ABUSE TRACKER

ENGLAND
The Guardian

April 4, 2018

By Harriet Sherwood

Lawyer takes charge of safeguarding at Ampleforth College amid concerns over its handling of abuse allegations

A leading Catholic school has been stripped of its responsibilities to protect children amid concerns over the way it has handled allegations of sexual abuse.

The Charity Commission has appointed a lawyer to take charge of safeguarding at Ampleforth College, a prestigious boarding school in North Yorkshire.

Emma Moody has been appointed to manage the charities that run the college and Ampleforth Abbey. Both bodies have been under investigation by the commission since 2016 following reports of abuse.

Harvey Grenville, head of investigations and enforcement at the Charity Commission, said: “It is of paramount importance that beneficiaries, and others who come into contact with charities, are protected from harm.

“We are not satisfied that the trustees of these charities have made enough progress in improving the safeguarding environment for pupils in the schools connected to the charities.

“For this reason, we have appointed an interim manager to expedite changes in the safeguarding arrangements at the schools.”

Ampleforth Abbey said Moody would “support and guide the trustees and provide strategic leadership on matters relating to safeguarding, ensuring the charities have the proper framework they require to deliver their missions safely and appropriately.”

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ALLENTOWN (PA)
PennLive

April 4, 2018

By Ivey DeJesus

The findings of a state grand jury investigation into clergy sex abuse in six Roman Catholic Dioceses across Pennsylvania, including that of Harrisburg, are shaping up to be the most damning to date against the Catholic Church, according to one of the biggest advocates for victims of child sex abuse.

State Rep. Mark Rozzi, D-Berks, on Wednesday said the findings out of the grand jury will likely prove to be worse than those out of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese.

“It will encapsulate the six remaining dioceses and show a pattern across all of them,” Rozzi told PennLive. “There has never been another grand jury like this..in history as far as it pertains to child sex abuse. This is going to be the worst report ever. I think we are going to see a pattern of collusion and hopefully we can do right by the victims here and pass the right legislation that can gain victims justice and close out a chapter in our lives. That’s what we are looking for, closure.”

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PARIS (FRANCE)
The Associated Press

April 4, 2018

A French court has set a date in 2019 for the criminal trial of a French cardinal and a high-ranking Vatican prelate suspected of covering up a child sex abuse scandal in the eastern diocese of Lyon.

Victims of a priest who has confessed to preying on them have summoned Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, archbishop of Lyon, Archbishop Luis Ladaria Ferrer, head of the Vatican’s powerful doctrine office, and five other Catholic Church officials in court for allegedly being informed of the priest’s past abuses and not reporting them to authorities.

A Lyon court on Wednesday set the trial for January 7-9.

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SYDNEY (AUSTRALIA)
Aleteia

April 5, 2018

By Kathleen N. Hattrup

But premier of New South Wales says “question of the seal of confession” will be addressed at national level.

The government of the Australian state of New South Wales is seeking to implement a range of laws targeting child abuse, in response to the final report of a broad investigation into abuse perpetrated by institutions, including members of the Church, which was released last year.

Among the proposals being considered are those which would apply to priests, including regulation or negation of the seal of confession.

The seal of confession is a set of strict rules keeping priests from revealing or commenting in any way on what is heard in the sacrament of confession. A priest who breaks the seal is excommunicated, and in the history of the Church, some priests have given their lives rather than break the seal.

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HOUSTON CO (AL)
WSFA 12 News

April 4, 2018

A former children’s pastor could face more sex abuse charges, according to Houston County Sheriff’s Department.

William Wesley Williamson was arrested March 29 and charged with three counts of sexual abuse involving a child under 12 years old.

According to Sheriff Donald Valenza, since Williamson’s arrest at least two more possible claims have emerged.

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ROCKVILLE (MD)
Rockville Patch

April 5, 2018

By Cameron Luttrell

A former youth minister​​ at St. Elizabeth Catholic Church in Rockville was sentenced to prison for the sex abuse of a teen in his program.

A former youth minister of a teen group at a Rockville church was convicted Wednesday for the sexual assault of a 16-year-old girl in his program. Brian Patrick Werth, 34, worked at St. Elizabeth Catholic Church on Montrose Road and was sentenced to three years in prison.

Montgomery County Police said Werth had “inappropriate contact” with the victim during a youth event at the church on or about May 20.

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Rockville (MD)
Bethesda Beat

April 4, 2018

By Joe Zimmerman

Police arrested him in 2016 for abuse of then-16-year-old

A former youth minister at St. Elizabeth’s Catholic Church in Rockville was sentenced Tuesday to three years in prison for the sexual abuse of a teen parishioner, according to Montgomery County prosecutors.

Brian Patrick Werth, 34, had been arrested in 2016 in connection with the abuse of a then-16-year-old girl, to whom he had sent explicit text messages for two years and had sexual contact with her earlier that year. He was charged with a fourth-degree sex offense, sexual abuse of a minor and second-degree assault.

Judge Karla Smith sentenced Werth to one year for the sex offense charge and two years for the assault charge, according to a State’s Attorney’s Office press release. The two terms will be served consecutively, followed by five years of probation with COMET, a sex offender monitoring program that will include periodic polygraph and psychosexual testing. Werth is also required to register as a sex offender for 15 years.

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DENTON (TX)
Denton Record-Chronicle

April 4, 2018

Local faith leaders are taking advantage of the #MeToo campaign to discuss sexual abuse and harassment within religious communities.

The Denton Wesley Foundation will host “#ChurchToo Conference: Recognizing, Addressing, and Preventing Sexual Abuse in Communities of Faith” from 1 to 5 p.m. on Saturday, April 14 at First United Methodist Church of Denton, 201 S. Locust St.

The conference will discuss sexual assault, abuse and harassment within faith communities.

Attendees will be able to share their stories, learn how to support survivors, examine survivor-centered theologies and learn how to make change in religious communities. Hillarye Hightower of Denton County Friends of the Family will be the keynote speaker. Denton Wesley Foundation and Open Worship bands will provide music, and Rev. Anna Marie Peterson, a pastor who works in advocacy for abuse victims, will give a message during the conference.

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SALT LAKE CITY (UT)
FOX13

April 4, 2018

By Ben Winslow

The woman who has accused a former leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ Missionary Training Center of sexual assault has filed a lawsuit and made her name public.

McKenna Denson filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court late Wednesday, naming ex-Provo MTC President Joseph Bishop and the LDS Church as defendants. They were being sued for sexual assault and emotional distress as well as fraud. FOX 13 previously reported she was threatening a civil lawsuit over the alleged sexual assault that occurred at the MTC in 1984.

The lawsuit accuses Bishop of sexual improprieties while serving the church in Florida, as well as improper behavior toward women during his time as Weber State University’s president in the 1970s. The lawsuit alleges that Bishop had also previously confessed to inappropriate behavior around women, but was instead given a “spiritual blessing” and no other corrective action was taken by the LDS Church.

“In an epic institutional betrayal of trust, just the opposite occurred; Bishop was called to be the President of the MTC in Provo, Utah. There, instead of having access to hundreds of young missionaries, the Church elevated him to a position of power over thousands of young women who were training to be missionaries,” Denson’s attorney, Craig Vernon, wrote in the lawsuit.

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BUFFALO (NY)
The Buffalo News

April 4, 2018

By Dan Herbeck

A 63-year-old Youngstown man alleges he was sexually abused 50 years ago by a Niagara Falls priest who received many awards and honors for his work with poor people, the homeless and disadvantaged teenagers.

Niagara County resident Mark V. Lynch said he was 13 years old when he was molested in 1968 by the late Rev. Joseph A. Schuster in a Niagara Falls rectory.

He said he reported the incident March 12 to the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo and was told Tuesday the complaint had been received and would be given to Bishop Richard J. Malone and attorneys for the diocese.

The diocese did not include Schuster on a list it issued March 20 of 42 priests who have had credible allegations lodged against them of sexual abuse involving minors.

Lynch’s allegations come during a resurgence in complaints accusing Buffalo Diocese priests of molesting children, and his case underscores the challenges that sometimes decades-old allegations can present for the victims, diocese officials and even relatives of accused priests who have died.

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LANSING (MI)
Lansing State Journal

April 5, 2018

By Matt Mencarini

BEFORE THE WORLD KNEW LARRY NASSAR’S NAME AND HIS CRIMES, ANDREA MUNFORD AND ANGELA POVILAITIS WERE BUILDING THEIR CASE ONE VOICE AT A TIME.

Larry Nassar’s trash can was sitting near the curb.

Inside his white, one-story home, police were searching the living room, the bedrooms.

And they were searching the basement, because a woman named Kyle Stephens had recently told Michigan State University Police Det. Lt. Andrea Munford that Nassar had sexually abused her there for years, starting when she was 6.

Stephens had told her parents more than a decade earlier. They hadn’t believed her.

Munford did. And now she had a search warrant.

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UNITED STATES
SNAP

April 5, 2018

Dear SNAP Network Family,

This summer at our annual SNAP Conference, we will be celebrating our 30th year of helping survivors, protecting children and raising awareness in the community. SNAP has changed the world with your efforts as well as working with other organizations such as Bishop Accountability and Center for Constitutional Rights.

Notable spectacular SNAP actions brought us onto the world stage. Barbara Blaine, Barb Dorris and David Clohessy called out the church hierarchy in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican and proclaimed the truth, reminiscent of Martin Luther. We made a formal complaint to the International Criminal Court. We have testified in front of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child and the UN Committee on Torture. We have stood on street corners, in front of churches and government buildings. We have spent hours helping other survivors. SNAP has been there because you have been there.

We are a network of survivors and supporters helping survivors. We exist because of the compassion and caring we share with each other. We also know that by helping others, we help ourselves. We are not alone.

SNAP arose from a support group started by our founder, Barbara Blaine. It grew and thrived. David Clohessy expanded our reach with powerful media events and press releases that exposed the depth and widespread nature of the abuse. Newspapers and television noticed. Barb Dorris excelled in giving all newcomers a compassionate welcome and propelled the organizational engine of SNAP with dedication.

Late in 2016 and early 2017, our founders, David Clohessy and Barbara Blaine, left SNAP. Uncertainty and doubt surfaced because of the departure. With the stable leadership of Barb Dorris, we weathered that uncertainty and carried on facing new challenges.

One challenge we were not able to overcome: I regret to announce that Barb Dorris has resigned. She has worked diligently for sixteen years reaching out to help survivors by giving comfort to those in need. For many of us, she was our first contact with SNAP. She will undoubtedly be missed by all. Please see below a tribute to Barb, as her contribution to SNAP, and to all of us, cannot be contained in a single paragraph.

Barb’s leaving, like the departure of our founders, will cause some uncertainty and unease; feelings that are reasonable and understandable. Our mission remains, our leaders remain, our website remains. We will continue the mission of SNAP and carry forward the pioneering work of Barbara, David and Barb.

While leadership may change, the strength of the organization lies with its’ local leaders, members, and supporters. Barb is leaving leadership, she is not leaving SNAP. There is work to be done and we must focus on the future.

We have added two new Board members, Lisa Kendzior and Paul Petersen who will join Melanie Sakoda, Becky Ianni and myself. We embrace our shared commitment to building SNAP network, helping local SNAP leaders and supporting survivors.

We have a strong foundation for that future with over 25,000 survivors and supporters within the SNAP network. We have thirty-one support groups throughout the United States. Our credibility and integrity has been forged over thirty years which enables us to speak with an authoritative voice. While we may not be the parents of the #MeToo movement, we have been involved and connected in many cases of organizational abuse such as Sandusky, Boy Scouts, schools, sports teams, gymnasts. We are proud of our movement work and being mid-wives to other movements. We are all part of one human rights movement.

We are actively moving forward in expanding our social media presence. Due to the efforts of Melanie Sakoda, we have over 11,000 visitors to our Facebook page every week and almost 4,000 twitter followers. We have hopes to expand social media projects this coming year.

Our summer SNAP Conference in Chicago in July (please attend) continues to gain new speakers and workshops. (Announcements coming soon.) Becky Ianni leads the committee who will guide the work to make the conference a success.

SNAP has established firm financial health; we have a six-month reserve in our budget! Our April Appeal for the Child Abuse Awareness Month was sent out today. Look for it. Lisa Kendzior leads a fundraising committee looking at innovative ways to raise money so that we may expand the work of supporting survivors, protecting children and raising community awareness.

Our local SNAP leaders are now connected by a team collaboration tool, Slack, which enables each leader to contact each other, collaborate in work groups, get resources quickly, easily (photos, graphics, bylaws, etc.). There is a commitment to give SNAP leaders more resources as well as making SNAP leadership more transparent and participatory. In fact, we will be adding more Board members this year.

We have a professional office staff that supports our network of survivors and the backbone of the organization. The Board of Directors of SNAP will provide leadership as we venture forth under new conditions. Please be assured that the SNAP mission has not changed, our local leadership has not changed. We are not a cork in the ocean to be pushed around by outside forces or large institutions.

There is work to be done. We have powerful tools: our peer network of tens of thousands of survivors and the power of truth. We rely on your continued willingness to take up the battle, join arms with fellow ‘Snappers’,’ and fight for our future.

My mantra is this: What happened to me should not happen to another child. Join me in that grand journey forward to change the future.

Warmly,

Tim Lennon
President
SNAP Board of Directors

Tens of thousands of survivors in the SNAP network bid Farwell to Barbara Dorris

Our first contact with Barbara begins with a phone call or greeting. We are met with compassion, understanding and concern. She treated all of us with respect and patience. She helped us make our first steps forward. She saved lives.

Thinking of her brings tears to all of our eyes as we know that without her and the SNAP family, we would be lost in depression, fear, anxiety and nightmares. We know that she accompanied our journey into the light and we knew she was there to accompany us as we journeyed forward.

She was a guide forward for thousands. She stepped forward when necessary, but Barbara was always the engine who stoked the boilers of the SNAP organization. She was the one who made sure survivors were contacted, that the mailings were done. While we can see SNAP as a mighty organization, we also understand that Barbara was shoveling the coal to insure the engine of SNAP continued down the track.

Her compassion and connection to survivors endeared her to all. She listened to horrific stories and provided support. She did not jump to solutions but rather gave each survivor respect by hearing their story. We each have our private memory of Barbara extending her hand in support.

When we were faced with the exit of our founders, Barbara was there to provide a steady hand and confident guidance and stepped into the position of Executive Director. SNAP moved forward with grace during a turbulent time due to her efforts. She stabilized a ship in unsteady seas and brought us to a safe port.

Here we stand, a strong and solid organization with our Captain leaving SNAP. We are all saddened by this turn of events. Our steady hand who has guided us through perilous seas is leaving.

We can mourn her leaving in personal ways because she has touched us all with her gifts. We can mourn her leaving as the director of our organization as she has done a wonderful job in leading our common work.

We shall miss her dearly. We shall miss her compassion. We shall miss her leadership. We shall miss her humor.

We honor Barbara Dorris. She leaves the organization, but she does not leave our hearts.

Board of Directors

Tim Lennon, President

Melanie Jula Sakoda, Secretary

Becky Ianni, Treasurer

Lisa Kendzior, Member

Paul Petersen, Member

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ABILENE (TX)
KTAB/KRBC

April 3, 2018

By Erica Garner

Abilene police are pushing for change after working 36 child abuse cases in one month.

During a press conference to kick-off Child Abuse Awareness Month Tuesday, Chief Stan Standridge announced the “Loose Change for Change” program designed to educate Taylor County 3rd graders and their families on the impact of child abuse while raising money toward prevention efforts in Abilene.

3rd-grade students are asked to bring loose change to school throughout the month of April to put in piggy banks donated to each campus by First Financial Bank.

The campuses from Abilene ISD, Wylie ISD, and Taylor County that raise the most money will be treated to an obstacle course, meal, and other entertainment at PrimeTime on April 20.

Staggering statistics released during the press conference show the dire need for programs like “Loose Change for Change.”

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BOISE (ID)
KTVB

April 4, 2018

Chanting “No excuse for child abuse,” the group marched from the Grove Plaza to the Idaho Statehouse for the Idaho Child Abuse Prevention Rally.

Hundreds of people hit the streets of downtown Boise Wednesday in a stand for children – and against abuse.

Chanting “No excuse for child abuse,” the group marched from the Grove Plaza to the Idaho Statehouse for the Idaho Child Abuse Prevention Rally.

Many of the participants dressed in blue and carried blue pinwheels, which organizers call the symbol of the happy, healthy, carefree childhood that all children deserve.

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HIGHLAND (IN)
NWI Times

April 4, 2018

By Lauren Cross

Lake County Prosecutor Bernard Carter, the Fair Haven rape crisis center, the county’s Sexual Assault Response Team and others on Wednesday announced a series of reforms aimed at ending the local backlog of untested rape kits.

The policy changes were sparked by the results released in December of a state survey of law enforcement agencies and health care providers that found 2,560 completed sexual assault examination kits — that potentially could be used at a criminal trial — were never submitted for laboratory testing.

The survey found nearly 240 rape kits in law enforcement’s possession were never tested in Lake County.

Considered a large undertaking, the county’s Sexual Assault Response Team, or SART, in partnership with Fair Haven committed on Wednesday to testing every non-anonymous rape kit performed on or after Jan. 1, 2008.

Any rape kit performed before that date will be destroyed unless the survivor contacts Fair Haven at 219-218-2552 before Aug. 6 and seeks testing, Carter said.

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LOS ANGELES (CA)
PRNewswire/Citizens Commission on Human Rights International

April 4, 2018

Victims of therapist sexual abuse encouraged to speak out during National Sexual Assault Awareness Month

With studies showing an average of 6 to 10 percent of psychiatrists and psychologists sexually abusing their patients, including children as young as three, Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) is encouraging victims of such abuse to contact it and speak out.[1] Coinciding with April being Sexual Assault Awareness Month, CCHR also launched a petition calling for uniform laws to prosecute sexual harassment and assault of mental health patients, calling the problem catastrophic. The sexual crimes committed by psychiatrists are estimated at 37 times greater than rapes occurring in the general community, one U.S. law firm stated, estimating that about 150,000 female patients have been assaulted.[2]

CCHR, a mental health watchdog, points to studies showing that mental health practitioners abusing their patients are often repeat offenders. A U.S. national survey of therapist-client sex involving minors also revealed one out of 20 clients who had been sexually abused by their therapist was a minor, with girls as young as three and boys as young as seven.[3]

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ALLENTOWN (PA)
The Morning Call

April 4, 2018

By Tim Darragh

A grand jury that has been hearing testimony about sexual abuse by priests in six Catholic dioceses in Pennsylvania, including Scranton, will soon conclude its work and issue a report in the spring, according to two sources.

The grand jury, which was impaneled in 2016, was extended from late 2017 until the end of this month, said state Rep. Mark Rozzi, a Berks County Democrat, who testified before the panel. He said he hopes a report will be forthcoming in May or June.

Rozzi did not disclose the source of his information about the grand jury, which operates in secret. A second source also told The Morning Call the grand jury was reaching the end of its term. Under state code, a grand jury has a term of 18 months that can be extended to 24 months. The source said the grand jury began hearing testimony soon after an earlier grand jury issued a report in March 2016 outlining decades of sexual abuse by priests that went unpunished in the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese.

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APPLETON (WI)
USA Today Network-Wisconsin

April 4, 2018

By Chris Mueller

Kimberly was only 12 years old when she became a victim of sex trafficking.

“I didn’t know that there was help. I didn’t know that there were people who cared,” she told a crowd gathered Wednesday afternoon inside the Outagamie County administration building in downtown Appleton for a Hands Around the Courthouse event.

Kimberly, who is being identified only by her first name to protect her privacy, is originally from a small Wisconsin town of a few hundred people and was victimized by a female neighbor.

She is now 30 years old and described being scared for her life, but also too afraid to try to find help. She said the criminals in these situations don’t stand out in a crowd.

“They could be your neighbor,” she said. “And it’s not only men.”

More than 50 people gathered in the main lobby of the administration building Wednesday. They heard speakers, listened to a choir from Appleton West High School and held hands, spreading out across the lobby and up the stairs as they remembered the pain of those who have suffered at the hands of child abuse. It marked the fourth year of the Hands Around the Courthouse event.

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MEXICO CITY (MEXICO)
Catholic News Service

April 4, 2018

By David Agren

A Mexican diocese has apologized and asked for forgiveness for failing to stop a priest from sexually abusing Catholic school children. At the time, the priest had been banned from his priestly duties in a neighboring archdiocese.

“As a church, we ask for forgiveness from the victims. … We manifest our commitment to always act truthfully and with justice and, as an institution, take preventive measures so that nothing similar ever happens again,” the Diocese of Irapuato, in the western state of Guanajuato, said April 3 in a short statement. “The Diocese of Irapuato expresses its solidarity with the victims and their families and deplores what happened. This atrocious behavior, in which persons are abused, is inadmissible and condemnable.”

On April 2, Fr. Raul Villegas Chavez was sentenced to 90 years in prison — reduced to 60 years, the maximum penalty in Guanajuato — after being convicted on charges of rape, sexual exploitation and the corruption of minors. Five victims — all students at a Catholic school and between the ages 10 and 16, accused him of abuse. Some of the abuse took place in the privacy of confession.

The case made national headlines as Guanajuato, considered one of Mexico’s conservative, Catholic and pious states. Villegas was also well-known: He worked as spokesman for the Archdiocese of Leon and handled media during Pope Benedict XVI’s 2012 trip to the region.

He was removed from any church duties in September 2012 after it was revealed that he had fathered a child. Villegas subsequently surfaced in Irapuato, however, where he celebrated morning Mass at a local parish and started working as a “spiritual adviser” to the school, according to media in the state.

Neither the diocese nor the school, run by the Sisters of the Poor Servants of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, had performed a background check.

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ENGLAND
The Northern Echo

April 4, 2018

By Alexa Copeland

CONCERNS over the way a top Catholic school handled abuse allegations have led to it being stripped of its safeguarding responsibilities.

Lawyer Emma Moody has been appointed by the Charity Commission to take charge of safeguarding at Ampleforth College in in the wake of child abuse scandals.

She will manage the charities that run the college and Ampleforth Abbey, both of which have been under investigation by the Charity Commission since 2016 following reports of abuse.

The Commission’s head of investigations and enforcement, Harvey Grenville, said: “It is of paramount importance that beneficiaries, and others who come into contact with charities, are protected from harm.

“We are not satisfied that the trustees of these charities have made enough progress in improving the safeguarding environment for pupils in the schools connected to the charities.

“For this reason, we have appointed an interim manager to expedite changes in the safeguarding arrangements at the schools.”

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UNITED STATES
Advocate

April 2, 2018

By Tracy E. Gilchrist

It’s April, which means the guy more than a dozen women have accused of sexual harassment and/or abuse and who was also caught on tape bragging about grabbing and kissing women without consent has declared it Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

The revelations about Harvey Weinstein’s serial predations last October ignited a national reckoning around sexual harassment, and any conversation that continues to illuminate the behavior of people who use sex as power over others should be a positive. But based on Donald Trump’s transgressions and his administration’s actions that endanger survivors, it adds insult to injury that Trump — who labeled the accusations against him as “fake news,” essentially calling the women who’ve come forward liars — is the one who’s delivered the Sexual Assault Awareness Month proclamation for the second year in a row. President Barack Obama began delivering the proclamations in 2010.

“Sexual assault crimes remain tragically common in our society, and offenders too often evade accountability. These heinous crimes are committed indiscriminately: in intimate relationships, in public spaces, and in the workplace,” reads Trump’s presidential proclamation, according to CNN. What he failed to mention was his own record with abuse and harassment and his blatant refusal to believe survivors.

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LONG ISLAND (NY)
Newsday

April 2, 2018

By Chau Lam

Laura Ahearn, executive director of Parents for Megan’s Law and The Crime Victims Center, urges community to “become a guardian for children.”

A Ronkonkoma-based nonprofit on Monday announced that the group has launched a free online course that seeks to teach adults how to detect, report and, hopefully, prevent child sexual abuse.

Enrollees will learn tips on how to prevent a sexual assault from taking place and “tricks” sexual predators employ to gain access to children, said Laura Ahearn, executive director of Parents for Megan’s Law and The Crime Victims Center.

“We have to move beyond #MeToo and ask ourselves what can we do, and that’s why we’re here today,” Ahearn said at a news conference at Suffolk County Community College in Brentwood. “You can become a guardian for children.”

The course, about an hour long, was designed by Ahearn, with Suffolk County taxpayer money, she said.

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NEW YORK
Road to Recovery

Road to Recovery Inc. – P.O. Box 279, Livingston, New Jersey 07039 – 862-368-2800

ANOTHER BUFFALO DIOCESAN PRIEST SEXUAL ABUSER TO BE NAMED FOR THE FIRST TIME BY A COURAGEOUS VICTIM

“John Doe,” a courageous childhood clergy sexual abuse victim from the Diocese of Buffalo, New York, will speak for the first time anonymously by telephone about having allegedly been sexually abused as a child by Fr. Joseph P. Rappl

It is alleged that “John Doe” was sexually abused by Fr. Joseph P. Rappl at St. Peter’s Parish, Lewiston, New York in approximately 1981 when “John Doe” was approximately 11 years of age.

What

A press conference by a courageous clergy sexual abuse victim, “John Doe,” who allegedly was sexually abused as a minor child by Rev. Joseph P. Rappl at St. Peter’s Parish, Lewiston, New York in approximately 1981 when “John Doe” was an altar server and parishioner of St. Peter’s Parish in Lewiston, New York.

When

Thursday, April 5, 2018 at 11:15 am

Where

On the public sidewalk in front of St. Louis Church across from the headquarters of the Diocese of Buffalo, New York at 795 Main Street, Buffalo, New York 14203

Who

“John Doe,” who will call into the press conference and discuss the sexual abuse he experienced as a child; and, Robert M. Hoatson, Ph.D., advocate for “John Doe” 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

“John Doe” alleges that he was sexually abused at St. Peter’s Parish in Lewiston, New York when he was approximately 11 years of age by Fr. Joseph P. Rappl who was assigned at that time to St. Peter’s Parish in Lewiston, New York. “John Doe” will speak by telephone to the media about his allegations.

Contacts

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

Attorney Mitchell Garabedian, Boston, MA – 617-523-6250 – mgarabedian@garabedianlaw.com
(portrayed in the 2016 Academy Award-winning Best Picture, “Spotlight”)

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GLENDALE (WI)
TMJ4

April 4, 2018

By Rikki Mitchell

Center wants men to know they are not alone

The Nicolet School District is still looking for potential victims after a former teacher was accused of sexual assault.

While the investigation continues, a local counseling service wants to send a message to male victims: they are not alone.

On March 26, the current school district notified parents and alumni about an investigation into David Johnson, a math teacher at the school from 1958 to 1991.

The investigation began after a student came forward in 2016, claiming Johnson had sexually assaulted him on multiple occasions. A Milwaukee law firm hired to look into the claims found that there may have been another victim.

Two days after the school district released its preliminary findings, police say Johnson was found dead in his Waupaca home of an apparent suicide.

A potential third victim spoke out to TODAY’s TMJ4 on March 30, claiming he was also a victim of Johnson.

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RICHMOND (VA)
VCU Capital News Service

April 4, 2018

By Katrina Tilbury

Virginia is taking a step toward teaching children how to recognize and prevent child abuse, abduction, sexual abuse and sexual exploitation after Gov. Ralph Northam signed a bill to include age-appropriate instruction in those areas in the state’s family life education curriculum.

Current law already requires age-appropriate education on preventing dating violence, domestic abuse, sexual harassment and sexual violence, but child advocates like Patty Hall, the director of community engagement and volunteer services at Hanover Safe Place, have pushed for stronger measures.

“The work that I do with the kids shows that they don’t know often and understand the concept of being able to say no if somebody is touching them or doing something that makes them feel uncomfortable. Whether it is by a family member, or a friend or a dating partner, many of them do not understand these concepts,” said Hall, who does prevention education with children of all ages in Hanover County.

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FRANCE
Christian Today

April 5, 2018

A French cardinal and other senior Catholic Church officials will go on trial accused of covering up sex abuse in what will be France’s highest profile abuse case.

Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, archbishop of Lyon, Archbishop Luis Ladaria Ferrer, head of the Vatican’s powerful doctrine office, and five other Catholic Church officials will appear before a criminal court in Lyon in January next year.

Victims of a paedophile priest, Father Bernard Preynat, say the Catholic leaders knew about Preynat’s past abuses but did not report them to the authorities.

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NEWCASTLE (ENGLAND)
Press Association

April 5, 2018

The funeral of Cardinal Keith O’Brien, formerly the Catholic Church’s most senior cleric in Britain, is being held in Newcastle.

The 80-year-old, who resigned as Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh in 2013 after admitting sexual misconduct, died in hospital last month following a fall.

A requiem mass is taking place at the Church of St Michael in Newcastle, led by Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster.

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FRANCE
La Croix

April 5, 2018

The cardinal and some of the other defendants stand accused of leaving a priest in contact with children, knowing he had a history of sexual assault

A French cardinal and a high-ranking Vatican official are to stand trial for allegedly covering up a child sex abuse scandal in the Archdiocese of Lyon.

Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, archbishop of Lyon, Archbishop Luis Ladaria Ferrer, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and five other Catholic Church officials are to appear in court for allegedly being informed of a priest’s past abuses and not reporting them to authorities.

A Lyon court on April 4 set the date to Jan. 7-9, 2019 for the criminal trial, the most prominent church sex abuse case to date in France, reports the Associated Press.

The case was earlier postponed because Archbishop Ladaria Ferrer’s subpoena and some of the case materials were not translated in due time into Spanish and Italian.

Cardinal Barbarin and some of the other defendants stand accused of leaving the priest in contact with children, knowing he had a history of sexual assault. The priest retired in 2015.

The cardinal has admitted to some “mistakes” in the management and nomination of certain priests but has denied any attempt to cover up the case, the report said.

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PARIS (FRANCE)
The Associated Press

April 4, 2018

By Philippe Sotto

A French court has set a date in early 2019 for the criminal trial of a French cardinal and a high-ranking Vatican prelate suspected of covering up a child sex abuse scandal in the eastern diocese of Lyon.

Victims of a priest who has confessed to preying on them have summoned Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, archbishop of Lyon, Monsignor Luis Ladaria Ferrer, head of a powerful office in the Vatican, and five other Catholic Church officials to appear together in court for allegedly being informed of the priest’s past abuses and not reporting them to authorities.

A Lyon court on Wednesday set the trial to January 7-9. The lawsuit is the most prominent church sex abuse case to date in France.

Barbarin and some of the other defendants will also be tried for leaving the priest in contact with children until he retired in 2015, while knowing he had a history of sexual assaults.

The 67-year-old cardinal, one of the highest-ranking figures in the French Catholic Church, has admitted some “mistakes” in the management and nominations of certain priests but denied any attempt to cover up the case. Pope Francis has lent his support to Barbarin, saying he was a “brave” man.

The seven defendants, including another archbishop and a bishop, would face up to three years in prison and a 45,000-euro ($53,000) fine if found guilty of failing to report the priest’s crimes. The penalty would be increased to up to five years in prison and a 75,000-euro ($88,000) fine for those convicted of failing to assist a person in danger.

The victims, most of them now in their 30s and 40s, have claimed a local priest, Rev. Bernard Preynat, sexually abused them when they were boy scouts aged between 7 and 12 in the Lyon region between 1986 and 1991, well before Barbarin was appointed archbishop of Lyon in 2002.

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FRANCE
La Croix with AFP

April 4, 2018

[Google Translate: The trial of Cardinal Barbarin postponed to January 2019]

Le procès du cardinal Philippe Barbarin, cité à comparaître pour non-dénonciation d’agression sexuelle sur mineurs, est reporté. Il se tiendra du 7 au 9 janvier 2019, a annoncé, mercredi 4 avril, le tribunal de Lyon qui devait initialement juger l’archevêque cette semaine.

La décision a été rendue publique par le tribunal de Lyon mercredi 4 avril 2018 : le procès du cardinal Philippe Barbarin, cité à comparaître pour non-dénonciation d’agression sexuelle sur mineurs, est reporté à janvier 2019.

Des difficultés juridiques, liées à la comparution d’un prélat du Vatican, avaient entraîné le renvoi de ce procès. Initialement prévu du 4 au 6 avril devant le tribunal correctionnel de Lyon, il aura lieu finalement du 7 au 9 janvier 2019. « Une date suffisamment lointaine », selon le président du tribunal, pour permettre aux parties civiles d’effectuer les démarches nécessaires à la comparution du préfet de la congrégation pour la doctrine de la foi au Vatican, Mgr Luis Ladaria Ferrer.

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FRANCE
Le Figaro/AFP

April 4, 2018

[Google Translate: Non-denunciation of sexual assault: the Barbarin trial postponed]

Le procès du cardinal Philippe Barbarin, poursuivi pour ne pas avoir dénoncé à la justice des agressions sexuelles survenues dans son diocèse, se tiendra du 7 au 9 janvier, a annoncé aujourd’hui le tribunal de Lyon qui devait initialement juger l’archevêque cette semaine.

Outre Mgr Barbarin, six prévenus, dont le préfet de la Congrégation pour la doctrine de la foi au Vatican, l’Espagnol Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferrer, doivent comparaître dans le cadre d’une procédure de citation directe lancée par neuf anciens scouts de la région lyonnaise, après que le parquet eut classé sans suite, à l’été 2016, une enquête ouverte sur les mêmes faits.

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ARGENTINA
Entre Rios Ahora

March 15, 2018

[Google Translate: Judgment to Ilarraz: new date and new judges]

El inicio del juicio al cura Justo José Ilarraz, con 7 denuncias por abusos y corrupción de menores, volvió a cambiar de fecha. No pudo ser el 13 de noviembre de 2017 por razones de salud de uno de los jueces que integraba el tribunal, Darío Ernesto Crespo, integrante del Tribunal de Juicio y Apelaciones de Gualeguay; tres días antes del inicio de los debates, se anunció el cambio de fecha, y se programaron las audiencias para el período de 9 al 27 de abril de 2018.

Pero la Oficina de Gestión de Audiencias (OGA) del Poder Judicial volvió a aplicar modificaciones a aquel calendario inicialmente previsto para el inicio del juicio al cura Ilarraz, que entre 1985 y 1993 fue prefecto de disciplina del Seminario Arquidiocesano Nuestra Señora del Cenáculo donde abusó, según la tesis de la acusación, a adolescentes que cursaban la secundaria como pupilos y estaban bajo su cuidado. La Iglesia le hizo un juicio sumarísimo en 1995, lo encontró culpable y lo mandó al destierro, pero esas actuaciones luego se guardaron en el archivo secreto de la curia de Paraná, y no se puso al corriente a la Justicia.

La causa penal se abrió de oficio en septiembre de 2012, luego de la publicación del caso en la revista “Análisis”. Seis años después del comienzo de la instrucción penal, Ilarraz irá a juicio, y según el nuevo esquema de fechas difundido por el Poder Judicial, las audiencias comenzarán el lunes 16 de abril y se extenderán hasta el viernes 4 de mayo. De acuerdo al nuevo cronograma de audiencias, el juicio al sacerdote, que en 2004 fue incardinado en la diócesis de Conepción, Tucumán, pero que está suspendido en el ejercicio del sacerdocio desde hace seis años, se harán los días 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 23, 24, 25, 26 y 27 de abril, y los días 2, 3 y 4 de mayo.

Previamente, las audiencias habían sido fijadas según el siguiente esquema: del 9 al 13 de abril; del 16 al 20 de abril; y del 23 al 27 de abril de 2018.

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ARGENTINA
Analisis Digital

March 16, 2018

[Google Translate: Changed the trial date to Ilarraz again and will have a new Court]

Segunda postergación

El inicio del juicio al cura Justo José Ilarraz, con 7 denuncias por abusos y corrupción de menores, volvió a cambiar de fecha. No pudo ser el 13 de noviembre de 2017 por razones de salud de uno de los jueces que integraba el tribunal, Darío Ernesto Crespo, integrante del Tribunal de Juicio y Apelaciones de Gualeguay; tres días antes del inicio de los debates, se anunció el cambio de fecha, y se programaron las audiencias para el período de 9 al 27 de abril de 2018. Ahora, el juicio por la causa iniciada tras una denuncia de la revista ANALISIS se extenderá del 16 de abril al 4 de mayo. Además, se conformó un nuevo tribunal.

Pero la Oficina de Gestión de Audiencias (OGA) del Poder Judicial volvió a aplicar modificaciones a aquel calendario inicialmente previsto para el inicio del juicio al cura Ilarraz, que entre 1985 y 1993 fue prefecto de disciplina del Seminario Arquidiocesano Nuestra Señora del Cenáculo donde abusó, según la tesis de la acusación, a adolescentes que cursaban la secundaria como pupilos y estaban bajo su cuidado. La Iglesia le hizo un juicio sumarísimo en 1995, lo encontró culpable y lo mandó al destierro, pero esas actuaciones luego se guardaron en el archivo secreto de la curia de Paraná, y no se puso al corriente a la Justicia.

La causa penal se abrió de oficio en septiembre de 2012, luego de la publicación del caso en la revista ANALISIS. Seis años después del comienzo de la instrucción penal, Ilarraz irá a juicio, y según el nuevo esquema de fechas difundido por el Poder Judicial, las audiencias comenzarán el lunes 16 de abril y se extenderán hasta el viernes 4 de mayo. De acuerdo al nuevo cronograma de audiencias, el juicio al sacerdote, que en 2004 fue incardinado en la diócesis de Concepción, Tucumán, pero que está suspendido en el ejercicio del sacerdocio desde hace seis años, se harán los días 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 23, 24, 25, 26 y 27 de abril, y los días 2, 3 y 4 de mayo.

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MARQUETTE (MI)
WLUC

April 3, 2018

Father Frank M. Lenz, a senior (retired) priest of the Diocese of Marquette, who was recently placed on administrative leave after an allegation of sexual misconduct, has released a full statement to TV6 & FOX UP regarding the allegations. His statement is as follows:

“These charges come as a complete surprise to me. I was just told of them Monday (April 2) after Easter. Apparently the woman came to the Bishop’s offices on Good Friday and accused me of terrible abuse committed against her about 45 years ago, while I was a young priest at St. Peter cathedral, and she was about 8 or 10 years old. I was told her name, both her maiden name and her married name, but I do not know who she is. Her accusations are horrible; I wish you had a copy of them. I was not allowed to have a copy of them, but I deny all her charges entirely and absolutely.”

“None of it is a matter of interpretation or definition or misunderstanding; everything she accuses me of is false. I have been a priest in good standing in the U.P. for almost 49 years, and in all that time there has never been one, single charge of sexual misconduct against me involving any man, woman or child in all the parishes I have ever been in. I have been removed from all priestly functions, and have been barred from referring to myself in any way as a priest, or from performing any priestly duties in public. That breaks my heart.”

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NUECES COUNTY (TX)
Corpus Christi Caller-Times

April 2, 2018

By Eleanor Dearman

As Child Abuse Prevention Month kicked off, Nueces County on Monday honored children who were killed by their abusers in fiscal year 2017 by placing a blue pinwheel for each child on the county courthouse grounds.

Four of the pinwheels represented Nueces County children.

If one suspects a child is the victim of abuse, it’s important to report it, representatives with the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services said Monday.

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GUAM
Pacific Daily News

April 4, 2018

By Haidee V. Eugenio

Former priest Andrew San Agustin said he’s not seeking $5 million in filing a counter-claim, but primarily wanted to deny a woman’s allegation he sexually abused her when she was a child.

San Agustin, who is representing himself in a clergy sex abuse lawsuit, also asked the federal court to consider providing him with free legal assistance as the case moves on because he’s financially challenged.

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MARQUETTE (MI)
The Daily News

April 3, 2018

By Christie Bleck

The Rev. Frank M. Lenz, a senior, or retired, Diocese of Marquette priest, has been placed on administrative leave effective immediately, the diocese announced Monday.

The action was taken as the result of what it called a recently made credible allegation of sexual misconduct with a minor dating back to the 1970s. Lenz has denied the allegation.

In accordance with diocesan policy, the allegation has been reported to the Marquette County Prosecutor’s Office.

The diocese also has extended an offer of pastoral care to the person making the allegation.

Lenz has been removed from all public ministry duties and prohibited from presenting himself as a priest in accordance with the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.

The diocese pointed out that this is not a final determination of guilt. Administrative leave is a precautionary measure while a credible allegation is being investigated. The diocese will announce any change in the status of these priests, according to its website at dioceseofmarquette.org/statusreport.

Bishop John Doerfler said in a prepared statement: “On behalf of the Catholic Church, I offer a sincere apology to all victims of clergy abuse. There is no excuse for what happened to you. You are in my thoughts and prayers, and I am willing to journey with you to find Christ’s peace and healing.”

In a Monday interview with The Mining Journal, Lenz maintained his innocence “without reservation.”

“I completely deny the accusations that this woman has made against me,” said Lenz, who also expressed sympathy for the victim.

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MARQUETTE (MI)
Michigan Radio

April 3, 2018

By Tyler Scott

A Catholic priest in the Marquette diocese is on administrative leave after a recent allegation of sexual misconduct.

The diocese says Father Frank M. Lenz has been removed from public ministry as a precautionary measure while the allegation is investigated. The diocese says the complaint was reported to the Marquette County Prosecutor’s office, which did not immediately return a request for comment.

A diocese press release calls the allegation a “credible complaint” alleging sexual misconduct by Lenz with a minor dating back to the 1970s. Lenz denies the allegation.

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SAGINAW (MI)
WSGW

April 4, 2018

By John Hall

The Catholic Diocese of Saginaw has cancelled the upcoming Bishop’s Ball scheduled for April 27th along with the MY Faith youth event planned for Saginaw Valley State University.

Diocesan officials cited the heartache felt by many Catholics in the community regarding the on-going sexual misconduct investigation involving local priests, saying holding those events at this time would not be appropriate.

Event sponsors for the Bishop’s Ball plus ticket purchasers will receive a full refund.

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AUSTRALIA
The World Today

April 3, 2018

By Thomas Oriti

The World Today speaks to Peter Gogarty was abused by a Catholic priest in New South Wales when he was a child, and he’s become an advocate for survivors.

He has strong views about the seal of confession, and made his feelings clear to the State Government in the lead-up to today’s announcement.

He says it should be a criminal offence to do nothing if you suspect a child is being abused no matter what, and that the new proposed legislation goes a long way, but not far enough.

Duration: 3min 53sec
Broadcast: Tue 3 Apr 2018

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CYPRUS
Cyprus Mail

April 4, 2018

By Andria Kades

The priest who sexually harassed Elena Frantzi when she was his foster daughter is expected to be defrocked in two weeks by the Holy Synod, it emerged on Wednesday.

According to reports, the Holy Synod will convene on April 19 and the decision will move towards defrocking Father Stylianos who served 18 months in prison for sexually harassing Frantzi, 29, when she was under his wing between the age of four to 10.

Frantzi took her own life in her Nicosia home last month. The news of her death and that the priest had been reinstated after his release despite the sentence and nature of the offences he committed caused public outrage.

The Holy Synod is also expected to defrock another priest from Paphos for having an extramarital affair.

Father Stylianos had been the local priest at Ergates village before he went to jail. His first posting after his release was a convent.

Meanwhile, friends and family of Frantzi, announced on Wednesday they were seeking to create a foundation supporting abuse victims.

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SAGINAW TWP (MI)
MLive

April 3, 2018

By Michael Kransz

The Catholic Diocese of Saginaw has canceled the 2018 Bishop’s Ball fundraising event due to the ongoing investigation into sexual abuse by priests.

“A celebration during this time would not be in keeping with the heartache felt in the local church community,” the diocese said in a statement.

Ticket purchases and event sponsors for the 12th annual Bishop’s Ball will be refunded, according to the diocese statement. Dinner tickets for the April 27 event were $100 each.

Those set to receive awards at the event will receive them at a later time.

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CHICAGO (IL)
Church Militant

April 2, 2018

By Alexander Slavsky

Comes after removal of Fr. Frank Phillips as pastor of St. John Cantius Parish

A group of friends is uniting behind a Chicago priest accused of “improper conduct” with men.

Protect Our Priests announced Wednesday in a press release the set-up of a non-profit corporation to assist Fr. Frank Phillips with the legal costs of a canon lawyer, a civil lawyer and associated costs following his removal as pastor of St. John Cantius Church in Chicago and superior of the Canons Regular of Saint John Cantius.

“There is significance in the fact that we have launched Protect Our Priests during Holy Week,” said co-founder Frank Williams. “We intend to walk with Fr. Frank every step of the way. Our faith guides us and our prayers sustain us. We know from everything that Father has taught us that ‘Love does not rejoice in evil but rejoices with the Truth.'”

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DURBAN (SOUTH AFRICA)
The Mercury

April 4, 2018

By Sibongile Mashaba

The Anglican Church of Southern Africa will formulate a “clearer” policy as a major step towards dealing with cases of abuse.
Archbishop Thabo Makgoba told the congregation in his Easter message in Cape Town at the weekend that he could not judge the government and fail to look into allegations of sexual misconduct in the church.

He said he was consulting widely.

“This week I had a very productive meeting with the church’s legal advisers. Arising from that, our Canon Law Council will meet representatives of the safe church network this month to formulate clearer policy, so that we have in place a system that is both effective and is seen to be effective for both survivors and alleged perpetrators,” Makgoba said.

“One matter I raised was to offer formal church support for efforts to change the law to ensure old cases can be dealt with in secular courts.”

In January, two women staged a protest at the Pretoria City Mission Methodist Church over sexual abuse claims, disrupting a church service.

Over the past few weeks, several people have spoken out, alleging that they had been abused.

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EAST HAMPTON (NY)
The Independent

April 3, 2018

By Rick Murphy

PEDOPHILE PRIESTS WERE COMMON ON THE EAST END.

The pedophile priest scandal in Boston, a story told in the Oscar nominated movie Spotlight, earned the Boston Globe a Pulitzer Prize in 2003 for breaking the news.

But pedophile priests were commonplace decades earlier on the East End, a story that has, for the most part, gone untold. As reported last week exclusively in The Independent — this newspaper has followed the story since 2003 —the Diocese Of Rockville Centre often sent priests accused of inappropriate behavior to eastern Long Island, believing they would blend in better in the sparsely-populated communities here.

According to BishopAccountability.org, published reports, minutes from a Suffolk County Grand Jury investigation, and court documents, the diocese routinely reassigned accused or suspected pedophiles to churches on the East End dating back to the 1960s.

These priests served in East Hampton, Amagansett, Cutchogue, Mattituck, Sag Harbor, Water Mill, Riverhead, Southold, and Manorville.

Rather than turn pedophile priests over to authorities, the diocese discouraged the victims and their parents from filing charges, a world-wide practice the church followed for decades.

According to the grand jury report filed in 2003, “Bishop William Murphy aided and abetted the concealment of criminal conduct of defendant individual priests by failing and refusing to report sexual abuse allegations by said priests to civil authorities, which caused, allowed, and permitted additional children to be molested by predatory priests.”

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LANSING (MI)
Lansing State Journal

April 4, 2018

By Matt Mencarini

Three former MSU football players accused of sexually assaulting a female student during a party pleaded guilty to lesser charges of seduction as part of an agreement with prosecutors.

Josh King, Donnie Corley and Demetric Vance each faced sexual assault charges stemming from an incident during a party at a campus apartment in January 2017. They were charged in June and dismissed from the football team.

The agreement, made public in a hearing before Ingham County Circuit Judge Rosemarie Aquilina this morning, calls for all three to have no up-front jail time.

Their court records also would become non-public under a Michigan law that allows judges to close the records of young offenders as long as they meet the terms of their agreement and do not commit any future offenses. Aquilina said during the hearing that she was granting Holmes Youthful Trainee status to all three.

They can withdraw their guilty pleas if Aquilina includes jail time in their sentences, which are scheduled to be set in a hearing at 8:30 a.m. on June 6.

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CROATIA
Total Croatia News

April 3, 2018

By Vedran Pavlic

The police are investigating.

The Catholic Church in Croatia has been hit by the latest paedophilia scandal, reports Index.hr on April 3, 2018.

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LACKAWANNA COUNTY (PA)
Daily Beast

April 3, 2018

By Olivia Messer

This is the third lawsuit and the fourth plaintiff in Lackawanna County’s prison sexual-assault scandal, involving at least 16 female victims and 10 alleged perpetrators.

A former inmate has filed suit against Pennsylvania’s Lackawanna County over its prison facility’s “unending sexual harassment and sexual assault of female inmates,” claiming the “highest-ranking officials” were aware of the scope of the abuse.

This is the third federal lawsuit and the fourth plaintiff in the county’s prison sexual-assault scandal, which has involved more than 16 victims and at least 10 alleged perpetrators who worked as corrections officers and prison employees.

Seven current and former guards were charged Feb. 14 following a grand jury investigation into reports of sexual assaults at the prison. The indictment claimed the culture of fear and abuse of power—for the guards’ sexual gratification—was going on for more than a decade.

Administrators, corrections staff, and the prison board “utterly ignored their responsibility to prevent the systematic” assaults by engaging in a culture of “silence, cover-up, and retaliation,” according to the new complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

Josh Shapiro, the state’s attorney general, said in February that the guards forced inmates into sexual acts in cells and utility closets, The New York Times reported. Shapiro’s office had been conducting an investigation into the abuse for the better part of a year, which culminated in the statewide grand jury.

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LONDON (ENGLAND)
Express

April 2, 2018

By Peter Saunders, National Association of People Abused in Childhood

THERE are many myths around this sordid subject of child abuse. One is that women are not perpetrators.

Let’s nail that lie. I offer Myra Hindley, Rose West and the many men I have spoken to over the years who have suffered abuse at the hands of women. And that includes abuse by nuns.

Many people, victims of these crimes, find it very difficult to talk about it.

Men find it particularly difficult to talk about abuse at the hands of a woman.

As a member of the victims and survivors consultative panel to the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse and as a Roman Catholic, I am appalled at the response of the institutional church to these dreadful crimes.

Like most church organisations there is a lot of talk of remorse and action but there is little evidence of the latter.

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INDIA
The Shillong Times

April 4, 2018

By Benjamin Mylliem

I would like to raise a few thoughts regarding the accountability and transparency in the Catholic Church. This in no way reflects the Church as a whole but rather the Church in Jaintia Hills and I will cite what is happening in Jowai Parish which is the cathedral parish of the Jowai Diocese in order to put forward my thoughts. To put things in perspective let me first explain everything in brief. In Jowai parish there are many villages and the church in these villages are known as “balang shnong” e.g. Mihmyntdu, Sohmynting, etc and Jowai town is just a ‘Balang Shnong’ within the Jowai Parish. In each Balang Shnong there is what is called a “Committee Balang” (church Committee) which looks after the spiritual and temporal welfare of the church in that particular village only. All these Committees work under the guidance of the Parish Pastoral Council. The works of these Committees mostly are to choose workers like Rangbah Balang, Bei Balang (male and female leaders of the church), make liturgical programs, take care of the temporal goods of the church, etc. Jowai town also has a Committee Balang and since this article is about accountability and transparency, I will point out its handling of the temporal goods of the church only.

The Committee Balang Jowai was formed with the authority of the parish priest and after years of functioning it has then been able to work in ways as laid down by the Church in the Code of Canon Law. For example, it use to have a budget session every year (can. 1284 §3). After proper audit is done, it gives accounts to the faithful regarding the goods offered by the lay faithful (can. 1287 §2). In this way it has been able to save funds which sustain the needs of the Balang Jowai. But when the present parish priest came in 2015, he surprisingly dissolved this Committee Balang of Jowai without having a proper discussion with the office bearers of the Committee. He convened a meeting with some of the faithful of Jowai town and in that meeting they decided to dissolve the Committee Balang Jowai and later on the April 2, 2016 he wrote a letter to the General Secretary of the Committee telling him that the Committee has been dissolved and that the amount 46 lakh which the Committee had is to be returned to the parish for church construction!

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IRELAND
Irish Examiner

April 3, 2018

By Fr. Brendan Hoban

The world has rapidly changed, and we have refused to change with it, writes Fr Brendan Hoban.

ON Good Friday, droves of people attended church services to honour the sufferings and death of Jesus Christ. Good Friday, like Christmas night, still resonates with most people and recognising its significance, despite the decline in practice in the main churches, is still a compelling impulse in Irish people.

This year, too, on the first Good Friday for decades, pubs opened to allow people to enjoy the Easter bank holiday weekend — a very different, but still compelling impulse in the Irish character.

The contrast between the two worlds — devoted Christians for whom Good Friday is a sacred day and revellers enjoying the holiday weekend — couldn’t be more marked, even though many are happily part of both worlds. But lifting the ban on pubs opening on Good Friday is another marker in the definitive shift of religion to the margins of Irish society.

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LANSING (MI)
Insurance Journal

April 3, 2018

A Michigan priest accused of embezzling more than $5 million now faces a civil lawsuit filed by the insurance company for the Catholic Diocese of Lansing.

Rev. Jonathan Wehrle is charged with six counts of embezzling $100,000 or more from St. Martha Church in Okemos, east of Lansing. The charges allege Wehrle used the money to pay for home construction, maintenance and other personal purchases.

The Lansing State Journal reports that a judge approved the Princeton Excess and Surplus Lines Insurance Corp.’s request to place Wehrle’s more than $1 million estate into receivership. The insurance provider says it’s paid out about $2.5 million to the diocese to cover its losses so far.

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CHILE
The Clinic

April 2, 2018

By Claudio Pizarro y Jonás Romero

Durante la última visita papal, en enero de este año, Jorge Bergoglio no sólo ofició misas y compartió con jóvenes católicos. También, tuvo tiempo para reunirse con el recién fallecido hermano marista Mariano Varona, quien ya había confesado el haber estado en conocimiento de los abusos sexuales ocurridos con pupilos de la congregación. “Esta es la verdadera cara de Bergoglio, la verdadera cara del Papa”, argumenta uno de los denunciantes maristas. Ahora, es turno del Vaticano de explicar el polémico encuentro en dependencias de la Nunciatura de Santiago.

No se sabe la hora exacta del encuentro, pero la evidencia es categórica: Mariano Varona, fallecido el pasado fin de semana y principal encubridor en el caso de abusos sexuales contra menores al interior de la congregación Marista, se reunió con el Papa Francisco durante la visita que éste realizó a Chile. En la foto, a la accedió The Clinic de manera exclusiva, se aprecia un apretón de manos entre el sumo pontífice y quien fuera el encargado de la prevención de abusos sexuales en la orden. Al fondo, apreciando la escena, aparece el Nuncio Apostólico Ivo Scapolo, máxima autoridad vaticana en Chile.

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BALTIMORE (MD)
The Baltimore Sun

April 3, 2018

By Alison Knezevich

Two families and an activist who were sued for alleged defamation by a former Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community School teacher have filed a motion to dismiss the claims, saying the lawsuit was filed in the wrong court.

In January, Rabbi Steven Krawatsky and his wife, Shira, filed a lawsuit in the northern division of the U.S. District Court of Maryland in Baltimore, claiming the defendants had engaged in an effort to “destroy his reputation and ability to earn a living.”

Their lawsuit named as defendants two couples who accused Steven Krawatsky of abusing their children, as well as Chaim Levin, an advocate for victims of abuse.

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GUANAJUATO (MEXICO)
Mexico News Daily

April 3, 2018

[Note: See also the El Universal article: http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/estados/condenan-90-anos-cura-por-abusar-de-dos-ninas [Spanish]

The five victims were students aged 10-16 at a private school in Guanajuato

A Catholic priest was sentenced yesterday to 90 years in jail for aggravated rape, sexual harassment, sexual abuse, sexual exploitation and corruption of minors.

Jorge Raúl Villegas Chávez, 50, the confessor and spiritual guide for the students of an all-girls’ private school in Guanajuato, was arrested in February last year after two mothers filed criminal complaints, charging him of abusing their two daughters, both under 14.

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MARQUETTE (MI)
Daily Press

April 3, 2018

Father Frank M. Lenz, a retired priest of the Diocese of Marquette, has been placed on administrative leave effective immediately, diocese officials announced Monday. The action was taken as the result of a recently-made credible allegation of alleged sexual misconduct with a minor dating back to the 1970s, according to the diocese. Lenz has denied the allegation.

In accord with diocesan policy, the allegation has been reported to the Marquette County prosecutor.

The diocese has extended an offer of pastoral care to the person bringing the allegation, diocese officials stated in a press release.

Lenz has been removed from all public priestly ministry and prohibited from presenting himself as a priest in accordance with the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.

“It should be noted that this is not a final determination of guilt. Administrative leave is a precautionary measure while a credible allegation is being investigated,” diocese officials said.

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MESQUITE (TX)
Dallas News

April 3, 2018

By Tom Steele

Updated at 12:40 p.m.: Revised to reflect Robert Ross’ bail.

The pastor of a conservative Mesquite Baptist church where a father and son have been charged with sexually assaulting girls has been arrested on a charge of failing to report child abuse.

Robert Arnold Ross, 70, was booked into the Mesquite jail Tuesday morning on one count of knowingly failing to make a required child abuse report. His bail was set at $2,500.

In recent weeks, 33-year-old Steven Aaron Winn and 65-year-old Larry Allen Winn were arrested on charges of sexually assaulting children.

The younger Winn, a volunteer assistant youth pastor at the church on South Belt Line Road, was taken into custody Feb. 22. Mesquite police had learned several days earlier about allegations that he had a sexual relationship with a female student at the church’s Christian academy for more than a year, starting when the girl was 15.

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MESQUITE (TX)
Star-Telegram

April 3, 2018

By Sarah Smith

The pastor of a fundamentalist Baptist church with two members already facing sex abuse charges was arrested Tuesday on charges that he failed to make a required child abuse report.

Robert A. Ross, the pastor of Open Door Baptist Church in Mesquite, is in the Mesquite jail. Bond has been set at $2,500. The police have not yet responded to a request for comment.

Open Door Baptist Church in Mesquite has had four members accused of sexual abuse in its 50-year history. Members and ex-members say a strict culture that reveres church authorities as nearly unquestionable has led to an environment conducive to ongoing abuse.

A tipster reported the most recent allegations to Mesquite police in late February. They involved a father-son pair described as belonging to a family deeply involved in the church.

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PITTSBURGH (PA)
NEXT Wave

April 2, 2018

By Emily Stimmel

Awareness is great. But Pittsburgh’s men are being challenged to step up in a new way in the fight against domestic violence and sexual assault through a new TV campaign by the Center for Victims.

With awareness of sexual violence and “toxic masculinity” on the rise thanks to social media campaigns like the #MeToo movement, the agency is kicking off Sexual Assault Awareness Month with a new public service announcement, which will air throughout April on local TV stations.

We know that one in three women worldwide has been abused or coerced into sex. And yet domestic violence, sexual assault and rape have been deemed “women’s issues” and relegated to the background for generations.

Since launching its MEN Challenge in 2014, the Center for Victims has worked to spread the message that everyone has a responsibility to end violence against women and girls. Over the past four years, the initiative — featuring high-profile figures like Dwayne Woodruff and Art Rooney, II in its first commercial — has grown to include more than 300 men who have committed to doing their part.

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SAGINAW TWP (MI)
MLive

April 3, 2018

By Michael Kransz

A Saginaw Diocese teacher is no longer employed at his high school and officials are assuring parents it’s not related to the ongoing investigation into sexual abuse by priests.

School officials announced this week that Dave Valasek, a baseball coach and band teacher at Nouvel Catholic Central High School, is no longer employed due to a “personnel matter,” according to a letter sent out to parents Wednesday, March 28.

“Please be assured that this matter does not involve Mr. Valasek’s relationships with students and is wholly unrelated to the recent issues involving the Saginaw Diocese,” the letter from Mark Frost, the high school’s principal, read.

The letter did not say whether Valasek was fired or resigned.

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BATON ROUGE (LA)
The Advocate

April 3, 2018

By Andrea Gallo

After domestic violence deaths plagued Baton Rouge last year and as sexual assault survivors come forward en masse as part of a national #MeToo movement, Baton Rouge leaders are inviting survivors to openly tell their stories later this month.

April is sexual assault awareness month. Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome, the Sexual Trauma Awareness and Response organization and members of a local women’s advancement commission announced Tuesday that they are ramping up a “start by believing” campaign.

They expect to host five listening sessions later this month and next month with survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence who openly tell their stories in a public forum. Racheal Hebert, president and CEO of STAR, said each survivor’s story should help to pinpoint and fix flaws in the health care, law enforcement and educational fields.

“Our message to survivors is clear: what happened to you is not your fault and we believe you,” Hebert said Tuesday.

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ENGLAND
Express

April 3, 2018

By John Twomey

The case of the grandfather is the latest in a series of scandals involving historic sex abuse and the clergy.

These include: – Peter Ball, former Bishop of Gloucester, who abused vulnerable young men after they came to him for spiritual guidance.

Ball, 85, was jailed for 32 months at the Old Bailey in 2015 for a series of sex crimes while he was Bishop of Lewes from 1977 to 1991.

He was under suspicion for years but was allowed give up his ministry and retire after accepting a police caution for gross indecency in 1993.

A damning inquiry into the Church of England’s handling of the case revealed a series of shocking failures.

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MARQUETTE (MI)
WLUC

April 2, 2018

Father Frank M. Lenz, a senior (retired) priest of the Diocese of Marquette, has been placed on administrative leave effective immediately. This action was taken as the result of a recently-made credible allegation of sexual misconduct with a minor dating back to the 1970s. Father Lenz has denied the allegation.

In accord with diocesan policy, the allegation has been reported to the Marquette County Prosecutor.

The diocese has extended an offer of pastoral care to the person bringing the allegation.

Father Lenz has been removed from all public priestly ministry and prohibited from presenting himself as a priest in accordance with the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People. It should be noted that this is not a final determination of guilt. Administrative leave is a precautionary measure while a credible allegation is being investigated.

Bishop Doerfler said, “On behalf of the Catholic Church, I offer a sincere apology to all victims of clergy abuse. There is no excuse for what happened to you. You are in my thoughts and prayers, and I am willing to journey with you to find Christ’s peace and healing.”

Anyone who may have suffered sexual misconduct by clergy, a church worker or volunteer is encouraged by Bishop Doerfler to come forward to receive pastoral care leading toward healing.

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MARQUETTE (MI)
9 & 10 News

April 2, 2018

By Alice Shea

An Upper Peninsula priest is under investigation amid allegations of sexual misconduct nearly 50 years ago.

Father Frank Lenz, a retired priest with the Diocese of Marquette, has been placed on administrative leave after a report was filed with the diocese accusing Lenz of sexual misconduct with a minor dating back to the 1970s.

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KANSAS CITY (MO)
National Catholic Reporter

April 3, 2018

By Marianne Duddy-Burke, Kate McElwee, and Mary E. Hunt

As Catholic feminists and leaders of organizations committed to justice for women within our church as well as throughout society, we have followed Voices of Faith’s efforts to crack open the Vatican walls by sponsoring an annual forum about women inside one of the last remaining bastions of male domination in the western world.

Since 2014, Voices of Faith has marked International Women’s Day (March 8) with an event that examines how the intersection of Catholic doctrine and practice impacts women globally. This year, the Vatican denied the women the use of a hall inside its walls due to Voices of Faith’s selection of speakers, including former Irish President Mary McAleese and Ugandan lesbian activist Ssenfuka Joanita Warry. Voices of Faith held its forum a short distance away at the Jesuit Aula.

We applaud the decision to stick with speakers who would address issues in a way that challenged Vatican authority, instead of replacing them with more “acceptable” individuals in order to be inside the walls. It is a sign of growth and integrity for Voices of Faith and a signal that our movements will not be dismissed or stopped.

Within the Aula, it was clear that both the location and the discourse shifted from previous programs. The opening video, which challenged the Vatican to catch up with the global empowerment of women, began the bold and direct challenges to the institutional church that characterized this fifth annual meeting.

The room was remarkably quiet as Mary McAleese delivered her keynote address. She is a brilliant and passionate critic with the political experience, canon law credentials, Irish wit, experience as the mother of a gay child and fire in the belly to tell it like it is in a memorable speech for the ages. Her own bishop, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin, called it “brutally stark” and said that he must “accept the challenge with the humility of one who recognises her alienation.”

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ROME
National Catholic Reporter

April 3, 2018

By Joshua J. McElwee

A Vatican tribunal’s guilty verdict last month against a Guam archbishop, hailed by some as the first instance of the Catholic Church successfully prosecuting a bishop accused of abusing minors, appears likely not to have been made in direct relation to allegations of sexual abuse by the prelate.

A number of prominent canon lawyers say the punishment announced for Agana Archbishop Anthony Apuron — removal from office and a prohibition from living on the U.S. island territory — simply seems too lax to indicate the bishop was found guilty of abuse.

The canonists, speaking in interviews since the March 16 announcement of the verdict from a five-judge apostolic tribunal of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, said the expected punishment for sexual abuse of a minor would usually be laicization, known formally as dismissal from the clerical state.

“It must be that he wasn’t found directly guilty of sexual abuse,” said Oblate Fr. Francis Morrisey, a former president of the Canadian Canon Law Society who has advised numerous Vatican offices and local bishops’ conferences. “Otherwise, I think he would have been dismissed from the clerical state.”

Msgr. Frederick Easton, a former president of the U.S. Canon Law Society, said the punishment for Apuron did not appear proportional to a finding of guilt in regards to sexual abuse.

“One would have thought … if the bishop were found guilty of sexual abuse of minors, that could easily be a reason for dismissal from the clerical state for him,” said Easton, who also served for 31 years as the judicial vicar for the Indianapolis archdiocese.

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SEABROOK (NH)
WMUR

April 2, 2018

By Jennifer Crompton

Police say charges involve incidents from 2004

A Seabrook man is being held without bail after he was accused of raping a child while he was serving as a pastor in the Methodist Church.

Russell Davis, 65, faces several charges in Massachusetts. Seabrook police said they arrested Davis Thursday on a fugitive from justice warrant. The Essex County District Attorney’s Office said he is being held without bail because he is still employed in the ministry and has access to children.

Davis pleaded not guilty in Newburyport District Court to charges out of Rowley, Massachusetts, of rape of a child with force and indecent assault and battery on a person 14 or over, and a charge of rape from Newbury, Massachusetts.

Prosecutors said the allegations involve the same victim and incidents that occurred in April 2004.

According to the New England Conference of the United Methodist Church, Davis was a licensed Methodist minister from 1999 to 2015. His first assignment was in Warren, New Hampshire.

Davis moved among several churches in Maine and Massachusetts after that until his license was discontinued in 2015. A spokesperson for the church would not say why his license was discontinued but said it was not related to sexual misconduct.

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SALT LAKE CITY (UT)
The Daily Utah Chronicle

April 2, 2018

By Morgan Barron

Last fall, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints unveiled 16 standardized interview questions for young adults interested in serving as missionaries for their church. These questions, designed to determine if candidates are prepared physically, mentally, socially and spiritually to represent the LDS church, range from the applicant’s belief in Jesus Christ to their financial situation. As bishops, local lay leaders who conduct these interviews, previously only received general guidelines about what to ask potential missionaries, these questions garnered some media attention. Question eight, “Have you ever sexually abused a child in any way, regardless of whether or not you were charged, you were convicted, or the record was expunged?” appeared in The Salt Lake Tribune where LDS columnist Robert Kirby wrote, “This is an excellent question to put to a prospective representative of Jesus Christ … However, an excellent follow-up question here would be, “Have you ever been sexually abused… in any way, regardless of whether or not the perpetrator was a church leader?” With the disturbing revelation of sexual abuse within the LDS Church earlier this month, the most important question members need to be asking is how predators who utilize their positions of power within the church to prey on victims are held accountable in our community.

In 2002, The Boston Globe broke the story of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church, focusing in on former priest John J. Geoghan and how cardinals, aware of the sexual misconduct, habitually reassigned Geoghan to protect him and the church from scandal. In their zeal to preserve the reputation of the church and Geoghan, the archdioceses failed to protect Geoghan’s victims, boys as young as four years old. Richard Sipe, a former priest and psychotherapist who was quoted in the article, has long believed the Catholic Church has been too slow when dealing with priests who molest children. According to him, “the church defied its own most basic values of protecting the young and fostering celibacy.”

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ENGLAND
Mirror

April 3, 2018

By Jamie Bullen

Edward Hayes told how he was abused for almost three years at the former John Reynolds Home, which culminated in a nun who allegedly raped him falling pregnant

A man claims he was raped by a nun when he was 12 and later went on to father her baby after he became a victim of horrific sexual abuse at a Catholic home.

Edward Hayes told how he was abused for almost three years at the former John Reynolds Home in Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, in the 1950s.

The home was run by The Franciscan Missionaries of St Joseph – a Catholic congregation of nuns – which has apologised for Edward’s treatment.

Edward, now 76, waived his right to anonymity to lift the lid on the horrific sexual abuse he suffered to encourage fellow survivors to speak out.

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SALT LAKE CITY (UT)
The Associated Press

April 2, 2018

By Brady McCombs

The Mormon church faced more criticism Monday about its approach to sexual abuse after a top leader praised the #MeToo movement but referred to sexual misconduct as “non-consensual immorality,” a remark that some say could be interpreted as victim blaming.

Quentin L. Cook, a member of a top church governing body, made the comment this weekend in the only mention of the topic during a two-day Mormon conference despite the church facing heavy scrutiny over accusations that a former prominent missionary leader sexually assaulted two women in the 1980s.

Cook was giving a speech about righteousness Sunday, days after The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced updated guidelines for reporting sexual abuse.

“It is commendable that non-consensual immorality has been exposed and denounced,” said Cook, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. “Such non-consensual immorality is against the laws of God and of society.

“However, those who understand God’s plan must also oppose consensual immorality, which is also a sin,” he said of the faith that teaches that sex outside marriage is a sin.

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NASHVILLE (TN)
FOX17

April 2, 2018

By Samantha Singer

A former church member spoke out about the former Nashville pastor accused of molesting several children at Nolensville Road Baptist Church over the course of 20 years.

Former pastor Denny Patterson, 45, is a husband and father of four. Patterson is facing eight counts of aggravated sexual battery and will face a criminal court judge on Wednesday.

Metro Nashville Police said they expect more charges and victims as they continue to investigate.

Nolensville Road Baptist Church, 20 minute drive south of downtown Nashville, is now in the spotlight for alleged child sex abuse.

Police said children reported that Denny Patterson had them engage in strange activities including sitting on his face and stomach, sometimes in their underwear.

The disturbing accusations are upsetting to 19-year-old Kade Coleman, who said he spent some time at the church years ago.

“That’s like the sin of all sins,” Coleman said.

Coleman said he was active in the church youth group during Patterson’s tenure.

“I was about 12 or 13, and two of my friends from school brought me there actually,” Coleman said. “We went to the youth group.”

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TROY (AL)
Troy Messenger

April 2, 2018

By Jaine Treadwell

The Pike Regional Child Advocacy Center in Troy kicked off Child Abuse Prevention Month on Monday at the CAC on West Orange Street with a different format from previous years.

Camille Downing, CAC director, said rather than kicking off the month of awareness and fundraising with the signing of a proclamation, the CAC invited the agencies that support the CAC and pastors from local churches as well as members of the community for an informal time of food and fellowship.

“Mayor Jason Reeves and the Troy City Council signed a proclamation declaring the month of April Child Abuse Prevention Month,” Downing said. “And, we are very appreciative because child abuse is a community concern. The community must be involved in the prevention of child abuse because the best way to stop child abuse is before it starts.”

Reeves said the Pike Regional CAC provides a safe environment for children to talk about the trauma in their lives.

“The environment of the CAC makes children feel safe and that makes it easier for them to talk about their situations,” Reeves said. “I am proud that Calvary Baptist Church made the church building available for a facility for infants, children and families in crisis situations. The CAC is meeting a need in our community and we appreciate their dedication and commitment to these children.”

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IRELAND
The Irish Times

April 2, 2018

By Sharon Tighe-Mooney

Rite&Reason: There is no prohibition in the scriptures about women ministering

While there have been important cultural advances for women in terms of their role in society, the one institution that does not appear to have altered its attitude towards women to any great degree is the Roman Catholic Church.

This is despite Pope Francis’s 2013 remarks that women are “essential for the church”.

It seems that it is also “essential” that women remain silent, and the long-held tradition that women should remain silent in church, attributed to St Paul (1 Corinthians 14.34), and now believed by scholars to be a later addition to his letter, continues to dominate the Vatican mindset.

To dismiss this edict as no longer applicable is to underestimate the deep-seated antipathy to hearing the voices of women in the institutional church.

This was epitomised recently when the former president of Ireland, Mary McAleese, was vetoed from speaking at a conference to be held within the Vatican on International Women’s Day.

The objective was to silence her. To be heard, therefore, McAleese had to speak outside the walls of the Vatican.

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ALLENTOWN (PA)
The Morning Call

April 3, 2018

By Tim Darragh

A grand jury that has been hearing testimony about sexual abuse by priests in six Catholic dioceses in Pennsylvania, including Allentown, will soon conclude its work and issue a report this spring, according to two sources.

The grand jury, which was impaneled in 2016, was extended from late 2017 until the end of this month, said State Rep. Mark Rozzi, D-Berks, who testified before the panel. He said he hopes a report will be forthcoming in May or June.

Rozzi did not disclose the source of his information about the grand jury, which operates in secret. A second source also told The Morning Call the grand jury was reaching the end of its term. Under state code, a grand jury has a term of 18 months that can be extended to 24 months. The source said the grand jury began hearing testimony soon after an earlier grand jury issued a report in March 2016 outlining decades of sexual abuse by priests that went unpunished in the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese.

Rozzi, a Catholic who says he was molested by an Allentown Diocese priest as a boy, said victims have reached out to him because he has been working to extend the statute of limitations for abuse victims. At least 20-30 people from the Allentown Diocese, he said, told him they had been abused by a priest.

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ELGIN (IL)
Elgin Courier-News

April 2, 2018

An Elgin man was sentenced to seven years in prison Monday after pleading guilty to sexually abusing an underage girl while he serving as a youth minister at a West Dundee church, according to the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office.

Chad A. Coe, 36, of the 500 block of Dundee Avenue, pleaded guilty to felony aggravated criminal sexual abuse just before his trial was to begin, a news release from the state’s attorney’s office said. He was sentenced by Kane County Circuit Judge James Hallock.

Coe admitted to having sexual contact with the girl in June 2013 at the church, located in the 900 block of South Eighth St., knowing she was under the age of 18, the release said.

In addition to the prison term, Coe must also register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

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BROOKLYN (NY)
New York Post

April 2, 2018

By Emily Saul, Shawn Cohen and Bruce Golding

A Brooklyn prosecutor was caught having an affair with one of the NYPD cops accused of raping a handcuffed teenager, The Post has learned.

Assistant District Attorney Nicole Manini, 34, is under investigation for potentially violating professional conduct rules for New York lawyers, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Manini’s illicit relationship with now-former Detective Richard Hall, 33, was uncovered when investigators with her office reviewed his cellphone records as part of the rape case, sources said.

The phone logs revealed multiple calls between Manini and Hall, who is married with two kids, sources said.

The calls began before the alleged Sept. 15 rape and continued afterward, sources said.

The DA’s office referred Manini for investigation to the court system’s Grievance Committee for the Second, Eleventh and Thirteenth Judicial Districts, which prosecutes cases of professional misconduct by lawyers.

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MASON (MI)
Patheos

April 2, 2018

by Terry Firma

Stories about thieving clergy members are truly a dime a dozen, but among that deeply disreputable crowd, the Rev. Jonathan Wehrle is special.

That’s because his loot doesn’t top out at a few thousand dollars, or even a few hundred thousand. Wehrle, his accusers say, five-fingered millions of dollars of parish money and spent it on luxuries like an indoor swimming pool for his mansion and six figures’ worth of landscaping for his lavish ten-acre estate.

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UNITED STATES
ABC News

April 3, 2018

By Catherine Thorbecke

This April marks Sexual Assault Awareness month, a time when survivors and advocacy groups work to raise awareness surrounding the pervasive issue of sexual violence, as well as educate the public about ways to prevent it.

“We know that one month isn’t enough to solve the serious and widespread issue of sexual violence,” Laura Palumbo of the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC) said in a statement, adding that the annual event serves as “a reminder that we can change the culture through the things we say and do each day.”

“It can be as simple as calling out comments that blame victims for being assaulted or make light of sexual violence,” Palumbo said.

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MCKINNEY (TX)
The Washington Post

April 2, 2018

By Kristine Phillips

A young man admitted that he sexually assaulted children while he was an instructor at a Mormon church in Texas, authorities said.

Police said Noel Anderson, 22, abused four children between the ages of 2 and 6 when he was a primary instructor at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Dallas suburb of McKinney, Tex. The crimes happened over seven years, during which time Anderson met the children through church meetings and other activities, according to the McKinney Police Department.

Anderson has been charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child, a first-degree felony, and indecency with a child, a second-degree felony. He was arrested last month and is being held on a $200,000 bond, online records show. His attorney did not immediately return a call Monday.

Police suspect that there might have been more victims and are urging parents to speak with their children if they had been in Anderson’s care.

The Washington Post was unable to reach the McKinney congregation Monday, but church officials said in a statement to NBC affiliate KXAS-TV that they are cooperating with investigators.

“Children are precious, and our hearts go out to the victims and their families. We stand ready to offer love, emotional support and professional counseling for them. We are grateful for their courage in reporting this to law enforcement, and we support the efforts of legal authorities to ensure justice is served in these cases. … Anyone who engages in such behavior is rightfully subject to criminal prosecution and will also face discipline from the Church, including loss of Church membership.”

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, headquartered in Salt Lake City, has several congregations throughout the country and worldwide. The Texas case comes as the church faces other allegations of sexual abuse.

In West Virginia, families sued church officials for failing to act while a once-trusted member of a tightknit Mormon community preyed on children. Michael Jensen is serving a prison sentence for sexually abusing two boys while babysitting them. But six families say the much larger Mormon hierarchy in the state should also be held accountable.

The lengthy legal battle that began in 2013 ended last week, after the parties reached a settlement, the details of which were not disclosed.

In Utah, a former Mormon mission leader was accused of trying to rape a young woman more than 30 years ago. Joseph L. Bishop admitted that he took the woman to a small room at the Mormon Church-owned Brigham Young University and asked whether he could see her breasts, the Salt Lake Tribune reported in March. The woman told police that Bishop kissed her and tore her clothes, but she managed to escape.

The allegations resulted in petitions calling for an end to one-on-one interviews between church officials and young Mormons. The Salt Lake Tribune reported that church leaders have since announced new rules allowing a parent or another adult to sit in when church members are interviewing or meeting with women and children.

Julie Zauzmer contributed to this report.

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MASON (MI)
The Associated Press

March 31, 2018

A Catholic priest accused of embezzling more than $5 million from his central Michigan church spent about $100,000 on an indoor swimming pool and stained glass windows for his six-bedroom, 12-bathroom home, according to a lawsuit seeking to recoup some of the money.

In addition to the $45,000 indoor pool and nearly $55,000 in stained glass windows, the Rev. Jonathan Wehrle spent more than $134,000 on landscaping at his 10-acre estate in Williamston and other properties, according to the lawsuit filed by Princeton Excess and Surplus Lines Insurance Corporation, which insures the Catholic Diocese of Lansing.

Wehrle faces six counts of embezzling $100,000 or more from St. Martha Church in Okemos, which is just east of Lansing and about 70 miles west of Detroit. Prosecutors allege that Wehrle spent the money on himself, including to build and maintain the estate.

The home, which has 10 fireplaces and three barns, was appraised at $1.28 million in 2012, when construction was only halfway complete, according to court records.

Police said bills for work on the property matched checks written from St. Martha.

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ARLINGTON (VA)
Catholic Diocese of Arlington

Posted March 16, 2018

The Diocese of Arlington has been advised that Fairfax County Police Department also have an active investigation regarding Fr. Duesterhaus. Father Duesterhaus has stated that he is cooperating fully with the investigation. Fairfax County Police can be reached at (703) 691-2131.

Posted March 14, 2018

Rev. Michael R. Duesterhaus, a priest of the Catholic Diocese of Arlington, has been placed on administrative leave pending investigation of an allegation of sexual misconduct with a minor. The alleged incidents occurred between 2001 and 2004. Fr. Duesterhaus denies the accusation. No determination has yet been made regarding the allegation. The Diocese is fully cooperating with law enforcement and will continue to do so.

Like all priests, diocesan employees and volunteers who work with children in the Diocese of Arlington, Fr. Duesterhaus has undergone criminal background checks during his service. His current assignment, from which he is on administrative leave, is as parochial vicar at Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Winchester.

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MARTINSBURG (WV)
Herald Mail

March 30, 2018

By Matthew Umstead

A 2013 lawsuit that claimed Mormon church leaders covered up the sexual abuse of several children by a church member who has been excommunicated and imprisoned has been settled, according to Berkeley County Circuit Court officials.

The settlement ended a trial that began on Jan. 18.

Terms of the settlement were not available Friday, when the six-member jury seated for the trial was released from service after 27 days in court.

Inclement weather and illness delayed the trial, which 23rd Judicial Circuit Judge Christopher C. Wilkes initially estimated would last six to eight weeks.

At the start of the trial, a plaintiff’s attorney told jurors that the case was about how far a powerful institution would go to protect and defend itself. But an attorney for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints told the jury that the church was not responsible for the crimes of Christopher Michael Jensen, and asserted that the alleged abuse didn’t occur on church property.

Jensen, 26, is serving a 35- to 75-year prison sentence in a West Virginia prison for his February 2013 conviction in circuit court on two counts of sexual abuse and one count of sexual assault.

Jensen was convicted of sexually abusing two boys while babysitting them in 2007. The children didn’t report what occurred until 2012, attorneys have said.

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PERTH (AUSTRALIA)
PerthNow

April 1, 2018

By Kim Macdonald

CATHOLIC youngsters are being taught to identify grooming by sex abusers by a child protection veteran who claims most children have no idea when it is happening, even if confronted with pornography.

Andrea Musulin, who worked in the police child protection unit for three decades before being recruited by the Catholic Church to run its Safeguarding program, said most children were uneducated about paedophilia.

In the wake of the Catholic sex abuse scandal, a new guide written by Ms Musulin is being used by the Church to help children identify when they are in unsafe situations.

The book urges children to tell adults when someone looks at obscene images in their presence, plays games involving genitalia, or asks them to keep secrets.

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BATAVIA (NY)
The Daily News

March 30, 2018

By Brian Quinn

The statute of limitations may have run out on a former Pavilion man’s molestation allegation.

Still, he hopes the claim he made about a former St. Mary’s Church priest will inspire others who were molested by priests to come forward.

Wayne Bortle of New Hampshire, who lived in Pavilion and attended Pavilion Central School until he was about 15 years old, has come forward publicly, alleging abuse by Father Robert Conlin, a former St. Mary’s priest who passed away in 1997.

Conlin’s name was not on a list of 42 priests whose names the Buffalo Diocese released earlier this month. The list identified diocesan priests who, since 1950, have been removed from ministry, were retired, or left the ministry after allegations of sexual abuse of a minor.

Bortle says his kids have seen him cry more recently than previously.

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BUFFALO (NY)
Spectrum News

April 1, 2018

By Kevin Jolly

The sky was a brilliant blue over St. Joseph Cathedral but a dark cloud still lingered over the Catholic Church this Easter.

The Diocese of Buffalo recently released a list of 42 priests accused of sexual abuse.

While the church is struggling to deal with the issue, another has been raised: whether priests should be allowed to marry.

“They understand marriages better. So you know this confessional stuff, you can confess anything you want. You can confess the problems in your home, but if he is not living it then he can’t understand it,” said St. Joseph’s parishioner Oksana Mychaskiw.

It might not be that easy. While many experts say there is no connection between celibacy required by priesthood and sex abuse or pedophilia, some argue it may be a contributing factor in some of the cases in the Catholic Church.

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MASON (MI)
The Associated Press

March 30, 2018

A Michigan priest accused of embezzling more than $5 million now faces a civil lawsuit filed by the insurance company for the Catholic Diocese of Lansing.

Rev. Jonathan Wehrle is charged with six counts of embezzling $100,000 or more from St. Martha Church in Okemos, east of Lansing. The charges allege Wehrle used the money to pay for home construction, maintenance and other personal purchases.

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COLUMBUS (OH)
The Columbus Dispatch

April 2, 2018

By Kelly Maile

The #MeToo social media campaign to raise awareness of sexual harassment gave Emily Joy the courage to share her own story of sexual abuse in church.

“When I was 16, I was groomed for abuse by a man in his early 30s who was a youth leader in my evangelical megachurch … in Illinois,” Joy said. “There wasn’t an understanding of consent or any sex education. The adults punished me for that rather than realizing this is a predatory situation.”

Ten years later, one tweet by Joy prompted thousands on social media to share their own stories of sexual abuse in church settings. The reaction caused Joy and her friend Hannah Paasch to create #ChurchToo. The movement has given Joy the opportunity to speak out at colleges and churches across the country. Joy will speak at Hiram College on April 24 about the hashtag that went viral and theology and sex in conservative Christian churches.

In the wake of actress Alyssa Milano’s #MeToo movement after the Harvey Weinstein scandal, “we were inspired by all these women in Hollywood and Washington,” Joy said. “We have our own stories of abuse, but we both grew up in conservative Christian environments. Sexual abuse happens everywhere, but there are specific facts and contributors in these conservative spaces.”

Once Joy posted her story on Twitter, “there were other women who started responding to it like something like this happened to me, too. Hannah and I said, ‘I think we need to compile these stories and figure out how to respond to it’.”

They created #ChurchToo. It went viral overnight.

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DUBLIN (IRELAND)
The Journal

April 1, 2018

By Christina Finn

During the interview, Archbishop Martin became upset as he recounted telling the Pope about the Tuam babies story.

ARCHBISHOP OF DUBLIN Diarmuid Martin has said misogyny is present in the Catholic Church.

In an interview with Miriam O’Callaghan on RTÉ Radio One, the Archbishop said he would like to see a stronger female presence in the Church.

“I believe that is achievable… But it depends on the ability of the male priesthood to reach out,” he said.

However, he added that he did not believe he would see female priests working within the Church in his lifetime.

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AUBURN (NY)
The Citizen

April 2, 2018

By Joanne Ocasio-Bizardi

Throughout April, during National Child Abuse Prevention Month, Cayuga/Seneca Community Action Agency is uniting its many programs to create an environment of awareness and support for families and children in our community. I encourage everyone to join us in standing up for the future of our community’s children.

Statistics obtained through the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System, provided by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Administration for Children and Families, from its 2015 Child Maltreatment Report, help frame the extent of the issue:

• During the federal fiscal year 2015, Child Protective Services agencies received an estimated 4 million referrals involving approximately 7.2 million children suspected of being abused or neglected; this represents a 15.5-percent increase since 2011.

• In 2015, approximately 683,000 children were found to be victims of child abuse and neglect; the victim rate was 9.2 victims per 1,000 children.

• Of those children victimized, 75.3 percent were neglected; 17.2 percent physically abused; 8.4 percent sexually abused and 6.9 percent maltreated in other ways including emotional abuse, threats and/or being subjected to a parent’s drug/alcohol abuse.

• In 2015, a nationally estimated 1,670 children died of abuse and neglect at a rate of 2.25 per 100,000 children in the national population.

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GUAM
Pacific Daily News

April 2, 2018

By Haidee V. Eugenio

Guam’s clergy sex abuse cases have been stayed, which means the proceedings have been suspended, in light of the parties’ ongoing settlement negotiations.

Parties in the federal and local lawsuits against the Archdiocese of Agana and others associated with the Catholic Church are pursuing mediation to try to settle some 160 complaints of child sex abuse against priests and other clergy.

If out-of-court settlement fails, then motions can be renewed or refiled.

U.S. District Court of Guam Chief Judge Frances Tydingco-Gatewood ordered a stay in the cases on March 30, after a recent status hearing wherein the parties indicated they would withdraw all pending motions in the clergy sex abuse cases in the interests of facilitating settlement and streamlining the court’s docket “with leave to refile at a later date in the event settlement cannot be reached.”

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SOUTH AFRICA
eNCA

April 1, 2018

Archbishop Thabo Makgoba used his Easter sermon to address the controversial issue of alleged abuses in the Anglican church.

He said that while structures enabling the church to deal with abuse exist, they are not sufficient.

“Do people know enough about what the Canons provide?” asked the archbishop.

“What do we do in cases where the alleged perpetrators have retired and no longer hold licences? What do we do if they have died? What do we do if those abused have left the Church and perhaps converted to another faith? Are the measures in place in church schools adequate and widely enough known?

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NORRISTOWN (PA)
The Associated Press

April 2, 2018

By Kristen de Groot and Michael R. Sisak

Jury selection is getting underway Monday in Bill Cosby’s sexual assault retrial in a cultural landscape changed by the #MeToo movement, posing new challenges for both the defense and the prosecution.

Experts say the movement could cut both ways for the comedian, making some potential jurors more hostile toward him and others more likely to think men are being unfairly accused.

“We really have had this explosion of awareness since that last trial and it has changed the entire environment,” said Richard Gabriel, a jury consultant who has worked on over 1,000 trials. “It is a huge challenge for the defense, but it could also provide an avenue and open up the topic.”

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MARTINSBURG (WV)
The Associated Press

April 2, 2018

A civil trial that started in January in West Virginia has ended in an undisclosed settlement in a lawsuit accusing The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and local church officials of covering up years of sexual abuse by one man.

Media outlets report the settlement announced Friday by Berkeley County Circuit Judge Christopher Wilkes ends a trial that began Jan. 18. Details of the settlement were not made public, and lawyers and officials are barred from discussing the case.

Plaintiffs contended the Mormon church and others knew about 26-year-old member Christopher Michael Jensen’s sexual abuse convictions and allegations but “did nothing to warn and protect” their children.

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NEW YORK (NY)
The New York Times

March 31, 2018

To the Editor:

“This Easter, I’ll Be Back in Church,” by Margaret Renkl (Op-Ed, March 26), reflects my sentiments exactly.

Although I haven’t stopped going to church, I have grown distant from the friends I had there. I can’t accept how my fellow Catholics can support a president and legislators who pass laws that hurt the poor and the needy. To care for them is at the core of our faith.

It broke my heart to see these people and others who desperately need health care demonstrating in the capital last year against repeal of the Affordable Care Act and some legislators voting for repeal anyway.

The silence of the bishops on so many of these destructive actions also leaves me feeling that no one in the church (except for the pope) is speaking with any moral authority.

MARJORIE IVES, JUPITER, FLA.

To the Editor:

Re “Francis, the Anti-Strongman,” by Paul Elie (Sunday Review, March 25):

Pope Francis’s persona belies a dictatorial penchant. He deals with challenges by removing those who disagree with him. The peremptory dismissal of members of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, for no apparent reason, is a case in point.

His rigging of the Synod on the Family and dubious editing of its summation in “Amoris Laetitia” (“The Joy of Love”) — an incomplete citation from John Paul II — is nothing short of dictatorial. And his circumventing of canonical process to initiate change — for example, changing the rite of foot washing on Holy Thursday, from a recognition of the uninterrupted transmission of spiritual authority from the apostles to succeeding generations of bishops, to an open-to-all act of charity — certainly seems autocratic.

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ENGLAND
The Guardian

April 2, 2018

By Harriet Sherwood

Deirdre McCormack says Catholic church covered up claims by Oxford academic later detailed in acclaimed book

The next of kin of a senior Catholic priest who was accused of sexual abuse before his death wants the headstone she paid for to be removed and destroyed.

Deirdre McCormack said she was “outraged and disgusted” at the allegations made by an Oxford academic against Canon Dermod Fogarty, and said the church had tried to sweep the disclosures “under the carpet”. She is seeking the urgent removal of the headstone.

The allegations were made by Stephen Bernard in an acclaimed book, Paper Cuts, published in February, which details more than 300 assaults over a four-year period starting in 1987 when Bernard was 11.

The disclosures came as a shock to McCormack, who was Fogarty’s closest living relative and inherited his personal effects.

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PORTLAND (OR)
Willamette Week

March 30, 2018

By Katie Shepherd

“We believe it is important to uncover the truth about what happened and to hold the Church accountable—to help ensure that this does not happen to children today.”

A woman sued the Seventh-day Adventist Church on Friday for allegedly removing a man accused of sexually abusing children from his role as a teacher only to position him as the pastor of one of the largest Adventist congregations in Portland.

The suit alleges that Lee Thompson abused a young girl in the early 1970s while he was teaching at Portland Adventist Elementary School, a private parochial school run by the church. After the allegations surfaced, the suit says the Oregon Conference of Seventh-day Adventists removed Thompson from his teaching role, but offered him a position as a pastor in Mt. Tabor, where he continued to abuse the plaintiff.

The plaintiff is named only as Laura Doe. The lawsuit seeks $4 million in economic and emotional damages from the church and asks the court to mete out punitive damages as well.

“This is not the first time the Seventh-day Adventist Church has been accused of turning a blind eye towards child sexual abuse,” says Stephen Crew, who is representing Doe in the suit. “We believe it is important to uncover the truth about what happened and to hold the Church accountable—to help ensure that this does not happen to children today.”

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DOTHAN (AL)
The Associated Press

April 2, 2018

Posted By Daniella Oropeza

A former Alabama minister is accused of sexually abusing children.

News outlets report 28-year-old William Wesley Williamson was arrested Thursday and charged with three counts of sex abuse of a child younger than 12 years old. Records say he was released from jail in Houston County after posting bonds totaling $90,000.

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BUFFALO (NY)
Buffalo News

March 20, 2018, updated March 21, 2018

By Tom Precious

Albany – The spiritual leader of millions of Catholics in New York was at the Capitol Tuesday lobbying against a push to give a one-year window for alleged child abuse victims to sue for damages dating back decades.

“Look-back would be toxic for us,’’ Archbishop of New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan said of a one-year litigation period being pushed by child victim organizations and many state lawmakers.

Dolan, who is also leader of the New York State Catholic Conference, the lobbying arm of the state’s bishops, said the church is supportive of “very vigorous” changes to statute of limitations that would increase the age for victims to file civil and criminal actions.

But the church, along with organizations such as the Boy Scouts of America, has said a one-year look-back period would open the floodgates to litigation against organizations that could have to defend themselves in cases involving alleged abusers who have been dead or retired for years or decades. Victims groups dismiss the church’s concerns, saying other states that have created windows for litigation have seen no such floodgates open in their civil courts.

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BUFFALO (NY)
Buffalo News

March 20, 2018, updated March 21, 2018

By Tom Precious

[Includes streaming audio of the entire interview.]

Bishop Richard J. Malone said Tuesday that it was important for the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo and for victims of clergy sexual abuse that he publicly identify 42 priests who have been accused of sexual misconduct involving children.

In an exclusive interview with The Buffalo News hours after he released the list of 42 priests, Malone said the diocese may struggle because of its new transparency, but it will be a good struggle.

“We’ve been working on this for months. Reviewing old cases and all of that. I have just become more and more convinced it was time to put those names out. The main reasons are really transparency. You’ve heard of the Dallas Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People. It calls us to transparency. I wanted that transparency to happen,” he said. “We know if a sexual abuse victim sees the name in print of the abuser, sometimes that person might have been ashamed and hidden away. Seeing the name in print, acknowledged by the church, can liberate and empower that person to come forward. And we want them to come forward for help.”

“I think the tendency decades ago was perhaps like a family. You don’t want to hang out the dirty laundry. But clearly there was dirty laundry. I hate to use that metaphor for human beings. But I felt it was time to bring it into the light.”

He noted that about 30 Catholic dioceses out of 197 in the U.S. have publicized the names of priests involved in sexual abuse allegations.

“The majority have not,” he said.

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BUFFALO (NY)
Diocese of Buffalo

March 27, 2018

By Bishop Richard J. Malone

[Includes streaming audio of the sermon.]

Reprinted with permission, the text of Bishop Richard J. Malone’s Chrism Mass homily, delivered at St. Joseph Cathedral in Buffalo on March 27, 2018.

We gather for the Chrism Mass this year at a moment in our diocesan history when our Catholic community is in the throes of a crisis. Together, we are struggling to navigate through a storm – dark, unnerving, shocking, angering, faith-shaking. As much as we hate to think about it, the fact is that the past aberrant behavior of some of our priests – a few, in the big picture – long shrouded in darkness, has come into the light – thanks to the courage of one victim, Michael, who came forward and publicly disclosed his victimization. This revelation has triggered a series of other sad stories of trust betrayed and young people harmed.

After consultation with our Presbyteral Council and Diocesan Pastoral Council – and with their strong endorsement – I disclosed the names of 42 priests who are known to have abused children and young people. I made that decision for 3 reasons: for transparency; for the empowerment the truth gives victims to come forth so that we can help them; and for mitigation of risk of future incidents when past abuses are identified.

Our Catholic people are reeling, as are we priests, and understandably so. At the same time, I’ve received more support from both laity and brother priests than I can ever remember in 18 years as a bishop. I’m sure you have, as well, my brothers. We’re in this together – all of us – lay, clergy and religious – who are the Church of Western New York. And especially we who are priests. I know from meetings with the victims – I met with two victims just yesterday – and from conversations with brother priests, who are angry and ashamed – I know the truth of Blessed – soon to be Saint – Oscar Romero’s words: “There are many things that can only be seen through eyes that have cried.” Many of us know those tears. I do.

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