ABUSE TRACKER

MINNESOTA
WDAY

(WDAZ-TV) – A second woman will sue the Crookston diocese over what she says was sexual abuse by Reverend Joseph Jeyapaul in 2005.

The woman has not yet been named and there have not been any new criminal charges against Jeyapaul.

Last year, another woman settled a $750,000 lawsuit against the Crookston Diocese over what she said were violent sexual assaults by Jeyapaul in the Greenbush, MN, parish when she was around 15.

In the new case, the woman, who was 16 at the time, exchanged letters with Jeyapaul in which he indicated he acted improperly with her, but loved her.

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APPLETON (WI)
Post-Crescent

[with video]

Written by
Jim Collar
Post-Crescent staff writer

APPLETON — Attorneys for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Green Bay are asking for a new trial in the Outagamie County civil lawsuit won by two childhood victims of clergy sex abuse based on new information they say shows a juror was biased.

A jury last month awarded brothers Todd and Troy Merryfield a total of $700,000 in the fraud case. The brothers claimed the diocese fraudulently misrepresented the safety of former priest John Feeney when it installed him as pastor at Freedom’s St. Nicholas Church in the 1970s.

Feeney molested the boys, then ages 12 and 14, in 1978. He was sentenced to prison for the sexual assaults in 2004.

Attorneys for the diocese filed a motion for a new trial last week citing a juror’s “incorrect responses” on a questionnaire provided in advance of the trial and “lack of candor” during and after the May 14 jury selection process.

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KENTUCKY
WHAS

LOUISVILLE (WHAS11) – The trial of a Louisville priest accused of molesting two teenage boys has been delayed because doctors say the priest is dying.

Malignant melanoma -those two words have stalled a court battle that spent years in the making. A doctor’s letter filed in court confirms that Father James Schook is dying of stage four skin cancer.

Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP spokesman Cal Pfiefer said, “I hate that he’s going through that. Absolutely. But, again, if that was me and I was innocent, I’d want to defend myself while I’m still alive.”

Schook, the former pastor of St. Ignatius Martyr Church, is accused of sexually abusing two teenage boys in the ‘70s. He’s facing seven charges of sodomy. Pfiefer has been in contact with one of Schook’s alleged victims who is reeling from the news of yet another setback.

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UNITED STATES
The New York Times

By LAURIE GOODSTEIN and ERIK ECKHOLM

Published: June 14, 2012

While the first criminal trial of a Roman Catholic church official accused of covering up child sexual abuse has drawn national attention to Philadelphia, the church has been quietly engaged in equally consequential battles over abuse, not in courtrooms but in state legislatures around the country.

The fights concern proposals to loosen statutes of limitations, which impose deadlines on when victims can bring civil suits or prosecutors can press charges. These time limits, set state by state, have held down the number of criminal prosecutions and civil lawsuits against all kinds of people accused of child abuse — not just clergy members, but also teachers, youth counselors and family members accused of incest.

Victims and their advocates in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and New York are pushing legislators to lengthen the limits or abolish them altogether, and to open temporary “windows” during which victims can file lawsuits no matter how long after the alleged abuse occurred.

The Catholic Church has successfully beaten back such proposals in many states, arguing that it is difficult to get reliable evidence when decades have passed and that the changes seem more aimed at bankrupting the church than easing the pain of victims.

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ATLANTA (GA)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

BY TIM TOWNSEND ttownsend@post-dispatch.com > 314-340-8221

ATLANTA • The U.S. Catholic bishops who gathered in Atlanta for their annual spring meeting spent Wednesday morning grappling with the sins of the past, marking the 10th anniversary of the clergy sex abuse crisis that crippled the church.

In the afternoon, they turned toward the future, and a looming battle with the federal government over an issue they say could cripple its mission in a different way.

In June 2002, the bishops met in Dallas as the abuse scandal, which first erupted in Boston, was raging across the country. What became known as the Dallas Charter was a set of norms the bishops agreed to that they hoped would stop the crisis and prevent the future abuse of children by priests, deacons and bishops. At the time, the bishops also founded a National Review Board, a committee of lay men and women who would study the issue and collaborate with the bishops to help prevent future abuse.

In a progress report released to the bishops Wednesday, the National Review Board said that a decade after the crisis, “There has been striking improvement in the Church’s response to and treatment of victims.” But it also acknowledged that “much work still needs to be done.” …

Anne Barrett Doyle, co-director of BishopAccountability.org, said in a statement that the National Review Board in its report had “gratified the bishops but failed their fellow Catholics.”

“The last thing bishops need is more flattery,” Doyle said. “They need a tough national review board and tough diocesan review boards to challenge them on their continued dangerous practices.”

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UNITED STATES
Verdict

What Penn State, Horace Mann, the Ultra-Orthodox Jewish Community, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Have Taught Us: We Need Child-Sex-Abuse Whistleblower Laws

Marci A. Hamilton

The latest child-sex-abuse debacle is the cover-up involving a series of men who abused children at the elite New York private school Horace Mann. Add that to the now well-known stories of powerful men covering up abuse at Penn State, within the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community in Brooklyn, within the Roman Catholic Church, and within the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and it is safe to say that there is something very wrong with the way in which men in power at male-dominated institutions have handled child sex abuse.

In each of these cases, the men in power have learned about heinous child sex abuse, and then simply sat on their hands.

Some Examples of the Failure to Zealously Prosecute Child Sex Abuse

Most recently—in fact, just this week—we learned that, in 2001, in a series of emails among Penn State’s then-President Graham Spanier, Gary Schultz, and Tim Curley, the three decided that the “humane” thing to do was not to go to the authorities about Jerry Sandusky’s sexual abuse of children. That is to say, they left Sandusky at large, unidentified as a child predator, in the midst of circles of children, from the Penn State/Second Mile football camps to the local high school football teams. This rings of the Catholic bishops’ practice of forgiving abusers, and then shuttling them from parish to parish.

Prosecutors also have, at times, been less than aggressive in going after abusers in religious communities. For decades, it was commonplace for district attorneys to decline to prosecute Catholic priests who were accused of abuse, out of respect for the bishops who asked not to have their dirty linen aired in public. The D.A.s, along with anyone else who learned about such abuse, believed at the time that the bishops would do what was best for children.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

By John P. Martin
and Joseph A. Slobodzian
INQUIRER STAFF WRITERS

Keep the jurors late.

Order them to do their job.

Give them what they want.

Those were options defense lawyers and prosecutors asked Common Pleas Court Judge M. Teresa Sarmina to consider Wednesday as jurors took a day off from deliberations in the landmark clergy-sex abuse trial.

The panel of seven men and five women asked for the break because of graduations and family commitments. On Thursday, they are due to begin an eighth day deliberating child-endangerment and other charges against Msgr. William J. Lynn, the former secretary for clergy in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, and the Rev. James J. Brennan.

The shape of those talks remains unclear. No one could be sure whether the stream of questions from the jury room since it got the case June 1 came from one juror or 11. After she sent jurors home Tuesday, Sarmina told the lawyers she was reluctant to grant the panel’s latest request: to have days’ worth of testimony read to it.

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ATLANTA (GA)
WABE

[with audio]

[National Review Board report]

By Denis O’Hayer

The nation’s Catholic Bishops are meeting here in Atlanta this week. At their first session Wednesday, they heard a review board report that allegations of child sex abuse by clergy have dropped sharply since the bishops adopted a child protection charter ten years ago.

The review board, made up of lay people, sound what it called “striking improvement” in the church’s response and in the treatment of victims in the past decade. However, board chairman Al Notzon, III told the bishops that much work still needs to be done.

“Many of the faithful believe that sexual abuse by clergy is occurring at high level, and is still being covered up by bishops. This suggests a trust problem,” said Notzon.

The review board outlined several recommendations, including independent audits down to the parish level, to ensure child protection policies are being followed.

Despite these talks, the review board findings received bad reviews from protesters outside of the Hytt Regency in Atlanta, where the bishops are meeting.

Some protestors spoke.

“My name is Barbara Blaine…I was sexually abused by a priest growing up in Toledo, Ohio in the late 60s and early 70s,” said one protestor.

Barbara Blaine is now the President of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. As she stood amid childhood photos of alleged victims, Blaine called the review board report inadequate and said church leaders have not done enough to remove abusive priests and report them to the civil authorities.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Sueddeutsche

Von Dietrich Mittler

Sie wurden geschlagen, im Keller eingesperrt und mussten Erbrochenes essen: 80 ehemalige Heimkinder berichten im bayerischen Landtag von ihrem Martyrium. Sie werfen den Behörden vor, versagt zu haben, Hilfe aus der Politik lasse noch immer auf sich warten.

Die Anhörung von ehemaligen Heimkindern im bayerischen Landtag hat am Dienstagmorgen noch gar nicht begonnen, da unterbricht eine Frauenstimme das Gemurmel im alten Senatssaal. “Wir wollen endlich für voll genommen werden, wir lassen uns nicht länger an der Nase herumführen.” Es ist die Stimme von Marie-Louise Weinhold aus Oberstdorf, die demnächst 70 Jahre alt wird. Als sie als Vollwaise ins Heim kam, war sie drei Jahre alt.

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ATLANTA (GA)
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

By Shelia M. Poole
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The pope’s personal representative to the United States said Wednesday that the Catholic Church in the U.S. is living in a “particularly challenging period of its history.”

His words underscored the issues being tackled by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which is holding its spring General Assembly in Atlanta.

The gathering of the nation’s top Catholic leaders included discussions of threats to religious liberties and sexual abuse by clergy. …

There were other issues as well. Barbara Blaine, president of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), criticized an update on the child safety policy.

“Where do they get the audacity to claim everything is fine?” she said. “There are so many breeches of their policy. Notice how all their discussions are about dealing with the priests. What about the children?”

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KENTUCKY
The Courier-Journal

Written by
Peter Smith
The Courier-Journal

A Roman Catholic priest facing sodomy charges has terminal skin cancer, likely giving him only months to live and possibly preventing him from ever standing trial, a court document says.

That has raised concerns from a victim’s advocacy group who fear they may never see justice for the two men who say the priest abused them when they were boys in the early 1970s.

The Rev. James Schook, 64, was scheduled to face trial in May, but Judge Mitch Perry postponed further hearings until December. Schook has been released pending his trial.

Jefferson County Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney John Balliet, the prosecutor in the case, said at the time of the May hearing that he had a scheduling conflict because he was prosecuting another case at the same time.

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UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter

Jun. 13, 2012

By David Gibson, Religion News Service

Amid continuing headlines about cover-ups of child abuse in the Catholic Church, an oversight board of lay Catholics on Wednesday (June 13) warned the nation’s bishops that they must follow their own policies against abuse more rigorously if they hope to restore their fragile credibility.

“If there is anything that needs to be disclosed in a diocese, it needs to be disclosed now,” Al J. Notzon III, head of the bishops’ National Review Board, told some 200 prelates gathered in Atlanta for their annual spring meeting. “No one can no longer claim they didn’t know.”

The meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops comes 10 years after the hierarchy met in Dallas and passed a series of reforms to respond to a siege of bad publicity about sex abuse by priests. It also comes as a jury in Philadelphia weighs the fate of a high-ranking priest who’s facing criminal charges of concealing abuse by clerics, and as a bishop from Missouri awaits trial on charges that he failed to report a suspected child molester to authorities.

In his review of the church’s track record over the past decade, Notzon did not mention the Philadelphia or Missouri cases by name, nor any of the other periodic lapses by bishops over the 10 years since the USCCB passed the so-called Dallas Charter.

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GREEN BAY (WI)
WTAQ

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – A former Green Bay priest and convicted child sex offender has had his request to live in the city of Green Bay denied. The Sex Offender Residency Board denied Donald Buzanowski’s request. Buzanowski was convicted in 2005 for sexually assaulting a young boy in 1988. He was sentenced to 32-years in prison. But due to changes in recent statute of limitations law in the appellate courts, the 69-year-old was released early from prison in May.

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ATLANTA (GA)
CNN

By Eric Marrapodi, CNN Belief Blog co-editor

(CNN) – Children in the Catholic Church are safer 10 years after the church initiated reforms in the wake of the priest abuse scandal, but there is still work to be done, according to a report delivered to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Meeting in Atlanta, the bishops heard from Al Notzon III, the chairman of the National Review Board, on the progress made 10 years after they tasked the lay group with “advising the bishops on the handling of sexual abuse of minors by clergy.”

Notzon delivered the report to the clergy leaders in a morning session. “There has been striking improvement in the Church’s response to and treatment of victims,” the report said. “Children are safer now because of the creation of safe environments and action has been taken to permanently remove offenders from ministry.”

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UNITED STATES
TheMediaReport

Dave Pierre

More proof has just emerged that the anti-Catholic group SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests) is really more about advancing a left-wing agenda than fulfilling its purported mission “to provide support for men & women who have been sexually victimized by members of the clergy.”

This past March, Barbara Blaine, the founder of the SNAP, was a featured speaker at the “Women•Money•Power Forum” hosted by Feminist Majority, a powerful, radical, pro-abortion activist group.

Other speakers at the event included radical liberal voices such as Eleanor Smeal, Sandra Fluke, and Dawn Laguens (a VP at Planned Parenthood). (See screenshot outlining the event.)

The Feminist Majority says it promotes causes including “non-violence,” “reproductive health,” and “non-discrimination on the basis of sex, race, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, religion, ethnicity, age, marital status, nation of origin, size or disability.”

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UNITED STATES
BishopAccountability.org – Assignment Record

Summary of Case: Joseph Ferrario was ordained a priest of the Sulpician order in in 1951 and started his career in Mountain View, CA.
In 1957 he was sent to Hawaii where he taught at a minor seminary and became a parish pastor. He held numerous leadership positions in the diocese, including Vocations Director, CYO Director, and Director of Scouting. Ferrario was elevated to Auxiliary Bishop of Honolulu in 1978, and to Bishop in 1982. He was accused in 1985 of having sexually abused a 15 year-old boy beginning in 1975 and continuing for years, including while he was bishop. Ferrario denied the allegations. The boy is said to have initially gone to Ferrario for counseling. His accuser claimed Ferrario paid him for sexual encounters. Ferrario is also said to have solicited sex from young seminarians. An internal church investigation deemed the accusations “groundless”. Ferrario retired in 1993 and died in 2003.

Ordained: 1951

Retired: 1993
Died: Dec. 12, 2003

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UNITED STATES
National Survivor Advocates Coalition

National Review Board Report to the USCCB on the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People

We couldn’t be more disappointed in the National Review Board’s report and its accompanying huge loss of a special opportunity for genuine, effective protection of children at this 10 year anniversary point of the Charter.

The National Review Board chose to speak to and comfort its constituency which is, of course, the Bishops, instead of taking on the prophet role and speaking truth to power.

The job of Catholicism is to change the world, radically confront the culture, and afflict the comfortable. The National Review Board decided to take a pass.

We cite a few examples:

– there is not even a slap on the wrist for Bishop Finn of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph for sitting on information for at least six (6) months regarding Father Shawn Ratigan and child pornography;

– there is no mention that there are no teeth in the audit system, but somehow in the 2012 audit process diocesan officials are going to “robustly” provide documentation. How will anyone know if the information is complete or accurate? There is no subpoena power or anything close to it – auditors get the information bishops want to give them.

– there is no mention, let alone an urgency to move on the issue of accused priests whose cases have been sent to the Vatican for laicization. These cases have languished at the Vatican while Catholics continue to pay salaries and benefits to these priests.

– the board recommends annual “dialogue” between the bishops and religious superiors regarding sexual abuse in religious communities saying mildly that 10 years is too long for this huge loophole of non-reporting to remain open. The recommendation is to talk. There is no recommendation for consequences, no use of hierarchial authority, no teeth recommended, let alone urged.

– the National Review Board touts numbers in training programs in parishes. We remind Catholics that it was not lay people who created this crisis and that fingerprinting only pulls up in law enforcement’s computers those who have records — priests and religious brothers and religious sisters who were never reported to police will never turn up in a fingerprint check.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Sueddeutsche

Da ist zum Beispiel das schockierende Geständnis von Pater Alfredo Moreno, dem Sekretär von Marcial Maciel, des 2006 wegen sexuellen Missbrauchs mit Amtsverbot belegten Gründers der Legionäre Christi. Am 19. Oktober 2011 um 9.30 Uhr trifft Moreno den Sekretär des Papstes. Er gibt zu, Dokumente über Maciels Schandtaten vernichtet zu haben. Er enthüllt aber vor allem, dass er bei Papst Johannes Paul II. kein Gehör fand, als er 2003 von diesen Taten berichten wollte. Warum, bleibt ein Geheimnis. Moreno war ein glaubwürdiger Zeuge, er war viele Jahre Maciels treuer Schatten. So aber mussten noch Jahre vergehen, bis der Skandal ans Licht kam.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Readers Edition

Unter Ausschluss der Öffentlichkeit bekamen laut „WELT ONLINE“ 80 ehemalige „Heimkinder“ am 12. Juni Gelegenheit, dem Sozialpolitischen Ausschuss des Bayerischen Landtags über ihre Erlebnisse in überwiegend kirchlich geprägten Kinder- und Jugendheimen zu berichten. Es ging um physische, psychische und sexuelle Gewalt in den drei Nachkriegsjahrzehnten, die der Sozialwissenschaftler Prof. Manfred Kappeler, Berlin, zusammenfassend resümierte: „Diese Kinder und Jugendlichen wurden zu Ausgelieferten. Sie hatten keine Chance, sich zu wehren.“

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IRLAND
domradio (Deutschland)

Die diplomatischen Beziehungen zwischen dem Heiligen Stuhl und Irland waren nach dem Skandal um sexuellen Missbrauch zerrüttet. Beim Eucharistischen Weltkongress setzt Rom auf versöhnliche Töne. Der päpstliche Gesandte traf Opfer und bekundete “Scham und Reue” für die Vergehen.

Der persönliche Vertreter des Papstes beim Eucharistischen Weltkongress in Dublin ist mit Opfern sexuellen Missbrauchs zusammengetroffen. Im Auftrag Benedikts XVI. bitte er um “Vergebung von Gott und den Opfern für die schwere Sünde des sexuellen Missbrauchs von Kindern durch Kleriker”, sagte Kardinal Marc Ouellet laut einer Mitteilung der Irischen Bischofskonferenz vom Mittwoch.

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OSTERREICH
Tiroler Tageszeitung

Von Wolfgang Otter

Thiersee – Die Vorwürfe gegen den vor drei Jahren verstorbenen Thierseer Pfarrer und Ehrenbürger sorgen für hitzige Diskussionen im Passionsspieldorf. Der Geistliche wird beschuldigt, Burschen zwischen zehn und 14 Jahren betatscht und sexuell belästigt zu haben. Anschuldigungen, die von mehreren Betroffenen erhoben wurden und – obwohl die Ereignisse viele Jahre zurückliegen – von der Ombudsstelle für Opfer sexuellen Missbrauchs und Gewalt in der Erzdiözese Salzburg als glaubhaft eingestuft werden. Daher reiste Prälat Johann Reißmeier vor wenigen Tagen höchstpersönlich nach Thiersee, um bei einem Gottesdienst die Pfarre über die sexuellen Übergriffe zu informieren und sich für die Verfehlungen des Verstorbenen zu entschuldigen. Außerdem gab es ein Gespräch mit betroffenen Thierseern. Laut Pressestelle der Erzdiözese werden dadurch weitere Fälle von der Ombudsstelle untersucht. Zudem sei am 11. Juni ein Informationsabend über das Thema geplant. Dabei geht es allgemein um die Frage von pädophilen Handlungen durch Priester.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Stern

Ehemalige DDR-Heimkinder werden künftig für erlittenes Unrecht in staatlichen Erziehungseinrichtungen aus einem Hilfsfonds mit 40 Millionen Euro entschädigt. Einen entsprechenden Beschluss billigte das Kabinett, wie die Bundesregierung mitteilte. Der Fonds wird demnach zum 1. Juli eingerichtet und je zur Hälfte von Bund und Ländern getragen.

Eine entsprechende Vereinbarung hatten Bund und Länder zuvor in einer Arbeitsgruppe erarbeitet und auch schon eine Satzung formuliert. Ein Bericht zur Heimerziehung in der DDR kam demnach zu dem Schluss, dass die Erlebnisse in den Heimen zu massiven Beeinträchtigungen im Leben der Betroffenen geführt haben, die über den Heimaufenthalt hinaus zum Teil noch bis heute nachwirken. Auch leiden viele Betroffene an schlechten beruflichen Chancen, Stigmatisierungen und psychischen Traumatisierungen.

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NEDERLAND
Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal

Vragenuur

Vragen van het lid Gesthuizen aan de minister van Veiligheid en Justitie over het bericht “KLOKK schort bestuurlijk overleg met het bestuur van de Stichting Beheer & Toezicht, voorheen Hulp en Recht, op”.

Mevrouw Gesthuizen (SP):
Voorzitter. Iedereen vindt het heel erg belangrijk dat de rooms-katholieke kerk, die jarenlang niet heeft ingegrepen terwijl duizenden kinderen werden misbruikt, de slachtoffers recht doet die dit is overkomen. Deze slachtoffers hebben recht op een welgemeend excuus van de kerk, op erkenning, op bestraffing van de daders en natuurlijk ook op compensatie. De kerk maakt er echter een potje van. De Stichting KLOKK, waarin veel slachtoffers zich hebben verenigd, heeft geen vertrouwen meer in Stichting Beheer & Toezicht, de stichting die voor de kerk de slachtoffers moet ontvangen en begeleiden en onder wiens regels de compensatiecommissie voor genoegdoening moet zorgen.

Nu moeten slachtoffers zelf een causaal verband aantonen tussen bijvoorbeeld de verkrachtingen waarvan zij als kind slachtoffer zijn geweest en de destructieve impact die dat later op hun leven heeft gehad. Zelfs als eerdere klachten al gegrond zijn verklaard, moeten mensen opnieuw een aanvraag indienen. Zij moeten dan weer door die molen en weer alle ellende opnieuw herhalen voor de commissie. Als toppunt is het niet duidelijk of zij de juridische bijstand die zij daarbij nodig hebben wel vergoed krijgen. Wat vindt de minister hier nu van? Wil hij, samen met de staatssecretaris van VWS, proberen om deze problemen op te lossen? Is hij bereid om bij mevrouw Peijs na te vragen hoe het kan dat zij een halfjaar nadat zij als bestuursvoorzitter van de Stichting Beheer & Toezicht hier in de Kamer en tegenover de slachtoffers heeft gezegd dat zij zou aanpakken en doorpakken, dat nog steeds niet heeft gedaan en dat slachtoffers nog altijd bungelen? Ik vraag de minister om ervoor te zorgen dat de compensatiecommissie echt de ruimte krijgt om voor slachtoffers te doen wat zij moet doen en dat deze niet door de kerk wordt beperkt in wat zij mag.

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SOUTH DAKOTA
Argus Leader

Written by
Jon Walker

Blue Cloud Abbey will close this summer after 62 years as a home for Benedictine monks and a spiritual oasis for visitors seeking solitude in a modern world.

The monastery is a northeast South Dakota landmark that has kept the tiny burg of Marvin on the map. It became a jumping-off point for brothers in the Catholic faith to minister to communities in the Dakotas and eventually fell to the same fate shared by those it served. The decline hit its critical point in May, when its 14 monks voted to close the doors. A farewell gathering will be Aug. 5.

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KENTUCKY
UPI

LOUISVILLE, Ky., June 13 (UPI) — The sex abuse trial of a Roman Catholic priest in Kentucky has been delayed while he has treatment for what is likely to be terminal cancer, a prosecutor says.

A doctor’s letter included in court files said the Rev. James Schook has stage IV malignant melanoma, an aggressive form of skin cancer, The (Louisville) Courier-Journal reported Wednesday.

Schook, who may have less than a year to live, was to have gone to trial last month but a judge ordered a delay. Jefferson County Commonwealth’s Attorney John Balliet said Schook might face trial in December if he is in better health, even if the improvement is only temporary.

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ATLANTA (GA)
WBFO

(2012-06-13)
(Reuters) –
By Stephanie Simon

ATLANTA (Reuters) – New allegations of child sexual abuse against U.S. Roman Catholic priests have declined, and children are safer due to measures taken to protect them, a national review board said on Wednesday in a generally positive report to U.S. bishops meeting on a range of divisive issues facing the Church.

Al Notzon III, chairman of a lay review board set up by the bishops to deal with child sexual abuse, praised the progress even as he acknowledged that some dioceses have failed to comply with the church’s new policies on sexual abuse, including regular reviews by external auditors.

He did not spell out any consequences, only that bishops should “continue to take seriously the harm done to the church” of non-compliance.

Victims’ support groups sharply criticized the reports’ findings as ”

David Clohessy, director of the victims’ support group SNAP, said the bishops’ discussion “was sad, predictable and disappointing.” He pointed to several cases in recent years, and even recent weeks, where church authorities did not discipline or remove priests who have pleaded guilty to sexual abuse or had credible allegations made against them.

“As long as those who conceal child sex crimes get absolutely no punishment, nothing will change,” Clohessy said.

Anne Barrett Doyle, co-director of another victims’ advocacy group, Bishop Accountability, called the report “feckless” and “timorous” for failing to impose tough consequences.

“With their gutless report today, National Review Board members gratified the bishops but failed their fellow Catholics,” said Doyle.

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HAWAII
The Republic

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
First Posted: June 13, 2012

HONOLULU — Another lawsuit against the Diocese of Honolulu has been filed under a new Hawaii law providing a two-year window for claims of sexual abuse against minors to be made, even if the statute of limitations has lapsed.

Attorneys for an unnamed Los Angeles man filed a lawsuit Tuesday claiming he was sexually abused by two priests while a boy growing up in Hawaii. The suit claims that as a child, he was sodomized in 1973 by Rev. Joseph Henry at St. Anthony’s in Kailua. The suit says the boy reported the abuse to several years later to Rev. Joseph Ferrario, who also sexually abused him.

In 1982, Ferrario was installed as Bishop of Honolulu. Both priests have since died.

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UNITED STATES
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by David Clohessy on June 13, 2012

Below is a list of SNAP’s list of worst bishops in the past decade, based on their actions since the adoption of the Dallas charter.

Archbishop J. Peter Sartain of Seattle (formerly of Joliet)

• Ordained Fr. Alejandro Flores in the Diocese of Joliet, who was known to be “sexually troubled” while in Seminary and had been caught with “young-looking” porn.

o After ordination, it was found out Flores had been abusing a young boy for at least 5 years.

o Despite Sartain supposedly “keeping a close watch” on Flores, the priest attempted suicide in the church

o BishopAccountability.org

• In a separate instance, he hid allegations against two priests for at least five months. He only made the claims public after SNAP had already outed them.

o Months after the fate of these two priests was decided, Sartain continued to keep parishioners in the dark, refusing to disclose details of the allegations, investigations, and results.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York (formerly of Milwaukee)

• Last year, Fr. Jaime Duenas was arrested for repeatedly abusing a 16-year-old girl over three days at her parish job. Then, Dolan posted on his blog a statement essentially attacking the girl and questioning why she went back to work the second and third days. Despite SNAP’s protests, Dolan’s callous post is still up.

o BishopAccountability.org

• Last year, the public learned that there was child porn on a Bronx assistant principal’s school computer. At that time, it was also revealed that Catholic officials – including Dolan – had kept silent for nine months about the child porn, giving the criminal and his supervisors ample time to destroy evidence, fabricate alibis, intimidate witnesses, threaten whistleblowers and thwart law enforcement.

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IRELAND
Irish Independent

By Lise Hand

Wednesday June 13 2012

Given the sporting week that’s in it, an apt description of the event taking place in the RDS is that it’s a Congress of two halves.

On one hand, every day finds groups of pilgrims singing hymns while gathered around picnic tables in the grounds of the Dublin 4 complex, or attending music-filled Masses in the arena.

There is a relaxed, festival feel (albeit a sedate festival largely consisting of senior citizens), as the pilgrims wander in and out of the myriad workshops or browse the maze of stalls.

But in another room yesterday a discourse on the dark side of the Catholic Church was taking place, dealing with the clerical sex abuse scandals which have cast (and which continues to cast) a long, sorrowful shadow over the organisation.

And the prelate selected to grasp this thorny topic was the Archbishop of Manila, Antonio Tagle.

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ATLANTA (GA)
Catholic News Service

By Dennis Sadowski
Catholic News Service

ATLANTA (CNS) — While the Catholic Church has taken major steps in addressing allegations of clergy sexual abuse, it must continue to be vigilant in assuring that victims and their families will receive the attention and care they deserve, said the chairman of the National Review Board.

In a report marking the 10th anniversary of the “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People,” Al J. Notzon III told the U.S. bishops June 13 at their spring meeting that transparency remains a crucial component of building and maintaining credibility among the Catholic faithful as well as the general public.

He credited the country’s bishops for developing more pastoral responses, rather than being concerned primarily with legal issues when allegations are made.

“In the long run, the strictly legal response caused more pain, did more damage and cost more money,” Notzon said. “The lesson learned by the church is clear: We must treat those making allegations of sexual abuse with compassion and care. It is not only the best solution, but the right thing to do and an integral part of the church’s spiritual mission.”

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HAWAII
The Worthy Adversary

Posted by Joelle Casteix on June 13, 2012

For immediate release: Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Hawaii bishop accused of molesting boy
New sex abuse and cover-up lawsuit is filed
This is the 2nd victim to name Ferrario as offender
Diocese knew and covered up allegations, lawsuit says
New state law lets victims expose abusers & protect kids

In a new civil lawsuit using an unusual new state law, a former Hawaii bishop and one of his priests are accused of molesting a boy and Catholic officials are accused of ignoring or concealing their crimes.

A California man says he was sexually violated as a ten-year-old in 1973, first by Fr. Joseph Henry and then by former Honolulu Bishop Joseph Ferrario. At the time, the boy attended mass at St. Anthony’s parish in Kailua. Both alleged wrongdoers are now deceased.

The lawsuit is one of the first filed under a new Hawaii law that lets child sex abuse victims use the courts to expose predators, protect kids and seek justice, even decades after they were assaulted.

The victim, who grew up in Hawaii and now lives in California, is suing the Honolulu Diocese, which employed both clerics.

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IRELAND
BBC News

The Papal Legate to the 50th International Eucharistic Congress has met a group of survivors of clerical child abuse in Ireland.

The two hour meeting took place during a pilgrimage to Lough Derg by Cardinal Marc Ouellet.

Each survivor told the legate about the abuse they suffered and its impact on their lives.

The group included men and women from across Ireland.

Cardinal Ouellet undertook the penitential pilgrimage on behalf of Pope Benedict XVI as a public expression of penance and repentance for the abuse of children by clerics in the Irish and universal Catholic church.

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IRELAND
The Journal

THE POPE’S PERSONAL representative to the International Eucharistic Congress has met with a group of survivors of clerical sexual abuse – and asked them for foregiveness for the abuse.

Cardinal Marc Ouellet met with the victims, from both sides of the border, during a two-day pilgrimage to Lough Derg.

After the meeting Ouellet celebrated Mass at St Patrick’s Basilica where he said Pope Benedict XVI had asked him to come to Lough Derg and ask for God’s forgiveness for any instance where someone had been abused anywhere in the Church.

“I come here with the specific intention of seeking forgiveness, from God and from the Victims, for the grave sin of sexual abuse of children by clerics,” he said in his homily.

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IRELAND
Irish Examiner

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

A survivor of institutional abuse has today criticised the Pope’s envoy for meeting victims in secret during a pilgrimage.

Papal Legate Cardinal Ouellet asked for forgiveness during his penitential pilgrimage to Lough Derg in Co Donegal on behalf of Pope Benedict XVI.

Men and women from both sides of the border who suffered at the hands of clergy spoke of the impact it had had on their lives during a two-hour meeting with the senior churchman.

A spokesman said he was deeply moved by his meeting with the survivors of abuse and would be reporting on the meeting to the Pope on his return to Rome from the 50th International Eucharistic Congress in Dublin.

But one leading campaigner, who requested time with the Cardinal, said he was outraged that he was not part of the group.

Michael O’Brien, former Mayor of Clonmel, said he and survivor Christy Heaphy made several calls and sent emails to church administrators for time with the cleric.

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IRELAND
CNBC

DUBLIN (Reuters) – An envoy for Pope Benedict has apologized in person to child victims of sexual abuse by Roman Catholic priests, a gesture that highlights the Vatican’s concerns over its deteriorating status in Ireland.

Senior Vatican Cardinal Marc Ouellet travelled to the island of Lough Derg, in a remote corner of Ireland, on Tuesday to speak with victims in a meeting which lasted two hours.

The Church in predominantly Catholic Ireland has been rocked by a series of cases of child sex abuse stretching back decades and by church leaders’ complicity in covering them up.

Ireland announced last year it would close its embassy to the Vatican, one of the Catholic country’s oldest missions, after relations hit an all-time low over the Church’s handling of the sex abuse cases.

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IRELAND
The Irish Times

CHARLIE TAYLOR

Papal legate Cardinal Marc Ouellet has asked for forgiveness from victims of clerical child abuse during his visit to Co Donegal.

The papal legate, who is representing Pope Benedict XVI at this week’s International Eucharistic Congress in Dublin, met victims of abuse yesterday while on a pilgrimage to Lough Derg.

The meeting lasted two hours, during which survivors spoke of his or her own personal experience of abuse and its impact on their lives.

After the meeting, the former archbishop of Quebec celebrated Mass in St Patrick’s Basilica on the island with about 100 pilgrims.

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IRELAND
The Irish Times

Homily of Cardinal Marc Ouellet at Lough Derg

Dear brothers and sisters,

Pope Benedict XVI asked me, as His Legate to the 50th International Eucharistic Congress in Dublin, that I would come to Lough Derg and ask God’s forgiveness for the times clerics have sexually abused children not only in Ireland but anywhere in the Church.

Lough Derg in Ireland is the symbol of conversion, penance and spiritual renewal. Many people come here to pray, to fast and to apologise for their sins. According to a long tradition, they follow the steps of Saint Patrick who evangelized the country in the fifth century.

I come here with the specific intention of seeking forgiveness, from God and from the victims, for the grave sin of sexual abuse of children by clerics. We have learned over the last decades how much harm and despair such abuse has caused to thousands of victims. We learned too that the response of some Church authorities to these crimes was often inadequate and inefficient in stopping the crimes, in spite of clear indications in the code of Canon Law.

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IRELAND
RTE News

Papal Legate to the 50th International Eucharistic Congress Cardinal Marc Ouellet has met a representative group of survivors of clerical child abuse.

The meeting, which took place during the Legate’s pilgrimage to Lough Derg, lasted two hours during which each survivor spoke of their personal experiences of abuse and its impact on their lives.

The group included representatives of institutional and clerical abuse, both men and women, from different parts of the island of Ireland.

Cardinal Ouellet undertook the penitential pilgrimage on behalf of Pope Benedict XVI as a public expression of penance and repentance for the abuse of children by clerics in the Irish and universal Catholic church.

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UNITED STATES
Catholic League

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments as follows:

In 2002, the bishops assembled in Dallas amidst a media frenzy to consider reforms to combat the sexual abuse of minors. Today the bishops are meeting in Atlanta to assess them. But there is no media frenzy this time around. That’s because the reforms worked.

Over the past week, not a single media outlet provided an in-depth assessment of the ten-year anniversary of the reforms, and the few that mentioned it at all were mostly flawed. The Boston Globe won a Pulitzer Prize for its work exposing the scandal in the Archdiocese of Boston in 2002, but in today’s newspaper its entire coverage amounts to one sentence. And even that is factually inaccurate: it mentions the problem of “pedophile priests.” Ten years ago it correctly noted that nearly 8 in 10 victims were “post-pubescent” males. Which, of course, means we are dealing with homosexuality, not pedophilia. The cover-up is striking.

Similarly, Susan Hogan of the Minneapolis Star Tribune’s editorial board writes of “Catholic priests raping children.” This is also factually incorrect: most of the victims were not children—they were adolescents—and the most common infraction was “inappropriate touching,” not rape. David Gibson’s piece on the anniversary, written for the Religion News Service, leaves the reader straining to find a single good thing about the reforms. The CBS affiliate in Chicago uncritically cites an Illinois judge, Ann Burke, to the effect that the scandal continues to this day: not only is Burke factually incorrect, she is on record opposing civil liberties for accused priests.

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NEW YORK
The New York Times

By WILLIAM GLABERSON

Published: June 12, 2012

As former students and prosecutors turn to the courts to deal with reports of widespread sexual abuse at the Horace Mann School, lawyers have begun to conclude that New York’s current restrictive statute of limitations laws are likely to block any effort to hold the prestigious private school legally accountable for the allegations, some of which are decades old.

The Bronx district attorney, Robert T. Johnson, set up a special hot line on Tuesday for former students to report episodes of sexual misconduct. He has acknowledged that cases may not fall within the statute of limitations, a situation that would prevent a criminal prosecution. Mr. Johnson has added that it is not clear whether private schools are covered by laws that require school administrators to report child abuse, as public schools are.

“Despite the statute of limitations issues, information about past conduct can be helpful in assessing the current situation,” said Steven Reed, a spokesman for the district attorney’s office, on Tuesday. The passage of time may also complicate any civil suits. Michael G. Dowd, a New York lawyer who has represented victims of sexual abuse for years, said former Horace Mann students had asked him to review their cases, but most suits would be barred by the state’s statute of limitations.

“I’m disgusted,” Mr. Dowd said in an interview. “When you have to tell someone who was injured as a child that there is no justice for them, it makes you appalled and sick as a human being.”

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ATLANTA (GA)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

BY TIM TOWNSEND • ttownsend@post-dispatch.com > 314-340-8221

ATLANTA – U.S. Catholic bishops meeting here for their spring meeting heard this morning from a lay group advising them on the handling of the clergy sexual abuse scandal that rocked the church 10 years ago.

In a 10-year progress report, the National Review Board said a decade later, “there has been striking improvement in the Church’s response to and treatment of victims.” It also said “much work still needs to be done.”

“Children are safer now because of the creation of safe environments and action has been taken to permanently remove offenders from ministry,” the board said.

At the same time, critics questioned the effectiveness of the bishops’ efforts. Anne Barrett Doyle, co-director of BishopAccountability.org, said the bishops “installed loopholes in their 2002 reforms.”

Doyle said in last decade the bishops had not reported allegations to law enforcement, bypassed review boards, “overruled, or deceived by diocesan officials” and ”substantively accused priests kept in ministry.”

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ATLANTA (GA)
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

By Shelia M. Poole
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

More than a dozen people gathered outside the Hyatt Regency Atlanta hotel downtown Wednesday to protest a meeting of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The group was protesting the Vatican’s recent criticism of members of the Leadership Conference of Women’s Religious, which represents many of the nation’s nuns, for having “radical feminist themes incompatible with the Catholic faith.”

“I Stand with the Sisters” read a button worn by many of the protesters.

“I think the nuns do an incredible job of reflective discernment about what is God’s call for them,” said Natallie Keiser, who is Catholic and owns a consulting business. “The bishops need to respect them trying to help the poor and the marginalized and not control it.”

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UNITED STATES
National Review Board

Based on The Causes and Context of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Catholic Priests in the United States, 1950-2010

The Causes and Context Study acknowledges that innovators in the Catholic Church have taken serious steps toward understanding and reducing the problem of sexual abuse of minors by priests.The recommendations emanating from the Causes and Context Study by John Jay University support a desire for longstanding change expressed by many victims and those affected by this crisis.Towards that goal, pastoral care of victims must be the first objective in all dealings with those making allegations.The recommendations that follow are for diocesan bishops and focus on prevention policies, which, according to the John Jay study, address three factors:1) education, 2) situational prevention, and 3) oversight and accountability. Some recommendations might not be specifically addressed in the Causes and Context Study but the NRB feels they are important in the prevention of child sexual abuse. These recommendations also include activities that are currently being done; this list is meant to reaffirm those activities.

EDUCATION

Clergy

Preordination candidates
■Ensure the formation of candidates for Holy Orders is based upon the full implementation of the USCCB Program for Priestly Formation and the National Directory for the Formation, Ministry and Life of Permanent Deacons.
■Ensure education regarding situational factors (e.g., increased job stress, social isolation, decreased contact with peers, etc.) in formation programs.
■Require safe environment and codes of conduct training for all seminarians and candidates for the permanent diaconate.
■Monitor, and communicate widely within the Church through the audit process, the implementation of these programs.

Ongoing Formation
■Ensure the full implementation of the Basic Plan for Ongoing Formation of Priests with particular stress on the human formation pillar.
■Provide continued education regarding the situational factors of job stresses and social isolation.
■Monitor and communicate widely within the Church through the audit process, the implementation of these programs.

Laity
■Train diocesan personnel in Charter requirements, recordkeeping, state laws, mandated reporting, etc.
■Train the various segments of parish life, (i.e.,parish staff, school personnel, parents, children, volunteers, ushers, Knights of Columbus, Altar Society, Holy Name Society, etc.) in diocesan policies, state laws, mandated reporting, etc.

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UNITED STATES
National Review Board

Preamble

In 2002, the bishops of the United States approved the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People. Ten years later, there has been striking improvement in the Church’s response to and treatment of victims. Children are safer now because of the creation of safe environments and action has been taken to permanently remove offenders from ministry. Yet, much work still needs to be done. The National Review Board (NRB) offers this report to the bishops and the faithful to highlight both what has been done and what is still needed to be done to protect children and restore trust.
~~~~~~
The Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People begins with the Section entitled: To Promote Healing and Reconciliation with Victims/Survivors Of Sexual Abuse of Minors. It includes Articles 1-3.

In the past ten years over 15,000 victims have come forward to tell the secret they had carried for years; and each year more have come forward. It is impossible to know the final number of victims. The John Jay Study of the Nature and Scope of the abuse found the incidence of abuse began to rise in the sixties, peaked in the seventies and declined sharply in the eighties. 1 (Fig. 1)

The new cases reported yearly continue to fall into this same pattern. The peak of the curve is not moving forward or broadening as time goes on. While it often takes years for 1 Nature and Scope of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Catholic Priests and Deacons in the United States 1950-2002

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UNITED STATES
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

June 13, 2012

Children safer now than decade ago
Those making allegations need ‘compassionate care’
No time for complacency despite significant advances

ATLANTA—The National Review Board (NRB), a lay group advising the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) on the handling of the sexual abuse of minors by clergy, issued a 10-year progress report, June 13, at the USCCB spring meeting in Atlanta.

Al Notzon III, NRB chair, addressed the bishops on the report (http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-actions/child-and-youth-protection/upload/10-year-report-2012.pdf). The report looked at the decade since the 2002 approval of the bishops’ Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.

The NRB noted that “Ten years later, there has been striking improvement in the Church’s response to and treatment of victims. Children are safer now because of the creation of safe environments and action has been taken to permanently remove offenders from ministry.”

“Yet, much work still needs to be done,” the NRB said.

THE NRB cited data that “found the incidence of abuse began to rise in the sixties, peaked in the seventies and declined sharply in the eighties.” Even cases from the past which are reported now, they said, “continue to fall into this same pattern” and that “the hundreds of cases reported yearly continue to fall within the timeline of the established curve.”

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UNITED STATES
MSN

Many Roman Catholics in the United States still believe that priests are sexually abusing children, says a report from a lay advisory group released Wednesday by the nation’s bishops.

The National Review Board said that, a decade after the US Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a child protection charter, there has been a “striking improvement” in the way the Church deals with the abuse of minors by clergy.

“Children are safer now because of the creation of safe environments, and action has been taken to permanently remove offenders from ministry,” said the report, released as the Conference began its annual spring meeting in Atlanta.

But it acknowledged: “Despite solid evidence (to the contrary), many of the faithful believe that sexual abuse by clergy is occurring at high levels and is still being covered up by bishops.”

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AUSTRALIA
Vatican Insider

The bishop from Canberra has handed in his resignation because of his disagreement with the Vatican leadership over the ordination of women priests and the failings in the fight against clerical sexual abuse against minors

Vatican Insider staff
Rome

The last openly liberal Australian Catholic bishop, Pat Power, from the Diocese of Canberra, the country’s federal capital, has resigned. In doing so, he cited the Vatican’s inability to listen and the two crises the Church is caught up in – clerical sex abuse against minors and the lack of priests – as the most concerning problems the Church is currently faced with. Seventy year old Bishop Power has been leader of his diocese of for 25 years and was not due to retire for another five years, but will be leaving 30 June.

After Bill Morris, the Bishop of Toowoomba, in Queensland, was divested of authority by the Pope last year because of his stance in favour of women priests and his criticisms against child abuse in the Catholic Church, Power was the only Australian left who publicly challenged the Vatican. He defined sex abuse as “a terrible stain on the Church” and said the Vatican’s habit of secrecy has provided conditions for sex abuse and many other forms of abuse to thrive.

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IRELAND
Vatican Insider

Speaking “in the name of the Church” he asked forgiveness for the sexual abuse of children by priests and religious in Ireland and elsewhere in the world

Gerard O’Connell
Rome

Cardinal Marc Ouellet met with a representative group of survivors of child abuse by priests and religious in Ireland at the famous pilgrimage site of Lough Derg associated with Saint Patrick, and asked forgiveness for the sexual abuse of children by priests and religious.

The victims included representatives of institutional and clerical abuse, both men and women, from different parts of the Ireland, north and south. During the two-hour meeting with the cardinal each survivor spoke of his or her own personal experience of abuse and the impact it had on their lives.

The Cardinal is representing Pope Benedict XVI at the 50th International Eucharistic Congress in Dublin. At the pope’s request, he travelled to Lough Derg, a small lake island in County Donegal near the border with Northern Ireland, and spent two days there (June 11-12), fasting and doing the traditional penitential exercises that pilgrims do, before meeting with the victims.

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UNITED STATES
National Survivor Advocates Coalition

Editorial

The 10 year anniversary look at the United States Conference of Catholics Bishops (USCCB) Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People is on the agenda for the Bishops’ June meeting which opens today in Atlanta.

We anticipate the Bishops will look upon their creation and see little that needs changed and they will announce the little with pats on their backs about how they are leaders in the fight against child sexual abuse, how the crisis is behind us, and how wrong and petty their critics are.

We urge our readers to listen to the announcement made by the Archdiocese of Milwaukee’s Vicar General on Sunday about the removal of a pastor and an investigation into a charge of sexual abuse. Here is the link to both the audio and written text: LINK

Disturbed as we are by this announcement, we believe it is closer to the reality of where the Church, its hierarchy, its priests and its lay people, really are in regard to this continuing crisis than what will be portrayed in the business meeting and press conference of the USCCB’s meeting.

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AUSTRALIA
The Age

Barney Zwartz
June 13, 2012

AUSTRALIA’S last openly progressive Catholic bishop, Canberra’s Pat Power, has resigned, citing the Vatican’s inability to listen and the twin crises of clergy sex abuse and the shortage of priests as the most vexing issues facing the church.

Bishop Power, 70, was not due to retire for five years, but will step down on June 30. With Toowoomba bishop Bill Morris sacked by the Pope last year, Bishop Power was the last Australian bishop prepared to challenge the Vatican publicly.

He called sexual abuse ”a terrible stain on the church”, and said the Vatican habit of secrecy had provided conditions for sex abuse and many other forms of abuse to thrive.

He said it was essential for the Vatican leadership to be aware of the real issues touching the lives of the faithful. ”Sadly, I don’t think they have a good grasp of that reality and when things are tough, as they are now, there can be a temptation to bunker down.”

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ST. LOUIS (MO)
KMOX

Fred Bodimer, KMOX Religion Editor

June 13, 2012

St. LOUIS (KMOX) – It’s been ten years now since America’s Roman Catholic bishops met in Dallas to draw up their first national charter to deal with sexual abuse by clergy. So, is the bishop’s zero tolerance plan working, one decade later?

The director of the Office of Child and Youth Protection for the St. Louis Archdiocese — Deacon Phil Hengen — says the charter has had an incredible impact in protecting kids.

“We are now screening every adult who has any kind of contact with children; regular contact that would include, bishops, priests, deacons, teachers, volunteers, parents who volunteer who are assistant soccer coaches, so that’s been an enormous effort that’s been very successful in the past ten years, nationally and locally.”

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ROME
National Catholic Reporter

by John L Allen Jr on Jun. 13, 2012 NCR Today

ROME — Archbishop James Peter Sartain of Seattle has what it is arguably the toughest assignment facing any American bishop at the moment, given both the intense public interest and the complexity of the issues involved. As of April 18, Sartain, 60, became the Vatican’s point man for what it describes as a “renewal,” and what others see as a “crackdown,” of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious.

In his dealings with the largest umbrella group for leaders of women’s religious in America, Sartain is to be assisted by Bishop Leonard Blair of Toledo, Ohio, who conducted a review of the group on behalf of the Vatican, and Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Ill.

Sartain is in Rome this week primarily to take part in yesterday’s meeting between two representatives of the LCWR and the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which issued an April 18 doctrinal assessment of LCWR charging it with “serious doctrinal errors” and “doctrinal confusion” and calling for sweeping changes in the way it does business.

To date, Sartain has largely tried to stay out of the limelight. That’s in part a question of personality, and in part because Sartain says he doesn’t want to take public positions that might close off his options or make dialogue more difficult.

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KANSAS CITY (MO)
Fox 4

June 13, 2012, by Jason M. Vaughn

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph has been ordered into arbitration to determine if it violated the terms of a 2008 settlement with alleged priest abuse victims.

According to a report in the Kansas City Star, the ruling by Jackson County Judge Peggy Stevens McGraw comes after lawyers representing 42 alleged abuse victims said that the diocese and Bishop Robert Finn failed to meet the terms of a $10 million settlement made in 2008.

Two diocese priests, Rev. Shawn Ratigan and Rev. Michael Tierney, have been accused of sexual misconduct. Ratigan will go on trial in August on federal child pornography charges, while Tierney faces a number of civil lawsuits alleging that he abused children decades ago.

In a statement, SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests) says that they are grateful for the judge’s ruling.

“We’re confident it will mean that dozens and dozens of KC area victims are a step closer toward healing and closure,” said Barbara Dorris of SNAP. “We hope it will mean that Bishop Finn and other Catholic officials really will start implementing the 19 prevention steps they promised victims they’d take four years ago.”

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.

ATLANTA (GA)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by David Clohessy on June 13, 2012

■ Abuse group lists “12 worst bishops”
■SNAP evaluates prelates on kids’ safety
■Choices are based on their deeds over last decade
■ And victims urge NYC Cardinal to explain payoffs
■They want all bishops to divulge funds paid to predators

WHAT
Holding signs and childhood photos at a sidewalk news conference, clergy sex abuse victims and their supporters will

— release a list of the “Twelve Worst US Bishops” on abuse, based on their actions over the past decade,
— urge the head of the US bishops to explain and apologize for his deceit around payouts to pedophile priests, and
— prod every American prelate to disclose how much he has paid to how many predators.

WHEN
TODAY, Wednesday, June 13 at 1:30 pm

WHERE
Corner of Peachtree Center NE & Baker Street (265 Peachtree Street NE), across the street from the Hyatt, where the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is meeting

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.

PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by Barbara Dorris on June 13, 2012

We call on Philly Archbishop Charles Chaput to harshly discipline the pastor who just publicly honored a defrocked pedophile priest. (see below)

Apologies and words aren’t enough. When church employees hurt and insult thousands of betrayed Catholic parishioners and hundreds of suffering abuse victims, action must be taken.

Over and over again, we see Catholic staffers – high and low – making reckless, callous and deceitful decisions in clergy sex abuse and cover up cases. Most times, some church public relations professional then issues a short, vague, tepid semi-apology. And the recklessness, callousness and deceitfulness continue.

Our hearts go out to Philly Catholics – at Holy Spirit and elsewhere- who are again reminded that their church officials care more about their peers than their parishioners.

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KANSAS CITY (MO)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by Barbara Dorris on June 13, 2012

We are grateful for this ruling. We’re confident it will mean that dozens and dozens of KC area victims are a step closer toward healing and closure. We hope it will mean that Bishop Finn and other Catholic officials really will start implementing the 19 prevention steps they promised victims they’d take four years ago.

And we hope it will mean that Catholic officials across the country will be forced to honor their promises, especially those relating to children’s safety.

It never should have come to this. In 2008, Bishop Finn signed a deal with 47 victims. He made a commitment to take 19 straightforward, logical and effective prevention steps that the victims devised. Then, month after month, Finn broke the deal. (And, adding insult to injury, he broke it again last year, by refusing to go to arbitration, as the agreement mandated.)

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

UNITED STATES
The New York Times

Sister Patricia McDermott is the president of the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas. The sisters sponsor and serve in more than 200 organizations that work with those in need in the U.S., Central and South America, Jamaica, Guam and the Philippines.

Updated June 12, 2012

How might we understand this moment in time as the Leadership Conference of Women Religious meets with the bishops who lead the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith? Where can we find common ground that honors the doctrine of our church while inviting dialogue?

The role of our Catholic Church’s authority is to protect and cherish the heritage of our treasured doctrine. But doctrine needs to be considered in connection with what is happening in our world.

What many women religious desire today is an open exploration that respects current doctrine while making room for new thinking and new ministries to respond to the needs of our world. In fact, while most sisters are quite faithful about doctrinal issues—it’s not what is most urgent to us in serving those who are poor.

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ATLANTA (GA)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by Barbara Dorris on June 13, 2012

Today, as best we can tell, there was no mention of:
■putting suspended predator priests- for the sake of public safety- in remote, secure treatment facilities
■stopping the use of Catholic therapists and using independent and experienced therapists (who specialize in pedophilia) instead
■revamping or expanding review boards to be more independent
■training parishioners in how to appropriately respond to abuse allegations, in ways that don’t deter or scare victims, witnesses or whistleblowers from coming forward.

In the report on the charter today, time and time again, promises were depicted as facts. Again and again, pledges that have been repeatedly violated were described as realities that are undeniable.

It’s sad, too, that before America’s bishops, the “zero tolerance” pledge was described as “controversial.”

“Many dioceses,” it was said have “safety plans” for suspended predators. Sadly, we rarely see a real plan that’s effectively enforced.

We’re appalled that sex crimes are still being called “boundary violations” and that when committed by foreign-born priests are being explained away as “cultural differences.” Priests are highly educated men. They know what’s appropriate. Rarely, if ever, are sex crimes by clergy due to “misunderstandings” or cultural differences.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Insider

An open and cordial meeting between Cardinal Levada the U.S. nuns who supported Obama’s health care reform

Alessandro Speciale
Vatican City

The meeting between the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) – the association which represents the majority of women religious in the U.S. accused of “grave doctrinal problems” by the former Holy Office – took place “in an atmosphere of openness and cordiality”.

The Vatican accused the LCWR of not making their voice heard enough on “non-negotiable” issues such as abortion, same-sex marriage and the ordination of women priests. It also criticised them for giving too much space in their conferences to “radical feminist themes incompatible with the Catholic faith.” These accusations were scornfully rejected as “unfounded” by the LCWR’s board last June.

Many women’s religious orders expressed their support for Barack Obama’s health reforms, which were, however, heavily criticised by U.S. bishops.

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UNITED STATES
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by David Clohessy on June 12, 2012

Clergy sex abuse victims are urging America’s Catholic bishops to denounce San Diego’s top church official for restoring a priest to ministry barely a month after he pled guilty to molesting a teenage parishioner.

In a letter sent today to the prelates, leaders of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, express concern about Fr. Jose Alexis Davila of San Diego. In April, he pled guilty to battery for groping a then-19-year-old parishioner at her home. He was given three years’ probation. A month later, San Diego Bishop Robert Brom quietly put Davila back into active parish ministry at St. Jude’s Catholic Church.

“It’s hard to imagine a more reckless move,” said Joelle Casteix of Newport Beach, Western Regional Director of SNAP. “This basically sends the message that you can assault teenagers and go unpunished.”

According to a press release last week from the Diocese of San Diego, officials there “have no reason to believe that women or children are at a risk because of [Davila’s] return to ministry.”

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ATLANTA (GA)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

[Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People]

Posted by Barbara Blaine on June 12, 2012

We’re here today to urge America’s Catholic bishops – who are meeting now in Atlanta – to totally scrap and revamp their ten year old child sex abuse policy. We’re asking them to commit to an inclusive, one year planning process with public hearings and “real input,” and reform and broaden this policy. And we are prodding them to adopt a key, missing component – tough penalties for church officials who ignore, conceal and enable child sex crimes.

Finally, we are also urging the prelates to denounce two bishops – one in California and one in Kentucky -for their “complicity” and “violations” in clergy sex cases that arose just last week.

In 2002, in the midst of stunning revelations of child sex crimes by priests and repeated cover ups by bishops, America’s Catholic hierarchy adopted a “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.” It was a belated and begrudging and hasty effort, we believe, that resulted in a weak, vague set of pledges that are often violated, especially since there are virtually no incentives to follow the policies and no punishments for breaking them.

Over the past decade, this policy has repeatedly been weakened – instead of strengthened. The same has happened with the “National Review Board” that was set up to allegedly oversee implementation – it’s become weaker, not stronger.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Daily News

By Regina Medina
Philadelphia Daily News

This year’s issue of the Holy Spirit School yearbook was supposed to be special, a treasured keepsake to remember the 47-year-old Catholic school that’s set to close down Thursday.

Not anymore.

Parents and Packer Park community members are incensed with a parish decision to include a photograph of a smiling defrocked priest in the last Holy Spirit yearbook — next to a 1965 photograph of the eighth-grade graduating class. David C. Sicoli was featured prominently in the 2005 Grand Jury report, accused of molesting several boys during his 33-year ministry and was a former pastor at Holy Spirit Church. Sicoli was defrocked in 2008 after the Archdiocese logged 11 credible abuse claims against him.

He was never charged criminally, but many parents and residents in the parish blame Sicoli for the school’s eventual closure.

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UNITED STATES
BishopAccountability.org – Assignment Record

Summary of Case: A priest of the Franciscan order, Cimmarrusti may have sexually abused more than 250 boys, ages 13-18, many of them at St. Anthony’s Minor Seminary in Santa Barbara, CA in the 1960s and ’70s. St. Anthony’s appears to have been a breeding ground of sorts for sexually abusive Franciscans, some of whom were St. Anthony’s graduates who went on as adult priests and brothers to perpetrate sexual abuse against St. Anthony’s students. Cimmarrusti attended St. Anthony’s in the 1940s. His roles in the ’60s and ’70s at St. Anthony’s included prefect of discipline, head of the infirmary, teacher and choir assistant. Cimmarrusti is said to have targeted mostly Freshman students, requiring them to submit to his “examining” their genitalia for proper development, and hernia checks. He is said to have used embarrasment, humiliation and threats. His accusers describe violent spankings during which Cimmarrusti was clearly sexually aroused, after which he would pray for his victims while pressing their faces into his groin. He would then threaten them with eternal damnation. Two students say they went to rector Rev. Xavier Harris, o.f.m. in 1965 and 1966 to report their sexual abuse by Cimmarrusti. One of those two was expelled, the other said he was bribed by Harris to stay at St. Anthony’s. Cimmarrusti went from St. Anthony’s to work in Mexico for more than a decade. He was sent to treatment for alcoholism in 1981-1982. He was placed in parish ministry in the Stockton diocese, then the Fresno diocese, where he was a parish pastor. In 1993 Cimmarrusti was pulled from ministry after former St. Anthony’s students began to emerge with accusations against him. He admitted to mental health professionals to sexually abusing hundreds of boys. His attorney in May 2012 stated that Cimmarrusti denied all accusations.

Ordained: 1987

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NEDERLAND
Kerknieuws

Tijdens het vragenuur in de Tweede Kamer heeft Tweede Kamerlid Sharon Gesthuizen aan demissionair minister Opstelten gevraagd in te grijpen in het kennelijke conflict tussen de slachtoffervereniging KLOKK en de door de Kerk ingestelde Stichting Beheer en Toezicht (voorheen Hulp & Recht).

Afgelopen vrijdag schortte de belangengroepering KLOKK het overleg met het bestuur van de Stichting Beheer en Toezicht op. Deze stichting staat onder voorzitterschap van de Zeeuwse Commissaris van de Koningin Karla Peijs.

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NEDERLAND
ND

EINDHOVEN – De koepel van slachtoffers van seksueel misbruik in de Rooms-Katholieke Kerk, Klokk, wil voorlopig niet spreken met de instantie die toezicht houdt op de behandeling van meldingen van seksueel misbruik in de kerk.

Dat zei Klokk-woordvoerder Guido Klabbers vandaag. Klokk heeft bij het bestuur van de stichting Beheer&Toezicht (voorheen Hulp&Recht) een ‘zeer deskundig en betrokken persoon’ geïntroduceerd die de regie in handen moet nemen om ‘tot een effectieve dienstverlening te komen’.Het bestuur beraadt zich sinds eind maart …

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MINNESOTA
BishopAccountability.org – Assignment Record

Summary of Case: In 1982 the parents of a 15 year-old boy complained to the archdiocese that Gustafson had been sexually abusing their son for five years. Gustafson admitted the abuse, and that he had sexually abused two other boys. He was criminally charged and pleaded guilty to the abuse of the boy whose parents complained. Gustafson was fined $40.00 and sentenced to six months in jail. He served 4 1/2 months of the sentence. In 2000 Gustafson was accused of sexually abusing a girl for five years, beginning in 1977. Gustafson denied abusing her. His accuser in that case sued the archdiocese in 2002, and received a settlement in 2005.The archdiocese allowed him from 1983 on to work as a researcher and assistant in the chancery, to serve on an interfaith board on sexual trauma, and to serve as chaplain at a monastery for cloistered nuns. Gustafson wasn’t removed from ministry until June 2002, when the U.S. bishops adopted a “zero tolerance” policy regarding the sexual abuse of children by clergy. In 2007 he was quoted as saying he was “on leave”. Gustafson may have been involved with a leadership training program at a Minneapolis monastery for nuns in 2010-2011.

Ordained: 1977
Incardinated: St. Paul and Minneapolis

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UNITED STATES
The New York Times

Sister Diane DalleMolle is the executive director of Cabrini Ministries Swaziland.

June 12, 2012

I am a missionary sister of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (Cabrini), a Catholic woman in the church called to carry out the spiritual and corporal works of mercy, according to the most pressing needs of the time in which we live. I am grateful to be a Catholic and to live within the life, including adhering to the traditions and doctrines of the church, which are deep and rich. These traditions have helped me and many others enter more deeply into a relationship with Jesus and with the many people with whom we work.

When I attended meetings held by the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, sometimes I did not agree with what speakers said, but we were able to enter into many fruitful and thoughtful discussions. I found the organization very supportive and strengthening for the work in my own congregation and found the conference members to be women of integrity, prayer and deep commitment to the hierarchical church.

Of course, this is a group of highly educated women who are leaders, devoted workers on the front lines of difficult situations throughout the world, and avid students of both secular and religious sciences. It is to be expected that they would want to question and participate fully in the life of their church.

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ATLANTA (GA)
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

By Shelia M. Poole
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Unless you’re Catholic, you’ve probably never heard of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops — until recently.

The Washington, D.C.-based organization, though, is perhaps the most vocal critic of a divisive federal policy that would require health care insurers to provide free contraceptive and preventive coverage, claiming that it violates religious liberty and is against the moral conscience.

The USCCB, which makes decisions on issues that affect U.S. Catholics, will bring that argument to Atlanta this week when it holds its Spring General Assembly Wednesday through Friday at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta hotel downtown. Churches and houses of worship are exempt under the Obama plan. And, although, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says religious- affiliated institutions such as schools and hospitals do not have to pay for or refer employees for any contraceptive coverage, the Catholic Church argues that since most affiliates are self-insured, they would still bear that responsibility, which goes v. against their beliefs. …

Other issues to be discussed include additional threats to domestic and international religious freedom, an update on the church’s efforts to prevent clergy sexual abuse, a presentation on the upcoming Year of Faith and the economy.

Part of the meeting will be available by live streaming and social media on the USCCB’s Facebook and Twitter pages. Viewers can also go to the organization’s website at www.usccb.org/about/leadership/usccb-general-assembly/index.cfm.

The meeting will not be without controversy.

A group of Atlantans plan to gather outside the hotel to protest the Vatican criticism of many members of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, which represents many of the nation’s nuns, for having ” radical feminist themes incompatible with the Catholic faith.”

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UNITED STATES
Deseret News

Compiled by Matthew Brown, Deseret News

Published: Tuesday, June 12 2012

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops convene in Atlanta this week and child sex abuse by priests will be high on its agenda. In advance of the gathering, David Gibson of the Religion News Service has examined what has and hasn’t changed in the 10 years since the conference adopted its Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.

Among the developments Gibson listed: increasing recognition of child abuse within other religious communities outside of the Catholic church; and that through training the number of “new” abuse allegations has declined.

In a companion analysis, Gibson writes “the 800-pound gorilla in the chancery remains a lack of accountability for the bishops themselves” in the scandal.

“Even 10 years later, concerns remain that a lack of bishops’ accountability undermines the church’s credibility with the public or, worse, leaves children at risk,”

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IRELAND
Irish Independent

By Edel O’Connell

Wednesday June 13 2012

THE Irish Catholic Church will not address the issue of clerical sex abuse during the week-long International Eucharistic Congress, organisers confirmed yesterday.

The decision was confirmed on the same day a Filipino archbishop held an hour-long discussion on clerical sex abuse in Asia.

But organisers of the Dublin event have defended their decision not to include an equivalent address by an Irish archbishop. Congress general secretary Fr Kevin Doran told the Irish Independent it was felt a presentation from someone who was outside “the situation” would be more appropriate.

Earlier, Archbishop of Manila Luis Antonio Tagle spoke of the abuse crisis from an Asian perspective. He discussed the need to develop pastoral guidelines for handling cases of clerical sex abuse and for a greater understanding of celibacy among clergy.

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NEW YORK
New York Magazine

By Margaret Hartmann

Bronx D.A. Robert T. Johnson wants to hear from former Horace Mann students who were sexually abused by faculty members, but it may not make a difference. On Tuesday Johnson set up a hotline in response to reports of widespread abuse by several now-deceased faculty members, but experts say New York’s statute of limitations on such crimes will prevent charges from being filed against the school. Currently for civil suits and many criminal charges, victims must come forward by the time they are 23. A spokesman for the D.A.’s office told the New York Times that it will continue reaching out to potential victims even if it can’t prosecute because, “information about past conduct can be helpful in assessing the current situation.”

This isn’t the first time New York’s statute of limitations on sexual abuse has created problems in a high-profile case. While reports of child abuse in the Roman Catholic Church have led some states to allow charges to be filed decades after the abuse occurred, repeated efforts to loosen New York’s laws have failed in Albany, thanks in part to resistance from Catholic organizations. Marci A. Hamilton, a law professor at Yeshiva University, remarks, “New York is one of the worst states in the country for child sex abuse victims.”

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CALIFORNIA
Courthouse News Service

By WILLIAM DOTINGA

SAN FRANCISCO (CN) – A federal judge will hear claims that church and public officials did nothing to stop years of torture and sexual abuse suffered by the six natural and foster children of Zion and Glenda Lea Dutro.

Zion Dutro accepted a plea deal to avoid trial and was sentenced to 300 years in prison in April 2011. Glenda Lea Dutro pleaded no contest and was sentenced to 15 years for her role in the abuse
.
The Dutros’ four biological daughters and three foster children, all of whom are now adult women, say the physical and sexual abuse began in 1982 and continued until 2003. But they say the Dutros continued to abuse them psychologically, physically and verbally until their arrest in 2008.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Priest Abuse Trial Blog

Ralph Cipriano

They’re not a runaway jury, they’re a read back jury.

Jurors in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia sex abuse case keep asking for more testimony to be read back to them. On Monday, the jurors asked for the transcript of Father James J. Brennan’s canonical hearing to be read back. That’s the record of the 2008 church inquest made into sex abuse allegations against Father Brennan by Mark Bukowski. That was two hours of fun, but at least the jurors asked for something that had originally been part of the evidence presented at trial in this case.

On Tuesday, the jury asked for a read back on a document that had not been entered into evidence during the trial, now in its 12th week in Courtroom 304. Specifically, the jury asked for a transcript of Mark Bukowski’s testimony to the canonical court that investigated his allegations of sex abuse against Father Brennan. Bukowski has alleged that back in 1996, when he was 14, Father Brennan attempted to rape him.

This document was not part of the evidence in this trial, but excerpts were used by both prosecutors and defense lawyers to buttress their cases. Tuesday, the jury asked Judge M. Teresa Sarmina for permission to read the entire document, and the judge granted that request over the strenuous objections of Father Brennan’s defense attorney, William J. Brennan.

Brennan complained that by allowing the transcript to be read into the record, the judge was in effect permitting the alleged victim, Mark Bukowski, to make a second appearance in the courtroom, only this time he could not be subject to cross-examination.

“I think you’re dead wrong on the law,” Brennan told the judge.

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IRELAND
The Irish Times

JIMMY WALSH

SEANAD: DAVID CULLINANE (SF) said he was glad the Minister for Justice had made it clear that there would be absolutely no exemptions in terms of legislative requirements on the reporting of the abuse of children or vulnerable adults.

Mr Cullinane had earlier noted that the Association of Catholic Priests had stated that there would be no breaking of the confessional seal. It had to be made clear to everyone, including the main church in this State, that the rights of children and the laws of the land came first, Mr Cullinane stressed. Priests should know that they could not use the confessional seal as a reason for not coming forward with information on abuse.

Minister for Justice Alan Shatter (FG) said it was possible that if a priest or a bishop was prosecuted under withholding of information legislation they might claim entitlement to some form of privilege. However, the legal basis for such a claim no longer held, as the special position of the Catholic church had been removed from the Constitution. If such a claim was based on freedom of religion, the courts might be called on to decide the issue.

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KANSAS CITY (MO)
The Kansas City Star

By MARK MORRIS
The Kansas City Star

A judge has ordered the local Catholic diocese into arbitration to determine whether it violated a 2008 settlement with those who alleged they had been abused by priests.

Lawyers representing 42 of the 47 plaintiffs who settled their claims for $10 million demanded arbitration last year, alleging that the diocese had failed to live up to its commitments in its handling of two priests who had been accused of sexual misconduct.

One of those priests, the Rev. Shawn Ratigan, is scheduled for trial in August on federal child pornography charges. The other priest, the Rev. Michael Tierney, faces civil lawsuits alleging that he abused the plaintiffs decades ago.

Ratigan has pleaded not guilty to the charges, and Tierney has denied any wrongdoing.

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ROME
National Catholic Reporter

by John L Allen Jr on Jun. 12, 2012 NCR Today

ROME — In the wake of Tuesday’s meeting with representatives of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, the Vatican official responsible for a recent crackdown said he still believes the relationship can work, but also warned of a possible “dialogue of the deaf,” reflected in what he sees as a lack of movement on the Vatican’s concerns.

Cardinal William Levada, prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, floated the possibility that should the LCWR not accept the reforms outlined in an April 18 assessment, the result could be decertifying it in favor of a new organization for women’s religious leaders in America more faithful to church teaching.

Levada strongly rejected charges that the move against the LCWR is based on “unsubstantiated accusations” or lacks transparency, both complaints leveled in an LCWR statement issued last week.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
NBC 10

By Maryclaire Dale

Tuesday, Jun 12, 2012

An apparently frustrated defense lawyer on the seventh day of jury deliberations in a groundbreaking clergy-abuse case scolded the judge and, outside the Philadelphia courtroom, slammed his cellphone against a wall.

Jurors are deliberating on the fate of Roman Catholic priest James Brennan and the monsignor who supervised him. The jury’s frequent requests to re-hear testimony or get help interpreting the law led defense lawyer William Brennan to explode in court Tuesday.

“They have to do their jobs,” insisted William Brennan, who is no relation to his client James Brennan. “They have to rely on their recollections. We can’t do their jobs.”

As the judge contemplated allowing jurors to hear the priest’s accuser’s testimony from a 2008 church trial, William Brennan strenuously objected and got testy. He argued against reading the testimony to the jury, which spent about two hours in court Monday hearing the priest’s testimony from his canonical trial for a second time. He said jurors also shouldn’t be allowed to hear — again — the accuser’s two days of trial testimony.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
My Fox Philly

Tempers were flaring on day seven of jury deliberations in the Philadelphia priest sex abuse trial.

The lawyer for Rev. James Brennan exploded in court Tuesday, frustrated with the jury’s frequent questions.

Brennan’s attorney scolded the judge, saying the jury has to do their job.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Huffington Post

By MARYCLAIRE DALE 06/12/12

PHILADELPHIA — There will be no verdict until at least Thursday in a landmark priest-abuse case in Philadelphia.

The jury on Tuesday finished its seventh day of deliberations without resolving the fates of a Roman Catholic priest charged with attempted rape and the church official who supervised him. The jury has a day off Wednesday.

Frustration is spilling over as the three-month trial drags on.

The jury has asked for frequent replays of the trial testimony, and help interpreting the law.

Defense lawyer William Brennan said the judge needs to tell the jury to do its job.

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KENTUCKY
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by David Clohessy on June 12, 2012

Clergy sex abuse victims are urging America’s Catholic bishops to denounce Owensboro church officials for keeping quiet for 18 years about an allegation against a priest who now faces criminal child sex abuse charges.

At a sidewalk news conference today in Atlanta, where all US bishops are meeting, leaders of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, are expressing concern about Fr. Louis Francis Piskula of the Owensboro diocese. Last week, Piskula was arrested and charged with sodomy and child sexual abuse.

Local church officials essentially admitted that he was accused of similar wrongdoing in 1994 and secretly suspended from active ministry in 2002.

“As best we can tell, neither Owensboro Bishop William Medley, his predecessor Bishop John McRaith, nor any other current or former diocesan staffer ever disclosed this crucial fact: that a credibly accused child molesting cleric was living among unsuspecting Kentucky families,” said David Clohessy, SNAP Director.

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UNITED STATES
Bilgrimage

[Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People]

William D. Lindsey

At the end of last week, I linked to a powerful statement of journalist Susan Hogan reminding us that, ten years ago this month–a month in which the U.S. Catholic bishops are now staging shock-and-awe “religious freedom” demonstrations around the nation–the bishops were gathered in Dallas to deal with the explosive situation that had developed as Boston court actions blew the lid off the cover-up of childhood clerical abuse in the Catholic church. Hogan notes that the bishops now want to flex their muscle and appear powerful as they try to topple a sitting Democratic president (the bit about toppling the president is me speaking, not Hogan), but ten years ago the situation was very different.

Then, the bishops felt themselves besieged. They were hunkered down, on the defensive, dodging reporters at the Dallas meeting. Just as they arrived in Dallas for their 2002 meeting, the local paper published an exposé piece providing documentation to show that two-thirds of sitting bishops had shielded a priest they had reason to know was abusing children. The article was accompanied with pictures of each bishop discussed in this survey.

For the public at large and for many lay Catholics, the revelation that a full two-thirds of the sitting U.S. bishops had shielded a known molester of minors was shocking in the extreme. Some of us saw in the gallery of faces in the Dallas paper our own bishops or bishops we knew personally.

When I saw the face of a bishop who had caused quite a bit of misery to my partner Steve and me by refusing tenure to Steve when this bishop was a seminary rector (though the faculty and students of the seminary had voted strongly for Steve’s tenure), I wrote to ask him how he could make the lives of lay theologians who were trying to serve the church so miserable, while protecting priests abusing children. He wrote back a hot response telling me that the media lie and he had been lied about in the article in question, and that I was insolent to send such a letter to him, a rising young star among the bishops of the Holy Roman Catholic Church.

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FLORIDA
Associated Baptist Press

By Bob Allen

The Florida Baptist Convention is contesting a May 17 jury verdict that found the Southern Baptist Convention affiliate liable for sexual abuse committed by a former church planter.

The Florida Baptist Witness reported June 12 that the convention’s lawyer has filed motions asking Lake County Circuit Judge Richard Singletary to overturn the jury’s decision and grant a new trial.

The verdict, which came at the end of a two-week trial, found the state convention negligent for failing to check with former employers of Douglas Myers, now in prison for molesting a 13-year-old boy he met at a church he started with support from Southern Baptists in Florida.

Attorney E.T. Fernandez said the motions will be considered at a hearing Aug. 1. If they are denied, he said the convention will appeal. That would have to wait until completion of a second trial to establish the amount of damages the convention owes.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Anchorage Daily News

By MARYCLAIRE DALE
Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA – Jury questions and lengthy deliberations in a groundbreaking clergy-abuse case in Philadelphia are causing some frustration.

Jurors are deliberating for a seventh day Tuesday on the fate of a Roman Catholic priest and the monsignor who supervised him. But their frequent requests to re-hear testimony or get help interpreting the law led one lawyer to explode in court. William Brennan represents the Rev. James Brennan, who is charged with attempted rape and child endangerment.

The judge plans to let jurors hear the priest’s accuser’s recorded testimony from a 2008 church trial.

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UNITED STATES
U.S. Catholic

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

A U.S. Catholic interview

Canon lawyer and charter member of the National Review Board Nicholas Cafardi talks about the importance of advisory boards and lay consultation.

Is every diocese required to have a review board for cases of possible sexual abuse?

The norms that the U.S. bishops agreed to in 2002 state include that every diocese must have a review board that is to assist the bishop in evaluating the credibility of an accusation of sex abuse against a priest. That’s their role. The eventual decision is the bishop’s.

These review boards work when they’re properly used. We have all sorts of boards in our church. It’s not required, but it’s strongly recommended, for example, that every diocese has a pastoral council. If he wants to, in fact, the bishop is allowed to require all of his parishes to have a parish pastoral council. I’ve always thought this was interesting because parish pastoral councils are optional, while finance councils are obligatory. Every diocese has to have a finance council. Even every parish has to have a finance council, but they don’t have to have pastoral councils.

Canon law describes the diocesan finance council as experts in law and finance, which to me implies laypeople. Then there’s the diocesan presbyteral council, which is made up of representatives of the priests of the diocese, and the diocesan college of consultors, a smaller group of priests chosen by the bishop with whom he must consult on certain decisions.

Bishops have a lot of authority. So canon law, as a way to sort of “check” this power, specifies that bishops are meant to deal with and hear these councils when they are proposing major types of actions for their diocese, such as opening and closing parishes, extraordinary financial transactions, and the like. These boards are meant to help the bishop exercise prudently the immense authority that he has. If the bishop gets help making a decision, then he’s not relying on his whims. The whole point of these consultative bodies is to act as a check on the bishop and say, “Bishop, have you thought about this?” Ordination gives bishops authority; it doesn’t give them ability. You need both.

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DEUTSCHLAND
BR

80 ehemalige Heimkinder aus Bayern haben im Landtag über Misshandlungen berichtet, die sie in den Einrichtungen durchlitten haben. Das Parlament will damit zur Aufarbeitung beitragen, auch wenn die Anhörung nicht öffentlich ist.

Zahlreiche Heimkinder in der Bundesrepublik wie in der DDR waren in den Jahrzehnten nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg prügelnden Erziehern, Demütigungen und sexuellem Missbrauch ausgesetzt – ganz gleich, ob die Einrichtungen von Kirchen oder anderen Organsisationen getragen wurden. Experten schätzen die Zahl der Betroffenen im Westdeutschland zwischen 1945 und 1975 auf 800.000. In der DDR sollen es zwischen 1945 und 1989 120.000 Heimkinder gewesen sein.

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SCHWEIZ
Vaterland

Schwere sexuelle Straftaten an bis zu 12-jährigen Kindern sollen künftig nicht mehr verjähren. Nach dem Nationalrat hat sich auch der Ständerat mit dieser Altersgrenze einverstanden erklärt. Die Unverjährbarkeitsinitiative steht damit vor der Umsetzung.

Bern. – Der Ständerat hiess die neuen Regeln am Dienstag mit 35 zu 2 Stimmen gut. Die Vorlage geht mit einer kleinen, formalen Differenz zurück an den Nationalrat. Wird diese ausgeräumt, ist die Gesetzesrevision bereit für die Schlussabstimmung.

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UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter

by Jamie L Manson on Jun. 11, 2012 Grace on the Margins

Those wondering what the laity’s response to the LCWR crisis might mean for the future of the church justice movement needed only look at the front steps of New York City’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral on the very warm evening of May 29.

More than 150 people gathered to hold a vigil in honor of women religious. The vigil was part of a movement spearheaded by Nun Justice, which called for peaceful protests at cathedrals throughout the country on three consecutive Tuesdays in the month of May.

Other vigils were equally successful, but the turnout at St. Patrick’s was remarkable for a region that only successfully created a Call to Action chapter in 2011. Although New York is regarded as one of the most forward-looking cities in the United States, its brand of Catholicism has remained remarkably traditional.

Witness, for example, that in Manhattan, tens of thousands still stream through the cathedral on big feast days like Ash Wednesday, and the archbishop of New York is typically something of a local celebrity.

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VATICAN CITY
AFP

VATICAN CITY — The Vatican stressed its authority over a group of US nuns rapped for defying Church doctrine on Tuesday, as a delegation met Holy See doctrinal officials to put their case.

The Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR), which represents around 80 percent of the 45,000 nuns in the United States, “remains under the supreme management of the Holy See”, Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said.

In April, a damning Vatican report had accused the group of “corporate dissent” from the Church’s teachings against homosexuality, and claimed it was pursuing “radical feminist themes” — accusations fiercely denied by the nuns.

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UNITED STATES
Catholic League

Bill Donohue assesses the reforms that were authorized ten years ago when the bishops assembled in Dallas:

Tomorrow the bishops will meet in Atlanta, ten years after they instituted reforms to combat the sexual abuse of minors. Though there is room for honest disagreement on why the problem has abated—it has almost disappeared—it is indisputable that the Catholic Church has the best record of any institution today regarding this matter, religious or secular. In the last three years, there has been an average of 7 new credible accusations made against over 40,000 priests.

Millions of employees and children have gone through programs to combat this problem. The “zero tolerance” policy that was adopted has won much praise, though in practice it has had a deleterious impact on the rights of the accused. Moreover, spurious accusations abound. For example, one week ago today an allegation was made in Montana against a nun who was said to fondle a boy in 1943, two years before the end of World War II.

Two years ago we investigated which entities in the media, education, and religion had adopted a “zero tolerance” policy for handling cases of sexual abuse: we found few that did, and none that had anything analogous to the Dallas reforms.

Today attention has turned to the public schools where sexual abuse is still rampant, as well as to elite private schools such as Horace Mann in the Bronx; the Orthodox Jewish community is currently facing dozens of cases. Still, it is old cases involving priests that garner most of the press: in Philadelphia, Lynne Abraham, the D.A. who started the grand jury hearings over a decade ago, never once investigated other religions, though she was explicitly asked to do so. Her bias is palpable.

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UNITED STATES
Huffington Post

Michele Somerville

Timothy Dolan has been curiously silent since the highly damning news that he may have paid pedophile priests in his (former) Milwaukee Archdiocese as much as $20,000 to go away broke on May 31. It’s likely that Dolan, his advisors and his apologists are waiting for the reports to die down — to go away, perhaps in the manner of those Milwaukee priests who abused children.

When the Cardinal finishes being silent, he’ll have some explaining to do.

He spoke to the New York Post on June 4 but didn’t say much. He didn’t deny making the payments, but he described the Times’ claim that he had as “groundless”, and took a shot at New York City’s paper of record. Isn’t his admission grounds enough for a reporter to go with the story?

Waiting out the scandal may prove difficult for Timothy Dolan with so many time-sensitive projects at hand: the USCCB’s (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops) unofficial campaign for Romney, the lead-up to to “Fortnight for Freedom” — a “two-week period of prayer, education and action in support of religious freedom, from June 21-July 4,” and the ongoing war against “ObamaCare.”

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SAN DIEGO (CA)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Father Jose Alexis Davila has been a parish priest at St. Jude’s in Southcrest for two years. Earlier this year, a 19-year-old woman accused him of fondling her in his home across the street from the church.

“He has pleaded guilty to sexual assaulting a young woman,” said Joelle Casteix, a spokeswoman for group Survivors Network for those Abused by Priests, or SNAP. “I believe the charge was unlawfully touching her intimate parts.”

SNAP sent a letter to Diocese of San Diego Bishop Robert Brom after learning Davila is still saying masses at St. Jude’s.

“They are implicitly saying that it’s okay to hurt people and you can get your job back,” said Casteix.

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ATLANTA (GA)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by David Clohessy on June 12, 2012

■Scrap national church abuse policy, they say
■SNAP: “It’s violated often with no consequences”
■Group wants an inclusive, 1 year process with “real input”
■Now, victims say, focus is on pedophile priest & lay Catholics
■But officials who “still ignore & hide crimes” must be punished, SNAP argues
■For starters, group says, prelates in San Diego & Owensboro should be “denounced”

WHAT
Holding signs and childhood photos at a sidewalk news conference, clergy sex abuse victims and their supporters will call on America’s Catholic bishops (who are meeting now in Atlanta) to

— totally scrap and revamp their ten year old child sex abuse policy,
— commit to an inclusive, one year planning process with public hearings and “real input,” and
— adopt tough penalties for church officials who ignore, conceal and enable child sex crimes.

They will also ask the prelates to denounce bishops in California and Kentucky for their “complicity” and “violations” in clergy sex cases that arose just last week.

WHEN
Tuesday, June 12 at 1:30 pm

WHERE
Corner of Peachtree Center NE &John Portman streets, across the street from the Hyatt, where the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is meeting

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

By John P. Martin
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

A defense lawyer waiting for a verdict in the clergy sex abuse trial erupted in frustration on Tuesday morning after the jurors again asked to have more testimony read back to them.

“They have to do their job, they have to rely on their recollection,” the lawyer, William J. Brennan, told Common Pleas Court Judge M. Teresa Sarmina. “We can’t make a decision for them.”

Brennan’s outburst followed a new round of requests from jurors on their seventh day of deliberations.

The panel of seven men and five women is weighing attempted rape and endangerment charges against Brennan’s client, the Rev. James J. Brennan, and endangerment charges against Msgr. William J. Lynn, the former clergy secretary for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

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ROME
OpEd News

By
Carlo Ungaro

Rome, June 12 2012

Vatican Scandals: a never-ending story

International events move fast, and it is difficult for public attention to remain fixed on a particular event, no matter how grave or dramatic. And yet the recent Vatican Saga, a not unfamiliar story of corruption, scandal, potential violence and political infighting does deserve a closer look, if nothing else for its possible developments.

Thanks to centuries of experience, the people of Rome have developed tremendous insight — a veritable sixth sense — in guessing, ahead of time, when there is trouble brewing on the right bank of the Tiber, under the massive dome of St. Peter’s Basilica. The Holy See is usually able to control its image with the Italian public, thanks mainly to an extremely respectful and obsequious media and press, as witnessed, for example by the limited publicity the paedophilia scandal had in Italy even when it was front-page news elsewhere.

Events of the past few weeks, however, have shocked even the jaded and usually lethargic Roman public, and could indicate the existence of a crisis situation in the Vatican with many possible future scenarios , which risks tarnishing the Vatican’s image, even in Italy.

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NEW YORK
Huffington Post

Eliyahu Federman

Sexual abuse is not unique to any specific community. Secrecy, shame, stigma and fear pervade all sectors of society, including secular college campuses, as in Jerry Sandusky’s case, and the halls of religious schools as in abuse survivor Joel Engelman’s case. The issue needs to be openly discussed in every community.

The Orthodox-Jewish community in Crown Heights candidly confronted sexual abuse on June 10 when a forum was held to address the need to continue implementing rigorous policies in schools and camps and the need to report crime directly to the police.

Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes, clergy abuse lawyer Irwin Zalkin, civil rights lawyer Norman Siegel, Rabbi Yosef Blau of Yeshiva University, Rabbi Zvi Gluck of “Our Place” and a local survivor and advocate Mordechai Feinstein were all members of the panel.

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CANADA
The Chronicle-Herald

ANTIGONISH — A Roman Catholic priest will return to full-time duties this fall after police dropped an investigation into his conduct as director of a drug rehabilitation centre in Cape Breton.

Rev. Paul Abbass will resume his work in five parishes in the Diocese of Antigonish beginning Oct. 5.

Abbass was suspended from his duties in the diocese after someone from Talbot House complained to police in February.

But investigators said in April they found no evidence that would justify continuing their investigation.

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UNITED STATES
U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops

WASHINGTON—The public sessions of the annual Spring General Assembly of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) in Atlanta will be available through streaming video online, USCCB’s social media presence on Facebook and Twitter and via satellite for stations wishing to broadcast the proceedings. The live coverage will be Wednesday, June 13, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. EDT, and Thursday, June 14, 9-10 a.m. EDT.

The streaming video will be available at www.usccb.org/about/leadership/usccb-general-assembly/. This page will also include meeting documentation as it becomes available. The Twitter feed at http://twitter.com/USCCBLive will feature live tweets of the meeting. The page www.facebook.com/usccb will feature updates including pictures and news releases.

The meeting will include a two-hour floor discussion on domestic and international religious freedom, an address by the new president of Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Carolyn Woo, a report and recommendations by the National Review Board on the Church’s efforts to prevent clergy sexual abuse, a presentation on the upcoming Year of Faith and the discussion of a proposed message on work, poverty and the economy.

Media outlets interested in broadcasting all or parts of the meeting may request satellite coordinates by emailing media-relations@usccb.org or calling 202-541-3200.

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UNITED STATES
U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops

By Dennis Sadowski
Catholic News Service

WASHINGTON (CNS) — With a long-standing campaign to press its concerns about infringements on religious liberty by governments and the courts, the U.S. bishops will devote a significant portion of their spring meeting June 13-15 in Atlanta to the issue.

The bishops also will receive a 10-year progress report by the National Review Board on the “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People” and hear recommendations from the review board stemming from the study “The Causes and Context of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Catholic Priests in the United States, 1950-2010.”

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AUSTRALIA
The Canberra Times

Barney Zwartz
June 13, 2012

Australia’s last openly progressive Catholic bishop, Canberra’s Pat Power, who is retiring at the end of the month, says the Vatican’s inability to listen and the twin crises of clergy sex abuse and the shortage of priests are the most vexing issues facing the church.

Bishop Power, 70, was not due to retire for five years, but will step down on June 30.

With Toowoomba bishop Bill Morris sacked by the Pope last year, Bishop Power was the last Australian bishop prepared to challenge the Vatican publicly. He called sexual abuse ”a terrible stain on the church”, and said the Vatican habit of secrecy had provided conditions for sex abuse and many other forms of abuse to thrive.

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CALIFORNIA
Healing and Spirituality

Dr. Jaime Romo

“So, you got your Resolution for Safe Churches and Healing Communities.” A woman said to me in the parking lot after the vote had been taken by the Annual Gathering delegates. Every year, 145 United Church of Christ congregational representatives from the Southern California/ Nevada Conference (i.e., diocese) gather to assess the work they do together and propose new initiatives. She smiled and walked to her car.

“My resolution?” I thought. It’s OUR resolution. An overwhelming majority of the people who could vote voted for this, representing the collective church, based upon a central UCC principle of ‘covenant.’ Coming from a Catholic background, I jokingly call the UCC the ‘church of you can’t make me.’ The UCC operates from a grass roots, local governance model, unlike other more hierarchical models, which have been critiqued as more bureaucratic or practicing window dressing when it comes to preventing and responding to sexual abuse. This local governance model is refreshing and democratic, as well as frustrating in that it can seem very time and labor intensive to reach consensus and then implement what was reached by consensus.

My church sent the Resolution to the Conference and now it will go to the National Synod next year for acceptance by the National UCC, and I am proud of this effort.

Perhaps the only reason my church got involved with this issue was because five years ago a registered sex offender showed up one day and asked to be able to participate. And that later became the catalyst for me to take up a formal role as a Commissioned Minister for Healing and Healthy Environments, a first in the UCC and perhaps in any faith tradition. Church leaders from across the country called my pastor to ask for our policy and he urged me to take up this formal ministry (to coach ministers and lay leadership teams to create meaningful abuse prevention policies and healing practices) that I naively thought would be enthusiastically received.

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