ABUSE TRACKER

NEW JERSEY
The Record

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2013
BY JEFF GREEN
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD

NEWARK — The Rev. Bernard A. Hebda comes from a place where reprimanded priests are named in press releases, and where the members of a panel charged with investigating clergy sex abuse are listed in the diocesan directory for anyone to see.

As bishop of Gaylord, Mich., Hebda expanded that review panel to include laypeople who work with children and teens. He also met personally with priests who were accused of sex abuse to ensure that they did not pose a danger to children.

On Tuesday, Hebda was named coadjutor bishop to Newark Archbishop John J. Myers, and on those critical points — issues at the heart of a scandal that has consumed the Newark archdiocese — the contrast between Hebda and the man he stands to succeed as archbishop one day could not be more stark.

Myers, who called his critics “evil” in an August letter to clergy, has come under fire for his treatment of a former Wyckoff priest who, prosecutors allege, violated a court-ordered agreement that barred him from ministering to children. And church records released last month in a $1.3 million lawsuit settlement with the Illinois diocese that Myers once headed showed a pattern of denial by Myers pertaining to knowledge of a priest’s alleged sex abuse — for which he faulted underlings who failed to alert him, or shoddy record keeping.

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NEW JERSEY
National Catholic Reporter

Ken Briggs | Sep. 24, 2013 NCR Today

Appointing what amounts to a co-bishop in Newark is a reminder what a disingenuous tool that maneuver remains.

The move allows the Vatican to reprimand a sitting bishop without acknowledging its intentions. It’s designed to protect the incumbent. and to avoid charges of wrongdoing by sanctified leaders. That makes it an odd strategy for a pope who has declared his disdain for special treatment and privilege for the hierarchy.

Not that this formally face saving ambit exactly saves anyone’s face.

The fresh face in Newark, Bernard Hebda, in some ways resembles the last celebrated interloper,
Donald Wuerl, who was dispatched to Seattle in 1987 to put the clamps on Archbishop Raymond Hunthausen who was targeted by Rome for his liberal interpretation of church teachings toward gays and women, among other things. It was generally viewed in Catholic circles as a public shaming. Wuerl moved in, took over vital functions, and went on his way to Pittsburgh, then Washington. His reputation, like Hebda’s, was of a bright, Vatican marinated young cleric with a bright future replacing a older, censured outcast. Then it was Hunthausen, the progressive, now Myers, the unpopular conservative. The reasons for Vatican action is very different in each situation, and the validity of the cases against the two men are as diverse as is their merits and characters. But both unfairly became subjects of an awkward and unnecessarily demeaning punishment.

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NEW JERSEY
The Record

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2013
THE RECORD

IT’S ABOUT tone. And it’s about time. Catholics in Newark have a new archbishop, Bernard Hebda.

Pope Francis has named a coadjutor archbishop to work alongside Archbishop John Myers, who, at age 72, is still three years from retirement. Coadjutors are named for several reasons: A bishop may be straying from doctrine, a financial crisis or capital program needs a stronger hand, a bishop’s health is failing or the bishop’s ability to shepherd his diocese has been severely compromised.

At a press conference Tuesday announcing the arrival of Hebda, Myers made it clear his health is good and that it was he who requested a coadjutor. Myers also said he did not need to explain to the public when he asked the Vatican for assistance.

Perhaps there is something reassuring in that sentiment. Explaining is not what Myers likes to do. In an August letter to priests of the archdiocese, he declared that those critical of his handling of sex abuses cases were “simply evil, wrong, immoral, and seemingly focused on their own self-aggrandizement.” Myers intends to cling to his autocratic style to the very end. He is consistent. And as Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines.”

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By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: September 24, 2013

NEWARK — The Roman Catholic archbishop here on Tuesday introduced the cleric appointed by the Vatican to assist him and denied that the move was related to criticism over his handling of a
of a sexually abusive priest.

The cleric, Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda, recently of Gaylord, Mich., was named coadjutor archbishop for Archbishop John J. Myers, 72, who is to retire as head of the Newark Archdiocese in 2016. A coadjutor automatically succeeds the current archbishop upon his retirement, transfer or death, according to a statement by the archdiocese. Archbishop Myers said on Tuesday that he intended “to be here until I’m 75.”

Archbishop Myers denied that Archbishop Hebda’s appointment was related to the controversy surrounding the Rev. Michael Fugee, who stepped down in May, or to accusations that he failed to take action against a priest accused of molesting a boy while he was bishop of Peoria, Ill.

“Absolutely not,” he said. “It was at my own request. That was never part of any discussion, and I don’t think that there are substantiated reasons for them doing so. I don’t think that it’s about that.”
.

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NEW JERSEY
The Star-Ledger

By Mark Mueller/The Star-Ledger
on September 25, 2013

Newark Archbishop John J. Myers introduced his new co-archbishop and eventual successor to New Jersey Tuesday, calling the appointment a “gift” that will help him carry out important initiatives and ensure a smooth transition after his retirement.

Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda, whom Pope Francis plucked from a small diocese in Michigan to serve at Myers’ side, was greeted with a standing ovation by dozens of priests and nuns during a press conference at the archdiocese’s headquarters in Newark.

Hebda, 54, a canon lawyer with degrees from Harvard and Columbia universities and more than a decade of Vatican experience in Rome, will begin immediately as Myers’ chief adviser and partner in running the state’s largest diocese.

“If you are wondering if I am as surprised as you are by this appointment, the answer is yes, and yet I am truly thrilled to be here to begin my service,” said Hebda, the nation’s second-youngest archbishop.

Hebda comes to Newark at a time of upheaval for Myers, the subject of intense criticism in recent months over the way he has handled priests who have been credibly accused of sexual abuse.

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NEW JERSEY
The Star-Ledger

By Tom Moran/ The Star-Ledger
on September 25, 2013

Newark Archbishop John J. Myers said yesterday he is praying for my soul. But I’m not sure I want him to intervene.

Because only last month Myers suggested people like me would spend eternity in hell for pointing out that he failed to protect children from sexual abuse by priests.

“God only knows their personal reasons and agenda,” he wrote of his critics. “We are still called to love them. And God will surely address them in due time.”

Using the language of love to express such bitterness is chilling, to put it mildly. Suffering for eternity seems just a tad overboard as punishment for an editorial calling for Myers to resign.

The news is that Rome intervened yesterday by appointing an heir apparent to Myers three years before he reaches retirement age. For now, the new man will sit at the archbishop’s elbow, watching every move as coadjutor archbishop.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Times-Tribune

Scranton Bishop Joseph C. Bambera kept faith with his flock Sunday when he asked parishioners at numerous parishes to contact the Lackawanna County district attorney’s office if they had any information about suspected inappropriate conduct by the Rev. William J. Paulish.

Father Paulish was charged with several crimes for his alleged sexual conduct with a minor, after security officers at Penn State’s Worthington Scranton campus and Dunmore Police found him in his car with a 15-year-old boy.

Bishop Bambera’s letter was read Sunday at numerous parishes where Father Paulish had served since his ordination in 1988. Between then and his arrest Friday, he had 15 assignments across the diocese. Prior to his ordination, he had been a therapist at Lourdesmont, a center for troubled adolescents.

While reaching out to parishioners where Father Paulish had been assigned, the diocese has declined to comment on his frequent reassignments and unexplained leaves of absence.

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SOUTH DAKOTA
Aberdeen American News

10:30 p.m. CDT, September 24, 2013

The Rev. Charles Emezie, a priest of the Diocese of Orlu, Nigeria, who has been employed as a chaplain at Avera St. Luke’s Hospital and Avera Mother Joseph Manor in Aberdeen for more than 18 years, has been terminated from his chaplaincy by the Avera administration, according to the Catholic Diocese of Sioux Falls.

Recent allegations of sexual harassment of adult female staff members have been found credible, the diocese reported, and constitute violations of the diocesan sexual misconduct policy.

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SOUTH DAKOTA
KDLT

A catholic priest at a hospital in Aberdeen has been fired after allegations of sexual harassment.

Father Charles Emezie is a priest of a diocese in Nigeria and has been a chaplain at Avera St. Luke Hospital and Avera Mother Joseph for over 18 years. Emezie was accused of sexually harassing female staff members.

The church investigated the allegations and decided to release Emezie from his duties.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

A child sexual abuse inquiry has heard some Hunter Valley victims did not want police involved because they were under the impression the Church would stop a paedophile priest from offending again.

The special commission is looking at claims police and the Catholic Church covered up abuse by two Maitland-Newcastle paedophile priests.

Maria Gerace is representing several abuse victims and yesterday summed up her case before the commissioner, Margaret Cunneen.

Ms Gerace told the inquiry her clients did not want police involved early on but that’s when they thought the Church was able to remove McAlinden from ministry and stop him offending.

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VATICAN CITY
Irish Independent

25 SEPTEMBER 2013

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has broken his self-imposed silence with a lengthy letter to a prominent atheist in which he defended himself from accusations that he did not do enough to bring to justice sexually abusive priests.

The former pontiff spoke of his “profound consternation” that “evil” had entered so deeply into the Roman Catholic faith.

But he denied that he had, either as Pope or previously as head of the Vatican office dealing with abuse cases, tried to cover up the scandals that tarnished the church’s reputation around the world.

“That the power of evil penetrated so far into the interior world of the faith is a suffering that we must bear, but at the same time must do everything to prevent it from repeating,” he said. …

EXPOSED

“Over a clerical career that lasted more than six decades, we can’t think of a single child-molesting bishop, priest, nun, brother or seminarian that Benedict ever exposed,” said Barbara Dorris of the US-based Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.

“In the church’s entire history, no one knew more but did less to protect kids than Benedict.

“As head of CDF, thousands of cases of predator priests crossed his desk.

“Did he choose to warn families or call police about even one of those dangerous clerics? No. That, by definition, is a cover-up.” (© Daily Telegraph, London)

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AUSTRALIA
Newcastle Herald

By MICHELLE HARRIS Sept. 25, 2013

MAITLAND Newcastle Catholice Diocese officials should not be ‘‘unfairly’’ criticised for their handling of clergy abuse when they always acted in accordance with the wishes of victims, who did not want to report priests to the police, an inquiry in Newcastle has been told.

Lachlan Gyles, SC, for the Diocese, told the Special Commission of Inquiry this morning no adverse findings should be made against it as officials had not obstructed police inquiries nor actively discouraged victims of Father Denis McAlinden or Father James Fletcher from reporting their abuse.

There was no clear evidence as to why McAlinden had moved about 30 times between parishes and overseas over several decades, Mr Gyles said.

Commissioner Margaret Cunneen SC interjected to question whether the moves were made because McAlinden feared his ‘‘indiscretions with children’’ were about to be exposed.

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ARGENTINA
International Business Times

By Sounak Mukhopadhyay | September 25, 2013

Father Julio Cesar Grassi has been banned from priesthood on Tuesday.

The Argentine Roman Catholic priest has already been serving a jail sentence for 15 years due to the sexual abuse charge against him. The bishopric of Moron carried out the formalities of banning Fr Grassi in Buenos Aires.

Fr Grassi was renowned for convincing celebrities in the country to donate generously for the Happy Children Foundation. He raised millions for the foundation through several campaigns and TV appearances. Major celebrities who donated for the foundation have now remained aloof after Fr Grassi was charged.

He was charged for sexually abusing a teenage boy in 1996. However, he managed to move free in spite of the criminal charges against him. Later, the Buenos Aires Provincial Supreme Court sustained the jail sentence against him. Juan Pablo Gallego, the lawyer of the victim, pledged for an arrest of the priest on immediate effect.

On the other hand, Fr Grassi, 57, continued to insist that he was innocent of the criminal charges against him. Even though he has been under house arrest for years, he was freed for a brief period. He is also accused of sexually abusing other children from the orphanage. Nevertheless, every other charge against him has been dismissed due to lack of evidence.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

By Dan Cox

The Hunter Valley’s Catholic Church has moved to reassure a New South Wales inquiry into child sexual abuse the mistakes of the past will not be repeated.

The special commission is investigating claims the church covered up abuse by two paedophile priests, Denis McAlinden and James Fletcher.

Documents tendered to the inquiry show the church knew about McAlinden’s abuse which spanned 50 years.

Representing the Maitland-Newcastle diocese Lachlan Giles has summed up his case, saying church officials should not be “unfairly criticised” for their handling of the allegations.

He said they were adhering to the victims’ wishes not to involve police

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AUSTRALIA
Big Pond News

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Father Denis McAlinden was a predator involved in horrific conduct, a lawyer for the Catholic Church has told an abuse inquiry.

But not all of the 30 times the pedophile priest was moved to new parishes around the country could be linked to his sexual abuse, lawyer Lachlan Gyles said.

‘There were a large number of moves where no reason was known,’ said Mr Gyles who’s representing the Maitland/Newcastle Catholic diocese.

But the lawyer assisting the commission, Julia Lonergan, fired back ‘Some moves related to sexual abuse.’

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ARGENTINA
Clarin

El hermano del cura Julio César Grassi, quien ayer quedó detenido y pasó la noche en el penal de Ituzaingó, se mostró “indignado” por la decisión de la Justicia. “Es todo un show que hacen sobre una causa”, dijo. Y consideró que al sacerdote “lo acusan de cosas que no se demuestran”.

Juan José Grassi, hermano del cura condenado a 15 años de prisión por los delitos de abuso sexual agravado y corrupción de menores, aseguró que el sacerdote es víctima de una “injusticia tremenda”.

“Los hechos (por los que fue condenado) no son comprobables, son todas palabras y dichos”, afirmó. Al tiempo que remarcó: “Mi hermano es inocente y la Iglesia lo demostró en los libros que escribió”.

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ARGENTINA
El Diario

El padre Julio César Grassi fue trasladado del penal de la localidad bonaerense de Ituzaingó al de Campana, durante este lunes, según informaron fuentes policiales. En el lugar también se encuentra alojado Carlos Carrascosa por el crimen de María Marta García Belsunce.

De esta manera, el cura, condenado por abuso sexual y corrupción de menores, fue trasladado a un penal de mayor seguridad, luego de que surgiera una polémica en torno al lugar donde fue alojado en un primer momento.

En el penal de Campana no será el único detenido por un caso resonante. Allí también se encuentra Carlos Carrascosa por el crimen de María Marta García Belsunce.

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VATICAN CITY
Daily Mail (UK)

Emeritus Pope Benedict denies covering up abuse scandal and defends Christianity to atheists as he emerges from long silence

By MARK DUELL
PUBLISHED: 18:57 EST, 24 September 2013

Benedict XVI has emerged from his self-imposed silence of seven months to deny covering up the sexually abusive priests scandal and defend Christianity to non-believers.

The emeritus pope released a letter to one of Italy’s best-known atheists, which was his first work published since he retired – and his first-ever denial of personal responsibility for the sex scandal.

But what made the letter published yesterday in Italy’s La Repubblica more remarkable was that it appeared just two weeks after Pope Francis penned a similar note to the newspaper’s atheist editor.

It gives evidence that the two men in white, who live across the Vatican gardens from one another, are of the same mind about the need for such dialogue and may even be collaborating on it.

The Vatican said the letters’ appearance was just a coincidence. Benedict wrote his to mathematician and atheist Piergiorgio Odifreddi, who in 2011 penned a book titled ‘Dear Pope, I’m Writing to You.’

The book was Mr Odifreddi’s reaction to Benedict’s classic ‘Introduction to Christianity’. In his book, Mr Odifreddi posed a series of arguments about Catholicism, including the sex abuse scandal.

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VATICAN CITY
Irish Times

Paddy Agnew

Wed, Sep 25, 2013

In a surprise statement, pope emeritus Benedict XVI yesterday claimed that in his time as pontiff he had never tried to hide clerical sex abuse crimes.

Benedict (86), who resigned as pope in February and was replaced by Pope Francis, made his remarks in the context of an open letter in yesterday’s Rome daily, La Repubblica, to mathematician, writer and atheist, Piergiorgio Odifreddi.

Replying to criticism regarding clerical child sex abuse, Pope Benedict writes: “With regard to what you write about the abuse of young people by priests, I can only, as you know well, express my profound consternation. I have never tried to hide these things. It is a matter of great suffering for us that the power of evil can penetrate right into the inner world of the faith. On the one hand, we have to carry this burden and, on the other, we have to do everything possible to guarantee that similar cases do not happen again.”

‘Filth’

Benedict goes on to reject the idea that this “filth” is in any way “peculiar to Catholicism” adding that, “according to sociological research”, the percentage of priests who are paedophiles is similar to the percentage of paedophiles in other professions. His words cut little ice with victims’ lobbies such as the US group, Snap, which commented yesterday:

“Over a clerical career that lasted more than six decades, we can’t think of a single child-molesting bishop, priest, nun, brother or seminarian that Benedict ever exposed . . .

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SOUTH DAKOTA
Keloland

ABERDEEN, SD – A priest serving as chaplain at Avera St. Luke Hospital and Avera Mother Joseph Manor in Aberdeen for more than 18 years has been fired by the Avera administration.

The Catholic Diocese of Sioux Falls says recent allegations of sexual harassment by Reverend Charles Emezie against adult female staff members have been found credible. These allegations are also violations of the diocesan Sexual Misconduct policy. Father Emezie’s faculties to minister as a priest in the Diocese of Sioux Falls have been revoked and his bishop in Nigeria has been notified that he may no longer practice ministry in the diocese.

The Diocese of Sioux Falls encourages those who have been victims of sexual abuse or misconduct to contact its Victims Assistance Coordinator so that the Church might offer whatever assistance is appropriate. The coordinator or the diocesan chancellor can be reached at 800-700-7867.

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CIUDAD DEL VATICANO
El Colombiano

Benedicto XVI negó encubrimiento de abusos sexuales por parte de sacerdotes

El Papa Emérito Benedicto XVI negó que haya intentado encubrir abusos sexuales a menores por parte de sacerdotes católicos, en sus primeros comentarios directos publicados desde que renunció al papado.

Los comentarios fueron formulados en una carta de 11 páginas enviada por Joseph Ratzinger al autor y matemático italiano Piergiorgio Odifreddi, quien escribió un libro sobre los problemas que enfrenta la Iglesia Católica Romana antes de que Benedicto XVI renunciara en febrero.

“En lo que concierne a su mención del abuso moral de menores por parte de sacerdotes, solo puedo, como sabe, reconocerlo con profunda consternación. Pero nunca traté de encubrir estas cosas”, sostuvo Benedicto XVI, quien ahora tiene el título de Papa Emérito.

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NEW JERSEY
NJ Today

[with video]

After the announcement that Archbishop Bernard Hebda will serve as the new coadjutor, or an assistant bishop, for the Archdiocese of Newark, some are saying a major reason for the shared leadership is the recent controversy Newark Archbishop John Myers found himself in with regard to failing properly supervise Father Michael Fugee who violated a court order and repeatedly ministered to children. Father John Bambrick of the Diocese of Trenton told NJ Today Managing Editor Mike Schneider that he believes the scandal had an impact on officials in Rome.

Bambrick called the announcement “a day of great jubilation for the church in New Jersey, particularly for the Archdiocese of Newark.”

He explained that as coadjutor, Hebda will have the right to succeed Myers should he resign, die or retire. “He really is the new archbishop. There’s technicalities Archbishop Myers remains, but really it’ll be Archbishop Hebda who’ll be heading up the archdiocese,” Bambrick said.

While Bambrick said only those directly involved in the change know if the recent scandal affected the decision, he said it likely had a significant impact in Rome. “We’ve seen with Pope Francis that where bishops have recently had instances of maleficence he has removed them,” he said.

While Bambrick has been critical of Myers, he said Myers has done some great, influential work. “There’s no reason to dishonor him or disrespect him so I think this is a way of being respectful toward the archbishop and his work but also coming to the aid of the archdiocese in Newark at this time which is important,” Bambrick said.

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NEW JERSEY
YouTube

Published on Sep 24, 2013

Archbishop Bernard Hebda has been assigned as the new coadjutor, like an assistant archbishop, for the Newark archdiocese where Archbishop John Myers has faced controversy. For more New Jersey news, visit NJ Today online at http://www.njtvonline.org/njtoday/.

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NEW JERSEY
NJ Today

[with video]

By David Cruz
NJ Today

Archbishop Myers and the new coadjutor — Archbishop Bernard Hebda — entered today’s press conference to a standing ovation from an audience made up of auxiliary bishops and archdiocese staff there, perhaps, to provide a buffer of good cheer against a press corps eager to hear from the usually camera averse church leader. His tenure has been marked by controversy, including charges that he helped to cover up child sex abuse in Peoria and failed to properly supervise Father Michael Fugee, who violated a court order by repeatedly ministering to children. Today Myers was asked if he would have done anything differently.

“Well, I probably would meet more often with the editorial board of the Star-Ledger,” he quipped to wild applause.

It’s been that kind of relationship with the media. Myers says the press has gotten a lot of things wrong, especially surrounding his role in the Fugee controversy. He said the coverage was slanted and often inaccurate, although he passed up the chance to set the record straight today.

“Am I angry? No,” he added. “I pray that I not be angry because I don’t think that’s appropriate and that’s not the Christian approach. Rather to pray for everyone, everyone in the Archdiocese which I do several times a day, including those who are in the media.” …

Critics, like sex abuse survivors’ advocate Robert Hoatson, who has been dogged in his calls for Myers to step down, say they’re hopeful that Hebda’s arrival will mean the beginning of a transition toward the end of Myers’ tenure. But Hoatson said Hebda will need to act quickly.

“He’s coming to an archdiocese in crisis, serious crisis, we all know that,” said Hoatson. “Hopefully, Archbishop Hebda did the polite thing by congratulating his predecessor but hopefully will now say, ‘This is my show and I’ve got to heal something that is very critical, very serious here.’”

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SCOTLAND
The Times

Michael Glackin
Published at 12:01AM, August 24 2013

Its former adviser on sexual abuse has accused the Roman Catholic Church of making Cardinal Keith O’Brien a scapegoat to divert attention from its failure to properly address the issue.

The accusation follows claims made by Mario Conti, the retired Archbishop of Glasgow, that Cardinal O’Brien had refused to co-operate with plans put forward by bishops to invite an independent researcher to compile a report on each of Scotland’s eight dioceses handling of sex abuse allegations.

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WISCONSIN
SNAP Wisconsin

Statement by Peter Isely, SNAP Midwest Director
CONTACT: 414.429.7259

(See SNAP’s international statement by Barbara Dorris).

Today it is being reported that Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI has finally spoken about his involvement in the cover up of sexually abusive priests. Apparently, there wasn’t any. Why? Because he didn’t “try” to cover up for abusive priests.

The well-established truth, however, is that Benedict exercised authority over, knew of, was involved in, or neglected to take action concerning tens of thousands of priests who raped, sexually assaulted or abused hundreds of thousands of children across the globe over several decades.

This is especially and most grievously true in the pedophile priest case which has come to symbolize the entire wretched history of cover up and deception by the Vatican: Fr. Lawrence Murphy. Murphy, as is now well known, sexually assaulted over 200 deaf children at St. John’s School for the Deaf in Milwaukee. Benedict knew of Murphy’s crimes, in detail, yet secretly ruled that the pedophile be left in the priesthood, unsupervised and untreated until his death.

Murphy is hardly the only case Benedict was directly involved in, but it is the one case in which he can still make an effort at amends which might mean something to those harmed. It’s not likely, given his continual denial, but he can reach out and offer a sincere apology to these courageous men and women. (See deaf survivor Steven Geier’s statement when the Benedict resigned.)

Appallingly, many of these same victims of Fr. Murphy are still being denied justice today by the Church. In Federal Bankruptcy Court the Archdiocese of Milwaukee has launched yet a new wave of motions in its nearly three year effort to prevent restitution to survivors of priest abusers, including many deaf victims of Murphy.

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ARGENTINA
The Wall Street Journal

By SHANE ROMIG

BUENOS AIRES—An Argentine priest who was once defended by Pope Francis against sex-abuse allegations has been ordered to prison to complete a 15-year sentence for sexually abusing an adolescent boy at a youth center over a decade ago.

Rev. Julio Grassi, a well-known priest who ran a shelter for troubled youth, was ordered to jail by a Buenos Aires provincial court late Monday, days after the priest lost his appeal to the province’s high court. Father Grassi was convicted of aggravated sexual abuse in 2009, but had been allowed to stay in his house across the road from the center while he appealed the case.

Father Grassi said he would again appeal the case to the country’s Supreme Court. I don’t “have a trace of pedophilia,” he told judges before they ordered him taken to the Ituzaingó prison.

Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi declined to comment.

The case is the most prominent abuse case in the pontiff’s native land. Father Grassi was a high-profile figure in Buenos Aires during the 1990s and 2000’s, running the Fundación Felices los Niños, or Happy Are The Children Foundation. He was frequently seen on television and rubbing elbow with celebrities, politicians and businessmen as he sought backing for the foundation.

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NEW JERSEY
NBC New York

By DAVID PORTER | Tuesday, Sep 24, 2013

Newark’s Roman Catholic archbishop on Tuesday introduced the cleric appointed by the Vatican to assist him and denied that the move was related to criticism over his handling of a sexually abusive priest.

Archbishop Bernard Hebda, recently of Gaylord, Mich., was named coadjutor archbishop for 72-year-old Archbishop John Myers, who is to retire in mid-2016 as head of the Newark Archdiocese. A coadjutor automatically succeeds the current archbishop upon retirement, transfer or death, according to a statement by the archdiocese. Myers said Tuesday he intends “to be here until I’m 75.”

Myers denied that Hebda’s appointment was related to the controversy over the Rev. Michael Fugee, who stepped down in May, or to accusations that he failed to take action against a priest accused of molestation when Myers was bishop of Peoria, Ill.

“Absolutely not,” Myers said. “It was at my own request. That was never part of any discussion and I don’t think that there are substantiated reasons for them doing so. I don’t think that it’s about that.”

On Tuesday, Myers said he had requested a coadjutor “some time ago” because the archdiocese is undertaking several major projects and he and two other bishops are in their 70s. Hebda is 54. When asked when he made the request, Myers declined to specify.

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VATICAN CITY
Deutsche Welle

Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI [pictured left] has published a lengthy letter denying he covered up reports of sexual abuse by priests.

Benedict’s comments were made in an 11-page letter to Piergiorgio Odifreddi, an Italian atheist and mathematician who in 2011 wrote a book about the problems facing the Catholic Church before the pope resigned.

Excerpts of the letter were published in the Rome newspaper La Repubblica on Tuesday.

In the book, Odifreddi poses several arguments polemical arguments about the Catholic faith, including the sex abuse scandal that has plagued the Church. …

Meanwhile, victims’ groups have rejected Benedict’s denial and accuse him of not doing enough to stop the abuse of children by priests during his time at the Vatican.

In response, The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), released a statement saying: “In the Church’s entire history, no one knew more but did less to protect kids than Benedict.”
The crisis came to light in Boston in 2002 when media began reporting on cases of abuse that were systematically being covered up.

As a result, the Church has set up new guidelines such as how to deal with cases of past abuse, prevent new cases and report abuse to police.

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CALIFORNIA
News 10

Tim Daly

STOCKTON, CA – Dean McFalls, a well-known priest in the Stockton Diocese, has resigned after telling parishioners he’s about to become the father of a baby boy.

“I definitely have disappointed many people,” McFalls said. “That’s why I’ve talked about it openly, so they won’t be left guessing about what’s going on.”

McFalls was the pastor at St. Mary’s Church in downtown Stockton. He announced his resignation in a statement read during mass on Sunday.

McFalls came to Stockton in 2008 from Lathrop’s Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, according to The Record newspaper in Stockton. He has been outspoken about the city’s struggles with crime and violence, among other issues.

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MINNESOTA
Minnesota Public Radio

Anyone in a position of authority in the Roman Catholic Church should have been able to see “red flags” in the behavior of the Rev. Curtis Wehmeyer, a priest now in prison on charges of child pornography and child sexual abuse, says a former priest who now works as a counselor in the field.

Wehmeyer served for years in parish positions in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, even as a series of allegations suggested that he was cruising for anonymous sex, propositioning strangers and spending unsupervised time with young boys.

“These are red flags,” said Richard Sipe in an interview with Morning Edition. “These are danger signals,” he said, that should have portrayed Wehmeyer as “compulsive and having a hard time controlling himself, as was very clear to the bishop and to the priests — some of the priests, certainly, in authority in St. Paul.”

Sipe, a former priest and professor at St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minn., is now a clinical mental health counselor in California. He has spent years researching celibacy and mental health among Roman Catholic priests.

He said the outlines of the Wehmeyer story are familiar, “and that’s the problem. Sexual behavior by priests and bishops is very, very common.

“Now, most of it is not illegal. It might be hypocritical, and certainly at times it is abusive, with women or with men, but many times it is consensual. Many times it’s activity that many men have. But it should not be in the priesthood.”

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PENNSYLVANIA
Times-Tribune

SCRANTON – A Lackawanna County priest accused of having sex with a 15-year-old boy posted $50,000 bail Tuesday, pending an as yet unscheduled preliminary hearing.

The Rev. William Paulish, 56, 450 Third St., Blakely, made bail by posting his house, court records show.

He was arrested last week after he was caught in his 2009 red Toyota Venza with a 15-year-old. He faces a charge of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a person under 16, among other charges.

The Rev. Paulish was scheduled to appear before a magistrate on Wednesday for a preliminary hearing, but a motion for continuance filed by his attorney, Bernard Brown, on Monday was granted Tuesday. A new hearing date has not been scheduled.

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CALIFORNIA
The Record

By The Record
September 24, 2013

STOCKTON – Father Dean McFalls, an outspoken and popular priest, has resigned as pastor of St. Mary’s Church because, he told parishioners, he is about to become the father of a baby son.

McFalls, 58, has not been defrocked but is no longer able to perform his duties as a priest.

In a letter to the congregation, McFalls said, “I assume full responsibility for my actions and will do all that I can so that my child receives the care and love that he deserves.”

He has been replaced on an interim basis by Jose Luis Gutierrez, the vocations director for the Diocese.

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ARGENTINA
ABC News

A Roman Catholic priest who is serving a 15-year jail sentence in Argentina for sexually abusing a boy has been banned from the priesthood.

The bishopric of Moron in western Buenos Aires banned Father Julio Cesar Grassi from priestly duties Tuesday.

The priest well-known for persuading Argentine celebrities to donate to the Happy Children Foundation began serving his sentence a day earlier.

Grassi had earlier remained free despite charges of abusing the teenager in 1996.

He continued living across the street from the orphanage after his 2009 conviction while he appealed. Grassi was taken into custody Monday after the top provincial court upheld his sentence.

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AUSTRALIA
Maitland Mercury

A man who was abused by a Hunter Valley priest as a child says he wants to know why it remained a secret “when so many people knew”.

Peter Gogarty fronted a special NSW commission of inquiry ­yesterday into how Catholic church officials and police ­handled child sex abuse allegations involving priests James Fletcher and Denis McAlinden.

During Mr Gogarty’s 15 minute submission, there were tears and some applause in the public gallery.

As a result of his experiences and through discussions with other victims, he said two ­questions commonly arose: “What would my life have been if I had never met him and why was there so much secrecy when so many people knew?”.

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ARGENTINA
Buenos Aires Herald

Priest Julio César Grassi, whose 15-year sentence to prison was confirmed yesterday by a Morón court, was transferred today from an Ituzaingo jail to one situated in the Buenos Aires lcoality of Campana.

According to authorities this place offers more security conditions, amid controversy surfaced over where the convicted priest would spend the next 15 years behind bars.

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MINNESOTA
Pioneer Press

By Andy Greder
agreder@pioneerpress.com
POSTED: 09/24/2013

A Minnesota victims support group called for a grand jury investigation Tuesday into how the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis handled allegations against a priest now in prison.

The Rev. Curtis Wehmeyer, formerly assigned to Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in St. Paul, is serving a five-year prison term for sexually abusing two children and possessing child pornography.

SNAP, the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, wants Minnesota prosecutors to investigate whether at least three top Catholic officials “hid, tampered with or tried to tamper with evidence,” according to a Minnesota Public Radio report. The report said that top archdiocese officials had known of Wehmeyer’s sexual compulsions for nearly a decade yet kept him in the ministry.

In a statement Monday, the archdiocese stood by its response to Wehmeyer’s actions, but added that improvements were being made to policies on how it deals with clergy misconduct.

The Ramsey County attorney’s office did not immediately return an email seeking comment Tuesday.

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ARGENTINA
Corrientes Hoy

[Summary: Priest Julio Cesar Grassi, convicted of abusing minors, had been sent to a medium security prison. The woman who heads a mothers and victims group said the prison to not secure enough to prevent potential escapes.]

Según la titular de la ONG “Madres y familiares de víctimas”, la propia gente del complejo reconoce que las instalaciones no están a la altura de las circunstancias. Alicia Angiono, titular de la ONG Madres y Familiares de Víctimas (Mafavi), sostuvo que la Unidad Penitenciaria número 39 de Ituzaingó “no está preparada para que estén alojados internos de máxima peligrosidad, sin embargo está cada vez más llena de asesinos, violadores seriales y femicidas, que son enviados allí por la cercanía con sus familias”.

“La propia gente del penal plantea que no tiene la estructura necesaria para evitar fugas, porque se trata de un complejo de mediana seguridad, diseñado para la etapa final de las condenas, cuando los internos empiezan a recibir salidas transitorias o trabajan afuera, para la resocialización. Esto de ninguna manera ocurre con presos como Julio Grassi o tantos más que lograron que los manden allí, y que son violadores seriales, asesinos o femicidas”, dijo Angiono.

La titular de la organización manifestó, asimismo, que “se viene trabajando hace varios años, porque los propios vecinos que habitan en cercanías de la cárcel saben que se registran muchísimas fugas de gente peligrosa, que reciben el beneficio del traslado y cuando pueden se escapan”.

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UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter

Michael Sean Winters | Sep. 24, 2013 Distinctly Catholic

I dined with two clerics last night who had nothing but good things to say about the new coadjutor archbishop of Newark, Bp Bernie Hebda. I am just thrilled that this appointment came so quickly. Of course, in this case, Archbishop Myers lost all credibility when he penned an insanely defensive letter to his priests, accusing the press of being evil for its reporting of his own mistakes in handling sex abuse cases in both Newark and Peoria. And, the deposition that was released in Peoria was appalling – he sounded like a tobacco executive assuring us that smoking doesn’t cause cancer. But, nothing +Myers did was any worse than what was done by Bp Finn, who is still gloriously reigning in Kansas City- St. Joseph and, unlike Abp Myers, Bp Finn has been convicted of child endangerment in a civil court. It is time for Rome to take action, no matter what +Finn’s powerful patrons say.

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NEW JERSEY
The Star-Ledger

[with video]

By Mark Mueller/The Star-Ledger
on September 24, 2013

NEWARK — Newark Archbishop John J. Myers this morning welcomed a partner in governing the archdiocese.

Bernard A. Hebda, the bishop of Gaylord, Mich., will assist Myers in running New Jersey’s largest diocese, which has more than 1.3 million Roman Catholics in Essex, Union, Hudson and Bergen counties. Myers has been archbishop since 2001.

Myers said he requested a coadjutor from the Vatican “some time ago,” but he declined to say when. “I don’t think I need to talk about my conversations with Rome,” Myers said.

Myers said Hebda would be active in all parts of the archdiocese’s administration. He is expected to succeed Myers upon Myers’ retirement at age 75.

Hebda said he was surprised but happy about his new placement, and that he looked forward to the challenge.

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NEW JERSEY
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

By Bill Zlatos

Published: Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2013

Pope Francis has appointed Bernard A. Hebda, a former Pittsburgh priest and bishop of Gaylord, Mich., as the coadjutor archbishop of the Archdiocese of Newark, N.J., local diocesan officials announced Tuesday.

Hebda was ordained a priest in the Diocese of Pittsburgh in 1989 and left the area in December 2009 to become the bishop of Gaylord.

According to the Star-Ledger of Newark, Hebda will assist John J. Myers in running New Jersey’s largest diocese, with more than 1.3 million Roman Catholics in Essex, Union, Hudson and Bergen counties. Myers has been archbishop since 2001.

As coadjutor archbishop, he will replace Myers at some point in the future.

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NEW JERSEY
News 12

NEWARK – Pope Francis has named a new bishop to help out, and eventually take over, for the archbishop in New Jersey’s largest city.

Bishop Bernard Hebda, from a diocese in Michigan, was named the coadjutor archbishop Tuesday. He will serve alongside 72-year-old Archbishop John Myers until he retires in mid-2016.

Myers has denied the appointment was made in response to the recent controversies surrounding the Rev. Michael Fugee, who was accused of sexual abuse.

Fugee has confessed to assaulting a boy, but returned to his post with an agreement that he be kept from unsupervised contact with minors. Authorities say he became part of a youth group despite this arrangement.

Fugee has since resigned and was arrested.

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NEW JERSEY
NorthJersey.com

ASSOCIATED PRESS

The pope has named a new archbishop to help out and eventually take over for the archbishop of Newark, who is under fire for his handling of a sexually abusive priest.

Archbishop Bernard Hebda, recently of Gaylord, Michigan, was named coadjutor archbishop Tuesday for 72-year-old Archbishop John Myers, who is to retire in mid-2016.

When questioned about the change at news conference, Myers denied the appointment was made in response to the recent controversies involving the Rev. Michael Fugee.

Fugee confessed to grabbing a boy’s crotch but returned to the ministry under an agreement that he be kept from unsupervised contact with minors. Instead, authorities say he became a fixture at a youth group.

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MINNESOTA
Catholic League

Bill Donohue comments on the way St. Paul and Minneapolis Archbishop John C. Nienstedt is handling priestly misconduct:

On Sunday, the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis announced it was putting a priest on leave after a woman said he inappropriately touched her. The priest denies the accusation; the allegation was reported to the police. Yesterday, Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) ran a story on a previous case: it said the archdiocese knew of the misconduct of Fr. Curtis Wehmeyer before he abused two boys in 2010.

In early June 2012, the mother of the abused boys told a priest about the molestation. He urged her to call the police. On June 14, she provided details and was told to report this to the archdiocese. On June 19, she met with officials and one of the boys was questioned. On June 20, the police were contacted; the authorities were told that the priest would be relieved of his duties on June 21. He was. In September, the Ramsey County Attorney commended the archdiocese saying, “They did the right thing.”

Some critics are saying the archdiocese should have dealt with Wehmeyer before the abuse occurred. In 2004, three years after being ordained, Wehmeyer made sexually suggestive remarks to two men, 19 and 20, but they never complained. The archdiocese found out anyway, and sent the priest to St. Luke Institute for counseling. Two years later, he was found cruising in an area known for gay sex; no law was violated. In 2009, he was arrested for drunk driving. Fr. Kevin McDonough, a former vicar general, said last week that “[N]othing, nothing, nothing in this man’s behavior known to us would have convinced any reasonable person that he was likely to harm kids.”

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UNITED STATES
Jeff Anderson & Associates

Former Pope Benedict Denies Sexual Abuse Cover-up
Attorney: Actions Speak Louder Than Words

Statement of Jeff Anderson

There is an expression that states, “When you blame others, you give up the power to change.” Former Pope Benedict’s statement issued today, denying the cover-up of child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, is both alarming and disturbing and yet another crystal-clear reflection of the Vatican, its power structure and the clerical culture that is still present today.

Unfortunately, the Vatican’s cycle of blaming others and refusing to change continues despite records revealed across the globe, particularly in the United States as a result of civil litigation, which demonstrate a longstanding pattern and practice of secrecy inside the church hierarchy. Benedict, as former Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith from 1981-2005, received all reports made to the Vatican concerning child sexual abuse yet the pattern of secrecy remained in-tact as it still does today, as part of Canon law, concealed from the police, prosecutors and the public.

Apologies to victims of sexual abuse and recognition of mistakes does not alleviate the burdens these survivors carry, across the world, many of whom we work with every day. The wounds, caused by the clerics and top officials in concealing the sexual abuse, continue to remain open and every time responsibility is denied, salt is poured in these wounds.

Until there is full recognition and accounting of their responsibility that is more than just words, there can be no healing. That means, among other things, breaking the denial demonstrated by Benedict and embedded in the clerical culture. We will continue to stand beside the survivors, sharing in their journey to obtain the transparency and accountability that they so rightfully deserve.

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NEW JERSEY
Catholic League

Bill Donohue comments as follows:

Newark Archbishop John J. Myers is fortunate to acquire the stellar assistance of Bishop Bernard A. Hebda. Three of Newark’s bishops, including Myers, are in their 70s, so picking up the 54-year-old Bishop of Gaylord, Michigan is a real plus.

As usual, there are a few carping voices. Much is still being made over the antics of Fr. Michael Fugee, the priest who resigned after violating a judicial order. In 2001, he was charged with groping a teenager while wrestling in front of family members. Myers was unfairly blamed for Fugee’s refusal to abide by strictures he agreed to respect. Now critics are contending that Hebda’s appointment is a reflection on Myers’ tenure.

Archbishop Myers requested assistance from Rome some time ago; it is hardly an unusual request for someone nearing retirement age. Yet according to Charles Reid, who teaches at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota, “[A]t the very least we can say this happened because of the sex-abuse scandal.” At the very least, we can say it is a disgrace for a law professor to make accusations without corroborating evidence. Also, it is striking to see Reid get worked up about this issue: in July, he lectured the “religious right” for their fixation on “loose sexual mores.”

David Clohessy, director of SNAP, criticized Pope Francis for going easy on Myers’ alleged cover-ups. He knows something about cover-ups: he refused to report his brother, Kevin, to the cops when he learned that his sibling was a molester.

Robert Hoatson says the acquisition of Hebda means Myers is “on the way out.” He is an expert on what it feels like to be “on the way out”: he is an ex-priest. Moreover, he commands no following. To wit: last month he held a demonstration against Myers. Three people showed up.

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NEW JERSEY
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Tuesday, Sept. 24

Statement by Mark Crawford, SNAP New Jersey Director (732-632-7687, mecrawf@comcast.net)

Many Catholic feel hopeful because of the new coadjutor archbishop of Newark. Their hopes will soon be dashed, however, unless he takes clear, strong steps very soon to better safeguard kids.

So we publicly beg Archbishop Bernard Hebda to insist that the archdiocese post names of predator priests on its website. This is the quickest, safest and cheapest way Catholic officials can safeguard children – to let parishioners and the public know who the proven, admitted and credibly accused child molesting clerics are.

And it’s the best way for Archbishop Hebda to prove that he’s not just “window dressing” for a dreadfully corrupt archdiocesan hierarchy.

Roughly 30 US bishops have done this, almost always when facing strong public pressure and criticism.

[BishopAccountability.org]

None of those bishops has expressed regret about having posted these names. None, as best we can tell, has ever been sued for posting these names.

It would take virtually no expense and only a few hours to post this list. More names can always be added later.

But it would instantly warn perhaps thousands and thousands of unsuspecting neighbors, co-worker and even relatives about potentially dangerous clerics. It would surely prevent one child from being sexually assaulted by a priest, nun, seminarian or other Catholic employee.

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CHICAGO (IL)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Tuesday, Sept. 24

Statement by Barbara Blaine of Chicago, president of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests ( 312-399-4747, SNAPblaine@gmail.com )

After six months of virtual silence (and complete inaction), a pope finally addresses the continuing clergy sex crime and cover up crisis in the church. The problem is: it’s the wrong pope. And it’s the wrong message.

Pope Benedict, the retired pope, now denies ever covering up heinous, world-wide sexual violence against children. We obviously and vehemently disagree. (That’s why we have filed and continue pursuing a formal complaint against Benedict and three of his colleagues at the International Criminal Court.)

But it’s Pope Francis, not Pope Benedict, who should be addressing this crisis. And he should do so in the only way that matters – with deeds, not words. Those deeds, that action, has not happened yet, six months into Francis’ papacy. No child on the planet is safer now because Pope Francis replaced Pope Benedict.

But no one need give up on Pope Benedict yet. Though he is elderly and retired, he is clearly still very smart and articulate. He is freer now than ever to “come clean.”

Pope Benedict says he didn’t protect predators and conceal crimes. We challenge him to prove this. We challenge him to, right now, to better protect children, expose the truth and help heal the wounded, by publicly sharing any details about clergy sex crimes and cover ups. We challenge him to, right now, publicly name even a handful of the tens of thousands of bishops, priests, nuns, brothers and seminarians who have committed or concealed sexual violence against children. Especially those who are still on the job. Especially those who’ve been transferred from one nation to another. Especially those have not already been exposed thanks to the actions of brave victims, diligent journalists, determined prosecutors or courageous whistleblowers.

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VATICAN CITY
Toronto Star

By: Reuters, Published on Tue Sep 24 2013

VATICAN CITY- Former Pope Benedict has denied that he tried to cover up sexual abuse of children by Roman Catholic priests, in his first direct published comments since he stepped down.

The comments came in an 11-page letter to Italian author and mathematician Piergiorgio Odifreddi, who had written a book about the problems facing the Roman Catholic Church before the pope resigned in February.

“As far as you mentioning the moral abuse of minors by priests, I can only, as you know, acknowledge it with profound consternation. But I never tried to cover up these things,” Benedict, who now has the title Emeritus Pope, said. …

Victims groups have accused Benedict of not doing enough to stop the abuse of children by priests while he was pope and before when he was head of the Vatican’s doctrinal office.

They say there is much still to be discovered about how the Church behaved in the past and want more bishops who were aware of abuse to be held responsible.

The Catholic Church’s crisis came to light in Boston in 2002 when media began reporting how cases of abuse were systematically covered up and abusive priests were shuttled from parish to parish instead of being defrocked and handed over to civil authorities.

Since then, the Catholic Church in many countries has set up new guidelines to deal with cases of past abuse, prevent new cases, report abuse to police, and stop potential abusers from entering the priesthood in the first place.

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VATICAN CITY
BBC News

The former Pope, Benedict XVI, has denied any role in covering up child sex abuse by priests, in his first public comments since retirement.

The emeritus Pope, as he is now known, addressed the issue in a detailed letter to a prominent atheist, which also covered many other matters.

It is thought to be the first time that Benedict has publicly rejected personal responsibility for covering up abuse.

Some critics say he must have known of efforts to protect abusive priests.

Benedict’s letter, to the professor of mathematics Piergiorgio Odifreddi, was published in La Repubblica newspaper after the professor sought the former Pope’s permission.

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VATICAN CITY
Telegraph (UK)

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has broken his self-imposed silence with a lengthy letter to a prominent atheist in which he defended himself from accusations he did not do enough to bring to justice sexually abusive priests.

By Nick Squires, Rome7:23PM BST 24 Sep 2013

The ex-pontiff spoke of his “profound consternation” that “evil” had entered so deeply into the Catholic faith. But he denied that he had, either as pope or previously as head of the Vatican office dealing with abuse cases, tried to “cover up” the scandals that tarnished the Church’s reputation around the world.

“That the power of evil penetrated so far into the interior world of the faith is a suffering that we must bear, but at the same time must do everything to prevent it from repeating,” he said.

The missive, sent to Piergiorgio Odifreddi, an atheist mathematician, and reprinted on the front page of leading Italian daily La Repubblica, was the first published statement from Benedict since he said on his retirement that he would live out his remaining years “hidden from the world”.

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VATICAN CITY
CNN

By Daniel Burke, CNN Belief Blog Co-editor

(CNN) – Retired Pope Benedict XVI says he never tried to hide the sexual abuse of minors by Catholic priests, breaking his post-retirement silence to address one of the greatest threats to his legacy as a church leader.

In a lengthy letter published in La Repubblica, an Italian newspaper, the former pope answered theological and moral arguments from Piergiorgio Odifreddi, an Italian atheist and mathematician who had written about Benedict in 2011.

Earlier this month, La Repubblica also published a letter to its atheist editor from Pope Francis, Benedict’s successor.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Insider

Benedict XVI gives prominent mathematician Piergiorgio Odifreddi a slap on the wrist in a letter published by Italian newspaper “La Repubblica”

MARCO TOSATTI
ROME

After Francis’ letter to Eugenio Scalfari, the founder of La Repubblica newspaper, it’s now Benedict XVI’s turn to send one. Ratzinger has written a letter to mathematician, media buff and religion critic, Piergiorgio Odifreddi. Odifreddi, who is particularly critical of the Catholic faith, wrote the book “Caro Papa ti scrivo” (“A word to you dear Pope”) in response to Ratzinger’s work “Introduction to Christianity”.

Now Benedict XVI has replied to him. His letter was too long for La Repubblica newspaper to publish in full but will feature in a new book by Odifreddi, who must be pretty happy to be publishing what he defined as “a one-off in the history of the Church: a dialogue between a theologian Pope and an atheist mathematician.”

“Church, do not keep silent about evils but let faith leave a trail of light.” This phrase sums up Ratzinger’s rich and profound theological thinking.

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NEWARK (NJ)
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark

The Most Reverend John J. Myers, Archbishop of Newark, today announced to a gathering of local journalists and Archdiocesan employees and guests in the Newark Archdiocesan Center offices that His Holiness, Pope Francis, has granted his request to name a Co-Adjutor Archbishop to assist in the administration of this local Church of Newark.

The Most Reverend Bernard A. Hebda, until today Bishop of the Diocese of Gaylord, MI, was named Co-Adjutor.

In making this announcement, Archbishop Myers stated: “Today I have the personal privilege and honor of introducing Bishop Bernard A. Hebda.

“Considering some major projects to be implemented in the Archdiocese, and the fact that three of us Bishops in Newark are in our 70’s, I had requested a Co-Adjutor Archbishop some time ago. Pope Francis has honored my request and honored the Archdiocese of Newark by the gift of appointing Most Reverend Bernard Hebda as Co-Adjutor Archbishop of this Great Archdiocese.”

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ARGENTINA
Buenos Aires Herald

Plaintiff in the case that has ended with priest Julio César Grassi jailed yesterday charged with sexual abuse and corruption of minors, considered the judicial decision to put Grassi behind bars after more than 10 years since he was first convicted will bring “some peace” to the victims.

Lawyer Juan Pablo Gallego told media that “victims have been the great absents in this debate until now.”

“This person (Grassi) always considered that the only one with guarantees was him,” Gallego insisted and questioned the legal procedure that “kept” the priest “free” while he “accessed the Happy Children Foundation and insulted the victims in television.”

“The victims got some peace yesterday, their guarantees have been recovered and not only those of an impeached who has been convicted three times,” the lawyer affirmed.

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VATICAN CITY
National Catholic Reporter

John L. Allen Jr. | Sep. 24, 2013

Francis’ papacy only just reached the six-month mark, so it’s probably premature to be talking about make-or-break moments for his legacy. That said, the Oct. 1-3 maiden summit of eight cardinals from around the world, tapped by the pope to advise him on governance and reform, profiles as a potentially critical turning point.

When those eight cardinals, plus a bishop-secretary, sit down with Pope Francis in a meeting room in the Apostolic Palace, the expectation is that some serious sausage will be ground on a variety of fronts:

An ongoing cleanup of Vatican finances;

* Reorganization, and potential downsizing, of the Vatican bureaucracy;
* Ensuring that the right people end up in the right Roman jobs;
* Vexed pastoral questions such as annulments and divorced and remarried Catholics.

Dubbed the “G-8,” the panel was announced in April and styled as a move toward greater collegiality. The American on the team is Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston, joined by Cardinals Giuseppe Bertello, governor of Vatican City; Oscar Rodríguez Maradiaga of Tegucigalpa, Honduras; Francisco Javier Errázuriz Ossa of Santiago, Chile; Oswald Gracias of Mumbai, India; Reinhard Marx of Munich; Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya of Kinshasa, Congo; and George Pell of Sydney. Rodríguez is the group’s coordinator.

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VATICAN CITY
The Salt Lake Tribune

By NICOLE WINFIELD | The Associated Press

VATICAN CITY • Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI has emerged from his self-imposed silence inside the Vatican walls to publish a lengthy letter to one of Italy’s most well-known atheists. In it, he denies having covered up for sexually abusive priests and discusses everything from evolution to the figure of Jesus Christ.

Excerpts of the letter were published Tuesday by La Repubblica, the same newspaper which just two weeks ago published a similar letter from Pope Francis to its own atheist publisher.

The letters indicate that the two men in white — who live across the Vatican gardens from one another — are pursuing an active campaign to engage non-believers. It’s a melding of papacies past and present that has no precedent and signals that the popes — while very different in style, personality and priorities — are of the same mind on many issues and might even be collaborating on them.

Benedict wrote the letter to Piergiorgio Odifreddi, an Italian atheist and mathematician who in 2011 wrote a book “Dear Pope, I’m Writing to You.” The book was Odifreddi’s reaction to Benedict’s classic “Introduction to Christianity,” perhaps his best-known work.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Telegraph

By Tim Stanley

We’ve heard very little from Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI since his retirement, but he’s made a surprise return to public life. Benedict has written a letter to the atheist mathematician Piergiorgio Odifreddi, covering subjects from the sex abuse scandal to evolution – and extracts have been released by Italy’s La Repubblica newspaper. Coming off the back of Francis’ letter to another atheist on the subject of obeying one’s conscience, it’s hard not to draw parallels between the two and there’s already discussion about the possibility of collaboration. Either way, Benedict makes some interesting points.

First, he rejects involvement in the cover up of priests engaged in sexual abuse:

I have never tried to hide these things. That the power of evil penetrate to such an extent in the inner world of faith is for us a suffering which, on the one hand, we have to endure, while, on the other, we must at the same time, do everything possible to ensure that such cases do not repeated.

This probably will not satisfy those who feel the Church hasn’t done nearly enough or with sufficient speed – and who will continue, fairly or not, to blame the Vatican for the inaction. Benedict adds that this one sin should not blind people to the wider accomplishments of Christianity:

You have to remember the great figures and even that faith has produced – by Benedict of Nursia and his sister Scholastica, Francis and Clare of Assisi, Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross, the great saints of charity as Vincent de Paul and Camillo de Lellis to Mother Teresa of Calcutta and the great and noble figures of the nineteenth century Turin. It is also true today that faith leads many people to selfless love, in service to others, sincerity and justice.

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NEW JERSEY
CBS New York

NEWARK, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) – The pope has named a coadjutor bishop to help out and eventually take over for the archbishop of Newark who has faced harsh criticism for his handling of a sexually abusive priest.

Pope Francis appointed Bishop Bernard A. Hebda of Michigan to serve alongside current Archbishop John Myers.

Hebda will also succeed Myers when he vacates the office. Myers is 72 years old; bishops must submit their resignations when they turn 75.

Coadjutor bishops are often named for large archdioceses. They take over automatically when the incumbent retires or dies. Naming Hebda with three years to go before Myers retires could be a sign that Pope Francis believed Newark needed fresh leadership now.

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MICHIGAN
Petoskey News

Jordan Spence (231) 439-9397 – jspence@petoskeynews.com
9:12 a.m. EDT, September 24, 2013

GAYLORD — Pope Francis has named Bishop Bernard Hebda, of Gaylord, coadjutor archbishop for the archdiocese of Newark, N.J.

As coadjutor, Archbishop Hebda will assist the current Archbishop John Myers in the administration of the archdiocese. He will automatically succeed Myers upon his retirement or death. Myers is set to retire in mid-2016 because of how he handled a sexually abusive priest. The archdiocese said it was unaware the priest subsequently worked with youths, according to the Associated Press.

Hebda expressed sadness at having to leave the Diocese of Gaylord in a letter written after being informed of his new appointment.

“Today’s news that the Holy Father has named me the coadjutor archbishop of Newark brings with it the sadness of having to leave the Diocese of Gaylord,” Hebda wrote. “I have come to consider this local church my home and will find it difficult to leave so many faith-filled parishes, schools and friends. Anything that I know about being a bishop I learned from you — and for that I will be always thankful.”

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UNITED STATES
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2013

Statement by Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, Outreach Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests ( 314 862 7688 home, 314 503 0003 cell, SNAPdorris@gmail.com )

Pope Benedict now claims he never covered up for predator priests. He could not be more wrong.

[Reuters]

Over a clerical career that lasted more than six decades, we can’t think of a single child molesting bishop, priest, nun, brother or seminarian than Benedict ever exposed.

In the church’s entire history, no one knew more but did less to protect kids than Benedict. As head of CDF, thousands of cases of predator priests crossed his desk. Did he choose to warn families or call police about even one of those dangerous clerics? No. That, by definition, is a cover up.

Benedict is a smart man. He knows that each one of those individuals should have been reported to law enforcement. Yet he never made those call. Nor did he order others to make those calls. Nor did he ever discipline or denounce – in even the slightest way – those who clearly hid clergy sex crimes from law enforcement (like Bishop Robert Finn of Kansas City who was convicted for hiding clergy child sex crimes).

Only under intense pressure, and only in the waning months of his papacy, did Benedict begin to even make the most pathetic gestures regarding child sex crimes or cover ups. And they were indeed gestures – largely symbolic acts that had and have zero impact in protecting kids.

The opposite of “covering up” is “uncovering” or “disclosing.” Again, we cannot name one predatory bishop, priest, nun, brother or seminarian who was publicly exposed because of Benedict.

Six months ago, here’s what we said about “Setting Pope Benedict’s record straight” –

Let’s get specific. What exactly DID Pope Benedict do about the committing and concealing of child sex crimes in the church? LA Times writer Mitchell Lansberg did a good job of summarizing the case made by Benedict’s defenders, who say that he:

1. “essentially banished an influential Mexican priest, Father Marcial Maciel, who had long been suspected of sexually abusing seminarians and boys in his care and had fathered at least three children”

2. “ordered investigations into sexual abuse and issued guidelines in 2010 that made it easier to punish abusive priests”

3. “spoke of the ‘deep shame’ and ‘humiliation’ the scandal had brought on the Catholic Church. He apologized to victims”

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UNITED STATES
Religion Dispatches

Mary E. Hunt

According to a September 20 AP report, “Pope Francis offered an olive branch of sorts to the doctrine-minded, conservative wing of the Catholic Church on Friday as he denounced abortions as a symptom of today’s ‘throw-away culture’ and encouraged Catholic doctors to refuse to perform them.”

This is indeed ironic, as many have already noted, coming as it does just a day after the publication of the pope’s apparently anti-culture war interview. However, in her analysis below Mary E. Hunt expresses her concern that a failure to change doctrine may ultimately yield little or no change. Thus, her both/and approach is affirmed, and nearly in real time. –eds

***

The Jesuit journalistic coup, quickly known as the Pope’s interview—officially “A Big Heart Open to God”—will take years to parse. Early headlines heralding a new moment in church history are largely correct, but not necessarily for the reasons cited. While it is true that Pope Francis has downplayed some of the hot button issues: “abortion, gay marriage and the use of contraceptive methods…it is not necessary to talk about these issues all the time,” it’s also true that in no way did he disavow them: “The teaching of the church, for that matter, is clear and I am a son of the church…”

I would not advise holding one’s breath until those official teachings are replaced with sensible, respectful recognitions that adults make their own choices on matters of personal morality. Rather, I observe that the trajectory that millions of lay Catholics have set is finally being joined by some clerics, including this most highly placed one. My caution is simpy not to miss the forest for the trees.

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PERU
La Republica

En una entrevista concedida al portal Zenit, el arzobispo de Lima, Juan Luis Cipriani, reveló que durante más de una hora habló con el papa Francisco de temas pastorales referentes al Perú en un “clima de amistad y confianza”, pero no mencionó si se trató también el caso del ex obispo Gabino Miranda.

El primado contó además que regaló al Sumo Pontífice dos estatuillas de Santa Rosa de Lima y de San Martín de Porres, así como sus respectivas biografías, porque poco después de ser elegido como Santo Padre le dijo: “No te olvides de rezar por mí a Santa Rosa” y, poco después, le pidió que lo “encomiende al negrito de la escoba”, tal y como es conocido San Martín de Porres.

Agregó que el Papa lo recibió con el “cariño de siempre” y que se saludaron con “un largo abrazo”. Luego dijo que Francisco le preguntó por el seminario y por las vocaciones sacerdotales, a lo que él respondió comentándole sobre el incremento de las confesiones, de asistencia a la misa y de que muchos sienten como si hubiera un ambiente nuevo.

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PERU
La RepublicaI

nvestigación. Representante del Ministerio Público de Ayacucho espera una copia del expediente para identificar a víctimas y poder establecer responsabilidades.
Elías Navarro, Ayacucho.

El fiscal Garay Chávez Valdivia, de la 1a fiscalía provincial de Huamanga, solicitó a los arzobispados de Ayacucho y Lima copias del expediente que determinó la salida de la Iglesia Católica del ex obispo auxiliar Gabino Miranda Melgarejo.

La misma solicitud fue hecha al nuncio apostólico, o representante diplomático de la Santa Sede en el Perú, monseñor James Patrick Green.

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JORNADA
Peru

Iniciaron las investigaciones. El presidente de la Junta de Fiscales del Distrito Judicial de Ayacucho, Javier Gonzáles, dio a conocer que ya se han iniciado las investigaciones por el presunto caso de pedofilia en contra del quien hasta hace un poco más de tres meses se desempeñaba como obispo auxiliar de Ayacucho, Gabino Miranda.

Por ese motivo, el fiscal encargado de llevar el caso es Garry Armando Chávez, de la Primera Fiscalía en lo Penal, el mismo que ya informó a sus superiores que se han cursado los documentos correspondientes para que la Fiscalía de la Nación, que tiene que ver con denuncias de delitos internacionales, tenga que ser la encargada de solicitar toda la información a través del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores a la embajada del Vaticano en el Perú.

“La denuncia fiscal, hasta el momento, se inició con la información que se ha propalado a nivel de los medios radiales y televisivos de alcance nacional, esperamos que los trámites con respecto a este tema se tengan que agilizar y tener una respuesta inmediata por parte de la Santa Sede sobre este particular; debo indicar también que la Fiscalía de la Nación nos remitió un documento para iniciar estas investigaciones”, manifestó Javier Gonzáles.

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PERU
El Popular

[Summary; The situation with former bishop Gabino Miranda is increasingly complicated. The complaint against the bishop came from the church and alleged that some novices were being pressured or sexually harassed by MIranda.]

La situación del ex obispo de Ayacucho Gabino Miranda, es cada vez más complicada. Según reveló el periodista Nicolás Lúcar en su programa Punto final, las agraviadas serían unas novicias.

“La denuncia ha provenido de la misma Iglesia católica, donde algunas novicias habrían sido presionadas o maltratadas sexualmente por el obispo, ahora simplemente Gabino Miranda”, afirmó el conductor del espacio dominical de Frecuencia Latina.

Como es público, el ex obispo Gabino Miranda fue destituido por el Papa, acusado de abusar de menores. La noche del domingo se conoció de la existencia de una carta del ex obispo de Ayacucho dirigida al Vaticano, en la que afirma que “en ciertas circunstancias he sido imprudente”. Aún no se sabe nada sobre su paradero.

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PERU
Diario La Voz

Creen en su inocencia: jóvenes respaldan a Ex obispo Auxiliar Gabino Miranda

Un grupo de jóvenes catequistas se reunieron ayer en la Plaza Mayor de Huamanga para mostrar su respaldo al Ex obispo auxiliar de Ayacucho, Gabino Miranda Melgarejo, quien fue destituido de ese cargo por el presunto delito de pedofilia.

Los jóvenes catequistas que trabajaron con Gabino Miranda en la pastoral juvenil respaldaron la inocencia de Miranda Melgarejo, quien, según informaron, se encuentra delicado de salud.

“Nosotros venimos aquí para elevar nuestras oraciones y que el Señor y la Virgen del Carmen lo protejan, Desde aquí le mandamos un caluroso saludo porque la fuerza del Señor lo acompañe porque siempre estuvo en el camino del bien”, señaló la catequista Ana Tumbalobos quien destacó que Gabino Miranda era un misionero nato por sus constantes viajes.

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MICHIGAN
Up North Live

GAYLORD — Pope Francis has named Reverend Bernard A. Hebda, of the Diocese of Gaylord, the Coadjutor Archbishop for the Archdiocese of Newark, New Jersey.

The Vatican made the announcement Tuesday.

As coadjutor, Archbishop Hebda will assist the current Archbishop John Myers in the administration of the archdiocese and will automatically succeed Archbishop Myers upon his retirement, transfer or death.

Myers is under fire for his handling of the sex abuse scandal in the Catholic church. According to the Associated Press, Myers has been criticized for his handling of a priest barred from unsupervised contact with minors after grabbing a boy’s crotch. The archdiocese said it was unaware he subsequently worked with children.

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NEW JERSEY
The Star-Ledger

By Star-Ledger Staff
on September 24, 2013

The expected appointment of Bishop Bernard A. Hebda as coadjutor archbishop of the Archdiocese Newark was confirmed this morning in an e-mail from the Vatican News Service.

Hebda’s appointment will be made official at 11 a.m. today at the archdiocesan offices in Newark.

Hebda will assist John J. Myers in running New Jersey’s largest diocese, with more than 1.3 million Roman Catholics in Essex, Union, Hudson and Bergen counties. Myers has been archbishop since 2001.

Advocates for victims of clergy sex abuse suggested the move was almost certainly tied to scandals that have clouded Myers’ stewardship of the archdiocese this year. During that period, one priest was arrested after violating a ban on ministry to children, and another took up residence in a parish despite a credible history of sexual abuse.

Myers also was faulted last month for missing or ignoring signs of abuse among priests during his former assignment as bishop of Peoria, Ill.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Merkur

Ein katholischer Priester hat vor dem Landgericht Würzburg den wiederholten sexuellen Missbrauch eines Jungen gestanden. „Ich möchte im Wesentlichen der Anklage zustimmen“, sagte der 58-Jährige zum Auftakt des Prozesses am Dienstag. Er sei jedoch nicht pädophil. Die Staatsanwaltschaft hatte ihm zuvor Kindesmissbrauch in 14 Fällen vorgeworfen. Der Angeklagte hatte sich 2011 an den Missbrauchsbeauftragten seines Ordens gewandt und selbst angezeigt. „Ich bedauere die Taten zutiefst“, sagte er.

Der Geistliche soll sich zwischen 1993 und 1998 am Sohn einer Freundin vergangen haben. Der Bub war anfangs fünf Jahre alt. Er lebte zeitweise im Pfarrhaus des 58-Jährigen im unterfränkischen Landkreis Main-Spessart, da die Mutter dort einige Jahre als Haushälterin arbeitete. Der Angeklagte nahm nach Darstellung der Staatsanwaltschaft eine Art Vaterrolle für den Jungen ein.

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MICHIGAN
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

The following is copy of a memo received by SNAP:

FROM: Bishop Bernard J. Harrington
RE: Sexual Harassment Case/Fr. Lou Grandpre/St. Paul of Tarsus

I met Lou Grandpre at the East Macomb Vicariate Meeting today and he was quite “down”. He has informed me that things have gone very poorly in the sexual harassment case. He has reported that we have lost the mediation process from last August with the recommended settlement of about $160,000.00.

Lou feels that our case was not well presented for the mediators. For example: the petitioner had a detailed psychiatric report on the devastation of this whole thing to the victim and no psychiatric evaluation was done by our side. That the documentation done by the opposition was twice the amount of documentation that was presented by our side and thirdly the opposition present three lawyers (one a woman) to the hearing, while our group was only presented by John Cassen. Even Karen Piper, who had been working on the case, did not show up at the hearing.

Lou feels that he and his staff are totally devastated. That it would be advantageous to settle it as quickly out of court as possible. He feels that if the case goes to court the settlement might even be higher. As well as the public scandal that would be involved.

My concerns are:
1) Is the Cardinal aware of the present situation of the court case?

2) Who is the Diocesan contact person involved in this case? I have not received any documentation on this case since the day it was turned over Karen Piper. I don’t know who is receiving documentation from the Diocesan lawyers.

3) Should there be an evaluation whether this case should be settled quickly and how this can take place and who are the persons that are to be involved in that decision?

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VATICAN CITY
Catholic News Service

By Carol Glatz
Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — In a letter to an atheist Italian mathematician, retired Pope Benedict XVI defended his own handling of allegations of the sexual abuse of minors by clergy and politely criticized the logician’s total reliance on scientific facts for meaning.

“I never sought to conceal these things,” the pope said of cases of clerical abuse, and lamented the scholar depicting the church as the only place where such “deviation” and “filth” occur.

The publication of the retired pope’s comments Sept. 24 to an atheist scholar came the same month a written letter by Pope Francis to an Italian journalist concerning dialogue with nonbelievers was published. Both letters were published, with the two popes’ permission, by the Italian daily La Repubblica.

The paper released long excerpts of Pope Benedict’s original 11-page response to Piergiorgio Odifreddi, a prolific science writer who authored the book, “Dear Pope, I Write to You” in 2011. The book, presented as a letter to Pope Benedict, proposes the superiority of a worldview in which belief should stem only from things that can be understood and empirically known over worldviews that include belief in things that cannot be fully understood or known.

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MICHIGAN
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

[A copy of the 1997 memo is here]

He allegedly sexually harassed someone 15 years ago
Victims’ group says archbishop breaks pledge of “openness”
And group wants archbishop to “come clean” about other predator priests
In sharply worded letter, SNAP blasts “recklessness, callousness and deceit”

For immediate release: Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2013

For more information: David Clohessy of St. Louis, SNAP Director 314-566-9790 cell, SNAPclohessy@aol.com, Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, SNAP Outreach Director 314-862-7688, SNAPdorris@gmail.com

A support group for clergy sex abuse victims is releasing a private archdiocesan memo showing that a Detroit priest who was ousted last week because of credible child sex abuse allegations was also accused of sexual harassment 15 years ago.

In a one page memo, dated September of 1997, a high ranking Detroit archdiocesan official writes to two colleagues that “we have lost the mediation process” arising from accusations that Fr. Louis Grandpre sexually harassed an individual. The memo indicates the mediator “recommended (a) settlement of about $160,000.00”

The memo is written to then-Bishop Kevin Britt and Msgr. John Zenz by then-auxiliary Bishop Bernard J. Harrington and carries this subject line: “Sexual Harassment Case/Fr. Lou Grandpre/St. Paul of Tarsus.”

Leaders of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, want Detroit Archbishop Allen Vigneron to “explain why this secret was kept from parishioners and the public” and “discipline the staffers who are responsible for this deceit.”

“Vigneron’s public relations team gave a list of Fr. Grandpre’s assignments and other details last week,” said David Clohessy of St. Louis, SNAP’s director. “So why did the church hierarchy keep silent about another accusation against Fr. Grandpre? And what other wrongdoing – by Fr. Grandpre and other priests – are Vigneron and his staff they keeping secret?”

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VATICAN CITY
Catholic Herald (UK)

Benedict XVI has denied trying to cover up cases of child abuse in the Catholic Church in extracts of a letter published by Italian daily newspaper La Repubblica.

The letter was addressed to Italian mathematician and philosopher Piergiorgio Odifreddi, who published a book in 2011, Dear Pope, I’m Writing You, which challenged Benedict’s trilogy of books on Jesus of Nazareth.

Benedict XVI wrote: “I never tried to cover up these things. That the power of evil penetrates to such a point in the interior world of the faith is, for us, a source of suffering. On the one hand we must accept that suffering, and on the other, at the same time, we must do everything possible so that such cases aren’t repeated.

“It’s also not a motive for comfort to know that, according to sociological research, the percentage of priests guilty of these crimes is no higher than in other comparable professional categories. In any event, one must not stubbornly present this deviance as if it were a nastiness specific to Catholicism.”

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Radio

[with audio]

(Vatican Radio) Pope-emeritus Benedict XVI has had an exchange of letters with the noted Italian mathematician and philosopher, Piergiorgio Odifreddi, excerpts from which appeared in the Tuesday edition of the Italian daily, La Repubblica. At the beginning of September, Benedict sent a lengthy and detailed response to criticisms the atheist thinker Odifreddi had published in his volume, Caro papa ti scrivo, a book-length essay that was itself a critique of certain arguments and lines of thought found in the Pope-emeritus’ theological writings, starting from his 1967 volume, Introduction to Christianity.

The context of the exchange is therefore that of an ongoing conversation about the contents and merits of a lifetime of public intellectual engagement. The topics covered in the exchange range from the abuse crisis in the Church, to the question whether theology can properly be considered a science to the need for frank and open dialogue among believers and non-believers.

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VATICAN CITY
National Catholic Reporter

John L. Allen Jr. | Sep. 24, 2013 NCR Today

ROME In itself, the fact that the pope made the front page of a major newspaper Tuesday is hardly surprising. Over the last six months, the papacy has been a global phenomenon, making waves and generating interest well beyond the borders of the Catholic church.

Which pope did so this time, however, is a different matter.

Instead of Francis, the newsmaker in this instance was Pope Benedict XVI, who stepped down Feb. 28 and who has stayed largely out of the spotlight ever since.

On Tuesday, however, the Italian daily La Repubblica published lengthy extracts of an 11-page letter by the 86-year-old emeritus pontiff to an Italian mathematician and philosopher named Piergiorgio Odifreddi, who had published a 2011 book challenging Benedict’s take on Jesus of Nazareth titled, Dear Pope, I’m Writing You.

It was the second time in recent weeks La Repubblica published a letter from a pope to an atheist intellectual after a Sept. 11 missive from Francis to Italian journalist and leftist activist Eugenio Scalfari.

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CITTA DEL VATICANO
La Repubblica

Il postino del Papa suona due volte

Papa Francesco scrive a Repubblica: “Dialogo aperto con i non credenti”

ll. mo Signor Professore Odifreddi, (…) vorrei ringraziarLa per aver cercato fin nel dettaglio di confrontarsi con il mio libro e così con la mia fede; proprio questo è in gran parte ciò che avevo inteso nel mio discorso alla Curia Romana in occasione del Natale 2009. Devo ringraziare anche per il modo leale in cui ha trattato il mio testo, cercando sinceramente di rendergli giustizia.

Il mio giudizio circa il Suo libro nel suo insieme è, però, in se stesso piuttosto contrastante. Ne ho letto alcune parti con godimento e profitto. In altre parti, invece, mi sono meravigliato di una certa aggressività e dell’avventatezza dell’argomentazione. (…)

Più volte, Ella mi fa notare che la teologia sarebbe fantascienza. A tale riguardo, mi meraviglio che Lei, tuttavia, ritenga il mio libro degno di una discussione così dettagliata. Mi permetta di proporre in merito a tale questione quattro punti:

1. È corretto affermare che “scienza” nel senso più stretto della parola lo è solo la matematica, mentre ho imparato da Lei che anche qui occorrerebbe distinguere ancora tra l’aritmetica e la geometria. In tutte le materie specifiche la scientificità ha ogni volta la propria forma, secondo la particolarità del suo oggetto. L’essenziale è che applichi un metodo verificabile, escluda l’arbitrio e garantisca la razionalità nelle rispettive diverse modalità.

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VATICAN CITY
Reuters

By Philip Pullella
VATICAN CITY | Tue Sep 24, 2013

(Reuters) – Former Pope Benedict has denied that he tried to cover up sexual abuse of children by Roman Catholic priests, in his first direct published comments since he stepped down.

The comments came in an 11-page letter to Italian author and mathematician Piergiorgio Odifreddi, who had written a book about the problems facing the Roman Catholic Church before the pope resigned in February.

“As far as you mentioning the moral abuse of minors by priests, I can only, as you know, acknowledge it with profound consternation. But I never tried to cover up these things,” Benedict, who now has the title Emeritus Pope, said.

Excerpts of Benedict’s pope’s letter were published in the Rome newspaper La Repubblica on Tuesday with the former pope’s permission.

It was believed to be the first time Benedict has responded to the sexual abuse accusations in the first person, although the Vatican has always said he did much to put an end to sexual abuse of minors by priests and never tried to cover it up.

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AUSTRALIA
Newcastle Herald

By MICHELLE HARRIS Sept. 24, 2013

FORMER state MP John Hatton wrote more than 25 years ago to the then Archbishop of Sydney, Edward Clancy, to bluntly raise allegations of Father Denis McAlinden’s ‘‘sexual misbehaviour’’ with children and urge they be independently assessed.

Mr Hatton, then the independent MP for South Coast, wrote to the archbishop in May 1987 about the ‘‘extremely delicate matter which has come my way and which I believe should be handled within the church’’ .

The letter was among documents recently released by the Special Commission of Inquiry, which is examining the conduct of police and Catholic Church in response to the offending by two priests.

James Fletcher, who died in jail in 2006, was convicted of abusing an altar boy, although other victims came forward.

McAlinden, who died in late 2005, is suspected of abusing possibly hundreds of young girls.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Information Service

Vatican City, 24 September 2013 (VIS) – Today, the Holy Father: …

– appointed Bishop Bernard A. Hebda as coadjutor archbishop of Newark (area 1,328, population 3,089,000, Catholics 1,427,000, priests 774, permanent deacons 184, religious 1,076), U.S.A. Archbishop-elect Hebda, previously bishop of Gaylord, U.S.A, was born in Pittsburgh, U.S.A. in 1959, was ordained to the priesthood in 1989, and received episcopal ordination in 2009.

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NEW JERSEY
Whispers in the Loggia

As only Lou Vallone could sum it up: “It just gets better and better, all the time.”

At Roman Noon this Tuesday, reacting with lightning speed to a considerable brutta figura in one of the nation’s largest dioceses, the Pope made his most consequential Stateside move to date, naming Bishop Bernard Hebda, the 54 year-old head of Michigan’s Gaylord diocese, as coadjutor-archbishop of Newark.

In New Jersey’s 1.4 million-member principal church, the Pittsburgh-born star – a beloved, unassuming cleric, yet one armed with degrees from Harvard and Columbia Law and over a decade’s experience in the Vatican’s office for legal affairs – will eventually succeed Archbishop John Myers, 72. One of the US church’s leading conservatives for a quarter-century and an influential figure on both the national and Roman scenes as chairman of the board of the Pontifical North American College, the Illinois-born metropolitan has been embroiled over recent months in an ongoing, increasingly ugly furore over claims of lacking oversight in cases of priests accused of sexual abuse.

While the new coadjutor will likely arrive to begin learning the turf as archbishop-in-waiting within two months, no timetable has yet been indicated for Myers’ handover of the reins. It’s likewise unknown whether the successor-to-be has been granted any special faculties by the Holy See, which would transfer sole authority over specified elements of the archdiocese’s governance to Hebda even while Myers remains in office.

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VATICAN CITY
Edmonton Journal

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS SEPTEMBER 24, 2013

VATICAN CITY – The pope has named a new bishop to help out and eventually take over for the archbishop of Newark, New Jersey, who is under fire for his handling of a sexually abusive priest.

Bishop Bernard Hebda, currently of Gaylord, Michigan, was named coadjutor bishop Tuesday for Archbishop John Myers, who is to retire in mid-2016.

Coadjutor bishops are often named for large archdioceses. They take over automatically when the incumbent retires or dies. Naming Hebda with three years to go before Myers turns 75 could be a sign that Pope Francis believed Newark needed fresh leadership now.

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NEW JERSEY/MICHIGAN
Roman Catholic Diocese of Gaylord

His Holiness Pope Francis has named the Most Reverend Bernard A. Hebda, shepherd of the Diocese of Gaylord for the past four years, the Coadjutor Archbishop for the Archdiocese of Newark, New Jersey. The Vatican made the announcement on the September 24, 2013 and it was shared in Washington by Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, apostolic nuncio to the United States. The appointment is effective immediately. As coadjutor, Archbishop Hebda will assist the current Metropolitan Archbishop John J. Myers in the administration of the archdiocese and will automatically succeed Archbishop Myers upon his retirement, transfer or death.

“Today’s news that the Holy Father has named me the Coadjutor Archbishop of Newark brings with it the sadness of having to leave the Diocese of Gaylord,” Archbishop Hebda penned in a letter upon being informed of the appointment. “I have come to consider this local Church my home and will find it difficult to leave so many faith-filled parishes, schools and friends. Anything that I know about being a bishop I learned from you—and for that I will be always thankful.

Archbishop Hebda said he has been blessed here, finding the Church of Gaylord a wonderful diocese with “gifted clergy, generous deacons, dedicated Religious women, stellar schools, a tradition of prayerful liturgy, a rich history of cultivating lay leadership, and an exemplary commitment to Christian charity and social justice. What wasn’t to love? I would have been happy to spend the rest of my days here laboring in the vineyard at your side,” he added.

“In his six months as Successor of Peter, Pope Francis has captured the attention of the world by his humility and his deep pastoral concern for his flock,” Archbishop Hebda told the Faithful of Gaylord. “I am confident that he will soon bless the Diocese of Gaylord with precisely the Shepherd that you need.

“As I take up my responsibilities in Newark, I would ask that you occasionally remember to pray that I might joyfully serve the Lord in that radically different setting. You can be sure that you will always be remembered in mine,” he concluded.

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NEW JERSEY
New Jersey 101.5

A second archbishop is to be named in the Roman Catholic Church’s archdiocese in Newark, where the archbishop is nearing retirement age and has been under fire for his handling of the case of a priest barred from unsupervised contact with minors, a Catholic publication reported Monday.

Pope Francis is appointing a coadjutor archbishop to assist Archbishop John Myers, the National Catholic Reporter said. A coadjutor bishop is expected to succeed a bishop who retires or dies.

The bishop of Gaylord, Mich., Bernard Hebda, will be named to the post Tuesday, said the Reporter, citing unidentified sources.

The archdiocese, which serves nearly 1.5 million parishoners in northern New Jersey, declined to comment but said it would be making “an announcement of significance” on Tuesday.

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ARGENTINA
Bangkok Post

An Argentine priest has been sentenced to 15 years in jail on charges of sexual molestation. Julie Noce reports. – REUTERS

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ARGENTINA
New Zealand Herald

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) A Roman Catholic priest who was convicted in Argentina of sexually abusing a boy has finally begun serving a 15-year sentence in prison.

Father Julio Cesar Grassi was something of a star in the Buenos Aires diocese, well-known for persuading Argentine celebrities to donate to the Happy Children Foundation.

His fortunes changed after some of the orphans he cared for accused him of abusing them in 1996.

Grassi was convicted in 2009, but was able to keep living across the street from the orphanage while he appealed. After the top provincial court upheld his sentence last week, Grassi was taken into custody Monday.

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ARGENTINA
euronews

[with video]

An Argentine court has sent a Roman Catholic priest to prison immediately to serve a 15-year sentence for sexually abusing a teenage boy.

Julio César Grassi was convicted four years ago for abuse at his “Happy Children Foundation”.

Last week the Supreme Court upheld the jail term after the 57-year-old was found to have breached his house arrest conditions.

He strongly denies the abuse.

“The experts said clearly that I do not have any of the features of a paedophile. No trace of paedophilia,” he told the court. “The prosecution lawyer is lying.”

Allegations against Reverend Grassi surfaced more than ten years ago.

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ARGENTINA
Tengri News

A well-known Argentine priest began a 15-year prison sentence for pedophilia Monday, four years after he was convicted, AFP reports.

A court ordered the immediate arrest of Julio Cesar Grassi, 57, who was on provisional release after being convicted in 2009.

The arrest came after the supreme court of Buenos Aires province upheld his conviction.

Grassi was found guilty of abusing a 15-year-old boy who had been living at the Felices los Ninos (Happy Children) foundation in Hurlingham, 25 kilometers (15 miles) west of Buenos Aires.

The victim, then 19, first publicly recounted the abuse on television in October 2002.

Two other victims later came forward with their own stories of abuse by the priest.

Grassi, who was well connected politically in the 1990s, gained media exposure soliciting donations from actors, newscasters and politicians for the foundation, which cared for some 6,000 children.

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ARGENTINA
Buenos Aires Herald

The first criminal court of Morón has ordered the immediate detention of Julio César Grassi, who was present today as judges ruled that a 15-year prison sentence for sexual abuse of minors would be imposed with immediate effect.

The clergyman was escorted out of the courtroom by law officials after hearing the verdict, and will be transferred to Penitentiary Unit 39 in the Buenos Aires Province locality of Ituzaingo.

Prosecutor Alejandro Varela, speaking earlier in the day, had urged judges to issue an arrest warrant for Grassi, founder of the Happy Children Foundation. “Leaving Grassi in freedom is almost like collaborating with the crime,” the attorney fired.

For his part, the priest denied that he was a flight risk and criticised Varela as well as the media for their treatment of him.

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OHIO
Statesboro Herald

BY Holli Deal Bragg
hbragg@statesboroherald.com 912-489-9414

After a weeklong trial, a former Catholic priest in Ohio who once worked in Glennville, Claxton, and Pembroke was found guilty Friday on charges he took a 10-year-old boy across state lines for sexual purposes.

A group that follows cases of sexual abuse by clergy, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests — also known as SNAP — hopes other victims will surface and share their experiences with law enforcement.

Robert Poandl, 72, will be sentenced at a later date, according to reports. He has worked in the past in seven Georgia towns as part of Glenmary Home Missioners, which is based in Fairfield, Ohio.

He was found guilty by jury Friday of taking the Cincinnati boy to West Virginia in 1991 for the purpose of sexually assaulting him. He was indicted Nov. 14 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, according to the FBI Cincinnati division website, www.fbi.gov/cincinnati.

The victim originally reported the incident in 2009, but the case was dismissed, according to reports. It was revisited in 2012.

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GEORGIA
WJBT

By Andrew Davis, Anchor/Reporter

CINCINNATI, OHIO –
A former Savannah Diocese priest was convicted of sex charges in a Ohio Federal Court.

Fr. Robert Poandl was convicted of one count of transportation of a minor across state lines for illicit purposes.

The 72 year old priest now faces up to 10 years in prison for the crime.

Poandl was accused of molesting a 10 year old boy 22 years ago in a West Virginia rectory.

From 2010-2012 Father Poandl worked in churches in Claxton, Pembroke and Sandhill.

This was the 3rd person who has come forward claiming Father Robert Poandl molested him when the victim was just a boy.

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ITALIA
Abuse Trackers

A Savona santa madre chiesa predica bene ma razzola…. malissimo.

Sono Francesco Zanardi, portavoce nazionale della Rete l’abuso, un ragazzo savonese che da anni si occupa di raccogliere, catalogare e denunciare storiacce di pedofilia e omertà a danno di minori perpetrate in particolare da ecclesiastici.

Io sono una vittima tra queste.

Uno che può essere antipatico, ma che ha svolto un lavoro corposo e delicatissimo nella raccolta e denuncia di casi analoghi, ora al vaglio di diverse Procure della Repubblica italiane compresa quella Savonese che ha già prodotto diverse condanne.

Uno che – su questi raccapriccianti argomenti- è stato intervistato dalle Iene, da Cnn, Servizio Pubblico e altre d testate internazionali. Uno che è diventato un simbolo per le vittime di questa lotta senza giustizia, in Italia.

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ARGENTINA
Pagina/12

Por Claudia Fernández Chaparro *

En 1987, Julio César Grassi se ordenó sacerdote bajo el lema “El padre de los que no tienen padre” y, el 23 de diciembre de 1993, creó la Fundación Felices los Niños. El cura se convirtió en un marketinero profesional que logró que el ex ministro Domingo Cavallo le donara 5 millones de pesos y 65 hectáreas para que funcionara la sede central de “su obra”.

Habrá que revisar qué pasó con el fenómeno Grassi, por qué este hombre se convirtió en el adalid de la infancia sin ningún control eficiente, sin la mirada del Estado, creando ese megahogar carente de toda perspectiva de derechos.

El caso Grassi también nos interpela como sociedad. ¿Cómo se puede llegar a naturalizar el hecho de que miles de niños vivan todos juntos, en un mismo predio, yendo al colegio en el mismo lugar y recreándose allí, encerrados, sin contacto con el mundo exterior, sometidos al arbitrio de un cura que oficiaba de amo y señor de sus vidas?

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ARGENTINA
Pagina/12

Desde la primera denuncia, la defensa logró esquivar los pedidos de condena del cura y luego su detención. La condena fue ratificada hasta por la Corte provincial.

Primera denuncia. El 29 de noviembre de 2000 fue presentada la primera denuncia judicial contra el cura Julio César Grassi, en el Juzgado de Menores N° 3 de Morón. Dos menores conocidos bajo los seudónimos de “Gabriel” y “Ezequiel” declararon que habían sido abusados por el sacerdote mientras estaban en la Fundación Felices los Niños en Hurlingham. El 23 de octubre de 2002, Grassi fue detenido por orden de la titular del Juzgado de Garantías N° 1 de Morón, Mónica López Osornio. La jueza dispuso el procesamiento del cura por abuso sexual agravado contra un menor y corrupción en dos casos. El cura negó las acusaciones en su contra y acusó de extorsión a uno de los chicos denunciantes. El sacerdote quedó preso un mes y luego fue beneficiado con la libertad controlada.

Juicio oral. Luego de años de postergaciones judiciales, el juicio oral comenzó en agosto de 2008. La fiscalía pidió 30 años de cárcel para el cura, la querella 37 y la defensa solicitó la absolución del imputado. Durante nueve meses el juicio se realizó a puertas cerradas. Sólo para la lectura del veredicto se dejó entrar al público. El 10 de junio de 2009, el Tribunal Oral en lo Criminal Nº 1 de Morón condenó a Grassi a 15 años de prisión, por dos hechos cometidos en 1996 contra “Gabriel”, y lo absolvió por otros 15 hechos que le imputaban. Los jueces, en su fallo, consideraron como agravante la condición de sacerdote de Grassi. El cumplimiento de la pena, sin embargo, se haría efectivo una vez que la sentencia quedara firme, determinaron los magistrados. Si bien los jueces Luis María Andueza, Mario Daniel Gómez y Jorge Eduardo Carrera no ordenaron la detención del cura, sí le impusieron una serie de restricciones: presentarse el primer día hábil de cada mes ante el tribunal, no poder ir solo a la fundación y no poder salir del país.

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ARGENTINA
Pagina/12

La parte acusadora recordó a los jueces el peligro de fuga, lo irreversible de la sentencia y su personalidad particular.

@La acusación contra Julio César Grassi recorrió varios frentes: su peligrosidad en caso de permanecer en libertad, lo “irreversible” de su sentencia, el peligro de “fuga inminente” y sus antecedentes, la transparencia que –a pesar de las maniobras de “un operador judicial”– tuvo el proceso de la causa. Los argumentos para pedir que el sacerdote fuera privado de su libertad fueron aportados por los abogados de la querella Sergio Piris y Juan Pablo Gallego y el fiscal Alejandro Varela, quienes al aportarlos recorrieron, al recordar obstáculos y definir al condenado Grassi, los años de tramitación que lleva la causa.

Piris, querellante en nombre de “Gabriel”, nombre ficticio del joven por cuyo abuso el sacerdote fue condenado, denunció que Grassi gozaba de “impunidad” y había obtenido el beneficio de la libertad vigilada gracias a la presión de “sectores de la Iglesia”, “amigos empresarios” y la actuación de un “operador judicial”. El querellante también señaló que, durante todas las instancias judiciales, el acusado finalmente condenado había visto respetadas sus garantías, incluyendo el principio de inocencia. Luego el fiscal Varela señalaría que las pruebas, la condena y sus sucesivas confirmaciones habían destruido esa presunción. “La gente se pregunta por qué Grassi está en libertad. Yo la respuesta no la tengo. La respuesta la tienen que dar ustedes, señores jueces. Grassi se manejó con impunidad.” Como sucedería luego durante el alegato de la defensa, Piris mencionó al papa Francisco. El pontífice, dijo, sostiene que “todos los pedófilos, como es Julio César Grassi, tienen que estar en su lugar: la cárcel”. Sin embargo, el cura gozaba de privilegios “de un actor de cine”.

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ARGENTINA
Pagina/12

Una veintena de seguidores del cura condenado hicieron ruido, lloraron y rezaron por él. Se la tomaron a golpes con un camarógrafo e intentaron lo mismo con un querellante.

Por Carlos Rodríguez

“Paz para este hombre, paz para un hombre que tiene el demonio adentro.” Dos mujeres de unos sesenta años, vestidas con discreción, una de ellas con un vestido propio de una religiosa, le arrojaban “agua bendecida” al abogado querellante Juan Pablo Gallego, quien había bajado de un automóvil en la puerta de los tribunales de Morón y estaba haciendo declaraciones a la prensa. Aunque algunos periodistas reaccionaron con atendible molestia por la “lluvia” que estaban recibiendo junto con el “endiablado” Gallego, el gesto de esas dos casi amables defensoras de la “inocencia” del cura Julio César Grassi contrastaba con los gestos y palabras de otras manifestantes mucho más jóvenes, que le dedicaron frases y gestos violentos al abogado: “Gallego mentiroso, la puta que te parió”.

Esa mezcla de adherentes serenas y ofuscadas –la mayoría eran mujeres con remeras o banderas de la Fundación Felices Los Niños– se repitió luego de conocerse la sentencia que envió a prisión a Grassi: algunas manifestantes se fueron llorando, otras golpearon en los testículos a un camarógrafo que las filmaba y varias intentaron linchar a Gallego, cuándo no, pero la policía pudo impedirlo. El abogado querellante, por su exposición mediática tal vez, fue quien despertó mayor virulencia.

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ARGENTINA
Pagina/12

Después de varias horas de cuarto intermedio, los jueces ordenaron que Grassi fuera enviado a la cárcel de Ituzaingó, en su jurisdicción canónica. Es posible que sea trasladado al penal 41 de Campana. Crónica de un día cruzado de acusaciones.

Por Carlos Rodríguez

Un Julio César Grassi en apariencia inmutable, aunque la tensión se le marcaba en los pómulos, sobre la línea que marca la mandíbula, y en la dureza de la mirada que dirigió a los jueces, escuchó ayer la sentencia del Tribunal Oral Nº 1 de Morón por la cual se ordenó su inmediata detención en la Unidad Penitenciaria 39 de Ituzaingó. Fue el único gesto benévolo, dado que la prisión queda dentro de la diócesis de Morón, a la que sigue perteneciendo el cura, a pesar de que su condena a 15 años de prisión por “abuso sexual y corrupción de menores” ya ha sido ratificada por una decena de jueces. El gesto, sin embargo, podría quedar trunco porque el Servicio Penitenciario provincial pidió que lo trasladen a la Unidad 41, de Campana, de máxima seguridad. “Hoy por hoy pesan sobre la cabeza del acusado tres fallos dictados por órganos judiciales de diferente instancia, agotando la jurisdicción provincial” y “confirmando (…) la culpabilidad del encartado y el consiguiente cumplimiento de la pena”, se dijo en la resolución, que fue leída, con voz firme, por la presidenta del tribunal, Mariana Maldonado.

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NEWARK (NJ)
Road to Recovery

Appointment of Coadjutor Archbishop of Newark Not Enough
Myers Must Resign or be Fired and Investigated for Criminal Activity against Innocent Children, Teenagers, and Vulnerable Adults
Archbishop-in-Waiting Must Immediately Release Names and Files Concerning Predatory Priests

What: A demonstration celebrating the lessening of power for Archbishop John J.
Myers, a signaling of a “changing of the guard” in the Archdiocese of Newark and a corresponding call for the new coadjutor (with right of succession) Archbishop, Bernard Hebna, to immediately release files and information regarding sexually abusive clergy in the Archdiocese of Newark. The Newark Archdiocese will be called upon to end years of cover-up, deceit, and injustice against innocent children, teenagers, and vulnerable adults.

When: Tuesday, September 24, 2013 from 9:00 AM until Noon.

Where: On the sidewalk outside the headquarters of the Archdiocese of Newark, 171
Clifton Avenue, Newark, NJ, 07104.

Who: Members of Road to Recovery, Inc., a non-profit charity that assists victims of
sexual abuse, including its co-founder and President; survivors of sexual abuse, and supporters.

Why: The appointment of Bishop Bernard Hebna as coadjutor archbishop of Newark
indicates a major change in the Catholic Church in New Jersey. It is clear that Archbishop Myers has lost authority because of twelve years of cover-up, deceit, obfuscation, and disregard for truth, justice, and honesty. Demonstrators will call for Myers to leave immediately so the new coadjutor archbishop can begin to clean up the mess Myers made during the past twelve years. The Archdiocese of Newark is in serious crisis, and the removal or resignation of Archbishop John Myers is crucial if the Archbishop-in-waiting is going to be able to effect necessary change.

Contact: Robert M. Hoatson, Ph.D., Road to Recovery, Inc. – 862-368-2800

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PENNSYLVANIA
Citizens Voice

BY JOSEPH KOHUT (STAFF WRITER)
Published: September 24, 2013

The Diocese of Scranton appealed to its faithful for help in the investigation of a priest accused of having sex with a 15-year-old boy.

A letter penned by Bishop Joseph C. Bambera was read Sunday at each parish The Rev. William Paulish served, asking anyone with similar allegations against the priest to come forward.

“With sadness and a deep concern for you, I encourage anyone who may have been involved in or may be aware of any abusive situation involving (the Rev. Paulish) to immediately contact the Lackawanna County district attorney’s office at 570-963-6717 or local law enforcement,” Bishop Bambera wrote.

The diocese provided a copy of the bishop’s letter to The Times-Tribune on Monday, but officials refused to answer questions about the Rev. Paulish’s 14 reassignments and four leaves of absence over a 25-year career.

The Rev. Paulish, 56, of Blakely, was arraigned Friday after he was discovered in his red 2009 Toyota Venza, having just performed sex acts with a 15-year-old boy in a Penn State Worthington Scranton parking lot Thursday night, police said. Prosecutors would not comment Monday on whether the bishop’s appeal had generated any tips for investigators.

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AUSTRALIA
Newcastle Herald

By MICHELLE HARRIS Sept. 24, 2013

THE Maitland-Newcastle Diocese “simply overlooked” 25 years of paedophile priest Denis McAlinden’s offending “in the interest of avoiding some scandal”, the Special Commission of Inquiry has been told.

Barrister for Detective Chief Inspector Peter Fox, Mark Cohen, told the inquiry on Tuesday morning McAlinden had been moved around almost constantly from diocese to diocese, and to PNG and New Zealand, from 1969 to the 1990s to ensure he was “kept out of the way”.

By December 1971 it was observed McAlinden had left PNG because he was “very rough with the native people”.

By May 1976, McAlinden had been “run out of town again”from Forster-Tuncurry “by angry parents”, Mr Cohen said.

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