ABUSE TRACKER

A digest of links to media coverage of clergy abuse. For recent coverage listed in this blog, read the full article in the newspaper or other media source by clicking “Read original article.” For earlier coverage, click the title to read the original article.

July 30, 2012

Archbishop of Ljubljana transferred for allegedly concealing fatherhood

SLOVENIA
Vatican Insider

The Slovenian mystery has been solved. Archbishop Uran has been punished by the Vatican not for his involvement in a financial flop but for his infraction of the celibacy rule

Giacomo Galeazzi
Vatican City

The Slovenian mystery has been solved. Archbishop Uran has been punished by the Vatican not for his involvement in a financial flop but for his infraction of the celibacy rule.

Now the prelate-father will move to the northern Italian city of Trieste. The Vatican has ordered Mgr. Alojz Uran, Archbishop of Ljubljana, from 2004 to 2009 to leave Slovenia because of all the rumours going round about him breaking his celibacy vows and fathering two children, now adults, neither of whom he recognises as his. “This is a temporary measure to calm public opinion until the question is resolved,” stated Andrej Saje, spokesman for Slovenia’s bishops, on Ljubljana’s public television.

“The problem is his alleged paternity, which the former archbishop has always denied, but I think there have been some misunderstandings between him and the Holy See. Once these are cleared up, Uran will be able to return to his country,” Saje added, denying the theory that the sanctions decided by the Congregation for Bishops are linked to the financial scandal which brought the Diocese of Maribor to the brink of bankruptcy two years ago. Uran retired unexpectedly in 2009 (he is not 67) for health reasons after a heart operation, but soon rumours began to spread about him allegedly fathering two children, a fact he apparently kept secret from his Vatican superiors.

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

Police to allege senior catholic priests concealed sexual assaults

AUSTRALIA
The Canberra Times

July 31, 2012

Joanne McCarthy, Linton Besser

NSW Police will give prosecutors evidence that three of the most senior members of the Catholic Church allegedly concealed the sexual assault of young girls in the Hunter Valley, in a landmark case that could expose the church to a new wave of criminal prosecution.

One of three people of interest in Strike Force Lantle is the general secretary of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, Father Brian Lucas, who is alleged to have been aware of the actions of the paedophile priest Denis McAlinden as far back as 1993 but failed to report him to police. The others are Archbishop Philip Wilson of Adelaide, who wrote to police yesterday to formally decline to be interviewed, and the retired Bishop of Maitland-Newcastle Michael Malone. From 1993 to 1995 the three had roles in internal moves against the priest, including an attempted ”speedy”, secret defrocking in October 1995 because of the evidence against him.

The church failed to report the matter to authorities until 2003, after victims notified the police and were paid compensation.

Instead, in 1995, McAlinden was assured by the then Maitland-Newcastle bishop, Leo Clarke: ”Your good name will be protected by the confidential nature of this process”, despite ”your admission to Father Brian Lucas and other evidence”.

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

Vatileaks, And Why Young People Should Care

UNITED STATES
Nextgen Journal

by Dan Horning | The George Washington University

Remember that time Dan Brown wrote a series of books that made a bunch of Catholics mad, especially the people at the Vatican, because he wrote fictional stories about the Catholic Church covering up crimes and leveraging power over its flock?

Now mix that with a game of Clue, and you have a real life story unfolding right now.

One of the most powerful, secretive, and controversial organizations in the world is once again under the global spotlight about a topic it would rather see go away. Money, power, greed, influence and politics have taken center stage, instead of a mission to feed the poor and spread the Gospel. What could possibly be the latest PR embarrassment for the world’s largest single religion and smallest sovereign state, and why should young people even care?

Vatileaks, as it has been dubbed by the media, is seen as a three-tier power struggle: hide questionable activity by the Vatican Bank, undermine the Pope’s second in command, Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, and increase the influence of the Italian cardinals in selecting the next Pope. In January 2012, several private letters from top Vatican officials, including the papal secretary and Pope Benedict XVI himself, were leaked to Italian journalist Gianluigi Nuzzi. Those leaked communiqués, which Nuzzi published in a book called Sua Santità (His Holiness), document a Vatican in disarray, resembling medieval feudal states divided between various camps and cliques, resembling a lion’s den more than anything else.

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

SNAP Points to Pennsylvania Case

UNITED STATES
Alton Daily News

[with video]

By Jim Anderson

Victims of sex abuse by priests say cover-ups by those in the know are still a problem. A monsignor in Pennsylvania was sentenced to prison this week for his role in covering up sex abuse by others – the first in the U.S. to go to prison for that. Barbara Blaine, head of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, says Illinois prosecutors should address the problem here.

“In Pennsylvania, prosecutors there are recognizing how significant the role of enabling a predator is, and we’re hoping that here in Illinois, more victims will speak up, and we hope our lawmakers will heed the outcry of victims, and change our laws of Illinois so that they’re tougher on predators,” she said today (Friday) as the group’s annual weekend-long meeting began in Rosemont.

In particular, she is concerned about the statute of limitations in Illinois. Those who were victimized as children must make a claim by the time they are 28. She says by age 28, only 20-30 percent of child victims are able to understand that they were victims and to articulate the particulars in court.

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

US: Catholic diocese backs out of mansion sale on gay wedding fear

NORTHBRIDGE (MA)
Pink News (United Kingdom)

by Stephen Gray
30 July 2012

An estate agent acting for a Catholic diocese in the US state of Massachusetts accidentally revealed to a gay couple that their purchase of a 44-room estate had fallen through on the anti-gay concerns of the priests.

James Fairbanks and Alain Beret had a $1m offer for Oakhurst, a 24-acre complex which includes a 1920s mansion, accepted by the Catholic Diocese of Worcester. …

But the Worcester Telegram reports that when priests discovered the couple intended to turn the house into an events venue where gay weddings might be held, they chose to back out.

The Telegram pointed out that Oakhurst was once a home for rehabilitating paedophile priests, the House of Affirmation.

The couple’s lawyer called the situation “reprehensible” and pointed out that it is illegal in Massachusetts to discriminate against a home buyer because of their sexual orientation.

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

More Victims Claiming Sexual Abuse by Montana Priests

MONTANA
Indian Country Today Media Network

By Heather Steinberger July 30, 2012

In January, Indian Country Today Media Network reported that a Yakima, Washington–based law firm had filed a 12-page legal complaint on behalf of a Northern Cheyenne tribal member seeking justice for years of abuse she suffered as a child at Montana’s St. Labre Indian School in the 1950s and 1960s. The case is a significant one, as the accused is Father Emmett Hoffmann, a near-legendary figure on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation.

In recent weeks, the case has become even bigger. According to an amended, 19-page version of the legal complaint filed on June 6 in Montana’s Eighth Judicial District Court, priests and nuns misused their authority to “molest, exploit and abuse children” across eastern Montana. The Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis are now named in the complaint, and 10 additional male and female victims have joined the original Jane Doe in filing suit against the Diocese of Great Falls-Billings.

“At the beginning, I called this the tip of the iceberg,” says Blaine Tamaki, founder of Tamaki Law and a practicing trial lawyer for three decades, who is the lead attorney on this suit. “Now, we are beginning to see just how big that iceberg is.

“From the outset, our extensive experience suggested that pedophiles usually do not limit their victims to just one. They prey on vulnerable children. The more powerful the pedophile, the more access they have to children, and the more likely it is their victims will suffer in silence.”

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

The House That Kane Built

NORTHBRIDGE (MA)
outpatient clinic

Skip Shea

It isn’t big news anymore when a Catholic Diocese sells old and unused property. The church has been consolidating and selling property for decades now. Parishioners complain to deaf ears and eventually move on. But a story on WBZ TV, Boston today caught my attention.

Apparently Alain Beret wanted to buy The Oakhurst Retreat and Conference Center in Whitinsville Massachusetts from the Worcester Diocese and transform it into a venue for weddings and functions. A great idea as the center has been closed for years. And a sale for one million dollars to boot. A win win all around.

Except Mr. Beret and his partner are gay. Uh oh. And they might perform gay weddings there. Uh oh. Bishop McManus can’t allow that to happen on this church property. This property is sacred! I’m sure there was some sort of blessing that occurred at one point with holy water, incense and Latin chants. This place is holy! …

It was started by Fr Tom Kane, who claimed to have a Phd in Psychology. He didn’t. In fact the diocese settled a lawsuit, confidentially about Kane’s sexual abuse of a none year old boy. Meaning Kane himself was a pedophile. And he had just created his candy store. Because Kane, with his phony Phd and his cronies sent there for treatment by the likes of Cardinal Law, kind of made the House of Affirmation their own little playground. Kind of a Club Ped.

So much for sacred ground. A lot of the serial sexual abuse of children in the Southern Worcester County can be traced right to the House that Kane built. Kane, like the brother who killed Able. The only problem was that this Kane and his buddies were very willing and able. Because of protection by the church.

And knowing this, somehow the Worcester Diocese is still more offended by the notion of a gay marriage happening on this property, than by it’s vast history of abuse. Because if he was more offended by the abuse he might have sought to bring justice to those who were abused there by opening the files and shedding light on this sad chapter. Instead they changed the name to Oakhurst and destroyed the files. Hoping we would all forget.

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

In Chabad Child Sexual Abuse Scandal, Bad Judgement And Alleged Lack

AUSTRALIA
Failed Messiah

“In many of the cases the abuse could have been prevented if appropriate action would have been taken earlier on. For example, with at least one of the alleged perpetrators there were sufficient warning signs for action to be taken. Instead, not only was action not taken but the alleged paedophile was given unrestricted access to children.”

Rabbi Yitzchok Dovid Groner, the late head of Chabad in Australia and the surrounding region, who allegedly spent decades covering up child sexual abuse in his institutions and protecting pedophiles.

Manny Waks, the only alleged victim in the Chabad child sex abuse scandal in Melbourne to have gone public (although many others spoke with police and 11 others have been vetted and are complainants in the case against David Cyprys, who has a previous child sexual abuse-related conviction, and who is now charged with more than 40 counts of child rape and sexual abuse) spoke to a WIZO group in Melbourne about the scandal.

J-Wire summarizes his talk, which touched on most of the important issues about this scandal that Chabad apologists ignore or misrepresent:

• While the abuse itself was terrible enough, the ongoing cover-up and intimidation has made the situation much worse.
• In many of the cases the abuse could have been prevented if appropriate action would have been taken earlier on. For example, with at least one of the alleged perpetrators there were sufficient warning signs for action to be taken. Instead, not only was action not taken but the alleged paedophile was given unrestricted access to children.

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

Autores de libros sobre Legionarios hablan de O’Reilly

CHILE
Terra

John O’Reilly ha sido por décadas el sacerdote emblema de los Legionarios de Cristo en Chile. Ahora se encuentra bajo la lupa de la justicia y la Iglesia por una acusación de abuso sexual en su contra. Pero, ¿quién es este religioso?, ¿qué rol cumplía?, ¿por qué llegó a Chile?

Según contó a TERRA.cl el investigador de la escuela de periodismo de la UDP y coautor del libro “Legionarios De Cristo En Chile: Dios Dinero Y Poder”, Javier Ortega, O’Reilly arribó a nuestro país en 1985 sólo con la intención de aprender portugués, ya que luego partiría a Brasil. Sin embargo, tuvo que quedarse en Chile una vez que el Vaticano supo que había transgredido el voto de silencio. “Debido a que se conoció que había criticado a un superior, lo dejaron acá”, puntualizó el docente.

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

Justicia chilena investiga denuncias de abusos sexuales en 120 colegios

CHILE
el Universo

La última serie de denuncias (200) de abusos sexuales contra menores ha afectado a sectores de altos ingresos y ha elevado la alarma social en Chile, cuyo gobierno ha lanzado un paquete de medidas de prevención, mientras que la fiscalía ha puesto en la mira a 120 colegios en la capital.

Varios de los casos han salpicado, además, a religiosos, algunos de ellos muy influyentes y conocidos en el país, lo que ha llevado a la Conferencia Episcopal a implementar un protocolo de actuación frente a estas denuncias.

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

Ezzati respalda investigación …

CHILE
La Tercera

Ezzati respalda investigación de los Legionarios por denuncia de abusos

por N. Ramos, J. Matus y P. Palma (Santiago)

El arzobispo de Santiago, Ricardo Ezzati, se refirió nuevamente ayer a la denuncia por supuestos abusos presentada contra el sacerdote legionario John O’Reilly, capellán del colegio Cumbres.

“Hay que esperar que de verdad se esclarezcan los hechos. Los padres de familias o muchos padres, piensan que el padre John es inocente y tenemos que esperar lo que diga el resultado de la investigación”, manifestó Ezzati.

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

Ezzati por prácticas de John O’Reilly…

CHILE
Publimetro

Ezzati por prácticas de John O’Reilly: No descarta que sea algo ‘malo’ sacar a alumnos de la sala de clases

El Arzobispo de Santiago, monseñor Ricardo Ezzati, afirmó en La Entrevista del Domingo de TVN, que a priori no descarta que sea algo ‘malo’ sacar a alumnos de la sala de clases, al ser consultado por las prácticas que habría realizado el recientemente denunciado por presunto abuso sexual, el sacerdote John O’Reilly, del Colegio Cumbres.

“Lo que he pedido es que inmediatamente el Superior Provincial inicie una investigación previa para ver si hay hechos verosímiles”, precisó monseñor Ezzati sobre el caso.

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

Sacerdote Alfredo Márque…

CHILE
La Tercera

Sacerdote Alfredo Márquez: “Estamos con el interés de que haya claridad de qué pasó y qué no pasó”

por Javiera Matus y Natalia Ramos

Esta semana, una denuncia por presuntos abusos contra una menor por parte del sacerdote John O’Reilly sacudió al colegio Cumbres femenino y a los Legionarios de Cristo. El cura Alfredo Márquez, director del Cumbres masculino hace ocho años y vocero de la congregación, explica cómo han enfrentado esta situación y profundiza sobre los traslados que el superior provincial y él deberán asumir a partir de agosto.

¿Cuál es el mensaje que en medio de esta crisis ha transmitido a la comunidad escolar?

El mensaje es que el colegio está dedicado ciento por ciento a velar por el bienestar de todos los miembros que componen la comunidad, sean estos, alumnos, profesores, papás o familias. En ese sentido, estamos con el interés de que haya claridad, que se aclaren las diferencias o mal entendidos, para que no haya dudas de qué pasó o no pasó.

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

Alza de denuncias de abusos sexuales eleva la alarma en Chile

CHILE
el Nuevo Herald

Fuencis Rausell
EFE

Santiago de Chile — La última serie de denuncias de abusos sexuales contra menores ha afectado a sectores de altos ingresos y ha elevado la alarma social en Chile, cuyo Gobierno ha lanzado un paquete de medidas de prevención, mientras que la fiscalía ha puesto en la mira a decenas de colegios en la capital.

Varios de los casos han salpicado además a religiosos, algunos de ellos muy influyentes y conocidos en el país, lo que ha llevado a la Conferencia Episcopal a implementar un protocolo de actuación frente a estas denuncias, revisado en el 2011.

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

Comeuppance for the Church Hierarchy

PHILADELPHIA (PA)
The New York Times

Editorial

A dose of criminal justice was long overdue in the pedophile priest scandal. It was meted out in Philadelphia Tuesday when Msgr. William Lynn became the highest-ranking Roman Catholic official in the United States to be sentenced to prison. He was convicted of child endangerment and sentenced to up to six years after a trial that starkly detailed how diocesan leaders shielded predatory priests and rotated them through parishes to prey anew.

The sentence should be a clear warning to church officials that criminal law, not church evasion, is the law of the land when it comes to protecting innocent children.

As the scandal emerged, more than 700 rogue priests had to be dismissed in a three-year period — yet ranking diocesan clergy were never called to justice for their own obvious misdeeds in engineering systematic cover-ups. Eight years ago, the bishops’ own investigative board of laity warned “there must be consequences” for leaders who chose to protect abusive priests rather than report crimes against children. The pity is that the point finally had to be driven home not by church leaders but by Philadelphia prosecutors energized by a secret archive of predator priests that Monsignor Lynn compiled. He testified that the late Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua ordered in 1994 that the file be shredded, but a copy survived.

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

Insurance company sues Helena Diocese

MONTANA
Billings Gazette

By EVE BYRON Independent Record

HELENA — An insurance company has filed a federal lawsuit against the Helena-based Catholic Diocese of Montana, saying that the church is trying to make it cover some of the costs associated with defending former nuns and priests accused of child abuse in the 1930s through the 1970s.

In court documents, the Arrowood Indemnity Company said the diocese has sought a defense from a number of insurance companies in connection with two lawsuits filed in Lewis and Clark District Court. The insurance companies that sold general liability policies to the diocese have agreed to defend the church in those lawsuits.

The diocese also demanded a defense from Arrowood, saying that the company or one of its predecessors sold general liability insurance from 1940 through 1960 that provides coverage to the diocese for the abuse lawsuits, according to the documents.

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

Clergy sex abuse case settlement

SPRINGFILED (MA)
WWLP

Published : Monday, 30 Jul 2012

Nicole Nalepa

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – On Thursday night, lawyers representing the Springfield Diocese and Andrew Nicastro came to a six figure settlement in a clergy sex abuse lawsuit.

41 year-old Nicastro said he was sexually abused as a child by Father Alfred Graves, a former priest in the Diocese. He claims there were others within the church’s system that did nothing to protect him.

But on Friday morning, the jury in his case was dismissed, and with his family beside him, Nicastro and his attorney announced that the case–which they had been fighting for for 3 years–was finally closed.

“I think it’s the first case in the last 8 years of clergy sex abuse cases that have been tried in Massachusetts….Based upon my personal knowledge it is among the highest settlement of these cases for an individual in Massachusetts,” said John Stobierski, Nicastro’s attorney.

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

July 29, 2012

Bishop has vicarious liability for actions of priest

UNITED KINGDOM
The Irish Times

COURT OF APPEAL OF ENGLAND AND WALES JUDGMENT: JGE -v- Trustees of Portsmouth Roman Catholic Diocesan Trust

Neutral Citation Number EWCA Civ 938

Court of Appeal (Civil Division) of England and Wales

Judgment was delivered by Lord Justice Ward on July 12th, 2012; Lord Justice Davis concurring; Lord Justice Tomlinson dissenting.

Judgment

Although a priest is not an “employee” of a bishop, the relationship between a priest and his bishop is sufficiently close to that of an employee to mean the Bishop of Portsmouth was vicariously liable for the actions of a priest of the diocese who abused a child.

Background

The claimant in the case was born in 1963 and when she was six and a half spent two years in a children’s home run by nuns. Fr Wilfred Baldwin, the parish priest, regularly visited the children’s home where she alleged he abused her. She also claimed he raped her numerous times, including the day of her First Communion. She claimed the trustees of the diocese, who were the legal entity representing the Catholic church and the bishop, were vicariously liable, as the acts committed were connected with his carrying out his duties as a priest.

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

Melinda Gates versus Benedict XVI: who’s more “like Christ”? Melinda Gates saves lives of 200 million women while Benedict XVI sits in out-of-touch-with-realit

UNITED STATES
Pope Crimes & Vatican Evils…

Paris Arrow

When Melinda Gates travels to another country, she goes right into the heart of poverty stricken areas where she can personally hug the sick and take all the time in the world to speak with the poor and assess women’s plights so she can donate billions of dollars to alleviate and end their sufferings. When Benedict XVI travels, he wastes 100 million Euros in austerity stricken Spain for his personal security http://pope-ratz.blogspot.ca/2011/08/anti-pope-protests-in-madrid-injure-11.html so he can perform the Eucharist Greatest Magic Show on Earth to reincarnate Jesus Christ into hundreds of thousands of pieces of invisible prime meat flesh in the flour Host to feed Catholics http://popecrimes.blogspot.ca/2012/06/international-eucharistic-congress-in.html and he dons on his unique papal robes to have photo –ops with royalties and he speaks only with wealthy people who can donate to the Vatican Bank and be papal assured of a prime real estate in Heaven

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

Vatican Diary / The strange case of the new prelate of the IOR

VATICAN CITY
Chiesa

His name has not been made known. He has not entered into service. But he was appointed eight months ago. The news is in the report by Moneyval. Together with dozens of other disclosures. Here is an anthology of them

VATICAN CITY, July 30, 2012 – There is one post, that of prelate of the Institute for Works of Religion, the Vatican “bank,” that has been vacant since, in 2010, the occupant at the time, Monsignor Piero Pioppo, former secretary of Cardinal Angelo Sodano, was made archbishop and sent as a nuncio to Africa, in Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea.

But now we know that on December 1 of 2011, the commission of cardinals that oversees the IOR, headed by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, appointed the new prelate. The appointee, whose name has not been made known, has not yet begun his service.

We know this not because yet another confidential paper has escaped from the Vatican, but because the news is written in black and white in paragraph 76 of the voluminous report drafted by the inspectors of Moneyval and published last July 4.

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

Sheboygan priest to be honored by abuse network for advocacy work

WISCONSIN
WSAU

SHEBOYGAN, Wis. (WSAU) – A Sheboygan priest will be honored today at a national gathering of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests.

Father James Connell has become a strong advocate for victims of clergy sex abuse. He has criticized bishops and the church at large for the way the crisis was handled. He will receive the Millstone Award at a ceremony in Chicago. Connell has been working for the last two years with fellow priests in what is believed to be there first effort to pastor victims and help parishes heal the problems created by the abuse scandal.

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

Promulgación Ley de Registro de Pedófilos

CHILE
Gobierno de Chile

[con video]

El Presidente Sebastián Piñera promulgó el proyecto de ley que crea inhabilidades para condenados por delitos sexuales contra menores y establece registro de dichas inhabilidades (Boletín N° 6952-07)

¿En qué consiste la ley?

La ley introduce modificaciones al Código Penal, creando inhabilidades para condenados por delitos que atentan contra la libertad e integridad sexual de menores de edad, y al Decreto Ley N° 645, estableciendo una sección especial en el Registro Nacional de Condenas denominada “inhabilitaciones para ejercer funciones en ámbitos educacionales o con menores de edad”.

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

Nuevo cura acusado de abuso indagó en 2005 caso de violación

CHILE
Terra

El ex subdirector de El Pequeño Cottolengo de Santiago, el sacerdote Claudio Chávez, es el nuevo cura de la Iglesia Católica que enfrenta una acusación de abuso sexual.

La investigación a Chávez se sumó esta semana a la del religioso John O’Reilly, el capellán espiritual del Colegio Cumbres que se vio obligado a alejarse de su trabajo pastoral en ese establecimiento luego que una menor de seis años lo señalara como su supuesto agresor.

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

John o´Reilly: Cuando me reuní con alumnas, lo hice en grupo

CHILE
Terra

Santiago.- El sacerdote John O’Reilly insistió en que las acusaciones en su contra por presunto abuso sexual sobre una alumna del Colegio Cumbres son “absolutamente falsas”, y afirmó que si se reunía con escolares lo hacía en lugares visibles.

En entrevista con “El Mercurio”, el rostro más conocido de Los Legionarios de Cristo, asegura que “toda vez que me reuní con alumnas, lo hice en grupos. Si se trataba de confesión o dirección espiritual, lo hice de un lugar perfectamente visible”.

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

Ezzati respalda investigación de los Legionarios por denuncia de abusos

CHILE
La Tercera

por N. Ramos, J. Matus y P. Palma (Santiago)

El arzobispo de Santiago, Ricardo Ezzati, se refirió nuevamente ayer a la denuncia por supuestos abusos presentada contra el sacerdote legionario John O’Reilly, capellán del colegio Cumbres.

“Hay que esperar que de verdad se esclarezcan los hechos. Los padres de familias o muchos padres, piensan que el padre John es inocente y tenemos que esperar lo que diga el resultado de la investigación”, manifestó Ezzati.

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

Crookston Times: Court rejects Adamson abuse case based on Keenan’s repressed memory

MINNESOTA
Jeff Anderson & Associates

[Video of press conference stream regarding Adamson cover-up and Supreme Court Ruling]

[6-29-1984 memo to Archbishop Roach from Bishop Carlson]

[7-9-1984 memo to Archbishop Roach from Bishop Carlson]

[4-19-1975 letter to Fr. Pierre from Bishop Watters]

Article: Doug Glass, Associated Press Crookston Daily Times

Minneapolis, Minn. —

The Minnesota Supreme Court on Wednesday tossed out a clergy abuse lawsuit by a man whose case rested on a repressed memory claim, siding with a lower court’s ruling that repressed memory is an unproven theory.

James Keenan sued the Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis and the Diocese of Winona, claiming that as a teenager he was sexually abused four times in 1980 or 1981 by Thomas Adamson, a priest who has since been defrocked.

Keenan brought his claim in 2006, well outside the state’s six-year statute of limitations, but argued that it should be allowed because he repressed memories of the abuse. A district court rejected that claim, but the state Court of Appeals revived it last year.

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

July 28, 2012

Sheboygan priest honored by sex abuse survivors

WISCONSIN
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

By Annysa Johnson of the Journal Sentinel

July 28, 2012

A Sheboygan priest and former vice chancellor of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, who has become a vocal advocate for victims of clergy sex abuse, is being honored in Chicago on Sunday at a national gathering of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests.

Father James Connell who has criticized bishops and the church at large for their handling of the sex abuse crisis, will receive the Millstone Award for his courage in speaking on behalf of survivors.

“I’m very honored, but I don’t feel as though I deserve an award,” Connell said by telephone from the three-day event, which has drawn about 200 survivors from around the country. “The whole tone of this conference is about hope,” he said, “and if accepting this helps that hope to grow, then I’m happy to do that.”

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Diocese’s Oops on Email Shows Real Reason It Refuses to Sell to Gay Couple

NORTHBRIDGE (MA)
Advocate

BY Lucas Grindley.

July 26 2012

Email can be tricky, as one Catholic Diocese in Massachusetts is learning.

The diocese was apparently trying to come up with some legal reason it refuses to sell a 44-bedroom mansion in Worcester to a gay couple who wanted to renovate it. But the back-and-forth over email was still appended to the bottom of the bogus explanation that eventually made its way to the couple, according to Worcester Telegram columnist Dianne Williamson.

“If you’re going to discriminate, you should cover your tracks,” Williamson wrote in jest in a column today, noting that what actually unfolded could be illegal.

A real estate broker for the diocese said in an email she sent to the couple, James Fairbanks and Alain Beret, that it had suddenly found “other plans” for the property.

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Gay Couple in Northbridge Refused Sale of Mansion Because Gay People Might Get Married There

NORTHBRIDGE (MA)
Bostinno

Today at 1:33 pm by Dave Eisenberg

James Fairbanks and Alain Beret, a gay couple in Northbridge offered $1 million for a 44-bedroom mansion owned by the Diocese of Worcester, which the diocese initially accepted according to the Worcester Telegram. They signed their offer, made a deposit and paid for a home inspection, the article adds. But now the diocese won’t sell to the couple.

They were told by the diocesan broker that the deal fell through because of financing. In the broker’s email to the couple, however, was also an accidentally attached email from Monsignor Thomas Sullivan, who oversees the sale of the diocesan property, which suggests there may have been another reason the couple couldn’t buy. Can you guess what it is?

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

Hey, Monsignor Sullivan. Gay marriage is legal in Massachusetts. You can’t use that as a reason to not sell to someone. It’s, like, against the law and stuff. Your cool hat doesn’t excuse you from being sanctimonious.

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Sacerdote John O’Reilly afirma que denuncia en su contra ‘es absolutamente falsa’

CHILE
Terra

El sacerdote de los Legionarios de Cristo y asesor espiritual del Colegio Cumbres, John O’Reilly, afirmó que “es absolutamente falsa”, la acusación en su contra de presunto abuso sexual a una escolar de ese establecimiento educacional, según un hecho denunciado por la familia de la alumna, la cual también llevó el caso a la Fiscalía Oriente.

O’Reilly formuló declaraciones al diario El Mercurio en respuesta a un cuestionario que le envió el periódico. “Soy inocente. Todos los miembros de la congregación y del Movimiento Regnum Christi conocen muy bien mi actuar”, manifestó el sacerdote en la entrevista que aparece este sábado.

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La hora más compleja de John O’Reilly

CHILE
La Tercera

GOLPEADO por la acusación de una apoderada del Colegio Cumbres como supuesto abusador de su hija, una niña de seis años, el sacerdote John O’Reilly, uno de los miembros más influyentes de la congregación de Los Legionarios de Cristo en Chile, enfrentó el martes pasado la disyuntiva más dramática de su vida: seguir esperando la evolución de un caso que podía agravarse con los días o tomar la ofensiva y judicializar la denuncia, para iniciar una investigación penal que le permitiera defenderse.

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Schweiz: Kirchliche Missbrauchs-Kommission wird neu aufgestellt

SCHWEIZ
kathweb

Bischof Morerod will Aufgabenbereich und personelle Ausstattung der diözesanen Kommission deutlich ausweiten

28.07.2012

Fribourg, 28.07.2012 (KAP) Der Bischof von Lausanne-Genf-Freiburg, Charles Morerod, will die Missbrauchs-Kommission seiner Diözese neu organisieren. Das Aufgabenfeld und die personelle Ausstattung der von Morerods Vorgänger, Bernard Genoud, bereits 2008 eingesetzte interdisziplinäre “Commission SOS prevention” soll deutlich ausgeweitet werden, teilte die schweizer katholische Nachrichtenagentur KIPA am Freitag mit.

Aufgabe der Kommission war es bisher, Informationen über sexuellen Missbrauch durch Priester zu sammeln, zu prüfen und schließlich der Diözesanleitung Bericht zu erstatten. Zukünftig soll die Kommission nach dem Willen Morerods personell aufgestockt werden und das Arbeitsfeld “interdiözesan” ausgeweitet werden.

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Australien: Kardinal Pell bedauert Suizid von Missbrauchsopfer

AUSTRALIEN
kathweb

Sydney, 28.07.2012 (KAP) Der Erzbischof von Sydney, Kardinal George Pell, hat mit Bedauern auf den Suizid eines Missbrauchsopfers reagiert. Zugleich wies er Forderungen nach einer staatlichen Kommission zur Aufklärung pädophiler Straftaten in der katholischen Kirche zurück, wie die Tageszeitung “The Australian” (Samstag) berichtete. Am Freitag war der Leichnam eines Mannes gefunden worden, der als 13-Jähriger von einem Priester mehrfach missbraucht worden war. In seinem Abschiedsbrief erklärte er laut dem Bericht, er empfinde “zu viel Leid”.

“Wir räumen ein, dass es Versagen gegeben hat, und wir arbeiten weiter daran, unseren Umgang mit den Opfern sowie ihren Vorwürfen und Sorgen fortzuentwickeln und zu verbessern”, erklärte Kardinal Pell in einer Stellungnahme. Indessen sehe er derzeit keine Notwendigkeit für eine landesweite Ermittlungskommission. “Aber wenn es eine gäbe, würden die katholischen Kirchenbehörden voll kooperieren.”

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USA: Weitere Verfahren wegen Missbrauchs

PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Radio Vatikan

Die Erzdiözese Philadelphia kommt im Skandal um sexuell missbrauchte Jugendliche nicht zur Ruhe. Ein 56jähriger Priester wird jetzt wegen eines Übergriffs auf einen Ministranten im Jahr 1997 angeklagt. Ein weiteres Verfahren gegen einen anderen Priester will die Staatsanwaltschaft wieder aufnehmen. Sie geht insgesamt davon aus, dass es noch weitere Opfer sexueller Gewalt in der Erzdiözese Philadelphia gibt. Die laufenden Strafverfahren könnten noch mehr Betroffene ermutigen, sich bei den Behörden zu melden, erklärte der Generalstaatsanwalt. Einige Tage zuvor ist erstmals ein hochrangiger Geistlicher zu einer Freiheitsstrafe verurteilt worden, weil einer den sexuellen Missbrauch von Kindern durch einen Priester gedeckt hatte.

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Köllerbach: Streit um Drohbriefe …

DEUTSCHLAND
Sol

Von SZ-Redakteur Norbert Freund

Köllerbach/Trier. Der Streit zwischen dem Bistum Trier und den Laiengremien der Köllerbacher Herz-Jesu-Gemeinde um den Umgang mit dem früheren Pfarrer Guido Johannes Ittmann hat einen neuen Höhepunkt erreicht.

Pfarrgemeinderat und Verwaltungsrat der Gemeinde rügen im aktuellen Pfarrbrief öffentlich die Bistumsleitung und den eingesetzten Pfarrverwalter Hans Maria Thul. Diese hätten den Pfarrgemeinderat und den Verwaltungsrat der Gemeinde nach dem Weggang von Ittmann nicht genug unterstützt und die Veröffentlichung von Dankesworten an Ittmann unterbunden. Ferner habe die Bistumsleitung damals einen „runden Tisch“ zur Entschärfung des Konflikts zwischen Ittmann und dem damaligen Völklinger Dechanten Klaus Leist abgelehnt. Darüber hinaus habe sie aktuell die Gemeindereferentin Therese Thewes gegen den Willen der Laiengremien versetzt. In dem Schreiben ist ferner von „zahlreichen Briefen“ der Gremien an den Trierer Bischof Stephan Ackermann die Rede.

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Chile expands child sex abuse probe to 127 schools

CHILE
The Malay Mail

Saturday, July 28, 2012
by AFP

Location:
SANTIAGO

CHILEAN authorities have expanded their probe into reports of child sex abuse to include more than 120 schools in the capital Santiago, double the number a week ago, officials said Friday.

“There are now 127 schools under investigation in the metropolitan region for complaints about offences that are sexual in nature,” prosecutor Sabas Chahuan said in a statement.

Last week, Chilean authorities had said 59 schools in Santiago were under investigation.

The most recent allegation is linked to John O’Reilly, an Irish Catholic priest and member of the Legionnaires of Christ who was suspended from the Colegio Cumbres school in the upscale Las Condes district of Santiago after a student’s family reported abuse.

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Fr. McCormick To Face Preliminary Hearing In August

PHILADELPHIA (PA)
CBS Philly

By Tony Hanson

PHILADELPHIA (CBS)

– A Philadelphia Archdiocesan priest now faces a preliminary hearing in August after being charged with the sexual assault of a 10 year old altar boy in Philadelphia in 1997.

The defense attorney says McCormick has pleaded NOT guilty during an arraignment and they look forward to defending against this 15-year-old set of facts.

The alleged victim came forward late last year and went to police.

Special Victim’s unit Captain John Darby says current events played a role in his decision.

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‘Plans’ don’t include sale to gay couple

NORTHBRIDGE (MA)
Worcester Telegram & Gazette

Dianne Williamson
dwilliamson@telegram.com

It’s bad enough that the Catholic Church discriminates against gay people. But it’s poor form — and possibly illegal — to document the bigotry and then mistakenly email it to the victims.

This embarrassing etiquette lapse occurred as James Fairbanks and Alain Beret were pursuing the purchase of Oakhurst, a 44-bedroom mansion in Northbridge, owned by the Diocese of Worcester. Fairbanks and Beret had searched for two years for the perfect renovation project, and hoped to turn the run-down estate into a banquet facility. Previously, the pair had transformed mansions in Vermont and Barre into similar businesses.

“When we saw Oakhurst, we fell in love with it,” Beret said.

The asking price of $1.4 million was negotiated to $1 million. On May 18, the pair signed an offer to purchase with a $75,000 deposit. They paid $3,000 for a home inspection. They also met with various town boards, all of which expressed enthusiasm for the project because it would save the historic building from developers seeking to raze it. …

Speaking of reprehensible, Oakhurst is perhaps best known as the former House of Affirmation, a treatment home for pedophile priests, which closed amid scandal in the late 1980s. Ironically, Beret was willing to overlook that history; he’s a devout Christian who at one time studied for the priesthood.

“I have plenty of sins,” Beret said. “But being gay isn’t one of them. This is not a fight I wanted to pick. But for the sake of my dignity, I’m not walking away.”

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Exclusive: Gay Couple Says Church Is Blocking Sale Of Historic Home

NORTHBRIDGE (MA)
CBS Boston

By Karen Anderson, WBZ-TV

WORCESTER (CBS) – Alain Beret has a vision. He wants to transform a neglected historic home, for sale by the Catholic Church, into a venue for weddings and functions.

He’s done it before and loves the character and the understated charm.

Alain and his partner Jim put in an offer for $1 million for the Oakhurst Retreat and Conference Center and say the Diocese of Worcester accepted it.

But, according to Beret, as they were doing their due diligence and pursuing normal negotiations, the Diocese abruptly stopped the sale.

Beret didn’t know what happened, until he began scrolling through an email between the brokers.

He noticed a message at the bottom of the thread from Monsignor Thomas Sullivan to his realtor.

It said:

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

We reached out to the Diocese of Worcester, but we were told Monsignor Sullivan was not able to respond to the story.

The Oakhurst Retreat and Conference Center was once the “House of Affirmation,” a treatment center for priests with psychological problems.

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Gay Couple Shunned By Church In Northbridge Property Deal

NORTHBRIDGE (MA)
Northbridge Daily Voice

NORTHBRIDGE, Mass. – A sign in front of the Sutton home of Alain Beret and James Fairbanks says it is for sale. They’d expected to move soon to the former Chester Whitin Lasell estate on Hill Street, oversee its restoration, and open the historic mansion to weddings and other public events.

Their dream was dashed when the property owner, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester, backed out of the deal, and the couple believe it is because they are gay.

Beret said the diocese’s real estate broker sent them an email telling them their $75,000 deposit would be returned because the church wanted to pursue “other plans.’’

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

The property most recently was being used by the church as a retreat. Prior to that it was the House of Affirmation where troubled priests were treated.

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Parishoners React To Arrest Of Former Pastor Accused Of Sex Abuse

PENNSYLVANIA
CBS Philly

[with video]

By Jenn Bernstein

SWEDESBURG, Pa. –

The Sacred Heart Church is nestled in the small tight-knit town of Swedesburg.

Tonight everyone is buzzing about the Sacred Heart Polish Festival, but the arrest of its former pastor, Reverend Andrew McCormick, last night on child sex assault charges, has many surprised and upset. That includes the church’s Holy Names Society President, Bernard Gutkowski.

“We just can’t believe it, a man like this, that we’ve known. He’s a great friend of ours,” said Gutkowski. He’s remaining supportive of McCormick and says the community is also. “We will stand by him 100 percent,” he said.

Gutkowski says the town’s been waiting for McCormick to return after he was suspended by the Archdiocese in March 2011. He was one of more than two dozen priests removed from the ministry after the Archdiocese said it was investigating past sexual abuse allegation

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Nearly 17 percent of sex offenders nationwide hide in plain sight, study says

UTAH
Deseret News

By Andrew Adams, Deseret News

Published: Friday, July 27 2012

RIVERTON — A new national study shows that nearly 1 in 6 convicted sex offenders have altered their identities and personal information. But Utah officials say the state has managed to buck that trend.

Preliminary results of the federally funded report out of Utica College found that 16.6 percent of sex offenders used aliases, stole identification, changed their names and moved without notifying proper authorities.

The Utah Department of Corrections says only 3 to 4 percent of the 7,000 registered sex offenders in Utah are out of compliance. That is down from 12 percent just four years ago.

One thing that makes the difference is officers pounding the pavement, Unified Police Lt. Justin Hoyal said. Law enforcement officials make physical visits once a month to the homes of registered sex offenders to check up on their compliance.

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Pastor alleges sex abuse, sues Roman Catholic organizations for $3M

CANADA
The Record

WATERLOO — A local pastor is suing several Roman Catholic Church organizations for allegedly failing to protect him from being sexually abused by a priest in Waterloo more than three decades ago.

Michael Zenker says he was 11 years old when a priest at St. Agnes Catholic Church in Waterloo began abusing him. It lasted three years, he says.

The lawsuit’s statement of claim filed in a court in Hamilton, in August 2011, contains allegations that have not been proved in court.

According to the statement of claim Father Wilfrid Systerman, who is now dead, forced the boy into sexual acts including fondling, masturbation and oral sex.

Zenker, 43, who now lives in Elmira, says he met Systerman as a Record newspaper carrier delivering the paper to the St. Agnes church office.

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Area priest facing sex assault charges

PENNSYLVANIA
Times Leader

Sheena DeLazio – sdelazio@timesleader.com – 570-970-7235 – Twitter: @TLSheenaDeLazio

A Diocese of Scranton priest who was once assigned to several parishes in Luzerne County, including a Catholic high school, will face 32 charges in Tioga County Court on allegations of sexually assaulting an altar boy.

The Rev. Thomas P. Shoback, 60, of Wilkes-Barre, appeared Wednesday at a preliminary hearing before District Judge James E. Carlson in Mansfield.

After a hearing that included testimony from the victim in the case, Carlson forwarded all 32 charges, which include involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, endangering the welfare of children and indecent assault, to county court.

Shoback, who was charged in June, will next appear for a formal arraignment before a Tioga County judge on Aug. 20. Shoback remains free on $35,000 bail and is represented by attorney Christopher T. Powell, Jr., of Scranton.

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US priest charged after accuser, prompted by Penn State case, emerges

PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Chicago Tribune

By Dave Warner

PHILADELPHIA, July 27 (Reuters) – A Roman Catholic priest been charged with the 1997 sexual assault of an altar boy, who was emboldened to come forward by the high-profile prosecutions of Monsignor William Lynn and former Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky, authorities sai d on Friday.

The arrest of suspended priest Andrew McCormick, 56, who a prosecutor said “had a pattern of grooming altar boys,” capped a tumultuous week for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, the sixth
largest in the nation with 1.5 million members.

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Suspended Philly priest is charged with sexual assault

PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

By David O’Reilly and Joseph A. Slobodzian
Inquirer Staff Writers

One of 26 Roman Catholic priests suspended from ministry last year for possible child misconduct has been criminally charged with sexually assaulting a 10-year-old altar boy in a Northeast Philadelphia church in 1997.

The Rev. Andrew McCormick, 56, was arrested at his parents’ Pottstown home Thursday night. He was ordered held on $150,000 bail at an arraignment Friday.

District Attorney Seth Williams said at a news conference that McCormick had started “grooming” the boy in the fall of 1997, while serving at St. John Cantius parish in Bridesburg, and sexually assaulted him that December. He said it appeared that the priest had groomed a number of altar boys there, and he urged any other abuse victims to come forward.

At the time of his suspension in March 2011, McCormick was pastor of Sacred Heart parish in Bridgeport, Montgomery County. He had previously served at St. Adalbert’s in Northeast Philadelphia and St. Bede in Holland, Bucks County.

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July 27, 2012

Clergy sex abuse lawsuit settled against Bishops Dupre & Maguire

SPRINGFIELD (MA)
WWLP

Anthony Fay

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – A man who claims that he was sexually abused by a western Massachusetts priest has settled a lawsuit against two bishops he says did nothing to protect him. His lawyers say damages in the suit are described as being a “substantial six figure sum.”

According to a news release sent to 22News by the law firm Stobierski & Stobierski, their client, Andrew Nicastro settled his lawsuit against former Bishops Thomas Dupre and Joseph Maguire on Thursday evening.

The settlement comes less than a week after the start of a civil trial against Dupre and Maguire at Hampden County Superior Court.

Nicastro says that as a child, he was sexually abused by now-defrocked priest Fr. Alfred Graves.

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Priest to face abuse charges in Tioga court

PENNSYLVANIA
Standard Speaker

By Cheryl R. Clarke (Williamsport Sun-Gazette)

Published: July 27, 2012

MANSFIELD – The priest from Wilkes-Barre who was suspended from his duties last fall for allegedly sexually assaulting an altar boy in Tioga County will face the charges in county court.

The Rev. Thomas P. Shoback, 60, is charged with three counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, two counts of indecent assault, two counts of endangering the welfare of children, one of corruption of minors and two counts of indecent assault.

The charges are in connection with the alleged multiple sexual assaults between February 1991 and February 1997, against the victim, now 32, who was an altar boy at St. Mary’s Parish Rectory in Blossburg, Tioga County, where the Rev. Shoback was pastor.

The victim testified Thursday at a preliminary hearing that the Rev. Shoback began abusing him when he was 11 or 12 years old and that the abuse would happen three out of four Sundays each month when he stayed after Mass to help count the collection. He said he felt compelled to tell what had happened to him after the Jerry Sandusky scandal erupted “because it was the right thing to do and he didn’t want it to happen to another kid.”

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Sex abuse sinister and serious: Cardinal

AUSTRALIA
The Australian

Jared Owens
From:The Australian
July 28, 2012

CARDINAL George Pell last night issued a statement condemning child sex abuse, following the apparent suicide of a 45-year-old man who was repeatedly abused as a teenager by a priest.

Police yesterday discovered John Pirona’s remains in his car at Tomago, outside Newcastle, five days after he left a note for his wife, Tracey, and disappeared.

Mr Pirona, a firefighter, was repeatedly assaulted by a priest, who cannot be named for legal reasons, in 1979, when he was aged 13.

The NSW courts have established he was sexually assaulted years after the school’s principal and Maitland-Newcastle bishop Leo Clarke, now deceased, became aware the priest had assaulted other boys.

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Sussex priest and organist deny child sex charges

UNITED KINGDOM
BBC News

A Church of England priest and an organist have denied charges relating to alleged sexual abuse of two young boys in West Sussex in the late 1980s.

Father Wilkie Denford, 77, of Shoreham, pleaded not guilty to four charges of indecently assaulting a boy under 16.

Michael Mytton, 68, from East Chiltington, East Sussex pleaded not guilty to aiding and abetting an alleged assault on a boy in Cuckfield.

Both were bailed at Lewes Crown Court to await trial on 10 December.

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Abuse victim’s last sad words

AUSTRALIA
Newcastle Herald

BY JOANNE MCCARTHY

28 Jul, 2012

LOU Pirona is a father who must live with the awful sadness of his son’s last words.

“When I was young I was frightened. When I went to school I was bullied and abused by people who should have been nurturing and guiding me.”

The body of John Pirona, 45, of Belmont North, was found in a car at Tomago yesterday morning, five days after leaving the letter his family had always feared, which ended with the words “Too much pain”.

A victim of a notorious Hunter paedophile priest in 1979 when he was 12, John Pirona was sexually assaulted at least one year after both the school principal, Father Tom Brennan, and the late Maitland-Newcastle bishop Leo Clarke were told the priest was a sex offender.

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Clergy Sex Abuse Trial Settled for $500K

SPRINGFIELD (MA)
WGGB

By Ryan Trowbridge

July 27th, 2012

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WGGB) — A Williamstown man settles his civil suit against two Springfield bishops.

The $500,000 settlement was announced Friday morning at Hampden County Superior Court.

It was emotional testimony during the trial that Attorney John Stobierski says accelerated discussions of a settlement in Andrew Nicastro’s civil suit against Springfield bishops Thomas Dupre and Joseph Maguire.

Nicastro says he was abused 30 years ago by now defrocked priest Alfred Graves .

He sued the bishops because he said they were in supervisory positions and should have prevented the abuse he suffered.

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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY
Vatican Information Service

Vatican City, 27 July 2012 (VIS) – The Holy Father:

– Appointed Bishop Salvatore J. Cordileone of Oakland, U.S.A., as archbishop of San Francisco (area 6,023, population 1,866,000, Catholics 448,000, priests 408, permanent deacons 78, religious 854), U.S.A. He succeeds Archbishop George H. Niederauer, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same archdiocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

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POPE RECEIVES THE COMMISSION OF CARDINALS INVESTIGATING LEAKING OF DOCUMENTS

VATICAN CITY
Vatican Information Service

Vatican City, 27 July 2012 (VIS) – “Yesterday morning 26 July, the Holy Father received in audience the Commission of Cardinals which is undertaking the administrative investigation into the leaking of reserved information: Cardinal Julian Herranz, Cardinal Jozef Tomko and Cardinal Salvatore De Giorgi. The cardinals were accompanied by Fr. Luigi Martignani O.F.M. Cap., secretary of the Commission; Examining Magistrate Piero Antonio Bonnet, and Promoter of Justice Nicola Picardi of the Tribunal of Vatican City State”, according to a communique released this morning by the Holy See Press Office.

“The Holy Father was informed about the conclusions reached by the Commission of Cardinals, and about the progress of the criminal procedures currently underway. He thanked them for the information he had received and invited the Vatican magistrates to proceed expeditiously.

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Pope hosts top-level meeting on leaks in Vatican

VATICAN CITY
National Catholic Reporter

Jul. 27, 2012
By Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY — Although technically on vacation, Pope Benedict XVI hosted a top-level meeting of Vatican officials involved in investigating and responding to the leak of Vatican documents.

The meeting Thursday included the commission of cardinals appointed to conduct an administrative review of Vatican offices and procedures, as well as the judges involved in the criminal case against the pope’s personal assistant. The meeting also included the head of the Vatican police and representatives of the Vatican secretariat of state, said Jesuit Fr. Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman.

Greg Burke, the former U.S. journalist appointed by the pope to advise the Vatican secretary of state on communications strategy, also participated, he said.

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The Catholic Church’s Vatileaks scandal: A guide

VATICAN CITY
The Week

A series of embarrassing leaks has exposed conspiracies, corruption, backstabbing, and bitter rivalries within the Catholic Church’s hierarchy

posted on July 27, 2012,

What is the scandal about?
A steady stream of leaked documents since the beginning of the year has revealed the Holy See to be an unholy nest of conspiracies, backstabbing, and ambition. “Vatileaks,” as the scandal has been dubbed, has smashed the Vatican’s code of silence to reveal a long-standing tradition of bitter rivalries and corruption. The leaks point to at least three shadowy, interlocking plots: an anonymous campaign to undermine Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican secretary of state and Pope Benedict XVI’s top deputy; a struggle over the future of the Vatican bank; and an effort by Italian cardinals to gain more influence over the choice of Benedict’s successor. “This is a power struggle,” said Notre Dame theology professor Lawrence Cunningham. “People are leaking information to the press to discredit one person or another.”

Who is doing the leaking?
The sole official suspect is the pope’s butler, Paolo Gabriele, 46, who was arrested in May after he was found with stolen papal documents; held for months in a small cell at the Vatican, he was granted house arrest last week. His lawyer insists Gabriele acted alone, but the leaks have continued since his detention. The real culprits are suspected to be disgruntled prelates inside the Vatican bureaucracy, or Curia, who view Bertone as an obstacle to church reform. The 77-year-old cardinal, a longtime ally of the current pope, has consolidated his power by promoting former associates from his native region of Piedmont to influential posts; they now include the governor of the Vatican City State, the head of the Vatican treasury, and the Holy See’s top bank regulator. There are growing rumors that the health of the 85-year-old Benedict is failing, feeding suspicion that Bertone’s ultimate goal is to gain control over the next papal conclave — the meeting of the College of Cardinals that selects the pope.

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Springfield Bishop Emeritus Joseph Maguire statement…

SPRINGFIELD (MA)
The Republican

Springfield Bishop Emeritus Joseph Maguire statement: Andrew Nicastro and family ‘suffered greatly’ from ‘terrible’ clergy abuse

By Buffy Spencer, The Republican

SPRINGFIELD — The Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield on Friday released a “statement from Bishop Emeritus Joseph F. Maguire” after Andrew Nicastro settled his civil lawsuit against Maguire and another past bishop.

Maguire said, “Today’s settlement I hope will bring some measure of healing to Andrew Nicastro and his family. Sadly they have suffered greatly by this terrible abuse. Although I intend on writing them personally to express my sincere sorrow, I also wish to make this statement which in some ways represents what I would have testified to in court.”

Nicastro announced Friday that a $500,000 settlement has been reached in the suit against Maguire and the Most Rev. Thomas L. Dupre. Nicastro, of Williamstown, said the two former bishops knew now-defrocked priest Alfred Graves had molested two boys in 1976 but allowed him to keep serving as a priest.

Maguire said, “I am truly sorry for all that Mr. Nicastro suffered and the hardships it has brought in his life.

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Andrew Nicastro announces $500,000 settlement in civil lawsuit against two former Springfield bishops

SPRINGFIELD (MA)
The Republican

By Buffy Spencer, The Republican

UPDATE, 1 p.m.: Bishop Emeritus Maguire issues statement, says Andrew Nicastro and family “suffered greatly” from “terrible” clergy abuse

Read the story

SPRINGFIELD – Andrew Nicastro announced today that a $500,000 settlement has been reached in his civil lawsuit against two former bishops of the Springfield Catholic Diocese.

John Stobierski, Nicastro’s lawyer said discussions of a settlement began two weeks ago and accelerated last night after “emotional testimony” from Nicastro, his wife, and his father over the last few days in Hampden Superior Court.

Lawyers for the two bishops, the Most Rev. Bishop Joseph M. Maguire and the Most Rev. Thomas L. Dupre, had unsuccessfully tried to have the case dismissed previously on the grounds the statute of limitations had expired by the time the suit was filed.

Nicastro, of Williamstown, said the two former bishops knew now defrocked priest Alfred Graves had molested two boys in 1976 but allowed him to keep serving as a priest.

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Oakland bishop, noted Prop 8 backer, replaces former Utahn Niederauer in San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO (CA)
The Salt Lake Tribune

By Sean Maher
| Contra Costa Times

San Francisco • Oakland’s bishop, Rev. Salvatore Cordileone, will become the archbishop of San Francisco, making him perhaps the highest profile opponent of same-sex marriage in a city renowned for its support for gay rights.

Cordileone, 56, was appointed to the new job by Pope Benedict XVI to replace retiring Archbishop

A San Diego native, Cordileone was installed as Oakland’s bishop in May, 2009. His time in the East Bay “has given him a deep understanding of the radically diverse cultural composition of the Bay Area and a dedication to multicultural ministry,” church spokesman George Wesolek said.

At a news conference Friday morning at St. Mary’s Cathedral in San Francisco, Cordileone accepted the position with a speech he repeated in English and Spanish

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Philly priest charged with 1997 sexual assault

PHILADELPHIA (PA)
San Francisco Chronicle

MARYCLAIRE DALE, Associated Press

Updated 01:56 p.m., Friday, July 27, 2012

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A Philadelphia priest suspended last year has been charged with sexually assaulting a 10-year-old boy in a church rectory.

Prosecutors say the Rev. Andrew McCormick molested the boy in 1997 in Northeast Philadelphia.

The 56-year-old McCormick is one of about two dozen priests suspended last year after a grand jury report alleged that accused priests were still in ministry.

McCormick was arrested late Thursday. Defense lawyer William Brennan says he expects McCormick to post the $150,000 bail and fight the charges.

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UPDATED: Settlement reached in civil trial of bishops

SPRINGFIELD (MA)
iobserve

By Father Bill Pomerleau

SPRINGFIELD – Andrew Nicastro, a Williamstown man who was abused by former priest Alfred F. Graves from 1982 to 1985, agreed to a $500,000 settlement with Springfield Bishop Emeritus Joseph F. Maguire and former Springfield Bishop Thomas L. Dupré on July 27.

The agreement, which was worked out late July 26, ended a dramatic trial which featured emotional testimony by Nicastro, his family members and two priests who testified to the harm caused by the Graves.

“The testimony was compelling,” said John Stobierski, Nicastro’s principal attorney. Speaking at a press briefing on the steps of the Hampden County Hall of Justice after the trial, Stobierski said that while he was confident that his client was winning his case in the trial, other factors persuaded him to settle out-of-court.

“We were warned that, even if we won, we would have faced two more barriers. First, they (the bishops) would have appealed. Second, even if we won on appeal, we would have had to sue their insurance companies to actually receive any money. That process might have taken another three to five years,” Stobierski said.

“I can’t comment on what cynics might say,” Stobierski responded when asked what he would say to someone who suggested that the case was actually about money. He said that the case not only brought justice to his client, but also might give other abuse victims the courage to come forward to tell their stories.

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Ihr seid nicht die Einzigen!

DEUTSCHLAND
MissBiT

Nachdem sich inzwischen auf vielfältige Weise bestätigt hat, dass das Bistum Trier den Begriff einer “ehrlichen Aufklärung” weitaus anders definiert als wir Betroffenen, möchten wir alle Opfer, Betroffene und Zeugen sexuellen Missbrauchs durch Angehörige der katholischen Kirche im Bistum Trier dazu ermutigen, ihr Schweigen zu brechen und sich entweder mit “MissBiT” oder “schafsbrief.de” in Verbindung zu setzen.

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Köllerbacher Gläubige rebellieren gegen Bischof

DEUTSCHLAND
Saarbrucker Zeitung

Köllerbach/Trier. Der Streit zwischen dem Bistum Trier und den Laiengremien der Köllerbacher Herz-Jesu-Gemeinde um den Umgang mit dem früheren Pfarrer Guido Johannes Ittmann hat einen neuen Höhepunkt erreicht. Pfarrgemeinderat und Verwaltungsrat der Gemeinde rügen im aktuellen Pfarrbrief öffentlich die Bistumsleitung und den eingesetzten Pfarrverwalter Hans Maria Thul. Diese hätten den Pfarrgemeinderat und den Verwaltungsrat der Gemeinde nach dem Weggang von Ittmann nicht genug unterstützt und die Veröffentlichung von Dankesworten an Ittmann unterbunden. Bereits vor dessen Amtsverzicht habe die Bistumsleitung einen “runden Tisch” zur Entschärfung des Konflikts zwischen Ittmann und dem damaligen Völklinger Dechanten Klaus Leist abgelehnt. Darüber hinaus habe sie aktuell die Gemeindereferentin Therese Thewes gegen den Willen der Laiengremien versetzt. In dem Schreiben ist ferner von “zahlreichen Briefen” der Gremien an den Trierer Bischof Stephan Ackermann die Rede.

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Pfarrgemeinderat greift Trierer Bischof in Missbrauchs-Affäre an

DEUTSCHLAND
MissBiT

Köllerbach. Der Streit im Bistum Trier um Drohbriefe gegen den früheren Köllerbacher Pfarrer Guido Ittmann eskaliert immer mehr. Pfarrgemeinderat und Verwaltungsrat der Gemeinde rügen im Pfarrbrief Bischof Stephan Ackermann und seinen Pfarrverwalter Hans Maria Thul. Sie werfen der Bistumsleitung indirekt vor, Ittmann und Gläubige im Stich gelassen zu haben, als diese einer “Mobbing-Kampagne” ausgesetzt gewesen seien. Pfarrer Ittmann hatte Missbrauchsfälle angezeigt.

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Brighton priest sent for trial on child sex charges

UNITED KINGDOM
Brighton and Hove News

A priest who worked in Brighton and Hove has been sent for trial on charges of sexually abusing two boys more than 20 years ago.

Father Wilkie Denford, 77, of Broad Reach Mews, Shoreham, is due to stand trial at Lewes Crown Court on Monday 10 December.

He appeared at Mid Sussex Magistrates’ Court in Haywards Heath where he was bailed until his trial, having denied four charges of indecently assaulting a boy under 16.

Church organist Michael Mytton, 68, of South Road, East Chiltington, near Ditchling, will join him on trial. Mytton denies one charge of aiding and abetting Denford.

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Suspended priest charged with molesting boy, 10

PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

By Joseph A. Slobodzian
Inquirer Staff Writer

A Catholic priest who was removed from his Montgomery County parish in March, 2011, has been charged with sexually assaulting a 10-year-old boy in a Northeast Philadelphia church in 1997.

The Rev. Andrew McCormick, 56, was arrested at his parents’ Pottstown home Thursday night, officials said. He was ordered held on $150,000 bail at his initial arraignment Friday.

Law enforcement officials there may be more possible victims and urged them to come forward.

District Attorney Seth Williams said McCormick “groomed” a number of altar boys when he served at St. John Cantius Church in Bridesburg.

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Montco Priest Charged With Sexual Assault

PHILADELPHIA (PA)
My Fox Philly

A Priest in Montgomery County in under arrest for an alleged sexual assault.

The charges against Father Andrew McCormick stem from a sexual assault committed in 1997.

Sources tell Fox 29 that the priest and the victim were a part of the same church in Philadelphia at the time of the abuse.

The victim was 10-years old at the time of the incident.

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Massachusetts bishops settle lawsuit brought by abuse victim

SPRINGFIELD (MA)
Catholic Culture

Two former bishops of Springfield, Massachusetts, have settled a sex-abuse lawsuit, 3 days after the case came to trial.

Bishops Joseph Maguire and Thomas Dupre reportedly agreed to pay $500,000 to Andrew Nicastro, who said that he was molested in the 1970s by Alfred Graves, a priest of the Springfield diocese who has subsequently been laicized. Nicastro charged that both bishops were aware of previously sex-abuse charges against Graves, yet continued to give him parish assignments.

Bishop Maguire issued a statement through the Springfield diocese, saying: “Today’s settlement, I hope, will bring some measure of healing to Andrew Nicastro and his family.” He expressed regret for not having taken action earlier against Graves, saying that he did not understand “the true nature of one who violated our trust with such devastating harm to his victims.”

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Philly Priest Arrested for Alleged Sexual Assault: Police

PHILADELPHIA (PA)
NBC 10

By Lauren DiSanto

| Friday, Jul 27, 2012

Father Andrew McCormick has been arrested for an alleged sexual assault. He was taken into police custody late Thursday night after accusations that he sexually assaulted an altar boy in 1997.

McCormick was a pastor at St. John Cantius Church in the Bridesburg section of Philadelphia at the time of the alleged assault.

He’s being held at Philadelphia Police headquarters.

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Philly priest charged with 1997 sexual assault

PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Times Online

Posted: Friday, July 27, 2012

Associated Press

A Philadelphia priest suspended last year has been charged with sexually assaulting a 10-year-old boy.

Prosecutors accuse the Rev. Andrew McCormick molested the boy in 1997 while assigned to a Northeast Philadelphia parish.

McCormick is one of about two dozen priests suspended last year after a grand jury report that found priests accused of abuse were still in ministry.

The 56-year-old McCormick is in custody after surrendering Thursday. It’s not clear if he has a lawyer. Bail has been set at $150,000.

McCormick has been on leave from Sacred Heart in Swedesburg, Montgomery County, since March 2011.

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Church royal commission

AUSTRALIA
Newcastle Herald

Editorial

CATHOLIC Bishop Bill Wright of Maitland-Newcastle is to be congratulated for daring to publicly support a formal inquiry into priestly abuse.

It is no easy matter for a senior clergyman, embedded in a church hierarchy under intense pressure over seemingly endless allegations of criminal abuse, to offer even guarded support for a course of action that seems certain to result in serious recriminations against his own organisation.

Bishop Wright’s acknowledgement of the need for a thorough external inquiry suggests a recognition that the issue has an inevitable momentum that can no longer be credibly resisted.

The heartbreaking discovery yesterday of the body of abuse victim John Pirona has seared the hearts of thousands of Hunter people, adding powerfully to the groundswell of support for a royal commission into priestly abuse.

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San Francisco archbishop retires; Bishop Cordileone to succeed him

SAN FRANCISCO (CA)
Catholic News Service

By Catholic News Service

WASHINGTON (CNS) — Pope Benedict XVI has accepted the resignation of Archbishop George H. Niederauer of San Francisco and named Bishop Salvatore J. Cordileone of Oakland, Calif., to succeed him.

The appointment and resignation were announced in Washington July 27 by Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, apostolic nuncio to the United States.

Archbishop Niederauer, 76, had headed the San Francisco Archdiocese since 2005. A priest of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, he also served as bishop of Salt Lake City for 10 years.

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Pope calls for speed in deciding butler’s fate

VATICAN CITY
AFP

ROME — The pope has called on Holy See investigators to proceed quickly with their inquiry into a former butler for his role in the Vatican leaks scandal.

The decision over whether Paolo Gabriele should face trial will be made on August 6 or 7, Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said Friday.

The pontiff’s former butler, Gabriele is the sole suspect behind the leaked documents, which revealed an atmosphere of intrigue at the Vatican and a power struggle centring around the powerful Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone.

Pope Benedict XVI met the examining magistrate on the case Thursday “to hear the progress of the criminal procedures underway,” and “invited the Vatican magistrates to proceed expeditiously,” the Holy See said in a statement.

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Another Philadelphia priest facing sexual assault charges

PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Newsworks

July 27, 2012
By Tom MacDonald

A former Philadelphia Archdiocese priest is facing charges of sexually assaulting one of his altar boys.

Captain John Darby of Philadelphia’s Special Victims Unit says the now 25 year old came forward to police recently to say that former parish priest Andrew McCormick abused him in 1997. Darby says the boy was just 10 years old then and McCormick was working at St. John Cantius parish in the Bridesburg neighborhood.

“He was a parishioner he was a student at St John Cantius and he was an altar boy and it was in those conditions he was brought to the presence of Andrew McCormick and contacts began,” said Darby. “Where inside the rectory of St John Cantius, sexual contact was made.”

District Attorney Seth Williams says he wants victims of abuse to feel comfortable calling the police.

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Retired Priest Speaks Out On Alleged Child Abuse, Church Cover Up

MINNESOTA
CBS Minnesota

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A retired Winona priest is coming forward after allegations of child abuse were tossed out by the Minnesota Supreme Court on Wednesday.

Retired Fr. James Edward Fitzpatrick of Diocese of Winona says he knew for decades his church had covered up allegations of abuse by victims.

“It’s a matter of conscience,” Fitzpatrick said. “It’s been bothering me for years.”

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Bishop backs inquiry into sex abuse

AUSTRALIA
ABC News

By Will Ockenden

Updated July 27, 2012

A senior member of Australia’s Catholic Church says he would support a public inquiry into the church’s handling of sexual assaults by priests.

The Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle, Bill Wright, says it is up to governments to work out which issues need investigating.

Over the past 50 years the Hunter Valley has seen scores of people reporting cases of sexual assault by priests.

One Catholic priest was convicted and jailed several years ago after sexually abusing 39 schoolboys aged from five to 16 years old over nearly 20 years.

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Former youth minister to be sentenced for sex crimes

ALABAMA
Montgomery Advertiser

A former youth minister facing charges in Madison and Cullman counties in connection with sex crimes against children is due to be sentenced July 31 for similar crimes in Elmore County, Attorney General Luther Strange announced Thursday.

John A. Astorga, 37, of Wetumpka was convicted of two counts of first-degree sexual abuse April 11 in Elmore County Circuit Court. During the trial, three victims testified, as did the pastor of Bethel Assembly of God in Wetumpka, where Astorga worked, according to the AG’s office.

At his July 31 sentencing, Astorga will face a penalty of one year and one day to 10 years in prison for each of the two counts, which are class C felonies, a news release from Strange’s office states. State law also requires him to register as a convicted sex offender and to abide by community notification requirements of state law.

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Breach of duty

PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Toledo Blade

Editorial

The watchman didn’t watch. That’s why Monsignor William Lynn of Philadelphia was sentenced this week to 3 to 6 years in prison.

Lynn failed to protect the safety of children in his Catholic archdiocese for the dozen years he was secretary to Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua. It was his job to make parish assignments and investigate sex-abuse claims against priests.

Last month, Lynn, 61, was found guilty of turning a blind eye to the predations of Edward Avery, a former parish priest who pleaded guilty to charges of sexually assaulting an altar boy in 1999. Lynn was told by a medical student in 1992 that Avery had molested him in the 1970s.

Lynn reassigned Avery to a parish that knew nothing of his history, and made no report to civil authorities. The molester was finally defrocked six years ago, but he didn’t confess his crime to authorities until March of this year.

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Man abused as a child by pedophile priest found dead in car

AUSTRALIA
Herald Sun

A MAN who as a child was abused by a pedophile priest has been found dead in his car after the pain became “just too much for him”, his wife says.

The body of John Pirona, 45, was discovered by police in a car at Tomago near Newcastle early today, nearly a week after his wife Tracey last saw him on Saturday night.

Ms Pirona said she alerted police to his disappearance after finding a letter that spoke of the pain he felt being linked to a pedophile priest and of his wish “to go nobly”.

“The pain was just too much for him,” Ms Pirona said.

“He felt like his children were better off without him.”

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Tragic end for ‘too much pain’ husband

AUSTRALIA
Launceston Times

The body of John Pirona, a victim of one of the Hunter’s most notorious paedophile priests, has been found at Tomago.

John Pirona, 45, of Valentine, was last seen by his wife in Belmont North last Saturday night.

Police attached to Lake Macquarie Local Area Command found the body of Mr Pirona in a car in the early hours of this morning. His death is not being treated as suspicious.

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Women purged of court contempt during priest’s trial

NORTHERN IRELAND
Derry Journal

Published on Friday 27 July 2012

A Derry woman and a woman from Culdaff appeared in court in Belfast this week on contempt of court proceedings relating to an outburst at the trial of Fr. Eugene Boland, in Derry last month.

Sarah Kerrigan, from Patrick Street, Derry and Michelle Ruddy, from Larraghirrel, Culdaff, who were described as “close friends” of Fr Boland found themselves accused of contempt after they cheered and clapped when Fr Boland from Killyclogher Road, Omagh, was cleared of indecently assaulting a 14 year-old girl 20 years ago.

Describing the women as “close associates and friends” of Fr. Boland, Brian McCartney QC, defending, told Belfast Crown Court the women had been caught up in the heat of the moment and ‘by the intensity of feelings’ during the cleric’s trial.

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Report: Charges pending against Upper Merion priest

PENNSYLVANIA
Main Line

Published: Thursday, July 26, 2012

UPPER MERION — Criminal charges were pending against an unnamed priest at Sacred Heart Church on Thursday evening, Fox 29 News reported on Thursday afternoon.

The pending charges are related to an alleged sexual assault that took place in the 1990s, according to the news report.

Neither Philadelphia police, Upper Merion police nor Fox 29 News have identified the priest. The Times Herald has not independently confirmed that a priest has been charged. Fox 29 had earlier tweeted that a priest had been arrested but that tweet has since been removed.

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Prosecutors side with SNAP in Mo. records case

MISSOURI
NECN

[Amicus by prosecutors backing the writ – SNAP]

Jul 27, 2012

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Several prosecutors are siding with the 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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Victim, former priest accuse Archbishop Carlson of child abuse cover-up

ST. LOUIS (MO)
KSDK

[with video]

By Leisa Zigman I-Team Reporter

St. Louis (KSDK) – A victim of child abuse in the 1980s and a former priest made stunning allegations Thursday regarding St. Louis Archbishop Robert Carlson.

The allegations center on Archbishop Carlson playing an active role in the cover-up of child sex abuse cases when he worked in the Archdiocese of Minneapolis.

Since his installation in 2009, the Archdiocese of St. Louis has painted Archbishop Carlson as a staunch protector of children from abusive priests.

But Thursday, in St. Paul, Minnesota, Jim Keenan lashed out at Archbishop Carlson who was a bishop at the time Keenan was abused by his parish priest. The abuse allegedly occurred in the 1980s.

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Lawsuit claims sex abuse at Malvern Prep

PENNSYLVANIA
Daily Times

By PATTI MENGERS
pmengers@delcotimes.com

Two days after a Philadelphia judge sentenced a monsignor in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia to jail for enabling a pedophile priest, a Delaware County man filed a civil suit Wednesday against the archdiocese and Malvern Preparatory School for allegedly not protecting him from a sexually abusive cleric who taught there.

Also named in the lawsuit, filed by Chester County attorney Daniel F. Monahan in Philadelphia, were the religious Order of St. Augustine and John R. Liggio, the Augustinian priest who allegedly assaulted the plaintiff in 1997 and 1998 when he was a student at the 170-year-old private Catholic boys’ school for grades 6 through 12 in Chester County.

“He did so by using physical, intellectual, moral, emotional and psychological force. The abuse began as compelled touching in Malvern Prep bathrooms where Liggio followed the plaintiff and isolated him. It progressed to sexual contact at Liggio’s residence on campus,” the lawsuit states.

The plaintiff is identified only as “an adult male individual less than 30 years of age and a citizen and resident of Delaware County in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania” because he was a minor when he was an alleged victim of sex crimes.

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Supervisors finally paying the price of sexual abuse cover-ups

UNITED STATES
Wicked Local Newton

Marjorie Arons-Barron

Recently, a Philadelphia church official, Msgr. William Lynn, was sentenced to three to six years in prison on one felony child endangerment charge for covering up sexual abuse by the now laicized priest, Edward Avery, whom he supervised. Lynn was acquitted of conspiracy and a second endangerment count involving a second priest, on whom the jury deadlocked. The concern underlying the charges and conviction was Lynn’s apparent shielding of predatory priests, protecting them from public scrutiny by reassigning them to different parishes, and lying to spare the Church’s reputation from scandal. He had a responsibility in those three areas under both secular and canon law. Msgr. Lynn mounted a defense saying he was obeying orders from his own supervisor, Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, Archbishop of Philadelphia and a canonist, who died earlier this year. Meanwhile, Cardinal Bevilacqua’s successor, Cardinal Justin Regali, failed to provide material relevant to the scandal to his own review board.

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Former Diocese of Winona priest …

MINNESOTA
LaCrosse Tribune

Former Diocese of Winona priest describes encounter with bishop, concerns about Adamson abuse

By Jerome Christenson Winona Daily News

WINONA, Minn. — A former priest of the Diocese of Winona said Thursday he was literally shown the door when he told Bishop Edward Fitzgerald that the Rev. Thomas Adamson was sexually abusing boys in Caledonia, Minn.

Jim Fitzpatrick, a Caledonia native and priest for the diocese from 1963 to 1973, said he was assigned to the Winona Cathedral and Cotter High School when parents from his hometown came to Winona to ask what he could do about what Adamson was doing to boys in Caledonia.

Fitzpatrick said he would talk with the bishop, but when he went to Fitzgerald and related what the parents told him about their sons and about 15 other boys, Fitzgerald told him he would deal with his priests and showed him out of his office.

Fitzpatrick described his encounter with the bishop in a news conference Thursday in St. Paul. Fitzpatrick was to be a witness in the case brought against the Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis and the Diocese of Winona by James Keenan, claiming he had in 1980-81 been sexually abused by Adamson and that church officials had been aware of Adamson’s history of child sexual abuse.

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Paedophile priest victim found dead in car

AUSTRALIA
TVNZ

Published: 8:08PM Friday July 27, 2012

A man who as a child was abused by a paedophile priest has been found dead in his car after the pain became “just too much for him”, his wife says.

The body of John Pirona, 45, was discovered by police in a car at Tomago near Newcastle in the early hours of Friday morning, nearly a week after his wife Tracey last saw him on Saturday night.

Ms Pirona said she alerted police to his disappearance after finding a letter that spoke of the pain he felt being linked to a paedophile priest and of his wish “to go nobly”.

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July 26, 2012

Lawyers suggest different portraits of abuse victim’s mental health

SPRINGFIELD (MA)
iobserve

By Father Bill Pomerleau
SPRINGFIELD – Different portraits of the effects that Alfred F. Grave’s sexual abuse had on Andrew Nicastro, and his later motivations in

launching a 2009 lawsuit, were the subject of contentious questioning July 26 in the civil trial of Springfield Bishop Emeritus Joseph F. Maguire and former Springfield Bishop Thomas L. Dupré.

Nicastro, of Williamstown, alleges that the bishops acted negligently by returning the former priest to ministry with insufficient supervision after they knew that he had a history of abusing boys in other parishes.

John J. Egan, Bishop Maguire’s attorney, began his cross-examination of Nicastro by suggesting that the now 41-year-old had told others about his abuse several years ago – this time using a document prepared by Nicastro himself with the help of his attorney, John Stobierski.

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Catholic Bishop says public inquiry into paedophile priests needed

AUSTRALIA
ABC – AM

Will Ockenden reported this story on Friday, July 27, 2012

TONY EASTLEY: A senior member of Australia’s Catholic Church says he’d support a public inquiry into the Church’s handling of sexual assaults by priests.

The Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle Bill Wright says it’s up to governments to work out which issues need investigating.

Will Ockenden reports.

WILL OCKENDEN: Over the past 50 years the Hunter Valley has seen scores of people reporting cases of sexual assault by priests.

One Catholic priest was convicted and jailed several years ago after sexually abusing 39 schoolboys aged from five to 16 years old over nearly 20 years.

The Bishop Bill Wright released a statement on his view on how sexual assault should be investigated.

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SNAP asks Missouri court to stop order for documents

MISSOURI
National Catholic Reporter

Jul. 26, 2012
By Joshua J. McElwee

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The leading advocacy group for clergy sex abuse victims has asked the Missouri Supreme Court to quash a local judge’s ruling for the group to grant access to more than 23 years of internal documents to attorneys who represent accused priests in the state, saying the order violates the confidentiality of abuse victims.

The request, formally known as a “writ of prohibition,” is the latest step by the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests in a months-long saga over access to the documents.

Twenty-two victims’ advocacy and church reform groups and six former and current local, state and federal prosecutors have also asked the court to intervene in the matter, saying the order could lead to further victimization and ultimately “intimidate, harass, and silence victims of sexual abuse.”

The requests stem from Jackson County, Mo., Circuit Court Judge Ann Mesle’s order July 17 to SNAP in a case concerning a Kansas City priest accused of abuse. The case, in which SNAP is not a party, made headlines in January when it became the first in which one of the group’s leaders was ordered to provide testimony.

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Rafael Venegas, St. Anne’s Santa Monica Priest, Investigated For Sex Crime

SANTA MONICA (CA)
LA Weekly

By Dennis Romero
Thu., Jul. 26 2012

Santa Monica police today said they’re checking out a local priest after a woman came forward and alleged he sexually assaulted her.

If so (and, for the record, it ain’t so, at least not yet), it wouldn’t be too surprising. Church and the Tiki theater in Hollywood, apparently, are where all the sex crimes go down these days.

The man of the cloth under scrutiny was named as Rafael Venegas. He works at …

… St. Anne’s Church, 2017 Colorado Ave.

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Father of alleged clergy sexual abuse victim Andrew Nicastro, testifies of implicit trust in priests

SPRINGFIELD (MA)
The Republican

By Buffy Spencer, The Republican

SPRINGFIELD – Anthony Nicastro testified Thursday he took his son and daughter to church when they were young because he wanted them to get some moral direction in addition to what they got at home.

He said he never worried about his son Andrew Nicastro’s interactions as an altar boy with now defrocked priest Alfred Graves, the family’s pastor at St. Patrick’s Church in Williamstown.

“I had implicit faith and trust in priests,” said Anthony Nicastro, who said he went to parochial school and Catholic high school in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Anthony Nicastro, a “semi-retired” professor at Williams College and North Adams State College, said he never knew Graves had sexually assaulted his son Andrew Nicastro over a period of about three years starting when the boy was about 11 years old.

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Sexual Battery Investigation

SANTA MONICA (CA)
Santa Monica Police Department

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 26, 2012
Contact: Richard Lewis, Sergeant
Phone: 310.458.8462
e-mail: richard.lewis@smgov.net

The Santa Monica Police Department is currently investigating an allegation of sexual battery against Rafael Venegas, a priest at St. Anne’s Church located at 2017 Colorado Avenue in Santa Monica.

The victim, who is an adult female and not a parishioner of St. Anne’s, contacted the Santa Monica Police Department on July 1, 2012 and reported that the incident involving Venegas occurred on the property of St. Anne’s Parish in September 2011. The allegations remain under investigation and no arrests have been made at this time.

Anyone with additional information is asked to contact Detective DeRyck at (310) 458-8944, Sergeant Jacob at (310) 458-8460 or the Santa Monica Police Department (24hours) at (310) 458-8495.

If you wish to remain anonymous, you can call WeTip at 1-800-78-CRIME (1-800-78-27463), or submit the tip online at www.wetip.com. You will remain completely anonymous and may be eligible for a reward, up to $1,000.00, if your information leads to an arrest and conviction.

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Alleged Sexual Misconduct by Local Priest Under Investigation

SANTA MONICA (CA)
Patch

By Jenna Chandler

Police are investigating allegations of sexual battery by a priest at St. Anne’s Catholic Church, a department spokesman said in a press release Thursday.

No arrests have been made in the case, which was reported to July 1 to Santa Monica Police.

A woman, who isn’t a parishioner at the church, told police the incident occurred on church property near Colorado Avenue and 20th Street in September of last year.

St. Anne’s referred requests for comment to its attorney, Donald Steier, who did not return a message.

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Santa Monica Police Investigate St. Anne’s Church Priest For Sexual Assault

SANTA MONICA (CA)
Santa Mornica Mirror

Posted Jul. 26, 2012

Brenton Garen / Editor-in-Chief

St. Anne’s Church priest Rafael Venegas is currently being investigated following an allegation of sexual assault.

The 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 incident involving Venegas occurred on the property of St. Anne’s Parish in September 2011.

SMPD Sgt. Richard Lewis said the allegations remain under investigation and no arrests have been made at this time.

Anyone with additional information is asked to contact Detective DeRyck at 310.458.8944, Sergeant Jacob at 310.458.8460 or the Santa Monica Police Department (24hours) at 310.458.8495.

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Growing call for royal commission into priest sex cases

AUSTRALIA
Newcastle Herald

BY JOANNE MCCARTHY

27 Jul, 2012

Maitland-Newcastle Bishop Bill Wright has expressed his ‘‘broad support’’ for a royal commission into the Catholic church’s handling of sexual abuse cases after an overwhelming public response to the disappearance of a paedophile-priest victim.

In a statement yesterday Bishop Wright acknowledged the growing calls for a royal commission, saying ‘‘I am broadly supportive of public inquiries into these matters’’.

‘‘It would be for government to determine, in consultation with their agencies and other groups in the community, what would be the best form of inquiry and into which particular issues it should inquire.’’

It is believed to be one of the first public expressions of support by a senior NSW Catholic clergy member for a formal government inquiry.

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Bishop says ‘false hearsay’ linking him to claim hurts diocese, family

WHEELING (WV)
Catholic Sentinel

Catholic News Service

WHEELING, W.Va. — Bishop Michael Bransfield of Wheeling-Charleston said the “false hearsay statements” made against him at the recently concluded Philadelphia trial of two priests on sex abuse-related charges have hurt him, his family and the people of his diocese.

In a July 23 letter to the priests and people of the Wheeling-Charleston Diocese, Bishop Bransfield said a “hearsay allegation” that he had engaged in improper conduct with a high school student in the 1970s “has been put to rest” by the student in question, now in his 50s, and others.

“I can only repeat what I have stated before publicly: I have never abused anyone,” the bishop said.

The allegation surfaced during the trial of Msgr. William Lynn, former secretary of clergy in the Philadelphia Archdiocese, on charges of child endangerment; he was later found guilty of one count and recently sentenced. His co-defendant, accused of abuse, must be retried after the jury could not reach a verdict in his case.

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Abuse trials miss other victims

PENNSYLVANIA
Philadelphia Inquirer

June 25, 2012|Inquirer Editorial

Outside their own circles, they’re mostly unknown — and certainly not referred to as Victim No. … But other child sex-abuse victims across Pennsylvania are just as entitled to justice as those whose accusations were heard in the sensational trials of a former college football coach and a high-ranking Catholic Church official.

Many of the other victims have also suffered in silence for decades, often unable to admit to themselves the horror of being abused as a child or teen. And if they did decide to come forward, it would likely be too late under the state’s criminal and civil statutes.

These other victims waited even as separate juries wrestled with the charges against former Pennsylvania State University assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky, whose alleged victims now include an adopted son, and Archdiocese of Philadelphia Msgr. William Lynn — who on Friday became the first U.S. church official convicted in a child sex-abuse case.

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Youth pastor to be sentenced for sex crimes

ALABAMA
San Francisco Chronicle

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A youth minister accused of sex crimes against children in three Alabama counties is scheduled to be sentenced in one case on July 31.

An Elmore County jury found John A. Astorga guilty on April 11 on two counts of first-degree sexual abuse. Three victims and the pastor of Bethel Assembly of God in Wetumpka, where Astorga worked, testified at his trial.

Astorga faces up to a year and a day imprisonment on each of the two counts in Elmore County and must register as a convicted sex offender.

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