ABUSE TRACKER

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

December 19, 2020

Editorial: Abuse in state or church custody is an abomination

NEW ZEALAND
NZ Herald

December 18, 2020

Could there be a crueller phrase for the plight of the estimated 250,000 children, young people and vulnerable adults who have suffered from “abuse in care” over the past 50 years?

Such a contradiction only emphasises how a void of care was tolerated and even promulgated for so long.

Our Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State Care and in the Care of Faith-based Institutions has conclusively proved our experience mirrors that of overseas. We are not unique but we have an opportunity now to lead the world in redress and rehabilitation.

The release of the inquiry’s draft report, Tāwharautia: Pūrongo o te Wā, this week described the key themes and common issues from the experiences of survivors and witnesses. The sheer scale of neglect, intentional harm and outright violence is nauseating and unbearable.

This is a national tragedy and requires a recovery effort of monumental proportions. To raise our vulnerable and damaged citizens out of this misery must surely be given priority.

This week, the Government said it was considering two changes in areas which concerned survivors – a centralised claims process and reform of the Limitations Act. The inquiry isn’t due to table a final report and recommendations until January 2023 but there is enough in this draft report to act much sooner.

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.

LDS handbook adds warning against prejudice and misinformation, revises entries on sex abuse, conversion therapy, stillborn babies and more

SALT LAKE CITY (UT)
Salt Lake City (UT)

December 18, 2020

By Peggy Fletcher Stack

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints unveiled new wording Friday for the faithful on a host of social issues — from sexual abuse to conversion therapy, cremation to stillborn babies, counseling to HIV infection.

The Utah-based faith also added two significant sections to its “General Handbook” — one decrying “prejudice,” building on recent speeches against it by church leaders, and the other on “seeking information from reliable sources.”

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.

Control of the Vatican: What’s at Stake

UNITED STATES
Open Tabernacle (blog)

December 14, 2020

By Betty Clermont

The Catholic Church is the only religion headquartered in an autonomous country. The sovereignty of the Holy See – the name of the government of both the Vatican City State and the worldwide Church – provides criminal and civil immunity from any other authority to Vatican residents and government officials.

The Vatican has immense wealth. How it is earned, how it is spent, who profits remain hidden because it is shielded by self-rule. Vatican officials’ access to global financial markets is facilitated by its status as a sovereign city/state.

As officials of an independent nation, a pope and his appointees have access to, and some influence in, many international organizations.

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.

Victim of paedophile vicar tragically died before he could see justice served

LIVERPOOL (ENGLAND)
Liverpool Echo

December 18, 2020

By Luke Traynor

The victim’s complaint to police took the case to court which today saw Rev John Roberts found guilty of abusing children in the 1980s

A former vicar who indecently assaulted a choirboy in the 1980s was today found guilty of abusing more children.

Rev John Roberts, who was based at St Peter’s Church in Woolton, until his retirement in 2013 was found guilty by a jury of nine more counts of indecent and sexual assault.

It relates to three different victims, all children, and abuse committed in the 1980s.

Now 86, Roberts was allowed to carry on working for 24 years despite his 1980s conviction.

And tragically, one of his victims whose complaint to police took the case to court, died recently and didn’t get the chance to see justice delivered.

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.

Saskatoon Diocese Responds to Allegations Against Priest

SASKATOON (SASKATCHEWAN)
DiscoverHumbolt.com

December 18, 2020

By Maury Wrubleski

St. Anne’s Parish in Annaheim was one of those served by Fr. Anthony Atter.

In response to charges laid against Lake Lenore and area priest Anthony Atter alleging sexual abuse and sexual interference relating to a minor, Bishop Mark Hagemoen of the Diocese of Saskatoon issued a response on December 17.

The statement confirmed that Atter had been removed from his ministry in the parishes of St. Anthony centred in Lake Lenore, St. Anne in Annaheim, and St. Gregory in St. Gregor.

While the Diocese stated that it would make no further comment relating directly to the case, it would cooperate to the utmost with the police investigation.

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.

Hillsong Church Fostered “Inappropriate Sexual Behavior,” According to A 2018 Internal Complaint

UNITED STATES
Vanity Fair

December 18, 2020

By Dan Adler

A group of church volunteers sent a letter to ministry leaders about a pattern of staff conduct.

Since Carl Lentz was fired from Hillsong Church in November over his cheating scandal, the megachurch has faced a number of allegations about its culture. Page Six added to the growing pile on Thursday night, reporting that in 2018, a group of “high-level” volunteers sent a letter to ministry leaders claiming that there were “verified, widely circulated stories of inappropriate sexual behavior amongst staff/interns” at the church.

In a statement to Vanity Fair, Hillsong acknowledged that it “received a letter with serious allegations regarding specific members of the Hillsong NYC volunteer and staff teams.” The church said that after a three-month inquiry into the claims, it learned that “some of the allegations were true.”

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.

Legislators to revive bid to ease sex abuse suits against UM

DETROIT (MI)
The Detroit News

December 18, 2020

By Oralandar Brand-Williams

Two state lawmakers plan next month to reintroduce legislation that would lift the statute of limitations for accusers of former University of Michigan doctor Robert Anderson, removing barriers to lawsuits against the school over allegations that he sexually abused them.

Michigan Reps. Ryan Berman, R-Commerce Township, and Karen Whitsett, D-Detroit, announced during a Zoom conference Friday that they will propose the bipartisan legislation at the start of the new session of the Michigan Legislature next month.

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

Child sex abuse survivors have until Dec. 30 to file claim in Arizona

PHOENIX (AZ)
3TV/CBS 5

December 18, 2020

By Nicole Crites

https://www.azfamily.com/news/original_reporting/child-sex-abuse-survivors-have-until-dec-30-to-file-claim-in-arizona/article_47ca37da-417b-11eb-9e26-cf3fdff7c7a8.html

Survivors of child abuse in Arizona have less than two weeks to file a claim against their abusers or the institutions that gave the abusers access to children.

Last year, Arizona lawmakers extended the statute of limitations for people who were sexually abused as children to come forward to seek justice.

And now that window for legal action is coming up on a fast-approaching deadline of Dec. 30. In Arizona, child sex abuse survivors now have less than two weeks to file a claim against their abuser or the institutions that gave them access to children.

Whether you were abused by a family member or someone in Boy Scouts, the Catholic Church or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, this is really the last call for adult survivors who are ready to say “me too” in the fight to find at least some accountability.

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.

Priests behaving badly: a Friday round-up

UNITED STATES
Patheos (blog)

December 18, 2020

By Barry Duke

TOP of the list of crimes committed mainly by Catholic priests is Manuel La Rosa-Lopez, above, formerly of the Sacred Heart Church in Conroe, Texas. On Wednesday he was jailed for ten years for repeatedly abusing at least two minors between 1997 and 2001.

He faced a possible longer sentence but agreed to plead guilty in exchange for less time behind bars.

Tahira Merritt, attorney for two of the plaintiffs, uniquely identified as Jane Doe and John Doe, said:

It is not a long enough sentence, but at least it will be away from children while he is incarcerated and he will be registered as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

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.

Yakima Diocese priest exonerated in lawsuit settlement

YAKIMA (WA)
Yakima Herald-Republic

December 18, 2020

By Tammy Ayer

One of four priests accused by an Ellensburg man of abuse in the late 1970s and early 1980s has been exonerated.

The Rev. Seamus Kerr, a senior priest with the Catholic Diocese of Yakima, was exonerated as part of a settlement, according to a news release from the diocese. The March 2019 lawsuit filed in Kittitas County Superior Court alleged an Ellensburg man was sexually abused by priests at St. Andrew Catholic Church when he was a minor.

An order of dismissal was entered Dec. 10 after the settlement was reached. The diocese, which has provided more than $10,000 in mental health counseling for the man, agreed to provide an additional $5,000 in counseling payments, the release said.

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

Author of UK Catholic sex education book convicted as pedophile

ENGLAND
LifeSite News

December 18, 2020

Church leaders did not report allegations to the police against the priest, who helped to bring sex education into Catholic schools 20 years ago.

Father Joseph Quigley of the Archdiocese of Birmingham, England was convicted this week of sexual activity with a child, sexual assault, false imprisonment (he liked to lock children in a crypt) and cruelty. One case against him dated from the 1990s, another concerned his actions between 2006 and 2008.

The Archdiocese, headed until 2009 by Vincent Nichols, now the Cardinal Archbishop of Birmingham, and since then by Archbishop Bernard Longley, failed to report Quigley to the police when they learned of one set of his crimes in 2008. Instead, they flew him to the United States for “rehabilitation” in a specialist clinic and subsequently allowed him to return to work in the UK.

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.

December 18, 2020

Vancouver Catholic Church names another three priests who abused minors

VANCOUVER (CANADA)
Vancouver Sun

December 18, 2020

By Glenda Luymes

Thirteen previously unknown victims have come forward since a historic 2019 report on clerical sexual abuse

The Archdiocese of Vancouver has named another three priests who sexually abused minors.

All three men — John Edward Kilty, Johannes Holzapfel and Armand Frechette — served in at least one parish in the Archdiocese of Vancouver between the mid-1940s and early 1980s, and all three are now dead.

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

Priest of the Diocese of Yakima exonerated

YAKIMA (WA)
Catholic News Service

December 18, 2020

A senior priest of the Diocese of Yakima, Father Seamus Kerr, was exonerated as part of a settlement of a lawsuit filed against the diocese in 2019 alleging a man from Ellensburg, Washington, was sexually abused by priests at St. Andrew Catholic Church there when he was a minor.

“On behalf of our client … we acknowledge that the allegations of sexual abuse and improper conduct made against you, including statements in court pleadings and the press, have proven to be false,” said a letter to Kerr from the attorneys representing the man.

“We hereby withdraw the allegations and express our regret for any harm they may have caused to you and your reputation,” it added.

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.

DC mayor adjusts COVID-19 limits on churches after archdiocese files lawsuit

WASHINGTON (DC)
Catholic News Service

December 18, 2020

By Mark Zimmermann

District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser, in response to a lawsuit filed by the Archdiocese of Washington, has modified the current pandemic limits on gatherings at houses of worship in the District to 25% of capacity and no more than 250 people.

Bowser took the action in an executive order issued Dec. 16. It became effective at 12:01 a.m. Dec. 17 and will be in place through Dec. 31.

“In order to resolve litigation,” it said, “this order repeals the numeric cap of 50 persons on gatherings at houses of worship and allows physically large facilities to accommodate more worshippers based on their overall capacity, up to a maximum of 250 persons.”

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.

LDS handbook adds warning against prejudice and misinformation, revises entries on sex abuse, conversion therapy, stillborn babies and more

SALT LAKE CITY (UT)
The Salt Lake Tribune

December 18, 2020

By Peggy Fletcher Stack

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints also issues new instructions on cremation, AIDS, therapy and medical care.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints unveiled new wording Friday for the faithful on a host of social issues — from sexual abuse to conversion therapy, cremation to stillborn babies, counseling to HIV infection.

The Utah-based faith also added two significant sections to its “General Handbook” — one decrying “prejudice,” building on recent speeches against it by church leaders, and the other on “seeking information from reliable sources.”

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 Catholic priest accused of rape asks for reduction in $5M cash bond due to COVID

CINCINNATI (OH)
WCPO

December17, 2020

By Craig Cheatham

Geoff Drew: COVID has him ‘fearful for his life’

Geoff Drew, a Cincinnati Catholic priest charged with 9 counts of rape, is making a third attempt to lower his $5 million full cash bond.

The priest is accused of sexually assaulting a former altar boy from 1988 to 1991 when Drew was the music minister at St. Jude Parish in Green Township.

Drew has been held in the Hamilton County Justice Center since his arrest on Aug. 19, 2019.

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.

Bishop Coyne apologizes to victims of Burlington orphanage abuse

BURLINGTON (VT)
WCAX

December 17, 2020

By Darren Perron

Vermont Catholic Bishop Christopher Coyne is apologizing to survivors of abuse following the release this week of an investigation on the former St. Joseph Orphanage in Burlington.

While Coyne says he’s relieved the investigation turned up no evidence of murder, allegations made by some former residents there, he says he is saddened about the confirmation of abuse of kids who lived there. He says the Burlington Diocese and Vermont Catholic Charities worked with investigators and have been transparent in providing all of their records.

Reporter Darren Perron: You know Bishop, back then before the priest sex abuse scandal, claims against clergy, frankly, weren’t believed. Do you believe the claims?

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.

Archdiocese of New Orleans pushed confidential settlements with victims of monstrous deacon George Brignac

NEW ORLEANS (LA)
The New Orleans Advocate

December 18, 2020

By David Hammer and Ramon Antonio Vargas

Lawyers representing the church or its insurers took a hard line, arguing that plaintiffs had waited too long, and that they would be lucky to get anything.

The email to the Archdiocese of New Orleans came in on a Friday in November 2018.

A week earlier, New Orleans Archbishop Gregory Aymond had published a list of clergymen credibly accused of child molestation — a first-ever effort by the leadership in this traditionally Catholic city to fully come clean about the depth of a scandal that blew up in 2002 and had begun to simmer again in the summer of 2018.

The scandal’s recent flareup owed mostly to the first name on the list, which was organized alphabetically: George Brignac. That name jumped out at one man, and it prompted him to write the email.

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

Catholic priest facing sex abuse charges against boys dating back 40 years

UNITED KINGDOM
Wakefield Express

December 17, 2020

By Tony Gardner

A Catholic priest has appeared before a court to face charges of sexual offences against boys dating back more than 40 years.

Father Patrick Smythe entered not guilty pleas to four charges of indecent assault when he appeared before Leeds Magistrates’ Court this week.

The 77-year-old is alleged to have committed the offences against four different boys aged under the age of 16 between 1978 and 1983.

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.

University of Colorado Removes Honors from Accused Priest

COLORADO
SNAP Network

December 17, 2020

Following an updated report on clergy sexual abuse from Colorado’s attorney general, the University of Colorado revoked an honorary degree it had bestowed on a Catholic priest that the report revealed had multiple allegations against him. We applaud this move and hope that other institutions follow suit for any wrongdoers that they have honored.

Now that Fr. Charles Woodrich – aka Fr. Woody – has been exposed an abuser, Catholics and secular leaders in Colorado must reckon with how these crimes remained hidden for so long.

For parishioners, they must ask their bishops and leaders who knew what when. For Colorado politicians and other secular leaders, they must ask how they can reshape Colorado laws to better serve their citizens and prevent future children from experiencing the horrors of sexual abuse.

While we applaud this decision by the University of Colorado, the fact is that the AG’s report does not expose the full scope of Catholic clergy abuse in Colorado. In a key omission, the report contains no information about abuse by religious order priests, which means there are probably other Fr. Woodys out there wearing the robes of the Capuchins, Jesuits, Franciscans, or others.

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

Catholic Laity in Wisconsin Stand Up for Transparency in Cases of Clergy Abuse

WISCONSIN
SNAP Network

December 17, 2020

Hundreds of graduates from four Catholic schools in Wisconsin signed a joint letter to a local religious order, demanding answers and actions following a recent article that detailed one man’s struggle with clergy abuse that ultimately culminated in suicide. We applaud these men and women for using their voices to fight for truth and transparency and hope that their example inspires lay Catholics around the country.

The example set by graduates from Notre Dame Academy, Premontre High School, Abbot Pennings, and St. Joseph Academy gives us hope that more and more lay Catholics are choosing to be less deferential to Church officials and less willing to believe what they say when it comes to cases of clergy abuse. Minimization, obfuscation, and sanitizing language regarding cases of abuse are key parts of the “playbook” for clergy abuse uncovered by Pennsylvania AG Josh Shapiro. We believe that the recent comments from Abbot Dane Radecki regarding Nate’s abuse were attempts to follow that playbook. We are grateful to see these alumni push back.

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.

Church’s appeal loss paves way for abuse survivors to sue

AUSTRALIA
The Age

December 18, 2020

By Adam Cooper and Tom Cowie

The Catholic Church has failed in its appeal over a compensation payout to a sexual abuse survivor, and now faces the prospect of being sued by hundreds of other victims who received meagre payments in exchange for their silence.

A former altar boy known as WCB was in 1996 paid $32,500 by the church after he was repeatedly abused by Warragul priest Daniel Hourigan between 1977 and 1980.

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.

Church loses abuse settlement appeal

AUSTRALIA
Wellington Times

December 18, 2020

By Georgie Moore

The Catholic Church has failed to overturn a landmark court decision meaning it can be sued by a Victorian sexual abuse survivor.

The former altar boy earlier this year became the first Australian to overturn a settlement with the church in the state’s Supreme Court.

The survivor received $32,500 in 1996 after taking legal action against the church. The Court of Appeal has agreed it was not enough given the wrong done to the man.

He was abused from the age of 12 by Warragul priest Daniel Hourigan, between 1977 and 1980. The priest took his own life after being charged.

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.

Survey: Catholic Poland increasingly distrusts Church

EUROPE
Catholic Herald

December 18, 2020

Despite Poland being over 90 percent Catholic, a survey published on Thursday suggested that approximately 41 percent of Poles view the Church favorably. This is a decrease of 8 percent from September, according to The Straits Times Europe and a survey by the CBOS institute, quoted by the Polish news agency PAP.

Meanwhile, 47 percent of the 1,010 adults surveyed earlier this month said they disapproved of the Church, up from 41 percent in September.

The survey echoes the results of a poll by another group last month when 40.4 percent of respondents said they trusted the Church, a decrease from 58 percent four years ago. Similarly, 42.4 percent of Poles said they distrusted the Church.

The Church’s reputation in Poland has been impacted by scandals, such as that of Polish Bishop Edward Janiak who resigned in October over suspicions he covered up sexual abuse of children.

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.

Church in bid to stop pedo priest’s payout

QUEENSLAND (AUSTRALIA)
Central Queensland News

December 18, 2020

By Frances Vinall

The Catholic Church tried to block a victim who experienced ‘horrific’ abuse as an altar boy from accessing compensation.

The Catholic Church’s attempt to block a paedophile priest’s victim from accessing a payout has failed.

The Victorian Court of Appeal on Friday rejected an application from the church that would have prevented the victim, known by the pseudonym WCB in court to protect his identity, from seeking compensation.

In their written reasons, judges David Beach, Stephen Kaye and Robert Osborn said WCB had been subjected to abuse “of the most horrific kind”.

He was tormented from the age of 11 while he was an altar boy at Warragul, in the Diocese of Sale, from 1977-1980.

The abuse was also inflicted on his brother, the justices said.

The paedophile priest, Daniel Hourigan, admitted the repeated sexual abuse before his death in 1995, the justices said.

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

At a Challenging Moment, Cardinal Gregory Makes His Mark

WASHINGTON D.C.
National Catholic Register

December 17, 2020

Amid a national reckoning on racial equality, a polarized campaign season, and the Vatican’s release of the McCarrick Report, Washington’s Catholic shepherd became the first African American to be named a cardinal.

By Joan Frawley Desmond

During the Nov. 28 consistory at St. Peter’s Basilica where he would become the first African American cardinal, Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Washington heard Pope Francis preach on the Gospel and warn against the temptation to abuse ecclesial power.

In his homily for the consistory, the Pope reflected on the passage from Mark’s Gospel in which Jesus refers to his crucifixion while walking with his disciples to Jerusalem. On that journey, said Francis, Jesus alludes to his death to prepare his disciples “for the trials to come” and to encourage them to accompany him to the cross.

But James and John want to take a different path, the “road of those who, perhaps even without realizing it, ‘use’ the Lord for their own advancement,” the Pope added, calling out the use of “the scarlet of a cardinal’s robes” for “worldly” gain.

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

Cardinal Pell, publicizing new book, forgives enemies, praises Trump

ROME (ITALY)
Catholic News Service

December 17, 2020

By Claire Giangravé

Forgiveness is a recurring theme of the former Vatican official’s prison journal, and he told reporters that if anyone in the Vatican meant him harm, ‘I will pray for them.’

Cardinal George Pell was not soured by his fall from the Catholic Church’s top ranks after he was accused of sexually abusing minors, the Australian prelate told reporters Wednesday (Dec. 16). Nor did the Vatican’s tepid defense of its former financial reform czar alienate Pell as he went to trial and was eventually acquitted on appeal.

“Right throughout Pope Francis was very respectful, as was the Vatican, of the due process in Australia, but he made no secret privately and to me of his belief that I was innocent and he supported me,” Pell said in an online news conference to publicize his new book, a prison journal.

Pell, 79, said his advanced age prevents him from returning in any formal capacity to his anti-corruption work in the Vatican.

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

The Top 7 Pope Francis Stories of 2020

ROME (ITALY)
America

December 17, 2020

By Gerard O’Connell

Pope Francis celebrates his 84th birthday on Dec. 17, and four days later he will give his traditional (and often challenging) Christmas greeting to the Roman Curia for the eighth successive year.

Soon after his election on March 13, 2013, Francis told close friends that he had the distinct feeling that his would be “a short pontificate”—not more than a few years. Now he knows he was mistaken. Informed sources confirm he is in good health and continues to have the deep inner peace that he first experienced at the time of his election. Vatican officials who meet the pope regularly say there is no conclave on the horizon.

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.

December 17, 2020

Philippines: Paedophilia and the Church

PHILIPPINES
Arte.TV

December 2020

Written and directed by Marianne Dardard. Produced by Séverine Bardon

[VIDEO]

Our months-long investigation on clergy sex abuse in the overwhelmingly Catholic Philippines is now available with English subtitles. Unlike other countries, there is no association of victims for clergy sex misconduct in the Philippines.

The Philippines, despite being one of the most Catholic countries in the world, has never convicted a member of the clergy for sex abuse. And yet there are survivors who say that the abuse has been going on for years. At the end of 2018, an American priest who had officiated for forty years was arrested for pedophilia by the Philippine police and the American federal authorities.

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

French Court Convicts Former Vatican Envoy of Sexual Assault

PARIS (FRANCE)
Wall Street Journal

December 16, 2020

By Francis X. Rocca and Noemie Bisserbe

Archbishop Luigi Ventura is one of several prominent Catholic churchmen accused of sexual misconduct in recent years

A former Vatican envoy to France was found guilty of sexually assaulting five men, in the latest case of such misconduct by a senior Catholic Church official.

Archbishop Luigi Ventura, who served as papal nuncio to France until December 2019, received a suspended eight-month prison sentence from a court in Paris Wednesday for the assaults, which occurred between 2018 and 2019.

One of the victims, an employee of the city of Paris who was tasked with welcoming the cleric at the mayor’s New Year address in 2019, said the archbishop had groped him in an “insistent and repeated” manner.

The 76-year-old archbishop was convicted in absentia. The court had accepted a note from his doctor saying that he shouldn’t travel from Rome to Paris during the current phase of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Holy See Press Office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. An attempt to reach the archbishop through the Vatican wasn’t successful.

In July 2019, the Vatican took the unusual step of withdrawing the archbishop’s diplomatic immunity to prosecution, in accordance with what it said were his wishes, to “collaborate fully and spontaneously with the French judicial authorities.” This summer, the Vatican spokesman said Archbishop Ventura reaffirmed his innocence.

Archbishop Ventura, a longtime Vatican diplomat, is one of several senior members of the Catholic hierarchy accused of sexual misconduct with adults in recent years, adding another dimension to the church’s long-running crisis over the clerical abuse of children.

In June, the pope reinstated his longtime protégé Bishop Gustavo Zanchetta in a high-level Vatican job, even though he is facing charges of sexual harassment in his native Argentina. Bishop Zanchetta has denied wrongdoing.

Last month, a Vatican report showed that Pope Francis and his two immediate predecessors had failed for years to discipline U.S. Cardinal Theodore McCarrick for sexual misconduct. St. John Paul II appointed Mr. McCarrick as archbishop of Washington, D.C., in 2000, even after being warned that he had been accused of sharing his bed with adult seminarians and of pedophilia.

Under Pope Benedict XVI, the Vatican pressed Mr. McCarrick to resign as archbishop of Washington and asked him to keep a low profile, but didn’t subject him to a church trial. Pope Francis followed the lead of his predecessors and assumed that the allegations had been rejected, the report said. In 2019, Mr. McCarrick became the first cardinal in modern times to be dismissed from the priesthood after a church trial found him guilty of sexual abuse of minors and sexual misconduct with adults. Mr. McCarrick denied wrongdoing.

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

Former Vatican envoy to France Luigi Ventura convicted of sexual assault

PARIS (FRANCE)
France24 News

December 16, 2020

A Paris court on Wednesday sentenced former Vatican ambassador to France Luigi Ventura to an eight-month suspended prison sentence after being convicted of sexual assault against five men.

The Vatican had previously lifted Ventura’s immunity while on trial. The court ordered Ventura to pay 13,000 euros in damages and he will now appear on sex offenders Register.

Former Vatican Ambassador to France was not present during the sentencing, nor was he present during the proceedings after his lawyers told the court that his doctor advised him against traveling from Italy to France due to the risks for health in the middle of coronavirus pandemic.

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

Ex-nuncio to France given suspended 8-month prison sentence

Catholic News Agency

December 16, 2020

A Paris criminal court on Wednesday gave a former nuncio to France an suspended 8-month prison sentence for sexual assault.

The court found Archbishop Luigi Ventura guilty of placing his hands on the buttocks of five men while conducting his public diplomatic duties.

He was ordered to pay 13,000 euros ($15,800) to four of the men and 9,000 euros ($10,900) in legal costs, reported AFP.

Ventura’s lawyer, Solange Doumic, told the French newspaper Le Figaro that the Italian archbishop was considering an appeal.

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

Ex-Vatican envoy to France gets 8-month suspended sentence for sexual harassment

PARIS (FRANCE)
Reuters

December 16, 2020

A French court has found former Vatican ambassador to France Luigi Ventura guilty of sexual harassment against five men in 2018 and 2019 and given him an eight-month suspended sentence, AFP reported on its Twitter feed on Wednesday.

Prosecutors had opened an investigation after a junior official at Paris City Hall accused the papal nuncio, then 74, of molestation in January 2019, and city authorities filed a complaint. Other men later came forward with similar allegations.

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

Former nuncio convicted of ‘sexual aggression’

PARIS (FRANCE)
The Tablet

December 16, 2020

By Tom Heneghan

Archbishop Luigi Ventura, a former nuncio to France who fled to the Vatican last year under accusation of sexual aggression, has been given an eight-month suspended sentence in absentia by a Paris magistrates’ court and ordered to pay unusually high fines.

His case was unprecedented because the Vatican lifted his diplomatic immunity to allow a civil court to try him. Ventura denied the five counts against him and vowed to defend himself, but then quietly left France during the summer of 2019 and resigned on turning 75 that December.

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Former nuncio convicted of ‘sexual aggression’

PARIS (FRANCE)
The Tablet

December 16, 2020

By Tom Heneghan

Archbishop Luigi Ventura, a former nuncio to France who fled to the Vatican last year under accusation of sexual aggression, has been given an eight-month suspended sentence in absentia by a Paris magistrates’ court and ordered to pay unusually high fines.

His case was unprecedented because the Vatican lifted his diplomatic immunity to allow a civil court to try him. Ventura denied the five counts against him and vowed to defend himself, but then quietly left France during the summer of 2019 and resigned on turning 75 that December.

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.

Paris court convicts former Vatican envoy of sexual assault

PARIS (FRANCE)
Associated Press

December 16, 2020

By Masha MacPherson

A Paris court on Wednesday convicted a former Vatican ambassador to France of sexually assaulting five men in 2018 and 2019, and handed him a suspended 8-month prison sentence.

Retired Archbishop Luigi Ventura, 76 — who was not present in court — was “shattered” by the verdict, according to his lawyer, Solange Doumic. She said she was uncertain whether he would lodge an appeal because the procedure “has been extremely painful for him.”

Ventura has repeatedly denied wrongdoing. Sexual assault is punishable in France by up to five years’ imprisonment and fines in France.

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Paris court convicts former Vatican envoy of sexual assault

PARIS (FRANCE)
Associated Press

December 16, 2020

By Masha MacPherson

A Paris court on Wednesday convicted a former Vatican ambassador to France of sexually assaulting five men in 2018 and 2019, and handed him a suspended 8-month prison sentence.

Retired Archbishop Luigi Ventura, 76 — who was not present in court — was “shattered” by the verdict, according to his lawyer, Solange Doumic. She said she was uncertain whether he would lodge an appeal because the procedure “has been extremely painful for him.”

Ventura has repeatedly denied wrongdoing. Sexual assault is punishable in France by up to five years’ imprisonment and fines in France.

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.

Archbishop Ventura sentenced to eight months’ probation

VATICAN CITY
Vatican Radio

December 16, 2020

The former Apostolic Nuncio to France, who has been accused of sexual harassment by several men, has always proclaimed his innocence. Archbishop Ventura had waived his diplomatic immunity in order to cooperate with the French justice system.

Archbishop Luigi Ventura, 76 years old, who had served as Apostolic Nuncio to France from 2009 to 2019, was sentenced to an eight-month suspended prison sentence for sexual harassment of several men. The prelate will also have to pay €13,000 to the victims, as well as €9,000 in legal fees.

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Archbishop Ventura sentenced to eight months’ probation

VATICAN CITY
Vatican Radio

December 16, 2020

The former Apostolic Nuncio to France, who has been accused of sexual harassment by several men, has always proclaimed his innocence. Archbishop Ventura had waived his diplomatic immunity in order to cooperate with the French justice system.

Archbishop Luigi Ventura, 76 years old, who had served as Apostolic Nuncio to France from 2009 to 2019, was sentenced to an eight-month suspended prison sentence for sexual harassment of several men. The prelate will also have to pay €13,000 to the victims, as well as €9,000 in legal fees.

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Florida pastor jailed on child pornography charges

ORLANDO (FL)
Orlando Sentinel

December 15, 2020

By Tiffini Theisen

The pastor of a Baptist church in the Florida Panhandle was arrested Monday on child pornography charges, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement said.

Agents tracked uploads to an IP address at the Milton home of William Dalton Milam, 62, the FDLE said.

Milam remained jailed Tuesday morning with no bond, Santa Rosa County jail records show.

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Florida pastor jailed on child pornography charges

ORLANDO (FL)
Orlando Sentinel

December 15, 2020

By Tiffini Theisen

The pastor of a Baptist church in the Florida Panhandle was arrested Monday on child pornography charges, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement said.

Agents tracked uploads to an IP address at the Milton home of William Dalton Milam, 62, the FDLE said.

Milam remained jailed Tuesday morning with no bond, Santa Rosa County jail records show.

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Saskatchewan priest charged with sexually assaulting minor

CANADA
CBC News

December 16, 2020

Police say incidents allegedly happened between Sept. 1 and Nov. 4

A Saskatchewan priest responsible for three parishes in small rural villages has been accused of sexual assault.

Anthony Tei Atter, 45, faces charges of sexual assault, sexual exploitation and sexual interference for multiple alleged incidents involving one victim.

Sexual interference is a charge laid when the alleged victim is under the age of 16.

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Saskatchewan priest charged with sexually assaulting minor

CANADA
CBC News

December 16, 2020

Police say incidents allegedly happened between Sept. 1 and Nov. 4

A Saskatchewan priest responsible for three parishes in small rural villages has been accused of sexual assault.

Anthony Tei Atter, 45, faces charges of sexual assault, sexual exploitation and sexual interference for multiple alleged incidents involving one victim.

Sexual interference is a charge laid when the alleged victim is under the age of 16.

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Granville Gibson: Church dismissed sex priest abuse as drunkenness

ENGLAND
BBC News

December 17, 2020

Church officials dismissed claims a priest was sexually abusing young men as “drunkenness”, a report has found.

Granville Gibson was jailed in 2016 and again last year for sexual offences committed in the 1970s and 80s.

In a review of how the Diocese of Durham handled complaints about Gibson, clinical psychologist Dr Stephanie Hill said a number of “red flags” were missed.

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Granville Gibson: Church dismissed sex priest abuse as drunkenness

ENGLAND
BBC News

December 17, 2020

Church officials dismissed claims a priest was sexually abusing young men as “drunkenness”, a report has found.

Granville Gibson was jailed in 2016 and again last year for sexual offences committed in the 1970s and 80s.

In a review of how the Diocese of Durham handled complaints about Gibson, clinical psychologist Dr Stephanie Hill said a number of “red flags” were missed.

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.

Monster in our midst: Timeline of George Brignac’s abuse in New Orleans area churches

NEW ORLEANS (LA)
WWL-TV

December 16, 2020

By Ramon Antonio Vargas and David Hammer

A review of more than 10,000 pages of documents from the Orleans Parish district attorney’s office reveal a timeline of George Brignac’s abuse over decades in Archdiocese of New Orleans churches.

Jan. 6, 1935: George Feldner Brignac is born to Horace L. Brignac Sr. and Ethel Marie Cocke Brignac.

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Monster in our midst: Timeline of George Brignac’s abuse in New Orleans area churches

NEW ORLEANS (LA)
WWL-TV

December 16, 2020

By Ramon Antonio Vargas and David Hammer

A review of more than 10,000 pages of documents from the Orleans Parish district attorney’s office reveal a timeline of George Brignac’s abuse over decades in Archdiocese of New Orleans churches.

Jan. 6, 1935: George Feldner Brignac is born to Horace L. Brignac Sr. and Ethel Marie Cocke Brignac.

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A diocese’s scandal, a college’s adversity, a daughter’s anguish and a QB’s tweet among top 2020 stories by Jay Tokasz

BUFFALO (NY)
The Buffalo News

December 17, 2020

By Jay Tokasz

While the Covid-19 pandemic overshadowed most other local news this year, one of the biggest stories of 2018 and 2019 – the Buffalo Diocese’s clergy sex abuse scandal – spilled into 2020 in a major way. The diocese’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing represented an historic new chapter in the scandal. The New York attorney general’s lawsuit against the diocese is unique in its effort to hold some of Buffalo’s bishops personally accountable, through state charitable law, for mishandling abuse claims. We’ve published many stories on the diocese’s bankruptcy case this year. I included the first story on the filing because it encapsulated much of the scandal to that point, while also giving a thorough account of what the bankruptcy will mean for the region. The story on the attorney general’s action shows how officials for decades covered up for a priest who is now accused in 21 separate Child Victims Act lawsuits. I also included three stories unrelated to the diocese scandal. A thoroughly sourced story prompted intense reader interest and outrage over how the current D’Youville College president has gone about making personnel and other changes at the college. Another story highlighted how a woman who was abused as a girl by her father is seeking justice through the Child Victims Act, even though she doesn’t expect to reap a financial windfall. And finally, a breaking news story about former Bills great Jim Kelly’s controversial tweet was just fun to write.

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A diocese’s scandal, a college’s adversity, a daughter’s anguish and a QB’s tweet among top 2020 stories by Jay Tokasz

BUFFALO (NY)
The Buffalo News

December 17, 2020

By Jay Tokasz

While the Covid-19 pandemic overshadowed most other local news this year, one of the biggest stories of 2018 and 2019 – the Buffalo Diocese’s clergy sex abuse scandal – spilled into 2020 in a major way. The diocese’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing represented an historic new chapter in the scandal. The New York attorney general’s lawsuit against the diocese is unique in its effort to hold some of Buffalo’s bishops personally accountable, through state charitable law, for mishandling abuse claims. We’ve published many stories on the diocese’s bankruptcy case this year. I included the first story on the filing because it encapsulated much of the scandal to that point, while also giving a thorough account of what the bankruptcy will mean for the region. The story on the attorney general’s action shows how officials for decades covered up for a priest who is now accused in 21 separate Child Victims Act lawsuits. I also included three stories unrelated to the diocese scandal. A thoroughly sourced story prompted intense reader interest and outrage over how the current D’Youville College president has gone about making personnel and other changes at the college. Another story highlighted how a woman who was abused as a girl by her father is seeking justice through the Child Victims Act, even though she doesn’t expect to reap a financial windfall. And finally, a breaking news story about former Bills great Jim Kelly’s controversial tweet was just fun to write.

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Irish Times view: Abuse on a massive scale in New Zealand

NEW ZEALAND
The Irish Times

December 16, 2020

Quarter of a million children taken into care in state and church-run homes, detention facilities and orphanages suffered abuse

Nearly four in ten – or 250,000 – of the children taken into care in New Zealand state and church-run homes, detention facilities and orphanages suffered from abuse, a royal commission into historic abuse of children, young adults and vulnerable adults in institutions between 1950 and 1999 has reported.

The interim findings of the inquiry, the Tawharautia: Purongo o te Wa, lay out what prime minister Jacinda Ardern, who set it up two years ago, describes as the “unconscionable” treatment of young people and particularly the Maori. The report warns that such practices have not been entirely eradicated and complains that the redress system is complex and unsympathetic.

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.

Irish Times view: Abuse on a massive scale in New Zealand

NEW ZEALAND
The Irish Times

December 16, 2020

Quarter of a million children taken into care in state and church-run homes, detention facilities and orphanages suffered abuse

Nearly four in ten – or 250,000 – of the children taken into care in New Zealand state and church-run homes, detention facilities and orphanages suffered from abuse, a royal commission into historic abuse of children, young adults and vulnerable adults in institutions between 1950 and 1999 has reported.

The interim findings of the inquiry, the Tawharautia: Purongo o te Wa, lay out what prime minister Jacinda Ardern, who set it up two years ago, describes as the “unconscionable” treatment of young people and particularly the Maori. The report warns that such practices have not been entirely eradicated and complains that the redress system is complex and unsympathetic.

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

Catholic church’s dismissive attitude toward women pushed me away; Thank you for speaking truth; Child sex abuse by clergy profoundly devastating | Letters

NEW JERSEY
The Jersey Journal

December 17, 2020

Letters To The Editor

Editor’s note: The following letters are in response to Jersey Journal Faith Matters columnist the Rev. Alexander Santora’s recent piece “Time for a Reckoning: Church must confront, change old boy’s network exposed in Vatican’s McCarrick report.”

Church disregards women

I am one of the lucky women educated by the church from kindergarten to graduate school without ever encountering an instance of abuse.

I did encounter constant and omnipresent prescriptions on how to live and think, with the underlying message that the most valuable female virtues in the eyes of the church are obedience, service and respect.

As a professional woman in Manhattan, however, over the years I came to view the church as out of touch, with no messages truly applicable to the experiences and demands of my life. There were no relevant views from the church to consider in ever greater areas of my life.

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

Catholic church’s dismissive attitude toward women pushed me away; Thank you for speaking truth; Child sex abuse by clergy profoundly devastating | Letters

NEW JERSEY
The Jersey Journal

December 17, 2020

Letters To The Editor

Editor’s note: The following letters are in response to Jersey Journal Faith Matters columnist the Rev. Alexander Santora’s recent piece “Time for a Reckoning: Church must confront, change old boy’s network exposed in Vatican’s McCarrick report.”

Church disregards women

I am one of the lucky women educated by the church from kindergarten to graduate school without ever encountering an instance of abuse.

I did encounter constant and omnipresent prescriptions on how to live and think, with the underlying message that the most valuable female virtues in the eyes of the church are obedience, service and respect.

As a professional woman in Manhattan, however, over the years I came to view the church as out of touch, with no messages truly applicable to the experiences and demands of my life. There were no relevant views from the church to consider in ever greater areas of my life.

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Why File a Lawsuit if You Faced Church Sexual Abuse

UNITED STATES
Legal Reader

December 16, 2020

By Addie Davison

If you are one who chooses to fight against church sexual abuse, there are many taking the legal route and getting assistance and justice. Regain your confidence and restore your lost faith by standing for yourself.

The Catholic Church has suffered an epidemic of misconduct. A study by the University of Chicago found that over 100,000 people have been victims of molestation by Catholic priests. A Pew Research center survey tells that approximately 8 in 10 U.S. adults have faced church sexual abuse as a child, reflecting a big issue.

Places of worship offer peace and solace, and if these institutes get polluted with wrong intentions and activities, it is scary. So what to do if a believer becomes a victim in the hands of the clergy? What to do if you or someone is known to you has faced molestation in a church? This article explores the legal options that a victim can have.

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A Notre Dame Academy graduate alleged abuse by priests, then died by suicide. Over 400 alumni demand answers.

WISCONSIN
Green Bay Press-Gazette

December 16, 2020

By Haley BeMiller

https://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/story/news/2020/12/16/notre-dame-academy-alumni-call-out-st-norbert-abbey-after-suicide/3886222001/

DE PERE – Graduates of four Catholic high schools are demanding action from St. Norbert Abbey after its leader disputed allegations of sexual abuse lodged by a fellow alumnus who died by suicide in March.

The call for change came after the Green Bay Press-Gazette published an investigation detailing the story of Nate Lindstrom, who said three Norbertine priests abused him as a teenager in Green Bay in the late 1980s. Lindstrom received $420,000 in secret payments from the Catholic order over 10 years until the abbey stopped sending checks in 2019.

Lindstrom, 45, killed himself less than a year later.

Over 400 graduates of Notre Dame Academy and the former Premontre High School, Abbot Pennings and St. Joseph Academy signed a letter sent Wednesday to the Norbertines and Notre Dame officials imploring them to address Lindstrom’s allegations. Signees include members of Lindstrom’s family and Anne Horak Gallagher, an actress and wife of U.S. Rep. Mike Gallagher of Green Bay.

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Investigation: Florida was dumping ground for priests accused of sex abuse

FLORIDA
ABC-7 News

December 16, 2020

By Jeff Butera

SOUTHWEST Fla. – Investigators in the Florida Attorney General’s office have completed a two-year investigation into sexual abuse inside Florida Catholic churches, revealing three major findings:

– Using 267 tips to a tip line, investigators found 97 Florida priests accused of sexual abuse in Florida.

– The investigation did not uncover current, ongoing or unreported sexual abuse by Florida priests.

– Investigators found 81 priests who had been credibly accused of sexual abuse in other states, then transferred, relocated or retired to Florida, sometimes without the knowledge of the Florida churches they were being moved to.

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Lawmakers could let voters decide whether to allow lawsuits for abuse survivors in 2021

HARRISBURG (PA)
Tribune Democrat

December 16, 2020

By John Finnerty

https://www.tribdem.com/news/lawmakers-could-let-voters-decide-whether-to-allow-lawsuits-for-abuse-survivors-in-2021/article_a11e2e0a-3ff4-11eb-bb8a-1b0a9e21195e.html

The chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee says that moving a bill to amend the Constitution to create a window of time for lawsuits by adult survivors of child abuse will be a top priority when lawmakers return to the Capitol next month.

The bill has already passed once, but because it’s a proposed constitutional amendment, it must pass unchanged a second time before it goes on the ballot for voters statewide.

State Sen. Lisa Baker, R-Luzerne, announced Tuesday that she plans to introduce legislation that will mirror House Bill 963, which passed both chambers of the General Assembly in 2019.

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St. Joseph’s Orphanage abuse survivors disappointed following task force report

BURLINGTON (VT)
WCAX-TV

December 16, 2020

By Dom Amato

Abuse survivors, known as “The Voices of St. Joseph’s Orphanage”, shared stories Wednesday, of what they experienced at the orphanage decades ago.

Some of the group of more than 30, are sticking to their claims that children were murdered while they were being care for. In a nearly 300 page report released on Monday, Attorney General T.J. Donovan says evidence of abuse exists, but there isn’t enough evidence to substantiate murder.

Donovan also says law enforcement, and the state should have investigated when the claims were first made.

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Former St. Joseph’s Residents Say Their Childhood Pain Lingers

VERMONT
Seven Days

December 16, 2020

By Chelsea Edgar

Thirteen former residents of the St. Joseph’s Orphanage responded on Wednesday to the long-awaited investigative report released earlier this week, saying the psychological trauma of their childhood experiences continues to take an incalculable toll.

Walter Coltey, who lived in the orphanage from 1953 to 1959, said that he is estranged from his two grown children because he brought them up the only way he knew — with belt-lashings and severe punishments like he endured at the hands of the nuns who staffed the children’s home.

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Monster in our midst: How pedophile New Orleans clergyman stayed near prey

NEW ORLEANS (LA)
NOLA.com

December 16, 2020

By Ramon Antonio Vargas and David Hammer

It was 1953, and George Brignac was fresh out of high school when he joined the regional chapter of the Christian Brothers.

He spent seven years with the Catholic order, which founded four well-known local schools: St. Paul’s in Covington, De La Salle and Christian Brothers in New Orleans, and Archbishop Rummel in Metairie. But, by 1960, the order had expelled him.

Brignac told some people it was for “reasons of health.” Another time, his superior in the order said Brignac found “obedience difficult.”

Years later, his twin, a priest named Horace L. “H.L.” Brignac, revealed the truth in a statement to police: George Brignac had been “too friendly with boys.”

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All 9 judges in Second Circuit recuse themselves from Diocese of Shreveport abuse lawsuit

SHREVEPORT (LA)
Shreveport Times via the Daily Advertiser

December 16, 2020

By Deborah Bayliss

A strange occurrence in a sexual abuse lawsuit against the Diocese of Shreveport and the late Father William Allison, has attorneys in the case questioning what led to all nine judges of the Second Circuit recusing themselves from the case.

The lawsuit filed against the Diocese of Shreveport seeks damages on claims of sexual abuse among other accusations that occurred in the 1970s of a then child among other accusations.

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9 judges recuse themselves in Louisiana church abuse suit

SHREVEPORT (LA)
Associated Press

December 16, 2020

All nine judges in Louisiana’s Second Circuit Court of Appeal have recused themselves from a sexual abuse lawsuit against the Catholic Diocese of Shreveport and a late priest.

Following the full court recusal, the Louisiana State Supreme Court reassigned the case to the Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal in New Orleans, attorneys for the plaintiff stated Wednesday.

The lawsuit filed against the diocese alleges a plaintiff, a former altar boy, was sexually abused by the late Father William Allison and another man who lived in a church rectory on separate occasions in the 1970s, the Shreveport Times reported. Allison died in 1986.

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CU Regents revoke priest’s honorary degree

BOULDER (CO)
Boulder Daily Camera

December 16, 2020

By Katie Langford

University of Colorado’s Board of Regents on Wednesday revoked an honorary degree bestowed on the late Rev. Charles Woodrich, a Denver priest named in a Colorado Attorney General’s Office report this month for sexually abusing children in the 1970s and ’80s.

Woodrich, known as Father Woody, was one of 52 priests in Colorado’s three Catholic dioceses who sexually abused children between 1951 and 1999, according to independent investigator and former U.S. Attorney Bob Troyer.

Survivors continued to come forward after Troyer’s initial report was published in October 2019, according to the Denver Post. The attorney general’s office released the Dec. 1 report as a result.

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December 16, 2020

Ex-Vatican envoy to France gets 8-month suspended sentence for sexual harassment -AFP

PARIS
Reuters

December 16, 2020

A French court has found former Vatican ambassador to France Luigi Ventura guilty of sexual harassment against five men in 2018 and 2019 and given him an eight-month suspended sentence, AFP reported on its Twitter feed on Wednesday.

Prosecutors had opened an investigation after a junior official at Paris City Hall accused the papal nuncio, then 74, of molestation in January 2019, and city authorities filed a complaint. Other men later came forward with similar allegations.

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Kerala church faces backlash for featuring rape-accused bishop in calendar; sparks fierce protests

INDIA
International Business Times

December 15, 2020

By Nivedita Giri

Despite rape allegation against the church Bishop, a senior priest of the Catholic diocese in Thrissur said that the Bishop still remains a member of the church.

A photo of Kerala Roman Catholic Church Bishop Franco Mulakkal, who has been accused of sexually abusing a nun, featuring on the official calendar for 2021 by the Thrissur diocese in the State has taken up churchgoers by storm. The incident triggered protests, with some followers even burning copies of the calendar in Kollam seeking its immediate withdrawal.

The month of March in the new official calendar for 2021 features the photograph of Mulakkal, along with other Bishops, indicating his birthday.

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Top priest at Orchard Lake St. Mary’s sued for sexual harassment

DETROIT (MI)
Detroit Free Press

December 14, 2020

By John Wisely

The Rev. Miroslaw Krol, the top priest at Orchard Lake Schools, was sued in federal court Monday for sexual harassment by former subordinates who claim he pressured them for sex.

Two men, one a priest and the other a former lay staffer, claim that Krol recruited them to Orchard Lake in 2018, then preyed on them, groping them, kissing them and trying to have sex with them. When they rebuffed his advances, he retaliated against them, the suit claims.

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Accuser recants allegations against Norfolk priest

RICHMOND (VA)
WWBT

December 15, 2020

By Todd Densmore

The Catholic Diocese of Richmond announced Tuesday that an individual who previously came forward and accused a retired diocesan priest of child sexual abuse has recanted the accusations.

The allegations were made earlier this year against Father William Dinga Jr. ‘This recantation by the alleged victim exonerates Father Dinga of these accusations’ the Catholic Diocese said in a news release.

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Ex-employees accuse Orchard Lake St. Mary’s priest of sexual assault, harassment

DETROIT (MI)
FOX 2

December 15, 2020

By Jessica Dupnack

Orchard Lake St. Mary’s Preparatory is a prestigious Catholic high school in Oakland County where the top priest is accused in a lawsuit of hosting sex parties off-campus and on-campus, and allegedly sexually assaulted his employees – including two priests.

“This was not an out of the blue, first-time allegation,” said attorney Jennifer Salvatore.

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PRIEST JAILED FOR 20 YEARS FOR SEXUALLY ABUSING YOUNG GIRLS IN SPAIN’S ANDALUCIA AFTER CATHOLIC CHURCH FAILED TO REPORT HIM WHEN PARENTS WROTE LETTER TELLING OF DAUGHTER’S ABUSE

SPAIN
The Olive Press

December 15, 2020

By James Warren

The priest is accused of getting the girls to sit on his lap, using the lure of sweets to get the girls alone

A PARISH priest has been jailed for 20 years for sexually abusing young girls in his care during a six month period back in 2014, according to newly released court documents.

The priest, practicing in the city of Cordoba, was accused of sexually groping six individuals between the ages of eight and 12 who were visiting during religious camps during the school summer holidays.

An investigation began when one of the victims, who has not been named for her protection, spoke of the abuse in front of a Policia Local officer five years after the events.

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Head Of Detroit-Area Catholic School Denies 2 Male Staffers’ Abuse Claims

DETROIT (MI)
Deadline Detroit

December 15, 2020

A federal lawsuit accuses the chancellor of a West Bloomfield parochial high school of sexual misconduct and retaliation against two male employees who were fired.

The civil case, filed Monday in Detroit, says the Rev. Miroslaw Krol used “his authority to engage in a pattern of sexual misconduct with subordinates and retaliat[ed] against them after they reported the alleged conduct,” The Detroit News writes.

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Former Priest Again Accused Of Abuse In Lawsuit

JAMESTOWN (NY)
Post-Journal

December 16, 2020

By Eric Tichy

A former priest previously accused of sexual assault has again been identified in a Child Victims Act lawsuit.

The suit was filed last week in New York State Supreme Court in Chautauqua County. It alleges abuse by the Rev. John D. Lewandowski, who had previously been accused of abuse according to a list released by the Diocese of Buffalo.

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Advocacy Groups Call For Investigation Into Archdiocese Of Cincinnati

CINCINNATI (OH)
WVXU

December 16, 2020

By Michael Monks

The trial for a Cincinnati priest accused of raping a child is set for April of 2021. Former Father Geoffrey Drew is accused of raping an altar boy between 1988 and 1991 when he was the music minister at St. Jude School in Green Township.

Members of Concerned Catholics of Cincinnati, Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) and Cincinnati Voice of the Faithful wrote an op-ed in the Enquirer calling for an investigation into the Archdiocese of Cincinnati for its handling of Fr. Drew’s case. They claim there were complaints about Drew spanning 30 years.

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Ex-nuncio to France given suspended 8-month prison sentence

FRANCE
CNA

December 16, 2020

A Paris criminal court on Wednesday gave a former nuncio to France an suspended 8-month prison sentence for sexual assault.

The court found Archbishop Luigi Ventura guilty of placing his hands on the buttocks of five men while conducting his public diplomatic duties.

He was ordered to pay 13,000 euros ($15,800) to four of the men and 9,000 euros ($10,900) in legal costs, reported AFP.

Ventura’s lawyer, Solange Doumic, told the French newspaper Le Figaro that the Italian archbishop was considering an appeal.

Ventura was absent for the trial, which took place Nov. 10. A doctor said it was too dangerous for the 76-year-old Ventura, who is living in Rome, to travel to Paris while the coronavirus was surging in France. He was not present for the verdict.

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Baptist Pastor in Florida Arrested on Child Porn Charges

FLORIDA
SNAP Network

December15, 2020

A Baptist pastor in Florida has been arrested on multiple counts of possessing child pornography and two counts of “promoting sexual performance of a child.” Given this man’s prominent position in his local faith community, we are concerned that there may be more victims and hope that the news of this arrest will encourage survivors and witnesses to come forward to local law enforcement.

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Priest who gave Sen. Ted Kennedy’s funeral homily charged in sex assault case

MASSACHUSETTS
Boston Globe

December 15, 2020

By Travis Andersen

A Catholic priest who delivered the funeral homily for Massachusetts Senator Edward M. Kennedy in 2009 has been indicted on charges alleging rape and indecent assault of a minor.

A Barnstable Superior Court grand jury on Friday indicted the Rev. Mark R. Hession, 62, on two counts of rape, one count of indecent assault and battery of a person under 14, and one count of witness intimidation, court records show.

An arraignment date will be set in January, a spokesperson for the Cape and Islands district attorney’s office said. It wasn’t clear who was representing Hession, and information on the dates and locations of the alleged rapes and assault wasn’t immediately available.

The Diocese of Fall River said Hession has been suspended from active priestly ministry since last year.

“A priest on leave is not permitted to exercise public ministry nor present himself as a priest in public settings,” the diocese said in a statement.

The diocese said it learned of the criminal investigation after Hession was placed on leave in March 2019 for sending what church officials described as “inappropriate communications” to several adult parishioners.

Hession had previously served as pastor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Seekonk before being appointed in 2018 to the same position at Holy Family Parish in Taunton, according to the diocese’s website. He was also the pastor of Our Lady of Victory Parish in Centerville and Our Lady of the Assumption Parish in Osterville.

In 2009, the Globe described Hession as the Kennedys’ “family priest on Cape Cod.” During Kennedy’s funeral Mass, Hession said, “We bring with us treasured memories” of the lawmaker.

“Memories not only of a national leader and a master legislator, but of a beloved husband, a great father, a terrific grandfather, a sweet uncle, a dear friend, a trusted colleague, a wise mentor,” Hession told the congregation.

He knew “Ted and Vicki and their family as their parish priest. My sources of reflection are the scriptures and the pastoral experience of ministering to Ted and his family,” he said. “As a priest, I saw him treasure and draw strength from his family.”

In 2002, during the initial fallout from the clergy sex abuse scandal, Hession told the Cape Cod Times he didn’t feel priests who had been accused of wrongdoing should be named publicly in the absence of criminal charges.

“The law allows for a certain exercise of discretion to make settlements with confidentiality,” Hession told the newspaper. “I don’t think it’s the best policy to publish the names if there is no indictment. It just enlarges the circle of the crisis.”

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[News Release] Recent Allegations Against Retired Priest, Father William Dinga Jr., Renounced by Individual Accuser

RICHMOND (VA)
Diocese of Richmond

December 15, 2020

Recent Allegations Against Retired Priest, Father William Dinga Jr., Renounced by Individual Accuser

The Catholic Diocese of Richmond has announced today (Dec. 15, 2020) that an individual who previously came forward and accused a retired diocesan priest of child sexual abuse has recanted the accusations. The allegations were made earlier this year against Father William Dinga Jr.

This recantation by the alleged victim exonerates Father Dinga of these accusations. Father Dinga adamantly denied and maintained his innocence concerning the allegations, which arose from alleged conduct at Christ the King Catholic Church in Norfolk in 1986, when they were brought to the attention of the diocese.

Just as the diocese strives to remain transparent when child sexual abuse allegations are brought forward, the diocese will also publicly clear the accused of any wrongdoing when an accused is subjected to mistaken or unsupported allegations.

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Person who accused Virginia priest of sexual abuse recants, Catholic Diocese of Richmond says

RICHMOND (VA)
Associated Press

December 16, 2020

A person who accused a retired Catholic priest of child sexual abuse has recanted their allegation, The Catholic Diocese of Richmond announced Tuesday.

The diocese issued a statement saying that because the person recanted the accusations made against Fr. William Dinga, he has been restored to his previous position and status within the diocese.

The accusations against Dinga focused on 1986, when he served at Norfolk’s Christ the King Catholic Church. Dinga, who was ordained as a priest at the Richmond Diocese in 1975, denied the accusations.

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Individual retracts child sexual abuse claim against priest at Norfolk church, Richmond Catholic Diocese says

RICHMOND (VA)
WRIS via WAVY.com

December 15, 2020

By Keyris Manzanares

An individual who said they had been sexually abused as a child by a priest in Norfolk, Va., has retracted their claim, the Catholic Diocese of Richmond announced Tuesday.

The allegations were made earlier this year against retired diocesan priest William Dinga Jr.

Dinga has been accused of abuse while serving at Christ the King Catholic Church in 1986. He retired in 1990 and was not permitted to exercise public priestly duties before these allegations, which Dinga denies, were made.

“This recantation by the alleged victim exonerates Father Dinga of these accusations. Father Dinga adamantly denied and maintained his innocence concerning the allegations,” the diocese said in a press release.

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Cardinal Marx calls handling of abuse report in Cologne ‘devastating’

MUNICH (GERMANY)
Katholische Nachrichten-Agentur via National Catholic Reporter

December 15, 2020

Munich Cardinal Reinhard Marx has said he regards the decision not to publish an investigation into clergy sexual abuse undertaken by the Cologne Archdiocese as “devastating” for the entire Catholic Church.

“The public now perceives that lawyers are quibbling over details on the backs of the victims,” Marx said in an interview with the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper published Dec. 15.

The former president of the German Bishops’ Conference said he planned to publish in full a comparable report about the Munich Archdiocese by the same law firm after it is presented in 2021.

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‘Horror’ that abusive priest allowed back into schools

ENGLAND
The Tablet

December 15, 2020

By Catherine Pepinster

Devastated head teachers, teachers and other education experts have spoken of their anger regarding the Catholic Church’s handling of the case of Fr Joseph Quigley, an authority and adviser to bishops on Catholic education, who has been convicted of child sex abuse.

Quigley, 56, was found guilty on December 3 at Warwick Crown Court of physical and sexual abuse – but 12 years after Birmingham archdiocese, when it was led by Archbishop Vincent Nichols, first learned of his abuse and did not immediately report Quigley to the police.

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Three men accuse prominent Michigan priest, Polish seminary leader of sexual abuse

MICHIGAN
Michigan Radio

December 14, 2020

By Kate Wells

The call came one warm night in June 2019. A young Polish priest referred to as “John Doe 1” in a federal lawsuit filed Monday knew it was his boss, Rev. Miroslaw Krol, and he knew that Krol was drunk. But he didn’t know the night would end with him driving an intoxicated Krol and another visiting priest to a motel to meet a male sex worker, and then, according to the suit, withdrawing cash from an ATM so Krol could pay him.

Krol is the chancellor and CEO of Orchard Lake Schools, an Oakland County campus that includes a private prep school, St. Mary’s; a seminary, and a Polish cultural center. A leading figure in the Detroit area’s Polish Catholic community, both Krol and the OLS leadership are named as defendants in a suit in which three men — including two priests — say Rev. Krol recruited them to Orchard Lake with the intent of sexually abusing them.

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Report On Criminal Investigation Into Abuses At Former Orphanage Released

VERMONT
WAMC Radio

December 15, 2020

By Pat Bradley

A long-awaited report on conditions in a former Burlington, Vermont orphanage finds abuse occurred there, but there is no evidence of murder.

Two years ago, Buzzfeed published a story titled “We Saw Nuns Kill Children: The Ghosts of St. Joseph’s Catholic Orphanage.” The details led to the formation of a task force to investigate allegations of child abuse and possible murder at the now closed facility. Vermont Attorney General T.J. Donovan said there were three goals of the task force. “Number one to investigate this allegation of a homicide. Secondly that in the course of that investigation if other criminal conduct was uncovered to investigate those allegations of criminal conduct. And third given the length of time to work with the survivors where justice cannot be brought oftentimes in a court of law but we can still seek justice, we can still seek healing, we can still seek reconciliation through a process that we have embarked upon through our restorative justice model.”

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Cardinal George Pell claims he was framed on child sex charges by senior figures in the Catholic Church because he was trying to clean up the Vatican’s finances

AUSTRALIA
Daily Mail

December 16, 2020

By Lauren Ferri

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9057899/George-Pell-claims-framed-child-sex-charges-senior-figures-Catholic-Church.html

– Cardinal George Pell claims he was framed on child sex charges by church figure
– He told an Italian media channel those who investigated finances were ‘attacked’
– Pell was acquitted of child sexual abuse in Australia in April after months of trial
– He spent more than a year in prison before his conviction was overturned in April

Cardinal George Pell has claimed he was framed on child sex charges by senior figures in the Catholic Church due to his work on Vatican financial reform.

In an interview with Italian media channel RAI 1, Cardinal Pell, 79, alleged everyone who investigated the church’s finances had been ‘publicly attacked’.

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Former Trinity College teacher Tony Webb to appeal child sexual abuse reporting conviction

AUSTRALIA
Australian Broadcasting Corporation

December 16, 2020

By Rebecca Turner

One of the first people convicted under Western Australia’s child sexual abuse mandatory reporting laws has announced he is appealing, a move which has further upset a victim and his family.

Warning: this story contains graphic content that some readers may find upsetting.

Former Trinity College teacher Anthony Paul Webb — one of several who supervised a school rugby trip to Japan in 2017 in which a student was allegedly sexually assaulted by some teammates — has lodged his appeal with the Supreme Court of WA.

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‘A lot of abuse took place there’: State care institutions vanished from records

NEW ZEALAND
Stuff

December 16, 2020

By Aaron Smale

There’s a big chunk of Kath Coster’s childhood that is a blank. Not because she can’t remember it – she will never forget the time she spent at Strathmore Girls’ Home in Christchurch.

The abuse she went through from the age of nine has left deep scars. “I don’t think you ever get over that kind of thing,” she says.

But the Department of Social Welfare, as it was called then, that ran Strathmore has passed on an institutional amnesia to its present-day iteration, the Ministry of Social Development. It has left little trace of the existence of Strathmore, which was closed in 1980.

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At least 250,000 suffered abuse in New Zealand’s state care system, inquiry finds

NEW ZEALAND
The Guardian

December 16, 2020

By Eleanor Ainge Roy

Royal commission into abuse in state care between 1950 and 1999 found victims were ‘most disadvantaged or marginalised’

A quarter of a million New Zealanders held in state care suffered some form of abuse, a landmark inquiry has found, with the true number believed to be higher.

The royal commission into abuse in state care is investigating historic abuse of children, young adults and vulnerable adults by state-run institutions between 1950 and 1999, as well as in affiliated religious institutions, such as church-run orphanages.

It is the largest and most complex royal commission ever undertaken in New Zealand, and has been plagued by issues since its inception, including the resignation of its chair, Sir Anand Satyanand, in its early days.

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NZ state care harmed 250,000: report

AUSTRALIA
Reuters via Yahoo News

December 16, 2020

By Praveen Menon

Up to 250,000 children, young people and vulnerable adults were physically and sexually abused in New Zealand’s faith-based and state care institutions from the 1960s to early 2000s, a public inquiry has revealed.

An interim report on Wednesday by the Royal Commission of Inquiry found children, some from as young as nine months old, suffered years of abuse, which included rape and electric shock treatment, by staff at psychiatric and state care facilities, clergy and foster guardians.

The report estimated that up to 256,000 people were abused, accounting for almost 40 per cent of the 655,000 people in care during the period, with most abuse occurring in the 1970s and 1980s.

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Royal Commission into Abuse in Care releases interim report

NEW ZEALAND
Radio New Zealand

December 16, 2020

By Andrew McRae

It will never be possible to determine the precise number of people abused because of large gaps and deficiencies in data collected at the time, the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care says.

No captionState Services Minister Chris Hipkins Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Minister of State Services Chris Hipkins, who released the interim report Tāwharautia: Pūrongo o te Wā today, said it was a difficult read, and showed the enormity of abuse and trauma that had occurred.

The report is based on accounts of people abused in state care, provided up to the conclusion of the state redress hearing in early November at private and public hearings. It has no specific recommendations but what the Royal Commission has learned will ultimately inform its recommendations to government in a final report.

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December 15, 2020

Orphanage report: Investigators say authorities failed to pursue abuse claims

BURLINGTON (VT)
WCAX-TV

December 14, 2020

By Dom Amato

No evidence of murder but an acknowledgment of abuse: Those are the main findings of a more than two-year investigation into claims at a former orphanage in Burlington. Our Dom Amato explains how the state came up with the findings.

The old building on North Ave. is now part of a new housing complex, but it was once the St. Joseph’s Orphanage.

Attorney General T.J. Donovan says the state investigation uncovered evidence of abuse over several decades, and blames police and prosecutors for failing to investigate the allegations when they were first made.

Now, the orphans who once lived there are calling for more to be done to support them.

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[News Release] St. Joseph’s Orphanage Task Force Concludes Investigation Into Criminal Allegations By Former Residents

VERMONT
Office of VT Attorney General

December 14, 2020

[Note: A copy of the St. Joseph’s Orphanage Task Force’s Report can be found on the Attorney General’s Office’s website in three parts: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3. The report’s appendices are available in six parts: Appendices Part 1, Appendices Part 2, Appendices Part 3; Appendices Part 4, Appendices Part 5, and Appendices Part 6.]

https://ago.vermont.gov/blog/2020/12/14/st-josephs-orphanage-task-force-concludes-investigation-into-criminal-allegations-by-former-residents/

St. Joseph’s Orphanage Restorative Inquiry Continues

Attorney General T.J. Donovan, Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger, Chittenden County State’s Attorney Sarah George, Vermont State Police, and the Burlington Police Department today announced the conclusion of their criminal investigation into the former St. Joseph’s Orphanage in Burlington, Vermont. No charges will be brought involving the Orphanage, which closed in 1974. Due to the statutes of limitation, which limit the timeframe during which criminal charges can be brought by the State, only the crime of murder would have been prosecutable due to the passage of time since the events of the allegations. Sufficient evidence to support a murder charge was not found. This concludes an investigation that began in September of 2018. A nearly 300-page report describing the allegations, investigation, and the St. Joseph’s Orphanage Restorative Inquiry was released today.

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Orphanage investigation finds no crimes, but abuse occurred

MONTPELIER (VERMONT)
Associated Press

December 15, 2020

By Wilson Ring

Vermont’s top law enforcement officer said Monday a two-year investigation into allegations of murder at a long-closed Burlington orphanage found no evidence of such crimes and the criminal investigation is over.

In releasing the report, Attorney General T.J. Donovan said Monday it is clear that children suffered while staying at St. Joseph’s Orphanage, which closed in 1974, and the Vermont law enforcement community failed to protect those children.

“It is clear that abuse did occur at St. Joseph’s Orphanage and that many children suffered,” Donovan said during an online news conference. “As I said, that when we have been prevented from conducting an investigation as a result of the statute of limitations, the harm incurred by many of the residents still resonates today.”

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[News Release] Oral Argument in a Civil Suit against the Japanese Catholic Church to Be Heard on Tuesday

UNITED STATES
SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests)

December 14, 2020

The first oral argument in a lawsuit filed against the Catholic Church in Japan will be heard on Tuesday, December 15, 2020, at 10 AM in the Sendai District Court. We sincerely hope that the plaintiff’s position will be heard and upheld by the judge.

Japan Volunteer SNAP Leader Harumi Suzuki filed a lawsuit in late September against the Diocese of Sendai. Harumi’s attorney, Yuma Sato, seeks 56.1 million yen ($534,000) in damages from the Diocese.

According to Harumi’s complaint, she was a victim of domestic violence in 1977 and turned to her Catholic priest for help. Instead, she was raped during a counseling session. As a result, Harumi suffered from depression for years.

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The People Should Choose Their Bishops Again

UNITED STATES
Commonweal

December 9, 2020

By Nicholas P. Cafardi

An Ambrose of Our Own

There are a number of conclusions one could draw from reading the Vatican report on former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick. For example: that the clerical sex-abuse crisis in the Church is worse than we thought and extends to vulnerable adults. Also, that position and influence in our Church are easily bought, and that bishops lie, even to the pope, to protect other bishops. But the conclusion that encompasses all of these things is that the way we choose our bishops is deeply flawed, producing bishops who are, in turn, deeply flawed. How did things get this way, and what can be done about it?

First, let’s consider a bit of history. Once the office of bishop was clearly established in the early Church as the unitary head of a diocese (a Roman administrative unit), that office was filled by someone chosen by local people and priests, then ratified by the neighboring bishops, as a sign of the unity of the Church. Even the unbaptized were eligible, as we know from the oft-told story of St. Ambrose, whom the clergy and people of Milan chose as their bishop while he was still a catechumen. The first bishop of the United States, John Carroll, was elected by the priests of Maryland and confirmed by the pope. Today, we are so used to the pope choosing our bishops for us that we think it was always that way. It wasn’t. In fact, the right of the pope to choose bishops was only settled with the 1917 Code of Canon Law, a papal document that clearly allocated that power to the holder of the papal office.

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Two anniversaries that give us hope

UNITED STATES
adamhorowitzlaw.com (law firm blog)

December 14, 2020

For our own mental health, given the wealth of bad news in the world, we at Horowitz Law try hard to take note of good news and anniversaries of good news.

Today, Dec. 14, marks the anniversary of the resignation of the poster child for the US Catholic church’s abuse and cover-up crisis – Cardinal Bernard Law of Boston.

Never mind that he retained many other powerful positions and was sent to Rome to head an important and historic basilica (and evaded criminal prosecution). The fact that an incredibly influential prelate was forced to step down for endangering kids and enabling abuse is worth remembering and celebrating.

And next year, 2021, will mark the 20th anniversary of a wonderfully transformative event in terms of children’s safety.

Twenty years ago, in 2001, a Massachusetts judge issued a landmark ruling. The choice she faced was this: side with vulnerable kids, wounded victims and betrayed Catholics. Or side with Catholic clerics who committed, concealed and were STILL committing and concealing heinous child sex crimes.

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Ewan Gurr: ‘Conversation required to deal with historic abuse’

SCOTLAND
Dundee Telegraph

December 15, 2020

By Ewan Gurr

Historic child abuse is not a subject anyone should feel comfortable with.

According to child abuse survivor and campaigner, Dave Sharp, Scotland has yet to reckon with an issue that has long existed below the surface of our illusion of a civilised society.

Please consider these opening lines as your health warning because this column is about to unearth one of the most chilling experiences I have ever come across.

Born in 1959, Dave Sharp lost his mother early in life and was placed under the care of the Catholic church, where he spent the first 16 years of his life.

He lived in Nazareth House in East Ayrshire and also Midlothian, both of which are now being investigated as a significant part of the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry, but his most vivid experiences of child abuse occurred at St Ninian’s in Fife, which was run by the Catholic order of Irish Christian brothers.

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December 14, 2020

This day in history, December 13: Boston’s Cardinal Law resigns amid priest sex abuse scandal

Associated Press via Chicago Tribune

Today’s Highlight in History:

On Dec. 13, 2002, Cardinal Bernard Law resigned as Boston archbishop because of the priest sex abuse scandal.

Click here to see the full Chicago Tribune front page from Saturday, December 14, 2002.

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Spotlight on SPOTLIGHT

Sri Lanka
Daily Mirror

December 14, 2020

By Stephanie Perie

With the recent rise in child abuse in Sri Lanka, I believe it is as good a time as any to put in my two cents regarding the matter. Here’s a side to abuse most of us don’t talk of and some of us don’t know of.

John Joseph Geoghan was born to an Irish Catholic family in 1935 in Boston where he later attended local parochial schools. After graduating from Holy Cross College, he joined Cardinal O’Connell Seminary and was ordained in 1962. In an assessment conducted in 1954, his seniors inferred he had “pronounced immaturity.”

On February 13, 1962, he was appointed assistant pastor at the Blessed Sacrament Parish in Saugus, Massachusetts, where Anthony Benezevich observed and reported to church officials of Geoghan’s habit of escorting boys to his quarters. On September 22, 1966, Geoghan was assigned to St. Bernard’s Parish in Concord before being transferred out seven months later for unaccounted reasons. On April 20, 1967, he was installed at St. Paul’s Parish in Hingham where a man complained to church authorities of catching the priest molesting his son. Following this incident, Geoghan was admitted to Seton Institute in Baltimore, Maryland where he received treatment for pedophilia. On June 4, 1974, Geoghan was sent to St. Andrew’s Parish in Boston’s Jamaica Plain where he was ordered out after he uninhibitedly owned to having molested seven boys of an extended family. But through the intervention of Cardinal Humberto Medeiros, Geoghan was directed toward counseling and underwent both psychoanalysis and psychotherapy instead. On February 25, 1981, he was assigned to St. Bernard’s Parish in Dorchester where he allegedly raped and fondled a boy.

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The McCarrick case and some disturbing conclusions

UCAN (Union of Catholic Asian News)

December 13, 2020

By Gianni Criveller

What is evangelical about a church that, in the eyes of many, is nothing but a club only for men who cover for each other?

In a couple of sleepless nights, I read the 449 pages and 1,410 notes (the devil, as they say, is in the detail) of the Vatican report on former US cardinal Theodore McCarrick.

I had anticipated that it would be depressing reading, yet we must read the worst circumstances of the time in which we live and fully carry the weight and feel the responsibility. I write under an interior impulse. I feel that the Catholic Church, starting with its leaders, can no longer wait. Either structural changes are promoted (beyond those at the level of conscience, as is obvious) or this crisis will not be overcome. Already too many have distanced themselves from ecclesial life and the practice of faith.

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New Bishop Directs Springfield Diocese To Expand List Of Clergy Credibly Accused Of Abuse

SPRINGFIELD (MA)
New England Public Media

December 11, 2020

By Nancy Eve Cohen

[AUDIO]

The Springfield Roman Catholic Diocese said it will expand which clergy accused of sexual abuse it lists on its website.

Up until now, the diocese published only the names of clergy it considered credibly accused when they were alive — with one exception, the late Bishop Christopher Weldon.

Early in 2021, the diocese said, the list will include clergy accused after they died.

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Influential Polish priest accused of excusing child abuse and violating Covid rules

POLAND
Notes from Poland

December 8, 2020

An influential priest and ally of Poland’s ruling party has said that he is “sorry for causing pain” if anyone “misunderstood” recent remarks on clerical paedophilia.

During a mass on Saturday, Father Tadeusz Rydzyk appeared to suggest that such crimes were the result of priests understandably giving in to “temptation”. He also referred to a bishop accused of covering up abuse as a “modern martyr” who has been victimised by the media.

Meanwhile, the event at which he spoke – marking the 29th birthday of Radio Maryja, the controversial broadcaster founded by Rydzyk – is being investigated by the sanitary authorities for apparent breaches of government coronavirus restrictions. Among those in attendance were the justice and defence ministers.

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