ABUSE TRACKER

A digest of links to media coverage of clergy abuse. For recent coverage listed in this blog, read the full article in the newspaper or other media source by clicking “Read original article.” For earlier coverage, click the title to read the original article.

February 26, 2019

AG issues 400 subpoenas seeking records from Catholic churches in Nebraska

LINCOLN (NE)
Lincoln Journal Star

February 26, 2019

By Riley Johnson

Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson issued more than 400 subpoenas to Catholic churches and institutions across the state Tuesday to compel officials to turn over information on child sexual assault and abuse within the church.

The legal summonses seek all records or information related to any assault or abuse that has occurred by those employed or associated with each church or institution, whether previously reported or not, according to a news release.

Thus far, the state’s three dioceses have cooperated with Peterson’s investigation, which sought 40 years of internal investigative records.

However, Peterson “believes subpoenas are necessary in order to ensure all reports of impropriety have been submitted to the appropriate authorities,” the news release said. “It is our goal that all reports of abuse are subject to complete law enforcement review and investigation as warranted.”

Asked whether state investigators believe church officials have withheld pertinent records, a spokeswoman for Peterson had no comment.

In August, the Attorney General’s Office requested anyone with knowledge of abuse by clergy or other church staff to report it and that the state’s three bishops turn over diocese records concerning alleged abuse.

Lancaster County Attorney Pat Condon, who is assisting in the investigation, deferred comment on his review of records. But in November, he said the Diocese of Lincoln was cooperating.

Peterson and his counterparts in other states announced their investigations into child sex abuse within the church in the wake of the August release of findings from a probe into the problem in Pennsylvania.

A two-year grand jury examination there led by Pennsylvania’s attorney general identified 300 priests credibly accused of abusing more than 1,000 children dating back to 1947 in the state’s six dioceses.

In late November, the Omaha Archdiocese released a report identifying 38 clergy that it said had substantiated abuse allegations against them.

The Diocese of Lincoln hasn’t yet issued a similar report.

But in November, Lincoln Bishop James Conley announced the diocese would have an independent task force review allegations of child sexual abuse and misconduct with minors and how the diocese handled them.

Within the Diocese of Lincoln, there are 134 parishes, according to the Nebraska Catholic Conference. Nebraska has 350 Catholic churches overall.

In the pews, parishioners at Catholic churches across Lincoln have regularly offered prayers at Sunday Masses for those victimized by clergy and church staff. They’ve also prayed for diocese officials as they lead the Catholic church in turbulent times.

The diocese’s four-person task force was instructed to issue a final report on its findings and what information Conley should release to the public by Feb. 1.

A spokesman for the diocese didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment on the issuance of subpoenas or the status of the task force’s work.

Those clergy named in the Omaha report were mostly priests, and some cases date back 60 years but were reported after 1978, the year the state probe looks back to.

The archdiocese said 34 of the 38 clergy members were accused of abusing minors before 2002, when the U.S. Conference of Bishops required dioceses to take steps to protect children. None remain with the archdiocese.

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

California priest is accused of manipulating illegal immigrant followers into letting him masturbate them to ‘cure’ them of their sins

LONDON (ENGLAND)
Daily Mail

February 26, 2019

By Chauncey Alcorn

A California priest who allegedly manipulated his followers into letting him masturbate them to ‘cure’ them of their sins has been arrested.

Jesus Antonio Castaneda Serna, 51, headed the Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe Anglican Church in Fresno.

He was taken into custody on Sunday after a 13-month investigation and charged with multiple counts of sexual battery, battery, and attempted sexual battery.

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

Focus: Michigan Clergy Sex Abuse Investigation

CADILLAC (MI)
9 & 10 News

February 26, 2019

By Joe Buczek

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is going full-speed ahead on the state’s investigation into the Catholic Church.

Kevin Essebaggers gets you up to speed on the actions taken already, and Nessel’s plans for the future of the investigation into predator priests. We also hear everything the Attorney General had to say on the matter at her recent press conference.

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

Hampden DA Anthony Gulluni ‘dissatisfied’ with clergy sex abuse reporting by Springfield Diocese

SPRINGFIELD (MA)
Springfield Republican

February 26, 2019

By Anne-Gerard Flynn

Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni said Tuesday he is “dissatisfied” with what he termed the “inconsistency in reporting” of clergy sexual abuse by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield.

The district attorney is urging victims and their families to call his office’s newly established hotline to report sexual abuse by members of clergy in Hampden County.

“I direct them to contact a Massachusetts State Police Detective Unit assigned to the Hampden County District Attorney’s Office at 413 800-2958,” said Gulluni during a press conference called in response to a recently released abuse report from the Springfield Diocese, whose data Gulluni says does not match what is in his files.

“This hotline is created to allow victims to report directly to law enforcement any allegations of any sexual crimes committed by a member of the clergy in Hampden County,” Gulluni said. “I have established this hotline so the rights of victims are preserved and any allegations can be properly vetted and investigated by law enforcement where appropriate.”

While stopping short of accusing the diocese of any wrongdoing and saying the hotline can be used even if someone also contacts the diocese, Gulluni said data on what the diocese said were the number of yearly abuse reports back to 1986 did not match referrals in his possession in recent reviews even given the fact that the diocese covers all four counties of Western Massachusetts.

“Given these reviews in the past several months I am dissatisfied with the system in place and in the inconsistency of reporting over the last many years,” Gulluni said.

“This hotline is a step to rectify and improved the reporting system to ensure victims claims are heard, addressed and respected,” he added.

Gulluni told reporters that a two-page report on the diocesan website and published in February’s issue of The Catholic Mirror shows 15 reports of clergy sexual abuse made to the diocese in 2018.

He quoted a Republican news report in which the diocese said its outreach to all victims includes “the commitment to report all cases to the appropriate district attorneys’ offices which we have done.”

“Following a period of appropriate due diligence by my office in reviewing its files we have not received referrals of any kind from the diocese that comport with its own public statements,” Gulluni said.

Springfield Diocese spokesperson Mark Dupont said that of the 15 cases reported in 2018 “nine were reported, the remainder were either anonymous or came to us via other attorneys directly to the offices of (diocesan) Attorney Jack Egan so there was no intake.”

Dupont said difference in other referral numbers may be due to the fact that the diocese has followed a directive that he said predates Gulluni’s tenure as district attorney here to not refer allegations against deceased priests, but will do so going forward.

He also said in response to one specific referral of a letter that Gulluni mentioned to not originally having in his possession in response to a reporter’s question but now does from the diocese, that the diocese has “undertaken a new policy to send all future notifications via certified mail with return receipt.”

Dupont showed a copy of the letter that appeared to be sent to another district attorney’s office in 2011.

“We maintain this new hotline number should be promoted and made available for all victims of abuse, certainly including church abuse victims,” said Dupont, reiterating the diocese’s response when initially asked about the hotline.

“All victims of abuse are entitled to equal and fair treatment. The diocese will do its part in making this new number available on our website and through all parishes in Hampden County.

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

Pell’s conviction applauded in the US

AUSTRALIA
Associated Press

February 26, 2019

By Peter Mitchell

US victims of clergy abuse have welcomed Cardinal George Pell’s child rape conviction in Australia.

America’s largest support group for survivors, St Louis-based Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said Pell’s prosecution offered two lessons.

“First, police and prosecutors are doing what popes and prelates are NOT doing – exposing child-molesting clerics,” SNAP said in a statement.

“Second, kids can be protected from even powerful and politically connected predators if survivors are smart and brave enough to trust law enforcement.”

Pell, Australia’s highest-ranking Catholic, raped a choirboy in the 1990s in Melbourne and molested another.

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

Former Seattle nun wants less talk, more action from Pope Francis to address sex abuse

SEATTLE (WA)
KUOW Radio

February 26, 2019

By Andy Hurst and Kim Malcolm

Kim Malcolm talks with Mary Dispenza about the recent Vatican meeting on clerical sex abuse.

Pope Francis recently held an historic meeting at the Vatican to address sex abuse within the Catholic Church. But many advocates, including Dispenza, say the summit ended with few concrete actions.

Dispenza, a former nun, is the Northwest Director for the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, also known as SNAP.

Listen to the interview by clicking the play button above.

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

Testimony: Providence diocese has paid more than $21 million to settle clergy-abuse claims

PROVIDENCE (RI)
Providence Journal

February 26, 2019

By Katherine Gregg

In an effort to demonstrate to Rhode Island lawmakers how seriously it takes sexual misconduct allegations, an arm of the Catholic Diocese of Providence has acknowledged paying “over $21 million in legal settlements,″ and another $2.3 million for counseling to “resolve″ more than 130 claims of abuse by clergy in church-run schools and parishes.

The diocese reported the payouts in written testimony the Rhode Island Catholic Conference filed with the House Judiciary Committee in advance of Tuesday night’s hearing on legislation — co-sponsored by 58 of 75 House members — that would extend the time for filing civil suits against the perpetrators of child sex abuse, and the institutions that employed them, from seven to 35 years.

The diocese does not spell out the time period the 130 claims encompassed, or the number of victims to whom the settlements were paid. Nor does it name the priests or church staff implicated in these long-hidden crimes.

But the diocese laid out its case for a massive rewrite of the legislation that Rep. Carol Hagan McEntee has championed in a 15-page filing with the committee submitted in recent days, at the same time as graphic accounts emerged of alleged sex abuse by clergy that the Diocese of Providence have provided the Rhode Island State Police since 2011.

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

Hotline created to report clergy sex abuse

SPRINGFIELD (MA)
WWLP TV

February 26, 2019

Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni announced the establishment of a clergy sex abuse hotline at a news conference this afternoon.

The hotline is being setup following the recent disclosures by the Diocese of Springfield.

In a statement from the Diocese of Springfield, spokesman Mark Dupont said while they think the hotline is a good idea, they would urge the D.A. to expand it and make it available to all victims of sexual abuse, not simply to one class of victims.

Hotline: 413-800-2958 staffed by Massachusetts State Police

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

Registered sex offender arrested after approaching Jackson school for business deal

JACKSON (TN)
Jackson Sun

February 13, 2019

By Cassandra Stephenson

A Jackson man was arraigned Monday with a charge of violating the sex offender registry after he tried to secure a business agreement with a local secondary school.

Chad Lutrell, 39, allegedly went to St. Mary’s Catholic School to secure an agreement regarding the school’s recyclable materials, according to court documents. As Lutrell exited an office after the meeting, a woman walking into the building recognized him as a registered sex offender. She reported it to the principal, who contacted the Jackson Police Department. The incident was recorded by the school’s security cameras.

A representative from St. Mary’s Catholic School declined to comment on the incident.

Lutrell was convicted of sexual battery in Madison County in 2009. The Tennessee Sexual Offender Registry lists him as a sex offender against children.

The Jackson Police Department Sex Offender Unit and U.S. Marshals Service arrested Lutrell at his home in Jackson on Tuesday morning. He is being held at Madison County Jail with a $5,000 bond.

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

Priest sex abuse victim helps heal through poetry

EVANSVILLE (IN)
WTHR TV

February 26, 2019

By Jennie Runevitch

Just a few days ago, the Diocese of Evansville released the names of a dozen Indiana priests with credible accusations of sex abuse against children, spanning decades.

One of the victims only shared his story of abuse after years of silence. And it took his talent for poetry to start healing those old wounds.

“It really was a cathartic process,” said poet Norbert Krapf. “When I moved back to Indiana, it brought all of it back up and that’s when I started to write. I knew that I had to tell my story because I knew it would tell a lot of other stories, too.”

Krapf read to us some of his poetry from “Catholic Boy Blues”, that weaves honesty about the scars with hope for change.

“Nobody in any of these stories, wherever they take place, will live happily ever after,” Krapf read. “But if people can summon what it takes to tell the truth, they can live together and help others find their voice. One voice singing by itself can sound awfully small, but several voices lifting as one can make a chorus that sings a mighty song.”

Norbert Krapf turned to writing to ease the pain of sex abuse he suffered from a priest in southwest Indiana as a child.

It took 50 years for this former Indiana Poet Laureate to find his voice. Fifty years to publicly reveal his secret of being sexual abused by a priest. Krapf says the abuse happened between sixth and eighth grade.

“Abusers prey on trust and they betray trust. And I was not nearly the only person abused by our pastor. We could not tell our parents who would have been so shocked that it would have just destroyed them almost,” Krapf said.

He says the abuse ended in 1957. He started writing in 2007.

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

Sacred Heart Seminary: Ground Zero For Catholic Abuse Scandal In Detroit

DETROIT (MI)
Deadline Detroit

February 25, 2019

By Michael Betzold

“If an investigator knocks on your door, ask to see their badge, not their rosary.”

That’s what Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel told Catholics last week, warning them not to trust the church to self-police its abuse scandal. She said that, like Michigan State University investigating Larry Nassar, the Catholic Church is more interested in protecting itself than serving its flock. I share her suspicions.

Self-policing didn’t work well when I was a high school student boarding at Sacred Heart Seminary in the 1960s. From the close of evening prayers until we sat down to breakfast in the refectory the next morning, Grand Silence was in force.

You were supposed to be praying for discernment about your vocation, not joking around with your classmates. Talking was punishable with demerits, and enough demerits could get you expelled. But any time the proctor was out of the dorm, teenage taunts and tricks would erupt. For some of the less pious among us, our seminary years were spent learning how to defy arbitrary rules that were enforced by a larger patriarchal code of Grand Silence.

I didn’t learn about what that code protected at Sacred Heart until decades later, when a close friend finally revealed that he’d been assaulted by a faculty priest during his senior year. He was not the only victim.

Not surprisingly, seminarians targeted were intimidated and ashamed to speak out. Some were threatened with expulsion or deliberately flunked in classes taught by the perpetrators or their friends on the faculty. Our class size dwindled from over 200 entering freshmen to just 88 graduates. I always thought the attrition was due to the same loss of vocation I was experiencing — or just poor grades. Now I wonder whether some departing classmates were fleeing from abuse.

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

Five major Catholic leaders taken down by the church sex abuse scandal

ARLINGTON (VA)
USA Today

February 26, 2019

By Lindsay Schnell

The Catholic Church continues to find itself in crisis.

Just days after Pope Francis wrapped up the first-ever Vatican summit on sex abuse –where more than 175 bishops from around the world discussed the clergy sex abuse scandal and how better to respond to victims – the church again drew negative headlines with the news that Australian Cardinal George Pell had been convicted of molestation.

Here are five major players taken down by the scandal.

Cardinal George Pell
Pell, the pope’s top financial adviser, was convicted this week of molesting two 13-year-old choir boys in late 1996. The church’s third-most-powerful official, Pell, now 77, is the most senior Catholic cleric ever charged with child sex abuse. Right before the alleged abuse took place, Pell had been named the highest-ranking Catholic in Melbourne, Australia’s second-largest city.

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

‘Centuries of entitlement’: Emma Thompson on why she quit Lasseter film

LOS ANGELES (CA)
The Guardian

February 26, 2019

By Catherine Shoard

In her resignation letter from the film Luck, the actor questions whether any company should work with disgraced film executive John Lasseter

When the actor Emma Thompson left the forthcoming animated film Luck last month while it was still in production, it was done without public fanfare, and was only confirmed when film-industry publications such as Variety magazine picked up on it. Now Thompson has put herself firmly above the MeToo parapet with the publication publishing her incendiary letter of resignation addressed to the film’s backers, Skydance Media, one of Hollywood’s most prestigious studios.

It was known that Thompson was unhappy with the arrival in January of former head of Pixar John Lasseter as the new head of Skydance Animation. But the letter goes into extraordinary detail about her disquiet over the appointment of a studio executive whose downfall had been one of the key landmarks of the Me Too and Times Up campaigns.

The move was immediately hailed by activists. Melissa Silverstein, founder and publisher of the website Women and Hollywood tweeted: “This is more than an open letter — Thompson has issued a rallying cry. We hope others with power and privilege will join Thompson in speaking out about abuses of power and those who enable that toxic behavior.”

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

Emma Thompson’s letter to Skydance: Why I can’t work for John Lasseter

LOS ANGELES (CA)
Los Angeles Times

February 26, 2019

By Mary McNamara

When Skydance Media Chief Executive David Ellison announced this year that he was hiring John Lasseter to head Skydance Animation, many in and outside the company were shocked and deeply unhappy. Only months earlier, Lasseter had ended his relationship with Pixar — where he had worked since the early ’80s — and parent company Disney after multiple allegations of inappropriate behavior and the creation of a frat house-like work environment. Lasseter had admitted to inappropriate hugging and “other missteps.”

After announcing the hire, Ellison sent a long email to staff, noting that Lasseter was contractually obligated to behave professionally, and convened a series of town halls in which Lasseter apologized for past behavior and asked to be given the chance to prove himself to his new staff. Meanwhile, Mireille Soria, president of Paramount Pictures Animation, with which Skydance has a distribution deal, took the highly unusual step of meeting with female employees to tell them that they could decline to work with Lasseter.

But it was Emma Thompson, the politically outspoken newly anointed dame commander of the British Empire who made the first real definitive statement on Lasseter, and one of the most significant decisions in post-#MeToo Hollywood.

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

Cardinal George Pell of Australia Convicted of Sexually Abusing Boys in 1996

NEW YORK (NY)]
The New York Times

February 25, 2019

By Livia Albeck-Ripka and Damien Cave

A version of this article was published in print editions on Dec. 14, 2018, but not online, to comply with a suppression order imposed by a judge in Australia, where The Times has a bureau. On Tuesday, Feb. 26, in Australia, the suppression order was rescinded after a second trial was canceled. All the dates below refer to the original December publication date.

MELBOURNE, Australia — An Australian cardinal who was once an adviser to Pope Francis has been convicted of molesting choir boys more than 20 years ago, making him the highest-ranking Roman Catholic leader ever found guilty of sexual abuse.

The unanimous jury verdict against the cardinal, George Pell, 77, was delivered Tuesday in the County Court of Victoria, where a suppression order has prevented media outlets from sharing any information about the case that could be accessed in Australia.

Cardinal Pell’s case was especially significant because he occupied the highest levels of the church hierarchy. He had been tapped by Francis to reform the Vatican’s finances after leading the church’s response to sexual abuse allegations against priests in Australia.

While Catholic bishops have been convicted before in cover-ups of child sexual abuse, this is the first time that a bishop has been convicted of perpetrating such abuse, according to Ann Barrett Doyle, co-director of Bishopaccountability.org, a research and advocacy group. More than 60 bishops have been accused of sexually abusing minors, she said.

Cardinal Pell, who returned voluntarily from the Vatican in July of 2017, was charged with five offenses said to have occurred in December of 1996 during his time as the newly appointed Archbishop of Melbourne.

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

Australian Cardinal George Pell found guilty of child sex charges

AUSTRALIA
La Croix International

February 26, 2019

The 77-year-old Vatican treasurer on leave of absence was convicted on five charges in Melbourne

Cardinal George Pell, the Vatican treasurer on leave of absence, has been found guilty of child sex abuse and convicted of five charges in an Australian court case.

Pell was found guilty at a secret trial in Melbourne in December after a five-week trial, but the results of the case were not revealed until Feb. 26.

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

Popular social media ‘prophet’ Joshua Holmes caught on tape in major scandal

Rolling Out

February 26, 2019

By Mo Barnes

A popular pastor and Internet star is now among the latest big names caught for his alleged freaky and ungodly behavior. Joshua Holmes, who followers have called “Jesus in the flesh,” was apparently caught on video pressing his flesh in group sex with female members of his church.

The news was broken by YouTube commentator Larry Reid on his latest show. During the broadcast, Reid referred to and played a portion of a Periscope video where Thomas is calling out by former church member Yasir Wright for derogatory comments. The “Man of God” is heard calling his accuser a “little p—-” and asking “why you on my d— like that.”

Additionally, Thomas challenges him to meet face to face in very shocking language. Reid stated during his podcast that he was sent a link and told to open it before it was taken down. Wright has been active on social media using the Twitter handle Hope Dealer – @YasirWright777. He has repeatedly posted the indiscretions of Prophet Thomas and even names the women in the church Thomas was allegedly having an affair with.

But it gets even worse for Prophet Thomas. Soon after the exchange, the graphic video was posted online showing him engaged in group sex with women who are members of the church. The video was a shock to his followers and supporters. Thomas has been a frequent guest of religious-based programs on The Word Network, whose demographic is a Black Christian audience. According to media outlet Christian Post, the World Network has not responded to the release of the salacious videos.

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

Former School Director Arrested for Child Porn, SNAP Responds

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

February 26, 2019

An ex-Long Island Catholic school staffer has just been indicted on child pornography charges. We hope this move will prod others who have been sexually violated to step forward.

This news provides the first opportunity for Bishop John Barres to enlist in the pope’s new “all out war” on abuse. To do that, he must use parish bulletins, church websites and pulpit announcements to beg anyone with information about Michael Wustrow’s alleged crimes to call police. That’s the best way to protect kids – help make sure predators are imprisoned.

Everyone abhors abuse. The question is: will you take steps to stop it? Barres commands a large staff and many resources. So he could help police, prosecutors, parents and parishioners here, if he has the will. Based on our experience, we suspect he doesn’t.

Finally, we are glad Wustrow is being held without bail. That helps protect kids. All too often Catholic officials facing prosecution for child sex crimes fled overseas.

(Wustrow is the former music director at St. Agnes Cathedral in Rockville Centre, where accused predator priests Fr. Brian Brinker and Fr. Joseph C. McComiskey also worked.)

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

Pope ends summit with no word on Apuron, drawing disappointment

GUAM
Pacific Daily News

February 26, 2019

By Haidee V Eugenio

Pope Francis closed on Sunday a four-day summit on the protection of children without any word on Guam Archbishop Anthony S. Apuron’s case.

That drew criticism from groups seeking justice for clergy sex abuse victims and the mother of one of the boys Apuron allegedly abused.

For nearly a year now, the pope has been reviewing Apuron’s appeal of a Vatican tribunal’s verdict finding Apuron guilty of “certain accusations” involving sexual abuse of minors.

“It was very disappointing and disturbing Apuron’s appeal was not addressed. I feel the pope has let my son, Sonny, and other victims and our island down once again,” said Doris Y. Concepcion, who accused Apuron of sexually molesting her late son, who was an altar boy in Agat in the 1970s.

Concepcion, who now lives in Arizona, testified in Apuron’s canonical trial in 2017.

Like Concerned Catholics of Guam and other advocacy groups, Concepcion was hoping the pope would make an announcement at the Feb. 21-24 Vatican summit about Apuron’s nearly year-long appeal.

“The summit is a ruse,” Concepcion said..

Clergy sex abuse survivors who gathered at the Vatican, along with victim advocacy groups, expressed disappointment about the perceived lack of concreteness in proposed remedies at the summit.

Zach Hiner, executive director for the Missouri-based Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, the world’s largest and oldest survivors group for abuse victims, said the summit ended up with “reflection points and conversation” instead of concrete steps to punish the likes of Apuron.

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

Survivors Network for those Abused by Priests responds to Clergy Abuse Summit

ERIE (PA)
WJET-TV

February 26, 2019

Yesterday, we reported on the anti-climactic Clergy Abuse Summit in Rome. Today, SNAP representatives are speaking out about the lack of action taken by those in attendance.

A representative of SNAP says, “After four long days in Rome, survivors and advocates who had hoped to see Catholic church officials take concrete action towards ending the clergy abuse and cover-up crisis were left disappointed. At the end, Pope Francis offered only words, reflection points, and policies to consider for the future.

No bishop who had been involved in covering-up or minimizing allegations was fired. No directive was handed down to order bishops to turn over their secret abuse files to police. No punishment was agreed upon nor system put in place for disciplining those bishops who continue to cover-up abuse cases in the future.

In other words, no child was made safer and no survivor was helped during this summit.

And so, in many ways, not only was the summit everything that survivors expected it would be, but is also an affirmation that we are right to lay our hopes for change at the feet of secular officials, not those in the church.

This summit was called because of the explosive grand jury reports and investigations in places like Pennsylvania and Chile. The work of independent law enforcement officials compelled catholic leaders to look deeply at this problem once again and, now that those same catholic leaders have failed to take direct action, those secular officials will be the ones we are looking to for action in the future.

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

Pa. clergy sexual abuse survivors voice anger, disappointment over Vatican conference

HARRISBURG (PA)
Patriot Ledger

February 26, 2019

By Charles Thompson

Shaun Daugherty has now taken his three-year public crusade for justice for clergy sex abuse victims just about everywhere.

And it’s led him to a stark conclusion: For now, the local battles over state law are as important as anything that the Roman Catholic Church is attempting to do on a global scale.

“Everybody had better protect their kids, because the Roman Catholic Church is way too big to police themselves, and they’re not even interested in doing that at this point,” Daugherty said he has concluded upon his return from Rome, where he participated in the church’s global meeting on the protection of minors.

Daugherty, who was abused by a priest in his native Johnstown in the 1980s, was one of 12 sex abuse victims from around the world invited to meet with the organizers of the conference. While he appreciated the chance to make a direct case to top church leaders (Pope Francis did not attend that session), he found what he viewed as the lack of concrete action at the conference appalling.

“They’re still researching. They’re still talking,” Daugherty concluded. “It’s gut-wrenching to me. I’d say it was funny if it wasn’t so disgusting.”

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

Dallas victims advocates disturbed by lack of “concrete action” at pope’s summit

DALLAS (TX)
Dallas Morning News

February 26, 2019

By David Tarrant

Dallas advocates for sex-abuse survivors expressed frustration and disappointment after an historic four-day summit led by Pope Francis to confront the global crisis within the Catholic Church.

The summit, which wrapped up Sunday, brought together nearly 200 bishops and other Catholic leaders from around the world to focus on prevention of clergy sexual abuse.

But Lisa Kendzior, co-leader of the Dallas-Fort Worth chapter of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, known as SNAP, said in a statement that church leaders should’ve taken more action.

“After four long days in Rome, survivors and advocates who had hoped to see Catholic church officials take concrete action towards ending the clergy abuse and cover-up crisis were left disappointed,” the DFW-SNAP statement said.

“No bishop who had been involved in covering-up or minimizing allegations was fired. No directive was handed down to order bishops to turn over their secret abuse files to police. No punishment was agreed upon nor system put in place for disciplining those bishops who continue to cover-up abuse cases in the future. In other words, no child was made safer and no survivor was helped during this summit,” the statement said.

Francis during the summit did propose 21 “reflection points” to curb clergy sex abuse. Those reflection points included procedures to make bishops accountable and to involve non-ordained experts, or lay people, in abuse investigations.

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

Anglican Church priest arrested for series of sex crimes committed during time with Fresno church

FRESNO (CA)
KFSN TV

February 25, 2019

By Corin Hoggard and Jason Oliveira

Fresno Police have arrested an Anglican Church priest for a series of sex crimes during his more than a decade with the local church.

Jesus Antonio Castaneda Serna was arrested early Sunday at the Central Fresno church he started — Holy Spirit.

22 parishioners have come forward to say they’d been victimized by the Anglican Priest but according to police many of the victims are undocumented and afraid to report the crimes to law enforcement.

“He would be facing a maximum of 11 years and six months. That’s why is so important for others to come forward and talk to law enforcement,” said District Attorney Lisa Smittcamp.

The arrest comes after a 13-month investigation. Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyers believes the sex crimes date back years and could have hundreds of victims

“It’s our hope that as we progress that we’ll be able to interview all of the 22 victims and we hope other people to come forward,” said Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer.

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

Diocese of Sioux City Releases Names, SNAP Responds

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

February 25, 2019

Today, the Diocese of Sioux City, IA published a list of priests who had been “credibly” accused of abuse.

It is always helpful for survivors when these lists are posted, especially for those who may be suffering in silence. Seeing that they are not alone helps victims heal, and could also compel others who were abused – whether by the same person or in the same place – to come forward. And often, dioceses will state that they are releasing these lists to assist with survivors in their healing and to help warn the public about these clerics. We are always supportive of those goals and are grateful for this first step towards transparency taken by the Diocese of Sioux City today.

What ends up being problematic is when lists are released that are incomplete or carefully curated and leave off the names of “extern” priests, nuns, deacons, bishops, or other church staff. Sometimes, names are left off because they do not meet the diocese’s ever-changing and nebulous definition of “credible.” And this point about credibility is the focus given the release from Sioux City today.

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

Ex-music director at St. Agnes Cathedral indicted on child porn charges

ROCKVILLE CENTRE (NY)
News 12 Long Island

February 26, 2019

A former music director at St. Agnes Cathedral in Rockville Centre has been indicted on child pornography charges.

News 12 first reported on Michael Wustrow in 2017 when he was under federal investigation for possible child exploitation.

Court documents show the 56-year-old is charged with receiving and possessing child pornography.

Wustrow pleaded not guilty and is being held without bail until a court appearance next month.

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THE VEIL IS LIFTED: Convicted Cardinal Pell’s Second Secret Sex Abuse Trial Is Called Off

AUSTRALIA
The Daily Beast

February 25, 2019

By Barbie Latza Nadeau and Lachlan Cartwright

One jury found the Vatican’s No. 3 prelate guilty of sexually abusing boys, but prosecutors agreed to scrap a second trial on different charges.

Two months after Cardinal George Pell was convicted of sexually abusing boys, a judge has decided the Vatican’s third most powerful official will not face a second trial on similar charges in his home country of Australia.

The decision means that a suppression order that kept the proceedings shrouded in secrecy has been lifted and Pell, 77, will now be sentenced in the original case. Reporters who have attended the proceedings without being able to report them now say the court heard testimony that Pell forced one choir boy to perform oral sex on him after mass and that he masturbated in front the other victim while he groped and fondled him.

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

Cardinal George Pell found guilty of child sex abuse

AUSTRALIA
NBC TODAY

February 26, 2019

Cardinal George Pell, Pope Francis’ top financial advisor, has been found guilty in Australia of child sex abuse, making him the most senior member of the Catholic Church ever charged with such a conviction. NBC’s Anne Thompson reports for TODAY.

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

Lay Catholics who stay silent are complicit in the church’s failure on abuse

LONDON (ENGLAND)
February 26, 2019

By Joanna Moorhead

In Rome, some commentators describe the child abuse scandal as the worst crisis to hit the Catholic church since the Reformation. That’s way wide of the mark: the current situation, which was the focus last week of a four-day summit of Catholic leaders from across the world, is far worse than the fallout from the emergence of Protestantism 500 years ago. This is a true day of reckoning, and whatever theologians are saying about the ability of this institution to have survived 2,000 years of turbulent history, the stakes have never been higher.

So you might have thought there would be only one topic on the agenda at the thousands of Catholic parishes in the UK last weekend; or even that the organisation’s churches would be empty, with the so-called faithful staying away in disgust. After all, the event in Rome cracked open the sad and sorry depths to which the church has sunk. Pope Francis and 190 leaders, mostly pink- and red-skullcapped prelates and cardinals (they certainly know how to dress up, even if they don’t know how to behave) listened in stunned silence to testimonies, including one from an African woman who relayed her experience of being raped by a priest throughout her teens: three times she got pregnant, and three times he forced her to have an abortion.

Another survivor from Chile said the church’s leaders had discredited victims and protected the priests who abused them, while a Nigerian nun, Sister Veronica Openibo, called out the church’s leadership for its hypocrisy in parading themselves as the custodians of moral values, while covering up atrocities that blighted the lives of the most vulnerable members of its community. Meanwhile one of the pope’s most trusted advisers, Cardinal Reinhard Marx, admitted that files documenting abuse had been “either destroyed or never created”.

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

Diocese and Cardinal O’Hara HS facing $300M lawsuit by former student

BUFFALO (NY)
WBFO 88.7

February 25, 2019

By Chris Caya

A Niagara County woman, who alleges being sexually assaulted by a Catholic priest when she was a teenager is suing the Diocese of Buffalo. It is believed to be the first suit of its kind, locally, since the state’s Child Victims Act was signed into law earlier this month.

Gail Holler-Kennedy is suing the Diocese along with Cardinal O’Hara High School in Tonawanda and the Franciscan orders that ran the school for $300 million.

“There is no amount that can ever bring back what was stolen from an innocent child when they were sexually abused,” said attorney Mitchell Garabedian. He says Holler-Kennedy was abused dozens of times between 1978 and 1981 by her then-science teacher Father Mark Andrzejczuk.

“On multiple occassions he wrote passes excusing the plaintiff, a young girl, from attending another teacher’s class. And when she was excused, he sexually assaulted her in an empty classroom,” Garabedian said.

Fr. Andrzejczuk died in 2011. But Garabedian says the damages he caused Holler-Kennedy are extensive.

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

Pope Francis condemns clerical sexual abuse but survivors disappointed in lack of action

VATICAN CITY
NBC News

February 24, 2019

Pope Francis called on the church to “do all that is necessary” to bring perpetrators to justice, but survivors were disappointed by a lack of swift action. The Vatican says the pope will issue a new law and create a task force and handbook.

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

Francis unveils 21-point plan at bishops’ summit on abuse of minors

VATICAN CITY
La Croix International

February 22, 2019

Survivors offended as proposals ignore their pleas for zero-tolerance policy

Pope Francis has handed bishops and religious superiors attending the Feb. 21-24 conference in Rome on the abuse of minors a list of 21 action items to consider.

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

The sex abuse summit and the Vatican’s lack of transparency

ROME/VATICAN CITY
La Croix International

February 22, 2019

By Robert Mickens

Illustrative of the Church’s fear of revealing the truth is the case of Msgr. Joseph Punderson

On the eve of the Vatican’s summit aimed at getting the entire Church to face up to the ever-widening clerical sex abuse crisis, some in the media wondered if the meeting risked being overshadowed by other controversies.

One was supposed to be the issue of gay priests — whom traditionalist Catholics have scapegoated as pederasts, and a French author has sensationalized in a just-released book in which he claims the Catholic hierarchy and the Roman Curia are full of gay men who are either leading double lives or are actually homophobic and militantly anti-homosexual.

Another looming controversy that was destined to detract from the abuse summit was the recent revelation that the Vatican has issued secret rules for priests who have fathered children.

And yet another was the issue of religious women (nuns) who have been sexually abused and raped by priests and bishops, something the Vatican has tried to keep quiet for a number of decades.

None of these controversies is directly related to the sexual abuse of minors; with apologies to our traditionalist brothers and sisters who are convinced that gay priests are prone to be child molesters.

However, there is an issue that is related to the abuse summit. And it is one that very few people are talking about. It’s the Vatican’s lack of transparency in dealing with credibly accused predator priests working directly for the Holy See.

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

State of emergency at the Vatican over sex abuse

VATICAN CITY
La Croix International

February 22, 2019

By Céline Hoyeau, Nicolas Senèze and Gauthier Vaillant

How can we profess faith in Christ when we close our eyes to all the wounds inflicted by abuse? asks Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of Manila

“From the age of 15 I had sexual relations with a priest. This lasted for 13 years. I got pregnant three times and he made me have an abortion three times, quite simply because he did not want to use condoms or contraceptives. At first I trusted him so much that I did not know he could abuse me. I was afraid of him, and every time I refused to have sex with him, he would beat me.”

The young African woman, who shared her testimony with the bishops assembled for the meeting on the protection of minors on Feb. 21, left nothing of her Calvary experience to the imagination.

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

In Poland, admission of sex abuse is causing ‘a revolution’ in the Church

POLAND
La Croix International

February 21, 2019

By Marie Malzac

In this very Catholic country where silence has long prevailed, the Church is now willing to confront the issue with greater transparency

This is the final in a five-part series on steps taken by Catholic bishops on the various continents.

Like Italy and Spain, where the Catholic tradition is strongly established, the Polish Church has been silent on the issue of sexual abuse for a long time.

In 2009, the Polish bishops published a framework document on combating pedophilia. Measures included help for the victims, attitudes towards priests involved, and the training of future clergy with a focus on prevention.

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

Abuser priests fundamentally undermine confidence

FRANCE
La Croix International

February 21, 2019

By Céline Hoyeau

The abuser acts in the name of an absolute principle that the abused person also regards as absolute

Dominican Father Gilles Berceville, who teaches spiritual theology at the Catholic Institute of Paris, argues that the current crisis needs to lead to more reflection on the issue of spiritual abuse. La Croix’s Céline Hoyeau interviewed the priest.

Céline Hoyeau: In his Letter to the People of God, Pope Francis links sexual abuse, abuse of power and abuse of conscience. How do you explain this?

Father Gilles Berceville: Abuse must not be restricted to sexual assault. An assault by a priest is not merely sexual. It is often a symptom of something deeper, namely spiritual abuse.

How to define this and why is it so serious?

It is a very specific form of abuse of conscience because it is exercised by a person with moral or religious authority.

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

Inside the horrifying, unspoken world of sexually abusive nuns

NEW YORK (NY)
New York Post

February 16, 2019

By Isabel Vincent

It’s the line from Scripture that stayed with Cait Finnegan for nearly half a century as she tried to suppress the painful memories of the sexual abuse she says she suffered at the hands of her Catholic clergy educator.

“God is Love,” Sister Mary Juanita Barto told Finnegan as she repeatedly raped her in classrooms at Mater Christi High School in Queens in the late 1960s.

The abuse began when Finnegan was 15 and continued throughout her high school years — on school buses to out-of-town sporting events, at religious retreats in upstate New York, at Finnegan’s childhood home in Woodside and at a Long Island convent.

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

It’s not just the Florida spa investigation allegedly tied to Robert Kraft. Sex trafficking is rampant across US

UNITED STATES
USA TODAY

February 25, 2019

By Ryan W. Miller

While charges against New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft for soliciting prostitution brought national attention to the issue of sex trafficking on Friday, data, expert opinion and cases from around the USA show how widespread the problem is.

Sex trafficking accounted for 6,081 of the more than 8,500 reported cases of human trafficking in the United States in 2017, according to statistics from the National Human Trafficking Hotline.

There is no official estimate of the total number of human trafficking victims in the U.S. Polaris, a nonprofit that operates the hotline on human trafficking, estimates that the total number of victims nationally reaches into the hundreds of thousands when estimates of both adults and minors and sex trafficking and labor trafficking are aggregated.

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

Pope Francis declares ‘all-out’ war on abuse, but lack of ‘concrete’ plan frustrates survivors

VATICAN CITY
ABC News Videos

February 24, 2019

The conference brought together 190 bishops and cardinals from around the world to address an issue that has seriously undermined the church’s moral authority.

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

Pope vows war on abuse; survivors say let down

VATICAN CITY
Reuters Videos

February 24, 2019

Pope Francis has promised zero tolerance on sex abuse at the end of a landmark conference. But survivors and activists say without concrete action such as defrocking abusing bishops, they don’t trust the Church to police itself. Lucy Fielder reports.

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

Cardinal George Pell found guilty of child sex abuse

AUSTRALIA
The Age

February 26, 2019

By Adam Cooper

Cardinal George Pell has been found guilty and is set to be jailed for child sexual abuse in the most sensational verdict since the Catholic Church became engulfed in worldwide abuse scandals.

Pell, who was Vatican treasurer, close to the Pope and the most senior Catholic figure in the world to be charged by police with child sex offences, has been found guilty of orally raping one choirboy and molesting another in Melbourne’s St Patrick’s Cathedral 22 years ago.

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

Cardinal George Pell, the most senior Catholic charged with child sex abuse, convicted in Australia

AUSTRALIA
The Associated Press

February 25, 2019

MELBOURNE, Australia — The most senior Catholic cleric ever charged with child sex abuse has been convicted of molesting two choirboys moments after celebrating Mass, dealing a new blow to the Catholic hierarchy’s credibility after a year of global revelations of abuse and cover-up.

Cardinal George Pell, Pope Francis’ top financial adviser and the Vatican’s economy minister, bowed his head but then regained his composure as the 12-member jury delivered unanimous verdicts in the Victoria state County Court on Dec. 11 after more than two days of deliberation.

The court had until Tuesday forbidden publication of any details about the trial.

The convictions were confirmed the same week that Francis concluded his extraordinary summit of Catholic leaders summoned to Rome for a tutorial on preventing clergy sexual abuse and protecting children from predator priests.

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

Vatican treasurer Cardinal George Pell found guilty of child sex charges

AUSTRALIA
CNN

February 26, 2019

By Hilary Whiteman and Ben Westcott

One of the most powerful men in the Roman Catholic Church was found guilty of multiple historical child sex offenses at a secret trial in Melbourne in December, the existence of which can only now be revealed.

Australian Cardinal George Pell, 77, is almost certain to face prison after a jury found him guilty of one charge of sexual penetration of a child and four charges of an indecent act with or in the presence of a child in the late 1990s.

The conviction of Pell, the Vatican treasurer and a close adviser to Pope Francis, will send shockwaves through the church, which is already reeling from accusations of sexual abuse committed by priests worldwide.

Pell is the most senior Catholic official to be found guilty of child sex offenses to date. His conviction brings the escalating international controversy around the abuse of children in Catholic institutions straight to the doors of the Holy See.

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

February 25, 2019

Where does Jackson diocese stand with members, priests after recent controversies?

JACKSON (MS)
Clarion Ledger

February 26, 2019

By Sarah Fowler

In 2002, a bombshell investigation in Boston revealed that priests had been abusing children for decades and that — also for decades — the church had been attempting to silence the victims and cover up the abuse. As more victims came forward, it was soon clear the abuse was not just confined to a few parishes in Massachusetts — it was a global coverup that implicated hundreds of priests.

Mississippi was not immune. Despite an overhaul of policy and implementing a new program aimed at protecting children, new allegations emerged both locally and internationally. Lawsuits have been filed and either settled or dismissed. The church settled with 29 of 30 victims in 2006, paying them a total of $731,250. In the one case that was not settled, the victim was told he was “twenty years too late,” due to the statute of limitations, and his case was dismissed.

Today — as the Jackson diocese prepares to release names of priests who have been accused of sexual abuse and as the church as a whole continues to address claims of sexual abuse while continually reviewing measures to prevent future incidents — Mississippi Catholics find themselves balancing the love of their faith with their reactions to scandals old and new.

Over the last six months, the Catholic Diocese of Jackson has found itself dealing with the following:

A new lawsuit based on previous allegations of a child being victimized by a priest.
A federal affidavit alleging one priest lied to his congregation about having cancer and then raised money for treatment and for an orphanage that has not been proven to exist.
Priests speaking out as informants for the federal government against another priest.
A federal investigation related to the priest who lied about having cancer.
Mississippi Catholics have responded in different ways. Some parishioners are calling on the bishop to resign while others have found a newfound passion for their church community.

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

Have the Bishops Learned Anything?“>The Vatican Summit on Sex Abuse

NEW YORK (NY)
Commonweal

February 25, 2019

By Austen Ivereigh

The contrast was little short of amazing. On the one hand, you had the experience inside the synod hall by the end of last week’s Vatican abuse summit, with talk of a new resolve and clarity. On the other, you had the scorn from victims’ groups who saw only missed opportunities.

Nothing like this had ever been done before: to use a synodal process to effect a global institutional conversion aimed at overcoming mechanisms of denial and resistance. Inside, 190 church leaders were becoming crusaders against child abuse, a shift that was especially notable among the presidents of bishops’ conferences from Asia and Africa, some of whom began the February 21–24 meeting saying this wasn’t their problem. Yet outside, survivors’ spokespeople said the summit was just a wordy exercise for show, one that avoided the real task.

In fact, it was the victims who had been invited to tell the bishops their stories who were catalysts for the conversion of hearts and minds. Fr. Hans Zollner, the determined and methodical German Jesuit who is the pope’s point man on this issue, spoke at the final press conference about working groups and individuals who told him of the transformation they had undergone after hearing from the survivors—many on video, others in person: “When I hear people from Asia and Africa speaking now, in the same language, with the same determination, saying we need to confront this, own this, do something about it, at home—this is for me the most comforting and hopeful experience and impression I have.” Zollner mentioned an Italian woman who had shared an especially powerful story, breaking down at the end. The bishops, cardinals, and religious-order heads stepped forward to thank and comfort her. Their reaction, Zollner told us, was a “sign that this has reached the heart level, and if it reaches that level you can’t be as you were before.”

The victims’ groups demanded “concrete” measures and didn’t see them, despite the pope promising exactly that. “Why can’t he enact zero-tolerance into church law? He has the power to do that,” complained Peter Isely, who represents a group called Ending Clergy Abuse. Yet if “zero tolerance”—a phrase with many meanings—means holding bishops accountable for failures to act on abuse allegations, then the meeting demonstrated that real progress is underway. For one, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith will produce a small handbook, a vademecum, so that every bishop in the world will understand his obligations exactly. If bishops don’t fulfill those obligations, the 2016 motu propio “Like A Loving Mother” makes it clear that they will be removed.

To make it easier to report such failures, two measures are likely to be enacted. The first is a proposal from Cardinal Blase Cupich that should make it easier to denounce, investigate, and report on a bishop’s failure to act. (Some version of it is likely to pass the USCCB in June, and will no doubt be copied in other countries.) The second is a plan now being studied by the pope’s C9 advisory body that would create a new dicastery dedicated to coordinating the Vatican’s anti-abuse efforts. According to Cardinal Oswald Gracias, who is one of the C9 advisors, this, too, would make it easier to hold bishops accountable.

Fr. Zollner also announced new “task forces” of experts that will parachute into resource-starved or remote dioceses to boost local safeguarding capacities. There will also be changes to the law. The definition of a minor in Vatican City State laws governing child pornography will be raised from fourteen to eighteen, as part of the introduction of laws to protect minors that will align the Vatican with best practices of the church worldwide. These laws would cover, for example, Holy See diplomats. (There have been two cases in recent years of nunciature staff downloading child pornography.)

One reform that looks certain concerns the so-called “pontifical secret” governing trials of abusive priests. The CDF’s adjunct secretary, Archbishop Charles Scicluna, said that whatever is not strictly necessary to protect the good name and privacy of accusers and the accused while trials are underway will be reviewed in the interests of accountability and transparency. This should make it easier to announce when priests have been tried and found guilty, so that victims can know justice has been done.

And it’s not as if there isn’t more to come. The pope gave the bishops and religious leaders twenty-one recommendations culled from pre-summit submissions that included the screening of candidates, the reporting of allegations, and so on. The small groups discussed these and added at least as many new ones, which organizers said would be studied immediately with the heads of Vatican dicasteries, who also attended the summit.

All of this sounded pretty concrete to me. The victims’ groups, however, were generally scornful. They had come seeking “zero tolerance” and had found only fine-sounding words. What especially annoyed and disappointed many of them was Francis’s speech at the summit’s conclusion, which Anne Barrett Doyle, a co-founder of BishopAccountability.org, the Boston-based advocacy organization, called a “stunning letdown.”

Whether one calls it clericalism, institutional idolatry, or corruption, the mindset that has governed too many bishops for too long makes them deaf to victims and protective of perpetrators.
In the speech, Francis laid down eight principles—culled from World Health Authority documents, and his own anti-abuse experts—to guide the church’s efforts to combat a worldwide evil that has struck at the heart of Catholicism’s credibility.

Francis presented a broad picture of the abuse of minors, a form of cruelty as old as humanity yet revealed as never before in our own time. Acts of sexual violence against children in homes, neighborhoods, schools, and various other institutions has created millions of silent victims, while the spread of internet pornography and the rise of sexual tourism has led to numbing levels of suffering. (In 2017 alone, the pope said, three million people traveled to have sexual relations with a minor.) Francis was implicitly addressing church leaders from Africa who had complained at the start of the summit that clerical sex abuse wasn’t their issue, and that what they had to tackle were other forms of child exploitation. Francis insisted that clerical sex abuse represents the same demonic abuse of power that lurks behind “other forms of abuse affecting almost 85,000,000 children, forgotten by everyone.” These include “child soldiers, child prostitutes, starving children, children kidnapped and often victimized by the horrid commerce of human organs or enslaved, child victims of war, refugee children, aborted children and so many others.”

In other words, these are all dimensions of the same evil that the church everywhere has to confront as part of its core mission. You cannot care about child soldiers without caring about the sexual abuse of children, starting with the abuse committed by priests. Yet rather than seeing the pope’s references as a way of dismantling the African church’s denial mechanism, victims’ groups see it as a PR exercise designed to diminish the church’s responsibility. Barret Doyle believes Francis was “rationalizing”—minimizing the church’s crimes by pointing out that abuse happens in all sectors of society.

In reality, there was nothing the bishops and the pope could have said that would have satisfied the victims’ groups. Their response to the issue is one that Francis has explicitly rejected: one-size-fits-all retribution. As Archbishop Scicluna pointed out, when the church administers sanctions or penalties, it is for the reform of the sinner and reparation of scandal, not simply punishment.

That doesn’t mean it is lenient. In a post-summit article that seeks to capture the clash of viewpoints, Rachel Donadio describes canon law as taking “a more pastoral approach, one that leans toward forgiveness.” Yet when it comes to the abuse of minors, church law offers no second chances: abuser priests will no longer be able to act as priests, and bishops who cover up for them will be removed. The point is that canon law takes a “common-good” approach, not a punitive one. “Removing from exercise of ministry should not be seen as a punishment but rather as the duty to protect the flock,” Archbishop Scicluna told journalists.

But if your view of laws is essentially retributive, canon law does looks lax. This in turn feeds the suspicion of victims’ organizations and some right-wing Catholics, who believe that if only the church were fiercer, or more punitive—if only it were less “merciful” and more draconian—this issue could be resolved very quickly.

The summit organizers didn’t believe this. They say that laws and regulations, though necessary, are incapable of attacking the issue at its roots. They say this is a problem that can be solved only by conversion, not coercion. Whether one calls it clericalism, institutional idolatry, or corruption, the mindset that has governed too many bishops for too long makes them deaf to victims and protective of perpetrators. The pope calls it the spirit of evil, which cannot be defeated by practical means alone, but by spiritual means of “humiliation, self-accusation, prayer, and penance.” Hence the penitential liturgy on Saturday, when a Chilean victim spoke slowly and piercingly of the effect of abuse of him—“there is no dream without the memory of what happened. No day without memories, no day without flashbacks.” Hence, too, the examination of conscience, the collective confession, and an appeal for “the grace to overcome injustice and to practice justice for the people entrusted to our care.”

“The pope is a supreme monarch: Can’t he just order everyone to do this?” asked an exasperated BBC interviewer when I tried to explain why the pope had brought together church leaders for a four-day summit. The Archbishop of Luxembourg, Jean-Claude Hollerich, gave to La Croix the answer I should have given. Le pape est très sage, he said. “He knows very well that you can’t change the church by just giving orders from above. You have to change people’s hearts.” Hollerich, moderator of the French-speaking group, said he could see this happening in his group: “there is a development in their consciences, in the bishops’ thinking in the course of these few days,” he said. “The bishops are changing.”

The primary purpose of the summit was never to devise severe new legislation, for which a global meeting of church leaders would hardly be necessary. The purpose was what the pope called “personal and collective conversion, the humility of learning, listening, assisting and protecting the most vulnerable.” On the way to that conversion, there were two forms of resistance to God’s grace identified by the pope: defensiveness (the kind of attitude that says, “this isn’t our issue”) and juridicism (believing you can change everything by laws and regulations alone).

Of course, if you do not believe in the power of grace to transform consciousness, this will all sound like evasive palaver. If you believe bishops are essentially corrupt and self-serving and will only act against abuser priests when they see each other locked up in jail, you will hardly see the point of the pope’s analysis.

So we’re left with a kind of paradox. Real change can happen only through the involvement of survivors, whose testimonies are key to the church’s conversion on this issue. Yet too often survivors’ organizations do not recognize conversion as amounting to any kind of solution. Their anger is fully justified—and it has sometimes forced the issue when bishops would have preferred to see it remain buried—but it has left many of them blind to the significance of what just happened at the Vatican.

TagsSexual-abuse Crisis Pope Francis Clericalism

Austen Ivereigh is the pope’s biographer. His new book A Heart For Change: Inside the Tension of Pope Francis’s Reform will be published next fall by Henry Holt.

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2 priests found credibly accused after Saint Meinrad internal investigation

EVANSVILLE (IN)
WFIE TV

February 25, 2019

By Jared Goffinet and Kate O’Rourke

While the Diocese included two of the priests on the Archabbey’s list, Saint Meinrad handled the allegations with its own review board.

As we reported Friday, Saint Meinrad’s list includes Robert Woerdeman with one credible allegation and Warren Heitz with two.

Saint Meinrad tells us they encourage victims to report abuse to authorities and that if victims don’t, the Archabbey will. We are told most of their monks serve in seminary school as teachers or administrators.

Now, we’ve learned Heitz’s alleged abuse occurred in the ′70s. One was reported in 1999 and the other in 2018.

Heitz was removed from public ministry in 2002. Since then, we are told he has lived at a supervised residential facility for offenders since 2009.

But up until that point, which was 10 years after abuse was reported, he lived at Saint Meinrad.

“Because he’s residing here does not mean he didn’t have restrictions, so in 2009 it was decided after further evaluation and input from professionals that the best course of action was to move him to a supervised residential facility, but that does not mean that he was not under restrictions when he was living here at St. Meinrad,” Explains Saint Meinrad Spokeswoman Mary Jeanne Schumacher.

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Erie’s Persico says pope gave ‘green light’ to reforms

ERIE (PA)
Erie Times

February 25, 2019

By Ed Palattella

Erie Catholic Bishop Lawrence Persico said he is ready to restart an effort with colleagues to further address the clergy sex-abuse crisis in the United States.

The go-ahead, Persico said, came from Pope Francis, who on Sunday ended an unprecedented Vatican summit on clergy sex abuse by declaring “an all-out battle against the abuse of minors” within the Roman Catholic Church and beyond.

Though abuse victims criticized Francis for failing to propose measures of his own, Persico said the pope gave responsibility for developing new rules to bishops’ groups worldwide, including the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The Vatican frustrated Persico and others this past fall when the Holy See asked the conference to hold off on passing new regulations until Francis held the global meeting on abuse. With that four-day session over, Persico said, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is set to resume its work, with the Vatican to review its proposals later.

“The pope is very clear,” Persico said on Monday. “He wants progress on this. He wants something concrete and he wants effective measures. So I think now this is the green light.”

Persico said he believes the Vatican will be inclined to approve what the American bishops develop, including ways to discipline abusive bishops or bishops who covered up abuse. The final authority for punishing a bishop will remain with the pope, but the new rules are designed to give bishops more of a role in policing themselves.

If the Vatican is slow to approve the American proposals, Persico said, it risks even more of a backlash. Victims and others have advocated for change since the Aug. 14 release of the Pennsylvania grand jury report on clergy sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church in Pennsylvania.

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Top U.S. bishop after Vatican sex abuse summit: attack crisis with “unyielding vigilance”

NEW ORLEANS (LA)
Times-Picayune

February 25, 2019

By Kim Chatelain

Promising “unyielding vigilance” in attacking clergy abuse, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops wrapped an unprecedented Vatican summit by vowing to intensify a 2002 charter designed to create a safe environment for children in the church.

Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, who heads the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, released his statement Sunday (Feb. 24) at the end of a four-day meeting of church hierarchy in Rome to discuss sexual abuse and child protection.

At a meeting in Dallas in 2002, the U.S. bishops’ conference established what is formally called the “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People,” which is also known as the Dallas Charter. Among other things, it requires dioceses to set up safe environment programs that include background checks and training for anyone who has contact with minors at any Catholic church or school event. The document has been updated several times since its adoption.

Some church leaders have said the number of sex abuse complaints has dropped dramatically since the charter was put in place. However, recent reports of child molestation by clergy members, most notably a shocking report by a Pennsylvania grand jury last year, brought the issue into public view again and prompted Pope Francis to stage the summit.

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As the Pope’s Summit Ends, Survivors Continue on Their Own Path

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

February 25, 2019

After four long days in Rome, survivors and advocates who had hoped to see Catholic church officials take concrete action towards ending the clergy abuse and cover-up crisis were left disappointed. At the end, Pope Francis offered only words, “reflection points,” and policies to consider for the future.

No bishop who had been involved in covering-up or minimizing allegations was fired. No directive was handed down to order bishops to turn over their secret abuse files to police. No punishment was agreed upon nor system put in place for disciplining those bishops who continue to cover-up abuse cases in the future.

In other words, no child was made safer and no survivor was helped during this summit.

And so, in many ways, not only was the summit everything that survivors expected it would be, but is also an affirmation that we are right to lay our hopes for change at the feet of secular officials, not those in the church.

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Ex-priest worked for county until named in sex abuse report

YORK (PA)
Associated Press

February 25, 2019

A Pennsylvania county government disclosed it fired a former Roman Catholic priest from a job working with people who have mental disabilities shortly after his name appeared in a grand jury report into child sexual abuse .

York County officials told the York Daily Record/Sunday News they had not been aware of allegations against David H. Luck before the August publication of the grand jury report that included information about him.

Luck was suspended from serving as a priest in the Harrisburg diocese in 1990. He was subsequently hired as a caseworker in the mental health and intellectual and developmental disabilities section of the York County Human Services Department.

County officials said Monday that 1994 and 2015 background checks on Luck yielded nothing.

Luck declined comment to the newspaper and did not return a phone message from the AP left at a York phone number linked to him.

The grand jury report cited secret diocesan archives that said Luck, who became a priest in 1987, was accused by a family in 1988 of raping a 15-year-old boy and fondling an 11-year-old boy.

The report alleged that Luck told church officials he was a pedophile in 1990, the year he was suspended from priestly duties.

The grand jury report said no one from the Harrisburg diocese alerted police. Luck was not charged criminally.

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Profiles of the Summit Attendees

WALTHAM (MA)
BishopAccountability.org

February 2019

To prepare for the Catholic church’s first global summit on child sexual abuse by clergy, attended by episcopal conference presidents, BishopAccountability.org has looked closely at how the conference presidents from eight of the world’s largest Catholic countries have handled the abuse crisis in their home countries.

Representing roughly half of the world’s Catholics, these eight prelates include:

an archbishop who estimates that only one percent of his country’s priests have abused children;

the head of a vast archdiocese who says he has dealt with only one abusive priest;

a cardinal who has never spoken publicly about the crisis;

a cardinal who has kept in ministry at least three accused priests.

We further examined the child protection guidelines and actions of the episcopal conferences in all eight countries. They range widely. Some conference websites, like those of France, Mexico, and the U.S., provide abundant information: how to report, the process for handling accusations, advice on prevention. It’s a challenge for the visitor to discern which documents are marketing materials and which are canonically binding. At the other extreme are the episcopal conferences of Brazil and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. On their websites, the crisis is invisible, and no guidelines can be located.

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New Lawsuit Filed in Buffalo, SNAP Responds

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

February 25, 2019

A new lawsuit against the Diocese of Buffalo, the Franciscan Order, and a high school school in upstate New York was filed today. We applaud the bravery of the victim and hope that this lawsuit helps her on her healing journey.

We are especially grateful to Gail Holler-Kennedy for exposing the wrongdoing by Fr. Mark S. Andrzejczuk and officials at the Buffalo Catholic Diocese, the Conventual Franciscan religious order and Cardinal O’Hara High School. We hope her courage will inspire others who are in pain to speak up.

According to media reports, the allegedly abusive priest also worked at Archbishop Curley High School in Baltimore. We hope officials at that school in Baltimore will aggressively reach out to their alumni in search of other victims of Fr. Andrezejczuk.

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Pope uttered same old hogwash at Vatican’s four-day abuse summit

Patheos blog

February 25, 2019

By Barry Duke

‘RECYCLED rhetoric’ was the actual phrase used at the conclusion of the summit this week by Anne Barrett Doyle, co-founder of Bishop Accountability, which tracks clergy sex abuse cases, but we all know that that means.

Doyle, above, told the Guardian:

I am utterly stunned. The Pope has undone the tiny bit of progress that possibly was achieved this week. He was defensive, rationalising that abuse happens in all sectors of society. Ironically and sadly, he exhibited no responsibility, no accountability and no transparency.

She is one of many activists for survivors of clerical sexual abuse who reportedly reacted with fury after Pope Francis failed to promise a “zero tolerance” approach to paedophile priests and the bishops who cover up their crimes as he closed a landmark summit at the Vatican.

Although he vowed that the Roman Catholic church would “spare no effort” to bring abusers to justice and would not cover up or underestimate abuse, a significant part of the his closing speech emphasised that Catholic priests were far from being the sole abusers of children.

Citing data, he said that the majority of cases arose within families and that the perpetrators of abuse were:

Primarily parents, relatives, husbands of child brides and teachers.

He also said that online pornography and sex tourism exacerbated the problem.

Our work has made us realise once again that the gravity of the scourge of the sexual abuse of minors is, and historically has been, a widespread phenomenon in all cultures and societies. I am reminded of the cruel religious practice, once widespread in certain cultures, of sacrificing human beings – frequently children – in pagan rites.

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$300 million lawsuit filed against Buffalo Diocese, Franciscans

BUFFALO (NY)
WKBW TV

February 25, 2019

By Charlie Specht

A renowned Boston attorney is suing the Buffalo Diocese for $300 million on behalf of a Niagara County woman who said she was abused by a Franciscan priest in the 1970s and 1980s.

Mitchell Garabedian, made famous by the Academy Award-winning movie “Spotlight”, has filed a lawsuit in state court against the Buffalo Diocese, the Conventual Franciscan religious order and Cardinal O’Hara High School.

The suit alleges his client, Gail Holler-Kennedy, was sexually abused by Fr. Mark S. Andrzejczuk from 1978 to 1982 at O’Hara, where Fr. Andrzejczuk was a teacher.

The priest, who died in 2011, would write passes excusing Holler-Kennedy from another teacher’s class and he would then sexually abuse her, the lawsuit states.

“The abuse occurred approximately twice a week for approximately three years, beginning when Plaintiff was approximately 14 years old and ending when she was approximately 17 years old,” the filing states.

The diocese, the high school and the Conventual Franciscan order “had a duty not to aid a pedophile such a Father Andrzejczuk” and also also had the responsibility as mandated reporters to report the abuse, but did not, Garabedian claims.

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Catholic Church leaders launch reform process

ROME (ITALY)
LaCroix International

February 25, 2019

By Nicolas Senèze

Did Pope Francis’ closing speech at the meeting of bishops conference presidents on child protection on Feb. 24 come as a disappointment?

The long text he read out in the Sala Regia inside the Apostolic Palace did not in fact contain any significant new announcements.

On the other hand, he had already warned well in advance against “inflated” expectations from the meeting. But the real point of his address had less to do with the concrete measures the Vatican has already started working on than the kind of Church that Pope Francis envisions.

In how it responds to sex abuse by priests, this will be a very different Church from the one that existed only a few years ago. No longer will it be a besieged citadel but rather a Church genuinely in the world.

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After abuse summit, victims press Vatican for action

ROME (ITALY)
Agence France-Presse

February 25, 2019

By Fanny Carrier

At the end of three days of debate, Pope Francis promised an “all-out battle” against the scourge that has done so much damage to the Church’s reputation worldwide.

Victims’ groups, however, reacted sharply to the tone of his speech and what they said was a lack of concrete measures.

“The pope has announced a battle against child abuse but he has the weakest weapons imaginable,” said Anne Barrett Doyle, co-director of BishopAccountability.org.

As a mark of good faith, the Vatican announced an interministerial meeting Monday on the protection of minors.

Urging more tangible progress, BishopAccountability.org and fellow campaigning group End Clergy Abuse (ECA) have drawn up a 21-point plan of action for the pope.

Their “Points of Action for Pope Francis” was intended to sharpen the Vatican’s good intentions, as the pontiff set out in his points of reflection at the start of the summit.

“These aren’t reflection points, these are action points, battle plans,” said Peter Isely, spokesman for Ending Clergy Abuse.

Referring to the pope, Doyle said: “If he were to do the 21 points in this list, he would end this scourge once and for all.”

Their plan of action pulls no punches.

Any cleric found guilty of even a single act of child sexual abuse should be permanently removed from the priesthood, they said — as should any bishop or religious superior helping cover it up.

All abusers or suspected abusers should be reported to the civil authorities, and any abuse-related files handed over to them, the campaigners added.

The Church should also draw up a public list of all abusers, past and present, they said.

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Bishops told transparency needed to overcome clergy abuse crisis

WASHINGTON (DC)
Religion News Service

February 25, 2019

By Thomas Reese

On the last full day of the meeting in Rome on clergy sex abuse, a German cardinal and a Nigerian nun, each in his or her own way, explained that transparency was the only way for the Catholic Church to deal with the crisis. They spoke with bluntness unusual in meetings of bishops, practicing the transparency they preached.

In his presentation, Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the archbishop of Munich, acknowledged that files were destroyed, silence was imposed on victims, and procedures for the prosecution of offenses were deliberately not complied with.

“The rights of victims were effectively trampled underfoot, and left to the whims of individuals,” complained the cardinal.

What is needed is transparency, he said, where “actions, decisions, processes, procedures, etc., are understandable and traceable.” He noted that similar transparency is also important in finances, another area where scandals have taken place.

While acknowledging the German love of administrative rules and procedures, he said that in the church, “administration should take place in such a way that people feel accepted in administrative procedures, that they feel appreciated, that they can trust the system, that they feel secure and fairly treated, that they are listened to and their legitimate criticism is accepted.”

Transparency is especially important so people “can uncover errors and mistakes in the administrative actions and defend themselves against such actions.”

He argued that “the principles of the presumption of innocence and the protection of personal rights, and the need for transparency, are not mutually exclusive.”

Marx even criticized the practice of secrecy in the Vatican, which imposes church penalties for revealing things the Vatican doesn’t want disclosed. He saw no reason “why pontifical secrecy should apply to the prosecution of criminal offenses concerning the abuse of minors.”

The cardinal also called for the publication of judicial proceedings and the release of statistics on the number of abuse cases.

Marx’s focus on administrative structures contrasts with Pope Francis’ stress on conversion and commitment: Francis focuses on changing the culture of the church, while Marx focused on making sure things are done properly.

These approaches are not in conflict; they are complementary. All the structures in the world will not work unless people are motivated to do the right thing. Likewise, all the good intentions in the world will not suffice if you don’t know what to do.

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Survivors speak out against church sex abuse scandal outside National Shrine

WASHINGTON (DC)
ABC 7 TV

February 25, 2019

By Richard Reeve

Becky Ianni is a sex abuse survivor.

She says the man who molested her decades ago was a newly ordained parish priest.

“As an 8-year-old, I knew how serious this was,” she said. “I knew this was a sin, I knew it was wrong.”

Ianni, now in her 60s, says the priest was like an adopted member of her family.

He ate dinner in her home, said mass in their basement, bought her family a TV and went on vacations with them.

“I felt like we had a little bit of God in our house,” Ianni said.

But around her 8th birthday, the relationship began to take a dark turn.

“He took that love and adoration and began to abuse me,” she said. “He would rape me with his hands in the basement, and then he would go upstairs and have dinner with my family. I would have dinner with my family and think, ‘Doesn’t anybody see I’m different?’”

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Four take-aways from the pope’s summit on clerical sexual abuse

ROME (ITALY)
Crux

February 25, 2019

By John L. Allen Jr.

Pope Francis’s keenly-anticipated Feb. 21-24 summit on clerical sexual abuse wrapped up Sunday, and it ended much the way it began: Offering reasons for hope, for those inclined in that direction, but also ample basis for skepticism for anyone disposed to distrust assurances from ecclesiastical officialdom.

The summit provided an amplifier for the rhetoric of reform, but relatively little in terms of concrete new policies or law. If anything, there’s actually some basis to suspect division and ambiguity about certain key accountability measures, such as defrocking as the more-or-less standard punishment for abuser priests and releasing the names of clergy facing credible accusations of abuse.

On Sunday, the Vatican vowed new anti-abuse guidelines for the Vatican City State, a handbook outlining the procedures to follow in abuse cases, and new task forces to help bishops’ conferences and dioceses that lack the resources to implement anti-abuse protocols on their own. It also announced that on Monday, summit organizers will meet with Vatican officials to discuss next steps.

In the immediate wake of the summit, here are a few take-aways that seem supported by the experience of the last four days.

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When it comes to sexual abuse, the Church is devil-may-care

TORONTO (CANADA)
The Globe and Mail

February 25, 2019

By Michael Coren

They came, they spoke, they left – and nothing changed.

Pope Francis and 190 prelates gathered last Thursday for an unprecedented four-day summit in Rome to discuss the Church’s sexual abuse crisis, and the result is very much business as usual. Nothing had been guaranteed, but the sheer optics of the event implied that something, at long last, might be done to respond to a circus of horrors that unwraps by the week.

Instead, the Pope refused to enact the anticipated “zero tolerance” when dealing with pedophile priests, delivering instead a platitude that the Church would ”spare no effort” – sound that signified nothing.

To make matters worse, he then devoted a large part of his concluding speech to the subject of sexual abuse in general society, arguing that it’s not confined to the Roman Catholic Church and that most offenders were family members, “husbands of child brides and teachers.”

“Our work has made us realize once again that the gravity of the scourge of the sexual abuse of minors is, and historically has been, a widespread phenomenon in all cultures and societies,” he continued. “I am reminded of the cruel religious practice, once widespread in certain cultures, of sacrificing human beings – frequently children – in pagan rites.”

The degree of digression here is incredible. Nobody has ever claimed that the Church is the only offender, but that it has denied and obfuscated, protected its own, and even attacked victims who spoke out for justice. The phenomenon of child marriage is something entirely different; that human sacrifice was even mentioned is bewildering. This is what is known as “Rome speak”, where much is said and little admitted.

Abuse, tragically, exists everywhere there is a power dynamic, and that includes families, schools, sports clubs and other religious institutions. But the Church continues to refuse to examine why it is especially vulnerable, and even under the allegedly progressive Pope Francis, it still cannot acknowledge the depth and extent of the problem. In spite of papal protests, the Roman Catholic Church remains a magnet for this kind of crime, and nothing will change without reckoning with and resolving five basic aspects that in some ways are built into the religion’s bones: Enforced celibacy, patriarchy, clericalism, secrecy and sexual dishonesty.

Celibacy does not lead to abuse, and if it’s voluntary, it can be deeply spiritual. But when it’s demanded, it can attract the sexually immature and broken, and can enforce a dark stigma around sexuality. Patriarchy within Roman Catholicism is staggeringly obvious – the image of almost 200 middle-aged and elderly men discussing sexual abuse surely says it all. Women perpetrate abuse too, of course, but a culture so lacking in gender balance and female influence can never function healthily.

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What I liked — and didn’t like — about Pope Francis’ talk at Vatican summit on sex abuse

ALLENTOWN (PA)
Allentown Call

February 25, 2019

By Paul Muschick

The papal summit that wrapped up at the Vatican on Sunday to address sex abuse in the Catholic church went where I expected it would. Nowhere.

It was just more talk. We must take this problem seriously, Pope Francis said. We’re going to do this. We’re going to do that.

So do it already.

The longer the church delays taking action, the harder it gets to have faith that it ever will appropriately address this plague. Talk is cheap.

By calling together leaders from around the world to meet for four days, Francis set high expectations. He should have been ready to implement a concrete plan of action, and called on the global leaders to publicly endorse it. Instead, the weekend was full of more mea culpas. During his concluding address, Francis just rattled off a host of talking points.

There was plenty of time to prepare. The Pennsylvania grand jury investigation that brought this issue back into the spotlight in the U.S. was released six months ago. The pressure has mounted since, with other states launching similar probes. There have been scandals in Chile, Australia and Honduras, too.

The church no longer can address them one-by-one. It needs to take a hard stand.

What should it be doing?

For starters, any clergy — a priest, a bishop, a cardinal — proven to have looked the other way when confronted with abuse allegations should be banished from the church. It goes without saying that those who commit the abuse should be banished, too.

There should be a global requirement to report allegations to law enforcement. And the Vatican should open its files so the world can get a better grip on just how extensive the abuse, and any cover-ups, really are.

The lack of action is especially disappointing because bishops in the United States were prepared to take action in November, until Pope Francis told them not to.

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Frédéric Martel’s In the Closet of the Vatican

LITTLE ROCK (AR)
Bilgrimage

February 24, 2019

I have not read Frédéric Martel’s explosive new book In the Closet of the Vatican, about which there has been a flurry of commentary since it was officially released this past week as the Vatican meeting on sex abuse began. So I’m not able to comment on the book itself. I do intend to read it soon.

What I can comment on is some of the commentary I’ve read. There is, of course, much hand-wringing from predictable quarters that always mount reflexive defenses of the clerical club running the Catholic institution; there’s the defensive suggestion that Martel’s book is a gotcha gossip-fest that ought not to be taken seriously. There’s also the more substantive concern that it’s a nifty tool being handed to the hard homophobic right wing of the Catholic church to engage in further gay-bashing and blaming of gay priests for the abuse crisis.

Of the commentary I’ve read, analysis by a number of out gay Catholic thinkers seems to me most worth noting This book is an opportunity for the Catholic journalistic world to move beyond its usual refusal to listen seriously or give a place of respect to out gay (and lesbian and transgender and bisexual) Catholic voices and do some receptive listening — for a change — to such voices. What they have to tell us about Martel’s book may be among the most important things that are being said by the book’s readers.

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Argentine survivors’ network says Pope’s sex abuse summit is “hypocrisy”

BUENOS AIRES (ARGENTINA)
Buenos Aires Times

February 25, 2019

The Network of Survivors of Ecclesiastical Abuse of Argentina denounced Pope Francis’ historic Vatican summit against pedophilia in the Catholic Church, describing it as an “act of simulation and hypocrisy.”

“We have witnessed a new act of simulation and hypocrisy by officials of an independent state. It’s a serial breach of international human rights conventions,” the Network said in a harsh statement titled “The Lying Liar” on Sunday.

The network urged “the global public to declare a ‘genocidal state’ in the Holy See” for having “developed, applied and maintained a system of protection and concealment of abusive priests over time.”

The group will encourage international denunciations against the Vatican, ask for Church archives to be opened and for registers of ecclesiastical abusers to be released.

“The objective (of protecting minors) is blurred and loses value in concluding that ecclesiastical pedophilia is only part of the abuse as a transverse and very broad problem,” the Network lamented regarding the summit that will be led by Pope Francisco.

The Argentine Network of Survivors of Ecclesiastical Sexual Abuses integrates more than a hundred victims.

“Not all the victims have made a criminal or ecclesiastical complaint. Some have not yet been encouraged, many have not yet spoken and are trapped in the institution,” psychologist Liliana Rodríguez told AFP. “Everything that happens (at the Summit) will cause a setback, which is why the summit is being denounced.”

The agency accused the Catholic Church of prioritizing “its credibility as an institution to the life and physical and mental health of victims and survivors.”

It also alleged that there was “disrespectful, degrading and victimizing treatment of survivors.”

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The ‘Uncle Ted’ McCarrick saga continues: A second priest spills all to the Washington Post

Get Religion blog

February 25, 2019

By Julia Duin

The second shoe dropped Saturday when the Washington Post came out with the on-the-record account of another priest who’d been sexually abused by former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick.

By “shoes,” I mean the three former New Jersey priests who filed lawsuits against the Catholic Church or one of its dioceses regarding McCarrick. The first ‘shoe’ was Robert Ciolek, who went public early on in this saga. The other two were refusing to talk until now.

When reading this story, let’s keep the big picture in mind. The key questions remain: Who moved McCarrick higher and higher in the church, while reports circulated about his private affairs? Who protected him later? Who benefited from his favors?

Now, back to the new chapter in this story:

Less than a week after Theodore McCarrick became the first cardinal ever defrocked, a New Jersey priest has for the first time agreed to be interviewed about his accusations that McCarrick sexually abused him in the 1990s and the effect the alleged abuse has had on his life and career.

In exclusive interviews with the Post, the Rev. Lauro Sedlmayer said the interactions with McCarrick, who was then his archbishop, in Newark, set off a downward spiral that severely damaged his psyche and career. Now 61, the priest says he told three bishops but nothing was done.

Note the crucial detail: Bishops were informed about this and nothing happened.

The Post folks have known about this guy since last summer. I wrote about that here, but it’s taken eight months for this guy to go on the record. Better late than never.

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SNAP’s Reflection Points: 21 Things People Can Do to Prevent Abuse and Support Survivors

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

February 24, 2019

At the papal summit this week, Pope Francis presented 21 points for reflection. SNAP is about action, so instead we’re providing 21 steps that you can take to help prevent abuse, protect children, and support survivors:

If you see something, say something! Report any suspected child sexual abuse to local law enforcement who are trained to investigate these cases. Here’s a list of reporting hotlines you can use for every state in the US.

Educate yourself about child sexual abuse. Learn more about warning signs for sexual abuse here and be prepared to make a report if anything seems wrong.

Encourage open dialogue and don’t be afraid to talk about abuse. Ask all your children – including your adult children – if anything ever happened to them.

Talk to your children about sex abuse. Make sure children understand that you are always there to help and that if anything happens to them you will believe them and that it is not their fault. This resource can help.

Encourage your friends and neighbors to learn about child sexual abuse. Educated communities are better able to prevent cases of abuse and intervene in ongoing cases.

Be open to hearing about someone’s trauma. If someone tells you they were abused tell them “I am so sorry; I believe you; this isn’t your fault, how can I help you?”

Invite survivors to share their stories at your church. The more that people are aware of sexual abuse, the more likely they are to get involved in prevention.

Write letters to the editors about articles you see about abuse. Every article is an opportunity to educate others about prevention and protection.

When you read an article about someone who was abused make a positive comment in the comment section. Victims read the comments and you can make them feel they made the right choice by speaking out.

Donate to an organization that works to protect children. Non-profits rely on your donations to provide programs that support survivors and help prevent abuse. Support SNAP here.

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Vatican, Catholic diocese nationwide turning the page on sexual abuse in the church

SIOUX CITY (IA)
KMEG 14

February 24, 2019

by Katie Copple and Jetske Wauran

News of Monday’s announcement from the Diocese of Sioux City broke Sunday morning during Sunday Mass as the Diocese of Sioux City follows other Diocese nationwide in releasing names of abusive priests.

Sunday morning during services, parishioners were told of the impending Diocese announcement, along with more details of the investigation into the sexual abuse allegations.

The letter from Bishop R. Walker Nickless, which was given to Siouxland News, states that the first alleged sexual abuse incident occurred in 1948 and the last in 1995.

Bishop Nickless hopes that by releasing this list, the church can mark a new chapter in history in which Nickless commits to quote “a future of trust, openness and accountability.”

He goes on to state that by releasing the names of the priests with credible allegations against them, the healing process can begin, showing the victims and their families that the church believes them.

The release of this list comes after years of accusations against the church here in Sioux City and worldwide.

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Clergy sex abuse survivors release new list of NYC predators

BROOKLYN (NY)
Brooklyn Daily Eagle

February 22, 2019

By David Brand

Survivors of clergy sex abuse have named 112 additional clergy members from the Archdiocese of New York, who they say molested and abused them when they were children.

Attorney Jeff Anderson, who represents survivors of clergy sex abuse, said that 57 of the alleged perpetrators are alive, 42 are dead and 13 could not be located. Anderson joined survivors to publicize the list today in Manhattan.

“We are releasing this list publicly because Cardinal [Timothy] Dolan will not release a list,” Anderson said. Dolan is cardinal at the Archdiocese of New York. “He has made a conscious and calculated choice to keep these names and documents secret and he has the power to release the names right now.”

On Friday, the Diocese of Brooklyn, which includes Queens, released the names of 108 clergy members “credibly” accused of sexual abuse.

The Archdiocese of Brooklyn and The Archdiocese of New York did not provide a response to requests from the Eagle.

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Pope Francis: “Clean up your church, get rid of the pedophiles”

ROME (ITALY)
CBS News

February 25, 2019

Three clergy abuse survivors all want to know why the Catholic Church still has not laid out concrete steps to stop child sex abuse. “CBS This Morning” has followed their fight for justice since last year, all the way from the U.S. to Rome, where they attended a summit with church leaders and called for a zero-tolerance policy for abuse.

On Sunday Pope Francis addressed the crowd in St. Peter’s Square, promising to confront abusers with “the wrath of God,” end the cover-ups by church officials, and prioritize the victims of what he termed “brazen, aggressive and destructive evil.”

But the survivors told CBS News correspondent Nikki Battiste they all want to know why the Catholic Church still has not laid out concrete steps to stop child sex abuse.

Battiste asked them how they’re feeling after the pope’s speech.

Mary Dispenza, a former nun, said, “I don’t think our children are any safer now than four days ago, by what I heard.”

“What’s one word you would use to describe how this summit went?”

Dispenza said, “Disappointing.”

Shaun Dougherty, who was molested by a teacher at a Catholic grade school when he was 10, said, “Shortfall.”

Meanwhile, Pennsylvania State Legislator Mark Rozzi, who said his priest raped him when he was 13 years old, characterized it as “a start.”

Battiste asked, “What would you say to survivors and victims listening who might be disappointed by this summit?”

“Don’t give up,” said Dougherty.

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President of U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Issues Statement at Close of Meeting on the Protection of Minors in the Church

ROME (ITALY)
US Conference of Catholic Bishops

February 24, 2019

Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo, Archbishop of Galveston-Houston and President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), has issued the following statement on the final day of a four day meeting attended by Presidents of Bishops’ Conferences from across the globe.

“The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth.” Psalm 145:18

“These have been challenging, fruitful days. The witness of survivors revealed for us, again, the deep wound in the Body of Christ. Listening to their testimonies transforms your heart. I saw that in the faces of my brother bishops. We owe survivors an unyielding vigilance that we may never fail them again.

How then to bind the wounds? Intensify the Dallas Charter. Pope Francis, whom I want to thank for this assembly, called us to ‘concrete and effective measures.’ A range of presenters from cardinals to other bishops to religious sisters to lay women spoke about a code of conduct for bishops, the need to establish specific protocols for handling accusations against bishops, user-friendly reporting mechanisms, and the essential role transparency must play in the healing process.

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Pope’s sex abuse summit: What it did and didn’t do

ROME (ITALY)
Associated Press

February 24, 2019

By Nicole Winfield

Pope Francis’ summit on preventing sexual abuse was never going to meet the expectations placed on it by victims groups, the media and ordinary Catholics outraged over a scandal that has harmed so many and compromised the church’s moral authority so much.

Indeed, no sweeping new law was announced to punish bishops who cover up abuse. No files were released or global reporting requirement endorsed requiring priestly rapists to be reported to police. In his final speech to the summit Sunday, Pope Francis even fell back on the hierarchy’s frequent complaint of unfair press coverage.

But something has changed.

By inviting the leaders of Catholic bishops conferences and religious orders from around the world to a four-day tutorial on preventing sex abuse, Francis has made clear that they all are responsible for protecting the children in their care and must punish the priests who might violate them, or risk punishment themselves.

“In people’s justified anger, the church sees the reflection of the wrath of God, betrayed and insulted by these deceitful consecrated persons,” the pontiff said.

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Bishops must see press as allies, not enemies, Mexican journalist says

ROME (ITALY)
Catholic News Service

February 23, 2019

By Junno Arocho Esteves

If they are truly serious about fighting clerical sex abuse, bishops must join forces with journalists and not view them as enemies plotting against the Catholic Church, Mexican journalist Valentina Alazraki said.

Alazraki, who has covered the Vatican for over four decades, told bishops at the Vatican summit on abuse Feb. 23 that journalists can help them root out the “rotten apples and to overcome resistance in order to separate them from the healthy ones.”

“If you do not decide in a radical way to be on the side of the children, mothers, families, civil society, you are right to be afraid of us, because we journalists — who seek the common good — will be your worst enemies.” Valentina Alazraki

“But if you do not decide in a radical way to be on the side of the children, mothers, families, civil society, you are right to be afraid of us, because we journalists — who seek the common good — will be your worst enemies,” she warned.

The veteran journalist was invited to speak at the summit about the importance of transparency with journalists and media outlets.

Alazraki, who began covering the Vatican in the final years of St. Paul VI’s pontificate, said church leaders too often blamed journalists’ coverage of the abuse scandal as a plot “to put an end to this institution.”

“We journalists know that there are reporters who are more thorough than others and that there are media outlets more or less dependent on political, ideological or economic interests,” she said. “But I believe that in no case can the mass media be blamed for having uncovered or reported on abuses.”

Recalling the words of Pope Benedict XVI, Alazraki told bishops that clerical sex abuse is neither a rumor or a gossip but a crime that “comes not from external enemies but arises from sins within” the church.

Addressing the accusation that reporters are often harsher on the church than on other institutions when it comes to sex abuse, the Mexican journalist said that is natural “by virtue of your moral role.”

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Summit on clergy abuse ends; now focus turns to change

HOUSTON (TX)
Click 2 Houston

February 24, 2019

By Bill Balleza

The papal summit on clergy abuse has come to a close in Rome.

Those expecting concrete results worldwide will be disappointed.

But here at home, Catholics can expect meaningful change, including accountability of bishops who covered up clergy abuse of minors for decades, sometimes guilty of abuse themselves.

On the final day of the summit, Pope Francis delivered an address after celebrating mass. He had strong words for those priests guilty of abusing minors, saying they and future abusers will face the wrath of God.

The pope also talked about preventing abuse and the next generation of priests.

Three priests from Texas visited while in Rome, Joe White, of Lake Jackson, Sam Bass, of Austin and Ismael Rodriguez, of Dallas.

Survivors who traveled to The Vatican for answers have been vocal and visible.

“The summit has always centered on victims and survivors,” said Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, archbishop of Galveston-Houston and president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

“It was there from the get-go in the beginning. It punctured and went through every talk.”

As for meaningful change, the pope offered only hope, relying on his bishops for change worldwide.

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Local clergy abuse victim reacts to Pope’s speech at Vatican Summit

SAN DIEGO (CA)
KGTV

February 24, 2019

By Rina Nakano

A landmark four-day Vatican Summit concluded today in Tome. The Pope addressed the Catholic Church’s long history of child sex abuse and cover-up scandals. He concluded the event with a speech, saying that those guilty of child sex abuse are “tools of Satan.”

While many thought the Pope’s “all-out-battle” to fight sex abuse was refreshing, local survivors hoped to see more.

A spokesperson for the Catholic Diocese of San Diego immediately praised the Pope’s transparency, sending 10News this statement:

The summit hosted by Pope Francis accomplished everything we hoped for and more. The Pope and the bishops assembled in Rome endorsed tough policies to promote accountability for bishops and other church authorities and made it very clear that covering up the abuse of minors was every bit as criminal and sinful as the acts of abuse themselves. They heard first-hand from victims and from Pope Francis himself who called for an ‘all-out battle’ to fight sexual abuse.
“We expect additional guidelines to issued by the Vatican in coming days and specific policies and regulations to be voted on by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops in June.”

Kevin Eckery, spokesperson for the Catholic Diocese of San Diego

But for Paul Livingston, Pope Francis’ words did not fix the damage he said he experienced as a victim of clergy abuse.

“It’s a day late and a dollar short,” Livingston said. “All we wanted was an apology. We didn’t get an apology. We got a ‘That never happened here’.”

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Local sex abuse survivors frustrated by lack of ‘action steps’ as Pope Francis ends Vatican summit

PITTSBURGH (PA)
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

February 24, 2019

By Ashley Murray

The day before a meeting of bishops convened Thursday in Rome to discuss clergy sex abuse, Jim VanSickle made his way to the front of Pope Francis’ weekly address and handed a letter to an aide.

“I wrote on it in Italian that I was a survivor of [clergy] sexual abuse in Pennsylvania,” Mr. VanSickle, 55, said Sunday from Rome. “Only time will tell if he actually reads it, or it finds its way to a garbage can.”

The Coraopolis, Pa., resident shared a collective disappointment with other survivors as Pope Francis concluded the four-day summit with “a lot of rhetoric” rather than concrete actions.

“Even though they’re now talking about [clergy abuse] as crimes, they’re not talking about changing internal procedures,” John Faluszczak, a former priest in the Diocese of Erie and a clergy abuse survivor who also was in Rome, said. “That’s kind of concerning.”

Pope declares ‘all-out battle’ against clergy abuse, but ends summit with no concrete reforms
The meeting called more than 100 top Roman Catholic bishops from around the world Thursday through Sunday for the unprecedented summit.

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Ex-spy agency chief ‘quit role after his support for paedophile priest emerged’

LONDON (ENGLAND)
Premier

February 25, 2019

The former head of GCHQ resigned his post after it emerged he gave a character reference in support of a paedophile priest who went on to reoffend, it has been reported.

Robert Hannigan stood down as director of the spy agency in 2017 after less than three years in the post, citing “family reasons”.

The Mail on Sunday reports his departure followed the discovery that in 2013 he had given a character reference on behalf of a Catholic priest charged with possessing child pornography.

The priest, who was said to have been a long-standing family friend of Mr Hannigan, was given a non-custodial sentence and went on to offend again, the paper said.

Mr Hannigan’s involvement in the case was said to have been discovered during a major investigation into online chatrooms by the National Crime Agency.

Mr Hannigan told the Mail the priest had been a “close family friend” for 20 years and they had submitted a character reference to the court “in good faith” after he pleaded guilty to the offences.

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Trial for priest accused of sexual abuse set to begin

ALBUQUERQUE (NM)
KOB 4 TV

February 25, 2019

By Marian Camacho

The trial of a priest accused of sexually abusing children is set to begin Monday in Santa Fe.

Arthur Perrault faces seven charges of child sexual abuse in addition to several civil cases. He is accused of sexually abusing an 11-year-old boy on Kirtland Air Force Base in the ’90s while he was a chaplain. Other cases allegedly took place at the Santa Fe National Cemetery around the same time.

According to court documents, there are dozens of other accusers who claim they were sexually assaulted by Perrault in the ’60s. One of the victims says Perrault’s trial is another example of delayed justice.

Perrault was originally scheduled to go on trial in November and was offered a plea deal that he refused. Instead, he pleaded not guilty.

Perrault fled the country in 1992 amid allegations of sexual abuse and spent years on the run in Morocco. He was extradited to New Mexico last year.

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Iglesia Evangélica anuncia protocolo para casos de abuso sexual

[Evangelical church announces protocol for sexual abuse cases]

CHILE
BioBioChile

February 24, 2019

By Emilio Lara and Joaquín Aguilera

La Iglesia Evangélica anunció la implementación de un protocolo de acción respecto de los casos de abuso sexual en la institución religiosa, fortaleciendo los canales de denuncia, colaboración con la justicia y brindando apoyo a las víctimas.

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José Andrés Murillo: “Es la primera vez que hay un reconocimiento de la responsabilidad de la Iglesia”

[José Andrés Murillo: “It is the first time there is recognition of the Church’s responsibility”]

CHILE
La Tercera

February 24, 2019

By María José Navarrete

La víctima del exsacerdote Fernando Karadima criticó la ausencia de medidas concretas para llevar a cabo los anuncios de la Iglesia. También, dice, está la falta de intenciones para investigar “de manera seria” porqué ocurren estos casos.

A pocas horas del término de la cumbre para tratar temas de protección a menores en la Iglesia, convocada por el Papa Francisco en el Vaticano, José Andrés Murillo, director de la Fundación para la Confianza, habló con La Tercera respecto de sus apreciaciones de esta actividad que reunió a obispos de todo el mundo.

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Fernando Ramos, secretario general de la Conferencia Episcopal: “Falta acompañar y tener cercanía con las víctimas”

[Fernando Ramos, general secretary of the Episcopal Conference: “It is necessary to accompany and have closeness to the victims”]

CHILE
La Tercera

February 25, 2019

By María José Navarrete

Además, el prelado manifestó que se debe cambiar la tipificación penal de los abusos en el código de derecho canónico y apoyar a las diócesis más pequeñas.

Desde Roma, y tras finalizar la cumbre sobre “La protección de los menores en la Iglesia”, el representante chileno y secretario general de la Conferencia Episcopal, Fernando Ramos, hizo una pausa para conversar con La Tercera respecto de los desafíos que el encuentro dejó para la Iglesia en Chile.

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After abuse summit, does ‘zero tolerance’ have a future?

ROME (ITALY)
Crux

February 25, 2019

By Charles Collins

After the heads of the world’s bishops’ conferences and Eastern Churches listened to four days of talks on the effects of sex abuse, it can now be said that no Church leader can claim that the issue isn’t a problem in their neck of the woods.

This is probably the most significant achievement of the unprecedented Feb. 21-24 Vatican summit on the topic which has been plaguing the Catholic Church for decades.

Yet there is a sense that for this giant step forward, there has also been a significant step backward: “Zero tolerance” – a buzzword since the scandal exploded in Boston in 2002 – no longer means priests who abuse minors will be defrocked even after one incident of abuse.

This policy was stated in its most succinct form by St. John Paul II, when he called every U.S. cardinal to the Vatican in April 2002 in the fallout of the revelations of abuse and cover-up exposed in the Boston Globe that year: “People need to know that there is no place in the priesthood and religious life for those who would harm the young.”

This is in contrast to removal from active ministry, when a priest does not have a pastoral assignment – and often is told not to even present himself as a priest in public – but is still, technically, a cleric.

In the countries hardest hit by the sexual abuse crisis in the late 20th century – including the United States and Ireland – the families of victims were told an abusing priest was going to be removed from ministry, only later to find out he was serving as a priest in another location.

This is why most victims support groups – including the Ending Clergy Abuse advocacy group, which had a large contingent in Rome – have insisted abusive priests should be removed from the priesthood.

From the beginning of the meeting, the Vatican showed it was resisting this policy.

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Church moving from ‘American problem’ to American solutions on clergy abuse

ROME (ITALY)
Crux

February 25, 2019

By Christopher White

If the global clergy sex abuse crisis was once thought of as an “American” problem, Pope Francis’s efforts to get the global Church to take the issue seriously may now be drawing on American solutions.

Seventeen years ago, 2002 marked a turning point for the U.S. clergy abuse crisis. Bishops tangled with Rome to amend canon law and enact a “one-strike and you’re out” policy for abusive priests – something which, at the time, was criticized in Rome and elsewhere as a distortion of Church law and a typically American form of “cowboy justice.”

Yet as bishops gathered around the world in Rome this week for an anti-abuse summit convened by Francis, Archbishop Eamon Martin of Ireland told reporters he believed the universal Church was moving “much closer” to enacting that American innovation as a global policy.

In an interview with Crux on Saturday, the president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, offered a similar conclusion.

“The Church is moving toward zero tolerance,” he said, but “it isn’t quite there yet.”

Further, the case of former cardinal and priest Theodore McCarrick, who rose through the ranks of power in the U.S. and within the Vatican, while abusing both minors and seminarians, has now prompted a global conversation in the Catholic Church on the need for oversight of the Church’s bishops.

On Friday, Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago and one of the members of the summit’s organizing committee, called for “new legal structures of accountability” for bishops who abuse or are negligent in handling cases of abuse.

His proposal would charge the metropolitan archbishop with the responsibility for overseeing investigations into bishops accused of abuse in conjunction with a local review board. Cupich later added that it’s a model that would allow a more local response and follow-up with abuse survivors.

Speaking at a press conference on Friday, Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston and president of the Vatican’s Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, said that the 2002 Dallas charter on the protection of children made “a huge difference” in the way the Church responds to sexual abuse.

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God’s Work Against Child Abuse Will Be Done By States, Not The Vatican

BOSTON(MA)
WBUR Radio

February 25, 2019

By Rich Barlow

The moral order has flipped upside down when civil authorities must force religious leaders to honor the Eighth Commandment against lying. Yet we are in such a Bizarro World, as I learned after my native New Jersey was among a half dozen states to investigate Catholic dioceses, following Pennsylvania’s searing catalog of decades of abuse of 1,000 children by hundreds of priests.

In the wake of Jersey’s probe, Catholic dioceses in the state recently released the names of priests credibly accused of abuse. Monsignor Thomas J. Frain, pastor of my childhood parish, was among them. (He, like many on the list, is deceased.) Though the nature of his abuse and age of his victim(s) weren’t specified — priests have preyed on adults, including nuns, as well as kids — I thank God that neither my brother nor I were ever altar boys or left alone with him.

I’d place my faith in prosecutors over prelates.

I mention this by way of suggesting, as a practicing Catholic, that attention to the just-ended Vatican summit on child abuse is misplaced. If it’s church reform you want, turn your gaze from Rome to U.S. states, where law enforcement, having lost patience with Catholic leaders (as have we in the laity), have started probing abuse.

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Victims of clergy sex abuse release list of 21 ‘reflection points’ urging the Pope to take more aggressive action

WASHINGTON (DC)
WUSA TV

February 24, 2019

Pope Francis’ landmark Vatican summit ended early Sunday morning. In the District, some local survivors said the Pope’s words stop short.

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Summit drives home that clerical sexual abuse is a global problem

ROME (ITALY)
Crux

February 25, 2019

By Elise Harris

Though Pope Francis’s high-stakes Feb. 21-24 summit on clerical sexual abuse has not yet yielded any major policy moves, one message was clear throughout the four-day gathering: The problem is global, and no one should leave thinking it’s not a concern in their own backyard.

Francis himself in his Sunday Angelus address said abuse is “a widespread problem on every continent,” and because of this, he wanted bishops throughout the world “to face it together, in a co-responsible and collegial way.”

Since the beginning of the abuse scandals three decades ago, they’ve sometimes been pegged as primarily an “American” or “Western” problem by Church leaders in countries where the crisis has yet to erupt. Cracking down has been met with a certain level of resistance by prelates in these regions who see the problem as secondary in comparison to other, more pressing issues.

However, speakers this week challenged that notion with direct, bold language.

During Friday’s morning session, Cardinal Oswald Gracias of Mumbai, India, a member of the pope’s council of cardinals and one of four members of the summit’s organizing committee, said, “No bishop may say to himself, ‘This problem of abuse in the Church does not concern me, because things are different in my part of the world.’”

“This, brothers and sisters, is just not true,” he said. Acknowledging that “we in leadership roles did not do enough,” Gracias said the “entire Church must take an honest look [and] act decisively to prevent abuse from occurring in the future, and to do whatever possible to foster healing for victims.”

Similarly, Sister Veronica Openibo of Nigeria, one of just three women tapped to speak at the summit, reinforced the message Saturday, telling the 190 participants that “probably like many of you, I have heard many Africans and Asians say that this is not our issue in countries in Africa and Asia.”

“It is a problem in Europe, the Americas, Canada and Australia,” Openibo said, adding that other problems in the region such as poverty, illness, war, and violence “does not mean that the area of sexual abuse should be downplayed or ignored…The Church has to be proactive in facing it.”

Prelates did not mince words, vocalizing the Church’s failures to properly address the abuse crisis and calling for the “humility” to recognize these errors and to repent.

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February 24, 2019

Lafayette diocese still hasn’t released list of priests accused of sexual abuse

LAFAYETTE (LA)
Lafayette Daily Advertiser

February 24, 2019

By Elaina Sauber

As nearly 200 leaders of the Roman Catholic Church from around the world convened at a first-ever summit on sexual abuse at the Vatican on Thursday, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lafayette still hadn’t released a list of priests over the last half-century who were credibly accused of sexually abusing children.

Bishop J. Douglas Deshotel of the Diocese of Lafayette said earlier this week that he expected the summit to address “pastoral outreach and accompaniment toward healing” for sexual abuse victims and the removal of any cleric who is guilty of abuse, and reporting those crimes to law enforcement.

In a Daily Advertiser story first published on Feb. 11, diocesan spokeswoman Blue Rolfes said they hoped “within the next week or two to release the list.”

Nearly two weeks later, Rolfes hasn’t responded to repeated phone calls and emails seeking an update on when the list will be published.

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Head of Catholic order failed to tell police of sexual abuse at London school

LONDON (ENGLAND)
The Guardian

February 23, 2019

By Jamie Doward

The head of one of the country’s most powerful Catholic orders was made aware of sex abuse allegations dating back to the 1970s at one of its schools but did not alert the authorities – contrary to the recommendations of a church commission on which he sat.

The wide-ranging Independent Inquiry Into Child Sexual Abuse has been shown a handwritten document compiled by Abbot Richard Yeo, who as president of the Benedictines conducted an inquiry at St Benedict’s School in Ealing, west London, in June 2010 following reports that there had been widespread abuse of pupils by teachers and monks.

The year before Yeo’s visit, Father David Pearce, the former head of the junior school, had been jailed for eight years – reduced to five on appeal –after being found guilty of abusing five boys over a 36-year period.

According to notes Yeo took when he visited St Benedict’s, and which will soon be uploaded on to the inquiry’s website, many at the school had been concerned about Pearce decades before he was jailed. Yeo’s notes state: “Mid 70s knew David engaged in dubious activities.” Another monk told him: “Knew since I was junior school head there was something wrong. Graffiti ‘Fr David is bent’.” A third said he was aware of rumours of abuse when he arrived 25 years ago, and expressed disbelief that a former abbot claimed to Yeo he “never knew anything about it”.

The Catholic church’s failure to confront systemic clerical sexual abuse was acknowledged last week at an unprecedented summit on the issue opened by Pope Francis, attended by 180 bishops and cardinals. “The holy people of God are watching and expect not just simple and obvious condemnations, but efficient and concrete measures to be established,” he warned.

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At DC’s Basilica, SNAP details how to help survivors of priest sex abuse

WASHINGTON (DC)
WTOP TV

February 24, 2019

By Keara Dowd

An organization that serves survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests is responding to the Pope’s points of action with their own list of ways Catholics can help victims every day.

The Survivors Network for those Abused by Priests (SNAP) released a list of 21 things that they say everyday Catholics can do to help the crisis. Local leaders handed out copies to people as they left mass at the Basilica of the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception Sunday morning.

“When I listened to those eight points, I thought of them as being very vague, and they weren’t really some action points,” said Becky Ianni, who leads SNAP’s local chapter. “It’s really important that we keep vigilant, and that we work towards holding the church accountable and pushing them to take action on some of the items they listed.”

Listening, donating to organizations that help victims and educating people about sexual abuse are all on SNAP’s list of things people can do to help. Ianni, a survivor of sexual abuse at the hands of a priest herself, says that the Pope’s points of reflection sounds like it’s mostly just talk.

“One of the things that struck me was that he said that he wants bishops and cardinals to understand the severity of this problem. And I think as a survivor, you know, as an 8-year-old I knew how severe this was, I knew how devastating this was. So I don’t know why this is one of the points,” said Ianni.

Some members of SNAP made the trip to Rome for the Pope’s summit, with the hope of contributing to the solutions that the meetings hoped to find. But those who went told the National Catholic Reporter that none of their suggestions made it on to the Pope’s list.

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Diocese of Sioux City to release list of 28 credibly accused priests Monday

SIOUX CITY (IA)
Sioux City Journal

February 24, 2019

The Diocese of Sioux City announced Sunday that it plans to publicly release a list of 28 priests who were credibly accused of sexual abuse of minors while serving in the diocese.

According to a press release from the diocese, each case was investigated by the Diocesan Review Board to determine credibility. The board reviewed priest files dating back to 1902.

The diocese will host a press conference at 1:30 p.m. Monday at 1821 Jackson St. to release the list. Bishop R. Walker Nickless; Father Brad Pelzel, Vicar General and Moderator; and Mark Prosser, a Review Board member and Storm Lake Police Chief, will all be on hand.

After the press conference the list will be available at www.scdiocese.org.

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“Cuando denuncié a mi abusador, Bergoglio se negó a recibirme”

[“When I denounced my abuser, Bergoglio refused to receive me”]

ARGENTINA
Tiempo Argentino

February 24, 2019

By Pablo Taranto

Mientras el Vaticano discute qué hacer con las denuncias de abuso sexual, Sebastián Cuattromo sostiene que se trata de “un triunfo de las víctimas”, pide “además de gestos, acciones concretas”, y recuerda que el entonces arzobispo porteño subestimó la gravedad del delito.

A los 13 años, Sebastián Cuattromo fue víctima de abuso sexual en el Colegio Marianista del barrio de Caballito. Durante diez años no pudo siquiera ponerlo en palabras, pero al cabo se sobrepuso a ese duro silencio y denunció a su abusador, el hermano marianista y docente Fernando Picciochi, también agresor de otros niños de su misma edad. “Luego de 20 años de dolor y de lucha –cuenta–, en 2012 logré el juicio y la condena penal de quien fuera mi abusador, a 12 años de cárcel por el delito de corrupción de menores calificada y reiterada. Entonces hice pública mi historia, convencido de que no era una cuestión personal y privada, sino colectiva y de interés público, con la clara convicción de que mi testimonio podía contribuir a visibilizar esta enorme injusticia.”

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“Mi madre le contó al director de los salesianos que don Pablo había abusado de mi hermana y de mí”

[New accusation: “My mother told the director of the Salesians that Don Pablo had abused my sister and me”]

MADRID (SPAIN)
El País

February 22, 2019

By Julio Nuñez

Otro exalumno del colegio de Deusto denuncia que dos clérigos le agredieron sexualmente a él y a sus dos hermanos

Como tantos otros, Claudio (nombre anónimo) sintió un extraño alivio a sus 55 años cuando leyó por primera vez que los abusos sexuales en el colegio salesiano de Deusto estaban saliendo a la luz. Durante 45 años, nadie en su barrio le creyó cuando contaba que los religiosos del centro “metían mano” a los niños. En su historia personal y familiar se mezclan los abusos de dos de los cuatro acusados de pederastia y malos tratos: el sacerdote Pablo Ortega –investigado por la orden salesiana por pederastia– y José Miguel San Martín –conocido como don Chemi y denunciado por una treintena de antiguos alumnos–.

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Un precedente de la lucha contra la pederastia en la Iglesia

[A precedent for fighting pedophilia in the Church]

ALICANTE (SPAIN)
El País

February 23, 2019

By Rafa Burgos

Un sacerdote fue condenado en 1933 a tres años de prisión por abusar de dos niñas acogidas en un orfanato de Orihuela tras la investigación de una comisión municipal

Un rumor recorre la Orihuela de 1932, en plena Segunda República. En el asilo de La Beneficencia, un orfanato tutelado por monjas, están sucediendo “irregularidades de orden moral”. Al parecer, alguna de las niñas recluidas en la institución han sufrido abusos sexuales y ninguno de los responsables del centro se libra de la sospecha. El Ayuntamiento, a instancias del Gobernador Civil de Alicante, José Echevarría Novoa, impulsa una investigación que determina que el culpable de violar a dos niñas menores, de 15 y 16 años, es el capellán del asilo, José Escurra, que será acusado ante la Fiscalía, juzgado y, finalmente, condenado a tres años de prisión.

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Brasil: La Iglesia con más católicos como banco de pruebas para escuchar a las víctimas de abusos

[Brazil: Church with the most Catholics listens to abuse victims in pilot program]

SAO PAULO (BRAZIL)
El País (Spain)

February 20, 2019

By Naiara Galarraga Gortazar

Una archidiócesis acaba de ser condenada por explotación sexual de menores en el mayor caso de pederastia del clero conocido en Brasil

La Iglesia católica de Brasil, la que con 123 millones más fieles aporta en el mundo entero, llega a la cumbre convocada por el Papa recién condenada por el mayor escándalo de abusos sexuales conocido en su seno. La archidiócesis de Paraíba fue sentenciada en enero por un tribunal laboral a pagar 12 millones de reales (2,9 millones de euros) por explotación sexual de menores porque un grupo de sacerdotes pagaba habitualmente por sexo, con dinero o comida, a seminaristas, monaguillos y aparcacohes. El caso ya había tenido consecuencias para la jerarquía. El Vaticano obligó a dimitir en 2016 por encubrir esos crímenes al entonces arzobispo, Aldo Pagotto. La sentencia, desvelada por el programa Fantástico del canal O Globo, ha sido recurrida por la Iglesia. Este es el caso con mayor repercusión en un país donde no ha habido grandes investigaciones de los abusos sexuales del clero a niños por parte de los jueces, de la prensa ni de la jerarquía eclesiástica.

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Ecuador: Ayuda psicológica para las víctimas de la “dinámica del pecado”

[Ecuador: Psychological help for the victims of the “dynamics of sin”]

QUITO (ECUADOR)
El País (Spain)

February 20, 2019

By Soraya Constante

El presidente de la conferencia episcopal asegura que su Iglesia está lista para responder al Papa

María, de 14 años, fue violentada en su cuarta clase de catequesis. Era el primer sábado de febrero y el sacerdote Néstor Bustos, párroco de una iglesia del norte de Quito, le había tocado sus partes íntimas y besado a la fuerza. La adolescente volvió a su casa llorando y habló con una prima y luego con sus padres. Estos, indignados, convencieron a unos cuantos vecinos para tomarse la justicia por su mano. La muchedumbre llegó a la casa parroquial y el religioso intentó huir por la puerta trasera. La policía llegó a tiempo para evitar el linchamiento y se llevó al cura, quien se defendía diciendo que solo había hecho “cosquillitas” a la menor.

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Colombia: Acudir de inmediato a la Fiscalía ante un caso de abusos

[Colombia: Immediately go to the Prosecutor’s Office with abuse complaints]

BOGOTA (COLOMBIA)
El País (Spain)

February 20, 2019

By Santiago Torrado

Aunque no existe un rastreo oficial del número de víctimas, varias decenas de religiosos católicos han sido señalados de abusos sexuales contra menores en los últimos años

En Colombia, un país cuya principal discusión pública se concentra en pasar la página de un conflicto armado de más de medio siglo, el escándalo mundial por la pederastia en la iglesia ha aterrizado sin tanta resonancia, ni casos tan emblemáticos como en otros lugares. Aunque no existe un rastreo oficial del número de víctimas, varias decenas de sacerdotes católicos han sido señalados por abusos sexuales contra menores en los últimos años.

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Perú: Compensaciones y terapia para víctimas de abusos de clase alta

[Peru: Compensation and therapy for upper class abuse victims]

LIMA (PERU)
El País (Spain)

February 20, 2019

By Jacqueline Fowks

La organización apostólica ultraconservadora Sodalicio fue un nido de pederastia y sus responsables aún no han sido sancionados

La Conferencia Episcopal de Perú no ha encubierto a religiosos acusados de abusos sexuales a menores y los ha puesto a disposición de la justicia. Pero el arzobispo saliente de Lima, Juan Luis Cipriani, protegió a una organización ultraconservadora, el Sodalicio de Vida Cristiana, en la que los líderes cometieron abusos contra 19 menores y 10 adultos. La cifra procede de un informe que esa agrupación difundió en 2017.

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Guatemala: Pocos casos de abusos conocidos en un país donde ser niño es una situación de alto riesgo

[Guatemala: Few cases of known abuse in a country where being a child is a high-risk situation]

GUATEMALA CITY (GUATEMALA)
El País (Spain)

February 20, 2019

By José Elías

En un país profundamente religioso, las víctimas temen el ostracismo social. Se conocen tres casos

En Guatemala, un país donde ser niño es una situación de alto riesgo en la medida en que la mayoría sobrevive en la pobreza extrema, la explotación laboral o la violencia sexual, los casos de pederastia que involucren a la Iglesia católica son minoritarios, desconocidos o, por pudor, no denunciados. Por ahora solo se conocen tres casos. “Los tres fueron condenados a penas de cárcel, uno de ellos era un varón y los dos restantes chicas adolescentes. Uno de los sacerdotes mantiene abiertamente su inocencia y ha apelado su condena”, cuenta a EL PAÍS el obispo de Huehuetenango (norte, en la frontera con México), Álvaro Ramazzini, en una conversación vía Internet.

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Panamá y Honduras: El silencio sobre los abusos se impone en las jerarquías católicas

[Panama and Honduras: Silence over abuses is imposed on Catholic hierarchies]

SAN JOSE (COSTA RICA)
El País (Spain)

February 20, 2019

By José Meléndez

Las cúpulas religiosas de ambos países rechazan informar sobre los casos de pederastia

Cuando el papa Francisco inició el pasado 24 de enero sus primeras actividades en Panamá, reprendió a la cúpula eclesiástica por mantenerse alejada de los fieles católicos por su secretismo y su política de puertas cerradas, y exhortó a los peregrinos de todo el mundo a “hacer lío” sin importar edad, sexo, raza o ideología. Pero el hermetismo persiste en las jerarquías católicas de Panamá y de Honduras para enfrentar los casos conflictivos de pederastia ante la cumbre mundial de conferencias episcopales en el Vaticano.

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El Salvador :Un pederasta biógrafo de un santo

[El Salvador: A pedophile biographer of a saint]

SAN SALVADOR (EL SALVADOR)
El País (Spain)

February 20, 2019

By Juan Jose Dalton

La Justicia enjuicia ahora otros dos casos en el país sudamericano

Los casos de pederastia denunciados e investigados en la Iglesia de El Salvador son escasos. “Hemos concluido los procesos penales eclesiásticos en contra de los sacerdotes acusados de abuso sexual de menores. Los tres sacerdotes procesados fueron encontrados culpables en sus respectivos juicios, por lo que en los tres casos se impuso la pena de dimisión del estado clerical”, dijo el 18 de diciembre en su homilía dominical el arzobispo de San Salvador, José Luis Escobar Alas. Los tres sacerdotes destituidos por el Vaticano, en 2016, son Juan Francisco Gálvez, Antonio Molina y Jesús Delgado.

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África occidental: Sacerdotes denunciados por abusos devueltos a Europa

[Western Africa: Priests denounced for abuses returned to Europe]

DAKAR (SENEGAL)
El País (Spain)

February 20, 2019

By Jose Naranjo

Los medios de comunicación han sacado a la luz cuatro casos

En África occidental se han registrado escasas denuncias por pederastia contra miembros de la Iglesia católica en los últimos años, lo cual no significa que no haya casos. Monseñor André Gueye, obispo de Thiès y vicepresidente de la Conferencia Episcopal —que agrupa a Senegal, Mauritania, Cabo Verde y Guinea Bissau—, dice conocer dos casos: un intento de abuso sexual de un profesor de una escuela religiosa que acabó siendo expulsado y el de un cura denunciado por acoso sexual que fue sancionado por su obispo y ya no está en activo. Sin embargo, algunos trabajos periodísticos han sacado a la luz que cuatro religiosos occidentales han sido investigados. Entre ellos el sacerdote español Juan José Gómez, que trabajaba en Benín con niños de la calle, tal y como desveló EL PAÍS.

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El obispo de Astorga sobre un cura abusador: “Tengo que cuidarlo porque es un sacerdote ¿no?”

[The Bishop of Astorga about an abusive priest: “I have to take care of him because he is a priest, isn’t he?”]

MADRID (SPAIN)
El País

February 21, 2019

By Julio Núñez

Juan Antonio Menéndez, presidente de la comisión antipederastia, se compadece de un cura pederasta en una grabación oculta durante una reunión con afectados

Cuando Javier recibió en 2017 la carta del obispo de Astorga y actual presidente de la comisión antipederastia de la Conferencia Episcopal, Juan Antonio Menéndez, comunicándole que el sacerdote que había abusado de él a finales de los ochenta, José Manuel Ramos Gordón, solo había sido condenado a un año de apartamiento como párroco, sintió que “el infierno” que había vivido para denunciar su caso ante el Papa y buscar justicia en el obispado había sido en balde. Tampoco le sirvió quejarse a Menéndez. Decidió, entonces, contarlo todo a los medios. Una treintena de antiguos seminaristas del seminario leones de La Bañeza (centro donde sucedieron los abusos) salieron a la calle para apoyarle y protestar contra “el encubrimiento” y el silencio que la Iglesia había seguido durante su proceso canónico y contra la pena de Ramos Gordón.

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Análisis: Una crisis de credibilidad clamorosa

[Analysis: A clamorous crisis of credibility]

MADRID (SPAIN)
El País

February 24, 2019

By Juan G. Bedoya

El descubrimiento de casos de pederastia en la Iglesia, que acaba de empezar, requiere reformas de fondo

Eufemismos aparte (Santa Sede, Su Santidad el Papa, Vicario de Cristo…), resulta ya obsceno sostener que el Pontífice romano y los obispos son una referencia moral para el mundo, si es que alguna vez lo fueron desde que Constantino los encumbró como religión del Imperio y una iglesia hasta entonces perseguida con saña se convirtió en la religión perseguidora. “De pronto, cuánta suciedad”, lamentó Benedicto XVI hace diez años. Para entonces, ya se sabía que él mismo había sido encubridor, enviando, incluso, una carta a los obispos que ordenaba que actuasen en secreto y remitiesen a la Congregación para la Doctrina de la Fe, que presidió cuando era el cardenal Ratzinger, todos los casos de pederastia.

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