ABUSE TRACKER

GUAM
Radio New Zealand

Four people who accuse the Archbishop of Guam of historical child sex abuse have filed a lawsuit against the Archbishop, the island’s archdiocese and up to 50 other people.

In the past two months, four former altar boys have alleged they were molested or raped by Anthony Apuron in the 1970s.

Pope Francis has appointed a temporary administrator to manage the Catholic Church on the island following the allegations.

Archbishop Apuron has denied the allegations.

But the plaintiffs filed a libel and slander lawsuit against Archbishop Apuron and the church for calling them liars, and for accusing them of “instilling hatred, ignorance and violence in the people” after coming forward with their allegations.

One of them, Walter Denton, told the Pacific Daily News that instead of conducting a transparent investigation, the church has instead called every one of them a liar.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Lexology

Bond Dickinson LLP

In July 2014 the Home Secretary, Theresa May set up an Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), to examine how the country’s institutions handled their duty of care to protect children from sexual abuse.

The IICSA has launched 13 investigations into a broad range of institutions, one of which is the Roman Catholic Church.

In June last year the Inquiry wrote to all Religious Organisations.

A preliminary hearing in relation to this investigation will be held on 28 July. …

What should you do?

It is critical for the reputation of your organisation that it complies, in so far as it can, with any request made of it by the Inquiry, within any timescales identified.

You should therefore be in a position to act quickly should any request be made of your organisation.

This will include, amongst other things:

* A review of historical cases
* Review of any on-going cases
* Review of historic and current safeguarding practices that were, and are now, in place

Time scales for responding to any request for information are likely to be short and it therefore critical that you are in a position to respond swiftly.

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CHILE
Telesur

Chile’s feminist organizations spoke out Sunday against sexist violence, following revelations by a national marathoner, due to run in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, that she suffered from systematic sexual abuse from her stepfather for 12 years.

“We deeply value the courage of Erika (Olivera) to break silence after so many years of hardship and suffering,” said the Movement for Sexual and Reproductive Rights in a communique.

Olivera, mother of 5, filed a complaint against her stepfather, Ricardo Olivera, on June 23 accusing him of sexual abuse from when she was five until 17 years old. In an interview issued Saturday by daily El Mercurio, the marathoner said that the abuses only stopped when she could defend herself against her stepfather, an Argentine evangelical pastor. In many occasions she thought about killing herself or killing him, she added.

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GUAM
Guam Daily Post

Louella Losinio | Post News Staff

Members of the Concerned Catholics of Guam said they will continue protesting until the Archdiocese of Agana has formally addressed the issues which, they say, have divided the church on Guam.

Nearly a month has passed since the arrival of Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai as apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of Agana, but protests by members of the groups Concerned Catholics of Guam (CCOG), Laity Forward Movement (LFM) and Silent No More have continued in front of the Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral Basilica in Hagåtña on Sunday mornings.

“Hon is calling for unity in the church but how can we have unity when we all have this dissension in the church. We are separated. There is a division. We have to address the issues first before we’ll have unity,” said Lou Klitzkie, a member of Laity Forward.

Klitzkie referred to the decisions made by Apuron in the past, which the group, together with Concerned Catholics, had publicly opposed such as the removal of Rev. Paul Gofigan and Monsignor James Benavente from their positions as pastor of Santa Barbara and as rector of the cathedral, respectively.

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NEW JERSEY
Fios 1

[with video]

The Archdiocese of Newark confirms Father Mitch Walters was removed from ministry last October after 2 others made similar claims

More victims are coming forward claiming they were abused at the hands of a Catholic priest in new Jersey.

“He molested me on two occasions. He fondled me on by buttocks and breast outside my clothes. I was also subject to years of predatory grooming by him,” Danielle Polemeni, said.

The former upper Montclair native is the latest to speak up, alleging her former church pastor, Father Mitch Walters sexually abused her when she was only 13.

“I had been processing my abuse from Father Mitch for many years. I didn’t feel like I would be ready to come forward myself.”

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FIJI
Fiji Village

By Semi Turaga
Monday 04/07/2016

The Methodist Church in Fiji has clearly stated that it will not tolerate any church leader abusing their power on issues of domestic violence or physical, emotional and sexual abuse.

Church President, Rev. Dr. Tevita Banivanua said it is a serious abuse of power to use the ministry relationship to meet one’s own emotional, sexual, financial or other needs.

Banivanua said safe communities are part and parcel of spiritual salvation.

The Methodist Church in Fiji is making its stance clear after another church pastor was charged with rape last month.

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FIJI
Fiji Times

Aqela Susu
Monday, July 04, 2016

RELIGIOUS institutions and the congregation should not cover up for pastors, ministers or priests involved in alleged sexual offences, says Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre co-ordinator Shamima Ali.

Ms Ali made the comment following the release of sexual offences statistics by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions for the month of June.

The report highlighted that there were 47 separate incidents of sexual offences, 36 of which were rape offences. Out of this, 22 people were charged. A church pastor was charged with a serious sexual offence allegedly committed on a 16-year-old.

Ms Ali said such acts by church pastors were a betrayal to the victims and society as a whole because they were in a position of great trust.

“There needs to be a zero tolerance policy and processes as to how to deal with this,” Ms Ali said.

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MINNESOTA
Pioneer Press

By RUBÉN ROSARIO | rrosario@pioneerpress.com
PUBLISHED: July 3, 2016

I invited him to meet face-to-face over coffee at some point. He preferred green tea. Then, in a recent chat over the phone, Mike Tegeder apologized.

“I am feeling really tired right now,” he told me. “Let’s make it another time.” We agreed on a raincheck.

On June 24, several days after the call, the 67-year-old Minneapolis native and longtime Catholic priest and church pastor learned from his oncologist that further chemotherapy and immunotherapy infusion treatments to curb his aggressive cancer would be fruitless. Tegeder decided then to discontinue treatment and live his final days in hospice care.

The name Tegeder may be familiar to the state’s 1.2 million Catholics, as well as others. He was the priest — the only priest — who publicly, like me, called for Archbishop John Nienstedt’s resignation, well before it happened, for his mishandling of the clergy sexual-abuse scandal and Nienstedt’s expensive but unsuccessful lobbying effort to support a proposed state constitutional amendment to ban same-sex civil marriages.

Tegeder said openly what a handful of priests and others in the church who called me in recent years also felt but who implored me not to identify them for fear of retribution.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Tribune-Democrat

[‘He was a monster’: how priest child abuse tore apart Pennsylvania towns – The Guardian]

Jan 26, 1970 – Jul 1, 2016

Brian’s Story

Brian Joseph, 46, Ebensburg, went to be with his Lord July 1, 2016. He was born Jan. 26, 1970, in Ebensburg, son of Jerry and Esther (Wargo) Gergely Sr. Preceded in death by infant sister, Jeanette; grandparents, Anna Mae (Wargo) Gergely and Joseph Wargo, and Jeanette (Hankinson) and Joseph Gergely. Survived by parents, Esther and Jerry Gergely Sr.; sister, Brenda; and brothers, Jerry Jr. and Mark, all of Ebensburg; and numerous aunts, uncles and cousins. Brian graduated in 1988 from Bishop Carroll High Sschool, where he was a star running back. He received a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Edinboro University in 1992. He also is a graduate of the Applied Behavioral Analysis Institute of Pennsylvania and went on to pursue a career in the mental health/mental retardation field. He has been a behavioral specialist and held management positions, but was most recently employed as a therapeutic support staff (TSS) working with troubled youth and with children with mental illnesses. He was an advocate for victims of sexual abuse within the church, and wrote a book, “The Last Altar Boy: A Memoir,” which was in the process of being published. He was a personal trainer and competed in the Mr. Pennsylvania Natural Bodybuilding Competition, where he placed second and third two years consecutively. Brian loved fishing and antiques. He had an antique shop called Cross Roads Antiques for several years. Friends received from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at Matevish and Matevish Funeral Home, 307 N. Center St., Ebensburg. Funeral Mass at 11 a.m. Wednesday at Holy Name Catholic Church, the Rev. Monsignor David Lockard. Committal, Holy Name Cemetery.

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KANSAS
Independent (UK)

Elsa Vulliamy

A Kansas church is asking a court to punish two young girls who sued them over sexual abuse by a former Bible school volunteer by forcing them to reveal their identities.

The volunteer, Kessler Lichtenegger, pleaded guilty last year to attempted rape and attempted electronic solicitation involving two girls under the age of 14, who attended the church.

The girls and their families filed a lawsuit last month, alleging that Church officials at Westside Family Church in Lenexa, Kansas knew about Lichtenegger’s history of violent and sexual crimes involving children, and still allowed him to volunteer.

The suit alleged that one of the girls was raped on church property, and that Lichtenegger had forced her to perform sexual acts on him by threatening that he would go after her younger sister if she did not comply.

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ILLINOIS
Commercial-News

BY CAROL ROEHM croehm@dancomnews.com

DANVILLE — A Danville man who says a teacher molested him 30 years ago hopes his experience will persuade state lawmakers to eliminate the statute of limitations for cases involving sexual abuse of children.

Doug Goff, 46, said he was a student at Danville High School at the time he was abused. Last fall he decided to report the details to officials only to be told it was too late to prosecute the alleged perpetrator.

After that, Goff turned his attention to changing the law that restricts the time in which child sexual abuse cases can be reported and legally pursued.

He testified May 25 before the House Judiciary-Criminal Committee in Springfield in support of House Bill 1128, which would remove all time limits on reporting and filing charges in felony sexual abuse cases if the victim was younger than 18 years old when the crime occurred.

“Mr. Goff contacted our office and offered his support,” said Annie Thompson, press secretary for Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office.

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UNITED STATES
The Open Tabernacle: Here Comes Everybody

Posted on July 3, 2016 by Betty Clermont

Tomorrow, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) will complete their annual “Fortnight for Freedom” campaign, a call-to-arms in defense of their “freedom” to deny women and LGBT persons theirs.

As they so often do, the bishops tell us, “We are dedicated … to remain free to provide education, to care for the sick, the poor, and the migrant,” in a paid advertisement for this year’s campaign. The USCCB is selling a four minute video “featuring stories of the importance of religious freedom for institutions that perform the works of mercy – educating children, feeding the hungry, and healing the sick.”

Their last meeting open to the press ended with USCCB president, Archbishop Joseph Kurtz, “highlighting the bishops’ push for religious exemptions for charities, schools and individual for-profit business owners who oppose gay marriage and other laws and regulations.”

On Wednesday, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles announced a new multimedia platform that “will reach Catholics and non-Catholics alike about the good works in the parishes, schools and ministries not only in the archdiocese, but around the world.”

The bishops would have us believe that Catholic charity has an enormous impact on the well-being of our society. While it’s true that many Catholics are generous with their time and money – as are many Americans – the funding coming from the bishops is very small in proportion to their wealth and minuscule in proportion to total U.S. charity.

Government funding of Catholic charity

When Pope Francis was in the U.S. ten months ago, he visited with people helped by Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington D.C. The archdiocese lists $123 million in net assets on its financial report for 2014 and total revenues of $95.6 million. Of that, Cardinal Donald Wuerl gave only $254,000 to Catholic Charities in 2014 while taxpayers provided $32 million.

This is usual. The Economist estimated that of the total expenditures by “the U.S. Church and entities” just 2.7 percent goes to charity and 62 percent of the income of its charitable activities “came from local, state and federal government agencies.”

Catholic Charities USA received 63 percent of its revenue from government support in 2014. Of that, 85 percent was spent on charitable services. According to the Forbes list of the “50 Largest U.S. Charities,” these organizations combined received $33 billion in private support. Catholic Charities USA received $757 million, or less than 2 percent of the private support for only the largest of the thousands of U.S. charities – not exactly the behemoth the bishops would have us believe.

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NEW YORK
Syracuse.com

By Elizabeth Doran | edoran@syracuse.com

Eight months ago, two teen-agers were beaten and whipped by their own parents and sister with an electrical cord in a brutal beating that lasted for hours inside a Utica-area church.

That beating, which ultimately killed 19-year-old Lucas Leonard and severely injured his brother, Christopher Leonard,17, took place in the Word of Life Christian Church in Chadwicks, near New Hartford.

The first trial started this week, with Sarah Ferguson, 33, the boys’ half-sister, facing murder, assault and other charges. Nine people are accused of participating in the beatings including the boys’ parents, Bruce and Deborah Leonard, who have both accepted plea deals.

Here are 11 things we discovered from the trial:

1) Demons and exorcism. Sarah Ferguson testified she performed an exorcism on her brothers’ rooms at one point. She said she believed there were “cowering demons” in her brothers’ rooms. She testified that she believes in angels and demons as a scientific thing.

2) Locks to keep brothers out. Sarah Ferguson and her sister, Grace Leonard, 16, testified to placing padlocks on the doors of their attic apartment so the brothers could not molest Grace or Ferguson’s four children. Ferguson also said she boarded up a side entrance.

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IOWA
Sioux City Journal

IAN RICHARDSON irichardson@siouxcityjournal.com

SIOUX CITY | After more than 55 years, a new sexual abuse allegation is casting a shadow on the career of a now-deceased priest who served in the Sioux City Diocese during the 1960s.

The Rev. Peter Murphy, who served at eight parishes throughout Northwestern Iowa in the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s, has been accused of raping and sexually abusing a 12-year-old boy while he was a temporary assistant at Blessed Sacrament Parish in Sioux City in 1960.

In early June, the diocese published an article in the Catholic Globe newspaper explaining it had received information that Murphy had committed sexually abusive acts against a minor that year.

The article requested anyone with information of sexual abuse against minors by Murphy contact the diocese or the Mercy Child Advocacy Center. Notices have also been distributed to the parishes where Murphy worked.

“By putting that into the Catholic Globe about Father Peter Murphy and in parish bulletins where he served, we are searching for information if there are other potential abuse victims out there,” said Sioux City Diocese spokeswoman Kristie Arlt.

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GUAM
KUAM

Updated: Jul 02, 2016

By Sabrina Salas Matanane

Rev. Father Jeffrey San Nicolas and Rev. Father Jose Antonio “Lito” Abad made their public Profession of Faith and took an Oath of Fidelity during a Prayer Meeting for Unity held this evening at the Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral-Basilica. Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai recently appointed Fr. Jeff as Delegate of the Administrator. He now assumes responsibilities similar to those of the Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia. Father Lito was appointed as the new Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Agana.

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MINNESOTA
Owatonna.com

By JEFFREY JACKSON jjackson@owatonna.com

OWATONNA — Despite all that has happened, Gerald Lynch still wears a cross around his neck.

“I still believe in Jesus,” said the 64-year-old Owatonnan.

And Lynch still considers himself a practicing Catholic, though he admits that it’s not always easy to go to Mass, to be around priests or even to face Sunday mornings. Those things — “triggers,” he calls them — bring back memories he’d rather not face.

“I want to be involved. I want to go to Mass on Sunday,” he said. “But there are circumstances within myself that make it difficult.”

He paused.

“I feel dirty,” he added

Now, if there is anything Lynch is seeking in life, for himself and others like him, it’s reconciliation — reconciliation with the Catholic church, with the priest who sexually abused him as a young man, and, yes, with God.

But Lynch realizes that the healing process for a person like himself who was abused by a priest can be a long journey: In his case, a journey of more than 40 years. And for Lynch, that journey began by admitting what happened to him.

“The first thing I wanted to do was to deny it,” Lynch said. “But what you bury alive, stays alive.”

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SOUTH CAROLINA
Liberal America

By Darrell Lucus on July 1, 2016

Two months ago, I was dumbfounded to discover that two girls who graduated with by girlfriend’s son are on their way to Bob Jones University in the fall. For the better part of four years, the ultrafundamentalist school in Greenville, South Carolina has been under well-deserved fire for its shameful response to sexual assault–including victim blaming and victim shaming of the worst type. As much lunacy as I’ve seen over the years from fundies, I couldn’t understand how any parent would send their children to a school that finds it acceptable to treat a sexual assault victim in this way.

Recently, I’ve gotten at least a few answers. On the same day of the graduation, now-former BJU student Micah Pretlove was arrested for molesting at least two girls during his days at BJU’s attached Christian school, Bob Jones Academy. Since I told you about that arrest, a number of walkaways from the independent fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) churches that are BJU’s main constituency have reached out to me to share some insights on what drives the rampant rape culture in that world.

When I first read about how rampant victim blaming and victim shaming are at BJU, my first impression was that it was mainly driven by the desire to get more notches in everyone’s Bibles. Former student Cathy Harris learned that the hard way when she tried to tell then-dean of students Jim Berg about how she had been victimized by a sex trafficking ring when she was younger. Berg told her that if she went forward, she would be “damaging the cause of Christ.”

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NEW JERSEY
Road to Recovery

Danielle Polemeni, a courageous childhood sexual abuse victim living out of state, returns to the New Jersey town and parish (St. Cassian’s, Upper Montclair, NJ) where she was repeatedly sexually abused by Fr. Michael “Mitch” Walters to discuss the abuse she experienced and encourage others who have been sexually abused to come forward and speak the truth

Fr. Michael “Mitch” Walters, a priest of the Archdiocese of Newark, New Jersey, is accused of sexually abusing a minor girl at St. Cassian’s Parish, Upper Montclair, NJ; four (4) minor male children from St. Cassian’s Parish, Upper Montclair, New Jersey (Essex County); and one (1) minor male child from St. John Nepomucene Parish, Guttenberg, New Jersey (Hudson County). The sexual abuse of these minor children took place from approximately 1982 to 1994.

Danielle Polemeni follows another courageous childhood sexual abuse victim, Dave Ohlmuller, who revealed the details of his childhood sexual abuse by Fr. Michael “Mitch” Walters at St. Cassian’s Parish, Upper Montclair, New Jersey, in a Star Ledger (nj.com) article of January 15, 2016

What
A leafleting and press conference to discuss the childhood sexual abuse of a minor child, Danielle Polemeni, and five (5) other minor children by Fr. Michael “Mitch” Walters, at St. Cassian’s Parish, Upper Montclair, NJ, St. John Nepomucene Parish, Guttenberg, NJ, and other locations

When
Saturday, July 2, 2016 from 5:00 pm until 6:30 pm (leafleting only)
Sunday, July 3, 2016 from 8:30 am until Noon (press conference with Danielle Polemeni at 11:45 am)

Where
On the public sidewalk in front of St. Cassian’s Church and School, 187 Bellevue Avenue, Montclair, New Jersey 07043

Who
Danielle Polemeni, a childhood sexual abuse victim of Fr. Michael “Mitch” Walters, originally from Upper Montclair, NJ and who now lives out of state; Robert M. Hoatson, Ph.D., (roberthoatson@gmail.com) advocate for Danielle Polemeni and President of Road to Recovery, Inc., a non-profit charity based in New Jersey that assists victims of sexual abuse and their families; family members of Danielle Polemeni, including her sister, Madeleine, and the daughter of Danielle Polemeni; other family members; and, supporters from the victim/survivor community

Why
Danielle Polemeni attended St. Cassian’s Church and School in Upper Montclair, NJ, as a minor child. Fr. Michael “Mitch” Walters sexually abused her when she was a minor child at St. Cassian’s Parish and at other locations in and around Upper Montclair, NJ, and, as a result, the sexual abuse caused her harm. She and her supporters will call on the Archdiocese of Newark, NJ, to permanently remove Fr. Michael “Mitch” Walters from the priesthood and help her try to heal by validating her sexual abuse claim. Danielle Polemeni will encourage other childhood sexual abuse victims of Fr. Michael “Mitch” Walters to come forward to begin their healing.

Contacts
Robert M. Hoatson, Ph.D., Road to Recovery, Inc., P.O. Box 279, Livingston, NJ – 862-368-2800
Attorney Mitchell Garabedian, Boston, MA – 617-523-6250

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OHIO
Cincinnati.com

Cameron Knight, cknight@enquirer.com

A former seminarian who had studied at Thomas More College was sentenced in San Diego to nearly 16 years in prison for trying to adopt or purchase infants from Mexico to sexually molest them.

Joel Wright of Ohio pleaded guilty in April to a federal charge of attempted enticement of a minor. A judge on Friday sentenced him to 15 years, eight months.

Wright placed Craigslist ads for a Tijuana tour guide, then told someone who responded that he wanted a baby girl for sex. Wright acknowledged sending explicit emails describing his desires to assault children, from infants up to the age of 4.

The person he contacted was cooperating with authorities, and Wright was arrested when he flew into San Diego in January.

Wright was a seminarian in the Columbus diocese, but he was also sponsored by the Steubenville diocese in Ohio. He also studied in Kentucky and is originally from Vermont, according to the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP).

Rev. John Allen, vice president for advancement at Pontifical College Josephinum, said Wright began attending the school last fall and that he’d undergone a battery of psychological tests, interviews and a background check before being accepted. Wright lost his status at the seminary when he left the campus without authorization.

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CALIFORNIA
Los Angeles Times

Associated Press

A former Ohio seminarian was sentenced Friday to nearly 16 years in prison for trying to adopt or purchase infants from Mexico to sexually molest them.

Joel Wright, 23, pleaded guilty in April to a federal charge of attempted enticement of a minor. The former student at Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio, admitted that he wrote sexually explicit emails in which he described his desire to assault children, from infants up to the age of 4.

Wright placed Craigslist ads for a Tijuana tour guide starting in November and told someone who responded that he wanted a girl under 3 years old for sex. In one message, he wrote that he picked up infant pain-relief medication and a “pretty outfit which I think should fit the 1 or 2 year old.”

The person he contacted was cooperating with federal agents. Wright was arrested when he flew into San Diego in January.

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DEUTSCHLAND
NDR

[Do not hide behind Ethics!]

Ein Kommentar von Florian Breitmeier, NDR Redaktion Religion und Gesellschaft

Der Nebel lichtet sich nur langsam, doch erste Zahlen werden sichtbar. Der Zwischenbericht zeigt, dass im katholischen Bereich auffällig viele Betroffene sexualisierter Gewalt männlich sind – rund 80 Prozent. Die Forscher haben hier zweifelsfrei ein Spezifikum entdeckt. Denn in anderen Institutionen wie zum Beispiel Sportvereinen oder staatlichen Schulen suchen sich die Täter mehrheitlich weibliche Opfer.

Warum aber vergehen sich katholische Geistliche mehrheitlich an Jungen? Liegt es daran, dass es bis weit in die 1970er-Jahre hinein kaum Messdienerinnen gab? Warum wird das Thema Homosexualität tabuisiert? Welchen Aspekt spielt die kritische Auseinandersetzung mit der sexuellen Reife in der Priesterausbildung? Fragen über Fragen, die die Forscher noch beantworten müssen.

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NEW YORK
Syracuse.com

By Elizabeth Doran | edoran@syracuse.com

Utica, N.Y. – An Oneida County prosecutor tried in court today to poke holes in Sarah Ferguson’s claim that two brothers that she and other brutally beat sexually abused her children.

Sarah Ferguson, 33, took the stand to testify in her defense in her murder trial

She is accused of taking part in the beatings, along with her parents and others, that killed her half-brother, Lucas Leonard, 19, and severely injured her other half-brother, Christopher Leonard, 17. The beatings happend at the Word of Life Christian Church in October 2015.

She is charged with second-degree murder, first- and second-degree manslaughter, two counts of first-degree assault and two counts of first-degree gang assault.

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CALIFORNIA
KRON 4

[with video]

By Alecia Reid
Published: July 1, 2016

BRENTWOOD (KRON) — An East Bay deacon is the center of a lot of outrage right now.

Andrew Wright, from the Power of Living Ministries, is a convicted sex offender. Now, some members of his church are defending him.

Andrew Julius Wright is a convicted sex offender. He is also an ordained deacon at Power for Living Ministries.

“He was convicted of continuous sexual abuse of a child…,” Child Predators Most Wanted spokesman Alex Zabel said.

This topic touches home for Zabel, who is a survivor. He joined forces with a few friends, and together, they run the California Child Predators Most Wanted Facebook page.

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FLORIDA
Local 10

By Andrea Torres – Digital Reporter/Producer

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – When a 10-year-old girl ended up in the hospital with stomach pain, doctors learned she was pregnant.

Detectives from the special victims unit met the girl at Broward Health Medical Center earlier this year.

The man accused of getting the little girl pregnant, police said, was a youth pastor who used to live in Fort Lauderdale. But he was gone.

The U.S Marshals International Investigations tracked Raymond Vincent, 46, to Haiti. They flew him from Port-au-Prince and turned him over to the Fort Lauderdale Police Department.

Vincent had been accused of molesting a child back in 2011. Police said he offered a girl food to lure her into his apartment. The girl said he molested her several times.

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NEW YORK
Observer-Dispatch

Sarah Ferguson was suspicious of her teen brothers. A younger sister “alluded” that they sexually abused her when she was a child and Ferguson grew concerned for the safety of her four young children in the Clayville house they all shared, she testified Friday.

By MICAELA PARKERmparker@uticaod.com

UTICA – Sarah Ferguson was suspicious of her teen brothers.

A younger sister “alluded” that they sexually abused her when she was a child and Ferguson grew concerned for the safety of her four young children in the Clayville house they all shared, she testified Friday in Oneida County Court during her trial.

When the teens admitted under questioning to sexually abusing her children, her sister and children in the neighborhood, she was “shocked” and “angered” by what they said and aimed for their groins while she whipped them.

“I struck them on their genitalia,” Ferguson told her attorney, describing the events at an October counseling session at Word of Life Christian Church in Chadwicks. “Was I thinking? No ma’am, I was not. Did I have any intentions? No ma’am, it was a reaction to what I had heard. No, there was no thought process, there was no thought pattern involved.”

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RHODE ISLAND
GoLocalProv

Friday, July 01, 2016
GoLocalProv News Team

The Diocese of Providence has announced that Reverend B. Samuel Turillo, a senior priest of the Diocese is prohibited from exercising the sacred ministry after the Diocese received credible accusations regarding alleged misconduct involving a minor that took place 60 years ago.
Turillo’s faculties or permission to serve as a priest have been removed in accordance with the Charter.

Turillo will soon be 96-years-old and retired from active ministry in June of 1994 and is living in a private residence.

Turilo as a Priest

Father Turillo was ordained to the priesthood in 1946 and had assignments at St. Benedict, Warwick 1946-1946; St. Patrick, Providence 1946-1948; Sacred Heart, West Warwick 1948-1953; St. Mary, Cranston 1953-1954; Holy Angels, Barrington 1954-1962; St. Joseph Hospital, Providence 1962-1962; St. Anthony, Woonsocket 1962-1965; St. Ann, Providence 1965-1971; St. Joseph, Hope Valley 1971-1979 and Sacred Heart, West Warwick 1979-1994.

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MISSOURI
News-Press Now

Editorial

Victims of child sexual abuse are due every reasonable form of redress and compensation. An apology might seem the least of these things, but a sincere apology still has value.

Bishop James V. Johnston Jr. was installed last fall to lead the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph. He was not the bishop when the diocese, like too many others, became embroiled in a series of claims about sexual abuse, paid financial settlements and saw his predecessor charged with a crime for failing to report suspected child sexual abuse.

Nevertheless, Johnston has offered the most compelling statement of official diocese sentiment since the scandal first unfolded. The words are welcomed even in the context of the harm that was caused:

“I am here to confess, apologize and repent for the sins of those who held a sacred trust in the church and who betrayed that trust,” Johnston told those gathered June 26 in Kansas City for a Service of Lament. Church members, victims and survivors of sexual abuse attended, as well as nearly all priests in the diocese.

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CALIFORNIA
WTOV

BY ASSOCIATED PRESS, WTOV9 FRIDAY, JULY 1ST 2016

SAN DIEGO, Ca. — A former seminarian has been sentenced in San Diego to nearly 16 years in prison for trying to adopt or purchase infants from Mexico to sexually molest them.

Joel Wright of Ohio pleaded guilty in April to a federal charge of attempted enticement of a minor. A judge on Friday sentenced him to 15 years, eight months.

Wright placed Craigslist ads for a Tijuana tour guide, then told someone who responded that he wanted a baby girl for sex. Wright acknowledged sending explicit emails describing his desires to assault children, from infants up to the age of 4.

The person he contacted was cooperating with authorities, and Wright was arrested when he flew into San Diego in January.

Wright is a former student of Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio.

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VERMONT
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Friday, July 1, 2016

Statement by Judy Jones, SNAP associate Midwest director (636 422 2511,SNAPjudy@gmail.com)

A former Catholic seminarian from Vermont who tried to arrange to sexually abuse babies was just sentenced, but the crux and cause of his crimes has basically been ignored – a secretive, self-serving clerical culture that gives troubled clerics repeated chances to hurt kids.

[CBS 8]

Joel A. Wright, a Vermont native, spent time in Kentucky and Ohio. Today, a San Diego judge decided Wright will be locked up for 188 months and be supervised for life. We are glad he’ll always be monitored by the secular justice system and not purportedly monitored by his church colleagues.

Over 40 seminaries rejected Wright. But because so few men want to become priests, church officials – including Steubenville’s Bishop Jeffrey Monforton, Columbus’s Bishop Frederick F. Campbell and Josephinum seminary staff – recklessly rolled the dice on him. In the most narrow and selfish sense, their gamble paid off: none of them are experiencing any consequences for their irresponsible actions.

And sadly, none of them are aggressively reaching out to others who may have knowledge of or suspicions about other crimes by Wright.

Let’s hope that Vermont Bishop Christopher Coyne, and his colleagues in Columbus and Steubenville, will use pulpit announcements, parish bulletins and church websites to do what they should have done long ago – do outreach to others who may be suffering from Wright’s wrongdoing.

No matter what church officials do or don’t do, we urge every single person who saw, suspected or suffered child sex crimes and cover ups in Catholic churches or institutions to protect kids by calling police, get help by calling therapists, expose wrongdoers by calling law enforcement, get justice by calling attorneys, and be comforted by calling support groups like ours. This is how kids will be safer, adults will recover, criminals will be prosecuted, cover ups will be deterred and the truth will surface.

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UNITED STATES
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Friday, July 1, 2016

Statement by Joelle Casteix of Orange County, SNAP volunteer western regional director, 949 322 7434, jcasteix@gmail.com

[Ghana Web]

Vatican officials should discipline a retired bishop in Ghana.

Bishop Peter Akwasi Sarpong says crimes by pedophile priests are

— not the worse form of sin,
— experience “temptation” and are basically “having sex,”
— attract an inappropriate amount of public attention, and
— commit sins of weakness rather than malice, so their wrongdoing is less severe.

He also said “Politicians killing people to come to power, can you compare the sin of a priest who has seen a beautiful girl and has sex with her to that?”

These remarks hurt victims. They perpetuate widely-dispelled myths about abuse. They minimize the horror and damage of clergy sex crimes and cover ups.

And they should be denounced, at the highest levels, by the church hierarchy and by Sarpong’s colleagues. Otherwise clerics will continue to accept them and use them to justify committing and concealing heinous acts of violence against the most vulnerable, and those who see, suspect or suffer child sex crimes will continue to be dismissed, ignored and disbelieved, becoming even more helpless and hopeless.

Time and time and time again, across the globe, bishops make hurtful comments and take hurtful actions about his continuing crisis with impunity. Church defenders dismiss them as “isolated incidents,” much like they dismiss the actual crimes and cover ups. So the wrongdoing continues, the predators stay hidden, the victims remain depressed and the children ultimately get assaulted when these crimes could have been prevented.

No matter what lawmakers or church officials do or don’t do, we urge every single person with information or suspicions about child sex crimes and cover ups in Catholic churches or institutions – especially in the developing world – to protect kids by calling police, get help by calling therapists, expose wrongdoers by calling law enforcement, get justice by calling attorneys, and be comforted by calling support groups like ours. This is how kids will be safer, adults will recover, criminals will be prosecuted, cover ups will be deterred and the truth will surface.

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IOWA
National Catholic Reporter

Barb Arland-Fye Catholic News Service | Jul. 1, 2016 NCR Today

DAVENPORT, IOWA
Fr. John Stack, a priest of the Davenport Diocese, celebrated his reinstatement to active ministry with his first public Mass in 38 months on Father’s Day, June 19, at the Clinton nursing home where his late father once resided.

A church trial outside the diocese found that accusations of clergy sexual abuse against Stack were not proved. The Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith concurred with the trial judges’ finding and Davenport Bishop Martin J. Amos announced Stack’s reinstatement June 15.

“I just felt that the Lord and the Blessed Mother were always close to me. I felt God was telling me, ‘you are a priest forever, in the line of Melchizedek,'” Stack told The Catholic Messenger, the diocesan newspaper. He can’t reveal details about the accusations, but said he holds no animosity toward his accusers.

Stack recalls the day — April 20, 2013 — when he learned about accusations against him. The previous day, Cardinal Francis E. George of Chicago honored Stack and other alumni of the University of St. Mary of the Lake in Mundelein, Illinois, celebrating their 25th anniversary as priests.

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MINNESOTA
Duluth News Tribune

By Tom Olsen

A Duluth priest has turned the tables on a man who is accusing him of sexual abuse.

The Rev. William C. Graham, pastor at St. Michael’s Catholic Church in the Lakeside neighborhood, is suing his accuser, who claims that he was abused by the priest nearly four decades ago.

Graham, 66, has been on administrative leave from the Diocese of Duluth since May 23, when his name surfaced in a lawsuit filed anonymously by a man identified as Doe 446.

The filing identifies St. John’s Church, St. Benedict’s Church and the Marshall School (formerly Cathedral High School) as defendants. Graham is not personally named as a defendant, but is mentioned in the suit as the focus of the abuse allegations.

On Friday, Patrick Neaton, a Chanhassen, Minn., attorney for Graham, provided the News Tribune with a nine-page complaint that he said will be served on Doe 446.

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IRELAND
Irish Independent

Michael Kelly
PUBLISHED
02/07/2016

To the casual observer, Pope Francis’s recent admission that he believes retired Pope Benedict XVI “had my back” over the past three years may seem like nothing more than a polite hat-tip to his predecessor. But the remark actually reveals a deep undercurrent of resistance to reform that Benedict’s steady presence in a small residence in the Vatican gardens is helping the Argentine Pope overcome.

It’s not by accident that when Francis gives public addresses, he reserves his sharpest criticism for Vatican officials. While the overwhelming majority of people who work in the Church’s central administration are dedicated and hard-working officials, there has long been a hard-core element machinating against reform, often for alleged financial gain.

It has long been a staple of the Italian press to report on controversial allegations emanating from the Holy See – whether it has been links to the Sicilian Mafia or Masonic bodies, there has been plenty of smoke.

When Jorge Bergoglio was elected Pope three years ago, the first item in his in-tray was a blistering 300-page report from a special commission that his predecessor Benedict XVI had established to investigate alleged corruption in the heart of the Vatican.

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AUSTRALIA
Daily Telegraph

ANTHONY DE CEGLIE, The Daily Telegraph
July 1, 2016

A THIEVING alcoholic priest accused of molesting orphaned teenage boys can work with children again after winning an appeal against a Working With Children Check (WWCC) lifetime ban.

Family and Community Services Minister Brad Hazzard slammed the decision as “extremely concerning”.

Mr Hazzard told The Saturday Telegraph he was “calling on the Catholic Church to reconsider the man’s involvement in pastoral activities”.

“(It should) do what it probably should have done years ago by erring on the side of protecting our kids and not the former priest,” he said.

The case has also exposed how potential predators can work for months while their applications are assessed.

The 68-year-old former priest, known only as “BQC” in court, was banned from working with children by the Children’s Guardian in April 2014 after an investigation discovered “sustained” historical workplace allegations he had sexually abused two teenage Aboriginal siblings. One was a ward of the state.

The alleged conduct involved genitalia fondling and masturbation.

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AUSTRALIA
Daily Mail

By BELINDA CLEARY FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA
PUBLISHED: 17:20 EST, 1 July 2016

A former priest has won the right to work with children in his retirement despite being accused of molesting two teenage girls in the 1980s.

The former Australian priest, 68, was banned from working with children in 2014 when the Children’s Guardian found the historical allegations relating to two Aboriginal sisters.

He launched an appeal and won – because no police report had been filed over the alleged assaults, Newscorp reports.

During the appeals process the man was allowed to continue working with children even though he had previously been banned.

The Children’s Guardian found workplace reports accusing the priest, known only as BQV, of theft and alcoholism.

Investigations into the clergyman also found he was part of the church’s Encompass program which has been known to shield paedophiles.

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KENTUCKY
Courier-Journal

Bobby Shipman, The Courier-Journal July 1, 2016

A priest sex abuse victims group has criticized Jeffersonville church officials for requesting prayers for an accused child molester instead of his potential victims.

David Clohessy, director the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, released a statement calling First Christian Church’s actions “stunningly callous.”

“Shame on them,” the statement read.

The church’s former head pastor David James Brown was arrested in Frankfort earlier this month after police said he traveled to meet with a minor he had been communicating with over a messaging app. The minor was actually an undercover officer from the state attorney general’s cyber crimes unit, and Brown was charged with one count of prohibited use of an electronic communication system for the purpose of procuring a minor for a sex offense.

The 46-year-old died Wednesday in an apparent suicide in Atlanta, Ga., police officials said.

The church’s youth minister, Chad Boseker, sent out a statement following Brown’s death asking for prayers for the pastor’s family and for the church’s congregation.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Premier

Fri 01 Jul 2016
By Aaron James

The Crown Prosecution Service is appealing a decision by a Kosovan court not to extradite a British monk accused of child abuse.

Laurence Soper was arrested and questioned in Italy, where he was living at the time, in 2010 after an alleged victim approached police claiming he had abused him.

He was later released and has not been charged with any crimes.

When British police summoned him again for questioning in 2011 he did not return, sparking what became a five-year Europe-wide manhunt before he was eventually found and arrested in the Kosovan city of Peja earlier this year.

British authorities had requested that he be extradited to the UK, however a Kosovan court blocked the move because under Kosovan law the child abuse allegations against him – some of which date back to the 1970s – had expired.

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VATICAN CITY
The Daily Beast

Barbie Latza Nadeau

Pope Benedict is destroying the diary he kept as pope, but not before releasing his tell-all memoir.

ROME—It’s a rare, and indeed, singularly unique opportunity to read what a pope really thinks of the job after it has finished. Pontificates generally end in funerals, not retirements. But in the case of Pope Benedict XVI, who spectacularly retired in 2013, we will soon get that rare glimpse of what it’s really like to be pope when his memoir, Benedict XVI: The Last Conversations, is published on September 9 in Italy and Germany.

Benedict, who has been living in relative seclusion at a convent inside Vatican City, has only been seen a handful of times since stepping out of the limelight. But he has apparently been incredibly busy working with German journalist Peter Seewald on his side of history. Italian national daily Corriere Della Sera obtained rights to excerpt the book, which they announced in a full page spread in Friday’s edition called “My Years as Pope.”

Among what will be the most anticipated nuggets in the memoir are Benedict’s struggle with what he refers to as a “powerful gay lobby” of four or five key people who did all they could to influence key decision makers inside the Roman Curia, according to the paper. The existence of a gay lobby is not surprising since Francis admitted as much when he took the reigns of the Roman Catholic Church in March 2013. But what’s extraordinary is the admission by a pope how much power they truly had.

Benedict, who retired amid the Vatileaks scandal during which his butler was convicted of stealing papers from his desk, apparently writes in great detail how he struggled to “break up the group” but stops short of blaming them for his landmark decision to retire, which he says he did out of sheer exhaustion and his own admission that he was not such a good manager, or, as he puts it, lacked “resoluteness in governing.”

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CALIFORNIA
Times of San Diego

POSTED BY DEBBIE L. SKLAR ON JULY 1, 2016

A former seminary student from Ohio, who traveled to San Diego to try to adopt or purchase female toddlers in Tijuana so he could sexually molest them, was sentenced Friday to nearly 16 years in federal prison.

Joel Alexander Wright, 23, pleaded guilty in April to attempted enticement of a minor.

In pronouncing the 188-month sentence, U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw called Wright’s conduct “incredibly deeply disturbing and horrific.”

The judge said Wright — who was born severely disabled and has a litany of health problems including blindness — accomplished many things in life but for whatever reason, over the past few years, pursued children.

“It’s an extremely predatory sign,” the judge said. Wright has been diagnosed with paraphilia — a condition characterized by unusual sexual desires — and could be rehabilitated, Sabraw said.

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CALIFORNIA
10 News

SAN DIEGO — A former seminary student from Ohio, who traveled to San Diego to try to adopt or purchase female toddlers in Tijuana so he could sexually molest them, was sentenced Friday to nearly 16 years in federal prison.

Joel Alexander Wright, 23, pleaded guilty in April to attempted enticement of a minor.

In pronouncing the 188-month sentence, U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw called Wright’s conduct “incredibly deeply disturbing and horrific.”

The judge said Wright — who was born severely disabled and has a litany of health problems including blindness — accomplished many things in life but for whatever reason, over the past few years, pursued children.

“It’s an extremely predatory sign,” the judge said.

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CALIFORNIA
10 TV

SAN DIEGO
A former Ohio seminarian who pleaded guilty to trying to adopt or purchase infants from Mexico to sexually molest them has been sentenced to 15 years.

Friday’s sentencing in San Diego comes after Joel Wright, 23, pleaded guilty in April to a federal charge of attempted enticement of a minor. He was also sentenced to lifetime supervision .

Beginning in November 2015, Wright placed Craigslist ads for a Tijuana tour guide, and then told a cooperating witness who responded that he wanted a baby girl for sex. He confided that he wanted to “adopt/own a baby girl and I want to have intercourse with her after I own her but don’t be telling people that.” Wright continued, “I won’t pay until I have seen the baby and I will pay the parents then…the cheapest baby under 3 would be good.”

TIMELINE: Horrifying details uncovered in seminary student’s quest for child sex

Wright acknowledged sending explicit emails describing his desires to assault children, that included infants up to the age of 4.

The person he contacted was cooperating with federal agents and Wright was arrested when he flew into San Diego in January while en route to Tijuana. There, he believed he would film and eventually sell videos of himself raping at least three children under the age of three. He was carrying $2,000 in cash along with baby clothes, lubricant, two cell phones, sleep aids, toys and candy in his luggage.

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FRANCE
Europe 1

[Four priests accused to sexual abuse have been suspended by the Lyon archdiocese.]

D’autres prêtres du diocèse vont faire l’objet de mesures d’accompagnement et d’un “suivi” du diocèse.

Quatre prêtres ont été relevés de leur ministère par le cardinal Philippe Barbarin, pour des faits d’abus sexuels, après avis d’un collège d’experts, a indiqué jeudi le diocèse de Lyon. “Il s’agit de prêtres mis en cause ou non dans la presse, déjà condamnés ou non”, a déclaré une source diocésaine. “Pour toutes les situations concernées, les faits sont connus de l’autorité judiciaire”, précise un communiqué du diocèse.

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VATICAN CITY
Crux

Inés San Martín
July 1, 2016
VATICAN CORRESPONDENT

In a new interview book to appear in September, emeritus Pope Benedict XVI says there was indeed a “gay lobby” inside the Vatican, but says it only had four or five members, that he dismantled it, and that it was not the reason he resigned in February 2013.

ROME-During the days following his historic resignation, many observers speculated that an alleged “gay lobby” within the Vatican had pressured Benedict XVI to step down. In a new interview-book, the emeritus pope admits to the existence of such a lobby, but says it had only “four or five members” and that he’d managed to dismantle it.

Benedict XVI, Final Conversations is the title of the book to be released worldwide on September 9.
This is the first time a pope, or a pope emeritus, has acknowledged on the record that the Vatican either has or had a “gay lobby”. Pope Francis reportedly said one existed soon after his election in 2013, when he had a private meeting with the leaders of the Latin American Confederation of Religious Orders (CLAR).

Yet the Vatican said that encounter was a private one, and CLAR released a statement saying the words couldn’t be attributed to the pope.

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NEW MEXICO
Gallup Independent

Published in the Gallup Independent, Gallup, N.M., June 30, 2016

Last week at the Diocese of Gallup’s confirmation hearing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Bishop James S. Wall offered something that a lot of people in the diocese have been expecting from him for years: an apology to those who have been sexually abused by clergy and others working in this diocese.

“I want to first begin by acknowledging the reason why we’re here today, and the reason is because bad people, bad men committed bad and sinful acts against good people,” Wall told the abuse survivors in the courtroom. “And there’s no excuse for that. There never was and there never will be an excuse for that.”

Actually, the actions of those sex abusers went far beyond being bad and sinful. They were criminal acts that were covered up both by the perpetrators and their superiors in the Gallup chancery. That is something Wall needs to acknowledge.

However, we recognize Wall’s apology as an important first step. It took courage for him to sit in that courtroom and apologize. But first it took the courage of 13 abuse survivors who filed public lawsuits against the Gallup Diocese, thereby refusing to go along with the diocese’s usual practice of making backroom, confidential settlement deals. And then it took the humbling power of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court system to get Wall into that courtroom chair.

So now that Wall has made that first step, there are a couple of important issues to note.

First, we have heard similar apologies in the past. The late Bishop Donald E. Pelotte went to Winslow, Arizona, more than a decade ago and offered similar apologies that sounded similarly heartfelt. But they proved to be merely apologetic words that were never backed up with sincere actions.

In another highly publicized event, Pelotte also met with several abuse survivors — including one who spoke at last week’s court hearing. The survivors presented Pelotte with an extensive list of names of suspected clergy sex abusers that Pelotte promised to investigate. Pelotte also promised the diocese would launch a “search and rescue” effort to locate Native American abuse victims across the diocese. What happened to those promises? The list of names was filed away for several years, never to be seen again until the Rev. John Boland — whose name had been on the list — was abruptly removed from ministry, leaving chancery officials to launch a frantic search for the list of names. And as for the promised “search and rescue” effort, it never happened.

Secondly, we need to consider Wall’s own record. When he arrived in 2009, Wall made national headlines for promising to review every past and present clergy personnel file and quickly release the names of credibly accused abusers. That didn’t happen until more than five years later — after the diocese landed in bankruptcy court. Even today the list is incomplete and inaccurate. Wall also promised to publicly release information about the diocese’s investigation into Boland. That has never happened.

And in 2011, two years after Wall’s arrival in Gallup, the public learned he had never even bothered to meet with the diocese’s sex abuse review board. Nowadays, Wall keeps the identity of those board members confidential. Is that to prevent the public and the media from checking on the status of that board?

For seven years, Wall has not even provided Catholic parishioners truthful and straightforward answers about why a number of current priests have abruptly vanished from their ministry assignments. And most recently, Wall and his bankruptcy attorneys stonewalled the requests of abuse survivors for the public release of personnel files of credibly accused abusers. Why was that? Perhaps because those files would provide evidence of the abuse cover-ups perpetrated by high ranking officials in the diocese?

So the question we have to ask is just how sincere was Wall’s courtroom apology? Was it just something he had to say to get the diocese’s plan of reorganization confirmed in bankruptcy court?

If Wall is sincere, he can begin to prove it by carrying out the plan’s non-monetary commitments with transparency and truthfulness. One of those provisions states Wall must visit each operating Catholic parish or school where sexual abuse occurred or where abusers served, and Wall “shall provide a forum/discussion during his visit to address questions and comments.”

The provision doesn’t say conduct a prayer service; it says provide a forum/discussion. We haven’t seen Wall do this anywhere before, so this will be another important step. Does Wall have the courage to do it? Both abuse survivors and Catholics in the pews deserve honest answers about clergy sexual abuse and misconduct as well as other issues facing the diocese today.

If Wall wants us to believe that he is really sorry, he’s going have to offer more than just apologetic words. We’ll be watching his actions.

In this space only does the opinion of the Gallup Independent Editorial Board appear.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Dumas Law Group

July 1, 2016 By Gilion Dumas

Pennsylvania failed victims of child sexual abuse and caved into pressure from the Catholic Church and insurance companies. Faced with the chance to fully reform the state’s statute of limitations for civil claims, the state Senate balked.

By a 9-4 vote, the Judiciary Committee of the Pennsylvania State Senate passed an amendment stripping the provision that would have made the law apply retroactively. That clause was necessary to allow victims abused in decades past to file lawsuits. The Pennsylvania House had earlier passed its version of the bill containing just such a retroactivity provision.

Some opponents of retroactivity said they believed it was unconstitutional. This is a weak excuse. Courts consistently uphold these retroactivity clauses in civil statutes of limitations, as the courts have done in California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, and Massachusetts.

The Judiciary Committee’s vote is a shame. The well-publicized findings of two Philadelphia grand jury reports and the recent Altoona-Johnstown report on the rampant sex abuse of Catholic children in Pennsylvania should have moved Committee members to vote in favor of the bill with its retroactivity provision intact. Victim advocates, the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association, and several high-profile prosecutors have supported retroactivity since the first of several grand jury reports exposing decades of clergy abuse within Catholic dioceses in Pennsylvania.

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GUAM
Guam Daily Post

John O’Connor | Post News Staff

While the Archdiocese of Agana, under the direction of Archbishop Anthony Apuron, indicated it would seek legal action against the archbishop’s accusers, the church now finds itself the target of a lawsuit from the same individuals whose allegations it denied.

The four accusers so far – Roland Sondia, Walter Denton, Edith Doris Concepcion and Roy Quintanilla – filed a complaint for libel and slander against the archdiocese and Apuron yesterday at the Superior Court of Guam.

The complaint referenced the various statements Apuron and the archdiocese released prior to the archbishop’s removal from church matters by the Vatican. Quintanilla was the first among the four to come forward with allegations of abuse in May followed shortly by Concepcion, who claimed her son, Joseph Quinata, had also been abused.

Apuron denied both allegations, and subsequent releases from the archdiocese characterized the accusations as malicious attacks to discredit the archbishop. Shortly after Concepcion came forward, a release was issued on behalf of the archdiocese stating it was “in the process of taking canonical and legal measures against those perpetrating these malicious lies.”

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KANSAS
Raw Story

TRAVIS GETTYS
01 JUL 2016

A Kansas church is asking a court to help punish two girls who sued over sexual abuse by a former vacation Bible school volunteer.

Kessler Lichtenegger, a former volunteer at Westside Family Church, pleaded guilty last year to attempted rape and attempted electronic solicitation involving two girls who attended the church.

The girls, who were both younger than 14 years old, and their families filed a lawsuit June 9 that alleges church officials knew about Lichtenegger’s extensive past sexual conduct and crimes involving children.

Officials at the Southern Baptist church denied knowledge of those previous juvenile convictions, but admittedly knew they should pay close attention to Lichtenegger, who was 17 years old when he volunteered for the summer Bible school in 2014 and assaulted one of the girls in the parking lot.

However, the lawsuit accuses church officials of ignoring their own protocols and allowing Lichtenegger to be around children outside of his father’s supervision.

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RHODE ISLAND
The Valley Breeze

WOONSOCKET – A priest who served in the Diocese of Providence for nearly 50 years, including a stint in Woonsocket, was removed from service this week under allegations of sexual misconduct with a minor.

Rev. Samuel Turillo was ordained to the priesthood in 1946 and served at St. Anthony in Woonsocket from 1962-1965. He retired from active ministry in 1994 and will soon be 96 years old. Turillo has now been prohibited by the diocese from exercising sacred ministry over an incident that allegedly took place 60 years ago.

In a statement, diocese officials said the had received an accusation and immediately reported the information to the Rhode Island State Police and the Attorney General’s Office.

“Simultaneously, diocesan officials launched an investigation that concluded the allegation was of a credible nature,” it states. “The Diocese of Providence takes very seriously all allegations of abuse and works closely with law enforcement agencies in accordance with the Charter and diocesan policy when an allegation of abuse is reported. Church law is firm and consistent regardless of the age of the accused priest or the time frame of the alleged incident.”

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CALIFORNIA
CBS 8

SAN DIEGO (CNS) – A former seminary student from Ohio who tried to adopt or purchase female toddlers in Tijuana so he could sexually molest them is scheduled to be sentenced Friday at the federal courthouse in San Diego.

Joel Alexander Wright pleaded guilty in April to attempted enticement of a minor.

The defendant admitted that he was the author of numerous sexually explicit emails in which he described to a cooperating witness and an undercover federal agent how he intended to sexually assault various children in Mexico, up to 4 years old.

Wright admitted that beginning in November, he placed ads on Craigslist Tijuana purporting to seek a female tour guide. When he received a response from a cooperating witness, Wright confided that he wanted to “adopt/own a baby girl (under the age of 3) and I want to have intercourse with her after I own her but don’t be telling people that … I won’t pay until I have seen the baby and I will pay the parents then … the cheapest baby under 3 would be good.”

In another email to an undercover agent, Wright admitted that he wrote he had “picked up an infant pain relief med and a pretty outfit which I think should fit the 1- or 2-year old.” Wright also wrote that he had purchased an American Airlines ticket to travel from Ohio to San Diego last Jan. 29.

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UNITED STATES
Project Jewish Kids

In 2013, Yeshiva University was sued by 34 plaintiffs alleging they were sexually abused when they were students there. Although the Torah does not recognize a statute of limitations, Y.U. invoked this arbitrary secular law that Judaism rejects to get the lawsuit dismissed because the plaintiffs filed their claims too late.

Due to the scandalous revelations contained in the lawsuit and the resultant public outcry, Y.U. hired a law firm to investigate itself. Y.U.’s Board of Trustees pledged to make public the “specific details” of the investigation. But before the report could be made public, the law firm claimed that a “Special Committee” (it doesn’t say who was on the committee) had intervened and directed it not to report the details, reneging on Y.U.’s public pledge of transparency. The result was that the law firm issued a 53-page report that said nothing about the pervasive sexual and physical abuse of Y.U. students except for a vague 3-paragraph summary buried on page 8.

The summary stated the obvious and what was already known from the massive Y.U. lawsuit. That numerous students were indeed sexually and physically abused over the course of many years by a number of individuals in a position of authority. It also stated that the abuse wasn’t just limited to Y.U’s high school, but extended to other Y.U. facilities that were not identified. It further stated that members of Y.U.’s administration were aware of the abuse, and on multiple occasions did not act to protect its students and sometimes didn’t even respond to allegations of abuse.

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FRANCE
RFI

The Archbishop of Lyon has fired four priests for child sex abuse as police investigate allegations that he failed to remove other paedophile priests in the past. The French Catholic Church on Friday changed the head of its anti-paedophilia unit and appointed a lay member as a full-time member of the body.

Lyon Archbishop Cardinal Philippe Barbarin relieved four unnamed priests of their functions on Thursday, following advice from a group of experts, including a judge, a psychiatrist and parents.

Other priests, who have already been convicted, are to be individually monitored.

All the cases are known to the judicial authorities, said the diocese, which has been rocked by scandal for more than six months following revelations that no action had been taken against several priests accused of sexual abuse over the course of many years.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
Belfast Telegraph

A high-ranking MI5 officer has rejected claims that child abuse at an infamous Belfast boys’ home was exploited as part of an intelligence operation.

The anonymised deputy director, known only as 9004, also said the UK security service only became aware of abuse at Kincora in 1980, when allegations broke in the media.

He said: “I can certainly deny that we were ever involved in an operation to exploit abuse that was taking place at Kincora for intelligence purposes.”

Officer 9004 was giving evidence via videolink from an undisclosed location to the Historical Institutional Abuse (HIA) inquiry which is examining allegations a paedophile ring preyed on vulnerable young boys at the former east Belfast home during the 1970s.

It has long been alleged the security services knew about the abuse but did nothing, and instead used the information to blackmail the prominent people such as politicians, judges, civil servants and police officers who were the perpetrators.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
BBC News

A deputy director of MI5 has told the Historical Institutional Abuse inquiry that it was 1980 before it became aware of child abuse at Kincora boys’ home in east Belfast.

The officer, known as 9004, gave evidence anonymously via video link.

He told Sir Anthony Hart’s panel it was “The first time we have unambiguous information” about the abuse.

Three senior ca
re workers at the home were jailed in 1981 for sexually abusing boys in their care.
Mainstream
One of those, William McGrath, was the leader of the loyalist organisation Tara.

Officer 9004 said they did have information on Tara in the 1970s, but it was largely a fringe group.

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CANADA
Nunatsiaq Online

JIM BELL

OTTAWA — As long as fugitive priest Joannes Rivoire, 85, remains at large in France, the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate should not be allowed to celebrate their 200th anniversary in peace, a small group of activists declared June 29 in Ottawa.

Inuit leader Piita Irniq, along with human rights activist Lieve Halsberghe and supporter Susie Utatnaaq, a former Baker Lake resident who now lives in Ottawa, gathered in front of the Edifice Deschâtelets, a building in Old Ottawa East that once stood at the centre of Roman Catholic power in eastern Ontario and served as a training school for many Oblate missionaries.

Irniq alleges that Rivoire’s sexual abuse of his lifelong friend Marius Tungilik contributed to the trauma that led to Tungilik’s death in 2012 at age 55.

While standing in front of the Oblate building, Irniq and his supporters displayed photos of Tungilik, including a photo taken of him in Naujaat when he was aged about 14.

“Father Rivoire is the reason why Marius died. I truly believe that. And that is what Marius believed as well and that is why he drank. He could never get over Father Rivoire,” Irniq said.

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NEW YORK
Road to Recovery

A religious order of priests and brothers, the Franciscan Friars of Holy Name Province, refuses to help a woman who is a childhood sexual abuse victim of Fr. Paul A. Walsh OFM, a/k/a Fr. La Salle A. Walsh, OFM, a priest who served at Our Lady of the Angels Catholic Church and Preparatory School in Kingston, Jamaica

Woman who was sexually abused at approximately the age of ten (10) in approximately 1962 by Fr. Paul A. Walsh, OFM, a/k/a Fr. La Salle Walsh, OFM, wants the Franciscan Friars to pay for the cost of her therapy, resolve her clergy sexual abuse claim, and help her try to heal

What
A demonstration and leafleting regarding the Franciscan Friars’ Holy Name Province refusal to help a childhood sexual abuse victim of a Franciscan Friar, Fr. Paul A. Walsh, a/k/a Fr. La Salle A. Walsh, from Our Lady of the Angels Catholic Church and Preparatory School in Kingston, Jamaica

When
Friday, July 1, 2016 from 11:00 am until 1:15 pm

Where
On the public sidewalk outside the headquarters of the Franciscan Friars of the Holy Name Province, 129 West 30th Street, New York, New York 10001 – 646-473-0265

Who
Robert M. Hoatson, Ph.D., Co-founder and President of Road to Recovery, Inc., a non-profit charity based in New Jersey which assists victims of sexual abuse and their families, and members of Road to Recovery, Inc.

Why
A woman who was approximately ten-years old in the 1960s and sexually abused by Fr. Paul A. Walsh, a/k/a Fr. La Salle A. Walsh, OFM, at Our Lady of the Angels Catholic Church and Preparatory School in Kingston, Jamaica, wants the Holy Name Province of the Franciscans to pay for her therapy, resolve her claim, and help her try to heal. Demonstrators will demand of the Holy Name Province of the Franciscans that it help the woman who was sexually abused as a child by a Franciscan priest try to heal by paying for her therapy and resolving her clergy sexual abuse claim in a timely and just manner.

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

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AUSTRALIA
Scribe

‘Who gave you permission to speak to anybody?’ Rabbi Telsner, the leader of the Yeshivah Centre, thundered during his regular weekly sermon. It was a question directed to Manny Waks’s father, after Manny had finally gone public with his accusations of sexual abuse and its cover-up within the centre.

Manny Waks was raised in an ultra-Orthodox Jewish family, the second oldest of 17 children. As an adolescent he was sexually abused at the religious school across the road from where he lived. Betrayed by those he trusted, Manny rebelled against his way of life, though he later went on to become a prominent Jewish community leader.

In mid-2011 Manny went public about his experiences to bring justice to the abusers, and those who covered up their crimes. For his courage in speaking out, Manny and his family were intimidated and shunned by their community. Although he has been forced to leave Australia, Manny continues to advocate for survivors and hold those in power to account.

This is the story of a man who shattered a powerful code of silence, the battles he has fought, the vindication he has earned, and the extraordinary toll it has taken on his personal life and that of his loved ones.

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UNITED STATES
Elmad

Posted by Judy Klitsner on June 28, 2016

As I recently sat in a movie theater watching the Oscar-winning Spotlight, one recurring thought dominated all others: I could have written this script. Although the film focuses on abusive priests and the Catholic Church that protected them, the patterns and ingredients were all painfully familiar from my own experiences in a Jewish youth group in the 1970’s.

In my teenage years, I came into contact with a charismatic, powerful rabbi who regularly blurred the lines between religious leadership and his own need for physical and psychological gratification. I watched as he carefully selected and “groomed” specific teenagers, using his position of religious authority in order to manipulate young minds and to create an ever-increasing cadre of loyal followers who would follow his every directive. The rabbi was not particularly careful in hiding his actions; those around him would make knowing jokes about his behavior without ever attempting to stop him. In fact, when the rabbi tried to assault me and I threatened to speak to his superiors, he laughed and assured me I would be telling them nothing they did not already know.

In the years following my experience, I have come to terms with the fact that there are sociopaths in every realm of life, and that the clergy is no exception. What I have found much more difficult to accept is the web of support surrounding the offender: too often, communal leaders and members willfully refuse to protect victims and potential victims of predatory spiritual leaders. In my efforts to understand this persistent lack of moral action, I have observed the following processes: feelings of collegiality, of cognitive dissonance (such a holy person could not have done such spotlight-movie 510x300__OPterrible things), a misguided concern about lashon ha-ra (speaking ill of others), and fear for one’s own position or livelihood in challenging a colleague of great power and stature. To my mind, worst of all is a kind of cost-benefit analysis in human lives, which suggests that if the offending spiritual leader does more good than harm, it is best to not to interfere. Whatever the motivations are for the protectors, one thing is clear: without their support, the scourge of abusive clergy would be ended.

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KANSAS
Stop Baptist Predators

Christa Brown

A Southern Baptist megachurch that is being sued over sexual abuse inflicted on minor girls has filed a court petition requesting that the girls’ names be made public.

Although sexual abuse lawsuits involving minors are typically filed under “Jane Doe” or “John Doe” pseudonyms in order to preserve the children’s anonymity, Westside Family Church in Lenexa, Kansas, has requested that the court require the children and their mother to proceed in open court under their real names.

David Clohessy, executive director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, described it as a “stunningly callous” and “mean-spirited” tactic.

Clohessy’s organization, SNAP, has been instrumental in bringing countless clergy sex abuse cases into the light of day. It was originally formed by survivors of sexual abuse committed by Catholic priests, but today, SNAP has members who were sexually abused within many other faith groups, including Baptist groups.

Clohessy stated that, in his 28 year history of advocacy work, this was the first time he had ever seen a religious institution seeking to “out” a minor who was bringing forward a claim of sexual abuse. “I’ve never seen a defendant try to ‘out’ kids who are still kids in a child sex case,” he said.

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NEW YORK
Riverdale Press

By Anthony Capote

Rabbi Jonathan Rosenblatt, who stepped down earlier this year as the leader of the Riverdale Jewish Center amid scrutiny of his naked sauna chats with young boys, has found new work, providing mental health services in Scarsdale.

Scarsdale Integrative Medicine has approached Rabbi Rosenblatt to offer him a job in pastoral and spiritual counseling, Rabbi Rosenblatt’s lawyer said.

“Rabbi Rosenblatt, over the years, did a lot of work at various hospices,” said the attorney, Meyer Koplow. “At one of the hospices where he worked, he did a lot of work with one of the doctors in [Scarsdale Integrative Medicine]. When that doctor became aware that the rabbi was free of his responsibilities at the RJC, he reached out to the rabbi to ask whether he would be interested in doing counseling in this group practice he has.”

Rabbi Rosenblatt announced his resignation from RJC in February, after reports of his naked sauna chats sent ripples through the congregation. The Bronx district attorney found no evidence of criminal activity, but some at RJC argued the rabbi’s actions were inappropriate.

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CITTA’ DEL VATICANO
Corriere della Sera

Un Papa che traccia il bilancio del suo papato. Dopo le dimissioni del 2013, Benedetto XVI rompe il silenzio e racconta se stesso e il suo pontificato in un libro. È la prima volta che accade nella storia della Chiesa. L’uscita, in contemporanea mondiale, è prevista per il 9 settembre: in Italia a pubblicare il libro (Ultime conversazioni, 240 pagine, euro 12,90) sarà Garzanti in libreria e «Corriere della Sera» in edicola.

Dall’infanzia al Vaticano

Il volume, un libro intervista scritto con Peter Seewald, giornalista tedesco autore in passato di altre due conversazioni con il Papa emerito, è una sorta di autobiografia ragionata e tocca tutte le tappe più importanti della vita di Joseph Ratzinger: l’infanzia sotto il regime nazista, la scoperta della vocazione, gli anni difficili della guerra e poi la carriera in Vaticano, fino all’elezione al soglio pontificio, con l’ansia dei primi giorni da successore di Pietro e, alla fine, la decisione sofferta delle dimissioni e la rinuncia al trono di Pietro.

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VATICAN CITY
Channel News Asia

VATICAN CITY: Former Pope Benedict says in his memoirs that no-one pressured him to resign but alleges that a “gay lobby” in the Vatican had tried to influence decisions, a leading Italian newspaper reported on Friday.

The book, called “The Last Conversations”, is the first time in history that a former pope judges his own pontificate after it is over. It is due to be published on Sept. 9.

Citing health reasons, Benedict in 2013 became the first pope in six centuries to resign. He promised to remain “hidden to the world” and has been living in a former convent in the Vatican gardens.

Italy’s Corriere della Sera daily, which has acquired the Italian newspaper rights for excerpts and has access to the book, ran a long article on Friday summarising its key points.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Information Service – Bollettino

Vatican City, 1 July 2016 – The Holy Father appointed Msgr Georg Bätzing as bishop of Limburg (area 6,182, population 2,407,000, Catholics 638,481, priests 434, permanent deacons 70, religious 824), Germany. The bishop-elect was born in Kirchen, Germany in 1961 and was ordained a priest in 1987. He holds a doctorate in theology from the University of Trier, and has served in a number of pastoral roles in the diocese of Trier including parish vicar, and vice rector and subsequently rector of the major seminary. In 2005 he was nominated Chaplain of His Holiness. He is currently canon of the Cathedral Chapter and vicar general of the diocese of Trier.

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GERMANY
Daily Mail (UK)

BERLIN (AP) — Pope Francis has appointed a new bishop to lead Germany’s Limburg diocese, ending a more than two-year hiatus after he removed the previous bishop amid an uproar over his costly new residence.

The western German diocese said Friday that Monsignor Georg Baetzing will take the job, succeeding Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst. The 55-year-old Baetzing is currently vicar-general of the Trier diocese.

The pope temporarily expelled Tebartz-van Elst from Limburg in October 2013 pending a church inquiry into his 31 million-euro ($34.4-million) new residence complex. Francis then permanently removed him in March 2014.

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UNITED KINGDOM
The Tablet

01 July 2016 | by Sean Smith

A judge in Kosovo has rejected an application to extradite Laurence Soper, the fugitive former abbot of Ealing Abbey in west London, because the crimes he is accused of have expired in the Balkan state.

The Times reported that the Metropolitan Police will appeal the decision to bring Laurence Soper back to the UK for trial. Soper, 72, is wanted in connection with historic child sex abuse cases in England. The former monk, who is no longer a member of the Ealing community, taught at the abbey school, St Benedict’s, in the 1970s and 1980s.

He disappeared from the Benedictine university at Sant’Anselmo in Rome, where he had been working as bursar, in 2011, after failing to return to London for further police questioning about alleged abuse.

A judge sitting in Peja, the western district of Kosovo where Soper was arrested last month, rejected the extradition request this week because the alleged crimes had overrun the 30-year statute of limitations. The Met will appeal and another hearing is expected to take place imminently at the appeal court in the capital, Pristina, The Times reported.

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AUSTRALIA
Newcastle Herald

JOANNE MCCARTHY
July 1, 2016

HE was the altar boy from a devout Catholic family who wanted to be a brilliant engineer like his father.

He stood in court on Friday, hands shaking and fragile, to tell a judge about life after he was sexually abused for two years by a Marist Brother, and how 20 years of mail sits unopened in plastic bags that fill his house.

He can’t stand paper after Brother Dominic, whose real name is Darcy O’Sullivan, walked the classroom decades ago and sexually abused boys as they sat doing school work, in view of other boys.

“Brother Dominic presented as very confident and urbane but would quickly descend to a deep and barely suppressed anger,” his victim told Judge Kate Traill during a sentencing hearing at Sydney District Court after O’Sullivan, 78, entered guilty pleas to sexual offences against eight victims.

The offences occurred at Marist Brothers Hamilton in the 1970s and at Casino in the early 1980s.

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GUAM
KUAM

[with video]

Updated: Jul 01, 2016

By Krystal Paco

It’s a last resort to get the truth: four of Archbishop Anthony Apuron’s accusers are taking him to court. As of Friday morning, the alleged victims filed a libel and slander lawsuit against not only Apuron, but the Archdiocese of Agana.

He wouldn’t confess to his alleged sins at church, so Archbishop Apuron’s accusers are taking him to court. “Instead of just conducting an honest, transparent investigation, they called every single survivor a liar,” announced Walter Denton before island media at the Guam Territorial Law Library. Instead of using church resources to reach out and help victims, they called us liars. They have avoided and shunned us. They did it 40 years ago, and they are doing it again.” Denton, an alleged survivor of abuse, led Friday’s press conference to detail the elements of the libel and slander lawsuit, which was filed this morning at the Superior Court of Guam and demands a for a jury trial.

All four plaintiffs – Denton, Roy Quintanilla, Roland Sondia, and Doris Concepcion on behalf of her late son Joseph “Sonny” Quinata – are represented by Attorney David Lujan. All of the victims were altar boys at Mount Carmel Parish in Agat when they were allegedly raped or molested by Apuron, who was a priest at the time.

In response, the Archdiocese of Agana fired back – through video statements and press releases – maintaining Apuron’s innocence and calling the alleged victims liars whose intent is a malicious attack on the archbishop and the church. “These statements continue to represent the position of the Agana archdiocese through today,” continued Denton.

The Vatican then placed Apuron on leave and appointed apostolic administrator Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai to cater to the Agana archdiocese. According to the alleged victims, church leadership continues to fail them. Although Archbishop Hon had rescinded decrees previously issued by Apuron, he didn’t detract Apuron’s slanderous statements towards the victims. “Apostolic administrator Archbishop Hon has not attempted to meet with us or to reach out to us,” said Denton.

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KANSAS
Christian Today

Carey Lodge CHRISTIAN TODAY JOURNALIST 01 July 2016

A Kansas church is asking for the identity of two under-age girls who were the victims of sexual assault at a holiday Bible school to be revealed by the court.

Westside Family Church of Lenexa has accused the girls’ family of a “Pearl Harbor-styled barrage of negative publicity,” Baptist News Global reports, after the family “tactically decided to ‘draw fist blood’ on the issue publicly” by leaking the story to the press before notifying the church it was being sued.

The church has therefore called on the case to proceed without the use of pseudonymns to protect the teenagers’ identities.

“Ordinarily, defense counsel would stipulate permission to use of an alias in a case involving a minor claiming sexual abuse. Sadly, the minors’ parents and attorneys have chosen a different path,” the church said.

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NEW YORK
Rome Sentinel

BY SEAN I. MILLS
Staff writer

“Blows that hurt drive off evil.”

This paraphrased Bible verse — from Proverbs 20:30 — was going through Bruce Leonard’s mind as he and fellow Word of Life church members whipped his two sons with a power cord, according to his testimony in County Court Wednesday afternoon.

Lucas and Christopher Leonard had admitted to sexually molesting their younger siblings and nieces and nephews, and Bruce Leonard said he wanted to see them punished.

“So they understood the hurt that they had caused…discipline for punishing them,” Leonard testified. “It was more of a reaction to what they had said.”

Lucas, age 19, later died from his injuries. Christopher, 17, would have died from kidney failure, according to testimony, but he instead spent a week in the hospital.

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UNITED KINGDOM
The Argus

Joel Adams, Reporter

THE former Archbishop of Canterbury has accused the Church of England of acting like a “kangaroo court” in its handling of a historic sex abuse case.

In a debate in the House of Lords on historic sexual offences, Lord Carey said he was “deeply unhappy” with the process the Church had undertaken in the case of wartime Bishop of Chichester George Bell and said there was a case for a new approach to be taken in dealing with historic sex offences.

In October, the Diocese of Chichester announced it had paid a settlement to an unnamed survivor of sexual abuse after accusations levelled against the wartime head of the Church in Sussex, who died in 1958. His victim was five at the time.

Former Archbishop Lord Carey said: “I am distressed to make this observation of my own Church but it seems to me in this particular instance its procedures have had the character of a kangaroo court and not a just, compassionate and balanced investigation of the facts.”

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RHODE ISLAND
WPRI

By Annie Shalvey
Published: June 30, 2016

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — The Providence Diocese announced the removal of a retired priest from the priesthood on Thursday, due to allegations of sexual abuse.

According to the Diocese, Father Samuel Turillo, now 95, is “prohibited from exercising the sacred ministry after the Diocese received a credible accusation regarding alleged sexual misconduct.”

The Diocese said the incident involved a minor and took place approximately 60 years ago.

Turillo had several assignments around Rhode Island from 1946 until his retirement in 1994.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Reading Eagle

By Liam Migdail-Smith
HARRISBURG

The state Senate approved a bill to overhaul Pennsylvania’s child sex abuse laws Thursday, but the legislation lacks the key provision that victims and their advocates had demanded.

The bill did not include language that would allow victims to pursue claims for abuse that occurred decades ago. A bid to restore that retroactive provision to the bill fell short again Thursday.

Senators voted 49-0 Thursday to send the bill back to the state House with changes made Tuesday by the Senate Judiciary Committee. The Senate panel axed a provision that would have allowed victims up to age 50 to sue regardless of when the abuse occurred.

State Sen. Scott Wagner, a York County Republican, unsuccessfully attempted to restore that portion of the bill.

Many supporters of the bill say the legislation has been reduced to a half-measure that fails to provide overdue justice to victims already harmed.

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AUSTRALIA
inDaily

Nick Xenophon is standing firm in his refusal to apologise to the priest he named in parliament as an alleged rapist, saying “it’s not a question of regret” but that the situation “was what it was”.

Catholic priest Ian Dempsey broke years of silence on InDaily last week, when he said he “forgives” but “prays for truth and justice”, after Xenophon in 2011 used parliamentary privilege to air an accusation that he raped fellow student John Hepworth at the St Francis Xavier seminary in Adelaide in the late 1960s and early ’70s. The accusation was never substantiated.

Dempsey said Xenophon’s enduring popularity – which has hit fever pitch ahead of tomorrow’s election, and could see his fledgling party snare a handful of Lower House seats – continued to rankle with him, given the Senator’s refusal to apologise or acknowledge that he had been cleared by subsequent church, police and DPP investigations.

Xenophon yesterday told InDaily he was aware of Dempsey’s remarks but would “rather not comment on it”.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Courier Times

Editorial

Posted: Friday, July 1, 2016

Under a controversial and now emasculated bill passed by a state Senate committee, future victims of child sexual abuse will have until the age of 50 to sue their attackers. Former victims would be out of luck, however.

That’s because most members of the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to remove a provision of a bill that would have altered the statute of limitations, enabling victims who were attacked as far back as the 1970s to sue their abusers. The alteration comes in the wake of enormous pressure on lawmakers from the Catholic Church, which is worried about a spate of crippling lawsuits, although the official reason for Church opposition is based on a constitutional argument.

Most committee members bought that argument, at least publicly. Among those who rejected the view is state attorney general candidate Sen. John Rafferty, who was endorsed for AG by the Judiciary Committee chairman. “I am Catholic,” Rafferty said, calling priest sex-abuse and church cover-ups outlined in a series of grand jury reports over the last 10 years both “abhorrent and disgusting,” and declaring that he saw no constitutional issues with the bill.

Nonetheless, the altered bill now goes to the full Senate. The amended version would extend to age 50 the civil statute of limitations for future victims. It also would abolish the criminal statute of limitations, enabling future victims to pursue prosecution regardless of age.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Centre Daily Times

BY LORI FALCE
lfalce@centredaily.com

The Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown is getting a new home for its administration and it is partly due to the sexual abuse scandal enveloping the area.

In a release Thursday, the diocese announced the plans to relocate from offices in Hollidaysburg to the school building of the Our Lady of Lourdes parish in Altoona.

The diocese would lease the school building, which is now being used by the Lily Pond Child Development Center. That lease expires in October.

According to the diocese, both this move and the sale of the bishop’s residence in 2014 were “appropriate given the current financial circumstances of the diocese as it responds to past cases of sexual abuse of minors.”

“In addition to being good stewards of available resources, the proposed sale will also help the diocese to refocus its mission to parishes and parishioners,” the release said.

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ILLINOIS
Patch

By Lorraine Swanson (Patch Staff) – July 1, 2016

Chicago, IL — A priest who unsuccessfully sued two brothers after they accused him of molesting them as children passed away suddenly on June 25.

Rev. Robert A. Stepek reportedly died while cutting grass in the heat. He was in his early 60s. The priest was a former associate pastor of Chicago’s St. Symphorosa Church and St. Christina Church and St. Joseph Church in Homewood. He was also the former pastor at St. Albert the Great Catholic Church in Burbank.

More recently he held down a civilian job as a community resource officer with the Burbank Police Department.

Stepek vehemently denied accusations that he had molested two brothers, then 9 and 16, at Symphorosa Church where had had serve from 1981 to 1983

The brothers waited until 2006 when they were adults before reporting that they had been sexually abused by Stepak in the 1980s. Stepek responded by filing an unsuccessful defamation lawsuit against the brothers while maintaining his innocence.

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.

GHANA
Ghana Web

Archbishop Emeritus of the Kumasi Arch Diocese Most Reverend Peter Akwasi Sarpong has taken a swipe at persons accusing the clergy especially priests of the Catholic Church of engaging in sexual intercourse indicating that it is not the worse form of sin.

In accordance with the doctrines of the church, ordained priests of the universal church are not supposed to engage in sexual acts as this could amount to flouting their vows of chastity and celibacy.

“Of course it is against their vows and it is inimical to the growth of the church. Obviously, how do you ask such a question, if it’s true would you like your priest to engage in such acts? My dear friends know that this is sinful and the priests who are doing it know that it is sinful it’s not approved by the church”, he revealed.

According to him, stealing money, oppressing people especially the poor and committing murder considered as sins of malice are worse than sexual sin which is regarded as sin of weakness.

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.

GUAM
Pacific News Center

Written by Janela Carrera

The libel and slander lawsuit was filed this morning at the Superior Court of Guam.

Guam – The four alleged sex abuse victims of Archbishop Anthony Apuron have taken the first step in taking Apuron to court. They have filed a libel and slander lawsuit in the Superior Court of Guam.

Roy Quintanilla, Walter Denton, Roland Sondia and Doris Concepcion, on behalf of her son, Joseph Quinata are the named plaintiffs in the case. Quintanilla, Denton and Sondia say Apuron molested them in the 1970s at the Mt. Carmel Church in Agat. Concepcion accused Apuron of molesting her now deceased son.

The named defendants are Archbishop of Agana, a Corporation Sole–which is essentially the Archdiocese of Agana– and Apuron.

The four plaintiffs are seeking $500,00 each in general damages for a total of $2 million.

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

GUAM
KUAM

[with video]

[includes copy of the lawsuit]

Updated: Jul 01, 2016

By Krystal Paco

Walter Denton led a press conference at the Law Library in Hagatna this afternoon and announced that he, Roy Quintanilla, Roland Sondia, and Doris Concepcion have filed a libel and slander lawsuit against Anthony Sablan Apuron, the Archdiocese of Agana and DOE’s 1-50. The case was filed in the Superior Court of Guam. They are being represented by attorney David Lujan.

Walter Denton said they filed the lawsuit because they want the truth to come out to the public and to defend their honor and integrity. Denton said he wants Anthony Apuron and the Archdiocese of Agana and all those involved to take responsibility for their actions.

Denton added since the Archbishop and the Archdiocese have called every single survivor liars and instead of helping them they have avoided them and shunned them just as they did 40 years ago. He adds Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai has not attempted to meet with the victims. They have not reached out to them.

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

GUAM
Pacific Daily News

Haidee V Eugenio, Pacific Daily News July 1, 2016

Four people who publicly accused Archbishop Anthony Apuron of sexually abusing altar boys in Agat in the 1970s filed a lawsuit against the archbishop Friday, at the Superior Court of Guam.

In the lawsuit, they are accusing the archbishop of libel and slander. The filing took place at 11:43 a.m.

The plaintiffs in the suit are Doris Concepcion, Roy T. Quintanilla, Walter G. Denton and Roland Paul L. Sondia. Their attorney is David Lujan.

The filing was announced Friday, during a press conference at the Guam Law Library near the court.

Slander is a false or malicious claim that may harm someone’s reputation. Libel is a defamatory statement made in the form of print or broadcast.

Quintanilla, Denton and Sondia are former altar boys who said Apuron molested them during sleepovers at the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church rectory in Agat in the 1970s. Denton said Apuron raped him.

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RHODE ISLAND
NBC 10

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence said Thursday that a senior priest no longer has permission to serve due to sexual misconduct.

According to a press release from the Diocese, the Reverend B. Samuel Turillo, “is now prohibited from exercising the sacred ministry after the Diocese received a credible accusation regarding alleged sexual misconduct involving a minor that took place approximately 60 years ago.”

The release notes that Turillo’s faculties to serve as a priest were removed in accordance with the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.

“Upon recently receiving the allegation, the Diocese immediately reported the information to the Rhode Island State Police and the Attorney General’s Office,” the release noted. “Simultaneously, Diocesan officials launched an investigation that concluded the allegation was of a credible nature.”

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

PENNSYLVANIA
PennLive

By Ivey DeJesus | idejesus@pennlive.com

The prosecution of child sex crimes would change dramatically under a bill poised to go to Gov. Tom Wolf’s desk.

The Senate on Thursday voted 49-0 to approve a bill that amends the statute of limitations — the time limits that govern when victims of sex abuse can bring legal action against perpetrators.

Pennsylvania joined the ranks of more than three dozen states that have overhauled child sex crime laws in wake of child sex abuse scandals, but House Bill 1947 leaves a gaping void for victims.

House Bill 1947 — which passed the House in April by a vote of 180-15 — amends Title 42 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure) to eliminate or extend statutes of limitation in criminal and civil cases involving child sexual abuse.

Here is a rundown of what the bill would and would not do:

* The bill eliminates the criminal statute of limitations on most child sex crimes.

* The bill would allow an individual to file a civil action against institutions and organizations based on child sexual abuse until that individual reaches the age of 50. (Currently it cuts off at 30).

* The bill eliminates time limits on when victims can file a civil action against certain individual defendants. Those individual defendants include: the perpetrator; any individual who conspired with the perpetrator of child sexual abuse; any individual who knew of child sexual abuse but failed to report the abuse to law enforcement or a child protective services agency.

* The bill eliminates the criminal statute of limitations for a conspiracy or solicitation that facilitates the offenses.

* The bill lowers the standard for actions against governmental defendants from “gross negligence” to “negligence.’

* The bill does not revive time-barred civil actions.

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

PENNSYLVANIA
Tribune-Review

BY CARLEY MOSSBROOK | Thursday, June 30, 2016

The state Senate unanimously passed a bill Thursday that would overhaul Pennsylvania’s statute of limitations for child sexual abuse cases.

After weeks of debate and the removal of a key component of the bill, the Senate passed legislation that would remove the statute of limitations for criminal cases of child sexual abuse and extend the amount of time victims have to bring lawsuits against institutions.

Under current laws, criminal cases must be brought before the victim reaches the age of 50 and lawsuits against institutions must be filed before the victim reaches the age of 30. This bill would give victims until age 50 to bring suit against institutions.

There is no age restriction to file a lawsuit against individuals who perpetrated the abuse.

The bill was originally introduced in the House, but some controversial changes were made earlier this week in the Senate Judiciary Committee that will volley it back to the House for concurrence.

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.

NORTHERN IRELAND
Belfast Telegraph

At least one MI6-run agent was aware of sexual abuse being committed in a notorious Belfast boys’ home, according to one of the agency’s historic intelligence documents.

A classified MI6 note containing the claim about the Kincora abuse scandal was presented in evidence as a senior ranking MI6 officer was questioned at Northern Ireland’s Historical Institutional Abuse (HIA) inquiry.

But the anonymised deputy director of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), referred to as officer A as he testified via video-link, rejected any suggestion his organisation was aware of the abuse.

He told the inquiry panel that an extensive trawl of MI6’s files could find no other documentary evidence to corroborate the 1989 note.

“We have found nothing that was written at the same time that justifies that assertion or nothing in our subsequent records that backs up that assertion,” he said.

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

KANSAS
Baptist News

BOB ALLEN | JUNE 30, 2016

A Southern Baptist church being sued over sexual abuse committed by a former Vacation Bible School volunteer currently behind bars is asking a court to reveal the identities of two underage victims, accusing the girls’ parents and lawyers of using pretrial publicity to malign the congregation’s reputation.

Westside Family Church of Lenexa, Kan., filed a petition in district court June 15 requesting that the teenaged sisters and their parents who sued the church June 9 not be allowed to proceed with the case with their identifies protected by pseudonyms.

Church officials accused the family of “a Pearl Harbor-styled barrage of negative publicity” against the congregation purposely timed to coincide with this year’s Vacation Bible School.

“Ordinarily, defense counsel would stipulate permission to use of an alias in a case involving a minor claiming sexual abuse,” the church claimed in the petition. “Sadly, the minors’ parents and attorneys have chosen a different path” by leaking their complaint to the media before the congregation received official notice that it was being sued.

“While the Defendant admits the sensitivity of the allegations, Plaintiffs tactically decided to ‘draw first blood’ on the issue publicly,” the church’s petition says. “In time, that may ultimately be seen in hindsight to be a bad decision. However, they should not be able to hide behind pseudonyms after systematically and intentionally initiating a campaign specifically designed to damage Defendant’s reputation.”

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RHODE ISLAND
Providence Journal

By Karen Lee Ziner
Journal Staff Writer

Posted Jun. 30, 2016

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence said Friday that a 95-year-old senior priest, the Rev. B. Samuel Turillo, is now prohibited from serving as a priest following “a credible accusation regarding alleged sexual misconduct involving a minor that took place approximately 60 years ago.”

Turillo had 10 assignments in eight cities and towns since he was ordained to the priesthood in 1946, according to a statement the Diocese issued on its website.

Turillo served at: St. Benedict, Warwick 1946-1946; St. Patrick, Providence 1946-1948; Sacred Heart, West Warwick 1948-1953; St. Mary, Cranston 1953-1954; Holy Angels, Barrington 1954-1962; St. Joseph Hospital, Providence 1962-1962; St. Anthony, Woonsocket 1962-1965; St. Ann, Providence 1965-1971; St. Joseph, Hope Valley 1971-1979 and Sacred Heart, West Warwick 1979-1994.

“It should be noted that Fr. Turillo will soon be 96 years old, that he retired from active ministry in June 1994, and is living in a private residence,” the Diocese said.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Christian Post

By Leonardo Blair , Christian Post Reporter

A Christian schoolteacher from England who police believe sexually abused as many as 200 children from poor communities in Malaysia and bragged about his exploits online, was given 22 life sentences after admitting to 71 charges of sex abuse against children aged 6 months to 12 years.

Richard Huckle, 30, the schoolteacher from Ashford, Kent, fancied himself such an expert in abusing minors, he wrote a 60-page how-to manual for other pedophiles to follow that Judge Peter Rook QC, called a “truly evil document” according to the BBC.

“Impoverished kids are definitely much easier to seduce than middle-class Western kids,” Huckle reportedly wrote online, according to the BBC. “I still plan on publishing a guide on this subject sometime.”

“I’d hit the jackpot,” he said on another occasion, “a 3yo girl as loyal to me as my dog and nobody seemed to care.”

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

PENNSYLVANIA
Daily Times

By Marc Levy, The Associated Press

POSTED: 06/30/16

HARRISBURG, Pa. >> The Pennsylvania Senate voted unanimously Thursday to lift time limits for some perpetrators of child sexual abuse to be sued by their victims and prosecuted by authorities, amid fresh Roman Catholic Church scandals in Pennsylvania that have inflamed a push for the legislation.

However, the Senate also rejected a provision approved overwhelmingly in April by the House to restore the ability of onetime-child victims to sue for damages if they are now older than the current legal age limit of 30.

That provision has been hotly debated, particularly with prosecutors in Pennsylvania uncovering a long-running scandal in the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese and states increasingly providing that window to victims who are now older.

But the provision ran into concerns from senators that it would conflict with Pennsylvania’s constitutional case law, and it was opposed by the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference and the Insurance Federation of Pennsylvania, which represents for-profit insurers.

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CANADA
The Telegram

Barb Sweet

Published on June 30, 2016

Testimony in the Mount Cashel civil trial ended this morning in Newfoundland Supreme Court with Justice Alphonsus Faour acknowledging the co-operation of opposing lawyers, as well as the John Does and church officials who sat through much of the trial.

“I suppose there’s an element of Stockholm syndrome to be thrown together for this length of time, but it has been difficult for everyone concerned,” Faour said in thanking the lawyers for the “remarkable” way they conducted themselves.

The trial over many of its 31 non-consecutive days has contained disturbing testimony concerning the experiences of four John Does at the Mount Cashel orphanage several years ago, as well as personal details of their lives since then and various expert opinions on child sex abuse and its impacts.

A retired military man who is a John Doe in the case was in the courtroom Thursday when Faour acknowledged that he and fellow John Doe, a retired teacher, attended many days of testimony (long after they were on the witness stands.) Faour also noted one other John Doe had been a spectator on earlier occasions.

“I know for them that it must have been quite difficult to listen to a lot of the testimony,” Faour said.

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RHODE ISLAND
Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence

June 30, 2016

The Diocese of Providence today announced that in accordance with the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, the law of the Church and diocesan policy, the Reverend B. Samuel Turillo, a senior priest of the Diocese, is now prohibited from exercising the sacred ministry after the Diocese received a credible accusation regarding alleged sexual misconduct involving a minor that took place approximately 60 years ago.

Father Turillo’s faculties or permission to serve as a priest have been removed in accordance with the Charter. It should be noted that Fr. Turillo will soon be 96 years old, that he retired from active ministry in June 1994 and is living in a private residence.

Upon recently receiving the allegation, the Diocese immediately reported the information to the Rhode Island State Police and the Attorney General’s Office. Simultaneously, diocesan officials launched an investigation that concluded the allegation was of a credible nature.

Father Turillo was ordained to the priesthood in 1946 and had assignments at St. Benedict, Warwick 1946-1946; St. Patrick, Providence 1946-1948; Sacred Heart, West Warwick 1948-1953; St. Mary, Cranston 1953-1954; Holy Angels, Barrington 1954-1962; St. Joseph Hospital, Providence 1962-1962; St. Anthony, Woonsocket 1962-1965; St. Ann, Providence 1965-1971; St. Joseph, Hope Valley 1971-1979 and Sacred Heart, West Warwick 1979-1994.

The Diocese of Providence takes very seriously all allegations of abuse and works closely with law enforcement agencies in accordance with the Charter and diocesan policy when an allegation of abuse is reported. Church law is firm and consistent regardless of the age of the accused priest or the time frame of the alleged incident. The full content of the Charter may be accessed through the diocesan website, www.dioceseofprovidence.org.

The Diocese urges anyone who has been the victim of sexual abuse, or with credible knowledge of such abuse, by any member of the church to report the information to the Rhode Island State Police Major Crimes Unit 401-444-1000, the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office 401 274-4400 or the diocesan Office of Compliance at 401-941-0760.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Philly.com

JUNE 30, 2016

by Maria Panaritis and Angela Couloumbis, STAFF WRITERS

HARRISBURG – In a victory for the Catholic Church, the Pennsylvania Senate unanimously passed a bill Thursday that bars child sex abuse victims from suing their attackers and private institutions for incidents dating back to the 1970s.

In a 49-0 vote, the Republican-led chamber approved a change to the current statute of limitations so that future criminal cases may be brought at any time. But it blocks the filing of civil lawsuits for people abused as children decades ago – a controversial provision that had been approved by the House.

The Senate bill maintained House language permitting victims up to age 50 to bring civil actions against attackers and institutions – up from age 30, as allowed by current law. An amendment backed by Senate President Pro Tempore Joseph Scarnati and approved two days ago, however, stripped House language that would have made that change retroactive.

Opponents of the measure had said it would harm the Catholic Church by exposing it to liability for actions taken by bishops or priests decades ago, potentially forcing costly payouts that would harm parishes and dioceses.

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

PENNSYLVANIA
CBS Philly

June 30, 2016 3:48 PM By Tony Romeo

HARRISBURG, PA. (CBS) – The Pennsylvania Senate has approved legislation that would give victims of child sex abuse more time to seek justice, but without a provision long sought by advocates.

The Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this week removed controversial language from the bill, to the dismay of advocates.

But as the full Senate voted to approve the amended version Thursday, Harrisburg area Democrat Rob Teplitz said the bill will still do a lot of good:

“We can’t provide justice for everyone, but we can provide justice for a significant number of people.”

The bill would eliminate the criminal statute of limitations in child sex abuse cases. In civil cases, the measure would also eliminate the statute of limitations for most individual defendants, and lengthen the time a victim would have to sue an organization.

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PENNSYLVANIA
PennLIve

By Ivey DeJesus | idejesus@pennlive.com

Pennsylvania on Thursday came one step closer to joining the ranks of states that have overhauled child sex crime laws in the wake of stunning child sex abuse scandals.

Three months after a grand jury investigation found systemic sexual abuse of hundreds of children by priests in the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese, the Senate by a 49-0 vote gave final passage to a bill that broadly amends and toughens the law on future sex crimes against children.

House Bill 1947, widely seen as a compromise bill out of that chamber, garnered wide support from the Senate just weeks after its constitutionality was questioned.

If signed into law by Gov. Tom Wolf, House Bill 1947 would eliminate criminal statute of limitations for most child sex crimes. The bill also broadens the time frame that victims have to file civil suits against predators.

The bill, however, dashed the hopes of hundreds if not thousands of victims of past child sex abuse who had look to legislative changes in the law for justice. A retroactive measure in the bill was eliminated this week under an amendment from Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati, R‑Jefferson County.

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ILLINOIS
Chicago Tribune

Rev. Robert A. Stepek, suddenly passed away on June 25, 2016, beloved son of Robert J. and Dorothy C. Stepek; loving brother of Susan (Jerry) Wachowiak and Scott (Netta) Stepek; devoted uncle of Terri (Christopher) La Via, Jeffrey (Nicole) Wachowiak, Scottie, Bobby, and Brianna; proud great-uncle of Lily, Marco, Andrew, and Bailee. Visitation: Wednesday, from 1 to 8 PM. Funeral: Thursday, at 9:15 AM, from Lawn Funeral Home, 7909 State Rd (5500 W) Burbank, IL 60459, to St. Bede the Venerable Church for a 10:00 AM Mass of the Resurrection. Interment: St. Mary Cemetery. Rev. Stepek was a former Associate Pastor at St. Symphorosa Church, St. Christina Church, St. Joseph Church in Homewood, and the former Pastor at St. Albert the Great Church. Funeral Info: 708-636-2320
Published in a Chicago Tribune Media Group Publication from June 28 to June 29, 2016

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ILLINOIS
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Thursday, July 30, 2016

Statement by Barbara Blaine of Chicago, national president member of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests(312-399-4747, bblaine@SNAPnetwork.org)

Local Catholic officials have kept hidden the passing of Fr. Robert Stepek, a predator priest who sued his victims and who died last week. Shame on Archbishop Blasé Cupich for his hurtful secrecy.

[Chicago Tribune]

Fr. Stepek was permanently removed from active ministry in 2006 when two brothers reported having been sexually assaulted as kids by him. Then-Cardinal Francis George let Fr. Stepek sued the brothers for defamation. The brothers then sued George and Stepek. Inexplicably, Vatican officials insisted that Fr. Stepek’s status be restored, despite the credible accusations against him.

[SNAP]

We believe that local Catholic officials ignored and enabled Fr. Stepek’s crimes and then compounded their callous actions by ignoring and tolerating his hardball legal tactics.

We call on Archbishop Cupich to spread the word of Fr. Stepek’s death through church bulletins, parish websites and pulpit announcements and beg others who saw, suspected or suffered his crimes to come forward.

Once again, Catholic officials are staying silent about a predator. Once again, the feelings of his victims are disregarded while the comfort of church officials are protected. The people Fr. Stepek violated deserve to know that he can no longer hurt anyone.

We hope Fr. Stepek’s passing will bring some comfort to those he assaulted and will prompt others he hurt to finally get help, speak out and start healing.

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PENNSYLVANIA
The Morning Call

Bill White

The Senate is expected to vote later today on House Bill 1947, stripped of a key provision Tuesday by the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The bill no longer contains any kind of retroactive access to civil courts for child sex abuse victims blocked by the current statute of limitations, removed by senators who claimed it would be unconstitutional despite conflicting testimony from experts. Many of us saw this as a capitulation to powerful lobbyists from the Catholic Church and the insurance industry, which is why I wanted to use today’s post to report which senators went along with this.

In its present form, the bill removes statutes of limitations for criminal prosecution in child sex abuse cases and extends the statute from 30 to 50 for civil suits. It strengthens the provision allowing suits against public entities such as public school by requiring plaintiffs to prove negligence, as opposed to gross negligence. And it removes the statute of limitations for child sex abuse suits against individuals.

As a practical matter, that last change means that 20-plus years from now, when the first of the victims now under 30 reaches 51 and becomes blocked by the new age limit, they still will have access to court action — as long as they sue individuals, not the institutions that may have protected the offenders.

Clearly, the language is designed to defend the Catholic Church and its insurers. It couldn’t be more revealing about the committee’s priorities.

This willingness to eliminate statutes in all cases where the church has no financial exposure — criminal or suits against individuals — puts the lie to the claims that this reluctance to change statutes of limitations is about concern that old cases are too difficult to prove and unfair to defendants. Legislators and lobbyists seem to be fine with killing the statutes, as long as it doesn’t cost the church or the insurance industry money.

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POLAND
Radio Poland

The bishop of Płock, central Poland, has dismissed a parish priest in the village of Szreńsk, over “immoral actions” with a child.

The priest was suspended from his duties, a spokesperson with the Diocesan Curia in Płock, Elżbieta Grzybowska, said.

According to an official statement issued by the curia, the priest himself admitted guilt to the bishop.

“We express deep sorrow over the depraved action and the harm done,” the statement reads.

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UNITED STATES
Times of Israel

Michael J. Salamon

They take advantage of people, especially children and teens, those who are young, or impressionable and easy prey. They also take advantage of adults – yes, they know how to play to adults too.

They are accomplished liars. They know how to draw victims in with a combination of charm and threat. They can be magically captivating. They do not hide; rather they interact openly with their victims and families.

They tend to be fearless and if caught they can be convincing in their denials. If caught on video molesting a child they can just as easily deny that it is they, despite the pictures, as they are to blame their victims. Very few are willing to acknowledge that they have a problem controlling their abusive tendencies, the first and most necessary step to address their problem.

They take advantage of the fact that the organizations they work for provide them with a pool of likely victims. And if someone reports them to their superiors at work, they believe that the desire to protect the school, camp, youth organization, whichever organization they work for, will act as cover for them – for that is the way it usually is.

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FRANCE
FranceTVInfo

Quatre prêtres ont été relevés de leur ministère par le cardinal Philippe Barbarin pour des faits d’abus sexuels, après avis d’un collège d’experts, a indiqué jeudi 30 juin le diocèse de Lyon. “Il s’agit de prêtres mis en cause ou non dans la presse, déjà condamnés ou non”, a commenté une source diocésaine. Cette annonce intervient à la suite d’une affaire d’agressions sexuelles commises sur des scouts lyonnais par un prêtre.

Le père Bernard Preynat, mis en examen en janvier pour des agressions sexuelles sur mineurs de moins de 15 ans et déjà relevé de ses fonctions à l’été 2015, ne fait pas partie de ces quatre prêtres, a ajouté la source diocésaine.

Mesures d’accompagnement pour d’autres prêtres

A la suite des avis émis par le collège d’experts, d’autres prêtres du diocèse ont fait l’objet de mesures d’accompagnement particulières. Il s’agit de prêtres déjà jugés qui vont bénéficier d’un “suivi” du diocèse.

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FRANCE
GlobalPost

Agence France-Presse on Jun 30, 2016

Four priests of the Catholic diocese of Lyon in eastern France have been relieved of their duties for sexual abuse, a diocesan source said Thursday.

A panel of experts recommended the measure, the source added, declining to say whether the clerics had already been named since the diocese’s predator priest scandal came to light in March, rocking France’s Catholic Church.

French judicial authorities are aware of all four dossiers, the source said.

The dismissals come three weeks after Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, the archbishop of Lyon, was questioned by police over allegations that he covered up the sexual abuse of boy scouts.

One of France’s most powerful Catholic leaders, Barbarin has been accused of failing to remove a priest, Bernard Preynat, from his diocese when he became aware the man had sexually abused young boys 25 years ago.

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MINNESOTA
Reuters

BY JIM CHRISTIE

A bankrupt Catholic archdiocese in Minnesota is girding for a fight with victims of clergy sex abuse over more than $1 billion in assets held by parishes and other local Church branches that are not part of its Chapter 11 case.

The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis will square off in Bankruptcy Court on July 7 against the consolidation motion by its unsecured creditors.

To read the full story on Westlaw Practitioner Insights, click here: bit.ly/296AC7K

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