ABUSE TRACKER

CANADA
The Tyee

By BOB MACKIN
Published September 23, 2013

Former Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics CEO John Furlong has denied in Sept. 23 court filings that he physically or sexually abused two students at a northern British Columbia Catholic school for aboriginal children in 1969 and 1970.

Furlong’s statements of defence counter July 24 lawsuits by Beverly Mary Abraham and Grace Jessie West. Furlong says that he does not recall whether he even taught or coached them while he volunteered at Immaculata Elementary School in Burns Lake, B.C.

“The defendant denies that he sexually molested or physically abused or engaged in any inappropriate conduct,” said the statements, which were filed in B.C. Supreme Court by Furlong’s lawyer John Hunter.

Abraham and West both claim Furlong abused them 44 years ago and accuse him of defaming them at a Sept. 27, 2012 news conference, where Furlong denied abuse allegations contained in a Georgia Straight feature story that was headlined “John Furlong biography omits secret past in Burns Lake.” Furlong filed a defamation lawsuit against the newspaper and reporter Laura Robinson last November.

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CANADA
24 Hours

By Jeremy Nuttall, 24 hours Vancouver
Monday, September 23, 2013

Former VANOC boss John Furlong filed responses to civil claims alleging sexual abuse committed by him in B.C. Supreme Court Monday.

The responses were to allegations made in a claim filed July 24, 2013, by Grace West and Beverly Abraham.

West alleged while she was attending Immaculata Roman Catholic Elementary in Burns Lake, B.C. in 1969 she was physically and sexually abused by Furlong, the CEO for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games.

“The defendant Furlong sexually molested the plaintiff,” read West’s statement. “The defendant Furlong would touch the plaintiff sexually approximately once a week.”

Furlong’s legal response said he doesn’t remember if he coached the girls during the time of the allegations.

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CANADA
National Post

Brian Hutchinson | 23/09/13

An Aboriginal man has come forward with allegations claiming that Vancouver Olympic Winter Games chief executive John Furlong sexually abused him on three occasions almost 40 years ago, at the same B.C. elementary school where other former students have accused Mr. Furlong of committing assaults.

In a statement of claim filed Monday in B.C. Supreme Court, Daniel Morice claims that during the 1969-1970 academic year, Mr. Furlong, then a physical education teacher at Immaculata Roman Catholic Elementary School in Burns Lake, B.C., “isolated” him in a small room at the school. On two occasions, the plaintiff claims, Mr. Furlong “removed his penis from his pants and showed it to the plaintiff and forced the plaintiff to touch and masturbate him.”

On the last occasion, Mr. Furlong “penetrated the plaintiff’s anus with his penis,” it is alleged. Mr. Morice, who now lives in Smithers, B.C., was nine years old at the time of the alleged events. The new accusations have not been tested in court.

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CANADA
CTV News

Dene Moore, The Canadian Press
Published Monday, September 23, 2013

VANCOUVER — The former head of the Vancouver Olympic Games has formally denied sexual abuse allegations from two former students, even as another former student has filed a lawsuit alleging he, too, was abused by John Furlong.

In a civil lawsuit filed in Vancouver on Monday, a man said he was a nine-year-old student at Immaculata School in Burns Lake, B.C., when Furlong arrived as a volunteer teacher in 1969.

The man said Furlong isolated him in a small room after class, and on two occasions forced him to masturbate him. On a third occasion, the statement of claim said there was forced anal intercourse by Furlong.

“The defendant John Furlong told the plaintiff that if he ever told anyone about the abuse no one would believe him.”

The man said he has suffered emotionally and psychologically from the abuse, and “was generally disempowered as a result of racism and geographic isolation.”

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CANADA
The Globe and Mail

SUNNY DHILLON
Vancouver — The Globe and Mail
Published Monday, Sep. 23 2013

Former Vancouver Olympics CEO John Furlong has filed court documents in which he denies sexually abusing two students when he was a physical education teacher.

Mr. Furlong, the public face of Vancouver’s 2010 Games, was sued in late July by two women who said they were abused as students more than 40 years ago. The allegations have not been proven.

He also said he could not recall teaching either Beverly Mary Abraham or Grace Jessie West during his time at Immaculata School in Burns Lake, B.C.

Allegations that Mr. Furlong physically abused several Aboriginal students first surfaced last September in the alternative weekly newspaper the Georgia Straight. Mr. Furlong filed a lawsuit against the newspaper, as well as the article’s author, in November.

Ms. Abraham was quoted in the story. Ms. West was not.

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CANADA
CBC

Former VANOC CEO John Furlong has denied abusing two former students at a Burns Lake elementary school in a statement of defence filed in B.C. Supreme Court today.

Grace West and Beverly Abraham both claim to have been sexually and physically abused by Furlong while he was a physical education teacher in the Burns Lake area in late 1960s and early 1970s.

The two women filed a civil claim against Furlong in July, seeking compensation for the abuse and alleging defamation after he suggested at a press conference in September of last year that unnamed people were lying in an attempt to extort him.

In court documents filed Monday in the two cases, Furlong said he doesn’t recall if he taught West and Abraham during his time as a volunteer teacher at the Catholic school in northern British Columbia more than four decades ago.

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PERU
This Week in Peru

By Rachel Chase

In a letter to church officials, Ayacucho priest Miranda denied criminal activity but admitted to making mistakes in judgment.

A letter written by former Auxiliary Bishop of Ayacucho, Gabino Miranda is shedding some light on the reasons for his recent removal. Miranda, who was dismissed from his post as auxiliary bishop in the Peruvian city of Ayacucho, has been accused of sexually abusing children. Miranda denies any criminal activity.

At this time, not much is known about the exact nature of the allegations, but a Peruvian church official confirmed to the press that Miranda’s removal was a result of new Pope Francis’s “zero tolerance” policy for sex offenders.

However, a newly revealed letter written by Miranda to church officials in Rome has provided some insight into the case. According to Peru21, the July 1 letter was sent as part of Miranda’s effort to appeal the Vatican’s decision to remove him from his post. In it, Miranda writes “I recognize that in some circumstances I have been imprudent […] but furthermore, I reiterate that in the conscience and presence of God, the supposed offenses cannot be characterized as crimes against the [sixth commandment].” The sixth commandment prohibits sexual activity outside of the bounds of marriage.

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SCRANTON (PA)
Roman Catholic Diocese of Scranton

On September 20, 2013, the Diocese of Scranton was notified of an incident involving Father W. Jeffrey Paulish, a priest of the Diocese of Scranton, who according to law enforcement officials was discovered in an inappropriate sexual act with a minor. Upon being notified of this incident, the cleric was immediately removed from his assignment and his faculties to exercise priestly ministry were suspended. The Diocese has pledged its cooperation to law enforcement and asks that anyone who may have been sexually abused by Father Paulish or any member of the clergy notify the Lackawanna County District Attorney’s Office at (570) 963-6717 or local law enforcement.

In response to this situation, the Most Reverend Joseph C. Bambera, D.D., J.C.L., Bishop of Scranton, expressed his remorse and personal sorrow for the young man who was victimized and his family. In expressing his concern for the Prince of Peace parish community, where Father Paulish most recently served, as well as the faithful and clergy of the Diocese of Scranton, the Bishop said, “I wish to acknowledge how unsettling this is to me personally and to countless others, that yet again a priest has been involved in such inappropriate, immoral and illegal behavior.” The Bishop requests that the faithful of the Diocese join him in praying for this victim and all who are impacted by child sexual abuse.

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MINNESOTA
Star Tribune

Associated Press

When the Rev. Curtis Wehmeyer was accused last year of sexually abusing children, officials from the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis told police he would immediately be relieved of his duties and were praised for their quick response.

But top archdiocese officials had known of Wehmeyer’s sexual compulsions for nearly a decade yet kept him in ministry and failed to warn parishioners, Minnesota Public Radio News reported Monday. MPR cited canon lawyer Jennifer Haselberger, who resigned in April, and dozens of other interviews and documents.

A 2011 memo shows the former vicar general — the top deputy of the archdiocese — did not want employees at Wehmeyer’s parish to know about his past. “At every step of the way, this could have been prevented,” Haselberger said.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

By Dan Cox

The New South Wales inquiry into child sexual abuse has heard the former bishop of the Hunter Valley’s Catholic Church was not adequately trained to deal with paedophile priests.

The special commission is investigating senior policeman Peter Fox’s claims police and the church covered up abuse by two priests, James Fletcher and Denis McAlinden.

In summing up today, his barrister Mark Cohen told the inquiry paedophile priest Denis McAlinden was moved from diocese to diocese “in the interest of avoiding scandal”.

Simon Harben, representing the former Maitland-Newcastle bishop Michael Malone, urged the commissioner on several occasions not to make any adverse findings against his client.

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ARGENTINA
inSerbia

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – Father Julio César Grassi, a Roman Catholic priest in the Buenos Aires suburb of Morón, has been ordered to serve his prison sentence after a court ruling denied his pleas to remain under house arrest.

In 2009, the priest was convicted by a three-judge panel in the criminal court of Morón of sexually abusing a minor, a teenage boy. In that case, the prosecutor was seeking a 30-year sentence for the priest and eventually, the court sentenced him to fifteen years after finding him guilty of two of the seventeen charges he was facing, the most grave of those being sexual abuse and “corruption” of a minor.

Grassi repeatedly appealed the ruling and was rejected three times, including last week at his final appeal at the Supreme Court of Buenos Aires Province in the city of La Plata. That ruling paved the way for the priest to be taken back to the court that originally tried him in Morón for final sentencing. There, he tried to appeal once again, this time regarding the way the sentence would be served and not the length of the sentence.

The court in Morón then rejected that appeal, ordering Grassi to the original fifteen year prison sentence he received in 2009, minus one month that he served that year.

The case piqued the interest of people in Argentina and elsewhere in Latin America, a country and a region long associated with powerful catholic clergies and figures. The judicial system was criticized by many in Argentina for seemingly granting the priest many privileges that non-clergy do not enjoy, like receiving house arrest only one month after beginning his fifteen year sentence under certain conditions.

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AUSTRALIA
9 News

At least five senior Catholic priests were well aware of sexual abuse allegations against serial Hunter Valley paedophile priest Denis McAlinden years before a church official notified police, a special commission of inquiry has heard.

Speaking on behalf of McAlinden victims, Barrister Maria Gerace said former Maitland/Newcastle diocese bishops Leo Clarke and Michael Malone; former vicar generals Bill Burston and Allan Hart; and Fr Brian Lucas, a church law expert who had investigated more than 30 cases of alleged child sexual abuse by NSW Catholic priests all knew about the allegations.

Ms Gerace was addressing commissioner Margaret Cunneen in Newcastle Supreme Court on the second last day of public hearings into how police and church leaders handled child sexual abuse allegations involving two Hunter priests, Fr McAlinden and James Fletcher.

A church official notified police in 1999 of some allegations against Fr McAlinden, but as his whereabouts were allegedly unknown by church leaders he was then not spoken to by police until 2005, shortly before he died of cancer in a West Australian Catholic home.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Information Service – Bolletino

Il Santo Padre ha nominato Arcivescovo Coadiutore di Newark (U.S.A.) S.E. Mons. Bernard Anthony Hebda, finora Vescovo di Gaylord.

S.E. Mons. Bernard Anthony Hebda

S.E. Mons. Bernard Anthony Hebda è nato a Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania) il 3 settembre 1959.
Laureatosi all’Harvard University nel 1980 in Scienze Politiche, ha ottenuto il Juris Doctor dalla Columbia Law School presso la Parker School of Foreign and Comparative Law nel 1983.
Ha compiuto gli studi filosofici presso il Saint Paul Seminary a Pittsburgh (1984-1985). Inviato a Roma al Pontificio Collegio Americano del Nord, ha frequentato la Pontificia Università Gregoriana dove ha ottenuto il Baccalaureato in Teologia (1985-1988) e, poi, la Licenza in Diritto Canonico (1988-1990).

Ordinato sacerdote il 1° luglio 1989 per la diocesi di Pittsburgh, ha ricoperto i seguenti incarichi: Vicario parrocchiale nella Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish ad Ellwood City (1989); Segretario personale dell’allora Vescovo di Pittsburgh, S.E. Mons. Donald W. Wuerl e Maestro delle Cerimonie (1990-1992); Parroco in solidum nella Prince of Peace Parish a Pittsburgh (South Side) (1992-1995); Giudice del Tribunale diocesano (1992-1996); Direttore del Newman Center della Slippery Rock State University (1995-1996).

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ARGENTINA
BBC News

A prominent Roman Catholic priest in Argentina has been jailed, four years after being convicted of sexually abusing a teenage-boy.

A court in Buenos Aires province rejected an appeal by Father Julio Cesar Grassi, who has been sentenced to 15 years in jail, to remain under house arrest.

He was convicted in 2009 of abusing the boy at his “Happy Children” foundation.

He insists he is innocent and says the case is based on false evidence.

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MNNESOTA
Jeff Anderson & Associates:

JEFFREY R. ANDERSON

Today’s Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) story about the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis’ failure to protect its parishioners from one of its predator priests, Fr. Curtis Wehmeyer, needs to be read by everyone. The headline – “Archdiocese knew of priest’s sexual misbehavior, yet kept him in ministry” – itself tells the story. From there, the details of Archdiocesan self-preservation and negligence are disserving and alarming.

In 2012, Wehmeyer was convicted of criminal sexual conduct and possessing child pornography in connection with Wehmeyer’s sexual abuse of two boys, ages 12 and 14, in a camper he kept parked outside Blessed Sacrament Church in St. Paul, where he served for six years. He supplied the two boys with alcohol and molested them in the camper.

Prior to Wehmeyer’s arrest in the summer of 2012 for sexually abusing the boys, the Archdiocese had ample information regarding his prior sexual conduct but failed to warn parishioners, according to MPR. The Archdiocese learned early on that Wehmeyer sexually propositioned young men at a bookstore, cruised a local park known for anonymous sex, solicited a teenager to camp with him, and approached another priest for sex, and yet the Archdiocese kept him in ministry, placing him a new parish in 2008 and 2010. Archdiocesan knowledge of the reports pre-dated Wehmeyer’s abuse of the two boys. “Top archdiocese leaders knew of Wehmeyer’s sexual compulsions for nearly a decade but kept him in the ministry and failed to warn parishioners …” according to today’s story, citing a former Archdiocesan canon lawyer, Jennifer Haselberger, and dozens of other interviews and documents.

Rev. Kevin McDonough, the Archdiocesan Vicar General from 1991 – 2008, wrote in 2011, wrote in 2011 an internal memo defending the Archdiocese’s decision to keep Wehmeyer’s sexual behavior secret. Interviewed for today’s MPR story, McDonough continues to defend the Archdiocese’s handling of the Wehmeyer matter, “I have no regrets based on the information we have.”

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MINNESOTA
Minnesota Public Radio

by Tom Scheck, Minnesota Public Radio
September 23, 2013

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Maplewood police say they have been investigating allegations of criminal sexual misconduct by a Maplewood priest since May 1.

The Rev. Mark Huberty, pastor of the Church of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Maplewood, has taken a voluntary leave of absence over an allegation he inappropriately touched a woman, which he denies.

Maplewood Deputy Police Chief Dave Kvam said the conduct involving Huberty occurred over an unspecified period of time.

“There’s no safety risk to others and no indication that this would involve more than one victim — at least at this point,” Kvam said.

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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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MINNESOTA
Minnesota Public Radio

by Madeleine Baran, Minnesota Public Radio,
Tom Scheck, Minnesota Public Radio
September 23, 2013

Ramsey County’s top prosecutor says he’s deeply concerned about the way the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis handled the case of a priest who was known to be a sex addict — and who was later convicted of child sexual abuse.

An MPR News investigation found that Catholic Church leaders did not alert parishioners to the Rev. Curtis Wehmeyer’s past, and didn’t immediately report allegations of abuse to police.

Wehmeyer would later plead guilty to abusing two boys in his parish. Ramsey County Attorney John Choi told MPR News today that he found the report “troubling.”

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ARGENTINA
El Nuevo Herald

BY POR DEBORA REY
ASSOCIATED PRESS

BUENOS AIRES — Un tribunal argentino ordenó el lunes la detención del sacerdote Julio César Grassi, quien gozaba del beneficio de la libertad pese a estar condenado desde 2009 a 15 años de cárcel por abuso sexual de un menor.

La medida fue dispuesta por el Tribunal Oral en lo Criminal N 1 de Morón, al oeste de Buenos Aires, seis días después de que la Corte Suprema de Justicia de la provincia de Buenos Aires dejó firme la sentencia contra el cura por pedofilia.

“Se debe hacer cesar la alternativa de la libertad vigilada y proceder a la inmediata detención de Julio César Grassi en el entendimiento que una decisión en contrario a esta altura sería de alta gravedad institucional e impediría restablecer las vigencia de las normas y la confianza en la justicia”, según la resolución de los tres jueces del tribunal.

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ARGENTINA
La Voz

El cura Julio César Grassi deberá ir preso, ya que el Tribunal Oral Criminal 1 de Morón decidió esta tarde su “inmediata detención” para que cumpla su condena a 15 años de cárcel por los delitos de abuso sexual y corrupción de menores.

El sacerdote salesiano y extitular de la “Fundación Felices los Niños”, de 57 años, tomó conocimiento de que perdía el privilegio de la libertad vigilada en una audiencia realizada en la sede del tribunal.

Desde 2009 Grassi estaba condenado a 15 años de encierro pero el mismo tribunal le había otorgado el beneficio de la libertad vigilada, por lo que vivía en una casa quinta ubicada enfrente de su fundación, escenario de los hechos juzgados.

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ARGENTINA
El Tribuno

El caso del padre Julio César Grassi generó una situación insólita en la Justicia, donde pese a ser confirmada en dos instancias su condena a 15 años de prisión, siguió gozando hasta hoy de la libertad, en un derrotero judicial que aún no tiene fin. El 10 de junio de 2009 el Tribunal Oral Criminal 1 de Morón condenó a 15 años a Grassi por ‘abuso sexual agravado por resultar sacerdote, encargado de la educación y de la guarda del menor víctima, reiterado, dos hechos, en concurso real entre sí, que a su vez concurren formalmente con corrupción de menores agravada‘.

No obstante, y pese a los pedidos de las tres querellas y el fiscal Alejandro Varela, Grassi pudo seguir en libertad hasta esta noche porque el Tribunal entendió que no debía ir detenido hasta tanto ese fallo quedase firme. En cambio, le impusieron una libertad vigilada que implicó determinadas reglas de conducta como el no ausentarse de su domicilio, no hablar de las víctimas del caso en público y la prohibición de ingresar a la Fundación Felices Los Niños donde ocurrieron los hechos y a metros de la vivienda donde actualmente vive el religioso.

Las querellas y la fiscalía apelaron y en septiembre de 2010 la Cámara de Casación Bonaerense confirmó la condena. Pese a lo que se preveía y tal cual ocurre en la mayoría de los casos, Grassi pudo permanecer en libertad.

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ARGENTINA
La Nacion

El sacerdote Julio César Grassi deberá cumplir prisión efectiva por la pena de corrupción de menores y abuso sexual agravado por la que se lo condenó durante 15 años. De este modo perdió el beneficio de libertad vigilada que tenía, una resolución extraordinaria de la que gozó cuatro años pese a estar condenado a un delito grave. A esto lo definió hoy tras la audiencia de partes el Tribunal Oral Criminal (TOC) N° 1 de Morón.

Grassi quedó a disposición del servicio penitencial bonaerense. Será alojado en la unidad penitenciaria 39 de Ituzaingó.

La resolución se dio a conocer poco después de las 19 en la sede de los tribunales de Morón, luego de que esta tarde los jueces rechazaran la recusación de la defensa de Grassi.

El sacerdote fue condenado por el TOC 1 en junio del 2009 a 15 años de prisión por haber abusado de un menor que alojaba en guarda judicial en la Fundación Felices los Niños y la condena fue confirmada en tres instancias.

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MINNESOTA
Grand Forks Herald

The Church of the Blessed Sacrament is on St. Paul’s east side. It merged with St. Thomas the Apostle under the archdiocese’s 2011 reorganization plan to form the Parish of the Blessed Sacrament. When the Rev. Curtis Wehmeyer was accused in 2012 of sexually abusing children, officials from the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis told police he would immediately be relieved of his duties and were praised for their response. But Minnesota Public Radio reports top archdiocese officials had known of Wehmeyer’s sexual compulsions for nearly a decade yet kept him in ministry and failed to warn parishioners.

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MINNESOTA
MinnPost

By Brian Lambert

Good luck defending this one … . At MPR Madeleine Baran reports, “Curtis Wehmeyer kept his white 2006 camper parked outside Blessed Sacrament Church in St. Paul where he served for six years, three of them as pastor. With the shades drawn, Wehmeyer could avoid the obligations of priestly life. He got drunk, smoked pot and looked at child pornography. He also lured to the camper two boys whose mother worked at the parish, plied them with alcohol, turned on pornography and told them to touch themselves. Several times, he touched one of the boys, according to police records. The family trusted ‘Father Curt.’ As a priest, he had special powers. He could anoint the sick and baptize the young. Maybe, the mother hoped, he could inspire one of her sons to become a priest. … This wasn’t the first time Wehmeyer had been in trouble. Top archdiocese leaders knew of Wehmeyer’s sexual compulsions for nearly a decade but kept him in ministry and failed to warn parishioners, according to canon lawyer Jennifer Haselberger, who resigned in April, and dozens of other interviews and documents. A memo written in 2011 obtained by MPR News from police shows the former vicar general – the top deputy of the archdiocese – did not want parish employees to know about Wehmeyer’s past.”

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MINNESOTA
The Raw Story

By Arturo Garcia
Monday, September 23, 2013

Officials within the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota, were aware that one of its priests was sexually abusing minors for years before he was convicted, Minnesota Public Radio reported.

The archdiocese allegedly became aware of Curtis Wehmeyer’s illicit activities in 2005, seven years before his 2012 conviction on charges of criminal sexual conduct, and possession of child pornography. He is currently serving a five-year prison sentence.

MPR also published a 2011 memo from then-local vicar general, Rev. Kevin McDonough, recommending against making Wehmeyer’s actions known to parish employees. McDonough’s job duties included supervising the archdiocese’s efforts to protect young parishoners from sexual abuse. He resigned in September 2013.

“Disclosure in the church-rectory-office setting is aimed at preventing a priest from misusing his position as a priest to obtain impermissible favors (sex, money, information) from those to whom he ministers,” McDonough wrote in the memo. “With Father Wehmeyer, that has never been a question.”

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MINNESOTA
Minnesota Public Radio

by Tom Scheck, Minnesota Public Radio
September 23, 2013

A group representing people who have been abused by priests is calling for a criminal investigation of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, following revelations that archdiocese officials knew about a priest’s sexual compulsions for at least a decade before police arrested him for sexually abusing two boys.

Bob Schwiderski, director of the Minnesota chapter of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said he wants a grand jury to investigate whether Catholic leaders violated any laws by not immediately reporting the abuse once they learned of it.

The call follows an MPR News investigation that found archdiocese officials knew about the sexual history of priest Curtis Wehmeyer, but disregarded it. Wehmeyer later sexually abused two young boys. Police arrested him in 2012. He pleaded guilty and is now serving five years in prison.

“If the institutions need to be woken up, so be it,” Schwiderski said. “It’s time for a criminal investigation into the acts or non-acts of the top religious officials of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.”

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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.

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National Catholic Reporter

Hans Kung | Sep. 23, 2013

This is the first of a series of articles examining Pope Francis’ recent interviews. A new article will be published each day this week on NCRonline.org.

Pope Francis shows courage: not only in his brave appearance in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, but also by entering into an open dialogue with critical nonbelievers. He has written an open letter to leading Italian intellectual Eugenio Scalfari, founder and longtime editor in chief of the major liberal Roman daily newspaper La Repubblica. These are not papal instructions, but a friendly exchange of arguments on equal levels.

Among the 12 questions from Scalfari printed in La Repubblica Sept. 11, the fourth seems to me of particular importance for a church leadership ready for reforms: Jesus perceived his kingdom not to be of this world — “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” — but the Catholic church especially, writes Scalfari, all too often submits to the temptations of worldly power and represses the spiritual dimension of the church in favor of worldliness. Scalfari’s question: “Does Pope Francis represent after all the priority of a poor and pastoral church over an institutional and worldly church?”

Let’s focus on the facts:

From the beginning, Francis has dispensed with papal pomp and glory and engaged in direct contact with people.

* In his words and gestures, he has not presented himself as the spiritual lord of lords, but rather as the “servant of the servants of God” (Gregory the Great).
* Facing numerous financial scandals and the avarice of church leaders, he has initiated decisive reforms of the Vatican bank and the papal state and called for transparent financial politics.
* By establishing a commission of eight cardinals from the different continents, he has underlined the need for curial reforms and collegiality with the bishops.

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VERMONT/NEW YORK
Burlington Free Press

Written by
SAM HEMINGWAY
Free Press Staff Writer

The Albany, N.Y., Roman Catholic Diocese is disputing a Vermont federal judge’s decision to allow a case to proceed involving claims a New York priest abused a youth during trips to Vermont in the 1980s.

In papers filed at U.S. District Court in Burlington earlier this month, the New York diocese claims that federal court in Vermont lacks authority to preside over the case.

The lawsuit was filed in 2011 by a New York man who claims he was molested repeatedly as a young boy by the Rev. Gary J. Mercure of Albany, N.Y., during visits to Vermont.

The Burlington Free Press does not publish the names of victims of alleged sex crimes without their permission.

Mercure is serving a 20-year sentence in Massachusetts for sexually assaulting two former altar boys, including the victim in the Vermont case, during ski trips. He has been banished from priestly duties by the diocese but has not been defrocked.

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OHIO
The United States Attorney’s Office, District of Southern Ohio

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2013
http://www.justice.gov/usao/ohs
CONTACT: Fred Alverson
Public Affairs Officer
(614) 469-5715

CINCINNATI – A U.S. District Court jury has convicted Robert Frank Poandl, 72, of Fairfield, Ohio of one count of interstate transportation of a minor for illicit purposes, a federal law known as the Mann Act.

Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Kevin R. Cornelius, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), William Hayes, Acting Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Ohio and Michigan; and agencies in the Greater Cincinnati Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force announced the verdict reached today following a trial that began September 16 before U.S. District Judge Michael R. Barrett.

According to trial testimony, in August 1991, Poandl transported a ten-year old boy from Cincinnati to Spencer, West Virginia where he sexually assaulted the child. The crime was not disclosed until the victim came forward in 2009. The crime is punishable by a sentence ranging from zero to ten years in prison. Judge Barrett will set a date for sentencing.

“Today’s verdict should give victims courage to come forward, even if the abuse happened years ago,” U.S. Attorney Stewart said.

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ARGENTINA
El Sol

El cura Julio César Grassi deberá ir preso, ya que el Tribunal Oral Criminal 1 de Morón decidió esta tarde su “inmediata detención” para que cumpla su condena a 15 años de cárcel por los delitos de abuso sexual y corrupción de menores.

El sacerdote salesiano y ex titular de la “Fundación Felices los Niños”, de 57 años, tomó conocimiento de que perdía el privilegio de la libertad vigilada en una audiencia realizada en la sede del tribunal.

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ARGENTINA
Diario Panorama

[Summary: The priest Julio Cesar Grassi must go to prison as punishment for corruption of minors and aggravated sexual abuse. He had been sentenced to 15 years but had been free for four years since the conviction. He will be housed in Ituzaingo 39 prison unit. The criminal court at Moron announced its decision shortly after 7 p.m. The judges during the afternoon rejected Grassi’s challenge that they were biased.]

[23/09/2013] El sacerdote Julio César Grassi deberá cumplir prisión efectiva por la pena de corrupción de menores y abuso sexual agravado por la que se lo condenó durante 15 años. De este modo perdió el beneficio de libertad vigilada que tenía, una resolución extraordinaria de la que gozó cuatro años un condenado a un delito grave. A esto lo definió hoy tras la audiencia de partes el Tribunal Oral Criminal (TOC) N° 1 de Morón.

Grassi quedó a disposición del servicio penitencial bonaerense. Será alojado en la unidad penitenciaria 39 de Ituzaingó.

La resolución se dio a conocer poco después de las 19 en la sede de los tribunales de Morón, luego de que esta tarde los jueces rechazaran la recusación de la defensa de Grassi.

El sacerdote fue condenado por el TOC 1 en junio del 2009 a 15 años de prisión por haber abusado de un menor que alojaba en guarda judicial en la Fundación Felices los Niños y la condena fue confirmada en tres instancias.

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ARGENTINA
Infobae

[con el documento]

Finalmente, los Tribunales de Morón fueron escenario de la audiencia judicial que definirá el futuro del sacerdote Julio César Grassi. Su defensa presentó a primera hora de la mañana un pedido de recusación para que los tres jueces del Tribunal Oral 1 de Morón se aparten del caso y no se realice el encuentro.

Sin embargo, el tribunal rechazó los escritos de recusación y nulidad presentados por la defensa de Grassi, y el encuentro entre las partes tuvo lugar. Tras las declaraciones de los interesados, la audiencia concluyó y los magistrados anunciaron que a las 19 darán su veredicto. En ese momento se sabrá si Grassi continúa en libertad o si será detenido.

En primer termino tomaron la palabra el fiscal Alejando Varela y los abogados Sergio Piris y Juan Pablo Gallego. Todos reiteraron el pedido de “inmediata detención” del sacerdote, argumentando que existe “peligro de fuga” y que además incumplió las normas que se le habían establecido al ser condenado a cambio de su libertad.

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ARGENTINA
TN

[Summary: The criminal court at Moron has decided priest Julie Cesar Grassi must go to prison. He was previously sentenced to 15 years in prisons for abusing minors but has repeatedly appealed. Plaintiff attorney Juan Paul Gallego said the court order should have happened much earlier. He maintained that Grassi posed a danger of fleeing.]

Así lo dispuso el Tribunal de Morón.

Lunes 23 de Septiembre de 2013 | 19:38

El Tribunal de Morón decidió que Julio César Grassi quede preso luego de que la Justicia lo condenara a 15 años de prisión por abuso de menores.

“Nos decidimos por la efectivización de la detención teniendo bases claras y precisas que dejan en evidencia un peligro de fuga concreto”, se detallaron entre los fundamentos del Tribunal.

También se indicó que por la condición de Clérigo de Grassi, el alojamiento será la unidad carcelaria 39 de Morón.

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MINNESOTA
Pioneer Press

By Andy Greder
agreder@pioneerpress.com
POSTED: 09/23/2013

The Rev. Mark Huberty is taking an indefinite leave of absence from his Maplewood Catholic church after a woman has accused him of inappropriate touching, the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis said Sunday.

Huberty, of Church of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, had denied the allegations and is not being suspended or removed as pastor, the archdiocese said. Huberty notified parishioners of the situation during services last weekend.

The allegations have been reported to police, the archdiocese said. Police and the church have opened investigations, the archdiocese said. Huberty will remain on leave during the investigations, the archdiocese said.

The archdiocese said it has been working with parish trustees “from the beginning to ensure they are informed and involved.” The archdiocese has appointed an administrator to oversee pastoral duties and is arranging for priests to lead Masses.

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GEORGIA
WSAV

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.

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ARGENTINA
La Voz

El Tribunal Oral de Morón dará a conocer esta tarde, después de las 19, si efectiviza o no el pedido de “inmediata detención” del sacerdote Julio César Grassi, condenado por abuso sexual.

Después de escuchar la palabra de Grassi, que se manifestó inocente y dijo no ser un “pedófilo”, el tribunal notificó que a las 19 dará a conocer su resolución.

Grassi recusó por presunta “parcialidad” al tribunal oral de Morón.

El cura, condenado a 15 años de prisión por abuso sexual agravado y corrupción de menores, formuló el planteo al notificarse esta mañana del fallo que confirmó la pena en su contra.

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ARGENTINA
Urgente 24

CIUDAD DE BUENOS AIRES (Urgente24).-Este lunes 23/09 a las 19 horas, el tribunal oral de Morón definirá si Julio Cesar Grassi queda detenido o no. Así lo expresó la jueza Mariana Maldonado, junto a Claudio Chaminade y Pablo Lucero.

Previamente a este anuncio, se rechazó la recusación al fiscal Alejandro Varela y al Tribunal que presentó esta mañana Grassi.

El fiscal apoyó el rechazo a la recusación planteada por la defensa de Grassi y expresó “Una vez más asistimos a maniobras dilatorias”, dijo Varela.

Y además agregó “La nulidad planteada por el imputado carece de valor”, y añadió a sus argumentos “Acá no es una cuestión de gustos, es una cuestión de Ley y hay que cumplirla”.

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ARGENTINA
Buenos Aires Herald

The first criminal court of Morón is expected to decide today whether priest Julio César Grassi, convicted to 15 years in prison for sexual abuse of minors, will be detained.

The court will release their decision around 7pm local time, after hearing the arguments of both prosecutors and the clergyman.

Prosecutor Alejandro Varela, speaking today, 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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NORTHERN IRELAND
UTV

In an emotional and moving interview the 32-year-old man looked back on his years of torment by a man he believes was protected by the Catholic Church.

“I wanted to be a priest from a very young age, and in fact I wrote to the bishop when I was ten and, saying I wanted to be a priest,” said David – not his real name.

“That dirty b****** has destroyed my faith. I don’t even know if anybody exists up there anymore, I have no feelings for the Catholic Church whatsoever.”

David’s dreams of the priesthood were shattered when he became the target of unwelcome sexual assaults from the ruthless, sexual predator, Fr James Donaghy.

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NEW JERSEY
Edmonton Journal

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS SEPTEMBER 23, 2013

NEWARK, N.J. – The Archdiocese of Newark, New Jersey, is getting a second archbishop.

The National Catholic Reporter reports on its website Monday that Pope Francis is appointing a coadjutor archbishop to assist Archbishop John Myers.

The Reporter says the bishop of Gaylord, Mich., Bernard Hebda, will be named to the post Tuesday.

A co-adjutor bishop immediately succeeds a diocesan bishop who retires or dies.

Myers is 72, about three years from mandatory retirement. He’s been under fire for his handling of the case of the Rev. Michael Fugee.

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ARGENTINA
Agencia Fe

Finalmente, los Tribunales de Morón fueron escenario de la audiencia judicial que definirá el futuro del sacerdote Julio César Grassi. Su defensa presentó a primera hora de la mañana un pedido de recusación para que los tres jueces del Tribunal Oral 1 de Morón se aparten del caso y no se realice el encuentro.

Sin embargo, el tribunal rechazó los escritos de recusación y nulidad presentados por la defensa de Grassi, y el encuentro entre las partes tuvo lugar. Tras las declaraciones de los interesados, la audiencia concluyó y los magistrados anunciaron que a las 19 darán su veredicto. En ese momento se sabrá si Grassi continúa en libertad o si será detenido.

En primer termino tomaron la palabra el fiscal Alejando Varela y los abogados Sergio Piris y Juan Pablo Gallego. Todos reiteraron el pedido de “inmediata detención” del sacerdote, argumentando que existe “peligro de fuga” y que además incumplió las normas que se le habían establecido al ser condenado a cambio de su libertad.

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NEW JERSEY
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Monday, Sept. 23

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

A coadjutor bishop has been named for the Newark Archdiocese.

[National Catholic Reporter]

Any step, however small, that in any way reduces Archbishop John Myers’ authority or status is positive. At the same time, however, Pope Francis is again missing a clear opportunity to discipline, demote, denounce or even defrock a blatantly reckless, callous and deceitful prelate and send a powerful signal that cover ups will no longer be tolerated.

It will be tempting for many to read more into this appointment than they should. Because Vatican officials usually refuse to disclose the rationale for their actions – or are notoriously vague when they do so – no one can really know whether this move is in any way connected to Myers’ repeatedly irresponsible actions with predator priests.

But many Catholics will assume this. We caution them against leaping to conclusions. No one person caused the horrific scandal in Newark. No one person can fix it. The real solution isn’t juggling secretive church officials. The real solution requires every single current and former Catholic church employee and member to call law enforcement with any knowledge or suspicions of clergy sex crimes and cover ups, no matter how old, small, vague or seemingly insignificant that knowledge or those suspicions might be. That’s what protects kids – the courage of many adults, not the shuffling of two officials.

Bishop Bernard A. Hebda is a lawyer, a fact that worries us. Most bishops approach clergy sex abuse and cover up cases like lawyers, instead of shepherds.

And he’s worked in two states with particularly archaic, predator-friendly child sex abuse laws, which means it’s hard to really assess how he’s handled clergy sex crimes and cover ups.

Neither of those dioceses has posted names of predator priests on their websites, as roughly 30 US bishops have. And Hebda has done nothing in Gaylord that indicates to us that he’ll be any different or better than the overwhelming majority of his clerical colleagues who continue to conceal clergy sex crimes.

The safest course for Newark victims, witnesses and whistleblowers is to keep calling secular officials, not church officials, when they see, suspect or suffer clergy sex crimes and cover ups.

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NEW JERSEY
The Record

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 23, 2013
BY JEFF GREEN
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD

Pope Francis is appointing a coadjutor archbishop to assist embattled Archbishop John J. Myers in running the Newark Archdiocese, according to a report in a Catholic newspaper.

Bishop Bernard A. Hebda of Gaylord, Mich. will be named coadjutor on Tuesday, according to the National Catholic Reporter today.

Jim Goodness, a spokesman for Myers, would not confirm or deny the report, but he said that Myers would make “an announcement of significance” Tuesday during an 11 a.m. press conference at the archdiocesan center in Newark.

For the last four months, Myers has been harshly criticized for his handling of the Rev. Michael Fugee, who was arrested in May for hearing confessions of minors and attending youth-group retreats in alleged violation of a court order. The archbishop has insisted he didn’t know or sanction the activities, but four state senators, victims’ advocates and some Catholic parishioners have called for his resignation for not more closely supervising the cleric.

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UNITED STATES
View from the Heights

We’ve all heard the jokes, maybe laughed at them, or maybe even told a few. We’ve watched the monologues on the late-night comedy shows. We scoff and shake our heads at Penn State, or at the various Catholic sex scandals that run across the CNN ticker. We often look at them haughtily and say, “Well I’m glad MY church isn’t that way!”

Are you sure about that?

At a Nominating Team meeting last week (yes, I’m stubbornly sticking to “team” instead of “committee”), a couple of members mentioned that they heard of churches requiring background checks for volunteers. One said, “We’d never do that, would we?”

I looked at them and said, “We already are.”

They were stunned, much as I was when I first heard of this concept some years ago. A children’s minister at a former church suggested in staff meeting that we should perform background checks on both staff and volunteers. I couldn’t imagine insulting our membership in such a way.

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UNITED STATES
Catholic League

Bill Donohue discusses the way the left is responding to Pope Francis:

If ever there were any doubt that the Catholic left and the secular left have much in common, it is doubted no more. Consider that Jane Fonda tweeted this weekend that Pope Francis “hates dogma,” and that today we learned from Fordham theologian Michael Peppard that while the pope “is a lover of traditional prayers and books,” the “old Q-and-A Baltimore Catechism is not among them.” Of course, neither quoted the pope as making these comments, and that’s because he never did.

Whoopi Goldberg, who has made a career criticizing the pope’s predecessors, loves Pope Francis because he said, according to her, that atheists are going to heaven. On the website of the New Republic, we find out that New York mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio, outed today in the New York Times as a former Marxist, shares with the pope a fondness for liberation theology (never mind that just last week it was reported that the pope’s exchange with the Peruvian father of liberation theology was “serious and sharp”).

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IRELAND
Association of Catholic Priests

Joe O’Leary praises ‘this stunning interview’ and hopes for more from Pope Francis. But he wonders whether Francis can implement structural changes that would enable his vision of church to become real.

I note that the pope’s self-designation as a sinner may be inspired by St Escriva who had “a sinner” inscribed on his tomb.

We must make the most of this stunning interview and hope there will be more. The pope is not just ‘shooting his mouth.’ It is a very carefully reflected and calculated intervention, and can even be seen as his real first Encyclical. I read it with the same sentiments as those of my mother on hearing Pope John Paul II preach in Limerick in 1979: ‘Wasn’t it great to hear a man tell you what you’d always believed!’

What most strikes me is the lucidity with which the Pope expounds a mature, broad, and integrated vision of the nature of the Church and its teaching, and with which he names and refutes the distortions created by conservatives who see the Church in sectarian terms and its teachings as a collection of shibboleths. He takes aim in particular at the Congregation for the Doctine of the Faith, suggesting that its role is to be a mediator not a manager and that worries about the orthodoxy of a given teacher are best handled by the local bishops.

The hierarchy of truths has been restored by Francis. Strikingly, at the top of the hierarchy he does not place any dogma, be it that of the Holy Trinity, but rather the first, original teaching of Jesus. The earliest layer of the Q document, reconstructed by scholars, that it the nearest we can come to the actual words of the historical Jesus and that underlies much of the Sermon on the Mount for example, provides the themes that Francis has most insistently stressed.

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AUSTRALIA
lewisblayse.net

The Royal Commission has now finished the first hearings, so there is not a second week to report on. The enquiry will go into recess until at least Monday 21st October, when it is expected to have two weeks on the case of YMCA associate, Jonathan Lord.

There are probably several people who spoke to commissioners, during private hearings, on the Scouts. Nothing has come up so far on these other cases, and it is not known if the commission will revisit the Scouts to cover their stories.

Consequently, this blog invites any person who feels left out of the hearing process to make contact, so that their issues can be raised here.

The same applies to the estimated 200 public submissions to the Victorian Parliamentary enquiry which that enquiry has decided to withhold from the public.

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UNITED STATES
Whispers in the Loggia

As the docket progressively returns to life after the summer lull, this Monday morning brings the third turnover of a Stateside see in five days: at Roman Noon, the Pope named Bishop Shelton Fabre, the 49 year-old auxiliary of New Orleans since 2006, to head the neighboring Houma-Thibodaux diocese, succeeding Bishop Sam Jacobs, who reached the retirement age of 75 last March 5.

On a context note, that word of the move didn’t leak last week – with over 350 of Louisiana’s priests, and all the state’s bishops, gathered in the Crescent City for the US’ only province-wide convocation – approaches the miraculous. (This scribe was there, and it was a beyond graced and moving experience. More on it in a bit… but for now, grazie mille to everybody for the welcome – and, again, above all, for all your work and witness.)

One of the few active American bishops who’s an alum of the late, lamented American College Louvain, the Baton Rouge-bred nominee has juggled double duty as a pastor and Chancery official both before and after his 2006 arrival as a NOLA auxiliary, and even after subsequently becoming the archdiocese’s lead vicar general/moderator of the curia. Warmly regarded and more on Louisiana soil, Fabre has kept a low profile on the wider scene, keeping with what friends have termed a “lovable” shyness.

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NEW JERSEY
The Star-Ledger

By Mark Mueller/The Star-Ledger
on September 23, 2013

Newark Archbishop John J. Myers, who has been heavily criticized this year for his handling of priests accused of sexual abuse, will receive a coadjutor archbishop, or partner, to help run the archdiocese, according to a published report.

Pope Francis will name Bernard A. Hebda, 54, currently bishop of Gaylord, Mich., coadjutor archbishop on Tuesday, sources close to the process told National Catholic Reporter.

Myers, 72, is three years from the mandatory retirement age of 75. He has been archbishop since 2001. Previously, he served as bishop of Peoria.

Hebda was appointed bishop of Gaylord in 2009, according to the National Catholic Reporter. He was ordained a priest for the Pittsburgh diocese by then Pittsburgh Bishop Donald W. Wuerl in 1989, the newspaper said. Wuerl is now a cardinal and archbishop of Washington D.C.

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NEW JERSEY
National Catholic Reporter

Dennis Coday | Sep. 23, 2013

Pope Francis will appoint a coadjutor archbishop to the Archdiocese of Newark, N.J., tomorrow to assist Archbishop John J. Myers in his ministry, NCR has learned.

Bernard A. Hebda, 54, currently bishop of Gaylord, Mich., will be named coadjutor archbishop of Newark on Tuesday, sources close to the process have told NCR.

Myers is 72 years old, putting him about three years away from mandatory retirement. He has been a bishop for 26 years and archbishop of Newark since 2001.

Newark has four auxiliary bishops, two in their 50s and two in their 70s.

It is common for bishops of large dioceses to be assisted by one or more auxiliary bishops, who generally exercise authority in the name of the local bishop over a defined territory or administrative responsibility. A coadjutor bishop is usually appointed when a current bishop needs significant help in his ministry.

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

DAN BOX THE AUSTRALIAN SEPTEMBER 24, 2013

A NSW detective who claimed on television that he was ordered to stand down from a police inquiry into Catholic Church child abuse was under internal investigation for alleged disciplinary offences before the broadcast, an inquiry has heard.

Confidential documents tendered to the NSW Special Commission of Inquiry reveal Detective Chief Inspector Peter Fox also had previously refused to provide “explosive” information about the church to other police officers.

In his closing submission to the commission yesterday, the barrister representing NSW Police, Wayne Roser SC, accused Mr Fox of using an interview in November last year with ABC1’s Lateline to deliberately undermine the police.

Mr Fox was never part of the police strike force formed to investigate the alleged cover-up of abuse committed by priests, Mr Roser said, “and it follows that there was no way he could ever be removed”.

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AUSTRALIA
Newcastle Herald

TO clergy abuse victims, he is the serving officer who risked his career to speak out on Catholic Church cover-ups and inadequate police investigations, precipitating a NSW inquiry and then a national royal commission.

But to the NSW Police Force, Detective Chief Inspector Peter Fox is the officer who went rogue, who conspired with a Newcastle Herald journalist, leaked sensitive information, tried to undermine a strike force he was excluded from and then attacked personally anyone who challenged him.

Wayne Roser SC, barrister for Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione, put that assessment of Mr Fox to the Special Commission of Inquiry on Monday, as its public hearings into abuse by priests James Fletcher and Denis McAlinden, and the police and Church’s handling of their offending, draw to a close.

Summing up for police, Mr Roser said Mr Fox was never ordered in late 2010 to cease investigating clergy child sex abuse – only to stay out of matters assigned to Strike Force Lantle.

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MISSISSIPPI
Clarion-Ledger

Written by
Ruth Ingram

A Catholic priest convicted last week in federal court of child sex charges decades ago served in five Mississippi parishes – his first assignments after taking his holy vows.

Fr. Robert “Bob” Poandl was found guilty in U.S. District Court in Cincinnati of federal child sex charges that he transported a 10-year Cincinnati old boy to Spencer, W. Va., in August 1991 where he sexually assaulted the child.

Poandl worked from 1968-73 in Aberdeen, Amory, Okolona, Houston, and Fulton, according to the records of SNAP, the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests.

“This victim and his family are very brave,” Judy Jones of SNAP said today of the child abused by Poandl in 1991. “They are to be commended for their courage and determination to seek justice and to keep this child predator far away from kids for a long time.”

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UNITED STATES
Ms. Magazine

Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) sharply criticized Pope Francis for failing to make child sexual abuse in the church a top priority. Pope Francis made headlines last week for remarking that the Catholic church had become obsessed with gay rights, abortion and birth control, and for putting moral doctrines before serving the poor and marginalized. He described his vision of the church as a “home for all.”

“It’s good to make adults happier,” said SNAP director David Clohessy. “But it’s better to make children safer. That should have been the pontiff’s top priority on day one. It should become his top priority now. He’s done nothing to protect children, expose predators and deter cover ups. Not as a priest, bishop, archbishop or cardinal. Not as the pope.”

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DEUTSCHLAND
Kolnische Rundschau

Fulda .
Der Vorsitzende der Deutschen Bischofskonferenz (DBK), Erzbischof Robert Zollitsch, hat Limburgs Bischof Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst wegen der Finanzaffäre um seinen Bischofssitz-Neubau kritisiert. Zollitsch sagte am Montag in Fulda mit Blick auf die Negativschlagzeilen um Tebartz-van Elst: „Die ganze Kirche in Deutschland leidet darunter. Wir alle sind davon betroffen.“

Kosten werden öffentlich gemacht

Eine Kommission werde nun untersuchen, warum die Kosten für das neue Domizil auf mehr als zehn Millionen Euro explodierten. Die Kosten würden öffentlich dargelegt, versprach Zollitsch zum Auftakt der Herbstvollversammlung der Bischofskonferenz. Auf der Tagesordnung stehe die Affäre, die einen Imageschaden verursachte, bei dem Treffen der katholischen Bischöfe und Weihbischöfe in Fulda aber nicht.

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ARGENTINA
La Voz

[Summary: Can a person who was sentenced to 15 years in prisons remain free even if that sentence has been ratified by three courts? Can a person remain free without arrest even if this person has violated rules of probation and has spoken publicly on television about the alleged victims? In Argentina, he can. Priest Julio Cesar Grassi, convicted of three instances of aggravated child sexual abuse and corruption of minors remains at large.]

Por Jorge Londero

¿Puede una persona que recibió una condena de 15 años de prisión permanecer en libertad aun cuando esa sentencia haya sido ratificada en tres instancias judiciales?

¿Puede permanecer sin ser detenida una persona que violó las reglas de la libertad condicional al presentarse a un programa de televisión e incluso hablar públicamente de las supuestas víctimas?

En la Argentina, sí puede. El cura Julio César Grassi, quien fue condenado en tres instancias por abuso sexual agravado y corrupción de menores, sigue en libertad.

Para el abogado querellante Jorge Calcagno se trata del “único caso en la historia jurídica argentina en el que una persona condenada a 15 años está libre”.

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ARGENTINA
Clarin

[Summary: The Moron criminal court has rejected the objection raised by priest Julio Cesar Grassi who alleged that the court was biased against him.]

El Tribunal Oral Criminal 1 de Morón rechazó la recusación planteada por la defensa de Julio César Grassi por presunta “parcialidad”, al tiempo que también negó otro planteo del cura que pedía la nulidad de la audiencia de hoy, por lo que comenzó a resolverse si efectivizan o no el pedido de “inmediata detención” en su contra.

La audiencia comenzó minutos antes de las 15, y lo primero que hizo el tribunal fue rechazar la recusación presentada por la defensa del cura que apuntaba a los jueces porque “median circunstancias que, por su gravedad, afectan su independencia e imparcialidad”.

Luego el TOC1 de Morón dio tiempo para que las partes analizaran otro planteo del cura que pedía la nulidad de la audiencia donde se debe resolver si efectivizan o no el pedido de “inmediata detención” en contra del cura, condenado en triple instancia a 15 años de prisión por abuso sexual y corrupción de menores.

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ARGENTINA
Pagina/12

En el reinicio de la audiencia, en la que se debe resolver la detención del sacerdote Julio César Grassi, el Tribunal Oral N°1 de Morón rechazó los pedidos de recusación y nulidad presentados esta mañana por la defensa del ex titular de la Fundación Felices los Niños. Antes de la decisión de los magistrados, las partes exponen sus argumentos. Al mediodía, durante un cuarto intermedio, el abogado querellante, Juan Pablo Gallego, sostuvo: “Si Grassi no queda detenido hoy, esto es un papelón a nivel internacional”, sentenció Gallego.

El abogado querellante solicitó “la inmediata detención” del cura por “entorpecimiento” del proceso judicial ya que “sabiendo que venía a ser detenido, una vez más intentó evitarlo” con la presentación de las recusaciones y la nulidad de la audiencia, lo que retrasó la cita convocada en primera instancia para las 13.

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ST. CLOUD (MN)
St. Cloud Times

Written by
Kirsti Marohn and Kevin Allenspach

A bishop who has spent recent years in Alaska dealing with the repercussions of decades-old clergy sexual abuse has been appointed to lead the Diocese of St. Cloud.

Donald Kettler, who has been a bishop in Fairbanks since 2002, will take over as the new bishop of the St. Cloud diocese Nov. 7.

Kettler, 68, was born in Minneapolis and graduated from St. John’s University. At a news conference Friday morning, Kettler said he’s happy to return to his Minnesota roots.

“In a little bit of a sense, I’m coming home,” he said.

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DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Catholic Culture

A prosecutor in the Dominican Republic says that he has clear evidence that the apostolic nuncio there, Archbishop Jozef Wesolowski, was guilty of sexual abuse of minors.

Archbishop Wesolowski was recalled to Rome in August, after Church leaders in the Dominican Republic informed Pope Francis that they had uncovered evidence of sexual abuse by the papal representative. The evidence was also turned over to civil authorities.

Bolivar Sanchez, the chief prosecutor in the case, reports that Church officials have cooperated fully with his investigation. The Vatican has also promised full cooperation.

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GEORGIA
Savannah Morning News

By For Bryan County Now

A Catholic priest, Fr. Robert “Bob” Poandl, who worked in Pembroke and six other Georgia towns was found guilty of criminal child sex abuse last week in U.S. Federal Court in Cincinnati.

Poandl was found guilty of federal child sex charges that he transported a 10-year Cincinnati old boy to Spencer, W.V. in Aug. 1991 where he sexually assaulted the child.

In Georgia the priest worked in Blairsville, Dahlonga, Cleveland, Glenville, Claxton and Sand Hill as well as Pembroke.

Poandl belongs to a Fairfield Ohio-based Catholic religious order called the Glenmary Missioners. Besides Georgia, he worked at churches and church assignments in Ohio, Okla., Pa., Texas, Ky., La. and Miss.

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NEW YORK
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

[Grad goes public in prep sex suit – New York Post]

For immediate release: Monday, Sept. 23

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

Shame on every single employee of St. Francis Prep School and the Franciscan Brothers of Brooklyn. They’re using junk yard dog lawyers to force a child sex abuse victim to publicly reveal her identity.

For decades, Catholic officials have deliberately used inexcusable and mean-spirited tactics to intimidate victims, witnesses and whistleblowers into staying silent about clergy sex crimes and cover ups. But there’s no more inexcusable and mean-spirited tactic than this one – insisting that a victim of a heinous, invasive and devastating child sex crime disclose her name.

Shame on every Catholic official involved. Every single church or school employee who doesn’t publicly denounce this viciousness basically condones it and should be ashamed of himself or herself.

We admire Felicia Mooradian and two others – Mark Evangelista and Elizabeth Cucinotta Sorvillo – who are bravely exposing clergy sex crimes and cover ups. We commend them for their courage. We are glad they realize that they have nothing to be ashamed of and have done nothing wrong. The shame here, and there’s plenty of it, belongs to current and former St. Francis Prep School employees who saw, suspected or knew about Br. Ben O’Reilly’s crimes and ignored or conceal them and who keep quiet about this stunningly callous and hurtful legal assault on the privacy of a child sex crime victim.

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LOUISIANA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Monday, Sept. 23, 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 )

Bishop Shelton Fabre, an auxiliary bishop of New Orleans since 2006, has been promoted to head the Houma-Thibodaux diocese, succeeding retiring Bishop Sam Jacobs. We are disappointed with this move.

[Whispers in the Loggia]

Earlier this year, we urged Bishop Fabre and his colleagues to aggressively seek out others who may have been hurt by Fr. Mark A. Broussard, who had just been sued for child sexual abuse. As best we can tell, neither Bishop Fabre nor any of his peers took any helpful action.

[SNAP]

In 2009, Bishop Fabre met with a group of clergy sex abuse victims in New Orleans. “We’re not impressed with him,” attorney Roger Stetter said. “I know many of clients were deeply offended by Bishop Fabre.”

[BishopAccountability.org]

Bishop Fabre worked under Archbishop Albert Hughes, who was part of a long line of church staffers in Boston who ignored, concealed and enabled heinous child sex crimes for decades.

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ARGENTINA
Telam

Alejandro Varela aseguró que el hecho de que el cura Julio César Grassi esté en libertad “viola el principio de igualdad ante la ley”. “Prácticamente constituye un fuero personal, repugnante para la Constitución Nacional”, agregó.

“En la provincia de Buenos Aires no hay duda de que esta persona es culpable de los delitos por los que fue acusado”, afirmó Varela en declaraciones a Radio Provincia.

Aseguró que el Tribunal “convocó a la audiencia sólo para saber si debe o no quedar detenido”.

Puntualizó que quienes se oponen a la restricción de la libertad argumentan que la causa todavía puede llegar a la Corte Suprema de la Nación, pero recordó que las cárceles están llenas de personas procesadas sin sentencia firme.

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ARGENTINA
Diario Uno

El sacerdote Julio César Grassi recusó este lunes al Tribunal Oral Criminal N° 1 de Morón. Hay que recordar que este tribunal lo condenó a 15 años por abuso sexual y corrupción de menores, y que el fiscal pidió su “inmediata detención”.

Grassi al concurrir a una audiencia a las 9:00 en el Tribunal 1 de Morón para notificarse de un fallo reciente de la Cámara de Casación Bonaerense que avaló una orden de detención en su contra, y en persona recusó a los jueces por parcialidad y al fiscal Alejandro Varela por “enemistad manifiesta”.

“Vengo a recusar a los señores jueces (Mariana) Maldonado, (Claudio) Chaminade, y (Pablo) Lucero, ello en cuanto median circunstancias que, por su gravedad, afectan su independencia e imparcialidad”, sostuvo Grassi en su recusación.

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ARGENTINA
Telam

La audiencia que había sido convocada para las 13 con el fin de resolver sobre la libertad del cura condenado por los delitos de abuso sexual y corrupción de menores, se pospuso debido a que la defensa recusó al fiscal y a los integrantes del Tribunal.

“La audiencia se pospuso para las 14.30 por la recusación que presentó el imputado contra el tribunal de Morón”, indicó a la prensa el fiscal de la causa Alejandro Varela, quien informó que todavía no había sido notificado sobre la recusación en su contra.

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ARGENTINA
Clarin

23/09/13
La defensa del cura Julio César Grassi, condenado a 15 años de cárcel por los delitos de abuso sexual agravado y corrupción de menores, recusó hoy por presunta “parcialidad” a los jueces del tribunal oral de Morón, que deben resolver si efectivizan o no el pedido de “inmediata detención” en su contra.

El cura formuló el planteo contra el tribunal al notificarse esta mañana del fallo que confirmó la pena en su contra. Al mismo tiempo, sus defensores recusaron al fiscal Alejandro Varela, quien pidió su detención por la presunta causal de “enemistad manifiesta”.

Para analizar esta recusación, el Tribunal Oral en lo Criminal 1 de Morón pospuso hasta las 14.30 el comienzo de la audiencia en la que se analizarán la situación del sacerdote luego de que la Corte bonaerense confirmara su condena por abuso sexual, según confirmó esta tarde el fiscal.

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TEXAS
El Diario de El Paso

Juliana Henao
El Diario de El Paso | 2013-09-22

El tema resulta escabroso, muchos prefieren no pensar en él u obviarlo. Otros dicen que les resulta increíble, repulsivo e incluso, doloroso.

Lo cierto es que se trata de un problema real, lamentablemente latente, que cubre con una estela de tristeza y sufrimiento a las víctimas y la iglesia católica a nivel mundial.

Nos referimos a la pederastia.

Con paciencia, sinceridad y una valentía casi sobrehumana, arropadas en el afecto que siente por los fieles, el recién instalado obispo de la Diócesis Católica de El Paso, Mark J. Seitz, puso interés en abordar el tema.

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MINNESOTA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

[Archdiocese knew of priest’s sexual misbehavior, yet kept him in ministry – Minnesota Public Radio]

For immediate release: Monday, Sept. 23

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

It seems clear that at least two top Catholic officials hid, tampered with, or tried to tamper with evidence in a recent clergy sex abuse case. In light of this, we call on Minnesota prosecutors to open a grand jury investigation into the St. Paul-Minneapolis archdiocese’s handling of clergy sex crimes.

A lengthy Minnesota Public Radio story details how high-ranking staff of the St. Paul-Minneapolis archdiocese kept Fr. Curtis C. Wehmeyer on the job despite “repeated troubling actions by and allegations against” the priest.

Last year, Fr. Wehmeyer pled guilty to 20 charges related to criminal sexual conduct against two St. Paul boys and possession of child pornography.

At least two archdiocesan staffers – Fr. Kevin McDonough and Greta Sawyer – acted recklessly and inappropriately, and did so, we believe, with the intent to hide or minimize Fr. Wehmeyer’s crimes.

Fr. Kevin McDonough

In 2012, “Before police arrived, McDonough and (Deacon John Vomastek) confronted Wehmeyer at the Blessed Sacrament rectory, according to police. McDonough took the priest’s handgun and one of his computers.”

We can’t help but wonder if Fr. McDonough destroyed or tampered with evidence – either on the computer or elsewhere. Without a grand jury investigation, Twin Cities Catholics and citizens will never know whether this prominent and powerful Catholic official helped or tried to help a criminal hide some of his crimes.

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LOUISIANA
Roman Catholic Diocese of Alexandria

Pope names Auxiliary Bishop Fabre of New Orleans to succeed Jacobs

WASHINGTON—Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Bishop Sam Jacobs, 75, from the pastoral governance of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodeaux and named Auxiliary Bishop Shelton Fabre of New Orleans, 49, to succeed him.

The resignation and appointment were publicized in Washington, September 23, by Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, apostolic nuncio to the United States.

Shelton Fabre was born October 25, 1963, in New Roads, Louisiana. He earned a bachelor of arts degree from St. Joseph Seminary College, St. Benedict, Louisiana, and a master of arts degree from the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium. He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1989, and auxiliary bishop of New Orleans, 2006.

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POLONIA
Fakt

Dziennikarz „Newsweeka” pojechał na Dominikanę, aby dowiedzieć się, o co dokładnie chodzi w aferze pedofilskiej, w którą zamieszani są polscy duchowni: nuncjusz abp Józef Wesołowski oraz ks. Wojciech Gil. Oto fragment reportażu „Newsweeka”:

Bolîvar R. Sánchez Veloz z prokuratury generalnej poprawia szarą marynarkę: – No więc najpierw chodzili za nimi dziennikarze. Nie wiem jak, ale informacje o tym, że telewizja kręci się wokół nuncjusza, trafiły do kardynała Lópeza Rodrigueza, arcybiskupa Santo Domingo. Latem ktoś od kardynała sprawdzał, czy mieliśmy jakieś postępowanie w sprawie nuncjusza. Dziś rozumiem, że Kościół robił własne śledztwo

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REPUBLICA DOMINICANA
Al Momento

SANTO DOMINGO.- El diácono Francisco Javier Occi Reyes, preso en San Pedro de Macorís, al momento de ser arrestado seducía a un jovencito para llevarlo donde el ex nuncio Joseph Wesolwski, que lo esperaba cerca.

Las declaraciones habrían sido emitidas a los investigadores por el mismo religioso, quien pertenecía a la iglesia Santa Cruz de El Seibo.

De acuerdo al procurador adjunto Bolívar Sánchez, Occi dijo que buscaba llevar al jovencito donde Wesolowski cuando la víctima alertó a un agente de Politur sobre lo que estaba pasando, y éste arrestó al diácono.

Señaló que en ese momento, Wesolwski abandonó el lugar, pero que no dijo nada porque pensó que éste lo iba a sacar de la prisión a través de sus influencias. Dijo que, además, la iglesia le prometió resolver su caso, pero supo que todo era una farsa cuando se enteró por los medios de comunicación que había sido suspendido por el obispo de Higüey, monseñor Nicanor Peña, el pasado 16 de este mes.

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REPUBLICA DOMINICANA
Panorama Diario

Santo Domingo.- El procurador adjunto y fiscal asignado para investigar las denuncias de pederastia en contra del ex nuncio Jósef Wesolowski y Bolívar Sánchez, reveló que el sacerdote Wojciech Gil (Alberto), sindicado como abusador de menores en Juncalito, Santiago, “tenía más de 87 mil fotos y videos en una computadora de la parroquia”.

Entre otros detalles, el procurador Sánchez explicó que los departamentos de Crímenes y Delitos de Alta Tecnología de la Procuraduría y la Policía Nacional analizaron el disco duro y “encontraron en él una gran cantidad de archivos pornográficos”.

“Muchas de las fotos son pornográficas y otras insinuadoras de niños posando con ropa interior como si fueran niñas, menores teniendo relaciones con adultos y niños sosteniendo relaciones homosexuales”, detalló.

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ARGENTINA
Pagina/12

El sacerdote Julio César Grassi calificó así la condena a 15 años en su contra por abuso sexual de menores y aseguró estar “tranquilo, con fe en Dios y esperanza en la justicia”. Grassi se presentó esta mañana en los tribunales de Morón y desde el mediodía participará de la audiencia donde será notificado sobre su posible detención.

“Con el tiempo se va a tener mayor claridad”, sostuvo el cura esta mañana al defender nuevamente su inocencia. Además, al ser consultado sobre si teme quedar preso, sentenció: “La libertad nunca se pierde, es un don interior

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ARGENTINA
Diario Panorama

[23/09/2013] Juan Pablo Gallego, abogado querellante de la causa en la que se condenó a 15 años de prisión al sacerdote Julio César Grassi, reclamó este lunes al papa Francisco que “elimine” al cura de la Iglesia Católica, al considerar que resiste su detención con “medios espurios” y brinda un “espectáculo bizarro” al mostrarse ante la prensa.

“Grassi es un pedófilo condenado de manera irreversible; lo único que tiene que esperar es cuándo va a la cárcel y cuándo el papa Francisco lo elimina de la Iglesia Católica”, enfatizó Gallego, al analizar la situación del sacerdote condenado por abuso sexual.

El letrado opinó que el cura “resiste con medios espurios su situación de libertad, que es insólita”, pese a que “la causa Grassi, formalmente, terminó cuando la Suprema Corte (de Justicia bonaerense) impuso como sentencia definitiva para él la condena de 15 años (de prisión)”.

“Grassi es una persona especialmente trasgresora; le divierte trasgredir, denostar a las víctimas por televisión y le quitaron el beneficio de libertad condicional por no respetar las mínimas indicaciones judiciales”, dijo Gallego en declaraciones radiales.

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ARGENTINA
La Verdad

23 de septiembre de 2013
Escribe Omar Bello

El sacerdote Julio César Grassi fue condenado en casi todas las instancias legales y debe estar preso. Si llegó hasta acá libre es porque tuvo un apoyo legal y económico que, aprovechándose del impacto que genera su condición de cura en algunos casos y haciendo lobby en otros, logró crearle una situación de privilegio que, por el delito del que está acusado (abuso de menores) resulta inaceptable y plantea un serio precedente en términos sociales.

Es cierto que muchos creen que la causa fue armada después del episodio mediático que incluía los juegos telefónicos de Susana Giménez, y que hasta se ordenó una investigación paralela (sólo destinada a los miembros de la Iglesia) donde se ponen en duda varios de los planteos realizados durante el juicio. Sin embargo, aún con todos sus defectos, la justicia es el único medio que tenemos a la hora de seguir siendo una civilización, y en tres instancias diferentes no sólo lo condenó sino que fue permisiva en cuanto al tránsito del sacerdote que, salvo por un período insignificante, logró permanecer libre a lo largo de una década. Más aún, algunos juristas señalan que ese tiempo podría ser considerado dentro de la pena y, pasado un breve tiempo, Grassi estaría libre.

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ARGENTINA
Buenos Aires Herald

Priest Julio César Grassi, whose arrest is imminent on charges of sex abuse against minors who were under his protection, today came on stage to say the sentence to 15 years in prison “is a cross one must know how to bear.”

“Time will bring clarity. Justice takes time,” he told reporters after arriving today at a court in Morón locality where he will be notified about the arrest warrant issued last week against him.

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REPUBLICA DOMINICANA
Al Momento

Por AURA CELESTE FERNANDEZ
LA AUTORA es abogada. Reside en Santo Domingo.

He sido y soy católica desde que nací. Confieso que tengo mucha fe en Dios. Creo en que existe la vida después de la muerte. Creo en nuestro Señor Jesucristo. Oro todos los días de mi vida.

No concibo vivir sin fe. La fe me fortalece y me posibilita tener confianza en esta vida con tantas incertidumbres.

Cada día lucho por el incremento de mi fe.

Les confieso que me trabajo diariamente para que los desafueros humanos de quienes se dicen tan cercanos a Dios, no cuestionen mi fe y mi cercanía al Señor. Pero les manifiesto que es duro para los creyentes lo que está pasando en la Iglesia con sacerdotes y el ministro denunciados por sus comportamientos delictuales y altamente abusivos.

Para nadie es un secreto que la iglesia tiene muchos sacerdotes consagrados, nobles, coherentes, entregados, humildes, con votos de pobreza y con alto sentido de misión, que trabajan día a día por el bienestar de la gente y de las comunidades. A mí me consta y doy testimonio de ello.

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REPUBLICA DOMINICANA
Noticias SIN

[Summary: In Poland, the St. Michael the Archangel congregation said it does not know the whereabouts of priest Alberto Gil Wojciech who has been accused of abusing minors in the Dominican Republic.]

SANTO DOMINGO, República Dominicana.- En Polonia, la congregación del sacerdote Alberto Wojciech Gil, acusado de pedofilia en Juncalito, tampoco sabe de su paradero.

Según informaron el padre Gil fue suspendido de sus funciones tan pronto estalló la noticia en junio.

Según el portavoz de la congregación San Michael Arcángel, sus superiores desconocen el paradero de Alberto Wojciech Gil.

“Desde el momento que el Superior General le instruyó que regresara a la República Dominicana no se ha tenido contacto con el Padre Wojciech y tampoco sabemos dónde se encuentra. No está en ninguna casa de la congregación”, informó el padre Tadeusz Musz portavoz de la Congregación San Miguel Arcángel

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DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Dominican Today

Santo Domingo.- The lead investigator in the child abuse case against former Vatican envoy Józef Wesolowski on Sunday revealed that the priest Wojciech Gil (Padre Alberto), accused of the crimes in Juncalito, Santiago, had more than 87,000 photos and videos with children on the parish computer.

Deputy prosecutor Bolivar Sanchez said among other details, the Justice Ministry’s and the National Police’s tech crimes units analyzed Gil’s hard drive and found a large number of porno images.

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MINNESOTA
KTTC

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – When the Rev. Curtis Wehmeyer was accused last year of sexually abusing children, officials from the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis told police he would immediately be relieved of his duties and were praised for their response.

But Minnesota Public Radio reports (http://bit.ly/1eBMg7q ) top archdiocese officials had known of Wehmeyer’s sexual compulsions for nearly a decade yet kept him in ministry and failed to warn parishioners.

Wehmeyer is serving a 5-year prison term for sexually abusing two boys and possessing child pornography. He declined to comment, as did Archbishop John Nienstedt.

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AUSTRALIA
SBS

[with video]

By Marion Ives

Ten months after the historic Royal Commission was announced, counsellor help lines are being flooded with calls.

They say people reporting to the inquiry are reliving old traumas.

“This discussion will be quite painful for all of us, but it will also help us to move to a place where we are going to be much better prepared to protect our children”.

The Rape and Domestic Violence Services Australia received almost $3 million of extra funding.

It traditionally helps women in New South Wales, but with demand soaring, it has now become a national service.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

By Dan Cox

The inquiry into child sexual abuse within the Hunter Valley’s Catholic Church has heard there is a “total commitment” by New South Wales Police to investigate allegations of abuse.

The special commission’s public hearings have wrapped up but the legal representatives for the key witnesses have been given the opportunity to make oral submissions.

The inquiry’s first part is looking at whistleblower senior policeman Peter Fox’s claims he was ordered to stop investigating two paedophile priests.

Representing New South Wales Police, Wayne Roser told the commission “officers at all levels take allegations of child sexual abuse, and allegations of concealment, seriously”.

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NEW YORK
New York Post

By Rich Calder and Lorena Mongelli
September 23, 2013

A former student at a prestigious Queens prep academy who anonymously signed on to a scathing $17 million sex-abuse lawsuit against the school is revealing her identity to The Post after officials there coldly sought a court order demanding her name be made public.

“My goal is to be a brave face for other victims to come forward,” said Felicia Mooradian, a 2009 graduate of St. Francis Preparatory School who claims to have been sexually harassed and bullied at age 14 by a 62-year-old Franciscan brother who taught Spanish there.

“It should be called St. Francis ‘Predatory’ School,” she said. “The Christian thing would be to admit your mistakes, not hide them.”

The 21-year-old Queens native initially signed on as “Jane Doe” to the Brooklyn federal-court lawsuit, which was filed in June and accuses school officials of ignoring decades of complaints by her and other students of sexual and physical abuse by faculty.

Lawyers for the Fresh Meadows school — which is run by the Franciscan Brothers of Brooklyn — argued in court that there are no legal grounds for her to remain anonymous.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Information Service

Vatican City, 23 September 2013 (VIS) – Today, the Holy Father:

– appointed Bishop Shelton J. Fabre as bishop of Houma-Thibodaux (area , population , Catholics , priests , permanent deacons , religious ), U.S.A. Bishop Fabre, previously auxiliary of New Orleans, U.S.A., was born in New Road, U.S.A. in 1963, was ordained to the priesthood in 1989, and received episcopal ordination in 2007. He succeeds Bishop Sam G. Jacobs, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese upon having reached the age limit was accepted by the Holy Father.

– appointed Archbishop Martin Krebs as apostolic nuncio to Fiji, Samoa and Vanuatu. Archbishop Krebs was previously apostolic nuncio to New Zealand, Cook Islands, Kiribati, Palau, and the Federated States of Micronesia, and apostolic delegate in the Pacific Ocean.

On Saturday, 21 September, the Holy Father:

– appointed Cardinal Mauro Piacenza as penitentiary major of the Apostolic Penitentiary. Cardinal Piacenza was previously prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy. He succeeds Cardinal Manuel Monteiro de Castro, whose resignation, upon reaching the age limit, was accepted by the Holy Father.

In the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith:

– confirmed Archbishop Gerhard Ludwig Muller as prefect and Archbishop Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferrer as secretary of the same Congregation;

– appointed Archbishop Joseph Augustine Di Noia as adjunct secretary. Archbishop Di Noia was previously vice president of the Pontifical Commission “Ecclesia Dei”;

– confirmed all members and consultors of the Congregation;

– appointed Bishop Giuseppe Sciacca, adjunct secretary of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura as consultor.

In the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples:

– confirmed Cardinal Fernando Filoni as prefect; Archbishop Savio Hon Tai-Fai S.D.B. as secretary; Archbishop Protase Rugambwa as adjunct secretary; and all members and consultors.

In the Congregation for the Clergy:

– appointed Archbishop Beniamino Stella as prefect. Archbishop Stella was previously president of the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy;

– confirmed Archbishop Celso Morga Iruzubieta as secretary;

– appointed Bishop Jorge Carlos Patron Wong of Papantla as secretary for Seminaries, at the same time elevating him to the dignity of archbishop;

The Holy Father also:

– appointed Msgr. Mauro Rivella, of the clergy of the archdiocese of Turin, as delegate of the Ordinary Section of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Holy See.

– appointed Archbishop Nikola Eterovic as apostolic nuncio to Germany. Archbishop Eterovic was previously secretary general of the Synod of Bishops.

– appointed Archbishop Lorenzo Baldisseri as secretary general of the Synod of Bishops. Archbishop Baldisseri was previously secretary of the Congregation for Bishops.

– appointed Archbishop Miroslaw Adamczyk as apostolic nuncio to Sierra Leone. Archbishop Adamczyk was previously apostolic nuncio to Liberia and Gambia.

– appointed Msgr. Giampiero Gloder, as apostolic nuncio and president of the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, at the same time elevating him to the dignity of archbishop. The archbishop-elect was previously nunciature councillor and office chief with special duties at the Secretariat of State.

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OHIO
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

POSTED BY DAVID CLOHESSY ON SEPTEMBER 20, 2013

Today, an Ohio jury found Fr. Robert Poandl guilty of molesting a boy years ago.

[Cincinnati.com]

But in the most crucial sense, this brave victim and his family won long before today.

The son won when he found the strength to tell his parents. His parents won the minute they believed their son. The family won when they decided to contact the police. They won again when police believed them. They won again when prosecutors believed them. They won again when criminal charges were filed in West Virginia. They won again when Fr. Poandl was taken off the job. They won again when criminal charges were re-filed in Ohio. They won again when news media (time and time again) put Fr. Poandl’s name out there as a credibly accused child molester, warning families about him and making it impossible for Catholic officials to put him back on the job.

Church officials transferred Fr. Poandl roughly 30 times in 44 years (sometimes to the same location twice) in Ohio, Texas, Georgia, Mississippi, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Pennsylvania.

[BishopAccountability.org]

Dozens and dozens of Catholic officials, in virtually every one of these places, have done nothing to warn parents, parishioners and the public about Fr. Poandl. In contrast, this courageous family has done everything responsible adults should do when they know about a predator. We are so, so proud of them!

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PERU
Religion Digital

El ex obispo de Ayacucho: “En algunas circunstancias he sido imprudente”

En una carta que data del 1 de julio de 2013, el ex obispo de Ayacucho, Gabino Miranda, acusado de pedofilia, reconoce que “en algunas circunstancias he sido imprudente”. En la carta asegura que esas “supuestas faltas no pueden ser tipificadas de delito contra sextum (sexto mandamiento)”.

La misma fue leída en el programa Panorama, y en ella el ex obispo Miranda dijo desconocer los motivos por los que fue separado de la Iglesia Católica y considera “desproporcionadas” las sanciones impuestas a su persona.

“Desconozco los delitos que se me acusa, desconozco la procedencia de los denunciantes y la jurisdicción y la época en la cual se cometieron los supuestos delitos”, expresó el ex obispo auxiliar de Ayacucho.

Miranda indicó que presentará un recurso para revocar el decreto que establece su sanción de pedofilia.

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PERU
La Republica

Respuesta. A través de carta difundida por Panorama, obispo acusado de pedofilia desconoce los delitos que se le imputan. Hay más casos de sacerdotes cuestionados.

El ex obispo auxiliar de Ayacucho Gabino Miranda Melgarejo respondió a las críticas de la opinión pública y a la investigación que le inició el Ministerio Público a través de una carta que fue difundida por el programa periodístico Panorama de canal 5 TV.

En su comunicación, Miranda cuestionó que se le haya cesado sin decirle por qué, rechazó las acusaciones y aseguró desconocer la procedencia de los denunciantes, así como la época en que fue cometido el supuesto delito de pedofilia. Cabe recordar que el ex obispo auxiliar de Ayacucho ya es investigado por la Fiscalía.

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ARGENTINA
Pagina/12

Por Carlos Rodríguez
María Inés Olivella, testigo en la causa contra el cura Julio César Grassi luego de haber sido terapeuta de uno de los chicos que lo denunciaron por abuso sexual, aseguró que el caso “reactualiza la problemática psicológica y social de la que son víctimas los niños, niñas y adolescentes que llegaron tarde en el reparto de bienes de nuestra sociedad y que, por tanto, los define como excluidos sin destino ni futuro”. Olivella, miembro fundadora de Amnistía Internacional en Argentina y candidata a legisladora por Izquierda Democrática, resaltó que “no es casual, a la luz de la historia, que demore tanto considerar a un niño sujeto de derecho”, en relación con lo que está viviendo “Gabriel”, quien era un chico cuando ocurrieron los hechos por los cuales ha sido condenado Grassi.

“Todavía es difícil librarlos de sus crueles sometimientos porque en nuestra sociedad cumplen funciones de servicios sexuales, trabajo no pagado o mal pagado y hambre sin salud. Todos sabemos quiénes son los adultos hipócritas y cobardes escondidos en la impunidad, mientras siguen gozando de lo que los niños les proveen; y esta situación parece ser un ejemplo”, expresó Olivella en un comunicado enviado a Página/12.

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CANADA
CNW

Métis National Council President Clément Chartier Once Again Calls for Métis Nation Inclusion in the Residential Schools Reconciliation Initiative

VANCOUVER, Sept. 22, 2013 /CNW/ – With the second last national event of the TRC now concluded, and the last one being put in place for March 2014 in Alberta, President Chartier calls upon the federal government to reconsider its position with respect to Métis boarding/residential schools and include such excluded schools in the reconciliation process.

“If the federal government continues to exclude Métis residential schools from the reconciliation process, including the government’s apology and settlement agreement, a stain will remain in its efforts to correct its past racist assimilation efforts” stated President Chartier, concluding that “if all Aboriginal peoples are not included in the reconciliation initiative, then it will ultimately remain as incomplete and exclusionary”.

President Chartier also calls upon the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to carefully craft its final report to ensure that it does not inadvertently leave the impression that Métis residential schools were part of the reconciliation effort under their mandate, while at the same time making note that a small number of Métis were fortunate to have attended an Indian residential school and were therefore included in the process.

“The work of the TRC is both important and critical to the evolving relationship between Aboriginal peoples and Canada” stated President Chartier, re-affirming that “in the case of the Métis Nation and the exclusion of Métis residential schools, the TRC must be extremely vigilant in its conclusions that this issue must be addressed head-on, with a direct statement that such residential schools were excluded, and that the federal government must work positively to rectify this exclusion”.

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IRELAND
Irish Independent

SARAH MACDONALD – 23 SEPTEMBER 2013

A HIGH-profile priest has lashed out at Cardinal Sean Brady for listening to “malicious complaints intended to discredit” Fr Iggy O’Donovan.

Fr Tony Flannery, a spokesman for the Association of Catholic Priests in Ireland, accused the Catholic primate of behaving “very inappropriately” over his role in reporting the Augustinian priest to the Vatican over a baptism deemed invalid on the basis of a complaint by someone who attended the ceremony.

The parents of the child were asked by a local priest in Drogheda to have their son rebaptised following the complaint to Cardinal Brady.

The complainant reported the priest for allowing the godparents and parents pour water over the child’s head. This is considered incorrect procedure in the Catholic Church.

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KENYA
Osun Defender

Nairobi convents have been turned into a house of sexual immorality, a nun has revealed.

The woman of God has revealed for the first time that priests who are well-connected to John Cardinal Njue, are sex pests and are preying on nuns everyday.

She told The Nairobian that she lives in fear of falling into a sex trap.

The Catholic church’s leadership has neither confirmed or denied allegations that priests and nuns have been engaging in sex.

Open discussion on sex in the Catholic Church is almost taboo, yet there is widespread intimacy between priests and nuns.

A number of priests have abandoned the celibacy vow, succumbing to the urge of the flesh with nuns being the principal partners either willingly or through coercion.

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MINNESOTA
Minnesota Public Radio

[includes documents]

[with audio]

[timeline]

By Madeleine Baran, MPR News
September 23, 2013

Curtis Wehmeyer kept his white 2006 camper parked outside Blessed Sacrament Church in St. Paul where he served for six years, three of them as pastor.

With the shades drawn, Wehmeyer could avoid the obligations of priestly life. He got drunk, smoked pot and looked at child pornography. He also lured to the camper two boys whose mother worked at the parish, plied them with alcohol, turned on pornography and told them to touch themselves. Several times, he touched one of the boys, according to police records.

The family trusted “Father Curt.” As a priest, he had special powers. He could anoint the sick and baptize the young. Maybe, the mother hoped, he could inspire one of her sons to become a priest.

That hope died last summer when one of the boys told his aunt what happened in the camper. The mother went to another priest, and then to the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. Soon after, police arrested Wehmeyer, who pleaded guilty to sexually abusing the boys, ages 12 and 14, and possessing child pornography. A judge sentenced the priest to five years in prison.

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AUSTRALIA
Newcastle Herald

By MICHELLE HARRIS Sept. 23, 2013

UPDATED

Detective Chief Inspector Peter Fox was never ordered by senior police not to investigate clergy abuse – only to stay out of those matters Strike Force Lantle was investigating, the Special Commission of Inquiry has been told.

Barrister for the Commissioner of Police, Wayne Roser SC, told the inquiry on Monday afternoon that Mr Fox was not made a strike force member but remained “at liberty” to investigate other allegations relating to other victims.

But instead he had leaked information that could adversely effect the strike force’s work on paedophile priest Denis McAlinden and chose to advocate to “anyone who would listen to him” that Lantle was a “sham set up to fail”.

Mr Roser told the inquiry that NSW Police had “total commitment” to investigate child sexual abuse allegations.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

September 23, 2013

By P.J. D’Annunzio / The Legal Intelligencer

A former Catholic Church official convicted of endangering the welfare of children abused by other priests should not have been considered a supervisor of the children’s welfare because he never had direct contact with them, his counsel argued before the state Superior Court in Philadelphia.

A three-judge panel composed of President Judge John T. Bender, Judge Christine L. Donohue and Senior Judge John L. Musmanno heard arguments in Commonwealth v. Lynn last week.

The lawyer representing Monsignor William Lynn, the former secretary for clergy in the Philadelphia archdiocese, is arguing that the law he was convicted under does not apply to the official, given the facts of the case.

Thomas A. Bergstrom, of Pittsburgh’s Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney, argued that prosecutors did not make the case that, under Pennsylvania’s endangering-the-welfare-of-child statute, Lynn had any contact with children.

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VATICAN CITY
Chiesa

The secretary general of the Italian bishops is at the end of his mandate, and it will be the pope who decides whether to confirm him or not. On the calendar the first episcopal ordination done by the current pontiff. And also his is the strange about-face after the appointment of Camaldo as canon

VATICAN CITY, September 23, 2013 – After the appointments made in the curia two days ago, another substantial change is approaching at the summit of the Italian Church, and this time as well Pope Francis will have the last word.

Today the leadership of the Italian episcopal conference is meeting in Rome. And in two days, on September 25, comes the expiration of the five-year term of its secretary general, the Sicilian bishop Mariano Crociata (in the photo).

Crociata could be confirmed in the position, but it is also possible that he will be promoted to archbishop and made military ordinary for Italy. What is certain is that his name is on the short list of candidates for this position.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

By Dan Cox

The Special Commission of Inquiry into claims of a Catholic Church cover-up returns to Newcastle.

The inquiry into child sexual abuse within the Hunter Valley’s Catholic Church has heard there is a “total commitment” by New South Wales Police to investigate allegations of abuse.

The special commission’s public hearings have wrapped up but the legal representatives for the key witnesses have been given the opportunity to make oral submissions.

The inquiry’s first part is looking at whistleblower senior policeman Peter Fox’s claims he was ordered to stop investigating two paedophile priests.

Representing New South Wales Police, Wayne Roser told the commission “officers at all levels take allegations of child sexual abuse, and allegations of concealment, seriously”.

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CALIFORNIA
Los Angeles Wave

By Wave Wire Services
NORWALK — An Oct. 16 arraignment on sexual assault charges is scheduled for an associate pastor of Las Buenas Nuevas Church here, who is suspected of preying on undocumented women parishioners.

Jorge Juan Castro, 54, of Norwalk, is jailed in lieu of $2 million bail while awaiting arraignment in Norwalk Superior Court on a six-count complaint stemming from alleged sexual assaults on two woman who attended services at his church.

Investigators with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department — who arrested Castro at his home Sept. 13 — believe there are additional victims.

A sheriff’s statement says “numerous female parishioners” were allegedly sexually abused, and “many of the victims are Spanish-speaking undocumented immigrants.”

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