ABUSE TRACKER

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

December 13, 2018

Child abuse: Chilean cardinal removed from Pope’s inner circle

SANTIAGO (CHILE)
Santiago Times

December 12, 2018

Pope Francis has removed two prominent cardinals from his inner circle months after they were hit by pedophile scandals, the Vatican announced on Wednesday.

Chilean Cardinal Francisco Javier Errazuriz and Australian Cardinal George Pell were both removed from the so-called C9 Council of Cardinals, a powerful council of advisers picked by Pope Francis to guide him on matters critical to the future of the Catholic Church.

The last time the C9 met in September, Errazuriz, who is accused of covering up abuse in Chile, and Pell, who faces charges in Australia related to historical child sexual offenses, were both absent, and the council said it was considering restructuring.

In October, the pope wrote to the cardinals that they will leave the office to thank them for “the work they have achieved for five years,” Vatican press director Greg Burke said.

Despite being removed from the C9, Pell, 77, remains in charge of Vatican finances, the third most powerful position in the Roman Catholic Church.

Errazuriz, the retired archbishop of Santiago, met Francis last month and subsequently announced his “withdrawal” from the C9. “It’s not a resignation. I said goodbye at the end of the period for which I was appointed,” the prelate said in an interview with a Chilean newspaper. Back home, he is accused by victims of sexual abuse of having covered the acts of a pedophile priest, a case that scandalizes the South American 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.

Late Jesuit priest with ties to Corpus Christi has ‘credible allegations’ of sexual abuse

CORPUS CHRISTI (TX)
Corpus Christi Caller Times

Dec. 12, 2018

By Alexandria Rodriguez

A Jesuit priest accused of more than one incident of sexual abuse of a minor spent time in Corpus Christi.

The late J. Donald Pearce, who was in Corpus Christi in the 1970s, was included in a list of names of Jesuits, who were members of the U.S. Central and Southern Province, with “credible allegations.”

Jesuits are a Roman Catholic order of priests and brothers.

The men included in the list, released on the Society of Jesuits’ website, fall into one of three categories.

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.

Supporters of sex abuse survivor protest planned appeal by diocese

LONDON (CANADA)
London Free Press

December 12, 2018

ByJennifer Bieman

Supporters of clergy sexual abuse survivor Irene Deschenes shouted “shame” and “justice for Irene” at the Catholic diocese office in London Wednesday afternoon, delivering a letter to the bishop demanding the organization abandon a planned appeal of a court ruling that allows her to reopen a settled civil case.

Representatives from London-area women’s groups gathered at the office to denounce the diocese’s move and voice their support for the 57-year-old sex-abuse survivor.

“Irene entered into a legal process because of the wrong that was done to her by the diocese,” said Michelle Schryer, executive director of the Chatham-Kent Sexual Assault Crisis Centre.

On Friday, the Roman Catholic Diocese of London announced its plan to appeal Superior Court Justice David Aston’s Nov. 27 decision to allow Deschenes to reopen the settlement reached in her 1996 lawsuit for abuse involving then-priest Charles Sylvestre.

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.

Memo to Henneberger: The logical thing is to ‘hang in there’

KANSAS CITY (MO)
National Catholic Reporter

December 13, 2018

by David Knight

Editor’s note: Last week, Melinda Henneberger, a public Catholic and writer, described her decision to leave the church amid ongoing revelations of the clergy sex abuse scandal and coverup, and what she was hearing about it.

It was one of the most-read pieces on our website. Among the many responses was the one below from Fr. David Knight. Both are smart and thoughtful (and quite witty) explorations of the “To leave or stay?” question increasingly on the minds of Catholics disgusted with the scandal and the inability of church leaders to deal with it at a depth that begins to restore trust.

We’ve invited NCR members by separate email to continue the discussion, and we’ll report on those opinions at a later date. If you’re not a member and would like to become one and join the discussion, you can do so here. You’ll get an email early next week with instructions on how to send us your thoughts on the issue.

Melinda, I read your article in NCR just when an intellectual friend was disagreeing with my proposition that more people left the church because of boring Masses than because of child abuse. She and her husband, both highly educated, deeply involved Catholics, had both felt inclined to leave the church because of the recurring scandals, although they never would.

My response was, “But you are intellectual people. You couldn’t leave for a reason like that. It is totally illogical!”

You are obviously intellectual, too, but in your article I found no one telling you that you are illogical. So I want to ask how in the world a person with your education could possibly leave the church for such an unreasonable reason. In the kind of people who vote for Donald Trump, it is understandable. Not in you.

Logically, if you leave the church because the priests are sinful and the bishops worse, you are saying you belonged to the church because the priests were holy and the bishops even more so — which would be manifestly insane. (Or it would be clericalism, which is the same thing!)

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.

Cardinal Pell found guilty of sex abuse by Melbourne court

DENVER (CO)
Crux

December 13, 2018

By Christopher White

In a decision that will undoubtedly create shockwaves around the globe, Cardinal George Pell, the most senior Church official to stand trial for sexual abuse, was found guilty on Tuesday by a Melbourne Court.

In one of the most closely watched trials in modern Catholic Church history, after nearly four full days of deliberations, a jury rendered unanimous guilty verdicts on five charges related to the abuse of two choirboys in 1996.

The trial, which began on November 7, has been subject to a media blackout at the request of the prosecution, and follows a first trial in September ended after a jury failed to reach consensus.

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.

December 12, 2018

‘It happened everywhere’: How Pa. upended deep history of priest abuse across the nation

YORK (PA)
York Daily Record

December 12, 2018

By Mike Argento

The grand jury implored everyone to take heed of all they had learned. Here’s how their report shook up the world.

Marcia Hince lived with it all her life.

It’s difficult to explain. It was like a malignant growth, something that resided inside her being, infecting her soul, hoping against hope that ignoring it or suppressing her thoughts about it would make it disappear.

She felt alone, isolated, cut off from the rest of humanity, as if she were an alien being occupying a human body.

“I felt like I was the only person this happened to,” she said, “that I was outside the human race.”

She remained silent about it for years.

Then, in 2002, after the Boston Globe’s groundbreaking expose of child sexual abuse perpetrated by members of the Catholic clergy, she reported what happened to her to the Harrisburg diocese, writing a letter that outlined the abuse she endured and the consequences on her life.

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.

Reports of Pell guilty verdict emerge, despite gag order

SYDNEY (AUSTRALIA)
Catholic News Agency

December 12, 2018

By Ed Condon

Cardinal George Pell has been convicted by an Australian court on charges of sexual abuse of minors, according to media reports and CNA sources close to the cardinal.

A judicial gag order has restricted Australian media coverage of the trial since June.

Despite the gag order, a story published Dec. 11 on the Daily Beast website first reported that a unanimous verdict of guilty had been returned by a jury on charges that Pell sexually abused two altar servers in the late 1990s, while he was Archbishop of Melbourne.

The verdict reportedly followed three days of deliberations by the jury – the second to hear the case. An earlier hearing of the case is reported to have ended in early autumn with a mistrial, after jurors were unable to reach a verdict.

In October, two sources close to Cardinal Pell, members of neither his legal team nor the Catholic hierarchy in Australia, told CNA that the first hearing of the case had ended in a mistrial due to a jury stalemate. One source said that jury was deadlocked 10-2 in favor of Pell.

In remarks to CNA Dec. 12, the same sources independently confirmed this week’s report that a guilty verdict had been reached.

The conviction has not yet been confirmed by the Australian judiciary, and the gag order on Australian media could remain in place for several months.

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.

Cardinal Pell, top advisor to Pope Francis, found guilty of ‘historical sexual offenses’

AUSTRALIA
America Magazine

December 12, 2018

By Gerard O’Connell

An Australian jury has found Cardinal George Pell, 77, guilty on five charges of “historical child sexual offenses” that go back decades, according to various media reports and confirmed by America. The 12-member jury gave their unanimous verdict in the County Court of the State of Victoria in Melbourne on Tuesday, Dec. 11.

The judge decided that the sentencing will take place in early February 2019 and released the cardinal on bail.

Little is known about the nature of the charges on which Cardinal Pell has been condemned because the entire trial and a second trial that has yet to take place are covered by a strict suppression order issued by the presiding judge, Peter Kidd. The order prohibits reporting on the case in any of the country’s media until the second trial has taken place to avoid prejudicing his case in both instances. The judge has prohibited the publication of the number of complainants in either of the two trials as well as the number and nature of the charges, except for the fact that the charges relate to “historical child sexual offenses.”

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

Lawsuit accuses Boy Scouts of negligence in New Mexico abuse case

ALBUQUERQUE (NM)
The Associated Press

December 12, 2018

A 44-year-old man has filed a lawsuit against the Boy Scouts of America, saying two Catholic priests who served as scout leaders in New Mexico sexually abused him for years starting in the early 1980s.

The lawsuit filed Thursday accuses the organization of negligence — with the victim saying officials knew or had reason to know the priests had abused boys.

The victim, who remains unnamed in the court filing, said he was abused during hiking and camping trips in the state, including at Cochití Lake and Jemez.

The priests accused of abuse in the lawsuit are Ronald Bruckner and Robert Malloy, neither of whom are listed as defendants.

Chris Shelby, the director of the Boy Scouts branch in New Mexico, did not immediately return an Associated Press call requesting comment.

He told KOB-TV on Monday that the organization — which like the Catholic Church has been at the center of sexual abuse scandals in the past — has implemented numerous policies since the 1980s to improve protections for youth.

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

Lawsuit Accuses Former Vermont Priest Of Sexual Abuse

BURLINGTON (VT)
The Associated Press/WAMC

December 12, 2018

By Pat Bradley

A Texas man who says he was sexually abused as a boy by a Vermont priest is suing the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington.

The complaint filed Friday alleges negligence, fraud and “outrageous conduct” by the diocese and seeks more than $75,000 in damages.

The Burlington Free Press reports the man says he was altar boy at St. Ann’s Parish in Milton in the late 1970s and 1980s when he was abused by Father Alfred Willis.
Willis was accused of abusing others in several complaints that were settled in the early 2000s. He was eventually dismissed from the priesthood.

Bishop Christopher Coyne wrote in a statement the filing is “further evidence that we still have much to do to bring healing and closure” to survivors of sexual abuse by clergy in the past.

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.

Victims call for Bishop Matano to release sex abuse files

ROCHESTER (NY)
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

December 11, 2018

By Sean Lahman

Days after Bishop Salvatore Matano dismissed two priests over allegations of misconduct, victims of sexual abuse by Catholic priests say the actions fall short of what is needed to address a dark chapter in the history of the Diocese.

“The removal of these two priests is just the tip of the iceberg,” said Robert M. Hoatson, a former priest and co-founder and president of Road to Recovery Inc., a nonprofit charity based in New Jersey that assists victims of sexual abuse and their families.

On Sunday, the Diocese of Rochester announced that Matano had removed two priests after an investigation into allegations of misconduct.

Fathers Thomas J. Valenti and Erick Viloria are both restricted from engaging in public ministry or presenting themselves publicly as clerics, according to a statement from the Diocese of Rochester.

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.

Abuse Survivor’s $4M Judgment Against Jehovah’s Witness Umbrella Organization Upheld by Court

CALIFORNIA
The Recorder

December 10, 2018

By Ross Todd

The ruling from the Fourth District Court of Appeal leaves in place terminating sanctions issued after the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York Inc. refused to hand over a trove of documents concerning known molesters in the church.

A California appellate court has upheld a $4-plus million judgment against Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York Inc., the top organizational body of Jehovah’s Witnesses, in a case brought by a woman who alleges she was molested as a child by a church elder in 2006.

The ruling from the Fourth District Court of Appeal leaves in place terminating sanctions and a $4,016,152.39 judgment after Watchtower refused to hand over a trove of documents it received in response to a 1997 letter sent to Jehovah’s Witness congregations concerning known molesters in the church.

The underlying case was brought on behalf of J.W., who was molested by Gilbert Simental, with whom she and her family attended the Mountain View Jehovah’s Witness congregation. J.W. contends that her family wouldn’t have allowed her to attend a slumber party at Simental’s house but for his service as an elder in the church, the highest authority at the congregational level of the organization. Simental was found guilty in two criminal cases of molesting J.W. and two other anonymous 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.

Churches must take action to end abuse

FORT WORTH (TX)
The Star-Telegram Editorial Board

December 9, 2018

Revelations of shameless sexual harassment and abuse by powerful men in entertainment, politics and the Roman Catholic Church rocked the nation the past few years.

In truth, such abuse may be just as pronounced, pervasive and pernicious among a loose-knit network of independent fundamental Baptist churches and universities, an eight-month Star-Telegram investigation has found.

The newspaper uncovered over 400 allegations of sexual misconduct in nearly 200 of the churches and affiliated institutions across 40 states and stretching into Canada.

Yet there appears to be even less accountability among these churches than in other areas of society.

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.

Deceased Pocatello priest on list of alleged sexual abusers

ST. LOUIS (MI)
The Associated Press

December 9, 2018

Two Roman Catholic Jesuit provinces that cover nearly half the U.S. released the names Friday of more than 150 priests and other ministry leaders who were found to have “credible allegations” of sexual abuse made against them dating to the 1950s.

One of the names on the list is Segundo Llorente, who served at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Pocatello from 1982 to 1984. He also served at St. Stanislaus Church in Lewiston from 1984 to 1989. He died in 1989, according to the Jesuit’s release. The claims were for 1962-1963, and the mid-1960s, for alleged sexual abuse of a minor.

The Jesuits say many claims were received after accused priests had died. So in those cases thorough investigations could not be undertaken. Deceased individuals are included in the list based on the fact that an accusation was reported.

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

Accused abusers continue to work in independent Baptist churches, report says

NASHVILLE (TN)
Nashville Tennessean

December 9, 2018

By Amelia Ferrell Knisely

Pastors in independent fundamental Baptist churches have for the first time admitted they shuffled suspected abusers among churches and universities rather than call law enforcement.

It’s according to an eight-month investigation by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that includes first-hand accounts from former church members.

The report reveals 186 church leaders in the denomination were accused or convicted of committing sexual crimes against children, and at least 45 of the alleged abusers continued in ministry — including in Tennessee — after accusations came to the attention of church authorities or law enforcement.

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.

Bishop Blames The Victim, Claims ‘Immodest Dress’ Of Women Causes Sexual Assault

BROOKSVILLE (FL)
Patheos

December 11, 2018

By Michael Stone

Blaming the victim: Bishop Donald Sanborn claims that the immodest dress of modern women causes sexual assault.

In a recent blog post for In Veritate, Bishop Sanborn offers a critique of the “MeToo” movement by suggesting that women cause their own sexual assault by tempting men with their “immodest dress.”

In his blog post Sanborn makes it clear that victims are at least partially responsible for their own sexual assault, writing:

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.

For some, Catholic church’s victim program made priest abuse trauma even worse

YORK (PA)
York Daily Record

December 10, 2018

By Brandie Kessler

The program that appeared to be designed to support them left some sexually abused Catholics feeling even worse.

Mary Handler remembers some of the details so vividly that it’s like it happened yesterday instead of decades ago.

She was 5-½ years old, sitting in the backseat of her family’s car.

Family cars in the 1950s were big — and felt exceptionally so to a child. Handler remembers it was dark out, her mother was in the front seat holding a baby and her father was driving.

Handler was wearing a dress. It was summertime.

Next to her sat the priest her family was taking to the bus station.

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.

Dos religiosos condenados a prisión por abusos, enviados a Perú y Bolivia

[Two priests sentenced to jail for child abuse were sent to Peru and Bolivia]

MADRID, SPAIN
El País

December 9, 2018

By Íñigo Domínguez

Dos de las escasas sentencias de los noventa, de un agustino recoleto y un jesuita, terminaron con el agresor en América Latina a los pocos meses

Un jesuita, Luis Tó González, y un agustino recoleto, José Luis Untoria Mahave, recibieron en los noventa dos de las escasas condenas de cárcel por abusos de menores en España en aquellos años, en 1992 y 1997, respectivamente, y los dos tuvieron idéntico destino: enviados de misiones a América Latina, al no ingresar en prisión por ser penas de dos años y no tener antecedentes. Luis Tó, profesor del colegio San Ignacio de Barcelona y condenado por abusar de una menor de ocho años, cuando él tenía 57, fue trasladado a Bolivia a los dos meses de la sentencia. José Luis Untoria, profesor en el colegio Santo Tomás de Villanueva de Salamanca, condenado por abusar de diez alumnos del internado, partió a Perú. Tras el eco mediático de sus condenas, casi nada se supo de destino posterior.

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.

La cara siniestra del padre Juanjo

[The sinister face of Father Juanjo, investigated for abusing minors in Benin]

MADRID, SPAIN
El País

December 9, 2018

By Julio Núñez and Íñigo Domínguez

La Congregación para la Doctrina de la Fe investiga a un conocido misionero que asiste a niños que viven en la calle en Benín. Dos jóvenes le acusan de violación

El sacerdote Juan José Gómez es un hombre conocido e importante en Benín (África). Su trabajo como misionero sacando a niños pobres de entre 8 y 17 años de las calles de la capital de Porto Novo le ha llevado a salir en varios medios españoles (EL PAÍS, Onda Cero y eldiario.es, entre otros) e incluso en un documental sobre el tráfico de menores en África (No estoy en venta). Frente a esa apariencia, varias denuncias por abusos arrojan sombras sobre su labor solidaria. En 2013, voluntarios denunciaron a Gómez por agredir sexualmente a varios menores a los que daba cobijo con su programa Chicos de la calle. Patrick Yehouenou, de 20 años, es uno de esos jóvenes.

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.

Abogado de O’Reilly asegura que la solicitud de expulsión del país es “discriminatoria”

[O’Reilly’s lawyer says expelling him from Chile would be “discriminatory”]

SANTIAGO, CHILE
Emol

December 12, 2018

By Juan Peña

Cristian Muga dijo que un extranjero es “sancionado dos veces” a diferencia de un chileno condenado por el mismo delito. Además, explicó que el arraigo es una de las razones por la que el cura podría pedir quedarse en el país.

El abogado de John O’Reilly, Cristian Muga, calificó como “discriminatoria” la solicitud de expulsión que pesa sobre el sacerdote, quien cumplió su condena de cuatro años de libertad vigilada por abuso sexual contra una menor.

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.

Juan Carlos Cruz por separación de Errázuriz en el Vaticano: “El Papa lo echó por mentirle y por encubridor”

[Juan Carlos Cruz on Errázuriz: “The Pope tossed him for lying and covering up”]

CHILE
La Tercera

December 12, 2018

By Angélica Baeza

Una de las víctimas de Fernando Karadima valoró la decisión del Papa Francisco, de separar del C9 al ex arzobispo de Santiago.

Juan Carlos Cruz, una de las víctimas del ex párroco de El Bosque Fernando Karadima, valoró la decisión comunicada hoy por el Vaticano, de separar del Consejo de Cardenales a Francisco Javier Errázuriz.

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.

Errázuriz ante separación de Consejo de Cardenales: “Hace algunas pocas semanas recibí la carta del Papa en que me agradecía el trabajo”

[Errázuriz reacts to his separation from the Council of Cardinals: “A few weeks ago I received a letter from the Pope thanking me for my work”]

CHILE
La Tercera

December 12, 2018

By Sergio Rodríguez

El ex arzobispo de Santiago fue separado del C9, por parte del Sumo Pontífice, decisión anunciada hoy por el Vaticano.

El cardenal Francisco Javier Errázuriz reaccionó ante la decisión comunicada hoy por el Vaticano, de separarlo del Consejo de Cardenales. “Efectivamente hace algunas pocas semanas recibí la carta del Papa en que me agradecía el trabajo”, afirmó el ex arzobispo de Santiago a La Tercera. Errázuriz será citado a declarar en calidad de imputado por un eventual encubrimiento de los delitos sexuales que habría cometido el sacerdote Jorge Laplagne.

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.

Papa Francisco deja fuera a Errázuriz de Consejo de Cardenales

[Pope Francis excludes Errázuriz from Council of Cardinals]

CHILE
La Tercera

December 12, 2018

By A. Jara and C. Reyes

La misma medida se aplicó también para los cardenales George Pell, de Australia, y Laurent Monsengwo, de la República Democrática del Congo.

El Vaticano confirmó este miércoles que el arzobispo chileno Francisco Javier Errázuriz -investigado como encubridor de los abusos cometidos por el sacerdote Fernando Karadima- fue apartado del Consejo de Cardenales del Papa Francisco, una instancia conocida como C9 que tiene por objetivo realizar una reforma administrativa a la Santa Sede.

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.

U.S. Catholic Church marred by allegations of abuse, claims of cover-up

WASHINGTON D.C.
Catholic News Service

December 11, 2018

By Carol Zimmermann

2018 will no doubt be remembered as a dark time for the U.S. Catholic Church.

Catholics felt betrayed by church leaders accused of sexual misconduct and cover-up revealed this summer and this cloud still hung over the church at the year’s end.

(See a related video.)

In June, allegations were made against then-Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, retired archbishop of Washington, accused of sexually abusing a minor almost 50 years ago and having sexual contact with seminarians while he was a bishop in New Jersey.

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.

Priest Accused of Sexual Abuse Arrested on New Allegations

WASHINGTON D.C.
Associated Press via U.S. News & World Report

December 12, 2018

A Catholic priest in Washington, D.C., charged with sexually abusing a child has been arrested on new abuse allegations.

News outlets report 46-year-old Urbano Vazquez surrendered to authorities Tuesday on charges including sexual assault of a minor. A police report and city U.S. Attorney’s Office release say Vazquez is accused of sexually touching a 9-year-old and a woman.

Vazquez was charged last month with child sexual abuse. Three people accused him of abusing them as teenagers, but prosecutors say the statute of limitations expired on two of the reported assaults.

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.

Why the media is unable to report on a case that has generated huge interest online

AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald

December 12, 2018

By Patrick O’Neil & Michael Bachelard

Why we are unable to report on a case that has generated huge interest online

A very high-profile figure was convicted on Tuesday of a serious crime, but we are unable to report their identity due to a suppression order.

The person, whose case has attracted significant media attention, was convicted on the second attempt, after the jury in an earlier trial was unable to reach a verdict. They will be remanded when they return to court in February for sentencing.

A suppression order issued by the Victorian County Court, which applies in all Australian states and territories, has prevented any publication of the details of the case including the person’s name or the charges. It was imposed after the court accepted that knowledge of the person’s identity in the first trial might prejudice a further trial being held in March.

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.

December 11, 2018

Altoona-Johnstown fund for clergy abuse survivors running dry after paying out $21.5 million

PITTSBURGH (PA)
Tribune Review

December 11, 2018

By Deb Erdley

As the Pittsburgh Diocese prepares to unveil details of a fund for adult survivors of clergy child sexual abuse, the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese this week revealed it has paid $21.5 million related to such costs over the last 19 years.

In a special message to parishioners dated Monday, Altoona-Johnstown Bishop Mark Bartchak said the church there sold its diocesan center in 2016 and bishop’s residence in 2014 and used those proceeds as well as insurance funds and financial reserves to pay $15.7 million to survivors, $514,422 in counseling and support services, $4.3 million in legal costs and just under $907,389 in support of priests accused of child sexual abuse.

The diocese with a Catholic population of about 84,000 — the smallest in the state— was the subject of a 2016 state grand jury investigation. It concluded about 50 predator priests prowled its small town and rural parishes and schools over decades, often transferred from place to place by their bishops as allegations of sexual abuse surfaced.

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

Diocese of Rochester removes two priests from public ministry

ROCHESTER (NY)
WHAM

December 10, 2018

By Antoinette DelBel

The Diocese of Rochester has removed two priests from public ministry following an independent investigation into allegations of misconduct.

Reverend Thomas Valenti and Reverend Erick Viloria are restricted from presenting themselves publicly as clerics.

Father Valenti, who served at Blessed Trinity/St. Patrick’s in Tioga County, was accused in June 2018 of sexually abusing a minor. The alleged abuse occurred in the 1970s.

In June, Boston attorney Mitch Garabedian publicly accused Father Thomas Valenti of that sexual abuse incident when he worked as a deacon at St. Mary’s of the Lake Church in the Town of Ontario in the ‘70s.

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.

Julia Gillard’s work for abuse survivors recognised

AUSTRALIA
SBS News

December 10, 2018

Former Prime Minister Julia Gillard has received this year’s annual Blue Knot Award.

Former prime minister Julia Gillard has received an award for her role in establishing the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

On Monday, the Blue Knot Foundation – National Centre of Excellence for Complex Trauma gave Ms Gillard its annual Blue Knot Award in recognition of her “foresight, determination and courage”.

The organisation, which works with survivors of childhood trauma, presents the award each year to “leaders whose work and efforts inspire communities to unite in support of survivors”.

“The commission was not only a beacon of light and truth but it has been the harbinger of real change,” president Dr Cathy Kezelman 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.

Trump calls hush money payments a ‘simple private transaction’

WASHINGTON (DC)
Reuters

December 10, 2018

Donald Trump on Monday defended hush money payments reported by his former lawyer, responding a day after Democratic lawmakers said the U.S. president could face impeachment and jail time if the transactions are proven to violate campaign finance laws.

Trump said on Twitter that Democrats were wrongly targeting “a simple private transaction.” Court filings last week drew renewed attention to six-figure payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign by Trump’s personal lawyer to two women so they would not discuss their alleged affairs with the candidate.

U.S. Representative Jerrold Nadler, who will lead the Judiciary Committee when Democrats take control of the House of Representatives next month, said on Sunday that if the payments were found to violate campaign finance laws it would be an impeachable offense.

His Democratic counterpart on the Intelligence Committee, Representative Adam Schiff, said Trump could be indicted once he leaves office and could “face the real prospect of jail time.”

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.

L.A. Archdiocese reveals list of 54 clergy accused of abusing children

LOS ANGELES (CA)
The Los Angeles Times

December 6, 2018

By Laura Newberry

For the first time in a decade, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles on Thursday updated its list of clergy accused of molesting children, addressing renewed outcry about how the Catholic Church responds to abuse allegations.

“We owe it to the victim-survivors to be fully transparent in listing the names of those who perpetrate this abuse,” Archbishop Jose H. Gomez said in a statement in releasing the list of 54 names.

For nearly two decades, the archdiocese has been roiled by allegations that onetime church leaders mishandled priest abuse cases, sometimes moving clergy suspected of wrongdoing to other parishes rather than punishing them and informing law enforcement. The L.A. Archdiocese paid a record $740 million in various settlements to victims and had vowed to better protect its church members. Gomez succeeded longtime Cardinal Roger Mahony, who faced strong criticism for his handling of the scandal.

Advocates for abuse victims said the action was largely symbolic and that there was much more the church could be doing to better protect children and help victims. They also noted that the California Catholic Conference spent more than $86,000 to fight a bill — vetoed by Gov. Jerry Brown in October — that would have given survivors of childhood sexual assault more time to sue those who failed to stop their 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.

Former New Orleans deacon George Brignac accused of sexually abusing another boy

NEW ORLEANS (LA)
The Advocate

December 11, 2018

By Ramon Antonio Vargas

A volunteer firefighter from North Carolina alleged in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was sexually abused numerous times as a seventh-grader in New Orleans by George Brignac, a former Catholic Church deacon and suspected serial child molester.

Echoing other cases against the disgraced clergyman, Morris Daniels’ suit also contends that he is owed damages because local Catholic officials failed to protect him from Brignac, who was assigned to the plaintiff’s school after being tried — though acquitted — on charges that he abused a child while teaching elsewhere.

The lawsuit comes amid a new focus on decades-old clerical abuse alleged to have occurred in New Orleans and a push by victims to bring the allegations out into the open. It follows the release last month by New Orleans Archbishop Gregory Aymond of a list of 57 credibly-accused clergy — which named Brignac — and the local Jesuit order’s release last week of a similar list.

In the past, victims have often preferred to follow a private mediation process to settle sex abuse claims involving the church, including a number of others who have accused Brignac.

But Daniels is among a growing group of plaintiffs in New Orleans and elsewhere who have taken such claims to the courts in an effort to shed light on alleged abuse and the church’s failure to stop it.

“They could’ve done something about it, but they didn’t,” Daniels said in an interview. “They didn’t take care of us as kids. They just let it happen.”

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

Hundreds of sex abuse allegations found in fundamental Baptist churches across U.S.

FORT WORTH (TX)
Star-Telegram

December 9, 2018

By Sarah Smith

Joy Evans Ryder was 15 years old when she says her church youth director pinned her to his office floor and raped her.

“It’s OK. It’s OK,” he told her. “You don’t have to be afraid of anything.”

He straddled her with his knees, and she looked off into the corner, crying and thinking, “This isn’t how my mom said it was supposed to be.”

The youth director, Dave Hyles, was the son of the charismatic pastor of First Baptist Church of Hammond, Indiana, considered at the time the flagship for thousands of loosely affiliated independent fundamental Baptist churches and universities.

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.

Re-opened sex abuse case against Catholic church ‘continuation of my fight’: survivor

LONDON (ONTARIO, CANADA)
The London Free Press

December 7, 2018

By Jane Sims

When she accepted a civil settlement from the Roman Catholic Church 18 years ago, Irene Deschenes was defeated.

“We are tired, we want closure and are hesitant to believe we can or will get justice from the court process,” she wrote in an email to her lawyer before accepting the terms in 2000.

What Deschenes, the Catholic Diocese of London and disgraced ex-priest Charles Sylvestre wouldn’t know is that settlement would send Deschenes on a determined course to expose the abusive Sylvestre and hold the church accountable.

In a ground-breaking decision, Superior Court Justice David Aston, who quoted Deschenes’ email, granted her motion and allowed the sexual abuse survivor to re-open her settlement after almost two decades.

“My goal here is to hold the Roman Catholic Church accountable for their unspeakable treatment of survivors,” Deschenes said at a news conference here on Thursday. “This is a continuation of my fight for justice, for me, and other known and unknown survivors of sexual abuse by priests and other religions.”

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.

Syracuse Bishop Cunningham on clergy abuse: We had ‘a slow awakening’ to its severity

SYRACUSE (NY)
syracuse.com

December 3, 2018

By Julie McMahon

Syracuse Bishop Robert Cunningham’s choice to release a list of abusive priests is part of a “slow awakening” to the seriousness of child sex abuse, he said in an interview today.

The Catholic Diocese of Syracuse today released a list of 57 priests with credible allegations of child sex abuse against them.

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.

See Syracuse priests with credible allegations of child sex abuse

SYRACUSE (NY)
syracuse.com

December 3, 2018

By Julie McMahon and Mark Weiner

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse today for the first time released a list of 57 priests with “credible” allegations of child sexual abuse against them.

According to the diocese, 38 of the priests are deceased. The diocese said all living priests named to the list have been removed from ministry and there are no active priests with credible claims against them in the Syracuse diocese.

Claims against at least 16 of the priests named Monday were reported previously.

What follows is information about each priest made public by the diocese and from previous reports in The Post-Standard’s archives.

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.

Cincinnati priest accused of abusing altar boys in the Philippines

CINCINNATI (OH)
WLWT & AP

December 6, 2018

By John London

A priest from Cincinnati is under arrest in the Philippines, accused of molesting minors.

Authorities are trying to determine if he might have sexually abused anyone in his home area.

The Rev. Kenneth Bernard Hendricks, 77, was taken into custody two days ago and charged with abusingat least five and maybe as many as 10 boys, ranging in age from 7 to the teens.

According to U.S. Attorney Ben Glassman, Hendricks met the boys through his Catholic missionary work.

“He befriended them,” explained Glassman, who described the behavior as horrifying. “He would invite them to his residence, often to take a bath or a shower. That interaction would then proceed to kissing, and then he would fondle their genitals, masturbate them or masturbate with them and ultimately have oral and anal sex with the 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.

Priest from Cincinnati accused of abusing ‘multiple young boys’ in the Philippines

CINCINNATI (OH)
Cincinnati Enquirer

December 6, 2018

By Dan Horn, Cameron Knight and Sarah Brookbank

The first boy went to police in early November, telling officers in his remote town in the Philippines a harrowing tale about the Catholic priest from Cincinnati he accused of sexually abusing him for years.

Then another boy told a similar story. And another. And another.

Within weeks, Filipino police and U.S. immigration officials had arrested the Rev. Kenneth Bernard Hendricks on charges of sexually assaulting five altar boys in his home and in his 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.

El Obispado de Bilbao denuncia a un sacerdote por abusos sexuales

[Bilbao diocese denounces priest for sexual abuse]

BILBAO (SPAIN)
El País

December 10, 2018

By Pedro Goropse

La Iglesia abrió una investigación que ha detectado “comportamientos inadecuados contra la libertad sexual”

La fiscalía de Bizkaia investiga a un cura tras la declaración de tres mujeres que le han denunciado por “tocamientos”. Se trata del presbítero responsable de la zona de Mungia, Bizkaia, Egoitz Arruza, técnico especialista en electrónica industrial que se ordenó el año 2005. Ha sido vicario parroquial en Derio, Zamudio, Lezama, Larrabetzu y Goikoelexea, y tanto el Obispado de Bilbao como los “scouts” le han apartado de sus responsabilidades. Los hechos denunciados se produjeron entre los años 2015, 2016 y 2017, cuando las mujeres pertenecían al movimiento de los scouts, del que el cura era responsable. Una de ellas era menor cuando sucedieron los hechos denunciados y le acusan de “comportamientos inadecuados contra la libertad sexual”. La fiscal jefe de Bizkaia, Ana Barrilero Yarnoz, ha confirmado a Efe que el Obispado les comunicó los hechos y “se han abierto diligencias, las cuales se encuentran en fase de inicio de la investigación”.

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.

El Gobierno recuerda que la Iglesia debe denunciar los abusos

[Spain’s government restates that the Church must denounce abuses]

MADRID (SPAIN)
El País

December 10, 2018

By Julio Núñez

En una respuesta parlamentaria a Unidos Podemos, el Ejecutivo rechaza pedir a los obispos datos sobre los casos silenciados

La Iglesia española estaba obligada por ley a comunicar a la justicia ordinaria los casos de abusos sexuales a menores que conoció y silenció en las últimas décadas, según afirmó el Gobierno en una respuesta parlamentaria al grupo de Unidos Podemos a finales de noviembre. El Ejecutivo contesta así a una pregunta sobre si considera que los acuerdos con el Vaticano son un obstáculo legal para que la Iglesia española colabore con los tribunales en los casos de pederastia. En su respuesta, a la que tuvo acceso ayer EL PAÍS, el Gobierno alega que la única posibilidad en la que los clérigos pueden acogerse a los Acuerdos de 1976 para no denunciar los casos que conozcan es si esos delitos se les han revelado “en el ejercicio de su ministerio [por el secreto de confesión]” y no al conocimiento que puedan tener “por otros medios”, en cuyo caso sí estarían obligados a denunciar.

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.

[VIDEO] Maristas ofrecían dinero por silencio

[VIDEO: Marists offered money for silence]

CHILE
T13

December 10, 2018

El investigador canónico de los abusos sexuales en Colegios Maristas determinó la verosimilitud de la mayoría de los casos denunciados y propuso que varios religiosos sean expulsados. Dicha congregación negoció además el pago 50 millones de pesos a la familia de una víctima. Todo a cambio de no interponer ninguna acción en la justicia ni revelar lo sucedido a terceros

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.

Dinero a cambio del silencio de las víctimas de abusos sexuales: la nueva denuncia contra los maristas

[Money in exchange for abuse victims’ silence: new accusation against the Marists]

CHILE
El Mostrador

December 11, 2018

“Esta política de tapar con plata se viene dando y se ha dado mucho, es la costumbre que tenían”, denunció Gonzalo Dezerega, ex alumno del Instituto Alonso de Ercilla y también víctima de abusos por parte de religiosos. De acuerdo a un documento, se ofreció 50 millones a la familia de una víctima a cambio de “renunciar a toda acción judicial o extrajudicial que tuvieran contra el Instituto, la parte sostenedora, o respecto de trabajadores de la Congregación”.

Dinero a cambio del silencio de las víctimas. Esta es una nueva acusación contra las prácticas de la Congregación de los Hermanos Maristas, uno de los grupos religiosos presentes en Chile que ha protagonizado bullados casos de abusos sexuales contra menores.

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.

O’Reilly, el sacerdote condenado por abusar sexualmente de una niña: “No soy pedófilo”

[O’Reilly, the priest convicted of sexually abusing a girl says: “I’m not a pedophile”]

CHILE
El Mostrador

December 11, 2018

El influyente sacerdote de los Legionarios de Cristo vive horas clave, dado que un decreto de la Subsecretaría del Interior determinó su expulsión de Chile una vez cumplidos los 4 años de sentencia. Su abogado se aferra a una interpretación, mientras el representante de las víctimas sostiene que “no hay ninguna justificación para que se mantenga en el país”.

“Una sola cosa, no soy pedófilo, por más que esté en el recuerdo”. Esa fue la breve declaración a Chilevisión de John O’Reilly, el sacerdote que cumplió condena bajo el régimen de libertad vigilada por el delito de abuso sexual contra una menor de edad del colegio Cumbres y ahora debe abandonar el país de acuerdo a un decreto de la Subsecretaría del Interior.

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.

Abogado de O’Reilly dice que cura está “preocupado” y detalla opciones tras cumplimiento de condena

[O’Reilly’s attorney says the priest is “worried” and evaluating options after serving his sentence]

SANTIAGO (CHILE)
Emol

December 10, 2018

By J. Peña

Cristián Muga explicó que el plazo de 72 horas corre desde que se notifica el término de la condena que se cumple hoy, y que están evaluando las acciones a seguir.

“Muy preocupado por su situación”. Con estas palabras el abogado del cura John O’Reilly, Cristián Muga, manifestó el estado en que se encuentra a horas de cumplir su condena a cuatro años de libertad vigilada por abuso sexual reiterado contra una menor, caso por el que fue condenado en 2014.

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

No ‘church of nice’ for Church Militant

KANSAS CITY (MO)
National Catholic Reporter

December 11, 2018

by Peter Feuerherd

At the door of the studios of Church Militant in this Detroit suburb, visitors face a picture of Michael the Archangel putting the sword to demonic hordes.

Previously a dispenser of catechetical videos, Church Militant has been transformed into a prime player in the Catholic culture wars by president and founder Michael Voris.

Voris, 57, rejects what he calls “the church of nice,” a Catholic belief in deference to church hierarchy and a willingness to incorporate those who sometimes fall short of its teachings, particularly regarding sexual morality.

Claiming three million supporters, Church Militant, with a full-time staff of 34, sends out via the internet for $10 a month per premium subscriber a daily newscast, panel discussion, and various other commentaries, seeking a vision of the church in line with what Voris describes as Catholic “orthodoxy.” A visitor who uses the labels conservative or traditional is quickly corrected.

Two papal flags fly over Church Militant offices located in a light industrial, non-descript set of two buildings. But the flags could be out of place. In some ways, Church Militant considers itself more Catholic than the pope, at least the current Bishop of Rome.

A stairway in the studio building holds a collection of photographs of the popes, dating through the last two centuries. Absent is Pope Francis, although his image adorns other office spaces.

The sex abuse scandal, which Church Militant in its daily newscasts and discussions says is largely a crisis of homosexual priests permitted to harass teenagers and young men, is proof that Francis is not up to his responsibilities.

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.

Burlington Roman Catholic Diocese target of lawsuit accusing ex-priest of sexual abuse

BURLINGTON (VT)
Burlington Free Press

December 11, 2018

By Elizabeth Murray

A man who says he was sexually abused as a boy by a priest serving at St. Ann Catholic Church in Milton has filed a lawsuit against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington alleging negligence, fraud, and “outrageous conduct.”

The man is asking for in excess of $75,000 in damages, in addition to any other damages deemed appropriate by a jury.

The lawsuit alleges that the Diocese’s actions in the man’s case were “utterly reprehensible, egregious and patently outrageous,” according to the legal complaint filed Friday.

The Diocese said it would respond to the Free Press’s request for comment on Tuesday, but no response had been received as of 8:15 a.m.

The man was an altar boy and parishioner at St. Ann’s Parish in Milton in the late 1970s and early 1980s, according to the complaint.

The man, who now lives in Texas, said he did not discover he had a personal legal action to bring against the Diocese until 2017. His complaint states that he has suffered “pain, emotional distress, embarrassment, humiliation, loss of self-esteem, post-traumatic stress disorder and other psychological injuries.”

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

Lawsuit seeks names of Kansas City-St. Joseph priests accused of sexual abuse

KANSAS CITY (MO)
KMBZ TV

December 11, 2018

By Bill Grady

The plaintiff is listed as “John Doe” in official court documents, though his real name is Kevin Smith. The 54-year-old claims he was sexually abused by Father Thomas Reardon while he attended St. Gabriel’s school at 4737 N. Cleveland Ave. in Kansas City.

Smith said he was 13 at the time of the abuse. The Catholic parish that includes St. Gabriel is also named in the lawsuit.

“I believe, in my opinion, he’s a threat,” said Smith, who would like to see Reardon go to prison for the rest of his life.

Smith’s lawsuit seeks the release of names of those who have been investigated or reassigned because of sexual abuse allegations.

A large-scale independent investigation, like the one that recently took place in Pennsylvania, would be the best course of action, said Rebecca Randles, Smith’s attorney.

Reardon, who was ordained in 1967, was accused in previous court filings of serving alcohol to teenage boys, allowing them privileges, including driving their cars, and taking part in sexual activity around them.

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.

Prosecute Mobile abusers, for God’s sake

MOBILE (AL)
AL.com

December 10, 2018

By John Archibald

Forgive me Father, for I have sinned.

Sometimes that’s just not enough. Sometimes it’s not complete. Sometimes it’s too little too late, too half-hearted, too forced and weak and watery.

Like tears of a condemned man.

Like the Catholic Archdiocese of Mobile, with its late and lame revelations that dozens of priests and other clergy abused and molested and scarred children for decades in churches and schools across south Alabama. It had the ring of a deathbed confessional.

The Archdiocese last week released 29 names of Catholic priests, deacons and brothers accused of sexually abusing children since 1950. Most of them are dead or dying.

Forgive me Father, for I have sinned, and lied about it, and covered it up while the guilty grew old in their own beds while victims grew up in torment and anger and a guilt they did not earn.

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.

An innocent bishop acquitted. Did anyone notice?

NORTH STRATHFIELD (AUSTRALIA)
Mercator.net

December 11, 2018

By Michael Cook

On May 22 the Catholic Archbishop of Adelaide, Philip Wilson, was found guilty of failing to report allegations of child sexual abuse. He was the most senior Catholic cleric found guilty of concealing abuse and the news was reported around the world.

On July 3, Archbishop Wilson was sentenced to 12 months’ detention, with parole after six months. This eventually became home detention, which he began serving on August 14. This, too, was reported around the world.

Following the conviction in Newcastle Local Court before Magistrate Robert Stone, there were calls for the Archbishop to resign. Even then-Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, a Catholic, stuck his oar in. “The time has come for the Pope to sack him,” he said. “There are many leaders that have called on him to resign, it is clear that he should resign.”

Powerful stuff from powerful people. Although Wilson wanted to stay on officially as Archbishop until his appeal had been heard, he yielded to the pressure and resigned. Pope Francis accepted it on July 30. The historic resignation was reported as far afield as the New York Times.

And then … acquittal

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.

Pope Should Ban Priesthood, Not Homosexuals

LOS ANGELES (CA)
City Watch

December 10, 2018

By George Cassidy Payne

Theologically I am in total agreement with him that the Christian New Testament speaks of a preferential option for the poor, a radical call to abolish violence, and a moral duty to protect children. From the moment he assumed the pontificate, Francis has appeared to be a shining example of humility, hospitality, and hope.

So, it is with consternation that I listened to his latest comments regarding homosexuality in the clergy. During an interview given to the Italian daily Corriere della Sera, the Pope said it is a “serious matter” that “worries” him. Francis described homosexuality as “fashionable”, and urged clergy to observe their vow of celibacy, going on to say that the Church had to be “demanding” in choosing candidates for the priesthood. And those responsible for training priests must make sure candidates are “humanly and emotionally mature” before they are ordained. “For this reason, the Church urges that persons with this rooted tendency not be accepted into ministry or consecrated life.”

Heavy words from the leader of 1.2 billion followers worldwide.

Assuming that part of the Pope’s rational for holding these beliefs is his concern over the child abuse scandal afflicting the Church, it is necessary to analyze his comments further. As reported by the Southern Poverty Law Center, “According to the American Psychological Association, children are not more likely to be molested by LGBT parents or their LGBT friends or acquaintances.

Gregory Herek, a professor at the University of California, Davis, who is one of the nation’s leading researchers on prejudice against sexual minorities, reviewed a series of studies and found no evidence that gay men molest children at higher rates than heterosexual men … Anti-gay activists who make that claim allege that all men who molest male children should be seen as homosexual. But research by A. Nicholas Groth, a pioneer in the field of sexual abuse of children, shows that is not so.

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.

Two accused priests with ties to St. Stephens served in leadership at Missouri, Wyoming schools

POCATELLO (ID)
KPVI TV

December 11, 2018

By Seth Klamann

The two Jesuit priests who served at St. Stephens Mission and were included on a list last week of Jesuit clergymen who faced credible sexual abuse allegations served in leadership positions at Wyoming and Missouri schools.

The two now-former priests, Paul C. Pilgram and Anthony J. Short, were part of a 42-man list released by the Jesuit U.S. Central and Southern Province on Friday. Both men served at St. Stephens in the 1970s. Another list of credibly accused Jesuits will be released by the Midwest Province, which includes Wyoming, early next week.

Pilgram’s first posting was at St. Stephens, where he served roughly two years. He would next work at St. Louis University High School “during the timeframe of (his) alleged abuse,” according to a statement from the school’s current president.

Two Jesuit priests who served on Wind River Reservation named in report of clergymen accused of sexual 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.

Hundreds of sexual abuse cases reported at children’s camps across U.S.

NEW YORK (NY)
CBS News

December 10, 2018

CBS News has identified hundreds of reports of sexual abuse that occurred at children’s camps across the United States. We found reports of more than 500 victims who were allegedly sexually abused at children’s camps over the past 55 years. At least 21 of those cases surfaced this year alone.

Victims’ advocates tell us the real number of abuse cases is likely much higher, since many are never reported.

“After you took a shower, you’d put on your towel, and he didn’t want you to wear underwear under it,” the Texas boy said in a video, telling a psychologist what a camp counselor did to him in 2009. It allegedly happened over the course of 12 days at an overnight summer camp named Camp La Junta.

“He would check all the kids, but under their towel,” he said. “He wouldn’t look under there. He’d just stick his hand up.”

When he returned home, the boy’s mother says she knew something was wrong. “He was a different kid,” said the woman, identified as Jane Doe. “He was not the happy-go-lucky little boy that loved to play outside. He was totally different. He just wanted to lay on the couch.”

It wasn’t until 10 months later that her son revealed a 20-year-old camp counselor named Matthew Bovee had allegedly molested him.

Duncan asked, “And what was your initial reaction?”

“I wanted to throw up,” Jane replied. “I was nauseous. And all I could think of is to tell him I love 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.

Toxic abuse and corruption must be rooted out

HUNTINGTON (WV)
Herald Dispatch

December 11, 2018

By John Patrick Grace

Tomatoes, asparagus, peaches and other vegetables and fruits left in the refrigerator too long will start to spoil. Eating partially corrupted food may sicken, even poison, the human body. Too little attention was being paid to items that had turned rotten. We were too trusting — and never verified.

Take the above as a metaphor for what has been happening in government and in many societal institutions, including the church.

Our processes for vetting those who might rise to positions of authority in colleges and public schools, including coaches and trainers, or in churches, such as priests, pastors and lay leaders, have clearly been inadequate.

The same seems to have been true for holding such individuals accountable for their actions, whether those actions constitute physical, sexual, emotional or financial abuse — or all four together.

Where should blame be assigned? And how can we reform our vetting, monitoring, reporting and disciplinary structures to keep the innocent — especially minors — safe from the threat of abuse?

The question applies equally well to the political sphere of elected and appointed officials as to the ecclesiastical sphere of ordained deacons, priests, pastors and bishops. Extend it even further into the realms of education (at all levels, from universities right down to pre-school), to police forces, the military and corporate America.

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.

Religious sister accusing bishop of rape: ‘No nun should have to go through this’

MUMBAI (INDIA)
Crux

December 11, 2018

By Nirmala Carvalho

A nun in India accusing a bishop of raping her says she wants “the Church to recognise that I was wronged.”

The nun – whose name has been withheld – accused Bishop Franco Mulakkal of raping her 13 times between 2014 and 2016 at her order’s convent in Kuravilangad, in the southern state of Kerala – the heartland of Christianity in India.

She went to the police on June 29 with her accusations and submitted a 72-page statement.

Mulakkal vehemently denies the charges, and claims the nun is retaliating because he initiated an investigation against her for an affair she allegedly had with a married man.

The bishop was arrested on Sept. 21 after a months-long investigation and was released on bail 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.

St. Landry priest formally charged with molestation of a juvenile

Lafayette (LA)
The Acadiana Advocate

December 10, 2018

A St. Landry priest accused of sexually assaulting a teenager has now been formally charged, court records show.

Michael Guidry, who most recently was pastor of St. Peter’s Church in Morrow, was arrested in June after a deacon’s son came forward to allege the priest had given him alcohol and molested him.

A bill of information was filed last week, formally charging Guidry with molestation of a juvenile, court records show.

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.

Priest Accused of ‘Inappropriate Contact’ With Minor, Adults

WASHINGTON (DC)
By Associated Press

December 11, 2018

A Catholic priest in Purcellville is accused of inappropriate contact with a minor and adults, the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office says.

The Catholic Diocese of Arlington has placed Father Ronald S. Escalante on leave pending an investigation by the sheriff’s office. The Saint Francis de Sales Church pastor is accused of “boundary violations involving a minor and adults” that go against its clergy code of conduct, according to a press release from the diocese.

Sheriff’s spokesman Kraig Troxell says the diocese reported the possible “inappropriate contact” to authorities.

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.

Accountability group says 19 clergy members accused of sex abuse were not on recently released list

NEW ORLEANS (LA)
WVUE Fox 8 TV

December 10, 2018

By Kimberly Curth

We’re learning new information about the recently released list of Jesuits credibly accused of child sex abuse. An accountability group says it’s incomplete.

Bishopaccountability.org says, “19 Jesuits already known to be accused of abuse” were left of the list released Friday by the Jesuits U.S. Central and Southern Province.

That includes Daniel Ramsey Barfield, a teacher and counselor who was at Jesuit High School from 1969-1975.

Tim Lennon, the president of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, says that’s why there needs to be a statewide investigation into church sex abuse here in Louisiana.

“We call on the State Attorney General of Louisiana to, in fact, investigate. There’s sufficient cause to say that this institution is not policing itself, it shouldn’t have that responsibility, law enforcement should, and the Attorney General should take this issue seriously,” said Lennon.

The Jesuit Province released a list Friday of 42 clergy members credibly accused of child sex abuse. Eighteen of the men had connections to New Orleans Jesuit institutions.

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.

Crisis in Catholic Church: One-on-one with Cardinal DiNardo

HOUSTON (TX)
WHRX TV

December 10, 2018

By Bill Balleza and Debbie Strauss

There is a crisis in the Catholic Church.

Earlier this month, federal, state and local law enforcement officials executed a search warrant inside the offices of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston.
ed out computers, files and boxes.

Just 24 hours earlier, in those same offices, KPRC2’s Bill Balleza sat down with Cardinal Daniel DiNardo for an exclusive interview about the sex abuse scandal that perhaps foreshadowed the next day’s events.

Balleza: “Has the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston been subpoenaed as part of this investigation?”

Cardinal DiNardo: “No, we have not. We are, of course, ready to cooperate with any investigation.”

The law enforcement search came on the heels of the arrest of the Rev. Manuel La Rosa Lopez, who was accused of abusing children in Conroe in the 1990s and early 2000s.

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.

December 10, 2018

Diocese of Gallup adds former St. Mary’s priest to list of credibly accused

FARMINGTON (NM)
Farmington Daily Times

December 10, 2018
By Hannah Grover

A former Farmington-area priest has been added to the Diocese of Gallup’s list of priests the diocese states have been credibly accused of sexually abusing children.

Rev. Eugene Bowski, who served at St. Mary’s Parish in Farmington in the mid-1990s, was added to the list of credibly accused in late November, according to a press release from the diocese.

In a letter included with the press release, Bishop James Wall stated that the diocese has begun publishing the names of priests and church workers who have served in the Diocese of Gallup and have had credible allegations made against them for abuse that occurred outside of the Diocese of Gallup.

The press release states the Diocese of Gallup learned on Nov. 28 that Bowski had been added to the list of credibly accused for the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, West Virginia. While in West Virginia, he allegedly sexually abused a child in 1982.

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.

Lawyer: Irish priest O’Reilly has finished Chile sentence

SANTIAGO (CHILE)
Associated Press

December 10, 2018

By Eva Vergara

An Irish-born priest of the Legion of Christ religious order has finished serving a four-year sentence for sexually abusing a minor and may have to leave the country within days, his lawyer said Monday.

Attorney Cristian Murga said the prison system is expected to certify completion of the sentence “within days,” which would trigger an earlier government decree giving the Rev. John O’Reilly 72 hours to leave Chile.

Murga left open, however, the possibility that O’Reilly could take some unspecified legal action before being expelled.

In 2014, O’Reilly was convicted of sexually abusing a minor while he was a chaplain at a prestigious school operated by the Legion in Santiago. The court also banned him from any job near children and ordered that his genetic data be added to a registry for abusers.

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.

Victim of notorious priest speaks for first time

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

December, 10 2018

SNAP wants all accused abusive clerics “outed”

But church officials in both KC MO & KC KS are refusing

Dozens of Catholic officials across the US are now posting such lists

Group also blasts KC MO prelate for letting disgraced Finn to come back

WHAT

Holdings signs at a sidewalk news conference, abuse victims and concerned Catholics will

–call on Catholic officials in both KS & MO to post names of accused priests on their websites, as dozens of US bishops have done recently, and

— blast KC MO’s current bishop for letting his predecessor – who was convicted of failing to report suspected child abuse – back into the KC diocese recently for a church event.

A Nebraska man who was allegedly abused by one of Kansas City’s most prolific abusers, will also speak, using his name publicly for the first time ever.

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.

Anonymous plaintiff in Kansas City Catholic sex abuse case reveals his name

KANSAS CITY (MO)
Kansas City Star

December 10, 2018

By Steve Vockrodt

A Nebraska man took to a sidewalk near the entrance of the Catholic Center in downtown Kansas City on Monday to identify himself as the previously anonymous plaintiff alleging sexual abuse by a former priest of the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph.

Kevin Smith, 54, who was accompanied by his lawyer, Rebecca Randles, said the Rev. Thomas Reardon sexually abused him when he was a teenager attending St. Gabriel’s Archangel Catholic Church in Kansas City, North.

Smith was identified as “John SK2 Doe” in a lawsuit filed against Reardon, the diocese and St. Gabriel’s in July.

“I am doing this because I know there are other victims out there that need help,” Smith told reporters. “I want the diocese to join me, to reach out to others that are suffering, to offer more than lip service, symbolic gestures and unfulfilled promises.”

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.

Abuse scandal has cost Altoona-Johnstown diocese $21.5 million, bishop says

ALTOONA (PA)
Tribune Democrat

December 10, 2018

By Dave Sutor

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown has made what could be considered its most in-depth public statement concerning clerical child sexual abuse within its organization, since the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General issued a grand jury report in 2016 outlining an alleged systemic effort to protect predator priests within its ranks.

A Dec. 10 edition of The Catholic Register, the diocese’s official publication, included multiple stories about the subject, a “special message” from Bishop Mark Bartchak and a chart showing that the expense of the scandal cost the diocese $21,491,052 from July 1, 1999, until Dec. 1, 2018.

The attorney general’s report provided information about how the diocese — then under the guidance of bishops Joseph Adamec and James Hogan — allegedly protected at least 50 religious leaders accused of abuse. Altoona-Johnstown has often declined to comment on subjects concerning clerical abuse, citing a policy of not discussing matters that could deal with ongoing litigation.

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

Catholic priest charged with patronizing a prostitute in SLC to be reassigned

SALT LAKE CITY (UT)
Fox 13 News

December 10, 2018

By Taylor Hartman

A Catholic priest that was charged with patronizing a prostitute in Salt Lake City earlier this year will be replaced and reassigned, Catholic Church officials said.

Father Andrezej Pawlel Skrzypiec was arrested Aug. 24 near 200 North 900 West in Salt Lake City during an undercover prostitution sting where police were targeting “johns,” according to a probable cause affidavit filed in 3rd District Court.

Fr. Skrzypiec initially accused the undercover officer as being a “cop,” but eventually agreed to pay $30 for a sex act, the affidavit claimed. He was then arrested.

In a letter sent to the members of the Saint Ambrose Parish and School communities over the weekend, Most Rev. Oscar A. Solis, D.D., Bishop of Salt Lake City, stated that he recommended that Skrzypiec should be reassigned and that Skrzypiec accepted that recommendation.

Solis stated that a new pastor will be appointed for Saint Ambrose Parish and School.

“Over the past several months, many have suffered a great deal following the arrest of your beloved pastor, Father Andrezej Pawlel Skrzypiec for inappropriate behavior,” Solis wrote. “While Father Andrezej has insisted he was not guilty of a crime, his action caused serious scandal for 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.

Louisville priest James Schook, who sexually abused altar boy, has died

LOUISVILLE (KY)
Louisville Courier Journal

December 10, 2018

By Chris Kenning

Former Louisville Roman Catholic priest James Schook, convicted of molesting a teen altar boy in the 1970s, died on Saturday at age 71, the Lousiville Archdiocese said Monday.

Schook was a central character for years in the local Catholic sex abuse crisis that exploded in 2002, which left some deeply critical of how the Louisville archdiocese handled abusive priests.

He was already suffering from end-stage melanoma, a terminal skin cancer, in 2014 when he was sentenced to 15 years in prison on three counts sodomy and one count indecent or immoral practice. He was released on medical parole last year.

More: Sex abuse survivors: Archbishop Kurtz isn’t doing enough to protect his flock

The Archdiocese of Louisville released a statement on Monday extending sympathy to his family. “In praying for the repose of his soul, we also pray for continued healing for his victims and for all victim survivors of childhood sexual abuse,” the statement 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.

A Copy of the DOJ’s Request to Preserve Documents

ST. LOUIS (MO)
Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests

December 10, 2018

At SNAP, we believe that transparency is a critical element to ending the clergy sex abuse crisis, restoring public faith in religious institutions, and helping survivors heal. We are grateful when church officials take steps towards transparency, and even moreso when that transparency is forced by brave whistle-blowers. Today, we were lucky to have experienced the latter.

The below document is a copy of the federal Department of Justice’s letter that was sent to Cardinal Daniel DiNardo and each of his brother bishops in early October, informing bishops that they must preserve any and all records related to clergy sex abuse including personnel files, “secret archives,” and more. This copy was sent to us by an anonymous whistleblower.

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

Catholic priest who knew Hampden murder victim takes leave of absence

BANGOR (ME)
Daily News

December 10, 2018

By Judy Harrison

The Catholic priest who was a spiritual adviser to a Hampden woman allegedly killed by her brother-in-law is taking a leave of absence for “personal reasons,” the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland announced Monday.

The Rev. Anthony Cipolle of Bangor advised Renee Henneberry Clark to keep a spiritual journal that came into the priest’s possession after she died. Superior Court Justice William Anderson ruled last week that he would review the diary to determine which portions of its contents could be admitted as evidence and which could not.

Cipolle’s attorney argued that the judge should not read the journal because it was covered by the religious privilege exemption.

In its announcement of Cipolle’s leave of absence, the diocese noted that it “does not involve a claim of sexual abuse of a minor.” The diocese said the leave of absence is effective immediately.

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.

Two Rochester-area priests dismissed after investigation of misconduct

ROCHESTER (NY)
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

December 10, 2018

By Sean Lahman

Bishop Salvatore Matano has removed two priests from public ministry after an investigation into allegations of misconduct.

Fathers Thomas J. Valenti and Erick Viloria are both restricted from engaging in public ministry or presenting themselves publicly as clerics, according to a statement from the Diocese of Rochester.

Valenti, who was serving as parochial administrator of Blessed Trinity/St. Patrick’s in Tioga County, was at Rochester’s Blessed Sacrament from 1977-1979 and at St. Louis in Pittsford from 1984-1989.

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.

Clergy Victims Press States To Open Window On Abuse Suits

UNITED STATES
Law360.com

December 9, 2018

By Daniel Siegal

George Koharchik had a reputation as his Johnstown, Pennsylvania, parish’s “favorite priest” when Shaun Dougherty met him in 1980 at the age of 10, and the time they spent together started out innocently enough.

But Dougherty said those interactions with his religion teacher and peewee basketball coach were just grooming for fondling and other sexual abuse that continued until Dougherty was 13.

While Dougherty tried to put the nightmare behind him as an adult, he was left feeling helpless all over again after Koharchick was defrocked in 2012 and Dougherty came forward to be interviewed by prosecutors. It was then Dougherty discovered it was too late to pursue a criminal or civil case.

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

A Copy of the DOJ’s Request to Preserve Documents

ST. LOUIS (MO)
Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests

December 10, 2018

At SNAP, we believe that transparency is a critical element to ending the clergy sex abuse crisis, restoring public faith in religious institutions, and helping survivors heal. We are grateful when church officials take steps towards transparency, and even moreso when that transparency is forced by brave whistle-blowers. Today, we were lucky to have experienced the latter.

The below document is a copy of the federal Department of Justice’s letter that was sent to Cardinal Daniel DiNardo and each of his brother bishops in early October, informing bishops that they must preserve any and all records related to clergy sex abuse including personnel files, “secret archives,” and more. This copy was sent to us by an anonymous whistleblower.

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

Diocese to release list of clergy accused of abuse

CASPER (WY)
Casper Star-Tribune

December 10, 2018

By Seth Klamann

The Diocese of Cheyenne is compiling a list of priests, bishops and deacons who have been credibly accused of sexual abuse since 1950, Bishop Steven Biegler announced this week, signaling that the Wyoming diocese is joining a wave of public self-examinations by dioceses across the country.

“The Diocese should have a current master list so it can be confident that it has applied the current standards to all living credibly accused offenders — and especially the standards of zero tolerance — in all situations,” Biegler wrote in a column in the December issue of the Wyoming Catholic Register. He added the review will also examine how the six bishops who have served since 1950 — himself included — handled the allegations.

The diocese previously conducted a review in 2002 — the same year that former Bishop Joseph Hart was cleared of abuse allegations by the Natrona County District Attorney’s Office — of clergymen who were working in it at the time. That review “verified that no priest with a substantiated allegation of sexual abuse of a minor was serving in the public ministry in any way in the Diocese of Cheyenne,” Biegler wrote.

This latest examination comes as dioceses across the country conduct sweeping reviews of their own troubled histories with clerical sexual abuse. On Thursday, the church named 29 men accused of abuse in southern Alabama, allegations that dated back to 1950. In November, a diocese in Missouri named 33 priests and religious brothers who had been credibly accused. In August, a grand jury in Pennsylvania wrote that more than 300 Catholic priests had molested more than 1,000 children for decades.

The work on this latest review began after mid-September, when the Star-Tribune requested information regarding all credibly accused priests, all settlements and the amount paid in these agreements dating back to 1950, said Rev. Carl Gallinger, the diocese’s vicar general. He said the “commitment” to conducting the review predated the newspaper’s request. He said he had no time estimate on when the review, which will be conducted by an “independent law firm,” would be completed.

Biegler was unavailable to comment Thursday. It’s unclear how much detail will be in the list.

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.

Ex-priest accused in Pa. grand jury report denies allegations, assails process

PITTSBURGH (PA)
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

December 10, 2018

By Paula Reed Ward

By the time former priest Stephen Jeselnick learned in May that he had been named as an abuser in the Pennsylvania attorney general’s investigation into child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, the two pages of the grand jury report accusing him were already completed.

He wasn’t invited to testify, and though he challenged the accusations before the supervising judge of the grand jury when he learned of them, Mr. Jeselnick was told he and others named had no recourse except to submit a written response that would be appended to the final report.

The summary provided scant detail, alleging the abuse happened in the late 1970s at St. Brigid church in Meadville and that the victims’ mother worked there.

He did not know who was accusing him or why they had never come forward before 2017.

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.

Exposé Reveals Network of Baptist Institutions That Shielded Child Molesters

NEW YORK (NY)
Patheos blog

December 10, 2018

By Terry Firma

“My earliest memory of being molested was when I was four years old. It was Sunday school.”

So begins the fourth and final installment of an extraordinary Fort Worth Star-Telegram investigation into child molestation in and around independent Baptist churches. Published yesterday after an eight-month investigation, the story by journalists Sarah Smith, Shelly Yang, and Neil Nakahodo reveals how a network of churches and schools covered up nationwide sexual abuse — and, in an all-too-familiar pattern, helped relocate the evildoers.

Here are a few gut-wrenching passages.

On religious impunity:

Even if criminal charges are brought against a church leader, he might be allowed to continue in ministry. Facing charges that he had sex with a 14-year-old, a pastor left his Indiana church for Miami, where he told his new congregation that the girl was “promiscuous.” Though he pleaded guilty to felony stalking in 2009, he didn’t leave the church until 2014. He maintains his innocence. He’s one of nearly four dozen men who were allowed to continue in their ministry after facing sexual abuse allegations — and even convictions, the Star-Telegram found.

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

Diocese of Rochester removes two priest during sex abuse investigation

ROCHESTER (NY)
WROC TV

December 10, 2018

By Howard Thompson

The Diocese of Rochester has removed two priests from the ministry as it looks into claims of sex abuse.

Reverend Thomas Valenti, who works at Blessed Trinity/St. Patrick’s in Tioga County, and Reverend Erick Viloria, who served at Our Lady of Peace Parish in Geneva have been removed.

The move comes as the church looks into new accusations of sexual abuse brought this past summer when Attorney Mitchell Garabedian accused eight Rochester priests of sexual misconduct.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated.

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.

Abuse of Vulnerable People and Churches: Recent Reports

LITTLE ROCK (AR)
Bilgrimage blog

December 10, 2018

By William Lindsey

This is a collection of reports on the abuse situation as it is unfolding in various churches now. These are all recent statements, and not by any means a representative report on all that is happening on the sexual abuse front in religious groups right now. Stories are breaking on that front fast and furious — this is only my own selection of reports that have drawn my attention recently, for reasons that will be apparent as you read:

Sarah Smith, “Hundreds of sex abuse allegations found in fundamental Baptist churches across U.S.”:

For decades, women and children have faced rampant sexual abuse while worshiping at independent fundamental Baptist churches around the country. The network of churches and schools has often covered up the crimes and helped relocate the offenders, an eight-month Star-Telegram investigation has found.
More than 200 people — current or former church members, across generations — shared their stories of rape, assault, humiliation and fear in churches where male leadership cannot be questioned. …
Twenty-one abuse allegations were uncovered exclusively by the Star-Telegram, and others were documented in criminal cases, lawsuits and news reports. But victims said the number of abused is far greater because few victims ever come forward.

Sarah Smith, “These ‘men of God’ sexually abused children. Then they found refuge at other churches”:

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.

Options Emerge for Handling the ‘Other Sexual-Abuse Crisis’

WASHINGTON (DC)
National Catholic Register

December 10, 2018
.
By Ed Condon

The recent sex-abuse scandals that have rocked the Church in the United States and beyond have mostly focused on the abuse of minors. At the same time, many recent revelations and allegations, as in the case of Archbishop Theodore McCarrick, have involved the sexual abuse or harassment of adults.

How the Church deals with clerical sexual misconduct when it does not involve minors remains a thorny issue, but an increasingly urgent one. Independent investigations are currently underway by local bishops to examine allegations of serious sexual misconduct in seminaries in Boston, Philadelphia and Newark.

In a recent interview, Pope Francis highlighted how a “fashionable” acceptance of homosexual relations had entered the Church. During the recent USCCB assembly in Baltimore, Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler, Texas, made the same point, offering it as the explanation for how McCarrick was serially promoted, despite his sexual behavior apparently being known to the hierarchy.

Also in Baltimore, Cardinal Seán O’Malley of Boston, who heads the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, said that the bishops need to have a “fulsome discussion about adult misconduct and how to deal with 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.

Se la acabó el plazo: cura O’Reilly cumple su condena y tiene 72 horas para irse de Chile

[His sentence served, priest John O’Reilly has 72 hours to leave Chile]

CHILE
El Mostrador

December 10, 2018

El sacerdote favorito de la élite política y empresarial termina este lunes los 4 años que pasó en libertad vigilada por abusar de una menor de edad del exclusivo colegio Cumbres. Ahora, debe abandonar el país luego que la justicia desechara un recurso de protección presentado por su defensa para evitar su expulsión. En paralelo a su situación judicial, aún está pendiente la definición de su caso a nivel de la justicia eclesiástica, donde todo indica que correrá el mismo destino de otros curas abusadores expulsados del sacerdocio.

Este lunes, el sacerdote John O’Reilly cumple sus cuatro años de condena bajo el régimen de libertad vigilada por el delito de abuso sexual contra una menor de edad del colegio Cumbres.

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.

Fieles agreden a administrador apostólico en celebración de la Inmaculada Concepción en Puerto Montt

[The faithful protest apostolic administrator after Immaculate Conception celebration in Puerto Montt]

CHILE
BioBioChile

December 9, 2018

By Ariela Muñoz and Carlos Arismendi

Adherentes a curas investigados piden la salida del administrador apostólico de Puerto Montt. El representante del Papa salió escoltado por Carabineros, tras la celebración de la Inmaculada Concepción. Los fieles acusan a Ricardo Morales de dividir a la iglesia en Puerto Montt, tras las denuncias que realizó en la Fiscalía contra de los sacerdotes Tulio Soto y Darío Nicolás, por apropiación indebida de dineros y tráfico de estupefacientes.

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.

Ex-priest worked in Liverpool middle school for 25 years after teen reported sex abuse

SYRACUSE (NY)
Syracuse.com

December 10, 2018

By Chris Baker

A Catholic priest who resigned following allegations of sexual abuse was able to go on to a 25-year career as a guidance counselor at a Liverpool middle school. He resigned only after the district learned of the allegations in 2003 and threatened to fire him. He died shortly after.

Donald J. Crosby remained in a position to have daily interaction with children after a teen-aged girl reported instances of sexual abuse to his superior, Monsignor H. Charles Sewall, at a Catholic school in 1974.

The victim came forward again, decades later, amid a national reckoning for abusive priests. She was outraged to learn Crosby was no longer a priest but was instead working in a school.

A diocesan spokeswoman said last week the church had no record of the victim’s first report, or any records of inappropriate behavior by Crosby. Sewall, it seems, never filed a report, and the school district didn’t learn of the allegations until 2003.

Crosby was one of 57 priests with credible allegations of sexual abuse against them who were identified by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse last week. Sewall was also on the list. Both are now dead.

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.

Piden que renuncie el administrador apostólico de Puerto Montt

[There is pressure on Puerto Montt’s apostolic administrator to resign]

CHILE
Soy Chile

December 8, 2018

Al finalizar misa de celebración de la Inmaculada Concepción, fieles elevaron carteles y lanzaron gritos en su contra. Carabineros intervino para resguardar su seguridad.

Custodiado por efectivos de Carabineros y bajo gritos que pedían su renuncia, el administrador apostólico de Puerto Montt, Ricardo Morales, abandonó esta tarde el campo de oración, a los pies de la Casa Nazaret, donde tuvo lugar la tradicional celebración de la Fiesta de la Inmaculada Concepción.

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

Archbishop Scicluna and his recent appointment at the Vatican

MALTA
Malta Independent

December 10, 2018

By Simon Mercieca

A few days ago, I was invited to preside over the launch of a book by Antonio Ureta about Pope Francis. I shall be reviewing this book next week. What I wish to share is an interesting conversation that I had with one of those present during the coffee break. This gentleman is a person who follows thoroughly the church and attends even Catholic congresses abroad. What he told me was that not all the clergy, whom he met ata Congress in Rome were in tune with the positions that Archbishop Charles J. Scicluna has taken regarding the implementation of the encyclical Amoris Laetitia.

It is a fact that archbishop Scicluna was one of the first archbishops, if not the first, to have endorsed the encyclical Amoris Laetitia and put it into practice. I am here referring to stands taken by the Church in support of communion to divorced Catholics. I am not a theologian, therefore I will not be analyzing this fact from a theological point of view. But I am a historian and a commentator of current affairs. Hence, I shall be analyzing this from a political stance.

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.

Norfolk priest on leave, accused of violating code of conduct

NORFOLK (VA)
WVEC

December 10, 2018

By Amanda Johncola

A well-known Norfolk priest was placed on leave after he was accused of violating a code of conduct.

Father Joseph Metzger, the pastor at Blessed Sacrament in Norfolk, was placed on leave after nonsexual misconduct accusations were made against him.

On Sunday, a letter from Most. Rev. Barry C. Knestout, Bishop of Richmond, was read to the parish community at Blessed Sacrament in Norfolk.

The letter stated that Father Metzger agreed to take a leave of absence as pastor from the parish due to complaints received by the Safe Environment Office concerning his interactions with young people.

Bishop Knestout made it clear that no allegations of child sexual abuse have been made, but the interactions complained of were not in keeping with the Code of Conduct with Minors in the Diocesan Safe Environment Regulations.

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.

S.C. Catholics outline plan to release names of priests credibly accused of child sexual abuse

CHARLESTON (SC)
WLTX TV

December 9, 2018

By Mike Ellis

The Catholic church in South Carolina plans to release in early 2019 the names of priests credibly accused of sexually abusing minors since 1950.

The state’s diocese, the Catholic Diocese of Charleston, said in a statement Friday evening that files are now being reviewed before the release.

Newer accusations, those made since a class action settlement was reached in 2007, are now being reviewed to be added to the list, according to the 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.

The Public Pulse: Not safe even in church

OMAHA (NE)
World Herald

December 01, 2018

Regarding the article “Some churches address abuse allegations” (Dec. 3 Omaha World-Herald), it is crazy to think how even in a church, you cannot feel safe. It is literally the house of God, a place where you should feel welcome and, most importantly, feel at home.

Where has the world gone to? What sickens me is the fact that there are allegations made toward 34 priests and four deacons, and only a few of the accused have faced criminal charges or civil lawsuits. There are roughly 230,000 Catholics in Omaha. It has been more than three decades that the Catholic Church has been rocked by the sex abuse situation.

In Pennsylvania, within six Catholic dioceses more than 300 “predator priests” had been accused of sexually abusing more than 1,000 child victims. Is this situation not important enough to have more people charged with a crime, let alone the damage that has been done?

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 Birth’s new pastor promises church’s rebirth

ATLANTA (GA)
Journal Constitution

December 10, 2018

By Shelia M. Poole, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Jamal Bryant, the new senior pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, had a few words for doubters about the future of the DeKalb megachurch.

“New Birth has resilient people,” he said to a packed church in which nearly every seat on the lower level was filled.

“I feel almost like I need to take my shoes off, I’m standing on holy ground,” he said. “There are 100,00 angels circling this church.”

Bryant drew inspiration from Acts 28:1-6 for his message about recovering from difficulty.

After the death of Bishop Eddie L. Long and, later, the resignation of his successor, many people expected New Birth would die, but he said promised a “rebirth. … We are New Birth.”

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.

What the Pennsylvania priests’ case reveals about the ‘right’ to reputation

LONDON (ENGLAND)
Spear’s Magazine

December 10, 2018

To what extent do we have a right to reputation? And to what extent does that right fall away when an accusation is made of criminal conduct, asks reputation lawyer Jennifer Agate

In a recent decision, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court determined that the names of eleven priests accused of sexual abuse in a grand jury report should remain permanently redacted. A necessary measure, the court said, to ‘protect their constitutional right to reputation’.

The allegations were of the utmost seriousness, the report described by the Pennsylvania Attorney General as the ‘largest, most comprehensive report into child sexual abuse within the Catholic Church ever produced in the United States’. While the names of 270 priests had already been made public, eleven were redacted. Those priests argued that they had not had the chance to respond to the serious allegations made against them, citing examples of serious factual errors in the evidence presented to the Grand Jury which, they said, could be easily rebutted. The court agreed.

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.

Pope fiddles as faith goes up in flames

TRENTON (NJ)
The Trentonian

December 9 , 2018

By Dave Neese

Not to tell the Holy Father how to do his job, but aren’t there more troublesome issues facing the Church than, say, climate change and Trump’s wall? Just asking.

Francis himself has said, “I like it when someone tells me ‘I don’t agree.’ There is a true collaborator.” Taking the Pontiff at his word then, let us dare to proceed.

Pope Francis has declaimed on various worldly topics, sometimes at great length. Meanwhile, the lawsuits and indictments stirring up a ruckus over clergy sexual abuse proliferate, even as the number of worshippers in the sanctuaries dwindles.

Declining attendance at worship applies to the Christian flock generally, including Protestants, and to Jews as well.

Only 39 percent of U.S. Catholics attend Mass weekly, according to the Pew Research Foundation’s polling.

Only 33 percent of Protestants show up for their churches’ weekly services. And a scant 19 percent of Jews can be found in the temple on a regular basis.

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.

December 9, 2018

Denuncian que congregación La Salle protege a abusador

DURANGO (MEXICO)
La Jornada [Mexico City, Mexico]

December 9, 2018

By Sanjuana Martínez

Read original article

Fue trasladado a una casa en Monterrey

Ofreció terapia a voluntarias, durante la cual las indujo a desnudarse, acusan víctimas 

Cuando las seis alumnas denunciaron los abusos sexuales que habían sufrido por parte del hermano lasallista Alejandro Gaxiola Parra, la congregación, en lugar de ponerlo a disposición de las autoridades, prefirió esconderlo para protegerlo y lo trasladó a una casa en la colonia Contry, de Monterrey.

Así lo informa Sofía Vázquez, una de las víctimas que desde mayo pasado dio a conocer lo sucedido ante la congregación de La Salle. Y luego interpuso, en octubre pasado, una denuncia ante la vicefiscalía de Lerdo, Durango, por el delito de violación en grado de tentativa, con el número de carpeta 6746/18: Por su forma de actuar ya perdí la fe en los lasallistas. Nos dijeron que no se podía hacer nada contra él hasta que se presentara la denuncia. La presenté y lo trasladaron a Monterrey para esconderlo y seguirlo protegiendo.

En entrevista con La Jornada, afirma que mientras el agresor sexual lasallista vive tranquilo, sus víctimas padecen las secuelas de los abusos: En mi caso, sigo un tratamiento para la depresión con ansiolíticos, tengo trastorno del sueño y tomo medicamento todos los días.

A pesar de la denuncia penal, el llamado fuero eclesiástico lo protege, porque las autoridades judiciales tampoco han molestado al religioso lasallista, por el contrario, la carpeta de investigación no tiene avances: Queremos que dejen de protegerlo. Queremos justicia. Y es para que él no pueda dañar a nadie más. Estoy sufriendo todos los días por esto que me hizo y no quisiera que nadie más llegara a sufrir de esta forma, señala.

Las seudoterapias

La historia de abusos sexuales del hermano lasallista Alejandro Gaxiola Parra, de 46 años, inicia en El Salto, Durango, donde era el encargado del voluntariado de esta congregación católica. Ahí elegía a sus víctimas desde la vulnerabilidad, chicas de entre 17 y 18 años que sufrían miedos o baja autoestima.

Les ofrecía terapia, la cual consistía en pedirles por separado quitarse la ropa, caminar semidesnudas por los pasillos y después pedirles que permitieran los tocamientos, hasta llegar a distintos y variados niveles de abuso sexual.

Sofía cuenta que sus hermanas ya habían sido voluntarias y le llamó la atención continuar con esa tradición familiar de solidaridad en 2016: Tenía 18 años y él me asegura que me va a ayudar con mis miedos; me empieza a citar después de la oración, a las 11 de la noche, en el centro comunitario, y la primera noche de la terapia me pregunta que cuánta confianza le tengo y yo le digo que el 100 por ciento, porque era como mi papá. Y en esa primera noche me pide que me quite la blusa.

Como encargado del voluntariado lasallista, el hermano Gaxiola Parra ofrecía las terapias para atender, por ejemplo, el miedo a la oscuridad: “Mi miedo a la oscuridad era mucho y me dijo que tenía que caminar yo sola sin la blusa por un largo pasillo. Yo estaba paralizada, no podía moverme, hasta que pude y me pidió que caminara por encima de unos colchones donde dormíamos. Haz de cuenta que estás modelando, me dijo.

Añade: En las siguientes sesiones cada vez me fue pidiendo que me quitara más ropa. En una ocasión me encerró en un cuarto, yo estaba sólo con ropa interior y me dice que cuente hasta 60 y que él se iba a esconder; yo debía ir a buscarlo. Yo tenía mucho miedo y mi único alivio era encontrarlo a él. Así me fue trabajando. Durante el día, si estábamos solos, me daba una nalgada.

Cuenta que en una ocasión fue a la comunidad La Campana, en El Salto, Durango, y él la seguía a todas las comunidades donde ofrecían los servicios del voluntariado: Se quedó a dormir con nosotros y se durmió al lado de mí, y empezó a acariciarme la espalda y luego mis partes íntimas y mis pechos.

Sofía afirma que los abusos fueron constantes durante seis meses. En ese periodo sufrió depresión y ansiedad: Los abusos fueron subiendo de nivel. Cada vez era más y no lo podía hablar con nadie. Hasta que me animé a escribirle para mi mamá. Ahora me cuesta recordar, pero me siento más fuerte gracias a la ayuda sicológica y siquiátrica que estoy recibiendo.

El modus operandi

En un comunicado fechado el 6 de diciembre, la congregación La Salle distrito México Norte, anunció que el hermano lasallista Alejandro Gaxiola Parra fue separado de su cargo para iniciar una investigación, pero la misma orden católica se niega a dar información sobre su paradero.

Ana Lucía estudió en el Instituto Regiomontano Chepevera La Salle y también estuvo un año ofreciendo sus servicios en el voluntariado de El Salto, Durango.

En entrevista con La Jornadacuenta que el hermano lasallista utilizó el mismo modus operandi con todas sus víctimas. A todas les decía que se trataba de una terapia especial y única: “Nos pedía que nos entregáramos. Siempre nos decía que teníamos que salir de nuestra área de confort. Me dijo que yo tenía muchas inseguridades y que por eso no me podía dar a los pueblos, que mi trabajo era mediocre. Me sentía frustrada y recuerdo que una noche estábamos en la capilla y me dijo que necesitaba una terapia ‘privada’”.

El hermano Alejandro Gaxiola Parra le advirtió entonces que no contara a nadie el tipo de terapia que le estaba dando porque si hablaba iba a contar a los demás sus problemas: “‘Tú te tienes que desnudar’, me dijo. Él utilizaba esa frase, pero nunca pensé que se refiriera a quitarme la ropa. Una noche fuimos a la biblioteca y me dijo que dijera mis virtudes y defectos. Luego me pidió que subiéramos el nivel de la terapia”.

Explica que el método consistía que cada vez que dijera un defecto se tenía que quitar una prenda de la ropa: Yo no me sentía cómoda. Me sentí muy vulnerable y accedí. Me hizo que me subiera a una mesa y me pidió que caminara de un lado a otro como si estuviera modelando. Me iba pidiendo que me quitara todo, hasta que me quedé en ropa interior. Luego me pidió que me quitara el brasier. Al final me llevó a la casa de niñas y me dio un beso en la frente, algo que me dio mucho asco y me lavé la cara.

Añadió: Él me dijo: esto no lo hago por morbo, soy religioso e hice mis votos de castidad; a todas las considero mis hijas. Mira todo lo que te quiero que hago esto por ti.

Ana Lucía cuenta que al día siguiente la buscó preocupado y le preguntó si eran realmente amigos y le confesó que tuvo un sueño donde se veía tras las rejas: “Me dijo: ‘¿Verdad que yo no hice nada sin que tú quisieras?’ Le dije que no. Y me volvió a preguntar: ‘¿Yo me tengo que preocupar por este sueño?’ Y le contesté que no. Recuerdo que después me insistió para la segunda sesión, pero yo no quise”.

Cuenta que no pudo decirle a nadie, hasta que el último día de la misión se enteró de que otra de sus compañeras había sufrido lo mismo: Me quedé impactada porque me dí cuenta de que no fui la única. Y apenas hace tres meses hablé con mis papás.

El hermano lasallista Alejandro Gaxiola Parra ha atendido a cuatro generaciones de alumnas, por lo que creen debe haber decenas de víctimas. Ana Lucía interpondrá una denuncia penal mañana lunes: Lo primero que pedimos es que lo destituyan del cargo. La congregación no lo hizo, solamente lo quitó de El Salto, pero lo movieron a Monterrey donde él seguía conviviendo con jóvenes, incluso también en Tamaulipas. Lo que queremos es que lo detengan para que no siga haciendo daño, pero la congregación no dice dónde está.

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.

Abuse Victims Still Don’t Get Justice

NEW YORK (NY)
Verdict

December 10, 2018

By Leslie C. Griffin

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court recently decided to permanently redact the names of eleven priests from the Fortieth Grand Jury’s report on sexual misconduct by the clergy in six Pennsylvania Roman Catholic dioceses. The court ruled that the priests’ interest in their reputations was one of the “inherent rights of mankind” that the court needed to protect by taking the priests’ names out of the report. Redaction was the only path they thought they could find to protect the priests’ due process.

This conclusion was counter to the release of the complete report, which CHILD USA and BishopAccountability advocated in our amicus brief, which I wrote along with Marci Hamilton, Founder and CEO of CHILD USA. The court’s decision neglects the history of child abuse, which is a constant story of individuals who are terribly and repeatedly abused, and then never get justice.

The facts of child abuse are terrible and the stories about them constant. The Miami Herald recently told the story of more than 50 girls who were abused by rich Palm Beach businessman Jeffrey Epstein. Instead of having their interests protected, the girls were never told of Epstein’s “deal of a lifetime” with then-prosecutor and now Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta. The victims’ stories were kept quiet, and Epstein got a laughably short sentence. Epstein’s victims are still looking for justice.

Along with thousands of others. As many times as we read and re-read the statistics, they remain shocking. According to the American Society for the Positive Care of Children’s Sexual Abuse Statistics:

1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys will be sexually abused before they turn 18 years old.
Over 58,000 children were sexually abused last year.
8.3% of reported child abuse cases were sexual abuse.
34% of people who sexually abuse a child are family members.
12.3% of girls were age 10 or younger at the time of their first rape/victimization, and 30% of girls were between the ages of 11 and 17.
27.8% of boys were age 10 or younger at the time of their first rape/victimization.
96% of people who sexually abuse children are male, and 76.8% of people who sexually abuse children are adults.
325,000 children are at risk of becoming victims of commercial child sexual exploitation each year.
Caregiver alcohol or drug abuse is a child abuse risk factor putting kids at much higher risk for being abused.
The average age at which girls first become victims of prostitution is 12 to 14 years old, and the average age for boys is 11 to 13 years old.

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.

Pedophilia victims deserve justice

PROVIDENCE (RI)
Providence Journal

December 9, 2018

By Mary Ann Sorrentino

In a quarter-page advertisement in this newspaper on Nov. 29, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence encouraged alleged priest pedophilia victims to come forward. Those ongoing scandals underscore widespread disgust for historically unpunished, unspeakable crimes against children. Adult survivors of rectory or home seductions — sometimes with parents nearby, unaware of the horrors their children suffered — deserve justice, and courts need laws to dispense it.

Warwick Attorney Carl DeLuca estimates about 450 victims sought his help: his office alone settled at least 65 civil cases against the Diocese of Providence.

With blackmail used to bury dark secrets, victims are warned of grave harm and told no one will believe them (as is too often the case). By the time survivors reach adulthood and clear recall, the limit for civil relief often has expired.

Rhode Island Bishop Thomas Tobin came from Pennsylvania, hotbed of an immense, ignored sex scandal. Grand jury reports estimate 300 priests participated in sexual crimes against more than 1,000 boys and girls. Charges include beatings, forced oral/anal sex, and the rape of a young girl later forced to abort.

As auxiliary bishop, and later as bishop, Tobin was surrounded by coverups and settlements during that scandal. He offers no explanation about what he knew, or did, to stop violence against Pennsylvania’s children, unbelievably claiming it was not his responsibility.

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.

Taking Pen in Hand

DALLAS (TX)
VanishingPredators.com

December 2, 2018

By Dan Carlson

Question: What happens to predator priests after they have been laicized?

Answer: In most instances … nothing.

Though harsh, this is the cruel reality clergy sex abuse victims confront upon learning that, in the overwhelming majority of cases, their abuser will avoid prosecution because the statute of limitations has expired on the crimes for which he would have otherwise been charged. For the Catholic Church, of course, this is a good deal … it means they can simply cut the malefactor loose and remove him of his priestly vows. In other words, they can wash their hands of him.

By way of explanation, statutes of limitations are rules that prohibit prosecutors from charging someone with a crime committed more than a specified number of years earlier, and it is worth noting that the Catholic Church has spent millions of dollars lobbying in opposition to bills that would extend statutes of limitations for child sex abuse cases.

But back to that predator priest who has been defrocked and expelled from ministry … what comes next for him? Where does he go? Sadly, the answer is that nobody really knows for, in many cases, he just drops out of sight. Had he been convicted of a sex offense, he would have to register as a sex offender and thereafter comply with limits on his contact with children, living arrangements and employment. But absent a conviction, he can quietly take up residence in any unsuspecting neighborhood he chooses.

Think about that for a moment … a known child predator can reside, anonymously and without restrictions, in close proximity to children … and the position of the Church is: “Not my problem.”

There are three things the Catholic Church must do to correct this outrageous situation:

1. Create a national data base naming all clergy removed after credible allegations of child sexual abuse. This information should appear publicly in two places: on the website of any Diocese where the disgraced cleric served, and on a master list maintained by the United States Council of Catholic Bishops.

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.

Only on 10: Bishop Tobin addresses sex abuse scandal in Catholic Church

PROVIDENCE (RI)
WJAR Channel 10

December 7, 2018

By Katie Davis

Bishop Thomas Tobin spoke with NBC 10’s Gene Valicenti about the Catholic Church’s ongoing sex abuse scandal during a taping of 10 News Conference Friday.

Before coming to the Diocese of Providence, Tobin had previously worked in the Diocese of Pittsburgh. A grand jury investigation in Pennsylvania revealed decades of child sexual abuse by priests there, with hundreds of victims.

“When [allegations of sexual abuse] were reported, they were dealt with very quickly and very responsibly,” Tobin said of his time in Pennsylvania. “So, it’s not as if I didn’t care. It’s not as if those things were being ignored or covered up…but they were being handled by different people and different offices. And that’s why my name was not involved in the grand jury report, because I didn’t deal with those issues.”

A similar grand jury investigation in Rhode Island would require changing state law, something the incoming Attorney General told NBC 10 he supports.

“What allegations have been made? You let people know that you’re willing to listen to any allegations that are out there. Then, you review them and decide how to proceed,” said Attorney General Elect Peter Neronha.

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.

Houston, we have a problem

LONDON (ENGLAND)
Catholic Herald

December 6, 2018

By Jordan Bloom

On November 28, District Attorney Brett Ligon of Montgomery County, Texas, led the raid on the chancery of Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Houston-Galveston, the president of the US bishops’ conference, alongside Texas Rangers, the Conroe Police Department and an unnamed federal agency. The search warrant in Houston was issued to obtain evidence against Fr Manuel La Rosa-Lopez, who allegedly abused minors in Conroe, Texas. (He denies the allegations.)

The “main focus” of the raid was to gather information on Fr La Rosa-Lopez, but Tyler Dunman, a spokesman for the Montgomery County DA, told the Catholic Herald that if evidence of more crimes were uncovered in the raid, it could be used for more prosecutions.

“With any search warrant, if you uncover additional criminal evidence or evidence of wrongdoing then you can arrest it at that time,” he said.

When asked whether, if such evidence were found, they would pursue it, he said: “Sure, yes.”

Dunman confirmed that “we do have federal authorities who are working with us”, but declined to say what agency they came from.

In Monday’s Houston Chronicle, Cardinal DiNardo wrote: “This archdiocese takes every allegation of wrongdoing brought to our attention seriously, and is fully cooperating – and will cooperate – with any and all investigations related to the clergy abuse of minors.”

Yet Dunman struck a critical note. He said that “we have received certain items” when asked specifically, but added that investigators had not been given any kind of blanket access to diocesan records.

“Frankly, we knew that there were a ton more that we had not received,” he said. “Cooperation for us means that when you have a priest who’s arrested for child molestation, you would turn over everything voluntarily as soon as possible to the authorities. That would be cooperation in our mind, and that hasn’t happened.”

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.

When It Comes to the Clergy Abuse Scandals, the Laity Are Not Going to Save Us

NEW YORK (NY)
Patheos blog

December 8, 2018

By Rebecca Bratten Weiss

In recent months, as revelations about the depth and breadth of the clerical sex abuse and institutional cover-ups continue to unfold, we Catholics return ever and again to the same question: what can be done about it? What changes are needed in the church, in order to prevent this atrocity ever from happening again, at least on so vast a scale?

For some, only a complete stripping down, overhaul, and reformation will suffice. Others have gone even further, to the point at which they no longer view the church, once their home, as authentic or valid. This is understandable, of course – but even many of us who understand and sympathize feel we must remain and work for change. But what change? What will make a difference. Clearly, greater transparency is needed. It seems obvious that the concentration of power in the hands of a few men – and only men – creates a breeding ground for abuse, on many levels. The church’s failures to deal directly with complex issues about sexuality need to be remedied. And yes, the laity need to be involved – much more involved.

However, simply dissipating the power of the clergy and distributing it among lay-persons is no automatic fix. This is evident in the extent to which lay women and men are themselves complicit in covering up sex abuse, both within the church, in its vicinities, and without.

Take, for instance, the many men who knew about Weinstein’s assaults on women, and kept their mouth shut. Consider the men – including Donald Trump, and Bill Clinton – who turned a blind eye to Jeffrey Epstein’s criminal exploits with underage girls – or even worked to cover them up, leaving his many young victims abandoned without justice.

Or consider the case of the superstar feminist professor Avital Ronell, accused of repeatedly assaulting a student. Did her fellow feminists call her out? Did #MeToo mean being consistent, even when it was a “friend in the field”? Regretfully, it did not. Even Judith Butler, who should have known better, came to the rescue of Ronell.

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

Catholic Church’s redress backflip angers survivors

AUSTRALIA
The World Today

December 7, 2018

By Samantha Donovan

Abuse survivors and their lawyers are furious the Catholic Church has changed its approach to the National Redress Scheme and will now have its dioceses and other entities join up individually rather than as a single national body.

They say the decision adds to the trauma of victims and will leave many wondering if they will ever get redress.

Duration: 3min 17sec

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.

Only on 10: Bishop Tobin addresses sex abuse scandal in Catholic Church

PROVIDENCE (RI)
WJAR Channel 10

December 7, 2018

By Katie Davis

Bishop Thomas Tobin spoke with NBC 10’s Gene Valicenti about the Catholic Church’s ongoing sex abuse scandal during a taping of 10 News Conference Friday.

Before coming to the Diocese of Providence, Tobin had previously worked in the Diocese of Pittsburgh. A grand jury investigation in Pennsylvania revealed decades of child sexual abuse by priests there, with hundreds of victims.

“When [allegations of sexual abuse] were reported, they were dealt with very quickly and very responsibly,” Tobin said of his time in Pennsylvania. “So, it’s not as if I didn’t care. It’s not as if those things were being ignored or covered up…but they were being handled by different people and different offices. And that’s why my name was not involved in the grand jury report, because I didn’t deal with those issues.”

A similar grand jury investigation in Rhode Island would require changing state law, something the incoming Attorney General told NBC 10 he supports.

“What allegations have been made? You let people know that you’re willing to listen to any allegations that are out there. Then, you review them and decide how to proceed,” said Attorney General Elect Peter Neronha.

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.

Long Island nuns push for change amid growing ‘#ChurchToo’ movement

NEW YORK (NY)
New York Post

December 8, 2018

By Melissa Klein

Two Long Island nuns have become defiant “#ChurchToo” activists, posting public messages to end abuse in “faith communities” at the same time their convent supervisor, a priest accused of sexual misconduct, was allowed to return to his Brooklyn church.

The Greek Orthodox sisters, shown in their habits, began their Instagram and Facebook campaigns in October as Rev. Gerasimos Makris was reinstated to the pulpit at Holy Cross Church in Bay Ridge.

Makris — an imperious figure who insists on his parishioners kissing his hand — confessed to “inappropriate interactions with two adult women” and an archdiocese “spiritual court” recommended he be banned. But church higher-ups put him back anyway.

The scandal is the latest black eye for the Greek Orthodox church and the Holy Cross parish, whose former leader, the Rev. George Passias, was defrocked after The Post revealed his affair with the married parochial school principal, whom he impregnated, and their kinky “cake crushing” fetish.

On Oct. 10, just as Makris was returning, the nuns began advocating for change, posting powerful photos of themselves holding signs with messages that read: “believe survivors,” “silence isn’t spiritual,” “end rape culture” and “take a stand.”

In a November post, they wrote “Sexual abuse is real. It happens in our families, our local communities + even our faith communities, in every Christian denomination including the Orthodox 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.

Catholic church abuse scandals not over yet

MARTINSBURG (WV)
Martinsburg Journal

December 9, 2018

By Mike Myer

Among the tragedies of the sexual abuse scandal that continues to rock the Roman Catholic Church is that trust in the institution can be restored only by adding names to the lists of predator priests being released all across the country. Undoubtedly, some of the clergy responsible for wrongdoing, sometimes decades ago, have not yet been named.

If they remain secret, some of the church’s critics, including many Catholics, will wonder whether the abuse did continue but was not punished.

Veteran newspaper journalists tend to be champion skeptics. We don’t really trust anyone unless they give us good reason to do so.

So take this as my professional opinion: I believe many in the Catholic Church, perhaps because laypeople have relatively new power, are as sickened as anyone else about the long, sordid record of abuse. It’s my impression attitudes really have changed.

Expect evidence of whether I’m right within the next year or so.

Last Thursday, the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston released a list of clergy “credibly accused” of abusing minors sexually. It included 31 names, of which 18 allegedly sinned while working at Catholic institutions in West Virginia. The other 13 served here, but were not accused of wrongdoing until they went to other states.

The mere announcement on Oct. 24 that the church would compile and release such a list seems to have been the catalyst for at least one new complaint. A report of abuse was made to the diocese on Oct. 26.

Church officials say they hope their action will prompt other victims of clergy abuse to come forward. Again, there is reason to believe many who were targeted by predator priests have kept their silence for many, many years. The Oct. 26 report involved alleged abuse in 1982 or 1983. Someone waited that long before deciding church officials ought to be told.

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.

Raid of archdiocese office puts local priest back in spotlight

BAYTOWN (TX)
Baytown Sun

December 9, 2018

By Matt Hollis

Several files seized in a raid by law enforcement agencies at a Catholic archdiocese office in Montgomery County also included ones for a Baytown priest, who was cleared of sexual abuse allegations by the church years ago.

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.

Priest in dock who used to teach in Wigan on child sex charges

MANCHESTER (ENGLAND)
Wigan Observer Post

December 9, 2018

A Catholic priest who used to teach in Wigan has appeared before a judge accused of a series of historical child sex crimes.

Fr Michael Higginbottom is charged with a total of six indecent assaults, two counts of buggery, a rape and a further count of gross indecency. All the counts concern complainants who were boys at the time and date back several decades.

Higginbottom, now 75, taught physics at St Joseph’s Roman Catholic seminary at Roby Mill, Up Holland, in the 1970s.

Vince Latterly he has been a resident of West Farm Road in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. He did not enter any pleas during a brief hearing at Preston Crown Court. This may take place on December 19. A provisional trial date, should he deny the charges, was set for June 19 at the same court next year and Higginbottom was released on bail.

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.