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.

March 28, 2019

Hamilton: “Se acabó el último enclave de impunidad”

[Hamilton: “the last enclave of impunity in this country is over”]

CHILE
La Tercera

March 28, 2019

By M.J. Navarrete and A. Chechilnitzky

“El objetivo de esto, que ha sido un juicio de siete años, con un desgaste personal y humano, es haber dejado la herencia de este surco en la legislación chilena, y demostrar que hubo encubrimiento. Si no hubiésemos demostrado eso, todo habría sido un trabajo perdido”, afirmó este miércoles Hamilton.

Un fallo “histórico” y que marca un “precedente”. Así calificaron las víctimas del expárroco de El Bosque, Fernando Karadima, la resolución de la Corte de Apelaciones de Santiago. James Hamilton, José Andrés Murillo y Juan Carlos Cruz serán indemnizados, luego de que se determinara civilmente que el Arzobispado de Santiago actuó con “desidia” y “negligencia” para tratar sus denuncias de abusos.

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.

Aós: “Espero reunirme pronto con las víctimas”

[Aós: “I hope to meet with victims soon”]

CHILE
La Tercera

March 28, 2019

By M. J. Navarrete and A. Chechilnitzky

Arzobispado de Santiago no apelará al fallo. “Esta sentencia contribuye al proceso de reparación del dolor”, se informó.

“Todo el proceso de revisión y de purificación que estamos viviendo es posible gracias al esfuerzo y perseverancia de personas concretas, que incluso contra toda esperanza o teñidas de descrédito no se cansaron de buscar la verdad. Me refiero a las víctimas de los abusos sexuales, de poder y de autoridad, y aquellos que en su momento les creyeron y acompañaron”. Esta fue la cita del Papa Francisco que ayer leyó el obispo Celestino Aós, administrador apostólico de Santiago, para referirse al fallo de la Corte de Apelaciones sobre la demanda en el caso Karadima.

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.

Ricardo Ezzati: “El Papa Francisco no está enojado con los obispos chilenos”

[Ricardo Ezzati: “Pope Francis is not angry with the Chilean bishops”]

CHILE
La Tercera

March 28, 2019

By Sergio Rodríguez G.

El prelado, actualmente investigado por la fiscalía por presunto encubrimiento, repasa su rol en el arzobispado y los casos de denuncias de abuso. Asegura que el Pontífice tiene una buena relación con el Episcopado y reconoce que unos 40 sacerdotes de la diócesis “han vivido al alero” de Karadima.

“Soy respetuoso de los dictámenes de la justicia. He leído el comunicado del Arzobispado de Santiago y me sumo a la esperanza allí expresada”. Así se manifestó ayer por la tarde el cardenal Ricardo Ezzati respecto del fallo de la Corte de Apelaciones de Santiago, que acogió la demanda civil que tres víctimas de Fernando Karadima presentaron contra el Arzobispado de Santiago y que condenó a la entidad religiosa a pagar una indemnización de $ 300 millones.

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

El gesto del nuevo administrador apostólico de Santiago: se reunirá con sacerdotes víctimas de Karadima en su exparroquia de El Bosque

[Santiago’s new apostolic administrator will meet priest-victims of Karadima in El Bosque]

CHILE
La Tercera

March 28, 2019

By Angélica Baeza

Monseñor Celestino Aós tiene programado dar declaraciones a la prensa la tarde de este jueves en la que fuera la emblemática sede del exsacerdote, para luego celebrar una misa en el lugar.

Será una reunión, pero también un gesto con un sentido más allá del encuentro. La tarde de este jueves, el recién designado administrador apostólico de Santiago, monseñor Celestino Aós, sostendrá un encuentro con sacerdotes que fueron víctimas de Fernando Karadima en la parroquia de El Bosque, la que fuera la emblemática sede del exprelado denunciado por abusos sexuales y de conciencia.

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.

“Saldrá de otros recursos, no del 1%”: Cuánto es el patrimonio del Arzobispado de Santiago

[“It will come from other resources, not 1%:” How will Archdiocese of Santiago compensate victims?]

CHILE
La Tercera

March 27, 2019

By Andrés Muñoz

La Corte obligó al Arzobispado de Santiago a pagar $100 millones a cada una de las tres víctimas del caso Karadima. Sin embargo, no se ha especificado de dónde saldrán esos recursos y solo son públicos los ingresos y gastos de 2017.

“El dinero con el que se va a pagar es indudable que va a salir de la Iglesia Católica. Ahora, no sale del 1%, no sale del dinero que entregan los fieles directamente para otras cosas, sino que en la Iglesia las finanzas son también transparentes y cuando se entrega un dinero para una causa. (…) no se va a sacar ni un cinco para poder pagar a las víctimas y tampoco se va a pagar del 1%. Saldrá de otros recursos”.

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.

La intervención del Vaticano en Chile: un caso inédito a nivel mundial

[Vatican’s intervention in Chile is unprecedented worldwide]

CHILE
La Tercera

March 26, 2019

By S. Rodríguez, G. Peñafiel, M. J. Navarrete, J. Ojeda and J.P. Iglesias

En los últimos 10 meses, un tercio de las diócesis del país quedaron “vacantes”, a cargo de un administrador apostólico, quien ejerce su potestad en nombre del Papa Francisco.

“Inédita”, “intervenida” y “compleja”. Así definen distintos expertos en temas vaticanos la situación actual de la Iglesia chilena. Con el reciente nombramiento -el más esperado- de Celestino Aós como administrador apostólico del Arzobispado de Santiago, el número de diócesis con esta figura en el país se elevó a nueve. Ocho de ellos, designados durante los últimos diez meses (desde el 11 de junio del año pasado), después de la crisis reconocida por el Papa Francisco. Valdivia ya tenía el mismo estatus antes del Informe Scicluna y ahora Copiapó, de donde llegó Aós, también quedó como “sede vacante”.

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.

Un exalumno de los salesianos de Madrid denuncia a un cura por abusos en los noventa

[Former student of Madrid Salesians accuses priest of abuse in 1990’s]

MADRID (SPAIN)
El País

March 27, 2019

By Julio Núñez

La madre del denunciante asegura que en 1998 fue a hablar con el director pero que este “no hizo nada”

Un exalumno del colegio salesiano San Miguel Arcángel, en el Paseo de Extremadura de Madrid, ha denunciado ante la policía al antiguo profesor y sacerdote Marcelino Antón por abusos sexuales en 1993. Por entonces, el denunciante tenía 10 años, pero no relató lo sucedido hasta que tuvo 15, mientras cursaba segundo de BUP, en 1998. Su madre cuenta que fue a hablar con el director del centro. “Le pregunté qué estaba pasando y no me negó los hechos. Se quedó callado. Tampoco apartó a Marcelino”, relata la madre. Durante años, cuenta, se ha arrepentido de no haber ido a denunciar a la justicia civil, pero “la presión y el miedo” a hacer más daño a su hijo pudieron con ella. Con el tiempo han pensado en sacar su caso a la luz y ahora, con los casos que los medios están publicando, se han animado a dar un paso adelante.

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.

37 clergy named as accused sex abusers by Jackson Diocese. Who are they?

JACKSON (MS)
Mississippi Clarion Ledger

March 19, 2019

By Sarah Fowler

From the retired superintendent of Catholic education in Mississippi to a priest on the lam in Peru, more than three dozen clergy have been named as potential abusers.

According to a list released by Jackson Diocese officials Tuesday, March 19, there have been 35 priests and two religious brothers accused of assault with Mississippi ties. The allegations date back decades, with the most recent allegations coming in the early 2000s.

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.

List of 37 clergy members accused of sexual abuse released by Catholic Diocese of Jackson

JACKSON (MS)
WLBT

March 19, 2019

By Mary Grace Eppes

This investigation examined the files dating back to 1924

The Catholic Diocese of Jackson has released the names of clergy members it says have been credibly accused of sexual abuse.

SEE LIST HERE

Diocesan 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.

Perth Catholic school teacher jailed for secret abuse of three vulnerable boys

AUSTRALIA
The West Australian

March 25, 2019

By Shannon Hampton

A former teacher at Perth Catholic schools who sexually abused three vulnerable boys during his decades-long career has been jailed for five years over the “extremely damaging” breach of trust.

Arthur Frank Mowle, 72, preyed on the teenage boys when he was a teacher, nurse and counsellor at the then St Marks College in Bedford in the late 1970s, Servite College in Tuart Hill in the 1980s and Kolbe Catholic College in Rockingham between 2004 and 2005.

District Court Judge Stephen Scott said Mowle — who pleaded guilty to five charges stemming from the royal commission into child sex abuse — stole his victims’ innocence.

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.

$2M settlement to victim who priest made confess after abuse

ERIE (PA)
Associated Press

March 26, 2019

A Roman Catholic diocese in Pennsylvania has agreed to pay $2 million to a man who was sexually abused as a child by a priest who made him say confession after the assaults.

The settlement with the Diocese of Erie was announced Tuesday by the victim’s attorney, Mitchell Garabedian.

The defrocked priest, David Poulson, was sentenced this year to 2 1/2 to 14 years in prison after pleading guilty to the sexual assault of one boy and attempted sexual assault of another. Garabedian confirmed at a press conference Tuesday that his client who is identified as John Doe in documents was one of the two boys abused by Poulson in his criminal case.

“This settlement is significant because it shows that the Diocese of Erie is responsible for the wholesale sexual abuse of children post, after 2002,” when the church put revised policies for handling abuse into effect, Garabedian said.

During a news conference Tuesday, Garabedian alleged that the diocese was aware of allegations of abuse against Poulson earlier than the 2018 report by a military chaplain that his client had disclosed significant 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.

$2M Settlement to Victim Who Priest Made Confess After Abuse

ERIE (PA)
The Associated Press

March 26, 2019

A Roman Catholic diocese in Pennsylvania has agreed to pay $2 million to a man who was sexually abused as a child by a priest who made him say confession after the assaults.

The settlement with the Diocese of Erie was announced Tuesday by the victim’s attorney, Mitchell Garabedian.

The defrocked priest, David Poulson, was sentenced this year to 2 1/2 to 14 years in prison after pleading guilty to the sexual assault of one boy and attempted sexual assault of another. Garabedian confirmed at a press conference Tuesday that his client who is identified as John Doe in documents was one of the two boys abused by Poulson in his criminal case.

“This settlement is significant because it shows that the Diocese of Erie is responsible for the wholesale sexual abuse of children post, after 2002,” when the church put revised policies for handling abuse into effect, Garabedian said.

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

Pa. priest abuse: Erie diocese to pay $2 million sexual abuse settlement to victim

YORK (PA)
York Daily Record

March 26, 2019

By Sam Ruland

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Erie has reached a $2 million settlement with a man who was allegedly sexually abused as a minor by a former priest in the diocese for nearly eight years.

The victim, who is being referred to as “John Doe,” was allegedly assaulted while Poulson was assigned to St. Michael’s Church in Fryburg and St. Anthony of Padua Church in Cambridge Springs from 2002 to 2010.

The male, now in his 20s, has only been been identified as “Victim No. 1” in the criminal case, but details of his abuse allege that Poulson made Doe say confession after the assaults.

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.

$2M to victim of sex abuse by priest who made him confess

ERIE (PA)
MSN

March 27, 2019

A Roman Catholic diocese in Pennsylvania has agreed to pay $2 million to a man who was sexually abused as a child by a priest who made him say confession after the assaults.

The settlement with the Diocese of Erie was announced Tuesday by the victim’s attorney, Mitchell Garabedian.

The defrocked priest, David Poulson, was sentenced this year to 2 1/2 to 14 years in prison after pleading guilty to the sexual assault of one boy and attempted sexual assault of 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.

Statute of limitations aids victim in Erie diocese case

ERIE (PA)
Go Erie

March 26, 2019

By Ed Palattella

Catholic Diocese of Erie agrees to $2 million settlement with victim of former Rev. David Poulson, who is in state prison. Case falls within statute of limitations in Pennsylvania, a situation that spurred deal.

Ever since the clergy sexual abuse crisis exploded nationwide in the early 2000s, Pennsylvania’s statute of limitations has insulated the Catholic Diocese of Erie from facing abuse-related lawsuits and large payouts to victims.

The abuse cases were too old to lead to civil actions.

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.

Child and Youth Protection Catholic Leadership Conference

CHERRY HILL (NJ)
Catholic Star Herald

March 28, 2019

By Carl Peters

An adult survivor of child sexual abuse was scheduled to be a presenter on the first day of the conference, but notice came at the last minute that he would be unable to speak.

But, although it was not the topic of his talk, the next presenter on the schedule, Dr. Robert Crawford, acknowledged that he too had been a victim of abuse as a child. He also pointed out that, based on statistics, abuse victims were in the audience.

Not that anyone in the audience needed to be convinced of the prevalence — or the trauma — of childhood sexual abuse. Or the damage it has done to the institutional church. This was the 14th annual Child and Youth Protection Catholic Leadership Conference, held March 24-27 at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Cherry Hill.

In attendance were 210 representatives from archdioceses and dioceses throughout the United States. The large majority of the group were women, but their professional backgrounds varied. They included social workers, psychotherapists, educators and others.

Like most professional conventions, the three-day conference was designed to let participants update and sharpen their skills, enjoy camaraderie with their peers, and boost morale. But the title of the first day’s last presentation was an indication of the difficult challenge these workers face: “Keeping Our Faith When Exposed to the Worst Things That Happen in Our Church.”

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.

$2M settlement to victim who priest made confess after abuse

ERIE (PA)
Associated Press

March 27, 2019

A Roman Catholic diocese in Pennsylvania has agreed to pay $2 million to a man who was sexually abused as a child by a priest who made him say confession after the assaults.

The settlement with the Diocese of Erie was announced Tuesday by the victim’s attorney, Mitchell Garabedian.

The defrocked priest, David Poulson, was sentenced this year to 2 1/2 to 14 years in prison after pleading guilty to the sexual assault of one boy and attempted sexual assault of another.

Garabedian confirmed at a press conference Tuesday that his client who is identified as John Doe in documents was one of the two boys abused by Poulson in his criminal case.

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.

$2 million clergy sexual abuse settlement not taken from new ‘Victim Compensation Fund’

ERIE (PA)
Your Erie

March 26, 2019

By Samiar Nefzi

The Catholic Diocese of Erie has reached a $2 million settlement with a victim who was sexually abused by Father David Poulson.

Boston Attorney Mitchell Garabedian appearing via Skype at a news conference in Erie, telling us this settlement was negotiated outside of the courts with lawyers from the Diocese.

The victim, referred to by his attorney as ‘John Doe,’ is in his 20’s. He came forward with claims of sexual abuse at the hands of Father Poulson. He alleges the abuse took place over the course of eight years, from 2002-2010.

Boston Attorney Mitchell Garabedian says Bishop Donald Trautman allowed Father Poulson to continue to interact with the victim while fully knowing his past record as a pedophile.

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.

One of Bransfield’s employees files lawsuit, claims former bishop sexually molested him

WHEELING (WV)
West Virginia Record

March 26, 2019

By Chris Dickerson

A former altar server and secretary to resigned Catholic Bishop Michael J. Bransfield has filed a lawsuit claiming the bishop sexually molested him.

The plaintiff, only identified as J.E., filed his complaint March 22 in Ohio Circuit Court against Bransfield, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston and up to 20 unidentified defendants.

“The complaint is very specific and lays out the details,” attorney Bobby Warner of Warner Law Offices in Charleston told The West Virginia Record. “I find it troubling that while we continue to hear Bishop Bransfield’s name and alleged allegations, no one has stepped forward as an individual.

“I believe our client is the first individual who has had the strength and courage to step forward. It’s very troubling to me that while they’ve released names of individuals within the church in the press, Bishop Bransfield’s name wasn’t on the list. When, as you can see in our complaint, there have been prior allegations and investigations about 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.

Civil suit filed against former bishop Bransfield, alleging sexual abuse

OHIO COUNTY (WV)
WTOV9

March 26, 2019

By Anthony Conn

A lawsuit has been filed against former Wheeling-Charleston Diocese Bishop Michael Bransfield, accusing him of exposing himself and inappropriately touching a young boy several times during his time as a bishop in the Diocese.

The civil suit was filed with the Ohio County Circuit Court on March 22.

The lawsuit’s plaintiff was a resident of St. Clairsville during the time period in question.

The complaint contains detailed accounts of Bransfield initiating unwanted sexual contact with a young male who was under his care.

It also alleges that Bransfield was known to be a heavy drinker who consumed one-half to one whole bottle of 80-proof liquor nightly and then engaged in grossly inappropriate behavior, including (but not limited to) making sexually-aggressive gestures, hugging, kissing, and fondling seminarians. According to the complaint, the Diocese covered the cost of the alcohol Bransfield consumed, which amounted to at least $20 per bottle.

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.

Lawsuit: Former Bishop Michael Bransfield ‘Sexual Predator’ and ‘Binge Drinker’

WHEELING (WV)
The Intelligencer

March 27, 2019

By Joselyn King

A civil lawsuit filed in Ohio County Circuit Court alleges Bishop Michael Bransfield to be “a sexual predator” prone to binge drinking liquor, then molesting young men.

The suit filed Friday lists the complainant only as someone with the initials “J.E.,” described as having been a personal altar server and secretary to Bransfield, former bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston. The suit alleges the plaintiff was sexually assaulted by Bransfield in 2014 and was a victim of sexual harassment by him for years prior to that.

J.E. is listed as a current resident of Pocahontas County, West Virginia, but was a resident of St. Clairsville when the alleged incidents took place between 2008 and 2014.

The defendants named in the suit are Bransfield, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston and numerous “John Does” associated with the diocese.

Tim Bishop, spokesman for the diocese, said the diocese does not comment on pending litigation.

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.

Faithful pay final respects to Bishop Emeritus Joseph Adamec

ALTOONA (PA)
The Tribune-Democrat

March 27, 2019

By Dave Sutor

Bishop Joseph V. Adamec was a gregarious extrovert, who, in retirement, was forced into the life of an introvert.

The conversion process was the central theme of a homily, given by the Rev. Jude Brady from Saint Benedict Roman Catholic Church in Carrolltown, during Adamec’s funeral Mass at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament on Tuesday.

Adamec retired as bishop in 2011, having served in the position since 1987.

After he stepped down, an increasing amount of child sexual abuse cases within the diocese began to become publicly known. Then, in 2016, the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General issued a grand jury report that provided details about the diocese covering up child sexual abuse for decades, placing much of the responsibility on Adamec and his predecessor, Bishop James Hogan.

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.

Attorney: Others knew about Bransfield’s behavior

CHARLESTON (WV)
WV Metro News

March 27, 2019

By Jeff Jenkins

The attorney representing a former alter server and secretary in West Virginia’s Catholic Church says his client came forward with allegations against retired Bishop Michael Bransfield to seek an avenue that would encourage others to come forward.

The man, identified only as J.E. in the lawsuit, claims he was a victim of sexual harassment for years at the hands of Bransfield and was the victim of an alleged sexual assault that took place five years ago.

Charleston attorney Bobby Warner, who represents J.E., said Wednesday on MetroNews “Talkline” the case is about “a typical culture of cover-up” by the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston.

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.

Organizer of Pope’s Anti-Abuse Summit Terms It ‘Partly A Success’

LONDON (ENGLAND)
The Tablet

March 28, 2019

By Christopher White

A member of the organizing committee for February’s Vatican sex abuse summit has dubbed the meeting “partly a success,” saying it achieved his main goal of bringing about “unity for the whole church leadership that was present.”

Father Hans Zollner, S.J., head of Rome’s Center for Child Protection at the Pontifical Gregorian University, said that 2018 was a “year of change” in the Church’s understanding of the global sex abuse crisis and that “we are at another level of awareness.”

In reference to cardinals now under scrutiny for mishandling abuse cases, or for abuse itself, Father Zollner said “untouchables have become touchable and are facing prison sentences,” adding that the Church has been greatly influenced by the “Me Too” movement,” which has caused a cultural awakening on issues of abuse of power and sexual misconduct.

Father Zollner’s remarks were delivered March 26 during a discussion on “Reckoning and Reform: New Frontiers on the Clergy Abuse Crisis,” hosted by Fordham University’s Center on Religion and Culture, which also included a presentation by John Jay College researchers Karen Terry and Margaret Smith on new developments and data in their efforts to study the roots and extent of the abuse crisis.

The German Jesuit priest, appointed by Pope Francis as one of the organizers of the summit which brought together the heads of every bishops’ conference around the globe, said that in surveying the U.S. Catholic Church, the country is “in some state of what Saint Ignatius termed ‘spiritual desolation’ – a decrease of faith, hope, and love,” suffering a severe loss of trust in the Church over the issue of 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.

Victims to write accused names on sidewalk

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

March 28, 2019

Victims ‘out’ five more publicly accused priests

“Bishop’s list is deceptive and incomplete,” they say

In surprising move, they praise prelate for his “more inclusive list”

Braxton, unlike most of his peers, exposes those who prey on adults

SNAP: “But alleged abusers’ photos & whereabouts should be added”

WHAT
Holding signs and childhood photos at a sidewalk news conference, clergy sex abuse victims and their supporters will disclose – and write on the sidewalk with chalk – the names of five more publicly accused priests who are or were in the Belleville diocese but have essentially been ‘under the radar,’ attracting attention elsewhere but not in Illinois.

They will also praise Belleville’s bishop for including clerics who have assaulted adults on his ‘accused’ list-a move most bishops do not make.

And they’ll prod Belleville Catholic officials to
–reveal the names of ALL proven, admitted and ‘credibly accused’ predator priests,
–permanently and prominently post their photos, whereabouts and work histories on church websites, and
–‘aggressively reach out’ to anyone who may have been hurt by church staff.

WHEN
Thursday, March 28 at 11:15 a.m.

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.

Is it time to leave the Church?

DUBLIN (IRELAND)
The Irish Catholic

March 28, 2019

By Colm Fitzpatrick

One of the most common reasons people decide to leave the Church is because of the internal corruption that runs to even the upper echelons of the hierarchy. The decision to leave for this particular reason is one that everybody can sympathise with, even the most ardent and devout believers.

All too often, we have or hear conversations about the Church’s financial corruption or the clerical abuse scandals, the latter of which has a particularly dark resonance in Ireland. These forms of exploitation have led to many Catholics leaving the Church, while still trying to practice their faith in a personal, albeit hampered way.

Indeed, the well-known Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson said recently that the levels of corruption in the Vatican are almost beyond corruption that “maybe believing Catholics should go on strike [and] stop attending Church”. While I’m a big fan of Dr Peterson, I think in this case, he’s off the mark.

It’s perfectly understandable, for example, to retract membership from a political party if one no longer supports it for moral reasons, but the difference between institutions like these, and the Church, is that Catholics believe that the visible Church was founded by Christ himself – and so is not man-made.

This includes a visible membership as well as a visible leadership structure, based on the idea of apostolic succession. In the Church, Catholics also receive the Sacraments – an outward sign of an invisible, inward grace – which provide spiritual sustenance. As a result, the Church is the place where God’s love is on full offer, and where Catholics can worship and pray together in communion. These visible aspects are fundamental to the Church, as well as indispensable.

This, of course, doesn’t mean that the divinely ordained Church is filled with perfect people that always operate with the best intentions. The Church – laity, priests and bishops – is composed of people who not only do great good, but also horrendous evils. Sin and grace percolate within it.

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.

Down memory lane: A brief history of Catholic leaks that made news

Get Religion blong

March 28, 2019

By Richard Ostling

This is another of those religion beat nostalgia Memos, inspired by a pretty sensational March 22 scoop in America magazine from its Vatican correspondent, Gerard O’Connell. He reported the precise number of votes for all 22 candidates on the first ballot when the College of Cardinals elected Pope Francis in 2013.

The cardinals’ first round usually scatters votes across assorted friends and favorite sons, but a telltale pattern appeared immediately. The Italian favorite, Angelo Scola, got only 30 votes, with the eventual winner, Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina, close behind at 26 and Canadian Marc Ouellet at 22. In a major surprise, Boston’s Sean O’Malley was fourth with 10 votes, and New York’s Timothy Dolan got two. Clearly, the electors would forsake not just Italy but the Old World entirely and choose the Western Hemisphere’s first pontiff .

As so often occurs, the Washington Post immediately grabbed an important religion story that other media missed, with Michelle Boorstein adding a beat specialist’s knowing perspective (behind pay wall).

O’Connell likewise demonstrates the virtues of specialization. He has worked the Vatican beat for various Catholic periodicals since 1985, a task that requires long-term cultivation of prelates who spill secrets. (Or did his wife, a Vatican correspondent from the pope’s homeland, acquire this leak?)

Adding to the intrigue, in papal elections each cardinal must take a solemn oath before God to maintain strict secrecy on everything that occurred, under pain of excommunication.

Yet O’Connell’s oath-busting leak appeared in a magazine of Francis’s own religious order, the Jesuits. The article was excerpted from “The Election of Pope Francis,” O’Connell’s fuller version to be published April 24 by another Catholic entity, the Maryknoll order’s Orbis Books.

There was less buzz over the election of Pope Benedict XVI in 2005. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany — a powerful aide of Pope John Paul II — was the front-runner through all ballots. Significantly, Bergoglio was the runner-up. This time it took only five months for a cardinal’s diary to leak to an Italian journalist, followed by more detail six years later in the daily La Stampa.

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A top Diocese of Charlotte official resigns after ‘credible’ sexual misconduct claim

CHARLOTTE (NC)
Charlotte Observer

March 28, 2019

By Bruce Henderson

The second in command of the Catholic Diocese of Charlotte has stepped down after a “credible allegation” of sexual misconduct involving a former adult student of Belmont Abbey College, the diocese’s newspaper reported Thursday.

Monsignor Mauricio West, the diocese’s vicar general and chancellor, has denied the allegation, the Catholic News Herald reported. Following a period of counseling and assessment, the diocese’s bishop said in a statement, West will be on a leave of absence from his ministerial duties.

The statement by Bishop Peter Jugis said West resigned Monday following a finding by the 46-county diocese’s Lay Review Board that the allegations were credible.

The events are alleged to have occurred in the mid-1980s, when West was vice president for student affairs at Belmont Abbey. They involved multiple incidents of unwanted overtures toward an adult student over a two-year period, the bishop’s statement said.

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Vitale delivers justice for victims of sexual abuse

NEWARK (NJ)
Star-Ledger

Match 28, 2019

Contrary to legal doctrine, justice delayed is not justice denied – at least not in perpetuity – as long as you have a righteous cause and one indomitable lawmaker.

This instructive lesson in governance comes from a bill that extends the statute of limitations in civil actions for children who were victims of sexual abuse, which is now headed for the governor’s desk after passing the Assembly by a unanimous vote Monday.

The bill affirms that access to justice is a civil right, and that an arbitrary statute of limitations prevents it. It took 17 years for Sen. Joseph Vitale, D-Middlesex, to convince his colleagues that this was the moral calling of our age, and that it was inexcusable to look the other way while the Catholic Church shielded clergy who raped children.

Changing the statute was crucial. The existing window for civil action in New Jersey was ludicrously short, as victims had to bring a civil case before they turned 20, or within two years from the time they connected their trauma to the abuse.

The reality is that the vast majority of victims, if they disclose anything at all, do it during adulthood. The average age of such disclosure is 52. Roughly one-third of child sexual abuse cases are never reported at all.

Vitale’s bill, which Gov. Murphy endorses, allows child victims to sue until age 55, or from 7 years of the discovery of their abuse. It also gives those who have been time-barred another two-year window to pursue their civil case. And critically, it allows victims to hold both the abusers and the institutions who protected them accountable.

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Battling Catholic corruption

OXFORD (MS)
Daily Mississippian

March 28, 2019

By Makayla Steede

Accusations of sexual abuse have rocked the Catholic church since 2002. In August 2018, the scandal intensified following an investigation in Pennsylvania that found more than 300 priests accused of child sexual abuse — leaving at least 1,000 survivors.

This report led to further investigations in Illinois, West Virginia, Texas and Mississippi. On March 19, the Catholic Diocese of Jackson released a list of 37 Mississippi clergy members accused of child sexual abuse. Bernard Haddican, one of the 17 priests accused, was a pastor at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church, which neighbors the University of Mississippi campus.

In 1998 and 2002, the two accusations against Haddican, who died in 1996, came to light. The period of abuse is suspected to have taken place from 1964 to 1984.

The current St. John’s pastor, Joe Tonos, was only an infant when Haddican’s term as pastor at St. John’s began.

Haddican served as pastor of St. John’s in Oxford from 1965 to 1968, but Tonos did not become personally acquainted with him until college. From the start, Tonos said, he did not like the pastor.

“I knew him when I was in college because I went to Delta State (University) in Cleveland, and he was the pastor there at the time,” Tonos said. “I did not like him at all.”

While attending Delta State, Tonos was the cartoonist for his school paper, and Haddican expressed disdain at the satirical cartoons Tonos drew.

“He found, for whatever reason, the need to tell his parish that I was anti-Catholic because he did not like some of my satire, which I thought was distasteful,” Tonos said. “I just really didn’t care for him.”

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March 27, 2019

Former deacon’s $1 million lawsuit challenges Texas diocese’s sex abuse claim

DENVER (CO)
Catholic News Agency

March 27, 2019

By Kevin J. Jones

A former Catholic deacon has charged that the Diocese of Lubbock wrongly named him on its list of clergy credibly accused of sexual abuse of minors and has filed a lawsuit seeking $1 million.

Lubbock resident Jesus Guerrero has filed a lawsuit that rejected claims he had ever been accused of sex abuse or misconduct. The lawsuit described him as “a faithful servant of God in the Catholic Church his entire life,” the news site EverythingLubbock.com reports.

The plaintiff charged that the diocese committed libel and defamation against him. His lawsuit said his reputation was destroyed and he has become the object of contempt and ridicule.

Lucas Flores, the Diocese of Lubbock’s director for the office of communications, told CNA the diocese is not commenting on ongoing litigation.

In October 2018 all 15 dioceses in Texas pledged to release names of clergy who have been credibly accused of sexually abusing a minor, dating as far back as the 1950s.

The Diocese of Lubbock released its list Jan. 31, saying Guerrero had been credibly accused of “sexual abuse of a minor.” It reported that he had been permanently removed from ministry in 2008.

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Governor signs bill requiring clergy to report child abuse

RICHMOND (VA)
Capital News Service

March 27, 2019

By Corrine Fizer

In response in part to the child sex abuse scandal in the Catholic Church, Virginia will have a new law on July 1 requiring priests, ministers, rabbis and other clergy members to report suspected cases of child abuse or neglect.

Gov. Ralph Northam has signed into law two bills — HB 1659, sponsored by Del. Karrie Delaney, D-Fairfax, and SB 1257, introduced by Sen. Jill Holtzman Vogel, R-Fauquier. The measures mandate that religious officials must report any suspected abuse to local law enforcement.

The bills passed unanimously in the House and Senate last month.

Existing state law lists 18 categories of people who must report information to local authorities if they “have reason to suspect that a child is an abused or neglected child.” They include health-care providers, police officers, athletic coaches and teachers.

The new law will add a 19th category to the list of “mandatory reporters”: “Any minister, priest, rabbi, imam, or duly accredited practitioner of any religious organization or denomination usually referred to as a church.”

However, the law will exempt clergy members from the reporting requirement when confidentiality is required by the religious organization, such as anything a priest hears during confession.

A minister who hears about possible child abuse while counseling a parishioner, for example, would not have to tell authorities.

Delaney said she filed her bill after a church in her Northern Virginia district failed to act on a case of child abuse. She said 27 other states have laws making clergy mandatory reporters.

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Priest with “established” allegations of abuse in residence at a New Orleans parish

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

March 27, 2019

The Dominican Province of St. Joseph has posted a list of those friars “credibly accused” of the sexual abuse of a minor. This list included the name of a man with an allegation that was “deemed to be established by the lay Provincial Review Board.” The friar is currently in residence at a New Orleans parish.

Fr. Richard Raphael Archer was removed from public ministry in 2002, according to the Dominicans. Yet the website of St. Dominic Parish in New Orleans, which has an attached school that serves children pre-K through 7th grade, shows that the priest is “in residence.” In fact, in 2017 the New Orleans Archdiocese celebrated Fr. Archer’s 65 years as a priest.

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“The classic grooming situation”: Plaintiff’s attorney speaks out about Bransfield lawsuit

WHEELING (WV)
WTRF TV

March 27, 2019
By Kathryn Ghion

Attorney Robert Warner calls this a “classic grooming situation”.

He claims Bishop Bransfield abused his power to get close to his client, who is referred to as J.E. in the lawsuit.

Warner also told us his client had planned to have a career within the church but left the faith after his experiences.

“It’s a classic case of someone of power that’s just using that position inappropriately in a sexual nature towards the young men that they’re around,” he said.

In this case, the suit alleges that Bishop Bransfield used that power to sexually assault the plaintiff, who was previously an altar server at the Cathedral of St. Joseph and interim secretary to the Bishop.

“It was multiple years,” Warner explained. “It started in 2008 and it’s kind of the classic grooming situation, which escalated to the point in 2014 of a sexual assault a true criminal sexual assault in my opinion.”

Warner says this type of behavior allegedly occurred with other adolescent and adult males, describing Bransfield in the complaint as a “sexual predator.”

“There were multiple allegations in the past,” he continued. “It appears there were inadequate investigations and certainly nothing was ever done to the bishop. And according to my client what happened to him was observed by other senior members of the church and he observed the Bishop do things inappropriately to other young men.”

It wasn’t until the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston asked for people to come forward as part of its investigations Warner says his client reached out to tell his story.

“He had seen the church cover up other allegations before,” Warner said. “He wasn’t confident they would do anything.”

The Diocese said that no criminal activity was found in its investigation into Bishop Bransfield, but Warner says they found his client’s story to be credible.

“They released the names of all these individuals that have been known to have committed inappropriate acts and somehow the bishop’s name is not included,” he explained.

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Vatican editor defends coverage of sexual abuse after all-female magazine staff quit

WASHINGTON (DC)
The Hill

March 27, 2019

By John Bowden

The editor of the Vatican’s magazine for women denied that he attempted to exert control of the magazine’s staff after the publication’s founder and entire staff of female writers resigned en masse Wednesday.

The Washington Post reported Wednesday that Andrea Monda, editor of the magazine’s parent newspaper L’Osservatore Romano said in a statement that he never demanded “obedience” from the magazine’s writers on issues such as the Catholic Church’s ongoing sexual abuse scandal after Women Church World founder Lucetta Scaraffia announced the mass resignation.

“In no way have I selected anyone, be it male or female, based on the criterion of obedience,” Monda said, according to the Post. “It is the opposite, avoiding any interference with the monthly magazine, I have supported truly free dialogue, not based on the mechanism of pitting one against the other, or of closed groups.”

He also described Scaraffia’s resignation as “free and autonomous” while not elaborating on the departure of the magazine’s all-female staff.

Scaraffia told the Post in an interview that her entire staff had resigned due to Monda’s decision to publish pieces that contradicted the magazine’s editorial line in L’Osservatore Romano and rumors that Monda was set to take over the magazine as well.

“The whole newsroom has resigned,” she told the Post.

“We couldn’t stay silent anymore; the trust that so many women had put in us would have been gravely wounded,” she added in an open letter to Pope Francis, according to the newspaper.

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‘They’re all out to destroy me,’ Philly native Bishop Michael Bransfield says of abuse lawsuit

PHADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

March 27, 2019

By Jeremy Roebuck

In a new lawsuit, the former personal secretary for Roxborough native and ex-West Virginia Bishop Michael J. Bransfield described his former boss as a “sexual predator” prone to binge drinking orange liqueur and venting his lust on priests and seminarians.

The plaintiff, a onetime seminarian in his early 20s identified in court filings by the initials J.E., says that Bransfield exposed his penis and groped him while they were traveling together on church business in 2014.

His suit marks the first time any of the bishop’s accusers have publicly offered an account of the type of alleged misconduct that led the Vatican to oust Bransfield, 75, from his position last year.

But in an interview Wednesday, the retired prelate dismissed the man’s claims — and those of his other accusers — as nothing more than a money grab.

“They’re all out to destroy me,” said Bransfield, who has been living in Roxborough since he left Wheeling. “I wasn’t even that friendly with this person.”

Since his resignation in September, Bransfield has been beset by a growing list of legal problems, including a lawsuit filed last week by West Virginia’s attorney general alleging he and his predecessors within the Wheeling-Charleston diocese had knowingly harbored pedophiles.

He was previously accused of abusing a minor during his time as a priest in Philadelphia — a claim Bransfield denied. Both prosecutors and the archdiocese reviewed the allegation; neither ultimately took action against him.

But even amid the current scandal, J.E.’s claims paint a particularly unflattering portrait of the man reared by a devout family of Philadelphia priests only to be named in 2004 as the Catholic church’s top official in West Virginia.

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Laughlin comments on state statute bill that stalled in Senate last year

ERIA (PA)
Erie Times News

March 27, 2019

Victims of sexual abuse in Pennsylvania can bring a lawsuit against their attackers until they’re 50-years-old under the current statute of limitations.

Last year, a bill that would open a two-year window for victims over the age of 50 to bring civil suits for their abuse passed in the Pennsylvania House, but stalled late in the year in the Senate.

This, after the recommendations for just such a law from PA Attorney General Josh Shapiro after the release of the grand jury report on predator priests in Pennsylvania.

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Second trial would have been ‘foolish idea’ for priest accused of sex abuse, prosecutor says

SAGINAW (MI)
Saginaw News

March 27, 2019

By Cole Waterman

The day after a Catholic priest pleaded no contest to sexual assault and drug charges, prosecutors said it would have been foolish of him to have gone before a jury with the audio recordings they had.

The afternoon of Wednesday, March 27, Saginaw County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Mark J. Gaertner and Assistant Prosecutor Melissa Hoover convened a press conference in the Saginaw County courthouse to address the prior day’s developments for the Rev. Robert J. “Father Bob” DeLand. He pleaded no contest March 26 to second-degree criminal sexual conduct, gross indecency between two males, and manufacturing or distributing an imitation controlled substance. The most serious charge is second-degree criminal sexual conduct, a 15-year felony.

“Rolling the dice against tape recordings that we had probably would have been a foolish idea,” Gaertner said. “The tapes, that’s Robert DeLand talking. That’s not somebody saying what he said; that’s him saying exactly what he said. That’s powerful evidence.”

The tapes were recorded by a teenager who filed a police report against DeLand in November 2017, then went undercover in other interactions with the priest, equipped with a recording device provided by investigators.

“I can’t get into the mind of Robert DeLand,” Gaertner continued, “but I think, finally, when he realized — and this is just my opinion — that those tapes were going to be played, when his feet were put to the fire, and he knew those tapes were going to be played in court, he decided to make his decision.”

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Five Quebec dioceses to allow external audit of sex abuse cases

MONTREAL (CANADA)
Catholic News Service

March 27, 2019

By Francois Gloutnay

Five dioceses from the province of Quebec will allow an external audit of their files regarding sex abuse cases, the Archdiocese of Montreal announced March 27.

In September, retired Quebec Superior Court Judge Anne-Marie Trahan will be able to consult the regular and secret files of five Catholic dioceses in the greater Montreal area, confirmed Montreal Archbishop Christian Lepine.

Archbishop Lepine said Trahan will be able to count on the full cooperation of the authorities of the dioceses of Montreal, Joliette, Saint-Jean-Longueuil, Saint-Jerome and Valleyfield and that she will have “complete access” the records of priests and diocesan staff for the past 70 years.

As part of the review, abuse survivors will be invited to come forward and tell their stories.

Trahan will have to submit a report within two years that will indicate “the number and nature of allegations of sexual abuse of minors by members of the Roman Catholic clergy and their staff from 1950 to the present day,” Archbishop Lepine told journalists.

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Phila. Archdiocese’s Ownership of Jersey Shore Property Means Sex Abuse Suit Stays in NJ

PHIADELPHIA (PA)
Legal Intelligencer

March 26, 2019

By P.J. D’Annunzio

A lawsuit claiming the Archdiocese of Philadelphia is liable for alleged child molestation by one of its former priests in the 1970s will remain in New Jersey court, a state Superior Court judge in Atlantic County has ruled.

Atlantic County Judge Christine Smith held that New Jersey was the appropriate venue for the John Doe lawsuit against defrocked priest Craig Brugger because some of the instances of alleged abuse took place in state.

Brugger, who died in 2010, was laicized in 2002 after abuse allegations against him surfaced. At the time the late Cardinal Anthony Bevilaqua told Brugger’s former congregation that the archdiocese took the allegations seriously.

“Like other priests who have been accused, Father Brugger will be treated fairly and with great compassion,” he said, according to a CNN report from March 2002. “At the same time, I need to assure you that the archdiocese will not tolerate acts of abuse against minors.”

In the Doe lawsuit, the plaintiff alleged he was sexually assaulted several times by Brugger from 1972 to 1976 when he attended St. Anne’s Parish in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, ending when he was 12 years old. The lawsuit alleged that the assaults occurred in Chester County, Pennsylvania, where the plaintiff lived; at Doe’s parents’ beach house in Brigantine, Atlantic County; and other New Jersey locations, including a rectory and a hotel, according to Smith’s opinion.

At one point Doe reported the abuse to the head of his parish, “Father Griffin,” but Griffin told him “these things did not happen and that people should not speak of these types of matters,” according to Smith. After a nun intervened, Brugger was transferred to another parish.

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Priest accused of sexual misconduct asks Diocese of Corpus Christi to support

CORPUS CHRISTI (TX)
Caller-Times

March 27, 2019

By Eleanor Dearman

A Corpus Christi priest accused of sexual misconduct wants to know how the Diocese of Corpus Christi is backing up its claims against him.

Attorneys for Msgr. Michael Heras and the diocese were in court Wednesday on a 2018 court filing by Heras’ lawyer Andrew Greenwell.

In it, Heras asks for documents and possible depositions related to Heras’ “alleged ‘admission’ to child abuse and sex with a minor.” In another court filing from 2018, Hera asks for sanctions — the payment of related court fees — in response to allegations Heras admitted to the abuse.

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Theologians examine role of power, clericalism in the sex abuse crisis

WASHINGTON (DC)
Catholic News Service

March 27, 2019

By Dennis Sadowski

Two systematic theologians examined how power and clericalism among Catholic clergy played a role in creating the sexual abuse crisis that has rocked the church anew since June during a daylong Catholic University of America conference.

While offering differing perspectives, Richard Gaillardetz of Boston College and Chad Pecknold of The Catholic University of America agreed March 26 that clericalism needed to be addressed if the church is to begin recovering from the scandal.

Pope Francis has described clericalism as an attitude embraced by priests and bishops in which they see themselves as special or superior to others.

Gaillardetz explained that clericalism manifests itself in “the maintenance of a distinct clerical identity” that often lacks solidarity with the people of God, a sense of being “exempt from criticism or accountability by those outside the clerical guild, and an instinct “to protect the good reputation of their guild at all costs.”

On the other hand, Pecknold theorized that clericalism stems from a willingness to turn away from God and the call to true priestly ministry as exercised by Jesus rather than solely the desire to maintain power and influence over others.

The theologians supported their arguments in presentations during the latest in the university’s ongoing “Healing the Breach of Trust” conferences.

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Chile court orders Catholic Church to compensate victims in sex abuse cases

SANTIAGO (CHILE)
Reuters

March 27, 2019

A Chilean appeals court ruled on Wednesday that the Catholic Church should pay compensation to three victims in a sex abuse case involving former Santiago parish priest Fernando Karadima, potentially opening the floodgates to similar civil lawsuits.

The unanimous decision requires the Church pay 100 million pesos($146,000) each for “moral damages” to Juan Carlos Cruz, Jose Andres Murillo and James Hamilton. The men accuse Karadima of having sexually abused them decades ago, and the Church of having covered up that abuse.

Church officials were not immediately available for comment.

The case could pave the way for a flood of civil lawsuits seeking monetary damages from the Latin American country’s Catholic Church, and beyond.

The decision may still be appealed to Chile’sSupreme Court.

Chilean investigators have looked into about 120 allegations of sexual abuse or cover-ups involving 167 Church officials or workers.

The scandal last week prompted Pope Francis to accept the resignation of Cardinal Ricardo Ezzati, the archbishop of Santiago and the highest-ranking member of the Catholic Church in Chile.

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Catholic women’s group in France launches petition

PARIS (FRANCE)
LaCroix International

March 27, 2019

Founded in 2009 by Anne Soupa and Christine Pedotti to promote male-female equality in the Church, the Skirt Committee (Comité de la Jupe) announced that “in view of various affairs in the Catholic Church” it had launched a new petition reaffirming “its opposition to the condition currently given to women in their own Church.”

“Their exclusion from all responsibility is an aggravating cause of sex abuse since the male and celibate structure of the clergy leads to a closed world where impunity rules,” says the press release accompanying the March 25 petition.

“Moreover, this exclusion is the major cause of the clericalism condemned by Pope Francis. Thus, the attached petition demands that equality of responsibilities and rights between men and women finally be recognized in the Catholic Church.”

“Matters cannot go on as they are. Things must change!”

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Former West Virginia Bishop Accused in Lawsuit of Being a “Sexual Predator”

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

March 27, 2019

A lawsuit was filed yesterday in West Virginia that names the former bishop of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston as a “sexual predator.”

We hope that the filing of this lawsuit against Bishop Michael Bransfield will help J.E. along his healing journey. It is a brave thing to come forward with allegations and we commend him for doing so. We suspect that the announcement of this suit will encourage other victims who may be suffering in silence to come forward and report their own abuse. We hope that when they do, they contact independent law enforcement or the attorney general, not Church officials.

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Leadership of Vatican Women’s Magazine Resign

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

March 26, 2019

The founder and editorial board of a women’s magazine published by the Vatican have resigned following “a campaign to discredit them” that they say increased after they wrote editorials critical of the sexual abuse of nuns by clergy.

In an era where many have called for an increase in women’s voices within the Catholic Church, it is disappointing that the women in charge of “Women Church World” have felt stifled and silenced by the very institution they sought to help improve.

It is also disappointing that, despite powerful rhetoric from Church officials about the need to combat sexual abuse, those who have pushed the Church to continue working on the issue are leaving feeling ostracized and punished.

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I was sexually assaulted as a Boy Scout and won’t stay anonymous because I want to help others

NEWARK (NJ)
Star Ledger

March 27, 2019

By Michael Mautone

I am the first known victim of priest Kevin Gugliotta. I am no longer Mr. X. My name is Michael Mautone.

In the past I have come forward anonymously to report the assault by Gugliotta and speak out against the church’s failure to protect others from him. Today, I go public for many reasons. First and foremost I stand in support of all victims to encourage them to come forward … not necessarily go public as I am doing today … to come forward and report the crimes of your abusers.

I stand in support of change to systems and organizations that failed to address this issue and instead allowed perpetrators to repeat their offenses. I stand to hold accountable those in power who directly took action or inaction in a choice to protect abusers over a choice to protect children and young adults. And I stand to finally hold accountable Kevin Gugliotta for his crimes against me and others.

I am deeply pained and saddened by the recent news that another victim has come forward to report being assaulted by Kevin. In 2003, I filed a complaint with the Newark Archdiocese alleging that Gugliotta had abused me in the 1980s when he was a Boy Scout leader. He later became a priest.

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Former St. Landry Parish priest accused of sexual abuse pleads guilty

LAFAYETTE (LOUISIANA)
KATC TV

March 27, 2019

By Wynce Nolley

Former priest Michael Guidry has pleaded guilty to sexual molestation of a juvenile.

KATC was in the courtroom when Judge Alonzo Harris accepted Guidry’s plea and set a sentencing date of April 30 when witness testimony will be heard.

Guidry now faces 5 – 10 years in prison and a possible fine of up to $5,000. As part of his plea deal, Guidry will have to stay in Acadia Parish until his sentencing, turn over his passport and be placed on the sex offender registry.

After the hearing, the victim’s father, Deacon Scott Peyton, released a statement to KATC’s Jim Hummel, which states, “We are one step closer to achieving justice for our son. We are deeply troubled by watching active members of St. Peter’s Parish Council show up to support Guidry.”

Guidry, 75, is the former pastor of St. Peter’s Church in Morrow who was arrested in June 2018 after a deacon’s son came forward to allege the priest had given him alcohol and molested him. In December 2018, Guidry was formally charged with molestation of a juvenile by the St. Landry Parish District Attorney.

The victim and his parents sued Guidry and the Diocese of Lafayette in August of 2018, claiming that a Diocesan official said they would discontinue therapy for the victim and his family should they file suit.

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Gray Lady skips some icky details in obit for Cardinal Danneels, a key Pope Francis supporter

Get Religion blog

March 27, 2019

By Terry Mattingly

What would it take to force The New York Times to criticize the career of a liberal Catholic who backed the modernization of Catholic teachings on many topics close to the hearts of the Gray Lady’s editors?

To answer that question, take a look at the recent Times obituary for the highly influential Cardinal Godfried Danneels of Belgium.

Readers can start, of course, with the headline: “Godfried Danneels, Liberal Cardinal Tainted by Sex Scandal, Dies at 85.” That pretty much sums up the obituary as a whole. This cardinal was a liberal, but he was also a liberal with a connection to The Scandal. That’s bad.

The key to this obituary — no surprise — is what it does not include, especially the voices of Catholics who criticized his efforts to liberalize church doctrines on sexuality. For example, they criticized church sex-education materials about children, sex and pedophilia. Hold that thought. Here is the Times overture:

Cardinal Godfried Danneels of Belgium, a liberal supporter of Pope Francis and a former Vatican adviser whose long pastoral career was damaged in a sex-abuse scandal after his retirement, died on March 14 at his home in Mechelen, north of Brussels. He was 85. …

Cardinal Danneels, who spoke several languages, was considered a progressive in Roman Catholic leadership, supporting a greater role for women in the church and a less rigid policy against contraception. He believed that H.I.V.-positive people should be able to use condoms rather than risk transmitting the virus.

Years before Pope Benedict XVI shocked the world by retiring in 2013, Cardinal Danneels had raised the possibility of popes retiring in advanced age or when their health deteriorated. He was a target of conservative critics in his 29 years as president of the Belgian Bishops’ Conference. They complained that he had not done enough to thwart growing secularization in Belgium, whose government has approved same-sex marriage, in vitro fertiliz

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Missed Deadline, No Timeline For Report On OKC Catholic Church Abuse

OKLAHOMA CITY (OK)
News Channel 9

March 27, 2019

By Grant Hermes

Citing an influx of files and documents, the attorney in charge of the investigation into abuse by priests in the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City said the report detailing findings will not be finished by the end of the month, despite already being a month behind schedule.

The report was set to be released February 28th after allegations dating back to the 1960s were brought to light in the summer of 2018. The highest profile was the case of former priest Ben Zoeller who was credibly accused of abuse in August 2018, for an incident in the early 1970s according to a release from the Archdiocese.

“The archdiocese is currently reviewing Zoeller’s priest file as part of a comprehensive review by an independent firm,” Archdiocese spokeswoman Diane Clay said in a statement after the accusation was made.

Zoeller was removed as a priest in 2002 and was de-frocked by Pope Benedict XVI in 2011.

That firm was Oklahoma City’s McAfee and Taft, which has been amassing documents and files for the last seven months. The firm’s investigating Attorney Robin Croninger said the firm recently received more files, pushing the investigation past its deadline.

Croninger said she should could not comment on how many documents have been collected so far nor could she give a timeline for when the investigation may be complete.

Attempts for a comment from the Archdiocese were redirected to Croninger. Requests for comment from the local chapter of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests were repeatedly unanswered.

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.

Perth Catholic school teacher jailed for secret abuse of three vulnerable boys

PERTH (AUSTRALIA)
The West Australian

March 27, 2019

By Shannon Hampton

A former teacher at Perth Catholic schools who sexually abused three vulnerable boys during his decades-long career has been jailed for five years over the “extremely damaging” breach of trust.

Arthur Frank Mowle, 72, preyed on the teenage boys when he was a teacher, nurse and counsellor at the then St Marks College in Bedford in the late 1970s, Servite College in Tuart Hill in the 1980s and Kolbe Catholic College in Rockingham between 2004 and 2005.

District Court Judge Stephen Scott said Mowle — who pleaded guilty to five charges stemming from the royal commission into child sex abuse — stole his victims’ innocence.

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Swept under the rug

LYNCHBURG (VIRGINIA)
News & Advance

March 23, 2019

By Richard Chumney

For five decades, James Sheehan kept his most painful memory a secret.

The horror of the abuse he remembers experiencing at that hands of his local parish priest haunted him into silence. And for half a century he felt alone — isolated and, at times, lost in his own memories.

But now, Sheehan is speaking publicly after Vatican officials refused to defrock the priest at the center of the allegation, despite the fact that the Diocese of Richmond found his claim credible and recommended he be dismissed from “the clerical state.” The decision to come forward follows a renewed national focus on clergy child abuse and prompted Lynchburg police to briefly reopen its investigation into the man Sheehan says physically and sexually assaulted him in the mid-1960s.

As a teenage altar boy at Holy Cross Catholic Church, Sheehan told The News & Advance in recent interviews he was serially abused by the Rev. Julian Goodman.

Sheehan, embarrassed and fearful of Goodman, told no one at the time.

Instead, he bottled up the pain and carried the burden alone for 50 years. The trauma destroyed the young boy’s innocence, forcing him to endlessly wrestle with his own self worth and faith. Even today, as a staff member at a Catholic church in Georgia, he struggles to attend Mass.

“I’ve always felt like I was somewhat tainted,” he said.

Sheehan, 66, is now left with the emotional scars of the abuse he remembers and lingering questions that may never be answered.

How could this priest, he remembers thinking, a man who pinned my body to the ground and violated me inside my own church, use those same hands to turn bread and wine into the body and the blood of Christ? Why did he choose me? Who was this man?

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Catholic church says not to worry about our cover story on John Nienstedt

DETROIT (MI)
Metro Times

March 27, 2019

By Michael Betzold

The subject of Metro Times came up during Mass at St. Edward on the Lake Catholic Church.

One of the world’s worst scandal-tainted bishops living in your parish? Not to worry, say local Catholic Church leaders.

By means of a letter signed by the pastor of St. Edward on the Lake, the Archdiocese of Detroit is assuring parishioners that it “is patently untrue” that Archbishop John Nienstedt could be a “potential threat” to their community north of Port Huron.

In a surprise announcement at the end of Mass on Saturday afternoon, Fr. Lee Acervo told his flock at St. Edward for the first time that Nienstedt is their neighbor. He emphasized that allegations against him are unproven — and added that the March 20 Metro Times cover story, in which his residence was revealed, is “not based on truth.”

The church made copies of the letter from Acervo — which also provided “my absolute assurance” that any “insinuations” that Nienstedt could be a dangerous neighbor “are unfounded” — available to people leaving Mass.

But Acervo is apparently only the messenger of this “all clear” signal. In his remarks from the pulpit, Acervo said that even though it’s in the first person and signed by him, he didn’t compose the letter — “the archdiocese wrote it.”

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Priest molested homesick boy at Vic camp

VICTORIA (AUSTRALIA)
Associated Press

March 27, 2019

By Caroline Schelle

A boy was homesick and upset during a Victorian school camp when a priest molested him more than 40 years ago.

Notorious pedophile priest and teacher Frank Gerard Klep admitted abusing the boy at a Salesian College camp at Dromana in the 1970s.

It was the second night of the camp and the 12-year-old boy was upset and homesick when Klep came and sat on his bed.

The priest initially started to comfort the boy, but then molested him.

“The accused’s actions left him (the victim) shocked and numb,” prosecutor Stephen Devlin told the Victorian County Court on Wednesday.

Klep also ingratiated himself with the boy’s family, helping his mother get a job at the college, Mr Devlin said.

Another victim was assaulted when he went to the school’s sick bay.

“The anger inside me at times is overwhelming,” the survivor said in a statement read out to the court.

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Call for lay voices at lecture

SYDNEY (AUSTRALIA)
Catholic Outlook

March 26, 2019

The clergy sexual abuse crisis has been a “hell of a mess” and the answer lies in moving forward with faith, transparency and creativity, according to Father Tony Percy.

The academic, author and vicar general of the Archdiocese of Canberra-Goulburn used his speech at the annual Bishop Manning Lecture on 21 March to make a call for the Church to “find its voice” at the national and local levels—which must include men’s and women’s voices.

During his speech at the Kirribilli Club in North Sydney, which was hosted by the Catholic Commission for Employment Relations, Father Percy addressed the topic ‘The Catholic Community in the 21st Century’, and responded to the questions ‘Where have we been?’ ‘Where are we now?’ ‘Where are we going?’ and ‘Who’s going with us?’.

He said that the current crisis may have brought the Church to its “darkest hour”, while society is also experiencing chaos. But Father Percy said that this is not a time for the Church to retreat in shame.

He drew upon the work of “the most truly modern pope” Pope Leo XIII, Scripture, Census data and insights from prominent Catholics, including Hildegard of Bingen and Pope Francis to suggest ways the Australian Church could make use of three pillars research shows are needed for church renewal: community, teaching and preaching, and music.

But first it must be acknowledged that the Church has lost people’s trust and that “trust is everything”, he said.

“The rebuild will take grace and courage. The abuse of children, youth, and the vulnerable by clergy is ‘everything we don’t believe in’. Precisely because we believe human sexuality to be symbolic of love and life we sense the ‘gravity of the depravity’. The price exacted has been enormous.”

The roots of the problem lie in narcissism, an entitlement mentality and clericalism, he believes, including an “overplay of the clergy” and an “underplay of the laity”.

The answer lies in faith and reason, the “two lights in which we see what God is asking of us”.

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Diocese of Erie responds to Garabedian news conference saying he misspoke…

ERIE (PA)
Erie Times

March 26, 2019

Following the news conference with alleged clergy victim Attorney Mitchell Garabedian, the Diocese of Erie has released a statement of their own, saying the attorney “misspoke regarding the conduct of the Diocese”.

Their full statement is as follows:

As Attorney Mitchell Garabedian announced during a news conference this morning, the Diocese of Erie has settled all legal claims brought by a victim of David L. Poulson, the former priest who is now serving time for his crimes at SCI Camp Hill near Harrisburg. The Diocese of Erie stands behind the settlement in the interests of justice and recognizes the harms suffered by this victim. However, Mr. Garabedian repeatedly misspoke regarding the conduct of the diocese.

The Most Rev. Lawrence T. Persico, bishop of Erie, has expressed his disappointment and surprise at the amount of misinformation in Mr. Garabedian’s comments. He failed to take into account much information that is publicly available. If what Mr. Garabedian alleges were true and complete, then Attorney General Shapiro would have prosecuted individuals beyond David Poulson.

Indeed, as publicly documented, both the district attorney and the attorney general involved in this case recognized the diocese’s full cooperation, noting that this victim’s report was handled properly, that the diocese’s efforts led to a successful prosecution and that the diocese’s “steps to prevent these horrors from happening again” are to be “commend[ed.]”

This case was thoroughly investigated under Pennsylvania law by trained law enforcement prosecutors and agents who subpoenaed documents and testimony. Per the settlement, signed by Mr. Garabedian, (attached), he was well aware that the Diocese of Erie:

1. had no knowledge of the case involving John Doe until Jan. 26, 2018;
2. immediately informed law enforcement and K&L Gates, its independent investigators; and
3. K&L Gates not only unearthed significant evidence corroborating the victim’s report but also communicated results of its investigation to both the diocese and law enforcement. As a direct result, the wrongdoer, Poulson, was convicted and is behind bars.

Mr. Garabedian emphasized that sorrow is not enough and that victims need to see action. Getting a sex offender put in prison is action. An immediate two-million-dollar pre-litigation settlement of the full amount requested by his client — and the dedication of millions more to a victims’ compensation fund currently underway — is action. Mr. Garabedian also appears to be inexplicably unaware of the following substantial measures taken by the diocese:

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Time is ripe to make sex-abuse lawsuits easier in NJ

ATLANTIC CITY (NJ)
The Press of Atlantic City

March 27, 2019

Over the past decade, New Jersey legislators have considered easing the tight deadlines that victims of sexual abuse face in filing civil lawsuits for damages.

Twice the legislation got nowhere, but events of the past year or so have made an unstoppably strong case for the change.

After a Pennsylvania grand jury report identified 300 Catholic Church clergy members credibly accused of sexual assault, New Jersey in September launched its own investigation. In February, New Jersey’s Roman Catholic dioceses released a list of 188 priests and deacons credibly accused of sexually abusing children.

In 2017-18, USA Gymnastics national team doctor Larry Nassar was sentenced to 140 to 300 years in prison on multiple guilty pleas after accusations he molested at least 250 girls and young women.

This year a special committee of the Legislature has been investigating the handling by the campaign and administration of Gov. Phil Murphy of a sexual assault allegation by one campaign staffer against another. Katie Brennan, who has filed a civil suit against the state and alleged attacker Al Alvarez, was among the first to testify at a state Senate hearing on the bill to make it easier to file such lawsuits.

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Catholic Church to investigate 50 years of child sex abuse allegations in Montreal

MONTREAL (CANADA)
Montreal Gazette

March 27, 2019

The Diocese of Montreal has assigned an independent committee to examine more than five decades of files related to allegations of sexual abuse committed on children by the clergy or church personnel in Montreal-area parishes.

Montreal Archbishop Christian Lépine has asked retired Superior Court justice Anne-Marie Trahan to oversee the investigation, which will also examine files of the dioceses of St-Jérôme, Valleyfield, St-Jean-Longueuil and Joliette.

The committee’s work is scheduled to begin in September and it has been granted full access to church files.

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Imbroglio over transfer of French priest accused of ‘inappropriate behavior’

PARIS (FRANCE)
LaCroix International

March 27, 2019

The former rector of the Paray-le-Monial shrines, Father Bernard Peyrous is a specialist in the history of spirituality and spiritual theology as well as the former postulator for the beatification of Marthe Robin. The priest is also a well known personality in the Emmanuel Community, a lay Catholic association. He has been a highly appreciated spiritual director of hundreds of people.

At least, this was the case until October 2017, when – to general surprise – the then-70-year-old priest resigned from all his duties. In consultation with leaders of the Emmanuel Community, Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard of Bordeaux instituted precautionary measures that placed restrictions on Fr. Peyrous for “gravely inappropriate behavior towards an adult woman.”

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Catholic universities push for debate on the clergy sex abuse crisis

WASHINGTON (DC)
Washington Post

March 27, 2019

By Michelle Boorstein

U.S. Catholics know they are in the thick of a clergy sexual abuse crisis, but that’s where agreement ends. When the abuse topic exploded in the church in the early 2000s, everyone knew the focus was stopping the shuffling around and coverup of priests abusing children.

In 2019, there’s a void. With that lack of consensus, many parish priests are saying little about the crisis.

Into that space, some Catholic universities are plunging with new abuse-related academic credentialing programs, million-dollar research grants and conferences – all related to exploring clergy abuse. Among the conferences was one this week at the Catholic University of America, which is run by U.S. bishops, about the “root causes” of the crisis. It featured something Catholics don’t see often: Experts with totally different points of view on the topic sharing a stage at a prominent Catholic institution.

The University of Notre Dame will offer up to a $1 million for research related to abuse. Santa Clara University is asking if the West Coast has a particular perspective on abuse, with its large population of Latino Catholics and Catholics from other countries around the world.

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March 26, 2019

Témoignage : Claire Maximova, ex-soeur carmélite violée par un prêtre

[Testimony: Claire Maximova, ex-Carmelite sister raped by a priest]

FRANCE
Marie Claire

March 22, 2019

By Morgane Giuliani

Cette ancienne soeur carmélite témoigne de l’abus spirituel et des viols qu’elle a subis de la part d’un prêtre, qui était son accompagnateur spirituel, dans “La Tyrannie du silence” (Cherche Midi). Elle décrit un système qui ne prend pas au sérieux la souffrance des femmes.

Lorsqu’elle arrive à la rédaction de Marie Claire, Claire Maximova est pile à l’heure, souriante. Elle a la répartie bien sentie, le mot qui fuse, la blague toujours prête. Malgré l’horreur de ce qu’elle vient raconter devant notre caméra. En janvier a été publié son livre, La Tyrannie du Silence (Cherche-Midi), dans lequel elle raconte l’abus spirituel, et les viols qu’elle a subis de la part d’un prêtre lorsqu’elle était soeur dans un carmel, il y a quelques années à peine.

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Tahiti : un prêtre soupçonné d’attouchements sur mineurs, une première en Polynésie

[Tahiti priest investigated for touching minors, a first in Polynesia]

TAHITI (FRENCH POLYNESIA)
Europe 1

March 10, 2019

Le religieux a été placé sous statut de témoin assisté au terme d’une garde à vue de deux jours. Deux jeunes hommes assurent avoir été victimes d’attouchements sexuels de sa part lorsqu’ils étaient encore adolescents.

Un prêtre catholique, soupçonné d’attouchements sexuels sur mineurs, a été placé sous statut de témoin assisté, samedi à Papeete, une première en Polynésie, a indiqué une source proche de l’enquête. Deux jeunes majeurs, adolescents à l’époque des faits, lui reprochent des attouchements. Le parquet avait requis une mise en examen au terme de deux jours de garde à vue.

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Church policy on funerals fits a long pattern of concealment

BUFFALO (NY)
Buffalo News

March 26, 2019

Was it sensitivity to the victims of sexual abuse or another slap in their faces? The history of the Catholic Church and the Buffalo Diocese practically shouts the latter. And if it wasn’t, then it’s at least a lesson in the price of holding terrible secrets.

The question is how the local church went about acknowledging the deaths of priests credibly accused of molesting children. The 2013 policy implemented by Bishop Richard J. Malone handled those deaths differently from those of other priests, denying the use of the title “Reverend” or “Father” in death notices – though allowing it on gravestones – and prohibiting a Mass of Christian Burial in the parishes where those priests had been assigned.

In a 2013 internal memo obtained by The Buffalo News, Malone explained that the new policy was to be more sensitive to survivors of clergy sex abuse. Events such as the death of an abuser could trigger survivors to suffer the trauma of their abuse all over again. In that regard, Malone’s policy makes sense. Indeed, if those priests had been afforded the usual funeral, critics would later have howled.

Nevertheless, the explanation would be more plausible if the church had already been acknowledging the abuses committed by many priests. It wasn’t. Instead, it was trying to keep its dirty secret.

Victims of priests certainly don’t see the policy as a kindness. Some of them see it as part of a continuing effort to shield the church from public accountability.

“This, it seems, is another method to keep it under cover. To me, it’s a consistent policy of the church, going back decades, of hiding and covering up,” said Tim Lennon, president of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. “At all costs, the reputation of the church is more important than anything.”

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Priest With Columbia Ties Put on Leave in Jefferson City

COLUMBIA (MO)
CoMo City Beat

March 25, 2019

A Catholic priest who served in Columbia was placed on administrative leave from his position in Jefferson City while the Diocese of Jefferson City investigates what it termed as “possible boundary violations.”

Father Geoffrey Brooke was placed on leave from his position as associate pastor at Immaculate Conception Church in Jefferson City.

Brooke, who was ordained in 2015, has also served in Columbia. According to the Sedalia Democrat and a Google summary from his now offline personal website, he served as a priest at Sacred Heart Parish from 2015-2017. He was also listed as an alum of St. Thomas More Newman Center in a 2015 Facebook post from parish alumni, and according to reports also provided weekend fill-in work at various parishes throughout mid-Missouri.

In a statement to CoMo City Beat, Helen Osman, the Director of Diocesan Communications for the Diocese of Jefferson City, confirmed both Brooke’s leave and the purpose of the investigation.

“When the Diocese was informed of possible boundary violations, following diocesan policy, we notified the Missouri Children’s Division hotline. Father Brooke has been placed on administrative leave while these allegations are investigated,” Osman said. She said the diocese also contacted local police.

According to the Jefferson City News Tribune, families of Immaculate Conception School were notified of the leave on March 10th. The letter was shared with the newspaper, and it’s authenticity was then confirmed by the diocese.

David Clohessy of the Survivor’s Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), took issue with how he felt Jefferson City Bishop Shawn McKnight handled the issue.

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N.J. sexual-assault victims will soon have more time to sue abusers under bill that just passed

NEW JERSEY
NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

March 25, 2019

By S.P. Sullivan

Despite fierce opposition from the Catholic Church, state legislators passed a bill today giving victims of sexual assault in New Jersey significantly more time to file lawsuits against their abusers.

Gov. Phil Murphy is expected to sign the bill, which had been stalled in the state Legislature for more than two decades.

The state Assembly voted 71-0 with five abstentions Monday to approve the measure (S477), which would vastly expand the current two-year statute of limitations for such civil suits to seven years in most cases.

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MO Attorney General prodded to act soon

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

March 26, 2019

Dear Attorney General Schmitt:

It’s been seven months since your office began looking into clergy sex crimes and cover ups in Missouri’s Catholic dioceses. Your Illinois colleague is conducting a similar probe. Let’s compare the two.

Early on, then-AG Lisa Madigan’s office set up a special “clergy sex abuse hotline.” (1-888-414-7678,clergyabuse@atg.state.il.us) Your office has not.

At this point in Madigan’s probe, the six month mark, all six Illinois diocese’s had posted proven, admitted and credibly accused clerics on their websites, thanks in large part to her prodding.

http://www.bishop-accountability.org/AtAGlance/diocesan_and_order_lists.htm

At this point in your probe, only two of Missouri’s dioceses have done so, and we’ve seen no evidence that you or your office has played any role in these disclosures or have tried to prod more of them. (The two are Missouri’s smallest dioceses: Jefferson City and Springfield-Cape Girardeau).

https://diojeffcity.org/wp-content/uploads/Clergy_Religious_removed_12.16.2018_v2.pdf

http://dioscg.org/wp-content/uploads/13DioPriestsAccusedR121118.pdf

At this point in her probe, Illinois citizens had learned the names of 185 credibly accused clerics. At this point in your probe, Missouri citizens have learned the names of 48 credibly accused clerics.

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El obispo de Cartagena traslada a la Fiscalía un caso de pederastia

[Bishop of Cartagena moves pedophilia case to Prosecutor’s Office]

SEVILLE (SPAIN)
El País

March 26, 2019

By Julio Núñez

El acusado cometió el supuesto delito en Argentina, aunque la diócesis no ha detallado cuándo

La diócesis de Cartagena-Murcia trasladó el pasado jueves a la Fiscalía de Menores un caso de abusos pederastia cometido por un religioso contra una menor en Argentina, según un comunicado del obispado de hoy. De momento, el episcopado no ha detallado el lugar exacto de los hechos y la fecha.

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Los Mossos acusan a los Maristas de poner trabas para investigar los abusos

[Investigators accuse Marists of obstructing abuse investigation]

BARCELONA (SPAIN)
El País

March 26, 2019

By Grego Casanova

El profesor Joaquín Benítez, que reconoció haber abusado a menores, ha dicho que hubo más profesores implicados

“Los llamaba a un despacho reservado, y con el pretexto de corregir alguna lesión comenzaban los masajes que precedían a los abusos”. Así actuaba el profesor de los Maristas Joaquín Benítez según la descripción de dos agentes de los Mossos d’Esquadra que han declarado este lunes en el primer día del juicio por los presuntos abusos sexuales del profesor de gimnasia del colegio Sants-Les Corts. Los agentes han hablado de un “patrón” habitual y aseguraron que la escuela se resistió a facilitarles información del agresor tras la primera denuncia presentada contra él.

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Laicos de Osorno valoran renuncia de Ezzati y acusan poca empatía del cardenal con víctimas de abuso

[Osorno laity group relieved at Ezzati’s resignation but disappointed by his lack of empathy for victims]

CHILE
BioBioChile

March 25, 2019

By Manuel Stuardo and Mauricio Molina

El Movimiento de Laicas y Laicos de Osorno se refirió a la renuncia del cardenal Ricardo Ezzati, investigado por eventual encubrimiento en casos de abuso sexual al interior de la Iglesia. El vocero del movimiento en la zona, Mario Vargas, señaló que en parte se sienten aliviados con la determinación.

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Obispo Celestino Aós niega encubrimiento

[Bishop Celestino Aós denies concealment]

CHILE
La Tercera

March 25, 2019

By S. Rodríguez

“La verdad es tan fundamental como el aire para la convivencia”, dijo sobre el eventual caso, ocurrido en Valparaíso, en 2012.

“Yo fui promotor de justicia. La verdad es tan fundamental como el aire para la convivencia (…) y en un tribunal cada uno tiene su papel (…). El promotor de justicia en aquel entonces tenía una delimitación bien marcada de funciones, yo las cumplí como mejor creí y el promotor de justicia no es el que tomaba las sentencias”.

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Karadima: acusan demora en fallo por demanda

[Karadima case: accusers’ lawyer criticizes delays]

CHILE
La Tercera

March 26, 2019

By J. M. Ojeda

El abogado de las víctimas ingresó escrito a la Corte criticando “dilaciones” en el proceso.

El abogado de las víctimas de abuso de Karadima, Juan Pablo Hermosilla, presentó un “téngase presente” en la Corte de Apelaciones de Santiago, pidiendo un pronunciamiento del tribunal de alzada, respecto de la demanda por presunto encubrimiento que sus representados mantienen contra el Arzobispado de Santiago.

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Los cuatro casos de encubrimiento que se le imputan al cardenal Ricardo Ezzati

[Four alleged cover-up cases involving Cardinal Ricardo Ezzati]

CHILE
Publimetro

March 26, 2019

By Aton (news agency)

El sábado el Papa Francisco decidió aceptar la renuncia del arzobispo de Santiago Ricardo Ezzati y anunció a Celestino Aós Braco como el administrador apostólico de la sede vacante.

El ahora arzobispo emérito de Santiago, Ricardo Ezzati, es investigado por el eventual encubrimiento de cuatro casos de presuntos abusos sexuales cometidos por miembros de la iglesia católica de la capital. La información aparece hoy en El Mercurio, que también consigna que en la indagatoria de la Fiscalía Regional de O’Higgins han surgido nuevos antecedentes en los últimos seis meses de otras situaciones similares que complicarían al cardenal.

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$2 million settlement reached with alleged victim of clergy assault

ERIE (PA)
Your Erie

March 26, 2019

Well-known Boston Attorney Mitchell Garabedian, who represents sexual abuse cases, holding a news conference in Erie to discuss his client’s settlement. His client was allegedly abused by now-former Reverend David L. Poulson.

Mitchell Garabedian discussing the $2 million settlement his client reached with the Catholic Diocese of Erie for the abuse his client suffered as a minor.

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Fresh allegations cloud pope’s appointment of Chilean Church leader

SANTIAGO (CHILE)
Santiago Times

March 26, 2019

Pope Francis’s pick to replace Chile’s top cardinal – who has been dismissed over allegations of covering up cases of clerical sexual abuse – was on Monday forced to deny that he himself had covered up the crimes of predator priests.

In a case that appears to cast doubt on Francis’ judgement in appointing him to replace Chile’s top prelate Ricardo Ezzati, Spanish bishop Celestino Aos was forced to deny allegations from two sex abuse victims that he covered up for their abuser.

One of the victims, former seminarian Mauricio Pulgar, publicly slammed Aos’ appointment on Monday, saying he had dismissed his complaints in 2012.

“Naming a person who helped cover up sexual assault, I think this is the worst mistake that the pope could make this year,” said Pulgar.

Aos, in an interview on Chile’s Radio Cooperativa, denied “absolutely” any cover-up in the case.

The allegations against Aos date from when he was bishop in Valparaiso, where he acted as the Church’s promoter of justice, a role akin to a prosecutor, investigating abuse cases.

He was accused by the abuse victims of denigrating their claims against a local priest, Jaime Da Fonseca, whom he cleared. Da Fonseca was found guilty in a subsequent investigation by the Vatican and expelled from the priesthood last year.

“The promoter of justice at that time had a well-defined delimitation of responsibilities. I fulfilled them as I thought best, and the promoter of justice does not decide the sentence,” said Aos, who until his sudden elevation by Francis on Saturday, had been bishop of Copiapo in northern Chile.

Pulgar said that Aos had never given any credence to his allegations of abuse.

“During the investigation, he did not consider them likely, and he didn’t inform me of his conclusions. He never gave me the opportunity to present evidence, or witnesses,” Pulgar told Radio Cooperativo.

To date, 77-year-old Ezzati, who was the Catholic Church’s highest official in Chile, has insisted he is innocent. He has promised to cooperate with the investigation into his activities – if the authorities first clear 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.

What about dads?

LOS ANGELES (CA)
Angelus

March 26, 2019

By Greg Erlandson

The Vatican’s February summit addressing the sexual abuse of children was a mind blower for many seasoned Vatican observers. It was a rare, if not unprecedented, gathering of the heads of all the world’s bishops’ conferences.

It was a bold effort to address the horror of child abuse across cultures and to get on the same page in terms of what needs to be done. Particularly striking for me was that three of the frankest and most challenging talks were delivered by two lay women and one woman religious.

The full fury of a mother’s scorn for both abusers and the protectors of abusers was captured by Valentina Alazraki, a Mexican journalist who had covered the pontificates of five popes. She laid down a challenge unlike any I have heard in such a Vatican-sponsored forum.

“If you are against those who commit or cover up abuse, then we are on the same side,” she told the bishops. “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.”

I only wish there had been a similar speech from a father who could articulate his sense of protectiveness for his children and righteous anger at anyone who would harm them, be they priest or bishop, teacher or relative. Where was the voice that represented me?

Of course, there were a few fathers present, Vatican lay officials who did not formally address the assembly. Cardinals and bishops spoke, moms and nuns, but no one specifically spoke to the gathering from the point of view of a father.

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Catholic priest pleads no contest to sex assault charge, avoids second trial

SAGINAW (MI)
Saginaw News

March 26, 2019

By Cole Waterman

A Catholic priest in Saginaw County has pleaded no contest to a sexual assault charge and two other charges, avoiding a second trial scheduled to begin on Tuesday, March 26.

The Rev. Robert J. “Father Bob” DeLand appeared Tuesday before Saginaw County Circuit Judge Darnell Jackson and pleaded no contest to three charges – second-degree criminal sexual conduct, gross indecency between two males, and manufacturing or distributing an imitation controlled substance. The most serious charge is second-degree criminal sexual conduct, which is a 15-year felony.

During the court hearing, one of DeLand’s three accusers and his family sat in the courtroom gallery. The 18-year-old testified in the priest’s first trial the previous week and was to testify in his second trial.

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Springfield Diocese sets services to show ‘solidarity’ with clergy abuse victims

SPRINGFIELD (MA)
The Republican

March 26, 2019

By Anne-Gerard Flynn

A Prayer Service for Healing to show “solidarity” with victims of clergy sex abuse will be held Sunday, April 7, at 2 p.m at St. Michael’s Cathedral, 254 State St.

The service is part of Springfield Bishop Mitchell T. Rozanski’s efforts announced in February to hold dialogue and prayer sessions as a “sign of our collective commitment to victims that we are truly sorry for our church’s past failure and remain steadfast in our ongoing efforts to prevent any future abuse.”

A similar service will be held the same day and time at St. Joseph Church in Pittsfield.

Rozanski held four “listening and dialogue” sessions around the issue of clergy abuse of minors in the diocese with the first Feb. 6 at Mary, Mother of Hope Parish, and the three others at parishes in Pittsfield, Westfield and concluding March 24 in Northampton.

More than a dozen attorneys general around the country are said to be investigating or reviewing claims of clergy abuse in the wake of the Pennsylvania grand jury report in August that found “credible” allegations against more than 300 “predator priests” in Pennsylvania who were said to have sexually abused more than 1,000 children in cases going back to the 1940s.

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Church abuse probe passes six month mark

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

SNAP: MO attorney general is moving too slowly
Group wants a preliminary report like the Illinois one
It also warns that a serial predator priest may be paroled
Self help organization wants archbishop to ‘sound the alarm’

WHAT
On the six month anniversary of the Missouri Attorney General’s (AG) probe into clergy sex abuse, victims and their supporters will prod the AG to
—give a ‘preliminary report on his work (like the IL AG did),
—push bishops to post accused clerics’ names (like the IL AG did),
—sit down with experts who are knowledgeable about the abuse crisis and
—work harder to bring victims, witnesses and whistleblowers forward, using his bully pulpit and public service announcements.

Holding signs and childhood photos at a sidewalk news conference, they will also:
–disclose that a notorious predator priest, who molested in St. Louis, is up for parole,
–beg his victims and their families to write authorities urging he be kept locked up, and
–urge St. Louis Catholic officials to tell their flock about the upcoming parole hearing

WHEN
Tuesday, March 26 at 1:45 p.m

WHERE
On the sidewalk outside the AG’s office/Wainwright Bldg. in St. Louis at 111 N. 7th St.

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Case of Ex-Priest Convicted of Altar Boy Abuse Back in Court

BOSTON (MA)
NBC 10 News

March 26, 2019

The case of a former Massachusetts priest who was convicted of sexually assaulting an altar boy in Maine years ago is due to return to court later this week.

Ronald Paquin was found guilty of 11 of 24 counts of gross sexual misconduct in November and has been awaiting sentencing. The case is expected in York County Superior Court in Alfred on Friday.

Paquin’s sentencing was delayed when his attorney filed a motion requesting a mental health evaluation. A judge granted the request.

A pair of men who testified during Paquin’s trial said they were altar boys when the priest invited them on trips in the 1980s and assaulted them repeatedly. Paquin also spent more than a decade in a Massachusetts prison for sexually abusing an altar boy there.

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Bishop Eamon Casey raped his niece (5) and assaulted other children

NEW YORK (NY)
Irish Central

March 26, 2019

Bishop Eamon Casey, whose 1970s affair with a young American woman produced a child and was the first major shockwave for the Irish Catholic Church, also abused three young girls, including his niece at the age of five it has been revealed.

His niece, Patricia Donovan, told the Irish Daily Mail that she was raped by Casey when she was just five years old and assaulted sexually for years by the Bishop.

Donovan, now 56, said, “It was rape, everything you imagine. It was the worst kind of abuse, it was horrific.

“I stopped being able long ago to find any words in the English language to describe what happened to me. It was one horrific thing after another.”

Donovan was one of three women who made allegations that they were abused as children and in two of the cases financial settlements were made. Casey admitted he had molested one of the girls when he was based in Britain.

he Irish Times reports that “In one of the cases, Bishop Casey, who died in March 2017 aged 89, admitted the abuse when he was serving as a priest up to 2005 in the south England diocese of Arundel and Brighton.

Speaking then to the English diocese’s child protection officer Fr Kieran O’Brien, according to a diocesan document, Bishop Casey said “that there was another historical case dealt with by his solicitors in Dublin.”

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Catholic Diocese of Erie reaches settlement

ERIE (PA)
WJET TV

March 25, 2019

By Pat Hritz

There was a settlement by the Catholic Diocese of Erie in a sexual abuse allegation against former priest David Poulson.

The Diocese reaching a two million dollar settlement with a person listed only as “John Doe”.

The allegations go back as far as when the former priest, and convicted pedophile, was assigned at Saint Michael’s in Fryburg, and Saint Anthony of Padua in Cambridge Springs, between the years of 2002 and 2010.

The victim was a minor child at the time of the abuse.

All of this is according to a press release from Robert Hoatson, Co-Founder and President of Road to Recovery, Inc., a non-profit charity based in New Jersey that assists victims of sexual abuse and their families.

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Cardinal Ezzati leaves Santiago with ‘head held high’

SANTIAGO (CHILE)
Catholic News Agency

March 25, 2019

Cardinal Ricardo Ezzati Andrello, whose resignation as Archbishop of Santiago was accepted Saturday, said he is leaving office “very grateful” and with his “head held high” regarding the way the archdiocese dealt with cases of sexual abuse and cover-up.

Ezzati, 77, has faced accusations that he was involved in covering up the crimes of several abusive priests. His resignation was accepted March 23.

The current crisis of the Church in Chile is a consequence of the uncovering of a great number of cases of sexual abuse and the abuse of authority and conscience as well as cover-up by members of the clergy.

In that context Ezzati is facing the civil justice system, accused of allegedly covering up sexual abuse by the former chancellor of the Archdiocese of Santiago, Fr. Oscar Muñoz Toledo.

At a press conference Ezzati said that the crisis in the Church in Chile “without a doubt has been the greatest sorrow of this time.”

But he stated that “every complaint has been addressed and consequently we will have to wait for what the justice system will say about this. It’s not enough for them to say that someone has covered up, it has to be proven, and I hold my head high, confident that that will not be shown.”

He also said that the archdiocese has cooperated with the civil justice system, “has had open doors,” and “the prosecutor has requisitioned the documents he has wanted” in the different raids carried out in the context of the investigations.

Regarding the accusations against him, the cardinal explained that “all the complaints that have come to the OPADE (Pastoral Office for Complaints) have been investigated or are being investigated.”

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West Virginia AG using consumer protection law in suit against diocese

DENVER (CO)
Crux

March 26, 2019

By Christopher White

Following last week’s lawsuit from West Virginia against the state’s only Catholic diocese and its former bishop for allegedly covering up for abusive priests, the state’s attorney general is calling on witnesses to come forward with any relevant information on the diocese.

Republican Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, himself a Catholic, brought a lawsuit under the grounds of the Consumer Credit and Protection Act and alleges that the diocese and former bishop failed to meet or enforce the standards in which it advertised and claimed to operate safe environments for minors, and now he is soliciting further witnesses as the case makes its way through the circuit court of Wood County.

“A lot of times in instances like this it is the people who step forward who will provide us with additional details,” Morrisey told The Parkersburg News and Sentinel, in an interview over the weekend. “They are the ones who can make the real difference.”

“We want the folks to step up. We believe there are more that haven’t stepped forward yet,” he said. “We are trying to identify more victims and more witnesses.”

Bishop Michael Bransfield retired as bishop of the diocese in 2018, a post he held since 2005, and at the time the Holy See named Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore both to serve as interim administrator of the diocese and to conduct an investigation into Bransfield’s handling of abuse and financial misconduct.

Earlier this month, Lori announced that he, along with a team of 5 lay experts, had completed his investigation and sent the report to Rome for review, although its findings have not been made public.

Morrisey is now calling on that report to be made public, saying that there has been a lack of transparency from the diocese in its refusal to release certain requested records.

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Priest accused of rape released pending trial

ALBUQERQUE (NM)
Albuquerque Journal

March 25th, 2019

By Katy Barnitz

A former priest facing child sex abuse accusations will await his trial out of custody, an Albuquerque judge ruled Monday.

Sabine Griego, 81, is accused of repeatedly raping a young altar server over a period of about two years beginning in the late 1980s, according to the state Attorney General’s Office.

That altar server is now in her late 30s, and Griego’s defense attorney argued at a detention hearing Monday that her “ability to be truthful and honest is significantly in question.” He pointed out that she has been convicted of identity theft and health care fraud, and that treatment notes said she exhibited lying behavior, and enjoyed being outrageous and shocking.

Prosecutors say Griego violently raped the girl multiple times, beginning when she was a second-grade student at Queen of Heaven Catholic School.

Judge Charles Brown said the state offered no evidence that Griego had harmed anyone in the 27 years since the alleged abuse took place, and there was no sign that he is presently a danger.

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What lessons can the clergy sex abuse crisis draw from a 4th-century church schism?

WASHINGTON (DC)
Religion News Service

March 25, 2019

By Cavan Concannon

A string of sex abuse scandals have rocked Christian communities recently: In the Roman Catholic Church, revelations related to sex abuse by priests continue to unfold across the globe. Within the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant denomination in the U.S., media reports have brought into public view allegations of sexual abuse dating back decades.

These scandals stand alongside abuses by prominent male church officials that have occurred in independent Christian communities, such as Harvest Bible Chapel, Willow Creek Community Church and Mars Hill Church.

Such scandals have led to widespread doubts about church officials and institutions. And this is not for the first time. As a scholar of early Christianity, I know that in the fourth century, Christian churches in North Africa faced a similar crisis of trust in their leaders.

Known as the Donatist controversy, it caused a schism that lasted for centuries and offers a parallel for thinking about the impact of these crises on contemporary Christian communities today.

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The Church under pressure: Reform or counter-reform?

PARIS (FRANCE)
LaCrois International

March 26, 2019

By Massimo Faggioli

Bishop Charles Morerod, who is recognized as one the leading intellectuals among the Catholic hierarchy of Europe, recently told La Croix “the Church reforms itself under the influence of seemingly adverse forces.”

The 57-year-old Swiss Dominican, head of the Diocese of Lausanne-Genève-Fribourg since 2011, was referring to the sexual abuse crisis and how it is putting pressure for change on the Catholic Church. Mounting pressure is a key factor to consider in the debates within the Church about the institutional reforms that are needed to address how bishops have failed in handling sex abuse cases.

But this pressure on the institutional Church is undeniably different today from that of the past. First, there is pressure from internal debate (within the Church), as well as from external forces (the media, society and culture, the state and the judiciary). This pressure is more visible and public than in the past. And it is also something much more difficult for the institutional Church to control, not by coercive measures, but in the sense of controlling the narrative.

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Bishop Daly distances Spokane Diocese from group trying to dig up dirt on Cardinal Cupich

SPOKANE (WA)
The Inlander

March 25, 2019

By Daniel Walters

Bishop Thomas Daly may be conservative, but he isn’t a fan of the right-wing group trying to take down his predecessor.

Even if you didn’t read our cover story on the division within the Catholic Church earlier this month, you may have seen the advertisements that Stephen Brady, of the Roman Catholic Faithful, has run in the Inlander.

Brady has been going to the former dioceses that Cardinal Blase Cupich, archbishop of Chicago, formerly led. He’s already been to Rapid City. He is coming to Spokane, where Cupich served as Bishop until 2014, this Saturday.

By design, the Inlander’s advertising department is separated from the newsroom. Reporters don’t get a say in which ads run.

In reporting our story on the Catholic Church, however, we did interview Brady, who is part of a far-right contingent trying to use the sex abuse scandal to unseat Cupich, who they believe is far too liberal.

Tellingly, Brady’s advertisement doesn’t mention anything about Cupich’s handling of the sex abuse crisis, instead focusing on Cupich’s alleged heresies, including locking Rapid City Latin-mass participants out of an Easter church service, expressing openness to gays and remarried Catholics getting Communion, and removing a priest who burned a rainbow flag from his parish.

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Pope wants psych tests for incoming priests

SALT LAKE CITY (UT)
ABC 4 News

March 25, 2019

By Andrew Reeser

The Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City said priests who serve in Utah generally have undergone thorough psychological evaluations before they begin their ministries; meanwhile, Pope Francis is calling on all Dioceses to implement the practice of having incoming seminarians undergo the same process.

The papal call comes as the Catholic Church deals with widespread allegations of sex abuse among priests. In the United States, this practice of psychological evaluations for incoming priests is already common.

But Judy Larson, a volunteer board member for the Utah chapter of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) said she fears these psychological evaluations are not doing enough to keep predators out of the priesthood.

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More victims come forward with accusations of abuse by former Indiana priest

INDIANAPOLIS (IN)
Fox 59 TV

March 25, 2019

By Randy Spieth

Two new victims have come forward claiming they were sexually abused by Father James Grear. They said it happened while he was an English teacher and the dean of students at Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School in Indianapolis.

The lawsuits, filed in Marion County, claim two adult men were sexually assaulted in 1974 and 1975 while they were between the ages of 12 and 13.

The two claim Grear would buy them gifts and took them on trips. He also took them to his apartment where sexual contact took place.

Brebeuf’s president has issued a letter to families in the school’s community. He said both USA Midwest Jesuit Province and the school have not been notified of any allegation against Grear while he was an employee. The president added the school has a zero-tolerance policy on the issue and even gave contact information to anyone who suspected their loved ones were abused.

The school was not named in the lawsuit, but The Roman Catholic Diocese of Lafayette in Indiana, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, and Grear were all named as defendants.

The two accusers said the diocese knew about Grear and moved him to the church in Carmel to help cover it up.

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Pope Francis picks replacement for Chile’s top cardinal dismissed over sex abuse cover-up

LONDON (ENGLAND)
Daily Mail

March 26, 2019

By Miranda Aldersley

Pope Francis’s pick to replace Chile’s top cardinal – dismissed over allegations of covering up cases of clerical sexual abuse – has already been forced to deny that he himself had covered up the crimes of predatory priests.

The Pope appointed Spanish bishop Celestino Aos on Saturday to replace Chile’s top prelate Ricardo Ezzati, but just two days later Aos was forced to deny allegations from two sex abuse victims that he covered up for their abuser.

The case now appears to cast doubt on the 82-year-old Pope’s judgement.

One of the victims, former seminarian Mauricio Pulgar, publicly slammed Aos’ appointment on Monday, saying he had dismissed his complaints in 2012.

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APNewsBreak: Founder, board of Vatican women’s magazine quit

ROME (ITALY)
Associated Press

March 26, 2019

By Nicole Winfield

The founder and all-female editorial board of the Vatican’s women’s magazine have quit after what they say was a Vatican campaign to discredit them and put them “under the direct control of men,” that only increased after they denounced the sexual abuse of nuns by clergy.

The editorial committee of “Women Church World,” a monthly glossy published alongside the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, made the announcement in the planned April 1 editorial and in an open letter to Pope Francis that was provided Tuesday to The Associated Press.

“We are throwing in the towel because we feel surrounded by a climate of distrust and progressive de-legitimization,” founder Lucetta Scaraffia wrote in the editorial, which went to the printers last week but hasn’t been published.

Scaraffia told the AP that the decision was taken after the new editor of L’Osservatore, Andrea Monda, told her earlier this year he would take over as editor. She said he reconsidered after the editorial board threatened to resign and the Catholic weeklies that distribute translations of “Women Church World” in France, Spain and Latin America, told her they would stop distributing.

“After the attempts to put us under control, came the indirect attempts to delegitimize us,” she said, citing other women brought in to write for L’Osservatore “with an editorial line opposed to ours.”

The effect, she said, was to “obscure our words, delegitimizing us as a part of the Holy See’s communications.”

There was no immediate comment Tuesday from the Vatican.

Scaraffia launched the monthly insert in 2012 and oversaw its growth into a stand-alone Vatican magazine as a voice for women, by women and about issues of interest to the entire Catholic Church. “Women Church World” had enjoyed editorial independence from L’Osservatore, even while being published under its auspices.

In the final editorial, the editorial board said the “conditions no longer exist” to continue working with L’Osservatore, citing its initiatives with other women contributors.

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March 25, 2019

Suspended priest’s second sex abuse case to begin Tuesday

SAGINAW (MI)
WJRT TV

March 25, 2019

By Rebecca Trylch

The suspended Catholic priest who was recently acquitted of sexual assault charges involving two teenagers will face a new jury in a separate trial.

Jury selection is scheduled to begin Tuesday morning in the second of three trials for suspended priest Robert DeLand.

The second case involves one of the two teenagers who testified against him last week.

In that case DeLand took the stand to deny any wrongdoing.

“No, I would not do that. I would never do that. I spent my life working with young people, and I would never do that,” DeLand told the jury on Tuesday while on trial for sexually assaulting a 17-year-old at Freeland High School.

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Victims group wants 2 more clergy added to Columbus diocese’s sex-abuse list

COLUMBUS (OH)
Columbus Dispatch

March 25, 2019

By Danae King

An advocacy group for survivors says two more names should be added to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Columbus’ list of “credibly accused” clergy.

Judy Jones, Midwest regional director for the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), said Monday that two Paulist Fathers who served in Columbus are on the religious order’s list but not the Columbus Diocese’s list, released on March 1. The diocese list includes 36 clergy members, including some who served in the Columbus diocese but were accused while serving elsewhere. Paulist Fathers are priests who are members of the Missionary Society of St. Paul the Apostle.

Last week, SNAP identified seven other clergy members who the group says should have been included on the Columbus list.

The two additional priests identified by SNAP — which it says brings the diocese’s omissions to nine — are:

• Stephan Leslie Johnson, who was ordained May 1981 and left the Paulist Fathers in July 1996. He served in the Columbus Diocese at the St. Thomas More Newman Center from 1991 to 1995, according to the Paulist Fathers’ list.

• Francis Michael Sweeney, who was ordained May 1961 and died in August 2013. He served in the Columbus Diocese at the St. Thomas More Newman Center from 1971 to 1972, according to the Paulist Fathers’ list.

“They need to be included on the diocese list because they could have sexually abused in Columbus while they were there,” SNAP’s Jones in an email.

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Michigan Catholic Church Sexual Abuse Crisis

LAANSING (MI)
Legal Examiner blog

March 25, 2019

By Mick S. Grewal Sr.

Sexual assault attorney Mick Grewal discusses sexual abuse in Michigan Catholic churches and what Michigan officials are doing about it.

Earlier this month, I wrote about the global crisis of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. This crisis is now in our back yard. Archbishop John Nienstedt – listed as one of the Catholic Church’s top 5 offenders in the world who most deserves to be expelled from priesthood – is now living in Michigan after being forced to leave the archdiocese he ran in Minnesota. Nienstedt had to resign after the church he ran became bankrupt due to a legal settlement it had to pay because of its cover-up of sexual predator priests.

There are numerous allegations against Nienstedt that include sexually assaulting young boys and covering up suspected clergy sexual abuse. The reason watchdog group Bishop Accountability wants Nienstedt removed is because he has a long history of protecting priests who are sexual predators.

Here in Michigan, Nienstedt was appointed pastor in White Lake Township in the 1980s, and in 1988, he became rector at Sacred Heart. During his time there, he covered up a subculture of sexual abuse, and in the early 1990s, half the seminarians wrote the archdiocese a letter, asking that Nienstedt be removed. It was agreed that Nienstedt would take a sabbatical, but he was allowed to continue his clergy duties and was appointed pastor at Shrine of the Little Flower in Royal Oak. Nienstedt was then made an auxiliary bishop (1996), and for 5 years, he served as director of the archdiocese’s “medical moral committee.” During the mid-1990s – 2000, Nienstedt carried the title of “assistant professor of moral theology” at Sacred Heart.

In 2001, Nienstedt was suddenly transferred to Minnesota to run a diocese, and in 2007, he was assigned to direct the archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis – and this is where his most notorious role in a child sexual abuse scandal occurred. Anne Doyle of Bishop Accountability stated that here, Nienstedt “covered up for egregious offenders.” Furthermore, as a director of the archdiocese, Nienstedt was involved in making special cash payments to perpetrator priests, according to a Minnesota public radio investigation. When one of his priests was charged with molesting numerous children, Nienstedt asked the judge to dismiss the charges due to statute of limitations problems, and he also asked the judge to have the alleged victim pay $64,000.00 in legal costs.

It was 2015 when Nienstedt was forced to leave his Minnesota post with the archdiocese because he had played a large role in covering up clergy sexual abuse, and because the archdiocese filed for bankruptcy. In addition, Nienstedt has been banned from exercising public ministry in Minnesota until allegations surrounding him are resolved.

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Bishop Eamonn Casey accused of sexually abusing three women as children

DUBLIN (IRELAND)
Irish Times

March 25, 2019

By Patsy McGarry

Three woman made allegations that they were sexually abused as children by former Bishop of Galway the late Eamonn Casey and two have received compensation as a result.

In one of the cases, Bishop Casey, who died in March 2017 aged 89, admitted the abuse when he was serving as a priest up to 2005 in the south England diocese of Arundel and Brighton.

Speaking then to the English diocese’s child protection officer Fr Kieran O’Brien, according to a diocesan document, Bishop Casey said “that there was another historical case dealt with by his solicitors in Dublin.

“Name of alleged victim was (redacted). She made a claim through the Residential Institutions Redress Board and was awarded compensation,” according to a diocesan document.

Bishop Casey made the admission in the context of another allegation of child abuse made against him by his niece Patricia Donovan a short time beforehand in November 2005.

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Catholic Cardinals Starting to Feel the Heat

PINELLAS PARK (FL)
Legal Examiner blog

March 25, 2019

By Joseph H. Saunders

In the wake of French Cardinal Philippe Barbarin’s conviction for failing to report a known pedophile priest to police, the princes of the Catholic Church are under increasing scrutiny. Cardinal George Pell of Australia and the Vatican’s chief financial officer has been found guilty on charges that he molested children decades ago. Cardinal Theodore McCarrick has been kicked out of the priesthood.

After centuries of impunity, cardinals from Chile to Australia and points in between are facing justice in both the Vatican and government courts for their own sexual misdeeds or for having shielded abusers under their watch.

This isn’t the first time we’ve read stories about the misbehaviors of cardinals, especially concerning the child sex abuse scandal. We know Philadelphia Cardinals Krol and Bevilacqua were unscathed by the Philadelphia Grand Jury Reports. Krol had been dead for decades when the Philly Grand Jury Reports were published and Bevilacqua was too ill to testify.

Cardinals are under increasing scrutiny concerning how they administered their archdioceses and how they handled allegations of priest abuse in their parishes. Some cardinals are under criminal investigation. The current and former archbishops of Santiago are under investigation by Chilean prosecutors for allegedly covering up for abusive priests.

Errazuriz, who retired as Santiago archbishop in 2010, was recently forced to resign from Francis’ kitchen cabinet after the depth of his cover-up was exposed last year.

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Fixing the National Redress Scheme

AUSTRALIA
The Saturday Paper

March 23, 2019

By Judy Courtin

Although I have worked with victims of institutional abuse and their families for more than 12 years, initially through my doctoral research into sexual assault and the Catholic Church and more recently as a lawyer, I could never have imagined the fall of George Pell. He was always untouchable – as archbishop, as the architect of the Melbourne Response, then as a cardinal. That is, he was Australia’s most powerful Catholic, perhaps ever.

The toppling of a senior Catholic cardinal for child sexual assault no doubt deserves media attention. But we cannot let the news itself suck the oxygen from other critical issues facing survivors. Namely, the uphill battle they continue to face in seeking fair redress for the abuses perpetrated against them.

Of course, these lion-hearted victims and their families have fought and won before. Without them, we would not have had the Victorian parliamentary inquiry and the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, from which vital legal and other reforms have flowed.

There are two pivotal issues that must be urgently addressed. First, the National Redress Scheme for victims of institutional abuse, which was established in July 2018. It is reprehensible and must be changed.

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.

Parsing Priest Sex Abuse and Offending Abuse Survivors

PINELLAS PARK (FL)
Legal Examiner blog

March 25, 2019

By Joseph H. Saunders

Cardinal George Pell’s lawyer made the unsuccessful and outrageous argument that one of Pell’s offenses was “plain vanilla sexual penetration case where the child is not actively participating.”

Lawyer Robert Richter made the claim while pushing for a lower sentence in a Melbourne court on Wednesday morning, asserting that the 77-year-old former Vatican treasurer had “no aggravating circumstances” and was likely “seized by some irresistible impulse.”

The sexual penetration of any minor is an aggravating circumstance and the irresistible impulse is criminal.

Each of the five offences of which Pell was found guilty carries a maximum 10 years imprisonment, and the judge outlined they were serious charges.

“This offending warrants immediate imprisonment,” prosecutor Mark Gibson told a packed courtroom, which was crowded to overflowing with journalists, lawyers and members of the public. “It involved two vulnerable boys.”

Two victim impact statements were tendered in the hearing; one from the victim who testified in Pell’s trial and one from the father of the other victim who died in 2014, but they were not made public.

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.

He ‘would be honored’ to be her first kiss. How coach ‘groomed’ his player for sex

SACRAMENTIO (CA)
Sacramento Bee

March 23, 2018

By Cynthia Hubert

She was a Catholic high school girl who had yet to have her first kiss.

When her softball coach began texting her late at night, showering her with compliments and telling her she was special, it was easy for Bailey Boone to forget that he was 54 years old and she was just 16.

“I thought we had a great love and the age didn’t matter, and no one could possibly understand,” Boone, now 21, said of the man she knew as Coach Mike.

In reality, Michael Martis was “grooming” her to become his sexual partner, according to a lawsuit Boone has filed against St. Francis Catholic High School and the Sacramento Catholic Diocese. The school and diocese, the lawsuit alleges, should have known that Martis was a predator, and failed to take steps to protect Boone and other students when he was a softball coach from 2010 through 2014.

St. Francis president Theresa Rodgers said Martis passed a background check and that his behavior raised no “red flags” among administrators, teachers or coaches. Martis was a trusted member of the community and did business with Boone’s mother. He had keys to St. Francis’ sports facilities and was allowed to communicate with students privately, give one-on-one lessons and drive students in his car to games away from the school’s East Sacramento campus.

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.