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.

November 28, 2018

Law firm files suit against abusive Scranton priest

SCRANTON (PA)
Citizens Voice

November 27, 2018

By Terrie Morgan-Besecker

A Philadelphia law firm announced today the filing of a lawsuit against the Diocese of Scranton and a predator priest the complaint accuses of sexually abusing an altar boy more than a decade ago.

Attorney Gerald J. Williams filed the suit in Lackawanna County Court, alleging church officials failed to protect his client from former priest William Jeffrey Paulish.

The suit identifies the victim by the fictitious name Richard Roe. He is 29 years old and a resident of Lackawanna County.

The complaint alleges Paulish repeatedly sexually abused Roe between October 2006 and May 2007 at St. Mary’s Parish in Old Forge, where the priest was assistant pastor at the time.

Paulish pleaded guilty in February 2014 to one count of corruption of a minor for engaging in oral sex with a 15-year-old boy inside a car parked at the Penn State Scranton campus in Dunmore. He was sentenced in June 2014 to eight to 23 months in prison.

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.

Church sex scandal: Cardinal Cupich promises change

CHICAGO (IL)
WLS-AM Radio

November 27, 2018

Cardinal Cupich is vowing REAL change in the Catholic church’s pursuit of pedophile priests.

Pope Francis has given Cupich a leadership role for a Vatican meeting on reforms in February. At a City Club breakfast, the cardinal was promising change after so many years of scandals, but he did acknowledge the questions so many people have.

“Why should we trust them to do the right thing? Sorrow, disgust and outrage. These are all righteous feelings. They are the stirrings of the conscience of a people scandalized by the terrible reality that too many of the men who promised to protect their children and strengthen their faith have been responsible for wounding both.”

Cupich said the church needs to make it easier for victims to come forward and to end a culture of privilege and self protection.

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.

November 27, 2018

‘It doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. It just hasn’t been discovered’: Reporters spend years chasing down Catholic sex scandals

ST. PETERSBURG (FL)
Poynter

November 27, 2018

By Tiffany Stevens

When the Diocese of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, released the names of 71 clergy members accused of sexual abuse, York Daily Record investigative reporter Brandie Kessler immediately thought of Todd Frey.

Kessler has stayed in touch with Frey since 2016, when he told her that a priest named Guy Marsico had abused him as a young teenager at a church in York. Marsico’s name on the list gave Kessler the chance to ask Frey something she had asked several times before — whether he would be willing to put his story on the record. This time, he said yes.

At times, Kessler was unsure whether Frey would ever be ready to go on the record. Staying in touch, showing compassion and reassuring Frey that he had final say in whether a story was written at all, however, allowed Kessler to show readers the trauma local residents suffered because of sexual abuse committed by clergy members.

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.

Three-year jail term for sexual predator, 70, confirmed

MALTA
Times of Malta

November 27, 2018

By Edwina Brincat

The man admitted his actions but said a prison term was excessive

An appeals court has confirmed an effective three-year prison term for a 70-year old man who had admitted sexually abusing a number of underage boys.

Valletta resident John Zammit will also have his name recorded in the Sexual Offenders’ Register following the decision by the Criminal Court of Appeal.

The accused was investigated by the police following an anonymous tip-off. He subsequently admitted to having had oral sex with four boys, aged between 13 and 17, in exchange for money or food.

The man, a part-time worker at a pastizzi shop, also admitted the charges in court and was handed a three-year effective jail term. He appealed, arguing that the punishment was excessive.

While acknowledging that what he had done was “very serious,” the accused said that by sending him to prison, the court would allow him no chance to fix the harm done.

The Court of Criminal Appeal, presided over by Madam Justice Consuelo Scerri Herrera, focusing upon the accused’s own statement, observed that the man, a father of four and separated for the past 37 years, had allegedly been sexually abused by a priest when aged 16.

After years of inner turmoil, the man had finally come to terms with his bisexual tendencies, trying to lead as normal a life 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.

Survivor’s story: daughter of a Saint says she was abused by priest

NEW ORLEANS (LA)
NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune

November 27, 2018

By Kim Chatelain

Linda Lee Stonebreaker says she was four-and-a-half years old when a Catholic priest picked her up at a preschool in River Ridge and sexually assaulted her in his car.

The year was 1968, long before clergy abuse in the world’s largest Christian church entered the public’s consciousness, and before Stonebreaker was old enough to fully understand the gravity of what she says happened.

Confused and intimidated by the priest, Stonebreaker says for years she told no one. She feared she wouldn’t be believed, would go to hell for revealing the abuse or would bring about an attack on the priest by her father, Steve Stonebreaker, then a 6-foot-3, 235-pound linebacker for the New Orleans Saints with a well-documented penchant for fisticuffs.

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.

Mehr Missbrauchs-Opfer in Rhede

[More abuse victims in Rhede]

GERMANY
WDR

November 26, 2018

– Kaplan verging sich an Messdienern
– Weitere Missbrauchsfälle in Pfarrei
– Informationsveranstaltung des Bistums

In Rhede wurden Anfang der Siebziger Jahre mehr Kinder als bislang bekannt von einem katholischen Priester missbraucht. Nachdem vor gut einer Woche in der betroffenen Pfarrei “Zur Heiligen Familie” ein erster Fall von Kindesmissbrauch durch den damaligen Kaplan bekannt gemacht worden war, meldete sich beim WDR in Münster ein weiterer Betroffener.

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.

Weigel sustains intellectual whiplash under Francis’ pontificate

KANSAS CITY (MO)
National Catholic Reporter

November 27, 2018

By Michael Sean Winters

In his most recent column at First Things, titled “Vatican Autocracy and the U.S. Bishops,” George Weigel, who once posed as the “authoritative biographer” of Pope Paul II, writes:

I recently spent almost five weeks in Rome, during which I found an anti-American atmosphere worse than anything I’d experienced in 30 years of work in and around the Vatican. A false picture of the Church’s life in the United States, in which wealthy Catholics in league with extreme right-wing bishops have hijacked the Church and are leading an embittered resistance to the present pontificate, has been successfully sold. And in another offense against collegiality, this grossly distorted depiction of American Catholicism has not been effectively challenged or corrected by American bishops enjoying Roman favor these days.

This paragraph provokes several plausible responses, the most obvious of which is to say that this picture was not “sold” so much as it was “discovered,” one might even say “discerned.” Weigel once defined natural law as the result of “disciplined reflection on the dynamics of human action,” and something similar could be used to describe how Vatican officials came to the conclusion that “wealthy Catholics in league with extreme right-wing bishops have hijacked the Church” in the United States.

An even simpler response is found in a recent news story: “Catholic Business Leaders Hold Back Donation to Vatican Amid Church Crisis,” as The Wall Street Journal headline had it. Legatus, an organization for Catholic CEOs, has decided to withhold the organization’s tithe to the Holy See. Talk about throwing your money around or, in this case, not throwing your money around. I want to ask these titans of industry how their action is not merely an updated version of simony?

But the best response would be for Weigel to simply consult past issues of the National Catholic Reporter.

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.

Hiding behind God

PITTSBURGH (PA)
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

November 27, 2018

Story by Sean D. Hamill, Visuals by Andrew Rush

The memories, anger and betrayal of being sexually abused by Catholic priest Anthony Cipolla in Pittsburgh have been inescapable for three men he targeted as boys

Tim Bendig was repeatedly abused by Catholic priest Anthony Cipolla from 1982 to 1986. That came after the Catholic Church declined to remove Cipolla from the priesthood for the abuse of two brothers in the 1970s. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette recently followed Mr. Bendig as he returned to the vacant rectory and church, St. Canice, where his life changed forever 36 years ago.

“That’s the room,” said a shaken Tim Bendig.

He was pointing at the bedroom on the second floor in the former St. Canice Church rectory where he was first sexually abused 36 years ago by a Catholic priest, Anthony Cipolla.

Mr. Bendig had not expected to be here on a sunny day in September, inside the rectory, and later the crumbling church in Knoxville next door. In both are the places where he was abused at least 15 times in the first of four years of abuse he endured, starting when he was 13 years old.

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.

Sister Cathy Cesnik, Part 10 : If only they had listened

BALTIMORE (MD)
Spreaker

November 27, 2018

From: Out of the Shadows

Length: 54:31

Please be advised this episode contains content and language that is graphic in nature, listener discretion is strongly advised.

Where were you at in life at the age of 13? Personally, I remember being in 8th grade using my free time to binge read Harry Potter books. Charles Franz had a much different experience… For more than 5 years Charles fell victim to a predator – someone he knew as Father Joseph Maskell. You have heard from female survivors so far in this series, but Maskell’s reign of terror wasn’t limited to gender or age. Charles is an amazing person, we thank him for sharing his story with us.

Join Gemma Hoskins and Shane Waters as they continue the conversation that Netflix’s Docu-Series “The Keepers” shared with the world in 2017. Although Gemma and many people you hear from were featured in the Docu-Series; This production is not affiliated with Netflix.

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.

Ottawa blowing deadlines on First Nations historical claims, says report

CANADA
CBC News

November 26, 2018

By Jorge Barrera

Estimates place Ottawa’s liabilities related to historical claims to be in the billions of dollars

Ottawa is consistently missing its legislated deadline for responding to historical claims filed by First Nations, according to a recently released report.

The report, compiled by the B.C. Specific Claims Working Group, says Ottawa had blown its three-year deadline on 65 per cent of all historical claims — known as specific claims — filed between Jan. 1, 2014 and Nov. 10, 2015.

Specific claims are monetary damage claims made by a First Nation against the Crown and generally deal with lost lands and mishandled funds.

Under the Specific Claims Tribunal Act, Ottawa is required to respond within three years after a First Nation files a specific claim as to whether it would negotiate a settlement.

“We are seeing a lot of rhetoric, a lot of promises, and they are very hollow,” said Neskonlith Chief Judy Wilson, whose community is in B.C.

“They don’t seem to be filtering down to the grassroots level for the systemic changes we need.”

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.

Reconciliation requires more

TOLEDO (OH)
Toledo Blade

November 24, 2018

The Editorial Board

Since the early 2000s, waves of revelations about clergy sex abuse and the systemic cover-ups that hid that abuse for generations have rocked the Catholic Church.

And despite paying billions of dollars in settlements, despite creating institutional reforms, despite apologies and promises that such abuses were no longer tolerated, victims continue to come forward.

And the church continues to demonstrate that its first priority is to protect itself and its predatory priests, rather than to protect its most vulnerable parishioners.

In the case of 51-year-old Riley Kinn, the church is doing nothing less than stonewalling a man who is taking church leaders at their word that abuse allegations would be taken seriously.

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.

Analysis: On sexual abuse, what will U.S. bishops, and the pope, do next?

WASHINGTON (DC)
CNA

November 26, 2018

By JD Flynn

Bishop Frank Rodimer and Fr. Peter Osinski were friends.

Osinski was a priest in the Diocese of Camden, New Jersey. Rodimer was Bishop of Paterson, a nearby diocese, from 1978 until 2004.

For years the men rented a beach house together each summer on New Jersey’s Long Beach Island, south of Seaside and north of Atlantic City. There, for seven years in the 1980s, Osinski molested a young boy. The first year it happened, the boy was seven.

The priest was arrested in 1997. He was sentenced to ten years in prison.

In 1999, the victim settled a lawsuit against the bishop, the priest, and the priest’s diocese. Rodimer was not alleged to have have committed sexual abuse, but the suit charged that the bishop had been negligent in failing to recognize what was going on.

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’ body criticises funeral ‘snub’ to abuse accused clergy

IRELAND
Belfast Telegraph

November 26, 2018

By Nick Bramhill

Priests who die while facing accusations of sexual abuse are being denied traditional Catholic funerals, even if they weren’t convicted.

The Association of Catholic Priests (ACP) has voiced concern over the funeral arrangements of stepped-down members of clergy, with one member claiming that even deceased murderers and gangland criminals are laid to rest with more dignity.

The National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland (NBSCCCI) has published a list of broad guidelines to Church authorities on how to discreetly conduct the funerals of clerics who were facing abuse allegations when they died.

But some dioceses in Ireland have adopted even more stringent policies for funerals of priests facing accusations.

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

Catholic priest to appear in court on sexual battery charges

ATHENS COUNTY (WV)
WCHS/WVAH

November 26, 2018

A Catholic priest accused of sexual misconduct with a minor female will appear Tuesday in Athens County Court of Common Pleas.

Henry Christopher Foxhoven, 45, of Glouster, Ohio, a Catholic priest in the Diocese of Steubenville, will appear in court on charges of three counts of sexual battery, according to a news release from the Athens County Prosecutor’s Office.

Prosecutor Keller Blackburn said Foxhoven is accused of engaging in sexual conduct with a minor female between Aug. 17 and Oct. 25. The minor is a member of Holy Cross in Glouster, Ohio, one of Foxhoven’s two parishes.

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.

Trial begins in Maine for ex-priest facing sex abuse charges

ALFRED (ME)
The Associated Press

November 26, 2018

A 74-year-old former Roman Catholic priest who pleaded guilty to raping an altar boy in Massachusetts went on trial Monday for allegedly assaulting two boys in Maine in the 1980s.

Ronald Paquin, who was defrocked in 2004, is charged with assaulting the boys between 1985 and 1988 in Kennebunkport, Maine, when the victims were 14 or younger. Court documents indicate one of them was “substantially impaired” by drugs during the assault.

Paquin, who pleaded not guilty, used a cane when he entered the courtroom on Monday, and sat between his attorneys as one of the victims testified in York County Superior Court.

The man told jurors Paquin took him out for meals, let him drive his car without a license and took him on trips, the Portland Press Herald reported .

The abuse allegedly began when the man was as young as 12 or 13 years old and continued through his teenage years. The sexual assaults took place at several locations, including a motel and a campground in Kennebunkport, the man said.

Jurors who were selected last week were asked a series of questions including whether they watched the movie “Spotlight” about the Boston Globe’s reporting on the clergy abuse scandal.

Paquin, who was featured in the movie, was a central figure in the scandal that enveloped the Boston archdiocese. He spent more than a decade in a Massachusetts prison for sexually assaulting an altar boy.

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

Former Catholic priest convicted of raping altar boy on trial in York County

ALFRED (ME)
WGME

November 26, 2018

A former Catholic priest, who has already served a lengthy prison sentence for raping an altar boy, is now on trial in York County.

He is accused of molesting two boys in the 1980s.

The trial started with prosecutors laying out their case against Ronald Paquin, and the two alleged victims who will testify against him.

“I remember, the first time he touched me I was sitting on his lap driving his brand-new Toyota Cressida, at eight years old,” alleged victim Keith Townsend said.

Speaking to CBS 13 last year, Keith Townsend claims he is one of two alleged victims, now coming forward to testify against their former priest and alleged abuser, Ronald Paquin.

The alleged victims say they were abused more than 30 years ago inside Paquin’s RV at a Maine campground.

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.

Peoria Priest Removed From Ministry For 2nd Time: Report

PEORIA (IL)
Patch

November 26, 2018

By Rebecca Bream

Rev. Jeffrey Windy previously served time for manufacturing and selling a date-rape drug.

For the second time since 2002, a priest in the Catholic Diocese of Peoria has been removed from ministry, and the reason why isn’t exactly clear. According to the Chicago Tribune, the Rev. Jeffrey Windy’s superiors in Peoria learned last winter Windy had visited two people involved in a criminal court case, leading the police to question him and his boss in the Ottawa parishes, the Rev. David Kipfer.

Windy was removed from ministry in March by Peoria Bishop Daniel Jenky because, according to diocese official Monsignor James Kruse, Windy didn’t ask for his superiors’ approval before getting involved in the criminal case, showing he hadn’t overcome what Kruse called “a pattern of imprudence,” the Chicago Tribune said.

The Catholic Diocese of Peoria and Windy wouldn’t provide a comment to the news outlet, but the Tribune said Kruse confirmed Jenky filed a canon law case in Rome for more action on Windy’s status.

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

Former Port Charlotte pastor accused of sexual abuse in 1970s

ST. PETERSBURG (FL)
NBC 2

November 26, 2018

By Joe Putrelo

A Catholic pastor who worked almost 20 years in Southwest Florida is now accused of sexually abusing a child in the 1970s.

A Catholic pastor who worked almost 20 years in Southwest Florida is now accused of sexually abusing a child in the 1970s.

The suspect at the center of the investigation is Rev. Nicholas McLoughlin.

He served as pastor of St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church in Port Charlotte from 1982-2003 after his assignment as pastor at Corpus Christi Parish in Temple Terrace.

The Diocese of St. Petersburg, the organization leading the investigation, released this statement:

“An allegation of inappropriate physical contact with a minor has been made against Rev. Nicholas McLoughlin, a priest of the Diocese of Venice, who served as pastor of Corpus Christi Parish, Temple Terrace from 1973 to 1982. He previously served as associate pastor of St. John Vianney, St. Pete Beach and pastor of Bishop Barry and Notre Dame High Schools in St. Petersburg from June 1972 to August 1973.

The alleged incident took place during the 1970s while Father McLoughlin was assigned to Corpus Christi. The Diocese has notified the State Attorney’s office of the allegation. Also, parishioners of Corpus Christi Parish and St. John Vianney Parish received announcements of the allegation the weekend of November 3- 4, 2018.

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DiNardo: Clergy abuse will be handled with transparency

HOUSTON (TX)
Houston Chronicle

November 26, 2018

By Cardinal Daniel DiNardo

In Matthew 16:24, the Lord instructs his disciples, and all of us, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross …” As followers of Christ, and as a Church greatly challenged by the clergy abuse scandal, I recognize as a Church leader that we have no more important cross to take up and bear today than restoring the trust of the faithful. That means confronting the evil of abuse wherever it is found and working with law enforcement and other agencies to see that justice is served.

The vast majority of our priests serve with selflessness and fidelity, but the vile and horrid acts of a small minority has shaped the perception of the media and many in the public about all priests – and now, our bishops. While this is understandable, it is regrettable and it is only through actions based on faith and just principles that this evil that afflicts the Church will be eradicated.

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.

Pedophile ex-priest a two-time loser at Nunavut appeal court

NUNAVUT (CANADA)
Nunatsiaq News

November 26, 2018

By Jim Bell

Eric Dejaeger loses appeal of sentence, appeal of sex crime convictions

The notorious serial pedophile, ex-Nunavut priest Erik Dejaeger, is now a two-time loser at the Nunavut Court of Appeal.

That’s because of two written judgments that the appeal court released on Monday, Nov. 26: one says no to 70-year-old Dejaeger’s appeal of a 19-year prison sentence, while the other says no to his appeal on 24 convictions for sex crimes against Inuit children, most of them in Igloolik.

After a hearing in Iqaluit this past Sept. 25, a panel of three appeal court judges orally dismissed Dejaeger’s appeal on 24 convictions that Justice Robert Kilpatrick entered against him on Aug. 12, 2014, following a long trial that began in November 2013.

Dejaeger had also appealed Kilpatrick’s findings of fact in eight additional charges to which Dejaeger had pleaded guilty.

The Nunavut appeal court released its written reasons for that decision on the verdict appeal today.

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 AG: Senate Judiciary Committee should investigate clergy abuse

WASHINGTON (DC)
The Hill

November 24, 2018

By Tal Axelrod

Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro lobbied Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), projected by many to be the next chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, to investigate abuse by members of the Catholic Church.

“I hope Chairman @LindseyGrahamSC focuses @senjudiciary on clergy abuse. It is a national issue and deserves attention. I’ll assist in any way the Chairman deems appropriate,” he tweeted Saturday.

“The abuse we unearthed in PA was not confined to our state borders.”

Shapiro spearheaded an investigation into abuse at Catholic diocese in the Keystone State. A grand jury released a report in August found more than 1,000 instances of sexual abuse allegedly committed by hundreds of Catholic priests in the state.

The grand jury identified over 300 members of the Catholic Church in Pennsylvania who allegedly committed acts of sexual abuse that were covered up by church officials. The church also persuaded local law enforcement agencies to drop several investigations.

“Despite some institutional reform, individual leaders of the church have largely escaped public accountability. Priests were raping little boys and girls, and the men of God who were responsible for them not only did nothing; they hid it all. For decades,” the report 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.

Letter to the editor: Article spotlighted continued problem with church

FREMONT (OH)
Fremont News Messenger

November 21, 2018

Thanks to The News-Messenger for an outstanding story about how Toledo Bishop Daniel Thomas and his top staff continue to shun victims and deceive parishioners. (“Area man says bishop won’t hear his abuse allegations,” November 17)

There’s no clearer sign that Catholic bishops haven’t changed than this: An alleged victim of a known predator priest fights unsuccessfully for two years just to sit in a room with a single Catholic official.

My heart aches for Riley Kinn and other Toledo area victims and Catholics who continue to be betrayed. And my blood boils at Thomas, Victim Assistance Coordinator Frank DiLallo and other church officials who refuse to act with compassion and honesty.

David G. Clohessy
St. Louis

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.

‘Rot in hell’: Victims cheer as priest handcuffed in court

AUSTRALIA
news.com.au

November 24, 2018

By Candace Sutton

Victims of ‘deviant’ paedophile priest Victor Higgs cheered and told the 81-year-old to ‘rot in hell’ as he was sentenced to jail.

Victims of a former Jesuit teacher with a “deviant interest” in 12-year-old boys cheered in court as the 81-year-old was handcuffed and led off to spend at least seven-and-a-half-years in prison.

“I hope he rots in hell — in actual fact hell is too good for him. He is evil,” one of Victor Thomas Higgs’ former schoolboy victims said in a statement.

Higgs — who has been convicted for molesting boys at Sydney’s exclusive St Ignatius College Riverview and its brother school in Adelaide — is regarded as one of the Australian Catholic Church’s worst sexual predators.

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

Bishop Malone confronted in Detroit airport

DETROIT (MI)
WKBW

November 19, 2018

By Hannah Buehler

On his way back from the Bishop’s Conference in Baltimore, Buffalo Catholic Bishop Richard Malone was confronted by Michael Voris of the Church Militant.

Voris, seen in this video asked Malone multiple times about his decision to keep Father Dennis Riter in ministry, despite several claims of sexual abuse of a minor, as uncovered by the 7 Eyewitness News I-Team.

In the video, Malone says “it’s a lie” when asked about the Riter situation.

Malone appears to not want to answer any questions, and tells his spokeswoman to call the police.

The Church Militant is a controversial, ultra conservative Catholic group.

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Cardinal DiNardo calls CBS News series on church sex abuse ‘inaccurate’

HOUSTON (TX)
Catholic News Service

November 26, 2018

Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston called a series of news stories by CBS News on the church sex abuse scandal “inaccurate,” saying they “demand a response.”

“In these stories, CBS alleges that the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston has allowed priests who have been ‘credibly accused’ of sexual abuse against a minor to continue their ministry as priests,” said the cardinal, who is president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

“The archdiocese responded to over 30 questions submitted to it by CBS News this past weekend, only to see almost all of our responses completely ignored by the CBS team,” he added in a statement released late Nov. 21.

In a story that aired Nov. 20, CBS News reported on allegations made against Fr. Terence Brinkman and Fr. John Keller, who are in active ministry in Houston.

In his statement, DiNardo confirmed the two priests each had had an accusation of abuse lodged against them, which they both denied, he said. The respective incidents occurred decades ago, the cardinal said, and a lay board reviewed them and concluded the priests should stay in ministry.

“It is true that two priests remain in ministry who have each been accused of sexually abusing a minor,” DiNardo said. “One accusation was made approximately 20 years after the alleged abuse. The other was made over 30 years after the alleged abuse. Both priests denied they had committed sexual abuse.

“Each accusation was reviewed by the archdiocesan lay review board who recommended that both priests be allowed to minister,” he continued. “These are the only accusations made against either priest, who have each served more than 40 years in the archdiocese.”

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November 26, 2018

Pope names organizing committee for abuse conference in February

VATICAN CITY
Catholic News Service

November 26, 2018

By Carol Glatz

Pope Francis named U.S. Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago to be part of the organizing committee preparing for a meeting of the world’s bishops’ conferences and representatives of religious orders to address the abuse and protection of minors.

The Feb. 21-24 Vatican meeting is not only “about keeping children safe from harm worldwide,” said Greg Burke, head of the Vatican press office, in a written statement Nov. 23.

“Pope Francis wants church leaders to have a full understanding of the devastating impact that clerical sexual abuse has on victims,” he said, soon after the Vatican announced the members of the preparatory committee.

Together with Cupich, the committee will include Cardinal Oswald Gracias of Mumbai, India; Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta; and Jesuit Fr. Hans Zollner, president of the Centre for the Protection of Minors at the Pontifical Gregorian University and a member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.

The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, headed by Boston Cardinal Sean O’Malley, and some survivors of abuse by members of the clergy also will be involved in the preparatory work for the meeting, the Vatican said.

“This a critical moment for the universal church in addressing the sexual abuse crisis,” O’Malley said, and the February meeting “will be an important moment for developing a clear path forward for dioceses around the world.”

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 of Oakland won’t release clergy sex abuse report until 2019

SAN FRANCISCO (CA)
San Francisco Chronicle

November 26, 2018

By Gwendolyn Wu

The Catholic Diocese of Oakland postponed its reveal of clergy members credibly accused of sex abuse until next year, the church announced this week in a newsletter.

Bishop Michael Barber had previously said the Oakland Diocese has “nothing to hide” and called the publication of names “the right thing to do.” In an Oct. 8 announcement, Barber said the diocese would publish the list within 45 days, which would have made it due for publication on Thanksgiving.

But the diocese’s weekly newsletter announced that the names will not be released until after Jan. 1.

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Tracy Kornet: I am a person of faith who has taken action against sexual abuse. You can too. | Opinion

NASHVILLE (TN)
The Tennessean

November 26, 2018

By Tracy Kornet

Congregants have left their churches over horrific accusations of molestation and abuse. We can change the culture and make things better.

Like many of you, I have a tender heart.

I was 11 when someone stole my little brother’s brand-new bike. He walked into our kitchen with tear-filled eyes, and I bolted like the Wicked Witch of the West on my 10-speed, flying through the neighborhood to retrieve Nate’s bike from the bad guys.

In my first TV news job, I would cry when I reported any story about child abuse.

I have always had a deep belief in God and in the value of organized religion. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt how each of us is deeply loved as a child of God.

I was raised a “Charismatic Christian” and spent a whole lot of time in church, summers at Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker’s PTL Club, and almost every weekend with my best friend’s family, who is Jewish. I still call them my surrogate parents.

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Catholic religious sisters express ‘deep sorrow’ over abuse

LONDON (UNITED KINGDOM)
The Tablet

November 26, 2018

By Ruth Gledhill

UISG will help anyone who wishes to move forward on a complaint to take it to the appropriate organisations.

The organisation that represents religious sisters around the world has expressed “deep sorrow and indignation” over abuse perpetrated against men and women.

In a statement that coincided with the United Nations’ International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, the organisation representing more than 500,000 religious sisters condemned “the pattern of abuse that is prevalent within the church and society today”.

The Union of International Superiors General (UISG), whose memberships consists of 2000 superior generals of congregations of women religious, said: “Abuse in all forms: sexual, verbal, emotional, or any inappropriate use of power within a relationship, diminishes the dignity and healthy development of the person who is victimised.

“We stand by those courageous women and men who have reported abuse to the authorities. We condemn those who support the culture of silence and secrecy, often under the guise of ‘protection’ of an institution’s reputation or naming it ‘part of one’s culture’.

“We advocate for transparent civil and criminal reporting of abuse whether within religious congregations, at the parish or diocesan levels, or in any public arena. We ask that any woman religious who has suffered abuse, report the abuse to the leader of her congregation, and to church and civic authorities as appropriate.”

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Archdiocese of San Francisco reports instances of alleged clerical abuse, but has yet to release names

SAN FRANCISCO (CA)
San Francisco Examiner

November 24, 2018

By Laura Waxmann

The Archdiocese of San Francisco has revealed that six instances of alleged sex abuse of minors by clergy were reported in the 1990s and three in the year 2000, according to an initial review of personnel files dating back to the 1950s.

The review follows a lawsuit accusing the Vatican of actively covering up sexual abuse within the Catholic Church.

The lawsuit was launched by two survivors of clerical abuse last month with the help of the Minnesota-based law firm Jeff Anderson & Associates. Also in October, the firm released a report implicating more than 200 Bay Area priests in allegations of sexual misconduct in recent decades, including 135 priests connected to the Archdiocese of San Francisco.

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Parishioners React To Child Sex Abuse Allegations Against Butler Co. Priest

PROSPECT (PA)
KDKA

November 25, 2018

Father Joseph Feltz, 65, recently served as pastor of Saint Christopher Parish in Prospect, Butler County.

He remains on administrative leave after allegations in a lawsuit claim he sexually abused a minor in the mid-’80s.

“Faithful Catholics have been thrown to the lions for several thousand years now,” parishioner Bill Adams said.

Adams says he knows Father Feltz very well and doesn’t believe the allegations.

“There have been so many allegations that have been so profitable for so many people that it’s really hard to take them seriously,” he said.

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Support group reveals more victims as Church stands silent

NEW ZEALAND
Radio NZ

November 26, 2018

By Phil Pennington

More survivors of clerical sex abuse are coming forward after Catholic school Old Boys formed an online support network as the Church continues stonewalling over the extent of sexual predation.

As the new victims emerged, a Catholic religious order used the upcoming Royal Commission as a reason for not providing information to RNZ about known child abusers, even though a report on faith-based abuse is not due until 2023.

St Bernard’s Lower Hutt Old Boy Patrick Hill and another abuse victim, Steve Goodlass, set up a Facebook group to offer assistance and in doing so unearthed further victims, Mr Hill told RNZ.

In 2015 Mr Hill instigated the prosecution Marist Brother, Patrick Bignell, which led to his conviction for abusing Mr Hill and two other boys.

“We now have information that in fact there were seven of us abused by Brother Patrick Bignell during the 1980s and 90s,” Mr Hill said.

“Victims have come out of the woodwork… He took nude photos of many of his victims. He also used those same photos to groom and lure other boys. So he created a trail of victims and a timeline for us to track.”

St Bernard’s School and the Church told RNZ Catholic authorities were not aware of any information that suggested other victims of Brother Bignell existed.

There was also no record of attempts being made in the intervening decades to find other victims or confront other predators.

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Nuns condemn church-abuse secrecy

ROME
The Associated Press

November 25, 2018

By Nicole Winfield

The Catholic Church’s global organization of nuns has denounced the “culture of silence and secrecy” surrounding sexual abuse in the church and is urging sisters who have been abused to report the crimes to police and their superiors.

The International Union of Superiors General, which represents more than 500,000 sisters worldwide, vowed to help nuns who have been abused find the courage to report it, and pledged to help victims heal and seek justice.

The statement, issued on the eve of the U.N.-designated International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, was the first from the Rome-based International Union of Superiors General since the abuse scandal erupted anew this year and as the sexual abuse of adult nuns by clergymen has also come to light. The Associated Press reported earlier this year that the Vatican has known for decades about the problem of priests and bishops preying on nuns, but has done next to nothing to stop it.

In the statement Friday, the International Union of Superiors General didn’t specify clergy as the aggressors. While such abuse is well known in parts of Africa, and an Indian case of the alleged rape of a nun by a bishop is currently making headlines, there have also been cases of sexual abuse committed by women against other women within congregations.

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Cupich calls February abuse summit start of a ‘worldwide reform’

NEW YORK (NY)
Crux

November 23, 2018

By Christopher White

Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago, named Friday by Pope Francis to the planning committee for February’s high-stakes Vatican meeting on sex abuse, says the pope is seeking the “full involvement of the global Church in assuring the protection of children around the world from clerical sexual abuse.”

In an interview with Crux on Friday, he said the committee is “committed to achieving specific outcomes from this meeting that reflect the mind of Pope Francis.”

In addition to Cupich, the pope appointed Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta, the Vatican’s leading prosecutor on child abuse; German Jesuit Father Hans Zollner, a member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors and head of the Center for Child Protection at the Pontifical Gregorian University; and Cardinal Oswald Gracias of Mumbai, who also serves on Francis’s “C-9” council of cardinal advisors.

In October, Gracias voiced concern in an interview with Crux about the February summit.

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Pittsburgh Diocese puts priest on administrative leave following sex abuse allegation

PITTSBURGH (PA)
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

November 24, 2018

By Andrew Goldstein

A Butler County priest has been placed on administrative leave following an allegation of sexual abuse of a boy in the 1980s, the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh announced Saturday.

The Rev. Joseph Feltz, 65, most recently served as pastor of St. Christopher Parish in Prospect. He was named in a lawsuit filed earlier this month with other priests who were accused of being part of the “ring of predatory priests” described by the state grand jury report released in August on sexual abuse in the church.

Father Feltz was not named in the grand jury report and has denied the abuse allegation, according to the diocese.

The lawsuit, filed Nov. 15 in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court, said that Mark A. Pearce, 48, of Raleigh, N.C., was abused when he was a minor by Father Feltz and the Rev. George Zirwas, two who were part of what the grand jury report called a “ring of predatory priests” active in the 1970s and 1980s, along with the Revs. Robert Wolk, Francis Pucci and Richard Zula.

According to the court filing, Mr. Pearce was abused in the rectory by priests Zula, Pucci and Feltz.

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Answer Man: How much are lawyers making on church sexual assault cases?

ROCHESTER (MN)
Post Bulletin

November 26, 2018

Dear Answer Man: The clergy sexual lawsuits have hit Rochester. I am curious to know how much money clergy sexual lawsuit attorneys Jeff Anderson & Associates have taken in on this Minnesota-wide bonanza? Ken.

Ken: You sound like a man who might be familiar with the line from Matthew 22:21 that reads: “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s” Of course, the general rule along with that is, “But let the lawyers take their third off the top from the righteous side.”

Attorney Jeff Anderson of Jeff Anderson & Associates in St. Paul has been a leading crusader against child sex abuse by clergy since 1983 when he filed his first such case in Minnesota. He has represented victims from across the country, and has been a key player in the dioceses in Minnesota that have settled with victims or, like the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, plans to settle with victims.

Of course, attorneys are not required to disclose their share of any particular settlement or judgment – except to the tax collector – so it’s impossible to know how much Anderson and his team of attorneys has made.

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Abp Scicluna: Protection of minors is a global, synodal issue

VATICAN
Vatican News

November 2018

By Christopher Wells

Newly appointed to the organising Committee for a February meeting of Church leaders from around the world, Maltese Archbishop Charles Scicluna says he hopes the Church will begin to take a global approach to protecting minors and confronting clerical sexual abuse.

In an exclusive interview with Jesuit periodical America, Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta described the upcoming meeting as “the beginning of a new approach that I hope will be global, because it concerns the whole Church.” But, he continued, “it will also have a very important local context, because safeguarding is not something up-there, it has to be lived in every parish, in every school, in every diocese.”

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New Jersey Catholic Church Announces Compensation Plan for Sex Abuse Survivors

NEWARK (NJ)
The Legal Examiner

November 26, 2018

By Joseph H. Saunders

On Monday, November 19, 2018, Cardinal Joseph Tobin, Archbishop of Newark, announced that the Archdiocese along with every diocese in the state of New Jersey will offer a compensation program for survivors of sexual abuse.

New Jersey has four dioceses and one archdiocese. The dioceses include Paterson, Trenton, Metuchen, and Camden. In making the announcement, Tobin noted that all New Jersey dioceses will participate and will offer survivors a chance to come forward and tell their stories. The program will include all survivors who were abused in New Jersey regardless of the statute of limitations.

The details of the plan have not been announced. Last week, the dioceses in Pennsylvania made a similar announcement. Most of the plans are administered by the law firm of Kenneth Feinberg in Washington, DC.

The Catholic Church in New Jersey has already paid out more than $50 million in financial settlements to those who were sexually abused as children by members of the clergy or diocesan employees in the state.

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The Salesian Province of San Francisco – A Loyal Nest of Accused Child Molesters

SAN FRANCISCO (CA)
joeypiscitelli.com

November 25, 2018

By Joey Piscitelli

For the last 60 years, the Salesian Province of San Francisco, or Don Bosco West, has harbored, transferred, and enabled a nest of convicted, accused, and admitted child molesters on the West Coast.

The Salesian Province based in San Francisco, or “Don Bosco West”, is the headquarters of the Salesians for the Western half of the United States. It is the first Salesian Province to be established in the USA. In 1897 the head of the Salesian order in Italy sent a group of Salesian Priests to San Francisco, led by Fr. Ralph Piperni.

Pipernis group met at the Italian church, St. Peter and Pauls, in San Francisco. They later met with the Bishop of San Francisco, Patrick Riordan, at the SF Diocese headquarters Mansion at 1100 Franklin Street, to establish the Salesians in San Francisco. St. Peter and Pauls became the headquarters for the Salesians at that time. The Mansion on Franklin Street later became the headquarters for the Salesian Province of San Francisco, now referred to also as Don Bosco West. It remains the headquarters for the Salesian Province of the West today, and it is also a residence for Salesian priests. Numerous Salesian accused child molesters and rapists have lived there in the last 50 years, and the Salesian order does not not release the list of names of accused predators that live there to the public, or to several nearby schools to warn them of their presence.

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Dubia Cardinal, bishops defend Cdl. Müller linking abuse crisis and homosexuality

CANADA
LifeSiteNews

November 26, 2018

On 21 November, LifeSiteNews published a wide-ranging interview with Cardinal Gerhard Müller – the former Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith – in which the cardinal spoke about the abuse problem in general as related to the loss of Faith, and he pointed to the high percentage of male victims of clerical sex abuse and likewise to the problem of homosexually active priests.

These statements have prompted an outcry of indignation in Germany, as may be seen with the German bishops’ news website Katholisch.de conducting an interview with a German Jesuit, Klaus Mertes. Now, however, does not only Cardinal Müller respond to the criticism, but also Cardinal Walter Brandmüller, Bishop Athanasius Schneider, Bishop Marian Eleganti, and Father Joseph Fessio, S.J, have publicly supported Cardinal Müller and his recent statements.

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Cardinal Cupich: Sex abuse summit to promote a culture change

VATICAN
Vatican News

November 2018

By Seán-Patrick Lovett

In an interview with Crux, the on-line Catholic news service, U.S. Cardinal Blase Cupich, describes the anti-abuse summit called by Pope Francis as the beginning of a worldwide reform intended to bring about a change in culture regarding how the Church protects children.

Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago is part of the organizing Committee for the February 21 to 24 meeting of Presidents of Bishops’ Conferences, called to focus on the protection of children in the Church. In the Crux interview, Cardinal Cupich confirms that the Committee is “committed to achieving specific outcomes from this meeting that reflect the mind of Pope Francis.” He also stresses the consultative role of “both clerics and lay women and men, who have shown expertise and experience” in the area of abuse.

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Bishops mum on clergy sex abuse turmoil in Buffalo Diocese, Malone

BUFFALO (NY)
The Buffalo News

November 24, 2018

By Jay Tokasz

A firestorm in the Buffalo Diocese over Bishop Richard J. Malone’s handling of clergy molestation allegations was not specifically mentioned when more than 250 Catholic bishops, including Malone, gathered last week in Baltimore to address the church’s ongoing sex abuse crisis.

The bishops, at least in public, steered clear of commentary on the Buffalo Diocese or Malone, who has refused to step down despite calls from some Western New York Catholics for his resignation.

The bishops focused in three days of meetings on making themselves more accountable for how they handle abuse cases, without criticizing a single bishop or diocese for mismanaging or covering up such cases.

The only public criticism of a bishop was levied at Archbishop Theodore E. McCarrick, who resigned as a cardinal in July and was removed by Pope Francis from public ministry after revelations of sexual misconduct with seminarians dating back decades. McCarrick, who is being investigated by the Vatican and others, did not attend the meetings.

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Former priest arrested for alleged sexual abuse years ago

HAYWARD (WI)
The Associated Press

November 23, 2018

A former priest is accused of sexually abusing at least three boys while he was stationed at St. Peter’s Church in Winter, Wisconsin, decades ago.

Seventy-one-year-old Thomas Ericksen was arrested Nov. 16 at his home in Minneapolis. He faces child sexual assault charges for the alleged abuse between June 1982 and April 1983.

Prosecutors declined to provide details to USA Today Network-Wisconsin as to why so much time elapsed before charges were filed.

It wasn’t immediately clear if Ericksen has an attorney. A listed home telephone number couldn’t be found.

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Bishop in South Africa says abuser priests should be excommunicated

YAOUNDÉ (CAMEROON)
Crux

November 21, 2018

An archbishop in South Africa has suggested the Church’s law system should be amended to mandate the excommunication of priests who commit sexual abuse.

Archbishop Buti Tlhagale of Johannesburg made his comments during an ordination mass for four new priests.

“Perhaps the abuse of minors by a priest, considering its moral gravity … ought to be considered as an automatic excommunication. In other words, when a priest is found to have abused a child, that should be included in the list of those acts that bring about automatic excommunication,” he said Oct. 27.

Currently, there are several offenses which lead to an automatic excommunication for a priest, including breaking the seal of confession and soliciting sexual favors during the sacrament of reconciliation.

Tlhagale’s suggestion came against the backdrop of the trial in Port Elizabeth of a Nigerian tele-evangelist, 58-year-old Timothy Omotoso, who was accused of raping a woman and kidnapping over 30 girls.

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French priest, bishop convicted over paedophilia scandal

FRANCE
Agence France-Presse

November 23, 2018

A French priest from the town of Orleans was handed a two-year jail term on Thursday and a bishop was convicted for failing to report him in rare prosecutions that have shaken the French Catholic church.

Pierre de Castelet, 69, was sentenced to two years in prison, with another year suspended, after abusing children during a summer camp in 1993 where he touched them while pretending to carry out medical examinations.

His superior, the former bishop of Orleans Andre Fort, 83, was given a suspended prison sentence of eight months for failing to notify French police when he was made aware of the abuse allegations in 2008.

Both men are expected to avoid serving time behind bars, however, under French law that allows a convict to apply for a non-custodial punishment in cases involving short jail sentences.

Prosecutions of bishops are extremely rare in France, with the last case dating back to 2001 when a bishop in the town of Bayeux-Lisieux was given a three-month suspended jail term for failing to report abuse.

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Landeskirchen: 107 Fälle sexuellen Missbrauchs

[Landeskirchen: 107 cases of sexual abuse]

GERMANY
NDR.de

November 22, 2018

In den niedersächsischen evangelischen Landeskirchen Hannover, Braunschweig und Oldenburg hat es 107 Missbrauchsfälle seit 1950 gegeben. Das gab der Braunschweiger Landesbischof Christoph Meyns am Donnerstagabend bei der Tagung des Kirchenparlaments in Goslar bekannt. 95 der Missbrauchsfälle seien dem Bereich der auch für Kinderheime verantwortlichen Diakonie zuzuordnen. Eine unabhängige Kommission, die für alle Kirchen in Niedersachsen tätig ist, habe den Betroffenen Anerkennungsleistungen und die Erstattung von Therapiekosten zugesprochen, so Meyns.

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Theologin: Kirche droht kritischen Frauen mit Entlassung

[Theologian: Church threatens critical women with dismissal]

GERMANY
Katholisch.de

November 23, 2018

“Entweder ihr seid still, oder ihr verliert euren Job!” Sie kenne Frauen, die von der Kirche genau vor diese Wahl gestellt wurden, berichtet Theologin und Buchautorin Jacqueline Straub. Scharf krtisiert sie zudem die Jugendsynode.

Die junge deutsch-schweizerische Theologin Jacqueline Straub hat der katholischen Kirche eine Knebelung kritischer Stimmen von Frauen vorgeworfen. Oftmals drohe kirchlichen Mitarbeiterinnen die Kündigung, wenn sie öffentlich über bestimmte Themen redeten, sagte Straub dem Schweizer Presseportal kath.ch (Donnerstag). In Deutschland kenne sie Frauen, “die vor die Wahl gestellt wurden: Entweder ihr seid still, oder ihr verliert euren Job”.

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Laut Kardinal Müller können Laien Bischöfe nicht verurteilen

[According to Cardinal Müller, lay people can not condemn bishops]

GERMANY
Dom Radio

November 22, 2018

“Mit Lynchjustiz kommt man nicht weiter”

Die Missbrauchsaufarbeitung ist in vollem Gang. Wie soll man mit Bischöfen umgehen, die Missbrauch vertuscht haben, ist eine der Fragen. Sie können jedenfalls nicht innerkirchlich durch Laien gerichtet werden, meint Gerhard Ludwig Kardinal Müller.

Zu den Diskussionen um entsprechende Pläne der US-Bischöfe sagte der frühere Leiter der Glaubenskongregation im Interview der kanadischen Website LifeSite-News (Mittwoch Ortszeit): “Die Lösung sehe ich nicht darin, dass nun ‘die’ Laien das Heft in die Hand nehmen, weil es die Bischöfe nicht aus eigener Kraft schafften – wie man meint.”

Missstände ließen sich nicht überwinden, indem man “die hierarchisch-sakramentale Verfassung der Kirche auf den Kopf stellt”.

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To the editor: Church not being transparent

TOLEDO (OH)
Toledo Blade

November 21, 2018

When it comes to abuse and coverup, it is clear the Toledo Catholic bishop is going backwards ( “Man’s allegations of abuse by Fostoria priest surface after 40 years,” Friday). For years, Bishop Daniel Thomas and dozens of his staff have publicly and deceptively claimed how they’re now allegedly more “transparent” about abuse than before. But they’re not.

In 2003, an alleged victim of the Rev. Joseph Schmelzer got to speak with the diocesan abuse panel. But in 2016, despite two years of trying, another alleged victim of the same now-suspended cleric was denied. Bishop Thomas’ public relations staffer refused to explain the change or say when it happened.

Bishop Thomas claims Father Schmelzer is being overseen. But The Blade reports that “the diocese has not informed (the priest’s victims) of any oversight measures,” and the circumstances of Father Schmelzer’s supervision “were not disclosed by the diocese” to the press or the public.

Finally, a church website “glosses over the circumstances of Father Schmelzer’s removal (and) makes no mention of why the priest was removed,” according to The Blade.

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Why Catholic bishops are terrified of investigations

CANADA
LifeSiteNews

November 22, 2018

By Dr. Joseph Shaw

The Pennsylvania Grand Jury report into clerical sex abuse in the Catholic Church and the Australian Royal Commission on child sex-abuse have an English equivalent in the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, which is currently taking evidence from witnesses, in public hearings.

Bishops and religious superiors publicly humiliated by these bodies have, of course, brought it upon themselves. Certainly, the degree of humiliation in each case does not necessarily correspond exactly with the degree of guilt, but the ones in the dock tend to make an admission of failure the keynote of their opening statements.

Despite all this, it is difficult to discern any real change of direction in episcopal policies and attitudes. The cases which remain hidden, and above all the clerics with credible allegations hanging over them still in active ministry, poison dioceses and religious communities. It is easy, though painful, to imagine the effect on the morale of seminarians and priests aware of the allegations against former Cardinal McCarrick, to see him honored and invited around the country year after year. But while the secular power is dragging information out of bishops about one case after another, bishops still seem to have no appetite to review old cases, to ensure that widely-suspected abusers are not still swanning around the diocese.

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Sex abuse survivors slam Cuomo’s comments on Child Victims Act

ALBANY (NY)
Times Union

November 21, 2018

By Rachel Silberstein

Survivors of childhood sex abuse are pushing back on Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s Tuesday comments about the Child Victims Act.

The bill, which would enable adult victims of childhood sex abuse to bring claims against their abusers in court, includes a controversial “look-back window,” which groups like the Boy Scouts of America and the Catholic Church fear will cripple them financially.

At at pre-Thanksgiving event in Buffalo, the Democratic governor told reporters that he supports the bill, which has passed the Assembly twice and has nearly unanimous support among Democrats in the state Senate, but expressed concern about the version of the bill touted by his party.

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Why we need to tax the ‘costly joke’ of religion

AUSTRALIA
SA Weekend

November 23, 2018

By Ian Henschke

Royal Commissions have been in the news lately. And it’s been a sad and sorry time. Last month was the National Apology following the findings of the inquiry into Institutional Responses to Child Sex Abuse.

That happened while the top end of town was reeling from revelations from the investigation into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry. Now we’ve got another starting in Adelaide looking into Aged Care Quality and Safety.

Royal commissions focus the minds of the public and the parliament. They also have repercussions. Look at the fallout from the one into banking and finance. The businesses involved have been hit with fines and remediation costs totalling more than a billion dollars. They have to give back money. Heads have rolled and there’s talk of criminal charges.

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Cardinal Sean O’Malley: I’m still Pope Francis’ man

BOSTON (MA)
Boston Herald

November 26, 2018

By Sean Philip Cotter

Cardinal refutes speculation of Vatican snub after being left off panel

Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley says he remains as close to Pope Francis and involved in fighting against sex crimes in the church as ever, pushing back on speculation that followed his being left off of the organizing committee for a summit aimed at preventing abuse.

O’Malley told the Herald he retains the trust of the pope, who has kept O’Malley leading the Vatican advisory commission of the sex abuse of minors.

“I’m still on the commission, and I’m still one of his advisers — I’m going next month for another meeting,” O’Malley said of the pope.

The cardinal, who’s the archbishop of Boston, said the fact he’s not on the summit committee is simply a case of logistics.

“We still have the commission,” O’Malley said following an event in Malden. “The point-person of the group is a member of our commission — Father Zollner, who lives in Rome , and so they need someone there who will be able to organize it and pull it off.”

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Steubenville Bishop Speaks Out on Delay in Sex Abuse Accountability Policy

STEUBENVILLE (OH)
Wheeling Intelligencer

November 26, 2018

By Linda Harris

Bishop Jeffrey M. Monforton said he understands Pope Francis’ desire to develop a worldwide approach to combating the Roman Catholic Church’s sexual abuse crisis.

The Diocese of Steubenville’s leader made his comments following “an obvious curveball” that the Vatican threw at the U.S. Council of Catholic Bishops when it nixed the group’s plans to vote on accountability proposals. Monforton said Pope Francis wants to pursue a worldwide, rather than a geographical, approach.

Although the council did sign off on an anti-racism letter, it also had planned to vote on a proposal to establish an investigative board — one that would include lay people — to look into allegations of sexual misconduct, as well as a draft code of conduct for bishops. That plan changed when the Vatican issued a last-minute directive prohibiting a vote until after a global Vatican-led meeting on the church’s sex abuse scandal convenes in February.

“We came in thinking we were going to take a vote; obviously that vote was delayed,” Monforton said during a recent interview, adding he thought the Council of Bishops “certainly acclimated well” to the delay so Pope Francis “can work with all the bishop conferences throughout the world.”

“We have to look through the universal eyes of the church, it’s not just us,” Monforton said. “After that, we have to keep our minds open” to other ideas.”

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November 25, 2018

Exclusive: Archbishop Scicluna says February meeting start of ‘global approach’ to fighting sex abuse

VATICAN CITY
America Magazine

November 23, 2018

By Gerard O’Connell

In a decision highlighting the great importance he gives to next February’s summit meeting on “the protection of minors in the church,” to which he has called the presidents of all the Catholic bishops conferences, Pope Francis has appointed a high-powered steering committee to oversee the project.

The committee is composed of two cardinals, Blase Cupich (Chicago) and Oswald Gracias (Bombay, India), and two of the church’s experts in the field: Archbishop Charles Scicluna (Malta), and Father Hans Zollner, a German Jesuit and president of the Center for Child Protection and Director and professor of psychology at the Gregorian University in Rome, who will serve as coordinator. The Vatican announced this today, November 23.

In this exclusive interview with America, Archbishop Scicluna, whom the pope recently appointed as adjunct secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and who is also the president of its tribunal for appeals, speaks about the significance and goals of the February meeting, and how it will be conducted.

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.

Priest working in Jackson previously accused of sexual harassment, lawsuit shows

JACKSON (MS)
Mississippi Clarion Ledger

November 21, 2018

By Sarah Fowler

A priest currently visiting the Jackson diocese has faced past accusations of sexual harassment.

The Rev. Maurice Nutt was in attendance and helped lead Mass Sunday at St. Peter’s Catholic Cathedral in downtown Jackson to open the cause for canonization of Sister Thea Bowman of Canton, the first African-American member of the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration. The Catholic Diocese of Jackson posted photos from the Mass on its Facebook page. Nutt prepared the gifts for consecration alongside Bishop Joseph Kopacz.

Nutt, a Redemptorist priest, is “back and forth” between Jackson and New Orleans while he works as a consultant on the cause for canonization, according to Maureen Smith, spokeswoman for the diocese. Smith said the diocese was aware of the allegations against Nutt.

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.

AG Healey On Priest Sex Abuse: ‘We Cannot Allow That Kind Of Conduct To Continue’

BOSTON (MA)
WGBH News

November 21, 2018

By Tori Bedford

[LISTEN: Healey On Sexual Misconduct In The Catholic Church]

Attorney General Maura Healey said she is “actively reviewing” the existing policies and procedures that surround the reporting of cases of sexual misconduct after several Catholic advocacy groups have called on her office to investigate the personnel records of all Massachusetts archdioceses.

“We’ve been in touch with the archdiocese, we’ve been in touch with the district attorney’s offices,” Healey said during an interview with Boston Public Radio Tuesday. She later said, “I want to make sure that there are answers, and that there is accountability. … We cannot allow that kind of conduct to continue, and the coverup, and the hiding, and the failure to deal with this.”

Activist groups, including Catholic Democrats and Voice of the Faithful, are calling for an update to the 2003 investigation into priest sex abuse and a full investigation of dioceses in Fall River, Worcester and Springfield.

Healey stated that “any report or allegation of abuse will be thoroughly investigated and addressed, either by my office or by another office.”

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 Cardinal: LGBTQ People Are to Blame for Sex Abuse Scandal

Advocate

November 23, 2018

By Jacob Ogles

The former doctrine chief for the Catholic Church told a conservative website the child sex abuse scandal in the church is tied to growing influence of LGBTQ ideology, which he said was based on atheism and the denial of God.

Cardinal Gerhard Müller, the former Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, spoke with the far-right website LifeSite regarding the recent resignation of Cardinal Theodore McCarrick amid allegations of sexual misconduct.

McCarrick is accused of sexually abusing young boys, but Müller seemed more focused on the “the moral depravity of homosexual acts among adults.” He said the recent scandal comes from growing influence of LGBTQ voices in the church.

On that front, he said the inclusion of the term “LGBT” in church documents shows the real problem. He referenced the term among “propaganda phrases of the homosexual lobby.”

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.

Ex-teacher at 2 Toronto Jewish day schools convicted of sex offenses

TORONTO (CANADA)
Times of Israel

November 23, 2018

By JTA

Stephen Schacter guilty of 3 counts of sexual assault, and 3 other crimes between 1982 and 2002

A former teacher at two Toronto-area Jewish day schools was found guilty of several sexual offenses.

Stephen Joseph Schacter was found guilty last week by a Superior Court of Justice judge of three counts of sexual assault, two counts of sexual interference and one count of gross indecency, the Canadian Jewish News reported last week.

Sentencing hearings on the child pornography charge and the sexual offenses are scheduled for early 2019.

The offenses occurred between 1982 and 2002. The case featured four complaints.

Schacter was a teacher at Eitz Chaim schools between 1986 and 2004. At a news conference Monday, police said Schacter taught second and third grades at the Orthodox Jewish school, which runs three campuses in the Toronto area.

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

February abuse summit will have to navigate waters of a global church

DENVER (CO)
Crux

November 25, 2018

By John L. Allen Jr.

On Friday, Cardinal Oswald Gracias of Mumbai, India, was among the prelates tapped by Pope Francis to organize his Feb. 21-24 summit of presidents of bishops’ conferences from around the world to tackle the clerical sexual abuse scandals that have rocked Catholicism for decades.

In comments to Crux later in the day (collected by our relentless Mumbai correspondent, Nirmala Carvalho), Gracias said he sees the organizing panel as a sign that Francis “is taking the protection of minors very seriously.”

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.

Chile bishop subpoenaed by prosecutors denies covering up abuse

CHILE
Crux

November 24, 2018

By Inés San Martín

A retired Chilean bishop accused of not only cover-up but of sexually harassing seminarians testified to local authorities on Wednesday. He was interrogated for over seven hours, and even though the content of the questioning remains under seal, he spoke to media afterwards to defend his actions and deny having covered up abuse.

Bishop Gonzalo Duarte of Valparaiso is one of seven Chilean bishops currently being investigated by civil authorities, though others might soon be added to the list.

Duarte had his resignation accepted by Pope Francis earlier this year, on the same day as Bishop Juan Barros, long accused of covering up for the country’s most notorious pedophile.

Duarte said he was questioned for his actions on six cases of abusive priests in Valparaiso, telling reporters: “We didn’t destroy any files […] I did everything I was supposed to do, meaning investigate and not cover up.”

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.

Erie bishop picks firm for victims’ fund, urges hope

GoErie.com
ERIE (PA)

November 25, 2018

By Ed Palattella

Erie Catholic Bishop Lawrence Persico is again turning to outside experts as he navigates the Diocese of Erie through the clergy sex-abuse crisis.

Persico in 2016 hired a law firm from Pittsburgh, K&L Gates, to launch a sweeping internal investigation that led the diocese in April to release an unprecedented list of clergy and laypeople credibly accused of child sexual abuse and other misconduct with minors since the 1940s.

Persico is now hiring another outside expert to administer the diocese’s victims’ compensation fund, a response to the August statewide grand jury report on clergy sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church in Pennsylvania.

The diocese, Persico said, will retain the Washington, D.C.-based law firm of Ken Feinberg, one of the nation’s most prominent authorities on compensation funds. Feinberg and co-administrator Camille Biros handled the September 11 Victim Compensation Fund, set up following the terrorist attacks, and compensation funds for theater shooting victims in Aurora, Colorado, and the victims of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil-spill disaster.

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

Catholic priest from Prospect accused of sexual abuse of a minor placed on administrative leave

PITTSBURGH (PA)
TribLive.com

November 24, 2018

By Michael DiVittorio

Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh officials placed a Prospect parish leader on administrative leave following an allegation of sexual abuse of a minor.

Father Joseph Feltz, 65, was accused of sexual abuse of a minor in the mid-1980s, officials said via news release Saturday.

The allegation was made in a recent lawsuit against the diocese.

Bishop David Zubik sent letters this weekend at all parishes where Feltz served, which most recently was St. Christopher Parish in Prospect.

Officials said Feltz denied the allegation, which has been reported to law enforcement.

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.

Victim of clergy sex abuse starting non-profit to help others

PITTSBURGH (PA)
WPXI-TV

Novemnber 23, 2018

[Video]

Since the grand jury’s report on clergy sex abuse in Pennsylvania Diocese, dozens of victims have come forward to share their stories of survival.

Now, one of them is taking it a step further to help others.

Jim VanSickle is in the process of creating a non-profit organization to help other survivors connect with services and speak of their experiences.

Since making his own story of abuse at the hands of a priest public last February, VanSickle said he’s spoken with other survivors across the country either by phone or in-person.

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Fourth Minnesota diocese plans to file for bankruptcy amid abuse claims

WINONA (MN)
Catholic News Service via Crux

November 22, 2018

Bishop John M. Quinn of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, said the diocese planned to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection following the recommendation of several consultative groups.

The announcement from the diocese Nov. 20 said a legal path is the “most just and equitable way to hold the diocese accountable for past child sexual abuse by clergy.”

The bishop first told parishioners about the plan in a letter distributed in parish bulletins the weekend of Nov. 17-18.

The planned filing by the end of November was made with the cooperation of attorneys representing abuse survivors, Quinn said.

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Class Action Sex Abuse Lawsuits Part 3: The Evil Opt-Out

UNITED STATES
The Worthy Adversary

November 18, 2018

By Joelle Casteix

~Part three in a multi-part series~previous post

Settlement Class Actions Lawsuits are BAD for victims, BAD for justice, and a PUBLIC SAFETY HAZARD.

And the opt-out? It’s every bishop’s dream.

I talked about the opt-out a little in my last post. But in this post, I will talk about why settlement class action lawsuits in sex abuse cases are the enemy of SOL reform. The main reason (among many)? The evil opt-out.

What is the opt-out? It is an artificial deadline more pernicious than old statutes of limitations. When a class action is certified (that is, a judge says it’s cool to move forward), s/he will set an opt-out date. Usually six months after the certification (to allow for advertising), the opt-out date is the LAST day that a survivor can say in writing that they DO NOT want to be a part of the class.

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.

Why we need to tax the ‘costly joke’ of religion

AUSTRALIA
The Advertiser

November 23, 2018

By Ian Henschke

Royal Commissions have been in the news lately. And it’s been a sad and sorry time. Last month was the National Apology following the findings of the inquiry into Institutional Responses to Child Sex Abuse.

That happened while the top end of town was reeling from revelations from the investigation into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry. Now we’ve got another starting in Adelaide looking into Aged Care Quality and Safety.

Royal commissions focus the minds of the public and the parliament. They also have repercussions. Look at the fallout from the one into banking and finance. The businesses involved have been hit with fines and remediation costs totalling more than a billion dollars. They have to give back money. Heads have rolled and there’s talk of criminal charges.

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

The Clergy Sex Abuse Crisis Is Dredging Up An Old Heresy

UNITED STATES
The Federalist

November 23, 2018

By John Daniel Davidson

Catholics leaving the church over the sex abuse crisis are giving into the false notion that the sacraments depend on blameless clerics.

Many Catholics were outraged last week when the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops failed to take action to address the clergy sex abuse crisis. Almost as soon as the bishops convened in Baltimore, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, the conference president, announced he’d received a letter from the Holy See instructing the conference not to vote on measures that would bring greater accountability to bishops. Instead, they were told to wait for a synod on the crisis that Pope Francis will host in Rome in February.

The news went down like a lead balloon. For some Catholics, it was more than they could bear. Melinda Henneberger, a columnist for USA Today and former Vatican correspondent for The New York Times, announced she was leaving the church. Addressing the bishops directly, she wrote: “After a lifetime of stubborn adherence on my part and criminal behavior on yours, your excellencies, you seem to have finally succeeded in driving me away.”

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 Of Pittsburgh Priest Accused Of Child Sexual Abuse, Placed On Leave

PITTSBURGH (PA)
KDKA-TV (cbslocal.com)

November 24, 2018

A priest in the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh has been placed on administrative leave after being accused of sexually abusing a minor.

The Diocese announced Saturday afternoon that Bishop David Zubik has placed 65-year-old Father Joseph Feltz on leave.

Feltz most recently served as pastor of Saint Christopher Parish in Prospect, Butler County. The Diocese says he retired from Saint Christopher Parish in October, but he remained in active ministry.

The priest is accused of sexually abusing a minor in the mid-1980s.

Feltz is among four priests named in 12 new lawsuits filed this week on behalf of victims. Feltz was not named in the grand jury report released earlier this year.

Attorney Alan Perer is representing the victims.

“I think [the fact] that we have four new priests that were not named [in the grand jury report] there shows you that this was a broader and wider system of abuse,” Perer said. “When I talk to people like [the victim], there’s no doubt in my mind that what they tell me is true about the particular priest.”

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.

Pittsburgh diocese places another priest on leave after abuse allegation

PITTSBURGH (PA)
WPXI.com

November 25, 2018

[Video]

The Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh has placed another priest on administrative leave after he was accused of sexual abuse of a minor.

The allegation made against the Rev. Joseph Feltz, 65, who most recently served as pastor of Saint Christopher Parish, dates back to the mid-1980s, the diocese said Saturday.

The allegation surfaced in a recent lawsuit filed against the diocese. Feltz has denied the allegation, the diocese said.

Placing Feltz on leave doesn’t imply he is guilty, the diocese said.

The allegation will be investigated by law enforcement and the diocese.

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.

Precht declara por excapellán Fach: “No se hizo ninguna investigación”

[Precht testifies in case of former Fach chaplain: “No investigation was done”]

CHILE
La Tercera

November 25, 2018

By Leyla Zapata Sánchez

El otrora sacerdote aseguró a la fiscalía que el exarzobispo de Santiago, cardenal Francisco Javier Errázuriz, supo de las denuncias contra Pedro Quiroz.

Ocurrió en septiembre pasado. En ese momento, el exsacerdote Cristián Precht Bañados interponía una serie de recursos judiciales contra la Iglesia de Santiago, argumentando varios eventuales vicios, mientras que en Europa el Vaticano sencillamente decidió expulsarlo del estado clerical, luego de que el Papa Francisco conociera los nuevos antecedentes por presuntos delitos sexuales que pesaban en su contra.

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.

El embajador vaticano pide perdón en Madrid por los “silencios y pasividades” de la Iglesia

[Vatican ambassador apologizes in Madrid for the Church’s “silences and passivities”]

MADRID (SPAIN)
El País

November 20, 2018

By Juan G. Bedoya

Enzo Fratini celebra una Eucaristía ante los obispos españoles en la Jornada Mundial de Oración por las Víctimas de Abusos

Los obispos españoles, reunidos en Madrid en asamblea plenaria, han escuchado este martes palabras muy severas en boca del nuncio (embajador) del Estado vaticano en Madrid, el arzobispo Enzo Fratini, que se han leído en clave de abusos y pederastia en el seno de lglesia. “Pedimos cada uno de nosotros perdón por nuestras infidelidades, nuestras omisiones, nuestros silencios y pasividades. El pecado es personal y cada uno tiene que llevar su responsabilidad en su conciencia. No es suficiente pedir perdón por los demás, por lo realizado irresponsablemente por quienes tenían un encargo pastoral y han dañado a la Iglesia”, les dijo en el sermón que pronunció en la Eucaristía concelebrada en la Casa de la Iglesia, en Madrid, como acto penitencial y de petición de perdón colectiva.

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Silencio cómplice y encubridor

[Silence as an accomplice and concealer of clergy abuse]

SPAIN
El País

November 20, 2018

By Juan José Tamayo

Hay que cambiar las imágenes patriarcales de Dios que con frecuencia están en la base de no pocos de los abusos sexuales

Cuando los obispos españoles recibían las informaciones sobre los crímenes de pederastia producidos en las Iglesias de otros países, no se daban por aludidos y guardaban silencio porque no iba con ellos. Algunos incluso presumían de no tener ni haber tenido en sus diócesis casos similares. La Iglesia española parecía un oasis en medio del desierto pederástico que se cernía por todo el cuerpo eclesial. ¡Qué espejismo o, peor, qué cinismo! Lo que era un secreto a voces a nivel del catolicismo mundial, para un sector importante de la jerarquía católica española eran o bien calumnias o bien deseos malévolos de desprestigiar a la Iglesia.

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November 24, 2018

Reader’s View: Church continues to blackball priest

DULUTH (MN)
Duluth News Tribune

November 21, 2018

By Lisa Lou Dunaiski, Duluth

I was baptized and confirmed at St.Michael’s Church in Lakeside. The bishop is alienating several of us in the Catholic church by blackballing Fr. William Graham (“Split verdict in Duluth priest’s suit against accuser,” Aug. 25).

Of late, I have been impressed by letters in the News Tribune in support of Fr. Graham, a real genuine man who has taught theology at the College of St. Scholastica. He earns his own money.

I agreed with the letter that said Graham’s accuser came forward in the last hours and that there had been no other complaints ever about Fr. Graham (Reader’s View: “Fr. Graham didn’t deserve bishop’s treatment,” Oct. 20). In the last hours was just in time to destroy a man’s parish and career.

Graham wasn’t even where the alleged abuse occurred, according to another priest and his Oct. 3 commentary, “‘Yes, I am angry!’: Alleged abuse did not happen.”

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

St. Michael’s College School principal and president resign amid student sex assault scandal

TORONTO (CANADA)
CBC News

November 22, 2018

By Amara McLaughlin

The principal and president of St. Michael’s College School have both resigned amid allegations of assault and sexual assault between students, according to a statement issued by the private, all-boys’ school Thursday afternoon.

Principal Greg Reeves and Father Jefferson Thompson, school president, stepped down to allow the Roman Catholic school to move “forward without distractions and allow it to focus on healing and change after the horrific events,” the board of directors of St. Michael’s said in the statement.

“Greg Reeves and Fr. Thompson have always put the welfare, education and formation of our students first — and they do so once again today,” board chair Michael Forsayeth said.

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Memory of childhood rape by priest motivates Warwick man to fight for other victims

Warwick (RI)
Providence Journal

November 23, 2018

By Amanda Milkovits

David Silipigni says his life was ruined by what happened to him as a child at the St. Aloysius Home, an orphanage run by the Diocese of Providence. Now he’s fighing to give other victims the legal remedy that he’ll never have.

For nearly his entire life, David S. Silipigni has lived in a jail cell or a room the size of one.

He paces a room the way memories pace his mind, turning to what he says happened nearly 50 years ago, when he was a little boy in the care of a Catholic orphanage in Smithfield.

Silipigni says that he was sexually assaulted by a priest while living at St. Aloysius Home.

He says he remembers the weight of the man’s chin on his head while he was being raped in the basement.

He says he remembers when the same man shoved his hands down his pants in a room off the chapel.

For a long time, Silipigni didn’t tell anyone. Silence tortured him.

The 57-year-old man has been incarcerated. He’s been homeless. He’s been a thief. He’s been addicted to drugs. He was saved from suicide. It didn’t stop him from trying to kill himself slowly.

He’s been in and out of most mental-health treatment programs in Rhode Island and remains in the care of a psychologist and psychiatrist. He’s trapped by thoughts of shame and rage.

What Silipigni wants now is what the Rhode Island Supreme Court and state law won’t give him — the ability to sue the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence.

So, he’ll take his case to the State House. State Rep. Carol Hagan McEntee pre-filed legislation last week to extend Rhode Island’s statute of limitations from seven years to 35 to allow lawsuits against those who sexually abuse children and those who employ the perpetrators.

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Why not have a woman run a diocese?

National Catholic Reporter

November 22, 2018

By Phyllis Zagano

There’s been a lot of talk about women in church leadership. Any cynic will remind you not much has happened. Even so, the pope has made it clear he wants to have women where they can make a difference.

The members of the recent Synod of Bishops agreed: “An area of particular importance … is the presence of women in ecclesial bodies at all levels, even in positions of responsibility, and the participation of women in ecclesial decision-making processes, respecting the role of the ordained ministry.”

What to do?

How about putting women in charge of a few dioceses?

There are dioceses all over the world without bishops. There are many competent churchwomen — chancellors, former general superiors, Catholic Charities heads, for example — who could easily run a diocese while the Congregation for Bishops and the pope decide what’s best down the road. In the United States alone, there are seven or eight vacant sees. One already sets the example.

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Class Action Sex Abuse Lawsuits Part 2: Lessons from Covington

UNITED STATES
The Worthy Adversary

November 18, 2018

By Joelle Casteix

~Part two in a multi-part series~ see previous post

Settlement Class Actions Lawsuits are BAD for victims and BAD for transparency.

But they are mighty good for bishops.

Here is what we know about victims of child sexual abuse:

It can take decades for victims to come forward, because child sexual abuse is a crime of shame and secrecy
Victims of child sexual abuse should be able to come forward when THEY ARE READY
Statutes of limitation put artificial timelines on victims and let predators roam free. That is why SOL reform is so important.
And here is what we know about class action lawsuits when it comes to child sexual abuse:

In June 2005 in the Diocese of Covington, KY, church officials there settled a class action lawsuit with an undisclosed amount of victims (newspaper reports suggest approximately 200) for $120 million.

Let’s look at the terms.

1. No secret documents were released. No evidence of abuse or cover-up was disclosed.

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Four months after McCarrick’s resignation, silence from the Vatican on his fate

WASHINGTON D.C.
Washington Post

November 23, 2018

By Julie Zauzmer

When Theodore McCarrick resigned his title as a cardinal of the Catholic Church in July, the church made one promise as shock waves rippled through the pews: McCarrick would face a canonical trial, the Vatican’s version of a criminal inquiry, for the sexual misconduct he allegedly committed.

Four months later, McCarrick has moved from Washington, where he was once the archbishop and then a prominent diplomat, to a remote friary in Kansas. Vatican leaders have said no to American bishops’ request that the Vatican conduct an investigation here into the disgraced ex-cardinal’s behavior. When the U.S. bishops tried to vote last week on new rules regarding bishops, designed to prevent another McCarrick-type scandal, the Vatican issued a last-minute directive telling them to not even take a vote.

The question lingering on many Catholics’ minds remains: What’s going to happen to McCarrick?

The Vatican remains silent on the answer.

“What I hear from the people of God who I’ve been listening to … the Archbishop McCarrick case has particularly upset them,” Bishop Robert Deeley of Maine told his fellow bishops in an emotional remark last week at the U.S. bishops’ meeting in Baltimore, where numerous bishops raised demands for more investigation into McCarrick. “What the people don’t understand is, this behavior must have been known, because people are saying that it was known. And how did these promotions happen? I think that’s where the problem, a lack of trust, is. [Parishioners are asking] ‘Can we trust you?’ ”

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.

Pope omits Cardinal Sean O’Malley from summit committee

BOSTON (MA)
Boston Herald

November 24, 2018

By Jordan Graham

‘It is a clear vote of no confidence’

Pope Francis has named the members of an organizing committee for a February summit aimed at preventing abuse, but did not include Boston Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley, who leads the Vatican advisory commission of the sex abuse of minors — an omission one church watcher called significant.

“His absence is very, very noteworthy,” said Peter Borre, founder of Boston’s Council of Parishes. “It is a clear vote of no confidence.”

The pope named four members of the committee that will prepare for the summit next year. The Rev. Hans Zollner is the point-person for the group, which includes Maltese Archbishop Charles Scicluna, for a decade the Vatican’s sex crimes prosecutor, Francis appointee Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich and Indian Cardinal Oswald Gracias, a member of Francis’ key cardinal adviser group.

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.

Gonzalo Duarte ante la fiscalía de O’Higgins: “Hice todo lo que tenía que hacer, investigar y no tapar”

[Gonzalo Duarte before O’Higgins prosecutor: “I did everything I had to do, investigate and not cover up”]

CHILE
AgenciaUno via Soy Chile

November 21, 2018

El obispo emérito declaró como imputado por encubrimiento de abusos sexuales por el caso contra el ex capellán del Ejército, Pedro Quiroz. La diligencia se realizó luego de que el pasado 22 de octubre se aplazara la audiencia.

Este miércoles el obispo emérito de Valparaíso, Gonzalo Duarte, llegó a la Fiscalía Regional de Rancagua para declarar como imputado por encubrimiento de abusos sexuales al interior de la iglesia católica nacional, en particular por el caso contra el ex capellán del Ejército Pedro Quiroz.

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

Former Riverview priest accused of sexually abusing minors

ST. PETERSBURG (FL)
WFLA-TV (Channel 8)

By Victoria Price

November 21, 2018

A former priest at St. Stephen Chuch in Riverview is under investigation by the Catholic Church for accusations he sexually abused minors.

The allegations against Father Michael Juran come from Buffalo, New York. Juran is a priest with the Diocese of Buffalo, but according to the Diocese of St. Petersburg, still lives here locally.

The Diocese of Buffalo announced October 31st that Juran was on administrative leave after receiving an abuse complaint. Parishioners at St. Stephen got a letter about a week and a half later, explaining Juran was accused twice of sexually abusing minors. It did not specify when. According to the letter, Juran is not allowed to publicly present himself as a priest while on leave.

The Diocese of St. Petersburg tells News Channel 8 Juran served as St, Stephen’s Parochial Vicar from 2006 to 2011, adding he still resides in the diocese but has not served as a priest since 2011. A spokesperson for the Diocese of St. Petersburg did not explain why Juran stayed in Florida while remaining under the purview of the Diocese of Buffalo once his assignment at St. Stephen was through.

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.

Investigan red de “sacerdotes prestamistas” en Arzobispado de Puerto Montt

[Network of “priest moneylenders” investigated in Archdiocese of Puerto Montt]

CHILE
Soy Chile

November 21, 2018

Dos curas fueron denunciados ante el Ministerio Público por el administrador apostólico, Ricardo Morales.

La Iglesia Católica sigue en la palestra en Puerto Montt. A la reciente “autodenuncia” del administrador apostólico Ricardo Morales, luego que fuera sindicado anónimamente como encubridor de un presunto delito de abuso sexual, ahora se suma la denuncia que él mismo presentó al Ministerio Público, contra dos sacerdotes por presuntas irregularidades en la gestión del centro de salud familiar San Pablo, tutelado por el Arzobispado local.

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The Bishops’ Meeting: From Bad to Worse

UNITED STATES
The Open Tabernacle

By Betty Clermont

November 24, 2018

In August, a Pennsylvania grand jury disclosed credible allegations of sexual abuse by over 300 priests, with thousands of victims. A joint Boston Globe/Philadelphia Inquirer investigation, published Nov. 3, found more than 130 U.S. bishops – or nearly one-third of those still living – have been accused of failing to properly respond to sexual misconduct allegations.

The bishops’ response was much-anticipated. But, at their Nov. 12-14 meeting, they failed to adopt reforms addressing the sex abuse crisis

“Bottom line – Catholics have lost trust in their leaders,” declared Tom Gjelten, who covers religion, faith, and belief for NPR News, after the meeting.

“Too many are losing faith, losing trust, losing hope – we are, in so many ways, losing our religion,” wrote Deacon Greg Kandra.

“This loss of trust in the leadership of the Church makes this the most significant crisis confronting ting the church since the Reformation,” noted Madeline E. Lacovara in the magazine, America.

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Protest against sexual abuse in Catholic church grows in India

KERALA (INDIA)
Al Jazeera English

November 20, 2018

by Raksha Kumar

Nuns are joined by crowds in Kerala to demand justice for those who allege sexual abuse by powerful church figures.

The Catholic Church in India is facing a trying time, with a growing protest movement in response to allegations of sexual assault by clergymen.

In June, police in the southern Indian state of Kerala registered a case against the bishop of Roman Catholic Diocese of Jalandhar, in the northern state of Punjab.

A nun had alleged that the bishop, Franko Mulakkal, had raped her repeatedly between 2014 and 2016 at a convent in Kerala.

The nun is a member of the Missionaries of Jesus congregation based in Jalandhar.

The bishop was arrested but then released from prison on October 15 on bail on the condition that he presents himself in the police station once every fortnight.

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Opinion: Even as the Catholic Church claims to come clean, something is not right

WASHINGTON D.C.
Washington Post

November 23, 2018

By Elizabeth Bruenig

The only thing that can save the Roman Catholic Church in America is the truth, and the truth is going to hurt. This is the choice facing the ecclesial establishment, which must decide either to release its vast records related to clergy sexual abuse, or wait for state and federal investigations to deprive them of those documents by force of law. If the church awaits the latter, then the Pennsylvania grand jury report that sparked this summer’s blistering revisitation of the sex abuse crisis will only be the beginning.

On a certain level, the church seems to know that disclosure is not only what its members desire but also the only way ahead. Even Cardinal Donald Wuerl, who resigned as archbishop of Washington after revelations that he protected sexually abusive priests while a bishop in Pittsburgh from 1988 to 2006, seemed to intuit as much. One of Wuerl’s last official acts was to release a list of 31 clergy credibly accused of sexual assault over the past several decades. The move, Wuerl wrote, represented “a necessary step toward full transparency and accountability and the process of healing.”

Wuerl’s diagnosis was correct. But the list left survivors and parishioners unsettled, with lingering doubts about the archdiocese’s honesty.

The list included Peter Michael McCutcheon, a Maryland priest who pleaded guilty in 1986 to sexually molesting three boys over several years. The archdiocese document asserted that McCutcheon’s conduct had come to its attention only in 1986, the year he was arrested and convicted. But those familiar with McCutcheon’s brief career found themselves questioning the archdiocese’s claim.

“When the list stated they knew in 1986, I thought: They are continuing to give the impression of innocence on their part,” said McCutcheon’s sister-in-law, Diana McCutcheon, the mother of two of the priest’s victims. “And how will anyone believe what they have to say going forward?”

Diana McCutcheon’s doubts are not unfounded. Court documents and interviews with parishioners familiar with Peter McCutcheon’s behavior suggest that church officials had ample indications of his disturbing conduct several years before his arrest. But instead of dealing with it, they appear to have moved him from parish to parish while the abuse continued.

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Pope Picks Cupich For Committee On Catholic Sex Abuse Crisis

CHICAGO (IL)
CBSLocal.com

November 23, 2018

Pope Francis has chosen Chicago Archbishop Blase Cupich as a member of the organizing committee for a Vatican summit on the sex abuse crisis that has embroiled the Catholic church.

According to Vatican News, the goal of the committee “will help to put together the analysis, the awareness, the shame, the repentance, prayer, and discernment regarding actions to be undertaken and decisions to be made in justice and in truth.”

The Catholic church has been embroiled in controversy for years involving sex abuse incidents by its clergy.

Earlier this month the Vatican told the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to delay voting on any measures that would hold bishiops accountable for failing to protect children from sexual abuse.

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Global Catholic nuns urge reporting of sex abuse to police

ROME (ITALY)
Associated Press

November 24, 2018

By Nicole Winfield

The Catholic Church’s global organization of nuns has denounced the “culture of silence and secrecy” surrounding sexual abuse in the church and is urging sisters who have been abused to report the crimes to police and their superiors.

The International Union of Superiors General, which represents more than 500,000 sisters worldwide, vowed to help nuns who have been abused to find the courage to report it, and pledged to help victims heal and seek justice.

The statement, issued on the eve of the U.N.-designated International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, was the first from the Rome-based UISG since the abuse scandal erupted anew this year and as the sexual abuse of adult nuns by clergymen has also come to light. The Associated Press reported earlier this year that the Vatican has known for decades about the problem of priests and bishops preying on nuns, but has done next to nothing to stop it.

In the statement Friday, the UISG didn’t specify clergy as the aggressors. While such abuse is well known in parts of Africa, and an Indian case of the alleged rape of a nun by a bishop is currently making headlines, there have also been cases of sexual abuse committed by women against other women within congregations.

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After Catholic Church sex abuse cover-ups, we in the pews must no longer simply pray & pay

UNITED STATES
USA Today

November 23, 2018

By Tim Roemer

Disappointed and angered once again by the Catholic Church, we lay people must act to protect our faith.

I have done a lifetime of public speaking, in the chambers of Congress in Washington and in a foreign country as a diplomat. But that was not enough to keep my knees from shaking when I stood up during Mass after the priest’s homily in August at St. Thomas à Becket and called out loudly: “Justice in the name of Christ. Justice for our children.”

It was righteous anger for our innocents — the hundreds of children recently revealed in a Pennsylvania grand jury report as victims of both sexual abuse and a cover-up by high-level Catholic clergy.

The Catholic Church has repeatedly tried to explain away its history of sexual abuse as a lamentable but distant part of its past. Yes, that was wrong, officials say, but it was a different time and we have changed.

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Oakland Catholic diocese delays release of priest sex abuse list

OAKLAND (CA)
Mercury News

November 23, 2018

By Matthias Gafni

The Oakland diocese has announced it will delay releasing the list of all priests credibly accused of sexually abusing minors until next year.

On Oct. 8, the Catholic diocese announced it would release the list in about 45 days, with the 45th day falling on the Friday after Thanksgiving. But on its website, the diocese said it needed more time and moved the new date to “after Jan. 1, 2019.”

“The primary reasons for this are two-fold,” the diocese said in a statement. “First, we have decided it is essential we contact survivors in advance of a public announcement, and this will require a sensitivity to their unique situations. Secondly, it is important we spend more time verifying the information we have on priests from religious orders and from other dioceses who served in the Oakland Diocese.”

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Jesuit Mertes wirft Kardinal Müller „klerikale Dünkel“ vor

[Jesuit Mertes accuses Cardinal Müller of “clerical conceit”]

GERMANY
New Ruhr Word

November 23, 2018

Jesuitenpater Klaus Mertes hat Kardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller ungewöhnlich scharf kritisiert und ihm „klerikale Dünkel“ vorgeworfen.

[Jesuit Father Klaus Mertes has criticized Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller with unusual harshness and accused him of “clerical arrogance”.]

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Sexueller Missbrauch im Bistum Hildesheim: Ehemaliger Messdiener belastet Bischof und Priester

[Sexual abuse in the diocese of Hildesheim: Former altar boy abused by bishop and priest]

HILDESHEIM (GERMANY)
Studio 9

November 24, 2018

By Sebastian Engelbrecht

Eine Studie enthüllte, dass auch im Bistum Hildesheim Minderjährige sexuell missbraucht wurden, ohne die Täter zu nennen. Doch hier besteht der Verdacht, dass eine Gruppe von Klerikern systematisch Missbrauch betrieb – darunter der langjährige Bischof von Hildesheim.

[A study revealed, without naming the perpetrators, that even in the Diocese of Hildesheim minors were sexually abused. But here there is a suspicion that a group of clerics systematically abuse – including the longstanding Bishop of Hildesheim.

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November 23, 2018

Another Voice: Counseling, confrontation help a sex abuse survivor

BUFFALO
Buffalo News

November 22, 2018

By David Kibler

It is good to see there is pressure on and exposure of the abuse that has been experienced by the young boys and girls at the hands of priests in the Catholic Church for so many years.

The call for the Buffalo Diocese to open up the books, be transparent about what has happened and name those abusers is important.

It is not only a way to curtail future abuse, but also an important step in helping victims to heal.

I know this because I was a victim.

Abusers may be stripped of their priesthood and possibly their freedom, and the church might compensate victims. That retribution may help for a while, but once the headlines and sensationalizing stop, the unyielding weight, the pain and loss of control from the abuse will still be felt.

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O’Malley left out of group planning child abuse prevention summit

BOSTON (MA)
Boston Globe

November 23, 2018

By Michael Levenson

Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley said Friday he looks forward to attending a high-stakes summit on child abuse prevention at the Vatican in February, even though Pope Francis conspicuously omitted his name from the committee that is organizing the event.

O’Malley’s absence from the four-member planning committee was striking because he is often considered one of Francis’ closest American advisers and is head of a Vatican advisory panel on the prevention of clergy sexual abuse.

When the list of names was released Friday, some church observers debated whether O’Malley’s absence was a sign that he has lost his stature in Rome.

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French priest, bishop convicted over sexual abuse of minors

PARIS (FRANCE)
Associated Press

November 22, 2018

A French priest has been sentenced to two years in prison for sexual abusing multiple children while his former bishop was convicted for failing to report the crimes.

A court in the city of Orleans handed down the verdict Thursday against priest Pierre de Castelet and retired Orleans bishop Andre Fort.

A court official said the ruling forbids De Castelet from working as a priest or meeting with minors, puts him on a national list of sex offenders and orders him to receive psychiatric treatment.

Fort was given an eight-month suspended sentence. Three victims were awarded 16,000 euros ($18,245) each in damages.

Predominantly Catholic France has seen priests accused of sexual abuse but has not faced a national scandal or reckoning like that seen in some other countries.

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French priest charged with child rape, in new blow to church

PARIS (FRANCE)
Associated Press

November 23, 2018

A French priest has been handed preliminary charges of raping minors in the latest blow to the Catholic Church in France.

The regional prosecutor’s office said the Rev. Robert Bonan was arrested Tuesday in the town of Lautenbach near the German border. The charges were based on multiple complaints, some dating to the 1980s.

His archbishop, Monsignor Luc Ravel, called it a “disaster for humanity.” In a diocese statement Friday, he praised those “who came forward, in great suffering.” He promised the church would help seek justice for these “terrifying crimes” and urged other victims of priest abuse to step forward.

Another French priest was sentenced to two years in prison this week for sexual abusing multiple children while his former bishop was convicted for failing to report the crimes.

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California diocese delays releasing names of accused priests

OAKLAND (CA)
Associated Press

November 23, 2018

A Northern California diocese that had pledged to release the names of priests credibly accused of sex abuse says it needs more time.

The Diocese of Oakland announced in early October that it would publish names within 45 days, but now says publication won’t be until after Jan. 1, 2019 for two reasons.

The diocese says it has decided to contact survivors in advance of a public announcement and that it needs more time to verify information on priests from other orders and dioceses who served in Oakland.

A law firm suing California bishops has compiled a report of clergy in the San Francisco Bay Area it says are accused of misconduct. Attorney Jeff Anderson says the report lists nearly 100 accused in the Diocese of Oakland.

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“We are taught to never call police:” Former Montcalm Co. church members share alleged abuse stories

CARSON CITY (MI)
Fox 17 TV

November 22, 2018

More former members of the Church of Carson City are coming forward and sharing their stories of alleged abuse and torment.

Claims of how the church allegedly hid accusations of child sexual abuse for decades first aired on FOX 17 on Tuesday. Those claims came to light after a woman was arrested for vandalizing the church last month.

More people are coming forward adding to the long list of those who have left what’s commonly called the ‘Shermanite Church’ by locals. Their stories give more insight into what life was allegedly like as a Shermanite.

Peter Michelsen and his two sisters shared their stories of alleged sexual abuse and torment with the Church of Carson City on Tuesday. Now, three more people are sharing their stories with FOX 17.

“There was a lot of tongues and prophecy that goes on,” said former member Dan Newhall.

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O’Malley left off Pope’s organizing committee for abuse prevention summit

VATICAN CITY
Associated Press via the Boston Globe

November 23, 2018

By Nicole Winfield

Pope Francis named the Vatican’s top sex abuse investigator and a close U.S. ally to an organizing committee for a February abuse prevention summit that has grown even more high stakes after the Holy See blocked U.S. bishops from taking action to address the scandal.

Abuse survivors and women working at the Vatican will also contribute to the preparatory committee. Notably absent from the lineup announced Friday was Boston Cardinal Sean O’Malley, who heads the pope’s sex abuse advisory commission, though one of his members, the Rev. Hans Zollner, is the point-person for the group.

In addition to Zollner, the committee includes Maltese Archbishop Charles Scicluna, for a decade the Vatican’s sex crimes prosecutor, Francis appointee Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich and Indian Cardinal Oswald Gracias, a member of Francis’ key cardinal adviser group.

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The Pennsylvania report on clergy sex abuse spawned a wave of probes nationwide. Now what?

UNITED STATES
The Washington Post

November 22, 2018

By Tom Jackman, Michelle Boorstein and Julie Zauzmer

The explosive report about sexual abuse by Catholic priests unveiled by a Pennsylvania grand jury in August has set off an unprecedented wave of investigations over the last several months, with attorneys general in 14 states and the District of Columbia announcing probes and demanding documents from Catholic officials. Those efforts have been joined by a federal investigation out of Philadelphia that may become national in scope.

The swift and sweeping response by civil authorities contrasts sharply with the Vatican’s comparatively glacial pace. While some U.S. dioceses have published lists of priests they say have been credibly accused of sexual abuse and two cardinals have been ousted, the Vatican this month put on hold a vote by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops on measures to hold bishops more accountable until after a global synod in early 2019. In the meantime, Rome has done little to address the crisis.

“The Catholic Church has proven that it cannot police itself,” said Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan (D), whose state is among those investigating. “And civil authorities can’t let the church hide child sexual abuse allegations as personnel matters. They’re crimes. We need a full accounting of the church.”

The new investigations are taking place in a very different climate than existed in 2002, when the Boston Globe exposed decades of abuse and coverups in that city. Many lay Catholics have lost faith in the church’s ability to right itself and are pushing for civil authorities to hold high-ranking church officials accountable. There’s also a greater willingness by law enforcement to do battle with a church that has become a far less formidable local presence. And the graphic grand jury report has spurred widespread public outrage.

However, hope for action won’t be satisfied quickly. Following an initial flurry of news conferences and calls to hotlines set up for the public to report abuse, there is likely to be an extended period of silence while prosecutors gather evidence.

State and federal prosecutors have three tools at their disposal: criminal charges against allegedly guilty priests or even the bishops believed to have abetted their abuse, civil suits against individuals or larger church entities, and public reports that expose the names and deeds of accused abusers without formal action.

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