ABUSE TRACKER

BELGIE
Deredactie

De kamer van inbeschuldigingstelling (KI) zal zich voor de vierde keer moeten uitspreken over de geldigheid van Operatie Kelk, het onderzoek naar misbruik binnen de kerk. Dat besliste het Hof van Cassatie.

Vorig jaar oordeelde de KI dat de huiszoekingen van Operatie Kelk nietig zijn, en dat de inbeslaggenomen stukken uit het dossier moesten verdwijnen.

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NEDERLAND
Limburgs Dagblad

De van seksueel misbruik beschuldigde pastoor Jan S. uit Maastricht heeft de namen gepubliceerd van de drie mensen die hem hebben aangeklaagd.

De door het bisdom Roermond op non-actief gezette pastoor deed dat in een brief aan oud-leerlingen van jongensinternaat Bleijerheide in Kerkrade, waar hij vroeger als broeder werkte.

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NEDERLAND
KLOKK

UPDATE De van seksueel misbruik beschuldigde pastoor Jan S. uit Maastricht heeft de namen gepubliceerd van de drie mensen die hem hebben aangeklaagd.

De door het bisdom Roermond op non-actief gezette pastoor deed dat in een brief aan oud-leerlingen van jongenspensionaat Bleijerheide in Kerkrade, waar hij vroeger als broeder werkte.

Drie oud-leerlingen van Bleijerheide deden bij een kerkelijke onderzoekscommissie aangifte van seksueel misbruik door de vroegere broeder op Bleijerheide. S. ontkent de beschuldigingen.

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INDIA
Conference of Religious India Bulletin

NEW DELHI: Noting that ” sexual violence, apart from being a dehumanizing act, is an unlawful intrusion on the right of privacy and sanctity of a female”, the Delhi high court has granted seven years’ rigorous imprisonment to a priest for repeatedly raping a 16-year-old girl in a temple in the capital.

The High Court slammed the priest saying he disregarded morality and consequence of his act and committed a barbaric offence upon a minor.

According to the prosecution, in July 23, 2007, the girl, then 16, had lodged a complaint with police that she was first raped by the priest inside the temple in May 2004 after she fell ill there, and he ravished her several times after blackmailing her.

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FORT KENT (ME)
Bangor Daily News

By Julia Bayly, Special to the BDN

Posted April 04, 2012, at 5:57 p.m.

FORT KENT, Maine — Parish and community members rallied Wednesday behind the Rev. James L. Nadeau whose sudden leave of absence from his post as pastor of St. John Vianney Parish took his flock by surprise.

The voluntary leave was announced late Tuesday by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland and the Maine attorney general’s office, which is conducting an investigation of unspecified allegations against the 51-year-old priest.

“I am very saddened by this whole thing,” Norma Landry, past chairwoman of the St. John Vianney Parish Council, said Wednesday morning. “Nobody really knows what is going on [and] in times like this I always turn to prayer.”

The allegations and subsequent leave taking by Nadeau could not have come at a worse time for the parish’s practicing Catholics.

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MINNESOTA
Park Rapids Enterprises

In part two of a series about former pastor Darwin Schauer, who is jailed in Hubbard County on 15 charges of criminal sexual conduct, the Enterprise outlines how he returned to serving at a church after previously being sentenced for sex crimes. The first part of the series appeared in the March 31 Enterprise.

BY Sarah Smith
ssmith@parkrapidsenterprise.com

Darwin Schauer reached out to the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod’s South District. He told a sympathetic minister he wanted to continue to serve the church.

The reverend helped get him accepted at Concordia in Mequon, Wis., after advising him that becoming an ordained minister was not possible with his history. Why not the lay ministry program?

Concordia Mequon’s registrar said Schauer was admitted in the winter of 1989 and by summer, was able to be certified as a lay minister. Because of his previous four-year degree, Schauer had completed the two-year program in less than six months.

“A lay minister program is a separate program,” explained Rev. Don Fondow, current president of the Synod’s North District. “If a person enters and already may have a degree, or if they have college credits, that is applied to how many courses they have to take because it’s a set certification so when you’re done you don’t necessarily receive a degree but you work towards certification and that’s what the situation was. He would have been certified, completed the program that would allow him to be certified as a lay minister. The (Concordia) faculty basically certified and then he’s available for placement in a position.”

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NEW YORK
The Daily Pleasantville

by Robert Michelin

THORNWOOD, N.Y. – After being in Thornwood for over 15 years, the Legion of Christ location off Columbus Avenue will soon be closing its doors.

Luis Garza, territorial director for the North American Legion of Christ, said in a statement that there are multiple circumstances in the current Roman Catholic congregation that are forcing the Thornwood branch to close.

“I do not want to dwell excessively on our recent history. But our present challenges, especially our pressing financial difficulties, require us to recognize that there are several factors that have led us to be where we are now,” Garza said in the statement.

The Thornwood Legion of Christ first opened in 1996. The location is adjacent to the Mount Pleasant Community Center and the Westlake High School and Middle School campus. Jim Fair, a spokesperson with the Legion of Christ, said the building will remain open until the location is sold and that the area of the land spans approximately 262 acres.

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NEW YORK
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by David Clohessy on April 04, 2012

A support group for clergy sex abuse victims is asking New York’s Cardinal Tim Dolan to disinvite one of his controversial colleagues who is set to preach tomorrow at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

Leaders of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, are writing Dolan about Cardinal Justin Rigali, the now-retired head of the Philadelphia archdiocese. Rigali has been blasted by prosecutors for keeping dozens of accused clerics on the job as recently as last year despite child sex abuse allegations against him.http://ncronline.org/news/vatican/pope-taps-chaput-philadelphia

In a letter to Dolan, sent today by fax and email, SNAP says “For the sake of thousands of wounded victims and hundreds of thousands of betrayed Catholics – many of whom are still suffering – we hope you will rescind that invitation. It sends a depressing and chilling message – that wrongdoers in the church hierarchy will continue being rewarded, no matter how many children they put at risk.”

A copy of SNAP’s letter is below:

*****

April 4, 2012

Dear Cardinal Dolan;

Twice in just a few days, you have rubbed salt into already deep and still fresh wounds of hundreds of victims of clergy sex abuse and thousands of Catholics who rightfully feel betrayed by the church hierarchy’s continuing recklessness, callousness and deceit in this on-going crisis.

On your blog on Monday, April 2, you repeatedly sang the praises of your predecessor, Cardinal Edward Egan. You made no mention of his work – in both Connecticut and New York – concealing child sex crimes. You ignored his recent interview in Connecticut Magazine, in which he retracted perhaps the worst so-called “apology” we’ve ever seen during this decades-long scandal.

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ANNAPOLIS (MD)
Maryland Gazette

By Heather Rawlyk

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

During an emotional hearing that left many in an Annapolis courtroom in tears on Tuesday, a former Archbishop Spalding High School girls track coach was ordered to register as a sex offender for 25 years for sexting with one of his athletes during a months-long relationship.

Brian T. Funk, 40, a married father of two young children, entered an Alford plea to soliciting child pornography.

The plea allowed him to maintain his innocence while admitting prosecutors have enough evidence to convict. It carries the same consequences as a guilty plea.

Assistant State’s Attorney Pamela Alban said the state worked hard to nail down that charge, as it carries a mandatory 25 years on the Maryland Sex Offender Registry. This ensures that Funk cannot coach children for more than two decades.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Sudwest Presse

Die Ruhe war trügerisch. Nachdem es zuletzt relativ still geworden war um die katholische Kirche, steht nach neuen Vorwürfen ausgerechnet der Missbrauchsbeauftragte der Deutschen Bischofskonferenz in der Kritik. Hat Bischof Stephan Ackermann solche Verbrechen in seinem Sprengel unter den Teppich gekehrt und unangebrachte Milde gegenüber Tätern walten lassen?

So einfach liegen die Dinge nicht. Die katholische Kirche hat seit dem Öffentlichwerden der vielen Fälle sexueller Gewalt an Kindern durch Priester und kirchliche Mitarbeiter viel unternommen, um das ganze Ausmaß der Verbrechen offenzulegen, auf die Opfer zuzugehen und Hilfen anzubieten. Auch innerkirchlich wurden Regeln für den Umgang mit solchen Verbrechen aufgestellt. Sie waren überfällig, keine Frage, stand doch viel zu lange der Schutz der Institution im Vordergrund. Der ernsthafte Wille, aus den ungeheuerlichen Verbrechen auch Konsequenzen zu ziehen, ist deshalb der katholischen Kirche nicht abzusprechen. Durch ihr Voranschreiten setzte sie Maßstäbe für andere gesellschaftliche Bereiche, in denen Kinder der sexuellen Gier Erwachsener schutzlos ausgesetzt sind.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Saarbrucker Zeitung

Von SZ-Redakteur Harald Knitter

Sanfte Stimme, weiche Figur: Anschmiegsam, vertrauensvoll wirkt der 42-Jährige, für seine drei Kinder ganz der Familienvater zum Toben und Knuddeln. „Meine Kinder habe ich wissen lassen, dass die Welt friedlich und schön sei, aber ich stelle eine Welt dar, die für mich nicht existiert“, sagt der Saarlouiser. „Nähe ertrage ich nur, wenn ich sie kontrollieren kann. Wenn meine Frau mich von hinten umarmt, fahre ich zusammen.“

Sieben Jahre hatte er das Geheimnis in seiner Seele verschlossen. Nach seiner Hochzeit mit 21 Jahren platzte es aus ihm heraus. „Wir lagen im Bett, als mir im Streit mit meiner Frau entfuhr: Du bist wie der Pater.“ Sie hakte nach und erfuhr, was Andreas K. (Name geändert) bis heute nur Familie und Therapeuten erzählt hat, bis er sich gestern der Saarbrücker Zeitung aus zwei Gründen offenbarte: „Bis jetzt war der Missbrauch, den ich erlitten habe, ein Phantom. Jeder hätte sagen können: Du baust Mist und lässt dir zur Entschuldigung so eine Geschichte einfallen.“

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DEUTSCHLAND
Hildesheimer Allgemeine Zeitung

Noch heute hat Rudolf Kastelik die Schreie der geprügelten Jungen im Kopf. Die einstige Erziehungsanstalt Bernwardshof dient den Vinzentinerinnen heute als Tagungshaus. Foto: Schlemeyer

Hildesheim – Die Hölle dauerte 20 Jahre: Als Säugling, als Kind, als Jugendlicher wurde Rudolf Kastelik in Häusern der Kirche missbraucht und gequält, unter anderem im Hildesheimer Bernwardshof. Heute will er die Mauer des Schweigens durchbrechen und endlich Frieden finden – auch mit Hilfe der Kirche.

Kindheit und Jugend verbrachte Kastelik von 1948 bis 1969 vor allem in kirchlichen Heimen – immer wieder getrennt von seinem Zwillingsbruder. Elf waren es insgesamt, hat er inzwischen recherchiert. „Jeder Ortswechsel war für mich eine Deportation. Ich wusste nie: Wird es noch schlimmer?“ Ein Heim, das er als besonders brutal erfahren hat: die „Erziehungsanstalt Bernwardshof“ der Vinzentinerinnen in Hildesheim. „Wir Kinder wurden systematisch und extrem gequält und missbraucht.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Idea

Ahrensburg (idea) – Um Vergebung haben die leitenden Geistlichen der Nordelbischen Kirche die Opfer sexuellen Missbrauchs in der Kirchengemeinde von Ahrensburg bei Hamburg gebeten.

Dort hatten sich in den siebziger und achtziger Jahren die schwersten bisher bekannt gewordenen Übergriffe evangelischer Pastoren zugetragen. Sie kamen aber erst vor zwei Jahren ans Licht. In einem Gottesdienst am 1. April sagte der Vorsitzende der Kirchenleitung, Bischof Gerhard Ulrich (Schleswig), ihm graue vor dem angerichteten Leid. Das Ausmaß von Unrecht und menschlicher Schuld könne er kaum in Worte fassen. Die Bischöfin des Sprengels Hamburg-Lübeck, Kirsten Fehrs (Hamburg), sprach vor rund 300 Gottesdienstbesuchern von einer schwerfälligen Aufklärungsarbeit. Sie stehe für eine Kirche, die Täter ungewollt geschützt habe. 13 Opfer seien der Kirche bekannt.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

By John P. Martin
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

A former Bucks County altar boy testified today that one of the two Philadelphia priests on trial for conspiracy and child endangerment molested him when he stayed at the cleric’s apartment in 1996.

The witness, now 30, broke down several times as he told a Common Pleas Court jury about the assault by the Rev. James J. Brennan that he said plunged him into a spiral of drugs, crime and suicide attempts and still haunts him.

He said Brennan, a family friend he once loved like an uncle, showed him Internet sex-chat rooms, proposed they masturbate together then ordered him into a bed where the priest, clad in boxer shorts, wrapped his arms around him and pressed his private parts against the boy.

“He kept pulling me forward, forward, forward,” the man testified, fighting back tears. “I couldn’t get off the bed. I still feel the sensation today. It’s horrible.”

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Newsworks

April 4, 2012
By Elizabeth Fiedler

A 30-year-old accuser took the stand today in the sexual abuse trial of Philadelphia priest Reverend James Brennan, who is charged with assaulting the man when he was a 14-year-old boy in 1996.

The accuser broke into tears a numbers of times while describing the molestation he alleges he suffered at the hands of Father James Brennan. He said when he was a boy his family had a close relationship with Brennan — often inviting him into their home for dinner and parties. He said in the years after the encounter with Brennan, his grades fell and he used drugs and alcohol.

Brennan’s lawyer attempted to question the accuser’s credibility, mentioning his struggle with mental health issues and substance abuse. The lawyer also thoroughly grilled the witness on why he remembered what Brennan was wearing during an encounter — but not the date it happened.

The accuser also talked about his interaction with a victim assistance representative sent by the Archdiocese. He said that representative seems more interested in protecting Brennan.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
CBS Philly

By Steve Tawa

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — One of the main figures in the Philadelphia clergy child abuse trial has taken the witness stand to point a finger of blame at Father James Brennan, who is charged with attempted rape.

The accuser, now 30 years old, took the stand confidently, but by the time he recounted his overnight visit to Father Brennan’s apartment in West Chester in 1996, when he was just 14, he was trembling and sobbing.

He says Brennan showed him pornographic chat rooms on the computer and talked explicitly about male body parts. Then, Brennan insisted they both sleep in one bed. That’s when, the accuser says, the priest sexually assaulted him.

The man said he went from a being straight ‘A’ student to a downward spiral of drugs, alcohol, and crime. He attempted suicide three times.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Huffington Post

JOANN LOVIGLIO | April 4, 2012

PHILADELPHIA — A 30-year-old man says he was a good student with a bright future until he was molested by a priest he calls a “sexual predator.”

The man’s emotional testimony is under way Wednesday in a Philadelphia courtroom.

The Rev. James Brennan is charged with assaulting the man when he was a 14-year-old boy in 1996.

Brennan is on trial with Monsignor William Lynn, who is the first Roman Catholic official in the U.S. charged with endangering children for allegedly keeping predator priests in parish work. Both have pleaded not guilty.

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AUSTRALIA
The Age

Barney Zwartz
April 5, 2012

VICTIMS of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy want a call for an independent inquiry into the handling of their complaints to be read from every Catholic pulpit in Victoria over Easter.

Bryan Keon-Cohen QC, chairman of Commission of Inquiry Now (COIN), has written to every parish priest in the state asking them to read the letter during Easter services.

It is a slightly mischievous mimicking of 80,000 letters opposing same-sex marriage sent by Melbourne Archbishop Denis Hart and five other bishops to Victorian Catholics last weekend. Mr Keon-Cohen’s letter asks priests to distribute a COIN donation form to parishioners.

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AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald

THE NSW Attorney-General, Greg Smith, has been accused of denigrating a woman who made sexual abuse allegations against a Sydney priest who is a friend of his as ”just trying to get $1 million from the church”.

Mr Smith is alleged to have made the comment when he was asked last July why Father Finian Egan had not been arrested or charged despite a police investigation into this and other claims that began two years ago, according to the ABC’s 7.30 program last night.

A spokesman for Mr Smith said: ”The Attorney-General recalls no such conversation. He says he would never suggest any victim of sexual abuse was simply motivated by a desire to claim a financial payout.”

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IRELAND
Drogheda Independent

Wednesday April 04 2012

A FORMER Termonfeckin and Drogheda based priest has been caught up in a storm over lewd pictures appearing in a First Communion presentation.

Fr. Martin Mcveigh was beginning a talk at a school in Pomeroy, Co. Tyrone, when the images were accidently shown on the screen. The presentation was abandoned. Fr Mcveigh, who is from Dungannon, was ordained in 1976 and served as curate in Termonfeckin parish from September 1976 to 1981.

He moved to Drogheda in 1981 and spent five years there.

He later went to Westminster in London and back to Pomeroy where he is presently based.

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NEW JERSEY
The Star-Ledger

By Star-Ledger Guest Columnist

By Bob McHugh

I wore the Latin motto “Succisa Virescit” — meaning roughly, “Cut it down and it will grow back” — on the breast pocket of my green blazer for the five years I attended Delbarton School. A classmate used to go around on the last day of the school year ripping off the pocket patches. I thought it was just a dumb high school prank. But now, I wonder if he wasn’t right.

Mired in an ugly and expanding child-abuse scandal, my alma mater has certainly succeeded in cutting down its previously stellar reputation as an all-boys prep school. But, as school officials continue to bungle the handling of the scandal, who knows what will grow back?

These days, it can’t be considered a surprise that the cancer of Catholic priests abusing young men has metastasized into the “hills of Morris,” as our school song — borrowed from Cornell’s — called the place. What is surprising and sad is that the men who run Delbarton, where annual tuition nears $30,000 and boys are routinely sent to Harvard and Yale, can be so dumb.

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NEDERLAND
Nieuws

(Novum) – Een meerderheid van de Tweede Kamer twijfelt niet aan de integriteit van de commissie-Deetman, die het seksueel misbruik in de katholieke kerk heeft onderzocht. Dat bleek woensdag tijdens een hoorzitting in de Tweede Kamer. Wel wil de Kamer nader onderzoek naar de castraties van minderjarigen binnen katholieke instellingen.

Deetman zei dat hij niet in staat is tot nader onderzoek als er aan hem wordt getwijfeld. Dat onderzoek moet onder meer gaan over misbruik van meisjes en de afhandeling van de schadevergoeding van het misbruik door de kerk. “Dat kan niet als mijn integriteit ter discussie wordt gesteld.”

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PENNSYLVANIA
The Collegian

By Maria Bryant
For the Collegian

A special screening of “Boys and Men Healing,” a documentary about the impact of child sexual abuse, will be presented at 7 tonight in the HUB-Robeson Center Auditorium.

After the film, there will be a question and answer session with the film’s producer, Simon Wienberg, along with clinicians who work with male survivors and two male survivors from MaleSurvivor.org.

The event, open to the public, is sponsored by MaleSurvivor.org and co-sponsored by Counseling and Psychological Services and Student Affairs.

With April being Child Abuse Prevention Month, CAPS and the filmmakers mutually wanted to screen “Boys and Men Healing” at Penn State, CAPS Outreach and Consultation Coordinator Mary Anne Knapp said.

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MISSOURI/MASSACHUSETTS
The Turner Report

It probably wasn’t the best of timing.

The Cape Cod Times reported Sunday that Rick Braschler, director of risk management for Kanakuk, will speak at a seminar April 12 to help a camp that has also been rocked by scandal.

Braschler, of course, was hired before the latest sex scandal to hit Kanakuk, the filing of felony sex charges involving underage children against former staffer Lee Bradberry, 22, Auburn.

Next month, he will also offer a workshop to teach camp leaders and others in the community willing to pay $100 how to protect children from predators. But the training goes beyond criminal background checks and establishing protocols to report abuse.

“We need insight into how does a person with bad intent infiltrate an organization and then gain trust so they can follow through on their bad intent,” Braschler said

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AUSTRALIA/UNITED STATES
J-Wire

April 4, 2012

David Kramer will be released from a Missouri prison later this month…but efforts are underway to have him extradited to Melbourne. Kramer is yet to be charged with offences relating to alleged sexual abuse at Melbourne’s Yeshivah College.

J-Wire spoke to one of Kramer’s legal representatives who questioned the passing of time between the alleged offences and Kramer’s release. He said: “He is due for release in a couple of weeks. I have handled some civil matters for him. I believe the statute of limitations in Missouri is 20 years so I don’t know if they will be able to extradite him from this State. If there is an extradition order it will have to litigated.” The lawyer questioned if the there were still witnesses. Last year, Victorian Police mounted a campaign requesting people with information to step forward. It was very successful.

In the meantime, former Yeshiva student Manny Waks who was not abused by Kramer but states he was the victim of other perpetrators at the Yeshiva, told J-Wire: ““Yeshivah’s complicity in these sexual crimes against so many children by numerous perpetrators is becoming increasingly clear. Many of the former victims are looking forward to fully exposing this immoral behavior by an apparently religious institution and bringing them to full account.

Yeshivah has been given sufficient opportunities to at least partially redeem themselves but they have neglected to take any appropriate action whatsoever. Worse, their immoral approach has in fact increased the pain of many of the victims. We will therefore be holding them to full account.”

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Catholics4Change

[We Need Your Support at Cathedral this Good Friday from 11 a.m. to noon.]

April 4, 2012 by Susan Matthews

Many have asked about bringing children to the prayer service as it is a day off from school for many. They are certainly welcome and this a peaceful vigil versus a protest. Many children attended vigils in Boston. Prayers read aloud will be appropriate for all ages.

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NEDERLAND
Trouw

‘Ik word er bijna emotioneel van.’ Wim Deetman kan de suggestie in de media niet verkroppen dat hij met zijn onderzoekscommissie naar het seksueel misbruik in de kerk, zaken uit zijn rapport zou hebben gehouden. Dat bleek vandaag bij een hoorzitting erover in de Tweede Kamer

‘Het is nergens op gebaseerd en ik daag iedereen uit om anders te bewijzen’, zei Deetman. ‘Wat moest worden vermeld, dat is vermeld, zonder aanziens des persoons.’

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NEDERLAND
Reformatorisch Dagblad

DEN HAAG – De commissie-Deetman, die onderzoek deed naar het misbruikschandaal in de Rooms-Katholieke Kerk, heeft op geen enkele manier geprobeerd de reputatie van Rooms-Katholieke bestuurders te beschermen.

Dat verklaarde Deetman vanmorgen in de Tweede Kamer in reactie op recente publicaties in NRC Handelsblad.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Bilgrimage

Gerald Slevin, Open Appeal To Philadelphia Inquirer Reporters II: The Philadelphia Archdiocese Priests Child Abuse Trial, the Pope, Secrecy, Santorum and the Upcoming Pennsylvania Primary

Jerry Slevin has now shared a supplement to his open letter to the Philadelphia Inquirer that I posted on his behalf two days ago. As the trial of Philadelphia Catholic archdiocesan officials continues, Jerry continues to monitor the litigation and news about it, and this is his latest response to what’s now unfolding in Philadelphia:

What follows is Jerry Slevin’s second open letter to the Philadelphia Inquirer:

——————————–

This supplements my April 1, 2012 Open Appeal I to you accessible here. Hopefully, this will be of some help to you as you assess the continuing developments in this hierarchical criminal case that is extremely significant for Catholics worldwide.

Yesterday on TV, convicted child sexual abuser, Fr. Avery, was hurried seemingly smiling past reporters into jail accompanied apparently by two well dressed lawyers. Avery’s apparent lack of any remorse for his horrible crime or any obligation to give evidence against others, as well as his sudden plea bargain, mild sentence, hurried imprisonment and general public unavailability, have all been very disturbing to watch, but it is only one example of what appears to be an unwarranted almost veil of secrecy on too many aspects of this important case. Many hundreds of Philly children were harmed by priest sexual predators with at least the tacit knowledge in many cases of bishops and cardinals; many thousands more were at risk of serious and permanent harm. Philly citizens are entitled to get the full story and we are depending on you to keep doing your best to get it.

For video footage from NBC’s Philadelphia affiliate of Fr. Avery’s smiling past reporters as he is whisked into jail, please see here.

To this day, the Philly Archdiocese still does not really require prompt reporting of all abuse claims to the police and apparently has only appointed persons that are accountable to Archbishop Chaput to monitor abuse claims. He is not accountable, it appears, to anyone and has not committed to a truly independent child protection audit procedure. He continues to operate, in the main, secretly as a typical medieval monarch. His cheerleading at a private priests’ party several months ago for Monsignor Lynn and some suspended priests under suspicion of misconduct with minors suggests he has failed to get the true child protection message and merely mouths, like the pope, pious platitudes about children.

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IRELAND
Grantham Journal (United Kingdom)

A priest defamed by RTE was not interviewed by the broadcasting watchdog during its investigation, it has emerged.

The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) said it was only permitted to investigate the actions of the broadcaster and its Prime Time Investigates programme, which wrongly claimed Father Kevin Reynolds had fathered a child.

A spokeswoman said no interview was sought with Fr Reynolds or his legal team as it would have been outside the BAI’s remit. She added: “The BAI is not in the position to hear evidence from all sides, or decide if somebody was libelled.”

The “Mission To Prey” programme, aired on May 23 last year, falsely accused Fr Reynolds of raping a minor and fathering a child while working in Kenya 30 years ago. The missionary priest later won a substantial out-of-court settlement after he took a libel action against the national broadcaster.

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NEDERLAND
NZG

BOEKEL (Novum) – Onderzoek naar de castratie van een jongen in het Brabantse Boekel heeft geen extra informatie opgeleverd.

Dat laat minister van Veiligheid en Justitie Ivo Opstelten (VVD) dinsdag weten in een brief aan de Tweede Kamer.

In een artikel in NRC Handelsblad dat vorige maand verscheen stond dat een jongen in 1956 aangifte heeft gedaan van ontucht in het katholieke jongensinternaat in het Gelderse.

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NEDERLAND
Katholiek Nieuwsblad

De bisschoppenconferentie en de Konferentie Nederlandse Religieuzen (KNR) blijven nauwgezet de aanbevelingen van de Commissie Deetman uitwerken.

Dat blijkt uit een gezamenlijke brief aan minister Opstelten van Veiligheid en Justitie. De brief is een antwoord op vragen van de minister met het oog op de gesprekken in de Tweede Kamer over het rapport van de Commissie Deetman.

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NEDERLAND
NRC Handelsblad

door Annemarie Coevert

De Tweede Kamer koerst aan op vervolgonderzoek naar de geschiedenis van seksueel misbruik in Nederland. Dat bleek vanochtend uit een hoorzitting met de commissie-Deetman.

Aanleiding voor de hoorzitting vormde een artikel in NRC Handelsblad van enkele weken terug waarin de castratie werd onthuld van een slachtoffer van seksueel misbruik. De commissie-Deetman had daar in haar rapport geen melding van gemaakt, hoewel zich wel iemand bij de commissie had gemeld met gedetailleerde informatie hierover. Journalist en auteur van dit artikel Joep Dohmen is vanochtend gehoord over dit artikel.

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BELGIE
Vandaag

Het laatste arrest dat de Brusselse kamer van inbeschuldigingstelling (KI) heeft uitgesproken over de huiszoekingen op 24 juni 2010 in het aartsbisschoppelijk paleis en in de kantoren en de privéwoning van kardinaal Danneels, is nu ook verbroken. De verbreking geldt wel slechts voor een deel van het arrest. De zaak moet nu opnieuw voor de Brusselse KI komen, maar die zal wel uit andere raadsheren moeten bestaan.

De huiszoekingen van 24 juni 2010 kaderden in Operatie Kelk, het gerechtelijk onderzoek dat de Brusselse onderzoeksrechter Wim De Troy (foto) voerde naar seksueel misbruik van kinderen en een mogelijke doofpotoperatie daarrond binnen de katholieke Kerk. Drie verschillend samengestelde KI’s beslisten achtereenvolgens dat die huiszoekingen nietig waren, vervolgens dat ze perfect wettelijk waren en ten slotte dat ze toch nietig waren.

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NEDERLAND
RKnieuws

UTRECHT (RKnieuws.net) – De Bisschoppenconferentie en de Konferentie Nederlandse Religieuzen (KNR) hebben een gezamenlijke brief geschreven aan minister Opstelten, de Minister van Veiligheid en Justitie. De brief is ondertekend door kardinaal Eijk, voorzitter van de Bisschoppenconferentie, en broeder Van Dam, voorzitter van de Konferentie Nederlandse Religieuzen (KNR). De brief is een antwoord op een brief van de minister, waarin deze om nadere informatie vraagt met het oog op het gesprek in de Tweede Kamer over het rapport van de Onderzoekscommissie (‘Commissie Deetman’).

“Wij zijn en blijven vastbesloten om naast erkenning van het leed te zorgen voor genoegdoening, compensatie, hulp en nazorg. Dit komt tot uitdrukking in persoonlijke contacten met slachtoffers en vertegenwoordigende organisaties van slachtoffers en in allerlei voorzieningen die wij inzetten,” schrijven de voorzitters van de Bisschoppenconferentie en de KNR.

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NEDERLAND
Parool

Tot in de jaren ’60 van de afgelopen eeuw gold castratie in een aantal situaties als een aanvaardbare medische handeling, niet alleen bij zedendelinquenten, maar ook in de reguliere psychiatrie. Dat constateert minister Ivo Opstelten (Veiligheid) in een brief aan de Tweede Kamer. Ook buiten de justitiële context vond wel castratie plaats, aldus de bewindsman.

De brief komt aan de vooravond van een nieuwe hoorzitting woensdag over misbruik in de Rooms-Katholieke Kerk, die inmiddels ook in verband is gebracht met castratie.

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ROME
Vatican Insider

The Public Prosecutor of Rome: “De Pedis’ tomb will not be opened”

Giacomo Galeazzi
Vatican City

A three-decade-long wall of silence is crumbling. The investigators will not open the tomb of the boss of Magliana, Renatino De Pedis, at Sant’Appollinare but they are convinced that “the Vatican knows the truth about Emanuela Orlandi.” It sounds like a scene out of Italian TV drama Romanzo criminale (a series about organized crime in Rome in the 80s), but it actually happened. For the first time, magistrates are explicitly pointing the finger at the Holy See. According to the Assistant Public Prosecutor, Giancarlo Capaldo and Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Simon Maisto, someone in the Curia is allegedly in possession of “elements of truth that are circumstantial evidence.” The Cardinals (Re, Martinez Somalo, Silvestrini) who, under the pontificate of Karol Wojtyla, occupied key positions at the time of the disappearance of the papal emissary’s daughter, could be heard in court. An unexpected speeding-up of events.

One of the most complicated and celebrated “cold cases” in the world has suddenly turned into a tear in the fabric of half-admissions, false trails or improbable tracks. This flash in the dark has become a nightmare for the family and an international intrigue with claims of ghostly acronyms, interlaced with the attempt on John Paul II’s life and the suspicions regarding the head of the IOR, Paul Marcinkus. According to Pietro Orlandi, the brother of the girl who vanished 29 years ago, this is a pivotal moment. “The declaration by the prosecutors that the truth is known in the Vatican is very heavy, but it’s overshadowed the strange decision not to open De Pedis’ grave,” Peter Orlandi says. “If two years ago, the prosecutor ordered DNA samples of us family members to be collected, it meant that there is a valid reason to inspect Sant’Appollinare; it’s unclear why now that act is no longer useful to the investigation.” Probably “the prosecutors know the names of these Vatican figures, I hope that they listen to them to find out what they know.”

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IRELAND
Galway Bay FM

April 4, 2012

The solicitor of Ahascragh priest Father Kevin Reynolds’ has dismissed a move to scrap the Prime Time Investigates series as ‘probably cosmetic’.

It was part of a range of measures announced by RTE yesterday, in the wake of an inquiry from the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland into the ‘Mission to Prey’ programme.

In the programme Fr Reynolds was falsely accused of raping a minor while working as a missionary priest in Kenya, and fathering a child by her.

RTE’s head of News and Current Affairs Ed Mulhall has retired, while the Editor of Current Affairs Ken O’Shea has resigned from his post and is being tranferred to a new position in Television.

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IRELAND
Breaking News

04/04/2012
A solicitor for defamed priest Fr Kevin Reynolds has dismissed a move by RTÉ to scrap the ‘Prime Time Investigates’ series as “probably cosmetic”.

The decision was part of a range of measures announced by the state broadcaster yesterday in the wake of the ‘Mission to Prey’ programme.

The managing director of RTÉ’s news and current affairs division, Ed Mulhall tendered his resignation “in the best interests of the organisation”.

Former editor of current affairs Ken O’Shea also resigned but is not leaving the station.

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IRELAND
The Irish Times

PAUL CULLEN and RONAN McGREEVY

FURTHER PERSONNEL changes within RTÉ news and current affairs are expected within weeks as the fallout from the Fr Kevin Reynolds libel affair continues.

The retirement yesterday of head of news and current affairs Ed Mulhall and the resignation of current affairs editor Ken O’Shea marks an “interim but significant stage” of personnel reorganisation within the State broadcaster, a senior source indicated last night.

A report to be published shortly by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) is expected to find that the Prime Time Investigates: Mission to Prey programme, which libelled Fr Reynolds last year, was unfair and breached his privacy. The authority can impose a penalty of up to €250,000.

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IRELAND
The Irish Times

PAUL CULLEN

EVEN BY THE sorry standards of recent history, the past fortnight has marked another low for the media. In London, public figures troop in each day to the Leveson inquiry into media practices, delivering shocking stories of indefensible intrusion by newspaper journalists. Last week, in the High Court in Dublin, two newspapers admitted that they had no evidence for reports they had carried about the death of the schoolboy Robert Holohan at the hands of Wayne O’Donoghue.

However, it is the case of Fr Kevin Reynolds, whom RTÉ wrongly accused of raping a woman and fathering her child while he was a missionary in Africa 30 years ago, that could mean a profound change in the way journalism is practised in Ireland.

The case relates to a Prime Time Investigates programme, featuring Fr Reynolds, that went ahead despite his offer to take a paternity test to disprove the allegations against him. The programme has prompted two independent investigations, and four senior journalists have stepped down or been temporarily transferred. As a result of the errors made in it, four programmes planned for broadcast next month have been held back and the future of the investigative strand must now be in doubt.

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IRELAND
The Irish Times

RONAN McGREEVY

GUIDELINES: RTÉ STAFF involved in major investigative programmes will have to make a detailed submission to a new editorial board before transmission.

The board will evaluate programmes similar to the Prime Time Investigates: Mission to Prey programme at least seven days in advance of being broadcast.

The five members of the board are Michael Good, the managing editor of RTÉ News; Jim Jennings, the head of RTÉ Radio 1; Steve Carson, the director of programmes at RTÉ Television; Eleanor Bleahene from RTÉ’s solicitor’s office and Peter Feeney, the head of broadcast compliance.

They will be asked to assess the quality of the report, the reliability of the evidence assembled and whether or not the programme is in the public interest.

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IRELAND
RTE

Introduction
Over many years RTÉ has earned and retained the trust of its audiences through great programming and an adherence to very high editorial standards. Nowhere has this been more so than in Television Current Affairs, where time and again current affairs programming has made sense of the events shaping our daily lives and shone a light on some of the darkest aspects of Irish life.

The very serious editorial failures made in two important current affairs programmes in the past number of months, and their consequences, have rightly caused RTÉ to review and reflect on all of its editorial policy, practices and values. That process will continue for some time. These errors and failures of action have presented many challenges to many people in recent months, not least to those who were directly affected by them. But they have also caused concern and anger both within RTÉ and among our audience, the general public, whose trust in our organisation has been damaged.

I indicated a number of months ago that RTÉ must always be open and honest when we get things wrong. We will make mistakes. Programme-makers must be and will be supported in making challenging programming but the standards we set for ourselves as the national broadcaster must be very high as I know they are in so much of what we currently do.

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IRELAND
RTE

Section 1. Introduction and Context
These Guidelines are being introduced in an interim form pending the completion of the new BAI Code on Fairness, Objectivity & Impartiality in News and Current Affairs. Note that the BAI also has plans to introduce a Code on Privacy in a revision of its Code of Programme Standards due in 2013.

These guidelines are subject to regular review. Please ensure that it is always the most recent edition that is consulted. This edition was last reviewed on 2 April 2012.

These Guidelines apply primarily though not exclusively to News, Current Affairs and Factual Programming. Guidelines in regard to other programming such as Entertainment, Drama and Children’s are due to be completed during the course of the year. In the meantime the 2008 Edition of the RTÉ Programme Standards and Guidelines applies to those genres of production.

RTÉ wishes to acknowledge with gratitude the assistance it received from fellow public service broadcasters, BBC and ABC, in drafting these guidelines.

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IRELAND
The Irish Times

RONAN MCGREEVY and PAUL CULLEN

The solicitor for Fr Kevin Reynolds has described as “extraordinary” the fact that neither he nor his client were involved in the report into the Prime Time Investigates programme Mission to Prey.

The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) commissioned former BBC Northern Ireland controller Anna Carragher to carry out an investigation on its behalf into the programme, which falsely accused Fr Reynolds of raping a minor while working as a missionary priest in Kenya and having a child by her.

RTÉ was forced to apologise and pay a substantial out-of-court settlement to Fr Reynolds who is the parish priest of Ahascragh, Co Galway.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
The Morning Call

7:34 a.m. EDT, April 4, 2012
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A priest on trial in a landmark child sex abuse case is expected to face his accuser in a Philadelphia courtroom.

The Rev. James Brennan is charged with raping a 14-year-old boy in 1996. That accuser is expected to take the stand on Wednesday.

Brennan is on trial with Monsignor William Lynn, who is the first Roman Catholic official in the U.S. charged with endangering children for allegedly keeping predator priests in parish work. Both have pleaded not guilty.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
PowNed (Nederland)

Het is zwaarder dan je denkt om in een week tijd drie jongetjes te misbruiken. Dit heeft een Amerikaanse priester gezegd, zo blijkt uit interne documenten van de katholieke kerk.

De priester zou grapjes hebben gemaakt over het seksueel misbruik, zo bleek vandaag in de rechtbank. De ‘baas’ van de niet bij naam genoemde misbruikpriester, de 61-jarige monseigneur William Lynn, staat daar terecht omdat hij de misbruikzaken in de doofpot zou hebben gestopt. Hij zou niet hebben voorkomen dat notoire misbruikpriesters met kinderen in aanraking kwamen.

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BELGIE
Knack

Het laatste arrest dat de Brusselse kamer van inbeschuldigingstelling (KI) heeft uitgesproken over de huiszoekingen op 24 juni 2010 in Operatie Kelk, dreigt ook verbroken te worden.

Op 29 november 2011 besliste de KI dat de huiszoekingen in het aartsbisschoppelijk paleis en bij kardinaal Danneels, in Mechelen, nietig waren en dat de stukken die daar in beslag genomen werden, uit het dossier moesten verwijderd worden. Volgens het parket-generaal bij Cassatie was die beslissing onvoldoende gemotiveerd.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Pope Crimes & Vatican Evils…

Paris Arrow

Monsignor William Lynn is the first Roman Catholic church official in the U.S. A. to be charged for his handling of priest-abuse complaints and he is now on trial for child endangerment and conspiracy, this is a compilation of articles about his current trial in Philadelphia. Read our related articles, Cardinal Ratzinger was part of the “plague of pedophilia” for 27 years when he covered-up JP2 Army a.k.a B16 Army-Benedict XVI Pedophile Priests Army http://popecrimes.blogspot.ca/2011/11/cardinal-ratzinger-was-part-of-plague.html and insane KC STAR CAMPAIGN HITS by Catholic League fanatic Bill Donohue propagating… Bishop Finn make Devil’s Bowels smell like roses in KC, Missouri http://popecrimes.blogspot.ca/2011/11/bishop-finn-makes-devils-bowels-smell.html

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UNITED STATES
Patrick J. Wall

Here is my crash course in the Irish Christian Brothers sex abuse and cover-up scandal and bankruptcy:

In order to understand the current Irish Christian Brothers debacle, we need only look north.

As I have repeated (and as my Church history professors seared into my cortex in countless seminary courses): The Past is Prologue to the Future.

In light of that, let’s take a short trip back in time:

In 1975, detectives Robert Hillier and Paul Pitcher of the Newfoundland Constabulary were investigating complaints from the Irish Christian Brothers orphanage at Mount Cashel. Hillier and Pitcher were not naive detectives, but even they could not imagine the extent of the beatings and sexual abuse, the Brothers collusion, and the blatant obstruction of justice and corruption surrounding the child sexual abuse by the Irish Christian Brothers who worked at Mount Cashel. It would take an additional two decades for the moral bankruptcy to explode. You can read the results of their work here, in the 1991 Hughes Report, Part I and Part II.

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MILWAUKEE (WI)
SNAP Wisconsin

Action Alert: Important Bankruptcy Court Hearing Thursday April 5th, 10:00 a.m.

WHERE: Milwaukee Federal Courthouse, 517 E. Wisconsin Avenue
In Federal Bankruptcy Court on Thursday April 5th, Judge Susan V. Kelley will hear arguments concerning a crucially important motion filed by victim/survivors (and supported by the Creditors Committee) which seeks to unseal and make public the depositions of Archbishop Weakland and Bishop Richard Sklba concerning the decades long cover up of child sex crimes that both men directed. Lawyers for the archdiocese, at the instruction of Archbishop Listecki, will argue against both the release of Weakland and Sklba’s video testimony, and internal church records which support the case of victim/survivors against these church officials.

Listecki held a Mass of Atonement last week to “atone” for the clergy sexual abuse crisis. Following the service he went before the television cameras and falsely informed the public that by unsealing the depositions and court documents the identities of victims would be revealed. This statement made by the Archbishop is false. The motion to release the depositions and documents states very clearly: “The motion seeks to have all information regarding survivors’ identities redacted and all information regarding alleged abusers who have not yet been publically identified redacted as well.”

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NEDERLAND
Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal

Agendapunten:

1. Rondetafelgesprekken over seksueel misbruik binnen de Rooms-Katholieke Kerk

Volgens onderstaand schema:.

10.00 tot 11.00 uur: Commissie-Deetman
11.00 tot 12.00 uur: de heer Dohmen

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ROME
The Telegraph (United Kingdom)

The Vatican has been accused of hiding the truth about one of Italy’s most intractable mysteries – the disappearance of a teenage girl nearly 30 years ago.

By Nick Squires, Rome

Prosecutors in Rome say that “someone in the Vatican” knows the fate of Emanuela Orlandi, the 15-year-old daughter of a Vatican employee who vanished in June 1983.

Her kidnap in Rome by unidentified men has been the subject of scrutiny for three decades, with allegations that it was connected to blackmail and banking scandals involving the Holy See.

One theory is that the girl’s father, a Vatican employee, had stumbled on documents that connected the Vatican’s bank with organised crime in Rome and that she was seized in an attempt to silence him. The alleged mastermind of the kidnapping was Enrico “Renatino” De Pedis, the leader of the Magliana gang, Rome’s most ruthless criminal band.

He was shot dead by rival gangsters in a street in central Rome in 1990 and his body interred in a crypt in the Basilica of Sant’ Apollinare.

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NEDERLAND
NOS

Voorzitter Wim Deetman ontkent ten stelligste dat zijn onderzoekscommissie informatie over eventuele castraties binnen de Rooms-Katholieke Kerk bewust onder de pet gehouden heeft. U hoort politiek verslaggever Michiel Breedveld.

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NEDERLAND
de Gelderlander

DEN HAAG/ HARREVELD – Wim Deetman kan de suggestie in de media niet verkroppen dat hij met zijn onderzoekscommissie naar het seksueel misbruik in de kerk, zaken uit zijn rapport zou hebben gehouden. Dat bleek woensdag bij een hoorzitting erover in de Tweede Kamer.

„Het is nergens op gebaseerd en ik daag iedereen uit om anders te bewijzen”, zei Deetman. „Wat vermeld moest worden is vermeld, zonder aanzien des persoons.”

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Catholics4Change

April 4, 2012 by Susan Matthews

Several thousand people visit this site each week. We are asking each of you to join us at the steps of the Cathedral this Good Friday from 11 a.m. to noon. Are you sickened, outraged, betrayed? Do you want your Church renewed? Show it by showing up. The victims deserve a very visible sign of support. Our children, who were left unprotected by leadership, deserve it. Easter is a sign of renewal, what better time to pray for it as a community. Please spread the word via facebook, twitter and email. Click here for the flyer: GoodFriday . One pastor has posted it in his parish. Maybe yours will.

What: Prayer service for the victims of clergy sex abuse and the faithful of the Catholic Church of Philadelphia who have been betrayed by the hierarchy. There will be speakers. April is child abuse awareness month, so we ask attendees to wear the official awareness color – blue. Signs are welcome.

Where: At the steps of the Cathedral Basilica of SS Peter and Paul, 1723 Race Street (on the Benjamin Franklin Pkwy)

When: 11 a.m. to noon this Friday, April 6 – Good Friday. (Prayer Service held inside the Cathedral from noon until 3 p.m.)

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UNITED STATES
National Survivor Advocates Coalition

Editorial

NSAC calls its readers attention today to an important event inIrelandthat could have far reaching implications.

This is a first of its kind call and an undertaking that has become reality in no small measure through the diligence and courage of an Irish survivor, Mark Vincent Healy.

The Irish province of a religious order known as the Spiritans, formerly known as the Holy Ghost Fathers, has requested a “public audit” of its handling of child sexual abuse to be conducted by the Irish National Board for Safeguarding of Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland (NBSCCI). The NBSCCI is the organization that has investigated the Irish Dioceses of Ardagh, Clonmacnois,Derry, Dromore, Kilmore, Raphoe and Tuam.

While this audit is being requested by theIrishProvinceof the Spiritans, we call our readers attention to the presence of the Spiritans (Holy Ghost Fathers) in 53 countries including theUnited States. The Spiritans have personnel on five (5) continents.

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NEDERLAND
Trouw

Slachtoffers van het misbruik in de rooms-katholieke kerk geloven niet dat Wim Deetman willens en wetens informatie heeft achtergehouden die voor de kerk belastend is. Deetman zou, meldde NRC Handelsblad onlangs, de castratie van een jongen hebben verzwegen in het eindrapport van zijn commissie die het misbruik in de kerk onderzocht.

Slachtoffergroepen hebben geen enkele aanwijzing dat Deetman informatie verdonkeremaande. “Castratie, hoe erg ook, gebeurde binnen de gezondheidszorg, niet in de kerk. Er heeft zich tot nu toe bij ons niemand gemeld met deze ervaring”, zegt Guido Klabbers van slachtofferkoepel Klokk. Klokk (Koepel Landelijk Overleg Kerkelijk Kindermisbruik) bestaat uit groepen lotgenoten met ervaringen van misbruik in katholieke internaten.

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ESPANA
El Correo

«Me dijo que mi quitaba a la niña por adúltera». María Luisa Torres, la mujer que acusa a la monja María Gómez Valbuena de haberle sustraído a una hija que tuvo en 1982 en la clínica Santa Cristina de Madrid, ratificó ayer ante el juez que la religiosa le dijo que se quedaba sin el bebé debido a que el padre no era su marido.

Torres y su hija Pilar se reencontraron hace ocho meses en un programa de televisión gracias a las gestiones del padre adoptivo. Su relación biológica fue confirmada después por pruebas de ADN. Ambas comparecieron ayer ante el titular del juzgado de instrucción número 47 de la capital de España. En Euskadi, la Fiscalía ha imputado de momento a dos ginecólogos y una matrona.

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ESPANA
el Periodico

ANTONIO M. YAGÜE
MADRID

Pilar Alcalde, que fue sustraída a su madre en marzo de 1982 y con la que se ha reencontrado 29 años después, aseguró ayer a las puertas de los juzgados de instrucción de Madrid que si la monja María Gómez Valbuena, de 80 años, «no lo paga aquí», sabe que lo pagará «arriba». Se trata de la primera religiosa denunciada por la fiscalía en el caso de los niños robados en hospitales de toda España entre 1940 y 1990. A juicio de la víctima, su castigo debería ser «acabar en la cárcel, porque ha hecho daño a muchas familias que están sin identidad».

Pilar acudió con su madre, María Luisa Torres, a ratificar la denuncia. La madre recordó lo que le dijo la monja tras dar a luz en la maternidad Santa Cristina de Madrid: «Primero que estaba muerta, luego que la había dado en adopción a una familia francesa y después, con todo el descaro del mundo y crueldad, ‘te la voy a quitar y, además, vas a ir a la cárcel porque eres una adúltera’».

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SPAIN
Toronto Star

Wendy Gillis
Staff Reporter

For nearly 30 years she kept the baby blanket and pacifier, hoping one day to return them to the daughter she claims was snatched from her at birth.

Now, Luisa Torres has not only reconnected with her lost child — the mother-daughter reunion has prompted the first indictment in the “stolen babies” scandal that has rocked Spain in recent months.

Torres and her daughter, 29-year-old Maria Pilar, appeared in a Madrid court Tuesday, testifying that Sister Maria Gomez Valbuena, a nun now in her 80s, orchestrated the theft of Pilar, then sold her to another family.

“Now the judge knows everything,” Torres told reporters outside the Madrid court after her two-hour testimony. “I hope for justice.”

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AUSTRALIA/UNITED STATES
The Australian Jewish News

CONVICTED child sex offender David Kramer could be back in Australia as soon as next month, with police understood to be preparing to charge and subsequently extradite the former Yeshivah College teacher from the United States.

Kramer was spirited away by Yeshivah after accusations of child molestation surfaced in 1993. In 2008, Kramer was sentenced to seven years jail in St Louis, Missouri, after sexually abusing a 12-year-old boy. He became eligible for parole late last year.

A spokesperson for police media said that “no charges have been laid” but that the “investigation is ongoing”, adding “we can’t comment any –further”.

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TEXAS
The Associated Press

By PAUL J. WEBER, Associated Press

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — In the four years since Texas authorities swarmed the polygamist ranch of sect leader Warren Jeffs, state prosecutors have spent more than $4.5 million racking up swift convictions against him and 10 loyal followers on child sex and bigamy charges, according to records obtained by The Associated Press.

Combined with other state agency costs surrounding the April 3, 2008 raid, documents show the price tag is approaching $20 million for what began as a chaotic roundup of nearly 400 children and grew into one of the largest criminal cases in recent Texas history.

The saga is now all but over. Last week, state prosecutors convicted the last of 11 men arrested at the Yearning for Zion Ranch. All received prison time, including a life sentence for Jeffs.

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FORT KENT (ME)
Bangor Daily News

By Dawn Gagnon, BDN Staff

FORT KENT, Maine — A Roman Catholic priest assigned to St. John Vianney Parish is taking a voluntary leave of absence from public ministry, effective Tuesday, while the attorney general’s office conducts an investigation of allegations against him.

The Rev. James L. Nadeau, 51, has been serving the parish for seven years, Sue Bernard, spokeswoman for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland, and Brenda Kielty, spokeswoman for the Maine attorney general’s office, said Tuesday evening in a news release.

They did not indicate why Nadeau was under investigation. Bernard declined to provide further details and Kielty could not be reached for comment Tuesday night.

Located in the St. John Valley in northernmost Maine, St. John Vianney Parish comprises St. Louis Catholic Church in Fort Kent, St. Mary Catholic Church in Eagle Lake, St. Charles Catholic Church in St. Francis and St. Joseph Catholic Church in Soldier Pond.

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PORTLAND (ME)
WMTW

PORTLAND, Maine –
A Catholic priest has taken a voluntary leave of absence while the Maine Attorney General’s Office investigates allegations against him, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland said on Tuesday.

Rev. James L. Nadeau, 51, has served St. John Vianney Parish in Fort Kent for seven years. The leave of absence took effect on Tuesday and another priest will be assigned to serve the parish as soon as possible, said Sue Bernard, communications director for the diocese.

Bernard did not say what the allegations were.

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

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MAINE
The Portland Press Herald

From staff reports

A Catholic priest who served in parishes in Biddeford and Portland has agreed to take a leave of absence from the ministry while the Maine Attorney General’s Office investigates allegations against him.

The Rev. James Nadeau, 51, the pastor for St. John Vianney Parish in Fort Kent, left his post Tuesday.

Nadeau, who has served for the last seven years in Fort Kent, served previously at St. Andre in Biddeford and at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Portland. He was ordained as a priest in 1988.

“In order for the investigation to proceed unimpeded, Father Nadeau has taken a voluntary leave of absence,” Bishop Richard Malone said in a press release issued Tuesday night. “The diocese is cooperating fully with the Attorney General’s Office and at their request, I cannot discuss the allegations or anything about the investigation. I am hopeful that this process will go smoothly in order to lead to an expeditious and just conclusion.”

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MAINE
The Republic

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
First Posted: April 04, 2012

FORT KENT, Maine — The Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland says a priest who serves a Fort Kent parish has taken a leave of absence pending the results of an investigation launched by the Maine attorney general’s office.

Neither the diocese nor the attorney general would say why the Rev. James Nadeau is under investigation. He has been at St. John Vianney Parish in northern Maine for the past seven years and previously served at parishes in Biddeford and Portland. He was ordained in 1988.

Bishop Richard Malone said in a statement Tuesday that the 51-year-old Nadeau has taken a leave “in order for the investigation to proceed unimpeded.” The diocese is cooperating.

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UNITED KINGDOM
The Sun

By ANTHONY FRANCE

MORE than 400 children are sexually abused every week in Britain — one every 20 MINUTES, a shock investigation has revealed.

The NSPCC called for urgent action as figures showed nine out of ten paedophiles go unpunished.

A child abuse expert last night said Britain has a massive paedophile problem — which should be treated like an outbreak of DISEASE.

Jon Brown urged the Government to act as shocking figures obtained by the NSPCC showed perverts are lurking the length and breadth of the country.

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UNITED STATES
PRWeb

Jacksonville Beach, Florida (PRWEB) April 04, 2012

April is National Child Abuse Prevention month and Don Dymer, president and chief executive officer of SingleSource background screening corporation wants to share some helpful advice on how to listen if a child or youth has the courage to open up about the abuse. What happens in those first few seconds of dialogue can make a difference between stopping the abuse, or a child retreating further into darkness.

“People abuse children from all walks of life,” explains Don Dymer, chief executive officer and president of SingleSource background screening company. The Centers for Disease Control reports that more than 500,000 children in the United States are sexually molested each year. But molesters are rarely caught and since most children will never report the abuse, there is little linking these molesters to the horrible abuse and little or no chance they will be convicted and stopped.

What do I do if a child tells me that he/she has been sexually abused?

Dymer continues, “The foundation, From Darkness to Light tells us that studies show that children rarely report abuse when it is occurring and almost 80% will in fact deny the abuse. As adults we need to be alert to signs that something might be wrong.

Dymer continues, “If a child does come to you here is critical advice from the Child Molestation Research & Prevention Institute on what you should do if a child is brave enough to share their pain with you. Take the time to really listen to the child when they want to talk. Believe what you are hearing no matter how unfathomable it sounds. (remember 90% of abuse is done by someone the child knows, trusts and loves.) Assure the child that they are doing the right thing by telling and you will get help. Never blame or punish the child or show anger. Control your emotions. Your reaction to the abuse might be viewed as directed toward the child, assure the child that you are not angry at them. Do Not Take Notes while the child is talking to you. Listen intently and afterwards quickly document the disclosure. If you are an employee or volunteer and hear of the abuse, immediately report the incident to your supervisor, but remember that this doesn’t remove your obligation to report the incident to the proper authorities. If you represent the organization at which the abuse occurred, you must report the child’s disclosure to law enforcement or child protective agency as specified by the laws in your particular state.

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LYNNWOOD (WA)
Herald

By Diana Hefley, Herald Writer

LYNNWOOD — Snohomish County prosecutors say it was against the law for a Lynnwood man to have sex with a 17-year-old girl because he was the teen’s youth church leader at the time.

James Lim, 26, is accused of abusing a “supervisory position” in order to engage in sexual intercourse with the teen. In general, the legal age for consensual sex in Washington is 16. Prosecutors, however, allege that Lim was forbidden from having sex with the teen because of his job with the church.

Lim was charged this week with first-degree sexual misconduct with a minor and second-degree possession of child pornography. He is expected to be arraigned on the charges later this month in Snohomish County Superior Court.

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WISCONSIN
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

By Peter Isely and James Connell

In a long-awaited court motion to be heard on Thursday in federal bankruptcy court in Milwaukee, 570 victims/survivors of childhood rape and sexual assault by Catholic clergy and other church personnel will petition Judge Susan V. Kelley to release the sealed testimony of the two former Milwaukee bishops most responsible for decades of concealing and transferring known offender priests, Archbishop Rembert Weakland and Bishop Richard Sklba.

The motion, supported by the Creditors Committee appointed by Kelley, also will ask to unseal all evidence in the 570 claims, once appropriate redactions have been made. Milwaukee Archbishop Jerome Listecki has instructed his lawyers to oppose the motion. The archdiocese consistently wants to withhold this information.

For Catholics, confessing sin is good for the soul. Listecki acknowledged as much in a special clergy abuse Mass of Atonement last week. But confession in the Catholic Church requires penance, which is an action of justice that attempts to repair the harm. In other words, we cannot move from confession to healing without doing penance, and that includes doing justice and being truthful.

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MEDFORD (MA)
Wicked Local Medford

By Nicholas Iovino/niovino@wickedlocal.com
Medford Transcript

Medford —

The Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts stripped a retired Medford pastor of his priesthood after investigating allegations that he sexually abused women during his time as rector.

Robert M. Durkee, now 85 years old, served as pastor of Grace Episcopal Church on High Street from 1964 to 1989.

In January, the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts received a complaint against the former rector, alleging that he engaged in sexual misconduct with a woman in 1980.

“It’s my understanding that two additional, possible victims came forward just within the last day or two,” said Tracy Sukraw, director of communications for the Diocese.

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TOLEDO (OH)
WTOL

[with video]

Posted by Erin Kelly

TOLEDO, OH (WTOL) – SNAP President Barbara Blaine visited Toledo on Tuesday, and called for more public disclosure from the Toledo Catholic Diocese regarding the whereabouts and status of priests who have been accused of sexual abuse.

The support group for victims who have been sexually abused by priests held a rally outside of the Diocese headquarters.

The organization is also calling on officials to warn people in a Perrysburg parish about a former priest. They say he was accused of sexual abuse, and is no longer a priest, but wants to join a Perrysburg parish.

“I think it’s really important that the safety of children come first. And I think that priests and church officials should do everything they can to protect children. And if they know of a sexual predator in their midst, they have a duty to warn parents.” Blaine said about the group’s request.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Priest Abuse Trial Blog

Ralph Cipriano

The man wrote the archdiocese in 1996, claiming that as an adolescent, he had been sexually abused by Father Stanley M. Gana. The man wanted the archdiocese to pay for his therapy, which he said, were a direct result of the abuse he had suffered from Father Gana.

There was a problem, however, Monsignor William J. Lynn explained in writing to the victim. The archdiocese had a policy where it would only pay the bills of alleged victims if the priest accused of abuse had confessed. Father Gana, Lynn explained, was still denying the allegations. So the archdiocese, according to its own policy, was not required to pay for the man’s therapy.

However, Lynn wrote, out of the archdiocese’s “charitable concern” for the victim’s “emotional, physical and spiritual well-being,” the archdiocese had decided to make an exception in this case, and pay the victim’s therapy bills. The letter was signed, “Sincerely yours in the Lord, William J. Lynn.”

Sadly, as far as the archdiocese was concerned, however, this wasn’t a charity case, as was revealed Tuesday in the ongoing sex abuse trial. Father Gana had made a full confession, according to formerly confidential documents that the prosecutor entered into evidence. The documents showed that Monsignor Lynn knew about the priest’s confession, but decided not to share this knowledge with the victim.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
The New York Times

By JON HURDLE

Published: April 3, 2012

PHILADELPHIA — A victim of alleged sexual abuse by a Roman Catholic priest told a court on Tuesday that church officials took more than 10 years to resolve his complaint that he had been molested at a summer camp.

Walter J. Daly, 64, told jurors at the landmark trial of a senior church official and another priest that he wrote to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia in October 1992 complaining that he had been abused by the Rev. John Cannon, a priest who ran the camp in Lancaster County, Pa., where Mr. Daly went as an elementary and high school student.

In response, Mr. Daly was invited to a meeting in November 1992 with three church officials, including Msgr. William J. Lynn, the former secretary for clergy at the archdiocese and the first senior church official in the United States to be tried on charges that he endangered children by placing priests in positions where they were able to molest them.

The officials listened to Mr. Daly’s description of having been abused an estimated 25 times over successive summers at the camp but did not appear to resolve his complaints and did not seem very sympathetic, he told the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas.

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MONTANA
Billings Gazette

By SUSAN OLP solp@billingsgazette.com

The Diocese of Great Falls-Billings should not use an off-duty police officer to investigate claims of sexual abuse by priests, a victims advocacy group said Tuesday.

Two members of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, visited Billings to make a case against the practice. The pair spoke Tuesday morning in front of St. Patrick Co-Cathedral.

Judy Jones, SNAP Midwest associate director, and Steven Spaner, SNAP Australia coordinator, both from the St. Louis area, talked about the issue that came up in a civil suit recently filed against the diocese.

The civil suit, filed Feb. 8 in Great Falls, includes 10 plaintiffs. The only named plaintiff, Timothy Becker, alleged that the Rev. Ted Szudera abused him in 1978 and 1979 while Szudera was a priest in Livingston.

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NORTH DAKOTA
Grand Forks Herald

By: Stephen J. Lee, Grand Forks Herald

According to news sources in the Philippines, an appeals court in Manila on Tuesday approved the extradition of Fernando Sayasaya, a former priest in the Catholic Diocese of Fargo, to stand trial in a Fargo court on decade-old felony sex charges involving two minor boys.

The Manila court ruled that the affidavit of West Fargo Police Detective Greg Warren detailing charges from two brothers against Sayasaya was credible and constituted probable cause, according to news reports.

Fernando Sayasaya, who was defrocked several years ago at the urging of Bishop Samuel Aquila of Fargo, was ordained in the diocese in 1995 by Bishop James Sullivan. He served at St. Mary’s Cathedral in downtown Fargo and at Blessed Sacrament in West Fargo.

Sayasaya was removed of his parish duties in 1998, after two brothers accused him of sexually assaulting them in 1997.

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PHILIPPINES
Sun.Star

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

A FILIPINO priest who was indicted for having sexual contact with teenage boys over a decade ago may soon be sent back to the United States to face charges.

Reverend Father Fernando Sayasaya lost his battle at the Court of Appeals (CA) after its first division refused to reverse the decision of the Manila City Regional Trial Court last December 2010 granting the request of the Department of Justice for him to be extradited.

The DOJ filed the petition on behalf of the US government.

“Suppression of crimes is the concern not only of the state where it is committed but also of any other state to which the criminal may have escaped,” the decision penned by Associate Justice Amy Lazaro-Javier stated.

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TOLEDO (OH)
Toledo Blade

BY DAVID YONKE
BLADE RELIGION EDITOR

Barbara Blaine of SNAP led a small protest outside the Toledo Catholic Diocese offices on Tuesday asking Bishop Leonard Blair to be more diligent in keeping the public informed about priests who abuse minors.

The diocese’s online “case status” on priest abusers is dated December, 2010, and Ms. Blaine said the list should be updated once a year “at a minimum.”

The founder and president of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, Ms. Blaine stood on the sidewalk in front of the diocese’s downtown Spielbusch Avenue offices flanked by SNAP supporters Tom and Mary Jean McCarty, who held signs with childhood photos of abuse victims and SNAP’s web address, snapnetwork.org.

An attorney and Toledo native now living in Chicago, Ms. Blaine also called on the diocese to warn members of Blessed John XXIII Parish in Perrysburg that Denny Gray, a defrocked Toledo priest, reportedly is joining the parish. Gray was sued by at least 11 boys claiming he sexually abused them before he left the priesthood in 1987. The diocese sent a letter to one of Gray’s victims stating that the ex-priest “has admitted to us he is guilty of child abuse.”

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INDIA
Christian Today

By: KK John

Wednesday, 4 April 2012, 13:23 (IST)

Another nun from the Catholic Church in Kerala is taking the audacity to open up on the sexual abuse faced by nuns in convents.

Sr Mary Chandy left the order 12 years ago when a priest had forced himself on her. The Presentation Convent nun is now penning her ordeals in an autobiography that will be soon released.

In an interview to a local daily, the 76-year-old nun said her autobiography ‘Swasthy’ will create a “whirlwind” of sorts as it exposes the ordeals she experienced in her 56 years of life as a nun.

“I was once the target of rape and when I protested a clergyman’s attempt and took up the issue with the church, it was I and not he, who was put under tremendous mental pressure,” she said in the interview.

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WISCONSIN
Green Bay Press-Gazette

Written by
Jim Collar
Gannett Wisconsin Media

APPLETON — A judge on Tuesday denied a request from the Catholic Diocese of Green Bay that a jury from outside Outagamie County hear a civil lawsuit brought by two childhood sexual assault victims.

A jury trial is scheduled next month in Outagamie County Court in the lawsuit filed by brothers Troy and Todd Merryfield stemming from their childhood sexual abuse at the hands of former priest John Feeney.

The Merryfields, formerly of Freedom, were sexually assaulted by Feeney in the late 1970s.

They say the diocese was fraudulent in failing to inform Freedom’s St. Nicholas Catholic Church of Feeney’s past, which included church-ordered sexual abuse counseling.

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AUSTRALIA
702 ABC Sydney

By Tim Palmer

Updated April 04, 2012

New questions are being asked about the link between the NSW Attorney-General and a retired Catholic priest who allegedly abused a number of female children during his time in the church.

Father Finian Egan’s more than 50 years as a priest took him to at least half a dozen churches in and around Sydney.

But the priest’s service in the Catholic church came to an end when a number of women came forward to accuse him of abusing them when they were children.

Within weeks of 7.30 airing a series of stories on Father Egan, at least five people had gone to police and a widespread investigation was underway.

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KANSAS CITY (MO)
National Catholic Reporter

Apr. 03, 2012
By Joshua J. McElwee

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The first criminal case against a Catholic bishop in the decades-long clergy sex abuse scandal is expected to take a pivotal turn this week, as a county judge decides whether Bishop Robert Finn, head of the Kansas City-St. Joseph diocese, can be tried on charges of failing to report suspected child abuse.

Central to the decision will be the question of whether Finn can be considered a “mandated reporter” in the case.

Prosecutors say Finn, who has publicly apologized for his handling of a diocesan priest prosecutors say the bishop knew had created child pornography, was criminally liable in not reporting the priest to police.

In motions filed by his lawyers in February, Finn denied guilt of the charges and claimed that because others in the diocese were primarily tasked with reporting abuse, he was absolved of primary responsibility in the case and should not be considered a mandated reporter.

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LOUISIANA
American Press

Last Modified: Tuesday, April 03, 2012

By Ashley Withers / American Press

Former priest Mark A. Broussard on Monday was charged with an additional 100 counts of sexual battery and 40 counts of aggravated rape after another victim came forward, authorities said.

Kim Myers, spokeswoman for the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office, said the crimes occurred at Our Lady Queen of Heaven in Lake Charles — that’s where the victim attended school and church — when the victim was 11-16 years old.

Our Lady Queen of Heaven was the first parish Broussard was assigned to after being ordained in May 1986.

The victim, now 36, is one of four young boys documented in Broussard’s personnel file from his time with the Diocese of Lake Charles. These accounts of sexual contact with young parishioners were known and recorded by the diocese, but never reported to authorities.

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IRELAND
The Guardian (United Kingdom)

Henry McDonald, Ireland correspondent
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 3 April 2012

Several key figures in Irish state broadcaster RTÉ have retired or resigned ahead of what is expected to be a damning report into the libelling of a priest the station falsely accused of rape and fathering a child in Africa.

The retirements and resignations will be followed by a further major complaint of alleged editorial bias against defeated Irish presidential candidate Seán Gallagher. A second report is due which will examine Gallagher’s claims that biased coverage on the Frontline debate show cost him his lead in the opinion polls in the final week of last autumn’s election.

The false allegations against Fr Kevin Reynolds cost RTÉ €1m in libel damages after the investigative Prime Time Investigates programme Mission to Prey ignored internal legal advice that the priest was ready to take a DNA test to prove the claims against him were wrong.

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UNITED STATES
The New York Times

By JANE E. BRODY, Columnist

Every year millions of children from all walks of life become victims of, or witnesses to, abusive or violent events that can result in long-lasting symptoms of distress. The events can range from sexual and physical abuse to involvement in a natural disaster, fire or serious motor vehicle accident.

In many cases, the trauma is unknown to parents and caregivers or never dealt with effectively. The consequences can be devastating for the children and families involved and for society at large. These children are at much greater risk of developing behavioral problems, failing at school, abusing drugs or alcohol and becoming violent themselves.

Without treatment, post-traumatic stress reactions can persist into adulthood, causing eating disorders, personality and mood disorders, relationship difficulties, persistent anxiety, unexplained physical problems, and violent or abusive behaviors.

According to report being released Tuesday by Safe Horizon, a victim assistance group that operates child advocacy centers in New York City, and the Childhood Violent Trauma Center at Yale University, children who are abused or neglected are 59 percent more likely than those who were not victimized to be arrested as juveniles, 28 percent more likely to be arrested as adults, and 30 percent more likely to commit a violent crime. They also face much higher rates of teenage pregnancy and are likelier to abuse or neglect their own children.

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NEW YORK
Catholic News Agency

Thornwood, N.Y., Apr 3, 2012 / 11:25 am (CNA).- The Legionaries of Christ have announced plans to sell their Thornwood property in Westchester County, New York, citing financial strain and fallout from revelations about the late Father Marcial Maciel.

“The scandal involving our founder has been a great shock to us all, shaking our trust and raising doubts in many hearts. We are working hard to regain the trust of our friends – and of one another,” explained Father Luis Garza, L.C., director of the order’s North American territory, in an April 2 letter.

In his message to the Legion and its affiliate Regnum Christi, Fr. Garza announced the sale of the property that had been used for priestly formation since 1996. He noted that the global recession of the past several years had “also affected many of our benefactors.”

“As a consequence of our difficulties, we have also experienced a decrease in vocations to the Legion and to the consecrated life,” he acknowledged.

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PHILIPPINES
The Philippine Star

By Edu Punay (The Philippine Star) Updated April 04, 2012

MANILA, Philippines – The Court of Appeals (CA) has approved the extradition of former priest Fernando Sayasaya to the United States to stand trial for sexual molestation.

The CA affirmed the ruling of the Manila City regional trial court ordering the extradition of Sayasaya, who is wanted in the US for allegedly sexually molesting two minors on several occasions from 1995 to 1998.

In a 23-page decision, the first division of the appellate court dismissed Sayasaya’s petition questioning the extradition order.

The CA, through Associate Justice Amy Lazaro-Javier, stressed the Philippine government has an obligation to ensure that crimes would not go unpunished.

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NEW JERSEY
Daily Record

Written by
Abbott Koloff
Staff Writer

Local church officials say they have made another monetary settlement over sex abuse allegations against former Dover pastor Ronald Tully.

Ken Mullaney, an attorney for the Paterson Roman Catholic Diocese, acknowledged that a settlement was made about a month ago but said any other information would have to come from the victim making the allegations and his attorney.

Boston attorney Mitchell Garabedian said on Tuesday that the diocese paid $265,000 to his client to settle the matter and offered to pay an additional amount for counseling. He said his client was 16 years old and a student at Pope Pius XII High School in Passaic, where Tully worked, in 1976 when the alleged abuse took place.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
Tyrone Times

Published on Tuesday 3 April 2012

PARENTS who were present when sexually explicit imagery appeared on screen during a presentation given by the Parish Priest of Pomeroy, have demanded an explanation and apology following the incident.

According to a “unanimous” statement issued on behalf of parents of Primary Four children from St Mary’s PS in the village – who had gathered last Monday night to attend an information event given by Fr Martin McVeigh in preparation for First Communion – a number of questions remain unanswered as to what action has been taken by the Archdiocese of Armagh in light of what took place.

Both the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools (CCMS) and Cardinal Sean Brady’s office have confirmed that the incident is under investigation.

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IRELAND
Galway Bay FM

April 3, 2012

Ed Mulhall has retired as head of RTE’s news and current affairs.

The announcement follows the completition of an investigation by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland into a Prime Time Investigates programme, A Mission to Prey.

The programme wrongly accused Ahascragh priest Fr Kevin Reynolds of statutory rape and also falsely alleged he had fathered a child.

He has since been awarded substantial damages by RTE in the high court, and the broadcaster did not contest the claims made by Fr Reynolds in the proceedings.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

By John P. Martin
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia let a pastor who admitted abusing adolescent boys at a Northeast Philadelphia parish return to limited ministry in 1997 because doctors said his problem had been substance abuse, not pedophilia, jurors were told today.

After his return from treatment, the Rev. Stanley Gana was assigned as the chaplain for a monastery of Carmelite nuns,

Msgr. William J. Lynn, the administrator who recommended his assignment and had interviewed two of his victims, told Gana he could also occasionally assist at parishes – as long as he kept “a low-profile” in the diocese.

“I said it would be fine if Gana helps out, if it was not a Northeast parish or a parish with a school,” Lynn wrote in a confidential memo.

Philadelphia prosecutors introduced the records today as they sought to prove that Lynn, the archdiocese’s former secretary for clergy, endangered children by enabling or failing to remove priests suspected of abusing children.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
Religion Dispatches

Post by Katie Toth

Things got awkward at St. Mary’s School in Pomeroy, Ireland last week, when a Catholic priest accidentally aired gay pornography during his presentation to parents about the First Communion.

According to a parents’ statement, Father Martin McVeigh was setting up a PowerPoint display and put a USB stick into the computer. When pornographic images appeared on screen, he abandoned the presentation, probably more than a little embarrassed.

Parents and the diocese have advanced on McVeigh with vigor. According to a spokesperson, the principal of St. Mary’s “immediately referred this matter to the diocesan authorities in accordance with the diocesan safeguarding procedures”; the Cardinal and the diocesan child protection office have launched a formal investigation after Church authorities consulted with the police.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
San Luis Obispo Tribune

By JOANN LOVIGLIO | Associated Press

A series of confidential memos outlining multiple allegations of sexual abuse against a now-defrocked priest were read to jurors Tuesday in the landmark clergy abuse trial under way in Philadelphia.

The memos describe how the archdiocese handled the allegations against the Rev. Stanley Gana lodged in the 1990s. Prosecutors are trying to show that the archdiocese didn’t do enough to protect children from Gana after the accusations arose.

Monsignor William Lynn, 61, supervised more than 800 priests as the secretary for clergy in Philadelphia from 1992 to 2004. He’s the first U.S. church official charged over his handling of abuse complaints against priests.

Prosecutors charge that he kept dangerous priests in parish work around children to protect the church’s reputation and avoid scandal. He faces up to 28 years in prison if convicted of conspiracy and child endangerment.

A detective read confidential memos and other documents to jurors about Gana that dated back to 1992. The documents include reports made to the church, and conversations with Lynn and others, by several young men who said they were molested by Gana for years as adolescents.

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MONTANA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by Judy Jones on April 03, 2012

We are members of a Chicago-based international support group called SNAP. Our mission is to heal the wounded and protect the vulnerable.

We’re here today, outside the Great Falls/Billings Catholic Diocese headquarters, for four reasons:

Instead, we want him to promptly report all reports and suspicions of possible child sex crimes immediately to police. If law enforcement officials can’t or won’t pursue charges (often due to the statute of limitations), then we want Warfel to hired retired law enforcement to look into the accusations.

Hiring off duty copes as investigators is apparently legal in Montana (though apparently illegal in some states). We believe that it likely compromises or compromises or undermines the integrity or independence of – or reduces public confidence in – law enforcement.

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TOLEDO (OH)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by Barbara Blaine on April 03, 2012

We are members of a Chicago-based international support group called SNAP. Our mission is to heal the wounded and protect the vulnerable.

We’re here today, outside the Toledo Catholic Diocese headquarters, for three reasons:

1–To urge Toledo’s bishop to tell parishioners and the public – now and on a regular basis – the whereabouts and status of predator priests in the diocese,

2– To urge a Toledo nun – just elected to a national church post- to push for more disclosure of child molesting clerics who belong to religious orders,

3– And to urge all Toledo Catholic officials to warn citizens and Catholics that a now defrocked pedophile priest, Dennis P. Gray, is reportedly joining a Perrysburg parish.

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NORTH DAKOTA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by David Clohessy on April 03, 2012

We are glad that that Fr. Fernando Sayasaya – a former Fargo priest – will be returned to the United States to face a trial for his crimes. It is rare that victims of a predator priest have the chance to see the justice system work in their favor. We are hopeful that this trial will give them some peace and will protect children from this child molesting cleric.

This case is another example in a string of incidents in which church officials have let a foreign priest return to his country after finding out about abuse allegations against him (the other most recent case is of Fr. Jeyapaul, in Minnesota). This is a disturbing practice and needs to end. As with all priests, whether they are US citizens or otherwise, church officials should immediately turn over all evidence of abuse to the police and let them investigate. The situation with Fr. Sayasaya is a somber reminder of how much further the church hierarchy needs to go to live up to their promise of being open and honest about child sex crimes.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
ABC News

PHILADELPHIA April 3, 2012 (AP)

A series of confidential memos from the 1990s are being read to jurors in the landmark priest-abuse trial under way in Philadelphia.

The memos being read Tuesday describe how the archdiocese handled allegations of sexual abuse against the Rev. Stanley Gana lodged in the 1990s. Prosecutors are trying to show that the archdiocese didn’t do enough after the accusations arose.

Monsignor William Lynn’s child endangerment and conspiracy trial could last several months.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
New York Daily News

Roman Catholic Church investigating how porn slideshow ended up at First Communion class

By Nina Mandell / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

The Catholic Church launched an investigation after an Irish priest inadvertently played a slide show of gay porn to a group of parents who had come for a meeting about their children’s First Communion.

Father Martin McVeigh was setting up a PowerPoint presentation last week when the sexual images popped up on the computer, The Ulster Herald reported.

“There were plenty of shocked faces,” one person at the meeting told the newspaper. “There’s a lot of parents very angry about it.”

Parents said in a statement that McVeigh quickly removed the offending memory card from the computer and bolted from the room.

“He was visibly shaken and flustered,” the statement said, according to The Associated Press. “He gave no explanation or apology to the group and bolted out of the room. The coordinator and the teachers then continued with the presentation.”

McVeigh returned to the meeting 20 minutes later and told parents that children get lots of money for their Holy Communion and should consider giving some of it to the church.

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IRELAND
The Journal

TWO RTÉ EXECUTIVES have left their positions as a result of inquiries into the Prime Time Investigates programme ‘A Mission to Prey’. The Prime Time Investigates series is also to be permanently shelved, RTÉ has announced.

Ed Mulhall, the Managing Director of RTÉ’s News and Current Affairs division, retired from the broadcaster from March 2012, according to a statement just issued by RTÉ.

Ken O’Shea, Editor of Current Affairs, has resigned that post. He is now “transferring to an assignment in Television, reporting to the Commissioning Editor for RTÉ Two”.

RTÉ also announced today that it has convened an External Investigation Board “into all personnel matters arising in respect of the programme ‘A Mission to Prey’.” This board is currently investigating and is to deliver a report to RTÉ’s Group Head of HR. RTÉ said it won’t comment on the work of the board until it has reached a conclusion.

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