ABUSE TRACKER

A digest of links to media coverage of clergy abuse. For recent coverage listed in this blog, read the full article in the newspaper or other media source by clicking “Read original article.” For earlier coverage, click the title to read the original article.

July 31, 2018

Abbott amplía investigación de fiscal Arias en casos de abusos sexuales ligados a la Iglesia

SANTIAGO (CHILE)
Emol

July 27, 2018

[National prosecutor expands investigation into Church sex abuse]

By Tamara Cerna

El fiscal regional de Rancagua podrá dirigir causas que se inicien y vinculen a las que actualmente lleva, como la de una cofradía llamada “La Familia”. Esto, independiente de la zona en la que hayan ocurrido.

Mediante un comunicado, el fiscal nacional, Jorge Abbott, notificó la decisión de ampliar la investigación que lleva adelante el fiscal regional de O´Higgins, Emiliano Arias, por casos de abusos sexuales ligados a miembros de la Iglesia Católica.

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

Fiscal Arias antes de interrogar a Ezzati: “Sabemos que religiosos destruyeron evidencias sobre abusos sexuales”

SANTIAGO, CHILE
Emol

July 29, 2018

[Prosecutor Arias before questioning Ezzati: “We know that religious destroyed evidence of sexual abuse”]

By Matías Harz

El persecutor, quien citó a declarar el próximo 21 de agosto al arzobispo de Santiago, habló con el medio español El País sobre los escándalos que han ocurrido en la Iglesia Católica chilena

Esta semana, el Arzobispado de Santiago comunicó que el cardenal Ricardo Ezzati fue citado a declarar por el Ministerio Público en calidad de imputado por el eventual delito de encubrimiento de abusos sexuales.

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

Ezzati llega a asamblea extraordinaria en Punta de Tralca para abordar crisis en la Iglesia por abusos

PUNTA DE TRALCA (CHILE)
Emol

July 30, 2018

[Ezzati arrives at an extraordinary assembly in Punta de Tralca to address abuse crisis in the Church]

By Tomás Molina

El arzobispo de Santiago llegó en silencio y se espera que el miércoles arriben más invitados, entre ellos laicos. Desde la Conferencia Episcopal negaron que asistan víctimas de abusos.

Poco a poco comenzaron a llegar hasta la casa de ejercicios ubicada en el balneario de Punta de Tralca, comuna de El Quisco, los obispos de Chile. Esto, con el fin de dar inicio a la asamblea plenaria convocada de forma extraordinaria que tiene como misión abordar la actual crisis por la que atraviesa la Iglesia católica en el país.

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

Fiscal Arias no descarta enviar exhorto al Papa tras dichos de destrucción de archivos sobre abusos

SANTIAGO (CHILE)
Emol

July 30, 2018

[Prosecutor Arias does not rule out sending petition to the Pope after said destruction of abuse files]

By Juan Peña

El persecutor a cargo de la investigación contra el ex canciller del arzobispado Óscar Muñoz también habló de los supuestos encubrimientos. “El hecho de que no estemos obligados a denunciar no implica que se nos esté prohibido”, afirmó.

El fiscal regional, Emiliano Arias, no descarta enviar un exhorto al Papa Francisco, tras los dichos del pontífice acerca de una destrucción de archivos eclesiásticos sobre abusos sexuales y de poder al interior de la iglesia.

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

Jesuitas trasladan a dos sacerdotes sancionados por abuso a menores que residían al costado de colegio Alonso de Ovalle

CHILE
La Tercera

July 31, 2018

[Jesuits transfer two priests sanctioned for abuse to minors residing next to school Alonso de Ovalle]

by Ivonne Toro

La medida se adoptó por la presión de los apoderados luego de que la entidad informara que tres de sus sacerdotes habían sido investigados y declarados culpables de abuso y transgresión de conciencia.

A través de un comunicado interno a la comunidad ignaciana se informó ayer de un acuerdo entre la Dirección del Colegio Alonso de Ovalle, el Centro de Padres y la Compañía de Jesús, que permitió el traslado de los dos jesuitas sancionados canónicamente por abuso a menores que habitaban en la Residencia San Ignacio.

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

Third victim of Father Riter testifies before diocese [VIDEO]

BUFFALO (NY)
WKBW TV

July 30, 2018

A third alleged victim of Father Dennis Riter testified before the Diocese of Buffalo this morning, one month after the diocese made a controversial decision to return the accused priest to his Dunkirk parish.

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

Assignment Record: Rev. Kenneth L. Martin

NEWARK (NJ)
BishopAccountability.org

Summary of Case: Kenneth L. Martin was ordained for the Archdiocese of Newark in 1977. He was an assistant priest at St. Andrew’s parish in Bayonne until 1991, when he was made a personal secretary for Archbishop McCarrick while residing at Sacred Heart Cathedral. In 1993 Martin was assigned as Administrator of Holy Name of Jesus in East Orange.

In the mid-1990s a man met with McCarrick to report that Martin had sexually abused him over a four-year period, beginning when he was age 13 in the mid-1970s. He said that Martin also abused his younger brother. The man, Mark Crawford, said that he had gone in 1983 to auxilliary bishop Pechillo with the same information, but that Pechillo took no action. McCarrick removed Martin from ministry briefly, then reassigned him to a hospital chaplaincy. Crawford was alarmed several years later when he saw a photograph in the diocesan newspaper of Martin and McCarrick at a hospital Christmas party for children.

Martin remained in active ministry until 2002. In 2013 he was reportedly still a priest, working as a train conductor in New Jersey.

Ordained: 1977

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

US Vatican cardinal: “Not once did I even suspect” McCarrick

VATICAN CITY
The Associated Press

July 31, 2018

By Nicole Winfield

The highest-ranking American at the Vatican insisted Tuesday he never knew or even suspected that his former boss reportedly sexually abused boys and adult seminarians, telling The Associated Press he is livid that he was kept in the dark because he would have done something about it.

Cardinal Kevin Farrell, head of the Vatican’s family and laity office, spoke as the U.S. church hierarchy has come under fire from ordinary American Catholics outraged that ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick’s misconduct with men was apparently an open secret in some U.S. church circles.

An open letter Tuesday in the conservative Catholic magazine First Things urged Catholics to withhold diocesan donations to the U.S. church until an independent investigation determines which U.S. bishops knew about McCarrick’s misdeeds — a “nuclear option” aimed at making the laity’s sense of betrayal heard and felt.

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

Harvey Weinstein’s insurers balk at paying his legal bills

NEW YORK (NY)
The Associated Press

July 30, 2018

By Tom Hays

Harvey Weinstein is locked in a messy battle with insurance companies over his steadily mounting legal bills.

The insurance giant Chubb and other carriers that wrote liability policies for Weinstein and his film company are arguing in court that they shouldn’t have to pay for his defense against allegations of rape and sexual harassment.

The policies, they have written in court filings, specifically excluded coverage for “such blatantly egregious and intentionally harmful acts.”

“Mr. Weinstein has nevertheless repeatedly attempted to foist his defense of these lawsuits upon the plaintiff insurers,” lawyers for the companies wrote.

Weinstein’s legal team, which denies that he assaulted any of his dozens of female accusers, has shot back that the insurers are trying to weasel out of their obligations and have unfairly sided with the accusers.

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

Former FEMA head of personnel accused of sexual misconduct

WASHINGTON (DC)
The Associated Press

July 31, 2018

By Colleen Long

The former head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s personnel office had improper sexual relationships with subordinates and created a “toxic” work environment that included giving preferential treatment to his fraternity brothers, according to a summary of an internal investigation obtained Monday by The Associated Press.

FEMA officials said Corey Coleman resigned June 18 amid the probe. The preliminary investigation began in January and was completed Friday.

FEMA administrator Brock Long said in a statement Monday that he was referring the case to the internal watchdog of its parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security, which could investigate any claims of possible criminal sexual assault. But victims would have to go to police for any charges to result.

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

FEMA official accused of sexual misconduct, hiring and promoting women as possible sexual partners for male employees

WASHINGTON (DC)
Washington Post

July 30, 2018

By Lisa Rein

The personnel chief of the Federal Emergency Management Agency — who resigned just weeks ago — is under investigation after being accused of creating an atmosphere of widespread sexual harassment over years in which women were hired as possible sexual partners for male employees, the agency’s leader said Monday.

The alleged harassment and other misconduct, revealed through a preliminary seven-month internal investigation, was a “systemic problem going on for years,” said FEMA Administrator William “Brock” Long. Some of the behavior could rise to the level of criminal activity, he said.

Some of the claims about the agency’s former personnel chief are detailed in a written executive summary of the investigation provided to The Washington Post. FEMA officials gave other details and confirmed that the individual under investigation, whose name was redacted from the report, is Corey Coleman, who led the personnel department from 2011 until his resignation in June.

Coleman could not immediately be reached for comment, and no one answered the door at his Northeast Washington home when a Washington Post reporter visited Monday. Coleman resigned June 18, before a scheduled interview with investigators, and FEMA officials said they have not been able to question him since.

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

CBS board takes no immediate action on Les Moonves as network launches investigation of sexual misconduct

NEW YORK (NY)
ABC News

July 30, 2018

By Bill Hutchinson

Six women whose bombshell allegations of sexual misconduct by CBS Corp. chief Les Moonves were published in The New Yorker, “want accountability,” said Ronan Farrow, who reported and wrote the piece published Friday night.

The CBS board of directors met on Monday to discuss its response to the women’s claims that Moonves engaged in inappropriate sexual behavior, including forced kissing and groping, and retaliation. Most of the alleged incidents occurred over 20 years ago with some allegedly happening as recently as the 2000s.

CBS announced Monday afternoon that the board had decided to select “outside counsel to conduct an independent investigation.”

“No other action was taken on this matter at today’s board meeting,” network executives said in a statement.

The board has previously said that it is investigating the allegations against Moonves raised in The New Yorker article.

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

Honduran auxiliary bishop accused of sexual misconduct resigns

VATICAN CITY
CNA/EWTN News

July 20, 2018

By Hannah Brockhaus

Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Juan José Pineda, auxiliary bishop of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, following a Vatican investigation into accusations of financial mismanagement and sexual misconduct against seminarians.

The bishop, 57, has long been the subject of accusations of financial misdealings, as well as rumors that he offered support to a male companion using archdiocesan funds. He serves under papal advisor and archbishop of Tegucigalpa, Cardinal Oscar Andrés Rodriguez Maradiaga, who has also been accused of financial misconduct.

In March, the National Catholic Register reported that two former seminarians had also submitted personal testimonies to the Vatican accusing Pineda of serious sexual misconduct and of attempting unwanted sexual relations.

The July 20 announcement of Pineda’s resignation provided no explanation, stating only that it had been accepted by Pope Francis.

At the pope’s request, in May 2017, the Vatican carried out an investigation into the allegations of financial mismanagement within the archdiocese and the sexual misconduct allegations involving Bishop Pineda.

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

Embattled Lapeer County nonprofit raising money for Father Robert DeLand

SAGINAW (MI)
WJRT

July 20, 2018

An organization that claims to raise money for priests in legal trouble is in hot water of its own.

The Michigan Attorney General’s Office is telling Opus Bono Sacerdotii to stop its deceptive fundraising tactics on behalf of Catholic priests like the Rev. Robert DeLand.

The organization was raising money to help DeLand pay legal bills as his criminal sexual conduct cases move through the court system in Saginaw County.

DeLand is facing six criminal charges in connection with inappropriate sexual conduct with three young men.

The group claims the Catholic Diocese of Saginaw is not paying for DeLand’s legal expenses, which total at least $75,000. However, it is not clear whether he knows the group is using his name to raise funds.

A Saginaw County couple received a letter earlier this month from Opus Bono Sacerdotii asking for money to help pay for his legal expenses. Anyone who calls call the number on the letter gets a recorded message asking for money.

The couple attends St. Agnes Parish in Freeland, where DeLand was the priest until his arrest in February. They did not want to be identified and did not send the organization any money.

“We were really mad,” the woman said. “We weren’t sure if it was legitimate or not legitimate, but it sure looked like it, since it said our names. Our names were spelled right.”

Opus Bono Sacerdotii is now in the crosshairs of Attorney General Bill Schuette, whose office has just issued a cease and desist order against the organization.

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

Attorney General targets charity raising money for Rev. Jonathan Wehrle

LANSING (MI)
Lansing State Journal

July 19, 2018

By Christopher Haxel

Attorney General Bill Schuette is taking action against a Michigan-based charity that raises money for priests across the country facing criminal charges and other problems.

Opus Bono has in recent weeks circulated a letter asking for donations to assist the Rev. Jonathan Wehrle, a retired priest accused of embezzling more than $5 million dollars from St. Martha, a Roman Catholic parish in Okemos.

The nonprofit, based in Lapeer County, violated the state’s Nonprofit Corporation Act and Charitable Solicitations Act, Schuette said in a news release.

The organization “fabricated quotes from priests” as part of efforts that raised more than $1 million annually, and two men running the charity “were using most of the funds raised for themselves,” Schuette wrote.

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

The Editors: The Catholic Church should not be shocked by the McCarrick case—it should be ashamed.

UNITED STATES
America The Jesuit Review

July 17, 2018 [August 6, 2018 Issue]

The Catholic Church cannot pretend to be shocked about the pattern of sexual abuse of adult seminarians by Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, recently detailed in a comprehensive story in The New York Times. As The Times made clear in its reporting, many church leaders had received multiple notices of the cardinal’s behavior. Local dioceses had been told; the papal nuncio in Washington, D.C., had been told; and, eventually, even Pope Benedict XVI had been told.

But none of these reports interrupted Cardinal McCarrick’s rise through the ranks nor his appointment as cardinal nor his eventual retirement in 2006 as a respected leader of the U.S. church. Nor did these reports lead to his removal last month from public ministry, which finally resulted from a credible allegation of abuse of a minor almost 50 years ago, recently revealed and acted on by the Archdiocese of New York.

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

Former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey admits ‘fobbing off’ sex abuse victims

ENGLAND
The Telegraph

July 24, 2018

By Olivia Rudgard

A former Archbishop of Canterbury has admitted “fobbing off” victims of sex abuse who complained about a paedophile bishop.

Lord Carey of Clifton said Lambeth Palace failed to deal properly with letters sent by victims and their families after the arrest of Peter Ball in December 1992.

Ball, then the bishop of Gloucester, was arrested following disclosures by Neil Todd, who had been a pupil on his scheme for young men considering a monastic life, that Ball had sexually abused him.

Young men and their parents told the Archbishop’s office that Ball had behaved inappropriately, including asking a 17-year-old schoolboy to masturbate in front of him during a counselling session at a boarding school, and asking another 17-year-old to share his bedroom.

In an extraordinary day at the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, Lord Carey was by turn contrite, apologising to Ball’s victims and admitting that he had not dealt with the case properly, and defiant, arguing repeatedly that it was not the church’s role to investigate his crimes.

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Priest found in the nude in car with 10-year-old in Italy

FLORENCE (ITALY)
Independent

July 27, 2018

A priest was caught naked in a car with a 10-year-old girl in a village near Florence, Italian media report.

The 70-year-old cleric was arrested by the police. He is now under house arrest and has been suspended from exercising his priestly duties by the Bishop of Florence.

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Medford Twp. pastor sentenced to 18 years behind bars

MEDFORD TWP.(NJ)
WPVI

July 27, 2018

A Medford Township pastor was sentenced Friday to 18 years behind bars.

Harry Thomas plead guilty back in February to sexually assaulting four children and having inappropriate actions with a fifth one, over a 16-year period.

The 75-year-old is not eligible for parole.

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Bishops Say Pope’s Move on Cardinal McCarrick Not the End of the Road

NEW YORK (NY)
The Tablet

July 30, 2018

By Christopher White

Following Pope Francis’s historic decision to accept the resignation of Cardinal Theodore McCarrick from the College of Cardinals, both fellow bishops in the United States as well as survivors and advocates say it’s a step forward but there’s still a great distance to be traveled until the pledge of “zero tolerance” is fulfilled.

“The somber announcement from the Vatican this morning will impact the Catholic community of the Archdiocese of Newark with particular force,” said Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark in a statement on Saturday.

Cardinal Tobin – who now holds the post Cardinal McCarrick held from 1986 to 2001 – went on to add that “this latest news is a necessary step for the Church to hold itself accountable for sexual abuse and harassment perpetrated by its ministers, no matter their rank. I ask my brothers and sisters to pray for all who may have been harmed by the former Cardinal, and to pray for him as well.”

Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington, who succeeded Cardinal McCarrick in 2006, spoke to WTOP, a local D.C. radio show, on Saturday, where he called the decision a “big step forward in trying to act quickly, decisively,” though he acknowledged that the “procedure isn’t concluded yet.”

In a statement on Sunday, the Archdiocese of Washington said a review of their files found no complaints against Cardinal McCarrick there. Further, Cardinal Wuerl said, he was unaware of the settlements in Metuchen and Newark.

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

Fallout from church sex abuse report could resemble Altoona-Johnstown aftermath, experts say

JOHNSTOWN (PA)
The Tribune-Democrat

July 31, 2018

By Dave Sutor

A soon-to-be-released grand jury report into clergy child sexual abuse throughout six Roman Catholic dioceses in Pennsylvania is expected to closely resemble a document produced after a previous investigation into the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese.

In 2016, the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General put out a 147-page report that included details of abuse committed by at least 50 priests and other religious leaders and of alleged efforts by Bishops James Hogan and Joseph Adamec to cover up the actions. A proportionally similar report – almost 900 pages, naming more than 300 alleged abusers – has been created after an investigation was conducted into the dioceses of Allentown, Scranton, Erie, Pittsburgh, Harrisburg and Greensburg.

It is to be made public possibly early as Aug. 8.

“I expect it to hit kind of like the Altoona-Johnstown report,” said Judy Jones, the Midwest regional leader for Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. “For one thing, Catholics got really angry. They saw it in writing and that kind of helped for people to start to understand this is really going on. I kind of expect that to be the case here, too.”

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

How do we protect our boys? [Video]

NEW YORK (NY)
PIX 11

July 30, 2018

From Haiti to the Vatican, spiritual leaders got in trouble last week for sexual abuse that happened decades ago or much more recently. A Virginia missionary who worked in Haiti was sentenced to 23 years in prison. Cardinal McCarrick, once of Newark, was forced to resign. How do we protect our boys?

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

Dunkirk priest under investigation for abuse again

BUFFALO (NY)
WIVB

July 30, 2018

By Evan Anstey and Chris Horvatits

A Diocese of Buffalo priest cleared of abuse allegations earlier this year is under investigation once again.

Rev. Dennis Riter currently serves at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish in Dunkirk. On Monday, a man who claims he was abused by Riter in the early 1990s sat down with a Church investigator. The alleged abuse occurred while Riter was serving at Queen of All Saints Parish in Lackawanna.

Diocesan officials say despite the investigation, Riter is still active, and has not been placed on administrative leave. He was placed on leave during the first investigation, before those allegations were deemed unsubstantiated.

The alleged victim in this case is represented by attorney Mitchell Garabedian, who was depicted in the film Spotlight, which chronicled abuse investigations involving priests in the Archdiocese of Boston.

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

Another accusation of abuse against Dunkirk priest

BUFFALO (NY)
WGRZ

July 30, 2018

Another person is accusing sexual abuse against a Western New York priest who’s been investigated and reinstated by the Buffalo Diocese.

Another person is accusing sexual abuse against a Western New York priest who’s been investigated and reinstated by the Buffalo Diocese.

That man was interviewed by the Diocese Monday morning about his claims against Father Dennis Riter, who’s now preaching once again at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Roman Catholic Church in Dunkirk.

His lawyer says a fellow student at Christ the King in East Aurora hand delivered to the Diocese a letter about the abuse decades ago when the accuser was a child.

“There was no reason for the church not to look into this matter. Here we are in 2018 and they’ve decided to look into this matter because they have no choice,” said Mitchell Garabedian, attorney for the accuser.

The attorney are also upset the accuser wasn’t interviewed until Monday.

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

Diocese interviews second accuser of Dunkirk priest it cleared of abuse

BUFFALO (NY)
The Buffalo News

July 30, 2018

By Jay Tokasz

The Buffalo Diocese cleared a Dunkirk priest of sexual abuse last month without talking with a second accuser who alleged he was molested as a child by the priest.

Monday, the diocese interviewed the second man who alleges that the Rev. Dennis G. Riter abused him.

For now, Riter will be allowed to remain at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church, a diocese spokesman said.

Monday’s interview with Riter’s second accuser happened in Amherst, a month after the diocese determined that a previous allegation, lodged in March against Riter, was not substantiated. The second accuser alleges Riter abused him in the rectory of Queen of All Saints Church in Lackawanna. His lawyer said he has a witness of the alleged abuse who wrote a letter to diocesan officials about it more than 25 years ago.

The diocese suspended Riter from ministry while a former assistant district attorney working for the diocese investigated a claim that the priest had molested a teenage boy in a South Buffalo church rectory in the late 1990s.

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Third victim of Father Riter testifies before diocese

BUFFALO (NY)
WKBW

July 30, 2018

By Charlie Specht

Diocese returned priest to Dunkirk church in June

The sexual abuse crisis in the Diocese of Buffalo continued Monday when a famous attorney came from Boston to take on the diocese.

Attorney Mitchell Garabedian, portrayed in the 2016 Academy Award-winning Best Picture “Spotlight,” said he’s been inundated with Western New Yorkers who have called him saying they were abused by priests.

“Many of them for years, as innocent children,” Garabedian said. “It’s time for transparency. It’s time for Bishop Malone to step up to the plate.”

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

Pennsylvania priest pleads guilty to sexually molesting 4th-grade boy

GREENSBURG (PA)
Penn Live

July 31, 2018

By Ivey DeJesus

As Catholic officials across Pennsylvania brace for what has been described as a graphic and blistering investigation report into clergy sex abuse, a Greensburg Diocese priest charged with child sex crimes pleaded guilty to sexually molesting a boy.

At a news conference Tuesday morning in Westmoreland County, Attorney General Josh Shapiro called Father John Sweeney of the Greensburg Diocese a predator.

“…(T)oday there is no doubt, John Sweeney is accepting full responsibility and admitting what he did,” Shapiro said. Sweeney’s victim, whose first name is Josh, stood to the right of Shapiro, flanked by deputy attorney generals.

Sweeney, 75, is the first priest convicted as a result of the 40th Statewide Investigating Grand Jury, which recently concluded an investigation into sexually abusive priests and clergy in six of the state’s eight Catholic dioceses, including the Diocese of Greensburg.

Sweeney answered “Yes, your Honor” several times as a Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court judge asked him to affirm his plea, according to the Pittsburgh-Post Gazette.

Sweeney was indicted last year.

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Piñera espera resolución del Papa por cuestionamientos a que Ezzati lidere el Te Deum

CHILE
BioBioChile

July 30, 2018

[Piñera awaits resolution by the Pope for questions about Ezzati leading the Te Deum]

By Jonathan Flores

El presidente de la República, Sebastián Piñera, se refirió a los cuestionamientos que han comenzado a surgir a raíz de que el arzobispo Ricardo Ezzati lidere el Te Deum de septiembre próximo.

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Capillas de Ñuñoa se distancian del cardenal Errázuriz

CHILE
La Tercera

July 30, 2018

[Capillas de Ñuñoa distance themselves from Cardinal Errázuriz]

By María José Blanco

En medio de la crisis que atraviesa la Iglesia Católica en Chile, una particular situación se vive en la Parroquia Santo Tomás Moro, de Ñuñoa. Durante una asamblea parroquial a la que asistieron alrededor de 130 personas, un grupo de feligreses de ocho capillas dependientes del templo pidió a su párroco, el sacerdote Sebastián Vial, que el cardenal Francisco Javier Errázuriz no siguiera oficiando misa en esos lugares. “Pedimos que no fuera invitado. El párroco dijo que iba a ver de qué forma solucionaba la situación y esta semana nos comunicó que habló con él y que el cardenal lo había entendido”, cuenta Pauline Saintard, feligresa de San Agustín, una de las capillas del sector (ver listado).

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

Fiscalía amplía investigación contra excanciller de Santiago por encubrir abusos

CHILE
La Tercera

July 30, 2018

[Prosecutor expands investigation against ex-chancellor of Santiago for covering up abuses]

By L. Zapata and M. José Blanco

Desde que asumió el caso de abusos en la Iglesia en Rancagua en mayo pasado, el fiscal Emiliano Arias ha avanzado semana a semana en una verdadera vorágine de incautaciones, recopilación de documentos, cartas y archivos que se han ido encadenando a las causas que indaga. El trabajo ha llegado a tal punto que la máxima autoridad del Ministerio Público, el fiscal nacional Jorge Abbott, decidió ampliar las facultades que hasta ahora tenía el persecutor en el caso.

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Pope Accepts Resignation of Australian Archbishop for Covering Up Sex Abuse

NEW YORK (NY)
New York Times

July 30, 2018

By Gaia Pianigiani

Rome – For the second time in three days, Pope Francis on Monday accepted the resignation of a powerful prelate — this time, an Australian archbishop — in a sexual abuse scandal, as the pontiff tries to send the message that high officials no longer enjoy near-immunity from consequences within the church when it comes to sexual misconduct.

The archbishop, Philip Edward Wilson of Adelaide, had resisted intense pressure in Australia to resign, despite his criminal conviction for covering up for sexual abuse by a priest. Two months after being found guilty, he submitted his resignation on July 20, though it was not made public until the pope accepted it on Monday.

Two days earlier, on Saturday, Francis accepted the resignation from the College of Cardinals of Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, a former archbishop of Washington and of Newark — the first time in memory that a cardinal stepped down over sexual abuse allegations against him.

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Archbishop Wilson Resigns

ADELAIDE (AUSTRALIA)
Archdiocese of Adelaide

July 30, 2018

Adelaide’s Catholic Archbishop Philip Wilson has tonight written to the people of the Archdiocese of Adelaide informing them of his resignation.

* * *

The current arrangements for the pastoral care of the Archdiocese remain under the jurisdiction of the Apostolic Administrator, Bishop Greg O’Kelly SJ, until the Holy Father appoints a new archbishop of Adelaide.

“These weeks have been a very testing time for so many, from anyone who has been a victim of abuse in the Church to the Archbishop himself,” Bishop O’Kelly said.

“With the resignation, may there now be a time of healing for all concerned.

“May we not forget the good the Archbishop had done in so many ways while at the same time renewing our resolve to care for those who have been hurt by personnel of the Church.”

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A Message from Archbishop Philip Wilson

ADELAIDE (AUSTRALIA)
Archdiocese of Adelaide

July 30, 2018

By Archbishop Philip Wilson

To the Priests, Deacons, Religious Communities, Parish Communities, School Communities and to all people in the Archdiocese of Adelaide,

I write to inform you that on July 20, I submitted to the Holy Father, Pope Francis, my resignation from the position of Archbishop of Adelaide. I have now been informed that His Holiness has accepted my resignation.

Though my resignation was not requested, I made this decision because I have become increasingly worried at the growing level of hurt that my recent conviction has caused within the community. I had hoped to defer this decision until after the appeal process had been completed. However, there is just too much pain and distress being caused by my maintaining the office of Archbishop of Adelaide, especially to the victims of Fr Fletcher. I must end this and therefore have decided that my resignation is the only appropriate step to take in the circumstances.

I hope and pray that this decision will be a catalyst to heal pain and distress, and that it will allow everyone in the Archdiocese of Adelaide, and the victims of Fr Fletcher, to move beyond this very difficult time.

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From the pulpit, priests address allegations against Archbishop McCarrick

WASHINGTON (DC)
Catholic News Service

July 30, 2018

By Carol Zimmermann

For his homilies on the weekend of July 21-22, Father Edward Looney, administrator of two rural Wisconsin parishes, planned to preach about ways to include God on summer vacation.

His rough outline was scribbled on Post-it notes.

But during the Saturday evening Mass when he heard the opening lines of the first reading from Jeremiah, the priest switched gears, deciding he had to say something about sexual abuse allegations against now former Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, retired archbishop of Washington.

“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the flock of my pasture,” the passage from Jeremiah 23 begins.

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Letter to the Editor: Abusive priests deserve prison

OLEAN (NY)
Olean Times Herald

July 30, 2018

By Tom Capra

Anyone who commits sexual abuse should go to jail, including Catholic priests. Of the 42 priests listed in March by the Buffalo Diocese as having been accused of sexual abuse — or have committed it — only one has been sent to prison.

The Rev. Norbert Orsolits, living in Ashford, admitted earlier this year that he abused dozens of boys. If it was up to me he would be in Attica and never see the light of day.

It has been reported that the diocese would create a fund to settle claims of abuse. Where will it get the funds? From faithful parishioners.

The bishops moved abusive priests from parish to parish. What they should have done was call the police and have these priests arrested from the beginning, then there would not have been so many problems.

The pope should have immediately removed any bishops who tried to cover up abuse by priests — and maybe they should have been charged as co-conspirators. In any case, bishops everywhere should be ashamed of themselves, especially because their neglect tainted the good work of so many good priests.

I am going on 88. The church has changed a lot over the decades — and not for the good. I no longer attend Mass; I just can’t believe how they failed to address this issue over so many years.

Again, I’d like to see any abusive priest be sent to prison. Jerry Sandusky, the former Penn State football coach, got 60 years in prison for sexual abuse of boys. There was a local case in which a Portville man was sent to prison for many years for such crimes.

Sexual offenders must be locked up because they will never stop.

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US nuns demand action to end ‘culture of silence’ on abuse

VATICAN CITY
Associated Press

July 30, 2018

The largest association of Roman Catholic nuns in the United States urged its members Monday to report any sexual abuse of religious sisters by clergy and demanded that church authorities “take action to end a culture of silence, hold abusers accountable and provide support to those abused.”

The Leadership Conference of Women Religious, which represents about 80 percent of Catholic sisters in the U.S., issued a statement Monday in response to an Associated Press report about several sisters coming forward recently to denounce assaults by priests and bishops.

The LCWR said it didn’t have data on incidents in the U.S., but thanked the sisters for speaking out.

“We understand that reporting abuse requires courage and fortitude, however, bringing this horrific practice to light may be the only way that sexual abuse by those in positions of trust in the church community will be put to an end,” the association’s statement said.

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LCWR Responds to Reporting on Sexual Abuse by Clergy of Catholic Sisters

SILVER SPRING (MD)
Leadership Conference of Women Religious

July 30, 2018

By Sister Annmarie Sanders, IHM

On July 27, the Associated Press released an article on sexual abuse by clergy of Catholic sisters in many parts of the world. In response to an inquiry from an AP reporter assigned to investigate incidents of sexual abuse by clergy of sisters in the United States, LCWR released this statement.

[Silver Spring, MD] The Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) expresses profound sadness over the sexual abuse by clergy endured by Catholic sisters in many parts of the world. We join with all those demanding the end of a culture that ignores or tolerates sexual abuse of Catholic sisters or any other adult or minor perpetrated by those in positions of trust in the church community. Church authorities must take action to end a culture of silence, hold abusers accountable, and provide support to those abused. We thank all those Catholic sisters throughout the world who, at great risk, have spoken publicly about their abuse.

LCWR does not have data on incidents of sexual abuse by clergy of Catholic sisters in the United States. If sisters have endured sexual abuse, we would urge them to report the abuse to civic and church authorities, and to seek appropriate assistance since no one should have to suffer the long-term effects of abuse alone. We understand that reporting abuse requires courage and fortitude, however, bringing this horrific practice to light may be the only way that sexual abuse by those in positions of trust in the church community will be put to an end.

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A Catholic cardinal has weathered sex abuse allegations for years. Now they’re finally public.

NEW YORK (NY)
Vox Media

July 29, 2018

By Tara Isabella Burton

Theodore McCarrick has resigned from the College of Cardinals after allegations of abusing both children and adults.

Everybody in James’s family called him “Uncle Teddy.”

Father Theodore McCarrick was a New Jersey priest, whose charisma and intelligence had already set him on a clear course to rise in the Catholic ecclesiastical hierarchy. But to James, at age 11, whose story the New York Times reported last week (using only his first name), “Teddy” was a close family friend, an adviser, and a mentor.

He was also, James said, the man who exposed himself to James for the first time when he was 11. The man, James said, who first molested him when he was 12. And the man, James said, who got him drunk, took him to a hotel room, and assaulted him when James was 15. According to the Times report, James attempted to tell his family of the persistent abuse, only to be met with denial and disbelief.

Since then, McCarrick’s career continued to rise. In 1986, Father McCarrick became the archbishop of Newark. In 2000, he became the archbishop of Washington, DC, a particularly prestigious post. In 2001, he was promoted to cardinal, elevating him to the very highest ranks of Vatican officials. Even after his retirement in 2006 (archbishops must take mandatory retirement at the age of 75), McCarrick, now 88, remained a valued and vocal member of the Catholic community, often representing the Catholic perspective in global policy debate.

But on Friday, Pope Francis accepted McCarrick’s resignation from the College of Cardinals over allegations that he had sexually harassed and abused minors and young seminarians over the past several decades. According to a statement released by the Vatican, McCarrick has been instructed to live out a “life of prayer and penance,” and will have to remain in seclusion pending an ecclesiastical trial.

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More accountability needed after abuse revelations, church figures say

PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Catholic News Service via CatholicPhilly.com
Newspaper of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia

July 30, 2018

By Mark Pattison

Washington – The sexual abuse allegations surrounding now-former Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick have prompted some church figures to call for a more thorough reckoning of the U.S. church’s clerical sexual abuse policies.

“We can — and I am confident that we will — strengthen the rules and regulations and sanctions against any trying to fly under the radar or to ‘get away with’ such evil and destructive behaviors,” said Bishop Edward B. Scharfenberger of Albany, New York, in a July 27 letter to clergy in his diocese. “But, at its heart, this is much more than a challenge of law enforcement; it is a profoundly spiritual crisis.”

“In negative terms, and as clearly and directly as I can repeat our church teaching, it is a grave sin to be ‘sexually active’ outside of a real marriage covenant. A cardinal is not excused from what a layperson or another member of the clergy is not,” Bishop Scharfenberger said.

“A member of the clergy who pledges to live a celibate life must remain as chaste in his relationship with all whom he serves as spouses within a marriage. This is what our faith teaches and what we are held to in practice. There is no ‘third way,’” he added.

Bishop Scharfenberger said, “Abuse of authority — in this case, with strong sexual overtones — with vulnerable persons is hardly less reprehensible than the sexual abuse of minors, which the USCCB (U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops) attempted to address in 2002. Unfortunately, at that time — something I never understood — the ‘Charter’ (‘for the Protection of Children and Young People’) did not go far enough so as to hold cardinals, archbishops and bishops equally, if not more, accountable than priests and deacons.”

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Indian Catholic leaders protest call to ban sacrament of reconciliation

KANSAS CITY (MO)
Catholic News Service via National Catholic Reporter

July 30, 2018

New Delhi – India’s Catholic Church has led a chorus of protest over a demand to ban the sacrament of reconciliation from the chairwoman of the National Commission for Women.

“This demand is absurd and it displays ignorance about the sacrament of confession,” Cardinal Oswald Gracias of Mumbai, president of Catholic Bishops Conference of India, told Catholic News Service July 27.

“The tenor of the demand shows they do not understand the meaning nor do they have respect for religious freedom,” the cardinal said following wide media coverage of the July 26 demand from Rekha Sharma, commission chairwoman.

Sharma said that “priests pressure women into telling their secrets,” noting that the commission had heard testimony about one such case. “There must be many more such cases and what we have right now is just a tip of the iceberg,” she said in calling for the end of the church practice of confessing sins.

The call came after five Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church priests in Kerala state were suspended from ministry, including at least two who had sex with a married woman.

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Hypocrisy, not repression, causes Catholic sex abuse scandals

LONDON (ENGLAND)
Telegraph

July 31, 2018

By Tim Stanley

Theodore McCarrick was an archbishop and a cardinal, one of the most powerful men in the American Catholic Church. He helped write church policies designed to protect young people from sexual abuse. He is now accused of abusing children. McCarrick has resigned as a cardinal and been ordered by the Pope to conduct a “life of prayer and penance” – a sign that the Church may think he’s guilty.

Catholics have confronted sex scandals many times in the past decades, but the old focus was on individual priests, usually low down the food chain, who the hierarchy were happy to paint as isolated offenders. This time everyone is under scrutiny, and the secular authorities are not only interested in abusers…

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Sister Maureen Turlish, a Voice for Sex Abuse Victims, Dies at 79

NEW YORK (NY)
New York Times

July 30, 2018

By Sam Roberts

Sister Maureen Paul Turlish, a tenacious advocate for survivors of childhood sexual abuse by Roman Catholic clergymen, died on July 18 in Cincinnati. She was 79.

The cause was viral encephalitis, Paul Turlish, her brother and only immediate survivor, said.

While she had an abiding concern for children, articles in The Boston Globe and elsewhere beginning in 2002 that explored the abuse of minors by priests transformed her into one of the few religious sisters to publicly protest what she denounced as a “conspiracy, collusion and cover-up” by her church’s hierarchy.

“At the time, she was the only religious woman that would publicly stand up for this issue,” the Rev. Thomas P. Doyle, a canon lawyer and advocate for victims of clergy sexual abuse, was quoted as saying by her order, the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur.

Sister Maureen took to the picket line demanding compensation for victims and an extension of lapsed deadlines to prosecute predators and to lodge civil claims against them. She wrote letters to newspapers, initially under a pen name. She then abandoned anonymity as a founding member of the National Survivor Advocates Coalition and Catholic Whistleblowers.

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Judge named to sort out redactions in clergy abuse report

HARRISBURG (PA)
Associated Press

July 30, 2018

The judge who presided over Jerry Sandusky’s child molestation trial will help figure out what can be made public in a grand jury’s report into child sexual abuse in six Pennsylvania Roman Catholic dioceses.

The state Supreme Court on Monday has named McKean County Judge John Cleland to serve as special master.

The court has ordered the release of the report, but says names and other identifying information will have to be blacked out regarding priests and others who are challenging the report’s accuracy and fairness as it pertains to them.

If there aren’t any disputes about the redactions, the report will be made public Aug. 8.

The report focuses on allegations of child sexual abuse, and the Supreme Court says it identifies more than 300 “predator priests.”

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Pa. high court taps ex-Sandusky judge to oversee redaction of Catholic clergy sex abuse report

PHILADELPHIA (PA)
The Inquirer

July 30, 2018

by Liz Navratil

Harrisburg – A senior judge known for his work — and ultimate recusal — on the Jerry Sandusky case has been appointed to oversee the planned redactions to a controversial grand jury report outlining decades of child sex abuse by Catholic clergy across the state.

The state Supreme Court, in a two-sentence order Monday, appointed Judge John M. Cleland of McKean County to serve as a special master in the clergy abuse case. The court offered no insight into how it selected Cleland.

As special master, Cleland will preside over any legal disputes regarding redactions to the more than 800-page report documenting sexual abuse and cover-ups in six Catholic dioceses across the state. It is expected to be released next month.

The report’s release has been the subject of intense legal wrangling in recent weeks, much of it under seal. Lawyers for roughly two dozen current and former clergy members have asked the high court to block the release of portions of the report pertaining to them, saying that the sections are inaccurate or unfairly tarnish their clients’ reputations.

The court on Friday ordered a redacted copy of the report released while it weighs larger arguments pertaining to that group of clergy members.

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July 30, 2018

Curas en la mira: aparece otro caso de sacerdote abusador de menores en diócesis de Temuco

CHILE
El Mostrador

July 26, 2018

[Another case of a priest abusing minors in the diocese of Temuco]

Un nuevo caso de abuso sexual cometido por un sacerdote salió a la luz pública este jueves. Esta vez se trata del sacerdote Jaime Valenzuela Pozo, vicario de la Parroquia de Perquenco, Región de La Araucanía, quien fue suspendido de su cargo.

Así fue informado por el Obispado de Temuco, que dio cuenta de que la Vicaría Judicial recibió una denuncia por el delito de abuso sexual de menores, en contra de este religioso por hechos ocurridos hace 17 años.

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El Papa pide perdón al cura juzgado y absuelto en el ‘caso Romanones’

GRANADA (SPAIN)
El País

July 29, 2018

[The Pope asks forgiveness from priest who was prosecuted and cleared in the case of “the Romanones”]

By Javier Arroyo

Román Martínez, declarado inocente en el juicio por abusos sexuales en la Iglesia católica, es recibido en audiencia privada por Francisco

Román Martínez Velázquez de Castro, el sacerdote que se enfrentó a un juicio por el caso Romanones y que fue declarado inocente por la justicia española, ha recibido también la máxima sentencia de inocencia del ámbito eclesiástico: el papa Francisco lo ha recibido en audiencia privada y le ha perdido perdón por lo ocurrido.

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Cardinal Theodore McCarrick of Washington resigns after altar boy sex abuse allegation

WASHINGTON (DC)
PIX 11

July 28, 2018

By MAGEE HICKEY

Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, who once led the Archdiocese of Washington and was a force in American politics, after a decades-old allegation of sexual abuse of a teenage altar boy forced the Vatican to remove him from public ministry.

The Vatican said Saturday that Pope Francis accepted McCarrick’s resignation from the College of Cardinals on Friday evening and ordered him to “a life of prayer and penance until the accusations made against him are examined in a regular canonical trial.”

The Pope also ordered McCarrick’s suspension from public ministry and instructed him to “remain in a house yet to be indicated to him” until the trial.

McCarrick, 88, was informed several months ago that the Archdiocese of New York, where he was ordained in 1958, was investigating an allegation of abuse from a teenager “from almost fifty years ago,” McCarrick said in June, when the Pope ordered him to cease his priestly ministry in public.

The Archdiocese of New York said earlier it would not release specific details about the allegation to protect the victim’s privacy. It said a review board had found the allegations to be “credible and substantiated.” The accusation was also turned over to law enforcement in New York, according to the archdiocese.

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Public transport will be free across Dublin for anyone travelling to see the Pope next month

DUBLIN (IRELAND)
The Journal

July 26, 2018

By Ceimin Burke

The gardaí say there is a major oversubscription of those who are expecting to drive to and from the mass in the Phoenix Park.

GARDAÍ ARE ENCOURAGING people to leave their car at home when they travel to see Pope Francis in Phoenix Park next month.

Gardaí say there is a major oversubscription of people who are planning to drive to and from the mass in the Phoenix Park. Because of this they are encouraging people to leave their car at home and use public transport or private coaches.

There will be free travel on all public transport within Dublin on Sunday 26 August for anyone attending the event.

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Adelaide Archbishop Philip Wilson resigns after conviction for covering up child sexual abuse

AUSTRALIA
The Advertiser

July 30, 2018

By Andrew Hough, Derek Pedley

– Philip Wilson sentenced to home detention for at least six months
– Letter that led to Adelaide Archbishop Philip Wilson’s downfall

POPE Francis accepted the resignation of disgraced Adelaide Archbishop Philip Wilson on Monday night after weeks of intense pressure for him to quit because of his conviction for concealing child abuse.

The state’s highest-ranking Catholic Church leader had resisted widespread calls to step down, pending the result of the appeals process, but on Monday night conceded this was causing “just too much pain and distress” so “I must end this” and resign.

“Though my resignation was not requested, I made this decision because I have become increasingly worried at the growing level of hurt that my recent conviction has caused within the community,” he said in a statement.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said he welcomed the news “which belatedly recognises the many calls, including my own, for him to resign”.

“There is no more important responsibility for community and church leaders than the protection of children,” he said.

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Australian Archbishop Philip Wilson resigns after sex abuse cover-up

ROME
CNN

July 30, 2018

By Delia Gallagher

Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Australian Archbishop Philip Wilson of Adelaide, the highest-ranking Catholic official ever to be convicted of covering up sex abuse.

The Vatican made the announcement in a statement sent to CNN on Monday.

Wilson, 67, was found guilty in May of concealing the abuse of altar boys in the 1970s by pedophile priest James Fletcher.

Last week he said that he intended to appeal the ruling under the “due process of law.”

“Since that process is not yet complete, I do not intend to resign at this time. However, if I am unsuccessful in my appeal, I will immediately offer my resignation to the Holy See,” he said.

Wilson had been spared prison earlier in July and sentenced to six months’ home detention in Australia because of his poor health and advanced age.

There will be a hearing on August 14 to determine whether home detention is appropriate for Wilson and where he could stay, with his sister’s house raised as one option.

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Shocking number of sex offenders removed from register

ENGLAND
ITV

July 25, 2018

Figures obtained by Good Morning Britain have revealed dozens of sex offenders who have succeeded in getting themselves taken off the sex offenders register despite being put on it for life. In 2012 there was a change in the law which meant anyone given indefinite notification to remain on the register could appeal after 15 years.

Nationally, in the last 6 years over a thousand offenders whose offences were so serious they went to jail for at least 30 months succeeded in coming off the register – more than half had committed offences against children. Good Morning Britain put in a Freedom of Information request to police forces in the North West and got figures from Cumbria, Greater Manchester and Merseyside.

Being on the register means you have to tell the police if you move, if you spend time with children, if you want to leave the country and are subject to home visits and computer searches.

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Pope Francis accepts resignation of Archbishop Philip Wilson

AUSTRALIA
The Australian

July 31, 2018

By Sam Buckingham-Jones

The Pope has effectively sacked Philip Wilson after the Adelaide archbishop refused to stand down despite being the most senior Catholic to be charged, convicted and sentenced for concealing child sexual abuse.

The Vatican announced last night that Francis had accepted the resignation of Wilson.

Wilson had withstood calls to go from Malcolm Turnbull, insisting he would remain in his role through an appeals process.

The Australian understands the Prime Minister, who had called on the Pope to sack Wilson, had conveyed to archbishops Anthony Fisher and Mark Coleridge that Wilson must ­either resign or be sacked by the Pope.

Mr Turnbull sent the same message to the Vatican via Australia’s ambassador, Melissa Hitchman. He was told of Wilson’s resignation on the weekend, and it was announced at noon in Rome yesterday.

“I welcome Philip Wilson’s resignation as archbishop of Ade­laide today, which belatedly recognises the many calls, including my own, for him to resign. There is no more important responsibility for community and church leaders than the ­protection of children,” he said last night.

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Archbishop Philip Wilson resigns after sex abuse cover-up

AUSTRALIA
BBC News

July 30, 2018

Australian Archbishop Philip Wilson has resigned after being convicted of concealing child sex abuse.

In May, he was given a one-year sentence for failing to report allegations of abuse by a priest in the 1970s.

Wilson is the world’s most senior Roman Catholic cleric to be convicted of the offence.

Earlier this month, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull called on the Pope to sack him.

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Pope accepts resignation of Archbishop Philip Wilson, convicted of sex abuse cover-up

VATICAN CITY
CBS/AP

July 30, 2018

Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of an Australian archbishop convicted of covering up the sexual abuse of children by a priest, taking action after coming under mounting pressure from Australian priests and even the prime minister. Adelaide Archbishop Philip Wilson was convicted in May of failing to report to police the repeated abuse of two altar boys by a pedophile priest in the Hunter Valley region north of Sydney during the 1970s. He became the highest-ranking Catholic cleric ever convicted in a criminal court of abuse cover-up.

Wilson had declined to resign pending an appeal of his case. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull added his voice to those calling for his sacking in an appeal to Francis July 19.

In a statement Monday, the Vatican said Francis had accepted Wilson’s resignation.

Newcastle Magistrate Robert Stone ordered Wilson to serve at least 6 months before he is eligible for parole when he convicted him in May. Stone will consider on Aug. 14 whether Wilson is suitable for home detention. He could live with his sister near Newcastle.

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Adelaide archbishop Philip Wilson resigns after sentence for concealing child abuse

AUSTRALIA
The Guardian

July 30, 2018

By Harriet Sherwood

Pope accepts resignation from Wilson, who is appealing against his conviction

The pope has accepted the resignation of Philip Wilson, the Catholic archbishop of Adelaide, after he was convicted of concealing child abuse, in a further sign of the Vatican’s struggle to keep on top of a wave of scandals.

Wilson in May became the most senior Catholic cleric to be convicted of not disclosing to police abuse by another priest. He failed to report to police the abuse of two altar boys by a paedophile priest in the 1970s.

The archbishop was sentenced to 12 months in prison on 3 July and ordered to serve a minimum of six months. He immediately launched an appeal against the conviction.

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Pope accepts resignation of archbishop Philip Wilson

AUSTRALIA
The Newcastle Herald

July 30, 2018

By Simone Fox Koob

Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of the Archbishop of Adelaide, Philip Wilson, who was convicted of concealing child sexual abuse.

In a statement issued by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, president Archbishop Mark Coleridge said the Pope had accepted the resignation on Monday evening.

“His decision to resign comes after considering his future following his conviction for failing to report allegations of child sexual abuse that occurred in the 1970s,” he said.

“While the judicial process will continue, Archbishop Wilson’s resignation is the next chapter in a heartbreaking story of people who were sexually abused at the hands of Jim Fletcher and whose lives were forever changed.

“This decision may bring some comfort to them, despite the ongoing pain they bear.”

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Viral video of woman being punched in the face by alleged sexual harasser sparks probe

PARIS (FRANCE)
ABC News

July 30, 2018

By Paul Pradier

In order to spotlight sexual harassment on the street, a young French woman posted a video of herself being hit in the face by a man in the streets of Paris. The video has gone viral in France, and Paris prosecutors have launched an investigation.

Last Wednesday, Marie Laguerre, 22, posted on her Facebook page a video showing her being hit in the face by a man on a Paris street. Laguerre shared her experience in a Facebook post.

“Last night, as I was coming back home in Paris, I walked past a man who sexually/verbally harassed me,” she wrote in the post.

“He wasn’t the first one and I can’t accept being humiliated like that, so I replied ‘shut up,'” she continued. “He then threw an ashtray at me, before rushing back to punch me, in the middle of the street, in front of dozens of people.”

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Aly Raisman and other Larry Nassar survivors say USA Gymnastics and the USOC still aren’t doing enough to protect athletes

UNITED STATES
Hello Giggles

July 25, 2018

By Anna Sheffer

In January, after hundreds of women came forward with stories about being sexually abused by disgraced USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar, many wondered how USAG could have let it happen. After Nassar was convicted and sentenced to life in prison, the U.S. Olympic Committee even ordered all remaining members of the USAG board to resign.

But there was still the question of how future athletes would be protected from predators like Nassar, and yesterday, July 24th, reps from the USOC, USAG, and Michigan State University (where the abuse took place) attended a third Senate hearing to confront this question. In the wake of the hearing, though, many of the athletes in attendance are still looking for answers.

According to The New York Times, the hearing, entitled “Strengthening and Empowering U.S. Amateur Athletes: Moving Forward with Solutions,” sought to uncover what institutional changes have so far been made — and will be made — to protect athletes from abuse. USA Gymnastics President Kerry Perry apologized on behalf of the organization for Nassar’s actions and said that the group would now be “athlete-centric,” enabling survivors to more easily report abuse.

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Was it sexual abuse? Ohio State athletes confront the past

COLUMBUS (OH)
The Associated Press

July 26, 2018

By John Seewer and Kantele Franko

Looking back, many of the men now realize the medical exams were more than just weird and uncomfortable. Some still aren’t sure what to call it, uncertain whether it meets the definition of sexual abuse.

Among the more than 100 former male athletes and students at Ohio State University who have told investigators accounts of sexual misconduct by a now-dead team doctor, close to a dozen have publicly shared their stories of being groped and fondled decades ago.

The investigation into Richard Strauss involves his work with athletes from at least 14 sports, and at a student health center and his medical clinic. Strauss killed himself in 2005.

Many of the accusers, most now in their 40s and 50s, are just starting to acknowledge and confront what they experienced.

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Brock Turner’s Attorney Asks Court To Overturn Rape Conviction

SAN JOSE (CA)
California News Wire Services

July 24, 2018

The attorney of his appeal said the former Stanford swimmer engaged in “sexual outercourse” that did not involve the intent to commit rape.

The attorney for a former Stanford University swimmer convicted of sexual assaulting a female student in 2016 argued this morning in an appeal of the jury’s verdict that it should be overturned because of a lack of evidence. Brock Turner was convicted of assault with intent to commit rape, sexual penetration of an intoxicated person with a foreign object and sexual penetration of an unconscious person with a foreign object in March 2016.

Turner was sentenced to six months in jail and was released after three months for good behavior.

Attorney Eric Multhaup said of his appeal that Turner had only engaged in “sexual outercourse” that did not involve the intent to commit rape. Turner was not present in the courtroom during the appeal.

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Brock Turner’s Lawyer Is Trying to Get His Attempted Rape Charge Overturned by Coining the Term ‘Outercourse’

SAN FRANCISCO (CA)
ELLE

July 25, 2018

By Madison Feller

Back in March 2016, Brock Turner was sentenced to six months in jail after being found guilty of sexually assaulting an unconscious, partially-clothed woman during his time at Stanford University. He ended up only serving three months, and in December 2017, it was announced he would be appealing his conviction, one that required him to register as a sex offender.

Originally, Turner was convicted of sexual assault of an unconscious person, sexual assault of an intoxicated person, and sexual assault with intent to commit rape, according to the New York Times. Now, on Tuesday, Turner’s lawyer told an appellate court Turner actually wanted “outercourse” with his victim, which his lawyer described as fully-clothed sexual contact, not to be confused with intercourse, consensual or otherwise. According to Mercury News, he argued that Turner had his clothes on when he was found thrusting himself on top of his victim.

The goal is to get justices to overturn Turner’s attempted rape charge, but the Mercury News reports that the justices “appeared skeptical” and Justice Franklin D. Elia said, “I absolutely don’t understand what you are talking about,” in reference to Turner’s lawyer. Assistant Attorney General Alisha Carlile also said his lawyer presented a “far-fetched version of events.” The panel now has 90 days to issue a ruling.

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Brock Turner sought ‘outercourse’ with victim, says lawyer for ex-Stanford student

SAN FRANCISCO (CA)
The Guardian

July 25, 2018

By Sam Levin

Experts condemn ‘breathtaking’ claim about attack on unconscious woman, calling it hurtful to sexual violence survivors

A lawyer for Brock Turner, the former Stanford student convicted of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman, argued in court during an appeal hearing that his client was seeking “outercourse” with his victim.

The attorney’s appeal of the high-profile case, which led to international outrage after Turner received a lenient sentence in 2016, advanced in a California court this week, with an unusual legal claim that experts said was shocking and hurtful to survivors of sexual violence.

Turner was originally convicted of assault with intent to commit rape of an intoxicated woman and penetration of an unconscious person after passersby spotted him thrusting on top of a motionless woman outside of a fraternity house in 2015. But his lawyer Eric Multhaup argued in court Tuesday that his client was not attempting rape, but was seeking “outercourse”, which he said was sexual contact while clothed and a “version of safe sex” , the Mercury News reported.

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Delbarton acknowledges that dozens were abused. Victims say school hasn’t gone far enough

MORRISTOWN (NJ)
NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

July 25, 2018

By Justin Zaremba

Delbarton School and St. Mary’s Abbey, for the first time, has publicly acknowledged the accusations of 30 individuals who have alleged abuse by 13 past or current priests and monks there, and one retired lay faculty member, over the course of three decades.

Abbot Richard Cronin and Delbarton Headmaster Michael Tidd also offered an apology “to anyone who has suffered sexual abuse or harassment because of the actions of a St. Mary’s Abbey monk or Delbarton School employee,” in a July 20 letter to the community.

According to the letter, abbey officials notified the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office as each allegation emerged, but criminal charges were filed in only one case. The Morris County Prosecutor’s Office declined to discuss its investigations.

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Former One Nation adviser Sean Black sentenced to five years’ jail for raping his former wife

AUSTRALIA
Australian Broadcasting Corporation

July 26, 2018

By Josh Robertson

Former One Nation adviser Sean Black has been sentenced to five years’ jail for raping and assaulting his former wife, but his sentence will be suspended after two years and three months.

Earlier this month Black was convicted of raping his former wife Tanya in a bathroom in 2007, pushing her down stairs and crushing her hand in a door.

Black, who did not give evidence, was acquitted on a separate count of assault.

In sentencing, Judge Glen Cash said it was clear Black was willing to use violence to dominate his relationship.

“The victim of the offences was not only your wife but the mother of your children,” Judge Cash said.

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Top cardinal demands Vatican get tough with bishops on sex abuse

VATICAN CITY
Reuters

July 25, 2018

By Philip Pullella

A leading Roman Catholic cardinal and key adviser to Pope Francis called on Tuesday for the Vatican to “swiftly and decisively” adopt strict policies for cases of sexual abuse involving bishops and top clergy.

Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston issued the appeal with the Church in the United States still reeling from allegations that another cardinal was involved in abuse of minors and sexual improprieties with adult seminarians years ago.

O’Malley said he was “deeply troubled” by the case of Cardinal Theodore McCarrick and that it and others “raise up the fact that when charges are brought regarding a bishop or a cardinal, a major gap still exists in the Church’s policies on sexual conduct and sexual abuse”.

His forceful statement also comes as the Vatican has been hit by a major scandal that has engulfed the Church in Chile.

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Bishops were ‘perfect accomplices’ for ‘nauseating’ Peter Ball, IICSA hears

UNITED KINGDOM
Church Times

July 23, 2018

By Hattie Williams

PETER BALL found the “perfect cover” for his sex-offending in the Church of England, and the “perfect accomplices” in fellow bishops who turned a blind eye to his actions, the Independent Inquiry into Child Sex Abuse (IICSA) has heard.

The details of the abuse carried out against vulnerable adults by Mr Ball, the disgraced former Bishop of Gloucester, during his ministry were heard on Monday at the start of a week-long hearing being conducted by IICSA, as part of its investigation into the extent to which the Anglican Church failed to protect children from child sex abuse.

The first hearing, in March, used the diocese of Chichester as a case study (News, 9 March). This week is to focus on the repeated failures of the police, Crown Prosecution Service, and the Church to identify, prevent, and prosecute abuse carried out by Ball over several decades, the lead counsel to the Anglican investigation, Fiona Scolding QC explained.

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Editorial: Addressing abuse, church must address the betrayal of community

KANSAS CITY (MO)
National Catholic Reporter

July 25, 2018

By NCR Editorial Staff

It is time for an apostolic visitation to US church about clergy abuse

A particularly heart-freezing detail emerges in a 60-year-old man’s account of how he was abused as a boy by then-Fr. Theodore McCarrick.

As described in a July 19 story in The New York Times: “The connection between Father McCarrick and James’s family was deep.” James’ uncle had been McCarrick’s best friend in high school, and the young priest grew up with the family sharing meals and free time with the family. That intimacy was reinforced sacramentally. “James,” the Times records, “was baptized by Father McCarrick on June 15, 1958, two weeks after he was ordained as a priest.”

“It was explained to us how Jimmy was special to Father McCarrick, because of that very special thing that happened, that he was his first baptism,” the man’s sister told the Times. James had told Karen and his other siblings of the abuse only days before. James had kept silent for some 40 years.

To fully grasp the sense of betrayal ordinary Catholics feel toward their hierarchy, you must fully grasp the horror of this detail: James was abused by the man who baptized him. The man who stood in persona Christi at the baptismal font, at the family dining table, around the backyard family pool, abused a child of God.

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Irish sex abuse survivors say Francis should admit to Vatican’s cover-up

KANSAS CITY (MO)
National Catholic Reporter

July 25, 2018

By Joshua J. McElwee

Several prominent Irish clergy sexual abuse survivors are calling on Pope Francis to use his upcoming visit to their country at the end of August to admit to the Vatican’s role for decades in helping cover-up abuse cases on the island.

Noting that the pontiff publicly decried a “culture of abuse and cover-up” in the Chilean Catholic Church in a letter to the people of that country in May, the Irish survivors say they are owed a similar admission about how the church sought to silence them and fellow victims.

“It would be very right if he said the same sort of things here in Ireland, because the situation in Ireland was no different than the situation in Chile,” said Marie Collins, an Irish survivor and former member of Francis’ clergy abuse commission.

“I think it’s an opportunity with the pope coming to Ireland to be open and very clear in … saying something about it, because that really hasn’t happened,” Collins said in a July NCR interview.

Mark Vincent Healy, an Irish survivor who took part in Francis’ first meeting with abuse victims at the Vatican in 2014, said simply: “I think the same questions that were asked in Chile with regards to the church there would be something of the similar scrutiny that needs to be asked of the church here.”

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Adelaide Archbishop Philip Wilson resigns

AUSTRALIA
9news/AAP

July 30, 2018

Adelaide Archbishop Philip Wilson has formally resigned after he was convicted of concealing child abuse in May.

The outgoing Archbishop says he hopes his shock decision, which has been accepted by the Pope, will be a “catalyst to heal pain and distress”.

In May, Wilson became the most senior Catholic cleric to be convicted of not disclosing to police abuse by priest James Fletcher in the Hunter region of NSW in the 1970s.

He immediately launched an appeal against his conviction after he was handed 12 months detention earlier this month.

Calls for his resignation came thick and fast but Wilson insisted he would not step aside until his legal options were exhausted.

One of Fletcher’s victims, Peter Gogarty, wrote to the pope earlier this month calling for Wilson to be sacked.

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A 6-Year-Old Girl Was Sexually Abused in an Immigrant-Detention Center

PHOENIX (AZ)
The Nation

July 27, 2018

By Ari Honarvar

Separated from her mother by Trump’s zero-tolerance policy, the child was forced to sign a statement confirming that she understood it was her responsibility to stay away from her abuser.

According to immigrant-rights advocates, a 6-year-old girl separated from her mother under the Trump administration’s “zero-tolerance” immigration policy was sexually abused while at an Arizona detention facility run by Southwest Key Programs. The child was then made to sign a form acknowledging that she was told to maintain her distance from her alleged abuser, who is an older child being held at the same detention facility.

The girl, who is only identified by the initials D.L., and her mother had been fleeing gang violence in their native Guatemala. According to the family, the pair entered the United States at a point of entry in El Paso, Texas, on May 24, where they presented Border Patrol authorities with paperwork claiming that they had “credible fear” that returning to Guatemala would result in harm. On May 26, government officials separated D.L. from her mother and sent her to Casa Glendale, a shelter outside of Phoenix operated by Southwest Key Programs. It was there that the alleged abuse occurred.

Before D.L. was taken away, her mother provided authorities with the phone number of D.L.’s father, an undocumented immigrant living in California. On June 11, D.L.’s father received a phone call from Southwest Key explaining that a boy had fondled his daughter and other girls. According to family spokesperson Mark Lane, D.L.’s father was told not to worry, because Southwest Key was changing some of its protocols and such abuse would not happen again. (Lane was connected with D.L.’s family through Families Belong Together, a coalition of civil-rights groups formed in response to the recent border crackdown.) Lane says that D.L.’s father asked to speak with a social worker, but, despite promises from the facility, he never heard from one.

A Southwest Key Programs document obtained by The Nation confirms that D.L. was reported to have been sexually abused on June 4, 2018. On June 12, one day after D.L.’s father was contacted, the 6-year-old girl was presented with the form stating that, as part of the facility’s intervention protocol, she had been instructed to “maintain my distance from the other youth involved” and had been provided “psychoeducation,” described in the document as “reporting abuse” and “good touch bad touch.” The form, posted below, shows D.L’s “signature”—a single letter “D,” next to the characterization of her as “tender age”—which supposedly confirms that D.L understands “that it is my responsibility to follow the safety plan” reviewed with her.

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How Ronan Farrow keeps landing bombshells

NEW YORK (NY)
CNN

July 29, 2018

By Brian Stelter

Ronan Farrow’s incredible run of reporting proves that good work is its own calling card.
Case in point: Some of the sources for his newest story, about Les Moonves and the culture at CBS, “began coming to me immediately after the Harvey Weinstein story,” Farrow says.

Farrow spent much of 2017 investigating Weinstein’s alleged abuse of women. His reporting was originally for NBC News, where he was being underutilized. After many months, the network essentially told him to take the story elsewhere, so he did — and The New Yorker ended up with his scoop.

Farrow’s investigation came out last October, just a few days after The New York Times published its OWN reporting about Weinstein. He has continued writing for The New Yorker ever since, turning out impactful stories, such as his recent look inside CBS.

One of the Moonves accusers, Illeana Douglas, “called me, in fact, the day after that first Harvey Weinstein story I wrote and told me her story, and we’ve been carefully investigating since,” Farrow said on CNN’s “Reliable Sources” on Sunday.

And if the past is any indication, he isn’t finished investigating yet.

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Les Moonves and CBS Face Allegations of Sexual Misconduct

NEW YORK (NY)
The New Yorker

August 6 & 13, 2018 Issue

By Ronan Farrow

Six women accuse the C.E.O. of harassment and intimidation, and dozens more describe abuse at his company.

For more than twenty years, Leslie Moonves has been one of the most powerful media executives in America. As the chairman and C.E.O. of CBS Corporation, he oversees shows ranging from “60 Minutes” to “The Big Bang Theory.” His portfolio includes the premium cable channel Showtime, the publishing house Simon & Schuster, and a streaming service, CBS All Access. Moonves, who is sixty-eight, has a reputation for canny hiring and project selection. The Wall Street Journal recently called him a “TV programming wizard”; the Hollywood Reporter dubbed him a “Wall Street Hero.” In the tumultuous field of network television, he has enjoyed rare longevity as a leader. Last year, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, he earned nearly seventy million dollars, making him one of the highest-paid corporate executives in the world.

In recent months, Moonves has become a prominent voice in Hollywood’s #MeToo movement. In December, he helped found the Commission on Eliminating Sexual Harassment and Advancing Equality in the Workplace, which is chaired by Anita Hill. “It’s a watershed moment,” Moonves said at a conference in November. “I think it’s important that a company’s culture will not allow for this. And that’s the thing that’s far-reaching. There’s a lot we’re learning. There’s a lot we didn’t know.”

But Moonves’s private actions belie his public statements. Six women who had professional dealings with him told me that, between the nineteen-eighties and the late aughts, Moonves sexually harassed them. Four described forcible touching or kissing during business meetings, in what they said appeared to be a practiced routine. Two told me that Moonves physically intimidated them or threatened to derail their careers. All said that he became cold or hostile after they rejected his advances, and that they believed their careers suffered as a result. “What happened to me was a sexual assault, and then I was fired for not participating,” the actress and writer Illeana Douglas told me. All the women said they still feared that speaking out would lead to retaliation from Moonves, who is known in the industry for his ability to make or break careers. “He has gotten away with it for decades,” the writer Janet Jones, who alleges that she had to shove Moonves off her after he forcibly kissed her at a work meeting, told me. “And it’s just not O.K.”

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Alleged victims in story about Leslie Moonves, CBS were ‘terrified’: Ronan Farrow

UNITED STATES
ABC News

July 28, 2018

By Morgan Winsor, Joshua Hoyos, Julia Jacobo, and Tom Llamas

The reporter who broke the New Yorker story about CBS executive Les Moonves allegedly engaging in sexual misconduct described the women in his exposé as being “terrified” and “intimidated.”

Ronan Farrow appeared on “Good Morning America” on Saturday to discuss the shocking allegations of sexual misconduct laid out against Moonves.

“We’re really careful not to draw inferences that are speculative at all, but these are stories one after another of varying degrees of severity up to and including cases in which women say they were pinned down and struggled to escape,” Farrow told ABC News’ Dan Harris. “These are stories that happened during business meetings, which I believe was particularly devastating for these women that expected to be taken seriously.”

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Anita Hill: The Public’s Attitude On Sexual Harassment Has Definitely Changed

UNITED STATES
The Huffington Post

July 30, 2018

By Carla Baranauckas

Yet women still shoulder too much of the burden when it comes to abuse in the workplace, she says.

When Anita Hill testified in Clarence Thomas’ confirmation hearings for the U.S. Supreme Court 27 years ago and accused him of sexual harassment, she was vilified for coming forward. Since then, however, Hill says the public’s attitude about sexual harassment in the workplace has changed.

“Oh, there’s been a tremendous amount of change,” Hill told John Oliver on Sunday’s broadcast of “Last Week Tonight.” “There’s been a change in public attitude. And there’s been a change in the amount of information that we have about sexual harassment. And there’s certainly more awareness after the #metoo movement.”

Hill, a professor at Brandeis University, said people were long aware of sexual harassment, but there was no consensus about how it should be handled.

“So far much of the approaches we’ve had is to put all of the burden on women,” Hill said. “One of the questions I get that just sort of sticks out with me is, ‘How do we raise our daughter to make sure that she doesn’t set herself up to be a victim of sexual harassment?’ These are the kinds of things that we’re thinking. If we fix her, then she won’t encounter this problem. In reality, she is not the problem.”

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Breaking: Pope accepts resignation of archbishop convicted of child abuse cover-up

AUSTRALIA
Vanguard

July 30, 2018

Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Philip Wilson, an Australian archbishop convicted in May of concealing abuse by a notorious paedophile priest in the 1970s, the Vatican said Monday.

Earlier this month Wilson, 67, was sentenced to a year in detention after becoming one of the highest-ranking church officials to be convicted on the charge.

“The Holy Father Francis accepted the resignation of the pastoral government of the Archdiocese of Adelaide (Australia), presented by S.E. Mons. Philip Edward Wilson,” the Vatican said in a statement.

His resignation comes less than a fortnight after Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull asked the pope to sack Wilson, who was found guilty in an Australian court of failing to report allegations against paedophile priest Jim Fletcher.

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Pope accepts US cardinal’s resignation after sexual abuse claim

VATICAN CITY
The Telegraph

July 28, 2018

By Ben Riley-Smith

One of America’s most prominent Catholic cardinals has resigned after an allegation was made that he sexually abused a teenage boy almost 50 years ago.

Theodore McCarrick, the former archbishop of Washington, wrote to the Vatican offering his resignation on Friday, which was accepted by Pope Francis.

A statement from the Vatican issued on Saturday read: “Yesterday evening the Holy Father received the letter in which Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, Archbishop Emeritus of Washington (USA), presented his resignation as a member of the College of Cardinals.

“Pope Francis accepted his resignation from the cardinalate and has ordered his suspension from the exercise of any public ministry, together with the obligation to remain in a house yet to be indicated to him, for a life of prayer and penance until the accusations made against him are examined in a regular canonical trial.”

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California youth pastor suspected of assaults over decades

RIVERSIDE (CA)
The Associated Press

July 29, 2018

Authorities say a Southern California youth pastor has been arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting children over nearly two decades.

The Press-Enterprise reports Malo Victor Monteiro was arrested Friday in Riverside County, east of Los Angeles. The 45-year-old could face charges including intent to commit rape, mayhem or sodomy, lewd and lascivious acts on a child and sexual penetration by force. It wasn’t immediately known if he has an attorney.

The sheriff’s department says deputies were alerted in June to alleged lewd acts by Monteiro. Officials say detectives determined that several juveniles were allegedly sexually assaulted between 1999 and 2017.

The name of the church where Monteiro worked was not disclosed.

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Australian bishop convicted of sex abuse cover-up resigns

VATICAN CITY
The Associated Press

July 30, 2018

By Nicole Winfield

Pope Francis on Monday accepted the resignation of an Australian archbishop convicted in criminal court of covering up the sexual abuse of children by a priest, taking action after coming under mounting pressure from ordinary Catholics, priests and even the Australian prime minister.

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It was the second major announcement of a sex abuse-related resignation in as many days, after Francis’ dramatic sanctioning this weekend of a U.S. cardinal, suggesting he is keen to clean house before he heads to Dublin next month for a big Catholic family rally. The sex abuse scandal is likely to dominate the trip given Ireland’s devastating history with predator priests and the bishops who covered for them.

In Australia, Adelaide Archbishop Philip Wilson was convicted in May of failing to report to police the repeated abuse of two altar boys by a pedophile priest in the Hunter Valley region north of Sydney during the 1970s. He became the highest-ranking Catholic cleric ever convicted in a criminal court of abuse cover-up.

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The Latest: Texas prelate praises pope’s move on McCarrick

VATICAN CITY
The Associated Press

July 28, 2018

The Latest on the sex abuse allegations surrounding U.S. prelate Theodore McCarrick (all times local):

5:20 p.m.

The Texas prelate who heads the U.S. bishops’ conference is thanking Pope Francis for accepting Cardinal Theodore McCarrick’s resignation amid a sex abuse scandal.

Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo said in a statement Saturday: “I thank the Holy Father for his leadership in taking this important step.”

The Vatican said Francis had received McCarrick’s offer to leave the College of Cardinals on Friday.

DiNardo, archbishop of Galveston-Houston and president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, noted that Francis also ordered the former Washington D.C. archbishop to “observe a life of prayer and penance in seclusion” until a church trial is held.

DiNardo said Francis was prioritizing “the need for protection and care for all our people” and aware of how “failures in this area affect the life of the church in the United States.”

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Adelaide Archbishop Philip Wilson resigns amid child sex abuse cover-up

ULTIMO (AUSTRALIA)
ABC

July 30, 2018

Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Adelaide Archbishop Philip Wilson — the most senior Catholic in the world to be convicted of concealing child sex abuse.

There had been intense pressure on Philip Wilson to officially step down from the role, with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and other political leaders among those calling for his resignation.

In May, Wilson was found guilty of covering up the abuse of children between 2004 and 2006 at the hands of paedophile priest Jim Fletcher in the 1970s.

Fletcher died in prison in 2006.

In a statement, the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference said Wilson had “decided that his conviction means he can no longer continue as Archbishop because to do so would continue to cause pain and distress to many, especially to survivors and also in the Archdiocese of Adelaide”.

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Bishops say pope’s move on McCarrick not the end of the road

DENVER (CO)
Crux

July 30, 2018

By Christopher White

New York – Following Pope Francis’s historic decision to accept the resignation of Cardinal Theodore McCarrick from the College of Cardinals, both fellow bishops in the United States as well as survivors and advocates say it’s a step forward but there’s still a great distance to be traveled until the pledge of “zero tolerance” is fulfilled.

“The somber announcement from the Vatican this morning will impact the Catholic community of the Archdiocese of Newark with particular force,” said Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark in a statement on Saturday.

Tobin – who now holds the post McCarrick held from 1986 to 2001 – went on to add that “this latest news is a necessary step for the Church to hold itself accountable for sexual abuse and harassment perpetrated by its ministers, no matter their rank. I ask my brothers and sisters to pray for all who may have been harmed by the former Cardinal, and to pray for him as well.”

Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington, who succeeded McCarrick in 2006, spoke to WTOP, a local D.C. radio show, on Saturday, where he called the decision a “big step forward in trying to act quickly, decisively,” though he acknowledged that the “procedure isn’t concluded yet.”

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Swift action on abuse allows priests to get about their mission

DENVER (CO)
Crux

July 29, 2018

By Father Jeffrey F. Kirby

… Regrettably, a priest’s negligence of his own discipleship, doesn’t end merely in the realm of omission. If a man is consecrated for service, and his whole life is to be directed to this end, and yet he ignores this fundamental mission, then his soul is thrown into disarray. His internal measure is off. The structure of his soul and the inner dynamics of his affections are confused and left unfulfilled.

In such a weary and confused state, the soul of such a lost priest begins to desperately look for something beyond its mission. Tragically, in a fallen world, this wayward search never ends well.

If humility is not nurtured, pride dominates. If selflessness does not become a way of life, self-absorption takes over. If love, which is to be patient and kind, is not victorious, anger and envy seek to justify themselves. The parallels are disastrous and they continuously and rapidly descend into appalling darkness, lacking any sense of goodness or self-regulation.

In such a bleak existence, the priest’s appearance, the task of “playing the role,” becomes the only rule of his life and becomes a manipulative means for deception and disguise.

While such backsliding is possible for any priest, it takes on a particularly gross expression in sexual predators who are welcomed and protected within the ranks of Catholic priests. In such shadows, the priesthood is redefined beyond comprehension by sick men, who should never have been ordained or promoted in the Church.

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Kerala priest accused of influencing nun to withdraw sex abuse case

DUBAI (UNITED ARAB EMIRATES)
Gulf News

July 29, 2018

By Akhel Mathew

Following the nun’s accusation, a number of other nuns and even a few priests have raised allegations against the bishop

Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala – The troubles of Kerala’s Catholic Church multiplied over the weekend with a priest caught on tape attempting to influence a nun to withdraw the ongoing case pertaining to sexual abuse by the Jalandhar bishop, Franco Mulakkal.

A nun at the church’s convent in Kuravilangad in Kottayam district had accused the bishop of sexually abusing her as many as 13 times. Bishop Mulakkal has denied the allegation and police are yet to question the bishop.

Following the nun’s accusation, a number of other nuns and even a few priests raised allegations against the bishop and the manner in which such complaints are swept under the carpet by the church authorities.

In the latest twist to the case, a Catholic priest, James Aerthayil has been caught on tape speaking to one of the nuns supporting the victim, asking her to withdraw the case against the bishop.

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Priest-abuse victims’ advocate: Interim report means justice denied ‘again’

MECHANICSVILLE (PA)
PennLive

July 28, 2018

By Ivey DeJesus

Rep. Mark Rozzi, the de facto advocate for victims of child sex abuse in Pennsylvania, is blasting an order issued Friday by the state’s highest court directing the Commonwealth to release a partial report on a long-awaited grand jury investigation on clergy sex abuse.

“Justice delayed is justice denied … again,” said Rozzi, a Berks County Democrat who, at the age of 13, was molested by a priest.

“While the justices ponder what ‘process-related remedial measure can be taken now,’ how ’bout the Church save us all a lot of grief and voluntarily present their bad actors to the public?”

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Friday ordered the Office of Attorney General to release to the public large portions of the report on the grand jury investigation. The report – the findings of an 18-month-long investigation into clergy sex abuse across six of the state’s eight Catholic dioceses – identifies more than 300 predator priests.

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Pope Francis has utterly failed to tackle the church’s abuse scandal

LONDON (ENGLAND)
The Guardian

July 26, 2018

By Catherine Pepinster

The pontiff’s efforts to deal with the crisis have stalled. He must act decisively or many more Catholics will lose their faith

There is a recent photo of Pope Francis doing the rounds on social media that shows him walking alone, without security people or a private secretary, across a Vatican courtyard. In the early days of his pontificate, it would have been seen as Francis breaking through the stuffy conventions of the Vatican: being his own man. Five years on, it is instead viewed as symbolic of Francis’s loneliness. Here is a man struggling to find allies or support from the Catholic faithful in his stalled efforts to reform the church and failing attempts to tackle the abuse crisis.

That crisis now threatens to engulf his papacy and do lasting damage to Francis’s own reputation. The scandal has grown from being, as the church once claimed, about a few bad apples, to a global disaster, revealing not only cover-ups by bishops of priests’ behaviour but accusations against archbishops and cardinals, the princes of the church. So bad is the situation that it has edged ever closer to the pope himself, with two of the members of his C9 group of cardinal advisers now tainted by abuse scandals. (It should be noted that the C9 members involved dispute the claims.)

In recent days the Catholic church has also been rocked by accusations against one of the most respected cardinals of recent times, the retired archbishop of Washington DC, Theodore McCarrick. The Vatican has ordered him to cease public ministry. McCarrick, 88, was a confidant of presidents and popes, including Francis.

The scandals now lead to routine expressions of sorrow from the Vatican and other Catholic outposts. But this is not enough. Victims, Catholic laity, and indeed innocent clerics viewed as possible miscreants by a cynical public need action to be taken to at last root out the abusers, work out the causes and enact reforms.

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Pennsylvania Supreme Court approves release of 900-page grand jury report about Catholic clergy sex abuse

WASHINGTON (DC)
Washington Post

July 27, 2018

By Michelle Boorstein

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2018/07/27/pennsylvania-supreme-court-oks-release-of-900-page-grand-jury-report-about-catholic-clergy-sex-abuse/

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled Friday that a landmark 900-page grand jury report about child sex abuse by Catholic clergy should be released as soon as Aug. 8 — but with some of the 300 predators’ names temporarily redacted.

A court battle has been underway for weeks over questions of fairness and transparency, with prosecutors and abuse advocates saying the results of an 18-month investigation must be released for justice to be done. Ten news organizations, including the Morning Call in Allentown, Pa., and The Washington Post, joined in a brief urging the release of the grand jury report.

But people named in the report said that they have not had adequate opportunity to protect their reputations and could be severely harmed as a result.

The grand jury report comes after several other explosive ones in Pennsylvania targeting institutional sex abuse — in other Catholic dioceses and at Pennsylvania State, among other places — and is expected to be “sobering” and “rather graphic,” Erie Bishop Lawrence Persico said this month.

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July 29, 2018

Call for €15m fund for abused

IRELAND
The Sunday Times

July 29, 2018

By Justine McCarthy

Finian McGrath, the cabinet’s super-junior minister, has written to the minister for finance asking him to allocate €15m in the October budget to people who were sexually abused in day schools but are disqualified from the state’s redress scheme.

The letter to Paschal Donohoe came after the Independent Alliance minister criticised the government’s opposition to a Fianna Fail motion in the Dail at a July 10 cabinet meeting. It proposed extending eligibility for the scheme to applicants whose attackers had been convicted in the courts. The motion was passed, with 84 votes in favour and 44 against.

McGrath said in his letter that victims who had been deemed ineligible for the ex-gratia payments scheme, administered by the State Claims Agency, were owed a debt by the state for helping to remove child abusers from schools by assisting with their prosecutions.

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Head priest rapes woman inside temple premises in Greater Noida

GREATER NOIDA, UTTAR PRADESH (INDIA)
The Hindu

July 28, 2018

Case registered; hunt launched to arrest the accused

A woman was allegedly raped by the head priest inside a temple premises in a Greater Noida village, police said on Saturday.

The incident took place in Dhoom Manikpur village in the Badalpur police station area on July 9, they said.

According to the police complaint, the victim visited the temple with a woman relative, following which the priest called her into his room and raped her.

Greater Noida Deputy Superintendent of Police Avaneesh Kumar said a case was registered against the accused, identified as Swami Kanhaiya Nand, who absconded after the incident.

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EDITORIAL: Sins That Demand Justice: How Clerical Culture Failed to Stop Sexual Predators

UNITED STATES
National Catholic Register

July 26, 2018

EDITORIAL: We pray that the moral ambivalence that permitted and nurtured Cardinal Theodore McCarrick’s rise will be condemned and that Pope Francis, in concert with the U.S. bishops, will begin a much-needed purification of the Church.

Amid increasing allegations of sexual abuse against the disgraced U.S. Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston, the Church’s most respected advocate for victims of clergy sexual abuse of minors, broke the episcopal silence and pledged that Pope Francis would take decisive action against Cardinal McCarrick and other prelates facing similar allegations

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Supreme Court seeks records in Kerala Church sex scandal case

NEW DELHI (INDIA)
The Hindu

July 27, 2018

The Supreme Court on Thursday called for records of the investigation carried out by the Crime Branch in the case of alleged rape and molestation charges against four priests in the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church rape case. A Bench of Justice A.K. Sikri and Justice Ashok Bhushan granted protection from arrest to two of the accused — Father Jaise K. George and Father Sony Varghese — till August 6, the next date of hearing.

Both the accused had approached the top court after their anticipatory bail pleas were turned down by the Kerala High Court.

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Confessions in churches being misused, govt should end it, says national women’s panel

NEW DELHI (INDIA)
Indian Express

July 27, 2018

By Liz Mathew

The National Commission for Women (NCW), submitting a report on the two sex scandals in churches in Kerala, has recommended the government should abolish confessions in churches as “they come in the way of security and safety of women.”

The National Commission for Women (NCW), submitting a report on the two sex scandals in churches in Kerala, has recommended that the government should intervene to abolish the practice of confession in churches as “they come in the way of security and safety of women.”

NCW chairperson Rekha Sharma said the commission has sought a probe by a central agency into the two scandals that surfaced last month: one involving four priests of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church and the second one accusing the Bishop of Jalandhar, Franco Mulakkal, of rape.

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Prince Charles kept in touch with ex-bishop later jailed for abuse

ENGLAND
The Guardian

July 20, 2018

By Harriet Sherwood

Prince told inquiry he was deceived by Peter Ball, who called him a ‘loyal friend’

Prince Charles maintained contact with a former bishop who was later jailed for abusing young men and occasionally gave him money because he was deceived over the man’s crimes, he has told the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse.

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Prince Charles rued ‘monstrous wrongs’ against bishop later convicted of abuse

ENGLAND
The Guardian

July 28, 2018

By Harriet Sherwood

Child abuse inquiry hears prince told Peter Ball in 1995: ‘I wish I could do more’

Prince Charles told Peter Ball “monstrous wrongs” had been done to the disgraced bishop and that he wished he could do more to help, the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse has heard.

The comments came in a letter sent by the Prince of Wales to Ball in February 1995, two years after the former bishop of Gloucester accepted a police caution for gross indecency and resigned his position in the church.

The prince also told the inquiry in a six-page statement that he had been deceived over a long period of time “about the true nature” of Ball’s activities, but denied that he had sought to influence the outcome of police investigations. He said he was unsure whether he was told about Ball’s caution until 2009.

In 2015, Ball was convicted of sexual offences against 18 young men and sentenced to 32 months in prison. An independent inquiry last year found that senior figures in the Church of England had engaged in collusion and cover-up over the case.

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Legal Mal Claim Fails, but Church Suit Goes Forward Against NJ Attorney Over Publicizing Delbarton Sex Abuse Case

NEW JERSEY
New Jersey Law Journal

July 27, 2018

By Michael Booth

A New Jersey appeals court has awarded a partial victory to an attorney being sued by an order of the Catholic Church for allegedly breaching the terms of a decades-old settlement agreement entered into by a parochial school student by holding a media conference.

The Appellate Division said attorney Gregory Gianforcaro owed no duty of care to the Order of St. Benedict of New Jersey, a nonclient, and thus a motion to add a legal malpractice claim to the suit was rightly denied.

St. Benedict operates the Delbarton School in Morristown.

“Gianforcaro’s representation was limited to litigating [the former student’s] claims against OSBNJ, not to negotiating the settlement agreement,” Appellate Division Judges Marie Simonelli and Michael Haas said in the July 27 per curiam decision. “Gianforcaro is OSBNJ’s adversary attorney in this litigation, and thus, OSBNJ had no reason to rely on his actions as an attorney.”

The panel added, “In the absence of Gianforcaro’s independent duty of care to OSBNJ, a non-client, the proposed legal malpractice claim was unsustainable as a matter of law and would not have survived a motion to dismiss.”

But the panel reversed the dismissal of contract-based claims, saying the order could proceed with claims alleging breach of contract and breach of duty of good faith and fair dealing.

The dispute involves a 1988 settlement, which contained a confidentiality agreement, between the Order and a student, identified only as W.W., who alleged that he was sexually abused by one of his teachers at Delbarton.

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SBC launches ‘study group’ focusing on sexual abuse in the church

ALABAMA
AL.com

July 28, 2018

By Abbey Crain

The Southern Baptist Convention, under new president, J.D. Greear, launched a “study group” that will focus on sexual harassment and abuse in the church.

The announcement came one month after Paige Patterson was fired as president of the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, a subgroup of SBC, for brushing off rape allegations presented to him and then denying it to the SBC.

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Victims tear up over court order to release interim report on predator priests

PENNSYLVANIA
PennLive.com

July 28, 2018

By Ivey DeJesus

Over the course of an 18-month-long statewide investigation into predatory Catholic priests in Pennsylvania, victims of clergy sex abuse have bemoaned concerns and fears that church officials would silence their voices as they fought to have their stories of abuse made public.

On Friday, victims embraced a significant victory towards that goal.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court gave the Commonwealth an non-negotiable deadline by which to release the findings of an 18-month-long investigation into clergy sex abuse.

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Letter to the Faithful of the Diocese of Fort Worth Regarding Former Cardinal McCarrick

FORT WORTH (TX)
Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth

July 28, 2018

By Bishop Michael Olson

Letter to the Faithful of Fort Worth Regarding Former Cardinal McCarrick and the Protection of Minors and the Vulnerable in the Diocese of Fort Worth

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Ministry in the Church is a grace from God that carries with it sober responsibility. Ministry is not a right to be claimed by anyone as an entitlement; rather, it involves a covenantual trust established through our Baptism as members of the Church established by Christ.

We see in the scandalous crimes and sins alleged to have been committed by now former Cardinal McCarrick, the violation of that trust and the grave damage caused to the lives and health of his purported victims. This scandal and pain are compounded by the horrific fact that reportedly one of his victims was hist first baptism after his priestly ordination.

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OPINION: Portrait of the President As a Con Man

UNITED STATES
New York Magazine

July 27, 2018

By Andrew Sullivan

[Note: Sullivan’s piece on McCarrick begins nearly halfway down the page, right after his piece on Trump.]

**

The Cardinal Abuser

How surprised am I about the all too credible allegations of sexual harassment and abuse at the hands of Cardinal McCarrick, the latest Catholic prelate to be exposed in what seems like an endless cycle? The truth is — as someone who long attended Mass under McCarrick’s direct auspices, in the Cathedral of Saint Matthew in D.C. — not very. Every now and again, his name might pop up and some insidery, gay Catholic friends would roll their eyes, and switch the genders on him. He was obviously gay, I gleaned from this. I assumed that he had made some kind of discreet arrangement to stay sane as a celibate. A secret boyfriend, perhaps? A devoted companion? Since he never railed against homosexuality from the pulpit, I felt no need to inquire much further. And I always found queeny church gossip to be unseemly. These gay priests and hierarchs were obviously in pain, it seemed to me, or in denial, or so f*cked up sexually and emotionally that the most appropriate response was pity and mercy rather than censoriousness and contempt.

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Theodore McCarrick Is the Top American Catholic Leader to Be Ousted for Child Sexual Abuse Allegations

UNITED STATES
Slate.com

July 26, 2018

By Ruth Graham

And here’s why the scandal isn’t going away.

The former archbishop of Washington was abruptly removed from public ministry last month after an investigation by the Archdiocese of New York found credible an accusation that Theodore McCarrick had sexually assaulted a 16-year-old altar boy in the early 1970s. McCarrick, who retired more than a decade ago, released a statement saying, “I have absolutely no recollection of this reported abuse, and believe in my innocence.” But, he wrote, he accepted the decision that he no longer practice public ministry. McCarrick is the highest-ranking American Catholic leader to be removed from office due to an accusation of child sexual abuse.

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Church abuse report due in August

HARRISBURG (PA)
The Sharon Herald

July 29, 2018

By Melissa Klaric

The names of “300 predator priests” and their “abhorrent actions” will be revealed in August when a report detailing widespread child sex abuse within the Catholic church is released.

The state Supreme Court on Friday announced that an “interim” version of the grand jury’s report investigating six Pennsylvania Catholic dioceses, including Erie, will be released no later than Aug. 14.

Redacted from the report will be the 14 names of people petitioning the court on constitutionality issues.

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