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.

August 8, 2018

Pope thanks Chilean bishops for ‘decisive’ efforts against abuse

VATICAN CITY
Vatican News

August 8, 2018

By Devin Watkins

In a handwritten letter sent on Sunday, Pope Francis applauds the Chilean bishops’ efforts to reflect on their failure to listen to victims of clerical sex abuse.

Pope Francis has praised the bishops of Chile for their “decisive” efforts against clerical sex abuse following a recent meeting.

In a handwritten letter sent on Sunday, the Pope says Chile’s bishops have come up with “realistic and concrete” measures against the abuse crisis gripping the Catholic Church in the country.

He thanked the President of the Chilean Bishops’ Conference for the “edifying example” of a united Church community. The Pope also expressed his appreciation for the Chilean bishops’ reflections on their failure to respond to a clerical sex abuse crisis.

‘Concrete response’

In his letter released by the Chilean Bishops’ Conference, Pope Francis said he was “impressed by the work of reflection, discernment, and decisions” carried out to produce a document, entitled “Declaration, Decisions, and Commitments of the Chilean Bishops’ Conference” (in Spanish).

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.

Vaticano destituye a sacerdote chileno investigado por abuso y acoso sexual

[Vatican dismisses Chilean priest investigated for sexual abuse and harassment]

CHILE
BioBioChile

August 7, 2018

By Yerko Roa and Gonzalo Olguín

La Diócesis de Valparaíso confirmó en un comunicado que el Vaticano hizo oficial una sentencia canónica en contra del expárroco de Quilpué Jaime Da Fonseca, rebajándolo a la condición de laico. El sacerdote fue investigado tras acusaciones de acoso y abuso sexual, además de encubrimiento.

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.

Timing is everything in Pennsylvania’s clergy sexual abuse report

COLUMBIA (MO)
Religion News Service

August 7, 2018

By Thomas Reese SJ

After a monthlong challenge by a few of those named in the document, Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court has approved the release of a grand jury’s report on sexual abuse of minors in six Catholic dioceses across the state. The grand jury, convened in 2016, considered the cases of some 300 priests accused of being predators, as well as bishops accused of covering up the crimes.

The report, expected to be released any day, is not going to be an easy read, and at 900 pages will contain more information than many have time to digest.

Here are a few things that journalists and other interested parties should look for.

First, did the grand jury find any new prosecutable offenses?

The answer is probably no. The statute of limitations, which has protected many abusive priests from prosecution, has likely expired on many of the crimes detailed in the report. Nor is it likely that any bishops can be prosecuted for not reporting priests to the authorities, because that was not required by law until recently in most states.

Second, did the report find any priests credibly accused of abuse who are still in ministry or any bishop currently in office who kept a bad priest in ministry?

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.

Survivor details priest abuse, accused priest shares his side

YORK (PA)
Fox 43

August 6, 2018

By Jack Eble

https://fox43.com/2018/08/06/fox43-investigates-survivor-details-priest-abuse-accused-priest-shares-his-side-part-one/

One Pennsylvania native, who says he testified for the grand jury report on child sex abuse within the six Roman Catholic Diocese in the commonwealth, worries its contents won’t be available for the public to read.

He wants to make sure he can share his story.

“This is not an easy story to tell,” the source said, choosing to remain anonymous.

He said the Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg was a central part of his childhood.

He described himself as “very involved,” and attended church regularly, had his baptism and confirmation there.

He eventually attended St. Patrick School in Carlisle through eighth grade during the 1980s

He achieved something his classmates looked forward to doing: become an alter boy.

“You got to leave and do any sort of funerals that were there. You got a free break from school. Being an alter boy was kind of a good thing.”

At an alter boy retreat in a place outside of Carlisle, he said he met a priest within the Diocese of Harrisburg: Father Herbert Shank.

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.

Child sex abuse case allegedly turned over to law enforcement, survivor alleges abuse at priest-owned cabin

YORK (PA)
Fox 43

August 7, 2018

By Jack Eble

https://fox43.com/2018/08/07/fox43-investigates-child-sex-abuse-case-allegedly-turned-over-to-law-enforcement-survivor-alleges-abuse-at-priest-owned-cabin/

One Pennsylvania native, who is choosing to remain anonymous, says he became an “object of abuse” by Herbert Shank, a former priest within the Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg, when his parents were going through hard times.

He says he was abused at the hands of Shanks for a year and a half, starting when he was 12-years old.

A spokesperson for the Diocese of Harrisburg says Herbert Shank’s case was turned over to the York County District Attorney’s Office in February 1995.

When reaching out to the York County District Attorney’s Office, we received the following statement: “As per policy, The Office of the District Attorney does not confirm or deny whether or not there is an investigation until such time charges are, or are not filed.”

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.

August 7, 2018

Opinion: Anuncios de la Iglesia Católica: medidas insuficientes

[Opinion: Announcements of the Catholic Church are insufficient measures]

CHILE
La Tercera

August 7, 2018

By Nicolás Espejo Yaksic
Lawyer and Professor, University of Oxford

Este 3 de agosto de 2018, la Asamblea Plenaria Extraordinaria del Episcopado emitió una declaración en la que se reconoce que la Iglesia Católica ha fallado en su deber al no escuchar, creer, atender o acompañar a las víctimas de graves pecados. Junto con pedir perdón a las víctimas y sobrevivientes de abuso sexual, la Conferencia Episcopal anunció una serie de medidas, entre las que destacan colaborar más activamente con la Fiscalía Nacional en las investigaciones penales, la disposición de cada obispo para encontrarse personalmente con las víctimas de abusos cometidos por clérigos, un código de comportamiento para cada ministro ordenado y una revisión estructural de las condiciones que han facilitado el abuso sexual.

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.

“Eres llorón”: El polémico ataque por Twitter del senador Iván Moreira a víctima de Karadima

[“You are a crybaby:” The controversial Twitter attack of Senator Ivan Moreira on Karadima victim]

CHILE
La Tercera

August 7, 2018

By Claudia Soto

El parlamentario UDI utilizó la red social para responder a Juan Carlos Cruz, quien previamente había manifestado un reclamo al matinal de Canal 13 por forzar una discusión entre ambos.

Faltaba poco para las seis de la tarde de ayer, cuando el senador de la UDI Iván Moreira decidió utilizar su cuenta en Twitter para responder a Juan Carlos Cruz, víctima del ex párroco de El Bosque Fernando Karadima, quien había utilizado la misma red social previamente para acusarlo de politizar todo.

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.

Comisión del Senado iniciará mañana estudio de proyecto que busca revocar nacionalidad a cardenal Ezzati

[Senate Commission to consider revoking Ezzati’s “nationality by grace”]

CHILE
La Tercera

August 7, 2018

La iniciativa parlamentaria fue ingresada debido a los últimos cuestionamientos que pesan sobre el arzobispo de Santiago, debido a su actuar en los casos de abuso sexual al interior de la Iglesia.

Para mañana está convocada la Comisión de Derechos Humanos, Nacionalidad y Ciudadanía para iniciar el estudio del proyecto de ley, presentado por las senadoras Adriana Muñoz y Ximena Rincón, que busca revocar la nacionalidad por gracia que tiene hoy el cardenal Ricardo Ezzati.

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.

¿Un extranjero en reemplazo de Ezzati?: Los pros y contras de que el nuevo arzobispo de Santiago venga de afuera

[A foreigner to replace Ezzati ?: The pros and cons of the new archbishop of Santiago coming from outside]

SANTIAGO, CHILE
Emol

August 7, 2018

By Tomás Molina J.

Restablecer el “prestigio perdido” y “estabilizar lo que se desestabilizó”, son parte de las ventajas, según expertos, que podrían existir en caso de que el eventual nuevo líder de la arquidiócesis no provenga de la Iglesia chilena.

No presidirá Tedeum ecuménico de Fiestas Patrias y delegó sus atribuciones como gran canciller de la Pontificia Universidad Católica. Esas son las dos importantes decisiones que ha tomado el Arzobispo de Santiago, cardenal Ricardo Ezzati, durante los últimos días, en medio de la crisis que atraviesa la iglesia católica nacional.

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 delega atribuciones de gran canciller de la PUC en medio de crisis de la iglesia

[Ezzati delegates his powers as great chancellor of Pontifical Catholic University in the midst of church crisis]

SANTIAGO, CHILE
Emol

August 6, 2018

Las atribuciones del cargo quedaron en mano del sacerdote Tomás Scherz, actual vicecanciller.

El cardenal Ricardo Ezzati delegó sus atribuciones de gran canciller de la Pontificia Universidad Católica en su segundo, el vicecanciller Tomás Scherz. Así lo informó hoy el rector de la PUC, Ignacio Sánchez, a la comunidad, solicitando “comprensión y apoyo a la decisión del gran canciller, así como su plena colaboración a la labor del padre Tomás en estas nuevas responsabilidades”.

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 chileno expresa apoyo a víctimas de abuso de iglesia

[Chilean prosecutor expresses support for victims of church abuse]

CHILE
Associated Press

August 3, 2018

By Eva Vergara

Durante décadas los abusos de religiosos a menores de edad fueron un secreto a voces en el seno de la Iglesia Católica chilena, pero desde que el escándalo estalló hace unos meses la indignación ha corrido como dinamita y hoy no sólo El Vaticano busca respuestas, sino también la justicia de Chile.

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Peru scandal showcases need for oversight of lay movements

PERU
Crux

August 6, 2018

By Elise Harris

[Editor’s Note: This is the third installment of a three-part series exploring ties between Cardinal Francisco Errázuriz of Chile, a close papal confidante, and Peruvian layman Luis Fernando Figari, who’s now accused of sexual abuse and abuses of power and conscience within the prominent lay movement he founded.]

At the beginning of the sexual abuse scandals in Catholicism, the best-known perpetrators were priests whose names quickly became notorious, such as John Geoghan, Lawrence Murphy and Oliver O’Grady, and the burning challenge was establishing detection and disciplinary systems to prevent such predator clergy from going undetected and unpunished.

Two decades later, those goals remain a work in progress, as the recent case of ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick illustrates. However, where the new systems for vigilance established in the years since work, they’re considered state of the art, and many child protection experts now regard the Catholic Church as a pacesetter.

Yet Catholicism is not composed entirely of priests and bishops, nor is the Church’s institutional infrastructure entirely defined by clerical organizations, dioceses and religious orders. There’s also a vast galaxy of lay movements and mixed clerical and lay institutes, which, many observers say, haven’t quite reckoned with the implications of the sexual abuse crisis in the same way as other Catholic institutions.

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.

Grand jury report will not be easy to digest

NEWCASTLE (PA)
New Castle News

August 7, 2018

By Father Frank Almade

Father Frank D. Almade is pastor of the four parishes in New Castle (Mary Mother of Hope, St. Joseph the Worker, St. Vincent de Paul, St. Vitus).

Sometime in the next two weeks Pennsylvania attorney general Josh Shapiro will release a version of the grand jury report investigating clergy child sexual abuse in six Roman Catholic dioceses.

The grand jury was convened in April 2016 to review the incidents of clergy abuse in the dioceses of Allentown, Erie, Greensburg, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh and Scranton since 1948. Shapiro wanted to release the results in June, but was blocked by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court as it heard objections from some priests and others who claim their constitutional rights to a good reputation and the due process of law are being violated. On July 26, the Supreme Court ordered a “redacted” version of the report to be issued sometime between today and Aug. 14, with the names of those challenging the report deleted.

Any public relations consultant will tell organizations to keep their message short and simple. The response of the Catholic Church to this report is and must be complex. Let me offer three brief points of response to this report.

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.

Catholic priest forced to resign after writing sex-fueled letter to another priest, bishop says

FORT WORTH (TX)
The Star-Telegram via The Olympian

August 6, 2018

By Nichole Manna

A priest in the Fort Worth Catholic Diocese has resigned after a letter he wrote to another priest in Dallas was deemed intimidating, manipulative and inappropriate by Bishop Michael Olson.

The Rev. Richard Kirkham, former pastor of St. Martin de Porres in Prosper, is also accused of failing to report knowledge he had of alleged sexual misconduct and predatory sexual harassment in the workplace regarding the Dallas-area priest.

Kirkham submitted his resignation letter on June 4, but later tried to rescind it. Olson said he declined Kirkham’s request.

The Star-Telegram was unable to reach Kirkham for comment.

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.

Bishop says no cover-up in priest’s case but admits lack of transparency

LINCOLN (NE)
Catholic News Service

August 6, 2018

Lincoln Bishop James Conley apologized Aug. 4 for failing to be more transparent about a pastor removed from ministry and sent to treatment last year because the priest had developed “an emotionally inappropriate, non-sexual relationship with a 19-year-old male which involved alcohol.”

He sent Fr. Charles Townsend, pastor of St. Peter Parish in Lincoln, to the Shalom Center in Houston for treatment.

“My failure at the time was the lack of transparency with the people of God about this incident,” Conley said in an open letter to Catholics of the diocese.

“Despite reports to the contrary, I did not oblige anyone to keep silent about this matter. Our priests and the parishioners of St. Peter’s were told that he went away for health reasons. I made no effort to ‘cover up’ any element of this situation, and I tried to address it with integrity,” he wrote.

“However, I did not encourage transparency. I did not encourage an open discussion about this situation with our priests, with parishioners, or with those involved,” he continued. “Even though we were not legally obligated to report the incident, it would have been the prudent thing to do.”

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

Vatican ‘sought deal’ with Irish State to bury church documents

IRELAND
The Irish Times

August 6, 2018

By Patsy McGarry

Mary McAleese called event ‘one of the most devastating moments in my presidency’

Former president Mary McAleese says she refused to discuss an attempt by the Vatican in 2003 to secure an agreement with Ireland that it would not access church documents.

Speaking to The Irish Times, Ms McAleese has revealed what she described as “one of the most devastating moments in my presidency”.

It occurred during a State visit to Italy when she had a private meeting with then Vatican secretary of state Angelo Sodano.

“He indicated that he would like, and the Vatican would like, an agreement with Ireland, a concordat with Ireland. I asked him why and it was very clear it was because he wanted to protect Vatican and diocesan archives. I have to say that I immediately said the conversation had to stop,” Ms McAleese said.

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Pope Francis must speak out on church abuse, says McAleese

IRELAND
The Irish Times

August 5, 2018

By Patsy McGarry

Organisers of visit ‘found time to go to Knock’ and should find time too to meet survivors

Pope Francis should not only meet survivors of clerical child sexual abuse on his visit to Ireland but “he also has to address what he plans to do for the future”, former president Mary McAleese has said.

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Priest, 79, is accused of tying up a woman and raping her during an exorcism in Portugal

PORTUGAL
Daily Mail

August 6, 2018

By Julian Robinson

– Priest Humberto Gama, 79, was held in the town of Fatima in Sanrarem, Portugal
– He was accused of attacking a 55-year-old woman during exorcism at his home
– Priest denies claims and has been released on condition he does not contact the woman

A priest was arrested over claims he raped a woman while performing an exorcism in Portugal.

Priest Humberto Gama was held in the town of Fatima in the Portuguese district of Sanrarem after being accused of attacking a 55-year-old during a ritual at his home.

The 79-year-old, who denies the claims, allegedly tied up and raped the woman when she was lying on a bed during the exorcism. She later needed hospital treatment, it has been reported.

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Motions to dismiss charges against local priest accused of sexual assault denied

SAGINAW COUNTY (MI)
WNEM

August 6, 2018

A local priest facing accusations of sexual misconduct appeared in court Monday morning.

A judge heard several motions on Father Robert DeLand’s case.

DeLand was arrested back in February on claims of assaulting two men – a then 21-year-old who said he was intoxicated when DeLand made sexual advances towards him, and a then 17-year-old who went undercover for police when he claimed assault.

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Harrisburg diocese adds priest’s name to list of accused

HARRISBURG (PA)
WHTM

August 6, 2018

By Myles Snyder

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg has named a 38th priest accused of child sexual abuse.

Msgr. Joseph Bradley was accused of sexual abuse after his death, the diocese said Monday.

Bishop Ronald Gainer last week released the names of 37 priests at 34 other members of the church who have had allegations made against them since the 1940’s.

The diocese said it added Bradley’s name to the list after receiving additional information.

Also, a spokesman said additional accusations have been made against church members who were on the initial version of the list.

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.

AUSTRIAN ABBOT QUITS OVER CLERICAL SEX ABUSE FATIGUE

BREGENZ (AUSTRIA)
ChurchMilitant.com

August 7, 2018

By Stephen Wynne

In Austria, exhaustion over a decades-old clerical sex abuse scandal has forced an abbot to resign.

Depleted after years of trying to restore the Cistercian Territorial Abbey of Wettingen-Mehrerau to spiritual and financial health, Dom Anselm van der Linde tendered his resignation on July 12 and was officially released from his post by Pope Francis on Aug. 1.

At his 2009 appointment by Pope Benedict XVI, the young Cistercian monk was given charge over 21 Cistercian monasteries spread across Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, the Czech Republic, Slovenia and the United States.

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.

Don’t Use the Sexual Abuse Scandal to Attack Confession

AUSTRALIA
National Catholic Register

August 7, 2018

By K.V. Turley

The new Australian law is not so much a way of protecting children from abuse as an assault upon the Church

Earlier this summer, the Legislative Assembly of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) in Canberra passed new laws forcing Catholic priests to break the seal of Confession.

All three political parties in the ACT Legislative Assembly supported the bill to extend a mandatory reporting scheme that would cover churches and include the confessional. The new laws require religious organizations to report to the ACT Ombudsman allegations, offenses, or convictions related to children that have been divulged in Confession, within 30 days so that an investigation can be launched. Needless to say, there are fears that these new laws will be studied by the other States and Territory that make up the Commonwealth of Australia, bringing with it the alarming possibility of their extension nationwide.

Critics of the laws have been quick to claim that the new law is not so much a way of protecting children from abuse as an assault upon the Church. As Archbishop Christopher Prowse of Canberra and Goulburn pointed out: “The government threatens religious freedom by appointing itself an expert on religious practices and by attempting to change the sacrament of Confession while delivering no improvement in the safety of children.”

So this law will be of no use to those whom it is seeking to protect and, yet, manages to criminalize those who are doing nothing illegal – in Australia a priest hearing Confession is not yet a crime.

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Orangewood Presbyterian Church faulted in report about allegations

ORLANDO (FL)
Orlando Sentinel

August 6, 2018

By Bianca Padró Ocasio

An investigation into abuse and misconduct allegations against a pastor and a school coach reveals a pattern that spans at least two decades of several Orangewood Presbyterian Church and School leaders dismissing the claims, refusing to speak directly with alleged victims and failing to keep appropriate records of employment, according to the report.

“Attempts to discuss this matter over the years have been a twisted, convoluted, and self-aggrandizing attempt to minimize the reality of what actually occurred …,” the 35-page report shows.

One former associate pastor at the Maitland church explained to GRACE in an interview that it handled the claims “by considering it a ‘private sin’ and not a ‘public sin’.”

The accusations against Jeff Jakes — now a senior pastor who denies many of the allegations, according to the report — stem back to 1998 and were made public earlier this year in a post on Facebook by Katherine Snyder, who was 18 when she worked for Jakes. The report validated Snyder’s accusations, adding that Jakes’ assertions that he regrets “confusing” Snyder “marginalizes her dignity and robs her of the honor she deserves in bringing very painful events to light.”

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Willow Creek to launch another investigation of allegations against Bill Hybels

CHICAGO (IL)
Chicago Tribune

August 6, 2018

By Manya Brachear Pashman

A day after the sudden resignation of its lead teaching pastor, Willow Creek Community Church told members Monday that a council of outside Christian leaders will oversee what the church calls an “independent investigation” of allegations against its founder, Bill Hybels.

“This has been a difficult process because of the public nature of these allegations, but we are working on finalizing this key group of people,” lead pastor Heather Larson wrote to members of the South Barrington megachurch. “This council will have full autonomy and authority to pursue and investigate any and all allegations.”

She added that an anonymous outside donor will fund the cost of the inquiry to ensure that its credibility isn’t called into question. Through a spokesman, the church declined to clarify why another investigation was necessary and whether there were more allegations in addition to those already reported.

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Truth Is Needed to Free the Church From Sacrilege of Clergy Scandal

FALL RIVER (MA)
National Catholic Register

August 7, 2018

By Father Roger J. Landry

COMMENTARY: Now is the time to cooperate — and cooperate fully — with God’s cleansing fire for his Church.

The sad revelations about the sins of former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, involving the sexual abuse of both male minors and seminarians, have brought the Church in the U.S. and beyond to a second recent phase in the necessary purification of the clergy of the Church. The first phase happened in 2002, after the disclosure that more than 4,000 (out of 110,000) priests had been accused in the U.S. of sexual abuse of minors in the previous half-century.

The U.S. bishops convened in Dallas and adopted what has overall been a heralded systemic response to root out those who have abused minors from the priesthood, protect children and care for survivors.

But there were several major problems with Dallas, however.

First, the phrase “credible accusations” was exceedingly vague and could encompass even accusations that were immediately demonstrably false.

Second, bishops exempted themselves from the policy.

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.

Chilean Bishops’ Efforts to Prevent Sex Abuse Affirmed by Pope Francis

SANTIAGO (CHILE)
CNA/EWTN News

August 7, 2018

The Holy Father on Friday wrote to the Chilean bishops’ conference to express his approval of their newly adopted plan to prevent future instances of sex abuse within the Church.

Pope Francis Friday wrote to the Chilean bishops’ conference to express his approval of their newly adopted plan to prevent future instances of sex abuse within the Church.

“I was impressed by the work of reflection, discernment, and decisions that you have made,” the Pope wrote in his Aug. 5 letter to Bishop Santiago Jaime Silva Retamales of Chile’s military diocese, who is president of the Chilean bishops’ conference.

“May the Lord repay you abundantly in this communitarian and pastoral effort.”

“The decisions are realistic and concrete,” he said. “I am sure that they will help decidedly in this entire process. But what touched me most was the example of episcopal community united in the pastoral care of the holy, faithful People of God. Thank you for this edifying example … because it ‘builds’ the Church.”

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Pope recognizes ‘decisive’ measures by Chile’s bishops against abuse

CHILE
Reuters

August 6, 2018

By Aislinn Laing

Pope Francis recognized on Monday measures that Chile’s bishops said they would take to assist prosecutors investigating allegations of sex abuse that have plagued the Roman Catholic Church in Chile, including that they would work to reach an agreement with prosecutors on an exchange of information.

The pontiff wrote in a letter released to media on Monday by the Chilean Church that the steps taken at a conclave last week were “realistic and concrete” and that he was confident they would make a “decisive” difference.

After a week-long leadership conclave, the bishops asked for forgiveness, saying in a statement on Friday that they had failed to aid and accompany victims who had suffered “grave sins and injustices committed by priests and clergy.”

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York County parish home to multiple accused priests reacts to ‘disgusting’ events

HARRISBURG (PA)
York Daily Record

August 6, 2018

By Brandie Kessler, Ed Mahon and Dylan Segelbaum

At least 31 of the 72 priests who have been accused of sexually abusing or inappropriately touching children have made York County parishes their homes.

Some of the county’s dozen or so parishes since the 1940s appear to not have had any of the accused assigned there.

Other parishes were home to several accused priests over the years.

St. Rose of Lima is one such parish, with a total of six.

At least three priests were named by the Harrisburg diocese on Aug. 1, who have been accused of sexually abusing or inappropriately touching children and were assigned there since the 1930s:

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Indian bishop accused of being married, stealing money

NEW DELHI (INDIA)
UCANews

August 7, 2018

Bishop Prasad Gallela of Cuddapah says allegations are false and he welcomes the chance to prove his innocence

A Catholic bishop in southern India is facing multiple court cases over an accusation that he misappropriated diocesan funds to support his “wife” and teenage son, but the bishop has denied the charges.

Bishop Prasad Gallela of Cuddapah (presently Kadapa) has been served notice to appear on Aug. 18 before Lok Adalat, a government-approved forum, to amicably settle cases pending in courts.

He is accused of misappropriating millions of rupees from diocesan social welfare funds to support his “wife” and 18-year-old son by cheating the church’s administrative systems.

Two lay Catholics, 40-year-old Mesa Ravi Kumar and 65-year-old Byreddy Chinnappa Reddy, jointly moved a criminal complaint against the prelate two months ago.

A court in Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh state asked Bishop Gallela to appear before it on Aug. 2 but the bishop’s lawyers pleaded for more time and the case was moved to the last week of August.

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.

‘Mormon Land’: Sex abuse, apostle pay, LDS wealth — a Q&A with MormonLeaks officials and their quest to expose the faith’s secrets

SALT LAKE CITY (UT)
The Salt Lake City Tribune

August 7, 2018

You probably read about a woman who secretly recorded an interview with her former Missionary Training Center president regarding alleged sexual misconduct he committed. Or maybe you heard that Mormon general authorities are paid more than $120,000 a year in salary. Perhaps you wonder about the LDS Church’s vast wealth. You swear you’ve seen that it has at least $32 billion in stock holdings.

Well, if you know those newsy nuggets, it’s probably because of a website called MormonLeaks, which posts documents, recordings and videos secretly provided by church leaders, employees, sources, whistleblowers or other moles from within the Utah-based faith.

So how did MormonLeaks get its start? What is its goal? Which leaks have been the biggest? And how does it navigate often-tricky ethical waters?

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Joplin man charged with sexual abuse of church youth

JOPLIN (MO)
The Joplin Globe

August 6, 2018

By Jeff Lehr

More charges expected in alleged molestation of church youth

A Joplin man is being held on charges that he sexually abused three boys he knew through his involvement with a church in Miami, Oklahoma.

Matthew D. Galati, 29, was arrested last week when information first surfaced regarding disclosures made by three male members of a youth group at the New Beginnings Life Church In Miami. Joplin police Capt. Trevor Duncan said interviews of the boys were conducted at the Children’s Center in Joplin, leading to the filing of charges Thursday by the Jasper County prosecutor’s office.

Galati is charged with four counts of statutory sodomy with a child under 12 years old and two counts of second-degree statutory sodomy in connection with acts committed in Jasper County. But additional victims have been identified and more charges are anticipated, according to Duncan.

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BISHOP SCHARFENBERGER: LAITY ARE “ESSENTIAL,” MUST LEAD ANY INVESTIGATION

ALBANY (NY)
Roman Catholic Diocese of ALbany

August 6, 2018

Statement by Bishop Edward B. Scharfenberger of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany:

While I am heartened by my brother bishops proposing ways for our Church to take action in light of recent revelations – and I agree that a national panel should be commissioned, duly approved by the Holy See – I think we have reached a point where bishops alone investigating bishops is not the answer. To have credibility, a panel would have to be separated from any source of power whose trustworthiness might potentially be compromised.

It is time for us, I believe, to call forth the talents and charisms of our lay faithful, by virtue of their baptismal priesthood. Our lay people are not only willing to take on this much-needed role, but they are eager to help us make lasting reforms that will restore a level of trust that has been shattered yet again. In speaking with them, we all hear their passion for our universal Church, their devotion to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and their hunger for the truth. They are essential to the solution we seek.

What is needed now is an independent commission led by well-respected, faithful lay leaders who are beyond reproach, people whose role on such a panel will not serve to benefit them financially, politically, or personally. These will be people with a deep understanding of the Catholic faith, but without an axe to grind or an agenda to push. It will not be easy, but it will be worth every ounce of effort, energy, and candor we can muster.

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Lay woman’s saga illustrates clerical sexual abuse of adults

ROME
Crux

August 4, 2018

By Elise Harris

Although most attention amid the clerical sexual abuse crisis has been on minors, recent cases of priests and bishops who have taken advantage of vulnerable adults or those under their guidance also have come to light.

One such case involves Theodore McCarrick, the 88-year-old retired Archbishop of Washington and Newark who resigned his post in the College of Cardinals following “credible and substantiated” accusations of sexual abuse of minors and multiple accounts of sexual misconduct with seminarians.

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Here’s a new list about where Harrisburg diocese clergy accused of abuse served in York County

YORK (PA)
York Daily Record

August 6, 2018

By Ed Mahon,Brandie Kessler and Dylan Segelbaum

New information released by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg shows that some parishes had multiple clergy members accused of sexual abuse or inappropriate conduct with children.

At St. Joseph of York, for instance, there were 11 clergy members who served there who had an allegation against them at some point.

The information was released by the diocese on Monday, days after it released the names of more than 70 clergy members with allegations against them. In releasing the names last week, the diocese said it was not making an assessment of guilt. Instead, it says it was releasing a list of everyone with an allegation against them that had not been proven false.

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Diocese of Harrisburg List of Clergy & Seminarians Accused of Sexual Abuse of a Child

HARRISBURG (PA)
Diocese of Harrisburg

Updated August 6, 2018

[Note: At the end of this list of clergy and seminarians is a list of assignments sorted by parish.]

The Diocese of Harrisburg publishes the following list of clergy and seminarians who served in the Diocese and who were accused of sexual abuse of a child since the 1940s. The term “accused” is emphasized to note that the list below includes summations of accusations; the list does not include assessments of credibility or guilt. For more information regarding what is included and what is not included in this list, please see Bishop Ronald W. Gainer’s letter of August 1, 2018. Further, the following list does not contain those cases where the accusation was deemed not substantiated, meaning it was an accusation which, after review by law enforcement or Diocesan reviewers, was not supported by sufficient evidence to establish the probability that the accused cleric or seminarian committed sexual abuse of a child.

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Updated List Released of Names of Clergy and Seminarians Accused of Sexual Abuse of a Child

HARRISBURG (PA)
Diocese of Harrisburg

August 6, 2018

On August 1, 2018, Bishop Ronald W. Gainer directed that a list of clergy and seminarians accused of sexual abuse of minors be made available at the Diocese’s new website, www.youthprotectionhbg.com. Accordingly, the Diocese published a link to a list of clergy with allegations of abuse. We again emphasize that this is a list of accusations; we did not make assessments of credibility or guilt in creating this list.

The Diocese has received additional information since the list was originally released on August 1. Accordingly, we have added the name of one additional clergy member to the list, bringing the total to 72 names. The name of Joseph Bradley was added to our list under the heading of “Cases Involving Allegations of Indecent Behavior,” for an accusation of sexual abuse of a child. Additional accusations were made involving individuals who were on the previous version of our list. Those additional accusations have been updated.

An additional document outlining years of service and assignments within the Diocese for all individuals on the list has also been posted online. As with all new allegations, each was reported directly to law enforcement immediately.

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An Op-ed on Child Sex Abuse

HARRISBURG (PA)
Diocese of Harrisburg

August 6, 2018

By Bishop Ronald Gainer

As many of you have read, the Diocese of Harrisburg has released information and policy changes regarding child sex abuse. I wanted to take this opportunity to express my great sadness at the horror that innocent children were the victims of egregious actions committed against them. Many of those victimized as children continue, as survivors, to suffer from the harm they experienced. In my own name, and in the name of the Diocesan Church of Harrisburg, I express our profound sorrow and apologize to the survivors of child sex abuse, the Catholic faithful and the general public for the abuses that took place and for those Church officials who failed to protect children.

As we willingly acknowledge our sinfulness, as we humbly seek the forgiveness of those who have been wronged, we pray that healing will come to the entire Church when we renew our commitment each day to respond to the call to holiness we all share and to the mission of our Church entrusted to us by the Lord Jesus himself.

While we seek forgiveness in the name of our Church, we encourage survivors to come forward so that their healing may begin.

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Victims recount sexual abuse horrors in Chilean seminary

DENVER (CO)
Crux

August 7, 2018

By Inés San Martín

Rome – “We need for the Church to understand that those of us who come forth are not the enemy. We want to help the Church clean itself, so there are no other Mauricios drugged and raped in the seminary, so there are no other Sebastians forced to massage a bishop so he feels pleasure, so there’re no other Marcelos forced to receive oral sex, and so there’re no other Johns raped by their spiritual directors.”

The stories are real. They belong to Mauricio Pulgar, Marcelo Soto, Sebastian del Rio and a fourth person, who will be described as “John Doe.” He’s asked not be identified because he’s not ready to go public with the allegations, but he represents many others.

Crux spoke with the four victims, and several others, in the past week. All are former seminarians of the Chilean diocese of Valparaiso, some 60 miles from Santiago, the country’s capital. They’ve provided the complaints that they handed to ecclesiastical authorities over a period from 2010 until this June, when a papal representative was in the country to look into Chile’s clerical sexual abuse crisis.

Crux also has obtained a copy of a letter by a Chilean bishop acknowledging that as of 2008, the Holy See had an allegation against a brother bishop. In addition, Crux has also obtained video and audio recordings and an email of one of the priests acknowledging guilt and trying to buy one of his victims’ silence.

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Former Catholic priest’s sex abuse trials to begin in September

FLINT (MI)
ABC 12 WJRT

August 6, 2018

By Rebecca Trylch

Saginaw – A former Catholic priest accused of sexually assaulting three young men appeared in court Monday for a series of legal motions.

Robert DeLand Junior’s attorney, Alan Crawford, was trying to get the cases dismissed using a variety of arguments.

“It’s our position in this matter that the District Court judge abused their discretion in binding this matter over. And the reason that they abused their discretion is because we’re dealing with an alleged victim in this matter who there’s questions as to his memory of what occurred on this particular night,” Crawford said.

Circuit Court Judge Darnell Jackson denied Crawford’s first motion to quash that specific charge.

There were a total of 14 motions between the defense and prosecution.

The Saginaw County Prosecutor’s Office asked Judge Jackson to join the cases moving forward.

Police in Tittabawassee Township and Saginaw Township investigated DeLand’s actions. The prosecutor decided to issues charges in four different cases, involving three young men.

One of the men was 21 when the alleged actions took place, the other two young men were teenagers.

“All considered collectively demonstrate a common single scheme or plan by the defendant to sexually assault young males,” said Saginaw County Assistant Prosecutor Melissa Hoover. “All of these instances involve a certain level of trust in the defendant, based on him befriending his victims, and we have isolation, we have control, and we ultimately have the culmination of all of these with the sexual assaults that result.”

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Area Catholic priests offer apologies, ask forgiveness for child sexual abuse allegations

SUNBURY (PA)
The Daily Item

August 6, 2018

By Joe Sylvester

http://www.dailyitem.com/news/local_news/area-catholic-priests-offer-apologies-ask-forgiveness-for-child-sexual/article_82ca4813-a53d-5824-8d1e-f27c188a0e10.html

Area Roman Catholic priests relayed their bishop’s apologies to parishioners on Sunday over the child sexual abuse accusations against clergy and seminarians. At least a couple pastors offered apologies of their own.

“I’m so deeply saddened by these terrible sins,” said the Rev. Mark Wilke, pastor of Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Lewisburg, where three of the accused served at various times.

Wilke offered his comments to his congregation after reading a letter from Harrisburg Diocese Bishop Ronald Gainer at the end of Mass.

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Pope must admit Vatican disregard for abused on Irish visit

DUBLIN (IRELAND)
Irish Times

August 6, 2018

By Marie Collins

Saying sorry it happened, sorry you were hurt, does not cut it any more

When Pope Francis comes to Ireland in two weeks’ time it will be 39 years since the last visit by a head of the Catholic Church. Since then the status of the church in Ireland has declined dramatically.

Those identifying as Catholic are down by 20 per cent, according to the last census. Mass attendance has fallen away, seminaries and religious houses have closed, and parishes are now often run by a single priest.

The majority of people no longer look to the church for guidance in their everyday lives. When the leadership speaks out on current issues as during the two recent recent referendums many, particularly the young, are antagonistic or indifferent. The church in Ireland has lost respect and credibility.

A main reason for this has been due to actions by the church itself, including the way in which its clerics and religious have abused their power. The guilty are those who destroyed the lives of untold numbers of men, women and children in orphanages, industrial schools, reformatories, Magdalene laundries, mother and baby homes, and through sexually assaulting children in parishes.

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August 6, 2018

#ThemToo: Adults, the overlooked victims of clerical sexual abuse

SAN DIEGO (CA)
The San Diego Tribune

August 6, 2018

By Peter Rowe

In 2010, a Catholic priest from the San Diego diocese sexually assaulted Rachel Mastrogiacomo.

This story would be all-too-familiar except for one fact: Mastrogiacomo was 24, a grown woman.

For years, the clergy sex scandal has focused on abused children. Now, the #MeToo movement and a growing recognition of the pervasiveness of sexual power plays is encouraging victimized adults to come out of the shadows.

“Finally,” said Esther Miller, who led an adult victims workshop at last month’s national convention of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), “women are coming together and saying no more.”

Going public, though, can mean facing skeptical questioning. Women and men endure many of the same pressures that discourage children — shame, confusion, the unwillingness to confront a spiritual leaders who are admired and even revered.

Another question is posed only to victimized women and men: why are sexual encounters between two apparently “consenting” adults considered crimes? But in many states, including Minnesota where Mastrogiacomo took her abuser to trial, it’s a crime to have with sex with adults who are incapable of voluntary consent “due to a particular vulnerability or due to the special relationship between the actor (perpetrator) and the victim.”

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Chilean bishops beg forgiveness over sex abuse scandal

CHILE
La Croix

August 6, 2018

By Mélinée Le Priol

They also promised to involve greater participation of lay people, particularly women, in the decision-making bodies of the Chilean Church

Concluding their five day extraordinary assembly, Chile’s 32 Catholic bishops apologized for “failing in their duties” in managing sex abuse cases.

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In our words: Backing civil statute of limitations reform would be the best way bishops could help child sexual abuse victims [opinion]

LANCASTER (PA)
Lancaster Online

August 5, 2018

THE ISSUE

Bishop Ronald W. Gainer of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg held a press conference Wednesday to apologize for the sexual abuse of children by priests and others in the church over decades. The Harrisburg diocese also released a list of 71 clergy members and seminarians alleged to have sexually abused children since 1947. LNP reported Friday that the list included the late Monsignor Francis Joseph Taylor, who served as Lancaster Catholic High School’s principal from 1958 to 1975, and the late Rev. Thomas Ronald Haney, who was the assistant to the principal at LCHS from 1961 to 1964 and directed the school’s athletic program. According to LNP records, Haney previously had served three years as assistant pastor at St. Anne Catholic Church in Lancaster; later in his life, he was known to many local Catholics as the executive editor of The Catholic Witness, the diocesan newspaper, and as a spokesman for the diocese.

In April 2014, soon after he was installed as the 11th bishop of the Diocese of Harrisburg, Gainer told LNP that the way the Catholic Church had handled child sexual abuse cases in the past was “a disgrace” and “a wound for our church.”

He was right, of course.

Before he took over the Diocese of Harrisburg, Gainer was criticized by SNAP, or the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, for the way he had handled sexual abuse allegations against two priests while leading the Diocese of Lexington, Kentucky.

Last week, however, Gainer seemed genuinely intent on reversing the church’s past mistakes.

And he made strides toward that aim when, at his press conference and in a column LNP published on Friday’s front page, he expressed his “great sadness at the horror that innocent children were the victims of egregious actions committed against them.”

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‘It’s Going To Be Tough’: Bishop David Zubik Tries To Prepare Parishioners For Grand Jury Report Release [VIDEO]

PITTSBURGH (PA)
CBS Cleveland

August 2018

The Pittsburgh Catholic Diocese prepared parishioners Sunday for a scathing grand jury report that’s about to be released about sex abuse in the church; KDKA’s Bob Allen reports.

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Report: Church leaders pressured victims, cops over abuse

HARRISBURG (PA)
The Associated Press

August 5, 2018

Church leaders were more interested in preventing scandal than protecting children. That’s the finding of a grand jury investigating clergy sex abuse in six Pennsylvania Roman Catholic dioceses according to a court filing. The report also says in some cases leaders discouraged victims from going to police, or pressured law enforcement officials to end or avoid investigations.
The grand jury’s full, nearly 900-page, report is expected to be released in the next two weeks.

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Bill Clinton’s Former Spiritual Adviser Was Accused of Sexual Harassment by Another Woman

CHICAGO (IL)
The Cut

August 5, 2018

By Opheli Garcia Lawler

Bill Hybels, the former pastor of the Willow Creek Evangelical Church, has been accused of sexual harassment by a woman named Pat Baranowski, according to a new New York Times report. Baranowski is not the first woman to accuse Hybels of sexual misconduct, though her allegations are the most severe.

Baranowski, now 65, was hired by Hybels in the 1980s as an assistant at his growing Illinois evangelical church, and invited her to live with him and his family. While his wife and children were away for a trip in 1986, Hybels allegedly asked to give Baranowski a back rub.

According to the Times report, Baranowski then endured two years of unwanted touching, inappropriate comments, and other forms of sexual harassment — including an instance when Hybels asked her to watch porn with him.

Hybels, in a statement to the Times, denied that any of the allegations made by Baranowski are true. “I never had an inappropriate physical or emotional relationship with her before that time, during that time or after that time,” he wrote.

In April, Bill Hybels announced an early retirement from his role as pastor of the church. The announcement came after a Chicago Tribune report that detailed years of complaints and allegations against the pastor for unwanted touching, inappropriate comments, and once, an unwanted kiss.

Hybels denied the allegations, but announced to his congregation that for he would move his retirement date up by six months. He reportedly called the allegations “flat out lies” and said that he “placed myself in situations that would be far wiser to avoid. I was naïve.”

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Teaching pastor resigns over Willow Creek’s handling of allegations against Bill Hybels

CHICAGO (IL)
Chicago Tribune

August 5, 2018

By Manya Brachear Pashman

The lead teaching pastor of Willow Creek Community Church announced his resignation from the South Barrington megachurch Sunday, saying he could no longer serve there with integrity.

Steve Carter, who took over as lead teaching pastor in April when Bill Hybels stepped down from the helm of the church he founded 42 years ago, said he was “horrified” by allegations reported Sunday by The New York Times that Hybels had sexually harassed his former executive assistant for two years.

Carter also said he did not agree with the way elders had handled the first reports by the Chicago Tribune in March that revealed allegations of misconduct by Hybels with women — including church employees — spanning decades.

The alleged behavior detailed by the Tribune included suggestive comments, extended hugs, an unwanted kiss and invitations to hotel rooms. It also included an allegation of a prolonged consensual affair with a married woman who later said her claim about the affair was not true, the newspaper found.

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Catholics in Archdiocese of Washington are conflicted over support after McCarrick sex scandal

WASHINGTON (DC)
The Washington Times

August 5, 2018

By Bradford Richardson

Catholics in the District of Columbia are conflicted about how to continue to support the church after the resignation of former Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick over reports of sexual abuse.

The former archbishop of Washington stepped down from the College of Cardinals one month after a church panel substantiated a report that, as a priest in New York, he sexually abused a teenage altar boy more than 45 years ago. Pope Francis accepted his resignation on Saturday and ordered him to serve a “life of prayer and penance.”

Scotty O’Connell, who attends the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Northwest Washington, and other members of the diocese are calling for a boycott until Archbishop McCarrick’s enablers are removed from the church. Ms. O’Connell said she had discontinued her weekly offerings at her parish because a percentage of all contributions are given to the archdiocese.

“What I am encouraging people to do is divert their contributions, what they would be giving to their parish, to another charitable organization,” Ms. O’Connell said. “I don’t want any of my dollars, or nickels or dimes, being used by the archdiocese, particularly the Archdiocese of Washington, to settle claims or to get criminals off the hook.”

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After Sinéad Talley was sexually assaulted, Stanford invited the man back to campus

STANFORD (CA)
SFGate

August 5, 2018

By Nanette Asimov

After Stanford University concluded that one of its students sexually assaulted a classmate, campus officials imposed what they called a very serious sanction: a suspension of two academic quarters.

The victim said it felt like a second assault.

“Providing my rapist with a gracious invitation back to Stanford pending a brief period of ‘reflection’ disrespects myself and the moral stature of Stanford as an institution,” Sinéad Talley wrote on Dec. 20, 2016, in her unsuccessful appeal. She wanted Stanford to expel the man she said had been her friend until he raped her while she was in a drunken stupor.

Stanford reported the assault in 2016 to campus police, as required by state law. But Talley chose not to pursue the case through the criminal justice system. Instead, like many college students who report sexual assault, she turned to her university’s internal justice system.

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One of China’s highest-ranking Buddhist monks accused of sexual misconduct

BEIJING (CHINA)
The Associated Press

August 3, 2018

By Gerry Shih

One of China’s highest-ranking Buddhist monks is facing a government investigation over accusations of sexual misconduct, in what is seen by some as an indication the #MeToo movement is gaining traction across the world’s most populous society.

Longquan Monastery abbot Shi Xuecheng is accused of harassing and demanding sexual favors from numerous nuns in a 95-page statement compiled by two fellow monks at the storied center of Buddhist learning in Beijing. The statement including testimony from the alleged victims leaked this week on social media, prompting an outcry and unusual coverage by state media before it was censored.

China’s State Administration of Religious Affairs said Thursday it would investigate the claims. Xuecheng and the monastery denied the accusations, which also included claims of embezzlement.

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Leading Chinese Buddhist monk accused of sexual misconduct

BEIJING (CHINA)
The Associated Press

August 3, 2018

One of China’s highest-ranking Buddhist monks is facing a government investigation over accusations of sexual misconduct, in what is seen by some as an indication the #MeToo movement is gaining traction in the world’s most populous nation.

Longquan Monastery abbot Shi Xuecheng is accused of harassing and demanding sexual favors from numerous female nuns in a 95-page statement compiled by two fellow monks at the storied center of Buddhist learning in Beijing. The statement including testimony from the alleged victims leaked this week on social media, prompting an outcry and unusual coverage by state media before it was censored.

China’s State Administration of Religious Affairs said Thursday it would investigate the claims. Xuecheng and the monastery denied the accusations, which also included claims of embezzlement.

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Texas gymnastics coach arrested, accused of child sex abuse

DALLAS (TX)
The Associated Press

August 2, 2018

An elite Texas gymnastics coach was arrested in Indiana after being accused of sexually assaulting three girls at a Fort Worth gym, police said Thursday.

Skipper Glenn Crawley, described as an elite-level team gymnastics coach, is accused of sexually assaulting the victims at Sokol gymnastics in Fort Worth, police said. Authorities arrested him on Wednesday after executing a warrant at an Indianapolis residence. He is being held at an Indiana jail, pending extradition.

Crawley, a former assistant coach at the University of Oklahoma, had been wanted for the continuous sexual abuse of a child, along with two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child.

“The thing was, he was a great coach,” the mother of a victim told TV station WFAA . “And he used that. He’s a very sick man.”

Court records show that the three victims accused Crawley of touching their genitalia, including one who said the coach touched her while he helped her stretch. That victim also reported the coach would make “inappropriate remarks,” commenting that he would want to snuggle or sleep with her, according to an affidavit. She also told authorities Crawley said he wanted to get married and that she was his girlfriend, the affidavit says.

Another victim reported Crawley had inappropriately touched her multiple times and would call her back to his office while other girls were conditioning, according to an affidavit.

The court records say police were notified of the sexual assaults in April.

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Top Chinese monk’s sexual harassment scandal shows the power of China’s growing #MeToo movement

CHINA
Business Insider

August 3, 2018

By Sinéad Baker

– Shi Xuecheng, one of China’s highest-ranking Buddist monks, is accused of sexual harassment, including demanding sexual favors from nuns.

– Other monks compiled the document, and one said that he and other whistleblowers had been expelled from the temple since making the accusations.

– But outcry on social media and the launch of a government investigation suggests that the #MeToo movement is gaining traction in the region.

– A whistleblower in the monastery said that Xuecheng, who is a well-known figure in China, had so much power that only the government could protect the nuns.

One of China’s highest-ranking Buddist monks is accused of sexual misconduct including demanding sexual favors from nuns — and the launch of a government investigation shows that the #MeToo movement may be gaining traction in the region.

Shi Xuecheng of the Longquan Monastery in Beijing is accused in a 95-document compiled by his fellow monks.

Both Xuecheng and the monastery denied the claims, but the document, which includes testimony from the alleged victims, leaked onto social media last week, resulting in public outcry and state media coverage before it was censored.

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Chile prosecutors seek Vatican files of priests in sex scandal

SANTIAGO (CHILE)
AFP

August 1, 2018

Prosecutors in Chile on Wednesday said they have requested the Vatican files of nine Chilean priests being investigated for sexual abuses.

“The National Prosecutor, Jorge Abbott, today signed an official letter addressed to the Vatican (..), requesting canonical records involving accused persons investigated by the Public Prosecutor’s Office,” the National Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement.

The petition includes three requests for help in criminal cases of nine members of the church.

In July, prosecutors said Chile was investigating 158 members of the country’s embattled Catholic Church — both clergymen and lay people — for perpetrating or concealing the sexual abuse of children and adults.

The cases relate to incidents dating back as far as 1960 and involving 266 victims, including 178 children and adolescents.

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Former Ohio State wrestling coach pushed Jim Jordan’s accusers to recant allegations, per report

COLUMBUS (OH)
Yahoo Sports

August 1, 2018

By Jack Baer

Two former Ohio State wrestlers say they were personally pushed by former Buckeyes coach Russ Hellickson to backtrack on accusations that Rep. Jim Jordan ignored alleged sexual abuse by a team doctor, according to a report from NBC News.

According to the report, both Dunyasha Yetts and Mike DiSabato received messages and phone calls on July 4, a day after Jordan was hit with the accusations from the two and one more wrestler who requested anonymity. Yetts is the only wrestler of the group to say he directly told Jordan about the abuse from Ohio State doctor Richard Strauss. DiSabato also claimed that Jordan had seen frequent inappropriate behavior in the team’s showers while he was an assistant coach at Ohio State.

Ohio State announced that its independent investigation into the matter revealed more than 100 male student-athletes across 14 different sports with first-hand accounts of Strauss’ sexual misconduct. Strauss committed suicide in 2005.

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US bishops: Sex claims show US cardinal’s ‘moral failure’

UNITED STATES
The Associated Press

August 1, 2018

By Gillian Flaccus

The president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said Wednesday that sex abuse allegations against former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick dating back decades raise serious questions about how the claims could stay secret for so long as the retired archbishop from Washington, D.C., rose in prestige and power.

Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo said the allegations against his former colleague reveal a “grievous moral failure” and urged anyone who has experienced sexual abuse at the hands of the church to come forward. DiNardo reminded bishops in the United States to take those reports seriously and contact the police when required.

“Both the abuses themselves, and the fact that they have remained undisclosed for decades, have caused great harm to people’s lives and represent grave moral failures of judgment on the part of church leaders,” he said in a statement.

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

Michigan priest’s embezzlement trial delayed until 2019

WILLIAMSTON (MI)
The Associated Press

August 2, 2018

An embezzlement trial for a Roman Catholic priest is being delayed because he’s getting new lawyers after police say they discovered $63,000 hidden above ceiling tiles in his Michigan home.

The search was conducted in mid-July at the Rev. Jonathan Wehrle’s luxury home in Williamston. State police say money was in $2,000 bundles secured with cash bands that said, “For Deposit Only-St. Martha Parish.”

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Royal Commission: Survivors’ fury after trio of former bishops not referred for prosecution

AUSTRALIA
ABC Newcastle

Originally published July 13, 2018

By Giselle Wakatama

Three former Anglican bishops heavily criticised by the Royal Commission have not been referred for prosecution, sparking fury among abuse survivors.

The Royal Commission into Child Sexual Abuse in December 2017 accused former Newcastle bishops Roger Herft, Alfred Holland and Richard Appleby of having a “do nothing” approach in response to child sexual abuse allegations.

Survivor Steve Smith fought back tears when he was told the men had not been referred to prosecutors at both state and national levels.

“I am absolutely astounded … it is a kick in the guts, I am lost for words,” Mr Smith said.

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Philip Wilson ‘one of the good guys’, senior Catholics say, following Adelaide Archbishop’s resignation

AUSTRALIA
Australian Broadcasting Corporation

July 31, 2018

Senior Catholics have rallied to the defence of former Adelaide Archbishop Philip Wilson, who resigned after being convicted of concealing child sex abuse, saying he did “great good” that should not be forgotten.

“We remember that he is a man who has done so much in child protection areas, that this archdiocese was the first to have a child protection unit, a child protection council, a police check unit, and all at the initiative of Archbishop Wilson,” Port Pirie Bishop Greg O’Kelly, who has been acting as Adelaide’s Archbishop, said.

“We must not forget the great good he has done in those areas.

“So they are the sorts of things and now he has made this decision and we have to sort of listen and try to rebuild.

“Restore trust, restore confidence in people.”

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Diocese names two Duluth priests as ‘credibly accused’

DULUTH (MN)
Duluth News Tribune

August 5, 2018

By Lisa Kaczke

A Duluth priest suing a man who has accused him of sexual abuse has been added to the Diocese of Duluth’s list of priests it has determined to be “credibly accused.”

The Diocese announced on Sunday that the Rev. William C. Graham, who is arguing in his lawsuit that he has been falsely accused, and the Rev. Roland Antus were found to be credibly accused of sexual abuse following the Diocese’s investigation into the allegations.

Graham was credibly accused of sexually abusing a child in the 1970s at St. Benedict’s Catholic Church in Duluth and Antus was credibly accused of committing the same crime in the 1980s at St. James Catholic Church in Duluth, according to the Diocese’s statement.

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‘I will tell Pope of my concerns over Church sex abuse’ – Varadkar

DUBLIN (IRELAND)
The Herald

By Cate McCurry

August 6, 2018

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar will express his concerns to the Pope about the Catholic Church’s history of sexual and physical abuse when Francis visits Ireland later this month.

The Taoiseach also said he intends to tell him that Ireland accepts gay parents.

Pope Francis will visit Dublin and Knock on the weekend of August 25 and 26 at the invitation of the World Meeting of Families 2018.

As part of his visit, he will go to the Capuchin Day Centre for the homeless in Dublin and the Knock Shrine.

However, it is not yet clear whether he will meet victims of clerical abuse.

Mr Varadkar said that while his meeting with the Pope could be short, he will express his concerns about issues such as the Church’s involvement in Magdalene Laundries.

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Catholics in Archdiocese of Washington are conflicted over support after McCarrick sex scandal

WASHINGTON, D.C.
The Washington Times

August 5, 2018

By Bradford Richardson

Catholics in the District of Columbia are conflicted about how to continue to support the church after the resignation of former Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick over reports of sexual abuse.

The former archbishop of Washington stepped down from the College of Cardinals one month after a church panel substantiated a report that, as a priest in New York, he sexually abused a teenage altar boy more than 45 years ago. Pope Francis accepted his resignation on Saturday and ordered him to serve a “life of prayer and penance.”

Scotty O’Connell, who attends the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Northwest Washington, and other members of the diocese are calling for a boycott until Archbishop McCarrick’s enablers are removed from the church. Ms. O’Connell said she had discontinued her weekly offerings at her parish because a percentage of all contributions are given to the archdiocese.

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Debemos conocer el informe Scicluna

[Opinion: We must know the Scicluna report]

CHILE
El Mostrador

August 6, 2018

By Felipe Portales

Como toda gran crisis, representa también una gran oportunidad. La reconstrucción de ella no puede ser solo labor de otros obispos que concentren nuevamente todo el poder. Tanto a nivel nacional como mundial tenemos que aprender que una Iglesia efectivamente cristiana y fraternal debe ser construida con un espíritu democrático, y con la participación responsable y solidaria de todos sus miembros. Y para ello es fundamental contar con la información pertinente. En el caso nuestro tenemos, pues, que conocer el Informe Scicluna en toda su extensión, exceptuando, por cierto, la identidad de las víctimas que hayan declarado bajo condición de anonimato.

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Iglesia Católica publica nómina de sacerdotes condenados por abusos sexuales contra menores

[Catholic Church publishes list of priests condemned for sexual abuse of minors]

CHILE
Emol

August 3, 2018

By Bárbara Osses

La difusión del documento es parte de las medidas que la asamblea plenaria extraordinaria del Episcopado tomó para prevenir casos de abuso al interior de la Iglesia y para fortalecer la cooperación con las investigaciones que realiza la fiscalía.

Durante la tarde de este viernes, la Iglesia Católica chilena publicó un documento en el que se revelan los nombres de clérigos con sentencias definitivas civiles y canónicas por abuso de menores de edad, como parte de las medidas que la Institución adoptó con el fin de prevenir casos de abuso al interior de la Iglesia y para fortalecer la cooperación con las investigaciones que realiza la fiscalía.

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With McCarrick scandal, #MeToo arrives for the church

UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter

August 6, 2018

By Fr. Peter Daly

On July 28, we woke up to front-page news about my former archbishop Theodore McCarrick’s resignation from the College of Cardinals. He is the first and only cardinal to resign from the college as a part of the worldwide sexual abuse scandal. While two of McCarrick’s victims were minors, it appears that most were adult males. Most often, they were seminarians and priests under his authority. In McCarrick, the child abuse scandal is joined to the #MeToo movement.

It is painful to the whole church to hear the news about McCarrick. It is especially painful to the people of my own archdiocese, Washington, D.C. I have no desire to add fuel to the fire. I always liked McCarrick and appreciated his leadership on many things, especially on social justice issues. But I do have a few things to say about McCarrick and the related scandal, some of them from my personal experience.

First, we knew, or should have known, about some of McCarrick’s behavior.

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Exclusive: Cardinal Wuerl proposes national panel to investigate allegations against bishops

UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter

August 6, 2018

By Joshua J. McElwee

Washington Cardinal Donald Wuerl has proposed that the national conference of U.S. Catholic bishops create a new high-level panel to receive and evaluate any allegations or rumors of sexual misconduct by one of its member bishops.

In an NCR interview focused on how the American church should address the wider systemic questions raised by the revelations of sexual abuse by his predecessor, now former cardinal Theodore McCarrick, Wuerl also suggested that the Vatican could designate one of its offices to act on the proposed panel’s findings.

Although Wuerl said he had not personally been aware of rumors about McCarrick’s alleged abuse of young men during the former cardinal’s time as a priest and bishop, he acknowledged that others have now brought forward earlier existence of such rumors.

“If there were [rumors], and if people heard them, there needs to be some mechanism by which there can be at least an evaluation and review of them,” said Wuerl, speaking in a phone conversation.

“I think it’s very important that we … as bishops enter into that world and say, ‘If there is an accumulation of rumors, ought not something be said?’ ” the cardinal continued.

“Would we have some sort of a panel, a board, of bishops … where we would take it upon ourselves, or a number of bishops would be deputed, to ask about those rumors?” he suggested.

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Cadem: Gestión de Iglesia Católica alcanza una desaprobación de 76% entre chilenos

[Cadem Survey: Catholic Church management reaches a 76% disapproval among Chileans]

CHILE
Emol

August 6, 2018

By Leonardo Núñez

La institución alcanza en Chile los peores registros desde que esta encuesta empezó a medir la crisis que la afecta por los abusos sexuales. Aprobación de Piñera, en tanto, sufre nueva caída significativa y alcanza un 45% de apoyo (39% lo desaprueba).

La crisis que atraviese la Iglesia Católica debido a los casos de abuso sexual repercutió en el apoyo entre los chilenos: un 76% desaprueba la forma en que desarrolla su labor en el país y sólo un 19% la apoya.ml

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Laicos de Osorno en picada contra Ezzati: “Te Deum debe ser realizado por personas indicadas”

[Laity of Osorno on Ezzati: “Te Deum must be done by right people”]

CHILE
BioBioChile

August 4, 2018

By Emilio Lara and Dennys Salazar

Tras conocer que el cardenal Ricardo Ezzati decidió no presidir el Te Deum de Fiestas Patrias, los Laicos de Osorno salieron a mostrar su aprobación de la medida.

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Ezzati se margina del Tedeum tras presiones del gobierno y del Vaticano

[Ezzati is marginalized from the Tedeum after pressures from the government and the Vatican]

CHILE
La Tercera

August 5, 2018

By Carla Pía Ruiz and Carlos Pérez

La autoridad de la Iglesia Católica en Chile comunicó ayer que no presidirá la tradicional celebración ecuménica. La carta enviada por el Papa Francisco a los obispos chilenos fue clave en su inédito alejamiento.

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Santiago Silva, presidente de la Conferencia Episcopal de Chile: “Valoro enormemente la decisión del cardenal Ezzati, por razones pastorales”

[Santiago Silva, president of the Episcopal Conference of Chile: “I greatly value the decision of Cardinal Ezzati, for pastoral reasons”]

CHILE
La Tercera

August 5, 2018

By Sergio Rodríguez Garcés

El prelado aborda no solo lo ocurrido con el tedeum, sino también la crisis de la Iglesia Católica criolla, las diligencias hechas sobre archivos destruidos, el rol de los obispos y las críticas a su liderazgo.

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August 5, 2018

Ezzati en la recta final: los secretos de su expediente que hoy tiene en sus manos el Papa

[Ezzati in the final straight: the secrets of his file that the Pope has in his hands today]

CHILE
CIPER

July 27, 2018

By Pedro Ramírez

Encubrimientos marcan la reunión de la asamblea episcopal en crisis

[Cover-ups mark the meeting of an episcopal assembly in crisis]

Este lunes 30 de julio se inicia una asamblea extraordinaria de obispos, la primera desde que el Papa Francisco recibió la renuncia masiva de los prelados chilenos. La cita estará marcada por las nuevas directrices de Roma sobre los abusos cometidos por clérigos. Las miradas se centran en el cardenal Ricardo Ezzati, sobre quien arrecian las acusaciones de omisión y encubrimiento en casos de abusos sexuales. CIPER reconstruyó su historial de actuaciones cuestionadas que se arrastran desde los años 80, y su alianza con el cardenal Errázuriz para ahogar el caso Karadima y desacreditar a sus víctimas.

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Catholic Church’s response to child abuse Royal Commission set for release

AUSTRALIA
ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

August 4, 2018

[AUDIO: Features interview with Brisbane archbishop Mark Coleridge, president of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference]

By Sarah Sedghi

The Catholic Church will release its highly anticipated response to the child abuse Royal Commission by the end of the month.

The response has been months in the making and was discussed at a special meeting in Melbourne this week.

Church leaders say it’s a significant step in the reform process.

But they have ruled out accepting one of the Royal Commission’s recommendations: for priests to break the seal of the confessional to report allegations of sexual abuse against children.

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Chile archbishop to forgo ceremony amid church sex abuse scandal

SANTIAGO (CHILE)
Reuters

August 4, 2018

By Dave Sherwood

Archbishop of Santiago Ricardo Ezzati said on Saturday that he would not lead Chile’s Te Deum, an annual religious ceremony attended by the country’s top politicians and clergy, amid a church sex abuse scandal that has sent shockwaves through the conservative Catholic nation.

Ezzati, who has long led the ceremony and is among Chile’s most recognized religious figures, said in a statement he thought it “prudent that he not lead the traditional Te Deum” given the “profound crisis that the Church is undergoing.”

Chilean President Sebastian Pinera praised Ezzati’s decision on social media, saying he “valued the gesture” and that the ceremony should “unite and not divide Chileans.”

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He’s a Superstar Pastor. She Worked for Him and Says He Groped Her Repeatedly.

SOUTH BARRINGTON (IL)
The New York Times

August 5, 2018

By Laurie Goodstein

Bill Hybels built an iconic evangelical church outside Chicago. A former assistant says that in the 1980s, he sexually harassed her.

After the pain of watching her marriage fall apart, Pat Baranowski felt that God was suddenly showering her with blessings.

She had a new job at her Chicago-area megachurch, led by a dynamic young pastor named the Rev. Bill Hybels, who in the 1980s was becoming one of the most influential evangelical leaders in the country.

The pay at Willow Creek Community Church was much lower than at her old job, but Ms. Baranowski, then 32, admired Mr. Hybels and the church’s mission so much that it seemed worth it. She felt even more blessed when in 1985 Mr. Hybels and his wife invited her to move into their home, where she shared family dinners and vacations.

Once, while Mr. Hybels’s wife, Lynne, and their children were away, the pastor took Ms. Baranowski out for dinner. When they got home, Mr. Hybels offered her a back rub in front of the fireplace and told her to lie face down.

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Clerical abuse scandals entering disturbing phase, says McAleese

IRELAND
The Irish Times

August 3, 2018

By Patsy McGarry

Former president urges pope to make Ireland point at which ‘hope and history rhyme’

The abuse scandals in the Catholic Church were now entering “an even more disrupting chapter,” former president Mary McAleese has said.

She quoted veteran Vatican correspondent Robert Mickens as saying that, in order to solve the underlying problem, Pope Francis will “have to devote the rest of his pontificate almost exclusively to this gargantuan endeavour.”

The former editor of UK magazine The Tablet claimed the abuse issue now theatened “to engulf his papacy and do lasting damage to Francis’s own reputation”, Mrs McAleese recalled.

She continued that “the recent and ongoing scandals and the McAreavey, McCarrick and Wilson resignations are signalling that this issue is now entering an even more disturbing and disruptive chapter”.

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Mangueshi priest missing as court rejects pre-arrest bails

PONDA, GOA (INDIA)
The Times of India

August 5, 2018

The additional district and sessions court, Ponda, on Saturday rejected the anticipatory bail pleas filed by Mangueshi temple priest Dhananjay Bhave in two cases. After the development, police said the priest was not traceable and launched a search for him.

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Goa court rejects anticipatory bail application of temple priest accused of molestation

GOA (INDIA)
Press Trust of India via Business Standard

August 4, 2018

A local court today rejected the anticipatory bail application of a temple priest accused of molesting two women.

The two women, hailing from Mumbai, had filed a police complaint alleging that they were molested by Dhananjay Bhave, a priest of the famous Mangueshi Temple in Ponda, about 20 kilometres from here, during a visit in June.

Additional District and Sessions Court in Ponda rejected Bhave’s application after it was informed by the police that the priest was absconding since the case was registered against him.

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La Moneda recibió a víctimas de abusos sexuales en la Iglesia

[La Moneda (Government) receives victims of sexual abuse in the Church]

CHILE
Cooperativa.cl

– Representantes de la Red de Sobrevivientes de Abuso Eclesiástico de Chile entregaron formalmente su solicitud para crear una comisión de verdad.

– La ministra Cecilia Pérez se comprometió a una evaluación del tema junto al Presidente Piñera.

[- Representatives of the Network of Survivors of Ecclesiastical Abuse in Chile formally submitted their request to create a real commission.

[- Minister Cecilia Pérez undertook to evaluate the issue with President Piñera.]

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Laicos criticaron conclusiones de la Conferencia Episcopal: “Era una condición mínima”

[Laymen criticize conclusions of the Episcopal Conference: “It was a minimum condition”]

CHILE
Cooperativa.cl

August 3, 2018

– “¿Por qué nos presentan como la gran novedad decisiones y compromisos que no aportan sustantivamente a la solución de la crisis?”, cuestionaron.

– En tanto, para Juan Carlos Cruz no son los obispos “los que deben hacerse cargo de solución”.

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Conferencia Episcopal entregará antecedentes a la Fiscalía y pide perdón a las víctimas

[Episcopal Conference will provide background information to the Prosecutor’s Office and apologize to the victims]

CHILE
Cooperativa.cl

August 3, 2018

“Hemos fallado a nuestro deber de pastores”, reconocieron los obispos al cierre de la Asamblea Extraordinaria.

Recalcaron que darán “a conocer públicamente toda investigación previa sobre presunto abuso sexual de menores de edad”.

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Sebastián Piñera valoró bajada de Ezzati del Te Deum Ecuménico

[Chilean president Sebastián Piñera praises Ezzati’s stepping down from the Ecumenical Te Deum]

CHILE
Cooperative.cl

August 4, 2018

“El gesto del arzobispo, que si bien doloroso en lo personal, contribuye a la paz de los espíritus en nuestra Patria”, afirmó el Mandatario.

Si desde el mundo político se agradeció el gesto del religioso, los laicos afirmaron que este no es más que un signo mediático.

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Mónica Rincón y los insuficientes gestos de obispos: “Falta reconocer que ha habido encubrimiento”

[Mónica Rincón and the insufficient gestures of bishops: “It is necessary to recognize that there has been a cover-up”]

CHILE
CNN Chile

August 3, 2018

“A veces la justicia tarda tanto que ya no es justicia”, dijo la conductora de MR.

Ezzati renunció a presidir el Te Deum y las víctimas tienen asiento reservado en primera fila. Se estableció ya la obligación de denunciar a la Justicia Civil todo antecedente de abusos sexuales cometidos por sacerdotes. José Andrés Murillo fue llamado a presidir el Consejo para Prevención de Abusos en la Iglesia Católica.

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Bishop David Zubik Shares Letter Anticipating the Release of the Grand Jury Report

PITTSBURGH (PA)
Diocese of Pittsburgh

August 4, 2018

A letter from Bishop David Zubik is being read at all Masses this weekend in all parishes of the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh in order to prepare the faithful for the impending public release of the interim Grand Jury report. A copy of the letter can be found here.

In his letter, Bishop Zubik shares his continued concern for the victims of sexual abuse and sorrow for the harms they suffered at hands of members of the clergy. In addition, Bishop Zubik promises to continue to provide assistance to victims of abuse.

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Pittsburgh bishop says he’d release names of accused clergy

PITTSBURGH (PA)
Associated Press

August 4, 2018

[See also: August 4, 2018 letter from Bishop Zubik; and Grand jury report could name 90 offenders in Pittsburgh diocese alone, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, July 13, 2018]

The bishop of Pittsburgh’s Roman Catholic diocese said on Saturday he will release the names of any members of his clergy who are accused in a state grand jury report of sexual misconduct with a minor.

In a letter being read at all Masses this weekend, Bishop David Zubik said he will go public with the names once the grand jury report has been released. His announcement came days after the Harrisburg Diocese identified 71 priests and other members of the church who had been accused of child sex abuse.

The state Supreme Court disclosed recently that the grand jury had identified more than 300 “predator priests” in the six dioceses that were investigated: Allentown, Erie, Greensburg, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh and Scranton. Together, those dioceses minister to more than 1.7 million Catholics.

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Bishops to reveal abuse inquiry response

AUSTRALIA
AAP (Australian Associated Press) via Yarrawonga Chronicle

August 3, 2018

Australia’s Catholic bishops will reveal their response to the child abuse royal commission later this month after reaching a “common position” on the inquiry’s calls for reforms.

The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference on Friday committed to releasing its formal response to the five-year inquiry by the end of August.

While it will be up to the Pope and his advisers to accept many of the royal commission’s far-reaching recommendations, the Australian bishops have already rejected its controversial call to break the seal of confession to reveal child sexual abuse.

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Breda O’Brien: Church must embrace accountability on sex abuse

DUBLIN (IRELAND)
The Irish Times

August 4, 2018

By Breda O’Brien

Church and aid bodies wield corruptible power over vulnerable adults and youth

The UK House of Commons International Development Committee published an important and troubling report this week, Sexual Abuse and Exploitation in the Aid Sector. The evil that humans are capable of inflicting on the most vulnerable is truly sickening.

Although this investigation was prompted by revelations about Oxfam personnel exploiting vulnerable people in Haiti, it is clear this was a problem for decades in many aid organisations in all areas of the world.

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The Pope and Sex Abuse: Back to Business as Usual When the U.S. Media Isn’t Looking

UNITED STATES
The Open Tabernacle

August 5, 2018

By Betty Clermont

Just this past week, the U.S. media treated Pope Francis as the world’s leading “moral authority.” The New York Times even posted the pope’s declaration that the death penalty is “inadmissible” on its online front page for two days. Yet they, and the rest of the U.S. media, ignored what else happened the past month.

– As of July 24, Cardinal Ricardo Ezzati, head of the Church in Chile, is under investigation by civil authorities. He covered up clerical sex abuse for decades even before Pope Francis elevated him to cardinal in 2014.

– Letters dated July 12 urged Pope Francis to remove an Indian bishop accused of raping a nun. On July 24, an Indian official called the allegation “true.”

– Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Honduran Bishop Juan José Pineda Fasquelle on July 20. A resignation means that the prelate retains his title, honors, income and benefits. The pope has known that Pineda was accused of sex abuse and financial malfeasance since June 2017. Pineda said he handed the pope his resignation “several months ago.”

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York Catholic HS acknowledges former teacher left school following allegations of abuse

YORK (PA)
CBS 21 News

August 4, 2018

York Catholic High School is acknowledging that a former teacher was a part of a list of accusations provided by the Diocese of Harrisburg earlier this week.

According to the school district Father William Cawley taught at York Catholic from 1988 until 2012. Cawley was included on the list of priest who’s abuse was alleged to have happened at a different diocese.

According to the school district Father Cawley left the Diocese of Harrisburg in 2012 following a lawsuit from Montana accusing him of sexual abuse of a child prior to him joining the diocese of Harrisburg.

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August 4, 2018

A Message for the York Catholic Family about the Diocese of Harrisburg Press Conference

YORK (PA)
York Catholic High School

August 3, 2018

As you may have already read, Father William Cawley, who taught at York Catholic from 1988 until 2012, was included on the list of priests with allegations released by the Diocese of Harrisburg on August 1, 2018. The Diocese was clear that this was a list of accusations and they did not make assessments of credibility or guilt in creating the list.

Father Cawley was listed under the section including cases where abuse was alleged to have occurred in another Diocese. In 2012, the Diocese of Harrisburg received a report from a 2012 lawsuit in the state of Montana that Father Cawley was accused of sexual abuse of a child prior to his tenure working in the Diocese of Harrisburg. Father Cawley left the Diocese of Harrisburg in 2012 as a result of these allegations. According to Diocesan and York Catholic records, there were no known allegations before the lawsuit in 2012.

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York Catholic: Priest left Harrisburg diocese after abuse allegations surfaced in 2012

YORK (PA)
The York Daily Record

August 4, 2018

By Geoff Morrow

York Catholic High School acknowledged a former teacher’s inclusion in last week’s Diocese of Harrisburg list of clergy who’ve been accused of sexual abuse.

In a statement released on its website and labeled Friday night as “A message for the York Catholic family,” the school confirmed Father William Cawley taught there from 1988 until 2012.

Reactions to the statement were mixed on the York Catholic Facebook page.

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Pittsburgh diocese also plans to name priests and deacons accused of sexually abusing children

PITTSBURGH (PA)
PennLive.com

August 4, 2018

By Teresa Bonner

The Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh says it too will be releasing the names of clergy against whom allegations of child sexual abuse of a minor have been made.

The announcement was made in a letter to from Bishop David Zubik that was distributed this weekend to be read in all parishes.

Zubik said the names will be made public when the report of a grand jury that has been investigation child sexual abuse in six Pennsylvania dioceses is made public.

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Honduran Seminarians Allege Widespread Homosexual Misconduct

TEGUCIGALPA (HONDURAS)
National Catholic Register

July 25, 2018

By Edward Pentin

But to date, Cardinal Maradiaga has not responded publicly to the allegations regarding his archdiocesan seminary.

Nearly 50 seminarians in Honduras have protested against what they say is a widespread and entrenched pattern of homosexual practice in Tegucigalpa’s major seminary.

In a letter written to the seminary’s formators that was subsequently circulated in June to the country’s Catholic bishops, the seminarians asserted “irrefutable evidence” exists that a homosexual network pervades the institution and is being protected by its rector.

“Heterosexual seminarians are scandalized and really depressed,” one of the seminarians who drafted the letter told the Register.

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Kerala Catholic priest rape case: Was minor victim coerced to say sex was consensual?

KERALA (INDIA)
The News Minute

August 3, 2018

By Dhanya Rajendran

The girl had delivered a baby and DNA tests proved that the priest is the father. Efforts are now on to prove that she was not a minor during the time of the crime.

It was a case that had rocked Kerala. A 48-year-old Catholic priest was arrested for raping and impregnating a 16-year-old girl. The arrest came despite much resistance from the Church and its allied networks. Now, more than a year after Father Robin Vadakumchery of the Mananthavady diocese was arrested, the survivor and the prime witness in the case told the POCSO court at Thalassery in Kannur district that she had consensual sex with the priest.

What has come as a bigger shock for the prosecution is that the survivor claimed that she had attained the age of consent when she had sex with the accused in 2016. The statement by the survivor, who is now an adult, has made the court declare her as hostile. The survivor has also told the court that she was ready to marry Father Robin Vadakkumchery and lead a life with him and their child.

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Fort Worth Diocese pastor resigns after hostile, explicit letter threatening to report Dallas-area priest’s alleged affair

FORT WORTH (TX)
Dallas Morning News

August 3, 2018

By Marc Ramirez

A pastor has resigned from the Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth after sending a hostile and graphically detailed letter to a Dallas-area priest threatening to disclose an alleged affair the priest was having with a woman in his parish.

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Two Chilean priests present their resignation amid sex ring allegations

ROME (ITALY)
Crux

August 3, 2018

By Inés San Martín

Two priests from a troubled Chilean diocese, part of the 14 local priests suspended after they were accused of being part of a ring of sexual misconduct that included gay prostitution and sexting with minors, have requested to be removed from the priesthood.

Fathers Hector Fuentes and Freddy Gorigoitia are currently suspended from ministry because of the ongoing investigation against them and other priests who were part of the group calling itself “The Family.” The two requested to be laicized on July 28.

The information was confirmed by Bishop Luis Fernando Ramos Perez, auxiliary of Santiago, the country’s capital, who’s currently serving as apostolic administrator in the diocese.

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Priest sex abuse cases put Pennsylvania grand jury rules to test

ALLENTOWN (PA)
The Morning Call

August 3, 2018

By Tim Darragh

The long-awaited grand jury report on sex abuse of children by priests in six Catholic dioceses in Pennsylvania is testing a balance of rights and raising questions about the fairness of secretive grand juries.

On the one hand, sex abuse victims say the release of the report naming more than 300 “predator” priests is a key step in healing and gaining justice.

On the other, people named in the report but not charged with crimes say in court records that the grand jury process failed to give them a fair opportunity to rebut the allegations against them. The two-year investigation covered the dioceses of Allentown, Erie, Greensburg, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh and Scranton, and ended in April.

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Survivor opens up about priest abuse as a child, accused priest responds

YORK (PA)
WPMT-TV, Fox43

August 1, 2018

By Jack Eble

A Carlisle native, a Pennsylvania university graduate, 30 years of business experience.

One man, who is choosing to stay anonymous, says he is a survivor who wants his story to be told.

“This is not an easy story to tell.”

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Diocese of Harrisburg’s statement to comments made by former priest Herbert Shank that aired on FOX43

HARRISBURG (PA)
WPMT-TV, Fox43

August 3, 2018

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg issued a statement Friday in response to a story that ran earlier this week on FOX43.

On Wednesday, FOX43 aired a story by Jack Eble with a survivor who said he was abused by a priest when he was 12 years old — the alleged abuse continued for a year and a half.

The accused, former priest Herbert Shank, spoke to FOX43 at his home.

Read the Diocese’s statement to Shank’s comments below:

“As we disclosed in our list earlier this week, Herbert Shank, who was removed from ministry in 1994, was the subject of multiple accusations of child sexual abuse. We watched his recent interview with shock and great sadness as he attempted to rationalize clearly inappropriate behavior with children. We have a zero-tolerance policy as it relates to child sexual abuse. Anyone who is accused of this type of behavior is immediately referred to law enforcement and removed from active duties, employment or volunteering. …

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What is known about each of the 71 accused Harrisburg Diocese clergy

HARRISBURG (PA)
The York Daily Record

August 3, 2018

The Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg released a list of 71 names of clergy members accused of sexually abusing children in cases dating back decades.

The list includes priests, deacons, seminarians and clergy affiliated with an order. The list also includes clergy members from other dioceses and Archdioceses from across the nation.

In the release, the diocese said the list includes those who were accused of abuse of a child since the 1940s, and does not include assessments of credibility or guilt. The church said it was releasing a list of every allegation made in recent decades against clergy in the diocese that had not been proven false.

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