ABUSE TRACKER

[Felipe Berríos and the Catholic survey downturn: “People require a more mature religion, not based on the threat of hell”]

CHILE
La Tercera

December 18, 2018

By Sebastián Minay

“No nos imaginamos el tamaño de los abusos” cometidos por religiosos, dice sacerdote jesuita, quien recalca que eso dañó hasta las confianzas de los sacerdotes, y con mayor razón de la gente. Para él, la caída en quienes se declaran católicos y en la confianza en las iglesias -según el sondeo conocido hoy- era al menos de esperar.

“La religión debería ser un camino para encontrarse con el Evangelio. Pero hasta ahora ha sido un estorbo para llegar al Evangelio”, es una de las conclusiones que el sacerdote jesuita Felipe Berríos saca a los pocos minutos de conocer algunos números de la encuesta sobre religión que mostró esta mañana el Centro de Estudios Públicos (CEP). La caída en quienes se declaran católicos y en quienes confían en las iglesias son para él, en parte, consecuencia del descrédito ganado tras tantos abusos sexuales cometidos por religiosos, pero también de la relación entre la institución y los creyentes.

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[Cardinal Ezzati’s defense: “There is no record of cover-up”]

CHILE
La Tercera

December 17, 2018

By Sergio Rodríguez

El 30 de enero, en el 13° Juzgado de Garantía de Santiago, se discutirá posible sobreseimiento.

“No existe antecedente alguno que permita imputar al señor cardenal la calidad de encubridor de abuso sexual, siendo ésta la razón por la cual le aconsejé ejercer su derecho a guardar silencio, máxime si se iba a discutir el sobreseimiento definitivo en dos días más”.

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SEATTLE (WA)
Seattle Times

December 18, 2018

By Asia Fields

Gonzaga University President Thayne McCulloh has denied knowing that priests who had retired on campus had histories of sexual abuse, calling the revelations in an investigation published Monday “deeply disturbing.”

The investigation by Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting and Northwest News Network found that at least 20 priests had been sent to retire at the Cardinal Bea House on Gonzaga’s campus, despite supervisors knowing they had sexually abused children. While the house is on the campus, it’s owned and operated by the Jesuit order of the Catholic Church.

In a statement some alumni received Tuesday around 2 a.m., McCulloh said the school was not notified of the priests’ past abuse. McCulloh said he learned that some priests living in the Cardinal Bea House were under “supervised safety plans” following the 2011 Oregon Province bankruptcy, but said he did not know any were Jesuits until 2016.

“I had relied upon the Province to inform us of any Jesuit whose history might pose a threat to our students or campus community,” he said. “I deeply regret that I was not informed of the presence of Fr. Poole, nor any other Jesuit who might pose such a danger, at Cardinal Bea House.”

Reveal and Northwest News Network’s investigation identified Father James Poole as a serial sexual predator whose abuse of young, mostly Alaska Native girls was known to his supervisors. He lived at the Bea House from 2003 to 2015. The former head of the Oregon Province who sent him there, Father John Whitney, told reporters it was the only facility in the province where abusive priests could be monitored.

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SPOKANE (WA)
Spokesman-Review

December 18, 2018

By Chad Sokol

In a statement Monday, Gonzaga University President Thayne McCulloh said the school “has zero tolerance for sexual misconduct of any form” and encouraged victims to file confidential reports at gonzaga.edu/report.

“It is university policy to cooperate fully with any and all investigations of abuse and to take swift action when warranted,” McCulloh wrote.

He said students might also find help at Gonzaga’s Center for Cura Personalis, Health and Counseling Services and Office of Mission and Ministry, while school employees can try the confidential Employee Assistance Program.

McCulloh wrote that “anyone who has been victimized by a Jesuit” should contact law enforcement, child protective services and Mary Pat Panighetti, the advocacy coordinator for Jesuits West, at (408) 893-8398 or mppanighetti@jesuits.org.

Gonzaga University’s president responded late Monday to an investigative report detailing how Jesuit priests accused of sexually abusing children were sent to live in a retirement home on the school’s campus near downtown Spokane.

In a forcefully worded statement, President Thayne McCulloh said he was disturbed by accounts published over the weekend by the Northwest News Network and the Emeryville, California-based Center for Investigative Reporting. He said no priests accused of sexual abuse are currently living in Jesuit retirement homes on or near campus, and he demanded guarantees that no such priests would be assigned there again.

The news story, which appeared in print and on the center’s popular podcast “Reveal,” covers many aspects of the Catholic abuse scandal previously reported by The Spokesman-Review. But it adds new details to the story of the Rev. James Poole, a priest who admitted under oath that he molested indigenous women and girls during his time with a radio station in Nome, Alaska.

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SAN DIEGO (CA)
Union Tribune

December 18, 2018

By Peter Rowe Encinitas

At least three women say the former associate pastor of St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Encinitas tried to seduce them.

The allegations rocked the congregation Sunday, Dec. 16, when parishioners opened the church bulletin to find an apology from Bishop Robert McElroy “to all who were subjected to this terrible mistreatment…

“There is no room in the Church or the priesthood for this reprehensible type of misconduct,” McElroy wrote.

This message was a startling departure from the usual church bulletin fare, such as the Christmas Mass schedule and a notice about an upcoming marriage encounter retreat. McElroy, who this fall held a series of “listening sessions” for churchgoers disturbed by an ongoing clergy sexual abuse crisis, has preached the need to be more open about these scandals.

The Rev. Ben Vincent Awongo, 55, left St. John’s on Sept. 1 after the diocese received the second allegation. The first was anonymous and its author could not be found. The second came in August, and led to Awongo’s dismissal.

A member of the Missionary Order of the Apostles of Jesus, a group composed primarily of African priests, Awongo was born in Uganda. He had been working in the San Diego diocese since December 2014.

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INDIANAPOLIS (IN)
CBS 4 News

December 18, 2018

Five priests with ties to Indiana, including three formerly with Indianapolis’ Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School, face allegations of sexual abuse.

The Midwest Province of the Society of Jesus released their names this week. The group said those appearing on the list have had at least one “established allegation” of sexual abuse of a minor since 1955. The organization defined an “established allegation” as a case in which there is “a reasonable certainty that the sexual abuse of a minor occurred.”

Here’s the list of priests with ties to Indiana:

Michael E. Dorrier had at least one incident with a minor while at Brebeuf in 1990. He has been permanently removed from public ministry.

Benard P. Knoth had at least one incident with a minor while at Brebeuf, where he was missioned from 1986 to 1988. He was dismissed and laicized in August 2009. The Archdiocese of Indianapolis said in October that Knoth was accused of abuse in 1978.

Donald O’Shaughnessy faces at least one allegation of sexual abuse. He was at Brebeuf in the 1960s and Loyola Academy in Wilmette, Illinois, in the 1970s. He died in 2013. The Archdiocese of Indianapolis said O’Shaughnessy was accused of sexually abusing two minors in 1965.

Thomas Gannon is accused of multiple abuse cases in Gary as well as Cleveland and Chicago. He died in 2001.

Charles Sullivan faces a single abuse allegation at Our Lady of the Springs Church in French Lick that happened between 1958 and 1959. He died in 1996.

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ROME (ITALY)
Associated Press

December 18, 2018

By Nicole Wiinfield

Organizers of an upcoming Vatican summit on sex abuse prevention are warning that the credibility of the Catholic Church is in jeopardy over the abuse scandal and are urging participants to meet with victims personally before coming to Rome.

In a letter sent Tuesday to the presidents of bishops’ conferences worldwide, organizers said the church must develop a “comprehensive and communal response” to the crisis, and that the first step is “acknowledging the truth of what has happened.”

Pope Francis invited the church leaders to the Feb. 21-24 summit to respond to what has become the gravest threat to his papacy, as the sex abuse and cover-up scandal erupted in the U.S., Chile and elsewhere this year.

In revealing the first details of the preparations for the meeting, the Vatican said the summit would focus on three main areas: responsibility, accountability and transparency.

“Absent a comprehensive and communal response, not only will we fail to bring healing to victim survivors, but the very credibility of the Church to carry on the mission of Christ will be in jeopardy throughout the world,” the organizers wrote.

“Each of us needs to own this challenge, coming together in solidarity, humility, and penitence to repair the damage done, sharing a common commitment to transparency, and holding everyone in the church accountable,” they said.

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MILWAUKEE (WI)
Wisconsin Public Radio

December 18, 2018

By Ximena Conde

At least eight Wisconsin priests and one brother are among more than 60 alleged abusers named Monday on a list by the USA Midwest Province of the Society of Jesus.

The list is not a legal judgment but bears the names of people where the province deemed there was “reasonable certainty” abuse of a minor had taken place.

The Midwest Province is the fourth in the country to release such a list of names. The names are for investigations run by the province that have ended across Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

A person can see by each name if there were single or multiple allegations against the priest and when the alleged abuse occurred.

Places where Wisconsin priests were accused include Campion Jesuit High School in Prairie du Chien, Marquette University High School in Milwaukee and St. Eugene Parish in Fox Point.

The Rev. Glenn Chun helped publish the information, which was put together from “established allegations” submitted to the province. He said the hope in publishing the names is to help past victims in the healing process.

“As well as to help those (who) may have not reported abuse, to help them to be ready to report what has occurred to them,” Chun said, adding that the plan is to keep the list up to date as ongoing investigations close.

Chun said the province has heard the public’s demands to release assignment records of these priests suspected of abuse, and officials are working on compiling those records with a plan to make them public.

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NORWALK (OH)
Norwalk Reflector

December 18, 2018

By Cory Shaffer

The Midwestern region of the Jesuit church on Monday released the names of priests who have been credibly accused of sexual abuse of minors in two regions, including one covering Northeast Ohio.

The list includes 10 former Jesuits who were accused while either serving in or visiting Northeast Ohio at the time the sexual abuse occurred, according to the Midwest U.S. Jesuit Provinces.

The majority of the abuse occurred between the 1950s and 1970s, and many of the accused priests are now dead.

The release comes after similar releases by Catholic Dioceses across the country. The Cleveland Diocese has published a list of credibly accused priests since a sweeping grand jury inquiry in the early 2000s. The grand jury results have been kept under wraps in keeping with grand jury secrecy laws in Ohio.

“As we look back at our history, the failures of the Society of Jesus and the Church to protect those entrusted to its care fill our hearts with outrage, sorrow and shame,” the Rev. Brian Paulson, provincial of the Midwest Jesuits, wrote in a letter coinciding with the release. “On behalf of the Midwest Jesuits, I apologize to victim-survivors and their families for the harm and suffering you have endured. Many of you have suffered in silence for decades.”

The church also hired an investigative service out of Chicago to conduct an independent review of the church’s records in 2019 and will update the list if the service turns up credible allegations against any other priests.

The Rev. Henry A. Brockman faced multiple allegations during the 1950s and 1960s while he served at St. Ignatius High School in Cleveland. Brockman died in 1973.

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WHEELING (WV)
The Intelligencer

December 18, 2018

Three priests who once served in the Northern Panhandle are on a list of those who face “credible or established” accusations of sexual abuse of minors that a Roman Catholic Jesuit province released Monday.

Among the names released by the Maryland Province of the Society of Jesus are Robert B. Cullen, who served at Central Catholic High School from 1982-1983 and Wheeling Jesuit College (now Wheeling Jesuit University) from 1983-1990; Louis A. Bonacci, who served at WJU from 1999-2003; and Francis C. Bourbon, who served at WJU from 1992-1993 and 1996-2003 as well as St. Paul’s Church in Weirton from 1993-1994.

None of the allegations occurred when the priests served here.

Bourbon’s occurred in Virginia, while both Cullen and Bonacci’s occurred in Maryland. Cullen and Bourbon have died. Bonacci, who is the only one of the three that also appears on a similar list released Nov. 29 by the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, was removed from active ministry in 2011. He then left the Jesuits in 2014.

Tim Bishop, spokesman for the Wheeling diocese, said Monday night he could not speak to the method used by the Jesuits to determine what constituted a credible allegation. He said the province could have had additional information about its priests that the diocese did not have.

“They would have access to the files for their priests,” he said.

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ROME (ITALY)
Associated Press

December 18, 2018

Former St. Paul and Minneapolis Archbishop John Nienstedt says he would welcome an investigation into an allegation of sexual misconduct that he claims is untrue.

In a Monday email to The Associated Press, Nienstedt says it’s difficult to defend himself against the claims because it’s his word against the accusers’ and he doesn’t want to harm them.

Nienstedt was responding to a letter his successor, Archbishop Bernard Hebda, sent to the faithful on Friday in which he said Nienstedt was accused of inviting two minors to a hotel room in 2005 at a Vatican-organized youth rally in Germany to change out of wet clothes. Hebda said he forwarded that allegation to a Vatican official in 2016, after Nienstedt resigned.

Hebda said the allegation needs to be fully addressed before Nienstedt’s suitability for ministry can be determined and that Nienstedt won’t serve in public ministry in the archdiocese.

Nienstedt resigned as archbishop in 2015 after Minnesota prosecutors charged the archdiocese with having failed to protect children from a predator priest who was later convicted of molesting two boys.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
USA Today

December 17, 2018

By Kevin Johnson

Law enforcement officials from up to 45 states have sought assistance from Pennsylvania authorities in pursuit of alleged misconduct by Catholic priests and related efforts to conceal that abuse by the church, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro said.

Shapiro, in an interview with USA TODAY, said the surge of outside inquiries has come just in the past four months since a landmark state grand jury investigation found that more than 300 “predator” priests had abused at least 1,000 victims across six decades.

Since August, the attorney general said, Pennsylvania authorities have joined forces with their counterparts across the country, helping them craft search warrant applications and grand jury subpoenas.

Fourteen state attorneys general so far have publicly acknowledged that they have launched separate clergy abuse inquiries, while the U.S. Justice Department is in the midst of a broader review disclosed in October by church officials who had received demands for documents.

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SCRANTON (PA)
Citizens Voice

December 18, 2018

By Kathleen Bolus and David Singleton

A Jesuit organization released a list Monday detailing allegations of sexual abuse within the order that includes a priest with local ties who was previously not reported.

The Rev. Francis C. Bourbon, S.J., who was not identified in the state grand jury report or by the Diocese of Scranton, served at Scranton Prep from 1969-77 and 1978-81. Bourbon appeared Monday — alongside five other priests who at one point served locally — on a list of Jesuits Credibly Accused of Sexual Abuse of a Minor. The information dates back to 1950 and was released by the Maryland Province Jesuits, a Catholic religious order with priests serving across eight states including Pennsylvania.

Bourbon was accused of a “single allegation of unwanted kiss” in Buckingham, Virginia, around 1985, according the list. His last assignment was at the Wheeling Jesuit University in Wheeling, West Virginia, from 1996-2003. He died in 2007.

“We are deeply sorry for the harm we have caused to victims and their families,” a release on the providence’s website states. “We hope that this disclosure of names will contribute to reconciliation and healing.”

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ROME (ITALY)
Associated Press

December 18, 2018

Pope Francis announced Tuesday a shakeup of the Vatican’s communications operations, replacing the longtime editor of the Holy See newspaper and naming a prominent Italian journalist to coordinate the editorial line of all Vatican media.

Andrea Tornielli, Vatican reporter for Turin daily La Stampa, was named to the new position of editorial director for the Dicastery of Communications, responsible for coordinating the Vatican’s editorial operations.

In addition, the Vatican named an Italian writer and professor, Andrea Monda, to become editor of L’Osservatore Romano newspaper. He replaces Giovanni Maria Vian, a church historian and journalist who has headed the daily since 2007.

The Vatican’s media operations have been undergoing a problematic reform process aimed at reducing redundancies and improving coordination. Among its victims was Vatican Radio and its vast multilingual broadcasts.

The first head of the revamped umbrella communications office, which gathered all Vatican media under one department, was forced to resign earlier this year after he misrepresented a letter from retired Pope Benedict XVI and released a doctored photo of it.

Francis named Paolo Ruffini, who had led the broadcaster of the Italian bishops’ conference, to replace him — the first time a layman had been named to head a Holy See department. In a statement Tuesday, Ruffini said both Tornielli and Monda were bridge-builders who know how to speak to various generations and develop new means of communications.

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DETROIT (MI)
Channel 4 News

December 17, 2018

By Rod Meloni

Archbishop Allen Vigneron shocked some Catholics when he addressed the priest sex abuse scandal and disagreed with the Vatican.

Vigneron’s Advent letter to parishioners expressed his concerns about the sex abuse scandal. It’s highly unusual to see this type of public rift between Rome and its bishops, and the controversy is deeply upsetting to some Catholics.

“I am tempted to discouragement in the face of the ongoing abuse crisis,” Vigneron said in the letter.

He was discouraged by Pope Francis after he gave an order to American bishops at a recent Baltimore meeting.

“I was among many who were surprised and concerned that the Holy See instructed the bishops not to vote on any of our abuse-related proposals,” Vigneron said in the letter.

He further elaborated on the radio.

“I think, unfortunately, we weren’t able to vote, but again, in God’s providence I can see he can bring good out of that,” Vigneron said.

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ROME (ITALY)
Associated Press

December 18, 2018

A prominent US archbishop is asking the Vatican for answers about the status of an investigation into alleged sexual misconduct by his predecessor, who was forced to resign in 2015.

St. Paul and Minneapolis Archbishop Bernard Hebda wrote a remarkable letter to his flock on Friday in which he revealed he sent the Vatican in 2016 a new allegation of improprieties with minors against retired Archbishop John Nienstedt.

County prosecutors informed Hebda of the allegation, he said. It accused Nienstedt of inviting two minors to his hotel room in 2005 at a Vatican-organised youth rally in Germany to change out of wet clothes, the archbishop wrote.

Hebda said Nienstedt “then proceeded to undress in front of them and invited them to do the same”. He noted that Nienstedt denied the allegation.

Nienstedt was forced to resign as archbishop after Minnesota prosecutors charged the Twin Cities archdiocese with failing to protect children from a predator priest who was later convicted of molesting two boys.

Nienstedt was one of the first US bishops known to have been forced from office for botching sex abuse investigations. He also faced allegations of engaging in inappropriate sexual behavior with adults. He denied misconduct, and the archdiocese hired two law firms to investigate, but the results were never made public.

Hebda said as far as he knew, the Vatican suspended the 2014 investigation when Nienstedt resigned in June 2015. He called for a resolution to that probe, and for information about the alleged World Youth Day incident.

“My opinion is this allegation needs to be fully addressed before a definitive resolution of Archbishop Nienstedt’s suitability for ministry can be made,” Hebda wrote.

The Vatican didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.

Nienstedt, who was bishop of New Ulm at the time of the alleged incident in Germany, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. But he denied it in an email to the Minneapolis Star Tribune and welcomed an investigation.

“I do deny the veracity of this allegation,” he said. “That being said, I don’t want to speak poorly of the men making these accusations. I welcome an impartial look at the facts and the opportunity to defend myself.”

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WASHINGTON (DC)
Religion News Service

December 17, 2018

By Jack Jenkins

All U.S.-based provinces of the Society of Jesus are releasing the names of clerics they say are credibly accused of child sex abuse, joining other Catholic institutions that are embracing increased transparency as they rush to respond to the resurgence of the Catholic sex abuse crisis.

The revelations are seen as an important step by the Society of Jesus, the Catholic church’s largest male religious order of priests, commonly referred to as Jesuits, which claims more than 16,000 members worldwide, including the pope. Although it does not represent the whole of Catholicism, the group is deeply influential both inside and outside the church: Jesuits operate or are affiliated with several U.S. colleges and universities, including Boston College, Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and Santa Clara University in Northern California.

On Monday, the society’s Midwest province in the U.S. published the names of 65 priests it says have an “established allegation” of sexual abuse of children since 1955.

The accused priests were broken down into three categories: 37 accused of sexual abuse of a minor who were investigated while the Jesuit was living or against whom multiple established allegations were received after his death; 18 with a single established allegation received after his death; and 10 whose names have already been published in another place.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
Catholic News Service

December 18, 2018

Survivors of sexual abuse by clergy, lay employees or lay volunteers in the Diocese of Erie will be eligible to file financial claims with a new compensation fund.

The Survivors’ Reparation Fund will launch in February and was described as an option for abuse survivors who are prevented from seeking compensation through the courts under Pennsylvania’s statute of limitations regarding sexual assault.

Erie Bishop Lawrence T. Persico announced the establishment of the fund Dec. 14 in a news release, saying it would be independently administered by a leading expert who has overseen other compensation funds established in response to high-profile cases.

“It is my sincere hope that the establishment of the Diocese of Erie’s Survivors’ Reparation Fund will provide some measure of justice, closure and validation for the terrible acts that victims endured,” Persico said.

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NEW YORK (NY)
Patheos blog

December 17, 2018

By Rick Snedeker.

There’s good news and bad regarding the Catholic Church’s continuing clergy sex-abuse scandal.

The good news is that American bishops are beginning, independent of papal direction, to publicly release lists of priests “credibly accused” of sexual abuse crimes, particularly against children.

The bad news is that it’s not as simple as it sounds.

As the Catholic Church faces a wave of federal and state attorney general investigations into its handling of sex abuse, bishops around the country have struggled with how to react. Some have locked down defensively. Others are waiting on guidance from the Vatican, which instructed American bishops last month to wait on taking any collective action until the new year.

But dozens of bishops have decided to take action by releasing lists of the priests in their dioceses who were credibly accused of abuse. And they are being released at an unprecedented pace.

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KANSAS CITY (MO)
National Catholic Reporter

December 17, 2018

By Tom Roberts

In the Catholic universe, time doesn’t provide any barriers from the ongoing fallout from the sex abuse scandal. Perhaps time will eventually bring healing, but in this moment the crisis slides from the year gone by to the next, seemingly gaining momentum by the month as bishops finally open the files and provide lists of abusers. It’s only taken 33 years. The moves are not a sign that the episcopacy suddenly became aware of how utterly corrupt its culture had become. They are more a measure of how great the pressure from the outside has become..

Most of it is old stuff, true, but old stuff newly revealed and the scope of the crime and the cover-up overwhelms. Some, like Fr. David Knight of Memphis, in responding to Melinda Henneberger, who’s had enough and has left, say sin has always been a part of the deal, so “hang in there.” But systemic (and increasingly global) cover-up of child rape and molestation by the leadership of the church?

Between those polls, some newly outraged have decided to stay and fight and one of the high-profile Catholics in that endeavor is Timothy Roemer, who served as a Democrat in Congress from Indiana’s 3rd District (1991-2003) and as ambassador to India (2009-2011).

Recently he had a column published in USA Today which he begins by describing the scene in August where, after a homily he heard at St. Thomas à Becket Catholic Church in Reston, Virginia, he shouted, “Justice in the name of Christ. Justice for our children.”

That justice, he believes, demands action of the people in the pews who should “suspend institutional giving” and send funds instead to such groups as Catholic Charities, Catholic Relief Services and other local agencies serving the poor and marginalized.

Laity should also demand that bishops send all records relating to sex abuse to state attorneys general, he said, and be involved in clergy assignments where the safety of children is in question.

“What pushed me to write the piece was my faith in God colliding with the inaction and the negligence of the church,” he told me in a recent phone conversation. “I’ve never seen in my lifetime the amount of percolating anger and frustration from practicing Catholics every Sunday going to church now feeling as though they have been gutted.”

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ST. LOUIS (MO)
Riverfront Times

December 17, 2018

By Doyle Murphy

Former Dojo Pizza owner Loren Copp is scheduled to learn his fate the day after Christmas.

The 49-year-old is facing nine felony charges, including producing, attempting to produce and possessing child porn. The alleged victims included underage girls who stayed with him while their parents struggled with poverty and addiction.

He was the subject of an RFT cover story in December 2015.

An ex-pastor, Copp ran a karate studio, community center, rooming house and pizza restaurant out of a converted church in the Bevo Mill neighborhood. He represented himself in April during a bench trial in federal court, personally cross-examining girls who claim he took illicit photos and sexually abused them.

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COLUMBIA (MO)
Columbia Missourian

December 17, 2018

By Emily Johnson

Two names were added to the list of priests and religious leaders accused of abuse and released by the Diocese of Jefferson City over the weekend.

The original list, released on Nov. 8 by Bishop W. Shawn McKnight, contained 33 names. The two additions brought the total to 35.

The two names added are Don Greene and Mel Lahr, and the status of Robert Duesdieker was changed. Greene is no longer living. Lahr was removed from the ministry along with Duesdieker. Lahr’s removal was due to a “credible allegation of violation of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People,” the diocese said via a statement on its website. Duesdieker was also removed for a violation of the charter.

Duesdieker’s status was changed, as Bishop W. Shawn McKnight believed the standards for the Charter for The Protection of Children and Young People were now applicable. Previously, Duesdieker was “unsuitable for ministry out of concern for the safety of our youth,” according to the diocese’s website.

On December 5, the Diocesan Review Board recommended the two names be added and one status be changed, which Bishop W. Shawn McKnight approved.

Helen Osman, director of diocesan communications, said the two additional allegations were reviewed after the release of the initial list on Nov. 8, thus delaying their additions to the list of accused.

The diocese has said the last case of abuse occurred in 1997. After that, the diocese said it received two credible allegations of violations of the U.S. Bishops’ Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People. One of the violations was inappropriate use of social media, and the other involved internet pornography depicting minors.

The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), a support group for individuals harmed by religious authorities, has been critical of the diocese’s efforts at transparency about abuse within the church.

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CHICAGO (IL)
Sun Times

December 17, 2018

A report released Monday by the Midwest Province of Jesuits shows that 18 Jesuit priests assigned to schools and churches in the Chicago area were accused of engaging in sexual abuse between 1944 and 2005.

In all, 65 Jesuit priests and brothers were named in the order’s report. The Midwest Province of Jesuits — a subsection of the religious order within the Catholic Church — operates in 12 states from as far east as Ohio to as far west as Wyoming. The full list of accused Jesuits can be found here.

“On behalf of the Midwest Jesuits, I apologize to victim-survivors and their families for the harm and suffering you have endured,” the Rev. Brian G. Paulson, SJ Provincial of the Midwest Jesuits said in a statement. “We recognize that our feelings on this day are nothing compared to the depth of suffering endured by those who have been abused, especially by one as trusted as a priest or vowed religious.”

Loyola Academy, the North Shore high school operated by the Jesuits, saw six priests accused of sexual abuse between 1964 and 1988.

Among that half dozen was the now deceased Donald McGuire, the defrocked former priest who was convicted by a Wisconsin jury in 2006 of molesting two Loyola Academy students while on a retreat near Lake Geneva in the 1960s.

In 2008, he was convicted in Chicago on federal charges that he brought a minor across state lines to engage in sex.

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SALT LAKE CITY (UT)
Salt Lake City Tribune

December 17, 2018

By Jessica Miller

In its most detailed account to date, the Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City released the names Monday of every priest in Utah who has faced “credible allegations” of sexual misconduct with minors since 1950.

The diocese, which oversees Utah’s 300,000-plus Catholics, also announced the retirement of one priest who had been on leave after allegations surfaced earlier this year.

The diocese received three complaints this year about the Rev. David R. Gaeta, who was serving as pastor at St. Peter Parish in American Fork.

A report from June accused Gaeta of being in bed with a minor in 1982, according to the diocese. Another report was received in August that the priest had offered alcohol to four minors in 1982 and suggested they undress. A third report came in July alleging Gaeta touched a child’s buttocks while pushing a swing sometime this year.

The Division of Child and Family Services investigated this most recent allegation, according to the diocese, but no criminal charges were filed

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ATLANTA (GA)
CNN

December 17, 2018

By Daniel Burke

Two Jesuit provinces in the United States released lists of 84 clergy credibly accused of sexually abusing minors, the latest revelations in the Catholic Church’s long-running and morally damaging sexual abuse crisis.

The two lists, released separately on Monday by the provinces of Maryland and the Midwest, follow two lists released December 7 by the Jesuits’ West and Central/Southern provinces. A fifth North American province, the Northeast, plans to release its list of accused clergy on January 15, according to a spokesman.

Combining the four public lists, more than 230 Jesuits have been credibly accused of sexually abusing a minor in the United States since the 1950s, according to the provinces. Most of the alleged abuse occurred decades ago, before many parts of the Catholic Church in the United States instituted new safeguards after the last major sexual abuse scandal in 2002-2003.

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BUFFALO (NY)
Buffalo News

December 17, 2018

During the past few months, I have heard it argued that there is no connection between celibacy and the sexual abuse crisis that has engulfed the Catholic Church.

Declarations that “celibacy doesn’t cause pedophilia” may be true, but don’t mean that there is no connection.

In my opinion, the celibacy requirement has contributed to the severe shortage of priests.

This, I believe, has not only caused the church to be less than selective when accepting candidates for the priesthood, but is also the reason that predatory priests have been moved from place to place, hidden, and has persuaded church officials to ignore their moral and civic duties.

In the distant past, when parochial schools flourished, the church had fertile grounds from which to recruit both boys and girls to religious vocations. Children often went directly from the eighth grade to the seminary or convent.

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PITTSBURGH (PA)
Tribune Review

December 17, 2018

By Jamie Martines

Jesuits who served in Pittsburgh were among the 24 priests accused of sexual abuse since 1950 named by the order’s Maryland Province on Monday.

No reports of abuse originated in Pittsburgh, according to the province, but four of the Jesuits on the list served in Pittsburgh, including William J. Walsh, the first headmaster of the former Bishop’s Latin School, and two others who worked at the school in the 1960s.

After opening in Homewood in 1961, the school moved to East Liberty and finally the South Side before closing in 1973. It has served as the pre-seminary high school of the diocese, according to the school’s alumni page.

The Society of Jesus is the largest male religious order in the Roman Catholic church with about 17,000 members. The Maryland Province oversees Jesuits assigned throughout the District of Columbia, Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia.

Priests who are members of religious orders are typically not considered diocesan personnel.

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BALTIMORE (MD)
Agence-France Presse

December 17, 2018

Burlington Bishop Christopher Coyne (L) and Indiana Bishop Timothy Doherty, chair of the committee for the Protection of Children and Young People, at November’s US Conference of Catholic Bishops which took place amid fallout from pedophile priests scandal
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Jesuit authorities for 20 US states on Monday released the names of 89 priests with credible allegations of child sexual abuse dating as far back as 1950.

The disclosures by the Jesuit provinces of Maryland and USA Midwest are the latest chapter in the ongoing sexual abuse scandal roiling the Catholic Church and come after 153 Jesuits were publicly identified by two other provinces earlier this month.

Maryland released 24 names with allegations dating back to 1950 and USA Midwest released 65 names dating back to 1955. Many of the individuals are deceased, and some were previously publicly known to be accused of sexual assault.

“On behalf of the Midwest Jesuits, I apologize to victim-survivors and their families for the harm and suffering you have endured. Many of you have suffered in silence for decades,” Brian Paulson, head of the province headquartered in Chicago, said in an open letter.

Jesuits are the largest male religious order in the Catholic Church, with some 16,000 members worldwide. They operate 30 colleges and 81 schools in the United States and Canada.

The names made public Monday included dozens of priests with multiple allegations of abuse who served in educational institutions.

The priest with the most recent allegations was Donald McGuire who died in federal prison in 2017 while serving a 25-year sentence. His was among the names that had been previously publicized.

Numerous men have accused McGuire of molesting them when they were boys. The first allegations dated to the 1950s, when he worked at a Jesuit private high school in Chicago, and went as late as 2005.

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SALT LAKE CITY (UT)
Fox 13 News

December 17, 2018

By Mark Green

The Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City has released a list of all priests who have faced credible allegations of sexual abuse involving minors since 1950.

The diocese posted the complete list on their website Monday.

Bishop Oscar A. Solis first approved the release of the list in August, but the diocese conferred with legal counsel prior to making the list public.

“The list of credible allegations is one step toward providing the transparency that will help repair at least some of the wounds left by the wrongful actions of priests who abused their sacred trust,” Bishop Solis stated. “We continue to pray for the victims and their families and ask their forgiveness for our failure to protect them.”

The list reflects all “credible allegations” made since 1950, which the diocese defined as allegations in which the accuser and accused were in the same area around the same time of the reported abuse.

The dioceses states that credible allegations do not necessarily mean there was a final determination of guilt.

In addition to allegations from years past, the dioceses states a more recent investigation means Fr. David Gaeta will retire from active ministry with no faculties for further public ministry. That retirement will be effective January 1.

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CHICAGO (IL)
WLS TV

December 17, 2018

By Ross Weidner

The Chicago-based Roman Catholic Jesuit Midwest Province released the names of 65 accused Jesuits who they say have had an “established allegation of sexual abuse of a minor” since 1955. Forty-three of the names on the list are dead.

Since 1955, Jesuit officials say approximately 4000 Jesuits have served the province which is comprised of most of northern and eastern Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, Kentucky, and Ohio. The Midwest Province currently has 510 Jesuit members.

Fr. M. Lawrence Reuter is the only named priest listed as being from Chicago who is still alive. Reuter was President of Loyola Academy in Wilmette from 1975 to 1990. The Midwest Jesuit Province’s list says that Reuter’s “established allegations of sexual abuse of a minor” took place from 1986-1988. He also worked at Loyola University until 2002 and Loyola University Medical Center until 2010 when he was removed from active ministry.

Fr. Brian G. Paulson, SJ released a letter with the list today writing that he is “confident that God’s Spirit is leading us forward into the light.”

“As we look back at our history, the failures of the Society of Jesus and the Church to protect those entrusted to its care fill our hearts with outrage, sorrow and shame,” Fr. Paulson wrote.

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JEFFERSON CITY (MO)
KOMU 8 TV

December 15, 2018

By: Nikki Ogle and Spencer Humphrey

The Jefferson City Diocese confirmed Saturday three people were added to its list of clergy accused of abuse.

In a bulletin passed out at the end of its Saturday mass, the diocese included a statement adding the names of Robert Duesdieker, Don Greene and Mel Lahr to its list of clergy accused and/or removed from ministry in the Diocese of Jefferson City.

According to the statement, Duesdieker and Lahr were removed from ministry and Greene is deceased. It did not specify what year Duesdieker and Lahr were removed from ministry or when Greene died.

It also did not indicate when any suspected abuse took place, nor how many victims they may have had.

Saturday’s release comes more than a month after the diocese first released a list containing 33 names of clergy accused of abuse.

In the statement from the Jefferson City diocese, Bishop Shawn McKnight wrote, “This update is a result of information we received after our November 8 release and recent action by the Diocesan Review Board.”

James Offutt, a Centralia priest who recently retired, said the names on the list seem to be only of those accused of abusive acts. He said the diocese’s transparency should be “full and entire,” and include names of those who cover up abuse.

“It seems to me if you’re going to be people that are going to present the idea of transparency, compassion and integrity and honor, you ought to go all the way. Not just those who commit the immediate things, but those who cover them up, facilitate them, do whatever,” he said.

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BUFFALO (NY)
WKBW

December 14, 2018

By Anthony Reyes and Charlie Specht

Maryanski, Wolski remain barred from ministry

The Diocese of Buffalo has cleared two priests of sexual misconduct allegations and found two others guilty of the allegations after an internal review.

Allegations of child sexual abuse against the Revs. Fabian J. Maryanski and Mark J. Wolski have been substantiated and they will remain on administrative leave, the diocese said Friday in a written statement.

But allegations against the Rev. Roy Herberger and Msgr. Frederick R. Leising “have not been substantiated,” the diocese said, and the two priests have been returned to active ministry, diocesan officials said, although Leising is retired.

The decisions follow an internal diocese investigation and a review by the Diocesan Review Board, which reviews cases involving sexual abuse and misconduct against clergymen and religious sisters.

The results of the diocesan investigation continue to be reviewed by the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith at the Vatican in Rome, which will make the final determination, the diocese said.

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DES MOINES (IA)
Des Moines Register

December 17, 2018

By Shelby Fleig

Up to 45 states, including Iowa, have sought assistance from Pennsylvania authorities regarding alleged misconduct by Catholic priests in the months since a bombshell grand jury report was made public.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, in an interview with USA TODAY, said there’s been a surge of inquiries since the August report found that at least 300 priests are accused of abusing more than 1,000 children since the 1940s.

The result of a two-year grand jury investigation, the report is one of the most comprehensive looks into such abuse by the Catholic church in history.

Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller “considers this an important issue, and we want to learn from Pennsylvania and other states,” said Lynn Hicks, the attorney general’s communications director.

The Iowa attorney general’s office has participated in “several” briefings, hosted by Shapiro, to ask questions regarding the investigation in that state, Hicks said in an email.

He said he was unsure whether other Iowa law enforcement agencies have contacted Pennsylvania authorities.

Shapiro ordered the grand jury investigation that led to the historic report, which also accuses the church of a “systematic cover-up’’ by moving abusive priests from one parish to another.

More than a dozen attorneys general have since publicly acknowledged that they have launched separate clergy abuse inquiries. The U.S. Justice Department is also conducting a wide-ranging review, disclosed in October by church officials who said they received demand for documents.

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MANASSAS (VA)
Catholic Culture

December 17, 2018

Catholic By Phil Lawler

Through bitter experience over the years, I have learned never to proclaim that some trusted figure couldn’t possibly be guilty of sexual abuse. I have learned to wait, to weigh the evidence, and if a court finds the man guilty, to accept that finding.

Since I don’t know the facts, I cannot guarantee that Cardinal George Pell is innocent of the offenses of which he has been convicted in a secret trial. But I can say that a grave injustice has been done, for several reasons.

First, because in a proper legal system, not only is justice done, but justice is seen to be done. The trial of Cardinal Pell, conducted under a court-ordered media blackout, has prevented the world from knowing what evidence was presented against him, what defense was offered. We have only leaked reports: hearsay evidence. If the court had its way, we wouldn’t know that the cardinal had been convicted. To this day we don’t even know what charges were brought against him.

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WASHINGTON D.C.
The Washington Post

December 17, 2018

By Julie Zauzmer

The Maryland Province Jesuits, a Catholic religious order with priests serving throughout the Washington area and across eight states, released a list Monday of priests in the order who have been credibly accused of abusing children since the 1950s.

The list includes five living Jesuits, three who left the order, and five who have died.

“We are deeply sorry for the harm we have caused to victims and their families. We also apologize for participating in the harm that abuse has done to our Church, a Church that we love and that preaches God’s care for all, especially the most vulnerable among us,” the Rev. Robert M. Hussey, leader of the Maryland Province Jesuits, wrote in a letter accompanying the detailed list of names and accusations. “The People of God have suffered, and they rightly demand transparency and accountability. We hope that this disclosure of names will contribute to reconciliation and healing.”

The men accused of abusing minors served in high schools, including Gonzaga College High School in the District; in colleges, including St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania, Wake Forest University in North Carolina and several more; at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital; at churches in the District and Baltimore; and other institutions.

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HARTFORD (CT)
Hartford Courant

December 17, 2018

Back in the 1970s, when I was a student at St. Augustine’s in Hartford, we had an active pedophile in Daniel McSheffrey, who was a priest there. McSheffrey was loved by parents and school officials but feared by my classmates, as he should have been. Once you were summoned to his office, you were his next victim. McSheffrey had a lot of victims.

Now the archdiocese, after almost fifty years, wants to say “sorry about that” [Dec. 16, courant.com, “Archdiocese of Hartford announces it will release names of accused pedophile priests, conduct probe into decades of abuse cases”].

Where in their vocabulary does one find the phrase “a little too late”? Is it when their pews are empty? Does it happen when contributions are down? How about when the mass schedule has gone from five masses on a Sunday down to two or fewer?

Some will say that we must forgive and let go of our anger. There will be hordes of people who will say we need to heal. I say put them out of business. As unrealistic as that sounds, it’s really not a bad idea at all.

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BALTIMORE (MD)
Jesuit Province

December 17, 2018

By Rev. Brian F. Linnane

Earlier today, the Maryland Province of the Society of Jesus released a list of Jesuits with credible allegations of sexual abuse of minors since 1950.

It is with great remorse and pain that I share with you that seven Jesuits who have been previously affiliated with Loyola University Maryland or Loyola’s Jesuit Community are among those on the list: John F. X. Bellwoar, Louis A. Bonacci, Francis C. Bourbon, H. Cornell Bradley, Arthur J. Long, Garrett D. Orr, and Claude L. Ory. None of these individuals are still associated with Loyola, and none of the allegations occurred while they were on campus. You can find more information on each of those individuals and their time at Loyola in the report.

The Province’s decision to release the names is a welcome and essential step as we work toward healing within the Catholic Church. Only through transparency can we find justice and help build a stronger, better future as a Church and as a community. As a university that works to ensure a safe environment for every member of our community, we have a zero-tolerance approach to abuse and a commitment to report any allegations immediately to authorities.

This news is deeply troubling for all of us to hear, particularly for those members of our community—including alumni—who may recall interactions with these individuals. I hope you will join me not just in prayer but also in support for all survivors of clerical sexual abuse.

If you believe that you, or someone you know, has been abused by a Jesuit or a Province employee, I urge you to contact the Maryland Province by calling the Victim Assistance Coordinator at 443-370-6357, MARadvocacy@jesuits.org, or in writing to the Maryland Province of the Society of Jesus, 8600 LaSalle Rd, Suite 620, Towson, Md. 21286. If the Province’s Victim Assistance Coordinator receives an accusation involving a minor, she is required to inform law enforcement in the jurisdiction where the abuse occurred.

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[Some fiercely defend priests accused of abuses: “Even if they are found guilty, we will support them”]

CHILE
BioBioChile

December 17, 2018

By Felipe Díaz and Robinson Cardenas

“Aunque los declaren culpables los apoyaremos”. Ese es el planteamiento de quienes defienden a dos sacerdotes investigados por presuntos abusos sexuales y malversación de fondos en la Iglesia Católica de Puerto Montt.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
WJLA TV

December 17, 2018

By Courtney Pomeroy

The Maryland Province of the Society of Jesus released the names Monday of Jesuits from the province, and others who have served the province, who have been credibly accused of sexual abuse of minors since 1950.

“We are deeply sorry for the harm we have caused to victims and their families,” reads a letter accompanying the list of names. “We also apologize for participating in the harm that abuse has done to our Church, a Church that we love and that preaches God’s care for all, especially the most vulnerable among us.”

Five of the men, the group says, are current Maryland Province Jesuits or are current Jesuits from another Province whose offense took place in the Maryland Province.

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NEW SOUTH WALES
The Australian

December 16, 2018

By John Ferguson

A former chief justice will investigate how a sadistic Catholic pedophile was shifted from South Australia to NSW, where he wreaked havoc at one of the faith’s finest schools.

Former Victorian Supreme Court chief justice Marilyn ­Warren has been engaged by the Jesuits to investigate how serial offender and former brother ­Victor Higgs was able to offend in two states.

Higgs has been convicted of molesting boys from Sydney’s St Ignatius College Riverview and St Ignatius in Adelaide and was moved interstate after offending the first time.

The Australian Province of the Society of Jesus will open its books to Ms Warren to determine what the schools knew and when about Higgs’s offending.

Her findings will be published.

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ST. LOUIS (MO)
Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests

December 14, 2018

An accused DC priest will remain in jail awaiting trial despite a Pennsylvania colleague’s pleas on his behalf. We applaud the DC judge who denied this request.

According to reports, the attorney for Fr. Urbano Vazquez argued that he should be allowed to return to the “secluded parish outside of Pittsburgh where he had been staying” and said that Fr. Vazquez would be watched over by other priests living at the parish. The lawyer called one of these priests, Fr. Frank Yacobi, to so testify for the defense. Yet the judge assigned to the case ruled otherwise, harshly criticizing the request by saying “to release [Fr. Vazquez] now back in the supervision of colleagues who had been informed of such alleged behavior is troubling to me.”

We applaud this move by D.C. Superior Court Judge Juliet McKenna. Given that church officials were allegedly notified of the accusations against Fr. Vazquez in 2015, it stands to reason that they are as incapable of watching over Fr. Vazquez now as they were in adequately responding to the allegations then.

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ST. LOUIS (MO)
Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests

December 14, 2018

Each of these priests is listed in a data base of accused clerics maintained by the most credible on-line source on information on the Catholic abuse and cover up crisis, BishopAccountability.org. All have been sued, “outed” by Catholic officials, or mentioned in mainstream secular and/or religious news media, but usually in other states. Their presence in the Kansas City area is confirmed through the same sources.

A victim of one of these clerics (Fr. Coury) was represented by St. Louis attorney Ken Chackes (314 872 8420, 314 369 3902 cell, kchackes@cch-law.com). Victims of some of the accused have been represented by KC MO attorney Rebecca Randles (816 931 9901, 816 510 2704 cell, Rebecca@randlesmatalaw.com)

Jesuits
Fr. John G. O’Flaherty worked at St. Francis Xavier Church and Rockhurst College, He was named as an abuser in a March 2011 civil complaint filed in Pueblo, CO.

Fr. Eugene Maio was a priest in the KC, KS, archdiocese. He was accused in a lawsuit of sexually abusing one person at Marymount High School in Los Angeles.

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SPOKANE (WA)
Reveal

December 17, 2018

This story was produced in partnership with the Northwest News Network

By Emily Schwing, Aaron Sankin and Michael Corey

On the surface, Father James Poole seemed like the cool priest in Nome, Alaska. He founded a Catholic mission radio station that broadcast his Jesuit sermons alongside contemporary pop hits. A 1978 story in People magazine called Poole “Western Alaska’s Hippest DJ … Comin’ at Ya with Rock’n’Roll ’n’ Religion.”

Behind the radio station’s closed doors, Poole was a serial sexual predator. He abused at least 20 women and girls, according to court documents. At least one was 6 years old. One Alaska Native woman says he impregnated her when she was 16, then forced her to get an abortion and blame her father for raping her. Her father went to prison.

Like so many other Catholic priests around the country, Poole’s inappropriate conduct with young girls was well-known to his superiors. A Jesuit supervisor once warned a church official that Poole “has a fixation on sex; an obsession; some sort of mental aberration that makes him see sex everywhere.”

But the last chapter in his story reveals a new twist in the Catholic abuse scandal: Poole was sent to live out his retirement years on Gonzaga University’s campus in Spokane, Washington.

For more than three decades, Cardinal Bea House on Gonzaga’s campus served as a retirement repository for at least 20 Jesuit priests accused of sexual misconduct that predominantly took place in small, isolated Alaska Native villages and on Indian reservations across the Northwest, an investigation by the Northwest News Network and Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting has found.

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ST. PAUL (MN)
Archdiocese of St. Paul

December 14, 2018

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Many of you have reminded me that our Church needs to face today’s challenges with more direct action. Changes must be made that will prevent regression to old ways. I am taking additional steps in this Archdiocese to change the culture that fostered the clergy abuse crisis.

A new position has been created in the Office of Ministerial Standards and Safe Environment to ensure that the voice of survivors of clergy sexual abuse will be regularly heard within Archdiocesan leadership. To strengthen that voice, I want to say again today that any survivor who at any time entered into a settlement agreement containing a confidentiality provision is released from that provision. I also reiterate my pledge to meet with any survivors who would like to do so. I am leaving open all Friday afternoons in February, March and April for that purpose. Meetings at other times and places will still be available as well. Planning for spiritual outreach in 2019 is also underway. It will include opportunities, both at the parish and Archdiocesan levels, for reparation, spiritual renewal, and prayers for healing.

I also want to share a few thoughts regarding bishop accountability. This was a major topic at the recent meeting of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. As mentioned before, I strongly favor the creation of a lay-led mechanism for investigating and assessing any allegations made against me or any other bishop. It is clear to me that expanding meaningful lay involvement is essential for us to accomplish cultural change and put in place a credible and lasting process. In order to fully address bishop accountability, the Church needs a national or regional board empowered to act, much as our well-respected Ministerial Review Board has been empowered to address allegations involving our priests and deacons. The Church cannot fulfill its mission without public trust.

I remain troubled by the failure to bring closure to the 2014 investigation into allegations of inappropriate conduct with adult males leveled against my predecessor, Archbishop John Nienstedt. You will recall that Archbishop Nienstedt had delegated the investigation to his senior auxiliary bishop, who in turn sought the assistance of two separate law firms. In 2015, the investigative materials were submitted to the then-Nuncio, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò. Also in 2015, the investigation’s underlying allegations were provided by the Archdiocese to the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office. As far as I know, any effort by the Vatican to further address the allegations was suspended in June 2015 when Archbishop Nienstedt resigned his office. Thus, the matter remains unresolved for the accusers, for Archbishop Nienstedt and for the public. I share the frustration that is felt by them, and believe this situation highlights the need for a better-defined process and independent mechanism to resolve allegations made against bishops.

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MILWAUKEE (WI)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

December 17, 2018

By Annysa Johnson

More Catholic priests with ties to Wisconsin will be among those identified Monday in an ongoing effort by the Jesuit religious order to make public the names of priests and brothers with credible allegations of sexual abuse of minors and vulnerable adults.

Monday’s announcement by the Society of Jesus’ USA Midwest Province follows the release of more than 150 names by the west and south-central provinces Dec. 7. Eight of those individuals had ties to Wisconsin, including five who had worked at Marquette University or Marquette University High School in Milwaukee.

Monday’s list also is expected to include two additional Chicago priests supervised by former Marquette University President Robert Wild, who pulled his name from a new $108 million residence hall this fall, saying he mishandled allegations against three priests when he led that province from 1985 to 1991.

The Jesuits are the latest Catholic institution to divulge the names of known or suspected offenders in the wake of an August report by a Pennsylvania grand jury, which identified more than 300 abusive priests believed to have molested at least 1,000 children and prompted at least a dozen criminal investigations of church activities across the country.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
USA Today

December 17, 2018

By Kevin Johnson

Law enforcement officials from up to 45 states have sought assistance from Pennsylvania authorities in pursuit of alleged misconduct by Catholic priests and related efforts to conceal that abuse by the church, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro said.

Shapiro, in an interview with USA TODAY, said the surge of outside inquiries has come just in the past four months since a landmark state grand jury investigation found that more than 300 “predator” priests had abused at least 1,000 victims across six decades.

Since August, the attorney general said, Pennsylvania authorities have joined forces with their counterparts across the country, helping them craft search warrant applications and grand jury subpoenas.

Fourteen state attorneys general so far have publicly acknowledged that they have launched separate clergy abuse inquiries, while the U.S. Justice Department is in the midst of a broader review disclosed in October by church officials who had received demands for documents.

At the same time, Shapiro said, 1,450 calls have poured into a Pennsylvania hotline, with many of the contacts providing information not previously known to state investigators during its two-year inquiry.

“We are learning a lot of new information that we and other law enforcement agencies are investigating,” Shapiro said. “Law enforcement, in many ways, is just getting started. I think we’re probably in the third or fourth inning, meaning that we still have a good ways to go and a lot more horrors to unearth.”

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LOUDOUN COUNTY (VA)
Times Mirror

December 14, 2018

By Trevor Baratko

A Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office investigation into allegations of inappropriate conduct by a Purcellville priest has concluded with no criminal charges being sought, authorities said Friday.

Father Ronald S. Escalante, a pastor at Saint Francis de Sales Church in Purcellville, had been placed on leave during the investigation. He was accused of “boundary violations” involving a minor and adults, according to the Catholic Diocese of Arlington, which announced Escalante’s leave on Dec. 7.

Escalante denied the accusations and cooperated with the investigation, according to the diocese.

The Loudoun sheriff’s office released the following statement Friday: “On Nov. 21, 2018, the LCSO was contacted by the Catholic Diocese of Arlington regarding potential inappropriate contact by a member of their clergy in Purcellville. The investigation has concluded, and there are no criminal charges.”

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WATERBURY (CT)
Republican American

December 17, 2018

Area Catholics on Sunday expressed cautious hope for more transparency and a thorough investigation by church officials upon learning the Archdiocese of Hartford will next month publish the names of clergy members who have been “credibly accused” of sexual abusing minors over its more than 60-year history. Meanwhile, victims of that abuse expressed skepticism over […]

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WASHINGTON (DC)
National Public Radio

December 17, 2018

By Lauren Frayer

The narrow lane that leads to what may be India’s most infamous convent winds past spindly coconut palms and fat banana leaves flapping in the breeze. Tropical bird calls break through the muffled drone of female voices praying inside a house with pink stucco columns.

The bucolic setting, in the jungle of India’s southwestern Kerala state, is home to about a dozen Roman Catholic nuns who belong to the Missionaries of Jesus order. But their peace has been shattered by what allegedly happened here between 2014 and 2016.

One of the nuns says she was raped by a bishop more than a dozen times. The bishop, Franco Mulakkal, denies the nun’s accusations, and is out on bail. The Vatican has temporarily relieved him of his duties while he defends himself in court.

The alleged victim is huddled upstairs, under police guard in the convent. She has received death threats.

Meanwhile, her fellow nuns have become activists, staging street protests in her defense — a rebellion against India’s church leadership from within.

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FT. WORTH (TX)
Star Telegram

December 15, 2018

By Bill Hanna and Nichole Manna

Bishop Michael Olson says he has been as transparent as possible in dealing with the departures of priests and other decisions affecting parishes under his supervision in the Diocese of Fort Worth.

In a meeting with the Star-Telegram on Friday, Olson also addressed criticism from parishioners who say they fear retribution if they speak out against him.

“People have a right to be critical,” Olson said. “I don’t think people have a right to slander or be destructive or say untrue things.”

Olson agreed to the interview to address concerns raised in an online petition that calls for an investigation by the Catholic Church into Olson and his operations of the diocese.

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WHEELING (WV)
The Intelligencer

December 16, 2018

By Charles Rogerson

In a slow bleed, the Catholic Church is prying open secret files and releasing the names of “credibly accused” pedophile priests. The sheer numbers are staggering. Last summer, the report out of Pennsylvania listed 300 predator priests, with a number of names redacted. That eye-popping list didn’t include priests who had been named earlier.

The Wheeling-Charleston diocese listed 31 names. If nothing else, the revelations put the kibosh on the few-bad-apples excuse the church had lamely offered while still actively covering up the scandal.

And a coverup it was, of monumental proportions, conceived at the highest levels of the church hierarchy. The basic strategy was a cynical transgression of justice and decency: First, take advantage of the unassailable status of the priest to repress victims’ accusations. We’ll never know how many victims there were, because, to this day, may of them have never breathed a word about the crimes perpetrated upon them, body and soul.

Even on the family level, some parents have traditionally (and still do) send a sinister message to their children: Don’t make trouble. Don’t cause a problem. If a child victim hurdled these formidable obstacles and made the complaint, bishops and the police would often conspire to sweep the mess under the rug. Protecting the church’s reputation was always paramount. All too often, lay Catholics persecuted what few victims had the nerve to speak out.

If a particular case continued to fester, the lawyers stepped in with cash settlements, always with a non-disclosure gag-clause fastened to them. Afterward, they simply waited it out, and one could almost hear the sigh of relief which emanated from the clergy each time a specific statute-of-limitations date was reached. Meanwhile, the church would transfer the offending Father Can’t Help Himself to another parish — and not tell anyone about his penchant for molestation.

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BUFFALO (NY)
Buffalo News

December 15, 2018

By Lou Michel

One of two priests cleared of sexual misconduct allegations and returned to active ministry by the Buffalo Diocese said he holds no ill will toward Bishop Richard J. Malone or the woman who accused him of forcibly kissing her 30 years ago when she was 19.

“I’m happy with the way things turned out,” Monsignor Frederick R. Leising, 73, said Saturday. “And I really hold no animosity, not for the Bishop or the woman who made the allegations.”

Rev. Roy Herberger, 76, the other priest, expressed concern that his name was publicly released when the allegation was made against him with no evidence.

“I still don’t understand why the diocese went public and put me on administrative leave, even though there was no evidence,” Herberger said Saturday. “Anyone can make a phone call or have a lawyer write a letter.”

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MINNEAPOLIS (MN)
Star Tribune

December 14, 2018

By Tim O’Malley and Tom Johnson

Along with other lay people, we have devoted much effort over the past four years trying to help the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis reground itself as an institution worthy of public trust. Achieving cultural change is difficult. Disappointingly, past church leaders too often failed to fulfill their most basic moral obligations, leaving victims to endure ongoing pain and eroding trust in the church.

Nevertheless, despite tragic wrongdoings, we see the work the Catholic Church does for our community, including providing schools for children of all means, meals and shelter for homeless people of all faiths, as well as other services. Our communities also benefit in many ways from the efforts of honorable priests and laity. It is worthy of the effort needed to right the ship.

Like the Catholic Church nationally, this archdiocese has had its share of tragedies linked to clergy abuse, resulting in civil lawsuits, bankruptcy and even criminal prosecution. In the last few years, steps have been taken to earn back the trust of victim-survivors and the public. Lay people with suitable skills are in place to help create safe environments and to objectively address allegations of clergy misconduct. Other archdiocesan initiatives make clear the necessity of tapping into lay expertise. We need these demonstrable actions.

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MODESTO (CA)
Modesto Bee

December 14, 2018

By Garth Stapley

A former youth pastor who sexually abused a girl three decades ago is cooperating now with her attorneys in a lawsuit against Modesto’s CrossPoint Church, formerly First Baptist Church.

In return for his help, Brad Tebbutt was dropped as a defendant in the lawsuit brought by Jennifer Roach, now 47 and living in Washington state.

“During the course of discovery, Jennifer realized that Brad did make a genuine apology and she has genuinely forgiven him. And, he has cooperated with the litigation,” her Sacramento lawyer, Joseph George, said Friday in a telephone interview.

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SYRACUSE (NY)
Post Standard

December 16, 2018

At last, the Catholic Diocese of Syracuse has released the names of 57 priests, alive and dead, who were credibly accused of sexual abuse since 1950. For the first time, we can begin to see the scale of the clergy sexual abuse crisis in our midst. It is horrifying.

Two weeks ago, Bishop Robert J. Cunningham wisely reversed his previous stance of keeping the names of accused priests secret unless the victims went public first. Cunningham, who is nearing retirement, said he changed his mind after concluding that “this practice has become a roadblock to moving our local Church forward.”

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse today released a list of priests with credible allegations of child sexual abuse against them.

Indeed, trust in the church and its leadership has been damaged, perhaps irreparably, by their past failures to protect children from predator priests, a lack of transparency and accountability to parents and parishioners, and hostility to survivors of clergy sexual abuse.

Sixteen years after the Boston Globe first exposed the clergy sex abuse crisis in the church, the scandals keep on coming. Just this week, an Australian cardinal was convicted of molesting two children in the 1990s. In July, an American cardinal resigned after being accused of improper sexual behavior toward seminarians. Pope Francis has called bishops to a meeting in February at the Vatican to address it.

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DALLAS (TX)
Associated Press

December 15, 2018

By Ryan Tarinelli

The Texas judge who approved a plea deal allowing a former Baylor University student accused of rape to avoid jail time holds three degrees from Baylor. The criminal district attorney overseeing the case holds two. The prosecutor who agreed to the plea agreement graduated from Baylor law school.

Local leaders say those connections to the world’s largest Baptist university cast doubt on the handling of the criminal case against ex-Phi Delta Theta president Jacob Walter Anderson, who was accused of repeatedly raping a woman outside a 2016 fraternity party.

Anderson was indicted on sexual assault charges, but the agreement allowed him to plead no contest to unlawful restraint. He must seek counseling and pay a $400 fine but will not have to register as a sex offender. His lawyers say a statement from the woman, which she read in court, is riddled with misrepresentations and distortions. Prosecutors have defended the plea deal.

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HARTFORD (CT)
Hartford Courant

December 16, 2018

By Dave Altimari

Following the path of many Catholic Church leaders across the country, Archbishop Leonard Blair announced this weekend that he will release next month the names of all clergy from the Archdiocese of Hartford credibly accused of sexual abuse and hire an independent party to review the church’s personnel files going back to 1953.

“I wish to announce in January the Archdiocese of Hartford will be publishing the names of archdiocesan clergy who have been the object of lawsuits and legal settlements, or otherwise credibly accused, and the names of religious order priests and priests from other dioceses who have been credibly accused of an offense that took place in the Archdiocese,” Blair wrote in a seven-paragraph statement.

Blair went on to say that the archdiocese will be hiring someone to do an “independent review of all our clergy files to identify any additional names from the present going back to 1953,” which is the year the Archdiocese of Hartford was established.

“The publication of names will be updated as any new information becomes available. Finally, the Archdiocese will be publishing the financial outlay that has been made as a result of the abuse of minors by clergy and the sources of these funds,” Blair wrote.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
USA Today

December 16, 2018

By Lindsay Schnell

Bill Reidy says he remembers every detail about the office where he was repeatedly raped by the Jesuit priest who served as his academic adviser at Loyola Academy, a private Catholic school just outside Chicago.

A ficus tree in one corner, a desk chair in another. The credenza covered in photos. The door that opened inward and stayed locked.

While other students learned about literature or chemistry, Reidy says, he was called “every single day” into the private quarters of the Rev. Donald J. O’Shaughnessy, a bedroom that doubled as his office. Each meeting ended with the same nauseating ritual, Reidy says.

“He would always make sure he had a soda in his fridge, and he’d give it to me and say, ‘I want you to drink this and get the taste out of your mouth,’ ” says Reidy, 57, who lives in a Chicago suburb. “Then he’d send me back to class.”

Reidy was hurt and confused. Did other students know? Were other priests at Loyola Academy – a school his father insisted on sending him to because he believed a Catholic education was the best education – aware? Were they laughing at him?

On the weekends, when his parents forced him to go to church with his family, Reidy had to sit in an aisle seat, so he could make an immediate exit. When he walked into Mass, Reidy’s palms went sweaty, and his body shook. He says he flashed back to the time he was gang-raped by O’Shaughnessy and other men at Loyola’s school chapel.

He begged his parents to put him back in public school. When they asked why, Reidy always had the same tortured reply: “I can’t tell you.”

Beyond the horror and panic, Reidy was even more terrified at the consequences O’Shaughnessy allegedly threatened.

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ALBUQUERQUE (NM)
Albuquerque Journal

December 17, 2018

By Colleen Heild

A longtime New Mexico Catholic priest announced to parishioners on Sunday that, despite his “vow of loyalty” to the church, he has been a “whistle-blower” who has privately assisted victims of clergy sex abuse and their attorneys “seek justice” for more than two decades.

Most recently, Father Vincent Paul Chávez said he has been assisting two agents with the state Attorney General’s office in their investigation of clergy sex abuse and how the church has responded to it.

Chávez, pastor of St. Therese of the Infant Jesus Parish and Catholic school in Albuquerque, said during his homily at Sunday Mass that it was time to “talk about the elephant in the room” after learning on Saturday that the planned construction of a new cafeteria for his St. Therese school would have to be postponed indefinitely because of the Chapter 11 bankruptcy action filed by the Archdiocese of Santa Fe in late November.

Archdiocese officials, in citing the financial burden of priest sex abuse litigation, said in late November that parishes likely wouldn’t be impacted by the bankruptcy reorganization.

Chávez told more than 100 people who attended the 10 a.m. Mass Sunday morning, “I felt the Chapter 11 would not affect the day-to-day operation of our parishes and schools.”

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FT. WORTH (TX)
Star Telegram

December 15, 2018

By Neil Nakahodot

After the Fort Worth Star-Telegram published a series of stories about sexual misconduct at independent fundamental Baptist churches, the paper received hundreds of responses

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WASHINGTON (DC)
Catholic News Service

December 14, 2018

By Zita Ballinger Fletcher

An investigation by the Diocese of Hildesheim, Germany, is shedding new light on child sex abuse in Catholic children’s homes in the country in the 1950s. A central figure in the inquiry is an esteemed and controversial figure, Bishop Heinrich Maria Janssen, a former priest in Nazi-occupied Poland awarded Germany’s highest federal decoration in 1966 for postwar charity work.

Volker Bauerfeld, a spokesman for the diocese, told Catholic News Service the allegations against Janssen have “deeply shaken many people” in the diocese, due to Janssen’s status as “one of the most renowned Hildesheim bishops of modern times.”

Although Janssen and his alleged accomplices are long dead, Bishop Heiner Wilmer, the current bishop, is investigating the matter fully to “bring more light into the darkness.” Wilmer is launching a vigorous inquiry to investigate sexual abuse allegedly committed by Janssen and Catholic orphanage chaplains, with the aim of revealing the truth behind a possible local pedophile ring.

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DENVER (CO)
Crux

December 17, 2018

By Inés San Martín

As the clerical sexual abuse scandals continue to work their way through the global church, bishops and religious superiors in Spain are showing similar but also contrasting reactions both to the crime of abuse and the public reactions to it.

During his first remarks as bishop of Avila during his ordination, Jose Maria Gil Tamayo, former secretary and spokesman of the bishops’ conference, said on Saturday that there’s an attempt to “extend an unfair veil of suspicion over the immense multitude of priests.”

He was referring to the recent publication, in several local newspapers, of allegations of clerical sexual abuse and subsequent silence and cover-up. Seeing this “veil of suspicion,” Gil Tamayo said he wanted to offer some words of “encouragement” and “support” for the local clergy, whom he thanked for their service.

“Especially in these moments in which, seeing the sins and crimes that have been committed by the ecclesial community and for which we apologize and work towards their eradication and prevention,” there’s an attempt to discredit the many good priests “who serve God and the people in a faithful, self-denying and exemplary way,” he said, to a cheering crowd.

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GUAM
Pacific Daily News

December 17, 2018

Bt Haidee V. Eugenio

Father Louis Brouillard and Father Antonio A. Cruz sexually abused the same Yona boy on separate occasions in the early 1970s, according to a $10 million lawsuit filed in local court on Monday.

The two priests were assigned to different parishes on Guam in the 1970s, but on various occasions were assigned to conduct Mass at the Saint Francis Church in Yona. Both priests are now deceased.

More: Religious order Carmelites added as defendant in Guam clergy sex abuse lawsuits

More: Lawsuit: Father Antonio C. Cruz, 2 others told altar boy he would go to hell if he told of sex abuse

The two priests, on separate occasions, sexually abused and molested the boy in their individual cars after offering the boy a ride home. Cruz also tried to rape the boy in the car, after abusing him, according to the lawsuit.

The boy, identified in court documents only as J.C.G. to protect his privacy, was a young parishioner who helped clean the Yona church after Mass at his mother’s instructions.

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IRONDALE (AL)
National Catholic Register

December 14, 2018

By Peter Jesserer Smith

Standing at a payphone in Rome, calling his wife in tears, was not how the newly ordained Catholic deacon planned to end a 10-day pilgrimage in Rome.

On a misty night in February 2006, Deacon Mark King called his wife, Susan, to explain he had just escaped a drunken sexual attack from their pastor, who had subjected him to days of sexual harassment and unwanted sexual advances, at a restaurant.

Upon his return to the United States, Deacon King and his wife met with diocesan officials the next morning, where chancery officials prepared his statement, witnessed by the diocesan investigator and notarized by the chancellor of the diocese, documenting the aggressive sexual harassment, sexual advances and propositioning he had received from Father Greg Mullaney, then-pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Groton, Connecticut, during that trip.

Speaking to the Register more than 12 years later, Deacon King said he was very concerned that he might not be the only person targeted by the priest for sex. According to the deacon’s statement, the priest had made many immoral, suggestive and sexually disparaging comments about fellow clergy and laity, including parish employees.

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[Book authors on Chilean Church crisis: the hierarchy failed]

CHILE
La Tercera

December 15, 2018

By M. J. Navarrete

“Católicos y perplejos”, la primera publicación sobre el tema, será lanzado esta semana en la U. Católica.

Joaquín García Huidobro, académico de la Universidad de los Andes: “No se resuelve cambiando un par de personas” ¿Cree que una de las “piedras de tope” para que se resuelva la crisis son los cardenales Ezzati y Errázuriz?

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[“You judge”: John O’Reilly’s first words after arriving in Rome following his expulsion from Chile]

CHILE
El Mostrador

December 15, 2018

“Dejo todo en las manos de Dios”, alcanzó a decir antes de ser retirado del aeropuerto.

El sacerdote John O’Reilly arribó a Roma tras ser expulsado de Chile luego de cometer abusos sexuales contra menores. A su arribo a Europa, tuvo escuetas palabras, las que fueron captadas por el noticiero de Canal 13. O’Reilly indicó que “juzguen ustedes” ante la pregunta de si es un pedófilo.

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[Network of survivors on O’Reilly’s expulsion: “It’s not a happy ending. No way”.]

CHILE
The Clinic

December 14, 2018

Esta mañana, el sacerdote John O’Reilly dejó Chile. Lo hizo después de cumplir la pena de cuatro años de libertad vigilada dictada por un tribunal civil, el cual en 2014 lo halló culpable de abusos sexuales en contra de una alumna del colegio Cumbres. Pero para la Red de Sobrevivientes de Abuso Sexual Eclesiástico de Chile, su salida no es suficiente: exigen una justicia a tiempo.

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KANSAS CITY (MO)
Kansas City Star

December 15, 2018

By Jill Toyoshiba

A group that represents survivors of clergy sex abuse called on the dioceses of Kansas City and Kansas City, Kan., to post online the names of religious leaders credibly accused of abuse. Some dioceses already are.

A group that represents survivors of clergy sex abuse called on the dioceses of Kansas City and Kansas City, Kan., to post online the names of religious leaders credibly accused of abuse.

David Clohessy, the St. Louis volunteer director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, said some dioceses have already done so, including two in Missouri. But not nearly enough.

“Most bishops say as little as possible,” Clohessy said at a news conference Saturday in downtown Kansas City outside the Catholic chancery offices. “Most bishops post these lists only in the face of intense public pressure.”

He said some only post the lists when forced to as part of the terms of legal judgments or settlements.

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BIRMINGHAM (AL)
WVTM 13 Digital

December 14, 2018

The Catholic Diocese of Birmingham today released the names of priests accused of sexual abuse of minors.

Robert Wilford said one of the priests, Charles Cross, abused him as a teenager in Birmingham in the 1960s. “You don’t forget about it. You never will. I don’t really think about it in detail every day. There’s not a day in my life that some thought doesn’t pop up in my head,” he said.

Wilford said he suffered from depression, alcoholism, and post traumatic stress disorder and came forward decades later. “I was just very irate and decided to go ahead and make it my mission to force Cross out of the priesthood, so that’s why I came forward in 2002,” he said.

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NEW JERSEY
North Jersey Record

December 14, 2018

By Joshua Jongsma

Two advocates who have set up compensation funds for Sept. 11 and Boston Marathon bombing victims will lead up the efforts for survivors of sex abuse by the Catholic Church in New Jersey.

Kenneth R. Feinberg and Camille Biros put together similar funds in New York and Pennsylvania. Together they will design and run the program in the state, the Roman Catholic Bishops of New Jersey stated Friday. They were also administrators for the BP Deepwater Horizon Disaster Victim Compensation Fund.

The program will be funded by the five Catholic dioceses of New Jersey: Newark, Camden, Trenton, Paterson and Metuchen. The Catholic Church of New Jersey has paid $50 million so far in settlements to abuse survivors.

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BIRMINGHAM (AL)
WHNT-TV

December 14, 2018

By Chelsea Brentzel

The Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Birmingham released a list of names of priests accused of sexually abusing minors. The press release is asking anyone with new information to come forward.

The list does not include where the accused clergy served or the allegations against them.

Charles V. Cross
Ordained in 1960, removed from ministry in 1985, forced to retire without privileges in 2002

John J. (Jack) Ventura
Ordained in 1968, transferred to Diocese of Birmingham in 1974, removed from ministry after allegations received in 1985

Charles Bordenca (died 2017)
Ordained in 1955, removed from ministry in Diocese of Birmingham in 1989

Kevin Cooke
Ordained in 1978, removed from ministry in 2002

Jonathan (John) Franklin
Ordained in 1956, removed from ministry in the mid 1980s

Roger Lott
Ordained in 1954, removed from ministry in 1997

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HOUSTON (TX)
KHOU-TV

December 14, 2018

By Jeremy Rogalski and Tina Macias

Most files are only identified by a last name, but among the few full names listed, at least six are priests who have been publicly accused of sexual misconduct.

Bags of shredded documents, electronics and hundreds of files were among the items investigators seized from a Montgomery County treatment center as part of its sexual assault investigation into a local priest.

Listed among the items taken from the Shalom Center in Splendora in September are files for at least 200 people, according to an evidence log filed in the case and obtained by KHOU. The vast majority of the files are only identified by a last name, but among the few full names listed, at least six are priests who have been publicly accused of sexual misconduct.

It’s unclear how many of the other people listed are priests or why they were seeking treatment. The Shalom Center offers residential, sabbatical and outpatient programs for priests, deacons and male and female members of a religious order.

The center has 20 residential beds and treats more than 400 people a year, according to the Official Catholic Directory. It offers treatment for, “psychological difficulties, interpersonal conflicts, emotional or sexual problems, grief and loss issues, stress and exhaustion, transitional trauma, sexual abuse, addictions,” according to its website.

Former Conroe priest Manuel La Rosa-Lopez, who’s facing four counts of indecency with a child, was treated at the Shalom Center in 2001, and documents about the center found in La Rosa-Lopez’s bedroom reference one of his accusers, according to the search warrant.

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[The bishop of Salamanca allowed accused priest to keep working for three years despite Vatican request]

MADRID (SPAIN)
El País

December 15, 2018

By Íñigo Domínguez

En la web de la parroquia el sacerdote aparece concelebrando misa con el jefe de la diócesis y rodeado de niños recibiendo a los Reyes Magos

El obispo de Salamanca mantuvo tres años, entre 2011 y 2014, a Isidro López Santos, un cura denunciado canónicamente por abuso de menores en 2011, que ya había confesado su culpabilidad y contra el que el Vaticano había ordenado dos veces actuar de forma cautelar hasta la sentencia del proceso eclesiástico. Pero el obispo Carlos López no hizo nada, tan solo le jubiló al cabo de un año y medio, para colocarle en otra parroquia como ayudante de un cura amigo suyo donde continuó con su labor y en contacto con menores. Era la parroquia de La Anunciación-San Mateo, y el blog de esta iglesia demuestra que durante esos dos años, hasta que fue condenado, ejerció como sacerdote a todos los efectos. Es más, en mayo de 2013 aparece en una fotografía concelebrando una confirmación con el propio obispo de Salamanca, que por tanto no podía ignorar que seguía con su actividad. Se ve al cura en celebraciones, comuniones, bautizos, unciones de enfermos, y hasta recibiendo a los Reyes Magos con los niños del barrio. Hay al menos una docena de fechas documentadas con fotografías en el periodo en el que se le suponía apartado. El obispado de Salamanca se ha negado a responder a las preguntas sobre este caso.

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Church Militant

December 15, 2018

By Bradley Eli, M.Div., Ma.Th.

Can’t fight Vatican’s financial corruption or liberal agenda anymore

Cardinal George Pell is appealing the verdict from the Australian jury that found him guilty of actually committing sex abuse. Even if the verdict of guilty is subsequently overturned, it seems certain that Pell will no longer be able to fight financial corruption in the Vatican or the liberal agenda pushing reception of Holy Communion to those living contrary to Christ’s teachings.

It’s worth recalling Pell’s dire warning he gave in 2014 concerning the extreme goals of liberal prelates at the Extraordinary Synod on the Family.

“Communion for the divorced and remarried,” Pell said, “is only a tip of the iceberg. It’s a stalking horse. They want wider changes, recognition of civil unions, recognition of homosexual unions.”

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[Spain’s religious orders are urged to seek justice against pedophilia]

MADRID (SPAIN)
El País

December 15, 2018

By Julio Núñez

La Conferencia Española de Religiosos reconoce la “gravedad” y la “ocultación” de los delitos y trata con los superiores de las congregaciones la evaluación psicológica de los curas

La Conferencia Española de Religiosos (Confer) ha llamado a los superiores mayores de todas las órdenes y congregaciones religiosas del país para tratar los abusos sexuales a menores en la Iglesia católica, un escándalo que está socavando la imagen de la institución en todo el mundo. El primer encuentro se celebró el pasado miércoles, según un comunicado hecho público este viernes por la institución, en el que la entidad reconoce la “gravedad y la culpabilidad” de estos delitos, “el tratamiento de ocultación que se les ha dado” y se solidariza con las víctimas “en su dolor y reclamo de justicia”. La publicación del documento llegó un día después de que los jesuitas de Cataluña confirmasen que van a investigar los abusos sexuales cometidos en colegios de la orden los últimos 60 años, tras la reciente difusión por EL PAÍS de varios casos que afectan a su orden. La mayoría de denuncias de pederastia que han llegado a este periódico atañen a congregaciones religiosas.

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SYDNEY (AUSTRALIA)
Church Militant

December 14, 2018

By an Australian correspondent in Sydney

Cardinal George Pell, formerly the Pope’s right-hand man for Vatican finances and the face of the Catholic Church in Australia, has been convicted of abusing two choir boys when he was Archbishop of Melbourne in the 1990s.

Pell has categorically denied the allegations.

Although this is the biggest news story in Australia, it is not on the front page of a single newspaper here. The state of Victoria, where Pell was tried, has imposed a suppression order that bans all reporting and comment. So Australians are resorting to overseas websites and Twitter for news.

The full-page headline in The Daily Telegraph, of Sydney, one of Australia’s biggest newspapers, was “It’s the Nation’s Biggest Story” — “yet we can’t publish it.” So there are no facts to discuss — other than the brutal fact that a cardinal has been convicted in a court of law for abusing boys. Who, when, where, how, why are all matters of surmise.

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National Catholic Reporter

December 15, 2018

by Jamie Manson

About two weeks into his pontificate in March 2013, Pope Francis uttered a phrase that would quickly become one of his greatest hits in his canon of quotes: “This I ask you: be shepherds, with the ‘odor of the sheep.’ ”

Francis spoke those words to thousands of clerics who had gathered at the Vatican for the annual chrism Mass, a liturgy traditionally held on the morning of Holy Thursday that celebrates the holiness of the priesthood.

The phrase became a common refrain for any progressive Catholic testifying to the promise of Francis’ pontificate.

But the metaphor never sat well with me. Sure, Francis was suggesting that members of the clergy not stay aloof and removed from the people they serve. But what did it say about the laity? Are we a lost, unwashed and simple herd who were utterly dependent on our priests and bishops for guidance?

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[New bishop of Ávila thanks innocent priests for their service, assures them church is working to curb abuse]

MADRID (SPAIN)

December 15, 2018
El País

By Julio Núñez

Gil Tamayo, exsecretario de la Conferencia Episcopal, estima que desde la comunidad eclesial se ha pedido perdón y se trabaja para erradicar los abusos

Durante su primera alocución como obispo de Ávila este sábado, José María Gil Tamayo, ex secretario general y exportavoz de la Conferencia Episcopal Española, ha afirmado que “se quiere extender injustamente un velo de sospecha sobre la multitud inmensa de sacerdotes” con las recientes publicaciones sobre los casos de pederastia que se han cometido y silenciado dentro de la Iglesia en las últimas décadas. Por este motivo, Gil Tamayo ha querido dirigir en la catedral de Ávila unas palabras de “aliento” y “apoyo” a todos los curas inocentes que puedan sentirse afectados. “¡Gracias, hermanos sacerdotes por vuestro servicio!”, ha exclamado. El exsecretario de la Conferencia Episcopal también ha subrayado que, desde la comunidad eclesial, piden perdón por los casos de pederastia y ha asegurado que “están trabajando en su erradicación y prevención”.

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[Definitive dismissal of Ricardo Ezzati will be discussed on January 30]

CHILE
Soy Chile

December 15, 2018

La defensa había solicitado el procedimiento el pasado 30 de octubre, pero aún no se había fijado la fecha de la audiencia. El arzobispo de Santiago es investigado por eventuales delitos de encubrimiento en casos de abuso sexual al interior de la Iglesia.

El próximo 30 de enero se discutirá si el arzobispo de Santiago, Ricardo Ezzati, será sobreseído o no de manera definitiva en la causa donde es investigado por eventuales encubrimientos de delitos de abuso sexual, cometidos por miembros de la iglesia catolica.

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[John O’Reilly: after 34 years, the Legionaries of Christ priest leaves Chile]

CHILE
La Tercera

December 15, 2018

By M.J. Navarrete and S. Rodríguez

Tras cumplir su condena por abuso y ante el inminente decreto de expulsión que emitiría el Ministerio del Interior, el sacerdote dejó hoy el país y viajó a Italia. Llega a una residencia de su congregación en Vía Aurelia, Roma. Como tiene antecedentes penales, su defensa trabajará para que en el futuro pueda regresar.

A las 12.40 horas de este sábado, en el vuelo de ALItalia 689 que despegó rumbo a Roma, Italia, el sacerdote John O’Reilly abandonó Chile desde el Aeropuerto de Santiago, 34 años después de que llegó. Lo acompañaba el superior de los Legionarios de Cristo para Chile y Argentina, el presbítero Gabriel Bárcena.

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[“Predator” priest expelled from Miami worked with teens in Spain for years]

MADRID (SPAIN)
El País

December 14, 2018

By Íñigo Domínguez

El cura expulsado de Miami tras una denuncia vivió años con adolescentes e invitaba a los estudiantes a su casa

El obispado de Salamanca no solo movió de pueblo en pueblo durante dos décadas a Francisco Carreras, el sacerdote español expulsado de la archidiócesis de Miami en 1981 tras una denuncia de abusos y enviado de vuelta a su provincia, sino que también lo asignó como profesor a dos colegios públicos de la ciudad. Carreras, de cuyos antecedentes fue informado el obispado desde EE UU y que en una de las denuncias posteriores fue definido como “depredador sexual”, ha sido acusado por tres víctimas localizadas por EL PAÍS en Sequeros y Calzada de Valdunciel. Ahora sale a la luz, según confirman cinco antiguos alumnos y un exprofesor, que también fue docente de religión en el colegio Campo Charro, entre los ochenta y los noventa, y el Rufino Blanco, en la década de los noventa y hasta 2000. Hasta ahora solo constaba su paso por el centro privado Lorenzo Milani.

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[Lay people of Osorno ask for visibility into commission investigating abuses in Catholic Church]

CHILE
BioBioChile

December 14, 2018

By Nicole Briones and Eduardo Palacios

La Agrupación de Laicos de Osorno llamó a visibilizar el trabajo de la comisión que recepciona denuncias de posibles abusos dentro de la Iglesia Católica. El vocero de la agrupación, Mario Vargas, sostuvo que la instancia se transforma en el único instrumento válido para reconciliar a los fieles católicos, entendiendo que existen casos que fueron reportados y puestos en conocimiento de las autoridades eclesiásticas.

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[O’Reilly’s lawyer plans legal action so the priest can return to Chile]

CHILE
La Tercera

December 14, 2018

By Sebastián Rivas

Cristián Muga señaló que “no existió decreto de expulsión” y que la idea es que en un futuro quede habilitado para regresar al país.

“Se nos encomendó acciones legales que le permitan en el futuro volver al país. No existió decreto de expulsión”. Con esas palabras, el abogado del sacerdote John O’Reilly, Cristián Muga, explicó a radio Universo la lógica que seguirán sus acciones luego de que el religioso abandonara Chile este viernes rumbo a Roma, tras cumplir una condena por abusos sexuales contra una menor de edad.

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[Priest O’Reilly leaves Chile for Rome, asking friends: “I beg you not to abandon me”]

CHILE
La Tercera

December 14, 2018

By Sergio Rodríguez

El sacerdote de los Legionarios de Cristo envió un texto a sus amigos en el que también señala que, “con el corazón detrozado, muy confundido y con una salud debilitada, me despido con inmensa gratitud”. El religioso debió salir del país tras una resolución dando cuenta del cumplimiento de una condena por abuso.

“Amigos: con el corazón destrozado y muy confundido y una salud debilitada me despido con inmensa gratitud, aprecio y admiración. La Fe y la Esperanza en el Señor quedan intactas, a pesar del inmenso dolor que oprime la mente y corazón, casi hasta la muerte”.

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CHILE/ROME
Reuters

December 14, 2018

By Antonio De la Jara

An Irish-born priest, who was convicted of sexually abusing a girl in his care at a religious school in Santiago but served no jail time for the offense, left Chile on Friday for Rome after serving a four-year sentence.

Critics have long pointed to the case of the Rev. John O’Reilly as an example of leniency in a country where the Roman Catholic church has long held powerful sway in politics and society.

A judge in 2014 sentenced O’Reilly, a leader of the Legionaries of Christ religious order, to four years of “supervised liberty” for abusing a preteen girl at the private Colegio Cumbres in the affluent neighborhood of Las Condes between 2007 and 2009.

O’Reilly completed his sentence on Dec. 10, according to a statement issued by the Legionaries of Christ on Friday, and Chilean courts subsequently expelled him from the country.

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CAROL STREAM (IL)
Christianity Today

December 13, 2018

By Morgan Lee

(UPDATED) Beth Moore and other leading Christian survivors don’t just want to take the church to task. They also believe it plays a key role in helping victims heal.

[Editor’s note: This post has been updated with comments from afternoon speakers, including Max Lucado, Nancy Beach, and Ed Stetzer.]

“I am a survivor. My home was my unsafe place. My church was my harbor.”

Growing up as a victim of abuse, Bible teacher Beth Moore was grateful that she could escape to her church. But in retrospect, she wished it could have done more.

“I have often wondered what a difference it would have made if that same harbor had not only been a place to hide, but a place to heal,” Moore said during a summit held Thursday at Wheaton College to address the evangelical church’s response to abuse in the wake of the #MeToo and #ChurchToo movements.

The Southern Baptist ministry leader has repeatedly spoken out on the issue over the past year, joining a wave of evangelicals calling on churches to more explicitly condemn, prevent, and help the victims of sexism, harassment, and abuse.

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CHICAGO (IL)
Daily Herald

December 14, 2018

By Katlyn Smith

It’s been a year of pain, fear and strained relationships for Nancy Beach.

The first female teaching pastor at Willow Creek Community Church, Beach was one of the women whose allegations of sexual misconduct against founder Bill Hybels led to his early retirement, the resignations of the entire elder board and the ongoing turmoil at the South Barrington-based megachurch.

“I had no idea, no way to foresee what would happen when I joined my voice with the voices of eventually nine other women in calling out the abuse of power and sexual sin in the life of our pastor,” she said.

Beach joined her voice Thursday with some of the most high-profile figures in evangelicalism at a summit convened by Wheaton College. The Billy Graham Center held the one-day gathering to address sexual abuse and harassment within the church.

“We are here to gather our courage. We are here to face that some of our systems have created susceptibility and unanswered culpability,” said Beth Moore, a prominent Bible teacher and author. “We are here to face that, without clarity of teaching and due diligence in training, we have on our hands environments where victimization thrives.”

Even before the opening of the GC2 Summit on Responding to Sexual Harassment, Abuse, and Violence, the event faced criticism from activists behind the #ChurchToo movement, an offshoot of the #MeToo movement that toppled figures in Hollywood and politics.

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AUSTRALIA
National Public Radio

December 13, 2018

By Bill Chappell

Australian news outlets are grappling with how to handle one of the country’s biggest news stories of the year — even though a judge has barred them from reporting the details. The story revolves around Cardinal George Pell, a Vatican insider who was reportedly convicted of sexually abusing minors this week, and public interest in the case has been intense.

A jury in the County Court of Victoria in Melbourne where Pell, 77, was once archbishop, is said to have found the cardinal guilty of “five charges of ‘historical child sexual offenses’ that go back decades,” according to the Jesuit magazine America. Both that outlet and the Catholic News Agency say they have confirmed the initial report of Pell’s conviction that was published by the Daily Beast. All of the outlets are citing sources who either have knowledge of the case or are “close to the cardinal.”

Australian journalists have been forced to either ignore reports of a verdict or refer to it in only the broadest terms. News Corp Australia, which owns a number of print and online outlets in the country, has said it will challenge the court’s suppression order.

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BILOXI (MS)
Sun Herald

December 13, 2018

By Anita Lee

The first principal at Mercy Cross High School in Biloxi, a Jesuit priest named Francis Landwermeyer, in later years railed against the coverup of pedophilia in the Catholic church but did not live to see himself publicly identified as a priest who abused minors.

Landwermeyer’s name was on a list of 42 Jesuit priests, scholastics and brothers whom the religious order identified as having been credibly accused of abusing minors or vulnerable adults.

His name appeared with those facing more than one credible allegation of abuse.

Landwermeyer is accused of abusing minors in the 60s and 70s. No allegations surfaced during the short year he spent at Mercy Cross, the inaugural 1981-82 year of the former co-ed school lost to Hurricane Katrina on Biloxi’s Back Bay.

The Jesuits’ Central and Southern Province, which released the list, said it is trying to protect victims’ identities by keeping private the specific dates and locations of the abuse to protect victims.

Landwermeyer came to Biloxi from Loyola University in New Orleans, where he was a visiting professor. But he didn’t stay long. Accounts from the Sun Herald say the board had some reservations about Landwermeyer’s performance at the end of his first year, but rather than work to improve, he chose to resign.

“There is no confidence in my ability or trust in my integrity among the persons most significant for my effectiveness,” Landwermeyer wrote in his resignation letter in May 1982.

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VERMONT
VT Digger

December 11, 2018

By Kevin O’Connor

A lawyer who has secured more than $30 million in priest misconduct settlements from Vermont’s Catholic Church has found a decades-old case he believes can be tried under the state’s narrow statute of limitations.

Jerome O’Neill has filed civil papers in U.S. District Court in Burlington on behalf of a former Vermont man now living in Texas who alleges he was sexually abused as a child by Alfred Willis, a former priest for the statewide Roman Catholic Diocese from 1975 until his dismissal in 1985.

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TAMPA (FL)
WFLA

December 10, 2018

By Mark Douglas

Massage Envy is the target of yet another lawsuit involving allegations of sexual assault by a massage therapist.

This lawsuit involves a Winter Garden franchise where a previous therapist recently pleaded guilty in another assault case. That therapist, Cesar Guerrero, received 15 years of probation.

“Lightning doesn’t strike twice in one place often. What are the odds of that happening,” said Tampa attorney Joseph Alvarez, who filed the Massage Envy lawsuit in Hillsborough Circuit court on behalf of his unnamed client.

Alvarez sued Massage Envy a few year ago due to another massage therapist who was simply fired from a franchise in Clearwater when allegations arose and went on to assault other women while working for unrelated massage businesses.

“They’re synonymous with the Catholic Church,” Alvarez said. “It’s a head in the sand approach. ‘We don’t know what’s going on, we can’t control this,’ but the reality is they control everything that happens in and around that business.”

Earlier this year, Sarasota police arrested a Massage Envy massage therapist following several allegations of sexual misconduct.

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ALBANY (NY)
Catholic News Service

December 13, 2018

By Father Kenneth Doyle

Q. The news reports of settlements made in the millions of dollars to victims of clergy sex abuse trouble me. Were there secret assets from wills and estates on reserve for that purpose? Where did all that money come from? (Metuchen, New Jersey)
A. National Public Radio reported in August 2018 that dioceses and religious orders in the United States had thus far paid settlements totaling more than $3 billion to victims of clergy sexual abuse. The settlements have come, not from any “secret assets,” but from a combination of cash, proceeds from the sale of land and buildings, and from insurance payments.
What must be said first, though, is that no financial amount is sufficient to compensate victims for their suffering. As Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda of St. Paul and Minneapolis said in May 2018 when announcing a settlement of $210 million in restitution to several hundred survivors, “I recognize that the abuse stole so much from you — your childhood, your innocence, your safety, your ability to trust and, in many cases, your faith. … The church let you down, and I’m very sorry.”
That settlement fund came from approximately $170 million from insurance carriers as well as the sale of diocesan assets, including its three chancery buildings on Cathedral Hill in St. Paul. The plan stipulates that a minimum of $50,000 be awarded to each claimant. In 2010, when the Diocese of Burlington, Vermont, settled 26 lawsuits for nearly $18 million, it put its diocesan administration building and a former Catholic summer camp on the real estate market to help cover the cost.

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NEW ORLEANS (LA)
ChurchMilitant.com

December 13, 2018

By Anita Carey

Three new victims are suing over abuse they suffered as young boys at the hands of a suspected serial pedophile.

A lawsuit filed on Tuesday is the fourth one alleging homosexual abuse by the former archdiocese of New Orleans deacon, George F. Brignac. All four cases stemmed from Brignac’s tenure at Holy Rosary School in New Orleans, Lousiana. The first suit was settled by the archdiocese for $500,000 in May.

The three new allegations date from the 1980s, and Brignac’s attorney, Martin Regan, told The New Orleans Advocate that his client “has denied the allegations and he’s not been charged or convicted of any criminal offense.”

While two of the victims have not come forward publicly, Morris Daniels told his story to The New Orleans Advocate to showcase the Church’s failure to stop the abuse. Daniels said, “They could’ve done something about it but they didn’t.”

“They didn’t take care of us as kids. They just let it happen,” he added.

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NEW ORLEANS (LA)
WVUE

December 12, 2018

In a new lawsuit, a man claims a Salesian priest in Marrero raped him. The suit was filed Wednesday at Orleans Parish Civil Court against the Salesians of Don Bosco, the Archdiocese of New Orleans and Archbishop Gregory Aymond.

The alleged victim in the new lawsuit says he was 17 at the time of the crime. The suit doesn’t identify the man but names him as “CJ Doe.” He says he met the priest, Salvatore Isgro or “Father Sam,” in 1979 while working at a local hospital to save money for a class ring. That summer, he says Father Sam asked him to care for a Salesian Brother, a double amputee who lived at the Salesians’ residence at Archbishop Shaw High School in Marrero.

At the end of each day, the man says he would pick up a check signed by Father Sam. The lawsuit claims that in November of that year, as the alleged victim went to pick up his check, Father Sam came from behind and put a vial filled with what smelled like ammonia under his nose. The suit claims CJ Doe became dizzy and disoriented, and that’s when the priest pulled down the alleged victim’s pants and raped him.

According to the suit, that was the last time CJ Doe visited at the Salesians’ residence.

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TACOMA (WA)
The News Tribune

December 13, 2018

Editorial Board

Bellarmine Preparatory School, a Tacoma institution since 1928, turned a harsh but necessary spotlight on itself last Friday when it shared information on 23 disgraced Catholic priests and non-ordained brothers previously assigned to the Bellarmine community. All were “credibly accused” of sexual abuse at some point in their Jesuit careers.

Publicly identifying these alleged offenders was the right thing to do. In fact, it was long overdue. Silence and secrecy should no longer be an option. As Bellarmine President Robert Modarelli said in a statement, for too long this scandal has been allowed to “fester unchecked.”

The private school just off South Union Avenue took a lesson from its own Jesuit catechism: Covering up sin only invites more of it.

To date, there is no information tying these men to crimes in the Bellarmine community, and Modarelli says no victims had come forward as of Thursday. It’s unclear how many of the men worked on campus versus serving in other local Jesuit ministries, but all lived within proximity of thousands of area children.

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SALT LAKE CITY (UT)
FOX 13

December 13, 2018

By Ben Winslow

The president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is being sought for a deposition in a lawsuit alleging sexual abuse involving his daughter and son-in-law.

In a motion filed in federal court, an attorney representing six unnamed plaintiffs is demanding an early deposition of LDS Church President Russell M. Nelson.

“Russell N. Nelson is simply a witness,” Craig Vernon, the attorney for the plaintiffs, told FOX 13 on Thursday.

The lawsuit accuses President Nelson’s daughter and son-in-law, Brenda and Richard Miles, of participating in the abuse of children in a Bountiful ward in the 1980s. The allegations claim a number of people were involved in the abuse and suggests it was covered up.

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CINCINNATI (OH)
Cincinnati Enquirer

December 12, 2018

By Dan Horn

St. Xavier High School, Xavier University and other Jesuit institutions in the Midwest will find out next week if they’ve employed Catholic priests accused of sexually abusing children.

The Midwest Province of Jesuits said Wednesday it would release a list naming every priest in the order who has faced a credible accusation of abuse since 1955.

The decision to make the list public comes as the church is under increasing scrutiny from lay Catholics, abuse survivors and criminal prosecutors to resolve a problem that has plagued it for years.

“It’s a step in the spirit of transparency and reconciliation,” said Mike McGrath, a spokesman for the Midwest Jesuits. “There’s been a lot of discussion and debate in the church about this question.”

Jesuit churches and schools were notified this week that the list was coming out on Monday, Dec. 17. The list will be posted on the religious order’s website at jesuitsmidwest.org, and will include the names of the accused priests, the locations and the dates of the alleged abuse.

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