ABUSE TRACKER

McALLEN (TX)
The Monitor

February 2, 2019

By Cristina M. Garcia

The Cameron County District Attorney’s Office announced its plans Friday to launch an “inquiry” into the Catholic Diocese of Brownsville’s list of 13 priests the church deemed “credibly accused” of sexually assaulting children in Hidalgo and Cameron counties.

“Our office will be conducting an inquiry into this matter to determine what criminal justice actions may or need to be taken in response to this disclosure,” Cameron County District Attorney Luis Saenz said in a statement, adding his office reviewed the diocese’s list of clergy members who “have been accused of sexual abuse of children while they served in the Rio Grande Valley.”

The Brownsville diocese, encompassing the Rio Grande Valley, released its list of clergy members Thursday, an action taken simultaneously with all other Catholic dioceses in Texas.

All of the seven living priests on the list were assigned to churches in Hidalgo and Cameron Counties. The six other priests on the list have died.

An investigation would mean the district attorney’s office can subpoena testimony or records in the Catholic Church’s possession in preparation for a potential criminal case against the accused priests, according to Patti Koo of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priest, or SNAP, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting victims.

“This is exactly what we want,” Koo said.

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FRESNO (CA)
KGPE CBS 47

February 1, 2019

By Connie Tran

The Diocese of Fresno may soon release the names of local priests who’ve been accused of sexual misconduct. Bishop Armando Ochoa said they have a process in place to release the names, but it takes time.

Diocese spokesperson Teresa Dominguez believes the list may be released within a year.

“We are broken hearted, we are bruised, we are hurting,” prayed Ochoa on Friday.

It was a prayer for all those who have been sexually abused by the Catholic Church clergy. “Send your healing spirit to our brothers and sisters who have endured pain and abuse…”

Ochoa announced a plan is now in place to review clergy files within the Diocese of Fresno – which spans eight counties that include Fresno, Tulare, Madera, Kings, Merced, and Mariposa.

Dominguez, who is a survivor of abuse too, stated, “Our files date back to 1922, and that’s a lot of material to go through.”

Ochoa and Dominguez explained how the process will begin this Spring. After that, they will format a list of names of accused clergy.

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AUSTIN (TX)
Spectrum News

February 1, 2019

By Jeff Stensland

Thursday’s public release by the Roman Catholic Church listing almost 300 former Texas priests was a long time coming for clergy sexual abuse survivors like Carol Midboe, who came forward years ago and now volunteers with the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP.

“It’s vital for people’s sense of well-being and to know they are not alone,” she said.

Midboe’s still waiting to hear from new survivors to come forward. She said a priest abused her as a child, which she said caused more than just physical or emotional trauma.

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[Eight alumni of Salesian school accuse “Father Chemi” of abuse]

BILBAO (SPAIN)
El País

February 2, 2019

By Julio Núñez

Las víctimas acusan al entonces religioso de maltrato físico, tocamientos y violación

Ocho antiguos alumnos del colegio salesiano de Deusto (Bilbao) han denunciado a lo largo de esta semana ante la Ertzaintza al exsalesiano José Miguel San Martín, conocido como don Chemi, por abusos sexuales y físicos durante la década de los ochenta. Los denunciantes, de varias promociones escolares, decidieron denunciar los casos de pederastia después de que a comienzos de este año EL PAÍS publicase el relato de otra supuesta víctima, José Antonio Pérez (que también se ha unido como denunciante), donde narraba cómo San Martín abusó de él entre 1978 y 1980 en las instalaciones del centro.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
Christian Post

February 2, 2019

By Meredith Harbman

“Use it well,” Albus Dumbledore says to Harry Potter in “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.” These words accompany his gift of an invisibility cloak to young Harry. Dumbledore knows that the cloak is a tool that Harry will have the opportunity to use responsibly… or not.

The Catholic Church has had the opportunity, recently, to think about the tools it wields as a church—and whether or not it is using them well. Nicholas P. Cafardi, a Catholic expert in canon law, recently said, “When it came to handling child sexual abuse by priests, our legal system fell apart.”

Cafardi was talking about the waves of sexual abuse reports that have rolled over the Catholic Church in recent decades. His sentiment came from the early 2000s, but the past six months have shown its continued truth: the Catholic Church has a long way to go when it comes to handling the sexual misconduct of its priests.

The Catholic Church has a long way to go because, historically, its bureaucracy and hierarchy have enabled abusive priests and clogged the lines of communication for people who wanted to report abuse. A confusing slew of instructions within canon law shows how any chain of command can allow depravity to continue.

Some might use this as an argument against institutional hierarchy, arguing that it encourages evil to take root. However, studies show that sexual abuse occurs at a rate of six percent in the general public, which is just as often as it does in the Catholic Church. There’s nothing worse happening within Catholicism than there is in the outside world, we just expect more of a religious institution.

As a public, we are just as shocked in 2018 as we were almost twenty years ago. At first, we were appalled that such widespread abuse could happen at all, but now we’re horrified that bishops could know about the abuse and choose to cover for their priests—and vice versa.

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OAKLAND (CA)
The Oakland Voice

February 2, 2019

By Albert C. Pacciorini

A lively, respectful group of about 100 people met with two representatives of the Diocese of Oakland to discuss the issue of clergy sexual abuse and its coverup at St. Joan of Arc Church in San Ramon the evening of Jan. 22.

Steve Wilcox, chancellor of the diocese, and Rev. Jayson Landeza outlined the historical issues of clergy sexual abuse while saying the evening would be mostly questions from the audience.

Repeatedly, audience members drove home a theme: people, especially the young, are avoiding the Church in vast numbers, older people are falling away. They see the Church as unresponsive in meeting the needs of the gay and transgender community and not doing enough to end clergy sexual abuse.

We’ve heard all this before, many said: People’s lives have been ruined. Families are ruined. We’re tired of the apologies and repetition. Do something now.”

Wilcox said he hopes the diocese can release its list of credibly accused clergy on Feb. 18. While many will be familiar names, there may be one or two not previously widely known.

Rev. Ray Sacca, St. Joan of Arc pastor, opened the evening with prayer, and noted Catholics are expressing outrage at the renewed abuse revelations.

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[Defense requests that a court definitively dismisses case against accused priest]

CHILE
BioBioChile

February 2, 2019

By Felipe Díaz and Fabián Polanco

En una audiencia pública la Corte de Apelaciones de Concepción resolvería si confirma el sobreseimiento de la investigación contra el sacerdote Hernán Enríquez, acusado de violación por el padre de un ex seminarista. Mientras, respecto de la arista canónica no hay un pronunciamiento oficial aún.

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COLMAR (FRANCE)
Agence France-Presse

February 2, 2019

A French priest Friday sentenced to five years, two without parole, on Friday for sexually assaulting four young female parishioners, one of whom was just nine when the offenses started, and embezzling 100,000 euros ($115,000) to pay one of his victims.

The trial was held behind closed doors at Colmar Criminal Court, in northeast France, which publicly announced the sentence late Friday.

The 60-year-old cleric, who will have to spend at least two years behind bars and be under restrictions for the rest of his term, could have faced up to 10 years in prison.

The priest will also have to undergo psychological treatment, which he has already started, according to his lawyers.

Under the judgement, he is forbidden from contacting his victims or any activity involving minors. He is also barred from staying in the Alsace region, where the offenses were committed.

His sentence was lighter than that sought by the public prosecutor, who had asked for four years in prison followed by three years under a supervision order.

The trial was held behind closed doors at the request of three of the four victims, who were minors at the start of the offenses.

The attacks, which continued after three of the victims were adults, took place between 2001 and 2006 and between 2011 and 2016.

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ROME (ITALY)
Associated Press

February 2, 2019

By Nicole Winfield

Pope Francis is ruling out any lifting of the celibacy requirement for priests but says there’s reason to consider ordaining older, married men in remote communities where priests are in short supply.

Francis said he believes priestly celibacy is a gift for the Catholic Church and opposes a blanket change to make it optional. But he said “pastoral necessity” might justify alternative options in certain parts of the world.

“I think the problem should be opened in this sense: Where there’s a pastoral problem because of a lack of priests,” he said. “I’m not saying it should be done, because I haven’t reflected or prayed enough about it. But theologians must study it.”

Francis’ comments, to reporters on the way home Sunday from Panama, open the way for discussion about celibacy in the run-up to a big meeting of bishops from the Amazon at the Vatican in October. Brazil’s bishops have long pushed for the church to consider ordaining so-called viri probati, older married men of proven virtue, to minister in remote parts of the Amazon where the faithful can go months without Mass and evangelical and Pentecostal churches are making inroads as a result.

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[Court orders the dismissal of four priests of “La Familia” in Rancagua]

CHILE
Soy Chile

February 1, 2019

El año pasado otros tres sacerdotes también fueron sobreseídos en el caso.

El Tribunal de Garantía de Pichilemu decretó el sobreseimiento de cuatro sacerdotes implicados en el denominado caso “La Familia” sobre la existencia de una supuesta red de abusos al interior de la Iglesia en la región de O’Higgins. La investigación en contra de los sacerdotes se llevaba a cabo por denuncias de conductas impropias.

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[Opinion: Father Renato Poblete]

CHILE
La Tercera

February 2, 2019

By Percival Cowley V.

No es una novedad que la Iglesia pase por momentos de crisis. Las ha habido en su larga historia y las seguirá habiendo. Con todo, esa misma historia sigue ofreciéndose como pedagoga de su desarrollo y tarea temporal.

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

February 1, 2019

Despite pledging to remove priests from ministry following accusations of abuse, a priest from the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston was left in position up to the day the Texas bishops released lists of accused priests throughout the state.

Fr. John Keller was allowed to say mass the very morning that his name was released as a “credibly accused” cleric. Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, the leader of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, had been informed of accusations against Fr. Keller back in November. Moreover, a second victim came forward just last month.

It takes only seconds for an abuser to hurt a child or a vulnerable adult which is why the 2002 promise from Church officials to remove those accused of abuse was so critical to the prevention of future cases. But if the president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops can openly flaunt the provisions of the Dallas Charter, what hope do survivors have?

The answer is a lot of hope. The actions of secular officials in the justice system across the country have generated renewed optimism for justice and accountability. We hope that AG Ken Paxton listens to the news – and the hopes of the hundreds of survivors that have reached out to his office – and begins an independent investigation into Cardinal DiNardo’s handling of abuse cases immediately.

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SHERMAN (TX)
KTEN News

February 1, 2019

By Brittany Breeding

Now that sexual abuse allegations have been publicly raised against three former Sherman clergymen, the Grayson County Sheriff’s Office is prepared to hear from anyone who wants to file a report.

On Thursday, the Catholic Diocese of Dallas issued a list of church personnel with credible allegations of sexual abuse of children. That list included three men with links to St. Mary’s Catholic Parish in Sherman:

Jeremy Myers, a fixture at St. Mary’s for more than two decades, was removed as a priest last year.
John Duesman died in 1984.

Michael Flanagan died in 2008.

Sheriff Tom Watt said there are no known cases involving Myers in Grayson County, but that is subject to change now that the names have been made public.

“I know the churches are trying to encourage people if they feel they need to make a report to please come and make a report,” said sheriff’s office spokeswoman Capt. Sarah Bigham. “That way the information can be looked into by law enforcement.”

Abuse allegations are being handled by Lt. Heath Wester at 903-813-2216.

The Dallas Diocese provided a copy of its list to police agencies, and the Catholic community seems to be supportive of this decision.

“I think it’s very, very positive that this is happening,” said parishioner Mary Walker of Denison. “Change is good for everyone, including the Catholic church or any church, any religious forum.”

The priests who were investigated by the Diocesan Review Board date all the way back to 1950.

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[Opus Dei faces first complaint of priest abusing minors in Chile]

CHILE
La Tercera

February 1, 2019

By María José Navarrete

Las acusaciones contra Patricio Astorquiza, hoy de 82 años, mencionan “acoso persistente en el tiempo y abuso de conciencia, ambas con posible connotación sexual”.

La creciente serie de denuncias por presuntos abusos en la Iglesia Católica alcanzó ahora en Chile a otra de sus organizaciones más emblemáticas. El Opus Dei informó que uno de sus sacerdotes, Patricio Astorquiza (82), enfrenta acusaciones por presunto acoso que se remontan a hace aproximadamente 20 años.

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DALLAS (T)
Morning News

February 1, 2019

Kevin Krause, Dana Branham, Sarah Sarder, LaVendrick Smith and Charles Scudder

After the Catholic Diocese of Dallas released the names of 31 clergy members deemed “credibly accused” of sexually abusing kids since 1950, Danny Blonien went to church.

Blonien, 57, has been a parishioner of St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in East Dallas for 27 years. He’s a member of the church’s choir.

In the 1990’s, he and his wife had counseling sessions with Jeremy Myers, one of the accused priests on the list released Thursday.

Blonien said late Thursday that the news stunned him. The Myers he knew on a first-name basis was warm and engaging and could connect biblical Scripture to contemporary times with ease. He never suspected that Myers, who the diocese said was “suspended” from service in 2018, could be accused of sexual abuse.

“It’s kind of a shock. It’s visceral,” Blonien said. “That’s not consistent with the man that I knew, but you know, people shock you all the time. You think you know them.”

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BEAUMONT (TX)
The Enterprise

February 1, 2019

By Haley Bruyn

The Catholic clergy sex scandal, subject of lawsuits, movies and countless works of journalism, became suddenly personal in Southeast Texas this week after the Diocese of Beaumont released the names of 13 priests found to have been credibly accused of abusing minors over the last half-century.

“I was just devastated,” said Angela Mazzola-Burleigh of Orange after learning that former priest Earl Mudd, who married her parents and baptized her oldest sister, was among the presumed violators.

“When I saw his name on that list, he went from priest to predator in my mind,” she said.

It was a scene played out in an uncountable number of Catholic households, here and across the state, following the coordinated release of nearly 300 names from 14 Texas dioceses. It was one of the largest such reckonings in the nation.

Hilda Arisco of Nederland recounted her experiences with another accused priest, Henry Drouilhet, during his time at St. Pius X Catholic Church in Beaumont.

“He was mean,” she said. “I wasn’t surprised to see his name on there. He hated girls but was always nice to the boys.”

Arisco recalled picking up her daughter from catechism class and finding her and the other girls in her class outside. They said Drouilhet had made all of them wait outside while the boys stayed indoors.

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HOUSTON (TX)
Houston Chronicle

January 31, 2019

By Anastasiya Zavyalova

It’s a TV image so common we barely pause to look up: a hive of uniformed law enforcement officers swarming onto a crime scene. But the target of this SWAT-type strike was groundbreaking.

Unfolding on air over a “developing story” banner in November, the surprise targeted the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. Instead of contraband or drugs, law enforcers were seeking records linked to a diocese priest, recently released on bond, accused of sexually abusing children.

Unfolding on air over a “developing story” banner in November, the surprise targeted the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. Instead of contraband or drugs, law enforcers were seeking records linked to a diocese priest, recently released on bond, accused of sexually abusing children.

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BATON ROUGE (LA)
The Advocate

February 1, 2019

By Andrea Gallo

Before Clarence Biggers came to the Diocese of Baton Rouge in 1964, multiple girls told their parents that the Marist priest had kissed them, fondled them and exposed himself to them at St. Joseph Catholic School in Marietta, Georgia.

One of their mothers typed up a letter to Marist officials about his abuse. But instead of removing him from ministry, the Marist order transferred the priest to the Diocese of Baton Rouge, where he worked at St. Joseph Church in the tiny town of Paulina in St. James Parish on the east bank of the Mississippi River.

The Diocese of Baton Rouge named 37 clergymen this week who were credibly accused of sexual abuse of a minor, and Biggers was among them. While some of those on the list had previously been targeted by lawsuits and featured in media accounts, 19 of them had never had their misconduct exposed.

Biggers was one of those.

The Diocese reported that Biggers continued to abuse children after he got to Paulina, saying that they received multiple reports in 2000 of abuse that occurred between 1964 and 1967. Dan Borne, a spokesman for the Baton Rouge Diocese, said Friday that they had no records indicating that Biggers sexually abused a minor before he came to Baton Rouge. The Marist order transferred Biggers back to Atlanta in 1967, where he worked at another church parish before he joined a monastery and died in 2009.

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BAKERSFIELD (CA)
Bakersfield Californian

February 1, 2019

By Jose Gaspar

For the first time the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fresno will publicly name the names of San Joaquin Valley priests accused of sexual misconduct.

About time.

But don’t expect it to happen anytime soon. It’s going to take awhile for investigators to review voluminous archives.

“To ensure that this task is objectively completed in a timely manner, we will undergo an extensive review of our clergy in the spring of 2019,” said Bishop Armando Ochoa, speaking at a news conference at Diocese headquarters in Fresno on Friday.

The Catholic Church is still in crisis because of its mishandling of scores of cases in which priests abused minors.

Why is the Diocese of Fresno just now coming around to taking this action?

After last year’s horrific revelations that more than 300 priests in Pennsylvania sexually molested children, coupled with the resignation of Cardinal Theodore McCarrick and credible allegations that he too sexually abused others, the Diocese was finally spurred to action.

“It shook all of us very deeply and emotionally,” said Dioceses spokeswoman Teresa Dominguez.

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HOUSTON (TX)
KTRK TV

February 1, 2019

By Shelley Childers

The stories of abuse within Houston-area Catholic churches continue to be shared in the wake of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston releasing a list of 42 clergy credibly accused of child sex abuse.

“It’s very difficult to get a phone call from a 65-year-old man weeping and crying about this,” said Michael Norris, the local leader of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP). “That’s the kind of pain that survivors are going through.”

Norris held a press conference at the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in downtown Thursday, an hour after the list was released.

His public announcement was to offer support for victims in the wake of the list being released.

“Shortly after the press conference yesterday, I got a phone call,” said Norris. “I got my first phone call, so it was quick.”

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HOUSTON (TX)
Catholic News Service

February 1, 2019

By James Ramos

In a step to restore trust in the Catholic Church, dioceses in Texas released their lists of priests against whom credible allegations of sexual abuse of a minor have been determined.

The 15 dioceses disclosed Jan. 31 the names of 278 individual clerics who have such credible allegations in Texas. The statewide disclosure removed duplication of clerics who appear on multiple diocesan lists.

The Diocese of Fort Worth, which made public its list in 2007, has continued to update its disclosure on its website. It identifies 15 priests, one permanent deacon and one religious brother.

Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller of San Antonio repeatedly called the release “the just and right thing to do,” and that it is a “move forward in building a healthier community, a healthier society.”

The lists were compiled separately by each individual diocese. Many dioceses worked in cooperation with diocesan lay review boards, with some also working with independent consultants.

The release includes the Galveston-Houston and San Antonio archdioceses and the Austin, Amarillo, Beaumont, Brownsville, Corpus Christi, Dallas, El Paso, Fort Worth, Laredo, Lubbock, San Angelo, Tyler and Victoria dioceses. The oldest diocese is Galveston-Houston, established in 1847, with San Antonio founded next in 1874. Since 1950 nine additional dioceses have been established, resulting in a total of 15 dioceses. Laredo is the most recent to be established, that being in 2000.

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HOUSTON (TX)
Associated Press

February 1, 2019

By Nomaan Merchant

The cardinal who leads the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops removed a priest accused of sexual abuse from ministry the day before the priest’s name was among those released on a list of clergy credibly accused of abuse.

The Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston said Friday that Cardinal Daniel DiNardo told the Rev. John T. Keller he would be removed from ministry late Wednesday. DiNardo still let Keller celebrate Mass Thursday morning, hours before Keller was listed among more than 40 priests as being removed due to “recent allegations currently under investigation.”

According to the archdiocese, DiNardo gave Keller permission to celebrate the Mass since it had been previously scheduled.

A man told CBS News in November that Keller gave him alcohol and fondled him when the man was 16. Another man came forward with allegations last month.

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[New whistleblower group demands Jesuits publish names of priests accused of sexual crimes or cover-up]

CHILE
The Clinic

February 1, 2019

En una carta abierta acusan que la congregación adoptó una actitud pasiva ante las primeras señales y testimonios de denuncia, y exigen acciones de verdad, justicia y reparación con los sobrevivientes.

A través de una carta abierta a la Compañía de Jesús, el nuevo Grupo de Denunciantes de Abusos Jesuitas critica a la congregación por haber hecho caso omiso a las primeras señales o testimonios de delitos sexuales, y la emplaza a publicar los nombres de todos los sacerdotes o profesores acusados, el tipo de abusos cometidos y el estado actual del proceso de investigación o condena aplicada.

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SANTIAGO (CHILE)
Associated Press

February 1, 2019

The Opus Dei movement says that one of its priests in Chile is being investigated for allegedly abusing underage minors.

The conservative movement said in a statement Friday that 82-year-old Patricio Astorquiza has been accused of prolonged harassment and abuse “with possible sexual connotation” against two minors.

Chile’s entire Catholic hierarchy has been humiliated in a mushrooming sexual abuse and coverup scandal. The Opus Dei had been spared until now.

Astorquiza has been banned from officiating Mass. He had been questioned starting late last year, even before the two alleged victims filed their complaints. The priest has been banned from officiating mass in public.

The Opus Dei said that it will send the result of the investigation to the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

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[José Andrés Murillo: Members of Society of Jesus admit “we all knew Renato Poblete was a womanizer”]

CHILE
El Mostrador

January 30, 2019

Tras la denuncia de Marcela Aranda contra el emblemático capellán del Hogar de Cristo, la Compañía de Jesús abrió una investigación que puso en manos del abogado laico Waldo Bown, y además admitió que hay más casos, sin dar detalles ni precisar cifras. Sin embargo, el director de la Fundación Para la Confianza y denunciante del cura Fernando Karadima reveló que ya van cerca de 8 testimonios de víctimas.

El director de la Fundación para la Confianza y denunciante de Fernando Karadima, José Andrés Murillo, aseguró que “ya van cerca de ocho testimonios de víctimas” del excapellán del Hogar de Cristo Renato Poblete Barth y que desde el interior de la Compañía de Jesús le reconocieron que era un secreto a voces el comportamiento del emblemático cura.

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[Abuse victims say: “The Society of Jesus has a direct institutional responsibility in these cases”]

CHILE
El Mostrador

January 31, 2019

Una carta abierta a la Compañía de Jesús envió un grupo de denunciantes de abusos por parte de sacerdotes de esta comunidad religiosa, en donde señalan que la congregación “tiene hoy el deber y la gran oportunidad de apuntar a la total transparencia, corregir el rumbo, reconocer sus errores, pedir perdón como institución, cerrar bien los procesos en curso y proponer acciones concretas”.

La agrupación que reúne a denunciantes de abusos por parte de jesuitas acusó un “grave” encubrimiento de la congregación a los delitos cometidos por sacerdotes y señalaron que “la Compañía de Jesús ha tenido una directa responsabilidad institucional en estos casos, que es incluso más grave que los delitos individuales de algunos de sus miembros”.

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NEW YORK (NY)
ABC News

February 1, 2019

By Meghan Keneally

Nearly 300 priests and clergy members of the Catholic dioceses in Texas were identified this week for alleged sexual abuse of minors.

In total, 14 archdioceses and dioceses in Texas released their lists on Tuesday, making them the latest in a string of disclosures by Catholic Church bodies across the country. The Diocese of Laredo announced that there were no credible accusations in its region.

All of the lists name the accused priests and clergy members as well as their assignments, but they differed in the amount details they disclosed about the alleged abuses, the timing of the abuse and whether they resulted in any disciplinary action.

For example, The Diocese of Amarillo, which detailed the accusations against its priests, noted that one priest was the subject of 16 allegations.

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[Victims of sexual abuse in Marist schools demand that the church not fund priests’ defense]

CHILE
Publimetro

January 31, 2019

El grupo, manifestó que mientras la iglesia financia abogados, hay víctimas que no se atreven a iniciar acciones legales por no contar con profesionales del derecho, viéndose obligados a ser asesorados por practicantes.

Las víctimas de abuso y violación en los colegios Maristas solicitaron a la Iglesia dejar de financiar las defensas de los responsables de delitos, como el del encubrimiento, indicando que la jerarquía ha guardado silencio en muchos casos.

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[A priest goes to prison for child pornography in Malaga]

MALAGA (SPAIN)
El País

February 1, 2019

By Nacho Sánchez

Un sacerdote ha ingresado en prisión por un presunto delito de corrupción de menores y abusos sexuales. Según han explicado fuentes del Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Andalucía (TSJA), el clérigo fue detenido el pasado lunes y puesto a disposición judicial. Ese mismo día declaró ante el juzgado de instrucción 12 de Málaga, que decretó su entrada en la cárcel ese mismo día. Este ha sido el segundo arresto del cura, que el pasado mes de agosto fue detenido en la llamada operación Sandrina por posesión de pornografía infantil.

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[“I saw with my own eyes the touching in the confessional”]

GIRONA (SPAIN)
El País

February 1, 2019

By Marta Rodríguez

El alcalde de Báscara, Narcís Saurina, asegura haber presenciado los abusos del expárraco de Vilobí d’Onyar investigado por el Obispado de Girona

El alcalde del pequeño municipio gerundés de Báscara, Narcís Saurina, asegura que fue testigo de los presuntos abusos que cometió, durante décadas, monseñor Tomàs Pons, el expárraco de Vilobí d’Onyar investigado por el Obispado de Girona. Saurina lo conoció cuando él estudiaba en el colegio Bell-lloc de Girona, donde Pons era profesor. El ahora alcalde de Báscara y algunos de sus compañeros de clase simulaban ir a confesarse para no ir a clase y se escondían en una zona oscura desde la que veían los confesionarios. Allí lo presenció todo. Él y otros exalumnos, insiste. “Vi con mis propios ojos los tocamientos en el confesionario”, sentencia.

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[Vatican opens criminal proceedings against Diego Ossa, priest in Karadima’s circle]

CHILE
La Tercera

January 31, 2019

By María José Navarrete

La investigación durará 60 días. Hasta agosto de 2018, el presbítero se desempeñaba como vicario en una parroquia de Ñuñoa. Uno de los denunciantes, Óscar Osbén, relató a La Tercera los abusos que habría cometido el sacerdote.

“Yo a los 30 años de edad recién pude tomar decisiones que no fueran consultadas por mi director espiritual. Entre los 13 y 28 años, mis decisiones fueron manejadas por Diego Ossa”. Así describe Óscar Osbén Moscoso, denunciante del sacerdote diocesano, su relación con quien fue su director espiritual, al relatar los abusos de poder y de conciencia que se habrían cometido en su contra desde que era menor de edad.

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[Opus Dei’s turn: two accusations against priest Patricio Astorquiza]

CHILE
La Tercera

February 1, 2019

By Carlos Reyes

Se refieren a un acoso persistente en el tiempo y a un abuso de conciencia, ambas con posible connotación sexual”, indicaron en un comunicado.

El Opus Dei informó esta jornada que en los últimos meses han recibido dos denuncias contra el sacerdote de la Prelatura del Opus Dei Patricio Astorquiza (82 años).

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[Cardinal Ezzati plays his last card to block prosecutor’s abuse investigation]

CHILE
La Tercera

February 1, 2019

By Leslie Ayala C.

Su abogado, el reconocido penalista Hugo Rivera, apeló ante la Corte capitalina para que sean estos tribunales superiores los que sobresean definitivamente la causa en que el ex arzobispo de Santiago tiene calidad de imputado.

El magistrado Eduardo Gallardo –titular del 13° Juzgado de Garantía de Santiago- citó al ex supremo Milton Juica al momento de rechazar el sobreseimiento definitivo de la causa por encubrimientos en la Iglesia católica chilena que estaba solicitando el cardenal Ricardo Ezzati. El miércoles 30 dijo enfático: “Me parece que en una investigación desformalizada, vulgarmente ‘matar el caso’, sin permitirle al Ministerio Público –precisamente- ejercer ese rol institucional sería una decisión hoy día a mi juicio premeditar, porqué sí creo que hay algo susceptible de ser investigado “.

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CANBERRA (AUSTRALIA)
Canberra Times

February 1, 2019

By Nick Miller

An Anglican priest from Perth, Western Australia, has been extradited to Britain to face sex assault charges dating back to the 1970s and 80s.

Meirion Griffiths, 80, from Maddington in Perth, was charged on an extradition warrant issued by Westminster magistrates court in London in December 2016, Sussex police said.

The warrant alleges that he committed several indecent assaults against a girl then in her late teens in the mid-1970s, and several indecent assaults against a woman then in her mid-20s in 1982.

The offences allegedly took place in West Sussex. At the time of the alleged offences Griffiths was Church of England vicar of St Pancras in Chichester, police said in a statement issued on Thursday.

Chichester is a cathedral city near the English south coast, between Southampton and Brighton.

Griffiths arrived at Heathrow from Australia on Thursday in the custody of Sussex Police officers.

He appeared in court the same day, pleaded not guilty and was remanded in custody to appear at Portsmouth Crown Court on March 1, the police statement said.

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LAKE CHARLES (LA)
KPLC TV

February 1, 2019

The Catholic Diocese of Lake Charles says it is working on a list of credibly accused priests.

The Diocese released the statement to KPLC after the Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge on Thursday released a list of clergy credibly accused of sexually abusing minors.

Diocese statement:

The Diocese of Lake Charles is presently reviewing all files with the help of experienced personnel. Once this process is complete, an objective panel of professionals with expertise in law will assess the files and a list will be compiled that is thorough, transparent, just and truthful. The concern of the clergy and laity of the Diocese remains the victims of sexual abuse.

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GENEVA (NY)
Finger Lakes Times

By Steve Buchiere

When a bill that would extend the statute of limitations on child molestation cases breezed through the state Legislature this past week, there weren’t many people happier than Peter Saracino.

Saracino, a native of Seneca Falls and a retired Marcus Whitman teacher, says a Capuchin priest at a former Catholic seminary in Geneva abused him when he was 8 or 9.

The former Geneva seminary on Lochland Road was run by the Capuchin Friars of the Province of the Sacred Stigmata of Union City, N.J. It is now the upscale Geneva On the Lake resort.

In a meeting with local press last summer, Saracino made public the name of his accuser, whom he said Monday is still an active priest in New Jersey. He provided a photo as well.

The Finger Lakes Times has not divulged his name because there has been no official acknowledgement of the abuse by the Order.

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NEW YORK (NY)
Catholic News Service

February 1, 2019

New York Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan in a Sirius XM broadcast Jan. 29 criticized Gov. Andrew Cuomo for his “stinging criticism of the Catholic Church” in singling out Catholics over the crisis surrounding the sexual abuse of minors.”

“He really caricatured the church and only the church, singling it out for the sexual abuse of minors and contesting that we were the ones that had blocked the Child Victims Act,” Cardinal Dolan told Father Dave Dwyer, co-host of “Conversation With Cardinal Dolan,” which airs every Tuesday afternoon on Sirius XM’s The Catholic Channel.

“And then misquoting, taking out of context, Pope Francis, and to flaunt his dissent from established church teaching and to use all that as an applause line,” the cardinal said of the governor.

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VATICAN CITY
The Associated Press

February 1, 2019

By Nicole Winfield

The Vatican’s women’s magazine is denouncing the sexual abuse of nuns by priests — and the resulting “scandal” of religious sisters having abortions or giving birth to children who are then not recognized by their fathers.

The February issue of “Women Church World,” a monthly magazine distributed alongside the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, was published Friday. It cited Pope Francis’ own analysis of abuse by saying clerical power was at the root of the problem.

It said nuns have been silenced for years by fear of retaliation against themselves or their orders if they report the priests who molested them.

The publication marks a significant public acknowledgment from inside the Vatican of the problem that the Holy See has long known about but has done next to nothing to address.

Last year, after The Associated Press and other media reported on the scandal, the international association of women’s religious orders urged sisters to report abuse to police and their superiors, a significant shattering of the silence that has long kept the problem secret.

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INDIA
HuffPost India

January 31, 2019

By Piyasree Dasgupta and Meryl Sebastian

Going against the church is equivalent to going against the entire society for nuns, but Lucy Kalapura is not perturbed.

When Bishop Franco Mulakkal returned to the Jalandhar diocese in October after spending 21 days in jail, his supporters welcomed him back with massive garlands and showers of rose petals. As images of the hero’s welcome given to the rape-accused priest filled her TV screen and social media timeline, something snapped in sister Lucy Kalapura.

The 52 year old, who has been a nun for more than three decades, had often heard stories of powerful men of the cloth sexually abusing women and sometimes children. But the Mulakkal case shook her.

“I couldn’t believe how relentless it was. I heard the man raped her 13 times,” Kalapura told HuffPost India.

It was in June 2018 that a nun from a convent in Kottayam’s Kuruvilangad filed a police complaint, accusing Mulakkal of sexually abusing her multiple times between 2014 and 2016.

As news of the assault broke, a few nuns from the survivor’s congregation, the Missionaries of Jesus, began protesting, demanding that action be taken against Mulakkal.

Kalapura waited, expecting more women from convents to take to the streets to demand Mulakkal’s arrest.

“Forget the Bishop being arrested, I realised more and more women were going against the nun who complained,” said Kalapura, who belongs to the Franciscan Clarist Congregation.

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ROCHESTER (NY)
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

January 31, 2019

By Sean Lahman and Steve Orr

MORE VICTIMS HAVE REACHED OUT TO THE DEMOCRAT AND CHRONICLE AND BRIGHTON POLICE ABOUT ALLEGED ABUSE AT MCQUAID JESUIT HIGH SCHOOL.

When Tom Chiarella read last month about sexual abuse allegations against seven priests once assigned to his alma mater, McQuaid Jesuit High School, he was sick to his stomach.

Chiarella had known that sexual abuse had occurred at the Brighton secondary school because he was a victim of it. The trauma hung over his head for years before he could find a way out.

His personal escape culminated in the bold step of telling the world what had happened to him in an article for Esquire magazine in 2003 called “My Education.” Chiarella recounted how French teacher John J. Tobin had harassed, stalked and sexually abused him between 1975 and his graduation in 1979.

What disturbed Chiarella were allegations that came to light Jan. 15, when a regional Jesuit organization named 50 priests who had been credibly accused of sexually abusing minors. Seven of those priests once taught at McQuaid.

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HAITI
The Haitian Times

February 1, 2019

Haitian Men to be Compensated Following Sexual Assault Case

More than 130 young men may receive $60 million in damages after a couple of Jesuit men was found guilty of sexually assaulting the young men. The proposed settlement seeks to compensate anyone who has been sexually assaulted by Douglas Perlitz, one of the founders of Pierre Toussaint school in Cap-Haitien, and Reverend Paul Carrier, between January 1, 1996 and July 1, 2009. If approved by a Connecticut federal judge, this $ 60 million deal will be the second of its kind, resulting. In 2013 lawyer Mitchell Garabedian received $12 million for 24 Haitian teenagers claiming to have been sexually assaulted by Perlitz, radio Television Caraibes reports.

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PERTH (AUSTRALIA)
PerthNow

January 31, 2019

By Nick Butterly

The former Anglican Archbishop of Perth Roger Herft is to face a significant internal investigation that could ultimately see him stripped of any right to officiate as a priest.

In a statement, the Anglican Church’s Episcopal Standards Commission confirmed it was investigating complaints about the conduct of the former Archbishop following his appearance before the child abuse royal commission in 2016.

Archbishop Herft resigned from his position as Perth’s most senior Anglican in 2016 after admitting he let down survivors of child sexual abuse when he was Bishop of Newcastle

[ New South Wales, Australia ] between 1993 and 2005.

At the time the resignation marked Archbishop Herft as one of the most senior casualties of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual abuse.

“Complaints about the conduct of Bishop Roger Herft when he was Bishop of Newcastle are being investigated by the Episcopal Standards Commission, the Anglican authority for dealing with allegations about bishops,” a spokesperson for the commission said.

“The conduct of Bishop Herft and other Newcastle bishops and leaders was examined by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in Case Study 42, published in November 2017.

“The Episcopal Standards Commission is investigating the many issues which arise from the information it has received. It will determine its course of action as soon as it can.”

In hearings in 2016 the Royal Commission heard how Archbishop Herft had mishandled a series of horrific abuse cases and had been “wilfully blind” to the criminal conduct of clergy under his authority.

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

February 1, 2019

Yesterday, the Diocese of Baton Rouge, LA released a list of priests that have been accused of abuse.

We are grateful for this development. Releasing these names publicly is crucial not only for the healing of survivors, but also to encourage victims who may be suffering in silence to come forward and to help deter future clergy sex crimes and cover ups. However, releasing these names is only the first step on the path towards healing and deterrence.

It is notable that Bishop Michael Duca went a step further than many of his brother bishops in ensuring that his list also includes the date that the allegations were first received as well as what action was taken by church officials and when. SNAP has been asking for this kind of transparency.

Yet we still believe that there should be an independent investigation by independent governmental officials into clergy sex abuse and cover ups in Louisiana. We encourage Bishop Duca to continue showing other Catholic officials the right way to do things by personally appealing to Attorney General Jeff Landry to launch an investigation into his diocese and other dioceses in the state. Only trained law enforcement professionals can truly judge when an accusation is “credible” or not and compel full transparency.

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LONDON (ENGLAND)
The Tablet

February 1, 2019

By Rose Gamble

The sexual abuse of nuns by priests and the resulting “scandal” of religious sisters having abortions or giving birth to children not recognised by their fathers has been condemned in an article in the Vatican’s women’s magazine, published on Friday (1 February).

The February issue of “Women Church World,” distributed alongside the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, says that religious sisters for years have not reported offences against them by priests for fear of retaliation.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
Catholic News Service

February 1, 2019

The following are excerpts of statements made by the bishops of several Texas dioceses Jan. 31 on the disclosure of the names of clergy who have been credibly accused of sex abuse of minors. The lists from all 15 Texas dioceses included the names of 278 clergy dating to 1950.

From Bishop Patrick Zurek of Amarillo: “The Diocese of Amarillo seeks to express regret and apologizes for the failing and sins that have hurt the church so deeply, especially in our most vulnerable members. The diocese especially asks forgiveness for the failings of those who have held positions of leadership in the church.”

From Bishop Joe Vasquez of Austin: “With a contrite heart, today I have published a list of clergy and religious who have been credibly accused of committing sexual abuse against a minor. … It is my prayer and hope that publishing this list will help to bring healing from the hurt and anger caused by the lack of accountability and transparency on the part of church leadership.

“The victims of sexual abuse by clergy have experienced much pain; we must continue to pray and care for our brothers and sisters who have suffered greatly. I apologize to the victims and their families for the diocese’s failures. The church must always be willing to recognize and correct its failings.”

From Bishop Daniel Flores of Brownsville: “An accurate accounting of the past is necessary for us to move forward with integrity. I and the bishops in Texas believe that releasing the names after an exhaustive review of the files will contribute to restore trust and healing. The humble and honest acceptance of the truth calls us to move forward in poverty of spirit for purification and renewal. We must think of the victims first and be sensitive to any renewed pain this release may cause.

“In these times of sorrowful purification, we know that by prayer and penance we journey together in the Lord. As I shared with you in September in a letter published in our diocesan newspaper, it is necessary now more than ever, that we dedicate ourselves anew as a people of faith to the work the Lord has commended to us, to bind the wounds of the broken-hearted and announce the power of his grace that is greater than any evil. Let us preach the Gospel, serve the poor, practice evangelical virtues, pray for sinners, and always hope in the triumph of grace over sin.”

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OAKLAND (CA)
KQED Radio

February 1, 2019

By Rachael Myrow

After a lengthy delay, the Diocese of Oakland says it is getting closer to releasing a list of priests credibly accused of sexual misconduct.

Professing a commitment to protect children, Bishop Michael Barber wrote in a blog post for the Catholic Voice website, published on Oct. 8, 2018, that he planned to release the list within 45 days.

“Over the years, we have been continually revising and improving our accountability process, reinforcing our commitment to protect children, utilizing background checks and mandatory safe environment training for all church employees and volunteers,” wrote Barber. “I have instructed my staff to prioritize this work while also recognizing the importance of making the list as accurate as possible.”

It has been more than three months since Barber wrote the post.

San Jose Diocese Names 15 Clergy Accused of Child Sexual Abuse, But Critics Say the List Falls Short

Stephen Wilcox, the Oakland Diocese chancellor and victims assistance coordinator, said Barber’s timeframe was too aggressive.

“It’s a complicated process,” Wilcox said. “There’s a lot of files to go through. And we committed to a pretty big task.”

Dan McNevin, a spokesman for the national support organization Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, called Barber’s delay a “cover-up.”

“I now believe he delayed it because this case was perking along,” McNevin said. “He didn’t want to expose it.”

The case in question centers on new allegations that surfaced this week against an East Bay priest. The Oakland Diocese has placed Father Alex Castillo on administrative leave as it investigates allegations of sexual misconduct involving a minor. Castillo was ordained in 2011 and has served at parishes in Oakley and Fremont.

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Patheos blog

January 31, 2019

By Michael Stone

Another creepy priest: A top Vatican official in charge of investigating sex abuse in the Catholic Church has resigned from the position after being accused of sexual abuse himself.

The Washington Post reports:
A Vatican official who handles sexual abuse cases for the Catholic Church has quit two months after being accused of sexual abuse.

On Monday, Hermann Geissler resigned from his position as chief of staff in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, a body that handles discipline in sexual abuse cases within the Catholic Church, according to a statement from the Holy See’s press office.

According to the report, Father Geissler is accused of sexually harassing women while they were in confession. One victim, former nun Doris Wagner, explained her experience with the abusive priest while she was in confession:

He would keep me there kneeling in front of him for hours, and he would tell me how much he liked me and that he knew that I liked him and even though we couldn’t marry, there would be other ways. At some point, he would try to hold me and kiss me, and I simply panicked and ran out of the room.

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CORPUS CHRISTI (TX)
KZTV TV

February 1, 2019

A Tynan family of a victim of sex abuse by a Catholic priest isn’t sure what purpose the release of the names of credibly accused priests really serves. They only hope others who have been victimized will come forward and begin their own healing.

Jimmy and Sheryl Hunt say they’ve been fighting for justice for years for their daughter. Their daughter was raped by a priest in their home seven years ago They got it last February when a Bee County jury found Father Stephen Dougherty guilty of sexual assault.

Father Stephen Dougherty’s name is on the list released by the Diocese of Corpus Christi today. He is serving a 60-year prison sentence for sexual assault.

Sheryl Hunt is sharing her daughter’s story to help other people who may have been abused and never said anything. She says her child said nothing for years, and then troubling signs started to show when she was around 12 years old. Finally, in 2015, the girl revealed that Dougherty had raped her three years earlier.

“Never give up, never give up on your child. If your child even hints something, you as a parent have the responsibility to believe them. And keep on until you get the truth,” said Sheryl Hunt, mother of the sex abuse victim.

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DUBLIN (IRELAND)
Irish Times

February 1, 2019

By David Raliegh

A priest has been found not guilty by a jury on eight counts of indecently assaulting an altar boy in Munster 30 years ago.

The accused had contested all of the charges which related to various dates between 1988 and 1990.

The trial at Limerick Circuit Court heard allegations the priest masturbated himself while the boy was on his lap, and that he had placed his hands inside the boy’s underwear.

The prosecution had alleged the assaults took place at time when the boy was carrying out menial jobs at the priest’s home, such as washing the priest’s car, cutting his lawn, and carrying out painting work.

On Thursday, the accused denied he carried out the alleged assaults, and said he had “no recollection” of the boy ever coming to his home to carry out this work.

The accused, who stepped aside from ministry following the allegations, agreed with Lily Buckley BL, for the prosecution, that he organised and went on outings with altar boys at the time of the alleged assaults on the injured party.

The accused agreed also he was in a position of “great trust” in his parish.

The alleged injured party’s mother told gardaí she remembered her son going to the priest’s house to cut his grass around the time of the alleged offences.

When asked by Ms Buckley if the boy’s mother was “a liar”, the priest replied: “I’m not saying that. I’m saying I have no recollection.”

The accused said he was “shocked” when gardai contacted him about the allegations.

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LOS ANGELES (CA)
Los Angeles Times

January 31, 2019

By Laura Newberry

A Minnesota-based law firm has released a report chronicling decades of alleged sexual abuse by clergy within the San Bernardino Diocese.

In October, the diocese released its own list of 34 priests who had been accused of abusing children. In the new report, released Thursday, Jeff Anderson & Associates of Minnesota contend that the diocese has not been fully transparent about the extent of sexual misconduct within the district.

“San Bernardino has disclosed in the past a certain number of offenders,” said Mike Reck, an attorney for the firm. “We know and believe and can prove that their list is incomplete.”

The report names more than 80 clergy members accused of sexual misconduct dating back to the 1950s. Most of the claims brought against these clerics have been settled or have not been fully evaluated in court, according to the report.

The firm notes that when the diocese released its list, it did not include accused priests who worked within the existing geographical bounds of the San Bernardino Diocese before it was formed in 1978. Before that year, the Diocese of San Diego represented parishes in San Bernardino and Riverside counties.

The names of accused clergy obtained by the firm were found in lawsuits, newspaper articles and reports from other dioceses, according to Reck. The firm also included priests who were accused of sexual misconduct elsewhere but worked in the San Bernardino Diocese at some point.

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KANSAS CITY (KS)
Kansas City Star

January 31, 2019

By Judy L. Thomas

The Catholic Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas failed to include six priests on a list it released last week of 22 clergy who have been credibly accused of sexually abusing minors, a victims’ advocate group said Thursday.

“The allegations arose elsewhere, but these six publicly accused child-molesting priests worked at some point in or around Kansas City, Kansas,” said David Clohessy, former national director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. “Therefore, they could very well have molested here, too.”

The six priests, Clohessy said, have either been convicted, sued or publicly exposed by Catholic

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BARCELONA (SPAIN)
Evangelical Focus blog

February 1, 2019

By Leonardo De Chirico

Stable. Traditional. Consistent. For many this has been the image of the Roman Catholic Church. But that was ages ago.

The present-day situation appears to be quite different: uncertain, scrutinized, wavering. The public image of the Roman Catholic Church now is that of a disrupted institution going through a season of internal turmoil. Here are few signs of the current crisis.

Annus Horribilis In September 2016, four cardinals sent to the Pope five questions (in Latin “dubia”, doubts). These questions gave voice to the “grave disorientation and great confusion” that exist in the Catholic community concerning the interpretation of key parts of Amoris Laetitia, the papal document that relaxes access to the sacraments by the divorced. In July 2017, more than 200 Catholic priests and intellectuals from around the world wrote “a filial correction concerning the propagation of heresies” to the Pope, thus elevating the tone of the criticism to the denunciation of doctrinal deviations.

At the end of July 2017, Father Thomas Weinandy, a former chief of staff for the U.S. Bishops’ Committee on Doctrine and a current member of the Vatican’s International Theological Commission, made public a letter sent to the Pope. In it, he argued that “a chronic confusion seems to mark your pontificate obscured by the ambiguity of your words and actions. This fosters within the faithful a growing unease. It compromises their capacity for love, joy and peace”.

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AUSTIN (TX)
KUT Radio News

January 31, 2019

By Laura Rice

On Thursday, 15 Texas Catholic dioceses plan to release a list of bishops, priests and other Catholic clergy who, according to the church itself, have been “credibly accused of sexually assaulting minors.”
The list is reported to include those alleged of abuse as far back as the 1950s; for many of these cases, it’s the first time they’re getting any public scrutiny. There are more than 4.5 million Catholic Texans, according to the Texas Almanac, and it’s the single largest religious community in the state.

The church itself is making the determination of whether an accusation is credible or not, and the release of the list doesn’t mean any criminal charges have been filed against the alleged abusers. In a church newsletter obtained by Houston TV station KPRC, which is set for release on Sunday, church leaders appear to anticipate fallout among parishioners. “There is no excuse for such acts, and clergy should be held to the highest standard.”

Many have been waiting for this day since last October when the church announced it was preparing the list. Patti Koo leads the San Antonio chapter of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. Despite the potential fallout from the lists, Koo says it will also be an empowering experience for abuse survivors.

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HARTFORD (CT)
Hartford Courant

February 1, 2019

By Sabrina Herrera

This is a video conference deposition of Father Daniel F. McSheffery taken on Nov. 11, 2005 as part of a series of lawsuits filed by attorney Joel Faxon starting in 2002.

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HARTFORD (CT)
Hartford Courant

February 1, 2019

By Dave Altimari

A grainy photograph from 1964 shows a collar-wearing Rev. Daniel McSheffery receiving his badge from Hartford’s city manager and fire chief – the young priest towering over the city officials appointing him fire chaplain.

It was the beginning of the ascendancy of Hartford-born McSheffery: over the next eight years he became head administrator of the local Catholic school and the archdiocese’s first-ever pastor-associate. In time, he grew so close to city and state officials that in 1972 the city declared a “Daniel McSheffery Day.” More than 600 people turned out for a dinner honoring him at the Valle’s steakhouse where the keynote speaker was state Attorney General Robert Killian.

But by 2005, McSheffery was sitting at a table in a nondescript Florida office, his eyes avoiding a video camera fixed on him. During that lawsuit deposition, he was confronted with a long list of individuals who accused the church’s former rising star of sexually assaulting them when they were children.

He was asked whether he had assaulted each accuser. Over 35 minutes, McSheffery declined to answer 56 times, citing his Fifth Amendment rights against answering even basic questions like where he was born. When attorney Joel Faxon asked him pointed questions about accusations of raping young boys in church rectories and school offices, McSheffery avoided eye contact, removed his glasses, rubbed his eyes and shrunk his 6-foot-4 body deeper into his chair.

Last week the Archdiocese of Hartford released a list of priests who had been “credibly accused” of molesting children and revealed it had paid $50.6 million to settle lawsuits. It said there was one priest who had 20 claims settled against him for nearly $11 million.

While the archdiocese did not identify that priest, The Courant has determined through court records and interviews with attorneys that it is McSheffery. The 20 claims making him the second-most sued in Connecticut history, just shy of the 21 claims made against former priest Raymond Pcolka from the Bridgeport Diocese.

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NASHVILLE (TN)
Nashville Tennessean

February 1, 2019

By Holly Meyer

The sexual abuse started when Scott Walker was 11 years old.

Walker says a young man who befriended him in the late 1980s in their Murfreesboro neighborhood repeatedly raped him until he was 12. But Walker kept quiet and turned to alcohol.

More than a quarter of a century would pass before Walker, then a few years sober, would report the sexual abuse to police. But by then it was too late. The crime was too old to prosecute, the local authorities would tell him.

So eventually, Walker, who is the president of WGNS radio in Murfreesboro, went to his state lawmakers and asked them to help him change the law by eliminating the statute of limitations on child felony sex abuse crimes in Tennessee. Statutes of limitations, intended to protect people from unfair prosecution, put an expiration date on pursuing legal action.
Unbeknownst to Walker, it would not be long before other ordinary Tennesseans would start their own fights for the same change he wanted.

But Walker’s solo quest is what put him in front of panels of lawmakers last spring, recounting the sexual trauma he suffered as a child and the 20-plus years of drinking that followed. His testimony helped. The Tennessee General Assembly directed a state commission to study the matter and report back.

“I’m glad that I was able to give words to hopefully make a difference,” Walker said in a recent interview.

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NEW ORLEANS (LA)
The Advocate

February 1, 2019

In a few weeks, Catholics in south Louisiana will join with Christian communities across the world in observing Lent, a season of somber self-appraisal and reflection on the church calendar.

But the Diocese of Baton Rouge isn’t waiting for Ash Wednesday to acknowledge grievous lapses of heart and mind that have shaken the church’s credibility. On Thursday, the diocese released a list of some three dozen clergy who had been “credibly accused” of sexually abusing minors over the past few decades.

Victims of abuse have already waited too long for help from a church where they had sought spiritual comfort, only to be harmed by those in positions of sacred trust. While that shameful past can’t be changed, Thursday’s release of accused clergy is a necessary step toward reform.

“It is hard to publish this list for all to see, but real renewal and healing cannot take place until we acknowledge the truth of our past,” Bishop Michael Duca, who was appointed last year to lead the diocese, wrote in a letter earlier this month. “Yet even though in this moment we are rightly brought low, I have not lost hope.”

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

January 31, 2019

SNAP applauds the release of lists but says that true transparency comes through investigations and urge independent authorities to “trust but verify.”

As advocates and survivors of clergy sexual abuse, we believe that any and all transparency is to be applauded coming from a closed and secret culture such as the Roman Catholic Church. The releasing of these names is at least one small step towards transparency. Still, we are concerned that these lists might not be as transparent as promised.

We recently learned in places like Buffalo, Pennsylvania and Illinois that the dioceses have not been forthright in disclosing full lists of credibly accused priests, nor providing information about the church officials who covered-up their crimes. The only way to ensure that the bishops here in Texas are truly sincere about rebuilding their sacred trust is to allow for independent, properly trained experts in law enforcement to review all the files, including the “secret files” which we learned exist from the Pennsylvania grand jury report last year. We call upon prosecuting attorneys and the Texas attorney general to launch an independent investigation into clergy sex abuse crimes and cover-ups.

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

January 31, 2019

A priest within the Diocese of Oakland has been placed on leave following allegations of sexual abuse of a minor.

We are grateful that the Diocese of Oakland has taken steps to protect children and prevent future cases of abuse by removing Fr. Alex Castillo. However, simply removing allegedly abusive priests from ministry is not enough. We believe that Bishop Michael Barber should also inform the public and parishioners about when his office first received the allegations and what their immediate response was. Only by sharing this information can Catholic officials live up to their 2002 promise to be “open and transparent” in their handling of sexual abuse allegations.

On the point of transparency, we cannot help but notice that the Diocese of Oakland was slated to release a list of “credibly” accused priests last October, yet this release was suddenly delayed. In light of this newest case, we call on Bishop Barber to release this list immediately.

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BATON ROUGE (LA)
WAFB TV

February 1, 2019

By Carmen Farrish

Victims of abuse at the hands of clergy often struggle with reporting what happened to them.

“This is a real personal, difficult decision people will have to make and we respect that, but we need much more information than what we have right now,” said East Baton Rouge District Attorney Hillar Moore. Even after coming forward, victims often have to face tough questions so prosecutors like Moore will know what, if any, legal options they have to press charges.

“We would have to know what act is alleged to have been performed. Is it a touch, penetration… what is it? When did it occur? We would have to compare that with what the law was at the time for those particular acts,” the DA said.

Moore would only be able to prosecute those cases that happened in East Baton Rouge Parish; cases in other parishes would fall to the DAs in those jurisdictions.

Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry has been urged to open a statewide investigation into clergy abuse, and to make it easier for victims to report abuse.

One group that’s calling for that is the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP). Victims can call SNAP at 1-877-SNAP-HEALS.

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EL PASO (TX)
El Paso Times

January 31, 2019

Zulekha Pitts

Catholic leaders in Texas on Thursday released the largest list of Catholic clergy accused of sexually abusing children since a Pennsylvania report in August 2018. According to the Texas list of 286 priests accused of abuse, only a fraction have been stripped of their clergy status, or laicized.

Laicize defined
To laicize a priest means to dismiss him from his clerical state and reduce him to the lay state, or secularize him, according to Webster’s New World College Dictionary. Catholic.com states that “laicization renders a cleric for ecclesiastical purposes the equivalent of a layman.”

The clerical state if a priest is a juridical status. A priest can lose his clerical state by requesting its removal or by having it taken away. Defrocking and unfrocking also are terms referring to the laicization of a priest.

When a priest is laicized
When a priest is laicized, it doesn’t mean that he is no longer a priest. It means that he is banned from exercising the rights fitting to the clerical state, according to an article on The Catholic World Report website. These privileges include celebrating Mass, listening to confessions and offering the sacraments.

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DALLAS (TX)
WFAA-TV (Channel 8)

January 31, 2019

By Charlotte Huffman

The 31 priests named by the Dallas Diocese as having been “credibly accused” of sexual abuse had a total of 180 different assignments throughout their careers.

Here’s a breakdown of the list by the numbers:

Which priests have worked in the most number of places?

• Jose Saldana – 16 assignments

• Patrick Lynch – 13 assignments

• Henry McGill – 13 assignments

• Michael Barone – 11 assignments

• Richard Johnson – 10 assignments

• Robert Crisp – 10 assignments

• Michael Flanagan – 10 assignments

Which churches had the highest number of credibly accused priests working there at one time or another?

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DALLAS (TX)
WFAA TV

January 31, 2019

By Jason Trahan, Matt Howerton

One of the most recently accused priests on the Dallas diocese list was celebrating Mass and hearing confessions at a Duncanville Catholic church just weeks before he was removed over abuse allegations.

Father Alejandro “Alex” Buitrago is listed as retired in 2017 and was “removed” from his job as a priest in 2018, according to the Dallas diocese list released Thursday. There was no exact date of that removal on the list, but a diocese official said he was removed just last month, in December.

WFAA found several online church bulletins – one from June, two from July, and two from September – noting that Fr. Buitrago is a “guest priest” celebrating Mass, sometimes in Spanish, at the Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Duncanville.

And according to these bulletins, Buitrago was hearing confessions in October and as late as Nov. 17.

The Duncanville church does not appear on Buitrago’s “assignment history” released Thursday by the diocese. When asked why, the diocese said it doesn’t keep track of “guest” appearances by priests, specifically retired ones. Those assignments, they said, are usually scheduled by the local parish priest who may need to fill a spot for Mass or confessions quickly.

Dallas Diocese Bishop Edward Burns told reporters today during a news conference that he would not address questions about specific priests.

Buitrago was ordained in 1967 and served in several parishes before he retired in 2017 and was removed “with faculties suspended” in 2018.

Buitrago told WFAA by phone late Thursday that the “allegations are not true.”

He also said that “there’s no proof.”

Before ending the conversation, Buitrago said he was looking to hire an attorney.

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CHARLOTTE (NC)
WCNC TV

January 31, 2019

Diocese of Charlotte Spokesperson David Hains said the church is taking an abundance of caution, considering every detail before outing anyone.

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AUSTIN (TX)
KXAN TV

January 31, 2019

By Phil Prazan

Thursday, Catholic churches across Texas released names of clergy credibly accused of child sex abuse. State law constrains the Texas Attorney General from launching an investigation, as Pennsylvania’s attorney general did.

Several state lawmakers now want to give the Texas Attorney General the power to investigate those crimes without being called upon by a district attorney.

“If our state’s head law enforcement officer does not have the authority to investigate these crimes, I would support legislation that gives the Texas Attorney General the authority that he or she needs to protect Texas children and shine light on institutional cover-ups of such heinous, illegal activity,” said Rep. Eddie Rodriguez, D-Austin.
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“Of course the state should investigate any crimes committed against children or anyone else, for that matter,” said Rep. Celia Israel, D-Austin, “Priests and other religious leaders are not exempt from the law and no institution should get away with hiding criminal activities.”

“I haven’t spoken with the AG’s office about this particularly reviling aspect of sexual assault,” said Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, “But I would be open to exploring the issue of concurrent jurisdiction if it was determined that this was the best path forward to bringing justice to these victims.”

KXAN reached out to the three most influential people in state government – Governor Greg Abbott, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, and Speaker of the House Dennis Bonnen – and has not yet heard back.

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NEW ORLEANS (LA)
The Advocate

January 31, 2019

By Ramon Antonio Vargas

It was the third clergy sex-abuse list to be released by a Catholic bishop in Louisiana. And it was by far the most transparent.

In a notable departure from his counterparts in New Orleans and Houma, Baton Rouge Bishop Michael Duca on Thursday made public — in most cases — the number of victims that each clergy member is alleged to have molested and where the abuse occurred.

The list released by New Orleans Archbishop Gregory Aymond on Nov. 2 did not provide that level of detail. Neither did the list put out by Houma-Thibodaux Bishop Shelton Fabre on Jan. 14.

When asked why that information was not included in Aymond’s list, spokeswoman Sarah McDonald defended the completeness of his disclosure, which included names, birth dates, dates of ordination, estimated times of abuse, years when the allegations were first received, years when clergy members were removed from ministry, and pastoral assignments.

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DALLAS (TX)
Dallas Morning News

February 1, 2019

By David Tarrant

The Dallas Catholic Diocese on Thursday joined Catholic leaders across Texas in releasing the names of nearly 300 clergy members who have been “credibly accused” of sexual abuse of children over the last seven decades.

The Dallas diocese said its list of 31 — which was met with skepticism from victims’ advocates — includes those accused of sexual abuse of a minor since 1950 and does not constitute a determination of guilt. Seventeen of the people on the list are dead. Five had been convicted in court. Four of the living had already been “laicized,” or removed from the clergy.

During an afternoon news conference at the diocese headquarters, Dallas Bishop Edward J. Burns said Thursday was “a difficult day for the church in the state of Texas and for the Diocese of Dallas.”

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