ABUSE TRACKER

NEVADA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by David Clohessy on November 02, 2012

A Las Vegas jury has awarded $500,000 to a man who was sexually abused as a boy by Fr. James Patrick Feeney.

Now that it’s been proven that Feeney molested at least one Nevada boy, it’s crucial that Las Vegas’ Catholic bishop reach out to others he Feeney have hurt. It’s irresponsible for the church hierarchy to be passive and silent here. They have ample resources. They should use those resources to find, in Jesus’ words, the lost and wounded sheep.

Nevada Catholic officials voluntarily let Feeney work in churches in the state. They are responsible, in part, for the harm he did in Nevada. These church officials have a moral duty to aggressively try to find – and help – anyone else who was assaulted by Feeney. They also have an obligation to prod witnesses and whistelblowers to speak up too, so that police and prosecutors might pursue more criinal charges against Feeney.

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NEDERLAND
Rijksoverheid

Nieuwsbericht | 02-11-2012

De ministerraad heeft op voorstel van staatssecretaris Veldhuijzen van Zanten van Volksgezondheid, Welzijn en Sport en staatssecretaris Teeven van Veiligheid en Justitie ingestemd met het wetsvoorstel professionalisering jeugdzorg.

Het wetsvoorstel verplicht jeugdzorgwerkers en gedragswetenschappers om zich te registreren bij een wettelijk register. Ook verbinden zij zich aan een beroepscode. Als sluitstuk van de professionalisering van de jeugdzorg komt er tuchtrechtspraak in de jeugdzorg. Met deze wettelijke instrumenten worden jeugdzorgwerkers beter toegerust en wordt de kwaliteit van de beroepsuitoefening in de gehele jeugdzorg op een hoger, professioneler plan getild.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Daily Times

By PATTI MENGERS
pmengers@delcotimes.com

Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput this week announced the Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s latest polices for the protection of children, 20 months after a grand jury investigation blasted archdiocesan officials for their handling of clerical sex abuse cases.

“While recently codified these same policies have actually guided our practices for more than a year. They’ll be reviewed on a regular basis and updated as circumstances require,” said Chaput in a prepared statement released Wednesday.

Among the key changes are a separate archdiocesan office of investigations to ensure immediate referral of any complaints to law enforcement officials, codification of steps for thorough screening of priests seeking to minister in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and referral of all complaints against clergy that involve minors to the Archdiocesan Review Board that provides recommendations of suitability for ministry to Chaput after assessing abuse allegatons.

Archdiocesan Review Board Vice Chairman Arnold Gordon, a former Philadelphia Assistant District Attorney, said, “The revised polices and procedures constitute significant evidence of the commitment of the Philadelphia archdiocese to a zero tolerance policy toward sexual abuse of minors.”

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AUSTRALIA
Newcastle Herald

By JOANNE McCARTHY
Nov. 3, 2012

Minister for Police and the Hunter Mike Gallacher has provided the first formal confirmation that police have investigated three senior Catholic clergy for concealing the child sex crimes of a Hunter priest.

Newcastle Police Strike Force Lantle’s investigations into the church’s handling of priest Denis McAlinden ‘‘have been exhaustive’’, Mr Gallacher said in a letter to Greens MP David Shoebridge in late October.

‘‘As you may be aware, the NSW Police Force has been actively investigating allegations that sexual assaults committed by a former Catholic priest, in the Hunter Region, were concealed by three senior members of the Catholic church,’’ he said.

‘‘I am advised that Strike Force Lantle is preparing a brief of evidence to submit to the NSW Director of Public Prosecutions for his review and consideration as to whether charges should be laid.

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VATICAN CITY
Catholic News Service

By Cindy Wooden
Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — A second criminal trial opens Nov. 5 in the little courtroom on the ground floor of the Vatican’s tribunal building, located just behind the apse of St. Peter’s Basilica.

Claudio Sciarpelletti, a computer technician in the Vatican Secretariat of State, is to be tried on charges of aiding and abetting Paolo Gabriele, the papal butler, who was convicted of aggravated theft for stealing or photocopying private Vatican correspondence — including letters to and from the pope.

The Vatican court’s indictment of Sciarpelletti was released Aug. 13 along with the indictment of Gabriele.

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WISCONSIN/NEVADA
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

By Gitte Laasby and Annysa Johnson of the Journal Sentinel

Nov. 2, 2012

The Catholic Diocese of Green Bay has been ordered to pay $500,000 to a Nevada man who was molested in 1984 by a priest it sent there, who had previously molested two Wisconsin brothers.

A Las Vegas jury ruled Thursday for the man, identified as John Doe 119, who was molested by the now defrocked Father John Patrick Feeney. He had sought $5.2 million in damages.

An Outagamie County, Wis., jury in May ordered the diocese to pay $700,000 to brothers Troy and Todd Merryfield, who were abused by Feeney in the 1970s. But the judge threw out that verdict after learning that a juror failed to disclose that she suspected Feeney of inappropriate contact with her own brother and was friends with a member of the plaintiffs’ extended family. That case is scheduled for retrial in May.

Feeney was convicted in Wisconsin in 2004 and sentenced to 15 years in prison but was released in 2011. He was defrocked in 2005.

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WISCONSIN/NEVADA
Wisconsin State Journal

A Las Vegas jury has awarded $500,000 to a man who claimed he was sexually abused as a boy by a former Wisconsin priest working in Nevada at the time.

The man alleged that when he was about 13, the Rev. John Patrick Feeney fondled him in 1984. At the time, Feeney was a pastor at a Las Vegas church.

The civil lawsuit named the Catholic Diocese of Green Bay as a defendant. The plaintiff alleged that officials there let Feeney transfer to Nevada without revealing a history of sexual abuse allegations against him.

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NEVADA/WISCONSIN
Fox 11

LAS VEGAS (AP) – A Las Vegas jury has awarded $500,000 to a man who claimed he was sexually abused as a boy by a former Wisconsin priest working in Nevada at the time.

The man alleged that when he was about 13, the Rev. John Patrick Feeney fondled him in 1984. At the time, Feeney was a pastor at a Las Vegas church.

The civil lawsuit named the Catholic Diocese of Green Bay as a defendant. The plaintiff alleged that officials there let Feeney transfer to Nevada without revealing a history of sexual abuse allegations against him.

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SEATTLE (WA)
KOMO

[with video]

By Jamie Lynn
Published: Nov 1, 2012

SEATTLE — Parents of O’Dea High School students want to know how a man accused of sex abuse became their children’s principal.

There are many questions surrounding the timeline, from when the sex abuse claim was filed against principal Karl Walczak, to when the principal was removed and what information parents were given throughout the process.

Students and parents were caught off-guard when they were told Walczak had resigned from his post as principal amid accusations of sexual abuse.

“I never felt threatened in his presence, not once,” said former student Sascha Stipe.

But the alleged victim claims Walczak sexually abused him at Brother Rice High School in Chicago where Walczak taught in the 70s.

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PENNSYLVANIA
York Dispatch

Pennsylvania State Police have arrested a priest who lives in New Freedom on embezzlement charges from Adams County, Adams County District Attorney Shawn Wagner has announced.

The Rev. Caesar Belchez, 52, of 315 N. Constitution Ave., is charged with embezzling a total of $384,750.76 from St. Joseph the Worker Catholic Church in Bonneauville between 2006 and 2011, according to Wagner.

Belchez could not be reached for comment.

Wagner said Belchez has been charged with theft by unlawful taking or disposition, theft by failure to make required disposition of funds received and access device fraud, which are all third-degree felonies.

Belchez is accused of embezzling $311,983.95 in money and using – without authorization – $72,766.81 from the parish’s credit cards, which the parish used for the purchase of goods and services, according Wagner.

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PENNSYLVANIA
The Evenig Sun

A preliminary arraignment was held Thursday for the priest accused of stealing more than $380,000 from his former church, St. Joseph the Worker Parish in Bonneauville.

Caesar A. Belchez, 52, was released on $50,000 unsecured bail. He faces third-degree felony charges of theft by unlawful taking, theft by failure to make required disposition of funds received, and access device fraud.

Belchez was assigned by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg to the Bonneauville church from 2006 to 2011. During that time, police say he stole $384,750.76 from the church in cash, checks and credit cards issued to the parish.

His alleged activities were discovered by the priest who replaced him when Belchez moved to St. Joseph’s Parish in Dallastown as part of a regular change of assignments, according to the Diocese.

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PENNSYLVANIA
WGAL

[with video]

BONNEAUVILLE, Pa. —

A suspended priest was formally charged on Thursday with taking thousands of dollars from his Adams County church.

The Rev. Caesar Belchez, the former pastor at St. Joseph the Worker parish in Bonneville, is accused of embezzling nearly $400,000 dollars over five years.

Court documents show the priest has confessed.

Belchez, who has most recently worked as a pastor in Dallastown, could face up to 21 years in prison.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Muenchner Kirchenradio

Die ka­tho­li­sche Kir­che in Deutsch­land hat wei­te­re Ak­ti­vi­tä­ten zur Prä­ven­ti­on se­xu­el­len Kin­des­miss­brauchs vor­ge­stellt. Bei einer Pres­se­kon­fe­renz am Mon­tag wurde in Mün­chen die erste Ler­nein­heit eines E-Learning-Pro­gramms prä­sen­tiert, das kirch­li­chen Mit­ar­bei­tern welt­weit Wis­sen zur Prä­ven­ti­on ver­mit­teln und sie für den Um­gang mit Fäl­len se­xu­el­len Kin­der­miss­brauchs qua­li­fi­zie­ren soll. Das Zen­trum für Kin­der­schutz Mün­chen der rö­mi­schen Päpst­li­chen Uni­ver­si­tät Gre­go­ria­na hat das E-Learning-Pro­gramm ent­wi­ckelt. In Frei­sing ver­an­stal­tet es der­zeit seine Jah­res­ta­gung.

„Der On­line­kurs ver­mit­telt hand­lungs- und pra­xis­ori­en­tier­te Kom­pe­ten­zen so­wohl für die Prä­ven­ti­ons­ar­beit als auch für kon­kre­te In­ter­ven­ti­ons­maß­nah­men“, sagte Hu­bert Lieb­hardt, Di­rek­tor des Zen­trums für Kin­der­schutz, bei der Pres­se­kon­fe­renz. Die Kir­che könne „in vie­len Län­dern die­ser Welt eine wich­ti­ge Rolle als Schutz­raum für Kin­der mit qua­li­fi­zier­ten Erst­an­sprech­per­so­nen ein­neh­men“. Er­gän­zend zu dem E-Learning-Pro­gramm, das die Erz­diö­ze­se Mün­chen und Frei­sing zur Hälf­te fi­nan­ziert, ab­sol­vie­ren pas­to­ra­le Mit­ar­bei­ter des Erz­bis­tums in ihrer Aus- und Wei­ter­bil­dung eine Viel­zahl von Schu­lun­gen zur Prä­ven­ti­on se­xu­el­len Miss­brauchs, teil­wei­se ver­pflich­tend. Auch im Fort­bil­dungs­pro­gramm für Pries­ter, das mo­men­tan neu kon­zi­piert wird, soll die Prä­ven­ti­on se­xu­el­len Miss­brauchs eine wich­ti­ge Rolle spie­len.

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SCHWEIZ
Tagblatt

FISCHINGEN. Das Kloster Fischingen kann bei der Aufarbeitung seiner Heimgeschichte auf die Innerschweiz zählen. Sowohl das Kloster Engelberg als auch die Menzinger Schwestern bieten der Fachgruppe ihre Hilfe an. Der Verein St.Iddazell will demnächst informieren.

Inge Staub
Immer neue Zöglinge melden sich, welche die Erziehungsmethoden im Kinderheim des Klosters Fischingen anprangern. Berichtet wird von Schlägen, Misshandlungen und sexuellem Missbrauch. Der Verein St.Iddazell, der das Kinderheim von 1879 bis Mitte der 1970er-Jahre geführt hat, hat vor einiger Zeit beschlossen, eine Fachgruppe einzusetzen, um die Geschichte des Kinderheimes aufzuarbeiten.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Augsburger Allgemeine

Von Peter Richter

Ein 60-jähriger katholischer Pfarrer aus dem Raum Augsburg hat Kinderpornos gesammelt und ist deswegen vom Amtsgericht zu einer Freiheitsstrafe von sieben Monaten auf Bewährung verurteilt worden. Wie Amtsrichter Michael Nißl auf Anfrage bestätigte, ist das Urteil bereits rechtskräftig. Der Priester hat den Strafbefehl akzeptiert und sich so eine öffentliche Gerichtsverhandlung erspart.

Es war das bischöfliche Ordinariat selbst, das im vorigen August den Fall bei der Augsburger Staatsanwaltschaft angezeigt hatte. Auf Anfrage unserer Zeitung nahm gestern Otto Kocherscheidt namens der Diözese zu dem Vorgang Stellung. Der ehemalige Richter ist vom Bistum beauftragt, sich möglicher Missbrauchsfälle anzunehmen.

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DEUTSCHLAND
kathweb

München (KAP) Mit einem internationalen Kongress zieht die katholische Kirche ab diesem Montag in Bayern eine Zwischenbilanz zu ihrem Kampf gegen sexuellen Missbrauch. “Wir sind auf dem richtigen Weg”, sagte der designierte maltesische Weihbischof Charles J. Scicluna vor Beginn der Tagung in Freising bei einer Pressekonferenz in München. 70 Prozent aller 113 nationalen katholischen Bischofskonferenzen hätten inzwischen eigene Richtlinien erlassen. Das sei eine “sehr gute Marke”.

In Nord- und Südamerika hätten inzwischen alle Bischofskonferenzen die Maßgabe der Römischen Glaubenskongregation erfüllt, erläuterte deren langjähriger “Oberstaatsanwalt”. Scicluna war Anfang Oktober vom Papst zum Weihbischof in seiner Heimat Malta ernannt worden. In Afrika fehlten jedoch noch mehr als die Hälfte. Dies erfülle ihn mit einer gewissen Sorge. Im europäischen Raum stünden 7 von 33 Konferenzen in der Bringschuld, und zwar Bulgarien, Kroatien, Lettland, Rumänien, die Türkei, Ungarn sowie Weißrussland.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Augsburger Allgemeine

Von Angela Effenberger

Burgau Im Fall des evangelischen Pfarrers aus Burgau, der am Montag vom Dienst suspendiert worden ist (wir berichteten), ermittelt die Staatsanwaltschaft in Memmingen nun wegen des Verdachts auf sexuellen Missbrauch von Schutzbefohlenen. Dies teilte die Oberstaatsanwältin und stellvertretende Behördenleiterin Renate Thanner auf Nachfrage unserer Zeitung mit.

Wie berichtet soll der evangelische Pfarrer vor einigen Jahren sexuelle Kontakte zu einer Minderjährigen gehabt haben. Die Staatsanwältin geht davon aus, dass das Mädchen zur Tatzeit zwischen 14 und 17 Jahre alt gewesen ist. Jetzt müsse geklärt werden, was an den Vorwürfen dran ist und in welchem Verhältnis der Pfarrer zu der Jugendlichen stand, das heißt, ob ein Betreuungs- und Seelsorgerverhältnis gegeben war, sagte Thanner. Wie die Evangelische-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern mitteilte, habe der Pfarrer die Jugendliche aus der Kirchengemeinde, in der er seit 2003 tätig ist, gekannt.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Sudwest Presse

Der Mann steht unter Verdacht, vor einigen Jahren sexuellen Umgang zu einer minderjährigen Jugendlichen aus der Kirchengemeinde gehabt zu haben, teilte Johannes Minkus mit, der Pressesprecher der Landeskirche. Weitere Vorwürfe etwa mit anderen Opfern stünden nicht im Raum.

Der Burgauer Pfarrer gehört zum Dekanatsbezirk Neu-Ulm. Das Mädchen soll zum Zeitpunkt der Übergriffe 15 Jahre oder älter gewesen. Es wurde Strafanzeige erstattet und ein Disziplinarverfahren eingeleitet. Bis zum Abschluss der Ermittlungen darf der Pfarrer seinen Dienst nicht mehr ausüben.

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DEUTSCHLAND
domradio

Das jesuitische Aloisiuskolleg in Bonn forciert selbst noch einmal die Aufklärung über sexuellen Missbrauch an Schutzbefohlenen durch ehemalige Patres oder Laienmitarbeiter. “Es ist noch immer so, dass einige der Übergriffe nicht hinreichend aufgeklärt oder gar sanktioniert sind”, erklärte Rektor Pater Johannes Siebner am Mittwoch dem epd. Es stünden noch Schritte der Aufklärung und der Anerkennung aus, “die der Orden und die Kollegsgemeinschaft noch zu gehen haben”.

In den kommenden Wochen erwarte man die Fertigstellung und die Veröffentlichung eines weiteren Untersuchungsberichtes, mit dem der Bonner Psychologieprofessor Arnfried Bintig beauftragt wurde. “Alle noch so guten Präventionskonzepte taugen nicht, wenn nicht die Aufklärung und die Anerkennung des Gewesenen und noch immer Wirkmächtigen wesentlicher Bestandteil unseres Tuns ist”, sagte Pater Siebner, der 2011 neu ans Kolleg kam.

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IRELAND
Irish Times

THE ASSOCIATION of Catholic Priests has responded with disappointment to the dismissal of its call for public dialogue with the Irish bishops on changes necessary to reinvigorate the church and to address the steep decline in vocations to the priesthood. A rejection of such engagement might have been expected, however, in view of a recent Vatican report that urged greater discipline and orthodoxy within the Irish church. Founded two years ago and with a membership now exceeding 1,000, the Association of Catholic Priests (ACP) has challenged established conventions and offered trenchant support for wide-ranging church reforms based on the letter and spirit of the second Vatican Council.

Responding to these developments, a meeting of bishops declined to meet the leadership of ACP and suggested that future engagement on such issues should take place at local level, using established structures, such as the Council of Priests. Individual councils are composed of both elected members and those nominated by bishops. They are purely consultative in nature. Meetings are called by members of the hierarchy who set the agenda, preside over discussions and decide on statements they consider appropriate.

A very different approach was envisaged by the ACP leadership. They spoke of the need for openness and transparency in formal meetings where church attendances and a decline in vocations would be discussed. There was, they said, a need to inform Rome about the realities of the present situation and to address a disconnect between people and priests, priests and bishops and between the bishops and Rome. In particular, they were concerned about what would happen when more priests retired. Would the Irish church become “a Eucharist-free zone” and face effective collapse?

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WISCONSIN/NEVADA
SNAP Wisconsin

Statement by Peter Isely, SNAP Midwest Director
CONTACT: 414.429.7259 or 414.336.8575

For the first time today, the Diocese of Green Bay has been held accountable in a civil court of law for their decades long practice of concealing and transferring priest child sex offenders.

In a verdict today by a Las Vegas jury, the diocese was found guilty of negligence in transferring notorious child sex predator John Patrick Feeney to a Nevada parish where he sexually assaulted the plaintiff when he was 13 years old. The jury ordered the diocese to provide $500,000 in
damages to the victim/survivor in the case.

The Green Bay diocese goes on trial in May in Wisconsin for Feeney’s crimes while Feeney was still a priest of the diocese and before his transfer to Las Vegas.

The Diocese of Green Bay has a long standing practice of attempting to evade responsibility for the crimes of their sex offending clerics. Fr. Feeney is just one of 51 clerics that Green Bay church officials have received reports of sexual assault or misconduct on over the past few decades. The diocese has refused repeated pleas from victims and their families to publically identify the names
and locations of their sex offending clergy leaving additional children at risk.

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PHILIPPINES
GMA News

Amidst alleged ties to illegal ivory trade and sexual abuse, one of Cebu’s powerful clergy has dropped off the radar. (Aired Oct. 29, 2012)

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UNITED STATES
BishopAccountability.org – Assignment Record

Summary of Case: Joseph Vincent Sullivan was ordained a priest of the Kansas City, MO diocese in 1946. He was elevated to auxiliary bishop in 1967, then went on to become Bishop of Baton Rouge in 1974, where he served until his death in Sept. 1982. Sullivan was accused in three separate lawsuits in 2004, 2005 and 2007 of the sexual abuse of three different minors. The abuse is said to have occurred from 1969 through 1982. Two of Sullivans accusers said he sexually abused them on trips to Hawaii, where Sullivan owned a condo with other Kansas City priests. At least one of the accusers was a minor seminary student. All three suits resulted in settlements.

Ordained: 1946
Ordained Bishop: April 3, 1967
Appointed Bishop of Baton Rouge: Aug. 8, 1974

Died: Sept. 4, 1982

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UNITED STATES
What They Knew

The Society of Jesus is really angry. So angry they abuse children according to the Catholic News Service -Anger management vital for clergy and religious, Jesuit journal says.

We realize this is another shift from the Jesuits’ previous excuse “it was stress“. In the real world, both these theories are akin to asking “why” a hurricane struck rather than saving lives and cleaning up the mess it left first.

“Anger awareness and management are vital for priests and members of religious orders because they are called to be people of dialogue, fraternity, service, peace and justice, and to treat others with charity…”

Jesuits that lack “an adequate integration of aggression, they can become hostile, rigid and obstinate and risk exploding the often delicate and complex balance present in the communities” according to Jesuit Father Giovanni Cucci SJ, a professor of psychology and philosophy at Rome’s Pontifical Gregorian University, in an article in La Civilta Cattolica which was cleared for publication by the Vatican.

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NETHERLANDS
IOL

November 1 2012
By SAPA

The Hague –

A Dutch widow is suing the Roman Catholic Church for R1.1 million over her husband’s suicide two decades ago as the result of years of sexual abuse in his youth, local media said Thursday.

The unnamed woman from the eastern city of Enschede “claims 100 000 euros ($129 000) from the Roman Catholic Church which she holds responsible,” local station RTV Oost said on its website.

“According to the woman her husband was abused for years by religious fathers in a mission house in (the southern province of) Brabant without it ever being discovered.” The abuse allegedly took place in the late 1930s.

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CHICAGO (IL)
Courthouse News Service

By JACK BOUBOUSHIAN

CHICAGO (CN) – After a Methodist church elder sexually abused a girl, other church leaders called her a “home wrecker” who was “worse than a prostitute because at least prostitutes get paid,” the girl claims in court.

Jane Doe and her mother sued East Side United Methodist Church; her alleged abuser Salvador Alvarez; church leaders and/or employees Zaki Zaki, Ayla Zaki, Richard Martinez and Sandi Martinez; The Zone Youth and Community Center, G2G Church, and the Northern Illinois Conference of the United Methodist Church, in Cook County Court.

Doe joined the East Side Methodist Church and its youth program in 2010. The youth program was run by Salvador Alvarez, a “designated religious leader/elder and authority figure,” according to the complaint.

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SEATTLE (WA)
KING 5

[with video]

by CHRIS DANIELS / KING 5 News

The Archdiocese of Seattle and O’Dea High School officials said Thursday that a court gag order prevented them from informing students and parents that Principal Karl Walzcak was recalled after allegations of sexual abuse surfaced.

But critics charged that the school was covering up the reason for Walczak’s sudden departure in August. At the time, the school said Walczak was being recalled by the Christian Brothers Order to help with a bankruptcy proceeding.

“If you cover it up, you get fired. If you cover it up, you get prosecuted. If you molest children, it all comes out in light and you go to prison. what the Catholic Church has done and continues to do is lie and cover it up,” said Scott Abraham, a member of SNAP who was protesting across the street from O’Dea on Thursday.

But the Archdiocese insists the gag order was real.

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FLORIDA
News-Journal

By Mark I. Johnson
STAFF WRITER

ORLANDO – Prosecutors rested Thursday afternoon in the child-sex trafficking and molestation case in federal court against a self-proclaimed Ormond Beach evangelist.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Gable wrapped up her prosecution of Luis E. Morales and Rebeca Rivera with the testimony of two adult sisters who claimed as children they had been molested during an overnight stay at the Morales home in 1998.

The women, who The News-Journal is not identifying because of their claims of sexual abuse, said Morales “pinched” their chests and buttocks during games of hide-and-go-seek and crawled under the bed covers with them, groping them under their clothing.

The sisters said their mother was friends with Morales — also known as “Tito” — and his wife, Linda. But they were afraid to tell their mother about the abuse, which included Morales trying to get them to kiss him on the mouth.

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LAS VEGAS (NV)
Green Bay Press-Gazette

The Green Bay Catholic Diocese has been found guilty in a civil lawsuit involving a pedophile priest, according to a report from WGBA-TV in Green Bay.

A Las Vegas jury concluded Thursday the diocese was negligent in transferring John Patrick Feeney to a Nevada parish where he allegedly molested a 13-year-old boy.

The Green Bay Diocese will have to pay a $500,000 in damages.

The Diocese will also stand trial next May in Wisconsin, involving the sexual abuse Todd and Troy Merryfield.

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SEATTLE (WA)
Q13 Fox

[with video]

John Hopperstad
Q13 FOX News reporter
5:14 p.m. PDT, November 1, 2012

SEATTLE—
The principal of Seattle’s O’Dea High School has resigned his position amid allegations that he sexually abused a child in the early 1970s in Illinois, the Archdiocese of Seattle reported.

Karl Walczak is accused of sexually abusing a minor when he worked as a teacher in a diocese in Chicago the early 1970s. According to a statement released by the Archdiocese of Seattle, Walczak denies the allegations, but resigned his position.

Vice Principal Jim Walker was named acting principal.

A letter released by the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) claimed O’Dea officials and Seattle Archdiocese knew about the sex abuse allegations for more than two months, but decided to keep the issue quiet.

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SAN DIEGO (CA)
National Catholic Reporter

by Joshua J. McElwee | Nov. 1, 2012

The University of San Diego has canceled a visiting fellowship for a British theologian less than two weeks before her scheduled arrival at the university because of pressure from financial contributors, according to a letter from the university’s president.

Tina Beattie, a professor of Catholic studies at London’s private University of Roehampton known for her work in contemporary ethical issues and Catholic understandings of feminism, received notice of the cancellation Oct. 27. She was scheduled to take residence at the university on Tuesday.

Beattie — who also serves on the board of directors of the British Catholic weekly The Tablet and is a theological adviser to the Catholic Agency For Overseas Development, the Catholic aid agency for England and Wales — announced the withdrawal of the invitation in an email to friends and other theologians Thursday.

Beattie said in an interview with NCR that cancellation of her fellowship was “symptomatic of something very new and very worrying.”

“It’s unheard of, certainly in Britain, for a theologian in my position to feel threatened by this kind of action,” Beattie said. “It’s not about me; it’s about some change in the culture of the Catholic church that we should be very, very concerned about.”

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FLORIDA
Tampa Bay Online

A Lake Wales youth minister and registered sex offender facing multiple counts of having sex with children has been indicted on charges of producing child pornography.

A federal grand jury charged Arnold Maurice Mathis, 41, with two counts of producing and attempting to produce of child pornography, U.S. Attorney Robert E. O’Neill said.

If convicted, Mathis faces a mandatory minimum of 35 years and up to 50 years in federal prison on each count.

According to the indictment, between May and November 2011, Mathis persuaded and attempted to persuade two minors to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing visual depictions of the conduct.

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FLORIDA
10 News

Written by
Kristin Weber

Lake Wales, Florida — A federal grand jury has indicted a former associate youth minister on charges of producing and attempting to produce child porn.

Arnold Mathis was arrested in December 2011 after a man told Polk County Sheriff’s detectives Mathis sexually battered him numerous times when he was 14 or 15 years old, while Mathis was a minister at a Winter Haven church. The victim came forward when he was 21 years old.

Mathis, a registered sex offender, is currently being prosecuted on five counts of Sexual Battery by a Person of Authority on a Child over 12 and under 18 by the Polk County State Attorney’s Office.

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ST. LOUIS (MO)
Berger’s Beat

”. . On the Catholic Moral Theologians blog, a St. Louis University theologian defends SNAP, cites the recent conviction of KC Bishop (and St. Louis native) Robert Finn, and acknowledges that her views on the Catholic hierarchy’s response to abuse cases has evolved. Prof. Julie Rubio admits that she “used to have reservations about SNAP’s push for criminal punishment. But for many years now, SNAP’s David Clohessy has been speaking in my sexual ethics class. Over the years, as I listened to the stories of so many others who tried without successs to work for justice through criminal church channels, I became convinced that more had to be done (including) pushing for legal sanctions. . .

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ILLINOIS
Chicago Injury Lawyer Blog

Posted On: November 1, 2012 by Christopher T. Hurley

An article entitled, Child Sexual Abuse by Clergy: Statute of Limitations and Repose Challenges, written by Christopher T. Hurley and Mark R. McKenna, was recently published in the November 2012 issue of the Illinois Bar Journal. The article discusses a recent Illinois Appellate Court decision in a clergy sex abuse case and its implications for attorneys of child sex abuse victims.

In Wisniewski v. Diocese of Belleville, the Illinois Appellate Court held that a Catholic Diocese’s fraudulent concealment of abuse by its priest tolled the statutes of limitation and repose. In other words, a now middle-aged victim of child sex abuse could still bring his claim against the diocese, even though a great deal of time had passed since the abuse, because the diocese prevented the man from discovering the abuse.

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HAWAII
Damon Tucker: Hawaii News and Information

Posted on October 31, 2012 by Damon

At least five other school employees have been accused, Seattle school officials quietly removed cleric in August, Religious order filed bankruptcy after more than 200 victims came forward, Now, more than 400 say they were abused by Christian Brothers, At least 12 came from Damien Memorial School.

A man who says he was sexually abused by the former principal of a Honolulu high school has filed a sex abuse and cover-up claim in the New York courts. Click here.

The suit charges that the victim, known as John Doe, was sexually abused by Damien Memorial School former principal Br. Karl Walczak in 1971 at Brother Rice High School in Chicago. At the time, Walczak was a teacher at the school. Click here.

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FLORIDA
News-Journal

By Mark I. Johnson
STAFF WRITER

Published: Thursday, November 1, 2012

ORLANDO – A day after the child accusers of an Ormond Beach pastor testified behind closed doors, a similar tale of sexual abuse came to light in a federal courtroom by a woman who said she was a victim when she was young.

A 22-year-old Connecticut woman testified in open court Thursday morning that self-proclaimed evangelist Luis E. Morales inappropriately touched her during an overnight stay at his home when she was 8 years old.

Morales, 58, is on trial on five federal charges of child sex trafficking and transporting children across state lines for the purpose of sexual activity and molesting them in November 2009 and December 2010.

The woman, who The News-Journal is not naming because of her claim she was a victim of sexual abuse, refused to look at Morales during her testimony, although she did identify him as the same man who “pinched her chest and buttocks” during games of hide and seek.

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MISSOURI
Columbia Daily Tribune

By Brennan David

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Three men recounted memories yesterday in Cooper County Circuit Court of childhood sexual assault they say was inflicted by former Boonville priest Gerald Howard.

Charged with three counts of forcible sodomy, three counts of attempted forcible sodomy and two counts of kidnapping, the former Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church priest argued that his case should be dismissed because the statute of limitations has expired. Howard was indicted in April 2010 for the alleged crimes between March 1984 and September 1987 and was arrested soon after at his Bloomfield, N.J., apartment.

Circuit Judge Robert Koffman listened to oral arguments for four hours and will rule later. The prosecution and defense also may file written briefs for Koffman’s consideration.

“I would say, ‘No, I don’t want to do this,’ and then he would talk me into it,” a 41-year-old man said of sexual assaults he said he endured between August 1986 and September 1987. The names of the three men were not disclosed in court. At the time of the alleged assaults, the boys were in their early to mid-teens.

Howard, formerly known as Carmine Sita, once served as a priest in New Jersey. After molestation accusations, he completed a treatment program specifically for priests with sexual abuse issues. He changed his name and was reassigned by then-Bishop Michael McAuliffe as an associate pastor at the Boonville church. McAuliffe died in 2006.

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SEATTLE (WA)
My Northest

BY Stephanie Klein on November 1, 2012

O’Dea High School’s principal has resigned after accusations of sexual abuse.

Brother Karl Walczak is accused of sexual abuse of a minor in another diocese in the 1970s.

Advocate group, Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP), says O’Dea and the Archdiocese are trying to cover up the alleged abuse.

John Shuster, Seattle co-director of SNAP, explains that Brother Walczak, although he answers to Archbishop Sartain, is not a priest of the Archdiocese. He belongs to a religious order.

“We don’t have a very high estimation of Archbishop Sartain’s judgment and actions in these types of situations,” Shuster tells KIRO Radio’s Ross and Burbank Show.

“One of the reasons we’re so concerned about this is because when men cross a line and attack kids and don’t stop, there are usually more victims out there.”

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WISCONSIN
SNAP Wisconsin

Statement by John Pilmaier, SNAP Wisconsin Director
CONTACT: 414.336.8575

The Wisconsin Court of Appeals has upheld the 20 year prison sentence that was imposed upon former Catholic priest James Blume. Blume who pled guilty in 2010 to two counts of child sexual assault had asked the court to reconsider his sentence due to his deteriorating health. The state appeals court concluded that “there has been no miscarriage of justice in this case”.

Blume is one of over twenty Catholic clergy who have been prosecuted in recent years utilizing Wisconsin’s “fleeing sex offender law” which allows for the prosecution of child predators who commit child sexual assault and then flee the state. Once the perpetrator crosses state lines the remaining criminal statute “tolls” or “freezes” which may allow for prosecution even in cases where the crimes were committed decades ago.

Despite his criminal conviction for child sexual assault Blume is not listed on the Archdiocese of Milwaukee’s official list of priest sex offenders. As a former religious order priest Blume, who taught religious education at St. Luke’s parish in Brookfield, is one of an unknown number of clerics whose crimes continue to be concealed by the archdiocese.

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SEATTLE (WA)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

WHO: Clergy Sex abuse victims and supporters from the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

WHAT: Archbishop Sartain and Christian Brothers covered-up accusation against O’Dea Principle Brother Karl Walczak, C. F. C.

WHEN: 11 AM, Thursday, November 1, 2012

WHERE: O’Dea Catholic High School, 802 Terry Avenue (at Columbia) in Seattle

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WISCONSIN
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

By Bruce Vielmetti of the Journal Sentinel

Nov. 1, 2012

A former Catholic priest who sexually assaulting two teenage boys in Elm Grove in the late 1970s and early 1980s will have finish his 20-year prison term, an appeals court ruled Wednesday.

James R. Blume, 66, argued on appeal that his 2010 sentence should be reduced because his failing health should be considered a new factor, the original sentence was unduly harsh or in the interest of justice.

The state Court of Appeals noted that Blume’s health issues were known to the judge at sentencing and don’t amount to a new factor.

Nor did the judges believe 20 years was unduly harsh or that justice demands a new term.

“Because the trial court properly exercised its sentencing discretion and due to our conclusion that no new factors exist, there has been no miscarriage of justice in this case.”

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IRELAND
BBC News

A group representing hundreds of Irish priests has said it is disappointed that the Irish Catholic Church’s Bishops Conference will not meet them.

The Association of Catholic Priests (ACP) has claimed the conference refused to hold face-to-face talks to discuss the future of the Church.

The ACP represents more than 850 priests on the island of Ireland.

Recently, it has been criticised by the Vatican for expressing views that contradict the Church’s teaching.

Fr Tony Flannery, a spokesman for the ACP, said the response they had received to their request for a meeting was a “fairly definitive statement” on the hierarchy’s feelings about the group.

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SEATTLE (WA)
KOMO

By KOMO Staff
Published: Oct 31, 2012

SEATTLE — A local high school principal resigned Wednesday afternoon amid allegations of sexual abuse.

Officials from the Archdiocese of Seattle announced that Brother Karl Walczak had resigned his post as principal of O’Dea High School after accusations of sexual abuse came to light.

The allegations date back to the 1970s, when Walczak was a teacher at Brother Rice High School in Chicago.

Michael Reck is an attorney for the alleged victim and said Walczak sexually abused his client multiple times on Brother Rice school grounds.

Reck said his client is “extraordinarily concerned” that Walczak has abused other children.

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SEATTLE (WA)
My Northwest

October 31, 2012

The principal of O’Dea High School in Seattle has resigned amid accusations of sexual abuse. An advocate’s group says the school and the Archdiocese are trying to cover up the alleged abuse.

Brother Karl Walczak is accused of sexual abuse of a minor dating back to the 1970s, when he was a teacher at Brother Rice High School in Chicago.

Walczak denies the allegations.

“The O’Dea School Board learned today that Brother Walczak has been accused of sexual abuse of a minor,” board chair Zachary Lell says. “Although Brother Walczak denies the allegations, he has resigned his position as Principal of O’Dea High School.”

Members of SNAP – the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests – are angry that parents weren’t notified of the allegations sooner.

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SEATTLE (WA)
Sky Valley Chronicle

November 01, 2012

(SEATTLE, WA) — A principal of a well known Catholic high school that was founded in 1923 in Seattle has stepped down following allegations he sexually abused a boy many years ago in a different city.

The Archdiocese of Seattle announced that Brother Karl Walczak resigned his job as principal of O’Dea High School on Wednesday, after accusations of sexual abuse in the 1970’s were published.

O’Dea, which has an enrollment of 450 young men according to the school’s website is located on First Hill in the city which overlooks downtown Seattle.

The allegations against Walczak go back to the 1970s, when Walczak was a teacher at Brother Rice High School in Chicago.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Centre Daily Times

By Carly Schaller — For the CDT

Even the high winds and torrential rains of Hurricane Sandy couldn’t keep people from attending the Child Sexual Abuse Conference held Monday and Tuesday at The Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel.

Of the 500 people scheduled to attend, 420 made the journey despite the inclement weather. About 20 percent of attendees were from the Penn State community, but the remaining 80 percent came from all over the country — as far west as California and as far south as Florida.

The majority of attendees can agree that the trip was well worth it.

Faith Ingraham, of Corning, N.Y., works with her church’s ministry to help raise awareness on child sexual abuse. She has been to similar events in the past, but said this one was unique in the fact that the issue is so relevant to the area.

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TULSA (OK)
KJRH

TULSA – Prosecutors say pastors at Tulsa megachurch Victory Christian Center were, in fact, required by law to report child sex abuse to authorities, contrary to what the pastors’ attorney claims in court documents.

Attorneys for the state of Oklahoma have responded to a motion to dismiss charges against youth pastors John and Charica Daughtery.

The two, along with three other church leaders, were charged with failure to report child abuse after waiting two weeks before reporting the rape of a 13-year old girl and other sex crimes. All five have pleaded not guilty.

The Daughertys, along with Paul Willemstein, Anna Alisa George and Harold Frank Sullivan, were suspended by church administrators for not following Victory’s policy regarding child abuse. They have since been reinstated and returned to work.

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ALABAMA
WNCF

A Montgomery man has been arrested and charged with sex abuse.

Montgomery police say Andrew Bartels was arrested Friday and charged with sexual abuse of a child younger than 12. No other information has been released by police.

But Frazer Memorial United Methodist Church has released a statement — saying Bartels is a member of its congregation.

This is the statement from the church:

“Frazer Memorial United Methodist Church was deeply saddened to be made aware this week by the Montgomery Police that a member of our congregation had been arrested on charges of child molestation. This tragedy is made even deeper by the possibility that the alleged victim or victims may have been the children of other Frazer families whom the accused person knew through the church.

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NEW ZEALAND
Radio New Zealand

1 November 2012

A Kaitaia man charged with indecently assaulting young boys was one of its approved caregivers, a government agency has confirmed.

However, Child, Youth and Family says the charges against him do not involve children it placed in his care.

Daniel Taylor appeared in the Kaitaia District Court on Thursday on 15 charges of indecent assault, and two of attempted unlawful sexual connection involving boys aged from under 12 to over 16. Police say the offending happened between 2007 and early 2011.

The 33-year-old former leader of the Kaitaia Business Association was also a prominent elder and youth leader in the Church of the Latter Day Saints.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia

These polices, which have guided the Archdiocese’s actions since the 2011 Grand Jury Report, directly address the report concerns about how allegations are received, reported, investigated and reviewed

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia today officially released its updated policies for the protection of children and young people, which become effective November 1st. These policies, developed and provisionally implemented since the release of the 2011 Grand Jury Report, address how allegations of child sexual abuse and violations of The Standards of Ministerial Behavior and Boundaries are received, reported, investigated and reviewed; how victim services are provided and how assignments of extern as well as religious priests are handled. These revised policies were developed through consultation with county district attorneys’ offices and experts in the field of child sexual abuse.

“No entity in the United States today-Catholic or otherwise-seeks more earnestly than our Archdiocese to prevent the sexual abuse of children. These policies and procedures are a clear indication of that commitment,” said Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap. He continued, “While recently codified these same policies have actually guided our practices for more than a year. They’ll be reviewed on a regular basis and updated as circumstances require. I believe that we can be proud of the great effort and sincere determination to protecting young people that went into these policies. It’s important to remember that even the best policies depend on our earnest dedication to live and enforce them. I’m committed to act accordingly now and in the future.”

The new policies include some key changes put in effect since the 2011 Grand Jury Report. The policies establish a separate Office of Investigations to ensure immediate referral of any complaints to law enforcement. According to the policy, every complaint is logged and each allegation is promptly reviewed to determine whether interim restrictions on ministry or employment should be imposed. In a change from practice pre-2011, all complaints against clergy that involve minors, even those solely involving violations of The Standards of Ministerial Behavior and Boundaries are now sent to the Archdiocesan Review Board, which functions as a confidential, advisory committee to the Archbishop, providing recommendations in the assessment of allegations of abuse and suitability for ministry. Also included in the policies is a codification of steps to ensure that any cleric seeking to minister in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia is screened in a consistent and through manner.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

New policies determining the way the Philadelphia Archdiocese responds to allegations of sexual abuse go into effect Thursday.

The church’s standards of behavior were revised following the 2011 Philadelphia grand jury report that recommended an overhaul of procedures for helping victims and removing priests accused of molestation.

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ALABAMA
AL.com

By Jonathan Grass | jgrass@al.com
on November 01, 2012

MADISON COUNTY, Alabama — A Madison County church musician is in police custody for inappropriate behavior with a 17-year-old girl, according to The Times’ news partner, WHNT News 19.

WHNT reports that the Alabama Bureau of Investigation arrested Blake Jerrod Earl on Monday, and that he was transferred to the Coffee County Jail because the crime allegedly took place in Enterprise.

WHNT reports that Earl is a musician at the Solid Rock Christian Center on Winchester Road in Huntsville, and he was in Enterprise for a church trip.

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AUSTRALIA
The Age

November 2, 2012

Barney Zwartz

THE Catholic Church will need state intervention to resolve the crisis surrounding sexual abuse of children by priests, according to noted jurist and Jesuit priest Frank Brennan.

”Where there is a social organisation within the democracy with a proven and self-admitted case of ongoing criminal activity, and it’s related to very vulnerable children, the state should intervene,” he said.

Delivering the annual Law and Justice Oration in Sydney’s Parliament House on Wednesday night, Professor Brennan said: ”Clearly, the church itself cannot be left alone to get its house in order. That would be a wrongful invocation of freedom of religion in a pluralist, democratic society.”

His comments echo those made by RMIT professor and former priest Des Cahill to the state inquiry into the church handling of clergy sex abuse.

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NEW ZEALAND
Northern Advocate

NZ Herald | Thursday, November 1, 2012

A Kaitaia evangelical church leader who secretly filmed a teenage girl and a woman has pleaded guilty to a raft of sex-related charges.

Eric Clifford Reid, 63, stood down as pastor of the Kaitaia Family Church after two complainants came forward with allegations he recorded them without their consent.

He pleaded guilty to 25 charges of making intimate visual recordings and 24 charges of possessing intimate visual recordings when he appeared in Kaikohe District Court today.

The Kaitaia community has been shocked by a string of sex allegations this year, including against a prominent businessman and a school teacher who face separate charges of sexually abusing boys.

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TULSA (OK)
Tulsa World

By JERRY WOFFORD World Staff Writer
Published: 11/1/2012

The Victory Christian Center employees who are accused of failing to report allegations of sex crimes against children for more than two weeks had a legal obligation to do so, and any argument to the contrary “flies in the face of both common sense and common decency,” prosecutors said.

Assistant District Attorney Sarah Mc-Amis filed that court response Wednesday to a motion to dismiss the misdemeanor charges against John and Charica Daugherty, both youth ministers at Victory Christian Center.

The Daughertys – Senior Pastor Sharon Daugherty’s son and daughter-in-law – were charged along with three other church employees in September with failing to report child abuse. Tulsa County prosecutors say they waited two weeks to tell authorities about allegations that a 13-year-old girl was raped at the south Tulsa megachurch in August.

Chris Denman, 20, a former employee at the church, pleaded guilty Monday to six felonies – first-degree rape, forcible oral sodomy, lewd molestation, making a lewd proposal to a child and two counts of using a computer to facilitate a sex crime. He is accused of raping a 13-year-old girl and committing other sex crimes involving a 15-year-old and a 12-year-old, court records show. His sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 12.

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SAN ANGELO (TX)
Standard-Times

By Laurel L. Scott

Posted October 31, 2012

SAN ANGELO, Texas — Since 2002, the Catholic Diocese of San Angelo has conducted background checks and training for more than 9,000 people who work with children and youths throughout the 29-county diocese in support of its Safe Environment Programs to prevent child sex abuse.

In the past year, more than 13,500 parents and other interested people have attended seminars presented by the diocese on preventing child sex abuse, and the diocese has spent $16,000 on training and materials in support of the Safe Environment Programs.

These are some of the reasons the San Angelo-based diocese for the ninth year in a row has been found in compliance with the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.

“I am pleased with the results of this audit and grateful for the hard work of so many people throughout our diocese — pastors, deacons, religious and lay leaders — to provide a safe and sacred environment for all of our children and youth in the many programs through which we minister to them,” Bishop Michael Pfeifer, of the Diocese of San Angelo, said in a news release. “Once again, this audit has given us a great opportunity to step back and see what we have accomplished and explore areas where we can make adjustments or improvements.”

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SEATTLE (WA)
KREM

by KING 5 News

Posted on October 31, 2012

The principal of O’Dea High School in Seattle has resigned amid accusations of sexual abuse.

Brother Karl Walczak is accused of sexual abuse of a minor during his time as a teacher in another diocese in the early 1970s.

Walczak denies the allegations.

The Seattle Archdiocese owns O’Dea High School.

The Archdiocese said Wednesday that O’Dea school administrators reported last August that Brother Walczak had been called back by the Christian Brothers to assist in resolving a proof of claim filed in the Christian Brother’s Institute bankruptcy proceeding.

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SEATTLE (WA)
Seattle Times

By Lynda V. Mapes
Seattle Times staff reporter

Brother Karl Walczak resigned as principal of O’Dea High School in Seattle Wednesday, the same day the school announced he is accused of sex abuse of a minor.

The allegations relate to Walczak’s time teaching in another diocese in the early 1970s, the school said. Walczak denies the allegations, according to a statement to O’Dea parents on Wednesday by Zachary Lell, chairman of the O’Dea School Board.

Operation of the school will continue under the leadership of Acting Principal James Walker.

Walker took over at the school last August, when Walczak was called away to New York by the Christian Brothers to “assist in resolving a proof of claim in the Christian Brothers Institute bankruptcy proceeding,” according to a news release from the school.

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SEATTLE (WA)
Q13 Fox

[with video]

Hana Kim
Q13 FOX News reporter

10:54 p.m. PDT, October 31, 2012

SEATTLE—
The principal of Seattle’s O’Dea High School resigned his position Wednesday amid allegations that he sexually abused children in the early 1970s in Illinois, the Archdiocese of Seattle reported.

Karl Walczak is accused of sexually abusing a minor when he worked as a teacher in another diocese in the early 1970s. According to a statement released by the Archdiocese of Seattle, Walczak denies the allegations, but resigned his position.

Vice Principal Jim Walker was named acting principal.

A letter released by the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) claimed O’Dea officials and Seattle Archdiocese knew about the sex abuse allegations for more than two months, but decided to keep the issue quiet.

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BOONVILLE (MO)
Missourian

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

BY Ben Nadler

BOONVILLE — A former priest accused of sexually assaulting young boys in the 1980s was in Cooper County Circuit Court on Wednesday for a hearing to decide if the statute of limitations on the alleged crimes had run out.

Gerald Howard is charged with three counts of forcible sodomy, three counts of attempted forcible sodomy and one count of kidnapping for incidents that were alleged to have occurred between 1983 and 1988. One charge of kidnapping was dropped because it was established that the alleged crime took place outside of Cooper County jurisdiction.

Howard was the priest at the Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Boonville in 1983 and 1984. He was formerly a priest in New Jersey where he was charged with sexual contact with a minor in 1982 and pleaded guilty.

Barbara Dorris, outreach director at the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests said earlier that Howard was placed briefly in a rehabilitation facility by church officials before he returned to the priesthood in Boonville in the fall of 1983.

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MISSOURI
Connect MidMissouri

by Mark Slavit

A four-and-a-half hour hearing to determine whether child sex charges against a former priest should be dismissed was held at the Cooper County Courthouse.

Prosecutors charged Gerald Howard with eight felony counts, including sodomy and kidnapping.

The victims said the sexual abuse happened between 1984 and 1987.

The hearing was on a motion to dismiss filed by Howard’s attorney in July.

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PENNSYLVANIA
The Evening Sun

By STEVE MARRONI
The Evening Sun
eveningsun.com

Posted: 10/31/2012

A priest who formerly served at St. Joseph the Worker Parish in Bonneauville is accused of stealing more than $380,000 from the church.

A preliminary arraignment is set for Thursday for Caesar A. Belchez, 52, on third-degree felony charges of theft by unlawful taking, theft by failure to make required disposition of funds received, and access device fraud.

Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg spokesman Joseph Aponick said Belchez has since been “relieved of all priestly duties,” which includes being barred from celebrating Mass, preaching, hearing confession, wearing priestly attire or presenting himself as a priest in good standing.

Charging documents indicate in the five years Belchez was assigned to the Bonneauville church, he took a total of $384,750.76 in cash, checks and credit cards issued to the parish.

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

VATICAN CITY
Gazzetta del Sud

(ANSA) – Vatican City, October 31 – The Vatican said on Wednesday that it would embark on its own ‘spending review’ to find ways to eliminate wasteful layouts as the effects of the global economic crisis weigh on its own treasury. No stone is to be left unturned. The review will look for ways to cut spending on everything from stationery, including photocopies, to consulting services, gifts to visiting dignitaries and payouts to sub-contractors. Even spending on the pope’s ornamental medals will fall under the review’s scrutiny. The Holy See is undergoing a thorough effort to get its finances under control. On September 11, the Vatican said that it had drafted in a Swiss expert to help it fight money laundering more effectively as part of an effort to join the ‘white list’ of states that, unlike tax havens, respect international standards on combatting money laundering and the financing of terrorism.

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SEATTLE (WA)
The Worthy Adversary

Posted by Joelle Casteix on October 31, 2012

There are reports of out Seattle that O’Dea High School principal Br. Karl Walczak was accused of child sexual abuse in court documents and removed from his job in August.

And three months later, parents still have not been told the truth.

According to a letter which has since been taken down from the O’Dea website (it used to be posted here. You can now view it here.), Walczak “took a leave” of absence in August, “to assist in resolving a proof of claim filed in the Christian Brother’s Institute bankruptcy proceedings.”

The letter continues, “Thank you for your ongoing support of Brother Walczak and the entire O’Dea community.”

The only proof of claims filed against individuals in the Irish Christian Brother Bankruptcy were claims of child sexual abuse. There was no mention of any allegations to parents, students or the greater community.

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

UNITED KINGDOM
Times of Israel

By Miriam Shaviv
October 31, 2012

London’s ultra-Orthodox establishment is investigating one of its most senior rabbis following a barrage of rumors that he engaged in inappropriate sexual contact with a woman, The Times of Israel has learned.

The rabbi wields considerable influence in the city’s Haredi institutions.

Over the past few weeks, he has been accused in blogs and on the street of a variety of sexual misdeeds with at least one woman — for whom he was allegedly acting as a counselor — and possibly with others. The allegations range from serious criminal offenses to actions which, one rabbi said, may be halachically dubious, but “in the non-rabbinical, non-Haredi world, wouldn’t raise eyebrows.”

The rabbi at the center of the rumors did not return a phone call.

Since mid-October, his London colleagues have met twice to discuss the handling of the case, once in the Orthodox suburb of Golders Green in North West London, and once in the considerably more Haredi Stamford Hill.

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AUSTRALIA
Eureka Street

Frank Brennan November 01, 2012

These are not easy times for Catholic priests; and they have never been easy times for those children in our society who have been sexually abused, a disproportionate number of them by Catholic priests.

When in Sydney in July 2008, Pope Benedict XVI apologised in these words:

I … acknowledge the shame which we have all felt as a result of the sexual abuse of minors by some clergy and religious in this country. Indeed, I am deeply sorry for the pain and suffering the victims have endured and I assure them that, as their pastor, I too share in their suffering. These misdeeds, which constitute so grave a betrayal of trust, deserve unequivocal condemnation.

I adopt his apology without demurrer.

Whatever our religion or none, whatever our love or loathing of the Catholic Church, what is to be done in the name of law and justice? Clearly the Church cannot be left alone to get its house in order. That would be a wrongful invocation of freedom of religion in a pluralist, democratic society.

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MASSACHUSETTS
Patrick J. Wall

Patrick Doyle wrote an intriguing piece in the Boston Daily after interviewing a number of seminarians. After reading it, I now am more afraid than ever for the future safety of children in the Church.

The formators (priests in charge of seminarian formation) in the Roman Catholic Church in Boston are analogizing millennia-old child sexual abuse crimes to the airline industry. I do not think the folks at Boston Logan, Delta airlines or Boeing would concur.

From the article:

“As Father Chris O’Connor, the Vice-Rector at Saint John Seminary (Boston) is fond of saying, Priests are like airplanes. Most of them take off and land, take off and land, and everything is fine. You only hear about the ones who crash.”

It’s delusion at its highest form.

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MISSOURI
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by Barbara Dorris on October 31, 2012

We applaud Mark and the other brave victims of this dangerous predator; they are courageously cooperating with prosecutors to keep a shrewd serial child molester away from kids.

We hope they succeed. And we hope that their courage and compassion inspires others who were hurt by Fr. Howard or any cleric to step forward, get help, call police, expose wrongdoing and protect children.

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CANADA
Montreal Gazette

By Aly Thomson, The Canadian Press
October 31, 2012

HALIFAX – A Roman Catholic diocese in Nova Scotia will try to close a dark chapter in its history this week as it wraps up a sex abuse settlement with 125 people, but the lawyer representing them says they continue to heal their emotional wounds.

The final instalment of a $16-million compensation settlement for confirmed and alleged victims of sexual abuse is due Thursday from the Diocese of Antigonish, bringing a close to a long legal process spearheaded by Ronald Martin.

Martin launched a class-action lawsuit against the diocese after his brother wrote a suicide note in 2002 alleging Hugh Vincent MacDonald, a priest, sexually abused him. MacDonald was charged with sex-related offences in 2003 but died a year later before the court process concluded.

Martin’s concerns prompted dozens of people to come forward with similar allegations dating back more than 60 years against several priests who worked for the diocese.

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UNITED STATES
National Survivor Advocates Coalition

October 31, 2012

NSAC News has been temporarily interrupted due to Hurricane Sandy.

We expect NSAC News to be operational by the beginning of next week.

Our best wishes go to our excellent and dedicated publisher Steve Sheehan and all who have been in Hurricane Sandy’s path and who are suffering through the after effects.

We thank all of our NSAC News subscribers and readers for your support. Please stay tuned.

— Kristine Ward, Chair, NSAC, KristineWard@hotmail.com

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GROSSBRITANNIEN
taz

von Christian Füller

BERLIN taz | Spätestens seitdem der Premier den Fall zur Chefsache erklärte, hat das Thema sexuelle Gewalt auch in Großbritannien eine neue Dimension erreicht. David Cameron sagte im Parlament, die BBC habe sich „ernsten Fragen“ zu stellen, die Ermittler bekämen vollste Unterstützung. Es geht also nicht mehr darum, ob Jimmy Savile, der schrullig-populäre Pop-Moderator, Mädchen sexuelle Gewalt angetan hat.

Cameron und seine Landsleute sehen ratlos und schockiert darauf, wer alles mitgeholfen, mitverbrochen und wer alles weggesehen hat: Gab oder gibt es in der ehrwürdigen BBC einen Ring von Pädokriminellen? Warum hat die Polizei insgesamt sieben Anzeigen gegen den zum Ritter geschlagenen Sir Savile nicht zur Anklage gebracht? Wurde eines der Kinderheime, die Savile mit zig Millionen Pfund unterstützte, gar als Nachschublager für kleine verletzbare Mädchen missbraucht? Beinahe täglich erhöht sich die Zahl der Opfer, die angeben, von Savile sexuell überwältigt worden zu sein. Letzter Stand: 300, alles gravierende Fälle.

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DEUTSCHLAND
MissBiT

[Video]

Homburg, Johanneum: “Sie haben lange geschwiegen. Erst aus Ohnmacht, später um sich und ihre Familien zu schützen…”

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MASSACHUSETTS
Boston Daily

BY Patrick Doyle POSTED ON 10/31/2012

When I first started reporting for my story “Resurrection,” I was hoping to understand what seemed like a straightforward question: Who wants to become a priest in 2012?

After all, a man who decides to become a priest is choosing a profession at a time when its public reputation has never been lower. Fifty years ago, Catholic priests were pillars of the community: trusted, holy men of integrity. Today, they’re widely seen as a group of odd, lonely, and sexually-repressed men who abuse children at an alarmingly high rate. In 2002, a Wall-Street Journal-NBC News poll showed that 64 percent of people thought priests “frequently” abuse children. Clearly, that’s a number inflated by anger over the abuse scandal, but still, various studies and reports have shown that somewhere between 4 percent and 10 percent of American priests between 1950 and 2003 were accused of sexually assaulting children. The Catholic Church has taken many measures to stop the abuse, including instituting stricter screenings and immediately reporting allegations to the police, but the fact remains that most people still don’t trust priests like they used to.

The Church is well aware of its public-relations problem. As Father Chris O’Connor, the vice-rector at St. John’s Seminary, is fond of saying: “Priests are like airplanes. Most of them take off and land, take off and land, and everything’s fine. You only hear about the ones who crash.”

The past decade has seen a lot of terrible crashes, and in the six months while I was reporting the story, there were a few bad ones. In July, Monsignor William Lynn of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia was sentenced to three to six years of prison time for allowing abuse to occur. And locally, Father Andrzej J. Urbaniak, a priest in South Boston, was arrested in August for possessing child pornography. The crashes, unfortunately, will probably continue.

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VIRGINIA
Courthouse News Service

By RYAN ABBOTT

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (CN) – A Christian school fired a fifth-grade teacher after she complained that its pastor forced her to have sex with him in the back seat of his car, the woman claims in court.

The woman, T, sued Christ Chapel Assemblies of God its former pastor Jonathan Gray, in Federal Court.

She claims Gray used his position to force her into having a nonconsensual sexual relationship with him and the church fired her for reporting him.

T claims that soon after Gray began counseling her for problems with her husband, he made unwanted advances to her and touched and kissed her.

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VATICAN CITY
National Catholic Reporter

by Catholic News Service | Oct. 31, 2012

Vatican City —
Pope Benedict XVI has named a Wisconsin-born missionary, Fr. Robert H. Flock, to be an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Cochabamba, Bolivia.

Flock, who will celebrate his 56th birthday Nov. 4, has served at Santa Cruz Parish in the Archdiocese of Santa Cruz, Bolivia, since 1988. The parish was founded by priests from the Diocese of La Crosse, Wis., in the 1950s.

The Vatican announced the new assignment for Flock, a La Crosse priest and native of Sparta, Wis., on Wednesday.

Since 2000, Flock has served as pastor of Santa Cruz Parish and as the head of formation for young priests in the Bolivian archdiocese. He also has been vicar general of the archdiocese since 2003.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Information Service

Vatican City, (VIS) – The Holy Father: …

– Appointed Fr. Robert Herman Flock Bever of the clergy of the diocese of La Crosse, U.S.A., pastor of the parish of “La Santa Cruz” and formator of young clergy in the Bolivian archdiocese of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, as auxiliary of the archdiocese of Cochabamba (area 32,306, population 1,668,000, Catholics 1,534,000, priests 307, permanent deacons 28, religious 1,295), Bolivia The bishop-elect was born in Sparta, U.S.A., in 1954 and ordained a priest in 1982. He has worked in pastoral care, first in his American diocese then in Bolivia after moving there as a “fidei donum” priest in 1988.

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IRELAND/AUSTRIA
Association of Catholic Priests

Sean McDonagh reports on the AGM of the Austrian priests’ initiative, Pfarrer, at which he represented the ACP and conveys the thoughts of Fr. Helmüt Schueller, one of Pfarrer’s leaders.

I arrived in Vienna on October 19th 2012 to attend the Annual General Meeting of PFARRER –Initiative (parish priests initiative) I met Fr. Helmüt Schueller, one of the leaders of the Initiative at midday and we proceeded to St. Stephen’s Cathedral in the centre of the city. Over coffee Helmüt told me how the Initiative began in 2006. It arose because many priests felt that the Austrian Bishops and the Holy See are not addressing the serious crises which are affecting the Catholic Church right across the globe, but particularly in Austria. Furthermore, Helmüt argues that the Catholic Church shows little respect for the dignity of the baptized and refuses to allow priests and lay people to have any genuine involvement in the decision making processes of the Catholic Church.

In 2008, a number of priests associated with the movement went to Rome. They met with officials at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF). One of the senior officials agreed that none of the positions taken by the movement were heretical. However, a younger official declared that almost everything the movement was looking for was heretical.

Membership of the Initiative is open to all priests, including those who have left active ministry. The number of members now stands at around 500 priests out of a total of 3,000 priests in Austria. As we sipped coffee, Helmüt told me that research conducted by Professor Paul Zulehner shows that more than 75 percent of the priests in Austria actually support the aims of the Initiative. They are often afraid to join, as it may affect their career paths in the Church. It seems that anyone associated with the Initiative will not be nominated as a dean in any of the Austrian dioceses

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IRELAND
Irish Examiner

By Seán McCárthaigh

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

The town of Ballina has been rocked by the sudden death of a local priest in what is believed to be the first case in recent years of a Catholic cleric in Ireland taking his own life.

Residents in the Co Mayo town yesterday expressed shock at news of the death of Fr Muredach Tuffy, a popular curate and director of the Newman Institute — an educational centre known as Ballina’s “Catholic university”. …

Enniskillen-based priest and well-known broadcaster Fr Brian D’Arcy spoke earlier this week about the pressures of being a priest in Ireland amid the fallout of various clerical sexual abuse scandals, as well as grappling with controversial Church teaching on issues such as clerical celibacy, contraception, and homosexuality.

The Association of Catholic Priests yesterday expressed disappointment and sadness at the response of the Hierarchy to their request for greater engagement with the group about the future of the Church.

The organisation claimed there was often a “palpable sense of dejection, depression and sometimes almost despair when clergy gather as a group”.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

Another alleged victim of a defrocked Hunter Valley priest has gone to police, complaining of child sex abuse.

70-year-old John Sidney Denham is already accused of abusing 14 boys in the 1970s, mainly at a Newcastle Catholic High School.

Newcastle Local Court has today been told of another alleged victim from the same school.

The defrocked priest is now facing 51 charges including indecent assault and buggery, after two additional charges were laid.

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UNITED STATES/UNITED KINGDOM
What They Knew

Newly uncovered documents reveal twice convicted and imprisoned Chicago Jesuit Donald McGuire SJ began his ministry not in America, but in the United Kingdom in the early 1960s as an associate pastor in Manchester, England. His departure from that post remains unexplained. But given McGuire’s history, superior performance was not likely the factor which lead to his leaving this pastoral position in less than a year. As we have previously uncovered, documents written by his superiors from 1959 have labeled McGuire ‘unfit’ for the priesthood. This fact may in part explain his superiors’ decision to send him outside the US and to the UK, Austria and Germany in 1961 after his ordination.

During this same period, Donald McGuire SJ also travelled frequently to Ireland, giving over six retreats to nuns and laity. Following his departure from Manchester, the Jesuit priest fled the UK and reappeared in Austria and Germany one year later as a part-time military chaplain to British and US soldiers. McGuire being a chaplain to the Anglo-American soldiers is not entirely surprising. As shown HERE, there is a lengthy list of “problem” priests relegated to military service.

What is surprising is the letter below to his Provincial at the Chicago Province of the Society of Jesus. The document shows the convicted Jesuit child sex abuser worked as the chaplain to a British boys boarding school in Hamm, Germany in 1962. McGuire conducted retreats for children as young as 7-8 years old, boys 14-17 years old, soldiers serving abroad and engaged in hospital work.

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NEDERLAND
Dagblad De Limburger

Het bisdom Roermond hoeft geen schadevergoeding te betalen aan Elvira, de ex-vriendin van de inmiddels overleden Gulpense deken Joep Haffmans.

Door Maurice Ubags

Elvira had van 1995 tot 2004 een relatie met Haffmans (foto). Ze leerde hem kennen toen ze hulp bij hem zocht. Na afloop van de relatie zei Elvira dat er sprake was geweest van seksueel misbruik; dat de deken haar de ziekte herpes had bezorgd, haar had mishandeld en met de dood bedreigd en haar had betrokken in fraude met kerkgelden. Voor de rechtbank in Maastricht eiste ze een voorschot van 25.000 euro aan smartengeld en schadevergoeding voor medische kosten en verlies van arbeidsvermogen. Elvira betoogde dat het bisdom verantwoordelijk is voor de daden van Haffmans en had nagelaten tijdig in te grijpen. De rechtbank vindt dat het bisdom niet aansprakelijk is. De claim van Elvira struikelt vooral op de lange duur van de relatie. Daardoor kan volgens de rechter ‘niet meer worden staande gehouden dat er sprake is van onrechtmatigheid’.

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IRELAND
Irish Independent

By Breda Heffernan

Wednesday October 31 2012

CARDINAL Sean Brady has refused to meet a group of reforming priests in the latest snub from the church hierarchy to its own members.

The Association of Catholic Priests (ACP), which has more than 1,000 members, has published correspondence it sent to the cardinal seeking a meeting with bishops to discuss the future of the church.

In response, the Bishops’ Conference executive secretary Fr G Dullea said the hierarchy had decided that engagement with the ACP should happen at local level.

The council is organised on diocesan level and involves priests meeting several times a year to discuss issues and then report to their local bishop. It does not allow for the ACP as a group to meet face-to-face with bishops.

It is the latest snub to the ACP after bishops in the west of Ireland refused to attend an assembly of priests and lay people in Galway last month and signals that relations between the hierarchy and the ACP are at a new low.

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UNITED STATES
U.S. Catholic

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Bryan Cones

Moving a bishop should be more than an ecclesiastical game of chess.

Climbing the corporate ladder in our business-driven culture is generally applauded. Who doesn’t want the corner office, the big salary, and the perks of joining the true “company men” (who are still usually men, after all)? Staying in the same job or with the same company for too long can suggest a lack of ambition, and it certainly doesn’t improve one’s marketability.

So influential is this supremely American and capitalist value that it may be creeping even into the church. Consider, for instance, the recent move of Bishop Salvatore Cordileone from “lowly” Oakland, California to his new post across the bay as archbishop of San Francisco. A number of observers have speculated about whether his ecclesiastical “ascent” may have been fueled by his outspoken opposition to same-sex marriage in California, and specifically his support of Proposition 8, the 2008 voter initiative that overturned a California Supreme Court decision that legalized such unions.

“Cordileone was the first to step up to the plate,” said Charles LiMandri of the Freedom of Conscience Defense Fund in the Los Angeles Times. “That’s why his career has skyrocketed.” LiMandri worked closely with Cordileone on the Proposition 8 campaign.

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NEW ZEALAND
New Zealand Herald

By Matthew Backhouse

7:59 PM Wednesday Oct 31, 2012

A Kaitaia evangelical church leader who secretly filmed a teenage girl and a woman has pleaded guilty to a raft of sex-related charges.

Eric Clifford Reid, 63, stood down as pastor of the Kaitaia Family Church after two complainants came forward with allegations he recorded them without their consent.

He pleaded guilty to 25 charges of making intimate visual recordings and 24 charges of possessing intimate visual recordings when he appeared in Kaikohe District Court today.

The Kaitaia community has been shocked by a string of sex allegations this year, including against a prominent businessman and a school teacher who face separate charges of sexually abusing boys.

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NEW ZEALAND
Otago Daily Times

By Matthew Backhouse on Wed, 31 Oct 2012

A Kaitaia evangelical church leader who secretly filmed a teenage girl and a woman has pleaded guilty to a raft of sex-related charges.

Eric Clifford Reid, 63, stood down as pastor of the Kaitaia Family Church after two complainants came forward with allegations he recorded them without their consent.

He pleaded guilty to 25 charges of making intimate visual recordings and 24 charges of possessing intimate visual recordings when he appeared in Kaikohe District Court today.

The Kaitaia community has been shocked by a string of sex allegations this year, including against a prominent businessman and a school teacher who face separate charges of sexually abusing boys.

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BOONVILLE (MO)
Missourian

BY Ben Nadler

BOONVILLE — Mark McAllister hasn’t seen Gerald Howard in nearly 25 years.

On Wednesday, McAllister hopes to see him again, this time from the witness stand. McAllister is expected to testify against Howard, a former priest at the Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Boonville, who is accused of using his position of authority to systematically abuse and sexually molest McAllister and other boys.

Howard is charged with three counts of forcible sodomy, three counts of attempted forcible sodomy, and two counts of kidnapping and terrorizing for incidents that were alleged to have occurred between September 1983 and June 1988. Howard is being held on $1.5 million bond.

According to previous Missourian reporting, Howard, formerly known by the name Carmen Sita, was a priest in New Jersey where he was charged with sexual contact with a minor in September 1982 and pleaded guilty in 1983.

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IRELAND
Irish Times

McGARRY, Religious Affairs Correspondent

IRELAND’S CATHOLIC bishops have declined to meet the Association of Catholic Priests’ leadership team, saying any such engagement “would best take place at local level by using established structures such as the Council of Priests”.

The ACP team said yesterday it was “both disappointed and saddened by this response”.

It found it “hard to understand why, in this time of great difficulty for the Irish church, neither the bishops as a body, or any individual bishop, is willing to meet with an association that has a membership of over 1,000 priests”.

It noted the Catholic primate “Cardinal Seán Brady, in a letter to the ACP on May 1st of this year, wrote: ‘The ACP has already met representatives of the bishops and also attended a meeting of a Commission of the Episcopal Conference and we expect that there will be ongoing meetings of this nature’.” No such ‘ongoing’ meetings have taken place.”

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MILWAUKEE (WI)
SNAP Wisconsini

Milwaukee child sex offender pediatrician surrenders medical license, disturbing questions remain

Statement by John Pilmaier, SNAP Wisconsin Director (Milwaukee)

CONTACT: 414.336.8575

Today Dr. Thomas Kowalski, a high profile Milwaukee pediatrician, has surrendered his license to practice medicine after the Wisconsin State Medical Board launched an investigation of him for sexually assaulting boys as a Boy Scout official and physician in the 1980’s. Kowalski’s admissions were found in secret files being maintained by the Boy Scouts national headquarters that were court ordered for public release last month. Since then additional information and complaints are
surfacing about Kowalski, and it is likely that there may be potentially many victims of the pediatrician both in the Milwaukee community, but also around the world, since Kowalski traveled as a medical missionary.

But Kowalski is clearly not the only person that needs to be investigated. Disturbing questions remain in this case. According to the Boy Scouts file, Kowalski’s admissions were reported to the Medical Board who apparently cut a secret deal with him that, if he went into “counseling”, there would be no action or record in his medical file. How could individuals on the Medical Board allow an admitted child molester to have continual, daily, private access to hundreds, if not thousands of children over the course of his career?

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KANSAS CITY (MO)
The Kansas City Star

By JUDY L. THOMAS
The Kansas City Star

Lawyers on Tuesday dismissed a sexual abuse lawsuit against three Catholic priests in a two-year-old case that captured national attention.

But the case is far from over.

Instead, it is being put on hold while lawyers ask an appeals court to reinstate the local Catholic diocese as a defendant. After that, plaintiff John Doe B.P. plans to re-file the lawsuit and resume litigation.

The delay also gives a reprieve to the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, which had been ordered to turn over records in the case. A hearing had been scheduled for Tuesday at which Jackson County Circuit Judge Ann Mesle was to decide whether the group’s national director was in contempt of court for failing to produce records in the case.

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KANSAS CITY (MO)
National Catholic Reporter

by Joshua J. McElwee | Oct. 30, 2012

Kansas City, Mo. —
The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests is off the legal hook — for now.

For months, the leading advocacy group for U.S. clergy sex abuse victims has been part of a legal saga in county court here after a judge ordered the group to give access to 23 years of internal documents and files to lawyers defending priests accused of abuse.

The case, which centers around a Kansas City-St. Joseph, Mo., diocesan priest accused of abuse, sparked the possibility that the group and its executive director, David Clohessy, might be found in contempt for withholding some of the requested documents.

On Tuesday, however, lawyers for both the plaintiff and the man he accuses of abuse, Fr. Michael Tierney, announced in Jackson County, Mo., Circuit Court they had agreed to dismiss the case pending an appeal to higher courts on other issues.

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FLORIDA
News-Journal

By Mark I. Johnson
STAFF WRITER

Published: Tuesday, October 30, 2012

ORLANDO — Opening statements began Tuesday morning in the trial of an Ormond Beach pastor who federal prosecutors called a serial sexual predator who molested children in a child sex trafficking case.

The defense for Luis E. Morales said the allegations are “outlandish” claims of children with no physical evidence or witnesses to back them up.

Morales, 58, sat quietly as Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Gable laid out the prosecution’s case claiming he used his position as the self-proclaimed “apostle” of the En Fuego For Jesus ministry to fondle, and in one case rape four little girls between the ages of 10 and 14.

She said Morales taught the victims that to become “ordained prophets” in the church they had to accept this abuse.

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INDIANA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by Barbara Dorris on October 29, 2012

An Indiana pastor has been arrested for abusing a handicapped 14-year-old girl.

The allegations against Robert Haywood are incredibly disturbing, and our hearts grieve for this alleged victim and her family. Crimes against the mentally handicapped are troubling and must be treated with extra care.

This trial is sure to be a long and grueling process, both for Haywood and his alleged victim. While these proceedings are ongoing, we urge members of Haywood’s congregation, as well has his neighbors and his family, to avoid public demonstrations of support. It is completely understandable to want to show support for your pastor and friend, but such public displays only serve to frighten victims and witnesses into silence.

We urge Haywood’s supporters to bring him home-cooked meals, visit him in his home and pray together in private, but to avoid shaming the victim in public. We urge anyone who may have any details about this case to come forward and make a report to police.

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

FLORIDA
Tampa Bay Times

By Alexandra Zayas, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Sunday, October 28, 2012

They shaved him bald that first morning in 2008, put him in an orange jumpsuit and made him exercise past dark.

Through the night, as he slept on the floor, they forced him awake for more.

The sun had not yet risen over the Christian military home when Samson Lehman collapsed for the sixth time. Still, he said, they made him run.

The screaming, the endless exercise, it was all in the name of God, a necessary step at the Gateway Christian Military Academy on the path to righteousness.

So when Samson vomited, they threw him a rag. When his urine turned red, they said that was normal.

By Day 3, the 15-year-old was on the verge of death, his dehydrated organs shutting down.

Slumped against a wall, cold and immobile, Lehman recalls men who recited Scripture calling him a wimp. And he thought: Maybe, if I die here, someone will shut this place down.

Not in Florida.

In this state, unlicensed religious homes can abuse children and go on operating for years. Almost 30 years ago, Florida legislators passed a law eliminating state oversight of children’s homes that claim government rules hamper their religious practices.

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

IRELAND
RTE News

The Association of Catholic Priests has called for all groups within the Irish church to join in planning how to save it from “effective collapse” in 20 years’ time.

The ACP has asked the hierarchy to join priests and lay-people to discuss the future of the church in light of the decline in the number of priests.

It has called for the reality of the situation to be communicated to Rome and for space to be created at parish, diocesan and national level for discussion of the crisis.

Primate of All Ireland Seán Brady has been told that clerical gatherings are often characterised by dejection, depression and sometimes, almost despair.

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

INDIA
Deccan Herald

Police have arrested two priests of a temple at Shivsinghpura near Shahpura in Jaipur district for kidnapping and raping a married woman in their chamber on the temple premises.

The woman in her complaint said the two temple priests forcefully confined her in their chamber and sexually assaulted her for three days. The police have arrested them.

Police said arrested Ashadas, 25, was the priest of Durgamatha Mandir while Shravan Kumar was the priest of adjacent Thakurji temple.

The victim is a resident of nearby village. While she was working in a field on Oct14 the accused made her target and took her to a room in the temple after gagging her, they added.

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

MILWAUKEE (WI)
SNAP Wisconsin

Statement by Peter Isely, SNAP Midwest Director
CONTACT: 414.429.7259

Today Milwaukee Federal Judge Rudolph Randa has rejected the appeal of Archbishop Jerome
Listecki and his lawyers to throw out of court the claims of 570victim/survivors who have filed for restitution in Federal Bankruptcy court as a result of being raped and sexually assaulted by clergy, employees or volunteers of the Archdiocese. Attorneys for survivors and the Creditors Committee had successfully argued in February before Federal Bankruptcy Judge Susan V. Kelley that claims should be allowed to proceed because there was sufficient evidence that the archdiocese had committed decades of fraud by intentionally concealing and transferring scores of known child molesting clerics.

In a letter to Randa dated October 22, 2012 the archdiocese made clear exactly what its intentions are in regards to victim/survivors. “The Archdiocese strongly believes that all the claims” wrote Francis H. LoCoco, Counsel for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, “including those that are subject of the New Objections and Appeals, are not allowable under applicable bankruptcy law.” In other words, the archdiocese wants every single claim tossed out of court. Why, then, did they file for bankruptcy in the first place, urge victims to come forward and file claims, and then spend 7.2 million dollars on lawyers and consultants? Clearly, the archdiocese’s intention all along was to stop the growing number of fraud cases from being successfully filed in Wisconsin civil courts, where victim/survivors would have their chance for justice, and instead use the Federal court to circumvent the state courts.

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

NEDERLAND
NRC Handelsblad

door Jeannine Julen

Minister Ivo Opstelten (Veiligheid en Justitie) bood vandaag aan de slachtoffers van seksueel misbruik in de jeugdzorg namens het kabinet zijn excuses aan. Dit deed hij tijdens een bijeenkomst in Utrecht van vertegenwoordigers van slachtoffers, meldt de NOS. Hij werd hierbij ondersteund door staatssecretarissen Teeven en Veldhuijzen van Zanten.

Buitengewoon betreurenswaardig noemde Opstelten het misbruik. De minister:

“Als overheid die verantwoordelijk is voor het stelsel willen wij namens het kabinet excuses aanbieden aan iedere volwassene en ieder kind die dat is overkomen.”

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

OHIO
Norwalk Reflector

Norwalk Reflector Staff

Oct 29, 2012

A Cincinnati judge has sentenced a student adviser to one year in prison after he pled guilty to molesting at least two boys at a school for the deaf.

Joshua Bort, 24, who worked as a resident adviser for St. Rita School for the Deaf during the 2011-2012 school year and was immediately dismissed from his position after one of the students shared information about the abuse with the school counselor.

In September in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court, Bort pleaded guilty to gross sexual imposition and sexual imposition in exchange for prosecutors dropping two other similar charges. He could have faced up to two years in prison when he was sentenced Oct. 23.

“We are glad that the judge in this case decided that, rather allowing an admitted child molester to freely walk the streets, children would be safer with this predator behind bars,” said Barbara Dorris, outreach director for the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP). “By giving Josh Bort prison time instead of simply allowing him to get off with probation, the judge is sending a harsh and clear message that child abuse will not be tolerated.

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IRELAND
TheMediaReport

A number of Irish media outlets have previously relayed the ordeal of Rev. Oliver Brennan, a priest who was falsely accused of sex abuse dating back some thirty years earlier.

However, as the Irish Catholic newspaper now reports, while Brennan feels “a great sense of relief” for having been exonerated of an accusation he always vehemently denied, the priest believes that Church authorities did not fully support him during his difficult time.

When Brennan was first accused in August 2010, his case was referred to law enforcement, and the priest voluntarily removed himself from ministry while declaring that the allegations were completely “false and groundless.”

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