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.

July 18, 2019

Jeffrey Epstein’s Dark Façade Finally Cracks

UNITED STATES
Forbes

July 12, 2019

By Lisette Voytko

It’s only been a week since Jeffrey Epstein’s arrest on two federal charges of sex trafficking and conspiracy burst onto cable news chyrons and across social media, a decade-long wrong, in many observers’ minds, finally righted. The mysterious Manhattan financier, who maintains his innocence, had become a pariah from the wealth and power enclaves he inhabited before his arrest and eventual plea bargain in 2008 on two reduced, state-level felony charges of prostitution.

In recent years, even as his profile dimmed, a certain outrage stirred. Long gone were the wealthy and famous figures in his life, such as Donald Trump, Bill Clinton, Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Prince Andrew, Woody Allen and, perhaps most importantly, longtime friend and early patron Leslie Wexner, the billionaire retail magnate. In 2003, Wexner spoke highly of Epstein. “[He’s] very smart with a combination of excellent judgment and unusually high standards. Also, he is always a most loyal friend.” This week, a spokesperson told Forbes, “Mr. Wexner severed ties with Mr. Epstein more than a decade ago.”

Post-#MeToo, the Miami Herald’s Julie K. Brown revisited the Epstein case in a five-part series to examine what might have protected him after prosecutors had built what seemed to be a powerful, 53-page indictment, with lurid allegations of Epstein’s abuses—that he would receive massages from 36 identified underage girls, with the knowledge that some were as young as 14, and in some instances rape them.

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

Former KCK Archdiocese priest charged with possessing child pornography

KANSAS CITY (MO)
Kansas City Star

July 18, 2019

By Katie Moore

A former priest who served at several locations under the Kansas City, Kansas, Archdiocese has been charged in federal court with possessing child pornography.

Christopher Rossman allegedly possessed visual depictions of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct in September 2016, according to charging documents.

The Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas said it reported Rossman to police after receiving information that he had accessed the inappropriate content.

He was immediately suspended from serving as a pastor in Baldwin City and Lapeer, Kansas, the Archdiocese said. He had previously been assigned to churches in Olathe, Topeka, Holton, Mayetta and the Potawatomi Reservation.

“The Archdiocese will continue to cooperate with law enforcement as this matter moves forward,” the organization said in a statement Thursday.

Scott Toth, Rossman’s attorney, said it would be premature to comment on the case now.

In January, the Archdiocese published a list of clergy who have been accused of sexual abuse.

Rossman was listed among priests who were the subject of publicized allegations the Archdiocese said it wasn’t able to substantiate, along with three other men. Those included Scott Kallal, who now faces two counts of aggravated indecent liberties with a child in Wyandotte County District Court.

Kallal’s trial, which has been delayed once, is scheduled to start Sept. 9.

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

IN 44 STATES, CLERGY DON’T HAVE TO TELL POLICE WHEN SOMEONE CONFESSES TO CHILD SEX ABUSE

NEW YORK (NY)
Newsweek

July 18, 2019

By Jacob Wallace

Under current Utah law, members of the clergy are not required to report confessions of child sex abuse. Utah State Rep. Angela Romero wants to change that.

Romero is drafting a bill that would require any religious leader in a position of authority to become a mandatory reporter—an individual required by law to notify authorities of any admissions of abuse. Teachers, coaches, doctors and others who work with children are often mandatory reporters. Failure to report can be considered a criminal offense.

In a statement on Facebook, Romero said the bill was not targeting any particular religious group, but was rather intended to protect children from harm.

“Too often cases of sexual abuse involving ecclesiastic leaders have been covered up and the victims are denied justice,” she wrote. “We already have laws that mandate reporting whenever anyone learns about abuse of a child or a vulnerable person. Ecclesiastic leaders need to be held to the same standard.”

If the measure passes, Utah would be one of only seven states that explicitly require priests, ministers, rabbis and other religious leaders to report confessions of child sex abuse to law enforcement.

“My concern is getting somebody off the street that shouldn’t be on the street, regardless of if they confessed to a clergy member or regardless if someone they know told a clergy member,” Romero told Fox 13. “Regardless of what that religious institution is, it needs to be investigated by law enforcement.”

In most states, clergy have ecclesiastical privilege, a right similar to attorney-client privilege allowing them to refuse to disclose any admission made in the context of a confession.

Currently, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Texas and West Virginia are the only states that have laws requiring clergy to be mandatory reporters.

The statutes are a little murkier in Tennessee, Indiana and Connecticut: Priests have been allowed to voluntarily break their priest-penitent privilege, but it’s unclear whether they are required to.

confession sex abuse priest penitent privilege
Only six states currently require clergy to report instances of child sexual abuse to authorities.
SHALONE CASONE
In 2005, the Mississippi Supreme Court ruled that the privilege superseded the state’s mandatory reporting laws, meaning clergy effectively didn’t have to report confessions.

In 2013, though, the New Hampshire Supreme Court ruled that clergy were required to report abuse because confessants “cannot have an objectively reasonable expectation that such a statement will remain confidential.”

A California bill weaker than the Utah measure was scuttled after State Senator Jerry Hill couldn’t muster the votes to get it out of the Assembly’s public safety committee. SB 360 would have required reporting when an admission of sex abuse arose in “penitential communications” between two clergy members or between a clergy member “and another person that is employed at the same site or facility as the clergy member.”

The bill was fiercely criticized by Catholic leaders in California, who argued it impinged on their religious freedom. In a statement signed by various Catholic and Protestant leaders, the Religious Freedom Institute (RFI) argued the law would violate the “seal of the confession” and would hurt efforts to identify and prosecute abusers.

“First, confession is often not undertaken face-to-face in order to preserve the anonymity of the penitent. In such cases the priest does not know who is confessing,” RFI wrote. “Second, the provisions of SB 360 could worsen the problem by discouraging confession and its intended result – a turning away from grave sin. There is no reason to believe that those guilty of sexual abuse would be more likely to confess this crime to a priest who is required by law to turn them in.”

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

In Pope’s backyard, Church struggles with increasingly polarized politics

BUENOS AIRES (ARGENTINA)
Crux

July 18, 2019

By Inés San Martín

Pope Francis’s Argentina today is a polarized country, something visible virtually everywhere in the streets of Buenos Aires, the nation’s capital and political center. People of all walks of life right now are carrying colorful handkerchiefs expressing their views on legalizing abortion: Those in favor wear green, those against it light blue.

The color coding reflects a bitter national debate following a narrow vote in the senate last year defeating a bill to expand abortion rights. The division today now on display has long been about more than abortion, extending to politics, the economy, views on history’s first Argentine pontiff and even Argentina’s history.

According to Bishop Daniel Fernandez from Jujuy, in Argentina’s remote northwest, this national polarization, dubbed here as a “crack,” is something that deeply worries the pope.

“Pope Francis is concerned about this famous ‘crack’ that grows and doesn’t allow us social friendship, that beautiful concept that means we can think differently and have different philosophies and praxis but when it comes to generating the common good, we can each put the best we have,” Fernandez said on Monday.

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.

French priest suspended over sex abuse allegations

PARIS (FRANCE)

July 18, 2019

Father Jean-François Six, a renowned theologian and biographer of Charles de Foucauld, has been suspended by Archbishop Hervé Giraud, prelate of the Mission de France in Pontigny, of which he has been a member since 1964.

In a statement dated July 15 and sent to all members of the mission, the archbishop of Sens-Auxerre said he had received several reports implicating Father Six, 90, which “led him to exclude this priest from any pastoral ministry, including any communication and publication, through protective measures.”

According to initial information gathered by La Croix, the allegations relate to events dating back to the 1970s and involve young women.

“The presumption of innocence must be respected for the implicated priest while justice runs its course,” said Archbishop Giraud, who said he had referred the matter to the public prosecutor and the authorities in Rome.

He said his reason for making a public statement was to “free the speech of others if it must be free.”

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

Pope accepts Pates’ resignation as bishop for Diocese of Des Moines, appoints replacement

DES MOINES (IA)
Des Moines Register

July 18, 2019

Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of the Rev. Richard Pates as bishop of the Diocese of Des Moines and appointed his replacement, according to a news release.

The Rev. William Joensen, who serves in the Archdiocese of Dubuque, was selected by the pope as bishop-elect for the diocese. Joensen’s ordination as a bishop is planned for Sept. 27.

Joensen, 59, was born in Waterloo and attended seminary at the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio, according to a release from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. He was ordained as a priest in the Archdiocese of Dubuque on June 24, 1989.

In addition to the theology degree he has from Josephinum, Joensen also has Ph.D. in philosophy from the Catholic University of America.

Pates, the ninth bishop of Des Moines, announced his resignation in February 2018 when he turned 75 years old. By Canon Law, bishops must resign at age 75. He has been bishop since 2008.

Known for his openness and welcoming personality, Pates’ tenure has been marked by impressive growth, increased diversification of the local Catholic flock and ongoing fallout from Catholic scandals.

In February, following a diocesan review, Pates announced the names of nine priests found to be credibly accused of sexually abusing minors while serving the diocese.

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

July 17, 2019

Priest Roundup Shows Michigan Attorney General Isn’t Letting Justice Evade Victims

DETROIT (MI)
Deadline Detroit

July 18, 2019

By Michael Betzold

Bringing cases against priests based on decades-old incidents shows how determined Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is to use her resources in the now years-long Catholic Church abuse scandal.

It must have been a shock to the six men arrested around the world May 24; most had been living quietly in other states for decades. But Nessel knew what they most likely didn’t: The clock on Michigan’s statute of limitations law stops running when the accused perpetrator leaves Michigan.

The arrests sent a clear signal to church leaders and to victims: she’s leaving no stone unturned.

In the case of Fr. Tim Crowley, the John Doe victim in Nessel’s complaint didn’t want the Washtenaw County prosecutor to bring charges on his behalf back in 2012, when evidence was already public, but he’s apparently changed his mind. Crowley was transported in a police van from retirement in Arizona to face Nessel’s complaint alleging eight counts of criminal sexual conduct at St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Ann Arbor. At 70, Crowley – who left the state a year after the incidents in question – faces a July 30 probable cause conference.

Neil Kalina was snatched up in California as part of the AG’s May 24 sweep and remains in the Macomb County jail. He faces charges that he invited a boy of 13 to overnight stays at his rectory at St. Kieran in Utica in 1983 and 1984, gave him alcohol, cocaine, and marijuana – and sexually assaulted him.

“I’ve waited for this day for 18 years,” said the wife of the alleged victim, sitting in Judge Thomas Shepherd’s courtroom in Shelby Township July 2 for a scheduled probable cause conference for Kalina.

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.

Forged document case: Police record statement of senior priest

KOCHI (INDIA)
New Indian Express

July 18, 2019

City police on Wednesday recorded the statement of Fr Kuriakose Mundadan, secretary of the Presbyteral Council, in connection with the alleged forging of documents to defame Cardinal Mar George Alencherry. According to sources, the investigating team probing the case visited the priest’s office and sought details from him for over three hours.

Fr Mundadan, a senior priest of Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese, said that being the secretary of the Presbyteral Council, the police sought details regarding the Church land scam.

“As part of the ongoing probe, the investigators sought some inputs relating to the case. Being the secretary of the council, I will be able to throw light on the land deals,” Fr Mundadan told Express.

Meanwhile, police officials said that investigation is progressing and they are collecting statements from several people and priests belonging to the archdiocese.

Former apostolic administrator of the archdiocese Bishop Mar Jacob Manathodath and senior priests Fr Paul Thelakkat and Fr Tony Kallookaran are the first and second accused, respectively, in the document forgery case. The other accused are Adithya Zacharia and his friend Vishnu, who allegedly helped Adithya to forge the documents.

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.

Facing dire financial situation, Pittsburgh diocese looks to make changes

DENVER (CO)
Catholic News Agency

July 17, 2019

The Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh is evaluating options to respond to severe financial strains, exacerbated in the last year by the sex abuse crisis, a diocesan official said Wednesday.

“The challenges that we’re facing are similar to that of many other churches, I think, throughout the country,” said Msgr. Ronald Lengwin, Vicar for Church Relations for the diocese.

He told CNA that already-existing financial struggles had been greatly compounded by the sex abuse crisis that broke last summer.

In August 2018, a Pennsylvania grand jury report was released, identifying more than 1,000 allegations of abuse at the hands of some 300 clergy members in six dioceses in the state, including 99 from Pittsburgh. It also found a pattern of efforts by Church authorities to ignore, obscure, or cover up allegations – either to protect accused priests or to spare the Church scandal.

Since that report was released, Mass attendance has dropped 9% and offertory donations have declined 11%, CBS Pittsburgh reported.

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

Diocese of Crookston Reaches Settlement with 15 Survivors

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

July 17, 2019

The Diocese of Crookston today has settled with fifteen survivors of clergy abuse. We hope that this settlement will bring comfort, healing, and change.

We applaud these brave survivors for speaking up, persevering, and for insisting on pledges of reform by church officials and disclosure of long-hidden abuse records, not just financial considerations in this settlement. Litigation can help survivors get the power to change church practices as well as achieve justice, and we are glad these survivors took the chance to demand both.

It is good that a bankruptcy was avoided because that process almost inevitably helps church officials keep hidden documents hidden and ensures cover ups remain covered up.

We hope that the information that the Diocese of Crookston has agreed to release will be made public soon. Information about those who committed and concealed these crimes will create a safer, more informed community and will help parents, police, prosecutors, and parishioners better protect children and vulnerable adults.

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

The cautionary tale of Pastor Amy

LONDONN (ENGLAND)
Catholic Herald

July 15, 2019

By Sohrab Ahmari

Trouble roils Manhattan’s Riverside Church, the neo-Gothic behemoth on the Upper West Side that serves as one of the enduring bastions of American liberal Protestantism. As the New York Post (where I serve as op-ed editor) first reported last week, the church and its pastor, the Rev Dr Amy Butler, mutually parted ways amid accusations that Butler, known as “Pastor Amy”, had taken underlings and a congregant on a sex toy shopping spree.

So much for liberal Catholics’ undying belief that ordaining women is the answer to our troubles.

While visiting Minneapolis for a homiletics festival in May, Pastor Amy allegedly took two junior ministers and a congregant to a sex shop called the Smitten Kitten, per the Post. There, she spent $200 for a “bunny-shaped blue vibrator called a Beaded Rabbit for one minister – a single mom of two who was celebrating her 40th birthday – as well as more pleasure gadgets for the congregant and herself.”

The alleged element of coercion – the junior ministers reportedly didn’t want to join Pastor Amy on the raunchy shopping trip but feared retaliation if they declined to go along – led to a formal harassment complaint days later and a third-party investigation. Eventually, Riverside and Pastor Amy concluded that the latter’s position was “untenable”, per the Post’s sources.

In an apparent attempt to forestall the Post’s exposé, Pastor Amy’s allies ran to the New York Times. The Grey Lady duly obliged with a story that painted the pastor as a victim of sexism and a progressive champion, who had written “in searing, and deeply personal, terms about her decision years ago to have a late-term abortion”.

The Times also politely alluded to the pastor’s “push for a substantial raise”, another point of contention with Riverside that predated the sex toy episode. But according to the Post, Pastor Amy was seeking $100,000 in additional compensation that would come on top of her $250,000 salary, plus a six-month housing allowance worth $48,000 and “annual retirement contributions of $59,000 for three years”.

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

Why Aren’t Americans Paying Attention to Pope Francis’ Progressive Ideas?

Fair Observer blog

July 17, 2019

By Gary Grappo

In his papal encyclical, “Laudato Si’” (“Praise Be”), issued in May 2015, Pope Francis reminded humanity of its responsibility for stewardship of the planet, including addressing the challenge of our times, climate change. Had the pope stuck to the environmental message, it would have been papal history making enough. However, he went on to connect environmental devastation to poverty, growing inequality and the consumer-driven economies of today’s world. The latter, said Francis, prioritize profit and individual comfort and well-being over the welfare of mankind and the health of the planet.

The pope affirmed his agreement with the scientific consensus that not only is the earth warming at an alarming rate, but also that humanity bears a significant share of the responsibility. He condemned “worship of gross national product over human life and health” and tied such worship to mankind’s treatment of “Mother Earth,” asserting that “We have come to see ourselves as her lords and masters, entitled to plunder her at will.”

Was It Un-American?
In the US, a self-confessed secular but majority-Christian nation, the pope’s encyclical was greeted predictably with cheers and jeers as many pundits and politicians chose to read it as a political treatise — if not outright lecture to capitalist economies — as opposed to a spiritual message and call to Christian action. Was its less-then-veiled criticism of economic policies today a full-on assault of capitalism by the left-leaning pontiff? American audiences could hardly be expected to embrace such a politically tainted condemnation of their nation’s underlying economic system.

Coming just 18 months before the 2016 presidential election, in which issues like climate change, poverty and inequality were heavily debated, the pope’s document received much media attention. The candidates, however, largely avoided committing themselves, neither harshly criticizing nor warmly embracing its arguments.

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

Catholic Diocese of Crookston settles clergy sex abuse lawsuit

ST PAUL (MN)
KFGO TV

July 17, 2019

By Paul Jurgens

A Twin Cities law firm says the agreement will result in payments to 15 abuse victims and keep the diocese from filing for bankruptcy. The names of priests will also be disclosed.

Attorney Jeff Anderson says the victims are taking back power that was stolen from them as children. He says the settlement will help with their healing and advance child protection in the diocese. Anderson says the abuse took place between 1969 and 2009.

Four other lawsuits against the diocese were settled earlier.

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.

Vic pedophile priest to be sentenced

SYDNEY (AUSTRALIA)
Channel Nine News

July 18, 2019

A Victorian pedophile priest and repeat offender is to discover on Thursday whether he will spend extra time in prison after confessing to more historical child sex crimes.

Robert Claffey, 76 is already serving a minimum of 13 years and four months’ jail for sexually abusing 12 children aged as young as five, between 1969 and 1992.

But last week he admitted he abused another two boys in Ballarat during the 1980s, following
fresh allegations.

Prosecutors want Claffey to have time added to his non-parole jail term.

Last week, Claffey’s lawyer Alan Hands asked County Court Judge Paul Higham to consider that Claffey had already been “vilified” by the media and community, and shouldered the burden of his offending for years.

But the judge wasn’t convinced the pedophile was vilified or burdened by guilt, adding “being held accountable for your actions is not vilification”.

The Catholic Church became aware of Claffey’s behaviour during the 1980s but moved him “parish to parish” throughout western Victoria.

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.

Skepticism over New Calls to Abandon Priestly Celibacy

NEW YORK (NY)
Crisis Magazine

July 17, 2019

By Casey Chalk

In the wake of ongoing new reporting regarding sex scandals among many clerics, we have witnessed increased calls for the Catholic Church to loosen celibacy restrictions for the priesthood. Even many devout Catholics have begun to believe celibacy represents an unhealthy repression of sexual urges. To stem the tide of clerical abuse, the Church must dispense with celibacy. Fr. Carter Griffin is an outspoken opponent of this reasoning. His new book, Why Celibacy?: Reclaiming the Fatherhood of the Priest, encapsulates his thinking on the topic, going far beyond the commonly-heard defenses of clerical celibacy. As the title suggests, Fr. Griffin’s defense of celibacy relies on a robust understanding of the priest as father.

As Scott Hahn observes in the foreword, the priesthood is not simply a job or a career. It is a vocation that demands total commitment, and “celibacy has safeguarded that commitment.” The connection between the priestly vocation and celibacy has a strong biblical pedigree. Sexual continence was required for priests serving in the temple. Jesus, the preeminent priest who offered the greatest sacrifice for the salvation of the world, was celibate. St. Paul embraced celibacy as part of his apostolic calling, and urged others to do the same (1 Cor. 7:7). As Fr. Griffin then explains, the practice of clerical celibacy is visible very early in the Church, confirmed or encouraged by the Councils of Elvira (305 A.D.) and Trullo (691 A.D.), and later by the Second Lateran Council (1139 A.D.).

Yet the Church never understood celibacy in and of itself as the key to unlocking the spiritual power of the priesthood. Rather, it was celibacy united to an understanding of the priest as a supernatural father. Biblical imagery for this relationship is seen in Christ’s role as the new Adam generating the Church through his sacrifice and becoming a father of a new humanity (1 Cor. 15:45). Like a good father, Christ protects, suffers, and dies for his spiritual family. Moreover, Christ often referred to his disciples as children (Mark 10:24; John 13:33, 21:5; Mark 2:5). St. John speaks of Christians as “born of him” (1 John 2:28-29). The testimony of the early Church—including that of Sts. Justin Martyr, Irenaeus of Lyon, Clement, Athanasius, Benedict, Ambrose, Augustine, and Leo the Great—use the imagery of Christ as a spiritual father. The supernatural paternity of priests and bishops is also explicit in St. Ignatius of Antioch, the Passion narrative of Sts. Perpetua and Felicity, and the Didascalia Apostolorum. Many of these same sources also explicitly associate priestly celibacy with supernatural generation.

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

Cardinal Dolan Must Come Clean about Gifts from Bishop Bransfield

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

July 17, 2019

New York’s top Catholic official has kept silent now for over a month now regarding cash gifts he received from a now-disgraced colleague. We believe he owes his flock an apology and an explanation, and that he should return the money to its rightful owners.

On June 5, the Washington Post revealed that the now-retired Charleston West Virginia Bishop Michael Bransfield used proceeds from an odd source – a little-known Texas oil field – to spend lavishly on himself and other high-ranking Catholic officials, including New York’s Cardinal Timothy Dolan.

Some of those church officials have pledged to return the money to the West Virginia diocese. Others claim they’ve donated it to charity. Cardinal Dolan, however, has remained silent and is apparently doing neither.

Dolan’s silence is particularly ironic because he is one of the loudest bishops when it comes to promising “openness” and “transparency.” And he’s one of the prelates who needs extra money the least.

According to the Baltimore Sun, “Bransfield disbursed gifts amounting to $350,000 in cash to powerful cardinals and bishops including Dolan, Archbishop Lori of Baltimore, Cardinal Raymond Burke of the Vatican; and disgraced Cardinals Bernard Law, who was forced to resign as Boston’s archbishop in 2002 for his role in covering up child abuse by priests there, and Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, who resigned last year amid allegations he sexually abused children and adults over decades.” That’s a group of men with pretty questionable records.

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

Cardinal DiNardo Should Ask Abusive Conroe Priest to Plead Guilty

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

July 17, 2019

An allegedly abusive priest from Conroe County is due in court on Thursday for the next phase of his trial. We believe that church officials can and should spare his victims the pain of that trial and should encourage the priest to plead guilty instead.

Fr. Manuel LaRosa Lopez will be back in court on Thursday following his indictment in May on three counts of indecency with a child. He has now been charged with five counts from three separate victims. The incidents for the five counts occurred in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s. There is also a fourth victim who went to the Archdiocese of Galveston/Houston in 1992 with an accusation, but this incident occurred outside of the window of the Statute of Limitations. If the church had been responsible at that time, they would have removed Fr. LaRosa Lopez from ministry, preventing the three victims in the criminal case from being sexually abused, changing their lives forever. Given this information, we feel that Cardinal Daniel DiNardo should use his power to help spare the pain and expense of a trial and encourage Fr. LaRosa Lopez to plead guilty.

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.

SNAP Urges Boycott of Businesses Displaying Signs Supporting Accused Priest

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

July 17, 2019

We are extremely saddened to learn that signs supporting a priest facing multiple allegations of abuse are being distributed. We fear that this will have a chilling effect on any young victims who see them displayed.

Supporters of accused clergyman Msgr. Craig Harrison are publicly posting signs around Bakersfield. We understand that it is only natural for people to want to show solidarity with a religious leader that they love and respect when allegations arise. However, we always recommend that they show this support privately.

Somewhere in the community there may be a young girl being molested by a relative or a boy being abused by his coach or youth leader. If these children see adults publicly rallying around an accused perpetrator, they will be less likely to report their own victimization. Scared into remaining silent, they will continue to suffer alone.

We fervently hope that the monsignor’s supporters will think about that and reconsider displaying these signs.

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

Former El Paso Catholic priest sentenced to 18 years in prison in sexual assault case

EL PASO (TX)
El Paso Times

July 17, 2019

By Aaron Martinez

A former El Paso Catholic priest was sentenced to 18 years in prison Tuesday after he was convicted the previous day on a dozen sexual abuse charges.

MiguelLuna, 69, was sentenced to 18 years in prison on six counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child and 10 years in prison on the three counts of sexual assault of a child.

He was also sentenced to 10 years of probation on three counts of indecency with a child.

The sentences will be served concurrently.

Luna was facing up to life in prison on the aggravated sexual charges.

A jury of nine woman and three men reached the sentencing verdict Tuesday. The same jury convicted him Monday on all 12 charges.

Want more coverage on issues that matter to you? Consider supporting local journalism with a subscription to the El Paso Times.

The trial was held in the 120th District Court with Judge Maria Salas-Mendoza presiding.

Luna was arrested June 11, 2018, after one of his victims, who is now in her late 30s, reported that the former priest began sexually abusing her when she was 8 years in the 1990s at an El Paso 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.

Down by the Riverside: Fractured church picking up pieces after bombshell reports on pastor’s departure

NASHVILLE (TN)
Baptist News Global

July 15, 2019

By Bob Allen

Riverside Church in New York City held a members-only meeting Sunday, following a week of sensational headlines in competing newspapers covering the departure of senior pastor Amy Butler.

The Washington Post reported July 15 that during the meeting 11 members of the historically significant congregation introduced a petition demanding that Butler, former pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., be reinstated as senior pastor.

Butler, who in the past wrote columns for Baptist News Global and its predecessor Associated Baptist Press, released a joint statement last Tuesday with the chair of the church council announcing that her five-year contract as pastor would not be renewed.

On Thursday the New York Times quoted unnamed sources who attribute her departure to sexism and the “stained-glass cliff” – the name given to an informal barrier faced by women in ministry. Unlike the so-called stained-glass ceiling, which keeps women from climbing up the ministerial ladder, the stained-glass cliff posits that women are actually more likely than men to get promoted if the organization is facing a crisis, increasing the odds that they will fail.

The New York Post followed up with a much different story about salary demands and possible conduct unbecoming a minister.

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.

Xaverian Brothers’ disclosure on past sexual abuse falls short

BOSTON (MA)
The Boston Globe

July 16, 2019

By Eric MacLeish

Last weekend, the Xaverian Brothers, a religious order that operates five Catholic high schools in Massachusetts released the names of 34 priests alleged to have sexually abused children in St. John’s Preparatory School in Danvers, Xaverian Brothers High School in Westwood, St. John’s High School in Shrewsbury, and Malden Catholic High School. This disclosure differs dramatically from those transparent investigations made recently by private schools all around the country and pays only lip service to current standards on responses to sexual abuse allegations.

For starters, the data for the current report was based on a “file review,” presumably of personnel files. In 2002, then-Cardinal Bernard Law promised a similar file review, which captured only a fraction of child molesters masquerading as priests and contained almost no information about their enablers. File reviews presume that the despicable crimes of religious order priests and their superiors were well-documented. While some crimes were described, no investigation can presume that a file review tells the complete story. The horrific history of child abuse is littered with cover-ups and the deletion of information concerning predatory priests and cooperative bishops.

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Victim: Catholic Priests Kept Jobs Despite Sex Abuse Claims

NEW YORK (NY)
WCBS 880 Radio

July 16, 2019

A new lawsuit filed Tuesday claims two Catholic priest that were accused of sexually abusing inors were allowed to remain active at their churches despite complaints to the archdiocese.

The lawsuit alleges church officials either covered up or misrepresented the abusive histories of Father Donald Timone and Monsignor John Paddack, who Joseph Caramanno says abused him when he was a student at St. Joseph’s by the Sea on Staten Island.

“I personally wonder if –while I was in high school back in 2001, 2002 – was there someone that knew about Monsignor Paddack, was there someone that knew that he had, you know, done some things to others before me,” Caramanno said.

The allegations forced Paddack to resign from the Church of Notre Dame on the Upper West Side.

Timone is accused of sexually abusing the late husband of one of the plaintiffs when he was a teenager. The alleged victim died from an apparent suicide in 2015.

“The allegations against Fr. Timone and Fr. Paddack were shared with law enforcement, and both are currently out of ministry while the archdiocese investigates these new allegations against them,” the archdiocese said in a statement.

It notes that earlier claims against the two were investigated but “were found not to be substantiated.”

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Irreligion, Sexual Abuse and Sacrilege

DENVER (CO)
National Catholic Register

July 12, 2019

By John Grondelski

Over at Commonweal, Boston College theology and law professor Cathleen Kaveny tries to obfuscate the meaning of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s recent letter on the sexual abuse crisis… and perhaps score some points for the revisionist agenda of blaming that crisis on “clericalism” rather than the sexual immorality that—rightly—Benedict identifies as where the Church and modern culture began going off the rails in the late 1960s.

Kaveny claims that Benedict misidentifies the moral wrong behind the sexual abuse crisis: she thinks he is equating it with sacrilege (although she admits that “[h]e does not use the term”). She claims that this shift lets the Church off the hook, protecting the institution by identifying it as the victim rather than defending children victims. “Benedict’s letter seems to put clergy sex abuse in the category of sacrilege, not injustice.”

She wants to see the sacrilege versus justice question as an either/or proposition (not unusual for defenders of revisionist moral theology). It isn’t. It’s both.

I have always been very pleased by the fact that the 2011 retranslation of the Novus Ordo Missae restored the typical text, not ICEL’s “equivalent” translations. One of the important places where that translation recovered the real meaning of the text was in the introductory dialogue to the Preface. We used to say, “It is right to give Him thanks and praise.” We now respond, in keeping with the venerable ancient text, “It is right and just” (dignum et justum est).

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New poll shows growing view that clergy are irrelevant

WASHINGTON (DC)
Religion News Service

July 16, 2019

By Yonat Shimron

In her 2004 Pulitzer-Prize winning novel “Gilead,” Marilynne Robinson sketches a portrait of the Rev. John Ames, a small- town pastor in 1950s Iowa who is humble, self-aware, compassionate and devoted to his family and his congregation, and they to him.

Americans no longer hold clergy in such high regard, according to a recent poll, and even regular churchgoers are seeking counsel elsewhere.

A NORC/AP poll of 1,137 adults released this month shows that doctors, teachers, members of the military — even scientists — are viewed more positively than clergy. The less frequently people attend church, the more negative their views. Among those who attend less than once a month, only 42% said they had a positive view of clergy members — a rate comparable to that of lawyers, who rank near the bottom of the list of professions.

While frequent church attenders still hold clergy in high regard — about 75% viewed them positively — they give them only passing grades on a number of personal attributes. Only 52% of monthly churchgoers consider clergy trustworthy (that number drops to 23% among those who attend less than once a month) and 57% said they were honest and intelligent (compared with 27% and 30% among infrequent attenders).

“If you buy into the religious worldview, then the religious leader looks completely different than if you don’t buy into the religious worldview,” said Scott Thumma, professor of the sociology of religion at Hartford Seminary. “The perception from the outside is pretty bleak.”

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Doc details fight for justice by local victim of former Sudbury priest

SUDBURY (CANADA)
Sudbury.com

July 17, 2019

He has been dead for more than five years, but when a convicted pedophile priest makes a sudden appearance in a documentary about his crimes, it’s like a bolt of lightning.

By now, most people in Sudbury are familiar with the crimes of Fr. William Hodgson Marshall, a priest who molested young boys at St. Charles College in the late 1960s and early 1970s before moving on to prey on more children in other places.

The public has never heard Marshall directly talking about his crimes. A new TVO documentary entitled ‘PREY’ changes that, showing him for the first time responding to questions from the lawyer representing his victims. PREY – a pun on pray – is playing at Cinefest this year.

Director Matt Gallagher’s film focuses on the 2018 lawsuit by Rod McLeod, one of Marshall’s victims in Sudbury who was awarded $2.57 million (https://www.sudbury.com/local-news/victim-of-abuse-by-sudbury-priest-awarded-25m-907564) for the abuse he suffered – and for the Basilian Fathers of Toronto for allowing it to continue.

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Column: Allegations against Epstein have put #MeToo in context

COLUMBUS (OH)
Columbus Dispatch

July 17, 2019

By Christine Flowers

A few years ago, I wrote a column about Malala Yousafzi around the time that the young Pakistani activist was shot in the head by the Taliban. She was targeted for death simply because she wanted to help give girls the same educational opportunities as boys.

Instead, Malala survived. She became a symbol of fierce and principled defiance in the face of an oppressive regime, a true patriarchy.

That column garnered a lot of criticism because my central point was that women in our country did not understand what true persecution looked like.

Seven years later, and our gauge of what counts as true abuse against women hasn’t gotten any better. I blame #MeToo, which has robbed us of the ability to see things in context. The fratboy antics of Al Franken, Joe Biden and by then wheelchair-bound George H.W. Bush were condemned as if these men committed aggravated felonies. The mere accusation of date rape is enough to deprive young male college students of due process. Unearthed stories from three decades ago almost scuttled the judicial nomination of a man whose only proven bad behavior is — horror of horrors — liking beer.

This is why the indictment of Jeffrey Epstein for sex trafficking is so important.

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July 16, 2019

SNAP leader calls for more accountability after St. Xavier releases list of accused abusers

LOUISVILLE (KY)
WDRB TV

Jul 16, 2019

By Katrina Helmer

After the Xaverian Brothers released a list of brothers facing credible accusations of sexual abuse with minors, the leader of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) in Louisville hopes it leads to more accountability and justice for the victims.

St. Xaverian High School in Louisville released a letter to alumni and school families last week, which included a list of 14 brothers who have ties to the school dating back to the 1930s and who are also accused of abusing minors.

Cal Pfeiffer, the local leader of SNAP who graduated from St. X in 1966, said he was never abused there, and he never witnessed any abuse. However, he said it was heartbreaking and felt personal reading the letter from the school.

“Come to find out, two of the brothers were there when I was there,” Pfeiffer said.

Pfeiffer now supports and fights for victims of abuse within the Catholic Church. He believes people are starting to “finally realize this is a huge crisis.”

And that’s why he said just releasing a list of names is not enough. He said St. X, the Xaverian Brothers and the Catholic Church need to be held accountable. The letter does not state if or how anyone was punished, leaving Pfeiffer with lingering questions.

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Catholic priest, Father Andrew Manetta, accused in new molestation case

HAGATNA (GUAM)
Pacific Daily News

July 17, 2019

By Steve Limtiaco

A man who took confirmation classes at the Chalan Pago church in the mid-1980s, when he was a teenager, has accused Father Andrew Manetta, who was parish priest at the time, of sexually assaulting him during a sleepover.

The man, identified in Superior Court of Guam documents by the initials L.L.L., has asked for at least $5 million in damages from the Capuchin Franciscans, Manetta’s religious order.

According to the lawsuit, Manetta molested L.L.L. when he and another boy slept over at the priest’s residence to help prepare for a swimming outing for the confirmation class.

It states Manetta caught the two boys smoking marijuana, then smoked a marijuana joint himself and gave the boys wine.

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Followers of accused priest Monsignor Harrison show their support with new signs

BAKERSFIELD (CA)
Bakersfield Californian

July 16, 2019

By John Cox

Signs of support for accused priest Father Craig Harrison are beginning to pop up around Bakersfield.

At least 200 corrugated plastic signs stating “We support Monsignor Craig Harrison” were given out recently at the store on 18th Street where his adopted son works, prompting an order for 100 more.

The black-and-white signs, measuring 12 inches by 18 inches, have been posted in front of at least a few local businesses since they were first made available last weekend.

One such business is H. Walker’s Mens Clothing & Accessories on 17th Street. Owner Tracy Kiser said she wanted to show her support for a friend and customer.

“We’re just proud of who he is and what he’s done for our community,” Kiser said of Harrison.

The signs were ordered and paid for by local lawyer Dan Raytis, a parishioner at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, where Monsignor Harrison worked as pastor until being placed on leave in April over allegations he sexually abused a minor while serving as a priest in Firebaugh. Other accusers have since come forward making similar accusations against Harrison.

Raytis said he and his family alone came up with the idea of having the signs printed. He said the signs speak for themselves.

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Readers sound off on Father John Duffell

NEW YORK (NY)
Daily News

July 16, 2019

By Eileen A. Fagan

I am truly shocked that Father John Duffell has been suspended from active priestly service pending an allegation of abuse by an adult in the Archdiocese of New York. Truth be known, those who know Duffell know he is a controversial character. He was always ahead of his time and ready to take on things that others were too timid or lazy to even approach. Because of it, social justice with Gospel values blossomed in New York. We should not forget that for a moment.

I realize the Church has had some 17 years of adverse publicity regarding sexual abuse by priests. Yes, I believe a very small percentage of the allegations against priests are true. However, I also believe that many have been wrongly accused and are suffering from the consequences imposed by the Archdioceses and Dioceses throughout the country. I understand we need to protect and help victims. My question is: Who helps the priests who have wrongfully lost their reputations and have been removed from ministry at a time when the Church needs them so much? Whatever happened to innocent until proven guilty?

Having worked with Duffell for many years, his zeal for the Gospel is relentless. The Catholic Church needs more servants like him, not less. I pray his good name and reputation is returned to him with God’s speed!

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Dalton School Should Do Outreach in Wake of Epstein Scandal

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

July 16, 2019

Given the pending prosecution of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, officials at the prestigious Manhattan school where he has been accused of inappropriate behavior should immediately start reaching out to find former students and staff that may have seen, suspected or suffered crimes by him. This is the best way that the school can help law enforcement keep Epstein away from other children and can potentially help alumni and drop-outs who might have been hurt and may still be suffering today in silence, shame and self-blame.

We believe this request is simple and straightforward. When institutions like schools and churches hire staff that turn out to be sexual abusers, they must take affirmative steps to help law enforcement prosecute those perpetrators. Schools have mailing lists, websites and other means to contact former staff and students,and now they should use their resources to seek out victims, witnesses and whistleblowers – for both prevention and healing.

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Pastor’s wife charged with sexually assaulting student; former congregants celebrate

WASHINGTON (DC)
Christian Post

July 11, 2019

By Leonardo Blair

A pastor’s wife and teacher from Burbank, Illinois, has been arrested and charged after she allegedly supplied alcohol to a 15-year-old student at Jordan Baptist School, a ministry of Jordan Baptist Church, and had sex with him at least five times before it was legal for her to do so.

Shannon Griffin, 49, wife of Pastor Thomas Griffin who led both Jordan Baptist Church and the affiliated school during the period of the crimes, is alleged to have sent nude images to the student she is alleged to have had sex with as well as a 16-year-old boy using Snapchat and asking for illicit images in return, the Chicago Tribune reported.

The pastor’s wife, who some members in her community allege had been abusing underage kids for years, was allegedly pictured in some photos getting into the shower attached to text messages such as “Come on in” and “Missing you,” Assistant State’s Attorney Kyle Gruca told the publication.

The Christian Post reached out to the church for comment Thursday but did not immediately receive a response. Former members protested Sunday in the parking lot and turned away potential worshipers who were in the dark about the alleged crimes that had been taking place at the church.

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Apparently most “LGBT folks are on board with pedophillia”

The Slowly Boiled Frog blog

July 16, 2019

By David Carey Hart

One Matthew Hanley has penned LGBT is swiftly being normalized. Pedophilia is next. At another site, the accusation is more direct; titled Adding P to LGBT. Hanley is just one more demented schmuck claiming that LGBT people pose a peril to children. According to the Catholic faith, one should not engage in gay sex. Adherents have some choices to make.

The faith does not require smearing LGBT people as pedophiles. I know at least one priest who would say that such behavior is discouraged, even sinful. That makes Matthew Hanley a bigoted fool. Does Mr. Hanley have underage fantasies? Does Hanley have repressed gay fantasies? Those questions are perfectly reasonable and appropriate. Homophobia, for example, is bigotry based on one’s own sexual insecurities.

Much to their credit, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has issued very strong statements opposing Trump’s border policies. If Mr. Hanley is so concerned about the welfare of children, why is he not writing about “kids in cages?”

LifeSiteNews is already on a trajectory to be designated a hate group at the end of 2019. Providing an outlet for the mad ravings of Matthew Hanley is not going to help their cause. They had the common sense to water down Hanley’s title but the text is the same.

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Follow the money? By all means. But Bransfield scandal may involve some ‘Catholic” issues

Get Religion blog

July 16, 2019

By Terry Mattingly

It’s time for another trip into my GetReligion folder of guilt. That’s where news features go that I know are important, but I cannot — quickly — spot the issue that is nagging me.

Thus, the story gets filed away, while I keep thinking about it.

In this case, we are talking about a Washington Post story that is an important follow-up on the newspaper’s investigation into charges of corruption against Catholic Bishop Michael J. Bransfield of West Virginia — an important disciple of the fallen cardinal Theodore “Uncle Ted” McCarrick. Click here for the first GetReligion post on this topic, by Bobby Ross, Jr.

The headline on this new expose states: “Warnings about West Virginia bishop went unheeded as he doled out cash gifts to Catholic leaders.” Yes, this story is about money, money, money and then more money.

Oh, there is some signs of sexual harassment of seminarians in there, but that doesn’t seem to interest the Post team. And there are hints that some of the conflicts surrounding Bransfield may have had something to do with Catholicism. Maybe. Hold that thought because we will come back to it.

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The 50 Year Secret: An ABC7 News exclusive documentary

WASHINGTON (DC)
WJLA TV

July 16, 2019

By Reporter Jay Korff and Ryan Eskalis

Documentary Details Former Altar Boy’s Never-Before-Told Story Claiming Once Prominent Priest was a Serial Pedophile.

The Catholic Diocese of Arlington and the Catholic Diocese of Richmond released in February of 2019 their list of priests credibly accused of child sex abuse.

The Diocese of Arlington did so “in the hope that providing such a list might help survivors of clergy sexual abuse find further healing and consolation.”

Father William Reinecke, one of the highest-ranking members of the clergy in our region in the last half century, was among those listed.

After speaking with one of his survivors we realized that a much larger, never-before -old story of widespread, serial pedophilia involving Reinecke may exist. And while we can’t prove it, there are also strong suggestions of a cover-up in Father Reinecke’s case. Officials with the Diocese of Arlington strongly deny these suggestions. Officials with the Diocese of Richmond declined to answer any questions for this story.

So, we decided to dig deeper. After more than five months of investigating we unraveled Father Reinecke’s haunting past with the help of people close to him: a former priest, a survivor of Reinecke’s abuse and a witness to Reinecke’s grooming tactics and abuse. The latter, Kelley Arnold, is the keeper of The 50 Year Secret.

What we uncovered, revealed in a series of stories called The 50 Year Secret, we hope will help victims heal, hold the powerful accountable and illustrate the very real danger children still face today across America.

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What does Varadkar really think of priests?

DUBLIN (IRELAND)
Irish Times

July 16, 2019

Fr. Brendan Hoban

The recent Dáil exchange in which Taoiseach Leo Varadkar compared Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin to “one of those parish priests who preaches from the altar telling us to avoid sin while secretly going behind the altar and engaging in any amount of sin himself” came as something of a shock.

The immediate reaction was one of surprise and confusion. What was this about? Was Varadkar just tired after a hectic schedule in Brussels? Was he just being smart-assed and playing to the gallery? Or was it that in the heat of the moment the truth came out?

Did we glimpse the real Varadkar, instead of the carefully-constructed media image of a leader happy and privileged to lead the very disparate communities that make up the new Ireland? Was this indicative of what he really thought of the Catholic Church and of priests?

The widespread condemnatory response to his comments was immediate and strong. The reason, I think, was that what he seemed to be saying was not just that the church had a lot to answer for (as we do); or that we should apologise for our failings (which we have) but that behind the facade of condemnation priests were living lives that contradicted what they were preaching.

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Richmond Catholic Diocese suspends Roanoke-raised priest

RICHMOND (VA)
WFIR Radio

July 16, 2019

By Evan Jones

The Catholic Diocese of Richmond has suspended a Norfolk priest who graduated from Roanoke Catholic School, was an altar server at St. Andrews Church and held his first priestly assignment there. Diocesan officials say the suspension of Joseph Metzgar the Third followed recent accusations that he violated the code of conduct with minors. The news release did not offer details, but it did say the violations did not involve sexual abuse.

From the Catholic Diocese of Richmond:

Bishop Barry C. Knestout has suspended the priestly faculties of Father Joseph H. Metzger III effective Friday, July 12, 2019.

On July 5, 2019, a complaint was sent to the Diocesan Office of Safe Environment regarding a recent violation of the Diocese’s Code of Conduct with Minors. (Link to CDR Code of Conduct with Minors: https://richmonddiocese.org/mcoc).

While the complaint does not involve an accusation of sexual abuse, in accordance with diocesan policy and practice, the complaint was reported to law enforcement. Following an inquiry into the complaint by the Office of Safe Environment and consultation with the Diocesan Review Board, Bishop Knestout met with Fr. Metzger and suspended his priestly faculties.

The suspension means Fr. Metzger cannot present himself publicly as a priest, wear clerical attire, administer the sacraments or celebrate Mass publicly, nor is he to have any interaction with minors or youth.

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‘The 50 Year Secret’ – Q&A and Reporter’s Notebook

WASHINGTON (DC)
WJLA TV

July 16, 2019

By Jay Korff

This Q&A time line begins February 13, 2019 when the Diocese of Arlington and Diocese of Richmond released their lists of priests credibly accused of child sex abuse. My questions , responses and key dates are in bold. Church answers are not in bold. My remarks are in italics. You’ll find the more questions asked the more revealing answers we got. Some sections below were edited for brevity.

Feb 13, 2019 with Diocese of Arlington
Since this was my first day on this story I quickly reached out to officials with both Dioceses and confirmed the names on the list. Our focus wasn’t on one specific priest, yet.

Question: Were there any priests moved around from one diocese to another?

Response: Since 2002 we have implemented a zero-tolerance policy in which anyone with a credible accusation of sexual abuse of a minor is permanently removed ministry. When the initial allegation is received, it is reported to law enforcement immediately. Prior to the adoption of the Charter for the Protection of Youth and Young People in 2002 there was not a consistent standard for managing allegations of sexual abuse of minors.

Question: Where did these priests serve?

Response: For today’s announcement, we did not pull together all assignment histories. If you are looking to ask a specific question about a particular parish, I’ll look into it for you.

Question: When did the process begin?

Response: In late September, 2018. The examiners were two former FBI special agents that were contracted by the Diocese, given full access to all files and information related to clergy, and performed a thorough review to assist the Diocese in its publishing of a list of priests who are credibly accused of sexual abuse of a minor.

Question: How many were criminal cases?

Response: Allegations regarding Krafcik and Brooks were the only cases for which criminal charges were brought by law enforcement.

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“Piles of cash” and passport with fake name found during raid of Jeffrey Epstein’s NYC home

NEW YORK (NY)
CBS News

July 15, 2019

By Brian Pascus

Federal prosecutors revealed in court on Monday that authorities found “piles of cash,” “dozens of diamonds,” and an expired passport with Jeffrey Epstein’s picture and a fake name during a raid of his Manhattan mansion earlier this month.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex Rossmiller revealed at a bail hearing that the bogus passport, issued in the 1980s, listed a Saudi Arabia residence and has a photo of Epstein but a different name, CBS News’ Cassandra Gauthier reported from the courtroom. Prosecutors also cited a mysterious lack of financial records.

Epstein was arrested in New York on July 6 and charged last week with sex trafficking and sex trafficking conspiracy. He is alleged to have abused dozens of underage girls as young as 14 over a number of years. Monday’s hearing concluded with Judge Richard Berman saying he needed more time before making a decision as to whether Epstein would be granted bail. He is expected to announce his decision on Thursday.

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Day five of the Miguel Luna trial is expected to start back up Monday morning

EL PASO (TX)
CBS4

July 15, 2019

By Holly Bock

Monday marks day five of the Miguel Luna trial. It is set to begin at 9 a.m. in the El Paso County Courthouse with Judge Maria Sales-Mendoza.

The Miguel Luna case dates back to the 1990s, while he was an active priest. He is accused of sexually assaulting young girls for several years.

During Friday’s testimony, Luna admitted to fathering a child with a prostitute in Juarez around the same time. Luna says he took money from a church in El Paso to buy groceries for that child and the mother.

One of his alleged victims testified Luna got her pregnant and that she had a miscarriage. She said it started when she was 11 and lasted until she was 17. A second woman claims Luna got her pregnant and that she had an abortion.

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Column: When a sexual predator’s crimes rely on an entourage

CHICAGO (IL)
Chicago Tribune

July 12, 2019

By Mary Schmich

It often takes a village to help a sexual predator stalk his victim.

Bill Cosby had a village. Larry Nassar had a village. So did the abusive clergy of the Catholic Church. All these predators relied for years on a community of people who actively enabled their predations or who conveniently looked away.

If the charges are to be believed, R. Kelly and Jeffrey Epstein had their villages too.

We often talk and think of sexual predators as lone wolves but the rich and famous, I’m guessing, never are. Look at what we’ve seen in the past week alone.

The singer R. Kelly was indicted twice — in Chicago and New York — on federal charges related to his alleged abuse of girls and women. The indictments aren’t the first he has faced, but this time they go further than one man.

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Xaverian Brothers Release Names Of Members Accused Of Abuse

BALTIMORE (MD)
CBS/AP

July 14, 2019

A Baltimore-based Catholic religious order that sponsors schools across the U.S. has released a list of dozens of members accused of sexually abusing children.

The list released Friday by the Xaverian Brothers includes two current members “with a credible or established offense.” The group, a separate entity not part of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, says no credibly accused brothers are in active ministry.

Eighteen men on the list are dead or former brothers with a credible or established offense. Also named are 14 dead or former brothers against whom there are allegations that couldn’t be “fully investigated” but for which there is a “reasonable possibility” that they occurred.

The Baltimore Sun reports the order’s general superior issued a statement asking forgiveness “for this unspeakable violation of trust.”

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Harvard’s Jeffrey Epstein hypocrisy: Harvard drops #MeToo image when donations are at risk

BOSTON (MA)
USA TODAY

July 12, 2019

By Sabrina L. Schaeffer

Now that financial mogul Jeffrey Epstein is charged with sex trafficking girls — including minors as young as 14 years old — his relationship to Harvard University and Harvard’s hypocrisy and failure to respond adequately to the Epstein scandal deserves our attention.

Epstein did not attend Harvard. Nor is he a faculty member. In fact, he doesn’t have a college degree. But for decades he has been a substantial supporter of Harvard’s programming, faculty, and social institutions. Prior to his 2008 plea deal in Florida, Epstein made sizeable grants to the university, including a $6.5 million donation in 2003 to the university’s Program for Evolutionary Dynamics and additional pledges of up to $30 million. During this period, he supported several professors and he frequently described himself as a “Harvard investor.”

After Epstein was charged with soliciting sex in 2006, Harvard’s interim president made clear — as reported in The Harvard Crimson — that the university would not return his gift. He added that only in “extreme cases” would the university refuse contributions from questionable sources. But that prompts the question: Does Harvard not consider involvement in sex-trafficking girls to be an “extreme case?”

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Sexual Assault Allegation Surfaces About Nominee for Joint Chiefs Vice Chairman

UNITED STATES
Defense One

July 2019

By Marcus Weisgerber

Cleared by Air Force investigators, Gen. Hyten may yet face questions during his Senate confirmation process.

An allegation of sexual assault — though found baseless by Air Force investigators — could complicate the Senate confirmation of a top general slated to become the U.S. military’s No. 2 officer.

The accused is Gen. John Hyten, who leads U.S. Strategic Command and has been formally nominated to become the next Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Air Force officials opened an investigation into the alleged incident, which took place sometime between late 2017 and early 2018, according to multiple defense and congressional aides familiar with the matter.

Hyten was cleared by “a comprehensive investigation by the Air Force Office of Special Investigations,” Pentagon spokesman Col. DeDe Halfhill wrote in a Wednesday statement to Defense One. “There was insufficient evidence to support any finding of misconduct on the part of Gen. Hyten,” who cooperated with the investigation, Halfhill said.

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NYPD let convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein skip judge-ordered check-ins

NEW YORK (NY)
New York Post

July 10, 2019

By Elizabeth Rosner, Tina Moore, Larry Celona and Bruce Golding

Convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein never once checked in with city cops in the eight-plus years since a Manhattan judge ordered him to do so every 90 days — and the NYPD says it’s fine with that.

After being labeled a worst-of-the-worst, Level 3 sex offender in 2011, Epstein should have reported in person to verify his address 34 times before he was arrested Saturday on federal child sex-trafficking charges.

Violating requirements of the state’s 1996 Sex Offender Registration Act — including checking in with law enforcement — is a felony punishable by up to four years in prison for a first offense.

Subsequent violations carry a sentence of up to seven years each.

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Father Adrian Cristobal, accused of sex abuse in Guam, is missing after leaving Phoenix

PHOENIX (AZ)
Arizona Republic

June 15, 2018

By Jerod MacDonald-Evoy

Father Adrian Cristobal, who was on sabbatical in Phoenix until recently and is accused of sexually abusing two boys more than 20 years ago in Guam, has not returned to the island as ordered by the church.

Two men filed separate civil suits in federal court in Guam in April and May accusing Cristobal of sexual abuse.

Cristobal had arrived in Phoenix in December 2017 for sabbatical with a letter of good standing, the Phoenix Diocese said in a written statement to The Arizona Republic. He did not have an assignment and the Phoenix Diocese said it removed his faculties, or his ability to perform church sacraments, after the first suit was filed in April.

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Why Are Judges So Concerned About the Future Potential of Rapists?

UNITED STATES
Rolling Stone

July 9, 2019

By EJ Dickson

A judge in New Jersey sparked outrage by giving a 16-year-old alleged sexual abuser a slap on the wrist, citing his sterling academic record

In 1989, members of the Glen Ridge, New Jersey football team raped a 17-year-old girl in the basement of one of the boys’ houses. The girl had an intellectual disability, and was later reported to have an IQ of about 64. The boys took turns orally and vaginally penetrating her, and then penetrated her with a broom and a baseball bat, both of which were covered in baggies coated with Vaseline. One of them said they should stop, a suggestion that was ignored. The boys then told the girl not to tell anyone, then told her to leave. The incident was only reported to the police when a teacher overheard one of the boys bragging to another student that they were planning to coax a repeat performance out of the girl, which they planned to videotape.

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Jury finds former El Paso priest guilty in sexual assault trial

EL PASO (TX)
CBS 4 News

July 15, 2019

By Justin Kree

A jury has found former El Paso priest Miguel Luna guilty on all 12 counts of sexual assault of a minor.

Closing arguments took place and a third victim testified on Monday, saying Luna raped her.

In closing arguments, the state told jurors Luna used his position to sexually assault and that religion had nothing to do with the incident and told them that God was used to groom and rape the victim.

The defense told the jurors that the testimonies and timeliness don’t add up and asked the jurors to listen to the facts.

Another victim has taken the stand this morning saying that she was raped by former El Paso priest Miguel Luna after coming back from Juarez one summer night in 1990.

The third victim claims Luna raped her after a night of dinner and dancing in Juarez back in 1990. She said she was 30 years old when she was raped by Luna, unlike the other victims.

She testified that she met Luna when she worked as a secretary at St. Pius X. Church.

She said she would associate with Luna at parish functions and talked about their mutual love for dancing.

Luna asked the victim if she would go to dinner and dancing.

The defense argued the victim was divorced and dressed that night to impress Luna.

She knew Luna liked her and said he often told her, “I would leave the priesthood to be with you.”

The victim said she made it very clear to Luna that she looked at him like a brother and was not interested in him.

The victim claimed when Luna dropped her off that night, he pushed his way into her house, pushed her on the living room floor and raped her.

The victim said she ran into the bathroom to shower because she felt “dirty” and told Luna to leave her house.

She claimed she didn’t tell anyone that night but eventually told her mom and boyfriend — but never filed a police report.

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Kelley Arnold – The Witness

WASHINGTON (DC
WJLA TV

July 15, 2019

by Jay Korff

Kelley Arnold grew up in Old Town Alexandria. Arnold says a significant part of his childhood revolved around the church he and his family attended: St. Mary Catholic Church, now the Basilica of St. Mary.

Father William Reinecke began working at St. Mary when Arnold was a young teenager. Arnold says Father Reinecke was beloved and respected by parishioners. So, when Reinecke invited minor boys on overnight, out of town trips, Arnold insists no one, initially, suspected Reinecke was a serial pedophile.

Arnold, in chilly detail, now tells the never heard before stories of Father Reinecke’s grooming and eventual sexual assault of boys. Arnold’s heartfelt story of regret reveals the method of a deranged yet trusted religious leader. He hopes by coming forward others will get the help they need.

Thirteen-year-old Kelley Arnold was an altar boy at St. Mary Catholic Church in Alexandria, Virginia in the mid-to-late 1960s.

The newly ordained Father William Reinecke was his priest. Arnold says Father Reinecke quickly formed friendships with children.

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12 with ties to St. John’s Prep on sex abuse list

SALEM (MA)
Salem News

July 16, 2019

By Ethan Forman

Twelve men who were at one time associated with St. John’s Preparatory School are on a list released Friday of current or former Xaverian Brothers members with “a credible allegation of sexual abuse of a minor against them.”

The Xaverian Brothers, a Baltimore-based Roman Catholic order that sponsors 13 schools including St. John’s Prep, released 34 names, dating back decades. The 12 associated with St. John’s Prep were in Danvers at some point between 1922 and 1978.

Among them is Thomas Morrissey, also known as Brother Gabriel, who worked at the school from 1965 to 1967. Morrissey is listed as a current Xaverian Brother “with a credible or established offense against a minor” and has been “placed on a safety plan with no contact with minors,” according to the order.

Safety plans are described as “restrictions on behavior, including the use of technology, travel, and access by visitors.”

The allegations of abuse and attempted abuse against Morrissey were first reported in 2002 and date back to his time at both St. John’s Prep and at the Xaverian Brothers High School in Westwood, where he worked from 1967 to 1979.

“We understand that the information we are releasing today cannot undo the damage caused by some of our brothers, but we hope this confession, our repentance and our apology will provide some peace for survivors of abuse and allow our community to begin to heal,” said General Superior Brother Edward Driscoll, in a letter provided by the Xaverian Brothers. “We humbly ask forgiveness for this unspeakable violation of trust.”

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Letter to Bishop Johnston from KC SNAP

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

July 16, 2019

Dear Bishop Johnston:

To help victims and Catholics heal, to help protect kids and to help deter future wrongdoing, we’re respectfully asking you to use your new powers to restrict the public ministries of Bishop Robert Finn and Bishop Joseph Hart.

Finn has been deemed, in a civil court, guilty of refusing to report known or suspected child sex crimes.

Hart has been deemed, by his successor, a “credibly accused” child molester, with abuse reports in Wyoming and Missouri, by at least ten individuals.

Both have returned to Kansas City, sometimes appearing in public, which has prompted concern and consternation by still-suffering victims and still-betrayed Catholics.

We believe that long ago you could and should have used your bully pulpit, quiet influence and existing powers to dissuade or prevent Finn and Hart from appearing in your diocese. But now, with the powers recently given to you by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, you have no excuse for not protecting the safety and feelings of your flock, and deterring future crimes and cover-ups, by banning these two disgraced prelates from your jurisdiction.

We would ask you to consider one simple question: Why take the risk? Why chance making even one more person who was raped, sodomized or fondled as a child by a cleric feeling outraged or fearful or disgusted when he or she sees Hart or Finn presiding at a Catholic function in Kansas City? Why run the risk that even one more wounded Catholic, who is faith is on shaky ground, feeling betrayed and disappointed and hurt again when they see the activities of other disgraced prelates (Cardinal Roger Mahoney, Cardinal Theodore McCarrick) being restricted while the activities of Hart and Finn are not?

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The rise of EWTN: from piety to partisanship

KANSAS CITY (MO)
National Catholic Reporter

July 16, 2019

By Heidi Schlumpf

On Memorial Day, viewers who tuned into EWTN’s News Nightly for “news from a Catholic perspective” were treated to two previously recorded one-on-one interviews by anchor Lauren Ashburn.

In the first, a 10-minute sit-down with Mike Pence during his March visit to Ave Maria University in Florida, the vice president bashed “media elites and Hollywood liberals,” called Democrats “the party of abortion on demand, even the party of infanticide” and described President Donald Trump as “the most pro-life president in American history.”

In the second interview, Ashburn served up softball questions for 11 minutes with former White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders. The EWTN anchor gushed about the latest unemployment numbers and asked why the mainstream media hasn’t given more coverage to this accomplishment, held up a devotional book she learned Sanders reads daily before asking about religious liberty, and ended with a query about her favorite ice cream. (It’s mint chocolate chip.)

As part of a question that cited a poll showing white Catholics were holding a 44 percent favorable approval rating for Trump, Ashburn pointed out: “And I would just say that 44 percent number could be a lot higher if he came on to News Nightly.”

“We’ll work on that,” Sanders responded with a laugh.

The segment was clear evidence of how a television outlet once devoted to expressions of Catholic piety and conservative catechesis and apologetics has grown into a truly influential media empire, well connected to Republican politicians and the Trump White House. EWTN, where the “Catholic perspective” is unabashedly partisan, has also become the media star in a web of connections including wealthy conservative Catholic donors and some of the most public anti-Pope Francis forces in the Catholic world. Those connections, traceable through a maze of non-profit organizations, helped fuel EWTN’s development. It is a complex tale involving the matchup of a peculiar brand of U.S. style conservative Catholicism with conservative political ideology and economic theory.

NCR made repeated requests over nearly a week for comment from EWTN, but the network said it was unable to produce anyone to answer questions before publication.

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July 15, 2019

Boarding School for Missionary Kids Uncovers Dozens of Abuse Allegations

WASHINGTON (DC)
Religion News Service

July 15, 2019

Those allegations include faculty physically and sexually abusing students mostly in the 1960s and 1970s, though a representative for a school alumni group said she is aware of cases as early as the late 1950s and as recent as the 1990s.

A written statement on the school’s website from Anda Foxwell, head of school, said the alleged abuse reportedly occurred “a quarter to a half century ago.”

But, Foxwell wrote, the Christian Academy in Japan admits that “as a school, CAJ did not provide the nurturing and caring environment for children that we should have provided.

“This is not the school CAJ is now. We renounce a culture of silence that suppressed the truth, which prohibited children from being heard in their suffering. We acknowledge that students were vulnerable to the way staff members used their power against them in ways that were hurtful and harmful, and we want to express our deep grief over learning about the pain some children endured,” the statement reads.

The investigation comes after former students began connecting and sharing stories about their experiences at the school on social media amid the attention given to sexual abuse by #MeToo and similar movements, Foxwell told Religion News Service.

Some of the stories she heard were secondhand, she said. But, she added, “I didn’t doubt the experiences.”

The head of school began responding to people individually after she was made aware of their social media posts about two years ago and later posted a letter of apology on the school website, she said. That letter, which caused a stir in the school’s alumni community, later was removed from the site over concern it could interfere in the investigation, she said.

Perhaps the letter was “naïve,” Foxwell admitted.

“But I was really hoping to address the concerns and express just sorrow over what people experienced,” she said.

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Tom Doyle – The Truth Seeker

WASHINGTON (DC)
WJLA TV

July 15, 2019

If you ask Tom Doyle to describe himself he would say a former priest and Catholic Church attorney who now helps priest sex abuse survivors by testifying in court cases as an expert on the policies and practices of the Church. Doyle also consults for states and nations investigation child sex abuse.

In a sense, Doyle is a whistle blower for how the Catholic Church used to, and presently, operates.

He says leadership within the Catholic Church is doing much better in terms of preventing pedophile priests from abusing and helping abuse survivors get help. But he says the lies continue and for that reason shared his thoughts with ABC7 News for The 50 Year Secret.

Tom Doyle was an active priest from 1970 to 2004. He also served as a US Air Force Chaplain for nearly 20 years.

Doyle now testifies on behalf of abuse survivors and consults for states and nations investigated priest sex abuse. He’s certified expert on Canon Law.

“I have been involved in this, directly involved since the very beginning and no one else has. I was involved in the middle, in the inside of the Roman Catholic Church. I worked at the Vatican Embassy.”

Doyle was an attorney for the Catholic Church in the 1980s.

During that time, he looked at widespread allegations of priest sex abuse in a Louisiana diocese that erupted in scandal.

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Norfolk priest suspended of ‘priestly faculties’ due to complaints

NORFOLK (VA)
News Channel 3

July 15, 2019

By Julia Varnier

The former pastor of Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church has been suspended of ‘priestly faculties’ after complaints were made against him that went against the Diocese’s Code of Conduct with Minors.

In December 2018, Joseph H. Metzger III took a leave of absence amid non-sexual complaints against him, Richmond Diocese Bishop Barry Knestout wrote in a letter to members of the parish.

On July 5, another complaint was sent to the Diocesan Office of Safe Environment regarding a recent violation of the Diocese’s Code of Conduct with Minors.

While the complaint does not involve an accusation of sexual abuse, in accordance with diocesan policy and practice, the complaint was reported to law enforcement.

After an investigation conducted by the Office of Safe Environment and consultation with the Diocesan Review Board, Bishop Barry Knestout met with Metzger and suspended his priestly faculties.

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Gaylord Grace Baptist pastor, founder resigns after months of controversy

GAYLORD (MI)
Herald Times

July 15, 2019

By Arielle Breen

The Gaylord Grace Baptist Church founding pastor is eaving after 33 years in the region’s ministry.

An announcement on the church’s website shows Jon Jenkins resigned as pastor of Grace Baptist Church July 7 to take a position as pastor at a North Carolina Baptist church.

“As the founder and visionary of Grace, Pastor Jenkins’ leadership has guided our church family through storms, trials, challenges, deaths and hardships — but also through prosperity, new life, expansions and a level of growth rarely seen in such a rural area,” reads part of the church’s announcement.

This move comes after months of attention over accusations and criminal sexual conduct cases that have surfaced with ties to the church and its school dating back about 17 years.

In a previous Herald Times story, Jenkins commented on instances of abuse or alleged abuse involving former teachers. Jenkins said he had reported two of the school’s former teachers to police for sexual abuse of students years ago.

Jenkins said he reported former teacher Aaron Willand to Michigan State Police, and later, another former teacher to the Otsego County Sheriff’s Department.

Willand was convicted in Washington state of raping a child and child molestation in 2006. The survivor, now an adult, is also seeking charges in Otsego County for abuse she said also occurred in Michigan. Willand has not been charged in Michigan.

Jenkins said he also reported former teacher David Beckner to the Otsego County Sheriff’s Department in 2011. Eight criminal sexual conduct charges have been officially filed by Otsego County courts against Beckner. The case was bound over to Otsego County’s 46th Circuit Court Thursday.

The sheriff’s department showed no records of Grace Baptist reporting either former teacher to police.

Herald Times’ Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for Michigan State Police reports filed by Grace Baptist show no police reports filed by Grace Baptist with any references to Aaron Willand or David Beckner.

Clark Martin, a former congregation member and volunteer bus driver, was convicted of criminal sexual conduct against a former Grace Baptist student in 2002 and 2003. According to Otsego County court records from that case, Martin had also molested another youth, a 12-year-old boy, in St. Clair County in 1966.

Martin also pleaded guilty in May to criminal sexual conduct charges for allegedly molesting a teen boy in 1991 and 1992.

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Jeffrey Epstein and His Enablers Are Evil, But Not Special: He’s Just the Latest Example of a Toxic Culture for Children

Verdict Justia blog

July 15, 2019

By Marci Hamilton

Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking scheme that entrapped dozens of teenage girls is disgusting. But let’s be honest: this is just another example of a poisoned culture that protects adults over child well-being. This isn’t news—it’s a call to action against a toxic culture for children.

One person alone could not have accomplished the full scope of Epstein’s scheme. You need help to successfully abuse dozens and hundreds of children, and everyone needs to pitch in to make it a success.

Epstein had it all.

First, he worked with people who looked the other way. When his career started, Epstein taught at the highly regarded Dalton School, where he left strong clues that there is something not quite right about the way he deals with girls. He later had employees cooperate by scheduling victims to be when and where he wanted them, according to the federal indictment recently unsealed in New York.

Second, he had willing pilots for a plane dubbed the “Lolita Express.” I guess they never read the book?

Third, he had powerful buddies to partake in his jetset, party lifestyle in Palm Beach, New York, a private Caribbean island, and his other homes. It is simply a fact that Presidents (Trump and Clinton), were in the mix along with Britain’s Prince Andrew, former Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz, and many others. Even when people knew he was a registered sex offender, following his release from prison, he was welcomed back to high society with open arms, and that includes women as well as men, conservatives and liberals alike. Even journalists accepted his hospitality like Katie Couric and George Stephanopoulos, and universities eagerly welcomed his philanthropy. Yet, it appears that no one sought out his victims to unravel this story until Miami Herald investigative reporter Julie Brown doggedly pursued it.

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Lawyer for abuse victims demands New York Archdiocese release ‘predator priest’ data

NEW YORK (NY)
New York Post

July 15, 2019

By Allie Griffin and Natalie O’Neill

A lawyer representing childhood victims of alleged sex abuse on Monday demanded the Archdioceses of New York release “secret files” on “predator priests” — before a one-year statute of limitations rule expires.

“We’re launching a petition today to demand that the Church of New York, all the Catholic Dioceses, release their secret files that contain important information on predator priests,” said Jeff Herman, an attorney representing the victims in a class action lawsuit against the archdiocese.

In the yet-to-be released documents, more than 500 priests have been identified as child abusers, Herman said.

“That’s the tip of the iceberg,” he proclaimed. “There’s probably over a thousand priests there may be files on.”

It’s important that the archdioceses move swiftly in releasing the files due to the New York Child Victims Act, which recently created a one-year window allowing victims of sex abuse to file civil suits without dealing with state statute of limitations rules.

“It’s important so that they can evaluate and learn whether or not they can file claims and finally seek justice under this new law,” he said.

In April, the Archdiocese of New York released a list of 120 clergy who it said have been “credibly accused” of sexually abusing a minor.

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Catholic Group’s Response: Not a Dime to the Diocese

WHEELING (WV)
The Intelligencer.net

July 12, 2019

By Alan Olson

Following an open letter to Archbishop William Lori and the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, a group of Catholics have declared their intent to withhold funds to the diocese after failing to receive a measured response.

The letter can be found here: Catholic-Response

Last month, Lay Catholic Voices for Change, an organization comprised of Catholics from north-central West Virginia, sent an open letter to Lori addressing what they saw as numerous issues with the structure of the church, as well as their proposed solutions and a call for increased parishioner participation in clerical matters. The letter requested a response by June 28, which did not come.

The letter and its demands came following an investigation into former bishop Michael Bransfield that found excessive spending and credible claims of sexual harassment against adults.

“We set forth in our June 12 letter a variety of remedial actions you and the Diocese could take to repair the trust that has been breached. We wrote to you in good faith,” the organization stated in a follow-up letter dated Tuesday.

“You chose to ignore our letter – in much the same way you and other church leaders ignored or discounted the laity, clergy, and religious who, over the years, cried out for help in ridding ourselves of Michael Bransfield and in much the same way you and other church leaders ignored or discounted the repeated press reports of Michael Bransfield’s improper behavior. … You apparently have so little respect for lay people, you chose not to issue even a pro forma response to our letter. You simply ignored us.”

In response to the silence, LCVC has asked parishioners to participate in a campaign to boycott donations to the diocese, by withholding donations to collections at church; instead, the boycott calls for parishioners to place white envelopes, with their names and the statement “Not a Dime to the Diocese” in the collection basket.

“LCVC is not encouraging withholding of donations to local parishes,” a press release states. “However, parishioners who are concerned about the percentage of the general donation that goes to the Diocese may “earmark” donations toward specific uses in their parishes.”

The boycott is to take place during weekends between July 20 and Aug. 4, with the hope that the diocese commissions a complete, independent audit of the diocese’s finances, one of the goals outlined in LCVC’s open letter.

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Lawsuit: Priest raped Barrigada girl in 1970s, told her she’s going to heaven for it

HAGATNA (GUAM)
Pacific Daily News

July 15, 2019

By Haidee Eugenio Gilbert

A lawsuit filed on Monday alleges that Father Louis Brouillard, in or about 1974 to 1975, sexually abused and raped a Barrigada girl and told her she’s going to heaven for being a “good girl.”

The plaintiff, now 55 years old, is identified in federal court documents only by the initials E.A.B. to protect her privacy.

After raping the girl at the Barrigada church’s back room, the priest told her “she will never go to hell because she is a good girl and that the devil will never take (her) because she was with a priest and that he will keep the devil away,” the lawsuit says.

Brouillard went on to sexually abuse the girl for about two years, including during outings of the Boy Scouts of America at Lonfit River with other boys and girls, the lawsuit says.

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Reddit group becomes flashpoint in sex abuse scandal at La Luz del Mundo church

LOS ANGELES ( CA)
Los Angeles Times

July 15, 2019

By Leila Miller

Growing up, Sandra Martinez’s world revolved around La Luz del Mundo church. She shoveled dirt as a teenager to help build a new church in Houston.

Years later, when the church asked congregants to help support their missionaries, Martinez said she and her husband donated the deed to their house and moved into an apartment.

After Martinez, now 37, left the church, she was able to preserve her relationship with her mother, a current member. But that changed in early June, when Naason Joaquin Garcia, the head of the church, known to followers as “the apostle” of Jesus Christ, was arrested and charged with multiple counts of sexual abuse.

Mother and daughter exchanged a heated, long string of texts. They haven’t spoken since. Her mother, who would usually visit Martinez and her children every month, has not come by.

As the church aggressively backs Garcia, former parishioners are quietly wrestling with the news of his arrest. The more than a dozen former members The Times spoke to cited a variety of reasons for leaving a church that had once been so central to their lives, including potential backlash for dating outside of their faith and feeling unaccepted because they were gay. Some said they simply no longer believed in the apostle.

Like Martinez, some former church members have found a sense of community in a Reddit group with more than 800 members, where individuals anonymously discuss developments in a criminal case that has repercussions ranging from Mexico — where La Luz del Mundo was founded — to dozens of countries around the world.

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Chicago priest removed from duties after sex abuse allegation

CHICAGO (IL)
Associated Press

July 14, 2019

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago has removed a priest from pastoral duties in the wake of allegations of sexual abuse that took place two decades ago.

In a Saturday letter to members of two South Side parishes, Cardinal Blase Cupich says the Rev. William McFarlane was asked to step aside from ministry after the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services and the Cook County state’s attorney’s office revealed the allegation.

McFarlane formerly worked at the Nativity of Our Lord and St. Gabriel Parish. The archdiocese says Deacon Robert Boharic has been appointed as pastoral coordinator at the parishes.

The archdiocese said it wasn’t known if the person accusing McFarlane was a minor at the time of the alleged abuse in 1997.

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How Catholic clergy ruled alongside the ‘gay mafia’, despots, and rent boys in Latin America

SYDNEY (AUSTRALIA)
Australian Broadcasting Company

July 15, 2019

By Alan Weedon

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, running from 2013 to 2017, found that 7 per cent of all Australian priests — or 1,880 alleged perpetrators — were accused of child sexual abuse between 1950 and 2010.

It determined that the Australian Church was responsible for “catastrophic failures of leadership” over decades, where civil authorities were actively kept away from numerous allegations of abuse in parishes around the country.

For survivors of child sexual abuse, reading the details of crimes can provoke a wide range of emotions. We spoke to experts about how to deal with triggering, traumatic news.

In March 2019, one of the Vatican’s highest-ranked officials, Cardinal George Pell, was prosecuted for the sexual abuse of two choirboys, which seemed to mark an apex in Australia’s civil reckoning of the clergy’s crimes.

However, for Frédéric Martel, a French journalist and author, the prosecution of Pell is just the tip of a global iceberg.

“When I was in Australia some people asked, ‘Is the world speaking about Pell?’, and I said no,” Martel told the ABC.

“Pell is one symptom among many others.”

Earlier this year, Martel released In the Closet of the Vatican: Power, Homosexuality, Hypocrisy, a book that maps the presence of homosexuality within the Catholic Church’s patriarchal hierarchy.

While it speculates that about 80 per cent of clergy are homosexual — who may or may not act on their desires — the process of writing the book put Martel up against some of the clergy’s most egregious crimes.

When he looked into the Latin American Church’s late-20th century history, a picture of regional fiefdoms quickly emerged, with Mexico’s Marcial Maciel telling one of the Church’s darkest stories.

Maciel was the founder of the Legionaries of Christ order in 1941 — a group praised by Pope John Paul II for bringing in a record number of seminarians and money into Church coffers.

But by the end of century, Maciel would be accused of numerous instances of sexual abuse against children and his seminarians that stretched over decades.

By 2010, the Legionaries acknowledged that he had fathered a child with a long-term partner.

In the weeks after the official disclosure, a Mexican attorney alleged that Maciel fathered up to six children, after being asked to litigate on behalf of three of them.

Theology professor and Church historian Massimo Faggioli, who has written extensively about the Church’s sexual abuse crisis, told the ABC that cases like Maciel’s were the product of a time when the protection and growth of the Catholic brand was paramount.

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Trial for former El Paso priest resumes Monday morning

EL PASO (TX)
KFOX14/CBS4

July 15, 2019

By Holly Bock

The Miguel Luna case dates back to the 1990s, while he was an active priest. He is accused of sexually assaulting young girls for several years.

During Friday’s testimony, Luna admitted to fathering a child with a prostitute in Juarez around the same time. Luna says he took money from a church in El Paso to buy groceries for that child and the mother.

One of his alleged victims testified Luna got her pregnant and that she had a miscarriage. She said it started when she was 11 and lasted until she was 17. A second woman claims Luna got her pregnant and that she had an abortion.

Another big moment of the trial so far was when Bishop Mark Seitz of the Catholic Diocese of El Paso was questioned about a phone conversation with Luna.

Seitz showed the courtroom a written statement that he wrote during their phone call in 2017.

The bishop wrote that Luna accused him of having no mercy and ruining his life.

Seitz said Luna insisted that if he were to make this sexual abuse public, it would bring out false accusers, saying there were no other victims.

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To Cast Down an Idol

Patheos blog

July 13, 2019

By Mary Paluzzo

I’ve had to walk by the former House of Prayer and Peace several times this summer. It’s on the way to the pool, and Rosie is learning to swim.

I try to walk on the opposite side of the street, because the abusive nun’s only recruit to her self-aggrandizing religious order still lives there. She is not allowed to wear the habit or go by her name in religion anymore, but somehow she got to keep the house.

I have seen her twice.

She wears trousers and has long hair now; she drives a car tiled all over with decals and bumper stickers. Half of these glorify handguns and the Second Amendment, and the other half are about how we should pray the Rosary to end abortion and stop all the killing. Once she was getting out of that car as Rosie and I were walking by, and she started to say hello– but then she realized who I was, and stopped awkwardly.

I pretended I didn’t see and kept walking. I shouldn’t have done that. It wasn’t kind. I ought to have said something. But what?

I have not been up to Franciscan University’s campus in several years, but this week I keep seeing photos of the Portiuncula chapel.

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July 14, 2019

Catholic order that operates 5 local high schools publishes list of accused members

BOSTON (MA)
Fox 25 TV

July 14, 2019

The Xaverian Brothers, a Catholic order, has named 34 men accused of sexually abusing children at their high schools dating back to the 1930s. The allegations listed span the course of 50 years, with the most recent ones coming in the 1980s.

The Catholic group operates 13 schools, including five in Massachusetts. Of the men accused at least a dozen are associated with St. John’s Preparatory school in Danvers and five with Xavierian Brothers High School in Westwood.

Others worked at Malden Catholic and St. John’s High School in Shrewsbury.

The Xaverian Brothers have also issued an apology and are asking for forgiveness for failing to protect the victims.

To view the written apology and see the list of credible allegations, click here.

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Christian Brothers under financial pressure after paying $213 million in abuse compensation

AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald

July 15, 2019

By Farrah Tomazin and Chris Vedelago

The viability of the Christian Brothers is in doubt as the religious order is forced to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to settle an avalanche of compensation claims stemming from decades of child abuse.

The Age can reveal the Christian Brothers’ Australian wing has already spent more than $213 million on victims’ payouts and legal expenses in the past six years, with the order expecting to outlay at least another $134 million in the future.

But as survivors continue to seek compensation under the National Redress Scheme, the Catholic order is relying on massive injections of cash from its regional headquarters to pay out people who were abused in its schools and orphanages.

Figures show that the Christian Brothers spent only $3.6 million on “legal and litigation expenses” in 2013, the year the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse was established.

But this cost ballooned to $134 million in 2018 – nearly nine times what the group’s officials estimated it would be liable to pay for that year.

Despite the blowout, the order insists it will be able to meet its commitments to survivors through the continued “responsible management of our finances”.

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Priest list includes affiliation and status

RICHMOND (VA)
The Catholic Virginian

July 14, 2019

The Diocese of Richmond added six priests to its list of clergy with credible and substantiated claims of child sexual abuse, Thursday, June 27.

In a statement released simultaneously with the six names, Bishop Barry C. Knestout said, “As we continue to engage with survivors of abuse and learn more about the history of our diocese, we continue our commitment to transparency. It is my sincere hope that the additions of these individuals will help provide healing for anyone who suffered at their hands.”

These are the priests, their affiliation and status:

• Stanley F. Banaszek, Maryknoll, deceased

• Anthony M. Canu, Third Order Regular Franciscan, deceased

• Patrick J. Cassidy, diocesan, deceased

• Leonardo G. Mateo, extern, Archdiocese of Tagbilaran (Philippines), deceased

• Thomas D. Sykes, Franciscan Friar of Atonement, deceased

• Vincent The Quang Nguyen, extern, Archdiocese of Saigon, Vietnam, unknown

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Woman accused of vandalizing Mesa church over sexual abuse allegations

PHOENIX (AZ)
Channel 12 News

July 13, 2019

Kat Durnil allegedly vandalized Mesa Central Christian Church by adhering flyers demanding the church apologize for reportedly covering up sexual abuse allegations.

A woman was arrested last week for allegedly vandalizing a Mesa church by adhering flyers that demanded the church apologize for reportedly covering up sexual abuse allegations.

Kat Durnil was arrested on July 10 on one count of aggravated criminal damage at a place of worship after she allegedly vandalized Mesa Central Christian Church the morning prior.

According to court documents, Durnil and her husband allegedly placed red flyers on the poles in the church’s main courtyard, using a substance sprayed from a paint can to adhere them.

Durnil allegedly sprayed the substance and placed the flyers on the poles, the court documents alleged. She is accused of defacing six poles on the church’s campus.

Church officials attempted to remove the flyers when they arrived on campus around 6 a.m. that morning, but “due to the adhesive used…it was impossible for anyone to remove them by hand.”

The church reportedly had to hire a company to remove the flyers, which caused paint damage to the poles, so another company had to come and paint all of them.

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The Latest: Man accused of orphanage sex abuse kept jailed

PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Associated Press

July 12, 2019

The Latest on child sexual abuse charges against a man who founded and ran a Kenyan orphanage (all times local):

4:30 p.m.

An American man accused of sexually abusing four girls who lived in the Kenyan orphanage that he founded will remain behind bars, at least for the next few days.

A federal judge in Philadelphia on Friday ordered 60-year-old Gregory Dow, of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, temporarily detained until a hearing Wednesday on his status.

Federal prosecutors say Dow is a flight risk, noting he left Kenya in 2017, just as police were investigating sex abuse allegations at the Dow Family Children’s Home in Boito.

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India toughens law to protect children from sexual abuse

NEW DELHI (INDIA)
Associated Press

July 12, 2019

The Indian government has toughened a law against child sexual abuse and child pornography.

The law amended this week has increased the maximum penalty for child sex abuse to capital punishment from 20 years in prison.

The government also defined child pornography for the first time and made the penalties more stringent, with a maximum punishment up to three years in prison.

The amendments prohibit administering hormones or chemical therapies to children to hasten their sexual maturity for the purpose of sexual intercourse. The updated law clarifies that children are protected from sex abuse even during natural disasters.

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Chicago priest removed from duties after sex abuse allegation

CHICAGO (IL)
Associated Press via WGN-TV

July 14, 2019

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago has removed a priest from pastoral duties in the wake of allegations of sexual abuse that took place two decades ago.

In a Saturday letter to members of two South Side parishes, Cardinal Blase Cupich says the Rev. William McFarlane was asked to step aside from ministry after the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services and the Cook County state’s attorney’s office revealed the allegation.

McFarlane formerly worked at the Nativity of Our Lord and St. Gabriel Parish. The archdiocese says Deacon Robert Boharic has been appointed as pastoral coordinator at the parishes.

The archdiocese said it wasn’t known if the person accusing McFarlane was a minor at the time of the alleged abuse in 1997.

Attempts Sunday to reach McFarlane by telephone for comment were unsuccessful.

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Why they’re Catholic: A review of Trent Horn, ‘Why We’re Catholic’

UNITED STATES
Christian Post

July 14, 2019

By Randal Rauser

In his 2017 book Why We’re Catholic, Catholic apologist Trent Horn aims to provide a clear, concise, and winsome introduction to the Catholic faith. The book consists of twenty-five short and punchy chapters divided into five sections: truth and God, Jesus and the Bible, The Church and the Sacraments, Saints and Sinners, and Morality and Destiny.

I count Trent a friend and a joint laborer in the cause of Christian apologetics. And as I’ve said before, he is in the very top tier of young Christian apologists. At the same time, I am not a Catholic, so you can expect this review to identify some number of disagreements.

Let’s begin with the points of agreement. As I just said, Horn is a top tier apologist and that means he’s a top tier communicator, one who can dispense with errant arguments and misguided reasoning with a quick and memorable rejoinder. Consider, for example, the tired attempt to marginalize Christian belief with the statement “You’re only a Christian because you were born in a Christian country” (or whatever). Horn retorts,

“If I had been born in India, wouldn’t I be writing a book called Why We’re Hindu instead of Why We’re Catholic? Maybe, but if I had been born in ancient China I might have written a book called Why We Believe the Earth Is Flat.”

In other words, if social location marginalizes our beliefs about God, it also marginalizes our beliefs about nature … and everything else. In this way, Horn handily takes down the objector with a reductio ad absurdum.

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Our View: Judge owes apology to man alleging abuse

PORTLAND (ME)
Portland Press-Herald

July 14, 2019

By the Editorial Board

It’s not willful blindness that keeps sexual abuse victims from speaking up, and Judge Lance Walker should know better.

It’s been 16 years since The Boston Globe exposed widespread sexual abuse and a culture of coverup within the Roman Catholic Church. Since then, sex assault scandals involving the U.S. military, universities, Hollywood, Congress and a wide array of businesses have reinforced the same two points:

Sexual predators take advantage of people who are less powerful than they are. And they hide in organizations that want to protect their own reputations.

A victim’s relatively low social status, combined with a reasonable expectation of backlash from a threatened institution, makes it difficult for them to tell their story, especially if they are children or were children at the time of their abuse.

It’s not only easy to understand why many child sex abuse victims don’t come forward right away, it but should almost be expected that they won’t, which is why many states including Maine have eliminated the statute of limitations for criminal charges of sexual abuse of a child. By now everyone should know this, but unfortunately, that’s not the case.

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Chile ends statute of limitations for sex crimes with underage victims

SANTIAGO (CHILE)
Catholic News Agency

July 13, 2019

Chile has removed the statute of limitation on sex crimes against children and adolescents, though the new law is not retroactive. The move comes in the wake of major controversies about abusive Catholic clergy and attempts at reform in the Catholic Church in Chile.

“Beginning today, the passing of time will never more be an accomplice to those who abuse our children, nor an ally of impunity,” said Chile’s President Sebastian Pinera, a center-right politician who signed the bill into law July 11.

The bill was first proposed in 2010, Reuters reports. Going forward, there will be no statute of limitations on rape, sexual abuse, production of pornographic materials and prostitution where children and adolescents are the victims.

Depending on the crime, previous limitations on prosecution ranged from five to 10 years after the alleged incident.

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Legal team helped bring Arthur Perrault to justice

ALBUQUERQUE (NM)
Albuquerque Journal

July 13, 2019

By Kent Walz

Brad Hall and his legal team doggedly pursued notorious child sex abuser Fr. Arthur Perrault.

Hall’s work helped spur the FBI to investigate decades-old allegations and bring Perrault back to the United States from Africa last fall to face federal criminal charges.

The 81-year-old former pastor of St. Bernadette Parish in Albuquerque was convicted in April of sexually assaulting a parish altar boy on federal property in New Mexico in the early 1990s. A federal court jury found the assaults occurred at the Santa Fe National Cemetery and Kirtland Air Force Base – where Perrault served as a military chaplain.

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Face to Face with Brad Hall: Fighting for victims of clergy sex abuse

ALBUQUERQUE (NM)
Albuquerque Journal

July 13, 2019

By Kent Walz

Editor’s note: Albuquerque attorney Brad Hall has represented more than 200 victims of priest sex abuse in New Mexico. As his years-long legal battle nears its conclusion in federal bankruptcy proceedings, Hall talked about the legal and emotional journey that began with an unlikely visit.

Brad Hall was thinking about hanging it up after more than two decades as a successful plaintiff’s lawyer specializing in civil rights cases. Maybe travel. Visit his kids living in exotic locations. Maybe do some writing.

That all changed in 2011 when a former basketball teammate from a county league team in the 1980s walked into his office.

“I hadn’t seen him in 20 years. But in the next three or four hours he told me how as an altar boy he had been sexually assaulted by Fr. George Weisenborn at Saint Francis Xavier in Albuquerque.”

Just telling the story was a gut-wrenching experience for his former teammate.

“Afterward, I watched him go out the door and head towards his car,” Hall said. “He fell to his hands and knees on the sidewalk and vomited.”

It turned out to be Hall’s first case of many representing victims of sexual assault by Roman Catholic priests and clergy in New Mexico. His thoughts of retirement and travel were pushed to the background.

The Archdiocese in Providence, Rhode Island, had sent Weisenborn to the Servants of the Paraclete treatment center in Jemez Springs in 1964.

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Dave Peyton: To church members: Suspect something, report it

HUNTINGTON (WEST VIRGINIA)
Herald-Dispatch

July 14, 2019

One of the responsibilities of a columnist is to bell the cat (to borrow a phrase).

But belling some “cats” is unpopular and can get criticism.

One of those “cats” is the church. Even if you aren’t a church member, you shy away from criticizing churches, particular Christian churches in all its forms.

A Baptist church pastor in Alabama was arrested recently, just days after after he’d molested at least one young boy from his church.

John Martin, the pastor of Lighthouse Baptist Church, confessed to four counts of sexual abuse. He was arrested on felony sex abuse charges about a week ago, after members of his church reported him to authorities.

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How Catholic clergy ruled alongside the ‘gay mafia’, despots, and rent boys in Latin America

AUSTRALIA
ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

July 13, 2019

By Alan Weedon

Key points:
– Egregious crimes were perpetrated by some Catholic leaders in Latin America
– This happened during the Cold War, a period where the Church was fighting Communism
– Vatican factional fighting has stymied responses to the crimes of clergy

Over the past few years, Australians have been largely pre-occupied with revelations of decades of misconduct by the country’s Catholic Church.

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, running from 2013 to 2017, found that 7 per cent of all Australian priests — or 1,880 alleged perpetrators — were accused of child sexual abuse between 1950 and 2010.

It determined that the Australian Church was responsible for “catastrophic failures of leadership” over decades, where civil authorities were actively kept away from numerous allegations of abuse in parishes around the country.

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Passing the torch: Cardiologist prepares younger colleagues to confront nuclear threat

BOSTON (MA)
Boston Globe

July 12, 2019

By Robert Weisman

It’s lunch hour at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and the cafe is full of patients and white-coated staffers. At a corner table, Dr. James Muller huddles with junior colleagues discussing a peril that has long preoccupied him: the threat of nuclear war.

“We haven’t yet got the message out to the public,” said Muller, 76, a prominent cardiologist. “It’s a mystery why the presidential candidates are largely silent on this.”

As a young doctor, Muller pressed heads of state to halt weapons-building and spelled out the danger of nuclear arms on Soviet television. He cofounded the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War at the height of the Cold War. Its work earned him and his colleagues — American and Russian heart specialists — the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize for fueling “an awareness of the catastrophic consequences of atomic warfare,” in the words of the Nobel panel. …

… When playing guitar and bantering with neighbors at the recent Newton Porchfest, the soft-spoken Muller seems like a man who would be content to spend his afternoons belting out Beatles songs on his porch with his wife, Kathleen, and their grown children. But he has long been drawn to social justice issues. He was founding president of Voice of the Faithful, the Catholic laity reform movement spawned by the clergy abuse crisis, after years of sounding the alarm on nuclear weapons. …

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Everyone knew about Jeffrey Epstein. Nobody cared

BOSTON (MA)
Boston Globe

July 12, 2019

By Renée Graham

Serial sexual abuse takes more than a predilection for predation. It requires enablers, too — both explicit and implicit.

According to published reports, Jeffrey Epstein, a man of seemingly vast and certainly mysterious wealth, had associates who helped recruit teenage girls into his lair of trafficking and sexual assault. He also had friends who knew Epstein was a registered sex offender and accused pedophile, but treated the allegations as little more than a nasty habit best ignored.

In the toniest circles of Manhattan and Palm Beach, the rich and famous flocked to his lavish homes for parties, flew on his planes, and went scuba diving off the coast of his private Caribbean islands. Befriended by former and future presidents, Epstein made contributions to politicians, and burnished his reputation as a philanthropist with major donations to top-notch universities, including Harvard and MIT.

Everyone knew. And except for Julie K. Brown, the intrepid Miami Herald reporter who pursued the Epstein story for two years, few gave a damn.

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Xaverian Brothers release names of members credibly accused of abuse

BOSTON (MA)
Boston Globe

July 13, 2019

By Danny McDonald and Alison Kuznitz

The Xaverian Brothers, a Roman Catholic religious order that operates five high schools in Massachusetts, has identified 34 men found to be credibly accused of sexually abusing minors dating back to the early 20th century.

At least a dozen of those named were associated with St. John’s Preparatory School in Danvers and at least five men worked at Xaverian Brothers High School in Westwood. Others taught at Malden Catholic High School and St. John’s High School in Shrewsbury, according to the list.

The Baltimore-based congregation, which operates 13 schools in five states, said the list released Friday was compiled by an independent investigator who reviewed personnel files for the brothers accused of sexual abuse since the early 1900s.

The names were published on its website, along with a letter from Superior General Brother Edward Driscoll apologizing for the actions of the brothers, many of whom are deceased.

“As religious, the Xaverian Brothers are deeply sorry for the pain caused by the crime of sexual abuse of minors committed by any Xaverian Brother,” Driscoll wrote. “We regret not being worthy of the trust of young people. We must confess and repent as we ask forgiveness for the actions of ‘shepherds’ who betrayed this sacred trust and inflicted great suffering.”

The headmasters of Malden Catholic, St. John’s Prep, St. John’s High School, and Xaverian Brothers High School also sent letters to students and alumni on Friday, identifying the brothers named who once taught at their institutions, and outlining steps taken to protect students now enrolled.

At St. John’s Prep, the brothers accused were associated with the school between 1922 and 1978. Ten of the 12 are dead. One, George Gardiner, has left the order and is still alive, and another, Thomas Morrissey, is currently a Xaverian Brother who is on a “safety plan,” according to a letter Headmaster Edward P. Hardiman sent to the school’s community.

Morrissey, known as Brother Gabriel, was associated with the school between 1965 and 1967, and the allegations of abuse are related to his time there, as well as his time working at Xaverian in Westwood, where he was from 1967 to 1979. He also had two different stints at St. John’s High School in Shrewsbury.

According to the letter to the St. John’s Prep community, “any living Brother with a credible allegation of sexual abuse of a minor has been removed from ministry and lives under a closely monitored safety plan.”

Allegations made against half of the 12 men who had ties to St. John’s Prep were connected to their stints at the school, which was founded by the order in 1907.

That group included William Burns, who was known as Brother Francis Jerome and worked at the Danvers school in the early 1930s, the early 1950s, and the early 1960s. Burns was also assigned to Malden Catholic during the 1930s and from 1968 to 1974, Xaverian Brothers High School in Westwood in 1966, and St. John’s High School in Shrewsbury the following year, according to the order.

Also in the group were John Sullivan, who was known as Brother John Augustine and was at St. John’s Prep from 1937 to 1938, Albert Kerressey, who was known as Brother Ricardo and served at the school in the mid-1940s and from 1956 to 1971, Thomas Harrison, who was known as Brother Bosco and served at the school for seven years starting in 1949, Thomas Holihan, who was known as Brother Rudolph and was at the school for more than 40 years starting in 1940; and Morrissey.

With the exception of Morrissey, all of those men are dead, according to the school. Harrison left the Xaverian Brothers before he died.

In Shrewsbury, at St. John’s High School, five of the six accused brothers are dead, with their assignments spanning from 1907 to 1998, according to a letter sent from Headmaster Alex Zequeira, and Christopher Creed, chairman of the school’s trustees.

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Woman accuses North Dakota priest of abuse

FARGO (NORTH DAKOTA)
Associated Press

July 11, 2019

By Dave Kolpack

[PHOTO: Kateri Marion, right, appears at a news conference in Fargo, N.D. on Thursday, July 11, 2019, to talk about a civil lawsuit that she plans to file against a former North Dakota Roman Catholic priest and other church officials over alleged sexual abuse. Marion says she came forward publicly to help other alleged victims and give them strength to talk about it. The 33-year-old Marion says the church “was my everything” and she was scared to come forward. One of her lawyers, Tim O’Keefee. is seated to her right. (AP Photo/Dave Kolpack)]

A woman who says she was sexually abused by a Roman Catholic priest in North Dakota said Thursday she is suing the priest for the alleged assault and the Fargo Diocese for failing to protect her.

Kateri Marion choked back tears at a news conference in Fargo Thursday describing the alleged abuse by the Rev. Michael Wight of St. Ann’s Catholic Church in Belcourt, located on the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation in northeastern North Dakota. She said Wight tried to touch her sexually during confession, tried to massage her back by reaching his hands under her shirt, and gave her a hug when he was sexually aroused.

The Associated Press does not typically identify alleged victims of sexual abuse, but Marion said she hoped that making her case public will help “everyone who has ever been abused in the church and whoever will be abused in the church” and asked them to come forward.

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Report claims church leaders long knew about Bransfield accusations

WASHINGTON D.C
Catholic News Service via National Catholic Reporter

July 12, 2019.

By Rhina Guidos

A recent newspaper report details claims that senior church leaders in the United States knew as far back as 2012 about complaints against a West Virginia bishop whose spending habits and recent accusations of sexual misconduct have dogged the body of U.S. bishops at a time when they’re seeking a path toward greater accountability for themselves.

A July 3 story in The Washington Post said U.S. and Vatican officials had for years received correspondence from parishioners and others concerned with excessive spending by Bishop Michael Bransfield, the former head of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston in West Virginia, one of the poorest states in the country.

In total, the newspaper story said, Bransfield spent more than $4.6 million on the bishop’s residence, $2.4 million on travel and $350,000 on financial gifts to other churchmen, including some who later investigated him.

The local paper, the Charleston Gazette-Mail, had written stories about the complaints of lavish spending, including one published six years ago on July 7, 2013.

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‘Filled with God’s compassion and love for us’: Community mourns loss of Phoenix priest

PHOENIX (AZ)
Arizona Republic

July 13, 2019

By Claire Rafford

Monsignor Michael O’Grady, a longtime priest in the Diocese of Phoenix, died in his sleep Saturday at his home in Ireland, according to Rob DeFrancesco, a Diocese of Phoenix spokesman. O’Grady was 85.

The diocese said O’Grady was “a humble and generous priest who always had a heart for those in need.”

“His great humor, demeanor, and holiness will be greatly missed,” DeFrancesco said in a statement. …

… O’Grady, however, was accused of covering up for a fellow priest during the diocese’s sex-abuse scandal. He was accused by at least one victim and his family of failing to act when told that the Rev. Patrick Colleary, an associate at Holy Spirit, was suspected of molesting the child in the late 1970s. The diocese reached a settlement with the victim in 2005.

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Vatican’s ’empty tomb’ a challenge to credibility when it matters

ROME (ITALY)
Crux

July 14, 2019

John L. Allen Jr.

Christianity, of course, is founded on the discovery of an empty tomb. Perhaps it’s only fitting, therefore, that Christ’s vicar on earth now has his own “empty tomb” ferment on his hands.

This one, however, almost certainly isn’t a prelude to resurrection, but rather to yet another of what the Italians call a giallo, meaning a mystery story that acts as a magnet for speculation and conspiracy theories.

This Thursday, technicians opened a tomb in a German cemetery on Vatican grounds known as the Campo Teutonico in an effort to locate the remains of Emanuela Orlandi, a 15-year-old girl and daughter of a Vatican employee when she disappeared in 1983, whose fate has been the most enduring giallo in Italian life over the last 35 years. The opening occurred in the presence of members of Orlandi’s family and legal team, the head of the Vatican Gendarmes, and descendants of the supposed occupants of the tombs.

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July 13, 2019

Tuam babies just a hoax, says priest

LONDON (ENGLAND)
The Sunday Times

July 14, 2019

By Justine McCarthy

A Catholic priest has said he does not believe babies were buried in sewage chambers at a Tuam mother and baby home run by nuns, even though a state inquiry has ordered an excavation to verify the existence of a mass grave.

“From the word go, I didn’t believe the story,” said Gerry Young, a curate in Greystones, Co Wicklow.

“I happened to have done a bit of study on how the church buried people. As soon as I heard this story about all these little bodies wrapped up on shelves, I thought, ‘Catacombs.’ We’ve always kept the dead with us.”

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Why is priest sex abuse often unreported?

WASHINGTON (DC)
WJLA TV

July 12, 2019

By Jay Korff

Survivors and experts who work in the field of child sex abuse will tell you there are many reasons why it’s difficult for some to report priest sex abuse. Denial, fear and shame are just a few of the reasons. So, we asked survivors and experts on this subject why sex abuse is so often unreported or reported decades after occurring.

“I always blamed myself,” Becky Ianni says. “I was taught that he was sent by God so therefore God is punishing me. I must be a bad little girl. There must be something that I’ve done and I carried that through adulthood always thinking that I wasn’t a good person. That somehow, even though I did not remember my abuse until I was 48, that feeling of inadequacy was with me my entire life.”

Becky Ianni says Father William Reinecke sexually abused her for years when she went to St. Mary Catholic Church in Alexandria, Virginia.

“I knew that God could read my thoughts and I thought if he knows that this is happening then I’m going to hell so I just buried it until I came across this picture. I was looking through old pictures and I found this picture of myself with him and I started getting sick at my stomach, I started having anxiety attacks and a few days later I started having flashbacks to the abuse,” says Ianni.

The Diocese of Richmond and Arlington spent months deciding who would handle Ianni’s case since her abuser worked for both.

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AG’s review goes beyond church’s list of ‘credible’ accusations

PROVIDENCE (RI)
Associated Press

July 13, 2019

By Jennifer McDermott

Rhode Island’s attorney general said Friday that it will be several more months before he is finished reviewing allegations of sexual abuse by Roman Catholic clergy in the state.

Democrat Peter Neronha said he continues to review allegations of clergy sexual abuse to figure out what happened, what the response was and whether anyone can be held responsible.

Last week, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence released a list of 50 clerics, religious order priests and deacons it deems to have been credibly accused of sexually abusing children. The diocese reviewed files dating to 1950.

The list posted on the diocese website includes 19 priests and deacons who are still alive, ranging in age from 60 to 98, although nearly all have been removed from ministry. One priest resigned. The list also includes 25 dead priests and six others, including religious order priests.

Rhode Island is one of the most heavily Catholic states. Bishop Thomas Tobin, in a letter accompanying the list, called its release “a difficult but necessary moment” in the history of the church.

Neronha, who launched his review shortly after taking office this year, said the diocese’s list is a subset of the allegations. He’s looking at all allegations, not just those deemed credible by the church, and reviewing disclosures made by the diocese to law enforcement, criminal and civil cases and complaints to police.

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SNAP Calls for the Protection of Migrant Children

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

July 13, 2019

The abuse of children is not a political topic. People from every party or political leaning can agree that children should be safe, protected, and allowed to live their lives free of abuse and the negative, lifelong effects that can come with it. This is an American value, not a Democratic or Republican one.

Yet the situation that many children now find themselves in at our southern border is not in keeping with our American values. Many media articles have exposed how migrant children have suffered degradation, deprivation, and abuse while living in camps set up by our government at the U.S. border. The conditions these children live in, including being separated from their parents, removes needed protections and creates situations where children can be abused.

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No answers from Washington archdiocese about McCarrick’s money

DENVER (CO)
Catholic News Agency

July 12, 2019

By Ed Condon

More than one year after the announcement of allegations of sexual abuse against former cardinal Theodore McCarrick, the Archdiocese of Washington has continued to refuse questions about McCarrick’s use of a personal charitable fund.

McCarrick funnelled hundreds of thousands of dollars through what was known as the Archbishop’s Fund, and reportedly made gifts to senior Vatican officials, even while the fund remained under the charitable auspices of the archdiocese.

Senior sources close to the Archdiocese of Washington have confirmed that archdiocesan records include the names of individuals, including senior Vatican figures, to whom McCarrick made payments from the fund.

But the Archdiocese of Washington has declined to disclose sources, sums, and uses of money, though it has acknowledged that the fund exists.

The archdiocese has also declined to comment on whether Archbishop Wilton Gregory will address accusations of financial misconduct by McCarrick, or publish the names of bishops who personally received gifts from the disgraced former archbishop.

The former cardinal’s reputation for gift-giving and participation in so-called “envelope culture” has come under renewed scrutiny following recent revelations concerning former Wheeling-Charleston Bishop Michael Bransfield.

Like Bransfield, McCarrick has faced a string of allegations of sexual misconduct, dating back years, and his ability to offer large financial gifts to other bishops has come under scrutiny as a possible reason he was able to operate unchecked for so long.

Several sources, among them cardinals, officials of the Roman curia, and McCarrick’s former staff members, have told CNA about McCarrick’s habit of visiting Rome and distributing cash or personal checks to senior officials.

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It’s Not My Fault Project

CHATTANOOGA (TN)
Times Free Press

July 13, 2019

SNAP of Tennessee (the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests) has launched a new initiative to raise awareness of clergy sexual abuse by having victims tell their stories at HopeChronicles.org. Anonymity is guaranteed unless the victim requests otherwise. The website RemembertheSurvivors.com also has information on the abuse crisis in Tennessee.

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Former priest admits to fathering prostitute’s child, being aware of complaints

EL PASO (TX)
KTSM TV

July 12, 2019

By Cesar Vazquez

On Friday, ex-priest Miguel Luna, 68, took the stand in his trial for 12 charges of sexual assault.

As KTSM previously reported, Luna is accused of sexually assaulting a young girl for “several years” throughout the 1990s.

During Friday’s testimony, Luna also admitted to fathering a prostitute’s child in that same time frame.

He was also asked if he knew about the allegations of him asking inappropriate questions to people when they were confessing to him.

Luna said that he was aware of the complaints, but said the questions were “in regards to the Ten Commandments.”

Luna admitted that he was no longer allowed to have teenagers confess to him in 2008.

Luna later said he was frustrated when he was assigned to maintain a library at a Maryland church. “I wasn’t doing what my vocation was,” he said.

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Child sex abuse sentencing for former priest delayed

GEELONG (AUSTRALIA)
Bay 93.9 FM

July 13, 2019

By Kristie Sullivan

A former Geelong man and repeat offender pedophile priest will be sentenced next week on more child sexual abuse charges.

Robert Claffey is already serving a minimum of 13 years and four months for sexually abusing 12 children as young as five, between 1969 and 1992 in Victoria’s south-west.

On Monday the 76-year-old old admitted he abused another two boys in Ballarat during the 1980s.

One of his victims told the County Court on Friday he had lost faith in the church.

The court is waiting to receive one more victim statement before Claffey is sentenced for his Ballarat crimes on Thursday.

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July 12, 2019

Secrecy over sexual crimes scars the Church of England

LONDON (ENGLAND)
The Times

July 13, 2019

By Kaya Burgess

The Church of England should restore its powers to “defrock” rogue priests, a senior bishop has said, calling for the ability to strip criminal clerics of their holy orders.

The Bishop of Bath and Wells, the church’s lead bishop for safeguarding, was among a host of church leaders grilled by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) during its final week of hearings into the handling of abuse allegations by the church.

The inquiry published an initial report in May that found the church’s response to claims of sexual abuse had been “marked by secrecy, prevarication and avoidance of reporting alleged crimes”.

It heard from the Archbishop of Canterbury this week that he was “utterly horrified” by the church’s failures.

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Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta Must Step Down

LOS ANGELES (CA)
Ms Magazine

July 9, 2019

by Greta Baxter

Jeffrey Epstein has been dominating the headlines this week after the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York arrested him on charges of child sex trafficking—but over a decade ago, the billionaire was accused, with overwhelming evidence, of similar crimes, and then-prosecutor Alexander Acosta pioneered a lenient plea deal that ended the case.

Acosta is now Secretary of Labor—and he’s facing calls from lawmakers and advocates to step down in the wake of the latest charges against Epstein.

Acosta’s original plea deal for Epstein was negotiated in 2008 without the knowledge of the survivors, illegally keeping them out of the prosecution process. Epstein ultimately served just 13 months in prison, in the private wing of the Palm Beach County jail, with access to amenities including the use of his private jet. In February, a federal judge ruled that prosecutors broke the law when arranging that plea deal.

Acosta, who was named Labor Secretary in 2017, is not the only member of the Trump administration with ties to Epstein. The president himself has praised the financier in the past, even noting that Epstein “likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.”

“Epstein plays by the same rule book as Donald Trump, Les Moonves, Harvey Weinstein, Eric Schneiderman and other powerful men who have been revealed as serial abusers of women,” NOW President Toni Van Pelt said in December. “Epstein’s scant 13-month stay in a county jail—where he was even allowed to spend twelve hours a day, six days a week, at his office, was made possible by a culture of powerful men, enabling each other, while dismissing, excusing or demeaning the women and children they brutalize with physical and sexual violence.”

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Former South Yorkshire vicar claims sex abuse reports were ‘ignored’ by clerics

SOUTH YORKSHORE (ENGLAND)
South Yorkshire Times

July 11, 2019

By Lee Peace

The Rev Matthew Ineson, who was ordained in 2000 and practised as a vicar in Rotherham for more than 10 years, criticised the archbishops as he gave evidence to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse investigation into the Anglican Church.

He called for changes to the way the church investigates safeguarding issues and complaints about clerics, describing the current system as “totally unsuitable.”

The witness told the inquiry how he suffered abuse at the hands of priest Trevor Devamanikkam, who took his own life on the day he was due to appear in court accused of sexual offences against Mr Ineson.

He said he made his first disclosures between 2012 and 2013 to the Bishop of Doncaster Peter Burrows, the then bishop of Sheffield Steven Croft, and the then archdeacon of Rotherham Martyn Snow, but that nothing came of his reports.

Rev Ineson told the hearing no further action was taken by the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby when he made complaints.

He told the inquiry: “Bishops sit on thrones. They live in fine palaces and houses, they wear the finest robes and garments, they bully people. People literally kneel down and kiss the ring on their finger,” adding: “I don’t think those people are fit for office.”

Mr Ineson said he met the Archbishop of York Dr John Sentamu at a meeting for survivors of clerical abuse at a General Synod in York and asked him for an apology for his failure to act on his disclosures but Dr Sentamu replied: “Apologies mean different things to different people.”

Mr Ineson went on to make two written disclosures to Mr Croft, now the Bishop of Oxford, and sent copies to the Bishop of Beverley and Dr Sentamu.

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Riverside Church pastor set to receive $500K payout after sex toy scandal

NEW YORK (NY)
New York Post

July 12, 2019

By Ebony Bowden

Riverside Church’s outgoing female pastor is set to receive an exit package worth at least half a million dollars — after leaving her job amid allegations she bought an employee an unwanted $200 vibrator while on a work trip, The Post has learned.

The Rev. Dr. Amy Butler — who made $250,000 a year as the first woman to lead the historic congregation — will leave with 12 months’ salary, a six-month housing allowance worth $48,000 and annual retirement contributions of $59,000 for three years, according to her contract.

An email sent by the chair of the church council and seen by The Post says Butler will also get a $100,000 “separation payment”– which would take her golden handshake to a total of $594,530, when including her unused vacation payout and the $10,000 tab for her lawyer’s fees.

According to the emails, the church council voted to approve the agreement — although one employee raised concerns about the large sum blowing out the house of worship’s operating budget, which covers payroll.

Riverside Church has until July 31 to pay Butler the money she is owed from the five-year contract, which expired on June 30.

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St. Xavier High School releases names of brothers it says sexually abused children

LOUISVILLE (KY)
Courier Journal

July 12, 2019

By Matthew Glowicki

St. Xavier High School released a list of former brothers who it says sexually abused minors while either at the Louisville high school or at some point during their years of service.

Nine brothers appear on the list with “credible or established” acts of sexual abuse against youth, two of whom were assigned to St. X at the time of the abuse. Years spent at the high school are noted below.

Only Carbin and McCormack are noted as having credible allegations stemming from their time at St. X.

Brother “Ricardo” Albert Kerressey (1938-1942)
Brother “Francis Jerome” William Burns (1939-1940)
Brother “Alois” Donald O’Toole (1940-1941)
Brother “Brennan” John Devoe (1953-1960)
Brother “Bosco” Thomas Harrison (1956-1963)
Brother “Kentigern” William Carbin (1958-1962)*
Brother “Barton” George Gardiner (1959-1964)
Brother “Damian” John McMahon (1965-1974)
Brother “Pierre” James McCormack (1973-1984)*

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Former El Paso priest on trial for child sex abuse takes witness stand to proclaim innocence

EL PASO (TX)
KVIA ABC 7 News

July 12, 2019

By Jim Parker and Julio-Cesar Chavez

A former El Paso Catholic priest on trial for allegedly sexually abusing a girl from age ten through her teen years took the witness stand in his own defense on Friday and vehemently denied the accusations.

Miguel Luna, 68, is charged with multiple counts of aggravated assault of a child in a case that dates back to the 1990s while he was still an active priest; the alleged victim is now a 36-year old woman.

Luna’s accuser testified at the trial’s start that she was an altar server at Corpus Christi church when he first began sexually abusing her. She told jurors the sexual conduct continued until she moved away from the area when she turned 17.

Luna on Friday acknowledged first meeting the girl at age ten, but he repeatedly rebuffed her claims of abuse under questioning from his own defense attorney.

“No, never,” Luna replied several times when asked if he had ever sexually assaulted or touched her inappropriately as either a child or a teenager.

Prosecutors contend Luna was a “wolf in sheep’s clothing,” exploiting his role as a priest to engage in sex acts with the girl. But the defense contends the now-grown woman was motivated by money to report the alleged incidents.

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