ABUSE TRACKER

IRELAND
Irish Independent

By Ralph Riegel

Thursday September 06 2012

FRESH concerns emerged over how church dioceses share information after a report revealed that three priests who retired to Ireland had child abuse convictions.

The National Board for Safeguarding Children (NBSC) published its review of child protection practices in the diocese yesterday.

The NBSC focused particular attention on priests who retired to the diocese from overseas, or who spent considerable time here in their retirement .

Three of these were found to have child abuse convictions from overseas. One man has now been removed from the priesthood.

None are the focus of any abuse complaints in relation to the Diocese of Cork and Ross — and none had any involvement with church activities or children’s groups here. But the NBSC said it was crucial that proper information be shared between dioceses.

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IRELAND
Cork Independent

Posted on 06/09/2012

by Peter Horgan @horganp

“There is no place in the church for those who would harm the young.”

That was the message from Bishop of Cork and Ross, Dr John Buckley, at the launch of the Audit and Review of Safeguarding Practice in the diocese of Cork and Ross.

Twenty six priests were the subject of allegations of abuse from 1975 to the present day, with 50 allegations in total being made in that period. The majority of the abuse allegations happened between 1989 and 2011 with the abuse itself occurring in the 60s and 70s. Church authorities could not give the date of the most recent case of abuse.

Of the 26 priests accused of abuse, eight are now dead. Three have returned to ministry and 15 are either out of ministry and under supervision or have left the priesthood.

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IRELAND
Limerick Post

by Bernie English

Thursday, 06 September 2012

ALMOST quarter-of-a-million Euros in compensation, excluding legal fees, has been paid out in the last six months by the Diocese of Limerick in agreed settlement to survivors of clerical child sex abuse, it has been revealed.

When asked by the Limerick Post during a press conference, Diocesan administrator, Fr Tony Mullins, revealed that for the first time the diocese has paid money to survivors.

And it has emerged that the late Bishop Jeremiah Newman allowed a priest to minister in Limerick despite “apparently having knowledge of his abusive behaviour in England”.

The total cost of the settlements, which were agreed through a process of negotiation, was €323,000 including legal fees, with compensation to the two individuals making up €220,000.
The information emerged during a press briefing on the publication of the Review of Safeguarding Practice in the Diocese of Limerick undertaken by the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland (NBSCCCI).

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IRELAND
Irish Independent

By Barry Duggan

Thursday September 06 2012

A BISHOP of Limerick allowed a priest with a child abuse conviction to serve in his diocese despite knowing of the cleric’s previous criminal behaviour.

The National Board for Safeguarding Children (NBSC) audit believes the priest, who moved from overseas, went on to abuse children again.

Bishop Jeremiah Newman allowed him work in Limerick for less than a year in the ’80s, before he was removed.

The report found that it was only after Dr Newman’s successor, Dr Donal Murray, became bishop that children’s welfare became a priority in Limerick.

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UNITED STATES
The Australian

AAP
September 06, 2012

THE criminal case against the highest-ranking Catholic official in the US to be charged with shielding an abusive priest is headed for a swift ending after prosecutors and the bishop’s lawyer agreed Wednesday to let a judge – not jurors – decide the case.

Lawyers for Kansas City Bishop Robert Finn and prosecutors will have their case tried by a judge Thursday, weeks ahead of a scheduled Sept. 24 jury trial on misdemeanour charges that Finn and the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph failed to report suspected child abuse. The judge is expected to reach a verdict later that day.

The charges stem from the Rev. Shawn Ratigan’s child porn case, in which church officials knew about photos on the priest’s computer but didn’t turn him in for six months. Finn has argued that he was not the diocese’s mandated reporter under the law – at the time, the responsibility rested mainly with Vicar General Robert Murphy – so Finn should not face charges.

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ITALY
Chiesa

His last interview, published posthumously, has ignited the controversy. The leading authorities of the Church have ignored it, with the sole exception of Cardinal Ruini. One more reason to analyze it critically

by Sandro Magister

ROME, September 6, 2012 – “Cardinal Martini did not leave us a spiritual testament in the explicit sense of the word. His inheritance is entirely in his life and in his magisterium, and we must continue to draw on it for a long time. He did, however, choose the phrase to be written on his grave, taken from Psalm 119 [118]: ‘A lamp to my feet is your word, a light to my path.’ In this way, he himself has given us the key to interpret his existence and his ministry.”

With these words, spoken on September 3 in the homily at the funeral for his predecessor, Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, the archbishop of Milan, Cardinal Angelo Scola, revoked the qualification of “spiritual testament” from the interview with Martini published the day after his death by “Corriere della Sera”:

> L’ultima intervista: “Chiesa indietro di 200 anni. Perché non si scuote, perché abbiamo paura?”

In effect, if this interview were truly the quintessence of Martini’s legacy for the Church and the world – as those responsible for it want it to be believed – the figure of the deceased cardinal would correspond precisely to that label of “anti-pope” which was applied to him over the years by circles inside and outside of the Church, but which clashes strongly with the lofty and heartfelt attestations of esteem expressed repeatedly toward him by Benedict XVI himself, most recently in his unusual message for the archdiocese of Milan on the day of the funeral of the one who was its archbishop from 1979 to 2002:

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BOSTON (MA)
Boston Catholic Insider

On August 18, The Economist published an article entitled, “The Catholic Church in America: Earthly concerns” which somewhat accurately portrays the financial state of many dioceses in the U.S. but which also made some inaccurate statements or implications about Boston. A number of readers have asked us to comment on this, and today we take a few moments to belatedly do so.

This excerpt gives the gist of the article:

The sexual-abuse scandals of the past 20 years have brought shame to the church around the world. In America they have also brought financial strains…The church’s finances look poorly co-ordinated considering (or perhaps because of) their complexity. The management of money is often sloppy. And some parts of the church have indulged in ungainly financial contortions in some cases—it is alleged—both to divert funds away from uses intended by donors and to frustrate creditors with legitimate claims, including its own nuns and priests. The dioceses that have filed for bankruptcy may not be typical of the church as a whole. But given the overall lack of openness there is no way of knowing to what extent they are outliers. Thousands of claims for damages following sexual-abuse cases, which typically cost the church over $1m per victim, according to lawyers involved, have led to a liquidity crisis.

That much is accurate. But later, the article said the following:

Some dioceses have, in effect, raided priests’ pension funds to cover settlements and other losses. The church regularly collects money in the name of priests’ retirement. But in the dioceses that have gone bust lawyers and judges confirm that those funds are commingled with other investments, which makes them easily diverted to other uses. Under Cardinal Bernard Law, the archdiocese of Boston contributed nothing to its clergy retirement fund between 1986 and 2002, despite receiving an estimated $70m-90m in Easter and Christmas offerings that many parishioners believed would benefit retired priests.

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IRELAND
Irish Times

VICTIMS OF clerical sex abuse could be forgiven for feeling revulsion and rage over the manner in which members of the Catholic hierarchy and religious congregations delayed the implementation of procedures and guidelines designed to protect children and to report criminal behaviour to the Garda Síochána. The latest review by the National Board for Safeguarding Children concludes that while progress has been made on these issues, full compliance is some way off.

The importance of the work being done by the board was reflected by the immediate acceptance of its criticisms and recommendations by the four dioceses and the three religious congregations concerned. The fact that it took a review by this church-appointed body to ensure child protection guidelines are implemented is, however, a cause for concern. It is clear that remnants of a culture involving denial, cover-up and the administrative transfers of offenders still persist.

As on previous occasions, outpourings of remorse and apologies to victims have followed these reports. They deal with offences going back to 1975. In some dioceses, lessons have been learned and strict procedures introduced. In others, progress has been slow and achieved reluctantly.

There was little change from traditional responses to abuse within the three religious congregations reviewed and the inspectors recorded their shock and dismay. In one congregation it found “a complete disregard for victims”; in another, there was no awareness of the impact of child sexual abuse. All three have offered a new approach and a commitment to change.

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IOWA
WOWT

[with video]

Investigators in a sexual abuse case involving a former Harlan, Iowa man believe there are more victims out there.

Sixty-eight-year-old Bobby Smith of Eldorado, Missouri has been charged with three counts of third-degree sexual abuse. The alleged victim is from Harlan and claims the abuse happened 14 years ago at a Council Bluffs motel.

Smith is being held at the Pottawattamie County Jail, accused of abusing a 12-year-old boy. It’s something that just doesn’t happen in a small town like Harlan, but the alleged victim says he was taken away from this small town in 1998 when he was 12 and sexually abused.

At the time, Smith was the teacher of the Midweek Children’s Program at First Baptist Church in Harlan. Pastor Dan Hawn has been with the church for two years. “Once he was arrested and it was public knowledge, we then sent a letter to our church family to inform them of the allegations and make them aware.”

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OREGON
KATU

[with video]

PORTLAND, Ore. – An Oregon woman who has accused two former church leaders of sexual abuse is now suing the church for ignoring it for years.

The 29-year-old woman filed a civil lawsuit Wednesday, suing the Apostolic Faith Church for the abuse she claims happened more than 20 years ago. Neither of the men she named in the lawsuit were ever arrested or charged with a crime.

The woman, who agreed to tell her story if her name was not disclosed, said the Apostolic Faith Church ignored her repeated pleas for help. She said starting at the age of 4, the assistant minister and a day care worker at the church each sexually abused her.

“I really didn’t know that was wrong. I was too young to decipher,” she said Wednesday.

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UNITED STATES
Philadelphia Inquirer

By David Clohessy

Ten years ago this summer, America’s Catholic bishops pledged to aggressively investigate allegations of sexual predation by clerics, to show “zero tolerance” for abuse, and to be transparent about the problem. Since then, however, church officials have consistently lined up to protect themselves and their clergy in case after case.

A spokeswoman for the U.S. bishops recently cited a Pew survey that showed seven of 10 Catholics are “satisfied” with the prelates’ performance, up from 51 percent a decade ago. The bishops’ 2002 “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People” has proven to be mostly a public-relations campaign, and the Pew numbers suggest it has worked to an extent. But most of what the church hierarchy has actually done over the past decade amounts to mere motion, not progress.

For example, church officials have required that thousands of teachers, janitors, clerks, and organists around the country undergo background checks and training to recognize signs of abuse upon being hired by Catholic institutions – though few accusations of abuse have involved organists or janitors. The church also set up review panels, advisory boards, and “auditors” to oversee parish programs and policies, but they are toothless entities staffed and controlled by the bishops.

At best, these policies do no harm. Perhaps a background check has kept a child molester or two from being hired to teach or clean floors at a Catholic school. And because of all the expensive training, thousands of lay Catholics no doubt know more about abuse. However, when the church leadership learns of an allegation of abuse, it still prefers to conduct its own investigation and, more often than not, attempt to discredit the victim. And when it became clear that 37 priests accused of sexual misbehavior were still at their parish jobs in the Philadelphia Archdiocese, it was clear that the archdiocese’s review board had no idea about many of them.

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PENNSYLVANIA
EIN News

Proposed Pennsylvania bill would give victims of childhood sexual abuse more time to hold abusers accountable for their actions

September 06, 2012 /24-7PressRelease/ — Penn State Scandal May Change State Law, Extend Time to File Charges

It is a piece of legislation that is more than six years in the making. The proposal aims to give victims of childhood sexual abuse more time to hold abusers accountable for their actions, allowing an extension on filing deadlines for civil and criminal suits.

A bill attempting to reduce the rate of these injuries to children should easily make it through the legislature and be passed, so why the delay? The House Judiciary Committee chairman has been notoriously reluctant to advance bills addressing this issue. One likely reason: pressure from the Catholic Church.

Details of the Bill

The bill is designed to amend existing state law. Currently, a victim in Pennsylvania has until the age of thirty to file a civil suit against an alleged sexual predator. The bill would extend this statute of limitations, giving the victim until the age of fifty (with very few exceptions) to file a claim.

In addition, victims are currently only able to bring a criminal charge against an alleged abuser before the victim reached the age of 50. The amendment would remove the statute of limitations on criminal suits, allowing a victim to hold an abuser criminally liable at any time (under limited circumstances).

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SOUTH CAROLINA
SCNow

By: Ellen Meder | SCNow
Published: September 04, 2012

CHERAW, S.C. —
Former Fourth Circuit Solicitor Jay Hodge said Tuesday that a sexual abuse lawsuit filed against him by two Cheraw residents contains “lies” and is an attack based on a personal vendetta.

“The parents who’ve entrusted their children to me for 35 years will know that this is a lie,” Hodge said. “Once the names of these two alleged victims are revealed, then many other people who don’t know me will also know it’s a lie.”

The two men who brought the suit against the Boy Scouts of America, the Pee Dee Area Council Boy Scouts of America, First Presbyterian Church of Cheraw, Hodge and the estate of William C. Hebard, allege that they were the victims of past sexual abuse while in the care of Hodge and Hebard, adult scout leaders with Troop 663, which is sponsored by First Presbyterian Church of Cheraw. The suit, filed in Chesterfield County Court, alleges that Hodge and the now deceased Hebard engaged in various sexual acts with two unnamed plaintiffs between 1975 and 1980.

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OREGON
The Oregonian

By Stuart Tomlinson, The Oregonian

The rules at the Apostolic Faith Church in Portland in the 1980s were very strict: Women and girls wore skirts and long-sleeved shirts. No makeup, no jewelry, no TV.

What wasn’t strict, a $5.25 million lawsuit alleges, was the church’s policy about hiring men to work in the church’s daycare center or as assistant pastors.

On Wednesday, a 30-year-old Portland woman known only under the pseudonym “HK” in the lawsuit, said she was sexually abused by daycare worker James Sheals and assistant pastor Walt Smith. The abuse started when she was 4 and ended when she was 8, spanning 1986 through 1990, she said at a news conference.

Attorney Kelly Clark said church officials knew they had a widespread problem with pedophiles operating inside the church, but did nothing about it.

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SOUTH CAROLINA
Carolina Live

by Tonya Brown

NewsChannel 15 has learned the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office and the State Law Enforcement Division have been asked to look into sexual abuse allegations against Jay Hodge.

We’re waiting to learn if the agencies will investigate.

Hodge is accused of molesting two brothers, ages 10 and 11, when he was a Boy Scout leader between 1975 and 1980.

The men, now 47 and 48 years old, have filed a civil lawsuit against Hodge, Boy Scouts of America, (http://www.scouting.org/) Pee Dee Area Council Boy Scouts of America, (http://www.peedeescouts.org/) First Presbyterian Church of Cheraw, and the Estate of William Hebard. They are seeking unspecified damages. …

The lawsuit says Boy Scouts of America, Pee Dee Area Council Boy Scouts of America, and First Presbyterian Church all failed to report Hebard and Hodge to law enforcement and failed to exclude them from acting as Scout leaders.

It says they continued to let Hodge and Hebard be involved in Boy Scout activities after learning of the alleged abuse.

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KANSAS CITY (MO)
The New York Times

By LAURIE GOODSTEIN

Published: September 5, 2012

The trial of Bishop Robert W. Finn and the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph on charges of failure to report suspected child abuse has been moved up to Thursday and will be decided by a judge, not a jury. The change was made public in a court filing on Wednesday, and avoids a lengthy public trial that was set to start Sept. 24. Bishop Finn is the first Roman Catholic prelate in the country to be indicted in the sexual abuse scandals. He and the diocese each face two misdemeanor counts of failing to report hundreds of lewd photographs of young girls on a laptop computer belonging to the Rev. Shawn Ratigan. Father Ratigan pleaded guilty to pornography charges in August.

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UNITED STATES
Patch

By Karen Sorensen

The Catholic Church’s failure to address and fix the widespread problem of sexual abuse in its ranks has left the reputation of its hierarchy “shredded,” Diocese of Joliet Bishop Daniel Conlon told staffers.

Conlon, who chaired the bishops’ Committee for the Protection of Children and Young People, said it was an “illusion” to believe the church could repair its credibility by implementing new policies on child protection while doing “some decent publicity.”

Conlon was quoted in a speech he gave in August to a conference of staffers who oversee child safety programs in American dioceses in an article in the Aug. 30 edition of Origins, according to the Religion News Service.

The situation is akin to the Reformation, when “the episcopacy, the regular clergy, even the papacy were discredited,” he said.

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IRELAND
Irish Central

By
CATHY HAYES,
IrishCentral Staff Writer

Published Thursday, September 6, 2012, 7:18 AM

Galway bishop Dr John Kirby has apologized for his part in the movement of two priests who abused children in the Clonfert dioceses.

Speaking to the Irish Independent, Kirby said there were no guidelines in place when he moved the two priests in the 1990s. The bishop said at the time he believed that separating the priests from the victims was the solution. He said he understood that the sexual abuse being reported was simply “that it was a friendship that crossed boundary line.”

On Newstalk’s “Lunchtime” show the chief executive of Barnardos, a charity for vulnerable children, described Kirby’s excuse as “Childish, puerile, infantile.”

Reacting to Kirby’s comments, Ian Elliot the chief executive of the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church, said, “Care needs to be taken when appointing a bishop that you do not appoint a bishop with these attitudes.

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IRELAND
Irish Independent

[Safeguarding Reviews 2nd Tranche – September 2012]

By Louise Hogan

Thursday September 06 2012

ONE priest was convicted of sexual abuse after 18 allegations were made against 10 priests in the Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin over almost four decades.

An in-depth review by the church’s child safety watchdog, the church’s National Board for Safeguarding Children (NBSC), yesterday moved to issue 12 recommendations to make child safety structures “more robust” in the diocese covering 56 parishes from Kildare to Wexford.

While not highly critical of child safety measures, the board stated it was “regrettable” that not all of the suggestions to improve child safeguarding contained in an independent consultant’s report from six years ago had been followed up.

Monsignor Brendan Byrne, Diocesan administrator, said work was already under way on fulfilling the recommendations, including the appointment of a lay person as a ‘designated person’ on the child safeguarding team.

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IRELAND
Irish Independent

By Caroline Crawford

Thursday September 06 2012

CONCERNS about two priests who abused children in the Clonfert diocese had been raised in their previous ministries.

The two men, who had both come to the diocese from religious orders, then went on to abuse children after their transfer to the Clonfert diocese.

However, information highlighting concerns about the two men was not passed on to their new bishop.

Speaking yesterday at the launch of the report into the Clonfert Diocese, Bishop John Kirby said he believed the men may have abused even more children while in the diocese. However, no further allegations ever came to light.

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IRELAND
Connaught Tribune

September 6, 2012

by Enda Cunningham

The Bishop of Clonfert has issued a personal apology for sexual abuse carried out by two priests in his diocese, admitting that it was “gross innocence” that led him to deal with the priests by transferring them to new parishes.

And Dr John Kirby told the Connacht Tribune that while he did not consider resigning at any point, he would be “gone in the morning” if he dealt with abuse allegations in the same manner today.

In fact, there were complaints about a total of seven priests who either worked, served or lived in the diocese.

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IRELAND
Limerick Leader

By Mike Dwane
Published on Thursday 6 September 2012

THE Diocese of Limerick has confirmed that it has paid out €220,000 this year to two people who made allegations of child sexual abuse against priests.

Once legal fees were factored in, the total bill came to around €320,000 – but the diocese stressed that the cost of the settlements did not come from mass collections.

It has also emerged that there are currently five priests living in Limerick who have been removed from ministry after being the subject of abuse complaints.

Although all five cases were investigated by gardai – including one priest who was the subject of complaints from seven people – none of the men has ever been prosecuted. The five are being housed by and have their living expenses met by the Diocese of Limerick.

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NEW YORK
New York Daily News

Advocates for Jewish victims of child sex abuse cancel meeting with Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes

By Reuven Blau / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Advocates for Jewish victims of childhood sexual abuse cancelled a meeting with Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes, charging he has ignored their push for reforms.

Several leading Jewish advocates are angry Hynes still refuses to list names of the alleged molesters in the Jewish community, reach out to educate yeshivas, or take action against rabbis and other community officials who harass and intimidate victims.

“This is the same game. Since he has to appease the rabbis in Brooklyn he should send all the Jewish cases to Staten Island,” fumed Mark Meyer Appel, founder of Voice of Justice, a child advocacy group, referring to Hynes’ decision to defer the Vito Lopez investigation due to political ties.

Hynes chief spokesman said the meeting had merely been postponed due to scheduling conflicts. “It’s an ongoing process,” Jerry Schmetterer said. “We are all happy on this end to continue.”

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KANSAS CITY (MO)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Jackson County prosecutors and attorneys for Bishop Robert Finn and the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph have agreed to have a judge hear their case weeks before their scheduled jury trial date. …

Judge John Torrence will hear the case at 2:30 p.m. Thursday and is expected to reach a verdict later that day.

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UNITED STATES
Digital Journal

By Greta McClain
Sep 5, 2012

New York- Last week Fr. Benedict Groeschel, a prominent Catholic priest, found himself in the eye of a controversial storm after he made statements blaming children for sexual abuse. Reactions to his his comments were swift and fierce.

Many organizations and individuals expressed their outrage over Groeschel’s comments, as well as asking why leaders within the Catholic Church have called his statements wrong, but have issued no form of disciplinary action for the remarks. Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) issued a statement calling for Cardinal Dolan and Bishop Daniel Conlon to immediately censure Groeschel. The statement went on to say

“Dolan should speak not only because he is the Catholic leader of America, but also because both Groeschel and his order are based in New York, thus falling under Dolan’s supervision. Conlon should speak because he is the chair of the USCCB Committee for the Protection of Children and Young People, and should know firsthand the devastation that sex abuse wreaks on a child.”

Mark Crawford, leader of the New Jersey SNAP office, issued the following statement:

“Benedict treated many priests with credible allegations of clergy abuse. If the Archdiocese of NY was so quick to distance themselves from his [Groeschel] remarks, then what are they doing about all the priests he “cleared” for return to the ministry, because they were seduced by young boys?
The Salesian who molested me and many other boys was counseled by Benedict Groeschel before the abuses we now know about. I know there were others which were never disclosed publicly and perhaps that is why he was sent to Benedict in the first place.

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IRELAND
Galway Advertiser

By Martina Nee

The Bishop of Clonfert this week apologised for the mistakes make at a time when allegations and complaints of child sexual abuse were made against priests in the diocese adding that guidelines and policies have now been put in place to ensure that these mistakes are not repeated.

Speaking yesterday following the publication of a report by The National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church (NBSCCCI) Bishop John Kirby referred to his dealings of allegations made against two priests and admitted that at the time he had been “unaware of the recidivous nature, of the compulsive nature, of sexual abuse”.

“I felt it was a friendship that had gone astray and that was wrong. I now know how bad that was, it was a grave mistake. It was not acceptable. Now my understanding is much greater and much deeper that it was at that time and I apologise profusely for the mistakes that I made at the time”.

The audits were in relation to four dioceses and, for the first time, three religious congregations looking at child protection practices and involved the examination of a total of 330 allegations of abuse against 146 priests and members of those congregations around the country. Clonfert Diocese is one of the smallest of 26 Catholic dioceses in the country with 24 parishes across east Galway, and parts of counties Roscommon and Offaly.

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IRELAND
Irish Times

ANALYSIS: It is risible for a bishop to suggest he thought in the early 1990s that the sex abuse of a child was ‘a friendship that crossed a boundary’, writes PATSY McGARRY

ANYBODY WHO believed, even hoped, that the Catholic Church in Ireland had passed the peak of its clerical child sex abuse crisis must be in despair. The findings in the seven reviews of child protection practices in four dioceses and three religious congregations published yesterday were “disappointing”, said Ian Elliott, with remarkable restraint.

Chief executive of the church’s child protection watchdog, its National Board for Safeguarding Children (NBSC), he led the reviews in the dioceses of Clonfert, Cork Ross, Kildare Leighlin, Limerick, as well as the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart congregation, the male Dominican congregation and the Spiritan, better known to most people as the Holy Ghost Fathers.

Those who have defended the church on the basis of the “historical” nature of abuse complaints against priests must feel sickened by these reports. Despite their valiant efforts at upholding a beleaguered and beloved institution, they too have been badly let down by senior church figures, again, when it comes to implementing basic child safeguarding practices.

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IRELAND
Irish Times

[Safeguarding Reviews 2nd Tranche – September 2012]

MARY CAROLAN

STATEMENT: AN APOLOGY by the Spiritan Congregation for the “appalling legacy” of decades of child abuse by 47 priests is “hollow” unless the order properly cares for the known victims and seeks out the unknown, an abuse survivor said.

Mark Vincent Healy said he was in contact with about 30 victims but there must be many more. A total of 47 priests had abused children but the Spiritans hadn’t asked who they were, he said. “Have they even looked for them? Go find the lost sheep.”

Mr Healy was abused between 1968-73 by the late Fr Henry Maloney at St Mary’s College, Rathmines. Maloney was convicted in 2009 of abusing Mr Healy and Paul Daly, who died last May. The priest had previously been convicted of child abuse in 2000. After St Mary’s, he was transferred to Sierra Leone.

Mr Healy noted a Catholic Church watchdog’s review of the Spiritans’ handling of 142 abuse allegations had identified leadership failures that caused many children “a lifetime of distress” and was “not glowing” about the congregation’s current child protection measures. A matter as serious as child protection “cannot be fudged” and the current measures showed a “surprising laxity”, he believed.

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IRELAND
Irish Times

MARY CAROLAN

HOLY GHOSTS: A REVIEW of child safeguarding practices in the Holy Ghost congregation has found “unacceptable failures” over decades to protect children from 47 alleged abusing priests in its schools here.

The Catholic Church’s child protection watchdog, the National Board for Safeguarding Children (NBSC), also expressed “grave concerns” that an abuser removed from ministry in 1995 was on an internet forum just last year. Another, unknown to the congregation leaders, was until recently engaged in temporary ministry despite not having the order’s required clearance document.

These cases raised issues about the effectiveness of monitoring in the congregation, the review said.

The Spiritans run several well-known schools in Ireland. Four are in Dublin – Blackrock College, St Mary’s College, Templeogue College and St Michael’s College. A fifth, Rockwell College, is in Co Tipperary.

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IRELAND
Irish Times

ALISON HEALY in Carlow

Kildare and Leighlin: EIGHTEEN ALLEGATIONS of sexual abuse were made against 10 priests in the diocese of Kildare and Leighlin between January 1975 and last May, according to the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church.

It made 12 recommendations which the diocese “accepted in full”, its administrator Msgr Brendan Byrne said. The diocese has been without a bishop since Dr Jim Moriarty resigned in April 2010, following publication of the Murphy report.

The audit noted that the Kildare and Leighlin diocese “has had relatively few cases to deal with”. The diocese covers 56 parishes in Co Carlow and parts of Kildare, Laois, Offaly, Kilkenny, Wicklow and Wexford.

Of the 10 priests against whom allegations were made, two are still alive. One of those, Fr Peter Cribben, was convicted of the abuse of a 14-year-old boy in March 2009. Charges have not been brought against the second priest. Msgr Byrne said both were “completely out of ministry” and under diocesan supervision.

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IRELAND
Irish Times

DAVID RALEIGH

LIMERICK DIOCESE: DR DONAL Murray was praised in yesterday’s audit of the Limerick diocese for implementing “robust safeguards” to deal with allegations against Limerick priests, despite having been forced to resign as the bishop of Limerick in 2009 over his handling of allegations of clerical child sexual abuse in the Dublin archdiocese.

The report on the audit of the Limerick diocese’s child safeguarding procedures said Dr Murray was “credited with putting in place in the diocese robust safeguards and prompt responses to allegations of abuse”.

“The vacuum created by his departure is still felt in the diocese, though the presence of the diocesan administrator, Fr Tony Mullins, enables the business of safeguarding children to remain a central focus in the diocese,” the report said. “Significantly, the departure of Bishop Murray had a major influence on the confidence of diocesan staff in carrying out their safeguarding duties.”

The audit by the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland singles out Dr Murray’s predecessor, Bishop Jeremiah Newman, for inadequate handling of dealing with allegations, although it does not name him.

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IRELAND
Irish Times

BARRY ROCHE

MONITORING: BISHOP JOHN Buckley and child protection officers in the diocese of Cork and Ross yesterday moved to allay fears regarding any risk to children from a group of convicted clerics resident in the diocese but monitored from the UK.

Three of the five clerics mentioned by the National Board for Safeguarding Children in its audit of child protection practices in Cork and Ross have convictions in the UK for child sexual abuse but all five have retired to or come on holidays to the diocese of Cork and Ross.

Responsibility for monitoring the five priests lies with their home dioceses in the UK. The audit was critical of church authorities in the UK for not making information on the five priests more readily available to the diocese of Cork and Ross.

However, Cork and Ross child protection officer Cleo Yates moved to offer reassurance, saying the diocese had worked to ensure they were properly supervised.

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IRELAND
Irish Times

BARRY ROCHE

CORK AND ROSS: THE DIOCESE of Cork and Ross substantially met the main standards set down by the church in terms of protecting children, the National Board for Safeguarding Children found (NBSC).

Cork and Ross had fully met 42 of the 47 standards set down by the Catholic Church in its guidance document published in 2009 while it had partially met the remaining five standards, the NBSC found.

“I welcome the positive outcome to this report and its recommendations which will further enhance our safeguarding service,” said Bishop John Buckley yesterday.

“The review will be a source of assurance to the people of the diocese and a confirmation the diocese is taking its obligations in relation to child protection very seriously.”

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IRELAND
Irish Times

BARRY ROCHE, Southern Correspondent

BOARDING SCHOOL: GARDAÍ HAVE confirmed that they expect to forward a file to the DPP before the end of the month on allegations of clerical child sexual and physical abuse at a former boys’ boarding school run by the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart.

Gardaí in Cobh and Glanmire in Co Cork have spent the past year investigating complaints of abuse made by former pupils of the Sacred Heart College in Carrignavar relating to the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s.

The complaints are of a historical nature and relate to when the college was a boarding school run by the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, whose members were among the teaching staff involved in the education at the time of about 200 boarders and 150 day pupils.

Originally a seminary, the school, which became coeducational in 1987, ceased taking boarders in 1995, the same year that the first lay principal was appointed.

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IRELAND
Irish Times

PATSY McGARRY

SACRED HEART: THE NATIONAL Board for Safeguarding Children review of the Sacred Heart Missionaries (MSC) found the congregation’s child protection policies were “deeply flawed”.

It said it was “difficult to express adequately the failure of this society to effectively protect vulnerable children”.

The congregation “failed to take account of admissions by perpetrators by passing them on to the appropriate authorities. It even failed to alert other church authorities of the risks posed by identified individuals.”

Leaders at the congregation “failed to discharge their responsibilities to protect vulnerable young people who would come in contact with members against whom credible allegations had been made or who had admitted to abuse”.

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IRELAND
Irish Times

[Safeguarding Reviews 2nd Tranche – September 2012]

FIONA GARTLAND

DOMINICANS: ALLEGATIONS OF sexual abuse have been made against 27 Dominican friars since 1975, a review of that order has found.

Some 52 allegations were reported to gardaí, concerning the 27 friars, and two friars were convicted of offences against children.

One friar who had allegations made against him in 1990 was allowed to continue in ministry until 1995 and took part in national church initiatives aimed at improving responses to allegations of abuse.

The Review of Safeguarding Practice in the Irish Province of Dominican Friars, by The National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland, said 12 of the 27 friars with allegations against them were alive at the time of the review.

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IRELAND
Irish Times

JOHN FALLON

CLONFERT: THE BISHOP of Clonfert Dr John Kirby has said it never occurred to him that he should consider resigning after it emerged that he had moved two priests at the centre of child sex abuse allegations to other parishes in the 1990s.

He also dismissed a suggestion that it was unwritten church policy in the early 1990s to move priests suspected of abusing children to other parishes rather than report them to the Garda.

Dr Kirby (73) said he “hadn’t a clue” about how paedophiles operated 20 years ago and thought that it was a case of “a friendship that crossed a boundary line”.

Dr Kirby, who has been bishop of Clonfert since 1988, said he would handle matters differently now if complaints emerged about a priest and, while he felt moving the suspected priests to other parishes might solve the problem, he denied it was church policy at the time.

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IRELAND
Irish Times

CARL O’BRIEN

SUMMARY: The audits point to common themes in the way abuse allegations were mishandled

AUDITS INTO Catholic dioceses and religious orders have revealed that hundreds of schoolchildren were exposed to serial abusers over a 35-year period in many communities across the State.

The reports into three religious orders and four dioceses have uncovered at least 335 child abuse allegations against more than 150 priests or members of religious orders.

The audits also found a higher proportion of abuse allegations against members of religious congregations than against priests in the dioceses that were audited.

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IRELAND
Irish Times

MARY MINIHAN

REACTION: A STATUTORY inquiry into child abuse could be considered “if it fulfils the purpose of protecting children” once ongoing investigations are completed, Minister for Children Frances Fitzgerald has said.

Fianna Fáil called on the Government to establish an independent inquiry with full statutory powers into child abuse in dioceses around the country.

Ms Fitzgerald said a comprehensive picture of how child protection was being practised by the Catholic Church would be provided by the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church’s ongoing review of dioceses and religious orders and a HSE national audit.

“If there is a need, if we feel that it fulfils the purpose of protecting children, we can examine whether we need to do something on a statutory basis,” she said.

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IRELAND
Irish Times

[Safeguarding Reviews 2nd Tranche – September 2012]

PATSY McGARRY, MARY MINIHAN and JOHN FALLON

A LEADING advocacy group for victims of child sexual abuse has called for a Garda investigation of senior Catholic Church figures in Ireland following new disclosures concerning child protection practices in four dioceses and three congregations published yesterday.

The findings followed reviews of the dioceses of Clonfert, Cork Ross, Kildare Leighlin and Limerick, and the congregations of the Sacred Heart Missionaries, the Spiritans (formerly Holy Ghost Fathers) and the male congregation of the Dominicans.

The reviews were conducted by the Catholic Church’s own child protection watchdog, the National Board for Safeguarding Children (NBSC). Its chief executive Ian Elliott, who led the reviews, described the findings as “disappointing”.

Maeve Lewis, executive director of the One in Four group, said after publication of the findings yesterday it was “as if certain senior churchmen continue to believe that child protection procedures are optional, and they are above the law of the land”.

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UNITED STATES
Huffington Post

Religion News Service | By David Gibson Posted: 09/05/2012

(RNS) The U.S. Catholic bishops’ point man on sexual abuse has said that the hierarchy’s credibility on fixing the problem is “shredded” and that the situation is comparable to the Reformation, when “the episcopacy, the regular clergy, even the papacy were discredited.”

Bishop R. Daniel Conlon of Joliet, Ill., last month told a conference of staffers who oversee child safety programs in American dioceses that he had always assumed that consistently implementing the bishops’ policies on child protection, “coupled with some decent publicity, would turn public opinion around.”

“I now know this was an illusion,” Conlon, chairman of the bishops’ Committee for the Protection of Children and Young People, said in an address on Aug. 13 to the National Safe Environment and Victim Assistance Coordinators Leadership Conference in Omaha, Neb.

His talk was published in the Aug. 30 edition of Origins, an affiliate of Catholic News Service.

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KANSAS CITY (MO)
KMBZ

Bishop Robert Finn goes to trial tomorrow. The Jackson County prosecutor’s office announced the criminal case has been reset from it’s original September 24th date.

Finn and the Kansas City-St Joseph Diocese are accused of failing to report suspected child abuse based on lewd photographs of children found on Father Shawn Ratigan’s laptop. Rebecca Randles represents several of the families in a civil case. She tells KMBZ a bench trial is risky.

“Sometimes it favors the prosecution and sometimes it favors the defendant. It kind of depends on what the parties want to get out of the trial, as to whether you choose to do a jury trial or you choose to do a bench trial.”

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KANSAS CITY (MO)
National Catholic Reporter

Sep. 05, 2012
By Joshua J. McElwee

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The first Catholic bishop criminally charged in the decades-long clergy sex abuse crisis will not go before a jury, instead facing judgment from a local judge Thursday, according to court documents filed Wednesday.

The change indicates that Bishop Robert Finn, his Kansas City-St. Joseph, Mo., diocese, and county prosecutors have negotiated a set of “stipulated facts” they will present to the judge, who could rule the same day, said Mike Mansur, a spokesperson for the Jackson County, Mo., prosecutor’s office, where the bishop and diocese are charged.

Finn and the diocese had been set to go to trial by jury Sept. 24 on misdemeanor charges of failing to report suspicions of child abuse for their handling of Fr. Shawn Ratigan, a Kansas City priest who pleaded guilty earlier this month to federal charges of producing and attempting to produce sexually graphic material of minor girls.

“The parties in the case have been negotiating stipulated facts and testimony that will be presented tomorrow to the judge,” Mansur said. Following that presentation, he said, “we would expect then that the judge might rule in the case.”

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UNITED STATES
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by Barbara Blaine on September 05, 2012

The head of the US bishops abuse panel admits he and his colleagues have no credibility because of recent scandals in Philadelphia and Kansas City. He’s half-right.

The real reason bishops’ credibility is “shredded” is because decades of secrecy, recklessness and callousness have been followed by one full decade of broken promises and continued deceit. It’s not because of one or two local scandals. It’s because bishops pledged real reform but have delivered only superficial change. They promised, in 2002, to change their actual behavior, but have only changed their formal policies.

Just recently, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the head of the US bishops’ conference, attacked a 16 year old victim on his website. Months ago, Archbishop Robert Carlson of St. Louis filed court papers trying to get private emails of a 19 year old victim.

It’s hundreds of on-going hurtful moves like these that have “shredded” bishops’ credibility. It’s not one or two bishops’ misdeeds.

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

Posted by Barbara Dorris on September 05, 2012

Bishop Finn is smart to ‘fast track’ this to limit the number of witnesses who will testify and expose his deceit and wrong doing. He knows that the more evidence that’s presented, the worse he’ll look.

We suspect Finn has arranged a plea deal so that the extent of his corruption will remain hidden.

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KANSAS CITY (MO)
The Kansas City Star

By JUDY L. THOMAS and MARK MORRIS
The Kansas City Star

Kansas City Bishop Robert W. Finn and the diocese he serves will appear in court Thursday for a bench trial on charges they failed to report suspicions of child abuse.

The unusual move, made public this afternoon in a court filing, will take a decision on their guilt out of the hands of a jury, and it avoids a lengthy trial that was to begin Sept. 24. The action also spares diocesan employees and victims and their families from testifying.

Prosecutors and lawyers representing Finn and the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph are sorting through a series of facts about the case, a spokesman for Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said.

“This means that all the parties in the case — the diocese, Bishop Finn and the prosecutor’s office — are negotiating what the facts and testimony will be,” said Mike Mansur. “Those will be presented to the judge.”

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UNITED STATES
Huffington Post

Tom Rastrelli

The condemnations and apologies have been forthcoming since Father Benedict Groeschel, a founder of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, told the National Catholic Register that some teenage victims of sexual abuse seduce their priest perpetrators. He also referred to convicted sex felon Jerry Sandusky as “this poor guy” before implying that Sandusky’s victims should have spoken out sooner.

The National Catholic Register removed the interview from its website and posted an apology explaining the publication of Groeschel’s “comment was an editorial mistake.” In addition, the Register “sought clarification from Father Benedict,” as if Groeschel’s 468 word “comment” wasn’t clear enough.

The Archdiocese of New York quickly condemned Groeschel’s statements, acknowledging the harm that such comments cause victims of sexual abuse and offering “profound sympathy” and prayers to those hurt by Groeschel’s words. Their communications director stated, “The Archdiocese of New York completely disassociates itself from these comments. They do not reflect our beliefs or our practice.”

As I write this post, Father Groeschel is listed on the faculty of St. Joseph Seminary in the Archdiocese of New York, where he is entrusted with the task of teaching pastoral psychology to future priests. The website of Trinity Retreat House (also in the archdiocese) greets visitors with a letter penned by Groeschel. If their statement of disassociation had any merit, would they not fire Groeschel?

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KANSAS CITY (MO)
WGEM

Posted: Sep 05, 2012

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Jackson County prosecutors and attorneys for Bishop Robert Finn and the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph have agreed to have a judge hear their case weeks before their scheduled jury trial date.

Finn and the diocese are each charged with a misdemeanor count of failing to report suspected child abuse to the state. The charges stem from the Rev. Shawn Ratigan’s child porn case, in which church officials knew about photos on the priest’s computer but didn’t turn him in until six months later.

Finn has argued that he was not the diocese’s mandated reporter. He and the diocese also have challenged the constitutionality of the reporting law.

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MAINE
Journal Tribune

By DINA MENDROS and TAMMY WELLS
Staff Writers

Published:
Wednesday, September 5, 2012

BIDDEFORD — The work of the New Beginnings Christian Mission on Main Street will continue, despite the arrest of the mission’s director, James Napier, 60, of Alfred. Napier, a former Biddeford middle school music teacher, was arrested at his home on Saturday on child pornography-related charges.

State Police detectives uncovered more than 100 images of child pornography on Napier’s home computer, according to a statement by Maine State Police spokesman Steve McCausland.

“The leaders of the mission are completely committed” to continuing the work of the mission, said Pastor Barry Judd, the chief executive officer of the mission’s board of directors. Judd is the pastor of the Oak Ridge Bible Church on Oak Ridge Road. The church has no affiliation with New Beginnings, he said.

“The congregation was stunned and saddened at the news of the arrest of Mr. Napier,” said Judd.

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IRELAND
Irish Times

Born in Dublin, Ian Elliott has worked for most of his adult life in Northern Ireland before being head-hunted by the Catholic Church to be chief executive of its new child protection watchdog, the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland (NBSC).

The NBSC was set up by the Catholic Church to monitor its child protection practices.

It is funded by sponsoring bodies the Conference of Irish Bishops, the Conference of Religious of Ireland and the Conference of Religious in Ireland but operates independently.

Mr Elliott has been chief executive since July 2007.

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IRELAND
Irish Times

The following is a summary of previous reports on abuse in the Catholic Church

FERNS REPORT (OCTOBER 2005)

Investigated complaints made by 100 people against 21 priests, among them Seán Fortune. It strongly criticised the Catholic Church’s handling of allegations of child sexual abuse over a period of 40 years. From the 1960s until 1980, the report found Bishop Donal Herlihy regarded priests who sexually abused children “as guilty of moral misconduct” but said he did not seem to recognise “the wrongdoing was a serious criminal offence”. His successor, Dr Brendan Comiskey, “failed to recognise the paramount need to protect children, as a matter of urgency, from potential abusers” and the report accused him of providing erroneous information to one Garda inquiry and failing to co-operate fully with another.

MURPHY REPORT (NOVEMBER 2009)

Investigated cases involving 46 priests and more than 320 children, most of them boys. It found four successive archbishops of the Dublin archdiocese had handled allegations of child sexual abuse with “denial, arrogance and cover-up” and did not report the abuse to gardaí. It said the structures of the church facilitated the cover- up of abuse.

RYAN REPORT (MAY 2009)

Found that thousands of children suffered physical and sexual abuse over several decades in 216 residential institutions run by religious orders, implicating more than 800 priests, brothers, nuns and lay people. The Department of Education was found to have failed to carry out its “statutory duty of inspection” out of deference towards the religious congregation. The report said the religious congregations were not prepared to accept responsibility for the sexual abuse carried out by their members and did not listen to or believe people who complained of sexual abuse.

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IRELAND
Irish Times

MARY MINIHAN

Minister for Children Frances Fitzgerald said she was shocked at some of the findings of the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church.

Ms Fitzgerald said best practice in child protection was ignored up until last year.

Seven reviews were conducted by the board into safeguarding practices at both diocesan and religious congregation level.

“The scale of past abuse recounted in these reviews is horrific, in particular as we know it took place, in many instances, in schools. But the extent of cover-up and the failures to safeguard children, whether by acts of commission or omission, is equally shocking,” she said.

Ms Fitzgerald was critical of the management of allegations of abuse and the alleged offenders.

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IRELAND
Irish Examiner

Wednesday, September 05, 2012

Barnardos chief executive Fergus Finlay has described as “a childish excuse” comments from Bishop of Clonfert John Kirby that he previously regarded paedophilia as a “friendship that crossed a boundary line”.

Seven audits into child safeguarding practices in the Catholic Church and religious orders were published today.

The reviews found a higher incidence of allegations of abuse within the three orders than in the four dioceses – and that there is still a failure to fully comply with child protection guidelines.

NBSCCC Chief Executive Ian Elliott has said the audits found some instances of very bad practice and described his shock and disappointment at some of the findings against the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart in particular.

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IRELAND
BBC News

By Shane Harrison
BBC News

The audit was carried out for the Catholic Church by the National Board for Safeguarding Children
The Catholic bishop of Clonfert in east Galway has apologised for moving two priests from one parish to another in the 1990s after they had abused children.

Dr John Kirby has said he did not understand the nature of paedophilia at the time.

Bishop Kirby’s remarks follow the publication of the latest independent audit of child protection practises in four Catholic dioceses, mainly in the south and west of Ireland, and three religious orders.

He described his decision to move the priests on as “a grave mistake” but said he was no’t aware at the time of the sinister nature and repeat behaviour of the abuser or of the life-long damage caused to the child.

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IRELAND
Belfast Telegraph

A long-serving bishop has sparked a storm of controversy over his fitness for the job after revealing he used to think paedophilia was friendship gone too far.

Ian Elliot, head of the Catholic Church’s child abuse watchdog, called into question the competency of Bishop John Kirby over the remarks following his audit of the Diocese of Clonfert.

“Care needs to be taken when appointing a bishop that you do not appoint a bishop with these attitudes,” Mr Elliot said. “These are basic competencies that everyone should have in authority. I’m not calling for anyone to resign but, for me, that’s an absolute basic requirement.”

Bishop Kirby, in charge of the diocese since 1989, made the ill-judged revelation on the back of apologies to survivors of two abusive priests he moved from one parish to another in 1990 and 1994. Although he signed off the transfers, he also notified gardai of the allegations.

Bishop Kirby claimed he did not understand paedophilia in an attempt to explain why he adopted the standard church response of the time to transfer clerical child abusers.

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IRELAND
Irish Examiner

Wednesday, September 05, 2012

A long-serving bishop has sparked a storm of controversy over his fitness for the job after revealing he used to think paedophilia was friendship gone too far.

Ian Elliot, head of the Catholic Church’s child abuse watchdog, called into question the competency of Bishop John Kirby over the remarks following his audit of the Diocese of Clonfert.

“Care needs to be taken when appointing a bishop that you do not appoint a bishop with these attitudes,” Mr Elliot said.

“These are basic competencies that everyone should have in authority. I’m not calling for anyone to resign but, for me, that’s an absolute basic requirement.”

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Weekly

The church is far from candid about its supposed price tag for responding to its sex-abuse charges.

By Tara Murtha

With the trial against ex-priest Father Charles Engelhardt and former schoolteacher Bernard Shero beginning yesterday, the Philadelphia Archdiocese is making headlines yet again. The archdiocese has been in the news constantly lately, between the landmark conviction of Msgr. William J. Lynn; the battle over statute of limitations on child-sex abuse; the closing of many Catholic schools; and all the brouhaha surrounding the incipient sale of a few lavish real-estate holdings—including Villa St. Joseph, a 19-room, 9,800-square-foot house on the Jersey shore featuring two elevators and assessed at $6.2 million.

And in article after article, the figure $11.6 million pops up.

The $11.6 million—you may have seen it in the news as $11 million, $10.6 million or $10 million—is, reporters inform us, the price the church has paid so far responding to “the current clergy sex-abuse scandal” or, to use ever-so-slightly clearer language, “the latest grand jury investigation into clergy sex-abuse and the criminal prosecution of Msgr. William J. Lynn.”

The figure is never attributed. It just hangs there, as if it is confirmed fact. Trouble is, it’s not. So where’s it from?

This past June, amid international headlines about the case against Lynn, the Archdiocese published a document titled the “Financial Report of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.”

The introduction to the report was written by Archbishop Charles Chaput: “The cost of responding to the grand jury report, the investigations related to priests on administrative leave, the subsequent criminal and civil legal proceedings and the investigation into the embezzlement has been heavy.” Chaput states that “roughly $1.6 million” of these “extraordinary costs” occurred fiscal 2011, with the remaining $10 million or so accruing in the time period ending March 31, 2012.

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KANSAS CITY (MO)
National Catholic Reporter

by Bill Tammeus on Sep. 05, 2012 A small c catholic

As the Catholic church works through the horrific, dispiriting priest abuse scandal and attendant cover-up by bishops, there’s been little to applaud. But when something does go right — or at least mostly right — it’s worth noting.

That’s especially true in the Kansas City-St. Joseph, Mo., diocese. There, Bishop Robert Finn and the diocese are scheduled for a trial starting Sept. 24 on misdemeanor charges of failing to report suspected child abuse by Fr. Shawn Ratigan, who has pleaded guilty to using five girls to produce or try to produce child pornography.

Finn created a five-point plan for the diocese to respond to abuse allegations. The second point called for “appointment of an independent public liaison and ombudsman to field and investigate any reports of suspicious or inappropriate behavior.”

That ombudsman turned out to be Jenifer Valenti, a former assistant prosecuting attorney in Jackson County, Mo. After a year on the job, she issued her first report in July describing the 79 cases brought to her attention, 20 of which had to do with sexual abuse.

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IRELAND
The Irish Catholic

6 Sep 2012

Michael Kelly

The latest audits into the Irish Church’s handling of abuse allegations reveal that while substantial progress continues to be made, there are still worrying areas of non-compliance with agreed procedures.

The reviews – carried out by the independent watchdog the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church (NBSCCC) – revealed that one religious congregation was not reporting such allegations to the civil authorities as recently as July 2011. The reports also show that religious congregations were not following the Vatican’s procedure on reporting all allegations to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) as recently as 12 months ago.

Chief Executive of the NBSCCC, Ian Elliott said that the “reviews indicate that full compliance has not yet been achieved by all of those reviewed, although many examples of excellent practice were found”.

According to Mr Elliott, good practice and sound development, found across the different Church authorities, has been welcomed by the board, which also noted the need to learn from examples of poor practice.

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IRELAND
Breaking News

Bishop of Clonfert John Kirby said today that he had previously regarded paedophilia as a “friendship that crossed a boundary line”

He told Galway Bay FM that he has learned “sadly since” and it was a very difficult experience.

The bishop was speaking after the publication of seven audits into child safeguarding practices in the Catholic church and religious orders.

Three religious orders were also examined – the Dominicans, the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart and the Spiritans.

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IRELAND
Leinster Leader

Published on Wednesday 5 September 2012

Some 18 allegations of sexual abuse were made against 10 priests in the Kildare and Leighlin Diocese between January 1975 and May 2012.

That is according to the review published on Wednesday morning by the Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church.

Just two of these priests connected with the report are still alive, but neither are still ministering within the church.

“My thoughts today are with the survivors of abuse and with their families and I respectfully apologize to them for the hurt and offence they have carried and are still carrying,” said Monsignor Brendan Byrne, Diocesan Administrator, in a statement Wednesday lunchtime.

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AUSTRIA
Catholic San Francisco

September 5th, 2012
By Sarah MacDonald

DUBLIN – The leader of the Austrian Priests’ Initiative said the dissident group’s call to disobedience reflects the lack of accountability among those who exercise power and authority in the Catholic Church.

Msgr. Helmut Schuller told Catholic News Service that reform and substantive structural change are “essential for the future of the church” in Europe and the wider world.

The Priests’ Initiative, which now represents 500 clergy in Austria, wants the Vatican to revive the “Lex Ecclesiae Fundamentalis” project initiated by Pope Paul VI following the Second Vatican Council. The project, which sought to establish a common fundamental code or church constitution similar to the U.S. Bill of Rights for church members, was shelved by Pope John Paul II in 1981.

“We are talking about providing basic rights for the people of God and a structure of participation in decision-making and feedback between the top, center and base of the church. We also want to establish a system of control for those who hold power and authority in the church,” said Msgr. Schuller, former vicar general of the Archdiocese of Vienna and former director of Caritas Austria.

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MISSOURI
The Turner Report

A Friday, September 7, meeting has been scheduled in U. S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, to hear arguments from Kanakuk officials and the family that is suing them about Kanakuk’s refusal to turn over names of sexual abuse victims of former camp director Pete Newman.

Lawyers representing the victim, referred to in court records as John Doe, are asking for the names to reveal a pattern of abuse by Newman that Kanakuk officials allegedly allowed to continue for years.

Newman is now spending two life sentences in a Missouri prison.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Eastbourne Herald

Published on Wednesday 5 September 2012

THE ORGANISATION which runs churches across Eastbourne and was heavily criticised in a new report, has said it will do all it can to change.

The Diocese of Chichester was described as dysfunctional, arrogantly in denial, its history of safeguarding young children had fallen woefully short and a place where priests were able to officiate without up-to-date CRB checks.

The report was penned after intervention by the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams.

It also followed the arrests of retired Canon Gordon Rideout from Polegate who now faces more than 30 charges of sex abuse and priest Robert Coles from Upperton Road who is also facing allegations of sexually abusing young children.

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IRELAND
Irish Independent

By Barry Duggan

Wednesday September 05 2012

THE Diocese of Limerick received 45 separate complaints of child abuse concerning 26 priests from 1975 to the present.

State authorities including the gardai were notified of all complaints, but not a single criminal conviction was recorded.

Some complaints refer back to the 1940s and the last date of alleged abuse took place in 1994.

When the complaints were made in relation to the 26 priests, 14 were already dead.

Of the 12 priests that were investigated – despite the fact that all were cleared of any criminal wrongdoing – the Diocese took the decision to remove five elderly priests from their ministry.

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IRELAND
Irish Independent

By Ralph Riegel

Wednesday September 05 2012

THREE Irish priests who retired to a Cork diocese from overseas were found to have been convicted of child abuse in another country, according to a report by Catholic Church’s own watchdog.

The revelation came as the Bishop of Cork and Ross, Dr John Buckley, said that priests feel “very demoralised” by the clerical abuse controversies that have rocked the Irish church over recent years.

Dr Buckley’s comments came at the National Board for Safeguarding Children (NBSC) published their review of child protection practices in the diocese.

The report found that the Diocese of Cork & Ross now boasts one of Ireland’s best child protection regimes – and was found to have fully or partially complied with all 46 safety criteria.

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IRELAND
Irish Independent

By Louise Hogan

Wednesday September 05 2012

Eighteen allegations of sexual abuse have been made against 10 priests in the Catholic Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin over the past 37-years, a report revealed today.

The review by the church’s child safety watchdog, the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church (NBSCCC), issued 12 recommendations to make child safety structures “more robust”.

The report stated it was “regrettable” that not all of the suggestions about actions to improve child safeguarding outlined in a report in July 2006 had not been followed up by the time of the review.

Monsignor Brendan Byrne, Diocesan administrator, said work was underway on fulfilling the recommendations as soon as possible including the appointment of a lay person as a designated person on the child safeguarding team.

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IRELAND
98 FM

The latest reports from the National Board for Safeguarding Children have been released, dealing with over 300 allegations of abuse against 146 priests and members of various religious congregations.

The four dioceses reviewed are Cork and Ross, Limerick, Clonfert and Kildare and Leighlin. The three religious orders are the Dominicans, the Spiritans and the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart.

The damning report says that while good practices were observed in places, there were too many examples of a blind eye being turned to abuse.

An audit in the parish of Kildare and Leighlin found that 18 allegations of sexual abuse were made against 10 priests from the diocese since 1975. Only one of those was convicted.

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IRELAND
Galway News

September 5, 2012
The report states that this was a significant shortcoming that had a knock on effect in safeguarding structures and practices in the diocese.

The National Board for safeguarding children is now recommending the safeguarding policy and procedures be finalised as a matter of urgency.

It’s also recommending that Bishop John Kirby divest himself of the responsibility for dealing with allegations alone, by ensuring all new allegations are referred to designated persons.

There were three priests incardinated into the diocese of Clonfert against whom allegations have been made since 1975.

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IRELAND
Newstalk

CLONFERT

The Bishop of Clonfert in Galway has apologised for moving two priests who sexually abused children to different diocese.

John Kirby says while he did notify civil authorities at the time he profoundly regrets moving the priests concerned to different parishes thereby placing others at serious risk.

Both of the changes took place in the early to mid-1990s.

He says he ‘utterly condemns’ the actions of the priests concerned.

The Bishop says this was “a grave mistake” on his part and that he would operate very differently now and will continue to do so in future.

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IRELAND
RTE News

Seven reports reviewing child protection practices in a number of Ireland’s Catholic dioceses and religious orders have been published.

The audits have found a higher incidence of abuse allegations against members of religious congregations than against priests in a number of dioceses that have been audited.

Reports on the audits say full compliance with child protection guidelines is still some way off.

The audits were conducted by the National Board for Safeguarding Children in four dioceses and, for the first time, three religious congregations.

They deal with more than 330 allegations of abuse against 146 priests and members of those congregations.

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IRELAND
Breaking News

An audit of child safeguarding practices at the diocese of Cork and Ross has found that 26 priests had allegations of abuse made against them between 1975 and 2011.

Three priests against whom allegations were made remain in ministry, while seven have retired.

The National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church raised concerns about priests retiring into the geographical area of the diocese of Cork and Ross from dioceses in Britain.

The board said that information on the status of these priests was not as forthcoming as it should have been from their home dioceses, which resulted in a lack of awareness of potential risk to children.

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IRELAND
The Southern Star

BISHOP of Cork and Ross, John Buckley, has offered his apologies ‘to all who have suffered as the result of abuse by Church personnel’ following a review by the Church’s child protection watchdog, the National Board for Safeguarding Children.

‘No apology, no gesture of repentance or sorrow can ever make up for the suffering caused to children and their families’, said Bishop Buckley, who prayed ‘that the Lord’s healing power will give them peace.’

‘Every single victim has been offered access to counselling support and therapy offered by the diocese. They were let down by people who professed the Gospel of Jesus Christ. There is no place in the Church for those who would harm the young.’

The purpose of the review was to confirm that the diocese manages all complaints in accordance with the guidelines issued by the National Board, said Bishop Buckley. The diocese of Cork and Ross was one of four dioceses and three religious congregations to be the subject of reviews.

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IRELAND
Irish Times

Bishop Donal Buckley has been told to ensure that the diocese of Cork and Ross reviews and, if necessary, revises its safeguarding children policy document.

The National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church (NBSCCC) audit found that the advice was written in 2009, two years before the Diocesan Child Protection Committee had sight of two important national documents, Children First, and the HSE Child Protection and Welfare Practice Handbook.

Another issue it flagged up was that the diocese does not set out timeframes for resolving child abuse complaints.

The audit stated that allegations have been made against 26 priests in the diocese since 1975, and eight of the clerics have died.

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IRELAND
Irish Times

Allegations have been made against 26 priests in the diocese of Limerick, 14 of whom have since died, an audit has found.

Eight priests who faced allegations are out of ministry or left the priesthood, but no clerics have been convicted of an offence since 1975.

Some 34 complaints of child abuse were received by gardaí and 41 by health authorities, the report said.

Overall, Limerick was found to have met 44 of the 48 criteria for safeguarding children in the church.

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IRELAND
Irish Times

ALISON HEALY in Co Carlow

Some 18 allegations of sexual abuse were made against 10 priests in the diocese of Kildare and Leighlin between 1975 and May of this year, according to a report published by the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church.

The diocese covers 56 parishes in Co Carlow and parts of Kildare, Laois, Offaly, Kilkenny, Wicklow and Wexford.

Two of the priests against whom allegations were made are still living. One of those, Fr Peter Cribben, was convicted of the abuse of a 14-year-old boy in March 2009.

The second priest was not subject to a criminal charge. Monsignor Brendan Bryrne, diocesan administrator, said both were “completely out of ministry” and receiving diocesan supervision.

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IRELAND
Irish Times

Telephone numbers and websites of support services

HSE national counselling service

Information line for adults who have experienced childhood abuse or neglect

Freephone: 1800-235234 (Mon to Fri, 9am-5.30pm) hse-ncs.ie

Connect – National Adults Counselling Service

Freephone: 1800-477477 (Northern Ireland or UK: 0800-47747777) Wednesday-Sunday: 6-10pm; connectcounselling.ie

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IRELAND
Irish Times

FIONA GARTLAND

Allegations of sexual abuse were made against 27 Dominican friars since 1975, a report published this morning has said.

The Review of Safeguarding Practice in the Irish Province of Dominican Friars, carried out by the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland found 52 allegations had been reported to gardaí and the Health Service Executive.

Two friars have been convicted of offences against children since 1975.

Some 12 of the 27 friars against whom allegations were made were still alive at the time to the review.

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IRELAND
Irish Times

PATSY MCGARRY, Religious Affairs Correspondent

A review of child safeguarding practices in the Holy Ghost congregation has found that 142 abuse allegations had been made against 47 Spiritan or Holy Ghost priests since January 1st 1975.

Eight of the priests are still alive, with three out of ministry.

Three Spiritan priests have been convicted of abuse in the courts.

The review found that that Spiritan case files made for “very sad reading”, with evidence that there were serial abusers who worked in school communities in Ireland who “went undetected and unchecked giving them unmonitored access to children during the 1960s, 70s and 80s.”

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IRELAND
Irish Times

PATSY McGARRY, Religious Affairs Correspondent

The Bishop of Clonfert has apologised for moving two priests from one parish to another in the 1990s after they abused children.

Dr John Kirby said he had a lack of understanding about the sinister and recidivist nature of the child abuser and the lifelong damage that the destructive behaviour has on victims.

“Most of all – whilst I did notify the civil authorities at the time of these complaints – I profoundly regret and apologise for moving the priests concerned to different parishes, thereby placing others at serious risk,” he said.

Dr Kirby said the decision to transfer the abusive priests in the early to mid-90s was a grave mistake.

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IRELAND
Irish Times

Bishop Donal Buckley has been told to ensure that the diocese of Cork and Ross reviews and, if necessary, revises its safeguarding children policy document.

The National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church (NBSCCC) audit found that the advice was written in 2009, two years before the Diocesan Child Protection Committee had sight of two important national documents, Children First, and the HSE Child Protection and Welfare Practice Handbook.

Another issue it flagged up was that the diocese does not set out timeframes for resolving child abuse complaints.

The audit stated that allegations have been made against 26 priests in the diocese since 1975, and eight of the clerics have died.

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IRELAND
Irish Independent

By Ralph Riegel

Wednesday September 05 2012

THREE Irish priests who retired to a Cork diocese from overseas were found to have been convicted of child abuse in another country, according to a report by Catholic Church’s own watchdog.

The revelation came as the Bishop of Cork and Ross, Dr John Buckley, said that priests feel “very demoralised” by the clerical abuse controversies that have rocked the Irish church over recent years.

Dr Buckley’s comments came at the National Board for Safeguarding Children (NBSC) published their review of child protection practices in the diocese.

The report found that the Diocese of Cork & Ross now boasts one of Ireland’s best child protection regimes – and was found to have fully or partially complied with all 46 safety criteria.

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IRELAND
The National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland

See Safeguarding reviews of the Dioceses of Clonfert, Limerick,Cork & Ross,Kildare & Leighlin and the congregations of the male Dominicans, Spiritans & MSC’s

Diocese of Clonfert
Diocese of Limerick
Diocese of Cork & Ross
Diocese of Kildare & Leighlin
Male Dominican
Spiritans
Missionaries of the Sacred Heart (MSC)

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IRELAND
The National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland

Conclusions
1. It is difficult to express adequately the failure of this Society to effectively protect vulnerable children. Their actions indicate a disregard for the suffering of victims and a misunderstanding of the nature of the problem within the Society.

2. As a result of the abuse that should have been prevented, it is reasonable to speculate that a great deal of suffering has occurred. In the assessment of the NBSCCCI it could have been prevented but those who should have taken action to prevent it either chose not to do so or were effectively blocked from doing so by a wall of secrecy which did not permit child protection information to be shared. This worked very much in the favour of those who had caused harm to children and wanted to continue to prey upon them.

3. People who were aware that abuse had been admitted to saw no need to report that fact to the Garda Síochána. The internal communication that took place with the Superior General in Rome, we are told, was verbal in nature and not recorded. Although it seems extraordinary that such serious matters should be dealt with in such an informal way, this must be seen as yet another example of the lack of understanding that existed in this Society and that what they were dealing with actually mattered very much.

4. Two basic principles underpin the current Church safeguarding policies in force in the Catholic Church in Ireland today. They are that children should be protected from harm and those that cause harm to them or allow it to happen, should be held accountable for their actions. The investigation of the child protection practice in this religious community is an excellent example of why those principles are now in place in the Church in Ireland, and why they must be adhered to by everyone within the Church without exception.

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IRELAND
The National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland

Recommendation 1: The Designated Person develops posters and leaflets as suggested within the NBSCCCI training manual for display in all houses of Spiritan ministries, highlighting current information on policies, procedures, reporting information, along with a list of who to contact within the Spiritan Congregation, An Garda Síochána and HSE, if there is a safeguarding concern.

Recommendation 2: The Provincial Leadership Team must extend an invitation to people to come forward who have not yet disclosed their abuse (using approaches which may include notices on the website and public notices and where there is identifying information, letters through, for example, An Garda Síochána, solicitors or other relevant third parties). These complainants should be offered counselling and support.

Recommendation 3: The Designated Person must record all contacts relating to the management of cases and contact with survivors, irrespective of whether the respondent is alive or deceased. This should also include contact with the families of survivors.

The files are stored in a fireproof strong cabinet, in the Provincial’s office. Access to the records is by the designated person and two other members of the Provincial Leadership Team. In discussion with the advisory panel, which was re-constituted in July 2011, they have been given access to the records, following the signing of a Data Processing Deed and agreements around confidentiality. It must be noted that the congregation did not have an advisory panel for many years and the fact that this has now changed is to be commended. Prior to the fieldwork, a Provincial Chapter took place and a new Provincial Leadership Team was appointed. The new team should familiarise themselves with the content of the files to ensure continuity of decision making and management of risk.

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IRELAND
The National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland

To improve communication in this area, NBSCCCI recommends:

Recommendation 1: That in order to communicate more openly, there should be a safeguarding icon on the Dominican website, with information relating to the policy and procedures and guidance on how to make a complaint.

Recommendation 2: That posters located in all Dominican properties need to be refreshed with current information on policies, procedures, reporting information, along with a list of who to contact within the Dominican Order, An Garda Síochána and HSE, if there is a safeguarding concern.

Recommendation 4: The designated person must ensure that all new files contain a narrative account of action and copies of all correspondence, criminal prosecutions, civil actions and other relevant documentation.

Recommendation 5: In the four 4 cases of men out of ministry, the designated person should seek to set up a master file with a chronology of events from the first reported allegation to current day. This file should detail all complainants and responses made to them by the order, investigations undertaken by the civil authorities, enquiries/assessments undertaken by the order, risk management plans and reviews of these as well as any advice obtained whilst managing the case.

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IRELAND
The National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church

Recommendation 1:

That when the Kildare and Leighlin Diocesan Child Protection Committee’s current review of the Diocesan Safeguarding Children Policy and Procedures is completed, Monsignor Byrne will ensure that they are consistent with Children First, 2011, and with the HSE guidance document, Child Protection and Welfare Practice Handbook, 2011.

In his Introduction to the August 2009 document, the then Bishop stated that the Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin is committed to “working in partnership with the civil authorities to ensure that all aspects of child welfare are managed promptly, professionally and justly”. He underlined the principle that the diocese and the diocesan community have an obligation “to create and sustain a culture of safety”. He also undertook on behalf of the diocese to ensure that the document would be reviewed and revised regularly and would always be “‘a work in progress’“. This policy and procedures document is available on the website of the Kildare and Leighlin Diocese, www.kandle.ie/safeguarding.

The quality and clarity of the information and guidance contained in the Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin Safeguarding Children Policy and Procedures and on its dedicated website page is commended.

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IRELAND
The National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church

Recommendation 1:

Bishop Buckley needs to ensure that the Cork and Ross Diocesan Child Protection Committee reviews and if necessary revises, the current Safeguarding Children in the Diocese of Cork and Ross to satisfy himself that they are consistent with Children First, 2011 and with the HSE guidance document, Child Protection and Welfare Practice Handbook, 2011.

The production of the revised policy and procedures document was one of the outcomes of a full diocesan review of safeguarding initiated by Bishop Buckley in 2011. The following elements or functions were included as part of this internal review process:

The engagement of an external consultant to plan and facilitate the process A diocesan consultation process A review of all safeguarding publications A review of training A review and refreshing of the membership of the Diocesan Advisory Panel A review of the work of the diocesan Relapse Prevention Group A review of the deployment and work of Local Parish Representatives

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IRELAND
The National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland

Recommendation 1

 The Administrator and the Director of Safeguarding should consult with NBSCCCI to ensure that the redrafted policy and procedures adhere to national guidelines.
 The Administrator and the Director of Safeguarding must ensure that awareness-raising of the diocesan policy and procedures takes place, and that implementation of the redrafted procedures is audited on an annual basis.

The review team met two diocesan priests, one directly involved in safeguarding and one a parish priest with responsibilities within his parish for safeguarding children. They both stated their continued commitment to ensuring the safety of children in the Church, but felt that the scandals of the last few years, the loss of their bishop and constant negative media attention contributed to their lack of confidence in working with children. They feel that the appointment of a lay safeguarding director has helped give them an assurance that the policies, procedures and systems in the diocese are effective, but that it will take

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IRELAND
The National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church

Recommendation 1.
 Bishop Kirby must ensure the finalisation of the Clonfert Diocese Safeguarding Policy and Procedures as a matter of urgency. A reader-friendly summary version should accompany the full procedures.
 Bishop Kirby, with assistance from his committee, priests of the diocese and those with communications skills in the diocese, should launch, distribute and ensure the implementation of the policy and procedures.
 As Clonfert is within the metropolitan Area of the Tuam Archdiocese, Bishop Kirby should consider seeking the support of safeguarding personnel of that Archdiocese in completing this essential work in the shortest possible time.

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IRELAND
Breaking News

05/09/2012

Allegations of abuse were made against 18 priests of the Diocese of Limerick between 1975 and March of this year, a news report has revealed.

The National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland report said that 34 claims were reported to gardaí, while 41 were brought to the attention of health boards.

None of the priests in the Diocese have been convicted of having committed an offence against a child, since 1975.

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IRELAND
Gorey Guardian

Wednesday September 05 2012

The Bishop of Clonfert has apologised for moving two priests from one parish to another in the 1990s after they abused children.

John Kirby said he had a lack of understanding about the sinister and recidivist nature of the child abuser and the lifelong damage that the destructive behaviour has on victims.

“Most of all – whilst I did notify the civil authorities at the time of these complaints – I profoundly regret and apologise for moving the priests concerned to different parishes, thereby placing others at serious risk,” he said.

Bishop Kirby said the decision to transfer the abusive priests in the early to mid-90s was a grave mistake.

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UNITED STATES
Seasons of Grace

September 4, 2012 By Kathy Schiffer

Thank you, Father Groeschel. Through the years, your steadfast teaching has kept us on a steady course in our Christian walk. By your humility and your love, you have taught us how to embrace Christ in the people we meet along life’s journey. Through your wise counsel, you have helped us to grow in understanding of the Catholic faith. May God bless you for your faithful service, and may He comfort you as you seek to do His will in the seclusion of monastic life.

This is a sad day for people who have listened spellbound to the no-frills message of a great man of God, Father Benedict Groeschel. Today Father Groeschel, age 79, has stepped down as host of EWTN’s “Sunday Night Prime” television show.

You probably know why: The Internet has been a-flurry with news of his recent inflammatory comment regarding children who have been abused by Catholic priests. In an interview which was published August 27 in the National Catholic Register, Father Groeschel opined, “Suppose you have a man having a nervous breakdown, and a youngster comes after him. A lot of the cases, the youngster—14, 16, 18—is the seducer.”

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ROME
Corriere della Sera

ROMA – Il suo ruolo nello Ior e lo scontro con la segreteria di Stato vaticana sulla normativa antiriciclaggio. Le paure per la propria incolumità. Ma soprattutto i suoi rapporti di amicizia e di affari con l’amministratore delegato di Finmeccanica Giuseppe Orsi che gli confidò di aver affidato «consulenze false» alla moglie di Vittorio Grilli, l’attuale ministro dell’Economia, e di aver così «risolto alcuni problemi» della signora. Sono le clamorose rivelazioni contenute nei verbali del banchiere Ettore Gotti Tedeschi che confermano l’ampia collaborazione dell’ex presidente dell’Istituto opere religiose con i magistrati di Roma e Napoli. E svelano quali siano i nuovi filoni d’inchiesta aperti dopo le sue dichiarazioni.Il 5 giugno scorso il banchiere ha subito una perquisizione ordinata dai magistrati napoletani Vincenzo Piscitelli e Henry John Woodcock che indagavano proprio sulla natura del legame con il manager al vertice di Finmeccanica.

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ITALY
Reuters

MILAN, Sept 5 | Wed Sep 5, 2012

(Reuters) – Finmeccanica head Giuseppe Orsi denied press reports on Wednesday that he had ordered faked consultancy services from the wife of Vittorio Grilli, who is currently Economy Minister.

“I have never in my life ordered consultancy services from the wife of Professor Grilli, neither as Chief Executive of Finmeccanica nor in the past as CEO of AgustaWestland,” Orsi said in an emailed statement in response to media reports.

A report in the Il Corriere della Sera alleged that wiretaps by prosecutors indicated that the former head of Vatican bank IOR Ettore Gotti Tedeschi had said that Orsi had told him he had contracted for “false consultancy services” from Grilli’s wife.

The newspaper said Gotti Tedeschi’s comments were contained in the minutes of judicial inquiries.

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CONNECTICUT
Patch

By Paul Petrone

At his court date Tuesday, it was revealed Fr. Dennis Carey is a patient at St. John Vianney Center in Downington, PA, “a faith-centered community that specializes in the treatment of behavioral health issues that are unique to Catholic clergy,” according to the center’s website.

Carey was formerly the head pastor of Waterford’s St. Paul in Chains Rectory until he was arrested in July when police found 338 files of child pornography on computers he owned inside the Roman Catholic Church. Carey had his third court appearance Tuesday, where his case was continued until October 15.

At the appearance, Judge Susan B. Handy confirmed that Carey is a patient at the center, although she said he would be discharged soon to live either with his sister in Westchester, NY, or his parents, who live near Boston. Carey met $100,000 bail in July and was released on several conditions, including mandates to not to interact with children, to avoid the Internet and to not possess any pornography.

The center, according to its website, is a member facility of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and offers a “multi-disciplinary, research-based approach to the behavioral health issues of Catholic religious and priests.”

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WASHINGTON
The Columbian

By Laura McVicker
Columbian Staff Reporter

A former Bible camp counselor was sentenced Tuesday to 35 years in prison for sexually abusing two children he knew through church.

Michael Scott Norris’ sentencing in Clark County Superior Court has been a long time coming. The Vancouver man, 46, was jailed in August 2006 on the sex abuse allegations, but his case remained in limbo for years over an evidence dispute.

In addition, Clark County prosecutors had to wait until federal prosecutors completed their child pornography case this spring against Norris.

On Tuesday, Judge John Wulle imposed the maximum sentence for Norris, noting how disturbing the case has been. “The cruelty you have shown these children … just boggles the mind,” Wulle said.

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IOWA
Nonpareil

Posted: Wednesday, September 5, 2012

By Mike Brownlee
mbrownlee@nonpareilonline.com

A former church volunteer faces up to 30 years in prison over allegations of sexual abuse committed 14 years ago in Council Bluffs.

Bobby E. Smith, 68, of El Dorado Springs, Mo., faces three counts of third-degree sexual abuse and one count of indecent contact with a child. He’s accused of sexually abusing a 12-year-old boy in Council Bluffs during the summer of 1998, according to the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office.

Assistant County Attorney Dan McGinn said Smith met the boy through First Baptist Church in Harlan, where Smith was a volunteer. After the boy was unable to come on a church-sponsored fishing trip, Smith offered to take the boy on a separate, non-church sponsored fishing trip.

The pair went to Lake Anita in Cass County and after the trip traveled to Council Bluffs, where Smith told the boy they’d go shopping. While in route Smith allegedly fondled the victim. Once in the city Smith booked a room at a local hotel.

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NEW YORK
Patch

By Bob Marrone

Even within the free speech venue that is WVOX, some subjects require special handling, if you will. Religion, race and the subject of Israel, when not articulated carefully, can bring a lot of negative feedback and result in suspension or even the loss of one’s job.

Yes, speech in such matters is free; the consequences, however, can be very costly.

Nonetheless, I have charted a course on the radio of criticizing the Catholic Church’s problems with respect to sexual abuse and what I believe to be, at minimum, the contributing factor of celibacy. As I prepared to return to the air from my break, I began to wonder if I didn’t have a little of Joe Paterno in me.

The local papers noted the fall from grace of Iona College’s former president Brother James Liguori; the recent arrest of the former leader of the Salesians, Reverend Richard McCormick, on rape charges; and the comments of Father Benedict Groeschel, also of Westchester, that it is young people who seduce clerics into child abuse. Indeed, maybe I—we—have grown too tolerant and too respectful of the church to acknowledge this problem, even as it has manifested itself right here in Westchester.

At times, when I have introduced this subject on the air, I have been met with the accurate, though irrelevant, feedback that I am picking on the church and that the issue of child abuse exists in proportion throughout society and in other religious organizations. I buy that it exists all over society and I have written about it here. But I no more accept the notion of proportionality than I do the argument from my liberal friends that there is just as much crime in suburban areas as there is in the inner city. Both are either polite notions of political correctness or undue deference to the status of religion.

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ILLINOIS
KZIM

A Southern Illinois pastor charged with having a sexual relationship with a minor will get a new fitness hearing! 74-year-old Billy Vandergraph of Alto Pass was arrested in July 2010. He is charged with predatory criminal sexual assault of a child and two charges of aggravated criminal sexual abuse. Police contend he committed two sexual acts with a 4-year-old girl between January and May 2010. Vandergraph underwent a treatment plan and the judge ruled in April 2011, he is fit to stand trial.

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