ABUSE TRACKER

MALTA
Times of Malta

The judgement on the appeals of two former priests convicted of child abuse will be delivered on October 26.

The final submissions by both the prosecution and the defence were heard in court this morning as the accused stood in the dock and two of the victims fidgeted as they heard the proceedings.

During today’s hearing, the sitting was stopped for 20 minutes while the judge, the prosecution and the defence watched a video in which victim Laurence Grech stripped a 12-year-old boy naked.

The two former priests Godwin Scerri and Charles Pulis, both members of the Missionary Society of St Paul, were sentenced to five and six years in prison respectively for sexually abusing boys in their care.

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VATICAN CITY
Chiesa

With the leaking of confidential documents, the pact of loyalty that binds together the members of the Vatican curia has been broken. The consultations for a change of government have begun. A letter from the pope to Cardinal Bertone

by Sandro Magister

ROME, July 6, 2012 – The critical point of this pontificate is not the opposition, sometimes bitter, that rains down uninterruptedly on it in various areas. But it is the rupture that has taken place with that pact of loyalty within the Church which is manifested in the leaking of confidential documents, from its highest offices.

Pope Joseph Ratzinger does not allow himself to be intimidated by opposition. It is not something that he endures, but rather in crucial cases he intentionally provokes it. And he does not retreat by even one step when the reaction becomes exaggerated and fierce, beyond what is to be expected.

The memorable lecture in Regensburg was the first demonstration of this. Benedict XVI laid bare the burden of violence present in Islam with a clarity that astonished the world and scandalized in the Church the lovers of the embrace among the religions. He invoked for Muslims the revolution of the Enlightenment that Christianity has already experienced. Years later, the springtime of freedom that sprouted and immediately withered in the city squares of the Arab world confirmed that he had seen correctly, that the future of Islam really is played out here.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
National Catholic Reporter

by Brian Roewe on Jul. 05, 2012 NCR Today

Denied a house arrest request, Msgr. William J. Lynn will remain in jail until his sentencing.

Common Pleas Court Judge M. Teresa Sarmina ruled Thursday morning against a plan that would have moved Lynn into the home of his sister’s stepmother until his sentencing date. While the convicted monsignor will stay jailed, his time there will be shorter after Sarmina granted his lawyers’ request to have the sentencing date moved up, from Aug. 13 to July 24.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that the rescheduled sentencing will allow Lynn’s defense to appeal the case sooner and reapply to release Lynn on bail.

Lynn was convicted of child endangerment for leaving defrocked priest Edward Avery in ministry despite knowledge of past abuse.

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CONNECTICUT
Patch

By Paul Petrone

Monday, the Rev. Dennis Carey, formerly the pastor of Waterford’s St. Paul in Chains Rectory, was arrested for first-degree possession of child pornography. Court documents would later show that while there are no allegations of Carey sexually abusing children, the priest admitted to police he was addicted to child porn for the last two years.

For many, it seemed like another of many cases of a priest in the Roman Catholic Church being charged with a crime against children. But Michael Strammiello, director of communications for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Norwich, said Thursday nothing could be further from the truth, calling the Roman Catholic Church “the model institution” when it comes to protecting children.

“There is no institution in America that has done more to protect young people than the Catholic church,” Strammiello said. “No institution has done more, invested more.”

Strammiello said the screenings of priests and the way child abuse allegations are handled has completely changed since 2001, when allegations of priests sexually abusing children began pouring in nationally. He said the church is constantly working on how to guarantee safety for children, and has done a better job than anybody of doing that.

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SAN JOSE (CA)
Reuters

By Andrew Lu at FindLaw.com

Thu Jul 5, 2012

Two wrongs don’t make a right, at least not always. Will Lynch was found not guilty in the priest beating trial where he was accused of attacking 67-year-old retired priest Rev. Jerold Lindner.

Lynch did not deny attacking the Catholic priest. However, the jury let him off anyway, perhaps due to Lynch’s special motivation for the attack.

Over 30 years ago, Will Lynch says that the Catholic priest raped him and his brother when they were both just children, reports NBC. Linder was never officially tied to the rape though the church did pay Lynch and his brother $187,000 to settle a civil case without admitting wrongdoing.

Obviously not feeling vindicated, Lynch decided to take matters into his own hands in 2010. He showed up at the Northern California retirement home of Lindner and punched him repeatedly in the face and body, reports NBC. Unlike Lindner and his alleged acts of child rape, Lynch showed some mercy by requesting that Lindner remove his glasses before the beating.

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SAN JOSE (CA)
Mercury News

By Scott Herhold
The Mercury News mercurynews.com
Posted: 07/05/2012

The trial of Will Lynch offered mirrors within mirrors, ironies within ironies. Nothing made that clearer than the words of juror No. 12, a grizzled, retired accountant who said the turning point came when the jurors were instructed to ignore the testimony of the Rev. Jerold Lindner.

“The thing that struck me was that the victim in this case disappeared, or his testimony did. I had to ask myself, if you don’t have a victim, do you have a crime?” said the burly juror, who explained that jurors were ready to acquit on all charges until Lynch testified to the attack.

In my view, the jury still got it wrong: We don’t operate as vigilantes in America. But you could understand how they got there. In the courtroom, the defendant became Lindner, not Lynch. And the crime happened 35 years ago, not two years past.

How did we get to the place where a man can go to a Jesuit retreat center, bloody the priest who assaulted him years ago, and then emerge to cheers after a near clear-cut victory in court?

The quick answer is that powerful forces and feelings trump a prosecutor’s brief. Emotions, and yes, the memory of years of abuse by priests, matter more than the cold litany of charges. Call it jury nullification, but it is both simpler and more complex than that.

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SEATTLE (WA)
The Seattle Times

Posted by Alexa Vaughn

A man who, as a child, was sexually abused by a Seattle Catholic school official has won a $6.4 million in court, one of the largest such awards in state history.

The jury at King County Courthouse found the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, a worldwide Catholic order of priests, guilty of ignoring the plaintiff’s sex-abuse complaints when he attended St. Benedict School in Seattle’s Wallingford neighborhood.

“The Oblates tried to point the finger at everyone except themselves, but the jury didn’t accept this and rightly held them accountable for their actions,” said Michael Pfau, an attorney for the plaintiff, in a statement. “The evidence was overwhelming that this religious order was more concerned with protecting its reputation and avoiding scandal than doing the right thing and protecting children.”

The plaintiff — identified as “S.O.” — testified that he was abused on a weekly basis between 1961 and 1964 by Daniel Adamson, a former teacher and principal at the school, who was not a member of the clergy. The plaintiff said he asked the Oblate pastor, Father Henry Conrad, twice for help but was ignored.

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SEATTLE (WA)
KOMO

By Lindsay Cohen

SEATTLE — A King County jury has awarded $8 million to a victim of sexual abuse at a Seattle Catholic school. The sum is believed to be the largest ever against the Catholic Church in Washington state.

The jury found the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, a Catholic order of priests, guilty of ignoring the plaintiff’s complaints of sexual abuse at St. Benedict School in Wallingford. The plaintiff testified in court that he was abused on a weekly basis between 1961 and 1964 by a former teacher and principal, Daniel Adamson.

“This wasn’t minor abuse. This was three years of the worst crimes you can imagine on a child,” said the plaintiff, Stephen O’Connor. “What sexual abuse and sodomy and rape of a 12-year-old child is minimal?”

O’Connor, who grew up in Seattle but now splits his time between Western Washington and Spokane, said he hid the memories of sexual abuse for nearly 50 years but that a 2008 reunion at St. Benedict – to mark the school’s 100th anniversary – triggered an onslaught of feelings.

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AUSTRALIA
Perth Now

AAP
July 06, 2012

Police are expected to be informed of fresh allegations of sexual abuse at a Catholic school that weren’t passed on to authorities, a former victim says.

ROBERT Lipari told AAP he was sexually abused by a former teacher at a Catholic school in NSW during the 1970s.

An internal Catholic Church report dated August 2011, and obtained by AAP, substantiated Mr Lipari’s allegations of indecent and sexual assaults between 1976 and 1977 when he was a student at the school.

The allegations included being assaulted in a caravan, on a boat during a fishing trip and in a classroom.

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NIGERIA
allAfrica

Daily Trust

By John Chuks Azu, 6 July 2012

A pastor of a new generation church in Nyanya, Abuja, was yesterday arraigned by the police before an Abuja Chief Magistrate Court sitting in Karu for allegedly molesting young female members of his church.

Pastor Basil Princewill, the general overseer of Mountain Movers Fire Ministries International, Nyanya, Abuja, was arraigned with Ms Paulyn Ode, the church’s coordinator on charges of alleged conspiracy, criminal impersonation, criminal intimidation, and criminal force and assault.

The pastor was accused of having carnal knowledge of two 14-year-old female members of the church under pretences of offering prayers for them in July, 2011 and later aborted the pregnancy of one the girls this year at the Fountain Health Clinic, Nyanya, Abuja after telling doctors he is her father.

According to the charge, which was transferred from the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) where parents of the victims lodged initial complaints, the pastor also impersonated as a lawyer with an LL.B certificate.

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AUSTRALIA
Advertiser

LINTON BESSER, JOANNE MCCARTHY

06 Jul, 2012

THE church prematurely terminated an investigation last year into the alleged failure of a top Catholic education official to take action over the sexual assault of an 11-year-old boy in the 1970s by a lay teacher.

A former principal of St Patrick’s at Sutherland, Brother Anthony Peter Whelan, had been accused by Robert Lipari of failing to take action against a science teacher, Thomas Keady, after he reported being molested by the man at a caravan park.

Shortly before being employed at the school, Keady had completed a three-year jail term in Victoria for child sex offences.

The church commissioned an investigation by the former NSW Police assistant commissioner, Norm Maroney, who substantiated the 1976 assault, and the fact it was reported it to another senior teacher at the school, Brother John Vincent Roberts.

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CALIFORNIA
The Orange County Register

By PETER LARSON and VIK JOLLY / THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

SANTA ANA – A Laguna Hills pastor molested five boys – as young as 9 years old – from his church during sleepovers and visits he arranged, a prosecutor told a jury Thursday.

Defendant Oscar Perez, 69, asked one of the victims’ parents to bring the boy to his Lake Forest apartment because he wasn’t feeling well, Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Walker said in her opening statement.

The boys’ parents trusted him, she said. Their sons assisted Perez with services at Iglesia Antigua, a church that rented space at a Laguna Hills Episcopal Church, where he represented himself as a Catholic and Apostolic pastor and bishop, Walker said.

Perez is charged with 22 counts of lewd acts upon a child under 14, four counts of lewd acts on a child, and faces sentencing enhancement allegations for lewd acts against multiple victims.

The first victim’s mother reported the sexual assault last July to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, the prosecutor said. Continued investigation revealed the other four. She said the victims believed the church would be ruined and they would go to hell if they told anyone.

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LAGUNA HILLS (CA)
Patch

The pastor of a Laguna Hills church molested five boys in his congregation who ranged in age from 9 to 15 years old as they slept over or visited his Lake Forest apartment, a prosecutor told jurors Thursday.

Oscar D. Perez Perez’s attorney, however, said the accusations were the result of “misunderstandings,” and that his 69-year-old client was actually giving the boys sex education and tips on hygiene.

Perez is charged with 22 felony counts of lewd acts on a child younger than 14, four felony counts of lewd acts on a child and faces sentencing enhancement allegations for lewd acts on multiple victims.

Perez claims to be a bishop and pastor of Iglesia Antigua, or Old Church, which at the time of his arrest rented space at St. George’s Episcopalian Church in Laguna Hills. Perez’s church is not affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church or the Diocese of Orange.

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INGLEWOOD (CA)
Los Angeles Times

A pastor at an Inglewood church has been arrested on suspicion of engaging in sexual acts with a minor, authorities said Thursday.

Gordon Solomon, 50, of Christ’s Community Church allegedly had a two-year relationship with a teenage congregant that started when the girl was 14, according to a statement released by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

Solomon and the victim allegedly exchanged emails and texts of a sexual nature and met at various locations. The victim’s mother stumbled upon one of the explicit text messages from Solomon that was sent to the girl, authorities said, and immediately called police.

Solomon was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of felony lewd acts upon a child. He is being held in lieu of $3-million bail.

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INGLEWOOD (CA)
KABC

[with video]

Amy Powell

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (KABC) — A local pastor has been arrested on child sex abuse charges. Authorities say he met the alleged victim at church.

Gordon Solomon, 50, was arrested Wednesday for felony lewd acts on child. Police said the alleged victim is a 14-year-old girl who Solomon met through Christ Community Church, and relatives said the girl was 12 when the abuse began.

“The case was discovered after the mother reported the incident to authorities,” said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Dep. Benjamin Grubb. “Apparently she found text messages on her daughter’s phone regarding her and the suspect.” …

Investigators said they have reason to believe there may be other victims. Anyone with information should call the Los Angeles Police Department Special Victims Bureau at (877) 710-5273.

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NIGERIA
allAfrica

Daily Trust

By John Chuks Azu, 6 July 2012

A pastor of a new generation church in Nyanya, Abuja, was yesterday arraigned by the police before an Abuja Chief Magistrate Court sitting in Karu for allegedly molesting young female members of his church.

Pastor Basil Princewill, the general overseer of Mountain Movers Fire Ministries International, Nyanya, Abuja, was arraigned with Ms Paulyn Ode, the church’s coordinator on charges of alleged conspiracy, criminal impersonation, criminal intimidation, and criminal force and assault.

The pastor was accused of having carnal knowledge of two 14-year-old female members of the church under pretences of offering prayers for them in July, 2011 and later aborted the pregnancy of one the girls this year at the Fountain Health Clinic, Nyanya, Abuja after telling doctors he is her father.

According to the charge, which was transferred from the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) where parents of the victims lodged initial complaints, the pastor also impersonated as a lawyer with an LL.B certificate.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC – AM

Tony Eastley reported this story on Friday, July 6, 2012

TONY EASTLEY: After an ABC Four Corners program was aired on Monday the Catholic Church has reopened inquiries into what has been seen as a botched investigation into allegations of sexual abuse of boys by a priest in the 1980s.

The priest, known as Father F, was accused of sexually abusing altar boys in Moree and Parramatta in New South Wales. One of the priest’s alleged victims, Damien Jurd, later committed suicide.

Three senior priests investigated the claims, but no evidence was forwarded to police despite the fact Father F made admissions of serious criminal behaviour in a 1992 meeting with the three officials.

One of those officials was Father Brian Lucas who’s now the general secretary of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference.

Father Brian Lucas, thanks for joining us on AM. What happened at that meeting in 1992 at St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney when you, John Usher and Wayne Peters met with now known as Father F?

BRIAN LUCAS: I think to understand the context of that meeting we have to understand that Father F, as we are calling him, had been charged with respect to an offence involving Damien Jurd and that case had been dismissed.

Following that he was then working in the Parramatta diocese and there other rumours and innuendo and there was a still a fair bit of notoriety around the Armidale area with respect to the dismissal of that court case.

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DAVENPORT (IA)
Quad-City Times

Brian Wellner

A priest exonerated by the Vatican of child molestation charges said his diocese should release all names of priests accused of sexually abusing children, regardless of whether their charges were dropped.

The Rev. Drake Shafer spoke Thursday both as a former vicar general once accused of abusing a teenager in the 1970s and as a victim himself of a sex abuse crime he said happened more than 50 years ago when he was a minor.

His alleged abuser was a priest.

“I can certainly understand why victims want the names to be presented,” said Shafer, pastor of St. Ann’s Catholic Church in Long Grove. “And I can personally understand it, as a victim.”

A judge’s recent ruling allows the Diocese of Davenport, which is coming out of bankruptcy over the clergy sex abuse scandal, to withhold the names of 18 priests whose accusers received financial settlements.

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SAN JOSE (CA)
Los Angeles Times

By Maria L. La Ganga, Los Angeles Times

July 6, 2012
SAN JOSE — A jury has found a San Francisco man not guilty of felony assault and felony elder abuse, despite his admission that he attacked the priest accused of molesting him nearly four decades ago.

The 10-man, two-woman panel also said Thursday that William Lynch was not guilty of misdemeanor elder abuse in the 2010 attack on Father Jerold Lindner. The 67-year-old Catholic priest has been linked to more than a dozen alleged victims — including his own nieces, nephew and sister — but never has been brought to trial because the statute of limitations in every case had run out.

The jury was split on a final charge against Lynch: misdemeanor assault. Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge David Cena declared a mistrial on that count. Dist. Atty. Jeffrey Rosen said his office would decide in the coming days whether to retry Lynch.

After the verdict was read, Lynch said he had felt certain that he would be going to jail — and was pleasantly surprised that he would not. But he also spoke haltingly, and with deep emotion, about justice and responsibility.

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SAN JOSE (CA)
San Francisco Examiner

By:Bay City News | 07/05/12

A jury in San Jose acquitted William Lynch on Thursday of two felony counts in connection with his 2010 attack on the Jesuit priest he said molested him during a camping trip more than 30 years ago.

Three female and nine male jurors found the 44-year-old not guilty on felony charges of assault causing great bodily injury and elder abuse, but were hung on the lesser charge of simple assault.

The charges stemmed from Lynch’s May 10, 2010, assault at the Los Gatos retirement home of the Rev. Jerold Lindner, then 65. Lynch said the Jesuit priest raped him at the age of 7 and also forced him to perform sexual acts with his brother, who was then 4 years old.

Taking the stand last week, Lynch described how the abuse and Lindner’s alleged threats against reporting the molestation ruined his life, driving him to alcohol abuse and depression.

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AUSTRALIA
7 News

By Tom Nightingale, ABC
July 6, 2012

There are calls for police in New South Wales to open an investigation into three senior priests of the Catholic Church who failed to inform police of a priest’s apparent admission of child sex abuse.

This week the a priest known as Father F met with three church leaders and admitted in that meeting to serious criminal behaviour involving altar boys in Moree and Parramatta dating back to the 1980s.

After the meeting he was suspended from the priesthood, although he remained a lay member of the church for 13 years after that.

The church responded to the Four Corners claims by denying there was any admission during the 1992 meeting with Father Brian Lucas, Father John Usher and Father Wayne Peters.

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SAN JOSE (CA)
Patch

[video]

By Sheila Sanchez

A jury has acquitted a San Francisco man accused of beating a priest at the Los Gatos Sacred Heart Jesuit Center in May 2010.

On Thursday afternoon, the panel found William Lynch, 44, not guilty of one count of felony assault with intent to cause great bodily injury and one count of elder abuse under circumstances likely to produce great bodily harm or death. He had pleaded not guilty to both charges.

The jury hung 8-4 on a lesser misdemeanor crime of an assault on Father Jerold Lindner and it’s not clear if the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office will refile charges related to that lesser offense or appeal.

Outside the San Jose Hall of Justice, Lynch said he was happy with the verdict and surprised by the outcome of the highly emotional trial.

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SAN JOSE (CA)
International Business Times

By Ewan Palmer | July 6, 2012

A man who admitted attacking a 67-year-old priest who allegedly abused him as a child has been found not guilty of assault and “elder abuse”.

William Lynch, 44, stood trial accused of assaulting Rev Jerold Lindner at a retirement home for priests in Los Gatos, California on May 2010.

Lindner sustained minor injuries.

Lynch had claimed that Lynch had sexually abused him and his younger brother on a camping trip more than 35 years ago.

Supporters of Lynch wept and hugged each other in court as the verdict was read out. The defendant and his attorneys received a rousing cheer as they left the courtroom.

“I honestly thought I was going to jail,” Lynch said. “It turned out better than I expected.”

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AUSTRALIA
ABC Newcastle

Updated July 06, 2012

The Newcastle Anglican Diocese Professional Standards Board has recommended a Hunter priest be stripped of his holy orders over alleged sexual acts with a 19-year-old man in 1984.

The Board has heard evidence from the the man allegedly involved in the incident that he claimed took place at a motel during an Anglican conference in Narrandera, in southern New South Wales.

At a public hearing in Newcastle this week the board has concluded that Reverend Bruce Hoare breached the Anglican Diocese of Newcastle’s professional standards ordinance and code of conduct.

Reverend Hoare has denied the allegations made against him and no police charges have been laid.

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SEATTLE (WA)
Q13 Fox

Web reporter
Q13 Fox News Online

3:48 p.m. PDT, July 5, 2012
SEATTLE—
A jury has awarded $8 million to a former student of St. Benedict School in Seattle in a lawsuit against the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, a worldwide Catholic religious order of priests.

It is believed to be the largest monetary judgment against the Catholic Church in Washington state, the plaintiff’s attorneys said in a statement.

The jury found the plaintiff, identified only as “S.O.,” was sexually abused on a weekly basis between 1961 and 1964 by Daniel Adamson, a former teacher and principal at the Catholic school. S.O. testified that he twice asked the Oblate pastor, the Rev. Henry Conrad, for help, but the priest ignored him.

At the time, St. Benedict was owned by the Seattle Archdiocese and run by Oblate priests. S.O. filed suit against both entities, but settled with the Seattle Archdiocese last year.

The jury also heard from two other students who testified that they also told Conrad that Adamson was abusing them, but the Oblate priest allegedly told them to stay quiet.

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SAN JOSE (CA)
KRON

By: Brian Shields – Thu, 05 Jul 2012

SAN JOSE (KRON) — A jury has acquitted William Lynch of all felony charges in the attack on a priest he says molested him as a child.

A jury deliberated for two days before returning the verdict.

Lynch admitted attacking Father Jerold Lindner during his testimony in the case. The defendant says the former Catholic priest molested him and his little brother during a visit to a camp over Memorial Day weekend in 1974.

Prosecutors had charged Lynch with two felonies including assault and elder abuse. The attack on Lindner happened at a Los Gatos nursing home where the former priest was living. The jury couldn’t agree on a misdemeanor charge of simple assault in the case.

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SAN JOSE (CA)
Mercury News

By Tracey Kaplan
tkaplan@mercurynews.commercurynews.com

Posted: 07/05/2012

A jury today acquitted a San Francisco man of felony charges that he beat up and abused the cleric he says brutally raped him decades ago.

The jury found Will Lynch not guilty of felony elder abuse and felony assault for a confrontation with Rev. Jerold Lindner two years ago. It also found Lynch not guilty of misdemeanor elder abuse, but deadlocked 8-4 in favor of a conviction on misdemeanor assault.

The verdict was a triumph for Lynch, now 44, and his supporters, who faithfully picketed outside and packed the Santa Clara County courtroom as the assault trial — normally a brief event — stretched over three weeks. From accusations of prosecutorial misconduct to a confrontation in the hallway between the priest and one of his alleged molestation victims, the trial was roiled by disruptions.

“I was wrong for doing what I did — in doing that I perpetuated the cycle of violence,” Lynch said outside the courtroom, referring to the two blows to the head he delivered to Lindner at the Sacred Heart retirement home in Los Gatos. “But if there is anything I want people to take away from this — it is you can come forward, you can seek justice and you can find justice in many forms.”

District Attorney Jeff Rosen said he was “disappointed” by the verdict. He said he’ll carefully evaluate whether to retry Lynch on the misdemeanor assault charge.

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SAN JOSE (CA)
CBS San Francisco

[with audio]

SAN JOSE (CBS SF)— A San Jose man was acquitted Thursday of assaulting a retired priest who he claims molested him decades ago as a boy.

44-year-old William Lynch was accused of assaulting 67-year-old Rev. Jerold Lindner at a Los Gatos retirement home in May 2010.

The jury found him not guilty of felony assault and felony elder abuse, and deadlocked on a lesser charge of simple assault. When the verdicts were read Thursday afternoon, Lynch appeared relieved, smiling and receiving hugs from his attorneys.

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ZIMBABWE
Nehanda Radio

By Esther Gomo

Nearly two years ago Bishop Daniel Gwedegwe was dragged to court facing charges that he had touched his 24 year old sister-in-laws private parts.

The complainant sensationally claimed that Gwedegwe would sometimes kneel and touch her private organ and kiss her breasts. This was said to have started sometime in 2005 when the Bishop’s wife was in the United Kingdom.

The Bishop from the Pentecostal Revival Ministries International in Harare has now set the record straight with Nehanda Radio telling us the case was thrown out on the 27th of January 2011 at the Rotten Row Magistrates Courts.

Bishop Gwedegwe said “this case should not have passed the Public Relations Desk at the police Charge Office where I was the complainant turned accused. The Public Prosecutor should have seen the dubious nature of the charges.”

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SAN JOSE (CA)
ABC News

By TERRY COLLINS Associated Press

SAN JOSE, Calif. July 6, 2012 (AP)

A jury acquitted a man Thursday of assaulting a priest he says molested him more than three decades ago during a camping trip and left him with tormented memories that led to alcohol abuse, depression and suicide attempts.

The verdict came after defendant William Lynch took the witness stand during the two-week trial and acknowledged punching Jerold Lindner several times on May 10, 2010.

While previously pleading not guilty, Lynch said he hoped to use the case to publicly shame Lindner and bring further attention to the Catholic Church clergy abuse scandal. Lynch said the verdict surprised him.

“I honestly thought I was going to jail,” he said after the verdicts were read. “It turned our better than I expected.”

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

Posted by Barbara Dorris on July 05, 2012

Violence is always wrong. Still, we are grateful for this verdict. The odds that Lynch would ever reoffend are infinitely small.

We hope this case prods lawmakers to reform predator friendly laws that prevent child sex abuse victims from exposing predators in civil and criminal court.

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SAN JOSE (CA)
Pasadena Star

Associated Press
Posted: 07/05/2012

SAN JOSE – A jury acquitted a man Thursday of assaulting a priest he says molested him more than three decades ago during a camping trip and left him with tormented memories that led to alcohol abuse, depression and suicide attempts.

The verdict came after defendant William Lynch took the witness stand during the two-week trial and acknowledged punching Jerold Lindner several times on May 10, 2010.

While previously pleading not guilty, Lynch said he hoped to use the case to publicly shame Lindner and bring further attention to the Catholic Church clergy abuse scandal.

Lynch has said memories of the priest have tormented him for years, and he struggled through nightmares, divorce and other problems. He tried to commit suicide twice.

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SAN JOSE (CA)
San Francisco Chronicle

Kevin Fagan

(07-05) 14:47 PDT SAN JOSE — A jury in San Jose found a 44-year-old man not guilty Thursday of two felony counts stemming from an alleged attack on a retired Catholic priest who he says raped him on a camping trip in 1975.

William Lynch was acquitted of felony assault and elder abuse for allegedly beating Jerold Lindner in a Los Gatos retirement center in 2010. The jury hung on a count of misdemeanor assault.

If convicted, Lynch could have gone to prison for four years.

The nationally watched trial threw a spotlight on the issue of sexual abuse by Catholic priests, as Lynch sought

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SAN JOSE (CA)
The Fresno Bee

By TERRY COLLINS – Associated Press

Thursday, Jul. 05, 2012 | 02:52 PM

SAN JOSE, Calif. — A jury has acquitted a man charged with assaulting a retired priest he says molested him more than three decades ago in California.

The jury of nine men and three women returned its verdict Thursday against William Lynch after starting deliberations Monday in San Jose.

Prosecutors say Lynch acted as a vigilante when he pummeled Jerold Lindner with his fists in the 2010 attack. They said Lynch’s testimony about his alleged sexual abuse by Lindner was no excuse for beating up the priest years later.

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SAN JOSE (CA)
KTVU

KTVU And Wires

SAN JOSE, Calif. —

After more than three days of deliberations, a jury has reached a verdict in the case of a man charged with beating a priest he claimed molested him as a youth.

The verdict was expected to be read in San Clara County Superior Court around 2:30 p.m.

William Lynch testified last Friday that he punched the priest after memories of the alleged sexual abuse came flooding back across the decades and were so vivid that he felt threatened.

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SAN JOSE (CA)
NBC Bay Area

By Lisa Fernandez and Arturo Santiago

| Thursday, Jul 5, 2012

A Santa Clara County jury on Thursday is expected to return a verdict on whether a man who beat a priest who he said sexually abused him years ago is guilty or not of felony assault.

If found guilty, William Lynch could face up to four years in prison when he is sentenced.

Lynch, 44 of San Francisco never denied the 2010 assault on Rev. Jerold Lindner, a Catholic priest living at the Sacred Heart retirement home in Los Gatos. But he testified he did so because Lindner allegedly raped him and his brother when they were children in the 1970s.

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VATICAN CITY
Catholic News Service

By Carol Glatz
Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Holy See sustained its largest budget deficit of the past decade in 2011 as a result of global financial trends, the Vatican said July 5. But Vatican City State, which includes the income-generating Vatican Museums and Vatican post office, ended 2011 with a surplus of 21.8 million euros ($27 million).

The budget of the Holy See, which includes the offices of the Roman Curia and its communications outlets such as Vatican Radio, recorded a deficit of 14.9 million euros ($18.4 million) at the end of 2011. It was the largest budget deficit recorded in the past decade and reversed the 2010 surplus of 9.8 million euros ($12 million).

Total expenditures for the Holy See in 2011 were 263.7 million euros ($326.4 million) with 248.8 million euros ($308 million) in revenues.

A brief summary of the Vatican’s financial report released to the press blamed the deficit on “the negative trend of global financial markets, which made it impossible to achieve the goals laid down in the budget.”

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VATICAN CITY
MSNBC

By Claudio Lavanga, NBC News

If you were seeking confirmation that the current economic crisis really is evil, look no further than the Holy See.

The Vatican reported on Thursday that its tiny state wasn’t spared by the global economic downfall. With its budget deficit hitting $19 million, 2011 was one of the Holy See’s worst financial years on record.

With lines for entering Vatican museums and Saint Peter’s Basilica consistently as long as the Vatican wall, last year alone tickets for attractions like the Sistine Chapel filled the Vatican’s coffers with more than $90 million. If to that you add the almost $70 million the pope received in charitable donations, it’s difficult to believe that the smallest state in the world, with its 0.2-square-miles territory, could ever go in the red.

The sheer cost of employing almost 3,000 people to run the Vatican, its radio and newspaper services, plus the especially bad real estate market affecting some of Italy’s most prestigious palazzos owned by the Vatican, mean it spent more, much more, than it earned.

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CALIFORNIA
BishopAccountability.org – Assignment Record

Summary of Case: Ordained in Ireland, Fitz-Henry spent his career in the Monterey, CA diocese. He was removed from active ministry in February 2011 when accused of having sexually abused a 14 year-old boy in 2005. The abuse is said to have included the priest asking the boy questions and making comments of a sexual nature during confession. An investigation revealed an allegation from 1992 as well. That incident may have involved two boys, who were brothers. The family received a settlement from the diocese, and Fitz-Henry was sent to Servants of the Paraclete in New Mexico for treatment in May 1992. In 1995 he was made pastor of a Monterey parish.

Born: Sept. 18, 1958 in Dublin, Ireland
Educated: Colaiste Eoin, Finglas, Ireland (1972-1976); Holy Cross College, Dublin, Ireland (1977-1980); All Hallows College (Seminary), Drumcondra, Dublin, Ireland (1981-1984); Baccalaureate in Divinity.
Ordained: 1985

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UNITED STATES
NPR

[with audio]

by Barbara Bradley Hagerty

July 4, 2012

The Catholic Church is drawing a line in the sand.

Perceiving its core beliefs to be under threat from popular culture, the White House and even Catholics themselves, the Vatican and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops are pushing back.

In recent months, the church leadership has been cracking down on liberal theologians, disciplining nuns and emphasizing a more orthodox theology.

The most recent example is the bishops’ response to the new health care law. After the Obama administration announced that religious universities, hospitals and charities must offer insurance plans that cover birth control, the bishops swung into action. …

Reese says today’s church leaders remind him of parents of teenage children.

“They realize they’re losing control,” he says, “and they think the solution is simply to shout louder, and to say, ‘No, you can’t do that,’ or, ‘Not in my house, you won’t,’ or, ‘Because I said so!’

“That’s simply not going to work with an educated laity,” Reese says.

‘Maybe Our Time Has Come’

Reese believes that top-down approach, combined with the bishops’ handling of the sex abuse crisis, has alienated many of the faithful.

Polls show that one-third of people raised Catholic no longer attends church.

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CHILE
Terra

El presidente de la Fundación para la Confianza, José Andrés Murillo, llamó a la población a no callar y dar a conocer los casos de abusos sexuales u otros tipos de delitos relacionados.

“No hay que olvidarse nunca que la piedra angular del abuso es el silencio. En estos casos, el silencio es tremendamente efectivo, gracias a que esta persona (el abusador) es importante, o tiene poder o es significativa”, afirmó uno de los denunciantes del sacerdote Fernando Karadima a Radio ADN.

Asimismo, indicó que el caso en contra del religioso Cristián Precht y los relacionados a diversos establecimientos educacionales, están demostrando que se está perdiendo el temor a hacer público este tipo de hechos.

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AUSTRALIA
Vatican Insider

Australian police in collaboration with the Catholic Church, have launched a new inquiry into cases of paedophilia

Vatican Insider staff
Rome

The Australian Catholic Church has launched a new inquiry into cases of sex abuse against minors which occurred in two parishes in New South Wales in the early 80’s. This is after the publication of a detailed document, which states that three of Australia’s most distinguished prelates failed to report a series of serious paedophilia cases which a priest – known only as Fr. F – had admitted to in person. Apparently they did not report him to authorities for legal reasons.

Meanwhile, State police is investigating into the affair in order to establish whether the three prelates committed a crime which could be punishable with a two year prison sentence, for not reporting the cases to the police.

Fr. F was arrested in 1987 on charges of committing acts of paedophilia in the Catholic parish of Moree. He was put on trial but the judge dismissed the case before allowing the jury to examine him, claiming that the credibility of one of the victims, who was 15 at the time, could not be set against that of a priest. Fr. F therefore continued his ministry in the parish of Paramatta, in Sydney, where he sexually molested two altar boys.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Insider

The Holy See financial statements for 2011 have been published. They show a deficit of almost fifteen million Euro

Giacomo Galeazzi
Vatican City

In times of crisis, admission tickets to museums and offerings to the Pope become the Vatican’s financial pillars. The Holy See’s consolidated financial statements for 2011 close with a deficit of 14,890,034 Euro. Not all Vatican administrations however have published their financial statements; the accounts are therefore only partial.

The Governorate and the Peter’s Pence Collection have faired well but the Holy See is in the red. The Holy See has promised “contained spending without cutting back on jobs.” The cardinals of the Council for the examination of the Holy See’s organisational and economic problems gathered yesterday and Tuesday in the Vatican for a meeting chaired by the Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone. Participants gave “numerous” speeches and “made clear their appreciation at the completeness and transparency of the information they had been given,” while “recognition was expressed for the commitment to the ongoing improvement of the administration of the goods and resources of the Holy See.”

The Vatican Press Office reported that “a call was made for prudence and limiting costs, though while maintaining jobs.” “The result – the Council of cardinals informed – was affected by the negative trend of global financial markets, which made it impossible to achieve the goals laid down in the budget.”

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AUSTRALIA
The Armidale Express

JANENE CAREY

06 Jul, 2012

AMID calls for a Royal Commission into Catholic Church cover-ups of child sexual abuse cases, Armidale resident Peter Jurd, who featured in Monday night’s Four Corner’s expose, spoke to The Express about how the program has sparked hopes of finally seeing justice for his brother Damian and other victims.

Mr Jurd, a mature-aged student who moved to Armidale four years ago to study law at the University of New England, said he only found out for sure that he was living in the same town as his brother’s alleged abuser, Father F, when his family was contacted by the Four Corners investigation team.

“We had heard he might be here but we didn’t know,” Mr Jurd said. “It’s only in the last couple of months that I’ve been made aware he was definitely here in Armidale. But because Four Corners was investigating him, I didn’t want to interfere in that. It was hard at times – it would have been nice to go and confront him.”

Father F, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is a defrocked Catholic priest originally from the Armidale Diocese accused of sexually molesting a string of altar boys in Moree and Sydney during the 1980s, including 11-year-old Damian Jurd.

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AUSTRALIA
Newcastle Herald

BY BEN SMEE

06 Jul, 2012

AN Anglican church professional standards board has recommended a Hunter priest be defrocked for his involvement in a sexual encounter with a 19-year-old and another priest, and for breaching a long-repealed law that banned homosexuality in NSW.

The priest, who cannot be named, did not attend the hearings this week but said through a lawyer that he could not afford to retain legal counsel and denied the allegations.

The three-person board unanimously upheld four allegations relating to an alleged encounter at a church synod in 1984.

They included that the priest committed the offences ‘‘indecent assault’’ and ‘‘outrage on decency’’ in a motel room with the complainant, who was 19 at the time, and another priest.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
ABC News

By JOANN LOVIGLIO Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA July 5, 2012 (AP)

A Roman Catholic official convicted of child endangerment will remain behind bars until his sentencing later this month, a judge ruled Thursday, denying a defense request for house arrest.

Monsignor William Lynn has been in custody since a jury convicted him June 22 of the charge, which stemmed from his handling of sex abuse claims at the Philadelphia archdiocese.

Lynn, 61, is the first U.S. Catholic church official convicted in the cover-up of child sex-abuse complaints. He faces 3 1/2 to seven years in prison.

“After due consideration, the motion is denied,” Common Pleas Judge M. Teresa Sarmina, who presided over Lynn’s three-month jury trial, said at the brief hearing that was packed with the monsignor’s friends and family. She did approve a defense request to move up Lynn’s sentencing date from Aug. 13 to July 24. …

A national support group for sexual abuse victims praised the judge’s decision to keep Lynn in prison.

“Some may view this decision as harsh. We consider it just and smart,” said Barbara Blaine, president of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. “And we hope it will help end current cover-ups and deter future cover-ups by Catholic officials across the country.”

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Priest Abuse Trial Blog

Ralph Cipriano

Judge M. Teresa Sarmina denied a defense motion today that would have granted house arrest to Msgr. William J. Lynn.

The judge’s decision means that Lynn will continue to reside at Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility, known as CFCF, on State Road in Northeast Philadelphia. According to his attorney, Jeff Lindy, Lynn is in protective custody there, and leading a contemplative life.

Judge Sarmina did grant one defense request, to move up Lynn’s sentencing date from Aug. 13 to July 24, provided the monsignor was willing to waive a pre-sentence report. The theory was, after Lynn has been the object of grand jury scrutiny and a decade of investigation, there was nothing new out there to be dug up by an investigator that would affect his sentence. Lynn agreed to the request.

The 61-year-old monsignor is facing a sentence of three and a half to seven years after being convicted on one count of endangering the welfare of a child, a third-degree felony. Assistant District Attorney Patrick Blessington surprised nobody in the courtroom when he said he would be asking for the maximum sentence.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

By John P. Martin
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

Msgr. William J. Lynn lost a bid today to get out of jail before being sentenced for child endangerment but persuaded a judge to move his sentencing hearing up by three weeks.

After barely 10 minutes of discussion, Common Pleas Court Judge M. Teresa Sarmina sided with Philadelphia prosecutors who said Lynn, the first Catholic church supervisor convicted for enabling clergy sex-abuse, should stay in prison because he is a flight risk.

The former secretary for clergy for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia faces up to seven years in prison. Sarmina moved up his sentencing to July 24, from Aug. 13.

Lynn’s relatives and supporters packed the courtroom for the bail hearing, the second since Lynn was convicted and jailed on June 22. A few gasped when the judge announced her decision.

Lynn, sitting at the defense table in black priestly garb without a clerical collar, didn’t appear to react. One of his lawyers, Jeffrey Lindy, patted the monsignor’s back.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Wall Street Journal

By PETER LOFTUS

A Philadelphia judge denied a request that a Roman Catholic monsignor recently convicted of child endangerment be released from jail to house arrest while awaiting sentencing.

Judge M. Teresa Sarmina did, however, agree Thursday to a request by Msgr. William Lynn’s defense attorneys to move up his sentencing hearing to July 24 from Aug. 13. The 61-year-old faces 3½ years to seven years in prison.

Msgr. Lynn, who served as secretary for clergy in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia from 1992 to 2004, was jailed June 22 after a jury found him guilty of one count of child endangerment for allowing a priest to take a new assignment involving contact with children even after learning of allegations that he had engaged in inappropriate contact with at least one minor.

It was the first conviction of a U.S. Catholic official related to allegations of covering up sex-abuse complaints. His lawyers have said they are likely to appeal the conviction.

Defense attorneys had requested that Msgr. Lynn be released from jail to live with a relative until his sentencing date. Msgr. Lynn offered to waive his right to contest extradition, to alleviate concerns raised by Philadelphia prosecutors that he was at risk of fleeing to the Vatican while on house arrest.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by Barbara Blaine on July 05, 2012

Given the Catholic hierarchy’s ongoing protection of those who commit and conceal child sex crimes, we believe Judge Sarmina has made a prudent choice. If Msgr. Lynn is behind bars, there’s virtually no way that he can flee the country, destroy evidence, deceive victims, mislead parishioners or take other steps to further cover up wrongdoing.

Some may view this decision as harsh. We consider it just and smart. And we hope it will help end current cover ups and deter future cover ups by Catholic officials across the country.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
The New York Times

By JON HURDLE

Published: July 5, 2012

PHILADELPHIA — A former cardinal’s aide, found guilty last month of endangering children, must remain in jail until he is sentenced, instead of being released on house arrest.

On Thursday, Judge M. Teresa Sarmina ruled that Msgr. William J. Lynn, 61, of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, should not be given special treatment, essentially agreeing with prosecutors who said others convicted of a similar felony crime would not be allowed to remain at home pending a sentencing hearing, as his defense team had requested. He is the first senior official in the Romanc Catholic Church in the United States to be convicted of covering up sexual abuses by priests under his supervision.

Monsignor Lynn, who faces up to seven years in prison, is scheduled to be sentenced July 24, a date that was moved up by Judge Sarmina on Thursday from the previously scheduled date of Aug. 13.

On June 22, after a three-month trial, a jury conviced Monsignor Lynn of a single count of endangering children, but acquitted him of conspiracy and a second count of endangerment.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Reuters

By Dave Warner

PHILADELPHIA | Thu Jul 5, 2012

(Reuters) – Monsignor William Lynn, the first senior U.S. Roman Catholic Church official to be convicted of covering up child sex abuse, was sent back to prison on Thursday after a judge rejected his bid for house arrest.

Family members sobbed in the court gallery after Common Pleas Court Judge M. Teresa Sarmina denied Lynn’s request to be released to the home of a distant relative in Philadelphia.

The judge did, however, grant his request to move up his sentencing to July 24 from August 13. Lynn, 61, faces up to seven years in prison.

The former secretary of the clergy for the Philadelphia Archdiocese, who was in effect personnel manager for 800 priests, was convicted in June of child endangerment for covering up sex abuse allegations, often by transferring priests to unsuspecting parishes.

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VATICAN CITY
The Economist

FEW things annoy Vatican officials more than lurid novels that depict the papacy as the secretive heart of a global conspiracy. Pope Benedict XVI’s most senior official, his secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, this month accused journalists of trying to imitate the American writer, Dan Brown, author of the preposterous—and bestselling—“The Da Vinci Code”. But it was not reporters who put the papal butler, Paolo Gabriele, in a four-by-four-metre cell, accused of leaking a stream of confidential letters. Nor was it they who, the next day, fired the head of the Vatican Bank, Ettore Gotti Tedeschi, and published a blistering statement accusing him of failing to do his job. An Italian police investigation, in which documents were seized from Mr Gotti Tedeschi on June 5th, has stoked fears of more scandal. He has since been quoted as saying he fears for his life.

Behind the rows is an intense and vituperative power struggle to determine the nature of the next papacy. It is largely waged in and around the Vatican’s financial institutions. The Institute for the Works of Religion (IOR), to give the Vatican bank its formal title, is no stranger to controversy. In the 1980s it was accused of involvement in financial skulduggery and responsibility for the still-mysterious death of a prominent Italian banker, Roberto Calvi.

Now it is seeking to clear its name of involvement in money laundering. According to La Repubblica, a newspaper, a draft report of the Council of Europe gives the Vatican a clean bill of health on all but eight of 49 criteria. More than ten objections would expose the Vatican to the risk of being blacklisted by the Financial Action Task Force, a body that polices banks. (A Council of Europe meeting in Strasbourg on July 4th reviewed the report; the Vatican now has a month to respond.)

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VATICAN CITY
AGI (Italy)

(AGI) Vatican – The Vatican Bank gave 49 million euro to the Pope in 2011 for the apostolic ministry and charity. A press release from the Vatican press office announced: ‘The Institute for Works of Religion, as every year offered the Holy Father a substantial sum in support of his apostolic ministry and charity. This came to 49 million euro for the year 2011′. At the meeting of the Council of Cardinals for the Study of the Organisational and Economic Problems of the Holy See, commander Paolo Cipriani, director of the IWR presented the bank’s economic situation’. . .

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VATICAN CITY
Los Angeles Times

By Tiffany Hsu

July 5, 2012.
The effects of the euro zone debt crisis has reached into some of the holiest of halls, pushing the Vatican into one of its worst budget deficits in years.

The Holy See on Thursday reported a shortfall of 14.9 million euros, or $18.4 million.

“The result was affected by the negative trend of global financial markets, which made it impossible to achieve the goals laid down in the budget,” according to a statement from the Catholic Church’s governing body.

Administrators also blamed the gulf on the cost of paying the Vatican’s 2,832 employees and spreading the Catholic faith via its various communications outlets, which include a newspaper and radio and television channels.

In 2010, the Holy See enjoyed a surplus of nearly 9.9 million euros (about $12 million) after a string of deficits.

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VATICAN CITY
Reuters

ROME, July 5 | Thu Jul 5, 2012

(Reuters) – The Roman Catholic Church lost 14.9 million euros last year as “the negative trend of global financial markets did not allow targets to be met,” the Church said, but donations from the faithful around the world were up.

The donations, known as Peter’s Pence, rose 3 percent to 69.7 billion euros in 2011. Donations from dioceses to support the central structure of the Church also rose, gaining 17 percent to $32.1 million.

The Vatican has posted annual losses in four out of the five past years – all but 2010.

The Vatican bank, which has been in turmoil since May 24 when its president Ettore Gotti Tedeschi was dismissed by the board, handed 49 million euros over to the Vatican in 2011, the Church’s daily bulletin said.

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DAVENPORT (IA)
National Catholic Reporter

Jul. 05, 2012
By Barb Arland-Fye, Catholic News Service

DAVENPORT, Iowa — The Davenport Diocese’s bankruptcy case is closed nearly six years after its attorneys filed a Chapter 11 petition and four years after the diocese reached a $37 million settlement with creditors.

Bankruptcy Judge Lee Jackwig entered the final decree June 15 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Iowa, following a teleconference call between attorneys for the diocese and victims of clergy sexual abuse, who were the major creditors in the bankruptcy case. Jackwig noted that the diocese has met the requirements of the bankruptcy plan, but must continue to comply with ongoing nonmonetary terms as set forth in the plan.

Among the ongoing nonmonetary terms are posting on the diocesan website the names of all credibly accused perpetrators, providing outreach to survivors of clergy sexual abuse and publishing announcements about training for prevention of abuse.

“I am certainly pleased we are finally able to bring this to conclusion,” Davenport Bishop Martin J. Amos said. “The bankruptcy process provided the best opportunity for healing and for the just and fair compensation of those who have suffered sexual abuse by priests in our diocese. The settlement also provided the best way to continue the church’s mission in our diocese.

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OREGON
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by David Clohessy on July 05, 2012

An insurance company is insisting that an Oregon church

–disclose to its members the identity of sex offenders who attend,

–let those offenders attend only one predetermined service each week,

–assign them an escort while they’re at the church, and

–bar them from participating in any child or youth programs.

We applaud the company’s decision. We urge other companies to do likewise. And we urge other institutions – religious and secular – to do likewise.

Let’s start with the tragic fact that one in four girls and one in eight boys will be sexually abused in childhood. Given those devastating figures, it should be clear that the status quo is extraordinarily risky for kids.

(Imagine what adults would do if one in four cars were stolen or one in eight homes were burglarized.)

Obviously, something must be done. What better place to start than in churches? The rest of the week, parents must worry about teachers, babysitters, neighbors, relatives, coaches, tutors, day care employees and those giving music, chess, or ballet lessons. Shouldn’t parents have an hour or two on Sunday morning where they can be assured that their kids are safe?

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UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter

Jul. 05, 2012
By An NCR Editorial

When a reporter recently asked Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore what groups and individuals were funding the U.S. bishops’ religious liberty campaign — including their vaunted Fortnight for Freedom campaign, which many see as a thinly veiled campaign against President Barack Obama — he acted as if the question were a personal affront.

Lori, who heads up the bishops’ religious liberty effort, has gone to great lengths to argue that the campaign is not partisan, that it is not intended to bring down a president and that it is in service of far more high-minded ideals than election-year politicking.

All of that may be correct, but the question, not an affront, stands: Who’s paying for this extravaganza? …

The fact of the matter is that Supreme Knight Carl Anderson took up residence in one of the most extreme corners of the Republican Party, as a legislative aide to North Carolina Sen. Jesse Helms, during the 1970s and 1980s. He spent 1983-87 in various capacities in the Reagan White House. It is logical, then, to presume that conservative Republican views still inform his political outlook. It is a presumption with contemporary evidence. In a recent issue of the organization’s magazine, Columbia, Anderson showed a taste for rather imprudent hyperbole when he compared the situation in the United States today to the virulent and bloody anti-Catholic period of the Cristero War in Mexico. That the comparison is absurd is not the important point. That the U.S. bishops would align themselves so closely with such absurdity is the deeper concern.

The Knights, of course, can hire whomever the organization wishes. They can print in their magazine whatever they’d like. They can do with their money whatever they wish. They spend a great deal of it on charitable work, and they spread quite a bit of it around to aid bishops (Lori, who is the Knights’ supreme chaplain, one year received more than $250,000 while he was bishop of Bridgeport, Conn.) and millions have been sent to the Vatican.

The organization is not bashful at all about announcing such donations. The Knights should be as forthcoming about what kind of support they’re giving the bishops’ campaign. For in this case, they are well beyond the bounds of their membership and those whose insurance premiums fill the organization’s coffers. They are helping to make a public case.

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AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald

Leesha Mckenny, Bianca Hall
July 6, 2012

ONE of the most senior clergymen in the Australian Catholic Church says it was not the church’s responsibility to tell police about a priest who admitted to repeatedly sexually abusing five children as young as 10.

After returning from overseas this week, the general secretary of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, Father Brian Lucas, told the Herald yesterday admissions from a priest in a 1992 meeting with him and two other senior clergy did not include ”sufficient specific detail” to report him to secular authorities.

”The first responsibility to report crime is by the victim. Our responsibility is to get him out of ministry, which is what we did,” Father Lucas said. ”We did not have the detail that would be useful to the police.”

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

By John P. Martin
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

A judge today denied a bid by Msgr. William J. Lynn to be freed on house arrest until his sentencing on child endangerment charges.

Common Pleas Court judge M. Teresa Sarmina ordered the cleric to remain in jail but agreed to move his sentencing date up to July 24 from Aug. 13.

Lynn, a former ranking administrator for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, has been jailed since his June 22 conviction on child endangerment charges.

After a three-month trial, a jury found he endangered children when he left the then-Rev. Edward Avery in active ministry in the mid 1990s despite knowing the priest had previously abused a minor. Avery later sexually assaulted a 10-year-old altar boy at a Northeast Philadelphia church.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
NBC 10

The high-ranking official in the Philadelphia Archdiocese will remain behind bars while he awaits sentencing.

On Thursday morning a judge shot down Monsignor William Lynn’s request to release him to house arrest as he awaits sentencing on felony child endangerment.

A jury convicted Lynn of the felony last month. They also found him not guilty of two other charges.

Lynn faces three and half to seven years in prison when he’s sentenced. His attorneys asked a judge to release him from custody until his sentencing.

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

Dan Box
From:The Australian
July 06, 2012

TWO senior clerics at the centre of the latest sex scandal to engulf the Catholic Church have given conflicting accounts of a meeting 20 years ago where a priest admitted abusing young boys.

Brian Lucas, secretary-general of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, was one of three church officials who interviewed the priest in 1992, when he allegedly confessed to groping and performing oral sex on altar boys.

Yesterday, Father Lucas said the priest, known as Father F for legal reasons, “made no admissions of a specific nature”.

“He was very careful about not naming any names and, on that basis, we didn’t have anything we could take to police,” Father Lucas said.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Asbury Park Press

Written by
JOANN LOVIGLIO, Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA — A Philadelphia monsignor convicted of child endangerment for sending a priest suspected of abuse to a new parish will remain behind bars until he’s sentenced.

Judge M. Teresa Sarmina agreed Thursday with prosecutors who say Monsignor William Lynn should be treated like any other felon and remain jailed until his sentencing hearing.

Lynn’s attorneys say their client isn’t a flight risk and argued for his release on house arrest. But prosecutors say other defendants in Lynn’s situation wouldn’t be accommodated the same way.

Sarmina did approve a defense request to move sentencing up from Aug. 13 to July 24. Lynn faces 3½ to seven years in prison.

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VATICAN CITY
Bloomberg Businessweek

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican has registered one of its worst deficits in years, plunging back into the red with a €15 million ($19 million) deficit in 2011 after a brief respite of profit.

The Vatican on Thursday blamed the poor outcome on high personnel and communications costs and adverse market conditions.

Not even a €50 million gift to the pope from the Vatican bank and increased donations from dioceses and religious orders could offset the expenses and poor investment returns.

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UNITED STATES
Journal of the American Medical Association

Susan C. Kim, JD, MPH; Lawrence O. Gostin, JD; Thomas B. Cole, MD, MPH

The general public has been bewildered by the magnitude of sex abuse cases and the widespread failure by pillars of the community to notify appropriate authorities. The crime of sexually abusing children is punishable in all jurisdictions. However, what is the duty to report suspected cases by individuals in positions of trust over young people, such as in the church or university sports?

Since the mid-1980s, law enforcement has been investigating allegations of sexual crimes committed by Catholic priests against young boys and girls. These sexual abuse scandals and lawsuits have cost the Church an estimated $2 billion in settlements.1 A 2004 US Conference of Catholic Bishops report found that law enforcement was contacted in only 24% of cases of suspected abuse.2 In other cases, the church hierarchy responded internally or not at all: priests may have been counseled, evaluated, provided treatment, suspended, or limited in their priestly duties.2

In late 2011, prosecutors accused a retired assistant football coach at Penn State University of making inappropriate sexual advances or assaults on boys from 1994 to 2009. The coach allegedly interacted with these children through a charity, which he founded as a group foster home to help troubled boys.3 During this period, several junior employees at Penn State reported to their immediate supervisors that they had observed the coach engaged in sexual activities with children. However, these observations apparently were never reported to law enforcement authorities.

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VATICAN CITY
Independent Catholic News (United Kingdom)

The Council of Cardinals for the Study of the Organisational and Economic Problems of the Holy See met in the Vatican on Tuesday and Wednesday 3 and 4 July, under the presidency of Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone SDB. Cardinal Giuseppe Versaldi, president of the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See, presented the consolidated financial statements of the Holy See for 2011, then those of the Governorate of Vatican City State.

The consolidated financial statements of the Holy See for 2011 closed with a deficit of EUR 14,890,034. The most significant items of expenditure were those relative to personnel (who as of 31 December 2011 numbered 2,832) and to the communications media considered as a whole.

The result was affected by the negative trend of global financial markets, which made it impossible to achieve the goals laid down in the budget.

The administration of the Governorate is autonomous, and independent of contributions from the Holy See. Through its various offices, it supervises requirements related to the administration of the State. The consolidated financial statements for 2011 closed with a surplus of EUR 21,843,851. As of 31 December 2011, the Governorate employed a staff of 1,887. A particularly significant contribution to the result came from the Vatican Museums, which produced a revenue that passed from EUR 82,400,000 in 2010 to EUR 91,300.000, for a total of more than five million visitors. According to specialised rankings, these figures place the Vatican Museums among the most prestigious and important such institutions in the world.

Peter’s Pence – i.e., donations made by the faithful to support the Holy Father’s charity – rose from USD 67,704,416.41 in 2010 to USD 69,711,722.76. Contributions made pursuant to canon 1271 of the Code of Canon Law – ie, the economic support offered by ecclesiastical circumscriptions throughout the world to maintain the service the RomanCuria offers the universal Church – rose from USD 27,362,258.40 in 2010 to USD 32,128,675.91. Further contributions to the Holy See made by institutes of consecrated life, societies of apostolic life and foundations rose from USD 747,596.09 in 2010 to USD 1,194,217.78. Thus the overall increase with respect to 2010 was of 7.54 per cent.

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VATICAN CITY
Moneyval

The Council of Europe MONEYVAL Committee today adopted, during its 39th plenary meeting, the first evaluation report on the Holy See (including the Vatican City State).

All States evaluated by MONEYVAL have the opportunity to check the accuracy of the amended version of the report after it has been adopted, and to provide any comments for publication. The state should provide its response within one month of receipt of the amended report.

The Holy See report will now be finalised in line with plenary decisions and sent to the Vatican authorities. Once any comments are provided, MONEYVAL will publish the report as adopted today and any comments from the Holy See on its website.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Information Service

Vatican City, (VIS) – The Holy See Press Office yesterday released the following English-language communique:

“From 2 to 6 July, the plenary meeting of MONEYVAL (the Council of Europe’s department responsible for the evaluation of member States with respect to anti-money laundering systems) is taking place in Strasbourg. The Holy See is taking part in this meeting with a delegation led by Msgr. Ettore Balestrero, under secretary for Relations with States.

“The report relating to the Holy See and to Vatican City State was adopted today. According to usual MONEYVAL procedure, in the near future an amended version of the report, based upon today’s plenary session, will be forwarded to the Holy See for possible further comment to be submitted within one month. The report is expected to be published on the MONEYVAL website”.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Information Service

Vatican City, (VIS) – The Council of Cardinals for the Study of the Organisational and Economic Problems of the Holy See met in the Vatican on Tuesday 3 July and Wednesday 4 July, under the presidency of Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B.

Cardinal Giuseppe Versaldi, president of the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See, presented the consolidated financial statements of the Holy See for 2011, then those of the Governorate of Vatican City State.

The consolidated financial statements of the Holy See for 2011 closed with a deficit of EUR 14,890,034. The most significant items of expenditure were those relative to personnel (who as of 31 December 2011 numbered 2,832) and to the communications media considered as a whole. The result was affected by the negative trend of global financial markets, which made it impossible to achieve the goals laid down in the budget.

The administration of the Governorate is autonomous, and independent of contributions from the Holy See. Through its various offices, it supervises requirements related to the administration of the State. The consolidated financial statements for 2011 closed with a surplus of EUR 21,843,851. As of 31 December 2011, the Governorate employed a staff of 1,887. A particularly significant contribution to the result came from the Vatican Museums, which produced a revenue that passed from EUR 82,400,000 in 2010 to EUR 91,300.000, for a total of more than five million visitors. According to specialised rankings, these figures place the Vatican Museums among the most prestigious and important such institutions in the world.

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AUSTRALIA
Pannone Blog (United Kingdom)

The Roman Catholic Church is again embroiled in claims of a cover-up over its handling of child sexual assault allegations involving priests. This time in Australia. I have reported in the past abuse cases there, but recently our attention has focused on the Lynn case in the USA.

The ABC’s Four Corners program has revealed the church apparently failed to pass on abuse admissions by a priest to police.

Four Corners says it obtained documents showing a New South Wales priest, who is accused of abusing young boys, made clear admissions during a meeting with three senior priests, but they never referred the matter to police.

The programme also detailed several cases in which priests were merely moved on when the church was made aware of sexual abuse claims against them. This is a familiar practice identified in both the UK and US.

The argument is that the allegations should have been referred to police immediately, and the question is whether members of the clergy who failed to do so have broken the law?

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UNITED STATES
Pannone Blog (United Kingdom)

The conviction of US Roman Catholic Church official who covered up child sex abuse is a wake-up call.

Monsignor William Lynn who oversaw hundreds of priests in the Philadelphia Archdiocese was found guilty on Friday 22 June 2012 of one count of endangering the welfare of a child, making him the first senior US Roman Catholic Church official to be convicted for covering up child sex abuse.

What does the case mean for child abuse victims?

I think it put pays to the argument that the Catholic Church is not responsible for its priests.

Lynn’s job was to supervise priests, including investigating sex abuse claims. Instead of considering the risk to children, the prosecution said, he chose to protect the Catholic Church from scandal and potential loss of financial support.

The case against Lynn was that he covered up child sex abuse allegations, often by transferring priests to unsuspecting parishes.

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DAVENPORT (IA)
WHBF

Posted: Jul 05, 2012

By: Samantha Sass, ssass@cbs4qc.com

The Diocese of Davenport could release the names of two non-clergy members suspected of sexually abusing minors.

The abuse happened decades ago.

They are a former football coach and a former janitor.

Their names are expected to be added to an online list of perpetrators on Friday, July 6th along with 31 former priests.

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CHILE
Cooperativa

Jorge Cantellano, uno de los denunciantes de Cristian Precht, aseguró que la Iglesia no se preocupó mayormente de él cuando acusó abuso sexual por parte del ex vicario de la Solidaridad, sino que estaban más atentos a que no siguiera comentando lo ocurrido.

Cantellano relató a Ciper que cuando tenía 19 años -en 1979- el sacerdote Precht le mostró sus genitales y le pidió que lo tocara, situación a la que se negó.

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CHILE
La Tercera

por Hernán Corral – 04/07/2012

EL ARZOBISPO de Santiago ha enviado a la Santa Sede la investigación realizada en contra de Cristián Precht por supuestos abusos cometidos en el ejercicio de su ministerio sacerdotal. La noticia conmovió a católicos y no católicos por la trayectoria pública del denunciado y su defensa de los derechos humanos como primer vicario de la Vicaría de la Solidaridad. Quizás ahora los sectores que se consideran “progresistas” comprendan las reacciones de incredulidad, defensa de inocencia y, más tarde, dolorosa resignación que experimentaron los simpatizantes del movimiento de la iglesia de El Bosque, al denunciarse y confirmarse los delitos cometidos por Fernando Karadima.

No se trata de jugar al “empate” entre sectores liberales y conservadores en el seno de la Iglesia. Pero sí de escudriñar los “signos de los tiempos” para intentar comprendernos mejor unos a otros. Los atentados a menores de edad o la manipulación de la dirección espiritual, denunciados en el caso Precht y condenados en el caso Karadima, traicionan la misión de pastores de los fieles que la Iglesia les confió. No pueden, sin embargo, cancelar lo bueno que han realizado a lo largo de su vida sacerdotal, cada uno en el camino por el que se sintió llamado. Así como los abusos de Karadima no anulan el bien que hizo a través de su parroquia, las vocaciones sacerdotales suscitadas y los cientos de laicos que mejoraron en su vida cristiana, las denuncias en contra de Precht, incluso si fueren comprobadas, no podrían suprimir el enorme servicio prestado a la causa de los derechos humanos ni las numerosas misiones de toda una vida entregada a la diócesis.

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CHILE
El Mostrador

Supuesta víctima de abusos sexuales de Precht hace público su testimono contra ex vicario de la Solidaridad

Jorge Cantellano tenía 19 años cuando vivió el episodio que terminó con su vocación sacerdotal y en el cual, asegura, no hubo violencia no forcejeos, sino que sólo explicaciones de que se trataba de “cariños paternales”. Su caso es uno de los 20 considerados verosímiles por la Iglesia, que puso los antecedentes en manos de la Congregación para la Doctrina de la Fe, misma instancia que declaró a Fernando Karadima culpable de abusos sexuales contra menores.

por El Mostrador

Entre los 20 testimonios de los supuestos abusos sexuales que habría cometido el ex vicario de la Solidaridad, Cristián Precht, se cuenta el de Jorge Cantellano, quien relató que en 1979, cuando tenía 19 años y estaba en la búsqueda de su vocación sacerdotal, el religioso se presentó frente a él exhibiéndole sus genitales y pidiéndole que se los tocara.

“Allí se terminó mi búsqueda de vocación sacerdotal”, dijo Cantellano en una carta dada a conocer por Ciper Chile, y en la cual relata que los hechos ocurrieron una noche que debió quedarse a alojar en la residencia de Precht en San Miguel.

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SAN FRANCISCO
The Daily Journal

By Bill Silverfarb
Daily Journal staff

A 37-year-old San Francisco man currently in jail for alleged lewd conduct with a minor has been suspended from the San Mateo church where he works as a volunteer clergyman, the Daily Journal has learned.

Brandon Hamm also faces new charges by South San Francisco police, filed Monday, for being involved in an ongoing inappropriate sexual relationship with a minor.

He is due back in court Monday for an arraignment.

Hamm has volunteered at the Peninsula Metropolitan Community Church in San Mateo and has even given sermons at MCC affiliates in the Philippines as late as last year.

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SAN FRANCISCO (CA)
The Bay Area Reporter

by Seth Hemmelgarn
s.hemmelgarn@ebar.com

South San Francisco police have arrested a gay Peninsula volunteer pastor on multiple charges stemming from what authorities call “an ongoing inappropriate sexual relationship with a minor” that took place from 2009 to 2012.

Brandon Lee Hamm, 37, of San Francisco, was initially arrested June 22 on charges related to child pornography and other allegations.

On Tuesday, June 26, South San Francisco Police Department detectives contacted Hamm at the San Mateo County main jail, where he’s currently being held on $400,000 bail, and arrested him on additional charges. A department news release issued Monday, July 2 says the case involves “solicitation practices involving social media.”

Prior to his arrest Hamm had served as a volunteer pastor at Peninsula MCC church in San Mateo. The Metropolitan Community Churches-affiliated congregation primarily serves the LGBT community.

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AUSTRALIA
Moree Champion

05 Jul, 2012

The Catholic Church has reopened inquiries into what was claimed as a cover-up of investigations into allegations of sexual abuse.

Known as Father F, the former priest was accused of sexually abusing young boys in Moree in the early 1980s.

Now living as a prominent member of the community in Armidale, Father F was arrested in 1987 and brought to trial but the matter was dismissed by a magistrate because he judged the alleged victim Damian Jurd, then 15, as a witness whose credibility did not match that of the priest.

Father F was allowed to continue as a priest in Parramatta where he allegedly molested more alter boys.

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AUSTRALIA
Perth Now

AAP
July 05, 2012

Police have no excuse for not pursuing allegations of child sex abuse in the Catholic Church, a lawyer’s group says.

CLAIMS aired by the ABC’s Four Corners program on Monday about abuse by a former Armidale priest known only as “Father F” have sparked calls by lawyers for a police investigation and a Royal Commission.

However, NSW police say they can only investigate if victims come forward and make a statement.

“In order to investigate allegations of child sexual abuse, police require any victims to come forward,” they said in a statement issued on Wednesday.

But the Australian Lawyers Alliance says this is only “partially true”.

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AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald

Linton Besser and Joanne McCarthy
July 5, 2012

One of the state’s most senior Catholic education officials failed to report the sexual assault of four of his students at a southern Sydney school in the late 1970s, a confidential internal investigation has found.

Brother Anthony Peter Whelan, as principal of St Patricks at Sutherland, sacked Thomas Keady in 1979 after four students reported the lay teacher for “sexual misconduct”, but he failed to report the incident to the police.

Instead Keady, who had just completed a three-year jail term in Victoria for indecent assault of a minor before being employed at Sutherland, went on to perpetrate further crimes. He was convicted in Wyong in 1994 of indecent assault.

Brother Whelan, meanwhile, rose through the ranks of the Church, becoming a Commissioner for the Catholic Education Commission of NSW. He was the director of schools in the Broken Bay Diocese when he retired in March.

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IRELAND
The Southern Star

By EMER CONNOLLY AND FIONA FERGUSON Saturday July 7th, 2012

A FORMER priest who attempted to rape a young girl and sexually assaulted her brother in West Cork more than 30 years ago has been given an eight-year sentence.

John Calnan (73), of The Presbytery, 35 Paul Street, Cork, pleaded guilty to the attempted rape of the girl between January 1st, 1980 and April 30th, 1980 in West Cork. She was aged seven at the time.

Calnan also admitted three counts of sexually assaulting the girl between October 25th, 1976 and October 24th, 1979.

He further admitted one count of sexual assault on the girl’s brother between August 10th, 1975 and October 9th, 1979. The victim was aged between nine and 12 at the time.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

[with video]

Posted July 05, 2012

The Catholic Bishop of Armidale says an independent investigation will review claims of sexual abuse raised by the ABC’s Four Corners program, but how are people affected by the events reacting?

Transcript

LEIGH SALES, PRESENTER: A priest who allegedly abused children remains in the community with seemingly the full knowledge of senior figures in the Catholic Church.

The mother of one of the victims has spoken out about her complete loss of faith in the Church and 7.30’s tracked down one of the Catholic superiors implicated in the matter, but he has nothing to say about his failure to take information to the police.

Adam Harvey reports.

ADAM HARVEY, REPORTER: Armidale in the Northern Tablelands of NSW. The nights are cold this time of year, but it seems a quiet, safe place to live. Yet, in this wide back street lives a man whose presence here frightens some of his neighbours.

CAROL ELDER: Well I have an 11-year-old boy and he’s half a block from a local school and the children walk to and from school along here every day, and my boy, you know, he’s out in the backyard on his own. Is he looking at him? Is he watching him?

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IRELAND
The Irish Times

KATHY SHERIDAN

Triona O’Sullivan was just six when Fr Calnan tried to rape her and, with his jailing on Monday, she believes she finally got justice

WHEN JOHN Calnan was brought into the Central Criminal Court in Dublin on Monday, he still looked every inch the priest, despite the maroon jumper and denim jeans. With his sparse white hair, thick glasses, unsteady gait and conspicuous reliance on a cane, he looked older than his 73 years.

But he remained straight-backed and sternly impassive, as Mr Justice Paul Carney sentenced him to eight years for the attempted rape of a six-year-old girl more than 30 years ago.

That little girl, Triona O’Sullivan, now 39, was in court to hear the judge describe “the grooming process” that had begun when she was not yet four.

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VATICAN CITY
Reuters

(Reuters) – A European body that monitors money-laundering handed over a report to the Vatican on Wednesday which the Holy See hopes will help it shore up the reputation of its bank in the wake of an investigation by Italian magistrates.

Moneyval, the Council of Europe department that evaluates how effectively member states are fighting money-laundering, will give the Vatican one month to respond to the report before it is made public.

The Vatican has been trying to join a so-called “white list” of states that comply with Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development standards on financial transparency. The Moneyval report, based on consultations and meetings with inspectors, is expected to be a key step along the way.

The Vatican bank, formally known as the Institute for Works of Religion, has been in turmoil since May 24 when its president Ettore Gotti Tedeschi was dismissed by the board, which said he was an ineffective and divisive manager.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC – AM

[with audio]

Lindy Kerin reported this story on Thursday, July 5, 2012

TONY EASTLEY: The Archbishop of Armidale has announced an independent investigation will be held into sex abuse allegations against a Catholic priest.

The priest, known for legal reasons as Father F, allegedly abused a number of altar boys at the Moree and Parramatta parishes in the 1980s and 1990s.

Armidale Bishop Michael Kennedy says he’s deeply disturbed by the report.

The families of some of Father F’s alleged victims say the investigation is a case of too little, too late.

Lindy Kerin reports.

LINDY KERIN: Deeply disturbed and demanding answers. In a statement released last night, the Catholic Bishop of Armidale Michael Kennedy announced a full investigation into the case of Father F.

He said:

EXTRACT FROM STATEMENT FROM MICHAEL KENNEDY: Although these matters occurred many years ago, and well before my recent appointment as Bishop, I intend to arrange for a full investigation into certain matters raised in the reports. I am in the process of appointing an independent expert to review all available records and to report back to me.

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AUSTRALIA
Newcastle Herald

BY BEN SMEE

05 Jul, 2012

A HUNTER priest accused of sexual acts with a 19-year-old during a mid-1980s church synod failed to attend an Anglican Professional Standardsd Board hearing into the complaints yesterday.

The priest, who cannot be named for legal reasons, faces internal charges, including that he breached the Anglican Diocese of Newcastle’s professional standards ordinance and code of conduct.

Specific complaints include that he drank alcohol in a motel room with two teenagers, aged 17 and 19 at the time, at the church synod in the Riverina in 1984.

The 19-year-old made a formal statement to police alleging that he then engaged in simultaneous sex acts with two priests, including the accused priest, while a third priest watched.

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CANADA
24 Hours Vancouver

By Marlo Cameron, QMI Agency

OTTAWA — The Archdiocese of Ottawa has promised greater controls over the financial administration of parishes following criminal charges against a former local priest.

On Tuesday evening, police announced Joe LeClair, 55, has been charged with one count each of theft over $5,000, fraud over $5,000, breach of trust and laundering the proceeds of crime. The charges come after an investigation into the financial administration of Blessed Sacrament Parish. LeClair was formerly the parish priest at Blessed Sacrament Church.

“Given the many people that Fr. LeClair has assisted as well as the several parishes which he has pastored during his 25 years of ministry, today is a sad day for our local church in Ottawa,” Archbishop Terrence Prendergast, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Ottawa, said in a release. “Many people, in our Catholic community and beyond, will be hurt and disappointed by this news. The events concerning Fr. LeClair which have come to light over the past year have obliged us to review our expectations of priests, as well as our care of them.”

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VATICAN CITY
The Sacramento Bee

By NICOLE WINFIELD
Associated Press

Published: Wednesday, Jul. 4, 2012

VATICAN CITY — The Vatican got a report card Wednesday on its efforts to be more financially transparent – but it’s a secret for now.

A Council of Europe committee in Strasbourg adopted a report by independent inspectors examining the Holy See’s efforts to comply with international standards to fight money laundering and terror financing.

The evaluators’ preliminary report found areas where the Vatican was compliant and where it needed work. During the meeting Wednesday of the panel, known as the Moneyval committee, that report was amended by governments who are committee members, as often occurs.

But neither the Vatican nor the Council of Europe would disclose the outcome, saying Moneyval’s procedures forbid it.

The full report will be released in about a month’s time, after the Vatican makes its own observations about the findings.

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CANADA
The Guardian

Published on July 4, 2012
The Canadian Press

A popular Ottawa priest born and raised in Tignish, P.E.I. has been charged with a variety of offences involving missing funds at his Ontario parish.

An 11-month police investigation into missing money at Blessed Sacrament Church has resulted charges involving fraud, theft, money laundering and breach of trust charges against the parish’s former pastor, Rev. Joseph LeClair.

The Ottawa Citizen reports that the investigation found that more than $240,000 was allegedly misappropriated by LeClair through cheques issued by the priest on church accounts. Another $160,000 of parish funds is unaccounted for, said police.

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CANADA
CBC News

Posted: Jul 4, 2012

Shock and frustration is running through a Catholic parish in Ottawa after its former priest was charged with defrauding the church of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Joseph LeClair, 55, has been charged with one count each of fraud over $5,000 and theft over $5,000, as well as criminal breach of trust and laundering proceeds of crime.

LeClair, who originally hails from Prince Edward Island, is alleged to have misappropriated more than $240,000 in cheques from the parish between January 2006 and May 2011.

Police also allege $160,000 in cash revenues were unaccounted for, while about $20,000 in furniture and household items belonging to the parish were taken from the rectory when LeClair left.

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DAVENPORT (IA)
WCF Courier

Associated Press | Posted: Wednesday, July 4, 2012

The Diocese of Davenport likely will release the names of two non-clergy members suspected of sexually abusing minors decades ago, but will withhold the names of 18 priests whose accusers received financial settlements during its bankruptcy, its attorney says.

A Diocese review board that meets Friday is expected to add the names of a volunteer football coach and a former janitor at a long-closed school to its online list of perpetrators of abuse, attorney Rand Wonio said. But he said a recent ruling allows the diocese to keep secret the names of priests who were the subject of abuse allegations that a review board found to be not credible.

The developments come as the diocese emerges from bankruptcy protections that it sought during the sex abuse scandal that rocked the Catholic church. The diocese, which covers much of eastern Iowa, filed for bankruptcy in 2006, saying it did not have enough money to cover all the legal claims it faced for alleged abuse dating back to the 1940s.

The bankruptcy filing led to a $37 million settlement _ funded by the diocese and its insurer _ that compensated more than 160 victims and a reorganization in which the diocese took steps to investigate and prevent abuse and better protect minors. Its terms included the creation of a list of credible allegations of abuse on its website, which currently includes 31 former priests, their places of employment, dates and other details.

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UNITED KINGDOM
BBC News

The Archdeacon of Lewes has apologised for failings in legal checks which has led to more than 100 Anglican priests being stopped from working in Sussex.

Some retired or part-time clergy have been temporarily banned from officiating while Criminal Record Bureau (CRB) checks are updated.

The Venerable Philip Jones admitted there had been failings, but said no-one had been put at risk.

He apologised to the banned clergy and members of the public.

Archdeacon Jones said: “Our records were not up to date and there were some clergy, quite a number of clergy, who we did not in fact have a record of and therefore we had no knowledge of what their CRB status was.

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NIEDERLANDE
taz

von Falk Madeja

Martijn will nicht verboten worden

Der Pädophilen-Klub “Martijn”, der sich seit 1982 unermüdlich für das straffreie Missbrauchen von Kindern einsetzt, will gegen sein Verbot in Berufung gehen. Erst vor wenigen Tagen hatte ein Gericht in Assen das Verbot verfügt. Berufung wird in Leeuwarden stattfinden. Anwalt Bart Swier formuliert noch herum.

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DEUTSCHLAND
netzwerkB

netzwerkB 03.07.2012

Das Ende der wahren Geschichte!

von Norbert Denef

Scharbeutz – am 28. Juni 2012, gegen 17:55 Uhr klingelte es an meiner Tür und vor mir stand die Polizei und fragte nach, ob ich denn der HUNGERSTREIKER sei. Darüber wurde bereits berichtet unter: http://netzwerkb.org/2012/06/28/hungerstreik-unter-polizeischutz/

Wer mich denn da angezeigt hat, bei der Onlinewache Polizei Schleswig-Holstein, wollte ich wissen und wurde fündig:

Mitteilung an die Polizei gesendet am: 28.06.2012

Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren Polizeibeamte der Landespolizei Schleswig-Holstein,

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NIEDERLANDE
Niederlande Net

Assen. AF/ND/NRC/NU/RTL/VK. 03. Juli 2012.

Die niederländische Pädophilen-Vereinigung Martijn wurde vergangene Woche vom Zivilgericht in Assen verboten. Martijns positiver Standpunkt bezüglich sexueller Kontakte zwischen Erwachsenen und Kindern verstoße gegen die guten Sitten der niederländischen Gesellschaft hieß es in der Urteilsbegründung. Die Staatsanwaltschaft begrüßte die Entscheidung des Richters, ein ehemaliger Martijn-Vorstand hingegen sprach von einem „schwarzen Tag für die Meinungsfreiheit und für den Rechtstaat“.

„Martijn begeht zwar keine Straftaten, die Mitglieder der Vereinigung sind allerdings darauf ausgerichtet, Sex mit Kindern zu haben. Das widerspricht den Werten unserer Gesellschaft so stark, dass die Vereinigung verboten werden darf“, so das Gericht vergangenen Mittwoch in seinem Urteil. Damit wurde in den Niederlanden zum ersten Mal eine Vereinigung durch ein Zivilgericht aufgelöst.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Gegen Missbrauch e.V.

Mit dem Ziel, die Abschaffung der Verjährungsfristen für sexuellen Missbrauch zu erreichen, verweigert Norbert Denef, Sprecher des Verbandes von Missbrauchsopfern Netzwerk B, nun schon seit einigen Tagen jede Nahrung. Er befindet sich im Hungerstreik.

Denef fühle sich von der SPD verraten, heißt es in dem Artikel der “Zeit” vom 01.07.2012. So hätte diese sich doch die Abschaffung der strafrechtlichen sowie der zivilrechtlichen Verjährungsfrist zur Aufgabe gemacht.

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DEUTSCHLAND
MissBiT

Trier: Der langjährige ARD-Fernsehpfarrer und Kommunikationschef des Bistums Trier, Stephan Wahl, kehrt in die Seelsorge zurück. Wahl kündigte an, zum 1.August die Leitung der Diözese zu verlassen.

Er betonte, dass er seine Funktion “aus freien Stücken” abgebe. Nach einer längeren Auszeit werde er dann wieder als Seelsorger arbeiten und mehr Zeit für publizistische Projekte haben.

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CANADA
The Ottawa Citizen

By Meghan Hurley and Andrew Duffy, The Ottawa Citizen July 4, 2012

OTTAWA — An 11-month police investigation into financial irregularities at Blessed Sacrament Church has resulted in fraud, theft, money laundering and breach of trust charges against the parish’s former pastor, Rev. Joseph LeClair.

The Ottawa Police fraud investigation covered a period of five years – from January 2006 to May 2011 – and found that more than $240,000 was allegedly misappropriated by LeClair through cheques issued by the priest on church accounts.

Another $160,000 of parish funds were unaccounted for, the police said, while approximately $20,000 in furniture and household items belonging to the parish were allegedly taken from the rectory when the priest left to begin addictions treatment.

Fraud investigators were able to recover some of the items that belonged to the church.

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VATICAN CITY
adnkronos (Italy)

Vatican City, 3 July (AKI) – A commission of cardinals probing the damaging leaks to media of confidential Vatican documents is still quizzing witnesses and may deliver its report by end-July, the Vatican’s spokesman said Tuesday.

“The interrogations by the commission of cardinals are continuing…Cardinal [Julian] Herranz said in recent days that it has heard evidence from 28 people,” Federico Lombardi told journalists.

Herranz heads the commission investigating the leaks, which also comprises the cardinals Jozef Tomko and Salvatore de Giorgi.

Lombardi said that the commission would “probably” deliver its report on the so-called ‘Vatileaks’ scandal – one of the gravest security breaches in recent Vatican history – by the end of July.

The leaked documents are a severe embarrassment as they lay bare corruption, intrigue and venomous power struggles in the Vatican.

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