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 24, 2018

Cardinal Wuerl, despite stepping down due to abuse scandal, presides over grand Basilica Christmas Mass

WASHINGTON (DC)
Washington Post

December 25, 2018

By Julie Zauzmer

Two months ago, Cardinal Donald Wuerl stepped down early from his position as archbishop of Washington, faced with a Pennsylvania grand jury investigation that condemned him for his mixed record on handling abusive priests under his supervision.

On Christmas Day, Wuerl was robed in the majestic symbols of the Catholic church regardless, sitting on a seat designed to resemble a throne with his ceremonial head-covering shaped like a crown.

Pope Francis praised Wuerl in October even as he accepted the cardinal’s early retirement due to the abuse scandal, and offered him a soft landing by keeping him on as administrator leading the Archdiocese of Washington until his successor is named, which has not happened yet.

On Christmas Day, Wuerl made his return, celebrating Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception as his first major public event after months of staying somewhat away from the limelight.

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.

In major shift, lay Catholics are organizing to push bishops on reform

WASHINGTON (DC)
Washington Post

December 21

By Michelle Boorstein ‘

Five hundred years ago, Martin Luther of Wittenberg circulated his 95 theses, critiquing the Catholic Church and launching the Protestant Reformation. Liz McCloskey of Falls Church has five.

Fed up with the way Catholic bishops have handled clergy sexual abuse of children, the 54-year-old academic’s group from Holy Trinity parish in the District has joined recently with groups from parishes in places such as Seattle and New York City on a project. They are affixing fliers with five demands to the doors of cathedrals and parish churches — meant to conjure a famous (if unconfirmed) tale about Luther nailing his demands to a German church door, an image that has come to embody grass-roots folks rising up for religious reform.

Among the details on the list of five: Stop qualifying their actions or lack thereof and just cooperate fully with civil prosecutors who are investigating abuse in the church. Stop wearing fancy royalty-like garb and dress and live simply. Give space in every edition of every church newspaper to abuse survivors.

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.

Red de Sobrevivientes de Abuso Sexual Eclesiástico de Argentina Los 65 cuestionamientos al Papa Francisco sobre el sistema de encubrimiento del clero abusador sexual

SALTA (ARGENTINA)
Diario Feliciano [Entre Ríos, Argentina]

December 24, 2018

Read original article

La Red de Sobrevivientes de Abuso Sexual Eclesiástico de Argentina elaboró un informe sobre “las acciones del papa Francisco que consolidan el sistema de encubrimiento del clero abusador sexual en la iglesia católica, 2013 – 2018”. Allí se da cuenta que todavía –para el caso Argentina y especialmente Entre Ríos- no ha iniciado procedimiento canónico alguno para determinar responsabilidades por omisión y negligencia, aplicando las disposiciones contenidas en el documento “Como una madre amorosa”, contra los obispos argentinos, responsables de controlar a sacerdotes incardinados en sus diócesis, denunciados por abuso sexual en sede estatal y/o canónica. En el caso de Entre Ríos, se trata de los obispos Juan Alberto Puíggari (sacerdotes Justo José Ilarraz, Marcelino Moya, Juan Diego Escobar Gaviria y la religiosa Bibiana Fleitas); Estanislao Karlic y Mario Maulión (sacerdote Justo José Ilarraz).Por Carlos Lombardi (*)

Las acciones que se enumeran a continuación, han sido llevadas a cabo por el papa Francisco desde que fue elegido hasta la fecha de publicación del presente informe elaborado por la Red de Sobrevivientes de Abuso Sexual Eclesiástico de Argentina.

La enumeración no es taxativa, por lo que pueden sumarse muchas más acciones. Todas ellas, consolidan el sistema de encubrimiento de los sacerdotes abusadores sexuales que la institución religiosa mantiene en su estructura, cuyos efectos no son otros que el abuso de poder, la denegación de justicia y la violación de derechos humanos de las víctimas.

Institucionales

1. Designó en la Curia vaticana a cardenales que participaron del cónclave que lo eligieron como papa, integrantes de la denominada “docena sucia” por haber sido acusados de encubrir sacerdotes pederastas. Ellos son: Leonardo Sandri (Argentina), miembro de la secretaría para la Comunicación del Vaticano; George Pell (Australia), Prefecto de la Secretaría de Economía de la Santa Sede; Marc Ouellet (Canadá), Prefecto de la Congregación para los Obispos y Presidente de la Pontificia Comisión para América Latina; Seán O’Malley (EE.UU.), Consejero en el C8 y Presidente de la Pontificia Comisión para la Protección de Menores; Peter Turkson (Ghana), Prefecto del Dicasterio para el Servicio del Desarrollo Humano Integral; Oscar Rodríguez Madariaga (Honduras), Consejero del C9.

2. Designó en la C9 (órgano consultivo), a los siguientes cardenales acusados de encubrir abusos sexuales: Oscar Rodríguez Madariaga; Francisco Javier Errázuriz Ossa; Sean Patrick O’Malley; George Pell. En el caso de Errázuriz, se le aceptó el retiro luego de terminar el período para el cual fue nombrado.

3. En particular, el cardenal George Pell es responsable de encubrir más de 4.000 casos de abusos sexuales del clero en Australia y, también, de haberlos cometido. Al no poder sostener más su cargo y ser requerido por las autoridades judiciales de Australia, le concedió licencia para que viaje a su país y se someta a las autoridades judiciales del estado. En noviembre de 2018, Pell fue encontrado culpable de abusar sexualmente de dos monaguillos en los años ’90, cuando era obispo en Ballarat, conforme el veredicto unánime de un tribunal de Melbourne.

4. En los mencionados casos de Errázuriz y Pell no hubo expulsión ni apartamiento por parte del papa de los prelados, sino cumplimiento del mandato en el primero y otorgamiento de licencia en el segundo, sin renovación “agradeciéndoles el trabajo que han realizado en estos cinco años”.

5. No ha cumplido con las nueve exhortaciones que el Comité de los Derechos del Niño (ONU), le hizo a la Santa Sede en 2014 para extirpar el flagelo de los abusos sexuales, que está enquistado en su estructura y organización.

6. No ha cumplido con el conjunto de medidas sugeridas por el Comité que controla la Convención contra la Tortura y otros tratos o penas crueles, Inhumanos o degradantes, para evitar la comisión de abusos sexuales.

7. No ha presentado al Comité de los Derechos del Niño el último informe relativo al cumplimiento – dentro de la iglesia – de la Convención respectiva, que venció el 01 septiembre de 2017 y que la Santa Sede tiene la obligación de presentar por haberla suscripto.

8. Tampoco presentó al Comité contra la Tortura el informe periódico que venció el 23 de mayo de 2018.

9. Mantiene el sistema de violencia institucional, sexual, psicológica y de género contra niños, niñas y adolescentes.

10. Mantiene el cuerpo normativo interno, violatorio de derechos humanos de las víctimas de abuso sexual eclesiástico, principal eje donde engarza todo el sistema de encubrimiento de curas abusadores.

11. Mantiene el secreto pontificio en materia de abusos sexuales del clero. El mismo, obliga a todos los participantes de un procedimiento canónico a guardar secreto bajo juramento de silencio. Se amordaza y coacciona a las víctimas.

12. No ha publicado registro oficial – certificado por organismos independientes – de los sacerdotes expulsados por causa de abuso sexual infantil.

13. Mantiene en secreto el lugar donde están los sacerdotes acusados de abuso sexual y que han sido separados de modo transitorio por una medida cautelar canónica, con serio riesgo de estar cerca de niños y jóvenes. Tampoco existen mecanismos internos para controlar aquellas medidas.

14. Avala el rol marginal de la Comisión para la Tutela de Menores que, en la práctica, no ha producido cambios significativos. Desde su creación, sólo se ha reunido tres o cuatro veces de manera plenaria, cuyos dictámenes no son obligatorios para los obispos.
La misma no tiene poder de investigación real, no conoce la información existente en la Congregación para la Doctrina de la Fe (única con competencia en la materia), acerca de los abusos sexuales; tampoco conoce estadísticas. Sus resultados son prácticamente nulos.

15. Avaló la expulsión de Peter Saunders de la referida Comisión. Saunders fue víctima de abuso sexual y muy crítico con la actividad de la misma.

16. Avaló la inacción de la Comisión al aceptar la renuncia de Marie Collins, otra víctima de abuso sexual designada para integrarla como señal de transparencia. La causa por la que renunció: “Falta de apoyo dentro del Vaticano”. Las dos víctimas fueron usadas y manipuladas.

17. Creó un Tribunal encargado de juzgar a obispos negligentes en iniciar procedimientos contra curas abusadores. Luego, dio marcha atrás elaborando la carta apostólica Como una madre amorosa, suplantando el tribunal por un procedimiento regulado en el Código de Derecho Canónico y encargado a determinadas Congregaciones de la Curia.
El proceso es groseramente tramposo: el obispo acusado tiene la posibilidad de entrevistar a los superiores de las Congregaciones, fomentando el contubernio; se consolida el privilegium fori, es decir, el hecho que curas juzguen curas por delitos comunes; se elimina la independencia como fundamento de un juicio justo e imparcial. Un esperpento jurídico. Aún no hay un solo obispo sancionado por este mecanismo.

18. Avala la permanencia del sacerdote Tony Anatrella, psicoterapeuta y asesor francés del Vaticano en temas de la sexualidad que argumenta que los homosexuales no deben ser ordenados al sacerdocio y que ha sido acusado por al menos cuatro hombres de haberles abusado sexualmente en sesiones de terapia diseñadas para “curarles” de su homosexualidad.

19. Designó al arzobispo jesuita español Luis Ladaria Ferrer como nuevo prefecto de la Congregación para la Doctrina de la Fe, quien no llevó a la justicia estatal a un sacerdote que la Iglesia condenó por abuso sexual de 11 niños.

20. No ha propuesto reforma alguna relativa al secreto de confesión que, entre otras causas, permite el encubrimiento de sacerdotes pederastas.
En el caso del cardenal Pell, las autoridades australianas recibieron una recomendación de parte de una comisión especial creada para investigar los casos de abuso sexual que recomienda no otorgar “ninguna excusa, protección o privilegio” a los sacerdotes que no alerten a la policía de los delitos de los que tengan noticias, sin importar el contexto en el que se ha dado a conocer.

21. El Vaticano no informa el nombre de los sacerdotes pedófilos, con acusación o sanción; omite premeditadamente informar a la autoridad judicial de los estados. Ejemplo, el de un sacerdote italiano que desapareció de su diócesis. Luego se conoció que había sido enjuiciado y expulsado por la Congregación para la Doctrina de la Fe por pedófilo, lo redujeron al estado laical. Fue la propia Congregación quien le ordenó al sacerdote abusador que no debía contar nada a nadie porque había que proteger la imagen de la iglesia.

22. Reconoció expresamente que “la Iglesia llegó demasiado tarde” tanto para reconocer la gravedad del problema como para asumir responsabilidades al respecto.
“Tal vez la antigua práctica de transferir a la gente adormiló un poco las conciencias”, expresó Francisco durante una reunión con los miembros de Pontificia Comisión para la Protección de los Menores en el Palacio Apostólico.

23. Recibió una carta del joven polaco Kamil Tadeusz Jarzembowski, denunciando los abusos en su habitación a otro seminarista, más de 140 veces y de los que él era testigo ocular. El papa no tomó decisión alguna.

24. Avaló y no se opuso a la ordenación sacerdotal del Pbro. Gabriele Martinelli, acusado por abusos en el Preseminario San Pío X en el Vaticano. Año 2017.

25. Participó de la misa por el fallecimiento del cardenal Bernard Law, ex arzobispo de Boston, EE.UU., el mayor encubridor de sacerdotes pederastas en ese país, que fuera protegido en el Vaticano para no entregarlo a las autoridades judiciales. Nunca se lo enjuició ni sancionó.

26. En diciembre de 2017, renovó la Comisión para la Tutela de Menores, ampliándola a dieciséis miembros, pero sin modificar su función y sentido.

27. Designó al cardenal Roger Mahony – crónico encubridor de sacerdotes abusadores en Los Ángeles -, para ser su enviado especial y representante en una Misa Pontifical en la Catedral de Scranton, Pensilvania, para celebrar el 150 aniversario de esa diócesis, que tuvo lugar el 4 de marzo de 2018 en la Catedral de San Pedro, Scranton. Finalmente, el propio Mahony informó que no podría asistir.

28. Fue denunciado por el Arzobispo Carlo María Viganò, exnuncio en Estados Unidos, por encubrir los abusos sexuales cometidos por el Arzobispo Emérito de Washington, el ex cardenal Theodore McCarrick.
El caso reflejó, además, un conflicto interno dentro de la institución, por pertenecer el denunciante a una línea política distinta a la del papa.

En Europa

29. Avaló la protección que el cardenal Angelo Bagnasco – ex presidente de la Conferencia Episcopal Italiana y arzobispo de Génova – hizo de Carlos Miguel Buela, fundador del Instituto Verbo Encarnado y sancionado canónicamente por casos de abuso sexual. Nadie controla a Buela, para evitar futuros abusos a niños y/o seminaristas.

30. Mantiene la ambigüedad en el caso español denominado “los romanones”. Atiende personalmente la llamada del denunciante, le pide perdón, le anima a denunciar a la justicia civil y pone en marcha el proceso canónico rápidamente, fruto del cual el arzobispo de Granada suspende a divinis a tres de los imputados. Sin embargo, coloca a otros miembros del clan como sus sustitutos. No somete al obispo de Granada – Francisco Javier Martínez- a juicio por negligencia.

31. Protege a 25 obispos franceses (5 de ellos en actividad), que encubrieron a 39 sacerdotes abusadores de 300 niños.

32. Redujo las sanciones a un grupo de curas pederastas italianos, que no perdieron su condición de sacerdotes, sino que no realizarán el ejercicio público de los oficios.

33. En Alemania, no ha sancionado a obispos ni sacerdotes por el escándalo de los 547 niños abusados en el coro Regensburger Domspatzen, dirigido durante décadas por Georg Ratzinger, el hermano mayor del papa Benedicto XVI.
En relación a este país, ha guardado silencio ante el informe que da cuenta que 3600 niños fueron abusados sexualmente por miembros del clero católico a lo largo de las últimas siete décadas.

34. No se ha pronunciado respecto a la situación de los 18 sacerdotes españoles incriminados o detenidos en su país de residencia, u otros acusados o condenados en España, luego trasladados, o que han huido.

América Latina

35. En Chile, nombró obispo de Osorno al sacerdote Juan Barros, principal encubridor del pederasta Fernando Karadima. Ante un grupo de chilenos en el Vaticano, les aconsejó que “piensen con la cabeza y no se dejen llevar por acusaciones infundadas de los zurdos”. Calificó de tontos a los católicos de Osorno que se opusieron a esa designación.

36. En su visita a aquel país en enero de 2018, pidió perdón por los abusos sexuales cometidos por clérigos chilenos; luego, admitió la participación en una misa y otros actos eclesiásticos a los obispos encubridores del pederasta Karadima (Valenzuela, Tomislav Koljatic), y al propio Barros.
Trató de mentirosos a Juan Carlos Cruz, Hamilton y Murillo, víctimas de Karadima quienes debieron llamar a conferencia de prensa para replicar al papa.

37. En la referida visita, se reunió en forma secreta con víctimas de abuso sexual, motivando el repudio de la Red de Sobrevivientes ya que confirmó el siniestro, violento e histórico proceder de la Iglesia Católica en materia de abuso sexual clerical.
Esa acción, confirmó la sospecha de que el Vaticano tiene una completa y actualizada base de datos de sus víctimas. Asimismo, la premeditada selección de ellas, el proceder secreto y oscuro del pontífice, la negativa a recibir reclamos concretos de parte de los afectados y la consiguiente manipulación efectuada por el máximo jerarca católico, dejan ver la contumacia en su proceder ladino, contrario a la transparencia que finge ostentar.
Sumado a que el papa Francisco ha vulnerado el derecho de todas las víctimas a ser convocadas por igual, ya que deben ser ellas las que deciden ejercer o no el derecho a concurrir a una reunión y no ser seleccionadas como ovejas por el poder religioso.
Sin perjuicio de ello, en razón del repudio público generado por las declaraciones de Bergoglio relativas a que no había pruebas para condenar a Barros, poco tiempo después, volvió sobre sus pasos, nombró una nueva comisión de investigación cuyas conclusiones admitieron la culpabilidad del obispo y la connivencia de otros.
El resultado de esa investigación fue que en el mes de mayo de 2018 la Conferencia Episcopal de Chile, en pleno, puso sus cargos a disposición del papa, quien aceptó las renuncias de cinco de ellos: el propio Juan Barros (Osorno), Cristian Caro Cordero (Puerto Montt), Gonzalo Duarte García de Cortázar (Valparaíso), Alejandro Goic (Rancagua), Horacio del Carmen Valenzuela (Talca).
La aceptación de las renuncias constituye otra trampa, ya que los “renunciantes” no fueron expulsados de la institución, sino que permanecen en ella con el consiguiente riesgo para niños, niñas y adolescentes.
Se suma el hecho no menor que las renuncias de Caro y Duarte se aceptaron por razones de edad.
La renuncia de Goic fue aceptada, además, por su complicidad y tardía reacción en el caso de la cofradía de 14 sacerdotes pedófilos denominada “La Familia”, investigada por la justicia estatal chilena.

38. Promocionó a cargos superiores a Ricardo Ezzati (nombrado cardenal en 2014) y Francisco Javier Errázuriz (integrante del C9). Los tres fueron protagonistas del mayor escándalo por abusos sexuales clericales en Chile.

39. Expulsó al sacerdote chileno Pedro Mariano Labarca Araya – de la orden mercedaria – por su participación en casos de abuso sexual contra menores y ex seminaristas. Sin embargo, el motivo principal de la decisión fue “el grave daño a la dignidad sacerdotal y a los compromisos religiosos”. Las víctimas – una vez más – pasaron a un segundo plano, de nuevo fueron invisibilizadas.

40. En el caso del Instituto Alonso de Ercilla, administrado por Hermanos Maristas, las medidas adoptadas fueron tardías, confirmando la política de silencio institucional. No se refirió al caso, ha ignorado por completo a las víctimas sobrevivientes. Existe una treintena de casos ocurridos entre los años 70 y 80.

41. El accionar contrario a los derechos humanos de las víctimas chilenas puede observarse en la situación de los 80 religiosos denunciados y al menos 11 Obispos involucrados en casos de abuso.

42. Retiró – rápidamente – de República Dominicana al nuncio apostólico Jozef Wesolowski, acusado de pederastia y tenencia de pornografía infantil, para no ponerlo a disposición de las autoridades judiciales de ese país.
Una de sus víctimas dijo que “tenía un tipo de gusto específico, de 14 a 16 años, y si eran “blanquitos’ mucho mejor”. Wesolowski falleció en el Vaticano, en circunstancias poco claras, antes de someterse a la justicia vaticana que, se sabe, no se destaca por su imparcialidad.

43. En México, mantuvo en su puesto – hasta que renunció – al cardenal Norberto Rivera, el mayor encubridor de sacerdotes pederastas de ese país, incluido el predador sexual Marcial Maciel Degollado (fallecido), fundador de los Legionarios de Cristo.

44. Dicha congregación fue “perdonada” mediante indulgencia plenaria, como también su movimiento seglar (Regnum Christi), por los abusos sexuales cometidos por su fundador, Marcial Maciel, quien fue acusado además de fraude, extorsión y haber abusado de sus propios hijos, ya que llevaba doble vida.

45. Avaló el proceder de la Arquidiócesis Primada de México que absolvió al sacerdote José Ataulfo García tras confesar haber abusado sexualmente de decenas de niñas en la comunidad indígena de Oaxaca. Al delito de abuso y violación de unas 30 niñas de entre 5 y 10 años, admitido por el propio clérigo, se suma el hecho de que García es portador de HIV.

46. En Argentina, no ha expulsado aún al cura Julio Cesar Grassi, no obstante estar condenado por delitos de abuso sexual y corrupción de menores a 15 años de prisión efectiva. El procedimiento canónico se retomó luego que la Corte Suprema de Justicia de la Nación confirmara la prisión del sacerdote.

47. Avala las líneas-guía de la Conferencia Episcopal Argentina donde se niega sistemáticamente a las víctimas garantías del debido proceso, violando derechos humanos básicos y revictimizándolas ya que continúa el abuso de poder y la denegación de justicia.

48. Nunca recibió a víctimas de abuso integrantes de la Red de Sobrevivientes de Abuso Sexual Eclesiástico de Argentina. Los intentos de reunión que hizo fue en secreto, evitando seleccionar personas que fueran a hacer reclamos concretos. Las que ha recibido – de otros países – han sido cuidadosamente digitadas para evitar dichos reclamos, manipulándolas, revictimizándolas.

49. Tomó conocimiento en 2014 de casos de abusos sexuales en el Instituto Antonio Próvolo de Verona, Italia y no adoptó ninguna medida. Se le entregó – en sus propias manos – la lista de sacerdotes abusadores y de víctimas.

50. Inició en el 2015 el proceso de beatificación del obispo de Verona, Giuseppe Carraro, quien abusó sexualmente de un alumno del Instituto Antonio Próvolo de aquella ciudad.

51. Volvió a tomar conocimiento – en 2016 – de más casos de abusos sexuales en el Instituto Próvolo, esta vez en Mendoza y La Plata, Argentina. Recién ahí nombró una comisión de investigación integrada por dos sacerdotes de la Arquidiócesis de Córdoba, Argentina, quienes a requerimiento del fiscal adjunto de la causa Próvolo – para que colaborasen con la justicia estatal aportando su propia documentación -, se negaron, invocando el privilegio jurídico que le otorga el Concordato de 1966 firmado entre Argentina y la Santa Sede, es decir, no informar.
El trabajo de la referida comisión tuvo claros propósitos de extraer información del expediente sin tener legitimación procesal, entorpeciendo el desarrollo del mismo, con riegos de planteos de nulidad que perjudicarían a las víctimas.

52. Avala el accionar delictivo de las autoridades del Instituto Próvolo de Italia respecto a los sacerdotes detenidos en Mendoza, no llevando cabo ningún procedimiento para sancionarlas. Mantiene en el cargo de Vicedirector del Instituto a Giovanni Granuzzo, sacerdote pederasta denunciado por víctimas italianas.

53. Avala el accionar cómplice del Arzobispado de Mendoza, entidad localmente responsable del Instituto Antonio Próvolo.

54. No ha iniciado procedimiento canónico alguno contra los tres obispos de Mendoza por su responsabilidad en el funcionamiento del Instituto Antonio Próvolo aplicando las disposiciones contenidas en el documento “Como una madre amorosa”.

55. Avala los dichos del sacerdote Dante Simón, que integra la Comisión enviada por el Vaticano para investigar los hechos del Próvolo, quien sostuvo que “una chica, un chico… se enamora de un sacerdote, y éste no le responde. Tan despechado puede ser el varón como la mujer. Entonces, lo denuncian. Y como hay que intervenir de oficio, ante la denuncia, hay que intervenir. Entonces muchas causas son desestimadas”.

56. No ha iniciado proceso canónico contra el obispo de San Francisco, Córdoba, Sergio Buenanueva, quien expresamente reconoció: “Nuestro gran error fue proteger a los curas abusadores”.

57. Avaló la decisión de la Comisión que investigó los hechos del Próvolo en su negativa a brindar información y documentación al fiscal de la causa, amparándose en el Concordato de 1966. Incumplió, de ese modo, la sentencia de la Suprema Corte de Justicia de Mendoza – caso Iván González c/ Arzobispado de Mendoza – que le ordenó a la iglesia brindar información a las víctimas.

58. No ha iniciado procedimiento canónico alguno – para determinar responsabilidades por omisión y negligencia, aplicando las disposiciones contenidas en el documento “Como una madre amorosa”- contra los obispos argentinos que se enumeran a continuación, responsables de controlar a sacerdotes incardinados en sus diócesis, denunciados por abuso sexual en sede estatal y/o canónica:
* Héctor Aguer, sacerdotes Héctor Ricardo Giménez, Nicola Corradi y Horacio Corbacho (La Plata).
* José María Arancedo, sacerdote Félix Alejandro José Martínez (Mar del Plata), y Luis Brizzio (Santa Fe).
* Antonio Marino, sacerdote Félix Alejandro José Martínez (Mar del Plata).
* Ricardo Faifer, sacerdote Domingo Jesús Pacheco (Corrientes).
* José María Arancibia y Sergio Buenanueva, sacerdotes Jorge Luis Morello y Raúl del Castillo (Mendoza).
* Carlos María Franzini (fallecido) y Dante Braida, sacerdotes Nicola Corradi y Horacio Corbacho (Mendoza).
* Juan Alberto Puíggari, sacerdotes Justo José Ilarraz, Marcelino Moya, Juan Diego Escobar Gavíria y religiosa Bibiana Fleitas (Entre Ríos). 
* Estanislao Karlic, sacerdote Justo José Ilarraz (Entre Ríos). 
* Mario Maulión, sacerdote Justo José Ilarraz (Entre Ríos). 
* Oscar Ojea y Mario Poli, sacerdote Mario Koessler (San Isidro, Buenos Aires).
* Mario Cargnello, sacerdotes Emilio Raimundo Lama y Agustín Rosa Torino (Salta).
* Luis Urbanc, sacerdotes Juan de Dios Gutiérrez y Renato Rasjido (Catamarca).
* Adolfo Uriona, sacerdote Carlos Alberto Dorado (Santiago del Estero).
* José Masín y Rubén Martínez, sacerdote Néstor Monzón (Chaco).
* Guillermo Rodríguez Melgarejo y Sergio Buenanueva, sacerdote Carlos José (San Martín, Buenos Aires).
* Miguel Ángel D´Annibale, sacerdote Cristian Abel Vázquez (Río Grande, Tierra del Fuego).
* Hugo Santiago, sacerdote Tulio Mattiussi (San Pedro, Buenos Aires).
* Alfredo Dus, sacerdotes Luxorio Ruiz Bilbao (fallecido) y Juan José Crippa (Chaco)
* Fernando Maletti y Oscar Miñarro, por el laico que trabaja en el taller de Cáritas (Merlo, Pcia. de Bs. As.).
Respecto al caso del sacerdote Félix Alejandro José Martínez, cabe aclarar que cuando Jorge Bergoglio era cardenal, uno de los papás de víctimas llamó por teléfono y el secretario le contestó que no los iba a recibir porque no era un tema de su competencia. Al poco tiempo, los padres de las víctimas le enviaron dos cartas al Papa Francisco, a través de Gustavo Vera, diputado en Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires y amigo personal del papa, pero ni siquiera recibieron un acuse de recibo.

En el caso del fallecido obispo Abelardo Silva, tampoco inició investigación alguna para determinar las responsabilidades. La denuncia canónica lleva número Prot. 142/2017-59513 Congregación para la Doctrina de la Fe -Cardenal Prefecto Gerhard Ludwin Muller.

Los obispos argentinos que se reunieron con la víctima y fueron notificados del caso, son los siguientes:
* Fernando Croxatto (Neuquén), Carlos Malfa (Secretario de la Conferencia Episcopal Argentina), Martín Fassi (auxiliar de San Isidro), Miguel Angel Dänibale (Río Gallegos) y el Cardenal Mario Poli.

59. Como consecuencia de ser el principal avalista del sistema de encubrimiento, tolera, sin haber tomado medida alguna, que el sacerdote Luis Alberto Bergliaffa, sancionado en 2014 por abusar de una niña en la provincia de Córdoba, tenga cobijo en la diócesis de General Roca, provincia de Río Negro.
El mencionado pederasta, fue sancionado la Iglesia Católica que le impide ejercer el sacerdocio por 10 años, pero sin ningún tipo de control. Es decir, nadie dentro de la institución eclesiástica, controla que el sacerdote no siga celebrando sacramentos, o tenga otro tipo de actividad clerical.
Como no fue sancionado por la Justicia del Estado, cumplida la pena canónica, podrá volver a participar de cualquier actividad dentro de la iglesia, con el consiguiente riesgo de volver a tener contacto con niños, niñas y adolescentes.

60. En Perú, avala la continuidad del movimiento Sodalicio de Vida Cristiana (SVC), investigado por la justicia de ese país, al que se le imputa ser una organización criminal en la que se habrían cometido los delitos de asociación ilícita, secuestro, abusos sexuales a menores, esclavitud moderna y lesiones graves, así como un presunto delito de lavado de activos.

61. Protege a su fundador, Luis Fernando Figari, quien fuera declarado culpable por la propia organización, de abusos físicos, psicológicos y sexuales cometidos por aquél y otras cabezas del movimiento. La sanción impuesta por al Vaticano ha sido enviarlo a un lugar de penitencia en Italia, donde quedará enclaustrado. Además, tiene prohibido volver al Perú (excepto por motivos sumamente graves y siempre con permiso escrito), tener contacto directo o personal con miembros de la comunidad sodálite y conceder entrevistas a los medios de comunicación, ya sea en público o en privado. La Santa Sede consideró que los delitos, de acuerdo al derecho canónico, han prescrito. Lo que se le impone son medidas disciplinarias de carácter administrativo. A pesar de haberse iniciado una investigación penal en los tribunales peruanos, el Vaticano no lo ha puesto a disposición de la justicia estatal.

62. En su visita a Perú en 2018, permitió que el arzobispo de Piura y Tumbes, José Antonio Eguren Anselmi (integrante del Sodalicio), leyera un discurso en su honor.
Eguren fue el primer denunciado en el año 2000. Ha sido señalado como partícipe principal en casos de tráficos de terrenos en la ciudad de Piura, y vinculado a la organización criminal La Gran Cruz.

63. En Paraguay, medió en el conflicto desatado entre el obispo Rogelio Ricardo Livieres y el arzobispo de Asunción, Pastor Cuquejo, quien sugirió en junio de 2014 abrir una investigación para aclarar las acusaciones sobre el sacerdote argentino Carlos Urrutigoity, acusado de abuso sexual en 2002 por un estudiante de la Academia Saint Gregory en Pensilvania, Estados Unidos, y protegido por Livieres. El conflicto terminó con la destitución de Livieres, quien luego falleció en 2015.
En cuanto al sacerdote motivo del conflicto, se sabe – extraoficialmente – que la iglesia lo mantiene escondido en la provincia de Mendoza, Argentina.

64. Permitió que el sacerdote argentino Carlos Richard Ibáñez, investigado por abuso sexual de al menos diez jóvenes en Bell Ville, provincia de Córdoba, Argentina, entre 1991 y 1992, participara en la concelebración de una misa el 12 de julio de 2015 en Ñu Guasu, actividad prevista en el viaje papal a Paraguay.

65. Avaló la presión que el Nuncio Apostólico en Paraguay llevara a cabo contra el Diario La Nación de ese país, con la finalidad de que no se siguiera con la publicación de una investigación efectuada por periodistas de ese diario, sobre sacerdotes pederastas argentinos trasladados por haber cometido ese delito.

Carlos Lombardi es abogado. Mat. Fed. T° 76 F° 491. Asesor legal de la Red de Sobrevivientes de Abuso Sexual Eclesiástico de Argentina. Apoderado de la Rete L’Abuso, Associazione italiana vittime di preti pedofili, Italia. 

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.

Red de Sobrevivientes de Abuso Sexual Eclesiástico de Argentina Los 65 cuestionamientos al Papa Francisco sobre el sistema de encubrimiento del clero abusador sexual

SAN ISIDRO (ARGENTINA)
Diario Feliciano [Entre Ríos, Argentina]

December 24, 2018

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La Red de Sobrevivientes de Abuso Sexual Eclesiástico de Argentina elaboró un informe sobre “las acciones del papa Francisco que consolidan el sistema de encubrimiento del clero abusador sexual en la iglesia católica, 2013 – 2018”. Allí se da cuenta que todavía –para el caso Argentina y especialmente Entre Ríos- no ha iniciado procedimiento canónico alguno para determinar responsabilidades por omisión y negligencia, aplicando las disposiciones contenidas en el documento “Como una madre amorosa”, contra los obispos argentinos, responsables de controlar a sacerdotes incardinados en sus diócesis, denunciados por abuso sexual en sede estatal y/o canónica. En el caso de Entre Ríos, se trata de los obispos Juan Alberto Puíggari (sacerdotes Justo José Ilarraz, Marcelino Moya, Juan Diego Escobar Gaviria y la religiosa Bibiana Fleitas); Estanislao Karlic y Mario Maulión (sacerdote Justo José Ilarraz).Por Carlos Lombardi (*)

Las acciones que se enumeran a continuación, han sido llevadas a cabo por el papa Francisco desde que fue elegido hasta la fecha de publicación del presente informe elaborado por la Red de Sobrevivientes de Abuso Sexual Eclesiástico de Argentina.

La enumeración no es taxativa, por lo que pueden sumarse muchas más acciones. Todas ellas, consolidan el sistema de encubrimiento de los sacerdotes abusadores sexuales que la institución religiosa mantiene en su estructura, cuyos efectos no son otros que el abuso de poder, la denegación de justicia y la violación de derechos humanos de las víctimas.

Institucionales

1. Designó en la Curia vaticana a cardenales que participaron del cónclave que lo eligieron como papa, integrantes de la denominada “docena sucia” por haber sido acusados de encubrir sacerdotes pederastas. Ellos son: Leonardo Sandri (Argentina), miembro de la secretaría para la Comunicación del Vaticano; George Pell (Australia), Prefecto de la Secretaría de Economía de la Santa Sede; Marc Ouellet (Canadá), Prefecto de la Congregación para los Obispos y Presidente de la Pontificia Comisión para América Latina; Seán O’Malley (EE.UU.), Consejero en el C8 y Presidente de la Pontificia Comisión para la Protección de Menores; Peter Turkson (Ghana), Prefecto del Dicasterio para el Servicio del Desarrollo Humano Integral; Oscar Rodríguez Madariaga (Honduras), Consejero del C9.

2. Designó en la C9 (órgano consultivo), a los siguientes cardenales acusados de encubrir abusos sexuales: Oscar Rodríguez Madariaga; Francisco Javier Errázuriz Ossa; Sean Patrick O’Malley; George Pell. En el caso de Errázuriz, se le aceptó el retiro luego de terminar el período para el cual fue nombrado.

3. En particular, el cardenal George Pell es responsable de encubrir más de 4.000 casos de abusos sexuales del clero en Australia y, también, de haberlos cometido. Al no poder sostener más su cargo y ser requerido por las autoridades judiciales de Australia, le concedió licencia para que viaje a su país y se someta a las autoridades judiciales del estado. En noviembre de 2018, Pell fue encontrado culpable de abusar sexualmente de dos monaguillos en los años ’90, cuando era obispo en Ballarat, conforme el veredicto unánime de un tribunal de Melbourne.

4. En los mencionados casos de Errázuriz y Pell no hubo expulsión ni apartamiento por parte del papa de los prelados, sino cumplimiento del mandato en el primero y otorgamiento de licencia en el segundo, sin renovación “agradeciéndoles el trabajo que han realizado en estos cinco años”.

5. No ha cumplido con las nueve exhortaciones que el Comité de los Derechos del Niño (ONU), le hizo a la Santa Sede en 2014 para extirpar el flagelo de los abusos sexuales, que está enquistado en su estructura y organización.

6. No ha cumplido con el conjunto de medidas sugeridas por el Comité que controla la Convención contra la Tortura y otros tratos o penas crueles, Inhumanos o degradantes, para evitar la comisión de abusos sexuales.

7. No ha presentado al Comité de los Derechos del Niño el último informe relativo al cumplimiento – dentro de la iglesia – de la Convención respectiva, que venció el 01 septiembre de 2017 y que la Santa Sede tiene la obligación de presentar por haberla suscripto.

8. Tampoco presentó al Comité contra la Tortura el informe periódico que venció el 23 de mayo de 2018.

9. Mantiene el sistema de violencia institucional, sexual, psicológica y de género contra niños, niñas y adolescentes.

10. Mantiene el cuerpo normativo interno, violatorio de derechos humanos de las víctimas de abuso sexual eclesiástico, principal eje donde engarza todo el sistema de encubrimiento de curas abusadores.

11. Mantiene el secreto pontificio en materia de abusos sexuales del clero. El mismo, obliga a todos los participantes de un procedimiento canónico a guardar secreto bajo juramento de silencio. Se amordaza y coacciona a las víctimas.

12. No ha publicado registro oficial – certificado por organismos independientes – de los sacerdotes expulsados por causa de abuso sexual infantil.

13. Mantiene en secreto el lugar donde están los sacerdotes acusados de abuso sexual y que han sido separados de modo transitorio por una medida cautelar canónica, con serio riesgo de estar cerca de niños y jóvenes. Tampoco existen mecanismos internos para controlar aquellas medidas.

14. Avala el rol marginal de la Comisión para la Tutela de Menores que, en la práctica, no ha producido cambios significativos. Desde su creación, sólo se ha reunido tres o cuatro veces de manera plenaria, cuyos dictámenes no son obligatorios para los obispos.
La misma no tiene poder de investigación real, no conoce la información existente en la Congregación para la Doctrina de la Fe (única con competencia en la materia), acerca de los abusos sexuales; tampoco conoce estadísticas. Sus resultados son prácticamente nulos.

15. Avaló la expulsión de Peter Saunders de la referida Comisión. Saunders fue víctima de abuso sexual y muy crítico con la actividad de la misma.

16. Avaló la inacción de la Comisión al aceptar la renuncia de Marie Collins, otra víctima de abuso sexual designada para integrarla como señal de transparencia. La causa por la que renunció: “Falta de apoyo dentro del Vaticano”. Las dos víctimas fueron usadas y manipuladas.

17. Creó un Tribunal encargado de juzgar a obispos negligentes en iniciar procedimientos contra curas abusadores. Luego, dio marcha atrás elaborando la carta apostólica Como una madre amorosa, suplantando el tribunal por un procedimiento regulado en el Código de Derecho Canónico y encargado a determinadas Congregaciones de la Curia.
El proceso es groseramente tramposo: el obispo acusado tiene la posibilidad de entrevistar a los superiores de las Congregaciones, fomentando el contubernio; se consolida el privilegium fori, es decir, el hecho que curas juzguen curas por delitos comunes; se elimina la independencia como fundamento de un juicio justo e imparcial. Un esperpento jurídico. Aún no hay un solo obispo sancionado por este mecanismo.

18. Avala la permanencia del sacerdote Tony Anatrella, psicoterapeuta y asesor francés del Vaticano en temas de la sexualidad que argumenta que los homosexuales no deben ser ordenados al sacerdocio y que ha sido acusado por al menos cuatro hombres de haberles abusado sexualmente en sesiones de terapia diseñadas para “curarles” de su homosexualidad.

19. Designó al arzobispo jesuita español Luis Ladaria Ferrer como nuevo prefecto de la Congregación para la Doctrina de la Fe, quien no llevó a la justicia estatal a un sacerdote que la Iglesia condenó por abuso sexual de 11 niños.

20. No ha propuesto reforma alguna relativa al secreto de confesión que, entre otras causas, permite el encubrimiento de sacerdotes pederastas.
En el caso del cardenal Pell, las autoridades australianas recibieron una recomendación de parte de una comisión especial creada para investigar los casos de abuso sexual que recomienda no otorgar “ninguna excusa, protección o privilegio” a los sacerdotes que no alerten a la policía de los delitos de los que tengan noticias, sin importar el contexto en el que se ha dado a conocer.

21. El Vaticano no informa el nombre de los sacerdotes pedófilos, con acusación o sanción; omite premeditadamente informar a la autoridad judicial de los estados. Ejemplo, el de un sacerdote italiano que desapareció de su diócesis. Luego se conoció que había sido enjuiciado y expulsado por la Congregación para la Doctrina de la Fe por pedófilo, lo redujeron al estado laical. Fue la propia Congregación quien le ordenó al sacerdote abusador que no debía contar nada a nadie porque había que proteger la imagen de la iglesia.

22. Reconoció expresamente que “la Iglesia llegó demasiado tarde” tanto para reconocer la gravedad del problema como para asumir responsabilidades al respecto.
“Tal vez la antigua práctica de transferir a la gente adormiló un poco las conciencias”, expresó Francisco durante una reunión con los miembros de Pontificia Comisión para la Protección de los Menores en el Palacio Apostólico.

23. Recibió una carta del joven polaco Kamil Tadeusz Jarzembowski, denunciando los abusos en su habitación a otro seminarista, más de 140 veces y de los que él era testigo ocular. El papa no tomó decisión alguna.

24. Avaló y no se opuso a la ordenación sacerdotal del Pbro. Gabriele Martinelli, acusado por abusos en el Preseminario San Pío X en el Vaticano. Año 2017.

25. Participó de la misa por el fallecimiento del cardenal Bernard Law, ex arzobispo de Boston, EE.UU., el mayor encubridor de sacerdotes pederastas en ese país, que fuera protegido en el Vaticano para no entregarlo a las autoridades judiciales. Nunca se lo enjuició ni sancionó.

26. En diciembre de 2017, renovó la Comisión para la Tutela de Menores, ampliándola a dieciséis miembros, pero sin modificar su función y sentido.

27. Designó al cardenal Roger Mahony – crónico encubridor de sacerdotes abusadores en Los Ángeles -, para ser su enviado especial y representante en una Misa Pontifical en la Catedral de Scranton, Pensilvania, para celebrar el 150 aniversario de esa diócesis, que tuvo lugar el 4 de marzo de 2018 en la Catedral de San Pedro, Scranton. Finalmente, el propio Mahony informó que no podría asistir.

28. Fue denunciado por el Arzobispo Carlo María Viganò, exnuncio en Estados Unidos, por encubrir los abusos sexuales cometidos por el Arzobispo Emérito de Washington, el ex cardenal Theodore McCarrick.
El caso reflejó, además, un conflicto interno dentro de la institución, por pertenecer el denunciante a una línea política distinta a la del papa.

En Europa

29. Avaló la protección que el cardenal Angelo Bagnasco – ex presidente de la Conferencia Episcopal Italiana y arzobispo de Génova – hizo de Carlos Miguel Buela, fundador del Instituto Verbo Encarnado y sancionado canónicamente por casos de abuso sexual. Nadie controla a Buela, para evitar futuros abusos a niños y/o seminaristas.

30. Mantiene la ambigüedad en el caso español denominado “los romanones”. Atiende personalmente la llamada del denunciante, le pide perdón, le anima a denunciar a la justicia civil y pone en marcha el proceso canónico rápidamente, fruto del cual el arzobispo de Granada suspende a divinis a tres de los imputados. Sin embargo, coloca a otros miembros del clan como sus sustitutos. No somete al obispo de Granada – Francisco Javier Martínez- a juicio por negligencia.

31. Protege a 25 obispos franceses (5 de ellos en actividad), que encubrieron a 39 sacerdotes abusadores de 300 niños.

32. Redujo las sanciones a un grupo de curas pederastas italianos, que no perdieron su condición de sacerdotes, sino que no realizarán el ejercicio público de los oficios.

33. En Alemania, no ha sancionado a obispos ni sacerdotes por el escándalo de los 547 niños abusados en el coro Regensburger Domspatzen, dirigido durante décadas por Georg Ratzinger, el hermano mayor del papa Benedicto XVI.
En relación a este país, ha guardado silencio ante el informe que da cuenta que 3600 niños fueron abusados sexualmente por miembros del clero católico a lo largo de las últimas siete décadas.

34. No se ha pronunciado respecto a la situación de los 18 sacerdotes españoles incriminados o detenidos en su país de residencia, u otros acusados o condenados en España, luego trasladados, o que han huido.

América Latina

35. En Chile, nombró obispo de Osorno al sacerdote Juan Barros, principal encubridor del pederasta Fernando Karadima. Ante un grupo de chilenos en el Vaticano, les aconsejó que “piensen con la cabeza y no se dejen llevar por acusaciones infundadas de los zurdos”. Calificó de tontos a los católicos de Osorno que se opusieron a esa designación.

36. En su visita a aquel país en enero de 2018, pidió perdón por los abusos sexuales cometidos por clérigos chilenos; luego, admitió la participación en una misa y otros actos eclesiásticos a los obispos encubridores del pederasta Karadima (Valenzuela, Tomislav Koljatic), y al propio Barros.
Trató de mentirosos a Juan Carlos Cruz, Hamilton y Murillo, víctimas de Karadima quienes debieron llamar a conferencia de prensa para replicar al papa.

37. En la referida visita, se reunió en forma secreta con víctimas de abuso sexual, motivando el repudio de la Red de Sobrevivientes ya que confirmó el siniestro, violento e histórico proceder de la Iglesia Católica en materia de abuso sexual clerical.
Esa acción, confirmó la sospecha de que el Vaticano tiene una completa y actualizada base de datos de sus víctimas. Asimismo, la premeditada selección de ellas, el proceder secreto y oscuro del pontífice, la negativa a recibir reclamos concretos de parte de los afectados y la consiguiente manipulación efectuada por el máximo jerarca católico, dejan ver la contumacia en su proceder ladino, contrario a la transparencia que finge ostentar.
Sumado a que el papa Francisco ha vulnerado el derecho de todas las víctimas a ser convocadas por igual, ya que deben ser ellas las que deciden ejercer o no el derecho a concurrir a una reunión y no ser seleccionadas como ovejas por el poder religioso.
Sin perjuicio de ello, en razón del repudio público generado por las declaraciones de Bergoglio relativas a que no había pruebas para condenar a Barros, poco tiempo después, volvió sobre sus pasos, nombró una nueva comisión de investigación cuyas conclusiones admitieron la culpabilidad del obispo y la connivencia de otros.
El resultado de esa investigación fue que en el mes de mayo de 2018 la Conferencia Episcopal de Chile, en pleno, puso sus cargos a disposición del papa, quien aceptó las renuncias de cinco de ellos: el propio Juan Barros (Osorno), Cristian Caro Cordero (Puerto Montt), Gonzalo Duarte García de Cortázar (Valparaíso), Alejandro Goic (Rancagua), Horacio del Carmen Valenzuela (Talca).
La aceptación de las renuncias constituye otra trampa, ya que los “renunciantes” no fueron expulsados de la institución, sino que permanecen en ella con el consiguiente riesgo para niños, niñas y adolescentes.
Se suma el hecho no menor que las renuncias de Caro y Duarte se aceptaron por razones de edad.
La renuncia de Goic fue aceptada, además, por su complicidad y tardía reacción en el caso de la cofradía de 14 sacerdotes pedófilos denominada “La Familia”, investigada por la justicia estatal chilena.

38. Promocionó a cargos superiores a Ricardo Ezzati (nombrado cardenal en 2014) y Francisco Javier Errázuriz (integrante del C9). Los tres fueron protagonistas del mayor escándalo por abusos sexuales clericales en Chile.

39. Expulsó al sacerdote chileno Pedro Mariano Labarca Araya – de la orden mercedaria – por su participación en casos de abuso sexual contra menores y ex seminaristas. Sin embargo, el motivo principal de la decisión fue “el grave daño a la dignidad sacerdotal y a los compromisos religiosos”. Las víctimas – una vez más – pasaron a un segundo plano, de nuevo fueron invisibilizadas.

40. En el caso del Instituto Alonso de Ercilla, administrado por Hermanos Maristas, las medidas adoptadas fueron tardías, confirmando la política de silencio institucional. No se refirió al caso, ha ignorado por completo a las víctimas sobrevivientes. Existe una treintena de casos ocurridos entre los años 70 y 80.

41. El accionar contrario a los derechos humanos de las víctimas chilenas puede observarse en la situación de los 80 religiosos denunciados y al menos 11 Obispos involucrados en casos de abuso.

42. Retiró – rápidamente – de República Dominicana al nuncio apostólico Jozef Wesolowski, acusado de pederastia y tenencia de pornografía infantil, para no ponerlo a disposición de las autoridades judiciales de ese país.
Una de sus víctimas dijo que “tenía un tipo de gusto específico, de 14 a 16 años, y si eran “blanquitos’ mucho mejor”. Wesolowski falleció en el Vaticano, en circunstancias poco claras, antes de someterse a la justicia vaticana que, se sabe, no se destaca por su imparcialidad.

43. En México, mantuvo en su puesto – hasta que renunció – al cardenal Norberto Rivera, el mayor encubridor de sacerdotes pederastas de ese país, incluido el predador sexual Marcial Maciel Degollado (fallecido), fundador de los Legionarios de Cristo.

44. Dicha congregación fue “perdonada” mediante indulgencia plenaria, como también su movimiento seglar (Regnum Christi), por los abusos sexuales cometidos por su fundador, Marcial Maciel, quien fue acusado además de fraude, extorsión y haber abusado de sus propios hijos, ya que llevaba doble vida.

45. Avaló el proceder de la Arquidiócesis Primada de México que absolvió al sacerdote José Ataulfo García tras confesar haber abusado sexualmente de decenas de niñas en la comunidad indígena de Oaxaca. Al delito de abuso y violación de unas 30 niñas de entre 5 y 10 años, admitido por el propio clérigo, se suma el hecho de que García es portador de HIV.

46. En Argentina, no ha expulsado aún al cura Julio Cesar Grassi, no obstante estar condenado por delitos de abuso sexual y corrupción de menores a 15 años de prisión efectiva. El procedimiento canónico se retomó luego que la Corte Suprema de Justicia de la Nación confirmara la prisión del sacerdote.

47. Avala las líneas-guía de la Conferencia Episcopal Argentina donde se niega sistemáticamente a las víctimas garantías del debido proceso, violando derechos humanos básicos y revictimizándolas ya que continúa el abuso de poder y la denegación de justicia.

48. Nunca recibió a víctimas de abuso integrantes de la Red de Sobrevivientes de Abuso Sexual Eclesiástico de Argentina. Los intentos de reunión que hizo fue en secreto, evitando seleccionar personas que fueran a hacer reclamos concretos. Las que ha recibido – de otros países – han sido cuidadosamente digitadas para evitar dichos reclamos, manipulándolas, revictimizándolas.

49. Tomó conocimiento en 2014 de casos de abusos sexuales en el Instituto Antonio Próvolo de Verona, Italia y no adoptó ninguna medida. Se le entregó – en sus propias manos – la lista de sacerdotes abusadores y de víctimas.

50. Inició en el 2015 el proceso de beatificación del obispo de Verona, Giuseppe Carraro, quien abusó sexualmente de un alumno del Instituto Antonio Próvolo de aquella ciudad.

51. Volvió a tomar conocimiento – en 2016 – de más casos de abusos sexuales en el Instituto Próvolo, esta vez en Mendoza y La Plata, Argentina. Recién ahí nombró una comisión de investigación integrada por dos sacerdotes de la Arquidiócesis de Córdoba, Argentina, quienes a requerimiento del fiscal adjunto de la causa Próvolo – para que colaborasen con la justicia estatal aportando su propia documentación -, se negaron, invocando el privilegio jurídico que le otorga el Concordato de 1966 firmado entre Argentina y la Santa Sede, es decir, no informar.
El trabajo de la referida comisión tuvo claros propósitos de extraer información del expediente sin tener legitimación procesal, entorpeciendo el desarrollo del mismo, con riegos de planteos de nulidad que perjudicarían a las víctimas.

52. Avala el accionar delictivo de las autoridades del Instituto Próvolo de Italia respecto a los sacerdotes detenidos en Mendoza, no llevando cabo ningún procedimiento para sancionarlas. Mantiene en el cargo de Vicedirector del Instituto a Giovanni Granuzzo, sacerdote pederasta denunciado por víctimas italianas.

53. Avala el accionar cómplice del Arzobispado de Mendoza, entidad localmente responsable del Instituto Antonio Próvolo.

54. No ha iniciado procedimiento canónico alguno contra los tres obispos de Mendoza por su responsabilidad en el funcionamiento del Instituto Antonio Próvolo aplicando las disposiciones contenidas en el documento “Como una madre amorosa”.

55. Avala los dichos del sacerdote Dante Simón, que integra la Comisión enviada por el Vaticano para investigar los hechos del Próvolo, quien sostuvo que “una chica, un chico… se enamora de un sacerdote, y éste no le responde. Tan despechado puede ser el varón como la mujer. Entonces, lo denuncian. Y como hay que intervenir de oficio, ante la denuncia, hay que intervenir. Entonces muchas causas son desestimadas”.

56. No ha iniciado proceso canónico contra el obispo de San Francisco, Córdoba, Sergio Buenanueva, quien expresamente reconoció: “Nuestro gran error fue proteger a los curas abusadores”.

57. Avaló la decisión de la Comisión que investigó los hechos del Próvolo en su negativa a brindar información y documentación al fiscal de la causa, amparándose en el Concordato de 1966. Incumplió, de ese modo, la sentencia de la Suprema Corte de Justicia de Mendoza – caso Iván González c/ Arzobispado de Mendoza – que le ordenó a la iglesia brindar información a las víctimas.

58. No ha iniciado procedimiento canónico alguno – para determinar responsabilidades por omisión y negligencia, aplicando las disposiciones contenidas en el documento “Como una madre amorosa”- contra los obispos argentinos que se enumeran a continuación, responsables de controlar a sacerdotes incardinados en sus diócesis, denunciados por abuso sexual en sede estatal y/o canónica:
* Héctor Aguer, sacerdotes Héctor Ricardo Giménez, Nicola Corradi y Horacio Corbacho (La Plata).
* José María Arancedo, sacerdote Félix Alejandro José Martínez (Mar del Plata), y Luis Brizzio (Santa Fe).
* Antonio Marino, sacerdote Félix Alejandro José Martínez (Mar del Plata).
* Ricardo Faifer, sacerdote Domingo Jesús Pacheco (Corrientes).
* José María Arancibia y Sergio Buenanueva, sacerdotes Jorge Luis Morello y Raúl del Castillo (Mendoza).
* Carlos María Franzini (fallecido) y Dante Braida, sacerdotes Nicola Corradi y Horacio Corbacho (Mendoza).
* Juan Alberto Puíggari, sacerdotes Justo José Ilarraz, Marcelino Moya, Juan Diego Escobar Gavíria y religiosa Bibiana Fleitas (Entre Ríos). 
* Estanislao Karlic, sacerdote Justo José Ilarraz (Entre Ríos). 
* Mario Maulión, sacerdote Justo José Ilarraz (Entre Ríos). 
* Oscar Ojea y Mario Poli, sacerdote Mario Koessler (San Isidro, Buenos Aires).
* Mario Cargnello, sacerdotes Emilio Raimundo Lama y Agustín Rosa Torino (Salta).
* Luis Urbanc, sacerdotes Juan de Dios Gutiérrez y Renato Rasjido (Catamarca).
* Adolfo Uriona, sacerdote Carlos Alberto Dorado (Santiago del Estero).
* José Masín y Rubén Martínez, sacerdote Néstor Monzón (Chaco).
* Guillermo Rodríguez Melgarejo y Sergio Buenanueva, sacerdote Carlos José (San Martín, Buenos Aires).
* Miguel Ángel D´Annibale, sacerdote Cristian Abel Vázquez (Río Grande, Tierra del Fuego).
* Hugo Santiago, sacerdote Tulio Mattiussi (San Pedro, Buenos Aires).
* Alfredo Dus, sacerdotes Luxorio Ruiz Bilbao (fallecido) y Juan José Crippa (Chaco)
* Fernando Maletti y Oscar Miñarro, por el laico que trabaja en el taller de Cáritas (Merlo, Pcia. de Bs. As.).
Respecto al caso del sacerdote Félix Alejandro José Martínez, cabe aclarar que cuando Jorge Bergoglio era cardenal, uno de los papás de víctimas llamó por teléfono y el secretario le contestó que no los iba a recibir porque no era un tema de su competencia. Al poco tiempo, los padres de las víctimas le enviaron dos cartas al Papa Francisco, a través de Gustavo Vera, diputado en Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires y amigo personal del papa, pero ni siquiera recibieron un acuse de recibo.

En el caso del fallecido obispo Abelardo Silva, tampoco inició investigación alguna para determinar las responsabilidades. La denuncia canónica lleva número Prot. 142/2017-59513 Congregación para la Doctrina de la Fe -Cardenal Prefecto Gerhard Ludwin Muller.

Los obispos argentinos que se reunieron con la víctima y fueron notificados del caso, son los siguientes:
* Fernando Croxatto (Neuquén), Carlos Malfa (Secretario de la Conferencia Episcopal Argentina), Martín Fassi (auxiliar de San Isidro), Miguel Angel Dänibale (Río Gallegos) y el Cardenal Mario Poli.

59. Como consecuencia de ser el principal avalista del sistema de encubrimiento, tolera, sin haber tomado medida alguna, que el sacerdote Luis Alberto Bergliaffa, sancionado en 2014 por abusar de una niña en la provincia de Córdoba, tenga cobijo en la diócesis de General Roca, provincia de Río Negro.
El mencionado pederasta, fue sancionado la Iglesia Católica que le impide ejercer el sacerdocio por 10 años, pero sin ningún tipo de control. Es decir, nadie dentro de la institución eclesiástica, controla que el sacerdote no siga celebrando sacramentos, o tenga otro tipo de actividad clerical.
Como no fue sancionado por la Justicia del Estado, cumplida la pena canónica, podrá volver a participar de cualquier actividad dentro de la iglesia, con el consiguiente riesgo de volver a tener contacto con niños, niñas y adolescentes.

60. En Perú, avala la continuidad del movimiento Sodalicio de Vida Cristiana (SVC), investigado por la justicia de ese país, al que se le imputa ser una organización criminal en la que se habrían cometido los delitos de asociación ilícita, secuestro, abusos sexuales a menores, esclavitud moderna y lesiones graves, así como un presunto delito de lavado de activos.

61. Protege a su fundador, Luis Fernando Figari, quien fuera declarado culpable por la propia organización, de abusos físicos, psicológicos y sexuales cometidos por aquél y otras cabezas del movimiento. La sanción impuesta por al Vaticano ha sido enviarlo a un lugar de penitencia en Italia, donde quedará enclaustrado. Además, tiene prohibido volver al Perú (excepto por motivos sumamente graves y siempre con permiso escrito), tener contacto directo o personal con miembros de la comunidad sodálite y conceder entrevistas a los medios de comunicación, ya sea en público o en privado. La Santa Sede consideró que los delitos, de acuerdo al derecho canónico, han prescrito. Lo que se le impone son medidas disciplinarias de carácter administrativo. A pesar de haberse iniciado una investigación penal en los tribunales peruanos, el Vaticano no lo ha puesto a disposición de la justicia estatal.

62. En su visita a Perú en 2018, permitió que el arzobispo de Piura y Tumbes, José Antonio Eguren Anselmi (integrante del Sodalicio), leyera un discurso en su honor.
Eguren fue el primer denunciado en el año 2000. Ha sido señalado como partícipe principal en casos de tráficos de terrenos en la ciudad de Piura, y vinculado a la organización criminal La Gran Cruz.

63. En Paraguay, medió en el conflicto desatado entre el obispo Rogelio Ricardo Livieres y el arzobispo de Asunción, Pastor Cuquejo, quien sugirió en junio de 2014 abrir una investigación para aclarar las acusaciones sobre el sacerdote argentino Carlos Urrutigoity, acusado de abuso sexual en 2002 por un estudiante de la Academia Saint Gregory en Pensilvania, Estados Unidos, y protegido por Livieres. El conflicto terminó con la destitución de Livieres, quien luego falleció en 2015.
En cuanto al sacerdote motivo del conflicto, se sabe – extraoficialmente – que la iglesia lo mantiene escondido en la provincia de Mendoza, Argentina.

64. Permitió que el sacerdote argentino Carlos Richard Ibáñez, investigado por abuso sexual de al menos diez jóvenes en Bell Ville, provincia de Córdoba, Argentina, entre 1991 y 1992, participara en la concelebración de una misa el 12 de julio de 2015 en Ñu Guasu, actividad prevista en el viaje papal a Paraguay.

65. Avaló la presión que el Nuncio Apostólico en Paraguay llevara a cabo contra el Diario La Nación de ese país, con la finalidad de que no se siguiera con la publicación de una investigación efectuada por periodistas de ese diario, sobre sacerdotes pederastas argentinos trasladados por haber cometido ese delito.

Carlos Lombardi es abogado. Mat. Fed. T° 76 F° 491. Asesor legal de la Red de Sobrevivientes de Abuso Sexual Eclesiástico de Argentina. Apoderado de la Rete L’Abuso, Associazione italiana vittime di preti pedofili, Italia. 

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Jesuits protected themselves

SPOKANE (WA)
Spokesman Review

December 23, 2018

A recent independent investigation shows that Jesuit officials repeatedly put Gonzaga students and staff in harm’s way by quietly moving known or suspected predator priests to the campus. Shame on them.

One high-ranking Jesuit claims the Jesuit building at Gonzaga was, according to the Associated Press, “the only facility” where offenders “could be contained effectively while also receiving necessary medical care.” Baloney. The church has dozens if not hundreds of such places, most of which aren’t on or near a school attended by thousands of potentially vulnerable teens and young adults.

The Jesuits knowingly, repeatedly and recklessly endangered others to protect themselves, their colleagues, their reputations and their money. I hope parents remember this when pondering where to send their kids for further education and Catholics will ponder this when Jesuits come asking for donations.

Mary Dispenza

Bellevue

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AMERICAN CATHOLICS GIVE POPE POOR MARKS ON HANDLING ABUSE BY PRIESTS

NEW YORK (NY)
CBS News

December 24, 2018

As more allegations of child sexual abuse by Catholic priests surfaced, most U.S. Catholics said the Pope and the Vatican were doing a poor job handling these reports, and about a quarter of Catholics said the reports made them question whether they should remain in the Church. Favorable views of Pope Francis dropped sharply in the wake of the scandal from 63 percent in 2016 to 48 percent in 2018.

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Churchgoers, cut the ‘Chreasters’ some slack

WASHINGTON (DC)
Washington Post

December 23, 2018

By E.J. Dionne Jr.

Christmas remains wondrous, but it arrives at a difficult moment for Christianity in the United States.

We still see Christmas trees strapped to the tops of cars, neighbors lighting up their homes and kids getting as excited as ever. And the churches will be unusually full.

This last point is revealing: A relative decline of religious observance has brought forth the “Chreasters,” Christians who attend services only on Christmas and Easter.

Regular worshipers can be disdainful of the Chreasters. They make it hard for the loyalists to find seats in the pews and are, in a sense, free riding on those who, week in and week out, keep the institutions going.

The Chreasters’ participation on special days is often written off as little more than a gush of sentiment inspired by warm childhood memories or an affection for the Christmas story and the songs and ceremonies we have developed around it.

But these twice-a-year visitors deserve our attention and, I’d argue, our respect.

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The Catholic Church in 2018: ‘Year of the Clergy’ turns challenging

MANILA (PHILIPPINES)
Manila Bulletin

December 24, 2018

By Leslie Ann Aquino

The Year 2018 is indeed the “Year of the Clergy” in view of the different challenges that the Church and its leaders faced this year.

Among these challenges was the killing of a number of priests in the country. Father Mark Ventura was killed in Gattaran, Cagayan on April 29 only four months after Father Marcelito Paez was killed in Nueva Ecija. In June, Father Richmond Nilo was also killed by unknown gunmen in Cabanatuan.

On the same month, Father Rey Urmeneta of the St. Michael the Archangel Parish in Calamba, Laguna, was wounded after being shot by unidentified suspects.

Despite these, Catholic prelates rejected the idea of arming their priests.

The Church and bishops were also often the subject of President Duterte’s tirades.

At a public event, Duterte accused Kalookan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David, a vocal critic of his ruthless campaign against illegal drugs, of stealing church donations to give it to his family.

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Letter: Lock up the priests who have sexually abused children

CRYSTAL LAKE (IL)
Northwest Herald

December 24, 2018

To The Editor:

I believe that the Catholic Church needs to stop investigating the childhood sexual abuse committed by some of their priests.

Please stop and just call it what it is!

These people are sexual predators who have chosen to willfully, and repeatedly, violate our precious children. They belong in jail along with other sexual predators.

The Catholic Church’s solution of foisting these criminals to other parts of the country or even out of the country (South America) is abhorrent!

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Statement on Father Timone

TRUMBULL (CT)
Courage

December 21, 2018

Dear Courage and EnCourage Family,

I last wrote to you in September to share information with you regarding priests who were associated with the Courage Apostolate who had been credibly accused of sexual abuse of minors; Father Harvey’s work with priests who had been so accused; and other connections between the apostolate and the sexual abuse crisis. At that time, I promised that I would keep you updated about new information that I received.

I am writing today about two articles that have appeared in recent weeks, one about long-time Courage chaplain Father Donald Timone, and the other about Father Harvey.

I want to begin by acknowledging that, whenever the topic of sexual abuse by clergy comes up, it can be a particularly painful experience for people who have survived such abuse, and for their loved ones. Some have described it as feeling like one has to endure the original trauma of the abuse over again. It is also a source of distress for members of the apostolate and of the Catholic faithful in general, as each new revelation threatens the trust that they have placed in the clergy who are called to serve as spiritual fathers and models. I deeply regret the pain that this letter may cause for you, but I believe that honest discussion of these issues is the best way to achieve healing, for the individual and for the Church.

Handling of Allegations of Sexual Abuse Against Father Donald Timone

On December 20, the New York Times ran an article by Sharon Otterman, under the headline, “The Church Settled Sexual Abuse Cases Against This Priest. Why Is He Still Saying Mass?” The article states that two allegations of sexual abuse were made against Father Donald Timone, a retired priest of the Archdiocese of New York, to the Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Program (IRCP) created by the Archdiocese of New York, in 2016, for which the IRCP authorized settlement payments. The article goes on to describe the distressing details of the alleged abuse, which it says took place in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The article notes that the allegations were brought to the attention of the Archdiocese of New York (and in one of the cases, to law enforcement) in 2002 and 2003, at which time Father Timone was suspended from ministry and an investigation was conducted by the Archdiocesan Review Board.

According to the spokesman for the Archdiocese of New York, quoted in the article, only one of those allegations was brought to the Review Board. As a result of its investigation, the Review Board determined that the allegation was not credible, and accordingly Father Timone was returned to ministry in 2003. He has continued to assist in a parish in the archdiocese to this day, even after his retirement from active ministry in 2009, when he reached the age of 75. The Archdiocese of New York recently began a new investigation of the allegations brought to the IRCP against Father Timone, which is ongoing. As of the time of my writing to you, the Archbishop of New York, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, has not suspended Father Timone from ministry while the investigation is pending.

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Priest Who Was Still Saying Mass After Abuse Settlements Is Suspended

NEW YORK (NY)
New York Times

December 23, 2018

By Sharon Otterman

The Archdiocese of New York has suspended a priest who had continued his clerical duties despite two settlements paid for allegations of sexual abuse of teenage boys.

The Rev. Donald G. Timone, 84, is the subject of an internal investigation by the archdiocese, but had continued to celebrate Mass in New York and California, more than a year and a half after an archdiocesan compensation program paid settlements to the two men, as detailed last week by The New York Times.

A spokesman for the archdiocese, Joseph Zwilling, said on Friday that the archdiocese would no longer allow Father Timone to remain in ministry while it weighed permanently removing him.

One of the men who came forward with claims of abuse by Father Timone committed suicide in 2015 after what his widow said was a decades-long struggle to come to terms with the abuse.

Father Timone, who formally retired in 2009, is a priest in residence at St. Joseph’s Church in Middletown, N.Y., and had celebrated Mass there as recently as Dec. 2.

But Father Timone, Mr. Zwilling said in an email, has “been instructed that he is not to exercise his ministry at all until the review board has again examined his case and the matter has been resolved.”

The two settlements were awarded in the spring of 2017 by the Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Program, founded by Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, the archbishop of New York, to compensate victims of clergy abuse, provided they release the archdiocese from future legal claims.

Those settlements did not trigger Father Timone’s removal from the ministry despite the archdiocese’s “zero-tolerance” policy on child sexual abuse, Mr. Zwilling said, because the compensation program functioned separately from the archdiocese’s own internal process for substantiating abuse allegations.

Supporters of the two men who had received settlements said that they were relieved Father Timone was now being pulled from the pulpit, at least temporarily, but that did not excuse how the archdiocese had handled his case.

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December 23, 2018

After more than a bad year, will Pope Francis right the ship?

TORNOTO (CANADA)
The Globe and Mail

December 21, 2018

By Michael W. Higgins

Every modern pope appears to have had an annus horribilis at some point in his pontificate. For Pope Francis, such times of tumult and catastrophe are not bound to a 12-month cycle with a longed-for terminus: They are the norm, not the exception.

For the current Pope, internal chaos, open rebellion by dissident clerics, dubious professions of loyalty by high-ranking prelates and a cascade of sex-abuse scandals and episcopal cover-ups all make for an unhealthy state of affairs.

It is irregular to have a former papal ambassador, Carlo Maria Viganò, complain publicly about his boss (they do so robustly, but in private), flinging allegations of misconduct against the Pope himself in the public arena and calling for his resignation because he, and his like-minded corruptors, promoted the now disgraced former cardinal of Washington, Theodore McCarrick, with the full knowledge that his behaviour fell well below accepted standards. Indeed, Viganò argues the Pope was remiss in not enforcing sanctions against the errant cleric – sanctions initially applied by Benedict XVI.

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The Guardian view on Catholic abuse: repent and confess

LONDON (ENGLAND)
The Guardian

Decebmer 23, 2018

Pope Francis gives an annual Christmas speech to his civil service in the Vatican and he wastes none of it on praising them. From his very first condemnation of their gossip, pride, and “spiritual Alzheimer’s” in 2014 he has found faults to pick with parts of the Roman Catholic church. This year, it was the turn of sexual abuse, a subject on which he has himself been squarely in the wrong before. As if making up for lost time, he gave one of the most ferocious denunciations of his own church’s past, and promised concrete measures and a new start. He even praised the journalists who brought these scandals to light, in the teeth of ecclesiastical denial and obstruction. He demanded that any priests guilty of abuse hand themselves over to the civil authorities, and prepare to face the justice of God as well. This is all excellent stuff and only about 20 years late.

The great problem for the church this century has not been the exposure of contemporary abuse so much as the exposure of the cover-ups of past abusers. Francis himself has been accused by his enemies of protecting a notorious abuser, Theodore McCarrick, once a powerful figure in the US church, whom he sacked as a cardinal in the summer. In fact, Mr McCarrick was the beneficiary of a long-standing Vatican policy of promoting effective fundraisers, and owed most of his rise to the sainted John Paul II. But several US states have published lists of hundreds of men credibly suspected of historic offences, but protected by bishops in the past; Francis’s own order, the Jesuits, is to engage in a similar reckoning with its past.

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Crux’s Rundown of the Top Ten Vatican Stories of 2018

ROME (ITALY)
Crux

December 23, 2018

By John L. Allen Jr.

There hasn’t been a dull moment in the Catholic Church since Pope Francis was elected in March 2013, but even by his activist and high-octane standards, 2018 was a turbulent year.

The past 12 months have been full of drama, both great highs – the joy of the World Meeting of Families in Dublin in August, for instance – and tremendous lows, above all the stupefying spectacle of a former papal ambassador in America publicly accusing the pope himself of a sex abuse cover-up.

Herewith, the official Crux list of the Top Ten Vatican Stories of 2018, ranked in terms of their relative significance for the life of the Church. This is an entirely subjective enterprise, and others doubtless will assess the major events of the past year differently, but however one puts the pieces together, it’s definitely been a year worth a look back.

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Priest named in church sex abuse probe jailed

WILKES-BARRE (PA)
Times Leader

December 23, 2018

A Roman Catholic priest on Friday became the first person sentenced to prison as a result of a Pennsylvania grand jury investigation that found hundreds of clergy had abused children over seven decades.

The Rev. John Thomas Sweeney, 76, received 11¢ months to five years in state prison and will have to register as a sex offender for 10 years.

He pleaded guilty in July to misdemeanor indecent assault on a minor after being accused of forcing a 10-year-old boy to perform oral sex on him while counseling the fourth-grader about misbehaving on a school bus.

“I want the public to know that he’s profoundly remorseful for any pain, anguish and discomfort that the victim has suffered as a result of his actions,” said Sweeney’s lawyer, Fran Murrman, after the sentencing in Westmoreland County.

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Vermont’s Catholic Church settles priest misconduct lawsuit

MONTPELIER (VT)
VTDigger

December 22 2018

By Kevin O’Connor

The Vermont Catholic Church suddenly and surprisingly has settled a priest misconduct lawsuit filed just this month that threatened to spur a jury trial and potential multimillion-dollar verdict.

Lawyer Jerome O’Neill submitted civil papers Dec. 7 in U.S. District Court in Burlington on behalf of a former Vermont man now living in Texas who alleges he was sexually abused as a child by Alfred Willis, a former priest for the statewide Roman Catholic Diocese from 1975 until his dismissal in 1985.

The accuser, who asked not to be named, was an altar boy at Milton’s St. Ann parish when the claims took place four decades ago. But the Vermonter, who went on to move out of state, didn’t learn until last year that the diocese had tried to cover up its role and therefore could be legally liable.

The state’s largest religious denomination had hoped to have heard the last of such lawsuits in 2013 after paying more than $30 million in settlements to cap a near-bankrupting 11-year string of 40 headline-grabbing cases.

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Addressing the moral bankruptcy of the Catholic Church

WINONA (MN)
Winona Daily News

December 22, 2018

By David Girod

Good column Jerome! (“Can this debt ever be repaid? Perhaps,” Winona Daily News, Nov. 21). I suppose the Christian thing to do is show compassion. Maybe Christ will upon each individual’s demise. Priests, and bishops. Except when he warned those who “make a young child stumble,” you’d be “better off to have a weight around your neck and fall into the ocean.”

In a perfect world, every case that has occurred, if brought to the attention of civil authorities (not church officials, obviously), it would have been investigated. And, if credible, prosecuted, hopefully with prison time. No cover-ups or shuffling priests around. How ever high up you must go to catch all guilty priests.

As Jerome’s column said, they may be able to pay off any monetary damages. But they must address the “moral bankruptcy” and find the root cause of the priests’ behavior.

And, no, I don’t believe that those priests are pedophiles. In all this, I was surprised to read that Pope Francis is considering changing the rules to allow priests to marry due to the shortage of priests and also the years of abuse of children by priests. That, my friends, is a wise man. It’s what I’ve said all along. And I assume, he being the head of the church, with a pen, could make that happen. That rule of celibacy for priests is not a rule for any of the world’s other religions. What an archaic rule.

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Providence Catholic bishop promises to list abusive priests

NEWPORT (RI)
Newport Daily News

December 22, 2018

By Brian Amaral

An announcement Friday that the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence would release the names of priests credibly accused of sexual abuse was met with questions and some skepticism from victims, advocates and lawyers who have battled the church.

“How do we know whether they’re giving us names that aren’t already known to the public and police?” said Carl DeLuca, a Rhode Island lawyer who represented children abused by Providence diocese priests. “It’s kind of a question of faith. The history is not such that they’re really entitled to that kind of faith.”

On Friday, Bishop Thomas J. Tobin said in a WPRI Newsmakers interview that the diocese would release the names of credibly accused priests sometime in the next year, following in the steps of other dioceses in the country.

He told WPRI’s Tim White and Ted Nesi in the interview released Friday that he did not expect many people would be surprised at the priests on the list, because most of them will have already been publicized. Tobin defined “credible” as allegations where “it seems like it could have happened and probably did happen,” but did not say how far back in the files the church would go.

“The first focus has to be on the victims themselves,” Tobin said.

The diocese did not respond to The Providence Journal’s request for an interview on Saturday. Tobin said he has removed five priests over credible allegations in his 13 years as bishop.

Timothy Conlon, a lawyer who represented people abused by Providence diocese priests when they were children, said he’d need to see the names released before knowing whether the diocese was breaking with what he sees as its history of hiding the truth.

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Norwich Diocese should follow Hartford’s lead on releasing predatory priest names

NORWICH (CT)
The Day

December 22. 2018

It appears the Diocese of Norwich, after decades of refusing to be fully transparent and frank, is ready to come to grips with the scandal of predatory sexual abuse of minors by clergy.

Or maybe not.

Last week the diocese issued a brief statement that it plans to release the names of priests and deacons who were credibly accused of sexual abuse. This will occur sometime near the end of January, according to the release.

Only by coming clean about who was involved and how these cases were dealt with can the diocese specifically and the greater church generally begin slowly and painstakingly to rebuild confidence among parishioners and the public.

The Catholic Church has made corrections since the outrageous behavior by some priests − the cover-ups, the lack of any help for victims, and the transferring of predatory priests from one parish to the next − was uncovered by the press about two decades ago. Since then training requirements have been put in place for clergy, laypersons and volunteers who work with children about recognizing the signs of abuse. Under those rules, suspicion of misconduct is to be reported to police.

But victims of past predatory behaviors should not have to live with the knowledge that their assailants and those who enabled them remain protected by the church. People have a right to know who in the hierarchy of the church made decisions that allowed the conduct to continue and whether those persons still hold positions of authority.

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What the church can do to regain trust

SANTA FE (NM)
New Mexican

December 21, 2018

By Dan Thibault and Robert Fontana

We were at the 10 a.m. Mass for the second Sunday of Advent at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi. The music, readings, rituals with the incensing of the altar and the scriptures, and the homily by Archbishop John Wester were at the same time both beautiful and painful to experience.

We could not help but think, as Wester led us in worship, of the great crisis that our church faces because of clergy who have raped minors and vulnerable adults and of bishops who concealed these crimes. We grieve for the victims in their pain and suffering; it is church leadership’s cover-up of these crimes that we find most offensive.

And now, through the revelations of Archbishop Theodore McCarrick’s sexual misbehavior with seminarians and priests, we have a window into why cover-up has been so pervasive within the Catholic Church.

What was being protected was not simply a few isolated instances of abuse, but an entire subculture of sexually active priests, most who are gay but some not, who live a public life of pious prayer and ministry while privately betraying their vows of celibacy and service. As we all know, the scandal has encompassed the entire church, including in New Mexico. Yet Wester made no mention of the sex abuse crisis in his homily, prayers of the faithful or announcements at the end of Mass.

These omissions came in the very week the diocese declared bankruptcy to protect its assets as it tries to pay abuse claims and the Santa Fe New Mexican editorial condemned the moral failure of the Santa Fe Catholic leadership in response to the crisis (“Catholic Church has work ahead to rebuild trust,” Our View, Dec. 9). (Editor’s note: Wester did preach on the crisis on the Third Sunday of Advent. His comments can be viewed at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi’s Facebook page.)

As we struggled through the Mass, our eyes were drawn to the San Damiano crucifix that hangs above the altar. It was from such a cross that the future St. Francis, a layman, heard Jesus speak to him the words, “Go and rebuild my church for as you see it is in ruins.”

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Editorial: Clergy abuse probe should be top priority for Missouri’s next attorney general

ST. LOUIS (MO)
Post Dispatch

December 23, 2018

An investigation by the Illinois attorney general into child sexual assault in the Catholic Church echoes what’s been found in other states: a widespread, decades-long pattern of abuse and coverup involving hundreds of priests.

Missouri’s own investigation continues, with victims’ advocates complaining that outgoing Attorney General Josh Hawley hasn’t been aggressive enough. With Hawley heading to the U.S. Senate, his replacement, Eric Schmitt, has an opportunity to start on the right foot by making the investigation a top priority.

America was stunned this year when an investigation in Pennsylvania determined that some 300 priests had abused roughly 1,000 children over a 70-year period, as the church actively covered the abusers’ tracks. Those findings spawned similar investigations in other states, including Missouri and Illinois.

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan announced her office’s findings last week, and it was, again, stunning. As the Post-Dispatch’s Nassim Benchaabane reported, Madigan’s investigators uncovered allegations of sexual abuse against at least 500 clergy that the church knew about but never made public.

In many cases, they found, the church declined to even investigate allegations. Some abuse survivors weren’t told that others had been victimized by the same clergy members. There were also instances in which church officials used details of the victims’ personal lives to discredit them.

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Judgment for Predatory Priests, Here and in the Hereafter

NEW YORK (NY)
New York Times

December 22, 2018

Pope Francis had grim tidings for predatory priests, in this life and the next.

“Hand yourself over to human justice, and prepare for divine justice,” the pope said in a Christmas address at the Vatican, making clear that the church will no longer protect them, “hush up or not take seriously any case.”

The warning came after the release of the latest catalog of church horrors, a scathing report by the Illinois attorney general, Lisa Madigan, finding that nearly 700 priests had been accused of abusing children over the years, while the names of only 185 were made public. It’s terrible, and terribly familiar. Earlier this year, a grand jury report in Pennsylvania accused bishops of covering up seven decades of widespread clerical abuse of children, and at least 16 state attorneys general have opened similar investigations.

The words of the pope and the authorities — about justice, divine and human — should be of deep concern at two major gatherings that the Catholic Church hopes will initiate genuine change in an institution almost brought to ruin by cascading revelations of clerics’ sexual abuse of minors, and systematic cover-ups by their bishops.

Action at the meetings — first a gathering of all American bishops outside Chicago in early January, then a summit meeting of the heads of all the national bishops’ conferences in the Vatican in late February — will be crucial if the church is to overcome broad skepticism after years of denial, obstruction of justice and callousness toward victims of predatory priests.

The depth of the problem was revealed nearly 17 years ago when The Boston Globe published its pioneering report on abuse in the Boston diocese.

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Anglican liaison at Vatican out after sex misconduct charge

ROME (ITALY)
Associated Press

December 22, 2018

The Anglican Church’s representative to the Holy See has resigned following an allegation of sexual misconduct.

A statement from the Anglican Centre in Rome, an ecumenical study center and headquarters for the Archbishop of Canterbury’s envoy to the Holy See, announced the resignation Friday.

Archbishop Bernard Ntahoturi, former Anglican primate of Burundi, was appointed in 2017. He didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Details of the alleged misconduct weren’t released. A brief statement issued by the center said Ntahoturi was suspended last week and that the governors of the center had accepted his resignation.

Anglicans split from Catholicism in 1534, after England’s King Henry VIII was denied a marriage annulment. The two churches have forged closer ties in the last few decades.

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Somehow, the Catholic Church Is Still Getting Worse

Vice
|
December 21 2018

By Alex Norcia

The latest horrific revelations of sexual abuse unpunished show, yet again, that the Church’s first tactic is to make excuses and hide.

On Thursday, the New York Times published yet another damning report about sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, the latest in an endless series of horror stories about a broken institution that has long provided predators with access to children. In this case, Reverend Donald G. Timone, a priest repeatedly accused of sexual abuse, was revealed to have administered mass in New York as recently as earlier this month. This despite the Archdiocese of New York, the second-largest in the United States, being under immense pressure to hold abusers to account, with the Church at large embroiled in a global scandal that shows no signs of relenting. To that end, in September, Cardinal Timothy Dolan announced a sex-abuse review board, headed by a former federal judge, to look into how crimes and other wrongdoing have been dealt with in the past, and how investigations might be improved on going forward.

According to the Times, Timone was already involved with another entity, the Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Program, a Church-sponsored panel created by Cardinal Dolan that sounds like something Winston Smith might stumble upon in 1984. That body paid settlements in cases involving at least two Timone accusers last year, one of whom committed suicide in 2015. The logical follow-up to would seem to be the priest’s defrocking, but no, actually: The archdiocese, which previously suspended Timone in 2002, never made a definitive ruling on his “fitness”—though it has since reopened his case—which left him free to operate in an official capacity around vulnerable members of the faith.

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Southern Baptist leader indicted on charge of sexually abusing teenager in 1997

FT. WORTH (TX)
Star Telegram

December 19, 2018

By Nichole Manna

A Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary graduate who resigned over the summer from the South Carolina Baptist Convention has been indicted on a charge of sexually assaulting a teenager in Arlington more than two decades ago.

Mark Edwin Aderholt, 47, was originally arrested on July 3 in South Carolina on a warrant issued in the Tarrant County case. Court records in Tarrant County show an indictment was handed up in the case on Tuesday for sexual assault of a child under the age of 17.

Aderholt has been out on bond since his arrest.

The indictments — four of them in total — brought relief to Aderholt’s accuser, Anne Marie Miller.

She was 16 when the alleged assault happened in 1997.

“I’m glad that truth is being heard and justice is being served and it is my hope that Mr. Aderholt will see this as another opportunity to confess and admit what he did,” she said Wednesday.

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Minister on leave from IHOP in KC dropped from sexual abuse claim in California case

KANSAS CITY (MO)
Kansas City Star

By Judy L. Thomas

December 20, 2018

A former California youth pastor now on leave from the International House of Prayer in Kansas City has been dropped as a defendant in a sexual abuse claim against his former church.

Jennifer Roach says Brad Tebbutt, who in recent years had been running a ministry at IHOP for people in their 50s, is cooperating in her lawsuit against CrossPoint Community Church, formerly First Baptist Church of Modesto, Calif. Tebbutt was youth pastor at First Baptist in the 1980s when the abuse occurred, the lawsuit alleges.

Roach, now 47, filed the lawsuit in May against CrossPoint, First Baptist and Tebbutt, alleging that Tebbutt sexually abused her for 2½ years in the 1980s, starting when she was 15.

Roach, an ordained Anglican minister and therapist in Washington state whose clients include sexual abuse victims, also alleged in the lawsuit that church officials at First Baptist Church of Modesto covered up the abuse.

“I always knew First Baptist/CrossPoint mishandled my situation,” Roach told The Star on Thursday. “What I didn’t know was how many other adult men were also preying on teenagers at that church. They knew about the situation, did nothing, and sent those men off to do the same thing at other churches.

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Spokane Diocese Told Seven Accused Jesuit Priests Once Lived at Gonzaga University

SPOKANE (WA)
Catholic News Agency

December 21, 2018

The Diocese of Spokane said Thursday it was unacceptable that Jesuit priests credibly accused of sexual abuse were unsupervised on the campus of Gonzaga University. While Spokane’s current bishop had no knowledge the priests had been living at the university, the diocese said its prior bishop was informed of their presence in 2011.

“The Diocese of Spokane shares the concern of those who are angry and saddened to learn that the Oregon Province of Jesuits — now part of the Jesuits West Province — placed Jesuits credibly accused of sexual abuse at the Cardinal Bea House on Gonzaga University’s campus without informing the Gonzaga community,” a Dec. 20 statement from the diocese read.

In June 2011, “the Jesuit provincial, Father Patrick Lee, informed then-Bishop Blase Cupich that seven priests with safety plans in place were living at Bea House,” the diocesan statement added.

“Bishop Thomas Daly — who was installed in 2015 — was not informed by the Jesuits or Gonzaga University that these men were living at Cardinal Bea House.”

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Catholic Bishops Won’t Discuss Sexual Abuse At Upcoming Spiritual Retreat

Chicago (IL)
CBS TV

December 22, 2018

A recent investigation by the Illinois attorney general finds the Catholic Church failed to publicly identify the names of more than 500 priests accused of sexual abuse.

However, the Archdiocese of Chicago says this report will not be talked about when bishops from around the United States gather in the north suburbs next month.

Cardinal Blase Cupich is hosting 300 bishops at a spiritual retreat at Mundelein Seminary Jan. 2-8.

An archdiocese spokeswoman says during this time, clergy sex abuse will not be discussed.

The gathering is strictly for prayer, fasting and spiritual lectures.

A spokeswoman for Attorney General Lisa Madigan calls it absurd not to discuss the findings.

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December 22, 2018

Entre los 65 cuestionamientos graves al papa Francisco, aparece un caso santiagueño

SAN MIGUEL (ARGENTINA)
Nuevo Diario Web [Santiago del Estero, Argentina]

December 22, 2022

Read original article

Se pide que investiguen a un sacerdote por un abuso cometido hace varios años y al obispo que debería haberlo sancionado

Las acciones que se enumeran a continuación, han sido llevadas a cabo por el papa Franciscodesde que fue elegido hasta la fecha de publicación del presente informe, consigna el sitio Mendoza Online.

La enumeración no es taxativa, por lo que pueden sumarse muchas más acciones. Todas ellas, consolidan el sistema de encubrimiento de los sacerdotes abusadores sexuales que la institución religiosa mantiene en su estructura, cuyos efectos no son otros que el abuso de poder, la denegación de justicia y la violación de derechos humanos de las víctimas.

a) Institucionales

1. Designó en la Curia vaticana a cardenales que participaron del cónclave que lo eligieron como papa, integrantes de la denominada “docena sucia” por haber sido acusados de encubrir sacerdotes pederastas. Ellos son: Leonardo Sandri (Argentina), miembro de la secretaría para la Comunicación del Vaticano; George Pell (Australia), Prefecto de la Secretaría de Economía de la Santa Sede; Marc Ouellet (Canadá), Prefecto de la Congregación para los Obispos y Presidente de la Pontificia Comisión para América Latina; Seán O’Malley (EE.UU.), Consejero en el C8 y Presidente de la Pontificia Comisión para la Protección de Menores; Peter Turkson (Ghana), Prefecto del Dicasterio para el Servicio del Desarrollo Humano Integral; Oscar Rodríguez Madariaga (Honduras), Consejero del C9.

2. Designó en la C9 (órgano consultivo), a los siguientes cardenales acusados de encubrir abusos sexuales: Oscar Rodríguez Madariaga; Francisco Javier Errázuriz Ossa; Sean Patrick O’Malley; George Pell. En el caso de Errázuriz, se le aceptó el retiro luego de terminar el período para el cual fue nombrado.

3. En particular, el cardenal George Pell es responsable de encubrir más de 4.000 casos de abusos sexuales del clero en Australia y, también, de haberlos cometido. Al no poder sostener más su cargo y ser requerido por las autoridades judiciales de Australia, le concedió licencia para que viaje a su país y se someta a las autoridades judiciales del estado. En noviembre de 2018, Pell fue encontrado culpable de abusar sexualmente de dos monaguillos en los años ’90, cuando era obispo en Ballarat, conforme el veredicto unánime de un tribunal de Melbourne.

4. En los mencionados casos de Errázuriz y Pell no hubo expulsión ni apartamiento por parte del papa de los prelados, sino cumplimiento del mandato en el primero y otorgamiento de licencia en el segundo, sin renovación “agradeciéndoles el trabajo que han realizado en estos cinco años”.

5. No ha cumplido con las nueve exhortaciones que el Comité de los Derechos del Niño (ONU), le hizo a la Santa Sede en 2014 para extirpar el flagelo de los abusos sexuales, que está enquistado en su estructura y organización.

6. No ha cumplido con el conjunto de medidas sugeridas por el Comité que controla la Convención contra la Tortura y otros tratos o penas crueles, Inhumanos o degradantes, para evitar la comisión de abusos sexuales.

7. No ha presentado al Comité de los Derechos del Niño el último informe relativo al cumplimiento – dentro de la iglesia – de la Convención respectiva, que venció el 01 septiembre de 2017 y que la Santa Sede tiene la obligación de presentar por haberla suscripto.

8. Tampoco presentó al Comité contra la Tortura el informe periódico que venció el 23 de mayo de 2018.

9. Mantiene el sistema de violencia institucional, sexual, psicológica y de género contra niños, niñas y adolescentes.

10. Mantiene el cuerpo normativo interno, violatorio de derechos humanos de las víctimas de abuso sexual eclesiástico, principal eje donde engarza todo el sistema de encubrimiento de curas abusadores.

11. Mantiene el secreto pontificio en materia de abusos sexuales del clero. El mismo, obliga a todos los participantes de un procedimiento canónico a guardar secreto bajo juramento de silencio. Se amordaza y coacciona a las víctimas.

12. No ha publicado registro oficial – certificado por organismos independientes – de los sacerdotes expulsados por causa de abuso sexual infantil.

13. Mantiene en secreto el lugar donde están los sacerdotes acusados de abuso sexual y que han sido separados de modo transitorio por una medida cautelar canónica, con serio riesgo de estar cerca de niños y jóvenes. Tampoco existen mecanismos internos para controlar aquellas medidas.

14. Avala el rol marginal de la Comisión para la Tutela de Menores, que en la práctica, no ha producido cambios significativos. Desde su creación, sólo se ha reunido tres o cuatro veces de manera plenaria, cuyos dictámenes no son obligatorios para los obispos.

La misma no tiene poder de investigación real, no conoce la información existente en la Congregación para la Doctrina de la Fe (única con competencia en la materia), acerca de los abusos sexuales; tampoco conoce estadísticas. Sus resultados son prácticamente nulos.

15. Avaló la expulsión de Peter Saunders de la referida Comisión. Saunders fue víctima de abuso sexual y muy crítico con la actividad de la misma.

16. Avaló la inacción de la Comisión al aceptar la renuncia de Marie Collins, otra víctima de abuso sexual designada para integrarla como señal de transparencia. La causa por la que renunció: “Falta de apoyo dentro del Vaticano”. Las dos víctimas fueron usadas y manipuladas.

17. Creó un Tribunal encargado de juzgar a obispos negligentes en iniciar procedimientos contra curas abusadores. Luego, dio marcha atrás elaborando la carta apostólica Como una madre amorosa, suplantando el tribunal por un procedimiento regulado en el Código de Derecho Canónico y encargado a determinadas Congregaciones de la Curia.

El proceso es groseramente tramposo: el obispo acusado tiene la posibilidad de entrevistar a los superiores de las Congregaciones, fomentando el contubernio; se consolida el privilegium fori, es decir, el hecho que curas juzguen curas por delitos comunes; se elimina la independencia como fundamento de un juicio justo e imparcial. Un esperpento jurídico. Aún no hay un solo obispo sancionado por este mecanismo.

18. Avala la permanencia del sacerdote Tony Anatrella, psicoterapeuta y asesor francés del Vaticano en temas de la sexualidad que argumenta que los homosexuales no deben ser ordenados al sacerdocio y que ha sido acusado por al menos cuatro hombres de haberles abusado sexualmente en sesiones de terapia diseñadas para “curarles” de su homosexualidad.

19. Designó al arzobispo jesuita español Luis Ladaria Ferrer como nuevo prefecto de la Congregación para la Doctrina de la Fe, quien no llevó a la justicia estatal a un sacerdote que la Iglesia condenó por abuso sexual de 11 niños.

20. No ha propuesto reforma alguna relativa al secreto de confesión que, entre otras causas, permite el encubrimiento de sacerdotes pederastas.

En el caso del cardenal Pell, las autoridades australianas recibieron una recomendación de parte de una comisión especial creada para investigar los casos de abuso sexual que recomienda no otorgar “ninguna excusa, protección o privilegio” a los sacerdotes que no alerten a la policía de los delitos de los que tengan noticias, sin importar el contexto en el que se ha dado a conocer.

21. El Vaticano no informa el nombre de los sacerdotes pedófilos, con acusación o sanción; omite premeditadamente informar a la autoridad judicial de los estados. Ejemplo, el de un sacerdote italiano que desapareció de su diócesis. Luego se conoció que había sido enjuiciado y expulsado por la Congregación para la Doctrina de la Fe por pedófilo, lo redujeron al estado laical. Fue la propia Congregación quien le ordenó al sacerdote abusador que no debía contar nada a nadie porque había que proteger la imagen de la iglesia.

22. Reconoció expresamente que “la Iglesia llegó demasiado tarde” tanto para reconocer la gravedad del problema como para asumir responsabilidades al respecto.

“Tal vez la antigua práctica de transferir a la gente adormiló un poco las conciencias”, expresó Francisco durante una reunión con los miembros de Pontificia Comisión para la Protección de los Menores en el Palacio Apostólico.

23. Recibió una carta del joven polaco Kamil Tadeusz Jarzembowski, denunciando los abusos en su habitación a otro seminarista, más de 140 veces y de los que él era testigo ocular. El papa no tomó decisión alguna.

24. Avaló y no se opuso a la ordenación sacerdotal del Pbro. Gabriele Martinelli, acusado por abusos en el Preseminario San Pío X en el Vaticano. Año 2017.

25. Participó de la misa por el fallecimiento del cardenal Bernard Law, ex arzobispo de Boston, EE.UU., el mayor encubridor de sacerdotes pederastas en ese país, que fuera protegido en el Vaticano para no entregarlo a las autoridades judiciales. Nunca se lo enjuició ni sancionó.

26. En diciembre de 2017, renovó la Comisión para la Tutela de Menores, ampliándola a dieciséis miembros, pero sin modificar su función y sentido.

27. Designó al cardenal Roger Mahony – crónico encubridor de sacerdotes abusadores en Los Ángeles -, para ser su enviado especial y representante en una Misa Pontifical en la Catedral de Scranton, Pensilvania, para celebrar el 150 aniversario de esa diócesis, que tuvo lugar el 4 de marzo de 2018 en la Catedral de San Pedro, Scranton. Finalmente, el propio Mahony informó que no podría asistir.

28. Fue denunciado por el Arzobispo Carlo María Viganò, exnuncio en Estados Unidos, por encubrir los abusos sexuales cometidos por el Arzobispo Emérito de Washington, el ex cardenal Theodore McCarrick.

El caso reflejó, además, un conflicto interno dentro de la institución, por pertenecer el denunciante a una línea política distinta a la del papa.

b) En Europa

29. Avaló la protección que el cardenal Angelo Bagnasco – ex presidente de la Conferencia Episcopal Italiana y arzobispo de Génova – hizo de Carlos Miguel Buela, fundador del Instituto Verbo Encarnado y sancionado canónicamente por casos de abuso sexual. Nadie controla a Buela, para evitar futuros abusos a niños y/o seminaristas.

30. Mantiene la ambigüedad en el caso español denominado “los romanones”. Atiende personalmente la llamada del denunciante, le pide perdón, le anima a denunciar a la justicia civil y pone en marcha el proceso canónico rápidamente, fruto del cual el arzobispo de Granada suspende a divinis a tres de los imputados. Sin embargo, coloca a otros miembros del clan como sus sustitutos. No somete al obispo de Granada – Francisco Javier Martínez- a juicio por negligencia.

31. Protege a 25 obispos franceses (5 de ellos en actividad), que encubrieron a 39 sacerdotes abusadores de 300 niños.

32. Redujo las sanciones a un grupo de curas pederastas italianos, que no perdieron su condición de sacerdotes, sino que no realizarán el ejercicio público de los oficios.

33. En Alemania, no ha sancionado a obispos ni sacerdotes por el escándalo de los 547 niños abusados en el coro Regensburger Domspatzen, dirigido durante décadas por Georg Ratzinger, el hermano mayor del papa Benedicto XVI.

En relación a este país, ha guardado silencio ante el informe que da cuenta que 3600 niños fueron abusados sexualmente por miembros del clero católico a lo largo de las últimas siete décadas.

34. No se ha pronunciado respecto a la situación de los 18 sacerdotes españoles incriminados o detenidos en su país de residencia, u otros acusados o condenados en España, luego trasladados, o que han huido.

c) América Latina

35. En Chile, nombró obispo de Osorno al sacerdote Juan Barros, principal encubridor del pederasta Fernando Karadima. Ante un grupo de chilenos en el Vaticano, les aconsejó que “piensen con la cabeza y no se dejen llevar por acusaciones infundadas de los zurdos”. Calificó de tontos a los católicos de Osorno que se opusieron a esa designación.

36. En su visita a aquel país en enero de 2018, pidió perdón por los abusos sexuales cometidos por clérigos chilenos; luego, admitió la participación en una misa y otros actos eclesiásticos a los obispos encubridores del pederasta Karadima (Valenzuela, Tomislav Koljatic), y al propio Barros.

Trató de mentirosos a Juan Carlos Cruz, Hamilton y Murillo, víctimas de Karadima quienes debieron llamar a conferencia de prensa para replicar al papa.

37. En la referida visita, se reunió en forma secreta con víctimas de abuso sexual, motivando el repudio de la Red de Sobrevivientes ya que confirmó el siniestro, violento e histórico proceder de la Iglesia Católica en materia de abuso sexual clerical.

Esa acción, confirmó la sospecha de que el Vaticano tiene una completa y actualizada base de datos de sus víctimas. Asimismo, la premeditada selección de ellas, el proceder secreto y oscuro del pontífice, la negativa a recibir reclamos concretos de parte de los afectados y la consiguiente manipulación efectuada por el máximo jerarca católico, dejan ver la contumacia en su proceder ladino, contrario a la transparencia que finge ostentar.

Sumado a que el papa Francisco ha vulnerado el derecho de todas las víctimas a ser convocadas por igual, ya que deben ser ellas las que deciden ejercer o no el derecho a concurrir a una reunión y no ser seleccionadas como ovejas por el poder religioso.

Sin perjuicio de ello, en razón del repudio público generado por las declaraciones de Bergoglio relativas a que no había pruebas para condenar a Barros, poco tiempo después, volvió sobre sus pasos, nombró una nueva comisión de investigación cuyas conclusiones admitieron la culpabilidad del obispo y la connivencia de otros.

El resultado de esa investigación fue que en el mes de mayo de 2018 la Conferencia Episcopal de Chile, en pleno, puso sus cargos a disposición del papa, quien aceptó las renuncias de cinco de ellos: el propio Juan Barros (Osorno), Cristian Caro Cordero (Puerto Montt), Gonzalo Duarte García de Cortázar (Valparaíso), Alejandro Goic (Rancagua), Horacio del Carmen Valenzuela (Talca).

La aceptación de las renuncias constituye otra trampa, ya que los “renunciantes” no fueron expulsados de la institución, sino que permanecen en ella con el consiguiente riesgo para niños, niñas y adolescentes.

Se suma el hecho no menor que las renuncias de Caro y Duarte se aceptaron por razones de edad.

La renuncia de Goic fue aceptada, además, por su complicidad y tardía reacción en el caso de la cofradía de 14 sacerdotes pedófilos denominada “La Familia”, investigada por la justicia estatal chilena.

38. Promocionó a cargos superiores a Ricardo Ezzati (nombrado cardenal en 2014) y Francisco Javier Errázuriz (integrante del C9). Los tres fueron protagonistas del mayor escándalo por abusos sexuales clericales en Chile.

39. Expulsó al sacerdote chileno Pedro Mariano Labarca Araya – de la orden mercedaria – por su participación en casos de abuso sexual contra menores y ex seminaristas. Sin embargo, el motivo principal de la decisión fue “el grave daño a la dignidad sacerdotal y a los compromisos religiosos”. Las víctimas – una vez más – pasaron a un segundo plano, de nuevo fueron invisibilizadas.

40. En el caso del Instituto Alonso de Ercilla, administrado por Hermanos Maristas, las medidas adoptadas fueron tardías, confirmando la política de silencio institucional. No se refirió al caso, ha ignorado por completo a las víctimas sobrevivientes. Existe una treintena de casos ocurridos entre los años 70 y 80.

41. El accionar contrario a los derechos humanos de las víctimas chilenas puede observarse en la situación de los 80 religiosos denunciados y al menos 11 Obispos involucrados en casos de abuso.

42. Retiró – rápidamente – de República Dominicana al nuncio apostólico Jozef Wesolowski, acusado de pederastia y tenencia de pornografía infantil, para no ponerlo a disposición de las autoridades judiciales de ese país.

Una de sus víctimas dijo que “tenía un tipo de gusto específico, de 14 a 16 años, y si eran “blanquitos’ mucho mejor”. Wesolowski falleció en el Vaticano, en circunstancias poco claras, antes de someterse a la justicia vaticana que, se sabe, no se destaca por su imparcialidad.

43. En México, mantuvo en su puesto – hasta que renunció – al cardenal Norberto Rivera, el mayor encubridor de sacerdotes pederastas de ese país, incluido el predador sexual Marcial Maciel Degollado (fallecido), fundador de los Legionarios de Cristo.

44. Dicha congregación fue “perdonada” mediante indulgencia plenaria, como también su movimiento seglar (Regnum Christi), por los abusos sexuales cometidos por su fundador, Marcial Maciel, quien fue acusado además de fraude, extorsión y haber abusado de sus propios hijos, ya que llevaba doble vida.

45. Avaló el proceder de la Arquidiócesis Primada de México que absolvió al sacerdote José Ataulfo García tras confesar haber abusado sexualmente de decenas de niñas en la comunidad indígena de Oaxaca. Al delito de abuso y violación de unas 30 niñas de entre 5 y 10 años, admitido por el propio clérigo, se suma el hecho de que García es portador de HIV.

46. En Argentina, no ha expulsado aún al cura Julio Cesar Grassi, no obstante estar condenado por delitos de abuso sexual y corrupción de menores a 15 años de prisión efectiva. El procedimiento canónico se retomó luego que la Corte Suprema de Justicia de la Nación confirmara la prisión del sacerdote.

47. Avala las líneas-guía de la Conferencia Episcopal Argentina donde se niega sistemáticamente a las víctimas garantías del debido proceso, violando derechos humanos básicos y revictimizándolas ya que continúa el abuso de poder y la denegación de justicia.

48. Nunca recibió a víctimas de abuso integrantes de la Red de Sobrevivientes de Abuso Sexual Eclesiástico de Argentina. Los intentos de reunión que hizo fue en secreto, evitando seleccionar personas que fueran a hacer reclamos concretos. Las que ha recibido – de otros países – han sido cuidadosamente digitadas para evitar dichos reclamos, manipulándolas, revictimizándolas.

49. Tomó conocimiento en 2014 de casos de abusos sexuales en el Instituto Antonio Próvolo de Verona, Italia y no adoptó ninguna medida. Se le entregó – en sus propias manos – la lista de sacerdotes abusadores y de víctimas.

50. Inició en el 2015 el proceso de beatificación del obispo de Verona, Giuseppe Carraro, quien abusó sexualmente de un alumno del Instituto Antonio Próvolo de aquella ciudad.

51. Volvió a tomar conocimiento – en 2016 – de más casos de abusos sexuales en el Instituto Próvolo, esta vez en Mendoza y La Plata, Argentina. Recién ahí nombró una comisión de investigación integrada por dos sacerdotes de la Arquidiócesis de Córdoba, Argentina, quienes a requerimiento del fiscal adjunto de la causa Próvolo – para que colaborasen con la justicia estatal aportando su propia documentación -, se negaron, invocando el privilegio jurídico que le otorga el Concordato de 1966 firmado entre Argentina y la Santa Sede, es decir, no informar.

El trabajo de la referida comisión tuvo claros propósitos de extraer información del expediente sin tener legitimación procesal, entorpeciendo el desarrollo del mismo, con riegos de planteos de nulidad que perjudicarían a las víctimas.

52. Avala el accionar delictivo de las autoridades del Instituto Próvolo de Italia respecto a los sacerdotes detenidos en Mendoza, no llevando cabo ningún procedimiento para sancionarlas. Mantiene en el cargo de Vicedirector del Instituto a Giovanni Granuzzo, sacerdote pederasta denunciado por víctimas italianas.

53. Avala el accionar cómplice del Arzobispado de Mendoza, entidad localmente responsable del Instituto Antonio Próvolo.

54. No ha iniciado procedimiento canónico alguno contra los tres obispos de Mendoza por su responsabilidad en el funcionamiento del Instituto Antonio Próvolo aplicando las disposiciones contenidas en el documento “Como una madre amorosa”.

55. Avala los dichos del sacerdote Dante Simón, que integra la Comisión enviada por el Vaticano para investigar los hechos del Próvolo, quien sostuvo que “una chica, un chico… se enamora de un sacerdote, y éste no le responde. Tan despechado puede ser el varón como la mujer. Entonces, lo denuncian. Y como hay que intervenir de oficio, ante la denuncia, hay que intervenir. Entonces muchas causas son desestimadas”.

56. No ha iniciado proceso canónico contra el obispo de San Francisco, Córdoba, Sergio Buenanueva, quien expresamente reconoció: “Nuestro gran error fue proteger a los curas abusadores”.

57. Avaló la decisión de la Comisión que investigó los hechos del Próvolo en su negativa a brindar información y documentación al fiscal de la causa, amparándose en el Concordato de 1966. Incumplió, de ese modo, la sentencia de la Suprema Corte de Justicia de Mendoza – caso Iván González c/ Arzobispado de Mendoza – que le ordenó a la iglesia brindar información a las víctimas.

58. No ha iniciado procedimiento canónico alguno – para determinar responsabilidades por omisión y negligencia, aplicando las disposiciones contenidas en el documento “Como una madre amorosa”- contra los obispos argentinos que se enumeran a continuación, responsables de controlar a sacerdotes incardinados en sus diócesis, denunciados por abuso sexual en sede estatal y/o canónica:

Héctor Aguer, sacerdotes Héctor Ricardo Giménez, Nicola Corradi y Horacio Corbacho (La Plata).

José María Arancedo, sacerdote Félix Alejandro José Martínez (Mar del Plata), y Luis Brizzio (Santa Fe).

Antonio Marino, sacerdote Félix Alejandro José Martínez (Mar del Plata).

Ricardo Faifer, sacerdote Domingo Jesús Pacheco (Corrientes).

José María Arancibia y Sergio Buenanueva, sacerdotes Jorge Luis Morello y Raúl del Castillo (Mendoza).

Carlos María Franzini (fallecido) y Dante Braida, sacerdotes Nicola Corradi y Horacio Corbacho (Mendoza).

Juan Alberto Puíggari, sacerdotes Justo José Ilarraz, Marcelino Moya, Juan Diego Escobar Gavíria y religiosa Bibiana Fleitas (Entre Ríos),

Estanislao Karlic, sacerdote Justo José Ilarraz (Entre Ríos).

Mario Maulión, sacerdote Justo José Ilarraz (Entre Ríos).

Oscar Ojea y Mario Poli, sacerdote Mario Koessler (San Isidro, Buenos Aires).

Mario Cargnello, sacerdotes Emilio Raimundo Lama y Agustín Rosa Torino (Salta).

Luis Urbanc, sacerdotes Juan de Dios Gutiérrez y Renato Rasjido (Catamarca).

Adolfo Uriona, sacerdote Carlos Alberto Dorado (Santiago del Estero).

José Masín y Rubén Martínez, sacerdote Néstor Monzón (Chaco).

Guillermo Rodríguez Melgarejo y Sergio Buenanueva, sacerdote Carlos José (San Martín, Buenos Aires).

Miguel Ángel D´Annibale, sacerdote Cristian Abel Vázquez (Río Grande, Tierra del Fuego).

Hugo Santiago, sacerdote Tulio Mattiussi (San Pedro, Buenos Aires).

Alfredo Dus, sacerdotes Luxorio Ruiz Bilbao (fallecido) y Juan José Crippa (Chaco)

Fernando Maletti y Oscar Miñarro, por el laico que trabaja en el taller de Cáritas (Merlo, Pcia. de Bs. As.).

Respecto al caso del sacerdote Félix Alejandro José Martínez, cabe aclarar que cuando Jorge M. Bergoglio era cardenal, uno de los papás de víctimas llamó por teléfono y el secretario le contesto que no los iba a recibir porque no era un tema de su competencia. Al poco tiempo, los padres de las víctimas le enviaron dos cartas al Papa Francisco, a través de Gustavo Vera, diputado en Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires y amigo personal del papa, pero ni siquiera recibieron un acuse de recibo.

En el caso del fallecido obispo Abelardo Silva, tampoco inició investigación alguna para determinar las responsabilidades. La denuncia canónica lleva número Prot. 142/2017-59513 Congregación para la Doctrina de la Fe -Cardenal Prefecto Gerhard Ludwin Muller.

Los obispos argentinos que se reunieron con la víctima y fueron notificados del caso, son los siguientes: Fernando Croxatto (Neuquén), Carlos Malfa (Secretario de la Conferencia Episcopal Argentina), Martín Fassi (auxiliar de San Isidro), Miguel Angel Dänibale (Río Gallegos) y el Cardenal Mario Poli.

59. Como consecuencia de ser el principal avalista del sistema de encubrimiento, tolera, sin haber tomado medida alguna, que el sacerdote Luis Alberto Bergliaffa, sancionado en 2014 por abusar de una niña en la provincia de Córdoba, tenga cobijo en la diócesis de General Roca, provincia de Río Negro.

El mencionado pederasta, fue sancionado la Iglesia Católica que le impide ejercer el sacerdocio por 10 años, pero sin ningún tipo de control. Es decir, nadie dentro de la institución eclesiástica, controla que el sacerdote no siga celebrando sacramentos, o tenga otro tipo de actividad clerical.

Como no fue sancionado por la justicia del Estado, cumplida la pena canónica, podrá volver a participar de cualquier actividad dentro de la iglesia, con el consiguiente riesgo de volver a tener contacto con niños, niñas y adolescentes.

60. En Perú, avala la continuidad del movimiento Sodalicio de Vida Cristiana (SVC), investigado por la justicia de ese país, al que se le imputa ser una organización criminal en la que se habrían cometido los delitos de asociación ilícita, secuestro, abusos sexuales a menores, esclavitud moderna y lesiones graves, así como un presunto delito de lavado de activos.

61. Protege a su fundador, Luis Fernando Figari, quien fuera declarado culpable por la propia organización, de abusos físicos, psicológicos y sexuales cometidos por aquél y otras cabezas del movimiento. La sanción impuesta por al Vaticano ha sido enviarlo a un lugar de penitencia en Italia, donde quedará enclaustrado. Además, tiene prohibido volver al Perú (excepto por motivos sumamente graves y siempre con permiso escrito), tener contacto directo o personal con miembros de la comunidad sodálite y conceder entrevistas a los medios de comunicación, ya sea en público o en privado. La Santa Sede consideró que los delitos, de acuerdo al derecho canónico, han prescrito. Lo que se le impone son medidas disciplinarias de carácter administrativo. A pesar de haberse iniciado una investigación penal en los tribunales peruanos, el Vaticano no lo ha puesto a disposición de la justicia estatal.

62. En su visita a Perú en 2018, permitió que el arzobispo de Piura y Tumbes, José Antonio Eguren Anselmi (integrante del Sodalicio), leyera un discurso en su honor.

Eguren fue el primer denunciado en el año 2000. Ha sido señalado como partícipe principal en casos de tráficos de terrenos en la ciudad de Piura, y vinculado a la organización criminal La Gran Cruz.

63. En Paraguay, medió en el conflicto desatado entre el obispo Rogelio Ricardo Livieres y el arzobispo de Asunción, Pastor Cuquejo, quien sugirió en junio de 2014 abrir una investigación para aclarar las acusaciones sobre el sacerdote argentino Carlos Urrutigoity, acusado de abuso sexual en 2002 por un estudiante de la Academia Saint Gregory en Pensilvania, Estados Unidos, y protegido por Livieres. El conflicto terminó con la destitución de Livieres, quien luego falleció en 2015.

En cuanto al sacerdote motivo del conflicto, se sabe – extraoficialmente – que la iglesia lo mantiene escondido en la provincia de Mendoza, Argentina.

64. Permitió que el sacerdote argentino Carlos Richard Ibañez, investigado por abuso sexual de al menos diez jóvenes en Bell Ville, provincia de Córdoba, Argentina, entre los años 1991 y 1992, participara en la concelebración de una misa en 12 de julio del 2015 en Ñu Guasu, actividad prevista en el viaje papal a Paraguay.

65. Avaló la presión que el Nuncio Apostólico en Paraguay llevara a cabo contra el Diario La Nación de ese país, con la finalidad de que no se siguiera con la publicación de una investigación efectuada por periodistas de ese diario, sobre sacerdotes pederastas argentinos trasladados por haber cometido ese delito.

Abog. Carlos Lombardi – Mat. Fed. T° 76 F° 491

Asesor legal de la Red de Sobrevivientes de Abuso Sexual Eclesiástico de Argentina.

Apoderado de la Rete L’Abuso, Associazione italiana vittime di preti pedofili, Italia.

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A Statement from the KNOM Radio Mission Board of Directors on the Offenses of Fr. James Poole

NOME (AK)
KNOM Radio

December 21, 2018

Several stories have entered the media recently concerning the offenses of KNOM founder Fr. James Poole, SJ.

First, former KNOM volunteer Helene Stapinski wrote a column for Commonweal magazine as part of its “Why We Came. Why We Left. Why We Stayed” series, documenting different reactions to the sex abuse crisis in the Catholic Church. Poole was no longer working at the radio station in the early 1990s when Stapinski was on staff, but insofar as his name was still affixed to KNOM correspondence at that time, and recordings of his voice occasionally sent over the airwaves, she indicates that she came to feel like an unwitting accomplice to Poole’s abuse and deception.

Then, a lengthy story by the Center for Investigative Reporting highlights Poole in a broader effort to show how clergy sex abuse in the former Oregon province of the Jesuit order was ignored or covered up by Jesuit superiors. This was packaged as a print story and picked up by the Associated Press, and also presented as an audio documentary, reported by former KNOM employee Emily Schwing. She served as KNOM News Director for three months in early 2016. Additional stories about Poole’s crimes have since appeared.

This is not the first time that Poole’s numerous acts of sexual abuse against minors have been documented publicly. The PBS investigative series Frontline told Poole’s story in 2011 as part of a program on clergy sex abuse in rural Alaska, and numerous TV, radio, and print stories covered the allegations against Poole as they became public in 2004 and 2005.

First and foremost, it is crucial to reiterate that Poole’s actions are indefensible and inexcusable. He brought pain and humiliation to his victims, and shame even to those of us who never knew him, but are forced to deal with his reprehensible legacy. The lawsuits against Poole and other priests and religious sent the Diocese of Fairbanks into bankruptcy in 2008, and nearly ended KNOM. But the station emerged in 2010 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, remaining faithfully Catholic in its identity, and with a volunteer board of directors serving as owner in place of the diocese.

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Ongoing Catholic abuse scandals made big headlines in 2018

KNOXVILLE (TN)
Knoxville News

December 22, 2018

By Terry Mattingly

It was in 1983 that parents told leaders of the Diocese of Lafayette, Louisiana, west of New Orleans, that Father Gilbert Gauthe had molested their sons.

Dominoes started falling. The bishop offered secret settlements to nine families — but one refused to remain silent.

The rest is a long, long story. Scandals about priests abusing children — the vast majority of cases involve teenage males — have been making news ever since, including the firestorm unleashed by The Boston Globe’s “Spotlight” series that won a Pulitzer Prize in 2003.

This old, tragic story flared up again in 2018, and Religion News Association members selected the release of a sweeping Pennsylvania grand jury report — with 301 Catholic priests, in six dioceses, accused of abusing at least 1,000 minors over seven decades — as the year’s top religion story.

“The allegations contained in this report are horrific, and there are important lessons to take away from it,” said Michael Plachy, a partner at Lewis, Roca, Rothgerber, Christie, a national law firm that emphasizes religious liberty cases. However, “to be candid, much of what’s in this report has been known for years. … It’s important, but it’s mostly old news.”

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia — a diocese not included in the grand jury report — requested an analysis of the 884-page document focusing on the impact of the church’s 2002 Charter for the Protection Children and Young People. Among the law firm’s findings: Of 680 victims whose claims mentioned specific years, 23 cited abuse after the charter — 3 percent of claims in the grand jury report. The average year of each alleged incident was 1979.

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Another abuse scandal in the Church

WASHINGTON (DC)
Christian Post

December 21, 2018

By John Stonestreet and Roberto Rivera

Ideas have consequences, and bad ideas have victims. That’s certainly true “out there” in the world. But it’s just as true “in here” in the church.

Last week, the Fort Worth Star Telegram released a series of articles reminiscent of the Pennsylvania grand jury report from earlier this year. You remember—the report that outlined rampant sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church. I say “reminiscent” because of the similar details: clergy who used their position to harm the vulnerable, decades of intentional coverup of the crimes by those in authority, reassigning perpetrators to other churches and allowing them to harm more victims, and the emotional manipulation and even shaming of victims to protect the institution.

Even so, the Fort Worth report differed from the Pennsylvania report in one significant detail: The churches and clergy being exposed this time were on the opposite end of the ecclesiastical spectrum. One hundred sixty-eight leaders of independent fundamental Baptist churches, known as the IFBC, have been accused of a litany of crimes, including rape, kidnapping, and sexual assault. The victims included young children and teens, and stories included some of the most prominent IFBC leaders and churches in America.

This Fort Worth report hit me hard, maybe because I grew up on the outskirts of the IFBC movement. What I mean by “outskirts” is that my church followed Jerry Falwell out of the IFBC when he founded the Moral Majority and built a large university. Still, we had a bus ministry run by a group of really good men and women, who would get up extra early on Sunday mornings and pick up hundreds of mostly women and children who did not have a ride to church.

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Persico’s journey turned small-town pastor into bishop at center of controversy

PITTSBURGH (PA)
Tribune Review

December 22, 2018

By Deb Erdley

When it snowed, Betty Nemchik always knew the sidewalks outside St. James Roman Catholic Church would be shoveled in time for morning Mass.

The now-retired church secretary said her boss, Monsignor Lawrence Persico, personally cleared a path to the New Alexandria church, where he served from 1998 to 2012.

Those who remember him recall a self-effacing cleric whose serious, gaunt demeanor masked a dry sense of humor that came to the surface when he joined congregants for coffee after morning Mass.

Jeffrey Rouse, an internationally-known art conservator, attended morning services just down the road from his studio. He came to call Persico a friend.

“We just loved him. We had so much fun,” Rouse said.

But Persico, who would become bishop of the Erie Diocese, also played another role in the church — serving as vicar general of the Greensburg Diocese. Responsibilities of that position included investigating claims of horrific clergy sexual abuse.

A searing statewide grand jury report, released in August, detailed rampant claims of Catholic clergy sexual abuse across Pennsylvania. The 900-page document included several cases Persico was a assigned to investigate.

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The Pope Didn’t Go Far Enough in Urging Predatory Priests to Turn Themselves In

Patheos blog

December 21, 2018

By Hemant Mehta

In a speech made this morning to Vatican administrators, Pope Francis urged priests to do what the Catholic Church has proved incompetent at doing: Weed out the abusers in their midst. He told predatory priests to “convert and hand yourself over to human justice, and prepare for divine justice.”

That might be great advice if anyone actually took the threat seriously. But if the priests didn’t follow the “Don’t rape kids” rule, it’s hard to imagine they’re going to fall in line with the whole “Turn yourselves in” approach.

It didn’t help that the pope also used his speech to go after critics of the Church who called out the abuse beyond merely reporting on it.

The pontiff also suggested that some critics of the Church are taking advantage of the scandals to inflict additional damage on it.

“Others, out of fear, personal interest or other aims, have sought to attack [the Church] and aggravate her wounds,” he said. “Others do not conceal their glee at seeing her hard hit.”

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Priests who sexually abused children sent to Holland Landing’s Southdown

ONTARIO (CANADA)
East Gwillimbury Express

December 21, 2018

By Lisa Queen

Once located in Aurora and now in Holland Landing, the Catholic Church’s Southdown Institute, which treats clergy with addictions and mental health struggles, has operated behind a shroud of secrecy since its 1966 founding.

But an explosive Pennsylvania grand jury report released in mid-August shone a light on how the church sent priests who sexually abused children to the facility before reassigning them to unsuspecting parishes.

Tim Lennon, president of the board of directors of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), called church treatment centres like Southdown a “dumping ground” for abusive priests.

Seven predatory priests from Pennsylvania alone were sent to Southdown, the grand jury report said.

That included Father John S. Hoehl, who sodomized two teenaged boys who agreed to change places with a girl the priest intended to rape.

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Archdiocese faces questions over accused New York priest

NEW YORK (NY)
Catholic News Agency

December 21, 2018

By Ed Condon

The Archdiocese of New York is facing questions about the sequence of events which led to the recent removal from ministry of one of its retired priests, Fr. Donald Timone. Fr. Timone is accused of sexually abusing two teenage boys during the late 1960s and early 1970s.

In a story published by the New York Times on Dec. 20, it was reported that Timone was allowed to continue to publicly minister as a priest despite allegations first being made against him in 2003 and an independent commission paying compensation to two of Timone’s alleged victims last year.

The awards were made by the Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Program (IRCP), a body established by Cardinal Timothy Dolan in 2016 to compensate victims of clerical sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of New York.

Timone, 84, retired from full-time ministry in 2009 but has continued to say Mass in parishes and a Catholic university.

Initial media coverage of the case suggested that the handling of the allegations against Timone showed a failure in archdiocesan procedures. But a spokesman for the Archdiocese of New York told CNA that the Timone case was “an example of the effectiveness of the Church’s procedures” and that the archdiocese had removed Fr. Timone from ministry in 2003 when the first allegation against him was received, and again this month following new complaints and more information becoming available.

“Sixteen years ago, after conducting their own investigation, the Dutchess County District Attorney referred to the Archdiocese of New York an allegation of sexual abuse of a minor made against Fr. Timone,” Joseph Zwilling told CNA.

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Buffalo Diocese accused of mishandling sexual harassment at Alden parish

BUFFALO (NY)
WKBW TV

December 21, 2018

By Charlie Specht

Kathy Wagner and Debbie Pirog have been parishioners at St. John the Baptist Church in Alden for decades.

But never have they seen a controversy like the one that’s been brewing for months in their country parish.

In February, Bishop Richard J. Malone appointed Deborah Brown as the first lay woman parish administrator. St. John’s has functioned this year without a priest and has been a test case for a new model to deal with a shortage of men in the clergy.

“I assure you, you will be very well shepherded,” Malone told parishioners at the time.

But Brown now faces multiple allegations of sexual harassment. The allegations — while not as serious as those leveled against abusive priests — have caused controversy in the parish and have called into question how the diocese deals with complaints.

‘It was a very sexual kiss’

“I went out of Mass at 4 o’clock, and she hugged me real tight, and kissed me on the mouth,” said Wagner, adding that Brown held her body uncomfortably tight during the kiss.

The 87-year-old grandmother said Brown did it again weeks later, and then a third time. Wagner wrote a letter to Bishop Malone in October saying Brown “hugged me closely and kissed me firmly on the mouth.”

“Another woman wouldn’t kiss me like that, even my own sisters,” Wagner said. “My children would never kiss me like that. It was a very sexual kiss.”

Pirog had a similar experience, except she said Brown came up to her in the parish rectory, approached her from behind and “put her body against mine and her head on my shoulder,” according to an August letter she wrote to Bishop Malone.

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Diocese adds to list of accused

SCRANTON (PA)
Citizens Voice

December 22, 2018

BY David Singleton

The Diocese of Scranton has added a nun from Exeter who taught school for many years in Dunmore and 10 other people to its still-evolving list of individuals accused of sexually abusing children.

The additions bring to 81 the number of names on the list of “credibly accused individuals” the diocese originally disclosed Aug. 14 to coincide with the release of a statewide investigating grand jury report exposing decades of child sexual abuse by Roman Catholic clergy and steps taken by the church to cover it up in six Pennsylvania dioceses, including Scranton.

Of the 11 new individuals on the list the diocese maintains on its website, six have already been named by The Citizens’ Voice — three Jesuit priests whose identities were disclosed Monday by the religious order’s Maryland Province and three diocesan lay employees the newspaper determined in August were omitted from the diocese’s original list.

The other five include two diocesan priests who were not on the list released in August and three previously unidentified members of religious orders not directly associated with the diocese.

According to the diocese, the priests, religious and lay people on its credibly accused list have either served or resided in the Diocese of Scranton.

“This list is updated as the diocese is made aware of substantiated allegations,” diocesan spokesman William Genello said in an emailed response to questions about the fluidity of the online list and the process for adding names.

On its website, the diocese says allegations against the individuals were corroborated “by secular legal proceedings, canon law proceedings, self-admission by the individual, and/or other evidence.”

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Two former Jesuit officials resign from Gonzaga University after revelations about abusive priests on campus

SPOKANE (WA)
Reveal

December 21, 2018

By Emily Schwing, Michael Corey and Aaron Sankin

Two priests in high-level positions at Gonzaga University resigned today. Both previously held leadership roles in the Jesuits’ Oregon Province while it sent Jesuits accused of sexual abuse to live in a home on campus.

President Thayne McCulloh announced the resignations of Father Frank Case, university vice president and men’s basketball chaplain, and Father Pat Lee, vice president for mission and ministry, in a brief statement emailed to the Gonzaga community. Both men served on the University President’s cabinet.

Case was named in an investigation by the Northwest News Network and Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting about sexually abusive Jesuits whose victims were predominantly Native girls, boys and women in Alaska and the Northwest. A Jesuit home on Gonzaga’s campus, Cardinal Bea House, became a retirement repository for at least 20 Jesuit priests accused of such sexual misconduct dating back as far as 1986.

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Victims Group: Springfield Diocese Tight-Lipped On Several Priests

SPRINGFIELD (IL)
NPR Illinois

December 22, 2018

By Sam Dunklau

In the wake of Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s Catholic Church investigation, a victim’s advocacy group is accusing the Catholic Diocese of Springfield of intentionally leaving the names of two predator priests off its public list. They say those names are part of the group of 500 Madigan uncovered.

Members of SNAP, or the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, stood across the street from Springfield’s Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. They held up signs that had names like Father Henry Willenborg and Father Thomas Meyer on them. Both were priests in the Springfield diocese, both have well-documented abuse allegations against them.

John Freml was one of the demonstrators. He says he’s disappointed with how Bishop Thomas Paprocki has handled the scandal.

“I think the Bishop has just lost all moral credibility in this Diocese, given how he has postured himself in relation to this issue.”

SNAP representative David Clohessy demonstrated alongside Freml on Friday. He says the Church can’t be trusted to handle the matter.

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Deceased Alton priest accused of sex misconduct has same name as current Jacksonville priest — totally different people, group clarifies

ALTON (IL)
Alton Telegraph

December 22, 2018

By Nathan Woodside

A deceased former Alton priest named in a continued wave of sex abuse allegations within the Catholic Church unfortunately shares very-nearly the same name as a current priest in Jacksonville. The two are in no way related.

During a press event held Friday in Springfield, David Clohessy, a spokesman and former national director of the St. Louis-based Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) invoked Fr. Thomas G. Meyer, who served as a pastor of Sts. Peter and Paul Paul Parish in Alton from 1990 to 1998.

Last year, Meyer was included in a list of “substantiated” accusations of sexual abuse toward minors issued by the Minneapolis-St. Paul archdiocese.

SNAP resurfaced Meyer’s name, along with several others, as it was revealed the former Catholic cleric had also served in the Springfield diocese and had “attracted no discernible public attention before.”

Earlier Friday, Pope Francis ordered priests who’d committed sexual misconduct toward children to confess, and asked victims to come forward.

Clohessy said Springfield Bishop Thomas Paprocki had done the “bare minimum” in the wake of Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s investigation of Illinois dioceses’ handling of abuse allegations.

Later Friday, SNAP issued the following statement importantly clarifying that the accused, now deceased, Fr. Thomas G. Meyer is not the current Fr. Thomas C. Meyer serving in Jacksonville:

“This is a clarification regarding the SNAP press event held in Springfield, IL on December 21. It is important to note that there have been two priests in the Springfield Diocese with the same name.

“Fr. Thomas G. Meyer is a now deceased publicly accused abusive cleric and was a religious order cleric who worked in Alton.

“Fr. Thomas C. Meyer is alive, is NOT accused of abuse, is a diocesan cleric who now works in Jacksonville IL.

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December 21, 2018

Boise priest who lived in ‘world of Satanism and pornography’ sentenced to 25 years in prison

BOISE (ID)
Idaho Statesman

December 20, 2018

BY Katy Moeller and Ruth Brown

The Rev. W. Thomas Faucher, a longtime priest in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Boise who pleaded guilty to five felony crimes, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison without parole and will be required to register as a sex offender.

Faucher, 73, was accused of amassing thousands of child porn images and videos on his home computer — and pleaded guilty in September to sharing some of those images online. He apologized in the courtroom ahead of his sentencing at the Ada County Courthouse in Boise on Thursday.

“This is the crime that has the potential for both immediate and long-lasting consequences,” 4th District Court Judge Jason Scott said. “… I think there is a legitimate risk to the community.”

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Resignation of Catholic bishop too little, too late, say Southern California priest abuse victims

ORANGE COUNTY (CA)
Orange County Register

December 20, 2018

By Scott Schwebkeand Deepa Bharath

Pope Francis’ decision to accept the resignation of an auxiliary Los Angeles bishop amid accusations of misconduct with a minor does little to erase decades of cover-up by the Vatican, some Southern California victims of sex abuse by Catholic priests said Wednesday.

One victim, Lee Bashforth, said Monsignor Alexander Salazar’s resignation, many years after his alleged offense, is “disappointing and upsetting” for survivors.

“This is a problem the Catholic Church had an opportunity to fix,” he said. “They shoveled it under the rug. And 16 years later, we’re still having the curtain pulled back to reveal they are doing the same stuff they’ve been doing for centuries — covering up for pedophile priests.”

Appallingly, sexual assaults by priests most often have not been treated as crimes, said Bashforth, who was abused as a boy by Michael Wempe, a priest with the Archdiocese of Los Angeles at the time.

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Providence Diocese to publish names of priests ‘credibly accused’ of sexual abuse

PROVIDENCE (RI)
WPRI TV

December 21, 2018

By Tim White

The leader of the Catholic church in Rhode Island announced Friday that they will publicly name all priests who have been “credibly accused” of sexual assault.

Bishop Thomas Tobin said the church has “started the process of putting the list together of those who have been credibly accused both living and deceased.”

“I think my expectation that after the first of the year, sometime after the new year, we will be publicizing that list as many other dioceses have done,” Tobin said during a taping of WPRI 12’s Newsmakers. “I think about half the dioceses in the country have released that list.”

Tobin said he didn’t think any of the names on the list would surprise the public because most of the names have been publicized already in news reports or when a priest is removed from service.

“In my 13 years here I have publicly removed from office five priests who were credibly accused,” he said.

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Group criticizes Springfield diocese handling of abuse

SPRINGFIELD (IL)
WJBC Radio

December 21, 2018

By Dave Dahl

John Freml of Springfield is still part of the Catholic church, even though he’s a supporter of SNAP – Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests.

“I still identify as a Catholic; it’s a very contentious relationship, obviously,” Freml said during a news conference and protest outside Springfield’s downtown Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. “The church is not just the hierarchy; it’s the people of God, it’s the people in the pews, it’s the laity. The church can be and is so much better than this. I stay to help reform the church.”

He does say church leadership, including Springfield Bishop Thomas John Paprocki has lost all moral credibility in the priest sex abuse scandal, which exploded again this week with Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s contention that the Illinois Catholic leadership underreported the number of priests facing credible accusations by 500.

David Clohessy, one of the early organizers of SNAP, said Madigan should be out front on this, holding news conferences all over the state. And he wants the state to drop the statute of limitations in cases of priest sex abuse.

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Rape kids. Cover it up. Avoid responsibility. Lie. That’s the Catholic Church.

SANTA FE (NM)
NMPolitics.net

December 21, 2018

By Heath Haussamen

I remember a Christian Brother who taught at my high school taking us outside to show off a mountain he identified as “Tetilla Peak.” He described, to a group of underage teens in the 1990s, how much he loved tetas — in English, breasts, or more crudely but accurately, tits.

He often told us how much he loved women’s bodies. If he wasn’t a Christian Brother he would have 10 wives and 10 children with each wife, he said.

I had many creepy experiences at St. Michael’s High School in Santa Fe. Another was the reverence with which basketball coaches spoke about the legendary coach Brother Abdon, with no mention of the rape allegations.

More than two decades later, I’m processing all we’ve learned in 2018 from a grand jury investigation in Pennsylvania, our attorney general’s probe in New Mexico, and investigative journalism about how the Roman Catholic Church has systematically enabled and intentionally covered up the sexual assault of countless children and adults worldwide by its clergy, then shielded its assets from victims to protect its land and money.

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Priest with Huntsville ties among those accused of child molestation

HUNTSVILLE (AL)
WHNT TV

December 21, 2018

By Patrick Ary

A Catholic priest who had north Alabama ties is on the Diocese of Birmingham’s list of clergy that were accused of committing acts of child abuse while working in the diocese.

Charles V. Cross, who died in 2010, is one of six clergy members the diocese identified. He began his clergy career as an assistant at Holy Spirit Church in Huntsville in 1967, according to the Diocese of Birmingham. Cross was at Holy Spirit for a little over a year before becoming a chaplain at St. Margaret Hospital in Montgomery.

Cross’s other work during his time with the diocese included:

Sept. 15, 1970 – Director of Catholic Charities, resident at St. Peter the Apostle
April 2, 1973 – Temporary administrator of St. Mark Church
July 1, 1975 – Associate pastor, St. Paul’s Cathedral
Oct. 15, 1976 – Pastor, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church, Gardendale
Dec. 1976-1988 – Served in the Diocesan Tribunal office

Cross was removed from ministry in parishes in 1985 and was forced to retire without privileges in 2002. Other details about allegations made against him were not disclosed by the diocese.

Three of the five other priests listed by the diocese also are dead. The two that are still alive, Kevin Cooke and John J. “Jack” Ventura, are not in service in any diocese, officials said. Cooke was removed from ministry in 2002, and Ventura was removed after allegations were made in 1985.

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CLARIFICATION

SPRINGFIELD (IL)
Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests

This is a clarification regarding the SNAP press event held in Springfield, MO on December 21. It is important to note that there have been two priests in the Springfield Diocese with the same name.

Fr. Thomas G. Meyer is a now deceased publicly accused abusive cleric and was a religious order cleric who worked in Alton.

Fr. Thomas C. Meyer is alive, is NOT accused of abuse, is a diocesan cleric who now works in Jacksonville IL.

We urge the public and the news media to make this distinction clear and apologize for any potential confusion.

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Lawrence Co. Priest Accused Of Sexual Abuse, Placed On Leave

PITTSBURGH (PA)
KDKA-TV:

A priest who recently served as a pastor in Lawrence County has been placed on administrative leave after being accused of sexually abusing a minor.

Bishop David Zubik says the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh learned of allegations made against 74-year-old Father James Downs on Thursday.

Downs is accused of sexually abusing a minor in the early ’90s when he served as the chaplain to the former Youth Development Center in New Castle. The allegation has been reported to law enforcement and according to the Diocese, no prior victim has ever come forward against Downs.

The Diocese says Downs denies the allegation.

Downs served as pastor of Christ the King Parish in Bessemer/Hillsville and Saint James the Apostle Parish in Pulaski until he retired in July 2018.

Priests on administrative leave may not engage in public ministry, dress as priests or otherwise present themselves as priests in good standing.

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Así se financia la defensa de sacerdotes imputados

[Here is how the defense of accused priests is financed]

CHILE
La Tercera

December 21, 2018

By M.J. Navarrete and L. Zapata

La mayoría de los abogados que representan a los presbíteros vinculados a abusos sexuales en la Iglesia no cobra honorarios.

Según el último catastro del Ministerio Público, actualmente hay 124 investigaciones vigentes relacionadas con abusos sexuales en la Iglesia Católica. En estas causas se investiga a 178 personas, de las cuales 105 son sacerdotes y ocho obispos. Todos ellos se encuentran en calidad de imputados.

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‘Hand yourself over to human justice’: Pope Francis tells priests guilty of abuse the church won’t shield them

WASHINGTON (DC)
The Washington Post

December 21, 2018

By Julie Zauzmer and Michelle Boorstein

Pope Francis used one of his major annual Christmas speeches to offer some of his strongest words about this year’s heightened sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic church, telling guilty priests the church will not protect them and they should turn themselves in.

“To those who abuse minors I would say this: convert and hand yourself over to human justice, and prepare for divine justice,” Francis said in a speech at the Vatican on Friday.

Speaking to the Roman Curia — the central governing leadership of the Vatican — Francis described at length the sinfulness of priests who prey on children. “Often behind their boundless amiability, impeccable activity and angelic faces, they shamelessly conceal a vicious wolf ready to devour innocent souls,” he said, in remarks that drew often on the example of the sinful biblical King David. “Let it be clear that before these abominations the Church will spare no effort to do all that is necessary to bring to justice whosoever has committed such crimes. The church will never seek to hush up or not take seriously any case.”

Survivor advocates slammed Francis for focusing on priest-abusers rather than the leaders and system that protect them, while other Vatican observers praised his comments as a dramatic acknowledgment of the scope of the problem.

Francis’s call for abusers to turn themselves in “is silly. To command psychologically sick people to do the right thing? It’s also deceptive,” said Anne Barrett Doyle, co-director of Bishop Accountability, which documents abuse. “This speech represents a regression to the defense we heard from John Paul II, that the problem was with the perpetrators. We now know the more fundamental problem is with the complicit and deceptive hierarchy.”

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Catholic Church underestimated sex abuse allegations and failed to investigate, state attorney general says

CHICAGO (IL)
The Independent

December 20, 2018

By Michelle Boorstein

Top Illinois official argues investigators found hundreds more accusations to those deemed credible

Illinois’ attorney general’s office on Wednesday accused the Catholic Church of dramatically low-balling the scope of allegations of clergy sex abuse, saying her investigators found at least 500 additional accusations against priests and clergy – compared with the 185 cases the church has found credible.

Lisa Madigan’s office acknowledged on Wednesday that a charge that has been found credible is not the same thing as a simple accusation. However, she alleged in a statement that a probe her office opened into the Church in August is finding Catholic leaders are failing to dig deep into the guilt of their clerics. The probe “has revealed that allegations frequently have not been adequately investigated by the dioceses or not investigated at all,” the statement said.

Some state Catholic leaders, under siege during a year of global scandal over bishops’ handling of abuse cases, pushed back. The crux of Ms Madigan’s announcement was unfair and “false”, said William Kunkel, counsel for the Chicago archdiocese.

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Lawsuit: Catholic church suppressed abuse reports in Georgia

ATLANTA (GA)
The Associated Press

December 20, 2018

By Kate Brumback

Catholic church officials suppressed reports of abuse by a priest in northwest Georgia and failed to inform the community of the danger he posed, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday.

The lawsuit, filed by a man identified under a pseudonym, Phillip Doe, says he was an altar boy at Saint Joseph’s Catholic Church in Dalton from age 12 to 15 and that he was sexually molested by priest John Douglas Edwards from 1976 to 1978.

The lawsuit filed in Cobb County Superior Court says the failure by the Archdiocese of Atlanta to report the alleged sexual abuse is a public nuisance because it endangered the public. It was filed against the archdiocese, Saint Joseph’s and Archbishop of Atlanta Wilton Gregory, who has presided over the archdiocese since 2005.

The archdiocese had not received the lawsuit Thursday and, therefore, could not comment, spokeswoman Paula Grant said in an email. She added that the archdiocese abhors every instance of abuse and offers support to survivors.

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Clergy sex abuse case involving Treme church results in settlement, Catholic officials say

NEW ORLEANS (LA)
The New Orleans Advocate

December 20, 2018

By Ramon Antonio Vargas

The allegations date back to the 1980s

Catholic Church officials in New Orleans have settled a lawsuit accusing a priest and a deacon of sexually abusing a boy at a Treme parish in the 1980s.

The priest, Kenneth Hamilton of the Society of the Divine Word religious order, and the now-retired deacon, Lloyd Glapion, both have denied wrongdoing, the Archdiocese of New Orleans said in a statement Thursday.

Nonetheless, the archdiocese said it reached a settlement with the plaintiff for undisclosed terms on Wednesday and announced it to the public “in a spirit of transparency.”

“Our prayers are with all those who have been harmed by church leaders,” the archdiocese said.

The case, filed in 2015, centered on allegations of abuse at St. Augustine Catholic Church, 1210 Gov. Nicholls Street. The church is a separate institution from the high school of the same name in the 7th Ward.

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New lawsuit alleges clergy sex abuse by Las Cruces priest

ALBUQUERQUE (NM)
The Associated Press

December 20, 2018

By Susan Montoya Bryan

Another lawsuit has been filed against the Catholic Church, alleging sexual abuse of a child by a now-deceased priest who once served at Our Lady of Health Parish in Las Cruces.

It’s the latest in a string of legal actions stemming from allegations of clergy sex abuse that span decades and have rocked parishes across the United States.

New Mexico’s largest diocese – the Archdiocese of Santa Fe – has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in recent months on lawyers to fight claims of abuse and to prepare for a potentially lengthy battle in U.S. Bankruptcy Court. In neighboring Texas, church officials are preparing next month to release the names of priests who have been credibly accused of sexual abuse of a child.

Attorneys for a victim identified only as Jane Doe N filed a lawsuit Monday, naming the parish and the Diocese of El Paso, Texas, which used to oversee parts of southern New Mexico before the Diocese of Las Cruces was created.

The lawsuit says the victim had been left in the care of the parish pastor, Father Joaquin Resma, and that she was raped on multiple occasions. The girl was about 10 at the time and the abuse was intermittent for about a year during the late 1970s, according to the lawsuit.

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Harvey Weinstein judge declines to dismiss charges in rape case, sets pretrial hearing for March

NEW YORK (NY)
CNN

December 20, 2018

By Eric Levenson and Elizabeth Joseph

Harvey Weinstein, the disgraced movie mogul whose downfall helped launch the #MeToo movement, is due back in New York court on March 7 after a judge Thursday morning ordered a pretrial hearing in the rape case.

The proceedings lasted just 10 minutes, a remarkably quick resolution to a highly anticipated and pivotal appearance that the defense had hoped would end with the charges against Weinstein getting dropped.

“We are obviously disappointed that the court did not dismiss the indictment, but Judge (James) Burke has ruled, and we intend to continue to vigorously defend this case to the best of our ability,” Weinstein’s attorney, Ben Brafman, said outside the Manhattan courthouse.

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How NY’s Outdated Rape Shield Law Works To Harvey Weinstein’s Advantage

NEW YORK (NY)
Gothamist

December 19, 2018

By JB Nicholas

In the seven months since Harvey Weinstein was led into Manhattan Criminal Court in handcuffs, his defense attorney Benjamin Brafman has been chipping away at the charges against the disgraced Hollywood mogul.

But Brafman’s court filings convey more than dry legal arguments to a judge. He’s configured them to broadcast sex-charged allegations attacking the credibility or character of Weinstein’s accusers—fully exploiting the mass-media megaphone Weinstein’s celebrity arms him with.

In the latest attack, for example, Brafman alleged that an unnamed third-party thought Weinstein and one of his accusers had been “hooking up.” This was breathlessly reported by The Hollywood Reporter to be a fatal blow to the criminal case against Weinstein, while The New York Times called it part of a greater “unraveling.”

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Priest with Staten Island ties accused of groping child in Westchester County

STATEN ISLAND (NY)
silive.com

December 21, 2018

By Maura Grunlund

The Rev. Thomas Kreiser, who briefly served on Staten Island, is accused of groping a girl at a Roman Catholic elementary school in Westchester County, according to information provided by a district attorney and the Archdiocese of New York.

Westchester County District Attorney Anthony A. Scarpino announced that Father Kreiser, 53, of Riverdale in the Bronx, was arraigned Tuesday on a charge of felony sexual abuse in the alleged incident.

Father Kreiser has a prior conviction for gambling, according to Catholic New York.

Father Kreiser was a parochial vicar for just under a year in 2010-2011 at St. Ann’s R.C. Church, Dongan Hills, according to Joseph Zwilling, director of communications for the Archdiocese of New York.

The Rev. Joy Mampilly, pastor of St. Ann’s, referred the Advance to Zwilling for comment.

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Chicago Archdiocese: State report on clergy sexual abuse won’t be discussed at U.S. bishop retreat in Mundelein

CHICAGO (IL)
Chicago Tribune

December 21, 2018

By Elyssa Cherney

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan made clear Wednesday that her decision to release a report identifying hundreds of allegations of sexual abuse by Catholic priests was supposed to send a message to a contingent of U.S. bishops gathering in the state next month.

But the Archdiocese of Chicago fired back Thursday, saying bishops will not discuss the report or its findings at a historic seven-day spiritual retreat at Mundelein Seminary in suburban Chicago in January.

The retreat “will strictly be time for prayer, fasting and spiritual lectures,” Anne Maselli, a spokeswoman for the Archdiocese of Chicago, said in an email. “No one other than bishops are included in the retreat. … It will not be open to the public.”

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Editorial: The Catholic priest abuse scandal: Next steps

CHICAGO (IL)
Chicago Tribune (TNS)

December 21, 2018

Sixteen years into the scandal of clergy sex abuse within the Roman Catholic Church, the horrors of these crimes still shock and disgust Americans. The exploitation of children, adolescents and adults by authority figures they had been taught to trust is reprehensible. We’ve written often of the lax, arguably criminal behavior of some local bishops and other church officials who shrouded grave misconduct in secrecy and didn’t share reports of abuses with civil authorities.

In August a report from Pennsylvania’s attorney general cataloged 70 years of such cases in that state. Attorney General Lisa Madigan responded with a comparable effort in Illinois, and on Wednesday her office issued nine pages of preliminary findings about cases in this state’s six dioceses.

The report is a step toward the transparency that’s been uneven in Illinois. The dioceses have had years to disclose credible allegations of abuse in some standardized way that’s easy to comprehend, and accept. For any church officials who haven’t done so, that’s the urgent Job One.

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Pope Francis Urges Predator Priests To Turn Themselves In And Face Justice

VATICAN CITY
Huffington Post

December 21, 2018

By Carol Kuruvilla

Pope Francis has urged priests who have raped and molested children to turn themselves in and prepare for “divine justice,” in his strongest condemnations yet of the Roman Catholic Church’s sexual abuse crisis.

The pope pledged that the church would “never again” cover up or dismiss sexual abuse cases.

“To those who abuse minors I would say this: convert and hand yourself over to human justice, and prepare for divine justice,” Francis said during his Christmas address to the Curia, the Vatican’s central administration, Reuters reported.

The pope admitted that the church had failed to act on this issue in the past, acknowledging that leaders refused to believe victims.

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Catholic Dads Must Go to Church to Prevent Sex Abuse By Clergy

UNITED STATES
Fatherly

December 20, 2018

By Patrick A. Coleman

The Catholic community, in America and abroad, is grappling with the horrific details put forth in a new report from the Illinois Attorney General claiming that church officials covered up for over 500 priests accused of abuse, releasing a public document with 185 names on it after compiling a list of 690 priests. The Illinois report followed on the heals of a Pennsylvania grand jury report claiming over 1,000 victims of rape and sexual predation were ignored or actively silenced by church leaders, many of whom sheltered the perpetrators of awful crimes. Though both reports are devastating in their details, neither is shocking. Catholic clergy have a history of raping kids and the church has a history of covering it up.

The practical question the report forces Catholic parents of young children to answer is one parents in the church have faced before: Does my family’s participation in church life jeopardize the safety of my kids? Given that the reports out of Illinois and Pittsburgh follow revelations of a similar nature in Boston, Ireland, Kenya, the Philippines, and Croatia, we must entertain the notion that the answer is “yes.”

As such, many Catholic parents like myself are reconsidering how they engage with churches and religious institutions. Some will walk away. I will not. Instead, I will double down on my involvement in church matters because I’m aware that the presence of a father tremendously diminishes the likelihood of harm befalling a children. Pedophiles disproportionately targeted children with absent fathers. This seems to be particularly true of priests. As such, I see my consistent presence as a prerequisite for my children’s involvement in church life.

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The Catholic Church Is a Worldwide Conspiracy to Obstruct Justice

NEW YORK (NY)
Esquire

December 20, 2018

By Charles P. Pierce

This story is not going to end.

Let us be plain. The institutional Roman Catholic Church as it currently exists is a prima facie international criminal conspiracy to obstruct justice. Absent the scent of incense, this would be the easiest RICO case any prosecutor ever brought. Consider what we’ve learned just in the last week.

1) Illinois attorney general Lisa Madigan announced that her investigation had discovered that the identities of more than 500 priests against whom charges of sexual abuse had been lodged were still being kept secret by the institutional church in that state. From the Chicago Tribune:

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Jesuits named in list alleging sexual abuse

CHICAGO (IL)
Chicago Tribune

December 20, 2018

By Morgan Greene

18 priests with ties to Chicago area included, with instances dating as far back as 1955

Eighteen Jesuit priests with ties to Chicago-area institutions were named on a list released Monday alleging instances of sexual abuse dating back more than six decades, including one defrocked priest who was convicted of sex crimes in federal court.

The Midwest Province Jesuits, part of a Catholic religious order known for its focus on education, released a list of dozens of priests with credible allegations of sexual abuse to their names since 1955.

In a Monday evening phone interview, the Rev. Brian Paulson, provincial of the Midwest Province, said the list was a response to the scandals that have rocked the Roman Catholic Church for the past two decades — from the 2002 abuse crisis exposed by The Boston Globe to the more than 300 Pennsylvania priests who were found to have sexually abused children, according to an August grand jury report.

“I think in the past, church leaders tried to avoid scandal,” Paulson said. “But I think now we realize the greater scandal is keeping this information in our drawer.”

Larry Antonsen, a Chicago leader of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said putting the names out there is a start. “I think it’s good that they’re putting out these lists, I really do,” he said. “Whether it’s complete or not, I don’t know. And it’s really hard to trust anybody in the Catholic Church because they’ve been hiding and lying for such a long time.”

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Former Bronxville priest charged with first-degree sexual abuse of a child

BRONXVILLE (NY)
Rockland/Westchester Journal News

December 18, 2018

By Michael P. McKinney

A former Bronxville priest was arraigned Tuesday on a felony charge of first-degree sexual abuse charge that prosecutors said involved touching a 10-year-old girl.

The Rev. Thomas Kreiser of Riverdale surrendered to authorities Tuesday afternoon and was arraigned in Bronxville Village Court, the Westchester County District Attorney’s office said.

Bail was set at $10,000. Kreiser is scheduled to be back in court on Jan. 16.

On Sept. 20, the district attorney alleges, Kreiser engaged in touching a child on an intimate part of her body in Bronxville during the school day.

Kreiser was stationed at St. Joseph’s Parish, which includes a church and elementary school.

His duties included visiting the school at the time of the alleged abuse. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York has removed Kreiser from the parish, the prosecutor’s office said.

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Pope Francis urges predator priests to turn themselves in

VATICAN CITY
The Telegraph/Reuters

December 21, 2018

Pope Francis has urged predator priests who have sexually abused minors to turn themselves in, making one of his strongest comments ever on the crisis sweeping the Roman Catholic Church.

While it was not immediately clear if Francis was referring to the Church judicial system, civil justice, or both, Vatican sources believed it was the first time the pope had made such a direct appeal.

“To those who abuse minors I would say this: convert and hand yourself over to human justice, and prepare for divine justice,” Francis said in his traditional Christmas address to the Curia, the Vatican’s central administration.

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Bronxville priest accused of touching 10-year-old child at school

BRONXVILLE (NY)
WABC

December 18, 2018

A Bronxville priest is under arrest and accused of inappropriately touching a 10-year-old child at school earlier this year.

Thomas Kreiser was arraigned on a charge of sexual abuse after surrendering to authorities on Tuesday.

Officials say Kreiser touched a child on an intimate part of her body while in a school building on Sept. 20.

At the time of the alleged incident, Kreiser was employed as a Roman Catholic priest of the Archdiocese of New York and was stationed at St. Joseph’s Parish. As part of his duties, he was visiting the school at the time of the incident.

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Statement on Father Thomas Kreiser

NEW YORK (NY)
Archdiocese of New York

December 18, 2018

By Joseph Zwilling

Statement of Joseph Zwilling, on behalf of the Archdiocese of New York

As is our practice and our promise, the Archdiocese of New York first reported the allegation from the parents concerning Father Thomas Kreiser to the Westchester District Attorney’s office in September when it came to our attention. Both the archdiocese and the Parish of Saint Joseph, where Father Kreiser was assigned at the time, have been fully cooperating with the DA, and will continue to do so. While we will wait for the justice system to complete its work, due to the serious nature of the allegation, Father Kreiser has not been permitted to exercise his priestly ministry or present himself as a priest since the allegation arose.

We once again encourage anyone who has experienced abuse, no matter the source, to report it to the District Attorney. If anyone has suffered abuse by a priest or deacon of the archdiocese, we ask again that you contact our Victim’s Assistance Coordinator, Sister Eileen Clifford, at 646-794-2949, so that we might offer our assistance as well.

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Settlement offers made to 13 victims of Buffalo Diocese sex abuse

BUFFALO (NY)
WKBW

December 20, 2018

By Jeff Slawson and Charlie Specht

Boston lawyer says payments range from $10,000 to $340,000

Boston attorney Mitchell Garabedian said Wednesday that 13 of his clients — all victims of sexual abuse by Buffalo Diocese priests — have been offered settlements with the diocese.

The settlements deal with priest abuse from about 1959 to 1988 and the amounts range from $10,000 to $340,000, Garabedian said.

“Many victims, in hopes of trying to turn at least one page of the pain, are willing to accept the settlement offers while other victims feel re-victimized by the settlement offers and the impersonal nature of the program set up by Bishop Malone and lack of transparency and will reject the offers,” Garabedian said.

He added, “All clergy sexual victims realize that the Catholic Church, in implementing the compensation program, is trying to sweep the clergy sexual abuse matter under the rug, trying to deceptively send a positive message to the court of public opinion and dissuade decision makers from amending the statute of limitations.”

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State Attorney General Says Illinois Catholic Church Concealed Identities of 500 Priests Accused of Sex Abuse

CHICAGO (IL)
Jezebel

December 19, 2018

By Hannah Gold

A preliminary report by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan found that the church failed to publicize more than 500 priests who’d been accused of sexually abusing minors.

The New York Times reported on Wednesday that Madigan wrote in her findings that the state’s Catholic diocese are not fit to investigate themselves and “will not resolve the clergy sexual abuse crisis on their own.” According to the report, only 185 of a total 690 priests accused of abuse were reported by the church as having credible claims lodged against them. The Chicago Tribute reports that some of these allegations go back decades.

The report also states that 75 percent of the total abuse claims were either not investigated by the diocese, or were investigated but not substantiated. One apparent method by which claims were not substantiated was allegations brought forth by one victim were not advanced. Furthermore, diocese delegitimized claims by “focusing on the survivors’ personal lives.” Again, these are minors we are talking about.

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Illinois AG finds 500 more Catholic clergy accused of abuse

CHICAGO (IL)
The Associated Press

December 20, 2018

By Don Babwin and John O’Connor

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan on Wednesday issued a blistering report about clergy sexual abuse, saying that Catholic dioceses in Illinois has not released the names of at least 500 clergy accused of sexually abusing children.

The preliminary report found that the church’s six archdioceses have done a woefully inadequate job of investigating allegations and in some cases did not investigate them at all or notify the state’s child welfare agency. Madigan’s office said that while the dioceses have disclosed 45 more names of those credibly accused, the total number of names disclosed is only 185 and raises questions about the church’s response to the crisis.

“By choosing not to thoroughly investigate allegations, the Catholic Church has failed in its moral obligation to provide survivors, parishioners and the public a complete and accurate accounting of all sexually inappropriate behavior involving priests in Illinois,” Madigan said in a statement. “The failure to investigate also means that the Catholic Church has never made an effort to determine whether the conduct of the accused priests was ignored or covered up by superiors.”

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Almost 700 Catholic clergy in Illinois accused of sexual abuse: official

CHICAGO (IL)
AFP

December 19, 2018

Almost 700 clergymen in Illinois have been accused of child sexual assault, a far greater number than the Catholic Church had previously disclosed, the Midwestern US state’s top prosecutor revealed Wednesday.

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan said the Church’s revelations that 185 clergy members were credibly accused of sexual abuse fell short of the number her office has uncovered.

The preliminary results of an investigation that began in August found more than 500 additional priests and clergy members with sexual abuse allegations in the Midwestern state’s six dioceses — a total of at least 685 accused.

In a scathing statement, the attorney general’s office criticized the Church’s handling of the abuse allegations, saying investigations were lacking, and in many cases law enforcement and child welfare authorities were not notified.

“The preliminary stages of this investigation have already demonstrated that the Catholic Church cannot police itself,” Madigan said.

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CLARIFICATION

SPRINGFIELD (IL)
Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests

This is a clarification regarding the SNAP press event held in Springfield, MO on December 21. It is important to note that there have been two priests in the Springfield Diocese with the same name.

Fr. Thomas G. Meyer is a now deceased publicly accused abusive cleric and was a religious order cleric who worked in Alton.

Fr. Thomas C. Meyer is alive, is NOT accused of abuse, is a diocesan cleric who now works in Jacksonville IL.

We urge the public and the news media to make this distinction clear and apologize for any potential confusion.

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Illinois AG says Catholic Church failed to disclose abuse accusations against 500 priests and clergy

ILLINOIS
CNN

December 20, 2018

By Daniel Burke

In yet another blow to the Catholic Church in the United States, Illinois’ attorney general says the state’s six dioceses have failed to disclose accusations of sexual abuse against at least 500 priests and clergy members.

Illinois’ dioceses have released lists publicly identifying 185 clergy members who had been credibly accused of child sex abuse. But state Attorney General Lisa Madigan said preliminary findings in her investigation reveal that the church failed to disclose sexual abuse allegations against at least 500 additional priests and clergy members.

In many cases, the accusations have “not been adequately investigated by the dioceses or not investigated at all,” Madigan’s office said in a statement Wednesday. What’s more, the statement added, the church often failed to notify law enforcement authorities or the state’s Department of Children and Family Services about the allegations.

“By choosing not to thoroughly investigate allegations, the Catholic Church has failed in its moral obligation to provide survivors, parishioners and the public a complete and accurate accounting of all sexually inappropriate behavior involving priests in Illinois,” Madigan said in the statement.

“The failure to investigate also means that the Catholic Church has never made an effort to determine whether the conduct of the accused priests was ignored or covered up by superiors.”

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Eleven Named in Jesuit Abuse Scandal

DALLAS (TX)
Park Cities People

December 18, 2018

By Timothy Glaze

The Jesuits’ Central and Southern Province has named several former Dallas Jesuits in a preliminary list of those credibly accused of inappropriate conduct with minors.

Abuse at the Dallas campus occurred beginning in 1966 and lasted through at least 1994. The JCSP alerted Michael A. Earsing, president of Jesuit College Preparatory School, to the list in December.

The findings name 11 past members with ties to the school who were the subject of “credible allegations of abuse of a minor.”

Four were accused of abuse while at the school, while seven others who served at the Dallas campus were accused of misconduct elsewhere.

Of the four accused of abuse at the Dallas campus, two – Don Dickerson and Thomas Naughton – are dead. Vincent Malatesta and Claude Ory, the other two with direct ties to abuse at the Dallas campus, were removed from the ministry in 2002 and 2007, respectively. Ory lives under supervision, according to officials.

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Compensation for abuse: Payouts must not derail legislative action

PITTSBURGH (PA)
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

December 20, 2018

THE EDITORIAL BOARD

The funds will serve an important purpose for the church and the victims, but payouts aren’t the end of the story

In creating a new compensation fund for victims of clergy sexual abuse, the Pittsburgh Catholic Diocese is acknowledging a moral obligation to those who suffered at the hands of men they should have been able to trust.

It’s the latest in a series of administrative and spiritual steps that the diocese is taking to atone for child sexual abuse by priests and reduce the likelihood of future misconduct. Other Pennsylvania dioceses have adopted similar measures following a grand jury report that alleged abuse of more than 1,000 children by more than 300 clergy members over several decades.

Such funds are a welcome admission of the dioceses’ debt to victims. But given the public outrage at the sickening crimes and cover-ups outlined in the report, the dioceses really had no choice. True contrition would have meant coming clean and creating the funds long ago. Not until the grand jury report did the scope of the problem — dozens of victims and at least 90 alleged abusers in the Pittsburgh diocese alone— become clear.

The funds will serve an important purpose for the church and the victims, but payouts aren’t the end of the story.

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Sins of the fathers

ALASKA
Reveal/PRX

December 15, 2018

By Emily Schwing at the Northwest News Network, with Reveal’s Michael Corey and Katharine Mieszkowski.

Listeners should know that this episode looks at how the Catholic Church handled cases of children who were sexually abused by Jesuit priests.

The show includes descriptions of abuse and predatory behavior and is not a story for all listeners.

The host gives a listening advisory at the top of each segment.

In Alaska and the Pacific Northwest, the Catholic Church had a problem with Jesuit priests sexually abusing children. The church’s first solution was to send the priests to remote Native villages, but there, they continued to abuse. So the church tried something else: hiding them in plain sight.

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Richard Serbin: Church payoff plans don’t pass the smell test

PITTSBURGH (PA)
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

December 21, 2018

By Richard Serbin

How does more secrecy protect children, heal victims or reveal the truth?

A few weeks ago, without a very convincing explanation, eight elderly, risk-averse Pennsylvania men made a 180-degree turn. Let’s look deeper at what they did and why they may have done it.

For decades, our state’s Catholic bishops offered abuse victims crumbs. When scores of victims took to the courts, expensive and brutal church defense lawyers almost always helped their bosses keep the crimes hidden by exploiting the statute of limitations, which is based on archaic understandings of child abuse and the difficulties that victims (especially children) face in coming forward. Because of this, Pennsylvania has long been one of the most hostile states toward these deeply betrayed and tormented victims.

But last week, these bishops announced that they would start offering allegedly “substantial” sums of money to victims who come forward. And on Tuesday, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia announced that it would set aside $25 million for compensating victims, as long as they registered within a brief window of time: before July. Apparently, the Philadelphia Archdiocese has already sent out informational packets to victims whose claims they deemed credible, in an effort to sweep these potential lawsuits under the rug as quickly as possible.

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Springfield Catholic bishop challenged on abuse

SPRINGFIELD (IL)
Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests

December 21, 2018

Springfield Catholic bishop is challenged on abuse
He leaves at least two publicly accused molesters off his list
Victims want church to post ALL alleged offenders’ names online
SNAP: More details are also needed to better protect the vulnerable
“The real solution,” group insists, “is criminal prosecution & legislative reform”

WHAT
Holding signs and childhood photos at a sidewalk news conference, clergy sex abuse victims and their supporters will disclose that six publicly accused priests were left off the list posted by the Diocese of Springfield, including two who worked in the Springfield diocese but have attracted little or no media or public attention before in central Illinois.

They will also call on local Catholic officials to
post names of ALL accused priests on their diocesan website,
include details like their work histories, whereabouts and photos, and
join with victims in pushing for real legislative reform, like repealing Illinois’ “archaic, predator-friendly statute of limitations” so survivors can do what bishops will not do: expose child molesters in court.

WHEN
Friday, Dec. 21 at 1:30 p.m.

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AG Report Should Lead to Legislative Reform

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

December 20, 2018

The report into clergy sex crimes that was released by AG Lisa Madigan yesterday has revealed a stunning level of secrecy in catholic dioceses throughout Illinois.

Illinois bishops have a key partner in their secrecy: state lawmakers who refuse to fix archaic, predator-friendly laws like the statute of limitations.

If this arbitrary, unfair time limit were temporarily suspended, as several states have done, bishops would be far less able to hide child molesters. Instead, children would be safer and survivors will be helped by being able to bring abusers to justice.

California, Delaware, Hawaii and Minnesota have taken this simple step toward children’s safety. It works. It enables our time-tested justice system to determine who is “credibly accused,” not church officials who are not trained to investigate or adjudicate crimes.

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Priest charged with sex crime released from jail after anonymous person posts bail

RAPID CITY (SD)
Rapid City Journal

December 20, 2018

By Arielle Zionts

The former Rapid City priest accused of sexually touching a 13-year-old girl was released from jail Thursday afternoon after someone paid for his recently reduced $10,000 cash-only bond.

John Praveen, 38, was released at 1:49 p.m. from the Pennington County Jail, said Helene Duhamel, spokeswoman for the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office.

“A woman who has asked to remain anonymous has paid his bond,” said Brad Blauvelt, who volunteered to house Praveen at his Nemo Road home.

Blauvelt said he’s unsure if the woman paid the entire bond herself, or gathered donations from members of the Catholic community.

He said while some of his neighbors along his rural stretch of road are fine with him housing Praveen, others are “over-the-top angry.”

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Church will ‘never again’ cover up clergy sex abuse, pledges Pope

UNITED KINGDOM/SPAIN
The Associated Press

December 21, 2018

Pope Francis has vowed that the Catholic Church will “never again” cover up clergy sex abuse and demanded that priests who have raped and molested children turn themselves in.

Francis dedicated his annual Christmas speech to the Vatican bureaucracy to abuse, evidence that a year of devastating revelations of sexual misconduct and cover-up has shaken his papacy and caused a crisis of confidence in the Catholic hierarchy.

The pope acknowledged that the church in the past had failed to treat the problem seriously, blaming leaders who out of inexperience or short-sightedness acted “irresponsibly” by refusing to believe victims.

But he vowed that going forward the church would never cover up or dismiss cases again.

“Let it be clear that before these abominations the church will spare no effort to do all that is necessary to bring to justice whosoever has committed such crimes,” he said.

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Man Housing Priest Charged With Sex Crime Upsets Neighbors

RAPID CITY (SD)
The Associated Press

December 21, 2018

A man who has agreed to take in a former Rapid City priest accused of sexually touching a 13-year-old girl says some of his neighbors are “over-the-top” angry about the situation.

A man who has agreed to take in a former Rapid City priest accused of sexually touching a 13-year-old girl says some of his neighbors are “over-the-top” angry about the situation.

The Rapid City Journal reports that 38-year-old John Praveen was released from jail Thursday afternoon after someone paid for his recently reduced $10,000 cash-only bond. Brad Blauvelt, who volunteered to house Praveen, says the woman who paid the bond asked to remain anonymous.

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Papst an Kurie: Schwerwiegende Skandale in der Kirche, aber das Licht wird obsiegen

VATICAN CITY
Vatican News

December 2018

By Christina Höfferer

Seine traditionelle vorweihnachtliche Rede an die römische Kurie begann der Papst mit einer Analyse der Anlässe zur Betrübnis. An erster Stelle nannte er die Einwanderer, die gezwungen sind, ihre Heimat zu verlassen und ihr Leben zu riskieren, woraufhin sie entweder sterben, oder, wenn sie überleben, vor verschlossenen Türen stehen und vor Mitmenschen, denen es nur um politische Erfolge und Macht ginge.

„Wie viel Angst und wie viele Vorurteile! Wie viele Menschen und wie viele Kinder sterben täglich wegen Wasser- und Nahrungsmangel und aufgrund fehlender Medikamente! Wie viel Armut und Elend! Wie viel Gewalt gegen die Schwachen und gegen Frauen!“

Papst Franziskus drückte bei der Audienz an diesem Freitagvormittag im Vatikan sein tiefestes Bedauern aus, über Folter, Krieg, Unmenschlichkeit und Brutalität. Es sei eine neue Epoche der Märtyrer, die wir erlebten. Es fehle an Religions- und Gewissensfreiheit. Als ein heldenhaftes Beispiel nannte der Papst jenes der vielen guten Samariter, junger Menschen, Familien, karitativ und ehrenamtlich tätiger Vereinigungen sowie der vieler Gläubigen und Gottgeweihten. Doch sogleich erinnerte Franziskus auch an die Skandale, ausgelöst von Amtsträgern der Kirche, und prangerte dabei vor allem Missbrauch und Untreue an.

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Police officer found guilty of condom ‘stealthing’ in landmark trial

GERMANY
CNN

December 20, 2018

By Matthew Robinson

A German police officer has been found guilty of sexual assault for removing a condom during sexual intercourse without the consent of his partner, an act known as “stealthing,” in what is believed to be the first case of its kind to be prosecuted in Germany.

The defendant, 36, was found guilty at a local court in Berlin on December 11, after carrying out the offense at his apartment in the German capital on November 18, 2017, said Berlin’s chief court spokeswoman, Lisa Jani.

He received an eight-month suspended jail sentence from the court and was fined €3,000 ($3,400) in damages, along with a €96 fine to pay for a sexual health test for the female victim.

The victim told the court that she “explicitly requested” the man to wear a condom and gave no consent to sexual intercourse without protection. She added that she realized that the man had not been wearing a condom only when he ejaculated, according to Jani.

The woman subsequently left his flat enraged — worried that she might have caught a sexually transmitted disease — and called the police to the defendant’s property, but he did not open the door.

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Attorney for Buffalo Diocese clergy sex abuse victims says he has received 13 total offers

BUFFALO (NY)
WIVB

December 19, 2018

On Wednesday, an attorney representing over a dozen Buffalo Diocese clergy sex abuse victims released a list of settlement offers from the Diocese’s compensation program.

Mitchell Garabedian says he has received a total of 13 offers, ranging from $10,000 to $340,000.

The list goes into detail, stating which priest from which church was involved, the date of the abuse and the age of the victim.

The earliest dates back to 1959 and goes through 1988.

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December 20, 2018

In letter, Archbishop Gomez said bishop’s retirement meant for healing

LOS ANGELES (CA)
National Catholic Reporter [Kansas City MO]

December 20, 2018

By Pablo Kay

Read original article

Citing health and other personal reasons, Los Angeles Auxiliary Bishop Alexander Salazar, 69, said he offered his retirement to Pope Francis for “the good of the church.”

The Vatican announced Dec. 19 that the pope had accepted Salazar’s request for early retirement.

The announcement came two weeks after the Archdiocese of Los Angeles released an updated comprehensive list of sexual misconduct allegations involving priests.

According to the archdiocese, Los Angeles Archbishop José Gomez requested and received permission from the Congregation for Bishops in Rome for the archdiocese’s independent lay oversight board to review an allegation against Salazar of misconduct involving a minor dating back to the 1990s.

In a Dec. 19 letter to Catholics in the archdiocese, Gomez said the actions were taken “out of deep concern for the healing and reconciliation of abuse victims and for the good of the church’s mission.”

Salazar has consistently denied any misconduct or wrongdoing. The archdiocese confirmed that the allegation against the bishop was never prosecuted and that it knows of no other such allegations against him since his ordination to the priesthood in 1984.

Born in Costa Rica in 1949, Salazar grew up in Los Angeles after his family moved to the U.S. when he was 3 years old. He graduated from local Catholic schools and after 10 years as a high school teacher, he studied for the priesthood at St. John’s Seminary in Camarillo.

In a 2004 interview with The Tidings, the former archdiocesan newspaper of Los Angeles, before his episcopal ordination, Salazar recalled that his experience as an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion while teaching at St. Albert the Great School in Compton, reawakened a childhood desire to consider the priesthood.

Following his ordination to the priesthood, he served in several Los Angeles-area parishes before being named vice-chancellor for the archdiocese in 2003.

Since being ordained a bishop in 2004, Salazar has served at different times as vicar for the San Pedro Pastoral Region, vicar for Ethnic Ministries and head of the archdiocesan Office of Justice and Peace.

Throughout his priestly career, Salazar has been known as an advocate for the poor and immigrants.

At the Sept. 7, 2004, news conference announcing his appointment as auxiliary bishop, he pledged to work “for peace and justice, for tolerance and understanding, for building bridges and not walls, to join hands together in friendship and goodness.”

Two years before being consecrated a bishop, he had been the subject of an investigation by the Pasadena Police Department.

An adult male had come forward to police alleging sexual misconduct by Salazar when he was a minor in the 1990s. At the time, the bishop was serving as associate pastor at Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Pasadena.

Pasadena Police investigated the allegation, found it to be credible and recommended that the District Attorney pursue prosecution. However, the District Attorney’s office did not file charges in the case. At the time, the archdiocese was not notified of the investigation by either Pasadena Police or the District Attorney.

The archdiocese was informed of the allegation and police investigation in 2005 through a third party. Cardinal Roger Mahony, then archbishop of Los Angeles, requested a full review of the case with law enforcement officials.

Because the allegation concerned a bishop, Mahony also immediately took the matter to the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith. The congregation conducted its own probe and as a result, “certain precautionary measures on the ministry of Bishop Salazar” were imposed, Gomez said in his Dec. 19 letter.

Archdiocesan officials told Angelus News that since succeeding Mahony in 2011, Gomez has continued to follow the conditions imposed by the Holy See on Salazar’s ministry and has remained in regular contact with Vatican officials regarding his status.

This fall, as the Los Angeles Archdiocese prepared to update its “Report to the People of God,” which lists the names of priests credibly accused of sexual abuse or misconduct, Gomez felt it was important to revisit the old allegation against Salazar.

In his Dec. 19 letter, Gomez explained that he asked for and received permission from the Congregation for Bishops to submit the Salazar allegation to the archdiocese’s independent Clergy Misconduct Oversight Board.

According to the archdiocese, the board reviewed the allegation under the same standards applied to priests and deacons. It found the allegation credible and recommended that Salazar have no faculties to minister. Gomez submitted the board’s findings and recommendations to the bishops’ congregation in Rome.

Auxiliary Bishop Alexander Salazar is pictured in a 2004 photo. (CNS/Nancy Wiechec)
Auxiliary Bishop Alexander Salazar is pictured in a 2004 photo. (CNS/Nancy Wiechec)

The Salazar case joins two other recent cases involving old allegations against U.S. bishops that date to the time when they were priests.

In the cases of New York Auxiliary Bishop John Jenik and Archbishop Theodore McCarrick, Rome granted permission to Cardinal Timothy Dolan to submit both cases to his archdiocese’s independent lay oversight board. Both men were accused of misconduct during their time as priests of the Archdiocese of New York.

Some canon law experts told Angelus News, the news outlet of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, that these recent cases may signal a new moment in the way Rome handles allegations against bishops. To date, the church’s approach has put metropolitan archbishops like Gomez and Dolan in an “impossible situation,” according to Catholic University of America canon law professor Kurt Martens.

“It’s something we need to think about in what we do with bishops, too — not only priests,” Martens told Angelus. “The pope is the only one who can make decisions on bishops. If you don’t have a firm approach there, you will always be left with those situations.”

Nick Cafardi, former head of the U.S. bishops’ National Review Board, told Angelus News that recent cases highlight the need for church leaders to clarify procedures in penal proceedings against bishops.

“There is no real process in the code for how accusations against a bishop are to be handled, so it is really an ad hoc process,” said Cafardi, who holds degrees in canon and civil law. “Certainly, Pope Francis’ quick actions in the cases of McCarrick and Jenik indicate that the Apostolic See understands the importance of not letting these cases languish.”

Gomez also expressed gratitude for Rome’s cooperation and care for victims of abuse, thanking Pope Francis for his “loving concern for the family of God here in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles” in his Dec. 19 letter.

– – –

Kay is editor of Angelus News, the news outlet of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

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Metro East Pastor Named In Clergy Abuse Scandal

ST. LOUIS (MO)
KMOX Radio

December 21, 2018

By Brian Kelly

A former Metro East pastor is being called out today as survivors demand the Springfield, Illinois Diocese release the names of more allegedly abusive priests.

The Survivors Network for Those Abused by Priests says Fr. Thomas Meyer, who was pastor at Sts. Peter and Paul Parish in Alton for eight years, was on the list of alleged abusers made public by the Minneapolis-St. Paul archdiocese last month, but was left off the list released by Springfield Bishop Thomas Paprocki. He also worked at St. Henry’s Seminary, King’s House of Retreats and St. Henry’s Oblate Residence in the Belleville Diocese.

The group says Fr. Henry Willenborg, who is accused of sexually abusing a high school girl and impregnating an adult parishoner in Quincy, was also left off Paprocki’s list. He also allegedly abandoned his son, who died of cancer at age 22.

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Chicago archbishop to have leading role in sex abuse reforms

CHICAGO (IL)
Associated Press

December 20, 2018

By Jeff Karoub

The Catholic archbishop of Chicago, who was hand-picked by the pope to help organize an upcoming Vatican summit on clergy sex abuse, will have a leading role in the church’s effort to seek reforms, including the response to new allegations from the Illinois attorney general.

Cardinal Blase Cupich expressed regret for “our failures to address the scourge of clerical sexual abuse” in a statement responding to the attorney general’s report, which said the church failed to disclose the names of at least 500 clergy accused of sexually abusing children.

Still, he said, his archdiocese, the state’s largest and long considered a flagship of American Catholicism, has been a leader in dealing with the issue.

Cupich, Francis’ first major U.S. appointment , will walk a tightrope as he tries to represent the embattled church, the distressed laity and a public demanding justice. Boston College theology professor Lisa Sowle Cahill said it will “be interesting to see how he negotiates” all of that.

Among the U.S. church hierarchy, Cupich “has certainly been a good example of honesty,” Cahill said, citing his willingness to step forward, accept accountability and attempt to enact better policies.

The report released Wednesday by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan concluded that the church’s six archdioceses did a woefully inadequate job of investigating allegations and in some cases did not investigate them at all or notify child-welfare officials. It did not say when the allegations were made.

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Clergy sex abuse survivor questions Diocese settlement offers

BUFFALO (NY)
WIBV TV

December 20, 2018

By Jenn Schanz

Michael Whalen said he felt revictimized after the Buffalo Diocese offered him less than $50,000 through the Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Program (IRCP).

The south Buffalo man alleges he was abused as a boy by Father Norbert Orsolits; Whalen was one of the first local survivors to share his story of abuse publicly.

“I don’t understand how they go about it. I would like to know how they come to these figures,” Whalen said.

According to the IRCP summary, settlement offer amounts are determined by several factors, including the nature, extent, and frequency of the alleged abuse.

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Bishop Braxton says Belleville diocese has been upfront about priest abuse

BELLEVILLE (IL)
News Democrat

December 20, 2018

By Joseph Bustos

The Catholic Diocese of Belleville, which covers southern Illinois says it has been up front about sexual abuse by priests, and is disagreeing with an assessment released by the Illinois Attorney General’s Office.

In a preliminary report released Wednesday, Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office said the Catholic dioceses in Illinois have not released the names of at least 500 clergy accused of sexually abusing children.

“The Attorney General’s preliminary report cites combined statistics for all six Illinois dioceses of the Province of Chicago without delineating between them,” the diocese said in a news release on Thursday. “This could give the false impression that a significant number of credibly accused Belleville clergy has not been disclosed. This is incorrect. The Diocese of Belleville has publicly identified all members of its clergy who were credibly accused and removed from ministry, and the Attorney General’s Office has not advised the Diocese of any perceived omissions or errors in its public listing.”

The Belleville diocese formed a review board in 1993 to investigate allegations childhood sexual abuse, and removed 17 members of the clergy from ministry. The removals were publicly announced when they occurred and the names were posted on the diocese’s website.

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Pope accepts resignation of L.A. bishop, Alexander Salazar, accused of misconduct

VATICAN CITY
The Associated Press

December 19, 2018

Salazar’s resignation is the latest in a string of cases of alleged misconduct against bishops to come to light this year.

Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Los Angeles auxiliary bishop Monsignor Alexander Salazar, following allegations of misconduct with a minor in the 1990s.

The Vatican announced the resignation in a statement Wednesday. It was the latest in a string of cases of alleged misconduct against bishops to come to light this year, following the scandal of ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick.

The current archbishop of Los Angeles, Most Rev. Jose Gomez, said the archdiocese was made aware of the claim in 2005, which law enforcement had declined to prosecute, but that the archdiocese forwarded the complaint to the Vatican office that handles sex abuse cases.

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Los Angeles bishop resigns after allegations of misconduct with a minor

LOS ANGELES (CA)
CNN

December 19, 2018

By Hada Messia

A Los Angeles bishop has resigned after allegations of past misconduct with a minor, the local archbishop said.

Pope Francis accepted Auxiliary Bishop Alexander Salazar’s resignation Wednesday, Los Angeles Archbishop José H. Gomez said in a statement.

Salazar most recently was vicar for the Office of Ethnic Ministries of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, Gomez said.

“I regret to inform you that in 2005, a year after he had been ordained a bishop, the Archdiocese was made aware of an allegation against Bishop Salazar of misconduct with a minor,” Gomez said in the statement.

Gomez said the accusation against Salazar stemmed from alleged misconduct in the 1990s when he was a parish priest and not an ordained bishop.

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16 Jesuits with Ohio connections named in list of those accused of sexual abuse

OHIO
Akron Beacon Journal, GateHouse Media Ohio

December 19, 2018

The Roman Catholic Jesuit province serving 12 Midwest states released the names of Jesuit priests who face “credible or established” accusations of sexual abuse of minors dating to 1955, including 16 with a connection to Ohio.

None of the priests named was listed as serving in central Ohio.

In a letter, the USA Midwest Province of the Society of Jesus Provincial Rev. Brian G. Paulson wrote that the group released the names “in the spirit of transparency and reconciliation.”

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Diocese Can’t Say if It’ll Name Priests Accused of Sex Abuse

NORWICH (CT)
U.S. News & World Report

December 19, 2018

The Diocese of Norwich says it has no information on whether or not it will release the names of priests accused of abuse.

The Diocese of Norwich says it has no information on whether or not it will release the names of priests accused of abuse.

The Day of New London reports Norwich Diocese spokesman Wayne Gignac said Tuesday parishioners will be informed directly if a decision is made.

The Hartford Archdiocese plans to publish the names of priests credibly accused of sexual abuse and report how much it has spent to settle lawsuits.

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New Lawsuit Alleges Clergy Sex Abuse by New Mexico Priest

ALBUQUERQUE (NM)
U.S. News & World Report

December 19, 2018

By Susan Montoya Bryan

Another lawsuit has been filed against the Catholic Church, alleging sexual abuse of a minor by a now-deceased priest who once served at Our Lady of Health Parish in Las Cruces.

Another lawsuit has been filed against the Catholic Church, alleging sexual abuse of a child by a now-deceased priest who once served at Our Lady of Health Parish in Las Cruces.

It’s the latest in a string of legal actions stemming from allegations of clergy sex abuse that span decades and have rocked parishes across the U.S.

New Mexico’s largest diocese — the Archdiocese of Santa Fe — has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in recent months on lawyers to fight claims of abuse and to prepare for a potentially lengthy battle in U.S. Bankruptcy Court. In neighboring Texas, church officials are preparing next month to release the names of priests who have been credibly accused of sexual abuse of a child.

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Drugged, raped, fired: How flight attendants’ claims are fueling a #MeToo movement in the airline industry

UNITED STATES
Yahoo Lifestyle

December 18, 2018

By Mandalena Lewis

When I was a 25-year-old flight attendant, I was sexually assaulted by a male pilot. I was in Maui, on a layover, working for the Canadian airline WestJet, when, following a typical post-shift gathering for drinks in the pilot’s hotel room, he attacked me repeatedly and attempted to rape me.

Somehow, through sheer adrenaline-fueled strength, I was able to escape.

I reported the incident to my company, the police, and my family — an embarrassing process that helped me understand right away why so many women don’t report their own assaults. But the experience turned me into a pre-#MeToo movement advocate who has made it her mission to break the silence around sexual harassment in the airline industry, and to help those who have been assaulted bring their attackers to justice.

Just like in the entertainment industry, I have since learned, the cover-up of rape and sexual assault by powerful airline corporations has a long, dark history. It’s rooted in the fact that the industry has historically profited from the sexualization and dehumanization of female flight attendants, for whom, up until the ’70s, the courts deemed “female sex appeal” to be a “bona fide occupational qualification.”

Airlines are not oblivious to the harassment of flight attendants and have recently become focused on flight attendant harassment by passengers, often with the vocal support of politicians — a vital effort, as a recent FBI report found that sexual assaults on commercial airline flights are on the rise, from 38 in 2014 to 63 in 2017. (The actual figures could be higher, because sexual assaults are generally underreported.)

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The Latest: Ex-archbishop denies claim, welcomes probe

VATICAN CITY
The Associated Press

December 17, 2018

The Latest on a U.S. archbishop’s request to address sexual misconduct allegations against former St. Paul and Minneapolis Archbishop John Nienstedt (all times local):

11:15 p.m.

Former St. Paul and Minneapolis Archbishop John Nienstedt says he would welcome an investigation into an allegation of sexual misconduct that he claims is untrue.

In a Monday email to The Associated Press, Nienstedt says it’s difficult to defend himself against the claims because it’s his word against the accusers’ and he doesn’t want to harm them.

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