ABUSE TRACKER

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

July 28, 2020

WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THE GHISLAINE MAXWELL STORY?

UNITED STATES
AdamHorowitzLaw.com (law firm blog)

July 18, 2020

She’s evidently fascinating, for a bunch of reasons.
For starters, she’s hung around with lots of rich, famous people.
She’s apparently wealthy herself.
Her prominent dad died under mysterious circumstances.
As a result, she suddenly came into loads of money.
She moved half way across the globe and re-invented herself.
She was publicly accused of being both a predator and an enabler.
Her sidekick and former boyfriend and benefactor was arrested. He took his own life while in custody.

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.

DON’T JUST MAKE A LIST OF PREDATOR CLERGY! GIVE THEIR NAMES QUICKLY & ONE-BY-ONE.

UNITED STATES
AdamHorowitzLaw.com (law firm blog)

July 25, 2020

In any newspaper, the “Letters to the Editor” section is a real grab bag – sometimes goofy, sometimes confusing, and sometimes really perceptive.
In that latter category falls this one which appeared under the headline: “There’s no excuse for delaying Marianists’ victims list.” Here it is:
After decades of protecting predators, a locally based religious order recently released the names of dozens of child molesters it employed at area high schools.

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.

Christian Theater Shut Down in San Diego Amid Allegations of Abuse, SNAP Calls for AG Involvement

SAN DIEGO (CA)
SNAP Network

July 27, 2020

The San Diego branch of a national chain of Christian youth theaters has been shut down following extensive allegations of sexual abuse perpetrated by former staffers at the theater. We call for the attorney general of California to investigate this situation and determine if there are any crimes that can still be prosecuted and if there are any abusers hidden among the community.

Allegations of sexual abuse committed at Christian Youth Theater began circulating on social media after former students and employees shared their experiences using the hashtag #CYTKnew. If it is indeed true that theater higher-ups were aware of the crimes and worked to cover them up as these survivors have alleged, we believe that law enforcement must step in as soon as possible to investigate. Especially given that this is a nationwide chain, we fear that if abuse was covered-up at one location, it likely was covered up elsewhere, too.

The allegations made on Facebook are serious. According to The San Diego Union-Tribune, San Diego and El Cajon law enforcement have already received reports of the claims. We hope that they are already investigating and that AG Xavier Becerra will lend his office’s resources and knowledge to assist in this case. Based on the information put out by former students and employees, it seems highly likely that the problems at CYT ran all the way to the top.

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

Catholic Priest Charged with Sexual Battery, SNAP Calls for Action

CALIFORNIA
SNAP Network

July 20, 2020

We are very grateful to the survivors who have come forward to accuse Fr. Varghese “George” Alengadan of sexual assault and harassment. We also want to thank Alameda County DA Nancy O’Malley and her staff for investigating the allegations and filing charges. We believe that the only way to clean up the Catholic Church is for secular authorities to lead the charge.

Fr. Alengadan remains a powerful priest and we have no doubt that his influence and popularity may inhibit other victims from speaking up. We encourage any survivors and witnesses to contact law enforcement immediately. The DA’s number is 510-272-6222. Reports can also be made to the California Attorney General’s office.

The assault for which Fr. Alengadan is being charged would not have occurred had the Oakland Diocese responded appropriately to the 2002 report made by a young bride-to-be who was also assaulted by the clergyman. Inaction following allegations is all too common in the Catholic Church and is part of the “playbook” uncovered by the Grand Jury in Pennsylvania. Similar tactics were used across the bay at Presentation High School in San Jose. A recently issued report from Presentation laid bare abuse and cover-up at this school in the San Jose Diocese. The investigation spanned a period of 40 years, involved dozens of victims, and exposed five accused teachers and one accused coach.

There is much more for the Oakland Diocese to do in the case of Fr. Alengadan. The cleric was a close associate of Oakland’s Bishop, serving on his personnel board and receiving a “priest of the year” award in 2017. We believe that honor was a slap in the face to survivors. In 2016 the Oakland Diocese received a second report about Fr. Alengadan ‘s 2002 assault on the bride-to-be, this time from her mother. That email was also ignored. To us, it almost seems that the award was meant to show the family that their reports meant nothing.

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

Three More Allegations Made against Fr. Gary Carr

MISSOURI
SNAP Network

July 20, 2020

Three new allegations have been made against a Missouri Catholic priest who was first named as an abuser in April.

This situation shows that when the names of abusers are made public it often encourages others who were hurt to come forward and make a report. We applaud these brave individuals for speaking out and hope that their example inspires others who were hurt in Missouri to protect children by coming forward and making a report to the police.

These new allegations against Fr. Gary Carr should compel Catholic officials in every diocese where the cleric worked – including Springfield-Cape Girardeau, MO; Phoenix, AZ; and Santa Fe, NM – to share information about these allegations in every parish and location where Fr. Carr worked in an effort to bring other victims forward.

The average age of a survivor coming forward in the US is 52, but we would expect more of Fr. Carr’s victims to come forward now if they find the support and encouragement they need to do so.

CONTACT: Zach Hiner, SNAP Executive Director (517-974-9009, zhiner@snapnetwork.org)

(SNAP, the Survivors Network, has been providing support for victims of sexual abuse in institutional settings for 30 years. We have more than 25,000 survivors and supporters in our network. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)

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

John Murphy: ‘Predatory paedophile’ priest jailed again

UNITED KINGDOM
BBC News

July 28, 2020

A Roman Catholic priest who sexually abused young boys has been jailed again for crimes which came to light following his original trial.

John Murphy, 96, of Horwich, was sentenced to six years in prison at Liverpool Crown Court after admitting 32 offences including indecent assault.

The court heard he was a “predatory paedophile” who used his position as a priest to groom and abuse children.

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

‘Paedophile Priest’ Released from Prison

AUSTRALIA
Sydney Criminal Lawyers

July 24, 2020

By Sonia Hickey

Catholic Church Priest Vincent Ryan has been released after serving 14 months in prison for the historical sexual abuse of two altar boys.

Unfortunately, it’s another case of historic child sexual abuse where the perpetrator barely suffers consequences, while the victims spend years trying to rebuild their lives after a childhood that’s been shattered.

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.

VA Catholic priest blogged about child sex abuse. Now, he says bishop is threatening to defrock him

WASHINGTON D.C.
WUSA, Channel 9

July 27, 2020

By Bruce Leshan

https://www.wusa9.com/article/features/producers-picks/virginia-priests-blogs-about-child-sex-abuse-bishop-threatens-to-defrock-him/65-baea97cc-ce4a-4682-a206-8ec66eff252b

Rev. Mark White and his supporters are coming to D.C. to appeal to the Pope’s representative for help.

A Catholic priest in southwest Virginia is refusing to be silenced.

Father Mark White said his bishop has ordered him to stop writing about clergy child sexual abuse and the actions of Catholic leaders.

The Bishop of Richmond, Barry Knestout, has relieved White of his priestly duties, kicked him out of his parish house, and threatened to have him defrocked, White said.

But Rev. White and his supporters are coming to Washington Friday to appeal to the Vatican Embassy for support.

“As of this writing, this is not just about Fr. Mark’s blog,” Deborah Cox, a spokeswoman for the Richmond Diocese, said. “Fr. Mark continues to refuse to accept the assignment and the new job he has been given.”

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.

Scholars seek to establish ‘truth and reconciliation’ structures for clerical abuse

Crux

July 28, 2020

By Inés San Martín

ROSARIO, Argentina—Even though the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic has seemingly put most of the world on hold, many scholars have continued with their research projects and are already planning ahead, thinking about the 2021 calendar to reschedule events postponed this year.

One such event is a day-long consultation at the University of Notre Dame, set to bring together some 30 participants from the United States and Germany to look into the lessons of national truth and reconciliation processes, and apply them to the Church on matters of clerical sexual abuse.

The organizers believe that major festering wounds continue to exist in the Church, including a lack of healing for victims of clerical abuse, a reticence to speak the truth about the abuse, and a lack of accountability. They believe that the many national processes in the political realm of the past generation may provide insights for how the Church as a whole might confront decades of abuse and cover-up.

Behind the project are German Dr. Katharina Westerhorstmann, Professor of Theology at Franciscan University of Steubenville, and Dr. Daniel Philpott, professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame. The project is being funded by a grant from the University of Notre Dame.

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.

Saintly caution: Church’s reputation on the line when judging sanctity

ROME (ITALY)
Catholic News Service via Crux

By Junno Arocho Esteves

July 28, 2020

In the Catholic Church, a person’s canonization is almost always preceded by decades of meticulous investigation into the minute details of the candidate’s life.

Thousands of saints have been raised to the altars after these thorough investigations, while the causes of many other candidates are usually suspended or closed when there is insufficient evidence of one’s sanctity or the lack of miracle.

Yet, there are also causes that have been closed or delayed due to doubts or, worse, due to proverbial “skeletons in the closet” uncovered during the investigation into their lives.

The delay in the sainthood cause of Father Joseph Kentenich, founder of the Schonstatt movement, was the most recent example of that last scenario, after allegations of abuse uncovered during an apostolic visitation in the early 1950s were made public July 2.

His cause was opened in 1975 in the Diocese of Trier, Germany, and was in the diocesan phase, which is the first step in a candidate’s cause before it is sent to Rome for further investigation.

German scholar Alexandra von Teuffenbach, a former professor of church history at Rome’s Pontifical Regina Apostolorum University, discovered documents in the recently opened archives of the pontificate of Pope Pius XII that revealed allegations of sexual abuse and abuse of power against Kentenich.

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.

[Opinion] Boy Scout leaders and clergymen have more in common than you may know

UNITED STATES
AdamHorowitzLaw.com (law firm blog)

July 26, 2020

Like many clergy, Scout leaders are often thought of as selfless men, generously sharing their time and talent with youngsters.

Like many clergy, they often have seemingly legitimate reasons to be alone with kids.

Like many clergy, Scout leaders belong to a rigid, male-dominated, hierarchical group.

Like many clergy, they are often seen as ‘good influences’ on kids, especially troubled kids.

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.

[Opinion] Look out, enablers! You’re next!

UNITED STATES
AdamHorowitzLaw.com (law firm blog)

July 26, 2020

This week, we took note of these three stories. See if you respond to them like we did.

First, this one: following Mr. Epstein’s death, prosecutors said they would “continue to investigate his associates,” including Ghislaine Maxwell, “once a fixture on New York’s social scene,” who reportedly “also had participated in some of the abuse and lied about her conduct.” Authorities have “identified more than 15 bank accounts linked to her, whose total balance at times exceeded $20 million” and are trying to keep her locked up until trial.

Then this one: “In a $150 million settlement, the New York Department of Financial Services said Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender, had engaged in suspicious transactions for years” and Deutsche Bank “inexcusably failed to detect or prevent millions of dollars of suspicious transactions. . . “

And this one: “Within a 48 hour period this week, many of the world’s internet giants took steps that would have been unthinkable for them even months earlier. Reddit, which spent most of its life as a lawless free-for-all banned thousands of forums for hate speech. Twitch suspended President Trump’s official account for ‘hateful conduct.’ YouTube purged a handful of notorious racists. Facebook took down a network of violent anti-government insurrectionists who had set up shop on its platform.”

We’re encouraged by these developments These stories may seem unconnected. But look closely and you’ll see that the common denominator: powerful individuals and institutions that let and helped others do harm are being held accountable.

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

Childhood victims struggle to report sexual abuse in Catholic Church

JAKARTA (INDONESIA)
The Jakarta Post

July 28, 2020

By Ivany Atina Arbi, Evi Mariani and Dwi Atmanta

Twenty-seven years ago, an 11-year-old girl knelt beside a priest in a mandatory confession organized by her Catholic school in Jakarta. She told the priest her sin: disobeying her parents. As he spoke the absolution, the girl felt his hands touching her body.

The confession lasted five minutes and did not take place in a traditional partitioned confessional. Twice a year, the school arranged the event, usually before Christmas and Easter, and brought dozens of school children to a special confession space in a chapel, where there was no partition to separate the child and the priest.

“I felt uneasy and knew something was wrong, but I couldn’t tell what was off,” said the former student of Sang Timur Catholic elementary school, which is located next to the the Maria Bunda Karmel (MBK) 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.

Chicago bishop, retired CFD assistant commissioner charged with child sexual abuse

CHICAGO (IL)
WLS-TV (Channel 7)

July 27, 2020

A Chicago bishop and retired Chicago Fire Department assistant commissioner has been charged with sexual abuse, according to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office.

Jerry Jones, 71, is facing three felony charges for crimes that allegedly took place over the course of two decades.

Jones, a bishop at two South Side churches, is also a retired Chicago Fire Department assistant commissioner.

Jones allegedly sexually abused the victims at multiple locations, including one of the churches and at his home, when he was 42-66 years old, prosecutors said.

A 21-year old woman, who was 11-years old at the time, claims Jones used pastoral counseling meetings as an opportunity to inappropriately touch her, police say. The victim also told police he would use Bible verses to speak to her inappropriately about sex.

Jones also allegedly asked for the victim to send nude photographs of themselves.

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.

In India, Catholic bishop accused of rape asks Supreme Court to intervene

INDIA
Catholic News Agency via the Catholic World Report

July 27, 2020

After several failures to secure dismissal of charges in lower courts, a Catholic bishop whom a nun has accused of rape has asked India’s Supreme Court to dismiss the case.

Bishop Franco Mulakkal of Jullundur has been charged with raping a nun repeatedly over the course of two years, allegations he denies.

His effort to dismiss the charges was rejected in a trial court in March, then again in the Kerala High Court July 7. The court agreed with prosecutors that there was evidence to proceed, The Tribune of India reports.

Mulakkal claims he was falsely accused after he questioned alleged financial irregularities of the victim’s convent.

Bishop Mulakkal was arrested in September 2018 amid protests calling for a police investigation of the allegation. He was subsequently released on bail. The bishop was charged in April 2019 with rape, unnatural sex, wrongful confinement, and criminal intimidation. He faces imprisonment of 10 years to life if found guilty.

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.

RI Supreme Court justice wins appeal of $200 ethics violation

PROVIDENCE (RI)
WPRI

July 27, 2020

By Eli Sherman, Walt Buteau

With R.I. Supreme Court Justice Francis Flaherty winning a key victory in his yearslong fight against an ethics complaint, the state’s high court could soon find itself in the unusual position of hearing a case involving one of its own.

R.I. Superior Court Judge Brian Stern on Friday reversed a R.I. Ethics Commission decision from last year that cited Flaherty for violating the state’s ethics code. The violation, which came with a $200 fine, stemmed from a 2016 complaint accusing Flaherty of repeatedly failing to disclose his leadership position in a Catholic nonprofit while also ruling on a priest sexual abuse case.

Stern vacated that decision, however, concluding in part the commission had failed to prove Flaherty made a “knowing and willful” violation, meaning commission lawyers didn’t show Flaherty intentionally withheld the information.

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

Archbishop Viganò: ‘Heresy, sodomy, and corruption’ are trademark of ‘deep church’

UNITED STATES
LifeSiteNews

July 25, 2020

‘These three elements – heresy, sodomy, and corruption – are so recurrent that they are almost a trademark of the deep state and of the deep church’

Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò has pointed out three elements that have become what he calls the trademark of the deep Church: “heresy, sodomy, and corruption.”

In a new wide-ranging interview with Vatican expert Marco Tosatti (read full interview below), the Vatican whistleblower speaks about the deeper significance of the case of former Cardinal McCarrick in relation to the “doctrinal crisis” the Church is facing.

“There is a very strict relationship between the doctrinal crisis of the Church and the immorality of the clergy, that scandalously reaches up to the highest levels of the hierarchy. But it is also apparent that this crisis is being used by the ultra-progressive wing not only to impose a false morality together with a false doctrine, but also to irremediably discredit the Holy Church and the Papacy before the faithful and the world, through the action of its own leaders,” stated the Archbishop.

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.

Hundreds of new child sex abuse lawsuits flood in due to deadline uncertainty

NEW YORK
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle via Daily Messenger

July 27, 2020

By Steve Orr and Sean Lahman, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

Victims of child sexual abuse are rushing lawsuits into state court, fearful that two attempts to extend the deadline for such suits will amount to nothing.

More than 400 child sexual abuse suits have been filed in the past month, and 1,000 since late May. Hundreds more are expected before the original deadline arrives in three weeks.

“Our firms are working around the clock to finalize the complaints. We’re filing all of our cases now,” said Michael Pfau, a Seattle-based lawyer who, in conjunction with a New York firm, has filed upward of 600 such lawsuits to date.

The firms have at least 200 more cases that will be filed shortly.

The state’s Child Victims Act, adopted in early 2019, carved out a one-year window during which suits can be brought by people who allege they were sexually abused when they were young.

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.

July 27, 2020

A flurry of lawsuits alleging child sex abuse are filed as deadline for claims nears

NEW YORK
Times Herald-Record

July 27, 2020

By Chris McKenna

In one lawsuit filed on Thursday, eight men alleged that a longtime Orange County priest sexually abused them when they were children, adding their claims to those of at least three other accusers of the late Rev. George Boxelaar who have sued.

In another case brought one day earlier, a former Middletown School District student alleges he was molested in second or third grade by Dr. Stefan Irving, a former school pediatrician now serving almost 22 years in prison for a 2003 conviction on charges he traveled abroad to have sex with minors.

Fourteen lawsuits in all were filed under the Child Victims Act in Orange and Ulster counties in the last two months as an 11:59 p.m. Aug. 13 deadline approaches for past abuse allegations to be brought in civil courts. State lawmakers passed a bill in May that could extend that deadline by a year, but Gov. Andrew Cuomo hasn’t signed or vetoed it yet.

Other recent suits brought under the Child Victims Act include:

– In a case filed Tuesday in Ulster County, a former Ellenville School District student alleges his assistant football coach – who was also his Spanish teacher – sexually abused him at least 50 times from 1989 to 1994, starting when the plaintiff was in eighth grade.

– Two sisters from Orange County sued their former stepfather on Wednesday for sexually abusing them when they were younger than 13. The Rockland County man pleaded guilty to those crimes in 2012 and served three years in prison, according to the complaint and state records.

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 accuser of Theodore McCarrick alleges the ex-cardinal orchestrated abuse involving other clerics

WASHINGTON D.C.
Washington Post

July 22, 2020

By Michelle Boorstein

https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2020/07/22/new-accuser-theodore-mccarrick-alleges-ex-cardinal-orchestrated-abuse-involving-other-clerics/

Ex-cardinal Theodore McCarrick, already laicized and the subject of a Vatican investigation, is accused in a newly filed lawsuit of orchestrating the abuse of minor boys by multiple other clerics at his New Jersey beach house in the early 1980s.

The lawsuit was filed Tuesday evening in New Jersey Superior Court by a man who alleges he was abused by McCarrick, former D.C. archbishop and until recently one of the country’s best-connected and influential Catholic clerics, and five other New Jersey clerics when the victim was between 11 and 16 years old. Four of them did so at the beach house, the suit alleges, when McCarrick was bishop of Metuchen, N.J.

The suit alleges that the boy needed money to pay for his Catholic education, and that one cleric — who had already sexually abused the boy — told him he needed to talk to “the boss,” and then introduced him to McCarrick, who then allegedly began abusing him.

At least 7 more people told the Vatican they were sexually abused as boys by Theodore McCarrick, according to sources

McCarrick, who was defrocked in 2019, has previously been accused of sexual misconduct with at least seven minors, according to three individuals who spoke to The Washington Post for a story in October. One of the individuals is an accuser, one of five McCarrick accusers who are represented by the same attorney. The second is Camille Biros, who is a member of the independent reconciliation and compensation board set up by the New York archdiocese. The third, who has direct knowledge of all the claims U.S. church officials sent to the Vatican for its probe, spoke on the condition of anonymity because canon law forbids unauthorized people to speak about internal cases.

The Vatican said in defrocking McCarrick that he had been credibly accused of sexually harassing seminarians and young priests.

The accuser in Tuesday’s lawsuit is coming forward for the first time, said his attorney, Jeffrey Anderson. His name is not included in the lawsuit, and The Washington Post usually does not publish the names of alleged victims of sexual misconduct without their permission.

Pope Francis in October 2018 launched an investigation into McCarrick and how he rose to such prominence even as rumors and reports to church higher-ups of sexual misconduct streamed in for decades. Anderson said the new accuser has spoken to the Vatican investigators for that ongoing probe.

McCarrick’s civil attorney, Barry Coburn, declined to comment Wednesday. McCarrick, in limited comments he has made since being suspended in 2018, has said he did nothing wrong.

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.

Superior court rules in Justice Flaherty’s favor in case over $200 fine for failing to disclose links to Catholic organization

PROVIDENCE (RI)
Providence Journal

July 24, 2020

By Katherine Gregg

https://www.providencejournal.com/news/20200724/superior-court-rules-in-justice-flahertyrsquos-favor-in-case-over-200-fine-for-failing-to-disclose-links-to-catholic-organization

A Superior Court judge has sided with Supreme Court Justice Frank Flaherty – and against the Rhode Island Ethics Commission – in heated long running fight over a $200 fine for failing to disclose links to Catholic organization.

In a decision out Friday, Judge Brian Stern vacated the Ethics Commission’s ruling that Flaherty’s failure to list his position as President of the St. Thomas More Society on his financial statements for the period running from 2010-2015 constituted “a knowing and willful violation″ of state ethics law.

Among Stern’s findings: “The Commission Decision contained no finding that the Plaintiff’s actions were deliberate or intentional, and the weight of the evidence presented during the adjudicatory hearing supported a conclusion that the Plaintiff’s actions were not deliberate.

“Accordingly, the Commission Decision is clearly erroneous and affected by error of law,″ the judge ruled in a decision that did not go as far as Flaherty wanted the court to go in challenging the Ethics Commission’s powers.

Flaherty’s judicial battle stemmed from the court decision he wrote denying the appeal of Helen Hyde, a woman who had sued the Roman Catholic bishop of Providence — unsuccessfully — seeking damages from alleged abuse by the Rev. Brendan Smyth more than 40 years ago.

Hyde brought a complaint against Flaherty before the Ethics Commission in 2016, saying he should have mentioned that he was president of the St. Thomas More Society of Rhode Island on his financial and conflict-of-interest disclosure forms from 2010 to 2015. The Society hosts the annual Red Mass, a traditional Catholic celebration of the opening of the court term.

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.

German bishop calls for radical reform

DÜSSELDORF (GERMANY)
Church Militant

July 24, 2020

by William Mahoney, Ph.D.

Ordaining women remains an open question for a German bishop who believes radical reform in the Church is necessary.

“I consider the reform process in the Church to be essential,” said Bp. Heiner Wilmer of Hildesheim, Germany in an interview published Monday with German newspaper Rheinische Post. “I am in favor of an open discussion and personally trust in the Holy Spirit,” said the German prelate, who explained everything must be brought to the table, including the ordination of women and eradicating mandatory priestly celibacy.

Subscribing to Pope Francis’ “accompaniment” model of the Church, Wilmer said in the interview that the Church’s mission is “to be with the people and make sure that the increasing cold in our society is transformed back into warmth.” Key to living out that model is putting “people” at the forefront, according to the bishop. “People, not institutions, must be at the center of all reforms,” 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.

Diocese makes statement on former volunteer arrested on child pornography charges

Ville Platte (LA)
Acadia Parish Today

July 24, 2020

A Ville Platte man affiliated with the Diocese of Lafayette is facing child pornography and sexual abuse of an animal charges.

The Attorney General’s office has confirmed that Isac Calderon-Sierra has been taken into custody at the Rapides Parish Jail on a fugitive warrant.

Calderon-Sierra was a member of a youth group at Queen of All Saints Catholic Church in Ville Platte.

On Thursday, the Diocese of Lafayette said that Calderon was a former volunteer for an inter-parochial youth group that met at Our Lady Queen of All Saints Church. During the time he was a volunteer, the diocese says they never received any complaints in connection with that group.

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.

Diocesan response to AP article

SUPERIOR (MI)
Catholic Herald (Diocese of Superior)

July 24, 2020

Editor’s note: The Diocese of Superior released this statement July 10 in response to an Associated Press article, “Catholic Church lobbied for taxpayer funds, got $1.4B.”

The Diocese of Superior and its 103 separately incorporated parishes suffered many losses when the COVID-19 pandemic government mandates caused the closing of churches and offices and the suspension of the holy Mass. The economic impact of the dramatically reduced charitable contributions to our churches from March to May was real. Our bishop, James Powers, strongly encouraged each parish to keep their staff on the payroll if at all possible out of a sense of justice to the hardworking employees of the church.

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

Opinion: Who still stands with Viganò?

UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter

July 27, 2020

By Michael Sean Winters

Next month will be the second anniversary of the infamous “testimony” of former nuncio Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, published first at the EWTN-owned National Catholic Register. It was obviously the work of a profoundly disturbed person, all the settling scores, spewing accusations hither and yon, demonstrating that he, and he alone, was virtuous. He even called upon Pope Francis to resign! The timing — at the end of Francis’ visit to Ireland — was designed to gain maximum exposure.

At a press conference on the plane back to Rome, Francis chose not to engage the charges Viganò had leveled. “I will not say a single word on this,” the pope said about Viganò’s screed. “I think this statement speaks for itself, and you have the sufficient journalistic capacity to draw conclusions.”

Very oddly, given the fact that Viganò had violated canon law by revealing information he acquired under the pontifical secret and because, well, it is truly brutta figura to ask the pope to resign, several U.S. bishops came out with statements in the subsequent days in which they attested to Viganò’s integrity, and not to that of Francis. There was schism in the air. I will let the readers draw their own conclusions from the fact that when I Googled “bishops who support Viganò” the first item is found at CatholicVote.org, the organization working to reelect President Donald Trump, who famously received a letter from Viganò. Oliver Stone: Call your office!

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.

Justice delayed, denied for victims of sexual abuse in Catholic Church

INDONESIA
Jakarta Post

July 27, 2020

By Ivany Atina Arbi, Evi Mariani and Dwi Atmanta

Victims of sexual abuse and harassment in the Indonesian Catholic Church face “thick walls” of silence, secrecy and denial, having to bear trauma while the priests who they have accused remain on a moral pedestal.

Sisca, who has chosen to use an alias to protect her privacy, said she was molested by a Catholic priest in Jakarta when she was 11 years old. The 38-year-old watches the same priest greet school children in the same Catholic school every morning, and in December of last year, she heard His Eminence Ignatius Cardinal Suharyo, the highest-ranking member of the Indonesian Catholic Church, deny that he had ever received any reports of sexual abuse in the Church.

Sisca did not believe the cardinal could have possibly been oblivious to the alleged sexual abuse. “Where has he been? We had high hopes for him. He was appointed cardinal by the Pope. It’s a prestigious title. A cardinal is a chosen figure, and [the Pope] would not appoint a random priest,” she told The Jakarta Post in early February. “It hurts me to hear him say that. He doesn’t know how it feels,” Sisca 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.

Catholic music publisher vows investigation into Haas as allegations mount

UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter

July 27, 2020

By Christopher White

As allegations of serial sexual misconduct against Catholic composer David Haas continue to mount, a leading supplier of sacred music has vowed an investigation into how one of the church’s best selling musicians’ record of predatory behavior avoided scrutiny and accountability.

GIA Publications, which distributed the Gather hymnals that included some of Haas’ best known works, told NCR in a statement that “a third-party assessment will create a strong survivor-centered structure to report incidents of alleged harassment or abuse.”

“In addition to the assessment, we are in the process of establishing a Code of Conduct for all composers and authors we publish,” said Kate Williams, senior managing editor of GIA Publications. “These changes will facilitate the community’s ability to take prompt action in response to reports of behavioral misconduct.”

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.

Legislation would make clergy mandatory reporters

NEW YORK
Cheektowaga Bee

July 23, 2020

Legislation introduced by Assembly member Monica Wallace titled the CARE Act has passed the Assembly this week.

The Child Abuse Reporting Expansion Act would add clergy members to the list of mandatory reporters of child abuse and maltreatment, “closing a loophole that allowed for the proliferation and cover-up of child abuse,” according to Wallace.

The act was introduced last year, weeks after passage of the Child Victims Act, which extended the statute of limitations for survivors of child abuse to file civil claims and provided a temporary period during which survivors could file a claim regardless of how long ago the alleged abuse occurred.

“In the wake of this legislation, plaintiffs filed hundred of lawsuits accusing hundreds of clergy members of acts of abuse and maltreatment against children and teenagers,” said Wallace in a release.

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.

Edwin Gaynor’s accusers claim school officials, clergy were told of sex abuse

NEW YORK
Rockland/Westchester Journal News

July 27, 2020

By Jonathan Bandler

Lawyers for the 21 men who have accused Edwin “Ted” Gaynor of molesting them when they were students at either St. Bernard in White Plains, Immaculate Heart of Mary in Scarsdale or Holy Rosary in Thornwood argue that in every instance, the school, parish and Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York officials either knew or should have known about the abuse but did little to stop it.

But in some of the cases, the lawsuits offer details of why they think the officials knew, with claims that they were specifically told either by the students or their parents. In some instances, reports to the school came after meetings among parents.

Edwin Gaynor and his basketball team at Immaculate Heart of Mary in Scarsdale in 1967. Standing in front of Gaynor is Gregory Morra, one of 21 former students who allege in lawsuits that Gaynor sexually abused them

Here are snapshots of some of those cases:

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.

How Has the COVID-19 Pandemic Affected US Dioceses?

UNITED STATES
National Catholic Register

July 26, 2020

By Jim Graves

The Register spoke to a few dioceses across the country to see how they are coping with the situation.

The Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) surveyed U.S. bishops and reported that the COVID-19 pandemic has had major adverse effects on U.S. dioceses. Indeed, most indicated that the celebration of the sacraments was “very affected” and that it had significantly affected the morale of clergy as well as lay church staff.

Steps taken by bishops to meet financial shortfalls due to the elimination of Sunday collections include applying for government aid, encouraging parishioners to donate electronically, ending diocesan programs, and even closing schools and parishes and laying off staff. (Read more about the study here.)

The Register spoke to a few dioceses across the country to see how they are coping with the situation.

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.

OPINION: A journalist, an Inquirer reader, and a fine man’s life and farewell

PENNSYLVANIA
Philadelphia Inquirer

July 26, 2020

By Maria Panaritis

I was in the receiving line at the wake of a virtual stranger. Something had pulled me toward Egizi Funeral Home in Turnersville on Friday. I’d gotten word that an Inquirer reader I had met only once had died. And for some reason, that was reason enough to make the 45-minute trip from Philadelphia into South Jersey.

The pandemic had caused the wake to be delayed by two weeks, so there was no casket. Just flowers and photo galleries of a life I knew close to nothing about: Anthony DeVirgiliis, 72, of Sewell. On a table was a black-and-white picture of him as a baby; another from what looked like his confirmation; in a white tuxedo as a young man; with lifelong love Donata on their wedding day. A faded color shot of him, Donata, and their only child, Michelle Tamburro, on a Jersey Shore beach 40 years ago left a lump in my throat.

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.

Kerala nun rape case: Bishop Franco Mulakkal moves discharge plea in SC

NEW DELHI (INDIA)
Punjab Live

July 25, 2020

Bishop Franco Mulakkal, accused of raping a senior Kerala nun, has approached the Supreme Court claiming innocence and seeking to discharge him without a trial in the matter.

Mulakkal, in his petition, claimed that he is “innocent” and was “falsely implicated” in the case by the complainant after he questioned the financial dealings of the alleged victim nun.

The accused moved the apex court after the Kerala High Court dismissed his petition, seeking directions to discharge him without a trial in the rape case. Earlier, a trial court had also rejected his bail plea.

Mulakkal, 56, was arrested on rape charges on September 21, 2018, after a nun in the Missionaries of Jesus congregation filed a complaint against him accusing the Bishop of raping her 13 times between 2014 and 2016 in Kottayam in Kerala.

The Kerala Police had filed a 1,400-page chargesheet against him in the case.

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.

July 26, 2020

Editorial: Eradicating the McCarrick Virus

IRONDALE (AL)
National Catholic Register / EWTN

July 24, 2020

Two years after the former cardinal’s sexual predilections were revealed, the Vatican still hasn’t released its report.

It has now been two years since Pope Francis accepted Theodore McCarrick’s resignation from the College of Cardinals, shortly after allegations of his sexual abuse of a minor and evidence of other sexual exploitations first detonated into public view.

Yet after all this time, Catholics in the United States are still waiting for answers about which Church leaders, here and in Rome, knew about McCarrick’s scandalous situation but failed to take meaningful disciplinary and preventive actions — and possibly even facilitated and abetted his meteoric rise to prominence.

That’s far too long to wait. The delay only aggravates the severe damage caused by this unclarity and lack of episcopal accountability, further compromises the trust Catholics need to have in their shepherds, and prolongs the healing process for McCarrick’s victims. The whole ugly scandal seriously hampers the Church’s basic mission of evangelization and service.

“Why wasn’t this egregious situation addressed decades sooner and with justice?” That’s the urgent question asked in August 2018, two months after the public revelations about McCarrick, by Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, then president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), in a statement in which he vowed to pursue answers to the full extent of his authority and to advocate for answers beyond that.

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

Money, Sectarianism, & Catholic Tradition

NEW YORK (NY)
Commonweal

July 24, 2020

By Massimo Faggioli

What to make of the fact that the Catholic Church received $1.4 billion from the U.S. government’s Paycheck Protection Program? The remarks from Oklahoma City Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, seem to suffice. As he put it in a statement, the “Catholic Church” in this case encompasses the hundreds of individual Catholic dioceses, parishes, schools, social-service agencies, and other organizations that collectively employ thousands of people, and so is not prohibited from receiving taxpayer-backed federal aid. “The Paycheck Protection Program was designed to protect the jobs of Americans from all walks of life, regardless of whether they work for for-profit or non-profit employers, faith-based or secular,” his statement read in part. A range of Catholic media outlets have made the same observation, and it seems clear there is less to this “story” than meets the eye.

Yet at the same time, we should remain mindful about the constitutional and political issues concerning the relationship between Church and state, and the continued need for financial accountability and transparency in light of the links between the sexual-abuse crisis and financial mismanagement in Catholic institutions. It seems that some of the objection to PPP funding for the Church arises from the belief that the money could be used to pay settlements and legal costs associated with sex-abuse cases and other scandals. And this unfortunately speaks to the level of regard many people have for the Catholic Church today.

But we might also use the moment to think about the larger ecclesiological and theological issues raised by the increasingly decisive role of money in the life of the Church, especially the U.S. Catholic Church. As a result of changes in Catholic political culture since the twentieth century, wealthy donors have acquired the kind of legitimacy that the institutional Church might have once conferred on emperors, kings, and princes—as evidenced now in the expanding influence of conservative and traditionalist Catholic groups and Catholic business leaders. But this development itself arises in part from four decades of hostility to government spending and the dismantling of federal social-service programs, which has raised the pressure on Catholic organizations to provide more of these services than at any time since those programs were implemented in the twentieth century. The donations the Catholic Church gets from these private entities don’t necessarily come out of sympathy or support for the work it’s doing in these areas; rather, the contributions can sometimes be meant to influence the Church’s position on issues like immigration, the environment, and the economy. But in the case of the PPP payouts, we are talking about taxpayer money. And this should make us think about the complex meaning of “poor Church” in the recent Catholic tradition, and what that idea means going forward.

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.

Clinical counselor taking clergy abuse reports at Columbus diocese

COLUMBUS (OH)
Columbus Dispatch

July 26, 2020

By Danae King

Laura Lewis, a licensed clinical counselor, will now be the person who meets with survivors of priest sexual abuse of minors at the Roman Catholic Diocese of Columbus, replacing a priest who previously had the role.

Laura Lewis believes that mental health counseling is beyond essential when working with survivors of priests’ sexual abuse of minors.

That’s part of the reason she said she was happy to accept the position of interim victims assistance coordinator when it was offered by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Columbus.

Lewis began the part-time position on July 15, replacing Monsignor Stephan Moloney in the role that includes taking all reports of sexual abuse by a clergy member in the diocese; leading the Diocesan Board of Review for the Protection of Children, a group of 10 that determines whether claims are credible; and facilitating healing and help for survivors.

Lewis, a licensed clinical counselor, has worked with the diocese in the past, including on its Safe Environment Task Force that first met in January and was charged with looking at diocesan policies and recommending changes to help the church better serve survivors.

One of their recommendations was that her position be created to help the diocese offer better outreach, support and education on the abuse crisis, according to the diocese.

Lewis will work on an interim basis until the diocese creates a full-time, permanent coordinator position.

The change comes after The Dispatch reported in March 2019 that Moloney was one of three diocesan victims’ assistance coordinators in the country who were also priests, something survivors and their advocates, such as Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), have said can be a barrier to survivors reporting abuse to diocesan officials.

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.

Harriman priest named in sexual abuse lawsuit

KINGSTON (TN)
Roane County News

July 23, 2020

By Hugh Willett

A lawsuit filed in the Circuit Court of Knox County accuses a Harriman Catholic priest of sexually abusing a female parishioner.

Plaintiff Celeste Arnone alleges that she sustained injuries and damages as a result of a sexual relationship with Father Michael Sweeney, pastor of Blessed Sacrament Church in Harriman.

The Catholic Diocese of Knoxville is also listed as a defendant.

The lawsuit alleges that shortly after the married plaintiff became a Catholic in 2000, Father Sweeney began providing “spiritual direction” that included weekly visits that eventually developed into a sexual relationship.

“Father Sweeney exerted control over the Plaintiff Celeste Arnone to gain and maintain a sexual relationship with her and portrayed it as furthering the spiritual relationship with him and the Church,” the complaint alleges.

The relationship involved going to lunch, shopping and visiting Sweeney’s lake property. He also allegedly provide financial aid including getting her house out of foreclosure, buying her a gun, showing her how to use it, and providing money for a trip to Italy.

The complaint also alleges that the plaintiff’s relationship with her family suffered as a result of the relationship with Sweeney, resulting in a June 2004 divorce and annulment of her marriage.

“Much of this sexual exploitation of adult men and women comes under the guise of spiritual direction done in private,” says Susan Vance of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP).

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.

July 25, 2020

Suit alleges sexual abuse at St. Agnes Rectory in 1980s

GENESEO (NY)
Livingston County News

July 24, 2020

By Matt Leader

Latest filing against Joe Larrabee, former priest in Dansville, Avon

Avon NY – One word comes to mind when Mark Rowe recalls Joseph Larrabee, a former priest who’s now the subject of multiple lawsuits alleging the sexual abuse of children.

“I guess the word is charismatic,” said Rowe, the latest to file suit against Larrabee. “Funny guy. There wasn’t anybody that didn’t like him – adults, kids. He was very likable.”

So when Larrabee, an associate pastor at the St. Agnes parish, invited Rowe and some of his classmates over for a sleepover at the rectory one summer in the early 1980s when Rowe was in his early teenage years, Rowe didn’t think much of it.

“Everybody had sleeping bags on the floor – he did as well. He was sleeping next to me. He reached into my bag and grabbed my genitals,” said Rowe, speaking during a phone interview last week. “After I don’t how long it was – if I said 30 seconds or a minute I’d be guessing – I knew it wasn’t right so I told him to stop. He said ‘Are you sure?’ I said ‘Yup.’”

Rowe, who graduated from Avon High School in 1984 and is now 54 years old, doesn’t think he ever went back to the rectory, though he can’t remember for sure.

“It’s really vague in my mind,” he said. “The one time just stands out because of what happened. I want to say it was the only time I’d gone there. I know there were other sleepovers that other kids went to at other times.”

Regardless, Rowe saw little of Larrabee from then on. A couple of years after the sleepover, Larrabee was transferred to a different parish.

The now former priest’s sexual assault of Rowe is outlined in a lawsuit filed earlier this month in Livingston County Supreme Court. It is, at least, the sixth such lawsuit filed against Larrabee under New York’s Child Victims Act. Three were filed in August 2019, according to reporting from Rochester’s Democrat and Chronicle.

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

West Virginia Supreme Court to take up church-and-state question in lawsuit against Wheeling-Charleston Diocese

CLARKSBURG (WV)
WV News

July 24, 2020

By Matt Harvey

https://www.wvnews.com/news/wvnews/west-virginia-supreme-court-to-take-up-church-and-state-question-in-lawsuit-against-wheeling/article_f491dc8a-9655-5bf3-9f62-b2e167de100c.html

Charleston WV – The state Supreme Court will hear arguments Sept. 22 on whether a consumer protection lawsuit can move forward against the state’s only Roman Catholic diocese.

At the heart of the issue: Whether the lawsuit filed by Attorney General Patrick Morrisey’s office under the Consumer Credit and Protection Act is a violation of the separation of church and state doctrine in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

Wood County Judge J.D. Beane, who’s presiding over the case at the circuit court level, has ruled Morrisey’s lawsuit opens too much potential for violation of separation of church and state. However, Beane stayed his order granting the diocese’s motion to dismiss Morrisey’s lawsuit and sent the matter to the state Supreme Court as a certified question.

The state Supreme Court’s ruling might not be the end of the matter. Although the U.S. Supreme Court refuses most cases, one with this kind of question might make it on the docket if an appeal is filed by either side.

Morrisey filed the consumer protection action against the diocese in early 2019, alleging misleading and false claims by the church organization over the safety of its private school educational programs and camps.

The lawsuit contends the diocese had a duty to note past instances of sexual crimes and misconduct by priests it had hired. The filing also questions the commitment of the diocese to ferreting out problem hires through background checks, and it indicates that appropriate action wasn’t always taken even when wrongdoing was discovered.

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.

Lawsuit claims McCarrick ‘groomed’ abuse victims

WASHINGTON (DC)
WTOP News

July 23, 2020

By Rick Massimo

A man has filed a lawsuit claiming that he and others were sexually abused as boys in the 1980s in New Jersey by Catholic priests and bishops, and were groomed for and by Theodore McCarrick, who went on to become Archbishop of Washington.

The New Jersey lawsuit also claims that McCarrick began sexually abusing boys in 1969, 50 years before he was laicized by Pope Francis in 2019.

The plaintiff in the suit hasn’t been identified, but Jeff Anderson, one of his lawyers, said in a conference call Wednesday: “We bring into bright and broad focus over 50 years of criminal sexual predation by Cardinal Theodore McCarrick – all of it cloaked in papal power.”

The suit claims that a parish priest, Anthony Nardino, violated the plaintiff when he was an 11-year-old altar boy in 1981. The abuse continued until 1983, the lawsuit says, and McCarrick, then the first archbishop of Metuchen, New Jersey, began to participate in 1982.

When the boy was at the Essex Catholic Boys High School, he was being groomed, Anderson said. The principal, Brother Andrew Thomas Hewitt, began to sexually abuse the boy and became “the procurer of this kid, and, we believe, others for McCarrick,” Anderson said. When the boy was having trouble making tuition, Hewitt said, “You have to see the boss” – McCarrick.

The suit claims that Hewitt brought the boy to McCarrick’s residence, as well as a beach house in Sea Girt, New Jersey, that was paid for with diocesan money, Anderson said.

At the house, boys were assigned to sleep in various rooms, and priests were assigned with them, the suit says. “In the night, with the assistance of others, McCarrick would creep into this kid’s bed and engage in criminal assault, whispering, ‘It is OK,’” Anderson said.

“There are at least seven minors — children — who McCarrick groomed and who were groomed for McCarrick by others,” Anderson 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.

Letters: The Heavy Toll of Priest Sex Abuse

NEW YORK (NY)
New York Times

July 24, 2020

By Patricia Gallagher Marchant (and three other writers)

Readers share their stories of growing up in the Catholic church and of the culture that allowed the abuse to happen.

This article (Pray for Your Poor Uncle, by Elizabeth Bruenig [Sunday Review, July 19]) shows the insidious way predatory priests weaseled their way into families at a time in history when sexual violation was not on the radar. The psychological abuse is so creepy and deep. The isolation and secrecy are deadly.

I was sexually abused by a charismatic Catholic priest who befriended my dad, drank with him and groomed my family before going on to rape me at 7 and countless other children.

Capturing the raw pain is hard, but the systemic piece is huge: one targeted family, feeling unique yet creeped out, surrounded by Catholics who are wowed by the hierarchy. The family and the victim then have to sort and sift alone. But when support and courage emerge as well as public support and courage, victims speak out.

Multiply this story by thousands, and the truth is revealed once again.

Patricia Gallagher Marchant
Franklin, Wis.

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.

Letter: Local parishes are new clergy abuse victims

LITTLE FALLS (MN)
Morrison County Record

July 24, 2020

By Horst G. Hanneken and Debbie Woitalla

Well, it just got more difficult to justify to our children why we remain Catholic. The St. Cloud Diocese just settled its sex abuse lawsuit for $22 million. Over $2 million falls on 131 parishes, each parish, regardless how big or small, asked to contribute $15,500, regardless whether we support a Catholic school or CCD program.

We did not place pedophile priests among us. Bishops knowingly did that, placing child molesters in unsuspecting communities, as they have done for decades. Generations of innocent children have borne the brunt of these immoral and unconscionable acts, causing irreparable harm. But, why are all parishes being assessed the same? Some don’t even have resident pastors. Bazaars are being canceled. Smaller rural parishes are already assessed $3,500 per year for priest retirement and $5,800 for clerical aid, the same as the largest ones.

We’re guessing many other assessments aren’t equitable either. We are obligated to use Catholic Mutual Insurance, who won’t even supply us a written insurance policy. So much for openness and transparency.

Church leaders are responsible for this chaos, not we Catholics in the pews. It seems the Catholic Church practices a lot of religion, but very little Christianity.

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

Catholic Diocese of Erie Facing New Lawsuit

ERIE (PA)
WJET-TV 24 ABC

July 24, 2020

By Samiar Nefzi

The Catholic Diocese of Erie is now facing a new lawsuit from three victims ranging from as far back as the mid-1970’s.

This new lawsuit comes as we near the two year anniversary of the grand jury report on the Catholic Church.

These recent claims are related to similar ones from the alleged cover up.

A high-profile sex abuse lawyer has filed a suit against the Diocese of Erie.

The three victims were identified by initials, all children at the time with the lawsuit suggesting J.A., 12 years old in 1978 was abused by Father Michael Barletta, W.C., 15 years old in 1983 was abused by Clergy Chester Gawronski and K.M. who was seven years old in 1975 was abused by Priest Fidelis G. Lazar.

“The abuse survivors still live with it everyday, I do not think it is fair or right that an institution gets to move on with itself and say look those are the sins of the past when there are thousands of people struggling today,” said attorney Nate Foote.

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

The power of the pulpit

STUART (VA)
Henry County Enterprise

July 24, 2020

By Brandon Martin

Perhaps the greatest role of a priest is to communicate. They communicate to each other and they communicate to their audience. They communicate scripture, they communicate life and they communicate how to respond when the two collide.

To perfectly communicate, you need a sender, a receiver and a message; however, sometimes the communication runs into a disruption and the message shifts from its original intent.

The Sender

Father Mark White was removed from his position at St. Joseph in Martinsville and St. Francis of Assisi in Rocky Mount following a series of blog posts about the Catholic Church’s handling of sexual abuse among clergy members.

White sees his blog as an extension to all the ways he already communicates with parishioners.

“The on-line social media provide another means of reaching each other, forming a part of the larger ‘social network’ that a Catholic parish is,” he said. “During the virus, of course, the on-line means of communication have become much more important.”

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.

Attorney Blog: A Plea for Accuracy When Discussing Size of the Clergy Abuse Scandal

FORT LAUDERDALE (FL)
Horowitz Law

July 23, 2020

Every few months, we at Horowitz Law see or hear a line like this and practically moan with disgust:

“The Catholic Church has dealt with decades of scandal as investigations have found hundreds of priests across the globe who sexually abused minors. . .”

This inaccurate and minimizing line appeared in the Denver Post. But sadly, many reporters have written similar sentences.

As you might have guessed, it’s the word ‘hundreds’ that gets our goat. That’s nowhere close to accurate.

Hundreds of Catholic priests have been accused of abuse in several countries, including:

Ireland

*

Hundreds of Catholic priests have been accused of abusing in several US states, including

New York

Pennsylvania

Texas

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.

Allowing Bail to Rape Convict Ex-Priest to Marry Survivor Will Be a Mockery of Justice: Activists Plea

KERALA (INDIA)
LiveLaw.in

July 24, 2020

By Viswajith Anand

https://www.livelaw.in/news-updates/allowing-bail-to-rape-convict-ex-priest-to-marry-survivor-will-be-a-mockery-of-justice-activists-plea-in-kerala-hc-160446

Stating that allowing the plea of rape convict Robin Vadakkumcheriyil, ex-priest of Catholic Church, to suspend the sentence to marry the rape survivor will set a bad precedent, an activist and a Christian feminist organization have filed an application in the High Court of Kerala.

The applicants, Goerge Pulikuthiyil, an advocate-activist and Brinelle D’souza, founding and core committee member of Voices Against Sexual Abuse in the Church (VASAC) stated that, if Robin’s bail application is allowed, then it will set a bad example and open the door for many such men to force or coerce their victims into a compromise in order to escape the rigours of law.

‘The relief at this stage citing his desire to marry the victim, it will open the door for many such men who commit the offence of rape or aggravated sexual assault to force or coerce their victims into a compromise in order to escape the rigours of law. Such practices have been categorically looked down upon by the Hon’ble Supreme Court, and must not be encouraged in any judicial proceeding or stage’, stated the impleading application filed in the criminal appeal filed by Robin.

The applicants pointed out that the intention to marry the victim was already addressed and rejected by the trial court while sentencing him to 20 years imprisonment for the rape of a minor girl.

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.

‘Retaliation’ Review: Orlando Bloom powerfully tells story of a man broken by child abuse, robbed of his faith

KARNATAKA (INDIA)
MEA WorldWide

July 23, 2020

By Pathikrit Sanyal

https://meaww.com/retaliation-review-orlando-bloom-child-sexual-abuse-faith-janet-montgomery-charlie-creed-miles-story

In the 2015 Oscar-winning biographical drama ‘Spotlight’, an extremely overwhelmed Phil Saviano (played by Neal Huff) tells the Boston Globe journalists, “See, it is important to understand that this is not just physical abuse. It’s spiritual abuse too. When a priest does this to you, he robs you of your faith.”

Saviano was talking about child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. In a host of powerful scenes in the film, this one stands out. It spells out with immense clarity one of the consequences of this abuse that isn’t often spoken about.

Ludwig Shammasian and Paul Shammasian’s film ‘Retaliation’, which premiered at the 2017 Edinburgh International Film Festival as ‘Romans’, takes us through a similar painful journey. It tells the story of Malky or Malcolm (Orlando Bloom), a demolition worker in a working-class town in England. Malky may look like your normal guy-next-door, who likes to have a few pints of beer with his pals at his local pub after work, but he carries enormous pain inside him.

His cheery façade, however, begins to crumble, after he runs into someone at the pub. This man drags out ghosts from his past and Malky turns into this broken man, unable to process his feelings. He begins to lash out at people — sometimes complete strangers, sometimes his on-again-off-again girlfriend Emma (Janet Montgomery), sometimes his best friend Jo (Alex Ferns), and even himself.

His violent behavior stems from child sexual abuse. Twenty-five years ago, when he was no older than 12, a pastor (played by James Smillie) had raped him. And his repression of this act of abuse has led him to lead a dysfunctional life full of stoicism, rage, overcompensatory masculinity, mistrust, and sexual confusion.

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.

July 24, 2020

New Orleans priest continued serving 13 years after abuse claim landed him in treatment

NEW ORLEANS (LA)
WWL-TV and New Orleans Advocate

July 23, 2020

By David Hammer and Ramon Antonio Vargas

{With video interviewing survivor and showing documents.]

https://www.wwltv.com/article/news/local/new-orleans-priest-continued-serving-13-years-after-abuse-claim-landed-him-in-treatment/289-612b124b-d4db-42d4-bb60-66672d142feb

Asked about Ricky Monsour’s recollections, archdiocesan officials revealed new details about the church’s handling of accusations against Carl Davidson.

Sixteen years ago, Ricky Monsour spoke up for the first time about how he was groomed and molested in his boyhood by a priest the Catholic Church eventually acknowledged was almost certainly a child predator. But it was only recently that he decided to speak out about the details of the $106,000 payment that the church later gave him to quietly settle his claims of abuse at the hands of Carl Davidson.

Asked about Monsour’s recollections, archdiocesan officials revealed new details about the church’s handling of accusations against Davidson — including that he was sent to psychological treatment 31 years ago when church leaders first were told he had molested another boy, an aspiring priest.

That happened after New Orleans’ current archbishop, Gregory Aymond, took that abuse report and notified his then-boss, Archbishop Francis Schulte.

Until now, the church had never disclosed that sidelining, after which the now-dead Davidson was allowed to continue serving as a priest for at least another 13 years. It wasn’t until the clergy abuse scandal that erupted in Boston in 2002 that the church permanently removed Davidson from the ministry, and it took until 2004 — when Monsour went public — for the archdiocese to admit his removal stemmed from molestation accusations.

In a statement Thursday, Aymond said he would have acted differently now, given transparency policies that American bishops adopted following the Boston crisis. But he said the way the archdiocese handled Davidson for years was appropriate under the protocols in place before Boston changed everything.

Monsour, however, disagrees. He said he’s telling the full story of his case now so the public realizes how, even as bishops promised full transparency after Boston, myriad details of abuse cases have remained secret for years — often because of gag orders imposed by the church — and in some instances may never come to light unless survivors force the issue.

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Albany diocese faces 33 new sexual abuse claims

ALBANY (NY)
Times-Union

July 22, 2020

By Brendan J. Lyons

More than 30 child sexual abuse complaints were filed Wednesday against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany, including seven claims directed at a deceased Christian brother who had been assigned to Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbon High School in Schenectady in the 1960s and ’70s, according to the filings.

The Child Victims Act complaints were filed in state Supreme Court in Albany by two law firms, Jeff Anderson & Associates and LaFave Wein & Frament, that have now filed 107 lawsuits against the Albany Diocese.

“We are honored to stand with these survivors in their pursuit of truth and accountability,” Anderson said. “Until the diocese disgorges the secrets that it has kept hidden for decades, children remain at peril.”

The filings increase to eight the number of CVA complaints filed against deceased Brother Clement Adan Murphy, C.F.C., who worked at Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons.

Two complaints name Michael Scaringe, a registered sex offender from Cohoes. Those claims allege abuse in the 1970s at St. Helen and St. Paul the Apostle, two other Schenectady schools. Scaringe was a music teacher at both schools; in 1996, he was acquitted of sexually abusing a child at Bay Point Middle School in St. Petersburg, Fla., where he worked as a substitute band teacher, according to the court filings.

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Letter: No special exemption for Catholic churches

ALTOONA (PA)
Altoona Mirror

July 23, 2020

By Msgr. Michael A. Becker

A recent Associated Press article in the Mirror headlined an undocumented claim that there was a linking of coronavirus paycheck protection assistance to payouts for clergy sex abuse by Catholic dioceses.

That our own local diocese did receive assistance from the Paycheck Protection Program is true.

In fact, the Catholic Church in this country has received between $1.4 billion and $3.5 billion in federal funds under the Paycheck Protection Program, the federal initiative designed to mitigate the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ordinarily, businesses that employ more than 500 people and all faith-based organizations are not eligible for federal small business loans.

In this instance, however, Congress and the Trump administration waived those rules. The unspoken premise of the AP claim is that the church may have been undeserving of paycheck protection funds because it had settled lawsuits.

In reality, however, there was no special exemption for Catholic churches. All religious groups were similarly exempted.

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Letter: Transparency is essential on abuses in Catholic Church

ST. LOUIS (MO)
Post-Dispatch

July 24, 2020

By Lena Woltering

The abuse of children by Catholic clerics is, in nearly everyone’s eyes, the most significant challenge to the church in centuries. So let’s compare the incoming archbishop to the outgoing archbishop on this matter.

On their respective diocese websites, both Archbishop Robert Carlson and Bishop Mitchell Rozanski list credibly accused predator priests. Carlson, however, is far more forthcoming and helpful. He gives his flock details: whether the accused priest has possessed child pornography, if he has a middle initial, when he was ordained and if he’s living or deceased. Bishop Rozanski does not.

Carlson reveals the identity of 64 proven, admitted or credibly accused local abusive clerics. But an independent, online archive on the church’s abuse crisis, BishopAccountability.org, names 97 publicly accused St. Louis clerics. In his current diocese, Rozanski names 18 accused priests, while BishopAccountability.org names 49. No one statistic or matrix provides a thorough assessment of any official’s performance, but this data suggests St. Louis’ new shepherd may not be as forthcoming with information on abuse as his predecessor.

Lena Woltering – Belleville

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Women suing Austin Catholic organization, former priest over sexual assault allegations

AUSTIN (TX)
KXAN

July 22, 2020

By Russell Falcon

Three women are suing a local Catholic organization and a former priest over allegations of sexual assault and false imprisonment.

The lawsuit alleges that The Schoenstatt Movement of Austin engaged in “institutionalized negligence” regarding priests who abuse members of the church.

The former priest, who is identified in the lawsuit as Gerold Langsch, formerly of St. Paul’s Catholic Church in south Austin, was accused of inappropriately touching a woman who was in hospice care in 2019.

He pleaded “no contest” and received a 300-day probation sentence.

The attorney representing the woman told KXAN in a statement: ‘The time has come for a Texas jury to send a message and put an end to this international, institutionalized abuse by Schoenstatt Catholic priests. It’s gone on and been tolerated far too long and our clients are going to fight to end it.”

KXAN also reached out to The Schoenstatt Movement of Austin, who declined to comment at this time.

For more on KXAN’s Investigation into priests accused of abuse, visit KXAN Investigates: The Accused.

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Erie diocese sued over claims of abuse cover-ups

ERIE (PA)
Erie Times-News

July 24, 2020

By Ed Palattella

One woman claims priest molested her in 1970s, Erie diocese knew of past abuse. Suit, others linked to grand jury report.

A woman is using a new ruling in Pennsylvania law to sue the Catholic Diocese of Erie over claims it covered up child sex abuse allegations against one of its priests, the Rev. Michael G. Barletta, named as one of 301 “predator priests” in the statewide grand jury report issued two years ago.

The woman’s lawsuit, filed in Erie County Court this week, appears to be part of a growing trend. Other plaintiffs have filed at least three other legal actions against the diocese in Erie County Court since July 15, with claims related to sex abuse allegations or cover-ups.

The cover-up claims are linked to the release of the statewide grand jury report on Aug. 14, 2018. The woman and other plaintiffs are claiming they learned about the cover-ups through the grand jury report, giving them two years from the date of that report to sue under the statute of limitations for “fraudulent concealment,” fraud and similar claims.

A state Superior Court decision from June 2019 is giving the plaintiffs the legal leeway to sue, for now.

The woman who sued is claiming Barletta molested her in the mid-1970s, when she attended the grade school at St. Luke Catholic Church in Erie and when she was in ninth grade at an unnamed high school. She said Barletta was at St. Luke to say Mass, and that she witnessed him molest boys at St. Luke.

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Opinion: Congress Should Expunge Statutes of Limitations on Child Sexual Assault—Nationwide

NEW YORK (NY)
Newsweek

July 20, 2020

By Michael Dolce

July 2020 marks the tenth anniversary of Florida’s repeal of all civil and criminal statutes of limitation for prosecution of cases involving child sexual battery. The repeal has opened courthouse doors so survivors can enter when they are sufficiently recovered mentally and emotionally to confront their abusers. A delayed report of child sex abuse to law enforcement no longer means officers have to wait for the reporting of a predator’s next victim and abusers can now be brought to justice and exposed in our communities. Institutions that care for our children, from churches to schools to daycare centers, have more incentive to keep children safe because they are held accountable. And, the ticking of a clock reward is eliminated, mitigating intimidation tactics abusers use to silence their prey for years or even decades.

It is undeniable that statutes of limitation do nothing to protect children and show no respect for survivors. In Florida, empathy for survivors has created an understanding of why the injuries inflicted in a few moments can take many years to heal. There is acknowledgement of the flashbacks, the haunting body memories and the struggle to regain trust in humanity that keep survivors silent for years. We join survivors of yesterday’s horrific abuses in their courageous efforts to make sure that today’s children do not walk in their shoes.

It took six years to win this legislative fight in Florida. We fought the Roman Catholic Church’s hierarchy, and the insurance industry that claimed sympathetic jury verdicts would bankrupt them. They claimed liability insurance premiums would skyrocket for any program involving children, forcing schools to shutter and recreation leagues to disband, as well as siphoning funds used for charitable programs. The ten years since have disproven these prophesies of doom.

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St. Joseph High School sued by Somerset man claiming sexual abuse by priest

BRIDGEWATER (NJ)
Courier News

July 22, 2020

By Nick Muscavage

Metuchen – A former St. Joseph High School student is suing the Diocese of Metuchen claiming he was sexually abused and “groomed” for 16 years by a Catholic priest while enrolled at the private school.

The victim, from the Somerset section of Franklin Township, filed the lawsuit on July 10 in Middlesex County Superior Court and names the Dioceses of Metuchen and Trenton, St. Joseph High School, and the Brothers of the Sacred Heart as defendants. The name of the victim, who is now an adult, is being withheld by My Central Jersey because he was a minor at the time he said he was sexually abused by Rev. Frank Iazzetta.

The victim, represented by attorney Jay Silvio Mascolo of RAM Law, claims he was first sexually abused by Iazzetta when he became a freshman student at St. Joe’s.

Some of the sexual abuse occurred on the grounds of St. Joe’s, including on the school campus and at Iazzetta’s residence at St. Joe’s, according to the lawsuit. Iazzetta’s sexual abuse of the victim “occurred during activities that were sponsored by, or were a direct result” of activities sponsored by the dioceses, St. Joe’s and the Brothers of the Sacred Heart.

The lawsuit claims that St. Joe’s, which is operated by the Brothers of the Sacred Heart, and the Dioceses of Metuchen and Trenton “knew or should have known that Father Iazzetta was a known sexual abuser of children.”

Iazzetta, who died in 2007, was named in 2019 by the Diocese of Trenton as a priest who was “credibly accused” of child sexual abuse. The diocese said Iazzetta had “multiple” victims.

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July 23, 2020

Man sues Allentown diocese, Northampton church and school, claiming priest molested him when he was 11

ALLENTOWN (PA)
Morning Call

July 23, 2020

By Laurie Mason Schroeder

A 57-year-old Pennsylvania man who claims that he was molested by a Catholic priest from a Northampton church starting when he was 11 years old, has filed a lawsuit, one of numerous claims recently made under a potential loophole in the statute of limitations for civil cases involving sexual abuse.

The plaintiff, identified as Joe Doe in the suit filed Wednesday in Lehigh County Court, claims that he was sexually abused in the 1970s and early 1980s by the Rev. Thomas Kerestus, who served at Our Lady of Hungary Roman Catholic Church, now called Queenship of Mary Roman Catholic Church.

Also named in the suit are Our Lady of Hungary Catholic School in Northampton, which later became Good Shepherd Catholic School, and the Diocese of Allentown.

Kerestus, who died in 2014, was one of about 300 clergy members identified in a 2018 statewide grand jury report on predator priests.

In the suit, Doe claims that Kerestus befriended his family after his parents divorced and took him on overnight trips to Kerestus’ parents’ Tamaqua home, the parish rectory and the Jersey Shore. During the trips, Doe said in the suit, Kerestus sexually assaulted him.

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Nashville Diocese Paid $65K Settlement to Priest’s Alleged Abuse Victim

NASHVILLE (TN)
Nashville Scene

July 21, 2020

By Steven Hale

An investigation by the U.K.-based Catholic Herald raises questions about how the diocese responded to the allegations

The Catholic Diocese of Nashville paid $65,000 in May to settle the case of an adult woman who says she was sexually abused by a priest who was working as a chaplain at Aquinas College and the Dominican Campus.

The settlement was revealed by the London-based Catholic Herald, which published an investigation over the weekend raising questions about how the diocese handled the abuse allegations. The woman reported to the diocese in March 2019 that Father Kevin McGoldrick had abused her in 2017 at Aquinas College, where she was a student. In her first-person account, published by the Herald, the woman says that McGoldrick — a relatively young guitar-playing priest who was her personal spiritual director — invited her to the rectory and got her so drunk that she vomited. Then, she says, he assaulted her.

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Former Vatican ambassador to stand trial in Paris on charges of ‘sexual aggression’ against four men

NEW YORK (NY)
America Magazine

July 23, 2020

By Gerard O’Connell

The former Vatican nuncio in France, Archbishop Luigi Ventura, 75, will stand trial in Paris on Nov. 10 on charges of alleged “sexual aggression” against four men, Agence France-Press and other French media, including Le Monde, reported today, based on information from judicial sources.

It is the first time in the modern history of papal diplomacy that a nuncio of the Holy See will stand trial in a civil court. This was made possible when Pope Francis last year authorized the Holy See to lift the archbishop’s diplomatic immunity. This makes it possible for him to stand trial and seek to defend himself against his accusers in a civil court.

“He will be present at the hearing. He hopes to defend his honor and his innocence at that hearing,” Bertand Ollivier, the lawyer for the Italian archbishop, told AFP.

Archbishop Ventura, a senior and distinguished Vatican diplomat, served as the papal nuncio, or ambassador in France from 2009 to 2019. The first accusation against him was made before the judicial authorities in Paris in February 2019 by a young man who accused him of improper touching during a public ceremony in the French capital. The archbishop denied it, but the police investigation went ahead. Subsequently, allegations of a similar kind were made against him by two other men, who said they occurred in 2018. Soon after, a fourth man made similar allegations. In May 2019 the archbishop faced his accusers at a meeting called by the prosecutor, but that clearly did not convince the prosecution.

The Vatican, at Pope Francis’ instruction, removed his diplomatic immunity in July 2019 to enable him to defend himself in court. He will now have to respond to his four accusers at a trial in Paris in November.

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Lawsuit accuses defrocked Cardinal McCarrick of running a sex ring

NEWARK (NJ)
NJ TV News

July 22, 2020

By Michael Hill

A state lawsuit accuses the defrocked Cardinal Theodore McCarrick of a running a sex ring.

“All of it cloaked in papal power,” said Jeff Anderson, the plaintiff’s attorney.

The suit alleges McCarrick began molesting young altar servers and seminarians in 1969, and in the 1980s he allegedly got plenty of help from other men of the cloth — some deceased and some credibly accused.

The lawsuit details what a then-11-year-old, unidentified boy says took place. The suit refers to him as “Doe 14” and it alleges Father Anthony Nardino sexually abused the boy at church. The principal of Essex Catholic High School, the now-deceased Brother Andrew Hewitt, did as well, and groomed him and introduced him to McCarrick when the boy’s family had financial trouble paying tuition.

“Brother Hewitt became the procurer,” Anderson said.

Allegedly for McCarrick and trips to McCarrick’s beach house in Sea Girt, which was paid for by the Metuchen Diocese. It’s where McCarrick assigned where priests and boys would sleep.

“In the night, with the assistance of others, McCarrick would creep into this kid’s bed and engage in criminal sexual assault of him, whispering ‘It is OK,’” Anderson said.

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A Scarily Accurate Portrait of a Catholic Schoolgirl’s Sexual Awakening

NEW YORK (NY)
Daily Beast

July 23, 2020

By Kyndall Cunningham

Karen Maine’s new film explores the coming-of-age of a Catholic schoolgirl (“Stranger Things” star Natalia Dyer). And it’s pretty spot-on.

Growing up in Christian spaces, I heard all types of bad analogies and gender-essentialist arguments about human sexuality—but none like the one I heard at my Catholic high school. In an unofficial sex ed course, we received a lecture from a teacher on the sacredness of female virginity. He spoke about the confined nature of female genitalia, comparing a vagina to a cave and virginity to treasure. He said that the interiority of a woman’s genitalia compared to the exteriority of a man’s signified a special need for privacy and protection. Girls had to be careful about who they let inside their “caves”—ideally only their husbands—but boys, by nature, would end up sticking their penises wherever they wanted.

I was transported back to this particular moment watching an early scene in the new coming-of-age film Yes, God, Yes in which a priest uses a similarly ridiculous metaphor about kitchen appliances to differentiate between the ways boys and girls get aroused. “Guys are like microwave ovens,” he states matter-of-factly. “And ladies are like conventional ovens. Guys only need a few seconds, you know, like microwaves, to get switched on. Ladies—they typically need to preheat.”

Female sexual desire as an idle, passive experience is one of the religious notions Obvious Child co-writer Karen Maine debunks in her semi-autobiographical film about a Catholic, Midwestern teenager in the early 2000s. Alice, played by Stranger Things’ Natalia Dyer, finds herself in a spiritual crisis when she discovers masturbation one evening on a dirty AIM chat with a stranger. Her increasing desire for self-pleasure is countered by judgmental remarks from her prudish best friend and messages from school faculty that pre-marital sex in any form leads to eternal damnation (not to mention the whole conventional oven thing). But when a male classmate spreads a rumor throughout the school that she “tossed his salad,” her need to become sanctified—or at least appear that way to her peers—becomes more urgent, leading her on a rather clumsy but heart-warming spiritual—and sexual—journey.

To save face (and possibly her soul), Alice attends a four-day retreat organized by her school called Kirkos. If you attended a Jesuit high school, you’ll immediately recognize Maine’s fictional version of the real-life Kairos retreat, built around the the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. From the gold-cross pendant that looks like a waffle to the Christian contemporary music playlists to the forced self-reflections that comprise most of the itinerary, Maine precisely captures the experience of the retreat in all of its sentimentalism and self-seriousness.

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Complaint, Jury Demand, and Designation of Trial Counsel

NEW BRUNSWICK (NJ)
Middlesex County Superior Court

July 21, 2020

42. Plaintiff participated in youth activities and/or church activities at St. Francis Xavier and Essex Catholic. Plaintiff, therefore, developed great admiration, trust, reverence, and respect for the Roman Catholic Church, including Defendants and their agents.

43. During and through these activities, Plaintiff, as a minor and vulnerable child, was dependent on Defendants. Defendants had custody and/or supervision of Plaintiff and accepted the entrustment of Plaintiff and, therefore, had responsibility for Plaintiff and authority over Plaintiff.

44. In approximately 1978, when Plaintiff was approximately 11 years old and a parishioner and altar server at St. Francis Xavier, Fr. Nardino engaged in unpermitted sexual contact with Plaintiff.

45. From approximately 1981 to 1983, when Plaintiff was approximately 14 to I 6 years old and a student at Essex Catholic, Br. Hewitt engaged in unpermitted sexual contact with Plaintiff.

46. In approximately 1982, Br. Hewitt, then-principal at Essex Catholic, orchestrated a meeting between Plaintiff and Mccarrick under the guise that Mccarrick would help Plaintiff pay his school tuition.

47. After the first meeting with McCarrick, Plaintiff was taken on overnight and weekend trips to a beach house in Sea Girt, NJ in the Diocese of Metuchen.

48. Upon information and belief, McCarrick assigned sleeping arrangements, choosing his victims from the boys, seminarians and clerics present at the beach house.

49. On these occasions, minor boys were assigned to different rooms and paired with adult clerics.

50. Bp. Mccarrick, Fr. Ruane, Fr. Walters, and Fr. Laferrera engaged in unperrnitted sexual contact with Plaintiff at the Sea Girt residence.

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Ex-cardinal Theodore McCarrick ran sex ring for clerics at New Jersey beach home, lawsuit alleges

SALEM (OR)
Statesman Journal from The Record / NJ.com

July 23, 2020

By Abbott Koloff and Deena Yellin

https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/nation/2020/07/23/catholic-cardinal-mccarrick-ran-sex-ring-nj-shore-lawsuit-alleges/5495453002/

A lawsuit filed Tuesday night accuses former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick of taking his pick of boys to abuse sexually and assigning others to adult clerics at a New Jersey beach home that’s been central to previous allegations against the former prelate.

The man who brought the suit said in court papers that he was abused in the early 1980s by McCarrick and three priests at the home, which is in Sea Girt. McCarrick previously was accused of bringing adult seminarians to the home and sexually harassing them during overnight stays. Those allegations and others involving children led to McCarrick being defrocked last year, when he became the highest-ranking American Catholic official to be punished over accusations of sex abuse.

The suit alleges that the plaintiff was abused by two other clerics as a child — including a former Essex Catholic High School principal who introduced him to McCarrick “under the guise that McCarrick would help Plaintiff pay his school tuition.”

Jeff Anderson, the plaintiff’s attorney, referred to the gatherings at the beach house as a “sex ring” during a video press conference Wednesday. He repeated allegations made in the lawsuit, saying popes have known about allegations against McCarrick for decades but allowed him to rise to become one of the most powerful prelates in the church. He referred to McCarrick’s actions as “50 years of criminal sexual predation” that had been “cloaked in papal power.”

McCarrick was bishop of the Metuchen Archdiocese when abuse alleged in the lawsuit occurred. He later became Archbishop of the Newark Archdiocese before taking over the Washington Archdiocese, where he became a cardinal. Allegations that he sexually harassed seminarians at his beach house remained a secret for years before coming to light in 2018.

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El insólito castigo de la Iglesia a un cura santafesino que abusó de un menor

(ARGENTINA)
Santa Fe 24 horas  [Santa Fe, Argentina]

July 23, 2020

Read original article

En la provincia de Santa Fe existen muy buenos sacerdotes que además de predicar con la palabra lo hacen a través del ejemplo de sus conductas. Pero también hay de los otros, curas acostumbrados a caminar por la delgada línea que separa a lo ético de lo repudiable; y muchos que directamente con su deleznable accionar no hacen más que manchar la imagen del catolicismo santafesino.

Entre estos últimos se encuentra el padre Luis Brizzio, quien siempre mantuvo estrecha confianza con José María Arancedo y cayó en desgracia en el inicio de 2015, cuando estaba a cargo de la Basílica Natividad de la Santísima Virgen de Esperanza y una investigación del periódico Edición Uno de esa ciudad descubrió que detrás del anuncio oficial de la Iglesia que sostenía que este religioso “se tomaba un descanso por un cuadro de estrés”, se escondía una denuncia de abuso sexual a un menor de edad.

De no creer   

Hace pocos días los colegas de UNO Santa Fe se acercaron al Arzobispado para dialogar sobre la implementación de un sistema para presentar informes sobre «sospechas fundadas y/o denuncias sobre casos de abuso sexual contra menores y adultos vulnerables por parte de clérigos y consagrados, y del encubrimiento de los mismos».

En ese marco se desarrolló un interesante ida y vuelta en una sala donde entre otras imágenes sobresalía la del pedófilo Storni… Insólito, pero real.

El doctor Javier González Grenón, vicario episcopal para asuntos jurídicos del Arzobispado y quien desde hace muchos años se encarga de la administración general de ese espacio, oficiando como una especie de jefe de Gabinete, fue quien sin querer dejó en evidencia cómo de manera corporativa protegieron a Brizzio, conducta habitual a esta altura con los curas acusados de abusos sexuales. Compartimos lo más “jugoso” del mano a mano.

– Con respecto a la figura de Brizzio, ¿qué se puede decir? Se intentó hacer un juicio canónico ahí.

– No hubo juicio canónico. Hubo un proceso. Se informó a la Santa Sede…La víctima fue informada que podía ir a la Justicia. Nadie le dijo que no vaya, no quiso ir. Preguntale a la víctima por qué no fue a la Justicia Penal.

– Porque estaba fuera del tiempo que cabe en la Justicia para denunciar.

– Problema de él.

– Lo que le pasó a él fue que le respondieron que no se consideraba abuso porque tenía 16 años al momento del hecho y en lo canónico se considera mayor de edad.

– Te voy a corregir. A él la ley canónica lo favorecía… Se hizo un proceso. Brizzio de alguna manera está sancionado (NDR: hizo comillas en el aire, reconociendo lo que a todas luces asoma como una tomada de pelo para la sociedad). No tiene ningún oficio pastoral. No está a cargo de ninguna parroquia. No está a cargo de ningún trabajo pastoral. Está retirado de la vida pastoral. Lo cual significa una sanción muy importante. Hay una cuestión, pensamos a veces que la única sanción para un sacerdote y todo lo que buscan muchas veces es «échenlo», que no sea más cura, sáquenle el título de cura. Y esa es no solo la única sanción grave para un sacerdote.

– ¿Cuál sería la sanción entonces?

– Sacarlo de toda su vida pastoral y mandarlo a retiro y nada más.

– Brizzio estuvo muchos años viviendo en una parroquia en San Javier.

– Sí, con mínimas funciones pastorales y después se lo terminó retirando.

Lo que no dijo 

Además de las increíbles explicaciones que dio, González Grenón no dijo que él fue quien llevó adelante el proceso interno en la causa Brizzio y se opuso a que el abogado de la víctima acceda al expediente debido a las enormes irregularidades existentes.

Asimismo, a pesar que increíblemente el propio padre Brizzio habría dicho “a modo de defensa” que mantenía un vínculo amoroso con el menor de edad, por eso supuestamente no se trataba de abuso, González Grenón en esta entrevista sugiere ponerle comillas a sus palabras cuando anuncia que “Brizzio de alguna manera está sancionado”.

¿No es reírse de esta víctima menor de edad y de tantas otras? ¿Está bien que, a pesar de haber abusado de un nene de 16 años, como consta en la resolución emitida por la Santa Sede, gracias a la amistad de Brizzio con Arancedo sólo lo hayan sacado de la mirada pública y todavía hoy sea cura? ¿Es esta la Iglesia que queremos y nos merecemos o, por el contrario, estas jugadas oscuras profundizan el desprestigio de varios referentes?

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Former Cardinal McCarrick accused of participating in beach house ‘sex ring,’ lawyers allege

WOODBRIDGE (NJ)
NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

July 22, 2020

By Ted Sherman

He is known only as “Doe 14.”

Raised in a devout Catholic family, he attended St. Francis Xavier in Newark and Essex Catholic in East Orange in the Archdiocese of Newark, participating in church and youth activities.

And by the time he was a teenager, his lawyers say he was being groomed for a role in what they called a “sex ring” involving then-Bishop Theodore McCarrick, the 90-year-old now defrocked and disgraced former cardinal who was cast out of the ministry last year over decades-old sexual abuse allegations.

In a lawsuit, they charged other priests served as “procurers” to bring victims to McCarrick at his beach house on the Jersey Shore, where he “assigned sleeping arrangements, choosing his victims from the boys, seminarians and clerics present at the beach house,” and that they were paired with adult clerics.

The lawsuit does not say if McCarrick asked the other priests to bring boys to the beach house.

In a press conference on Wednesday, attorneys for the now 53-year-old victim serving as the plaintiff in the lawsuit detailed a sordid, predatory scheme of sexual abuse involving McCarrick and other members of the clergy involving at least seven children, including Doe 14, that they said played out over dozens of years.

Jeff Anderson, who represents Doe 14, said priests and others under the control of McCarrick engaged in “open and obvious criminal sexual conduct” that was kept cloaked by the church.

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

Archdiocese of New Orleans will lay off 19 workers in the fall, state notice says

NEW ORLEANS (LA)
Times Picayune and New Orleans Advocate

July 22, 2020

By Ramon Antonio Vargas

he Archdiocese of New Orleans plans to lay off 19 employees in the fall, a move it says is necessary to deal with financial strains caused by the coronavirus pandemic and its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing earlier this year.

Employees are set to lose their jobs on Sept. 15, according to a notice filed with the Louisiana Workforce Commission, though an archdiocesan spokeswoman said Tuesday some layoffs won’t take effect until October.

Affected workers range from clerical staff to an executive director, and they include some employees who were recently furloughed because of the economic downturn.

In its most recent financial report, the archdiocese reported a staff of 205. That means the layoffs represent just under 10% of the current workforce.

While Archbishop Gregory Aymond oversees Catholic churches and schools in an eight-parish region, the archdiocese itself is chiefly an administrative office that supports the leaders of those institutions while also running a number of different programs and ministries.

On May 1, the archdiocese filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protections, claiming its finances had been severely affected by the pandemic and the cost of litigating dozens of clergy sex abuse lawsuits.

At least nine Catholic schools received $5.5 million in loans from the Paycheck Protection Program to help pay salaries and other expenses on their campuses. Catholic Charities, which is affiliated with the archdiocese but incorporated separately, received between $2 million and $5 million more.

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Explosive: Cdl. Parolin Allegedly Covered Up for Vatican Abuser

FERNDALE (MI)
Church Militant

July 20, 2020

By Marco Tosatti

German priest was protected by the now-secretary of state

Dear friends and enemies of Stilum Curiae,

A criminal trial is underway in Germany centered on Msgr. Christoph Kühn, who oversaw the German desk in the Secretariat of State from 2005–2013.

In the past few days, the German daily Bild published an article, which we offer you excerpts of here in translation with some brief explicative notes in italics.

It is the latest example of how the highest levels of the Church — in spite of declarations, vademecums, exhortations and various documents — tolerate and close their eyes and ears when sexual abuse and harassment — specifically homosexual — takes place towards priests and seminarians.

The affair is centered on a German prelate who served in the Vatican during the pontificate of Pope Benedict. It is said that the man made unwanted sexual advances against at least two priests, which he denies.

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.

A man sues a rabbi for sexual abuse — and explains why others won’t do the same

NEW YORK (NY)
Forward

July 22, 2020

By Avital Chizhik-Goldschmidt

The first time Joel Engelman sued the rabbi he accused of abusing him was in 2008. He did so, despite having missed the deadline for such lawsuits, in order to name the man — Abraham Reichman — and hopefully protect other children from him.

Now he’s suing again, but his reasons are slightly different: That deadline has been extended, through the Child Victims Act, and he wants to set an example for other child victims of sexual abuse, especially in the Orthodox community.

“I’m hoping others come forward as well,” said Engelman, 35, in an interview. “I see this as an opportunity for survivors of abuse, that they can make a difference in their own lives and in protecting children.”.

Now a graduate student and a married father of two living in Toledo, Ohio, Engelman alleges that Reichman, a former principal at United Talmudical Academy in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, sexually assaulted him in 1993 over the course of two months, when he was eight years old. Engelman is also suing the school, for negligence, as well as community leader and lobbyist Rabbi David Niederman and the United Jewish Organizations of Williamsburg for “fraudulent inducement” — according to Engelman, they “tricked and pressured” him into delaying his lawsuit in the Kings County civil court, until it was too late, and the statute of limitations had expired.

A spokesperson for Niederman denied the allegations. “There is not a scintilla of truth in any of the allegations,” the spokesperson wrote in an email. “In fact, it is a shame that Rabbi Niederman and UJO are even a party here. But, facts are facts and therefore we look forward to the opportunity to tell the real story (or lack thereof) in a court of law.”

Upon learning about the alleged abuse of their son, Engelman’s parents tried to first handle it inside the community — by petitioning leadership in the Satmar community to remove Reichman from his position. In a letter written at the time to Reichman, in Yiddish, his parents wrote: “We wish to let you know that since our son, Yoel Nechemia is a victim of you, you molested him as a child…and because we also know of other children who were victimized (molested) by you at least from 1993 until now — therefore you are a danger to children. We request from you to resign your position as teacher… We do not seek revenge! We seek to remove you from the vicinity of children.”

Between Engelman’s first and second lawsuits, New York State passed the Child Victims Act, which offers a window of time for survivors to sue abusers, even if the statute of limitations has expired. About 1,700 such suits have been filed since the act passed last January, after a long battle with both Catholic and Orthodox Jewish organizations.

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July 22, 2020

Vatican indicates support to exhume babies at Irish home

VATICAN CITY
Associated Press

July 17, 2020

By Nicole Winfield

The Vatican has indicated its support for a campaign to provide a proper Christian burial for hundreds of babies and toddlers by first exhuming their bodies from the grounds of a Catholic-run Irish home for unwed mothers.

The Vatican’s ambassador to Ireland, Archbishop Jude Thaddeus Okolo, said in a July 15 letter to the amateur Irish historian behind the campaign that he shared the views of the archbishop of Tuam, Ireland, Michael Neary.

Neary has said it was a “priority” for him to re-inter the babies’ bodies in consecrated ground. If the Irish government refuses to authorize the exhumations, Neary promised to bless the ground where they were originally buried.

Historian Catherine Corless has been campaigning since 2014 to give the babies a dignified burial after she tracked down the death certificates for nearly 800 children who died at the home in the town of Tuam, north of Galway, but couldn’t find corresponding burial records.

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Vatican backs campaign for reburial of Tuam babies’ remains

DUBLIN (IRELAND)
Irish Times

July 18, 2020

By Brian Hutton

[Includes image of papal ambassador’s letter.]

Campaigners say move puts pressure on State to act after commission report delayed

Campaigners for the reburial of remains of babies at the former Tuam mother and baby home say Vatican backing for their plight should heap pressure on the Government to act.

Historian Catherine Corless, who gathered death certificates for 796 infants linked to the home in Co Galway, has been told by the Papal Nuncio to Ireland that he shares Archbishop of Tuam Michael Neary’s view that there should be a “dignified re-interment” of the remains in consecrated ground.

Ms Corless wrote to Archbishop Jude Thaddeus Okolo, the Pope’s ambassador to Ireland, earlier this week and received a response two days later.

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Name of abusive priest removed from St. Bonaventure University building

BUFFALO (NY)
WKBW

July 21, 2020

By: Anthony Reyes

St. Bonaventure NY – Bonaventure University announced it has removed the name from the university’s administration building after discovering it was named after a priest who was credibly accused of child sexual abuse.

Hopkins Hall, which houses university administrators and financial aid staff, was built in 1964 and named after Msgr. James F. Hopkins, a priest in Pennsylvania who died in 1957.

This spring, Sean Mickey, a reporter for The Bona Venture student newspaper, discovered last year’s Pennsylvania grand jury report detailed an allegation that Hopkins abused a 13-year-old girl in 1945.

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Catholic leaders in Nashville face scrutiny over handling of sexual assault allegation against former Aquinas College priest

NASHVILLE (TN)
Tennessean

July 21, 2020

By Holly Meyer

https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/religion/2020/07/21/aquinas-college-sexual-assault-accusation-nashville-catholic-diocese/5471835002/

A woman has accused the former chaplain of Aquinas College of sexually assaulting her nearly three years ago while she was a student at the Nashville school.

Catholic leaders in Tennessee are now facing scrutiny for how they handled her allegation against the Rev. Kevin McGoldrick, the 46-year-old priest from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia who ministered in Nashville for almost six years.

Last week, the London-based Catholic Herald published an extensive report that detailed the woman’s accusations. It also raised questions about why the Dominican Sisters of the Congregation of St. Cecilia and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Nashville did not do more when the woman first came forward about the August 2017 attack.

Eventually, the woman took her allegation to the Philadelphia archdiocese, which found it to be credible, and she filed a report with Nashville police.

The woman, identified by a pseudonym in the publication’s report, told the Catholic Herald she reached out to the Nashville diocese in March 2019 and gave the victim assistance coordinator a full account of what McGoldrick did to her.

But Catholic leaders in Tennessee say they initially were not given all the details now available about the allegation against the priest.

Susan Vance, a leader with the Tennessee chapter of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, criticized them for their inaction.

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Predatory-priest victim, Catholic writer can’t exit church they mistrust

VIRGINIA BEACH (VA)
Patheos / Godzooks: The Faith in Facts Blog

July 21, 2020

By Rick Snedeker

“Love drew Francis back to Mass on Christmas last year,” wrote New York Times opinion writer Elizabeth Bruenig in an essay published this week — “‘Pray for Your Poor Uncle,’ a Predatory Priest Told His Victims.”

“Frances” is a pseudonym. Bruenig used it in her article to protect the identity of a “tall, broad-shouldered man nearing 60” who related to her his deeply troubling youthful abuse by an infamous Catholic cardinal (then a priest), the now-defrocked pedophile and serial sexual abuser of young men, Theodore McCarrick. Among the Vatican charges that caused McCarrick to be “laicized” in February, according to a Washington Post article, were “soliciting sex during confession and committing ‘sins’ with minors and adults ‘with the aggravating factor of the abuse of power.’”

By the end of her moving essay, it is clear that Bruenig and Francis have one common compulsion due to their shared Catholicism, a tenacious need to not leave the church, despite mounting, worsening and irrefutable evidence in recent decades of the institution’s profound and systemic depravities.

This is what I assume most atheists, including myself, find so disquieting about the unending waves of sexual abuse and assault confirmations against priests and Protestant pastors that have soaked the world this new millennia. That — still — many if not most of the faithful’s professed love of “God” leaves them curiously unable to break free of once trusted and honored men of the cloth, now revealed as predatory perverts, and the sacred religious institutions they represent, now revealed as appallingly complicit.

In fact, Francis didn’t even recognize it was abuse when it was happening. That’s how such ecclesiastical abuse works. The faiths and their abusers are conferred with such sanctified authority, nearly absolute, no one could imagine either being involved in such bald-faced mendacity. Which is to say, even if some behavior seemed wrong, the victim must be mistaken.

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Indian Bishops to implement CDF guidelines on abuse

VATICAN CITY
Vatican News

July 21, 2020

Indian bishops say they are ready to implement the guidelines of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on sexual abuse in the Church

Bishops in India are ready to implement the instructions contained in the new Vademecum of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on procedures to be followed in cases of sexual abuse of minors committed by members of the clergy.

Implementation

Archbishop Felix Anthony Machado, secretary-general of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) told the UCA News agency, “We will implement the guidelines in accordance with our civil laws.”

“The Vatican has always been concerned about all forms of abuses including the [sexual abuse of children],” he said, adding that “The July 16 set of guidelines is nothing entirely new but is a follow-up of what it has already been doing.”

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Lawsuits claim priest in ‘The Exorcist,’ three others sexually abused McQuaid students

ROCHESTER (NY)
Democrat & Chronicle

July 21, 2020

By Steve Orr

Three priests and a lay teacher who taught at McQuaid Jesuit High School decades ago have been accused of sexually abusing students there in newly filed lawsuits.

In a suit filed Tuesday morning, a one-time star teacher at the Brighton school, the Rev. William O’Malley, was accused of sexually abusing a student there in 1975 or 1976.

O’Malley, who left McQuaid in 1986, was well-known for his teaching and writing and for his role as a Jesuit priest in the supernatural hit film “The Exorcist.”

It is the second such suit against O’Malley. The first, filed 11 months ago, accused him of sexually abusing a student at the all-boys school in 1985 and 1986.

A separate lawsuit filed Monday laid new accusations against another former teacher at McQuaid — John Tobin, who has been the subject of high-profile claims of sexual abuse by a McQuaid graduate and the focus of other complaints to police.

The new lawsuit involves a different alleged victim who has not come forward until now, according to a lawyer whose firm brought the case.

The suit says Tobin, who died in 2000, sexually abused the unnamed student at the Brighton high school in 1978 and 1979.

That same lawsuit also accuses the Rev. Harry Untereiner of sexually abusing the student in 1980. Untereiner, who was at McQuaid for a brief period ending in 1980, had not been publicly accused of sexual abuse before now.

*
One of his other students, the writer Tom Chiarella, published a lengthy article in Esquire magazine in 2003 about Tobin and his experiences at McQuaid, and has spoken several times to the Democrat and Chronicle about his time there.

Another lawsuit that was filed Monday accuses the Rev. James Curry, who taught history and theology at McQuaid in the 1970s and ‘80s, of sexually abusing a student there between 1974 and 1977. Curry also had not been publicly accused of sexual abuse previously. He died last year.

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‘Unprecedented’ decision to treble compensation paid to Birmingham abuse victims

LONDON (ENGLAND)
The Tablet

July 21, 2020

By Catherine Pepinster

According to one expert, it is the first time in 25 years that a further offer of financial compensation has been made to victims.

The Archdiocese of Birmingham has made an unprecedented decision to triple the compensation paid to two survivors of child sexual abuse by two of its priests.

Despite making previous full and final settlements, it made the increased offer a year after it was severely criticised by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) for its handling of cases. It agreed it needed to rectify further what happened to two particular victims.

One of the victims, A343, was abused by Fr John Tolkien, son of the author of the Lord of the Rings, even though the diocese knew that he had assaulted other children.

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Catholic newspaper questions how Nashville Diocese handled sex abuse complaint

NASHVILLE (TN)
WTVF 5

July 21, 2020

By Ben Hall

The Catholic Diocese of Nashville is defending how it handled a sexual abuse allegation against a priest who served as chaplain on the Dominican Campus in Nashville.

An adult female student at Aquinas College claims the priest sexually assaulted her in 2017.

On Friday, a Catholic newspaper questioned why the Nashville Diocese did not open a formal investigation after the victim came forward.

The article in the London-based Catholic Herald is titled “Adult Abuse Case: Accusations of Grave Mishandling Across Church Jurisdictions.”

It focused on sexual abuse allegations against Father Kevin McGoldrick, who served as a priest on the Dominican Campus in Nashville from August of 2013 until June of 2019.

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Paedophile priest Vincent Ryan released on parole from Long Bay Prison

SYDNEY (NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA)
Australian Broadcasting Corporation News

July 21, 2020

By Mark Reddie

Notorious paedophile priest Vince Ryan has walked free on parole from a Sydney jail having served less than half of his sentence behind bars for the historic sexual abuse of two altar boys in the NSW Hunter region.

The Catholic priest, who worked in the Newcastle-Maitland diocese, served 14 months of a three-year sentence for the crimes committed against two boys at the end of last century.

The 82-year-old was picked up by a driver in a white Toyota Corolla and driven out of the gates at Long Bay Jail at 6:00am, before being taken to his accommodation at an undisclosed location in Sydney.

A spokesperson for Newcastle Bishop Bill Wright insisted the Catholic Church would not be financially supporting Ryan even though there was no attempt to strip him of his priesthood.

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The School Around the Corner Will Not Reopen

NEW YORK (NY)
Irish America

July 17, 2020

By Turlough McConnell

Before COVID-19, New York’s Catholic schools were braced with challenges. Now, the pandemic has inflicted devastating financial damage on the region’s parochial schools.

The situation is stark. Registration for the fall has dropped, as widespread unemployment and health concerns have left more families unable to pay tuition. Parish contributions that help to underwrite the schools have fallen precipitously in the months of cancelled public masses and fundraising for scholarships.

As a result, the greater Archdiocese of New York has announced that 20 schools will close permanently and three will merge. “Children are always the most innocent victims of any crisis, and this COVID-19 pandemic is no exception,” said Timothy Cardinal Dolan Archbishop of New York. “Too many have lost parents and grandparents to this insidious virus, and now thousands will not see their beloved school again.”

The closure of Catholic schools is an ongoing national trend. According to the National Catholic Education Association, as many as 2,000 Catholic schools in the U.S. were shut down or consolidated in recent years. As the largest system, with more than 62,000 students from pre-K through 12th grade in nine counties and boroughs, New York has experienced waves of closure.

Other factors contribute to the decline of parochial schools. With over 17,000 parishes that serve a population of roughly 100 million, the Catholic Church is the largest single religious institution in the United States. About 24% of Americans identify as Catholic. Of that number, one-third is Hispanic; African-American Catholics account for about three percent. Despite its size and influence, the Church has faced external threats. For decades there has been a decline in membership, a shortage of priests, and continuing revelations of sexually abused minors that (in many cases) were covered up.

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‘Sue us,’ says Philippine bishop after Duterte criticizes pastoral letter

WASHINGTON (DC)
Catholic News Service via National Catholic Reporter

July 21, 2020

Manla, Philippines – Bishop Broderick Pabillo, apostolic administrator of Manila, defended a recent pastoral letter issued by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines criticizing the Philippines’ newly passed anti-terrorism law.

Church and human rights groups oppose the law due to what they say is its vague and ambiguous provisions, reported ucanews.com.

But on July 20, President Rodrigo Duterte’s legal counsel, Salvador Panelo, said the letter “appears to have violated” the Philippine constitution with regard to separation of church and state. Panelo also accused the Philippine bishops’ conference of pressuring the Supreme Court in “calling for prayers” and appealing to the conscience of the court’s members.

Pabillo, however, has said that being bishops or clergymen did not divest them of their civil and political rights to free speech, because they are still citizens of the state.

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July 21, 2020

Northeast Ohio priest indicted on charges of child pornography, child exploitation and juvenile sex trafficking

HILLSBORO (OH)
U.S. Attorney of Northern Ohio via Highland County Press

July 20, 2020

https://highlandcountypress.com/Content/In-The-News/Headlines/Article/Northeast-Ohio-priest-indicted-on-charges-of-child-pornography-child-exploitation-and-juvenile-sex-trafficking/2/73/58723

Justin Herdman, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, announced that a federal grand jury sitting in Cleveland, Ohio has returned an eight-count indictment against Robert D. McWilliams, 40, of Strongsville.

The defendant is charged with two counts of sex trafficking of a minor, three counts of sexual exploitation of children, one count of transportation of child pornography, one count of receipt and distribution of visual depictions of real minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct and one count of possession of child pornography.

“Today’s indictment reflect the serious and elaborate nature of the acts allegedly taken by the defendant to traffic and exploit local area children,” U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman said. “The alleged acts committed in this case are a disturbing and strong reminder for parents to be vigilant about who their children talk to and what they do online.”

“Allegations of child exploitation against a trusted member of the religious community has long-term reverberations beyond just the criminal acts of the accused,” said Vance Callender, special agent in charge of HSI Detroit. “Identifying people who violate their positions of public trust will always be a priority for those in HSI that investigate child exploitation.”

According to court documents, from 2017-19, McWilliams engaged in sexually explicit conduct and behavior involving minors. McWilliams pretended to be a female on social media applications, which he used to make contact with minor male victims. Allegedly, certain of McWilliams’s victims were young boys McWilliams knew because he served as a priest in parishes with which these children and their families were affiliated.

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Survivor Speaks About Syracuse Catholic Diocese Filing for Bankruptcy

SYRACUSE (NY)
Spectrum News

July 20, 2020

By Katelynn Ulrich

Amy, a sexual abuse survivor, was 11 years old when she was touched inappropriately by a male figure in her church.

“Somebody had brought this up to his wife who was the other person running the meetings and she kind of blew it off like she didn’t want to know,” said Amy. “Several times I was told … no one would believe [my story] anyway,” said Amy.

Amy is not her real name but she wishes to stay anonymous for her protection because even to this day she runs into her abuser.

“It was a life of hell and I was scared. He still has power over me because when I see him I freeze up like a child,” said Amy.

The man ran a group Amy attended. Eventually, he started following her into the bathroom where he touched her inappropriately and forced her to perform oral sex.

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CT diocese resolves 1984 abuse claims against retired St. John the Divine dean

NEW YORK (NY)
Episcopal News Service

July 20, 2020

By Egan Millard

Connecticut diocese resolves case of abuse claims from 1984 against retired St. John the Divine dean

The Very Rev. James Kowalski, who served as the dean of New York’s Cathedral of St. John the Divine from 2002 to 2017, has reached an agreement with the Episcopal Church in Connecticut to end a clergy misconduct case involving sexual abuse allegations from 1984.

Kowalski was accused of engaging in “acts of sexual abuse and sexual exploitation” with a college freshman who had previously been a parishioner at a church he served in Newtown, Connecticut; the diocese did not specify her age except to say she was under 21 at the time, meaning there is no statute of limitations for making the allegation under the church’s Title IV disciplinary process. Kowalski, now 68 and retired, would have been 33 at the time.

“The claims that have been put forth, about an incident alleged to have happened more than 30 years ago, are deeply upsetting to me and my family,” Kowalski wrote in an email to Episcopal News Service. “Although there are aspects of [the] accord that I do not agree with, I believe it is in the best interest of me, my family and the church.”

The accord, announced on July 17, resolves the Title IV case against Kowalski. Kowalski agreed to the accord after the diocese decided that the case would proceed to a hearing panel, which is similar to a trial court. The accord means the case is settled and will not go to a hearing panel.

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Editorial: Pope issues guidance to tackle sexual abuse

FAIRMONT (MN)
Fairmont Sentinel

July 21, 2020

By Gary Andersen and Lee Smith

Pope Francis is telling Roman Catholic leaders they must do what most people — including the overwhelming majority of the church’s faithful — would do without being told: report cases of sexual abuse of children and vulnerable adults to the police.

A long awaited manual of guidance from the Vatican, directed toward Catholic bishops, has been released. It accomplishes two important things.

First, the directive makes no bones about it: Bishops must report sexual abuse to the authorities, whether they are required by law to do so or not.

Here in the United States, virtually every jurisdiction has statutes requiring such transparency and accountability. That is not so everywhere in the world, however. The pope’s guidance makes it clear the church views sexual abuse as a crime requiring law enforcement action.

No less important is the manual’s second effect: It affirms the pope’s dedication to ridding the church of predators shielded by Catholic hierarchy. If anything, the fact that for so long church officials actively protected predators — insisting they could rehabilitate them — is as outrageous as the offenders’ own actions.

It should not have taken so long for the Vatican to issue the new guidance, which replaces a previous rule that mandated reporting to the authorities only where the law required it. Now that the new rule is out, however, it makes a more powerful statement — in effect, that the church demands accountability even when the law might allow it to be escaped.

Good. Now, Pope Francis should take the next step, which is to punish Catholic bishops who do not comply with the guidance severely.

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July 20, 2020

Recién de adultos pudieron denunciar a un cura por abuso, pero para la Justicia el delito prescribió

LA PLATA (ARGENTINA)
Clarín [Buenos Aires, Argentina]

July 20, 2020

By MARIANA IGLESIAS

Read original article

Ricardo, Julieta y Valeria acusaron al sacerdote Héctor Ricardo Giménez por las agresiones sexuales que sufrieron hace más de 40 años. “Uno denuncia cuando puede”, dice él, que borró los recuerdos por décadas.

Como cualquier domingo, ese 3 de junio de 2018 Ricardo fue a casa de su madre a buscarla para compartir el día en familia. Ella siempre dejaba sobre el hogar algunas fotos viejas. Había cuatro: sus primas en fiestas familiares, su madre coloreada cual muñeca de porcelana, la perra Liz y su primera comunión. Vio al monseñor bendiciéndolo con su mano en la cabeza, y a su abuelo, sastre, que era el padrino, y le había confeccionado el traje azul a medida para la ceremonia. Tomó su celular y sacó foto a aquella foto. 

El sábado siguiente Ricardo fue de paseo con su esposa y sus cuatro hijos a Luján. Entraron a la Basílica. Hacía mucho tiempo que no entraba a una iglesia. Les habló a sus hijos de las siete veces que había peregrinado a Luján junto al grupo de seminaristas de la iglesia Santa Clara y sus compañeros del colegio.  

El lunes 25 Ricardo vió un tuit que linkeaba a una nota periodística sobre 62 curas denunciados por abuso sexual en la Argentina. Entre ellos, el padre Héctor Ricardo Giménez. Instintivamente buscó la foto en el celular, Ahí estaba Giménez, medio de costado. Aquella foto la había visto muchas veces, pero era la primera vez que veía a Giménez. El mundo se abrió bajo sus pies. Recordó.  

-¿Dijiste alguna mala palabra?- preguntó serio el cura. 

-Mmm… sí… boludo…- balbuceó Ricardito.

-Eso es una enfermedad… 

El cura Giménez lo apretó contra su cuerpo y le tocó los genitales. Ricardito tenía 8 años, se confesaba por primera vez. Se preparaba para la comunión. Giménez siguió haciendo lo mismo en cada confesión. Metía la mano bajo los pantalones y lo tocaba largo rato. 

Después de la comunión lo nombró monaguillo. Para la familia de Ricardito fue todo un orgullo. Los abusos aumentaron: el cura le hacía beber el vino mistela que usaba en los oficios, le daba ostias no consagradas, le decía que debía confesarse y lo abusaba. Ricardito quedaba paralizado, luego asistía en la misa como un autómata y salía corriendo a su casa ni bien terminaba. Una vez, la mezcla del vino, el humo del incienso y la ansiedad por irse le provocaron un desmayo. La misa se suspendió. 

De chico Ricardito tenía un sueño recurrente: un monstruo corpulento de ojos saltones lo miraba dormir. Aterrorizado, se tapaba con la manta para no verlo, porque además sabía que no había nadie más en la casa. Sus padres nunca estaban cuando aparecía el monstruo.

Tras leer la nota periodística en la que aparecía Giménez, Ricardo se conectó con Julieta Añazco, una integrante de la Red de Sobrevivientes de Abuso Eclesiástico, quien le contó que ella también había sido abusada por Giménez. Y que estaba en contacto con otras 50 personas que habían sido abusadas por el cura.

Cuando Julieta me confirma que el segundo cura de la foto era el Padre Ricardo, inmediatamente su rostro de ojos grandes, y anteojos de cuerpo de plástico negro y grueso ocupó el lugar de la cara del monstruo que me acechaba, la pesadilla se tornó real y pude reconectar emocionalmente con el niño que fui, emergió con fuerza la memoria enterrada y el impacto que recibí fue muy grande“, escribió Ricardo. Ahora Ricardo escribe, le hace bien. 

“Ver la foto, entrar a una Iglesia, hablar de las peregrinaciones a Luján me removieron 44 años. Cuando Julieta me confirmó quién era Giménez todo volvió a mi cabeza. Llevaba 44 años reprimido. El dolor en el cuerpo fue literal. Tuve que desenterrarme, salir de la tierra. Y cuando recordé todo fui a denunciarlo”, cuenta Ricardo a Clarín. Habla de “tormentos”. 

Realizó la denuncia en la Cámara Criminal y Correccional 49 de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires, donde le respondieron que el delito había prescripto. Apeló. Casación contestó lo mismo: prescripto. Presentó un recurso de queja en Casación. Se lo rechazaron. 

“No puede ser que un delito así prescriba. Uno olvida para protegerse. Uno denuncia cuando puede. Es imposible que este delito tenga un límite de años. El dolor sana cuando tiene condena el que lo causó. El abuso no prescribe hasta que obtenés Justicia“, enfatiza Ricardo. 

El cura Héctor Ricardo Giménez tiene 84 años y está en un asilo de ancianos. Ese fue el castigo que le impuso el Arzobispado de La Plata. Tampoco puede dar misa. Pero sale a hacer las compras, va a la plaza, y tiene muy cerca a montones de niños y niñas que visitan a los abuelos del Hogar San Marín. 

Julieta Añazco fue abusada por el cura Héctor Giménez en los campamentos de verano a los que iba cuando tenía 10, 11 y 12 años. Pudo denunciarlo 30 años después, cuando lo vio dando misa y todo volvió a su memoria. Era 2013. En la Fiscalía N° 6 de La Plata descubrió que Giménez tenía denuncias desde 1960 y dos causas judiciales. La primera, de 1985, hecha por la madre de unas niñas que testificaron los abusos del cura. El juez lo absolvió porque consideró que “los tocamientos” eran “caricias”. La segunda causa era de 1996, por abuso a cinco niños. La Justicia lo condenó a ocho años, pero la Cámara de Apelaciones de La Plata lo excarceló por una caución juratoria presentada por la Iglesia, asegurando que se haría cargo de que Giménez no daría misa ni estaría cerca de niños durante la condena. Alegaron “dignidad eclesiástica”. Giménez nunca pisó una cárcel. 

Ahora Julieta forma parte de la “Campaña Contra la Prescripción de los Delitos de Violencia Sexual”, que busca equipararlos con la tortura. Son muchas personas abusadas, no sólo por curas, también por familiares. Valeria Regner también integra la campaña y también fue abusada por el cura Giménez. 

Lo llama “depredador”. A ella la abusó entre sus 7 y sus 9 años. Durante el año, cada vez que se confesaba en la Iglesia Madre de la Divina Gracia de Gonnet, en calle 23, entre 485 y 487. En el verano, en los campamentos que organizaba el cura en el campo de una gente amiga de Bavio. 

Yo no quería confesarme porque él me sentaba a upa, me apretaba fuerte, me tocaba toda… -recuerda Valeria, 47 años, niñera-. En los campamentos los abusos eran a la hora de bañarnos. Teníamos que hacerlo todos juntos, en grupo, todos desnudos, y él nos enjabonaba“. 

Después de un verano, algunos padres alertaron de esta situación y Giménez fue trasladado de Iglesia. “Yo dejé los abusos de lado hasta que los volví a ver, a entender, en 2013, hablando con Julieta. Descubrimos que Giménez venía siendo trasladado de un lado al otro desde los años 60. Sólo en mi círculo cercano al menos 20 personas fueron abusadas por él“.

Valeria escondió los recuerdos mientras su cuerpo la empujaba a conductas autodestructivas: excesos de comida, drogas, alcohol y parejas tóxicas. En 2013, cuando los abusos se convirtieron en palabras, hizo la denuncia ante la Justicia. Respuesta: prescripción

“Seguimos luchando mientras esperamos que la Justicia cambie y estos casos no prescriban. Al menos tuvimos una alegría este año. La Policía fue al asilo de ancianos a tomar muestras de sangre y huellas dactilares de Giménez, y ahorafigura en el Registro de Delincuentes Sexuales. Lloramos de la emoción. Al menos fue un reconocimiento a nuestras denuncias”, dice Valeria.  

Días atrás, la diputada Lorena Matzen presentó un proyecto de ley para que los abusos sexuales contra niños, niñas y adolescentes menores de edad sean considerados delitos de lesa humanidad y no prescriban nunca

En 2011 se sancionó la “ley Piazza” (por Roberto Piazza, abusado de niño), que permitió que la prescripción se tomara a partir de los 18 años de la víctima. En 2015 se sancionó la ley 27.206 llamada “Respeto a los tiempos de las víctimas”, de la senadora Sigrid Kunath. La ley establecía que la prescripción corriera desde que la víctima pudiera hablar tuviera la edad que tuviera. Pero la decisión final de la prescripción queda en la Justicia. Lo que busca el proyecto de Matzen es que sea una ley que no se preste a diversas interpretaciones: los delitos sexuales contra menores no prescriben nunca. 

En la presentación del proyecto en el Congreso, Ricardo planteó unir fuerzas y armar la “Red Federal en Contra del Abuso Sexual en la Infancia”. Ya son más de veinte grupos y asociaciones, y se están acercando más. Entre todas representan a cientos de víctimas y sobrevivientes de abuso sexual, no sólo eclesiástico. La mayoría ocurren en el propio hogar: siete de cada diez abusos son de un familiar. 

Opinión: “Es necesario que se respete el derecho al tiempo”

“¿Por qué no lo dijo antes?”, “Hablan ahora porque quieren perjudicar a la institución”, “¿No tenía entonces una amiga en quien confiar?”, “¿Qué está buscando diciéndolo ahora?”, “Me suena algo raro que recién ahora lo cuente ¡luego de 20 años!”. Son expresiones de periodistas al conocer el relato de mujeres sobre la agresión sexual sufrida en otros momentos de sus vidas, o de jóvenes abusados cuando niños en instituciones religiosas.

Poderosas organizaciones niegan que el lugar más peligroso para niños y niñas es su propio hogar o también para los menores las instituciones que tienen total control sobre sus cuerpos.

Las agresiones sexuales producen un profundo impacto psico-biológico que obliga al psiquismo a reprimir recuerdos para mantener la estabilidad psíquica con la menores consecuencias en el cotidiano vivir. Algunas personas recuerdan imágenes de la agresión y otras acceden a recuerdos por un estímulo, por ejemplo, escuchar una música o percibir un olor.

Re-encontrarse con la experiencia traumática no es nada fácil pues obliga a ver el contexto del “allá y entonces”, aceptar los abandonos afectivos, la soledad de esos momentos, la falta de palabras para explicar lo que sucedía y la imposibilidades de compartir, ya que es frecuente que los adultos o cuidadores no quieran escuchar. Están presentes las amenazas del agresor, la culpa por la imposibilidad de detener la acción depredadora, la profunda vergüenza y la dificultad para entender lo sucedido. Re-encontrarse con el trauma muchas veces es además enfrentar poderosas organizaciones religiosas.

Quienes fueron agredidos sexualmente sólo hablan cuando están en condiciones de hacerlo y no por la imposición de la ley o del funcionario judicial.

El sufrimiento personal no puede ser regulado desde fuera por un almanaque. Es necesario que se respete el derecho al tiempo, el que se puede tomar la persona que fue víctima. Tiempo para poder hablar, para poder reparar y sanar.

Enrique Stola Médico Psiquiatra

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Missouri diocese: 3 new credible abuse cases against priest

SPRINGFIELD (MO)
Associated Press

July 20, 2020

The Springfield-Cape Girardeau Catholic Diocese has reported receiving three new allegations of sexual misconduct involving a retired priest, and that a review has found the allegations to be credible.

The Rev. Gary Carr, who is now retired, was initially named in April when the diocese released a report outlining another credible report of abuse made against him by a man who said he was 10 to 13 years old when he was abused. The new report involves men who say they were children when Carr abused them in the 1980s and early 1990s, television station KYTV reported Monday.

Church officials said the new allegations have been forwarded to the Butler County prosecuting attorney. No criminal charges have been brought against Carr.

Carr, 65, was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau in 1982. He was placed on administrative leave and restricted in his ministry in 2008, and that action was affirmed in 2016. He is now retired and living in St. Louis. A telephone listing for Carr could not be found Monday.

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This 1800s Law Helps Shape Criminal Justice in Indian Country: And that’s a problem—especially for Native American women, especially in rape cases

NEW YORK (NY)
New York Times

July 19, 2020

By David Heska Wanbli Weiden

There was something of a scramble, after the Supreme Court ruled in McGirt v. Oklahoma that much of Eastern Oklahoma was now officially Indian Country.

Under the doctrine of tribal sovereignty, the state of Oklahoma could no longer prosecute serious felony cases involving Native Americans on reservation land. But there was little clarity about other critical jurisdictional questions.

Shortly after the McGirt decision was handed down, the Oklahoma attorney general and five Native nations in Oklahoma agreed that the state would continue to prosecute crimes committed by non-Native Americans on reservation lands. Tribal authorities would possess joint jurisdiction over Native offenders for most crimes.

For the most serious offenses, the federal authorities would prevail, prosecuting Native citizens for serious felonies under the federal Major Crimes Act. But relying on this law, enacted in 1885, could create its own problems, especially for Native American women. And especially in rape cases.

The Major Crimes Act gives the federal government exclusive criminal jurisdiction — investigation, trial and corrections — for major felony crimes that occur on Native American reservations. Congress passed the law after the murder of a well-known Native leader from my own nation, the Rosebud Sioux Tribe. In that case, Chief Spotted Tail was assassinated by one of his own people, Crow Dog, for reasons that are not clear.

Shortly after the murder, tribal elders met and decided upon the restitution — money, goods and horses — that Crow Dog’s family would pay to Spotted Tail’s people. Traditional Lakota law relied heavily upon the principle of restorative justice, and the arrangement satisfied both families. But the Native principle of justice and reparations offended many American lawmakers, who held radically different views on punishment and retribution, and viewed the penalty as being too lenient. So Crow Dog was arrested by state police, charged with murder in federal court and sentenced to death by hanging.

But Crow Dog’s lawyer petitioned the United States Supreme Court, which ruled that the federal government had no right to intervene in an Indian nation’s criminal affairs absent an act of Congress.

Crow Dog was freed. But Congress passed the Major Crimes Act, thus ensuring American Indians would never again have the authority to decide the outcome of any serious felony case.

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Pastor Aeternus’ Real Gem — It’s Not Papal Infallibility

IRONDALE (AL)
National Catholic Register

July 18, 2020

By Fr. Raymond J. de Souza

Although the 150-year-old document affirmed the definition of papal infallibility, that does not touch the daily life of the Church in the same way as does the affirmation of the universal jurisdiction of the pope.

One of the most routine things the Holy Father does is appoint bishops. Almost every day there are a few appointments, and the fact that he is doing so is wholly unremarkable. It wasn’t always that way, and it is that way because of what the First Vatican Council did 150 years ago.

On July 18, 1870, the Council approved Pastor Aeternus ,its dogmatic constitution on the Church. It is most well known for the definition of papal infallibility, that the pope cannot err when teaching ex cathedra (authoritatively) on matters of faith and morals.

Important as that affirmation was, it does not touch the daily life of the Church in the same way as the other teaching of Pastor Aeternus, namely the universal jurisdiction of the Roman pontiff.

The Council’s language was technical, but sweeping: “Wherefore we teach and declare that, by divine ordinance, the Roman Church possesses a pre-eminence of ordinary power over every other Church, and that this jurisdictional power of the Roman Pontiff is both episcopal and immediate. Both clergy and faithful, of whatever rite and dignity, both singly and collectively, are bound to submit to this power by the duty of hierarchical subordination and true obedience, and this not only in matters concerning faith and morals, but also in those which regard the discipline and government of the Church throughout the world.”

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Vatican in legal fight over luxury flats

LONDON (ENGLAND)
The Times

July 20 2020

By Sean O’Neill, Chief Reporter

The secretive world of Vatican finances will be laid bare in a legal dispute examining the alleged use of charitable donations from churchgoers around the world to buy prime London property.

Two claims have been lodged at the High Court against the Vatican over the purchase of 60 Sloane Avenue, a Chelsea block earmarked for development into luxury apartments.

The cases pit the Pope and the Holy See against Raffaele Mincione, a millionaire financier who is the former fiancé of the model Heather Mills, the ex-wife of Sir Paul McCartney.

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Raffaele Mincione takes Vatican to High Court

LONDON (ENGLAND)
Daily Mail

July 20, 2020

By Rory Tingle

Heather Mills’s ex-fiance takes Vatican to High Court over £450m deal that saw Catholic church use worshippers’ charitable donations to buy prime London property

Heather Mills’ former fiance has taken the Vatican to the High Court over a £450million deal that allegedly saw the Holy See use worshippers’ charitable donations to buy prime London property.

Millionaire financier Raffaele Mincione previously owned 60 Sloane Avenue, which once housed the Harrods showroom, and has now begun two legal claims over the Vatican’s purchase of the building.

The case could throw rare light on a complex web of transactions involving Swiss banks, Luxembourg investment houses and, allegedly, millions of pounds worth of donations from Roman Catholics as part of the annual Peter’s Pence appeal.

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A text with contributions from local Churches that will be kept up-to-date

VATICAN CITY
Vatican News

July 16, 2020

By Cardinal Luis F. Ladaria SJ

The Cardinal Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith presents the new Vademecum for handling cases of sexual abuse of minors by clerics.

The “Vademecum on certain points of procedure in treating cases of sexual abuse of minors committed by clerics” is the result of numerous requests sent by Bishops, Ordinaries, Superiors of Institutes of consecrated life and Societies of apostolic life to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, to have at their disposal a tool that could help them in the delicate task of correctly conducting cases regarding deacons, priests and bishops when they are accused of the sexual abuse of minors. Recent history attests to greater attention on the part of the Church regarding this scourge. The course of justice cannot alone exhaust the Church’s response, but it is necessary in order to come to the truth of the facts. This is a complex path that leads into a dense forest of norms and procedures before which Ordinaries and Superiors sometimes find themselves lacking the certainty how to proceed.

Thus, the Vademecum was primarily written for them, as well as for legal professionals who help them handle the cases. This is not a normative text. No new law is being promulgated, nor are new norms being issued. It is, instead, an “instruction manual” that intends to help whoever has to deal with concrete cases from the beginning to the end, that is, from the first notification of a possible crime (notitia de delicto) to the definitive conclusion of the case (res iudicata). Between these two points there are periods of time that must be observed, steps to complete, communication to be given, decisions to take.

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Diocese of Scranton seeks stay of sex abuse cases

WILKES-BARRE (PA)
The Citizens Voice

July 20, 2020

By Terrie Morgan-Besecker

The Diocese of Scranton wants the state Supreme Court to stay all activity in lawsuits filed by five men who allege they were molested by a priest until the court rules on a critical legal issue that could nix the cases.

In a recent court filing, attorneys for the diocese estimate it will incur over $200,000 in attorneys’ fees gathering evidence that lawyers for the victims are seeking. Those fees would be wasted if the Supreme Court ultimately overturns an Allegheny County case that extends the statute of limitations for sexual abuse victims to file suit.

Kingston attorney Kevin Quinn filed separate lawsuits last year on behalf of five men who allege the Rev. Michael Pulicare, who died in 1999, sexually abused them in the mid-1970s, when they were children attending St. Joseph’s Church in the Minooka section of Scranton.

The lawsuits, filed in Lackawanna County Court, name as defendants the diocese, the Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, bishop of Scranton, and retired Bishop James C. Timlin.The viability of the suits hinges on the Supreme Court’s pending review of a Superior Court decision in a lawsuit Renee Rice filed against the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown.

In that case, Rice’s claims initially were dismissed because they fell outside the statute of limitations. The Superior Court overturned the ruling, finding that, when a case involves accusations the church concealed the abuse, a jury should decide if the victim’s delay in coming forward was reasonable.

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Bankrupt Buffalo Diocese paying $162,000/year for P.R. consultant

BUFFALO (NY)
WKBW 7 ABC

July 16, 2020

By Charlie Specht

Survivors decry lucrative contract with Tucker

Earlier this year, the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy after it was faced with hundreds of lawsuits alleging sexual abuse by priests.

But despite its financial problems, the diocese is now paying big bucks to change its image — and that’s not sitting well with survivors of abuse.

Few have benefited from the diocese’s decision to declare bankruptcy as much as Greg Tucker, who has been working as a behind-the-scenes adviser to interim Bishop Edward Scharfenberger since the bishop’s introductory news conference last December.

The national public relations consultant replaced former diocese spokesperson Kathy Spangler soon after former Bishop Richard J. Malone’s resignation. He’s now making hundreds of thousands of dollars from a diocese that says it is financially insolvent.

Records filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court show the diocese paid Tucker more than $93,000 from December through February.

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Bishop Malesic plans to continue sharing joy of the Gospel in Cleveland

WASHINGTON (DC)
Catholic News Service (USCCB) via Catholic Philly

July 17, 2020

By Dennis Sadowski

Cleveland – Bishop Edward C. Malesic, the newly appointed bishop of Cleveland, said his main desire as he makes the transition from heading the Diocese of Greensburg, Pennsylvania, to shepherding his new diocese is to communicate the joy of the Gospel to people.

*

In response to a question about falling church attendance, fed in part by the clergy sexual abuse scandal as well as misperceptions of church corruption and mean-spiritedness, Bishop Malesic called on the church to continue restoring its credibility.

When confronted by people who say they have left the church because they believe the church has left them, Bishop Malesic said he attempts to “communicate what the church is, what the Gospel is.”

“I think the church has become much more transparent today. The church doesn’t tolerate people who would abuse a child in any position within the church. Priests who do abuse children should be treated like everyone else, and maybe treated a little differently, a little more harshly because they’re leaders in the church,” he said.

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Diocese of Rockville Centre receives at least $3 million in federal PPP loans

GARDEN CIY (NY)
Long Island Herald

July 16, 2020

By Briana Bonfiglio

The Diocese of Rockville Centre has received somewhere between $3 and 7 million from the federal government’s Paycheck Protection Program, according to data released from the U.S. Treasury Department and Small Business Administration.

The Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP, was established to help small businesses suffering losses due to the coronavirus pandemic. The data shows $1 to 2 million given to the Catholic Cemeteries of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre, listed under the address for Cemetery of the Holy Rood in Westbury, and $2 to 5 million given to the Diocese’s Catholic Charities, listed under the address for Holy Trinity Diocean High School in Hicksville.

Sean P. Dolan, the Diocese’s communications director, could not be reached for comment; however, Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, of Oklahoma City, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, has released a statement on the issue, which the Diocese posted on their website.

“The loans we applied for enabled our essential ministries to continue to function in a time of national emergency,” he wrote. “Shutdown orders and economic fallout associated with the virus have affected everyone, including the thousands of Catholic ministries — churches, schools, healthcare and social services — that employ about 1 million people in the United States.”

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Erie County man alleges a police officer molested him as a boy

BUFFALO (NY)
Buffalo News

July 20, 2020

By Matthew Spina

An Erie County man alleges in a recent Child Victims Act lawsuit that he was molested decades ago by a police officer assigned to advise students on personal safety, including the need to be wary of strangers.

The man, now in his 40s, says the officer victimized him in the early 1990s, when he was a student with Genesee Valley BOCES, which serves Genesee, Livingston, Steuben and Wyoming counties.

The suit filed Friday identifies Christopher Ferrara, a former staff member with the Wyoming County Sheriff’s Department’s “Officer Bill” program, as the molester.

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The Child Victims Act, which temporarily waives the statute of limitations on decades-old abuses, has unleashed hundreds of lawsuits against major institutions in New York, especially the Catholic Church, schools and nonprofits that cater to children, such as the Boy Scouts. But the complaint filed days ago appears to be the first locally to stem from the actions of an officer assigned to work with students.

However, while it is rare for police to molest their students, it’s not unheard of. In 2015, The Buffalo News compiled a database of more than 700 instances of police sexual misconduct from around the country. Around 5% of the cases involved officers assigned to work with young people – school resource officers, DARE officers and Explorer post advisers, for example.

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The church has no need to apologize for Paycheck Protection Program loans

NEW YORK (NY)
America Magazine

July 14, 2020

By Matt Malone, S.J.

My late philosophy professor, W. Norris Clarke, S.J., was always telling me to “interrogate the premise” of an argument. He believed that, generally speaking, most conclusions follow logically from their premises; so if an argument is false, it is likely because one or more of its premises is false. I apply this skepticism to news stories published in America and elsewhere. This is important because reporters mostly live in a two-dimensional world. Their task is to record events quickly by reducing complex phenomena to their simplest formulation.

The problem with that approach is that it can distort the very reality reporters are seeking to make clear. A good example is a news story published by The Associated Press on July 10. The lead paragraph was as follows:

The U.S. Roman Catholic Church used a special and unprecedented exemption from federal rules to amass at least $1.4 billion in taxpayer-backed coronavirus aid, with many millions going to dioceses that have paid huge settlements or sought bankruptcy protection because of clergy sexual abuse cover-ups.

Shocking, no? But is that what happened? All of the facts cited are true. Indeed, as far as I can tell, all of the facts cited in the story are true. But how are those facts related to one another, if they are related at all?

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Fresno nonprofits, churches make up large number of PPP loan recipients

FRESNO (CA)
San Joaquin Valley Sun

July 19, 2020

By Daniel Gligich

Dozens of nonprofits based in Fresno and Clovis received Paycheck Protection Program loans to help negate the coronavirus pandemic-caused economic downturn.

The program, run by the Small Business Administration and created by the CARES Act, grants businesses loans of 2.5 times payroll, up to a maximum of $10 million. Businesses can have the loans forgiven if they meet certain criteria set by the SBA, such as using at least 60% of the loan on payroll expenses.

According to a SBA data of PPP loan recipients, no Fresno area nonprofits received the maximum loan amount. However, two organizations received loans of at least $2 million.

Hospice care provider Hinds Hospice and behavioral health provider Kings View were both granted loans in the $2-5 million range.

There were 11 nonprofits to receive a loan of at least $1 million: Big Picture Schools California, California Home for the Aged, Central California Blood Center, Central California Legal Services, Exceptional Parents Unlimited, the Chaffee Zoo Corporation, Hume Lake Christian Camps, Inspire Charter School, Promesa Behavioral Health, The Arc Fresno/Madera Counties and The Fresno Center.

Several other nonprofits received loans between $350,000-1 million, including the Marjaree Mason Center, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Fresno County, Fresno Christian Schools, the Fresno Rescue Mission, Girls Scouts of Central California South and the San Joaquin College of Law.

Nonprofits that received between $150,000-350,000 in loans include the Central Valley Community Foundation, the Poverello House and Valley Public Television.

Outside of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fresno, many other local churches came away with a combined millions of dollars in PPP loans.

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These parishes took PPP loans. Here’s why

DENVER (CO)
Catholic News Agency

July 18, 2020

By Mary Farrow

When the coronavirus pandemic necessitated widespread shutdowns, Catholic parishes were among those to feel the financial pinch almost immediately. No people in the pews meant no money in the collection basket. Mass after Mass, weekend after weekend, that loss added up.

Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Denver, Colorado is one such parish whose already-precarious financial situation was thrown in jeopardy by the pandemic.

To keep paying his small staff, Fr. Joseph Lajoie applied for a Payment Protection Program (PPP) loan through the Small Business Administration. The loans were meant to support the essential needs of small businesses and nonprofits affected by coronavirus shutdowns.

An article from the Associated Press published last week criticized the “U.S. Roman Catholic Church” for reportedly accepting between $1.4-$3.5 billion work of PPP loans. In fact, there is no single entity that is the U.S. Roman Catholic Church. Rather, each parish operates as its own small nonprofit, and weekly donations help to employ the priest, along with the employees who maintain the parish and its ministries.

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Class Disparities and Child Abuse in Ireland 2020

PETROLIA (CA)
CounterPunch

July 17, 2020

By Kerron Ó Luaine

The newly formed government of the Twenty-Six County state in Ireland has been in existence less than a month but is already mired in several controversies; the usual circuses thrown up by capitalist society with governments lurching from each to the next without any alteration to the status quo.

One of them is worth looking in some detail at as it highlights an important rift between socialism and liberalism on a particularly vexatious question as well elucidating some of the dynamics currently at play within the Irish far-right.

The scandal concerns the newly appointed Minister for Children, Roderick O’Gorman of the Green Party, and his association with LGBT activist Peter Tatchell, a man alleged by many to be a paedophile apologist.

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McCarrick Bombshell: It’s So Much Deeper Than Anyone Knows

FERNDALE (MI)
Church Militant

July 20, 2020

While the world has been waiting on Pope Francis and his crooked cabinet to release the report on the evil empire and clerical accomplices of homopredator and former cardinal, Theodore McCarrick, another much more quiet route to the truth has been quietly moving along out of the public eye.

James Grein — the premier victim, so to speak — is suing McCarrick, the archdiocese of New York, the diocese of Metuchen and the archdiocese of Newark. He’s able to file these suits because both New York and New Jersey lifted their statutes of limitations last year.

Part of each of these lawsuits entails Theodore McCarrick actually being deposed by Grein attorney Mitchell Garabedian. Garabedian is the noted attorney from the original homopredator scandal cases dating back to Boston in 2002. Specifically, regarding the long-anticipated McCarrick report from Rome, Grein has been told by Pope Francis’ attorney that it’s not only done, but has been for a while.

One of the startling revelations —and a fact that brings into serious question the validity of the final report (if it’s ever released) — is that James Grein, the main victim of McCarrick for years, was never interviewed during its preparation. Not once.

The pope’s personal attorney — who was in charge of creating the report — is San Francisco attorney Jeffrey Lena. Lena recently interviewed Grein by phone for eight hours over multiple days, collecting notes for the Vatican Archives. Lena is part of a Vatican apparatus that has no interest in the truth, but merely an interest in protecting the institution, shielding it from legal consequences or financial liability.

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Egyptian Coptic Priest Defrocked Following Allegations of Sexual Abuse, Paedophilia

MELBOURNE (VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA)
Egyptian Streets

July 19, 2020

Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox Church’s spokesperson announced on Saturday evening that Pope Tawadros II has decided to defrock priest Rewiess Aziz Khalil, a priest of the Diocese of Minya and Abu Qurqas who had been residing in North America, following allegations of sexual abuse and paedophilia.

The first statement, published on Facebook, was released by the Diocese of Minya and Abu Qurqas, announcing that Reweiss Aziz Khalil had been stripped of his title and returned him to his pre-ordination name Yousef Aziz Khalil.

A separate letter by Pope Tawadros II, Papal Decree 6/20, posted in English on the Church’s spokesperson’s Facebook page, recognised earlier claims by victims of Aziz Khalil that he had previously been defrocked and also announced his defrocking.

“After reviewing the records of the recent investigation related to Reweiss Aziz Khalil, a priest of the Diocese of Menia and Abu Qurkas, who presently resides outside of Egypt, and after taking into consideration the prior decrees defrocking him for his repeated infringements that are unacceptable to the Priesthood and its ministry, we have decided, in addition to our previous decree dated Feb 26, 2014 defrocking him from all ministry in the Coptic Orthodox Church, effective immediately, he is hereby laicized and must return to his former pre-ordination name of Yousef Aziz Khalil. He is hereby stripped of his priestly rank,” read the letter signed by Pope Tawadros II.

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