ABUSE TRACKER

Pastor who ‘violated a 15-year-old girl’ is on the run, prosecutor says

A 62-year-old man who served as a First Baptist Church pastor when a teenage girl accused him of giving her a spiked drink and sexually abusing her appeared in court on Saturday in the Florida Keys.

Rev. Monte LaVelle Chitty, a registered police volunteer, appeared before Monroe County Circuit Judge James W. Morgan III at the Marathon Courthouse wearing a light blue jumpsuit and handcuffs.

Monroe County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested Chitty on March 4 after they found incriminating text messages to the girl including, “I prefer you pass out after I play not before” and “You can’t even remember what I did.”

He was released on a $75,000 bond.

“While you were out on bail, you committed a new crime,” Morgan said about his failure to appear in court.

According to deputies, Chitty…

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A historic Polish Catholic church in Buffalo, New York — one with a unique connection to St. John Paul II — is facing tens of thousands of dollars in bills that threaten to close the nearly-century-old structure.

Father Czeslaw Krysa, SLD, the parochial vicar of St. Casimir, said the Buffalo Diocese has given the church a deadline of August to pay its outstanding accounts. Among those is $55,000 in annual insurance costs, up recently from $32,000.

Joe Martone, a spokesman for the Buffalo Diocese, said that the diocesan vicar for renewal and development, Father Bryan Zielenieski, “communicated in February to the pastor of the family of parishes [of which] St. Casimir is a member that the church had entered a one-year evaluation period to determine its financial viability.”

“Our diocese is in a family of parishes model, and the families are currently evaluating all aspects of parish life including…

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The Cameron County District Attorney’s Office has opened an investigation into a McAllen priest who resigned after the Diocese of Brownsville on April 3 issued a statement that it had received an allegation of sexual misconduct with a minor against the priest.

In a Friday afternoon statement, the DA’s office said that on April 4, another person contacted that office and also raised an allegation of sexual misconduct with a minor against Monsignor Gustavo Barrera.

“The allegation is under investigation by the Cameron County District Attorney’s Office,” the statement reads.

This is the DA’s office’s first public comment on the allegations against Barrera, who formerly served at Our Lady of Sorrows Parish in McAllen.

Attorneys representing Barrera previously released a lengthy statement denying the first sexual misconduct allegation, which reportedly occurred 35 years ago.

A timeline on the second allegation was not released.

The district attorney’s office did not say…

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Through the years, I have been much engaged studying the topic of sexual abuse by clergy – usually Catholic clergy – and have served as an expert witness in litigation. In such settings, I often encounter historical arguments and debates which raise for me some really significant questions about how we can know some important things in the past, and how far we can prove a negative. The implications run far beyond the specific issue at stake, and affect how we approach a great many historical topics and eras.

Specifically, this whole matter is a classic case study for any historians. It teaches us about the dangers of cherry picking historical sources. Moreover, we have to understand when such sources can or cannot give any kind of representative view of any topic whatever. Anyone who plans to study history has to grasp that idea of representativeness. Finally, we need to know when it…

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Most of Charm City’s historic Black Catholic parishes are on the chopping block in an archdiocese mired in legal troubles due to clerical sex abuse.

The Archdiocese of Baltimore has released a new proposal that would cut the number of parishes in Baltimore City by nearly two-thirds, from 61 to 21. Black Catholic churches make up a quarter of those to be closed in the plan, which has not been finalized.

The archdiocese, the nation’s oldest, says the April 14 proposal—part of a sweeping diocesan realignment—is the fruit of extensive consultation, which will continue in the coming weeks.

“After nearly two years of listening, study, prayer, analysis and community weigh-in, the Seek the City to Come initiative has entered into the public comment phase. A recommended proposal was developed for the Catholic Church in Baltimore City to include investment and ministries, the realignment of parish communities designed to…

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Dismissing insurance company claims, including that sexual abuse is not considered bodily injury, a judge ordered them to pay out $345 million to men who were sexually abused by a Darlington teacher in the 1970s and ’80s.

The plaintiffs alleged that Roger Stifflemire, who taught English at the school in Rome, Ga., from 1974 to 1994, used his authority and influence as a teacher and dorm parent to obtain their trust, which he then exploited to sexually abuse them both on and off campus.

However, those allegations didn’t come to light until 2016. The Hidden Predator Act, passed in 2015, allowed the nearly 20 former students and their families to seek a civil penalty for the abuse.

The law allowed a two year window for childhood abuse victims to file a civil lawsuit which would have normally been outside the statute of limitations. Stifflemire has not faced a criminal prosecution…

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The nature of power and how the abuse of power has been dealt with in the past and present were the focus of an international conference in Rome attended by about a dozen scholars.

Experts in history, philosophy, sociology, political science, psychology and education came together at Rome’s Pontifical Gregorian University April 17-19 to present talks including: the effects of mass violence waged by colonial powers; the misuse of the memory of the Holocaust; sexual predation in the Catholic Church in the Middle Ages; and slave holding by Jesuits in the the United States.

Jesuit Father David Collins, a professor of history at Georgetown University, presented a case study of his order’s work in the United States with “large communities of descendants of those who were held in slavery by Jesuits to develop programs of redress, repair and racial healing.”

Their work started because a building on the Georgetown campus…

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Earlier this week, I was proud to join other brave survivors and caring advocates at a legislative hearing in Jefferson City. The topic: Eliminating or extending Missouri’s archaic, arbitrary and predator-friendly statute of limitations on child sexual abuse.

https://missouriindependent.com/2024/04/15/survivors-of-childhood-sexual-abuse-ask-missouri-attorney-general-lawmakers-for-change/

Many spoke well and movingly. But among the most compelling was my long time friend Ken Chackes, who is one of the very most experienced – and compassionate – attorneys who help abuse survivors. I’m grateful that he’s given me permission to post his wise words here.

Read the testimony here.

David Clohessy

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A mental competency hearing for former New Orleans priest Lawrence Hecker has been rescheduled.

Hecker is accused of aggravated rape, kidnapping, crimes against nature and theft.

A grand jury indicted him in September 2023 after the discovery of a 1999 document containing what is believed to be his confession of sexually molesting and harming several teenagers between 1966 and 1972.

On April 4, Hecker underwent a mental evaluation.

Hecker’s attorneys were in court on Thursday, April 18, for the results of the mental evaluation. However, the defense claims they didn’t have enough time to review the report.

The next court hearing is set for May 23.

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A Knights of Columbus council has called for the removal of artwork by Father Marko Rupnik at a national shrine, following the disgraced priest’s decades-long legacy of sexual and spiritual abuse claims by multiple victims.

The Knights’ Patrick Cardinal O’Boyle Council 11302, based in Washington, reportedly adopted an April 9 resolution urging the fraternal organization’s executive leadership to remove and replace mosaics created by Father Rupnik for the St. John Paul II National Shrine, which the Knights established in the nation’s capital in 2011. The resolution was disclosed April 16 by The Pillar, which stated it had obtained a copy of the document.

The council requested that the Knights’ state and supreme councils “immediately make a public apology to survivors of Fr. Rupnik’s abuse for the Order’s continued inaction in addressing the matter of the mosaics in the Shrine.”

The Slovenian-born Father Rupnik, who was expelled from the Society of…

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Clergyman became a fugitive after skipping out on court date

Marathon pastor Monte Chitty appeared sullen, with his head down, as two uniformed sheriff’s deputies led him from a van into the Key West jail Friday following his capture in Texas earlier in the month.

Chitty, 62, was originally arrested by the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office on March 4, one day after deputies accused him of sexually battering a 15-year-old girl inside his church, First Baptist Marathon, located at 200 62nd St.

He posted a $75,000 bond and later became a fugitive after skipping out on an April 1 court hearing.

U.S. Marshals and local law enforcement captured him April 5 in the small town of Woodville, Texas after deputies said he “reportedly approached a Texas church group that was working with the homeless,” prompting a member of the group to call police.

…

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A Santa Clara County judge has cleared the release of a well-known nonprofit director who is accused of sexually abusing a girl for years during his former career as a youth pastor.

At a Friday morning bail hearing, Judge Hector Ramon approved the release of 47-year-old Brett Bymaster, who faces six felony charges for alleged sexual abuse of a girl from 2014-2019, starting when she was just 8 years old. Ramon imposed several release conditions, including ordering Bymaster to stay away from the alleged victim and children in general, confiscating his passport, and allowing police to search him at-will without a warrant.

Ramon cited state law that requires “clear and convincing evidence” that a defendant poses a future danger and that there aren’t bail conditions that could ensure community safety in lieu of pretrial detention.

“I don’t see that in this case. I see mostly speculation that this is likely to…

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A Pierce County elementary school teacher and volunteer worship pastor charged with nine counts of first-degree child molestation pleaded not guilty to all charges in court Friday.

Jordan Henderson, 34, was arrested at his Gig Harbor home Thursday by Pierce County Sheriff’s Department (PCSD) deputies and booked into the county jail. The PCSD said five Evergreen Elementary School students, all girls, came forward and told officials the assaults happened at school during school hours. Deputies are asking other students who experienced inappropriate behavior to come forward.

“The defendant used his or her position of trust, confidence, or fiduciary responsibility to facilitate the commission of the current offense, and against the peace and dignity of the State of Washington,” prosecutors wrote in charging documents.

RELATED | Pierce County teacher arrested for child molestation; at least 5 victims

Henderson is accused of molesting and groping students under…

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List includes living, deceased members of Catholic church

Several former Michigan priests and non-clergy members have been blacklisted from working with children or youth as the result of an investigation by one of the state’s Catholic Dioceses.

The Diocese of Kalamazoo announced it’s “undertaking a thorough review and updating of all its policies protecting children and youth,” starting with the publication of a list of individuals disqualified from working with kids.

“These major updates and continued review of our diocesan policies are with three primary goals in mind,” said Bishop Lohse, “First, to protect the children and youth entrusted to us by creating safe environment in our churches, schools and apostolates; second, to work to educate our faithful and those in our community to recognize predatory and other behavior that puts children at risk; and third, to work toward eradicating all forms of child abuse.”

This list includes both clergy…

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The International House of Prayer-Kansas City, plagued for months by sexual abuse allegations against its founder Mike Bickle, plans to close its doors and open a new, smaller organization.

The news, first reported by The Roys Report, an online Christian media outlet, was based on a leaked recording of a Monday staff meeting at IHOP University and an email sent to staffers announcing the action.

“IHOPKC will be closing for good in a staggered fashion, with different things such as stipends, work emails, etc. being eliminated over the next couple of months to prepare us to close,” said the email, from “The Prophecy and Healing Leadership of IHOPKC.”

“The leadership feels the best way to resolve the issues is to close IHOPKC as an organization and shift to a more missional church structure in the future. This would still include night and day prayer with worship in the context of…

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IN a wooden chest of draws at home, I keep copies of The Catholic Leader.

Over the last decade, I’ve accumulated deep piles of the newspaper that report and reflect on one of the most testing of times for the Church.

Some could argue the last decade has been one of crisis for Catholics.

The fallout of a royal commission into child sexual abuse topped the list of headlines as I thumbed through old copies of the paper.

One of my first stories was a review of the film Spotlight.

The 2015 Academy Award winning biopic told the true story of how the Boston Globe uncovered the massive scandal of child molestation and cover-up within the local Catholic archdiocese, shaking the entire Church to its core.

In a similar way Australia’s royal commission into institutional abuse shone a harsh light on a hierarchical Church structure that had protected paedophile priests…

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After an extensive investigation, with the full cooperation of diocesan leaders past and present, the Diocese of Brooklyn has entered into an agreement with the office of New York State Attorney General Letitia James that will improve on its two-decade child protection effort since the passage of the 2002 Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People (Dallas Charter) by the U.S. Bishops. As noted by the attorney general, “the Diocese and its leaders, including Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio and Bishop Robert J. Brennan, have fully cooperated with the Investigation and, both prior to and after its commencement, have voluntarily undertaken a number of important changes to the Diocese’s policies and procedures to help address the concerns that led to the Investigation and to prevent their recurrence.”

The attorney general also noted in the agreement, “the Diocese’s efforts from 2003 to the present to strengthen its policies and procedures were…

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In conjunction with the nationally observed Child Abuse Prevention Month held every April, the Diocese of Kalamazoo announces today that it is undertaking a thorough review and updating of all its policies protecting children and youth. A final and complete updated set of policies is expected this summer, but the first significant element was revealed today in the publication of a list of individuals disqualified from working with children or youth.

“These major updates and continued review of our diocesan policies are with three primary goals in mind,” said Bishop Lohse, “First, to protect the children and youth entrusted to us by creating safe environment in our churches, schools and apostolates; second, to work to educate our faithful and those in our community to recognize predatory and other behavior that puts children at risk; and third, to work toward eradicating all forms of child abuse.”

Shortly after his ordination as…

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The Catholic Diocese of Kalamazoo is working on sweeping changes to its policy to protect children and youth with the first action being made Thursday, in the middle of Child Abuse Prevention Month.

Bishop Edward Lohse announced a list of people being removed from eligibility of working with children in the catholic churches in the diocese. The people named in the list were accused of a number of different violations, including breaking the child-protection policy, failing to report allegations of abuse of minors, failing to prevent abuse they knew was happening, providing pornography to children, possession of child pornography, physical abuse of children, and sexually assaulting a child.

According to the Diocese of Kalamazoo, the allegations are credible. The diocese used a method for establishing credibility that required at least one of the following conditions to be met:

1. Legal proceedings
2. Canon law proceedings
3. Self-admission by the individual
4. Evidence that meets the “clear and…

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New York Attorney General Letitia James announced an agreement with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn to address years of reported mismanaging clergy sexual abuse cases and for failing to uphold the policies and procedures it adopted for investigating and responding to abuse complaints.

The agreement requires the diocese to take action to prevent and address allegations of clergy sexual abuse and reform past policies, including:

• Installing an independent, secular monitor who will oversee the diocese’s compliance with enhanced policies and procedures and issue an annual report on the Diocese’s handling of sexual abuse cases;
• Strengthening existing policies and procedures for handling sexual abuse cases to include expedited review timelines and transparency throughout the process;
• Creating new offices, committees, and positions within the diocese devoted to ensuring the safety of minors and other vulnerable communities; and
• Hiring a Clergy Monitor with law enforcement or counseling experience to develop and oversee abuse prevention plans…

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The Catholic Church in Brooklyn has finally agreed to clean up its own mess. Attorney General Letitia James announced an agreement with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn on Tuesday, marking a significant step towards addressing the long-standing issue of clergy sexual abuse within the diocese.

This agreement, the second of its kind in New York, mandates comprehensive reforms and introduces independent oversight to ensure the diocese adheres to stricter standards in handling abuse allegations.

The settlement requires the Diocese of Brooklyn to overhaul its approach to managing sexual abuse complaints, including the implementation of a new system underpinned by an independent, secular monitor. This monitor will oversee the diocese’s compliance with enhanced policies and procedures and will issue an annual report assessing the diocese’s handling of sexual abuse cases.

Attorney General James highlighted the gravity of the diocese’s past failures and expressed confidence that the new measures would ensure…

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New York Attorney General Letitia James has announced that the Diocese of Brooklyn has agreed to “significant action” to address shortcomings in how it handles sexual abuse complaints. 

The diocese “knew about this pervasive problem” for years, James said upon making the announcement, but “did not adequately address allegations of sexual abuse and misconduct,” leading the organization to fail to “consistently comply with its own policies and procedures for responding to sexual abuse.”

In 2018, James’ office launched an investigation into the diocese. Among the failures highlighted by the investigation include an instance in which the diocese for more than a decade neglected to inform parishioners after a priest admitted to sexually abusing minors. 

In another case, the diocese “repeatedly transferred [a] priest from parish to parish” in order to avoid complaints of inappropriate conduct. 

Overall, the attorney general’s report on the inquiry cited nearly…

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Catholics who worship at parishes in Baltimore City have the opportunity to weigh in on the proposal for Seek the City, the archdiocesan process underway for nearly two years to change the footprint of physical locations in the city while emphasizing a Eucharistic vision and a renewed vision for the city church in Baltimore.

Geri Royale Byrd, director of the Seek the City to Come process, said the team and consultants are still listening, still taking feedback. “Seek the City to Come” is based on Heb 13:14: “For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the one that is to come.”

The Archdiocese of Baltimore follows other dioceses around the country that have looked at the number of parish sites in light of changing demographics, and the human and capital resources to continue ministering effectively.

Priests from the 61 parishes at 59 worship sites in the study area…

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The Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn has agreed to the appointment of an independent monitor to oversee its handling of clergy abuse cases, as part of a settlement with New York Attorney General Letitia James.

The agreement, announced on April 16, marks the second such accord secured by James with a Catholic diocese, following a similar settlement with the Diocese of Buffalo in 2022. Under the new terms, the independent monitor will be tasked with overseeing compliance with enhanced policies and procedures in the Brooklyn Diocese.

The monitor will also have to issue an annual report assessing the diocese’s handling of sexual abuse cases, which will have to be published on the diocese’s website.

In her statement announcing the move, James said it comes after an investigation by her office “found that the Diocese failed to consistently comply with its own…

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The American founder of an orphanage in Haiti pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to new federal charges accusing him of traveling from Miami to the island and sexually assaulting four underage boys under his care more than a decade ago.

But during his detention hearing in Miami federal court, a prosecutor said Michael Karl Geilenfeld “sexually abused 20 boys” at his orphanage and then threatened them not to say anything or they would be harmed.

“We have multiple people saying the defendant sexually abused them in the same way,” Justice Department prosecutor Eduardo Palomo told a federal judge.

Palomo argued that Geilenfeld, who was granted a bond by a magistrate judge in Denver before his recent transfer to Miami, should not be released before trial because he’s a danger to the community and a flight risk to the Caribbean.

U.S. District Judge David Leibowitz agreed, ordering that the 72-year founder…

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More than a year after the Archdiocese of Santa Fe’s Chapter 11 plan of reorganization was confirmed, the archdiocese is back in U.S. Bankruptcy Court. A clergy sexual abuse claimant has filed a motion alleging church officials are violating a key non-monetary agreement with abuse survivors, about how the archdiocese lists priests accused of abuse.

The reorganization plan was approved in December 2022 and involved payment of some $121.5 million into a settlement trust and establishment of a new public archive of clergy sexual abuse documents.

According to the new motion filed by her attorneys, Mela LaJeunesse was sexually abused as a child by Fr. Richard Spellman beginning in approximately 1957. LaJeunesse eventually disclosed and received treatment for her abuse beginning in 2016, she filed a sexual abuse proof of claim in the archdiocese’s bankruptcy case in May 2019, and she was compensated through the archdiocese’s…

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The Vatican Secretariat of State sent a formal statement to the French Embassy to the Holy See reaffirming that Pope Francis had sent a top Vatican official to investigate a French religious congregation and warning that interference by a French civil court in an internal church matter could be a “serious violation” of religious freedom.

Matteo Bruni, director of the Vatican press office, confirmed April 13 that the Vatican had sent an explanatory “note verbale” to the embassy highlighting several points in connection to a French civil court decision made public April 3.

The ruling by the one-judge tribunal of Lorient in France ordered 79-year-old Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet, retired prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, and the two religious who assisted him in the investigation to pay a former nun more than $194,000 for material damages, more than $10,000 for “moral prejudice” and more than $10,000 in legal costs…

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A Washington, D.C., Knights of Columbus council has called for chapel mosaics created by disgraced artist Fr. Marko Rupnik to be removed from the area’s St. John Paul II Shrine, which is sponsored by the Knight of Columbus fraternal organization.

The Cardinal O’Boyle Council 11302 passed a resolution April 9 calling on Knights leadership to remove Rupnik’s artwork from the shrine’s Redemptor Hominis Church and the Luminous Mysteries Chapel.

The resolution notes that Rupnik has been accused of sexually abusing religious sisters in the context of creating his works of art.

“O’Boyle Council calls upon the executive leadership of the Washington, DC State Council of the Knights of Columbus (State Council) and the executive leadership of the Supreme Council of the Knights of Columbus (Supreme Council) to renovate the Shrine such that the mosaics in both the Redemptor Hominis Church and the Luminous Mysteries Chapel created by Fr. Rupnik are…

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The International House of Prayer Kansas City (IHOPKC) will be closing its doors and starting a new organization, following months of clergy sexual abuse allegations against its founder Mike Bickle, leaders announced at an internal IHOP University staff meeting yesterday.

A leaked recording of the meeting that The Roys Report (TRR) obtained reveals the organization is bleeding $500,000 a month due to donors being too connected to the now-permanently removed Bickle.

Leaders hope this move will limit IHOPKC’s liability regarding victims’ lawsuits, said Isaac Bennett, pastor of IHOPKC’s Forerunner Church, in the meeting. “We’re the people to sue at the end of the day,” said Bennett. “That produces significant liabilities there.”

However, Boz Tchividjian, an attorney who represents multiple Jane Does who’ve accused Bickle of clergy sexual abuse, told TRR that IHOPKC is in “fantasyland” if it thinks closing down and starting a new organization protects its assets from lawsuit. To try to…

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Never underestimate what one small act of compassion can do. That was Antonia Sobocki’s message to the faithful gathered for Mass at the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Wheeling April 7.

She was there to represent LOUDfence, a campaign of awareness and support for victims of abuse which began in a small, rural English church and has now spread across the globe with its message of healing.

The Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston became the first diocese in the U.S. to participate in LOUDfence, which began with Mass that morning celebrated by Bishop Mark E. Brennan. Sobocki and the many survivors of abuse present were welcomed by the bishop, who expressed his support of the campaign.

“We are deeply honored we are now here for the very first time in America,” Sobocki told the congregation. “No matter where we are in the world, we are one holy Catholic and apostolic church. We…

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A San Jose youth pastor has been arrested on charges of sexually assaulting a minor, police said. 

Brett Bymaster, 47, was taken into custody in the Central Valley in Manteca on Thursday, following a months-long investigation by San Jose Police Department’s child exploitation detectives.

SEE ALSO: American Canyon teacher arrested second time on child sex abuse charges

Investigators said the alleged sexual assault began in 2014, when the suspect served as a youth pastor at the River Church Community located on Lincoln Avenue.

“During the course of the investigation, an adult female survivor disclosed that an adult male suspect sexually assaulted her multiple times between 2014 and 2018 when she was a minor,” police said in a press release.

In a statement to KTVU, the River Church said that Bymaster was employed there from 2014 to 2019 and that the suspect was at the center of a…

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According to reports in the Italian media, the erstwhile star prosecution witness in the Vatican’s “trial of the century” for various financial crimes has been confirmed by Pope Francis in his role as an adjunct prosecutor for the Vatican’s supreme court.

Assuming the reports are correct, some observers likely will be tempted to see the confirmation as a reward for the role Italian Monsignor Alberto Perlasca played in the convictions of Italian Cardinal Angelo Becciu and eight other defendants, despite critical questions raised at trial about Perlasca’s credibility and judgment.

First published by the Italian site “Dagospia,” the reports suggest that Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin has sent a letter to the Apostolic Signatura, the highest court in the church’s system of canon law, indicating that Perlasca “has been confirmed” in his role as an adjunct Promoter of Justice, meaning a prosecutor.

Though Parolin’s letter apparently did not specify, it’s widely…

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The Vatican Secretariat of State sent a formal statement to the French Embassy to the Holy See reaffirming that Pope Francis had sent a top Vatican official to investigate a French religious congregation and warning that interference by a French civil court in an internal church matter could be a “serious violation” of religious freedom.

Matteo Bruni, director of the Vatican press office, confirmed April 13 that the Vatican had sent an explanatory “note verbale” to the embassy highlighting several points in connection to a French civil court decision made public April 3.

The ruling by the one-judge tribunal of Lorient in France ordered 79-year-old Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet, retired prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, and the two religious who assisted him in the investigation to pay a former nun more than $194,000 for material damages, more than $10,000 for “moral prejudice” and more than $10,000 in legal costs…

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A woman has accused a 73-year-old Mobile priest of fondling her and kissing her without consent, which led to his arrest Saturday on charges of sexual misconduct and harassment.

Fr. David J. Tokarz turned himself in Saturday after a warrant was issued for his arrest. He was booked into Mobile Metro Jail late Saturday morning and released on $1,500 bond a few hours later.

Tokarz, 73, is the pastor at Our Savior Church in Mobile and has been in the priesthood for 32 years.

WALA reported Monday that Tokarz is alleged to have hugged the woman on March 2, during which is rubbed his hands on her breasts and patted them. Four days later, Tokarz is accused of kissing the woman on the lips in the church rectory, without her consent.

The Archdiocese of Mobile released a statement following…

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The arrest of a Catholic priest stems from allegations that he fondled a woman and forced an unwanted kiss on her during separate incidents last month, according to court records.

Mobile police arrested David Joseph Tokarz over the weekend after a magistrate issued an arrest warrant charging him with sexual misconduct and harassing communications, according to Mobile Municipal Court records. Tokarz, 73, was pastor of Our Savior Catholic Church on Cody Road in west Mobile.

The alleged victim made a sworn statement on Friday alleging that Tokarz hugged her on March 2. As he released her from the hug, he rubbed his hands on her breasts and patted them, according to the allegations.

The second alleged incident occurred on March 6 after a meeting in the rectory, a church building where priests live. The woman alleges that he kissed her on the lips without consent, according to court records.

Sexual…

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Results of an investigation issued by New York Attorney General Letitia James highlights both shortcomings and positive initiatives taken by the Diocese of Brooklyn in its handling of clergy sexual abuse allegations over the past 22 years. 

The 75-page document, published on April 16, focuses on allegations since 2002, when the Catholic Church first set up a comprehensive set of procedures, still in place today, called the “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.” 

It found that the diocese, on multiple occasions, did not always complete investigations in a timely manner, properly monitor clergy with credible abuse allegations against them, or be transparent with parishioners about a priest’s status. 

Her report also said that the Diocese of Brooklyn “failed to consistently comply with its own policies and procedures for responding to sexual abuse.”

The report states that diocesan leadership — specifically Bishop Robert Brennan and Bishop Emeritus Nicholas DiMarzio…

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A secular monitor will oversee the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn’s compliance with new and stronger sexual abuse policies as part of a settlement agreement with Attorney General Letitia James.

The agreement was announced Tuesday as a means to address what James’ office called “years of mismanaging clergy sexual abuse cases” and failure to adequately investigate and respond to accusations of sexual abuse. 

The Office of the Attorney General opened an investigation of all eight Catholic Dioceses in New York back in 2018. 

During that investigation, the OAG reportedly found that the Brooklyn Diocese — which oversees 211 churches and 84 schools across Brooklyn and Queens – was not adequately protecting children from sexual abuse, and was not complying with its own longstanding procedures for responding abuse allegations in the church. 

The Diocesan Review Board sometimes delayed its investigations, per the OAG, and held different…

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Diocese Required to Make Comprehensive Reforms to Improve Response to Sexual Abuse Complaints and Will Comply With Independent, Secular Oversight
Agreement is Second Reached by AG James to Address Pervasive Mishandling of Sexual Misconduct Within the Catholic Dioceses of New York

New York Attorney General Letitia James today announced an agreement with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn (the Diocese) to address its years of mismanaging clergy sexual abuse cases and for failing to uphold the policies and procedures it adopted for investigating and responding to abuse complaints. Instead, the Diocese applied inconsistent standards to evaluate the credibility of an abuse allegation, delayed investigations, and failed to adequately monitor priests who were accused of sexual abuse.

The agreement requires the Diocese to take significant action to prevent and address allegations of clergy sexual abuse and reform past policies, including:

• Installing an independent, secular monitor who will oversee the Diocese’s compliance…

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Mary Dispenza spent years as a nun and working in the church before her buried memories rose to the surface. It was the start of her long journey towards justice and peace

Mary Dispenza was almost 50 when she experienced her first flashback. At the time, she was in a workshop entitled Sexual Misconduct on the Part of the Clergy, which she had been asked to attend as part of her job in pastoral support for the Roman Catholic archdiocese in Seattle. To this day, she isn’t sure what words unleashed that memory.

She recalls only how clammy her hands became and how the room suddenly started spinning as she saw her seven-year-old self being lifted on to the lap of a priest in a dark, empty auditorium. She knew in an instant who he was.

Dispenza urgently wanted to leave that workshop, but she sat through to the end. “I didn’t fall…

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A Catholic diocese in Long Island, New York has asked a judge to end its Chapter 11 bankruptcy, after failing to get support from about 530 sex abuse survivors on a proposed $200 million settlement of their claims against the diocese.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre, New York, which serves about 1.2 million Catholics in Nassau and Suffolk counties, said on Friday that its bankruptcy had “run its course” after abuse survivors “overwhelmingly” voted against the diocese’s offer.

“The Diocese sincerely hoped that its offer of $200 million—in addition to very substantial insurance assets—would be accepted by the creditors,” the diocese wrote in a motion to dismiss filed in U.S. bankruptcy court in Manhattan.

James Stang, an attorney representing abuse survivors in the bankruptcy, said that the diocese’s failure to reach a deal was “unprecedented.”

In other Catholic bankruptcies, abuse survivors were allowed to propose their own bankruptcy…

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Ugly news broke last week from our friends at The Remnant, that Arnaud Rostand, former U.S. District Superior (2008 through 2014) for SSPX has pled guilty to sexually abusing seven “young boys.” It appears that the disgraced priest attempted to blame the SSPX for this, by claiming that he had “denounced himself” to the SSPX multiple times since 1998.

Michael Matt says that he will continue to support and defend the SSPX. OnePeterFive will do the same. But we agree with Mr. Matt when he calls on all Trads to unite the clans against this evil:

[N]o priest should ever be enabled to harm kids and get away with it—whether he is FSSP, SSPX, ICK, diocesan, etc. Surely, every layperson, every parent, every Traditional Catholic on the planet can agree with that!

As one community of believers, let us beg the SSPX to address this issue immediately.

Whether or not any blame can be…

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When she couldn’t get the elevator at her Denver hotel to work, Angie Witt started to panic. She just wanted to get back to her room, and yet the lift refused to budge. A tide of dread and fear rose around her in the elevator car.

The feeling had been building since she had landed at Denver’s airport. It was the first time she’d returned to Colorado after years of avoiding the place. Witt had suffered years of sexual abuse as a child here, and returning had triggered horrific memories, she said in a recent interview. It all threatened to overwhelm her.

“I was very scared,” she said. “I was so scared that I couldn’t figure out how to make my elevator work.”

She had come on a mission. She’d be going to the Colorado State Capitol to testify in favor of SCR-001, a measure that could open the door…

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Man reveals child abuse horror on church trip to holiday island where kids were ‘dragged off into dark’ by pervert catholic priests

• EXCLUSIVE:  As a child, Kevin O’Connell was ‘abused’ on Caldey Island
• Decades later, Kevin is now fighting for justice for the island’s victims

Located three miles off the South Wales coast, the shimmering island of Caldey is in many ways every child’s dream holiday destination. 

With rolling green countryside, imposing cliffs and white sandy beaches, the island’s physical beauty leaves little to the imagination and routinely welcomes thousands of excitable children onto its shores every year. 

However, many are unaware that the island’s chocolate box aesthetics hide a chilling secret: a dark history of sexual abuse against infants ‘as young as three’ stretching back over 50 years and irrevocably tied to the secretive community of Catholic monks that inhabit the rock.

In the decades that have passed since the island’s…

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The Louisiana Supreme Court’s recent opinion determined that a civil judgment against a priest by victims who are now adults could not be applied retroactively.

The opinion on Bienvenu v The Society of the Roman Catholic Church, Diocese of Lafayette, and St. Martin De Tours Catholic Church. In the 2018 case, Bienvenu and several other plaintiffs, ages eight to 14, came forward, accusing a priest of sexual molestation between 1971 and 1979.

Since the filing, the Louisiana Legislature has addressed the state’s civil code as it relates to civil action related to sexual or physical abuse of a minor resulting in permanent impairment, permanent physical injury, or scarring, and how far in the past retroactive damages can be sought.

After several judgments and appeals, the defendants submitted a written application to have the issue reviewed by the Louisiana Supreme Court. The justices obliged, stating, “The sole…

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Hundreds of clergy sex abuse survivors have “overwhelmingly” rejected the Diocese of Rockville Centre’s final offer of $200 million to settle their lawsuits after more than three years of bankruptcy court proceedings.

In a federal bankruptcy court filing on Friday, the diocese said it was moving to dismiss the proceedings, though it was unclear if the judge would accept the motion and what would happen next.

“The Diocese embodied its best and final offer to creditors in a proposed plan of reorganization, which included $200 million to compensate abuse claimants,” the diocese said in court papers. “Claimants have overwhelmingly voted to reject that plan, however. This chapter 11 case has run its course, and it should now be dismissed.”

The final day for voting by survivors on the proposal was Friday, and results were expected to be released on Monday. But the diocese filed its motion immediately as the voting…

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For the men who survived “evil” sexual and physical abuse in a Catholic boys’ home in Christchurch, last week was the first time authority figures gave them a reason to smile.

The reserve and street named after Marylands School is being renamed Validation, in recognition of the decades it took for abuse survivors to be believed.

The school was run by St John of God, a Catholic order, from 1955 until 1984 for boys with learning difficulties – or “naughty boys”, as survivor Eddie Marriott puts it.

He and several other survivors spoke to the Waihoro Spreydon-Cashmere-Heathcote Community Board on Thursday in favour of getting rid of the name Marylands. After the board unanimously agreed, the room broke into applause.

Marriott, Peter Wall and Adam Powell told The Press they had not dared to expect the vote to succeed, after years of horrific abuse and then decades of…

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A former Church of England priest has been given an eight-year sentence for sexual offences against a girl and woman in Sussex during the 1970s and 1980s, following a Sussex Police investigation.

Meirion Griffiths, 81, formerly of Coachwood Way, Maddington, Perth, Western Australia, was sentenced to a total of eight years imprisonment at Portsmouth Crown Court on Friday 21 February.

He had been convicted on 13 January after a six-day re-trial, of two counts of indecent assault against a girl then in her late teens in the mid-1970’s, one of them involving multiple occasions, and two counts of indecent assault against a woman then in her mid-twenties in 1982.

He had been found not guilty of two counts of indecent assault, one against each of the women.

At Winchester Crown Court on 7 August 2019 a jury had failed to agree on verdicts over the same six counts against…

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“Joannès Rivoire left a legacy of intimidation, fear and horror to his victims. His victims will now begin healing from his death,” Inuk elder says.

A priest accused of sexually abusing Inuit children in Nunavut decades ago has died in France after a long, undisclosed illness.

The Oblates of Mary Immaculate, including the Oblates of Lacombe Canada and the Oblate Province of France, say Joannès Rivoire died Thursday. He was in his 90s.

“We sincerely regret that … Rivoire never made himself available and will never face the charges that were laid against him. We further regret that efforts for him to be formally removed as a priest were unsuccessful,” he said in an emailFriday.

A recent independent review of the claims against Rivoire supported allegations that the priest assaulted six children in Nunavut.

Rivoire arrived in Canada in 1959. He stayed in the North until January 1993, when he…

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Authorities in California arrested a man this week for allegedly posing as a fake priest and stealing from numerous churches across the US.

Riverside County deputies say Malin Rostas used the alias of “Father Martin” to get access to churches and allegedly rob them.

The 45-year-old New York native was apprehended during a traffic stop and was booked for an outstanding felony warrant in Pennsylvania.

Police say additional charges are expected to be filed soon.

Investigators say there may be more victims linked to Rostas.

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A Catholic priest in Mobile was arrested today on two misdemeanor charges, 

Rev. David Tokarz, 73, a pastor at Our Savior Catholic Church in West Mobile, was arrested on the charge of sexual misconduct and harassment or harassing communications, according to the Mobile County Metro Jail Log.

He reportedly was booked into jail at 11:20 a.m. and released three hours later on bail.

News 5 contacted the Archdiocese of Mobile about this matter. Here’s the statement a spokesperson released:

“The Archdiocese of Mobile is aware that misdemeanor charges have been brought against Fr. David Tokarz, Pastor of Our Savior Church in Mobile, by an adult woman. Since this is an active legal matter, questions about the charges should be referred to Fr. Tokarz’s attorney.

“We ask for your prayers for all affected by this situation.”

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“The Catholic Church of Portugal announced on Thursday that it will pay financial compensation to victims of sexual abuse of children in the church,” the report said.

The payment amount will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

A report by a church-funded Portuguese commission in February 2023 found that at least 4815 minors had been sexually abused by clergy – mostly priests – over seven decades.

The report’s authors said their findings were the “tip of the iceberg,” and commission chairman Pedro Strecht added that more than 100 priests suspected of sexually abusing children remain serving in the church.

The following month, after the report emerged, the church announced a series of steps to tackle child sexual abuse, but was heavily criticized for not taking stronger action.

It is noted that the Catholic Church offers victims of sexual violence to independently submit requests for compensation. A special committee will determine…

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The Holy See said Saturday it formally protested to France after a court there ruled that a former high-ranking Vatican official was liable for what the court determined to be the wrongful dismissal of a nun from a religious order.

The Lorient tribunal on April 3 ruled in favor of the nun, Sabine de la Valette, known at the time as Mother Marie Ferréol. The court issued a scathing denunciation of the secretive process the Vatican used to kick her out of the order, the Dominicans of the Holy Spirit, after an internal investigation.

The case is highly unusual, because it represented a secular civilian court essentially determining that the Vatican’s in-house canonical procedures grossly violated the nun’s fundamental rights.

In a statement Saturday, the Vatican said it had formally protested to the French embassy that it had received no notification of any such verdict, but…

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The Holy See on Saturday confirmed that it had sent a diplomatic letter to the French embassy over a French court ruling involving a Canadian cardinal’s alleged wrongful dismissal of a nun.

A French court in Lorient, in Brittany, earlier this month had fined Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet, along with several other parties, for the October 2020 wrongful dismissal of Sabine Baudin de la Valette, whose religious name was Mother Marie Ferréol.

Baudin de la Valette, 57, had reportedly lived in the French monastery since 1987 without any significant incidents, but in 2011 she denounced “serious abuses and facts” happening in the community.

She was dismissed from the community after a visit from Ouellet. It was never made public what exactly the Vatican accused her of, though the former sister reportedly said the dismissal decree “accused her of having an evil spirit but gave no concrete reasons.”

…

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Court orders resentencing due to mistake that may have led to higher term

The convictions of a former Macomb County priest for molesting a teenage boy has been upheld by the state Court of Appeals, though he was ordered to be resentenced due to a judicial error.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel applauded the affirmation of the convictions of Neil Kalina, 68, who was found guilty by a Macomb Circuit Court jury of two counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct for his actions in 1984 involving a 14-year-old boy whose family attended St. Kiernan Catholic Church in Shelby Township, where Kalina worked. Second-degree sexual conduct involves contact.

“I am proud of the work of our prosecutors to secure these sentences against sexually abusive former priests within the Catholic church,” Nessel said. “To see these convictions withstand appellate scrutiny reinforces my appreciation of their efforts.”

Kalina was one of 11 clergymen…

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The New York-based Sisters of Life have reported to the Vatican that a priest groomed and manipulated sisters while providing spiritual direction to members of the community. 

The priest, Fr. David Nicgorski, has previously been accused of misconduct in spiritual direction, and of sexually assaulting a religious sister. His own religious order, the Oblates of the Blessed Virgin Mary, has declined to clarify the priest’s status.  

—
According to sources with knowledge of the case, the Sisters of Life filed a report to the Vatican about Nicgorski earlier this year, after The Pillar reported that the priest had groomed sisters in another religious community during spiritual direction, leading in one case to an alleged sexual assault. 

Sources said that Nicgorski allegedly acted inappropriately with members of the Sisters of Life during spiritual direction in the 2000s, in one case seriously sexually manipulating a sister under his direction. 

A Vatican investigation could lead…

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Pope Francis on Saturday sided with a group of Peruvian villagers who have complained that companies linked to a powerful South American church group have tried to evict them from their land using lawsuits and obscure land titling schemes.

In a video recorded at his residence in the Vatican, the Pope sent a message of support to members of the San Juan Bautista de Catacaos farmers community in northern Peru, who have been fending off lawsuits from companies associated with the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae since 2014.

“I know what happened to you,” the Pope said in Spanish. “Defend your land and don’t let them steal it.”

The Sodalitium is a lay group that runs schools and spiritual retirement centers in several South American countries, but is also involved in real estate, agriculture and construction companies.

The conservative group was founded in Peru in 1971 and gained thousands of members in…

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Pope Francis Saturday sent a brief video message to a group of peasant farmers in Peru who assert they’ve experienced legal and physical harassment at the hands of an organization linked to a scandal-plagued Catholic movement called the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae (SCV).

In his video message, Pope Francis greeted the “peasant communities of Piura,” where the community lives, saying, “I know what happened to you.”

“Defend your land, don’t let it be stolen,” he said, thanking the community for what they do and assuring them that “I am praying for you from here, and I am close to you, and with pleasure I give you my blessing.”

He closed his message asking for prayers, and told the community to have “courage, and go forward!”

Saturday marked the 446th anniversary of the peasant farming community of Catacaos in Piura, which for years has faced a legal battle with a handful of companies operated…

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Rev. Johannes Rivoire, a former Nunavut priest accused of sexually abusing multiple Inuit children, has died.

Rev. Ken Thorson, the head of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate order headquartered in Ottawa, confirmed in an email that Rivoire, a Roman Catholic priest, died Thursday after a long, unspecified illness.

The 93-year-old spent more than 30 years working as a priest in several Nunavut communities. He was a member of the Oblate order, a religious order within the Roman Catholic Church.

Rivoire left Canada for his home country of France in 1993, around the time RCMP began investigating allegations against him.

The first three charges were laid against Rivoire in 1998. Challenges with extradition led the Crown to stay those charges in 2017.

One new charge of historical indecent assault was laid against Rivoire in 2022.

None of the charges were ever tested in court.

Through a lawyer, Rivoire denied the accusations as recently as 2022.

…

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Joannes Rivoire, a priest from France who was accused of sexually abusing Inuit children when he served at the mission in their Canadian Arctic community, has died after a long illness, officials said Friday.

The Oblates of Lacombe Canada and the Oblate Province of France said that Rivoire, who was in his 90s, died on Thursday. He had lived for years at a care home in Lyon, France.

An Inuit community in northern Canada has long sought Vatican’s assistance to get Rivoire extradited. He ministered to Inuit communities until he left in the 1990s and returned to France. Canadian authorities issued an arrest warrant for him in 1998 over several counts of sexual abuse.

Rev. Ken Thorson with the Oblates of Mary Immaculate Lacombe Canada said in an email that the death may be difficult news for those who advocated for the priest to face justice in Canada.

“We sincerely…

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A judge in Argentina ruled that two bishops and two priests were liable for gender-based discrimination and violence toward a group of Discalced Carmelite nuns.

Argentine Judge Carolina Cáceres Moreno issued an 87-page ruling April 4 that said the cloistered nuns of the Monastery of St. Bernard in Salta were subjected to psychological, verbal and physical abuse by Archbishop Mario Cargnello of Salta, retired Bishop Martín de Elizalde of Nueve de Julio, Father Ignacio Loyola Pinto de Sancristóval and Father Lucio Ajaya.

“I conclude and affirm that the Carmelites have suffered acts of gender violence in the institutional sphere of the religious, physical, psychological and economic type for a period of more than 20 years,” the judge said in her ruling, according to the Argentine newspaper La Nación.

The judge ordered the four accused clergymen to undergo psychological treatment and training “in order to modify their behavioral patterns.”

Pope Francis…

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A civil court judge in Argentina’s Salta province ruled in favor of the Carmelite sisters in Salta, the provincial capital, in a case of gender-based violence against the local archbishop, Mario Antonio Cargnello, a bishop emeritus, and two priests, ordering them to undergo psychological treatment and training on gender issues in addition to an existing restraining order.

The case involves the Discalced Carmelite sisters of San Bernardo convent, who have been in conflict with the archdiocese for years. In addition, the bishop emeritus of the Diocese of Nuevo de Julio, Martín de Elizalde, is also among the defendants along with the judicial vicar, Father Loyola Pinto y de Sancristóval, and Father Lucio Ajaya.

According to the Argentine news site Infobae, the issue underlying this situation is the conflict over the alleged apparitions of the Virgin Mary to María Livia Galliano de Obeid in Salta, a phenomenon that…

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Speakers at the conference said the institution still has a lot to do to better inform victims during canonical trials.

Two decades after the Vatican was first forced to reckon with the clerical sexual abuse crisis, church experts on Thursday (April 11) addressed the institution’s failures to safeguard victims, promote transparency and guarantee a safe trial.

For years, sexual abuse victims lamented that church trials under canon law fail to inform them about not just the proceedings but also the sentence. Despite Pope Francis’ efforts to reform church law and inject transparency into the institution, church officials and experts agreed much more still needs to be done.

“The church is called to speak the truth and to be true. It can’t play hide and seek with itself,” said the Rev. Jordi Pujol, a theologian teaching communications at the Pontifical Holy Cross University in Rome. The excessive prudence in addressing sexual…

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A group of Western New York parishioners sent a letter to Pope Francis about concerns with the Buffalo Diocese under Bishop Michael Fisher’s leadership.

What You Need To Know  Five WNY parishioners wrote a letter to Pope Francis with concerns about Buffalo Diocese Bishop Michael Fisher
 They cited a decline in attendance and fewer services
 Fisher said this is all part of a restructuring after the Diocese declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2020, before he became Bishop in 2021
Fisher said he is open to any investigation that may come of the letter

“He’s failed miserably, both at the spiritual level and at the secular level,” said parishioner Michael Taheri. “It’s just a train wreck in this community.”

Taheri and four others wrote a letter to Pope Francis calling for Fisher’s removal and an investigation into operations, citing the closure and sale of parishes, a decline in attendance and fewer services.

All this…

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“I have to be careful I can’t comment on that, because we have the court confidentiality, but we’re in the midst of our mediation. There’s no one that wants to get out of this more than I do,” said Bishop Michael Fisher when asked about an upcoming decision in federal bankruptcy court.

It has been four years since the Buffalo Diocese declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The diocese filed in February 2020 while facing a mountain of lawsuits involving clergy sexual abuse.

On Monday, a federal bankruptcy court judge could allow individual cases to proceed in state court. They have been on hold while the diocese and survivors attempted to negotiate a settlement.

The diocese objects to the move. Survivors argue the diocese is attempting to delay the process. At least 15 survivors who filed lawsuits against the diocese have died while waiting for justice.

In total, plaintiffs filed more than…

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The Larimer County Sheriff’s Office arrested a former youth pastor in March on charges of sexually assaulting multiple children over the course of three decades.

The former youth pastor has been identified as Hipolito Gomez-Perdomo, 65, of Fort Collins. He was involved with the Vida Abundante church in northern Fort Collins, where he served as a youth pastor. Before that, Gomez-Perdomo lived in Fort Morgan and Houston.

Because of his position and the pattern reported by several victims, police are concerned that there may be additional victims who have yet to come forward.

“Sexual assault inflicts serious physical and mental harm on victims. It can be difficult to come forward, especially if the perpetrator is in a position of trust,” said Larimer County Sheriff John Feyen. “I’m grateful for the courageous young women who spoke up in this case. Their voices matter. At LCSO, we believe survivors deserve to be…

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Yesterday, the Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed Neil Kalina’s two Second-Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct convictions, announced Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. Kalina was charged and convicted following the Attorney General’s statewide clergy abuse investigation.

Neil Kalina, 67, formerly of Shelby Township, was sentenced in July 2022 after a jury found him guilty of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old child in 1984. He was a priest at St. Kiernan Catholic Church in Shelby Township from 1982-1985. He is currently incarcerated at the Cooper Street Correctional Facility in Jackson.

“I am proud of the work of our prosecutors to secure these sentences against sexually abusive former priests within the Catholic church,” Nessel said. “To see these convictions withstand appellate scrutiny reinforces my appreciation of their efforts.”

The court additionally remanded the case to the trial court for resentencing after ruling in Kalina’s favor that a technical error occurred in constructing his sentence when the Court considered acquitted conduct in tabulating an appropriate…

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When Eduardo Lopez de Casas was abused by a priest during his school years, he could not bring himself to tell his mother what was happening, fearing it would ruin her faith in the Catholic Church. Having grown up hearing about her mother’s upbringing — and how she came to find solace in her faith after becoming an orphan at an early age in Mexico City — Lopez de Casas “did not want, ever, to come in between my mother’s faith because it was so strong.”

Lopez de Casas’ mother passed away in 2021, never hearing of her son’s plight with the abuse he had suffered at the hands of a man who was supposed to offer him guidance.

Now the vice president of the board of directors for the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP), Lopez de Casas shared his story in the January webinar “Courageous Conversations:…

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The state Supreme Court ruled that priests have a “property right” not to be sued for sexually abusing children.

The Louisiana Supreme Court has decided to strip sexual assault survivors of an avenue of justice, ruling 3–4 that it’s the due process rights of priests and their enablers to not be held accountable in instances of sexual assault.

The case, Bienvenu v. Diocese of Lafayette, was brought by Douglas Bienvenu and several other plaintiffs who claimed they were sexually molested by a Roman Catholic priest during the 1970s, when they were between the ages of 8 and 14. 

But in its majority opinion issued on March 22, the court argued that while the facts of the case were largely undisputed, the priest—and the religious institution he was a part of—was actually protected under the U.S. Constitution’s due process clause, which says that no one shall be “deprived of…

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Fewer than 25% of the names compiled 20 years ago have been shared with the public

.In 2002, following a groundbreaking investigation by the Boston Globe into child sexual abuse by Catholic priests and the steps the church took to protect them, Cleveland prosecutors and grand jurors soon came up with a list of 145 local priests who allegedly abused children.

The problem then, even after years of work by then County Prosecutor Bill Mason and the grand jury, only a handful of the suspects were charged. The rest contained on the list remained secret due to a judge’s ruling on the secrecy of grand jury proceedings and it took years for the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland, after cultural pushback, to release some (52 to date) of the names themselves.

On Wednesday, in front of the catherdral of St. John the Evangelist, a team of anti-child abuse advocates called once…

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Some members of Buffalo’s Catholic community are calling on the Vatican to force Bishop Michael Fisher to resign.

A letter was addressed to Pope Francis that claims the bishop’s appointment three years ago has resulted in “adverse, long term and irreparable harm” to the Catholic community.

“I don’t think he has any track record of success in Buffalo,” remarked Michael Taheri, a Buffalo Catholic.

“Bishop Fisher, in my opinion, is the wrong guy and in the wrong place at the wrong time,” reflected Michael Liwicki, a Buffalo Catholic.

The letter was sent to Pope Francis in Vatican City and signed by five Western New York Catholic parishioners in the Diocese of Buffalo, led by Taheri.

“He closed schools. We still don’t have a Catholic school on the east side of Buffalo. We have fewer masses. Our outreach as a Catholic community is less so how has he enhanced as this…

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The Church of England has investigated a retired bishop accused of not reporting allegations of abuse against a prominent youth ministry founder as two British pastors came forward this week to publicly claim they were also abused as teenagers and their complaints were not taken seriously by ministry leadership. 

On Thursday, a Church of England spokesperson confirmed that it has “concluded” an investigation into concerns surrounding Bishop Graham Cray for “failing to pass on information” related to the Soul Survivor ministry founder Mike Pilavachi. 

The spokesperson told Church Times the investigation was “concluded and under House of Bishops guidance” and “appropriate risk management steps are being taken.”

“We cannot say anymore at this stage,” the spokesperson was quoted as saying. 

Cray, who served as the former bishop of Maidstone from 2001 to 2009, also served as chairman of Soul Survivor and served as its director from…

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A group of local Catholics is asking Pope Francis to remove Bishop Michael W. Fisher as head of the Diocese of Buffalo, saying Fisher has provided no spiritual leadership to the faithful and is focused solely on the monetary concerns of a diocese reeling from clergy sex abuse lawsuits and a contentious Chapter 11 bankruptcy case in its fourth year.

A letter signed by Anthony Bonaventura, Marie Carrubba, Paul Eberz, Mike Liwicki and Mike Taheri was sent to the Vatican earlier this week and gave a scathing assessment of Fisher’s leadership of the diocese since his installation in 2021.

“Our diocese needs a bishop who is merciful and walks with his flock in good times and bad. Instead, our present bishop remains glued to the inside of the chancery. He has no presence in this community and has a misguided focus,” the letter states.

The letter criticized Fisher for providing “virtually…

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A fugitive pastor has been caught in Texas, just days after he fled prosecution in Florida on charges he sexually abused a 15-year-old girl.

Monte Chitty, 62, was taken back into custody last Friday in Woodville, Texas, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook announcement.

Chitty, pastor at First Baptist Church in Marathon, Florida, is accused of getting a girl drunk and assaulting her on church property, The Roys Report (TRR) previously reported.

Chitty faces charges of sexual battery, lewd and lascivious molestation, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor in the Florida Keys, the sheriff’s office said.

After being released on a $75,000 bond, Chitty failed to appear at a scheduled arraignment on April 1 and went on the run, according to the sheriff’s office.

A Texas church group was critical in apprehending the fugitive pastor, the sheriff’s office reported. Chitty approached the church group…

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The state Supreme Court ruled that priests have a “property right” not to be sued for sexually abusing children.

The Louisiana Supreme Court has decided to strip sexual assault survivors of an avenue of justice, ruling 3-4 that it’s the due process rights of priests and their enablers to not be held accountable in instances of sexual assault.

The case, Bienvenu v. Diocese of Lafayette, was brought by Douglas Bienvenu and several other plaintiffs who claimed they were sexually molested by a Roman Catholic priest during the 1970s, when they were between the ages of eight and 14. 

But in its majority opinion issued on March 22, the court argued that while the facts of the case were largely undisputed, the priest—and the religious institution he was a part of—was actually protected under the U.S. Constitution’s due process clause, which says that no one shall be “deprived…

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[See original announcement here.]

April 4, 2024

Dear People of God,

I pray that this letter finds you filled with the joy, hope and promise of Easter and the Risen Christ. I deeply regret having to inform you that the Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe, acting on the recommendations of the Province Review Board and the findings of an independent investigation, has removed Fr. Patrick Tuttle, OFM, from all public ministry due to allegations of sexual misconduct. He is living under the strict supervision of an independent monitor.

Fr. Tuttle had already been removed from active ministry and from his role as pastor of Holy Spirit Church in Macon, Georgia, when the reported alleged misconduct surfaced four months ago. In accordance with the Province’s Safeguarding Policies and Procedures, which are posted on the Province website, there was an independent investigation into the allegations.

After careful deliberation, the Province…

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A judge signed off on Stanley Burkhardt, who was investigated for a series of Louisiana killings, to transfer to a halfway house

A former child sex crimes detective who admitted to molesting children during his New Orleans policing career, has been in and out of prison for images depicting the sexual abuse of minors, and has been investigated in connection with a series of killings, has gotten another opportunity at relative freedom.

After a parole violation caused him to spend the last few years in intensive therapy at a federal prison in North Carolina for people who, like him, have been deemed sexually dangerous, Stanley Burkhardt was recently transferred to a halfway house, according to records reviewed on Thursday by the Guardian.

US district judge James Dever III signed the transfer order on 25 March after two reports in January and October of 2023 by Federal Bureau of Prisons psychologist Katherine…

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An abbey on a remote Welsh island has commissioned an independent review into alleged historical child sex abuse by monks.

Caldey Island Abbey has said the review will show that they take the allegations seriously and help build a “safe environment for everyone”.

Caldey, off the coast of Pembrokeshire in west Wales, home to Cistercian Order monks, has been facing allegations since 2017.

A group fighting for an inquiry – the Caldey Island Survivors Campaign – say that around 50 people are now claiming historic abuse by monks on the island.

The review announcement comes following the appointment of Father Jan Rossey as the abbey’s superior.

The review will be led by Jan Pickles, a former assistant police and crime commissioner at South Wales Police.

Father Rossey said: “In common with many other organisations, Caldey Abbey has, in the past, received disclosures and allegations involving members of the monastic community…

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Last year, former high-level leaders at the International House of Prayer-Kansas City (IHOPKC) made several attempts to report to IHOPKC’s senior leaders that founder Mike Bickle had allegedly engaged in adult clergy sexual abuse with multiple women.

The whistleblowers provided firsthand testimony from victims, secondary victims, and observers, and ultimately asked for a third-party investigation.

In response, IHOPKC leaders pushed back. The leaders said the whistleblowers hadn’t provided any “actual evidence” and didn’t follow “due process.” The leaders questioned the whistleblowers’ motives. And because of all this, the leaders said they thought it was “premature” to hire a third-party investigator.

So, witnesses and victims—including two women who had been minors when Bickle allegedly sexually abused them—told their stories and provided documentation to The Roys Report and the Kansas City Star. IHOPKC has now permanently separated from Bickle and multiple senior leaders have resigned, though survivors of other leadership failures are still…

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At a hearing for a criminal trial in France, a priest of the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) who spent six years in the U.S. has admitted to sexual misconduct with French minors over a period of 15 years, local media reported Sunday.

Speaking at the criminal court in the city of Gap in southeastern France, Father Arnaud Rostand on April 4 admitted to the accusations, according to La Provence newspaper, saying: “I ask for forgiveness from the victims and deeply regret everything I have done.”

The 58-year-old is charged with misconduct against seven boys, often during church-related activities like scout camps in France, Spain, and Switzerland, the paper said, noting the abuse allegedly took place over a 15-year period between 2002 and 2018.

During that time, the priest held several roles, including that of a school principal in France, but also served as U.S….

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The Portuguese Episcopal Conference announced on Thursday the creation of a “financial compensation” fund for victims of Church abuse in that country.

The Conferência Episcopal Portuguesa (CEP) said on its website that the bishops at their plenary assembly “unanimously approved the allocation of financial compensation, on a supplementary basis, to victims of sexual abuse against vulnerable children and adults in the context of the Catholic Church in Portugal.”

The assembly had convened in Fátima on Monday of this week. The fund “will count on the solidarity contribution of all dioceses” in the country, the announcement said. 

An independent commission authorized by the Portuguese bishops found last year that thousands of children had been sexually abused by priests and others within the Church in that country since the 1950s.

The commission, which began its work in January 2022, received a total of 564 testimonies, of which it validated 512. Many of the victims…

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Se trata de Mario Cargnello, quien está enfrentado con las religiosas de un tradicional convento de la capital salteña. También fueron condenados un obispo emérito enviado como delegado del Vaticano ante el conflicto y dos sacerdotes.

En un hecho sin precedentes en la Iglesia argentina, una jueza de la provincia de Salta encontró culpable de violencia de género a un arzobispo, un obispo emérito y dos sacerdotes en perjuicio de unas monjas de un histórico convento de la capital provincial y les ordenó someterse a un tratamiento psicológico y a una capacitación en cuestiones de género. Además, ratificó que deben seguir cumpliendo una perimetral.

La jueza Carolina Cáceres Moreno consideró probados los hechos de violencia de género ejercidos por el arzobispo de Salta, Mario Cargnello, en perjuicio de las hermanas Carmelitas Descalzas del convento San Bernardo, con las que venía manteniendo diferencias desde hacía años. También, por el obispo emérito Martín de…

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En un fallo inédito, la justicia resolvió que el arzobispo de la ciudad de Salta y otros tres religiosos cometieron distintas formas de violencia contra las monjas de clausura de un convento y ordenó que reciban tratamiento terapéutico y se capaciten en cuestiones de género.

La jueza Carolina Cáceres consideró probadas las denuncias que las cerca de 20 carmelitas descalzas del Monasterio San Bernardo presentaron en 2022 contra el arzobispo Mario Cargnello, el sacerdote Lucio Ajaya, el obispo emérito Martín de Elizalde y el vicario judicial Loyola Pinto y de Sancristóval que causaron revuelo en la conservadora y católica Salta, situada 1.400 kilómetros al norte de Buenos Aires.

“Concluyo y afirmo que (las monjas) han padecido hechos de violencia de género en el ámbito institucional del tipo religiosa, física, psicológica y económica por un lapso de más de 20 años”, sostuvo…

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“El muñidor del informe es Josetxo Vera, navarro. José Gabriel Vera Beorlegui, nacido en Pamplona y sacerdote. El episcopado se permite, sin ningún tipo de justificación, reconocerlos como creíbles o no, algo inédito en informes de otras iglesias nacionales católicas. De nuevo Spain is diferent” El informe Cremades reconocía la existencia de 1.383 denuncias y un mínimo de 2.056 víctimas. Mediante un hábil corta y pega el abogado expulsado del bufete y el navarro Josetxo Vera redujeron la cifra de casos a 806.

11.04.2024 | Marcos Leyún, en nombre de La Asociación de Víctimas de Pederastia en Instituciones Religiosas de Navarra

Así se expresaba Jesús Zudaire, presidente de la Asociación de Víctimas de Abusos ante la nueva negativa de la Conferencia Episcopal Española a reconocerlos como abusados en casos de pederastia en Navarra.

Se refería a dos abusos ya reconocidos por el Gobierno Foral, el del Colegio Diocesano del Puy de Estella y el…

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National and statewide advocates on Wednesday called on the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland to release the names of 145 current or former priests who were identified in a Cuyahoga County grand jury report as child sexual abusers but whose names have remained a secret for more than two decades.

“We cannot protect kids with secrecy and silence,” Claudia Vercellotti, who leads the Ohio chapter of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said at a news conference on the sidewalk outside of the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in downtown Cleveland.

Vercellotti and Anne Barrett Doyle, co-director of the Boston-based research organization BishopAccountability.org, also released the names of 50 former priests or clergymen who worked in Cleveland and were credibly accused of child sexual abuse in other dioceses but whom the diocese here has yet to name.

The Cleveland diocese has named 50 priests on…

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[VIDEO] Calling Bishop Edward Malesic ‘one of the most secretive bishops in the United States,’ activists demanded the diocese share more details on clergy accused of abuse.

Activists from two of the nation’s leading groups speaking out against child sexual abuse by Catholic clergy held a press conference outside the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist Wednesday to condemn Cleveland Bishop Edward Malesic for what they say is his inadequate handling of such cases.

Administrators from BishopAccountability.org and the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests called Malesic “one of the most secretive bishops in the United States” in regard to sharing information about abusers, both living and deceased. They also revealed a list of 50 clergymen whom they believe should be added to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cleveland’s current public record of 51 clerics with “substantiated allegations” of sexual abuse against…

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[See video]

Release more names and more information. That was the call from victims advocates to the Catholic Church in Cleveland. The recent revelation of a former St. Ignatius priest being credibly accused of abusing children has sparked one organization’s deeper dive into priests who’ve served in the Cleveland Catholic Diocese.

Anne Barrett Doyle is the co-director of BishopAccountability.org. She stood in front of the Downtown cathedral today saying dozens of additional names of priests should be on the Cleveland Catholic Diocese credibly accused list. One of the names is a priest who we broke the story on last year.

“It’s hard to trust people,” said Tammie Mayle in tears just last year in a News 5 exclusive investigation. At the time, she had just filed a lawsuit saying while she was a child at the former orphanage called Parmadale, Father…

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[VIDEO]

On Wednesday, about half a dozen members from BishopAccountability.org gathered in front of The Cathedral of Saint John the Evangelist in Downtown Cleveland demanding Bishop Edward Malesic release the names of every Catholic priest who has been accused of sexual abuse in the church but has not been revealed.

“His list only includes 51 priests who have faced substantiated allegation. he is leaving dozens and dozens of abusers off his list and he knows this,” said Anne Barrett Doyle, Co-Director of BishopAccountability.org.

19 News is not showing the list of names since the priests have not been criminally charged.

The watchdog group says laws in the state of Ohio regarding sex abuse are some of the worst in the country.

Current law states a child sex abuse survivor can only pursue charges against their alleged attacker until they are 30 years old.

“The single most compassionate…

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The Diocese of Manchester has added three names to its online list of dozens of priests credibly accused of child sexual abuse going back to 1950, church officials announced this week.

The three new entries represent the first additions to the Diocese’s Restoring Trust website since it was launched in 2019, a spokesperson for the Diocese said.

The Restoring Trust website provides the year each priest was ordained, his parish assignments and his status, which ranges from criminal conviction to being defrocked to “assigned to a life of prayer and penance.”

The list includes 76 names of priests, 51 of whom are dead. Most of the referenced cases have been concluded. Two are listed as pending.

The information and additional resources are available at catholicnh.org/restoringtrust.

The Rev. George Desjardins has been added under the category “Cases Concluded” for a recently received report of abuse that took place…

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2 cases against ex Jesuit already known, 3 new at Doctrine of Faith

There are currently five complaints from alleged sex-abuse victims of world-famous Slovenian mosaic artist and ex-Jesuit priest Marko Rupnik at the Vatican office that handles such cases, Vatican sources said Wednesday.

Two of the complaints to the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith are already known and three of them new, they said.

The two came out in public for the first time in late February, saying that “the rubber wall” surrounding Rupnik’s alleged sex abuse has “crumbled.” They are named Mirjiam and Gloria, and are Slovenian women former members of the Ignatius of Loyola Community of which the 69-year-old Rupnik was a prominent member before being expelled three years ago.

“We knew each other in the community,” Mirjam explained in a press conference with Gloria at her side, “we were all young girls, full of…

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José Ornelas is suspected of covering up a case of sexual abuse 

An investigation into allegations that one of the country’s most senior bishops covered up sexual abuse in the Catholic Church is still ongoing, according to an announcement today by the office of the country’s attorney general.

In an update on investigations into allegations of sexual abuse in the Church by clerics or other people linked to the institution, the attorney general’s office clarified that the inquiry opened by prosecutors in the Guimarães section of the Department of Investigation and Criminal Action (DIAP) in Braga, and in the Lisbon DIAP, remains under investigation.

“The Guimarães case received a final judgement, with part of it being closed and a certificate being drawn up for further investigation,” the statement continues. “This certificate gave rise to an inquiry that is still under investigation.”

The office of public prosecutions confirmed in October 2022 that it was investigating José Ornelas, bishop of Leiria-Fátima…

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The Diocese of Manchester, the Roman Catholic Church in New Hampshire, on Wednesday added three priests to its list of clergy accused of sexual abuse of a minor as part of its continuing effort and commitment to protecting children and young people. This is the first addition to the Restoring Trust website since its inception in 2019. The information, assignment histories, and additional resources are available at catholicnh.org/restoringtrust.

Reverend George Desjardins has been listed under the category “Cases Concluded” for a report of abuse that took place more than 40 years ago that was received recently. Fr. Desjardins is alive and has been retired since 2002. He is prohibited from ministry.

Reverend Matthew Schultz has been listed on the Restoring Trust website under the category “Cases in Process,” which are cases involving living Diocesan priests, but where the canonical proceedings are not yet complete. Fr. Schultz is prohibited from…

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For immediate release, April 10, 2024

Watchdog group blasts Cleveland bishop for secrecy around abuse

Bishop Malesic runs “one of the most secretive” dioceses in the U.S., they say

Bishop claims just 51 priests are credibly accused

But in 2002, county prosecutor identified almost three times as many 

Abuse expert releases 50 names that should be added to diocese’s list of accused clergy

Ohio leader of victims’ group: “Malesic’s secrecy puts children at risk, hurts victims, and betrays Cleveland Catholics”

[To see the 50 clergy omitted from the Cleveland diocese’s list of priests with substantiated allegations, click here.]

WHAT 
At a sidewalk news conference, the leader of the world’s leading research group on the clergy sex abuse crisis will: *

• Release the names of 50 publicly accused clerics who should be added to Bishop Malesic’s posted list of accused Cleveland priests 
• Urge Bishop Malesic to end the Cleveland diocese’s secrecy about…

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Wednesday, April 10

4:30 – 6 p.m.

Virtual Zoom

Free

Fordham’s ongoing “Taking Responsibility: Jesuit Educational Institutions Confront the Causes and Legacy of Clergy Sexual Abuse” project is sponsoring two spring webinars.

Part I: Memorializing Clergy Sexual Abuse

Join us for an interdisciplinary conversation about the ethics, means, and meanings of public memorials related to clergy sexual abuse.

In this webinar, three scholars will explore questions about whether, when, and how communities can contend with the history and memory of the Roman Catholic clergy sex abuse crisis. With expertise in trauma studies, liturgy, theology, and history, our panelists ask about the ethics, means, and meanings of various efforts to remember clergy sex abuse, as well as those who suffered and defied it.

Part II: Whose Stories Are They? Catholic Sex Abuse Records and the Issue of Transparency

Springing from a recent legal settlement that promised an abuse documents archive…

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The man had alleged he was abused in 1948, when he was an eighth-grader in Rumford, by the Rev. Lucien Joseph Mandeville. The terms of the settlement have not been released.

A Maine man who sued the state’s Catholic diocese in 2022, alleging he was abused as a 13-year-old boy by a priest in Rumford, has settled and agreed to drop his case.

Under the pseudonym John J.L. Doe, the man said he regularly attended the former St. John Parish, now part of the Parish of the Holy Savior, as a boy in the late 1940s. As an eighth-grader in early 1948, he said, he and two other children were playing outside the church when the Rev. Lucien Joseph Mandeville asked to drive them home. The lawsuit said Mandeville abused the boy in his car after dropping off the other two children.

The man, who is now 89 and lives…

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A priest in the Catholic Diocese of Brownsville, Texas, has been removed from ministry in the wake of an accusation of child sexual abuse. This is the second cleric in the Diocese, that we know of, to be accused this year. The other clergyman was arrested in February.

At the time of the arrest, SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, urged the Bishop to do immediate outreach to beg other victims and witnesses to report to law enforcement. We renew our plea as this second case is being investigated by the Diocesan Review Board.

Brownsville Bishop Daniel E. Flores received notification on March 15th that Msgr. Gustavo Barrera had been accused of a child sex crime. The priest denied the claim, but submitted his resignation and retirement as pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows in…

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Five new complaints of alleged abuse committed by Father Marko Rupnik have been presented to the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith in Rome, where an investigation into the case is being carried out after Pope Francis decided to lift the statute of limitations.

The new cases mark the latest development in the case of Rupnik, a Jesuit accused of having committed serious sexual, spiritual, and psychological abuse against at least 20 women over a period of decades.

As reported by the Italian news agency Ansa, the testimonies of five alleged victims were presented at the Vatican dicastery by Italian lawyer Laura Sgrò on April 3.

The complainants include two women who shared their testimony at a press conference in February, while the other three are heretofore unknown cases.

On Feb. 21, Mirjam Kovac (who said she suffered spiritual and psychological abuse but not…

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Baltimore Archbishop William Lori on Monday attended a hearing at a U.S. bankruptcy court in which several witnesses testified on the abuse they endured at the hands of Church officials. 

The archdiocese said in a release on Monday that the archbishop “attended [the hearing] in which victim-survivors of child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church offered statements as part of the proceedings associated with the archdiocese’s filing for Chapter 11 reorganization.” 

The archdiocese filed for bankruptcy in September of last year in response to a looming wave of sex-abuse-related lawsuits. Lori at the time said filing for bankruptcy ensured that “victim-survivors will be equitably compensated” and the Church would be able to “continue its mission and ministries.”

After the sealed hearing on Monday at U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland, Lori said he was “deeply grateful to the victim-survivors for their courage today [and]…

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While Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore says he was grateful to hear the testimony of victim-survivors of clergy sex abuse in the archdiocese at a recent hearing, one of the victim-survivors has shrugged off his attendance as “part of a PR stunt.”

Lori, Baltimore Auxiliary Bishop Adam Parker and Jerri Burkhardt, the director of the archdiocese’s Office of Child & Youth Protection, attended a hearing on April 8 in which six victim-survivors of clergy sexual abuse offered statements as part of the archdiocese’s bankruptcy proceedings.

The testimonies were public, but off the record, with a primary purpose of giving victim-survivors the opportunity to share their stories in a public setting. Teresa Lancaster, one of the victim-survivors who provided testimony, told Crux it’s important for them to get that opportunity.

“A lot of people just don’t know what’s going on, and when people testify and put a face behind the word survivor it…

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Bishop Thomas Gumbleton, a longtime leader in the U.S. Catholic peace and justice movement, has died at the age of 94 in Detroit. He helped found Pax Christi and Bread for the World and was a war tax resister. He was also a survivor of sexual abuse in the church who was forced to resign in 2007 after he spoke out publicly in favor of an Ohio bill to extend the statute of limitations for cases of sexual abuse by clergy. In 2013, Bishop Gumbleton spoke to Democracy Now! about his work with the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, known as SNAP.

Bishop Thomas Gumbleton: “Well, what really opened my eyes was when a friend of mine — in fact, the person who started SNAP — came to me and asked me to intervene with the local bishop, because the priest who had abused her, and who had also abused other…

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