ABUSE TRACKER

TEXAS
The Washington Post

Convicted polygamist leader Warren Jeffs has prison phone privileges halted for improper calls

By Associated Press, Wednesday, January 4

HOUSTON — Texas prison officials have suspended indefinitely the phone privileges of convicted polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs while they investigate whether he violated rules with improper telephone calls on Christmas Day.

Officials believe the calls Jeffs made to two approved people on his phone list were broadcast on a speakerphone to his congregation, a violation of the prison phone rules.

At this point, he’s unable to make phone calls pending the outcome of the investigation,” Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesman Jason Clark said Wednesday.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Wednesday, January 04, 2012

By Rich Lord, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A federal grand jury has indicted a Churchill priest already charged in state court with possession of child pornography.

The Rev. Bartley A. Sorensen, 62, of St. John Fisher Church, now faces federal charges of receiving and accessing pictures of minors engaged in sex acts.

The indictment did not detail the accusations but sought the forfeiture of a computer, a camera and more than 100 CDs, DVDs, books and photo albums.

According to affidavits in state court, Rev. Sorensen had thousands of images of young boys, including some of boys posing naked or involved in sex acts.

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LOS ANGELES (CA)
NBC Southern California

By Olsen Ebright

Wednesday, Jan 4, 2012

Pope Benedict XVI has accepted the resignation of Gabino Zavala amid news the Los Angeles bishop fathered two children more than a decade ago.

“Bishop Gabino Zavala, auxiliary bishop for the San Gabriel Pastoral Region, informed me in early December that he is the father of two minor teenage children, who live with their mother in another state,” wrote LA Archbishop Jose H. Gomez.

“Bishop Zavala also told me that he submitted his resignation to the Holy Father in Rome, which was accepted. Since that time, he has not been in ministry and will be living privately,” said Gomez in a statement.

Gomez described the news as sad, and added that the Archdiocese will assist with the children’s college tuition.

City Councilman Jose Huizar, a Catholic, told City News Service was shocked by the news. Huizar said he knew Zavala from running into him at public events and described the former bishop as “very down to earth. You almost felt like he was a neighbor.”

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PITTSBURGH (PA)
WPXI

A Catholic priest has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges he possessed thousands of images of child pornography that county detectives said they found when searching his office and residence last month after a church employee reported seeing the cleric viewing an image of a naked boy on his office computer.

Rev. Bartley Sorensen, 62, has been suspended by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh, which is cooperating in the investigation. The Associated Press could not immediately locate a phone number for Sorensen.

Sorensen’s defense attorney did not immediately return a call for comment Wednesday on the two-count grand jury indictment charging the priest with receiving child pornography on his computer and possessing child pornography.

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UNITED STATES
San Antonio Express-News

Posted on 01/04/2012 by Abe Levy

Should the Catholic Church relax its celibacy requirement for its priests?

Those who say yes have more fodder for their argument in the case of a revered California bishop who admitted recently to fathering two children now teens.

Auxiliary Bishop Gabino Zavala tendered his resignation to Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez — formerly of San Antonio – who accepted it.

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CANADA
Global News

August 7, 2009 – Then Bishop Raymond Lahey issues a historic apology and $15 million settlement to victims of sexual abuse, committed by a priest in the Antigonish Diocese during the 50s and 60s.

September 15, 2009 – Bishop Raymond Lahey, returning from a trip to London, was arrested for possessing child pornography including 588 images, 33 videos and several graphic stories of boys engaging in sexual acts.

Border officials flagged Lahey to be searched after noticing stamps in his passport for Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand – all destinations for sexual predators and producers of child porn.

September 30, 2009 – The former Bishop for the Antigonish Diocese, in Nova Scotia, charged with importing and possessing child pornography. He turned himself the next day. Police released him on bail. He has stayed at the Diocesan Centre in Ottawa since that time.

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NEDERLAND
Breda Dichtbij

EXCLUSIEF – Bredanaar Gideon Uvyn heeft aangifte gedaan tegen kardinaal Ad Simonis. Aanleiding is de uitkomst van het eindrapport van de Deetman-commissie over seksueel misbruik binnen de kerk. Volgens Uvyn heeft Simonis meineed gepleegd tijdens een verhoor begin vorig jaar, bij een rechtszaak over seksueel misbruik door oud-pastoor Jan N.

Uvyn was betrokken bij de rechtszaak tegen de pastoor, omdat hij zelf is misbruikt door Jan N. De zaak werd aangespannen door een oud-klasgenoot, die ook seksueel werd misbruikt door de oud-pastoor. Via een getuigenverhoor van kardinaal Simonis en oud-bisschop Huub Ernst van bisdom Breda wilde het slachtoffer vaststellen of een eis tot smartengeld kans van slagen had.

Misbruik
Jan N. was in de jaren zeventig oud-directeur van een jeugdcentrum in Rijswijk. Daar vergreep hij zich aan meerdere jongens en kreeg daarom ontslag. Toen N. in 1984 solliciteerde naar de functie van pastoor in Terneuzen, is niet over het misbruikverleden gesproken, bijvoorbeeld met toenmalig bisschop Huub Ernst van het bisdom van Breda. In Terneuzen vergreep hij zich opnieuw aan meerdere jongens, waaronder Uvyn. Jan N. gaf toe, maar overleed kort daarna op 89-jarige leeftijd.

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NEDERLAND
BNR Juridische Zaken

Een man uit Breda heeft aangifte gedaan tegen kardinaal Ad Simonis wegens meineed. Volgens de man heeft Simonis gelogen dat hij niet wist van seksueel misbruik binnen de kerk.

De man zegt dat hij is misbruikt door de vorig jaar overleden salesiaanse pater Jan N. Op basis van de uitkomsten van het onderzoek door Wim Deetman naar het seksueel misbruik binnen de katholieke kerk stapte de man naar de politie. Hij gelooft dat Simonis tijdens getuigenverhoor bij de rechtbank in Middelburg niet naar waarheid heeft gesproken.

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NEDERLAND
De Telegraaf

BREDA – Een misbruikslachtoffer van de Rooms-Katholieke Kerk heeft aangifte gedaan tegen kardinaal Ad Simonis. De man uit Breda beschuldigt Simonis van meineed.

Dat meldt Dichtbij.nl. Aanleiding voor Bredanaar Gideon Uvyn om aangifte te doen is het eindrapport van de commissie Deetman over seksueel misbruik binnen de kerk. Daarin wordt geconcludeerd dat het kerkbestuur wel degelijk op de hoogte was van het misbruik.

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NEDERLAND
rtl

Een man uit Breda heeft op 21 december aangifte gedaan tegen kardinaal Ad Simonis wegens meineed. De man meent dat de kardinaal tijdens getuigenverhoor bij de rechtbank in Middelburg heeft gelogen toen hij zei dat hij niet wist over misbruik van kinderen door geestelijken.

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MISSOURI
Catholic League

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on the director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), David Clohessy, and its outreach director, Barbara Dorris:

Yesterday I said, “[David] Clohessy never tires of lecturing the Catholic Church on the need for transparency, yet when he is in the hot seat he rebels.” I was referring to his anger at being subpoenaed to testify in a St. Louis court on Monday regarding public statements he made that were allegedly taken from lawyer Rebecca Randles in violation of a court gag order. Now Clohessy is justifying a double standard.

“We believe that there are two standards of transparency,” Clohessy said. He maintained there is one standard for “institutions that have enabled thousands of pedophiles,” and another for “organizations that enable kids to be safer and expose heinous crimes.” In other words, there should be one standard of justice for the Catholic Church, and another for SNAP.

A defense lawyer seized the moment. He noted that Clohessy wants bishops to suspend accused priests “the minute they are sued for abuse.” Accordingly, he then asked, does this mean SNAP should close its doors immediately if it is sued for defamation or libel? Clohessy flatly said, “No.” Interestingly, Clohessy refused to answer many questions during his deposition, complaining that “Church defense lawyers will likely ask that we be found in contempt of court and possibly fined or possibly jailed.” Reporters described him as looking “shaken and teary-eyed.”

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CALIFORNIA
Orange County Weekly

By Gustavo Arellano
Wed., Jan. 4 2012

​The era of Cirilo Flores–just named coadjutor bishop of the Diocese of San Diego–is ending the same way it started: with people trying to remember who he was.

Flores joined the Diocese of Orange in 2009 as an auxiliary bishop, really just filling the token Mexi bishop seat for head pedo-protector Tod D. Brown (the same way Dominic Luong is there to make Vietnamese Catholics happy). He did nothing of note in his three years here (tomorrow is the anniversary of his appointment by Pope Benedict XVI)–no outspoken protector of undocumented immigrants like his predecessor, Jaime Soto, or a pedophile protector supreme like Brownie. No, his pedophile protecting ways was while he was a plain ol’ priest.

What’s a coadjutor bishop for non-Papists? Essentially the heir to the bishop’s seat. Flores will take over for current San Diego Bishop Robert Brom when he retires.

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MISSOURI
Pitch

Posted by Ben Palosaari on Tue, Jan 3, 2012

Catholic dioceses and priests accused by people alleging they were abused as children earned a legal victory Monday when the Missouri Supreme Court let stand a judge’s decision to force Survivors Network for those Abused by Priests (SNAP) to turn over documentation to defense lawyers in a civil case accusing a St. Joseph priest of abuse.

The Associated Press reports that attorneys for the Rev. Michael Tierney and the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph requested thousands of pages of records and e-mails from SNAP because they suspect the alleged victim’s lawyers leaked information to SNAP. On Monday the state Supreme Court chose not to intervene on SNAP’s behalf. But the group’s director, David Clohessy, told the AP that he will fight to keep the organization’s records private.

Tierney is facing five lawsuits from people alleging abuse. Jackson County Judge Ann Mesle ordered SNAP to hand over the documents, saying Clohessy “almost certainly has knowledge concerning issues relevant to this litigation.” SNAP is now required to hand over all records related to Tierney and his diocese, priests currently or formerly associated with the diocese, communication with the unnamed man who filed the suit, and anything related to repressed memory.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Philadelphia Inquirer

JOE MANDAK
The Associated Press

PITTSBURGH – A Pittsburgh-area Catholic priest has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges he possessed thousands of images of child pornography on his computer, discs, books and photo albums seized by county detectives last month.

The defense attorney for the Rev. Bartley Sorensen did not immediately return calls for comment Wednesday, when the indictment was unsealed.

Sorensen is expected to surrender and be arraigned by a federal magistrate in Pittsburgh on Friday.

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MASSACHUSETTS
The Patriot Ledger

By Lane Lambert
The Patriot Ledger

Posted Jan 04, 2012

[the letter]

BRAINTREE —

Ten years after the Archdiocese clergy sex abuse scandal became public, Cardinal Sean O’Malley says the church’s work to repair the damage from the crimes is far from over.

“There will never be a time to presume that the crisis is over or behind us,” the cardinal writes in a pastoral letter posted Wednesday. “As a church we must continue to express the depth of sorrow and contrition for how badly we failed those entrusted to our care.”

His letter and a related statement, “Ten Years Later – Reflections on the Sexual Abuse Crisis” come the same week that the Archdiocese, priest victims and their families will mark the 10th anniversary of the first reporting of sexual abuses in Jnauary 2002. Archdiocese records opened by a court ruling revealed that church leaders had known about predatory priests and covered up their actions for decades.

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UNITED STATES
National Catholic Register

by PHILIP MOORE
01/04/2012

TUCSON, Ariz. — For more than eight decades, the centuries-old Pamplona Crucifix was on the wall in the vestibule of St. Augustine Cathedral in Tucson, Ariz., a battered and neglected gift from a forgotten donor.

Now carefully restored, the 12th-century artifact of medieval Spanish Catholicism has a new place, over the high altar of the Diocese of Tucson’s remodeled and renovated cathedral.

At a cost of $75,000, the restoration of the crucifix was only a small item in the diocese’s $28 million “Our Faith, Our Hope, Our Future” campaign. However, as a symbol for a diocese recovering from scandal and bankruptcy, it has become something greater.

On Sept. 20, 2004, the Diocese of Tucson was the second in the nation to seek protection under Chapter 11 of the federal bankruptcy code. And it was the first to emerge, on Sept. 26, 2005, having settled with victims of clergy sexual abuse and their attorneys at a cost of $22.2 million.

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CALIFORNIA
Los Angeles Times

Cirilo Flores, auxiliary bishop of the Roman Catholic Church in Orange County, will become bishop in San Diego next year upon the retirement of Bishop Robert Brom, church officials announced Wednesday.

Flores, 63, who has been auxiliary bishop in the Diocese of Orange for three years, will become coadjutor bishop in San Diego immediately.

The decision to elevate Flores was made by Pope Benedict XVI. The announcement was made by the Vatican and the Diocese of San Diego, which spans Imperial and San Diego counties. The diocese is responsible for a Catholic population of 982,000, 99 parishes and 53 Catholic schools.

Flores was born in Corona and graduated from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles and Stanford Law School. He practiced law for a decade before entering St. John’s Seminary in Camarillo in 1986. He was ordained a priest in the diocese of Orange in 1991.

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BOSTON (MA)
Boston Globe

On 10th anniversary, Cardinal O’Malley recaps church response to sex abuse scandal; critics are unimpressed

By Brian MacQuarrie and Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

The Archdiocese of Boston has settled approximately 800 clergy sexual abuse claims, is providing care to about 300 abuse survivors at any given time, and has given anti-abuse training to nearly half a million children and adults, Cardinal Sean O’Malley said in a report issued today outlining the church’s response in the wake of the scandal that first broke 10 years ago this month.

But critics said they were unimpressed. “To this point, the church has failed miserably, miserably, miserably,” said Bernie McDaid, 55, of Peabody, who was abused in the late 1960s in Salem.

“Nothing has been done but whatever the court has made them do,” McDaid said.

O’Malley also said in his report that the church had strengthened its training standards for priests and made the candidate screening process “the strongest possible, with particular attention to any issues related to child safety.” The church conducts more than 60,000 criminal background checks a year on priests, teachers, volunteers, and other people working with children, according to the report, “Ten Years Later – Reflections on the Sexual Abuse Crisis in the Archdiocese of Boston.” …

Terence McKiernan, president of BishopAccountability.org, also assailed O’Malley’s statements. “I’m very underwhelmed,” McKiernan said, adding that the cardinal “basically recycles the usual claims that we’ve heard a lot already, that they’ve experienced a learning curve, that they really didn’t understand the situation.”

Although criminal background checks of clergy and increased educational awareness about abuse are positive developments, McKiernan said, ‘it shows not so much that the church wants to do the right things here, but that they’ve been forced to do the right thing.”

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CANADA
Injury Board Blog Network

Posted by John McKiggan
January 04, 2012

Raymond Lahey, the former Bishop of Antigonish, found out today that he is a free man after pleading guilty last May to possession of child pornography.

Lahey surprised the court last year by abruptly withdrawing his not guilty plea and pleading guilty. What was a bigger surprise was that Lahey told the court he wanted to go to jail immediately pending his sentencing hearing.

I speculated at the time that Lahey’s guilty plea was less a sign of contrition and more likely a legal tactic to gain advantage during his sentencing. Courts in Canada have typically granted a two for one credit for time served while awaiting sentencing.

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CANADA
Toronto Star

The Canadian Press

OTTAWA—A disgraced Roman Catholic bishop who got busted with hundreds of pornographic photos of young boys has been sentenced to 15 months in jail and two years probation.

But because Ontario Court Justice Kent Kirkland gave Raymond Lahey double credit for the eight months he has served since last spring, the cleric has essentially finished his jail sentence and will be released on probation.

Kirkland also imposed a series of stringent probation rules.

Among other things, Lahey will have to submit a DNA sample and register as a sex offender. He will also have to allow searches of his personal and office computers when required by the authorities.

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CANADA
London Free Press

By TONY SPEARS, QMI Agency

Last Updated: January 4, 2012

OTTAWA – A former bishop caught with child porn at the Ottawa airport in 2009 will be freed after a judge sentenced him Wednesday to time served.

Raymond Lahey, 71, got 15 months in jail and two years of probation. He has already spent eight months in jail, but received two-for-one credit for the time served.

Lahey pleaded guilty in May to importing child pornography. Border agents had discovered child porn on Lahey’s laptop when he re-entered the country on Sept. 15, 2009.

Among 155,000 gay porn files, cops found 588 photos and about 60 videos of child pornography. They also found stories about child slavery, sex and torture.

“Not only is a child victimized … But the violation of the child rises like a phoenix every time that child is viewed,” Judge Kent Kirkland said.

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CANADA
CBC News

Raymond Lahey, the disgraced Roman Catholic bishop who admitted he was addicted to looking at child pornography, will be released from prison after being sentenced to time served.

He was sentenced Wednesday to 15 months in prison and two years probation but will receive a two-for-one credit for time served. Lahey pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography for the purposes of importation to Canada.

Lahey, 71, a Newfoundlander and former head of the Diocese of Antigonish in Nova Scotia, was caught in 2009 at Ottawa’s airport after authorities checked his personal computer and found a large cache of child pornography.

Terms of Lahey’s probation include:

Being subject to a computer search at any time at work or home.
Advising his probation officer if he leaves Canada for more than 48 hours.
Forfeiting electronic devices seized at the airport when he was arrested.

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CANADA
CTV

[with video]

By: CTVNews.ca Staff

Date: Wednesday Jan. 4, 2012

Disgraced Roman Catholic Bishop Raymond Lahey was sentenced to 15 months in prison Wednesday for importing child pornography, but was released on probation within hours.

After receiving his sentence and providing a DNA sample for the national sex offender registry, Lahey left court Wednesday afternoon, escorted into a car by one of his lawyers. Lahey made no comment to reporters.

Before he left, Lahey’s lawyer, Michael Edelson, said his client’s career with the Church was over and that Lahey would return to layman life. As for what Lahey plans to do next, Edelson wouldn’t say.

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CANADA
AFP

By Michel Comte (AFP)

OTTAWA — A former Catholic bishop in Canada was sentenced Wednesday to 15 months in prison for importing child pornography — including some laced with religious imagery — but will be freed after already serving time in jail.

Raymond Lahey, 71, resigned as head of the Nova Scotia diocese of Antigonish in 2009 after a search at the Ottawa airport of his laptop computer uncovered a cache of child pornography.

He pleaded guilty in May 2011 to charges of possessing for the purpose of importing child pornography. The more than 600 photographs and videos found by police included scenes of bondage and boys in sex acts wearing a crucifix and rosary beads.

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CANADA
Montreal Gazette

By Andrew Seymour, Postmedia News
January 4, 2012
OTTAWA — A Catholic bishop with an addiction to Internet pornography won’t spend another day in jail for possessing child pornography that included naked young boys wearing rosary beads and crucifixes.

Ontario Court Justice Kent Kirkland sentenced Raymond Lahey to 15 months in jail Wednesday, time that he will be credited with already having served.

Lahey, 71, pleaded guilty in May to possession of child pornography for the purpose of importation.

The sentencing prompted an outburst from one man in the court.

“You’re not a pedophile, you’re a demon, you f–king idiot,” the man yelled at Lahey.

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CANADA
USA Today

By Douglas Stanglin, USA TODAY

A disgraced Canadian Roman Catholic bishop arrested at Ottawa airport in possession of an extensive child porn collection has been sentenced to time served in jail, plus two years probation, and must register as a sex offender, the Canadian Press reports. The official sentence was for 15 months.

A judge in Ontario also ruled that 71-year-old Raymond Lahey, who has been in jail for 8 months, will also be required to allow his personal and office computers to be searched.

Lahey voluntarily went to jail after pleading guilty last year to one count of importing child pornography.

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CANADA
ctvottawa.ca

Disgraced former Catholic bishop Raymond Lahey who was caught with hundreds of pornographic photos of young boys will be released from jail Wednesday after receiving credit for time already served.

Lahey was sentenced to 15 months in jail and 24 months of probation. But since Ontario Court Justice Kent Kirkland gave Lahey double credit for the time he has served since last spring, the cleric has already completed his sentence.

The former bishop pleaded guilty last May to one count of importing child pornography to Canada after being nabbed at the Ottawa airport with hundreds of sexual images of young boys. He voluntarily went to jail.

At today’s hearing, a man named Roger Touchette yelled an obscenity at Lahey and claimed that he had sexually assaulted him when he was 11-years-old.

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CANADA
The Washington Post

By Associated Press, Updated: Wednesday, January 4

TORONTO — A Canadian Roman Catholic bishop who admitted he was addicted to looking at child pornography has been sentenced to 15 months in jail, but he should be released Wednesday with credit for time served.

Bishop Raymond Lahey was arrested at the Ottawa airport in 2009 after customs authorities found almost 600 pornographic photos of young teen boys on his laptop and a handheld device.

Some of the porn involved adolescent boys engaged in sex acts while wearing a crucifix and rosary beads.

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BRASIL
Correio da Manha

Um padre foi preso em Brasília, capital do Brasil, acusado de abusar sexualmente de pelo menos seis crianças. Ao ser detido, em casa, Evangelista Moisés de Figueiredo, 49 anos, estava com uma mulher, que se encontrava nua.

Por:Domingos G. Serrinha, Correspondente Brasil

Segundo as autoridades, as vítimas são cinco irmãos, quatro meninas e um menino, e uma outra menina, com idades entre os cinco e os 14 anos e residentes na zona rural do Jardim Botânico, uma região pobre de Brasília.

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BRASIL
Gazeta do Povo

A Polícia Civil do Distrito Federal prendeu nesta sexta-feira (30) o padre Evangelista Moisés Figueiredo, acusado de estupro e atentado violento ao pudor contra seis crianças, sendo cinco irmãos. O padre trabalhava havia 10 anos na Igreja São Francisco de Assis, na cidade-satélite de São Sebastião e frequentava a casa dos pais das crianças. De acordo com os menores – cinco meninas e um menino -, os abusos eram cometidos havia um ano.

No momento da prisão, Figueiredo estava na cama com uma mulher nua – a secretária da Igreja São Camilo, onde o padre também trabalhou durante 9 anos. Na casa foi encontrada uma cartucheira calibre 36. O padre negou a acusação de estupro e do atentado violento ao pudor. Afirmou que a arma era de outra pessoa, mas não explicou as razões de ela estar na sua casa. Ele também será acusado por porte ilegal de armas.

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CALIFORNIA
New York Daily News

By Nancy Dillon / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Wednesday, January 4 2012

A prominent Catholic bishop in Los Angeles has resigned after confessing he broke his vow of celibacy — and is the father of two teens.

Auxiliary Bishop Gabino Zavala, 60, was granted early resignation Wednesday under a church law that allows bishops to step down before the normal retirement age of 75 due to sickness or other serious reasons.

“I’m shocked. I can’t believe it,” Arcelia Encinas, a relative by marriage who watched Zavala grow up, told the Daily News.

“He’s a really playful, nice person,” the 68-year-old woman from Chino, Calif., said. “He was mischievous as a young boy, but he grew up in the Catholic Church and was very dedicated.”

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LOS ANGELES (CA)
KTLA News

10:07 a.m. PST, January 4, 2012
LOS ANGELES (KTLA) — An assistant bishop with the archdiocese of Los Angeles has stepped down from his position in the Catholic Church after admitting he fathered two children.

Pope Benedict has accepted the resignation of 60-year-old Gabino Zavala, who was an auxiliary bishop for the San Gabriel region, the Vatican confirmed Wednesday.

Church law allows bishops to apply for early retirement before the age of 75 for medical reasons, or if they are otherwise unfit to carry out their jobs.

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CALIFORNIA
Ventura County Star

A Los Angeles bishop who was once rector of St. John’s seminary in Camarillo has resigned after admitting he fathered two teenage children.

Bishop Gabino Zavala, 60, resigned today under canon law that allows bishops to retire earlier than the standard age of 75 if they are sick or considered unfit for office. Roman Catholic priests take a vow of celibacy when they are ordained.

Zavala was named rector at St. John’s in 1992. He also attended the college, which prepares priests for the Catholic church.

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CALIFORNIA
EnerPub

by Martin Barillas

Roman Catholic Auxiliary Bishop Gabino Zavala of Los Angeles, California, has resigned after disclosing that he is the father of two children. In a terse statement, the Vatican announced on January 4 the resignation while citing canon law on resignation for illness or other serious reasons. Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles said in a statement that this is “sad and difficult” news for Catholics.

According to the statement, Bishop Zavala informed him in early December 2011 that he was the father of two minor teenage children who live with their mother elsewhere in the U.S. Bishop Zavala had submitted his resignation to Pope Benedict XVI and has not been in ministry since then. He will now be living privately. Archbishop Gomez gave Catholic reassurances, declaring “The archdiocese has reached out to the mother and children to provide spiritual care as well as funding to assist the children with college costs. The family’s identity is not known to the public, and I wish to respect their right to privacy.” He asked for prayers for all involved.

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CALIFORNIA
My Fox New York

By NEWSCORE

SAN GABRIEL, Calif. – A Los Angeles bishop has resigned after revealing he is the father of two teenage children, The Vatican announced Wednesday.

Gabino Zavala, the auxiliary bishop for the San Gabriel pastoral region, informed his superiors in December that he had fathered two children, who are living out-of-state with their mother, according to the Catholic News Service .

Catholic law demands a strict vow of celibacy for all priests.

Zavala, 60, reportedly relayed his long-held secret to Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez before submitting his resignation to Pope Benedict XVI.

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LOS ANGELES (CA)
Los Angeles Times

A Los Angeles bishop stepped down from his duties with the Catholic church on Wednesday after acknowledging he fathered two children.

Auxiliary Bishop Gabino Zavala, 60, told the archdiocese in December that he was the father of two teenagers who live out of the state with their mother, the Associated Press reported.

Zavala submitted his resignation with the Vatican shortly thereafter. Under Catholic doctrine, priests must take a vow of celibacy.

Zavala filed his resignation under the code of canon law that allows bishops to apply for retirement before the age of 75 for medical purposes or for reasons making them unsuitable for their jobs, according to the AP.

Zavala grew up in L.A. and, after being ordained in 1977, was assigned to Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in East Los Angeles, according to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. He was named rector of St. John’s Seminary in 1992, and two years later, Cardinal Roger Mahony ordained him auxiliary bishop for the San Gabriel region.

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CALIFORNIA
NPR

by Bill Chappell

A Catholic bishop in California has resigned his post after revealing in December that he has two children.

“The Vatican announced the bishop’s resignation Jan. 4 in a one-line statement that cited church law on resignation for illness or other serious reasons,” reports the Catholic News Service from Vatican City.

Pope Benedict reportedly accepted the resignation of Gabino Zavala, an auxiliary bishop for the San Gabriel Pastoral Region, in December.

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VATICAN CITY
New Zealand Herald

Pope Benedict XVI has accepted the resignation of the Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles, Gabino Zavala, after he confessed to having fathered two children.

“The Holy Father has accepted the resignation from the post of Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles Gabino Zavala,” the Vatican said in a statement on Wednesday, without spelling out why he quit.

The pontiff has demanded action be taken in the case of priests who are homosexual or married, calling on those concerned to hand in their resignations if they cannot abide by their vow of chastity.

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BOSTON (MA)
Archdiocese of Boston

January 4, 2012

Ten years ago, in the early days of 2002, a problem with a history far deeper than any of us had imagined, that had been wreaking havoc along its course, exploded in the Church. We never can and never will forget our shock and revulsion a t the revelations that for decades, children had been subjected to sexual abuse, devastating their lives and those of their families and loved ones. The magnitude of these horrendous crimes was made even greater by the abuse having been perpetrated by Catholic priests, who shattered the bond of trust placed in them by the people they had promised to serve.

As a Church we must continue to express the depth of our sorrow and contrition for how badly we failed those entrusted to our care. I reflect on this in my prayer every day. As leaders in the Church we must accept our responsibility for those failings and clearly acknowledge that Church leadership could have and should have responded more quickly and more forcefully. We cannot change the tragic implications of past failures, but we must, we can and we will do everything in our power to ensure that these crimes, these sins, never occur in the community of the Church again.

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BOSTON (MA)
Archdiocese of Boston

January 4, 2012

The life of the Church in the Archdiocese of Boston (and throughout the world) was forever changed by the revelations of clergy sexual abuse that dominated the news in January of 2002. Since that time much has happened in the Church and in society concerning recognition of the sexual abuse of minors, confronting these crimes and instituting protections to prevent these tragic violations of innocence from ever happening again. At this time, with a spirit of contrition and humility, with a commitment to vigilance and with gratitude for all who have given their time and effort to ensure that such abuse never again occur in the Church, we offer our reflections on the journey of the past decade.

I. The Survivors

The survivors of clergy sexual abuse, with their families and loved ones, must always be the central focus of all dimensions ofour ongoing response to the crisis. Their courage in coming forward and sharing the accounts of their abuse has been of immeasurable help to so many who tragically shared that terrible experience. The survivors’ strength in proclaiming the truth allowed others to acknowledge their own pain and take steps to begin healing.

It is indisputable that the survivors of clergy sexual abuse have suffered greatly. As an Archdiocese, as a Church, we can never cease to make clear the depth of our sorrow and to beg forgiveness from those who were so grievously harmed. We also must acknowledge and express our gratitude for all that survivors and their loved ones have done, and continue to do, to help make the Church, and all of society, safer for children. We are humbled as many survivors have offered forgiveness to the Church and encouraged others to re-establish their relationship with the God who offers all of us the gifts of love and healing.

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VATICAN CITY
Huffington Post

VATICAN CITY — The pope has accepted the early resignation of a Los Angeles bishop who recently acknowledged being the father of two teenagers.

Los Angeles Auxiliary Bishop Gabino Zavala, 60, resigned Wednesday under the code of canon law that lets bishops step down earlier than the normal retirement age of 75 if they’re sick or for some other reason that makes them unfit for office.

In a letter to the faithful, Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez said Zavala had told him in December that he had two children who lived with their mother in a different state. Zavala subsequently submitted his resignation to the pope.

The archdiocese has offered spiritual and financial aid to help the children with college costs, Gomez said in the letter posted on the blog of the Catholic News Service of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Vatican Insider

Marco Tosatti
Rome

The Archbishop of Philadelphia, Charles J. Chaput, has decided to sell the sixteen-room stone building, which was the residence of the Cardinal of the Catholic Church in that city for 76 years, and move to a much more modest house. The decision, which will be published soon, is connected to the expectation that in coming years it will soon be necessary to close schools and parishes in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

A source which is well-informed on the subject said that Chaput, who has taken possession of the archdiocese in September, does not want faithful to suffer hardship due to the closure of schools and parishes while he lives in a “stately” residence. The sale of the building could reinforce the trend in Catholic dioceses to sell the lavish archbishop residences and move to less luxurious homes.

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SPRINGFIELD (MA)
WWLP

Updated: Wednesday, 04 Jan 2012

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – The Diocese of Springfield will head to court Wednesday, to make their case to remove protestors holding vigil at the Mater Dolorosa Church in Holyoke.

The protesters have been holding vigil inside the closed church building since the Diocese closed the parish and merged it with Holy Cross back in June to form Our Lady of the Cross Parish. Protestors appealed their case to the Vatican, which upheld the Diocese’s action.

Wednesday’s court appearance is Bishop Timothy McDonnell’s second attempt to have the protestors removed. In October, a judge rejected an injunction request from the Springfield Diocese that would have evicted the protesters.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Russell Jones and Walker

4 January 2012

Maga v The Trustees of the Birmingham Archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church
2010 [EWCA] Civ 256

Unfortunately, in recent years, those cases involving vicarious liability which have reached the higher courts have had a sinister aspect to them. The oft cited examples of employees throwing snowballs or taking part in pranks, which ultimately injure one of their colleagues, have been replaced by shootings, significant fraud and, most recently, child abuse.

In Lister v Hesley Hall Limited [2002] 1 AC 215, a warden sexually assaulted those in his care at a school boarding house. The House of Lords (Lord Steyne giving the lead judgement) held the school vicariously liable for the warden’s actions. The foundation on which the decision was based was the “relative closeness of the connection between the nature of the employment and the particular tort”. In relation to the specific facts, Lord Millet stated that the employee “did not merely take advantage of the opportunity which his employment gave him, but he abused the special position”. Without the job title and the role that went with it the warden would not have had the opportunity to abuse the children.

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VATICAN CITY
BBC News

A Catholic bishop who fathered two children has stepped down.

Pope Benedict has accepted the resignation of Gabino Zavala, an auxilliary bishop of Los Angeles, the Vatican said.

The Archbishop of Los Angeles, Jose Gomez, wrote in a letter to worshippers that Bishop Zavala told him in December that he was the father of two minor teenage children.

The children live with their mother in another state.

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NEDERLAND
ND

Een misbruikslachtoffer van de rooms-katholieke kerk heeft aangifte gedaan tegen kardinaal Ad Simonis. De Bredanaar beschuldigt Simonis van meineed. Volgens hem heeft de kardinaal begin vorig jaar gelogen bij een verhoor in een rechtszaak over seksueel misbruik door de inmiddels overleden pater Jan N.

De man, die bij de rechtszaak betrokken was omdat hij naar eigen zeggen zelf is misbruikt door N., is naar de politie gestapt naar aanleiding van het rapport van de commissie-Deetman. Dat zegt hij in een interview met dichtbij.nl. Uit het vorige maand gepubliceerde rapport van Deetman bleek onder meer dat het misbruik bekend was binnen de ordes en bisdommen.

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NEDERLAND
Spits

Naar nu bekend is geworden heeft een man uit Breda op 21 december aangifte gedaan tegen kardinaal Ad Simonis wegens meineed. Gideon Uvyn meent dat de kardinaal tijdens getuigenverhoor bij de rechtbank in Middelburg heeft gelogen toen hij zei dat hij niet wist over misbruik van kinderen door geestelijken.

De man zegt dat hij is misbruikt door de vorig jaar overleden salesiaanse pater Jan Nelissen. Op basis van de uitkomsten van het onderzoek door Wim Deetman naar het seksueel misbruik binnen de katholieke kerk stapte de man naar de politie.

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VATICAN CITY
Reuters

By Philip Pullella

VATICAN CITY Jan 4 (Reuters) – An assistant bishop of the Roman Catholic archdiocese of Los Angeles in the United States has resigned because he had a secret family, including two teenage children.

The Vatican said on Wednesday that Pope Benedict had accepted the resignation of Gabino Zavala, an auxiliary bishop of the diocese which has been plagued by sexual scandals.

A brief Vatican announcement did not give the reason for Zavala’s resignation, saying only that the pope had accepted it under the norm in canon (Church law) that says a bishop who is ill or otherwise unfit to carry out his duties should resign.

But Zavala’s direct superior, Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez, has prepared a letter for the faithful in the archdiocese explaining the circumstances of the departure of Zavala, who was assistant bishop for the San Gabriel region of California.

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VATICAN CITY
dotCommonweal

January 4, 2012, 9:28 am

Posted by Grant Gallicho

Official word came this morning at the bottom of the Vatican Information Service bulletin, under “Other Pontifical Acts”: “Accepted the resignation from the office of auxiliary of Los Angeles, U.S.A., presented by Bishop Gabino Zavala, in accordance with canons 411 and 401 para. 2 of the Code of Canon Law.” Canon 401, para. 2 holds that ”a diocesan bishop who, because of illness or some other grave reason, has become unsuited for the fulfillment of his office, is earnestly requested to offer his resignation,” and canon 411 applies that law to auxiliary bishops.

CNS has the story:

Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez announced the “sad and difficult” news in a letter to Catholics in the archdiocese. He said Bishop Zavala, who was auxiliary bishop for the San Gabriel Pastoral Region, had informed him in early December that he was the father of two minor teenage children who live with their mother in another state.

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NETHERLANDS
Dutch News

Wednesday 04 January 2012

A man who claims to have been sexually abused as a child by a Catholic priest has made a formal complaint against cardinal Ad Simonis for perjury, Trouw reports on Wednesday afternoon.

The man accuses the cardinal of lying when he told a court hearing in Middelburg he did not know that children were being abused by church officials.

‘I am convinced that Simonis knew about the abuse of children but did not say anything during the hearing. He also knew about the abuse at the time it was taking place,’ the man told local news website Breda Dichtbij.

A recent church commission into the sexual abuse scandal concluded that church officials, bishops and lay people were aware of what was going on but failed to take action to protect children.

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IRELAND
UTV

A hearing to determine whether a court case will proceed against a Roman Catholic priest accused of sex offences has been adjourned.

Father Eugene Boland, from Moville in Co Donegal worked as a priest in Counties Londonderry and Tyrone.

He is accused of four indecent assault charges which date back almost 20 years.

Fr Boland stood aside from clerical duties as St Mary’s in Killyclogher, Co Tyrone in August 2010 when a police investigation into child safety and welfare began.

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CANADA
Halifax News Net

I know it was the law when he was arrested and charged, but it’s too bad disgraced bishop Raymond Lahey qualifies for a 2 for 1 credit when he’s sentenced today on child porn charges. Lahey’s been in jail since May when he pleaded guilty after hundreds of images of young boys in sexual situations were found on his laptop during a customs search after his return from overseas. 588 photos and 63 videos were presented as evidence by the Crown, some showing young boys engaged in sex acts while wearing a crucifix or rosary beads. And this guy was a freakin’ bishop!! Sick. But it is possible Lahey could walk away a free man today becasue of the 2 for 1 deal which gives him two months credit for every month served in jail. The Harper government axed the provision, however, because it was in effect when Lahey first has his run in with the law, he gets the deal. Again, too bad.

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CANADA
Global News

OTTAWA – Disgraced Roman Catholic Bishop Raymond Lahey will learn Wednesday how long he will spend behind bars.

The former bishop of Nova Scotia’s Antigonish Diocese pleaded guilty in May to importing child pornography. His sentencing is set to come down after 10 a.m. ET at the Elgin St. Courthouse in Ottawa.

Lahey was arrested in September 2009 after border officials at Ottawa International Airport discovered illicit materials on his laptop, including pornographic stories and close to 588 images and 63 videos of young boys and adolescents – some engaged in explicit sex acts.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Information Service

VATICAN CITY, 4 JAN 2012 (VIS) – The Holy Father:

– Appointed Bishop Cirilo Flores, auxiliary of Orange in California, U.S.A., as coadjutor bishop of San Diego (area 22,942, population 3,118,990, Catholics 981,211, priests 319, permanent deacons 114, religious 384), U.S.A.

– Accepted the resignation from the office of auxiliary of Los Angeles, U.S.A., presented by Bishop Gabino Zavala, in accordance with canons 411 and 401 para. 2 of the Code of Canon Law.

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VATICAN CITY
Montreal Gazette

Agence France-Presse January 4, 2012

VATICAN CITY – Pope Benedict XVI accepted the resignation of the Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles in the United States, Gabino Zavala, on Wednesday, after he confessed to having fathered two children.

“The Holy Father has accepted the resignation from the post of Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles Gabino Zavala,” the Vatican said in a statement, without spelling out why he quit.

The pontiff has demanded action be taken in the case of priests who are homosexual or married, calling on those concerned to hand in their resignations if they cannot abide by their vow of chastity.

“Bishop Zavala informed me in early December that he is the father of two teenage children who live with their mother in another state,” L.A. Bishop Jose Gomez said in a separate statement announcing the “sad and difficult” news.

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VATICAN CITY
Catholic News Service

By John Thavis
Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Los Angeles Auxiliary Bishop Gabino Zavala has resigned after disclosing to superiors that he was the father of two children.

The Vatican announced the bishop’s resignation Jan. 4 in a one-line statement that cited church law on resignation for illness or other serious reasons. …

Here is the text of Archbishop Gomez’ letter, dated Jan. 4:

Dear Brothers and Sisters:

I have some sad and difficult information to share with you. Bishop Gabino Zavala, auxiliary bishop for the San Gabriel Pastoral Region, informed me in early December that he is the father of two minor teenage children, who live with their mother in another state.

Bishop Zavala also told me that he submitted his resignation to the Holy Father in Rome, which was accepted. Since that time, he has not been in ministry and will be living privately.

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VATICAN CITY
ABC News

VATICAN CITY January 4, 2012 (AP)

The pope has accepted the early resignation of a Los Angeles bishop who recently acknowledged being the father of two teenagers.

Los Angeles Auxiliary Bishop Gabino Zavala, 60, resigned Wednesday under the code of canon law that lets bishops step down earlier than the normal retirment age of 75 if they’re sick or for some other reason that makes them unfit for office.

In a letter to the faithful, Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez said Zavala had told him in December that he had two children who lived with their mother in a different state. Zavala subsequently submitted his resignation to the pope.

The archdiocese has offered spiritual and financial aid to help the children with college costs, Gomez said in the letter posted on the blog of the Catholic News Service of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

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NEDERLAND
De Pers

Een man uit Breda heeft op 21 december aangifte gedaan tegen kardinaal Ad Simonis wegens meineed. De man meent dat de kardinaal tijdens getuigenverhoor bij de rechtbank in Middelburg heeft gelogen toen hij zei dat hij niet wist over misbruik van kinderen door geestelijken.

•Deetman: 800 daders

De man zegt dat hij is misbruikt door de vorig jaar overleden salesiaanse pater Jan N. Op basis van de uitkomsten van het onderzoek door Wim Deetman naar het seksueel misbruik binnen de katholieke kerk stapte de man naar de politie. ,,Ik ben ervan overtuigd dat Simonis het misbruik van kinderen wel heeft geweten maar tijdens de rechtszitting niet heeft verklaard. Hij heeft het ook geweten in de tijd dat het misbruik zich afspeelde’’, zegt de aangever woensdag op de internetpagina Breda Dichtbij.

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NEDERLAND
Het Kontakt

PUTTEN – De regionale rooms-katholieke St. Lucasparochie, waartoe ook Putten behoort, zit met twee vacatures. Zowel pastoor Albert Rubrech uit Putten als pastoor Bert Sturkenboom zijn van zijn taken ontheven en uit hun functie geschorst. Dit heeft secretaris-generaal van het aartsbisdom Utrecht, de heer mr. Hans Zuijdwijk bevestigd.

Door Jeanne Dijkstra

,,Hoe wij verder gaan, hangt af hoe het verder gaat met de beide heren. Tegen pastoor Rubrech is inmiddels ook een getuigenverhoor geweest en we kunnen niets anders doen dan de zaak nu afwachten. Op dit moment wordt waargenomen in de parochie door vicaris Hans Pauw. Dit is tijdelijk omdat de vicaris-generaal Herman Woorts wanneer hij terugkomt van een vakantie in het buitenland deze taken zal gaan overnemen.”

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BOSTON (MA)
RKnieuws (Nederland)

BOSTON (RKnieuws.net) – Tien jaar na de onthulling van seksueel misbruik van minderjarigen door Amerikaanse priesters in de streek van Boston, stelt kardinaal Sean O’Malley (foto), de huidige aartsbisschop van Boston, dat de Kerk uiteindelijk versterkt uit deze beproeving is gekomen.

Volgens de aartsbisschop is het bisdom erin geslaagd het vertrouwen te herstellen. Dat was niet makkelijk omdat de voorgangers van kardinaal Sean O’ Malley meerdere misbruikaffaires in de doofpot hadden gestoken.

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BELGIUM
Vatican Insider

The major sexual abuse scandal that struck part of the national clergy has led the primate to a public confession and commitment to the community

Giacomo Galeazzi
Vatican City

“I ask your forgiveness.” In the space between a “painful” 2011 and the opening of a 2012 of “purification,” the Catholic primate of Belgium and Archbishop of Brussels, André-Joseph Lèonard, extended a “mea culpa” for sexual abuse by members of the clergy. On behalf of a national church badly affected by the pedophile priest scandal, Monsignor Lèonard took responsibility for the sins of priests and religious “infidels,” while the church hierarchy in Belgium goes through a particularly difficult time as well, due to internal challenges by “dissidents.” The “mea culpa” extended by Lèonard – a bishop who is very Ratzingerian in his sensibilities – comes at a time when the Belgian church hierarchy is particularly under pressure.

After the 2010 evisceration of the tomb of the prestigious Cardinal Leon-Joseph Suenens by the Belgian police in search of secret papers (a dramatic breakthrough of secular culture into Catholicism), the sorties went on constantly until the most recent in September, when, at the Court of Ghent, around seventy victims of pedophile priests publicly denounced the Belgian Conference of Bishops and the Vatican for doing nothing to prevent the alleged crimes that took place in the diocese of Bruges.

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MISSOURI
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by Barbara Dorris on January 03, 2012

This is an unprecedented bullying effort to silence and invade the privacy of victims and their allies and protect predator priests and their corrupt supervisors. It’s an expensive, cumbersome fishing expedition that tramples on the constitutionally-guarantees of freedom of speech, association and privacy and cripples our ability to counsel and console deeply wounded men, women and teenagers who turn to us for help.

Thousands of individuals – police, prosecutors, journalists, witnesses, whistleblowers and concerned Catholics – who’ve never met or even heard of Fr. Tierney or his accuser will have their private communications publicly disclosed.

Bishop Finn is Fr. Tierney’s boss. Tierney has sworn obedience to Finn. Finn can order Tierney to stop this. But he won’t.

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IRELAND
Highland Radio

Posted: 4/Jan 12:36

A County Donegal priest has been granted a two week adjournment of a hearing at which he is to face a number of Indecent assault charges.

Fr Eugene Boland, whose address is listed as the Parochial House, Killyclogher county Tyrone faces four charges of indecent assault on a female.

Fr Boland, originally from Moville, has previously worked as administrator in Galliagh parish in Derry and also served in the Creggan and Waterside parishes in the city.

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SAN DIEGO (CA)
10 News

[with video]

SAN DIEGO — A Catholic priest who ministers at a Southcrest church is facing a sexual assault charge and is accused of forcing himself on a 20-year-old woman at his home, authorities reported Tuesday.

Jose Davila – who is also known as Father Alexis – is an associate pastor at St. Jude’s Shrine of the West on Boston Avenue. He turned himself in to San Diego police on Sunday, two days after the alleged crime, SDPD Lt. Anastasia Smith said.

“Mr. Davila voluntarily turned himself in to the sex crimes detectives,” said Smith.
He is accused of assaulting the woman – whom he has known for several months – while she was visiting his residence Friday morning, according to Smith.

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SAN DIEGO (CA)
NBC San Diego

By Sarah Grieco

Tuesday, Jan 3, 2012

A 53-year-old priest was arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a young woman in his own home.

Jose Davila, a priest at St. Jude’s Church in Southcrest, was visited at home by the 20-year-old victim whom he had known for several months, according to police. While alone with Davila in his home, the victim was allegedly sexually assaulted.

She returned home and reported the assault to her family and police.

Sex Crimes Unit detectives interviewed the victim and Davila, who was compliant with the investigation. He voluntarily turned himself in on Sunday.

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SAN DIEGO (CA)
Los Angeles Times

A Catholic priest has been arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting a 20-year-old woman, the San Diego Police Department said Tuesday.

The Rev. Jose Davila, 53, associate pastor at St. Jude Shrine of the West church, was booked into county jail Sunday after detectives interviewed him and the woman.

The victim was visiting Davila at his home Friday morning when the alleged assault occurred, police said. She later reported the incident to her family and the family called police.

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IRELAND
Irish Independent

By Majella O’Sullivan

Wednesday January 04 2012

DIOCESES around the country face another crisis as they struggle to pay for nursing home care for retired priests.

Most dioceses have a fund in place to help to meet the cost of elderly care. But as the number of seminarians dwindles and an increasing number of priests reach retirement age, there are fewer ‘working’ priests to contribute to these funds.

An Irish Independent survey of 20 of the 26 dioceses countrywide has revealed that 450 priests have reached the age of retirement of 75, though some of these remain in active ministry.

Of the priests who have reached retirement age, 79 are no longer living independently and require full-time nursing home care.

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SAN DIEGO (CA)
KFMB

Video Report By Richard Allyn, Reporter

SAN DIEGO (CNS/CBS 8) –

SAN DIEGO (CNS) – A Catholic priest who ministers at a Southcrest church is facing a sexual assault charge for allegedly forcing himself on a 20-year- old woman at his home, authorities reported today.

Jose Davila, 53, an associate pastor at St. Jude’s Shrine of the West on Boston Avenue, turned himself in to San Diego police on Sunday, two days after the alleged crime, SDPD Lt. Anastasia Smith said.

He is accused of assaulting the woman, whom he has known for several months, while she was visiting his residence Friday morning, according to Smith.

The alleged victim went home and told her family about the alleged assault, then called the police to file a report.

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MISSOURI
Catholic News Agency

By Michelle Bauman

St. Louis, Mo., Jan 4, 2012 / 06:07 am (CNA).- A group claiming to advocate for clergy sex abuse victims says it will not comply with a court order asking it to turn over documents, amid concerns that it had received information in violation of a judge’s gag order.

The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, known as SNAP, has said that it will refuse to submit to a judge’s request for information involving allegations of sexual abuse against a Missouri priest.

SNAP director David Clohessy told CNA on Jan. 3 that his organization should be held to a “different standard” of transparency than Church leaders and dioceses, which he described as “organizations that enable and conceal thousands of pedophiles to rape tens of thousands of kids.”

The order was issued by Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Ann Mesle in an abuse lawsuit brought against Father Michael Tierney and the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph in Sept. 2010.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
The Philly Catholic Post

January 3, 2012 By Susan Matthews

Philadelphia’s Saint John Neumann is credited with establishing the first diocesan school system in the country back the mid 1800s. His feast day is this Thursday, Jan. 5. One day later, Philadelphia Catholic education will certainly need his intercession.

Archbishop Chaput has the unpleasant task of announcing what is expected to be massive school closings across the Archdiocese. The press conference is scheduled for 4 p.m., Friday, Jan. 6 at Archdiocesan headquarters at 222 North 17th Street. Principals and pastors will be given the news in a private meeting at Neumann University earlier in the day. There are sure to be leaks in between. According to sources, the Archdiocese will debut a Web site dedicated to dealing with the issue.

The decision to close schools will be a devastating blow to the morale of Philadelphia Catholics still reeling from the clergy sex abuse cover up revealed in last February’s grand jury report and the related ongoing trials and investigations.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Catholics4Change

January 4, 2012 by Susan Matthews

The Philly Catholic Post has been created for readers and comment givers who wanted to tackle broader issues. The site will serve as an independent news source and forum for all things Philadelphia and Catholic. Please visit and share your thoughts.

Catholics4Change.com will remain committed to protecting children and offering solidarity to victims of clergy sex abuse.

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UTAH
The Salt Lake Tribune

Lindsay Whitehurst

Also today, the Attorney General’s Office got a three packages of Warren Jeffs’ revelations, backlogged from the holidays.

Click here to read the first one they got, dated Oct. 9, 2011 and received Dec. 27.

After that revelation, the AG’s office got two copies of the same 149-page book of revelations, one on Dec. 28 and one today. I haven’t seen that one yet, but spokesman Paul Murphy says about 20 of the approximately 60 revelations are repeats. The most recent is dated Dec. 12. I’m planning to take a look at it tomorrow, and I may be able to post some of the revelations.

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BOSTON (MA)
TheMediaReport

Dave Pierre

Let the gloating begin.

It will soon be ten years to the day that the Boston Globe initiated its widely heralded, full-throttle coverage of the Boston-area clergy scandals, and the paper wants everyone to know about it.

Starting on January 6, 2002, the paper launched its astonishing string of 947 items on the Catholic Church abuse scandal for the 2002 calendar year. (Yes, that’s an average of over two-and-a-half items per day. Don’t believe it? Count for yourself.)

Today (Tue., 1/3/12), the Globe has trumpeted a front-page, 1,200-word feature interview with the Boston archbishop, Cardinal Sean O’Malley.

Indeed, the article/interview does not contain any new or revelatory information. The archbishop continues to meet with alleged victims of clergy abuse, and he acknowledges the irreparable harm that the atrocious abuse by Catholic priests wreaked on innocent minors.

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NEW JERSEY
TheMediaReport

Dave Pierre

Six years after the ridiculous accusation that he “touched [a] child in a public setting,” Father James Selvaraj is still fighting to clear his name.

Fr. Selvaraj told Erin Duffy of The Times (Trenton, New Jersey) (Tue.,1/3/12) that he is still publicly stigmatized as an accused molester.

Because searches of him on Google return articles about his accusation, “I’m branded as if I’m a pedophile,” the priest says. “[M]y life has been ruined.”

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MISSOURI
TheMediaReport

Dave Pierre

After nearly six hours of direct questioning at a deposition on Monday (1/2/12), David Clohessy, the national president of SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests), says that could end up behind bars.

Clohessy is refusing a lawful order from a judge to turn over documents and correspondences related to the case of an accused Missouri cleric.

In addition to the fact that Clohessy may face jail time, Clohessy’s actions appear to have the entire SNAP organization reeling in panic.

A public appearance today (Tue., 1/3/12) by Clohessy prompted a St. Louis radio station to report:

“The usually confident, sometimes strident, David Clohessy appeared shaken and teary-eyed by what he says is the worst legal problem the group has faced in 23 years.”

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ST. LOUIS (MO)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

ST. LOUIS > Advocate for victims of clergy abuse says he refused to answer lawyer’s questions — The director of an advocacy group for victims of clergy abuse said he refused to answer questions or turn over documents in a deposition Monday in a Kansas City clergy abuse case. David Clohessy, the St. Louis-based director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said in a statement that attorneys for the Rev. Michael Tierney had requested “hundreds or thousands of pages of SNAP records involving victims and others across the country going back some 23 years.” Clohessy’s lawyer had asked the Missouri Supreme Court to quash the deposition subpoena in order to avoid disclosing confidential information from victims of clergy sexual abuse, members of the organization and journalists. Attorneys who work with abuse victims had said compelling such testimony would betray the trust of abuse victims and introduce a chilling effect for those who have yet to come forward. Tierney’s attorneys could not be reached Tuesday evening.

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MISSOURI
Catholic Sensibility

Our weekend getaway to Kansas City is complete. A rush of nitrogen and oxygen buffeted our mid-size car on I-35 on the way north this afternoon. Otherwise, it was a good beginning to a year which, hopefully, will be an improvement on what was a mostly crummy 2011.

Years, I think, are successful or crummy to the extent we are able to engage their obstacles and emerge unscathed, if not smiling. I count up a good pile of obstacles: financial slippage on the rental house in Kansas City and my wife’s continuing worries about “losing everything,” a brother sent off to eternal life (my young nephew in contrast, lost a dad, a grandpa, a great-grandfather in 2011), a mostly ridiculous MR3 translation. On that last point, I noticed my old KC parish had a significant number of worshipers using the old words. Who knows why: ticked off at the bishop; upset about prioritizing deck chairs above the safety of children? Anybody’s guess.

Speaking of my old parish, my friends reported on an Advent penance service there designed to help people work past anger at Bishop Finn and mismanagement of predators and child safety. I have to say I’m less angry and more worried. My wife reported our daughter sang at Mass for the first time in months and even recited the new Creed.

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CANADA
CFRA

Josh Pringle
Wednesday, January 4, 2012

A disgraced Roman Catholic Bishop will be sentenced today in an Ottawa courtroom for importing child pornography.

Raymond Lahey volunteered to go to jail to begin serving his sentence when he pleaded guilty in May to one count of importing child pornography.

Lahey was arrested at the Ottawa International Airport in September 2009, and Ottawa Police say they found hundreds of pornographic photos of young boys on his laptop and a handheld device.

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CANADA
The Ottawa Citizen

By Chris Cobb And Dan Neutel, Ottawa Citizen
January 4, 2012

Disgraced Catholic Bishop Raymond Lahey will be the first test of new church rules dealing with clerics involved with child pornography.

It is possible that Lahey, who is expected to be sentenced today after pleading guilty to possessing violent child pornography, will be defrocked by the Catholic Church.

“It is extremely rare for a bishop to be removed from the clerical state because typically bishops haven’t committed these types of crimes,” said Chad Glendinning, a canon law professor at Ottawa’s Saint Paul University. “But he has admitted his guilt so it makes it a little easier for the Holy See. They need not hold a full hearing to determine his guilt so could send the matter directly to the Pope and he could make the decision to dismiss him. But this isn’t automatic. It’s a possibility but not an inevitability.”

In May 2010, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith approved new rules to deal with clerics who use child pornography and made it a crime under canon law to possess child pornography. The Lahey case is the first to be dealt with under those new rules, so the Catholic Church will enter new ground in when it decides his fate.

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CANADA
VOCM

71-year-old Roman Catholic Bishop Raymond Lahey will be sentenced today in an Ottawa courtroom on a charge of importing child pornography. Lahey, the former head of the diocese in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, is originally from this province. He apologized for his actions during a sentencing hearing last month, and voluntarily went to jail last spring.

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BOSTON (MA)
National Catholic Register

Rebuilding From the Ruins: Cardinal O’Malley on the 2002 Boston Sex-Abuse Scandal, Part 2 of 2

[part 1]

by JOAN FRAWLEY DESMOND
01/03/2012

A decade ago, the Boston clergy sexual abuse crisis engulfed the archdiocese, ultimately drawing global attention to a once-hidden scourge that has destroyed the innocence of minors, shattered families, severely damaged the credibility of Church leaders everywhere and led to an estimated $1 billion in settlements to American survivors.

Cardinal Seán Patrick O’Malley was named archbishop of Boston in 2003. He replaced Cardinal Bernard Law, who resigned after the 2002 publication of archdiocesan personnel files revealed that clergy with credible allegations of child sexual abuse were reassigned to new parishes, rather than removed from ministry, and that parishioners were not warned about their history.

In the second part of his two-part interview with Register senior editor Joan Frawley Desmond, Cardinal O’Malley discusses why the Vatican has chosen him to address clergy sexual abuse in four separate scandals, his approach to financial settlements for victims, and the admission of candidates with same-sex attraction to the seminary.

You were chosen to address a succession of clergy sexual abuse scandals — Fall River, Mass., West Palm Beach, Fla., Boston, and then Ireland. Aren’t there other bishops available and trustworthy for this kind of mission?

Well, the Church needed to find someone who had credibility and was capable of dealing with [the issue], as I had already dealt with it in Fall River.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Daily Mail

By Rebecca Seales

A paedophile monk who forced a schoolboy to take part in sex acts and paid him 50p each time has been jailed for five years.

Richard White, 66, was finally jailed yesterday after evading justice for more than two decades – because monastic authorities and the parents of one of his two victims hushed the matter up.

White, a Benedictine monk, abused pupils while a geography teacher at Downside, one of England’s leading Roman Catholic schools.

Taunton Crown Court heard that he was warned about his behaviour after molesting one 12-year-old boy, but instead of contacting the police the Benedictine abbot of the monastery attached to the school simply stopped him from teaching younger students.

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CANADA
CBC News

A Roman Catholic bishop who admitted he was addicted to looking at child pornography is set to learn his sentence Wednesday in an Ottawa courtroom.

Raymond Lahey, 71, a Newfoundlander who had been the head of the Nova Scotia diocese of Antigonish, was caught in 2009 at Ottawa’s airport after authorities checked his personal computer and found a large cache of child pornography.

Lahey pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography for the purposes of importation to Canada.

The Crown’s case involved 588 photos and 63 videos, with the Crown pointing out that some involved adolescent boys engaged in sex acts while wearing a crucifix and rosary beads.

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CALIFORNIA
Long Beach Press-Telegram

By Greg Mellen, Staff Writer
Posted: 01/03/2012

LONG BEACH – An overflow crowd gathered Tuesday in Naples to celebrate and pay honor to Cardinal William Levada, who in December was recognized at the Vatican on the 50th anniversary of his ordination into the priesthood.

Levada, who heads up the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, an administrative branch in the Vatican, is the highest-ranking American member in the Roman Catholic Church. He occupies the same position held by Pope Benedict XVI before his elevation.

On Tuesday, alumni from St. Anthony High, Levada’s alma mater, and church leaders and other dignitaries gathered at Michael’s on Naples to fete him. …

Levada has led the church’s recent efforts to deal with the continuing fallout from sexual abuse.

San Francisco Archbishop George Niederauer, a classmate of Levada and his successor in San Francisco, said the cardinal’s firsthand experience dealing with sex abuse cases beginning in the 1980s gives him keen insight in this post at the Vatican.

Levada handled several high-profile cases when the depth and scope of sexual abuse cases were coming to light in the United States. Although the cardinal has been both praised and criticized for his handling of the scandals, church leaders, like Niederauer, say Levada is particularly suited to deal with the international crisis.

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UNITED STATES
NPR

[with audio]

by Joel Rose

January 3, 2012

Stories of child sexual abuse dominated the headlines in 2011, but because the alleged crimes happened so long ago, few of the victims in those cases were able to sue their abusers.

Now, lawmakers around the country are pushing to extend or waive their states’ statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse charges, but the initiative has its opponents — including the Catholic Church — who argue it could unleash a torrent of lawsuits.

Giving A Voice To The Abused

It took almost 30 years, but in December 2011, Richard Fitter finally went public with the allegation that former New Jersey priest John Capparelli had repeatedly groped him in the early 1980s.

Fitter says he first reported Capparelli to another priest in 1992. Capparelli, who denies the allegations, was removed from the ministry. Fitter thought Capparelli was no longer working with children, but he continued to teach in Newark, N.J., public schools until reports detailing a long list of allegations against him appeared last year in the Newark Star-Ledger. When Fitter read those stories, he decided it was time to come forward — again.

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SAN DIEGO (CA)
The Sacramento Bee

The Associated Press

SAN DIEGO — San Diego police say they have arrested a priest and charged him with sexually assaulting a 20-year-old woman.

Police said Tuesday that 53-year-old Jose Davila turned himself into authorities on Sunday.Davila is accused of assaulting the woman at his home.

Police say the woman’s family and the priest have been acquaintances for months at St. Jude’s church.

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BOSTON (MA)
National Catholic Register

by JOAN FRAWLEY DESMOND
01/04/2012

BOSTON — Ten years ago, Bishop John D’Arcy of the Fort Wayne-South Bend (Ind.) Diocese got an urgent call from lawyers representing the Boston Archdiocese, where he had previously served as an auxiliary bishop from 1975-1985. He learned that The Boston Globe would soon publish the personnel files of the alleged serial predator, Father John Geoghan, and that a plaintiff’s attorney had obtained a 1984 letter he wrote opposing the priest’s assignment to a local parish.

“I didn’t remember that I wrote the letter at first,” recalled Bishop D’Arcy, during a telephone interview last week while visiting his family in Boston. Ordained in Boston more than half a century ago, he retired as the shepherd of the Fort Wayne-South Bend Diocese in 2009 at the age of 77.

Yet despite that initial lack of recall, Bishop D’Arcy would emerge as an uncommon hero as the clergy abuse scandal unfolded in the media. While the published personnel files of the Boston Archdiocese exposed a legacy of episcopal negligence, Bishop D’Arcy’s repeated efforts to raise the alarm would lead the National Review Board for the Protection of Children and Young People to describe him as a “voice in the wilderness.”

Asked to discuss the reason why he spoke up when others remained silent, Bishop D’Arcy insisted that he should not be singled out for special credit. Rather, he viewed the 10th anniversary of the Boston crisis as an opportunity to reflect on both the vital role of the Catholic bishop, and the ongoing importance of screening candidates for seminary.

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CANADA
CJOB

CJOB’s Kim Lawson reporting
1/3/2012

A former student of St. Jean Baptiste School is suing the Archdiocese and Archbishop of St. Boniface, Red River Valley School Division and two former priests – over sexual abuse allegations. The now 32-year-old man claims he was sexually assaulted by a priest when he was 11-years-old.

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NEW JERSEY
MyCentralJersey

Written by
Sergio Bichao
Staff Writer

SOMERVILLE — Kevin Waldrip was 13 years old in 1964, the year he says he was raped by a priest in Newark.

But he didn’t tell anyone.

Not even when the priest, Richard Galdon, was finally brought to justice in the 1980s for molesting more than a dozen other Catholic school boys as a Boy Scout troop chaplain. Galdon was sentenced in 1987 to 25 years in prison.

But while Waldrip followed the scandal and trial in the newspaper, rejoicing in Galdon’s “comeuppance,” it took him until just six years ago to talk about what happened to him as a boy.

“You keep it secret,” he said. “People are so embarrassed, so ashamed, you can’t bring yourself to speak to anyone — not to spouses, not to friends.”

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NEDERLAND
Brabants Dagblad

EINDHOVEN – De Eindhovense priester Jan Peijnenburg (81) vecht toch eerst bij de zogenoemde Congregatie voor de Clerus in Rome zijn schorsing door het bisdom Den Bosch aan.

Na overleg met zijn advocaat ziet hij af van een directe gang naar de burgerrechter, vertelde huisvriend en woordvoerder Harrie van Tuijl dinsdag. Van Tuijl: “De kans is namelijk groot dat de burgerrechter ons terug stuurt als we niet eerst het hele proces binnen de kerk hebben doorlopen.”

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NEDERLAND
Omroep Brabant

Auteur: Hilde de Bresser

EINDHOVEN – De Eindhovense priester Jan Peijnenburg gaat toch in beroep tegen zijn schorsing. De 81-jarige priester werd door het bisdom Den Bosch geschorst omdat hij samenwoont met zijn vriendin Threes van Dijk.

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MISSOURI
KPLR11.com

4:06 p.m. CST, January 3, 2012

ST. LOUIS, MO (KPLR)— The leader of a St. Louis-based group fighting sexual abuse by priests is standing his ground, and could face jail time for refusing to turn over documents to lawyers for the Catholic church.

The Missouri Supreme Court has ruled that the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, known as SNAP, has to turn over 23 years worth of e-mails, telephone logs, and letters to lawyers for a Kansas City priest.

SNAP director David Chlossey refused to answer questions about those documents yesterday.

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UTAH
The Salt Lake Tribune

By Lindsay Whitehurst
The Salt Lake Tribune

Observers say an unprecedented number — up to 1,500 members — of the polygamous sect led by Warren Jeffs were barred from the group’s church after being told over the weekend they were “unworthy” to attend.

Most don’t appear to have been instructed to leave their families and their homes, as is common when people are excommunicated from the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, but instead forbidden to enter the LSJ Meetinghouse in Colorado City, Ariz., said former FLDS spokesman Willie Jessop, now opposed to Jeffs.

“They were offered the opportunity to continue their repentance at another location, not at the main church with everyone else,” he said. The people were reportedly estranged for expressing doubt of Jeffs, breaking one of his new, extreme rules or failing to pay increasingly high tithing totaling thousands of dollars.

“They may have kissed their wives, or forgot to sell their ATVs,” Jessop said.

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TEXAS
CNN

By Dave Alsup, CNN

(CNN) — Two people registered to talk to Warren Jeffs on the phone have had their privileges suspended as investigators look into whether the jailed polygamist sect leader preached from prison, authorities said Tuesday.

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice announced last week that it had initiated an investigation into claims that Jeffs used the phone to preach to his congregation on Christmas Day.

“It would be a violation of the rules if the person called were to place the call on speaker phone or record the conversation. The Office of Inspector General has asked us to suspend the accounts of certain individuals on his calling list while they continue to investigate,” said Jason Clark, a Criminal Justice Department spokesman.

“His call list just got shorter,” Clark said.

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NEW JERSEY
MyCentralJersey

Bernardsville, Somerville communities react to charges against educator as protests hit schools

Written by
Mark Spivey
Staff Writer

BERNARDSVILLE — Some glared angrily in the direction of the small handful of protesters handing out pamphlets urging them to support legislation to lift the statute of limitation in civil cases of child sex abuse and to expand the definition of who’s liable in those cases. Some smiled broadly and even gave the protesters a thumbs-up. Some leaned out of their vehicles to shout a condemnation, critique or words of support.

To be sure, the range of emotions exhibited by parents filing out of the Bernardsville Middle School parking lot Tuesday afternoon was nothing short of staggering.

But vastly outnumbering any of those categories were those who simply rolled down their car windows and accepted a pamphlet. Hunger for reliable information, after all, remains a prevalent sentiment after the school’s assistant principal, Patrick J. Lott, was arrested nearly two weeks ago and charged with videotaping students showering in the locker rooms of Immaculata High School in Somerville, where Lott has served as a dedicated volunteer for years.

“I didn’t even know he volunteered at Immaculata,” said Tony Sisto, a 53-year-old resident of the Peapack section of Peapack-Gladstone and the father of girls in the fifth and eighth grades at the middle school. “It’s so devastating to these children to trust a guy like that when something like this happens.”

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MISSOURI
KTVI

(KTVI-FOX2now.com)—
The leader of a St. Louis-based group fighting sexual abuse by priests is standing his ground and could face jail time for refusing to turn over documents to lawyers for the Catholic Church.

The Missouri Supreme Court has ruled that the survivor’s network of those abused by priests, known as SNAP, has to turn over 23 years worth of e-mails, telephone logs, and letters to lawyers for a Kansas City priest.

St. Louis SNAP Director David Chlossey refused to answer questions about those documents Monday. He says the request is an attempt by the Catholic Church to destroy SNAP by forcing it to reveal confidential information about sexual abuse victims.

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NEDERLAND
De Telegraaf

EINDHOVEN – De Eindhovense priester Jan Peijnenburg (81) gaat toch eerst bij de zogenoemde Congregatie voor de Clerus in Rome zijn schorsing door het bisdom Den Bosch aanvechten. Na overleg met zijn advocaat ziet hij af van een directe gang naar de burgerrechter, vertelde huisvriend en woordvoerder Harrie van Tuijl dinsdag.

Het bisdom heeft Peijnenburg geschorst, omdat hij samenwoont met zijn vriendin Threes van Dijck (85). Peijnenburg en Van Dijck, die al 46 jaar samenwonen, peinzen er niet over uit elkaar te gaan.

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MISSOURI
KMOX

ST. LOUIS–(KMOX)–The director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests says he may faces fines or jail time for refusing to obey a judge’s order to release information on clergy abuse victims.

The usually confident, sometimes strident, David Clohessy appeared shaken and teary-eyed by what he says is the worst legal problem the group has faced in 23 years.

“Church defense lawyers will likely ask that we be found in contempt of court and possibly fined or possibly jailed,” Clohessy said.

Earlier, Clohessy refused to cooperate during a deposition in a Kansas City area abuse case. SNAP has sought help from the Missouri Supreme Court, but it refused to intervene.

“I refused to answer many, many many questions that were all designed to find out the identities and experiences of victims and those who help victims,” Clohessy said.

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MISSOURI
National Catholic Reporter

Jan. 03, 2012
By Joshua J. McElwee

David Clohessy, the head of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), says his court-ordered testimony Monday in the case of a priest accused of sexual misconduct amounted to an “extraordinary fishing expedition” to try and get at the contents of “private communications” between him and sex abuse victims and whistle-blowers.

The testimony, which Clohessy said lasted about six hours and took place in a St. Louis, Mo., hotel, came after the Missouri Supreme Court refused to consider an appeal to stop the deposition.

The deposition, requested by lawyers defending Kansas City, Mo., diocesan priest Fr. Michael Tierney, was first reported late last week. Lawyers requested that Clohessy testify and turn over 23 years’ worth of internal documents, correspondence and emails.

Victims’ advocates said the deposition, the first of its kind for SNAP, would have wide-ranging impact on the ability of victims of clergy sex abuse to identify their accusers and tell their stories without revealing their names in public. …

Referencing that he was questioned by five separate lawyers — one representing the Kansas City diocese, another Tierney, and three others representing other local priests accused of sexual misconduct — Clohessy said there was “almost no mention or questions” about the specific lawsuit against Tierney among the “200-plus questions about SNAP members and supporters and donors and operations.”

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NEW JERSEY
MyCentralJersey

Demonstrators at Immaculata High School, Bernardsville Middle School address child sex abuse

Written by
Sergio Bichao
Staff Writer

A group of child sex abuse survivors stood outside Immaculata High School Tuesday morning to demonstrate in support of legislation that would lift New Jersey’s statute of limitations on child sex abuse lawsuits.

Last month a longtime volunteer basketball coach at Immaculata was charged with videotaping boys showering in the school’s locker room over a period of three years.

The four men from Road to Recovery, a Livingston-based non-profit support group for victims of child, also planned to stand outside Bernardsville Middle School, where the accused, Patrick Lott, works as assistant principal.

Road to Recover founder and president Robert M. Hoatson said he and the other demonstrators are also victims of sexual abuse.

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