ABUSE TRACKER

UNITED STATES
Huffington Post

Tom Rastrelli

On Friday, July 27, the U.S. Catholic hierarchy took another leap to the anti-LGBT right when the Vatican named Bishop Salvatore Cordileone the next Archbishop of San Francisco. Cordileone, who helped draft California’s Proposition 8, is the chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage. At the press conference following his promotion’s announcement, Cordileone restated his position that civil marriage is only the union of a man and a woman before saying, “I don’t see how that’s discriminatory against anyone.” Such contradictory statements may sound absurd to outsiders, but to Catholic clerics, who are formed in a homophobic seminary system, they are a means of survival.

In November 2001, two months before the Boston Globe unmasked Cardinal Law’s coverup of priest-perpetrated sexual abuse of children, I was in my final year of Catholic seminary. My brother seminarians and I stumbled through the predawn darkness and boarded a chartered bus. We were men in black (clerical attire) charged with a mission: Hobnob over breakfast with members of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, who were in Washington, D.C., for their annual meeting. Our goal: Get them to send more meat to our school, St. Mary’s Seminary, known in conservative circles as the Pink Palace.

As the bus rolled to a stop in front of the bishops’ hotel, my chest tightened. Openly gay Catholics wrapped in coats and scarves lined the dimly lit sidewalk. Candles flickered before their frozen faces as they maintained a silent, 24-hour protest of the Church’s teachings on homosexuality. I rushed past them with the herd of soon-to-be-priests.

In the safety of the conference room, which smelled of coffee, dry cleaning, and musk, we waited for the guests of honor to arrive. We bitched about the ungodly hour and planned our ecclesial courting: “What’s he looking for?” “He’s into Opus Dei, so you stay away from him.” “Thank goodness mine’s a liberal.” “Liberal with the altar boys!” “Is my collar straight?”

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BOSTON (MA)
Boston Herald

By Laurel J. Sweet and Richard Weir
Thursday, August 2, 2012

A Polish priest accused of trading in pornographic pictures of prepubescent girls was arrested at his South Boston church Tuesday.

Rev. Andrzej “Andrew” Urbaniak, 41, a native of Knurow, Poland, pleaded not guilty to charges of possession of child pornography and dissemination of images of a nude child. Police reports filed with the court stated he had “child pornography/child sexual abuse images” on his computer.

Assistant Suffolk District Attorney Kate Clayman said Urbaniak volunteered to investigators, who’d been monitoring him online since June 13 based on a referral from the State Police Crimes Against Children Unit, that he did kiddie porn searches using keywords like “7 yo (years old).” State police told Boston detectives they’d found searches for “pre-teen,” “pedofilia” and “lolitas.”

The Archdiocese of Boston announced yesterday Urbaniak is on administrative leave. He came to this country 12 years ago and has been pastor of Our Lady of Czestochowa on Dorchester Avenue for four years. He was assigned by his religious order in Poland to help Boston’s Polish-Catholic community.

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BOSTON (MA)
NECN

[with video]

(NECN: Julie Loncich) – A two-month-long investigation has landed a South Boston priest behind bars, charged with child porn possession and distribution.

He appeared in court Wednesday.

The allegations are quite serious and frankly stunned parishioners that NECN spoke with.

Father Andrzej Urbaniak is accused of downloading and sharing child porn on a church computer.

“My client is very sad,” says Defense Attorney Jeffrey Denner.

He has been a priest for 14 years, 12 of which he spent in the United States and the last four at Our Lady of Czestochowa in South Boston. Father Urbaniak hung his head throughout much of his arraignment Wednesday morning.

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BELGIUM
Huffington Post

By ROBERT WIELAARD and DON MELVIN, The Associated Press

BRUSSELS — The ex-wife of a notorious pedophile who aided her husband’s horrific abuse and murder of young girls – and who let two children starve to death while her husband was in jail – was approved Tuesday for early release from prison, infuriating the victims’ parents and reopening a dark chapter in Belgian history.

Michelle Martin, who is now 52, received a 30-year prison term in 2004 for not freeing girls her then-husband Marc Dutroux held captive behind a secret door in their decrepit, dirty basement in Marcinelle, 40 miles south of Brussels.

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MAINE/TEXAS
Bangor Daily News

By Judy Harrison, BDN Staff

Posted Aug. 01, 2012

PORTLAND, Maine — A former Maine priest suspended from the ministry seven years ago after he was arrested for allegedly groping a teenage boy in a Texas movie theater has died, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland announced Wednesday.

Paul Clogan died Sunday in Austin, Texas, at the age of 81.

Clogan worked as a priest in Maine for 18 months before transferring to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Austin in January 2001.

He was a priest at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church in Horseshoe Falls, Texas, when he was arrested in December 2005 at a movie theater in the nearby town of Marble Falls, according to a previously published report.

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INDIANA
Fundamental News

Posted on Aug 1, 2012

The Baptist church made popular by Jack Hyles has removed Jack Schaap, the pastor that replaced Hyles after his death. They have removed him for an improper relationship with a girl:

“Hammond, IN–At this time, we deeply regret the need to announce that First Baptist Church has dismissed our pastor, Dr. Jack Schaap, due to a sin that has caused him to forfeit his right to be our pastor. First Baptist Church is in full cooperation with our local authorities in their investigation of this matter. Our church grieves over the need to take this action and the impact it will have on our people. We ask that everyone pray for the families involved and pray that the situation will be handled in a Christ honoring manner. We look forward to the days ahead as we continue to service the needs of our surrounding community and the Chicago area….”

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BELGIE
De Standaard

De burgemeester van Namen merkt een ‘toerisme van slecht allooi’ bij het klooster waar Michelle Martin zal verblijven. Hij heeft daarom een sterkere aanwezigheid van de politie in de Naamse deelgemeente Malonne gevraagd.

Dinsdagnacht werden op de muren van het clarissenklooster in Malonne tags tegen Michelle Martin aangebracht. Mogelijk wordt er ook gemanifesteerd.

‘We hebben contact opgenomen met potentiële initiatiefnemers van manifestaties anti-Michelle Martin en zullen maatregelen treffen om deze bijeenkomsten zo goed mogelijk te omkaderen’, zei burgmeester Maxime Prévot.

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BELGIUM
GlobalPost

Amanda MorrowJuly 31, 2012

A Belgian court has ruled that Michelle Martin, ex-wife and accomplice of the pedophile killer Marc Dutroux, can be released to a convent, Agence France Press reported.

Martin, 52, was convicted of helping Dutroux hold six young girls prisoner in the 1990s, and of complicity in the deaths of two eight-year-old girls – Julie Lejeune and Melissa Russo – who died of starvation in Dutroux’s dungeon.

Dutroux, who also raped his victims, and killed two others, is serving a life sentence. Martin, meanwhile, has spent 16 years in prison, after being sentenced to 30 years, and refused parole three times.

AFP reported that the court’s decision to grant Martin “conditional release” comes after the Clarisses convent, in central Belgium, agreed to take her in.

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BELGIUM
BBC News

A Belgian court has decided to transfer the jailed ex-wife of the notorious child killer Marc Dutroux to a convent.

The “conditional release” ruling came after a convent near Namur in southern Belgium agreed to take her in.

Last year France refused to let Michelle Martin move to a convent in northern France.

She has spent 16 years in prison, out of a 30-year jail term. She was found complicit in two of Dutroux’s four murders of young girls.

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BELGIE
RKnieuws

NAMEN (RKnieuws.net) – In de nacht van dinsdag op woensdag hebben onbekenden op het Clarissenklooster in Malonne bij Namen tags aangebracht tegen de opvang van Michelle Martin, de ex van Dutroux.

Later deze week zal er in Malonne ook betoogd worden tegen de komst van Michelle Martin. Ontevreden buurtbewoners hebben inmiddels protestbrieven bezorgd in het klooster. De omwonenden begrijpen de beslissing van de monialen om de vrouw op te vangen niet.

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BOSTON (MA)
Terra

A South Boston priest was charged on Wednesday with possessing and distributing child pornography using a computer in his parish’s rectory, authorities said.

Andrew J. Urbaniak was arraigned in South Boston District Court on one count of possession of child pornography and one charge of distributing images of a child in the nude, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office.

Police arrested Urbaniak, 39, at Our Lady of Czestochowa, a Polish church in the Archdiocese of Boston, on Tuesday.

After obtaining a search warrant, detectives seized Urbaniak’s computer, where pornographic images of girls between the ages of 8 and 10 were found, according to the Boston Police Department.

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WISCONSIN
SNAP Wisconsin

[with video and links]

Statement by Peter Isely, SNAP Midwest Director

I am very pleased to announce that Alex Gibney’s new documentary, which details the abuse and cover up of sex crimes against over 200 deaf children at St. John’s School in Milwaukee, will have its world-wide premier September 8 at the Toronto International Film Festival. The film widens from the story of survivors, to the secret involvement of the Vatican and Pope Benedict XVI, to the explosive revelations in documents obtained by the New York Times, to the activism of survivors to bring this case to the world, helping to set off a still continuing avalanche of new cases from around the globe.

At the very center of the film, of course, are the remarkable survivors from St. John’s. This is really their film. I was honored to help Alex and his outstanding team on this project in any way I could because I believe that his special artistry, skill and passion as the world’s leading documentarian would do justice to their remarkable story.

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BOSTON (MA)
Boston Globe

[with video]

By Brian R. Ballou and John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

The computer at the South Boston rectory where the Rev. Andrew J. Urbaniak lives was downloading child pornography when Boston police detectives entered the building on Monday, a prosecutor said at Urbaniak’s arraignment today on child porn charges.

Urbaniak, 39, mostly kept his head down during his arraignment in South Boston Municipal Court where he pleaded not guilty to charges of possession and dissemination of child pornography. Judge Michael Bolden set bail at $10,000 cash.

Rev. Andrew J. Urbaniak (Suffolk district attorney)For the past four years, Urbaniak has been assigned to Our Lady of Czestochowa Church in South Boston where he is currently the pastor. In the wake of his arrest, the Archdiocese of Boston issued a statement saying Urbaniak is now on administrative leave and is banned from performing his religious duties as a priest.

“Urbaniak’s faculties have been suspended and he is not allowed to function as a priest in the Archdiocese,’’ the statement said. “The Archdiocese is fully cooperating with law enforcement. The Church prays for all those impacted by these events and is committed to providing for the pastoral care of the parish during this difficult time.’’

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CHICAGO (IL)
TheMediaReport

Dave Pierre

The high-profile, Church-suing attorney Jeff Anderson offered up a whopping check for $43,950 to SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests) as he orchestrated this year’s fundraising session at the group’s annual conference at the Hilton Rosemont in Chicago, according to sources who were there.

Seizing the microphone during a mid-afternoon session this past Saturday, the zealous Anderson pleaded aggressively with attendees in the conference room to donate to the anti-Catholic group. Anderson announced that he would match all pledges made during the drive.

As the pledges commenced, Anderson energetically dashed around the room working the crowd like a carnival barker, eager to rake in more money for his favorite cause.

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WALPOLE (MA)
CBS Boston

WALPOLE (CBS) – Indecent assault charges against Walpole priest have been dropped, after his accuser told prosecutors he did not want to testify.

The Norfolk County District Attorney said charges against Blessed Sacrament priest Emile “Mike” Boutin were officially withdrawn on Tuesday.

Back in 2010, a 21-year-old man told police Boutin had followed him into the woods behind the Route 138 Park and Ride lot in Canton and grabbed him inappropriately

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

Posted by Peter Isely on August 01, 2012

If Fr. Ratigan pleads guilty, several suffering families will be spared the trauma of a trial. We ache for every single child, mom, dad, and sibling who is in pain because of Fr. Ratigan’s crimes and Catholic officials’ complicity.

Regardless of what happens tomorrow, Bishop Finn – and every KC Catholic employee – still has a moral and civic duty to help find and console every family hurt by Fr. Ratigan. No doubt there are still former parishioners who have moved elsewhere who need and deserve outreach and comfort. Church staff must help in this way or remain a part of the problem, not the solution.

Fr. Ratigan and Bishop Finn and the diocese all face other criminal charges. So tomorrow’s outcome is not the end of this tragedy. It’s still important for victims, witnesses and whistleblowers to come forward. No one should assume that justice will be done in each of these cases. Instead, we must help make sure justice is done and kids are protected. That means that whatever we may know or suspect must be given, as soon as possible, to law enforcement, so they can build the strongest case possible against these wrongdoers.

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

[court document]

Posted by David Clohessy on August 01, 2012

In a recent court filing, lawyers for KC Catholic Bishop Robert Finn make the stunningly callous and outrageous claim that photos taken by Fr. Shawn Ratigan are not child porn.

This is no paraphrase. This is precisely what church lawyers say: “the photographs at issue are not child pornography.” (The actual document is below. See especially page 9)

Repeatedly, these attorneys stress that the photos were not “obscene” and depict “no sexual contact.”

We are astounded by the insensitivity and pure offensiveness of this claim and what it may mean, if successful, in other child porn cases across Missouri.

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CHICAGO (IL)
National Catholic Reporter

Aug. 01, 2012
By Brian Roewe

The meeting agenda of the largest advocacy group for victims of clergy sex abuse was filled with updates on the group’s legal matters, but for many in attendance, the gathering also offered hope for healing and an opportunity to be understood.

The Survivors Network for those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, held its annual conference July 27-29 in Chicago. The more than 200 who attended heard updates on a Missouri court’s order to release documents to lawyers representing accused priests; the group’s case before an international criminal court; and the recent abuse trials in Pennsylvania.

SNAP has appealed the Missouri court order to the state’s Supreme Court and expected a decision from the high court as the conference began, but nothing emerged. Barbara Blaine, the group’s founder and president, said that while the order has spread fear, victims have also expressed relief that the group’s leadership is intent on fighting to keep members’ information private.

“I think that has meant a great deal to a lot of people,” Blaine said.

“We have a resolve that we’re telling truth and we’re exposing truth. And the problem is that our truths happen to be tied to incredibly painful and embarrassing information and we can’t separate that out. But the bottom line is, that it is a commitment to truth, and that doesn’t change,” she said.

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UNITED STATES
The Lip.tv

Church with Fr. Thomas Doyle
Episode 45 : Media Mayhem

Episode Synopsis

A former Vatican insider shares details of the sex-abuse epidemic.

Having reached extraordinary heights in the Catholic Church and served in the Vatican embassy with the sexual abuse epidemic, Fr. Thomas Doyle turned away from the religious order in response to the spiraling and far-reaching cover-up. Privy to some of the most sensitive dealings of the church, Fr. Thomas provides us with a very rare perspective on the abuse, response and cultural framework that allowed it to happen and continues to minimize the impact on the victims.

Fr. Thomas names names as to who he feels are directly responsible, and shares with us how the sordid affair has changed his own spiritual relationship to the church.
show more

Guest Bio

Thomas Doyle was ordained a Dominican priest in 1970 in Dubuque, Iowa. He did graduate studies in philosophy, and theology at the Aquinas Institute of Philosophy and Theology and political science and Soviet Studies at the University of Wisconsin. He pursued further graduate work in Canon Law at the Gregorian University, Rome, Catholic University of America, the University of Ottawa and St. Paul’s University, Ottawa. He was awarded a Doctorate in Canon Law in 1978. In addition Father Doyle studied addictions therapy at the Naval School of Health Sciences and is a fully certified Alcohol, Drug and Addictions therapist. He holds MA degrees in philosophy, theology, administration, Canon Law and political science as well as his doctorate in Canon Law.

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WISCONSIN
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

By Duane Dudek of the Journal Sentinel

Aug. 1, 2012

“Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God,” a documentary about a pedophile priest at St. John’s School for the Deaf in St. Francis will have its premiere in September at the Toronto International Film Festival.

The film was directed by Alex Gibney, who won an Oscar for his Iraq war documentary “Taxi to the Dark Side.” It is set for wider release this fall.

The film chronicles the sexual assaults of as many as 200 deaf boys over three decades by Father Lawrence Murphy and includes testimony by some of of his victims.

It cites Pope Benedict XVI – then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger – as being aware of complaints against him. A release for the film described it as being “explosive.”

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PENNSYLVANIA
Patch

By Larissa Dudkiewicz

A Sewickley priest on a leave of absence from St. James Church plans to step down in two weeks “for the good of the parish.”

“It became apparent to me this past week that I needed to make a decision about my future and the future of the parish, and asked the Bishop to accept my resignation for my good and the good of the parish,” The Rev. Dan Valentine, wrote in a letter to parishioners.

Valentine took a leave of absence beginning on May 19 after a complaint was made about Facebook messages he posted to a minor.

Valentine put in his resignation on July 25th, a day also celebrated as the Feast of St. James. His last day will be Aug. 15.

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BOSTON (MA)
Boston Globe

By Wesley Lowery
| Globe Correspondent
August 01, 2012

A former Brighton resident admitted in Suffolk Superior Court today that he sexually abused three boys while he was working as a religious teacher at the Maimonides School in Brookline in the 1970s.

Rabbi Stanley Z. Levitt, most recently of Philadelphia, pleaded guilty as his trial on four counts of indecent assault and battery on a child was set to begin. Last December, Levitt had agreed to plead guilty, but abruptly changed his mind at the last minute.

In a hallway interview at the time, Levitt told the Globe, “the only victim here is me.”

Now, the 66-year-old Leavitt faces sentencing Thursday morning in the Boston courthouse.

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BOSTON (MA)
San Francisco Chronicle

BOSTON (AP) — Authorities say a rabbi has admitted to sexually abusing three students while working in the Boston area as a religious teacher in the 1970s.

Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel Conley says Stanley Levitt’s trial on four counts of indecent assault and battery on a child was set to begin when he pleaded guilty on Wednesday.

A judge is scheduled to sentence Levitt on Thursday.

Prosecutors say the 66-year-old Philadelphia man lived in Boston and worked in Brookline when he abused three boys in his care.

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BOSTON (MA)
Boston Herald

By Matt Stout
Wednesday, August 1, 2012

A Philadelphia rabbi accused of preying on young boys in the 1970s — assaulting them in the hospital and in sleepovers at his former Brighton home — today pleaded guilty to multiple counts of sexual assault, ending the case just as it was about to go to trial.

Stanley Levitt, 66, faces up to 40 years in prison when a judge sentences him tomorrow on four counts of indecent assault and battery on a child, according to the Suffolk County district attorney’s office. Prosecutors say they will seek prison time.

A trial for the former Brookline religious teacher was scheduled to start today.

According to authorities, all three of Levitt’s victims were sixth-grade students in 1975 and 1976 at a Jewish day school, where he taught in the mid-1970s. Two originally came forward with accusations that led to set of 2009 indictments, while the third came forward later, telling police Levitt assaulted him during a sleepover when the rabbi told him to take a shower before bed.

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KANSAS CITY (MO)
National Catholic Reporter

Aug. 01, 2012
By Joshua J. McElwee

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The priest whose arrest for possession of child pornography led to the first criminal charges against a Catholic bishop in the church’s decades-long clergy sex abuse crisis is expected to plead guilty in federal court Thursday to at least some of the charges against him, according to court records.

Fr. Shawn Ratigan, a Kansas City-St. Joseph, Mo., diocesan priest whose May 2011 arrest raised questions about when his diocese and its bishop, Robert Finn, first became aware of concerns against him, is charged with 13 federal counts of possession and production of child pornography.

While Ratigan initially pleaded not guilty to the charges, a change of plea hearing for Thursday afternoon in federal court was entered into the court docket Wednesday morning.

Ratigan’s case made national headlines in the fall when prosecutors in Jackson County, Mo., separately charged Finn and the Kansas City diocese with individual counts of failure to report suspected child abuse, which are criminal misdemeanors, regarding their oversight of the priest.

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MAINE
Bangor Daily News

[the report – WABI]

By Judy Harrison, BDN Staff

Posted Aug. 01, 2012

AUGUSTA, Maine — Former Husson University President Bill Beardsley learned in 2005 that the Rev. Bob Carlson “was not who he appeared to be,” according to documents released Wednesday into allegations that Carlson sexually abused minors.

In addition, students at the school had told Beardsley about abuse of students there, the Maine State Police report said.

Carlson, who was the chaplain at Husson from 1995 until 2006, jumped to his death in the early morning hours of Nov. 13 from the Penobscot Narrows Bridge. A few days after his death, the Maine State Police announced they had been investigating an allegation that Carlson had sexually abused an 11-year-old boy in the 1970s.

In the state police report — in which much of the information is redacted — Sgt. Troy A. Gardner wrote in November about allegations of abuse reported by Husson students. “[Redacted] advised that a previous official at Husson College [k]new about the abuse allegations,” he wrote. “Allegations by two new students: one student went to the President Bill Beardsley.

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MAINE
WABI

State Police Investigation Reveals Several Victims, Several in Authority Concerned About Rev. Bob Carlson’s Alleged Sexual Abuse of Children

by Catherine Pegram – August 1st 2012

[the report]

A report by the State Police into allegations of years of sexual abuse against by boys by prominent community leader Reverend Bob Carlson reveals several possible victims and several people in authority who questioned Carlson’s behavior.

In the end, no one ever pursued criminal action until an investigation was opened last fall, three days before Carlson jumped to his death from the Penobscot Narrows Bridge.

The 104-page report was released Wednesday.

It includes interviews with people who say they were abused by Carlson and a therapist who reports to have counseled at least half a dozen victims.

None of them are named in the report.

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MAINE
Sun Journal

Nok-Noi Ricker, Bangor Daily News

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

BANGOR — In the years before his suicide in November, several people questioned the Rev. Robert Carlson’s behavior toward young boys, but no one took action.

That is the thrust of a 104-page Maine State Police investigative report on Carlson, a longtime religious and civic leader who jumped to his death from the Penobscot Narrows Bridge after learning detectives were looking into allegations of child sex abuse involving him.

“There clearly were victims of sexual abuse that indicated that Bob Carlson was their abuser,” Lt. Christopher Coleman, commander of the Maine State Police’s Major Crimes Unit for the northern part of the state, said Wednesday. “It appears that it occurred over many years and it caused a lot of trauma to many people.”

There is no summary in the report, which was released Wednesday, but it includes interviews with people who said they were sexually abused by Carlson. The former president of Husson University, a Penobscot County sheriff’s deputy, a Bangor police officer and a therapist who treated some of Carlson’s victims also were interviewed. They said they had either received information about or witnessed Carlson engage in criminal or sexual behavior over the last four decades.

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BOSTON (MA)
WTAQ

Wednesday, August 01, 2012

By Joseph O’Leary

BOSTON (Reuters) – A South Boston priest has been arrested and is scheduled to be arraigned on Wednesday, charged with possession and dissemination of child pornography that involved using a computer in his parish’s rectory.

Andrew J. Urbaniak, a 39-year-old priest at Our Lady of Czestochowa, a Polish church in the Archdiocese of Boston, was arrested and charged on Tuesday afternoon.

After obtaining a search warrant, detectives seized Urbaniak’s computer, where pornographic images of girls between the ages of 8 and 10 were found, the Boston Police Department said in a statement.

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KANSAS CITY (MO)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

A Kansas City priest accused of producing and possessing child pornography is scheduled to plead guilty in federal court to at least some of the charges against him.

The Rev. Shawn Ratigan was charged last year with 13 federal child pornography counts and three in Clay County after a computer technician discovered hundreds of troubling images on the 46-year-old priest’s laptop in December 2010.

He pleaded not guilty but a change of plea hearing was scheduled in federal court for Thursday.

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KANSAS CITY (MO)
Fox 4

August 1, 2012, by Sarah Clark

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Former Catholic Priest, Shawn F. Ratigan, is expected to formally change his plea in a child pornography case. Ratigan, 46, faces three felony counts of possessing child porn. He is expected to plead guilty to the charges on Thursday.

SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, released a statement on Wednesday. It read in part: “If Fr. Ratigan pleads guilty, several suffering families will be spared the trauma of a trial.”

The statement went on to say, “tomorrow’s outcome is not the end of this tragedy. It’s still important for victims, witnesses and whistleblowers to come forward.”

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BOSTON (MA)
NECN

[with video]

BOSTON (AP) – The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston suspended the pastor of a Boston church Wednesday after he was charged with having images of preteen girls on a computer in the rectory.

The Rev. Andrzej Urbaniak, 39, was arrested Tuesday afternoon and was scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday on charges of possession and dissemination of child pornography.

Urbaniak, the pastor of Our Lady of Czestochowa in South Boston, was arrested following a two-month investigation, police said. He was being held on $25,000 bail. There is no evidence the images of girls who appear to be between the ages of 8 and 10 are from the area, and no one has stepped forward alleging to be a victim, police said.

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ILLINOIS
The Southern

BY BRENT STEWART, THE SOUTHERN

JONESBORO — Bill Vandergraph, a former Alto Pass pastor accused of sexually abusing a minor, is currently scheduled for a fitness exam and a second fitness hearing.

Vandergraph’s attorney, Allen James, said Tuesday his client will be evaluated by St. Louis psychiatrist Angeline Stanislaus on Aug. 22. The next fitness hearing is set for Sept. 4.

On July 10, Union County Presiding Judge Mark Boie approved another fitness hearing for Vandergraph.

Concerns about Vandergraph’s mental fitness, caused by depression and possible dementia, have been an issue in court proceedings. Psychiatrist Naeem A. Qureshi, MD, testified Vandergraph was fit to stand trial in a fitness hearing in April 2011.

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UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter

by Phyllis Zagano on Aug. 01, 2012 Just Catholic

Many years ago, Cardinal John O’Connor told me about “invincible ignorance” — you can’t be blamed for what you’re not taught. He said point-blank that the bishops responsible for invincible ignorance are the guilty ones.

Now some of those same bishops and their successors are foundering in a sea of rhetoric, sinking by weights of their own making. They might want to talk about abortion and the rest, but nothing they say is heard.

What are they talking about, anyway?

Toledo’s Bishop Leonard P. Blair took to National Public Radio to deride the Leadership Conference of Women Religious and its president, paying lip-service to the horrendous episcopal malfeasances and cover-ups turning the stomachs of the world. His message: We’re in charge, and they will do what we tell them to do.

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KANSAS CITY (MO)
The Kansas City Star

A change of plea hearing has been scheduled for a Kansas City Catholic priest accused of multiple child pornography-related charges.

The notice in the case of the Rev. Shawn Ratigan was posted this morning in online federal court records.

Ratigan, 46, is charged in U.S. District Court in Kansas City with six counts of producing child pornography, five counts of attempted production of child pornography and two counts of possession of child pornography.

His attorney, federal public defender Robert Kuchar, declined to comment today on the change of plea hearing. A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office also declined comment.

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BOSTON (MA)
CNN

(CNN) — A South Boston priest has been placed on administrative leave after his arrest on child pornography charges, which allegedly involved the use of a parish rectory computer.

The Rev. Andrew Urbaniak, pastor of Our Lady of Czestochowa, is not allowed to function as a priest and is expected to be arraigned Wednesday after detectives uncovered pornographic images of young girls on his computer, authorities say.

The children are thought to be between the ages of 8 and 10, police said.

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BOSTON (MA)
Lynn Daily Item

BOSTON — The pastor of a Roman Catholic church in South Boston has been arrested on child pornography charges.

The Rev. Andrzej Urbaniak is scheduled to be arraigned today on possession and dissemination charges.

Police say the 39-year-old pastor of Our Lady of Czestochowawas arrested Tuesday following a two-month investigation and the execution of a search warrant that resulted in the discovery of images of preteen girls on a computer in the rectory.

The Boston Archdiocese said in a statement that Urbaniak has been placed on administrative leave and barred from functioning as a priest The archdiocese has also informed the head of his order in Poland.

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BOSTON (MA)
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston

The Archdiocese of Boston today made the following statement regarding Rev. Andrzej Urbaniak:

The Archdiocese of Boston announced that Rev. Andrzej Urbaniak, O.F.M. Conv., pastor of Our Lady of Czestochowa in South Boston, has been placed on administrative leave following his arrest on child pornography charges involving the use of a computer located in the parish rectory. The Provincial Superior of his religious order in Poland has been informed of the matter. Fr. Urbaniak’s faculties have been suspended and he is not allowed to function as a priest in the Archdiocese. The Archdiocese is fully cooperating with law enforcement. The Church prays for all those impacted by these events and is committed to providing for the pastoral care of the parish during this difficult time.

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KANSAS CITY (MO)
KCTV

Posted: Aug 01, 2012

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – A Kansas City priest accused of producing and possessing child pornography is scheduled to plead guilty in federal court to at least some of the charges against him.

The Rev. Shawn Ratigan was charged last year with 13 federal child pornography counts and three in Clay County after a computer technician discovered hundreds of troubling images on the 46-year-old priest’s laptop in December 2010.

He pleaded not guilty but a change of plea hearing was scheduled in federal court for Thursday.

Jackson County prosecutors charged Bishop Robert Finn and the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph with failing to report suspected child abuse to the state, a misdemeanor.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by Karen Polesir on July 27, 2012

Another Philly priest has apparently been arrested on child sex charges. We are grateful to the brave individual who reported these horrendous crimes to law enforcement. Kids are safest when victims go directly to secular authorities, not church figures. Every person who saw, suspected or suffered misdeeds by this priest should do likewise.

It’s encouraging to see police and prosecutors continue to purse child molesting clerics. The reckless and secretive practices of Philly Catholic officials are deeply-rooted and long-standing. They won’t change quickly.

Starting this weekend, Archbishop Chaput should personally visit every church or school where this priest worked. He should beg victims, witnesses and whistleblowers to step forward. He should ask parishioners to reach out to former church-goers who may have left suddenly. He should remind his flock that helping law enforcement thoroughly investigate this accusation is their moral and civic duty.

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

Dan Box
From:The Australian
August 02, 2012

THE Catholic Archbishop of Adelaide’s claim that he urged parents of children abused by an alleged pedophile priest to inform the police has been directly challenged by a teacher and the mother of one of the alleged victims.

Before he became archbishop, Philip Wilson was the first senior church official to investigate allegations that Father Denis McAlinden was abusing girls in Merriwa, in country NSW.

The mother of one of the priest’s alleged victims said she was interviewed last year by detectives investigating what NSW police describe as “alleged cover-ups by current and former senior members of the Catholic church” relating to McAlinden.

“When I went to the police station they brought out a piece of paper that I had signed. It said I had met with Bishop Wilson and he’d discussed the issue,” the woman said. “I can’t remember signing it. There is no way – I would swear on a stack of Bibles – that I met Bishop Wilson.”

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BOSTON (MA)
CBS Boston

[with audio]

SOUTH BOSTON (CBS) — A Roman Catholic priest in South Boston is facing child pornography charges.

The Rev. Andrew Urbaniak, 39, a priest at Our Lady of Czestochowa, was arrested Tuesday afternoon after a two-month investigation.

Boston police said they found several pornographic images of young girls on his computer.

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UNITED STATES
In Support of Sanity

AlterNet / By Rob Boston

U.S. law is honeycombed with examples of special benefits that organized religions enjoy.
Many conservative religious leaders insist that houses of worship in America today struggle under intense persecution. To hear some of the Catholic bishops tell it, religious freedom may soon be a memory because they don’t always get their way in policy debates.

It would be highly ironic if the United States, the nation that perfected religious liberty and enshrined it in the Constitution’s First Amendment, had become hostile to the rights of religious groups.

But that’s not what’s happening. In reality, U.S. law is honeycombed with examples of preferential treatment and special breaks for religion. Some of these practices may grow out of the First Amendment command that the “free exercise” of religion must not be infringed. Others are traditions or were added to the law after lobbying efforts by religious groups. …

. Criminal Investigations
The sentencing of Catholic cleric Msgr. William J. Lynn of Philadelphia to three to six years imprisonment for knowingly covering up evidence of clerical abuse of children by priests captured national headlines – because it was so unusual.

Lynn is the only church official sentenced to date in a long-running scandal implicating Catholic clergy nationwide. Victims of clerical abuse have had to resort to civil lawsuits to get justice, and even there have encountered numerous roadblocks.

Plenty of evidence indicates that church officials knowingly reassigned offending priests to other parishes instead of alerting law enforcement. In one especially egregious incident, a year-long investigation by the Dallas Morning News in 2004 found that priests accused of child molestation were often given special treatment by law enforcement, and in some cases priests from other countries were allowed to return home.

Observed the newspaper, “Since the clergy sex-abuse scandal exploded anew in 2002, Catholic leaders have taken the brunt of the blame. Overlooked is the role of police, prosecutors and judges – the people expected to hold abusers accountable when the church itself will not. Law enforcement typically has helped through inaction, but sometimes the aid has been direct.”

Efforts by victims to hold top church officials accountable have been stymied by the U.S. government. When victims charged in one lawsuit that Pope Benedict XVI had helped cover up the sexual abuse of children by priests, the Bush administration filed a legal brief asking the court to dismiss the case, arguing in part that the Vatican is a sovereign nation. Similar lawsuits have been filed since then, and the Obama administration has taken the same stand.

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BOSTON (MA)
WCVB

BOSTON –
A Boston priest has been arrested and charged with possession and dissemination of child pornography.

State Police troopers assigned to the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force arrested Andrew J. Urbaniak, 39, Tuesday afternoon at Our Lady of Czestochowa in South Boston.

Urbaniak’s arrest follows a two-month long investigation. He is named as the pastor of Our Lady of Czestochowa on the church’s website.

Also seized was Urbaniak’s computer where pornographic images of girls who appear to be between the ages of 8 and 10 were found, according to Boston police.

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BOSTON (MA)
San Antonio Express-News

BOSTON (AP) — A Roman Catholic priest serving at a South Boston parish has been arrested on child pornography charges.

The Rev. Andrew Urbaniak is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday on possession and dissemination of child pornography charges.

Police say the 39-year-old Urbaniak, a priest at Our Lady of Czestochowa parish, was arrested Tuesday following a two-month investigation and the execution of a search warrant that resulted in the discovery of images of preteen girls on his computer.

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GALLUP (NM)
Gallup Independent via BishopAccountability.org

Gallup Diocese still battling Arizona sex case

By Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola
Gallup Independent
July 30, 2012

First in a two-part series

Gallup — Now that the Diocese of Gallup has settled the three clergy sex abuse lawsuits filed against it in the Navajo Nation’s courts, it is left to fight the “Route 66” priest abuse case in Arizona.

That civil lawsuit, filed nearly two years ago in Flagstaff’s Coconino County Superior court, was brought by Phoenix attorney Robert E. Pastor on behalf of an Arizona man who claims the Rev. Clement A. Hageman sexually abused him as a child. The plaintiff, in his 70s, served as an altar boy for Hageman in Holbrook’s Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in the early 1950s. Hageman died in Winslow in 1975.

The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests has dubbed Hageman the “Route 66 Priest” because at least a couple dozen adults have come forward during the past decade claiming Hageman sexually abused them during the 35 years the Gallup Diocese assigned Hageman to Catholic parishes along Route 66: from Thoreau in New Mexico to Holbrook, Winslow and Kingman in Arizona. According to Pastor, Hageman also abused children when he was briefly assigned to Arizona parishes in Camp Verde and Humbolt.

In court documents, the Diocese of Gallup has conceded Hageman was a sexual predator and mostly likely abused the plaintiff as claimed.

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GALLUP (NM)
Gallup Independent via BishopAccountability.org

Diocese fights to limit lawsuit witnesses

By Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola
Gallup Independent
July 31, 2012

Gallup — The year 1952 is a pivotal year to the Diocese of Gallup’s Clement A. Hageman “Route 66” priest abuse case.

It’s the year, diocese officials concede, Hageman most probably sexually abused the plaintiff when he was a child in Holbrook, Ariz. The plaintiff, a man in his 70s, filed the civil clergy abuse lawsuit nearly two years ago in Arizona’s Coconino County Superior Court.

Prior to 1952, diocesan records indicate Hageman abused a number of Catholic boys in the Diocese of Corpus Christi in Texas, and he abused more boys in the Gallup Diocese’s Catholic church in Holbrook. According to church records, 1952 is the year a group of Catholic men in Holbrook confronted Hageman and Gallup’s Bishop Bernard T. Espelage with allegations the priest had sexually molested boys in the parish. The bishop’s response was to allow Hageman to lie to parishioners that he was leaving Holbrook for health reasons. After his transfer from the parish in late 1952, Hageman went on to sexually abuse Catholic children in Arizona churches for the next 23 years in Kingman, Camp Verde, Humbolt and finally Winslow, where he died in 1975.

In the Hageman lawsuit, none of that is in dispute.

What is in dispute, however, is if Robert E. Pastor, the Phoenix attorney representing the plaintiff, will be allowed to interview witnesses he believes has information about Hageman and/or sexual abuse in the diocese after the pivotal year of 1952.

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GALLUP (NM)
Gallup Independent via BishopAccountability.org

By Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola
Gallup Independent
July 30, 2012

Gallup — The number of publicly accused clergy sex abusers from the Diocese of Gallup recently increased from 16 to 19.

In court documents in the Clement A. Hageman “Route 66” priest abuse lawsuit, Robert E. Pastor, the plaintiff’s attorney, named two more Gallup priests — one deceased and one absent from ministry — as being alleged sexual abusers. A third accused priest’s name was found in related church records.

In a court document dated June 13, Pastor included a chart, featuring the names of five priests, which illustrates his belief that the Diocese of Gallup “engaged in a pattern and practice of assigning pedophile priests to poor rural towns of Northern Arizona.” Three of the priests, Hageman, John T. Sullivan, and James M. Burns, have been acknowledged by Catholic officials as being pedophiles. The other two priests, Samuel Wilson and Raul Sanchez, have never been publicly accused of abuse before.

In a recent telephone interview, Pastor said he represents a number of other clients who allege they were sexually abused by either Hageman, Wilson or Sanchez. Although Pastor has filed only one Hageman-related clergy abuse lawsuit against the Gallup Diocese, he said the diocese is aware of his other clients’ allegations.

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BOSTON (MA)
Boston Globe

By Brian R. Ballou and John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

A 39-year-old Roman Catholic priest assigned to a South Boston parish was arrested by Boston police yesterday for allegedly having pornographic images of children on his computer.

Reverend Andrew J. Urbaniak was arrested Tuesday at 3:45 p.m. on charges of possession and dissemination of child pornography, according to Boston police spokeswoman Cheryl Fiandaca.

Urbaniak is a priest at Our Lady of Czestochowa Church in South Boston, police said. He has been assigned to the parish for the last four years to serve the neighborhood’s Polish community, police said.

In a statement, police said that no one has contacted them to report they were personally vicitmized by Urbaniak. The investigation is ongoing.

He was arrested following a two-month investigation by the Boston police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and the State Police Crimes Against Children Unit.

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BOSTON (MA)
Boston Herald

By Laurel J. Sweet
Wednesday, August 1

A South Boston priest is expected to answer today to charges he had “pornographic images of girls” appearing to be as young as 8 on his computer, police said.

The Rev. Andrew J. Urbaniak, 39, pastor of Our Lady of Czestochowa, a Roman Catholic church on Dorchester Avenue, was arrested yesterday afternoon on charges of possession and dissemination of child pornography following a two-month-long investigation.

Urbaniak is being held on $25,000 cash bail pending his arraignment today in South Boston District Court.

No one could be reached at the church this morning and individual voice mails were not accepting messages.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Mitteldeutsche Zeitung

VON JOHANNES DÖRRIES, 30.07.12, 10:49h, aktualisiert 31.07.12

BAD LAUCHSTÄDT/MZ. Gegen einen Pfarrer im Ruhestand der Evangelischen Kirche in Mitteldeutschland (EKM) ermittelt die Staatsanwaltschaft Halle wegen des Verdachts auf Missbrauch von Kindern. Grundlage ist eine Anzeige der Kirche, die ihrerseits ein Disziplinarverfahren gegen den 78-Jährigen eingeleitet hat. Der Mann soll sich nach Aussagen von zwei Zeugen in den Jahren 1973 bis 1978 in der Kirchengemeinde Bad Lauchstädt (Saalekreis) an Kindern vergangen haben.

Erste Hinweise eines Betroffenen auf die Missbrauchsfälle hat es bereits vor zwei Jahren gegeben. Damals sei ihnen allerdings zunächst nicht nachgegangen worden, teilte die EKM mit. „Die Ermittlungen hätten eher beginnen können“, sagte EKM-Sprecherin Susanne Sobko am Montag. Deshalb habe die Kirche ein weiteres Disziplinarverfahren gegen den seinerzeit zuständigen Personaldezernenten eingleitet. Der Mann ist nicht mehr bei der Kirche beschäftigt. Er habe seinen damaligen Arbeitgeber allerdings nicht im Zusammenhang mit dem Missbrauchsverdacht und den jetzt laufenden Ermittlungen verlassen, sagte Sobko. Die disziplinarrechtlichen Ermittlungen gegen den Dezernenten werden indes so lange ausgesetzt, bis das staatsanwaltliche Verfahren gegen den Pfarrer abgeschlossen sind.

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OSTERREICH
Betroffen

30 Jul, 2012 in Allgemein, Presse

steiermark.orf.at, 30.7.2012

Mindestens sechs Priester, die durch Missbrauchsvorwürfe belastet sind, sollen noch im Amt sein. Die Plattform Betroffener kirchlicher Gewalt wirft der Diözese Graz-Seckau vor, versprochene Konsequenzen nicht durchgesetzt zu haben. Die Diözese droht mit einer Klage.

Von sechs bis sieben Personen spricht die Plattform, die in der Steiermark trotz protokollierter Missbrauchsvorwürfe nach wie vor kirchliche Ämter ausüben würden: Im Einflussbereich des obersteirischen Stiftes Admont drei Ordensleute, sowie jeweils einzelne Würdenträger in den Bezirken Hartberg, Deutschlandsberg, Bruck und Weiz.

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OSTERREICH
Die Presse

Die “Plattform Betroffener kirchlicher Gewalt” nannte den Diözesen Namen missbrauchsverdächtiger Priester, die teilweise noch im Amt sein sollen. Die Diözesen sehen teilweise unrichtige Behauptungen.

Keinen Handlungsbedarf sehen die römisch-katholischen Diözesen nach dem Vorwurf, dass sich nach wie vor rund 40 missbrauchsverdächtige Priester im Amt befinden würden. Die “Plattform Betroffener kirchlicher Gewalt” hatte an die entsprechenden Bischöfe Briefe mit der Bitte um Aufklärung geschickt. Die Diözesen sehen die Vorwürfe entweder als unberechtigt an, oder es seien bereits Konsequenzen gezogen worden, berichtete das Ö1-“Morgenjournal” am Dienstag.

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OSTERREICH
kathweb

Kirchliche Rahmenordung, die Einsatz von Missbrauchstätern im Kinder- und Jugendbereich verbietet, wird eingehalten

31.07.2012

Wien (KAP) Die katholischen Diözesen haben Vorwürfe der “Plattform Betroffene kirchlicher Gewalt” geprüft und zurückgewiesen, wonach pädophile Missbrauchstäter weiterhin als Priester oder Laienmitarbeiter im Kinder- und Jugendbereich eingesetzt werden. In mehreren Antwortschreiben auf eine entsprechende Anfrage der Plattform werde festgehalten, dass man sich in der Vorgangsweise bei Missbrauchsvorwürfen an die seit zwei Jahren geltende Rahmenordnung der Bischofskonferenz zum Umgang mit Missbrauchsfällen halte, hieß es am Dienstag auf Kathpress-Anfrage in den österreichischen Diözesen.

Das österreichweit gültige Regelwerk sieht vor, dass eine Diözesanleitung “keinesfalls pädophile Missbrauchstäter in der Pastoral einsetzt, wo der Kontakt zu Kindern und Jugendlichen gegeben ist”. Ein Einsatz in anderen Bereichen ist zwar nach einer genauen Einzelfallprüfung und Einholung eines forensisch-psychiatrischen Gutachtens möglich. Dabei ist aber “die Art des Vergehens, die Schuldeinsicht und Wiedergutmachung des Täters, die Wiederholungsgefahr und die größtmögliche Sicherheit für die Menschen im Wirkungsbereich zu berücksichtigen”, hält die Rahmenordnung der Bischofskonferenz fest.

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DEUTSCHLAND
WAZ

Netphen/Siegen. Das Amtsgericht Siegen hat den Siegerländer Pfarrer Gerhard S. zu einer Bewährungsstrafe verurteilt, weil er in neun Fällen seit 2006 pornografische Darstellungen, die sexuellen Missbrauch von Kindern zeigen, im Internet weiterverbreitet hat.

Das Irmgarteichener Pfarrhaus steht leer. Pfarrer Gerhard S. hat sich für mehrere Monate in stationäre Therapie begeben, nachdem Polizisten am 29. März 2011 Computer und Festplatten des Geistlichen beschlagnahmt hatten. Wegen der 826 Bild- und 144 Video-Dateien, die darauf gespeichert waren. Und weil er in neun Fällen seit 2006 die pornografischen Darstellungen, die den sexuellen Missbrauch von Kindern zeigen, im Internet weiterverbreitet hat.

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UNITED STATES
GetReligion

Posted by Mollie

One of the great things about reporting is that you never quite know where a story is going. You interview a disgruntled employee and you’re totally convinced he’s got the goods on his evil employer. And then you do more research and realize the story is a tad more complicated — he’s trying to cover up his own incompetence or corruption. Or he’s merely trying to gain more power by throwing someone else under the bus.

Or you’ll get pitched on a story about a legislative reform that must be passed. And you’re totally convinced by the activist group coming up with the plan until you talk to the people who would be affected by the legislation or regulation and realize that there are many unintended consequences.

Stories are rarely black and white. Frequently the people you talk to are making themselves out to be the hero and putting the worst construction on their opponents and their views. It can be a tangled mess to hear all these different perspectives and try to make sense of them, much less be fair to folks who have different ideas about how things should progress.

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UNITED STATES
Pope Crimes & Vatican Evils…

Paris Arrow

Joe Paterno covered-up ONE (1) pedophile football coach and the NCAA revoked of all of his victories from 1998-2011 and Penn State University removed his statue. NCAA also slammed Penn State with an unprecedented series of penalties, including a $60 million fine, a four-year ban on bowl games, and the loss of 20 scholarships per year over four years. Cardinal Bernard Law of Boston covered-up EIGHTY (80) pedophile priests and after the laity successfully forced him to resign as Archbishop of Boston, John Paul II the Great papal farted at us Bostonians and elevated him as High Priest to the ‘mother of all basilicas of Rome’, the St. Mary Major where he lived the lifestyle of the rich and famous until he retired in the glories of Rome, read more here

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AUSTRALIA
NEWS.com.au

•Chief Court Reporter Sean Fewster
•From: AdelaideNow
•August 01, 2012

THE Catholic Church wants every medical record of seven intellectually disabled young people who were molested by a church volunteer, in order to fight million-dollar compensation claims, a court has heard.

Eight people abused, as children, by paedophile Brian Perkins have lodged civil claims against the church and St Ann’s Special School.

They have asked the District Court to award them damages because the school and church failed to protect them from Perkins’ predatory crimes.

Between 1987 and 1991 he video-taped, photographed and sexually assaulted 36 students at the Marion school, where he worked as a volunteer bus driver.

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SAN ANTONIO (TX)
Current

By Steven G. Kellman

Published: August 1, 2012

The drama of a dutiful boy abused in church, Wolf was written and directed by a local kid who made good. A graduate of San Antonio’s Sam Houston High School who now teaches at UT Arlington, Ya’Ke Smith has earned a string of prizes for his short films (his acclaimed Katrina’s Son was shown at Cannes). Wolf, his debut feature, was shot entirely in this city, though, except for an occasional glimpse of the Tower of the Americas, the setting could be anywhere. The main characters are middle-class African Americans, though there is nothing racially specific to their story. As the scandals within Penn State University and the Roman Catholic Church make clear, sexual abuse of boys is a national epidemic. Yet, we seldom see the problem being addressed from an African-American perspective.

In the absence of his father Jaymund (Shelton Jolivette), a long-haul truck driver who is often away from home, Carl Stevens (Jordan Cooper) has developed an intimate relationship with Bishop Anderson (Eugene Lee), the charismatic minister of the church where the family worships. Nona (Mikala Gibson) is a loving mother to Carl, an outstanding student at the church school, but, preparing for a career in psychiatry, she is distracted by her own studies. After a disturbing event takes place, his parents are shocked to discover that for several years their pastor has been molesting their son.

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ALABAMA
WSFA

Submitted by Donna Wallace-King, Community Web Producer

Tuesday, July 31st, 2012

Attorney General Luther Strange announced that a youth minister facing charges in Madison and Cullman counties for sex crimes against children was sentenced today on similar crimes of which he has been convicted in Elmore County.

John A. Astorga was found guilty on April 11 by a jury in Elmore County Circuit Court for two counts of first-degree sexual abuse. During the trial, evidence that was presented by the Attorney General’s Office that included the testimony of three separate victims as well as the pastor of Bethel Assembly of God in Wetumpka where Astorga had been employed.

At today’s sentencing, Astorga faced a penalty of one year and one day to ten years imprisonment for each of the two counts, which are class C felonies. State law also provides that he also will be required to register as a convicted sex offender and to abide by community notification requirements of state law.

Astorga was sentenced to 36 months to run concurrent in the sexual abuse case.

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ALABAMA
WHNT

[with video]

SHEFFIELD, Ala. (WHNT) – Sheffield Police are investigating claims of sexual abuse against a former official at a local church. The allegations involve sex abuse against children.

Sheffield Police say the man is not charged yet. Police said the claims surfaced over the last two days after Sheffield First United Methodist Church conducted an internal investigation.

Church spokesman, Billy Don Anderson says he commends those individuals for acting quickly and turning the information over.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC – The World Today

[with audio]

Timothy McDonald reported this story on Wednesday, August 1, 2012

ASHLEY HALL: A legal academic who was responsible for reviewing the Catholic Church’s program for dealing with sexual abuse says there should be a royal commission into cover ups within the organisation.

A police strike force in Newcastle is preparing to turn over a brief of evidence to prosecutors about an alleged cover-up of sexual abuse by the Church there.

Documents show the Church was aware of allegations against the paedophile priest Denis McAlinden as far back as the 1990s, but didn’t report them to police until 2003.

Timothy McDonald reports.

TIMOTHY MCDONALD: The Catholic Church’s protocol for dealing with sexual abuse, called Towards Healing, was introduced in 1996.

It’s been reviewed twice since then, by Patrick Parkinson, who is currently a law professor at Sydney University. He says there has been progress, but some things have been slow to change.

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AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald

Joanne McCarthy August 01, 2012

The family of Hunter man John Pirona says there is a fitting legacy for him after his disappearance and death last week, when he left a letter saying he was in “too much pain”.

That legacy is the truth about the Catholic church’s handling of child sex abuse issues over decades, including the 1970s when he was the victim of a paedophile priest at a Hunter school.

“I do believe John is where he is now as a result of what happened to him when he was young and at that school, and such things happened to a lot of boys,” Mr Pirona’s father Lou said.

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ALABAMA
WAAY

SHEFFIELD, Ala. (WAAY) – Sheffield Police confirm that they’re investigating claims of sexual abuse against a former music and youth minister at the Sheffield First United Methodist Church.

Investigators say they began looking into the claims Monday. The pastor was let go from the church once the allegations came to light. Police say there may be numerous victims spread out over years or decades.

The 78 year old man has not been charged at this time, and officers tell WAAY 31 they’re still interviewing witnesses.

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UNITED STATES
TheMediaReport

Dave Pierre

July 30, 2012 By TheMediaReport.com

Witnesses have now come forward to thoroughly discredit a specious claim that Wheeling, West Virginia, Bishop Michael J. Bransfield committed abuse decades ago, yet one would hardly know this from reading the Philadelphia Inquirer, which has rebroadcast the charge.

Last April, during the Philadelphia abuse trial, media outlets fell over themselves to trumpet a double hearsay allegation from a witness in the trial. The witness claimed on the stand that 40 years ago in the 1970s that an admittedly abusive priest motioned to a car carrying Bransfield and some boys and told him that Bransfield was abusing “the one in the front seat.”

Well, two grown who were actually in the car years ago with Bransfield at the time, including the alleged “victim” of Bransfield, have now come forward to flatly refute the decades-old hearsay claim.

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MINNESOTA
TheMediaReport

Dave Pierre

July 31, 2012 By TheMediaReport.com

Last Wednesday, the Minnesota Supreme Court flatly rejected the psychological theory of “repressed memory” as bogus. The Court declared that scientific studies that have tried to prove the bogus theory have “lacked foundational reliability.”

Church-suing lawyers and accusers of abuse have attempted to use “repressed memory” as a way to circumvent statutes of limitations in order to file big-money lawsuits against the Catholic Church.

According to proponents of the discredited belief, some people completely forget instances of extreme trauma or abuse. Then, years or decades later, an event or thought – often directed by a convincing therapist – causes one to suddenly “remember” having been abused or traumatized.

In the case in Minnesota, an accuser – represented by high-profile, Church-suing attorney Jeff Anderson – tried to claim that his case of abuse against a Catholic priest should not be limited by the state’s statute of limitations because he was simply unable to remember being abused because he “repressed” the memory of it happening. Fortunately, the Minnesota courts didn’t buy it.

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CHILE
Cooperativa

En entrevista con Cooperativa, el ministro de Educación, Harald Beyer, aseguró que las irregularidades detectas por Seremi en el Colegio cumbres no apuntan directamente a la denuncia por abuso sexual contra el sacerdote John O’Reilly.

“Ese es en un proceso que está en curso, por lo tanto el establecimiento necesita conocerlas antes de que nosotros las divulguemos, pero son de carácter administrativo”, informó.

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CHILE
El Mostrador

El Colegio Cumbres emitió un instructivo que prohíbe que sacerdotes y profesionales tengan contacto privado con los alumnos. La medida se da tras la denuncia de abuso sexual que pesa sobre el vocero de los Legionarios de Cristo, el padre John O’Reilly y de las declaraciones de una ex profesora que confirmó la costumbre que tenía el religioso de sacar selectivamente a niñas de sus salas de clases.

El mismo antecedente lo dio a conocer la semana pasada el abogado Mario Schilling luego que reventara el escándalo por la denuncia contra quien también aparecía como el vocero en Chile de la congregación de los Legionarios de Cristo. Antecedente que fue confirmado por la profesora Vivianne Litvack, quien hace nueve años hizo clases en el exclusivo establecimiento privado.

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CHILE
Cooperativa

[con audio]

La ex profesora del Colegio Cumbres Vivianne Litvack aseguró este martes en Cooperativa que el sacerdote de los Legionarios de Cristo, John O’Reilly, tenía la costumbre de sacar a las niñas de la sala y “nadie” cuestionaba sus decisiones.

El religioso enfrenta graves acusaciones por supuestos abusos sexuales cometidos contra una menor de 6 años en el establecimiento, lo que ha motivado recientemente que el Ministerio de Educación inicie un proceso administrativo contra el colegio. El recinto, por su parte, emitió hace poco un instructivo con el fin de prohibir a los sacerdotes sacar a las niñas del aula.

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CHILE
Publimetro

En entrevista con radio Cooperativa, la ex profesora del Colegio Cumbre, Vivian Litvack, confirmó que el sacerdote John O’Reilly, acostumbraba a sacar a las niñas de la salas de clases.

Litvack recordó que mientras realizaba un reemplazo en el recinto educacional a los cursos de 4º, 7º y 8º básico, en el año 2003, “era habitual que el padre O´Reilly acostumbraba a sacar a las alumnas de las salas de clases”.

“Las invitaba a tomar desayuno, les tengo té, galletitas y él me decía que las llevaba porque las niñitas aprendían mucho más con él que en una sala de clases”, comentó la ex profesora. Asimismo, afirmó que al religioso poco le importaba interrumpir pruebas o interrrumpirla cuando pasaba algunas materias.

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AUSTRALIA
Newcastle Herald

BY JOANNE MCCARTHY

01 Aug, 2012

ALMOST 18 years ago former police officer and Nationals MP Troy Grant charged paedophile priest Vince Ryan, and formally interviewed the priest who ‘‘decided to say nothing’’ about Ryan’s offending.

Ryan was convicted and sent to jail for 14 years.

Monsignor Patrick Cotter, who declined to answer questions many times during his interview with Mr Grant, was not charged with concealing Ryan’s crimes despite police recommending that this should have happened.

It is the legacy of his police years that causes Mr Grant the most heartache.

‘‘My failure to have Cotter and a couple of nuns held to account for their roles in Ryan’s ability to keep offending over many years still troubles me,’’ he said yesterday, after speaking strongly about the Catholic church’s inability to deal with its sex abuse crisis.

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CALIFORNIA
Orange County Weekly

By Matt Coker
Tue., Jul. 31 2012

At least this can be said of the pending charges against two Roman Catholic priests from Southern California parishes–including St. Athanasus Church of Long Beach: only one of the four accusers is a child and all are female. The latest case involves Father Rafael Venegas, who is accused of sexual battery against a 20-year-old woman on the grounds of his St. Anne Catholic Church in Santa Monica.

The woman, who is not a parishoner, claims the assault happened in September 2011, and the Santa Monica Police Department launched an investigation July 1.

Venegas turned himself in on Monday after the city attorney charged the priest with one count of sexual battery and one count of providing alcohol to a minor.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Northeast Times

By John Loftus
07/25/2012

— The first top official in the Roman Catholic Church to be convicted of shielding child-molesting priests is going to have plenty of time to do some reflection — in prison

Monsignor William Lynn, the first member of the Roman Catholic hierarchy to be found guilty of shielding a child-molesting priest, was sentenced Tuesday to three to six years in prison.

Common Pleas Court Judge M. Teresa Sarmina told Lynn he knew “full well what was right,” but, instead, facilitated and supported “monsters in clerical garb.”

Lynn’s attorneys said they planned to appeal Lynn’s child endangerment conviction next month. They said Lynn had been convicted for the crimes one of his co-defendants had committed against a boy the monsignor had never met.

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UNITED STATES
USA Today

By DeWayne Wickham

I didn’t have much sympathy for people who complained about the punishment the NCAA doled out to Penn State, until I discovered how an even larger institution in the Keystone State has escaped punishment for shielding dozens of pedophiles in its midst.

In June, Jerry Sandusky, a longtime assistant football coach at Penn State, was found guilty of raping and sodomizing 10 young boys. Top university officials were told of Sandusky’s deviant behavior years earlier and did nothing to stop him. They, apparently, were more worried about the damage that exposing him would do to the school’s reputation than the harm he was doing to his victims.

For its inaction, Penn State on July 23 was fined $60 million, its football team was banned from post-season play for four years and the games it won from 1998 through 2011 — the span of time during which university officials were aware of Sandusky’s pedophilia and looked the other way — were wiped off the record books.

Another troubling case

The next day, an even more troubling case of child sex abuse — given that so many more predators were involved — played out in a Philadelphia courtroom without any hint that justice would reach beyond a low-level official of that city’s Catholic archdiocese.

Monsignor William Lynn was sentenced to three to six years in prison for covering up the actions of pedophile priests he was supposed to root out of the church. Instead, he sent them to unsuspecting parishes where other sexual assaults took place — an action his lawyers said was ordered by Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, who headed Philadelphia’s archdiocese from 1988 to 2003. He died in January.

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MAINE
Bangor Daily News

By Julia Bayly, BDN Staff

Posted July 31, 2012

FORT KENT, Maine — As the Maine Attorney General’s investigation into unspecified allegations against a Roman Catholic priest continues, the diocese has announced temporary assignments at the St. John Vianney Parish.

The parish, based in Fort Kent, has been without its spiritual leader Rev. James Nadeau since the 50-year-old pastor took a voluntary leave of absence in early April.

“The diocese is cooperating fully with the attorney general’s office and at their request I cannot discuss the allegations or anything about the investigation,” Bishop Richard Malone said at the time. “I am hopeful that this process will go smoothly in order to lead to an expeditious and just conclusion.”

Officials with the attorney general’s office and from the Diocese have released little information on the investigation over the past several months.

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CHICAGO (IL)
Southtown Star

By Mike Nolan mnolan@southtownstar.com

Updated: July 31, 2012

Five more men have filed claims in bankruptcy court alleging that they were sexually abused as boys while attending Southland Catholic schools operated by the Irish Christian Brothers, according to a Chicago law firm that’s representing the men.

The firm — Hurley McKenna & Mertz — said it now represents 27 Chicago-area men alleging abuse by members of the order, which founded Brother Rice and Leo high schools on the Southwest Side as well as St. Laurence High School in Burbank.

The order filed for bankruptcy in April 2011, and Wednesday is the deadline for alleged victims of abuse to file claims in the case. Attorneys from firms around the country have claimed that the bankruptcy filing was an attempt by the Catholic order to shield assets and block the filing of new lawsuits.

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MASSACHUSETTS
Daily Hampshire Gazette

By Daily Hampshire Gazette

Created 07/31/2012

NORTHAMPTON – On precisely the same day that Andrew Nicastro of Williamstown on Friday withdrew his priest-abuse lawsuit against two retired Springfield bishops in return for $500,000, a contrasting scenario was playing out a half a world away.

In Australia, Bill Wright, the Catholic bishop of the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle, stated publicly that he would support a public inquiry into his church’s handling of sexual assaults by priests.

The Newcastle Herald promptly wrote an editorial applauding the bishop and observing: “There was a time, when the first shocking revelations of abuse began to emerge into the public eye, when many probably believed the matter could be satisfactorily dealt with by the churches and the police. But since that hasn’t been entirely the case, and since – on the contrary – more cases of abuse by more priests keep surfacing along with distressing evidence of church cover-ups and failed police investigations, public opinion has dramatically altered.”

Back in Springfield, one of the retired bishops accused by Nicastro, Joseph F. Maguire, 92, issued a long and apparently heartfelt statement acknowledging Nicastro’s molestation by defrocked priest Alfred Graves. The other defendant was retired Bishop Thomas L. Dupre.

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CHICAGO (IL)
CBS Chicago

[with audio]

CHICAGO (CBS) — Five more men have filed claims in U.S. Bankruptcy Court alleging they were sexually abused as boys while attending Chicago area Roman Catholic schools operated by the Irish Christian Brothers.

As WBBM Newsradio’s Bob Conway reports, at least 27 Chicago area men have now filed lawsuits alleging abuse by members of the order at three all-boys high schools – Brother Rice High School, 10001 S. Pulaski Rd.; Leo High School, 7901 S. Sangamon St.; and St. Laurence High School, 5556 W. 77th St. in Burbank.

Three brothers, who at one time worked in Chicago have been named as sexual predators in earlier suits.

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SANTA MONICA (CA)
Contra Costa Times

By City News Service
dailybreeze.com
Posted: 07/31/2012

SANTA MONICA – The Rev. Rafael Venegas, a priest at St. Anne’s Church in Santa Monica, turned himself in to police Monday and was booked for sexual battery.

Santa Monica police began investigating Venegas on July 1 when a 20-year-old woman, who was not a parishioner of the church, reported an assault on her at the church at 2017 Colorado Ave. in September 2011.

Investigators turned the results of their investigation over to the City Attorney’s Office, who charged Venegas with a count of sexual battery and another count of furnishing alcohol to a minor.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

By Bobby Cherry

Published: Tuesday, July 31, 2012

A Roman Catholic priest on leave from his Sewickley parish officially will step down later this month even after investigators deemed no charges would be filed against him following a complaint about Facebook postings to a minor.

The Rev. Daniel Valentine of St. James Catholic Church, who began a leave of absence May 19 because of a complaint about online posts, will leave the Sewickley church on Aug. 15, Pittsburgh diocese spokesman Rev. Ronald Lengwin said this week.

In May, Pittsburgh Bishop David Zubik said the diocese requested the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office do a forensic audit of both the parish computers and Valentine’s personal computer following the complaint the diocese received.

Following the investigation, which ended late last month, the district attorney’s office said no criminal charges are warranted.

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Verschueren.at

[“The Manual” – Englisch – BishopAccountability.org]

Of hoe de katholieke kerk sinds 1983 over seksueel misbruik op de hoogte was en hoe ze daar (niet) mee omging. Schuldig verzuim.

Begin juli 2012 werden via een van de oudste websites over seksueel misbruik, BishopAccountability.org, documenten vrijgegeven die een dieper inzicht verschaffen in hoe Amerikaanse bisschoppen, kardinalen, aartsbisschoppen en de bisschoppenconferentie al zo’n dertig jaar geleden en tot voor kort met gevallen van seksueel misbruik door priesters (niet) zijn omgegaan. Het hoofddocument, hoewel sinds zijn ontstaan wijd verspreid binnen de kerkelijke hiërarchie, bereikte nooit massaal het grote publiek. Dit destijds baanbrekend werk van drie gerenommeerde auteurs, is op zich revelerend vooral om te begrijpen hoe vroeg al ALLE Amerikaanse hoogste geestelijken op de hoogte waren van de problematiek rond pedofilie in de kerk (1985). Het meest interessante echter rond “The Manual” is vooral hoe de kerk met het document is omgegaan en het proces dat aan de verspreiding van het document is voorafgegaan.

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

Dan Box
From:The Australian
August 01, 2012

ONE OF Australia’s most senior Catholic clerics allegedly told a priest facing claims he was a pedophile that any confession to child abuse would be kept between himself, the priest and the bishop.

Brian Lucas, the general secretary of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, was responding to a 1993 allegation from the family of Father Denis McAlinden that the priest had sexually abused a relative.

In a later letter to the then Maitland-Newcastle bishop Leo Clarke, McAlinden wrote: “Brian Lucas convinced me, against my better judgment, to accept that the information I gave him would be held in strictest confidence by the bishop.”

Father Lucas, who yesterday said he was unable to comment on the contents of that conversation, was interviewed in February by NSW police investigating “alleged cover-ups” by church officials of McAlinden’s alleged abuse.

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MASSACHUSETTS
Buddha Belly and the Art of Questioning

Skip Shea

Ok, so I’m a co-dependent. But aren’t we all? At the end of a human service interviewing class I have taught, after all the students were stoked to go out and help others, we had to discuss the high risks that they were all co-dependents and capable of doing great harm to others. Cruel but necessary. Why we get in the game of trying to help another person has to be a big part of being sure we are in fact being helpful.

Such has been my relationship with the Catholic Church for the better part of my life. Despite all the evidence, pretty much throughout my life, that this relationship was just going to get worse – I hung in there. I knew things weren’t right when I was younger. I couldn’t put my finger on it. Then I found out years later that priests were putting fingers etc. all over some friends of mine. They have had to live the rests of their lives with these scars.

I have gone to Mass upon Mass at which the priest strongly emphasized the tragedy of abortion. I don’t like abortion. I wish it didn’t happen. I respect that many women will think that even my saying that makes it sound as if I would deprive them of all their rights. I support a women’s right to choose, on the simple and perhaps lame basis that I am not a woman. It just doesn’t seem right to me that women should have the LEAST say about something that routinely becomes the defining moment of their lives, and that they be also be viewed as criminals. But I do understand it to be a profoundly ethical and moral dilemna. I wish I could wish it away and I respect anyone’s right to argue against it.

But, given the sordid history of abuse allowed by and perhaps perpetrated by the Catholic Church, every sanctimonious sermon about abortion, birth control, masturbation etc. should be preceded by a 20 minute apology for child sexual abuse – EVERY time for the foreseeable future. The numbers of lives ruined by the Church’s tacit approval of child sexual abuse are just as staggering as those lost to abortion. The moral indignation of the Catholic Church’s pro-life stance can only be justified by true penance for its own sins. Sins, that by every estimation, go back centuries.

Recently the Bishop of the Worcester Diocese has vetoed Vicki Kennedy speaking at a Catholic College because he deemed her to NOT be Catholic enough. Ms. Kennedy holds many views similar to rank and file Catholics like being partly or mostly pro-choice, pro- birth control etc. That she has raised countless dollars for Catholic Charities and causes was of no consequence. The Bishop followed that up by refusing to sell the former House of Affirmation to two gay men that had wonderful plans for economically revitalizing the site. The fear was that gay marriages would be performed there. This is appalling because the House of Affirmation was a “treatment facility” for pedophile priests, run by a pedophile. Many such priests were stationed in the Blackstone Valley so they could make use of the services there. Many made use of Blackstone Valley children, and some of those events allegedly happened there. This is not the definition of hypocrisy. It cries out for a new word.

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MISSOURI
Ozark Area Network

[Amicus by prosecutors backing the writ – SNAP]

July 31st, 2012 | Author: The Associated Press

(Jefferson City) (AP) – Several prosecutors are siding with the group Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests in urging the Missouri Supreme Court to block an order requiring the group to release certain records.

The issue stems from lawsuits against a Roman Catholic priest by accusers who say they repressed memories of begin abused decades ago. A lawyer for the priest argues documents could raise doubts about such memories and whether a gag order was violated.

SNAP wants the high court to block a trial judge’s order that it provide records.

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AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald

Linton Besser, Joanne McCarthy
August 01, 2012

PRECISELY six months after the paedophile priest Denis McAlinden was reprimanded but not reported by the church over allegations of child sex abuse, Father Brian Lucas told the Wood Royal Commission that ”to engage in a cover-up … is the very worst way of approaching it”.

Now Father Lucas, the general secretary of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, is one of three senior Catholic officials being investigated by police detectives over the concealment of McAlinden’s offences in the 1990s.

Strike Force Lantle is due to deliver a brief of evidence to prosecutors in the next few weeks.

Between 1993 and 1995, Father Lucas, the former bishop of Maitland-Newcastle Michael Malone and Father Philip Wilson, now an archbishop, had roles in an attempted defrocking of McAlinden over the sexual abuse of young girls but failed to report him to authorities.

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UNITED STATES
Endrtimes

A group that advocates on behalf of victims of clergy abuse is urging the Catholic church to move beyond the “smoke and mirrors.”

More than 200 survivors met in Chicago over the weekend at the annual conference of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, known as SNAP. The group says the church needs to “stop the abuse, expel the abusers, cooperate with the courts and support the victims.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

[with video]

Posted July 31, 2012

Three of the Catholic Church’s most senior priests in New South Wales are being investigated by the Department of Public Prosecutions over an alleged cover-up of child sexual abuse.

Suzanne Smith

Transcript

STEVE CANNANE, PRESENTER: A member of the NSW Government wants Cardinal George Pell and other senior Catholic leaders to fully cooperate with the police and make available all internal documentary evidence on child sexual abuse in the state’s Hunter Valley.

The call comes as evidence about three of the Catholic Church’s most senior priests is being referred to the NSW Director of Public Prosecutions for possible charges.

Strikeforce Lantle is wrapping up an investigation into serious allegations of cover-up and possible criminal behaviour involving the sexual assault of many young girls in the Newcastle Maitland diocese.

The priest at the centre of the allegations, Father McAlinden, died in 2005. The three senior leaders facing possible legal action are Father Brian Lucas, retired Bishop Michael Malone, and the Archbishop of Adelaide, Philip Wilson.

As Suzanne Smith reports, Archbishop Wilson has declined to be interviewed by police.

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ERIE (PA)
Roman Catholic Diocese of Erie

July 31, 2012

Pope Benedict XVI today named the Rev. Msgr. Lawrence T. Persico as the tenth bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Erie. He will succeed Bishop Donald W. Trautman, S.T.D., S.S.L., and will be ordained and installed as bishop during a Mass at St. Peter Cathedral in Erie on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2012 at 2 pm.

Bishop Trautman will introduce Bishop-elect Persico at a news conference today at 10:30 am at St. Mark Catholic Center, 429 East Grandview Boulevard, Erie.

In the announcement at noon, Roman time, today, Pope Benedict XVI also accepted Bishop Trautman’s resignation, which was submitted following church protocol on his 75th birthday, June 24, 2011. Bishop Trautman will continue to lead the mission and ministries of the diocese as Bishop Emeritus until Bishop-elect Persico’s installation.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Information Service

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

– Appointed Msgr. Lawrence T. Persico of the clergy of the diocese of Greenburg, U.S.A., vicar general and pastor of the parish of St. James in New Alexandria, as bishop of Erie (area 25,734, population 860,340, Catholics 223,668, priests 193, permanent deacons 61, religious 317), U.S.A. The bishop-elect was born in Monessen, U.S.A. in 1950 and ordained a priest in 1977. He has acted as chaplain and chancellor of Assumption Hall, and is vice president of the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference. He succeeds Bishop Donald W. Trautman, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

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SANTA MONICA (CA)
Los Angeles Times

A priest at St. Anne Catholic Church in Santa Monica was charged with committing sexual battery against a 20-year-old woman and giving her alcohol, police said Monday evening.

The victim is not a parishioner but reported that she was attacked by Rafael Venegas in September 2011 on the church grounds at 2017 Colorado Ave., the Santa Monica Police Department said.

Venegas was charged by the Santa Monica city attorney’s office with one count of sexual battery and one count of furnishing alcohol to a minor under 21, police said in a statement.

Venegas, accompanied by his attorney, turned himself in Monday to authorities at the Police Department.

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SANTA MONICA (CA)
KTLA News

July 31, 2012

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (KTLA) — Police arrested a Santa Monica priest Monday when he turned turned himself in after learning that he was charged with sexual battery.

Police began investigating Rafael Venegas — a priest at St. Anne’s church in Santa Ana — on July 1, according to a news release issued by the Santa Monica Police Department. The victim — a 20-year-old woman who does not attend the church — reported that Venegas sexually assaulted her on the church grounds in September 2011.

Santa Monica’s city attorney received the investigators’ case last week and charged Venegas with one count of sexual battery and one count of providing alcohol to a minor.

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SANTA MONICA (CA)
NBC Southern California

By Samantha Tata

Tuesday, Jul 31, 2012

A Santa Monica priest accused of sexual battery against a 20-year-old woman turned himself in to authorities Monday, police said.

Rafael Venegas, a priest at St. Anne’s Church in Santa Monica, has been the target of an investigation since July 1 after the woman, who is not a parishioner of Venegas’ church, accused the priest of sexual battery in Sept. 2011, police said.

Accompanied by his attorney, Venegas turned himself in to Santa Monica police where he was booked for one count each of sexual battery and furnishing alcohol to a minor, police said. He was released after posting $20,000 bail.

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MENDHAM (NJ)
The Star-Ledger

Monday, July 30, 2012

By Ben Horowitz/The Star-Ledger

MENDHAM — A man accused of using a sledgehammer to destroy a Mendham monument to victims of clergy sexual abuse has “a history” with Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital in Parsippany, his attorney said today.

The defendant, Gordon Ellis, 37, of Mendham, is “close” to accepting a plea agreement offered by the Morris County prosecutor, but the records from Greystone need to be reviewed first, his public defender, Neill Hamilton, said today during a conference in Superior Court in Morristown.

Hamilton said he wants to be sure there are no outstanding “health issues” before he accepts the plea offer. Ellis is to appear in court again on Aug. 27.

Ellis was said to be under the influence of alcohol on Nov. 18 when he allegedly destroyed the 400-pound millstone memorial outside St. Joseph Church.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC Newcastle

Updated July 31, 2012

The detective in charge of an investigation into the alleged cover-up of child sexual abuse by a Hunter Valley Catholic priest says a brief is being finalised to hand to prosecutors.

Strike Force Lantle has spent almost two years investigating claims that senior clergy tried to cover-up allegations against Father Denis McAlinden.

The paedophile priest sexually assaulted girls in the Maitland-Newcastle Diocese over four decades, but died in 2005 without being charged.

Detective Graeme Parker headed the investigation and says the brief of evidence about the Church’s handling of the McAlinden case is due to be handed to prosecutors within weeks.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Asbury Park Press

Editorial

Msgr. William Lynn did not rape a child. He did not molest a child.

But he will go to prison for at least three years because those awful things happened to children. And it is justice — long, long overdue justice — that sends an important message across the United States and, hopefully, around the world.

A few Catholic priests who for years molested and assaulted children have been sent to prison in this country. They are, unfortunately, only a handful among the guilty, most of whom will never face deserved time behind bars because they’ve died or statutes of limitation have run out or because there isn’t enough evidence left to ensure a conviction.

Lynn, though, is the first Catholic official convicted in the United States solely for the crime of covering up sex abuse claims. The former secretary of clergy for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia was found guilty last month by a jury in Philadelphia of felony child endangerment.

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CALIFORNIA
Monterey Herald

By VIRGINIA HENNESSEY
Herald Staff Writer
montereyherald.com

Facing a Wednesday deadline, a Seattle attorney said he will file three new claims on behalf of Palma High School alumni who say they were sexually assaulted by Father Gerald “Jerry” Funcheon in the 1980s.

Michael Pfau said the three men all came forward after well-known alumnus Steven Cantrell announced he was filing suit and making a claim in the Irish Christian Brothers bankruptcy case in New York. Cantrell, the brother-in-law of Palma coach Jeff Carnazzo, alleges Funcheon assaulted him on an overnight trip.

The new claims bring to at least six the number who have alleged abuse by the priest, who was chaplain and a teacher at Palma from 1984 to 1985. Most allege they were assaulted on weekend trips.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC – PM

Updated July 31, 2012

The New South Wales Police will turn over a brief of evidence to prosecutors on an alleged cover-up of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. Documents show that the Church was aware of allegations against paedophile priest Denis McAlinden as far back as the early 1990s, but didn’t report it until much later.

Timothy McDonald

Transcript

TIM PALMER: The New South Wales Police will turn over a brief of evidence to prosecutors on an alleged cover-up of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.

Documents show that the Church was aware of allegations against paedophile priest Denis McAlinden as far back as the early 1990s.

The Church failed to report the matter to authorities until 2003, after victims notified the police and had been paid compensation.

McAlinden died two years later without facing charges, and in 2007 the diocese of Maitland-Newcastle was forced to confirm he was a serial offender who may have targeted hundreds of girls

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

Updated July 31, 2012

NSW Greens MP David Shoebridge says he mistrusts the Catholic Church’s internal inquiry into Denis McAlinden and the incidents in the Armidale dioceses. David Shoebridge has tabled a number of the documents surrounding the church’s handling of the McAlinden case in Parliament.

Tim Palmer

Transcript

TIM PALMER: One of the most senior Catholic churchmen in the country, the now Archbishop of Adelaide Philip Wilson, had the carriage of much of the McAlinden investigation, but according to newspaper reports he has now refused a formal interview with police.

New South Wales Greens MP David Shoebridge says that’s yet another reason to mistrust the internal inquiry the Church has already announced into incidents in the Armidale Dioceses.

David Shoebridge tabled a number of the documents surrounding the Church’s handling of the McAlinden case in Parliament and says only a Royal Commission will satisfy victims.

A short time ago I asked him how he’d characterise the Church’s investigation.

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SANTA MONICA (CA)
Santa Monica Mirror

Posted Jul. 30, 2012

Brenton Garen / Editor-in-Chief

St. Anne’s Church priest Rafael Venegas will be arraigned at the LAX Courthouse this Friday on two charges — sexual battery and providing a minor under the age of 21 with alcohol.

SMPD Sgt. Richard Lewis said Venegas turned himself into the department and was in the process of posting $20,000 bail.

An adult female, who is not a parishioner of St. Anne’s at 2017 Colorado Avenue, contacted the Santa Monica Police Department on July 1 and reported that the sexual battery incident involving Venegas occurred on the property of St. Anne’s Parish in September 2011.

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WASHINGTON
Fox 12

By FOX 12 Webstaff –

VANCOUVER, WA (KPTV) –
A former youth pastor convicted in a federal courtroom of making child pornography and molesting children is now guilty in a local court as well.

A Clark County judge found Michael Norris of Vancouver guilty on all charges Monday morning, which includes multiple counts of child rape and molestation.

Norris was arrested in 2006 after federal investigators linked him to child porn distribution websites.

A search of his home turned up movies and images of young children in explicit scenes that Norris had made, according to investigators.

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