ABUSE TRACKER

UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter

Sep. 11, 2012

By Joshua J. McElwee

The conviction last week of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Mo., Bishop Robert Finn for failing to report suspected child abuse indicates that “clearly there is a problem” with how the procedures adopted by the U.S. church to protect children are being used, a key adviser to the U.S. bishops on the issue said Monday.

Central to that problem, said Al Notzon III, chairman of the U.S. bishops’ National Review Board for clergy sex abuse, is the question of accountability for bishops who do not comply with the norms and conditions the body of bishops agreed to 10 years ago. The procedures are spelled out in the U.S. bishops’ Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.

One of Notzon’s predecessors on the review board, Judge Michael Merz, called the Finn case “a serious embarrassment to the church.”

“How can you continue to preach that the charter is effective if, in fact, these types of things continue to happen?” Merz asked.

Notzon told NCR on Monday he planned to bring up the problem with the full review board, then make recommendations to the U.S. bishops.

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.

SAN JOSE (CA)
NBC Bay Area

[with copy of a letter sent to alumni]

By Kris Sanchez

Tuesday, Sep 11, 2012

Bellarmine College Preparatory school in San Jose is in the news today for something that allegedly happened in the 1960s.

A student who graduated from Bellarmine in 1968 says he was sexually abused by a Jesuit Brother during his high school years. A brother is a full member of the religious community, but they are not ordained.

Bellarmine was a boarding school in the 60s and the Jesuit Brother being accused of the abuse supervised the students who lived on campus.

The former student told the California Province of the Society of Jesus, the Jesuit group that oversees Bellarmine, that he is talking about what happened in hopes it would help other possible victims to come forward.

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

CALIFORNIA
Daily Pilot

A priest convicted of abusing two boys he met in the 1980s remains in Orange County jail after he was arrested for violating his probation at the Resort at Pelican Hill, according to OC Weekly and jail records.

In 2007, Michael Stephen Baker, 64, pleaded guilty to 12 felony counts of oral copulation with a person under 18 in a Los Angeles Superior Court, OC Weekly reports.

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.

DENVER (CO)
AVN

By AVN Staff

Sep 11th, 2012

DENVER—A 63-year-old Reno, Nevada man named Daniel Michael Drinan was arrested Saturday night at Denver International Airport for “lewd, indecent, or obscene acts in public aboard an aircraft,” according to a release issued by the Denver Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office. A follow-up article published Tuesday in the Denver Post identified Drinan as a former Catholic priest who was disciplined in 2002 for alleged improper contact with a minor.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, “Drinan was on Southwest Flight 1998 en route from Baltimore-Washington International Airport (BWI) to Denver International Airport (DEN) when he allegedly sexually touched himself in full view of other passengers,” Following the issuance of the criminal complaint, which was obtained by the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office Monday morning, Drinan was scheduled to appear during the afternoon in U.S. District Court in Denver.

The release contained the following allegations: “According to the affidavit in support of the criminal complaint, Drinan was aboard a Southwest Airlines flight. Southwest offers WiFi Internet service to customers for a fee. Drinan connected his laptop computer to the airline’s WiFi service and began to view pornography. One person in a nearby seat noticed the defendant touching himself to the pornography. She waited, hoping he would stop, but ultimately had to alert a flight attendant. That flight attendant contacted a male flight attendant who asked Drinan to ‘put his pants back together.’ At the time the male flight attendant talked with Drinan, the defendant’s genitalia was totally exposed. Investigators were told that at some points during the conduct that Drinan was trying to use his laptop to conceal his behavior.” …

Morality in Media wasted no time in mentioning the Drinan affair, noting in an Action Alert sent out Tuesday by CEO and President Pat Trueman, “Ironically, it’s another flight out of BWI in Baltimore. A man was arrested for viewing pornography on the plane’s Wi-Fi network and touching himself in full view of other passengers. We are contacting Southwest regarding putting anti-porn filters on the Internet they provide in-flight. We will tell you in a later email what repines we get from Southwest.”

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.

FORT WORTH (TX)
Crowley Star

Posted: 09/11/2012

Darrell Wayne Blair, pastor at New Breed Christian Center in Fort Worth, was arrested Monday and booked into the Crowley Jail, on charges of sexual assault.

According to a Crowley Police report, a warrant was issued for his arrest Monday morning and around 4 p.m. Monday afternoon Blair, joined by his attorney, voluntarily turned himself into police where he was arrested and booked into jail.

He immediately posted bond and was released.

According the the police report, one of the alleged incidents took place in May 2000 at a residence in Crowley.

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
National Catholic Reporter

Sep. 11, 2012
By Joshua J. McElwee

In the wake of the first conviction of a Catholic bishop in the decades-long clergy sex abuse crisis, bishops throughout the country have to recognize they are accountable to their own people for their actions to protect children, the bishop who heads the U.S. bishops’ committee tasked with advising their national conference on sexual abuse said Tuesday.

Bishops also have to be “firm” in applying the procedures that the body of bishops adopted 10 years ago to prevent child abuse, said Joliet, Ill., Bishop R. Daniel Conlon, the chair of the U.S. bishops’ committee for the protection of children and young people.

Conlon spoke to NCR by phone from the sidelines of a meeting of the U.S. bishops’ administrative committee. He addressed last week’s conviction of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Mo., Bishop Robert Finn for failing to report suspected child abuse.

In a non-jury trial Sept. 6, Finn was found guilty of one count of failing to report suspected child abuse, a misdemeanor in the state of Missouri, making him the first sitting U.S. bishop to be convicted of a crime stemming in the decades long sex abuse scandal.

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.

NEW MEXICO/ARIZONA
Gallup Independent

Published in the Gallup Independent, Gallup, N.M., Sept. 8, 2012

‘Route 66’ clergy abuse

By Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola
Independent correspondent

FLAGSTAFF — An Arizona judge has ruled against the Diocese of Gallup on two important issues in the “Route 66” priest sex abuse lawsuit the diocese is fighting in a Flagstaff courtroom.

On Aug. 31, Coconino County Superior Court Judge Mark R. Moran denied two requests by attorneys for the Gallup Diocese that would have severely limited the plaintiff’s attorney from obtaining discovery information about sexual abuse that has occurred in the diocese, limited witnesses the plaintiff’s attorney could interview in depositions, and limited the scope of those deposition interviews.

The lawsuit was filed two years ago by Phoenix attorney Robert E. Pastor on behalf of a man in his early 70s who claims he was sexually abused as a child when he served as an altar boy for the Rev. Clement Hageman in Holbrook, Ariz. The plaintiff claims he repressed memories of the abuse for decades until a 2007 trip through Gallup triggered the memories. Although the diocese has stipulated Hageman “more probably than not” sexually abused the plaintiff in 1952 as claimed, the lawsuit is centered around the plaintiff’s argument that Arizona’s statute of limitations for civil claims should be tolled — legally suspended — because the Gallup Diocese fraudulently concealed information about Hageman’s sexual abuse for more than 60 years.

In April, diocesan attorney Keith Ricker requested a protective order from the court barring discovery of post-1952 information about sexual abuse in the diocese, barring discovery of what the diocese “knew or allegedly should have known” about post-1952 sexual abuse, and barring discovery of information about the diocese’s post-1952 “policies and procedures for addressing claims of clergy sexual misconduct.” In addition, Ricker requested the court limit who Pastor could interview in depositions and the scope of those deposition interviews.

Trying to prevent the discovery of post-1952 clergy abuse information was an important piece of the diocese’s legal defense strategy. No one who worked in the diocese in 1952 is still alive to testify about that time period. And although the plaintiff was sexually abused by Hageman in 1952, evidence from the diocese’s personnel file on Hageman and allegations by other abuse victims indicate the priest continued to abuse children in rural Catholic parishes in Arizona for 23 more years — up until his death in Winslow in 1975.

At least 18 other Gallup priests have been publicly accused of sexually abusing minors since Hageman abused the plaintiff in 1952.

In his ruling, Moran dismantled the diocese’s argument that post-1952 information about Hageman and other sexually abusive clergy in the Gallup Diocese was not relevant to the plaintiff’s claims.

Citing a number of the plaintiff’s allegations, Moran wrote: “All of these allegations are directly relevant to the Plaintiff’s burden to prove that the Defendant acted with an evil mind in its policies, procedures, and employment of Father Hageman. These factors are no less relevant on the issue of punitive damages because they occurred after the abuse of the Plaintiff. If anything, they become more relevant to demonstrate that even with actual knowledge that Father Hageman was abusing boys, the Defendant continued to allow him to serve in the church, and continued to cover up his abuse to prevent harm to the church.”

Moran added these factors “go directly to support the Plaintiff’s claims for punitive damages and fraudulent concealment.”

Moran also denied Ricker’s attempt to limit Pastor’s access to specific witnesses in deposition interviews. Citing Rule 30(b)(6) of the Arizona Rules of Civil Procedure, Ricker requested the court require the plaintiff’s attorney to identify “with reasonable particularity the matters on which examination is requested” and allow diocesan officials to designate who they wanted to answer those questions.

Moran ruled that legal provision did not apply to this case.

“The rule and comment to the rule clearly state that this procedure is appropriate when a party does not know whom it wishes to depose,” Moran said. “Here, the Plaintiff has named individuals within the Defendant’s organization that he wishes to depose because he believes that they do have knowledge on relevant matters.”

According to Ricker’s motion for protective order, the Diocese of Gallup wanted to prevent Pastor from conducting deposition interviews with other known abuse victims of Hageman and at least a dozen diocesan officials who have specific knowledge about Hageman, other abusive Gallup clergy, or policies and procedures regarding clergy sexual misconduct in the diocese.

— Reporter Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola can be contacted at (505) 870-0745 or ehardinburrola@yahoo.com.

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

IRELAND
Laois Nationalist

TEN priests in the diocese of Kildare and Leighlin were accused of child abuse since 1975, with a total of 18 allegations being made against them.

The details were revealed at a press conference last Thursday in the Cathedral Parish Centre, College Street, Carlow.

Mgr Brendan Byrne, along with diocesan chancellor Fr Bill Kemmy and Patricia O’Neill, a trainer in child protection issues in the diocese, addressed waiting media on the publication of the review of safeguarding practice in the diocese.

The audit was carried out by the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church and a total of 12 recommendations were made, which have been “accepted in full”, according to Mgr Byrne. It is believed that these recommendations will be implemented by the end of the year.

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

CALIFORNIA
Orange County Weekly

By Gustavo Arellano
Tue., Sep. 11 2012

The last time we wrote about Michael Stephen Baker, the pedophile priest was arrested in November of last year for violating his probation for kiddie-fiddling. Turns out he violated his probation again, this time on August 17, when probation officers found him next to a swimming pool where kids were swimming, according to sources who spoke to the Weekly.

But the pool wasn’t just at any ol’ plunge–it was at the tony Resort at Pelican Hill in Newport Beach.

He’s currently serving a four-month term for violating his probation. And what was the probation for? Baker pleaded guilty in Los Angeles Superior Court in 2007 to 12 felony counts of oral copulation with a person under the age of 18 for abusing two boys he met during the 1980s. His original sentence was 10 years, but California justice being as skewed as it is, he was released just last year.

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

CALIFORNIA
News 10

CALAVERAS COUNTY, CA – A 22-year-old former altar boy has filed a civil complaint against the Diocese of Stockton, charging the diocese knew a now-defrocked priest had been the subject of other molestation allegations and yet it still placed the priest in a position of interaction with minors as pastor of St. Andrew’s Parish in San Andreas.

The complaint accuses the diocese, ex-pastor Father Michael Kelly, Bishop Steven Blaire and Monsignor Richard Ryan of 10 accusations including sexual battery, fraud and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

The complaint alleges the diocese ignored a number of sexual misconduct allegations against Kelly as well as a 1999 psychological evaluation in which a licensed psychologist recommended the pastor “not minister to children alone or families in which there are children” because of “underlying or latent pedophilic elements”.

The complainant claims Kelly came to his home unannounced in 2000 when his parents weren’t home and molested him in his bedroom.

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

CALIFORNIA
Lodi News-Sentinel

By Ross Farrow/News-Sentinel Staff Writer

A second sexual abuse lawsuit is expected to be filed late this afternoon against former Lockeford priest Michael Kelly.

Orange County attorneys John Manly and Vince Finaldi are holding a news conference Wednesday morning in Stockton to announce details of the lawsuit, whose victim is identified only as “John CC Doe.”

In addition to Kelly, the Stockton Diocese, diocese Bishop Stephen Blaire and Monsignor Richard Ryan are named in the lawsuit, Finaldi said in a media advisory.

The suit alleges that Kelly sexually assaulted a boy in the early 2000s in San Andreas. The plaintiff, now 24, attended St. Andrew Parish in San Andreas at the time. Kelly was then a priest at the Calaveras County parish.

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

AUSTRALIA
CathNews

Published: September 11, 2012

BY GARRY EVERETT

“The Church is Dead!” This exclamation is not a byte from last night’s TV news. Nor is it an utterance by a doomsday alarmist.

The words ”The Church is dead” were uttered by an elderly priest – Fr Pete Chiara – on discovering that his Mass attendance had dropped to 17% of his Catholic parish population. At last count, the Australian average Mass attendance by Catholics was close to 12%.

Here at home, and in many countries around the world, churches of all denominations, conduct regular sophisticated surveys which address various aspects of parish or Church life. Data from these surveys provide information for planning purposes, at national, diocesan and parish levels. In a broad sense, the data help us to measure the health of a parish, and to develop strategies and resources to maintain or improve that level of health.

Between 2004 and 2007, the Willow Creek Association in the USA surveyed more than 11,000 followers with a view to learning more about the health of church life in seven member churches of various denominations. The research is published in two reports: Reveal (2007), and Follow Me (2008).

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

VATICAN CITY
Catholic News Service

By Carol Glatz
Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — In an effort to comply more fully with international standards against financial criminal activity, the Vatican has hired an outside expert in combating money laundering and financing terrorism.

Rene Brulhart, a 40-year-old Swiss international lawyer, started working as a consultant to the Vatican in September on “all matters related to anti-money laundering and financing of terrorism,” Vatican Radio reported Sept. 11.

Brulhart’s “role is to assist the Holy See in strengthening its framework to fight financial crimes,” the broadcast reported.

Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, said in a written statement that the hire is “a powerful sign of (the Vatican’s) commitment to work in this direction.”

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.

KANSAS CITY (MO)
The Kansas City Star

By HELEN T. GRAY
The Kansas City Star

Monsignor William Blacet rises early to start his prayers. He celebrates Mass every day at Our Lady of Good Counsel. He hears confessions and gives counsel. He conducts weddings and funerals.

He cruised past his 90th birthday in December.

“I was not ordained to retire,” explains the oldest pastor in the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph. “As long as I can do the duties of pastor, that’s what I want to do.”

But is the spirited and beloved priest at the Westport church a poster child for the aging Roman Catholic clergy? Nationally, the average age of all priests is now 63, up from 35 in 1970, according to a study of the widely acknowledged problem. In the Kansas City area, that number is only slightly better. …

The upheaval to which Offutt referred includes the trauma of the sex abuse scandals that have rattled the Catholic hierarchy from Boston to Los Angeles. Recently, Bishop Robert W. Finn was founded guilty of failing to report suspected child abuse regarding a priest and sentenced to two years probation.

But it is more than just the black eye from pedophile priests.

“There are things going on that I don’t understand,” Offutt says. “The emphasis on the good life and sensuality and the decline of the family unit.”

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.

MISSOURI
San Francisco Chroncile

JIM SALTER, Associated Press

Updated 9:50 a.m., Tuesday, September 11, 2012

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Missouri’s new law that criminalizes disturbing a worship service is overly broad and vague, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union argued Tuesday.

At issue is a law that took effect last month making it a misdemeanor to intentionally disturb or interrupt a “house of worship” with profane language, rude or indecent behavior or noise that breaks the solemnity of the service. Violators could face up to six months in jail and a $500 fine. Repeat offenders could get up to five years in prison.

The ACLU, representing two individuals and two groups that often picket outside of churches over allegations of sexual abuse of children by clergy, is seeking a preliminary injunction to block the law. U.S. District Judge E. Richard Webber heard the case in St. Louis, but it wasn’t clear when he would issue a ruling.

ACLU attorney Anthony Rothert and the attorney for the state, Andy Hirth, said the issue was not disruption inside a church, synagogue, mosque or other place of worship. Both agreed intentionally disrupting a service from the inside would merit a crime.

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

IRELAND
Irish Examiner

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

A report on state involvement in the conditions in the Magdalene Laundries will be submitted to Government by the end of the year.

Senator Martin McAleese, head of the review, has said that information is still coming in which could add to the findings.

“A significant level of information and documentation has been identified,” the Department of Justice said.

“However, relevant records continue to be identified by Government departments and state agencies – and the committee also continues to receive new submissions from representative and advocacy groups.

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.

ST. LOUIS (MO)
Berger’s Beat

September 11, 2012 11:52 am | Author: Jerry Berger

Is there a curse on St. Louis Catholic clerics who rise through the ranks and leave our town? Archbishop Justin Rigali is promoted in Philly and prosecutors there charge – and convict – a high ranking church official with endangering children. Auxiliary Bishop Edward Braxton moves up to oversee the Belleville Diocese and becomes a lightening rod for criticism (over abuse, spending and other issues). Fr. George Lucas was elevated to head the Springfield IL diocese, and clean up after his predecessor who was accused of sexual misdeeds. Fr. Michael Sheridan took over the reins of the Colorado Springs church and now faces tough questions about Fr. Charles Robert Manning’s presence – and alleged child sex crimes – out there. And last week, Fr. Robert Finn (now Kansas City’s bishop) – who hails from Overland and spent time in Shrewsbury, St. Charles, O’Fallon, and Washington MO – became the first US bishop to be found guilty of failing to notify authorities about suspected child porn taken by Fr. Shawn Rattigan. Note to local priests – maybe think twice when offered a chance to rise through the ranks and leave town! Ironically, an editorial in today’s National Catholic Reporter points out, if Finn tried to volunteer at a parish in his diocese now, official church policy says he should be turned away, because he can no longer pass the background check that’s required by the church’s abuse policy.)

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
Gene’s Musings

by Fr. Regis Scanlon, O.F.M. Cap

In 2002, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops commissioned a 1.8 million dollar study, popularly known as the “John Jay study,” to uncover the patterns and causes of the sex abuse crisis since 1950. The National Review Board—the entity designated to implement the study—gave the first John Jay report in 2004. In this report, which describes the “Nature and Scope” of clergy sexual abuse, the board pointed out that more than 80 percent of the victims were teenage boys and young men.

This conclusion, in itself, should have been a solid roadmap for truly correcting the sex abuse problem.

Indeed, the bishops quickly responded. They issued guidelines for tough diocesan policies, such as the immediate reporting of abuse to civil authorities, and better oversight of children’s safety.
However, despite those good reforms, clergy with sexual abuse histories were still active in public Church ministry. In early 2011, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia revealed it was involved in yet another major “roundup” of sex abuse cases, a majority of them (82%) involving the original category of identified victims—male teens and young men.

Also in 2011, the Vatican called on bishops and local dioceses to develop comprehensive plans to stop sex abuse. It urged “an even greater importance in assuring a proper discernment of vocations.” Clearly, the Vatican still sees a need to encourage more thoroughness when screening priesthood candidates.

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.

CANADA
Nunatsiaq Online

NUNATSIAQ NEWS

The Belgian wing of an international network that represents survivors of sexual abuse by Roman Catholic priests and other religious authority figures said Sept. 11 that the Oblate order ought to pay for Father Eric Dejaeger’s health care costs.

Dejaeger, 65, faces 77 criminal charges, most of them related to the sexual abuse of children in Igloolik between 1978 and 1982, when Dejaeger served there as a priest.

At a court appearance Sept. 10, his lawyer, Malcolm Kempt, complained that because Dejaeger is not a Nunavut resident, the Government of Nunavut is denying medical care to his client, who suffers from high blood pressure and a heart condition.

At the same time, Dejaeger’s arraignment on the 77 charges, which has been postponed several times, was postponed again until Oct. 1.

But Lieve Halsberghe of the Belgian wing of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, the missionary order to which Dejaeger belongs, must pay Dejaeger’s medical costs.

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.

WORCESTER (MA)
WBUR

[with audio]

By David Boeri September 10, 2012 Updated September 11, 2012

WORCESTER, Mass. — An email written by a monsignor has triggered the filing of a discrimination suit against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester by two gay developers.

The men allege that the diocese rejected their bid to purchase a church-owned mansion because of the possibility the hotel the men planned to develop would host gay marriages. …

Gavin Reardon, the attorney for the diocese, denies this. “We never asked their sexual orientation and never knew it,” he said.

But in a sensational act of inadvertence, when the broker for the diocese emailed the would-be buyers that there would be no deal, she attached an internal email she’d received from Monsignor Thomas Sullivan.

“When I read the monsignor’s email, and he said because of the potential of gay marriages there, we no longer want to continue with those buyers,” Beret said.

Actually, the monsignor said even more. Here’s a transcript of the email:

LiSandra,

I just [w]ent down the hall and discussed it with the bishop. Because of the potentiality of gay marriages there, something you shared with us yesterday, we aren’t interested in going forward with these buyers. I think they’re shaky anyway. So just tell them that we will not accept their revised plan and the Diocese is making new plans for the property. You find the language.

Msgr Tom

And here’s a transcript of what the diocese’s broker then sent to the couple’s agent:

Good morning Gary;

We would like to thank you and your buyers for submitting a new revised counter offer. After careful review and consideration, the seller has decided to not accept the new revised counter offer and pursue other plans with the property at this time. Best wishes to you and your buyers.

My best,
LiSandra Rodriguez-Pagan

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.

ALABAMA
WAPI

(BIRMINGHAM, Ala.) — The trial for a Fairfield City Councilman, accused of sexually kissing and groping his teenage granddaughter, has been postponed, ABC affiliate 33/40 reports. …

Mack, who also worked as a church pastor and operated a home daycare at the time of the alleged incident, has pleaded not guilty to the allegations.

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.

CANADA
CBC News

A Roman Catholic priest pleaded guilty to 35 sex-related charges in Corner Brook Supreme Court on Monday.

George Ansel Smith, 74, had faced more than 60 charges, but the rest were withdrawn in exchange for the pleas. The charges included indecent assault, unlawful assault and gross indecency.

Police say the offences took place in six different communities on the west coast of Newfoundland between the 1960s and 1980s.

Smith also faces eight sex-related charges in a separate case, which are scheduled to be addressed in court on October 1.

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.

KANSAS CITY (MO)
National Catholic Reporter

by Pat Perriello on Sep. 11, 2012 NCR Today

A few points might be considered in the case of the recent conviction of Bishop Robert W. Finn of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Mo., diocese for failing to alert authorities to one of his priests taking hundreds of lewd photographs of children in Catholic schools and parishes.

Finn is the first U.S. Catholic bishop convicted in the sex abuse crisis. He is saying he wants to stay on the job and carry out his responsibilities. The question is, Should he be forced to resign or should he be removed from office if necessary?

Finn has said he did nothing wrong. He blames policy failures for his failure to notify authorities. Yet this was not the first complaint against him. He reached a deal with authorities in an earlier case to avoid a trial.

Some have called for his resignation. Nicholas Cafardi, a canon lawyer from Duquesne and occasional NCR contributor, says Finn can be removed under canon law, but it should not be necessary. Cafardi said he believes Finn should resign for the good of the church and his diocese.

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

KANSAS CITY (MO)
Vatican Insider

The bishop in question is Robert W. Finn of Kansas City, who has been found guilty of failing to report a paedophile priest

Maria Teresa Pontara Pederiva
Rome

Bishops have in the past been removed from their posts for various reasons but never has a bishop refused to leave his post despite being forced to do so because of failing to report acts of paedophilia and despite the fact that just last week Mgr. Scicluna had reiterated that the Pope’s Magisterium on this subject was crystal clear. The case of Bishop Robert W. Finn has baffled members of the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City.

On 19 May 2011, Shawn Ratigan, a diocesan priest in Kansas City who served St. Patrick’s parish church and the adjoining school, ended up in jail. He had played a key part in organising pro-life marches and Marian pilgrimages.

The priest was accused of being possession of pornographic images which investigators revealed were taken within the parish church and school. His superior, Bishop Finn, should have implemented the regulations established in agreement with the Vatican.

But he did not. The abuse cases had been reported to the bishop a year prior to this, by numerous parents and by Julie Hess, the school headmistress. Ratigan had even attempted to commit suicide in a garage in 2010 but the complaint about the abuse never reached the right authorities. The priest was removed from the school but a religious body sent him on to the city of Independence in Missouri, where he still had access to a computer and cell phone and even celebrated mass with minors. He was eventually reported, arrested, tried and sentenced in August 2011 but there are still other criminal charges pending against him.

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.

DENVER (CO)
Colorado Springs Gazette

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

DENVER — A 63-year-old Nevada man is facing federal charges after being accused of committing lewd acts on an airplane.

U.S. Attorney John Walsh said Monday that Daniel Drinan of Reno was arrested Saturday night at Denver International Airport after passengers complained he had unbuttoned his pants while watching pornography. Prosecutors allege that his genitals were totally exposed when a flight attendant told him to “put his pants back together.”

Drinan was on Southwest Flight 1998 en route from Baltimore-Washington International Airport to Denver International Airport. He was arrested after the flight landed.

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.

DENVER (CO)
Reno Gazette-Journal

Written by
Jaclyn O’Malley

A Reno man flying to Denver fondled himself while using the airline’s wireless Internet to look at computer pornography, a Colorado federal criminal complaint outlines.

Daniel Drinan, 63, on Sept. 8 was fondling his exposed penis in front of a 29-year-old Southwest Airlines passenger and a 53-year-old flight attendant, court records filed Monday show. He was charged with obscene and indecent exposure committed on an airplane.

The court document said the passenger complained to the female flight attendant that Drinan was touching himself while watching pornography on his lap top. The woman said she saw him retrieve a bottle of lubricant from his bag. She was reseated after complaining. …

An FBI agent met Drinan at the gate at the Denver International Airport and interviewed him.

“I’m guilty of fondling myself in public,” the complaint quoted Drinan. “I’m sorry. I had no intention of doing anything that would offend people or break the law.”

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.

DENVER (CO)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by David Clohessy on September 11, 2012

An Austin priest has been arrested in Denver for masturbating to porn on an airplane. He is Fr. Daniel Drinan who was removed from his post in Austin in 2002 after an allegation of sexual contact with a minor was brought forward.

Drinan is apparently not functioning as a priest right now. But he’s still on the church payroll, and we strongly doubt if he’s being supervised in any meaningful way.

This case shows – once again – that pedophile priests often re-offend or commit other sex crimes in part because their bishops do the bare minimum. Bishops should house and monitor these dangerous men, and work hard to find others who saw, suspected or suffered their crimes, so they might be prosecuted and kept away from kids.

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

IRELAND
Irish Times

A report on state involvement in the slave-like conditions in the Magdalene laundries will be submitted to Government by the end of the year.

Senator Martin McAleese, head of the review, has said that information is still coming in which could add to the findings.

“A significant level of information and documentation has been identified,” the Department of Justice said.

“However, relevant records continue to be identified by Government departments and state agencies — and the committee also continues to receive new submissions from representative and advocacy groups.

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.

CANADA
Nunatsiaq Online

DAVID MURPHY

The arraignment of the alleged sex offender, Oblate missionary Eric Dejaeger, has been pushed back once more until Oct. 1.

An arraignment, a formal reading of all the charges laid against Dejaeger, which currently sits at 77, was supposed to have been held Sept. 10, but this but was held over so that Crown and defense lawyers can review the final disclosure of charges laid by the RCMP.

The disclosure of the full case against Dejeager has yet to be filed in court, and will likely be worked out at an informal pretrial conference, set to take place before his next court appearance.

“That may include discussion of possible pleas, the lack of, or likelihood, of entering guilty pleas, discussions about sentencing, and so on,” Crown prosecutor Barry Nordin told Nunatsiaq News.

Dejaeger has now served 19 months in solitary confinement since his arrest.

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

VATICAN CITY
Gazzetta del Sud

(ANSA) – Vatican City, September 11 – The Vatican said on Tuesday that it had drafted in a Swiss expert to help it fight money laundering more effectively. The Holy See is trying to join the ‘white list’ of states that, unlike tax havens, respect international standards on combatting money laundering and the financing of terrorism. In July the Council of Europe’s Moneyval department said in a report that the Holy See had made progress on financial transparency, but added that more reforms were needed and gave it positive grades in nine of 16 areas. Holy See spokesman Father Federico Lombardi told Vatican Radio Tuesday that Rene Bruelhart, a 40-year-old lawyer from Fribourg, Switzerland, had been hired to work on Anti-Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) activities and strengthen the Holy See’s framework to fight financial crimes. “(The appointment) is based on the clear commitment the Holy See has already expressed in its active efforts to address these matters effectively,” Vatican Radio said on its website. Bruelhart spent eight years as the director of Liechtenstein’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU).

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.

SOMERVILLE (MA)
Boston Herald

By Ariel Rodriguez
Tuesday, September 11, 2012

An Episcopal priest accused of having inappropriate contact with a child over a 10-year period pleaded not guilty in Somerville District Court yesterday.

The Rev. Paul A. LaCharite, formerly of St. James Episcopal Church in Somerville, faces “one count of assault to rape a child and three counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under the age of 14,” according to the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office.

LaCharite was released after posting $10,000 cash bail. Prosecutors had originally requested $25,000 bail.

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.

CANADA
The Western Star

Published on September 11, 2012
Cory Hurley

CORNER BROOK — Roman Catholic priest George Ansel Smith pleaded guilty to 35 of 62 sex charges against him Monday.

Represented by his lawyer, Tom Williams, at the Supreme Court appearance in Corner Brook, the 74-year-old is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 22. Williams did not request a pre-sentence report to assist with that sentencing.

There are still eight outstanding charges, the last of the 70 in total he faces to be filed with the court. They are set to be dealt with Oct. 1.

The charges against Smith, who was not present in court Monday, stem from incidents involving young boys in six western Newfoundland communities from 1969 to 1989. The latter eight charges filed with the court involve three complainants, including two incidents alleged to have taken place in Nova Scotia in 1974 and the others in western Newfoundland communities.

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.

NEW YORK
New York Daily News

By Kenneth Lovett AND Glenn Blain / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

ALBANY — State investigators are now going after Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver as they dig deeper into the Vito Lopez case.

The Joint Commission on Public Ethics — which had been criticized for limiting its probe to allegations of sexual harassment made against Assemblyman Lopez — approved on Monday an expanded investigation that will include Silver’s handling of a $103,000 taxpayer-funded settlement with two victims, sources said.

Following a closed-door meeting of JCOPE’s board, Chairwoman Janet DiFiore announced its unanimous decision to launch a “substantial” probe. She refused to provide details, but a source said the panel would conduct a “sweeping investigation that will go where it leads.”

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.

SCOTLAND
Daily Record

HUNDREDS of abuse victims have forward in Ireland, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, the Netherlands, Germany and United States in the last decade.

THE Catholic Church have been rocked by a series of abuse scandals over the last decade.

Religious leaders were accused of covering up and “turning a blind eye” to allegations of child abuse made against priests.

Cardinal Keith O’Brien first apologised for the scandal in 2002.

And he reiterated the Church’s position in 2010 when he said the actions of those who failed to report the crimes “brings shame on us all”.

The cardinal claimed Catholics were “demoralised and confused” by the “many evils” perpetrated by
paedophile priests.

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.

NORTHBRIDGE (MA)
Worcester Telegram & Gazette

[House of Affirmation – BishopAccountability.org]

Dianne Williamson
dwilliamson@telegram.com

Memory is a funny thing.

Over the weekend, Msgr. Thomas Sullivan told The Boston Globe that the Diocese of Worcester would never sell properties that hosted Mass to anyone who would hold a same-sex wedding.

“We wouldn’t sell our churches and our properties to any of a number of things that would reflect badly on the church,” he said. “These buildings are sacred to the memory of Catholics.”

So much is wrong with that statement I hardly know where to begin. Neither does David Lewcon, who probably wishes that his memory wasn’t so good.

“The mere fact that I’m stumbling for words pretty much says it all,” Mr. Lewcon said.

First, the monsignor was speaking in reference to the House of Affirmation, a Northbridge building whose very name is synonymous with scandal, not sacred memory. Next, his statement conflicts with what he told me in July, when I asked why the diocese abruptly pulled out of negotiations with two gay men who wanted to turn the aging mansion into an inn and banquet facility. …

“For me, it’s one of the least sacred places in all of Northbridge,” said Mr. Lewcon, 58. He worked at the center as a teenager, and in 2002 settled a lawsuit with the diocese for $110,000 after disclosing that he was sexually assaulted when he was 16 by a priest affiliated with the center. “It’s a dirty, dirty place. What went on behind the scenes, I don’t even want to know about.”

Mr. Lewcon is among several men who settled sexual assault lawsuits against priests closely affiliated with the House. These included the notorious Rev. Thomas Kane, founder and executive director, who operated the center based on a bogus doctoral degree. It was closed in 1987 amid financial improprieties; its victims would later refer to the center as a pedophile boot camp where children suffered repeated sexual abuse.

Sadly, there wasn’t a lot of affirming going on at the House of Affirmation. If this is the building that the diocese claims holds memories so sacred that they’d be tainted by the prospect of a marriage between two loving, committed adults, it has a lot more to worry about than a lawsuit.

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

VATICAN CITY
Daily Reporter

ASSOCIATED PRESS
First Posted: September 11, 2012

VATICAN CITY — The Vatican has hired a Swiss anti-money laundering expert to try to improve its efforts to fight financial crimes.

The announcement Tuesday comes two months after the Holy See passed a key European financial transparency test but received poor grades for its financial watchdog agency and its bank.

The Vatican said attorney Rene Bruelhart would help strengthen the Vatican’s regulatory framework to fight money laundering and terrorist financing.

For eight years Bruelhart was head of Liechtenstein’s financial intelligence unit — the national agency that analyzes information about suspect financial transactions. In 2010, he was also named head of the Egmont Group, the informal group of about 130 countries’ financial units aimed at sharing information.

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

IRELAND
Irish Times

PATSY McGARRY, Religious Affairs Correspondent

THE CHAIRMAN of the Catholic Church’s child protection watchdog, its National Board for Safeguarding Children (NBSC), has spoken out in support of its chief executive, Ian Elliott.

Speaking to The Irish Times yesterday, John Morgan said: “Ian Elliott has my full confidence and support in his safeguarding activities.” He described Mr Elliott as “a most valuable employee” and said his current contract with the NBSC would continue until next summer. As to whether it would be renewed, he said that by then Mr Elliott would have reached retirement age.

At the weekend it emerged that the Bishop of Down and Connor, Noel Treanor, had apologised to Mr Elliott for accusing him of spinning against the church leadership in off-the-record briefings with journalists.

According to a Sunday Times report, his apology followed an inquiry conducted by former Supreme Court judge Mrs Justice Catherine McGuinness at the request of the NBSC. She found the allegations presented by Bishop Treanor were unfounded.

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.

SOUTH CAROLINA
WPDE

by Tonya Brown

A 36-year-old Myrtle Beach man has come forward saying former Fourth Circuit Solicitor, Jay Hodge, molested him when he was a cub scout in 1986 , making him the third person to accuse Hodge of sexual abuse.

At the time, the alleged victim was ten years old.

The man has joined in a civil lawsuit with two other men accusing Hodge of sexual abuse when he was their boy scout leader.

They’ve sued Hodge, Boy Scouts of America, Pee Dee Area Council for Boy Scouts of America, First Presbyterian Church of Cheraw and the Estate of the late William Hebard.

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.

SOUTH CAROLINA
SCNow

By: Ellen Meder | SCNow

CHERAW — A third former Boy Scout has joined the civil lawsuit accusing former 4th Circuit Solicitor Jay Hodge and another man of sexually abusing them while they served as scoutmasters, the lawyer for the plaintiffs said Monday.

Attorney Trey Cockrell of Cockrell Law Firm in Chesterfield, who filed the suit on behalf of the plaintiffs two weeks ago, said the new alleged victim came forward after reading newspaper accounts and online accounts of the case this week. He currently lives in Horry County, but grew up in Cheraw.

The man, identified in court papers filed Friday as “Youth Male C,” is now 36 years old. That’s about 10 years younger than “Youth Male A,” or “Youth Male B.” The original defendants are brothers who recalled abuse by Hodge and William C. Hebard at separate times while they two men worked with scouts in Troop 663, sponsored by First Prebyterian Church of Cheraw. Those alleged acts took place between 1975-80. The new defendant said he was abused at Hodge’s house when he was 10 years old. That would suggest an incident occuring in 1986.

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

AUSTRALIA
The Conversation

Judy Courtin

As the Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry into child abuse looms, Archbishop Denis Hart and three of his bishops have forewarned their Victorian flock of imminent disturbing reports about past failures of the Catholic church in responding to clergy sexual abuse.

His Grace and their Excellencies need to be brought up to date with the latest evidence from my research which shows that the “failures” of the church to respond to sexual assaults do not attract the past tense alone – they remain palpably current.

There has been an equally inadequate response by the Catholic church to the brutal physical assaults on children, which continue to be a source of distress for victims to this day.

Horrifying testimony

A few weeks ago in Ballarat, eight men gathered to get help with writing a group submission to the Victorian Inquiry. The issue of physical assaults was aired and it was distressing.

One man said:

He used to push my head down the toilet and hold it there by force until the toilet finished flushing.

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.

MISSOURI
KSDK

Written by
Cassidy Moody

ST. LOUIS (AP) – A federal judge will hear arguments Tuesday in a lawsuit over Missouri’s new law making it a crime to disturb a worship service.

Attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union are seeking a temporary injunction to block the law that took effect last month.

The law makes it a misdemeanor to intentionally disturb or interrupt a “house of worship” with profane language, rude or indecent behavior or noise that breaks the solemnity of the service.

Violators could face up to six months in jail and a $500 fine. Repeat offenders could get up to five years in prison.

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

FLORIDA
CBS Miami

[with video]

FORT LAUDERDALE (CBS4) – The young man had one word to describe Jeffery London: evil.

Over a course of years beginning when he was around 9 or 10 years old, the victim said London — a youth pastor — kept him in an unlocked room and raped and beat him.

“This man is pure evil,” the victim told CBS 4′s Carey Codd in an exclusive interview. “A youth pastor child molesting the youth.

The victim said his mother sent him to live with London because London was a youth pastor and believed her son would be safe with him. The young man said he soon began to rely on London.

“My real dad don’t want me,” the victim said. “My mom don’t want me. I started looking at (London) as a father figure. Why would you do this to me? I didn’t have anybody.”

The victim said London raped him repeatedly and promised him gifts to keep him quiet.

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.

CANADA
The Guardian

Rev. George Smith pleaded guilty Monday in court in Cornerbrook, NL to 35 of 62 sex-related charges against boys.

The retired Roman Catholic priest was accused of sexually abusing young males allegedly victimized nine boys during a 20-year period of serving western Newfoundland parishes.

Smith, who last resided in Truro, N.S., turned himself into the RCMP in Corner Brook late last year.

Smith was serving at St. Malachy’s Parish in Kinkora when the investigation was launched. He stepped down and went to live with a family member in Truro.

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

UNITED KINGDOM
Telegraph & Argus

Exclusive By Steve Wright, Crime Reporter

A Roman Catholic priest in Bradford has been charged with sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl.

Father William Finnegan, parish priest at St Clare’s RC Church in Fagley , has appeared before magistrates and will face trial before a crown Court jury.

The 59-year-old priest was arrested in April this year in connection with the allegation and was bailed for further police inquiries.

Finnegan has now been charged with sexual assault and has appeared before Bradford and Keighley Magistrates’ Court.

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.

DENVER (CO)
TheDenverChannel

Deb Stanley, New Media Producer

DENVER — Officers arrested a man at Denver International Airport this weekend after another passenger said she saw the man watch pornography on a flight and touch himself.

The U.S. Attorney’s office said Daniel Michael Drinan, 63, of Reno, Nevada, was arrested Saturday night on suspicion of lewd, indecent or obscene acts in public aboard an aircraft.

Prosecutors said Drinan was on Southwest flight 1998 from Baltimore-Washington International Airport to Denver International Airport when he connected his laptop computer to the airline’s WiFi service, and began to view pornography.

A woman seated nearby notice the defendant touching himself to the pornography, prosecutors said.

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.

DENVER (CO)
The Daily Mail (United Kingdom)

By Daily Mail Reporter

A 63 year old man was reported to flight attendants when he was seen viewing pornography and touching himself on board an airplane.

Daniel Michael Drinan was seen using the airline’s WiFi internet service to view porn on his laptop by other passengers on the flight.

One passenger alerted a male flight attendant, who went to investigate and found the suspect’s genitalia exposed.

According to a U.S. Attorney’s Office media release, the flight attendant told Drinan to ‘put his pants back together’.

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.

DENVER (CO)
United States Attorney’s Office, District of Colorado

RENO, NEVADA MAN ARRESTED FOR LEWD, INDECENT OR OBSCENE ACTS IN FULL VIEW OF OTHER PASSENGERS ABOARD AN AIRCRAFT

DENVER – Daniel Drinan, age 63, of Reno, Nevada, was arrested Saturday night at Denver International Airport of Lewd, Indecent or Obscene Acts in public aboard an aircraft, U.S. Attorney John Walsh and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Denver Special Agent in Charge James Yacone announced. Drinan was on Southwest Flight 1998 en route from Baltimore-Washington International Airport (BWI) to Denver International Airport (DEN) when he allegedly sexually touched himself in full view of other passengers. Drinan is scheduled to make his initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Denver this afternoon at 2:00 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Boyd N. Boland, where he will be advised of his rights. The Criminal Complaint was obtained by the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office this morning, September 10, 2012.

According to the affidavit in support of the Criminal Complaint, Drinan was aboard a Southwest Airlines Flight. Southwest offers WiFi internet service to customers for a fee. Drinan connected his laptop computer to the airline’s WiFi service, and began to view pornography. One person in a nearby seat notice the defendant touching himself to the pornography. She waited hoping he would stop, but ultimately had to alert a flight attendant. That flight attendant contacted a male flight attendant who asked Drinan to “put his pants back together.” At the time the male flight attendant talked with Drinan the defendant’s genitalia was totally exposed. Investigators were told that at some points during the conduct that Drinan was trying to use his laptop to conceal his behavior.

If convicted of crimes aboard an aircraft, the defendant faces not more than 90 days in jail and up to a $250,000 fine.

This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Denver Police Department.

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.

DENVER (CO)
Huffington Post

A Nevada passenger was arrested Saturday night at Denver International Airport after he was caught by another passenger viewing pornography in-flight and touching himself.

According to a U.S. Attorney’s Office media release, Daniel Michael Drinan, 63, of Reno, Nevada was on Southwest Airlines Flight 1998 en route to DIA from Baltimore-Washington International Airport (BWI). While in flight, Drinan used the airline’s WiFi internet service to view pornography and allegedly touched himself in full view of other passengers.

A woman sitting nearby noticed Drinan touching himself and waited to alert someone, hopeful that he would stop but ultimately had to alert a flight attendant.

The male flight attendant told Drinan to “put his pants back together,” and later told prosecutors that Drinan’s genitalia had been totally exposed.

“Investigators were told that at some points during the conduct that Drinan was trying to use his laptop to conceal his behavior,” according to the release.

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.

DENVER (CO)
The Denver Post

By Joey Bunch and Kristen Leigh Painter
The Denver Postd
enverpost.com

A Reno, Nev., man arrested at Denver International Airport on Saturday for allegedly masturbating while viewing Internet pornography during a flight from Baltimore is a former Roman Catholic priest.

According to a news account 10 years ago, Daniel Michael Drinan was the first priest suspended in an incident involving a minor after the Roman Catholic priest sex- abuse scandal.

A spokesman for the Claretians order in Chicago confirmed Drinan, 63, is a former priest whose last assignment was at the Ridge House, a substance-abuse treatment center for parolees. Records indicate Drinan left the program in April, but the church spokesman would not elaborate.

Records indicate Drinan had previously worked as a priest at Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Martindale, Texas, a suburb of Austin. A 2002 article in the Austin American-Statesman said Drinan was removed in April of that year after alleged inappropriate contact with a minor, though an investigation found no evidence of violence or sexual abuse

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.

SOMERVILLE (MA)
Boston Globe

By Brian Ballou
Globe Staff
September 10, 2012

Over the course of a decade, the Rev. Paul LaCharite repeatedly called a young boy into his office at the St. James Episcopal Church in Somerville and sexually assaulted him, prosecutors said in court Monday.

The assaults stopped only after LaCharite, 65, left the church in 2005, but last week the victim went to police and told them about the assaults, said Danielle Stice, a Middlesex prosecutor.

LaCharite was arraigned Monday in Somerville District Court on charges of assault with intent to rape a child and three counts of indecent assault and battery on a child. He was arrested Friday afternoon.

“Father LaCharite is devastated by these allegations,” said David Meier, his lawyer, speaking outside the court. Moments earlier, inside the courthouse, Meier pleaded not guilty on his client’s behalf, adding that LaCharite “vehemently” denies the charges.

“The last time he was contacted by the alleged victim, who is now 26, was about two years ago and that was to baptize the alleged victim’s first child,” Meier said.

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

By FRANK BRUNI

Published: September 10, 2012

Just how flagrant does a pedophile need to be before the people around him contact the police? Just how far beyond seeming to force himself on a boy in a shower or loading up his laptop with photos of little girls’ crotches does he have to go?

In the first instance I’m referring to Jerry Sandusky, whom Penn State officials allowed to continue working with children even after they were told that something was seriously amiss. In the second I’m referring to the Rev. Shawn Ratigan, a Catholic priest in Missouri whose superiors acted no less despicably.

In May 2010, the principal of a parochial school next door to the parish where Father Ratigan served sent a memorandum to the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, as Laurie Goodstein reported in The Times. It flagged his odd behavior, including his habit of instructing children to reach into his pockets for candy.

In December 2010, hundreds of troubling, furtively taken photographs were found on his laptop, according to court testimony given too long after that fact. One showed a toddler’s genitals.

In what jail or prison cell, you might ask, did Father Ratigan spend the first half of 2011? None.

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.

PHOENIX (AZ)
Phoenix New Times

By Matthew Hendley
Mon., Sep. 10 2012

Dan Whitehead, the former Brophy College Preparatory instructor who was fired from the Jesuit school in November for alleged sexual misconduct with students, was arrested this weekend on sexual-assault and sexual-abuse charges.

Whitehead, 71, was canned after two ex-students told school officials that Whitehead had molested them in the ’80s, but those men said they didn’t want to be involved in a police investigation.

According to court documents obtained by New Times, Phoenix police found several former students to come forward and tell detectives about their encounters with Whitehead.

The first alleged victim a 1989 Brophy graduate, told police that he was 17 when Whitehead asked him and some of his classmates if they would stay at his house while he was away.

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.

PHOENIX (AZ)
San Francisco Chronicle

PHOENIX (AP) — A $50,000 bond has been set for a former Brophy College Preparatory teacher accused of sexually abusing several students in past years.

Daniel Whitehead was arraigned Monday after being arrested Saturday.

He was fired from the all-male private Catholic school in central Phoenix late last year after two ex-Brophy students who now are adults accused Whitehead of inappropriate sexual advances.

The men say the incidents allegedly occurred in the 1980s when they were teenagers.

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

AUSTRALIA
International Business Times

By Vittorio Hernandez | September 11, 2012

The Anglican Church in Newcastle has imposed punishment on four priests for engaging in sexual trysts with a teenage male in the 1970s and 1980s. The New South Wales (NSW) police initially investigated the charges but filed no charges; however, the church held its own probe which led to the defrocking of the clergy.

Reports identified the four Anglican priests, three of whom were defrocked on Monday, as Graeme Lawrence, the former dean of Newcastle, Bruce Hoare, Andrew Duncan and Graeme Sturt. Mr Sturt was banned from performing any ministry function for five years.

The Anglican Diocese of Newcastle, in a statement released on Monday, confirmed that in an internal church inquiry, it found that Mr Duncan had oral sex with a 14-year old male teenager in 1979. Their sexual relationship continued for two years which included masturbation and anal sex.

When the same teenager was 16, he met Mr Lawrence in 1981 at the boy’s home. Their sexual relationship lasted for four years while Mr Lawrence served as dean of Newcastle. Their trysts include regular orgies with an Anglican teacher identified as Gregory Goyette.

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.

WORCESTER (MA)
The Guardian (United Kingdom)

[House of Affirmation – BishopAccountability.org]

Adam Gabbatt and agencies
guardian.co.uk, Monday 10 September 2012

A gay couple is suing the Catholic church in Massachusetts for allegedly refusing to sell them a mansion out of concern that they would host same-sex weddings at the site.

James Fairbanks and Alain Beret filed their discrimination lawsuit against the Catholic diocese of Worcester in county’s superior court on Monday.

They allege that they were in negotiations to buy Oakhurst, a former retreat center in Northbridge, when church officials suddenly pulled out due to the possibility of same-sex marriage ceremonies being held there. …

Sullivan told the Globe, however, that the church has a policy of not selling properties where Mass has been held to people who plan to host same-sex weddings. The same applied to other developers who planned to use former church properties for things the church deemed inappropriate, such as abortion clinics or bars.

“We wouldn’t sell our churches and our properties to any of a number of things that would reflect badly on the church,” he told the newspaper. “These buildings are sacred to the memory of Catholics.”

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.

SOMERVILLE (MA)
The Somerville News

On September 10, 2012, in Latest News, by The News Staff

An Episcopal Priest, formerly of St. James Episcopal Church in Somerville, was arraigned today on assault to rape a child and indecent assault and battery on a child charges, Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone informed the public today.

Reverend Paul A. LaCharite, 65, of Boston, was arraigned in Somerville District Court on one count of assault to rape a child and three counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under the age of 14. The Commonwealth requested that the defendant bail be set at $25,000 cash bail with conditions the he wear a GPS monitoring device, stay away from victim’s home and work, no unsupervised contact with children under 16, no work or volunteer work with children under 16, and that he cooperate with the church’s disciplinary process. Somerville District Court Judge Maurice Flynn ordered the defendant’s bail set at $10,000 cash bail with the following conditions of release: defendant must stay away from victim’s home and work, have no unsupervised contact with children under the age of 16, surrender his passport, report to probation as deemed appropriate by the Probation Department, not possess any firearms or dangerous weapons, must refrain from excessive use of alcohol or narcotics without prescription, and abide by any and all restraining orders if applicable.

The defendant’s next court date is October 22 for a probable cause hearing.

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.

KANSAS CITY (MO)
RKnieuws

KANSAS (RKnieuws.net) – In de VS is voor het eerst een bisschop tot een voorwaardelijke gevangenisstraf veroordeeld voor het verdoezelen van seksueel misbruik. Dat meldden de Franse krant La Croix en het Nederlandse Katholiek Nieuwsblad vrijdag op hun website.

Bisschop Robert Finn van Kansas City-St. Joseph werd donderdag schuldig bevonden. Hoewel Finn wist van seksueel misbruik door een priester van zijn bisdom, verzuimde hij gedurende meer dan een half jaar Justitie hiervan in kennis te stellen. De geestelijke Shawn Ratigan werd in mei 2011 gearresteerd op beschuldiging van het bezit van kinderporno. Afgelopen maand bekende hij.

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.

WORCESTER (MA)
CBS News

(CBS/AP) BOSTON – A gay couple from Massachusetts is claiming that Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester refused to sell them a former Catholic retreat center because church officials were concerned they would host gay weddings at the mansion.

James Fairbanks, 59, and Alain Beret, 57, filed suit in Worcester Superior Court for loss of civil rights and dignity and for emotional distress on Monday.

The married couple from Sutton planned to buy Oakhurst, a former Catholic retreat center in Northbridge, and restore it as a place they could live and host a special events business. Oakhurst was also previously used as a “House of Affirmation,” a treatment center for priests with psychological problems, CBS station WBZ-TV in Boston reported.

But the Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester ended negotiations in June, and the couple alleged they learned why in an email they inadvertently received in which diocesan Chancellor Thomas Sullivan cited concern “about the potentiality of gay marriages there.”

“If you want from your pulpit to tell your congregants that you are against gay marriage, you have that right. But you don’t have the right to chase me down the street with that,” Beret told CBS radio station WBZ 1030 in Boston. …

But James G. Reardon Jr., an attorney for the diocese, said the diocese stopped negotiations over concerns about whether the buyers could finance the purchase. The email refers only to the possibility of gay weddings being held at the site, not the couple’s sexual orientation, which Reardon said never came up during negotiations.

“It wasn’t a case of discriminating against gay people. We didn’t even know they were gay,” Reardon said.

Reardon said the buyers’ initial financing fell through, and they proposed carving out a 5-acre portion of the property for purchase. But that “made no economic sense to us,” Reardon said, citing various associated costs, including surveying and plot-planning.

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.

WORCESTER (MA)
The MetroWestDaily News

By Mike Gleason/Daily News staff
The MetroWest Daily News

WORCESTER —

Two men filed suit against the Worcester Diocese of the Catholic Church Monday, claiming the church refused to sell them a Northbridge property because they were gay and could possibly hold gay marriages there.

James Fairbanks and Alain Beret filed a complaint in Worcester Superior Court that claims House of Affirmation, an affiliate of the diocese, illegally discriminated against the couple in declining to sell them Oakhurst, a 44-bedroom Northbridge mansion.

The diocese, though, said the sale was not made because of financial concerns. …

Gavin Reardon, an attorney representing the diocese, said sexual orientation was not the reason the property was not sold.

“The diocese does not see this as discrimination against a gay person,” he said. “This is a case of a failed real estate transaction.”

According to Reardon, there was never a purchase and sale agreement in place.

“No one at the diocese ever asked about the buyer’s sexual orientation,” he said. “They didn’t come up with the financing.”

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.

KANSAS CITY (MO)
TheMediaReport

Dave Pierre

If anyone needed another example of the New York Times’ obsession with blasting the Catholic Church, one does not need to look further than the paper’s coverage following the guilty verdict of Kansas City–St. Joseph Bishop Robert W. Finn.

One cannot help but wonder when a misdemeanor conviction (with a suspended sentence) has ever resulted in two front-page stories (1, 2) and a breathless editorial in the Grey Lady before.

Indeed, the guilty verdict in the Bishop Finn trial was historic, but a sense of perspective is in order. The diocese delayed in reporting that a priest had lewd photographs of children on his computer. But there is plenty of evidence, either ignored or downplayed by the Times, that Finn took the hit for the failures of the people who worked under him.

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.

SOMERVILLE (MA)
Patch

By Chris Orchard

A “pastoral response team” met with parishioners at Saint James Episcopal Church in Somerville Sunday to help the congregation confront news that one of the church’s former priests was arrested and accused of sexually assaulting a child there in the 1990s and 2000s, according to Tracy Sukraw, communications director for the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts.

Paul A. LaCharite, 65, of Boston, was arrested Friday and arraigned Monday in Somerville District Court on charges of assault to rape a child and indecent assault and battery on a child under the age of 14, according to the Middlesex District Attorney’s office.

According to the district attorney’s office, LaCharite is accused of sexually assaulting a young member of the congregation, who’s now an adult, over the course of about a decade beginning in the 1990s.

LaCharite served as priest of Saint James, in Teele Square, from 1989 to 2005, according to Sukraw. He retired from the priesthood in 2005 but in recent years served as a priest associate in the famous Old North Church in Boston’s North End. Priest associates play a limited role in the congregations and do things like help out with services, Sukraw said.

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.

CANADA
CBC News

A Roman Catholic priest who faces many sex-related offences has been denied medical treatment by the Government of Nunavut, according to his lawyer.

Eric Dejaeger has been held in solitary confinement at Iqaluit’s Baffin Correctional Centre for the past 19 months. The 65-year old faces 77 charges for offences alleged to have occurred during his time in Igloolik, Nunavut, 30 years ago.

Dejaeger’s lawyer, Malcolm Kempt, was in court Monday. Kempt told the judge that his client suffers from high blood pressure, heart problems and other ailments.

Kempt said an appointment with a heart specialist was cancelled by Nunavut officials because Dejaeger is not a resident of the territory.

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.

KANSAS CITY (MO)
Washington Post

By Jesse Bogan
Religion News Service

KANSAS CITY, Mo. —

He didn’t mention Bishop Robert Finn, shepherd of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph. On Thursday, a judge in Jackson County found Finn, 59, guilty of one misdemeanor count of failing to report suspected child abuse, including the fact that Finn knew child pornography was on the computer of the Rev. Shawn Ratigan, who used to be pastor of St. Patrick’s.

But it was clear that Hoye’s caution against judgment and prayers for healing were about Finn and the wounded congregation.

“We pray that the Holy Spirit might move throughout the diocese and grant us consolation and peace,” Hoye said. “We pray for the victims of injustice, those denied rights owed them.”

When the service was over, parishioners were polite but not as subtle about the court ruling.

“Maybe this will get different dioceses and bishops, everybody throughout the religious world, to realize they have a responsibility to basically do what Jesus taught us and that is take care of kids, to respect other lives,” said Steve Burk, 59, a retired Ford assembly line worker who attends Mass throughout the week.

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.

WORCESTER (MA)
Telegram & Gazette

By Gary V. Murray TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
gmurray@telegram.com

WORCESTER — Two Sutton men filed a lawsuit today accusing Diocese of Worcester officials of unlawfully discriminating against them on the basis of sexual orientation during the course of negotiations for the sale of church property in Northbridge.

James Fairbanks and Alain J. Beret, a married gay couple, allege in their Worcester Superior Court suit that their offer to buy the Oakhurst Conference and Retreat Center, a 44-bedroom mansion in Northbridge, was rejected by church officials solely because they are gay and might have held same-sex weddings on the property.

The diocese has denied the allegation.

Mr. Fairbanks and Mr. Beret said they planned to renovate the aging mansion and turn it into a banquet facility that would host weddings and other events, as well as their personal residence. Owned by House of Affirmation Inc., an affiliate of the diocese, the site at 120 Hill St. in Northbridge was formerly known as the House of Affirmation, a treatment center for pedophile priests that closed in the 1980s.

On June 8, a day after Mr. Fairbanks and Mr. Beret made a revised $550,000 offer for Oakhurst and 6 acres of the 26-acre site, Monsignor Thomas Sullivan sent the following email to the diocesan broker, according to the suit.

“I just went down the hall and discussed it with the bishop. Because of the potentiality of gay marriages there, something you shared with us yesterday, we are not interested in going forward with these buyers. I think they’re shaky anyway.
So, just tell them that we will not accept their revised plan and the Diocese is making new plans for the property. You find the language.” …

Diocesan spokesman Raymond L. Delisle referred all questions concerning the lawsuit to James G. Reardon Jr., lawyer for the diocese. Mr. Reardon could not be reached for comment.

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
National Catholic Reporter

by Pat Perriello on Sep. 10, 2012 NCR Today

In an Aug. 18 article in The Economist, a detailed review of the finances within the Catholic church in the United States is provided. This excellent article is required reading for anyone interested in getting a sense of how our church conducts its business.

Some of the highlights point out the mismanagement of church finances. Much of that could be due to the fact that no one chooses to become a priest to run a business. Yet in addition to a lack of knowledge and ability, there are also some questionable dealings. For example, money is frequently diverted from its intended uses. The church tends to comingle funds when it suits its purpose and insist all accounts are totally separate when it is to its advantage. Many dioceses have raided priest pension funds to make settlements in the sexual abuse crisis.

A lack of openness pervades church business dealings. In fact, it is only the sexual abuse crisis that has enabled us to know as much as we do of their finances. Bankruptcy proceedings in several dioceses have shone a light on some of these somewhat disturbing practices.

It is also interesting that the church, which complains that its religious liberties are being abridged, is actually benefiting from significant health care subsidies from the federal government. Also, churches have been avoiding collecting money from the faithful and are instead issuing municipal bonds to pay for expansion and renovation projects. In one case, the bishop used the money to buy chancery offices. The bonds are, of course, tax-free to investors so the church gains a subsidy that normally goes to local governments and public sector projects. Thus, American taxpayers are indirectly helping the church deal with the financial settlements in the sex abuse cases.

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.

WORCESTER (MA)
Banker & Tradesman

[House of Affirmation – BishopAccountability.org]

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester has been sued for sex discrimination after pulling out of a deal to sell a 44-room Northbridge mansion to a gay couple, James Fairbanks and Alain Beret.

Beret and Fairbanks, who are married, had been planning to use the property, called “Oakhurst,” as a wedding resort. The diocese pulled out of the sale when it discovered that gay marriages were to be permitted on the premises. The diocese had formerly used it as a home for pedophile priests.

A chain of emails to the buyers from the diocese’s broker mistakenly included an email from Rev. Msgr. Thomas J. Sullivan, who had been negotiating on behalf of the diocese. Sullivan wrote: “I just went down the hall and discussed it with the bishop. Because of the potentiality of gay marriages there, something you shared with us yesterday, we are not interested in going forward with these buyers. I think they’re shaky anyway. So, just tell them that we will not accept their revised plan and the diocese is making new plans for the property. You find the language.”

Beret and Fairbanks ‘s attorneys, Carvajal & Nielsen P.C., joined by the Massachusetts Fair Housing Center, have filed suit in Worcester Superior Court against the Worcester diocese, claiming discrimination against their clients. Rev. Robert McManus, the bishop for the Worcester diocese, Msgr. Sullivan, and Eastern Alliance Realty LLC of Shrewsbury, the agency for the sale, along with its principals, LiSandra Rodriguez-Pagan and Angel L. Pagan, have also been named as defendants.

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.

MASSACHUSETTS
WBUR

By Radio Boston Staff September 10, 2012

The Rev. James Foley has been in limbo for more than a decade as the Catholic church’s internal process for dealing with accusations of sex abuse has yet to resolve whether he can remain a priest or not.

Foley was first accused of abuse in 1999, and a second alleged victim made his claim just last year, saying that he was abused when he was 12 or 13 through his graduation from Harvard University.

Both of the alleged victims received a civil settlement from the Archdiocese.

In the meantime, Foley has become a practicing lawyer, running a small office in Lowell while still getting his church salary and benefits.

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.

KANSAS CITY (MO)
National Catholic Reporter

Sep. 10, 2012
By An NCR Editorial

If Bishop Robert W. Finn wanted today to volunteer at a parish in the Kansas City-St. Joseph, Mo., diocese to teach a religious education class or chaperone a parish youth group to World Youth Day, he couldn’t do it. Convicted of a misdemeanor charge of failure to report suspected child abuse, Finn wouldn’t pass the background check necessary to work with young people in the Catholic church.

That is, he could not serve in those positions if he were just a layman, deacon or priest. But he is a bishop, and that makes all the difference. And he can, apparently, do anything he wants under church law.

There are two issues at play here: the governance of the Kansas City-St. Joseph diocese and the integrity of the U.S. bishops as a national conference.

Finn cannot govern the diocese. It is clear to local Catholics he has been largely absent from the day-to-day life of the diocese for almost a year. The chancery offices are in disarray, diocesan personnel feel abandoned, and the clergy are either angry or dumbfounded. From the very first day of his tenure in this diocese, Finn has been a source of division and divisiveness. He does have supporters, but he has never won even a grudging respect from majority of active Catholics.

His timid apology on the day of his trial is telling.

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.

SOMERVILLE (MA)
Wicked Local Somerville

By Auditi Guha
Wicked Local Somerville

Posted Sep 10, 2012 @ 12:27 PM

Somerville —

Former priest of St. James Episcopal Church in Somerville, Rev. Paul A. LaCharite was issued a $10,000 bail Monday morning at his arraignment for child abuse charges in Somerville District Court and denies the charges.

“Father LaCharite is innocent of these charges,” said his defense attorney David Meier to reporters outside the courthouse at 11:45 a.m. as they left. “He is an honest and decent man and he is dedicated to his church and congregation.”

LaCharite, 65, is currently affiliated with the Old North Church in Boston and was arrested Friday on on one count of assault to rape a child under 14 and three counts of indecent assault and battery on a child.

“He’s having a very difficult time,” Meier said. “We intend to vigorously defend these charges.”

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.

CHILE
La Tercera

por Angélica Baeza Palavecino – 10/09/2012

En mayo se dio inicio a la investigación canónica contra el sacerdote Juan Esteban Morales por dos denuncias por “abuso de poder”, pero sólo en julio el vicario Jaime Ortíz de Lazcano comenzó su indagatoria, la que podría terminar en “un mes”, de acuerdo a fuentes eclesiásticas.

Morales, ex párroco de El Bosque y el sacerdote más cercano a Fernando Karadima, se encuentra fuera de Chile y regresará al país a fines de este mes, momento en el que deberá prestar declaración ante el vicario, quien también indagó el caso de Cristián Precht.

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
Waiting for Godot to Leave

OK, I’m going to get this out of my system.

Members of my immediate family have been victimized by sexual abuse. I can tell you personally of the pain it causes. I can tell you that when an otherwise good Catholic that I will not identify writes a blog post in which she argues that if an adult has sex with, say, a fourteen year old it’s not CHILD ABUSE because teens are sexual creatures and when priests have sex with them (she argues in so many words) it’s because the kids want it- I want to scream.

When one of the best men I know is thrown into a dark night of the soul, into drinking and weeping over Bishop Finn enabling CHILD ABUSE and members of Finn’s Opus Dei prelature covering up, lying, and making excuses for him and belittling the severity of this abuse – I want to get drunk and weep a bit myself.

When commenters here and elsewhere on the blogosphere are defending Fr. Groeschel’s indefensible defense of abusers, which consisted of blaming the victims for seducing them; and when these same commenters read Bill Donohue’s lies but refuse to read the facts of the case regarding Bishop Finn’s conviction – I want to hit somebody.

And for me this is tied in with everything else.

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

AUSTRALIA
The Age

[with video]

September 11, 2012

Jane Lee

THEY call themselves the Survivors.

The men, aged in their 40s and 50s, meet about once a month to support each other in a struggle against something they rarely discuss.

All have similar tales of a cycle of physical violence and sexual abuse suffered at the hands of clergy in Catholic schools in Ballarat in the 1970s.

Most of the group’s members were students of St Patrick’s College or St Alipius Christian Brothers Primary School or both, while Robert Best, Edward Dowlan and Gerald Ridsdale, all later convicted paedophiles, were employed there.

Some have received compensation for their ordeal, but many more are still in mediation with the Catholic Church, in a process they say has prolonged their trauma.

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.

KANSAS CITY (MO)
CBS St. Louis

Calls for Kansas City Bishop Robert Finn’s resignation are increasing.

He’s become the highest-ranking U.S. church official to be convicted of a crime related to the child sex abuse scandal.

Soon after a Missouri judge found Bishop Finn guilty Thursday of one misdemeanor count of failing to report suspected child sex abuse, unhappy Roman Catholics began discussing ways to get the bishop out of office on a Facebook page titled “Bishop Finn Must Go.”

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.

WORCESTER (MA)
Carvajal & Nielsen

[House of Affirmation – BishopAccountability.org]

Suit Cites Church’s Refusal to Sell Based On Buyers’ Sexual Orientation

WORCESTER, Mass., Sept. 10, 2012 – Carvajal & Nielsen, P.C. announced that the firm has filed a lawsuit today in Worcester Superior Court against the House of Affirmation, Inc., an affiliate of the Worcester Diocese, and others, claiming discrimination against clients James Fairbanks and Alain Beret of Sutton.

The Massachusetts Fair Housing Center (MHFC) is joining Carvajal & Nielsen in filing the suit.

Fairbanks and Beret had been negotiating for the purchase of Oakhurst, a 44-bedroom mansion in Northbridge, but the House of Affirmation, owner of the property, refused to sell the property to them after discovering that the two men are gay and married, and that they would allow gay marriages to take place at Oakhurst.

Defendants named in the suit include the Most Reverend Robert McManus, Bishop for the Worcester Diocese; the Reverend Monsignor Thomas J. Sullivan; the House of Affirmation; Eastern Alliance Realty, LLC of Shrewsbury, the agency for the sale, and its principals, LiSandra Rodriguez-Pagan and Angel L. Pagan.

The four-count suit charges the defendants with discrimination in violation of Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 151B, based on their sexual orientation. It seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages, compensation for attorneys’ fees and costs, “and any other relief this court deems just and equitable” in a trial by jury.

“Discriminating against a person who is gay is no different than discriminating against a person who is black, Latino, Jewish or female,” Attorney Sergio E. Carvajal, principal of Carvajal & Nielsen, said. “It is wrong and it is illegal.”

While the two men negotiated in good faith, invested thousands of dollars for inspections and even made a $75,000 deposit with their offer to purchase, the Diocese of Worcester pulled out, claiming a change in plans for the property.

However, a thread of e-mails from the diocese’s broker included the following e-mail from Monsignor Sullivan: “I just went down the hall and discussed it with the bishop. Because of the potentiality of gay marriages there, something you shared with us yesterday, we are not interested in going forward with these buyers. I think they’re shaky anyway. So, just tell them that we will not accept their revised plan and the Diocese is making new plans for the property. You find the language.”

Monsignor Sullivan told Fox TV that plans changed because “the loan that they had attempted to get from the bank had failed them” and he told the Telegram & Gazette that the diocese withdrew from the sale because Fairbanks and Beret “couldn’t come up with the money.”

Those statements were made even though Fairbanks and Beret had not yet applied for a loan, because the deal was still being negotiated.

“Monsignor Sullivan’s public statement that the deal fell through because of a lack of financing is false, and damaging to the reputation of our clients,” according to Attorney Arose W. Nielsen, principal of Carvajal & Nielsen. “James and Alain are experienced businessmen with the financial means to purchase the property, and their proposal for the rehabilitation of Oakhurst has been enthusiastically welcomed by town officials.”

Yet the Diocese of Worcester, which formerly used the property as a home for priests who are pedophiles, “appears to have pulled out of the deal because of our clients’ sexual orientation,” Carvajal said. “The law prohibits discrimination on this basis.”

“To date, the Diocese of Worcester has not even apologized to James and Alain,” Nielsen said. “The action by the diocese is not only a setback for our clients and for the town of Northbridge. It is a setback for civil rights in Massachusetts.”

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
Talk to Action

Frank Cocozzelli

On Thursday, September 6th, Robert Finn, the bishop who heads the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Missouri was convicted by a Jackson County court of one misdemeanor count of failing to report suspected child abuse.

There is no word yet on whether Bishop Finn will be deemed fit to continue to lead the Catholic Church in Kansas City.

Bishop Finn’s conviction stems from the prosecution of Fr. Shawn Ratigan who has since pleaded guilty in Federal Court to four counts of producing child pornography and one count of attempted production of child pornography.

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
Bilgrimage

William D. Lindsey

Several more pieces of valuable commentary on the story of Bishop Robert Finn in Kansas City and his conviction last week on charges of having failed to report Father Shawn Ratigan after Finn learned Ratigan had pornographic images of children on his computer:

At Commonweal, Grant Gallicho does excellent work summarizing the Finn case and rebutting the shameful argument of Dr. Bill Donohue of the Catholic League that Finn is innocent (!) and that the Ratigan case does not involve child abuse (!). Gallicho’s posting is long and detailed, and it’s difficult for me to point to a single section that encapsulates the argument. I encourage readers to read the entire piece, just as I also encourage you to refresh your memory of the specifics of the Finn-Ratigan case by clicking on the detailed timeline in Joshua McElwee’s NCR article about the Finn conviction (which Pam Cohen may have compiled and for which she deserves great credit, if that’s the case). And I recommend Laurie Goodstein’s recent summary of the details of the case in New York Times.

Though it’s hard to abstract Gallicho’s extensive and well-argued posting, here’s one excerpt that encapsulates his argument:

But what is he [i.e., Dr. Donohue] thinking when he calls the “condemnations targeting Finn…as unfair as they are contrived”? The man is guilty of not reporting suspected child abuse. He was informed of Ratigan’s disturbing photos of children (children, not teenagers) on December 16, 2010. There is nothing contrived or unfair about condemning his failure to respond adequately to the threat posed by Ratigan. He chose not to forward the case to his own sexual-abuse review board, and to take as gospel the evaluation of one psychiatrist even though his closest advisers were urging him to send Ratigan to another shrink. And when Finn learned Ratigan was not abiding even the light restrictions the bishop had placed on him, what did he do? He gave him a stern talking-to. What would have happened if Msgr. Murphy hadn’t made the decision to tell Capt. Smith the whole truth? We know what Ratigan did in the meantime. He kept looking at God-knows-what online. He heard kids’ confessions. He had parties for kids and their parents, where he apparently continued his work as an amateur pornographer. Because the bishop failed.

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.

SOMERVILLE (MA)
Boston Globe

By Brian R. Ballou and Martin Finucane
Globe Staff
September 10, 2012

A Somerville District Court judge this morning set bail at $10,000 for an Episcopal priest after the priest’s arraignment on charges of sexually assaulting a child.

Reverend Paul A. LaCharite, 65, of Boston faces one count of assault with intent to rape a child and three counts of indecent assault and battery on a child.

The crimes allegedly occurred over a 10-year period at the St. James Episcopal Church in Somerville, where LaCharite was assigned from 1989 to 2005, prosecutors said.

The victim is 26 years old now and married, with a 2-year-old daughter.

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

AUSTRALIA
The Australian

Dan Box
From:The Australian
September 11, 2012

NSW police are investigating allegations four Anglican priests, including the former dean of Newcastle, had sex or were involved in group sex sessions with a teenage boy aged as young as 14.

The establishment of the inquiry, which was referred to police by the church itself, means detectives are now involved in two separate investigations into alleged child abuse by church officials in Newcastle during the 1970s and 80s. The second, Strike Force Georgiana, is investigating the Catholic Church and has charged six priests with pedophile abuse.

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.

WORCESTER (MA)
ABC News

[note: The Oakhurst building formerly was known as the House of Affirmation.]

[House of Affirmation – BishopAccountability.org]

Mass. September 10, 2012 (AP)

A gay couple from Massachusetts has sued the Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester for allegedly refusing to sell them a mansion because church officials were concerned they would host gay weddings at the site.

James Fairbanks and Alain Beret filed their discrimination suit Monday in Worcester Superior Court.

They allege that they were in negotiations to buy Oakhurst, a former retreat center in Northbridge, when church officials suddenly pulled out.

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
Waiting for Godot to Leave

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Yesterday I posted a response to Rod Dreher’s American Conservative piece in which I struggled to join in his struggle in a struggling attempt to figure out (while struggling)

What the hell are we going to do now?

… which is to say, how are ordinary people, especially people of faith, supposed to react to sexual abuse in the Church aided and abetted and enabled by bishops – who are the successors to the apostles?

This becomes a pointed question on the heels of Bishop Finn’s conviction and Fr. Groeschel’s wrong-headed statements.

The only thing we can come up with is …

1. Don’t turn clerics or media celebrities into idols – “put not your faith in princes” – even princes of the Church
and
2. Priests and bishops need to shape up.

Now in my blog post I critiqued both of these suggestions. I was wrong in my critique of number two and only half-right in my critique of number one.

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.

CANADA
The Western Star

George Smith has pleaded guilty 35 of 62 sex-related charges against boys.

The Roman Catholic priest was accused of sexually abusing young males allegedly victimized nine boys during a 20-year period of serving western Newfoundland parishes.

Smith, who last resided in Truro, N.S., turned himself into the RCMP in Corner Brook late last year.

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

AUSTRALIA
The Australian

DAN BOX
From:The Australian
September 10, 20121:34PM

THREE senior Anglican priests, including the former Dean of Newcastle, have been defrocked after allegedly having sex with a teenage boy.

One other priest, as well as an Anglican schoolteacher, has also been disciplined by the Bishop of Newcastle, in central NSW, after alleged involvement in group sex sessions with the boy.

Announcing his decision this afternoon, Bishop Brian Farran said some of the priests had been found to have “engaged in serious sexual misconduct including misconduct when the complainant was a child. Each of them failed to report the misconduct when they were legally obliged to do so.”

An investigation by the Diocese of Newcastle’s Professional Standards Board found one of the four priests, Reverend Andrew Duncan, “engaged in an ongoing sexual relationship” with the boy – named only as M – from the age of 14.

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.

NORTHERN IRELAND
BBC News

A statement has been read out at Masses in a County Down church in relation to a priest accused of embezzling funds.

Parishioners of St Macartan’s Church, Loughinisland, were told that retired priest Father Conleth Byrne, 78, had been charged with defrauding the church of more than £145,000.

Father Byrne was parish priest at Loughinisland at the time.

The statement said that the diocese of Down and Connor and Father Byrne were co-operating fully with the police.

The statement, read out on Sunday, confirmed that Father Byrne had been charged with dishonestly abusing a position of trust by making payments to a person with the intention of making a gain for himself or another person, or to cause a loss to the parish of Loughinisland.

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.

SOMERVILLE (MA)
The Somerville News

An Episcopal Priest, formerly of St. James Episcopal Church in Somerville, has been arrested on assault to rape a child and indecent assault and battery on a child charges, Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone and Somerville Police Chief Thomas Pasquarello informed the public Friday.

Reverend Paul A. LaCharite, 65, of Boston, was arrested Friday on one count of assault to rape a child and three counts of indecent assault and battery on a child.

“We allege that this defendant, holding a trusted position within the Episcopal Church, indecently assaulted and touched the victim over several years, only ending his 10 year long predatory abuse of the victim when the defendant left the church,” District Attorney Leone said. “Our office will continue to prosecute those who harm or exploit children, as they are our most vulnerable victims and most deserving of our protection.”

Somerville Police Chief Thomas Pasquarello said, “The Somerville Police Department will continue to work with the District Attorney’s Office as we investigate these serious allegations.”

According to authorities, the victim and his family were long time parishioners at St. James Episcopal Church in Somerville. In the 1990s, beginning when the victim was in elementary school, the defendant, a priest at the church, began inappropriately touching the victim in his office. The defendant’s conduct is alleged to have progressed over a ten year period to include several indecent assault and batteries and assaults with the intent rape a child, with the abuse finally ceasing when the victim was a teenager due to the defendant leaving St. James.

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.

CANADA
CBC News

The Coroner’s Office in Ontario says it is willing to take another look at the death of a residential school student who died near Kenora more than 40 years ago.

Charlie Wenjack was 12-years-old, back in 1966, when his body was found near the railroad tracks. He was trying to walk hundreds of kilometres home to his father at Marten Falls First Nation.

Wenjack’s death garnered national media attention and was one of the first times ordinary Canadians caught a glimpse of trouble at residential schools. But his family had never seen the results of the inquest, they weren’t allowed to attend.

“No one has ever come to tell my mother why her son had to die,” said Pearl Achneepineskum, Wenjack’s sister. “She still waits to this day.”

CBC News obtained the hand-written copy of the inquest report.

The inquest jury asks, back in 1966, whether the “present Indian education and philosphy” is right. Wenjack’s sister Daisy Munroe said it’s a question still relevant today.

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 Daily Beast

A chilling documentary about the Vatican’s sexual-abuse scandal gives voice to its victims. Barbie Latza Nadeau got an early look at the film the Holy See doesn’t want you to see.

Even if you think you know the sordid details of the sex scandal concerning predatory priests in the Roman Catholic Church, director Alex Gibney’s Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God is eye-opening.

In fact, it should be compulsory viewing for all Catholics, whether they blame or defend the church, for its clarity and insight into just who holds responsibility for decades of child abuse at the hands of clergy. Gibney does not rely on the usual broad strokes of anti-priest propaganda that has come to define this scandal. Instead, he meticulously attends to the details of the biggest cases, giving voice to the victims and even revealing the rarely heard frustration by the “good priests” who tried to stop the sins of their colleagues.

Gibney opens with scenes that any Catholic will recognize immediately: crisp white dresses of little girls making their first communion, burning candles as altar boys prepare for mass, the haze of smoke so familiar one can almost smell the incense. Then he reveals what’s going on. He uses family movies, faded pictures, and actors to paint a portrait of how innocent children were offered up like sacrificial lambs to known “devils in disguise” by unwitting parents who blindly trusted a church they believed would protect them.

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.

CANADA
Radio Canada

Des centaines d’Autochtones sont réunis mardi et mercredi à Saskatoon dans le but entre autres de trouver des solutions au nombre jugé trop important d’enfants sous la tutelle de la province.

La Fédération des nations indiennes de la Saskatchewan (FSIN) attend avec impatience la mise en application de changements proposés dans le rapport d’un comité d’experts sur la protection de l’enfance publié en 2010.

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.

CANADA
Aboriginal Multi-Media Society

By Shari Narine Windspeaker Contributor OTTAWA

The “general language” used by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in its recently released interim report is a disappointment to Clement Chartier, president of the Métis National Council.

“The report itself speaks in general terms. When one reads it, one would not think that Métis generally were excluded (from the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement),” said Chartier. “Canadians, I don’t think, would understand the specifics of this.”

One of the 20 recommendation calls for the parties to the IRSSA “to address the legitimate concerns of the former students who feel unfairly left out.”

In the preamble to Recommendation 12, the TRC discusses hearing from students who attended schools not on the prescribed list or students who attended residential schools but as day scholars. Métis students are not mentioned as a group.

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.

WORCESTER (MA)
Telegram & Gazette

By Linda Bock TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
lbock@telegram.com

WORCESTER — Two gay Sutton men plan to file a lawsuit in Worcester Superior Court today against Affirmation Inc., an affiliate of the Diocese of Worcester, and other parties.

Worcester law firm Carvajal & Nielson will hold a press conference at 11:30 this morning at the courthouse, 225 Main St., to make the announcement.

James Fairbanks and Alain Beret, who live in Sutton, were pursuing the purchase of Oakhurst, a 44-bedroom mansion in Northbridge, owned by the Diocese of Worcester. The couple had searched for two years for property for the renovation project, and hoped to turn the estate into a banquet facility. Previously, the pair had transformed mansions in Vermont and Barre into similar businesses.

The asking price of $1.4 million was negotiated to $1 million. On May 18, the pair signed an offer to purchase with a $75,000 deposit.

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.

CHICAGO (IL)
Chicago Tribune

August 21, 2012

By Jennifer Delgado, Chicago Tribune reporter

A Cook County man filed a lawsuit against the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago and Cardinal Francis George on Tuesday, alleging that a now-deceased Augustinian brother who worked at St. Rita of Cascia High School molested him several times in the late 1970s.

A lawsuit filed Tuesday claims Brother Christopher J. McCartney, a former high school dean at St. Rita’s, sexually attacked him in the dean’s office when he was a student. The complaint alleges the Archdiocese of Chicago was careless and negligent because it didn’t investigate sexual abuse reports against McCartney while he worked at the all-boys Catholic high school.

However, according to an official with the Augustinians of the Midwest, McCartney, who died in 2002, was employed by the Augustinian religious order that runs the school on Chicago’s South Side, not the archdiocese, as the lawsuit claimed.

An archdiocese spokeswoman declined to comment, saying she hadn’t seen the lawsuit.

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

IRELAND
Irish Independent

By Colm Kelpie

Monday September 10 2012

ACCUSATIONS levelled at the head of the church’s child protection watchdog by a bishop were yesterday branded “immensely insulting” by a leading abuse support group.

Bishop of Down and Connor Noel Treanor has apologised and withdrawn an “assertion” he made concerning the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church and its chief executive Ian Elliott.

Bishop Treanor said the matter that arose between the diocese and the board was a procedural issue, which “required attention”.

He said matters were brought to his attention by third parties and were informally raised with the board. It then instigated a formal complaints procedure.

Reports yesterday stated retired Supreme Court Judge Catherine McGuinness was tasked to investigate allegations that Mr Elliott had indulged in spin against the church hierarchy in off-the-record briefings with journalists. She subsequently concluded the accusations were unfounded.

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

IRELAND
BBC News

The Bishop of Down and Connor has apologised for an accusation he made against the head of the Catholic Church’s child protection watchdog.

The Sunday Times reported that Bishop Noel Treanor made a complaint that Ian Elliott was briefing journalists against the Catholic Church hierarchy.

An investigation was carried out and a report cleared Mr Elliott of the allegations.

Mr Treanor said he accepted the findings of the report.

A statement, issued by the Down and Connor Diocese on behalf of Dr Treanor said: “The matter which arose between the diocese and the National Board for the Safeguarding of Children in the Catholic Church (NBSCCI) was a procedural matter, which required attention.

“It did not in any way affect or interfere with safeguarding practice.

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

IRELAND
RTE News

One in Four Director Maeve Lewis has described as “staggering” revelations that the Bishop of Down and Connor made a complaint against the head of the National Council for the Safeguarding of Children in the Catholic Church.

In a statement, Bishop Noel Treanor said he accepted the findings of a report that found there was no basis for his complaint.

Ian Elliott is head of the Catholic Church’s watchdog, which was set up to monitor and report on how child protection guidelines are being implemented.

But newspaper reports revealed that Mr Elliott was the subject of a complaint last year from a senior member of the Catholic hierarchy.

The Sunday Times reported that Bishop Treanor complained that Mr Elliott was engaging in spin against the church during media briefings.

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.

KANSAS CITY (MO)
YouTube

Published on Sep 7, 2012 by KCPTOnline

BISHOP GUILTY: Kansas City Bishop Robert Finn is found guilty in a Jackson County courtroom of failing to report an abusive priest to state authorities. Finn is the first Catholic bishop in the country convicted of failing to report suspected child abuse.

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

IRELAND
Irish Times

PAUL CULLEN

THE CATHOLIC Church has been accused of attempting to muzzle its child protection officer after it emerged that he was the subject of a complaint by a senior bishop.

Bishop of Down and Connor Noel Treanor confirmed yesterday that he had apologised to Ian Elliott, chief executive of the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church, over what he termed a “procedural matter”.

One in Four director Maeve Lewis said it was “incredibly insulting” of Bishop Treanor to challenge Mr Elliott’s integrity given the latter’s track record and the balanced reports he had produced into child protection practices in Catholic dioceses. The church was attempting to “muzzle” Mr Elliott, she said.

The Sunday Times reported yesterday that the apology was made for accusing Mr Elliott of indulging in spin against the hierarchy during off-the-record briefings with journalists.

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.

WORCESTER (MA)
Boston Globe

By Lisa Wangsness
Globe Staff / September 10, 2012

James Fairbanks and Alain Beret, married business partners from Sutton, had been searching for the perfect property for nearly two years when they discovered Oakhurst, an aging mansion on 26 beautiful acres in Northbridge. The former retreat center, which was affiliated with the Diocese of Worcester and had been on the market for some time, would be the ideal spot for their next venture: an inn that would host weddings and other big events.

When the Diocese of Worcester unexpectedly dropped out of negotiations with them in June, Fairbanks and Beret were shocked — and flummoxed. Then, they say, a church attorney inadvertently forwarded their broker an e-mail from Monsignor Thomas Sullivan, chancellor of the diocese, advising a church broker that he was no longer interested in selling to Fairbanks and Beret “because of a potentiality of gay marriages” there.

Beret, 59, and Fairbanks, 57, plan to file a lawsuit Monday morning in Worcester Superior Court against Sullivan, the bishop, the church’s real estate agent, and the nonprofit retreat center, the House of Affirmation, alleging they discriminated against Beret and Fairbanks on the basis of sexual orientation in the course of a real estate negotiation, violating state law.

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.

CANADA/BELGIE
Gazet van Antwerpen

Al zes keer is het proces tegen de eskimo-pater Eric Dejaeger (65) uitgesteld. De openbare aanklager geeft vandaag een overzicht van de 77 klachten van misbruik in Canada.

Of we Dejaeger vandaag te zien krijgen in de rechtszaal in Iqaluit, in het noorden van Canada, is nog maar de vraag. De pater maakt er een gewoonte van om de rechter tegen een lege beklaagdenbank te laten spreken.

Volgens de lokale krant Nunatsiaq News wil de openbare aanklager de 77 klachten samenvoegen tot één gezamenlijke aanklacht. Lieve Halsberghe, de vertegenwoordiger van de slachtoffervereniging SNAP: “Ik weet dat er slachtoffers zijn die nog niet naar buiten durfden komen. Hopelijk doen ze dat nu wel.”

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.

CANADA
The Chronicle-Herald

September 10, 2012 – By MICHAEL GORMAN Truro Bureau

More than 100 residential school survivors will gather in Dartmouth next week for the Atlantic Regional Indian Residential Schools commemoration event.

Themed From Victim to Survivor, the three-day event at the Dartmouth Holiday Inn from Wednesday to Friday will bring together survivors, their families, members of First Nations communities and non-aboriginal people to learn about the history of the schools and Mi’kmaq culture, and focus on healing and ways to move forward.

“What we’re not trying to do is paint a picture of victims,” said Violet Paul, a member of the event’s organizing committee.

“We’re asking the non-native people to come in to listen to us, to join us and be with us and work with us as we move forward together.”

Planned events include open-forum discussions, sharing circles, sessions focused on traditional Mi’kmaq culture and recognition of survivors. Speakers include Chief Shawn Atleo of Assembly of First Nations, Phil Fontaine, a former national chief and residential school survivor, and Justice Murray Sinclair, chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.

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
Spiritual Politics

Mark Silk

Sep 10, 2012

To comprehend the immensity of Bill Donohue’s chutzpah, you need to click right over to dotCommonweal and read Grant Gallicho’s demolition of his defense of convicted Kansas City Bishop Robert Finn. And even then, you will miss some of the egegiousness of the president of the Catholic League’s Apologia Pro Finna Sua.

To wit, his declaration that the Catholic League “supports harsh penalties for child sexual abusers, and for those who cover it up.”

Unless, of course, the latter happen to be Catholic bishops. OK, I haven’t searched through the entire corpus of Catholic League press releases to see if Donohue has ever urged that a bishop be harshly penalized for covering up sexual abuse. If anyone finds that he has, I will be happy to do penance.

But for starters, let’s take the grandaddy of the episcopal coverups–that of Boston’s Cardinal Bernard Law. Let the record show that the Catholic League did not so much as address the culpability of that prince of the church until he resigned his see in December 2002, nearly a year after the Boston Globe began reporting on his malfeasance. Then, what Donohue had to say was:

Most Catholics are greeting the resignation of Cardinal Law with a sigh of relief and sadness. While no one blames Cardinal Law for the entire scandal in the Church, his departure nonetheless represents an important step towards recapturing the trust of the laity. Now the mending process can proceed with alacrity.

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.

GEORGIA
The Brunswick News

By NIKKI WILEY
The Brunswick News

Andy Chambers is on a mission to prevent child sexual abuse.

He wants to train 3,000 Glynn County adults in recognizing and reporting child sexual abuse because he thinks if 5 percent of the county understands the signs of sexual abuse and how to report it, local children will be better off.

“The belief is that when 5 percent of culture changes behavior, you see a cultural shift,” said Chambers, pastor at Frederica Presbyterian Church on St. Simons Island.

That’s why he’s conducting child sexual abuse prevention training along with the Golden Isles Children’s Center.

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.