ABUSE TRACKER

IRELAND
Irish Examiner

By Bette Brown

In the course of compiling her book, ‘Stolen Lives’, Bette Brown has come to believe that the abuse of children in industrial schools was one of the darkest chapters in Ireland’s history.

TOWER BRIDGE stands majestically in the morning sunlight above the Saturday strollers. Among them, Mary Collins is admiring the scene in the city of London that she now calls home but her peace is fleeting.

Fear suddenly seizes her like a physical grip on the back of her head and she is a little girl again, running with her mother through fields in Cork, escaping from hell.

“The fear goes in through the back of my head. We are running, running all the time across the fields.” Mary is just two and a half, but she can sense her mother’s desperation.

“She was escaping. She’d found me, maybe she was looking for my sister Angela too. It could be days or weeks. I remember the rain all the time and the running.”

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.

PsychCentral

By LINDA HATCH, PHD

Since the posting on psychcentral a year ago of the article called “Organizational Infidelity Amplifies Sexual Trauma“there has been a great deal of attention paid to the poor handling of sexual trauma by institutions such as universities, the military and the church. That article cited a study showing that victims of sexual trauma who also reported having a sense of institutional betrayal showed more severe symptoms of post-traumatic stress such as anxiety, sexual dysfunction and dissociation.

Recently there have been legislative efforts to impose guidelines in the handling of sexual assaults on campuses as well as efforts to find the best ways to address problems in the reporting, investigation and prosecution of sexual misconduct within the military, universities, and the church. These efforts were prompted by the low rate at which sexual assaults were reported and if reported the low rate at which those cases were acted upon. For example, although 20% of students were sexually assaulted at college, only 12% of the victims actually reported the assault. And although rape in the military had increase 50% over the previous year, only one in 100 was prosecuted.

Attempts to address institutional betrayal have focused on prevention, changing the institutional culture, structural changes in investigation and prosecution, adding necessary resources and policies for following up on reports, and the interface between the institution and law enforcement.

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

UNITED STATES
Christian Post

BY MORGAN LEE , CHRISTIAN POST REPORTER
June 1, 2014

On the heels of airing a controversial rape skit on his show which sought to criticize recent attempts by the Obama administration to fight on-campus sexual assault, conservative media personality Glenn Beck has come clean with his family’s own history of sex abuse.

Beck said that he was fed up of “being accused of standing with abusers and rapists” and “tired of being called a monster.”

“I’m tired of the lies of abusers. I’ve had my fill of it,” he said.

Beck tearfully told his audience that his family had experienced sexual abuse over multiple generations and that he had “worked hard in [his] personal life to stop the effects of this over the past 10 years.”

The radio show host explained that his own father, who passed away earlier this year, had been abused by Beck’s grandfather. After his father had run away, he fled to the YMCA where “he was repeatedly raped.” Prior to these actions, Beck explained that his father had also been sexually abused by a man for whom he had caddied and later, a church pastor.

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

UNITED STATES
Washington Post

Covenant Life Church pastors face scrutiny over ex-church member’s abuse

By Dan Morse, Published: June 1

Early last year, the pastors of Covenant Life Church — a congregation of several thousand in the middle of Montgomery County — faced a crisis.

Detectives had just charged a former member with molesting four teenage boys more than two decades earlier and indicated that, back then, some church leaders looked the other way. The pastors decided to take a strong stand.

“Covenant Life Church had no knowledge of such abuse until many years after the abuse when an adult who had been victimized as a child came forward,” they wrote on the church’s blog in February 2013, decrying the trauma that sexual abuse can inflict. “We continue to invite your prayers for all those involved in these matters.”

Now, the church has been forced to confront statements made in court that three of the teen victims or their families had come to church leaders for help in the early 1990s and that the church officials did not call police.

The testimony came during a May trial of Nathaniel Morales, who was convicted of the long-ago abuse and is scheduled to be sentenced at an Aug. 14 hearing that likely will draw more attention to the abuse and how pastors handled it.

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
New South Wales Police Force

Commissioner Scipione welcomes Special Commission of Inquiry report

Monday, 02 June 2014 10:50:47 AM

The NSW Police Force has welcomed the report and notes the findings of the Special Commission of Inquiry into matters relating to the Police investigation of certain child abuse allegations in the Catholic Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle.

The NSW Police Force acknowledges the very thorough work done by Commissioner Margaret Cunneen and her team in examining the very serious issue of child abuse.

NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione says, as the report has indicated, the community can have every confidence in the capacity and determination of NSW Police to listen and to investigate these crimes.

“The Commission found there was “no credible evidence” of any wrongdoing by those officers undertaking their investigations or their commanders. The Commission probed forensically into the role police played.

“The issue of child abuse is one the NSW Police Force takes extremely seriously and has devoted significant resources to both investigate and prevent this type of crime.

“As the Report notes, a thorough brief of evidence has been prepared by Strike Force Lantle as a consequence of efforts and dedication of many officers in the Hunter region.

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
Newcastle Herald

By JASON GORDON June 2, 2014

POLICE Commissioner Andrew Scipione said Newcastle police can ‘‘hold their heads high’’ after the Special Commission of Inquiry into child sexual abuse cover-ups cleared them of any wrongdoing.

In Newcastle on Monday to unveil a memorial garden to the highly-regarded police officer, the late Tony Tamplin, Mr Scipione said he was proud of his officers who were found to have acted at all times with integrity and honesty.

The commissioner would not, however, answer questions regarding findings against detective chief inspector Peter Fox who the special commission found to have been ‘‘deliberately untruthful’’ and to have ‘‘exaggerated’’ his evidence.

Mr Fox, who is on extended sick leave but still a member of the NSW Police Force, had also alleged that some police failed to properly investigate claims of sexual abuse cover-ups within the Maitland-Newcastle Catholic Diocese.

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

AUSTRALIA
Cowra Community News

NEW South Wales Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione says the senior officers caught up in allegations of cover-up of child sexual abuse in the Catholic diocese of Maitland-Newcastle can now hold their heads up high.

A four-volume Special Commission of Inquiry report, released on Friday, uncovered no evidence to show senior police officers tried to block the child abuse investigations.

The inquiry found Detective Inspector Peter Fox – who alleged there had been a cover-up – was not a credible witness and also said it was appropriate for police to instruct him to stop his own investigations.

The inquiry looked at how the church handled complaints about former priests Denis McAlinden and Jim Fletcher, both now dead.

Three volumes have been released, while the fourth is confidential.

Commissioner Scipione today (Monday, June 2) acknowledged the efforts of Commissioner Margaret Cunneen and her team in conducting the inquiry.

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
Newcastle Herald

I HAVE some questions for NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione after the release of the NSW Special Commission of Inquiry final report.

They go to the heart of why a journalist ended up campaigning for a royal commission in 2012, and why police are one of the “existing institutions” that have failed the victims of child sexual abuse in churches and other institutions.

My questions are:

1. If the Newcastle woman known to the inquiry as AL, a victim of paedophile priest Denis McAlinden, had gone on her own to police and asked them to investigate whether senior clergy had concealed McAlinden’s crimes for decades based on church documents she held, what are the chances it would have happened?

2. Is the commissioner prepared to concede AL’s chances would have been zero, and police eventually investigated because it was a journalist, and not a victim of a paedophile priest, who gave them the documents and made it clear she was not going away?

3. On what basis was a senior Hunter police officer describing the “availability” of the Catholic Church’s Towards Healing process as “an alternate to the criminal process” in July 2010, in his internal police report assessing whether police should investigate the McAlinden cover-up?

4. Is the commissioner comfortable that by as late as 2010, and despite victims’ very public condemnation of Towards Healing over a number of years, its “availability” was raised by that senior Hunter police officer as a reason not to investigate whether the church covered up the crimes of McAlinden? And can I remind the commissioner that Denis McAlinden preyed, primarily, on little girls aged between four and 12 over four decades, has victims in at least three countries, and died in 2005 with his “good name” protected by the Catholic Church.

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

AUSTRALIA
Newcastle Herald

By JOANNE McCARTHY June 1, 2014

A PAEDOPHILE priest victim, whose evidence at the NSW Special Commission of Inquiry reduced people to tears, is ‘‘hurt’’ and ‘‘disappointed’’ by findings that he believes lack balance about Detective Chief Inspector Peter Fox and what he represents for child sexual abuse victims.

‘‘I gave evidence to give a balanced view on what Peter has done. I hoped it would be reflected in the findings and it hasn’t been, which is why I’m speaking now,’’ said Daniel Feenan, of Maitland, who contacted the Newcastle Herald after the release of the commission’s final report on Friday.

Mr Feenan’s statements to Detective Fox in 2003 led to the conviction of paedophile priest Jim Fletcher, one of two priests who were the subject of the inquiry.

‘‘Peter needed to be made to account for what he put out there, but knowing the man, the reasoning behind what he did, I’ve got nothing but admiration for him,’’ Mr Feenan said.

‘‘He was the shock we needed to get a royal commission.’’

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

AUSTRALIA
ABC News

Senior Hunter police have spent the weekend pouring over the Special Commission of Inquiry findings but will not comment until the reports contents are fully examined.

The Inquiry was launched after Detective Chief Inspector Peter Fox alleged paedophilia within the Catholic Church and cover-ups by the church and police.

His allegations related to the cases of dead paedophile priests James Fletcher and Denis McAlinden.

The report was tabled on Friday and was damning of Detective Chief Inspector Fox.

It found Fox was not a credible witness and that there was no evidence to show senior police ever tried to stop child abuse offences from being properly investigated.

In a statement NSW Police say they welcome the report but given the voluminous nature of the findings there will be no comment until the contents are fully examined.

Detective Chief Inspector Fox is currently overseas.

The Catholic Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle is also yet to make a statement on the Special Commission of Inquiry report.

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

CALIFORNIA
TribTown

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
First Posted: June 01, 2014

HARTFORD, Connecticut — A California man will soon face sentencing for supplying methamphetamine to a Roman Catholic priest’s drug operation in Connecticut.

Federal prosecutors are seeking an eight-year prison sentence for 44-year-old Chad McCluskey of San Clemente, who is set to be sentenced Wednesday in federal court in Hartford. Defense lawyers are asking for a five-year sentence.

McCluskey and his girlfriend, Kristen Laschober of Laguna Niguel, California, pleaded guilty last year to drug conspiracy charges for supplying four pounds of meth to now-suspended priest Kevin Wallin of Waterbury. Laschober awaits sentencing.

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.

ROME
The Guardian (UK)

John Hooper in Rome
The Guardian, Sunday 1 June 2014

It sits atop the roof of an old palazzo in the centre of Rome, surrounded by a broad terrace that affords breathtaking views across the Eternal City to the mountains beyond.

The penthouse apartment at the centre of Paolo Sorrentino’s Oscar-winning movie La Grande Bellezza? Or perhaps the chosen retreat of a Forbes-list billionaire?

No. The flat in question is being created in the Vatican for the man who until recently was its most senior official.

While Pope Francis has been exhorting his clergy almost weekly to live lives as simple and frugal as his own, work has been going ahead on a luxurious retirement home for Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone , who stepped down as the Vatican’s secretary of state last October.

Reports of an extensive renovation project began to circulate in April. But it was not until last week that an Italian gossip magazine, Chi, published the first photograph of the work being carried out on top of the Palazzo San Carlo, just inside the walls of the city state.

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

UNITED STATES
POPE FRANCIS the CON-Christ.

Paris Arrow

June 1, 2014

Last year, we exposed Australia’s female (VPP) Vatican Piped Piper, Anne Lastman, read here: Australia JP2 Army! Anne Lastman the False Witness to ” the Limping Christ Towards Calvary” … She Camouflages John Paul II Pedophile Priests Army http://popecrimes.blogspot.ca/2013/07/australia-jp2-army-anne-lastman-false.html This year we are exposing American female Vatican Piped Pipers.

In the USA, there are several female Vatican Pied Pipers who are part of the Opus Dei Beast PR Deceits Team but we don’t want to waste our entire time writing about them. But there is one notable female VPP this time whom Christ impels us to write about, and like Australia’s VPP, she is also a counselor with victims of sexual abuse with many years of experience under her belt. From her article on Pope Francis planned meeting with victims in June, you can identify immediately the Mark of the Vatican Mammon Beast a.k.a. Opus Dei Beast. First, she attacks SNAP head-on in her title -– a literary trademark used by (her possibly fraternal Opus Dei brothers) Goliath-bully Bill Donohue of Catholic League and TheMediaReport – see our related articles and links below . Her article is religiously preachy about the “supernatural” or divine qualities of Pope Francis and they expound in detail, but very subtlety, the Opus Dei Plan and agenda for the meeting. In this post, we’ll expose in detail the American female Vatican Pied Piper Mary Gail Frawley-O’Dea – who wrote in her “Viewpoint” article in NCR, “SNAP is wrong to discourage victims from meeting the pope”.

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
Delaware County Daily Times

[with list of parishes]

By Patti Mengers, Delaware County Daily Times
POSTED: 06/01/14

Three local Roman Catholic churches will be closing July 1 reducing the number of Delaware County parishes to 38 according to an announcement released Sunday morning by officials in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

Holy Spirit Church in Sharon Hill, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque in the Essington section of Tinicum and Notre Dame de Lourdes in Ridley Township have been directed by Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput on the recommendation of his Archdiocesan Strategic Planning Committee, to close their doors at the end of the month.

His announcement follows “self-studies” of “Parish Planning Area 310” and “Parish Planning Area 300” commenced last September as part of the archdiocese’s Parish Planning Initiative to ensure sustainability proposed by former Philadelphia archbishop, Cardinal Justin Rigali, for the 5-county archdiocese in 2010.

Holy Spirit parishioners have been directed to attend St. George Church in Glenolden, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque members have been directed to St. Gabriel Church in Norwood and Notre Dame de Lourdes parishioners have been instructed to attend Our Lady of Peace Church in the Milmont Park section of Ridley Township. …

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia

[with information on the parishes]

June 1, 2014

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia announced today that Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap. has reviewed recommendations of the Archdiocesan Strategic Planning Committee and made decisions to merge parishes in the City of Philadelphia as well as Delaware, Montgomery and Bucks Counties.

In the Fall of 2010, a pastoral letter was issued to parishioners throughout the Archdiocese. It outlined the necessity of an in-depth examination of all parishes in order to gauge whether they possessed the necessary resources to remain vibrant and sustainable faith communities. This process, known as Parish Area Pastoral Planning, is designed to be as collaborative and consultative as possible. Its goal is to provide pastors, after consulting their parish leadership, with the opportunity to dialogue with members of the Archdiocesan Strategic Planning Committee in providing joint recommendations for parish growth and sustainability within their respective geographic areas.

During the process additional steps are taken to be as inclusive as possible. In the majority of cases, the regional bishop and the dean meet with the pastors as well as their pastoral and finance councils to hear their concerns and receive their recommendations which are brought before the Archdiocesan Strategic Planning Committee, the Council of Priests and the College of Consultors for their observations and recommendations. Input and consultation from all of these groups is provided to the Archbishop.

The mergers being announced today are due to a number of factors including a shift in Catholic population, a high density of parishes in a small area, as well as declines in Mass attendance, Sacramental activity, the availability of priests to staff parishes, and a review of facilities.

In each instance of a merger, parishioners will attend daily and Sunday Mass at the church of the newly formed parish. The church(es) of the former parish(es) will become a worship site(es). Worship sites will be utilized for weddings, funerals and feast days, as well as traditional and ethnic devotions. Sunday Mass may also be celebrated at worship sites at the discretion of the pastor and the newly formed pastoral council and depending upon the availability of clergy.

Additionally, all parish property, assets and debts of any former parish will be assumed by the newly formed parish, which will also be responsible for the care of all sacramental records. The pastors from the merging parishes will form a transitional team made up of lay leaders from each of the merging parishes to assist in moving forward with forming the new parish community. The Archdiocese will provide ongoing guidance and support during the transition process.

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

UNITED STATES
Psychology Today

Published on April 20, 2014 by Joe Navarro, M.A. in Spycatcher

The eye-catching headline read, “Which Professions Have The Most Psychopaths?” (The Week, October 30, 2013) What ensued was quite a dialogue on the internet, as everyone seemed to have their own favorite picks or a personal horror story. The article stimulated debate, but unfortunately did not add clarity to a worthy subject. And that subject is: Why would a so-called “psychopath” be found in greater numbers in one profession versus another?

According to the article, CEO positions attract the most psychopaths. Perhaps so, if one considers the history of Enron, Bernard Madoff, and movies such as “The Wolf of Wall Street” (2013). But the one career that caught my eye, and that 30 years ago probably would have escaped me, is that of the clergy (8th in line behind law enforcement, according to the article). I say 30 years ago because prior to the revelations relating to Catholic priests abusing children, one would not think of predators going into the clergy, yet that is a reality. Which begs the question, why a so-called “psychopath” would be attracted to the clergy? As it turns out, there are good reasons for this; that predators understand all too well—but first some caveats.

Unfortunately, the term psychopath is bandied about too much, making things murkier. There is a huge difference between a psychopath as defined by Robert Hare, a sociopath, someone with antisocial personality disorder, someone with conduct disorder, an aggressive narcissist, or someone with dissocial personality disorder. Unfortunately most people, even many clinicians, don’t differentiate, and we should. Too often these terms are lumped together, as in the above captioned article, and that can be confusing. There are distinctions between all these terms, and so rather than use this vague and overused term (psychopath), I will call these individuals predators, which encompasses all of the above noted disorders and pathologies.

I should also note that I am not writing this article to criticize any particular religion, because any religious group, as history has taught us, can be taken advantage of by predators or malignant zealots. Rather, it is an analysis of why predators would choose to imbed themselves within a religious organization or seek to be part of the clergy—so that we can be more aware in order to protect our loved ones and ourselves. Knowing what we do now, it is fitting that we examine predators among the clergy and how they would use their office or a religious organization to take advantage of others.

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.

NEDERLAND
Limburgs Dagblad

[Summary: Bishop Frans Wiertz through his vicar-general has apologized to all victims of sexual abuse and asked for forgiveness. The vicar-general said during a mass that Pastor Jac Steeghs, who abused children between 1980 and 1981 while working is Ospel, died in a 1991 car accident and was likely a suicide.]

Van onze verslaggever
Ospel

Schnackers deed dat tijdens een mis vanwege het 150-jarig jubileum van de parochie in Ospel. Volgens hem was er sprake van ‘ernstig seksueel misbruik’. Namens bisschop Frans Wiertz bood hij alle slachtoffers excuses aan en vroeg hij om vergeving.

Schnackers riep slachtoffers op zich te melden bij het meldpunt misbruik in Utrecht of bij het bisdom Roermond. De vicaris-generaal noemde tijdens de mis de naam van de bewuste pastoor niet. Voor de aanwezigen was duidelijk dat er verwezen werd naar Steeghs. Pastoor Steeghs was tussen 1980 en 1991 werkzaam in Ospel. In die periode zou hij verschillende kinderen hebben misbruikt. Hij overleed in 1991 bij een auto-ongeluk. Het ging daarbij volgens het bisdom ‘zeer waarschijnlijk’ om zelfmoord.

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.

MEXICO
El Diario

El Universal

San Luis Potosí— La Procuraduría de Justicia del estado recibió la segunda denuncia penal de 19 víctimas en contra del sacerdote Eduardo Córdova Bautista por los delitos de abuso sexual, corrupción de menores y privación ilegal de la libertad, en la que además acusan de “encubrimiento” a la Arquidiócesis de San Luis Potosí.

La agente del Ministerio Público Angélica Mendoza Muñoz inició la averiguación previa número 289/V/2014, que contiene declaraciones de víctimas, testigos y documentos como prueba de que los agraviados habían denunciado al clérigo Córdova Bautista ante el Arzobispado.

En las dos denuncias formales que ha recibido el Ministerio Público suman 20 víctimas de abuso sexual, una de estas es la que formuló el Tribunal Eclesiástico de la Arquidiócesis de San Luis Potosí y las otras 19 de la denuncia por escrito que recibió el viernes la fiscalía.

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MEXICO
Buffalo News

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Nineteen people have filed a criminal complaint alleging they were sexually abused by a now-suspended Mexican priest, and allege his archdiocese covered up the allegations for years.

The complaint was filed Friday with prosecutors in the central Mexican state of San Luis Potosi, where priest Eduardo Cordova had recently served as the archdiocese’s legal representative.

Mexico’s Roman Catholic Church announced on Tuesday that the Vatican had stripped Cordova of his clerical functions after investigations into allegations of the sexual abuse of a 16-year-old in 2012.

The allegations emerged in public in April when former priest Alberto Athie, who had long campaigned for recognition of the sex crimes of Legion of Christ founder Marcial Maciel, appeared on MVS radio in Mexico City and said there was evidence of scores of cases involving Cordova.

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

DEUTSCHLAND
kath.net

[Summary: Did Pope Francis intervened directly in Freiburg Bishop choice? The Frankfurter Allgemeine said the pope chose Stephan Burger as new bishop and he was not a choice of the canons who prepared a selection list.]

„Frankfurter Allgemeine“: „Dem Vernehmen nach fanden die Domkapitulare bei ihrer Auswahl aus der vom Papst vorgegebenen Dreierliste keinen der Namen mehr vor, die sie selbst zunächst vorgeschlagen hatten.“

Freiburg (kath.net/pl) Die Berufung des Freiburger Offizials Stephan Burger (Foto) zum neuen Erzbischof kam für viele höchst unerwartet. Nun berichtete die „Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung“ (FAZ): „Dem Vernehmen nach fanden die Domkapitulare bei ihrer Auswahl aus der vom Papst vorgegebenen Dreierliste keinen der Namen mehr vor, die sie selbst zunächst vorgeschlagen hatten. Mithin setzte sich der Papst offenbar über die Wünsche aus Freiburg hinweg.“

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

DEUTSCHLAND
Zeit

[Summary: Before the end of the Catholic conference in Regensburg the We Are Church organization said it is good that there is more dialogue on contentious issues. Christian Weisner, spokesman, said the dialogue has been missing for a long time.]

Regensburg (dpa) – Vor dem Ende des Katholikentages in Regensburg hat die kritische Initiative “Wir sind Kirche” eine gemischte Bilanz des Laientreffens gezogen. Natürlich sei es gut, dass es mehr Dialog auch über strittige Themen gebe, sagte Sprecher Christian Weisner der dpa. “Das hat lange gefehlt.” Allerdings wachse die Ungeduld vieler Gläubiger, die Veränderungen erwarteten. Es reiche nicht aus, nur über den Aufbruch zu reden. So müssten die deutschen Bischöfe Lösungen finden für wiederverheiratete Geschiedene, die derzeit nicht an der Kommunion teilnehmen dürfen. Der Katholikentag endet heute.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Mittelbayerische

[Summary: It is a story which turns the stomach. But it’s a true story that from Ebba Hagenberg-Miliu read from the podium in Regensburg and making it clear why we must speaking out about the sexual abuse scandal. Hagenberg-Milius read the story from a first-person perspective as he remember his school days at the Bonn Aloisiuskolleg and how he and his two brothers were deprived on their childhood.]

VON PASCAL DURAIN, MZ

REGENSBURG. Es ist eine Geschichte, die erschüttert, bei der sich der Magen umdreht, bei der ihre Zuhörer in der Dreieinigkeitskirche fast ungläubig mit dem Kopf schütteln – aber es ist eine wahre Geschichte, die Dr. Ebba Hagenberg-Miliu vom Podium in Regensburg aus vorliest, und die klarmacht, warum über den Missbrauchsskandal weiter gesprochen werden muss.

Hagenberg-Miliu liest die Geschichte eines Mannes aus der Ich-Perspektive vor, der sich an seine Schulzeit am Bonner Aloisiuskolleg erinnert und wie er und seine zwei Brüder dort ihrer Kindheit beraubt wurden. Die Details der Vergewaltigung spart die Vorleserin aus, sie zitiert nur nur: „Abends Sperma, morgens der Leib Christi.“ Viele der knapp 80 Besucher zucken zusammen. Die Journalistin Hagenberg-Miliu könnte noch andere solcher Geschichten erzählen, die gebe es auch aus Regensburg, stattdessen aber mahnt sie an, dass jeder dieser Fälle restlos aufgeklärt werden müsse.

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

DEUTSCHLAND
Mittelbayerische

[Summary: Survivors of clergy sexual abuse have criticized the German Catholic Church’s response to the scandal.]

REGENSBURG. Regensburg. „Wir hatten so einen Missbraucher bei uns in der Pfarrei“, sprudelt es plötzlich aus Meggy Wagner heraus. Sie hat einen roten Schal der Katholischen Frauengemeinschaft Deutschlands umgebunden und erzählt, dass sie aus dem Bistum Trier, genauer aus Saarbrücken zum Katholikentag gekommen ist. Wagner ringt zunächst um Worte, weil sie kaum beschreiben kann, welche Verheerungen ein sexueller Missbrauch anrichtet, wie groß der Schock ist. Dann fließen die Sätze aus ihr heraus. Es ist zu spüren, dass sich da etwas angestaut hat und dass sie möchte, dass über das Thema sexueller Missbrauch in der Kirche öffentlich gesprochen wird.

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CONNECTICUT
Shelton Herald

By Linda Hvizdo on June 1, 2014

I, along with many other parishioners of St. Margaret Mary Church in Shelton, feel the forced resignation and public flogging of Father John Stronkowski is unfair and unacceptable.

Why? First of all, the parishioners were given limited information on why he was forcefully removed while the rest of the story was broadcast in the local media.

Prior to Mass, we were read a letter from the Bishop Caggiano, and instructed not to comment. No comments allowed? The very people who support the church are not allowed to question or comment, to get the real truth?

Has done much for the parish

I have asked countless fellow parishioners and not one can understand why he is accused of not carrying on his ministerial duties as he has done more for our parish than any priest we can remember in over 30 years.

Father John is being chastised for not living at the rectory. Where does the Pope live? He is also being accused of having growing difficulties with the staff because he fired two of them. Why did he fire them? Perhaps it was necessary?

He supposedly had difficulties with “lay leaders.” Who are these people? I cannot find anyone to say anything other than how happy they are with his performance.

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AUSTRALIA
Newcastle Herald

By JASON GORDON June 1, 2014

THE Police Association of NSW has welcomed the findings of the Special Commission of Inquiry, saying it vindicated Hunter police and the force’s integrity.

Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione and Police Minister Stuart Ayres are yet to comment on the report handed down by commissioner Margaret Cunneen on Friday, but association president Scott Weber offered his support to police yesterday.

‘‘The Police Association of NSW is pleased that the special commission has found that officers tasked to investigate the allegations of child sexual abuse allegations in the Catholic Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle have been totally vindicated and their integrity remains intact,’’ Mr Weber said.

‘‘In our view their honesty was never in question and they continue to do a great job protecting the most vulnerable in our society.

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AUSTRALIA
Newcastle Herald

By JASON GORDON June 1, 2014

VICTIMS of sexual abuse by Hunter-based clergy say they are bewildered that only one senior church figure has been recommended for possible prosecution.

The Special Commission of Inquiry on Friday made adverse findings against at least six senior members of the Maitland-Newcastle Catholic Diocese, but only one as-yet-unnamed figure has been referred to the Department of Public Prosecutions.

Many victims spoken to by the Newcastle Herald echoed the sentiments of one yesterday who said: ‘‘The evidence that the Church knew about [Father Denis] McAlinden for so long is there in black and white.

‘‘Senior clergy went to great lengths to not only cover it up, but protect his name and the Church’s name. It’s all right there in the findings. So why aren’t they all being referred to the DPP?’’

In many ways, commissioner Margaret Cunneen SC was restricted by the complex laws which relate to the concealment of serious offences. Also, much of the evidence her inquiry revealed in relation to concealment matters within the diocese are historic in nature.

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AUSTRALIA
Maitland Mercury

By Andrew Parkinson June 1, 2014

Bishop Bill Wright will provide the Maitland-Newcastle Catholic Diocese response to the Special Commission of Inquiry’s damning findings into the alleged cover-up of child sexual abuse in the Hunter Region tomorrow morning.

Commissioner Margaret Cunneen SC handed down her findings on Friday and determined that a number of senior Catholic clergy intentionally misled investigations and were unreliable witnesses.

Three of the four volumes of the report were made public on Friday.

Ms Cunneen said the fourth volume remained confidential in order to protect potential future criminal proceedings or until a decision had been made that they should not proceed.

Monsignor Allan Hart, Father William Burston and former Newcastle Catholic bishop Michael Malone all came under fire in the report.

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DEUTSCHLAND
kathnews

Ein Kommentar von Dr. iur. can. Gero P. Weishaupt.

Der Trierer Bischof Stephan Ackermann sprach sich auf dem Katholikentag in Regensburg gegen eine starre Nulltoleranz bei der kirchlichen Bestrafung von Missbrauchstätern aus. Sie hätten wie alle Straftäter einen Anspruch auf ein gerechtes Urteil, sagte der Missbrauchsbeauftragte der Deutschen Bischofskonferenz laut Medien gestern in Regensburg.

Nicht öffentliche Meinung, sondern Wahrheit und Gerechtigkeit
Dem Trierer Bischof ist mit seiner Forderung vollends zuzustimmen. Was sich in den vergangenen Jahren im strafprozesslichen Umgang der Kirche mit Verdächtigen und Tätern des sexuellen Missbrauchs zugetragen hat, wirft im Blick auf die Gerechtigkeit Fragen auf. Es hat zuweilen den Anschein, als ob die Bischöfe bzw. ihre Behörden unter dem Druck der Medien und der Öffentlichkeit Rechtsprinzipien nicht die ihnen gebührende Beachtung zukommen

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NEDERLAND
de Gelderlander

[Summary: The car accident in which pastor Jac Steeghs died on Jan. 2, 1991 was almost certainly a suicide, according to the Roermond diocese. The priest was to report to police after the father of a boy filed a complaint alleging the priest had abused the boy.]

OSPEL/ROERMOND – Het auto-ongeluk waarbij de Ospelse pastoor Jac Steeghs op 2 januari 1991 om het leven kwam, is zo goed als zeker een geval van zelfmoord. Daar gaat het bisdom Roermond van uit.

De pastoor moest zich op die dag melden bij de politie, nadat eind 1990 de vader van een jongen die door Steeghs werd misbruikt naar het kerkbestuur en de politie was gestapt. “Alles wijst erop dat het misbruik een rol heeft gespeeld”, zegt de bisdomwoordvoerder over Steeghs’ dood.

In Ospel gaan al jaren geruchten over het kindermisbruik dat Steeghs tussen 1980 en 1991 zou hebben gepleegd. Het bisdom heeft inmiddels 1 slachtoffer erkend.

Vicaris-generaal Hub Schnackers van het bisdom Roermond biedt komende zondag in Ospel excuses aan voor het kindermisbruik. Daarnaast roept Schnackers slachtoffers van Steeghs op zich alsnog te melden.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Delco Times

June 1, 2014

Dear Friends in Christ,

This weekend as we celebrate the Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we are reminded of the joy and grace bestowed upon Mary and Elizabeth for placing their trust in the Lord and obeying His will in all things. May we be inspired by their example as we continue the work of building vital parishes for the future where spiritual fulfillment and pastoral care will be provided for generations yet to come.

In the Fall of 2010, a pastoral letter was issued to parishioners throughout the Archdiocese. It outlined the necessity of an in-depth examination of all parishes in order to gauge whether they possessed the necessary resources to remain vibrant and sustainable faith communities. This process, known as Parish Area Pastoral Planning, is designed to be as collaborative and consultative as possible. Its goal is to provide pastors, after consulting with their parish leadership, with the opportunity to dialogue with members of the Archdiocesan Strategic Planning Committee in providing joint recommendations to the Archbishop for growth and sustainability within their respective geographic areas.

During the process additional steps are taken to be as inclusive as possible. In the majority of cases, the regional bishop and the dean meet with the pastors as well as their pastoral and finance councils to hear their concerns and receive their recommendations. Additionally, the recommendations of all parish mergers are brought before the Council of Priests and the College of Consultors by the Archdiocesan Strategic Planning Committee for their observations and recommendations.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
NBC 10

[with video]

[with list of parishes]

Many Catholics attending services throughout the region this weekend are learning the fate of their parish’s future as priests revealed which churches the Archdiocese of Philadelphia will close.

Earlier this week it emerged that Notre Dame de Lourdes in Swarthmore would close, a rumor that was confirmed to parishoners Saturday. The church will close June 30.

“We’s been here for almost 38 years,” said Laura Peterson. “So I’ve watched my children grow here and be baptized here and be married here!”

Rock Star Welcome For Local Marine
The parish will merge with Our Lady of Peace, which is located in nearby Milmont Park.

As Notre Dame’s faithful are coming to terms with the Archdiocese’s decision, many others in the area have yet to find out what the future holds for their parish.

A committee — made up of lay persons, priests and Archdiocesan personnel — presented Archbishop Charles Chaput with three possible recommendations for each parish: to merge, to complete additional evaluations in the future or maintain their current structure and develop a plan for long-term sustainability.

NBC10 will continue to update the determinations of the self-study as the results are revealed.

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NEW YORK
CNYcentral

by Michael Benny
Posted: 05.21.2014

SYRACUSE — Father Robert Ours, 65, who retired from the priesthood after most working at a parish outside Binghamton has been indicted and was arraigned on charges relating to possession of child pornography. Ours is charged with six counts of possessing a sexual performance by a child. In responding to the charge against Ours, the Syracuse Catholic Diocese was not specific about the allegations.

The diocese does say it contacted Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick, “once it learned of Father Ours’ actions.” Reports indicate Ours has been living at the Tommy Coyne Residence for Priests, at 714 Brighton Avenue, Syracuse.

The diocese says it remains committed and vigilant to its child and youth protection efforts.

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IRELAND
Irish Independent

EMER O’KELLY – PUBLISHED 01 JUNE 2014

IT IS exactly five years since the Ryan report into the residential institutional abuse of children was published. When he presented his report, Mr Justice Sean Ryan said categorically that the State authorities had been systematically and continuously “submissive and deferential” to the religious orders which ran the hellholes that were industrial schools (and also the Magdalene laundries, although they were not included in the scope of the report).

When his commission of enquiry had originally been set up, it had been headed by Ms Justice Mary Laffoy; she resigned in despair because she found herself faced with a brick wall in attempting to get co-operation from the religious orders involved.

Judge Ryan stuck with it; and he gave us a report which proved in the face of every attempt at denial and justification, that children were denied their rights, denied an education, physically abused, frequently sexually abused, half-starved, and terrorised. Thirty five-thousand children were committed to industrial schools over the years.

When the Ryan report was published, Brother Kevin Mullan, the head of the Christian Brothers in Ireland, one of the orders indicted, said he and his people would continue to co-operate with “those seeking to explore” what had happened. But the exploration would not include the naming of the individual members of the order who were responsible for the inhumanity. The Irish State had, after all, guaranteed them protection and anonymity.

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MASSACHUSETTS
The Jewish Daily Forward

By Paul Berger
Published May 28, 2014, issue of June 06, 2014.

SHARON, MASS. — Rabbi Miriam Spitzer did not have to mention him by name.

The class of sixth graders at Temple Israel, in Sharon, Massachusetts, knew exactly whom Spitzer was thinking of when she dedicated that day’s lesson to Elisha ben Abuyah, a revered rabbi who became a heretic.

“The lesson was that the Torah taught [by Abuyah] was still Torah,” Spitzer said. “What we learned from somebody who left the fold or was flawed is still good Torah.”

Spitzer taught the class days after the shock resignation of Rabbi Barry Starr, a hugely popular Conservative spiritual leader in this verdant suburb of pastel-colored clapboard houses.

Starr, a former president of the Massachusetts Board of Rabbis, sent an email to congregants on May 6 explaining that he was stepping down immediately after 28 years, “with great remorse and deep regret,” after engaging in “marital infidelity and other serious personal conduct.”

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MASSACHUSETTS
The Jewish Daily Forward

By Adena Cohen-Bearak

I don’t know Rabbi Barry Starr personally, but I don’t like at how he is being vilified in the media, most recently in an article in The Forward with the lurid headline “When a Good Rabbi Goes Bad.”

We still don’t know all the facts in this case, and we’ve already found this man guilty in the court of public opinion. I also think there is an important aspect to this case that hasn’t been adequately addressed: the issue of shame.

When I taught sex education way back in the mid-1980s, it was popular when talking about sexuality to describe a continuum of sexuality, also known as the Kinsey Scale. If you imagine a horizontal line, with the words “completely heterosexual” on one end and “completely homosexual” on the other, and then imagine gradations in the middle, you get the idea of the continuum.

The notion was to get people to think about sexuality not as black and white — completely straight or completely gay — but as something that had lots of grays. For example, it is possibly to be sexually attracted to people of your own gender yet not “be gay.” It is possible to identify as gay but also have some sexual attraction to people of the opposite sex. There are lots of variations in-between, and it’s all okay and normal.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Delaware County Daily Times

[with video]

By Kathleen Carey, Delaware County Daily Times
POSTED: 05/31/14

Two Catholic congregations filled their pews Saturday evening and learned of their parishes’ demises as one grappled with confusion and frustration and the other hung onto hope.

At the 4 p.m. Mass, the Rev. Anthony Orth, pastor of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque Parish announced that his parish would be merging with St. Gabriel Parish in Norwood. At a Mass beginning an hour and 15 minutes later, the Rev. Karl Zeuner, pastor of Notre Dame de Lourdes Church in Ridley Township, shared that his parish would be merging with Our Lady of Peace, also in Ridley Township.

These changes are effective July 1 as the result of the ongoing Parish Area Pastoral Planning evaluations taking place throughout the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and are based on various factors including population shifts, high parish densities in small areas, declines in Mass attendance, Sacramental activity and availability of priests.

Since the process began in 2010, 30 parishes have been closed. The entire process is expected to take five to eight years.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

[map}

HAROLD BRUBAKER, BEN FINLEY, AND ERIN MCCARTHY, INQUIRER STAFF WRITERS
LAST UPDATED: Sunday, June 1, 2014

Merging one parish into another is “like someone dying or losing a child,” Father Salvatore Pronesti said during Saturday afternoon Mass at Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Bridgeport.

“A mother, actually,” he continued, referring to the namesake of the Montgomery County parish he has led for 20 years, only to see it become part of Sacred Heart Parish in Swedesburg.

Still, he hopes for the best.

“You must pull together and try to form this united parish,” Pronesti said. “It’s critical for our spiritual lives. . . . The buildings, yes, we like them. But the buildings don’t make the parish. The parish makes the buildings.”

The scene at Our Lady of Mount Carmel was repeated Saturday afternoon at 46 of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s 235 parishes.

In all, The Inquirer has learned, the church decided to close 16 parishes, merging them with 13 neighboring parishes. The status of the remaining 17 parishes will not change. This will leave the archdiocese with 219 parishes, down from 266 in 2010, when it launched a systemic push to review and downsize its facilities.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
WPVI

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — The Archdiocese of Philadelphia has announced that 29 more parishes will be consolidated down into 13.

While the changes are not a surprise for everyone, it’s still a painful reality for many Catholics across the region.

“Oh it’s killing me. It’s killing me,” said RoseAnn VanSickle.

VanSickle of Swarthmore is responding to news that her parish – Notre Dame de Lourdes, will merge with Our Lady of Peace in Milmonth Park.

VanSickle says, in her opinion, it’s an injustice.

“I’m actually very, very angry that they’re doing this, especially for me watching it grow from absolutely nothing to the church that I’ve been a part of all my life,” she said.

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AUSTRALIA
Herald Sun

ANDREW BOLT HERALD SUN JUNE 02, 2014

WE must stop this vindictive witch-hunting, and Detective Chief Inspector Peter Fox is just the zealot to warn us why.

Fox triggered a royal commission after telling the ABC’s Lateline in 2012 that paedophile Catholic priests were being protected.

He claimed a Catholic mafia in NSW Police had rigged “sham” investigations into Hunter Valley priests that were “set up to fail”.

Alarm bells should have rung, not least because Fox’s claim was so improbable.

As I noted after his second interview to Lateline a week later, there was also something too gleeful about Fox’s denunciations of Catholics generally and Cardinal George Pell, particularly.

Three times Fox denigrated the cardinal as “Mr Pell” and he mocked his church’s “antiquated rules”.

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AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald

June 2, 2014

Joanne McCarthy, Jason Gordon

A paedophile priest victim, whose evidence at the NSW Special Commission of Inquiry reduced people to tears, is ”hurt” and ”disappointed” by findings he says lack balance about Detective Chief Inspector Peter Fox and what he represents for child sexual abuse victims.

”I gave evidence to give a balanced view on what Peter has done,” said Daniel Feenan of Maitland. ”I hoped it would be reflected in the findings and it hasn’t been, which is why I’m speaking now.”

Mr Feenan’s statements to Detective Fox in 2003 led to the conviction of paedophile priest Jim Fletcher, one of two priests who were the subject of the inquiry.

”Peter needed to be made to account for what he put out there, but knowing the man, the reasoning behind what he did, I’ve got nothing but admiration for him,” Mr Feenan said. ”He was the shock we needed to get a commission.”

Commissioner Margaret Cunneen, SC, found the church first knew about Fletcher’s offending in 1976, the year Mr Feenan was born.

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OHIO
The Chronicle-Telegram

Filed on May 30, 2014 by Anna Merriman

ELYRIA — A prominent Westlake pastor has been indicted on multiple counts of molesting a child as far back as 2005.

Paul Endrei, 53, who lives in Avon, has been indicted on two counts of sexual battery and four counts of gross sexual imposition by a Lorain County grand jury.

Endrei is the pastor of Church on the Rise, a Christian church in Westlake which is called, “a church for the whole family,” according to its website.

The indictment states the molestation dates back to 2005 when Endrei allegedly had sexual contact with a child under 13 years old. The molestation also occurred in 2006, 2009, 2010 and 2013, according to the indictment.

He also is accused of having sexual relations with the girl in 2010 while he was in a position of authority over her, according to the indictment.

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AUSTRALIA
The Guardian (UK)

Australian Associated Press
theguardian.com, Saturday 31 May 2014

Evidence by a whistleblower, Peter Fox, about the alleged cover-up of child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church’s Maitland-Newcastle diocese should be investigated by the federal royal commission, the NSW Greens and survivor advocates say.

The NSW special commission of inquiry found that Detective Inspector Fox, who made allegations of a cover-up, was an unsatisfactory witness.

A small band of Fox’s supporters, who are challenging the inquiry’s findings, including abuse survivors’ families, rallied outside NSW Parliament House on Saturday.

The four-volume report, delivered on Friday, uncovered no evidence to show that senior police officers had tried to block investigations into child abuse.

It found that Fox was not a credible witness and it was appropriate for police to instruct him to cease his own investigations.

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VERMONT
Rutland Herald

By Kevin O’Connor
Staff Writer | June 01,2014

When Vermont’s Catholic Church settled the last of a string of priest misconduct lawsuits a year ago, the final numbers — some 40 child sexual abuse cases in a near-bankrupting 11-year court saga — were immense.

And, until now, incomplete.

The last 12 plaintiffs to file claims against the statewide Roman Catholic Diocese resolved their civil cases in a January 2013 blanket settlement that lacked any public financial figures.

“The diocese has asked us not to specify the amount and we have agreed,” Burlington lawyer Jerome O’Neill, representing all but two of dozens of plaintiffs over the years, said at the time.

But in his new memoir, Dan Gilman of Rutland — who faced repeated abuse as a teenager while he was hospitalized for a paralyzing diving accident — reports the combined 2013 blanket settlement for the final dozen cases to be $6,750,000, with “each claimant’s amount to be decided by a special arbitrator.”

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WORCESTER (MA)
Telegram & Gazette

By Bronislaus B. Kush TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
bkush@telegram.com

WORCESTER — On March 3, 2004, Providence Auxiliary Bishop Robert Joseph McManus received a five paragraph letter from Archbishop Gabriel Montalvo — the Vatican’s apostolic nuncio to the United States — informing him that Pope John Paul II had formally decided to appoint him as Worcester’s fifth bishop.

The short note, which requested that Bishop McManus keep the matter confidential until the news was officially released six days later, confirmed a telephone conversation the two men had had two days earlier.

Though it’s a very special honor for a priest to be named chief shepherd of a diocese, it wasn’t the best of times to become a new bishop in the United States.

The clergy-abuse scandal was consuming the American church and Worcester was one of the dioceses at the heart of the controversy. …

Ten years after assuming the reins, Bishop McManus is generally credited with placing the local church on a solid financial footing, launching a major reorganization plan to cope with the shortage of clergymen, boosting interest in vocations, and getting lay and religious leaders to be more attentive to the spiritual needs of parishioners.

Recognizing that the sexual abuse crisis will haunt the church for years, Bishop McManus has also warned chancery officials and pastors to be continually on the watch for sexual predators.

While he said he believes the diocese is generally in good shape, the 62-year-old prelate said there are still many challenges to be undertaken including wooing back alienated worshippers and dealing with a tide of new immigrants.

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SOUTH AFRICA
Sunday Independent

June 1 2014
By Pinky Khoabane

Will Pope Francis now step up to the plate and decisively deal with the issue of the clergy’s sexual abuse, asks Pinky Khoabane.

As Pope Francis prepares to meet victims of sexual abuse by clergy, will he concede that the notion of abstinence has failed, and even more importantly, demand that priests facing accusations of sexual abuse be handed over to the law?

During a flight from Jerusalem last week, Francis announced he would be meeting with sexual abuse victims at the Vatican and declared the act of priests’ molestation of children equivalent to “a satanic mass”.

This meeting would be the first of this sort since the pope’s election in March last year.

Francis is quoted as saying “sexual abuse is such an ugly crime… because a priest who does this betrays the body of the Lord. It is like a satanic mass”.

Enough already!

By now victims and whistle-blowers of the Roman Catholic’s sexual scandals – details of which have exploded in the last 15 years or so – could do with more action and less of the emotive descriptions of what are plain unlawful acts which ought to be handed to law enforcement for prosecution.

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CANADA
Winnipeg Free Press

A pastor from a church in Gretna was arrested by RCMP last Saturday and is facing numerous charges of voyeurism, production of child pornography and possessing child pornography.

The RCMP said charges to the 34-year-old man came after two female youths had found a mobile device in a washroom at a Moose Lake Provincial Park residence at which they were staying in the summer of 2012.

Still images and video of the two youths, who are from the RM of Rhineland, were discovered. A report to the RCMP was not made until December 2013 so a criminal investigation began at that time.

Police said the man “took advantage of his role in the community to access potential victims” and that there are multiple victims.

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MEXICO
Pulso

]Summary: Residents of Ojocaliente in Santa Maria del Rio are surprised and concerned by disappearance of their parish priest, Francisco Javier, who is publicly identified as sexually abusing a minor in 2012. On a visit to Sacred Heart parish, where the priests has ministered since Jan. 11, 2013, two secretaries in charge of the office said they could not say or specify when or from where he traveled.]

Habitantes de la comunidad de Ojocaliente, en Santa María del Río, se hallan sorprendidos y preocupados por la virtual desaparición del sacerdote Francisco Javier, párroco del lugar, quien es señalado públicamente como responsable de cometer abuso sexual en contra de un menor de edad durante el año 2012.

En una visita realizada ayer al templo del Sagrado Corazón, donde el sacerdote ha ejercido su ministerio desde el 11 de enero del 2013, no fue posible ubicarlo. Las dos secretarias encargadas de la oficina sólo informaron que el religioso “se halla de viaje”, pero no precisaron desde cuándo o hacia dónde viajó. Añadieron que actualmente hay otra persona cubriendo las obligaciones de la parroquia, el sacerdote Víctor Javier Morales Soldevilla.

Por su parte, Julio Torres Cano, juez auxiliar primero del lugar, informó que el pasado sábado 24 fue el último día que tuvo contacto con el padre Francisco Javier. “Ese día anduvo con nosotros repartiendo casa por casa los programas de la fiesta que tendremos el 30 de junio. Ahora no sabemos de él y no podemos entender cómo o por qué lo están acusando”.

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AUSTRIA
Association of Catholic Priests (Ireland)

Statement of the Austrian Pastors’ Intitiative on the Excommunication of Martha and Gert Heizer

We, the Austrian Pastors’ Initiative, are deeply concerned about the actions the Church’s leadership has taken against Martha and Gert Heizer. The Excommunication was levied against two Church members who have worked for the reform of our Church with great passion, commitment, and energy. This decision is a fatal signal for all who are hoping, together with Pope Francis, for a kind Church that is close to the people. What kind of signal is being sent by a Church that punishes the perpetrators of sexual abuse among its ranks less severely than Church members who, by the way they practice their faith, express their great sufferings at the fringes of the Church’s existing set of rules?

The opinions may differ about the step that Martha and Gert Heizer have taken in celebrating the Eucharist without a priest. It may be seen as a prophetic step that points the way to an overall reform of the Church or it may not be seen that way. The Pastors’ Initiative sees Eucharist and priestly office as belonging together – as long as the Church is able to provide priests to its communities, who share peoples’ lives and share their journey of faith. But with present developments in the Church fewer and fewer communities have the option of a Eucharistic celebration on Sundays with an ordained priest being present. Martha and Gert Heizer are touching a sore spot: the Eucharist, the mass, the central celebration of our faith and of life as a community, is becoming increasingly rare due to the shortage of priests. For this reason the church reform movements have advocated for a long time that the priesthood should be open to married men and women and that the with the participation of the citizens of the Church new forms of leading the communities should be developed.

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CALIFORNIA
Missoulian

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) – The Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland is under fire for a new contract clause that requires teachers to conform to church teachings in their private lives.

Some parents, teachers and students worry teachers could be fired for being gay or engaging in behavior the church frowns on, such as having sex outside marriage. Three teachers at Bishop O’Dowd High School in Oakland have refused to sign the new contract, Diocese of Oakland spokesman Mike Brown said this week.

Parents and teachers, additionally, plan to protest at the diocese’s offices on May 30.

The diocese runs more than 50 schools and employs about 1,000 teachers, many of them non-Catholics. Brown told the San Francisco Chronicle earlier this month that the new language is not a witch hunt, but an attempt by Oakland Bishop Michael Barber to be clearer about the contract.

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PHILADELPHIA
CBS Philly

[with video]

By David Madden and Dan Wing

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — The Archdiocese of Philadelphia will decide the fate of 46 parishes this weekend. Whether they will merge with another parish, have no change in structure with a plan for future sustainability, or be tagged for further study. It’s the third, large round of evaluations under the Pastoral Planning Initiative.

Thirty-one parishes have closed since the process began in 2010, with 46 parishes being reviewed in this round of evaluations, which started in September. Kenneth Gavin is a spokesman for the Archdiocese, and he says the process is based on many factors.

“Every aspect of parish life. From sacramental activity, number of baptisms in a parish, number of funerals, number of marriages, looking at the number of registered parishoners, registered households. Looking at financial condition of parishes,” Gavin said.

That information is then run through consultantsbefore being sent to Archbishop Charles Chaput for a final decision. Parishoners will learn the fate of their parish at Saturday Night Mass, and a public announcement will follow on Sunday. Of the 46 parishes up for possible consolidation, the majority are in Bucks, Montgomery, and Delaware Counties.

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NEW ZEALAND
Radio New Zealand

In Australia, a Royal Commission has found the Catholic Church covered up allegations of child sexual abuse against a priest who was sent to work in New Zealand.

Father Denis McAlinden, who is now dead, is known to have abused dozens of young girls in Australia over nearly five decades.

He spent at least six months at a church in Gisborne in the 1960s.

In 2008, the Catholic Church wrote an open letter to Gisborne parishioners about the priest, after a woman came forward saying she’d been abused 24 years earlier.

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AUSTRALIA
Broken Rites

By a Broken Rites researcher

Catholic religious Brothers, who have been operating schools in Australia for more than a century, now deny that they owe a duty of care to protect pupils from sexually-abusive Brothers, according to church lawyers. The lawyers told a Canberra civil court on 4 June 2008 that (unlike lay teachers who are employed on salaries) the Brothers are not, technically, “employees”. Therefore, this would be the Brothers’ defence if their sexual-abuse victims take civil action through the courts to obtain damages.

Catholic religious Brothers in Australia include the Christian Brothers (who arrived from Ireland in 1868), the Marist Brothers (arrived 1872), the De La Salle Brothers (arrived 1906), the Patrician Brothers (arrived 1883) and the St John of Good Brothers (arrived 1947).

The Canberra civil proceedings, in the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory, involved the Marist Brothers. Three former students from Canberra’s Marist College claimed substantial compensation from the Marist Brothers organisation because Brother John William Chute (alias “Brother Kostka”) was openly molesting students in the 1980s and ’90s. In criminal proceedings earlier in 2008, 76-year-old Kostka Chute had pleaded guilty to molesting six teenage boys between 1985 and 1989, during his 18-year stint at Marist College. All of the offences occurred on school premises, and in some cases involved daily abuse over several months. In the criminal proceedings, Kostka pleaded guilty to molesting two of the civil plaintiffs, but the third civil plaintiff did not seek criminal prosecution. In the criminal proceedings, Kostka’s lawyer indicated that Kostka became co-opted into to a culture of sexual abuse while he was training in his teens (in the care of the Marist Brothers) to become a Brother.

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AUSTRALIA
Broken Rites

By a Broken Rites researcher (article updated 30 May 2014)

Marist Brother Gregory Sutton must rank as one of Australia’s most publicised child-sex offenders. Throughout 1996, his name appeared frequently in newspapers. The reports described how police hunted for him in the United States and then extradited him to Australia, where he pleaded guilty to numerous offences against boys and girls in New South Wales.

Broken Rites has ascertained that Brother Gregory Joseph Sutton was born in Australia on 19 March 1951. After his schooling, he became a trainee Marist Brother, living in a Marist residential centre with other Marist trainees, absorbing the Marist culture. It is believed that a second son from the same family also became a Marist Brother.

Until around that time, each new Marist Brother normally discarded his birth-name and adopted a “religious” forename (for example, Fred Smith might become “Brother Alphonsus”). From around Gregory Sutton’s time, the younger Marists started using their birth name (in Sutton’s case, he became “Brother Greg”).

Sutton taught at various Catholic primary schools in New South Wales in the 1970s and 1980s.

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AUSTRALIA
Broken Rites

Australia’s national ch/ild-abuse Royal Commission is investigating how the Catholic order of Marist Brothers have handled allegations of child sexual abuse in Marist schools. At public hearings beginning on 10 June 2014, the focus is on Marist Brothers schools in New South Wales, Queensland and Canberra.

The hearings will focus particularly on how the Marists responded to complaints about two Marist Brothers who worked in Australian Catholic schools:

1. Brother John Chute (also known as “Brother Kostka”).

2. And a former Brother who is being referred to by the Royal Commission as “Brother Z.A.” (The initials “Z.A.” do not refer to this Brother’s real name; these letters are merely a code-name that is being used by the Royal Commission. Broken Rites understands that this Brother’s real name was suppressed, some years ago, in a non-publication order made by a judge in an Australian criminal court case. Perhaps the Royal Commission could apply to this criminal court to have this old non-publication order lifted.)
The Royal Commission’s public hearings will also examine:

* Any steps taken (or not taken) by the Marist authorities to report these allegations to the police.
* The response of government and other agencies to these allegations.
*The settling of compensation claims for victims of Brother Chute and “Brother Z.A.”.

The Royal Commission says:

Any person or institution who believes that they have a direct and substantial interest in the scope and purpose of the public hearing is invited to lodge a written application for leave to appear at the public hearing by 30 May 2014.

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AUSTRALIA
Broken Rites

By a Broken Rites researcher (article updated 30 May 2014)

In June 2014, Australia’s national child-abuse Royal Commission will examine a case study — showing how the Marist Brothers harboured a child-sex criminal (Brother Kostka Chute) for more than 40 years before some of his former pupils finally succeeded in getting him convicted and jailed.

During those 40 years, the Marist Brothers provided Brother Kostka with numerous victims and ignored the danger.

The Marist Brothers appointed Brother Kostka to 12 Catholic schools in Australia between 1952 and 1993, ranging from Lismore in northern New South Wales to Marcellin College in Randwick, Sydney. His final school was Marist College in Canberra and it was some Canberra pupils who brought him to justice in 2008. However, this Canberra court case was confined to crimes committed within the Australian Capital Territory and he was never charged by NSW Police for any incidents that occurred in New South Wales.

Kostka Chute’s background

According to court documents, Kostka Chute (real name John William Chute) was born on 13 June 1932, the youngest of 10 children, along with his twin sister. He grew up in Coraki, a small farming town in northern New South Wales, near the city of Lismore. He attended a local Catholic primary school. When he was about 10 or 11 he was befriended by a Marist brother.

At age 11-12, John Chute left his family to attend a Marist Brothers “juniorate” (a secondary boarding school where boys were preparing to become Brothers) at Mittagong, in the NSW Southern Highlands. It was there — within the Marist Brothers culture — that Chute became introduced to the Marist practice of sexual abuse in his teens, the court was told.

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AUSTRALIA
lewisblayse.net

Support Peter Fox!
RALLY TODAY
10:30 a.m. SYDNEY, o/s PARLIAMENT HOUSE, Martin Place

Yesterday, the NSW Special Commission of Enquiry handed down its final report. The commission of enquiry was established by former NSW Premier, Barry O’Farrell, soon after Detective Chief Inspector Peter Fox came forward in late 2012 expressing concern about how he’d been asked to stand down from an investigation of a possible cover-up of a child abuse case implicating the Catholic Church in the NSW Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle. DCI Fox was concerned about the startlingly high number of child abuse allegations against the Catholic Church in such a small geographical area as the diocese.

DCI Fox first become concerned about possible collusion between some police officers and the Catholic Church as a possible explanation for the problem in 2002. Eventually, after years of behind-the-scenes activity, in frustration at lack of action in dealing with the problems he observed, he took the only recourse available to him: speaking to the media.

He did so out of concern for victims and their families, and for protection of children in the future. Speaking on ABC’s Lateline program in late 2012, DCI Fox said:

“There’s something very wrong when you have so many paedophile priests operating in such a small area for such an extended period of time with immunity.”

During the special commission of enquiry, DCI Fox expressed his lack of trust in some of his police colleagues in handling of abuse cases and claimed that a colleague told him about a “Catholic mafia” operating within the ranks of the Newcastle police.

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NEDERLAND
Nederweert 24

[Summary: During a church service for the 150th anniversary of the parish in Ospel, the vicar general of the Roermond diocese will apologized for child abuse. Pastor Jac Steeghs, who died in 1991 in a car accident, is said to have abused minors from 1980 to 1991. He was on his way to the police station after the father of one victim reported the abuse.]

Tijdens de kerkdienst voor het 150 jarig bestaan van de parochie in Ospel zal Vicaris-generaal Hub Schnackers van het bisdom in Roermond zijn excuses aanbieden voor het kindermisbruik in de jaren tachtig.

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DEUTSCHLAND
KerkNet

[Summary: Those attending the debate on sexual abuse in the Catholic Church being held at Regensburg found much appreciation for the approach to the fight against sexual abuse by Pope Francis. The pope compared abuse to the satanic mass. One victim said at the meeting that he was pleased that the pope wants to listen to the victims.]

BRUSSEL (KerkNet) – Op een druk bijgewoond debat over seksueel misbruik tijdens de Duitse ‘Katholikentag’ in Regensburg was er veel waardering voor de aanpak van de bestrijding van het seksueel misbruik door paus Franciscus. De paus vergeleek het misbruik tijdens zijn terugkeer uit het Heilige Land met satanische missen. Een slachtoffer van misbruik sprak vooral zijn tevredenheid uit over het feit dat deze paus slachtoffers wil beluisteren. Maar tegelijk benadrukte hij dat het luisteren naar slachtoffers niet volstaat. ‘Het misbruik treft niet alleen het slachtoffer, het treft ook anderen. Nog steeds bestaat er een structureel probleem voor bisschoppen en andere kerkelijke verantwoordelijken in de omgang met misbruik. Er is nood aan een perspectiefwissel, die de katholieke Kerk nog niet heeft gemaakt. De angst om met slachtoffers te spreken moet worden overwonnen. De enige manier om dat te overwinnen is elkaar te leren kennen en met elkaar in gesprek te gaan.”

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DEUTSCHLAND
Frankfurter Neue Presse

[Summary: Above the table in the small attic apartment of Manfred K. huddled against the wall are several pictures of angels. The 59-year-old said they are his guardian angels and the only onces in which he has confidence. He was abused by several men in a Catholic-run orphanage.]

Wiesbaden.
Über dem Tisch in der kleinen Dachwohnung von Manfred K. drängen sich an der Wand verschiedene Engelsabbildungen. „Meine Schutzengel“, sagt der 59-Jährige. „Das sind die einzigen, zu denen ich noch Vertrauen habe.“ Die Geschichte, die der Mann danach erzählt, macht deutlich, warum er den Glauben an die Menschen verloren hat. K. ist in seiner Kindheit von mehreren Männern in einem katholisch geführten Kinderheim sexuell missbraucht worden. Als er auf dem besten Wege war, dieses Trauma zu überwinden, stach dem C&A-Verkäufer ein rabiater Ladendieb auf der Flucht ein Messer ins Bein.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Domradio

[Summary: The Catholic Church in Germany has been struggling four years already with the abuse scandal. Suspicion remains. Several hundred people have listened to speakers in Regensburg, including Bishop Stephan Ackermann and Matthias Katsch, a spokesman for the victims association called Round Table.]

Vier Jahre schon ringt die katholische Kirche in Deutschland mit dem Missbrauchsskandal. Auch auf dem Katholikentag in Regensburg stand das Thema wieder auf der Tagesordnung.

Nimmt man die Zahl der Zuhörer als Maßstab, scheint das Thema an Brisanz eingebüßt zu haben. Einige hundert Menschen lauschten in dem nicht ganz gefüllten Kolpingsaal den Ausführungen der bekanntesten Arbeiter auf diesem steinigen Feld. Neben Mertes sind das der Missbrauchsbeauftragte der Bischofskonferenz, Bischof Stephan Ackermann, und Matthias Katsch, Sprecher der Opfervereinigung “Eckiger Tisch”. Auch die Sprecherin der Präventionsbeauftragten der Deutschen Diözesen, Mary Hallay-Witte, und die bayerische Präventionsexpertin Barbara Haslbeck debattierten mit. Die beiden stehen dafür, dass die Vorbeugung neuer Fälle inzwischen in den Vordergrund gerückt ist.

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AUSTRALIA
Border Mail

By NIGEL MCNAY May 30, 2014

RHONDA was 10 when she was sent to St John’s Orphanage in Thurgoona back in the late 1960s.

By the time she left “in the very early 1970s” she had suffered abuse that haunts her to this day.

“Yes, I was sexually abused and physically abused while I was in institutionalised care, which was purely at St John’s,” she said.

Rhonda did not want to go into the detail, saving it for her confidential testimony to the Royal Commission into Child Sexual Abuse.

St John’s might have called itself an orphanage, but few of the 2000-plus girls who passed through its doors from 1882 to 1978 had actually lost both parents.

Instead, many came from broken homes where one parent, usually the father, had deserted the family or died, leaving their partner unable to cope.

Those who lived at the Sisters of Mercy orphanage have told of a hard life in primitive, harsh conditions, where tough discipline was often handed out — for misdemeanours as minor as talking while walking to church.

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CANADA
The Province

Judge wary of proposed two-year sentence for Utah man who came to B.C. to sexually abuse preteen girl (with video)

A B.C. provincial court judge says that a proposed sentence of two years in prison followed by probation for a Utah man who came to B.C. to abuse a preteen girl does not seem long enough.

“That is striking me as pretty light,” Judge Robert Hamilton told Crown Friday during sentencing submissions in the case of Kevin Douglas Knowlton.

Hamilton said a longer prison sentence could be a greater benefit to Knowlton and the community.

“That gives us more time to work on him in the federal penitentiary … and try to correct his deviant way of thinking,” Hamilton said.

Knowlton, a 33-year-old from Salt Lake City, pleaded guilty in March to child luring, sexual interference and making child pornography.

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SOUTH CAROLINA
The State

BY TIM FUNK
The Charlotte Observer
May 31, 2014

Mecklenburg Superior Court Judge Robert Bell plans to rule by June 20 on whether to throw out or clear for possible trial two civil cases against the Catholic Diocese of Charlotte that center on alleged sexual abuse of children by two priests decades ago.

On Friday, attorneys for the diocese asked that the judge dismiss the lawsuits — brought on behalf of four alleged victims — because those bringing them missed the window that state law allows for such cases to be filed.

The alleged incidents of abuse by the Revs. Joseph Kelleher and Richard Farwell happened in the 1970s and 1980s in Charlotte, Albemarle and Salisbury. The lawsuits against the diocese were filed in 2011 and 2012.

“The plaintiffs conducted no investigation (of what happened) for decades,” said Josh Davey, one of two lawyers representing the diocese. “And the diocese didn’t do anything to cause delay (of the filing of the lawsuits).”

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INDIANA
nwi

Valpo substitute teacher, former M’ville pastor charged with sex abuse in Kentucky

VALPARAISO | A local substitute teacher and former minister was arrested Friday morning in Valparaiso on sex abuse charges filed in Louisville, Ky.

Allen L. Lehmann, 75, of Valparaiso, has been charged with seven counts of sexual abuse in the first degree with a victim younger than 12 and two counts of sodomy in the first degree with a victim younger than 12, said Dwight Mitchell, a public information officer with the Louisville Metro Police Department.

Officials with the Jefferson County courts said the indictment was filed Thursday, and Lehmann is scheduled to be arraigned Monday in Jefferson County, Ky.

Lehmann worked locally as a substitute teacher in the Duneland and East Porter County school corporations.

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AUSTRALIA
The Guardian (UK)

Australian Associated Press
theguardian.com, Friday 30 May 2014

Chief whistleblower Peter Fox has been found to be an unsatisfactory witness in a report into an alleged cover-up of child sexual abuse in the Catholic diocese of Maitland-Newcastle.

However, the special commission of inquiry also found that the response by senior church officials into abuse claims made against two Catholic priests, who are both now dead, was ”inexcusable”. The 750-page report also said there is sufficient evidence to warrant the prosecution of a senior church official.

The commission’s four-volume report uncovered no evidence to show that senior police officers had tried to block child abuse investigations.

It also found that Detective Inspector Peter Fox, who alleged that there had been a cover-up, was not a credible witness, and it was appropriate for police to instruct him to stop his own investigations.

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AUSTRALIA
Green Left Weekly

Saturday, May 31, 2014
By Coral Wynter

The Royal Commission into the Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse was set up in January last year, after decades of campaigning by victims.

Led by Justice Peter McClellan, the first public hearings began in April last year and apply only to children sexually abused up to the age of 18. It does not include physical or emotional abuse.

The Commission has so far received 11,900 calls, almost 5000 letters and emails, and has heard 1500 private sessions by victims. Any one individual story is first heard in a private session and after all the evidence is collected, a public hearing occurs as an example of the abuse that occurred in that particular institution.

From these figures, it can be seen that the sexual abuse by institutions in Australia occurred on a large scale. There are estimates that only 10% of all the victims have come forward.

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CALIFORNIA
Cervins Central Coast

This blog is about the happy aspects of traveling to the California Central Coast: Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Monterey. But that doesn’t negate the seriousness of the article I wrote originally for the Santa Barbara News-Press for National Missing Children’s Day. My hope is that any of you who read this, regardless of where you are in the world, will be more aware and attuned to this global problem – our kids who go missing. Please share this information – and be mindful of what is happening in your community. Please.

It’s a sad commentary that we even have a National Missing Children’s Day – May 25th – but we do. Every day in the U.S. approximately 2,300 children under the age of 18 go missing, most voluntary, but many not. It’s estimated that 200,000 children annually are abducted by family members, and 58,000 are abducted by non-family members. The recent kidnapping of over 200 Nigerian girls by Boko Haran has highlighted a staggering problem not only across the globe, but right here in Santa Barbara. Our kids are at risk: from abduction, online predators, and physical sexual abuse which often is the root cause for kids to go missing in the first place.

Tim Hale is a Santa Barbara based attorney with the firm of Nye, Peabody, Stirling, Hale & Miller, LLP who represent victims of childhood sexual abuse in lawsuits against individuals and entities including the Catholic Church, the Boy Scouts, and public and private schools that have either failed to report or have actively tried to cover-up sexual abuse committed by their employees and volunteers. He knows firsthand the devastating effects our kids suffer. “Every child reacts differently – some withdraw and shutdown emotionally, some act with anger, sometimes with inappropriate sexual behavior, sometimes with self-medication through substance abuse,” he says. “Our lawsuits seek not only a monetary recovery for our clients’ injuries, but also the public release of a perpetrator’s personnel file where his employer’s cover-up has allowed him to escape criminal prosecution, rendering him unidentifiable to the public as a threat to children,” says Mr. Hale.

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SOUTH CAROLINA
The Post and Courierh

CHARLESTON – The Reverend Eugene Luke Condon, Jr. passed away peacefully on Saturday, May 24, 2014. He was born in Charleston, South Carolina, September 27, 1929 to Mary Matthews Condon and Eugene Luke Condon. He attended public and parochial elementary schools, Bishop England High School, and the High School of Charleston, the University of South Carolina, St. Bernard Minor Seminary in Cullman, Alabama, and St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore, Maryland. He was ordained to the priesthood on May 26, 1956, by Bishop John J. Russell. He is survived by his sister Mary Condon Schill (Gustave) and sister-in-law Ruby S. Condon.

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SOUTH CAROLINA
WCIV

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) — A former priest was laid to rest this week in Charleston. The funeral was held Wednesday at St. Joseph Catholic Church. Rev. Eugene Condon was 85.

According to a release from the Diocese of Charleston, Condon was ordained in 1956 and retired 40 years later.

Condon was charged in 1996 with sexual molestation, and allegations surfaced again in 2006. In 1999, Condon was convicted of sex crimes, but another alleged victim came forward accusing Condon of inappropriate acts in the 1970s when the child was 13 years old.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

A woman whose son was abused by a paedophile priest, has described a police whistleblower as a man of great integrity.

A Special Commission Of Inquiry was launched after Detective Chief Inspector Peter Fox spoke out about paedophilia within the Catholic Church in the Hunter Valley and cover-ups by the church and police.

The inquiry’s report, tabled yesterday, was damning of Detective Chief Inspector Fox, saying he was not a credible witness and that there was no evidence to show senior police ever tried to stop child abuse offences from being properly investigated.

But Pat Feenan, whose son was abused by Father James Fletcher, says they will always be thankful to Peter Fox.

“Personally I have found Peter Fox to be very credible,” she said.

“On our journey we have found Peter Fox to be a man of great integrity and that stays with our family.”

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ST. LOUIS (MO)
Berger’s Beat

Catholic officials in the Helena diocese are the latest to seek bankruptcy protection in the face of hundreds of child sex abuse cases. Dozens of those cases have been filed by Native Americans who say there were assaulted at St. Ignatius Mission, which was set up in the 1840s by our town’s Father Pierre-Jean De Smet. Meanwhile, Jesuit abuse records that were just posted on Bishop/Accountability.org show another Jesuit child molester, Fr. Michael Toulouse, who spent time at St. Louis University. . .

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ARGENTINA
Elancasti

[Summary: A parish priest in Andalgala was charged with sexually abusing a minor. The complaint was filed earlier this year. The priest, advised by criminal lawyer Victor Garcia, was presented this morning to give his version of events. The preliminary statement was given in secrecy.]

ANDALGALÁ. Un sacerdote de la parroquia de Andalgalá, fue imputado por delitos de abuso sexual que habría cometido en perjuicio de un menor de edad. La denuncia habría sido radicada a principio de este año, según se conoció extraoficialmente.

El religioso, asesorado por el abogado penalista Víctor García, se presentó esta mañana en el edificio de la Fiscalía andalgalense para dar su versión de los hechos, en el marco de una declaración indagatoria que se manejó con total hermetismo.

De acuerdo a la información a la que pudo acceder elancasti.com.ar, el sacerdote, identificado como José Renato Rasgido, negó los cuatro hechos que se le acusan.

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MEXICO
Pulso

[Summary: Candido Rojas Ochoa, government secretary general, when questioned regarding the case of accused pedophile priest Eduardo Cordova said they are two other outstanding lawsuits against priests accused to pedophilia.]

Aimee Torres / Pulso

“En cuanto aparezcan se les captura (…) hasta donde sea”, afirmó Cándido Ochoa Rojas, secretario general de gobierno, al ser cuestionado respecto al caso del sacerdote Eduardo Córdova acusado de abuso sexual.

Ochoa Rojas, dio a conocer que aparte se tienen otros dos procesos judiciales pendientes contra sacerdotes acusados también de pederastia.

Los casos implican al sacerdote de nombre Noé, que oficiaba en el municipio de Soledad de Graciano Sánchez y uno más asignado a una parroquia del municipio de Santa María del Río.

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CALIFORNIA
The Worthy Adversary

Posted by Joelle Casteix on May 30, 2014

It’s been an interesting week:

Ricardo “Richard” Aldana is goin’ to the pokey

Former JSerra High School teacher Richard Aldana was convicted on three felony counts of lewd acts upon a child. The victim was a 14-year-old student. Aldana faces up to eight years in jail.

JSerra is an independent (not owned by the Diocese of Orange) Catholic High School in San Juan Capistrano, CA.

When allegations against Aldana became public in 2011, students rallied around the former Spanish teacher, wearing “Free Aldana” t-shirts, setting up a Facebook page demanding school officials reinstate him, and harassing the victim.

They disguised themselves as supporters, but were instead uninformed, attack mobs trying to silence victims. Fortunately, the police aren’t intimidated by a bunch of affluent high school punks.
Which leads us to our next story:

Adrian, Michigan: Taking victim harassment to a whole new level

My May 15 post about admitted child sex offender Thomas Hodgman went viral. The post was viewed more than 10,000 times, shared on almost 1700 Facebook pages, and generated 82 comments.

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PITTSBURGH (PA)
Tribune-Review

By Bobby Kerlik

Published: Friday, May 30, 2014

The head of the religious order that runs Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic High School wrote a letter of apology to the Diocese of Pittsburgh following allegations that eight members of the order abused students from 1945 to 1990.

The Rev. Martin A. Solma, provincial of the Marianist Province of the USA based in St. Louis, wrote that the allegations have “caused us much shame and deep remorse for the behavior.”

Nineteen victims have come forward in recent months in what has become one of the largest sex abuse scandals in the history of the Diocese of Pittsburgh.

Solma apologized to the victims, the Catholic community of Pittsburgh and to Bishop David Zubik “which had entrusted the Society of Mary with the important responsibility for the Catholic education of students in the diocese. In these abusive instances, that trust was betrayed and our service to the diocese tarnished.”

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CHICAGO (IL)
Chicago Sun-Times

Sneed: George Lucas — the Omaha archbishop, that is — among possibe contenders to replace cardinal

By MICHAEL SNEED May 22, 2014

By, George!

Sneed hears the search to replace retiring Cardinal Francis George, which just moved quickly out of first gear, could include another person named George.

George Lucas.

No, not George Lucas the “Star Wars” movie mogul who is hoping to bring his cultural museum to Chicago’s lakefront.

Sneed is told Archbishop George J. Lucas, 64, of Omaha, Nebraska, who was dispatched to Nebraska in 2009 after serving almost 10 years as the bishop of Springfield, Illinois, could also be on the list.

“No one knows how many names are on the Vatican’s list, but they are going full steam ahead now to replace Cardinal George,” said a top Sneed source.

“This will be the new pope’s first major U.S. decision, and it’s a huge flock to manage, so it’s likely an archbishop with experience will be named,” the source said.

Technically, Sneed is told, a priest could be chosen to lead the archdiocese.

“Possible, but unlikely,” said the source.

Hmmmm. Could the Rev. Michael Pfleger, whose ministry has embraced the poor — Pope Francis’ favored flock — a possibility?

“I doubt it,” said the source, adding that the door wasn’t necessarily closed on the idea. “He’s controversial, but he gets things done. And anything is possible with this pope.”

P.S. Add this name to a list of possibilities: Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski, 63, who rides a Harley-Davidson motorcycle and speaks fluent Haitian Creole and Spanish. Wenski has been archbishop in Miami since 2010.

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NEBRASKA
Omaha.com

A Chicago columnist mentioned Omaha Archbishop George Lucas as a possible candidate to lead the Archdiocese of Chicago.

The column in the Chicago Sun-Times suggested Lucas might be among those who might take over for Cardinal Francis George, who is battling cancer and stepping down as Chicago’s archbishop. The column did not name the source who linked Lucas to the possible contenders the Vatican is considering.

Lucas, who is a few weeks shy of his 65th birthday, was the former bishop of Springfield, Ill., before becoming Omaha’s archbishop in 2009.

Deacon Tim McNeil, spokesman for the Omaha archdiocese, said he has no knowledge of any formal list of possible successors to Cardinal George or if Lucas is on one.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Mittelbayerische

REGENSBURG. Regensburg. „Wir hatten so einen Missbraucher bei uns in der Pfarrei“, sprudelt es plötzlich aus Meggy Wagner heraus. Sie hat einen roten Schal der Katholischen Frauengemeinschaft Deutschlands umgebunden und erzählt, dass sie aus dem Bistum Trier, genauer aus Saarbrücken zum Katholikentag gekommen ist. Wagner ringt zunächst um Worte, weil sie kaum beschreiben kann, welche Verheerungen ein sexueller Missbrauch anrichtet, wie groß der Schock ist. Dann fließen die Sätze aus ihr heraus. Es ist zu spüren, dass sich da etwas angestaut hat und dass sie möchte, dass über das Thema sexueller Missbrauch in der Kirche öffentlich gesprochen wird.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Spiegel

[Summary: Victims of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church are calling for effective measures. While there is progress, the victims have said at a meeting in Regensburg, there is desire for further change. They accused the church of not being willing to talk when this dialogue between bishops and victims is needed.]

Die Opfer sexuellen Missbrauchs in der katholischen Kirche fordern eine wirksame Aufarbeitung der Skandale. Beim Katholikentag in Regensburg wird deutlich: Es gibt zwar Fortschritte, aber auch den Wunsch nach weiterer Veränderung.

Regensburg – Opfer sexuellen Missbrauchs haben der katholischen Kirche mangelnde Gesprächsbereitschaft vorgeworfen. Nötig sei ein Dialog auch der Bischöfe mit den Betroffenen, sagte Matthias Katsch von der Initiative “Eckiger Tisch” bei einer Podiumsdiskussion auf dem Katholikentag in Regensburg.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Saarbruecker Zeitung

[Summary: Matthias Katsch, who was sexually abuse for years in a Catholic school, told a gathering in Regensburg that priests who rape children should no longer be allowed to be priests. In Germany, priests not infrequently continue working, he said, and this is another humiliation for victims.]

Regensburg. „Wer sich an Kindern vergangen hat, sollte nicht mehr Priester sein dürfen“, sagt Matthias Katsch. Dieser Satz klingt aus dem Mund eines Mannes, der in einer katholischen Schule jahrelang sexuell missbraucht wurde, logisch und folgerichtig. Nicht so für die Amtskirche: Hier dürfen Geistliche, wenn sie sich „einsichtig“ zeigen, nicht selten weiterarbeiten. Was für Opfer eine neue Demütigung ist, illustriert auf besondere Weise, dass die katholische Kirche bei der Aufarbeitung des Missbrauchs-Skandals, der sie vor vier Jahren in den Grundfesten erschütterte, noch einen langen Weg vor sich hat.

„Das Thema ist nicht vorbei und muss präsent bleiben“, sagt Stephan Ackermann, Bischof von Trier und Missbrauchsbeauftragter der Bischofskonferenz. Und präsent ist es beim Katholikentag in Regensburg. Ackermann stellt sich dort einer Podiumsdiskussion und gerät in die Defensive, als er von null Toleranz gegenüber den Taten spricht, aber nicht gegenüber den Tätern, deren individuelle Schuld man differenziert betrachten müsse. „Wenn Sie hier nicht klar sind, desavouieren Sie all das, was an der Basis an Aufklärung und Prävention geleistet wird“, entgegnet Katsch, Mitbegründer der Opfervertretung „Eckiger Tisch“.

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DEUTSCHLAND
mkn

[Summary: Bishop Stephan Ackermann has promised to take further steps in dealing with abuse in the Catholic Church but suspicion remains.]

Noch immer ringt die katholische Kirche in Deutschland mit dem Thema Missbrauch. Auf dem Katholikentag in Regensburg diskutierten Experten über dieses Thema. Darunter der Missbrauchsbeauftragte der Bischofskonferenz, Bischof Stephan Ackermann sowie der Sprecher der Opfervereinigung „Eckiger Tisch“, Matthias Katsch.

Regensburg – Vier Jahre schon ringt die katholische Kirche in Deutschland mit dem Missbrauchsskandal. Seit Jesuitenpater Klaus Mertes im Januar 2010 Fälle am Berliner Canisius-Kolleg öffentlich machte setzen sich Bischöfe und Experten, aber auch Kirchen- und Katholikentage mit dem düsteren Thema auseinander. So geschehen auch in Regensburg, wo derzeit Zehntausende Katholiken über Kirche und Glauben nachdenken und streiten.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Wochenblatt

[Summary: The issue of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church is a hot topic in Regensburg as Bishop Stephan Ackermann of Trier debated with abuse victims. The mood was tense.]

Das Thema sexueller Missbrauch in der Kirche ist eines der heißen Eisen am Katholikentag in Regensburg. Der Trierer Bischof Ackermann debattierte mit einem Missbrauchsopfer.

Die Stimmung ist angespannt im Kolpinghaus, kein Wunder: Das Thema bewegt die Menschen seit 2010. Der Mann, der am Podium steht, ist ein echter Aufklärer, ein mutiger Mann: Pater Klaus Mertes hatte 2010 am Canisius-Kolleg in Berlin 600 Briefe an frühere Schüler geschickt. Darin hat er sich entschuldigt, sollten auch sie Opfer von sexuellem Missbrauch in den 70er und 80er Jahren geworden sein. Mertes hat damit eine Lawine ins Rollen gebracht, die ihm nicht nur Freunde in der Katholischen Kirche einbrachte – viele, auch unter Bischöfen, sahen ihn als Nestbeschmutzer.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Regensburg-Digital

[Summary: Bishop Stephan Ackermann has come in for sharp criticism for the way the church has handled clergy sexual abuse cases. Those attending a meeting to discuss the issue there there has been too much emphasis on the offenders and not the victims.]

Fehlender Aufklärungswille und zu viel Toleranz gegenüber Tätern: Bei einer der wenigen Veranstaltungen auf dem Katholikentag zu sexuellem Missbrauch musste sich Bischof Stephan Ackermann scharfer Kritik stellen. Er räumt seine eigene Machtlosigkeit ein.

„Das Sprechen der Opfer ist für Prävention grundlegend“, sagt Klaus Mertes. „Und die Voraussetzung dafür ist Aufklärung.“ Mertes weiß, wovon er redet. Der Jesuiten-Pater hat 2010 die Aufklärung von sexuellem Missbrauch am Berliner Canisius-Kolleg ins Rollen gebracht. Und heute, vier Jahre später, steht er beim Katholikentag in Regensburg am Podium, um den ersten Impuls für die Diskussion zu einer neuen „Kultur der Achtsamkeit“ innerhalb der katholischen Kirche zu geben, zu einer Diskussion darüber, wie körperliche und sexualisierte Gewalt in kirchlichen Einrichtungen verhindert werden können.

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KENTUCKY
WAVE

By Charles Gazaway

LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) – The former Roman Catholic priest convicted of sexual abuse has begun serving a 15 year sentence.

James Schook, 66, was taken into custody after his sentencing on May 30. He was convicted April 16 on three counts of sodomy and one count of immoral behavior. The jury also found Schook not guilty on three additional counts of sodomy.

Judge Mitch Perry followed the sentence recommendation of the jury. He denied a request from Schook’s attorney David Lambertus to serve the sentence on probation and also denied a request for Schook to remain free while the case is appealed.

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AUSTRALIA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Saturday, May 31, 2014

Statement by Nicky Davis, SNAP Australia Leader ( 04 4901 8594 nickydavis2011@gmail.com )

The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests welcomes the finding of the NSW Special Commission of Inquiry, released yesterday, which revealed that there were grounds for charges to be laid against one senior Australian Catholic church official.

According to Nicky Davis, of SNAP Australia, “We urge the NSW Government and the Department of Public Prosecutions to end the decades of inaction on this issue and finally bring a first Australian prosecution of a Catholic official for the cover-up of child sex crimes.”

“We hope this will be the first of many prosecutions, as both Australian and international experience indicate the cover-up is not a unique situation.”

“Indeed a new Australian book, Potiphar’s Wife, by Kieran Tapsell, launched this week, explains in detail the Vatican policy requiring Catholic bishops to cover-up child sex crimes by priests and other religious.”

“This new evidence supports claims by survivors that cover-up of the crimes against us is so common it should be considered a feature of these crimes and investigated in every case.”

“The queue of Australian survivors wanting the cover-up of the crimes against them investigated is lengthy. Many possess documents proving a cover-up, which have never been followed up by police.”

“Hopefully this Commission, prompted by the bravery of Detective Chief Inspector Peter Fox’s revelations, will open the floodgates for justice to finally be available to all victims of these despicable crimes.”

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UNITED STATES
Religion News Service

Boz Tchividjian | May 30, 2014

The on-the-job training of pastors and other faith leaders in preventing and responding to child sexual abuse isn’t working – it is dangerous and all too often has devastating consequences. A problem with on-the-job training is that it allows for mistakes. That is okay when you are cooking hamburgers, but not when it involves the safety of children. It is not okay when it involves an abuse survivor who quietly suffers in the pew. It is not okay when it involves a perpetrator who exploits ignorance in order to victimize children and avoid getting caught.

Inadequately trained leaders are simply not equipped to protect the children under their care from offenders who spend a lifetime perfecting their ability to gain the trust of adults in order to access children. According to a national survey conducted by Christianity Today, 20% of Christian church leaders said they knew of at least one convicted sex offender who was attending or was a member of their church. This doesn’t include the sex offenders in their midst who have never been caught! Without pastors receiving substantive training about the dynamics of child sexual abuse and those who abuse, churches will never be safe places. On-the-job training all too often results in greater harm to the very individuals who are most in need of protection and help.

When it comes to responding to abuse, the Christian community has been shackled by inadequate preparation and training. For example, most pastors don’t know how to recognize abuse, report abuse, or to work with families impacted by abuse. I once read about a study of 143 clergy of various faiths in which 29% believed that actual evidence of abuse, as opposed to suspicion was necessary before a report could be made. Such a mistaken belief naturally results in the under-reporting of suspected abuse cases. This same study concluded that at some level, the 143 clergy participants impacted the lives of 23,841 children!

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PITTSBURGH (PA)
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

By Peter Smith / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The leader of a Roman Catholic religious order has written a letter of apology to victims of sexual abuse and to Catholics in the Diocese of Pittsburgh in the wake of allegations that eight of its brothers sexually abused minors while assigned to North Catholic High School since the 1940s.

“These reports have caused us much shame and deep remorse,” said the May 27 letter written by the Rev. Martin A. Solma, the provincial, or supervisor, of the Marianist Province of the USA, based in St. Louis.

The accusations began with news in March that a criminal trial was set against a Marianist brother, Bernard Hartman, in Australia for alleged sexual abuse that occurred while he was assigned there.

The diocese sent a letter to alumni of North Catholic, where Brother Hartman also worked, alerting them to the charges and urging any victims to come forward. That and a second letter led to an allegation of sexual abuse against Brother Hartman during his time at North Catholic and allegations against seven others brothers who worked at North Catholic, most of them now deceased, since the 1940s.

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KENTUCKY
The Courier-Journal

Claire Galofaro, The Courier-Journal; May 30, 2014

A dying Catholic priest was sent straight to prison Friday to begin his 15-year sentence for molesting a boy four decades ago, despite asking the judge for mercy.

James Schook, 66, was convicted last month of three counts sodomy and one count indecent or immoral practice for molesting a teenage altar boy for years in the 1970s, beginning when he was 13. A jury recommended he spend 15 years in prison.

Schook on Friday asked Circuit Court Judge Mitch Perry to consider his age and his terminal cancer, and order that he serve his time on probation rather than prison. His attorney, David Lambertus, tried to convince the judge that a dying priest posed no threat to the community, and would cost taxpayers untold fortunes in medical care in prison.

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MINNESOTA
Daily Journal

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
First Posted: May 30, 2014

ST. PAUL, Minnesota — A long-time faculty member at the University of St. Thomas questioned about his knowledge of sexual abuse allegations against a professor plans to retire.

Center for Catholic Studies founder Don Briel plans to leave the university at the end of August. His retirement comes amid an internal investigation into whether Briel or others at the university knew that an archdiocesan board recommended that Rev. Michael Keating not mentor young adults.

Keating is being sued by a woman who alleges he sexually abused her between 1997 and 2000, beginning when she was 13. Authorities investigated, but have declined to file criminal charges. Keating has denied the allegations through his attorney.

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ARIZONA
The Arizona Republic

Michael Clancy, The Republic | azcentral.com May 29, 2014

UPDATE AND CLARIFICATION:

This story has been updated to clarify information about the complaints and the number of parents who spoke to The Arizona Republic and include additional statements from the Diocese of Phoenix.

In addition, this story removes a reference to Mark Hebert, a former assistant pastor at St. Thomas. The original online version of this story did not state, and did not mean to imply, that he was ever involved in any allegation of sexual abuse. Hebert said he left St. Thomas for another parish and eventually left the priesthood to be married.

—————————————–

A Phoenix priest has resigned as a pastor as the diocese investigates several complaints against him.

On May 2, the Diocese of Phoenix said it was aware of “several complaints” associated with St. Thomas the Apostle Parish and School. Parishioners at St. Thomas, at 24th Street and Campbell Avenue, were informed that the Rev. John Ehrich would take voluntary leave while the investigation was underway.

Two weeks later, the diocese, which retained an outside law firm to conduct the investigation, announced that Ehrich had resigned as pastor of the church “for his own well-being and for the good of the parish.”

A note to parishioners on May 17 said that Ehrich “remains a priest in good standing” and that Ehrich had not been accused of physical or sexual abuse of a minor or been accused of a crime. In a statement issued Wednesday, the diocese said its investigator retained a licensed professional “with broad experience in child protection matters” to review remarks made by Ehrich to students during a classroom discussion. It said Ehrich remains a “priest with full faculties” in the Diocese of Phoenix.

The statement further said, “the Diocese of Phoenix is committed to providing a safe environment where it values and honors every individual as created in the image and likeness of God.”

In a follow-up statement Thursday, the diocese said, “we are not able to elaborate further on the details of an ongoing investigation regarding internal personnel matters.”

Ehrich could not be reached for comment.

A Republic reporter spoke to one parent, who did not want to be identified in this story, who said some parents had presented a list of demands to the diocese, foremost among them that Ehrich be removed from the parish. However, the parent would not provide the number of parents who complained and said those parents would not talk to a reporter.

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ARIZONA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priestsi

For immediate release: Thursday, May 29, 2014

Statement by Joelle Casteix of Newport Beach, SNAP western regional director, Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests ( 949-322-7434, jcasteix@gmail.com )

Phoenix’s St. Thomas parish has been plagued by alleged abusive clerics. Another one has just been publicly exposed.

[Arizona Republic]

Our hearts ache for the parishioners. They have had two pastors credibly accused of abuse, an assistant pastor jailed for sexual abuse, and another pastor who “disappeared.” Now, they have had to fight the diocese just to be heard regarding complaints about their latest pastor, Fr. John Ehrich. He has been accused of sexually harassing adults and being inappropriate with children.

We urge Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted to immediately reach out to every current and former parish member and staffer, and beg them to call the police if they have suffered, seen or suspected abuse. We also hope that he does everything necessary to encourage healing and accountability at the parish.

We urge parishioners to continue to be vigilant and speak out against clerics who may be abusing children. We also beg them to talk to their children about abuse in a safe and age-appropriate manner. Finally, we ask them to “speak with their pocketbooks” and refuse to give any more money to the Diocese of Phoenix, who has repeatedly shown that it cannot monitor the men they employ or keep Phoenix children safe from abusive priests.

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NEW JERSEY
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Thursday, May 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 former New Jersey youth basketball coach and school administrator was charged with child sexual abuse. The Newark Archdiocese has vowed to cooperate. We hope that is true and we hope the Archdiocese provides outreach to victims.

[Jersey Journal]

John Mercado was a longtime youth sports coach and he worked at three different schools. We want Catholic officials to be open and honest with the public about where Mercado worked.

Archbishop John Myers should visit every parish Mercado worked and beg anyone who saw, suspected, or suffered child sex crimes to come forward and report to secular officials.

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UNITED STATES
Another Voice

Cardinal Bernard Law, formerly of Boston, was rewarded for his cover-up of sexually abusive priests by being appointed to a prestigious Vatican post in Rome. Bernard Law should have been sentenced to a few years in an American jail.

Under a new pope, the clock is ticking for wayward covert-up bishops, however. And there is quite a list to choose from. Perhaps we should hang their photos in our church vestibules, if not the local post office.

Since I am partial to my native state of Michigan, I would begin with John Clayton Nienstedt, the eighth and current Archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis. A Motown boy, he attended and was later rector of my first alma mater: Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit.

John Clayton has a thing about gays. Shortly after becoming Twin Cities Archbishop, he discontinued the gay pride prayer service that was held at St. Joan of Arc Church in Minneapolis. John had earlier described homosexuality as a “result of psychological trauma” that “must be understood in the context of other human disorders: envy, malice, greed, etc.”

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MINNESOTA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Friday, May 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 )

A professor at a Catholic university – who may have helped a predator priest hide his crimes – has stepped down.

[Minnesota Public Radio]

Don Briel’s retirement changes nothing. St. Paul Archdiocese and University of St. Thomas officials should still finish their investigation into his alleged involvement in Fr. Michael Keating’s crimes, disclose their results, and harshly denounce and punish Briel if he is found guilty of concealing or ignoring known or suspected child sexual abuse.

In October, Briel was asked by Minnesota Public Radio whether he knew about the allegation that Fr. Keating had molested at least one girl. He refused to answer. And yesterday, he again refused to answer questions about this very troubling case.

Those who endanger kids and protect predators should not be allowed to retire or walk away and evade responsibility for their callous and reckless actions. To stop this horrific crisis, wrongdoers must face tough penalties.

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UNITED STATES
BishopAccountability.org

Summary of Case: Michael Toulouse was ordained in the late 1930s or early 1940s as a priest of the Oregon Province of the Society of Jesus. Province officials stated concerns about Toulouse as early as 1938, writing “he does not seem to understand the meaning of obedience.” Toulouse taught for six years at Gonzaga High School while living at St. Aloysius Church on the campus of Seattle University. That stint ended in late 1950 after a 14-year-old altar boy told his father that Toulouse had been sexually abusing him. The boy’s father went looking for the priest with his handgun, but was stopped by another Jesuit. (Reportedly, Toulouse would have his altar boys awaken him at the rectory before mass, then sexually assault them; he would then give them money in exchange for their silence.) The Jesuits responded by transferring Toulouse to Seattle University, despite objections of Seattle U. officials. There he worked as a philosophy professor and spiritual counselor until his death in 1976. In the 2000s Toulouse was the subject of a number of lawsuits, as men came forward to report their abuse by him as children. By 2006 at least a dozen victims were identified. Documents show that the Jesuits were aware throughout Toulouse’s career that he was a danger to children. The earliest known accusation is from 1947. In Seattle Toulouse is said to have ingratiated himself to the parents of boys in the various parishes where he was assisting, which allowed him the access to groom and sexually abuse the boys. In 2006 Seattle University’s president stated that he had “no doubt” that Toulouse molested young boys.

Ordained: 1943
Died: June 13, 1976

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KENTUCKY
Daily Mail (UK)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A judge has sentenced a former Catholic priest dying of cancer to 15 years in prison for sexually abusing a teenage boy at a church in the 1970s.

James Schook, 62, was taken into custody Friday morning after a hearing.

The criminal case had been delayed several times over three years as Schook argued that he was too frail to stand trial on sodomy and other charges. He was convicted in April, and the jury recommended the 15-year prison term.

Schook’s attorney, David Lambertus, urged Circuit Judge Mitch Perry to allow Schook to serve out his term on probation, then later asked if Schook could remain out of prison while his case is appealed.

Perry denied both requests, saying it was time for Schook to “face the consequences of his actions.”

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KENTUCKY
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Friday, May 30, 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 case against a Louisville priest has finally ended. We are glad that this dangerous predator will be behind bars for a long time.

[WDRB]

Fr. James R. Schook was indicted in 2011, but his crimes began in the 1970s. Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz and Vicar General Brian Reynolds both were aware of allegations against Schook. They even temporarily removed him from his position at St. Ignatius Martyr Church in 2009. Despite these warnings a dangerous predator was allowed to roam free and potentially hurt more children.

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MINNESOTA
University of St. Thomas

Dr. Don J. Briel, director of the Center for Catholic Studies at the University of St. Thomas and holder of the Koch Chair in Catholic Studies since 1996, has informed the university of his decision to retire as director of the center and as a faculty member of the university effective Aug. 31.

Briel has served in teaching, administrative and leadership positions at St. Thomas since 1981. In 1996, he established the Center for Catholic Studies to provide a wide range of activities and programs designed to enhance the Catholic mission and identity of the university and to contribute to national and international developments in Catholic higher education.

President Julie Sullivan thanked Briel for his years of service to the university and the Center for Catholic Studies.

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MINNESOTA
Minnesota Public Radio

Madeleine Baran , Jon Collins St. Paul, Minn. May 30, 2014

The University of St. Thomas said Tuesday that a long-time faculty member who faced questions about his knowledge of sexual abuse allegations against a professor is retiring.

Don Briel, director and founder of the Center for Catholic Studies, will retire on Aug. 31. The announcement comes amid an internal investigation into whether Briel or others at the university knew that an archdiocesan board had recommended that the Rev. Michael Keating, a professor of Catholic Studies, not mentor young adults. Briel has worked for the university for 33 years and founded the Center for Catholic Studies in 1996.

In a statement released this week, University president Julie Sullivan called Briel an academic entrepreneur and praised his leadership in the development of the Catholic Studies program. “I greatly appreciate Dr. Briel’s dedication and contributions, throughout his many years of distinguished service, to the success of the program and the center, which will continue to serve important roles in the development of Catholic higher education worldwide.”

Reached by telephone on Wednesday night, Briel, 67, called his retirement a “private decision that I’m not inclined to talk about.” In an email to MPR News on Thursday, he wrote, “I’m not inclined to speak about it in depth for a number of reasons. However in general I think it not a good idea for someone to lead a project for over twenty one years and it seems a good moment to explore new options for the future.”

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IRELAND
Irish Times

Michael O’Regan

Fri, May 30, 2014

An enormous burden of proof was placed on some of the survivors of the Magdalene laundries because of inadequate records, Independent TD Maureen O’Sullivan told the Dáil.

She said “one would imagine that a much more flexible approach could be adopted at this point” and that “the ladies to whom I refer could be given the benefit of the doubt’’.

Ms O’Sullivan said some of the women were being excluded from redress, while others were being offered less than their entitlement.

“There are those who feel so defeated by this extra burden they are being obliged to shoulder that it is like being back in the laundries for them.’’

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