ABUSE TRACKER

NEW YORK
Road to Recovery

Fourteen (14) women have come forward to allege that they were sexually abused as minor children by their parish priest and pastor, Fr. Adam Prochaski (a/k/a Prochalski) of Holy Cross Parish, Maspeth, Queens, in the Diocese of Brooklyn, New York. All of the women are represented by Attorney Mitchell Garabedian of Boston, MA – mgarabedian@garabedianlaw.com – who was featured in the movie, “Spotlight” and is working with a licensed New York attorney

Fr. Adam Prochaski (a/k/a Prochalski) was assigned to Holy Cross Parish, Maspeth, Queens, New York, for approximately twenty-five (25) years beginning in approximately 1969 and ending in 1994. He was pastor of the parish for approximately four (4) years

According to reports, Fr. Adam Prochaski (a/k/a Prochalski) left the priesthood in approximately 2003 after being absent on sick leave for approximately seven (7) years

WHAT
A press conference announcing that fourteen (14) courageous women who attended Holy Cross Parish and/or School, Maspeth, Queens, have alleged that Fr. Adam Prochaski (a/k/a Prochalski) sexually abused them as minor children in several locations over numerous years

WHEN
Tuesday, September 26, 2017 at 11:45 AM

WHERE
On the public sidewalk outside Holy Cross Roman Catholic Church, 61-21 56 Road, Maspeth, Queens, New York 11378

WHO
Attorney Mitchell Garabedian of Boston who represents the fourteen (14) women who allege that they were sexually abused as minor children by Fr. Adam Prochaski (a/k/a Prochalski); Linda Porcaro (“Mrs. G”), former teacher at Holy Cross School, Maspeth, Queens, who has courageously assisted many of her former students who allege that they were sexually abused by Fr. Adam Prochaski (a/k/a Prochalski); and, Dr. Robert M. Hoatson, Co-founder and President of Road to Recovery, Inc., a non-profit charity based in New Jersey that assists victims of sexual abuse and their families

WHY
According to reports, Fr. Adam Prochaski (a/k/a Prochalski) was assigned to Holy Cross Parish, Maspeth, Queens, New York, as a young priest of the Diocese of Brooklyn, New York. While at Holy Cross Parish, Fr. Adam Prochaski (a/k/a Prochalski) allegedly sexually abused many minor girls, some of them Polish immigrants or daughters of Polish immigrants. Fourteen (14) women who were minor children at Holy Cross Church and/or School have come forward to allege that Fr. Adam Prochaski (a/k/a Prochalski), known as “Fr. Adam,” sexually abused them in Holy Cross Church, Holy Cross School, Holy Cross parish rectory, private homes, and elsewhere.

CONTACT
Robert M. Hoatson, Ph.D., Road to Recovery, Inc., 862-368-2800 – roberthoatson@gmail.com

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

SCOTLAND
Premier

Mon 25 Sep 2017
By Tola Mbakwe

Nuns who ran an orphanage where 400 children have been discovered in a secret mass grave have promised to honour the lives of the children.

According to Herald Scotland, the Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul have pledged to build a memorial for the “lost children” of Smyllum Park.

Earlier this month, new research revealed 402 children died in the care of the nuns at Smyllum Park in Lanark between 1864 and when it closed its doors in 1981.

It had previously said that 158 children died and were buried in compartments at nearby St Mary’s Cemetery. Back in 2004 the nuns erected a headstone which didn’t have names engraved.

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WASHINGTON
The News Tribune

BY ALEXIS KRELL
akrell@thenewstribune.com

A teacher who sexually abused students at Catholic schools across the country did the same at a Pierce County public school, where the church helped him get hired, two lawsuits allege.

The Seattle Archdiocese recently agreed to settle one of the suits for $1.3 million; the other is ongoing.

Both were brought by adults who say they were abused as children at Parkland Elementary School in the 1980s by teacher Edward Courtney. Both suits blame the archdiocese for Courtney being hired at the public school.

Courtney was part of the Christian Brothers religious order, and was on a list the archdiocese released last year of 77 other brothers, priests, deacons and nuns accused of abusing children.

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WASHINGTON
Northwest Public Radio

By KATE WALTER

The Seattle Catholic Archdiocese has agreed to a $1.3 million settlement with a man who says he was sexually abused at a school near Tacoma.

The man, known only in court documents as M.R., says he was abused by a teacher who had previously molested children at two archdiocesan schools.

M.R. claims the Seattle Archdiocese is liable for his abuse because they knew teacher Edward Courtney posed a risk to children. The lawsuit claims Courtney’s abuse at two church-run schools was known. But the church still helped him gain employment in the public school system where he came into contact with M.R.

Jason Amala, M.R’s attorney, says his client is pleased with the settlement.

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NEW MEXICO
Rio Grande Sun

Wheeler Cowperthwaite SUN Staff Writer

In 1986, when John Doe 46 was nine years old, he was selected as one of the altar boys for the Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish, in Española.

For the next two years, he was allegedly raped by former priest Armando Martinez, who was killed in 1997.

Doe is just one of the many victims of sexual abuse and violence at the hands of Catholic clergy in Rio Arriba County. Because he is a victim of sexual abuse, he is only named as “John Doe” in court documents.

On Sept. 12, the Santa Fe Archdiocese, which covers Rio Arriba County, released a list of 75 priests who were found to have credibly abused children while serving in the area.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

GUAM
Pacific Daily News

Haidee V Eugenio, heugenio@guampdn.com Sept. 26, 2017

Ten clergy sex abuse cases have been filed in local court, including one alleging that former priest Louis Brouillard engaged in group sex with minors and had two altar boys accompany him on summer road trips to Minnesota and Canada, where he continued to sexually abuse and molest them.

Brouillard already has been accused, in dozens of lawsuits, of abusing boys on Guam between 1956 and 1981.

The lawsuit filed by F.S.L. in the Superior Court of Guam states Brouillard, who left Guam for Minnesota in 1981, continued to sexually abuse Guam children by having them flown out to him on the mainland.

The 10 clergy abuse cases were filed through Sept. 26, by attorney Michael Berman of the law firm of Berman O’Connor & Mann.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

VATICAN CITY
National Catholic Register

Elise Harris/CNA/EWTN News

VATICAN CITY — The Vatican has issued a response to allegations made by former auditor general Libero Milone, who, three months after mysteriously stepping down in the middle of a five-year mandate, has said he was “threatened” into resignation by an “old guard” opposed to his work.

The Vatican’s Sept. 24 statement voiced “surprise and regret” at the allegations. It said that by speaking out, Milone “failed in the agreement to keep confidential the reasons for his resignation from office,” noting that, according to the statutes of his department, Milone’s task had been to “analyze the budgets and accounts” of the Holy See and its related administrations specifically.

“Unfortunately, the office directed by Milone exceeded its powers and illegally commissioned an external firm to carry out investigative activities on the private lives of representatives of the Holy See,” the statement said.

“In addition to constituting a crime,” the act “irreparably crippled the trust placed in Mr. Milone, who, placed in front of his responsibilities, freely agreed to resign.”

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VATICAN CITY
Catholic Herald

However, Vatican officials accused him of spying on the private lives of his superiors

The Holy See’s former auditor general, Libero Milone, has said he was forced to step down earlier this year after uncovering possible illegal activity. Vatican officials have hit back, however, accusing him of spying.

Mr Milone claimed on Saturday he was forced out over false accusations by an old guard opposed to reform. Speaking to a group of reporters, he said he was speaking out because “I couldn’t allow any longer a small group of powers to [defame] my reputation for their shady games”.

‘I wanted to do good for the Church, to reform it like I was asked, but they wouldn’t let me,” Mr Milone added.

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MINNESOTA
Crookston Times

Marben has until Dec. 19 to rule on suit brought forth by Vasek against Bishop Hoeppner

A northwest Minnesota judge has less than three months to rule on a lawsuit accusing the Diocese of Crookston and its bishop of covering up abuse of a man who reported being sexually abused by one of their priests more than 40 years ago. District Judge Kurt Marben has until December 19, 2017 to make a decision in the case involving Ron Vasek, a parishioner in the Tabor Area who says he was abused by former Msgr. Roger Grundhaus when he was 16 years old while on a trip to Ohio in 1971.

The lawsuit against Diocese Bishop Michael Hoeppner accuse him of coercion and inflicting emotional distress. Vasek told the Grand Forks Herald that he agreed to drop the coercion charge against Hoeppner in exchange for a copy of the letter Hoeppner asked him to sign in October 2015 that recanted his allegations of abuse against Grundhaus. The remaining count against Hoeppner, accusing him of inflicting emotional distress, has not been settled.

The five counts specifically involving the Diocese, which include two nuisance counts, one count of negligence, one count of negligent supervision and one count of negligent retention will be decided by Judge Marben.

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UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter

by Bill Frogameni

Barbara Blaine, the founder and former longtime president of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, has passed away at age 61 in Utah, where she was vacationing with her husband.

According to a Sept. 24 statement from Blaine’s family, the renowned advocate for victims of childhood sexual abuse by clergy died after falling ill from a sudden, unexpected cardiac condition Sept. 18. By many accounts, Blaine was known to keep herself in excellent physical shape, a fact that made the loss that much heavier for family, friends and fellow survivors.

“I’m just shocked and have profound sadness,” said Barbara Dorris, SNAP’s current managing director. “The world has lost a very wonderful woman. I’m sad. That’s all we can be. She was way too young, wasn’t sick. The only word is ‘sad.’ ”

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ILLINOIS
Chicago Tribune

Manya Brachear PashmanContact Reporter
Chicago Tribune

Barbara Blaine — the founder of SNAP, a prominent activist group in the Roman Catholic Church’s clergy-abuse crisis — died Sunday in Utah at 61.

The cause of death was a condition resulting from a sudden tear in a blood vessel in her heart, her family said in a statement Monday.

“Her relentless advocacy enabled millions to eventually accept a long unbelievable reality: that tens of thousands of priests raped and fondled hundreds of thousands of kids while bishops hid these heinous crimes,” said Barbara Dorris, the managing director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, the group Blaine helped start.

“Her contributions to a safer society would be hard to overstate,” she added.

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MASSACHUSETTS
MassKids
Durso Law

September 25, 2017
Contact: Jetta Bernier – jetta@masskids.org – 617-827-5218

PRESS RELEASE

September 18, 20017 Over two hundred education leaders, legal experts, and child abuse prevention advocates from across New England will convene in Boston on October 20th for a national conference on “Innovative Strategies to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse in Public and Private Schools.” Topic areas will cover issues relating to training of staff and volunteers about sexual abuse and how to prevent it, screening prospective employees to eliminate unsafe applicants, developing codes of standards to identify prohibited boundary violating behaviors, and responding to suspected or disclosed cases of sexual misconduct or abuse. Goals of the event will be to gain support for this core set of safe child standards, detail plans to disseminate these standards nationally, and establish post-conference networking and technical assistance for participants once they return to their communities and schools.

“According to the U.S. Department of Education, 10% or 4.5 million school children K-12 report having had inappropriate sexual contact with someone in their school – in a third of cases, by a teacher or coach,” said MassKids director Jetta Bernier, whose group has been leading the effort to address educator sexual abuse and misconduct in Massachusetts. “Because child sexual abuse is significantly under-reported and few states keep publicly accessible records of school personnel disciplined for inappropriate or illegal behavior, these numbers are likely to be conservative.” She noted that in Pennsylvania, where such records are available, half of the 234 teacher licenses suspended or revoked in one year were for sexual misconduct or abuse.

Private schools are not immune from the threat of sexual abuse. Investigative reporting by the Boston Globe’s Spotlight Team in 2016 and 2017 has documented sexual abuse of more than 200 students in 67 New England private schools over the past 25 years. Abusers included teachers, coaches, administrators, and other staff members. At the time of the Globe’s reporting, at least 90 students or families had filed lawsuits, 37 school employees had been fired or forced to resign, and nearly two dozen employees had pled guilty or were convicted on criminal charges of sexually abusing children.

Jeff Dion of the National Center for Victims of Crime said the conference would also address the practice known as “passing the trash,” – the failing to report a suspected case of sexual abuse, and allowing or encouraging a school employee to resign, often under a confidentiality agreement which neither police, district attorneys nor parents can open. “We can no longer allow those who abuse children in our schools to get a free pass to seek employment in another school district or state where they can continue to pose a threat to children,” said Dion.

Carmen Durso, whose Boston-based law firm has seen a significant increase in cases brought against schools by former students, pointed to another problematic practice. “Too many schools faced with a credible report of sexual abuse choose to conduct their own internal investigation rather than report to the police or to child protective services as mandated by law,” he said. “The disbelief that a member of their staff could sexually abuse a child, concern about the impact of public disclosure, and the fear of legal retaliation from the alleged abuser, should no longer trump what should be a fundamental priority in every school, that is, keeping our children safe from the devastating impact of child sexual abuse.”

###
About MassKids

MassKids is a 58-year-old, private child advocacy organization which serves as State Chapter of Prevent Child Abuse America and directs the Enough Abuse Campaign to prevent child sexual abuse. It has produced research-based training tools specifically for schools, youth organizations, and parents, as well as policy tools, including “Child Sexual Abuse Safe Child Standards.” It maintains an on-line Resource Bank with over 75 annotated links to a variety of prevention resources for schools. It recently announced “Enough! Preventing Child Sexual Abuse in My School,” a one-hour, interactive online course developed specifically to support schools in addressing sexual misconduct and abuse. www.enoughabuse.org
About The National Center for Victims of Crime

The National Center for Victims of Crime is the nation’s leading resource and advocacy organization serving victims of all types of crime. Founded in 1985, the National Center has a proven record of accomplishment in working across disciplines to effect changes in public policy and culture. It has crafted substantive tools to combat child sex abuse, including its 2014 publication, “Preventing Child Sexual Abuse in Youth-Serving Organizations; Guidelines for Managers and Parents.” As part of its efforts at cross-discipline collaboration, the National Center has convened more than a dozen national-scope conferences. www.ncvc.org

DURSO LAW
LAW OFFICE OF CARMEN L. DURSO
175 Federal Street, Suite 1425
Boston, MA 02110-2287
Tel: 617-728-9123 – Fax: 617-426-7972
carmen@dursolaw.com
www.dursolaw.com

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NORTH CAROLINA
WTOP

SPINDALE, N.C. (AP) — When Randy Fields’ construction company faced potential ruin because of the cratering economy, he pleaded with his pastor at Word of Faith Fellowship church to reduce the amount of money he was required to tithe every week.

To his shock, Fields said church founder Jane Whaley proposed a divine plan that would allow him to continue tithing at least 10 percent of his income to the secretive evangelical church while helping his company survive: He would file fraudulent unemployment claims on behalf of his employees. She called it, he said, “God’s plan.”

Fields and 10 other former congregants told The Associated Press that they and dozens of employees who were church members filed bogus claims at Word of Faith Fellowship leaders’ direction, and said they had been interviewed at length about the false claims by investigators with the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

The unemployment allegations were uncovered as part of the AP’s ongoing investigation into Word of Faith, which has about 750 congregants in rural North Carolina and a total of nearly 2,000 members in its branches in Brazil and Ghana and its affiliations in Sweden, Scotland and other countries.

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ILLINOIS
Fox 32

CHICAGO (Fox 32 News) – Barbara Blaine, the founder of a key group that worked tirelessly to bring pedophile priests to justice, has passed away.

Her organization, SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests) said on Sunday that she had died after a cardiac event.

“She will be remembered for her tireless efforts on behalf of abuse survivors around the world,” SNAP said in a statement.

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UNITED STATES
International Business Times

BY SHREESHA GHOSH @SHREESHA_94 ON 09/25/17

Barbara Blaine, who founded the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) and was also the former president of the organization, died Sunday in Utah at the age of 61, the support group confirmed.

Last Monday, Blaine suffered a spontaneous coronary artery dissection, her family said in a statement to Reuters. The rare condition involves a tear in one or more blood vessels in the heart of the patient.

The managing director of SNAP, Barbara Dorris, issued a statement Sunday regarding Blaine’s contribution and pioneer work for the survivors of clergy sexual abuse. “Few people have done more to protect kids and help victims than Barbara Blaine. Her relentless advocacy enabled millions to eventually accept a long unbelievable reality: that tens of thousands of priests raped and fondled hundreds of thousands of kids while bishops hid these heinous crimes. She started-and for almost 30 years-worked extremely hard to help build the world’s most successful organization of child sex abuse victims. Her contributions to a safer society would be hard to overstate,” Dorris wrote on SNAP’s official page.

People on social media expressed their condolences for the woman who helped numerous survivors of abuse.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

UNITED STATES
BishopAccountability.org

September 24, 2017

We can now share with you that Barbara has peacefully passed away following an unexpected and rare cardiac event (SCAD) that occurred this past Monday. Her final hours were spent surrounded by her husband, Howard and sisters Marcia and Marian. From the window in her room, she was basked in the bright sunlight cascading off the serene Utah landscape. Barbara loved hiking those rocky climbs with Howard, and her indomitable spirit was in harmony with the unshakable vistas.

From running a homeless shelter that she helped found, to acting as a tireless voice for those sexually abused who might otherwise have been silenced by the Catholic Church, Barbara was a fierce and tireless warrior on behalf of social justice. Her passion for progressive and compassionate advocacy was only matched by the love she felt towards family. Those fortunate enough to have known her are readily familiar with the absolute commitment she felt towards her close circle; we were all lucky to have been graced by her love.

Barbara was taken far too early, and we may never find rhyme or reason in the manner of her passing, but we can forever find inspiration and purpose through the manner in which she lived. She was a truly remarkable human being, and her spirit will remain with us, shaping our choices for the better, erring us away from petty concerns and encouraging us to lean in towards compassion, that we might honor her memory.

A Celebration of Barbara’s life will be held at a future date.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

VATICAN CITY
US News

By NICOLE WINFIELD, Associated Press

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis’ committee of advisers on protecting children from sexually abusive priests is expanding its workload to include the needs and rights of children fathered by Roman Catholic priests.

Committee members told The Associated Press on Sunday that a working group is looking into developing guidelines that can be used by dioceses around the world to ensure that children born to priests are adequately cared for.

“It’s a horrendous problem in many cultures, and it’s not something that is readily talked about,” commission member Dr. Krysten Winter-Green said.

Indeed, the church has tried to keep such children secret for centuries, because of the scandal of priests breaking their vows of celibacy. But it has gained visibility after Irish bishops published guidelines earlier this year that focused on ensuring the wellbeing of the child and the mother, who often suffer psychological problems from the stigma and silence imposed on them by the church.

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ROME
Japan Times

ROME – The Vatican said Sunday it had been forced to oust its former auditor general — who resigned without explanation in June — because he had been spying on senior officials.

In the latest scandal to embroil the centuries-old institution, Libero Milone had accused the Vatican of getting rid of him because his investigations into possible illegal activity had hit too close to home.

Just hours after the story broke, the Vatican issued a furious response.

“Milone’s office illegally appointed an external company to carry out investigations into the private lives of members of the Holy See,” it said in a statement.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

ILLINOIS
WLS

CHICAGO (WLS) — Barbara Blaine, who did pioneering work on behalf of individuals abused by priests and founded the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), died on Sunday, the organization said in a statement.

Blaine, 61, who resigned as SNAP president in February, was surrounded by family and friends when she died, the statement said.

Blaine stepped down after three decades of campaigning to force the Catholic Church to recognize the extent of the scandal and compensate thousands of people affected.

Blaine did not say why she resigned from SNAP.

She founded SNAP in 1988, years after she was abused as an 8th grader by a Toledo, Ohio priest who taught at the Catholic school she attended, according to the organization’s website. Her pleas for help to Toledo’s bishop were ignored. The first SNAP meeting of victims was held at a Holiday Inn in Chicago.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

GUAM
The Guam Daily Post

Mindy Aguon |The Guam Daily Post

The latest lawsuit to be filed against the Archdiocese of Agana alleges a Catholic school student was punished in the early 60s and left in a closet for several hours and sexually abused by a priest.

R.A.J., 62, who used his initials to protect his identity, filed a lawsuit today against San Vicente Catholic School and the Archdiocese of Agana.

When R.A.J. was 6 years old, he attended San Vicente Catholic School where Zoilo Camacho was a priest.

The civil complaint filed in the District Court alleges that one day R.A.J. snuck out of the school playground and ran down the street to Aguon Store to get some snacks. On his way back, one of the nuns who worked at the school caught him and punished him by putting him in a closet.

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UNITED STATES
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release Sunday, September 24, 2017

Barbara Blaine, the founder and former president of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests passed away today, surrounded by her family and friends.

At this time, the family has asked that you respect their privacy until they make a statement.

The following is a statement by Barbara Dorris, SNAP managing director, regarding Barbara’s pioneering work on behalf of survivors of clergy sexual abuse.

“Few people have done more to protect kids and help victims than Barbara Blaine. Her relentless advocacy enabled millions to eventually accept a long unbelievable reality: that tens of thousands of priests raped and fondled hundreds of thousands of kids while bishops hid these heinous crimes. She started-and for almost 30 years-worked extremely hard to help build the world’s most successful organization of child sex abuse victims. Her contributions to a safer society would be hard to overstate.”

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

ILLINOIS
WHTC

By Alex Dobuzinskis

(Reuters) – Barbara Blaine, who founded the ‘Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests’ and led the organization until earlier this year, died on Sunday at age 61 in Utah, her family and the organization said.

Blaine suffered a spontaneous coronary artery dissection last Monday, her family said in a statement. The rare occurrence involves a tear in one or more blood vessels of the heart.

She died on Sunday with her husband, Howard, and her sisters at her side, the family statement said.

The organization she founded in 1988 is a leading advocacy and support group for victims of sexual abuse by clergy. It has thousands of members and works to help people from a range of faith traditions.

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ILLINOIS
ABC News

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
CHICAGO — Sep 25, 2017

Barbara Blaine, the founder and former president of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, has died. She was 61.

The organization known as SNAP announced on its Facebook page that Blaine died Sunday following a recent cardiac event.

In a statement, SNAP managing director Barbara Dorris praised Blaine’s work with victims of clergy sexual abuse.

“Few people have done more to protect kids and help victims than Barbara Blaine,” Dorris said. “Her contributions to a safer society would be hard to overstate.”

Blaine founded SNAP in 1988, years after she was abused as an 8th grader by a Toledo, Ohio, priest who taught at the Catholic school she attended, according to the organization’s website. Her pleas for help to Toledo’s bishop were ignored. The first SNAP meeting of victims was held at a Chicago hotel.

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GUAM
KUAM

Updated: Sep 25, 2017

By Krystal Paco

Another clergy sex abuse case has been filed in the District Court of Guam. 62-year-old R.A.J. alleges he was sexually molested by now deceased, father Ziolo Camacho.

The incident occurred at San Vicente Catholic School when R.A.J. was about 6 or 7 years old.

Court documents state the boy was put in the closet for hours by a nun who caught him sneaking off campus to go to the nearby store.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

ST. GEORGE (UT)
The Family of Barbara Blaine

September 24, 2017

We can now share with you that Barbara has peacefully passed away following an unexpected and rare cardiac event (SCAD) that occurred this past Monday. Her final hours were spent surrounded by her husband, Howard and sisters Marcia and Marian. From the window in her room, she was basked in the bright sunlight cascading off the serene Utah landscape. Barbara loved hiking those rocky climbs with Howard, and her indomitable spirit was in harmony with the unshakable vistas.

From running a homeless shelter that she helped found, to acting as a tireless voice for those sexually abused who might otherwise have been silenced by the Catholic Church, Barbara was a fierce and tireless warrior on behalf of social justice. Her passion for progressive and compassionate advocacy was only matched by the love she felt towards family. Those fortunate enough to have known her are readily familiar with the absolute commitment she felt towards her close circle; we were all lucky to have been graced by her love.

Barbara was taken far too early, and we may never find rhyme or reason in the manner of her passing, but we can forever find inspiration and purpose through the manner in which she lived. She was a truly remarkable human being, and her spirit will remain with us, shaping our choices for the better, erring us away from petty concerns and encouraging us to lean in towards compassion, that we might honor her memory.

A Celebration of Barbara’s life will be held at a future date.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

ROME
Crux

John L. Allen Jr. EDITOR

ROME – Journalists often are accused of reporting only bad news, and there’s often a fair bit of truth to the charge. Experience shows that scandal and controversy sell, while feel-good, uplifting material sometimes struggles to find a market, but that’s not really an excuse for failing to present the whole picture.

At the same time, the press also has an important role to play in bringing hard truths to light, which institutions usually would prefer to keep hidden. If the Catholic Church has learned anything from the sexual abuse scandals, it’s that refusing to confront bad news only makes it worse.

There are two such less-than-edifying stories bubbling in and around the Vatican at the moment, so here I’ll try to offer some resources for thinking intelligently about each – without implying that such situations are the only things the Vatican, or the Catholic Church, has going on at the moment worth knowing.

Vatican diplomat and child pornography

On Sept. 15, the Vatican issued a brief press release announcing that one of its priest-diplomats at the papal embassy in Washington, D.C., was suspected by the U.S. government of possible violation of child pornography laws and had been recalled to Rome.

The Promoter of Justice in the Vatican’s tribunal, it said, had opened an investigation and had requested information from the U.S. government, adding that those investigations are “subject to confidentiality.”

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PENNSYLVANIA
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

PETER SMITH
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
petersmith@post-gazette.com
SEP 24, 2017

Scores of young adults, most of them dressed business-casual for the after-work gathering, chatted over Coronas and nachos on a crowded rooftop bar at the Steel Cactus in Shadyside on a warm spring night.

One arrival didn’t fit the demographic — a tall, slightly stooped, gray-haired man dressed in black, who patiently made his way through the crowd, stopping for short conversations.

Eventually the banter subsided, the participants recited a Hail Mary and an organizer introduced Bishop David A. Zubik as the speaker of the evening’s gathering. The event was one of a series known as Theology on Tap, a casual setting for young and often single Catholic adults to meet, network and talk spirituality over suds.

Taking the Catholic Church beyond its buildings, trying to reach an age group that’s often taking itself out of the church entirely — the evening’s themes neatly captured some of Bishop Zubik’s highest priorities as he approaches the 10th anniversary this Thursday of his installation as bishop of the six-county Diocese of Pittsburgh.

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MINNESOTA
Duluth News Tribune

By Andrew Hazzard

CROOKSTON, Minn. — A northwest Minnesota judge has until Dec. 19, 2017, to rule on a lawsuit accusing the Diocese of Crookston and its bishop of covering up abuse and inflicting emotional damages on a man who says his bid to become a deacon was rejected because he reported being sexually abused by a priest more than 40 years ago.

On Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2017, Minnesota Ninth District Court Judge Kurt Marben took under advisement a lawsuit from Tabor, Minn., resident Ron Vasek against the Diocese of Crookston and Bishop Michael Joseph Hoeppner. This gives him 90 days to make a decision in the case, according to the Polk County Clerk of Court’s Office, meaning a ruling is due by Dec. 19.

The lawsuit accuses Hoeppner of coercion and inflicting emotional distress. It says that in 1971, Vasek was sexually abused by Monsignor Roger Grundhaus while on a trip to Ohio when he was 16 years old. In 2010, his son, the Rev. Craig Vasek, was ordained as priest in the Diocese of Crookston, and Ron Vasek tried to become a deacon. That’s when he claims he revealed his abuse and was told by Hoeppner to stay quiet, which he believes is an act of blackmail.

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VATICAN CITY
Reuters

Philip Pullella

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – The Vatican’s first auditor-general, who resigned without explanation in June, has broken his silence, saying he was forced to step down with trumped-up accusations after discovering evidence of possible illegal activity.

Speaking to reporters from four media organizations including Reuters in the office of his lawyers in Rome, Libero Milone also said he believed that some in the Vatican wanted to slow down Pope Francis’s efforts at financial reform.

He said he could not give details of the irregularities he had found because of non-disclosure agreements. Reuters was unable to independently verify his assertions, which the Vatican strongly contested.

The Holy See’s deputy secretary of state, Archbishop Giovanni Angelo Becciu, told Reuters in an interview that Milone’s claims were “false and unjustified”.

“He went against all the rules and was spying on the private lives of his superiors and staff, including me,” Becciu said. “If he had not agreed to resign, we would have prosecuted him.”

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MASSACHUSETTS
Boston Globe

Today’s report started with the Academy Award-winning film “Spotlight.”

The film told the story of the Globe’s groundbreaking investigation of child sexual abuse by Catholic clergy. In 2016, the movie’s producers won the Oscar for Best Picture.

But the team at one of the companies behind the film — Participant Media, founded by Jeff Skoll and dedicated to entertainment that inspires social change — wanted to do more to champion the work of investigative journalists. So they created the Spotlight Investigative Journalism Fellowship.

Participant Media, along with the film’s partners Open Road Films and First Look Media, fund the fellowship, which provides recipients the opportunity to work on their own in-depth investigative stories alongside The Boston Globe’s Spotlight Team.

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WISCONSIN
Fox 11

GREEN BAY (WLUK) — A priest has been found not guilty of sexual abuse of a minor according to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith at the Vatican.

That information was released today by the Diocese of Green Bay. Father Paul J. Radetski “has been granted senior priest status, and his restrictions from exercising public priestly ministry have been lifted. He will serve the diocese in a limited capacity in his senior priest status,” the Diocese of Green Bay says.

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WISCONSIN
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Raquel Rutledge, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Sept. 23, 2017

A Menasha priest accused in 2010 of sexually abusing a minor has been found not guilty through canonical judicial proceedings.

Father Paul Radetski had been placed on administrative leave from his duties at St. John’s, St. Mary’s and St. Patrick parishes in Menasha after civil authorities were alerted to what were said by the Catholic Diocese of Green Bay at the time to be credible allegations.

“Father has been granted senior priest status, and his restrictions from exercising public priestly ministry have been lifted,” a Saturday press release from the diocese states. “He will serve the diocese in a limited capacity in his senior priest status.”

Under canonical proceedings, the ruling was made by three canon lawyers and judges from outside the diocese following a trial.

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ROME
Crux

John L. Allen Jr. EDITOR

ROME – In the latest hearing on Friday of the Vatican’s first-ever trial for financial crimes, an official of the Government of the Vatican City State testified that a remodeling project for the private Vatican apartment of Italian Cardinal Tarcisio bypassed the normal bidding process, and was “singular” and “anomalous.”

That remodeling project is at the heart of the case, since two Italian laymen and former officials of a foundation for a papally-sponsored pediatric hospital in Rome called the Bambino Gesù are accused of diverting roughly $500,000 of the hospital’s money to help cover the costs.

The defendants are Giuseppe Profiti, the former president of both the hospital and its foundation, and Massimo Spina, who served as treasurer during Profiti’s tenure.

The Government of the Vatican State is responsible for the 108-acre physical footprint of the Vatican, and generally approves and oversees all building projects within its territory.

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ROME
Crux

Carol Glatz CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

ROME – Members of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors believe they have done important work over the past three years, but, because there is so much more to be done, they presented Pope Francis with a list of suggestions, including changing the way confidentiality is imposed during church investigations of child sexual abuse.

Pope Francis had his first face-to-face discussion with commission members Sept. 21 and, during the meeting, members summarized the work they have accomplished and detailed a number of recommendations, including regarding the invocation of “pontifical secret” during abuse investigations and trials.

Vatican norms maintain the imposition of “pontifical secret” on the church’s judicial handling of clerical sex abuse and other grave crimes, which means they are dealt with in strict confidentiality.

Vatican experts have said it was designed to protect the dignity of everyone involved, including the victim, the accused, their families and their communities. Confidentiality, however, is meant to have limits in the relationship with civil authorities as bishops are required to comply with civil law that requires reporting of abuse accusations.

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AUSTRALIA
National Catholic Reporter

Sep 23, 2017

by Kieran Tapsell

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA — The most comprehensive report ever published on the systemic reasons behind child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church has recently been released.

The August 2017 report, Child Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church: An Interpretive Review of the Literature and Public Inquiry Reports, examined 26 commissions of inquiry, scientific research and literature since 1985 to find common features in the culture, history and structures of the church and the psychological, social and theological factors that contributed to the tragedy.

The report, five years in the making, comes from a research team at the Centre for Global Research at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) University headed by Desmond Cahill and Peter Wilkinson.

The research team’s conclusions in this highly readable 379-page document confirm the view of the psychologist Philip Zimbardo that if you find many bad apples in a barrel, there has to be something wrong with the barrel. The pattern of abuse and cover up was the same all over the world.

Cahill is a psychologist and professor emeritus of RMIT University, and Wilkinson holds a licentiate and doctorate in missiology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. Both are former Catholic priests, Cahill of the Melbourne Archdiocese and Wilkinson formerly with the Missionary Society of St. Columban.

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GUAM
The Guam Daily Post

Mindy Aguon | The Guam Daily Post Sep 22, 2017

A former altar boy who aspired to join the priesthood alleges he was sexually abused by a priest when he was 11.

R.A.S., 73, who used initials to protect his identity, has accused Louis Brouillard of teaching him to masturbate while in the church social hall at the Mangilao parish in 1956, and nearly drowning the boy when he fought back from being fondled while on a swimming outing.

A civil complaint was filed in the District Court of Guam yesterday alleging Brouillard showed favoritism toward R.A.S. after the altar boy shared his interest in the priesthood. The priest allegedly allowed the boy to drink the wine after Mass and treated him differently than the other altar boys.

When he was 11, R.A.S. states Brouillard came to his home asking his parents’ permission to help him move things around the church. While in the church social hall, R.A.S. said Brouillard came out naked wearing only a robe, exposing himself to the boy.

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GUAM
Pacific Daily News

Haidee V Eugenio, heugenio@guampdn.com

Former island priest Louis Brouillard tried to drown an altar boy after he molested him while swimming, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday in federal court. The lawsuit also states Brouillard abused him on other occasions, purportedly to teach him about sex.

The plaintiff, identified in court documents only as R.A.S. to protect his privacy, said he was 10 or 11 when he became an altar boy in or about 1955. But it was around 1956 that Brouillard started sexually abusing and molesting him, the lawsuit states.

R.A.S., now 73, said one day, instead of dropping altar boys home, Brouillard took them swimming. R.A.S. told Brouillard he didn’t know how to swim, and the priest said he would teach him, the complaint states. Brouillard allegedly told them to swim naked, but R.A.S. refused to take off his clothes.

The lawsuit states R.A.S. started squirming and moved Brouillard’s hand away when the priest started groping and touching his private parts.

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CANADA
Indian Expres

Written by ANANTHAKRISHNAN G | New Delhi | Published:September 22, 2017

As a practising psychiatrist in St John’s in Newfoundland in the 1970s, Dr Omesh Chandra Kashyap had a role in blowing the lid off Canada’s first and the world’s biggest paedophilia scandal, involving the Roman Catholic Church. He returned to India in 1991 claiming threats to life, only to be charged with sexual assault himself. Accusing him of having assaulted his former patients, Canada sought his extradition to stand trial.

A trial court granted the sanction, the Delhi High Court upheld it, but now the Supreme Court has stayed the extradition. Issuing a notice to the government, a bench of Justices Ranjan Gogoi and Navin Sinha sought to know “why the matter should not be remanded for reconsideration by the Union of India”.

Kashyap’s contention was that the government had not taken into consideration the “circumstances” that had led to the extradition request. Reached for comments, Kashyap, now 77, said, “The case is still sub judice. I cannot comment on it now.” For the “circumstances”, The Indian Express went through records before the additional chief metropolitan magistrate (ACMM), Patiala House Courts, who had conducted the extradition enquiry.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Boston Standard

A leading Church of England official who carried out sex attacks on young girls was today (Thursday) jailed for six years at Lincoln Crown Court.

John Bailey, 76, who was director of education for the diocese of Lincoln from 1996 until he resigned in 2002 , pleaded guilty to 25 charges of indecent assault some of which dated from more than 60 years ago.

The court heard that his victims complained years ago about his behaviour to the diocese but no action was taken at the time.

Bailey of Ash Tree Park, Kippax, Leeds, admitted 25 charges of indecent assault involving three young girls aged under 14.

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GUAM
Pacific Daily News

Haidee V Eugenio, heugenio@guampdn.com Sept. 22, 2017

Pope Francis this week said the Catholic church will apply the firmest measures to all those who have betrayed their call as clergy and abused children.

His statement comes as Guam awaits the results of the Vatican’s canonical trial of Archbishop Anthony S. Apuron, who has been accused by former altar boys of raping and sexually abusing them in the 1970s.

The pope on Thursday addressed the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, which gathered for its plenary assembly at the Vatican.

“We are ashamed of the abuses committed by holy ministers, who should be the most trustworthy,” the pope said in his prepared remarks.

He said the Catholic church irrevocably and at all levels seeks to apply the principle of “zero tolerance” against the sexual abuse of minors.

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NEW MEXICO
Taos News

By Cody Hooks
chooks@taosnews.com

Armando Martinez grew up in Questa, the village of alfalfa fields and a couple of thousand people at the western base of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Martinez didn’t look for work at the nearby molybdenum mine, like a lot of young men from the village. Instead, he went into a Catholic seminary, became a priest and headed parishes from Belen to Tucumcari, Springer to El Rito.

In May 1997, Martinez was found naked and dead, his body left in a ditch near Bernalillo. His murderer turned himself in days later.

The deep, reverberating shock of losing Martinez in such a horrific way was only made more nerve-wracking when then-Archbishop Michael Sheehan revealed in a press conference that Martinez had been restricted from his duties as a priest in 1993 after allegations of sexual misconduct with a minor were made against him.

Sheehan’s revelation about Martinez came at the beginning of a tidal wave of allegations of sexual abuse and subsequent lawsuits against the Roman Catholic Church and the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, in particular.

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NORTH DAKOTA
Valley News Live

GRAND FORKS, N.D. (Valley News Live) New information from the man who claims a priest molested him and then the church tried to cover it up.

He’s suing the Crookston Dioceses for trying to cover-up the abuse and is worried there could be more victims still out there.

“Right now we’re going to be building a cabinet for a gal.”

Ron Vasek is the ‘Spare Husband.’

“Kind of anything that somebody needs done.”

The family-man handyman runs this business with his son.

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AUSTRALIA/NEW GUINEA
Newcastle Herald

Joanne McCarthy
22 Sep 2017

AN Australian Catholic priest is being investigated by Papua New Guinea police for allegedly touching female students during confession after a bishop denied the priest “caressed their thighs to get some personal satisfaction”.

Vincentian priest Father Neil Lams allegedly held a teenage girl on his lap, “cuddled” some girls and bought gifts for them, touched girls on the thighs during confession, asked them questions about whether they had sex with their boyfriends and “how many times”, slapped some students on the head and called others “sweet baby”.

In an email to the Newcastle Herald Father Lams said an investigation was “currently in progress”, but “the allegations are at present based on gossip and I am not guilty of any criminal activity in any way”. He declined to respond to questions.

Father Lams was ordained in Australia in May, 2011 and served short periods in Sydney and Townsville before Melbourne Archbishop Denis Hart appointed him assistant priest to the Victorian parish of Malvern in 2014. After a short term Father Lams requested a missionary appointment and was sent to PNG by the Vincentian order.

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NEW JERSEY
Catholic Star Herald

by Carmela Malerba September 21, 2017

The Office of Child and Youth Protection is announcing CAP (Child Assault Prevention) sessions. CAP is the safe environment training program for adults who have regular contact with minors.

Attendance is required in order to comply with the USCCB’s Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People. The policy of the Diocese of Camden is that adults will attend CAP once every five years.

CAP 1 teaches attendees to recognize child abuse and neglect and how to report to the proper authorities. Adults are taught that children have the right to be safe, strong and free. CAP 1 is for new volunteers and employees.

CAP 2 is called CAP’s Bullying Prevention Program. Cyber-bullying is also presented.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Altoona Mirror

RUSS O’REILLY
Staff Writer
roreilly@altoonamirror.com

A former chief of staff to a U.S. senator, a former state police criminal investigator, a psychotherapist, a practitioner in spiritual formation and a U.S. attorney for western Pennsylvania have been tapped to create policies to protect children in the local Catholic diocese.

Acting U.S. Attorney Soo C. Song and Bishop Mark L. Bartchak of the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown have announced the five people appointed to an Independent Oversight Board for Youth Protection for the diocese.

The diocese created the independent oversight board earlier this year pursuant to a memorandum of understanding between the diocese and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania.

The board will work with a new diocesan director of youth protection, who will be announced in the near future, diocese spokesman Tony DeGol said. The reforms are aimed at preventing child sex abuse and responding swiftly to future allegations.

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VATICAN CITY
Daily Herald

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis is promising to respond with the “firmest measures possible” against priests who rape and molest children and says he’ll hold accountable bishops and religious superiors who cover up for them.

Francis met Thursday for the first time with his sex abuse advisory commission, which was created in 2014 to advise him and the Catholic Church on best practices to keep pedophiles out of the priesthood and protect children.

The commission has held educational workshops in dioceses around the world, but has faced such stiff resistance to some of its proposals at the Vatican that its most prominent member, abuse survivor Marie Collins, resigned in frustration in March.

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PENNSYLVANIA
US News

By JOE MANDAK, Associated Press

PITTSBURGH (AP) — A Roman Catholic diocese has appointed a five-member board to oversee its handling of child sex abuse allegations against clergy as part of an agreement with the federal prosecutor who oversees western Pennsylvania.

Acting U.S. Attorney Soo Song announced the agreement in March with Altoona-Johnstown Bishop Mark Bartchak after a state grand jury alleged a decadeslong abuse coverup. Song’s predecessor had threatened to sue the eight-county central Pennsylvania diocese under a federal racketeering statute if reforms weren’t enacted.

Song and Bartchak on Thursday announced the names of the board members.

The board will be chaired by James W. Brown, former chief of staff to Democratic Sen. Bob Casey and his father, Democratic former Gov. Bob Casey. The other members are Walter “Pete” Carson, a former state police investigator; Eileen Dombo, a professor and assistant dean at The Catholic University of America; Mary Herwig, an abuse victim turned advocate; and J. Alan Johnson, a former U.S. attorney who is perhaps best known for his prosecution of cocaine trafficking in Major League Baseball in an investigation that centered on the Pittsburgh Pirates clubhouse in the 1980s.

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VATICAN CITY
Washington Post

By Nicole Winfield | AP September 21

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis on Thursday acknowledged the Catholic Church was “a bit late” in realizing the damage done by priests who rape and molest children, and said that the decades-long practice of moving pedophiles around rather than sanctioning them was to blame.

Francis met Thursday for the first time with his sex abuse advisory commission, a group of outside experts named in 2014 to advise him and the Catholic Church on best practices to keep pedophiles out of the priesthood and protect children.

In his prepared remarks, Francis promised to respond with the “firmest measures possible” against sex abusers. He said bishops and religious superiors bore “primary responsibility” for keeping their flocks safe from abusive priests and would be held accountable if they are negligent.

But Francis also spoke off-the-cuff, admitting that the church’s response to the scandal was slow. Indeed, the Vatican for decades turned a blind eye to the problem and local bishops, rather than defrocking abusers, instead moved them from parish to parish, allowing them to abuse anew.

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ROME
Crux

Claire Giangravè EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

ROME – Abuse survivor Marie Collins, former member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors until her resignation in March 2017, told Crux that while she believes that “zero tolerance” the only viable option for perpetrators of the sexual abuse of children, more should be done on the side of accountability not only for abusers, but also for those religious leaders and bishops who were negligent.

Her remarks were in reaction to Pope Francis’s speech to the commission members and their families on September 21.

In a strong statement, Francis stressed the importance of ‘zero tolerance’ on sexual abuse, admitted that the Church was late in answering the abuse crisis and promised to never offer mercy to someone found guilty of sexually abusing minors again.

“Zero tolerance is the way to go, but it’s toothless if there isn’t a sanction for anyone who doesn’t operate it,” Collins said.

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VATICAN CITY
Reuters

Philip Pullella

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Pope Francis, in some of his most candid and personal comments on the sexual abuse of children by priests, said on Thursday that the Catholic Church had “arrived late” in dealing with the problem.

Francis, speaking in unscripted remarks to a commission advising him on how to root out sexual abuse, also acknowledged that early in his papacy he had made one bad call in being too lenient with an Italian priest who later went on to abuse again.

He also said he had decided to change current procedures for dealing with abusive priests by eliminating appeals trials in cases where there was definitive proof.

Francis surprised members of the commission by putting aside his entire prepared speech and chatting to them.

“There is the reality that the Church arrived at the consciousness of these crimes a bit late,” he said.

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VATICAN CITY
National Catholic Reporter

Sep 21, 2017

by Joshua J. McElwee

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis has admitted that the Catholic Church waited too long before taking reports of clergy sexual abuse seriously, suggesting that the former practice of moving priests accused of abuse to new ministries instead of reporting them to authorities kept the church numb to the scope of the situation.

In his first formal meeting Sept. 21 with the now three-year-old Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, the pontiff also called “prophetic” the men and women who urged the church for decades to face the problem.

“I know it has not been easy to start this work,” the pope told the members of the commission in off-the-cuff remarks notable for their frankness. “You have had to swim against the current because there is a reality: the church has taken consciousness about these crimes in a delayed manner.”

“When the consciousness is delayed, the means for resolving the problem are delayed,” said Francis. “I am aware of this difficulty. But it is a reality. I’ll say it so: We have come to this late.”

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GUAM
Pacific News Center

By Janela Carrera – September 20, 2017031

The latest lawsuit once again names Father Louis Brouillard as the alleged perpetrator.

Guam – Although assurances were given that mediation in the scores of sex abuse lawsuits would be completed sometime next month, it looks as though it may not happen until next year. And with that announcement comes more lawsuits being filed against the Archdiocese of Agana.

In a joint filing between Attorney John Terlaje, who represents the archdiocese and Attorney David Lujan, who represents all victims in District Court, the court was notified that mediation efforts may not begin until March of next year.

This timeframe is more realistic, according to the lawyers, given the work that needs to be completed. The parties are also deciding whether they will use retired federal Judge Michael Hogan or sitting Judge Alex Munson to oversee mediation efforts sometime next week.

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GUAM
KUAM

By Krystal Paco

The clergy sex abuse lawsuits keep on coming. 66-year-old M.S.B. alleges he was sexually molested by Father Louis Brouillard as an altar boy and Boy Scout.

The alleged abuse occurred in the back room at the Mangilao parish where Brouillard took nude photos of him and also at the rectory where the priest would host sleepovers and lay with the boys in bed and fondle them.

M.S.B. is suing for $10 million.

His filing comes after parties have notified the court that they’ll need more time for mediation talks for dozens of other clergy sex abuse lawsuits.

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PENNSYLVANIA
WPXI

LEECHBURG, Pa. – Channel 11 was there as a retired Westmoreland County priest faced a judge on accusations that he sexually abused a 10-year-old boy.

John T. Sweeney, 74, is accused of abuse in 1991 and 1992 while he was the pastor at St. Margaret Mary in Lower Burrell. He left the Leechburg Magistrate’s Office Wednesday without saying a word to Channel 11.

The boy is now 35 years old, and Attorney General Josh Shapiro said when charges were filed in July, they wanted to file more charges but couldn’t because of his age.

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NEW MEXICO
Gallup Independent

Published in the Gallup Independent, Gallup, N.M., Sept. 18, 2017

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

GALLUP — When Santa Fe Archbishop John C. Wester publicly released a list of names of credibly accused clergy sex abusers Tuesday, his list shed light on a former Gallup priest who had never before been publicly named as a sex abuser.

The Rev. Roman Pfalzer, OFM, who died in 2011, is listed as the 54th credibly accused clergy sex abuser out of 74 names, according to the archbishop’s news release.

Wester’s list, which includes 66 priests, six religious brothers and two deacons, includes the names of four abusers who worked in both the Diocese of Gallup and the Archdiocese of Santa Fe.

Three of the abuser priests have already been publicly identified by both the media and the Diocese of Gallup: the Rev. David Clark, a member of the Claretian Missionary order; the Rev. Robert Kirsch, a Gallup priest who left to become incardinated into the Archdiocese of Santa Fe; and the Rev. Diego Mazon, OFM, a Franciscan friar who was removed from Gallup’s St. Francis Church because of a sex abuse allegation in 2004.

The fourth is Pfalzer, a Franciscan friar who served as a priest at St. Francis Church in Gallup in the early 1950s. Although never publicly named before, Pfalzer has been on a list of suspected clergy sex abusers maintained by the Gallup Independent for the past 15 years.

Gallup woman’s story

In the months after the national Catholic clergy sexual abuse scandal erupted in Boston and spread across the country in 2002, an older woman in Gallup reported troubling stories about Pfalzer’s time in Gallup.

According to the woman, she had been a young, married teenager when a “Father Roman” was assigned to St. Francis Church. The priest made frequent, unwelcome visits to her home, she said, always when her husband was away at work. The woman said Roman visited her with the pretext of inquiring about a disabled family member of hers who lived elsewhere in Gallup. Those visits were uncomfortable, she said, because the priest was always attempting to move physically close to her while she always tried to maintain physical distance from him.

The woman said she believed Roman gave piano lessons to girls at St. Francis Church. When the priest left Gallup, she heard reports that he had inappropriately touched one or more girls, possibly his piano students.

After listening to the woman’s account, a Gallup Independent reporter checked the Official Catholic Directory to see if any priest named Roman was assigned to Gallup during that time. The directory listed the Rev. Roman Pfalzer, OFM, as a priest at St. Francis Church from 1950 to 1951.

The Independent then contacted officials with the Franciscan Province of St. John the Baptist in Cincinnati, Ohio, in an attempt to verify if credible abuse allegations had ever been made against Pfalzer. Those Franciscan officials would not cooperate by providing any information about Pfalzer.

As a result, for the past 15 years, Pfalzer’s name has been on the Independent’s list of suspected clergy abusers. Wester’s announcement Tuesday was the first official confirmation by church authorities that Pfalzer was a credibly accused abuser.

Likely church discipline

Wester outlined four categories of abusers included on the Archdiocese of Santa Fe list. Since Pfalzer had never been the subject of public abuse allegations prior to his death, it is likely he was subjected to internal church discipline as described by Wester: “In the case of canonical processes, the clerics whose names are included either have been dismissed from the clerical state at the end of the canonical process, or have been assigned to a life of prayer and penance, with no ministry possible.”

Wester’s news release stated the list will be updated soon to include abusers’ ministry assignments.

According to a newspaper article from the Santa Fe New Mexican in May 1972, Pfalzer was originally from Louisville, Kentucky, and was ordained a Franciscan priest in 1947. Before working as an assistant at the cathedral in Santa Fe, Pfalzer was previously assigned to churches in Gallup, Roswell and Clovis.

The Official Catholic Directory in 2006 listed Pfalzer as being a retired priest living in the St. Clement Friary in Cincinnati. Pfalzer’s online obituary states Pfalzer died at the age of 93 Dec. 26, 2011, after 64 years as a priest with the Franciscan Province of St. John the Baptist.

Because of Pfalzer’s inclusion on Wester’s list of clergy abusers and his time in Gallup as a priest, the Diocese of Gallup is expected to include Pfalzer’s name on its list of credibly accused abusers. The Gallup Diocese, however, does not move quickly on these matters.

In the case of Diego Mazon, the diocese placed his name on the credibly accused list in April — more than eight years after the Gallup Independent reported Mazon had been removed from ministry because of the abuse allegation and sex abuse lawsuit. Eight other priests, who have either been named as credibly accused abusers by other Catholic dioceses or religious orders or who were named as abusers by claimants in the Diocese of Gallup’s bankruptcy case, have yet to be added to the diocese’s credibly accused list.

Currently, the Diocese of Gallup’s list includes the names of 34 men: 31 priests, one religious brother, one seminarian and one lay religion teacher.

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UNITED STATES
America

Kaya Oakes
September 20, 2017

A young girl sits in her room as the sounds of physical violence echo down the hall. Her father regularly erupts, a volcano whose rage is fed by the notion that he is the head of a “good Christian family” and that his wife and children must submit to his will. The girl also knows that their church pastor is a pedophile who preys on her sister, but her church has turned inward to protect the pastor instead of reaching out to help her sister. The girl is terrified for her mother, her sister, herself. So she prays, and this offers her peace in the midst of the violence. That peace will sustain her for years to come.

This snapshot from the tumultuous childhood of the Rev. Carol Howard Merritt often leads people to question why she entered ordained ministry. The Southern Baptist Church of her childhood colluded in the violence that surrounded her growing up. In her book Healing Spiritual Wounds, she writes that religion was “complicit in the violence” of her home and church, but she still found hope. Misguided interpretations of Christian teaching, she writes, were “part of the problem,” but the teachings of Christ were also her “cure, solace, and center.” Over time, she came to understand that abusive patterns in religion “did not really represent God,” and after attending Moody Bible Institute, she left the Southern Baptist Church to join the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), where she was ordained and where she began a ministry that focuses on the wounds that can be caused by organized religion and on the spiritual healing that must follow.

For Catholics, the topic of abuse remains a painful one. The recent charges of “sexual offenses” faced by Cardinal George Pell have once again stirred up the debate about the church’s failure to rectify its abusive history, which has caused harm not only to the people abused and their families but to the church as a whole and has resulted in the attrition of many Catholics. A survey by the Public Religion Research Institute in 2015 revealed that half of former Catholics point to the abuse crisis as a primary reason they left the church. Informal conversations with still practicing Catholics often reveal unresolved feelings of betrayal and anger about the abuse crisis. More significantly, abuse has also left a trail of traumatized victims, many of whom are still suffering from physical, psychological and spiritual damage. Spiritual damage, which often means damage to a person’s religious faith or relationship with God, is probably the least discussed and least well understood of these issues, but as Rev. Merritt points out, it can have dramatic effects, especially on deeply religious victims like herself. Yet this damage to one’s faith also offers a unique opportunity for healing.

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MINNESOTA
Crookston Times

Also, three more priests’ names added to list, and two served at the Diocese of Crookston in the 1940s and 1950s

The Diocese of Crookston will appear in court Wednesday in Thief River Falls on public nuisance and negligence claims made by a man who says he was abused in the early 1970s by former Msgr. Roger Grundhaus. Ron Vasek will ask the court to deny the Diocese of Crookston’s attempts to throw out his claims and, according to a media advisory by Jeff Anderson & Associates, in a related hearing immediately afterwards, Vasek, also named Doe 19, will ask the court to sanction the Diocese of Crookston for failing to produce Msgr. Grundhaus’ file in his case in 2015.

According to the advisory, Vasek disclosed the abuse to Crookston Diocese Bishop Michael J Hoeppner in 2009 or 2010 and the Diocese allegedly keep the abuse from the public including threatening his participation in the church and violating a 2015 court order in the case Doe 19 v. Diocese of Crookston, et al. Through Vasek’s lawsuit, he seeks to force the Diocese of Crookston to end their long-standing practice of concealment and protection of child abuse abusers.

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MINNESOTA
WDAZ

By Scott Cook on Sep 20, 2017

GRAND FORKS, ND (WDAZ)—A local man is fighting the Catholic Diocese of Crookston saying they have been concealing information about sexual abuse within the diocese.

On September 20, Ron Vasek and his attorney took part in a hearing at the Pennington County Courthouse.

Vasek said he and his son were threatened and intimidated by Bishop Michael Hoepner to keep quiet about sexual abuse that happened to him in the 1970s.

“The cover up has to end. There is no reason for that. None. This is 2017. They have had 30-40 years to clean this stuff up and they still aren’t doing it. Why? And that’s what the people want to know is why is this still continuing?” said Vasek.

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NEW YORK
News 12

SPRING VALLEY –
A former youth minister in Spring Valley was arraigned yesterday and charged with two misdemeanors for allegedly giving alcohol to a teenager.

Police say Earnest Zalamea has been charged with endangering the welfare of a child and unlawfully providing alcohol to a 16-year-old from the St. Joseph’s parish. He was released on $200 bail and ordered to avoid contact with the victim.

Robert Hoaston, a former priest and now an advocate who assists victims of church abuse, tells News 12 that he feels like there is too much secrecy surrounding this case, and he doesn’t like how the church is handling it.

“If he’s giving alcohol to minors, he is a predator,” Hoaston says. “When the church doesn’t talk about things, like this guy getting fired, there is trouble.”

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NEW YORK
The Journal News

Steve Lieberman, slieberm@lohud.com Sept. 20, 2017

SPRING VALLEY – A 26-year-old Yonkers man faces misdemeanor charges of providing an underage parishioner of St. Joseph’s Church with alcohol after he was fired as the church’s youth minister.

Ernest Zalamea faces counts of endangering the welfare of a child and first-degree unlawfully dealing with a child for giving alcohol to a person under 21, the legal age to drink in New York state.

Zalamea was arraigned Tuesday in Spring Valley Justice Court and released after posting $200 bail pending future appearances in court.

Zalamea is accused of buying a six pack of beer at the 7-11 store at 63 Kennedy Dr. on July 19 and sharing the alcohol with a 16-year-old boy he knew from the church.

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GUAM
Pacific Daily News

Jasmine Stole , jstole@guampdn.com Sept. 20, 2017

A Superior Court of Guam grand jury this week handed up a true bill, indicting a Bishop Baumgartner Memorial Catholic School physical education teacher on charges of criminal sexual conduct and child abuse.

The indictment was filed Monday.

Peregrine Corpuz San Nicolas, 53, is accused of sexually assaulting a 10-year-old female student.

The girl told police that, between January and March this year, after her classmates were allowed to leave, San Nicolas asked her to stay back, walked with her and put his hand on her breast area, court documents state.

She said San Nicolas never touched her under her shirt, according a court complaint.

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PENNSYLVANIA
TRIB Live

CHUCK BIEDKA | Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2017

A former Lower Burrell priest accused of molesting a Catholic school student 25 years ago waived the charge to court Wednesday but his attorney is the insisting that the case will end because the legal statute of limitation has expired.

The former Rev. John Thomas Sweeney ,

denies that he sexually assaulted a 10-year-old boy, who attended St. Margaret Mary Church school between September 1991 and June 1992. Sweeney was church pastor.

Court documents state the alleged victim didn’t report the abuse until last year after he watched a “Spotlight,” the Academy Award winning movie about sexual abuse by Catholic priests.

Sweeney, now 74, is charged with one count of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse.

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NEW YORK
Road to Recovery

Former youth minister at St. Joseph Parish, Spring Valley, New York, Ernest Zalamea, was arraigned in Spring Valley, New York court on September 19, 2017 on charges involving children

The Archdiocese of New York and St. Joseph Parish, Spring Valley, New York have yet to inform parishioners, neighbors, and the general public about the August, 2017 arrest of Ernest Zalamea, and his arraignment on September 19, 2017 in Spring Valley, New York municipal court

According to reports, the Salesians of Don Bosco at the Marian Shrine in Haverstraw, New York hired Ernest Zalamea as youth minister after he was fired from St. Joseph Parish, Spring Valley

What
A press conference alerting the media, parishioners, and the general public of the arrest and arraignment of Ernest Zalamea, former youth minister at St. Joseph Parish, Spring Valley, New York on reported charges involving children

When
Wednesday, September 20, 2017 at Noon

Where
On the public sidewalk in front of St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church, 245 North Main Street, Spring Valley, New York 10977

Who
Robert M. Hoatson, Ph.D., Co-founder and President of Road to Recovery, Inc., a non-profit charity based in New Jersey that assists victims of sexual abuse and their families

Why
In July, 2017, Ernest Zalamea, youth minister of St. Joseph Parish, Spring Valley, New York was fired by the parish as director of the parish summer camp and director of youth ministry. Shortly afterward, he was arrested on charges involving children. At his arraignment in Spring Valley, New York municipal court, Ernest Zalamea posted $200.00 bail and was released. He was ordered by the judge not to come within 1,000 feet of an alleged victim and have no contact with that victim. He was advised to hire an attorney or accept the services of a court-appointed attorney. Ernest Zalamea has worked in other New York Archdiocesan schools and parishes, and those schools and parishes should be informed of Mr. Zalamea’s arrest and arraignment. Any victims of Ernest Zalamea are urged to come forward and begin their healing. They may contact Road to Recovery, Inc. at the information provided.

Contact
Robert M. Hoatson, Ph.D., Road to Recovery, Inc., 862-368-2800 – roberthoatson@gmail.com

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MICHIGAN
The Macomb Daily

By Jameson Cook, The Macomb Daily
POSTED: 09/18/17

A high school administrator was convicted of two counts and acquitted of two counts related to sending explicit electronic messages to a student at the school.

Joseph P. Sturza, 50, the former admissions officer at Austin Catholic High School when it was located in Ray Township, was found guilty of child sexually abusive activity and using a computer to commit a crime following a four-day trial in Macomb County Circuit Court, according to court records. The school has since relocated to a new site in Chesterfield Township.

Each charge is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

Sturza, a Macomb Township resident, was acquitted of the lesser charges of accosting a child for immoral purposes, punishable by up to four years behind bars, and using a computer to commit a crime, punishable by up to seven years in prison, records say.

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ROME
Crux

John L. Allen Jr. EDITOR

ROME – Let’s be clear. If anyone thinks a Vatican criminal trial is like an episode of “Law and Order,” with dramatic courtroom confessions, barbed verbal crossfires between attorneys, and surprise bombshell revelations, here’s a news flash: This is a different animal altogether.

For the most part, the Vatican follows rules established by a 19th century Italian version of criminal procedure, which does not envision trial by jury but instead a more active role for judges. They aren’t just referees, like in American trials, but they conduct their own examinations of witnesses. Since the main point of a trial is building an evidentiary record to serve as the basis for a decision, the presiding judge spends a painstaking amount of time repeating back witnesses’ answers to questions, trying to get consensus on pretty much every word.

In other words, it’s about as scintillating most of the time as watching paint dry.

On what amounted to the first full day of the Vatican’s latest major criminal trial, after a preliminary motions hearing in July and an opening day Sept. 7 that was quickly suspended due to the emergence of new evidence, Tuesday’s hearing was consumed by the testimony of the defendant ostensibly at the heart of the case: Giuseppe Profiti, a lay Italian financier and academic who served as both the president of the papally-sponsored Bambino Gesù pediatric hospital and the president of a foundation directing the hospital from 2008 to 2017.

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KENTUCKY
The Courier-Journal

Matthew Glowicki, @MattGlo Sept. 19, 2017

A Meade County judge has denied a probation request by a Roman Catholic priest found guilty of molesting a boy at a summer camp in the 1970s.

Joseph Hemmerle, 75, was found guilty at trial in November 2016 of a single count of immoral or indecent practice with a child and was sentenced to seven years in prison in February.

His accuser, Michael Norris, had testified that at Camp Tall Trees in 1973, Hemmerle told him to report to his cabin one night to treat poison ivy. The priest told him to strip and stand on a stool before touching him sexually with his hands and mouth, Norris testified.

Camp Tall Trees at Otter Creek Park in Meade County was run by the Archdiocese of Louisville until 2002. Hemmerle was a director there from 1970 until about 2001.

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CALIFORNIA
Mercury News

By MATTHIAS GAFNI | mgafni@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: September 19, 2017

SONOMA — A San Leandro teen sued the Roman Catholic Diocese of Santa Rosa and an embattled school for traumatized boys Tuesday, claiming employees failed to prevent his sexual abuse by a counselor who took advantage of his troubled past.

Last fall, school officials discovered 22-year-old school counselor Angelica Malinski hiding inside the boy’s Sonoma dorm room. Malinski was arrested a short time later and charged with misdemeanor unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor, as the boy was 17 at the time. Weeks earlier, Hanna Boys Center officials were put “on notice” about the pair meeting at night but did little about it, the lawsuit alleges.

“It’s absolutely appalling that Hanna Boys Center and its executive director had actual knowledge of an inappropriate relationship between an adult employee and one of its students in its treatment center and didn’t stop it,” said attorney Micha Liberty, who is representing the San Leandro student, who is now 18.

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NORTH DAKOTA
WDAZ

By Scott Cook on Sep 19, 2017

GRAND FORKS, ND (WDAZ)—Two more priests from the Crookston Diocese have been added to a list of 21 priests and monks who attorneys say sexually assaulted minors throughout the state of Minnesota.

Casimir Plakut and Augustine John Strub, both deceased, served the Crookston Diocese during the 1940s and 1950s. But despite the fact that it was so long ago, he says it’s important to raise awareness about the issue of sexual abuse in the church, to stop it from happening in the future, and to shine a spot light on what he said happened specifically at the diocese of Crookston, acc

“It’s so important to get the painful truth of the past out. Both the names of the offenders, where they offended and their histories because there are so many survivors who think they are the only ones and are blaming themselves. Suffering in secrecy and silence, and by revealing what has been will protect kids in the future because there is a nuisance we believe being maintained by the Bishop in Minnesota and in the diocese of Crookston,” said attorney Jeff Anderson.

The release of these names and information is timely because tomorrow Anderson will be in Thief River Falls arguing a different issue against the diocese of Crookston.

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NEW MEXICO
Albuquerque Journal

If confession is good for the soul, then the Archdiocese of Santa Fe recently took a significant – and past-due – step toward cleansing the soul of the Roman Catholic Church here. For the first time, the archdiocese last week published a list of 74 clergy members who have been credibly accused of sexually abusing children in New Mexico. Archbishop John C. Wester also issued an apology to the survivors “for the pain and suffering you have endured.”

In a statement accompanying the list of accused priests, deacons and religious brothers, Wester wrote: “It is my deepest hope that our publication of this list will serve as an important step in healing for survivors, their families, and our Church and communities.” He also pledged “to support and assist you on your road to recovery.”

The public cleansing opens the gates for healing and closure, validating the claims of the then-children and teens who reported they were abused at the hands of men they once revered.

The archdiocese’s list contains the names of the clergy, their order or diocese and whether they are alive or deceased. Of the 74 named, 38 were reported as deceased. The archdiocese says it will be updating its list with names of the parishes where the 74 worked; when it does it should include when they were there as well.

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VATICAN CITY
The Sun Daily

VATICAN CITY: A luxury penthouse occupied by a top cardinal was given a costly renovation so it could hold fundraising dinners, a Vatican corruption trial heard Tuesday.

In a case set to refocus attention on the kind of clerical extravagance that Pope Francis has vowed to eradicate, two former directors of a Foundation linked to the Vatican-run Bambino Gesu (Baby Jesus) children’s hospital in Rome are charged with embezzling €422,000 (RM2.1 million).

The majority of the cash was allegedly used to revamp the spectacular flat occupied by the retired Italian cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, a former number two in the Holy See hierarchy.

Spread across hundreds of square metres at the top of the Palazzo San Carlo, the residence boasts a huge terrace with magnificent views over Rome.

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VATICAN CITY
The Local

A luxury penthouse occupied by a top cardinal was given a costly renovation so it could hold fundraising dinners, a Vatican corruption trial heard on Tuesday.

In a case set to refocus attention on the kind of clerical extravagance that Pope Francis has vowed to eradicate, two former directors of a Foundation linked to the Vatican-run Bambino Gesu (Baby Jesus) children’s hospital in Rome are charged with embezzling 422,000 euros ($506,500).

The majority of the cash was allegedly used to revamp the spectacular flat occupied by the retired Italian cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, a former number two in the Holy See hierarchy.

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NEW MEXICO
KSFR

By TOM TROWBRIDGE

The Archdiocese of Santa Fe last week shocked the state by releasing — for the first time — a list of 74 names of priests, deacons and brothers that it says have been credibly accused of sexually abusing children.

In a statement, Archbishop John Wester said he hopes the publication of the list will help victims and their communities to heal, and help rebuild trust in the Church.

It’s a move that other dioceses around the country have turned to after media pressure or after filing for bankruptcy. Victims’ advocates like the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests-or SNAP_-have called for more transparency from the Church for years. They , call this a step in the right direction but say: “The Archbishop and Archdiocse are not making the names public because .. of a desire for transparency or pastoral care.. They are doing so because of a new law in New Mexico that allows victims of child sexual abuse to make these names public through the civil courts.”

But the Church’s sexual abuse crisis in New Mexico – and its responsibility to the public – does not begin and end with this list. For months, a team of reporters for KSFR has been looking into an epidemic perpetrated by an institution deeply embedded in our state’s culture and history.

Today we bring you the first in a special series “Dark Canyon: Sexual Abuse and Secrecy in the Archdiocese of Santa Fe.” Ellen Berkovitch has the story.

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GUAM
The Guam Daily Post

Mindy Aguon | The Guam Daily Post

While mediation discussions in more than 100 child sexual abuse cases was expected to begin as early as next month, the parties have agreed that it will take additional time to complete the discovery and prepare for that to happen.

A stipulation was filed in the District Court of Guam yesterday by attorneys John Terlaje and David Lujan, on behalf of the Archdicoese of Agana and plaintiffs, respectively.

‘More realistic’ time frame

They informed the judge that the parties are discussing a “more realistic” mediation time frame of March 2018.

The parties are also still discussing and evaluating who they will choose as the mediator.

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GUAM
The Guam Daily Post

Mindy Aguon |The Guam Daily Post

A new sex abuse lawsuit alleges a priest took nude photos of altar boys and sexually molested them in the 1960s.

M.S.B., who used initials to protect his identity, filed a civil complaint against the Archdiocese of Agana, the Boy Scouts of America and Father Louis Brouillard, alleging he was sexually molested and abused by the priest and scoutmaster when he was 11 years old.

According to court documents, Brouillard allegedly approached M.S.B. after Eskuela Pale at the Mangilao parish, and told him he needed to take pictures of the boy because he was “studying growth of young boys.”

The priest allegedly took the boy to the back room of the parish and took nude photos of him.

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FRANCE
Independent (UK)

Will Worley @willrworley

A senior French cardinal, Philippe Barbarin, is to be tried on charges of not reporting historical child abuse, according to reports.

The clergyman, who is also the Archbishop of Lyon, was once tipped as a successor to Pope Francis.

But he and six other priests have been ordered to appear in court for allegedly not speaking out against abuse said to be committed by another clergyman, Bernard Preynat, in the 1980s.

Mr Preynat was dismissed in 2015 and prosecutors say he has admitted charges of child abuse.

His alleged victims have now accused Father Barbarin and others of not reporting the crimes to the authorities.

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FRANCE
Business Standard

French Cardinal Philippe Barbarin and a senior Vatican official were today ordered to stand trial for allegedly covering up for a paedophile priest accused of abusing several boy scouts in Lyon in the 1980s.

The most senior French Catholic official to be tried for failing to report a predator priest will go on trial on April 4 next year along with six co-defendants, a court in Lyon said.

Barbarin, who is archbishop of Lyon, is accused of having shielded priest Bernard Preynat from claims of abuse involving scouts in his Lyon parish.

The head of the Vatican’s powerful Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Spanish Archbishop Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferrer, is accused of complicity in the alleged cover-up.

In correspondence with Barbarin about the priest the Vatican’s number three had advised the cardinal to take “necessary disciplinary measures while avoiding public scandal” — seen as a warning to keep the abuse quiet.

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ROME
Catholic Culture

September 18, 2017

An Italian newspaper has published a sensational story claiming that Vatican officials played a role in the abduction of Emanuela Orlandi, the teenage daughter of a Vatican employee, who disappeared mysteriously in 1983.

La Repubblica has posted a report based on what is said to be a Vatican document, typed on plain paper, promising to help pay for the abduction of Emanuela Orlandi and to keep her in convents. The document is dated March 1983: several weeks before the girl’s disappearance in June of that year.

However, there is no evidence that the document—which is not signed, includes incorrect names and improper salutations, and is not typed on Vatican stationery—is authentic. Cardinal Giovanni Battista Rei, to whom the document was allegedly addressed, told a reporter that he had never seen it. Vatican spokesman Greg Burke called the report “false and ridiculous.”

The disappearance of Emanuela Orlandi, which has never been explained, has been the focus of several conspiracy theories, with some investigators claiming Mafia involvement and others charging that Vatican officials have not revealed what they know about the case.

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KENTUCKY
WDRB

BRANDENBURG, Ky. (WDRB) — A Louisville priest convicted on child molestation charges is denied shock probation.

Meade County Circuit Court says the motion was denied for Father Joseph Hemmerle. There was no additional explanation for the judge’s decision.

Attorneys for Hemmerle argued in court on September 7 for him to be released early from prison. Hemmerle did not appear at the hearing.

Earlier this year, a judge sentenced Hemmerle to two years in prison for sexually abusing a boy more than 40-years ago at summer camp.
In 2016, a jury convicted him of abusing a different boy in the 1970’s.

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FRANCE
The Local

19 September 2017

A French Cardinal will go on trial in April accused of covering up the sexual abuse of children by a paedophile priest in his Lyon diocese over 25 years ago, a court ruled Tuesday.

Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, the most senior French Catholic leader to be tried for allegedly failing to report a predator priest, will go on trial on April 4 next year, a court in Lyon said.

The Cardinal, who has been the archbishop of Lyon since 2002, and six other defendants are suspected of having covered up a priest’s child abuse in the 1980s by failing to inform the authorities.

Barbarin has always denied the allegations but last year he came under immense pressure when the sex abuse scandal first emerged.

The then Prime Minister Manuel Valls urged Barbarin to “take responsibility” for the scandal.

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FRANCE
La Croix

Marie Boëton et Marie Malzac, le 18/09/2017

Cité à comparaître pour ne pas avoir dénoncé des agressions pédophiles, l’archevêque de Lyon devrait savoir mardi 19 septembre quand sera audiencée l’affaire. Parallèlement, la procédure canonique visant le père Bernard Preynat a été suspendue pour laisser le temps à la procédure civile de suivre son cours.

Pourquoi une citation directe ?

Il y a un an, l’enquête pour non-dénonciation d’abus sexuels visant sept membres du clergé – dont l’archevêque de Lyon, le cardinal Barbarin – était classée sans suite par le parquet de Lyon. Refusant d’en rester là, les victimes ont choisi une voie de recours peu usitée : celle de la citation directe. Les mis en cause seront donc amenés à s’expliquer, comme lors d’une audience pénale classique, sur leur gestion du dossier Preynat (1). Et ce à une date qui devrait être arrêtée aujourd’hui même.

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UNITED STATES
The Worthy Adversary

September 18, 2017 Joelle Casteix

A Vatican priest and diplomat under suspicion for violating US child pornography laws wrote his 2003 doctoral dissertation on church laws addressing how the Holy See deals with clerics accused of molesting children.

Monsignor Carlo Alberto Capella, recalled by the Vatican last week, wrote The criminal protection of ecclesiastical celibacy in the canonical laws of 1917 and 1983: historical-juridical study to complete his studies in Canon Law. I took screenshots, in case the link “disappears.”

He finished his degree in 2004 and entered the diplomatic service soon after.

For people not up-to-speed on the importance of this dissertation topic, here’s a primer:

In 1917, Pope Benedict XV wanted to consolidate his problem-solving. Some of his biggest problems had to do with child sexual abuse. He put the jurisdiction of these crimes, or “delicts,” under its own tribunal.

The laws on dealing with the “delicts against the Sixth Commandment,” as they were called (that’s adultery, for those of us who had to look it up), were streamlined into a single code in 1917 and then again in 1983.

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JTA

(JTA) — Rabbinic leaders of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement have signed a proclamation calling for the immediate reporting of child sexual abuse and other kinds of abuse to secular authorities.

“We recognize in light of past experiences that our communities could have responded in more responsible and sensitive ways to help victims and to hold perpetrators accountable,” reads the document released Monday.

The proclamation outlines policies that all Lubavitch institutions, including schools and synagogues, should adopt immediately. They include educating staff in identifying, responding and reporting sexual abuse, and teaching “body safety” to students. The document also states that members of communities must be made aware when a sex offender moves in to a community.

In addition to child sexual abuse and other forms of child abuse, the document includes domestic abuse, elder abuse and abuse of the disabled.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
The Irish News

A man allegedly subjected to “sadistic” beatings by a nun at a children’s home in Derry is to received undisclosed damages.

Karl Roberts will receive the pay-out as part of a settlement reached in a legal action against the Sisters of Nazareth, according to his lawyer.

He claimed that he endured regular violent punishment for failing to collect enough fluff from floors and furniture in the residence.

Proceedings were resolved at the High Court in Belfast today, with no admission of liability by the defendant.

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FLORIDA
Orlando Sentinel

Stephen Hudak
Orlando Sentinel

The newly appointed music director for the Catholic Diocese of Orlando withdrew from the job before his background check was completed and while the FBI was conducting a child-exploitation investigation in Long Island, N.Y., where he directed youth choirs.

Michael Wustrow was supposed to begin his new job Nov. 1 at St. James Cathedral in downtown Orlando.

Wustrow, 55, who could not be reached for comment, was co-music director for St. Agnes Cathedral in the Diocese of Rockville Centre and had directed adult and children choirs when the FBI seized his work computer, the New York diocese announced Friday on its website.

The diocese relieved him of all duties, and a spokesman said the diocese was cooperating with law enforcement.

Marci Hamilton, a law professor at the University of Pennsylvania and chief executive of Child USA, an organization that advocates for victims of sexual abuse by religious organizations, was troubled that the Orlando dioceses conducted a background check after hiring Wustrow.

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NEW MEXICO
Gallup Independent

Published in the Gallup Independent, Gallup, N.M., Aug. 16, 2017

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

GALLUP — Three more sex abuse lawsuits have been filed against the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on behalf of Native Americans who allege they were sexually molested as children in the Indian Student Placement Program.

Two of the lawsuits were filed Friday in Window Rock District Court on behalf of two Navajo women, one of whom was identified as a Gallup resident. The third lawsuit was filed in Chelan County Superior Court in Wenatchee, Washington, on behalf of a member of the Crow Tribe of Montana.

Attorneys Billy Keeler, of Gallup, and Craig Vernon, of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, held a news conference announcing these latest lawsuits in Phoenix Tuesday. Keeler and Vernon , along with co-counsel Patrick Noaker, of Minneapolis, have previously filed four other lawsuits against the LDS church.

The first lawsuit was filed in March 2016 on behalf of two adult siblings, a brother and sister, from the Navajo Nation. With these latest lawsuits, a total of six women and two men allege they were sexually abused as children while residing in Mormon foster homes during their participation in the now-defunct Indian Student Placement Program. Seven of the eight plaintiffs are Navajo.

Some of the plaintiffs have alleged they reported their abuse to church or placement program officials at the time of the abuse, but those reports were not forwarded to law enforcement officials.

Alleged disclosure

One of the latest plaintiffs, a Navajo woman identified in court documents as “AH” claims she reported her abuse as a teenager to church authorities. In her lawsuit, AH, who lives in Gallup, states she was taken from her home on the Navajo Nation in August 1978, when she was 15 years old, and placed with a Mormon foster family in Mesa, Arizona.

AH alleges she was sexually molested several times by her foster father, who is named in the complaint.

“AH disclosed the sexual abuse she suffered her sophomore year in high school to agents of LDS defendants while at church,” the lawsuit alleges. “AH was urged to stay silent and not discuss the abuse. She was told that it would be handled. Despite this disclosure, the LDS defendants never contacted the authorities, or inquired on AH’s well-being.” The lawsuit claims AH continued to suffer sexual abuse after this disclosure.

AH, who attended Tuesday’s news conference, issued “a message of hope” for other survivors of sexual abuse in her attorneys’ news release: “Understand that you are not alone. It is not your fault. The shame is not yours, rather the shame belongs to those who abuse, as well as those who allowed the abuse to happen.” AH said she sought legal representation after learning other Navajo individuals had similar experiences.

“I think that’s an important step in healing,” Vernon said. “For some it might not be, but for most people, it is.”

Seeking change

The second Navajo plaintiff in this latest round of lawsuits is identified as “JC.” In her lawsuit, JC states she participated in the placement program during sixth grade with no incident. However, she alleges that in August 1970, at the beginning of her seventh grade year, she was placed in a Mormon foster home in Enterprise, Utah. JC claims she was sexually molested several times by the foster father, who is identified in the legal complaint.

The third plaintiff, from the Crow Tribe, is identified as “Jane Doe 1.” She states she participated in the placement program from third through 10th grade and lived with two different families. In her first foster home in Wenatchee, Washington, Doe alleges she was sexually molested by the foster grandfather three times when she was 9 years old and once when she was 13.

In addition to seeking monetary damages, the lawsuits against the LDS church are seeking a change in church policy regarding the reporting of abuse allegations. They are also seeking the implementation of measures to bring healing to Native people harmed by the placement program.

Eric Hawkins, an LDS church spokesman, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. When responding to previous sex abuse lawsuits, church officials have stated the LDS church has zero tolerance for abuse of any kind and works actively to prevent abuse.

— The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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NEW MEXICO
Gallup Independent

Published in the Gallup Independent, Gallup, N.M., Aug. 31, 2017

Since James S. Wall was installed as bishop of the Diocese of Gallup more than eight years ago, his lackluster tenure here has been marked by poor leadership and misplaced priorities.

Although his arrival in 2009 was widely welcomed and celebrated, it soon became clear that the leadership sorely needed by the Gallup Diocese was not to be found in Bishop Wall. Instead, Bishop Wall quickly became known particularly among his own priests — not for his leadership qualities — but rather for his lack of communication skills and his frequent absences. Bishop Wall was the bishop who would not answer letters or emails, would not return phone calls, would not meet with people, and would not answer questions from concerned priests or parishioners. Bishop Wall was the bishop who was frequently absent from the diocese. Quite often Bishop Wall was away in Phoenix, the city where he was ordained a priest, where he grew up, where his family lives. The people of the Diocese of Gallup did not seem to be a big priority to him.

Bishop Wall’s poor sense of priorities has become a common theme for the past eight years. To many clergy sex abuse victims and their families, he is “Bishop Stonewall” — the bishop who used lawyers and legal maneuvers to battle them for years. And to many Catholics in the pews, such as the members of Gallup’s St. John Vianney Parish, Bishop Wall is the aloof autocratic bishop who refused to meet with them when it appeared he was trying to shut down their parish in 2015.

This year, Bishop Wall has once again demonstrated his upside- down, skewed priorities by postponing eight healing services for clergy abuse survivors that were mandated by the terms of the diocese’s Chapter 11 reorganization.

One service in February was postponed for more than a year because of an “oversight” by the bishop’s staff, which scheduled the service on the same evening as the bishop’s Mardi Gras fundraiser. The fundraising party was a top priority, and clergy abuse survivors were a low priority.

Two more healing services in July were pushed back to 2018 so Bishop Wall could make an appearance at the national Tekakwitha Conference for Native American Catholics. That was another scheduling oversight by the bishop’s staff. According to the bishop’s spokeswoman, Bishop Wall needed to attend the conference because he “has the responsibility of listening to the voices of Indigenous Catholics” and the conference “provides Native People with a major platform to voice their needs and concerns on a national scale.” So once again, Bishop Wall’s priorities were clear: a national conference was high priority, clergy abuse survivors were low priority. That decision was also steeped in irony since Bishop Wall is not known for “listening to the voices” and the “needs and concerns” of everyday Catholics in his own diocese, some of whom are Native American.

But in this case, Bishop Wall ended up canceling his appearance at the Tekakwitha Conference also. Bishop Wall has postponed five healing services and canceled his attendance at the Tekakwitha event because of illness. Certainly, we are not criticizing Bishop Wall for being ill with vertigo, the medical condition that is causing him to struggle with balance issues. It is apparently a permanent condition, and Bishop Wall has no control over it.

However, Bishop Wall can take practical steps to manage his condition, and he has done this. On at least two occasions, Bishop Wall has had others drive him to healing services. And during some Masses and healing services, Bishop Wall has remained seated. Had Bishop Wall not postponed the July healing services, he could have had someone drive him to the services and he could have remained seated while he conducted the services. His presence — in the face of his illness — would have shown respect to clergy sex abuse survivors and their families by making them his priority.

And what about his two trips to Europe this year? How is it that his symptoms of vertigo haven’t led the Gallup bishop to cancel his trip to Spain and Portugal in March or his trip to Ireland in September? Perhaps Bishop Wall has found a way to manage his symptoms while traveling in Europe? Are European trips a high priority? Can you pretend this diocese is a foreign country and travel to it?

Understand, Bishop Wall, that people watch your example, people pay attention to your priorities. Bishop Wall, after eight years, you have an obligation to step up to the plate and become an authentic moral leader. Bishop Wall, reorder your priorities and place the needs of clergy sex abuse survivors and faithful Catholics in the pews as your top priorities. Trips to Phoenix, trips to national conventions and trips to Europe should be low priorities or non-existent.

If Bishop Wall can’t provide real leadership in the Gallup Diocese, he should request permission to be transferred to another church position like Pinehaven or Chichiltah. Certainly Pope Francis could find someone else whose priorities are in proper order and who has an authentic sympathetic heart for the people of the Diocese of Gallup.

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NEW MEXICO
Gallup Independent

Published in the Gallup Independent, Gallup, N.M., Aug. 18, 2017

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

GALLUP — Bishop James S. Wall, of the Diocese of Gallup, canceled an appearance at last month’s national Tekakwitha Conference for Native American Catholics due to illness, his spokeswoman confirmed this week.

Suzanne Hammons, the director of communications for the Gallup Diocese, declined to answer specific questions about Wall’s cancellation, but indicated it was related to vertigo and problems with balance, a condition the bishop was diagnosed with last year.

Wall had been scheduled to be the principal celebrant for the morning liturgy July 21. This year’s conference was held in Rapid City, South Dakota, July 19-22. The annual conference draws Native Catholics from across the country, along with Catholic clergy and religious order members who serve Native communities.

Earlier this year, Wall’s decision to postpone two healing services for local survivors of clergy sexual abuse in order to attend the Tekakwitha Conference raised the ire of some abuse survivors. Wall postponed the healing services in Overgaard and Snowflake, Arizona, which had been scheduled for July 21 and July 22. Those services have been rescheduled in March 2018.

Hammons later issued an apology on behalf of the diocese, describing the double booked dates as a scheduling oversight.

Vestibular damage

Wall’s ill health in July is the latest in a series of illnesses that have impacted his public schedule. In January, Wall postponed all five of the healing services that had been scheduled for clergy sex abuse survivors that month.

In response to questions about Wall’s cancellation in South Dakota and his vertigo, Hammons referenced an online podcast interview she conducted with Wall in March about coping with illness and suffering. In the interview, the Gallup bishop discussed the two “health scares” he said he has experienced in the past four years.

Wall said he underwent surgery and radiation therapy in 2013 after being diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Annual checkups have since determined he continues to be cancer free, he said.

However, Wall explained in the March interview, he began experiencing problems with his balance about six months before. Last year, Wall said, he had been hospitalized for an infection and given an antibiotic. That antibiotic turned out to be “ototoxic,” which means the drug can be toxic to the ear, specifically the cochlea, auditory nerve or sometimes the vestibular system. The side effects can be reversible and temporary or irreversible and permanent.

In Wall’s case, he said a neurotologist has determined he has suffered 80-90 percent vestibular damage, which has affected his balance.

As part of a published column to local Catholics at the beginning of Lent, Wall offered the following explanation about his health problems: “If you are unaware, I have been quietly struggling with an imbalance (vertigo) issue for the past year, thinking it to be something that would simply pass. However, it didn’t go away and only seemed to increase, especially toward the end of 2016. Thankfully, through the good care of doctors, I was diagnosed with bilateral vestibular damage, which was caused by antibiotics I had to take for a nasal infection a year ago. The damage is permanent, but the effects are not, as I have been working closely with physical therapists who have helped me get back to some sense of normalcy. It’s a slow process, but if I stay up on my exercises I’ll be back to normal in a month or so.”

Since Wall’s diagnosis, he has sometimes needed to remain seated while celebrating Mass, conducting a healing service or attending an event.

However, as a member of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Wall travels twice a year to attend biannual conferences, and he frequently travels to meet with fellow bishops in Arizona and New Mexico. This year Wall also led a 10-day pilgrimage tour to Spain and Portugal, and he is scheduled to co-lead a similar tour to Ireland next month.

In an email Thursday, Hammons declined to comment on the current level of Wall’s vertigo symptoms, about how often he is affected by the symptoms and how he manages his symptoms while traveling. Hammons referred to the information released in the March podcast, adding “if there is ever a reason to issue an update on the status of Bishop Wall’s health publicly, he will do so at a time of his choosing.”

“An issue such as vertigo is not cause for any kind of vacation from a leadership role; rather, it is a legitimate and ongoing medical condition which is likely to interrupt the Bishop’s schedule from time to time,” she said. “He will still continue to carry out pastoral activities and care of the diocese.”

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GUAM
KUAM

Updated: Sep 18, 2017

By Krystal Paco

Another clergy sex abuse lawsuit filed in the District Court of Guam. 48-year-old “M.I.Q.” alleges he was sexually molested and raped by Father Louis Brouillard.

Like other Brouillard accusers, M.I.Q. alleges the priest would make the boys swim naked at Lonfit River and reward them with McDonald’s.

On another occasion, M.I.Q. alleges the priest raped him in the rectory.

As he was putting his clothes on and about to run home scared, he recalls seeing the priest rape another boy too.

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NEW YORK
News 12

MOUNT PLEASANT –
A Mount Pleasant Zoning Board meeting turned into a heated battle over a proposed housing development Monday night, as residents gave local officials an earful on a project they say will change the neighborhood for the worse.

Residents tell News 12 Westchester that their main concerns about the proposed housing complex on Columbus Avenue are traffic and taxes.

News 12 is told the property is currently owned by religious organization Legion of Christ and that developer Barker Residential has applied to buy the land between 582 and 590 Columbus Ave.

A representative of Barker Residential has confirmed the pursuit of a 73-lot cluster subdivision, along with two additional proposed lots.

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MINNESOTA
Pioneer Press

By SARAH HORNER | shorner@pioneerpress.com | Pioneer Press
PUBLISHED: September 18, 2017

More than two and a half years after the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis filed for bankruptcy following a torrent of sexual abuse claims made against its clergy, the legal costs are mounting into the tens of millions.

Details on the compensation earned to date by law firms representing parties involved in the bankruptcy proceedings were revealed Friday after the federal judge overseeing the case ordered the disclosures.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Kressel requested financial information on the amounts owed through the end of August to lawyers representing the archdiocese, the committee of parishes and the creditors, including sexual-abuse survivors, which make up the largest class of creditors in the case.

Combined, the legal costs are estimated to be approximately $16 million.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
Belfast Telegraph

Survivors of mother and baby homes whose children were forcibly put up for adoption have called for the establishment of an all Ireland body to help reunite families.

A campaign group of mothers and adults born in the homes is seeking support from the authorities across the north and south of Ireland to help them find redress.

The group – Birth Mothers And Their Children for Justice NI – warned that mothers and their children are continuing to die before getting the chance to meet up with each other.

Eunan Duffy, who was born in the Marian Vale mother and baby home in Newry before being taken from his mother against her will and put up for adoption, said the system for family tracing needs to be overhauled.

“Only one part-time person currently exists that traces family for two charities and the health and social care trusts (in Northern Ireland),” he said.

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UNITED KINGDOM
BBC News

A former Church of England priest has been jailed for 12 years for torturing and sexually abusing two schoolboys in the 1980s and 90s.

Jonathan Graves, 60, of Eastbourne, East Sussex, restrained the children, who were aged between 12 and 14, using belts and chains, and then beat them.

At the time, he was the vicar at St Luke’s Church in Stone Cross.

He was convicted on Thursday at Hove Crown Court of 12 offences dating between 1987 and 1992.

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MASSACHUSETTS
NBC Boston

Brian Ward said he was sexually abused by the altar boy coordinator at St. Brenda’s Parish in Dorchester, Massachusetts for two years while he was growing up. Twenty-seven years later, Michael Walsh – who pleaded guilty to the abuse – had been living down the road from Ward’s young relatives. Realizing that proximity is what pushed him to come forward.

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COLive

By COLlive reporter

A group of Chabad rabbis signed a proclamation addressing abuse in the Orthodox Jewish community, alluding to its effects that have resulted in multiple deaths due to drug overdoses and suicides over the past year alone in Jewish communities.

“The existence of child sexual abuse and other forms of child abuse which occurs in some of our communities, resulting in a number of tragic suicides as well as other physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual consequences,” they wrote.

The rabbis admitted that not enough was done in the past to tackle the issue. “We recognize that in light of past experiences our communities could have responded in more responsible and sensitive ways to help victims and hold perpetrators accountable.”

The signatories are Rabbis Yehoram Ulman and Moshe Gutnick, Senior Dayanim, Sydney Beth Din, Australia; Rabbi Yosef Feigelstock, Senior Dayan, Beth Din, Argentina; Rabbi Baruch Hertz, Rabbi of Congregation Bnei Ruven in Chicago, Illinois; Rabbi Yisroel Rosenfeld, Dean, Yeshiva Schools of Pittsburgh, PA; Rabbi Yosef Shusterman, Senior Dayan and Director, Chabad of Beverly Hills, CA, Rabbi Mordechai Gutnick, Av Beth Din, Melbourne Beth Din, Australia, and Rabbi Sholom Shuchat, Dayan, Bais Din Agudas HaRabanim.

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IRELAND
Irish Examiner

Monday, September 18, 2017

By Conall Ó Fátharta
Irish Examiner Reporter

The religious order which ran an orphanage in Scotland where hundreds of children are believed to have died also ran Ireland’s largest mother and baby home.

Research by the BBC and the Sunday Post in the UK revealed that at least 400 children from Smyllum Park Orphanage in Lanark in Scotland are thought to be buried in an unmarked grave at the town’s St Mary’s Cemetery.

Smyllum Park Orphanage is one of the institutions being examined by the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry into historical allegations of the abuse of children in care.

It was run by the Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul and was home to more than 10,000 children between opening in 1864 and closing in 1981.

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GUAM
Pacific Daily News

Haidee V Eugenio, heugenio@guampdn.com Sept. 18, 2017

Former Guam priest Louis Brouillard sexually abused multiple boys at the same time and repeatedly, offering them food as a reward, according to a lawsuit filed Monday in federal court.

The lawsuit, which is among dozens accusing Brouillard of child sexual abuse, was filed by 48-year-old “M.I.Q.” who, like most plaintiffs, used his initials to protect his privacy.

M.I.Q. alleged in his lawsuit that while Brouillard was swimming naked with him and other boys at the Lonfit River in 1978 or 1979, the priest groped and touched his private parts. M.I.Q. was 9 years old at the time.

The lawsuit says before going into the water, Brouillard instructed the boys to remove their clothes and swim naked, and promised to reward them with McDonald’s afterwards. They went to McDonald’s after M.I.Q.’s first outing with Brouillard, the lawsuit states.

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OHIO
Ohio.com

By Arthur McCaffrey
WALTHAM, MASS.: The Beacon Journal recently reported on the formal installation of the new Catholic bishop of Cleveland, Nelson Perez (“ Cleveland rocks,’ new ‘bishop tells the faithful,” Sept. 6). The story highlighted his personal appeal to the laity for forgiveness for the church’s “horrendous” history of child abuse, as if this was a novel gesture after the dour administration of his predecessor Bishop Lennon.

Earlier this year Beacon Journal also published a column, “An innocent man still looks for justice,” about two men spending 16 years in prison for a murder they did not commit. Their $4.9 million settlement from the state didn’t “come close to just compensation for what they lost.”

And when an innocent child looks for justice? What is just compensation for innocence lost after being raped by a priest? Surely it must be more than just a gratuitous plea for forgiveness by the new guy on the job? What compensates for an abuse victim’s lifetime of suffering and PTSD dysfunction, while criminal priests walk free and the bishops and cardinals who colluded and covered up the crimes still get to keep their jobs, titles and privileges?

Instead of cost-free calls for blanket forgiveness, perhaps a more genuine gesture of sympathy and sorrow would be for bishops like Perez to resign out of shame for being associated with such criminality. Another bishop, Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu, teaches us a more honest lesson about how to respond to abuse and injustice. After President Mandela appointed him to chair South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 1994, Tutu said decades of institutional injustice against victims of apartheid needed to be remedied in four ways: Apology, Punishment, Compensation and Reconciliation.

How does the Catholic Church’s response to its “horrendous” history of child abuse stack up against Tutu’s metrics of reparation? Well, we are knee-deep in church apologies and cash, with billions of dollars paid out for victim compensation, nationally and internationally — compensation not usually freely offered but litigated out of church coffers by civil lawsuits initiated by victims and their attorneys!

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GUAM
The Guam Daily Post

Mindy Aguon |The Guam Daily Post Sep 18, 2017

The parties in nearly 100 clergy sex abuse cases filed in the local and federal courts in Guam have until Tuesday afternoon to advise the court how they intend to proceed with mediation and settlement talks.

Many of the attorneys for childhood sex abuse victims, the Archdiocese of Agana, the Boy Scouts of America and other defendants met in Hawaii on Sept. 5 to try to come to an agreement on how to proceed with mediation and a possible global settlement for all of the cases.

The parties had hoped to begin those settlement discussions on Guam at the end of October or early November.

But negotiations are ongoing regarding the terms of the mediation protocol, according to an order handed down last Friday by District Court Chief Judge Frances Tydingco-Gatewood.

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SCOTLAND
BBC News

The order of nuns which ran a Lanarkshire orphanage where more than 400 children died want to sell the land around it for £6m.

They hope to sell 40 hectares of land around the former Smyllum Park home in Lanark.

But they are facing mounting calls for a memorial to the children who are believed to be buried in a mass grave nearby.

The Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul have not commented.

An investigation by File on 4 in conjunction with the Sunday Post newspaper found that at least 400 children are buried in a section of St Mary’s Cemetery in Lanark.

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GUAM
Pacific Daily News

Haidee V Eugenio, heugenio@guampdn.com Sept. 17, 2017

Concerned Catholics of Guam is hopeful Archbishop Anthony S. Apuron will not only be removed as archbishop but also be stripped of his priestly faculties after his Vatican canonical trial.

But the world’s largest network of priest abuse survivors is doubtful Apuron will be laicized, or removed from the priesthood, even if the church concludes he sexually abused minors.

Apuron in June 2016 was temporarily stripped of his authority to run the Catholic Church on Guam after being publicly accused of sexually abusing former Agat altar boys when he was parish priest in the late 1970s. Three former altar boys and the family of a deceased former altar boy accused Apuron and later sued him and the church. The Vatican started a secretive canonical trial for Apuron as a result. No findings or conclusions have been announced.

‘Damaged goods’

Concerned Catholics and the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, agree the Vatican is unlikely to send Apuron back to Guam.

“He’s damaged goods, so to speak, and to reassign him would just cause bad publicity,” said Joelle Casteix, volunteer western regional director for the St. Louis-based SNAP.

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