ABUSE TRACKER

ST. LOUIS (MO)
Channel 2 News

July 8, 2019

By Roche Madden

There are new developments in the Lynn Messer case, the woman went missing five years ago Monday. She disappeared in 2014 in Ste. Genevieve County, her remains were discovered in 2016.

A vigil was held Monday at the county courthouse for the 52-year-old woman, people don’t want her to ever be forgotten.

Debra Donze is Lynn Messer’s sister, “It’s really hard on the boys and the grandkids one day she was there and the next day she wasn’t,” said Donze.

Friends and family of Lynn Messer wanted to send a message to the county prosecutor and sheriff. Abram Messer is Lynn’s son, “We want them to know we are supporting them and are so thankful that law enforcement has refused not to let go of this they are pursuing this,” said Messer. Carolyn Deevers is an advocate for abused women. She said, “We would like to see charges filed soon but not at the expense of the case.”

Lynn Messer disappeared July 8, 2014, from her home near Bloomsdale. She left without any of her personal belongings and at the time she had health problems and a broken toe. She lived with her husband, Kerry Messer, a Missouri lobbyist. In November of 2016, Lynn’s skeletal remains were discovered on the edge of the family’s property. Authorities said the area had been well searched when she disappeared almost two and half years earlier.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
Washington Times

July 11, 2019

By Christopher Vondracek

Liberal Catholics are criticizing the spokeswoman for the D.C.-based U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops for the conservative politics she shares on her personal Twitter account.

Judy Keane, the director of public affairs at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, doesn’t have a large following on social media — roughly 300 followers — but in the past months she has frequently excoriated Democrats such as Sen. Kamala D. Harris of California and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, according to reporting that first appeared in Commonweal, a liberal magazine for American Catholics.

The Washington Post reported Thursday that Ms. Keane, who has been employed as director since 2016, produced a “series of tweets enthusiastically backing President Trump.”

Criticism of Ms. Keane’s tweets began with one posted May 29. She was responding to Newt Gingrich’s remarks about former special counsel Robert Mueller with a link to a pro-Trump website boasting that the president had taken the “shackles” off ICE.

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NASHVILLE (TN)
Baptist Gobal News

July 12, 2019

By Bob Allen

About 75 people gathered July 8 outside a Missouri courthouse demanding answers and justice on the five-year anniversary of the disappearance and death of a woman married to a Missouri Baptist lobbyist.

Lynn Messer, wife of Kerry Messer, a conservative lobbyist with past clients including the Missouri Baptist Convention, disappeared suddenly from her rural home near Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, on July 8, 2014. Her skeletal remains were found more than two years later near an edge of the 250-acre family farm.

Her death certificate filed in July 2017 lists the cause of death as “undetermined at this time” and the investigation as pending. Sources quoting police say the case is still open, and her husband, who since remarried, has not been ruled out as a person of interest.

“The first thing I want to do is thank law enforcement for refusing to stop, for refusing to let go,” son Abram Messer told friends, family members and advocates gathered outside the Ste. Genevieve County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office in a candlelight vigil convened to, in his words, “cry out for justice.

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DENVER (CO)
National Catholic Register

July 11, 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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BATON ROUGE (LA)
The Advocate

July 12 2019

By Amanda Kerri

The other day, I had the movie Spotlight going on in the background. If you’ve never seen it, it’s about The Boston Globe uncovering the sexual abuse of children priests by the Catholic Church. One of the big dramatic moments in the movie is when they go to an attorney who had filed lawsuits against the church back in the early ’90s over allegations of abuse, and the reporters ask why he never came to them with the story. He says he sent them a list of 20 names, but they never ran the story. In reality it turns out that the Globe did run the article listing the names. On page B42 of the Metro section.

What’s more notable is that at the time, there was already a huge case about an abusive priest. The story, which hinted at a larger conspiracy and problem, was overlooked because there was already so much pushback, and no one followed up. The film kept that moment to reflect on the meaning behind it; in that the abuse, the scandal, was sitting right there and no one put it all together. It reflects our collective guilt at not wanting to dig deeper into dark things.

This moment immediately made me think of the scandal involving financier and well-connected pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Epstein came to our collective attention when the Miami Herald wrote a story about the offensively lenient sentence he received for “solicitation” negotiated by President Trump’s recently-departed Secretary of Labor Alex Acosta. However, I recall reading about Epstein and his alleged ties to high-powered politicians and celebrities over a decade ago during his trial. In fact, if you go to Google and filter your search results to exclude everything after July 2015, you’ll find article after article talking about his ties to Trump, Bill Clinton, royalty, and celebrities of all types, and all the rumors about him. Now that Epstein is being prosecuted in a federal district court less friendly to him, all of the media is abuzz with talk of the ties between Epstein and Trump. Especially the winking nod to Epstein’s love of “young women” in a quote from the president letting us come to the horrifying realization that Epstein’s abuse was sort of an open secret or at least whispered about.

While many other folks are talking about what this means for Trump and turning all of this into a partisan political fight, it left me wondering, why did it take till now? Plenty of people are coming forward to talk about how they saw things, how they heard things (they called his private island “Pedophile Island”), and how some even counseled Epstein on how to spin it all, and all I can think is, And you motherfuckers did nothing?

Let’s be real here. There are way too many of us who not only enable all of this in the desire to be close to the seat of power and profit, but far too many of us just want all of this buried and to go away because we don’t want to talk about it. Maybe it’s because no one wanted to face the idea that someone we trusted, someone we liked, could be like that. I know that it’s a well-worn trope and a point of anger often that when someone is caught being awful, people talk about how nice they were, how quiet they were, how nothing seemed odd. Hell, it’s a source of pride for New Yorkers who regularly brag about, joke about, or ignore the obviously mentally ill homeless guy having an episode on the subway.

Yet as much loss of faith in humanity as that causes, it’s a fact this was out there for years. We knew about Epstein’s ties, about the sweetheart deal, about all of this, and there were people reporting on it for years, and nothing happened until now. Yes, new charges are being brought against Epstein, which makes it news, but why weren’t we this outraged in 2010? 2012? Why did it take ’til Trump was three years into office to really have these allegations explode like this? I have a sick feeling in my stomach in that we just didn’t care enough, or that we thought “we” might get hurt by maybe finding out Epstein helped people we like do something terrible. Oh, so many people are saying they would love to see people on “their side” taken down if it’s found out, but far, far too many times, we have seen where people will gladly turn a blind eye when it suits them.

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ALTOONA (PA)
Altoona Mirror

July 11, 2019

Trust that Roman Catholic Church officials will do the right thing about allegations of sexual misconduct by members of the clergy is in question in many countries, not just the United States. What Pope Francis and others in the Catholic hierarchy do about the matter is watched closely throughout the world.

An announcement by the Vatican that its ambassador to France no longer enjoys diplomatic immunity is welcome, then.

As a diplomat, Archbishop Luigi Ventura normally would have enjoyed immunity from investigation or prosecution involving many crimes. Several men have accused him of touching them inappropriately. Ventura denies the allegations.

But French authorities had said the archbishop’s diplomatic immunity had stalled their investigation into the men’s accusations.

That ended Monday, with the Vatican’s announcement. Now, Ventura can be investigated — and, if appropriate, charged — just like any other visitor to France. Let us hope the matter is cleared up, one way or the other, expeditiously.

Sexual predation by members of the clergy is bad enough. Adding to the outrage over Roman Catholic church handling of such crimes has been a pattern over decades of protecting predators. Instead of reporting them to law enforcement authorities, church officials often transferred guilty priests away from locales where they had abused both children and adults, and to new locations where they sometimes committed the same crimes.

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HATAGNA (GUAM)
Guam Daily Post

July 11, 2019

By Mindy Aguon

A former chancellor of the Archdiocese of Agaña who has been accused in multiple child sex abuse lawsuits still holds the title of a priest of the archdiocese but no longer receives a salary nor an honorarium.

Father Adrian Cristobal remains away from Guam with restrictions the archdiocese placed on him last year. He’s prohibited from performing the role of a priest in public, including the wearing of clerical garb.

Tony Diaz, the archdiocese’s director of communications, confirmed the archdiocese is proceeding with an administrative penal process – based on canon law – on the allegations of child sexual abuse against Cristobal.

Diaz said the archdiocese could not comment any further on the matter because it involves lawsuits.

Last year, Archbishop Michael Byrnes placed restrictions on Cristobal after having repeatedly called for the priest to return to Guam.

Cristobal had left Guam for an unspecified role in the Catholic diocese in Phoenix, Arizona, but has subsequently left the jurisdiction of that diocese, Post files state.

Cristobal has been accused in four lawsuits filed on Guam of sexually assaulting altar boys in the parishes he worked at while on Guam decades ago.

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LONDON (ENGLAND)
Leading Britain’s Conversation

July 12, 2019

By James O’Brien

An independent inquiry into child sexual abuse found children could have been saved from abuse if the Church had focussed less on its own reputation rather than the impact of the abuse.

More than 130 allegations of abuse were made against 78 people associated with the Birmingham Catholic Church – the cardinal denied a cover-up, but allegations were found to have been “ignored”.

But James O’Brien focussed on why this story didn’t have the same level of coverage as the case of the Rotherham grooming gangs.

“The so-called Asian grooming gangs, they get coverage on a scale that is utterly huge compared to the coverage Catholic priests get,” James said.

“So this idea that the government or the establishment has colluded in keeping these stories quiet only works with people who are too thick to work out where the news channel is on their televisions.”

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INDIANAPOLIS (IN)
Indiana Business Journal

July 12, 2019

By Curt Smith

Hoosiers once venerated faith leaders in public life, but today we denigrate or even desecrate those taking a public stand for religion.

Consider Indianapolis Archbishop Charles Thompson. We have not met, but I respect his principled stand that Catholic schools under his purview in central Indiana must hire faculty whose lives are consistent with the human sexuality (among other) Roman Catholic Church teachings they are charged with imparting to students.

“One’s orientation is not sin, as I said in the beginning,” Thompson told WRTV-TV Channel 6. “It’s the public witness with the church’s teachings. … We do the same thing if someone is cohabiting.”

He needed to take a public stand because a Roncalli Catholic high school guidance counselor was dismissed last year, and in June, a Cathedral Catholic high school teacher was let go because both were in homosexual marriages.

In between, Brebeuf high school rebuffed the archbishop by refusing to dismiss an openly gay teacher. I intentionally dropped Catholic from Brebeuf’s description, because Thompson decided to no longer recognize Brebeuf as a Catholic institution.

The usual howling and condemnations ensued. We know them well, alas, and nothing new was offered. Social media bristled with out-of-state activist rants.

Maybe Thompson’s image was not tweeted around the world—complete with photoshopped horns—as happened to some during the Religious Freedom Restoration Act legislative debates in 2015. But, sadly, neither have our civic leaders stepped forward to support the archbishop’s courage to do what was right for the church he leads.

And why is that important? Because two foundational issues to the quality of “our democracy” rest on letting the church be the church.

The first essential issue: Who defines what it means to be Catholic? The short answer is Catholics—not the Legislature, the courts, the media, or elite progressive opinion. The long answer from a non-Catholic also in public ministry is, the Catholic Church has a formal, hierarchical structure beginning with the pope, then cardinals, archbishops and bishops. Their decisions bind church members.

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SYRACUSE (NY)
Post-Standard

Jully 11, 2019

By Julie McMahon

A former Syracuse priest, removed in 2002 over allegations of child sexual abuse, has died. He was 81.

Chester Misercola worked as a priest in Syracuse and Oswego, including as a teacher at Oswego Catholic High and Bishop Cunningham High School in Oswego from 1970 to 1992, according to his obituary.

He died Saturday.

Misercola was most recently living at a Loretto facility in Syracuse, the obituary said. He previously lived at a controversial retirement home for priests, shuttered by the Catholic Diocese of Syracuse in 2016.

He was one of 57 priests named to a list of clergy with credible allegations of child sexual abuse, announced by the diocese last year.

Most of the priests who were named were dead at the time the list was published. Misercola was one of 19 who were still alive at the time

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NEW YORK (NY)
Forbes Magazine

July 11, 2019

By Natalie Sachmechi

Even in a progressive bastion like New York’s Riverside Church — which touts LGBTQ equity, supports immigrants and focuses on environmental justice — one high-ranking woman seems to have been ousted in the aftermath of sexual harassment allegations.

The church has been at the forefront of progressive Christian leadership since its inception in 1930. Statues of scientists like Darwin, Galileo and Einstein decorate the building where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous anti-Vietnam War speech in 1967. And in 2004, the church issued a statement in support of same-sex marriage and said it had been performing same-sex ceremonies as early as 1991.

In 2014, the church made headlines when it hired its first female senior minister, the Rev. Dr. Amy Butler. She was known as a progressive Christian leader to her followers and “wanted to be known as a pastor who happens to be a woman, not a woman pastor,” she wrote in a blog post.

Last week, her name was all over Christian media outlets when news broke that she was stepping down after five years at Riverside — and no one appeared to know exactly why. A statement issued by the church said that she would not be renewing her contract, and Butler called her time at Riverside “one of the greatest honors of my life.”

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ST. PAUL (MN)
Pioneer Press

July 11, 2019

By Ruben Rosario

Things that made me nod, scratch or shake my head this week:

The Jeffrey Epstein caper: He’s Exhibit A why, in America, you can truly get the best justice money can buy. The accused billionaire human trafficker of underaged girls got the sweetheart deal of a lifetime more than a decade ago, courtesy of Alex Acosta, a former south Florida chief prosecutor now serving as the nation’s secretary of labor.

Instead of charging Epstein in a 53-page indictment that was drafted and later sealed from the public, Acosta entered into an agreement with Epstein’s well-heeled lawyers to have him plead guilty instead to a state charge. But wait, folks, that’s not all. Epstein was sentenced to 13 months in prison, yet was allowed to leave jail for 12 hours daily, six days a week. Acosta also reportedly broke federal law by not informing Epstein’s alleged victims of the plea agreement. Alleged co-conspirators received immunity from prosecution.

Federal prosecutors in New York this week did what Acosta’s office should have done. They arrested him and charged him with alleged crimes that took place in that city around the same time. Acosta defended his actions in a news conference this week and essentially blamed a former state prosecutor involved in the case.

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Lit Hub

July 10, 2019

By Rebecca Solnit

One of my favorite books when I was young was T. H. White’s The Once and Future King, and one of its central themes is the attempt of King Arthur to replace an ethos of “might is right” with something closer to justice. Justice means everyone is equal under the law—and equality means both that everyone has equal value under the law and that everyone is subject to the law. That’s been a foundational concept for the United States, but might is right has never ceased to be how things actually work at least some of the time. In White’s novel, might means in part the capacity for physical violence on the part of individual warriors, armies, tribes, and kingdoms, but the ability of individuals (and corporations and nations) to commit that violence with impunity is another kind of might that matters now.

The great work of investigative journalists in recent years has let us see might, naked and corrupt, doing its best to trample, silence, discredit the less powerful and their rights and with it the idea of right as an ethic independent of power. That these men actually run the media, the government, the financial system says everything about what kind of systems they are. Those systems have toiled to protect them, over and over. Indeed, power is not vested in them but in the individuals and institutions all around them. This makes it essential to look past individual perpetrators to the systems that allow them to commit crimes with impunity.

Maybe one of the reasons rape has so often been portrayed as “a stranger leaps out of the bushes” is so we’ll imagine rapists acting alone. But in so many cases rapists have help in the moment and forever after, and the help is often so powerful, broad, and deep—well, that’s why we call it rape culture, and that’s why changing it means changing the whole culture. Sometimes it’s the family, community, church, campus looking the other way; sometimes it’s the criminal justice system. If Jeffrey Epstein goes to jail for the new round of indictments—which only came about because one investigative journalist, Julie K. Brown of the Miami Herald, did an extraordinary job of digging up what had been buried in his case—a host of people who knew, laughed, looked the other way, allegedly helped him sexually abuse children for years will still be at large, and the circumstances that allow other Epsteins to attack other children will still exist.

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SANTIAGO (CHILE)
Reuters

July 11, 2019

By Natalia A. Ramos Miranda

Chilean President Sebastian Pinera signed into law on Thursday a bill to remove the statute of limitations on sex crimes involving children amid a sex abuse crisis that has rocked the country’s Catholic Church and claimed more than 200 victims.

The law, which first was proposed in 2010, ends impunity in cases that would have previously had a statute of limitations that varied between five and 10 years, depending on the nature of the crime. The new law is not retroactive.

“Beginning today, the passing of time will never more be an accomplice to those who abuse our children, nor an ally of impunity,” Pinera said.

The center-right Pinera revived the nearly decade-old bill last year, following a visit to the South American nation by the pope that brought to the surface a string of abuse allegations now being investigated by prosecutors.

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LONDON (ENGLAND)
The Telegraph

July 11, 2019

By Gabriella Swerling

The Archbishop of Canterbury banned a “vulnerable” abuse victim from cathedral grounds after treating his case with “casual indifference”, an independent inquiry heard.

Details of the incident emerged for the first time today and occurred in 2011 when the Most Rev Justin Welby was Dean of Liverpool Cathedral.

The man had alleged he was sexually abused by an unidentified offender who was linked to the Cathedral.

However after alleging that Archbishop Welby had dismissed his claims of abuse, the man appeared outside the Cathedral “angry and upset” before he swore at staff and “threatened security with violence”. As a result, he was banned from the grounds.

Giving evidence to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), the Archbishop admitted “there were a number of things I got wrong on this” in relation to the encounter.

This came as he backed a “mandatory reporting” law for the first time and said that he was “utterly horrified” by historic failures to protect victims from abuse within the Church of England.

Mandatory reporting would require people who work with children, including priests, to face punishment if they fail to pass suspicions of child abuse on to statutory authorities.

Yesterday the IICSA was shown an email exchange dated July 6, 2011 between Archbishop Welby – while he was still a Dean – and the alleged unidentified victim.

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BALLARAT (AUSTRALIA)
The Courier

July 11, 2019

Robert Claffey, 76, is already serving more than a decade in prison for child sex crimes.

However on Monday he admitted abusing another two boys at Ballarat during the 1980s.

One of the victims was aged between 12 and 15 at the time, while the other was aged six to seven.

One of the boys, now a man, is expected to a read a statement in the County Court of Victoria on Friday about how Claffey’s crimes have affected his life.

It is then expected the former Our Lady Help of Christians Church in Wendouree parish priest will be sentenced.

But while prosecutors have argued Claffey should spend more time behind bars, the now lay priest’s legal team claims he’s already been vilified.

His lawyer argued Claffey’s prison release date should remain unchanged as he’s been “hunted” by the media and scorned by the community after being moved from parish to parish by the Catholic Church while he offended.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
WJLA News

July 11, 2019

By Jay Korff

Earlier this year, the Catholic Diocese of Arlington released its list of priests credibly accused of child sex abuse.

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 Reinecke’s survivors, we realized that a much larger, never-before-told story of widespread, serial pedophilia involving Reinecke may exist. 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.

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FARGO (NORTH DAKOTA)
InForum

July 11, 2019

By April Baumgarten

A Belcourt, N.D., woman has filed a civil suit against the Catholic Diocese of Fargo and a priest who she says sexually assaulted her three years ago.

Kateri Marion, 33, held back tears Thursday, July 11, during a news conference in Fargo as her attorneys laid out allegations against the Rev. Michael Wight, a Texas priest who, according to Marion, groomed her before sexually abusing her in mid-2016. She told the Fargo Diocese about the abuse, but she claims church leaders ignored her and blamed her for what allegedly happened.

“I can’t tell you how scared I was when I came forward,” she said at the news conference held at the law offices of O’Keeffe O’Brien Lyson Foss. “When I came forward, they left me in despair to pick up the pieces myself.”

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KANSAS CITY (MO)
The Catholic Key

July 11, 2019

By Marty Denzer

Bishop James Johnston, Jr., recently announced that the Diocese of Kansas City – St. Joseph has engaged Captain Joseph Crayon previously of the Kansas City Police Department as its new Independent Ombudsman. Crayon began his new duties July 1 following his retirement from a 32-year career with the police department.

The diocese created the position of Ombudsman in 2011 as part of its response to failures made in handling a case of the creation of child pornography by a diocesan priest. The Ombudsman serves as an independent contractor with a broad commission to receive and investigate all accusations of child sexual abuse and boundary violations with a minor against any cleric, employee or volunteer of the diocese, no matter how long ago the abuse occurred. The Ombudsman is further empowered to independently report cases of child sexual abuse to civil authorities and law enforcement without supervision or approval by diocesan officials.

Capt. Crayon replaces Jenifer Valenti, a former attorney and investigator with the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office, who in April accepted the leadership of the Office of Child and Youth Protection in the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas. At the time Valenti began her service with the Diocese of Kansas City – St. Joseph, she was the first Independent Ombudsman in any U.S. diocese.

Capt. Crayon, one of nine children, was born and raised in New York State. Growing up, he always wanted to be a police officer, as his father was. Capt. Crayon moved to the Midwest during his college years and graduated from the Kansas City Police Academy.

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KANSAS CITY (MO)
The Catholic Key

July 11, 2019

By Marty Denzer

Bishop James Johnston, Jr., recently announced that the Diocese of Kansas City – St. Joseph has engaged Captain Joseph Crayon previously of the Kansas City Police Department as its new Independent Ombudsman. Crayon began his new duties July 1 following his retirement from a 32-year career with the police department.

The diocese created the position of Ombudsman in 2011 as part of its response to failures made in handling a case of the creation of child pornography by a diocesan priest. The Ombudsman serves as an independent contractor with a broad commission to receive and investigate all accusations of child sexual abuse and boundary violations with a minor against any cleric, employee or volunteer of the diocese, no matter how long ago the abuse occurred. The Ombudsman is further empowered to independently report cases of child sexual abuse to civil authorities and law enforcement without supervision or approval by diocesan officials.

Capt. Crayon replaces Jenifer Valenti, a former attorney and investigator with the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office, who in April accepted the leadership of the Office of Child and Youth Protection in the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas. At the time Valenti began her service with the Diocese of Kansas City – St. Joseph, she was the first Independent Ombudsman in any U.S. diocese.

Capt. Crayon, one of nine children, was born and raised in New York State. Growing up, he always wanted to be a police officer, as his father was. Capt. Crayon moved to the Midwest during his college years and graduated from the Kansas City Police Academy.

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CHARLOTTE (NC)
WSOC TV

July 11, 2019

The Catholic church abuse scandal erupted years ago, but there are still demands for accountability.

Names of church leaders accused of abuse have been released city by city, but not in Charlotte.

A survivor told Channel 9 his calls for action have been ignored.

“I want them to know that I have not disappeared,” he said.

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RICHMOND (VIRGINIA)
WCVE News

July 11, 2019

Faith leaders in Virginia are now required to report suspected child abuse. Legislation that went into effect July 1 adds ministers, priests, rabbis, and imams to the list of mandated reporters. But victim advocates say they want the law to go further.

Becky Ianni with the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests said she hopes the law will increase reporting of child abuse, but is concerned about what she identifies as a loophole.

Clergy are exempt from reporting abuse if the religious organization requires the conversation to be confidential, like during confession.

“I’m afraid that that loophole will keep some cases from being reported,” Clergy said.

Jeff Caruso, Executive Director of the Virginia Catholic Conference, defended the importance of this exemption.

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

July 10, 2019

The Diocese of Yakima has just released a list identifying priests and deacons with “substantiated allegations” of sexual abuse of a minor during their ministries. While this is a good first step from church officials in Yakima, more needs to be done.

The list put out by the Diocese of Yakima is a start, yet it lacks critical information, such as information regarding when the allegations were first received by the diocese and what steps were taken in response to those allegations. Such data is critical to understanding what went wrong in the past, who was involved in the wrongdoing, and what must be done to prevent cases of abuse in the future.

We hope that parishioners and the public in Yakima will push Bishop Joseph Tyson and other church officials to live up to their promise to be “open and transparent” in cases of clergy sex abuse, updating their list as more information becomes available. We also hope that church officials will ensure that this list is announced in every parish, and that Bishop Tyson will personally visit each parish where these men worked and beg victims, witnesses and whistle blowers to come forward and make a report.

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

July 11, 2019

Before SB 360 was withdrawn from consideration today, Catholic Church officials spoke out against it in no uncertain terms. Bishops in San Jose, Sacramento, Stockton, and Los Angeles all urged parishioners to oppose the measure. Oakland Bishop Michael Barber may have gone the furthest when he said that he would use his power as Bishop to order the priests employed by him to disobey that civil law. Even the Vatican weighed in, saying that “no human power” can compel priests to violate seal of confession.

This opposition to the reform of the mandatory reporting law is problematic for a couple of reasons.

First, this lack of respect for secular laws seems to us to be part of the reason why there is an abuse scandal in the Catholic church in America and worldwide. Cases of child sexual abuse by clergy were not only not reported to law enforcement, they were concealed from parishioners and the public. Priests were treated as if they were above the criminal law.

Second, the bishops are conflating the intent of this law – the explicit protection of children – with other church precepts. The law was modified to specify only information on ministerial abuse of children received in confession – no other penitent privileges were impacted. The free exercise of religion is not absolute, and the protection of the young and vulnerable from clerical abusers would not seem to be an unreasonable intrusion on practice.

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

July 11, 2019

–About 130 of the 170 bishops in the US have posted names of credibly accused predator priests on their websites. This is not hard, expensive or controversial. Bishops started doing this in 2002. It’s the quickest and easiest way a bishop can protect kids. There’s no reason to keep hiding the identities and whereabouts of potentially dangerous individuals. Barres refuses to take this simple step toward prevention, healing and transparency.

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

–In May, we in SNAP asked Barres to by tell his flock about six credibly accused predator priests who were on Long Island but who have attracted virtually no attention there: Fr. Joseph Towle, Fr. Edward D. Horgan, Fr. Joseph Fitzpatrick, Fr. John Garvey, Fr. Ernest E. Robinson, Fr. Augustine J. Seidenburg. Barres essentially ignored us.

http://www.snapnetwork.org/statement_by_janet_klinger_of_snap_new_york_may19

–And in February, we asked Barres to alert his flock to two other credibly accused predator priests who spent time on Long Island: Fr. Freddy Washington and Fr. Christopher Pliauplis. Barres essentially ignored us.

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MADRID (SPAIN)
Agence France-Presse

July 11, 2019

The first woman recognised by Spanish courts as one of the “stolen babies” of the Franco dictatorship has discovered her biological family thanks to a DNA database.

Scores of babies were taken from their mothers – who were told their children had died – and given to others to adopt during the 1939-1975 dictatorship, often with the help of the Catholic church.

Initially, babies were taken from leftwing opponents of the regime, with the practice later expanded to supposedly illegitimate children and those from poorer families.

The newborns were meant to be raised by affluent, conservative and devout Roman Catholic families.

Estimates range from hundreds to tens of thousands of victims.

On Thursday, Ines Madrigal, 50, who found out in 2010 that she was a “stolen baby”, said she had been able to find a cousin thanks to a DNA database.

The cousin then informed her that her biological siblings were also searching for her.

“For the first time, I have completed the puzzle that is my life,” she said. “I know who I am and where I am from.”

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MYSTIC (CT)
Patch

July 11, 2019

By Ellyn Santiago

John Timothy ‘Tim’ McGuire told The Day what hurts most is being accused by Catholic congregants of looking for a payday. The 60-year-old New London man who says he was sexually abused when he was an 8-year-old altar boy by a Noank priest has taken to the street to open a dialogue he told the paper, and that conversation begins with picket signs he holds outside of local Roman Catholic churches.

Wednesday, he picketed outside St Patrick’s Church in downtown Mystic. Some were supportive, others not.

McGuire told the paper that he was approached by a church-goer who accused him causing trouble and looking for a large settlement from the church: “What are you doing that for? All you want is money!” A similar accusation was made when he protested outside a New London church.

McGuire told reporter Joe Wojtas, “That’s what hurts the most. When someone from your own church accuses you of only wanting money. I’m the person who was abused by a priest.” The law prohibits McGuire from suing because he missed a filing cutoff date by less than a month.

McGuire says he was habitually sexually assaulted by Father James Curry at St. Joseph’s Church in Noank in the mid-1960s. McGuire has testified before state legislators, is involved with a global group of survivors of sexual abuse by the clergy and now, with signs of protest outside local churches.

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SCRANTON (PA)
Wall Street Journal

July 11, 2019

By Ian Lovett

A potential flood of lawsuits has spurred the Catholic Church to offer mediation, only if accusers agree not to sue

Four decades ago, Jimmy Pliska says, he was sexually assaulted by his local parish priest on an overnight fishing trip. Now, he has an agonizing decision to make.

Amid a recent wave of sexual-abuse investigations and allegations against the Catholic Church, Mr. Pliska wants to sue the Diocese of Scranton, which employed the priest. But the case is too old to bring to court. Although state lawmakers have proposed lifting the statute of limitations on the sexual abuse of children, it is unclear when—or if—that will happen.

The diocese, meanwhile, has set up a program to financially compensate victims of clergy sexual abuse. In exchange for accepting money from the program, the diocese won’t have to release any documents that might show what church officials knew about the alleged abuse. Mr. Pliska also would be barred from suing the church.

Time is running short for Mr. Pliska, 55 years old, to decide. The church has set a July 31 deadline. “The church shouldn’t be the judge,” he said of the program. “They should be held accountable.”

The Catholic Church has a great deal riding on whether alleged victims take part in compensation programs like the one in Scranton.

Since a widely publicized report last year from the Pennsylvania attorney general, which documented the abuse of more than 1,000 children by Catholic clergy in the state over half a century, public officials around the U.S. have looked for their own ways to pursue allegations made against the church.

More than a dozen states are considering lifting the civil statute of limitations on child sexual abuse or already have done so. The legislation, if passed, would unleash a surge of new lawsuits against the church.

A new wave of sexual abuse litigation would present a serious threat to both the church’s finances and its reputation. Large jury awards and settlements could cost the church millions, while legal discovery could make public documents showing how dioceses dealt with abuse.

As lawmakers debate the measures, Catholic dioceses in at least six states have tried to stem the tide by offering victim compensation programs.

“While no financial compensation can change the past, it is my hope that this program will help survivors in their healing and recovery process,” Joseph C. Bambera, the Scranton bishop, said when the diocese launched its program last fall.

The programs, which are run by third-party administrators outside the church, offer swifter resolution than trials, and alleged victims are less likely to walk away empty-handed. They also shield the church against lawsuits that could cause greater damage.

Payouts pale compared with what victims have won in court. Those who accept settlements must agree not to sue the church in the future.

The programs could ultimately save Catholic institutions hundreds of millions of dollars, said Marci Hamilton, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania who also has worked on clergy abuse cases as a lawyer.

“Settle as many cases as you possibly can, because statute of limitations reform is inevitably going to pass,” she said. “It lets them have the dual action of looking generous but protecting as many assets of the organization as possible.”

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LONDON (ENGLAND)
Daily Telegraph

July 11, 2019

Jimmy Pliska, of Scranton, Pa., is one of those who is seeking compensation from the church for sexual abuse that happen…

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SCRANTON (PA)
The Wall Street Journal

July 11, 2019

By Ian Lovett

A potential flood of lawsuits has spurred the Catholic Church to offer mediation, only if accusers agree not to sue

Four decades ago, Jimmy Pliska says, he was sexually assaulted by his local parish priest on an overnight fishing trip. Now, he has an agonizing decision to make.

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HAGATNA (GUAM)
Pacific Daily News

July 11, 2019

By Haidee Eugenio Gilbert

A lawsuit filed on Thursday afternoon says a Sinajana boy was sexually abused in the early 1970s by two now-deceased priests, including one who told the boy’s mother that the molestation and attempted rape were not true.

The plaintiff is identified in federal court documents only with the initials H.H.H. to protect his privacy,.

In his $5 million lawsuit, H.H.H. said Father Louis Brouillard sexually abused him a few times around 1972 or 1973, and Father Antonio Cruz sexually molested and attempted to rape him once around 1973.

H.H.H., represented by attorney David Lujan, said he was about 12 to 13 years old at the time of the priests’ abuses.

He said in his lawsuit that after at least four Boy Scouts of America swimming at Lonfit River, he became uncomfortable because Brouillard, a scoutmaster at the time, “encouraged, insisted, required and forced the boys to swim completely in the nude.”

The priest, according to the lawsuit, said these were for the purpose of teaching each boy to paddle with the hands and feet, while Brouillard touched and stroked each boy’s private parts.

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LONDON (ENGLAND)
The Telegraph

July 11, 2019

By Gabriella Swerling

The Archbishop of York has blamed parishes for enabling child sexual abuse as they refuse to punish paedophiles whom they deem to be “lovely people” and “fantastic priests”.

Dr John Sentamu told a government inquiry yesterday that among some dioceses there was the misconception that safeguarding was merely an “optional extra”.

The Archbishop, who is due to retire next year, was responding to allegations that there were attitudes still prevalent within the Church of England that there could be no sex offending without corroborative evidence. He was also questioned about allegations from a surviving victim, the Rev Matthew Ineson.

Giving evidence to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) for the first time, Dr Sentamu said: “I have come across [examples] in my diocese where three clergy persons were convicted and the parishes where they had served, they all tell you it couldn’t be true, in spite of the fact that people have been convicted.”

Dr Sentamu, 70, denied that such attitudes regarding reporting abuse were inextricably linked to the Church.

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TYNE AND WEAR (ENGLAND)
ITV Tyne Tees

July 11, 2019

A former senior clergyman has been sentenced to 10 months in prison after being found guilty of two counts of indecently assaulting a young man in the 1970s.

Granville Gibson, who is now 83, was previously Archdeacon of Auckland, a deputy to the Bishop of Durham.

Gibson was found to have deliberately touched a teenager in a sexual manner when he was a vicar in Newton Aycliffe around 40 years ago.

It happened inside the vicarage where Gibson lived, next to St Clare’s Church.

Steve Ebdon, who was 17 or 18 when Gibson assaulted him, has waved his right to anonymity.

He told ITV Tyne Tees he was “dissapoiinted” by the 10 month sentence, calling Gibson “an animal.”

In a statement, the Right Revd Paul Butler, Bishop of Durham said:

It is a matter of deep shame and regret that a former priest in the Church of England Granville Gibson has today been found guilty and received a custodial sentence of 10 months for two further counts of indecent assault against a male person. There are no excuses whatsoever for what took place; abuse is a terrible crime and a grievous breach of trust, which has lifelong effects.

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NEW YORK (NY)
Daily News

July 9, 2019

By Stephen Rex Brown

Women who accuse Jeffrey Epstein of abusing them as minors can soon sue him under a new state law that will be used to compensate victims of sex abuse by priests.

Alleged Epstein victims are eligible under the Child Victims Act to bring civil claims against the perv financier for one year starting mid-August.

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LINCOLN (RI)
Valley Breeze News

July 9, 2019

By Arlene Violet

Despite being prepared for the release of the list of clergy members who had been “credibly accused “of sexually abusing children I still felt sick reading about it. After all, as attorney general in 1985-86 I prosecuted four of those priests and indicted another who ultimately made the Hall of Shame list on perjury charges. Rhode Island was only the second jurisdiction in the United States to prosecute child sex abuse cases where the perpetrator was a priest.

It is difficult to remember that time of innocence when people were actually shocked by such a revelation. Now it is commonplace. Good priests have been victimized by their confreres. Virtually everyone today in a Roman collar is viewed with skepticism.

As bad as the transfer of “guilt by association” is from the guilty priests, the Catholic Church has shot itself in the foot and other parts of its body politic over and over. One of the priests in a rectory who reported the criminal activity of a clergyman was treated as a pariah with then-Bishop Louis Gelineau transferring him out of the Diocese because he was also a priest who belonged to a religious order. The message was loud and clear to other priests namely: shut up or lose your ministry. It was only when the provincial of the religious order agreed to send the reporting priest back to testify that the perpetrator professed guilt pre-trial. Yet, the damage was done since some priests mummed up when they should have had the courage to come forward.

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EL PASO (TX)
CBS 4 News

July 11, 2019

By Justin Kree

Bishop Mark Seitz of the El Paso Catholic Diocese was called to testify in the trial of a former El Paso priest accused of sexually abusing a young girl in the 1990s.

Seitz was only on the stand for 10 to 15 minutes.

He was questioned about a telephone conversation with former priest Miguel Luna in August 2017.

On Tuesday, Luna pleaded not guilty to all 12 counts of sexual assault of a young girl who served as an altar server in the church where Luna was a priest in El Paso

Seitz faced rapid questioning about the phone call, and was not able to fully answer one question without being asked another.

Seitz recounted that Luna sounded groggy during their conversation — and got angry when Seitz said he had to make public what Luna had done.

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SALEM (OH)
Salem News

July 11, 2019

Trust that Roman Catholic Church officials will do the right thing about allegations of sexual misconduct by members of the clergy is in question in many countries, not just the United States. What Pope Francis and others in the Catholic hierarchy do about the matter is watched closely throughout the world.

An announcement by the Vatican that its ambassador to France no longer enjoys diplomatic immunity is welcome, then.

As a diplomat, Archbishop Luigi Ventura normally would have enjoyed immunity from investigation or prosecution involving many crimes. Several men have accused him of touching them inappropriately. Ventura denies the allegations.

But French authorities had said the archbishop’s diplomatic immunity had stalled their investigation into the men’s accusations.

That ended Monday, with the Vatican’s announcement. Now, Ventura can be investigated — and, if appropriate, charged — just like any other visitor to France. Let us hope the matter is cleared up, one way or the other, expeditiously.

Sexual predation by members of the clergy is bad enough. Adding to the outrage over Roman Catholic church handling of such crimes has been a pattern over decades of protecting predators. Instead of reporting them to law enforcement authorities, church officials often transferred guilty priests away from locales where they had abused both children and adults, and to new locations where they sometimes committed the same crimes.

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PHOENIX (AZ)
3TV/CBS 5

July 11, 2019

By Nicole Crites

We are hearing for the first time from a Phoenix man who says he was sexually abused by a former priest who was just extradited to the Valley to face charges after more than a decade on the run.

Now a high school teacher, he asked us to protect his identity as he prepares to testify at trial.

“I’m not showing my face because not everybody can deal with that, and there are gonna be people who say, ‘Hey, watch out for this guy,'” he said

He says former father Joseph Henn sexually abused him when he was an altar boy at St. Mark’s in the late ’70s and early ’80s.

“No one, not one, even to today, these many years afterwards (sic), no one from the church has come to interview me or ask, ‘What happened?'” he said. “They don’t wanna know!

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LGBTQ Nation blog

July 10, 2019

By John Gallagher

Proving that no offense is too great for Republicans to overlook, Mark Foley is apparently thinking about a political comeback.

In case you’ve forgotten or were unaware, in the early 2000s, Foley was a high-powered Republican in Congress, having first been elected from his Florida district in 1994. Then he ran into a bit of a problem: the story broke that he liked to hit on underage Congressional pages. Male pages, to be exact.

Unfortunately for Foley, he left a huge electronic trail because he liked to email or message pages with ideas that ranged from the suggestive to the explicit. In the latter category: asking a 17-year-old if he wanted to come over to Foley’s place for oral sex. Or asking another page for a picture of his erection. In several cases, Foley did have sex with ex-pages, but after they had turned 18.

Needless to say, Foley’s voting record in Congress was impeccably anti-LGBTQ. Ironically, given his prediliction for underage boys, Foley made opposition to child pornography one of his signature issues.

Foley was a classic example of someone in a glass closet. He was constantly being outed, and once held a press conference to describe the rumors that he was gay as “revolting” – while not denying them.

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EL PASO (TX)
CBS 4 News

July 10, 2019

By Justin Kree and Jala Washington

Bishop Mark Seitz of the El Paso Catholic Diocese was called to testify in the trial of a former El Paso priest accused of sexually abusing a young girl in the 1990s.

Seitz was only on the stand for 10 to 15 minutes.

He was questioned about a telephone conversation with former priest Miguel Luna in August 2017.

On Tuesday, Luna pleaded not guilty to all 12 counts of sexual assault of a young girl who served as an altar server in the church where Luna was a priest in El Paso.

Seitz faced rapid questioning about the phone call, and was not able to fully answer one question without being asked another.

Seitz recounted that Luna sounded groggy during their conversation — and got angry when Seitz said he had to make public what Luna had done.

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.

UNITED STATES
National Catholic Register

July 10, 2019

By Janet E. Smith

“Hide the handsome ones.” That was what was “jokingly” said when Theodore McCarrick would visit seminaries. It disgusts me that such “jokes” — which clearly portrayed a reality — did not lead to a thorough investigation of McCarrick decades ago. The likely reason they did not was that, for decades, U.S. seminaries not only tolerated but recruited and favored seminarians who have sex with males.

The McCarrick scandal revealed a fact known by few Catholic laity: Seminarians have been, and still are in some places, preyed upon by faculty, staff, fellow students and even bishops.

The Changing Face of the Priesthood by Father Donald Cozzens (2000) and Goodbye, Good Men by Michael Rose (2002 and reissued in 2015) documented well the extent of the presence of active homosexuals in seminaries among students and faculty and of the accompanying harassment of heterosexuals. A survey done by Dean Hoge at The Catholic University of America in 2002 reported:

“55 percent of priests say such a subculture ‘clearly’ or ‘probably’ exists in their diocese or religious institute. Forty-one percent of priests said a homosexual subculture clearly or probably existed in the seminaries they attended.”

Those comments were made by priests who went through seminaries in the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s. Pope Benedict, in his letter on the sex-abuse crisis, identified the condition of seminaries as one of the sources of the problem.

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DENVER (CO)
National Catholic Register

July 10, 2019

By Jennifer Roback Morse

Jeffrey Epstein, Harvey Weinstein and Theodore McCarrick operate(d) in different sectors of society, have different marital statuses and sexual preferences and profess different religions. What do these disparate men have in common? A belief system that claims that sex is an entitlement. They operate according to the tenets of the most powerful ideology currently at work in the world: the ideology of the sexual revolution.

Epstein, the millionaire financier and admitted sex offender who pleaded not guilty July 9 to charges of sexual trafficking, allegedly got away with sickening crimes for a long time. But it would be a serious mistake to succumb to cynicism. “What do you expect? Wealthy guys like him have always gotten to do what they want. It is not fair to blame the sexual revolution for their abuses.”

That is, at best, a partial truth. The rich and powerful have always been able to buy their way out of problems that would crush an ordinary person. But the widespread acceptance of the sexual revolutionary ideology smooths their path. To an unprecedented extent, the reigning secular religion of our time enables sexual abuse, disarms victims and empowers predators.

“You don’t want to be a prude, do you?”

“You want to be ‘sex positive,’ don’t you?”

“Sex is nothing to feel guilty about.”

“You just have to take off your clothes and let him look at you. It is nothing be ashamed of.” (That’s one of Epstein’s contributions to the pick-up-line genre.)

“You were born this way.”

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DENVER (CO)
Catholic News Agency

July 10, 2019

By Christine Rousselle

A priest in the Archdiocese of Detroit who helped to found a nonprofit to support priests accused of abuse, has been temporarily removed from ministry and is the subject of a canonical investigation, the archdiocese has confirmed.

Father Eduard Perrone, pastor at Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Grotto) Parish in Detroit, was accused of groping a former altar boy. The priest strenuously denies the allegations. His suspension was announced by the archdiocese on Sunday, July 7.

After receiving authorization from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the archdiocese conducted a preliminary investigation, the first stage of a canonical process, into the allegations against Perrone. A subsequent presentation to the Archdiocesan Review Board “found that there was a semblance of truth to the allegation,” Monsignor Mike Bugarin told CNA on Tuesday.

Bugarin serves as Episcopal Vicar and Delegate for Matters of Clergy Misconduct in the Detroit archdiocese.

While speaking to CNA, the monsignor avoided describing the charges as either “credible” or “substantiated” and emphasized that at this stage the only conclusion had been of a “semblance of truth.”

Semblance of truth is a legal standard in canon law usually defined as “not manifestly false or frivolous” that establishes only that an allegation cannot be immediately dismissed as factually impossible.

Bugarin emphasized that the process is still in the “very beginning” stages, and will now be referred back to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith for further evaluation.

The Archdiocese of Detroit declined to provide details of when the alleged incident is said to have taken place, citing the ongoing nature of investigations, but did confirm that the alleged incident concerns Perrone’s “earlier years of ministry.”

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

July 10, 2019

A bill that was aimed at reforming mandated reporting laws to ensure that all crimes committed against children are reported to the authorities immediately was withdrawn from consideration following extensive lobbying by the Catholic Conference of California. We are disappointed that, once again, church officials have mobilized to defeat legislation that could help prevent more cases of abuse in the future.

SB 360, a bill that was sponsored by State Senator Jerry Hill, would have removed an exception to California’s mandated reporting rule that allowed Catholic clergy to refrain from reporting any crime they learned about in confessional. But thanks to extensive lobbying from the Catholic Conference of California, this loophole will remain intact for the time being.

Once again, church officials have poured tons of money, time and effort into defeating legislative reform aimed at preventing abuse. Given that the church has spent more than $10 million knocking down other legislation that would benefit survivors and protect children, we are not surprised, simply disappointed.

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

July 3, 2019

Why does wrongdoing thrive in the Catholic hierarchy? Here’s the answer in a nutshell.

Two controversial bishops have recently landed cushy jobs in Rome, showing again that corrupt clerics continue to be protected – and sometimes promoted – which only encourages more wrongdoing.

A German bishop, ousted because of his extravagant spending, is now “a Vatican official,” notes veteran church observer John Allen. He’s Bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst, better known as the “Bishop of Bling.

And Argentinian Bishop Gustavo Zanchetta resigned as head of his Argentinean diocese in 2017 – first, facing financial misconduct charges and later, adult sexual abuse charges.

“Despite that, Francis in 2017 not only brought Zanchetta to Rome but named his now Assessor to the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (APSA), the Vatican’s financial powerhouse which oversees both the Holy See’s investment portfolio and its real estate holdings in Italy and around the world,” reports Allen.

Until misconduct is punished, misconduct will thrive.

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YAKIMA (WA)
KEPR TV

July 10, 2019

By Thomas Yazwinski

The names of dozens priests and deacons in Central Washington with substantial sexual abuse allegations were released on Wednesday.

Bishop Joseph Tyson, after thorough consultation and upon the recommendation of the Yakima Diocese Lay Advisory Board, has established a website listing the names of priests and deacons with substantiated allegations of sexual abuse of a minor during their time of ministry within the Diocese of Yakima.

Officials say the decision is based on the bishop’s desire for transparency and to encourage victims of abuse to come forward.

The following is a list of all the names of men who served in the area of the Tri-Cities:

Dale Calhoun was permanently removed from ministry. He had multiple claims and lawsuits settled. He served at St. Francis Cabrini in Benton City and St. Joseph in Kennewick.

Robert Davalle was permanently removed from ministry. He admitted to abusing minors and is currently incarcerated. He served at Christ the King in Richland.

Brian Gallagher is now deceased. He served at St. Frances Xavier Cabrini in Benton City.

Gustavo Gomez has been permanently removed from ministry. He served at St. Francis Xavier Cabrini in Benton City.

Peter Hagel is now retired and not in the ministry. He has a lawsuit pending in a new case. He served at St. Francis Xavier Cabrini in Benton City.

Anthony King is now deceased. He had a lawsuit settled regarding sexual abuse. He served at Christ the King in Richland and Sacred Heart Parish in Prosser.

Joseph Sondergeld is now deceased. He had multiple claims and lawsuits settled. He served at
Sacred Heart in Prosser.

John Tholen is now deceased. He had a lawsuit settled and had retired in 1997. He served at Sacred Heart in Prosser.

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PARIS (FRANCE)
LaCroix International

July 10, 2019

By Nicolas Senèze

The Vatican has officially waived the diplomatic immunity of the Apostolic Nuncio in France, Archbishop Luigi Ventura, allowing him to appear before a civil court where six complainants have accused him of sexual assault.

This decision, unprecedented in the history of modern Vatican diplomacy, was communicated last week to the French authorities by the Secretariat of State of the Vatican.

Even before that, according to our information, two victims met a key figure in Rome: Father Hans Zollner, President of the Centre for the Protection of Minors of the Pontifical Gregorian University, a specialist in cases of sexual abuse in the Church.

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PARIS (FRANCE)
LaCroix International

July 10, 2019

By Céline Hoyeau

“This gift is not shown, it is not shared, it is not talked about, out of modesty, out of shame, out of fear of the eyes of others.

“This “gift” is the abuse Gabriel suffered at the hands of a priest at the age of 8, a gift that poisons his adult life and the relationship he is trying to build with Camille.

Their story intersects with the stories of two other characters, Father François and Sister Blandine, while the nun tries to open the priest’s eyes to the drama of pedophilia, convinced that “true indifference is not to not look but to feel nothing.”

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.

Get Religion blog

July 10, 2019

By Clemente Lisi

In this politically polarized world, there are issues that can drive a large wedge between people — including several that, one way or another, are tied to religion.

Immigration and abortion are two of the biggest in the Donald Trump era, issues that dominated the Supreme Court’s recently-completed term and the Democratic presidential primaries that are just underway. Then again, immigration and abortion are the issues that dominate news on the web and cable TV.

Religious freedom, an old-school liberal issue now largely taken up by conservatives, is often lost in mainstream news coverage. Lost in this coverage is an issue of such importance to Roman Catholics, that it may very well be the biggest fallout to come from years of clerical sex abuse when it comes to how it affects the law.

The California State Senate, controlled by Democrats, recently passed a bill (the first of its kind in the United States) that would compel a priest — violating centuries of Catholic law and tradition — to disclose to civil authorities any information learned in the confessional if it involves the sexual abuse of a minor committed by another priest or lay worker. The bill was supposed to head to the State Assembly later this summer, where Democrats hold a majority.

On Tuesday, on the eve of a scheduled hearing, State Sen. Jerry Hill withdrew the bill after realizing he didn’t have the votes to get it passed out of committee. Opponents may have rejoiced, but this issue is far from over. It certainly will gather steam again in future legislative sessions. That means reporters need to be better equipped to cover such an issue in a balanced and fair way.

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.

MUMBAI (INDIA)
Times Now News

July 10, 2019

The Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (CPCR) on Tuesday has filed a case against the Kerala Catholic priest who was recently arrested by the police for sexually abusing minor boys.

The director of the boys’ home in Kochi, Father George TJ alias Jerry, was arrested by the Kerala police on Sunday. The arrest was made following a complaint by the parents of the victims, who alleged that their boys were being abused for over six months now.

According to a report, the Kerala CPCR said that the boy’s home has been working without authorisation, it was closed down by the commission in March 2018. The commission chairperson, P Suresh said that the commission observed that accommodating children secretly without authorisation was a major offence, the higher authorities of the institution will also have to face the legal action as per the Juvenile Justice Act.

In the wake of such incidents of sexual harassment, the commission has directed the police officials and the Social Justice Department to raid and inspect institutions across the state which had been closed down in 2018 for not being registered under the Juvenile Justice Act.

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.

Patheos blog

July 10, 2019

By Guest Contributor

I don’t usually write when I’m this angry.

Healthy ways of dealing with anger is something I’m working on in therapy. But you know what? I don’t give a flying fuck right now because if I don’t write this down now, I’m going to be raging the rest of the day. Not good for my home life and not good for my blood pressure. Oh, and if you didn’t realize that fucks fly, you’re probably too sensitive for this article.

I gave a FOCUS missionary some choice words after Mass today, and I’m not done.

Because I’m the joyful parent of a toddler, most of my experience of Mass is now spent running and dragging my screaming offspring out of the sanctuary. After the regular announcements, our pastor invited the resident FOCUS missionary to share his usual spiel at the ambo. I didn’t catch most of it – because I was making sure said toddler didn’t eat another kid’s crayons – but I did hear mention of the typical statistics of why Catholic young people leave the Church. He ended with an invitation to come speak with him in the narthex afterward. Before my toddler tried to pop me in the eye, I considered that.

Should I go talk to him? There will probably be other people congratulating him on saving Western Civilization from secularism. Hmmm.

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.

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

July 10, 2019

A North Dakota priest was just named publicly as an alleged abuser. He was ordained in a religious order based out of Corpus Christi, TX and apparently sent back there after the abuse was reported to church officials in Fargo. Despite this, he has not been named on any list of accused priests nor was the local community alerted to his presence. We are calling on church officials in Texas to explain why.

According to the West Fargo Pioneer, Fr. Michael Wright is alleged to have assaulted a vulnerable adult at St. Ann’s Catholic Church in Belcourt, ND. According to the woman’s attorneys, following the receipt of the allegations church officials in the Diocese of Fargo sent Fr. Wright back to Corpus Christi, TX for “counseling,” although they apparently did so without notifying communities in either Belcourt or Corpus Christi why the reassignment occurred.

We cannot help but consider that church officials in this case failed in their responsibility and promise to be “open and honest” in cases of clergy abuse.The lack of public disclosure from the Diocese of Corpus Christi is especially egregious given that their list of “credibly” accused priests was released earlier this year, and the society into which Fr. Wright was ordained is also headquartered in the Diocese of Corpus Christi.

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.

MARIETTA (OH)
Marietta Times

July 10, 2019

Trust that Roman Catholic Church officials will do the right thing about allegations of sexual (and other) misconduct by members of the clergy is in question in many countries, not just the United States. What Pope Francis and others in the Catholic hierarchy do about the matter is watched closely throughout the world.

An announcement by the Vatican that its ambassador to France no longer enjoys diplomatic immunity is welcome, then.

As a diplomat, Archbishop Luigi Ventura normally would have enjoyed immunity from investigation or prosecution involving many crimes. Several men have accused him of touching them inappropriately. Ventura denies the allegations.

But French authorities said the archbishop’s diplomatic immunity stalled their investigation into the men’s accusations.

That ended Monday, with the Vatican’s announcement. Now, Ventura can be investigated — and, if appropriate, charged — just like any other visitor to France. Let us hope the matter is cleared up, one way or the other, expeditiously.

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.

SACRAMENTO (CA)
Associated Press

July 9, 2019

By Adam Beam

A bill that would require California religious leaders to report their co-workers’ confessions of child abuse or neglect has been put on hold amid opposition from the Catholic church.

California law already requires clergy to report knowledge of child abuse and neglect. But they can keep it a secret if they learned about it during a confession.

State Sen. Jerry Hill, a Democrat from San Mateo, wrote a bill this year to change that, but only if the confession was from another religious leader or someone who works at the church. It passed the Senate by a vote of 30-4 in May.

On Tuesday, Hill announced he was putting the bill on hold because it did not have enough support to pass the state Assembly. But Hill said the issue remains important to him, and he vowed to continue his efforts to pass it.

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

HAGATNA (GUAM)
Pacific Daily New

July 10, 2019

By Haidee Eugenio Gilbert

After former altar boys tearfully went public with allegations, a law was passed to open doors for lawsuits against the church, clergy and others. Wochit

Father Adrian Cristobal, who was sanctioned by the Archdiocese of Agana in 2018 for failing to return to Guam after he was named in three child sexual abuse lawsuits, has been accused of sexually abusing a fourth minor.

The fourth lawsuit against Cristobal was filed on Wednesday in federal court by a plaintiff identified in court documents only as D.D.D. to protect his privacy. D.D.D. said in his $5 million lawsuit that Cristobal sexually abused him from about early 2008 to 2010, when he was about 12 to 14 years old.

At the time of the alleged abuses, D.D.D. was a volunteer for the San Vicente Ferrer/San Roke Catholic Church in Barrigada, where Cristobal was the parish priest.

“During the entire two-year period when he served as a volunteer, plaintiff was sexually molested and abused every Saturday, without fail, by Adrian,” the lawsuit says.

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.

FARGO (ND)
KVRR TV

July 8, 2019

By Austin Erickson

Attorneys for an alleged sexual assault survivor say the Fargo Diocese told them “it was her fault” after coming forward.

The law firms of Bradshaw and Bryant and O’Keeffe O’Brien Lyson Foss will hold a press conference Thursday, July 11 in Fargo. They claim Father Michael Wright abused someone at St. Ann’s Catholic Church in Belcourt, North Dakota.

Lawyers claim the Diocese responded by “blaming the survivor and shipping Father Michael Wright back to Texas to the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity community without an investigation.” They also say the SOLT sent Father Wright to counseling following the alleged assault which they call “reprehensible.”

The firms demand the Diocese disclose its list of known offending priests. They’re also calling on the North Dakota legislature to open up the statute of limitations so “offenders can no longer be shielded from civil remedies.”

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.

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

July 9, 2019

Almost a year ago, a New Jersey priest accused of sexual abuse voluntarily stepped down from ministry, but so far Newark church officials have neither resolved the case or updated parishioners and the public. It is time for Archbishop John Tobin to provide answers.

According to the Newark Star Ledger, Fr. Jim Weiner was allowed to step down from his position last August following allegations that he sexually assaulted a seminarian in the 1980s. Fr. Weiner’s accuser said he reached a settlement with the church in 2004 over the alleged abuse, but the priest was permitted to continue his ministry.

In a story last week, the newspaper noted “Fr. Weiner is still listed as pastor of St. Andrew’s Parish on its website, but parishioners said he has not preached since he voluntarily stepped aside.”

We hope anyone with information or suspicions about Fr. Weiner – or any Newark church staffer – will come forward to trusted, independent sources of help, like local police and prosecutors. We also hope that church whistleblowers will especially take this step, now that they have been promised protection by Pope Francis.

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.

MELBOURNE (AUSTRALIA)
The New Daily

July 9, 2019

By Garry Linnell

We went because of the kid. He’s only 11 years old, this godson of ours, still in the last days of innocence, that wonderful time before voices break and pimples erupt with the fury of Mount Vesuvius to herald entry into a harsher, more complicated world.

His mother is a lapsed churchgoer. No longer believes in the Old Man upstairs.

But she wanted her son confirmed as a Catholic in an understandable nod to family tradition and, more importantly, to ensure he remains in the warm bosom of a heavily subsidised private school.

So there we were, hundreds crammed into an old church, gulping fumes of sickly sweet incense while a two-hour Mass celebrated the confirmation of dozens of young boys and girls.

As it finally drew to a close, a familiar sound woke many of us from our Sunday afternoon stupor. It wasn’t the angelic voices of the choir. Not even a few Latin sentences mumbled by a tuneless bishop.

Nay, it was the sound of cash registers.

It was time for the collection plates to do the rounds. Except these were no ordinary plates. These had nets attached, some so large they must have been borrowed from passing fishing trawlers.

Been a while since the old church had enjoyed a full house like this and despite having staged Mass at least twice that day, this was an opportunity too good to pass up.

But as the day’s catch of coins and notes began to grow, I sat firmly on my wallet. I don’t mind giving. But handing over cash to a tax-exempt organisation with an estimated $30 billion Australian property portfolio?

Blindly donating to an institution that provides little transparency on how it spends the dough?

Problem is, I’ve seen where some of it goes.

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

EL PASO (TX)
CBS 4 News

July 9, 2019

By Justin Kree

Former El Paso priest Miguel Luna, who is accused of sexually assaulting an underage girl decades ago, was in court Tuesday morning for the start of his trial.

“A wolf in sheep clothing” is how prosecutors described the former El Paso priest Miguel Luna.

The state went on to say that he used his position of trust to sexually assault the victim back in the 1990s.

The state said the victim was a little girl who was an alter server at Corpus Cristi Catholic Church in El Paso.

Then the defense spoke during their opening statement — using the same analogy agreeing that Luna is a wolf, stating that a wolf in nature stays faithful and only has one mate.

Luna’s attorneys describing that mate as the Catholic Church to Luna and he remained faithful during his years as a priest.

The victim took the stand after the statements, explaining that she was 8 years old when she was first an alter server helping then-Rev. Luna during Mass.

The victim testified that she was in a private confessional with Luna about two years later when the first abuse started.

The victim said that during the confession is when he first pulled the victims chair closer to him to where their legs were touching and asked her everything from if she has a boyfriend, to if she watches pornographic material, then asking if she masturbates.

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.

Patheos blog

July 9, 2019

By Guest Contributor

[Blogger’s note: this piece was submitted to me by someone I’ve verified is a Catholic seminarian, currently studying at a seminary in the United States. I offered to let him write anonymously so that he could reach others without his privacy being endangered at the seminary. I think that young men like this, who understand what abuse really is, are the very people we need more of in the priesthood if we are ever to heal the Church. –Mary Pezzulo]

Brother seminarians, we are living in challenging times. You truly are doing something heroic for accepting the cross of pursuing intellectual, human, spiritual, and pastoral formation for Holy Orders, despite what is going on around us in the Church. Of the time I have spent in seminary formation, this past year has been the most challenging year by far.

We came to seminary, some of us for the first time, with the elephant of the allegations of then-Cardinal McCarrick’s abuse of seminarians no different than ourselves surrounding us in the room. We wondered what more bad news the year would hold, and we weathered a trickle, then a stream, and finally a torrent of even worse news. We heard of perpetrators and more scandals both near and far, and we wondered if we were crazy for pursuing the sacrament of holy orders when some who have gone before us were proving themselves capable of the most egregious sins of unholiness imaginable. How are we to respond?

Discerning out of seminary sometimes seemed like the easy way out of this crisis, but we know that God did not call us to seminary only to discern out when confronted with deep scandal in the Church, but rather to become holy men formed after his Sacred Heart and capable of serving the Church through the celebration of the sacraments. We need only to look to the words of St. Peter, the father and founder of our beautiful Catholic faith, to find the path forward to greater holiness: “Like obedient children, do not act in compliance with the desires of your former ignorance, but, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in every aspect of your conduct, for it is written, ‘Be holy because I am holy.’” It is only by uniting ourselves to Christ that we can achieve the holiness that is needed. As men of the Church, we are to strive for holiness in all things, whether they be big things or little things.

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.

WAUSAU (WI)
Wausau Daily Herald

July 9, 2019

By Natalie Brophy

A former Northwoods Catholic priest released from custody in June will soon live in Merrill.

Beginning Saturday, David J. Malsch, 80, will live at N2345 Memorial Drive in Merrill, according to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office. He previously lived at N4883A Lilac Lane in Gleason when he was released June 19.

Malsch, who was ordained as a Catholic priest in 1967, is accused of sexually abusing at least three young boys while he worked at churches in Superior and Tomahawk, according to bishopaccountability.org, a website that tracks abuse by Catholic priests.

In 1993, he was convicted of child enticement in Marathon County. In that case, Malsch took a 14-year-old with learning disabilities to a hotel in Rib Mountain, gave him alcohol and took nude photos of him. Malsch also showed the boy pornography, according to Wausau Daily Herald archives.

Malsch was civilly committed in 2001 under Wisconsin’s sexual predator law and sent to a treatment facility for “troubled priests” in Missouri, according to bishopaccountability.org. Malsch stayed at the center until 2003, until he was caught with child pornography in his room and sentenced to nine years in federal prison. He was removed from the priesthood in 2005, according bishopaccountability.org.

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.

PITTSBURGH (PA)
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

July 8, 2019

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh has confirmed it placed a deacon on leave pending an investigation into “an allegation of inappropriate conduct with a minor.”

The deacon, John C. Miller, of St. Teresa of Avila Parish in Ross, was placed on leave in 2018, according to the Rev. Nicholas Vaskov, diocesan spokesman.

Deacon Miller was accused of an unwanted kiss to a minor girl, the “first such allegation ever made against him,” according to a statement from Father Vaskov. He was placed on leave, forbidden from doing ministry or presenting himself as a deacon, while the investigation was pending.

The case required a preliminary investigation, “which was delayed due to grave health issues Deacon Miller was facing,” said Father Vaskov.

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.

FRANCE
La Croix International

July 9, 2019

By Céline Hoyeau

Head of French-speaking Jesuit Province of Western Europe acknowledges congregation has been slow to act but insists it’s been ‘deeply affected’ by victims’ stories
A Jesuit provincial has defended his congregation against accusations it has dragged its feet over the issue of sexual abuse and says its attitude toward the issue has been “transformed” after meetings with victims.

The Society of Jesus in France has just published an appeal in which it encourages victims of abuse committed by Jesuits to make themselves known to the Independent Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Church and its own professional conduct team.

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.

NEW YORK (NY)
The Telegraph

July 7, 2019

By David Millward

Jeffrey Epstein, a billionaire financier and former friend of the Duke of York, Donald Trump and Bill Clinton, has been charged with sex trafficking, according to reports in the US.

Epstein, 66, was arrested by FBI officers on Saturday, the New York Police Department confirmed. He was apprehended when his private jet landed at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey following a trip to Paris.

According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons website, Epstein is currently being held at the Metropolitan Correctional Centre in Manhattan.

He is due to appear before a federal magistrate on Monday to face charges dating back to the 2000s.

The latest allegations come more than a decade after Epstein avoided federal criminal charges under a plea deal which faced considerable criticism.

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.

CHARLESTON (WV)
West Virginia Record

July 3, 2019

By Kyla Asbury

West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey urged again for the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston to release its report on former Bishop Michael Bransfield, calling the Diocese’s attempt to dismiss his suit an attempt to conceal the report.

“The Diocese’s latest motion to dismiss represents yet another attempt to sidestep transparency as it continues to conceal its investigative report on former Bishop Bransfield in hopes to distract public attention from allegations that it employed pedophiles, failed to conduct background checks and condoned Bransfield’s alleged sexual harassment of employees and others,” Morrisey said in a statement. “The Diocese did not issue its list of credibly accused priests until after issuance of our first investigative subpoena in fall 2018, and continues to demonstrate a pattern of concealing information until external pressure from our office and the media forces its hand.”

Morrisey said his office’s lawsuit against the Diocese chronicles its decades-long pattern of concealing criminal behavior of priests as it relates to sexual abuse of children, while it advertised its schools and camps as safe learning environments.

“It is past time for the Diocese to come clean,” Morrisey said. “We reiterate our call for the Diocese to release all relevant materials, including the Bransfield report. Not only will this allow us to move this matter toward resolution; it is essential for the Church to restore public trust.”

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.

UNITED STATES
Rolling Stone

July 7, 2019

By Peter Wade

Billionaire Jeffrey Epstein was arrested on Saturday for allegedly sex trafficking dozens of minor girls, some as young as 14, The Daily Beast reported. The investor, who was arrested by the FBI-NYPD Crimes Against Children Task Force, is expected to appear in federal court on Monday.

Twelve years ago in 2007, Epstein escaped harsh punishment when he secured a secret non-prosecution plea deal with Florida federal prosecutors, including the man who is now President Donald Trump’s labor secretary, Alexander Acosta. In the subsequent years, Epstein was hit with numerous lawsuits from victims and media investigations into his abuse of young women but managed to evade federal charges, thanks in large part to his wealth and connections, until now.

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.

WHEELING (WV)
The Parkersburg News and Sentinel

July 7, 2019

The Vatican will decide whether a un-redacted report will be publicly released on the investigation of the former bishop of the Diocese Wheeling-Charleston, the apostolic administrator of the diocese said in an interview with the Wheeling News-Register this week.

Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore was appointed last year by Pope Francis to head the diocese and conduct an investigation into former Bishop Michael Bransfield.

The investigation report was obtained by The Washington Post, which said it cited lavish spending and gifts given by Bransfield, including spending diocese funds on a personal residence, spending thousands of dollars a month on alcoholic drink and buying gifts for other clergy.

Lori, who reimbursed the diocese for gifts he had received from Bransfield over the years, told interviewers he wanted the full report publicly released.

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.

WEST VIRGINIA
The Washington Post

July 3, 2019

By Robert O’Harrow Jr. and Shawn Boburg

Senior Catholic leaders in the United States and the Vatican began receiving warnings about West Virginia Bishop Michael Bransfield as far back as 2012. In letters and emails, parishioners claimed that Bransfield was abusing his power and misspending church money on luxuries such as a personal chef, a chauffeur, first-class travel abroad and more than $1 million in renovations to his home.

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.

ROME
CNN

July 2, 2019

By Hada Messia and Lauren Said-Moorhouse

The Vatican has ordered two of its own tombs to be searched — the latest twist in the mysterious disappearance of a teenager, 36 years ago.

Emanuela Orlandi was 15 when she vanished without a trace in the summer of 1983. The daughter of a prominent employee of the Institute for the Works of Religion — better known as the Vatican Bank — Orlandi was last seen at a music lesson in the grounds of Sant’Apollinare basilica in Rome.

On Tuesday, Gian Piero Milano, the Vatican’s Promoter of Justice, authorized two exhumations in response to a petition launched by the teenager’s family, who believe that her body is buried at the Teutonic Cemetery in Vatican City.

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

WASHINGTON (DC)
CNN

July 2, 2019

By Daniel Burke

Officials have substantiated multiple accusations of child sexual abuse by a preschool teacher at a prominent synagogue in Washington, DC, according to a cease-and-desist letter sent by the DC superintendent of education to the synagogue in June.

The letter says the district’s Child and Family Services Agency found that “more than one child was a victim of sexual abuse by the alleged maltreator” at Washington Hebrew Congregation’s preschool.

CNN obtained a copy of the letter through a Freedom of Information Act request.

Founded in 1852, Washington Hebrew Congregation, is one of DC’s oldest and most prominent Jewish institutions, attended by the city’s Jewish elites for generations.

But the congregation and its early childhood education center have been thrown into turmoil since allegations of child sexual abuse arose last August. The cease-and-desist letter is believed to be the first public finding of an investigation into the alleged abuse at the school by DC authorities.

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SALT LAKE CITY (UT)
The Salt Lake Tribune

July 1, 2019

By Courtney Tanner
·
Officer Miguel Deras mishandled reports from student-athlete Lauren McCluskey weeks before she was killed on campus last fall. But instead of being fired, he and the entire University of Utah Police Department went through training to better recognize the warning signs of domestic violence he and others had missed.

Then, months later, Deras made the same mistakes again on another woman’s case.

And for that, he received the first written warning in his personnel file. It’s the only disciplinary action at the school, so far, to come out of the department’s shortcomings and subsequent reform after McCluskey’s murder on Oct. 22. U. President Ruth Watkins had said shortly after McCluskey’s death that no individual officers would be punished for how they had managed — or mismanaged — her case. Watkins has held to that.

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.

SAN JOSE (CA)
Mercury News

July 9, 2019

By John Woolfolk

The author of a California bill strongly opposed by the Roman Catholic Church that would require priests to report confessions of child sex abuse to authorities said Tuesday he has put it on hold, citing lack of support.

SB 360 by Sen. Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo, had passed out of the state Senate on a 30-4-4 vote May 23. But Hill’s office said he pulled it from a scheduled Tuesday Assembly Public Safety Committee hearing after he “became aware that the legislation would not have enough support to move on.”

“This issue remains important to me, and I will continue to champion it in the hope that my colleagues can come together on legislation,” Hill said in a statement Tuesday. “I strongly believe that for any institution self-policing and self-investigation are not effective ways to combat alleged abuse, as our own state Legislature has found. To be clear, I have placed SB 360 on hold. The bill is on pause, it has not been withdrawn.”

The Roman Catholic Church, struggling to restore parishioners’ confidence amid accusations that some high-ranking clergy had helped cover up reports of abuse by priests, opposed the bill as an assault on the sacrament of Reconciliation. Priests have told parishioners at Sunday Mass that the bill was a threat to their core beliefs.

“An amazing number of people spoke to their legislators to explain the sacred nature of the sacrament of Reconciliation,” said Andrew Rivas, executive director of the California Catholic Conference. “It is important to our spirituality and our relation to God and to others. Our thanks go to all who played a part.”

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LONDON (ENGLAND)
The Telegraph

July 9, 2019

By Gabriella Swerling

The Archbishop of Canterbury has told Church of England leaders that their failure to deal with child sexual abuse is “a knife in our soul”.

Speaking at the opening of the General Synod in York on Friday, the Most Rev Justin Welby told an audience of hundreds of synod members that there is much more progress to be made in the wake of the safeguarding scandal.

He said that “every time the Archbishop of York or I see another case where there’s a falling short of our response, it is a knife in our soul”.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, along with Dr John Sentamu, are due to give evidence at the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) later this week.

The Archbishops are the two most senior members of the Church of England. Previous findings from IICSA have already concluded that the Church’s response to sexual abuse allegations was “marked by secrecy”. This investigation into the Anglican Church is currently assessing the appropriateness of safeguarding and child-protection policies and practices.

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Patheos blog

July 9, 2019

By Hemant Mehta

How much confidence do you have in organized religion?

Gallup asks that question every couple of years, and once again, we can safely say confidence in churches is at an all-time low. Only 36% of Americans say they have a “great deal” of confidence in organized religion.

Confidence in organized religion topped confidence in all other institutions from 1973 to 1985, and, even after falling amid televangelist scandals in the 1980s, it registered at the majority level consistently until 2001. After the Boston Globe‘s 2002 expose revealed Catholic church leaders were aware of and did not take strong action to stop serial sex abuse by priests, confidence in organized religion dropped sharply to 45%. It recovered slightly in the years after the scandal broke, hovering around the 50% mark. Between 2010 and 2017, it regularly registered in the 40s. Since then, in 2018 and 2019, Americans’ confidence in religion has been below the 40% mark.

All the more reason to keep pointing out and criticizing the problems with faith. It’s easier today more than ever — in part because of how Donald Trump has become a magnet for white evangelicals, a pairing that will hopefully become an albatross around their necks for decades to come. In the past couple of years, we’ve also seen major sex scandals in evangelical megachurches, the Southern Baptist Convention, and whatever shopping malls Roy Moore decides to visit.

Then there’s the continued bigotry against LGBTQ people and the advocacy for cruel anti-abortion policies that, if upheld, will inevitably lead to the death of many women.

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.

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

July 8, 2019

The Vatican has apparently waived diplomatic immunity for a French archbishop accused of abuse. We are encouraged by this move and long for the day such cooperation with law enforcement is an everyday procedure for church officials.

We are cautious, however, because so often the church hierarchy tends to act properly only in the most high profile of all cases, such as with the case of Theodore McCarrick. In the past year, we have seen many announcements from church officials that seem to exaggerate the importance of one decision, claiming that these choices herald ‘a new day’ in how church officials deal with abuse and cover up. We hope that church officials will not revert to the secretive patterns of old once the glare of publicity wanes.

Still, no one can deny the decision to waive immunity for Archbishop Luigi Ventura is a positive step forward. We hope it will prompt other church employees, not only in France but throughout the world, to call police with information or suspicions about clergy sex crimes and cover ups.

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.

LONDON (ENGLAND)
The Guardian

July 9, 2019

By Harriet Sherwood

The Vatican has waived diplomatic immunity for its envoy to France, who is under investigation for sexual assault.

The move – an indication of the Vatican’s tougher approach to sexual misconduct and abuse – clears the way for Archbishop Luigi Ventura, the apostolic nuncio, to face criminal charges.

Ventura, 74, is accused of molesting a male employee of Paris city authorities during a new year reception at which Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, addressed diplomats, religious leaders and civil society figures. Parisian authorities have been investigating the allegation for several months.

According to a judicial source, “during the ceremony, a city employee was repeatedly groped on the backside, in three instances, once in front of a witness”.

In March, Nathalie Loiseau, France’s minister of European affairs, urged the Vatican to waive immunity.

“At this point, [Ventura] benefits from diplomatic immunity, but the Holy See is clearly aware of the serious accusations that have been brought against the apostolic nuncio and I don’t doubt for a second that the Holy See will do the right thing,” Loiseau said.

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SYDNEY (AUSTRALIA)
7 News Australia

July 8, 2019

By Karen Sweeney

A Victorian pedophile priest has admitted to more offending, but his lawyer argues he shouldn’t be given a longer jail sentence because he’s already been vilified.

Robert Claffey, 76, is serving more than a decade in prison for sexual crimes against children, but on Monday he admitted abusing another two boys when he was a parish priest in Ballarat in the 1980s.

Prosecutors have called for a lengthier non-parole period as Claffey’s victim count rises.

But his lawyer appealed for his release date to remain the same because he’s already been “hunted” by the media and vilified by the community after being moved from parish to parish by the Catholic Church while he offended.

One of the victims was aged between 12 and 15 at the time he was abused, the other was aged between six and seven.

Claffey was a priest at Our Lady Help of Christians Church in Wendouree and abused his first victim while providing counselling to the boy in his bedroom.

He kissed, touched and abused the boy.

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Into Account blog

July 8, 2019

By Erin Bergen, Stephanie Krehbiel and Hilary Jerome Scarsella

In March of this past spring, Into Account received an unexpected invitation from Mennonite Church USA, the largest Mennonite denomination in the U.S., to present two panels at their biennial convention in July 2019, together with an offer for free booth space in the convention’s exhibit hall. While we were honored by the invitation, we struggled initially with whether accepting it made sense to our organizational mission. Mennonite conventions are historically abusive spaces for marginalized people. Our Into Account co-founder and Development Chair Jay Yoder, for instance, was the target of vitriolic, homophobic sexual harassment and profound spiritual violence at every MC USA convention they ever attended. We feared that any Into Account presence would legitimize us institutionally on the backs of people who do not receive such invitations.

In the end, we said yes, and I think the reason why can be seen in the contents of the following video, taken on Saturday, July 6 at the Kansas City Convention Center.

Rebecca Schrag, Anneliese Baer, and our Student Advocacy Coordinator Erin Bergen addressed a room of over one hundred convention attendees, made up largely of youth and the parents of prospective or current college students. When they concluded their powerful, instructive presentations, the whole audience gave them a standing ovation.

We knew the convention would provide a forum for speaking truth in ways that could meaningfully alter the seemingly insurmountable power dynamics that these women are facing at Mennonite colleges.

After Saturday, we’re hopeful. And dear readers who care about Mennonite colleges, what happens next is largely up to you.

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TORONTO (CANADA)
CP Channel 24

July 4, 2019

By Chris Herhalt

A Toronto man is facing 22 charges after he allegedly lured at least three small children at two Filipino churches over the past year, recording his sexual assaults on them and sharing them online.

Det. Const. Don Bai says that sometime before March 2019, Facebook contacted American law enforcement officials with information suggesting someone was trading and sharing videos and images of the sexual abuse of children using their service.

The Americans then contacted the RCMP, who then notified Toronto police.

Bai said police raided the home of a man in the Bathurst Street and Sheppard Avenue West area on June 12, and seized a number of devices.

The devices allegedly contained videos of a man sexually abusing victims who Bai said were “pre-pubescent.”

Three have been identified so far.

Bai said the children were lured at two churches in 2018, Word and Life Christian Assembly on Coldstream Avenue and Jesus Reigns Forever International Ministry on Finch Avenue West.

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HAGATNA (GUAM)
Pacific Daily News

July 9, 2019

By Haidee Eugenio Gilbert

A man who filed a May 2017 lawsuit alleging that a Talofofo priest sexually abused him more than 50 times in the 1980s is objecting to his lawyers’ request for higher attorney fees.

His lawyers obtained in 2018 a confidential settlement agreement with the religious order, Capuchin Franciscans, on his behalf.

The work is not done yet as the plaintiff, identified in court documents only as N.Q. to protect his privacy still has claims against the Archdiocese of Agana through the bankruptcy process.

N.Q. is represented by three sets of lawyers or law firms: Guam-based attorney Anthony C. Perez, Idaho-based James, Vernon and Weeks, and Honolulu-based Rosenberg McKay Hoffman.

Counsels would continue to work on N.Q.’s behalf in the bankruptcy context to secure additional payments as damages for the abuse he has suffered, Perez said in a June 25 filing in federal court.

Guam law provides maximum limits of attorney fees in an action involving personal injury or death. It also allows counsels to apply to the court, with written notice to the client, for an increase in the fee if attorneys consider that the contingent fee within maximum limits to be insufficient.

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NEW YORK (NY)
The Independent

July 9, 2019

A New York judge yesterday chastised a Dublin born priest Fr. Michael O’Leary for failing to complete the full term of his drug rehabilitation but agreed to let his case on four drugs charges go to a closed-door hearing.

The charges, including criminal possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell, are to be heard in a higher court, Westchester County Court, probably in about two months.

Peekskill City Court Judge, Reginald J. Johnson, meanwhile expressed displeasure over the rehab mandated for Fr. O’Leary after his arrest allegedly with a half-ounce of methamphetamine, scales and packaging materials in Peekskill, New York, on St. Patrick’s Day.

“You only attended 80 days. I don’t know what the deal is with that, but you don’t get to decide. Ninety days is 90 days.”

The Bronx-based priest has a 2017 charge for drunk driving in the US, where he is a citizen.

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Patheos blog

July 8, 2019

Preface by Rebecca Bratten Weiss

In October 2018 the National Catholic Reporter published a story by Jenn Morson, detailing the ongoing grooming and assault of female students by Samuel Tiesi, TOR, chaplain at Franciscan University of Steubenville during the 1980s and 1990s. Morson also reported on the university’s systemic cover-up of Tiesi’s activities, and finally their removal of a plaque dedicated to him, once some of the truth about his behavior emerged.

Morson’s article focused particularly on the painful and traumatizing experiences of one student, Karen, who was repeatedly assaulted by Tiesi, then later blamed and silenced by his fellow friars from whom she sought help – including beloved Franciscan University president Michael Scanlan.

Morson and NCR acted justly and courageously on behalf of the victims and the truth of their stories; however, many still turn away from these accounts that make them uncomfortable, challenge their preconceptions.

But survivors like Karen deserve to be heard and taken seriously; it is the least we can do for them, after what has been done to them. For this reason, I agreed to publish Karen’s open letter to Franciscan University and the institutional leaders who failed her.

This story is difficult to read, and could potentially be triggering for other victims of assault and cover-up, so be advised.

This story will also, I am certain, be upsetting for many who admired or even loved the men she names. I am one who liked and admired Sam Tiesi, and who revered and loved Michael Scanlan. But my shock and perturbation, in facing the reality of what these men did, are nothing compared with the suffering of the survivors who were viciously betrayed and silenced, and who carry scars of sexual, psychological, and spiritual abuse for life.

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NEW YORK (NY)
Huffington Post

July 9, 2019

By Dominique Mosbergen

Democratic lawmakers and sexual abuse survivors have called for President Donald Trump’s labor secretary, Alex Acosta, to resign from his Cabinet post over a controversial 2008 plea deal he made with billionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The deal, approved by Acosta while he was serving as Miami’s top federal prosecutor, allowed Epstein ― who was accused of sexually assaulting dozens of underage girls at his Palm Beach mansion ― to avoid federal prosecution and a possible life sentence. The financier ended up serving only 13 months in prison, a large chunk of which was spent in an office as part of a work-release program.

The plea deal ― and the role Acosta played in it ― has come under renewed scrutiny in recent days following the decision by federal prosecutors in New York to revive the sex crimes case against Epstein.

Epstein, 66, who was arrested in New Jersey on Saturday, faces new charges accusing him of operating a sex trafficking scheme in Manhattan and Palm Beach between 2002 to 2005. Prosecutors claim Epstein “sexually exploited and abused dozens of minor girls,” some as young as 14, by “enticing them to engage in sex acts with him in exchange for money.” Epstein, they said, “perpetuated this abuse in similar ways” in both New York and Florida.

Following the unsealing of the new charges, to which Epstein pleaded not guilty on Monday, several Democratic lawmakers, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), called for Acosta to step down.

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HAGATNA (GUAM)
KUAM News

July 9, 2019

Another clergy child sex abuse complaint has been filed in the District Court of Guam. It was filed by an individual identified as J.J. to protect his privacy.

J.J. who is from Saipan would visit Guam when he was a minor. The victim alleges that he was sexually molested by Capuchin priest, Father Daniel Cristobal. The priest is now deceased.

Court documents state that J.J. first met Father Cristobal in 1961 at Mount Carmel Elementary and Middle School in Saipan. During his visit the priest allegedly sexually molested him.

In 1962 J.J. came to Guam to look into attending the Territorial College. While here he attended mass at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church in Tamuning where the victim discovered Cristobal was presiding over the service. Cristobal is alleged to have sexually molested J.J. multiple times while he was on island.

The complaint alleges the Archdiocese of Agana was aware of Cristobal’s sexual abuse but deliberately remained quiet to protect him, St. Anthony’s Church, and the Capuchins “thereby placing their loyalty above their duty to protect the minor children and their legal responsibilities,” court documents state.

J.J. is seeking a trial by jury and up to $5 million in damages. He is being represented by the Lujan and Wolff Law Firm.

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BUFFALO (NY)
Buffalo News

July 9, 2019

By Jay Tokasz

Fourteen months after a Lockport man accused Monsignor John M. Ryan of molesting him in the 1980s, Bishop Richard J. Malone has yet to decide whether Ryan committed the abuse and should be further punished.

The man’s May 8, 2018 application to a Buffalo Diocese program that compensates victims of clergy abuse prompted Malone to suspend Ryan, 89, last July from publicly celebrating Masses and other priestly functions.

This past May, the diocese received a second complaint about Ryan from a Pennsylvania woman who said the former superintendent of Catholic schools repeatedly molested her in the late 1950s when she was a parishioner at Queen of Heaven Church in West Seneca. Her lawyer notified the diocese in a letter.

Both accusers said they plan to sue the diocese in August under the Child Victims Act, which allows a one-year window for childhood sex abuse victims to pursue civil cases from years ago that were time-barred under statutes of limitations.

Ryan served as superintendent of Catholic schools from 1975 to 1981, overseeing more than 42,000 students in about 150 elementary and high schools in eight counties at the time.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
The Hill

July 8, 2019

By Zack Budryk

An advocacy group for survivors of clergy abuse on Monday called on Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta to resign over the plea deal he made with Jeffrey Epstein in 2008 that allowed the billionaire financier to avoid federal prosecution and a possible life sentence.

Acosta, a U.S. attorney at the time of Epstein’s conviction for soliciting underaged girls, approved the deal with Epstein, allowing him to plead guilty to state prostitution charges and serve roughly a year in prison. The deal also let him spend 16 hours a day outside of prison. Acosta has defended the deal as necessary to ensure Epstein served time.

Acosta has faced growing pressure over the deal since Epstein was charged Monday with sex trafficking.

In a statement Monday, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) noted that a federal judge previously ruled Acosta broke the law when arranging the deal for Epstein.

The statement also blasted unnamed defenders of Acosta for citing how long ago the deal was made, comparing the defense to public relations strategies deployed by the Catholic church in the wake of clergy abuse allegations.

“As head of the Labor Department, Secretary Acosta plays a critical role in the monitoring of crimes like sex trafficking. We simply cannot believe that he can be effective in that role with a cloud – and history – like this over his head.”

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SACRAMENTO (CA)
California Catholic Conference

July 8, 2019

The day before hundreds of Catholics were planning to voice their opposition by attending a hearing in the Capitol, SB 360 was pulled from agenda for tomorrow’s Assembly Public Safety Committee effectively removing it from any further consideration this year.

SB 360 Mandated reporters: clergy (Hill, D-San Mateo) attempted to deny the sanctity of confession when it comes to child sexual abuse to priests and to Catholics who work with priests in parishes, Church agencies and ministries.

The action follows the delivery of tens of thousands of letters, emails and phone calls from Catholics and others concerned with the free expression of religion. Hundreds more planned on boarding buses from as far away as Los Angeles to voice their opposition tomorrow.

Andrew Rivas, executive director of the California Catholic Conference, expressed his thanks to the Californians who reached out to their legislators to oppose SB 360:

“An amazing number of people spoke to their legislators to explain the sacred nature of the Sacrament of Reconciliation,” said Rivas. “It is important to our spirituality and our relation to God and to others. Our thanks go to all who played a part.”

Rivas emphasized the strengthening mandatory reporting laws continues to be a priority of the Conference’s public policy efforts.

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GRAND RAPIDS (MI)
WOOD TV

July 8, 2019

By Ken Kolker

As state Attorney General Dana Nessel announced Monday that her office had charged a sixth Michigan priest with sexual assault, she questioned why some already have been released from custody.

“I will say that we’re seeing a pattern of personal bonds being granted in very serious cases where it has not been my experience that I’ve seen personal bonds on those kinds of cases,” Nessel told Target 8.

“I hope that people aren’t getting special consideration just because they happened to have been or currently are members of the clergy,” she added.

On Monday, police arrested Father Joseph Baker, 57, of the Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit on a charge of raping a victim under the age of 13, early in his ministry. He’s been a priest since 1993, always serving in the Detroit area.

Also on Monday, Nessel’s office said, a judge released the priest on a tether.

Other accused priests, she said, also have been released with low bonds or no bonds at all.

The Detroit archdiocese tipped off the AG about Baker after removing him from public ministry. The archdiocese also released a list of more than 60 Detroit-area clergy with credible allegations of sexually abusing minors over the decades, according to its website. Nearly half of them have died.

Detroit became the third diocese in the state, after Gaylord and Saginaw, to release such a list.

The Diocese of Grand Rapids has not, even after a Target 8 investigation in February found as many as 14 priests had molested more than 30 children since the 1950s.

Target 8 reached out to the Grand Rapids diocese to ask whether it plans to release such a list, but had not heard back as of Monday afternoon.

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Raw Story blog

July 8, 2019

By David Badash

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday announced the formation of a new commission that will take a “fresh look” at human rights through the lens of “natural law,” and civil and human rights advocates are outraged. In preliminary filings the State Dept. noted the Commission will explore “our nation’s founding principles of natural law and natural rights.”

“Natural law,” is religious right wing extremist code for anti-abortion and anti-LGBTQ rights, especially marriage for same-sex couples.

Secretary Pompeo, a known right wing Christian extremist in his own right, has named Mary Ann Glendon, a professor who is also his former mentor, to lead the “Commission on Unalienable Rights.”

Glendon is an anti-abortion, anti-gay Catholic activist who served as U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See (the Vatican) under President George W. Bush. She is also known for her opposition to the use of condoms to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS.

“I hope that the commission will revisit the most basic of questions: What does it mean to claim something is, in fact, a human right?” Pompeo told reporters Monday, adding, as Yahoo News notes, that “words like rights can be used for good or evil.”

Glendon should understand Pompeo’s remarks. She penned a 2004 op-ed supporting a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage. In a unique twist of language she claimed the amendment “should be welcomed by all Americans who are concerned about equality and preserving democratic decision-making.”

And in a shocking move Glendon chastised the awarding of a Pulitzer Prize to the Boston Globe for its work exposing pedophile priests. She reportedly said; “If fairness & accuracy have anything to do with it, awarding the Pulitzer to the Boston Globe would be like giving the Nobel Peace Prize to Osama bin Laden.”

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WHEELiNG (WV)
The Intelligencer

July 8, 2019

As Roman Catholic Archbishop William Lori pointed out in an interview we published Sunday, restoring trust in the church’s Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston will be an ongoing process. What church leaders must keep in mind is that Catholics in the diocese will be watching closely, for years.

Lori, of Baltimore, was appointed to oversee the diocese temporarily after former Bishop Michael Bransfield retired in disgrace. It was left to Lori to deal with financial mismanagement by Bransfield, allegations the former bishop sexually harassed some young priests, and the church-wide scandal of predator priests victimizing children and adults.

Trouble such as that within the diocese cannot be resolved overnight. As Lori put it, he has been doing “the groundwork” for an ongoing time of healing.

Steps taken during the past year or so have been good. A list of predator priests who worked in the diocese has been released. An investigation found accusations of harassment against Bransfield to be credible. The former bishop’s use of millions of dollars in church funds for his own benefit was revealed.

Safeguards have been put in place to prevent financial misdeeds as well as other misbehavior by the clergy.

A council overseeing diocesan finances has been doubled in size and made more effective by including members with special expertise. Some Mountain State Catholics will want to examine for themselves how money is being spent.

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

July 8, 2019

For the sixth time in three months, Michigan’s top law enforcement professional has charged a priest with child sex crimes. She predicts more arrests will be made before her investigation is completed.

We are grateful to AG Dana Nessel and her team for their dedication to investigating cases of clergy sex abuse and cover-up, including this one against Fr. Joseph “Jack” Baker. Children and vulnerable adults are safer because of her courage, as well as the bravery of Michigan victims who have come forward to aid in this investigation and who continue to cooperate with secular officials.

There is no doubt in our mind that attorneys general in most other states could be just as successful at uncovering and prosecuting crimes if they were as determined as AG Nessel. She and her staff spend weekends volunteering to comb through church abuse records. We applaud all of them and hope their example inspires other AGs throughout the country.

For a long time, cases of clergy abuse in Michigan have been stymied and survivors have been denied the chance to expose abusive clergy and complicit church officials in court, thanks to the state’s outdated statute of limitations for filing civil suits for child sex abuse. We hope that legislators in Michigan will take a cue from AG Nessel and use their power to help protect children and support survivors by taking up the issue of SOL reform.

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

July 8, 2019

According to a federal judge, the U.S. Secretary of Labor broke the law when arranging for a much-derided plea deal with a billionaire accused of abuse. Today we join the chorus of those calling for the resignation of Secretary Alexander Acosta due to his mishandling of the Jeffrey Epstein case. If children are to be safe from sexual violence, those who help minimize these crimes must be punished, not promoted.

In a move that elicits the public relations strategies often employed by Catholic church officials, defenders of Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta are stressing how long ago the former prosecutor’s alleged wrongdoing was. Yet this bald-faced effort to minimize that wrongdoing cannot erase it.

What matters is not when a powerful official helped a powerful predator. What matters is THAT a powerful official helped a powerful predator.That official deserves to be demoted for his hurtful choices.

As head of the Labor Department, Secretary Acosta plays a critical role in the monitoring of crimes like sex trafficking. We simply cannot believe that he can be effective in that role with a cloud – and history – like this over his head.

Jeffrey Epstein has connections on both sides of the political aisle, so this move should not be seen as a partisan one. According to one news account, “In 2011, Gawker.com reported (Epstein’s phone book) was filled with . . . politicians Tony Blair, Michael Bloomberg, Andrew Cuomo, and Ted Kennedy.”

Finally, now is not the time to get complacent about Epstein’s prosecution. A charge is not a conviction, and a conviction doesn’t guarantee prison. Epstein will again no doubt hire the very best lawyers who will again try hard to exploit loopholes and pull strings to avoid his being found guilty and being incarcerated. Police and prosecutors will need all the help they can get.

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PARIS (FRANCE)
CNN

July 8, 2019

By Barbara Wojazer and Valentina DiDonato

The Vatican has waived immunity for its envoy to France, who is under investigation for sexual assault, according to the Bishops’ Conference of France.

Archbishop Luigi Ventura, 74, is alleged to have inappropriately touched a junior male official working at the Paris city hall, deputy mayor Patrick Klugman told CNN earlier this year.

The French government confirmed it received “confirmation from the Holy See that it waived immunity” for Ventura.

The interim director of the Vatican press office, Alessandro Gisotti, said the decision demonstrated Ventura’s commitment to cooperating with the investigation.

“This is an extraordinary gesture that confirms the will of the Nuncio (ambassador), expressed from the beginning of this situation, to collaborate fully with the French judicial authorities,” Gisotti said.

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World Religion News blog

July 8, 2019

By Alison Lesley

MEMBERS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT CHURCH WALKED OUT THE SERMON IN PROTEST Retired priest, Ulrich Zurkuhlen, has caused quite a stir in the city of Münster, northwest Germany, after urging everyone to practice forgiveness for priests who had sexually abused minors.

This message by Zurkuhlen comes at a difficult time for the Roman Catholic Church which is currently dealing with a barrage of allegations from different parts of the world of priest’s predatory conduct as well as church attempts at cover-ups.

The German Bishops’ Conference published a report in 2018 which said that 1,670 priests, which is almost 4.4 percent of clerics were guilty of abusing 3,677 people between 1946 and 2014 in Germany.

Kirche-und-Leben.de, an internet portal, reported that 70 members walked out of the congregation in protest.

Several parishioners tried to argue with the 79-year-old Zurkuhlen. The priest wasn’t able to finish the sermon as the situation became chaotic. There were several victims of abuse present at the sermon.

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NEW YORK (NY)
United Press International

July 8, 2019

By Clyde Hughes

Thirty-six percent of respondents to a new Gallup poll released Monday said they have confidence in the church or organized religion, a far cry from the 60-plus percent confidence the institutions enjoyed in the 1970s and 1980s.

The annual poll, which was conducted from June 3-16, measured church or organized religions with 13 other institutions.

Confidence in church or organized religions enjoyed highs of 68 percent in the mid-1970s and from 66 to 61 percent in the 1980s before several popular televangelist scandals made national headlines, including those involving ministers Jim Bakker, Jimmy Swaggart, and Oral Roberts.

That confidence in churches and organized religions reached 60 percent again in early 2000, before showing an uneven fall since, partly fueled by the sexual abuse scandals in the Catholic Church. The 36 percent marks the lowest confidence in the church and organized religions since the survey’s highs in the 1970s.

“The downward trend in confidence in organized religion is partly attributable to the rising share of Americans who identify as having no religion — a group that has little confidence in organized religion, and now comprises about one-fifth of the U.S. population,” Gallup’s Justin McCarthy said.

“But confidence in organized religion has also declined among those who are religious, including Catholics and Protestants,” he added.

Only three of the 14 institutions Gallup poll surveyed captured majority levels of confidence among the respondents — the military (73 percent), small businesses (68 percent) and police (53 percent).

The results on confidence in the church and religious institutions appeared to support a Pew poll released last week that showed a growing number of Americans no longer claim a religious affiliation.

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Patheos blog

July 7, 2019

By Mary Pezzulo

It’s been a rough twenty-four hours on the internet.

It started Friday evening, with a man drunk-friending me on facebook so that he could tag me in a post bragging about how much tequila he’d had and how much he’d enjoyed watching a fight between me and somebody I’d blocked. Yes, he tagged the blocked person as well. The next thing I knew, someone who has screenshotted my friends-only posts to bully me before was on the thread accusing me of all kinds of nasty things. I blocked the drunk and tried to go back to my writing.

Moments later, a woman who apparently founded a site called “Roaming Catholics” was calling me stupid, telling me I needed an exorcism and that I was in mortal sin; she then tried to give me a grammar lesson:

For those of my readers who are visually impaired, that’s a screenshot of a woman with an American flag for a profile picture saying “exorcism is a verb, not a noun, and you have a blog? lol.” And for those of you who are unsure, “exorcism” is definitely a noun. Yes, she got blocked too.

Then it was Saint Maria Goretti’s feast day, a difficult day for rape survivors. I re-shared an old blog post where I explained what the saint’s virtues were and clarified the Church’s teaching on rape. I always re-share this post on her feast, because a surprising number of people like to go around claiming that rape victims “take the easy way out” and we should all be saintly and just get stabbed to death instead– never mind that that has never been Church teaching, and that many of us rape survivors didn’t have that choice. Some catechists hold up Maria Goretti as a martyr for purity not because she valued her and Alessandro’s chastity and forgave her attacker, but because he managed to fatally stab her before he got his wish of molesting a twelve-year-old girl.

As if Saint Maria would somehow be less virtuous if Alessandro had just gone ahead and raped her after she was stabbed. I think it’s very important that we be clear that that’s wrong, especially in this day and age. Victims of sexual assault and abuse are not the ones who sin. Their attackers are. To say a victim incurs guilt for having something done to them against their will, is heresy. It’s not just me, a hysterical woman blogger saying that; St. Thomas and St. Augustine also stated that a virgin who is raped remains a virgin. No one can sin against their will. And hijacking a saint’s hagiography to shame victims is just one more way to exploit an abused child.

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PARIS (FRANCE)
LaCroix International

July 8, 2019

Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, the third most senior active cardinal in the worldwide Church, has called on bishops and other Catholic officials to better engage in listening to victims of clergy sex abuse.

At a lecture last month in the Austrian capital of Vienna, where he has been archbishop since 1995, Schönborn said listening to victims was essential to breaking the “spiral of silence” that has allowed such abuse to continue for so long.”

The victims have to overcome an enormously high threshold even to begin talking,” the 74-year-old cardinal said at a conference on “Sex & Crime” at the Religiosity in Psychiatry and Psychotherapy Institute at Vienna University.

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ITHACA (NY)
Ithaca Times

July 1, 2019

By Edwin J. Viera

In January, New York State passed the Child Victims Act (CVA), which opened up New York’s previously strict criminal and civil statute of limitations on child sexual assault allegations. Instead of the criminal statute beginning when a person is 18 and ending when a person turns 23, the statute now begins when a person turns 23 and ends when they turn 28. For the civil statute of limitations, victims had to file before the age of 23. Now, the statute for any child sexual assault after February 14, 1996 can file a lawsuit before the age of 55. This is just one of many differences to come from the new legislation.

On June 25, at the BorgWarner Room of the Tompkins County Public Library, the Zero Abuse Project and NYS Assembly member Barbara Lifton sponsored an event to teach people about the law’s new parameters. Lifton was hopeful that local organizations who deal with sexual assault victims would be able to take this information and help their clients. The seminar did reveal that a window for most if not all child sexual assault cases to be opened will come up later this summer.

Starting on August 16 of this year and closing on August 13, 2020, for any victim of child sexual assault in New York State, regardless of age, will be able to file a civil lawsuit against either an abuser or an institution which covered for an abuser. This window of opportunity is allowing anyone to file a civil case against an abuser regardless of whether or not the statute of limitations has run out.

Jeff Dion, the CEO of the Zero Abuse Project, led a presentation detailing several facts about the new Child Victims Act. He spoke about how the culture of negligence within some institutions has to end and should be replaced by one of disclosure.

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PARIS (FRANCE)
Agence France-Presse

July 8, 2019

The Vatican has lifted the diplomatic immunity of its Paris envoy under investigation for alleged sexual assault, the French foreign ministry said Monday.

Luigi Ventura, 74, faces four complaints of sexual abuse — including that he molested a junior official at the Paris town hall. French prosecutors in March asked the Vatican to lift his immunity.

A spokesman said the foreign ministry “received confirmation from the Holy See that it had waived (Ventura’s) immunity” in a letter that arrived late last week.

In February, French prosecutors revealed they were investigating the Italian-born archbishop over an incident at the town hall during a New Year’s address by Mayor Anne Hidalgo.

During the ceremony, a city employee had their backside repeatedly groped, with the town hall filing a complaint on January 24. An investigation was opened the next day.

Two other people have since come forward and related incidents involving “similar gestures, hands on buttocks or thighs”, which allegedly took place last year.

There was also a complaint filed in Ottawa by a man who made similar allegations about an incident in 2008 while Ventura was serving in Canada.

The papal nuncio — the term for a Vatican ambassador — spoke to the police in early April, with judicial sources saying it was “at his request”. They gave no further details.

A career diplomat with the Vatican, Ventura has held the position in Paris since 2009.

He also served in Brazil, Bolivia and Britain before being appointed papal nuncio to Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso and Niger, Chile and then Canada.

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