ABUSE TRACKER

AUSTRALIA
National Catholic Reporter

Dec. 5, 2012

Analysis

Sydney —
The Catholic church in Australia is about to be put under the spotlight of the most sweeping inquiry into child sexual abuse ever conducted in this country.

Describing child abuse as “vile and evil,” Prime Minister Julia Gillard said a national royal commission will examine the treatment of children in all churches, charities and private bodies. But it is clear that a major factor in her decision has been the mounting public outcry at ongoing scandals involving Catholic personnel and procedures.

These scandals include:
• Recent suicides of victims of sexual abuse by priests;
• Allegations of children dying in the care of Catholic institutions;
• Ongoing arrests and convictions of priests in relation to matters involving child sexual abuse;
• New allegations that some church authorities failed to report abusive priests;
• Claims by police in two state jurisdictions — three states are currently conducting their own inquiries into child abuse in institutional care — that existing church protocols fail to address the long-term interests of victims and that the Catholic church, in the words of one detective, “covers up, silences victims, hinders police investigations, alerts offenders, destroys evidence and moves priests to protect the good name of the church.”

“Beyond the evidence of abuse,” Gillard told a press conference, “there is also cause for concern that other adults who could have done something to make a difference to the lives of these children didn’t do what they should have done, either by becoming complicit in people being moved around, for example, or by averting their eyes and by acts of omission.”

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MAINE
Portland Press Herald

By Dennis Hoey dhoey@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer

PORTLAND — An independent review of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland has shown that the Diocese is in “full compliance” with the Church’s charter that was established to protect minors from sexual abuse by Catholic clergy, and that there’s no evidence abuse has occurred.

Dave Guthro, a spokesman for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland, said the audit, reviewed the period from July 1, 2011 through June 30, 2012.

The three-day-long audit, which was conducted by StoneBridge Business Partners of Rochester, N.Y., found that one hundred percent of all diocesan employees and active clergy had undergone criminal background checks and that employees were implementing programs to protect children from abuse.

“We are 100 percent compliant in all areas of the audit, which was a three-day, thorough, on-site review by independent auditors,” Bishop Richard Malone, Apostolic Administrator for the Portland Diocese, said in a press release issued Tuesday.

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MAINE
WCSH

Written by
Mike Kmack

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) – The Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland is in full compliance with nationally mandated child-protection policies for a seventh consecutive year.

The church each year undergoes an audit to ensure it’s complying with standards implemented in 2002 amid the clergy abuse scandal.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops that year adopted the Dallas Charter, which contains mandates on how the church works with sexual abuse victims, responds to allegations of abuse and protects children in the future.

An outside company each year audits the Catholic dioceses around the country to assess their compliance with the policy.

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AUSTRALIA
National Catholic Reporter

by Stephen Crittenden | Dec. 5, 2012

Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced Nov. 12 that a national royal commission would investigate institutional responses to allegations of child sexual abuse in Australia.

The commission will look at a wide array of public and private institutions that serve youth, from schools and residential homes to the Boy and Girl Scouts, but the abuse of minors in the Catholic church is undeniably an impetus for the announcement.

The decision, taken at a meeting of the federal cabinet, has received overwhelming public support; 95 precent of Australians approve of the commission, according to a Herald-Nielsen opinion poll.

Pressure for a national royal commission has been mounting for years, led by abuse victims and some sections of the Australian media. Child sexual abuse is already the subject of an ongoing parliamentary inquiry in the state of Victoria, and in early November another inquiry was announced in the state of New South Wales.

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UNITED STATES
We the People – White House

Establish a National Commission To Investigate Organizational Child Sexual Abuse and Identify Federal Responses

Children are being sexually abused in religious, educational and youth organizations, Federally funded and/or tax exempt. All abuse victims suffer; some commit suicide. A few cases, Penn State, Philly/Boston/K. C. dioceses, Mormon/Boy Scouts, are publicized. Predatory priests, rabbis, ministers, nuns, teachers, coaches, and scout leaders, are secretly protected by unaccountable superiors and abuse again. Local laws are inadequate. Local officials and media are unduly influenced. Victims are denied justice. Prior responses have been inadequate.

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NEW YORK
Gothamist

More disturbing details have emerged from the trial of Nechemya Weberman, the ultra-Orthodox Jewish counselor accused of sexually abusing a teen girl in Brooklyn for years. Yesterday the girl’s mother took the stand, and told the jury how United Talmudical Academy administrators pressured her into sending her daughter to counseling with Weberman, who is not a licensed therapist. During the sessions, prosecutors say Weberman repeatedly showed her pornography and then made her reenact the sex acts.

Testifying yesterday, the mother said, “The school gave her a hard time and said she was a [heretic]. They wanted to make sure that I would send [her] to Weberman.” She claims the choice was simple: either turn her daughter over to Weberman for regular counseling, or find another place for her to go to school. The alleged victim’s mother also says the United Talmudical Academy forced her to pay Weberman $12,800 in advance.

If you’ve been following along with this trial, you won’t be surprised to hear that it gets worse. According to the mother’s testimony, Weberman at one point told the family he would be taking the teen on a daylong roadtrip. When the mother protested that this violated religious rules prohibiting unmarried men and women from spending time alone together, the school ordered the family to comply. The girl went on the trip, and the mother says she was compelled to write a letter of apology to Weberman.

The unidentified teen says Weberman’s sexual abuse started in 2007, when she was 12. But despite the severity of the allegations, the South Williamsburg neighborhood has rallied around Weberman, who is still widely viewed as a pillar of the community. After finally reporting the abuse, some members of the community have screamed “moser, moser,” at the teen, which is a Yiddish term for a Jew who reports another Jew to secular authorities. And several men were arrested last week for taking photos of the victim in the courtroom and posting them online.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

Posted Tue Dec 4, 2012

Hundreds of people have joined a register set up by a Warrnambool-based law firm in response to the royal commission into child sex abuse.

The Federal Government announced the royal commission last month to investigate how institutions have handled cases of child abuse.

Gary Foster from Maddens Lawyers says the register will provide information to victims and allow people to indicate their interest in any compensation scheme.

He says people from all over Australia have contacted him to add their names to the register.

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AUSTRALIA
In My Community

05/Dec/2012

By Caroline Frank, Advocate

A FORMER abuse victim says he would like to testify before the Royal Commission into institutional child sex abuse on behalf of the “Bindoon boys” and other sufferers.

Former Bindoon resident and author Robert Taylor (73) said he would “gladly” testify about his experiences detailed in his book Who Am I?

“I welcome the Gillard Government’s Royal Commission with open arms but it should have been invested at the time the cruelty was happening,” Mr Taylor said.

The now Atherton Tablelands resident said there was slave labour and sexual abuse by the priests and Christian Brothers through the 1940s, 50s and 60s.

“I and 12 other boys arrived at Boys’ Town, Bindoon, on June 1, 1950 and I remained there for six-and-a-half years,” he said.

“Boys’ Town was the cruellest place on earth and I will stand as a witness should I be asked for all the Bindoon boys I knew that suffered at the hands of the Christian Brothers.”

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AUSTRALIA
Newcastle Herald

By JOANNE McCARTHY
Dec. 5, 2012

DANIEL Feenan thanked two women yesterday for helping him deal with being sexually assaulted by a priest as a child.

The first was his mother, Patricia Feenan, who will launch her book about the church’s betrayal, Holy Hell, in Newcastle tomorrow.

The second was Prime Minister Julia Gillard, whose decision to hold a royal commission into child sexual abuse ‘‘validated what happened’’ to him and sent a message to the many Catholics who refused to accept Father Jim Fletcher was a paedophile.

‘‘I cried, I don’t mind telling you. It was just a massive relief,’’ Mr Feenan said.

‘‘To actually have the Prime Minister say a royal commission was needed, told everyone that children were sexually assaulted by adults, and the government believed them.’’

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WYOMING
The Ranger

Nov 30, 2012 – By Christina George, Staff Writer

Wyoming Catholic College took the action against the Rev. Stuart MacDonald.

Wyoming Catholic College officials said a chaplain was fired from the Lander school last week amid allegations of improper conduct with students.

WCC public relations official Matthew Brasmer used a press release to announce that the Rev. Stuart MacDonald’s dismissal was effective Nov. 19.

The termination follows an internal investigation by the college, which revealed MacDonald’s improper conduct and language with students and a pattern of behavior Brasmer called unacceptable as a Catholic college chaplain.

“I will confirm we currently have an open investigation into allegations of misconduct,” Lander police chief Jim Carey said.

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WYOMING
County 10

Catholic College’s Fr. MacDonald fired for improper conduct and language with students; LPD investigating

(Updated Nov. 27 to include comment from the Lander Police Department.)

By Joshua Scheer, reporter, county10.com

(Lander, Wyo.) – Wyoming Catholic College’s Chaplain Father Stuart MacDonald has been fired, effective Nov. 19, apparently for “unacceptable” behavior. The Lander Police Department said today an investigation was launched this month after allegations were lodged against the Chaplain.

“His dismissal is subsequent to an internal investigation by the College which revealed Reverend MacDonald’s improper conduct and language with the College’s students and a pattern of behavior unacceptable as a Catholic college chaplain,” states a news release from the college. The release was dated Nov. 19, though it was not received until Nov. 26.

When contacted by County10.com on Monday, WCC President Father Robert Cook said he had no additional comment on the situation. He said the press release speaks for itself.

“We currently have an open investigation into allegations of misconduct,” Lander Police Chief Jim Carey said Tuesday morning.

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CALIFORNIA
Press-Telegram

By Tracy Manzer Staff Writer presstelegram.com
Posted: 12/04/2012

LONG BEACH — A Catholic priest once assigned to a North Long Beach church pleaded no contest Tuesday to charges of sexual battery involving two women and a teen girl.

The Rev. Luis Jose Cuevas, the former parish priest at St. Athanasius Catholic Church, 5390 Linden Ave., was formally charged earlier this year with nine counts of sexual assault following accusations from three alleged victims.

Cuevas’ attorney, George Bird, repeatedly denied the allegations at his client’s arraignment in July, noting the massive community support for the 67-year-old priest demonstrated by nearly 100 members of the church who came to the courhouse that day.

“People who know Father Cuevas know what’s in his heart,” Bird said gesturing at the crowd of parishioners.

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CANADA
St Catharines Standard

By Ray Spiteri, Niagara Falls Review

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

NIAGARA FALLS – A Roman Catholic priest who recently worked in Niagara Falls is being investigated by police in a Wyoming city following allegations of misconduct levelled against him by the college where he worked.

Lander Police Chief Jim Carey confirmed to The Review his department is investigating Rev. Stuart MacDonald, a former priest at St. Thomas More Roman Catholic church on Dorchester Rd. and most recently the chaplain at Wyoming Catholic College.

A statement released by Wyoming Catholic College said that effective Nov. 19, “Reverend Stuart MacDonald is dismissed from service to the college as chaplain.”

It adds his dismissal was subsequent “to an internal investigation by the college which revealed Reverend MacDonald’s improper conduct and language with the college’s students and a pattern of behaviour unacceptable as a Catholic college chaplain.”

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UNITED STATES
ENews Park Forest

Attorney General Eric Holder and High-level Officials Launch Global Alliance Against Child Sexual Abuse Online

Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–December 4, 2012. Attorney General Eric Holder and European Union (EU) Commissioner for Home Affairs Cecilia Malmström will launch the Global Alliance Against Child Sexual Abuse Online at a ministerial conference tomorrow, Dec. 5, 2012, in Brussels. The initiative aims to unite decision-makers all around the world to better identify and assist victims and to prosecute the perpetrators.

Participants at the launch include ministers and high-level officials from 27 EU member states, who are also joined by 22 countries outside the EU, including Albania, Australia, Cambodia, Canada Croatia, Georgia, Ghana, Japan, Moldova, Montenegro, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, the Philippines, Serbia, Republic of Korea, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, United States and Vietnam.

“This international initiative will strengthen our mutual resources to bring more perpetrators to justice, identify more victims of child sexual abuse, and ensure that they receive our help and support,” said Attorney General Holder. “Through this global alliance we can build on the success of previous cross-border police operations that have dismantled international pedophile networks and safeguard more of the world’s children.”

“Behind every child abuse image is an abused child, an exploited and helpless victim. When these images are circulated online, they can live on forever. Our responsibility is to protect children wherever they live and to bring criminals to justice wherever they operate. The only way to achieve this is to team up for more intensive and better coordinated action worldwide,” said Commissioner for Home Affairs Cecilia Malmström.

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UNITED STATES
Huffington Post

By PETE YOST 12/04/12

WASHINGTON — Attorney General Eric Holder and European Union Commissioner for Home Affairs Cecilia Malmström will launch a global alliance targeting online child sexual abuse, building on the success of cross-border police operations that have dismantled international pedophile networks.

Officials from 27 EU member nations will participate in a ministerial conference Wednesday in Brussels, along with officials from 22 countries outside the EU, including the United States.

The participating nations are making a commitment to caring for victims, enhancing efforts to prosecute offenders, increasing children’s awareness of online risks and reducing the availability of child abuse material online.

Representatives from outside the EU include Albania, Australia, Cambodia, Canada, Croatia, Georgia, Ghana, Japan, Moldova, Montenegro, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, the Philippines, Serbia, Republic of Korea, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine and Vietnam.

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FLORIDA
Huffington Post

A Miami priest named in multiple sexual abuse lawsuits has resigned, weeks after fresh allegations were filed in court.

Father Rolando Garcia, formerly of the St. Agatha Catholic Church in west Miami-Dade, submitted a formal letter of resignation to Archdiocese of Miami effective November 21st.

Garcia and the Archdiocese have been plagued by numerous lawsuits alleging the sexual abuse or coverup of sexual abuse of young boys in the last few years, with purported incidents dating as far back as the 1980s. He was placed on administrative leave in October, and told his flock he resigned of his own free will after prayer and reflection.

“I want to do what is best for the parishioners, school[,] parents and students of St. Agatha,” Garcia said in a letter to his parishioners, an excerpt of which was made public Friday.

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MISSOURI
Catholics4Change

December 4, 2012 by Susan Matthews

Click here to read: “Missouri Bishop’s Conviction Leaves Clergy Divided,” by John Eligon and Laurie Goodstein, The New York Times, December 2, 2012

Excerpt: “In the three months since Bishop Robert W. Finn became the first American prelate convicted of failing to report a pedophile priest, lay people and victims’ advocates have repeatedly called for his resignation. Now, recent interviews and a private survey by a company working for the Roman Catholic diocese here show for the first time that a significant number of the bishop’s own priests have lost confidence in him.”

Editor’s Note: Seems like hopeful news for common sense until one reads the following, “But the bishop also has a strong base of supporters who contend that the critical priests do not appreciate Bishop Finn’s doctrinally conservative approach. He belongs to Opus Dei, a conservative Roman Catholic organization. Yes, there is a divide in the presbyterate, but in my opinion it’s the same old tired divide that has existed from the day he arrived,” the Rev. Vince Rogers, the pastor at St. Andrew the Apostle in Gladstone, Mo., and a 20-year veteran of the diocese, wrote in an e-mail. “In a word, some of the priests wish that we had a more liberal bishop, and they are willing to use any means to achieve that end.”

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CHICAGO (IL)
Courthouse News Service

By JACK BOUBOUSHIAN

CHICAGO (CN) – A Pentecostal church knew its pastor sexually abused minors but kept him on even after his wife divorced him for it, an alleged victim claims in court.

The plaintiff claims Pentecostal Tabernacle Bible Church Pastor Christopher L. Johnson pastor sexually abused her as a minor, after the church knew or should have known that he had fathered a child with another woman with whom he first had sexual relations when she was a minor.

Cecelia Brown sued Christopher Johnson, Chaun Johnson, Pentecostal Tabernacle Bible Church, New Testament Assemblies of Christ, New Life United Christian Ministries Worldwide Fellowship and Mission of Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church, in Cook County Court.

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VATICAN CITY
Huffington Post

Religion News Service | By Alessandro Speciale Posted: 12/03/2012

VATICAN CITY (RNS) Bishops must exercise closer supervision over Catholic charities and ensure that their activities do not contradict church doctrine, according to new rules issued by Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday (Dec. 1).

The new guidelines state that charities with links to the church must “follow Catholic principles in their activity” and may not “accept commitments” that could undermine those principles in any way.

They also bar charities from accepting funding “from groups or institutions that pursue ends contrary to the church’s teaching” or for initiatives that are “not in conformity with the Church’s teaching.”

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ISRAEL
Israel Hayom

Yehuda Shlezinger

The trial of religious Zionist leader Rabbi Mordechai (Moti) Elon on charges of having sexually abused two young boys resumed on Tuesday after a series of delays caused by changes to the indictment sheet.

The prominent rabbi, one of the most admired leaders in the religious Zionist movement, is accused of indecent assault against minors and indecent assault that exploited student-teacher relations.

Forum Takanah, a group that purports to fight sexual harassment by religious authority figures, first publicized allegations against the rabbi in February 2010, and a criminal investigation was launched later that year. A formal indictment was issued in November 2011 and Elon’s trial officially opened a month later. However, in April this year, the prosecution requested changes in the original indictment. A further change was made two weeks ago to add new witnesses said to have additional information in the case.

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AUSTRALIA
Canberra Times

December 5, 2012

Barney Zwartz

GREG Reynolds, the dissident priest who resigned last year over his support for women priests, has been offered just $5000 by the Catholic Church for his 32 years of service.

Supporters of his Inclusive Catholics group described the payout, to take the form of rent to his landlord, as harsh in light of the unwritten guideline of $1500 a year of service, which should have brought him $48,000. Fairfax understands two other priests who resigned recently each got about $50,000.

Priests who retire are given independent accommodation, a car if they can still drive, and money to supplement the pension, according to Father Reynolds: ”They live quite comfortably.

”The day I resigned, both the Archbishop [Denis Hart] and Vicar General [Les Tomlinson, now Bishop of Sandhurst] told me that they’d look after me financially, but I’d have to apply to the St Patrick’s Trust Fund.”

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MISSOURI
Spiritual Politics

Mark Silk
Dec 4, 2012

“I know it when I see it,” Justice Potter Stewart famously wrote in a 1964 pornography case. Evidently, Bill Donohue doesn’t.

Bill’s got his knickers in a twist because the New York Times has stated that Kansas City Bishop Robert Finn’s criminal conviction “stemmed from his failure to report the Rev. Shawn Ratigan to the authorities after hundreds of pornographic pictures that Father Ratigan had taken of young girls were discovered on his laptop in December 2010.” Asserteth Donohue: “That statement is factually wrong.”

He then goes on to argue, as he has before, that what was discovered on Ratigan’s computer was not pornography. So what was Finn convicted of? He doesn’t say.

Factually speaking, Ratigan did have child porn. Here’s a passage from the Graves Report, commissioned by the diocese of K.C. itself, describing a series of the priest’s photos as described by diocesan information systems manager Julie Creech:

The first showed a little girl, face visible, standing and holding a blanket. In a “staged sequence,” the photos depicted a girl lying in a bed, from the waist down, and focused on the crotch. The girl was wearing a diaper, but with each photo, the diaper was moved gradually to expose her genitals. By the last photo, her genitals were fully exposed. According to Ms. Creech, there were approximately six to eight pictures in this sequence of photos; two displayed fully exposed genitals and one displayed her fully exposed buttocks. The little girl’s face was not visible in the staged sequence, but due to her apparent physical size and the fact that the photos were in the same folder, Ms. Creech assumed the photos were of the same little girl whose face appeared in the initial picture.

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MOBILE (AL)
Fox 10

Updated: Monday, 03 Dec 2012

Renee Dials
Photojournalist: Guy Turnbow

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) – A local pastor may have some explaining to do to his small congregation following his arrest last week.

There was no answer at Donald Knizley’s home or his church on Tanner Williams Road on Dec. 3. FOX10 News wanted to ask the 70-year-old pastor about his Nov. 30 arrest at the Japanese Gardens and Fish Hatchery in Mobile.

Knizley is charged with loitering for the purpose of deviate sexual activity, a charge that’s surprising to some of his neighbors.

“Shocking, It’s just, to have a biblical background like he has, it’s just shocking,” David Fleming said.

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MISSOURI
KMBZ

A child protection group says it still wants Bishop Robert Finn to go. SNAP weighed in on a report showing as many 16 of the 70 active priests in the Kansas City/St. Joseph Diocese have doubts as to whether Finn should continue to serve.

In September, he became the first sitting U.S. bishop convicted of failing to report a pedophile priest. SNAP has issued a call for all priests opposing Bishop Finn step forward, but it’s spokesperson Barbara Dorris doesn’t expect a big push.

“The feeling can be out there that if I say anything I’m going to end up in some God-forsaken perish out in the middle of nowhere, where no one will speak to me, but when it comes to the safety of kids, we have to make that sacrifice,” says Dorris.

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UNITED STATES
Boston Globe

By Beth Teitell

Globe Staff / December 3, 2012

Pollyanna Santos doesn’t let her 6-year-old son play at a friend’s house unless she knows all of the adults who live in the home — and those who might be visiting. “You don’t know what can happen in the next room,” said Santos, a waitress from East Boston.

In Braintree, Debbie Currie feels anxious when she leaves her 7-year-old daughter at gymnastics class. “There are 20 other kids in there, and we live in a nice town, but you just never know,” said Currie, a customer service supervisor for Comcast.

Bernice Ferrara, a retired MBTA bus driver from Brockton, will not let her 15-month-old granddaughter sit on Santa’s lap because she doesn’t know the man behind the beard. “I don’t want to feel that way,” she said. “But I do.” …

Data from the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System showed that the rate of substantiated child sexual abuse dropped 62 percent between 1992 and 2010, from 150,000 cases to 63,000 cases, said the center’s director, David Finkelhor.

The trend was confirmed by data from six other sources, including governmental agencies, the FBI, and reports by victims, he added.

A combination of factors has led to the decline, said Finkelhor, a UNH sociology professor, including: more aggressive law enforcement; prevention education; public awareness; and cultural changes such as the empowerment of women.

But even so, the list of organizations that have housed molesters keeps growing.

While the Catholic Church has been at the center of sexual abuse scandals for years, the Penn State football program and the Boy Scouts of America have now been implicated.

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NEW YORK
Forward

The principal of a private Jewish high school in Brooklyn was convicted of sexually abusing three boys over the course of a decade, authorities said.

Emanuel Yegutkin, 33, the principal of Elite High School in the Bensonhurst section, was found guilty of 75 counts of sex abuse.

He faces up to 25 years in prison on each of several counts when he is sentenced on December 17.

“This violent sexual predator faces the remainder of his life behind bars,” Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes said. “This should serve as a clear message that those who would sexually abuse children in this county will be punished severely.”

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UNITED KINGDOM
Daily Mail

The deputy head teacher falsely accused of child abuse and the ambulance-chasing lawyer who advertises for ‘victims’ in prisons

By David Rose

Beaming in his black bow tie and dinner jacket, solicitor David Greenwood clutched his glass-engraved award. Unkind souls might have called it the ‘2012 ambulance-chasing solicitor prize’.

Officially, he had been presented with it by TV personality Patrick Kielty as the Eclipse Proclaim Personal Injury Lawyer Of The Year.

For the past 14 years, Mr Greenwood, a partner at the big Yorkshire law firm Jordans, has specialised in fighting for compensation for victims of child abuse.

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UNITED KINGDOM
TheMediaReport

A new blockbuster investigation by the British newspaper Daily Mail has uncovered what it calls “a benchmark for a modern culture of ‘witch-hunt’ persecutions.”

The paper conducted a “wide-ranging” inquiry into decades-old abuse allegations at a Catholic institution made by clients of abuse lawyer David Greenwood. Greenwood recently collected a national “Personal Injury Lawyer of the Year” prize, but now the Daily Mail is calling him an “ambulance chaser.”

After studying claims made against workers at the now-defunct St. William’s School, an institution for troubled youth once run by the De La Salle Brotherhood, the paper’s investigation concluded that “lives of innocent ex-staff members have been blighted by repeated false accusations” and “palpably false abuse accusations were generated by promises of compensation” by Greenwood.

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AUSTRALIA
SNAP Australia

WHAT
Holding signs and childhood photos at a footpath news conference, clergy sex abuse victims and their supporters will pass out leaflets to passersby seeking information about a controversial Catholic religious order. The fliers urge church officials to

— turn over all information about known and suspected child molesting clerics to secular authorities,

— post the names, photos and whereabouts of known and suspected sex offender clerics on church websites, and

— insist that accused abusers return to Australia to face justice.

Victims are also encouraging current and former members of the order to “come clean” and contact law enforcement officials “so that wrongdoers can be prosecuted, children can be protected and crimes and cover ups can be exposed and deterred.”

WHEN
Tuesday, December 4th at 2 p.m.

WHERE
Catholic Church Offices
Polding Centre,
133 Liverpool Street,
Sydney NSW 2000
Australia

WHO
4 or 5 members of an international support group called SNAP (the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priest) including an American woman who is the organisation’s president and founder

WHY
Many orders of the Catholic Church have harbored sex predators over many years. These orders include the Christian Brothers and Salesians of Don Bosco. Almost three in four clerics in Australia and New Zealand who belong to one Catholic religious order face child sex abuse allegations, according to testimony a few months ago by a respected psychologist before an inquiry launched by the parliament of Victoria. The Vatican -based order is called St John of God Brothers.

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NEW YORK
Failed Messiah

PROTESTING THE NAME SMEARING AND INTIMIDATION OF VICTIMS AND WITNESSES
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
8:00pm EST
355 Marcy Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11206

The grand Rebbe of Satmar in Monroe (Rabbi Aron Teitelbaum) used the weekly Torah portion yesterday to call the victim in the Weberman rape trial a whore and a shame onto the community. While despicable in nature, it is also intended to drive a wedge in the community, and eliminate any little support she is getting. Decent people cannot allow this to go unchecked.

Tomorrow, Satmar is having their annual Chuf Alef Kislev event at the armory in Williamsburg. Please come out and lend support, as we peacefully stand outside and protest the tactics being employed by this community towards the victim and her family. This not only impacts this case, but sets a precedent for future cases, and will hopefully have the general effect of minimizing and trivializing molestation and rape.

We have secured permits with the 90th precinct, and have been assured ‘sight and sound’, meaning they will set up our area within eye and earshot of people entering the premises so we make a statement. I have assured the deputy inspector that we will be civil even in our rage, and we would like to show who the decent people here are. So please do not make our side look bad with inappropriate behavior. Signs may and should be made, but you cannot use sticks on the bottom and please refrain from making it too outrageous or offensive.

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NEW YORK
New York Post

By JOSH SAUL
December 4, 2012

If she stopped seeing her alleged abuser, she would have been expelled from school.

The mother of a teenage Brooklyn girl who was allegedly sexually abused by a prominent Hasidic leader testified yesterday that she was forced by her daughter’s yeshiva to send the girl to the man for counseling — and even had to pay for the dubious privilege.

Nechemya Weberman, 54, allegedly abused the girl during their frequent counseling sessions beginning when she was just 12 years old, prosecutors charge.

“The school gave her a hard time and said she was ‘apikoros,’ ” a Hebrew and Greek word that means heretic, the mother testified in Brooklyn Supreme Court.

When asked the repercussion of not sending her youngest daughter to Weberman, she answered in halting English, “They wouldn’t accept her. They wouldn’t allow her to go to school.”

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NEW YORK
New York Daily News

By Oren Yaniv / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

THE MOTHER of a Hasidic teen defended her daughter’s character on Monday in the molestation trial of Satmar Hasidic counselor Nechemya Weberman.

But the defense attempted to attack the mother’s credibility by claiming she committed Medicaid fraud.

Rejecting the defense’s characterization of the 17-year-old alleged victim as driven by vengeance, her mother described her as “very loving, respectful, understanding, smart — what every mother would wish for.”

The teen said Weberman, 54, started sexually abusing in 2007, when she was 12.

The mother added that Weberman had previously counseled two of her older daughters. But her testimony stopped when the defense attempted to grill her on Medicaid fraud she allegedly committed by using her elderly mother’s name in an insurance application.

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PENNSYLVANIA
WGAL

[with video]

Lower Paxton Township police have charged an Enola man with rape of a child among other charges following an investigation.

A 15-year-old township resident disclosed to police that Joshua Mitchell Markelwitz, 26, had sexual contact with her beginning when she was 12 years old.

Police said the incidents occurred at the accuser’s residence, at a township church where he was involved with youth programs, and in his car.

Court documents show that Markelwitz gave the girl rides to and from church and guitar practice.

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AUSTRALIA
9 News

The federal royal commission into child sexual abuse should work well with similar inquiries already under way around the nation, Prime Minister Julia Gillard says.

Ms Gillard said with a parliamentary inquiry into child sexual abuse in train in Victoria, and similar inquiries in progress in other parts of the nation, the royal commission she announced should work productively with them.

“We’ll certainly be working with our state and territory colleagues so that the royal commission we’re creating works well with what has already been done through those inquiries,” she told reporters in Melbourne on Tuesday.

Victoria’s parliamentary inquiry into sexual abuse within religious organisations began hearings in October and is due to report to the government in April.

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PENNSYLVANIA
The Patriot-News

BY MARY KLAUS AND DAN MILLER

A youth leader at a Lower Paxton Township church used his position to sexually prey on a teenage girl, township police said Sunday.

Police arrested Joshua Mitchell Markelwitz, 26, of South Enola Drive in Enola, on charges of sexual contact with the girl, now 15, since she was 12.

Lt. Gary R. Seefeldt said that the sexual contact occurred in the girl’s home, in Markelwitz’s car and at the church.

He listed the charges as rape of a child, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child, aggravated indecent assault, indecent assault and related charges.

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AUSTRALIA
The Guardian (CPA)

Bob Briton

The enormity of the task before the child sex abuse royal commission is becoming clearer by the day. Decades of criminal acts and cover-up are not going to be exposed and considered quickly or easily. Commissioners on the royal commission announced by Prime Minister Gillard will have to confront thorny questions of the meddling power and influence of large religious organisations like the Catholic Church in modern-day Australia. Lawyers and insurers are moving to protect their clients as thousands of victims prepare to recount their harrowing experiences in the care of once-trusted institutions.

A week set aside for public comment on the proposed terms of reference has concluded. Attorney-General Nicola Roxon received 33 formal and 270 email responses. Many complained that the time allowed for submissions was too short and that the original terms of reference were too restrictive. Ms Roxon would rather the inquiry didn’t emphasise the exposing of past abuse. “Our real focus is to make sure that we can identify what is in our institutions, or our systems, our laws, or our public service … that has made it difficult for people to make complaints,” she said recently. “What might have made it easy for perpetrators to actually commit these offences?”

A continuing stream of media reports suggests that the answers to those questions will be relatively easy to find in the culture of cover-up in the hierarchies of churches and the various state and federal police forces. The real question before the royal commission is not so much “what is it?” but “who was it?”.

For example, who authorised or recommended the transfer of former St John of God (SJOG) brother Bernard McGrath from church-run institutions in the Newcastle-Maitland diocese to be a teacher and dormitory master at the SJOG boarding school at Marylands near Christchurch in New Zealand? He also worked at the Hebron Trust, which is a learning centre for street kids.

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CALIFORNIA
Daily Pilot

By Jeremiah Dobruck

December 3, 2012 | 10:16 p.m.

A Sunday school volunteer at Rock Harbor Church in Costa Mesa allegedly formed relationships with children in his church and went on to sexually abuse at least one of them multiple times between November 2009 and November 2011, according to church leaders and court documents.

Two families at Rock Harbor came forward with new allegations against Christopher Bryan McKenzie, the pool cleaner accused of years-long sexual relationships with at least three children younger than 14, pastors said Monday night.

McKenzie, 48, of Costa Mesa, attended Rock Harbor and applied to be a child-care volunteer at the 3,000-member campus in late 2007, Communications Director Jeff Gideon said.

On Saturday, Newport Beach police announced they had arrested McKenzie on suspicion of sexually abusing two boys, one from the late 1990s to 2005 and one from 2005 to 2007. Neither had ties to the church, police said.

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IRELAND
Belfast Telegraph

By Sarah MacDonald
Tuesday, 4 December 2012

Priests accused of sexual abuse want their accusers identified and allegations against them in writing, a group representing liberal Irish Catholic clergymen has said.

The Association of Catholic Priests (ACP), which now represents over 1,000 priests in the Republic and Northern Ireland, has outlined a series of changes it is seeking to the guidelines on the standing aside from ministry for priests accused of abuse.

The ACP believes accused priests need to know the name of their accusers and to see the accusations in writing. They are also seeking changes in the way the news of an allegation is conveyed.

However, abuse survivor Marie Collins says such changes could deter victims from coming forward, particularly if they know their name is to be given to their abuser before a full investigation is under way.

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NEW YORK
The New York Times

By SHARON OTTERMAN

Published: December 3, 2012

The former principal of a private school in Brooklyn was found guilty in State Supreme Court on Monday of sexually abusing three boys over the course of a decade, including one boy who was 7 years old when the abuse started.

After three days of deliberation, a jury in Brooklyn found the man, Emanuel Yegutkin, 33, guilty of 75 counts of sexual abuse, including the top charge, sexual conduct against a child in the first degree, which carries a maximum 25-year prison sentence. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

Mr. Yegutkin’s lawyer, Jeffrey Schwartz, could not be reached for comment Monday evening.

The case is among a wave of sexual abuse cases involving Orthodox Jews that the Brooklyn district attorney, Charles J. Hynes, is prosecuting after decades in which such prosecutions were rare. Another trial, involving Nechemya Weberman, an unlicensed religious counselor accused of molesting a girl he was treating, continues Tuesday in the same courthouse with testimony from the girl’s mother.

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NEW YORK
New York Post

By JOSH SAUL
Last Updated: 7:13 PM, December 3, 2012

The principal of a Brooklyn yeshiva was convicted today of sexually abusing three young brothers, authorities said.

Emanuel Yegutkin, 33, abused the boys after he became close friends with their father and was invited regularly to Friday night shabbat dinners, the meal that marks the start of the weekly Jewish day of rest.

The abuse began when two of the boys were just 7 years old, according to the Brooklyn District attorney’s office.

“He would touch me under the table,” one of the brothers testified last month. “I wasn’t taught about sexuality so I wasn’t sure if it was right or wrong.”

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IRELAND
Irish Times

PATSY McGARRY

Priests accused of child sex abuse should never be stood down at parish Masses and should not be asked to vacate their places of residence unless particular circumstances demand it.

These were among proposals put to the Catholic Church child protection watchdog, its National Board for Safeguarding Children, at a recent meeting with the Association of Catholic Priests .

The association’s team of Fr Séan McDonagh, Fr Tony Flannery and Fr Brendan Hoban met board chief executive Ian Elliott last Friday as part of a review of church guidelines in the area of child protection.

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NEW YORK
AFP

By Sebastian Smith (AFP)

NEW YORK — The mother of a girl who says she was abused by a powerful and respected spiritual counselor in a New York community of ultra-Orthodox Jews testified Monday that she never suspected the accused man, given their sect’s radical restrictions on sexual behavior.

In a dramatic moment, Rachel Krausz took the stand in the trial that has upended the normally closed Satmar branch of Hasidic Jews and pointed across the Brooklyn courtroom at Nechemya Weberman.

Weberman, a heavyset 54-year-old with a traditional Hasidic beard and dark clothing, is alleged to have repeatedly abused Krausz’s daughter for three years starting in 2007, when she was 12.

Krausz said she could never have known what would happen when she sent her daughter to Weberman for counseling sessions, given his standing and the community’s strict separation of the sexes.

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NEW YORK
Washington Post

Orthodox counselor on trial in NY sex abuse case; girl testifies she was molested

By Associated Press
Updated: Monday, December 3

NEW YORK — A young girl with questions about her ultra-Orthodox Jewish religion was sent to a respected counselor to help her back on a path of faith. Prosecutors say the girl was instead molested by the man for years behind a locked office door starting when she was just 12. Defense attorneys say the counselor is the victim of a vindictive child, angry that he had betrayed her trust.

The ongoing sex abuse trial of Nechemya Weberman in Brooklyn court has rocked the insular, tight-knit group of ultra-Orthodox Jews, not only because of the shocking charges but also because the case is being played out in a public court and the guarded society strongly discourages going to outside authorities. The girl, now 17, testified that she and her family were harassed and shunned for coming forward; her father lost his business and her nieces were kicked out of school.

During the trial, which began last week, four men were charged with criminal contempt for snapping images of the accuser on the witness stand with cellphone cameras and posting them online. And before the trial began, Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes charged other men with trying to bribe the girl to drop the charges.

The girl testified for three days about the abuse, detailing that the 54-year-old Weberman, who was not a licensed counselor, forced her to perform oral sex and act out porn films. She said the abuse lasted from 2007 to 2010. Her family paid him $12,800 in counseling fees during that time, the girl’s mother testified Monday.

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NORTH CAROLINE
WECT

By: WECT Staff

WILMINGTON, NC (WECT) – A preacher from Wilmington was sentenced in superior court Monday to six to nine years in prison for sex charges that date back to 1998.

Thomas Archie Wiggins took a plea deal Monday, pleading guilty to six counts of sex offense in a parental role.

He confessed in 2011 to five charges of first degree sex offense and five counts of indecent liberties with a minor for incidents that happened in 1998.

The charges stem from allegations of a boy who was 14 years old at the time of the incident. Prosecutors said Wiggins asked the victim about his sexual experience when he turned 14 and started sleeping in the same bed as the adolescent, cuddling him.

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NORTH CAROLINA
WWAY

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — A Wilmington pastor charged last year with sex crimes against a minor pleaded guilty today.

Thomas Wiggins Jr. pleaded guilty to six counts of felony sex offense as a substitute parent for crimes that happened in 1998.

Prosecutors say Wiggins’s victim was a 14-year-old boy, who was a member of Wiggins’s church and whose parents were divorced. They say Wiggins became a father-figure to the victim, but over the course of the next two years began to sexually violate him.

Today, wiggins said he did commit the crimes. His lawyer said there is not a day that goes by Wiggins does not ask for forgiveness.

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NORTH CAROLINA
Star News

A Wilmington pastor accused of indecent liberties with a minor pleaded guilty Monday in New Hanover County Superior Court to six counts of felony sexual abuse of a minor by a substitute parent.

Thomas Archie Wiggins, 54, former pastor of Wilmington’s Faith Temple Church of God in Christ, was given a prison sentence of between six years and three months and nine years and nine months. He was taken into custody Monday.

Wiggins was arrested in November 2011 on five counts of first-degree sexual offense and five counts of indecent liberties with a minor.

The crimes involved a teen boy and took place in 1998, according to officials.

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CANADA
APTN

APTN National News
OTTAWA–The commission created to delve into the dark chapter of residential schools is taking its battle for “control over history” with Ottawa to the courts, says a lawyer for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

The federal government has refused to hand over millions of Indian residential school documents still locked away in its vaults, despite the Truth and Reconciliation Commission inching closer to the end of its mandate in 2014. The documents originate from 23 federal departments and agencies ranging from the RCMP, the Office of the Privy Council to Parks Canada and are held by the Library and Archives Canada.

The TRC is applying to the Ontario Supreme Court of Justice to force Ottawa’s hand to release the documents. The TRC wants the court to issue a definition on Canada’s responsibility on the production of residential school documents. A decision by the court could order Canada to pay.

The TRC believes Canada is obligated to hand over all documents under the multi-billion dollar Indian Residential School settlement which created the commission. Canada, however, is refusing to pay for the cost of digitizing, processing and organizing the documents, which range from reports to photographs of residential schools.

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CANADA
APTN

By Jorge Barrera
APTN National News
OTTAWA–Indian residential school records on dead and missing children and abuse complaints to the RCMP may never see the light of day if Ottawa gets its way in its battle with the commission created to shed light on Canada’s darkest chapter, according to court documents.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) is taking Ottawa to court over its refusal to hand over millions of records related to the 150 year existence of Indian residential schools. The court fight has been described as a battle for control over the history of residential schools.

The TRC alleges in court documents that the Harper government is refusing to release documents and files written following the closure of a residential school, even though some of these schools opened and closed on an ongoing basis and sometimes shut down and reopened in the same building.

“To the extent that documents were generated by Canada about a particular residential school after its closure, these materials would be necessary to complete the historical record of the (Indian residential school system),” stated Ken Roach, research advisor to the TRC, in an affidavit. “(The documents) would be essential to understand the particular legacy of that school.”

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CANADA
Toronto Star

Colin Perkel
The Canadian Press

Years of mounting frustration over access to government records has prompted the commission of inquiry into Canada’s residential school system to turn to the courts for help, The Canadian Press has learned.

In court filings, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission accuses Ottawa of stymying requests for documents the inquiry says are vital to its core mandate: “delivery on truth, reconciliation and ultimately healing.”

Documents filed with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice show the commission worries that Ottawa’s alleged intransigence will make it impossible to complete its work as required by July 1, 2014 and within budget.

“If the parties, through incompetence, delays or deliberate stonewalling (or a combination thereof) sabotage the work of the commission, then Canadians are certain to forget (and never fully learn) what has happened,” the commission’s factum states.

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CANADA
Vancouver Sun

OTTAWA – The federal government will release millions of files documenting the abuse suffered by aboriginal children who attended Canada’s Indian residential schools, Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan said Monday.

His statement comes as the Truth and Reconciliation Commission prepares to take the government to court on Dec. 20 to gain access to the files.

Although the government has released 937,000 documents to the commission, millions of records are still sitting in archives across the country. The commission says it wants the remaining files in order to fulfil its mandate of recording the controversial and tragic history of Canada’s residential school system.

In a lawsuit filed in the Superior Court of Ontario, Toronto lawyer Julian Falconer states the commission has encountered “serious difficulties” in obtaining the enormous amount of paperwork it requires.

By withholding millions of records, the government is reneging on its promise to create a national residential school research centre, according to Falconer. In a statement Monday, he dubbed the court case a battle over “control of history.”

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UNITED STATES
Slate

By L.V. Anderson|Posted Monday, Dec. 3, 2012

survey of 40 Catholic priests in the Kansas City, Mo., area indicates that Bishop Robert Finn has lost the support of his priests since he was convicted earlier this year of failing to report child abuse by a priest in his diocese. Many priests and other critics have suggested that Finn resign. If he does not, the only way for him to be removed from office is for the pope to fire him. How common is it for a bishop to be fired?

Quite uncommon. As a rule, the Vatican avoids firing bishops outright, since doing so reflects poorly on the church and implies that it was a mistake for the pope to have appointed the fired bishop in the first place. In cases of conflict between the Vatican and a bishop, the Vatican usually pressures a problematic bishop to resign before resorting to actively dismissing him.

In recent years, the most famous cases of bishops being fired by the Vatican have been cases of liberal bishops who question church doctrine. In 1995, Pope John Paul II fired Jacques Gaillot, the Bishop of Evreux in France, after Gaillot offered to bless gay couples, endorsed condom use and the abortion pill, and expressed support for the ordination of married priests. In a similar case in Australia last year, the bishop of Toowoomba, William Morris, was fired by Pope Benedict XVI five years after writing a letter to his parish suggesting that the church should consider ordaining women and married men. Pope Benedict XVI appears to have a more liberal attitude toward firing than his predecessor; he has also fired three other bishops (in Slovakia, Congo, and Italy) for financial mismanagement.

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WISCONSIN
National Catholic Reporter

by Joshua J. McElwee | Dec. 3, 2012

A Catholic priest who participated in a eucharistic liturgy with a woman priest last month has been ordered to no longer celebrate the Mass or perform any other priestly duties.

Jesuit Fr. Bill Brennan, a 92-year-old Milwaukee-area priest, said the superior of his religious community told him of the restrictions Nov. 29, saying they came at the request of Archbishop Jerome Listecki.

Brennan, a retired parish priest and former missionary to Belize, participated in a liturgy Nov. 17 with Janice Sevre-Duszynska, a woman ordained in the Roman Catholic Womenpriests movement.

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MISSOURI
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

FAIR: To the priests in the Kansas City-St. Joseph Diocese who were courageous enough in a private survey commissioned by the diocese itself to say they have lost confidence in their leader, Bishop Robert W. Finn. The survey of 40 priests was conducted by Church Development. The New York Times reported Monday that it had obtained 32 of the responses and that the priests in half of those expressed serious doubt about whether Bishop Finn should continue as their leader. Several of those priests suggested that he resign. The priests were identified by name and by the churches they lead.

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Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by David Clohessy38pc on December 03, 2012

Could there be a more shrewd way for child molesting clerics to avoid getting caught than this: legally changing their names?

The Catholic clergy sex abuse and cover up crisis is exploding in Australia. A few months back, a newspaper there noted the case of Fr. Peter Chalk.

In a story that seems ripped from Hollywood, Peter Murphy, a sex abuse victim, went into a meeting with senior church officials wearing a wire, with police listening in on their conversation. During the meeting, Fr. Brian Gallagher – the head of Chalk’s order, the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart –revealed that at least eight allegations had been levied at Fr. Chalk. Yet somehow, Gallagher did not believe it was his responsibility to report Chalk to police.

Instead of being in jail where he belonged, Chalk was able to leave Australia. He moved to Japan where he changed his name and became a teacher, giving him numerous opportunities to abuse more kids. Instead of doing the right thing and reporting this predator to police, the MSC allowed him to escape justice and public scrutiny, and likely allowed him to hurt more kids.

Sadly, this is not unique. Right here in Missouri, two such cases leap to mind:

–In 1983, Fr. Carmine Sita was convicted of abusing a New Jersey boy. He was sentenced to five years on probation. Less than a year later, however, Catholic officials urged him to legally change his name – to Fr. Jerry Howard – and quietly sent him to Boonville MO, without warning parishioners. There, he sexually assaulted several boys from 1983-1988. (He’s in jail now, but may soon be freed if a judge deems that the statute of limitations on his crimes has run out).

–In 2003, Fr. James Beine was sentenced to 12 years behind bars for exposing himself to three elementary school students in 2000-2001. However, the decision was overturned on a technicality in 2005, at which point Fr. Beine was released from prison and began to call himself “Mar James.” Although he was defrocked in 2005 and had his teaching certificate revoked in Missouri in 2007, he was last known to be living in the Las Vegas area where he applied for a teaching license that same year. While that license was denied, Fr. Beine remains free from jail and using his assumed name.

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CALIFORNIA
Modesto Bee

By Andy Furillo
afurillo@sacbee.com

The trial of a Catholic priest accused of child molestation has been rescheduled for April 11.

The Rev. Uriel Ojeda had initially been set for trial this Thursday in Sacramento Superior Court.

Ojeda, 33, is accused on seven counts of molesting a girl under the age of 14 while he served at Holy Rosary Parish in Woodland and later at Our Lady of Mercy Parish in Redding.

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KANSAS
WIBW

Nov 15, 2012

GEARY COUNTY, Kan. (WIBW) – Prosecutors say they’re still waiting to receive vital DNA results in the shocking investigation of a minister accused of molesting young boys at a Junction City church.

Jordan Young, 25, is facing child molestation charges in six cases involving separate victims. The state will be charging Young in connection with four more cases, prosecutors told WIBW. It will bring the number of victims to 10 in the church sex scandal.

Young appeared in Geary County District Court Thursday for a status hearing on his cases.

He was originally arrested in August after the Junction City Police Department launched an investigation into reports of sexual misconduct at Faith Tabernacle Apostolic Church where he’d been serving as the music minister.

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SPRINGFIELD (VA)
St. Raymond of Penafort Roman Catholic Church

In the midst of all this media flurry over the failure of the Catholic Church’s officials in the past to quickly “defrock” priests who were guilty of the heinous sin of sexual abuse of children, one question never seems to be actually addressed – “how does a decree laicizing such a priest in any way protect children?” The reason the question is never asked surely cannot be that the question is unimportant. One reason it is never asked is that the underlying but never stated assumption has to be, at least for the lawyers and reporters, “yes it does.” But I can immediately think of at least two other reasons why the question is never asked and more than one argument why the real answer is more likely “no, this process does not really safeguard children.” It safeguards only the Church.

Another reason this question is ignored today may be that the people who are feeding this firestorm are not at all interested in that question simply because their immediate purpose is to discredit the Catholic Church and hold it up to ridicule. It’s most interesting that this onslaught on the Catholic hierarchy, now including the Pope, is happening after the Catholic Bishops in this country, – with the assistance of the Vatican that has streamlined its ancient procedures precisely to laicize such clergy – have moved to safeguard children in concrete ways that have dramatically reduced the incidence of this terrible crime by Church employees of any kind and have made our schools and other activities the safest environments in the country for children. Each year the public school system alone has thousands of such cases, while in the Catholic Church, there are now only a few credible incidences each year. No institution can guarantee that the crime will never happen under its auspices, but the Catholic Church has come close to that promise.

However, the people feeding this firestorm are not interested in this effort of the Church because their real motives go beyond protecting children. The media like AP and The New York Times have their own agenda, i.e., discrediting a whole Church that they find an recalcitrant obstacle to the transformation of the morals of modern society, and of course the media today feeds on any story that has traction with a lot of people who hate the Catholic Church, the last respectable bigotry even among the intelligentsia.

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

Pia Akerman
From:The Australian
December 04, 2012

A RABBI accused of sexually assaulting students at a Jewish school in Melbourne has appeared in court following his extradition from the US.

David Kramer, a 52-year old American citizen who was living in Missouri, was surrendered by US authorities last week and flown back to Melbourne, where he has not lived since the 1990s.

A Victorian warrant was issued for his arrest last year amid allegations he abused four boys while teaching at Yeshivah College in St Kilda East between 1990 and 1992.

He was arrested in the US in April and unsuccessfully fought the extradition order through the courts.

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NEW YORK
CBS NewYork

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – Testimony continued Monday in the sex abuse case of a prominent ultra Orthodox leader in Brooklyn’s Satmar community.

The mother of the now-17-year-old accuser testified that she trusted counselor Nechemya Weberman. But the woman testified that she had no idea that her daughter was locked in a room alone with a man, which is a clear violation of Satmar law.

The mother testified that it was always a struggle to keep her youngest daughter out of trouble at her Satmar school because the girl fought modesty rules.

It was the school that ordered the girl to continue counseling with Weberman, 54, or be kicked out, WCBS 880′s Irene Cornell reported.

The school reportedly considered the accuser an angry, damaged child with pure hatred in her heart, Cornell reported.

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MISSOURI
Inquisitr

Kansas City, MO — Reverand Matthew Brumleve is waiting for an apology. Like many other priests in the diocese headed by Bishop Robert Finn, he is waiting for the bishop to give a “robust” apology for his actions.

Father Brumleve wants to know why — when Finn knew that one of his priests was exploiting children, photographing hundreds of pornographic images and storing them on his computer — the bishop didn’t turn the priest over to authorities.

Finn is the leader of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, and “an outspoken conservative in the American hierarchy,” according to USA Today. Not so outspoken, however, that he would turn one of his own priests over to authorities, even after discovering that the Reverand Shawn Ratigan had taken hundreds of lewd images of children in Catholic schools and parishes.

Instead, Finn sent Ratigan to a convent, and called it good. While the crimes were discovered by Finn in December of 2010, authorities were not notified until another priest notified went over the bishop’s head to notify police in May 2011.

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MISSOURI
Catholic League

Bill Donohue released the following comments today:

The Catholic Left has been trying to unseat Kansas City-St. Joseph Bishop Robert Finn for well over a year. Their effort received another boost today from the New York Times. It deserves a response.

The Times says that Finn’s conviction of a misdemeanor “stemmed from his failure to report the Rev. Shawn Ratigan to the authorities after hundreds of pornographic pictures that Father Ratigan had taken of young girls were discovered on his laptop in December 2010.”

That statement is factually wrong. On October 15, 2011 the Times mentioned there was “a single photo of a young girl, nude from the waist down,” and “hundreds of photographs of children” showing “upskirt images and images focused on the crotch.”

Now anyone who takes such pictures is clearly disturbed. But it also needs to be said that crotch shots are not pornographic. Moreover, the diocese described the “single photo” of a naked girl to a police officer who served on the diocesan sexual review board, and he said it did not constitute pornography. So why would the Times say that “hundreds of pornographic pictures” were found two years ago this month? The record shows that it was not until after the diocese called the cops in May 2011 that porn pictures were found on Ratigan’s computer.

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UNITED STATES
Channel 3000

I’ve read a couple of strange reports recently that lead me to an idea for how the Catholic Church might redeem itself.

The first came out of Rome. The Vatican is urging Catholic religious leaders to wear black cassocks when visiting Rome. A cassock is an ankle-length robe that buttons down the front.

“The very example of those who, sealed with the episcopal dignity are faithful to the daily use of the cassock proper to them during daily office hours becomes an explicit encouragement to all,” the Vatican said.

OK, that was one story: The pope apparently wants to class up the clergy in Rome.

The second report came from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops meeting held recently in Baltimore. Well, actually, it wasn’t a report. What happened is Bishop Robert Finn of Kansas City attended the meeting, participated in its legislation – and no one said a word about the fact that he was recently convicted of criminally endangering children by knowingly covering up evidence that one of his priests was molesting kids.

There are those who thought Finn’s fellow bishops might have noticed. There are even those who think that, once a bishop is convicted of a major crime, he might consider retiring.

What do these stories have in common? Each of them suggests a mindset within the church that clergy are not bound to the same rules of the road as are lesser folk.

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UNITED STATES
Huffington Post

Jaweed Kaleem
Huffington Post

In an editorial published Monday morning, a prominent Catholic newspaper endorsed the controversial movement to ordain women priests.

Calling the priesthood a “gift from God … rooted in baptism,” the National Catholic Reporter says that “barring women from ordination to the priesthood is an injustice that cannot be allowed to stand.”

The Kansas City, Mo.-based newspaper’s editorial pits it directly against the Vatican, where church leadership has strongly rejected any possibility of women being ordained, even as a small pro-ordination movement has grown and independently ordained several women in recent years.

The editorial comes weeks after the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith’s laicization and excommunication of Roy Bourgeois, a former American priest and peace activist who was a member of the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers and an outspoken supporter of the women’s ordination movement in the U.S., was made public. In a high-profile Mass in 2008 in Lexington, Ky., Bourgeois claimed to ordain a woman into the Roman Catholic priesthood. His religious order later said that he was part of an “invalid ordination of a woman and a simulated Mass.”

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MIAMI (FL)
CBS Miami

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Embattled Miami priest Father Rolando Garcia has resigned in the wake of a new sexual abuse accusation.

Fr. Garcia, pastor of St. Agatha Catholic Church in West Miami-Dade, submitted his letter of resignation to Archbishop Thomas Wenski, which was accepted, effective November 21st, 2012.

In his resignation letter, Fr. Garcia wrote that he wished not to be a distraction to the parish during this tumultuous time in his life. “I want to do what is best for the parishioners, school parents and students of St. Agatha,” he stated. Fr. Garcia added that he has resigned in good conscience and of his own free will and volition after much prayer and reflection.

In accepting his resignation, Archbishop Wenski expressed his gratitude to Fr. Garcia for his years of service in St. Agatha parish, and that he will be in his prayers.

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by NCR Editorial Staff | Dec. 3, 2012

Editorial

The call to the priesthood is a gift from God. It is rooted in baptism and is called forth and affirmed by the community because it is authentic and evident in the person as a charism. Catholic women who have discerned a call to the priesthood and have had that call affirmed by the community should be ordained in the Roman Catholic church. Barring women from ordination to the priesthood is an injustice that cannot be allowed to stand.

The most egregious statement in the Nov. 19 press release announcing Roy Bourgeois’ “excommunication, dismissal and laicization” is the assertion that Bourgeois’ “disobedience” and “campaign against the teachings of the Catholic church” was “ignoring the sensitivities of the faithful.” Nothing could be further from the truth. Bourgeois, attuned by a lifetime of listening to the marginalized, has heard the voice of the faithful and he has responded to that voice.

Bourgeois brings this issue to the real heart of the matter. He has said that no one can say who God can and cannot call to the priesthood, and to say that anatomy is somehow a barrier to God’s ability to call one of God’s own children forward places absurd limits on God’s power. The majority of the faithful believe this.

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VATICAN CITY
Irish Times

PADDY AGNEW, in Rome

The so-called “Vatileaks” trials which last month saw the Pope’s butler, Paolo Gabriele, sentenced to 18 months in prison for leaking sensitive documents, can now be considered a “closed chapter”, according to Vatican spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi.

He made the comment during the presentation of the motivazioni or judges’ reasoning behind the decision which in a separate trial, also in November, saw computer technician Claudio Sciarpelletti given a two-month suspended sentence for having lied to protect Gabriele.

Various documents, some of which appeared in the controversial book, His Holiness: The Secret Papers of Benedict XVI, had been found by police in Sciarpelletti’s desk.

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VATICAN CITY
The Telegraph (United Kingdom)

Vatican clergy and employees will be issued with an identity card complete with a microchip-tracking device in sweeping new security measures designed to prevent a repeat of the Vatileaks scandal.

By Josephine McKenna in Rome
4:28PM GMT 02 Dec 2012

Much tighter controls have already been introduced for anyone seeking access or photocopies of the Holy See’s archives, dossiers and documents.

The Papal Apartments, which include the living quarters of Pope Benedict XVI and the offices of his personal staff inside the Apostolic Palace, are totally off limits to anyone without strict authorisation.

Slovenian priest, Mitja Leskovar, an anti-espionage expert nicknamed ‘Monsignor 007’, is in charge of implementing the new security procedures with the identity cards expected to be introduced from January 1.

Leskovar, who grew up in the former Yugoslavia under Communism, is responsible for the transmission of confidential documents between the Vatican and its papal nuncios or diplomats inside the Secretariat of State and also supervises all requests for document photocopying within the secretariat.

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VATICAN CITY
Catholic News Service

By Cindy Wooden
Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Explaining why they found a Vatican computer technician guilty of aiding and abetting the papal butler who stole private papal correspondence, Vatican judges said they found much of his testimony hard to believe.

The Vatican court Nov. 10 found Claudio Sciarpelletti, 48, a computer technician in the Vatican Secretariat of State, guilty of obstructing the investigation into the leak of Vatican documents. The court gave Sciarpelletti a two-month suspended jail sentence.

As is the normal practice at the Vatican and in Italy, the judges released a detailed explanation of their findings and of their sentence weeks after the verdict was delivered.

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MISSOURI
National Catholic Reporter

by Michael Sean Winters | Dec. 3, 2012

Today is December 3. On September 6, Bishop Robert Finn was convicted in civil court of failing to report an instance of child sexual abuse. Not only is Finn now serving a suspended sentence, he is in violation of the Dallas Charter the bishops adopted ten years ago to confront the sex abuse crisis. Three months. Bishop Finn is still the Bishop of Kansas City-St. Joseph. The Vatican is said to want the American bishops to exert fraternal correction and get Finn to step down. The US bishops are said to be waiting for the Vatican to move. Enough already. Someone do something. As long as Bishop Finn remains in office, the entire body of bishops lacks any credibility on the issue of child sex abuse. All the ten years of effort, the repeated promises to never let this happen again, all the apologies, all the settlements, none of that matters. And, as long as the US hierarchy lacks credibility on this issue, a sizable proportion of the flock, somewhat understandably, declines to listen to them on anything else.

If you doubt it, check out this story from the Times.

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MISSOURI
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by Barbara Dorris on December 03, 2012

The New York Times reports that roughly half of the Kansas City diocese’s priests have no confidence in Bishop Robert Finn. Sadly those sentiments, unless backed by action, won’t change a thing.

Kansas City priests must find courage and take action if ever their diocese is to become safer and healthier. Privately expressing disapproval of a criminal behavior won’t get the job done.

A decade ago, some 50+ Boston priests publicly rebuked Cardinal Bernard Law seeking his resignation. They won.

The church is a feudal hierarchy. Bishops hold virtually all of the power. Priests, like lay people, are essentially serfs, so they are understandably reluctant to challenge bishops, even one who is a proven lawbreaker. (Bishops have clearly retaliated against brave whistleblowers, basically shunning them and transferring them to small, remote parishes for decades.)

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IRELAND
The Association of Catholic Priests

Sean McDonagh, Brendan Hoban and Tony Flannery had a meeting with Ian Elliot of the NBSCCC on Friday, November 30th. This was in the context of a review of the Interim Guidelines, which is currently taking place. First we clarified that we are totally in favour of best practice for the protection of children in all Church activities. This is a report of the issues we raised with Mr. Elliot.

1. The first issue we raised concerned the way in which news of an allegation is conveyed to a priest. A few basic points should be observed.
• When the bishop or religious superior invites a priest/religious to come to meet him he should inform that person of the nature of the meeting, and advise him that he has the right to bring a support person with him.
• The priest/religious is entitled to know the name of the accuser, and to have the accusation in writing.
2. The problems related to the stepping down of a priest. This is more likely to concern diocesan priests than religious. The points we made on this were:
• The parish Eucharistic celebration should never be used as the occasion for making an announcement of the stepping down of the priest.
• A public announcement to the whole parish is not necessary. It almost inevitably leads to the priest being considered guilty.

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INDIA
The Hindu

A five-year-old girl was allegedly raped by a temple priest in Mangolpuri here two days ago.

According to the police, the victim had gone to a temple close to her house. The priesttook her inside the temple on the pretext of giving prasad and allegedly raped her. The accused also warned her against telling anyone about the act.

The girl, however, returned home and told her parents about the incident.

The parents then approached the police and a case was registered under section 376 of the Indian Penal Code. A medical examination of the victim confirmed rape.

The girl had gone to the temple alone and there was no one present there except the priest at the time of the incident, said the police.

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BALTIMORE (MD)
The Baltimore Sun

[Catholic officials knew of teacher’s abuse, court files indicate]

Sean Caine, Baltimore
The writer is vice-chancellor of the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

I write in response to last Sunday’s article, “Catholic officials knew of teacher’s abuse, court files indicate” (Nov. 24) and the subsequent editorial regarding the horrific abuse committed by John Merzbacher in the 1970s. Contrary to the article’s implication that the former archbishop or others in the central offices of the Archdiocese of Baltimore delayed the reporting of the abuse, the archdiocese first learned of the abuse when a victim — by then an adult — reported it to us in 1988. At our prompting, the victim reported the matter at that time to the Department of Social Services. Five years later, when the same victim came back to us, we again encouraged her to report it (which she did, leading to the eventual criminal indictment of Mr. Merzbacher), and we also reported the matter to civil authorities.

•The article criticized the archdiocese for not reporting the matter until 1993, but it failed to state that it was in fact reported to civil authorities in 1988. Like most institutions in 1988 (and indeed like many or most states even today), we encouraged adult victims to report allegations to civil authorities, but we respected their wishes regarding whether they wanted to do so.

•Only in 1993 did the Maryland Attorney General clarify that all suspected child abuse should be reported even when the child was now an adult and even when the alleged perpetrator was deceased. In its official 1993 opinion, the attorney general noted that “We acknowledge that [the reporting law] could reasonably be construed to apply only if the alleged victim were still a child.”

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AUSTRALIA
NEWS.com.au

A FORMER Melbourne school teacher extradited from the US after being charged with sex crimes has appeared in court.

David Kramer, 52, was extradited from the US at the weekend after being charged with 10 counts of indecent assault.

The former Yeshiva College teacher is also facing two charges of indecent acts with children under the age of 16.

The offences are alleged to have happened while he was a teacher at the college between 1989 and 1992.

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AUSTRALIA
9 News

A former teacher at a Jewish Orthodox school has faced court in Melbourne over indecent assaults allegedly committed more than a decade ago.

US national David Kramer, 52, was extradited from the US state of Missouri on Thursday, and faced 10 charges of indecent assault and two charges of an indecent act with a child under the age of 16.

The offences are all alleged to have occurred against three victims over two years between January 1990 and February 1992, when Kramer was a teacher at Yeshivah College in St Kilda East.

He appeared in Melbourne Magistrates Court on Monday wearing a white T-shirt, spectacles and with a beard and moustache.

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AUSTRALIA
The Age

December 3, 2012

Stephen Cauchi

A rabbi has appeared in court over allegations he sexually assaulted three boys at Yeshivah College in St Kilda East between 1990 and 1992.

David Kramer, 52 – who was extradited from the US state of Missouri – appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates Court and was remanded in custody until January 18. He did not apply for bail.

As he was led from the court, a member of the gallery yelled out “welcome back to Australia, Rabbi Kramer”.

Deputy Chief Magistrate Felicity Broughton heard that Kramer had been charged with 10 counts of indecent assault and two counts of indecent acts with a child under the age of 16.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

A former Melbourne school teacher who was extradited from the United States has appeared in court charged with sex offences.

David Kramer, 52, used to teach at Yeshivah College in St Kilda East.

He has appeared at Melbourne Magistrates Court charged with 10 counts of indecent assault and two counts of indecent acts with children under the age of 16.

The offences are alleged to have happened between 1989 and 1992 in St Kilda East.

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AUSTRALIA
Herald Sun

Shannon Deery
From:Herald Sun
December 03, 2012

A FORMER Melbourne school teacher extradited from the US after being charged with sex crimes has appeared in court.

David Kramer, 52, was extradited from the US at the weekend after being charged with 10 counts of indecent assault.

The former Yeshiva College teacher is also facing two charges of indecent acts with children under the age of 16.

The offences are alleged to have happened while he was a teacher at the college between 1989 and 1992.

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CANADA
Globe and Mail

Gloria Galloway

The commission examining the treatment of aboriginal children at Canada’s residential schools is taking the federal government to court for refusing to release millions of documents that were supposed to form a permanent and public record of the abuses committed.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) – established in 2008 as part of the settlement between former students, the Canadian government, the churches that ran the schools, and others – has asked an Ontario Superior Court judge to decide whether Canada is obligated to hand over the material. Prime Minister Stephen Harper apologized in 2008 for the forced assimilation of more than 150,000 first nations, Inuit and Métis children at the schools. However, Ottawa’s failure to produce the documents threatens to undermine the aboriginal community’s faith in the government, says the Assembly of First Nations.

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CANADA
Hamilton Spectator

TORONTO Years of mounting frustration over access to government records has prompted the commission of inquiry into Canada’s residential school system to turn to the courts for help, The Canadian Press has learned.

In court filings, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission accuses Ottawa of stalling on requests for documents the inquiry says are vital to its core mandate: “delivery on truth, reconciliation and ultimately healing.”

Documents filed with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice show the commission worries that Ottawa’s alleged intransigence will make it impossible to complete its work as required by July 1, 2014, and within budget.

“If the parties, through incompetence, delays or deliberate stonewalling (or a combination thereof) sabotage the work of the commission, then Canadians are certain to forget (and never fully learn) what has happened,” the commission’s factum states.

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NEW ZEALAND
Newstalk ZB

One of Bernard McGrath’s victims says he’s worried the former Catholic brother has been granted bail.

McGrath has previously served time for offending in Christchurch and is now charged with over 250 new counts of sexual abuse against children and young adults in New South Wales.

He was today granted bail to live with his sister.

The 65-year-old flew back to New Zealand late last week.

He now faces extradition to Australia but has been given a fortnight to consider his stance on the charges.

Alan Nixon says while McGrath hasn’t yet been convicted, it’s hard for victims to know that he’s back.

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NEW ZEALAND
9 News

Alys Francis, ninemsn

A former Catholic brother charged with more than 250 counts of sexual abuse against children and young adults in Australia has appeared in a New Zealand court.

NSW police are trying to extradite Bernard Kevin McGrath to Australia to face 252 charges laid in a Newcastle court on June 27.

The 65-year-old is understood to have flown to Sri Lanka, where he regularly holidays, shortly after the charges were laid.

He is believed to have flown back to New Zealand last week and appeared in a Christchurch court this morning where he applied for bail.

He will now decide whether to fight the extradition or return to Australia.

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NEW ZEALAND
The Age

December 3, 2012

David Clarkson

Former Catholic brother Bernard Kevin McGrath has been granted bail while he considers his stance on 252 fresh sex abuse charges on which he faces extradition to Australia.

The 65-year-old flew back to the city from Sri Lanka on Thursday and was arrested on Friday after fresh charges were laid in Australia.

The new charges allege he repeatedly raped, molested and abused dozens of young boys at church-run institutions in the Newcastle-Maitland diocese over several decades.

He was due to fly back to Christchurch from Sri Lanka next Saturday but he brought the flight forward.

Defence counsel Phillip Allan said McGrath had returned from Sri Lanka knowing that he would be arrested. He would have seen news reports on a New Zealand website before his return.

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NEW ZEALAND
New Zealand Herald

By Kurt Bayer

Monday Dec 3, 2012

A former Catholic brother and convicted paedophile has been arrested in Christchurch after returning to New Zealand from Sri Lanka.

Bernard Kevin McGrath, a former St John of God brother, faces extradition to Australia on 252 sexual abuse charges.

In 2006, he was jailed for five years for sexually abusing boys at Marylands School in Christchurch in the 1970s, and was paroled in 2008.

McGrath fled New Zealand to Sri Lanka earlier this year and was reportedly living on a tea plantation in the highlands.

Now, Australian police want him extradited from New Zealand to face the new charges of abusing, molesting and raping boys and young adults at church-run institutions in New South Wales over several decades.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

By Giselle Wakatama

A former Catholic brother has been granted bail in New Zealand after returning to face hundreds of child-sex charges relating to matters in Australia.

Bernard Kevin McGrath, 65, has been charged with 252 child sex offences and is facing extradition to Australia.

The offences relate to his time as a brother with the St John of God Catholic order at the Kendall Grange home for boys at Morisset, south of Newcastle.

The ABC has been told there are 35 alleged victims.

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NEW ZEALAND
TVNZ

Former Catholic brother and convicted sex offender Bernard Kevin McGrath has been granted bail while he considers his response to a bid to extradite him to Australia.

McGrath, 65, was remanded on bail for two weeks in Christchurch District Court this morning.

The former St John of God brother recently served two years in a New Zealand prison for sexually abusing boys.

He also spent time behind bars in the 1990s for similar offending.

McGrath had 252 fresh abuse charges laid against him in a Newcastle court on June 27.

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NEW ZEALAND
Boston Globe

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand police have arrested a former Catholic brother and convicted pedophile after Australian authorities filed 252 new charges against him.

Police say they arrested 65-year-old Bernard Kevin McGrath on Friday in Christchurch after he voluntarily returned to New Zealand from Sri Lanka. A judge on Monday released the former St. John of God brother on bail.

New South Wales police say they’ve investigated a large number of sexual assault claims by former students of the St. John order’s Kendall Grange school for boys in the town of Morisset, about 110 kilometers (70 miles) north of Sydney.

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AUSTRALIA
The Age

December 4, 2012

Joanne McCarthy

FORMER Catholic brother Bernard Kevin McGrath has returned to New Zealand from Sri Lanka a week early to face an extradition hearing to Australia on child sex charges.

McGrath, 65, was granted bail in a Christchurch court on Monday morning while he considers his next move in relation to 252 child sex charges in Australia.

News of his return to New Zealand was greeted with relief by the family of an alleged victim who had feared McGrath would not return from a Sri Lankan holiday where he was staying at a tea plantation.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Morning Star

Sunday 02 December 2012

by Peter Frost

Large Establishment organisations like the Church of England, the Roman Catholic Church and even the BBC have always been more concerned to protect their own reputations than to protect young people abused by their employees.

The recent Jimmy Savile scandal and countless examples from Catholic dioceses all over the globe have proved that.

Abuse by those in power appears to be everywhere – even it seems within the Church of England.

This month a canon at Carlisle Cathedral was jailed for four years for sexually abusing three teenage boys.

Complaints were made about Ronald Johns 20 years ago but his bishop covered it up, moving the abusing canon to a remote country parish.

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IRELAND
Evening Echo

The incoming bishop of Cloyne has been hailed as a “man of real courage” who will restore the trust of the people in the diocese.

Archbishop Dermot Clifford, who took over the running of the Diocese of Cloyne following the resignation of Dr John Magee in 2010, told the Evening Echo that bishop-elect Canon William Crean from Cahersiveen in Kerry, would restore people’s confidence because of his warm and gentle demeanour, as well as his steely determination and dignity.

Archbishop Clifford was speaking at the official opening of Whitechurch National School’s new school building.

He added that Canon Crean was known for his engagement with people and predicted they would take him to their hearts.

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NEW ZEALAND
Radio New Zealand

Former Catholic brother and convicted sex offender Bernard Kevin McGrath has appeared in Christchurch District Court on charges over a warrant for his extradition to Australia.

Mr McGrath has already served prison time in New Zealand and is facing 252 charges of sexual abuse laid in a court in Newcastle, New South Wales.

He was a St John of God brother when he abused boys in Christchurch, for which he spent two terms in prison, released most recently in 2008.

In October this year Australian police asked their New Zealand counterparts to help extradite him, but he left the country before the new charges could be laid.

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IRELAND
Irish Independent

By Sarah MacDonald

Monday December 03 2012

PRIESTS accused of sexual abuse want their accusers identified and the allegations against them in writing, a group representing liberal clergymen has said.

The Association of Catholic Priests (ACP) issued the demand to the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church.

In a meeting with the board chief, Ian Elliot, the ACP, which now represents over 1,000 Irish priests, outlined a series of changes it is seeking to the guidelines on the standing aside from ministry for priests accused of abuse.

The group hopes the areas they are unhappy with will be taken into consideration when the interim guidelines come up for review in January.

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AUSTRALIA
Australian Times

By Australian Times on 3 December, 2012

A FORMER Catholic brother and pedophile, facing 252 child sex charges in Australia, has been arrested after returning to New Zealand from Sri Lanka.

Bernard Kevin McGrath, a former St John of God brother appeared in Christchurch District Court on Monday over a warrant to extradite him to Australia to face charges laid in Newcastle in June.

The news was greeted with relief by the family of an alleged Australian victim who had feared McGrath would not return, Fairfax Media reports.

“It’s excellent news. This really is very good news and an enormous relief after all this time,” said the father of an alleged victim who reported sexual abuse allegations to police two years ago.

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NEW YORK
Algemeiner

Author:
Ronn Torossian

Every New York City tabloid newspaper this week is covering the repeated harassment by members of the Charedi Jewish community of a 17-year-old girl who has testified in the sexual abuse trial against Brooklyn Rabbi Nechemya Weberman. Four men were arrested recently for taking the girl’s picture in court and posting it online in an attempt to intimidate her.

Earlier in the week, the New York Post reported that “the alleged victim was left trembling after Weberman allegedly glared at her through a glass door to the courthouse conference room where she sat during a break in her testimony.” Before the trial, other men were charged with trying to bribe the girl so she would drop charges.

Are these people “religious” Jews? If so, then I am a Martian. If Weberman is really a Rabbi, then I am from Venus. They are simply gangsters, thugs and despicable people who deserve to be punished.

Orthodox Jews are supposed to adhere strictly to the laws and ethics of the Torah (Bible) – and clearly the Torah abhors behavior like this. These people’s acts are neither religious nor Orthodox – and it infuriates me to hear them referred to by the media as “religious”, or Weberman referred to as a “Rabbi.” Rabbi is a title of respect, even reverence, and surely someone who allegedly fondled a young girl and forced a 12-year-old to perform indecent acts is not worthy of this label.

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NEW ZEALAND
Christchurch Court News

By David Clarkson

Former Catholic priest and convicted sex offender Bernard Kevin McGrath has been granted bail while he considers his stance on 252 fresh sex abuse charges on which he faces extradition to Australia.

The 65-year-old, who was jailed for offending against boys at Marylands School in Christchurch, in 2006, flew back to the city from Sri Lanka on Thursday and was arrested on Friday after the issuing of the fresh charges in Australia.

The new charges allege he has repeatedly raped, molested and abused dozens of young boys at church-run institutions in the Newcastle-Maitland diocese over several decades.

He was due to fly back to Christchurch from Sri Lanka next Saturday but he brought the flight forward.

Defence counsel Phillip Allan said McGrath had returned from Sri Lanka knowing that he would be arrested. He would have seen news reports on the Stuff website before his return to New Zealand.

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BELGIE
KW

donderdag 29 november 2012

Wingene – De Wingense priester Norbert Bethune van de Werkgroep Mensenrechten in de Kerk heeft na zijn oproep eind vorige maand nog zo’n 80 klachten ontvangen over seksueel geweld in onze provincie. Tot eind oktober konden slachtoffers van de verjaarde feiten van seksueel misbruik nog met hun klacht terecht bij de Arbitragecommissie. Vlak daarvoor lanceerde Norbert Bethune via Krant van West-Vlaanderen en De Weekbode Tielt de oproep om slachtoffers te wijzen op het afsluiten van die klachtenperiode.

Norbert Bethune over de gevolgen van die oproep: “Na de tweede oproep stond de telefoon hier niet meer stil. Het waren helse dagen. Mensen hebben dus heel lang getwijfeld of ze naar buiten zouden komen met wat hen indertijd is aangedaan”. In totaal zijn in onze provincie zo’n 80 klachten van slachtoffers ingediend. Het gaat in de meeste gevallen om verjaarde feiten en feiten die zich op parochieniveau hebben afgespeeld. Onder die ‘nieuwe’ slachtoffers zijn er nogal wat mensen die ooit misdienaar waren.

De gevolgen van het seksueel misbruik, zo leerde Norbert Bethune, zijn niet te overzien. Veel slachtoffers zijn voor het leven getekend. Sommigen slagen er niet in om nog een relatie aan te gaan, maar er waren ook verscheidene getuigenissen van slachtoffers over medeslachtoffers die uit het leven zijn gestapt.

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AUSTRALIA
Newcastle Herald

Dec. 3, 2012

ON November 5 I contacted the Salvation Army about professional misconduct charges against two solicitors who represented it in a NSW Supreme Court compensation case brought by Bucketty man Graham Rundle.

Mr Rundle was repeatedly and savagely sexually assaulted by a Salvation Army officer at a Salvation Army boys’ home in South Australia in the 1960s.

I asked the Salvation Army to comment on its handling of Mr Rundle’s case, given that his rapist, William Ellis, was jailed for 16 years in 2009 after a truly extraordinary criminal trial in South Australia, and given the church’s sustained challenges to his ultimately successful compensation case.

In the email I noted the Victorian Legal Services Commissioner had referred professional misconduct recommendations against the two solicitors to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

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AUSTRALIA
Newcastle Herald

By JOANNE McCARTHY
Dec. 3, 2012

GRAHAM Rundle of Bucketty on the Central Coast is living proof of the need for a royal commission into child sexual abuse in Australia.

As a child in the 1960s he was repeatedly and savagely raped in a South Australian boys’ home run by the Salvation Army, and as a man he fought and beat the Salvation Army in both criminal and civil courts.

The Salvation Army officer who raped him, William Ellis, was jailed for 16 years in 2009, after a judge described the boys’ home as ‘‘a horrific place by any standards’’.

The Salvation Army was forced to pay substantial compensation after a civil case that included a NSW Supreme Court judge, and three NSW Court of Appeal judges, describing evidence from two solicitors representing the church as ‘‘misleading’’, ‘‘disingenuous’’ and ‘‘worrying’’.

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MISSOURI
The New York Times

By JOHN ELIGON and LAURIE GOODSTEIN

Published: December 2, 2012

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — In the three months since Bishop Robert W. Finn became the first American prelate convicted for failing to report a pedophile priest, lay people and victims’ advocates have repeatedly called for his resignation.

Now, recent interviews and a private survey by a company working for the Roman Catholic diocese here show for the first time that a significant number of the bishop’s own priests have lost confidence in him.

Bishop Finn, who oversees the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, is serving two ears of court supervised probation after his conviction in September on a single misdemeanor count. The survey by Church Development, a consulting firm the diocese hired to run a capital campaign, was of 40 priests. In the 32 responses obtained by The New York Times, half of them seriously doubted whether the bishop should continue as their leader, and several suggested that he resign.

“I think it would be easier for us to move forward without Bishop Finn as our bishop,” the Rev. Michael Clary, the pastor at Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Lee’s Summit, Mo., which is part of Bishop Finn’s diocese, said in an interview. He added, however, that the bishop’s resignation may not be the only way forward.

Such sentiments raise the question of whether Bishop Finn can successfully continue to oversee a diocese of nearly 87 parishes and more than 130,000 people, or whether he will go the way of Cardinal Bernard F. Law, who gave up his post in Boston a decade ago after an outcry over his practice of reassigning priests accused of abuse to new parishes. An online petition calling for Bishop Finn’s resignation has collected 110,000 signatures to date.

But the bishop also has a strong base of supporters who contend that the critical priests do not appreciate Bishop Finn’s doctrinally conservative approach. He belongs to Opus Dei, a conservative Roman Catholic organization.

“Yes, there is a divide in the presbyterate, but in my opinion it’s the same old tired divide that has existed from the day he arrived,” the Rev. Vince Rogers, the pastor at St. Andrew the Apostle in Gladstone, Mo., and a 20-year veteran of the diocese, wrote in an e-mail. “In a word, some of the priests wish that we had a more liberal bishop, and they are willing to use any means to achieve that end.”

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AUSTRALIA
SNAP Australia

WHAT
Holding signs and childhood photos at a footpath news conference, clergy sex abuse victims will blast the top Catholic official for refusing to cooperate with a police investigation. They will also prod him to

–hold a series of open public meetings across the archdiocese and explain his reversal and his involvement in a predator priest’s crimes, and

— post the names, photos and whereabouts of all predator priests on his archdiocesan and parish websites, so that parents can better protect their kids and so that victims can better heal.

WHEN
Monday, 3 December at 12:30 pm

WHERE
Outside the St Francis Xavier Cathedral, 39 Wakefield Street in Adelaide

WHO
One or two members of an international support group for clergy sex abuse victims called SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, including a US woman who is the organisation’s founder

WHY
One of Australia’s most influential Catholic prelates is refusing to cooperate with a police investigation. He is Adelaide Archbishop Philip Wilson who is accused of concealing child sexual crimes by at least two priests, including serial child offender Father Denis McAlinden and failing to report them to police. (McAlinden, originally from Ireland, died in 2005 and may have molested hundreds of kids.)

In May 2010, Wilson’s spokesman told The Advertiser that Wilson would welcome the “opportunity” to be involved in any police investigation. (Australia’s top Catholic official, Cardinal George Pell, has similarly pledged that bishops would cooperate with law enforcement in clergy child sex cases.)

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