ABUSE TRACKER

PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Hamilton and Griffin on Rights

July 29, 2014

It is not terribly surprising to hear that Pope Francis has chosen to visit Philadelphia during the fall of 2015, when the city will be hosting the 2015 World Meeting of Families.

Philadelphia is a landmark for the Catholic Church in many ways. There are roughly 4 million people in Philadelphia and about 1.5 Catholics; no fewer than three major Catholic universities: St. Joseph’s University, Villanova University, and La Salle University; and a blanket of parishes and parochial schools and Catholic high schools.

Philadelphia also was the home of the remarkable American saint, Sister Katharine Drexel, who was born Catherine Marie Drexel into the wealthy Drexel family, but who chose devotion to the needs of the Native American and African American communities over marriage proposals and money.

To his credit, Pope Francis has been outspoken about the evils of child sex abuse and the need to bring priest perpetrators and bishops responsible for the coverup to account. Fittingly, Philadelphia is the American city that knows the most about the Catholic bishops’ coverup. Why? Because it is the only American city where the District Attorney’s Office has pursued and published in-depth grand jury investigations into the ways in which the Archdiocese covered up and fostered child sex abuse by its priests. It is also the only Archdiocese to criminally prosecute a higher-up, Msgr. William Lynn, for his role in the perpetuation of abuse by serial pedophiles. There is much the Pope can learn here about the betrayal of some of the most loyal Catholics in the world.

Knowing that the Pope will want a people’s tour of Philadelphia and that he will also want to capitalize on this opportunity to understand how the American bishops have failed to protect so many of the Church’s own children, I make the following humble suggestions for his trip. The Philadelphia region has been my home for 30 years, and I look forward to his arrival.

Handy Reading List

1. The 2005 Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office Grand Jury Report on the Sexual Abuse of Children in the Philadelphia Archdiocese

2. The 2011 Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office Grand Jury Report on the Sexual Abuse of Children in the Philadelphia Archdiocese

3. Benjamin Franklin on Tolerance. Ben Franklin founded the University of Pennsylvania, which was the first major American university to have no religious affiliation. He believed in God, but he declined to accord allegiance to any one religion. Ben was also relentlessly practical and down-to-earth. I believe the Pope would have liked Ben and vice versa.

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MINNESOTA
National Catholic Reporter

Brian Roewe | Jul. 30, 2014

Apologizing “for the distractions I have inadvertently caused,” St. Paul-Minneapolis Archbishop John Nienstedt expressed Wednesday his resolve to lead his archdiocese through its current clergy abuse scandal — with no intention of resigning.

“A bishop’s role is more like that of a father of a family than that of a CEO. I am bound to continue in my office as long as the Holy Father has appointed me here,” he said in a column in the archdiocesan Catholic Spirit newspaper, echoing comments he made to NCR in early July.

“I have acknowledged my responsibility in the current crisis we face, and I also take responsibility for leading our archdiocese to a new and better day,” Nienstedt said before quoting 2 Chronicles where the spirit of the Lord tells King Jehoshaphat and his army, “Stop being afraid, and stop being discouraged because of this vast invasion force, because the battle doesn’t belong to you, but to God.”

As for the calls he resign — most recently from the Minneapolis Star-Tribune editorial board — the archbishop said he has heard them all and has heard similar chants since his arrival in the Twin Cities in 2007. He has read letters labeling him “a hypocrite, a domineering boss and a liar,” as well as “a courageous moral leader and a true shepherd.”

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MILWAUKEE (WI}
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

By Bruce Vielmetti of the Journal Sentinel

The Archdiocese of Milwaukee must come up with $1.35 million to pay lawyers involved in its ongoing bankruptcy case, at least a portion of the many more millions they’re owed, a judge ordered Wednesday.

The lawyers and other professionals involved haven’t been paid since the archdiocese won a suspension of payments more than a year ago, saying it barely had enough money to continue operations.

At the same hearing Wednesday, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Susan V. Kelley also granted the archdiocese’s request late Tuesday to return the case to mediation for a possible consensual resolution to the long, complex and fractious proceeding.

“If the parties truly are sincere and willing to work issues out, we should explore that post haste,” Kelley said. “Let’s ‘git ‘er done,’ to use the vernacular.”

Kelley gave the parties 28 days to submit statements for the mediator, who ideally would begin the process in early September. A prior mediation effort in 2012 failed to reach a settlement.

The bankruptcy case has been at a standstill since June when Kelley ruled that she does not have jurisdiction to approve the archdiocese’s bankruptcy reorganization plan while key questions in a related lawsuit over $60 million it holds in trust for the care of cemeteries are pending before the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals.

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MILWAUKEE (WI)
Post-Crescent

M.L. JOHNSON, Associated Press July 30, 2014

MILWAUKEE — A federal judge ordered mediation Wednesday in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee’s bankruptcy case, saying she believed it was the best bet for resolving the hard-fought case and keeping more money from going to lawyers rather than sexual abuse victims.

The archdiocese filed for bankruptcy in January 2011, saying it would not have the money to pay if it lost lawsuits filed on behalf of victims of clergy sexual abuse. More than 500 abuse victims have since filed claims in bankruptcy court.

A reorganization plan proposed by the archdiocese earlier this year would give 128 victims roughly half of an $8 million insurance settlement. Others who have filed claims would receive nothing. Meanwhile, attorneys’ fees are now estimated at $13.7 million, and victims have been outraged by the idea that attorneys would receive more money than them.

Bankruptcy Judge Susan Kelley said during a morning hearing that she would likely issue a written order later in the day for mediation to take place in early September.

“The point of this is to try to negotiate a resolution quickly and stop the legal fees,” she said.

A mediation attempt in 2012 failed, in part because the archdiocese maintained there were too many issues to hash out. A sticking point this time could be whether the archdiocese’s former insurers participate.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Bucks County Courier Times

Wed Jul 30, 2014.

By GEMA MARIA DUARTE Staff writer

St. Ann parishioners in Bristol have asked the Vatican to investigate the stewardship of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia on the recommendation of a consultant hired to appeal the closing of the parish.

St. Ann is one of five Bucks County churches closed in June and merged into nearby churches this month.

The parishioners are appealing the closure of their church too. They hired Boston-based consultant Peter Borre and two lawyers based in Italy who are familiar with canon law to handle that appeal. Borre recommended they also ask the Congregation for the Bishops, the senior personnel department of the Vatican, to look into how Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput is overseeing the diocese.

“We are asking for a formal investigation of Archbishop Chaput’s stewardship of the archdiocese because we contend that the cure is becoming worse than the disease,” he said.

The request and the church closure appeal were included in 48 pages of documents sent to Rome this month.

It is unfortunate that “rapidly spreading dysfunction,” as Chaput’s critics call it, is spreading through the archdiocese as Philadelphia prepares for the World Meeting of Families in September 2015, the investigation request states.

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MINNESOTA
Minnesota Public Radio

MPR News Staff St. Paul, Minn. Jul 30, 2014

Archbishop John Nienstedt, under increasing pressure to step down amid scandal, said he will continue to serve as leader of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

In a column posted to the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis’ website, Nienstedt acknowledged that he has been a divisive figure among Twin Cities Catholics.

“I will continue to listen to those who express concerns about my leadership,” he wrote, “but I will also continue serving as I have been called to do.”

Nienstedt wrote that he has “never knowingly covered up clergy sexual abuse.”

“I have always been honest with the Catholics of this local Church,” he added.

Calls for Nienstedt’s resignation, which began soon after the clergy sexual abuse scandal erupted in the Twin Cities last fall, have grown louder in recent weeks. The Star Tribune joined the chorus Sunday, with an editorial calling for his ouster.

“For the sake of one of this state’s most valued institutions and the Minnesotans whose lives it touches, Nienstedt’s service at the archdiocese should end now,” the paper wrote. The New York Times last week cited the Twin Cities archdiocese in an editorial insisting the Catholic Church make its bishops accountable for covering up clergy abuse, saying the archdiocese has “made a mockery of accountability.”

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WISCONSIN
WITI

JULY 30, 2014, BY KATIE DELONG

MILWAUKEE COUNTY (WITI) — A former Milwaukee-area priest accused of stealing from his church will stand trial.

Father James Dokos was in court on Wednesday morning, July 30th — facing charges of felony theft.

Prosecutors say he took more than $100,000 from Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in Wauwatosa when he was a priest there.

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PHOENIX (AZ)
Courthouse News Service

By TIM HULL

(CN) – The Catholic Diocese of Phoenix’s insurance policy does not cover sexual abuse claims, the 9th Circuit ruled Wednesday.

After settling with four men who say they were sexually abused by priests in the 1970s and 80s, The Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix sought indemnification for excess liability from its insurance company, Interstate Fire & Casualty Company.

The insurer shot back with its own request for a judgment stating that the Diocese’s policy excluded liability for assault and battery.

U.S. District Judge Neil V. Wake ruled for the Diocese in Phoenix, finding that the exclusion applied only the offending priests and did not necessarily deny coverage for sexual abuse claims.

A divided appellate panel reversed on Wednesday.

The question came down to the relative meanings of the words “any” and “such”.

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MINNESOTA
City Pages

By Jesse Marx
Wed., Jul. 30 2014

For decades, Bob Schwiderski has been a voice for victims of clerical abuse. He’s blanketed the neighborhoods of accused priests with fliers and held press conferences to encourage others to speak out.

This week, Schwiderski kicked up his crusade. He released an updated version of a map he created showing where each of the allegations of sexual misconduct that he’s recorded over the years occurred and by whom. There’s 250 names total, and they include not only Catholic priests and monks, but Episcopal and Protestant pastors and their staff. You’ll also find four nuns.

The map is entitled “The Hunting Grounds” because Swiderski believes that places of worship, no matter the denomination, attract sexual predators. “Some people know that if they present themselves in this godly way they’ll have access to children,” he tells us. “And the families are trusting of the people who work in the churches.”

He would have included allegations against leaders of other religions, but he doesn’t know of any. And even if he did, he’d need a second source. Every person on the map has at least two allegations against them, he says. Another list he keeps private includes 261 Christians.

His careful approach of naming people publicly, which he honed as the head of the Minnesota chapter of SNAP, has the benefit of bringing victims together. Schwiderski asks everyone who comes forward with an allegation to contact their old friends and classmates, looking for similar stories of abuse. “All of a sudden, there’s two or three people and they haven’t talked in 20 years,” he says, “but now they have people to walk forward with.”

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UNITED STATES
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Wednesday, July 30, 2014

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

The Vatican confirmed today that Fr. Carlos Urrutigoity, a credibly accused serial predator, has been suspended from his post as deputy bishop of a diocese in Paraguay.

[Vatican Radio]

[NBC News]

The Pope should fire Bishop Rogelio Livieres Plano. Livieres deliberately promoted a credibly accused abuser who admitted sleeping with teens and allegedly molested several of them.

Livieres ignored a fellow bishop who explicitly warned that Fr. Carlos Urrutigoity is “a serious threat to young people.” How much more reckless can a church official be?

And Pope Francis should harshly and publicly explain and denounce Livieres’ irresponsible actions, instead of letting him “save face” by yet-another vague and minimizing statement from a lower-level Vatican staffer.

This piecemeal, reactive approach – gently disciplining egregious wrongdoers only when they’re publicly exposed – won’t cut it. For years Vatican officials have taken belated, grudging and lenient action against church officials when their wrongdoing has been so bad that it prompted international criticism. So this hand-slapping of one Paraguay bishop is inadequate. It is far from ground-breaking.

Covering up abuse and endangering kids is a cancer on the church. It requires severe surgery, not an occasional band-aid only applied under duress. Francis must publicly oust a number of complicit bishops and say why in no uncertain terms if he really wants to get other bishops to stop putting innocent children in harm’s way.

Fr. Urrutigoity spent time in Canada, Switzerland, Minnesota (Winona), and Pennsylvania (Scranton). He’s accused of abuse in Minnesota and Pennsylvania.

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MINNESOTA
dotCommonweal

Grant Gallicho July 30, 2014

In a column that will be published tomorrow, the embattled archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis says he will not resign. Soon after I reported that Archbishop John Nienstedt was being investigated for a series allegations of inappropriate sexual conduct with seminarians, priests, and other adult men, an affidavit filed by Nienstedt’s former top canon lawyer strongly criticized the archdiocese’s sexual-abuse policies and practicies. Calls for his resignation began to grow. Earlier this week, the Minneapolis Star Tribune ran an editorial urging the archbishop to step down. So did the New York Times. But Nienstedt won’t go.

Eighteen years ago, Pope John Paul II chose me to serve the Church as a bishop, an authentic successor of the apostles. A bishop’s role is more like that of a father of a family than that of a CEO. I am bound to continue in my office as long as the Holy Father has appointed me here. I have acknowledged my responsibility in the current crisis we face, and I also take responsibility for leading our archdiocese to a new and better day.

“This is what the Lord says to you,” Nienstedt’s column continues, citing Second Chronicles: “‘Stop being afraid, and stop being discouraged because of this vast invasion force, because the battle doesn’t belong to you, but to God.'”

Apologizing for the “distractions I have inadvertently caused,” the archbishop emphasizes three things about his response to the months-long scandal. First, he announces that he has a new leadership team that operates with the philosophy of “Victims First.” In consultation with victims, Nienstedt says he plans to hire a new victims liason–who will be a layperson. Second, he claims that he has never knowingly covered up sexual abuse. He admits that he was too trusting of the archdiocese’s process, and that “we did not handle all complaints the way we should have in the past.” And third, Nienstedt says that he has always been honest with his people. Over the past year, according to the archbishop, he has learned that he must change his leadership style.

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INDIA
Hindustan Times

Bengaluru, July 30, 2014

An 11-year-old girl was allegedly raped by a temple priest in Bangalore on Tuesday, less than a month after a seven-year-old was raped in a city school, sparking widespread protests in the southern city.

Police say the 53-year-old priest, a friend of the victim’s family, has been arrested. On Tuesday night, he forced himself upon the girl at her home when her parents were away. Hearing the victim’s screams, her two sisters – also minors – ran in from another room, forcing the priest to flee. Later, the parents filed a case with the local police.

In another incident that came to light on Wednesday, a 26-year-old carpenter has reportedly confessed to police that he raped a seven-year-old girl. Results of the victim’s medical tests will reveal when the incident took place, police officials said. The carpenter’s mother worked as a domestic help at the girl’s residence. His family, however, says police tortured him to get the confession.

Anger against sexual violence has been rising in the country since December 16, 2012, when a 23-year-old medical student was brutally gang-raped, and killed, by six men inside a private bus in south Delhi.

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LOUISIANA
The Advocate

Claire Taylor
July 30, 2014

On June 15, 1992, a 26-year-old man provided a legal statement accusing three Diocese of Lafayette priests of sexual misconduct against him in the 1970s and 1980s.

One of those priests, Ronald Lane “Jean Paul” Fontenot, pleaded guilty and was convicted in 1986 of statutory rape in Spokane, Washington, where he was transferred for counseling after he was placed on leave in Lafayette in 1983 when a civil lawsuit was filed.

A second priest, David Primeaux, admitted in a 1984 psychological evaluation that he started abusing children in 1980 at St. Benedict in Covington. The Diocese settled a lawsuit in 2000 in which Primeaux allegedly admitted molesting a boy while serving at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Milton in the early 1980s.

Primeaux left the priesthood in 1985 and later got married. When some of his victims confronted the wife of the priest-turned-professor in Virginia in December 2012, he committed suicide.

The final priest accused by the young man is the Rev. Gilbert Dutel, who today serves as pastor of St. Edmond Catholic Church in Lafayette.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) Responding to journalists’ questions, the Director of the Holy See Press Office, Father Federico Lombardi SJ, made a statement about the situation in the Diocese of Ciudad del Este (Paraguay) and the Apostolic Visitation of Cardinal Santos Abril y Castelló.

The Visitation was announced by the Apostolic Nuncio to Paraguay on 2 July, and took place from 21-26 July.

“Concerning the situation in the Diocese of Ciudad del Este (Paraguay),” Father Lombardi said, “I can confirm that in the course of the visitation, Cardinal Santos Abril y Castelló cautioned Bishop [Rogelio Ricardo] Livieres [Plano] against proceeding with further priestly ordinations. No other provisions were announced. Cardinal Santos Abril y Castelló will report the results of his visitation to the Pope.”

News reports had also suggested that the Vicar General of the Diocese, Fr Carlos Urrutigoity, had been fired. Father Urrutigoity has been the subject of accusations of sexual misconduct involving minors at a school in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The Diocese has pointed out the allegations against Father Urrutigoity were never proven.

In his statement, Father Lombardi noted that Father Urrutigoity had been relieved of his duties as Vicar General shortly prior to visitation: “With regard to Father Carlos Urrutigoity, he had been relieved of his duties as vicar general by Bishop Livieres on July 14, a few days before the visitation, on the grounds of the completion of other duties on his part.”

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VATICAN CITY
TribTown

By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press
First Posted: July 30, 2014

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis is taking action in a divisive diocese in Paraguay where an Argentine priest, accused by a former superior of being a “serious threat to young people,” has been removed as the No. 2.

The Rev. Carlos Urrutigoity is still an active priest in the Ciudad del Este diocese, however, in a sign that he remains in good standing with his bishop.

Urrutigoity has denied allegations of impropriety, has never been charged and his bishop, Monsignor Rogelio Livieres, has stressed that there is no accusation against him that he sexually abused minors. But Urrutigoity’s case re-emerged after Francis sent a team of Vatican investigators to the diocese this month to look into criticisms against Livieres by other Paraguayan prelates.

Livieres in 2005 allowed Urrutigoity to join his diocese, even though Urrutigoity’s then-superior in Scranton, Pennsylvania had warned Livieres and the Vatican that he was a threat and unsuitable for the priesthood.

Urrutigoity had been a member of the schismatic, traditionalist Society of St. Pius X. He later joined the Scranton diocese and founded a priestly society where the old Latin Mass was celebrated.

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MINNESOTA
Pioneer Press

By Elizabeth Mohr
emohr@pioneerpress.com
POSTED: 07/30/2014

Responding to calls for his resignation, Archbishop John Nienstedt said Wednesday that he will remain at the helm of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis.

Nienstedt has come under fire in recent months for his handling of clergy sex abuse cases.

“I have acknowledged my responsibility in the current crisis we face, and I also take responsibility for leading our archdiocese to a new and better day,” Nienstedt wrote in a column to be published in Thursday’s Catholic Spirit newsletter.

That “crisis” is the result of accusations and lawsuits against the Archdiocese, church officials and priests regarding alleged child abuse and what some have called cover-up of crimes.

Critics say Nienstedt and his predecessors did not take action to remove credibly accused priests from the ministry.

Nienstedt said he will not resign and will, instead, “apply these hard lessons that I have learned over the past months.”

The archbishop said that he is creating “a new leadership team that operates under the philosophy of ‘Victims First’ ” and that he’s appointing a victim liaison. Nienstedt said the church has reached out to victims of abuse for their input.

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MINNESOTA
Huffington Post

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – The Roman Catholic archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis says he won’t resign despite criticism over the archdiocese’s handling of sexual abuse claims involving priests.

Archbishop John Nienstedt made his comments in in a column that will appear in Thursday’s archdiocese newspaper, The Catholic Spirit. He says he’s bound to stay in office as long as Pope Francis wants.

Nienstedt says he’ll continue to apply the hard lessons he’s learned over the past months.

He says he’s never knowingly covered up clergy sexual abuse. He says he’s created a new leadership team that puts victims first. And he maintains he’s always been honest with Catholics of the archdiocese.

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MINNESOTA
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis – The Catholic Spirit

Archbishop John C. Nienstedt | July 30, 2014

To say that this has been a difficult year is quite an understatement.

Here in the archdiocese, Catholics have witnessed many troubling media reports, and many of us have had difficult conversations with friends and family about what it means to be Catholic and why we still profess the faith. I, myself, have been the subject of two investigations, which have brought with them more public scrutiny. I have received messages calling me a hypocrite, a domineering boss and a liar. Others have written that I am a courageous moral leader and a true shepherd. I have read them all. I am grateful for everyone who has taken the time to write, regardless of how they feel, as most believe they are acting in the best interests of the Church.

In the end, it comes down to this: 18 years ago, Pope John Paul II chose me to serve the Church as a bishop, an authentic successor of the apostles. A bishop’s role is more like that of a father of a family than that of a CEO. I am bound to continue in my office as long as the Holy Father has appointed me here. I have acknowledged my responsibility in the current crisis we face, and I also take responsibility for leading our archdiocese to a new and better day.

In Second Chronicles 20:15, the spirit of the Lord tells King Jehoshaphat and the troops, as his enemies are approaching across the Palestinian wilderness in battle, “This is what the Lord says to you: ‘stop being afraid, and stop being discouraged because of this vast invasion force, because the battle doesn’t belong to you, but to God.’ ”

I have heard calls for my resignation since I arrived in this wonderful archdiocese seven years ago. I will continue to listen to those who express concerns about my leadership, but I will also continue serving as I have been called to do. I am devoted to serving this local Church, and I will continue to do so and to apply these hard lessons that I have learned over the past months. While it may be difficult to believe, the suffering we have endured is bearing much fruit in reform of practices and correction of decisions that were made in the past, either by me or my predecessors.

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VATICAN CITY
Catholic Culture

Catholic World News – July 30, 2014

The Vatican has confirmed that all priestly ordinations have been suspended in the Diocese of Ciudad del Este, Paraguay, after a Vatican investigation of the diocese.

Father Federico Lombardi, the director of the Vatican press office, told reporters that Cardinal Santos Abril y Castello, who headed the Vatican investigation, was reporting his findings to Pope Francis. The Vatican spokesman said:

I can confirm that in the course of the visitation, Cardinal Santos Abril y Castelló cautioned Bishop Livieres against proceeding with further priestly ordinations. No other provisions were announced.

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IRELAND
Irish Times

Wed, Jul 30, 2014

Former priest and serial child abuser Tony Walsh has failed in appeals against separate sentences imposed on him for what the Court of Criminal Appeal has described as the “depraved” rape and sexual abuse of young boys.

Walsh, who was known as the “Singing Priest” for his role in a travelling all-priest vocal group before he was defrocked, is serving a 16-year sentence imposed on him in 2010 for the rape and abuse of three schoolboys.

In 2012 Walsh had 15 months added to this sentence for abusing two other boys.

In a written judgement delivered by presiding judge Mr Justice John Murray, the appeal court said that with regard to the first appeal the offences were of the “utmost gravity”, but even that description did not do justice to the “appalling nature” of the offences committed against young boys.

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MINNESOTA
Star Tribune

Article by: JEAN HOPFENSPERGER , Star Tribune Updated: July 30, 2014

John Nienstedt writes in a church newspaper column, “I am bound to continue my office.”

Archbishop John Nienstedt will announce Thursday that he is not resigning as head of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, despite growing pressure for him to step down.

Nienstedt will make the announcement in his column in the The Catholic Spirit, the newspaper of the archdiocese.

“To say that this has been a difficult year is quite an understatement,” wrote Nienstedt.

“In the end, it comes down to this: eighteen years ago, Pope John Paul II chose me to serve the Church as a bishop, an authentic successor of the Apostles … I am bound to continue in my office as long as the Holy Father has appointed me here.”

Nienstedt, who has led the Twin Cities archdiocese since 2008, has been under growing criticism for his handling of child clergy abuse cases in the archdiocese.

A Minneapolis law firm hired by the archdiocese to investigate allegations of sexual misconduct by Nienstedt with adults has completed its work and submitted a report. Auxiliary bishop Lee Piché said Tuesday that church officials will review that along with “any other information we receive.”

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VATICAN CITY
Religion News Service

Josephine McKenna | July 30, 2014

VATICAN CITY (RNS) The Vatican has ordered a Roman Catholic diocese in eastern Paraguay to remove a priest accused of sex abuse in the U.S. and to restrict the activities of the bishop who hired him.

Pope Francis is sending a papal delegation to Paraguay to investigate the activities of the Rev. Carlos Urrutigoity, a priest accused of sex abuse in Pennsylvania.

Pope Francis sent a papal delegation to Paraguay to investigate the activities of the Rev. Carlos Urrutigoity, a priest accused of sex abuse in Pennsylvania. Photo courtesy P. Alvarenga, Vanguardia
Pope Francis sent a cardinal and an archbishop to investigate Carlos Urrutigoity in the diocese of Ciudad del Este. The two men visited the country July 21-26.

The removal is the latest demonstration of the pope’s “zero tolerance” of clerical abuse, and it suggests priests suspected of child abuse in one country can no longer find shelter in other countries.

In 2002, Urrutigoity was accused of sexual abuse of minors in a highly publicized lawsuit in the Diocese of Scranton, Pa. He and another priest, Eric Ensey, were suspended by then-Bishop James Timlin amid allegations they had sexually molested students at St. Gregory’s Academy. The diocese reportedly reached a $400,000-plus settlement in the case in 2006.

Urrutigoity, a native of Argentina, was transferred to Canada before settling in Paraguay.

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IDAHO
The Raw Story

By David Edwards
Wednesday, July 30, 2014

An Idaho church deacon who blamed Satan after he molested a 12-year-old girl in a storage closet has been sentenced to 20 years in prison, but could spend less than a year behind bars.

Alexander Gonzalez Garcia, 57, was arrested last December on charges of lewd conduct with a minor.

According to authorities, the girl said that Garcia had touched her inappropriately while they were in a storage closet at Nampa Seventh-Day Adventist Church, where he was a deacon.

Garcia reportedly told investigators that “Satan was in the storage room with him and the girl.” But he insisted that he had only kissed her and hugged her.

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MILWAUKEE (WI)
Chicago Tribune

By Alexandra Chachkevitch
Tribune reporter
12:12 p.m. CDT, July 30, 2014

A Greek Orthodox priest charged with felony theft waived his right to a preliminary hearing in a Milwaukee County courtroom this morning.

The Rev. James Dokos, who was affiliated with Saints Peter and Paul Church in Glenview, is scheduled to be arraigned Aug. 26.

“There are significant jurisdictional issues to address in this matter,” Dokos’ lawyer Patrick Knight said in court Wednesday. Knight did not specify the issues.

Dokos is accused of improperly spending more than $100,000 from a trust fund intended to benefit Annunciation Church in Milwaukee, where he was a longtime pastor until transferring to Saints Peter and Paul Church in 2012.

Dokos, 62, who has been suspended from his duties at the Glenview church, made his initial court appearance two weeks ago, where bail was set at $5,000. Because it was a personal recognizance bond, he was not required to post any money for his release.

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NEW JERSEY
South Jersey Times

By Alex Young | South Jersey Times
on July 29, 2014

SALEM — The former pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Salem pleaded guilty Tuesday to sexually assaulting a minor child — one of his own relatives — in the summer of 2013.

Jonathan Smith, 59, formerly of Market Street in Salem, will be sentenced to four years in New Jersey State Prison when he returns to Superior Court in September. He pleaded guilty to one count of second degree sexual assault.

In court Tuesday, Smith admitted to sexually assaulting a victim less than 13 years old. At Smith’s arraignment in April, Assistant Salem County Prosecutor Lisa Rastelli revealed that the victim was a relative who spent time during the summer of 2013 at Smith’s home, the Presbyterian pastor’s house on Market Street.

The boy’s mother reportedly became concerned when he returned home after his time in Salem and something didn’t seem right. The victim told his mother about the incidents, who then alerted the authorities.

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SOUTH AFRICA
Eyewitness News

JOHANNESBURG – Police say the extradition of a German Catholic priest to face charges relating to sexual abuse is the culmination of a process that began last year.

The 56-year-old priest was handed over to German police officers last night having spent seven years living in South Africa.

He has been in custody since being arrested in September but the local charges have been withdrawn to pave the way for the extradition which will see him face almost 40 charges back home

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LOUISIANA
IND

The spectre of priest sex abuse has returned to haunt the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lafayette following the recent release of an investigative report by Minnesota Public Radio, revealing new allegations of another child predator hiding behind the clerical collar.

The investigative, four-part series by Minnesota Public Radio delves into court documents tracing as far back as the 1980s, when the first reported priest sex abuse scandal put the Lafayette Diocese under the national spotlight. New information revealed in MPR’s report, however, shows one alleged child predator, the Rev. Gilbert Dutel, has remained with the Diocese, and currently serves as the pastor of St. Edmond Catholic Church in Lafayette.

According to MPR, Dutil’s alleged sexual abuse traces back to the 1970s, during his tenure as pastor of St. Theresa Church in Abbeville, and a case involving a young boy:

In the case of Dutel, the documents show, the allegations weren’t limited to young adults. Dutel had also been accused of sexually abusing a child. In an interview with a lawyer in 1992, the alleged victim said Dutel had abused him in the 1970s, starting when he was 9 years old.

Despite the allegations, Dutil, who is now 69 years old, has remained with the church, even receiving assignments to work with several elementary and high schools over the 22 years since the claims first surfaced, including a spot on the St. Thomas More Catholic High School’s board of directors, as well as a more than 10 year stint with the St. Peter and Paul Church in Scott. The church in Scott also operates as an elementary school, and in 2010 an anonymous donor who paid for the school’s playground requested it be named “Father Gil’s Playground” in honor of Dutil.

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WISCONSIN
Madison.com

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Is the Archdiocese of Milwaukee too broke to pay its legal bills?

That’s the question Bankruptcy Judge Susan Kelley will be asked to answer Wednesday.

Kelley agreed more than a year ago that the archdiocese would not have to pay legal fees while its bankruptcy case was pending so it could keep enough cash on hand to cover at least one month’s bills. Bankruptcy law requires the archdiocese to pay legal fees for itself and its creditors.

In this case, most creditors are victims of clergy sexual abuse.

Their attorneys say the archdiocese has more cash than anticipated, and they’d like to get paid. The lawyers say they are owed more than $2 million.

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MINNESOTA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Statement by Frank Meuers of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests ( 952-334-5180, frankameuers@gmail.com )

Twin Cities Archbishop John Nienstedt may speak to some reporters today about partial results from an investigation into his alleged sexual misconduct with adults. We hope he’ll explain why he has so clearly violated the US bishops’ abuse policy by hiding and helping proven, admitted and credibly accused child molesting clerics. We doubt, however, that he will, in spite of his repeated promises to be “open and transparent” about clergy sex crimes.

[Star Tribune]

[Commonweal]

As we’ve said before, we don’t care about Nienstedt’s private behavior, unless it involves sexually harassing seminarians or underlings or makes him unable or unwilling to discipline predators in his archdiocese.

We care deeply about Nienstedt’s public behavior which inexcusably puts children in harm’s way. He has been and remains, secretive, reckless and callous about clergy sex crimes and cover ups.

We have little faith in so-called “investigations” that are funded or carried out by Catholic officials. Powerful prelates can always find and pay lawyers or “experts” who will tell them what they want to hear. (This is why they continue to quietly send proven, admitted and credibly accused child molesting clerics to the same church-funded “treatment” centers year after year after year, while hypocritically blasting those same centers in public for the allegedly “bad advice” they gave about putting predators back on the job.)

As my colleague, Barbara Dorris of SNAP said:

“We believe that most priests don’t or can’t honor their celibacy pledge. So they have sexual secrets. And if you have a sexual secret, you’re less willing to report the sexual secrets of your colleagues and supervisors, especially if those secrets involve criminal behavior.

This is perhaps the most disturbing sentence we’ve read about this investigation: ‘he also stands accused of retaliating against those who refused his advances or otherwise questioned his conduct.’

We are highly skeptical when bishops like Nienstedt claim that allegations against them are ‘personal attacks’ due to ‘my unwavering stance on issues consistent with church teaching, such as opposition to so-called same-sex marriage.’ This is especially unlikely if there are in fact ten accusers including some who were or are Catholic clerics.”

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PENNSYLVANIA/VIRGINIA
Philadelphia Daily News

VALERIE RUSS, DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER RUSSV@PHILLYNEWS.COM, 215-854-5987
POSTED: Wednesday, July 30, 2014

THREE WEEKS before taking the helm of North Philadelphia’s Zion Baptist Church, the Rev. A. Carl Prince met with leaders of the small Virginia church he was leaving.

On Dec. 18, 2011, he and Mount Hope Baptist Church leaders signed an “Announcement of Retirement” that took effect at the end of that year.

Prince asked that “in the interest of the Church and Christian civility, that all litigation and investigations both civil and criminal, present and future, be ceased,” the statement said.

On Jan. 12, 2012, Prince officially started at Zion, at Broad and Venango streets, one of the city’s most prominent churches. For 38 years, it had been the church of the late human-rights and economic-development advocate Rev. Leon Sullivan, the “Lion of Zion.”

It seems that Prince, who was voted out as pastor of the Philly church this month, had left some problems behind at Mount Hope, in Prince George County, 30 miles from Richmond.

There were 400 members when Prince arrived, but just 20 when he left, former trustee John Allen said.

“He wrote new bylaws that made him both the CEO and CFO of the church,” Allen said.

“He had his name put on the church bank account and he tried to sell the church out from under the last 20 members.”

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CANADA
Sylvia’s Site

Posted on July 28, 2014 by Sylvia

Amazing and most welcome news from Paraguay:

28 July 2014: “Reports: The Vatican fires a priest in Paraguay accused of molesting US seminarians” & related articles

The articles are of interest to Catholic around the world, but of particular interest to many Canadians whose sons were exposed to Father Carlos Urrutigoity while the latter – and fellow priests from the fledgling Society of St. John – first lived at and then near at St. Gregory’s Academy just outside Scranton Pennsylvania. St Gregory’s, an all boys Catholic school, was then run by the Fraternity of St. Peter.

There have been allegations about the goings on in the Society in the Society of John for years, and often battles and friction between those who alleged that Fathers Urrutigoity and Eric Ensey were sexual predators and those who defended the pair.

Some may recall that Bishop Rogelio Livieres the Opus Dei bishop of the Diocese of Ciudad del Este in Paraguay took Urroitigoityand other members of the Society of Sgt. John into his diocese. Livieres allegedly refused to believe the allegations against the priest, and refused to heed warning from the Bishop pf Scranton, NY when Urrutigoity was previously incardinated.

Urrutigoity became Vicar General of the Diocese. Dominic Carey, a Canadian who has had no problem at all with priests bedding down with young lads, is, I think, serving in the Ciudad del Este seminary and assisting – or perhaps even directing? – the formation of new priests (? – I must check this out )

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IDAHO
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Wednesday, July 30, 2014

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

We’re appalled that an admitted child molesting deacon who abused a 12 year old and blamed it on Satan may spend just a year in prison.

Prosecutes say Deacon Alexander Gonzales Garcia molested the girl by locking her in a closet during a July 2013 potluck at his church. That kind of crime strongly suggests that Garcia is out of control and not likely to respond well to treatment.

We are deeply disappointed in Judge Bradly S. Ford’s decision. And we call on him to publicly explain why he gave such a lenient sentence – more appropriate for a purse snatcher than a child molester.

We beg officials in the Seventh-day Adventist Church – at the national and regional levels and the congregation in Nampa where the crime happened – to aggressively reach out to anyone who saw, suspects, or suffered child sex crimes and urge them to call police and start healing.

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IRELAND
RTE News

Former priest and serial child abuser Tony Walsh has failed in appeals against separate sentences of 16 years and 15 months imposed on him.

The jail terms were handed down for what the Court of Criminal Appeal has described as the “depraved” rape and sexual abuse of young boys in the 1970s and 80s.

Walsh, who was known as the “Singing Priest” for his role in a travelling all-priest vocal group before he was defrocked, is serving a 16-year sentence imposed on him in 2010 for the rape and abuse of three schoolboys.

In 2012 Walsh had 15 months added to this sentence for abusing two other boys.

In a written judgment delivered today by presiding judge Mr Justice John Murray, the appeal court said that with regard to the first appeal the offences were of the “utmost gravity”.

He said even that description did not do justice to the “appalling nature” of the offences committed against young boys.

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PARAGUAY
The Tablet

30 July 2014 by Liz Dodd

The Vatican has suspended ordinations to the priesthood in a Paraguayan diocese in which its vicar-general has been accused of sexual abuse while serving as a priest in the US.

The Church has not given an official reason for the ban on ordinations in Bishop Rogelio Livieres Plano’s diocese of Ciudad del Este.

A week-long Vatican investigation into the diocese led by Spanish Cardinal Santos Abril y Castello ended on Saturday.

The investigation followed allegations that the diocese’s vicar-general, Argentine priest Fr Carlos Urrutigoity, had abused seminarians in Minnesota and Pennsylvania more than a decade ago.

Fr Urrotigoity denies the allegations.

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AUSTRALIA
Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse

30 July, 2014

People with disability have been invited to attend an important information session in Sydney next month to find out more about the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

Royal Commission CEO Philip Reed said the forum was part of ongoing consultations with the disability community on the issue of child sexual abuse in institutions.

“The Royal Commission is aware that many people with disability have experienced child sexual abuse while in the care of an institution,” Mr Reed said.

“We are determined that people with disability can participate in the process of the Royal Commission.

“You will not be required to discuss your personal story at the forum, it is a chance to find out more about the work of the Royal Commission and how you can share your story.

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AUSTRALIA
Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse

People in Geelong are invited to learn more about the work of the Royal Commission at a community information forum next month.

Chair of the Royal Commission Justice Peter McClellan will address the forum on Wednesday 13 August 2014.

Royal Commission CEO Philip Reed said the community forum is open to any members of the public who have an interest in the Royal Commission.

“We particularly encourage people affected by child sexual abuse while in the care of an institution to attend the community forum,” Mr Reed said.

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MINNESOTA
Star Tribune

Article by: TONY KENNEDY, Star Tribune
Updated: July 29, 2014

A Minneapolis law firm hired by the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis to investigate allegations of sexual misconduct with adults by Archbishop John Nienstedt has completed its work and submitted a report to church officials.

Attorney Matthew Forsgren of the firm Greene Espel declined to discuss the findings and referred questions to the archdiocese.

The archdiocese commissioned the investigation earlier this summer in an effort to address accusations received by the chancery as Nienstedt fended off mounting criticism over the church’s handling of other sexual misconduct cases.

Lee Piche, auxiliary bishop of the archdiocese, said in a statement late Tuesday that the Greene Espel report “does not comprise” the entire investigation.

“We need to digest the information and any other information we receive,” said Piche, who was not available to answer questions.

Piche announced July 1 that Nienstedt asked him to investigate claims about the archbishop, which he said were received by the archdiocese several months earlier. Piche said the misconduct allegations “did not involve anything criminal or with minors.”

Nienstedt said at the time that the accusations were “absolutely and entirely false.” He called the allegations “a personal attack against me due to my unwavering stance on issues consistent with church teaching, such as opposition to so-called same-sex marriage.

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IRELAND
Irish Times

Patsy McGarry

Wed, Jul 30, 2014

Adam contented himself with decorating a letter from his sister, Nicole (14) and putting a seal on it instead.

He didn’t write himself as he felt “cynical”, he said. “I did believe the gesture [of the pope meeting his mother] was sincere but I honestly didn’t believe it would produce any real result.”

Nicole Kane with her Mum Marie and the letter she received from the Pope. Photograph: Thomas NolanPope Francis thanks Irish teenager for supporting mother

However, following reports of the meetings Francis had with his mother and the five other abuse survivors, he now believes the pope is sincere about the abuse issue “more so than his predecessor. It seems that way. I’d like to think so”.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Focus

[Summary: The Trier diocese has been sharply criticized for returning to service a priest who was accused to sexual abuse. Hermann Schell of Schafsbrief initiative, said on Tuesday that the move was unacceptable. He said it defames all abuse victims and shows that the diocese lacks awareness of injustice. A spokesman for the prosecutor’s office said the charges could not be proven. The arrest of judgment was not carried out “because of proven innocence, but due to low guilt,” said the spokesman. The pastor is alleged to have given the youth money in exchange for sex but the boy ran away.]

Nach der aufgehobenen Beurlaubung eines früheren Pfarrers hat eine Missbrauchsopfer-Initiative das Bistum Trier scharf kritisiert.

Es sei nicht hinnehmbar, dass der Geistliche aus dem saarländischen Lebach wieder als Vertretung oder Aushilfe arbeiten dürfe, sagte der Sprecher der Initiative Schafsbrief, Hermann Schell, am Dienstag. Dies sei eine Diffamierung aller Missbrauchsopfer und zeige beim Bistum „fehlendes Unrechtsbewusstsein ohne Ende“. Das Verfahren gegen den früheren Lebacher Pfarrer wegen des Verdachts des sexuellen Missbrauchs war im März dieses Jahres von der Staatsanwaltschaft Saarbrücken gegen die Zahlung von 6000 Euro eingestellt worden. Die Einstellung sei nicht „wegen erwiesener Unschuld, sondern wegen geringer Schuld“ erfolgt, sagte der Sprecher der Staatsanwaltschaft am Dienstag.

Man gehe davon aus, dass sich der Geistliche über eine Internetplattform mit einem Jungen in Saarbrücken „zu sexuellen Dienstleistungen“ verabredet habe, sagte der Sprecher. Bei dem Treffen habe der Pfarrer dem Minderjährigen auch Geld gegeben, der Junge sei aber weggelaufen und es sei nicht zu sexuellen Handlungen gekommen.

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AUSTRALIA
Eureka Street

Andrew Hamilton | 30 July 2014

Reckoning: the Catholic Church and Child Sexual Abuse, written by Chris McGillion and Damian Grace, and jointly published by Eureka Street and ATF Press, offers a useful map of the journey that has led to the Royal Commission into Sexual Abuse. It recalls how the widespread sexual abuse of children within the Church came to prominence in Australia, outlines the variety of responses to it, and reflects on the explanations given for it.

The book is modest and even in its tone. It offers a broad perspective on the challenges that will arise from ensuring that children are safe in the future.

The dimensions of an adequate response to child sexual abuse by the Catholic Church are now fairly clear. First, children must be protected from abusive behaviour. This requires curtailing the opportunities for potential abusers to meet, groom and abuse children. It also requires preparing, monitoring and supervising church representatives who are in contact with children.

Second, the criminal gravity of sexual abuse must be recognised, and the response both to victims and offenders be proportionate to the seriousness of the crime. This requires responding professionally and transparently to accusations of abuse, excluding from public ministry those who have offended, and continuing to monitor any offenders who remain within religious communities.

Third, the serious harm suffered by people who were abused as children must be recognised. This is done by ensuring they receive the pastoral care and counseling they desire, and can claim compensation.

Finally, the Catholic Church must take responsibility for the sexual abuse inflicted by its representatives and for its concealment, and for ensuring that aspects of its culture that encourage abuse are remedied. For this, serious and independent study will be necessary.

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IDAHO
KTVB

Katie Terhune, KTVB July 29, 2014

CALDWELL– A Nampa deacon who claimed that Satan took control of his body and made him molest a 12-year-old girl in a church storage room is headed to prison.

But 57-year-old Alexander Gonzales Garcia, who was arrested in December, could spend only a year behind bars after Judge Bradly S. Ford opted Tuesday to retain jurisdiction.

Garcia was sentenced to 20 years in prison with five years before parole eligibility, but could still be released as early as 2015 if he successfully completes his term of retained jurisdiction, commonly known as a “rider.”

He will also be required to register as a sex offender and pay about $8,000 in civil fines and court costs.

Garcia, a deacon with the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Nampa, was originally charged with lewd conduct with a minor under 16. In an interview with police detectives, he admitted touching the girl inappropriately during a July potluck at the church, but insisted Satan had been in the storage room with him, and had made him molest the girl.

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IDAHO
Idaho State Journal

Associated Press

CALDWELL, Idaho (AP) — A former southwestern Idaho church deacon who told police Satan may have taken control of his body, causing him to molest a 12-year-old girl in a church storage room, has been sentenced to five to 15 years in prison.

However, District Judge Bradly S. Ford retained jurisdiction for a year, meaning 57-year-old Alexander Gonzalez Garcia of Middleton could get out of prison after a year if he responds well to treatment programs.

Garcia was initially charged with lewd conduct with a child, but pleaded guilty in March to sexual abuse of a minor. He must register as a sex offender and have no contact with the girl, her family or any girls under the age of 18.

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IDAHO
KIVI

By On Your Side Newsroom.
CREATED Jul 29, 2014

Alexander Gonzalez Garcia, 57, of Middleton has been sentenced to five years fixed and up to 15 years in prison for felony sexual abuse of a minor under 16 years of age.

Garcia was a deacon at the Nampa Seventh-Day Adventist Church was arrested in December 2013 after the Nampa Police Department found he had sexual contact with a 12-year-old female victim on church grounds. In an investigation revealed in July of 2013, detectives found that Garcia locked the 12 year-old in a closet and began kissing, hugging and touching her inappropriately.

Garcia in an interview with police claimed that Satan was in the room with him and made him do it.

During today’s hearing, Judge Ford commended the victim for her courage in coming forward immediately and reporting the abuse. He noted that if there’s one place a child should feel safe, it’s in a church.

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IDAHO
Idaho Statesman

Last December, Alexander Gonzalez Garcia blamed Satan for causing him to molest a 12-year-old girl in a storage room at the Nampa Seventh-Day Adventist Church where he served as a deacon.

On Tuesday, 3rd District Judge Bradly Ford sentenced the 57-year-old Middleton man to at least five and up to 15 years in prison for that felony. But the judge retained jurisdiction, which means Garcia will be evaluated in the prison system for one year, after which Ford can decide whether to release him on probation or have him complete his prison term.

“Mr. Garcia used his position of trust in the church to take advantage of the victim, and he deserves to be behind bars where he can no longer be a danger to the community,” Canyon County Prosecutor Bryan Taylor said in a news release. “This case should serve as a reminder to every parent that you need to be very careful of who your kids are hanging around with.”

Ford commended the victim for her courage in coming forward and reporting the abuse, which reportedly happened in July 2013. Court records show Garcia initially denied the abuse but later told police Satan was in the locked room and made him touch the girl inappropriately.

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AUSTRALIA
The Courier

By FIONA HENDERSON July 29, 2014

PASTOR Scott Williams was described as “charismatic” by former Ballarat East High School staff and students.

However, concerns were also raised about the ex-teacher’s daily lunchtime meetings with senior students during his Ballarat tenure to discuss religious matters.

Williams on Monday night was accused of horrific sexual and physical abuse at his religious cult Christian Assemblies International (CAI) by the ABC’s Four Corners program.

He is also accused of misusing vast amounts of money donated by CAI members and building up a worldwide multi-million dollar property portfolio.

Mr Williams taught at Ballarat East High School in the early 1970s before heading to Germany as a missionary, where he worked in Feldafing as a pool attendant at a military school for young men.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
Belfast Telegraph

29 JULY 2014

In the hit Cold War TV drama series The Americans, one of the main weapons both the KGB and the CIA-FBI deploy against each other is sex. The story of the undercover Soviet spies posing as the all-American apple pie family, Elisabeth and Phillip Jennings, swirls around issues of infidelity, bedroom betrayals, pillow talk and the ever-present threat of blackmail in the background.

The Jennings’ unsuspecting nemesis and neighbour, the FBI spy catcher Stan Beeman, is himself using his sexual prowess to seduce an attractive female Russian agent who initially turns to the American because she has been sexually exploited and abused by a senior KGB operative at the USSR embassy in Washington DC.

The Americans plot line and the heavy emphasis on lust, love and treachery (of both the sexual and political kind) is laden with hammed up Holywood-style psycho-drama although to be fair its creator Joe Weisberg was a CIA case officer who served on the Cold War frontline.

Indeed, the series and its main premise is not so far-fetched perhaps when you consider the long history of how intelligence services used sexual blackmail to recruit and “turn’ agents, including here in Northern Ireland.

Back in the mid-1970s there was little or no sign of the Cold War thawing and in the UK there was a real sense of national crisis and decline.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Daily Mail

‘Date rape is bad, stranger rape is worse’: Richard Dawkins sparks outrage during Twitter debate

By SAM MARSDEN and STEPHANIE LINNING

Controversial scientist Richard Dawkins provoked fury yesterday after referring to ‘mild date rape’ and ‘mild paedophilia’ in comments on Twitter.

Campaigners for women and child abuse victims condemned the prominent atheist’s posts as ‘offensive and damaging’.

Professor Dawkins, 73, became embroiled in the row when he made a point about logical thinking to almost a million followers on the social networking site.

The academic sparked anger by choosing the example of sexual abuse to illustrate the idea.

He began by writing: ‘X is bad. Y is worse. If you think that’s an endorsement of X, go away and don’t come back until you’ve learned how to think logically.’

Then he added: ‘Mild pedophilia [sic] is bad. Violent pedophilia is worse. If you think that’s an endorsement of mild pedophilia, go away and learn how to think. …

However in a statement on his website last night, he said he ‘was only talking logic’, and had ‘no desire to make light of the seriousness of any kind of rape or [sic] pedophilia’

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LOUISIANA
The Advocate

Claire Taylor July 29, 2014

Here in the heart of Cajun country, where the first priest sex abuse scandal rocked the Roman Catholic Church faithful in the 1980s, allegations have surfaced that a priest who sexually abused a boy in the 1970s continues to minister in Lafayette.

Two documents from the 1990s uncovered during a recent Minnesota Public Radio investigation allege the Rev. Gilbert Dutel sexually abused a boy in the 1970s while serving at a church in Abbeville. He was also was accused of coercing young men into having sex, the MPR story says.

Both Dutel, who is pastor of St. Edmond Catholic Church in Lafayette, and the Diocese of Lafayette denied the allegations Tuesday.

The Survivors Network of Those Abused By Priests issued a statement July 21, following the MPR investigation, urging Diocese of Lafayette Bishop Michael Jarrell to suspend Dutel immediately.

The Diocese of Lafayette, in a written response to The Advertiser’s questions about the reports Tuesday, said the “unproven allegations” against Dutel were investigated years ago.

“No new information exists that warrants any action by the Diocese,” the statement reads. “In the absence of any contrary information, Father Dutel remains a priest in good standing.”

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CANADA
BBC News

By Wesley Stephenson
BBC News

The Pope was recently reported to have said that about 2% of Catholic clergy are paedophiles. But how does this compare with society as a whole – is it more or less than average?

As soon as you give this question a moment’s thought, you realise that it’s not going to be an easy one to answer. Paedophiles are not easy to identify.

“Because paedophilia is so secretive and so few people are willing to admit it, there is no meaningful way to get a reliable estimate,” says Dr James Cantor, a psychologist and sexual behaviour scientist at the University of Toronto.

“There’s no meaningfully ethical way of taking 200 men, hooking them up to detectors, showing them pictures of adults and children and seeing how many respond most to children.”

One person who has attempted an estimate is Dr Michael Seto, a clinical and forensic psychologist at the Royal Ottawa Healthcare group.

In 2008 he wrote a book in which he put the prevalence of paedophilia in the general population at 5%.

The figure was based on surveys conducted in Germany, Norway and Finland in which men were asked whether they had ever had sexual thoughts or fantasies about children or engaged in sexual activity with children.

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SOUTH AFRICA
Sowetan

By Sapa-AFP | Jul 30, 2014

Originally from Aachen in West Germany, Kerkhoff is wanted for alleged sex crimes against children committed before he moved several years ago to South Africa, where he was arrested on similar charges.

A German Catholic priest accused of sexual abuse of children in his native country and in South Africa has been extradited to Germany, police said Wednesday.

Georg Kerkhoff, who is in his 50s, was put on a plane to Germany on Tuesday night, South African police spokesman Lungelo Dlamini told AFP.

“We took him to the airport and handed him over to the German police. He will face trial in Germany,” he said.

Originally from Aachen in West Germany, Kerkhoff is wanted for alleged sex crimes against children committed before he moved several years ago to South Africa, where he was arrested on similar charges.

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PARAGUAY
DFW Catholic

Ciudad del Este, Paraguay, Jul 29, 2014 / 04:39 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- An apostolic visitation of Paraguay’s Cuidad del Este diocese concluded on Saturday with the visitors suspending a scheduled ordination until they have reached conclusions about their investigation.

“For the time, priestly and diaconal ordinations for the students of St. Joseph’s Major Seminary are suspended and it is unknown how long this will endure – it can only be revealed by the Pope,” Cardinal Santos Abril y Castello, who led the apostolic visitation, said at a July 26 press conference.

The diocese was scheduled to have priestly ordinations Aug. 15. A release from the diocese clarified that “the ordinations of Aug. 15 have been suspended until the conclusion (of the visitation), not canceled.”

While the visitation took place July 21-26, Cardinal Abril y Castello and Bishop Milton Troccoli Cebedio – who assisted the cardinal in the investigation – will return to Rome to arrange the data collected and present it to Pope Francis.

The conclusion has not yet been scheduled, but is anticipated in September. The apostolic visitation of the Diocese of Ciudad del Este was announced by the apostolic nuncio to Paraguay July 2.

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UNITED STATES
NW Times

By Bill Dolan bill.dolan@nwi.com, (219) 662-5328

GARY | A national organization advocating change within the Roman Catholic church wants local parishioners to use the group’s website to tell church fathers who should be the diocese’s next bishop.

“Church law encourages all Catholics to express their views on Church matters that concern them, and this includes who their new bishop may be,” Nick Ingala, a spokesman for Voice of the Faithful, said Tuesday.

However, Debbie Bosak, communications director for the Gary Catholic Diocese, said she is skeptical of the the group, which first formed a dozen years ago in response to the sex abuse scandal of recent years.

“They are not an official organization of the Catholic Church but rather a dissident group of lay Catholics with an agenda,” she said.

Ingala said Voice of the Faithful, headquartered in Newton, Mass., supports “survivors of clerical sexual abuse, recognizes priests of integrity and seeks to shape structural change in the Church,” and wants greater participation in bishop selection.

He said the group’s motto is, “Keep the Faith, Change the Church.”

“That change-the-church part really does create some opposition,” he said, adding his group isn’t challenging the pope’s authority to name bishops.

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UNITED STATES
PopeCrimes& Vatican Evils.

Paris Arrow

Opus Dei Beast PR Stunt of the Day: Wall Street Journal “Speculation Grows Over Potential Visit by Pope Francis to U.S.” to goad big American business donors and American idiot Catholics to give millions to Vatican Mammon Beast.

It’s very easy to detect the American journalists who are part of the Opus Dei Beast PR Deceits Team at the Vatican – they all speak positively and fanatically about Pope Francis — in order to brainwash and entice American idiot Catholics to give blindly and stupidly millions of dollars to the voracious evil Vatican Mammon Beast. Take the Wall Street Journal title Speculation Grows Over Potential Visit by Pope Francis to U.S. and its first paragraph to instantly programme American idiot Catholics that there is an “’intense’ speculation” of Pope Francis’s visit (see news articles below with our comments and emphases). Its purpose is to incite a pop star hype – to attend Pope Francis’s Mass – like attending a concert of porno naked singer Miley Cyrus.

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GUAM
Pacific Daily News

Written by
Gaynor Dumat-ol Daleno
Pacific Daily News

There’s a bigger, deeper battle behind the recent controversies involving the local Catholic church, some observers said yesterday.

As dozens of island Catholics gathered yesterday at the steps of the Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral-Basilica to support ousted Monsignor James Benavente, and also to pray for healing, observers said the deeper rift stems from a sect within the church whose actions depart from some of the oldest Catholic traditions.

Archbishop Anthony Apuron removed Benavente from being rector of the Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral-Basilica in Hagåtña over alleged fiscal mismanagement, the archbishop stated yesterday.

“There is a bigger issue at play here: The imposition of the Neocathecumenal Way upon the Catholic Church in Guam,” said Charles White, a Guam resident who writes a blog called The Thoughtful Catholic.

“Members of the Neocathecumenal Way practice their faith in a way that largely separates them from their parishes,” White wrote in an email.

“For example, they celebrate Mass away from the Church proper every Saturday night, instead of attending normal parish Masses,” White stated. “While they insist that these Masses are open to others, in practice, they are not. They are not even published in the parish bulletin.” …
The Guam Catholic church’s leadership, through Archbishop Anthony Apuron, hasn’t responded to phone calls or emailed requests for comment on the Neocatechumenal Way.

Apuron is a member of the Neocathecumenal Way, says Tim Rohr, another outspoken critic of the archbishop who offers daily updates on local church issues on his blog Jungle Watch.

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GUAM
Jungle Watch

The story can be found here. Following is the comment I posted on the PDN website.

Here’s a few facts for now. Not that they matter to Apuron.

The 7 million dollar debt was incurred in the building of the Saint Therese chapel and the addition of the museum at the Cathedral. Both projects were approved by all the required boards and councils and ultimately signed off on by Apuron, since HE is the only person who can do so.

The loan is current and is amortized over 30 years. It is also fairly recent. And as anyone with a mortgage knows, the mortgagee makes little headway knocking down the principal for the first several years. Apuron approved the projects with enthusiasm because they made him look good. There will be more facts to come, but for now:

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GUAM
Pacific Daily News

[with video]

Jul. 30, 2014

Archbishop Anthony Apuron yesterday said Monsignor James Benavente was removed as rector of the Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral-Basilica because of poor financial management.

The Cathedral-Basilica and the Catholic cemeteries are millions of dollars in the red, according to the archbishop, and accounting practices are so “inappropriate” the cemeteries’ funding cannot be properly audited.

Apuron released a statement, shortly before a huge crowd of Benavente supporters gathered at the steps of the Cathedral-Basilica, that he decided “a change in administration” at the Cathedral-Basilica and Catholic Cemeteries of Guam Inc. is necessary so accounting practices can be re-established and financial audits can be completed.

Benavente, who had been the rector at the Cathedral-Basilica for nearly 20 years, declined to comment on the allegations.

He did say a prayer before a few hundred of his supporters who gathered despite strong winds and rain outside the Cathedral-Basilica and across the street from the church in Hagåtña.

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CANADA
Advertiser

Rosie Mullaley
Published on July 29, 2014

A woman suspected of swindling hundreds of thousands of dollars from St. Patrick’s Parish in St. John’s will go to trial this fall.

Dianne Clare Coady wasn’t in provincial court Monday when her case was called. Instead, she was represented by her lawyer Amanda MacDougall.

MacDougall and Crown prosecutor Mike Murray agreed to have the trial begin Nov. 3. Murray told Judge Colin Flynn that the trial is expected to last two weeks.

Coady has pleaded not guilty to three charges – theft over $5,000, fraud over $5,000 and uttering forged documents.

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OHIO
National Catholic Reporter

Nicholas Sciarappa | Jul. 21, 2014

The Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests donated $1,000 to a Catholic Worker house that shelters homeless women after the Cincinnati archdiocese retracted its funding because a woman priest led a prayer service at the shelter.

The archdiocese had promised Lydia’s House, which offers shelter to homeless women and their children, $1,000 toward the purchase of a new washer and dryer. A number of community organizations support the house, which can hold up to four women and six children, and the archdiocese was an irregular donor.

“We spent the money in June with the promise that it would be reimbursed at the start of the new fiscal year July 1, and we submitted the receipt on July 5,” said Mary Ellen Mitchell, one of the founders of Lydia’s House. “We found out Wednesday, July 16, of this week that [the archdiocese] wouldn’t do the reimbursement.”

The archdiocese withdrew the donation after learning that Debra Meyers would hold a July 20 prayer service at the house. Meyers is a Roman Catholic Woman Priest, but the house’s monthly newsletter, which contained information about the prayer service, did not identify her as such.

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TEXAS
Cleburne Times-Review

By Matt Smith/ msmith@trcle.com

Fort Worth police arrested Pastor Dan Haby of the Cowboy Way Church in Alvarado on Friday in Alvarado on two counts of indecency with a child, FWPD Sgt. Raymond Bush confirmed Tuesday morning.

Haby used to live in Fort Worth and the alleged assault occurred between 2000 and 2001 and involved a then 15-year-old male victim, police said. The victim contacted police in June and investigators subsequently obtained two arrest warrants for indecency with a child by sexual contact.

Members of the FWPD Fugitive Unit arrested Haby at his home without incident. He was transported to the Fort Worth Jail and his bonds were set at $30,000. He has since bonded out, police said.

Haby, 51, is listed as Cowboy Way Church of Alvarado’s lead elder and pastor on the church’s website and has been with the church since its inception in 2005.

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TEXAS
Fort Worth Star-Telegram

BY DEANNA BOYD
dboyd@star-telegram.com

FORT WORTH — The pastor of the Cowboy Way Church in Alvardo was charged Tuesday with indecency with a child on accusations that he molested a teen boy several years ago while he was pastor at another church.

Dan Haby Jr., 51, was arrested at his Alvarado home by Fort Worth fugitive officers Friday afternoon on two arrest warrants accusing him of indecency with a child by sexual contact. He was later released from jail after posting a $30,000 bond.

Leigh Williams, children’s pastor at Cowboy Way Church, said Tuesday afternoon that Haby would love to comment but was advised to let his attorney, Daniel Hernandez, handle questions about the case. She said she also could not comment on Haby’s current status with the church in light of his arrest.

“At the advice of the attorney, I can’t comment unfortunately,” Wiilliams said. “There’s lots that I would like to say but I’m going under what the attorney has advised us to do.”

Hernandez has not returned a phone message left at his office.

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TEXAS
WFAA

Posted on July 29, 2014

FORT WORTH — The pastor of Cowboy Way Church in Alvarado has been arrested, accused of molesting a teenager nearly 15 years ago.

According to our content partners at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Dan Haby, 51, is accused of indecency with a child by sexual contact.

Police believe he molested a teen boy while he was the pastor at Stockyards Community Church in 2000 and 2001. The victim, now an adult, was 15 at the time.

Two arrest warrants were issued and Haby was taken into custody at his home Friday. He was released on bond.

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WASHINGTON
The Seattle Times

1943 – 2014 | Obituary

David Peter Jaeger

July 27, 1943 ~ July 22, 2014

The family of David Jaeger sadly announces his death on July 22, 2014 from the complications of Alzheimer’s disease. David was born July 27, 1943 in Seattle to Peter & Lorrayne Jaeger and was raised in the Green Lake area with his three younger sisters Marilyn Jaeger Veomett, Patti Jaeger Quinn, and Debbie Jaeger Knaub. He attended St. Benedict’s school and Blanchet High School before entering St. Edward’s Seminary in Kenmore as a sophomore in high school. David was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Seattle on May 19, 1969. He served as associate pastor in Vancouver, Wa and Everett and then in several administrative positions. His final assignment was directing Archdiocesan ministries to Gays and Lesbians as well as heading the Catholic AIDS ministry. He resigned from ministry in 2005 and then worked as the manager of the Helpline Call Center at the headquarters of the Society of St. Vincent DePaul until his retirement in 2012. He has resided at Gaffney House on First Hill since September 2013 due to the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.

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WASHINGTON
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Statement by Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, Outreach Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests ( 314 503 0003, SNAPdorris@gmail.com )

A priest and the former director of seminarians for the Seattle Archdiocese has died. We hope he is not given a burial of a priest in good standing.

As the head of seminarians for the Seattle Archdiocese, Fr. David Jaeger, let a known abuser, Fr. Paul Joseph Conn, perform duties as a priest. Jaeger himself is an admitted child molester, having acknowledged abusing 8-10 boys. He was voluntarily defrocked in 2005.

We hope his victims find peace from his death. We are glad that he can no longer hurt any more children And we hope Catholic officials do not callously rub salt into the wounds of victims by giving Jaeger a large and pomp-filled funeral.

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UNITED STATES
Religion News Service

David Gibson | July 29, 2014

(RNS) When victims of sexual abuse by Catholic priests first organized into a small band of volunteer activists in the late 1980s, reports of clergy molesting children were still new and relatively few. Most were minimized as anomalies or dismissed altogether — much the way the victims were.

But today, as the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, marks its 25th anniversary at a conference in Chicago (Aug. 1-3), its members can take satisfaction in seeing that its claims have been validated, and a few (though hardly all) of its recommendations have been implemented by the church hierarchy.

And instead of facing constant verbal attacks and the occasional angry parishioner spitting on them at a protest, SNAP’s members today are far more likely to receive a handshake and a word of thanks, and maybe even a donation.

SNAP’s advocacy on the Catholic scandal also helped push the reality of sexual abuse into the public consciousness to the point that victims can regularly win in courts and get a hearing in the media, and they are much more likely to come forward to tell their stories, whether they were abused by clergy or by athletic coaches or Boy Scout leaders.

Yet that success is also presenting SNAP with a daunting new challenge as it looks to the future: how to respond to a flood of new inquiries from victims from other faiths and institutions, and how to push for changes beyond the familiar precincts of the Catholic Church.

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UNITED STATES
Darkness to Light

Recently I had the pleasure of having breakfast with my friend and colleague, Boz Tchividjian. I’m so thankful for the friendship he and I have developed and while talking he gave me one more reason to be thankful. He brought to my attention something I had not given enough consideration. It’s from his insight this article originated.

We were discussing the reasons behind why I didn’t say something about my abuse and why other survivors don’t tell or speak up while the abuse is occurring. During the conversation I told him something my mom had said to me. He stopped me and said it was important and to say it again.

He asked if there had been any indications to anyone that the abuse that was happening. I told him about one man in my life who had been a positive, male role-model for me. When I was about 13, he was talking with my mom about my abuser (but at this time no one knew) and said, “there’s something that’s not quite right about that guy spending all this time with those boys. I can’t put my finger on it but I know there’s something that’s just not right.” To which my mom said, “If something were going on with David, he would tell me.”

It’s those last four words that bears repeating…“he would tell me”.

My mom and I have a strong and healthy bond. Because my dad was not in the picture for the first 23 years of my life, it resulted in mom and I having lots of time together and the opportunity to forge an incredible relationship that we still have to this day. I would go so far as to say it’s an uncommonly good relationship as parent/child relationships go. I remember while growing up, most of my friends saying at some point, “I just can’t talk to my mom or dad about…”. I never had that issue with my mom. We were always close and always talked about everything. I remember telling her when I had sex for the first time. I told her about the first time I used drugs. When I got arrested for said drugs, it was my mom I called to bail me out. So it’s clear you can see I’ve felt comfortable enough in telling her about the good, the bad and the ugly.

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PENNSYLVANIA
PennLive

By John Luciew | jluciew@pennlive.com
on July 29, 2014

A western Pennsylvania congregation is being rocked by a child sex abuse scandal involving the church’s youth pastor and a 15-year-old girl.

According to the Associated Press, 33-year-old Brian Keith Smith of Westmoreland County is charged with aggravated indecent assault, indecent assault, corruption of minors and possession of child pornography, stemming from explicit cellphone pictures he received from the girl.

The youth pastor of the Journey By Grace Church stands accused of performing sex acts with the 15-year-old girl in the church building, AP reports.

According to the criminal complaint in the case, Smith told Rostraver Township police he and the girl “knew it was wrong,” AP wrote.

Journey By Grace Church Pastor Bill Bailey told AP that church officials contacted police when they learned of the relationship earlier this month, firing Smith.

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ZAMBIA
Lusaka Times

Fourty-Seven year-old Bishop Dominic Nyondo who was arrested last week for allegedly sexually abusing nine young girls from his Church has pleaded not guilty to nine counts of sexual abuse in a Kitwe magistrates court.

Bishop Nyondo of Holy Fire Christian Ministry Church in Kitwe has been charged with three counts of defilement, three counts of rape and three counts of indecent assault .

This was after he allegedly sexually abused the girls aged between 14 and 20 years on the pretext that he was cleansing them of evil spirits.

Bishop Nyondo of House number 853 Ipusukilo township in Kitwe is accused of allegedly having sex with three girls below the age of sixteen between April 2010 and November 2011.

He is further accused of allegedly having sex with three women without their consent between December 2013 and June 2014 and further indecently assaulting three women during the same period.

The accused person is said to have undressed his victims while he prayed for them, ‘anointed’ them with milk and later had sex with them.

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CALIFORNIA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Statement by Joelle Casteix of Newport Beach, CA, Western Regional Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests ( 949-322-7434 cell, jcasteix@gmail.com )

A leading figure in the Zen Buddhist movement in the US, who had dozens of abuse allegations against him, has died.

Joshu Sasaki Roshi allegedly sexually abused hundreds of students. Some of the allegations were reported to the Rinzai-ji board, but no action was ever taken. A group of independent Buddhist leaders investigated the claims against Roshi and said” “we have reports that those who chose to speak out were silenced, exiled, ridiculed, or otherwise punished.”

We hope his passing will give some comfort to the many individuals he abused. We also hope it will liberate others he hurt so they can disclose their pain, share their burdens and begin to heal.

Roshi’s backers talk of how much good he did. The same could be said about most sex offenders. Many of them work in “helping professions” and volunteer their time at non-profits and perform great service to others. That, however, doesn’t negate the severe harm they cause. Nor should it cause us to ignore or minimize that harm.

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MICHIGAN
WOOD

He called his Christian Radio Program “Family Friendly” He was anything but. Appearing in Grand Rapids Federal Court today John Balyo will be required to describe in details the crimes he committed against children. Most of his testimony will probably be unfit for broadcast. He will be sentenced to 15 to 50 years in prison. At best he would be 50 years old before he is released, if he does his full sentence he’d be 85. Of course he still faces local charges in Calhoun County and a local conviction would probably keep the pervert in prison for the rest of his life.

Homeland security officials said when he was arrested, Balyo was on the verge of even more serious crimes.

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MICHIGAN
WOOD

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Former Grand Rapids Christian radio host John Balyo is headed to prison after entering a guilty plea in federal court on two charges involving child pornography and sexually assaulting a child.

Balyo, 35, was very soft spoken and to the point when he spoke in court Tuesday morning, replying “Yes, your honor,” and “No, your honor” when questioned by the judge.

When explaining his actions that led up to the charges, Balyo, who is also facing state charges in a separate case in Calhoun County, showed no emotion. At one point, he said he knew what he did was wrong.

According to his plea, Baylo met with another man and a 12-year-old boy in a Kalamazoo hotel room in April. The men sexually assaulted the boy, who was paid cash by Baylo.

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MICHIGAN
WZZM

John Hogan, WZZM July 29, 2014

GRAND RAPIDS (WZZM) — Former WCSG radio host John Richard Balyo admitted today that he and a second man handcuffed a 12-year-old boy to a motel bed, sexually abused him and took nine photos during the April encounter.

“I did take images of a child and they were sexually explicit involving bondage and nudity,” Balyo admitted today in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids. “I performed sex acts as described. I knew it was wrong.”

Balyo and Ronald Lee Moser paid the boy for his involvement in the April 19th assault. His hands and feet were handcuffed and he was tied to the bed, according to courtroom statements today.

While bound, Balyo took nine photos of the boy, first in his underwear and then naked.

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MICHIGAN
WLNS

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) – A former host at a popular Christian radio station in western Michigan is pleading guilty in a child pornography investigation.

John Balyo was in Grand Rapids federal court today, just weeks after his arrest on state charges at a Christian music festival in Gaylord.

Balyo faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years and a maximum of fifty years in prison. He must also register as a sex offender.

The 35-year-old Balyo is charged with sexual exploitation and possessing child pornography. His signed plea deal was filed in court Thursday.

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MICHIGAN
MLive

By John Agar | jagar@mlive.com
on July 29, 2014

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Former Christian radio host John Balyo admitted Tuesday, July 29, that he photographed sex acts with a 12-year-old boy at a Kalamazoo County hotel.

The child was held to the bed in restraints.

“I performed a sexual act as described and I knowingly possessed the images on my camera,” Balyo, 34, of Caledonia, told U.S. Magistrate Judge Ellen Carmody.

“I knew it was wrong.”

Balyo pleaded guilty to sexual exploitation of a child and possession of child pornography, crimes that could put him away for up to 50 years.

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GUAM
KUAM

By Sabrina Salas Matanane

Guam – Following the removal of Monsignor James Benavente as rector for the Cathedral Basilica and director of director of the Catholic Cemeteries of the Archdiocese of Agana, Archbishop Anthony Apuron today finally issued a statement on the matter.

In a press release he stated that based on the findings of a recent audit he decided that a change in administration in the two entities was necessary and urgent to re-establish proper accounting practices, complete a financial review , financial report and an audit.

According to Apuron an audit conducted by Deloitte & Touche revealed the Cathedral and Catholic Cemeteries have about $7 million in indebtedness. He added the firm determined the accounting practices, especially in the Catholic Cemeteries are “inappropriate” and that an audit is not possible until appropriate accounting has been reestablished in the Catholic Cemeteries of Guam. The archbishop removed Monsignor James from his positions, exactly one week after he celebrated his 20 year anniversary. The monsignor has denied any wrongdoing.

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GUAM
Pacific News Center

[with video]

Guam – The controversy continues to boil at the Archdiocese of Agana as dozens of supporters, including island dignitaries, gathered in prayer for the latest crisis to hit the Catholic church, the termination of Monsignor James Benavente as rector of the Cathedral.

Monsignor James’ removal comes just days after Father John Wadeson was removed for a sex scandal dating back to the 1970s. But the Archdiocese denies any claims that the two events are in any way related.

Little is known about why Monsignor James Benavente was fired from the church as rector of the Cathedral de Basilica. Neither the Archdiocese nor Monsignor James have revealed the reasons. The news became public when Monsignor James informed his fellow brothers and sisters of his removal.

Tim Rohr is a close catholic observer who maintains a blog about the Catholic community on Guam. He tells PNC what he’s learned of Monsignor James’ removal.

“He’s accusing not just Monsignor James, but Monsignor James, Richard Untalan, Joe Rivera and Sister Steven Torres, who were the four members of the archdiocesan finance council that the archbishop terminated after they refused to permit the conveyance of the title of the old Accion hotel property to a separate corporation away from the archdiocese. And so the archbishop is accusing Monsignor James and those other three of trying to sell that property without the archbishop’s permission,” explains Rohr.

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GUAM
Jungle Watch

10:59 PM. I made this post at 2:52 PM at which time there were 761 votes. By 8:40 PM the Archbishop’s A grade had risen from 11% to 48% with about 10 “A”‘s added per minute. The activity continued till 9:20 PM when the A grade rose to 56% and is still continuing. All that activity began after I posted this poll. So we obviously know who reads my blog, as if we didn’t know already. (I catch Adrian on here all the time, the Archbishop too.)

It’s very simple, Tim Rohr posted hugely embarrassing numbers and the Neo’s mobilized. But no matter. Everyone knows that you can click as much as you want on these polls so they don’t mean anything. What matters is that we have a lying, lawless bishop and a chancery seething with jealously and hate. It is now on display for all to see. Why else would they release their report to the media damning Msgr. James at the very moment his prayer vigil was beginning?

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GUAM
Pacific Daily News

Written by
Gaynor Dumat-ol Daleno
Pacific Daily News

Two entities under Guam’s Catholic church have about $7 million in debts that have been reduced only “marginally,” and the financial woes led to a change in administration, Archbishop Anthony Apuron stated yesterday.

The archbishop recently announced the removal of Monsignor James Benavente from being rector at the Numbre de Maria Cathedral-Basilica. The Cathedral-Basilica and the Catholic Cemeteries of Guam incurred the debts, the archbishop stated.

The $7 million accounts for about “one quarter” of the total indebtedness of the Archdiocese of Agana, the archbishop stated.

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NEW ZEALAND
Newstalk

By: Emily Murphy, Latest Crime News | Tuesday July 29 2014

A decision over whether a former Catholic brother facing hundreds of sex charges will be extradited to Australia has reached the final stage.

Bernard McGrath is wanted in Australia on 252 charges for alleged offending against boys in New South Wales.

The charges date back over 30 years.

Justice Minister Judith Collins says she’ll consider submissions sent to her from McGrath before making her final decision.

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TEXAS
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Tuesday, July 29, 2014

For more information: David Clohessy of St. Louis ( 314-566-9790, SNAPclohessy@aol.com )

Priest who pled guilty is back on the job
Dallas bishop quietly transferred him to new posts
Just three years ago, he admitted to “inappropriate touching”
But some allegations against the cleric go back almost 40 years

The Catholic bishop of Dallas has quietly put back on the job a priest who pleaded no contest three years ago to misdemeanor assault charges for inappropriately touching of a 14-year-old girl, a support group has learned.

Leaders of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, say that Fr. Robert Crisp now does prison ministry, according to the Dallas diocese webpage.

They also say that a concerned Catholic informed them that Fr. Crisp also ministers at St. Joseph Village, a retirement home, in Coppell (1201 E. Sandy Lake Road)

(To confirm the latter, SNAP urges reporters to call Fr. Crisp’s private line: 972-879-8474 or the home: 972-304-0300.)

“Bishop Kevin Farrell should be ashamed of himself,” said David Clohessy of St. Louis, SNAP’s director. “He’s apparently given not one but two job assignments to a convicted sex offender, directly contradicting the so-called ‘zero tolerance’ promise he and his brother bishops have bragged about for years.”

“It’s ironic that in the very city where America’s bishops solemnly and repeatedly pledged ‘one strike and you’re out’, Bishop Farrell secretly puts an admitted child molester back around unsuspecting Catholics,” said Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, SNAP’s outreach director. “How many grandkids visit relatives at this facility? And is Fr. Crisp being allowed to work in parishes too?”

“For decades, bishops have done what Farrell is now doing: moving a proven predator to another job and claiming that somehow a child predator won’t gain access to kids in this position or that position,” Dorris stressed. “But there’s a reason civilized societies jail molesters: because unless we do, they’ll find a way to win parents’ trust and abuse children again, no matter what job title or position they may be given.”

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MISSOURI
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Statement by Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, Outreach Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests ( 314 503 0003, SNAPdorris@gmail.com )

A child sex abuse and cover up trial started yesterday against a Kansas City pastor who is the former head of the State Board of Education.

The civil suit was filed in January 2013 in Jackson County Circuit Court “by a Kansas City-area woman identified as Jane Doe” and “alleges that the Rev. Stan Archie began committing repeated acts of sexual misconduct against (her) when she went to him for counseling at 15,” according to the KC Star.

“Archie is co-founder and senior pastor of Christian Fellowship Baptist Church at 4509 Troost Ave. in Kansas City. The lawsuit is the second in a year alleging sexual misconduct against Archie,” the Star reports.

We beg anyone who may have seen, suspected or suffered Rev. Archie’s crimes to come forward immediately and help this brave young woman expose a dangerous predator.

We were disturbed by Rev. Archie’s initial public response to allegations that he sexually exploited a church member. He claimed that a church investigation cleared him, but gave no details.

It’s disingenuous to claim that a church investigates its own pastor and that some other anonymous body allegedly did so too. Why refuse to name the organization that supposedly checked out the accusations? Because Rev. Archie’s denial of sexual misconduct is so vague and is issued through his lawyer, it rings hollow.

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.

MILWAUKEE (WI)
National Catholic Reporter

Marie Rohde | Jul. 29, 2014

MILWAUKEE
The Milwaukee archdiocese has filed for bankruptcy, but is it too broke to pay its legal bills?

Currently, the archdiocese has paid or owes just shy of $14 million in legal and professional fees related to the bankruptcy. As the debtor, the archdiocese is required by federal law to pay the legal expenses of those who have filed claims as well as its own lawyers. Lawyers for the archdiocese filed a 63-page statement to back up a $204,451 bill for the month of June alone.

The legal bills are far greater than the $4 million the archdiocese offered survivors of sex abuse before filing for bankruptcy on Jan. 4, 2011. That prompted Peter Isely, the Midwest director for the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests and one of the Milwaukee claimants, to question whether the archdiocese’s actions are consistent with what Pope Francis has said.

“Although it is unclear what this pope is doing or not doing on the issue, one thing that is perfectly clear is that paying lawyers three to four times what they have offered victims is directly opposite to this pope’s pontificate,” Isely said. “He has said that victims have a right to and must be justly compensated.”

James Stang, a lawyer representing the committee of creditors, most of them survivors of sexual abuse, says professionals on his side of the case were owed more than $2.3 million as of July 1. He asserts the archdiocese has the money to pay its bills but suggested the diocese is holding back payment in an effort to force a settlement. Stang has asked U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Susan V. Kelley to reconsider her order that put payments to lawyers on hold nearly 18 months ago.

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OHIO
Daily Journal

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
First Posted: July 29, 2014

TOLEDO, Ohio — An Internet site devoted to selling memorabilia from notorious killers is selling dirt said to be from the gravesite of a Roman Catholic priest convicted of killing a nun in Ohio.

The lot for sale on a website also includes a photo of the Rev. Gerald Robinson in his coffin.

Robinson was serving a life prison sentence for strangling Sister Margaret Ann Pahl in 1980 at a hospital where they worked. He died July 4 and was buried in his Toledo hometown.

A Toledo man says he took the photo of Robinson at his funeral and then struck a deal to sell it on a website called serialkillersink.net.

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MICHIGAN
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Tuesday, July 29, 2014

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

A former Michigan Christian radio host is set to plead guilty to making and possessing child pornography. We hope he gets the toughest sentence possible.

John Balyo was charged with taking pornographic images of a 12 year old boy and possession of child porn. We urge the judge in his case to sentence him to the maximum sentencing, which is 50 years in jail. This is a dangerous predator and he should be kept away from children for as long as possible.

We also urge parents and officials in Kalamazoo County who may have had contact with Balyo to share any suspicions they have and talk to their children. Every church or school group where Balyo spoke or spent time with should also do aggressive outreach to find others who may have seen, suspected or suffered his crimes.

Finally, we urge law enforcement officials to keep digging. Very often, in crimes like this, others in leadership positions ignored or concealed the wrongdoing. They should be identified, exposed, prosecuted and punished too, so that future cover ups are deterred.

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

PENNSYLVANIA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Tuesday, July 29, 2014

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

A Pennsylvania youth minister has been arrested on charges of child sexual abuse and has admitted abusing her for several months. We are grateful to the witnesses who came forward with their suspicions and urge anyone else with information to come forward to police.

Brian Keith Smith was the youth minster at Journey by Grace Church and led their youth program, The Joshua Project. The victim is a 15 year old girl who joined the youth group in 2013.

We urge officials at Journey by Grace to reach out to all congregants urging them to speak up if they suspect anything and to talk to their children. They should urge anyone who saw, suspects or suffered abuse to report to police. It is possible that there are more victims suffering in silence and self blame.

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PENNSYLVANIA
The Raw Story

By David Edwards
Tuesday, July 29, 2014

A 33-year-old youth pastor in Pennsylvania has been arrested after he was accused of raping a 15-year-old girl at his church.

Court documents filed by Rostraver Police accused Journey By Grace Church’s Brian Keith Smith of felony indecent assault of a minor younger than 16, felony possession of child pornography and several other misdemeanors, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

The criminal complaint stated that the Smith recruited the girl to join his youth group, The Joshua Project, in September of 2013.

“At this point in time, the victim reported that the defendant began driving her home from church after youth group meetings,” the complaint said. “The victim stated in late fall of 2013 they began to frequently send text messages to each other. Victim stated that soon after the frequent text messages, the defendant would drive her home. While driving, the defendant would stroke the victim’s face which encouraged intimacy.”

Smith is accused of first kissing the victim in February of 2014. By mid-July, the assault had escalated to penetrating her with his fingers, exchanging oral sex, and other sexual contact, according to police.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Saarbruecker Zeitung

[Summary: A Lebacher priest in July 2012 was accused to attempting to sexually abuse a 15-year-old. The prosecution closed the case in March so the Trier diocese has restored the priest to service. The 68-year-old priest is retired.]

Lebach/Trier. Das Bistum Trier hat die Beurlaubung eines ehemaligen Pfarrers von Lebach aufgehoben, der wegen des Verdachts des sexuellen Missbrauchs eines Minderjährigen seine Ämter hatte niederlegen müssen. Das kirchenrechtliche Verfahren sei zu dem Schluss gekommen, dass dem Priester „kein strafrechtlich relevantes Vergehen im Sinne der Leitlinien der Deutschen Bischofskonferenz für den Umgang mit sexuellem Missbrauch Minderjähriger“ nachgewiesen werden könne, teilte das Bistum mit. Der 68-jährige Pfarrer ist inzwischen im Ruhestand, ist aber dem Bistum zufolge bereit, „nach Kräften“ Aushilfen und Vertretungen zu übernehmen. Es sei jedoch mit Bischof Stephan Ackermann vereinbart worden, dass er sich von der Pfarreiengemeinschaft Lebach fernhalten werde. Nur so sei nach den „für alle Beteiligten belastenden“ Monaten eine „ungestörte pastorale Arbeit“ möglich.

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MISSOURI
KSPR

TANEY COUNTY, Mo. –
The latest civil suit against Kanakuk Ministries is claiming that the organization allowed Peter Newman to violate its rules and regulations at their camp and did not take any disciplinary actions.

According to documents in the 46-page-long suit filed on behalf of “John Doe II”, Newman was naked in front of under-aged boys who were also naked during activities at the camp.

A mother of one of the campers reported the incident to organizers of Kanakuk by the lawsuit claims Newman was never punished. It goes on to claim that Newman was promoted to a higher position after the allegations surfaced several years ago.

The following is from a KSPR report written in July of 2011:

Taney County, Mo — The family of a former camper that is suing Kanakuk Kamp is asking a judge for a restraining order against the camp, it’s CEO Joe White and former director Pete Newman. Since appearing in the case, the family says Joe White and the camp have contacted them by mail, telephone and email despite repeated requests to not contact them. The family is suing the camp because they say camp leaders failed to prevent the molestation of their son even though there were warning signs. They are suing under the names John and Jane Doe.

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CALIFORNIA
Los Angeles Times

By CHRISTINE MAI-DUC

Buddhist teacher Joshu Sasaki Roshi, a leading figure in Zen Buddhism in America whose legacy was later complicated by allegations of sexual abuse, has died. He was 107.

Roshi died Sunday afternoon at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, said Gento Steve Krieger, head monk at Rinzai-ji, also known as the Cimarron Zen Center, in Jefferson Park. He died of complications of old age, Krieger said.

Roshi arrived in Los Angeles more than 50 years ago and was among a wave of Japanese teachers to tailor Zen Buddhism teachings to westerners. He once pledged to students that he would not die “until Zen is born in America.”

“He was a Zen master,” Krieger said. “I don’t know anybody else who lives that completely and that fully. When you meet somebody like that, it changes your opinion of what a human being is.”

He opened dozens of Zen centers, including one on Mt. Baldy known for its rigorous training regimen.

Decades later, allegations from dozens of former students that he had sexually abused them surfaced. The allegations included molestation and rape, and some had been reported to the Rinzai-ji board, which never took effective action, according to an investigation by an independent council of Buddhist leaders.

The council’s report suggested he may have abused hundreds. “We see how, knowingly and unknowingly, the community was drawn into an open secret,” the council wrote. “We have reports that those who chose to speak out were silenced, exiled, ridiculed, or otherwise punished.”

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CANADA
Nunatsiaq Online

LISA GREGOIRE

The fate of thousands of pages of testimony about physical, sexual and psychological abuse at Canada’s notorious residential schools now lies with Ontario Superior Court Justice Paul Perell, but at least one residential school survivor hopes they are not destroyed.

Piita Irniq, who attended three residential schools, including Chesterfield Inlet’s Joseph Bernier School and its notorious Turquetil Hall residence, and who publicly, and repeatedly, disclosed the extent of abuse he suffered there, said July 28 that destroying those documents would be a grave injustice.

“If that happens, then you’re destroying the words of healing, you’re destroying the experience,” Irniq said.

“Were the Jews’ statements about the Holocaust destroyed too? If you destroy them, you destroy the history of Aboriginal people. The pain and the healing would go away.”

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OHIO
NBC 24

by Angi Gonzalez

TOLEDO — A Toledo man is behind a new online auction of items with a connection to one of the Glass City’s most notorious murder cases.

Dan Clay teamed up with the owner of Serial Killers Ink, Eric Holler, to sell a small group of items he collected following the recent passing of Father Gerald Robinson.

Earlier this month, Robinson passed away while serving time for a murder conviction in the stabbing death of Sister Margaret Ann Pahl.

“The entire lot is the picture of Father Robinson, the four ounce vile of dirt [from Robinson’s grave], his funeral obit card, and copy of The Blade that details the funeral,” Clay said of collection priced at $350.

The picture of Robinson, which NBC24 has decided not to include in this story, shows the Toledo priest in an open casket and wearing what appears to be clerical garments.

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

AUSTRALIA
Broken Rites

By a Broken Rites researcher (posted 28 July 2014)

Police allege that a Christian Brother, William Edwin Marchant, sexually abused a seven-year-old child who was visiting a Catholic school in Western Australia in the 1970s. Marchant, who is no longer a member of the Christian Brothers, made a brief appearance in Broome Magistrates Court on 28 July 2014.

Marchant, now aged 77, is accused of indecently dealing with a boy at the Christian Brothers Agricultural School near Tardun in Western Australia’s mid-west.

The offences are alleged to have occurred between 1970 and 1971 when the seven-year-old boy regularly attended social events at the school.

Police allege that, during these events, the boy was indecently assaulted by Marchant, who was a Christian Brother at the time.

Marchant is facing two counts of indecently dealing with a boy under 14 years.

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AUSTRALIA
The Canberra Times

July 29, 2014

David Ellery
Reporter for The Canberra Times.

The Marist Brothers may have to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in additional damages to victims of serial paedophile and former Marist College Canberra teacher Kostka (John) Chute.

Jason Parkinson of Porters Lawyers, who has already recovered millions of dollars in compensation for victims, said some of his past clients may have received less than they were entitled to because Marist Brothers had denied prior knowledge that Chute was an abuser.

Additional victims, who had not previously sought redress, have come forward as a result of recent publicity about Chute’s activities in the ACT and elsewhere.

Last month’s Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sex Abuse hearing in Canberra was told the Marists had known that Chute was an abuser as early as 1960.

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AUSTRALIA
The Guardian

Claire Moore
theguardian.com, Tuesday 29 July 2014

In November 2012 Julia Gillard, Jenny Macklin and Nicola Roxon announced the establishment of the royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse.

The Labor government believed that heartbreaking allegations of child sexual abuse justified a royal commission. We also believed that the government must do everything it can to make sure what has happened in the past is never allowed to happen again.

Since it was established in January of last year, the royal commission has interviewed over 1,600 survivors of child sexual abuse, and received a similar number of written accounts of abuse. It made clear in its interim report out last month that if its reporting date is not extended by two years, then many survivors will be denied the opportunity to report their experiences, in particular those from vulnerable and hard-to-reach groups.

We are still waiting for the Abbott government to respond to that request.

In its interim report, the royal commission said this extension is essential for it to complete the public hearings to fulfilling its terms of reference. I am not surprised – the inquiry opened a floodgate. Courage begets courage. Initial public and private hearings encouraged others to come out of the silence. Around 3,000 people are on a waiting list to give evidence in closed session.

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OHIO
Toledo Blade

BY TK BARGER
BLADE RELIGION EDITOR

A Toledo man who organizes tours of local crime scenes and gravesites has collected memorabilia of Gerald Robinson — including dirt from the priest’s grave and a photograph of him in his coffin — to sell online for $350.

On Monday, the Web site serialkillersink.net offered items related to Robinson’s burial as a one-time lot. Robinson was the Roman Catholic priest who was convicted in 2006 of the 1980 murder of Sister Margaret Ann Pahl and died in prison July 4.

Dan Clay of East Toledo had taken a photo of Robinson in his casket, dressed in priestly vestments, at the funeral home and collected dirt from Robinson’s grave, where he was buried next to his parents in Calvary Cemetery.

Along with those items, Mr. Clay is offering a memorial card from Robinson’s funeral and The Blade’s July 12 front page that includes an article on the funeral. He does not have Blade permission to reprint or resell the newspaper.

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OHIO
WSPD

Posted Tuesday, July 29th 2014 @ 6am by Michael Miller

The “true crime collectables” website Serial Killers Ink is offering a set of items related to Toledo priest Gerald Robinson’s funeral. Toledo Free Press reports the one-time lot, priced at $350, includes a photograph of Robinson in his casket, soil from Robinson’s burial plot, a memorial card from Robinson’s funeral and a copy of the July 12 Blade featuring an article about the funeral. The webste is brokering the items on behalf of Toledoan Dan Clay, founder of Grave Fixations, which offers local crime scene and graveyard tours. Robinson died July 4. He was serving a sentence of 15 years to life for the 1980 murder of Sister Margaret Ann Pahl, for which he was convicted in 2006.

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VATICAN CITY
Rorate Caeli

Marco Tosatti
senior religious correspondent for La Stampa

It is difficult to write about something that is vague and has indistinct contours as in an interview with seeming contradictions, but not contradictory in a general sense, such as the latest interview between Eugenio Scalfari and the Pope. But there is an aspect of the conversation that merits attention, because it poses questions of great weight. One of these questions concerns sexual abuse by clerics. At a certain point, in his reconstruction of the conversation, Scalfari writes that he asked how widespread this phenomenon is. The Pope responded, according to Scalfari, in this way:

“Many of my consultants who are in this struggle with me assure me on the basis of reliable data that they estimate that pedophilia in the Church is at the level of two percent. This should have reassured me, but I must say to you that it did not reassure me at all. I consider it on the contrary a most grave matter. The two percent of pedophiles are priests and even bishops and cardinals. And others, even more numerous, know but are silent, they punish but say nothing about the reason for the punishment. I find this state of things unsustainable, and it is my intention to confront it with the severity that it demands.

The sentence ends this way, without the closing quotations marks.

But it is the figure of two percent reported by Scalfari that creates a great deal of perplexity. And one must ask: a) if the Pope really said that; b) who gave him these figures? c) did Scalfari report this correctly? There are 410,000 priests in the world. Two percent of these comes to eight thousand. This is data that contrasts with that which has been accepted heretofore.

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UNITED STATES
dotCommonweal

Grant Gallicho
July 28, 2014

The Italian journalist Vittorio Messori has made a career of interviewing popes. So it’s no surprise that he was recently asked to comment on another one of Eugenio Scalfari’s controversial “interviews” with Pope Francis. Once again, Scalfari has reconstructed a conversation he had with the pope without the benefit of a recording or notes. And once again the Vatican has had to offer a clarification of the pope’s alleged remarks–because, according to Scalfari, Francis told him that 2 percent of the world’s priests, including bishops and cardinals, are pedophiles.

That’s a lot of pedophile priests–about one in fifty. If the pope really said that (and it’s not clear that he did), where did he get that figure? The traditionalist Catholic blog Rorate Caeli recently translated a report claiming that about .08 percent of abuse cases handled by the Vatican involve pedophile priests. The piece cites a couple of Vatican insiders who note that of all the abuse cases that make it to Rome only about 10 percent involve pedophilia.

About a week later the blog translated another Italian news item–this time an interview with Messori. In that conversation, the veteran Italian journalist was asked whether relaxing the celibacy rule would address the abuse crisis. His response makes you wonder whether he’s been paying much attention to the scandal:

Nearly all of the cases of sexual abuse that have been investigated as having been committed by those in consecrated life were not committed on prepubescent children but on adolescents. All of these were male.

Bishop Charles Scicluna used to serve as the Vatican’s chief prosecutor of abuse cases. He has said that 30 percent of the cases forwarded to Rome–and it’s important to note that not all cases of accused clerics have been adjudicated by the Vatican–involved heterosexual abuse. I haven’t seen it reported that every single postpubescent victim was male. In fact, there is no data on the pubescence of victims of clerical sexual abuse.

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UNITED STATES
Waiting for Godot to Leave

Kevin O’Brien

Catholic World News reports that the Vatican has suspended all priestly ordinations in Ciudad del Este, Paraguay.

If this is true, it’s an indication that something far more sinister has been brewing down there than just the elevation of an alleged child molesting homosexual cult leader to the position of Vicar General. This, after Bishop Martino of Scranton, PA made it clear that this man (Fr. Carlos Urrutigoity), who had been operating in his diocese, was not fit for ministry. The Diocese of Scranton states (my emphasis) …

Bishop Martino clearly expressed his reservations concerning Father Urrutigoity, who was identified as posing a serious threat to young people. Bishop Martino also carefully and consistently expressed his grave doubts about this cleric’s suitability for priestly ministry and cautioned the Bishop of the Diocese of Ciudad del Este, Paraguay to not allow Father Urrutigoity to incardinate into his diocese. Despite these serious cautions, Bishop Rogelio Livieres informed the Diocese of Scranton that he was allowing Father Urrutigoity to incardinate into his Paraguay diocese.

… and not only to incardinate (to be given the permission and the faculties to function as a priest there), but also to function as Vicar General in the diocese, becoming Bishop Livieres right-hand man.

Urrutigoity was kicked out of an SSPX (schismatic) seminary because of his sexual perversions, but then ran the Society of St. John in Scranton, where he slept with boys as a form of “spiritual direction”. Back in 2002 Scranton’s Independent Review Board suggested that Urrutigoity

should be removed from active ministry; his faculties should be revoked; and he should be asked to live privately.

For some reason Bishop Lvieres (a member of Opus Dei) ignored this.

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TEXAS
KXAN

By Angie Beavin
Published: July 28, 2014

GEORGETOWN, Texas — For the first time, supporters of the victim in the Greg Kelley case in Williamson County are making their voices heard, adding to the growing community outrage.

The 19-year-old was sentenced earlier this month to 25 years in prison for sexually assaulting a 4-year-old child. The sentence came as a punishment agreement between prosecutors and Kelley’s defense. The jury found him guilty of the crime and could have given him anywhere from 25 years to life in prison. The agreement to 25 years also meant he couldn’t appeal.

Monday, supporters of Kelley and his innocence wore orange, and they sat in silence outside of the Williamson County Jail. …

Across the parking lot, people dressed in teal were supporting the victim in the case.

Janet Heimlich is the director of the Child-Friendly Faith Project, a group that advocates for victims of such abuse. She did not go to the demonstration Monday night, but says demonstrations like that of the Kelley’s supporters, especially when members of a church or faith community are involved, are harmful to victims.

“I think that maybe they don’t have a full appreciation of what kind of impact that can have when you have very public rallies in support of someone who has been convicted of sexually abusing a small child,” said Heimlich.

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IRELAND
Irish Times

Vincent Twomey

Tue, Jul 29, 2014

According to the Government’s inter-departmental group, the proposed commission of investigation on mother and baby homes, the commission should be different from previous inquiries into child abuse and neglect: “The particular social and historical issues which the commission of investigation will be asked to explore are likely to distinguish the nature of its investigations from those of many other commissions.”

The report illustrates this by giving an impressive sketch of recent historical studies into the various issues raised by the treatment of unmarried mothers and their children in Ireland.

All this appears to stress an important difference between issues of criminality and neglect central to previous inquiries, and questions of social change and cultural change at the heart of our debate about mother and baby homes.

Former minister for health James Reilly seemed to take a similar approach. The goal of the commission, he announced in the Dáil (July 17th, 2014) was “to bring a true and clear picture of this part of our history into full public view.”

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