ABUSE TRACKER

MICHIGAN
MLIVE

By John Tunison | jtunison@mlive.com

on August 14, 2015

GRAND RAPIDS, MI — A 79-year-old retired priest with the Grand Rapids Diocese has been removed from the ministry amid sex abuse allegations stemming from the mid-1980s.
antekeier.jpg

The Rev. Charles Antekeier no longer may present himself as a priest or wear the collar.

Father Charles Antekeier is named in a Friday, Aug. 14 statement from the Diocese.

In the statement, Bishop David J. Walkowiak expresses his “deepest apologies” to any children and their families who “have been abused by members of the clergy in the Diocese of Grand Rapids.”

Antekeier was ordained in 1962 and served at the following churches during the specified years:

1962: St. Charles, Cheboygan
1966: St. Patrick, Grand Haven
1966: St. Mary, Grand Rapids
1972: Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Belmont
1977: St. James, Grand Rapids
1987: St. Francis Xavier, Grand Rapids
2000: Senior priest status (Retired)

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MICHIGAN
Up North Live

A priest who served at St. Charles Church in Cheboygan in 1966 is being removed from the ministry by the Vatican after sex abuse allegations.

The Diocese of Grand Rapids was notified by the Vatican that father Charles Antekeier can no longer present himself as a priest.

The 79-year-old last served at a church in Grand Rapids and has been retired for 15 years

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UNITED STATES
Catholic League

Bill Donohue comments on a front-page story in today’s Washington Post about the visit by Pope Francis to the U.S. next month:

Whenever there is a papal visit to the U.S., those with their own political agenda surface, aided and abetted by members of the mainstream media. Want proof? Read today’s piece by Michelle Boorstein (click here) in the Washington Post. It reads more like an op-ed than a news story.

Though there is no institution in the nation—secular or sectarian—that has a better record of combating the sexual abuse of minors than the Catholic Church, one would never know this by reading Boorstein’s article. She drums up one case from Long Island about a guy who says he was abused by a priest decades ago.

What is remarkable about Boorstein is her incurious attitude. She writes of this alleged victim that “the relationship [with the priest] continued until [the accuser] was 20 and broke things off with the priest.” (My italic.) I didn’t know that victims of sexual molestation had “relationships” with their victimizers. Similarly, never does Boorstein question why the alleged victim stayed in his relationship until he was 20-years-old!

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MICHIGAN
Roman Catholic Diocese of Grand Rapids

August 14, 2015

The Diocese of Grand Rapids has received notice from the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith that Father Charles Antekeier, a retired priest of the Diocese of Grand Rapids, has been permanently removed from ministry in accord with the provisions of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People and the Essential Norms for Diocesan/Eparchial Policies Dealing with Allegations of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Priests or Deacons. Father Antekeier, age 79, is further obligated to lead a life of prayer and penance, and cannot publicly present himself as a priest.

The Diocese was approached by a victim regarding incidents that occurred in 1984-1985 while Father Antekeier was serving as pastor of Saint James Parish in Grand Rapids. The Diocesan Review Board examined the case and made its recommendations to Most Reverend David J. Walkowiak, bishop of the Diocese of Grand Rapids, who then forwarded it to the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith where the decision was confirmed.

“I want to express my deepest apologies to any children, young people and their families who have been abused by members of the clergy in the Diocese of Grand Rapids,” said Bishop Walkowiak. “While there are no words that can heal such wounds, I humbly ask for forgiveness for the pain and injury you and your families have suffered.”

The Charter provides that “for even a single instance of sexual abuse of a minor – whenever it occurred – which is admitted or established… the offending priest is to be permanently removed from the ministry (Article 5).” In addition, dioceses are to be open and transparent in communicating with the public. The Diocese of Grand Rapids has also reported the information to the appropriate civil authorities.

The diocese encourages anyone who has been sexually abused as a minor by a priest, deacon or church employee, or who has knowledge of any such offense against a minor, to contact the appropriate civil authority or the Diocesan Victim Assistance Coordinator at 616-243-0491.

Father Charles Antekeier Biographical Information:
Ordained: 1962
1962: St. Charles, Cheboygan
1966: St. Patrick, Grand Haven
1966: St. Mary, Grand Rapids
1972: Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Belmont
1977: St. James, Grand Rapids
1987: St. Francis Xavier, Grand Rapids
2000: Senior priest status (Retired)

Contact:
Carl Apple, diocesan director of communications
Phone: 616-826-9808 | Email: capple@dioceseofgrandrapids.org

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MICHIGAN
WOOD

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) – A retired priest of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Grand Rapids has been permanently removed from the ministry following allegations of sexual abuse of a minor, according to a release posted Friday on the diocese’s website.

The Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith sent notice to the diocese that it has cut ties with Father Charles Antekeier, 79, who retired in 2000 and served in several different West Michigan churches.

He is no longer allowed to “publically present himself as a priest,” the release said.

The alleged victim notified the diocese about incidents that allegedly happened between 1984 and 1985 while Antekeier served at Saint James Parish in Grand Rapids, according to the diocese.

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UNITED STATES
Religion News Service – Rhymes with Religion

Boz Tchividjian | Aug 14, 2015

He’s come forward after learning that there actually is a voice for the victims in this matter.

– Attorney representing 19 victims who have alleged being sexually abused as children by a mentor who was part of a United Airlines sponsored afterschool program at an inner-city elementary school in Chicago.
_____________________________________________________________________________

The tragic reality is all too often victims of sexual abuse remain silent about the horrors they have endured. Many live their entire lives in silence. Studies have found that approximately sixty-three percent of adult sexual assaults and eighty-eight percent of child sexual abuse is never reported.

Why do so many victims remain silent? In over twenty years of confronting this evil, I have learned that there are many reasons that silence takes over the life of survivors. Like everyone else, abuse survivors are individuals with a unique life story and their own reasons for not telling anyone about the abuse. During the past twenty years, I have grieved as I have listened to some of the darkest chapters in the life stories of many amazing abuse survivors. Oftentimes, the gloomiest chapter is the silence.

A silence that holds victims hostage with little hope for release.
A silence that deceives victims day after day that they suffer alone.
A silence that extinguishes all remaining hopes and dreams.
A silence that is no different than a prison cell.

Though the reasons for silence may differ with each survivor, there are two that I have encountered time and time again when listening to survivors. I share them hoping that a greater understanding and empathy will propel us to do whatever we can to help survivors escape the cell of silence.

Disbelief. I cannot recount how often abuse survivors have shared with me that their silence was fueled by an incapacitating fear of not being believed. So often this fear is legitimized when survivors see how other victims are disbelieved and marginalized when they take the brave step forward out of their cell of silence. Case in point, how many women had to come forward before many people even began to acknowledge that Bill Cosby is a rapist? To date, almost 50 victims have stepped forward and there are still some that disbelieve their claims and have the audacity to label these courageous women as “opportunistic”. Please don’t think that the refusal to believe a sexual abuse victim is a rarity in 2015. Tragically, it happens every day to so many brave victims, old and young, who take a step out of their cell of silence. Oftentimes, these survivors are disbelieved by the very people they had hoped would believe and support them such as family members, friends, pastors, church members, teachers, and even police officers. The list goes on and on. Disbelief pushes many survivors back into their cells of silence. Disbelief also alerts other watching victims who are considering ending their silence that it may be safer to suffer in silence. What a tragedy.

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AUSTRALIA
news.com.au

THE Jehovah’s Witnesses will only compensate survivors of sex abuse if God tells them to, a royal commission has been told.

SENIOR church figure Geoffrey Jackson told the sex abuse royal commission that any changes the Jehovah’s Witnesses made to their rules and doctrine had to be informed by God.

Mr Jackson said God’s word is accessed through the Bible and the church’s first-century interpretation of it.

Chief Commissioner Peter McClellan asked him on Friday if the church would be willing to take part in a joint scheme with other institutions to provide financial redress to abuse survivors.

Mr Jackson told him the church would need to see that “nothing was scripturally against us doing that”, but it was something that was not totally out of the “option pool”.

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AUSTRALIA
9 News

AAP

Those who highlight child sex abuse in the Jehovah’s Witness church may be non-believers telling lies, a church senior says.

In one of many interesting exchanges at a royal commission into child sex abuse on Friday, a member of the group’s governing body was asked if he disagreed with those who say efforts to highlight and deal with abuse within the church are engaged in “apostate lies”.

Geoffrey Jackson, a member of the church’s powerful seven-member governing body in New York, said the question is a broad one because sometimes people making those accusations make many others as well.

“But let me assure you, the person making the accusation is not the main thing,” Mr Jackson said.

“The main thing is, is there some basis to the accusation.”

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AUSTRALIA
Washington Post

Jehovah’s Witnesses face child sex abuse investigation in Australia

By A. Odysseus Patrick August 14

Sydney — The abuse was meticulously catalogued. From 1950 to 2014, the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society amassed some 5,000 files detailing sexual abuse of Australian children by 1,006 of its members, who believe only they — the Jehovah’s Witnesses — proclaim the truth about God.

Young girls were assaulted by neighbors. Teenagers were raped by their fathers. Victims were forced to pray with their abusers.

When the children reached out for help, the church’s obsession with secrecy and hostility to outsiders kicked in. Victims, ordered to keep quiet, were forced to confront their abusers in person. All complaints — which averaged one a month for six and half decades — were carefully recorded in sealed files, along with the church’s by-the-Bible responses.

One hundred and twenty-seven church officials were demoted. No one was reported to the authorities. Child abuse was recorded and hidden away.

Now, sordid details from the closed world of Jehovah’s Witnesses are being exposed that could severely tarnish the image of a powerful organization that has 8.2 million members around the world and has mostly avoided scrutiny.

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MICHIGAN
Detroit Free Press

[Kuppe Complaint – via Click on Detroit]

By Katrease Stafford, Detroit Free Press August 13, 2015

A 21-year-old former employee of the Jewish Community Center in West Bloomfield was charged today in federal court on several child pornography charges, after he allegedly abused multiple children at a day camp.

Matthew David Kuppe, of West Bloomfield was charged with production, distribution, receipt and possession of child pornography and is in federal custody until a detention hearing on Tuesday, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Kuppe was arrested after the Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Investigations uncovered dozens of nude photographs of young boys, presumably at the camp. West Bloomfield Police assisted, according to Deputy Chief Curt Lawson.

Lawson declined to say how many victims there are but said some have already been identified. Lawson said the Jewish Community Center has been “fully cooperative in this investigation.” According to the center’s website, children between the ages of 2 1/2 and 15 attend the camps.

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MICHIGAN
Patch

By JOE VINCE (Patch Staff)

A West Bloomfield man faces child pornography charges after he was accused of taking nude photos of boys attending the day camp he used to work at, according to a Detroit Free Press report.

Matthew David Kupee, 21, was charged Thursday in federal court with production, distribution, receipt and possession of child pornography, the report stated. He will remain in federal custody until his detention hearing Tuesday, the report added.

Investigators from the Department of Homeland Security, along with West Bloomfield police, arrested Kuppe on Wednesday when they discovered a collection of photos of naked boys in his possession, the report stated. Earlier this month, Homeland Security’s Detroit bureau was tipped off that Kuppe’s photos had been posted on a foreign image-sharing website, the report added.

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MICHIGAN
The Detroit News

Robert Snell, The Detroit News August 13, 2015

A counselor at a Jewish day camp was charged in federal court Thursday with producing child pornography after investigators said he filmed prepubescent boys in a locker room.

Jewish Community Center counselor Matthew David Kuppe, 21, of West Bloomfield faces up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted of three child pornography charges, including production and possession.

Kuppe’s arrest left federal agents, prosecutors and West Bloomfield police trying to determine if there are more possible victims.

Kuppe, who worked at the West Bloomfield camp for at least two years, including a stint supervising special-needs campers, made an emotional appearance Thursday in federal court. He was arraigned in front of his parents, who minutes earlier read a copy of a graphic, seven-page criminal complaint listing the allegations against their son.

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MICHIGAN
JTA

(JTA) — A counselor at a JCC day camp in suburban Detroit was charged with producing child pornography after allegedly filming prepubescent boys in the JCC locker room and sharing the photos online.

Matthew David Kuppe, 21, of West Bloomfield, Michigan, was arraigned in federal court Thursday and charged with production, distribution, receipt and possession of child pornography, the Detroit News and Detroit Free Press reported.

If convicted, the rising senior at Michigan State University faces up to 20 years in federal prison. He is being held without bond pending a hearing Tuesday in federal court. Prosecutors are trying to determine if there are additional victims.

“This defendant had access to a large number of children, and we would like to conduct interviews and look at evidence,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara Woodward said Thursday, according to the Detroit News.

Kuppe, who used the handle “jcclockerroom” to post several photos of the naked boys on a foreign website, worked at the JCC of Metropolitan Detroit’s day camp for two years and at one point supervised its special-needs campers. Under questioning, he allegedly admitted to posting nude photos of the boys on the website and using the jcclockerroom email account, which contained several emails with child pornography.

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MINNESOTA
BishopAccountability.org

Summary of Case: Allan P. Speiser was ordained for the St. Cloud diocese in 1948. He assisted in many parishes, pastored a few, and had two separate year-long stints assisting at a parish outside of the diocese, in St. Paul. He also taught for many years at St. Cloud’s Cathedral High School. Speiser retired in 1992 and died October 5, 2001. Speiser’s name was included among 33 released by the St. Cloud diocese January 3, 2014 of clergy involved in incidents of likely claims of sexual abuse of minors.

Born: February 18, 1923
Ordained: June 6, 1948
Retired: 1992
Died: October 5, 2001

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MARYLAND
The Catholic Review

August 13, 2015

By Erik Zygmont
ezygmont@CatholicReview.org

TOWSON – Two graduates of Calvert Hall College High School held a press conference Aug. 13 at the Baltimore County Courts Building to release documents pertaining to an allegation of abuse against Monsignor Joseph A. Davies, a priest of the Archdiocese of Baltimore who died in 1992.

Frank Dingle of the Calvert Hall class of 1959, and Fran Bacon, of the class of 1952, say they want Monsignor Davies’ name removed from a scholarship offered by the Towson all-boys high school.

Materials distributed by Dingle include a two photocopied photographs of Monsignor Davies, in which he is labeled “chaplain.” The photos, according to the documents, were taken from the 1958 and 1959 Calvert Hall yearbooks.

Dingle, who is affiliated with the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, and Bacon, who said he was present in support of SNAP, said they also want the archdiocese to release names of deceased priests who have been accused of abuse.

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

Sex abuse Royal Commission: Church elder reveals seven men control Jehovah’s Witness teachings

AUSTRALIA has been given a rare insight into the workings of the Jehovah’s Witness Church, which believes only 144,000 people will get to heaven and they are top of the list.

A member of the secretive church’s New York-based governing body Geoffrey Jackson is giving evidence at a child sex abuse royal commission hearing in Sydney.

On Friday Mr Jackson, quoting the Bible, including from the gospel of Matthew, Deuteronomy, and the Book Of Revelations, explained that the church believes the world is now in its “last days” and seven reputable men were anointed by the Holy Spirit to be the equivalent of Jesus’s disciples.

Mr Jackson is on the seven-member body which interprets scriptures for their congregations around the world.

The commission has raised concerns that the church’s scriptural interpretations applied as doctrine mean its handling of child sex abuse allegations traumatises abuse victims and is not safe or effective.

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AUSTRALIA
The Chronicle

Tara Miko | 14th Aug 2015

ONE of the seven global leaders of the Jehovah’s Witness church gave evidence at a royal commission into child abuse.

Geoffrey Jackson is one of the most senior members of the church.

Mr Jackson was believed to have been staying in Toowoomba for the past week, and flew to Sydney yesterday afternoon.

He was the last witness to testify in a series of hearings into how the organisation handled cases of sexual abuse within the church.

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AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald

Senior Jehovah’s Witness Geoffrey Jackson says church might offer compensation to alleged abuse victims

August 14, 2015

Rachel Browne
Social Affairs Reporter

One of the most senior members of the Jehovah’s Witness Church worldwide said compensation could be made to people allegedly sexually abused within its ranks if there was a Biblical basis for a redress scheme.

Geoffrey Jackson is one of seven men on the church’s New York-based Governing Body, which oversees decisions regarding the organisation’s 8.2 million members internationally.

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse issued a summons for Mr Jackson, who was in Queensland visiting his sick father.

Appearing via video link from Toowoomba on Friday, Mr Jackson told the royal commission that the church would join a co-ordinated redress schemes for victims of institutional sexual abuse, provided “that nothing was scripturally against us doing that”.

In evidence, Mr Jackson said an apology to alleged sex abuse victims was “perceivable”.

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ILLINOIS
Canton Daily Ledger

Hannah Schrodt
Daily Ledger reporter

Posted Aug. 13, 2015

LEWISTOWN
A former pastor convicted of sexual criminal abuse who is now accused of violating sex offender registry terms will be pleading not guilty to the felony charges against him.

In Fulton County Court Wednesday, Jason Phillips, 41, of Glasford, waived his right to a preliminary hearing and said he plans on pleading not guilty to four counts of being present on the property of a child care facility. The charges are Class 4 felonies.

Phillips is requesting a trial by jury, which is scheduled to begin Oct. 19. He has hired legal counsel.

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NEW MEXICO
Albuquerque Journal

By Olivier Uyttebrouck / Journal Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: Friday, August 14, 2015

The Diocese of Gallup’s assets are “virtually non-existent” and insurance coverage is “extremely limited” for settling the diocese’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy case, an attorney for an insurance company said in court records.

At least 17 of the 57 sexual abuse claims filed in the case predate 1965, when the Diocese of Gallup had no insurance coverage, attorneys said in motions.

The company that insured the diocese from 1965 to 1977, Home Insurance Co., is insolvent and went into liquidation proceedings in 2003.

The 25 sexual abuse claims that date to that period are now covered by New Mexico Property and Casualty Guaranty Association, which was created by New Mexico state law in 1978 to cover insurance policies issued by defunct companies.

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SCOTLAND
Press and Journal

12 August 2015 by Ben Hendry

A child safety campaigner is seeking an urgent meeting with Police Scotland Chief Constable Sir Stephen House as part of an inquiry into allegations of sex abuse at a Moray monastery.

Andi Lavery claims he was treated dismby a call handler when he attempted to report the accusations of two men who claim they were assaulted at Pluscarden Abbey.

Police last night insisted they would “listen and investigate” whenever allegations of child abuse were brought to their attention.

However, Mr Lavery, who heads the White Flowers Alba support group, said the response he received could deter others from reporting abuse.

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CHICAGO (IL)
WLS

(CHICAGO) Two new lawsuits were filed Thursday alleging sexual abuse by convicted child molester and defrocked priest Daniel McCormack and the Archdiocese of Chicago.

The plaintiffs — two men identified only as John J.M. Doe and John K. Doe — filed the suits Thursday in Cook County Circuit Court against the Archdiocese of Chicago.

Both plaintiffs claim in their separate suits that McCormack groomed them and engaged the boys in sexual and abusive relationships from 2000 to 2003 while the priest was a pastor at St. Agatha’s Parish on the West Side.

McCormack was removed from the priesthood in November 2007 and pleaded guilty that year to abusing five other children at St. Agatha’s.

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UNITED STATES
Pope Crimes & Vatican Evils

Paris Arrow

REBUTTAL to the title: First of all, “Criminalizing the Bible” – means the Bible has committed a crime and the Bible is charged with crime in secular civil court of justice — and the blame is on the ancient book, an inanimate object. It’s tantamount to saying “criminalizing the gun”. Or “criminalizing the knife”. It’s blaming the gun or the knife – instead of the murderer and the violent person who used these tools in his crime.

The fact of the matter is, in this case – it is Swiss Bishop Huonder that is charged with having committed a crime – by using the Bible – as the tool of his crime –– when he cited a specific verse from the Bible that instruct people to kill homosexuals. It was in his 50 minutes speech at a conference on marriage in Germany that he incited murder against homosexuals. Swiss Bishop Huonder is the person being criminalized, not the Bible. The Swiss Bishop is inciting murder by using the words of the Bible as his specific command, instruction and justification for murder of gays.

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AUSTRALIA
Tzedek

Posted on 14 August 2015

Statement Regarding Tzedek bringing Dr. Goldwasser to Australia by Josh Bornstein, President of Tzedek:

“Tzedek’s mission statement is to support and advocate for victims of sexual abuse in the Jewish community. Several months ago, a decision was made by Tzedek to invite Dr Goldwasser to speak at the Jewish Community Education Forum in Melbourne on 6 September. The decision was made because of his considerable experience dealing with the dynamics of sexual abuse in the Jewish community.

More recently, we have become aware of other matters and controversies relating to Dr Goldwasser. Amongst other things, we have taken on board concerns raised by the LGBTI community. As a result we have reviewed the matter and decided that it is no longer appropriate for Dr Goldwasser to speak at the forum.

We wish to make clear that Tzedek does not in any way endorse or condone what has been described as “reparative therapy”. Such “therapy” has been completely discredited.

Our forum will proceed on September 6th and we encourage all members of the community to attend. ”

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ISRAEL
JTA

August 13, 2015

JERUSALEM (JTA) — The wife of a Safed rabbi charged with sex crimes said she knew about his sex acts with two women.

Rabbi Ezra Sheinberg’s wife told Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, the chief rabbi of Safed, that she knew her husband had sex with two women, she is heard saying in a recording of the conversation played on Israel Channel 2. The sex, she said, was part of their therapy.

The wife, whose name was not given, refers to the acts as “relaxation message,” a euphemism for sex.

Sheinberg, 46, was charged last month in Nazareth District Court, on 13 counts of rape, indecent assault, sexual harassment, fraud and obstructing an investigation.

His wife said her husband only told her about two women; 13 have come forward to accuse him. The women had come to the rabbi with religious questions.

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MINNESOTA
Canonical Consultation

08/13/2015

Jennifer Haselberger

Since his resignation in June of 2015, there has been a great deal of speculation about the whereabouts of Archbishop John Nienstedt. In a July 19, 2015, interview with the StarTribune, Nienstedt said that since his resignation he has been ‘spending time with friends and family’, while other journalists have tracked his appearance at significant events such as the recent Napa Institute. If recent rumors are true, however, the former Archbishop’s whereabouts are really no mystery at all. He lives where he has always lived- in the Residence connected to the Chancery on Summit Avenue in Saint Paul.

While at first glance the idea seems outrageous, once you consider the options it is really not surprising at all. The Apostolic Administrator, Archbishop Hebda, is not often in residence because of his responsibilities out east. Bishop Piche, who resigned along with Archbishop Nienstedt, is said to be living in the territory of the Diocese of Saint Cloud. The Archbishop’s apartments on the campus of the University of Saint Thomas are already occupied by an Emeritus Archbishop, and given Nienstedt’s frosty relationship with UST I can’t see them giving him a home even if the institution had one to provide. Bishop Cozzens, a member of the Companions of Christ, has the obligation of community life and therefore is likely to live at the Companion’s home in Saint Paul. There is always the Byrne residence, which has long provided sanctuary to disgraced clergy, but its proximity to the seminary is problematic and besides, most priests would rather celebrate three weddings each Saturday than take up residence at the Catholic Services Appeal-funded home for retired priests (hence the exceedingly high vacancy rates).

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ILLINOIS
Chicago Tribune

By Clifford Ward
Chicago Tribune

Priest who gambled parish money is transitioning back to ministry.
A Catholic priest who gambled away almost $300,000 that he stole from his Roselle parish could conclude his court-ordered probation this week as he continues to transition back to ministry following the disgrace of pleading guilty to felony theft.

The Rev. John Regan is scheduled to appear Friday in DuPage County Court, four years after he was sentenced to jail time and 48 months of probation and ordered to make restitution for money he stole to St. Walter’s Parish, where he was pastor.

Regan, 51, has completed the jail and work-release requirements that were imposed as part of his sentence, but he still owes more than $250,000 in restitution, according to court records.

Regan, through his attorney, declined a request for an interview this week.

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NEW MEXICO
Gallup Independent

Published in the Gallup Independent, Gallup, N.M., August 11, 2015

By Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola
Independent correspondent
religion@gallupindependent.com

ALBUQUERQUE — The Diocese of Gallup racked up nearly $500,000 more in legal fees and expenses over a recent three-month period in its bankruptcy case.

The diocese’s legal costs now top more than $2.7 million, according to quarterly billing statements submitted to U.S. Bankruptcy Court by more than a half-dozen law firms, accountants, insurance researchers and real estate appraisers.

The total legal costs, as of June 30, are now $2,704,865.31. At the end of March, the legal costs were $2,258,084.14.

The Gallup Diocese owes more than $1.5 million to Quarles & Brady LLP, its lead bankruptcy law firm. It owes more than $600,000 to the law firm that provides legal counsel to the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors, which represents the interests of clergy sex abuse claimants. In addition, the diocese owes more than $360,000 to its accounting firm.

The professionals listed below have submitted the following quarterly and total billing figures. Most of these bankruptcy fees and expenses will not be paid until the Gallup Diocese has an approved plan of reorganization.

Quarles & Brady LLP: The Tucson law firm submitted the year’s second quarterly statement for legal fees and expenses of $252,944.33. The firm’s total post-petition bill is now $1,597,610.38.

Keegan, Linscott & Kenon, P.C: The Tucson accounting firm submitted a second quarterly statement for fees and expenses of $52,475.16. The firm’s total post-petition bill is now at $367,291.60. This firm continues to run the Diocese of Gallup’s finance office because the diocese hasn’t been able to hire a new chief financial officer since the previous one resigned just months before the Chapter 11 filing.

Stelzner, Winter, Warburton, Flores, Sanchez & Dawes, P.A: The diocese’s special counsel law firm from Albuquerque billed $1,149.06 for the second quarter. The firm’s total post-petition bill is now at $11,899.82.

Insurance Archaeology Group: This insurance research company did not submit a second quarterly billing statement. The company has previously billed the Gallup Diocese $47,929 and has been paid that amount.

Estate Valuation Consultants Inc.: This real estate appraisal company submitted a second quarterly statement for $9,900 in fees. The company’s total bill of $22,100 has been paid by the diocese.

Michael P. Murphy: Murphy is the “unknown claims representative” hired to represent any new clergy sex abuse victims who might come forward in the future. Murphy has not submitted any fees or expenses yet, but his flat fee of $50,000 will be due and payable upon the effective date of any plan of reorganization.

Walker & Associates P.C.: The diocese’s Albuquerque bankruptcy law firm has not submitted a billing statement in 2015. To date, the firm has billed $18,062.40 in post-petition fees and expenses.

Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones LLP: This law firm is the legal counsel for the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors, representing sexual abuse claimants. The firm submitted a second quarterly statement for fees and expenses of $180,312.62. The firm’s total post-petition bill is now $639,972.11.

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.

UNITED STATES
Our Stories Untold

By CAMERON ALTARAS on Aug 13, 2015

Representing the Anabaptist Mennonite Chapter of SNAP, Dr. Cameron Altaras delivered the following speech at the Annual SNAP conference in Alexandria, Virginia on August 2, 2015. More than 300 survivors of sexual abuse in faith communities and their loved ones gathered to hear speakers from around the world who educated and inspired us to “protect the vulnerable and expose the truth” about sexual abuses of power in our own denominations. BG

(Note: Although a male pronoun for the pastor and female pronoun for the victim is used here, victims and perpetrators can be any gender.)

A woman went to her pastor for advice.

Not for sex.

She never imagined her pastor would do something so egregious as to manipulate her into having sex with him.

The worst part was that because they were both adults, the woman blamed herself for having an “affair” with her pastor and then hid silently in her shame.

But it was not an affair.

It was an abuse of power.

Sex between two parties where there is a power differential is not and can never be labeled “an affair.”

Sex between persons with unequal power is not even about sex. It’s about power and control over someone with less power.

If approached by a stranger at a party, the sexual advances would have been obvious to the woman. But when her pastor became amorous, the woman was caught completely off guard. She thought she was making more out of the situation than her pastor intended. She ignored her screaming intuition, warning her that something was terribly wrong. It was not easy to rebuff her pastor, whom she held in the high esteem afforded by his position. She didn’t want to offend her pastor by refusing his pastoral hug the first time and it became increasingly awkward to refuse to hug him each time after 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.

CALIFORNIA
Toronto Sun

BY BILL HARRIS, POSTMEDIA NETWORK

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. – Jay Leno wonders why we believe men who say they were raped by priests decades ago, but we don’t tend to believe women who say they were sexually assaulted by Bill Cosby decades ago.

“Well, 50 women come forward and people call them liars,” said Leno, the former host of The Tonight Show, at the Television Critics Association tour on Thursday. “And they go, ‘Oh, you waited 40 years.’ You know, men waited 50 years to say, ‘A priest touched me.’ And they got 7 million dollars.

“How come we believe them and we don’t believe the women? You know, it does seem awful sexist to me. A woman says, ‘Oh, this happened to me, but I was too ashamed to say anything.’ Oh, you’re lying. But a man says it? ‘Oh, when I was 12 a priest raped me,’ or whatever it might be, then we have sympathy. It does seem terribly sexist that way. It does seem very unfair, and I’m surprised no one has ever made that analogy.

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.

AUSTRALIA
9 News

Annette Blackwell
August 14, 2015

A member of the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ governing body will give evidence at a royal commission hearing into child sex abuse on Friday.

Geoffrey Jackson, who started his ministry in Tasmania in the 1970s, is on the powerful seven-member governing body of the controversial church. The body helps shape the bible-based doctrine by which Jehovah’s Witnesses around the world live.

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has been inquiring into how the church and its legal entity in Australia – the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society – handle abuse allegations.

Mr Jackson is in Queensland for “private, compassionate” reasons but chief commissioner Peter McClellan requested he take the witness stand.

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.

GERMANY
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Thursday, Aug. 13

Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 566 9790, davidgclohessy@gmail.com, SNAPclohessy@aol.com)

German Catholics, who were deceived and exploited by a selfish bishop, are apparently being rebuffed by Pope Francis in their effort to seek justice. It’s the same old pattern: corrupt Catholic officials are given “mercy” while their victims are given nothing.

[Deutsche Welle]

Bild reports that Germany’s “bling bishop” – Bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst – may get off without paying damages to his diocese for his excessive spending on his 31.3 million-euro home and misleading parishioners and the public about it. We’re saddened but not surprised.

Pope Francis can keep gradually changing church finances, governance and morale. But until he finds the courage to harshly discipline reckless, selfish and deceptive bishops, he won’t change the damaging clerical culture of the church. And clergy crimes and misdeeds – financial and sexual – will continue.

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.

OKLAHOMA
News-Star

Posted Aug. 13, 2015

A former Shawnee youth pastor who was arrested in late July on complaints involving sex crimes is now formally charged with four felony counts.

Brian K. Burchfield, 42, of Edmond, is charged in Pottawatomie County District Court with four counts of soliciting sexual conduct or communications with a minor by use of technology.

Those charges stem from an investigation by Shawnee police that reportedly involved text messages between Burchfield and several teenagers from the area.

At the time of his arrest, Burchfield’s online LinkedIn page listed him as being the young adult pastor at Quail Springs Baptist Church in Edmond, but he was the former youth pastor at Immanuel Baptist Church in Shawnee from June 2006 to April 2014.

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.

AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald

August 13, 2015

Kate Aubusson
Journalist

A US clinical psychologist who practised therapies aimed at curing homosexuality has been billed as a star speaker at an Australian event hosted by a Jewish advocacy group for child sexual abuse victims.

Dr Norman Goldwasser, who applied conversion or reparative therapies to treat same-sex attraction, is the keynote speaker at Tzedek Australia’s Melbourne education forum in September.

Several survivors of child sexual abuse in the Jewish community have condemned Dr Goldwasser’s involvement, including the founder and former chief executive of Tzedek.

Several Tzedek board members have threatened to resign if the clinical psychologist attends the event.

Dr Goldwasser has recently disassociated himself from conversion therapy and the US-based group JONAH, which claimed it could cure homosexuality.

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.

ISRAEL
Arutz Sheva

By Nir Har Zahav

The wife of Ezra Sheinberg, the disgraced former head of Orot Ha’ari Yeshiva in Tzfat, said he told her about two cases in which he performed indecent acts with women he was supposedly treating.

The wife is heard saying this in a conversation with Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, Rabbi of Tzfat, a recording of which reached Channel 2.

“I knew,” she said in the recorded conversation. “It is not something that ‘went out of the house’ without my knowledge. I knew about all of the ‘relaxation massage,’ I knew, I knew he did it.”

The Hebrew word she used, “harpaya,” which is best translated as “relaxation massage,” is also a euphemism for certain sexual acts.

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.

UNITED STATES
Bilgrimage

William D. Lindsey

And speaking of the upcoming papal visit to the U.S. (I just did so in my previous posting, didn’t I?), SNAP has published a very valuable Q and A written by David Clohessy, on Pope Francis and the abuse/cover up crisis. I highly recommend this document to you. It does an outstanding job of arguing that the so-called “Francis effect,” in collusion with an adulatory media, give many of us the impression that Pope Francis has done something substantive to address the issue of child abuse by clerics in the Catholic church.

When he has not done so . . . . Not yet, at least.

Here’s an excerpt from the Q and A’s conclusion, in response to the question, What would you like to see Francis do?:

Turn over every document about clerics who commit and conceal child sex crimes to law enforcement. Insist that bishops lobby for, not against, secular legislative reforms to protect kids. And quickly, publicly and harshly fire dozens of complicit bishops.

(Note: on 3/7/13, we listed 20 steps Pope Francis should take in this crisis.

Put the phrase “Francis should” – in quotes – in our website search box and find 28 statements outlining what we’d like to see him do.)

With lightning speed, Francis ousted a German bishop who mismanaged church money. But with glacial speed, Francis ignores bishops who endanger children and protect predators.

He’s making major strides in improving church finances, governance, and morale. But he’s posturing on abuse and cover ups. He’s making nearly no meaningful strides to actually prevent abuse and cover ups.

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.

SWITZERLAND
swissinfo

Vitus Huonder, the Catholic bishop of Chur, has apologised if anyone felt hurt when he quoted a Bible verse calling for homosexuals to be put to death, but he says he stands by his literal reading of the Bible.

In his 50-minute address on marriage at a forum in Germany on August 2, Huonder quoted two verses from the book of Leviticus, including Leviticus 20:13: “If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.”

In response to applause, he continued: “Both of these passages alone suffice to clarify unambiguously the church’s position on homosexuality”.

This triggered a public outcry and a criminal complaint from a private individual in St Gallen and Pink Cross, the umbrella association for Swiss gay groups, which accused 73-year-old Huonder of “inciting people to crime or violence”.

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.

MINNESOTA
BishopAccountability.org

Summary of Case: Leonard P. Cowley was ordained for the St. Paul archdiocese in 1938. He was longtime assistant at a St. Paul parish before being assigned in 1949 as pastor of another, in Minneapolis. Cowley held numerous chancery positions. He was elevated to Auxiliary Bishop of St. Paul in January 1958. From 1963 until his death in August 1973, Cowley was pastor of St. Mary’s Co-Cathedral in Minneapolis.

Cowley’s name was among 17 made public February 11, 2015 of clergy with accusations against them of sexual abuse or misconduct with a minor in the archdiocese. A man is reported to have filed a claim that Cowley sexually abused him during a trip to northern Minnesota in 1968, when the man was a 15-year-old boy.

Ordained: June 4, 1938
Ordained Bishop: January 29, 1958
Died: August 18, 1973

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.

TOWSON (MD)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Victims expose another Catholic predator
Group releases nine pages of records about him
Archdiocese admits “a number of allegations” against priest
Yet two archbishops refuse to tell public or parents about him
SNAP also urges Catholic officials to drop legal case against a victim
Man who was molested at Calvert Hall now faces trespassing charges

WHAT:
A month before Pope Francis comes to DC, holding signs and childhood photos at a sidewalk news conference, clergy sex abuse victims will release nine pages of previously-secret records about a never-before-publicly accused predator priest who apparently had several victims. They will also urge Baltimore Catholic officials to

–“come clean,” for the sake of public safety, about other predator priests and
–post their names on church websites (like Baltimore’s previous archbishop did).

And they’ll beg anyone who “saw, suspected or suffered” clergy sex crimes or cover ups at Calvert Hall and in the Baltimore area “to step forward, get help, call police, expose wrongdoers, protect kids and start healing.”

WHEN
Thursday, August 13th at 1:00 p.m.

WHERE
On the sidewalk outside in front of the Baltimore County Circuit Courts Building, 401 Bosley Avenue, Towson, MD (410-887-2139, circuitcourt@baltimorecountymd.gov)

WHO
Two-three members of a support group called SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests and supporters http://www.snapnetwork.org/

WHY
SNAP is releasing nine pages of never-before disclosed emails and letters between two current archdiocesan headquarters staffers, a prosecutor and a victim.

They show that 1) Msgr. Joseph A. Davies has been repeatedly accused of molesting children and 2) at least one church official believes he’s guilty. But Baltimore Archbishop William Lori and his staff refuse to disclose these facts to parents, parishioners or the public.

One letter, to a victim from a high-ranking church official, Msgr. Richard Woy (410-464-4000, RWoy@archbalt.org) says “I want to apologize for the abuse you suffered at the hands of Msgr. Davies.” Another letter by Msgr. Woy admits that the archdiocese “has received a number of child sex abuse allegations” against Msgr. Daviess.

The emails are to/from Alison J. D’Alessandro (410-547-5348, adalessandro@archbalt.org) who deals with abuse victims for the archdiocese).

SNAP wants Archbishop Lori to “come clean” about Msgr. Daviess and “all other admitted, proven or credibly accused child molesting clerics.” (Msgr. Daviess is deceased.)

SNAP also wants Lori and Calvert Hall officials to drop trespassing charges against an abuse victim who goes on trial today.

In 2014, Kurt Gladsky was charged with trespassing at Calvert Hall High School for what he describes as civil disobedience designed to warn others about clerics who commit or conceal child sex crimes. Saying “Kurt has suffered enough,” SNAP wants church and school staff to ask prosecutors to drop the case.

In 1968, Gladsky was molested by Brother Xavier B. Langdon at the school. In 2012, Gladsky was paid a six figure settlement by the school administration.

In 2004, Calvert Hall officials responded to public criticism by re-naming a golf tournament and an education program it had honored Br. Langton. They also took down his photo.

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.

AUSTRALIEN
Bruderinfo

Zum Beispiel Max Horley, ein Ältester der Zeugen Jehovas, bei seiner Zeugenaussage zum Thema Kindesmissbrauch in Australien vor der Kommission.

Der folgende Artikel wurde von einem NICHT-ausgeschlossenen Leser von JWSURVEY.ORG geschrieben.

Wie bereits in vielen Zeitungen und Medien auf der ganzen Welt berichtet wurde, geht die australische ROYAL COMMISSION den Hinweisen nach, dass Zeugen Jehovas in Australien 1006 Missbrauchsfälle an Kindern NICHT der Polizei gemeldet haben. 100 dieser Fälle seien angeblich Wiederholungstätern zuzuschreiben.

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.

DEUTSCHLAND/VATIKAN
Tagesspiegel

Der Vatikan hat einen Bericht der “Bild” zurückgewiesen, wonach Papst Franziskus Schadenersatzforderungen gegen den Limburger Ex-Bischof Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst abgelehnt hat.

Die “Bild” hatte berichtet, dass der emeritierte Bischof Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst wegen der überhöhten Kosten für die Limburger Bischofsresidenz keinen Schadenersatz zahlen muss. Wie das Blatt am Donnerstag unter Berufung auf Insider im Vatikan berichtet, habe Papst Franziskus diese Entscheidung schon im Juli getroffen.

Die deutsche Abteilung im päpstlichen Staatssekretariat sei darüber bereits informiert worden. Die Entscheidung solle dem Administrator des Bistums Limburg, Manfred Grothe, in der ersten September-Woche im Vatikan von Mitarbeitern des Papstes erläutert werden.

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.

GERMANY/VATICAN CITY
Deutsche Welle

Germany’s “bling bishop” might get off without paying damages to his diocese if a report in the mass-circulation “Bild” is to be believed. Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst had lived large in a 31.3 million-euro residence.

On Thursday, the mass-circulation newspaper “Bild” reported that the disgraced bishop would not have to pay damages for going about 25 million euros ($28 million) over budget. Quoting a Vatican insider, the Thursday edition of the newspaper, Germany’s biggest by circulation, reported that Pope Francis had made the decision back in July.

The professed papal confidant reportedly told the newspaper that Francis made the decision “out of sympathy and not out of a sense of justice.”

According to the newspaper, German officials of the Catholic Church have already been informed. Limburg Diocese administrator Manfred Grothe is expected to formally announce the decision in December, “Bild” reported.

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

AUSTRALIA
Herald Sun

Rabbi Meir Shlomo Kluwgant forced to stand down over intimidating child sex abuse victims returns to teaching

SHANNON DEERY NEWS LIMITED AUGUST 13, 2015

A DISGRACED rabbi forced to step down from a string of posts after he was caught intimidating and vilifying victims of child sexual abuse is now teaching Jewish Studies at an orthodox ladies college.

Meir Shlomo Kluwgant was forced to resign as Australia’s top rabbi amid a humiliating scandal in the wake of the child abuse royal commission’s probe into Yeshivah College.

But in a move that has outraged victims of abuse Rabbi Kluwgant is now teaching religious studies at Beth Rivkah Ladies College — operated by the Yeshivah Centre who has backed the move.

He has been teaching at the school for several months on a volunteer basis, but is remunerated by the Yeshivah Centre for performing other duties.

The move has outraged victims of child sexual abuse who say it is evidence the centre is not serious about tackling the scourge of abuse.

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

ROME
The Guardian (UK)

Paul Vallely
Thursday 13 August 2015

At 6.30 on the morning of 28 June 2013 – just three months into the reign of Pope Francis – officials of the Guardia di Finanza, the Italian law enforcement agency for financial crime, pulled up in front of a rectory in Palidoro, a quiet seaside town west of Rome. When they rang the bell, the cleric who came sleepily to the door was informed that he was under arrest. A few hours later, wearing a well-cut grey suit, Monsignor Nunzio Scarano was shown into a cell in the Regina Coeli, Rome’s most overcrowded prison.

Scarano, a suave, handsome priest known for his extravagant lifestyle (his nickname among other priests was Monsignor Cinquecento, My Lord Five Hundred, because of his habit of carrying only €500 banknotes), was head of accounting at the Amministrazione del Patrimonio della Sede Apostolica (APSA) – the body that then managed the Vatican’s property holdings and controlled its purchasing and personnel departments. His arrest made front-page news. He was accused of trying to smuggle €20m on a private plane across the border from Switzerland in a money-laundering conspiracy involving the Vatican bank, an agent of Italy’s secret services and an Italian broker under suspicion for running a Ponzi scheme.

Doubts about Scarano had first been aroused six months earlier, when he had reported a burglary at his apartment in the city of Salerno, south of Naples. Paintings from his art collection had been stolen, he claimed. When the police arrived at the 17-room apartment on Via Romualdo Guarna, in one of the city’s wealthiest neighbourhoods, they were startled by its opulence. It was furnished with valuable antiques, and a spectacular display of art lined the walls in hallways divided by Romanesque columns. Scarano’s collection included a painting attributed to Chagall. Police reports estimated the missing artworks were worth €6m.

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

KANSAS CITY (MO)
KSHB

[with video]

Brendaliss Gonzalez
Aug 12, 2015

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Instead of offering an apology to all victims, the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph offered a healing service on Wednesday for anyone who has been abused by someone in the church.

The diocese sent letters to victims of abuse who filed lawsuits against the church on Tuesday, inviting them to several services specifically aimed toward spiritual healing for victims of abuse.

Michael Sandridge received one of the letters.

“What is the purpose now?” he said. “This healing means it’s closed. It’s not closed. There are still so many people that have been damaged.”

Sandridge says he was abused by his priest when he was 11.

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.

MISSOURI
Fox 4

[with video]

AUGUST 12, 2015, BY ABBY EDEN

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The reaction from priest sex abuse victims following the Kansas City-St. Joseph diocese announcement of a series of healing prayer services, was it’s all a publicity stunt dodging the real issues, which comes too little, too late.

The church says it’s just one thing they’re doing to change the way sex abuse allegations are handled.

Pope Francis asked Catholics worldwide to make the next year, a year of mercy.

And the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph says that’s part of the reason they wanted to start these healing prayer services.

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.

MISSOURI
KCTV

By Laura McCallister, Multimedia Producer
By Jeanene Kiesling, Reporter

KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV) –
The Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph is apologizing to victims of sexual abuse while also trying to begin the healing process in the first in a series of prayer and healing services.

The first is held Wednesday at St. Thomas More Catholic Church. Those attending will receive a brochure. It reads “Hope” on the front, but at least one victim doubts the church’s sincerity.

“It’s a publicity stunt. I think it’s too little too late,” said Michael Sandridge

Sandridge was sexually abused on a field trip when he was 11. His abuser was his priest at St. Elizabeth.

Sandridge was a plaintiff in a 2014 settlement against the diocese. He said coming forward and seeking justice was hell.

“We were painted as liars and money grubbing. That was not the case. Originally we didn’t even want the money, just to get rid of the people,” said Sandridge.

Now he says the same church that called them liars is apologizing and trying to fix what was kept a secret for so long.

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 JERSEY
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Thursday, July 30

Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 566 9790, davidgclohessy@gmail.com, SNAPclohessy@aol.com)’

A priest who fled the US after raping a teenager in New Jersey later quietly taught at a Maryland school. Catholic bishops in both states should aggressively seek out his victims and warn the public about him.

[NJ.com]

Fr. Manuel Gallo Espinoza fled back to South America from the Newark archdiocese after a victim reported having been raped by the priest. (Catholic officials admit the report was “credible” and law enforcement sought to interview Fr. Espinoza.) A few years later, however, Fr. Espinoza quietly returned to the US and began teaching at a Prince George’s County, Md. School. He abruptly left in February.

We call on bishops in both Maryland and New Jersey to use their vast resources – parish bulletins, church websites and pulpit announcements – to warn police, prosecutors, parents, parishioners and the public about Fr. Espinoza. They should turn over every shred of paperwork they have about this priest to law enforcement. Bishops should personally visit parishes in the areas Fr. Espinoza worked, begging victims, witnesses and whistleblowers to step forward.

Catholic officials recruited, educated, ordained, hired, supervised, trained and sheltered Fr. Espinoza, then tipped him off as police were about to question him. So aggressive outreach is the bare minimum they should do at this point.

We hope law enforcement will also consider criminal charges against those who ignored or concealed Fr. Espinoza’s crimes.

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.

ST. LOUIS (MO)
Chackes, Carlson & Gorovsky

August 11, 2015 – St. Louis, MO

Chackes, Carlson & Gorovsky, LLP, seek dismissal of Fr. Joseph Jiang’s lawsuit against the mother of the young boy who accused Jiang of sexual abuse.

The victim’s mother is speaking out publicly for the first time:

“As a parent I selected and paid for Catholic school because I thought the Archdiocese would protect my child and educate him in the ways of God and man. Instead, I am horrified about the criminal abuse that happened to my child under their care. I chose to entrust the Archdiocese with my son, and they grossly failed to protect him. In addition, I am being sued for believing my child. I am also appalled that I am being accused of being a racist. I am further being accused of discriminating against Catholics. This is ridiculous. God has not given me a spirit of fear. As a mother I will do everything within my power to protect my child and to see those who perpetrated and allowed these heinous crimes to take place brought to justice. May God have mercy on their souls.”

A copy of the Motion to Dismiss is attached. In it, the mother’s attorneys state:
“In what appears to be a brazen attempt to frighten other potential victims of his from coming forward, on June 25, 2015, Plaintiff Xiu Hui “Joseph” Jiang filed a Complaint frivolously accusing the mother of a child who he sexually abused of violating his rights. Plaintiff Jiang’s Complaint reads like a 32 page self-serving press release which was filed without regard to the law or common sense. Despite alleging that he was falsely accused, Plaintiff includes serious unfounded allegations in his Complaint and labels them “upon information and belief.”

“Of course, N.M. has the ultimate defense to all claims in this case in that the allegations of sexual abuse against Plaintiff are TRUE, but this case should never get that far. Plaintiff has not even come close to making a sufficient claim against N.M. in this case. His facts about N.M. are startlingly sparse. The lack of facts here is so striking, in fact, that it appears that this entire case reeks of a publicity stunt designed to harass N.M. and her family and to prevent other victims of childhood sexual abuse from coming forward. This lawsuit is malicious, frivolous and harassing. The lawsuit lacks merit and is strongly against the public policy that encourages people to come forward when they are victims of childhood sexual abuse. With regard to N.M., it is purely harassing.”

The mother is being represented by Attorneys Ken Chackes (880-4465), Nicole Gorovsky (880-4469), and Scott Rosenblum (862-4332).

Motion to Dismiss

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.

MISSOURI
KMBC

KANSAS CITY, Mo. —The Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph has apologized to victims of priest sexual abuse and invited them to a series of prayer services, but some say the move is inadequate and does little to prevent abuse.

The diocese sent letters last week from Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann and placed local ads to let those “directly or indirectly affected by any form of sexual abuse” know about the services, which begin Wednesday. Naumann, of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, has been the Kansas City-St. Joseph Diocese’s apostolic administrator since the resignation of Bishop Robert Finn.

Finn also issued a public apology in 2008 to abuse victims as part of a $10 million settlement. But last year, when victims asked for a similar apology to be part of a $9.95 million settlement in another case, the diocese refused, The Kansas City Star reported.

Finn resigned last April, three years after he was convicted of failure to report suspected child abuse by a now-imprisoned priest.

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

SPAIN/CHILE
Prensa Latina

Madrid, Aug 12 (Prensa Latina) The Church conceals information about the disappearance of Spanish religious Antonio Llidó in October 1974 in Chile during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, today unveiled the online journal Publico.

The source says the Spanish Episcopal Conference and the Archbishop of Valencia refused to release the documents related to the case of the priest, one of the victims of the recently deceased Chilean general Manuel Contreras.

He adds that when the historian Mario Amoros (author of Antonio Llidó, a revolutionary priest, published in 2007) wanted to get the documents, the Archbishop said that should take 50 years to release those files.

When it was requested to the Spanish Episcopal Conference Amorós was informed that the access time is 100 years, according to journalist Danilo Albin, author of the research.

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INDIA
Times of India

INDORE: A 21-year-old man committed suicide in an ashram on the premises of Lal Mandir under the jurisdiction of Malharganj police station on Tuesday. The man wrote a suicide note on his wrist with henna (mehendi) accusing the ashram’s priest of harassing him.

According to police, the deceased Gajendra Sharma hailed from Narsinhpur who had come to Indore to study Hindu rituals. He used to take lessons along with many other students in an ashram behind Bada Ganpati temple in the city. These students used to live in the ashram itself. On Tuesday, Sharma was found hanging from the ventilation shaft of his room by some devotees. A suicide note was found on the man’s wrist which held the temple priest responsible for the act.

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NEW YORK
Road to Recovery

Neal E. Gumpel is a clergy sexual abuse victim of Fr. Roy Alan Drake, SJ, a deceased former professor at Fordham University, Bronx, NY, and Maine Maritime Academy in Castine, Maine, where Fr. Roy Alan Drake, SJ, sexually abused Neal Gumpel when he was a minor child

Fordham University and the Northeast Province of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), who staff Fordham University and were responsible for Fr. Roy Alan Drake, SJ for decades until his death, refuse to acknowledge and bear responsibility for the allegations of sexual abuse against Fr. Roy Alan Drake, SJ in Maine and give any assistance to Neal E. Gumpel, settle and validate his claim, and help him heal

The wife of Neal E. Gumpel, Helen Gumpel, retired fashion model and actress, thwarted a sexual attack in Bill Cosby’s dressing room on the set of “The Cosby Show,” and was featured recently in a New York magazine cover story on the sexual abuse of women by Bill Cosby. Helen Gumpel has become an advocate for her husband, a clergy sexual abuse victim, and the women who were sexually abused by Bill Cosby

What
A press conference and leafleting alerting the media, general public, and Fordham University alumni that the Northeast Province of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) and Fordham University refuse to assist a clergy sexual abuse victim of one of its priests, Fr. Roy Alan Drake, SJ

When
Wednesday, August 12, 2015 from 5:30 PM until 7:30 PM

Where
On the public sidewalk outside the Spring Lake Bath and Tennis Club, 1 Jersey Avenue, Spring Lake, NJ 07762

Who
Members of Road to Recovery, Inc., a non-profit charity that assists victims of sexual abuse and their families, including the co-founder and President, Robert M. Hoatson, a Fordham University alumnus, Ph.D., 1988

Why
Fordham University President Rev. Joseph Mc Shane SJ, along with new men’s basketball coach, Jeff Neubauer, will update alumni and friends about the university and the men’s basketball program, while continuing to ignore the request of childhood sexual abuse victim, Neal E. Gumpel, for help and healing from the injuries he incurred from the sexual abuse of Fr. Roy Alan Drake, SJ, a deceased Jesuit and Fordham University professor. Demonstrators will call on Fr. Mc Shane and the Jesuits to help Neal E. Gumpel heal by doing the right thing and acknowledging his sexual abuse claim.

Contacts
Robert M. Hoatson, Ph.D., Fordham University, ‘88
Attorney Mitchell Garabedian, Boston, MA, 617-523-6250

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MINNESOTA
BishopAccountability.org

Summary of Case: A native of the The Netherlands, Peter D. Snyers received seminary training at St. Paul Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota, and St. John’s in Collegeville. He was ordained for the St. Cloud diocese in 1953. He was assigned to parishes in Rice, Breckenridge, Ogleville, Foreston, Eden Valley, Holdingford and St. Cloud. Snyers was Assistant Director of the Catholic Boy Scouts in the diocese through the 1960s and ’70s. He retired in 2002 to Sauk Rapid, Minnesota, moving in 2009 to Sartell, where he died January 19, 2012. Snyers’ name was included on the Diocese of St. Cloud’s list released January 3, 2014 of 33 clergy ” likely involved in the sexual abuse of minors.”

Born: June 8, 1925
Ordained: December 27, 1953
Died: January 19, 2012

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NEW MEXICO
Albuquerque Business First

Stephanie Guzman
Reporter
Albuquerque Business First

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Gallup has more than 120 properties in both New Mexico and Arizona that are set to go on the market as part of a court-ordered auction. The auction comes after the diocese’s bankruptcy proceedings which began in 2013.

Accelerated Marketing Group and Tucson Realty and Trust Co. are offering the properties in two auctions, the first of which is in Arizona. About 100 properties in New Mexico will be auctioned in Albuquerque on Sept. 19 at the Sheraton Albuquerque Airport Hotel located at 2910 Yale Blvd SE.

Todd Good, president of Accelerated Marketing Group, said auctions are an effective way to quickly liquidate real estate assets. Some properties up for auction include a Catholic Charities building in Farmington and a 151-acre residential subdivision — La Vega Estates — in Cibola County.

At the auction, the properties will be sold regardless of the price, Good said. “If you’re the high bidder, you win the property and are not subject to court approval.”

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MICHIGAN
The Morning Sun

POSTED: 08/11/15

A Mt. Pleasant priest suspended last month for improper behavior is not returning to the pulpit and has been replaced.

The Rev. Denis Heames, priest at St. Mary’s University Parish in Mt. Pleasant, was put on administrative leave for inappropriate behavior related to his ministry in early July.

Heames has been replaced by The Rev. Thomas McNamara, a popular priest who served nine years as pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Mt. Pleasant in the 1990s.

McNamara – who assumes his new role immediately – will also continue serving the SS. Francis and Clare Parish in Birch Run, Bishop Joseph R. Cistone said in announcing the appointment.

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AUSTRALIA
PS News

The Department of Justice and Regulation has released a Consultation Paper exploring the possibility of establishing a redress scheme for victims of institutional child abuse.

According to the Consultation Paper, the absence of broad support required for a national redress scheme, particularly from the Federal Government, has led the Victorian Government to press ahead with a State scheme in order to meet its commitment to work on the implementation of recommendations made in the 2013 Betrayal of Trust Report.

“The release of this Consultation Paper is a critical step in that process, and the input received will be of great value to the Government in determining what form of Redress Scheme is adopted in Victoria,” the Consultation Paper said.

The Family and Community Development Committee of the Victorian Parliament’s Inquiry into the Handling of Child Abuse by Religious and Other Non-Government Organisations recommended in its Report, Betrayal of Trust, that an alternative to courts be established for survivors to bring claims against institutions.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Altoona Mirror

August 12, 2015
By Phil Ray (pray@altoonamirror.com) , The Altoona Mirror

The trial for a Somerset County priest charged with sexual offenses against Honduran children will take about three weeks, according to estimates in a memo issued by U.S. District Judge Kim Gibson in Johnstown.

Gibson held a status conference on the case against the Rev. Joseph Maurizio Jr. of Central City on Friday with Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie L. Haines and Maurizio’s Altoona attorney, Steven P. Passarello. The trial is scheduled to begin with jury selection on Sept. 8.

The prosecution said it will present its case beginning Sept. 9 and expects to finish by Sept. 21, although it could conclude as early as Sept. 16 or 17.

The defense told the judge it would take a week to present its case.

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MISSOURI
The Kansas City Star

BY JUDY L. THOMAS
jthomas@kcstar.com

The Catholic Diocese of Kansas-St. Joseph is apologizing to victims of priest sexual abuse and inviting them to a series of prayer and healing services that starts Wednesday.

The move drew mixed reviews from those abused by clergy, some saying it was too little, too late.

In 2008, they noted, then-Bishop Robert Finn issued a public apology to victims as part of a $10 million settlement. But last year, they said, when victims asked for a similar apology to be part of a $9.95 million settlement in another case, the diocese refused.

Last week, the diocese sent letters from Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann and placed ads in local media to let those “directly or indirectly affected by any form of sexual abuse” know they were welcome to attend the services. Naumann, of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, has been the Kansas City-St. Joseph Diocese’s apostolic administrator since Finn resigned in April.

The first service, to be led by Naumann, is at 7 p.m. Wednesday at St. Thomas More Catholic Church, 11822 Holmes Road. Several other services will follow over the next 10 months at parishes in the diocese, leading up to a lamentation service on June 26, 2016, at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.

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UNITED STATES
Catholic League

Bill Donohue comments on the reaction of gay activists to a bishop who quoted the Bible:

They want him behind bars. His offense? He quoted from the Bible. The accused: Swiss Bishop Vitus Huonder. The accusers: gay activists in Europe and the United States.

On July 31, Bishop Huonder spoke at a Catholic forum in Germany, and in his remarks he quoted from Leviticus the passage condemning homosexuality. He also criticized gender theory.

Pink Cross, the umbrella group for Swiss LGBT groups, has now filed a criminal complaint against him. Citing the nation’s hate speech laws, he is accused of fomenting violence against
homosexuals. So far, more than a dozen gay groups and media outlets have pledged their support for Pink Cross. If found guilty, he could serve up to three years in prison.

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MILWAUKEE (WI)
WHBL

MILWAUKEE (WTAQ) – There’s a new dispute over how many victims of priest sex abuse should be compensated in the settlement of the Milwaukee Archdiocese bankruptcy case.

The 10-county Catholic church has said that 157 people would not get any money from a $21 million settlement announced last week. But the creditors’ committee said only 84 victims should be omitted — those who received earlier cash payments from the archdiocese.

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MILWAUKEE (WI)
Washington Times

By – Associated Press – Tuesday, August 11, 2015

MILWAUKEE (AP) – Creditors in the Milwaukee archdiocese bankruptcy case say some clergy abuse victims have been excluded from the $21 million settlement announced last week.

Creditors committee members say about 73 victims they believed would be compensated when they negotiated the settlement won’t be compensated. Committee chairman Charles Linneman says members believed only victims who had received prior cash settlements from the church would not be compensated. That’s about 84 people.

That contradicts the statement issued by the archdiocese last week that said 157 individuals would not receive money.

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UNITED KINGDOM
BBC News

Clergy and senior lay leaders in Jersey’s Anglican Church have had training in protecting islanders from abuse, the Bishop of Dover said.

The Right Reverend Trevor Willmott said new safeguarding measures are in place to reassure everyone in the church.

It follows a decision by the church’s governing body – the Synod – that improvements must be made.

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NEDERLAND
Katholiek Nieuwsblad

[Allegations of abuse against the late Bishop Jan Blyseen have been deem plausible by a special investigating committee.]

De deze week naar buiten gebrachte beschuldigingen van ernstig seksueel misbruik door oud-bisschop Jan Bluyssen zijn door de Klachtencommissie onvoldoende aannemelijk bevonden.

Dat blijkt uit het advies van de Klachtencommissie dat door bisschop Anton Hurkmans van Den Bosch is overgenomen. De commissie heeft de bisschop geadviseerd de klacht ongegrond te verklaren.

Herhaalde verkrachting

Eerder deze week werd zijn voorganger, Jan Bluyssen (1926-2013), beschuldigd van ernstig seksueel misbruik. In een uitzending van Radio EenVandaag zei een oud-leerling van het kleinseminarie Beekvliet in de jaren ‘50 tientallen keren door Bluyssen te zijn verkracht.

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CIUDAD DEL VATICANO
BBC Mundo

[No trial date has been set for Josef Wesolowski who is accused to abusing boys in the Domincan Republic.]

“Monseñor Wesolowski dejó el hospital a la semana de haber sido internado, sigue bajo arresto en el Vaticano y aún no se conoce la fecha en la que se retomará el juicio en su contra”.

Es la escueta respuesta del Vaticano cuando se le pregunta sobre Jozef Wesolowski.

El exdiplomático de la Santa Sede en el país caribeño debía acudir el 11 de julio, hace
exactamente un mes, a la primera audiencia del juicio en su contra en un tribunal del Estado de la Ciudad del Vaticano, pero no se presentó.

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AUSTRALIA
iWire

11 August 2015 By Alex Zaharov-Reutt

Australians can now stream Royal Commission hearings live to any device, also allowing ‘media commentators, affected parties and impaired audiences to engage with the commissions in real time.’

A new initiative supported by digital agency Get Started is giving Australians the opportunity to ‘stream the Royal Commission hearings into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse and the Royal Commission into Family Violence live from any device they choose.’

It will also now allow ‘media commentators, affected parties and impaired audiences to engage with the commissions in real time.’

A media release from digital agency Get Started explains these changes ‘are the result of a fundamental shift in the way government agencies are approaching the accessibility and sharing of information online.’

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MASSACHUSETTS
Boston Herald

By: Laurel J. Sweet

A retired Salesian priest already serving a decadelong stretch at the state prison in Gardner for rape of a child pleaded guilty yesterday to a separate abuse indictment brought against him after a second victim recognized the former reverend from his photo in the Herald.

Richard McCormick, 74 and on medication for heart and thyroid ailments, was charged with rape of a child, but pleaded out in Salem Superior Court yesterday to a charge of indecent assault and battery on a child under age 14 in exchange for not raising any potential statute of limitations issues.

The 8-to-10-year sentence imposed by Judge Timothy Feeley will run concurrently with the 8 to 10 years the Boston native received in November after a jury convicted him of child rape. The new sentence, however, starts today and McCormick is not credited with time already served.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

Child sex abuse royal commission: Ex-Knox Grammar headmaster Dr Ian Paterson did not commit crime in failing to assist police, inquiry hears

By Nicole Chettle

A long-serving former Knox Grammar School headmaster did not commit a crime by failing to assist police investigating teachers at the exclusive Sydney boys’ school, the royal commission into child sexual abuse has heard.

The commission is looking at how the school responded to allegations of abuse by teachers between 1970 and 2009. Five teachers were later convicted of child sex offences.

During verbal submissions in Sydney on Monday the commission heard counsel assisting, David Lloyd, was seeking findings against Dr Ian Paterson, who was headmaster at Knox for 30 years.

The commission has the authority to refer alleged crimes to police.

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MILWAUKEE (WI)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

By Annysa Johnson of the Journal Sentinel

The creditors committee in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee bankruptcy is challenging the terms of the $21 million settlement announced by Archbishop Jerome Listecki last week, saying the church excluded about 73 victims who committee members believed would be compensated when they agreed to the deal, its chairman said Monday.

Charles Linneman, who heads the five-member committee, said members understood that the only survivors who would not be compensated were those who had received prior cash settlements from the church — about 84 people.

That contradicts the statement issued by the archdiocese last week that 157 individuals would not be compensated.

“We want some answers about who is really in this group,” Linneman said.

Frank LoCoco, lead attorney for the archdiocese, said it is in talks with plaintiffs’ attorneys to determine how their clients will be treated under the plan, which is scheduled to be filed Aug. 24. He said some of the 157 who were deemed to receive no cash payment could be compensated as a result.

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PAKISTAND
Outlook India

ANEES JILLANI

Child sexual abuse is a worldwide phenomenon. The Catholic Church has been tarnished due to the involvement of dozens of its priests and pastoral workers in the sexual abuse committed over a period of 60 years and the bishops and other seniors downplaying it. The British papers reported just the other day about the involvement of former British Prime Minister, Edward Heath, in abusing children. A few months back, it was reported that some Pakistanis had been abusing dozens of under-age girls in Rotherham in England.

Does the fact that such abuses have taken place worldwide make the sexual exploitation of children in the Hussain Khan Wala village in the Qasur District of Punjab Province, near the border with India and about an hour’s drive from Lahore palatable and tolerable? Should we cover it up because the publicity surrounding the incident will adversely affect Pakistan’s reputation? Should the families remain silent to cover their honour?

Pakistan is passing through a semi-anarchical situation at present, with hardly any institution, appearing to be in a satisfactorily functioning order. At times, I feel that the top priority of every Pakistani is to invest in real estate. Just last night, while appearing in a TV program on the Qasur scandal with a minister from the ruling party, I could hear the minister talk about real estate investments in the 50 minute program during the intervals. He obviously was more concerned about this subject than the sexual abuse of a few village boys.

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MASSACHUSETTS
Boston.com

By Dialynn Dwyer @dia_dwyer
Boston.com Staff

Richard McCormick, a former Roman Catholic priest, was convicted last November and sentenced to eight to ten years in prison for raping a boy multiple times at a summer camp in Ipswich in the early 1980s.

On Monday, the 74-year old McCormick plead guilty to indecently assaulting another boy during the same years, according to a report by The Boston Globe.

The boy was only six years old when he began attending the camp, and McCormick sexually abused him at different times between 1981 and 1983, according to The Globe. The Globe said the victim recognized McCormick as his abuser when he saw the former priest’s picture after his conviction on five counts of rape in 2012.

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AUSTRALIA
Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse

10 August, 2015

The Royal Commission’s public hearing into the Jehovah’s Witnesses will recommence in Sydney on Friday 14 August 2015 at 11:00am.

It is anticipated that the hearing will hear from one witness, Mr Geoffrey Jackson, a member of the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

The scope and purpose of the public hearing is to inquire into:

1. The experience of survivors of child sexual abuse within the Jehovah’s Witnesses Church in Australia.

2. The responses of the Jehovah’s Witnesses Church and the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Australia Ltd to allegations, reports or complaints of child sexual abuse within the Church.

3. The systems, policies and procedures in place within the Jehovah’s Witnesses Church and the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Australia Ltd for raising and responding to allegations of or concerns about child sexual abuse within the Church.

4. The systems, policies and procedures in place within the Jehovah’s Witnesses Church and the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Australia Ltd to prevent child sexual abuse within the Church.

5. Any related matters.

Date: Friday 14 August 2015
Hearing times: 11:00am start
Location: Hearing room 1, Level 17, Governor Macquarie Tower, 1 Farrer Place, Sydney

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AUSTRALIA
Daily Mail

EXCLUSIVE: The sordid truth behind Australia’s worst paedophile ring: The girl, 13, ‘forced into sex slavery by her own father’ and the ‘God-loving’ pastor who gave her amyl nitrate before raping her

By Daniel Piotrowski In Perth, Western Australia For Daily Mail Australia

A teenage girl allegedly abused by a shocking paedophile ring of eight men including her own father was drugged with amyl nitrate and raped by an evangelical preacher.

David Volmer, 41, a married father of two and the South African-born pastor of the ACTS Christian Church in Perth, pleaded guilty to 12 charges relating to the 13-year-old girl’s abuse last month.

Among the offences were three counts each of sexually penetrating a child, indecently dealing with a child under 13 and indecently dealing with a child aged over 13 and under 16.

Court documents obtained by Daily Mail Australia show Mr Volmer also pleaded guilty to three counts of administering amyl nitrate – a ‘stupefying vapour’ – with intent to sexually penetrate and indecently deal with the girl.

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MASSACHUSETTS
WBUR

By LISA CREAMER

BOSTON A former high-ranking Catholic priest found guilty last November of repeatedly raping a boy at an Ipswich summer camp pleaded guilty in court Monday to an additional charge that he sexually assaulted another young boy at the same camp, officials said.

According to Essex District Attorney spokeswoman Carrie Kimball Monahan, the ex-Rev. Richard McCormick, 74, pleaded guilty in Salem Superior Court to a charge of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 in exchange for McCormick agreeing to not pursue the statute of limitations appeal on the alleged rape.

At age 71, McCormick was arrested inside his residence and workplace, the Salesian Brothers of Don Bosco facility in New Rochelle, N.Y., and later found guilty on charges he took a boy from a dormitory and raped him in an office at the now-closed Salesian Brothers’ Sacred Heart Retreat House — a summer camp — in the early 1980s. He currently is serving eight to 10 years in prison in that case.

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MASSACHUSETTS
The Salem News

Posted: Monday, August 10, 2015

BY JULIE MANGANIS STAFF WRITER

IPSWICH — A retired Roman Catholic priest who is already serving eight to 10 years in prison for the rape of a boy back in the early 1980s has received a second state prison term after admitting to molesting another child.

Rev. Richard McCormick, 74, the former provincial of the Salesian Society of North America, pleaded guilty Tuesday in Salem Superior Court to a reduced charge of indecent assault and battery.

The charge was reduced as part of plea negotiations, after McCormick agreed not to challenge whether the statute of limitations had expired in the case. He was originally charged with raping the boy during a period between 1981 and 1983, when the child was between 6 and 8 years old.
The victim, who grew up in Salem, the child of a struggling single mother, was sent to a summer camp in Rowley through the Salem Boys Club, he said.

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NORTH DAKOTA
BishopAccountability.org

Summary of Case: John J. Owens was ordained for the Bismarck, North Dakota diocese in 1960. He assisted at parishes in Minot, Mandan, Williston and Trenton and went on to pastor parishes in towns including Leipzig, Douglas, Wilton and Menoken. Owens was longtime director of diocesan communications and editor of the diocesan paper. He also hosted a radio program which focused on outreach to area youth. He retired in 1999 to Forest Lake Minnesota, where he provided temporary assistance in parishes until 2004. Forest Lake is part of the St. Paul and Minneapolis archdiocese.

In 2002 a report was made to the Bismarck diocese that Owens had engaged in sexual misconduct toward a minor. Owens’ faculties were removed by the diocese, but he was allowed to continue as a fill-in priest in Minnesota until 2004; his faculties were removed there in 2005. The accusation wasn’t made public until October 23, 2014, when the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis included Owens’ name on a list of clergy with substantiated claims against them of child sexual abuse. Details of the abuse have not been released, except that it is said to have occurred in North Dakota. He is said to be living a “life of atonement.”

Ordained: 1960

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PAKISTAN
Reuters

HUSAIN KHAN WALA, PAKISTAN | BY MEHREEN ZAHRA-MALIK AND MUBASHER BUKHARI

Parents at the center of a growing child abuse scandal in Pakistan accused police on Monday of failing to do enough to break up a pedophile ring in Punjab province, the prime minister’s political heartland.

Villagers in the central Punjabi village of Husain Khan Wala told Reuters that a prominent family there has for years forced children to perform sex acts on video. The footage was sold or used to blackmail their impoverished families.

Rubina Bibi says her 13-year-old son was a victim, but when she tried to file a report at the Ganda Singh Wala police station a month and a half ago, “the police station clerk told me to get lost and I was thrown out”.

“My son is in the videos, he is a victim,” she said. “Our children were forced into this. They were humiliated. But the police are treating them like criminals.”

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MASSACHUSETTS
NECN

The former Rev. Richard McCormick pleaded guilty Monday to indecent assault and battery on a child under 14.

Judge Timothy Feeley of Salem Superior Court sentenced him to 8 to 10 years in state prison.

McCormick is currently serving an 8 to 10 prison sentence following his conviction on 5 counts of child rape in Nov. 2014.

The Commonwealth reduced the charge from child rape to indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 after the defendant waived his right to assert the statute of limitations.

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MASSACHUSETTS
WHDH

A former priest pleaded guilty to indecent assault and battery of a child under 14 on Monday.

Richard McCormick was sentenced to 10 years in state prison, however, he is already serving 8 to 10 years from a 2014 child rape conviction, according to the Essex County District Attorney’s Office.

McCormick assaulted his victim, who was 7 years old at the time, on several occasions between June 1982 and September 1983.

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MILWAUKEE (WI)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Archdiocese secretly removed 80 victims from settlement after agreement
Chair says victims were “duped” in mediation
Time for an investigation by the Federal Bankruptcy Trustee and the Department of Justice

Statement by Peter Isely, SNAP Midwest Director
CONTACT: 414.429.7259

The Chair of the Creditors Committee of the Milwaukee Archdiocese’s nearly five year old child sex abuse bankruptcy is saying today that the committee can no longer support the settlement agreement unilaterally announced by Archbishop Jerome Listecki last week.

According to Charles Linneman, the Chair of the Creditors Committee, at least 80 victims were removed from the settlement without the committee’s knowledge.

The settlement, which has per victim compensation amounts at an average ten times lower than all other church bankruptcy settlements in the United States, appears to have been mediated by the archdiocese to “dupe” victims into an agreement.

Linneman was interviewed today in a breaking story by the National Catholic Reporter.

Perhaps even more alarming is that the five survivors on the committee, who represent 575 victims who filed cases into court, were never given anything in writing about the so called settlement, were not working off of written drafts, and were not allowed in the mediation to see any of the 575 case reports of the victims they were negotiating for. The committee members were also told nothing of when the settlement was going to be announced.

Also, unlike any other bankruptcy mediation in the United States, no one but the archdiocese was allowed to determine which claims were valid.

Of the 575 reports by victims, the criminal and sexually abusive acts of at least 100 newly alleged offender clergy have been detailed. Astonishingly, the archdiocese, which has a demonstrated history of concealing and transferring known sex offenders, was allowed to determine, without any outside investigation and apparently no involvement by law enforcement, that every single one of the over 100 newly named clerics were not a present danger to children.

Lawyers for the bankruptcy will be receiving nearly 70 percent of the total money. Over $20 million dollars will be pocketed by church, bankruptcy and church cemetery trust lawyers. Another $7 million will be distributed to lawyers representing individual creditors.

The archdiocese has between $250 to $300 million dollars that the settlement does not require they make available to victims, including a $60 to $65 million dollars of a fraudulently created “Cemetery Trust Fund” that the US Federal 7th Circuit Court has now ruled must be part of the archdiocesan bankruptcy estate. Not one single piece of property will have to be sold. No parishes or other church assets will be included, even though at one time the archdiocese listed its net worth at $1.3 billion dollars. (See details of what survivors believe the settlement should have been here.)

It’s hard to determine exactly how many lawyers have been involved in the bankruptcy, but for argument sake, of the 20 major lawyers “of record”, one can calculate that on average each one will be making about $1.5 million dollars. Compare that to the 330 clergy rape and sexual assault victims that the archdiocese has “allowed” into their settlement who will be getting on average $44,000 dollars each. (Keep in mind as well that 245 victims were excluded, including the 80 secretly removed after the archdiocesan announcement. They will receive nothing from the settlement as it stands.)

Average settlement amounts from other church bankruptcies after attorneys’ fees, is just over $300,000 dollars.

Among the secretly excluded 80 appear to be deaf victims sexually assaulted as children by the notorious Father Lawrence Murphy, a case which gained international attention. After removing lawyer fees, their settlement offer will be about $1,300 dollars. With archdiocesan billable hours at $450 to $475 dollars an hour this means a deaf victim assaulted by Murphy over a period of several years would receive less money than four billable hours by a church lawyer, hardly a single morning’s work defending the archdiocese for abusive priests and cover ups.

Isn’t it time with these new and alarming revelations today that the Federal Bankruptcy Trustee and the bankruptcy division of the Department of Justice begin a long overdue investigation?

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MILWAUKEE (WI)
National Catholic Reporter

Marie Rohde | Aug. 10, 2015

MILWAUKEE The chairman of the creditors committee for the Milwaukee archdiocese bankruptcy said the outline of the settlement released this week does not match his understanding of what was in the agreement and that neither he nor the other victims on the committee can support it in its present form.

“It makes me feel like I was duped in mediation,” said Charles Linneman, chairman of the committee, adding that on Aug. 6, the committee discussed the version released by the archdiocese two days earlier and concluded “what they announced was not what we agreed to.”

Linneman contends that the archdiocese’s Aug. 4 statement outlining the key points in the settlement does not match what the creditors committee agreed to during the mediation. The committee had gotten nothing in writing and were not given copies of the statement before it was released.

“I didn’t even know it was coming out,” Linneman said. “I didn’t know anything about it until I started getting calls from survivors.”

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SWITZERLAND
Newsweek

Reuters

A gay rights group has filed a criminal complaint against a Roman Catholic bishop after he quoted Bible verses calling for gay people to be killed and said the passage made clear what Church policy was on homosexuality.

Vitus Huonder, the Catholic Bishop of the city of Chur in eastern Switzerland, made the speech on 31 July, during a debate on marriage and family organised by the German Catholic Forum in Fulda, Germany.

According to Swiss media reports, Huonder, 73, read out a passage from Leviticus 20:13: “If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.” His reading was followed by applause, before Huonder continued: “Both of these passages alone suffice to clarify unambiguously the church’s position on homosexuality,” according to a statement released by Pink Cross, an umbrella association for Swiss gay groups that is filing the complaint.

Pink Cross, supported by the Swiss Lesbian Organisation, argues that these comments amount to “inciting people to crime or violence,” and handed a lawsuit to the public prosecutor of Canton Graubünden in eastern Switzerland on Monday. If found guilty, Huonder faces up to three years in prison.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Volksfreund

[Children at a Catholic daycare center in Mainz were sexually harassed and assaulted.]

(Pfungstadt/Mainz (dpa)) In einer katholischen Kindertagesstätte im südhessischen Pfungstadt sollen Kinder sexuell belästigt worden sein. Im Verdacht steht ein

Bundesfreiwilligendienstleistender, der dort gearbeitet hat. Das Bistum Mainz hat am Montag einen entsprechenden Bericht des «Darmstädter Echos» bestätigt. Die dortige Pfarrei St. Antonius ist Träger des Kindergartens und gehört zum Bistum Mainz.

Wann es zu dem Übergriff kam, war nach Angaben eines Bistumssprechers zunächst unklar. Die Polizei habe die Ermittlungen übernommen, sagte er. Als die Pfarrei dem Bistum am 30. Juli den Fall gemeldet habe, seien sofort die Ermittlungsbehörden und das zuständige Jugendamt eingeschaltet worden. Der mutmaßliche Täter sei fristlos entlassen worden. Das Bistum bedauert in einer Mitteilung den Vorfall und sagte den betroffenen Kindern und ihren Eltern Unterstützung zu.

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SCHWEIZ
Blick

[The shame of the Swiss Church – Rapper Gimma and blue musicians Philipp Fankhauser have shocked people by saying publicly they were abused by clergy in a Catholic boarding school and they are not the only ones by far. They were reacting to statements by Swiss Bishop Vitus Huonder who inferred by quoting certain bible portions that homosexual people should be put to death.]

Gimmas Plädoyer gegen Schwulenhass und sexuellen Missbrauch in der Kirche hat hohe Wellen geschlagen. Nach den Äusserungen des Churer Bischofs Vitus Huonder, der die Homosexualität während einer Rede zum Thema Familie als «Gräueltat» abstempelte, holte der Rapper zum Gegenschlag aus und setzte wirkliche Gräueltaten auf die Agenda – der Kindsmissbrauch in der katholischen Kirche.

Für seinen offenen Brief an den Churer Bischof – «Lieber Herr Huonder, ich weiss ja nicht, ob Sie das Interessiert, aber ich wurde in meinem Leben von gut und gerne einem halben Dutzend Gläubigen und Würdenträgern sexuell genötigt» – hat Gimma jüngst gar von prominenter Seite Zuspruch erhalten.

«Danke Gimma, danke vielmals», schrieb etwa Bluesmusiker Philipp Fankhauser auf Facebook und gewährte einen nicht minder schockierenden Einblick in den Alltag katholischer Kloster: «Ich war von 1975 (mit 11) bis 1976 im katholischen Collegio Don Bosco in Maroggia bei Lugano», erzählt Fankhauser. «Der damalige Direktor und viele weitere Priester haben uns alle missbraucht.»

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PAKISTAN
The Guardian

Jon Boone in Islamabad

Monday 10 August 2015

The parents of victims of a child sexual abuse scandal that has horrified Pakistan say police tried to downplay the scale of crimes committed by a paedophile ring in a village in the country’s east.

It has been claimed that up to 280 girls and boys under the age of 14 were filmed being abused in Hussain Khan Wala, a village in Punjab province, near the Indian border. The videos were then used to blackmail their families as well as being sold to websites that host child abuse images.

Locals say police were reluctant to take action until it became a national scandal.

“Police did not even listen to me when I went to the station,” said the mother of one rape victim, who did not want her name revealed and who first took video evidence to the police in July.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
MSN

By ANDREW TAYLOR, Associated Press

WASHINGTON — A political pope is sure to seize his opportunity when he addresses a political body. So both Democrats and Republicans are looking forward to Pope Francis’ remarks to Congress next month — and bracing for them, too.

The pope thrills Democrats with his teachings on climate change, social justice and immigration. At the same time, his message on life and the Catholic Church’s traditional opposition to abortion comfort Republicans.

There is genuine giddiness among Catholic Democrats — many of whom have long been uncomfortably at odds with their church over abortion rights — about the pope’s strong emphasis on addressing poverty and the environment.

“I’ve been waiting for this pope all my life,” said liberal Massachusetts Democrat Jim McGovern, 57. “I find him inspirational and I know a lot of other people do, not just Catholics.”

The pope comes to the Capitol on Sept. 24, where he will be the first pontiff to ever address a joint meeting of Congress. He will also appear on a West Front balcony to greet the public.

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AUSTRALIA
Perth Now

THE Royal Commissioner examining South Australia’s child protection system has revealed plans to take evidence from 13 foster care or welfare agencies, but all hearings will be closed to the public.

At least two of the witnesses giving evidence say they would be happy to do so openly and the Opposition has called for open hearings to be the “default position”, unless discussing details of sensitive child abuse cases.

Applications can be made to the Commissioner, former Supreme Court Judge Margaret Nyland, for a hearing to be opened to the public or Justice Nyland can declare a hearing open if she believes the evidence is of public interest.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC – The Drum

OPINION
By Paul Grundy

The Royal Commission into child abuse has highlighted a number of flawed areas within the Jehovah’s Witness Church. It’s time for the elders to instigate real change from within, writes former Witness Paul Grundy.

I was raised a Jehovah’s Witness and for many years followed the doctrine of the religion.

I believed the teachings of the religion’s guiding magazine, Watchtower, and thought I was never going to die. I didn’t even expect to finish school before Armageddon – where God would kill the billions of people who were not Jehovah’s Witnesses and leave the few million witnesses to live on this planet forever.

According to the teachings of Watchtower:

Only Jehovah’s Witnesses, those of the anointed remnant and the “great crowd”, as a united organization under the protection of the Supreme Organizer, have any Scriptural hope of surviving the impending end of this doomed system dominated by Satan the Devil.
In my teen years I “pioneered” – meaning I devoted 20 hours a week to preaching – and at 21 I moved to the Bethel Watchtower headquarters, where I spent three-and-a-half years as a volunteer worker.

I personally came to know a number of the people who have recently been called for interview before the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

Terry O’Brien, the Australian Branch coordinator, was in my pioneer training school in the 1980s. Geoff Jackson, one of the religion’s governing body, lived in Tasmania, and his wife’s family brought my family into the religion in the early 1970s. Vincent Toole, the Bethel lawyer, was someone I knew well and looked up to.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

PAUL NUSSBAUM
LAST UPDATED: Sunday, August 9, 2015

The massive security efforts planned for next month’s papal visit to Philadelphia are unnecessarily burdensome and might not be effective, according to some security and counterterrorism experts.

The closure of major highways and bridges for more than two days, a three-square-mile traffic-free zone in Center City, restricted transit access, and the closing of offices and businesses “is a disproportional reaction,” said Scott White, a former security agent for the Canadian government and now a professor of homeland security and security management at Drexel University.

“What are we attempting to do here? Are we attempting to protect the pontiff, who already has – and always has – rings of security? Or are we attempting to protect one million or two million people?”

“We can’t protect 40 people in a cinema,” White said, referring to the spate of recent theater shootings. “How are we going to protect two million people?”

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SWITZERLAND
swissinfo

AUG 10, 2015

Pink Cross, the umbrella association for Swiss gay groups, is filing a criminal complaint against Vitus Huonder, the Catholic bishop of Chur, for “homophobic comments” made in a recent speech in which he quoted bible verses calling for gays to be put to death.

The lawsuit was set to be handed in to the public prosecutor of canton Graubünden in eastern Switzerland on Monday.

Pink Cross, backed by the Swiss Lesbian Organisation, accuses 73-year-old Huonder of “inciting people to crime or violence” with his remarks made at a religious forum in Germany on July 31.
If found guilty, Huonder faces up to three years in prison.

In his 50-minute address on marriage, the bishop quoted two verses from the book of Leviticus, including Leviticus 20:13: “If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.”

In response to applause, he continued: “Both of these passages alone suffice to clarify unambiguously the church’s position on homosexuality”.

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ILLINOIS
CI News Now

CANTON, Ill. — A former youth pastor convicted of criminal sexual abuse of a minor four years ago now faces felony charges after allegedly stepping foot onto the property of a daycare.

According to the Peoria Journal Star, 41-year-old Jason Phillips of Glasford was arrested Thursday after being seen dropping off two children at His Little Children Child Care Center in Canton.

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SCOTLAND
The National

AUGUST 10TH, 2015

A SURVIVOR of abuse at Fort Augustus Catholic boarding school has asked Police Scotland Chief Constable Sir Stephen House to meet with him amid fears the force is not capable of dealing with survivors of child abuse. The call comes ahead of a wide-ranging public inquiry into historic child abuse that, campaigners believe, will lead to a substantial increase in the number of people coming forward to report abuse.

Andi Lavery, from White Flowers Alba, an advocacy group for child sex-abuse survivors, claimed the force were trying to trash his reputation ahead of the start of the Scottish Government’s public inquiry into historic child sex abuse in Scotland.

Lavery’s claim came after police denied a force call-handler had shouted at him when he tried to report abuse on behalf of two men at Pluscarden Abbey.

As reported in the National on Friday, detectives from Police Scotland are now investigating claims of historic child sex abuse at the Moray abbey in the 60s and 80s.

The two men, who say they were abused at that time, went to Lavery who then reported their abuse to Police Scotland.

Lavery says the call handler did not deal with him in a manner appropriate for the crimes he was reporting.

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AUSTRALIA
The Guardian

Australian Associated Press
Monday 10 August 2015

A former headmaster of Knox Grammar did not commit a crime by failing to give police information about alleged sexual assaults at the elite private school, the child abuse royal commission has heard.

Counsel assisting the commission David Lloyd has sought findings against Dr Ian Paterson under the Crimes Act, it has been revealed.

Paterson, the head of Knox Grammar from 1969 to 1998, gave evidence during an appearance before the commission in March that he had not told everything he knew to an investigating police officer.

But Paterson later retreated from the admission and told the commission he had not misled police.

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AUSTRALIA
9 News

AAP

A former Knox Grammar teacher is threatening legal action against the child abuse royal commission over what he claims was his unlawful arrest on a warrant and evidence that, he believes, defamed him.

Christopher Fotis, who taught at the elite Sydney school in the 1980s, appeared before the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in April after being arrested on a warrant for failing to appear at an earlier date.

The commission heard in April that Mr Fotis had been suspected of being a balaclava-clad intruder who sexually assaulted a boy in his school dormitory bed in 1988.

Mr Fotis denied being the intruder and also told the court he had not known he was considered as a suspect until this year.

On Monday Mr Fotis’ barrister, Margaret Bateman, told the commission her client was “pretty cranky” about what he believed was “unlawful behaviour from the commission”.

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AUSTRALIA
Bega District News

By Ben Smyth Aug. 10, 2015

BEGA District News readers may remember “John”, a victim of child sexual abuse at the hands of the Marist Brothers who previously shared his story.

In the continuing saga of Maurice Van Ryn, John has once more been in touch to offer sympathy and support to victims and their families.

He has also shared his experience of finally receiving an apology from the Church – 55 years after the abuse began.

“Everyone should have the courage to stand up for the child and speak out against the paedophile,” John writes.

Read his story below

The nature of child sexual abuse

IT TOOK me 55 years to make the decision to deal with the sexual abuse that happened to me.

The decision was made in 2009 and since then the road has been a rocky one – but it has been the right one.

The legacy of the sexual abuse is complex and it is now understood the harm caused by the abuser is deeply psychological.

See your ad here
The problem as I see comes with the word “child”.

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AUSTRALIA
SBS

AAP

10 AUG 2015

A member of the Jehovah’s Witness church governing body has been summoned to appear before the child abuse royal commission after previously being excused on compassionate grounds.

New York-based Geoffrey Jackson is in Australia to visit a sick family member and the commission had previously been told he would not be able to give relevant information about how the church formed its policies around handling of sexual abuse complaints.

Commissioner Peter McClellan decided after hearing further evidence that Mr Jackson should be summoned.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Herald Scotland

Judith Duffy, Reporter / Saturday 8 August 2015

Police operations:

*Operation Fairbank: Umbrella inquiry

In 2012, Labour MP used parliamentary privilege to raise allegations that a paedophile network existed “linked to Parliament and No 10” and called for the Metropolitan Police to examine the issue. This helped lead to the setting up of Operation Fairbank in the same year, which is the Metropolitan police’s umbrella inquiry into child sex abuse claims involving high-profile political figures. It has established a number of criminal investigations.

Cost: £720,000 (as of March 2014)

*Operation Fernbridge: Grafton Close Children’s Home/Elm Guest House, London. Now closed.

A criminal investigation launched in February 2013 to examine allegations of abuse arising from Operation Fernbridge. It focused on abuse allegedly carried out at Grafton Close children’s home and Elm Guest House, both in London. Two men were charged in connection with Grafton House. One was was found dead at his home before the trial began. In March, Catholic priest Father Anthony McSweeney, 68, was found guilty of abusing a teenage boy and jailed for three years.

*Operation Athabasca: Elm Guest House, London

This investigation took over from Operation Fernbridge after McSweeney was sentenced in March to investigate allegations of a ‘VIP’ paedophile network centred on Elm Guest House in 1970s and early 1980s. Cyril Smith, the late Liberal MP who was exposed as an alleged paedophile in 2012, is known to have visited the premises.

In April, Richard Kerr, who suffered abuse at Kincora Children’s home in Belfast, said he was one of three youngsters taken from the home to London in the 1970s, where they were allegedly molested by politicians and other high-profile figures at Elm Guest House and Dolphin Square.

*Operation Midland: Dolphin Square, London

This was established in November 2014 to examine claims of systematic child abuse by a VIP Westminster paedophile ring during the 1980s and investigate claims three boys were murdered. It centres around Dolphin Square, an apartment block in London where many MPs lived. Among those who have been accused of being involved in the paedophile ring include former home secretary Leon Brittan, who died in January. Scotland Yard is also thought to be investigating claims against former Prime Minister Edward Heath as part of Operation Midland.

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AUSTRALIA
The Age

August 10, 2015

Judy Courtin

Survivors of clergy sex in Ballarat are unhappy with the unexpected announcement last week by the royal commission that hearings scheduled for November will be held in Melbourne, instead of their home city. This is not the only reason, though, for despondency, hurt and exasperation in the Ballarat survivor community.

In 2011 and 2012, The Age published a series of important articles reporting on the premature deaths, including by suicide, of 43 men who allegedly had been sexually assaulted as children by since-convicted Catholic clergy paedophiles, including Gerald Ridsdale​ and Robert Best.

The findings of Operation Plangere are flawed, worthless and misleading.

There were mounting calls at the time, including by this author, for the Victorian coroner to reopen these 43 cases based on new information – the common history of alleged clergy child sexual assault of these men.

In July 2012 the coroner, having considered the matter, referred it back to Victoria Police to investigate, and since that time victims and their families have been waiting for the findings of this critical investigation.
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The Sexual Crimes Squad of Victoria Police completed its report, known as Operation Plangere​, in December 2012. It was not made public until May 2015.

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MEXICO
NSS Oaxaca

[Organizations require maximum penalty for pederast priest in Oaxaca.]

Los hechos sucedieron durante los años 2009 y 2010; tras la investigación de la Procuraduría General de Justicia, se dictó una orden de aprehensión y se ejerció hace 19 meses.

En el documento se señala la gravedad del caso, ya que desde el 2006, en su primera parroquia, se realizó el primer señalamiento hacia Silvestre Hernández por violencia sexual contra un niño; luego fue removido a Camotlán, parroquia en la que se presume hay cerca de 45 niños víctimas, las agresiones se repitieron en posteriores parroquias de Villa Alta, San Juan y Santa María Ozolotepec por un periodo total de 6 años.

Al respecto, Alejandro de Jesús Ramírez, coordinador de Espiral por la Vida e integrante del FONI, comentó que las exigencias para la procuración de justicia y reparación del daño van en relación a las recomendaciones que hiciera el Comité de los Derechos del Niño de la ONU tras la reciente comparecencia del Estado Mexicano realizada en mayo de este año.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Sunday Herald

THE size and scope of the unprecedented number of inquiries into historical child abuse in the UK can be revealed for the first time today following a Sunday Herald investigation.

The Sunday Herald has learned that there are currently 14 major police operations, four public inquiries and six other investigations – including probes by the BBC, the police watchdog, and two government departments – are either ongoing or have been carried out to date.

Although, full details on cost are impossible to gather at this stage, it has been uncovered that nearly £66 million has or is being spent on half of the investigations.

Last week, Edward Heath became the latest high-profile figure to be linked to sex abuse allegations, with seven police forces alone investigating the former prime minister.

Gabrielle Shaw, chief executive of the National Association for People Abused in Childhood (NAPAC), said they were not surprised by the scale of the investigations into abuse.

“Society in general is waking up to the true scale and scope of the issue of child sexual abuse and exploitation,” she said.

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