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.

September 6, 2018

Pennsylvania Catholic dioceses consider sex abuse victim compensation fund but not changes to law

ALLENTOWN (PA)
The Morning Call

August 31, 2018

By Tim Darragh

The grand jury investigating child sex abuse in six Catholic dioceses around Pennsylvania concluded that abuse survivors who had long been prevented from seeking damages should be offered a legal window of opportunity to file suit.

None of Pennsylvania’s dioceses is supporting that recommendation, saying a retroactive statute of limitations is unconstitutional. Instead, the dioceses are looking at creating a compensation fund for survivors. And one, the Erie Diocese, has set in motion steps to create the fund.

Advocates for survivors, however, say a compensation fund is insufficient. They gained an ally Friday in Gov. Tom Wolf, who urged the Legislature to pass a bill adopting the grand jury’s four recommendations, including giving survivors two years to file lawsuits.

Erie Bishop Lawrence Persico this week ordered the diocese’s lawyers to work with state legislators in developing a fund, following a call to action Wednesday by Republican state Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati.

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.

STATEMENT FROM TUAM HOME SURVIVORS NETWORK

TUAM (IRELAND)
Tuam Home Survivors Network

August 27, 2018

The publication today of a letter, by Katherine Zappone, which she handed to the Pope is nothing more than a publicity stunt.

She writes in the preamble to that letter: I am the Minister responsible for the Tuam Mother and Baby Home. This is of course an absurd statement. Ms Zappone is merely the Minister to which the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes is to report. In a different country, such a Commission would be reporting to a Justice Minister. What Minister Zappone has been responsible for more than two years, is a dishonest exercise in respect of the Tuam pit, which has prolonged the agony of survivors and those whose relatives may be buried there, by standing in the way of an exhumation.

In the course of her letter to the Pope, she attempts to maintain the myth that she with her Cabinet colleagues can decide the future of the mass grave at Tuam. To be clear once more, the only office-holder with jurisdiction over the mass grave at Tuam is the local Coroner. Where a Coroner fails to convene an Inquest, the Attorney General has under s24 of the Coroners Act 1961, the power indeed obligation, to appoint another Coroner to do so. Neither the previous Attorney General Maire Whelan nor the current incumbent Seamus Woulfe, have fulfilled their obligations to do so. Minister Zappone has sat in Cabinet with both and cannot be unaware of the position.

Yet in the warmest and driest summer for forty years in which an exhumation of the Tuam children could have been speedily accomplished, she has clung to a position which is both vile and dishonest.

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.

On Awful Bishops and the Retention of Faith

UNITED STATES
Patheos

August 25, 2018

By Mark Shea

So the other day I posted this on the Book of Face:

“I didn’t come to the church for the bishops, so I won’t leave because of them. Much of this is very understandable lashing out in rage, but there are a lot of people who really have lost faith because of it. I wish I knew what to say to them. My faith was never in men, so men can disgust me and let me down, but they can’t take away what wasn’t theirs to give.” – Tom McDonald, echoing my exact thoughts

That explains my own interior. I wish I knew how to help those whose hearts have been wrecked by this. All I can say is “I love you and hope you find peace. Please don’t take my own continuing faith as some kind of rebuke to your pain or struggles.” I think the day is done for any defenses of the faith that begin with superior rebukes to the unbeliever. God knoweth we Catholics have done all in our power to drive away even the staunchest believer.

My friend, Sam Rocha, not in response to this but not long after it, remarked (in response to other, similar sentiments about “being Catholic for Jesus and not for men”:

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
Occupy the Vatican

August 25, 2018

By Hemley Gonzalez

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.

“I told him I thought it extraordinarily inappropriate and very, very dangerous to the church, if it was pursued,” she said. “I asked Msgr Joe Murphy of Cloyne [then secretary to Cardinal Sodano] who was in the room that day along with my husband and Dermot McCarthy, then secretary to the government, and I said: ‘Look, I have heard nothing about this subject’.”

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.

Priests Produced Child Pornography on Church Property, Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report States

HARRISBURG (PA)
Fortune

August 14, 2018

By Glenn Fleishman

Among the horrific revelations of a 1,356-page Pennsylvania grand jury report that found more than 1,000 identifiable child victims were abused by over 300 Catholic priests, one stands out starkly: Priests allegedly used church property to produce child pornography.

With one priest, George Zirwas, the grand jury says his diocese knew of complaints starting in 1987 that he purportedly sexually abused children. Zirwas was shuffled among positions until he was placed on “personal leave” in 1995, which lasted until he was murdered in Havana, Cuba, in May 2001. The report claims Zirwas and three other priests created child pornography in parishes and rectories using whips, violence, and sadism while raping their victims.

The three other priests were later charged in 1988 with the sexual assault of two altar boys. One pleaded guilty and the other was found guilty and both sentenced to years in prison; the third evaded charges due to a statute of limitation expiration.

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 Schools and Parents Grapple with Whether to Address Abuse Report

WASHINGTON (DC)
NPR Morning Edition

September 6, 2018

By Sarah Schneider

During the first Mass of the school year, two students at St. Bernard Elementary School in suburban Pittsburgh stand in front of the congregation and lead their classmates in prayer.

They pray for the leaders of the world, for the sick and suffering, and for the victims of abuse in the Catholic Church.

For some kids … parents don’t want them to be aware of this [abuse], and that’s the parents’ right.

It is the only time clergy abuse is mentioned during the service. It might be the only time it’s mentioned in the school. Principal Anthony Merante says he wants to leave that conversation up to parents.

“For some kids — and this is what I’m concerned about — parents don’t want them to be aware of this and that’s the parents’ right. So you’re going to bring something up and stir something up that isn’t there,” he says.

After the St. Bernard Mass, about a half-dozen parents decline to speak on the record because, they say, they either haven’t talked to their kids about the clergy abuse or they don’t know what to say. Some say they were unsure whether their young children even recognized they had prayed for victims of abuse.

The Pittsburgh Diocese oversees 64 elementary and high schools in six Western Pennsylvania counties. The grand jury report named 17 schools in the diocese where abuse took place. That number could be higher, though. In a handful of cases, the report noted that abuse happened in a school but didn’t specify which one. Sometimes children were molested and raped in their school. Other times students were groomed for abuse during the school day.

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.

Editorial: As child sex-abuse scandal escalates, the Catholic Church is now at war with itself

DALLAS (TX)
Dallas Morning News

August 30, 2018

“Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants.”

Louis D. Brandeis wrote his often-quoted line about the power and necessity of transparency in 1913, three years before becoming a U.S. Supreme Court justice. A fearless proponent of social justice, he was writing about corruption and the concentration of power in the investment banking world at the time.

But he might just as well have been writing about the crisis the Catholic Church is in after a Pennsylvania grand jury released a 900-page report identifying 301 “predator priests” who sexually abused more than 1,000 children since the 1940s.

As we noted in our editorial Sunday, the grand jury said the tactics used by Catholic deacons, priests and bishops to cover up seven decades of abuse amounted to “a playbook for concealing the truth.” In a letter to all Catholics, Pope Francis called the clerical abuse in Pennsylvania “crimes” and “atrocities.”

Since that editorial published, there have been explosive new allegations from within the church accusing Francis of turning a blind eye to reports of decades of sexual abuse of minors and adult seminarians by Theodore McCarrick, the former archbishop of Washington, D.C. McCarrick resigned last month after the church deemed the allegations “credible and substantiated.”

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.

Accused priests’ lawyers ask court not to release names redacted in Pennsylvania grand jury report

ALLENTOWN (PA)
Morning Call

September 5, 2018

[See the petitioners’ filing.]

Lawyers representing more than a dozen clergy members whose names were redacted in the Pennsylvania grand jury report released earlier this month, asked the state Supreme Court Wednesday to adopt the redacted interim version, partly because of statements Attorney General Josh Shapiro made to the media “berating petitioners for seeking to protect their constitutional right to reputation.”

If not for the court’s decision to allow for the temporary redaction of names, the lawyers said, “the constitutional consequences for petitioners would have been calamitous.”

The grand jury report was released Aug. 14 after a two-year investigation into the sexual abuse of children by 301 accused priests in six of the state’s eight Catholic dioceses, including Allentown. After sealing the report for weeks as it considered arguments to redact names, the court agreed to temporarily conceal the names of priests who filed objections. A Sept. 26 hearing is scheduled for arguments to determine whether those redactions should be lifted.

Scathing Pennsylvania grand jury report accuses hundreds of priests of sexually abusing more than 1,000 children
In Wednesday’s filing, lawyers argued that no “meaningful due process is possible” for their clients, given that the priests had no opportunity to present evidence to the grand jury, that many of the allegations are old and involve witnesses who now are dead and that the purpose of the report was punitive, namely to “shame” those named.

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 sigue con su estrategia del arrepentimiento y señala que la Iglesia católica “ha contribuido a la crispación del país”

[Ezzati continues with his strategy of repentance and points out that the Catholic Church “has contributed to the tension of the country”]

CHILE
El Mostrador

August 30, 2018

“Vivimos crispación y la Iglesia, nosotros, hemos contribuido con nuestros problemas y delitos”, dijo el cuestionado cardenal durante la Jornada de Planificación de la Iglesia Católica capitalina, en un mensaje a semanas del Te Deum que este año no liderará dado el complicado escenario judicial que enfrenta.

Siguiendo con su estrategia del arrepentimiento, el arzobispo de Santiago, cardenal Ricardo Ezzati, intentó hacer un nuevo mea culpa respecto a los casos de abusos sexuales y de poder que han protagonizado miembros del clero.

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.

Las investigaciones por abuso y encubrimiento que vinculan a la Iglesia católica con las Fuerzas Armadas

[The investigations for abuse and cover-up that link the Catholic Church with Chile’s Armed Forces]

CHILE
El Mostrador

August 28, 2018

By Alejandra Carmona López

Chillán se ha convertido en una de las diócesis con las historias más oscuras. No solo porque en 2009 un sacerdote fue apuñalado 16 veces sin que nadie encontrara al culpable, sino también porque es la primera zona donde un obispo es investigado por abusos sexuales. Además, un capellán del Ejército es indagado y su nombre se suma a tres obispos castrenses cuyas pistas son seguidas por eventual encubrimiento.

Ese 9 de agosto, cuando un grupo del OS-9 de Carabineros allanó el Obispado Castrense en Providencia, Mauricio Pulgar no tuvo dudas. Toda la ruta de encubrimiento que había denunciado desde el año 2012 –cuando presentó una querella por abusos sexuales contra el presbítero Humberto Henríquez, mientras estaba en el Seminario Mayor San Rafael– le hizo sentido otra vez.

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.

Inician diligencias tras querella por abuso sexual contra profesor y sacerdote de colegio

[Public Ministry confirms abuse investigations against teacher and priest at Catholic school]

CHILE
BioBioChile

September 5, 2018

By Nicole Briones and Cristian Cerna

El Ministerio Público confirmó el inicio de diligencias investigativas tras la querella presentada contra el docente de un colegio católico de Pucón y un sacerdote de esa misma comuna. Fueron 8 mujeres, exestudiantes del colegio Padre Sebastián Englert, ubicado en el sector Huife de la comuna de Pucón, las que presentaron la acción legal por los delitos de abuso sexual y violación, en contra de Rodolfo Álamos Vergara, quien fue director y profesor del establecimiento, además de animador en la capilla que estaba en el sector. A los pocos días, la querella fue ampliada al sacerdote Hugo Cuevas, a quien se le imputan cargos como autor de abusos y encubridor.

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

Pennsylvania Grand Jury Investigation Into Clergy Sex Abuse May Set New Precedent

WASHINGTON (DC)
NPR All Things Considered

September 4, 2018

By Tom Gjelten

The failure of church authorities to police their own clergy has led lay Catholics and civil authorities to move on their own. After Pennsylvania, other state attorneys general have launched investigations.

Audie Cornish, Host:

The Pennsylvania grand jury that investigated widespread clergy sex abuse may have set a new precedent. Until now, most abuse cases have been handled by Catholic authorities themselves. The church has its own legal system, complete with prosecutors, judges and trials. But many abuse victims say they’ve lost confidence in the church system. Here’s NPR’s Tom Gjelten.

Tom Gjelten: Under Catholic Church law, it is a crime for a priest to molest a child. You can’t be sent to prison – only civil law can do that – but canon number 1395 in the code of canon law says a priest who has sexual contact with a minor should be penalized up to and including being removed from the priesthood. And Catholic authorities claim they are now finding those abusive priests.

Lisa Madigan: Well, the problem is I’m not sure that that’s accurate.

Gjelten: Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan announced her own clergy abuse investigation last month.

Madigan: So there has to actually be an independent investigation that will allow for a full and complete accounting. And until that’s done, because of the history, there really is a concern that there are still crimes that may be hidden and people who may be hiding them.

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

Diocese to list names of priests removed over sexual abuse

YOUNGSTOWN (OH)
Associated Press via ABC 6

September 5, 2018

The head of a Roman Catholic diocese in Ohio says it will publish the names of priests who have been removed due to sexual abuse.

Bishop George Murry of the Catholic Diocese of Youngstown says the list of names will be made public during the next two months and go back as far as possible.

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.

Arzobispado de Santiago reconoció que erró al informar medida cautelar contra Precht

[Archdiocese of Santiago admits mistake in Precht investigation]

CHILE
BioBioChile

September 6, 2018

By Felipe Delgado and Erik López

El Arzobispado de Santiago reconoció que cometió un error al informar sobre la medida cautelar contra el sacerdote Cristián Precht, en una investigación previa en su contra, por presuntos abusos sexuales.

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

Nebraska attorney general wants 40 years of Catholic abuse, investigation records

LINCOLN (NE)
Journal Star

September 5, 2018

By Peter Salter

https://journalstar.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/nebraska-attorney-general-wants-years-of-catholic-abuse-investigation-records/article_8f72b05b-7615-5b1a-a2c3-2127e935a6cc.html

The state’s top prosecutor has taken a step further into the priest sex-abuse scandal, asking Nebraska’s bishops for records of allegations and investigations dating back decades.

Attorney General Doug Peterson last week requested the bishops in Lincoln, Omaha and Grand Island provide investigative records generated since Jan. 1, 1978. The request covers reports of sexual exploitation, including child pornography.

The request comes after Peterson last month urged victims of priest sex abuse — or abuse by others in authority — to report their cases to law enforcement or the child abuse hotline, regardless of when the abuse occurred.

The Lancaster County Attorney’s Office will receive the Lincoln-area cases and forward them to the police and sheriff’s office for investigation, said County Attorney Pat Condon.

“Then, depending on what any investigation turns up, that will determine whether there will be prosecution through our office,” Condon said.

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.

Washington priests talk about keeping faith in wake of abuse scandals

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

September 5, 2018

By Mark Zimmermann

Washington – Parish priests in the Archdiocese of Washington — on the front lines dealing with the fallout of the church sexual abuse crisis this summer — have stressed the need to listen to and pray with their parishioners.

Support independent Catholic journalism. Become an NCR Forward member for $5 a month.

The archdiocese was hit with the resignation of their retired archbishop, Theodore McCarrick, in the wake of sexual abuse allegations and then it faced a firestorm of criticism against Washington Cardinal Donald Wuerl after the release of the Pennsylvania grand jury report detailing past decades of abuse in six dioceses.

Although some have credited Wuerl’s tenure in Pittsburgh with a decrease in abuse cases while he served as bishop there from 1988 until 2006, the grand jury’s report points to times when he is said to have allowed an accused priest to continue working and prevented an alleged victim from speaking out about being abused after a financial settlement.

Msgr. Michael Mellone, whom Wuerl installed as pastor of Annunciation Parish in Washington Sept. 2, said his first thought when the abuse scandals unfolded was: “Didn’t we deal with this already? And now I know we haven’t.”

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Archdiocese of Indianapolis plans to release names of priests accused of abuse

INDIANAPOLIS (IN)
Indianapolis Star

August 30, 2018

By Vic Ryckaert and Mark Alesia

The Indianapolis archbishop says he plans to publicly release the names of all of the priests in his diocese who have faced substantiated allegations of child sexual abuse.

The move also follows the suspension of a retired priest from all church ministry following an allegation that he abused a child.

Archbishop Charles C. Thompson on Wednesday issued an open letter addressing the sex abuse scandal stemming from the release earlier this month of a sweeping Pennsylvania grand jury report. The report linked thousands of victims to more than 300 priests over 70 years.

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Archbishop calls for renewed transparency, accountability

INDIANAPOLIS (IN)
Archdiocese of Indianapolis

August 29, 2018

By Archbishop Charles C. Thompson

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ:

When I was called to be a bishop just more than seven years ago, I wanted to believe that the Church had effectively dealt with the crisis of clergy sexual abuse, especially in terms of accountability and transparency. I was not so naïve as to think that all victims had come forward, or that all acts of abuse had been reported. In retrospect, I wonder if I was hoping against hope.

Coming on the heels of the scandal surrounding then-Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick that evidently involved at least three different large dioceses, and apparently known by more than a few people, the nearly 900 pages of the grand jury report on clergy sexual abuse in six dioceses of Pennsylvania has seemingly ripped the scab off a horrible wound that was just beginning to possibly heal. While the report revealed only two cases that are within the current statute of limitations in Pennsylvania, the sheer volume of numbers—clergy, victims and cases—of graphic acts of horrendous abuse are appalling, devastating and sickening. It’s as if a dark, heavy pall has been thrust upon us yet again.

One child, in fact, one act, is too many. It is deeply painful and shameful that so many lives have been so wounded, broken and scarred for life. We can spare no expense of time, talent and treasure to assure the protection and well-being of each and every child, young person and vulnerable adult both within and outside the Church.

Being from such a large family, I am aware of a couple of family members who have been sexually abused, one as a child and the other as a very young adult. Given the size of my extended family—which has included 50 aunts and uncles, 90 first cousins and more than 200 second cousins—there are likely more who have suffered such atrocities.

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Abogada caso cura “Tato”:”Si la Iglesia hubiera tomado conciencia, se habrían evitado muchos abusos”

[VIDEO]

[Lawyer in Tato case says: “If the Church had become aware, many abuses would have been avoided”]

CHILE
Emol TV

September 5, 2018

La abogada Fabiola Maldonado, docente de Clínica de Derecho de Familia de la Universidad de Chile, detalló su vivencia como representante de víctimas de abuso sexual cometidas por el “cura Tato” y analizó el escenario judicial actual.

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Archdiocese of Indianapolis suspends priest after sexual misconduct allegation

INDIANAPOLIS (IN)
Indianapolis Star

September 5, 2018

By Crystal Hill

An Indianapolis priest has been suspended after a report of sexual misconduct dating back several decades, the Archdiocese of Indianapolis said in a news release on Wednesday.

An allegation against Father Patrick Doyle was made Tuesday, Sept. 4 to a victim assistance coordinator, the release says. The Archdiocese then immediately alerted “civil authorities” and told the Archdiocesan Review Board about the allegation, the release says.

Doyle is prohibited from all public ministry while an investigation into the allegation is pending.

IndyStar has reached out to Doyle through the Archdiocese seeking comment.

Doyle has held various roles in ministry, including as a full-time instructor at Bishop Chatard High School, a priest moderator at St. Maurice parish in Napoleon, Indiana and a pastor at Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ parish in Indianapolis.

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Prosecutors: Catholic priest ‘no contest’ pleas to abuse charges give victims closure

ANN ARBOR (MI)
Michigan Radio 91.7 FM NPR

September 5, 2018

By Steve Carmody

Prosecutors and police say a Catholic priest’s ‘no contest’ pleas to sexual abuse charges this week will give his victims closure.

Father Robert Deland was scheduled to face the first of three trials this week. The charges related to incidents involving three young men, between the ages of 17 and 21. But before jury selection could begin, Deland entered ‘no contest’ pleas to six felony and one misdemeanor charge.

Deland is expected to be sentenced to one year in the county jail when he appears before a judge later this fall. He remains free on bond. The church removed him from ministry eariler this year. Prosecutors say Deland will likely face a relatively short sentence due to his otherwise clean record.

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September 5, 2018

A window into residential school experiences, the Witness Blanket inspires middle school textbook

CANADA
CBC News

September 5, 2018

By Jean Paetkau

CBC Series Beyond Beads and Bannock takes an in-depth look at Indigenous curriculum in B.C. schools

A braid. A child’s shoe. A brick.

These are some of the items collected from residential school buildings and residential school survivors that will become part of a new textbook for middle school students.

These artIfacts were originally gathered by Carey Newman, a Kwalgiulth carver and artist. He recorded the stories of survivors while incorporating these items into his Witness Blanket project, a physical monument to the residential school experience.

“Altogether, we got over 880 items and photographs and documents,” Newman said.

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Cardinal Dolan addresses Catholic Church abuse scandals

NEW YORK (NY)
New York Post

September 4, 2018

By Tamar Lapin

Timothy Cardinal Dolan on Tuesday addressed the sexual-abuse and coverup scandals rocking the Catholic Church — saying even he’s at a loss.

“When people say to me you know, we’re angry, we’re confused, bewildered, frustrated, I think they might expect me to be on the defensive, and I’ll say, ‘Nice to meet you. So am I.’ We’re all in this together,” the New York archbishop told Father Dave Dwyer on “The Catholic Show” on Sirius XM.

“There’s almost a solidarity in the sorrow,” he added.

The controversies that have arisen this summer — including the ouster of former Washington Archbishop Theodore Cardinal McCarrick, the bombshell Pennsylvania grand-jury report and an archbishop’s skewering letter calling for Pope Francis to resign — are not leaving anyone unscathed, Dolan said.

“No sin is isolated to the single act. It affects, it keeps affecting people, there’s not a person in the church that’s not been affected by this,” he said. The scandals are of an “oil spill nature,” he added — touching everyone from the Catholic people “walking into the factory or the classroom or the office” and feeling embarrassed to the priest who “can’t shake the feeling” that his parishioners are wondering whether he’s a predator.

Even Dolan’s own mother of almost 90 called him to say she’d skipped lunch at her nursing home in shame.

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Woman confronts Arizona congregation with rape allegation; church responds

SALT LAKE CITY (UT)
Deseret News

September 4, 2018

By Tad Walch

A Colorado woman suing The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints because she claims it covered up her alleged 1984 rape by a former Missionary Training Center president, stood up Sunday during a fast-and-testimony church meeting in Chandler, Arizona, to record and publicly restate her allegation against the man in his home congregation.

The church responded Tuesday, expressing disappointment that McKenna Denson had disrupted the worship service.

“Once each month, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints participate in a worship service that includes an opportunity for members to share their testimonies of the Savior, Jesus Christ, and his gospel,” spokesman Eric Hawkins said. “It is disappointing that anyone would interrupt such a worship service to bring attention to their own personal cause.

“Recording and posting of these disruptions on social media to seek public attention and media coverage, sadly, shows an unfortunate lack of respect for others,” he added. “We respectfully request that those with personal grievances find other means to communicate their messages than disrupting the sanctity of a worship service.”

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Diocese removes Adams County priest

LINCOLN (NE)
Lincoln Journal Star

September 4, 2018

By Peter Salter

For the third time in a month, the Lincoln Diocese has removed a priest for allegations of misconduct — this time in rural Adams County.

Rev. Scott Courtney was placed on administrative leave because of recent allegations of sexual contact with an adult woman, according to a statement posted Saturday on the diocese website. Courtney had been at the Sacred Heart parish in Roseland and the Assumption parish in Juniata.

The diocese released little further information, saying it was investigating the allegations, that they didn’t involve a parishioner or past parishioner of Courtney’s, and that the diocese had shared the information with law enforcement.

Tuesday, diocese spokesman the Rev. Nicholas Kipper wouldn’t elaborate on why it reported the case to law enforcement, though the diocese has been urging people to report accusations of abuse to authorities. The Adams County sheriff couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.

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Dallas Bishop Calls for Worldwide Gathering on Sex Abuse Scandal

DALLAS (TX)
NBCDFW

August 31, 2018

By Ben Russell and Noelle Walker

Two local bishops, 21 priests have signed a petition addressed to Pope Francis

Bishop Edward Burns, of the Catholic Diocese of Dallas, is leading an almost unprecedented effort to urge Pope Francis to call for a worldwide gathering of clergy to address the ongoing child sex abuse scandal within the church.

“If the church is ever going to restore trust and credibility it would only come after consistently doing what is right and just,” Burns said during a news conference Thursday, detailing the petition signed by the two North Texas bishops and 21 priests that calls for a synod – a gathering of Catholic clergy at the Vatican.

That letter was followed by another letter signed by 58 Catholic women leaders, calling on the Pope for answers.

“This scandal is very, very serious and it needs to get corrected. That is why I signed the letter,” said Dr. Kathryn Rombs, a Catholic scholar at Univerity of Dallas, and mother of 6 children.

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Survivor Calls For Baltimore Catholic Leaders To Release Files

BALTIMORE (MD)
WJZ

August 16, 2018

By Kimberly Eiten

A Pennsylvania grand jury report released a 900-page report Tuesday, detailing decades of widespread sex abuse by priests.

The report said Baltimore’s longtime Catholic leader, the late Cardinal William Keeler failed to report crimes against children. The investigation took place in Pennsylvania and uncovered hundreds of priests linked to sex abuse cases.

The statute of limitations has run out on almost all of those crimes. But a survivor of sex abuse said the Archdiocese could begin to right past wrongs by opening their files on similar cases and coverups in Baltimore.

“Nothing can restore what was taken from me,” Liz Murphy, a survivor of sex abuse, said.

Liz Murphy said she is faithful and forgiving, and seeking change within the Catholic church, and the Archdiocese of Baltimore, decades after a teacher sexually abused Murphy and other students at the Catholic Community School in the 1970s.

While school administrators failed to report the crimes happening in classrooms, then teacher, and now convicted child rapist John Merzbacher is in prison serving four life sentences.

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Paladino Defends Predator Priests

BUFFALO (NY)
The Public

August 30, 2018

By Alan Bedenko

If you haven’t yet read the blockbuster reporting from Channel 7’s Charlie Specht regarding the ongoing cover-up and coddling of predator pedophile priests in the Buffalo Diocese, you should do so here and here. Specht’s evidence shows that Bishop Richard Malone knowingly placed priests who had been accused of predatory sexual harassment of adults and children in situations where their crimes could simply be repeated against a fresh batch of victims.

Given the choice between siding with abused parishioners or predatory pedophile priests, alt-right frotteur Carl Paladino sides with the pedophile priests and is very upset that their crimes—and the diocesan cover-up—are being exposed.

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After nine grand jury probes into child sexual abuse, push continues for change to statute of limitations

HARRISBURG (PA)
The Tribune-Democrat

August 30, 2018

By John Finnerty

Pennsylvania has conducted nine grand jury investigations into the handling of child sex abuse cases in the last 15 years.

Almost all of the probes, including the one investigating the actions of six Roman Catholic dioceses across the state that was released Aug. 14, concluded with a call for legislative action to end to the criminal statute of limitations for child sex abuse.

That’s call first came in 2003, when sex abuse crimes in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia were first examined by a grand jury, according to an analysis released Wednesday by the Center for Children’s Justice.

At the time of 2003 investigation, victims had to report abuse before they turned 20. In 2006, the state changed the law to give victims until the age of 50 to seek criminal prosecution in child sex abuse cases.

That remains the statute of limitations a decade later.

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Exclusive: Marie Collins responds to Francis, seeking transparency in bishop accountability process

KANSAS CITY (MO)
National Catholic Reporter

August 31, 2018

By Marie Collins

Along with seven other survivors I met with Pope Francis Aug. 25, at which time I asked him why the central Vatican Accountability Tribunal announced in 2015 was not being implemented.

In reply to me, he spoke of his belief that for cultural reasons such a tribunal was “not viable.” He referenced his 2016 moto proprio “As A Loving Mother” at this time and later in his press conference Aug 26 on the plane home to Rome, rather than the tribunal.

On the plane he expressed the belief that I was a “bit fixated” and did not “understand” the process being used now. I have no problem in admitting to being determined to see those who protect perpetrators held accountable (though “fixated” is not how I would describe myself!)

The priest who abused me was exposed as a perpetrator to his bishop soon afterwards, but the bishop did nothing, and the priest went on to sexually assault little girls in his parishes for the next 30 years — hence my determination that perpetrators not be protected.

I do understand the alternative option Francis has chosen over a centralized one. The statement in regard to my lack of understanding is reminiscent to me of Cardinal Gerhard Müller, who after my resignation from the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors in 2017 also said I did not “understand.” I did in that case too.

Francis clearly now favors separate or local courts to hold bishops accountable, but I wonder: What has changed his mind since 2015? At that time a central Vatican Accountability Tribunal was recommended to him by his Commission for the Protection of Minors. This recommendation for a central tribunal was approved by every member of the Commission, experts he had chosen from differing cultural backgrounds to advise him.

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US archbishop calls on Pope Francis to cancel Youth Synod in light of abuse crisis

CANADA
Life Site News

August 31, 2018

By Maike Hickson

Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia told a conference that had met to discuss the “young people” of the Church that in light of the abuse crisis in the Catholic Church he had written to Pope Francis asking him to cancel the upcoming Youth Synod set to take place in Rome.

“The bishops would have absolutely no credibility” in the upcoming Youth Synod, Chaput told the Cardinal’s Forum, an annual gathering to provide academic formation of seminarians and continuing education for lay people, yesterday. The synod’s planned dates are set for October 3-28, 2018.

The August 30 panel discussion, which took place at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, was on the topic of “Young People, the Faith and Vocational Discernment.” Some 300 participated in the event.

Archbishop Chaput said the Youth Synod should be canceled.

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How The Pederasty Cover-Up Will Make Civil War Within The Catholic Church

UNITED STATES
The Federalist

August 30, 2018

By Paul Rahe

Since his election, Pope Francis has done everything within his power to soften and subvert the church’s teaching concerning human sexuality. He also packed the College of Cardinals with the Lavender Mafia.

Sixteen years ago, reporters at The Boston Globe conducted an extensive investigation of the sexual abuse of minors by priests in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston. Not long thereafter, reporters elsewhere detailed similar abuse in places like Los Angeles, Chicago, New Orleans, Philadelphia, and the like. The word used in the press to describe what had been going on was pedophilia, which is a misnomer deliberately employed to cover up what journalists then considered and still consider now an inconvenient aspect of the truth.

As a report commissioned by the National Review Board of the American Catholic bishops and issued in 2004 revealed, something like 81 percent of the victims were boys, and very few were, in the strictest sense, children. They were nearly all what we euphemistically call young adults. They were male adolescents on the younger side — at the age when boys as they mature can briefly be downright pretty.

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Top Pa. senator opts for victims’ fund over remedy for sex abuse suits

PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Catholic Philly

August 31, 2018

By Matthew Gambino

The Catholic dioceses of Pennsylvania should set up a fund to compensate survivors of clergy sexual abuse in lieu of the legislature lifting the statutes of limitation on civil lawsuits on abuse, according to the Republican leader of the state Senate.

State Sen. Joseph B. Scarnati, president pro tem of the Senate, said in a statement Aug. 29 that a proposed retroactive window on civil lawsuits now time-barred under state law because the claims are beyond the statute of limitations is likely to be found unconstitutional in Pennsylvania.

The “remedies clause” in the state constitution prohibits a retroactive change to civil and criminal statute of limitations, according to Scarnati. While he supports a constitutional amendment to change the statutes, he said “it is an extended process and has no absolute certainty” of succeeding.

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The Latest: Pope’s Bombshell Author Says He’s ‘At Peace’

VATICAN CITY
The Associated Press

August 29, 2018

The author of the bombshell accusation of sex abuse cover-up against Pope Francis has broken his silence and insisted he didn’t act out of revenge or anger but out of love for the Catholic Church.

THE Latest on the accusation of sex abuse cover-up against Pope Francis (all times local):

4:25 p.m.

The author of the bombshell accusation of sex abuse cover-up against Pope Francis has broken his silence and insisted he didn’t act out of revenge or anger but out of love for the Catholic Church.

Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano told Italian journalist Aldo Maria Valli — a Vatican expert with state-run RAI television — that he was “serene and at peace” after publishing his declaration on Sunday, albeit saddened by subsequent attempts to undermine his credibility.

In a blog post Wednesday, Valli transcribed what he said was an interview with Vigano, who had consulted with him in the weeks leading up to publication. Another conservative Italian journalist, Marco Tosatti, actually helped Vigano rewrite and edit the 11-page document, and arranged for its publication.

In the interview, Vigano revisits old Vatican controversies that marked his Vatican career.

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Survivors of church sex abuse call for action

LAFAYETTE (LA)
KATC

August 29, 2018

By Jim Hummel

The Survivors Network for those Abused by Priests, SNAP, is calling on attorneys general across the country to follow Pennsylvania’s lead and impanel grand juries to investigate church sex abuse.

“We’re calling for everyone to write to the AG and demand that he or she take action to protect our community and to protect our children,” said SNAP president Tim Lennon.

SNAP has launched a national campaign called Act Now, providing survivors and supporters with resources to reach out to their attorney general.

“We need to compel our politicians to act aggressively,” said Lennon. “We can’t have DA’s and AG’s who are intimidated or seduced by the power of a huge organization.”

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Former Kansas City priest faces third credible sex abuse claim, Wyoming diocese says

KANSAS CITY (MO)
The Kansas City Star

August 30, 2018

By Judy L. Thomas

Catholic officials in Wyoming say they have received a third credible sex abuse allegation against a former Kansas City priest who went on to become bishop of the Diocese of Cheyenne.

In a statement issued Wednesday, the Cheyenne diocese said the allegation was reported after the diocese announced in July that it had conducted an investigation and found “credible and substantiated” evidence that retired Bishop Joseph Hart had abused two Wyoming boys.

“Following this announcement, a third individual reported that he, too, was sexually abused by Bishop Hart in 1980,” the diocese said. “The diocese reported the allegation to the Cheyenne Police Department and is cooperating with their investigation.”

Hart, now 86, was a priest in the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph from 1956 to 1976, then served as bishop or auxiliary bishop of Cheyenne from 1976 to 2001. The latest allegation means a dozen abuse claims have been brought against Hart. Three have now been lodged in Wyoming, and the others have been made in the area covered by the Kansas City-St. Joseph Diocese.

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SNAP announces another PA priest accused of abuse, Fr Joseph E. Bonafed of Greensburg

ERIE (PA)
Your Erie

August 30, 2018

SNAP urges victims to go to law enforcement

Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, has released a statement following the surfacing of another priest accused of child sex abuse in the Greensburg, Pennsylvania Diocese.

The statement encourages anyone with knowledge or who may have been harmed by Fr Joseph E. Bonafed to report to law enforcement and not church officials. Midwest Regional Leader of SNAP, Judy Jones, says, “[church officials] are not the proper officials to be investigating child sex crimes. We are thankful the brave victim reported it to the PA Attorney General’s hotline.”

They go on to say although Bonafed has been removed from ministry, they urge Bishop Edward C. Malesic to go to every parish he worked and reach out to anyone who may have been affected by Bonafed’s abuse and encourage them to visit law enforcement.

For more information on SNAP, please visit snapnetwork.org.

In a statement from the priest’s diocese, they say:

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Pope Francis and McCarrick: where does the evidence lead?

UNITED STATES
Catholic Herald

August 31, 2018

By Dan Hitchens

Archbishop Viganò made four major claims. But do the facts support them?

Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò’s testimony, published on Saturday, goes on for 7,000 words and names more than 30 public figures, mostly to denounce them. But at its heart are a small number of very serious allegations about Pope Francis’s treatment of Theodore McCarrick. Since the letter’s publication, some more evidence has emerged against which to test Viganò’s major claims. How do the allegations stand up?

Claim 1: Pope Benedict XVI imposed sanctions on McCarrick

Viganò writes: “Pope Benedict had imposed on Cardinal McCarrick sanctions similar to those now imposed on him by Pope Francis: the Cardinal was to leave the seminary where he was living, he was forbidden to celebrate [Mass] in public, to participate in public meetings, to give lectures, to travel, with the obligation of dedicating himself to a life of prayer and penance.” These came into place, Viganò says, in 2009 or 2010.

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Mom of abused son rebukes bishop for making pro-gay priest ‘spiritual guide’ for abuse victims

ATLANTA (GA)
Life Site News

August 30, 2018

By Lisa Bourne

The Catholic mother of a survivor of abuse within the Atlanta archdiocese has penned a letter to Archbishop Wilton Gregory to let him know the heartbreak he has caused her and the “disgust” she feels by appointing a homosexual-affirming priest as “spiritual guide” for victims of sexual abuse in the archdiocese.

LifeSiteNews detailed in an August 14 report how Gregory had appointed Msgr. Henry Gracz as archdiocesan “Spiritual Director for Victims.” Gracz is pastor of the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Atlanta, which has long held the reputation within the archdiocese as being the “gay parish.” As Pastor, Gracz oversees ongoing LGBT-affirming initiatives by the parish.

LifeSiteNews was made aware of a letter written by Lauren Whittaker, the mother of an abuse victim, to Atlanta’s archbishop. In the August 22 letter, Whittaker let Gregory know that, as the mother of a clergy-abuse victim, she was filled with “disgust” at his appointment of Gracz.

“A Spiritual Director is meant to be someone who follows Church teachings and leads you to a deeper relationship with Christ,” stated Whittaker. “How could this man, who is widely known to encourage the homosexual lifestyle, possibly be able to counsel victims of homosexual abuse?” she wrote in her letter.

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Why not a federal investigation of clergy abuse?

MINNEAPOLIS (MN)
Star Tribune

August 29, 2018

By Robert L. Schmaltz

Following what may be the most comprehensive examination to date of clergy sex abuse across a single state, in Pennsylvania, attorney Jeff Anderson is now calling for a grand-jury investigation across Minnesota into clergy sex abuse. Such investigations have been announced in Missouri and Illinois. One is also being called for in New York.

It is with the heavy heart of a Catholic who serves the liturgy and the vexation of someone who personally knows some of the physical, mental and spiritual struggles that lay in the shadow of traumatic experience that I now cannot help but question why these crimes are not being investigated and prosecuted at the federal level.

These organized sex crimes extend nationwide. The church has shown that it is unwilling to introduce concrete measures to prosecute the abusers within its own walls or to help those victims who have been savagely wounded. For these reasons it is time for the church to be held to account for its crimes against persons and against the nation.

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Fr. Bryan Massingale Responds to Archbishop’s Criticism of Retreat for Gay Clergy and Religious Men

MOUNT RAINIER (MD)
New Ways Ministry

August 31, 2018

By Robert Shine

A leading theologian scheduled to lead a retreat for gay priests this fall has responded to criticism from the archbishop in whose diocese the retreat is being held.

In an essay in the National Catholic Reporter, Fr. Bryan Massingale responded to Milwaukee Archbishop Jerome Listecki’s letter criticizing the retreat and to others who have objected to the program. At issue is an upcoming program of New Ways Ministry, “Living in Truth: The Call to Authenticity,” which is a three-day retreat for gay priests, deacons, and religious. Massingale countered Listecki with five points.

To the archbishop’s statement that “no permission was requested no permission was requested for such a retreat to be held in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee (not that my permission is needed, nor would I have given it),” Massingale, who is a priest of the Archdiocese but now teaches at Fordham University, New York, replied:

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LCSO asking any victims of local Catholic priest to come forward

TALLAHASSEE (FL)
Tallahassee Democrat

August 29, 2018

By Karl Etters

Leon County Sheriff’s Office investigators came up empty-handed when they asked Catholic Church officials in Tallahassee about potential victims of sexual abuse in the wake of the removal of Father Edward Jones earlier this month.

Now, they are asking anyone who believes they may have been victimized or has information about any potential victims to come forward.

In Mid-August, Jones was removed as pastor of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish in Crawfordville and Sacred Heart Parish in Lanark by the Catholic Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee following a “credible” allegation of inappropriate contact with a minor.

He was formerly a priest at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in Tallahassee from 2003 to 2007. The allegations against Jones stemmed from an incident there 14 years ago.

LCSO investigators on two occasions contacted church officials seeking information about any potential victims. A media statement released Wednesday afternoon said no information has been reported.

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State attorney: Lawmen will ‘look into’ priest dismissed by Tallahassee Catholic diocese

TALLAHASSEE (FL)
Tallahassee Democrat

August 17, 2018

By Jeff Burlew and Jennifer Portman

The Catholic Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee removed a priest of two Big Bend churches after he was accused of inappropriate contact with an underage girl in 2004 when he was serving at Blessed Sacrament Parish in Tallahassee.

The diocese announced in a Thursday news release that it received an accusation against Father Edward Jones on Monday, conducted an investigation and found the allegation credible. As a result, the diocese removed Jones as pastor of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish in Crawfordville and Sacred Heart Parish in Lanark, where he had been working since 2010.

The news appeared to have taken local authorities by surprise. State Attorney Jack Campbell said Friday morning he learned about the allegation earlier in the day from an article in the Tallahassee Democrat. He said he immediately reached out to local law enforcement, state child welfare authorities and prosecutors to see whether there were any ongoing investigations into Jones.

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Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf Calls for New Laws Rather Than Fund for Church Abuse Victims

HARRISBURG (PA)
NBC 10

August 31, 2018

Pennsylvania’s governor says he’s against a proposal to compensate victims of child sexual abuse by priests through a church-run fund, saying lawmakers instead should amend state law to let victims sue over decades-old events.

Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf said Friday changes to the state’s statute of limitations and other proposals in a recent grand jury report “would deliver what victims deserve,” but a fund outside the court system wouldn’t.

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Ex-MC priests on list of child abusers

GARY (MI)
The Michigan City News-Dispatch

August 31, 2018

By Kelley Smith

Diocese: Emerson served at Notre Dame, Chase at QAS

Two former Michigan City priests are among 10 listed by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Gary who were “found guilty of credible actions of sexual molestation of minors.”

The list was released Tuesday, part of Bishop Donald Hying’s response to allegations against a Pennsylvania-based priest who taught at Bishop Noll Institute in Hammond in the 1960s.

Rev. Raymond Lukac was transferred to the Diocese of Gary after being accused of sexual misconduct in Pennsylvania. He was asked to leave the Diocese of Gary two years later for the same reason.

Hying said a new allegation was made through the Diocese of Gary against Lukac in 2012, but it could not be substantiated.

“After a process of due diligence and careful investigation, the (Diocesan Review) Board concluded that there was insufficient evidence to affirm credibility,” the bishop said. “All steps outlined in the Charter for the Protection of Youth and Young People were followed.”

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Abogado de Precht acusa al Arzobispado de Santiago de vulnerar los derechos del sacerdote

[Precht’s lawyer accuses the Archdiocese of Santiago of violating the priest’s rights]

SANTIAGO, CHILE
Emol

August 29, 2018

By Tamara Cerna

Hoy se realizaron los alegatos por el recurso que presentó el eclesiástico en contra de las cautelares que le impuso la arquidiócesis.

“Llegaremos hasta donde tengamos que llegar en la discusión de esta vulneración, a nuestro juicio, de derechos”. Esas fueron algunas de las declaraciones que hizo el abogado del sacerdote Cristián Precht, Luciano Fouillioux, luego de terminar los alegatos ante la Cuarta Sala de la Corte de Apelaciones de Santiago por el recurso de amparo presentado a raíz de las medidas cautelares que el Arzobispado de Santiago le impuso al ex vicario.

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El ocaso del último Karadima Boy

[The sunset of the last Karadima Boy]

CHILE
La Tercera

September 1, 2018

By Carla Pia Ruiz and Leslie Ayala

Diego Ossa Errázuriz, sacerdote y quien fuera miembro del círculo más cercano del expárroco de El Bosque, hoy es investigado en el ámbito penal por tres denuncias recibidas por la Fiscalía de Rancagua. La Iglesia también lo investiga y lo tiene bajo medidas cautelares. Reportajes tuvo acceso a la apelación de Ossa, en la que por primera vez toma distancia de su otrora mentor, Fernando Karadima.

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Conferencia Episcopal de Chile manifiesta su apoyo al Papa y dice que es víctima de “injustos ataques”

[Chile’s Episcopal Conference expresses its support for Pope and says he is the victim of “unfair attacks”]

CHILE
La Tercera

September 3, 2018

By Carlos Reyes

La Conferencia Episcopal de Chile (Cech) envió al Vaticano una carta expresando su “cercanía y fidelidad” al Papa Francisco. Esto luego de los distintos cuestionamientos a su persona que se han conocido en las últimas semanas. Esto tras los dichos del exnuncio Carlo Maria Viganò quien acusó a Francisco de encubrir abusos de cardenal estadounidense.

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Abusos sexuales en la Iglesia Católica: fiscal dispone nuevas diligencias en La Araucanía

[Sexual abuse in the Catholic Church: prosecutor orders new inquiries in La Araucanía]

CHILE
BioBioChile

September 4, 2018

By Nicole Briones and Hugo Oviedo

El fiscal preferente para investigar abusos sexuales a menores por parte de miembros de la Iglesia Católica en La Araucanía dispuso nuevas diligencias y toma de declaraciones, tras recibir el informe de la PDI sobre allanamientos a obispados de Temuco y Villarrica.

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Memorial Service for A. W. Richard Sipe

SAN DIEGO (CA)
Family of Richard Sipe

The family of Richard Sipe has announced that a Memorial Service will be held to celebrate his life and achievement. You are warmly invited to celebrate with them. The Memorial Service followed by a reception on-site will take place at:

Newman Center
Catholic Community at University of California, San Diego
September 22, 2018
2:00 p.m.

The Newman Center shares worship space with Good Samaritan Episcopal Church. The address is:

Catholic Community at University of California, San Diego
4321 Eastgate Mall
San Diego CA 92121

Note to Survivors: The Memorial Service for Richard will be a Catholic Mass, in accordance with his wishes. If you cannot attend the Memorial Service, the family completely respects your decision and hopes that you will join them and other friends of Richard at the reception, from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., also at the Newman Center, but not in a religious space.

For more information about the Newman Center Catholic Community at UCSD:
http://www.catholicucsd.org/newman-center/

Donations

The family has asked that donations in Richard’s memory be made to BishopAccountability.org.

Website, Tributes, and Obituaries [Links to a selection]

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Francis ignored, covered-up abuse in Argentina before becoming pope, documentary finds

CANADA
LifeSiteNews

September 4, 2018

By Maike Hickson

German national TV channel ZDF is rerunning a documentary produced last year that claims that Pope Francis, as Archbishop Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, ignored cries for justice from abuse victims in his diocese. The documentary is now gaining traction in the fallout of Archbishop Viganò’s testimony that the Pope covered-up the abuse of now ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick.

The documentary also claims that then-Archbishop Bergoglio, prior to becoming the pope, participated in the unsuccessful defense of a priest accused of abuse. That priest has now been imprisoned for 15 years after he was found guilty of sexually abusing children.

Now, in light of the Viganò report, the documentary by Martin Boudot has been aired again and is now making the rounds in the German-speaking world. The documentary, titled “The Silence of the Shepherds,” won the 2017 Prix Europa for best European documentaries. It is available in the U.S. under the title “Sex Abuse in the Church: the Code of Silence.”

The documentary makes the case that many priests accused of sexual abuse were merely transferred by their bishops to other countries so as to avoid prosecution. The second half of the documentary highlights Archbishop Jorge Bergoglio’s own conduct in Buenos Aires.

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Priests caught having sex in car near Miami Beach playground

NEW YORK (NY)
New York Post

September 4, 2018

By Jeremy Layton

Two Catholic priests were taken into custody after being caught performing sex acts on each other in a parked rental car near Miami Beach, according to reports.

Diego Berrio, 39, and Edwin Giraldo Cortez, 30, were charged with lewd and lascivious behavior after passersby spotted their tryst in broad daylight inside a Volkswagen Beetle, which was “in full view of the public,” according to CBS Miami.

After receiving a complaint, police arrived at the scene to see the sexual acts still going on. The officers were easily able to spot the two, as the car was parked next to a playground and did not have tinted windows.

The two priests were so engaged that they didn’t notice when police were there until officers tapped on the window, according to CBS.

Both Berrio and Cortez are from Arlington Heights, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. Berrio is a priest at Mission of San Juan Diego, while Cortez served at the St. Aloysius Parish in Chicago. Both were removed from the ministry, according to WPLG.

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How Ireland should deal with the issue of historic abuse cases

GALWAY (IRELAND)
NUI Galway/RTE

September 3, 2018

By Sarah-Anne Buckley

Opinion: Ireland’s approach to the issue of historic abuse cases is a national conversation not to be taken lightly

Last month, Pope Francis visited Ireland for the first papal visit here since 1979, with the contrast in attendance between then and now highlighted by many commentators. Events and official meetings held in Dublin and Knock were well-covered by Irish and international media, as were the effects of the Pennsylvania report, and protests organised by Irish groups advocating for survivors of abuse in predominantly Catholic institutions and dioceses. Protests like #Stand4Truth and the 1,000 people who attended a vigil in Tuam highlighted the anger at the Vatican’s lack of accountability about the systematic abuse of young children and women.

Three aspects of the debate which have received less attention are the scale of the abuse revelations globally, the response of governments in different countries and the decades of work by survivors and activists to force the attention of media and politicians.

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Revoking Honors in the Wake of Abuse

WASHINGTON (DC)
Inside Higher Ed

September 5, 2018

By Emma Whitford

Roman Catholic colleges are rescinding honorary degrees and renaming buildings in response to grand jury investigation into sex abuse and cover-ups. Marquette’s former president asks that building honoring him be renamed.

The Pennsylvania grand jury investigation into sex abuse in the Roman Catholic church is damning: more than 300 Catholic priests in Pennsylvania were found to have abused children over a period of 70 years. The report identified 1,000 victims and noted that there were probably thousands more. The report also documented that many of these cases of abuse were known about for years by church authorities, who in many cases took little or no action.

In the wake of the report’s release last month, Catholic colleges in Pennsylvania and across the country have responded. Many have rescinded honors — degrees, medals and building names — that recognized leaders of the church who sexually abused children or helped orchestrate a cover-up of the abuse.

Siena College in New York State was the first to act. The board unanimously decided on Aug. 8 to rescind an honorary degree from Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, who was found to have sexually abused minors and adults. Pope Francis accepted Cardinal McCarrick’s resignation on July 28 after the abuse allegations surfaced, two weeks before the grand jury’s report was released.

The University of Scranton rescinded honorary degrees from Scranton bishops Reverend Jerome Hannan and Reverend J. Carroll McCormick, now deceased, and Reverend James Timlin, who were all found to have assisted in hiding the abuse. The university will also rename campus buildings currently named for the bishops. McCormick Hall will be renamed MacKillop Hall in honor of Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop, an Australian nun who helped uncover sex abuse in the church. The name of Timlin House will be removed and the larger complex it’s located in will be renamed Romero Plaza in honor of the late Oscar Romero, archbishop of San Salvador. Hannan Hall will be renamed Giblin-Kelly Hall after notable alumni Brendan Giblin and William Kelly Jr.

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Local man trying to find closure from abuse by teacher

DELPHOS (OH)
Delphos Herald

September 5, 2018

By Nancy Spencer

At the tender age of 12, Johnny Nettles Jr. found himself in the St. Michael School for Boys in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

Nettles said falling in with the wrong crowd and the poor decision-making that followed led to the courts assigning him to the school.

“My dad died when I was young,” Nettles said. “My mother had to work very hard to support me and my two siblings and it was easy for me to fall in with the wrong people. I had a lot of time on my hands.”

Life at St. Michael’s was hard. Nettles’ classmates were ordered to the school for similar reasons. The worst, however, was the sexual abuse Nettles dealt with at the hands of a teacher.

“There was one teacher, Mark Maroni, who was always trying to get you off by yourself and he would come in the showers,” he said. “He acted really nice and would promise you things and give you special treatment. Once he abused you, he would try to keep control over you by letting you bring contraband into the school after home visits and other stuff.”

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Survivors seek answers over illegal adoptions

IRELAND
Irish Examiner

September 4, 2018

By Conall Ó Fátharta

Campaigners have called on the Department of Children and Youth Affairs to explain why it “buried” evidence on illegal birth registrations it was given by the Adoption Authority of Ireland (AAI) in 2015.

It comes as the Irish Examiner revealed yesterday that the State’s regulatory body for adoption sent three reports on illegal birth registrations — including a spreadsheet of 90 cases — to the department in 2015, three years before the St Patrick’s Guild illegal birth registrations scandal broke.

Campaign groups have reacted angrily to the news and have questioned why no action was taken in 2015 on foot of detailed information supplied by the AAI.

Paul Redmond of the Coalition of Mother and Baby Homes Survivors (CMABS) said he was appalled that Children’s Minister Katherine Zappone had access to this material in her department and accused her of “burying the truth”.

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Some victims of abuse say they will not accept money from the Diocese

ERIE (PA)
Your Erie

August 30, 2018

By Jackie Roberts

Bishop Lawrence Persico is calling to create a fund to compensate victims of clergy sexual abuse… but not everyone is on board.

Survivors are responding to the bishop’s announcement, saying their fight is not about money; it’s about exposing the truth and protecting kids.

In the wake of the Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report, Bishop Lawrence Persico announced an initiative to compensate victims monetarily. The bishop is working alongside Senator Joe Scarnati. A letter from the Diocese of Erie says Persico and Scarnati understand that no dollar amount can make amends for what occurred.

The statement reads, in part, “they believe that the many victims who were unable to seek justice because of Pennsylvania’s statute of limitations deserve this alternative response”.

But, victims of priest sexual abuse say that’s not enough. Jim VanSickle says he was abused by a priest. “The people that I’m speaking to do not talk about money in this case. We want justice. We want to be able to civilly see our predator in court.”

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Woman says Catholic school officials covered up years of sex abuse by O’Fallon coach

BELLEVILLE (IL)
Belleville News-Democrat

August 29, 2018

By Kaley Johnson

A coach at St. Clare Catholic School in O’Fallon sexually abused a girl for five years with the school and diocese’s knowledge, according to a lawsuit filed Aug. 20 in St. Clair County Circuit Court.

In the lawsuit, the girl is referred to as Jane Doe, who says St. Clare coach Michael Giordano sexually abused her from 2009 through 2014.

Giordano could not be reached for comment.

Three former school principals and current athletic director Thomas Fischer are also named in the suit and accused of failing to report the abuse when it was made known to them. The lawsuit argues these four employees, who worked for the Diocese of Belleville and St. Clare, intentionally concealed Jane Doe’s abuse in order to preserve the reputations of both institutions.

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Some Question Independence of Proposed Catholic Laity-Led Sex Abuse Investigations

UNITED STATES
Insurance Journal

August 30, 2018

By Lisa Marie Pane

A committee created by the Catholic Church specifically to prevent sexual misconduct by clergy on Tuesday issued a damning assessment of the failings to stem the abuse, calling it an “evil” caused by “a loss of moral leadership.”

The National Review Board called for an investigation led by parishioners, saying a new wave of abuse scandals point to a “systematic problem” and that the bishops themselves can’t be trusted to lead an investigation.

Some survivors of clergy sex abuse said the call was a disingenuous attempt by the church to get around a true independent investigation.

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N.J. must investigate clergy sex abuse like Pennsylvania did, leading lawmaker says

NEW JERSEY
NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

August 31, 2018

By Susan K. Livio

Incensed by the flood of new revelations about sexual abuse inside the Catholic Church, a veteran state lawmakers Thursday called on state Attorney General Gurbir Grewal to impanel a grand jury to investigate the decades of crimes and cover-ups in New Jersey.

State Sen. Joseph Vitale, D-Middlesex, said he wanted New Jersey to embark on a similar investigation that led a Pennsylvania grand jury to reveal the names of 300 priests credibly accused of sexual abuse over a 70-year period, according to the 1,356-page grand jury’s report released on Aug 14.

The lawmaker said he would also renew his effort to eliminate New Jersey’s two-year statute of limitations in sex abuse cases.

Vitale said he felt compelled to act in the wake of the resignation of former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick amid allegations he sexually abused young boys, seminarians and priests, and the $180,000 in settlements paid to two priests.

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NBC News Pushes Back on Latest Allegations on Handling of Ronan Farrow Story

NEW YORK (NY)
Variety

September 4, 2018

By Brian Steinberg

The wide rift between NBC News and journalist Ronan Farrow is fgrowing into a canyon.

NBC News on Tuesday pushed back against new statements from journalist Ronan Farrow and his producer, Rich McHugh, over its handling of Farrow’s investigation into harassment allegations levied against Harvey Weinstein, insisting that his story “was never cleared or approved for air by NBC News Legal or Standards.” NBC News also took issue with recent accounts by two women who have said NBC News had evidence that they had been hurt and declined to air it were not exactly accurate.

“While [Farrow] was told by his editors that several elements of the draft script were technically “reportable,” he was consistently advised that – even taken together – they were not yet sufficient to air a story alleging serial sexual abuse by Harvey Weinstein without at least one victim or witness on the record,” NBC News said in a statement. “Precisely because the script was never ready for air, no one in the NBC News Standards department ever reviewed it.”

The matter has developed into a hot-potato issue for NBC News, and was exacerbated Tuesday morning when Megyn Kelly addressed the matter on her NBC morning program. She told her viewers. “There is a question as to whether an outside investigator should take a look at this,” Kelly said.

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Is It Time To Scrap Statutes Of Limitations?[With Audio]

WASHINGTON (DC)
1a/WAMU 88.5/NPR

August 30, 2018

Produced by Paige Osburn. Text by Gabrielle Healy.

Statutes of limitations made it hard for comedian Bill Cosby’s accusers to take him to court over alleged sexual assault allegations.

The limitations are imposed by laws which create timed boundaries, after which criminal prosecutions and civil lawsuits can no longer be pursued.

Vox explains:

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Report Assembles Allegations Of Decades Of Abuse At Burlington Orphanage [With Audio]

BURLINGTON (VT)
VPR

August 29, 2018

By Jane Lindholm and Sam Gale Rosen

A new investigation from BuzzFeed News assembles allegations of horrifying abuse — possibly including murder — at a former Catholic orphanage in Burlington. We’re talking to the report’s author about what she uncovered.

Christine Kenneally’s new BuzzFeed investigation is “We Saw Nuns Kill Children: The Ghosts of St. Joseph’s Catholic Orphanage.” Over several years of research, Kenneally spoke to people who’d lived at the orphanage as children and attempted to corroborate their accounts of alleged abuse with documents and with evidence presented in a series of lawsuits in the 1990s.

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McCarrick kept a robust public presence during years he was allegedly sanctioned

UNITED STATES
America: The Jesuit Review

August 29, 2018

By Michael J. O’Loughlin

While Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò makes a number of accusations against former and current Vatican officials in his 11-page letter, there is only one he aims at Pope Francis: that he knew former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick had “corrupted generations of seminarians and priests” but nonetheless decided to lift sanctions that included “a life of prayer and penance” which had been imposed on the retired D.C. archbishop by Pope Benedict XVI in either 2009 or 2010.

Archbishop Viganò, the papal representative to the United States from 2011 until he was recalled to Rome by Pope Francis in 2016, did not provide documents proving that sanctions were imposed by Benedict. Nor did he provide evidence that Francis knew about the sanctions or that he lifted them.

During the years that then-Cardinal McCarrick was allegedly sanctioned by Rome, he kept up a public profile that included preaching at high-profile Masses, giving talks and accepting awards. He testified in front of a Senate subcommittee and appeared in the media.

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Catholic abuse report in Pennsylvania shows the church is a criminal syndicate

GREENSBURG (PA)
Church and State

August 16, 2018

By Donald A. Collins

My home town of Greensburg Pa was the HQ of one of the 6 dioceses in that state covered by the story about Catholic priest abuse since the early 1950’s of thousands of children.

As I listened to a public radio interview of the representative of some of those abused kids I learned that these dioceses had kept careful records of these known abusers and systematically harbored them to continue their behavior!

This man said exactly the same findings would emerge in all the RC dioceses yet to be studied in the USA.

The likely enormity of pattern of abuse will possibly keep such other diocesan studies from occurring!!

That must not be allowed to happen.

Imagine the thousands out there suffering.

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Legendary Orthodox Rabbi Aware Of Sexual Abuse Of Children, Report Says

NEW YORK (NY)
Forward

August 30, 2018

By Ari Feldman

Rabbi Haskel Lookstein, a global Jewish leader who officiated at Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner’s wedding, was aware of multiple instances of sexual misconduct by educators affiliated with the Upper East Side school he ran for 50 years, which is considered one of the best private Jewish academies in the country.

This is according to an independent report the Ramaz Academy released on Thursday that describes the sexual abuse of students at the school by three former employees, as well as allegations of sexual misconduct, including a possible sexual relationship with a student, against three additional former employees.

“We […] learned of instances in which the Ramaz administration could have done more to protect our students,” board chairman Dr. Philip Wilner wrote in a letter that accompanied the report.

Lookstein was not quoted in the report, but cooperated with the investigation and conceded to investigators that with regards to one instance of sexual misconduct he “could have handled the situation better.”

“The report pretty much speaks for itself,” Lookstein told the Forward without elaborating.

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Catholic priest ‘Father Bob’ pleads no contest to sexual assault charges

SAGINAW (MI)
MLive

September 5, 2018

By Cole Waterman

In an eleventh-hour hearing, Roman Catholic priest the Rev. Robert J. “Father Bob” DeLand Jr. pleaded no contest to multiple charges that see him convicted of sexually assaulting several young males.

DeLand, 71, in the late afternoon of Tuesday, Sept. 4, appeared before Saginaw County Circuit Judge Darnell Jackson and pleaded no contest to all seven charges he faced — two counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct involving injury and single counts of attempted second-degree criminal sexual conduct, assault with intent to commit second-degree criminal sexual conduct, gross indecency between males, selling alcohol to a minor and distributing an imitation controlled substance.

The charges are divided among five files and involve three victims. The most serious crime is second-degree criminal sexual conduct, being a 15-year felony. The charge does not involve penetration and is limited to touching.

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SAGINAW PRIEST GETS JAIL TIME FOR HOMOSEXUAL ASSAULT

SAGINAW (MI)
Church Militant

September 4, 2018

By Christine Niles, M.St. (Oxon.), J.D.

Fr. Robert DeLand pled no contest to multiple felony counts of sexual misconduct

SAGINAW, Mich. (ChurchMilitant.com) – Saginaw priest Fr. Robert DeLand is pleading as charged to multiple counts of sexual assault of young males.

DeLand was arrested twice earlier this year in two separate cases involving sex abuse of young men. The 71-year-old priest was judicial vicar and served as a judge on the marriage tribunal for the Saginaw diocese. In district court before Judge Darnell Jackson Tuesday, DeLand pleaded no contest to all six felony charges and one misdemeanor, foregoing a jury trial that had originally been scheduled to start Wednesday.

In comments to Church Militant, Assistant Prosecutor Mark Gaertner said DeLand probably pled that way “because of the quality of the investigation. It was professional, it was fair, we put a high emphasis n the audio and video recordings because we knew that would be the damning evidence.”

One of the victims, a 17-year-old, had cooperated with law enforcement, allowing himself to be wired during a covert operation. The audio recordings captured conversations in which DeLand offered him alcohol and illegal drugs.

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Pope urged to introduce ‘zero tolerance’ on abuse into canon law

IRELAND
Irish Times

August 20, 2018

By Simon Carswell

Group hopes prosecution of senior clerics in Australia and US leads to global groundswell

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Pope Francis should introduce zero tolerance into canon law if he is to follow his words with actions to prevent the clerical sexual abuse of children by priests, an anti-abuse campaigner has said.

Anne Barrett Doyle, a co-director of Bishop Accountability, an online research group that tracks clerical abuse cases globally, and Mark Vincent Healy, who was sexually abused by two priests, said the pope’s letter to Catholics on Monday did not go far enough to address accountability for the church’s cover-up of clerical child sex abuse.

The campaigners were speaking at the announcement of an online database that lists the names of more than 70 Irish clergy who have been convicted or identified as abusers in official clerical abuse reports.

In his letter, Pope Francis said the church had not acted “in a timely matter” and expressed “shame and repentance” for the Catholic Church showing “no care for the little ones”.

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The Irish Times view on the papal visit fallout: now the church must act on abuse

IRELAND
Irish Times

August 31, 2018

The Vatican must eradicate its cover-up culture

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Pope Francis has returned to Rome after his brief visit to Ireland where he charmed with his humility and his plea for forgiveness over the sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests and its cover-up by bishops. Yet, nothing has changed.

As the afterglow of that visit recedes, a Vatican emerges once more where things are as was. There, inadequate mechanisms for holding to account those prelates who cover up the abuse of children remain. This is unacceptable.

Catholics, and others whose children may be in Catholic care, cannot be expected to accept the Vatican’s ongoing resistance to setting up a tribunal with powers of dismissal to deal with bishops and religious superiors who cover up the abuse of children. Describing such people as “caca” may illustrate the depth of revulsion Pope Francis feels towards them but more is required. It demands structures in the church which can assist in eradicating a culture of cover-up.

But there is more. In May 2001 Pope Benedict XVI (then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith) sent two letters to every Catholic bishop in the world, both in Latin. One advised that both be kept secret. The second, De delictis gravioribus (On serious crimes), instructed the bishop to send all clerical child sexual abuse allegations “with a semblance of truth” to the Congregation and it would decide whether these be dealt with at diocesan or Vatican level.

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NBC Reportedly Threatened To ‘Smear’ Ronan Farrow If He Pressed Harvey Weinstein Exposé

UNITED STATES
Huffington Post

August 31, 2018

By Rebecca Shapiro and Mary Papenfuss

Producer Rich McHugh said the order to stop the sexual assault story came from the “very highest levels of NBC.”

New details have emerged about NBC News’ reported efforts to stop Ronan Farrow from producing his bombshell exposé on decades of sexual assault allegations against Hollywood film producer Harvey Weinstein.

According to a report Thursday by The Daily Beast, NBC’s efforts to prevent Farrow’s story on Weinstein from airing involved threats from the network’s general counsel.

“According to multiple sources familiar with the matter, NBC News general counsel Susan Weiner made a series of phone calls to Farrow, threatening to smear him if he continued to report on Weinstein,” The Daily Beast reported.

An NBC News representative vehemently denied the allegations. “This is a ridiculous claim by all measures. Susan is a person of tremendous integrity, is respected by all her peers and would never, ever threaten someone,” the spokesperson told HuffPost.

The New York Times also reported Thursday on Farrow’s experience reporting on Weinstein while at NBC News, quoting the journalist’s former network producer, Rich McHugh, who the Beast said “quit in protest” two weeks ago over the Weinstein story.

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Vatican begins push-back against ex-ambassador over Davis

VATICAN CITY
The Associated Press

September 2, 2018

By Nicole Winfield

The Vatican is starting to push back against Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, author of the bombshell accusation of sex abuse cover-up against Pope Francis, with a statement Sunday from its former spokesman about a controversial 2015 meeting Vigano organized.

The Rev. Federico Lombardi and his English-language assistant, the Rev. Thomas Rosica, issued a joint statement disputing Vigano’s claims about the encounter he organized with American anti-gay marriage campaigner, Kim Davis, during Francis’ September 2015 visit to the United States.

News of the Davis audience made headlines at the time and was viewed by conservatives as a papal stamp of approval for Davis, the Kentucky clerk at the center of the U.S. gay marriage debate. The Vatican furiously sought to downplay it, with Lombardi saying the meeting by no means indicated papal support for Davis and insisting that the only private audience Francis held in Washington was with his former student: a gay man and his partner.

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Under-attack Pope calls for ‘silence and prayer’

VATICAN CITY
Channel News Asia

September 3, 2018

Pope Francis on Monday (Sep 3) said “silence and prayer” were the answer to those seeking “scandal and division”, amid a barrage of attacks from ultra-conservative Catholics.

The pope has so far refused to respond to allegations made last month that he for years covered up sexual abuse allegations against a prominent US cardinal.

“With people who lack goodwill, with people who seek only scandal, who seek only division, who seek only destruction, even within the family: (there is nothing but) silence. And prayer,” Francis said during a service at St Martha’s, the boarding house where he stays.

Among some ultra-conservative Catholics, the pope is regarded as a dangerous progressive who is more interested in social issues than traditional Church matters.

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Archbishop asks pope to cancel conference on youth

PHILADELPHIA (PA)
The Associated Press

September 2, 2018

The archbishop of Philadelphia has asked Pope Francis to cancel a bishops’ conference focusing on youth in the wake of the child sex abuse crisis roiling the Catholic Church.

A spokesman for the archdiocese confirmed Saturday that Archbishop Charles Chaput made the request by letter, but he declined further comment, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

The Youth Synod, which would include bishops from the around the world, has been planned for two years and its website says it is to be focused on “young people, the faith and vocational discernment.” An international panel of young people is expected to join the council of bishops for the event.

“I have written the Holy Father and called on him to cancel the forthcoming synod on young people,” Chaput said at a conference Thursday at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, according to LifeSite News, a conservative Catholic website. “Right now, the bishops would have absolutely no credibility in addressing this topic.”

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Catholic churchgoer heckles cardinal in mass amid abuse crisis [Video]

UNITED STATES
Yahoo View

September 3, 2018

Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, a former papal ambassador who accused Pope Francis of covering up allegations of sexual abuse by Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, is again questioning the pontiff. Others in the church are questioning Vigano’s motives.

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‘Shame on you:’ Parishioner confronts Cardinal Wuerl about church abuse scandal [Video]

WASHINGTON (DC)
Yahoo View

September 2, 2018

A parishioner confronted Cardinal Donald Wuerl, Washington’s Catholic Archbishop, weeks after a Pennsylvania grand jury accused more than 300 priests of abuse.

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Reports: USA Gymnastics CEO Kerry Perry forced to resign after 9 months on the job

UNITED STATES
Yahoo Sports

September 4, 2018

By Jason Owens

Under intense scrutiny for how she handled the fallout of the Larry Nassar scandal, USA Gymnastics CEO Kerry Perry has been forced to resign, according to multiple reports.

The Orange County Register broke the news late Monday, citing pressure from the U.S. Olympic Committee over her multiple missteps since taking the job nine months ago. ESPN and USA Today confirmed The Register’s report.

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Louis C.K. Has Clearly Learned Nothing — and I’m Done (Guest Column)

UNITED STATES
The Hollywood Reporter

August 30, 2018

By Maureen Ryan

Maureen Ryan: Once the industry has stopped enabling toxicity and begun prioritizing the needs of survivors, we can talk about paths to rehabilitation for abusers. Hard pass on Louis C.K. though: He used his comeback to do more damage.

I’m done with Louis C.K.

Yes, that’s right — I’m done with him forever. No more chances. No more second and third and 97th chances. I’m fresh out of chances. No.

All of you out there trying to engage me or other fed-up women regarding what Louis C.K. needs or why his professional career should be salvageable — nope. After what’s come to light about his recent actions, if you’re defending him, do it somewhere else. If you read this piece to the end, and you think what he did this week is OK, we’re never going to agree. Good luck with those conversations about everything except assisting survivors and changing toxic power dynamics. If you bring up what abusers need right out of the gate, I’m opting out of those discussions.

There are roads to restitution, reparation and change for those who have violated others, broken the law and ignored codes of ethical, compassionate and moral behavior. Those who do the hard work, those who do what they can to improve poisonous institutions and communities, well, I can be patient with those folks, even when the process is messy. Up to a point. As a woman once said, “Compassion without accountability and boundaries is a form of enabling.” Yep.

That said, I no longer care about whatever road Louis C.K. is on. At this point, I’d be happy if I never see his name again, anywhere. This wealthy, famous, connected man had so many chances — more than most people will ever get — and he fucked them all up.

For the 87 millionth time, if you’re frothing at the mouth to talk about what he might require, what you’re actually doing is consistently de-centering survivors and what they might need (again). Survivors of abuse, assault and harassment are often at risk for depression, PTSD, anxiety and other mental and physical issues, and there’s every chance their ability to pay for treatment is hampered by a lack of resources and support. Especially if survivors’ ability to work was affected by what they went through (and it usually is).

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More than 1,300 Irish priests accused of child sex abuse but only 82 convicted, says victim campaign group

IRELAND
The Sun

August 21, 2018

By Michael Doyle

US group BishopAccountability.org claims ‘hiding names of credibly accused child molesters puts children at risk’ as it launches list in Ireland

MORE than 1,300 Irish priests have been accused of sexually abusing children, it was claimed yesterday.

But only 82 – including evil clerics Father Tony Walsh and Brendan Smyth – have been convicted, according to a US group.

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Survivor campaign group publish list of over 70 Irish priests convicted of sexual abuse

IRELAND
Irish Central

August 20, 2018

By Freya Drohan

A recently published list names 70 clergy members who were named as abusers in the Ferns, Ryan, Murphy, and Cloyne reports.

BishopAcountability.org referenced media sources and Irish State reports in order to publish the names – however, the list of 70 people represents “only about 6%” of the total number accused of sexual abuse.

The list is the first time Irish priests have been named and shamed in public. BishopAccountability has already published three databases profiling convicted abusers in Argentina, Chile, and the US.

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Pope: No effort spared to fight abuse, but offers no details

VATICAN CITY
The Associated Press

August 20, 2018

By Nicole Winfield

Pope Francis vowed Monday that “no effort must be spared” to root out priestly sex abuse and cover-up from the Catholic Church, but gave no indication that he would take action to sanction complicit bishops or end the Vatican culture of secrecy that has allowed the crisis to fester.

In a letter to Catholics worldwide following damning new revelations of misconduct in the U.S., Francis sought to project a get-tough response to the perpetrators and a compassionate shoulder for victims ahead of a fraught trip to Ireland this weekend.

Francis begged forgiveness for the pain suffered by victims and said lay Catholics must be included in the effort to root out abuse and cover-up. He blasted the clerical culture that has been blamed for the crisis, with church leaders more concerned about their own reputations than the safety of children.

“We showed no care for the little ones,” Francis wrote. “We abandoned them.”

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Call to name and shame abusive clergy

IRELAND
Irish Examiner

August 21, 2018

By Caroline O’Doherty

The identities of around 1,000 Irish Catholic clergy against whom credible allegations of child sexual abuse have been made are being kept secret under laws and practices that continue to hurt victims and endanger children, it has been claimed.

The Boston-based group BishopAccountability.org, established following revelations of abuse and cover-ups in Boston in the early 2000s, delivered the warning while publishing the first database of clergy convicted of abuse in Ireland.

Despite the Church here acknowledging child sex abuse allegations against more than 1,300 clergy over the last 40 years, just 75 can be named because of highly restrictive defamation and data-protection laws.

That is despite the fact that many of the others were sanctioned under Church law and the belief that some of the accused remain in ministry or active in community life where they could be in contact with children.

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Pope up against Vatican power, says Archbishop Diarmuid Martin

IRELAND
Irish Examiner

August 20, 2018

By Catherine Shanahan

With less than a week to go to the papal visit, one of the leaders of the Catholic Church in Ireland has defended the Pope’s record of dealing with clerical child abuse, saying Francis is up against the might of the Vatican.

However, Diarmuid Martin, Catholic Archbishop of Dublin, said he expects Pope Francis will “speak quite strongly” in relation to clerical sex abuse when he arrives in Ireland next Saturday for the World Meeting of Families.

Saying sorry was not enough, he said in a homily delivered at St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral in Dublin, adding that the “structures that permit or facilitate abuse must be broken down and broken down forever”.

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Pressure on Pope to reveal names of abuse case priests ahead of Irish visit

IRELAND
The Herald

August 20, 2018

By Laura Larkin

A list of dozens of Irish clergy convicted of or linked to child sexual abuse is to be published for the first time today, adding to growing pressure on the Vatican.
Campaign group BishopAccountability.org, which has published similar lists of those accused of abuse in the US and South America, says it contains more than 70 names of clergy convicted of abuse or named in State inquiries.

The organisation is also calling on Pope Francis to release the names of all priests worldwide who have been disciplined by the Church for child sexual abuse and to release files relating to these people.

The group will ask Ireland’s Papal Nuncio, Archbishop Jude Thaddeus Okolo, to endorse this idea to the Pope.

The pontiff will visit Ireland this weekend amid a deepening international scandal around its handling of child sexual abuse by clergy members.

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Pope Francis vows no more cover-ups on sexual abuse

IRELAND
RTE

August 20, 2018

Pope Francis has written an unprecedented letter to all the world’s Catholics promising that no effort will be spared to prevent clerical sex abuse and its cover-up.

In the 2,000-word letter the pope condemns abuse, addresses previous failures to deal with the issue and begs for forgiveness for his own sins in relation to the handling of abuse.

Addressed to “the people of God”, the pope appeared to be launching an appeal for all Catholics to face the sexual abuse crisis together and not let it tear the Catholic Church apart.

“We have realised that these wounds never disappear and that they require us forcefully to condemn these atrocities and join forces in uprooting this culture of death,” he said.

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Pope’s ignorance of Magdalene laundries confounds survivors

IRELAND
The Times

August 28, 2018

By Catherine Sanz

Survivors of clerical abuse have expressed disbelief over Pope Francis’ statement that he was not aware of the Magdalene laundries scandal.

Victims said that details of abuses at the Catholic-run institutions had been publicised internationally for two decades. They said that if the Pope were genuinely attempting to address the church’s failings he should have “done his homework” before his visit.

The Pope told reporters on Sunday: “I had never heard of these mothers, they call it the laundromat of women where an unwed woman is pregnant and goes into these hospitals. I don’t know what they call them, schools, run by the nuns and then they gave children to the people in adoption.”

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‘We all knew’: Bishop says cardinals and bishops who deny knowing about McCarrick’s abuse are lying

UNITED STATES
The Blaze

August 30, 2018

By Breck Dumas

The first bishop of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter told his flock in a recent homily that he doesn’t believe the cardinals and bishops who are claiming they didn’t know about sexual abuse allegations against disgraced Archbishop Theodore McCarrick.

What did he say?

Addressing the church’s handling of the McCarrick scandal, Bishop Steven Lopes told his parishioners, “I’ll tell you what response I think is not good enough: It’s the parade of cardinals and bishops who have rushed to the television cameras, clutching their pectoral crosses, saying, ‘I knew nothing.’

“I don’t believe it, and I am one of them. I don’t believe it,” the bishop reiterated, telling the audience that when he was in seminary, McCarrick often visited the school.

“And we all knew,” Lopes emphasized.

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Catholic Priests in Charleston seek support to change church hierarchy amid abuse scandal

MOUNT PLEASANT (SC)
ABC 4 News

September 4, 2018

By Bill Burr

[See also the petition.]

Daniel Island , S.C. – Gospel passages and scripture readings address acts of betrayal and other sins. Now, those who preach the good word are turning to the faithful for help.

“We all feel a little helpless. We’re angry. We are disillusioned,” said Father Gregory West, pastor of Saint Clare of Assisi Catholic Church on Daniel Island. He says he and other priests are giving parishioners a voice to make changes in the church.

“We want to do what we can to make sure this never happens again, so that there is never again any kind of victim of sexual abuse by clergy, or any other person working in the name of the Church.”
Father West wants parishioners to sign an online petition to the American Members of the College of Cardinals. Among the requests, the group seeks to reform the church’s hierarchy by getting rid of anyone who knew about the crimes and hid them. Also, they want Pope Francis to step down if he can’t or won’t enact necessary changes to evoke true reform.

“We want to make sure that there are the necessary controls, protocols, and reporting capacities. Many of which are really all well in place and have been for quite a few years,” Father West said.

So far, a little more than 7,000 people have signed the petition. The goal is for 7,500 signatures. Father West and other priests believe this grassroots project will make a difference.

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As bishop looked on, abusive ‘Father Ned’ got new assignment

SCRANTON (PA)
Associated Press

September 5, 2018

By Michael Rubinkam

A Roman Catholic bishop who apologized to his flock last month for the “misguided and inappropriate decisions of church leaders” is reckoning with his own role — revealed in federal court a decade ago — in the system that protected pedophile priests.

Scranton Bishop Joseph Bambera handled three sexual misconduct cases during his three-year tenure as diocesan vicar for clergy. He testified about one of them in a 2007 civil trial over clergy abuse.

Under questioning from a plaintiff’s lawyer, Bambera acknowledged the diocese ignored its own policy by failing to report “Father Ned” — a pseudonym used in court — to civil authorities. He testified that Father Ned was removed from ministry only temporarily before getting another parish assignment. Once there, Bambera told the jury, Father Ned was caught “grooming” a boy for sexual assault.

The Associated Press has learned that Father Ned’s real name is the Rev. Robert Gibson, who died in 2012. Gibson is one of about 300 predator priests named in a landmark Pennsylvania grand jury report that said more than 1,000 children in six Catholic dioceses have been abused since the 1940s.

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Has Catholic Canon Law Aggravated The Clergy Abuse Crisis?

WASHINGTON (DC)
NPR

September 4, 2018

By Tom Gjelten

Among the potential victims of the Catholic clergy abuse crisis is one whose roots date to the early years of Christianity: the Catholic canon law system.

Each new revelation that a priest has molested a child and gone unpunished by his bishop has brought charges that part of the problem may be canonical procedures that fail to ensure justice for the victim.

The Roman Catholic church has long had its own legal system, incorporating a judicial framework and a complex set of laws, or canons, regulating church organization. Critics, however, say canon laws assign excessive importance to the protection of church institutions, encourage secrecy over transparency, and favor rehabilitating wayward priests rather than punishing them. While abusive priests can be defrocked for misconduct, the church cannot send anyone to prison.

The alleged shortcomings of the canon law system mean that civil authorities are increasingly taking the initiative to investigate Catholic clergy abuse on their own.

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Saginaw area priest pleads no contest to sexual abuse allegations

FLINT (MI)
NBC 25 News

September 4, 2018

Saginaw, Mich. – A Saginaw Township priest has pleaded no contest to sexual abuse allegations.

Father Robert Deland Jr. took the plea deal Tuesday for a total of six felonies and a misdemeanor.

Circuit Judge Darnell Jackson indicated he would likely sentence Deland to a year in jail without possibility of release on tether as well as a five-year probation term, according to the Saginaw County Prosecuting Attorney’s office.

Deland will also be required to register as a sex offender when he is released.

“We are satisfied that Mr. Deland has been held accountable for all of his misconduct in all of the cases that we filed,” said Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Mark Gaertner.

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Responding to Scandal and Sin in Our Church

BURLINGTON (VT)
Diocese of Burlington – Bishop’s Blog

September 4, 2018

By Bishop Christopher Coyne

My brothers and sisters in faith,

Over the last six weeks, new revelations of scandalous and even criminal activity by bishops and priests have deeply angered and shaken all of us. While this fresh moment of crisis calls us firstly to a spirit of prayer, it also demands action: both to work toward justice and healing for victims, and toward a broader commitment to renewal and change in how the Church’s leaders serve you, the People of God.

In that spirit, I wish to inform you about several initiatives that I have recently begun to undertake in the hope of responding adequately to the challenges of these days. These efforts are taking place on a number of levels:

Input from the priests: Starting this afternoon, I will be gathering with the priests who serve in the Diocese of Burlington for our annual Presbyteral Days. Normally, the discussions and presentations are planned months in advance, as they were for this year’s gathering. However, last week I met with the pastors and parish administrators for a regularly scheduled “business day.” While we did deal with all the necessary administrative matters that were on the agenda, the majority of time was spent discussing the recent scandals within the Church that have been made public over the last six weeks. As a result of last Tuesday’s discussion, we decided to set aside this week’s planned program at Presbyteral Days (9/4-9/6) and focus exclusively on how we as a Diocese should respond prayerfully, pastorally, and administratively to the scandals.

Input from the Laity: Following up on this, I will bring the deliberations and initial recommendations from the priests to the synod delegates at this Saturday’s (9/8) Synod Planning Session. As you may be aware, the delegates represent one lay person from every parish or parish cluster in the Diocese (about 75 lay men and women). A number of “at large” lay delegates as well as clergy will also be present. While we will continue the work of preparing for the upcoming Synod, we obviously must address the problems that have come to light in the recent scandals and how we move forward, together, as a Church.

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When boy told of sexual abuse, his parents asked the priest who raped him to counsel him

YORK (PA)
York Daily Record

September 4, 2018

By Sam Ruland

Eventually, he just couldn’t take it anymore. The abuse, the rape, it became too much to deal with all his own, John Delaney said.

“Processing sexual abuse at any age is crippling,” his voice rising as he recalled the abuse that became all too common for him. “But when you’re a kid like I was, and when your abuser is a priest…it’s a whole ‘nother level of f—ed up.”

Father James Brzyski started to abuse Delaney when he was 10 and living in Philadelphia. Delaney said Brzyski likely abused him more than 100 times.

And there were different stages of his abuse, Delaney recalled.

“You can’t say it started out innocently because there isn’t anything innocent about it,” Delaney said. “But I guess it started out as bad and grew to worse.”

He felt petrified when the “touching and rubbing” started. He wanted to tell someone, but the thought of verbalizing the abuse mortified him.

So, he kept quiet, and the stages of his abuse progressed.

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September 4, 2018

Memorial Service for A. W. Richard Sipe

SAN DIEGO (CA)
Family of Richard Sipe

The family of Richard Sipe has announced that a Memorial Service will be held to celebrate his life and achievement. You are warmly invited to celebrate with them. The Memorial Service followed by a reception on-site will take place at:

Newman Center
Catholic Community at University of California, San Diego
September 22, 2018
2:00 p.m.

The Newman Center shares worship space with Good Samaritan Episcopal Church. The address is:

Catholic Community at University of California, San Diego
4321 Eastgate Mall
San Diego CA 92121

Note to Survivors: The Memorial Service for Richard will be a Catholic Mass, in accordance with his wishes. If you cannot attend the Memorial Service, the family completely respects your decision and hopes that you will join them and other friends of Richard at the reception, from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., also at the Newman Center, but not in a religious space.

For more information about the Newman Center Catholic Community at UCSD:
http://www.catholicucsd.org/newman-center/

Donations

The family has asked that donations in Richard’s memory be made to BishopAccountability.org.

Website, Tributes, and Obituaries [Links to a selection]

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Calls for former Magdalene Laundry to be transformed into heritage site

IRELAND
Irish Independent

September 3, 2018

By Shona Murray

The former Sean McDermott Street Laundry should remain in the hands of the state and transformed in to a heritage site, say some of its former detainees.

A major vote on the fate of the site was due to take place at Dublin City Council today but has been adjourned until September 13th.

Sixty three councillors will vote on whether to halt the proposed sale of the laundry to a Japanese hotel group for a bid of around €14.5 million.

“It should be a training centre and a museum for all victims of institutional and clerical abuse in the country,” said former resident Delia Hanney.

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Calls grow for ‘extraordinary synod’ in response to abuse crisis

DENVER (CO)
Crux

September 2, 2018

By Charles Collins

Is an “extraordinary synod” a key piece to the puzzle for finding lasting solutions to the clerical abuse crisis which has engulfed the Church for the past generation?

Over the past ten days, three bishops have said they have requested Pope Francis call a synod in light of the recent stories of abuse and cover-up in different parts of the world.

On Aug. 22, Bishop Philip Egan of the Diocese of Portsmouth, in southern England, wrote the pope asking for an Extraordinary Synod on the Life and Ministry of Clergy.

“Clerical sex abuse seems to be a world-wide phenomenon in the Church,” Egan wrote to the pope. “As a Catholic and a bishop, these revelations fill me with deep sorrow and shame.”

Egan suggested the proposed synod cover topics such as the “identity of being a priest [or] bishop,” and devising guidance on “life-style and supports for celibacy,” to proposing a “rule of life for priests [and] bishops” and establishing “appropriate forms of priestly [and] episcopal accountability and supervision.”

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Pope faces mounting pressure to QUIT as ultra-conservative members of the Catholic Church hierarchy continue to accuse him of covering for cardinal in abuse scandal

VATICAN CITY
AFP/Daily Mail

August 30, 2018

By Julian Robinson

– Francis faces claims of covering ignoring abuse claims against a US cardinal
– Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano made the allegation in an 11-page bombshell
– Two of pope’s fiercest critics have stepped forward to support the archbishop
– There is mounting speculation that ultra-conservative members of the Catholic Church hierarchy are plotting against the Argentine pontiff

The pope is facing mounting pressure to quit as ultra-conservative members of the Catholic Church hierarchy continue to accuse him of covering for a cardinal in a sex abuse scandal.

Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, a former Vatican envoy to the US, dropped an 11-page bombshell at the weekend accusing Francis of ignoring abuse allegations against prominent US cardinal Theodore McCarrick.

Pope Francis ‘knew from at least June 23, 2013, that McCarrick was a serial predator,’ Vigano alleged. ‘He knew that he was a corrupt man, he covered for him to the bitter end.’

The timing of the letter’s release – right in the middle of Francis’s landmark trip to Ireland – immediately raised speculation about a possible plot against the Argentine pontiff.

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Pope Francis refuses to answer question on ‘cover-up’ of child abuse allegations

VATICAN CITY
The Independent

August 27, 2018

By Nicole Winfield and Jon Sharman

‘I won’t say a word,’ pontiff replies when asked to comment on claim he knew about Theodore McCarrick’s alleged crimes

Pope Francis has refused to say whether he knew about child sexual abuse claims against the former archbishop of Washington, five years before his resignation last month.

Theodore McCarrick was forced to quit after a US church investigation determined that an accusation he had sexually abused a minor was credible. He was one of the highest-ranking church officials accused in a scandal that has rocked the faith’s 1.2 billion adherents since reports of systemic abuse were first published by the Boston Globe in 2002.

Since his resignation, another man has come forward to say McCarrick molested him starting when he was 11, and several former seminarians have said he abused and harassed them when they were in seminary.

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Canada and the Catholic Church: This is why it’s a complex relationship

CANADA
Global News

August 31, 2018

Recent revelations from a grand jury report in Pennsylvania showed that at least 1,000 children were victims of abuse by 300 priests and that generations of bishops failed repeatedly to take measures to punish those involved.

We have in recent years become all too familiar with stories like this, but to what extent was it happening in Canada and how much was covered up?

On this week’s episode of the Global News original podcast This is Why, we hear part one of our two-part series on sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.

Host Niki Reitmayer sits down with abuse survivor Leona Huggins, as she recalls her traumatic experience at the hands of a pedophile priest and the Catholic Church’s attempts to cover it up.

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