ABUSE TRACKER

DEUTSCHLAND
Frankfurter Rundschau

Der Papstgesandte Kardinal Giovanni Lajolo soll im Konflikt um den in Kritik geratenen Bischof Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst vermitteln. Beim Kreuzfest in Königstein wird er zu den Gläubigen sprechen. Wird Kardinal Lajolo in seiner Predigt auf die Spannungen im Bistum eingehen?.

LIMBURG. –
Nach mehrtägigen Gesprächen mit Vertretern des Bistums Limburg zum Streit um Bischof Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst wird der päpstliche Gesandte Giovanni Lajolo erstmals öffentlich zu den Gläubigen sprechen. Er hält bei einem Festgottesdienst am Sonntag (15. September) in Königstein die Predigt, wie das Bistum mitteilte. In der Taunusstadt feiert die Diözese seit Freitag und noch bis Sonntag ihr traditionelles Kreuzfest. Die Messe wird der Kurienkardinal gemeinsam mit dem Bischof feiern. Mit Spannung wird darauf gewartet, ob Lajolo sich bei dieser Gelegenheit zu seiner Vermittlung und einem eventuellen Ergebnis äußern wird.

Zollitsch: “Sehr bedrückt”

Der Kardinal ist seit Montag im Bistum, um sich im Streit um die Amtsführung des Bischofs ein Bild zu machen. Kritiker werfen dem katholischen Kirchenmann einen autoritären Stil und Verschwendung vor. Der Gesandte führte bislang hinter verschlossenen Türen mehrere Gespräche. Der Frankfurter Stadtdekan Johannes zu Eltz, einer der Kritiker des Bischofs, nannte seine Treffen mit Lajolo in der “Frankfurter Neuen Presse” (Freitag) eine Wohltat. Er habe alle Fragen mit “schonungsloser Offenheit” ansprechen können, sagte er der Zeitung.

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

DEUTSCHLAND
Frankfurter Rundschau

Immer mehr Kirchenmänner gehen zu dem Limburger Bischof Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst auf Distanz. Es bestehen Zweifel, ob der 53-Jährige überhaupt zu einem Kurswechsel fähig ist. Mit Spannung wird eine Predigt des päpstlichen Gesandten Giovanni Lajolo erwartet.

LIMBURG. –
Im Konflikt um den Limburger Bischof Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst ist kein rasches Ende in Sicht. Nach gegenwärtiger Planung beendet der Sondergesandte des Papstes, Kardinal Giovanni Lajolo, am Sonntag seine einwöchige Mission zur Klärung der Querelen zwischen Tebartz und seinen Kritikern und kehrt nach Rom zurück. Eine Abschlusserklärung sei nicht vorgesehen. Auch der Bischof selbst werde sich nicht äußern. Vielmehr werde Lajolo am Sonntag das traditionelle Kreuzfest in Königstein mitfeiern und im Gottesdienst predigen.

Noch während Lajolos Aufenthalt im Bistum wuchs der innerkirchliche Druck auf Tebartz. Mit den Kardinälen Karl Lehmann (Mainz) und Reinhard Marx (München) gingen zwei der höchsten deutschen Kirchenführer auf Distanz. Die Entsendung Lajolos durch Papst Franziskus bezeichnete Lehmann als „Alarmzeichen“. Die Kardinäle ließen ihr Unbehagen über die Finanzierung von Tebartz‘ Bischofsresidenz sowie über eine mutmaßlich falsche eidesstattliche Erklärun

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

VATICAN CITY
Aleteia

A Vatican spokesman has said that the Holy See is willing to hand over a former nuncio accused of sexual misconduct to civil authorities in the Dominican Republic if requested to do so.

Fr. Federico Lombardi, director of the Vatican press office, said that the Holy See continues to cooperate fully with ongoing investigations into Archbishop Józef Wesolowski, former apostolic nuncio to the Dominican Republic.

Because there is no extradition treaty between the Vatican and the Dominican Republic, the Holy See is not required to return the nuncio to Dominican officials. In addition, the Vatican has a legal right to invoke diplomatic immunity in protection of the nuncio.

However, Fr. Lombardi told CNA on Sept. 12 that the Holy See has declared “our intention to cooperate with the Dominican authorities whenever they require it.”

The recall of the nuncio to the Vatican “by no means implies the desire to prevent him from assuming his responsibility for whatever may come out of the investigations” in the Dominican Republic,” Fr. Lombardi explained.

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

VATICAN CITY
National Catholic Reporter

Michael Sean Winters | Sep. 13, 2013 Distinctly Catholic

Unfortunately, there is yet no English translation of this article at Vatican Insider. But, the gist of it is that the Vatican is cooperating with officials in the Dominican Republic who are investigating the former nuncio to that country, Archbishop Josef Wesolowski, who has been accused of paying young boys for sex. As a member of the diplomatic corps, Wesolowski might enjoy immunity and there is no extradition treaty between the Holy See and the DR. So, this indication from the Vatican spokesman signals something truly extraordinary, a chink in the self-protective clerical armor that might, God willing and over time, put an end to the idea that once you get a miter, you are accountable to no one. Stay tuned. This is going to be a very important case to watch.

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

POLAND
The News

The Vatican has stated that it will cooperate with authorities in the Dominican Republic over an investigation into allegations of paedophilia by a Polish archbishop.

Archbishop Jozef Wesolowski, who had been serving as papal nuncio in the Caribbean republic, was recalled to the Vatican on August 21, and simultaneously suspended from his post.

The recall occurred after the archbishop of Santo Domingo, Cardinal Nicolas de Jesus Lopez, informed Pope Francis about the allegations in July, and the Vatican launched an internal investigation.

With Dominican prosecutors confirming their own investigation last week, accusations snowballed that the Vatican was trying to shield the 65-year-old archbishop, prompting Thursday’s Vatican statement.

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

INDIA
Outlook

A local court today sentenced a priest to five years’ rigorous imprisonment for “outraging the modesty” and attempting to rape a 12-year-old girl at Dunneke village in Moga in December last year.

District and Sessions judge Karamjit Singh Kang convicted the priest Patwinder Singh on charges of attempt to rape and outraging the minor girl’s modesty.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on the accused and in case of default, he will have to serve an additional three months in jail.

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

ILLINOIS
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

By Tim Townsend ttownsend@post-dispatch.com 314-340-82211

A Roman Catholic bishop in Springfield, Ill. has returned the Rev. Thomas Donovan to ministry in Alton after an internal investigation into what the priest’s own clinical therapist had diagnosed as “non-sexual self-bondage.”

Bishop Thomas Paprocki said in a statement Thursday that Donovan would be a chaplain to the Sisters of St. Francis of the Martyr St. George, and would move to the nuns’ provincial house in Alton on Sunday.

Last November, Donovan called 911 from the rectory of St. Aloysius Catholic Church in Springfield, where he was pastor, and told dispatchers he had placed himself in handcuffs and needed police help to free himself.

When police arrived, they found the priest wearing an orange jumpsuit and “a leather bondage-type mask with a bar in his mouth,” according to the police report.

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

CANADA
Toronto Star

By: Ira Lamcja Staff Reporter, Published on Fri Sep 13 2013

A Romanian Orthodox priest has been charged with sexual assault after police say a woman was attacked in an east end Toronto church.

The incident happened on Sept. 3 in All Saints Romanian Orthodox Church, located near Birchmount and Danforth roads, police said in a statement released Friday.

The attack was interrupted when a couple entered the church, police said.

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

CANADA
CBC News

A close friend of an Orthodox archbishop accused of sexually assaulting two brothers says the alleged abuse couldn’t possibly have happened.

Connie Kucharczyk told the Winnipeg trial of Seraphim Storheim that she was shocked when police called her in 2010 to discuss their investigation.

She says Storheim hugged “everyone he saw” but never crossed a line.

Storheim is accused of sexually assaulting the pre-teens when they lived with him in Winnipeg three decades ago.

The men have testified Storheim walked around naked and asked them to touch him sexually.

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

PORTUGAL
Noticias ao Minuto

Segundo o Jornal de Notícias (JN), o sacerdote acusado de pedofilia e com o início do julgamento marcado para o próximo dia 19, omitiu os rendimentos à Segurança Social e tem neste momento total ‘apoio judiciário’ por parte do Estado para a sua defesa por insuficiência económica.

A única verba que o arguido poderá ter de pagar será relativa aos honorários dos advogados, que, no entanto, pode ser excluída, caso os mesmos decidam não cobrar ou a diocese da Guarda suporte os custos.

De acordo com dados do processo consultados pelo JN, “o padre não declara à Segurança Social qualquer verba de salário, assinala que não é proprietário de imóveis e omite a titularidade de qualquer viatura”.

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

PORTUGAL
Publico

O antigo vice-reitor do Seminário do Fundão, padre Luís Mendes, acusado de 19 crimes de abuso sexual de menores a cargo daquela instituição, está a beneficiar de apoio judiciário por parte do Estado, depois de ter omitido os rendimentos à Segurança Social. Para o Estado, Luís Mendes não tem capacidade económica para suportar os custos judiciais do processo.

No requerimento de pedido de apoio judiciário, Luís Mendes “não declara à Segurança Social qualquer verba de salário, assinala que não é proprietário de imóveis e omite a titularidade de qualquer viatura”, avança o Jornal de Notícias na edição desta sexta-feira. Perante a alegada insuficiência económica, o pedido de protecção jurídica foi deferido.

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

OHIO
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Friday, Sept. 13, 2013

For more information: Judy Jones of St. Louis 636 433 2511, SNAPjudy@gmail.com, David Clohessy of St. Louis, 314 566 9790 cell, SNAPclohessy@aol.com

Catholic priest trial to start
He’s accused of molesting a boy

Fr. Robert Poandl’s criminal child sex abuse trial is set to begin on Monday, Sept 16th in the Potter Stewart U.S. Federal Courthouse (room 109), 100 East 5th St., in downtown Cincinnati, OH.

He faces federal child sex charges that he took a 10-year Cincinnati old boy to West Virginia in August 1991 where he is alleged to have sexually assaulted the child.

“This victim and his family are very brave,” said Judy Jones of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. “And this predator is very shrewd.”

Jones urged anyone who may have seen, suspected or suffered Fr. Poandl’s crimes to call prosecutors immediately.

“It’s never too late to share what you know or suspect with law enforcement officials,” she stressed. “It’s up to us to pass on information. And it’s up to police and prosecutors to determine what will help them prosecute a criminal.”

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

KANSAS CITY (MO)
KCUR

[with audio]

By DAN VERBECK AND STEVE BELL

Shawn Ratigan, a 47-year-old Catholic priest convicted of making child pornography, was sentenced to 50 years by a Kansas City federal judge Thursday afternoon.

Judge Gary Fenner labeled Ratigan a pedophile in serial fashion.

Minutes before, Ratigan choked back emotion as he told the judge, “Fifteen years is a lot of time, but fifty, come on.”

Parents of the two-year-old girl photographed by Ratigan said they never want their child to see him again. The mother of the child said her daughter considered the priest her “best friend.”

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

UNITED KINGDOM
BBC News

An 85-year-old Catholic priest charged with sexually abusing boys in the East Midlands will stand trial next year.

Francis Paul Cullen was extradited from Tenerife in August to face 27 charges of sexual offences against boys under the ages of 15, dating back 50 years.

He appeared at Derby Crown Court via videolink from Nottingham Prison and spoke only to confirm his name. No plea was taken.

The offences allegedly took place in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire.

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

SCOTLAND
The Tablet

13 September 2013

Parishioners in Scotland have boycotted Mass and withheld their offertory donations in protest at their bishop’s decision to remove a priest who publicly accused another cleric of sexual abuse.

Two hundred people in the parish of St Sophia’s in Galston, Ayrshire, have signed a petition accusing the Bishop of Galloway, John Cunningham, of persecuting and ostracising Fr Patrick Lawson after he issued the priest with a decree of removal last week.

Fr Lawson, who is suffering from cancer, has campaigned for nearly two decades for the Scottish hierarchy to take action against Fr Paul Moore, a retired priest who, he alleges, abused altar boys and made sexual advances towards him when he was a seminarian in the mid-1990s.

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

IRELAND
Irish Examiner

Thursday, September 12, 2013

The country’s bishops refused to meet with six Irish priests silenced by the Vatican claiming their predicament was not an issue for the Irish hierarchy as the priests were members of religious orders and not diocesan priests.

By Claire O’Sullivan
Irish Examiner Reporter

Fr Tony Flannery, one of the six priests censured by Rome, has just published a book highlighting the “inhumanity” of the secret process used against him by the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican’s watchdog on theology.

Fr Flannery, a Redemptorist, is also harshly critical of the country’s bishops saying they consistently fail to provide leadership and are incapable of standing up to clericalism in the Vatican. He says they provided no support to the six silenced priests who have suffered much private torment since taken to task by Rome.

“One of the big frustrations has been trying to deal with the bishops. Trying to deal with them is impossible, ” he said. “There is no possibility of the bishops taking a stand, the Irish Bishops Conference is a dysfunctional body and there is no real leadership. The one amongst the bishops that has the most capacity to lead is Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin but for whatever reason he has not assumed this role,” he said.

Describing the CDF’s attitude to him and its lack of due process, Fr Flannery said: “They didn’t seem to have the slightest interest in meeting me or hearing my side of the story, I was clearly of no consequence to them as a person,” he writes.

The CDF never directly dealt with Fr Flannery, using the Redemptorists’ Superior General Michael Brehl as messenger. They also ordered that their grievances with Fr Flannery, over writings in the order’s Reality Magazine that they say were contrary to the teachings of the Church, were to be kept entirely secret.

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

CANADA
CP24

Chris Kitching, CP24.com
Published Friday, September 13, 2013

A priest at an east-end church is facing a charge of sexual assault, Toronto police say.

Police said a woman was sexually assaulted by a man at All Saints Romanian Orthodox Church on Danforth Road, near Birchmount Road, on Sept. 3.

A couple entered the church and interrupted the assault, police said in a news release Friday.
A suspect was arrested Wednesday.

Police said Ioan Pop, 54, of Toronto is charged with one count of sexual assault.

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

CANADA
The Globe and Mail

Toronto police say a Romanian Orthodox priest is facing a sexual assault charge in connection with an alleged incident at an east-end church.

It’s alleged that a woman went to All Saints Romanian Orthodox Church (in the Birchmount Road and Danforth Road area) on Sept. 3, and while there she was sexually assaulted.

Police say a couple entered the church and interrupted the assault.

Ioan Pop, 54, of Toronto was arrested on Wednesday.

He is scheduled to appear in court on the sexual assault charge on Oct. 15.

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

ILLINOIS
KMOX

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (KMOX) – Springfield Bishop Thomas Paprocki returned one of his priest’s to the ministry, following a lengthy period of treatment and counseling.

In November 2012, Springfield priest, Father Thomas Donova, called 9-1-1 with a bit of problem. He had gotten stuck in a pair of handcuffs.

Bishop Paprocki granted Father Donovan a leave of absence, saying he “suffered from non-sexual self bondage,” and after months of treatment, a special church panel has recommended his gradual return to the ministry.

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

CANADA
Cambridge Times

TORONTO – Toronto police say a Romanian Orthodox priest is facing a sexual assault charge in connection with an alleged incident at an east-end church.

It’s alleged that a woman went to All Saints Romanian Orthodox Church (in the Birchmount Road and Danforth Road area) on Sept. 3, and while there she was sexually assaulted.

Police say a couple entered the church and interrupted the assault.

Ioan Pop, 54, of Toronto was arrested on Wednesday.

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

IRELAND
Irish Times

Patsy McGarry

A new book by Redemptorish priest Fr Tony Flannery, who was silenced and removed from public ministry by the Vatican last year, is not available in Veritas bookshops. Owned by the Irish Catholic Bishops Conference, there are 11 such bookshops in Ireland.

Fr Flannery’s book A Question of Conscience was published in Dublin last night and details his dealings with the Vatican last year.

Contacted by The Irish Times yesterday about availabity of the book in its shops, a Veritas spokeman said he believed there was an issue the publishers, Londubh Books. He asked that questions be emailed to him and said these would be forwarded to senior managers who were on a trip to the US. As of last night, there was no response to the questions.

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

UNITED KINGDOM
This is Derbyshire

A FORMER priest made an eight-minute appearance in court today on sex charges involving children.

Francis Cullen, 85, denied the allegations and was told he would stand trial at Derby Crown Court on March 24.

The timetable was approved by Judge Andrew Hamilton, who remanded Cullen in custody.
Cullen followed the hearing via a video link from Nottingham Prison, where he is being held.

He will be brought to the Derby court on December 20 where a bail application could be made.

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

NEW JERSEY
The Record

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2013

BY JEFF GREEN
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD

Archbishop John J. Myers promoted his spokesman and a deacon on Wednesday to high-ranking administrative positions in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark.

Jim Goodness, director of communications for the archdiocese since 1999, confirmed Thursday that he and deacon John J. McKenna were made vice chancellors.

“This is a rare privilege,” Goodness said. “I will continue to serve the archdiocese and archbishop in increasingly responsible capacities.” The archdiocese serves more than 1 million Catholics in Bergen, Essex, Hudson and Union counties.

Goodness has been Myers’ main defender in a recent string of scandals involving priests accused of sexually abusing children.

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

KANSAS CITY (MO)
KSHB

[with video]

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A former Kansas City, Mo. priest will spend the next 50 years behind bars.
A judge sentenced Rev. Shawn Ratigan Thursday in a U.S. District Court in Kansas City.

Federal prosecutors sought a 50-year sentence for the Roman Catholic priest who admitted taking pornographic photos of children.

Before learning his sentence, Ratigan spoke to the victim’s family saying, “There’s no words I can express to tell you my sorrow, but it’s there. I was good friends with all of them; I just couldn’t help it.” …

The Associate Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, issued a statement regarding Ratigan’s sentence, saying, ” It’s very reassuring to know that Ratigan can’t ever hurt another child.”

The statement goes on to say, “at the same time, the bank robber gets 50 years while the guy who drove the get away car does no jail time,” referring to Bishop Finn, who failed to report the suspected child abuse.

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

CANADA
Vancouver Sun

For more than 150 years, thousands of Aboriginal children in Canada were taken from families and communities, and stripped of languages, cultural identities and traditions.

They were to become a part of mainstream culture. The government policy failed, but the devastating impacts continue today. Yet the history and impacts of residential school are still relatively unknown and little understood.

A core mandate of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) is to educate all Canadians about the complete history of the residential schools, and to inspire reconciliation for individuals, families, communities, religious organizations and peoples of faith, governments, and the people of Canada.

The Anglican, United, and Presbyterian Churches and the Roman Catholic entities which ran residential schools signed the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement in 2007, whose provisions established the TRC’s mandate. As a result these Christian denominations are key partners in the TRC’s work.

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

CANADA
The Province

BY CHERYL CHAN, THE PROVINCE SEPTEMBER 12, 2013

Alvin Dixon was only 10 when he was torn away from his family in Bella Bella and sent to a residential school in Port Alberni.

It didn’t take long before he got his first thrashing. His sin: Speaking his Heisla language with another student.

“A supervisor heard me, took me to the playroom in the basement, leaned me over the bench and walloped me over and over with a strap,” says Dixon, 76, a member of the Heiltsuk First Nation.

It didn’t get better in the eight years afterwards, he says: “You’re sent to an institution very much like a jail, nothing gets better.”

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

CANADA
Sun News

DEAN PRITCHARD | QMI AGENCY

WINNIPEG — Former archbishop Kenneth (Seraphim) Storheim took the witness stand Thursday to deny allegations he sexually molested two boys while a priest in Winnipeg nearly 30 years ago.

Storheim, who went on to become Canadian Archbishop of the Orthodox Church in America, is accused of molesting two pre-teen twin brothers in the mid-1980s when he was the rector at Holy Trinity Sobor in Winnipeg.

Storheim admitted hugging the brothers and engaging one of the boys in a conversation about puberty — “One of the stupider things I have done,” he said — but denied accusations he engaged in physically inappropriate behaviour.

“I felt compassion for the family and the very difficult circumstances they had in life,” he said.

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

CANADA
International Business Times

By Sounak Mukhopadhyay | September 13, 2013

Former Archbishop Kenneth (Seraphim) Storheim claimed that he was not guilty of the alleged sex assault.

Mr Storheim is blamed of two counts of sexual assault which involves 2 pre-teen brothers. These young children were members of a parish in Winnipeg’s North End. Mr Storheim was suspended 3 years back after having his tenure of being the highest-ranking cleric in the Canadian diocese of the Orthodox Church of America. The suspension took place after he had been charged of the same. Storheim started testifying on Thursday to defend himself.

Mr Storheim described the two children as hard working and vivacious yet mischievous. He considered them among the average children. He mentioned that he had met the family first in Ontario, after which he shifted to Winnipeg probably in 1984. It was during those days when the brothers were sent to work and live with Mr Storheim at the Winnipeg church. They were brought up a single mother.

Even though the former Orthodox archbishop denied charges against him of sexual assault, he did confess that he had had a discussion with one of the boys regarding puberty. Mr Storheim considered the discussion as one of the most unwise things he had ever done in his life. He told Justice Christopher Mainella that he had regretted getting engaged in such a conversation with the boy.

Mr Storheim informed the court that the mother of the boys had called him later on. She seemed pretty angry while she talked to him. She told him that she had sent the boys to be taught about scripture, not about any dirty stuff. Mr Storheim said that he had had the realisation that she was referring to the conversation regarding puberty.

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

CANADA
Winnipeg Free Press

By: Mike McIntyre
Posted: 09/13/2013

He stands accused of serious criminal allegations: molesting two young brothers while working as a parish priest in Winnipeg.

But Seraphim Storheim took the witness stand in his own defence Thursday and said the only thing he’s guilty of is caring too much for a troubled family he took under his wing.

“I overstepped a sense of compassion,” said Storheim, 67, who is now an archbishop with the Orthodox Church in America, which has historical ties to the Russian Orthodox Church.

“I felt compassion for this particular family, so I paid more attention to that family trying to support and encourage them.”

Storheim has pleaded not guilty to sexual assault in incidents that allegedly occurred 28 years ago but were only recently reported to police.

Storheim admits he talked to the 11-year-old boys about puberty and body development, which included specific comments about ejaculation and pubic hair. He said the topic only came up during Bible study when the boys began asking questions. He said he regrets not quickly changing the subject.

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

AUSTRALIA
ABC News

By Robert Herrick

Christopher Charles Prowse has been appointed after four years as the Bishop of Sale in Victoria.

He will take up his new role in November.

Bishop Prowse has pledged his full support to victims of sexual abuse within the church.

He says it is important the church recognises the trauma suffered by victims of institutional abuse.

“Wonderful brave people that have come forward and said that they have suffered at the hands of church personnel, it’s an enormous tragedy, great drama of our time,” he said.

“But when I sit down and speak to the victims, I listen to stories of great heroism and if we can help them in any shape or form that’s our top priority.”

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

ISRAEL
Aruz Sheva

By Adam Ross
First Publish: 9/13/2013

Rabbi Yona Metzger, former Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi of Israel, has responded for the first time to the investigations of bribery, fraud and breach of trust that led him to step down early from his public office.

“Sadly the media has distorted my character and this has been very hurtful for me.” Metzger said in an interview to Israel’s Channel 10. He added, “Our media looks for blood and only looks for the negative.”

The former chief rabbi claimed that if the famed Rabbi Abraham Isaac HaCohen Kook, the first to hold the title of Chief Rabbi of Israel, was in the post today, he would not have been as adored as he was, due to the treatment he would have received from media.

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

ILLINOIS
Patch

Posted by Natalie Stevens (Editor) , September 12, 2013

A Boulder Hill man has been sentenced to five years for two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, said Kendall County State’s Attorney Eric Weis.

Kevin Freeman, 28, of the 0-99 block of Shermead Road, Montgomery, was charged with having sexually abused two different victims late 2010 through 2011.

The investigation began with he Oswego Police Department, which found another potential victim. The information was forwarded on to the Kendall County Sheriff’s Office.

In both instances, said Weis, Freeman knew or became familiar with the victims, both 16 years old at the time, through membership at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church in Oswego. In one instance he was the the youth group leader.

“It is clear that this sex offender, in using his position, not only violated these young women, but also violated the trust placed in him by fellow church members and parents,” stated Weis. “This sentence should send a clear and succinct message that the abuse of children by those entrusted to keep them safe will not be tolerated.”

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

ILLINOIS
The Beacon-News

By Erika Wurst ewurst@stmedianetwork.com September 12, 2013

A 28-year-old Montgomery man was sentenced to five years in prison this week for sexually abusing two teenage girls he met at an Oswego church.

Prosecutors said Kevin Freeman, 0-99 block of Shermead Road, met the girls, both 16 years old at the time, through his membership at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church, where he was a group leader to one of the victims.

As they were investigating one case, police identified a second victim. The abuse allegedly occurred in late 2010 through 2011, prosecutors said. Freeman was sentenced to two five-year terms for his conviction on two counts of criminal sexual abuse. The sentences will run concurrently.

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

CALIFORNIA
CBS Los Angeles

VAN NUYS (CBSLA.com) — A former usher at a Kingdom Hall of Jehova’s Witnesses faces 30 years in prison in exchange for pleading no-contest to sexual abuse involving three boys he met at the Sun Valley church.

Marcelo Lozano pleaded no contest Thursday to two counts of continuous sexual abuse and one count of oral copulation with a person under the age of 14. The remaining charges are due to be dropped.

“It’s a just outcome in the sense that we have to look out for the emotional impact that testifying in the trial would have on the victims in this case,” Deputy District Attorney Rena Durrant told KNX1070′s Claudia Peschiutta.

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

CANADA
National Post

An Orthodox archbishop accused of sexually assaulting two brothers almost 30 years ago denied doing anything inappropriate but told a Winnipeg court he did talk to one of the boys about puberty.

“It was one of the stupider things I’ve done in my life,” Seraphim Storheim told Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Christopher Mainella on Thursday. “The thing I regret most is engaging in this conversation about puberty.”

Storheim said he met the boys in the early 1980s when he was posted to London, Ont. The 67-year-old testified he saw the boys and their single mother at least once or twice a week during that time. Later Thursday he asked to change his testimony to say he had seen them once or twice a month.

The boys were vivacious, hard-working and obedient, he said.

When he moved to Winnipeg, Storheim said he agreed to have the boys stay with him separately during the summer of 1985 to further their Christian education. He is accused of sexually assaulting the pre-teens during those visits.

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

CHILE
Legalbrief

Three men who say they were sexually abused as teenagers by a prominent Catholic priest filed a lawsuit this week against the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santiago for failing to protect them or to investigate their accusations.

A report in The New York Times notes that Juan Carlos Cruz said that he and the others who have accused the Reverend Fernando Karadima of abusing them when he headed the El Bosque parish in Santiago in the 1980s ‘hope to establish the responsibility of the church, which always knew what was going on and looked the other way’. In 2011, the Vatican found Karadima guilty of the abuses and ordered him to retire ‘to a life of prayer and penitence’. The report states that a Chilean judge dismissed criminal charges later that year because a statute of limitations had expired, but he also described the accusations as ‘truthful and reliable’.

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

UNITED KINGDOM
Eastbourne Herald

An Eastbourne man who was sexually abused as a child by Church of England priest Roy Cotton has confronted his past and says he can finally move forward with his life.

Brian Bond, 49, was featured in the BBC South East Inside Out programme on Monday night and filmed meeting the family he has not seen for more than 40 years and chatting to the Bishop of Chichester Dr Martin Warner about the abuse he suffered.

Brian was born in Birmingham but placed into foster care in Eastbourne as a baby in 1965 by his single mother.

However, he said his formative years were far from happy, with mistreatment from his foster mother leaving him psychologically and physically abused.

At the age of eight, Mr Bond came into contact with the Reverend Roy Cotton, a Church of England priest at St Andrew’s in Seaside, who he met through a church connected to his primary school and was subjected to a prolonged period of violent sexual abuse, and also sexually abused by one of his associates.

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

VATICAN CITY
News OK

Published: September 12, 2013
VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican said Thursday it was cooperating with prosecutors in the Dominican Republic who are investigating its ambassador for alleged sexual abuse of teen-age boys, an explosive case that has raised legal questions about the Holy See’s responsibilities when accused priests come from within its own ranks.

The Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, denied the Vatican was trying to shield Archbishop Jozef Wesolowski by recalling him to Rome before Dominican prosecutors had announced their investigation.

The Holy See recalled Wesolowski on Aug. 21 and relieved him of his job as apostolic nuncio after the archbishop of Santo Domingo, Cardinal Nicolas de Jesus Lopez, told Pope Francis about the allegations in July.

Dominican prosecutors announced their investigation last week, largely in response to local media reports of allegations of sexual misconduct by Wesolowski, 65, as well as a friend and fellow Polish priest, who is also outside the country.

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

KANSAS CITY (MO)
McClatchy

By TONY RIZZO AND GLENN E. RICE | The Kansas City Star

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Rev. Shawn Ratigan, the Catholic priest and church pastor who repeatedly used young girls to produce child pornography, was sentenced Thursday to 50 years in federal prison.

The sentence handed down by U.S. District Judge Gary Fenner virtually ensures that Ratigan, 47, will spend the rest of his life in prison. There is no parole in the federal prison system.

Federal prosecutors portrayed Ratigan as an arrogant and reckless man who flagrantly disregarded his priestly vows, used young girls as sexual objects, and repeatedly lied to his superiors, fellow priests and police when he was found out.

“Ratigan is a danger to society because he has proven he is not amenable to supervision and is unable to control his impulses,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Katharine Fincham said in a written memorandum filed before Thursday’s hearing.

Before hearing his sentence, Ratigan asked the judge in front of a packed courtroom to limit his sentence to 15 years.

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

KANSAS CITY (MO)
Reuters

By Carey Gillam
KANSAS CITY, Missouri | Thu Sep 12, 2013

(Reuters) – A Kansas City Catholic priest was sentenced to 50 years in prison on Thursday on federal child pornography charges for taking sexually explicit photos of several young girls, including a 2-year-old.

Shawn Ratigan, 47, pleaded guilty in August 2012 to four counts of producing child pornography and one count of attempting to produce child pornography.

“Society needs to be protected from you,” U.S. District Judge Gary Fenner told Ratigan before he pronounced the sentence. “You did this to yourself.”

Prosecutors had sought the 50-year sentence, which they had said would amount to a life term, after it was discovered that he had taken hundreds of lewd photographs of young girls.

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

KANSAS CITY (MO)
Pitch

Posted by Steve Vockrodt on Thu, Sep 12, 2013

Shawn Ratigan spent part of his freedom using his role as a priest in the Catholic Church to help him victimize five young children.

Given that he’s 47 years old, his 50-year sentence handed down on Thursday means he’s probably seen the last of life outside the four walls of a prison cell. The disgraced priest has no opportunity for parole.

The Independence man was the parish pastor at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Kansas City as well as St. Mary’s Church in St. Joseph and St. Joseph’s church in Easton, Missouri. He admitted guilt in 2012 to several child pornography-related charges brought about by his habit of taking sexually explicit photos of young children, who ranged in age from two to 12, after gaining their trust as a member of the church. Beyond the five victims that prosecutors know about, Ratigan was also found to be taking surreptitious non-sexual photos of young children in their bathing suits and at places like the grocery store.

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

KANSAS CITY (MO)
KCUR

[with audio]

By DAN VERBECK AND STEVE BELL

Shawn Ratigan, a 47-year-old Catholic priest convicted of making child pornography, was sentenced to 50 years by a Kansas City federal judge Thursday afternoon.

Judge Gary Fenner labeled Ratigan a pedophile in serial fashion.

Minutes before, Ratigan choked back emotion as he told the judge, in his words, “Fifteen years is a lot of time, but fifty [years], come on.”

Parents of a two-year-old girl, photographed by Ratigan – the mother said the child considered the priest her “best friend” – told how they never want their child to see him again.

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

CANADA
Leader-Post

BY CHINTA PUXLEY, THE CANADIAN PRESS SEPTEMBER 12, 2013

WINNIPEG – An Orthodox archbishop accused of sexually assaulting two brothers almost 30 years ago denied doing anything inappropriate but told a Winnipeg court he did talk to one of the boys about puberty.

“It was one of the stupider things I’ve done in my life,” Seraphim Storheim told Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Christopher Mainella on Thursday. “The thing I regret most is engaging in this conversation about puberty.”

Storheim said he met the boys in the early 1980s when he was posted to London, Ont. The 67-year-old testified he saw the boys and their single mother at least once or twice a week during that time. Later Thursday he asked to change his testimony to say he had seen them once or twice a month.

The boys were vivacious, hard-working and obedient, he said.

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

CANADA
CTV

Julia Parrish, CTV Edmonton
Published Thursday, September 12, 2013

An Orthodox Archbishop with an Edmonton connection has taken the stand in his own defence in a Winnipeg courtroom, in response to sexual assault allegations.

In court Thursday morning, Seraphim Storheim responded to an allegation that one young boy saw him naked and touching himself.

“It didn’t happen, I’ve never done that,” Storheim testified.

That allegation is one of several Storheim faces surrounding the alleged sexual assault of two pre-teen brothers in Winnipeg about 30 years ago.

The alleged victims had previously testified Storheim walked around naked, and asked them to touch him sexually – allegations Storheim denied in court Thursday, also saying he never saw the boys naked.

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

CANADA
Winnipeg Free Press

Orthodox Archbishop Seraphim Storheim has taken the witness stand in his own defence to deny allegations he molested two young brothers.

Storheim, 67, began testifying Thursday morning. He has pleaded not guilty to sexually assaulting the boys 28 years ago in Winnipeg. The allegations were only recently reported to police, resulting in criminal charges.

“I felt compassion for this particular family. So I paid more attention to that family, trying to support and encourage them,” Storheim said in direct examination from his lawyer, Jeff Gindin.

He admits talking to the 11-year-old boys about puberty and body development, but denies their claims he fondled them and repeatedly exposed himself.

“If there’s any touching it was certainly by accident,” said Storheim.

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

KANSAS CITY (MO)
Roman Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph

Sep 12th, 2013

Catholic Diocese of Kansas City ~ St. Joseph
Statement of Bishop Robert Finn
Regarding Sentencing of Shawn Ratigan

(Kansas City, MO / September 12, 2013)

Today, Shawn Ratigan was sentenced in Federal Court on a number of charges related to the production and possession of child pornography for which he pled guilty. To victims of abuse, their families and the community at large, I renew my heartfelt apology and firm pledge to make our Catholic institutions second to none in the protection of children and the vulnerable.

Much has already been done to strengthen a culture of protection in the local Church since the arrest of Shawn Ratigan. I appointed former Jackson County Assistant Prosecutor Jenifer Valenti to independently receive and investigate any and all suspicion of abuse, grooming behavior and boundary violations in our Catholic institutions. Under her direction, every single reported suspicion of abuse is immediately forwarded to law enforcement. All reported suspicion of abuse against minors is additionally referred to the Missouri Children’s Division.

The Diocese also created an Office of Child and Youth Protection under the direction of Carrie Cooper. This team of trained and dedicated professionals is charged with implementing and improving our Safe Environment Training Programs, Victim Outreach Services and Investigation and Action on suspicions of abuse. In the last year alone, this child protection team has:

• Codified new Diocesan Policy for Response to allegations of Sexual Abuse of Minors or Vulnerable Adults with the mandate that all reports of abuse are referred to civil authorities.

• Developed new universal code of ethics for all diocesan personnel: Ethics and Integrity in Ministry (EIM).

• Partnered with The United States Attorney’s Office, FBI Cyber Crimes Task Force, and the Jackson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office to develop current topical training.

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

KANSAS CITY (MO)
St. Joe Channel

(KANSAS CITY, Mo.) A former St. Joseph priest has been sentenced to 50 years in prison, more than 2 years after being charged with possessing child pornography.

Shawn Ratigan received the sentence this afternoon in Federal Court in Kansas City.

Ratigan, who had worked at St. Mary’s church in St. Joseph, was charged in May of 2011 after police found a flash drive containing hundreds of images of children.

Prosecutors say he photographed girls in and around the churches where he worked.

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

KANSAS CITY (MO)
St. Joseph News-Press

By Kim Norvell | St. Joseph News-Press

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A local priest in the middle of a child pornography scandal has been sentenced to 50 years in federal prison.

The Rev. Shawn F. Ratigan learned his fate Thursday afternoon — more than a year after he pleaded guilty to five counts of producing or attempting to produce child pornography, and more than two years after his initial arrest.

Each count represented the five children he victimized between 2005 and 2011. Federal prosecutors maintained the Rev. Ratigan took lewd images of the girls, who were between the ages of 2 and 12 years old and were parishioners at the various churches and schools where he worked.

The 47-year-old was the parochial administrator for both St. Mary Church in St. Joseph and St. Joseph Mission in Easton, Mo.; and a chaplain at Bishop LeBlond High School from July 2005 to June 2009. He later moved to St. Patrick Catholic Church in Kansas City.

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

KANSAS CITY (MO)
National Catholic Reporter

Dennis Coday | Sep. 12, 2013 NCR Today

Shawn Ratigan, the Kansas City, Mo., priest who had pleaded guilty to possession and production of child pornography last year, was sentenced to 50 years in prison this afternoon, a local TV station and the Associated Press are reporting. It was Ratigan’s case the led to KC Bishop Robert Finn’s conviction for child endangerment, a misdemeanor in county court.

Ratigan told the federal judge, “I know that no words will express my sorrow” for the hurt he caused people who trusted him and “the church I love” but he said 50 years in prison was too long. He asked for 15 years.

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

KANSAS CITY (MO)
KSHB

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A former Kansas City, Mo. priest will spend the next 50 years behind bars.
A judge sentenced Rev. Shawn Ratigan Thursday in a U.S. District Court in Kansas City.

Federal prosecutors sought a 50-year sentence for the Roman Catholic priest who admitted taking pornographic photos of children.

Before learning his sentence, Ratigan spoke to the victim’s family saying, “There’s no words I can express to tell you my sorrow, but it’s there. I was good friends with all of them; I just couldn’t help it.”
He also apologized to his family and the Church.

The 47-year-old priest pleaded guilty in August 2012 to five counts of producing or attempting to produce child porn — one count for each of five victims.

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

KANSAS CITY (MO)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Thursday, Sept. 12

Statement by Judy Jones of St. Louis, Assistant Midwest Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests ( 314 974 5003, snapjudy@gmail.com )

It’s very reassuring to know that Ratigan can never hurt another child. At the same time, the bank robber gets 50 years while the guy who drove the getaway car does no jail time.

Accuracy matters. Ratigan molested girls and made child porn with their photos. He touched and photographed them illegally, inappropriately and hurtfully.

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

KANSAS CITY (MO)
Washington Post

Mo. priest sentenced to 50 years for producing, trying to produce child pornography

By Associated Press, Updated: Thursday, September 12

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Kansas City-area priest whose child pornography case led to a criminal conviction against a Roman Catholic bishop was sentenced Thursday to 50 years in federal prison.

Prosecutors had asked that the Rev. Shawn Ratigan be sentenced to 10 years in prison for each of five young victims after he pleaded guilty in August 2012 to five counts of producing and trying to produce child porn.

Ratigan, 47, was charged in May 2011 after police received a flash drive from his computer containing hundreds of images of children, most of them clothed, with the focus on their crotch areas.

Bishop Robert Finn, head of the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, was convicted last September of one misdemeanor count of failing to report suspected child abuse to the state.

Prosecutors said the diocese learned about the photos on Ratigan’s computer on Dec. 16, 2010, after a technician found them on the priest’s laptop and alerted church officials. A day after the images were found, Ratigan missed Sunday Mass and was found unconscious in his garage with his motorcycle running and a suicide note nearby.

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

KANSAS CITY (MO)
Kansas City Star

September 12

BY TONY RIZZO AND GLENN E. RICE
The Kansas City Star

The Rev. Shawn Ratigan, the Catholic priest and church pastor who repeatedly used young girls to produce child pornography, was sentenced Thursday to 50 years in federal prison.

The sentence handed down by U.S. District Judge Gary Fenner virtually ensures that Ratigan, 47, will spend the rest of his life in prison. There is no parole in the federal prison system.

Federal prosecutors portrayed Ratigan as an arrogant and reckless man who flagrantly disregarded his priestly vows, used young girls as sexual objects, and repeatedly lied to his superiors, fellow priests and police when he was found out.

“Ratigan is a danger to society because he has proven he is not amenable to supervision and is unable to control his impulses,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Katharine Fincham said in a written memorandum filed before Thursday’s hearing.

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

CIUDAD DEL VATICANA
Rotativo

Ciudad del Vaticano, 12 Sep (Notimex).- El portavoz del Vaticano, Federico Lombardi, reafirmó hoy la intención de la Santa Sede de colaborar con autoridades de República Dominicana en la investigación por abusos sexuales contra el ex nuncio, Josef Wesolowski.

En una declaración a la prensa, el sacerdote jesuita aclaró que el llamado a Roma del diplomático papal “no constituye absolutamente la intención de evitar que se asuma la responsabilidad sobre lo que eventualmente será confirmado”.

“En el mes de agosto la Secretaría de Estado -a través del embajador de la República Dominicana ante la Santa Sede? ha declarado su intención de colaborar con las autoridades dominicanas si así lo solicitaran”, señaló.

Con esas palabras Lombardi intentó aplacar las crecientes críticas de juristas, políticos y periodistas dominicanos respecto a cómo se ha tratado el caso a nivel eclesiástico.

La prensa ha lanzado tres cuestionamientos puntuales: si las autoridades de la Iglesia tenían conocimiento sobre denuncias contra el nuncio, ¿por qué no las transmitieron a la justicia civil?.

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

CIUDAD DEL VATICANO
al Momento

[Summary: Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican press spokesman, said former nuncio Joseph Wesolowski is in Rome. He is under investigation by the Vatican regarding activities in the Dominican Republic.]

CIUDAD DEL VATICANO.- El padre Federico Lombardi, director de la Sala de prensa del Vaticano, aclaró que el ex nuncio Josef Wesolowski, se encuentra en Roma porque fue convocado por la jerarquía eclesiástica para investigarlo sobre sus actuaciones en la República Dominicana.

Indicó que las medidas que han sido adoptadas no representan de ninguna manera la intención de evitar que él asuma sus responsabilidades.

En una rueda de prensa, Lombardi explicó que en agosto, la Secretaría de Estado del Vaticano declaró, mediante el Embajador de la República Dominicana ante la Santa Sede, la intención de colaborar con las autoridades dominicanas cuando ellas lo requieran.

Confirmó que el arzobispo de Santo Domingo, cardenal Nicolás López Rodríguez, informó al Papa en julio (poco antes del viaje apostólico a Brasil de este último) sobre la existencia de acusaciones en contra del entonces Nuncio.

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

CIUDAD DEL VATICANO
Noticias SIN

REDACCIÓN INTERNACIONAL.- El portavoz del Vaticano, Federico Lombardi, aclaró que el llamado al ex nuncio Josef Wesolowski para que se presente ante El Vaticano “no constituye absolutamente la intención de evitar que se asuma la responsabilidad sobre lo que eventualmente podría ser confirmado”.

Además aseguró que Wesolowski fue llamado a la Santa Sede, luego de que el cardenal Nicolás de Jesús López Rodríguez comunicó al papa Francisco, sobre las acusaciones de pedofilia que involucran al diplomático en el país.

“El cardenal ha informado oportunamente, en el mes de Julio, poco antes del viaje a Brasil del santo padre, sobre la existencia de acusaciones contra el Nuncio Apostólico en la República Dominicana”, indicó Lombardi.

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

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Dominican Today

[CONCORDATO ENTRE LA SANTA SEDE Y LA REPÚBLICA DOMINICANA]

Santo Domingo.- A group representing several social organizations on Wednesday picketed in front of the Nuncio’s residence demanding punishment for pedophile priests and the abolition of Dominican Republic’s decades-old pact with the Vatican, known as the Concordat.

Chanting slogans waving banners and wearing black armbands, the protesters also called for punishment of those who cover up those actions penalized by law.

“No more rapes! Amen. Repeal the Trujillo-concordat now,” read some of the protesters’ pickets.

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

PITTSBURGH (PA)
WESA

By DEANNA GARCIA

Members of the group Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) is taking news about two abuse case settlements to call on the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh to better notify the public when a priest has been accused of sexual misconduct.

The priests in question had both worked in Pittsburgh, though the abuse allegations come from other places they worked.

“Any time that there’s a priest who has been accused in the court of law, we are under the impression that the Pittsburgh Diocese will automatically reach out to the churches, reach out to the congregations, let them know and actively pursue to see if there are any victims,” said SNAP’s Frances Samber. “But they’re not doing that in the case of these two priests and we’re just asking why.”

A sex abuse cases against priests Alan E. Caparella and Richard Deakin were settled in separate states outside of Pennsylvania.

The Rev. Ron Lengwin, spokesman for the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh, said the men in question were not diocesan priests but belonged to religious orders, so it was the order’s responsibility to follow up.

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

VATICAN CITY
DFW Catholic

Vatican City, Sep 12, 2013 / 10:57 am (CNA/EWTN News).- A Vatican spokesman has said that the Holy See is willing to hand over a former nuncio accused of sexual misconduct to civil authorities in the Dominican Republic if requested to do so.

Fr. Federico Lombardi, director of the Vatican press office, said that the Holy See continues to cooperate fully with ongoing investigations into Archbishop Józef Wesolowski, former apostolic nuncio to the Dominican Republic.

Because there is no extradition treaty between the Vatican and the Dominican Republic, the Holy See is not required to return the nuncio to Dominican officials. In addition, the Vatican has a legal right to invoke diplomatic immunity in protection of the nuncio.

However, Fr. Lombardi told CNA on Sept. 12 that the Holy See has declared “our intention to cooperate with the Dominican authorities whenever they require it.”

The recall of the nuncio to the Vatican “by no means implies the desire to prevent him from assuming his responsibility for whatever may come out of the investigations” in the Dominican Republic,” Fr. Lombardi explained.

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

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Dominican Today

Santo Domingo.- Vatican press director Federico Lombardi on Monday affirmed that the measures taken by the Papacy regarding former nuncio in Dominican Republic Josef Wesolowski, don’t represent in any way an attempt to sidestep his responsibilities.

He said in August, the Holy See’s State Department communicated to Dominican Republic’s Ambassador its willingness to the cooperate with the Caribbean nation’s authorities when they so requested.

In a press conference, Lombardi said in July cardinal Nicolas de Jesus Lopez Rodriguez had already reported to the Pope the allegations against the then nuncio in Dominican Republic.

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

VATICAN CITY
Reuters

By Philip Pullella
VATICAN CITY | Thu Sep 12, 2013

(Reuters) – The Vatican said on Thursday it would cooperate with Dominican Republic authorities investigating the Holy See’s former ambassador on suspicion of pedophilia and denied the envoy had been recalled to protect him from local justice.

Archbishop Jozef Wesolowski, 55, was recalled in August and relieved of his duties after local media accused him of sexual abuse of children.

In the first formal statement on the case, the Vatican said its sex crimes prosecutor had opened an investigation into the allegations.

Cardinal Nicolas Lopez Rodriguez of Santo Domingo personally informed Pope Francis in late July that there had been “serious accusations” against Wesolowski, Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said in the written statement.

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

KANSAS CITY (MO)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Thursday, Sept. 8

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

Two Kansas City Catholic officials, Bishop Robert Finn and Carrie Cooper, in an act of stunning callousness, have issued a four page abuse ‘report’ that is deceptive and pathetic and harmful. It hides key information, hurts victims, and helps no one.

http://www.diocese-kcsj.org/_docs/OCYP_Report_2013_final_reduced.pdf

First, today Shawn Ratigan is being sentenced. Finn and Cooper rub salt into the wounds of Ratigan’s victims by pulling a carefully-crafted public relations stunt on a long-awaited day of closure for those who have suffered and are suffering because of Ratigan’s crimes and Finn’s crimes.

Their timing is reprehensible. Shame on both of them. Cooper should be particularly ashamed, since she trumpets herself as being involved in ‘healing.’

Second, it’s been said that a fish rots from the head down. So long as a diocese is headed by a criminal, especially one who has suffered no real consequences for his crimes, what low level church employees say is meaningless.

Third, Finn and Cooper insult the intelligence of Kansas City Catholics and citizens with this report issued on this date. They somehow believe that many will not recognize this PR stunt for what it is. We believe KC Catholics and citizens are smarter than that.

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

DEUTSCHLAND
FN Web

LIMBURG/MÜNCHEN. Zu den Gesprächen des umstrittenen Limburger Bischofs Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst (Bild) mit dem päpstlichen Gesandten hüllt sich das Bistum in Schweigen. Kurienkardinal Giovanni Lajolo ist seit Montagabend in Limburg und wird noch bis mindestens Ende der Woche bleiben, wie ein Sprecher des Bistums Limburg gestern sagte. Ob der Gesandte von Papst Franziskus noch mehr Zeit braucht, um nach einer Lösung im Streit um Tebartz-van Elst zu suchen, sei unklar. Auch einen Zeitpunkt für eine öffentliche Erklärung gebe es noch nicht. Das entscheide der Bischof, erklärte der Sprecher. Der Gesandte will unter anderem mit dem Domkapitel, Vertretern des 35 Mitglieder starken Diözesansynodalrates und des Priesterrates reden.

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

UNITED STATES
TheMediaReport

Background

* After the New York Times published three articles suggesting that Cardinal Dolan committed wrongdoing – possibly even criminal wrongdoing – as Archbishop of Milwaukee, the Times did not publish even a single story of a federal judge’s later decision completely vindicating Dolan;

* Weeks later, however, the Times’ Laurie Goodstein published a story about Church-suing contingency lawyers filing an unimportant motion to disqualify the federal judge who had rendered the very same decision that the Times had completely ignored.

As we reported back in July, the New York Times published three different articles aggressively attacking its local bishop, Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, for merely transferring diocesan monies in 2007, when he was Archbishop of Milwaukee, to a cemetery trust fund to ensure that the monies were going to be used as intended by the original donors: for the future care and maintenance of Catholic cemeteries.

The Times and other professional anti-Catholics, such as those at SNAP, claimed that the $55 million transfer to the trust fund was a part of a diabolical plot by Dolan to “protect the assets from victims of clergy sexual abuse who were demanding compensation” by moving the money away.

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

KANSAS CITY (MO)
Roman Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph

From the Director, Carrie Cooper

When I accepted the responsibility of forming the Office of Child and Youth Protection, I made a promise to work alongside my team to rebuild your trust in the wake of the sexual abuse crisis within our faith community. I asked you to set aside the past and join our team in the battle against sexual abuse. I believe now more than ever that only by standing together can we cast the widest and
strongest safety net of protection for our children.

Throughout our diocese, people have stepped forward to strengthen that net. You are arming yourself with knowledge, standing watch against predators, educating children, and speaking out against abuse. You are beginning to understand why victims of abuse stand silent, alone, feeling needless shame and misplaced guilt. You are offering your prayers to help begin the healing process. Many of you made a call to the Ombudsman when something felt wrong to you. Over 1,000 leaders in our diocese attended Mandatory Reporter Training. And in every parish and school our children are being trained to identify and report abuse.

As you can see in this first comprehensive annual report, we are making a difference. Perpetrators of sexual abuse will continue to inhabit this world. We must remain vigilant. We must support the programs in place to keep children in our parishes and schools safe. It is up to ALL of us in this Catholic faith community to make sure our clergy, teachers and volunteers have the required training and background checks. We all must know the warning signs of abuse. If any of us observe or suspect abuse of a minor, we must report it. We cannot assume someone else will make that report. It is up to each one of us as ethical reporters to help stop abuse.

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

KANSAS CITY (MO)
Roman Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph

Sep 5th, 2013

The Office of Child and Youth Protection of the Diocese of Kansas City – St. Joseph has released the first comprehensive annual report of its activities.

Last year at this time, Jenifer Valenti produced a report summarizing the first year of her work as Ombudsman. This year’s report covers the work of Victim Services, Safe Environment and Investigations for the period of July 1, 2012 through June 30, 2013.

The full report is available as a pdf here.

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

GERMANY
The Tablet

12 September 2013

The Vatican has sent Cardinal Giovanni Lajolo, a former nuncio to Germany, to investigate a “destructive crisis of trust” between the Bishop of Limburg and priests and parishioners in his diocese.

Clergy and laity have accused Bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst of lying, narcissism and squandering church money since he was appointed bishop six years ago. Tensions came to head last month when a large number of priests in his diocese used their Sunday homilies to criticise what they described as his authoritarian manner. Telbartz-van Elst was sent a petition with 4,500 signatures calling for more communication and transparency, especially regarding the renovation costs to the episcopal palace, which are said to be €15 million.

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

VATICAN CITY
The Tablet

Robert Mickens in Rome – 12 September 2013

Pope Francis has temporarily stopped the practice of naming priests “honorary prelates”, which allows them to take the title “monsignor”.

The only exception is for those clerics who work in the Holy See’s diplomatic service. The Rome daily, Il Messaggero, reported the decision today.

The Tablet has learned that the Pope communicated the decision on 12 April, shortly after his election, to top officials the Secretariat of State, the office that grants approval to bishops around the world who propose priests for the honorary title.

During that meeting, Francis said he wanted the granting of such onorificienza to be put on hold at least until October, after he had met his group of eight cardinal-advisors to discuss reforming the Roman Curia and governance of the universal Church.

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

VATICAN CITY
National Catholic Reporter

Joshua J. McElwee | Sep. 12, 2013 The Francis Chronicles

Pope Francis has stopped granting priests the honorary title of “monsignor” in advance of an October meeting with several cardinals on possible reforms in the Catholic Church, the London-based Catholic weekly The Tablet is reporting Thursday.

According to the Tablet’s Rome correspondent Robert Mickens, Francis first made the decision in April shortly after his election as pope. The decision was also reported by the Rome daily Il Messagero today.

The title monsignor is an honorific of sorts normally granted to priests as a reward for service to the church or as a sign of some special function they serve in church governance. The title is usually granted by the pope on the recommendation of the priest’s local bishop.

Some have criticized the practice, saying it leads to an air of careerism in the church.

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

IRELAND
Irish Times

Patsy McGarry

Thu, Sep 12, 2013

Silenced Redemptorist priest Fr Tony Flannery said in Dublin tonight he believed the best way he could continue to serve the Church was by bringing into the light of day “the arcane and unjust processes that are the modus operandi of the Vatican watchdog, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF).”

This was particularly the case as he had “given up hope of being allowed to minister as a priest again.”

Fr Flannery was silenced, removed from public ministry and threatened with excommunication by the Vatican last year because of his views on priesthood and Catholic teaching in the area of human sexuality.

Speaking tonight in the Royal Hibernian Academy at the launch of his new book A Question of Conscience by broadcaster Bill O’Herlihy, he said “it seemed to me that we had reached the end of the road. I was forbidden to minister as a priest and the conditions of returning to ministry were such that I could not comply with them without compromising my integrity.”

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

IRELAND
The Journal

To give the survivors of horrific childhood abuse the support and care they need, we must properly understand the threat that suicide poses to victims, writes Mark Vincent Healy.

PERHAPS THERE CAN be no darker subjects than suicide and clerical child sexual abuse. When they are combined, where there is strong evidence in countless surveys and reports to suggest there is a direct link between them, one is perhaps doubly horrified by such issues. It’s a topic which can refer all too often to a horrific beginning to one’s life as it does a most tragic end.

I felt moved to do something about the combined suffering of suicide and clerical child sexual abuse and attended the launch of the World Suicide Prevention Week on Thursday 5 September 2013 at the Department of Health, Hawkins House.

As a campaign survivor of child sexual abuse by members of the Spiritans or Holy Ghost Fathers, I am mindful of the failures of this congregation to address my needs and those of others survivors and their distraught families with whom I am in contact. I have been told by the Acting CEO, Ms Teresa Devlin of the National Board for Safeguarding Children that she has received update reports from second tranche participants which once processed will be published later this month.

There is a connection between these events and their subjects and it’s a very tragic and important one.

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

PORTUGAL
Jornal de Noticias

PJ e peritos descobriram um pedófilo compulsivo, que gosta de vestir-se de mulher e consome pornografia, escondido no padre brincalhão e competente descrito por alguns alunos e colegas que o defenderão em tribunal.

Luís Miguel Campos Mendes, 37 anos, começa a ser julgado no dia 19. Responde por 18 crimes de abuso sexual de criança, abuso sexual de menores dependentes e coação sexual contra internos do Seminário Menor do Fundão.

O padre nega tudo e, no âmbito de uma perícia física no Instituto de Medicina Legal de Coimbra, constante no processo consultado pelo JN, até garantiu ser heterossexual, desmentindo os comportamentos homossexuais que lhe são imputados pelas seis vítimas. Mas, ao mesmo tempo, afirma que nunca teve relações sexuais na vida, apesar de ter tido namorada durante dois anos. Portanto, jura, celibato puro e voto de castidade cumpridos à risca.

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

CANADA
CBC News

The former Archbishop of Canada’s Orthodox Church took the stand in his sex assault trial in Winnipeg on Thursday.

Kenneth William (Seraphim) Storheim has pleaded not guilty to two counts of sexual assault involving two pre-teen brothers who were members of the church more than 25 years ago.

The alleged sex assaults took place when Storheim worked at a parish in Winnipeg’s North End.

Storheim was the highest ranking cleric in the Canadian diocese of the Orthodox Church of America until he was suspended in November 2010, when the charges were laid against him.

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

KANSAS CITY (MO)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Thursday, Sept. 12

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 )

Shawn Ratigan should be locked up for as long as possible. He shows no signs of remorse or rehabilitation. Ample evidence suggests that he would commit more child sex crimes if ever given the chance to be around kids.

We hope this judge will keep Ratigan behind bars as long as he can. And we hope others who saw, suspected or suffered clergy sex crimes and cover ups in Kansas City will dig deep and find courage. If they do, it’s crucial that they call independent sources for help – like police, prosecutors, therapist or support groups – not complicit Catholic officials. That’s how future heinous crimes like this will be prevented and how innocent kids will be spared devastating harm.

No matter what sentence Ratigan gets, we hope every single family that has been so severely hurt by his crimes will keep working hard to recover from this horrific trauma, most of which could clearly have been prevented if just one of a dozen top KC church officials had been decent and caring enough to call 911 years ago.

Ratigan can only be sentenced for the crimes he committed. The judge can’t be influenced by the on-going callousness, recklessness and deceit by Ratigan’s ex-employers and colleagues in the Catholic hierarchy.

Still, it’s worth noting that Missouri church officials have clearly not learned from the Ratigan scandal. They are continuing to keep silent or be deceptive about clergy sex cases, even when allegations are deemed credible and settlements are paid. Here are three very recent examples:

–Last week, newly-disclosed church abuse records showed that a priest from KC’s Assumption parish who attended St. John’s seminary in Kansas City and worked in nine Missouri church assignments was a child molester. He is Fr. John V. “Jack” Farris. A settlement was paid to one of his victims.

http://www.lorpb.com/documents/Clergy-September/Vincentians-(Farris).PDF

–The same church documents show that another predator, Fr. Jose Mendez, spent time at St. Augustine’s Monastery in Kansas City, Kansas. In addition to assaulting kids, Mendez admitted fathering a child. A settlement was paid to one of his victims.

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

KANSAS CITY (MO)
Fox 4

[with video]

September 12, 2013, by Kathy Quinn

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A federal judge will sentence Father Shawn Ratigan in a child porn case that began in 2010.

The case against Ratigan began when a computer tech found hundreds of lewd pictures of five little girls on the his laptop. Ratigan pleaded guilty to four counts of producing child porn and one count of attempting to produce child pornography.

The pictures were taken by Ratigan on his camera and cell phone while he was a priest as several Kansas City parishes.

Bishop Robert Finn of the diocese of Kansas City-St Joseph, was actually charged for not reporting Ratigan in December 2010 when the pictures were reported to him. Bishop Finn waited several months before telling authorities.

Ratigan faces 15-30 years on each count.

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

AUSTRALIA
Canberra Times

September 13, 2013

Peter Jean
Chief Assembly Reporter for The Canberra Times.

A Victorian cleric with interests in indigenous and interfaith issues will be the seventh Catholic Archbishop of Canberra and Goulburn, the Vatican announced on Thursday night.

Christopher Prowse, the serving bishop of the Victorian diocese of Sale, has been appointed to the Canberra-based post by Pope Francis and will be installed in a ceremony at St Christopher’s Cathedral on November 19.

The archdiocese has been without a bishop since Mark Coleridge was appointed Archbishop of Brisbane in May 2012 and auxiliary Bishop Patrick Power retired a few weeks later.

Bishop Prowse was an auxiliary bishop in Melbourne from 2003 to 2009, when he was appointed to his post in Sale.

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

VATICAN CITY
Vatican Information Service

Vatican City, 12 September 2013 (VIS) – Today, the Holy Father appointed Bishop Christopher Charles Prowse as archbishop of Canberra and Goulburn (area 88,000, population 620,000, Catholics 176,500, priests 121, permanent deacons 7, religious 203), Australia. Bishop Prowse, previously bishop of Sale, Australia, was born in East Melbourne, Australia in 1953, was ordained to the priesthood in 1980, and received episcopal ordination in 2003

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

PENNSYLVANIA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Both worked in Pittsburgh & abused elsewhere
Settlements have been paid out in both cases
One is the third predator at one McKeesport school
SNAP blasts Catholic officials for “on-going secrecy”
It urges bishop to post all predator priests on his website

What:
Holding signs and childhood photos, clergy sex abuse survivors and their supporters will disclose that two clergy sex abuse cases have been settled involving

–a local priest who reportedly molested in Massachusetts but also worked in Pittsburgh, and
–another priest who molested in Maryland (and later pled guilty) but was then sent to work in a Pittsburgh church.

They will also hand deliver a letter to the Pittsburgh Catholic headquarters prodding Pittsburgh’s bishop to post the names and whereabouts of dozens of child molesting clerics on his diocesan website (like roughly 30 other bishops have done).

And they will urge anyone who may have “seen, suspected or suffered clergy sex crimes and cover ups in Pittsburgh –by these two priests or other church employees – to “speak up, get help, call police, expose wrongdoers, protect kids and start healing”

When:
Thursday, Sept. 12 at 1:30 p.m.

Where:

On the sidewalk outside the Pittsburgh Catholic diocese headquarters (chancery office), 111 Boulevard of the Allies (corner of Stanwix) in downtown Pittsburgh, PA

Who:
Two-three members of a support group called SNAP (the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests), including a Pittsburgh woman who is the organization’s local volunteer director

Why:
SNAP has learned that two child sex abuse cases, involving two local priests (who have attracted little or no attention in Pittsburgh), have been settled in other states.

Last week, the Associated Press reported that a child sex abuse case against Fr. Alan E. Caparella has settled.

[NorthJersey.com]

And SNAP has also learned that a case against another Pittsburgh priest, Fr. Richard Deakin, was settled in Baltimore.

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

LITTLE ROCK (AR)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Victims to leaflet mass-goers
They list seven accused Ark. predators
Most have attracted little public attention
Several molested elsewhere but spent time here
Last year, one led a retreat, another was honored
Group urges bishop to post all child molesting clerics on websites

What
As parishioners leave mass, clergy sex abuse victims will hand out fliers listing seven proven, admitted or credibly accused child molesting Arkansas Little Rock priests, most of whom have attracted little public attention in the state. They will also urge

— Little Rock’s bishop to post the names and photos of these alleged predators on his diocesan and parish websites, and
— urge church officials to “actively seek out” anyone who “saw, suspected or suffered” clergy sex or cover ups and beg them to call police and prosecutors so that kids might be safer.

When
Thursday, Sept. 12 at 12:20 p.m.

Where
On the sidewalk outside the Cathedral of St. Andrew, 617 Louisiana Street (corner of 7th St.), Little Rock, Arkansas

Who
Two members of a support group for clergy sex abuse victims called SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, including a Missouri woman who is the organization’s long time outreach director

Why
It’s been almost a decade since Little Rock’s Catholic bishop admitted that 11 priests in the state had been accused of child sex crimes. But despite a decade- old national church policy mandating “openness” in clergy sex cases, church staff have still not , as best SNAP can tell, disclosed all of their identities or ever updated that figure.

Nor has the bishop made clear “whether the allegations against the 11 priests were all substantiated,” according to the Little Rock Democrat. “Clearly, some were, since the diocese identified 18 victims.”

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

CANADA
Sylvia’s Site

Holy Cross Brother Georges Sarazin had a court date in Montreal this morning (Tuesday, 11 September 2013). I will check tomorrow to see if I can find out when his next court date is.

As always, please keep the complainants in your prayers, and their families.

*****
The names of four Redemptorist priests from the Redemptorists Ste Anne de Baeupre province have been added to the Accused list:

Name of Father Xiste Langevin CSsR
Name of Father Herve Blanchet CSsR
Name of Father Guy Pilote CSsR
Name of Father Jean-Claude Bergeron CSsR

Five more to go. I will carry on tomorrow.

As anticipated I have had to split the Accused list into two pages (1) Accused A to L, and (2) Accused M to Z

I hadn’t wanted to do that but it had reached the point where it was inevitable that it would have to be done sooner than later. So, it’s done! A few hiccups in the process but I believe that thankfully the two new pages are working well.

The site is getting larger and busier. That’s all good, but it creates problems which I didn’t encounter in the past. Technological problems. And you know me and technological problems 🙁 Anyway, one day at a time I guess 🙂

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

AUSTRALIA
lewisblayse.net

Moshe Gutnick, the president of the Organisation of Rabbis of Australia, has issued an apology for the organisation’s failings to combat child sexual abuse within its components. It is believed to be a world first for a rabbi.

A letter was sent to all leaders of the State Orthodox peak bodies in Australia (as well as New Zealand) asking them to disseminate it to their rabbinic members. Rabbi Gutnick has also requested that the rabbis distribute the letter to their congregants either before or during Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement – Judaism’s holiest day.

Victims’ support group Tzedek, founded by activist Manny Waks welcomed the move. Mr. Waks said, “This is another incredible milestone for the Australian Jewish community. Crucially, this ground-breaking letter provides a frank acknowledgement of past mistakes and an unequivocal apology by Rabbi Gutnick on behalf of the Rabbinate. The letter rightly does not go into specific cases but rather acknowledges that the Rabbinate has in the past dealt abysmally with the issue of child sexual abuse.”

“This is an important development – it is an acknowledgment that many victims and survivors within religious institutions have longed to hear; that finally the national peak Orthodox rabbinic organisation is taking responsibility for the abuse they suffered, as well as for the subsequent cover-ups. Indeed it is what the entire community needed to hear, as without properly addressing the past, it is difficult to move forward towards a better future.”

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

IRELAND
The Tablet

One of the three co-founders of the Association of Catholic Priests (ACP) in Ireland is to step down from his leadership role while he considers whether to remain in the priesthood.

Fr Tony Flannery, who has been suspended from ministry and threatened with excommunication by Rome for expressing views at odds with church teaching, told The Tablet he would withdraw from the administrative team at the association’s AGM next month. He said the next six months may determine his future as a priest.

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

MISSOURI
WICS

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Federal prosecutors in Missouri are seeking a 50-year prison term for a Roman Catholic priest who admitted taking pornographic photos of children.

The Rev. Shawn Ratigan faces sentencing Thursday in U.S. District Court in Kansas City. The 47-year-old priest pleaded guilty in August 2012 to five counts of producing or attempting to produce child porn — one count for each of five victims.

Ratigan was charged in May 2011 after police received a flash drive from his computer containing hundreds of images of children, most of them clothed, with the focus on their crotch areas.

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

REPUBLICA DOMINICANA
Noticias SIN

SANTO DOMINGO, República Dominicana.- Organizaciones como la Colectiva Mujer y Salud y La Multitud protestarán este miércoles, frente a la Nunciatura ante las denuncias de presunto abuso sexual a menores y mujeres por parte de sacerdote y el destituido nuncio apostólico en el país, Jósef Wesolowski.

La actividad está convocada para las 5 de la tarde frente a la Nunciatura Papal, en la Máximo Gómez esquina César Nicolás Penson.

Sus organizadores protestarán para reclamar “que los crímenes sexuales contra niños, niñas y adolescentes cometidos por exnuncio y los otros curas no queden impunes”.

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

OHIO
Dayton Daily News

By Tom Beyerlein
Staff Writer

Marianist Brother Bernard Hartman, who was working in Dayton when allegations of long-ago sexual abuse of children on the other side of the globe made headlines in late 2011, has “voluntarily” returned to Australia to face charges, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported Thursday.

The report said the 73-year-old appeared in Melbourne Magistrates Court on charges he abused four children while working at St. Paul’s College in the 1970s and 1980s. Prosecutors told the court Hartman’s victims were two boys and two girls aged 6 to 16 at the time of the offenses, which took place at the college and the children’s homes, Australian Broadcasting reported.

Hartman’s next court hearing is set for November, according to the report.

In a prepared statement Thursday, the Rev. Martin Solma, provincial for the Marianist Province of the United States in St. Louis, said the Marianists recently received notice that Australian authorities had issued a warrant for Hartman’s arrest.

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

UGANDA/VATICAN CITY
Legalbrief

Four Ugandan banks have been drawn into an illicit money scandal involving the Vatican Bank. Pope Francis has appointed South Africa’s Cardinal Wilfred Napier to a 15-member task team to reform the bank.

This after international banking giants JPMorgan Chase and HSBC closed the Vatican’s accounts around the world to reduce the risk of money laundering. The Times reports that Ugandan citizen Esther Nobasa has appeared in the Mbarara District Court, near Kampala, after she allegedly received large sums of money from the Vatican Bank. Stanlib and Standard Chartered have confirmed that their officials in Uganda will take part in hearings into how the money was transferred to accounts under their management. The investigation began after Ugandan police received a message from Interpol regarding the unauthorised ‘transfer’ of about $800 000 from the Vatican Bank to four banks.

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

UGANDA/VATICAN CITY
Legalbrief

A Standard Bank branch in Uganda has been drawn into the illicit money scandal involving the Vatican Bank, according to a Sunday Times report which says a branch of Malaysia’s Standard Chartered in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, has also been linked to the investigation.

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

CALIFORNIA
Modesto Bee

By Sue Nowicki — snowicki@modbee

STOCKTON — Roman Catholic Bishop Stephen Blaire sent out a letter to parishioners last weekend, saying the Diocese of Stockton has not made a final decision on filing for bankruptcy protection, but “it appears likely.”

The move would shelter the diocese from paying large awards in current and future lawsuits claiming sexual abuse by priests, specifically against notorious pedophile ex-priest Oliver O’Grady and the Rev. Michael Kelly. To date, more than two dozen of O’Grady’s victims have collected nearly $25million in damages from the diocese; the largest settlement ever paid by the diocese to an individual was $3.75million in a lawsuit against Kelly last year.

In his letter, Blaire promised the 35 individual parishes in the diocese – which numbers 250,000 parishioners and includes St. Stanislaus, Our Lady of Fatima and Holy Family in Modesto, Sacred Heart in Turlock and St. Jude in Ceres, among others – would not be impacted by a bankruptcy filing because they are all separate corporations. So, too, are other diocesan programs: The Catholic high schools in Modesto and Stockton, Catholic cemeteries, Catholic Charities, a retreat center, SEEDS (which provides Catholic school tuition assistance) and the recent capital campaign drive.

The diocese’s operational budget, too, is a corporation called “The Roman Catholic Bishop of Stockton,” according to diocesan officials. That’s the one considering filing for bankruptcy. Its budget is $5.1million for the 2013-14 year.

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

AUSTRALIA
Big Pond News

Thursday, September 12, 2013

The first public hearing into Institutional Responses to Child Sex Abuse will be held in Sydney on Monday.

Stories have been gathered and parameters set, now Australia will see the behaviour of powerful institutions challenged as never before.

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse holds its first public hearing in Sydney on Monday and the focus will be on how institutions, including influential church and state bodies, handled complaints that children in their care were sexually abused.

For thousands of Australians damaged for life by institutionally-protected sex offenders, the hearings represent longed-for acknowledgement and the best hope of opening the door to redress.

For advocacy group Broken Rites, which since 1993 has pressed for a Royal Commission into how churches handle child-sex crimes, the hearings are a path to justice.

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

AUSTRALIA
Courier Mail

AAP

THE national Royal Commission into child sexual abuse wants people to contribute ideas and expertise on the best ways to prevent children living in out-of-home care from being abused.

Out-of-home care includes arrangements by an agency for foster care, relative or kinship care, family group homes, residential care and independent living arrangements.

The fourth issues paper was published by the commission on Wednesday and organisations and individuals have until November 8 to lodge submissions.

The commission is investigating how institutions responded to child sex abuse allegations. It is holding its first public hearing in Sydney on Monday.

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

CANADA
Windsor Star

Chris Thompson
Sep 11, 2013

A former Grimsby youth pastor who was most recently living in Windsor has been arrested here in connection with the sexual assault and extortion of a young woman.

Officers with the Niagara Regional Police Service assisted by members of Windsor police arrested the man at his South Windsor home on Tuesday.

Charged with sexual assault and extortion is Andrew Riach, 31.

The charges are in relation to incidents involving a young woman between 2006 and May of this year.

The young woman reported the incidents to police in May.

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

CALIFORNIA
Monterey County Weekly

Mary Duan and Sara Rubin

1985: Fr. Edward Fitz-Henry is ordained as a priest and begins serving in the Diocese of Monterey.
1990: Fitz-Henry begins serving at Carmel Mission.

Summer, 1990: A mother reports sexually abusive behavior by Fitz-Henry toward her two sons to the Diocese. “They thought that I had shown too much affection or interest or friendship,” Fitz-Henry said in a deposition in 2011.

September, 1991: A 12-year-old victim of sexual abuse by Fr. John Velez reports the abuse to a priest. The Diocese of Monterey places Velez in a retreat center, and does not report the allegations to law enforcement.

Late 1992: The Diocese sends Fitz-Henry to three and a half weeks of treatment at Servants of the Paraclete in Jemez Springs, N.M., a residential congregation for priests and monks specializing in therapy and recovery from addiction, depression and pedophilia, among other issues.

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

CALIFORNIA
Monterey County Weekly

Mary Duan and Sara Rubin

Judge Thomas Wills
Monterey County Superior Court

“I’m not beholden to anyone. Some have suggested that at times I’m sort of tied into an old boys network on the bench. That’s not true. I’m not. I call it like I see it.”
– Wills, speaking to the Weekly editorial board in 2008, in his campaign for the bench.

Paul Gaspari
Defense Attorney for the Diocese of Monterey, San Francisco and Santa Rosa; law firm of Weintraub Tobin, San Francisco

Paul Gaspari
“Our position is, this case is over and I don’t need to do anything.”

– Gaspari, arguing against the Weekly’s request for sealed documents and other material obtained during discovery in the case against Edward Fitz-Henry and the Diocese of Monterey, Sept. 10, 2013

Vince Finaldi
Plaintiff’s attorney for John R.J. Doe; law firm of Manly, Stewart & Finaldi, Irvine

“Those files show that they knew exactly who (Father Michael) Baker was and what he was doing.”

– Finaldi, in response to the 12,000 pages of documents that the Archdiocese of Los Angeles released earlier this year about how it handled allegations of sexual abuse by priests, including the accused priest Michael Baker. A settlement of nearly $10 million for four sex-abuse cases was agreed to by the L.A. Diocese.

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

CALIFORNIA
Monterey County Weekly

[Fitz-Henry documents]

The Monterey County Weekly seeks full disclosure of documents in the case of Edward Fitz-Henry, a Catholic priest accused – but never convicted – of child molestation.

Mary Duan and Sara Rubin

On Sept. 10, the Monterey County Weekly sought to lift the veil of secrecy imposed on a civil suit filed against the Diocese of Monterey; Richard Garcia, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Monterey; and Father Edward Fitz-Henry, a Catholic priest and then-pastor of the Mission San Juan Bautista Church.

Fitz-Henry, a native of Dublin, Ireland who in previous years had been pastor at Madonna del Sasso Church in Salinas and the Carmel Mission in Carmel, found himself on the receiving end of a claim filed by a pair of attorneys who specialize in suing the Catholic Church and priests accused of molestation – and who have won numerous multi-million dollar awards on behalf of their clients.

The allegations in the Fitz-Henry suit, filed in Monterey County Superior Court in 2011, were about as unseemly as they come. The alleged victim, who filed under the name John RJ Doe, claimed that over the course of many months starting in 2005, Fitz-Henry engaged in sexual conduct with him at various locations throughout Madonna del Sasso – including oral sex in the church sacristy. Doe was 21 years old when attorneys Vince Finaldi and John Manly of the Irvine-based firm Manly, Stewart & Finaldi filed the suit; the timing puts Doe firmly in his mid-teens when the alleged conduct occurred.

Fitz-Henry’s parishioners, as well as parishioners throughout the Monterey Diocese, found out he was suspended from the priesthood on Feb. 13, 2011, when it was announced during Sunday services. Salinas police investigated, but no charges were ever brought. To this date, Fitz-Henry has never been charged with or convicted of any crime.

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

AUSTRALIA
Royal Comission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse

[fourth issues paper]

Call for submissions – Preventing sexual abuse of children in out-of-home care.

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse today released its fourth issues paper and is inviting members of the public to contribute ideas and expertise on the best ways to prevent the sexual abuse of children living in out-of-home care (OOHC).

Royal Commission CEO Janette Dines says out-of-home care includes arrangements by an agency for foster care, relative or kinship care, family group homes, residential care and independent living arrangements.

“The Royal Commission believes it is important to determine whether current practices and regulation adequately protects children from sexual abuse in out-of-home care,” said Ms Dines.

“The Royal Commission is interested in strategies that will keep children in care safe from sexual abuse and in identifying the strengths and weaknesses of current models of oversight of out-of-home care practices.

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

IOWA
Addicting Info

Author: Stephen D. Foster Jr. September 11, 2013

By now, we’ve all undoubtedly heard of and been outraged by a Montana judge sentencing a former teacher to a mere 30 days in prison for raping one of his female students. But have you heard of the Iowa youth pastor who is walking free after confessing to raping boys to “cure” them of homosexuality?

Well, that’s precisely what happened in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Brent Girouex, 31, was arrested on 60 counts of suspicion of sexual exploitation by a counselor or therapist.

According to KRMG in Oklahoma, Girouex confessed to police that he had sex with at least four youths, but eight more have since come forward claiming that they were also violated by the now former pastor of Victory Fellowship Church.

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

CALIFORNIA
Pope Crimes & Vatican Evils…

Paris Arrow

Dear Governor Jerry Brown,

Today is the anniversary of 9/11 in New York City and Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of the Americas, inspires us to write you (again) to ask you to immediately approve and sign bill SB 131 today because this would be the most significant day for all children, not only in California but throughout the USA and the whole world – as we have proposed that twice a year, September 11 (and May 1) should be the commemoration day to remember all victims of pedophiles (priests) and hence a day also to deter and stop pedophilia forever in the USA and in the world – read more here May 1 & September 11 anniversaries for SNAP and JP2 Army victims http://popecrimes.blogspot.ca/2012/07/may-1-september-11-anniversaries-for.html The numbers of victims of Los Angeles and USA pedophile priests outnumber more than three times those of 9/11.

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

CALIFORNIA
Catholic San Francisco

September 11th, 2013
By Valerie Schmalz

Opponents are mobilizing to convince Gov. Jerry Brown to veto sexual abuse damages legislation that they say is discriminatory and imperils non profits, Catholic social services, private and parochial schools and poor parishes.

The Senate approved Senate Bill 131 21-8 with 10 no votes on Sept. 6. The Assembly passed it Sept. 4 by a vote of 44-15 with 19 abstentions.

The bill would open non profits and religious institutions to civil liability for alleged sexual abuse that occurred before Jan. 1, 2004, but for which victims only discovered injury after that date.

However, those abused in public schools or by someone in a government agency would not be able to sue for damages under the legislation, opponents said. The abusers themselves would also be exempt from civil suit during the one-year waiver of the statute of limitations which would begin Jan. 1, 2014.

In addition to the Catholic organizations, non-profits as diverse as the YMCA, Little League, Boy Scouts and private schools could face additional abuse claims.

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

MINNESOTA
ABC 6

(ABC 6 NEWS) — Another person has come forward, claiming he was sexually abused by a former Rochester Boy Scout leader.

John Doe 17, who came forward and is now identified as Scott Hart, filed a lawsuit against Richard Hokanson, the Boy Scouts of America, the local Gamehaven Council, and St. Piux X Catholic church.

The lawsuit, which you can read here in it’s entirety, Doe 17 says from 1975 to 1981, he was abused 200-300 times in a storage room and classroom of St. Pius and on scouting trips.

Doe 17 was only 11 years old at the time.

The lawsuit was made possible by a change to Minnesota law this year, that remove the statue of limitations.

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

MINNESOTA
Minnesota Public Radio

by Curtis Gilbert, Minnesota Public Radio
September 11, 2013

A Rochester man is suing the Boy Scouts of America, alleging that a former scoutmaster sexually abused him from the age of 11 to 16.

In a lawsuit filed in Olmsted County District Court, Scott Hart, 48, contends that Scoutmaster Richard Hokanson molested him at least 200 times over a six-year period beginning in 1975.

Hokanson pleaded guilty to criminal sexual conduct in the early 1980s and was forced to go through psychiatric treatment.

Hart said he’s been through a lot over the last three decades.

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