ABUSE TRACKER

WARE (MA)
Associated Press via U.S. News and World Report

November 6, 2020

Authorities say a former Roman Catholic street priest who played a pivotal role in the sexual abuse scandal that rocked the Archdiocese of Boston has died.

A former Roman Catholic street priest who played a pivotal role in the sexual abuse scandal that rocked the Archdiocese of Boston has died, authorities said Friday. Paul Shanley was 89.

Police in Ware, a town in west-central Massachusetts where Shanley was living since his release from prison in 2017, confirmed his death but did not say how he died. WFXT-TV, Boston’s Fox News affiliate, said he died of heart failure on Oct. 28.

Shanley was a popular priest who counseled gay and troubled youths in the 1960s and 1970s. In 2005, he was convicted of raping a boy at a Newton church in the 1980s and sentenced to 12 years in prison.

Shanley’s release in July 2017 triggered a firestorm of protests from some of his victims, who alleged he sexually abused them as children.

Shanley was a notorious figure in the clergy sex abuse scandal that exploded in Boston in 2002, after The Boston Globe revealed that dozens of priests had molested and raped children for decades while church supervisors covered it up and shuffled abusive priests from parish to parish.

The Vatican defrocked Shanley in 2004 after dozens of men came forward and reported being sexually abused by him.

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BOSTON (MA)
Archdiocese of Boston

November 6, 2020

The harm caused to so many by Paul Shanley is immeasurable. His victims showed great courage in exposing his crimes and fighting for justice both within the criminal justice system and the Church. We are indebted to Shanley’s victims and all victims of clergy abuse for what they have done to stop the abuse, assure that the Church supports healing for those abused, and puts the protection of children at the top of our priorities.

The Office of Pastoral Support and Outreach is available to those who were abused by clergy and their families. We encourage anyone who was abused by clergy to call, regardless of when the abuse occurred. We also encourage you to report the abuse to law enforcement. If the victim is under the age of 18, please also report the abuse to the Department of Children and Families. Help is available. Call 617-746-5985.

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BOSTON (MA)
WFXT-TV

November 6, 2020

By Maria Papadopoulos

Ware – Paul Shanley, a former Catholic priest who served time in prison for child rape and a key figure in the Boston clergy sex abuse scandal, has died, Ware Police have confirmed.

Shanley, a Ware resident, died on Oct. 28 of heart failure, police said. He was 89 years old.

In 2005, Shanley was convicted of raping a child repeatedly in the 1980s. He formerly served as a priest at St. Jean’s Parish in Newton.

In 2017, he was released from prison after completing his 12-year sentence.

Shanley lived out his remaining days as a sex offender.

Attorney Mitchell Garabedian, who represented several victims in the church sex abuse scandal, said in a statement that he was not aware of Shanley’s passing until Friday, when contacted by media.

“Respectfully, children are now safer because of the passing of Fr. Paul Shanley. Unfortunately, the amount of human pain caused by Fr. Shanley and the Archdiocese of Boston is continuing and immeasurable,” Garabedian said.

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NEW ORLEANS (LA)
WWL 4 CBS and Times-Picayune and Advocate

November 5, 2020

By David Hammer and Ramon Antonio Vargas

[With video]

The consequences for not properly reporting abuse cases in the church can be harsh.

https://www.wwltv.com/article/news/investigations/david-hammer/priest-abuse-victims-question-if-archdiocese-properly-investigated-referred-cases-to-vatican/289-93b5fa1d-675d-446a-a6d4-22d7aa6ebda5

Mark Vath thought the sexual abuse complaint he filed against his father’s cousin, a Roman Catholic priest named Paul Calamari, was resolved when the Archdiocese of New Orleans put Calamari on a 2018 list of clerics strongly suspected of molesting children.

Church officials also agreed to pay Vath a $100,000 settlement for his ordeal. That was less than a month before the release of the roster of fallen priests and deacons. Church officials also later told him they believed his allegations.

But it turns out a formal investigation of Vath’s case by the church didn’t even start for another two years. Archbishop Gregory Aymond informed Vath in a letter in September that the church had only begun scrutinizing Calamari a month earlier, a process that might refer the matter to top Catholic bureaucrats in Rome to consider removing Calamari from the priesthood.

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YORK (PA)
York Daily Record

November 5, 2020

By Dylan Segelbaum

https://www.ydr.com/story/news/crime/2020/11/05/former-roman-catholic-priest-pleads-guilty-to-sexually-abusing-two-boys-dauphin-county-pennsylvania/6171595002/

As part of a plea agreement, John Allen, 76, of West Manchester Township, is set to be sentenced to five years’ probation on Jan. 21, 2021.

A former priest who is one of more than 300 clergy named in a landmark investigating grand jury report about widespread sexual abuse and institutional coverup in the Roman Catholic Church in Pennsylvania pleaded guilty on Thursday in Dauphin County to assaulting two altar boys between 1997 and 2002.

John Allen, 76, of West Manchester Township, appeared via video conference before Common Pleas Judge Deborah E. Curcillo, and admitted to sexually touching the boys over their clothes while at St. Margaret Mary Alacoque Church in Penbrook. He’s set to be sentenced to five years’ probation on Jan. 21, 2021, as part of a plea agreement on charges of indecent assault and corruption of minors.

In response to questions from Chief Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Gettle, Allen answered with, “Yes, indeed” and “I understand that, yes.” He sat next to his attorney, Brian Perry, who is reserving discussing the case until sentencing.

Gettle said the survivors were between 10 and 12 at the time. The sexual abuse, she said, was not disclosed to law enforcement until more than a decade later.

The sentencing guidelines for the crimes, at that time, called for probation. The men are now 31 and 35, respectively.

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DENVER (CO)
Catholic News Agency

November 5, 2020

A Church historian has published some details regarding the allegations of abuse made against Fr. Josef Kentenich, founder of the Schoenstatt ecclesial movement. The movement has rejected claims that its founder engaged in sexual abuse, while in July a German bishop announced that a commission would review the priest’s beatification process.

Historian Alexandra von Teuffenbach has published the first of two volumes in a history of the Schoenstatt movement and allegations that Kentenich, who is being considered for beatification, manipulated and coerced community members into sexually inappropriate conduct.

The first volume focuses on the life of Sister Giorgia Wagner, a member of the community who died in 1987. Wagner was assigned to ministry in Chile during her time in the community.

“When Fr. Kentenich visited Chile after the Second World War, in 1947, he abused her and deposed her as provincial superior,” von Teuffenbach wrote in a letter to Vatican analyst Sandro Magister, which Magister published Nov. 2.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
Religion News Service

November 5, 2020

By Claire Giangravé

This ongoing clergy sex abuse trial at the Vatican will be a litmus test for the efficacy of Pope Francis’ reforms.

Vatican City – Recent comments by Catholic clergy and a sex abuse trial inside the Vatican highlight Pope Francis’ uphill battle in enforcing accountability and child protection within the Catholic Church.

“Which is worse, abortion or an act of pedophilia?” asked the Rev. Andrea Leonesi, the vicar of the Diocese of Macerata, Italy, during a homily on Oct. 27 that was recorded and later went viral.

In his homily, Leonesi implied abortion is worse than pedophilia and condemned the protests women have led in Poland, where the highest court recently applied further restrictions on abortion.

“In Poland these feminists are loose and doing anything to protest,” the priest said. “Wives must be submissive toward their husbands; do you understand ladies? The husband is in fact the master of the woman,” he added.

The homily, which was uploaded to YouTube on Monday (Nov. 2), garnered a lot of criticism by political activists for gender equality in Italy. Bishop Nazzareno Marconi of Macerata defended his second-in-command by saying while “the drama of pedophilia is a battle that must engage us all,” the homily wished to “guarantee the right to not have an abortion for every woman.”

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WOONSOCKET (RI)
Associated Press

November 5, 2020

A former Rhode Island priest was indicted Thursday on multiple counts of child molestation, state Attorney General Peter Neronha’s office said.

The grand jury indictment against John Petrocelli was unsealed Thursday and he was arraigned in Providence County Superior Court, according to Neronha’s office.

He faces three counts of first-degree child molestation and nine counts of second-degree child molestation.

Prosecutors say Petrocelli molested three boys under the age of 14 multiple times during his tenure as assistant pastor at Holy Family Parish in Woonsocket from 1981 to 1990.

Petrocelli, 75, has been the subject of other litigation involving priest misconduct, including a 2008 settlement between the Diocese of Providence and men who said they were abused as boys by Rhode Island priests, including Petrocelli, the Providence Journal reports.

The public defender’s office, which is representing Petrocelli, didn’t respond to an email seeking comment Thursday.

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PROVIDENCE (RI)
WPRI 12

November 5, 2020

By Eli Sherman

A former priest named to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence’s list of “credibly accused” clergymen last year was arrested on multiple charges of child molestation, according to R.I. Attorney General Peter Neronha.

John Petrocelli, 75, was indicted by a statewide grand jury on three counts of first-degree child molestation and nine counts of second degree molestation, according to state prosecutors. The indictment was unsealed after he was arraigned in Providence Superior Court where he pleaded not guilty.

The grand jury alleged Petrocelli committed multiple acts of child molestation against three male victims under the age of 14 between November 1981 and October 1990.

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KANSAS CITY (MO)
National Catholic Reporter

November 5, 2020

by Joshua J. McElwee

Rome – The Vatican’s report on how disgraced ex-cardinal Theodore McCarrick was able to rise through the American Catholic hierarchy despite reports of inappropriate relationships with young men is expected to be released within the next weeks, National Catholic Reporter has learned.

The Vatican wants to release the document prior to the annual meeting of the U.S. Catholic bishops’ conference, which is to be held virtually Nov. 16-17, said an informed Vatican source. The person asked not to be named as they did not have authorization to speak on the matter.

Reuters first reported the news earlier in the day Nov. 5.

McCarrick, aged 90, was long one of the most influential prelates in the U.S. Catholic Church. He led the Catholic communities in Metuchen, New Jersey, and Newark, New Jersey, before serving as Archbishop of Washington, D.C., from 2001 to 2006.

But in a series of shocking announcements in June 2018, the archdioceses of New York, Newark, and Washington and the diocese of Metuchen revealed that McCarrick had been ordered by the Vatican to step down from active ministry after an allegation of sexual abuse was found “credible and substantiated.”

Francis confirmed McCarrick’s removal from the priesthood, after a guilty finding by the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, in February 2019.

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DENVER (CO)
Catholic News Agency

November 5, 2020

The Archbishop of New York said Thursday that a long-awaited Vatican report on the career of former cardinal Theodore McCarrick could be a “black eye” for the Church. The report is expected to be released next week.

The U.S. Church is “still waiting for the release of the so-called ‘McCarrick Report’ by the Holy See, detailing the damning story of former-cardinal Theodore McCarrick. That could be another black-eye for the Church,” Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York wrote in a Nov. 5 post on his website.

“But, better that the story come out, in all its awful detail, to both bring some measure of peace to the victim-survivors, as well as serve as a lesson on how to prevent a similar recurrence in the future,” Dolan added.

The report, which was initially expected to be released in December 2019, will come after a Vatican review of documents and witness accounts spanning McCarrick’s 40-year episcopal career, after he was accused of serial sexual crimes related to minors and seminarians in 2018.

Sources at the Vatican’s Congregation for Bishops and Secretariat of State, which coordinated the review and report, independently told CNA that the report is slated for release early next week; both identified Nov. 10 as the expected publication date.

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NEW YORK (NY)
Patch / Hale Global

November 5, 2020

By Rachel Nunes

John Petrocelli was indicted on three counts of first-degree child molestation and nine counts of second-degree child molestation.

Woonsocket RI – A former Woonsocket priest is facing allegations of child molestation. John Petrocelli was indicted by the statewide grand jury Monday on three counts of first-degree child molestation and nine counts of second-degree child molestation.

The indictment alleges that the acts happened from November 1981 to October 1990, when Petrocelli served as an assistant pastor at Holy Family Parish in Woonsocket. The victims are believed to be three boys, all under the age of 14 at the time.

“There is nothing more critical to the mission of my Office than to deliver justice on behalf of victims and of the people of Rhode Island, regardless of the time that has passed after the alleged offense,” Attorney General Peter Neronha said. “Our ongoing review of alleged misconduct by clergy in Rhode Island is intended to achieve that result wherever possible.”

The indictment, which was secret, was unsealed Thursday and Petrocelli was arraigned in Providence County Superior Court.

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ST. PAUL (MN)
Catholic Spirit – Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis

November 5, 2020

By Maria Wiering

This is the cover of “Consecration to St. Joseph: The Wonders of Our Spiritual Father” by Marian Father Donald Calloway. Archbishop Bernard Hebda and Bishop Andrew Cozzens are encouraging Catholics to use the book as a guide for a personal consecration ahead of the Dec. 8 consecration of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis to St. Joseph. The book can be found online and at local Catholic bookstores. CNS

Bishops encourage preparation with 33-day guide for personal consecration
After completing a personal consecration to St. Joseph in March, Anne Marie Hansen felt so richly blessed by the experience that she bought 500 copies of the 33-day guide to give to family, friends, coworkers, neighbors and anyone she sensed needed to read it.

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Hansen, who is chairwoman of the archdiocese’s committee on the Year of St. Joseph, said that she hopes it will bring about a greater sense of fatherhood in the priesthood, and repair a relationship between priests and laity she sees weakened by the clergy sexual abuse crisis.

She said she is a survivor of years of clergy abuse as a child. Her love of St. Joseph began in her childhood and gave her hope despite the abuse, she said. She’s deepened her relationship with the saint as an adult, and her consecration in March was actually a formal reconsecration, she said. She participated in a group Father Calloway led online.

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DENVER (CO)
Catholic News Agency

November 5, 2020

The Catholic Diocese of Fresno has taken out a restraining order against a priest and launched an investigation of him after he was accused of drug use, physical abuse, threatening behavior and gang links.

Bishop Joseph Brennan of Fresno said Mass last Sunday at St. Joseph’s Church in Selma, Calif. and announced that Father Guadalupe Rios, the parish administrator, has been put on administrative leave while the diocese conducts an investigation.

Cheryl Sarkisian, the diocese’s chancellor, confirmed that the priest has been placed on paid administrative leave while the investigation is pending.

“This is a matter of an internal investigation and the confidentiality and privacy of all concerned parties will be respected and upheld,” Sarkisian told The Fresno Bee Nov. 3.

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VATICAN CITY
Reuters

November 5, 2020

By Philip Pullella

A long-awaited Vatican report into disgraced ex-U.S. Cardinal Theodore McCarrick is expected to be released this month to coincide with an annual meeting of American bishops, Vatican sources said on Thursday.

McCarrick was expelled from the Roman Catholic priesthood last year after a Vatican investigation found him guilty of sexual crimes against minors and adults and abuse of power.

Pope Francis ordered a thorough study of all documents in Holy See offices concerning McCarrick in 2018. The four U.S. dioceses where he served – New York, Metuchen, Newark, and Washington, D.C. – carried out separate investigations to feed into the Vatican report.

U.S. Catholic bishops are due to hold their annual meeting Nov. 15-19. It will be held virtually this year because of the coronavirus.

The sources said the report would be released by the Vatican before the bishops’ meeting starts.

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NEW YORK (NY)
First Things

November 5, 2020

By Thomas G. Guarino

I was astonished to read recently that the archbishop of New Orleans, Gregory Aymond, is seeking to laicize all clergy who have been removed from ministry because of credible accusations of sex abuse. If the report is accurate, this move represents another grave blow to the Catholic priesthood, which is now tottering because of the draconian actions of American bishops wishing to atone for their past misprision of abuse.

Surely Archbishop Aymond recognizes the serious theological problems inherent in his proposal to laicize all credibly accused priests. Occasionally, a priest admits to having abused a minor. This kind of clear, unambiguous guilt represents a unique case in which laicization may, indeed, be justified. In most instances, however, “credibly accused” priests deny that they committed any wrongdoing. And usually these priests are accused of having abused someone years ago, so it is impossible to prove—or even to establish reasonably—that the alleged abuse actually occurred. This is precisely why civil prosecutors normally dismiss these cases; reliable and vital evidence becomes clouded and confused over time. Bishops formerly removed accused priests from ministry out of an abundance of caution. But now, a Catholic archbishop has seemingly proposed laicizing priests whose guilt has not been decisively established.

The archbishop may be motivated by economic interests. Priests who have been removed from ministry remain, canonically, the responsibility of their dioceses. Minimal but continuing sustenance must be provided for them. Priests who have been laicized, however, are regarded by the Church as laymen (though they remain priests due to the character indelebilis conferred by the sacrament of Holy Orders). After laicization, dioceses are no longer responsible for these men financially or otherwise.

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NARROWSBURG (NY)
River Reporter

November 4, 2020

By Owen Walsh

Church compensates nearly 250 abuse claims

Scranton – More than two years since the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s sweeping grand jury report on “widespread sexual abuse” throughout the commonwealth’s Catholic churches, the Diocese of Scranton is continuing to add names to its list of “credibly accused.”

Pennsylvania’s 2018 grand jury report identified 301 priests in the state who had committed abuse, including 59 in the Diocese of Scranton, which serves 350,000 Catholics in NEPA. The grand jury concluded that the “several [Scranton] diocesan administrators, including the bishops, often dissuaded victims from reporting to police or conducted their own deficient, biased investigation without reporting crimes against children to the proper authorities.”

Now, the diocese has announced that six more priests, one member of a local religious order and one lay employee have been added to the list of credibly accused. Of the six priests, the only one still living is the retired, 80-year-old Monsignor Joseph Kelly, who denies the accusations.

“I say to my family, my friends, my former parishioners, that these claims are absolutely not true,” Kelly said in a statement.

According to a release, the diocese assesses the credibility of allegations of abuse through assessments by outside counsel and investigation by a former FBI agent. All allegations are submitted to the appropriate district attorney’s office.

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NEW YORK (NY)
Catholic New York – Archdiocese of New York

November 5, 2020

First, we want to offer our heartiest congratulations to Cardinal-elect Wilton D. Gregory, the Archbishop of Washington who will become the first African-American cardinal at a Nov 28 consistory at the Vatican.

That alone is worth rejoicing.

The 3 million African-American Catholics in the United States have been faithful members of the Church for generations, and the elevation of Cardinal-elect Gregory by Pope Francis is an important recognition of their place in the Catholic family.

The honor also recognizes the spiritual gifts and leadership skills that the cardinal-elect has demonstrated in his 47 years as a priest, a bishop and an archbishop.

Most notably, as president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in the early 2000s when the clergy sexual abuse scandals escalated, he steered his fellow bishops through the most serious crisis ever faced by the modern American Church.

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We’d also like to congratulate Cardinal-elect Silvano Tomasi, a member of the Scalabrinian order who served in New York for many years and will also receive the red hat at the Nov. 28 consistory. Although he turned 80 last month and therefore will not be eligible to vote for pope in the next conclave, his elevation is nevertheless an appreciation of his long and faithful service to the Church.

He was a founder of the Center for Migration Studies based on Staten Island and also served a term as the U.S. Provincial of the Scalabrinians, based in Manhattan.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
Catholic News Service via Union of Catholic Asian News

November 5, 2020

By Lucien Chauvin

The vote came after a year of protests, many violent, against the country’s economic and political system

Cardinal-designate Celestino Aós Braco will take on his new role at one of the most critical times for Chile and its church in the past three decades.

The 75-year-old archbishop of Santiago received word about his elevation to the College of Cardinals Oct. 25, the same day Chileans voted overwhelmingly in a referendum to rewrite the country’s constitution. The vote came after a year of protests, many violent, against the country’s economic and political system.

The new cardinal, a Spaniard who was first sent to Chile in 1983, is aware that he will be at the helm of the church in Chile as the country works through the constitutional process and as the church continues to untangle a sex abuse scandal that has kept it on edge for a decade. He had served as bishop of Copiapó from 2014 to 2019, when he was named administrator, then archbishop, of Santiago, amid the clerical abuse scandal.

In the first interview since his appointment, Cardinal-designate Aós told Catholic News Service: “I hope that the people who write constitution will include fundamental values that correct flaws that led to the violence. We have to stay on the path of understanding and dialogue.”

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WARSAW (POLAND)
Associated Press via Minneapolis Star Tribune

November 5, 2020

The Vatican has ordered an investigation into allegations that a now-retired archbishop in Poland was negligent in investigating reports of sex abuse of minors by priests in his Gdansk archdiocese.

The Vatican Embassy in predominantly Roman Catholic Poland said the archbishop of Warsaw had been assigned to conduct the probe and that the preliminary investigation into Archbishop Slawoj Leszek Glodz has been completed.

The embassy provided no details about the outcome in a statement issued this week.

Pope Francis accepted Glodz’s resignation on his 75th birthday in August, a sign he was taking the allegations against the archbishop seriously. Glodz, who had also served as the chief chaplain of Poland’s armed force, denies any negligence.

Abuse survivors included Glodz in a report identifying two dozen current and retired Polish bishops accused of protecting predator priests. The report was delivered to Francis on the eve of his 2019 global abuse prevention summit at the Vatican.

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NEW ORLEANS (LA)
Times-Picayune and Advocate

November 4, 2020

By David Hammer and Ramon Antonio Vargas

Judge ends stay that was blocking purported victims from taking sworn testimony of alleged abusers

A bankruptcy judge has ended a stay that was blocking purported victims of child abuse at the hands of Roman Catholic clergy from taking the sworn testimony of their alleged abusers while the Archdiocese of New Orleans is protected from its creditors.

The church has used its bankruptcy proceedings to fight to keep two elderly priests, whom the archdiocese acknowledges are likely child molesters, from having to testify in lawsuits that accuse them of sexually abusing minors decades ago.

But U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Meredith Grabill rejected the archdiocese’s argument that the church’s interests were “intertwined” with those of the accused priests, Paul Calamari, 76, and Lawrence Hecker, 89, and that allowing either to be deposed would divert attention and resources from the archdiocese’s Chapter 11 case.

Grabill’s ruling could set up explosive and damaging testimony under oath from two of about eight surviving diocesan priests whom Archbishop Gregory Aymond has named as suspected child molesters. Court filings suggest that the plaintiffs’ legal team would seek to use the questioning in part to determine how church officials — including Aymond and his predecessors — managed Calamari and Hecker after learning of the allegations against them.

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DENVER (CO)
Catholic News Agency

November 2, 2020

A California priest who was excommunicated after denying the legitimacy of Pope Francis has been laicized, according to a Nov. 2 letter from his bishop. The priest has also been accused of sexual coercion and manipulation, prompting Bishop Jaime Soto of Sacramento to call priests to a day of fasting and reparation for the sins of clerical sexual abuse.

“On September 10, 2020 the Holy Father, Pope Francis, granted the personal request of Fr. Jeremy Leatherby for a return to the lay state and a dispensation from the promise of celibacy…. Mr. Jeremy Leatherby was informed of the Holy Father’s decision on Tuesday, October 27, 2020. Mr. Leatherby no longer has any responsibilities or rights proper to the clerical state. The Catholic Faithful are admonished not to participate in Mass or any further sacraments attempted by him,” Bishop Soto wrote in a Nov. 2 letter.

In August, Leatherby explained that he continued to celebrate Mass in public settings, despite a prohibition from his bishop against doing so. He also admitted that he did not accept the papacy of Pope Francis.

“I continue to regard Benedict as retaining the Office of Peter, as mysterious as that might be. Therefore, I do not regard Bergoglio as the Supreme Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church,” Leatherby wrote.

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FRESNO (CA)
Fresno Bee

November 3, 2020

By Yesenia Amaro

A restraining order filed by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fresno accuses a Selma priest of physical abuse, street-gang ties, and marijuana use.

The Rev. Guadalupe Rios has been placed on administrative leave from St. Joseph’s Church in Selma pending investigation, Cheryl Sarkisian, chancellor for the Diocese of Fresno, said in a statement to The Bee on Tuesday.

“This is a matter of an internal investigation and the confidentiality and privacy of all concerned parties will be respected and upheld,” Sarkisian said. “I can confirm that Fr Rios has been placed on paid administrative leave while the investigation is in process.”

The Bee wasn’t immediately able to contact Rios on Tuesday.

Church officials filed the restraining order last week in Fresno County Superior Court.

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BOSTON (MA)
The Pilot – Archdiocese of Boston

November 4, 2020

By George Weigel

Father Michael McGivney’s beatification is a blessing for the organization he founded and inspired; it is also a compliment paid by the universal Church to the parish priests of the United States.

The Pandemic of 2020 has been hard on every Catholic. Eucharistic fasting for this length of time may remind us what 20th-century heroes of the faith in underground churches endured, and what 21st-century confessors in China and elsewhere endure today; and that is no bad thing. Still, it is very, very hard to be the Catholic Church without being a vibrantly eucharistic Church. That’s true for everyone. The people of the Church should realize that it’s especially true for priests.

Priests, who live out their priesthood as the Catholic Church, understand that unique vocation — as an icon of the eternal priesthood of Jesus Christ, the Church’s spouse — and miss their eucharistic congregations terribly. They have dedicated their lives to nourishing the flock, and to be unable to do so as they did eight months ago is a constant sorrow. Pastors are also bearing heavier financial burdens these days as donations shrink. Then, there are the serious challenges involved in keeping parochial schools afloat under today’s public health circumstances. No man entering the seminary after the Long Lent of the 2002 and the sexual abuse crisis could imagine he was embracing an easy life; but no one expected this.

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SYDNEY (AUSTRALIA)
ABC News

November 3, 2020

By Rebecca Turner

Two former teachers at prestigious Catholic boys school Trinity College in Perth have been found guilty of failing to report suspected child sexual abuse.

Ian Francis Hailes and Anthony Paul Webb were both fined $1,200 in the Perth Magistrates Court this morning and given spent convictions.

They are believed to be the first people convicted under WA’s mandatory reporting laws.

Their case relates to a school rugby trip to Japan, during which they learned that one of the students in their care, named as AB, was allegedly sexually assaulted by some of his team mates.

They were the only people to be charged as a result of the alleged incident at a hotel on the outskirts of Tokyo in April 2017.

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DUBLIN (IRELAND)
Irish Times

November 2, 2020

By Derek Scally

Report falls victim to legal claims and a power battle among two church camps

Berlin – Germany’s most influential Catholic diocese stands accused of protecting senior bishops after refusing to publish a report outlining their cover-up of clerical sexual abuse.

Last February Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki, archbishop of Cologne and one of Germany’s most senior Catholic figures, promised to publish within a month a report by a Munich law firm granted access to diocesan archives.

The report, he promised, would name figures who “as a result of their decisions and their behaviour could have contributed to abuse: structurally, institutionally or even in a concrete way”.

“Perhaps even I will be criticised,” he said, framing the forthcoming report as proof of church transparency in exploring abuse and cover-up in its ranks.

Two days before a press conference to launch the report in March, however, Cardinal Woelki cancelled the presentation. Seven months on, with the report still under wraps, the Cologne archdiocese has turned on the lawyers responsible, accusing them of failing to complete their task professionally.

In reality the report has fallen victim to legal claims as well as a power battle among two church camps in Cologne: one favours full disclosure, the other prioritises the rights and reputations of church figures.

Looming large in the 350-page report, which examines 15 sample cases, is Archbishop Stefan Hesse of Hamburg. Between 2006 and 2017 he was personnel officer and later general vicar of the archdiocese of Cologne under Cardinal Joachim Meisner.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
Catholic News Service via Crux

November 2, 2020

Book offers details about alleged manipulation by Schonstatt founder

Vallendar, Germany – Can a “great founding figure” be beatified when some of his own followers level such accusations at him?

After causing a stir with her article about Father Joseph Kentenich in the German Catholic newspaper Die Tagespost in July, Rome-based church historian Alexandra von Teuffenbach has now presented evidence to back her accusations in her book titled Father Is Allowed to Do It! It contains detailed descriptions by several Schonstatt Sisters of Mary about Kentenich’s style of leadership, reports the German Catholic news agency, KNA.

“How can one offer this man, this priest, as a model to the Christians in the world, after what he has done and said?” von Teuffenbach writes in the foreword.

Kentenich, who died in 1968, remains popular to this day. Von Teuffenbach has accused him of systematic manipulation, abuse of power and sexual harassment. The researcher has based her claims on sources that include newly accessible Vatican documents from the pontificate of Pope Pius XII.

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FRESNO (CA)
KFSN 30 ABC

November 2, 2020

By Corin Hoggard

A Catholic priest with a past got removed from his church in Selma this weekend over a story of sex, drugs, and weapons.

“You don’t expect a priest to be packed, to have those type of weapons,” said legal analyst Ralph Torres.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Fresno got a restraining order to protect church employees — all the way up to Bishop Joseph Brennan — from one of their own priests.

Father Guadalupe Rios still has his name on the church marquee at St. Joseph’s Church in Selma, but the man himself is not allowed within 100 yards of the property.

Several parishioners told us they knew Rios was either in a gang or affiliated with one, as the diocese mentioned in their application for a restraining order against him.

Parishioners have also seen social media photos of Rios with an AK-47 or an AR-556 or a .357 Magnum.

So they were afraid to be interviewed.

“The fact that he is having photographs published like that, to me, would be a little disturbing and certainly something you would think the bishop would’ve nipped in the bud,” said Melanie Sakoda, a survivor support specialist for the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.

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KANSAS CITY (MO)
National Catholic Reporter

November 3, 2020

By Szymon Piegza

Krakow, Poland – Polish Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, the influential former long-time personal secretary of Pope John Paul II, is denying a priest’s accusation that he covered up a case of clerical abuse in 2012.

In an extraordinary Oct. 20 interview for the largest private TV station in Poland, TVN24, the cardinal also denied that John Paul had any knowledge of the crimes committed by Marcial Maciel Degollado, a serial child abuser and founder of the once-powerful Legionaries of Christ.

Dziwisz, who served as the Archbishop of Krakow from 2005 to 2016, has been accused personally of not replying to a letter he was given about the case of Janusz Szymik, a long-time victim of the abusive priest Fr. Jan Wodniak.

Fr. Tadeusz Isakowicz-Zaleski, a Krakow priest, claims to have given Dziwisz the letter in 2012.

“I don’t remember conversations about that,” Dziwisz told TVN24, saying the matter did not pertain to him, as Wosniak did not belong to the Krakow Archdiocese but the nearby Diocese of Bielsko-Zywiec.

“I cannot have on my conscience that I didn’t help when someone sought my support,” said the cardinal. “It’s impossible. If I knew about all the details, I would react, although I had no right to do it because it was a different diocese.”

Isakowicz-Zaleski’s allegation against Dziwisz has attracted wide attention in Polish media, as the priest is the founder of the Brother Albert Foundation, one of the country’s largest non-profit groups helping those who are physically or mentally disabled.

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PINELLAS PARK (FL)
Legal Examiner – Saunders and Walker Attorney Blog

November 2, 2020

By Joseph H. Saunders

Chief Judge Margaret Cangilos-Ruiz of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court Northern District of New York stated that survivors of child sexual abuse within the Diocese of Syracuse will have until April 15, 2021 to file claims against the Diocese.

The Diocese of Syracuse filed for bankruptcy protection in June 2020 after dozens of abuse survivors filed abuse lawsuits against the Diocese. The bankruptcy filings show the diocese has assets of more than $10 million but less than $50 million. Lawyers for the diocese from Syracuse firm Bond, Schoeneck & King estimated the diocese has between 100 and 200 creditors and up to $100 million in liabilities.

The filings also revealed the diocese received a $1.3 million federal Paycheck Protection Program loan to help cover expenses during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Diocese of Syracuse, along with the Dioceses of Buffalo, Rochester, and Rockville Centre sought bankruptcy protection after the Child Victims’ Act was extended for another year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The bankruptcy filings provide the beleaguered dioceses an opportunity to re-structure but more importantly it shields them from potentially thousands of abuse lawsuits that would have most certainly revealed the nature and extent of the cover-up and corruption that underlies the priest abuse crisis.

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SPRUCE GROVE (ALBERTA, CANADA)
Stony Plain Reporter

November 2, 2020

By Norman De Bono

Chippewas of the Thames First Nation – Simmering anger and hurt here over sexual misconduct by a former priest may have fuelled fires that destroyed two Southwestern Ontario churches, including one where he procured his young victims.

That’s the perspective of Rev. Canon Gaye Whippey of St. Andrew’s Anglican Church, at 81 Chippewa Rd. in Muncey, that was gutted by a fire about 6 a.m. Sunday. Another fire hours earlier destroyed South Caradoc United Church on Muncey Road.

“I think it may be anger from things that happened, that may have something to do with it,” Whippey said.

“It has been very difficult to work with the fact that someone had experienced something negative from a church person.”

But the Diocese of Huron, which oversees St. Andrew’s, cautioned against speculation about the cause of the fires.

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EUGENE (OR)
Register-Guard

October 28, 2020

By Jordyn Brown

A former student is suing Marist Catholic High School in Eugene and the Marist Brothers of the Schools in New York for $3.25 million, alleging an administrator in the 1970s sexually abused him for years.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Multnomah Circuit Court in Portland, states that Brother Robert Ryan worked at the private Catholic high school in Eugene as vice principal in the 1970s and used his role to groom and isolate students, sexually abusing them at school and on school trips.

Ryan is memorialized on the Marist High School website, which states that he died in April 2017.

The Marist suit seeks $250,000 in economic damages and $3 million in noneconomic damages, claiming sexual battery of a child, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress, negligence and fraud. It sues both the local private school and the larger nonprofit Marist Brothers of the Schools, which oversaw and staffed the high school at the time until 1994, when the Archdiocese of Portland took over.

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LONDON (ENGLAND)
The Tablet

November 1, 2020

By Jonathan Luxmoore

A retired cardinal who served as personal secretary to Pope John Paul II has denied any knowledge of sexual abuse by priests in his Krakow archdiocese, as another Polish bishop was placed under church investigation after similar claims.

“They seek to thrust responsibility on to me when I had no such responsibility and no knowledge of this matter,” said Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz. “Every priest has a conscience, and a bishop has a particular sense of responsibility. If I had known all these things, I would have reacted.”

The 81-year-old cardinal, who was the late pontiff’s secretary for 39 years, was responding to TV interview questions about a prominent sexual abuse case in the Krakow archdiocese, which he headed for 11 years until his retirement in 2016. He said he had no recollection of the case, insisting it fell under the jurisdiction of another retired prelate, Bishop Tadeusz Rakoczy, and added that he had always followed the “zero tolerance” policy, coupled with care for victims, instituted by John Paul II.

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LOS ANGELES (CA)
Los Angeles Times

November 1, 2020

By Harriet Ryan

The suit by Bishop Kevin Vann seeks a retraction and money from the former administrator of a church-affiliated charity.

The Roman Catholic bishop of Orange County is suing a former charity administrator for libel, an escalation in the prelate’s dispute with influential church philanthropists who have complained to the Vatican about his firing of a nonprofit board.

Bishop Kevin Vann and the Diocese of Orange’s chief financial officer are seeking a retraction, financial compensation and punitive damages from the ex-administrator for an email in which they contend she gave a “false narrative” that suggested that charity funds might be used to cover clergy sex abuse claims.

The Superior Court suit filed earlier this month is the latest development in the bishop’s ongoing conflict with a group of high-dollar donors and other church insiders. Vann terminated the group from the independent Orange Catholic Foundation board in June after they rebuffed his request for millions of dollars in emergency pandemic funding. The board members reported the bishop to the Holy See for allegedly acting beyond his authority and violating state and church law, accusations the bishop denies.

The suit does not name any of the well-connected real estate developers, attorneys, corporate executives or others tossed from the board or the misconduct accusations they made to church officials in Rome and Washington, D.C. It focuses instead on an email written by an administrator ousted after the board firings.

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LONDON (ONTARIO, CANADA)
London Free Press

November 2, 2020

By Norman De Bono

Chippewas of the Thames First Nation – Simmering anger and hurt here over sexual misconduct by a former priest may have fueled Sunday fires that destroyed two churches, including one where he procured his young victims.

That’s the perspective of Rev. Canon Gaye Whippey at St. Andrew’s Anglican Church, which was gutted by a fire at about 6 a.m. Sunday. Another fire several hours earlier destroyed the South Caradoc United Church on Muncey Road.

“I think it may be anger from things that happened, that may have something to do with it,” Whippey told The London Free Press on Sunday.

“It has been very difficult to work with the fact that someone had experienced something negative from a church person.”

Disgraced former Anglican priest David Norton was the rector at St. Andrews in the late 1970s and early 1980s. In 2018 he was convicted of three counts of indecent assault and one count of sexual assault of boys at the church. At the time of that conviction Norton was serving a four-year prison term for assaulting a boy at a London church a decade after he left the First Nations community.

“I think people know there’s anger against the church that goes back to him,” Whippey said. “I have spoken to people who hurt.”

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CHICAGO (IL)
Chicago Sun-Times

November 1, 2020

By Laura Washington

Clements led Black Catholics out of the shadows of a Church that had underappreciated and unrecognized them.

Pope Francis will soon install Wilton Gregory, the archbishop of Washington, D.C., to the College of Cardinals. Roman Catholics — and, especially, Blacks like me — should celebrate this long-overdue arrival of the nation’s first African American cardinal.

Gregory was born, raised and ordained in Chicago. He served as associate pastor at Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Glenview and taught at St. Mary of the Lake Seminary in Mundelein. He became an auxiliary bishop in 1983 and was later ordained the bishop of downstate Belleville.

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As we celebrate, we must also remember. Remember there could be no Cardinal Wilton Gregory without the Rev. George Clements.

Clements, the iconic, pioneering cleric, was once the most famous Black priest in America. Last November, he died after a heart attack and stroke. He was 87.

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Last year, Clements was accused of sexually abusing a minor in 1974 while he was pastor of Holy Angels.

In August, after an 11-month investigation, the Archdiocese of Chicago’s Independent Review Board determined that, “in light of the information presented, there is not reasonable cause to believe that Fr. Clements sexually abused” the accuser when he was a minor.

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ARLINGTON (VA)
Politico

November 1, 2020

By Maggie Severns, Brandon Ambrosino, and Michael Stratford

The deposed university president secured backing by ousting critics and hiring the family members and businesses of loyalists.

When Jerry Falwell Jr. and his wife Becki strolled around the Lynchburg, Va., campus of Liberty University, the evangelical school which Falwell led as president, they would play a secret game called “Would you rather.”

The middle-aged couple would point to students, men and women, and imagine what it would be like to have sex with them, according to a former student who said Becki told him about the game.

The former student, a member of a band with the Falwells’ son Trey, has said that Becki initiated oral sex with him while he stayed overnight at the Falwell home, following other attempts to seduce him. She confided to him the details of the game she and her husband would play, and told him multiple times how she and Jerry would take note of students’ appearances.

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WEST BLOOMFIELD (MI)
MI Headlines

October 28, 2020

By Joseph Comperchio

Jackson MI – New sexual assault charges have been filed against a former Catholic school music teacher after her prosecutors last month accused the 67-year-old man of sexually assaulting two other minors while he was employed at St. John Catholic School in Jackson in the 1970s.

Joseph – or Josef – Comperchio, of Fort Myers, Florida, is charged with five new counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct involving two individuals. Four of the counts occurred when the victims were under the age of 13, and the fifth was while the victim was physically helpless – second-degree criminal sexual conduct–injury to incapacitated victim. All charges are 15-year felonies. The incidents reportedly occurred between 1975-77 when Comperchio was employed as a drama/music teacher at the Jackson Catholic school.

He is expected to be arraigned on the new charges today in Jackson County 12th District Court.

“My office stands committed to seeking justice for all of those who have been assaulted or taken advantage of and we will continue to review the circumstances in each case with careful scrutiny and file charges when the evidence demands it,” Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said. “I continue to be encouraged by the victims who come forward to share their experiences, which are undoubtedly difficult stories to tell and serve as a reminder to the rest of us that the pain which can be inflicted when predators prey on the vulnerable remains long after the reported incident.”

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MOUNT VERNON (IL)
WMIX

October 27 2020

A priest at two rural Clinton County parishes has been suspended from ministry after he was accused of “inappropriate conduct” with a minor.

According to a letter to Clinton County parishioners from Bishop Michael McGovern of the Belleville Diocese, Rev. Anthony Onyango, who was pastor at both St. Bernard Parish in Albers and St. Damian parish in Damiansville, was removed from ministry last week.

The allegations came to the attention of the diocese last week and involve a minor at one of the two parishes, though the diocese will not disclose which parish or the minor’s age or gender, Msgr. John Myler, spokesman for the Diocese, said Sunday.

“We don’t want to compromise the identity of the person who made the allegation,” Myler said.

Myler noted that the allegations involve “inappropriate conduct that was not sexual,” but would not give specifics of what the priest is accused of doing.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
Washington Post

October 31, 2020

By Magdalena Moskalewicz

I saw a young woman screaming in a priest’s face today and something in me changed. The priest must have just gotten outside of his church to tell people to disperse, and she was standing there among a group of other young protesters, mainly women. They were holding simple signs and yelling loudly at him, a large man in his 50s, his posture hidden by a long black cassock. I have never screamed at a priest myself, but I found the image impressive, oddly compelling.

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The church’s handling of its sexual abuse scandals has alienated many. Over the past few years, the appalling breadth of pedophilia among priests has become vividly apparent. Millions of Poles watched the recent documentaries by Tomasz and Marek Sekielski, which showed how the church and the state covered up cases of repeated abuse.

Law and Justice, meanwhile, has tried to use religious feeling to its own ends. It has relied heavily on anti-Muslim fearmongering and has recently started mobilizing the same sort of social hatred against the LGBTQ community — with comprehensive help from the Polish church, which eagerly preaches against “the rainbow plague.”

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DENVER (CO)
Crux

November 1, 2020

By John L. Allen Jr.

Rome – You know it’s a strange time when the pope gives an interview to a major news outlet, and arguably it’s not even the most interesting ecclesiastical Q&A of the month.

Pope Francis spoke Friday to the Italian agency Adnkronos. Yet earlier this month, legendary Cardinal Camillo Ruini, the once all-powerful Vicar of Rome and president of the Italian bishops’ conference under St. John Paul II, spoke to the Italian paper Corriere della Sera and offered possibly even tastier food for thought.

Now a lion in winter as he nears his 90th birthday in February, Ruini is seen as one of the leaders of the College of Cardinals’ conservative wing. In Catholic circles, the main headline from the interview thus was a comment from Ruini about whether there’s an “international conservative front” against Pope Francis.

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IRVINGTON (NY)
Hudson Independent

October 28, 2020

By Rick Pez­zullo

Ten for­mer res­i­dents of The Chil­dren’s Vil­lage res­i­den­tial treat­ment cen­ter in Dobbs Ferry have taken le­gal ac­tion, ac­cus­ing staff, ad­min­is­tra­tors and older res­i­dents at the home for trou­bled boys of sex­ual and phys­i­cal abuse over a 25-year pe­riod.

The vic­tims, who were all emo­tion­ally dis­turbed young boys when they were placed at the Chil­dren’s Vil­lage by courts or child wel­fare agen­cies, al­lege in law­suits they were phys­i­cally bru­tal­ized, raped, and hu­mil­i­ated by older res­i­dents, while sim­i­lar sex­ual abuse was per­pe­trated by staff, in­clud­ing teacher aides, coun­sel­lors, and a for­mer ex­ec­u­tive di­rec­tor.

When the boys com­plained to so­cial work­ers or other staff about the phys­i­cal and sex­ual abuse, they al­lege were ei­ther ig­nored or threat­ened with vi­o­lence.

“These chil­dren were typ­i­cally brought to The Chil­dren’s Vil­lage to re­move them from abu­sive or ne­glect­ful con­di­tions in their fam­i­lies’ homes with the goal of heal­ing their trau­mas. In­stead, their vic­tim­iza­tion con­tin­ued and es­ca­lated to hor­ri­fy­ing pro­por­tions,” said at­tor­ney Robert Green­stein of Green­stein & Mil­bauer, LLP. “These vic­tims have en­dured—and con­tinue to ex­pe­ri­ence—fear, shame and pain. It has taken them years to step for­ward and tell their sto­ries.”

The law­suits ac­cuse The Chil­dren’s Vil­lage of neg­li­gence in its hir­ing, train­ing, and su­per­vi­sion, among other fail­ures, from about 1970 to 1995.

The cases, which are be­ing heard by Jus­tice Steven M. Jaeger at the Nas­sau County Supreme Court in Mi­ne­ola, were filed un­der the pro­vi­sion of the Child Vic­tims Act.

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DENVER (CO)
Crux

October 26, 2020

By Inés San Martín

Rosario, Argentina – After almost a year of civil unrest, interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, Chileans overwhelmingly approved a bid to scrap the constitution written under the mandate of General Augusto Pinochet, a dictator who ruled the country until 1990.

The Chilean conference of Catholic bishops called the Sunday’s referendum, where almost 80 percent of those who cast a vote did so in favor of re-writing the constitution, a “great example of civility and participation,” expressing that in the new path now undertaken by the country the citizens will have a fundamental role.

They also called on Catholics to get involved in the process, so that Christian values are reflected in the new Constitution.

The bishops urged Chileans to continue on in the path of dialogue, towards the “decision that the voters will have to make to determine in April 2021” who will take part in the drafting of the country’s new Magna Carta.

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ROCKFORD (IL)
Rockford Register Star

October 30, 2020

By Chris Green

Six more names have been added to the Catholic Diocese of Rockford’s sexual abuse list.

The list, updated Oct. 21, now contains the names of 21 clergy members against whom allegations of sexual abuse of a minor have been substantiated.

The names of the six priests added to the list and their parish assignments are:

‒ David F. Heimann, St. Peter Church of Rockford.

‒ Joseph Jablonski, St. Therese of Jesus Church of Aurora.

‒ Ivan Rovira, St. Joseph Church of Elgin, St. Therese of Jesus Church of Aurora.

‒ Daniel Cipar, Holy Cross Church of Batavia

‒ Aloysius Piorkowski, St. Wendelin Church of Shannon, Ss. John and Catherine Church of Mount Carroll, St. Mary Church of Galena, St. Peter Church of South Beloit, St. Mary Church of Polo, St. Mary Church of Sterling.

‒ Leo Petit, St. Joseph Church of Elgin and Sacred Heart Church of Aurora.

The list found on the Rockford Diocese website is attached to a 2018 letter from Bishop David Malloy.

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PEORIA (IL)
WCBU / NPR

October 30, 2020

By Audie Cornish

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On the sexual abuse crisis within the Catholic Church

I think what we have to do is see it as a continual commitment to providing a safe environment for our children, not just in the Catholic Church, not just in our schools, not just in our sports programs. …

At that time [in the early 2000s], you will recall that the attention was that this was an American problem.

In the past two decades, we see it as not just an American problem. And so I think it involves the entire church to, as you rightfully suggest, to make sure that leadership is on the right page and that we can never reassign a cleric or another church worker who has been clearly identified as a perpetrator to have public access to young people.

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And on the Catholic sexual abuse scandal, Wilton Gregory has said…

We must admit our own failures. We clerics and hierarchs have irrefutably been the source of this current tempest.

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LONDON (ENGLAND)
The Tablet

October 30, 2020

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A retired cardinal who served as personal secretary to Pope John Paul II has denied any knowledge of sexual abuse by priests in his Krakow archdiocese. “They seek to thrust responsibility on to me when I had no such responsibility and no knowledge of this matter,” said Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, 81, responding in a Polish TV interview to questions about a prominent sexual abuse case in the Krakow archdiocese, which he headed for 11 years until his retirement in 2016. He said he had no recollection of the case, insisting it fell under the jurisdiction of another retired prelate, Bishop Tadeusz Rakoczy.

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The three top leaders of the Focolare movement in France have stepped down after a news report said an independent commission into sexual abuse in the Church had found about 30 cases committed by a former consecrated lay member.

The investigative website Les Jours said the man was accused of abuse in 1994 but was not expelled until 2016. The leaders who resigned were Bernard Brechet and Claude Goffinet, co-leaders of the Focolare movement in France, and Henri-Louis Roche, head of Focolare’s Western European region. Accepting the resignations, Focolare headquarters in Rome said Jesus Moran, co-president of the international movement, had met with presumed victims and the French section’s abuse commission in September. On that occasion, Moran spoke of “the silence or lack of initiative sustained for years on the part of various people in positions of responsibility”.

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Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel released an interim report documenting clergy sex abuse in the state. The two-year investigation, which began with the search and seizure of documents at the state’s seven chanceries, charges 454 priests with abusing 811 victims. The special investigative team continues to make its way through all the documents seized and estimates it has examined 65 per cent of them. Eleven clergy have been charged and two have already been convicted of sexual abuse.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
Catholic News Service via The Pilot – Archdiocese of Boston

October 30, 2020

Cologne, Germany – Cologne Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki would resign from his office if the sexual abuse study he commissioned implicated him in any cover-ups, according to the Cologne Archdiocese.

The German Catholic news agency KNA said the archdiocese was confirming a report in the local Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger newspaper that Cardinal Woelki had expressed this intention before the diocesan pastoral council in November 2018. The aim of the study is to identify by name those who were involved in sexual abuse.

“This does not exempt Cardinal Woelki, and he would face up to his responsibility and accept the consequences,” the archdiocese said.

In its report, Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger cited an unidentified pastoral council participant as saying that the cardinal “in his sometimes-loose manner” had explained that no consideration could be shown to anyone and that a “complete clarification” was necessary. If the study could prove his participation in a cover-up, then “the cathedral chapter will have to vote anew.”

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PROVIDENCE (RI)
Providence Journal via

October 30, 2020

By Mark Patinkin

Mindful that he’d tweeted that certain Pride Day activities are harmful to children, I asked about church leadership having looked the other way as priests molested children.

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“The church has a history of sexual abuse in its organization, as do a lot of other organizations,” said Tobin. “But we’ve worked hard to address that and correct it.”

He added: “I will never claim any personal moral superiority.”

Every preacher except Jesus, he said, is imperfect.

Thomas Tobin grew up in Pittsburgh – you can tell by the Steelers banner he hangs in front of his home.

His dad was a Sears salesman, his mom a homemaker.

His call to faith came early in Catholic school, inspired by the nuns and priests there.

He became auxiliary bishop of Pittsburgh in 1992, bishop of Youngstown in 1995, and a decade later, began here.

Tobin, a Democrat most of his life, pointed out he has been attacked from the right, too.

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NEW YORK (NY)
Type Investigations

October 30, 2020

By Kahryn Joyce

Catholicism’s increasingly powerful political right reflects fringe America, fueled by paranoia, conspiracy, racism, and the threat of apocalypse

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In 2018, Viganò released an 11-page letter charging that Francis ignored early warnings about a defrocked cardinal who’d sexually abused minors and seminarians; he decried a Vatican “homosexual network” and called for Francis to resign. Around the world Catholic bishops’ conferences immediately voiced support for the pope, but the U.S. conference took weeks to do the same, and even then, some two dozen bishops announced support for Viganò instead.

Partly that reflected how deeply the U.S. clergy sex abuse crisis had scarred American Catholics. In the context of America’s political parties, says Massimo Faggioli, a church historian at Villanova University, the crisis came to be interpreted along polarized lines, with the left blaming hierarchical church culture and the right, essentially, homosexuality.

“On the right they’ve used that massively at every level,” says Faggioli. “Conservatives have weaponized the scandal to try to get rid of Pope Francis and said nothing about what John Paul II knew, what Pope Benedict knew. Only Pope Francis and a list of liberal cardinals or bishops.”

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DUBLIN (IRELAND)
Independent

October 27, 2020

By Eoghan Dalton

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/ex-priest-who-was-subject-of-oscar-nominated-documentary-on-sex-abuse-jailed-for-22-months-over-child-pornography-39675246.html

A former priest has been sentenced to prison for 22 months at Waterford Circuit Court for possessing child pornography.

Oliver O’Grady (75) had been found guilty by a jury a fortnight ago, having been charged with one count of possessing a video of an underage girl engaging in a sexual act.

The court heard that he had the video on a date between December 14, 2015 and March 2016, at his residence at St Otteran’s Place, South Parade, Waterford city.

The case arose when a former housemate of O’Grady reported him to gardaí after discovering a sexually explicit video on the computer. The offence – which he denied – carries a maximum sentence of five years.

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

LONDON (ENGLAND)
Irish Post

October 28, 2020

By Jack Beresford

[Includes trailer of the 2006 documentary Deliver Us from Evil.]

A former Irish Catholic priest has been jailed for 22 months at Waterford Circuit Court for possessing child pornography.

Oliver O’Grady, 75, who was previously the subject of the Oscar-nominated documentary Deliver Us from Evil, was found guilty by a jury a fortnight ago.

He was charged with one count of possessing a video of an underage girl engaging in a sexual act.

The case came about after one of O’Grady’s housemates reported him to gardaí after discovering a sexually explicit video on the computer.

While O’Grady claimed to have had no knowledge of the video’s existence until it was uncovered during the Gardaí investigation.

He nevertheless accepted the guilty verdict.

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

ATLANTIC CITY (NJ)
The Press

October 29, 2020

The filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Camden this month was unavoidable.

Its inevitability could almost be seen in the 2019 New Jersey law that opened a two-year window for filing claims of sexual abuse against the diocese no matter how long ago the alleged action. That erased the previously applied statute of limitations for such claims. Critics of the law at the time said it would unleash a wave of lawsuits that may bankrupt nonprofit and charitable organizations, eliminating the services they provide to communities.

The diocese tried to handle the claims on its own, establishing a victim compensation fund that had decided 104 of 184 claims and paid out $8.1 million to 71 victims. But whatever chance that approach alone would be enough evaporated in the pandemic.

Government restrictions on attendance at houses of worship have decimated offertory collections at religious institutions of all kinds. A much larger Long Island diocese facing similar circumstances in New York filed for bankruptcy the same day as its Camden counterpart. It said such offerings are about 40% of its annual revenue. More than 20 dioceses nationwide have entered bankruptcy in large part to handle claims of sexual abuse.

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

TORONTO (ONTARIO, CANADA)
The Catholic Register

October 29, 2020

Ottawa – The promise to release a detailed public list of all Canadian Jesuits who have been “credibly accused” of sex abuse has been delayed until at least the spring.

The Jesuits of Canada announced in December 2019 they would do what no other Canadian Catholic Church organization has done — release the names of priests “credibly accused” of abusing minors. It is a move clergy abuse survivor groups in Canada and around the world have been demanding for years. The Jesuits had planned to publish a comprehensive list by January.

Those plans, however, have been adversely impacted by the ongoing health crisis.

In a statement forwarded to Canadian Catholic News, the Jesuits’ director of communications Jose Sanchez said anti-COVID precautions have slowed the pace of reviewing historic cases and it may be well into 2021 before the results can finally be made public.

“The auditors have consolidated, digitized, reviewed and indexed a large part of the delegate, legal and personnel files of most Jesuits, particularly those that were the subject of complaints between 1950 and the present,” the statement said.

“Although they have made significant progress, the reality that our archives were closed for most of the spring and summer due to the COVID-19 pandemic has made it difficult to process the final portion of these records. By the end of this month, independent auditors should have completed the digitization of all files and an information base to assist in the creation of a list. We estimate that both a list and the final report will be ready in the spring of 2021.”

Last December the Jesuits announced the order had hired King International Advisory Group to review all personnel and provincial files going back to 1950.

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

CHARLOTTESVILLE (VA)
The Daily Progress

October 29, 2020

By Mike Brinkac and Nancy Brinkac

It is with great concern and loss of trust that we read another story about the child sex scandal in the Catholic Church: “Catholic Diocese of Richmond paying $6.3M to victims sexually abused by clergy,” The Daily Progress, Oct. 16.

This is yet another example of the inherent pedophilia problem involving clergy that has plagued the church for decades.

Yet, the 51 individuals compensated by the Richmond Diocese represent just the tip of the iceberg.

A 2018-2019 report by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops reported that 4,220 people filed 4,434 allegations saying they had been victims of child sexual abuse. The report represents dioceses across the United States. Of the allegations, 1,034 were substantiated.

The report was summarized in “Annual audit shows more than 4,400 allegations of clergy abuse reported,” the National Catholic Reporter, June 25.

In spite of these outrageous numbers, the NCR story gave no indication of the underlying factors that generate these problems, what is being done to correct them and the civil or criminal justice that was applied.

While the Catholic Church has accomplished great things for Christianity and social justice, this scandal is contrary to the principles in which the church is founded. It’s time for the church to become transparent and morally responsive to its faithful.

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

LONDON (ENGLAND)
The Tablet

October 30, 2020

By Tom Heneghan

Bishop Olivier de Germay of Ajaccio has been named the new archbishop of Lyon in a surprise appointment to the French diocese worn down by a years-long sexual abuse scandal that forced Cardinal Philippe Barbarin to resign.

A former paratrooper ordained at 37, he is an unexpected conservative choice for the historic archdiocese, whose prelate has also held the title Primate of the Gauls since 1079. His name was not among possible candidates rumoured in advance.

Reaction to the news was mixed, with secular media branding him as a homophobe close to Church traditionalists and supporters praising him as a man with experience handling difficult situations.

Bishop de Germay himself expressed surprise at the nomination and said he had no set plan for the archdiocese and would first listen to what people had to say.

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

MINNEAPOLIS (MN)
Star Tribune

October 30, 2020

By Jean Hopfensperger

Women describe decades of sexual misconduct by church musician.

Amy Anderson has kept a letter from Catholic composer David Haas for more than 30 years, an apology he sent to her parents after they reported to the St. Paul Seminary that Haas had sexually abused their then 18-year-old daughter.

“I know that you have had several conversations with Fr. [Charles] Froehle, here at the seminary,” Haas wrote on his letterhead stationary on Jan. 22, 1988. “I had no idea that I was making Amy uncomfortable … I do, however, hold ultimate responsibility for the entire incident …”

Haas added that he was getting counseling from the Rev. Kenneth Pierre, a psychologist with the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

Anderson remains baffled, and “mortified,” that Catholic leaders let Haas continue his work as artist-in-residence at the seminary and failed to monitor his future behavior.

“We thought we’d taken the necessary steps to make sure this [sexual abuse] didn’t happen again, much less to nearly 50 women,” said Anderson, referring to the avalanche of sex abuse complaints against Haas reported this year.

“This should never have happened,” said Anderson, an executive at a St. Paul-area nonprofit. “People should have been warned.”

Anderson is among 44 women who alleged sexual misconduct spanning 41 years in an October report by Into Account, a Kansas-based victims’ rights group that compiled the report.

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

KANSAS CITY (KS)
The Leaven – Archdiocese of Kansas City

October 30, 2020

By Moira Cullings

“Two years ago, I never thought I would return to a church building, ever,” said Sandra.

A survivor of abuse by a representative of the Catholic Church, the journey to find healing for Sandra, whose name has been changed for anonymity, has been difficult.

“There’s a sense of loneliness,” she said. “Where do I belong?”

Healing from abuse is complicated, and perhaps even more so when the abuse occurred at the hands of a representative of the church, often leaving the victim survivor to feel betrayed and outcast from their faith community.

That’s why the office for protection and care for the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, formerly known as the office of child and youth protection, is working fervently to atone for church abuse by taking responsibility for the harm caused.

“Although we cannot turn back time, we can work to prevent abuse today and respond to a survivor’s needs with a sense of urgency and respect,” said director Jenifer Valenti.

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

KANSAS CITY (KS)
The Leaven – Archdiocese of Kansas City

October 30, 2020

By Moira Cullings

“Two years ago, I never thought I would return to a church building, ever,” said Sandra.

A survivor of abuse by a representative of the Catholic Church, the journey to find healing for Sandra, whose name has been changed for anonymity, has been difficult.

“There’s a sense of loneliness,” she said. “Where do I belong?”

Healing from abuse is complicated, and perhaps even more so when the abuse occurred at the hands of a representative of the church, often leaving the victim survivor to feel betrayed and outcast from their faith community.

That’s why the office for protection and care for the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, formerly known as the office of child and youth protection, is working fervently to atone for church abuse by taking responsibility for the harm caused.

“Although we cannot turn back time, we can work to prevent abuse today and respond to a survivor’s needs with a sense of urgency and respect,” said director Jenifer Valenti.

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

FORT MYERS (FL)
WINK

October 29, 2020

Michigan’s attorney general has filed five additional charges against a Fort Myers man after accusations of sexual assault against two more minors in the 1970s.

Joseph Comperchio, 67, originally had six charges pending involving sexual abuse of minors, but five more have been added.

Comprerchio was arrested back on September 14 on two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and four counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct.

He is accused of sexually abusing the minors while he was the drama and music teacher at St. John Catholic School in Jackson County, Michigan in the 1970s.

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

FORT MYERS (FL)
WINK

October 29, 2020

Michigan’s attorney general has filed five additional charges against a Fort Myers man after accusations of sexual assault against two more minors in the 1970s.

Joseph Comperchio, 67, originally had six charges pending involving sexual abuse of minors, but five more have been added.

Comprerchio was arrested back on September 14 on two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and four counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct.

He is accused of sexually abusing the minors while he was the drama and music teacher at St. John Catholic School in Jackson County, Michigan in the 1970s.

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

NEW ORLEANS (LA)
WWL 4 CBS

October 27, 2020

https://www.wwltv.com/article/news/crime/bail-set-for-slidell-priest-accused-of-molestation/289-63cbaf95-8897-41fc-a00b-2b1645f0c33e

Church officials said Wattigny disclosed the alleged abuse to them on Oct. 1, and they immediately reported the admission to law enforcement.

Slidell – Bail for a Catholic priest in jail over allegations of molesting an underage boy in Slidell was set at $150,000 on Tuesday morning.

Patrick Wattigny had not made bond as of early Tuesday afternoon. During a hearing in front of St. Tammany Parish bail commissioner Daniel Foil, Wattigny said he would retain a defense attorney.

That attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

Wattigny, 53, appeared before Foil a day after arriving at the St. Tammany Parish jail in Covington. St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office deputies brought him to the lockup Monday, four days after police in West Point, Georgia, arrested Wattigny on a warrant accusing him of four counts of molestation of a juvenile.

Wattigny was in West Point because he owns a home there. Police arrested him at his home after receiving a call saying authorities believed Wattigny was in their jurisdiction.

If convicted of molestation of a juvenile, Wattigny could face a minimum of five years and a maximum of 20 years in prison per count.

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

NEW ORLEANS (LA)
WWL 4 CBS

October 27, 2020

https://www.wwltv.com/article/news/crime/bail-set-for-slidell-priest-accused-of-molestation/289-63cbaf95-8897-41fc-a00b-2b1645f0c33e

Church officials said Wattigny disclosed the alleged abuse to them on Oct. 1, and they immediately reported the admission to law enforcement.

Slidell – Bail for a Catholic priest in jail over allegations of molesting an underage boy in Slidell was set at $150,000 on Tuesday morning.

Patrick Wattigny had not made bond as of early Tuesday afternoon. During a hearing in front of St. Tammany Parish bail commissioner Daniel Foil, Wattigny said he would retain a defense attorney.

That attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

Wattigny, 53, appeared before Foil a day after arriving at the St. Tammany Parish jail in Covington. St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office deputies brought him to the lockup Monday, four days after police in West Point, Georgia, arrested Wattigny on a warrant accusing him of four counts of molestation of a juvenile.

Wattigny was in West Point because he owns a home there. Police arrested him at his home after receiving a call saying authorities believed Wattigny was in their jurisdiction.

If convicted of molestation of a juvenile, Wattigny could face a minimum of five years and a maximum of 20 years in prison per count.

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

AUCKLAND (NEW ZEALAND)
New Zealand Herald

October 25, 2020

By Shannon Johnstone

A tide of ribbons will be a permanent fixture on the St Patrick’s Church Napier fence as part of the Loud Fence movement.

The Loud Fence movement began in Australia in 2015, at St Alipius Boys’ School in Ballarat, a site of abuse, and the movement aims to raise awareness of clerical and religious child sexual abuse.

There have been Loud Fence events in New Zealand before but this is the first that has been created by the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) Aotearoa.

SNAP Aotearoa national leader and abuse survivor Dr Christopher Evan Longhurst said the movement began as a protest but is now “an acknowledgment of the wrongdoing”, a healing process for survivors and an opportunity to raise awareness of the issue to safeguard children for the future.

It is also a non-partisan, non-political and non-religious movement.

Napier is Longhurst’s hometown and he felt it was important to get the support of the local community.

“Hawke’s Bay was the place of horrendous clerical child sexual abuse in the local Catholic community.

“So, this Loud Fence is also an opportunity for them [survivors] to understand that they’re not alone. The shame is not ours and there is only dignity in surviving that kind of abuse.”

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

AUCKLAND (NEW ZEALAND)
New Zealand Herald

October 25, 2020

By Shannon Johnstone

A tide of ribbons will be a permanent fixture on the St Patrick’s Church Napier fence as part of the Loud Fence movement.

The Loud Fence movement began in Australia in 2015, at St Alipius Boys’ School in Ballarat, a site of abuse, and the movement aims to raise awareness of clerical and religious child sexual abuse.

There have been Loud Fence events in New Zealand before but this is the first that has been created by the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) Aotearoa.

SNAP Aotearoa national leader and abuse survivor Dr Christopher Evan Longhurst said the movement began as a protest but is now “an acknowledgment of the wrongdoing”, a healing process for survivors and an opportunity to raise awareness of the issue to safeguard children for the future.

It is also a non-partisan, non-political and non-religious movement.

Napier is Longhurst’s hometown and he felt it was important to get the support of the local community.

“Hawke’s Bay was the place of horrendous clerical child sexual abuse in the local Catholic community.

“So, this Loud Fence is also an opportunity for them [survivors] to understand that they’re not alone. The shame is not ours and there is only dignity in surviving that kind of abuse.”

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

SCRANTON (PA)
Diocese of Scranton

October 29, 2020

The Diocese of Scranton announces that eight additional names have been added to its list of individuals who have been credibly accused of sexual abuse of a minor.

Bishop Joseph C. Bambera has consistently asserted that the abuse of minors cannot be tolerated. In maintaining his and the Diocese of Scranton’s commitment to protect children and young people, the Bishop stated that it is his hope that the publication of these additional names will be a step forward in the healing process for survivors.

In August 2018, the Diocese published on its website a list of all clergy, staff and volunteers who had been credibly accused of child sexual abuse. Since that time, eleven additional names were added to the list in January 2019 and two more names were added in October 2019. The most recent additions to the list involve allegations of abuse submitted to the Independent Survivors Compensation Program (ISCP).

The Diocese assesses the credibility of allegations of abuse utilizing a process that includes, as appropriate, assessments by outside counsel and investigation by a former FBI agent. In addition, the Diocesan Review Board, an independent, consultative body comprised of members of the laity, a religious sister and one priest, performs a case-by-case review. The Diocese also takes into account the determination by the Administrators of the ISCP, for allegations that were submitted in that program. All allegations are submitted to the appropriate District Attorney’s Office. Allegations that are corroborated by secular legal proceedings, canon law proceedings, admission by the accused, and/or other information or evidence are deemed credible.

These names have been added to the list of credibly accused individuals:

Diocesan Clergy

Byrne, Edmund F.
Conboy, Joseph T.
Corcoran, Francis P.
Ferrett, Walter L.
Kelly, Joseph P.
McGroarty, Hugh Harold

Members of Religious Orders

Reiner, Julius (C.P.)

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

SCRANTON (PA)
Diocese of Scranton

October 29, 2020

The Diocese of Scranton announces that eight additional names have been added to its list of individuals who have been credibly accused of sexual abuse of a minor.

Bishop Joseph C. Bambera has consistently asserted that the abuse of minors cannot be tolerated. In maintaining his and the Diocese of Scranton’s commitment to protect children and young people, the Bishop stated that it is his hope that the publication of these additional names will be a step forward in the healing process for survivors.

In August 2018, the Diocese published on its website a list of all clergy, staff and volunteers who had been credibly accused of child sexual abuse. Since that time, eleven additional names were added to the list in January 2019 and two more names were added in October 2019. The most recent additions to the list involve allegations of abuse submitted to the Independent Survivors Compensation Program (ISCP).

The Diocese assesses the credibility of allegations of abuse utilizing a process that includes, as appropriate, assessments by outside counsel and investigation by a former FBI agent. In addition, the Diocesan Review Board, an independent, consultative body comprised of members of the laity, a religious sister and one priest, performs a case-by-case review. The Diocese also takes into account the determination by the Administrators of the ISCP, for allegations that were submitted in that program. All allegations are submitted to the appropriate District Attorney’s Office. Allegations that are corroborated by secular legal proceedings, canon law proceedings, admission by the accused, and/or other information or evidence are deemed credible.

These names have been added to the list of credibly accused individuals:

Diocesan Clergy

Byrne, Edmund F.
Conboy, Joseph T.
Corcoran, Francis P.
Ferrett, Walter L.
Kelly, Joseph P.
McGroarty, Hugh Harold

Members of Religious Orders

Reiner, Julius (C.P.)

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

MOOSIC (PA)
WNEP 16 ABC

October 29, 2020

By Elizabeth Worthington

Only one of the accused clergy members is living: Monsignor Joseph Kelly.

More than two years later, the fallout from Pennsylvania’s scathing Grand Jury report on clergy sex abuse continues in Scranton.

Another well-known priest joins the dozens of members of the Diocese of Scranton who have been accused of sexually abusing a minor.

80-year-old Monsignor Joseph Kelly served as the head of Catholic Social Services for a decade and was heavily involved with St. Francis of Assisi Kitchen in the city. He is now retired.

Monsignor Kelly is one of the eight people the diocese added to its list of those “credibly accused” of sexual abuse on Thursday.

Six of those people were clergy members and Monsignor Kelly is the only clergy member still living of the group.

One layperson and one member of a religious order were also included in the list.

The other clergy members are Edmund Byrne, Joseph Conboy, Francis Corcoran, Walter Ferrett, and Hugh McGroarty.

In a statement provided to the media, Monsignor Kelly adamantly denied the accusations:

“I say to my family, my friends, my former parishioners, that these claims are absolutely not true. I have spent the last 54 years as a priest who believes in and practiced respect for the dignity and safety of all I came in contact with, especially those under my supervision.”

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

MOOSIC (PA)
WNEP 16 ABC

October 29, 2020

By Elizabeth Worthington

Only one of the accused clergy members is living: Monsignor Joseph Kelly.

More than two years later, the fallout from Pennsylvania’s scathing Grand Jury report on clergy sex abuse continues in Scranton.

Another well-known priest joins the dozens of members of the Diocese of Scranton who have been accused of sexually abusing a minor.

80-year-old Monsignor Joseph Kelly served as the head of Catholic Social Services for a decade and was heavily involved with St. Francis of Assisi Kitchen in the city. He is now retired.

Monsignor Kelly is one of the eight people the diocese added to its list of those “credibly accused” of sexual abuse on Thursday.

Six of those people were clergy members and Monsignor Kelly is the only clergy member still living of the group.

One layperson and one member of a religious order were also included in the list.

The other clergy members are Edmund Byrne, Joseph Conboy, Francis Corcoran, Walter Ferrett, and Hugh McGroarty.

In a statement provided to the media, Monsignor Kelly adamantly denied the accusations:

“I say to my family, my friends, my former parishioners, that these claims are absolutely not true. I have spent the last 54 years as a priest who believes in and practiced respect for the dignity and safety of all I came in contact with, especially those under my supervision.”

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

WILKES-BARRE (PA)
Citizens Voice

October 29, 2020

By David Singleton

The Diocese of Scranton on Thursday placed a well-known priest who led Catholic Social Services for many years on its list of individuals who have been credibly accused of sexually abusing children.

Monsignor Joseph P. Kelly, a popular member of the community widely recognized for his work on behalf of disadvantaged children and adults, was among eight new people added to the list.

The new additions included six members of the diocesan clergy, all of whom except Kelly are deceased, along with a religious brother and a former diocesan lay teacher.

Kelly, 80, immediately pushed back against the “credibly accused” designation in a sharply worded statement, urging the people of the diocese to reject it and accept that the claims against him are “completely false and fraudulent.”

While it is true some priests in the diocese abused minors, “which is both a sin and a crime, I am not one of them,” he said.

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

WILKES-BARRE (PA)
Citizens Voice

October 29, 2020

By David Singleton

The Diocese of Scranton on Thursday placed a well-known priest who led Catholic Social Services for many years on its list of individuals who have been credibly accused of sexually abusing children.

Monsignor Joseph P. Kelly, a popular member of the community widely recognized for his work on behalf of disadvantaged children and adults, was among eight new people added to the list.

The new additions included six members of the diocesan clergy, all of whom except Kelly are deceased, along with a religious brother and a former diocesan lay teacher.

Kelly, 80, immediately pushed back against the “credibly accused” designation in a sharply worded statement, urging the people of the diocese to reject it and accept that the claims against him are “completely false and fraudulent.”

While it is true some priests in the diocese abused minors, “which is both a sin and a crime, I am not one of them,” he said.

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

NEW YORK (NY)
Marie Claire

October 28, 2020

By Leslie Goldman

The Christian church’s norms provide the perfect cover for sexual predators—and leave their victims feeling like the sinners.

With tears in her eyes, Shannon Dingle approached a female volunteer, the lone woman on an all-male staff at a friend’s church youth group. Dingle was 16 and had finally worked up the courage to disclose that she had been repeatedly raped as a child. “We had just heard a talk on purity and modesty, which was the only context in which sex was ever discussed in the church, so it felt like, Okay, at least we’re kind of in the right area,” Dingle, now 38, recounts. “They were talking about the choices people make, and I kept thinking about how my experiences so far hadn’t been a choice.”

The volunteer’s intended role was to be present if any girls wanted a female shoulder to lean on. So Dingle shared with her the truth about her rapes. “It never occurred to me that [my words] would be met with anything other than understanding.” But Dingle was hit hard by quite a different response: “She asked me if I had repented for my role in what happened.”

Also seared into Dingle’s memory is the time she attempted to confide in a pastor’s wife while on a youth mission. “My abuse included a lot of physical abuse as well, so that’s what I started with, because it was easier. She got this look of horror and disgust on her face and said, ‘But he didn’t rape you, did he?’” Dingle recalls. “It was as if she could understand and accept the idea of physical abuse, but she would look at me differently if there was any degree of sexual abuse.”

For years, Dingle more or less buried these exchanges, eventually starting therapy, marrying, and having children. Then in 2017, she stumbled upon #ChurchToo, a #MeToo offshoot. Spoken-word poet and author Emily Joy and author and trauma researcher Hannah Paasch created the hashtag on November 20, 2017, as an online platform for individuals who’ve experienced abuse at the hands of clergy or whose abuse was reported to clergy, only to be ignored, covered up, or flung back in their faces. “When I was 16 years old I was groomed for abuse by a man in his early 30s who was a ‘youth leader’ in my evangelical megachurch Northwoods Community Church in Peoria, IL,” Joy’s series of tweets began.

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

NEW YORK (NY)
Marie Claire

October 28, 2020

By Leslie Goldman

The Christian church’s norms provide the perfect cover for sexual predators—and leave their victims feeling like the sinners.

With tears in her eyes, Shannon Dingle approached a female volunteer, the lone woman on an all-male staff at a friend’s church youth group. Dingle was 16 and had finally worked up the courage to disclose that she had been repeatedly raped as a child. “We had just heard a talk on purity and modesty, which was the only context in which sex was ever discussed in the church, so it felt like, Okay, at least we’re kind of in the right area,” Dingle, now 38, recounts. “They were talking about the choices people make, and I kept thinking about how my experiences so far hadn’t been a choice.”

The volunteer’s intended role was to be present if any girls wanted a female shoulder to lean on. So Dingle shared with her the truth about her rapes. “It never occurred to me that [my words] would be met with anything other than understanding.” But Dingle was hit hard by quite a different response: “She asked me if I had repented for my role in what happened.”

Also seared into Dingle’s memory is the time she attempted to confide in a pastor’s wife while on a youth mission. “My abuse included a lot of physical abuse as well, so that’s what I started with, because it was easier. She got this look of horror and disgust on her face and said, ‘But he didn’t rape you, did he?’” Dingle recalls. “It was as if she could understand and accept the idea of physical abuse, but she would look at me differently if there was any degree of sexual abuse.”

For years, Dingle more or less buried these exchanges, eventually starting therapy, marrying, and having children. Then in 2017, she stumbled upon #ChurchToo, a #MeToo offshoot. Spoken-word poet and author Emily Joy and author and trauma researcher Hannah Paasch created the hashtag on November 20, 2017, as an online platform for individuals who’ve experienced abuse at the hands of clergy or whose abuse was reported to clergy, only to be ignored, covered up, or flung back in their faces. “When I was 16 years old I was groomed for abuse by a man in his early 30s who was a ‘youth leader’ in my evangelical megachurch Northwoods Community Church in Peoria, IL,” Joy’s series of tweets began.

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

WASHINGTON (DC)
Catholic News Service via Catholic Philly

October 28, 2020

By Junno Arocho Esteves

Vatican City – At a criminal trial involving alleged sexual abuse at a minor seminary located in the Vatican, the Vatican City State criminal court accepted a motion to allow the alleged victim to seek damages from the seminary and the religious institution that runs it.

Giuseppe Pignatone, president of the court, approved the motion Oct. 27, the second day of the trial against Father Gabriele Martinelli and Msgr. Enrico Radice. Pignatone also announced that the next session of the trial would be Nov. 19.

Father Martinelli, 28, is accused of abusing a younger student from 2007 to 2012. Although he and his alleged victim were under the age of 18 when the abuse allegedly began, the court accused him of continuing to abuse the younger student when Father Martinelli was already 20.

Msgr. Radice was rector of the St. Pius X Pre-Seminary, run by the Diocese of Como’s Opera Don Folci, at the time the alleged abuse occurred. The diocese, however, was not included in motion approved by the court.

Dario Imparato, the alleged victim’s lawyer, argued that as an entity charged with overseeing the minor seminary, the Opera Don Folci exhibited a “lack of vigilance” and “great negligence” regarding the abuses that allegedly occurred on their watch.

Although Vatican prosecutor Roberto Zannotti, as well as lawyers for Father Martinelli and Msgr. Radice, objected to the motion, Pignatone deliberated for nearly 30 minutes before announcing his decision that the request was “accepted and authorized.”

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

WASHINGTON (DC)
Catholic News Service via Catholic Philly

October 28, 2020

By Junno Arocho Esteves

Vatican City – At a criminal trial involving alleged sexual abuse at a minor seminary located in the Vatican, the Vatican City State criminal court accepted a motion to allow the alleged victim to seek damages from the seminary and the religious institution that runs it.

Giuseppe Pignatone, president of the court, approved the motion Oct. 27, the second day of the trial against Father Gabriele Martinelli and Msgr. Enrico Radice. Pignatone also announced that the next session of the trial would be Nov. 19.

Father Martinelli, 28, is accused of abusing a younger student from 2007 to 2012. Although he and his alleged victim were under the age of 18 when the abuse allegedly began, the court accused him of continuing to abuse the younger student when Father Martinelli was already 20.

Msgr. Radice was rector of the St. Pius X Pre-Seminary, run by the Diocese of Como’s Opera Don Folci, at the time the alleged abuse occurred. The diocese, however, was not included in motion approved by the court.

Dario Imparato, the alleged victim’s lawyer, argued that as an entity charged with overseeing the minor seminary, the Opera Don Folci exhibited a “lack of vigilance” and “great negligence” regarding the abuses that allegedly occurred on their watch.

Although Vatican prosecutor Roberto Zannotti, as well as lawyers for Father Martinelli and Msgr. Radice, objected to the motion, Pignatone deliberated for nearly 30 minutes before announcing his decision that the request was “accepted and authorized.”

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

FRESNO (CA)
Fresno Bee

October 28, 2020

By Yesenia Amaro

[With video of Esther Hatfield Miller.]

Pressure is mounting for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fresno to publicly name priests who have been accused of sexual misconduct as other dioceses have done.

The national law firm Jeff Anderson & Associates on Wednesday announced the Diocese of Fresno in May offered financial compensation to a survivor, but the diocese still refuses to publicly name the accused priest.

In a statement released late Wednesday afternoon, the Diocese of Fresno said it was its policy to not comment or respond to matters that involve active litigation.

The priest in question is Father Anthony Moreno. In early January, Moreno joined the growing list of priests in the Diocese of Fresno who have been accused of sexual misconduct. That was when a lawsuit was filed against the diocese by a victim identified as Toni Moreland.

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

FRESNO (CA)
Fresno Bee

October 28, 2020

By Yesenia Amaro

[With video of Esther Hatfield Miller.]

Pressure is mounting for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fresno to publicly name priests who have been accused of sexual misconduct as other dioceses have done.

The national law firm Jeff Anderson & Associates on Wednesday announced the Diocese of Fresno in May offered financial compensation to a survivor, but the diocese still refuses to publicly name the accused priest.

In a statement released late Wednesday afternoon, the Diocese of Fresno said it was its policy to not comment or respond to matters that involve active litigation.

The priest in question is Father Anthony Moreno. In early January, Moreno joined the growing list of priests in the Diocese of Fresno who have been accused of sexual misconduct. That was when a lawsuit was filed against the diocese by a victim identified as Toni Moreland.

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

LIVONIA (MI)
Mahoning Matters

October 29, 2020

By Justin Dennis

William Smaltz, who served St. Edward Parish decades ago, claims the diocese never interviewed him on the abuse allegations the diocese linked to him in 2018. The diocese removed his name from a list of credibly accused clergy more than a year later.

Youngstown – The Catholic Diocese of Youngstown is facing another defamation suit from a former Youngstown priest.

The diocese in October 2018 published former St. Edward Parish priest William Smaltz’ name in a list of diocesan clergy who have been accused of sexually abusing a minor.

The diocese in May removed Smaltz’ name from the list, after it received new information and followed up on the claims against him, and found them to be unsubstantiated.

But Smaltz’ lawsuit, filed Friday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court, claims the damage to his reputation had already been done.

According to the suit, the diocese did not interview Smaltz on the abuse allegations, which the suit calls “inconsistent and vague.”

“A different priest who was serving at the same parish as Mr. Smaltz has been charged on multiple accounts of sexual abuse/misconduct whose identity the accuser most likely confused with Mr. Smaltz,” reads the suit. “Despite inconsistencies and lack of investigation, the [diocese] claimed that the witness’ statements were credible.”

The suit does not identify the “different priest.”

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

LIVONIA (MI)
Mahoning Matters

October 29, 2020

By Justin Dennis

William Smaltz, who served St. Edward Parish decades ago, claims the diocese never interviewed him on the abuse allegations the diocese linked to him in 2018. The diocese removed his name from a list of credibly accused clergy more than a year later.

Youngstown – The Catholic Diocese of Youngstown is facing another defamation suit from a former Youngstown priest.

The diocese in October 2018 published former St. Edward Parish priest William Smaltz’ name in a list of diocesan clergy who have been accused of sexually abusing a minor.

The diocese in May removed Smaltz’ name from the list, after it received new information and followed up on the claims against him, and found them to be unsubstantiated.

But Smaltz’ lawsuit, filed Friday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court, claims the damage to his reputation had already been done.

According to the suit, the diocese did not interview Smaltz on the abuse allegations, which the suit calls “inconsistent and vague.”

“A different priest who was serving at the same parish as Mr. Smaltz has been charged on multiple accounts of sexual abuse/misconduct whose identity the accuser most likely confused with Mr. Smaltz,” reads the suit. “Despite inconsistencies and lack of investigation, the [diocese] claimed that the witness’ statements were credible.”

The suit does not identify the “different priest.”

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

YOUNGSTOWN (OH)
WKBN

October 28, 2020

A former priest in the Youngstown Diocese, who was removed from a list of accused sex offenders, has now filed a defamation lawsuit.

William Smaltz claims his name was added to the offender list without a proper investigation.

The suit claims Smaltz has suffered emotional distress since the diocese released the list almost two years ago.

Smaltz was ordained as a priest in 1956 and served the Church for 18 years.

In court documents, Smaltz said he was never interviewed as part of the investigation into the sexual abuse allegations. He maintains that the accuser “likely” confused him with another priest who was serving at the same parish as Smaltz.

On Oct. 30, 2018, the Youngstown Diocese released a list of names to the media that they deemed to be “credibly accused of sexually abusing minors.” Smaltz’s name appeared on that list but was later removed.

Smaltz says even though his name was taken off the list the damage was already done, saying it damaged his character and reputation, according to court documents.

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

YOUNGSTOWN (OH)
WKBN

October 28, 2020

A former priest in the Youngstown Diocese, who was removed from a list of accused sex offenders, has now filed a defamation lawsuit.

William Smaltz claims his name was added to the offender list without a proper investigation.

The suit claims Smaltz has suffered emotional distress since the diocese released the list almost two years ago.

Smaltz was ordained as a priest in 1956 and served the Church for 18 years.

In court documents, Smaltz said he was never interviewed as part of the investigation into the sexual abuse allegations. He maintains that the accuser “likely” confused him with another priest who was serving at the same parish as Smaltz.

On Oct. 30, 2018, the Youngstown Diocese released a list of names to the media that they deemed to be “credibly accused of sexually abusing minors.” Smaltz’s name appeared on that list but was later removed.

Smaltz says even though his name was taken off the list the damage was already done, saying it damaged his character and reputation, according to court documents.

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

NEWTON (NJ)
New Jersey Herald

October 28, 2020

By Deena Yellin

As an advocate for survivors of clergy sex abuse and a watchdog of the Catholic Church, Robert Hoatson is accustomed to provoking the wrath of Catholic leaders.

He’s also no stranger to the consequences of his nearly five decades of activism, including being fired from his job, suspended from the priesthood and treated with disdain by church colleagues.

So when Hoatson was recently informed that he’s receiving an accolade for his crusade from a Catholic institution, he was shocked.

“They called me out of the blue and said they now realize I was right and my work is crucial and they’re giving me this honor,” said Hoatson in disbelief.

The West Orange resident will be inducted next month into the Essex Catholic High School Hall of Fame, alongside a roster of some 200 Catholics who were honored for professional achievements and service to their communities.

Hoatson, a 1970 graduate of the school, will join ex-Yankees catcher Rick Cerone (class of 1972) and Martin Liquori (class of 1967), a record-setting runner who competed in the 1968 Olympics.

The Newark-based school, which was sponsored by the Archdiocese of Newark and operated by the Irish Christian Brothers, closed in 2003 but maintains an active alumni group.

“He’s a very courageous person to take on the juggernaut of the Catholic church,” said William Vantuono, one of several alumni who nominated Hoatson for the honor. Vantuono noted that Hoatson protested outside the venue of the school’s alumni dinner to raise awareness of inappropriate conduct by ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, whose name was subsequently removed from the hall of fame.

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

NEWTON (NJ)
New Jersey Herald

October 28, 2020

By Deena Yellin

As an advocate for survivors of clergy sex abuse and a watchdog of the Catholic Church, Robert Hoatson is accustomed to provoking the wrath of Catholic leaders.

He’s also no stranger to the consequences of his nearly five decades of activism, including being fired from his job, suspended from the priesthood and treated with disdain by church colleagues.

So when Hoatson was recently informed that he’s receiving an accolade for his crusade from a Catholic institution, he was shocked.

“They called me out of the blue and said they now realize I was right and my work is crucial and they’re giving me this honor,” said Hoatson in disbelief.

The West Orange resident will be inducted next month into the Essex Catholic High School Hall of Fame, alongside a roster of some 200 Catholics who were honored for professional achievements and service to their communities.

Hoatson, a 1970 graduate of the school, will join ex-Yankees catcher Rick Cerone (class of 1972) and Martin Liquori (class of 1967), a record-setting runner who competed in the 1968 Olympics.

The Newark-based school, which was sponsored by the Archdiocese of Newark and operated by the Irish Christian Brothers, closed in 2003 but maintains an active alumni group.

“He’s a very courageous person to take on the juggernaut of the Catholic church,” said William Vantuono, one of several alumni who nominated Hoatson for the honor. Vantuono noted that Hoatson protested outside the venue of the school’s alumni dinner to raise awareness of inappropriate conduct by ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, whose name was subsequently removed from the hall of fame.

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

WARREN (OH)
The Vindicator

October 28, 2020

By Ed Runyan

Youngstown – Former priest William B. Smaltz of Youngstown and his wife, Noreen, filed suit against the Diocese of Youngstown on Tuesday alleging defamation after the Diocese included Smaltz’s name on a list of priests it called “credibly accused of sexually abusing minors.”

The Diocese released the list to the public Oct. 30, 2018, and various news outlets published articles on it.

In May, however, the Diocese said it was removing Smaltz’s name from the list after further investigation and additional information indicated that the earlier allegations against Smaltz are “no longer deemed to be credible,” according to Vindicator files.

The suit was filed in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court and is assigned to Judge Anthony D’Apolito.

Over his time as priest, Smaltz was assigned to St. Edward Parish in Youngstown, St. Mary Parish in Massillon, Our Lady of Lourdes in East Palestine and St. Mary Parish in Conneaut, the Diocese has said.

The suit states that Smaltz was ordained a priest in 1956 and served in the Catholic Church 18 years. He received dispensation to leave the priesthood and got married. He and his wife had four children, the suit states.

The Diocese conducted an investigation of claims regarding priests sexually abusing minors but failed to interview Smaltz when the accuser “made inconsistent and vague claims concerning him,” the suit states.

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

WARREN (OH)
The Vindicator

October 28, 2020

By Ed Runyan

Youngstown – Former priest William B. Smaltz of Youngstown and his wife, Noreen, filed suit against the Diocese of Youngstown on Tuesday alleging defamation after the Diocese included Smaltz’s name on a list of priests it called “credibly accused of sexually abusing minors.”

The Diocese released the list to the public Oct. 30, 2018, and various news outlets published articles on it.

In May, however, the Diocese said it was removing Smaltz’s name from the list after further investigation and additional information indicated that the earlier allegations against Smaltz are “no longer deemed to be credible,” according to Vindicator files.

The suit was filed in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court and is assigned to Judge Anthony D’Apolito.

Over his time as priest, Smaltz was assigned to St. Edward Parish in Youngstown, St. Mary Parish in Massillon, Our Lady of Lourdes in East Palestine and St. Mary Parish in Conneaut, the Diocese has said.

The suit states that Smaltz was ordained a priest in 1956 and served in the Catholic Church 18 years. He received dispensation to leave the priesthood and got married. He and his wife had four children, the suit states.

The Diocese conducted an investigation of claims regarding priests sexually abusing minors but failed to interview Smaltz when the accuser “made inconsistent and vague claims concerning him,” the suit states.

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

DUBLIN (IRELAND)
Irish Times

October 27, 2020

By Darren Skelton

Oliver O’Grady sentenced to 22 months for viewing video of girl on loaned computer

Defrocked priest Oliver O’Grady was sentenced to 22 months in prison at Waterford Circuit Court on Tuesday after being found guilty by a jury earlier this month of possessing child abuse imagery.

O’Grady had been accused of using a computer that had been loaned to him by a housemate at 21 Otteran Place, South Parade, Waterford, to download a video showing an underage girl being abused.

O’Grady denied the charge, but admitted that the computer was used to search for images and videos of “young boys in underwear”. O’Grady’s main defence had been that he shared the house with many other people and the computer was used in a “common area”. He denied ever downloading or seeing the video.

The prosecution highlighted O’Grady’s activities on the computer to link him to the video. His email account, which was verified with his phone number, had been used to download the video.

He had been searching for items of a religious nature, such as the lyrics to O Holy Night and the Catholic Magnificat at the same time as he was searching for images of “young boys in underwear”.

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

DUBLIN (IRELAND)
Irish Times

October 27, 2020

By Darren Skelton

Oliver O’Grady sentenced to 22 months for viewing video of girl on loaned computer

Defrocked priest Oliver O’Grady was sentenced to 22 months in prison at Waterford Circuit Court on Tuesday after being found guilty by a jury earlier this month of possessing child abuse imagery.

O’Grady had been accused of using a computer that had been loaned to him by a housemate at 21 Otteran Place, South Parade, Waterford, to download a video showing an underage girl being abused.

O’Grady denied the charge, but admitted that the computer was used to search for images and videos of “young boys in underwear”. O’Grady’s main defence had been that he shared the house with many other people and the computer was used in a “common area”. He denied ever downloading or seeing the video.

The prosecution highlighted O’Grady’s activities on the computer to link him to the video. His email account, which was verified with his phone number, had been used to download the video.

He had been searching for items of a religious nature, such as the lyrics to O Holy Night and the Catholic Magnificat at the same time as he was searching for images of “young boys in underwear”.

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

BELFAST (NORTHERN IRELAND)
Belfast Telegraph

October 28, 2020

By Donna Deeney

Bishop found there was ‘insufficient evidence’ to support claims dating back 28 years

A man who alleges he was abused by a priest in Londonderry 28 years ago has criticised the Catholic Church’s investigation.

Denis Cairns was just 13 years old when he claims he was abused by a priest attached to the Nottingham diocese.

He has now received a letter from the Bishop of Nottingham, Patrick McKinney, in which the Bishop said he was “unable to reach the required moral certainty” demanded of him after considering the evidence from Mr Cairns and the priest at the centre of his allegation.

Bishop McKinney said: “It is the case that it was impossible to discern the degree of proof that is required, therefore I have decreed that due to insufficient or conflicting evidence no penalty can be applied to (named priest).”

Mr Cairns reported his alleged abuse to the then RUC in 1997, when a file was sent to the PPS. It did not pursue a prosecution on the grounds that it was Mr Cairns’ word against that of the priest he alleged abused him.

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

BELFAST (NORTHERN IRELAND)
Belfast Telegraph

October 28, 2020

By Donna Deeney

Bishop found there was ‘insufficient evidence’ to support claims dating back 28 years

A man who alleges he was abused by a priest in Londonderry 28 years ago has criticised the Catholic Church’s investigation.

Denis Cairns was just 13 years old when he claims he was abused by a priest attached to the Nottingham diocese.

He has now received a letter from the Bishop of Nottingham, Patrick McKinney, in which the Bishop said he was “unable to reach the required moral certainty” demanded of him after considering the evidence from Mr Cairns and the priest at the centre of his allegation.

Bishop McKinney said: “It is the case that it was impossible to discern the degree of proof that is required, therefore I have decreed that due to insufficient or conflicting evidence no penalty can be applied to (named priest).”

Mr Cairns reported his alleged abuse to the then RUC in 1997, when a file was sent to the PPS. It did not pursue a prosecution on the grounds that it was Mr Cairns’ word against that of the priest he alleged abused him.

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

DENVER (CO)
Catholic News Agency

October 27, 2020

By Hannah Brockhaus

Vatican City – At a hearing Tuesday of an ongoing abuse and cover-up trial against two Italian priests, the Vatican court accepted a request from the victim’s lawyer to sue the institution where the alleged abuse took place, as well as the group which oversees it.

The Oct. 27 hearing was the second in the trial against defendants Fr. Gabriele Martinelli, 28, and Fr. Enrico Radice, 72. Martinelli was charged earlier this month with using violence and his authority to commit sexual abuse over a number of years, and Radice was charged with impeding investigations into the abuse.

The defendants, who have not publicly addressed the accusations against them, were present, together with their lawyers, at the hearing, which lasted three-quarters of an hour.

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

DENVER (CO)
Catholic News Agency

October 27, 2020

By Hannah Brockhaus

Vatican City – At a hearing Tuesday of an ongoing abuse and cover-up trial against two Italian priests, the Vatican court accepted a request from the victim’s lawyer to sue the institution where the alleged abuse took place, as well as the group which oversees it.

The Oct. 27 hearing was the second in the trial against defendants Fr. Gabriele Martinelli, 28, and Fr. Enrico Radice, 72. Martinelli was charged earlier this month with using violence and his authority to commit sexual abuse over a number of years, and Radice was charged with impeding investigations into the abuse.

The defendants, who have not publicly addressed the accusations against them, were present, together with their lawyers, at the hearing, which lasted three-quarters of an hour.

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

VANCOUVER (BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA)
Vancouver Courier

October 27, 2020

By Jeremy Hainsworth

“Culture of entrenched clericalism that enabled perpetrators of sexual abuse:” suit

An unnamed man who alleges sexual abuse by two Roman Catholic priests is suing the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver (RCAV), a Corporation Sole, the Catholic Independent Schools of Vancouver (CISVA) and the estates of two men.

The John Doe alleges in documents filed in B.C. Supreme Court Oct. 23 that North Vancouver Holy Trinity Parish pastor Father John Kilty, now dead, committed multiple acts of sexual assault and battery on him when he was six.

He further alleges Raymond Clavin, whose status is unknown, committed similar acts. The suit said Clavin was a former Christian Brothers pupil and coach, teacher or employee of CISVA.

“At all times material to the abuse, the RCAV and/or the CISVA were complicit in a culture of entrenched clericalism that enabled perpetrators of sexual abuse to continue to commit their grievous crimes, and wherein witnesses, complainants and whistleblowers were silenced,” the suit said.

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

VANCOUVER (BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA)
Vancouver Courier

October 27, 2020

By Jeremy Hainsworth

“Culture of entrenched clericalism that enabled perpetrators of sexual abuse:” suit

An unnamed man who alleges sexual abuse by two Roman Catholic priests is suing the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver (RCAV), a Corporation Sole, the Catholic Independent Schools of Vancouver (CISVA) and the estates of two men.

The John Doe alleges in documents filed in B.C. Supreme Court Oct. 23 that North Vancouver Holy Trinity Parish pastor Father John Kilty, now dead, committed multiple acts of sexual assault and battery on him when he was six.

He further alleges Raymond Clavin, whose status is unknown, committed similar acts. The suit said Clavin was a former Christian Brothers pupil and coach, teacher or employee of CISVA.

“At all times material to the abuse, the RCAV and/or the CISVA were complicit in a culture of entrenched clericalism that enabled perpetrators of sexual abuse to continue to commit their grievous crimes, and wherein witnesses, complainants and whistleblowers were silenced,” the suit said.

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

DENVER (CO)
Catholic News Agency

October 27, 2020

By Kevin Jones

While allegations against two New Orleans-area priests have again raised questions about the Church’s response to clergy misconduct, the Archdiocese of New Orleans has confirmed that for the past two years it has been seeking to laicize clergy who have been removed from ministry for credible reports of sexual abuse.

“In the Archdiocese of New Orleans, very soon after the publication of the 2018 Clergy Abuse Report, conversations began in an effort to seek the laicization of those living clergy that had been removed from ministry for abuse of a minor and this is in process,” Sarah McDonald, communications director at the New Orleans archdiocese, told CNA Oct. 26.

“This is a highly technical canonical process and clergy have canonical rights that must be respected.”

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

DENVER (CO)
Catholic News Agency

October 27, 2020

By Kevin Jones

While allegations against two New Orleans-area priests have again raised questions about the Church’s response to clergy misconduct, the Archdiocese of New Orleans has confirmed that for the past two years it has been seeking to laicize clergy who have been removed from ministry for credible reports of sexual abuse.

“In the Archdiocese of New Orleans, very soon after the publication of the 2018 Clergy Abuse Report, conversations began in an effort to seek the laicization of those living clergy that had been removed from ministry for abuse of a minor and this is in process,” Sarah McDonald, communications director at the New Orleans archdiocese, told CNA Oct. 26.

“This is a highly technical canonical process and clergy have canonical rights that must be respected.”

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

AMHERST (MA)
Amherst Bulletin

October 27, 2020

By Michael Connors

Springfield – The Rev. William D. Byrne, a priest of the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., was named by Pope Francis on Wednesday as the 10th bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield.

A native of Washington, D.C., Byrne, 56, will replace Bishop Mitchell T. Rozanski, who after six years of leading the diocese was tapped this summer to become the archbishop of St. Louis. The announcement of Byrne’s new position was made in Washington by Archbishop Christophe Pierre, U.S. papal nuncio.

At a news conference Wednesday, Byrne said that when he received the call informing him of his appointment, he realized it was “a profound gift of not just being a bishop, but being a bishop here in western Massachusetts.” Byrne was ordained as a priest in 1994 and has most recently served as pastor of the Our Lady of Mercy parish in Potomac, Maryland.

“And at that moment, I prayed for the people and the clergy, the priests of this diocese, and have continued to do so each and every day as I prepare myself to join you in our new home,” Byrne said. “I prayed also for myself — I prayed that I may be a gift to this local church.”

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

AMHERST (MA)
Amherst Bulletin

October 27, 2020

By Michael Connors

Springfield – The Rev. William D. Byrne, a priest of the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., was named by Pope Francis on Wednesday as the 10th bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield.

A native of Washington, D.C., Byrne, 56, will replace Bishop Mitchell T. Rozanski, who after six years of leading the diocese was tapped this summer to become the archbishop of St. Louis. The announcement of Byrne’s new position was made in Washington by Archbishop Christophe Pierre, U.S. papal nuncio.

At a news conference Wednesday, Byrne said that when he received the call informing him of his appointment, he realized it was “a profound gift of not just being a bishop, but being a bishop here in western Massachusetts.” Byrne was ordained as a priest in 1994 and has most recently served as pastor of the Our Lady of Mercy parish in Potomac, Maryland.

“And at that moment, I prayed for the people and the clergy, the priests of this diocese, and have continued to do so each and every day as I prepare myself to join you in our new home,” Byrne said. “I prayed also for myself — I prayed that I may be a gift to this local church.”

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

WASHINGTON (DC)
National Public Radio

October 26, 2020

By Sylvia Poggioli

[With audio that is somewhat different from the printed text.]

An unprecedented trial is underway this month at the Vatican, the result of a whistleblower going public.

A young priest is charged with sexually abusing an altar boy over a five-year period inside Vatican City walls. An older priest is charged with covering up the abuse.

It’s the first criminal trial for sexual abuse to take place in the Vatican court.

The first hearing of the trial, held earlier this month, lasted just eight minutes — enough for the Vatican court to hear graphic descriptions of the charges. The alleged victim, identified by his initials, LG, was forced “to undergo carnal acts, acts of sodomy and masturbation at different times and in different places inside Vatican City,” according to charges read out by the court clerk.

The alleged abuse took place from 2007, when the victim was 13, until 2012.

The crime scene is the closed world of the St. Pius X youth seminary, whose residents — some as young as 11 — are known as the “pope’s altar boys.” They serve Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica and are considering becoming priests.

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

AUCKLAND (NEW ZEALAND)
New Zealand Herald

October 26, 2020

By Elizabeth Binning

An Auckland lawyer and former politician has come out in support of Rosmini sex abuse victim, saying he too was groped by brother William Jackson.

And, the school itself has been contacted by another former student who said they had a similar experience with Jackson, a music teacher at the Catholic school in Auckland during the late 1960s and early 1970s.

The Herald today revealed Jackson, who went on to become a priest but was later stripped of his title, doesn’t remember sexually abusing young boys but apologised for it anyway, saying he believes their accounts of what happened during private music lessons.

But, despite the apology and a police investigation, the 78-year-old who went on to become a priest won’t be held to account in New Zealand because he’s living in England and deemed too old.

One of Jackson’s victims, a man called Tim who received an apology and compensation from the Church, has gone public with his experience in the hope others who suffered in silence for several decades would be encouraged to come forward too.

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

NEW ORLEANS (LA)
WWL 4 CBS

October 26, 2020

By David Hammer

https://www.wwltv.com/article/news/investigations/david-hammer/slidell-priest-patrick-wattigny-in-st-tammany-jail-after-molestation-arrest-in-georgia/289-b4f320e8-5186-4e9d-91e2-9159d728e229

The Archdiocese of New Orleans said Wattigny self-reported Oct. 1 that he had abused a teen in December 2013.

A long-time Slidell priest accused of molesting an underage boy between five and seven years ago has been extradited from Georgia to the St. Tammany Parish jail.

Patrick Wattigny arrived Monday evening at the jail in Covington wearing an Archbishop Rummel t-shirt and a mask around 5:40 p.m. after a five-hour drive from the Troup County jail in western Georgia, where he was arrested Thursday as a fugitive from St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s deputies, who had issued a warrant for his arrest on four counts of molestation of a juvenile.

Wattigny was the pastor at St. Luke the Evangelist Catholic Church in Slidell since 2013 and also served as chaplain at Pope John Paul II High School until he was removed this summer for sending inappropriate texts to a current student.

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

AUCKLAND (NEW ZEALAND)
New Zealand Herald

October 26, 2020

By Elizabeth Binning

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/ex-priest-escapes-justice-rosmini-college-sex-abuse-investigation-william-jackson-admits-conduct/ADC4HCZJYBEAMF2FAPE5KOPDJM/

A former Catholic priest who has apologised for sexually abusing young boys at Rosmini College won’t be charged due to his age and the fact he now lives in England.

William Jackson was questioned by police in 2018 following allegations he abused four boys during his time at the Auckland Catholic boys’ school in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

The former music and religious studies teacher, who was known as Brother Jackson then and went on to become Father Jackson, was sent to New Zealand in 1968 — despite having abused a young boy at a school in Tanzania two years earlier.

The 78-year-old has told police and the Kiwi victims he doesn’t remember touching anyone — but apologised for the “ugly events” anyway.

“I personally have no clear recollection of what happened but I do believe your account of my sexual abuse in your regard,” he said in a letter to one victim last year.

“I feel terrible that you remember me as the cause of your suffering.

“There is little I can do to heal your painful memories, except to deeply apologise for what I did …”

The Church has also apologised for the harm caused by Jackson and paid one victim $30,000 in compensation for his “terrible experience”.

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