ABUSE TRACKER

CAIRO (EGYPT)
Reuters

August 10, 2020

By Menna A. Farouk

Egyptian lawmakers are pushing for a new law to protect the identity of women coming forward to report sexual abuse and assault as the nation’s MeToo movement picks up speed.

An Egyptian parliamentarian committee has approved a draft law that would give survivors of sexual assault and harassment the automatic right to anonymity, with the law expected to go to vote at a general session of the parliament later this month.

The moves comes as hundreds of women have started to speak up on social media about sexual assault in Egypt, with the public prosecution and National Council for Women supporting the movement and offering legal and social protection.

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)
New York Post

August 8, 2020

By Sara Dorn and Kathianne Boniello

A former student at an elite Manhattan private school claims in a shocking $20 million lawsuit that he was molested by three staffers, including one who allegedly kept a horrific trophy — jeans with locks of victims’ hair sewn into them.

Anthony Filiberti is the second alum to sue the $50,000-a-year Saint David’s School over past childhood sex abuse.

“Initially, it was incredibly pleasant. You ran around this donated mansion,” said Filiberti, who attended the all-boys elementary housed in three historic townhomes next to the Guggenheim on East 89th Street, from 1965 to 1973.

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DETROIT (MI)
Church Militant

August 8, 2020

A Michigan priest has been officially vindicated after a detective who falsely accused him of rape has agreed to pay him damages awards.

On Friday, Sgt. Det. Nancy LePage of the Macomb County Sheriff’s Department agreed to pay $125,000 to Detroit priest Fr. Eduard Perrone, one month after a three-person panel unanimously found her guilty of defamation and recommended that she pay damages. Friday was the deadline set by the panel for accepting or rejecting the recommendation.

Now that LePage has accepted the finding of guilt and has agreed to pay the money, it becomes a binding court ruling, formally bringing an end to Perrone’s months-long lawsuit for defamation, and officially vindicating him.

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ROCHESTER (NY)
Democrat and Chronicle

August 6, 2020

By Sean Lahman

More than a dozen survivors have filed lawsuits in state court over the last week alleging that they were sexually abused while participating in Boy Scout activities in central and western New York.

The suits accuse Scout leaders and adult volunteers of sexually abusing the the survivors when they were as young as 8 years old. The timeframe for the alleged abuse described in these civil suits ranges from 1949 to 2007, but the majority of the assaults occurred in the 1970s.

The claims were filed under the Child Victims Act. Adopted in early 2019, the CVA carved out a one-year window during which suits can be brought by people who allege they were sexually abused when they were young. That window had been set to close Aug. 13, but a one-year extension was signed into law by Gov. Andrew Cuomo earlier this week.

Plaintiff’s lawyers say that they had been working to get cases filed by the original deadline, prompting this recent surge of new cases.

Three of the new complaints name perpetrators who had been identified in previous lawsuits, including the Rev. Robert F. O’Neill.

O’Neill was a Catholic priest and of the worst serial abusers ever uncovered in the Rochester diocese. Already named as a defendant in more than 20 lawsuits, O’Neill served at six parishes in the Rochester area between 1962 and 2001. He also served as a counselor to Scouts in various local troops.

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BUFFALO (NY)
Buffalo News

August 9, 2020

By Jay Tokasz and Mike McAndrew

Former Smallwood Elementary School teacher Trent Hariaczyi pleaded guilty in 2005 to possessing child pornography and served 18 months in federal prison.

Now, a local man who was a Smallwood student from 1994 to 2000 is alleging Hariaczyi molested him, and the Amherst Central School District allowed it to happen.

The man, now in his early 30s, sued the district in July, more than 20 years after the alleged abuse.

“He’s just broken over this,” said the man’s lawyer, Paul Barr.

The Amherst District superintendent’s office on Friday emailed a statement that said the district became aware last week of “troubling allegations” regarding the conduct of a former district employee. “The former employee at issue left the district in 2002,” the statement said. “The district is undertaking all appropriate steps in response to this information.”

The case against Amherst schools is among at least 720 lawsuits in Western New York filed since last August under the Child Victims Act, including a surge of more than 200 cases filed since July 24.

Statewide, about 3,800 CVA cases have been filed since last August. New York County Supreme Court so far has received the most CVA filings in the state, with 851, according to the Office of Court Administration. Erie County had the second-most filings, with 636.

Most of the filings allege abuse by Catholic priests, scout leaders and teachers, although a handful of suits accuse family members, doctors and law enforcement. Just within the past two weeks, new CVA suits have targeted the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office, Amherst Youth Hockey and Big Brothers & Big Sisters of Erie, Niagara and the Southern Tier.

The Buffalo Diocese has been named as a defendant in at least 263 CVA suits in Western New York, making it the region’s most sued entity, even though lawsuits against the diocese mostly have stopped since it filed in February for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Other Catholic entities, such as parishes and schools, continue to be named as defendants in many lawsuits.

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ISLE OF MAN (ENGLAND)
Phys.org from Science X Network

August 6, 2020

By Geoff McMaster

A recent literature review by a University of Alberta cult expert and his former graduate student paints a startling and consistent picture of institutional secrecy and widespread protection of those who abuse children in religious institutions “in ways that often differ from forms of manipulation in secular settings.”

It’s the first comprehensive study exposing patterns of sexual abuse in religious settings.

“A predator may spend weeks, months, even years grooming a child in order to violate them sexually,” said Susan Raine, a MacEwan University sociologist and co-author of the study with University of Alberta sociologist Stephen Kent.

Perpetrators are also difficult to identify, the researchers said, because they rarely conform to a single set of personality or other traits.

The findings demonstrate the need to “spend less time focusing on ‘stranger danger,’ and more time thinking about our immediate community involvement, or extended environment, and the potential there for grooming,” said Raine.

Raine and Kent examined the research on abuse in a number of religious denominations around the world to show “how some religious institutions and leadership figures in them can slowly cultivate children and their caregivers into harmful and illegal sexual activity.”

Those institutions include various branches of Christianity as well as cults and sectarian movements including the Children of God, the Branch Davidians, the Fundamentalist Latter-Day Saints as well as a Hindu ashram and the Devadasis.

“Because of religion’s institutional standing, religious grooming frequently takes place in a context of unquestioned faith placed in sex offenders by children, parents and staff,” they found.

The two researchers began their study after Kent was asked to provide expert testimony for a lawsuit in Vancouver accusing Bollywood choreographer and sect leader Shiamak Davar of sexually abusing two of his dance students in 2015.

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SPRINGFIELD (MA)
Springfield Republican via MassLive

August 3, 2020

By Anne-Gerard Flynn

https://www.masslive.com/news/2020/08/vicar-general-of-springfield-diocese-wont-accept-reappointment-says-he-was-unfairly-portrayed-in-weldon-report.html

Fallout continues in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield as the diocesan vicar general, the Rev. Monsignor Christopher Connelly, will not seek reappointment, saying he was “unfairly and unfavorably portrayed” in the recent report into allegations of sexual abuse by the late Bishop Christopher J. Weldon.

Connelly’s announcement coincides with letters having circulated in the religious community in which retired priest James Scahill, an outspoken advocate on behalf of victims of sex abuse within the Catholic church, called for the removal of the vicar based on the results of the report by retired Judge Peter A. Velis. The vicar is second only to the bishop in the diocesan hierarchy.

In the report, made public on June 24, Velis found allegations by a former altar boy against Weldon were “unequivocally credible.” The report was also critical of the diocese’s handling of the case prior to the call by the current bishop, the Most Rev. Mitchell T. Rozanski, for the independent investigation last summer.

“I am calling for the immediate removal and replacement of Connelly as vicar general and rector of St. Michael’s Cathedral,” Scahill said when asked about his letter and Connelly’s reaction to it. “Christopher Connelly is doing what I am very opposed to – that is employing smoke and mirrors (and) dodging the truth.”

Connelly, meanwhile, said his appointment as vicar ceased on June 10 as a result of Rozanski being named archbishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of St. Louis, where he will move later this month. “Before Father Scahill’s request, I had already indicated to our bishop that when a new bishop moves in, I would not accept reappointment as vicar general, that I had done it,” Connelly said.

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ST HELENS (MERSEYSIDE, ENGLAND)
St Helens Star

August 6, 2020

By Joanne Rowe

An elderly priest has been jailed for sexually abusing six boys more than 30 years ago.

All but one of 96-year-old former priest Father John Kevin Murphy’s victims came forward to police after seeing media reports about him being imprisoned in 2017 for molesting other boys.

The abuse of the victims, some of them altar boys, occurred at the homes of victims in Whiston, Ashton-in-Makerfield and Liverpool and at swimming baths in Liverpool and Leigh.

“The picture that emerges from the two cases is that for some 27 years the defendant was a predatory paedophile who used his position as a Catholic priest to groom and subsequently abuse at least ten children,” said Arthur Gibson, prosecuting, at Liverpool Crown Court.

The court heard how Murphy, of Hillside Crescent, Horwich, had been ordained as a priest in 1962 and served in a number of parishes in the Merseyside, Lancashire and Greater Manchester until he retired.

The six victims, who were aged between eight and 16 at the times of the offences, were molested while he took them on swimming lessons and also while visiting the homes of their devout Catholic parents.

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DENVER (CO)
Catholic News Agency

August 7, 2020

By Kevin Jones

Archbishop-designate Mitchell Rozanski is set to take over the Archdiocese of St. Louis, after heading the Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts since 2014. Though Rozanski himself backed major changes in the Springfield diocese’s handling of abuse, one unnamed abuse victim has asked for a Church investigation into whether the archbishop-designate was involved in covering up abuse.

Olan Horne, an advocate for victims of sex abuse by clergy, said the request to investigate Archbishop-designate Rozanski was made by a Berkshire County resident who had taken part in the Boston archdiocese’s multi-million dollar settlement, the Springfield newspaper The Republican reports. Horne said the request had support from “other concerned Catholics here in the diocese.”

The complaint was made through the Catholic Bishops Abuse Reporting Service website, and Horne said he received confirmation that the allegation had been filed.

Mark Dupont, secretary of communications for the Diocese of Springfield, told CNA August 6 that Rozanski had worked to make improvements in responding to sexual abuse allegations since before June 2019, when he commissioned an independent investigation into the mishandling of an allegation about a previous bishop.

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ALBANY (NY)
Spectrum News

August 4, 2020

By Jaclyn Cangro

Troy – Abigail Barker is discussing something not many people go public with.

“The topic of childhood sexual abuse is an inherently difficult topic to talk about. People don’t want to talk about it,” Barker said.

But that’s exactly what she wants to do. She says when she was five years old, she was sexually abused when she was babysat by her Sunday school teacher and deacon at Victorious Life Christian Church in Troy.

A lawsuit filed under the Child Victims Act says Barker came forward with the allegation less than two years after the alleged abuse. She says at six years old, she was interviewed by the church’s elder, and her alleged abuser was cleared of any wrongdoing. He worked at Victorious Life until 2011, and his wife remains a deacon.

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BAKERSFIELD (CA)
KGET

August 6, 2020

By Jason Kotowski

A Superior Court judge on Thursday granted a change of venue motion filed by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fresno, which is being sued for defamation by Monsignor Craig Harrison.

The case will be heard in Fresno County Superior Court. A date for the next hearing had not been scheduled.

“Of course we opposed (the motion) because we have other cases going here with similar issues, but it doesn’t come as a surprise,” Kyle J. Humphrey, one of Harrison’s attorneys, said afterward.

Humphrey said the case could have been held in Kern if the diocese hadn’t objected, but the law allows a change of venue for the case to be heard where the diocese is situated.

The lawsuit is based on what Harrison said were defamatory statements made by then-Diocese spokeswoman Teresa Dominguez on behalf of the Diocese in a May 2019 article on KQED. Dominguez said that she believed a man who had first reported sexual abuse allegations against Harrison decades ago.

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CHANDIGARH (INDIA)
The Tribune

August 7, 2020

Mulakkal, in his plea had challenged the July 7 Kerala High Court order, dismissing his discharge plea in the rape case filed by the nun

A trial court here on Friday granted bail to Bishop Franco Mulakkal, accused of raping a nun in Kerala, with stringent conditions and directed him to be present on the dates of hearing of the case.

The Additional Sessions Court had cancelled the bail granted to the Bishop on July 13 for failing to appear for the trial and issued a non-bailable warrant against him.

Mulakkal was present in the court on Friday when it considered the matter.

Granting bail, the court directed him not to leave the state till the charge-sheet is read out to him on August 13 and to be present court on the dates of hearing of the case.

The court also directed him to offer fresh sureties and bail bonds.

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LONDON (ENGLAND)
Guardian

August 9, 2020

By Gabriella Coslovich

On a writing grant to the eternal city an Italian-born Australian encounters its two faces – the tourist’s fantasy and the residents’ reality

*

A city operates on discrete levels – the tourist’s fantasy and the resident’s reality. A Roman urban planner laments the city’s poorly maintained infrastructure and the daily struggle of workers who depend on a fickle public transport system. She jokes about the hi-vis orange plastic fences that appear around collapsed walls and roads – and remain indefinitely. On the nightly news I see the same problems that I see at “home”. Online retail killing bricks-and-mortar shops. Men killing their spouses. Climate change killing the planet. Clerical abuse of children. The rise of racism, antisemitism and the far right. Some problems are graver here. This country is western Europe’s most polluted. Youth unemployment is close to 30%. The mafia mutate and spread. Refugees and migrants stream across permeable borders, arriving by sea and land. Many don’t make it. The coronavirus has yet to hit and, when it does, Italy is pushed to the brink of collapse. Other emergencies slide down the news agenda. The country is in triage, battling an invisible, terrifying enemy that eclipses all else.

Before the pandemic, it was still possible to notice other things. As in Australia, politicians climbing to success on an anti-migrant stance. When Salvini’s plan to force an election backfired, he called on his supporters to descend on Rome, echoing a fascist past. In late October they do, and I avoid the square where the demonstration takes place, watching it instead on the evening news. I see the same old slogans trotted out by populists everywhere: Orgoglio Italiano. Italian Pride. Prima Gli Italiani. Italians First. A Salvini supporter holds a placard that reads Io Sto Con San Salvini. I’m with Saint Salvini. Another holds a crucifix alongside the Italian flag.

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DENVER (CO)
Crux from Associated Press/Lansing State Journal

August 9, 2020

By Craig Lyons

Lansing – Parishioners of St. Casimir Catholic Church lined Sparrow Avenue on Aug. 2 getting one last sight of the parish many called home for decades.

Bishop Earl Boyea tied a red ribbon around the doors, leading the crowd of parishioners in prayer one last time.

“I now pronounce this church closed,” Boyea said.

*

The parish first hinted at possibly closing its doors in December, telling parishioners that the dwindling population and lower volume of donations could not sustain St. Casimir. The Diocese of Lansing had planned to review all its parishes’ operations this year.

“Over the last 100 years our parish has been through its ups and downs. Through it all, the Lord has always had a plan for us. Now we have come to the end of those plans,” Pung wrote in a letter to parishioners this spring. “With declining priest numbers and changing demographics, we are no longer able to sustain a healthy, vibrant parish life that will meet the spiritual needs of its people.”

Only about 380 parishioners attend Sunday Mass at St. Casimir, which is lower than other Lansing parishes, the diocese said.

St. Casimir’s would be the first Catholic church closed by the Lansing diocese in almost a decade. It shuttered Holy Cross parish in Lansing in 2009. The Vietnamese Catholic community purchased the building as reopened it as the Parish of Saint Andrew Dung-Lac in 2011.

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CARDIFF (WALES)
WalesOnline

August 8, 2020

By Laura Clements

“My mother… she’s sacrificing me to gain eternal life”

When 16-year-old Sian sat down and told her mum she had been sexually assaulted, she said she was subjected to a barrage of questions like what was she wearing, did she enjoy it and did she definitely say no?

Her mother, a zealous Jehovah’s Witness told her teenage daughter if she had been more immersed in the faith, maybe even prayed more, it would never have happened.

Now aged 35 and with three of her own children, Sian has virtually no contact with her mum despite the fact they live immediately next door.

In a pitiful effort to maintain some sort of normality, occasionally Sian comes across small bags of sweets left on her garden wall for her children. Sometimes, envelopes stuffed with money are posted through the letterbox and once a package containing an X-Box was dropped off at the house.

Sian grew up as a Jehovah’s Witness in south Wales with her mum and step-father – her parents divorced when she was very young- but said the religion “never sat right” with her.

Sian is not her real name. As she speaks candidly about life as a young Jehovah’s Witness, it is clear she is protecting not just her children but also her own sense of worth in an effort for self-preservation.

“A boy forced himself on me when I was younger,” she says, almost apologetically. “I told my mother and she said I needed to tell the elders. So I went to them and explained what had happened. I was 16 and I was reproved even though it wasn’t my fault.

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DENVER (CO)
Crux from Catholic News Service/USCCB

August 3, 2020

Rome – While recent popes have kept the same personal secretary throughout their pontificates, Pope Francis has chosen to rotate the priests serving in that capacity.

The Vatican press office confirmed Aug. 1 that “in the context of the normal rotation of personnel desired by Pope Francis for his collaborators in the Roman Curia, Msgr. Yoannis Lahzi Gaid, personal secretary of the Holy Father since April 2014, has concluded his service.”

*

Pope Francis has chosen Italian Father Fabio Salerno, also an official in the Secretariat of State, to succeed the Egypt-born priest.

Born in Catanzaro April 25, 1979, he was ordained to the priesthood in 2011. After earning a doctorate in civil and canon law from Rome’s Pontifical Lateran University, Salerno entered the Vatican diplomatic corps. He served at the nunciature in Indonesia and at the Holy See’s mission to the Council of Europe before transferring to the Vatican.

Salerno will work with Father Gonzalo Aemilius, a priest from Uruguay, whom the pope chose as a secretary in January.

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DAYTON (OH)
Journal-News

August 8, 2020

By Josh Sweigart

A Journal-News investigation into the Society of Mary’s handling of alleged abuse of children by its members found the religious order concealed allegations against some from parents, students and school officials.

The order released a list this summer of 46 priests and brothers its leaders say sexually abused children since 1950, but critics say the disclosure falls short. Five men appearing on the list were assigned to the former Hamilton Catholic High School at some time during their careers, according to a Journal-News review of the documents.

The Catholic order today is based in St. Louis and runs dozens of schools in the U.S. and around the world. Because of the group’s ties to southwest Ohio, many of the men named in the list worked or studied in the region at some time, a Journal-News investigation found.

U.S. Marianist leader Provincial Fr. Oscar Vasquez has admitted that mistakes were made in the past in how the order handled abuse claims.

“In a spirit of sorrow and accountability, and with a sincere desire for reconciliation and healing, we are confronting the darkness of these sins,” he said in a statement released along with the list.

A group critical of how the Catholic church has handled abuse claims, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, has called for the Marianists to do more. The organization wants the Marianists to release more information about the accused, including photos, current whereabouts and when the order learned of the allegations and to work more aggressively to seek out additional victims and perpetrators.

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ALBUQUERQUE (NM)
Albuquerque Journal

August 6, 2020

By Colleen Heild

An estimated 6,000 children passed through the doors of the St. Anthony Home for Boys in Albuquerque during its 68 years of operation.

When Roy Rogers and Dale Evans played the New Mexico State Fair, they visited the home and let the children sit atop Trigger.

U.S. Sen. Robert Kennedy was running for president in 1968 when he stopped and ate lunch with the students at the orphanage – the state’s first for boys. Heavyweight boxer Sonny Liston paid a visit to spar with them and tell his story, states an online survey of the historic school from the National Park Service.

The religious order of nuns that ran the orphanage describes St. Anthony’s as a lifeline for boys, where they learned to care for livestock, grow vegetables, and where prayer, sacraments and spiritual life were central to their daily lives.

But a lawsuit filed in state District Court this week paints a much darker picture, one where children whose parents were dead or couldn’t care for them were tormented and sexually abused by nuns and priests.

Beginning in the late 1950s, one boy who lived there tried to escape, only to be caught, deemed a runaway and brought back by police, according to the lawsuit filed against the Sisters of St. Francis, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, which ran the school.

The boy – now a man in his late 60s identified only as John Doe 167 – alleges that behind the walls of the orphanage, he was sexually abused beginning at age 6 by the chaplain, visiting priests and some of the nuns at the school who had “total and complete control of the lives of the children.”

He finally escaped for good at age 13, running away and convincing an aunt he couldn’t return.

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ALBUQUERQUE (NM)
KOB

August 7, 2020

By Patrick Hayes

A new lawsuit claims Catholic priests and nuns in Albuquerque abused orphans.

“I think St. Anthony’s orphanage has been around forever or was around forever. And then in the 1950s, 1960s, and we’re actually learning even prior to that had a problem with physical and sexual abuse of children who were placed there,” said Levi Monagle, an attorney representing a man who claims he was abused at the orphanage.

According to the lawsuit, John Doe 167 became a “captive sex toy” for the chaplain, visiting priests and nuns.

Attorneys say the victim was a resident of St. Anthony’s, which was located on Indian School near 12th Street, from 1958 to 1965. They say the abuse started when their client was 6 years old.

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SYDNEY (NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA)
Catholic Weekly – Archdiocese of Sydney

August 6, 2020

By Marilyn Rodrigues

Scrapping the seal impossible and could cause harm

Perth Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB has appeared before a WA parliamentary committee to defend the seal of confession in the Catholic Church as essential to the practice of the faith.

He was joined by Coptic Orthodox priest Father Abram Abdelmalek representing the Coptic and Oriental Orthodox Churches.

Archbishop Costelloe, who has also lodged a written submission to the committee’s inquiry into proposed changes to the state’s child protection laws, said he supported priests being mandatory reporters of child sexual abuse, but that the obligation should not be expanded to include information gained by clergy during the sacrament of confession.

No matter how well-intended, the proposed legislation would not make children and young people any safer and may in fact, given the inviolable trust in the confidentiality of the confessional, “make the situation worse for young people who are experiencing abuse or for older people who are seeing to address the abuse they suffered as a child”, he told the standing committee on legislation chaired by Dr Sally Talbot on 6 August.

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TARENTUM (PA)
Tribune-Review

August 7, 2020

By Paula Reed Ward

A man who immigrated to the United States at age 13 from Italy is suing the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh, alleging that he was sexually assaulted by a priest at Immaculate Conception Parish in Bloomfield twice in 1967.

The lawsuit, filed in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court, also names as defendants the church, Cardinal Donald Wuerl and current Bishop David Zubik.

A spokeswoman for the diocese said they had not yet been served the complaint and that they do not comment on pending litigation.

Gennaro Greco was 13 when he moved with his family to Pittsburgh in 1963, according to the complaint. At the time, he did not know how to speak English, which his attorney said made him particularly vulnerable for abuse. He was put back two years in school, making him older and larger than other students in his class. Greco became an altar boy at Conception Parish, it said, and volunteered there with cleaning and other chores.

Twice, the lawsuit said, when he was helping to clean walls in the rectory, the Rev. Leo Burchianti took him aside, stripped off his clothes and raped him. The lawsuit said that the diocese and its bishops knew of the abuse but concealed it to preserve the church’s reputation. Shortly after the assaults, the lawsuit said, Burchianti was transferred to another parish. According to the 40th Statewide Grand Jury report, released nearly two years ago, Burchianti was moved to Our Lady of Grace in Scott in June 1968.

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PITTSBURGH (PA)
KDKA-TV

August 7, 2020

By Shelby Cassesse

The priest was named in the state’s grand jury report into sexual abuse in Pennsylvania dioceses. The report says he was involved in inappropriate relationships with at least eight boys.

A lawsuit has been filed against the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh alleging that a man was sexually assaulted and raped by a priest when he was an altar boy.

The victim accuses Father Leo Burchianti of attacking and raping him twice.

“It’s taken him a long time to recognize he did nothing wrong,” said attorney Richard Serbin.

Burchianti was a priest named in the state’s grand jury report into sexual abuse in Pennsylvania dioceses.

The grand jury report alleges Burchianti had inappropriate relationships with at least eight boys and appeared to have been evaluated and treated at facilities for “inappropriate relationships with male minors” on multiple occasions.

According to the complaint, the victim was 13 years old when he came to Pittsburgh. He became an altar boy and frequently volunteered to help with chores at the Immaculate Conception Parish.

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DENVER (CO)
Catholic News Agency

August 6, 2020

Washington – After an official with the Society of St. Pius X told priests and staff they should speak with criminal investigators only in the presence of an attorney provided by the group, the group’s leaders say their message was not intended to suggest anyone should cover up alleged sex abuse.

The Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) is a breakaway traditionalist group of priests and bishops with no official canonical status in the Church.

Rev. Scott Gardner, bursar of the U.S. district of the SSPX, told staff and priests at St. Mary’s SSPX chapel and school in Kansas last weekend that they did not have to cooperate with state investigators of alleged child sex abuse.

He added that employees and priest should speak to police only in the presence of a lawyer, who would be provided by the organization.

Some former members of the organization said the message, sent by email, seemed designed to silence witnesses or whistleblowers of abuse.

“It looks like they’re trying to hide things, trying to keep people from speaking and definitely stonewalling,” Kyle White, who has alleged that priests in the organization covered up reports of sexual abuse, told the Kansas City Star Aug. 4.

“They don’t want any more stuff like this getting out,” White added.

Gardner said when he emailed priests and staff, he was simply informing them that they did not have to speak to investigators without a lawyer present.

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WATERTOWN (NY)
Watertown Daily Times and NY360

August 7, 2020

By Sydney Schaefer

https://www.nny360.com/news/crime/second-person-to-file-suit-over-abuse-allegations-against-former-lowville-teacher-church-choir-director/article_a51e1399-f9b5-5b7c-a467-10220d4a8cac.html

Lowville – A lawsuit filed against Lowville Academy and Central School District and its Board of Education on Monday, claiming a teacher sexually abused a student more than 40 years ago, has prompted another person to share similar recollections of abuse.

Jason A. Frament, the plaintiff’s attorney with LaFave, Wein & Frament, Guilderland, confirmed Friday that a second person has come forward with “very similar” allegations against the teacher, A. Ronald Johnson, after seeing reports of his alleged sexual abuse in the media.

The suit names Lowville Academy and Central School District and its Board of Education as defendants, as well as Lowville United Methodist Church and three other church entities which had authority over the Lowville church at the time. Mr. Johnson is not a defendant in the suit.

A second lawsuit is expected to be filed in state Supreme Court sometime next week, Mr. Frament said. Upon the second suit’s filing, he said the law firm may move to join the two suits, but for now, they are two separate cases, both accusing Mr. Johnson of similar abuse.

Mr. Johnson was a music teacher at what was then Lowville High School and choir director at Lowville United Methodist Church. The suit claims the school and church breached duties of care owed to the child, and negligence in their employment and supervision of Mr. Johnson.

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SANTA MONICA (CA)
Santa Monica Daily Press

August 6, 2020

By Sarah A. Spitz

Christian hypocrisy played a big part in Lori [Lansens’] life growing up in Canada. “I was a believer,” she explains. “I loved God, I loved religion, I was in the church choir, went to Catholic school, attended mass alone in the mornings before school with the old Italian and Portuguese women dressed in black, and I stood apart from my family, which was more ambivalent about religion.

“But my parish priest was a pedophile who ended up dying in prison after pleading guilty to 47 counts of child molestation. We knew it at the time, we talked about it, we excused it, and said, ‘Oh, don’t let him get too close,’ but maybe you wanted that so you’d feel favored. Dozens of girls kept the secret, who would believe them? But when the parish refused to baptize my bi-racial cousin, I felt completely betrayed by this hypocrisy that was like nothing I’d actually learned about the teachings of Jesus.”

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PROVIDENCE (RI)
Providence Journal

August 1, 2020

Smithfield – The retired pastor of a church in Smithfield is charged with molesting a young girl.

Police on Friday morning arrested Archie Emerson, 75, the retired pastor of Ocean State Baptist Church, on charges of second-degree child molestation.

According to a police news release, detectives had received a complaint from a person who said Emerson molested her when she was between 6 and 11 years old.

Detectives obtained a search warrant for Emerson’s home and seized computers and related items, according to the news release.

Emerson appeared later Friday in District Court, Warwick, where he was released on personal recognizance, with a no-contact order. He is due back in court on Oct. 30.

Emerson’s attorney, John E. MacDonald, on Saturday night released the following statement: “Pastor Archie Emerson has devoted his life to his family, his community and his church. He is shocked that someone would levy such horrific allegations against him. Pastor Emerson adamantly denies any inappropriate conduct and looks forward to a swift resolution of this matter in court.”

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ROME (ITALY)
La Civiltà Cattolica

August 1, 2020

By Giovanni Cucci

A mostly unexplored theme

[Google translation of Abusi di autorità nella Chiesa: Problemi e sfide della vita religiosa femminile]

The Church has dealt with the issue of abuses on several occasions, even in recent times, both at the level of reflection and operational measures and protocols . However, the relevance of the theme mostly concerned the sexual and psychological abuse of minors by ministers of the Church, especially presbyters. These are undoubtedly preponderant aspects, but certainly not exhaustive.

An issue that has not received enough attention so far is abuse within women’s congregations. It mostly does not take the form of sexual violence and does not concern minors; however, this does not mean that it is less important and has significant consequences. From pastoral experience and from the talks held on this subject, it is mostly about abuses of power and conscience.

*
Being superior seems to guarantee other exclusive privileges, such as taking advantage of the best medical care, while who is a simple nun cannot even go to the ophthalmologist or the dentist, because “you have to save money”. The examples unfortunately concern every aspect of ordinary life: from clothing to the possibility of taking a holiday, having a rest day or, more simply, being able to go out for a walk, everything must pass by the decision (or whim) of the same person. If a heavy garment is requested, the Council resolution must be awaited, or the request will be refused “for reasons of poverty”. Eventually some nuns turned to family members.

These are examples that may seem disconcerting and hardly credible for those who live in male Congregations, and in front of which one can simply smile. Unfortunately for some nuns this is everyday reality: a reality that for the most part they cannot make known, because they do not know where to turn, or for fear of retaliation.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
Religion News Service

August 5, 2020

By Claire Giangravé

Vatican City – An article in a Jesuit magazine describing alleged exploitation of nuns in Catholic convents has been criticized as an attempt to silence members of women’s religious orders who have begun to speak out against sexual abuse by priests.

“I think there is a possibility of a revolt of religious sisters,” said Lucetta Scaraffia, the former head of the Vatican magazine Donne, Chiesa, Mondo (Women, Church, World), adding that many nuns she has heard from “are furious.”

Published Aug. 1 in La Civiltà Cattolica (Catholic Society), the article raised concerns about the “lack of attention that abuse within female congregations has garnered,” particularly overreach by some orders’ mothers superior.

Superiors were said to enjoy better health care services and opportunities for vacations, while rank-and-file nuns are denied access to eye doctors or dentists, some sisters told the magazine. Other nuns reported not even being able to enjoy a walk outside without asking for permission.

The article, by the Rev. Giovanni Cucci, also detailed the practice of “importing vocations” — bringing young nuns from other countries who don’t speak Italian and are therefore more easily exploited. Their communities, he wrote, “are experienced more as a prison.” He also called attention to cases of sexual abuse of nuns by superiors.

The accusations “may appear puzzling and hard to believe for those who live in male congregations,” wrote Cucci, “in the face of which one can simply smile.”

Scaraffia, who left Donne, Chiesa, Mondo in March 2019 after denouncing a climate of “cover-up and censorship” created by Vatican higher-ups, said the Civiltà Cattolica article represents an effort to undermine the newfound voice of nuns in the church.

“It’s a way to tell sisters that if they have press conferences, make their voices heard and denounce sexual abuse, (church authorities) will air all their dirty laundry,” she told Religion News Service.

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IRONDALE (AL)
National Catholic Register/EWTN from Catholic News Agency

August 7, 2020

Cardinal George Pell will speak on his experience of suffering during the 13 months he spent in an Australian prison before being released earlier this year.

Washington – The Napa Institute has announced an online schedule for its annual conference in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The program includes remarks from Australian Cardinal George Pell. The conference schedule was announced along with an award for Bishop Joseph Strickland, which the organization said it conferred for his defense of moral truth.

The conference, the tenth annual session of the event, was originally planned to take place in July in Napa, California. This year it is being convened under the title “Finding Hope in the New America.” Organizers said that although the event could not take place in-person, the schedule would not be “slimmed-down” but instead would feature an expanded speaker list.

John Meyer, executive director of the Napa Institute said that as recently as early July, there was “every intention of holding an in-person conference,” but that “things progressed, the lockdown increased in California, and literally overnight we came to a place where we could no longer hold it.”

The conference will take place August 14-15. Live streamed sessions will be held with speakers including Ryan T. Anderson of the Heritage Foundation, Prof. Robert P. George of Princeton, and author Arthur Brooks.

One of the key speakers at this year’s event will be Cardinal George Pell, who will speak on his experience of suffering during the 13 months he spent in an Australian prison before being released earlier this year.

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TOPEKA (KS)
WIBW

August 5, 2020

By Phil Anderson

https://www.wibw.com/2020/08/05/representatives-of-catholic-church-in-st-marys-take-issue-with-published-report-surrounding-its-role-in-kbi-investigation/

St. Mary’s KS – Representatives of a large Catholic church in St. Marys are taking issue with a published report they say falsely portrays them as seeking to impede a Kansas Bureau of Investigation inquiry into sex abuse allegations involving priests who formerly served the congregation.

The Kansas City Star in its Tuesday edition ran a story with the headline “SSPX staff told not to speak with KBI without an attorney.”

The article included information from an email sent to staff members and signed by the Rev. Scott Gardner, district bursar of the Society of St. Pius X United States of America District, which is based in Platte City, Mo.

In the email, Society of St. Pius X priests and staff members are cautioned against speaking to KBI officials without a lawyer being present.

The Star article also included comments from critics and former adherents of the church who said Gardner’s email seemed to be an attempt to “silence witnesses” of possible sexual abuse by Society of St. Pius X priests.

However, in an email obtained Wednesday by WIBW-TV, Gardner dismissed a report suggesting that the Society of St. Pius X was attempting to discourage its members from cooperating with the KBI’s investigation into priestly sex abuse.

That allegation, he said, was included in an article posted Monday on the Church Militant website, which he said “has once again tried to wring fake news out of an internal email by falsifying the context.”

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KANSAS CITY (MO)
Kansas City Star

August 4, 2020

By Judy L. Thomas

A breakaway Catholic society under investigation by the state’s top law enforcement agency for allegations of priest sexual abuse and coverup is telling employees not to talk to authorities without involving the group’s attorney.

An official with the Society of St. Pius X sent an email to priests and staff members warning them that investigators from the Kansas Bureau of Investigation may be in St. Marys, Kansas, to conduct interviews.

“You are not required to speak to them just because they ask you to or make veiled threats against you or tell you that, if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear,” said the email, signed by the Rev. Scott Gardner, the U.S. District Bursar at the society’s headquarters in Platte City.

“Further, you are always entitled to have legal representation at any interview, and all Priests, staff, and employees must insist on this if contacted. You will be provided with legal representation by SSPX.”

Critics, including some former SSPX adherents who have alleged that the society has covered up sexual abuse by its priests and employees, say the email appears to be an attempt to silence witnesses.

“It looks like they’re trying to hide things, trying to keep people from speaking and definitely stonewalling,” said Kyle White, who has alleged that in 2012 he and his then-fiance reported sexual abuse by her father to three SSPX priests and none took any action. In February, the father was sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of aggravated indecent liberties with a child.

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WHEELING (WV)
The Intelligencer/Wheeling News-Register

August 7, 2020

Announcement of a new system by which abuse and harassment linked to the Roman Catholic Church can be reported was one more step in the church’s effort to rebuild trust. But a reminder included with that news may have been even more important.

This week, the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston announced it is working with a third-party partner on a new reporting system. An Oregon firm, Navex Global, has a mechanism “intended to report suspected financial, professional and personal misconduct of a priest, deacon, religious or lay employee of the diocese, parish, or Catholic school in West Virginia.”

Already in place are two other reporting systems. One is the national Catholic Bishop Abuse Reporting Service. The other, here in the Mountain State, is the Diocesan Office of Safe Environment.

Adding the Oregon company’s program will provide “a safe, honest channel for reporting and expressing concerns,” the diocese noted in a press release this week.

But Bishop Mark Brennan added something else: “The Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston encourages reporting to civil authorities first and foremost if a crime has been committed.”

Precisely. For too long, too many in the church discouraged reporting abuse to the authorities. The church would handle it, they maintained.

But in many cases, predator priests were merely transferred out of parishes where they had been caught in abuse, and to new places where they could continue their wrongdoing.

Brennan’s emphasis on reporting first and foremost to law enforcement authorities is critically important. Above any other step being taken by church leaders, it is a signal to not just Roman Catholics, but to everyone, that this time, the church is serious about reform. Good for Bishop Brennan for continuing to emphasize that.

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WHEELING (WV)
The Intelligencer/Wheeling News-Register

August 5, 2020

By Alan Olson

The Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston in West Virginia has partnered with another third-party reporting system to report abuse and harassment.

The diocese announced this week it is working with Oregon-based software and compliance management company Navex Global to introduce a new version of the EthicsPoint software, intended to report suspected financial, professional and personal misconduct of a priest, deacon, religious, or lay employee of the diocese, parish, or Catholic school.

This is in addition to the national reporting system, the Catholic Bishop Abuse Reporting Service, which is designed to receive reports of sexual abuse, as well as interference with investigations of abuse, and relay them to lay professionals within the diocese who are to assist the Archbishop with investigations.

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ALBANY (NY)
WAMC

August 6, 2020

By Dave Lucas

An Albany woman has filed a sexual abuse suit against a Troy church.

Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the Child Victims Act into law in 2019. It opened a one-year window for abuse victims to bring claims. That window for victims to file lawsuits was extended to August 2021 owing to the pandemic.

Cuomo’s Deputy Press Secretary Abigail Barker says she is one such victim. Barker says in 1998 she was sexually abused by a Sunday school teacher and deacon, Mark Rhodes of Wynantskill, at Victorious Life Christian Church in Troy.

“I was 5 years old. Mark would often babysit me and my younger brother, and it happened on those, occurred on one of those occasions. After I had been abused, he never babysat for us again.”

Barker’s lawsuit includes claims of negligence and cover-up against the church as well as its Pastor and Presiding Elder Dominick Brignola, who is also a local attorney.

“The trauma of the abuse and the scars that it leaves, you know, it goes throughout your entire life, and 22 years later I’m still dealing with the ramifications of that one time, 22 years ago. And it irrevocably changes your life in ways that you don’t expect.”

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AUBURN (NY)
The Citizen

August 6, 2020

By Jeremy Boyer

Two former Weedsport Central School District students have filed lawsuits in the past week claiming the district failed to protect them from sexual abuse on school grounds.

The complaints were filed in state Supreme Court in Cayuga County under the state’s Child Victims Act look-back provision for civil cases that would otherwise be barred under the statute of limitations. One of the new cases follows an earlier lawsuit filed against the school district that identified the same alleged abuser. The other new case is connected with a former teacher’s aide who was arrested and convicted of having sexual contact with students more than 16 years ago.

In a case filed July 29, a plaintiff identified as AB 509 Doe, said the school district was negligent in its handling of issues related to an aide named Mary Schoonmaker, who in 2003 pleaded guilty to rape and sodomy charges. She admitted in court that she had sexual relationships with two teenage boys, and a one-night sexual encounter with another teenager. The victims were 14 and 15, and she was in her mid-20s at the time. She was sentenced to probation with a period of homebound detention in 2003.

“Prior to the sexual abuse of the plaintiff, defendant Weedsport learned or should have learned that Schoonmaker was not fit to work with children,” the complain states, saying the abuse took place in 2002 and 2003.

In a separate case filed Monday by a plaintiff identified as AL 540 Doe, the district is accused of negligence with respect to a former Boy Scout leader who ran the school district’s audio-visual club in the late 1970s. The complaint said the alleged abuser, former village of Weedsport Mayor Victor Sine, abused the victim from 1975 to 1980.

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NEW YORK (NY)
Daily News

August 5, 2020

By Larry McShane

Photo caption: A gathering of childhood sex abuse victims representing more than 200 including, Matthew Harris, far left, Vincent Guzzone, second from left, and Helene Hamilton, third from left, seated above photos of themselves at the age of their abuse, listen as their lawyer Paul Mones, fourth from left, speaks at June 2019 press conference.

Child abuse survivor Ron Samuel, one of 80 accusers of reputed serial sexual predator Dr. Reginald Archibald in the latest Child Victims Act lawsuit against Rockefeller University, wanted his name in the court papers.

“It’s important to come forward and discuss what happened, and protect other people,” he told the Daily News. “I have no problem exposing my name. I don’t want to be shut down in any manner. I wanted to come forward with the full story.”

The latest sordid tales of Archibald’s decades of sick sexual behavior with children were contained in a 336-page Manhattan Supreme Court filing that laid out in brutal detail the doctor’s mistreatment of his underage patients while working at the university from the 1940s into the 1980s.

Attorney Jennifer Freeman, of the Marsh Law Firm, noted most of the plaintiffs joined Samuel in going public with the lawsuit filed Wednesday.

“Our plaintiffs felt it was so important to bring this forward and to use their own names, to put the responsibility for these cases where it belonged with their names on it,” she said. “They were not afraid to speak up.”

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NEW YORK (NY)
Associated Press

August 5, 2020

By Tom Hayes

As a Girl Scout growing up in upstate New York, Alice Weiss-Russell says she lived with a dark secret: The husband of her troop leader was sexually abusing her in the bathroom of a church basement where scout meetings were held in the 1980s.

Weiss-Russell has detailed her alleged ordeal in a new lawsuit filed against Girl Scouts of the USA, part of a flurry of child sex-abuse cases in New York using a “look back window” for making civil claims against abusers.

“For me, it gives me a chance to be heard because I didn’t have that chance when I was young and hold the Girl Scouts accountable for what happened to me,” Weiss-Russell told The Associated Press in a phone interview on Tuesday. The AP does not typically identify people who say they are victims of sex crimes unless they grant permission.

Another lawsuit, also filed Wednesday, accuses a Manhattan research center of similarly looking the other way as a prominent physician abused dozens of children he was studying and treating for being small for their age.

The two lawsuits come after Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo signed a bill earlier this week granting a one-year extension to the state’s Child Victims Act. The law temporarily lifts the usual time limits on filing lawsuits for anyone suing over childhood sexual abuse.

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MINNEAPOLIS (MN)
Star Tribune

August 6, 2020

By Jean Hopfensperger

The Rev. John LeVoir oversaw the diocese during sexual abuse lawsuits and bankruptcy.

Bishop John LeVoir announced Thursday that he is resigning as leader of the Diocese of New Ulm because of health problems.

LeVoir has been bishop of the Catholic diocese since 2008. Earlier this year, the diocese reached a $34 million settlement with victims of sexual abuse, ending more than five years of litigation.

“Although these last years have been very challenging for the diocese and the life of the church, it has been a privilege to have served the faithful of the Diocese of New Ulm,” LeVoir said in a statement.

Since early July, LeVoir has been undergoing physical and psychological assessments at Sacred Heart Mercy Health Care Center in Alma, Mich., operated by the Religious Sisters of Mercy, according to the diocese, which did not comment further on the particular medical condition.

The 74-year-old bishop will stay in Alma until September to participate in a therapy plan, the diocese said.

About 93 sex abuse claims were filed against the diocese after passage of the Minnesota Child Victims Act in 2013. The diocese filed for bankruptcy in 2017 in response to the claims, following the pattern of most of Minnesota’s dioceses.

LeVoir was not implicated in the claims, but he oversaw the 63-year-old diocese during its most challenging years.

“We must never forget these sins of the past,” LeVoir said when the final settlement was reached in bankruptcy court in March. “The Diocese of New Ulm and the Catholic Church must do everything possible to help protect the vulnerable so that this tragedy never happens again.”

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MANKATO (MN)
Free Press

August 6, 2020

New Ulm – The bishop in the Diocese of New Ulm has stepped down, citing health reasons.

Pope Francis accepted Bishop John M. LeVoir’s resignation, which is effective as of today, according to a diocese news release.

LeVoir, 74, who was appointed bishop of New Ulm in July 2008, is now considered a retired bishop. Typical retirement age for a bishop is age 75, the release said.

Since early July, LeVoir has been undergoing a physical and psychological assessment at Sacred Heart Mercy Health Care Center in Alma, Michigan, a facility operated by the Religious Sisters of Mercy. He expects to remain there until early September to undertake a therapy plan.

“Although these last years have been very challenging for the diocese and the life of the Church, it has been a privilege to have served the faithful of the Diocese of New Ulm,” LeVoir said in a statement. “As bishop, it has not only been a great honor, but an enriching experience as I have come to know many people throughout this local Church … It would not have been possible to serve as their shepherd without their continued support, cooperation, and prayers.”

Levoir testified in March at a hearing in which a $34 million settlement with survivors of clerical sex abuse in the diocese was approved by a federal bankruptcy court judge. LeVoir issued an apology to the 93 abuse survivors, several of whom were in the courtroom.

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LONDON (ENGLAND)
Guardian

August 6, 2020

By Angela Giuffrida and Harriet Sherwood

Former Labour minister Ruth Kelly is among the women who will oversee Vatican finances and address its cashflow problems

Pope Francis has appointed six women to oversee the Vatican’s finances including Ruth Kelly, the former Labour minister, in the most senior roles ever given to women within the Catholic church’s leadership.

The appointments mark the most significant step by Francis to fulfil his promise of placing women in top positions. Until now, the 15-member Council for the Economy was all male. By statute, the council must include eight bishops – who are always men – and seven laypeople.

“That six are women is a pretty big quota,” said Joshua McElwee, the Vatican correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter. “But the important thing here is that these six women are part of a group that essentially oversees all of the financial activities of the Vatican, so obviously that’s a pretty top-level group.”

The female appointees are all European and have high-profile financial backgrounds. Leslie Ferrar, a former treasurer to Prince Charles, is the other British woman among the team. The other women are Charlotte Kreuter-Kirchhof and Marija Kolak, both from Germany, and Maria Concepción Osácar Garaicoechea and Eva Castillo Sanz, both from Spain. The only layman on the council is Alberto Minali, a former director general at Generali, the Italian insurance company.

The appointments come as the Vatican struggles with its finances, with problems worsened by the coronavirus pandemic and a sharp drop in the number of visitors to the Vatican Museums, a cash cow for the Holy See.

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KANSAS CITY (MO)
National Catholic Reporter

August 7, 2020

By Madeleine Davison

Members of Catholics for Change in Our Church take part in a small-group discussion during the January meeting of the group, which advocates for reform in the Pittsburgh Diocese. (Kevin Hayes)
The Pittsburgh Diocese is reeling from declining attendance and a massive restructuring program two years after a 2018 Pennsylvania grand jury report uncovered widespread clerical sexual abuse in six dioceses in the state. A lay advocacy group now says diocesan leadership has made few concrete steps to restore trust with parishioners.

“I don’t think they’ve made progress since the grand jury,” said Jan Hayes, a leader of the advocacy group known as Catholics for Change in Our Church.

Catholics for Change in Our Church arose out of a meeting of lay parishioners from across the diocese in September 2018, said Kevin Hayes, the group’s acting chair. Horrified by the scale of the crisis, members of the new organization wanted to address issues such as insufficient support for survivors, the diocese’s financial secrecy, and a lack of leadership roles for laypeople. The organization eventually coalesced into seven focus groups, representing about 1,000 total members, he said.

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DENVER (CO)
Crux

August 6, 2020

By Inés San Martín

Rosario, Argentina – Beyond the obvious reasons to fight clerical sexual abuse, above all the damage such abuse inflicts on victims, Pope Francis has added another argument: The effort to prevent abuse, he’s written, promotes a deeper acknowledgment that all life is sacred and deserves respect.

“Fighting abuse [means] fostering and empowering communities so that they are capable of keeping watch and announcing that all life deserves to be respected and valued, especially that of the most defenseless who do not have the resources to make their voice heard,” Francis wrote.

“We’ve been challenged to look squarely at this conflict, to take it up and suffer it together with the victims, their families and the whole community, to find ways that make us say: ‘Never again to the culture of abuse’,” he wrote. “This reality calls us to work in the awareness, prevention and promotion of a culture of care and protection in our communities and in society in general so that no person sees their integrity and dignity violated or mistreated.”

Pope Francis’s words came in a prologue for a new book edited by Father Daniel Portillo, a Mexican priest and founder of the Interdisciplinary Center of Investigation and Formation for the Protection of Minors from Mexico’s Catholic University (CEPROME).

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KANSAS CITY (MO)
National Catholic Reporter

August 6, 2020

By Mark Nacinovich

Arthur McCaffrey fought for about a decade to keep his parish in suburban Boston open.

But in 2015, St. James the Great Parish in Wellesley was demolished. The site is now home to the Boston Sports Performance Center, a large recreational center complete with a hockey rink, swimming pool and indoor field.

St. James was one of nine Boston-area churches that kept a continuous vigil to prevent their parishes from being shuttered by the Boston Archdiocese in the wake of the sex abuse crisis that was brought to light in 2002 by The Boston Globe. Parishioners occupied the churches for years, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

St. Frances X. Cabrini in Scituate was the last of the vigil holdouts. It closed in 2016, after parishioners spent almost 12 years in vigil and exhausted their legal appeals to the Vatican and in civil courts. Their civil case reached the U.S. Supreme Court, which refused to hear the case, letting stand a lower-court ruling that stated that the archdiocese owned the church’s property and the parishioners who were keeping vigil were trespassing.

Now, four years later, the Vatican’s new document on pastoral care raises the question of whether parishioners have more legal recourse within the church to keep their parishes open. The answer appears to be yes.

The 22-page document from the Vatican’s Congregation for the Clergy, released July 20, is titled “The pastoral conversion of the parish community in the service of the evangelizing mission of the church.” It discusses the role and structure of parishes in today’s digital age, where the concept of a fixed parish that covers a certain area may be outdated. One topic the document addresses is the closing of parishes.

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STEUBENVILLE (OH)
Herald-Star

August 6, 2020

By Joselyn King

New Cumberland – A request by the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston to dismiss a lawsuit alleging sexual assault by the Rev. Victor Frobas has been denied in Hancock County Circuit Court.

The order issued July 31 by Circuit Judge David Sims pertains to a complaint filed May 15 in Hancock County Circuit Court by Michael Pirraglia of Fairfax, Va. The complaint alleges Pirraglia was sexually assaulted over a three-year period by Frobas as a child while attending St. Paul Catholic Church in Weirton.

Frobas was assigned to the diocese from 1965 to 1983, according to court filings. The complaint seeks compensation from the diocese as the employer of Frobas, and alleges the diocese was aware of Frobas’ misconduct.

“The court finds that plaintiff has sufficiently set forth several causes of action against defendant in a manner that permits plaintiff to maintain his cause of action under West Virginia statutory and common law,” Sims states in his order. “There has been little formal discovery undertaken in this matter, and the claims raised by plaintiff and defenses raised by defendants may be more fully developed during discovery.”

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NEWTOWN SQUARE (PA)
Main Line Today

August 5, 2020

By J.F. Pirro

Monahan has represented dozens of clergy abuse victims while grappling with his own story.

He’s 67 now, but Dan Monahan was once an altar boy serving Roman Catholic masses in rural Connecticut. At his small church, Father Y (the only name he knew the priest by) was revered. “We were told that he was God on earth,” says Monahan, who’s now a personal injury lawyer in Exton. “And so we were indoctrinated.”

During one mass, delivered in Latin, Monahan wet his pants rather than abandon the altar. “Don’t worry,” the priest told him. “We’ll clean it up.”

Now, after more than a decade of disclosure after disclosure involving sexual abuse among the clergy, Monahan reflects on the cunning, programmatic behavior among those in purple garb. “It was like there was a playbook,” he says. “They picked on kids whose fathers were alcoholics, or whose mothers were overly devoted. They gave boys chores—ways we could help. It was like they were all given a manual on how to groom.”

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.

BAKERSFIELD (CA)
KGET

July 28, 2020

By Jason Kotowski

A lawsuit filed last week alleges sexual misconduct on the part of a former counselor at Bridge Bible Church against a church member.

The suit, filed July 22, says Eric Simpson manipulated a woman who had initially gone to him for marriage counseling sessions with her husband. Simpson later insisted on private sessions, the suit alleges, where he told her that her husband was a lucky man and repeated things to her that she told him in previous sessions she wished her husband would say to her.

“After months of manipulation, defendant Simpson had plaintiff where he wanted her,” the suit says. “Starting in July of 2019, defendant Simpson began sexually abusing plaintiff.”

It goes on to say church elders blamed her for the situation and shunned her and her husband.

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.

NORMAN (OK)
Good Faith Media

August 6, 2020

By Christa Brown and David Clohessy

Does it get any sicker than this?

At a flagship megachurch of the Southern Baptist Convention, church staffer James A. Hook sexually abused a 15-year-old church girl.

Hook sent the girl sexually explicit photos of her own mother – photos he had taken when he had an affair with the mother seven years earlier.

That’s just one of the details set forth in the complaint of a recently filed civil lawsuit in Memphis, Tennessee.

In a separate criminal case, Hook pled guilty to sexual battery by an authority figure. Police had found Hook together with the girl in a car.

The girl’s mother, identified in the lawsuit as Jane Doe, had first begun attending the church after the affair with Hook ended and after Hook himself suggested that Doe and her husband get counseling from one of the church’s staff pastors, Eric Brand.

As alleged in the lawsuit, Pastor Brand shared sexually explicit photos of his own wife during the counseling sessions and he encouraged Jane Doe to do what his wife did so that Doe would keep her husband interested.

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.

BAKERSFIELD (CA)
Bakersfield Californian from Los Angeles Times

August 6, 2020

By Nardine Saad

https://www.bakersfield.com/ap/national/with-ouster-of-priest-accused-of-pedophilia-coptic-church-mobilizes-against-sexual-abuse/article_a2f35dcd-1341-5baf-9252-6a62ad4265b4.html

Los Angeles – The Coptic Orthodox Church in the U.S., shaken by recent accusations of sexual abuse, has vowed to eradicate inappropriate behavior in its cloistered communities following the defrocking of a priest accused of pedophilia for decades.

The 2,000-year-old church, which was started in Egypt by the Apostle Mark and grew in the U.S. following a wave of immigration in the 1970s, is steeped in centuries-old traditions and rituals that define Christian Orthodoxy.

It is now contending with a new generation of activists among an estimated half-million Copts living in the U.S. in what is being described in the community as a “Coptic #MeToo” movement engrossing parishioners on social media.

The flashpoint started with Facebook and Instagram posts from Sally Zakhari, a 33-year-old Florida woman who said she was molested in Orlando, Florida, by Father Reweiss Aziz Khalil in the late 1990s. Zakhari wrote that she was molested at home after Khalil convinced her mother that she should start confession. She was 11 or 12.

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.

ROCHESTER (NY)
Democrat and Chronicle

August 3, 2020

By Sean Lahman

More than 70 survivors filed civil suits last week accusing former priests, nuns and lay teachers who served within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester of sexually abusing them as children.

Among the new cases are 21 alleged abusers who had not previously been accused publicly.

A deadline to lodge the claims by Aug. 13 — a date that could yet be extended if legislation is signed, has accelerated the pace of filings.

At least 230 complaints have been brought against the diocese and its member parishes since last August under the state’s Child Victims Act. Adopted in early 2019, the CVA carved out a one-year window during which suits can be brought by people who allege they were sexually abused when they were young.

One of the new lawsuits alleges abuse that occurred in 1939, but most of the new cases describe incidents of sexual misconduct from the 1970s and 1980s. Roughly half of the new lawsuits involve victims who were 10 years old or younger when their abuse allegedly started.

To date, roughly 80% of the 260 CVA cases filled in Monroe County name the diocese and its parishes as defendants.

“We are honored to stand with these survivors in their pursuit of truth and accountability,” said attorney Jeff Anderson, whose firm filed 58 of the suits last week. “The number of complaints being filed demonstrates the magnitude of peril that has existed in the diocese for decades and that will no longer continue due to these courageous survivors.”

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.

ROCHESTER (NY)
WHAM 13

August 3, 2020

By Jane Flasch

Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a bill into law Monday, extending the deadline for people to file claims against alleged abusers under the Child Victims Act until August 14, 2021.

The deadline was previously set to expire on August 13, 2020.

Attorneys say the extension will not apply to anyone suing the Rochester Catholic Diocese.

“The bankruptcy judge ruled just last week the deadline remains August 13 of this summer,” said Attorney Steve Boyd, who represents clients suing the diocese.

The Rochester Diocese is an exception, in part, because it filed for bankruptcy last year. CVA lawsuits are handled by a federal bankruptcy judge – along with all other creditors making claims. A ruling by the judge last weeks makes the diocese here the one exception to the extension.

The Child Victims Act provides a one-year window for survivors of abuse to file claims, regardless of when the statute of limitations may have expired. On the first day – nearly one year ago – 38 lawsuits were filed in Monroe County. Attorneys say, to date, there are at least 225 naming the Rochester Catholic Diocese.

Those victims are grouped together, their cases moved to federal court when the diocese filed for bankruptcy. That makes them different than other cases which are being handled in state courts.

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.

ERIE (PA)
WICU/WSEE

August 4, 2020

The program was suspended in mid-March at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Diocese of Erie announced Tuesday it will resume its work with the Independent Survivors’ Reparation Program (ISRP), a program established to assist survivors of sexual abuse.

The program was suspended in mid-March at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.

The suspension affected approximately 40 remaining claimants. Claimants will be notified that the fund will begin processing claims effective August 6.

According to the Diocese of Erie, the ISRP was established to address the emotional, psychological and pastoral needs of survivors of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church in the Diocese of Erie.

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.

ROCHESTER (NY)
WHAM 13

August 4, 2020

By Jane Flasch

Serial predators inside the Catholic Church: At least 245 lawsuits filed under the Crime Victims Act name the Rochester Catholic Diocese. Taken together, they allege a stunning abuse of power – some of it involving only a handful of priests.

Five of them have been accused by a combined 105 victims.

“These people hurt you. You don’t forget that,” said a man who asked to be identified only by his initials: J.O.

For him, the abuse began in 1973 when he was living in what as then an orphanage run by the Rochester Diocese.

After filing a CVA lawsuit, he met dozens of others with similar claims.

“It’s almost like a fraternity. We really care about what happened – not only to us but to the other kids,” J.O. said.

Four victims say that while attending St. Bridget/Immaculate Conception as children, they were sexually abused by Rev. Francis Vogt. Over 45 years, Vogt also served in parishes in Elmira, Palmyra and Irondeqouit.

The four CVA suits are new – filed in the last three days. They bring the total number of victims alleging abuse at the hands of Vogt to 46. The youngest was just six years old at the time.

Next up is Rev. Robert O’Neill. News accounts reported by 13 WHAM decades ago reveal two bishops were aware of “credible abuse complaints” against him – yet he was allowed to serve the church until his retirement.

He is facing 24 lawsuits – by 24 different victims.

In 1996, Rev. Eugene Emo was arrested for abusing a mentally-challenged adult male. He served six months in prison. The diocese acknowledged that before his arrest, he took a leave of absence for almost a year for “a personal problem.”

At least 12 CVA suits name him.

Rev. Joseph Larrabee and Rev. Paul Cloonan round out the top five.

Because the Rochester Diocese filed for bankruptcy the CVA cases will be settled by a bankruptcy judge. He has set next Thursday as the deadline for any new filings naming the Rochester Diocese.

The window for other CVA lawsuits has been extended another year to August 13, 2021.

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.

LAS CRUCES (NM)
Sun-News

August 4, 2020

By Leah Romero and Damien Willis

Two Catholic priests were accused Tuesday of child sexual abuse in southern New Mexico.

Civil complaints were filed against the two priests, as well as the Las Cruces and El Paso dioceses and the parishes where the alleged sexual abuse occurred.

Fr. Roderick Nichols and Fr. Damian Gamboa were named in the alleged abuse of John Doe and Jane Doe.

According to court documents, John Doe alleges Nichols abused him in the early 1990s when the alleged victim was about 13 years old. At the time, Nichols was the pastor and administrator of St. Vincent De Paul Parish in Silver City. He was formerly listed as a chaplain for jail and prison ministry, but according to the diocese directory for 2020, Nichols is a retired diocesan priest.

Jane Doe alleges Gamboa abused her in the early 1980s, according to court documents. The alleged victim was about 13 or 14 years old. At the time, Gamboa was serving as the pastor and administrator of St. Francis de Paula Church Inc. in Tularosa. The church was formerly under the El Paso Diocese, but has since been reassigned to the Las Cruces Diocese.

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

CINCINNATI (OH)
CityBeat

August 4, 2020

By Maija Zummo

The list of 90 religious and lay people includes 59 priests who have substantiated accusations against them, including four still living in the Greater Cincinnati area

The Diocese of Covington has published a list with the names of the priests, brothers, sisters and lay employees/deacons who have had the accusations made against them of the sexual abuse of minors substantiated.

The list does not say what each individual allegedly did or what accusations have been substantiated.

According to the diocese, the list is a result of a “comprehensive and independent review of thousands of diocesan records dating back to 1950” from two former FBI agents, who were allowed to review all Chancery files, archival files, priest personnel files and Safe Environment files.

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.

DUNKIRK (NY)
Observer

August 4, 2020

By Eric Tichy

The former pastor of a Dunkirk church is being accused of sexually abusing a child in the 1960s in a new Child Victims Act lawsuit filed Monday.

The complaint, filed in New York State Supreme Court in Chautauqua County, names the former St. Mary’s Church as a defendant. The victim claims to have been abused by the Rev. Maurus Schenck between 1962 and 1968 when the victim was about 12 to 17 years old.

“Plaintiff was a parishioner and participated in youth activities and/or church activities at St. Mary,” the suit claims. “Plaintiff, therefore, developed great admiration, trust, reverence, and respect for the Roman Catholic Church, including Defendants and their agents, including Fr. Schenck.”

The victim is being represented by the New York City-based Jeff Anderson & Associates and attorney Steve Boyd of Williamsville.

Schenck was one of dozens of priests tied to misconduct complaints and identified in leaked Diocese documents. According to multiple media reports, the former pastor was also accused of abusing a then-13-year-old at St. Mary’s around 1965.

Elsewhere, two Child Victims Act lawsuits were filed late last week for abuse said to have taken place at a Jamestown church in the early 1960s and mid-’70s. Both complaints name Ss. Peter and Paul Church and Holy Apostles as defendants.

One victim, only identified as “AB 279 DOE,” claims they were sexually abused by the Rev. John D. Lewandowski from about 1962 to 1963. The victim was about 13 to 14 years old when the alleged abuse took place.

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)
Daily News

August 3 2020

By Denis Slattery

Albany – Survivors of childhood sexual assault will have another 12 months to file civil suits against their alleged abuser — no matter how long ago the incident occurred.

Gov. Cuomo on Monday signed an extension of part of the Child Victims Act providing a “look back” window for victims to file lawsuits beyond statue of limitations restrictions.

The measure, passed by the Legislature back in May, comes after the coronavirus pandemic led to a reduction in court services and limited the ability of survivors to file suits.

“The Child Victims Act has allowed more than 3,000 brave survivors to come forward to seek justice,” said sponsor Sen. Brad Hoylman (D-Manhattan). “Yet it’s clear many New Yorkers who survived child sexual abuse haven’t come forward — especially during the COVID-19 crisis which has upended our courts and economy.”

The Child Victims Act went into effect last August after being stalled in Albany for more than a decade. The legislation upended the legal landscape by allowing victims of abuse to seek criminal prosecution against an abuser until the age of 28, an increase from the prior age limit of 23. In civil cases, victims can seek prosecution until they turn 55.

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)
New York Post

August 3, 2020

By Bernadette Hogan

Victims of child sex abuse now have an extra year to file lawsuits against their abusers, as Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed legislation Monday extending the current deadline slated for mid-August.

The New York Child Victims Act passed in early 2019 gave individuals a one-year lookback window to bring claims against perpetrators in cases that had already exceeded the statute of limitations.

The original filing deadline would have expired within the next few weeks — Aug. 14 of this year — but the new law expands the date one full year to Aug. 14, 2021.

The move came after advocates and sex abuse survivors begged lawmakers to introduce a measure granting additional time, especially after so many cases were filed after the courts stopped taking new cases in March.

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.

ALBANY (NY)
Times Union

August 3, 2020

By Cayla Harris and Chris Bragg

Deadline, originally set to expire this month, pushed to August 2021

In a long-fought victory for sex abuse survivors and victims advocates, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Monday signed a bill granting a one-year extension to the Child Victims Act’s “look-back window” allowing survivors of all ages to file previously time-barred claims against their alleged abusers.

The window, which opened last August, was set by statute to expire this month. But as the coronavirus pandemic shut down courts and introduced economic hardship early this year, Cuomo earlier this year signed an executive order initially extending the window through mid-January 2021. More than 3,100 cases have been filed under the act so far, including more than 200 in Albany County, according to data compiled by the state court system.

The newest extension grants survivors until Aug. 14, 2021, to file claims.

“We cannot let this pandemic rob survivors of their day in court,” the governor said Monday in a Tweet. ” … This extension will help ensure that abusers are held accountable.”

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.

UTICA (NY)
Times-Telegram from Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

August 3, 2020

By Sean Lahman

Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a bill Monday that will extend the deadline for lawsuits filed under New York’s Child Victims Act.

That legislation, adopted in early 2019, carved out a one-year window during which suits can be brought by people who allege they were sexually abused when they were young. The window of opportunity was set to close on August 13, 2020.

In May, both chambers of the state Legislature passed a bill to extend the deadline by a full year, to August 2021, saying they would do so because other states had given victims more than a year to bring suit. The state court system had also been closed by the pandemic, meaning that for several months, new CVA cases couldn’t be filed.

The legislation signed today extends the special filing period by a full year and claims can now be filed under the statute until August 14, 2021.

“The Child Victims Act brought a long-needed pathway to justice for people who were abused, and helps right wrongs that went unacknowledged and unpunished for far too long and we cannot let this pandemic limit the ability for survivors to have their day in court,” Cuomo said in a statement Monday. “As New York continues to reopen and recover from a public health crisis, extending the lookback window is the right thing to do and will help ensure that abusers and those who enabled them are held accountable.”

Cuomo had signed an executive order to extend the deadline, but critics expressed doubts that such a move would survive legal scrutiny and there was widespread concern that as a result, survivors who wait may not get their day in court.

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)
Christian Post

July 28, 2020

By Ryan Foley

Roman Catholic Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, a prominent critic of Pope Francis, has accused a group of Church leaders of subverting the Church from within by allowing “heresy, sodomy and corruption” to run rampant.

In a recent interview with Vatican expert Marco Tosatti, the 79-year-old Vigano elaborated further on what he sees as the “deep church.”

Vigano, who previously served as the Vatican’s ambassador to the United States in one of the top diplomatic positions, first coined the phrase “deep church” in a June letter to President Donald Trump in which he described it as “mercenary infidels who seek to scatter the flock and hand the sheep over to be devoured by ravenous wolves.”

According to Vigano, there’s an effort by the leadership of the Catholic Church, including the pope, to downplay the role of sodomy and homosexual behaviors in the sexual abuse of minors.

Throughout the interview, Vigano referred to Pope Francis by his given name of Jorge Mario Bergoglio.

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)
Daily Mail

July 31, 2020

By Darren Boyle

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8581307/Judge-freezes-late-paedophile-priests-5million-estate.html

A paedophile priest’s almost £5 million estate – most of which he left to a charity he set up to support families of clergy of the Church of England – cannot be spent while potential victims are found, the High Court has ruled.

A judge has also ordered the executors of Michael Studdert’s estate to set up a website to try and find those who may have been abused by the former Anglican minister in England and Wales, Poland, Denmark and Italy.

Studdert, who died aged 78 in August 2017, was convicted on three occasions of various charges relating to the possession, importing, making or distribution of indecent images of children between 1988 and 2006.

He was jailed alongside Paedophile Information Exchange founder Thomas O’Carroll in December 2006 after more than 100,000 indecent images were found at his home in Surrey.

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)
Catholic News Service/USCCB via Catholic San Francisco

August 3 2020

Citing major decline in revenue, Camden Diocese suspends survivor payments

Camden, NJ – Citing “a precipitous decline” in revenue due to COVID-19, the Diocese of Camden announced July 31 it is putting a moratorium on any future decisions or payments to abuse survivors through its Independent Victim Compensation Program.

“Awards already made by the IVCP administrators will be paid,” the diocese said in a statement.

The diocese “is fast approaching a point where it will not be able to continue to borrow the funds necessary to pay the amounts awarded by the program” because of the economic toll the pandemic is taking.

The moratorium on future payouts to survivors “necessary in order to maintain the critical programs that the Diocese of Camden continues to provide for the communities it serves which, now more than ever, are so essential,” the diocese said.

In November 2018, the Camden Diocese along with the Trenton, Paterson and Metuchen dioceses and the Newark Archdiocese approved an independent compensation program to pay eligible victims who were sexually abused by clergy while they were minors in their localities.

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)
MetroNews

August 3, 2020

The Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston (DWC) announced two third-party reporting systems for people to use about concerns and allegations of abuse and harassment in the diocese.

DWC officials announced on Monday the partnership with Navex Global to roll out a new version of its EthicsPoint platform, intended to report suspected financial, professional, and personal misconduct of a priest, deacon, religious, or lay employee of the diocese, parish, or Catholic school in West Virginia.

This comes more than a year after the Catholic Church investigation concluded disgraced former Bishop Michael Bransfield sexually harassed younger priests and misused millions of dollars in church money.

The diocese said in a release that on a national scale, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has its own third-party reporting system called the Catholic Bishop Abuse Reporting Service. This reporting system is established to receive reports of sexual abuse and interference with sexual abuse investigations on the part of bishops in the United States.

These reports will be relayed to a lay person in each diocese with experience in such matters, who will assist the Metropolitan Archbishop in the investigation, according to DWC. Where a report indicates a crime, such as the sexual abuse of a minor, it will also be reported to civil authorities by the website’s third-party vendor. The website to make such reports is reportbishopabuse.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.

MARTINSVILLE (VA)
Martinsville Bulletin

August 3, 2020

By Bill Wyatt

https://martinsvillebulletin.com/news/local/watch-now-father-mark-white-appeals-to-washingtons-archbishop-next-stop-rome/article_0867c757-7993-533c-acbc-b4839bd8cd56.html

[Includes a substantial video of Fr. Mark White being interviewed and speaking to the demonstrators, and scenes from the demonstration in front of the Vatican embassy.]

After being shunned at the doorsteps of a Richmond bishop and now also at the Apostolic Nuncio to the United States in Washington, D.C., Father Mark White of Martinsville and his supporters intend to take their demands for justice to the Vatican in Rome.

*
On Friday, White and his supporters took their appeal for justice to Apostolic Nuncio Christopher Pierre in Washington, D.C. Pierre serves as the pope’s ambassador to the United States.

White’s group had sent Pierre a letter two weeks before the trip asking for a meeting at 3:30 p.m. on Friday to discuss Knestout’s actions against White including the sex-abuse scandal and the rights of Catholics to speak their minds about the problems they see in the church.

“We came to try to talk to the pope’s representative here in the United States,” White said. “We had two topics that we wanted to discuss: The first one is – does it help our church to cover up the crimes of bishops and priests – does it help us or does it hurt us? Can we live in the truth? Can we help people to heal and find God again by living in the truth? That’s the first topic that we had hoped to discuss with him.

“Question number two: Are we allowed to have free speech in the church? Are we allowed to speak our minds about these things? Are we allowed to get things out in the open? Because that seems to be the way to make some headway here, to make some progress or do we have to suffer reprisals and persecution when we try to have this discussion?

“We’re here hoping someone will welcome us to have these discussions … but at least we can say at the end of the day today ‘we tried.’”

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 ORLEANS (LA)
Times-Picayune and New Orleans Advocate

August 3, 2020

By Matt Sledge

The Archdiocese of New Orleans has removed a recently ordained deacon from ministry at a Metairie church after receiving an allegation that he abused a child 20 years ago, church officials announced Monday.

Archbishop Gregory Aymond removed Deacon V.M. Wheeler from his post at St. Francis Xavier Parish in Old Metairie.

In addition to serving as a deacon since his 2018 ordination, Wheeler, 63, is a partner at the well-known Chaffe McCall law firm. Archdiocese officials said they didn’t receive a “formal” report of abuse until last week.

Wheeler was listed as one of the parish’s three deacons as recently as Sunday’s parish bulletin.

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 ORLEANS (LA)
Times-Picayune and New Orleans Advocate

August 3, 2020

By Kyle Whitfield

V.M. Wheeler, a deacon who has been removed from ministry by the Archdiocese of New Orleans, is an attorney who worked with various community organizations in metro New Orleans.

The church said Monday it recently received information about alleged abuse by Wheeler 20 years ago. The 63-year-old has been serving at St. Francis Xavier Parish in Old Metairie.

Here are a few notable positions Wheeler has held or currently holds:

— Partner at Chaffe McCall law firm;

— Member of the state bar since 1984, when he graduated from Tulane Law School;

— Adjunct associate professor at the Tulane Law School, according to the school’s website …

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 DIEGO (CA)
Insurance Journal

August 3, 2020

Two new lawsuits allege that the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph in Missouri covered up abuse by two priests who were known to be sexual predators.

The lawsuits, one filed on July 28 and the other on July 20, were announced by the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.

One of the priests died while the diocese was in the process of removing him from the priesthood and the other is no longer allowed to present himself as a priest, the diocese said.

The lawsuit filed July 20 alleges the Rev. Darvin Salazar sexually assaulted the victim in the rectory at Holy Cross Catholic Church and then prevented the plaintiff from leaving in July 2018, The Kansas City Star reported.

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

WHEELING (WV)
WTRF

August 3, 2020

By Alexa Trischler

The Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston has unveiled a new third-party abuse reporting system. There is a national system to report sexual abuse and interference on a case but what we are talking about today is a second way people can report abuse, now on a local level adapted to West Virginia by the Diocese here.

Abuse can range from sexual to financial malfeasance, harassment, any form of abuse from the clergy, lay or religious employee. It is completely confidential and totally anonymous. A case number is assigned and that’s how a person is referred to, no names. Once a complaint is made, a thorough investigation will be conducted by a qualified lay employee.

Bishop Brennan told 7News “I think we’re in a different age where people want to know what’s really going on, the Lord Jesus said something about things that are whispered in darkness will be proclaimed in light I think we have to bring things up into the light if it’s bad name it and do something about it if it’s good we should praise it and encourage it so it’s really for that purpose.”

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.

ROCHESTER (NY)
WHAM 13 ABC

July 31, 2020

All legal claims against the Diocese of Rochester must be filed within the next two weeks, according to a federal bankruptcy judge.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Paul Warren issued the ruling Wednesday, stating August 13, 2020 will be the deadline for filing claims in the Diocese’s Chapter 11 case.

An official committee representing plaintiffs in abuse cases and other unsecured creditors had filed a motion to extend the deadline, but were denied.

Leander James, an attorney who has filed many lawsuits under the Child Victims Act on behalf of clients, said earlier this year that setting a deadline such as this one is not an unusual move for a bankruptcy case.

Back in May, the deadline for filing lawsuits in the Child Victims Act was extended to January 14, 2021 by Governor Andrew Cuomo, citing the coronavirus pandemic. Approximately three weeks later, the New York State Legislature passed legislation for a one-year extension of the same law, which would extend the deadline to August 13, 2021. Cuomo has yet to sign that into law.

The bankruptcy court ruling supercedes the extension of the Child Victims Act deadline, meaning anyone who wants to file a lawsuit under the Child Victims Act can do so – but not against the Diocese after August 13.

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 ORLEANS (LA)
WDSU

July 31, 2020

Local victims of Catholic clergy abuse want to see investigation records the Archdiocese of New Orleans has shared with the Vatican.

Members of the Survivors Network of those Abuse by Priests (SNAP) held a news conference Friday at Notre Dame Seminary, where area Catholic priests are trained. They called upon Archbishop Gregory Aymond to share all documents related to abuse probes.

The victims cite the December 2019 decision of Pope Francis to abolish what’s called the pontifical secret. It removed the veil of confidentiality covering church investigations into abuse.

“The pope requires all the bishops across the world to send their investigations up,” said Kevin Bourgeois with the SNAP New Orleans chapter. “This gives us the opportunity, outside of the court of law, to actually make sure our bishop followed canon law.”

In response, the Archdiocese of New Orleans provided background on the abolition of the Pontifical Secret, saying that it applies to matters other than clergy sexual abuse. It gave the example of diplomatic communications among the Vatican’s nunciatures, or embassies, around the world.

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 ORLEANS (LA)
WVUE

July 31, 2020

By Rob Masson

SNAP Calls for Church Archives

Victims of clergy sex abuse are calling for a new level of transparency when it comes to abusive priests. They say under new church doctrine victims are entitled to see the files on abusive priests.

They gathered in front of Notre Dame seminary, to call for a new level of transparency when it comes to information on sexually abusive clergy

“Child rape is bad but the cover-up is so disheartening,” said Tommy Crane, a supporter of the ‘Survivors Network of Those Abused By Priests’, or ‘SNAP’.

Alleged victims say in December of last year Pope Francis abolished what is known as the ‘pontifical secret’ which they say should clear the way for survivors to view files on their abusers.

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.

BERLIN (GERMANY)
Agence France Presse via WION

August 3, 2020

Former Pope Benedict XVI became seriously ill himself after visiting his sick brother in Germany in June and is “extremely frail”, according to a report in the Monday edition of the German Passauer Neue Presse newspaper.

Benedict, 93, is suffering from erysipelas of the face, a virus that causes a facial rash and episodes of severe pain, the newspaper reported, citing the former pope’s biographer Peter Seewald.

“According to Seewald, the Pope emeritus is now extremely frail,” the report says. “His thinking and his memory are quick, but his voice is hardly audible at the moment.”

Seewald reportedly visited Benedict in Rome on Saturday to present him with his biography.

“At the meeting the emeritus Pope, despite his illness, was optimistic and declared that if his strength increased again he would possibly take up his pen again,” the paper said.

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DENVER (CO)
Crux

August 3, 2020

By Inés San Martín

Rosario, Argentina – Public Mass might have stopped across much of the world during the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, but several aspects of the life of the Church have continued, including efforts to prevent clerical sexual abuse in Latin America.

Evidence came in a Zoom conversation on Friday, with some 2,000 people joining through two parallel screens, plus many more joining through Facebook. It was organized by the Center for Child Protection of Mexico’s Catholic University (CEPROME) and the Vatican Safeguarding Taskforce, launched earlier this year. The event had the support of the Catholic bishops of Latin America.

To be sure, this was no ecclesiastical feel-good session. The talk was blunt and, at times, searing.

“Nowhere have I encountered the level of destruction I found within the Church,” said Chilean laywoman Maria Josefina Martinez Bernal, a member of the National Council on Abuse Prevention and Victims Accompaniment of the Chilean bishops conference since 2011, and a member of the Fundacion para la Confianza, an NGO founded by three survivors of former Chilean priest Fernando Karadima.

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

YONKERS (NY)
News 12

August 2, 2020

Hyde Park Baptist Church is being sued over claims of sexual abuse allegedly at the hands of a former pastor.

A lawsuit filed under the state’s Child Victims Act alleges that the church knew Senior Pastor Jonathan Weaver was abusing the victim.

It alleges the abuse began when the victim was just 15 years old inside an office at the church. It also alleges that the abuse lasted for years with Weaver visiting and raping the girl while at college in South Carolina in 2005.

Shortly after, Weaver resigned after news of a pregnancy from the alleged rape began to circulate around the church.

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

DENVER (CO)
Crux

August 3, 2020

By Elise Ann Allen

Rome – After seven women in France last month “applied” for ecclesial jobs traditionally open only to men, including the priesthood, the Vatican’s ambassador to the country has made a personal phone call to several of them offering a sit-down meeting.

The calls apparently are unrelated to death threats one of the women “applicants” says she received.

On May 25, a woman named Anne Soupa sent the Vatican embassy in Paris her application to be the next Archbishop of Lyon, a post which has been vacant since the resignation of Cardinal Philippe Barbarain in March amid an ongoing legal battle to clear himself of allegations that he covered up sexual abuse.

After Soupa sent in her request, several other women joined her cause, forming a coalition called, Toutes Apôtres!, meaning, “All Apostles,” which is dedicated to promoting equality in the Church for all baptized regardless of their gender, marital status, profession or sexual orientation.

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KANSAS CITY (MO)
National Catholic Reporter

August 1, 2020

By Thomas C. Fox

[See Schroth’s Humility and responsibility: Bishops can’t exempt themselves from tough line applied to priests, Boston Globe, June 23, 2002; and A New Future for the Church, Speech to Rockville Centre VOTF, November 14, 2002.]

Jesuit Fr. Ray Schroth was well-known in the Catholic press as a writer for America magazine and as the associate editor and book editor for Commonweal in the 1970s before we first met in Kansas City, Missouri, in June 1980.

What followed from our first encounter was a near four-decade journalism collaboration.

Schroth died July 1 at Murray-Weigel Hall, a Jesuit nursing facility next to Fordham University’s Rose Hill campus. He was 86.

He left behind countless admirers and readers. Feeling his loss are countless more former students — now well-established professionals — who carry on gratefully, holding close the knowledge, wisdom and friendships they built and shared.

Schroth was an intellectual. He devoured books and explored their ideas. He was a teacher. He counseled and encouraged students. He was a journalist. He believed storytelling could provide solace and build a better world. He was an advocate. He pursued justice endlessly.

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COVINGTON (KY)
Diocese of Covington

July 31, 2020

The Diocese of Covington today is releasing the names of priests, religious, deacons and lay employees who have served in our Diocese against whom one or more allegations of sexual abuse of a minor have been substantiated.

The list is the product of a comprehensive and independent review of thousands of diocesan records dating back to 1950. Two former FBI agents were given free rein to review all diocesan records, including Chancery files, archival files, priest personnel files, and Safe Environment files. The former FBI agents have a combined 50 years of investigative experience.

In October, 2019, Bishop Roger Foys and the Diocesan Review Board initiated the review as a way to continue to assure the people of the Diocese of Covington, as well as our priests and other Diocesan personnel, that the Diocese has, as far as is humanly possible, addressed the scourge of sexual abuse of minors by its priests, religious and lay employees.

Inclusion on this list does not necessarily indicate that an accused priest, religious, deacon or lay employee has been found guilty of a crime or liable for any civil claim. The definition of “substantiated allegation” that guided the file review is as follows:

An allegation of sexual abuse of a minor is deemed substantiated when there is probable cause for believing the claim is true. The following may be considered as evidence of probable cause:

1) admission of guilt by the accused;
2) guilty finding rendered by a court;
3) finding rendered by an investigative process shows cause for believing the allegation is true on an objective basis;
4) the accused, when presented with the allegation and afforded a reasonable opportunity to respond, declined to address the allegation; or
5) the Special Masters appointed by the Court in the class action litigation against the Diocese made a monetary award from the class settlement fund based on a sworn claim form alleging one or more incidents of sexual abuse of a minor by the accused, and any other evidence that was submitted on behalf of the claimant.

The review process that has culminated in this list is part of the Diocese’s ongoing commitment to create a Safe Environment and to ensure that all allegations of child sexual abuse by priests, religious and lay employees over the last 70 years have been properly identified and reported. The review process is the natural outgrowth of two significant developments that have transpired during the last eighteen (18) years: significant reforms in the U.S. Catholic Church beginning in 2002 and the Diocese’s involvement in class action litigation from 2003-2009.

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.

DAYTON (OH)
Dayton Daily News

July 31, 2020

By Josh Sweigart

https://www.daytondailynews.com/news/catholic-orders-list-of-accused-shows-past-of-mishandling-abuse-allegations/MUUYNGBVOJDLLGTDKOLV44MHFA/

A Dayton Daily News investigation into the Society of Mary’s handling of alleged abuse of children by its members found the religious order concealed allegations against some from parents, students and school officials.

The order released a list this summer of 46 priests and brothers its leaders say sexually abused children since 1950, but critics say the disclosure falls short.

The Catholic order today is based in St. Louis and runs dozens of schools in the U.S. and around the world. Because of the group’s ties to Dayton, many of the men named in the list worked or studied in Dayton at some time, a Dayton Daily News investigation found.

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NEW DELHI (INDIA)
Hindustan Times

August 2, 2020

Mulakkal had filed the plea in the top court where he claimed to be innocent and said he was implicated after he questioned the financial dealings of the victim nun. He approached the top court after the Kerala high court rejected his plea for discharge from the case.

The Supreme Court will hear the plea of former Bishop Franco Mulakkal, seeking direction to discharge him from the nun rape case, on August 5.

A bench headed by Justice AS Bopanna will hear Mulakkal’s plea for dropping of rape charges against him.

Mulakkal had filed the plea in the top court where he claimed to be innocent and said he was implicated after he questioned the financial dealings of the victim nun. He approached the top court after the Kerala high court rejected his plea for discharge from the case.

The prosecution in the high court had contended that there was strong evidence against him and he was moving pleas frequently to delay the trial.

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[In the name of the Father: They will appeal the ruling that dismissed the complaint against the Church’s abuse reporting system]

ROSARIO (ARGENTINA)
El Ciudadano

July 30, 2020

By Arlen Buchara

Apelarán el fallo que desestimó la denuncia contra el sistema de reportes de abuso de la Iglesia

El abogado Carlos Ensinck consideró que los argumentos de la fiscal Juliana González están sostenidos en jurisprudencia de la propia Iglesia y no en leyes argentinas y tratados internaciones de protección de víctimas de abuso sexual

[GOOGLE TRANSLATION: The lawyer Carlos Ensinck considered that the arguments of the prosecutor Juliana González are sustained in the jurisprudence of the Church itself and not in Argentine laws and international treaties for the protection of victims of sexual abuse.]

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FRANCE
Agence France Presse via Barron’s

July 23, 2020

Pope Francis’s former ambassador to France, Luigi Ventura, will stand trial for sex assault in Paris in November following complaints by four men, one of whom accused the cleric of inappropriate touching, lawyers said Thursday.

Ventura, an Italian-born archbishop, was stripped of his diplomatic immunity by the Vatican last July after he was questioned by French police, and resigned in December when he reached the 75-year age limit for his post.

His trial will open on November 10, the Paris prosecutor’s office said Thursday.

“He will be present,” Ventura’s lawyer Bertrand Ollivier told AFP. “He will attend the hearing to defend his honour and innocence.”

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UNITED STATES
National Catholic Register

August 1, 2020

By Jim Graves

Church leaders offer an inspiring lineup at the virtual event planned for mid-August.

For the first time since it was established a decade ago, the Napa Institute Summer Conference will be held online Friday and Saturday, Aug. 14-15. The original event had been planned as an in-person event in July in Napa, California, per usual, but it will be online this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

***

Featured speakers include Cardinal George Pell, who will discuss suffering and persecution, particularly in light of his 13 months in prison as a result of what Australia’s highest court declared was an unjust conviction for child sexual abuse. (Busch noted that he had been friends with Cardinal Pell for a decade and that, in Cardinal Pell’s recent case, “grace prevailed.”) Arthur Brooks will discuss reconciliation and love in America, including the need for a return to civil discourse. Princeton professor Robert George will ask: “Where do we go from here?” Author George Weigel will present lessons from Pope St. John Paul II and what Vatican II was all about. Trent Horn of Catholic Answers and Catherine Pakaluk of the Busch School of Business at The Catholic University of America will discuss socialism, and evangelical pastor Rick Warren will speak about hope.

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WISCONSIN
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

August 1, 2020

By Elliot Hughes

https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/2020/08/01/pewaukee-priest-accused-sexual-assault-can-return-work-work/5564267002/

A Pewaukee priest whose sexual assault of a minor case ended with a mistrial and then dropped charges is being allowed to return to work at his church, the Archdiocese of Milwaukee announced Saturday.

The announcement comes after the archdiocese says it completed its own investigation into the allegations against the Rev. Charles Hanel, 63, and determined they were unsubstantiated and false. He will be restored to the ministry effective Monday and will be allowed to resume his role of pastor at Queen of Apostles Church in Pewaukee.

Hanel was charged with second-degree sexual assault of a then-13-year-old girl in a church confessional in December 2017. In March 2020, Waukesha County Circuit Judge Michael Maxwell declared a mistrial after it became public that the girl’s mother is an undocumented immigrant trying to gain legal status to stay in the U.S.

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MICHIGAN
The Herald-Palladium

August 1, 2020

By Julie Swidha

Child abuse reporting is down, but authorities are worried

Authorities have seen a dramatic decrease in the number of child abuse cases being reported, but they aren’t viewing it as good news.

Berrien County Prosecutor Michael Sepic and Jamie Rossow, executive director of the Children’s Advocacy Center of Southwest Michigan, say they suspect that child abuse is actually up and is just not being reported. They said this is occurring not just locally but all across the country.

Sepic and Rossow said in a joint news release Friday that they suspect stress and isolation from the COVID-19 pandemic has likely increased instances of child abuse and, for some children, has created a dangerous environment. Many reports of suspected abuse come from school officials, and schools have not been in session since March.

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CAMDEN (NJ)
Philadelphia Inquirer

July 31, 2020

By Jeremy Roebuck

https://www.inquirer.com/news/camden-diocese-victim-compensation-fund-clergy-sex-abuse-catholic-feinberg-biros-20200731.html

Citing financial losses resulting from the coronavirus pandemic, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Camden said Friday that it would halt payments from a clergy sex-abuse victim fund that has paid out nearly $7.6 million.

In a statement, the diocese said it had suffered a “precipitous decline in revenue” and was rapidly approaching a point where it would not be able to continue to borrow money to pay authorized awards.

“These steps are necessary in order to maintain the critical programs the Diocese of Camden continues to provide for the communities it serves, which, now more than ever, are so essential,” it read.

A diocesan spokesperson said he did not know how many victim claims would go unresolved. Victims and their lawyers on Friday decried the decision, noting that many had been asked to relive traumatizing experiences and fill out exhaustive paperwork while applying through a process that is being abandoned.

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COVINGTON (KY)
Associated Press

August 1, 2020

The Diocese of Covington has released a report on sexual abuse that found 59 Catholic priests and 31 others associated with the church have sexually abused children since the 1950s.

The report was released Friday on the diocese website along with a list naming the accused, The Kentucky Enquirer reported.

“There are no words to adequately express the sorrow and shame I feel,” Foys wrote in an apology released with the report. “I can never apologize enough to those who have been harmed by any representative of the church. I beg your forgiveness in the name of the church.”

In 2006, the Diocese of Covington paid more than $81 million to sexual abuse victims in a court settlement.

The diocese said the report was compiled by two former FBI agents who reviewed thousands of records dating back to 1950.

Of the accused priests, all but 14 are deceased.

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COVINGTON (KY)
WCPO-TV

July 31, 2020

By Craig Cheatham and WCPO staff

[Includes video]

https://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/i-team/diocese-of-covington-names-90-with-substantiated-allegations-of-sexual-abuse-of-a-minor

Dean McCoy said he had been waiting for this day for more than three decades.

On Friday, the Diocese of Covington named 90 religious and lay employees with substantiated allegations of sexual abuse of a minor while working at the diocese.

McCoy said he was one of the victims.

McCoy told the WCPO 9 I-Team that the Rev. Herman Kamlage sexually abused him more than 30 years ago. Kamlage is one of the priests on the Covington list.

“My reaction to the list being released is: it’s a long time past due,” McCoy said. “It should have been released a long time ago and given people an opportunity to address the situation at that time.”

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WASHINGTON D.C.
MetroWeekly

August 1, 2020

By John Riley

Conspiracy-minded archbishop accuses Pope of trying to “legitimize” homosexuality, even though church teaching would say otherwise

A right-wing Catholic archbishop who once served as the Vatican’s ambassador to the United States has accused Pope Francis of heresy for promoting the “legitimization of homosexuality.”

Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, who is known for his anti-gay views and has previously called on the pope to resign, made the charge in a recent interview with Italian journalist and Vatican expert Marco Tosatti. In that interview, Viganò, who refers to the pope by his given name and refuses to use his official title, claims that Pope Francis, a.k.a. “Jorge Bergoglio,” is involved in a ploy to “corrupt” the church by promoting homosexuality, according to Newsweek.

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OAKLAND (CA)
Associated Press

July 20, 2020

A San Francisco Bay Area priest accused of sexual battery failed to appear in court Monday and a judge issued a warrant for his arrest.

Varghese Alengadan, 67, known as “Father George,” was charged last week with one count of misdemeanor sexual battery for allegedly inappropriately touching a woman in July 2019.

He was scheduled to appear in Alameda County Superior Court Monday for his arraignment but never showed up, the district attorney’s office told the Mercury News of San Jose.

Alameda County Judge Colin Bowen issued an arrest warrant with bail set at just one cent due to the coronavirus pandemic. Jail population reductions mean that only inmates accused of serious and violent felonies are being held.

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ALTOONA (PA)
Altoona Mirror

August 1, 2020

Briefs challenge, support landmark decision allowing lawsuit against priest

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court in the past week has received several friend-of-the-court briefs both supporting and challenging a landmark decision made by the court last year in which it allowed an Altoona woman to proceed with a sexual abuse case against a priest, even though the alleged offenses occurred in the mid-1970s.

Pennsylvania’s highest court agreed in March to review the Superior Court decision, which has drawn interest from church organizations as well victims’ rights groups nationwide.

According to attorney Richard M. Serbin, who has a law office in Altoona and who represents the alleged victim of the sexual abuse, Renee A. Rice, no date has been set for argument on the appeal.

Serbin said that in the past week, amicus briefs have been filed by supporters of his client, CHILD USA, The Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP), the National Crime Victims Association and the Pennsylvania Association of Justice.

Other briefs have been filed on behalf of the defendants by the The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, The Altoona-Johnstown Roman Catholic Diocese, other dioceses in Pennsylvania and The Catholic League.

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WASHINGTON D.C.
WFXR-TV

July 31, 2020

By Santiago Melli-Huber

Father Mark White was in Washington, DC today, protesting outside the Catholic Church’s embassy, and he was not alone. Dozens of his congregants drove up from Rocky Mount and Martinsville with him.

“It’s sad to have to be here,” said White, “but I’m very much heartened and encouraged by all the people that are here with me and the solidarity with the victims of sexual abuse that everyone here is trying to express.”

White is the Catholic priest in Rocky Mount and Martinsville who was removed from his post and reassigned as a prison chaplain, because he refused to take down his blog. In that blog, he was frequently critical of the Catholic Church’s cover up of sexual abuse.

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NEW YORK (NY)
New York Daily News

July 31, 2020

By Molly Crane-Newman

A slew of lawsuits filed Friday accuse the Boy Scouts of America with tolerating sexual abuse for decades — and say the systemic mistreatment of boys went on since the organization’s founding in 1910.

The 21 new lawsuits in Manhattan Supreme Court charge 14 adult scout leaders with sexually abusing children in numerous instances dating to 1954.

The abuse has gone on through the entire 110 year history of U.S. scouting, the lawsuits say.

”Throughout that time, many of these children have been subjected to horrific acts of sexual abuse by adults who gained access to them through scouting organizations,” says one of the lawsuits. “This widespread abuse of children in scouting programs has been a systemic crisis that goes back since these organizations first existed.”

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LOS ANGELES (CA)
MyNewsLA.com

July 31, 2020

A lawsuit filed against the Archdiocese of Los Angeles by two siblings who allege they wrongfully lost their jobs after more than 10 years of working at a Catholic church office in Lynwood will have to be shored up for it to proceed on all the current allegations, a judge ruled Friday.

Susana Montoya and Patricia Garcia brought the lawsuit last September in Los Angeles Superior Court, saying they were retaliated against after reporting what they believed was an inappropriate relationship between a school principal and a priest.

Also named as defendants are the Rev. Ernesto Jaramillo of St. Philip Neri Church and Alejandra Gonzales, principal of St. Philip Neri Catholic School.

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KENTUCKY
Cincinnati.com

July 31, 2020

By Erin Glynn and Dan Horn, Cincinnati Enquirer

The Diocese of Covington has released a list of priests and others affiliated with the diocese accused of sexually abusing children. A report summarizing the findings of a new report compiled by two former FBI agents, the list naming the accused and a letter of apology from Covington Bishop Roger Foys can be seen on the diocese’s website.

A nearly year-long review of records at the Diocese of Covington found that 59 Catholic priests and 31 others associated with the church have sexually abused children since the 1950s.

A report summarizing the findings of the review was released Friday on the diocese’s website, along with a list naming the accused and a letter of apology from Covington Bishop Roger Foys.

“There are no words to adequately express the sorrow and shame I feel,” Foys wrote. “I can never apologize enough to those who have been harmed by any representative of the Church. I beg your forgiveness in the name of the Church.”

The report is the most exhaustive accounting yet of those credibly accused of sexual abuse in the diocese, covering pastors, chaplains, deacons, teachers, brothers, nuns and about 20 lay people.

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KENTUCKY
WLWT

July 31, 2020

The Diocese of Covington released an extensive list of priests, deacons, consecrated religious and laity who have had substantiated allegations of sexual abuse of minors on Friday.

The list of allegations dates back to 1950.

“I sincerely hope that this report will bring at least some sense of closure to those whose lives have been forever changed by the egregious behavior of those who were pledged to care for God’s little ones,” Most Rev. Roger J. Foys said in a statement.

In his message, Foys acknowledged that releasing the report may cause additional pain and anger for the victims, and he apologized for that.

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ROME
Rome Reports

July 31, 2020

In the vademecum on cases of sexual abuse, there are still improvements to be made. That’s according to Fr. Jordi Bertomeu, from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, who in 2018 was sent to Chile alongside Msgr. Charles Scicluna, to investigate the Church’s sexual abuse scandal. Their work prompted the pope to change the Church’s approach to dealing with this challenge.

In a virtual conference organized by Mexico’s Center for the Protection of Minors (CEPROME), he said the document still contains some gaps. For example, it doesn’t say that victims must be notified of any security measures taken against an accused priest, a distressing reality for victims. He also says some of the document’s affirmations are too generic, citing the example that a bishop must report a priest to authorities “if this is considered necessary.”

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QUEENS (NEW YORK)
Patch.com

July 30, 2020

By Maya Kaufman

Glendale priest Rev. Francis J. Hughes was arrested Wednesday on a child pornography charge, federal prosecutors said.

A Queens priest was arrested by the FBI Wednesday after investigators caught him swapping sexually explicit texts and nudes with a 15-year-old boy on the dating app Grindr.

Francis Hughes, the pastor at St. Pancras Church in Glendale, was charged with receiving child pornography for the explicit exchanges, federal prosecutors said.

Hughes, 65, is accused of sending the Westchester teen photos of his genitals and trying to meet up with him for sex, according to Manhattan federal court records.

Prosecutors said Hughes told the boy he was a part-time college professor and a counselor.

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QUEENS (NEW YORK)
CBSLocal.com

July 30, 2020

A priest in Queens is facing child pornography charges, according to police.

Francis Hughes, 65, is accused of exchanging sexually explicit messages with a 15-year-old boy from Westchester County.

Hughes allegedly received pornographic images from the teen. Police said there could be more victims.

The Diocese of Brooklyn said Hughes has been removed from his post.

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