptcy proceeding.

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MINNESOTA
Star Tribune

Associated Press MAY 11, 2017

ST. PAUL, Minn. — An overwhelming majority of victims of clergy sex abuse in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis favor a compensation plan submitted by a creditors’ committee.

Attorneys representing the victims say 406 people voted on competing compensation plans. Of those voting, 94 percent favored a plan by the survivors’ committee over one submitted by the archdiocese, which filed for bankruptcy protection in 2015.

Archbishop Bernard Hebda says the balloting does not necessarily dictate the final plan.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

By Katheryn Magann and Giselle Wakatama

Newcastle’s Anglican Diocese says it may have to sell church assets to make up a $1 million shortfall in the amount due to be paid to survivors of abuse this financial year.

Bishop Peter Stuart said despite the significant deficit, everyone entitled to compensation would receive it.

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses into Child Sexual Abuse has led to the diocese already making 27 payments totalling almost $5 million.

The royal commission’s probe into alleged abuse and cover-ups within the Newcastle Anglican diocese was damning.

The average payment made to survivors of abuse so far has been about $183,000.

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KENTUCKY
WAVE

[with video]

By Kayla Vanover, Reporter

BRANDENBURG, KY (WAVE) – A Louisville priest convicted of sex abuse dating back to the 1970s could now be facing life in prison. His attorney abruptly left court before entering a plea deal on more charges.

Father Joseph Hemmerle was director and camp counselor for Camp Tall Trees in Meade County for 30 years. In November, Hemmerle was acquitted on one charge of engaging in a sexual act but was found guilty on a count of inappropriate touching.

In February, he was sentenced to seven years in prison after the court found him guilty of molesting Michael Norris. The incident is believed to have happened 43 years ago while Norris was attending the summer camp. Norris said he got a bad case of poison ivy and Hemmerle told him he could help. Norris visited Hemmerle’s cabin where he said he was abused.

Now, Hemmerle is involved in a similar sex abuse case. This time, he’s charged with two counts of sex abuse with a victim under 12 years old, and five counts of sodomy with a victim under 12 years old. If found guilty on all charges, Hemmerle could spend the rest of his life in prison.

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KENTUCKY
WHAS

[with video]

Shay McAlister, WHAS May 11, 2017

MEADE CO., Ky. (WHAS11) — A local priest convicted of sexually abusing children is heading to trial on additional charges. Father Joseph Hemmerle is a Louisville native and former Trinity High School teacher.

He was accused of abusing a 10-year old boy in the 1970s and convicted of the crimes in 2016. In court Thursday, his attorney denied a plea agreement on his behalf, agreeing to go to trial.

Inside a packed courtroom at the Meade County Courthouse, Prosecutor Leilani K.M. Martin was ready to sign off on a deal she called “forgiving and lenient.”

“We spent weeks hammering out a plea agreement and it was a very faithful plea agreement. The victim agreed to it because he is a practicing, practices his faith,” Martin said.

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KENTUCKY
WDRB

May 11, 2017

By Gil Corsey

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — He’s both a convicted pedophile and a priest, and on Thursday Father Joseph Hemmerle was set to confess to molesting a second young boy.

“We spent weeks hammering out a plea agreement,” said Special Prosecutor Leilani Martin. “It was signed.”

It’s why Martin was stunned by the reversal in Meade County Circuit Court.

“Out of the blue, defense attorney David Lambertus decided not to go through with it — suddenly announced he was going to trial instead — and it was sort of a shock,” Martin said. “He announced it in the courtroom without his client present and just turned around and left.”

The attorney also refused to answer any questions from WDRB News outside the courthouse. The deal he turned down offered two years to serve for sex abuse and sodomy but no new prison time as Hemmerle’s already behind bars. He’s serving a 10-year sentence for child sex abuse charges dating back to the 1970s when he served at Camp Tall Trees.

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CANADA
Winnipeg Free Press

By: Alexandra Paul
Posted: 05/11/2017

A former Anglican minister and boy scouts leader convicted in dozens of sex abuse cases against young indigenous boys is now the focus of a proposed class-action lawsuit seeking more than $100 million.

The suit alleges Ralph Rowe abused hundreds of boys in northwestern Ontario and Manitoba First Nations where he worked in the 1970s and ’80s.

Despite dozens of criminal convictions, Rowe served only about five years in prison, the result of a deal Rowe’s legal counsel arranged with the Crown in return for guilty pleas in nearly 40 cases against him.

The 43-page suit was filed in the Ontario Supreme Court in Thunder Bay Thursday. Until it is formally certified by the courts it remains a proposed class-action suit and no statements of defence have been filed.

It seeks $110 million in damages.

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CANADA
CBC News

By Jody Porter, CBC News Posted: May 11, 2017

A former priest convicted of 75 sex crimes is facing a multi-million dollar lawsuit along with his employer, the Anglican Church’s Synod of the Diocese of Keewatin and Scouts Canada with whom he volunteered.

Ralph Rowe flew his own plane into remote First Nations in northwestern Ontario in the 1970s and 80s. First Nations leaders and mental health professionals who work in the region estimate as many as 500 people were abused by him. For all his convictions, Rowe served less than five years in jail.

Dozens of men who were victims of Rowe settled previous suits against the Anglican Church and Scouts Canada but lawyer Jonathan Ptak, whose firm launched the class action on Thursday, says this case aims to bring public awareness and policy changes along with the $110 million claim for damages.

“There’s never been a light shone on this horrific and very important story involving rampant sexual abuse of Aboriginal youth in Canada’s north,” Ptak said.

“There have been some individual settlements but there’s never been an opportunity such as this class action where all the victims can come forward, have their stories be told and hopefully we can bring about some real change in the policies and practices in the organizations that employ these people,” he said.

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CANADA
CNW

THUNDER BAY, ON, May 11, 2017 /CNW/ – Koskie Minsky LLP in Toronto, and Watkins Law, P.C., in Thunder Bay, Ontario, have commenced a class action against Ralph Rowe, Scouts Canada and the Anglican Synod of the Diocese of Keewatin on behalf of hundreds of aboriginal youth who allege they were sexually abused by Ralph Rowe, who was a priest in the Anglican Church of Canada and a Scout leader.

The claim seeks $110 million in damages for negligence, breach of fiduciary duty and vicarious liability from Rowe, Scouts Canada and the Synod of the Diocese of Keewatin.

It is estimated that Rowe has abused as many as 500 aboriginal youth in northern Ontario and Manitoba First Nations communities during the 1970s and 1980s.

The Statement of Claim alleges that during this time, Rowe travelled throughout isolated First Nations communities as a priest of the Anglican Church and a Scout leader. In connection with his roles as a priest and Scout leader, Rowe took young aboriginal boys on camping trips and church outings and hosted children’s activities and sleepovers in various cabins and Mission Houses. It was during these activities that Rowe sexually abused boys in his care.

Rowe has already been found guilty of dozens of counts of sexual assaults perpetrated on young aboriginal boys in remote First Nations communities. A July 2007 sentencing decision from Justice E.W. Stach states, “By way of overview I think it fair to say that from 1975 and continuously until the year end in 1987 Ralph Rowe adopted what, in retrospect, is fairly considered as a purposeful, premeditated, formulary and ultimately predatory approach towards the pursuit of his own personal sexual gratification. More dangerously he was well positioned and well armed to do so.”

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GUAM
KUAM

Updated: May 11, 2017

By Krystal Paco

A 62nd plaintiff files suit against the Archdiocese of Agana. 51-year-old “R.B.R.” alleges he was sexually molested by Father Louis Brouillard as a boy scout in the Barrigada troop. Aside from being sexually molested during swimming trips to Lonfit River, R.B.R. details an occasion in which he was with the priest at the rectory and the priest performed oral sex and digital penetration on him.

The priest assured the boy that all the other boys did it.

R.B.R. was only 11 or 12 years old at the time of the abuse. He quit the Boy Scouts immediately after. The $10 million lawsuit was filed at the District Court of Guam on Thursday by attorney David Lujan.

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GUAM
The Guam Daily Post

Mindy Aguon | For The Guam Daily Post May 11, 2017

A former Boy Scout alleges he was sexually abused during swimming outings and while at the rectory of the San Vicente Ferrer-San Roke church parish in Barrigada when he was 11 years old.

An individual, using the initials “R.B.R.” to protect his identity, filed a civil complaint in the District Court of Guam yesterday alleging he was sexually abused by his former scoutmaster and Barrigada priest Louis Brouillard.

The lawsuit alleges the priest would force the Boy Scouts to swim completely naked during outings at the Lonfit River and would grope and touch their private parts.

R.B.R. said the priest would often reward the boys by taking them out to eat and occasionally they would spend time at the Barrigada rectory.

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CONNECTICUT
New Haven Independent

by CHRISTOPHER PEAK | May 11, 2017

Hartford — A bespectacled, ponytailed man reading the true-crime thriller In Cold Blood in the front row of a federal courtroom here was selected as the eighth and final juror who will decide if prominent New Haven Rabbi Daniel Greer repeatedly sexually abused yeshiva students and if the school shirked its duty to intervene.

The jury selection took place Wednesday in U.S. District Court, a day before the scheduled beginning of Greer’s trial.

Eliyahu Mirlis filed a lawsuit making those charges against Greer in May 2016. (The case landed in federal court, rather than state, because the jurisdiction is split, with Mirlis in New Jersey and Greer in Connecticut.) Mirlis’s complaint alleged that Greer repeatedly raped him for three years, starting in 2002, while he attended the Yeshiva of New Haven, one of two Orthodox Jewish schools that Greer ran within the former Roger Sherman School at 765 Elm St. in New Haven’s Edgewood neighborhood. The civil suit contends that Mirlis has suffered from emotional distress and seeks damages for the injury. In a 218-page pretrial deposition, a second former student, who became the school’s assistant principal, spelled out further, separate allegations of being sexually abused by the rabbi, who denies all the accusations.

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IRELAND
Clare FM

[with audio]

The Bishop of Killaloe says he’s not comfortable with the idea of a maternity hospital being guided by Catholic ethos.

It comes as talks on the ownership of the new national maternity hospital are expected to be substantially completed by the end of the month.

At the weekend, around 2,000 people took to the streets demanding that ownership and control is not given to the Sisters of Charity, thorugh the St. Vincent’s Hospital Group.

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

RICK MORTON
Social Affairs reporter Melbourne
@SquigglyRick

DAN BOX
Crime reporter Sydney
@DanBox10

The federal government will be forced to set aside $600 million for survivors of child sex abuse in its national redress scheme, 50 per cent more than estimates made by the royal commission into the issue.

The Australian understands the government has run an actuarial analysis on its share of the redress scheme, which it seed-funded with $33m in Tuesday’s budget, and has settled on a figure of about $600m.

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse recommended a ­single, national redress scheme valued at $4.3 billion to provide compensation and medical and therapy support to 60,000 victims of abuse.

Federal and state governments would be “funders of last resort” under this model, picking up the pieces where non-government organisations have closed or been bankrupted and, in some cases, funding their own redress where they were responsible.

Their share of the scheme — across all jurisdictions — was estimated by the commission to be $632m but, given the federal government’s portion alone is set to be almost as much, it is likely states will need to chip in more than first thought.

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NEW YORK
Catholic Whistleblowers

The actions of Cardinal Timothy Dolan endorse the value of a ‘lookback window’ in providing some justice to victims / survivors of Catholic clergy sexual abuse of minors.

Indeed, the Archdiocese of New York’s Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Program, imperfect as the program is, appropriately pays out millions of dollars to clergy sexual abuse victims whose claim exceeds the New York State statute of limitations. In short, no matter when the sexual abuse occurred, Cardinal Dolan is willing to financially compensate the victim, and we welcome this reversal of position.

A New York State statutory ‘lookback window’ would serve the same meaningful role in society by allowing the victims / survivors of child sexual abuse to pursue legal recourse against public and private institutions of all sorts regardless when the abuse took place.

Additionally, a ‘lookback window’ enhances the protection of children and young people by identifying perpetrators and warning the public. However, Cardinal Dolan’s program does not identify the perpetrators and, thus, does not warn people about predators in their midst. Of course, he could change the program to make it better by publicizing the names of the abusers, just as he did in 2004 when he was the Archbishop of Milwaukee.

Consequently, Catholic Whistleblowers, a national network of current and former priests, women religious, brothers, deacons, and laypersons who actively support survivors of sexual abuse, strongly encourages New York State Senators and Assemblypersons to enact legislation that reforms the State’s statutes of limitations in both criminal and civil cases of child sexual abuse, a reform that would include a ‘lookback window’ of two years for civil cases.

Members of the Catholic Whistleblowers Steering Committee who submit this message are:
Sr. Sally Butler, OP (Brooklyn, NY); Sr. Claire Smith, OSU (Bronx, NY); Rev. Ronald D. Lemmert (Peekskill, NY); Robert M. Hoatson, Ph.D., (West Orange, NJ); Sr. Maureen Paul Turlish, SNDdeN (New Castle, DE); Rev. Bruce Teague (Sheffield, MA); Rev. Thomas P. Doyle, OP, J.C.D. (Vienna, VA); Rev. James E. Connell, J.C.D. (Milwaukee, WI);

Contact Persons: Sr. Sally Butler, OP (Brooklyn, NY) 718-237-0905 sbuttlerop@yahoo.com
Sr. Claire Smith, OSU (Bronx, NY) 718-885-0893 newskete@gmail.com
Robert M. Hoatson, Ph.D., (West Orange, NJ) 862-368-2800 roberthoatson@gmail.com
Sr. Maureen Paul Turlish, SNDdeN (New Castle, DE) 610-212-2770 maturlishmdsnd@yahoo.com
Rev. James E. Connell, J.C.D. (Milwaukee, WI) 414-940-8054 connell.james951@gmail.com

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AUSTRALIA
Parramatta Sun

Harrison Vesey
@harrisonvesey

11 May 2017

Shane McNamara is a firm believer that even when the odds seem stacked against you, it’s still possible to win with the right team.

A survivor of child sexual abuse, Mr McNamara knows the isolation many male victims feel, as well as the lack of support.

But he also knows that living a good life is possible.

“Everyone deserves a chance to enjoy life. It’s not all doom and gloom. There is a lot of good things in the world, there is a lot of good people,” Mr McNamara said.

He and Craig Hughes-Cashmore are the founders of Survivors and Mates Support Network (SAMSN), Australia’s first national not-for-profit dedicated to adult male survivors and their families.

The two became friends when they were both going through the long process of criminal investigation in 2010. They thought it would be good to have a group to talk to other men about their experiences, but no such group existed – so they started their own.

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SUISSE/FRANKREICH
cath.ch

[Menzingen ZG, 10.5.17 (kath.ch) On 5 May in France, the priest of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Pius X, Christophe Roisnel, was sentenced to 16 years imprisonment in France. The Secretary General of the Pius Brotherhood, based in Menzingen ZG, Christian Thouvenot, told cath.ch that the cases had been first investigated within the community without their seriousness being recognized.]

Menzingen ZG, 10.5.17 (kath.ch) Wegen mehrfacher Vergewaltigung wurde der Priester der Priesterbruderschaft St. Pius X., Christophe Roisnel, am 5. Mai in Frankreich zu 16 Jahren Freiheitsstrafe verurteilt. Der Generalsekretär der Piusbruderschaft mit Sitz in Menzingen ZG, Christian Thouvenot, erklärte gegenüber cath.ch, die Fälle seien innerhalb der Gemeinschaft untersucht worden, ohne dass deren Schwere erkannt worden sei.

Pierre Pistoletti

Die Bruderschaft habe den Fall der Justiz nicht gemeldet, so der Generalsekretär. In Frankreich haben mehrere Zeitungen die Bruderschaft wegen dieser Unterlassung angegriffen. Die in Paris erscheinende Zeitung «La Croix» schrieb: «Diese Affäre unterstreicht das schlechte Management der Bruderschaft im Fall von sexuellem Missbrauch.»

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FRANCE
La Croix

[A Society of St. Pius X abbot was sentenced for rape to 16 years in prison.]

La Croix avec AFP, le 06/05/2017

Le religieux de 43 ans, qui dirigeait un établissement scolaire proche de la Fraternité sacerdotale Saint-Pie X, était accusé de viols sur trois enseignantes

L’abbé Christophe Roisnel, 43 ans, qui comparaissait depuis mardi devant la cour d’assises des Yvelines pour « viols » et « viols avec actes de barbarie » sur trois enseignantes a été condamné à 16 ans de réclusion criminelle.

La cour, qui a reconnu sa culpabilité mais n’a pas retenu les actes de barbarie dont l’accusait l’une de ses victimes, a suivi les réquisitions du ministère public et a assorti cette peine d’une injonction de soins durant six ans, dans le cadre d’un suivi sociojudiciaire. Le religieux sera par ailleurs inscrit au fichier des auteurs d’infractions sexuelles.

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AUSTRALIA
The Record

An initial $33.4 million in this year’s budget to kick-start the setting up of a national redress scheme for survivors of child sexual abuse has been welcomed by the Catholic Church’s Truth Justice and Healing Council.

Francis Sullivan, Council CEO, said the funding is a good start and that the Catholic Church fully supports, and will be part of the new scheme.

“What we now need to see is all state governments and all other institutions where child sexual abuse took place become part of the scheme. The scheme will not work unless the state governments step up,” he said.

“It is now time for the state premiers and the chief ministers to demonstrate that they can lead beyond politics and they can respond to the genuine need of victims.

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IDAHO
Idaho Statesman

BY CYNTHIA SEWELL
csewell@idahostatesman.com

For the second time in his life, Riley Gilroy is turning to the courts to right a wrong.

The first time was when he was 9 years old and his mother, a single parent in Caldwell, thought he needed a male role model.

She asked around for recommended youth programs. Caldwell’s Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 4th Ward recommended the Boy Scouts — Scouting has been a sanctioned LDS program for nearly 100 years, and the church is Idaho’s largest sponsor of it.

Gilroy and his best friend joined the ward’s Cub Scout den in 1982.

“That’s where I met Jim Schmidt who, over a period of time, proceeded to molest me and other Cub Scouts,” Gilroy said.

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AUSTRALIA
news.com.au

MAY 11, 2017

Megan Neil
Australian Associated Press

Australia’s Catholic bishops have retreated from an archbishop’s push to go to Rome seeking answers on whether the seal of confession can be broken to protect children from sexual abuse.

Adelaide Archbishop Philip Wilson had proposed sending a delegation of Australian bishops to Rome to seek the Pope’s guidance on the confessional seal and other issues raised in the child abuse royal commission.

But the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference’s week-long plenary meeting in Sydney has ended without that commitment.

The nation’s bishops discussed issues raised by the royal commission such as whether the seal of confession effectively protects everything said in the confessional, including if a child reveals they are being abused.

“The discussion was pastoral rather than tactical,” the ACBC said in a statement to AAP on Thursday.

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UNITED STATES
EW

JEFF JENSEN @EWDOCJENSEN

POSTED ON MAY 10, 2017

In The Keepers, the pain of the past morphs from curiosity to responsibility. For journalist Tom Nugent, the past is a paying puzzle that became an obligation to solve. For retirees Gemma Hoskins and Abbie Schaub, the past is a hobby that grew into a crusade. And for a woman known for decades only as “Jane Doe,” the past is a forgotten trauma that rocks her anew and reframes her life. In a culture of comic book escapism and stranger things, The Keepers gives us ordinary people as superheroes. They’re the real justice league of Baltimore.

A seven-part Netflix docuseries dropping May 19 (four of which were made available for review), The Keepers is addictive serial made for the post-Serial market, synthesized with the compounds that have rejuvenated this very old, often dubious genre and made it a buzzy, conscionable kick. Director Ryan White gives you socially aware pulp nonfiction, driven by cliffhanger storytelling and advocacy. But he tweaks the recipe somewhat by redirecting our gaze, profiling the victims of evil and those who would champion them — not the evildoers. The cold case he’s chosen to re-investigate also frustrates the pleasures of true crime in some provocative ways. Here, what is true may ultimately be unknowable, and the crime might be impossible to rectify. The nettling ambiguities provoke valuable questions for reality pulp junkies at a time when the genre is transitioning from pop phenomenon to pop fixture, complete with prestige expressions and celebrity roadshow fandom. Why am I entertained by suffering? How do I know what’s true? Do I really care?

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SCOTLAND/AUSTRALIA
BBC News

By Phil Mercer
BBC News, Sydney

A former Catholic monk accused of abusing boys at a Highlands boarding school is eligible for extradition, according to a magistrate in Australia.

The decision on whether to send Father Denis Chrysostom Alexander back to Scotland for trial now rests with Australia’s attorney general.

Fr Alexander denies the claims relating to the Fort Augustus Abbey school.

He was returned to Australia by the Catholic Church in 1979 after abuse allegations first surfaced.
He continued working as a priest for at least 20 more years.

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CALIFORNIA
NBC Los Angeles

[with video]

By Colleen Williams and Mary Harris

The Archdiocese of Los Angeles has begun formal proceedings with the Vatican to defrock a priest who served at six different churches within LA, following allegations of sexual misconduct.

Father Ramon Palomera’s accuser is a devout Catholic and a single mother.

“Rosa” had volunteered and worked for the Archdiocese of LA for nearly 30 years. The church was the center of her life.

“I don’t need the church right now,” said Rosa. At her request, NBC4 is shielding her identity.

Father Ramon Palomera was assigned as an associate pastor to Saint Francis Xaviar Church in Pico Rivera in 2014.

“I consider him to be a sexual predator,” said Ben Meiselas, an attorney who represents Rosa in a civil lawsuit against the LA Archdiocese and Palomera.

Source: http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Archdioces-Moves-to-Remove-Priest-421943853.html#ixzz4glaQDELC
Follow us: @NBCLA on Twitter | NBCLA on Facebook

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AUSTRALIA
Advocate

10 May 2017

CHILD Abuse Squad detectives have charged three men as a result of ongoing investigations stemming from the Royal Commission into Institutional Child Sexual Offences.

All three men worked at the Wandering Mission during the 1960s, one as a Catholic priest and two as teachers.

It is alleged between 1965 and 1969 the priest sexually abused four girls who were aged between eight and 15 years at the time of the first offence.

The man who is now 78 years old has been charged with:

• Six counts of Indecent Dealing of a Girl under 13 years of age;

• Six counts of Unlawful and Indecent Assault on a Female and

• One count of rape.

He was arrested in Melbourne and he is due to appear before the Perth Magistrates Court via video link on June 22.

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CANADA
Calgary Herald

ALANNA SMITH

A groundbreaking partnership is uniting schools and social services to curb child abuse.

The Calgary Catholic School District and the Sheldon Kennedy Child Advocacy Centre are signing a memorandum of understanding Wednesday evening to formalize their collaboration.

The centre is a non-profit organization focused on ending child abuse and helping those affected.

“In the majority of cases we see, children are being hurt by their parents or caregivers, so the safest place for them, a lot of times, is in schools,” said centre founder Sheldon Kennedy.

“I think for a long time there has been a disconnect between schools and social services, so what we have tried to do is include schools in the conversation and give them a seat at the table so we can work together to better integrate the kids back into school.”

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UNITED STATES
BishopAccountability.org

Summary of Case: Born and raised in New Jersey, Bruce Ritter was ordained for the Order of Friars Minor Conventual (Conventual Franciscans) in 1956, in Rome, Italy. After doctoral studies in theology, he returned to the United States in 1959 where he was assigned to his Order’s seminaries in Rensselaer, NY, Granby, MA and then Pittsburgh, PA. From 1963 to 1968 he was a Manhattan College faculty member.

With permission from his superiors, in 1968 Ritter began to take in homeless youth in New York’s East Village, beginning with six teenage boys and girls, whom he allowed to sleep on the floor of his tenement apartment. Ritter’s Covenant House for homeless youth was officially incorporated in 1972. With Ritter’s drive, gift for fundraising and charismatic personality, the shelter grew by 1990 to sixteen cities in North and South America and had 3,700 staff members, both paid and volunteer. Ritter became a widely known and admired public figure, earning praise from Presidents Reagan and Bush, Sr.

In December 1989 a 26-year-old male prostitute claimed publicly that he and Ritter had recently had an eight-month affair, which the priest funded with money from Covenant House. Soon thereafter, three more young man came forward, each alleging sexual contact over the years with Ritter, beginning when they were young teens and had gone to him for help at Covenant House. Ritter denied the allegations. In February 1990 he resigned under pressure. The Manhattan District Attorney investigated the alleged financial misconduct, but did not press charges. An internal Covenant House investigation yielded “extensive evidence” that Ritter had engaged in sexual misconduct with residents. One of Ritter’s accusers filed suit, but it was thrown out in 1991 due to the statute of limitations.

Ritter left his order and went on to live a quiet life in a farmhouse in rural Ostego County, going by his given name, John. He died in October 1999.

Born: February 25, 1927
Ordained:1956
Died: October 7, 1999

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NEW MEXICO
Cibola Beacon

Posted: Wednesday, May 10, 2017
By Donald Jaramillo

CIBOLA COUNTY – “When I became the Bishop of the Diocese of Gallup, I committed to ensuring that the children in this Diocese and in the Parishes, Missions or Schools that operate within the Diocese were protected,” said Bishop James S. Wall in a letter to the affected parishes and survivors. “In the past the Diocese published names of those working within the Diocese against whom there were credible allegations of sexual abuse of a minor.”

On Wednesday evening, Bishop Wall and the Diocese of Gallup added three more names to the list of 31, including Fr. Diego Mazon, OFM who was assigned to the St. Joseph Church in San Fidel between 1980 and 1981. The other two names are Brother Mark Schornack, OFM, who is now deceased according to a press release from the Diocese, and Fr. Ephraim Beltramea, OFM. Schornack was primarily responsible for a church in Arizona while Beltramea was at St. Francis in Gallup.

The list now at 34 is available on the Diocese website at www.dioceseofgallup.org.

“The publication of additional names does not mean that our vigilance and continued investigation ends here as it remains ongoing,” Wall added in the release. “The survivors who have come forward should be commended for their bravery and courage, and I express my deepest apologies for the actions of those who violated the trust of the survivors and the parishioners within the Diocese by committing these terrible acts.”

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MINNESOTA
Catholic News Agency

Crookston, Minn., May 10, 2017 / 03:12 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Bishop Michael Hoeppner of Crookston, Minn. has rejected a lawsuit’s assertion that he coerced a deacon candidate into renouncing his claim that a priest sexually abused him as a teen.

Ronald Vasek has filed a lawsuit against the bishop and the Diocese of Crookston seeking both unspecified damages exceeding $50,000 and the release of records of sexual abuse by priests in the diocese, Reuters reports. Vasek has claimed that the bishop threatened the man’s efforts to become a deacon and his son’s career in the priesthood.

“Bishop Hoeppner categorically denies that he in any way forced, coerced or encouraged Mr. Vasek not to pursue his allegations,” the diocese said, adding that the bishop and other leaders are “deeply saddened and troubled” by the allegations.

Vasek charged that in 1971, at the age of 16, he was molested during a trip to Cincinnati by Msgr. Roger Grundhaus, a priest of the diocese who went on to become vicar general. The trip was for a meeting of canon lawyers, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports.

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NEW JERSEY
New Jersey Monthly

By Leslie Garisto Pfaff | May 10, 2017 | Appears in the May 2017 issue

Fred Marigliano remembers afternoons in the Times Square movie theater when his conscious mind would separate from his body, float to the ceiling, and look down on the shadowy row of seats where Father Contardo Omarini, his parish priest, was sexually assaulting two preteen boys. One of those boys was Marigliano himself. Later, long after the years of abuse had ended, he learned that this state of dissociation was a normal response to stress that otherwise might be unendurable. As a kid in Plainfield, though, he wondered if he might be going crazy.

Today, at 69, Marigliano, now a resident of Green Brook, tells the story of his three years of repeated abuse with remarkable equilibrium. But for decades he didn’t talk about it at all, his silence imposed by fear, guilt and shame. It wasn’t until his own kids were in their preteen years and Omarini phoned to say he’d like to meet them that Marigliano admitted the abuse to his parents and his wife. (Omarini, who died in 1995, was never charged in any abuse case.)

Marigliano is not an outlier in hiding his abuse. In fact, the harm inflicted by childhood sexual abuse persists well beyond the crime itself. Without treatment, victims can experience a lifetime of depression, anxiety, or both. They can find it hard to establish or sustain long-term relationships, and they’re particularly vulnerable to addiction, alcoholism and suicide.

It’s not unusual for those abused as children to keep the crimes committed against them secret for years. While men and women suffer these repercussions more or less equally, abuse also leads many men to question their masculinity, a state of affairs that makes speaking out particularly difficult.

“The sexual abuse and exploitation of men is really our last taboo in this country,” says Keith Rennar Brennan of Bayonne, who claims he was repeatedly abused as a child. The crime is also startlingly widespread, affecting one in six men, according to the nonprofit National Sexual Violence Resource Center.

Currently, New Jersey victims of sexual abuse have only two years in which to file a civil suit after they first recognize a connection between their abuse and profound personal problems like depression, anxiety, PTSD, divorce and addiction. But the law doesn’t take into account how difficult it is for victims of this particular crime to come forward. In addition to suffering fear and shame, says Keith Smith, author of the sexual-abuse memoir Men in My Town, many male victims “feel complicit in their own abuse.”

Since 2010, survivors of abuse and their supporters have been fighting for passage of a bill that would remove the state’s two-year statute of limitations. Given the reticence of men to come out about their abuse (which is not to say that women find it easy) and the near-universal horror with which child sexual abuse is regarded in our culture, you’d think such legislation would be a cinch to pass. It’s been anything but.

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OKLAHOMA
Tulsa World

By Barbara Hoberock Tulsa World

OKLAHOMA CITY — Gov. Mary Fallin on Wednesday signed a measure giving victims of sexual abuse until age 45 to bring a civil suit against the perpetrator.

The current age is 20, said Rep. Carol Bush, R-Tulsa, the House author of House Bill 1470.

Bush said it often takes a long time for survivors of child abuse to heal enough to talk about what happened to them.

“It gives some sort of closure on a bad chapter of their lives so they can move on,” Bush said.

Sen. David Holt, R-Oklahoma City, is the Senate author. He said research shows that child sexual abuse victims normally do not want to talk about the crime until they are in their 40s.

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MISSOURI
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

By Joel Currier St. Louis Post-Dispatch

ST. LOUIS COUNTY • A former Catholic youth minister at the Immacolata School in Richmond Heights sexually abused a teenage girl there more than 13 years ago, according to a lawsuit filed Friday in St. Louis County Circuit Court.

“Jane Doe” accuses Kris D. Wilks, a former St. Louis County man who now lives in Pueblo, Colo., of sexually abusing her at the school at 8900 Clayton Road between September 2003 and March 2004 when she was 16 years old.

She is now 30; Wilks is 36.

The suit claims that at the time of the abuse, Wilks was an Immacolata School youth minister and an “employee or agent” of Life Teen Inc., a Eucharistic-centered nonprofit founded in 1985 that serves students in hundreds of Catholic parishes around the country.

In addition to naming Wilks and Life Teen as defendants, the suit also accuses the St. Louis Archdiocese and the Immacolata School of negligence and concealment of the alleged abuse. None could be reached for comment Wednesday.

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VATICAN CITY
National Catholic Register

Edward Pentin

The Vatican body responsible for managing the Vatican’s real estate has been accused of far exceeding its authority by unilaterally telling Vatican departments to supply their financial information to an outside auditor.

The surprise move by the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (APSA) which came in the form of two letters on May 3 and 5, was firmly rebutted by Cardinal George Pell, prefect of the Secretariat of the Economy (SPE), and the Holy See’s auditor general, Libero Milone, who wrote a reply saying “with deep regret” they had to intervene to refute the APSA letter.

In both of his letters, APSA’s Secretary, Msgr. Mauro Rivella, had asked dicasteries of the Holy See, as well as institutions associated with them, to “pass information to their banks (including the Institute for Works of Religion), legal and fiscal consultants, so that the data could be transmitted directly to the external auditor, Price Waterhouse Coopers (PwC).”

Despite the Secretariat of State suddenly suspending the PwC audit last April and then ending it two months later, leaving it just with a consultancy role, Msgr. Rivella stated that PwC was carrying out the auditing activities of the Holy See.

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MARYLAND
The Baltimore Sun

Jonathan M. Pitts
The Baltimore Sun

The Maryland Parole Commission on Tuesday denied the parole request of Heather Cook, the former Episcopal bishop who is serving a seven-year prison sentence for the drunken-driving crash that killed a bicyclist in 2014.

Commission chairman David Blumberg said the two commissioners who ruled on the case told him they denied Cook parole in part because she “took no responsibility” for her actions and displayed a “lack of remorse” during the 90-minute hearing at the Maryland Correctional Institution for Women in Jessup.

Cook’s attorney for the hearing, Hunter L. Pruette, left without addressing reporters and could not be reached for comment.

Cook, 60, pleaded guilty in 2015 to charges of vehicular manslaughter, drunken driving, driving while texting and leaving the scene of an accident in the crash that killed 41-year-old Thomas Palermo on Dec. 27, 2014.

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MARYLAND
Christian Post

BY LEONARDO BLAIR , CHRISTIAN POST REPORTER
May 10, 2017

Heather Cook, the former bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland who was sentenced to seven years in prison in 2015 for the death of a 41-year-old father in a drunken hit-and-run incident, was denied a request for early parole Tuesday by the Maryland Parole Commission.

Commission Chairman David Blumberg told the Baltimore Sun that Cook was denied parole in part because the two commissioners who ruled on the case felt she “took no responsibility” for her actions and displayed a “lack of remorse” during the 90-minute parole hearing at the Maryland Correctional Institution for Women in Jessup.

Cook made history in 2014 when she became the first female bishop and second-highest ranking official of the Episcopal Dioecese of Maryland. She was stripped of that position less than a year after she was promoted due to the drunk-driving incident which resulted in the death of Thomas Palermo, a 41-year-old married father of two, on Dec. 27, 2014.

Cook reportedly fled the scene twice and was later found to have been drunk and texting as her struggle with alcoholism made national and international headlines.

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MICHIGAN
WNEM

OKEMOS, Mich. (AP) –
Another Roman Catholic church in Michigan is dealing with an embezzlement investigation.

Officials say the pastor of St. Martha Church in Okemos, near Lansing, has been placed on leave. The Rev. Jonathan Wehrle already planned to retire at the end of June.

The Catholic Diocese of Lansing said Wednesday that auditors uncovered a “possible significant embezzlement” at St. Martha. Meanwhile, in St. Joseph County in southwestern Michigan, the Rev. Richard Fritz is charged with stealing more than $100,000. He liked to buy lottery tickets.

The Rev. David Fisher is charged with embezzlement from St. Joseph Church in Owosso in Shiawassee County. Diocese officials say $450,000 is missing.

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ILLINOIS
Fox 32

SUN TIMES MEDIA WIRE – An alleged victim of sexual abuse by a deceased Jesuit priest has reached a $925,000 settlement agreement with the Chicago-Detroit Province of the Society of Jesus.

The alleged victim, now in his late 50s, claimed he was repeatedly sexually assaulted by Father Donald O’Shaughnessy while he attended Loyola Academy in north suburban Wilmette, according to a statement from his attorney, Eugene Hollander.

The man claimed to have suppressed the memories until he saw the movie “Spotlight,” then began remembering the abuse, according to the attorney.

The $925,000 settlement was reached during a voluntary mediation conference before a lawsuit was filed.

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UNITED STATES
SOME PEOPLE LIVE MORE IN 20 YEARS…

MAY 10, 2017
ASHER LOVY

In an article published in The Forward on May 2nd, Barbara Finkelstein painted a very optimistic picture of the shifting landscape in the Charedi world concerning child sexual abuse policies. In that article, she claimed that “Virtually no mainstream religious Jewish organization or sect publicly insists anymore that victims speak to their rabbi before going to the police.” As proof she cited the grassroots efforts of rabbis from Chabad, Yeshiva Chovevei Torah, Yeshiva University, and the Rabbinical Council of America.

While it is true that progress has been made over the past 5 years in regards to sexual abuse awareness and prevention, this doesn’t tell the whole story. Of course, Finklestein might argue that it depends on how you define ‘mainstream religious Jewish organizations.

Arguably, Agudath Israel of America is a mainstream religious Jewish organization. It’s constituent organizations and demographic include large swaths of the Charedi, Litvish, and Yeshivish populations in North America. The official policy of Agudah, as of writing this, is still that a rabbi must be consulted before any abuse allegation can be brought to the authorities.

Presumably, the hundreds of different sects of Chassidim living in New York qualify as mainstream Jewish organizations, and yet there has been no public change in policy from any of them toward advocating reporting abuse directly to the authorities.

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MINNESOTA
National Catholic Reporter

Brian Roewe | May. 10, 2017

A deacon candidate for a rural Minnesota diocese sued his bishop this week on grounds of blackmail and coercion after the prelate allegedly threatened his ordination if he didn’t renounce a prior revelation of sexual abuse by the diocese’s former vicar general.

In the civil lawsuit filed May 8, Ronald Vasek alleges that Crookston, Minnesota, Bishop Michael Hoeppner in October 2015 coerced him into signing a letter that retracted his disclosure to the bishop approximately five years earlier that Msgr. Roger Grundhaus had sexually abused him on a trip to Ohio while a teenager in the 1970s.

The suit, which names Hoeppner and the Crookston diocese as defendants, requests a jury trial and seeks $50,000 plus court and other related fees. It charges Hoeppner with coercion — the first such count brought against a U.S. bishop, according to attorney Jeff Anderson — and intentional infliction of emotional distress, and brings against the small northwestern Minnesota diocese three counts of negligence and two counts of public nuisance.

At a press conference Tuesday at Anderson’s St. Paul offices, Vasek, 62, said the request from Hoeppner to renege his abuse accusation in a prepared letter came during a meeting on the back patio of the bishop’s residence. He arrived expecting to discuss his progress in the diaconate program but instead the conversation turned to Grundhaus.

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MINNESOTA
Crookston Times

By Times Report

In response to the coercion lawsuit filed by Ronald Vasek saying Crookston Diocese Bishop Michael Hoeppner coerced him into signing a document denying sexual abuse by Father Roger Grundhaus, the Diocese says Hoeppner denies that he in any way “forced, coerced or encouraged” Vasek not to pursue allegations against Grundhaus.

Vasek said in a Tuesday press conference in St. Paul with Jeff Anderson and Associates that he was sexually abused when he was 16 years old in 1971 while on a trip to Ohio with Father Grundhaus. Vasek says that Bishop Hoeppner was informed in 2010 and that Hoeppner allegedly told him to not tell anyone about the abuse, and, later, in 2015, had him sign a document stating that the abuse never happened.

Tuesday afternoon, after the press conference, the Diocese of Crookston issued this statement:

“Bishop Hoeppner and other diocesan leaders are deeply saddened and troubled about the allegations made today by Ron Vasek.

The Diocese of Crookston takes all allegations of sexual abuse very seriously. Mr. Vasek’s allegation of sexual abuse dates to 1971 and involves Msgr. Roger Grundhaus. Msgr. Grundhaus has been retired since July 1, 2010 and is currently suspended from active ministry.

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MINNESOTA
Post Bulletin

Kay Fate, kfate@postbulletin.com May 10, 2017

ST. PAUL — A former vicar general for the Diocese of Winona accused of coercion “categorically denies” the claim that he covered up an allegation of clergy sexual assault, according to a statement released by the Diocese of Crookston, where he now is bishop.

Michael Joseph Hoeppner, 67, is the first bishop in the United States to be individually sued for coercion, said Jeff Anderson, a St. Paul attorney who’s represented hundreds of survivors of clergy abuse. The personal injury lawsuit was filed Tuesday.

Hoeppner was vicar general at Winona from about 1998 until being named bishop at Crookston in 2007, church records show.

In 2010, Ron Vasek was exploring the possibility of becoming a deacon in the Catholic Church when he allegedly told Hoeppner he’d been sexually assaulted in about 1971 by Roger Grundhaus.

At the time of the alleged abuse, Grundhaus was a priest at the diocese; he was vicar general of the Crookston diocese from 1991 to 2008.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Catholic League

Bill Donohue comments on the latest bombshell in the Msgr. William Lynn case:

The star witness in the Philadelphia D.A.’s ongoing witch-hunt against the Catholic Church has now been totally discredited.

The D.A.’s office had relied heavily on the incredulous claims of Danny Gallagher, a.k.a. “Billy Doe,” to send three priests and a Catholic school teacher to prison.

But now retired Detective Joseph Walsh—the prosecution’s own lead investigator into Gallagher’s lurid tales of being violently sexually abused—has filed a 12 page affidavit exposing Gallagher’s claims as a pack of lies. Walsh recounts—as he has done before—how prosecutors repeatedly blew off his warnings about Gallagher’s credibility, such was their zeal to nail these men.

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GUAM
Pacific Daily News

Haidee V Eugenio , heugenio@guampdn.com May 4, 2017

A violation of the Sunshine Reform Act, which requires the government to release information to the public, will cost the Department of Land Management $9,170.40 in legal fees and its director, Michael J.B. Borja, $1,000 from his own pocket, according to a court judgment.

The case is related to attorney Robert Klitzkie’s complaint against the Land Management director for not making available public records related to a Yona seminary property.

Superior Court of Guam Judge Maria T. Cenzon, in an April 26 judgment, said Land Management must pay $464 in court costs, and $8,706.40 in attorney’s fees incurred by Klitzkie in the case, for a total of $9,170.40.

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MINNESOTA
WDAZ

[with video]

CROOKSTON, MN (WDAZ-TV) – Parishioners say Father Roger Grundhaus wasn’t at services Tuesday morning. Some thought he was out of town. Turns out he is home, but not saying a word to the media.

Roger Grundhaus’ garage door was open, so WDAZ knocked on his front door.

As WDAZ was packing up to leave the neighborhood, Grundhaus shut his garage door and went back inside.

Neighbors say the reverend is a nice man and pillar of the community. They want the Bishop to respond to the allegations but he refused to go on camera.

But the diocese did release a statement, denying Bishop Michael Hoeppner “forced, coerced or encouraged Mr. Vasek to not pursue his allegations.”

It also states that Grundhaus retired in 2010, and is suspended from active ministry.

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SCOTLAND
Daily Record

BY ANDREA O’NEILL
10 MAY 2017

Elderly survivors of state care child abuse may not live to see the day justice is served.

This is the view of Jim Buckley, vice-president of In Care Abuse Survivors (Incas) as he prepared to pay his final respects to the charity’s late president Frank Docherty yesterday.

Tragically, the death of a leading campaigner for child abuse survivors means the 74-year-old Murray grandad never got the closure he fought more than 20 years for after his own abuse hell.

Frank suffered years of mental and physical abuse from the age of nine at the hands of nuns in Lanark’s brutal Catholic-run orphanage Smyllum Park during the 1950s.

But, thanks to his tireless campaigning, his lasting legacy is a public inquiry into the traumatic childhood experiences of survivors in care.

Along with Frank, Jim was the first in Scotland to give testimony for The Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry on the cruel regimes they were forced to endure throughout their childhoods.

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NEW YORK
New York Daily News

BY
KENNETH LOVETT
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Tuesday, May 9, 2017

ALBANY — With just over five weeks left in the legislative session, child abuse victims Tuesday pleaded with state Senate Republicans to side with them over predators.

A group of adults who were abused as kids, including a former priest, were back at the Capitol to push for passage of a bill to make it easier for survivors to seek justice that has been blocked by the Senate GOP for years.

One version of the Child Victims Act supported by advocates would do away with the civil and criminal time for adults who were abused as kids to bring cases, open a one-year window for victims who can no longer sue under the current law to do so, and treat public and private institutions the same when it comes to sex abuse cases.

“There’s no statute of limitations on the murder of the body; why is there a statute of limitation on the murder of the soul?” said Robert Hoatson, a former priest who was abused as a kid and now heads Road to Recovery.

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CONNECTICUT
Patch

By Rich Scinto (Patch Staff) – May 9, 2017

NEW HAVEN, CT — A prominent city rabbi and landlord has been ordered to testify after being accused of sexually abusing teenage boys in a civil case. Rabbi Daniel Greer was accused of abusing a boy more than a decade ago and it is alleged in the lawsuit that the victim wasn’t the only one.

Jury selection is scheduled for Wednesday and the trial could start later this week, according to the New Haven Register.

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CONNECTICUT
WNPR

By LORI MACK

A prominent New Haven rabbi who’s been accused of sexually assaulting a teenage boy has been ordered to testify at a civil trial. Jury selection for Rabbi Daniel Greer is set to begin Wednesday in federal court in Hartford.

A lawsuit filed last year accuses Greer, 76, of repeatedly raping and molesting a student who attended the Yeshiva of New Haven school. During that time, Greer was the rabbi, dean, and director.

The former student, now 29, is suing Greer and the school on allegations of sexual assault, infliction of emotional distress, and other claims.

The lawsuit also alleges that Greer sexually abused at least one other student.

Greer has denied the allegations and has not been criminally charged.

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CONNECTICUT
WSHU

By DAVIS DUNAVIN

Jury selection is scheduled to start tomorrow in a civil trial for a Connecticut rabbi accused of sexual abuse. Rabbi Daniel Greer, the principal of the Yeshiva of New Haven, is accused of molesting a teenage student hundreds of times between 2001 and 2005.

The student, now 29, says Greer sexually abused him at more than a dozen locations in Connecticut and Pennsylvania, including at school, in motels and at Greer’s home. His lawsuit alleges Greer abused at least one other male student at the all boys school.

Greer is still principal of the New Haven school. He faces civil charges only and hasn’t been criminally charged. He’s denied the allegations, and his attorney questioned the student’s decision to wait 14 years before coming forward.

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AUSTRALIA
WA Today

Heather McNeill

A WA priest and two teachers who worked at the Wandering Mission during the 1960s have been charged with historical child sex offences.

Charges against the three men, now aged 78, 82 and 83, came after an investigation was launched stemming from the ongoing Royal Commission into Institutional Child Sexual Offences.

Police will allege the priest – who now lives in Melbourne – sexually abused four girls aged between eight and 15 between 1965 and 1969.

He has been charged with rape, six counts of indecent dealing of a girl under 13, and sex counts of unlawful or indecent assault of a female.

One of the teachers, 82, who lives in Shelley, is alleged to have sexually abused a 10-year-old girl between 1960 and 1963.

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

May 10, 2017

VICTORIA LAURIE
Reporter Perth

Another former teacher at the isolated Wandering Aboriginal Mission was last night charged with a string of offences spanning more than forty years.

The man, who is now 83 years old, is accused of sexually abusing five girls who were aged between nine and 13 years at the time of the offences.

He is the third man who worked at the Pallottine-run mission, which has since closed, to be charged this month by Child Abuse Squad detectives in Perth. A former teacher, now aged 82, and a former priest, aged 78, have already been charged with sex offences against girls aged between 8 and 15.

The charges have emerged from ongoing investigations stemming from the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, which identified historic and persistent child sex offences occurring at the Wandering Mission and other locations within Western Australia.

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NEW YORK
Spectrum News

By Geoff Redick
Updated Tuesday, May 9, 2017

ALBANY, N.Y. — If you can call it luck, then Kat Sullivan is one of the “lucky” ones.

Sullivan is a rape survivor, which means in New York State she can seek criminal prosecution against her attacker whenever she pleases — even 20 years after the rape, which happened in 1998 on the campus of the Emma Willard School in Troy, where Sullivan attended as a student athlete.

But potentially, hundreds of teenage girls who attended Emma Willard School, like Sullivan did, were the victims of sexual abuse. Such abuse is considered different from forcible rape under the state’s legal definition. Because of a statute of limitations preventing legal action after five years have passed, those hundreds of girls cannot report the crimes against them with any hope of confronting their attackers.

Children who are victimized younger than the age of 13 can report sex abuse at any time for the rest of their lives, leaving only minors between the ages of 13 and 18 as those who must tell authorities within five years.

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UNITED STATES
EIN News

SPRING VALLEY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES, May 10, 2017 /EINPresswire.com/ — We are pleased to announce a new feature of the VictimsSpeakDB website, the SACCADAS DB Profiler. It provides summary statistics about Catholic clergy abuse for individual states/provinces, countries or regions included in the SACCADAS database. VictimsSpeakDB viewers can request profiles of individual states/ provinces, countries or regions by sending a Profile Request. Profiles of individual clerics, such as priests, brothers or nuns, are also available upon request.

The SACCADAS DB Profiler was created to provide summary data about specific locations and/or individuals. Not every user requires the detail provided on the dozens of charts on this website. In some cases, the user would like to obtain an overview of clergy abuse in his particular state/ province or by a specific abuser. Viewers can request a profile of a specific state/province or abuser by sending a Profile Request. We have included on this website a profile of the entire SACCADAS database as well a sample of an individual state/province. The state/province we chose was the U.S. territory of the Guam. We chose Guam because the pattern exhibited in the data is a primary reason this website was created.

There are 67 records of victims abused in Guam. Of those 67 records, only one victim was abused in this century (in 2015). Of the remaining 66 records, 57 records represent victims abused prior to the 1980s. On the other hand, 57 records of the 67 records represented victims who made the first public accusation of abuse in the 2015-2017 time slot. Why? In September 2016, Guam enacted a law removing the statute of limitations on sex crimes against children. Fifty five of the 67 records are from victims who made their first accusation of abuse after September 2016. Clearly, eliminating the statute of limitations had a major effect. Moreover, when victims come forward it encourages other victims to come forward who might otherwise have continued to remain silent.

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DEUTSCHLAND
General Anzeiger

[ECKIGER TISCH BONN]

[The victims association “Eckiger Tisch Bonn” has broken off the dialogue with the school because of the new alleged abuse at the Aloisiuskolleg (Ako) in Bad Godesberg. They now call for consequences. Police said on Monday that they had received a criminal complaint.]

“We are talking about the processing of the previous cases up to a detailed presentation of the Kolleg about the facts and a public opinion,” explained the association’s board on Tuesday.It is necessary to fill the vacant position of the managing Ako Rector for a period of three years with a church-external person with competences in the preventive field “capable of detecting maladmin ties and breaking structures”.On Monday, the police confirmed that a criminal complaint had been received.

BAD GODESBERG. Der Betroffenenverein Eckiger Tisch Bonn hat wegen des neuen mutmaßlichen Missbrauchsfalls am Aloisiuskolleg (Ako) in Bad Godesberg den Dialog mit der Schule abgebrochen. Er fordert nun Konsequenzen.

Von Ebba Hagenberg-Miliu, 09.05.2017
„Wir setzen die Gespräche über die Aufarbeitung der früheren Fälle bis zu einer ausführlichen Darstellung des Kollegs über den Sachverhalt und einer öffentlichen Stellungnahme aus“, erklärte der Vereinsvorstand am Dienstag.

Man fordere, die derzeit bis September vakante Stelle des geschäftsführenden Ako-Rektors für drei Jahre mit einer kirchenfremden Person mit Kompetenzen im Präventionsbereich zu besetzen, „die in der Lage ist, Missstände zu erkennen und Strukturen zu durchbrechen“.

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MINNESOTA
Yahoo! News

By Timothy Mclaughlin

(Reuters) – A Catholic bishop in Minnesota threatened to thwart a man’s attempt to become a deacon and derail his son’s career as a priest for reporting sexual abuse by a senior church member 46 years ago, according to a lawsuit filed on Tuesday.

The personal injury lawsuit, filed in Polk County Court in Crookston, Minnesota, against Bishop Michael Joseph Hoeppner by Ronald Vasek, marks the first time a U.S. bishop has been individually sued for coercion, according to the plaintiff’s attorney, Jeff Anderson.

Hoeppner, who has been bishop of Crookston since 2007, refuted the charges.

“Bishop Hoeppner categorically denies that he in any way forced, coerced or encouraged Mr. Vasek not to pursue his allegations,” the Diocese of Crookston responded in a statement.

The diocese is also a defendant in the lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages in excess of $50,000 and the release of records of abuses carried out by priests in the diocese.

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MINNESOTA
Washington Post

By Associated Press May 9

MINNEAPOLIS — The Latest on a lawsuit accusing a Minnesota bishop of suppressing a report of sexual abuse (all times local):

5:15 p.m.

A Catholic diocese in Minnesota says its bishop denies coercing a deacon candidate into remaining silent about a priest he alleges abused him decades earlier.

The Diocese of Crookston says in a statement that Bishop Michael Hoeppner (HEP’-ner) “categorically denies that he in any way forced, coerced or encouraged” Ronald Vasek not to report his allegations against Monsignor Roger Grundhaus.

The statement also says Vasek’s allegations against Grundhaus were reported to law enforcement in 2011.

The diocese said it plans to conduct a thorough investigation and that it wouldn’t be appropriate to comment further until it’s completed.

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MINNESOTA
Crookston Times

Minnesota Bishop Michael Hoeppner responds to allegations made in a coercion lawsuit from Ronald Vasek in regards to alleged abuse that happened in 1971.

By Times Report

In response to the coercion lawsuit filed by Ronald Vasek saying Crookston Diocese Bishop Michael Hoeppner coerced him into signing a document denying sexual abuse by Father Roger Grundhaus, the Diocese says Hoeppner denies that he in any way “forced, coerced or encouraged” Vasek not to pursue allegations against Grundhaus.

Vasek said in a Tuesday press conference in St. Paul with Jeff Anderson and Associates that he was sexually abused when he was 16 years old in 1971 while on a trip to Ohio with Father Grundhaus. Vasek says that Bishop Hoeppner was informed in 2010 and that Hoeppner allegedly told him to not tell anyone about the abuse, and, later, in 2015, had him sign a document stating that the abuse never happened.

Statement made by the Diocese of Crookston:

“Bishop Hoeppner and other diocesan leaders are deeply saddened and troubled about the allegations made today by Ron Vasek.

The Diocese of Crookston takes all allegations of sexual abuse very seriously. Mr. Vasek’s allegation of sexual abuse dates to 1971 and involves Msgr. Roger Grundhaus. Msgr. Grundhaus has been retired since July 1, 2010 and is currently suspended from active ministry.

Mr. Vasek has also alleged that Bishop Hoeppner coerced him into signing a document against his will and to not pursue the reporting of the allegations against Msgr. Grundhaus. Bishop Hoeppner categorically denies that he in any way forced, coerced or encouraged Mr. Vasek to not pursue his allegations regarding Msgr. Grundhaus. Mr. Vasek’s allegations of abuse regarding Msgr. Grundhaus were reported to law enforcement in 2011.

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MINNESOTA
Winona Daily News

Kyle Farris
Daily News

Crookston Bishop Michael Hoeppner, who spent 42 years as a priest in the Diocese of Winona, has been accused of covering up a decades-old case of child sexual abuse, and of blackmailing the accuser into keeping the claims to himself.

Hoeppner was named in a civil complaint filed Monday in Polk County district court.

Ronald Vasek, a longtime parishioner in the Crookston diocese and the father of one of the priests there, said he was abused by a diocesan priest in 1971, when he was 16, and that Hoeppner learned of this around 2010.

Vasek said Hoeppner discouraged him from sharing the allegations with anyone, and then used his family’s aspirations within the church — Vasek himself hoped to become a deacon — to force Vasek into silence.

“I felt like I had been abused all over again,” Vasek said at a news conference in Saint Paul on Tuesday. “To this day, I never have doubted one thing the Catholic church teaches …. But I saw nothing but immorality within our diocese — how things had been covered up for years and years. There could be other victims like me who have been silenced by the bishop or by anybody.”

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MINNESOTA
WDAY

[with video]

CROOKSTON, MN—For the first time in the United States, a Bishop of the Catholic Church is being sued for coercion.

Bishop Michael Hoeppner is in charge of the Crookston Diocese, and sees over most of Western Minnesota.

He’s accused of forcing a Deacon candidate to stay quiet about alleged sexual abuse.

That candidate is now saying he was abused 46-years ago and again in 2015.

“What the bishop told him is “Ron you must keep this quiet,” said Jeff Anderson, Attorney.

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AUSTRALIA
9 News

AAP

A priest and two teachers who worked at a West Australian Catholic school for indigenous children in the 1960s have been arrested on multiple child abuse charges.

A 78-year-man, who was a priest at the Wandering Mission and was arrested in Melbourne, has been charged with rape and 12 other offences.

A Perth man, now aged 83, who worked as a teacher at the mission has been charged with 14 offences involving abuse, including rape of five girls who were aged between nine and 13 between 1959 and 2003.

An 82-year-old Perth man is facing seven charges.

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AUSTRALIA
Daily Mail (UK)

By Australian Associated Press and Ashleigh Davis For Daily Mail Australia

A 78-year-old priest and two other male teachers who worked at WA’s Wandering Mission school are facing historic child sex abuse charges.

The trio, who worked at the West Australian Catholic school for indigenous children in the 1960s, were arrested on multiple child abuse charges.

The day school with a dormitory for Aboriginal girls was established in 1944 and was one-and-a-half hours south east of Perth, before being closed in 1979.

The 78-year-old priest was arrested in Melbourne and has been charged with rape and 12 other offences.

It is alleged between 1965 and 1969 the priest sexually abused four girls who were aged between eight and 15 years at the time of the first offence.

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GUAM
KUAM

May 10, 2017

By Krystal Paco

More allegations of clergy sexual abuse surface, this time against Father Andy Mannetta.

Filed in the Superior Court of Guam today, N.Q. alleges he was sexually molested by the Talofofo priest over 50 times when he was a teen attending the parish. The priest allegedly groomed him for the abuse, inviting him to the rectory to eat and drink sacramental wine as well as watch X-rated videos. On such occasions, the priest would tell him to go into the room for a nap, but would instead perform sex acts on the teen boy, including full body massages with emphasis on the private parts as well as penetration.

N.Q. states to avoid the abuse, he quit attending mass and ceased to be a Catholic. In addition, he turned to drugs to self-medicate. N.Q. is represented by attorney Anthony Perez and asks that the Church come clean and list all known sexual abusers within the Archdiocese of Agana.

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GUAM
The Guam Daily Post

Mindy Aguon |For The Guam Daily Post May 10, 2017

A Talofofo resident alleges he was subjected to repeated sex abuse by former Guam priest Andrew Mannetta while he attended San Miguel Church in Talofofo in the 80s.

The man, identified through initials N.Q., to protect his privacy due to the graphic nature of the child sex abuse allegations, filed a civil complaint with the Superior Court of Guam through his attorney Anthony C. Perez.

The lawsuit alleges that N.Q. began helping out at the Talofofo church in 1985 when he was 15 years old.

Mannetta was the parish priest at the time and gradually increased contact with N.Q. inviting him to eat, drink and watch television in the parish rectory. The lawsuit alleges Mannetta began offering the teen sacramental wine and providing x-rated videos for him to watch.

The priest then suggested N.Q. take naps at the rectory and frequently began giving long and “powerful” hugs while sniffing and kissing the boy’s face and body, the lawsuit states. On several occasions Mannetta allegedly threw N.Q. on the bed and other times ordered him to lay down on his stomach.

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MARYLAND
Fox 43

The exhumation of a Catholic priest’s body by Baltimore County Police could hold the key to solving the 47-year-old cold case of a murdered nun.

On February 28, police opened the grave of Rev. A. Joseph Maskell after securing an order from the state’s attorney, according to Elise Armacost, director of public affairs for Baltimore County Police.

Police took DNA samples from the corpse to check against a DNA profile developed from evidence taken in 1970 from the scene in Maryland where the badly decomposed body of Sister Catherine Ann Cesnik had been found by a father and son out hunting. The 26-year-old nun had been missing for nearly two months.

In the decades since the nun’s killing and as DNA testing has become a vital investigative tool, Baltimore County police have compared the DNA of several other people as part of their investigation into the never-closed case, according to Armacost, but those tests did not match the DNA profile from 1970.

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NEW YORK
National Catholic Reporter

Peter Feuerherd | May. 9, 2017

NEW YORK

Before embarking on a May 9 lobbying day in Albany in support of proposed New York state legislation that would extend the statute of limitations on child abuse claims, the watchdog group Catholic Whistleblowers offered both support and criticism of New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan.

The group praised the New York Archdiocese’s Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Program to compensate victims with claims against clergy sex abusers. The program offers compensation even to those who come forth beyond New York’s window for presenting claims, five years after a person reaches the age of 18.

The bishops of New York state have fought efforts to extend the statute of limitations in the past, stating that it would stretch the ability of witnesses to remember events that happened decades ago; would unfairly target private institutions like the church while leaving other entities untouched, such as public schools; and threaten dioceses with bankruptcy.

The effort to extend the statute of limitations has become an annual Albany legislative struggle, successfully fought off by the state’s Catholic bishops. A similar struggle is expected in this year’s session before the legislature adjourns this summer.

The Catholic Whistleblowers group comprises some 30 priests, religious and laypeople, including supporters of those sexually abused as well as victims who have worked for the church. In a statement, the group praised Dolan for instituting the Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Program.

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MAINE
CentralMaine.com

BY AMY CALDER
STAFF WRITER

WATERVILLE — Experts who deal with sexual abuse issues say it is understandable that parishioners of St. Joseph Maronite Catholic Church are in shock and disbelief that their former priest, the Rev. Larry Jensen, was removed swiftly from the church amid allegations that he sexually abused a teenage boy 15 years ago in Connecticut.

After all, a spiritual leader is someone they look up to, trust, admire, invite to family gatherings and holiday celebrations, and regard as part of their family. But it is for that precise reason that often people can not imagine any abuse could have taken place, experts say.

Cara Courchesne, communications director for Maine Coalition Against Sexual Assault, cited as an example the case of former Penn State University defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky, who sexually abused young boys over a period of at least 15 years.

“I think that with a lot of cases, and we saw it with Jerry Sandusky, that when somebody who is part of a community, who is well-known and well-liked and something like this comes out, it makes us question our own beliefs and what we know to be true and it can be very, very hard,” Courchesne said.

Jensen, 62, was the priest at St. Joseph for 10 years until Sunday, when Bishop Gregory Mansour, of the Maronite Catholic Eparchy of Saint Maron, of Brooklyn, New York, read aloud a letter in the church saying Jensen had been removed from his priestly ministry and that the Rev. James Doran would be replacing him.

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MINNESOTA
Jeff Anderson & Associates

Sexual Abuse Survivor Ron Vasek Breaks Silence About Abuse by Former Diocese of Crookston
Vicar General Msgr. Roger Grundhaus

Crookston Bishop Michael Hoeppner Sued for Coercion

(St. Paul, MN) – A Minnesota man sued the Diocese of Crookston and Bishop Michael Hoeppner on Tuesday, claiming that Hoeppner coerced him into keeping silent about his alleged abuse by a Diocese of Crookston priest 46 years ago and signing a document stating the abuse never occurred.

Ron Vasek and his attorney, Jeff Anderson, announced the filing of the lawsuit in St. Paul. Vasek alleges that he was abused as a minor by Msgr. Roger Grundhaus, a Diocese of Crookston priest, and that Hoeppner coerced Vasek into signing a document stating the abuse did not occur. This is the first time in the United States that a bishop has been sued individually for coercion, Anderson said.

Grundhaus allegedly sexually abused Vasek in 1971 while on a trip to Ohio. Vasek was approximately 16. Grundhaus was working as a priest at Holy Trinity Church in Tabor, Minn., where Vasek and his family were parishioners.

Vasek kept the secret to himself for many years to protect his parents and their relationship with the Church. But he remained devoted to the Catholic Church and trained to be a deacon in the Diocese of Crookston. In 2009 or 2010, while considering becoming a member of the dioceses’ diaconate program, Vasek disclosed the Grundhaus abuse to a priest in another diocese. That priest reported the abuse to the vicar general of his diocese, who reported it to Hoeppner.

Hoeppner scheduled a meeting with Vasek at the Diocese of Crookston Chancery, where Vasek told Hoeppner about the abuse. Hoeppner told Vasek not to tell anyone about the abuse as it would harm Grundhaus and his reputation. Hoeppner told Vasek his diaconate program would not be affected by his disclosure as long as he didn’t tell anyone else about the abuse. Vasek felt intimidated and threatened by Hoeppner, and told no one else.

In 2010, Vasek’s son was ordained as a priest in the Diocese of Crookston. Vasek entered the diocese’s diaconate program in 2011. In August 2015, a Mahnomen County (Minn.) District Court ordered the Diocese of Crookston to produce information on clergy accused of child sexual abuse in a clergy sex abuse lawsuit. In response, the diocese did not produce Grundhaus’ name or information in its court-ordered disclosures. In October 2015, Hoeppner had Vasek come to his private residence, where he told Vasek to sign a letter retracting Vasek’s statements regarding the sexual abuse by Grundhaus and indicating that the abuse in Ohio never happened. Vasek initially refused to sign the letter.

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NEW YORK
The Legislative Gazette

Written by KALEB H. SMITH, assistant editor on May 9, 2017

As lawmakers prepare for the closing weeks of session, victims of childhood sexual abuse are pushing once again for a controversial bill that would give them a chance to seek justice for decades-old cases.

The Child Victims Act (S.809) would allow victims to file legal action against their abusers, regardless of when the crime took place.

But opponents of The Child Victims Act — mainly churches and other organizations that may be held responsible for decades-old cases of abuse — say passage of the bill could bankrupt them if it is adopted as written.

The New York State Catholic Conference, which represents the bishops of New York state in matters of public policy, supports another bill (S.5660/A.7302) that would eliminate the criminal statute of limitations for the prosecution of certain sex offenses and extend the time for civil claims to be brought by survivors of child sexual abuse until they are 28 years old.

It also expands mandated reporter requirements by adding clergy to the list of those who must report suspected cases of sexual abuse of a child, and requires all mandated reporters to not only report suspected familial abuse, but also suspected abuse at the hands of other mandated reporters.

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NEW YORK
Times Union

By Robert Gavin Tuesday, May 9, 2017

ALBANY — A former Emma Willard student who revealed allegations of sexual abuse and a cover-up at the school last year on Tuesday questioned Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s commitment to passing a law to end a five-year statute of limitations on child sexual abuse.

Kat Sullivan, who said she was raped by a teacher at Emma Willard in 1998 and shipped away to New Orleans, called child sexual abuse a “pandemic” that needs to be addressed this year with the passing of the Child Victims Act.

The bill would end the statute of limitations civilly as well as criminally, create a one-year retroactive window for survivors over 23 to sue and end a 90-day notice of claim for public institutions that the sponsors say now shields the facilities from lawsuits.

The bill has been pushed in Albany for 10 years. Cuomo backed its passage in his State of the State in January, saying survivors of the abuse deserve justice.

“I have been following Gov. Cuomo and his statements in the newspapers very carefully and I read promises in the newspapers to prioritize the Child Victims Act, which gave me hope he would be a champion,” Sullivan told reporters in a packed news conference in the Legislative Office Building, where she was joined by lawmakers, advocates and other victims.

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UNITED STATES
Catholic League

Bill Donohue comments on the latest con-job against the Church:

An American man says that a half-century ago he was sexually abused by another adult man; the abused was an adult at the time. The incident took place in a foreign country, and now the man who says he was abused is suing the American company the abuser once worked for, even though the abuser was subsequently fired by the organization.

This sounds like a fairy tale, except it is true. It is true because those gunning for the Catholic Church will stop at nothing to discredit it.

The alleged offender is a former Catholic priest who supposedly abused an 18-year-old man in Canada in 1969. Now the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, where the priest was stationed, is being sued for $3 million in Ontario courts.

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MINNESOTA
Grand Forks Herald

By Andrew Hazzard

ST. PAUL—A northwest Minnesota man has filed a lawsuit against the Diocese of Crookston and Bishop Michael Hoeppner, alleging a cover-up of abuse and coercion.

Ron Vasek, alongside his wife and attorney Jeff Anderson, announced his lawsuit at a press conference Tuesday where he made an emotional plea for victims to come forward and the truth to be revealed.

“He brought this suit because the truth of what has been done in the past and in the present needed to be revealed,” Anderson said.

The lawsuit, filed in Polk County Monday, accuses Bishop Hoeppner of coercion and inflicting emotional distress. It levies one count of negligence, a count of negligent supervision, a count of negligent retention and two nuisance counts against the Diocese of Crookston.

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