ABUSE TRACKER

IOWA
WCFCourier

DUBUQUE, Iowa — The Archdiocese of Dubuque, which oversees the Cedar Valley area, was expected to announce today a new archbishop, replacing Jerome Hanus, who is resigning.

A press conference was scheduled for 10 a.m. at which time Hanus, who has been archbishop of the Dubuque Archdiocese since 1995, was to introduce Bishop Michael O. Jackels, bishop of Wichita, Kan., as the new archbishop. Jackels was appointed by new Pope Francis to be the next archbishop.

In a statement released this morning, Hanus, 72, said, “As many of you know, my health has declined in recent years. As a result, some time

ago I submitted my resignation as Archbishop to the proper authorities.

In a recent telephone conversation, the Pope’s representative in the United States, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, informed me that our Holy Father, Pope Francis, had accepted my resignation and appointed as the next Archbishop of Dubuque, the Most Rev. Michael O. Jackels, currently Bishop of Wichita, Kansas. My immediate response

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VATICAN CITY
Catholic News Agency

By David Uebbing

Vatican City, Apr 8, 2013 / 05:59 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Bishop Michael O. Jackels received an early birthday present of sorts when Pope Francis named him April 8 to lead the Archdiocese of Dubuque.

The Vatican press office made the appointment public just after noon Rome time, saying that the Pope also accepted the resignation of current Archbishop Jerome G. Hanus.

The announcement cited canon law 401, section two as the reason Archbishop Hanus is stepping down. This means that he has become “unsuited” for fulfilling his obligations “because of illness or some other grave reason,” according to the regulation.

A press conference is planned for 10:00 a.m. in Dubuque, where further details will be revealed.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Information Service

Vatican City, 8 April 2013 (VIS) – Today, the Holy Father:

– appointed Bishop Michael Owen Jackels as Metropolitan Archbishop of Dubuque (area 45,074, population 979,560, Catholics 206,843, priests 216, permanent deacons 91, religious 861), Iowa, USA. The archbishop-elect, previously bishop of Wichita, Kansas, USA, is a member of the Subcommittee on the Catechism in the U.S. Conference of Bishops. He succeeds Archbishop Jerome George Hanus, O.S.B., whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same archdiocese the Holy Father accepted, in accordance with canon 401 para. 2 of the Code of Canon Law.

– appointed Msgr. John Thomas Folda as bishop of the Diocese of Fargo (area 92,650, population 396,000, Catholics 89,400, priests 120, permanent deacons 43, religious 126), North Dakota, USA. The bishop-elect was born in Omaha, Nebraska, USA in 1961 and was ordained a priest in 1989. Since ordination he has served in several academic and pastoral roles, most recently as rector of the St. Gregory the Great Seminary in Seward, Nebraska, USA. He was named a chaplain of His Holiness in 2007.

On Saturday, 6 April, the Holy Father appointed Fr. Jose Rodriguez Carballo, O.F.M., as secretary of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, at the same time elevating him to the dignity of archbishop and assigning him the titular see of Bellicastrum. The archbishop-elect was born in Lodoselo, Spain in 1953 and was ordained a priest in 1977. Since ordination he has served in several academic and administrative roles, most recently as minister general of the Order of Friars Minor. Archbishop-elect Rodriguez is a member of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life

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MASSACHUSETTS
The Salem News

BY JULIE MANGANIS STAFF WRITER

IPSWICH — The former head of a religious order in Ipswich pleaded not guilty yesterday to new charges that he sexually abused a child in the early 1980s.

The Rev. Richard McCormick, 72, who once held a position that is the equivalent of a bishop with the Salesian Brothers of Don Bosco, was charged last summer with molesting a child who was 9 and 10 years old at the time, while he was serving at the Salesian’s Sacred Heart retreat center some 30 years ago.

After seeing coverage of the case in the media, a second person came forward, saying he, too, had been sexually abused in the early 1980s while attending a summer camp run by the Salesians. The accuser was between 7 and 9 at the time, according to prosecutors.

McCormick was indicted in the second case last month, and yesterday traveled from Missouri to be arraigned.

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ARIZONA
Arizona Republic

By Michael ClancyThe Republic | azcentral.com
Sun Apr 7, 2013

More than 2 1/2 years have passed since Mike Pain reported an allegation of abuse against the Rev. Jack Spaulding to the Catholic Diocese of Phoenix.

The report led to a civil lawsuit in Maricopa County Superior Court and a canon-law case in Vatican offices, both of which remain unresolved.

Both cases show the church’s reluctance to deal openly with the issues, said Patrick Wall, a former priest who now is an investigator in clergy-abuse cases.

“I don’t think they have the ability to improve the situation,” Wall said of church officials. He said he believes if church leaders were thorough in dealing with sex-related cases, the church would lose so many priests that it would be hard to continue.

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VATICAN CITY
Chiesa

VATICAN CITY, April 8, 2013 – In addition to the unprecedented selection of the name Francis, pope Jorge Mario Bergoglio is immediately impressing on the central government of the Church innovations that those in the curia are looking at with trepidation, if not with terror.

The decision not to live in the pontifical apartment on the third floor of the Apostolic Palace but to continue to reside in the Domus Sanctae Marthae, which had accommodated him as a cardinal during the conclave, is already in itself an act of rupture.

In practice, this allows the new pope to remove himself physically from the bureaucratic pressure that – if he were to move up there – would risk turning his life upside down and suffocating his effective capacity of governance.

It would be interesting to know if and to what extent there has already been a reduction in the volume and weight of the briefcases of documents that the secretariat of state customarily brings to the desk of the pope to submit to him texts for study, approval, endorsement, etc.

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VATICAN CITY
International Business Times

[with videos]

By Vittorio Hernandez | April 8, 2013

The Vatican receives about 600 claims yearly against abusive priests. Some of the charges go all the way back to the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Under the previous popes, most of the accusations were swept under the rug and the Roman Catholic Church imposed silence both on the victims and perpetrators.

However, Pope Francis is taking the first step in stopping the culture of silence by ordering the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the body tasked to handle such cases, to act with determination on the complaints.

He ordered the change in policy after meeting on Friday with Archbishop Gerhard Mueller, the head of the congregation. Pope Francis said that battling sex abuse is important for the Church to regain its credibility.

The pontiff’s new policy is a reversal of a secret document that the Vatican wrote in 1962 titled Crimen Sollicitationis which imposed silence on sex abuse victims, the abusers and even witnesses on the pain of excommunication for violators.

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has been criticised for not doing anything about the sex abuse cases when he still headed the congregation as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger and when he became pope in 2005. When he retired on Feb 28, 2013, he left a thick folder about the sex abuse cases for his successor to deal with.

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OSTERREICH
DBN

“Die Missbrauchsverbrechen durch Kirchenmitglieder wurden in Österreich bis zum heutigen Tag nicht aufgeklärt. Das Verhalten von Bischof Zsifkovits ist symptomatisch für die herrschende Geisteshaltung der Vertuschung und Verharmlosung”, empört sich Sepp Rothwangl von der Plattform Betroffener kirchlicher Gewalt. Für Opfervertreter ist es unverständlich, dass der burgenländische Bischof heute an einer Gedenkmesse für jenen Kardinal teilnimmt, mit dem das wahre Ausmaß der Missbrauchsskandale in der katholischen Kirche in Österreich publik wurde. “Es ist schlichtweg skandalös, dass der Staat der Kirche gestattet hat, mit der kirchlicheigenen Klasnic-Kommission die Aufarbeitung der Verbrechen unter Kontrolle zu halten und so der Vertuschung weiter Vorschub leistet”, so Rothwangl weiter. Die Kommission ist organisatorischer Teil der Kirche, wie auch ein Bescheid Bundeskanzleramtes jüngst bestätigt hat.

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DEUTSCHLAND
MDR

Wegen des Besitzes von Kinderpornografie ist vom Amtsgericht Bitterfeld-Wolfen ein katholischer Priester zu einer einjährigen Bewährungsstrafe verurteilt worden. Zudem verhängte das Gericht gegen den 40 Jahre alten Geistlichen eine Geldstrafe von 2.400 Euro. Dieser Betrag wird an den Kinderschutzbund gezahlt. Der Priester hatte zuvor über seinen Anwalt ein umfassendes Geständnis abgelegt. Er gab zu, mindestens 4.000 Bilder mit Kinderpornografie auf einer externen Festplatte seines Computers gespeichert zu haben.

Angeklagter schweigt vor Gericht

Persönlich wollte sich der Angeklagte vor Gericht nicht zu den Vorwürfen äußern. Laut Staatsanwaltschaft hatten die Ermittler die Bilder 2011 bei einer Durchsuchung der Wohnung des Mannes sichergestellt. Er war im Zuge europaweiter Ermittlungen gegen Kinderpornografie aufgeflogen, da er mit seiner Kreditkarte für die Bilder bezahlt hatte. Als besonders schwerwiegend wertete die Anklage den Umstand, dass der Mann die rund 4.000 Bilder “fleißig gesammelt und sortiert hatte”, wie die Staatsanwältin in ihrem Plädoyer sagte.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Augsburger Allgemeine

Der in München lebende Komponist Wilfried Hiller hat schwere Vorwürfe gegen zwei Benediktiner-Patres vom Gymnasium St. Stephan erhoben. Sie sollen ihn missbraucht haben. Von Rüdiger Heinze

In einem Interview unserer Zeitung spricht Wilfried Hiller erstmals öffentlich von mehrfachem sexuellen Missbrauch sowie von schwerer körperlicher Züchtigung Mitte der fünfziger Jahre, als er Schüler der Institution war. Erst heute, nahezu 60 Jahre nach den Vorfällen, könne er offen darüber sprechen, weil er sie – auch künstlerisch – verarbeitet habe. Die Namen der beiden bereits verstorbenen Beschuldigten sind unserer Redaktion bekannt.

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OSTERREICH
APA

Wien (OTS) – “Die Missbrauchsverbrechen durch Kirchenmitglieder wurden in Österreich bis zum heutigen Tag nicht aufgeklärt. Das Verhalten von Bischof Zsifkovits ist symptomatisch für die
herrschende Geisteshaltung der Vertuschung und Verharmlosung”, empört sich Sepp Rothwangl von der Plattform Betroffener kirchlicher Gewalt.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Volksfreund

Der Missbrauch am früheren katholischen Johanneum-Internat in Homburg hat aus Sicht der Opferinitiative ein größeres Ausmaß gehabt als bisher bekannt. Die Initiative ehemaliger Missbrauchsopfer gehe inzwischen von mindestens acht Tätern aus, berichteten mehrere Medien am Freitag.

Zwei weitere ehemalige Internatsschüler hätten von schweren sexuellen Übergriffen zweier Ordensmitglieder berichtet. Einer dieser Täter sei bereits gestorben, der andere nicht mehr Mitglied des Ordens Hiltruper Missionare. Die Staatsanwaltschaft Saarbrücken erklärte auf Anfrage, sie werde die Berichte prüfen. Möglich sei aber, dass die Taten bereits verjährt seien. 2010 war der erste Missbrauchsfall bekanntgeworden.

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AUSTRALIA
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn

08 April 2013

The Truth Justice and Healing Council says its work with the royal commission into child sexual abuse is consistent with the Pope’s call for the Catholic Church to “act decisively” on the issue.

Council chief executive officer Francis Sullivan said Pope Francis’ comments that the Church must move to protect young people, help victims and punish the guilty reinforced the way the Church in Australia was responding to the royal commission.

“It is also in line with the Australian Church’s drive to develop new, consistent policies and procedures to protect children in the future.

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PITTSBURGH (PA)
Tribune-Review

By Bill Zlatos

Published: Monday, April 8, 2013

As new Pope Francis I calls for a tougher stance in addressing sexual allegations against priests, the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh plans to send its third letter this year warning of accusations against a cleric who once served in Pittsburgh.

“We’re looking at that right now,” the Rev. Ronald Lengwin, spokesman of the diocese, said Sunday. “We have an allegation. I can go that far.”

Lengwin would not give details of what the letter will say, except that the victim was a male from a parish, not a school. He would not identify the priest allegedly involved.

“I wouldn’t want to say anything until people from the parish receive a letter,” he said.

Mike Ference, 61, of Clairton, a self-described advocate for the victims and families of clergy child abuse, said the letter from Bishop David Zubik will refer to the late Rev. John Wellinger.

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NORRISTOWN (PA)
Patch

By James Myers

April 7, 2013

According to a release issued by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia on Sunday, April 7, Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap. has found Monsignor Richard T. Powers, a retired priest with the Archdiocese, not suitable for ministry. The decision comes after an allegation of sexual abuse of a minor that occurred approximately 40 years ago outside of the Philadelphia area was substantiated through an investigation by the Archdiocese.

The 77-year-old Powers was stationed at St. Patrick’s Church in Norristown from 1964 to 1967. Sources familiar with the case say the incident in question happened during his foreign mission service in Venezuela in the late ’60s through mid ’70s. Details of the incident have not been released, but a source told Philly.com that it involved a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl.

According to the Archdiocese, Powers’ case is not directly connected to the cases of priests placed on administrative leave following the February 2011 Grand Jury Report.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Daily News

JASON NARK, Daily News Staff Writer| narkj@phillynews.com, 215-854-5916

Posted: Monday, April 8, 2013

THERE WILL be no more masses, no nervous couples to wed or babies to baptize, and no more white collars against a simple black suit for three Archdiocese of Philadelphia priests implicated in sexual-abuse scandals.

In a statement released Sunday, Archbishop Charles J. Chaput said the Rev. Joseph J. Gallagher, 78, and the Rev. Mark S. Gaspar, 43, will have no further public ministry in the Archdiocese “due to substantiated violations of The Standards of Ministerial Behaviors and Boundaries.” The two were among the 26 Archdiocese priests placed on administrative leave in 2011 following a grand-jury report that prompted the Catholic Church here to look into old allegations that they molested children or acted inappropriately around them.

Monsignor Richard T. Powers, 77, a retired priest, was also deemed “not suitable for ministry,” Chaput said, following a substantiated allegation that he sexually abused a minor approximately 40 years ago outside the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. His case is not releated to the grand-jury report.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

John P. Martin, Inquirer Staff Writer

Posted: Monday, April 8, 2013

Archbishop Charles J. Chaput has permanently removed three more parish priests from public ministry over allegations of sexual abuse or misconduct around minors, including one whose accuser killed himself in 2009, allegedly after church officials first declared his claim unsubstantiated.

That priest, the Rev. Joseph J. Gallagher, has been deemed “unsuitable for ministry due to violations” of church standards, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia said Sunday. A second priest, the Rev. Mark Gaspar, was removed for the same reason, officials said. As it has in other cases, the archdiocese did not identify the violations or release details about the accusers or their claims.

A third priest, Msgr. Richard T. Powers, 77, was permanently removed over substantiated allegations that he abused a 17-year-old girl during an overseas trip 40 years ago.

Each of the priests had been on administrative leave, along with two dozen others suspended after a 2011 grand jury report that accused the archdiocese of failing to act on credible allegations of child sex abuse or misconduct by priests. In the last year, Chaput has restored eight of the suspended clerics to ministry and declared seven others unfit to continue to serve publicly as priests. …

Marci Hamilton, attorney for the Neill family, said the announcement was good news.

“That is exactly what they should have done,” Hamilton said. “But, it should have been done long ago.”

She said the archdiocese dragged its feet in the case and gave the benefit of the doubt to the priests. She said it should have removed all the priests named by victims.

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AUSTRALIA
NEWS.com.au

Carly Crawford
Herald Sun
April 08, 2013

THE Catholic Church has admitted that a priest who for 20 years oversaw its insurance scheme, which covers claims for sex abuse by clergy, was himself a serial abuser.

The Melbourne archdiocese says it received and upheld three complaints about Monsignor Penn Jones after his death in 1995.

It comes as the federal royal commission into child abuse has taken legal action to retrieve documents from the church and its insurer to assist with its inquiries.

The complaints against Msgr Jones included that he abused at least three young boys at summer camps in the 1960s, touching them in showers and raping at least one.

Msgr Jones was the school chaplain at Cathedral College in the ’60s, and had regular contact with choirboys when he was based at St Patrick’s Cathedral.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Washington Post

3 more Philadelphia priests removed from ministry following allegations in sex scandal

By Associated Press
Published: April 7

PHILADELPHIA — Three more priests were permanently removed from ministry by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia on Sunday, including one whose accuser killed himself after his allegation was dismissed by church officials.

The Revs. Joseph Gallagher and Mark Gaspar were suspended following a scathing 2011 grand jury report that ultimately led to the landmark conviction of a high-ranking archdiocese official on child endangerment charges. Two other priests and a Catholic school teacher were also convicted.

The February 2011 grand jury report prominently named Gallagher as a priest who remained in ministry despite apparently credible allegations of abuse. The grand jury said the archdiocese had found the allegation against him unsubstantiated despite the accuser’s “obvious credibility.”

“Our only problem is that it took so long,” Marci Hamilton, the attorney for the family of Daniel Neill, said Sunday. Neill committed suicide in 2009, less than a year after being told his allegation of couldn’t be substantiated.

Hamilton, who also represents two others who claim to have been abused by Gallagher, said the archdiocese’s failure to act means Gallagher will never face criminal charges.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
CBS Philly

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Two priests in the Philadelphia Archdiocese implicated in sexual abuse scandals have been declared unfit for service.

Archbishop Charles Chaput has decided Father Joseph J. Gallagher and Father Mark S. Gasper are unsuitable for public ministry.

They will have no public ministry in the archdiocese. They have the right to appeal this decision.

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CHICAGO (IL)
Daily Herald

Newly exposed sexual abuse allegations at the Diocese of Joliet and reports that Cardinal Francis George intervened in at least one case in the southwest suburbs drew victims’ advocates to Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago on Sunday.

The allegations are contained in records released as part of a legal settlement in an unrelated case.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
CNN

From Sarah Hoye, CNN

updated 6:23 PM EDT, Sun April 7, 2013

(CNN) — Two Catholic priests accused of wrongdoing have been declared unfit for service by the Philadelphia archdiocese and will no longer be allowed to minister.

Joseph J. Gallagher, 78, and Mark S. Gaspar, 43, are two of the 26 priests who were suspended by the archdiocese after a 2011 grand jury investigation into the archdiocese’s handling of child sex abuse allegations. They were placed on administrative leave while the church looked into allegations of abuse and misconduct.

Archbishop Charles J. Chaput said the investigations of Gallagher and Gaspar found substantiated violations of the “Standards of Ministerial Behavior and Boundaries,” an archdiocese guide for behavior, including interaction with children and youths. The violations were not explained.

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ARGENTINA
Pagina 12

Por Diego Martínez

La Justicia de Bahía Blanca se resiste a investigar a los sacerdotes que actuaron al servicio del terrorismo de Estado. El ex capellán Aldo Omar Vara admitió en 1999 que supo de las torturas en el centro clandestino La Escuelita y que vio las secuelas de la picana sobre el cuerpo de jóvenes secuestrados en el Batallón de Comunicaciones 181. El entonces fiscal general Hugo Cañón pidió su imputación pero la Cámara Federal se la negó. Trece años después, el tribunal que condenó al primer grupo de represores del Cuerpo V de Ejército –integrado por jueces foráneos porque sus pares bahienses no daban garantías de imparcialidad– tomó nota de los testimonios sobre Vara, consideró probada su “culpabilidad” en secuestros y torturas, y ordenó que se lo investigara en primera instancia. Los fiscales federales José Nebbia y Miguel Palazzani desmenuzaron las pruebas contra el ex capellán, a quien caracterizaron como un agente de Inteligencia que sólo por su técnica se diferenciaba de los militares, y pidieron su detención e indagatoria. El juez federal Santiago Martínez rechazó el pedido con cuatro palabras: “No surgen elementos suficientes”.

Vara fue capellán auxiliar del Cuerpo V entre 1971 y 1979 y es el único sobreviviente de los religiosos que tuvieron un rol protagónico junto a los represores del comando bahiense. En los últimos años murieron impunes el ex arzobispo Jorge Mayer, que llegó a bendecir medallas de torturadores hoy condenados; su segundo Emilio Ogñenovich, quien en 1976 justificó que “los profetas de una moral sin Dios están recogiendo las consecuencias lógicas”; y Dante Inocencio Vega, el capellán del Cuerpo V que durante la dictadura admitió ante madres de secuestrados que sus hijos estaban en La Escuelita y en democracia juró por la Biblia no conocerlas.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Main Line

Published: Sunday, April 07, 2013

Press.release

Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap. has found Monsignor Richard T. Powers, a retired priest of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, not suitable for ministry following a substantiated allegation of sexual abuse of a minor that occurred approximately 40 years ago outside the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia also announced today that Archbishop Charles J. Chaput has made final decisions in two more cases of priests placed on administrative leave following the February 2011 Grand Jury Report. Priests on administrative leave are not permitted to exercise their public ministry, administer any of the Sacraments, wear clerical garb, or present themselves publicly as priests.

Archbishop Chaput has decided that Father Joseph J. Gallagher and Father Mark S. Gaspar are unsuitable for ministry due to substantiated violations of The Standards of Ministerial Behaviors and Boundaries. They will have no public ministry in the Archdiocese. They do have the right to appeal the decision to the Holy See.

Announcements were made at the parishes where both priests last served when they were placed on administrative leave in March of 2011. Follow up announcements were made at those parishes this weekend regarding the final decisions in their cases. Crisis counselors were made available.

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CHICAGO (IL)
CBS Chicago

[with audio]

CHICAGO (CBS) — A few members of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, demonstrated in front of Holy Name Cathedral – praising Cardinal George but asking him to do more.

The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests is pleased Cardinal George intervened in a Joliet case of alleged abuse by a priest.

And they handed out fliers commending the cardinal.

But at the same time – their flier and their members – asked parishioners to ask the cardinal for more: to release more files on abusive priests.

“He said he was going to do it in 2008 and he hadn’t had time to do it yet. So we’re trying to encourage people to encourage him.”

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
My Fox Philly

PHILADELPHIA –
The Archdiocese of Philadelphia announced on Sunday that two priests who were placed on administrative leave are unsuitable for ministry.

The decision was made by Archbishop Charles Chaput due to what the archdiocese described as “substantiated violations of “The Standards of Ministerial Behaviors and Boundaries.”

According to the archdiocese, Father Joseph Gallagher and Father Mark Gaspar will not have public ministry in the archdiocese. The two fathers do have the right to appeal the decision to the Holy See, the archdiocese said.

The two priests were placed on administrative leave in March 2011 following a February grand jury report that alleged child abuse. The announcements were made at the parishes the priests last served Sunday.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Catholics4Change

April 7, 2013 by Susan Matthews

The Philadelphia priests removed from ministry have three options:

1- Live a life of prayer and penance.
2- Laicization.
3- Appeal to the Vatican.

The archdiocese has not updated the public on what each of the priests removed from ministry has chosen. Their choices impact the laity and society in general.

There are no official updates on those choices, according to Kenneth A. Gavin, Director of Communications for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

So where do priests appealing to the Vatican live?

The priests who chose a life in the prayer and penance program are housed at Villa St. Joseph, a retirement home for the clergy in Darby. Click here for info on the program. You’ll find the Q&A info a little spotty. For instance:

Q: How can a victim or the public find out if a priest is in the Prayer and Penance Program?

A: Victims of sexual abuse or the general public can visit the Delegate for Investigation Web Site at: http://archphila.org/delegate.

Good luck. I tried to look up the status of one of the priests Archbishop Chaput removed in July. I couldn’t locate him on any list. Also, there is no specific list for those in the program.

It’s no surprise the archdiocese pays for the food, shelter and healthcare for the priests in the prayer and penance program, but I was a bit taken back by the almost $1000 a month pension they each receive in addition.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

John P. Martin, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

Posted: Sunday, April 7, 2013

Archbishop Charles J. Chaput has permanently removed three more priests from public ministry over claims of sexual abuse or misconduct around minors, including one whose accuser killed himself in 2009, allegedly after his complaints were unheeded.

That priest, the Rev. Joseph J. Gallagher, has been deemed “unsuitable for ministry due to violations” of church standards, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia announced Sunday. The same reason was cited in the permanent removal of the Rev. Mark Gaspar.

As it has in other cases, the archdiocese did not identify the violations, or any details about the accuser or his or her claim.

A third priest, Msgr. Richard T. Powers, 77, was permanently removed over substantiated allegations that he abused a teen during an overseas trip 40 years ago.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia

Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap. has found Monsignor Richard T. Powers, a retired priest of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, not suitable for ministry following a substantiated allegation of sexual abuse of a minor that occurred approximately 40 years ago outside the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

Today’s announcement regarding Monsignor Powers is not directly connected to the cases of priests placed on administrative leave following the February 2011 Grand Jury Report.

Background Information
In March of 2012 an internal document was discovered in response to a subpoena following the February 2011 Grand Jury Report and turned over to the courts as soon as it was found. That document included a list of priests, among whom were those who had allegations of sexual abuse against them. All of those priests were either deceased, laicized, or living a life of prayer and penance with the exception of Monsignor Powers.

Subsequent to turning the list over to the courts last year, the Archdiocese placed Monsignor Powers on leave, and began its customary investigation. During that time Monsignor Powers was not permitted to exercise his public ministry, administer any of the Sacraments, wear clerical garb, or present himself publicly as a priest.

An announcement concerning this situation was made last year at Epiphany of Our Lord Parish in Philadelphia, where Monsignor Powers had been residing. The Archdiocese was not permitted to make a broader public announcement due to the court imposed gag order in the trial taking place at the time. An announcement regarding the final decision in Monsignor Powers’ case was made at the parish this weekend. Crisis counselors were made available.

Following Archbishop Chaput’s determination of unsuitability for ministry, Monsignor Powers will have no public ministry in the Archdiocese. He does have the right to appeal the decision to the Holy See. If he does not appeal, or if his appeal is unsuccessful, he could be laicized (removed from the clerical state) or live a life of prayer and penance.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia

Archbishop Chaput makes final decisions in two more cases of priests placed on administrative leave following the February 2011 Grand Jury Report

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia announced today that Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., has made final decisions in two more cases of priests placed on administrative leave following the February 2011 Grand Jury Report. Priests on administrative leave are not permitted to exercise their public ministry, administer any of the Sacraments, wear clerical garb, or present themselves publicly as priests.

Archbishop Chaput has decided that Father Joseph J. Gallagher and Father Mark S. Gaspar are unsuitable for ministry due to substantiated violations of The Standards of Ministerial Behaviors and Boundaries. They will have no public ministry in the Archdiocese. They do have the right to appeal the decision to the Holy See.

Announcements were made at the parishes where both priests last served when they were placed on administrative leave in March of 2011. Follow up announcements were made at those parishes this weekend regarding the final decisions in their cases. Crisis counselors were made available.

Father Gallagher’s and Father Gaspar’s cases followed the same procedure as all other cases of priests placed on administrative leave following the February 2011 Grand Jury Report. Prior to an investigation conducted by the Multi-Disciplinary Team, the case was submitted to the appropriate local district attorney’s office. After being released by the district attorney, an investigation was conducted by the MDT. The results of the investigations were provided to the Archdiocesan Review Board (ARB), now known as the Professional Responsibility Review Board (PRRB) , which provided a recommendation to the Archbishop, who made the final decision. This rigorous investigative process involved more than 20 experts in child abuse.

Archbishop Chaput said, “As I’ve done in the past, I relied closely on the Professional Responsibility Review Board and the Multi-Disciplinary Team during this process. The counsel provided by these experts, who have devoted their careers to combatting sexual abuse, is key to this work. I’m grateful for their efforts. After reviewing all the facts, as well as recommendations from competent external authorities, I made the decisions I feel are right and just.”

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PHILADELPHIA
NBC 10

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia announced Sunday that two more priests implicated in sexual abuse scandals have been declared unfit for service by Archbishop Charles J. Chaput.

According to Chaput, Father Joseph J. Gallagher, 78, and Father Mark S. Gaspar, 43, will have no further public ministry in the Archdiocese “due to substantiated violations of The Standards of Ministerial Behaviors and Boundaries.” Both men have the right to appeal the decision to the Holy See.

Gallagher retired from the church in 2006, after spending sixteen years at Saint Richard in Philadelphia. He was placed on administrative leave in 2011. Last year, Gallagher was one of seven priests named in a civil suit alleging the Archdiocese covered up child sex abuse allegations. Gallagher is also the priest at the center of a wrongful death suit filed against the Archdiocese by the family of a man who killed himself in 2008 after his allegations were deemed not credible.

Gaspar most recently ministered at Our Lady of Charity in Brookhaven from 2008 to 2011, when he, like Gallagher and others, was placed on administrative leave. Gaspar was one of 21 priests suspended following an investigation into 37 “cases of concern” by former Philadelphia Assistant District Attorney Gina Maisto Smith.

In addition, Chaput confirmed Sunday that Monsignor Richard Powers was deemed not suitable for ministry last year. An announcement was made to that effect at Epiphany of Our Lord Parish in Philadelphia, where Powers had been residing. A broader announcement was not possible at the time due to a court-imposed gag order that was in place at the time, according to the Archdiocese.

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FRANCE
Le Mondo

Gabriel (Robinson Stévenin), 27 ans, est un homme coincé dans une souffrance dont il n’est jamais parvenu à se libérer. Il y a quinze ans, il fut contraint à une relation amoureuse et sexuelle avec un prêtre, le père Vincey (Robin Renucci), directeur de son école religieuse. Ce secret, il ne l’a confié à personne, pas même à sa mère. S’estimant à la fois victime et complice, il s’est muré dans un silence qu’il décide de rompre, après un accident de voiture dans lequel son fils a failli mourir. Gabriel retrouve le père Vincey, affronte l’institution, se heurte au pouvoir de l’Eglise, mais aussi au déni des uns et des autres, notamment, des parents de certaines victimes.

Le téléfilm réalisé par Edwin Bailly retrace ce combat, tout en remontant dans le temps, afin de raconter la façon dont s’effectue ce glissement progressif du désir vers l’acte criminel. Le père Vincey se présente, en effet, sous un jour séduisant, homme généreux, attentif et prévenant. A l’égard du petit Gabriel (excellent Florian Vigilante), il ne fait preuve d’aucune brusquerie mais use d’une tendresse qu’il convertit subtilement, jusqu’à faire croire à l’enfant que ce lien leur a été envoyé par Dieu et doit demeurer leur secret.

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ESPANA
ABC

Día 07/04/2013 – 17.23h

Esta es una historia que debe comenzar por su último capítulo. O, mejor dicho, por el penúltimo, ya que el final, si es que llega a ser escrito, pertenecerá a otro pontificado.

El 17 de diciembre de 2012 tres cardenales fueron recibidos por el Papa y le hicieron entrega de un informe previamente encargado por él. Una frase sencilla, que encierra un enorme secreto. Y que, para empezar, no es del todo exacta. El “informe” no se entrega como quien da un sobre o un cuadernillo, porque estamos hablando de un grueso volumen, hay quien dice que consta de trescientas páginas, que está encuadernado en rojo y no lleva título alguno. El Santo Padre no se limita a recibirlo, sino que de inmediato lo guarda, no bajo siete llaves, sino “setenta veces siete”, como el perdón en el Evangelio, decidiendo antes de su histórica renuncia que el informe será entregado solamente al que será su sucesor. Desde el momento en que pronunció el encargo, en abril de ese mismo año, uno de los tres cardenales ha sido recibido privada y reservadamente con mucha frecuencia por el Papa, que así ha ido sabiendo todo lo que los tres purpurados descubrían. Golpe a golpe. El cáliz, una vez más, apurado hasta el fondo.

El cardenal que ha mantenido al Papa al día es el español Julián Herranz, miembro del Opus Dei, grandísimo jurista durante el pontificado de Juan Pablo II y hasta su jubilación consejero jurídico del Santo Padre en su cargo de presidente del pontificio Consejo para los Textos Legislativos. Él fue quien recibió en primera persona el encargo de redactar el informe sobre el estado de la curia, y aunque lo aceptó de inmediato, no quiso llevarlo a cabo solo, más por razones de oportunidad y justicia que por considerarlo una carga demasiado pesada. Pudo elegir en total libertad a sus dos compañeros de investigación, el cardenal italiano Salvatore de Giorgi y el eslovaco cardenal Jozef Tomko. Ninguno de los tres estará dentro de la Capilla Sixtina durante el cónclave porque ya han rebasado el límite de los ochenta años. Y tal vez para ellos mismos sea mejor así, porque ahora comparten con el Papa emérito el conocimiento directo de muchos males que se han infiltrado tras los muros vaticanos. […]

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MALTA
Malta Today

Nestor Laiviera

Weekly newspaper Illum reports that the Curia confirmed that the case revolving around allegations that a priest sexually abused a psychologically and mentally vulnerable person were investigated by the Church Response Team.

The Curia also said that the priest in question did not agree with the decision reached by the Response Team, and requested for this decision to be revised.

The confirmations emerged from a number of clarifications made by the Curia to Illum following revelations that a prominent priest in the Maltese Church is facing a number of police reports.

The most serous of these reports deals with accusations by a person who alleges that she was abused by the priest for sexual purposes despite being vulnerable both emotionally and psychologically.

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DEUTSCHLAND
MDR

Am Amtsgericht Bitterfeld-Wolfen muss sich am Montag ein katholischer Geistlicher verantworten, weil er Kinderpornos besessen haben soll. In seiner Wohnung in Zörbig hatte es im November 2011 eine Razzia gegeben. Die Fahnder entdeckten auf dem Rechner des Mannes rund 4.000 kinderpornografische Bild-Dateien. Bei einem Schuldspruch drohen dem 40-Jährigen bis zu zwei Jahre Haft. Das Gericht geht davon aus, dass noch am selben Tag das Urteil verkündet werden kann.

Bistum kündigt eigenes Verfahren an

Der Angeklagte hatte zuletzt als Vikar seelsorgerisch gearbeitet und zudem den Pfarrer in Wolfen-Zörbig vertreten. Kurz nach der Durchsuchung in seiner Wohnung wurde er vom Bistum Magdeburg beurlaubt. Selbst bei einem Freispruch wird der Mann zunächst nicht in seinen Beruf zurückkehren können. Das Bistum hat bereits angekündigt, ein kirchenrechtliches Verfahren einzuleiten. Bis zum Abschluss der kircheninternen Untersuchung bleibt der Mann vom Seelsorgedienst ausgeschlossen. Wie ein Bistumssprecher in Magdeburg mitteilte, muss schlussendlich der Vatikan über die berufliche Zukunft des Mannes entscheiden.

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OSTERREICH
Relevant

Pfarrer Helmut Schüller im relevant-Gespräch über Missbrauchsfälle in der Kirche, den Pflichtzölibat und Kirchenaustritte.

Er gilt als Rebell in der römisch-katholischen Kirche: Pfarrer Helmut Schüller spricht sich offen dafür aus, dass auch Frauen zur Priesterweihe zugelassen werden, kämpft gegen Missbrauchsfälle innerhalb der Kirche und tritt für die Abschaffung des Zölibats ein. 1999 ging das inbesonders Kardinal Schönborn gegen den Strich, der Schüller schriftlich aus seinem Amt der Erzdiözese Wien entließ.

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UNITED STATES
NBC News

By Joan Raymond
msnbc.com contributor

updated 6/30/2011

Young girls who are the victims of sexual abuse experience physical, biological and behavioral problems that can persist for decades after, a new study shows.

Researchers, who tracked a group of girls ranging in age from 6 to 16 at the start of the study in 1987 for the next 23 years, found that they had higher rates of depression and obesity, as well as problems with regulation of brain chemicals, among other issues, compared to a control group of girls who were not abused.

The study, published in the Cambridge University Press journal Development and Psychopathology, was conducted by researchers from the University of Southern California and the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. Those in the study were assessed by researchers six times at varying ages and developmental stages. Researchers hope to continue the study looking at the women, who are now in their 30s, as well as their children.

The racially-diverse group of 80 girls, who lived in the Washington, D.C., area, were victims of incest, broadly defined as suffering sexual abuse by a male living within the home. On average, the girls were abused for about two years prior to the abuse coming to the attention of child protective services. Some girls were abused when they were as young as age 2.

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SCOTLAND
The Observer

Catherine Deveney
The Observer, Saturday 6 April 2013

A former child protection consultant for the Scottish Catholic church has criticised its procedures for dealing with abuse, branding them a sham, only weeks after the country’s most senior cleric, Cardinal Keith O’Brien, was forced to resign over allegations of inappropriate sexual conduct.

As evidence mounts of the chaotic response in the church to the crisis that O’Brien’s resignation caused, Alan Draper, who worked for the Motherwell diocese for seven years, says in an interview with the Observer that the church has been unable to produce the annual audits of abuse claims that it promised in 1996, or give any details of a coherent national policy, and that individual bishops are allowed to make decisions piecemeal. “For too long the bishops have been kings in their castles and accountable to nobody,” said Draper. “It’s very corrosive. Some dioceses may be doing a good job – but we have no knowledge or information about what’s been going on.”

Draper worked for Bishop Joseph Devine but left in 2003 because, he says, his advice was consistently ignored. He said he had to take Devine “kicking and screaming” with him when he tried to implement good practice. Last month, after revelations that Draper knew of 20 abuse cases where no action was taken, the church issued a statement about his departure. Draper has now consulted his lawyer about a defamation action against the church.

Devine’s handling of abuse cases continues to be controversial. Last week his solicitors sent a letter to a victim of abuse, confirming that her counselling would be axed despite warnings from her psychotherapist that she has been suicidal “for substantial periods” during treatment. The woman, Ann Matthews, was abused from the ages of 11–18 by her parish priest. “They are being told someone’s life is in danger and all they can say is too bad,” says Matthews, who has attempted suicide on four occasions. “I am just a drain on their resources.”

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JOLIET (IL)
Roman Catholic Diocese of Joliet

Media reports in the past few days have focused on the removal of Fr. Thomas Corbino as a volunteer hospital chaplain at Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield. Since some of the reporting may contain incomplete information, the leadership of the Diocese of Joliet would like to set the record straight.

In August of 2011, the diocese received information indicating that Fr. Thomas Corbino may have engaged in inappropriate behavior with a minor when he served as a pastor at both St. Irene Parish, Warrenville and St. Anthony Parish in Frankfort from 1987 to 2008. The diocese sent the information to the states attorneys of DuPage and Will counties and immediately began an internal review into the matter. After several months of review by the diocesan review board, it was determined that Fr. Corbino’s actions did not rise to the level of sexual abuse of a minor.

Nevertheless, because of Fr. Corbino’s inappropriate behavior, he resigned from parish ministry and was placed in a restricted ministry with supervision. In that ministry, he served as a volunteer chaplain at Central DuPage Hospital. He was under the supervision of the hospital’s head of chaplain services and was to have no unsupervised contact with children. All involved with Fr. Corbino, whether at the hospital or elsewhere, were informed about the circumstances of Fr. Corbino’s restricted ministry.

As always, the Diocese of Joliet welcomes anyone who has information about sexual abuse of a minor by a member of the clergy, employee or volunteer of the diocese to report the abuse to civil authorities and to us. If a victim comes to us, we will offer pastoral assistance and counseling. Reports to the diocese should be made to any pastor or to the Victim Assistance Coordinator at 815-263-6467.

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UNITED KINGDOM
The Observer

Catherine Deveney
The Observer, Saturday 6 April 2013

March 13, 2013. The world is waiting. Television screens show days-old footage of cardinals in red and white, processing past Vatican guards into the magnificence of the Sistine Chapel for the papal conclave. Every image, from the polished marble floors and gold ceilings to the priceless frescoes on the walls, tells a story of wealth, pageantry and power. Outside, in St Peter’s Square, the crowds are cheering for a man whose name they do not yet know. But there is another soundtrack. The day before, Pat McEwan, a 62-year-old from Scotland, had described to me how he was raped at the age of eight by a priest. His voice drowns out crowds and choirs. “I ran home shaking like a dog. I had wee short trousers on and the shite was running down my leg. My mum and my auntie had to wipe me down.”

The juxtaposition of those two images: the powerful institution that represents 1.2 billion Catholics and the abused child, tells the story of a church with two faces: one public and one private. Last month, the church was plunged into crisis when the Observer revealed that three priests and one ex-priest had complained to the Papal Nuncio about Cardinal Keith O’Brien, Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh. The cardinal, who publicly decried homosexuals as degenerate, had, they said, privately been making advances to his own priests for years. But the story was never about one man. It wasn’t about personal weakness. Keith O’Brien was merely a symptom of a wider sickness: an institution that chooses cover-up as its default position to conceal moral, sexual and financial scandal.

This was not paedophilia but it was an abuse of power – a man in authority acting inappropriately to young seminarians and priests under his control. It was made clear that a full sexual relationship had been involved. Yet there were attempts to cloud his behaviour in moral ambiguity. First, there was denial. The cardinal “contested” the allegations. A day after publication, he resigned. The next week, he issued a statement admitting his sexual conduct “as a priest, a bishop and a cardinal” had fallen short. Many ignored what that confirmed about the extent and duration of his behaviour: he was made cardinal in 2003.

Next, came obfuscation, with the church claiming it did not know the substance of the allegations, despite being given written notice before publication. Then, anger and the minimising of wrongdoing – the cardinal had been destroyed for mere “drunken fumblings” from 30 years ago. Why, he had probably been to confession and received absolution. But most revealing of all was the attempt to turn the spotlight on the complainants’ motivation, to blame the accusers rather than the accused. It has been a familiar pattern in Catholic abuse cases over the years.

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UNITED STATES
NBC News

Pope Francis ordered the Vatican this week to act “decisively” in protecting children from sexual abuse and punishing predator priests, but his brief statement contained few specifics on how to stem the crisis that has roiled the Catholic Church for a decade.

The new pontiff directed the Vatican office known as the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to “continue the line” on the anti-abuse policies set by his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI.

Observers say that to restore the church’s credibility and ensure the safety of children worldwide, Francis will have to back up his words with actions. Here they offer some recommendations:

Heads should roll
The pope should demote or discipline a few bishops who were found to have covered up misdeeds, said David Clohessy, executive director of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, noting that Bishop Robert Finn of Kansas City has held onto his diocese even though he was convicted of a misdemeanor for failing to report a pedophile priest.

Although others said the pope was just being polite, Clohessy was incensed that he greeted scandal-scarred Cardinal Bernard Law during the traditional visit to St. Mary Major the day after his election. “Actions speak louder than words,” he said.

Name names
“The church needs to be open about the names of offenders who have been found to be abusers,” said Kathleen McChesney, a former FBI official and ex-director of the Office of Child Protection at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. “If you’re a diocese and you know that these 10 clergy members abused children, you should put those on the website.”

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ARGENTINA
Irish Times

Hugh O’Shaughnessy
Sat, Apr 6, 2013

Deep divisions between the conservative Argentine province of the Jesuits, for long headed by Fr Jorge Mario Bergoglio, now Pope Francis, and other Jesuit provinces in the west, are detailed in report in today’s Tablet , the British Catholic weekly, by Fr Michael Campbell-Johnston SJ, a former provincial of the British Jesuits.

Fr Campbell-Johnston spent many years as a priest in San Salvador, the capital of El Salvador. The church there was persecuted by a western-supported military dictatorship – responsible for the murder of Archbishop Oscar Romero in 1980, six Jesuits, two US nuns and many other Christian leaders.

Jesuit provincial
He recounts how, during a visit to the order’s social institutes in Latin America in 1977, he met Fr Bergoglio. The Argentinian had been Jesuit provincial for Argentina for four years.

“At the time,” Fr Campbell- Johnston says, “there were an estimated 6,000 political prisoners in Argentina and another 20,000 desaparecidos , people who had been ‘disappeared’.”

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VATIKAN
Blick

Vatikanstadt – Papst Franziskus hat ein «entschlossenes» Vorgehen gegen sexuellen Missbrauch von Kindern durch Kirchendiener gefordert. Diese Forderung im Sinne seines Vorgängers Benedikt XVI. habe er dem Präfekten der Kongregation für die Glaubenslehre bei einem Treffen am Freitag übermittelt, teilte der Vatikan mit.

Es ist das erste Mal, dass sich der neue Pontifex direkt und öffentlich zu der jahrzehntelangen Missbrauchsserie mit zehntausenden Opfern äussert.

Bei dem Gespräch habe Franziskus gezielte Massnahmen zum Schutz von Minderjährigen und all jenen angemahnt, «die in der Vergangenheit unter derartigen Gewalttaten leiden mussten», hiess es weiter. Gegen die Schuldigen müssten entsprechende Schritte unternommen und «die dazu notwendigen Verordnungen von den Bischofskonferenzen formuliert und umgesetzt werden».

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VATIKAN
Spiegel

In einer der drängendsten Fragen seiner Amtszeit hat sich Papst Franziskus erstmals zu Wort gemeldet: Vom Präfekten der Glaubenskongregation forderte er, entschlossen gegen sexuellen Missbrauch in der Kirche vorzugehen.

Rom – Der Missbrauchsskandal und seine mangelnde Aufarbeitung haben die katholische Kirche schwer getroffen. Nun will sich Papst Franziskus des Problems annehmen: Er kündigte an, entschlossen gegen sexuellen Missbrauch vorgehen zu wollen. Einer Mitteilung des Vatikans zufolge forderte er bei einer Audienz vom Präfekten der vatikanischen Glaubenskongregation, Gerhard Ludwig Müller, bei derartigen Übergriffen konsequent zu handeln.

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DEUTSCHLAND
SR

Immer mehr Missbrauchsopfer melden sich im Zusammenhang mit der Aufarbeitung am Homburger Johanneum. Jetzt haben zwei weitere Betroffene schwere Vorwürfe erhoben. Mittlerweile geht es möglicherweise um acht Täter und rund 20 Geschädigte.

(04.04.2013) Der Missbrauchsskandal am früheren Internat des Homburger Johanneums weitet sich offenbar aus. Der Opferinitiative liegen Berichte von zwei weiteren ehemaligen Internatsschülern vor.

Sie schildern teilweise schwere sexuelle Übergriffe von zwei weiteren Ordensmitgliedern – einem Pater und einem Bruder. Unter dem Pseudonym Dirk Gauberich hat die Initiative einen Bericht ins Internet gestellt – eine Schilderung über schlimmsten sexuellen Missbrauch, über seelisches Leid, über Verdrängung, einen plötzlichen Zusammenbruch Jahrzehnte später und über eine Verarbeitung, die erst vor wenigen Jahren mit ärztlicher Hilfe möglich wurde. Insgesamt hat sich die Anzahl der mutmaßlichen Täter nach Angaben der Opferinitiative auf mindestens acht erhöht.

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DEUTSCHLAND
MissBiT

Aufgrund einer mir vorliegenden aktuellen Korrespondenz aus Südafrika mit sehr brisantem Inhalt über den Sexualstraftäter und Priester K., sowie Ihren Äußerungen, wäre es meines Erachtens äußerst sinnvoll, Priester K., der per internationalem Haftbefehl gesucht wird, zu einer umgehenden freiwilligen Rückkehr nach Deutschland zu bewegen.

Dies dürfte auch Ihr eigenes Interesse widerspiegeln – nicht ohne Grund.

Somit könnte man womöglich zumindest einer – vielleicht aber auch mehreren – Negativ-Schlagzeilen in der “causa K.” zuvorkommen.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Regensburg-Digital

Ausgerechnet Müller? Der ehemalige Bischof von Regensburg ist bekanntermaßen als Chef der Glaubenskongregation gen Rom gezogen. Am Freitagmorgen hat Papst Franziskus Herrn Müller nun seine erste Audienz gewährt und ihn aufgefordert, „mit Entschiedenheit“ gegen sexuellen Missbrauch zu handeln. Müller damit zu beauftragen, ist eine gute Entscheidung.

Es war Müller, der gesagt hat, dass es „keinen Missbrauchskomplex“ gebe, sondern nur „über Jahrzehnte verteilte Einzelfälle“.

Es war Müller, der selbst gegen die Leitlinien der Deutschen Bischofskonferenz verstoßen und einen Pädophilen in Riekofen erneut als Priester eingesetzt hat.

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VATICAN CITY
Miami Herald

The Associated Press

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis has appointed a Spaniard as secretary for the Vatican’s office for religious orders.

The appointment of the Rev. Jose Rodriguez Carballo , announced Saturday, is Francis’ first appointment to the curia, or Vatican administration.

The 60-year-old Carballo, who was also elevated to archbishop, replaces U.S. Archibishop Joseph Tobin, who was transferred from the high-ranking Vatican post to the Indianapolis archdiocese of fewer than 230,000 parishioners following his efforts to resolve tensions between the Vatican and U.S. nuns. Some theological conservatives had complained that the nuns had become too secular and political.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Insider

Pope Francis has begun his appointments to the Roman Curia with a surprise: Franciscan leader Fr Jose Rodriguez Carballo is the new Secretary of the Congregation for institutes of consecrated life

Gerard O’Connell
Rome

In his first significant appointment to the Roman Curia, Pope Francis has taken the highly unusual step of naming the actual head of a religious order, Father Jose Rodriguez Carballo, as Secretary of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Institutes of Consecrated life and the Societies of Apostolic Life (formerly known as ‘The Congregation for Religious’).

When the Pope chose him, the 59-year old Spanish priest was Minister General or head of the largest group of the Franciscan family – the Order of Friars Minor (OFM), which has some 15,000 friars in 113 countries. He was first elected to that post in 2003, and re-elected for another six-year term in 2009 as head of an order that is contracting in Western Europe and North America, holding steady in Latin America, and gaining vocations in Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe.

The Vatican broke the news of Father Carballo’s appointment on April 6, and said Pope Francis has raised him to the rank of archbishop.

Born in Lodoselo, Spain in 1953, Carballo did his early studies in schools run by the Franciscans in that country and, in 1973, was sent to do biblical studies in Jerusalem. After being ordained priest in Jerusalem in 1977, he gained degrees in Biblical Theology in the Holy City and a further degree in Sacred Scripture from Rome’s Biblical Institute. In the following years he held increasingly high posts of responsibility in the Franciscan order in Spain and, in 2003, was elected Master General of the worldwide order.

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ARGENTINA
National Catholic Reporter

by John L. Allen Jr. | Apr. 6, 2013

Buenos Aires, Argentina – When the Vatican released a statement yesterday indicating that Pope Francis wants to move aggressively on the child sexual abuse scandals in the church, it was met by skepticism from victims groups insisting that “actions speak louder than words.”

Over the years, perhaps the most persistent such demand for action has been that bishops who mishandle abuse cases should be held accountable. Yesterday, a senior aide and confidante to then-Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio predicted that Francis will plug this hole as pope.

“Without a doubt,” said Fr. Jorge Oesterheld, who served as the spokesperson for the bishops’ conference in Argentina for the six years Bergoglio was its president from 2005 to 2011.

In an interview with NCR, Oesterheld said Francis will be committed to a “zero tolerance” policy with regard to sexual abuse.

Oesterheld also addressed the failure of the bishop’s conference to meet a Vatican-imposed deadline of May 2012 for submitting anti-sex abuse guidelines, roughly six months after Bergoglio stepped down as president. He said that under Bergoglio’s leadership, the conference was “very respectful” of each bishop’s direct relationship with the Vatican, and the desire not to “supplant” that relationship may be part of the reason it took more time to hammer out common policies.

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OMAHA (NE)
1011

The Vatican says the Archdiocese of Omaha will handle the investigation of a local priest accused of sexual abuse in the 1970s.

Archbishop George Lucas, along with two attorneys from outside the archdiocese, will decide what happens to Rev. Franklin Dvorak. Deacon Timothy McNeil, chancellor of the archdiocese, says Lucas could render a decision by this summer.

Dvorak was accused last year of sexually abusing a female student from 1970 to 1972 when he was stationed at Sacred Heart Parish. It is now called Norfolk Catholic. He is on administrative leave as pastor of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish in Omaha.

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VATICAN CITY
John Thavis

There was Big News and little news out of the Vatican today.

The Big News grabbed the headlines: Pope Francis told the head of the Vatican’s doctrinal congregation that he should “act decisively” with regard to cases of sexual abuse by priests, “continuing along the lines set by Benedict XVI.”

This should be done “first of all by promoting measures for the protection of minors, as well as in offering assistance to those who have suffered abuse, carrying out due proceedings against the guilty, and in the commitment of bishops’ conferences to formulate and implement the necessary directives in this area that is so important for the Church’s witness and credibility.”

“The Holy Father assured that victims of abuse are present in a particular way in his prayers for those who are suffering.”

I’m not even sure what all this means. The first thing to note is that the information came in a statement by the doctrinal congregation after the papal audience. The second thing is its defense of the retired Pope Benedict and his handling of abuse cases.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Insider

The Pope received the Prefect for the Doctrine of the Faith, Müller, in an audience today: “Continue to act decisively with regard to cases of sexual abuse, along the lines set by Benedict XVI”

ANDREA TORNIELLI
Vatican City

The line taken by the Church with regards to sex abuse has not changed. Those who thought Benedict XVI’s resignation and Mgr. Charles Scicluna’s transferral to Malta before this, was a sign the Holy See intended to close a chapter of its recent history, will be disappointed. Yesterday Pope Francis received the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Archbishop Gerhard Ludwig Müller, in an audience, to discuss the various issues on the dicastery’s agenda.

The statement published in the late morning reads: “In particular, the Holy Father recommended that the Congregation, continuing along the lines set by Benedict XVI, act decisively with regard to cases of sexual abuse, first of all by promoting measures for the protection of minors, as well as in offering assistance to those who have suffered abuse, carrying out due proceedings against the guilty, and in the commitment of bishops’ conferences to formulate and implement the necessary directives in this area that is so important for the Church’s witness and credibility.”

The Church will not be taking any steps back or loosening up on this issue.Quite the opposite. Pope Francis wanted to emphasise that he intends to continue the work of his predecessor. Readers will recall that when Ratzinger was still a cardinal he played a key role when the breakthrough move was made in 2002 under John Paul II. That is, when the former Holy Office decided to deal with the abuse cases itself, taking the task out of the hands of the dioceses. He continued his protagonist role when he became Pope in 2005, introducing tighter rules and expressing his closeness to the victims. This line of action will not change under Pope Francis.

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CALIFORNIA
Record Searchlight

By Record Searchlight staff

Posted April 5, 2013

SACRAMENTO — A new trial date was set today in Sacramento County Superior Court for a suspended Redding priest charged with seven felony counts of child molestation, a spokeswoman for the Sacramento County district attorney’s office said.

The Rev. Uriel Ojeda, 33, who had been scheduled to begin standing trial next week, is now set to have his trial begin on June 25, the spokeswoman said.

The spokeswoman did not know the reason for the trial postponement. It’s at least the second time Ojeda’s trial date has been postponed.

Ojeda, who was arrested Nov. 30, 2011, is accused of seven counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a teenage girl over a two-year span — starting when she was 14 — in Sacramento and Shasta counties, according to the criminal complaint.

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ILLINOIS
Chicago Tribune

By Stacy St. Clair, David Heinzmann and Christy Gutowski, Chicago Tribune reporters
April 7, 2013

When Will County sheriff’s deputies found the Rev. William Virtue sneaking into a private quarry in 1986, police records state that the Roman Catholic priest had blankets, two six packs of beer and a 10-year-old boy with him. He fled on foot when officers arrived, leaving the child behind.

Authorities took Virtue into custody after he returned to his car but later released him without charges because the boy’s mother said she had given her son permission to go swimming with the priest. Still, a deputy forwarded the report to Joliet Diocese officials who put it into Virtue’s personnel file — which already contained several accusations involving inappropriate behavior with underage boys.

The arrest report would remain tucked away for 20 years as Virtue continued to have contact with youths, and even after a seemingly repentant Joliet Diocese pledged in 2002 to improve its handling of sex abuse cases and held up guidelines approved by American bishops as proof of its commitment to transparency and victims’ needs.

Virtue’s personnel file, which contains 500 pages of letters, memos and reports, reflects the struggles the church faced since its public vow to better protect children after a bruising, national sex abuse scandal. Records obtained by the Tribune reveal several instances in which the diocese’s handling of abuse allegations contradicted those promises, adding to concerns about the overall efficacy of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People that U.S. bishops signed amid fanfare.

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OMAHA (NE)
World-Herald

By Michael O’Connor
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

A sexual abuse allegation against a local Catholic priest will be resolved through an administrative disciplinary process, the Omaha Archdiocese said Friday.

The case involves the Rev. Franklin A. Dvorak of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church. Dvorak denies the allegation, said Deacon Timothy McNeil, the archdiocese’s chancellor.

The disciplinary process involves two canon lawyers from outside the archdiocese assisting Archbishop George Lucas in determining Dvorak’s innocence or guilt, McNeil said. Dvorak, 69, is accused of sexually abusing a teenage girl in the 1970s.

Dvorak could not be reached for comment.

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FLORIDA
Palm Beach Post

By Alexandra Seltzer
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

The state Department of Children and Families confirmed Friday that they have previously investigated a case involving the Palm Beach County teacher accused of giving out candy for sexual acts to former students.

DCF does not comment on past investigations.

Stephen Budd, 51, the man accused of sexual battery during the 2006-07 school year when he was a teacher at Rosarian Academy in West Palm Beach, has no criminal history in neither Florida, nor the Pennsylvania county he grew up in.

A DCF spokeswoman could only say that the previously investigated case involving Budd “was not recent.”

A Palm Beach County Sheriff’s spokeswoman did say that deputies investigated a complaint made my Budd in October 2006 when he accused his ex-wife of child abuse. Budd reported to deputies that she choked their youngest daughter, who was 16 at the time. No arrests were made in that case.

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FLORIDA
Roman Catholic Diocese of Palm Beach

Date:April 5, 2013

In response to the reported allegations of sexual abuse made by two students against a former teacher, the Diocese of Palm Beach is issuing the following statement:
“The Diocese of Palm Beach is greatly concerned and takes very seriously the recently reported allegations of sexual abuse made by two students against Stephen Budd.

Stephen Budd was a volunteer at St. Luke Catholic Church in Palm Springs in the late 1990s and was employed from 1996 to 2002 as a teacher at the diocese’s school, St. Francis of Assisi in Riviera Beach. That school closed in 2005. Mr. Budd left St. Francis when he gained employment at Rosarian Academy in West Palm Beach in 2002. Rosarian Academy is a private school that is not sponsored by the Diocese of Palm Beach or under the jurisdiction of its Office of Catholic Schools.

At the request of Rosarian Academy, the diocese has sent a Crisis Management Response Team consisting of counselors and psychologists to provide any needed assistance to the students, parents, and staff at Rosarian Academy.

The Diocese of Palm Beach will fully cooperate with legal authorities in their investigation of this matter and will notify the parish communities of St. Luke and St. Francis of Assisi of these reported allegations.

The diocese encourages any victims of abuse to contact the local police department. In addition, the diocese offers counseling to victims of abuse at any diocesan school or parish and asks any victims to contact the following telephone number 561-801-0999.

Our prayers are with the students and the families involved.”

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FLORIDA
WBZT

It’s unthinkable, but authorities say it’s exactly what happened. 51 year old Stephen Budd, currently an ESE specialist at South Tech Academy in Boynton Beach was arrested this week, charged with having sexual contact with little girls.

So far, two girls have come forward with allegations that their teacher at the Rosarian Academy several years ago offered them what he called “Budd Bucks”, which was basically candy, in exchange for performing sex acts.

The two alleged victims are now 14 and 15 years old and the crimes Budd’s accused of happened in 2006 and 2007. The man left the West Palm Beach catholic school in 2007 and went to work for the South Tech Academy, a charter school, which has placed him on administrative leave pending the outcome of this case.

One of the girls says she went to police after Budd tried to contact her via social media.

Cops are convinced that there are more victims, and want girls to feel comfortable coming forward.

Meanwhile, the Rosarian Academy is working with police.

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FLORIDA
Daily News

By Aleese Kopf
Daily News Staff Writer

Parents of Rosarian Academy students expressed shock and disbelief Friday over allegations that a former fourth-grade teacher had sexually abused two girls.

The teacher, Stephen J. Budd, 51, of West Palm Beach, remains in the Palm Beach County Jail. He was arrested after the girls told West Palm Beach police that during the 2006-07 school year, starting when they were 9 years old, that Budd had rewarded them in exchange for sex acts.

“I’m shocked because that’s not the person that I knew,” said Steve Suglia, parent of a former Rosarian student. “It makes me sick to my stomach. My daughter came home from school and was almost in tears because it was all over social media.”

Suglia said his daughter attended Rosarian from kindergarten through fifth grade, and was in Budd’s homeroom class. He said he knew Budd to be an “excellent” teacher who helped his daughter improve her grades in English.

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FLORIDA
WPTV

By: BRIAN ENTIN, News Channel 5

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The public relations firm representing Rosarian Academy said Friday that counselors were on the campus and that the principal was meeting with parents.

Those events were taking place after former teacher Stephen Budd was arrested Thursday. Police say he sexually assaulted two of his former students. Budd was a fourth grade teacher. Police say the incidents happened during the 2006-2007 school year.

The Florida Department of Children and Families is also investigating.

“Our main concern is the children involved and providing them the services they need,” DCF’s Southeast Regional Managing Director Dennis Miles said.

According to police reports, the girls were nine-years-old at the time of the abuse.

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FLORIDA
WPBF

Police: More victims of teacher accused of sex acts could be out there

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. —Police are urging potential additional victims to come forward and a local school has released a statement after one of its former teachers, Stephen Budd, was accused of giving young girls candy in exchange for sex.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation needs your help in identifying these six men who are wanted for crimes ranging from sexually abusing children to distributing child pornography on the Internet.
More

Budd, 51, was arrested Wednesday after detectives set up a sting in which they recorded phone calls, Facebook messages and text messages between Budd and two girls he’s accused of having sex with during the 2006-2007 school year when they were 9 years old.

The alleged sex acts happened while Budd was a teacher at Rosarian Academy, which released the following statement Friday:

“Rosarian Academy’s leadership was shocked and distressed to learn Wednesday of disturbing allegations against a former teacher at the school by two of our alums. We are cooperating fully with local law enforcement in the investigation so that the facts associated with this alleged incident dating back to the 2006-2007 school year are brought to light as quickly and comprehensively as possible.

“Nothing is more important to us at Rosarian Academy than the safety and well-being of our students. Nurturing their healthy growth and intellectual and spiritual development has been at the core of the school’s mission since 1925. We have in place procedures and protocols for interviewing prospective faculty and checking their background and references. As more information comes to light, we will continue to keep the Rosarian family and our community fully informed about this serious matter. Our prayers are with the families involved.”

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UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter

by Joshua J. McElwee | Apr. 5, 2013

A U.S. group that advocates for survivors of clergy sex abuse has sharply criticized reports that Pope Francis told the Vatican’s chief doctrinal enforcer to act “decisively” on the matter.

The pope, the National Survivors Advocates Coalition said in a release Friday afternoon, “doesn’t need to call for action in the Roman Catholic Church regarding the sexual abuse crisis. He can take action.”

“We hope today’s news regarding his meeting with the head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith is a first foray into this issue and not an exit and closed book strategy,” the group continued.

“If this is all Pope Francis is planning on doing, it is crushingly disappointing.”

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OMAHA (NE)
Star-Herald

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Vatican says the Archdiocese of Omaha will handle the investigation of a local priest accused of sexual abuse in the 1970s.

Archbishop George Lucas, along with two attorneys from outside the archdiocese, will decide what happens to Rev. Franklin Dvorak. Deacon Timothy McNeil, chancellor of the archdiocese, says Lucas could render a decision by this summer.

Dvorak was accused last year of sexually abusing a female student from 1970 to 1972 when he was stationed at Sacred Heart Parish. It is now called Norfolk Catholic. He is on administrative leave as pastor of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish in Omaha.

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VATICAN CITY
Washington Post

By Alessandro Speciale And David Gibson| Religion News Service,

Updated: Friday, April 5

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis has won widespread acclaim thus far in his nascent papacy with popular gestures like washing the feet of juveniles during Holy Week and refusing many papal perks. But now comes the hard part of his new job: reforming the Vatican.

The Roman Curia, as the central administration of the Catholic Church is known, has been riven by scandals and allegations of infighting and careerism, which helped undermine Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s reign and reportedly pushed him to resign..

The dysfunction was so bad that reforming the Curia became a rallying cry for many cardinals at the conclave that elected Francis. But will he deliver on the promise of reform?

Much will depend on who Francis will choose as his top aides, starting from the appointments of the new heads of key Vatican offices. So far, he has reconfirmed the Curia leadership, but he has made it clear that this is just a provisional measure while he makes up his mind about his next steps.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Worthing Herald

TWO Sussex men have been convicted today (Friday, April 5) of sexual offences against boys between 23 and 26 years ago.

Keith Wilkie Denford, 78, a priest, of Broad Reach Mews, Shoreham, West Sussex, and Michael Mytton, 69, of South Road, East Chiltington, East Sussex, known locally as Mark, were convicted at Hove Crown Court after a three-week trial.

The case was adjourned for sentencing on Thursday, May 2, and the defendants remain on bail meanwhile.

Denford was convicted of two indecent assaults on a boy then under 16, in or near Shoreham, and one indecent assault on another boy, also aged under 16 and also in or near Shoreham, on dates between June, 1987, and January, 1990.

He was found not guilty of a third charge of indecent assault against the first boy.

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AUSTRALIA
Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse

A transcript of the first sitting is available below.

Where appropriate, hearing transcripts will be available to the public throughout the hearings process.

•3 April 2013 – Hearing transcript [DOC 507KB]
•3 April 2013 – Hearing transcript [PDF 345KB]

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ST. LOUIS (MO)
Berger’s Beat

. .Pressure from abuse victims and a federal judge is prompting Milwaukee Catholic officials to release a deposition of Cardinal Timothy Dolan this summer. Dolan, a St. Louis native, was questioned for three hours about how he dealt with clergy sex abuse and cover up cases in Milwaukee before being promoted to head the NYC archdiocese.

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CALIFORNIA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by Barbara Dorris on April 05, 2013

We hope that this trial gets under way soon. Those victimized by Fr. Uriel Ojeda deserve to have a chance at justice.

We are concerned, however, that Fr. Ojeda remains free on bail as his case gets dangerously close to proceeding. At least three Sacramento predator priests – Fr. Gerardo Beltran, Fr. Jose Luis Urbina and Fr. Francisco Javier Garcia – are believed to have fled California after sexually assaulting kids. Given his youth, we fear that Fr. Ojeda also represents a flight risk.

We hope that the judge will begin this trial immediately and that steps are taken to ensure Fr. Ojeda does not flee like other Sacramento predators.

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NEW YORK/MASSACHUSETTS
Patch

By Michael Woyton

A former Westchester County priest—already charged with five counts of child rape—was arrested on a second charge of child rape in Massaschusetts.

Rev. Richard McCormick, 72, formerly of New Rochelle, was arraigned Friday in Salem (MA) Superior Court on an additional count of rape of a child based on the allegations of a second victim, according to spokeswoman Carrie Kimball Monahan of the Essex District Attorney’s Office.

McCormick was indicted March 7 after the second victim came forward in late 2012. The new indictment alleges he raped a 7- to 9-year-old child between the years 1981 to 1983 at the former Retreat Center of the Salesian Brothers in Ipswich, MA.

McCormick was arrested in New Rochelle in August 2012 and charged with five counts of raping a child in the 1980s.

He was released on the conditions that he reside at the Vianney Renewal Center in Missouri, report to the Superior Court Probation by telephone once a week and in person with every court appearance, attend all court appearances and not hace any unsupervised contact with minors. McCormick was also issued a bail warning, which means he can be held without bail or up to 60 days if he violates any of the conditions.

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VATICAN CITY
New York Daily News

By Corky Siemaszko / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Friday, April 5, 2013

Pope Francis gave the Roman Catholic Church some marching orders Friday — “act decisively” to root out and punish pedophile priests.

Doing so is necessary “for the church and its credibility,” Francis said, according to the Vatican.

It was the first time Francis publically addressed the festering sex abuse issue since he was elected last month — and he did so in a meeting with Archbishop Gerhard Müller, who heads the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which investigates perv priests.

The department should also promote “measures to protect minors, help for those who have suffered such violence in the past,” the pope’s statement said.

But advocates for victims of sexual abuse by priests were not impressed.

“Once again, as have happened hundreds of times already, a top Catholic official says he’s asking another top Catholic official to take action about pedophile priests and complicit bishops,” said Barbara Dorris of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), a U.S.-based organization. “Big deal. Actions speak louder than words.”

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UNITED KINGDOM
Darlington & Stockton Times

By Joe Willis, Regional Chief Reporter

SUSPENDED priest Father Michael Higginbottom may never return to his parish – despite not being charged with any crime, an expert on Catholic Church sexual abuse allegations claimed last night.

Parishioners from St Augustine’s Church, in Darlington, where Fr Higginbottom was priest from 1998 until his suspension in 2004, are also not hopeful of his swift return.

A Northern Echo investigation has revealed that Fr Higginbottom, who has been suspended for nine years, was questioned – but not charged – by police after being accused of molesting a 12-year-old boy.

The former pupil who was taught by the priest at St Joseph’s College, near Wigan, received a £35,000 pay-off from the Catholic Church – which did not accept liability – before the case could go to court.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Daily Mail

Former Church of England priest and retired organist face jail for sexually abusing boys as young as 10

By Olivia Williams

A former Church of England priest and a retired organist were found guilty today of a string of child sex abuse offences.

Father Keith Wilkie Denford, 78, and Michael Mytton, 69, abused their access to young boys while they worked together at St John the Evangelist Church in Burgess Hill, West Sussex.

Hove Crown Court heard how on one occasion Denham had given one of the boys alcohol and then got into a bath with him while aroused. Denham had invited the boy to stay over after he acted as a waiter for a dinner party at his house.

On the same evening he pressed himself up against the other boy intimately in bed while saying: ‘How nice it is to have a cuddle.’

Prosecutors said Denford from Shoreham-by-Sea groomed two 13-year-old boys over 18 months between 1987 and 1990.

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VATICAN CITY
YouTube – Rome Reports

Published on Apr 5, 2013

http://en.romereports.com On Friday, Pope Francis met with the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Gerhard Ludwig Muller. Soon after the Vatican issued a press release explaining that the Pope had asked the Congregation to continue the work that started under Benedict XVI in the fight against sexual abuse.

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VATICAN CITY
U.S. Catholic

By Carol Glatz
Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis reaffirmed the importance of responding decisively to the problem of the sexual abuse of minors by members of the clergy and called on the Vatican office dealing with suspected cases to continue carrying out its mandate.

During an April 5 meeting with Archbishop Gerhard L. Muller, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the pope discussed the office’s various responsibilities.

However, he made a particular point of highlighting its work to counter clerical sexual abuse, telling Archbishop Muller he wanted the congregation “to act decisively concerning cases of sexual abuse,” the Vatican said in a written statement released after the meeting.

The pope, the statement said, asked the congregation to continue: “promoting measures that protect minors, above all; help for those who have suffered such violence in the past; necessary procedures against those found guilty; (and) the commitment of bishops’ conferences in formulating and implementing the necessary directives in this is area that is so important for the church’s witness and credibility.”

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VATICAN CITY
Reuters

By Philip Pullella

VATICAN CITY | Fri Apr 5, 2013

(Reuters) – Pope Francis wants the Catholic Church to “act decisively” to root out sexual abuse of children by priests and ensure the perpetrators are punished, the Vatican said on Friday.

Francis, in a meeting with the Holy See’s doctrinal chief, Archbishop Gerhard Mueller, had declared that combating sexual abuse was important “for the Church and its credibility”, a statement said.

Francis inherited a Church mired in problems and a major scandal over priestly abuse of children. It was believed to be the first time he had taken up the issue of sex abuse with a senior member of his staff since his election on March 13. …

A victims’ group, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) said the statement did not go far enough and criticized it for saying that the Church’s stance against sexual abuse was “a continuation” of the line wanted by Francis’ predecessor, Pope Benedict.

“Action, not discussion, is needed,” SNAP said in a statement.

“We can’t confuse words with actions. When we do, we hurt kids. We must insist on new tangible action that helps vulnerable children protect their bodies, not old vague pledges that help a widely-discredited institution protect its reputation,” it said.

SNAP and other victims groups say there is much still to be discovered about how the Church behaved in the past and want more bishops who were aware of abuse to be held responsible.

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VATICAN CITY
NPR

by Eyder Peralta

April 05, 2013

Pope Francis told his staff to take “decisive action” when it comes to cases of clerical sex abuse of minors.

In a statement, the Vatican said the pontiff ordered the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to “act decisively as far as cases of sexual abuse are concerned, promoting, above all, measures to protect minors, help for those who have suffered such violence in the past (and) the necessary procedures against those who are guilty.”

The BBC reports this was the new pope’s first public statement on the issue, which has plagued the church for years.

The BBC reports:
“When first elected, Benedict XVI promised to rid his Church of the ‘filth’ of clerical sex abuse, but critics accused him of covering up abuse in the past and failing to protect children from paedophile priests.

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VATICAN CITY
RTE News

Pope Francis wants the Catholic Church to “act decisively” to root out sexual abuse of children by priests and ensure the perpetrators are punished.

The Pope, in a meeting with the Holy See’s doctrinal chief, Archbishop Gerhard Muller, declared that combating sexual abuse was important “for the Church and its credibility”.

Pope Francis has inherited a Church mired in problems and a major scandal over the clerical abuse of children.

It was believed to be the first time he had taken up the issue of sex abuse with a senior member of his staff since his election on 13 March.

Archbishop Muller is head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

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VATICAN CITY
Christian Science Monitor

By Nick Squires, Correspondent / April 5, 2013

Rome

Pope Francis called on the Catholic Church to take decisive action against sexually abusive priests, to bring offenders to justice, and to protect children, in his first remarks on an issue that dominated the papacy of his predecessor and is likely to loom large in his own reign.

But groups representing victims of clerical sex abuse dismissed his remarks as empty rhetoric and called into question whether he was really determined to tackle the scandals head on.

Pope Francis, who was elected just three weeks ago, discussed the sex abuse scandals – which have severely harmed the image of the Roman Catholic Church since the first revelations emerged in Boston in 2002 – during a meeting with Archbishop Gerhard Muller, the head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, a Vatican department which investigates cases of sexual abuse and decides if priests should be defrocked.

“The Holy Father in particular asked that the Congregation, continuing the line adopted by Benedict XVI, act decisively in cases of sexual abuse, promoting above all measures to protect minors, help for those who in the past suffered such violence and the necessary procedures against those who are guilty,” the Vatican said in a statement.

It was vital to combat the scourge of sexually abusive priests in order to restore the “credibility” of the church, the pope said.

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VATICAN CITY
Boston Globe

By Frances D’Emilio
Associated Press
April 05, 2013

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis directed the Vatican on Friday to act decisively on clergy sex abuse cases and take measures against pedophile priests, saying the Catholic Church’s ‘‘credibility’’ was on the line. The announcement was quickly dismissed by victims’ advocates as just more talk.

Clergy abuse victims have called for swift and bold action from Francis as soon as he was elected pope last month. Yet in his homeland, Roman Catholic activists had characterized him as being slow to act against such abuse in his years heading the Argentine church.

Friday’s development left victims’ advocates unimpressed.

‘‘Once again, has have happened hundreds of times already, a top Catholic official says he’s asking another top Catholic official to take action about pedophile priests and complicit bishops,’’ said Barbara Dorris, an official of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, a U.S.-based organization.

‘‘Big deal. Actions speak louder than words. And one of the first actions Pope Francis took was to visit perhaps the most high-profile corrupt prelate on the planet, Cardinal Bernard Law, who remains a powerful church official despite having been drummed out of Boston for hiding and enabling crimes by hundreds of child molesting clerics,’’ Dorris said in a statement.

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PENNSYLVANIA
York Dispatch

By CHRISTINA KAUFFMAN 505-5436 / @ydyorkcountyyorkdispatch.com
Updated: 04/05/2013

She looks pretty tough now, sporting big hoop earrings and a spiked, two-toned faux hawk.

But 20 years ago, Stephanie Fessler was a vulnerable 4-year-old girl told she was to blame for being sexually assaulted by a male congregation member at Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

She was 14 the second time it happened. This time, it came at the hands of a 50-year-old woman from the church. Fessler said she was given the same punishment as her abuser.

“I was publicly reproved (disgraced) at a church meeting,” Fessler said Thursday after speaking about the abuse in public for the first time. “Because she was a woman, I should’ve known better. It was against the church …”

The 24-year-old West York woman was one of a few sexual assault survivors to share their stories Thursday for the kickoff ceremony for Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

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UNITED KINGDOM
ITV

A retired West Sussex Church of England priest and a former organist and choirmaster have been found guilty of a string of child sex abuse offences dating back more than 25 years.

A judge said that Father Keith Wilkie Denford and Michael Mytton had committed “a grave and gross breach of trust”. Prosecutors said Denford, 78, used the respectability of the cassock to groom and abuse two boys over an 18-month period from when they were aged around 13.

Following Denford and Mytton’s convictions, the Bishop of Chichester Dr Warner said: “I note the verdict reached by the court today and we will now move swiftly to implement our own disciplinary procedures following this verdict in the case of Mr Denford.

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CALIFORNIA
Record Searchlight

A suspended Redding priest charged with seven felony counts of child molestation will be in Sacramento County Superior Court today for a trial readiness conference.

The Rev. Uriel Ojeda, 33, is scheduled to begin standing trial Tuesday.

Arrested Nov. 30, 2011, Ojeda is accused of seven counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a teenage girl over a two-year span — starting when she was 14 — in Sacramento and Shasta counties, according to the criminal complaint. The allegations came to light when the diocese received a complaint from a parishioner’s family.

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ARGENTINA
National Catholic Reporter

by John L. Allen Jr. | Apr. 5, 2013

Buenos Aires, Argentina —
I spent this week in Argentina in search of insight into Pope Francis from the people who know him best as Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the man who was their archbishop for fifteen years.

For sure, the first impression here is deep national pride. Locals say there’s probably never been a better-attended Holy Week in the history of Argentinian Catholicism than after Francis’ election.

A Via Crucis procession in Rosario, the country’s second city, usually draws 200,000 people, but this time it attracted 350,000; attendance at the cathedral in Buenos Aires was estimated to be two to three times greater than 2012. All across the country, church-goers reported standing-room-only crowds and long lines for confession.

The election of an Argentine pope seems to have had a soothing effect on the culture generally.

A talented young Argentinian journalist named Ines San Martin, my aide and translator this week, tells the following story.

She was on a bus in Buenos Aires when the driver and a passenger got into a shouting match, with the passenger demanding the driver’s license number and threatening to call the police. Just as things seemed on the brink of falling apart, an elderly woman stood up and said: “What are you fighting about? We’ve got an Argentinian pope!”

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UNITED KINGDOM
BBC News

A retired Church of England priest and a church organist have been found guilty of abusing teenage boys.

Father Keith Wilkie Denford, 78, from Shoreham-by-Sea, was found guilty at Hove Crown Court on three charges of indecently assaulting two boys.

Michael Mytton, 68, from East Chiltington, East Sussex, was found guilty on three charges. Both denied abusing the boys between 1987 and 1990.

The judge said the pair had committed “a grave breach of trust”.

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FLORIDA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by Barbara Dorris on April 05, 2013

A school teacher in Palm Beach has been arrested for abusing children as young as nine.

We are grateful to Palm Beach police for not only arresting Stephen Budd, but also for reaching out to families to find more victims. School officials at Rosarian Academy should follow this example and use all of their resources to find other victims and help them come forward.

We agree with the police that there are likely more victims, especially given that Budd worked around special education students. In the past, Budd has also worked at another catholic school (St. Francis of Assisi) where he also prepared students to receive sacraments. It is highly likely that Budd victimized children in those roles as well, and we urge church and school officials there to aggressively reach out to parents of both current and former students.

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VATICAN CITY
Telegraph (UK)

Pope Francis said the Catholic Church must “act decisively” against the scourge of paedophile priests, in his first public remarks on the scandal since being elected last month.

By Nick Squires, Rome
3:01PM BST 05 Apr 2013

Tackling the sexual abuse of children by clergymen was vital for restoring the “credibility” of the Church worldwide, Francis said.

He issued the declaration after holding a meeting with Archbishop Gerhard Muller, the head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican department which investigates cases of sexual abuse and decides if priests should be defrocked.

“The Holy Father in particular asked that the Congregation, continuing the line adopted by Benedict XVI, act decisively in cases of sexual abuse, promoting above all measures to protect minors, help for those who in the past suffered such violence and the necessary procedures against those who are guilty,” the Vatican said in a statement.

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FLORIDA
Daily News

By ALEESE KOPF and DAVID ROGERS
Daily News Staff Writers

A former Rosarian Academy teacher was arrested Thursday on numerous charges, including sexual battery on a child, West Palm Beach police officials said Thursday.

Stephen J. Budd, a fourth-grade teacher at Rosarian at the time of the alleged crimes, was charged with three counts of sexual battery on a child, two counts of sexual performance by a child, two counts of lewd or lascivious exhibition, and two counts of battery of a child.

Budd, 51, of West Palm Beach, was arrested and booked into the Palm Beach County Jail early Thursday morning. He is being held without bail.

“We fear there may be additional victims so the purpose of this today is to announce his arrest with the hopes that if there are additional victims, they will come forward,” said West Palm Beach Police Chief Vincent Demasi at a Thursday news conference.

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UNITED STATES
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by Barbara Dorris on April 05, 2013

Once again, as has happened hundreds of times already, a top Catholic official says he’s asking another top Catholic official to take action about pedophile priests and complicit bishops.

Big deal.

Actions speak louder than words. And one of the first actions Pope Francis took was to visit perhaps the most high profile corrupt prelate on the planet – Cardinal Bernard Law – who remains a powerful church official despite having been drummed out of Boston for hiding and enabling crimes by hundreds of child molesting clerics.

It’s tragic that Pope Francis is asking a top aide to stay on the irresponsible path charted by Pope Benedict. It’s tragic that a pope who’s shown a willingness to send signals that hint at change in several ways is not signaling that he wants no change in how the church deals with child sex crimes and cover ups.

Kids won’t be helped by a “continuation” of the tiny symbolic gestures taken by Pope Benedict. Kids will be helped by decisive changes. Thus far, Pope Francis hasn’t even discussed, much less adopted, even a single reform. In fact, by visiting Law, the pope has continued to ignore – and thus encourage – heinous wrongdoing.

Some will say “At least the new pope is discussing abuse within his first month as head of the church. Isn’t that progress?” It’s not. Catholic officials have long discussed abuse – privately for centuries and publicly for decades. Action, not discussion, is needed.

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UNITED STATES
National Survivor Advocates Coalition

Editorial

Australia

Down under, the hunt for truth is on.

The National Survivor Advocates Coalition (NSAC) salutes the courage of the survivors in Australia who would not rest until a vehicle was created for the truth.

That vehicle, the Australian parliament’s inquiry, backed by Prime Minister Julie Gillard and known as Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, has begun its work. More than 5,000 victims are expected to testify and the commission says the number could go higher.

5,000 – that’s a number that should be left to sink in upon the Church, the religious communities and the state institutions in which victims became victims.

Free basic legal advice will be available to victims, the commission has announced.

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VATICAN CITY
Bloomberg Businessweek

By Lorenzo Totaro and Chiara Vasarri on April 05, 2013

Pope Francis stressed the need for the Catholic Church to act in line with his predecessor Benedict XVI in fighting sexual abuses, according to a statement by the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith.

The statement was issued after a meeting between the pontiff and Archbishop Gerhard Ludwig Mueller, prefect of the congregation ruling on the Catholic doctrine.

“The Holy Father recommended in particular that the Congregation continue the line desired by Benedict XVI of decisive action regarding cases of sexual abuse primarily by promoting measures for child protection,” the statement said. The Pope also highlighted the need to help those who in the past have suffered such violence and that the perpetrators undergo “due process,” according to the statement.

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VATICAN CITY
NEWS.com.au

POPE Francis is urging Vatican disciplinarians to act “with determination” against sexual abuse committed by members of the Catholic clergy, in his first public pronouncement on the issue.

“The Holy Father in particular asked that the congregation … act with determination in cases of sexual abuse,” the Vatican said in a statement, referring to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which handles such cases, after the Pope met with its director.

The statement noted that the policy followed “the line established” by Francis’s predecessor, Benedict XVI.

The Argentine Pope, elected last month, asked for “stepped-up measures to protect minors and help those who were subjected to such violence in the past”.

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VATICAN CITY
CNN

By Livia Borghese and Laura Smith-Spark, CNN

updated 9:29 AM EDT, Fri April 5, 2013

Rome (CNN) — Pope Francis has told the Vatican to “act decisively” against sexual abuse and carry out “due proceedings against the guilty,” the Vatican announced Friday.

Francis last month took the helm of a Roman Catholic Church that has been rocked in recent years by allegations of priests sexually abusing minors.

Francis recommended that the Church’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith “act decisively with regard to cases of sexual abuse, first of all by promoting measures for the protection of minors, as well as in offering assistance to those who have suffered abuse, carrying out due proceedings against the guilty,” the Vatican said.

The statement does not specify who “the guilty” are.

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ILLINOIS
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by David Clohessy on April 04, 2013

A hospital now says that a controversial Catholic priest who had been a chaplain there is being removed. In an email yesterday, an official with Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield disclosed that Fr. Thomas Corbino has been ousted.

Corbino has been accused of inappropriate behavior with youngsters.

On Tuesday, holding signs and childhood photos at a sidewalk news conference, leaders of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, urged hospital officials to fire Corbino.

They also urged

–Joliet Catholic officials to aggressively seek out others who may have experienced inappropriate contact with the cleric, and

–urge anyone who may have seen, suspected, or suffered clergy sex crimes – by Corbino or any other current of former Joliet church official- report to the police immediately.

SNAP recently obtained documents that show concern about Corbino’s behavior while he was worked at St. Pius X church in Lombard, IL. (He left there last year.) The records include an email from a former altar boy addressed to Corbino that alleges sexual abuse, and a statement from an investigator relating to a Will County State’s Attorney Investigative Report into sex abuse allegations against Corbino.

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VATICAN CITY
USA Today

Cathy Lynn Grossman, USA TODAY
9:43a.m. EDT April 5, 2013

Pope Francis, in one of his first substantive actions since his election three weeks ago, signals that local bishops’ conferences should step up to discipline priests, serve victims

Pope Francis has called for strong, specific worldwide measures for the Catholic Church to act “with determination” against clergy sex abuse — the scandal that has rocked the church for more than a decade.

It is one of the first actions on a major issue in Francis’ weeks-old papacy, one marked chiefly by attention to his humble, cut-the-pageantry style.

After he met Friday with the head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, Bishop Gerhard Ludwig Mueller, the Vatican said in a statement: “The Holy Father recommended that the congregation continue the line sought by Benedict XVI, to act with determination in regard to cases of sexual abuse.”

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VATICAN CITY
BBC News

Pope Francis has called for “decisive action” in the fight against sex abuse of minors by priests.

He told Bishop Gerhard Mueller, head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith – the doctrinal watchdog that deals with sex abuse cases – to ensure perpetrators were punished.

It was the Argentine Pope’s first public statement on clerical sex abuse.

He was elected last month, replacing Pope Emeritus Benedict, who became the first pope in 600 years to resign.

When first elected, Benedict XVI promised to rid his Church of the “filth” of clerical sex abuse, but critics accused him of covering up abuse in the past and failing to protect children from paedophile priests.

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FLORIDA
WPTV

[with video]

Stephen Budd, former Rosarian Academy teacher arrested; accused of sexual activity with young girls

By: Tania Rogers

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – A former Rosarian Academy teacher is behind bars, accused of sexual activity with two young girls. The alleged incidents happened in the 2006 school year.

Investigators say Stephen Budd was arrested Wednesday night, accused of sexual activity with two young girls who are former students.

51 year old Stephen Budd appeared in court Thursday morning, accused of sexual assault. According to the West Palm Beach Police Chief, back in 2006, Budd allegedly had sexual encounters with two 4th graders. Budd reportedly would use “Budd Bucks” to reward the girls, as candy, in return for sexual acts.

One victim told police Budd recently tried to get in touch with her through Facebook. That’s when she told her parents, who contacted police.

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FLORIDA
WPTV

[with video]

By: Dan Corcoran

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The alleged crimes occurred inside Rosarian Academy, West Palm Beach police say, at the hands of 51-year old Stephen Budd. Parents who were close with Budd years ago are shocked.

“Yes, my daughter was in his class,” said ‘Steven’, who did not want to publicize his last name, in fear of identifying his daughter. “I got sick to my stomach because you never know now.” ‘Steven’ said his daughter was a fourth grade student of Stephen Budd at Rosarian Academy in 2006 and 2007.

West Palm Beach police say that is when the suspect would use what he called “Budd Bucks”, offering rewards of candy to at least two female students in exchange for sexual acts.

‘Steven’ says neither he nor his daughter knew anything about any alleged abuse. “She was shocked,” he said. “She was almost in tears because that’s not the teacher that she had.”

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FLORIDA
Palm Beach Post

By Alexandra Seltzer
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Just hours after a county judge denied bail for a Palm Beach County school teacher accused of sexually assaulting a former student, West Palm Beach’s police chief called on parents to come forward if their children claim they also were assaulted by the 51-year-old man.

Stephen Budd was arrested late Wednesday at his West Palm Beach apartment, not long after a former student of his at Rosarian Academy School, a private Catholic school in West Palm Beach, told police that during the 2006-07 school year, Budd would give them “Budd bucks,” which she explained was candy in return for sexual acts.

The girls were 9 years old at the time of alleged abuse. The former students shared an oath and didn’t want anyone to know about what happened, a city police spokesman said.

“We, based on our investigation, feel that he is a serial offender,” West Palm Beach Police Chief Vincent Demasi said Thursday at police headquarters. “We’re very confident that there are additional victims out there.”

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VATICAN CITY
Washington Post

Pope Francis says he will act “with determination” against sex abuse cases in church

By Associated Press

Updated: Friday, April 5

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis has indicated that he will act against sex abuse cases in the Roman Catholic Church.

The Vatican said in a statement Friday that the pope has urged the Congregation of the Doctrine of Faith to “act with determination with regard to cases of sexual abuse.” The statement cited measures promoted by Benedict XVI to protect minors, helping victims of sexual violence and taking necessary action against perpetrators..

U.S. victims of clergy abuse have demanded swift and bold actions from the new Jesuit pontiff.

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