ABUSE TRACKER

DEUTSCHLAND
Medienburo Nord

“ICH BIN IM HUNGERSTREIK”, teilte Norbert Denef, Sprecher des Opferverbandes “NetzwerkB*,” heute mit.

Grund: Die Bundestagsfraktion der SPD sei “nicht dazu bereit, sich im Deutschen Bundestag für die Aufhebung der Verjährungsfristen von sexualisierter Gewalt einzusetzen”. Quelle: Norbert Denef

Am 6. Dezember 2011 hatten sich die SPD-Delegierten auf dem Bundesparteitag noch einstimmig dafür ausgesprochen (siehe hier Video von der Norbert Denef -Rede auf dem SPD-Parteitag).

Denef ist Betroffener sexuellen Missbrauchs in der römisch-katholischen Kirche. Er wurde in seiner Heimatstadt Delitzsch als Messdiener vom 10. bis zum 16. Lebensjahr von einem Priester und vom 16. bis zum 18. Lebensjahr von einem Organisten missbraucht. Denef leidet auch heute noch an den Folgen des jahrelangen Missbrauchs, unter anderem Depressionen und weiteren Folgen einer posttraumatischen Belastungsstörung als Folge von sexuellen Missbrauchs in der Kindheit.

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MASSACHUSETTS
La Salette Journey

In a previous post, I noted how then Deacon and now Father Jonathan Joseph Slavinskas was quoted in The Catholic Free Press as having said that, “Father Coonan [Fr. Joseph Coonan] was a great influence and helped nourish my vocation.” Fr. Slavinskas also credited the late Bishop Timothy J. Harrington, who was dissent-friendly, as being an inspiration.

Now Fr. Slavinskas’ sister, Amy Whittemore, has left a comment at this Blog taking exception with the legitimate concerns of Catholics who find this troubling. And all the more so since St. Paul, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, warns, “Do not be led astray: Bad company corrupts good morals.” (1 Corinthians 15: 33). She writes:

“It sickens me that people in todays society feel the need to judge a person by who their role models or influences are. How bad is it to look up to someone who was ACCUSED of something that may or may not have happened? Fr. Coonan was an influence to my brother before any of the scandals come out. Who are we to judge others? The only one to judge is God. Father Coonan was a better role model than the ones teens look up to today such as the drug addicted alcoholic singers, actors, and reality show stars…”

Something that may or may not have happened? Fr. Joseph A. Coonan was removed from ministry at St. John’s Church in 2002 after allegations of inappropriate contact with children dating back to the 1970’s. He was also charged with domestic assault and battery, assault and battery on a person over 65 years of age (his mother), and one count of intimidating a witness according to court documents. The Worcester Diocese found the accusations to be credible and removed Fr. Coonan from any and all ministry.

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ROCKVILLE CENTRE (NY)
Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre

Friday, 08 June 2012

ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. – June 8, 2012 – Pope Benedict XVI has appointed two priests, Rev. Msgr. Robert J. Brennan, 50, and Rev. Msgr. Nelson J. Perez, 50, – as auxiliary bishops of the Diocese of Rockville Centre. Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, apostolic nuncio to the United States, made the announcement public earlier today in Washington, D.C. Bishop-elect Brennan is from the Diocese of Rockville Centre and currently serves as vicar general. Bishop-elect Perez is from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and is the pastor of Saint Agnes Church, West Chester, Pennsylvania.

The Most Rev. William Murphy, bishop, Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre will ordain the new bishops at a Mass of Episcopal Ordination to be celebrated at Saint Agnes Cathedral, Rockville Centre, New York on July 25, 2012, the Feast of Saint James the Apostle.

“I wish to express my fervent thanks to the Holy Father for responding so quickly to my request for two auxiliary bishops to help me pastor the fifth largest diocese in our nation,” said Bishop William Murphy. “God has blessed this Diocese with good and holy priests and now two new auxiliary bishops, one a native son, the second, a Cuban American who will bring his many gifts and his Latino language, culture and heritage to enrich this wonderful Diocese.”

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IRELAND/UNITED STATES
Irish Central

By
KERRY O’SHEA,
IrishCentral Staff Writer

Published Friday, June 8, 2012

Helen McGonigle, who was sexually abused by Irish priest Brendan Smyth when she was six years old, believes the priest also murdered a child during his time in Rhode Island. McGonigle says that Smyth warned her by saying she would “end up like the body in the woods” if she told anyone about the abuse.

The Anglo-Celt reports on the connection McGonigle made between Smyth’s chilling comments and the finding of a child’s remains in the woods near her school in the 1960s. The discovery of the body, however, came about after Smyth laid down his threat on young McGonigle.

McGonigle notified police of the connection she made in 2007. Police, however, confirmed to the Anglo-Celt that they were not able to launch an investigation in regards to McGonigle’s theory because of the amount of time that had since passed, the death of Smyth, the time-frame quoted in her statement and that their older records were not digitally stored.

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ROCHESTER (NY)
The Evening Tribune

By Neal Simon
The Evening Tribune

[Dispositions, 2002-Present]

Posted Jun 08, 2012

Rocheter, N.Y. —

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester has released the names of priests who have been removed from public ministry over the last decade for credible claims of sexual abuse of minors.

In addition to the names of the nearly two dozen offenders, the list summarizes the final dispositions of all claims resolved since the church established comprehensive procedures for addressing sexual abuse allegations in 2002.

“No priest who has harmed a minor remains in public ministry,” the diocese said in a statement.

The diocese said will update the list if new, credible allegations of abuse are presented.

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RUSSIA
RIA Novosti

MOSCOW, June 8 (RIA Novosti)

A scandal involving a cross-dressing prosecutor erupted in southern Russia on Friday after he was discovered dressed as a woman and trying to talk to teenage girls.

The man, 32-year-old Konstantin Fominov, who sent a pedophile priest to prison three years ago, approached a group of teenage girls outside an apartment building in the southern Kuban region on June 4. He was wearing a dress, a corset, high-heeled shoes and a wig.

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IRELAND
IrishCentral

By
ANTOINETTE KELLY,
IrishCentral Staff Writer

Published Friday, June 8, 2012

Cardinal Timothy Dolan will host two special editions of his Sirius XM Radio show during his pilgrimage to Ireland. it has been announced.

Conversation with Cardinal Dolan will air from Ireland on Thursday, June 7 at 12:00PM ET and Wednesday, June 13 at 7:00AM ET on The Catholic Channel (Sirius Radio and XM Radio channel 129).

Dolan is leading about one hundred New Yorkers on a ten day Archdiocesan pilgrimage to Ireland from June 4 – 13, where he will participate in the opening of the International Eucharistic Congress to promote an awareness of the central place of the Eucharist in the life and mission of the Catholic Church.

Dolan’s visit has been shadowed by controversy however, after a New York Times report at the weekend claimed he personally approved substantial payouts to multiple priests accused of sex abuse charges while he was archbishop of Milwaukee, an accusation he called ‘groundless and scurrilous.’

According to the Times, Dolan reportedly agreed that the priests accused of sex abuse should be paid $20,000 in exchange for leaving the priesthood.

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TEXAS/ALABAMA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by David Clohessy on June 07, 2012

We applaud Texas law enforcement for taking charges of sexual abuse seriously. And while we are glad that the Cowboy Church of Marshal County has fired Mark Allen green after his arrest we feel that step is the bare minimum.

We fear that children in that congregation may have been hurt by Green and call on church officials to work with the congregation to encourage anyone who has been hurt to come forward and seek help and that witnesses and whistleblowers work with law enforcement.

It is troubling that Green has been able to land a job as a pastor despite his past criminal behavior. The Southern Baptist Convention does not screen prospective ministers, because under Baptist polity each church is free to choose its own leaders with our without the guidance of denominational leaders. This policy needlessly places innocent children at risk.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by Barbara Dorris on June 07, 2012

Our hearts ache for the dozens of courageous victims, witnesses and whistleblowers who have exposed wrongdoing, protected kids and helped law enforcement and who are anxiously waiting for a verdict in this historic trial. No matter what happens, their bravery has not been in vain. They deserve closure and justice and we hope they’ll get both soon.

To every person who saw, suspected or suffered Philly clergy sex crimes and cover ups – it’s not too late to step forward. Every single person – ordained or lay, Catholic or non-Catholic, staffer or volunteer – who has even a shred of information or suspicion about Philly clergy sex crimes, has a duty to speak up, no matter what happens in this trial.

Silence only protects wrongdoers.

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AUSTRALIA
Catholic Culture

The Holy See Press Office announced on June 7 that Auxiliary Bishop Patrick Power of Canberra and Goulburn has resigned from his position, which he has held since 1986.

The resignation of Bishop Power comes five years before the normal retirement age of 75 and one year after he threatened to resign over his dissatisfaction with the state of the Church.

In 2010, Bishop Power called for “total systematic reform” of the Church, including a reconsideration of “the authoritarian nature of the Church, compulsory celibacy for the clergy, the participation of women in the Church, the teaching on sexuality in all aspects.” He has also called for an open discussion of women’s ordination.

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UNITED STATES
The Dickinson Press

By: Bonnie Erbe, The Dickinson Press

U.S. nuns are having none of the Vatican’s dictatorial management tactics. And the women religious are to be applauded for it. Especially considering the various scandals enveloping the Vatican’s storied walls these days (from corruption to document theft to priest pedophilia), the sisters are wise to say: Enough.

That said, they are doing so in a most dignified manner. The Vatican should adopt the nuns’ stalwart, inclusive, honest, open and helpful approach — and not the other way around.

A nasty tiff arose between the Vatican and U.S. nuns in late April, you may recall. The Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which oversees church doctrine, ordered a “supervised renewal” of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious. The conference represents 47,000 of the 57,000 or so U.S. nuns. Essentially, the Vatican placed control of the women religious under a U.S. archbishop, an unprecedented and disrespectful move.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Information Service

Vatican City, 8 June 2012 (VIS) – The Holy Father appointed: …

– Msgr. Nelson J. Perez of the clergy of the archdiocese of Philadelphia, U.S.A., pastor of the parish of St. Agnes in West Chester, and Msgr. Robert J. Brennan of the clergy of the diocese of Rockville Centre, U.S.A., vicar general, moderator of the Curia and pastor of the parish of St. Mary of the Isle, as auxiliaries of Rockville Centre (area 3,164, population 3,527,942, Catholics 1,737,498, priests 485, permanent deacons 270, religious 1,241). Bishop-elect Perez was born in Miami, U.S.A. in 1961 and ordained a priest in 1989. He has served in a number of parishes and, among other roles, has worked as director of the Catholic Institute for Evangelisation. Bishop-elect Brennan was born in New York, U.S.A. in 1962 and ordained a priest in 1989. He has worked as a pastor in various parishes and served as private secretary to bishops of Rockville Centre.

On Thursday 7 June it was made pubic that the Holy Father: …

– Accepted the resignation from the office of auxiliary of the archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn, Australia, presented by Bishop Patrick Percival Power, in accordance with canons 411 and 401 para. 2 of the Code of Canon Law.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)/ROCKVILLE CENTRE (NY)
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia

Curriculum Vitae of Bishop-elect Nelson J. Perez

It was announced today in Rome that Pope Benedict XVI has appointed Reverend Monsignor Nelson J. Perez as Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of Rockville Centre in New York. Bishop-elect Perez, age 50, was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia in 1989. In addition to service at the parish level as a parochial vicar and pastor since that time, Bishop-elect Perez was also the Founding Director of the Catholic Institute for Evangelization and has been heavily involved in ministry to Hispanic Catholics.

Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap. said, “Pope Benedict XVI’s appointment of Bishop-elect Perez continues a long and generous tradition of service to the Universal Church by priests from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. It also demonstrates the Holy Father’s confidence in Bishop-elect Perez, who has served our Archdiocese and its people with faithful devotion for many years. Bishop-elect Perez has a joyful and down-to-earth personality, an obvious love for the priesthood, and a tireless devotion to his ministry. Knowing how much he is loved by those he serves makes the sacrifice of losing him to another diocese all the greater.

As Bishop-elect Perez prepares to begin his episcopal ministry, I offer him heartfelt congratulations and pray that the Holy Spirit will strengthen him as a successor of the Apostles. I’m confident that he will be of great service to Bishop William Murphy and all of God’s people in the Diocese of Rockville Centre. They are fortunate to receive such a gift from the Holy Father in the person of Bishop-elect Perez.”

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)/ROCKVILLE CENTRE (NY)
Philadelphia Inquirer

Breaking News Desk

Pope Benedict XVI today appointed a priest from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia to become an auxiliary bishop for the Diocese of Rockville Centre in New York

Monsignor Nelson J. Perez, 50, currently is pastor of St. Agnes Church in West Chester. He also is founding director of the Catholic Institute for Evangelization and has been heavily involved in ministry to Hispanic Catholics, the archdiocese said in a statement.

The Diocese of Rockville Centre covers the suburban counties of New York’s Long Island and serves about 1.5 million Catholics, a growing number of them Hispanic.

Born in Miami, Perez grew up in West New York, N.J., and was ordained a priest in 1989.

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UNITED STATES
Pope Crimes & Vatican Evils…

Paris Arrow

Updated June 7, 2012

Why should the Vatican be considered as a “country” when it is only one medieval building and one public Square inhabited by a few hundred only-men (less than a USA High School) comprising of the Pope, Cardinals, Bishops, priests and their fanatic obedient religious personnel? And all those millions and billions of dollars going to the Vatican Bank are managed only by a few men and they do not really go to charity but to secret fishy international dealings by the Pope and his “diplomatic immunity” Princes of the Church and Papal Nuncios, and fanatic Catholics who “Pray, Pay, Obey” have no clue where these money are being channelled to. But two things are sure: First, the Pope who is suppose to “Feed My Sheep” is not feeding them but rather sucking food – money from these sheep, and second, he does not – and cannot – protect the most vulnerable, the children and women and missionaries in far-flung countries, in fact he is callous to victims of the JP2 Army – John Paul II Pedophile Priests Army and he couldn’t bother to offer water to those Italian JP2 Army victims who walked across Italy to meet with their “Holy Father” in Rome, as All Roads Lead to Rome”.

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UNITED STATES
USA Today

By Cathy Lynn Grossman, USA TODAY

Ten years ago, the Roman Catholic sex-abuse scandal dominated the headlines with horrific stories of priests preying on vulnerable youths and a church hierarchy more concerned with protecting clergy instead of kids.

Now, it’s back. A Philadelphia jury is deliberating whether, for the first time, a high-ranking church official will be held criminally accountable.

However they rule, the case carries symbolic freight far heavier than the grim details in the trial of Monsignor William Lynn, former secretary for the clergy in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. It revives the breadth and depth of the abuse crisis, its extraordinary costs and unending frustrations.

Lynn’s trial brings the ugly mess to mind “like it was yesterday,” said Mary Jane Doerr, associate director of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Office of Child and Youth Protection. “It’s still shocking, the degree of damage a handful of priests have done. When will the numbers ever stop?”

The statistics are staggering:

•More than 6,100 accused priests since 1950, Doerr said. She draws the number from two reports: a 2011 analysis by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City and the latest annual report by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA), which tracks U.S. Catholic statistics.

•More than 16,000 victims, chiefly teenage boys, since 1950. However, “since there is no national data base tracking clergy abuse, we may never really know how many victims there are across all the dioceses and across time,” said Mary Gautier, senior researcher for CARA.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Daily News

Christine M. Flowers

As I write, a jury of 12 good Philadelphians is deliberating over the fate of Monsignor William Lynn, who stands accused of protecting sexual predators. He is the proxy for a hierarchy that far too late came to understand that criminals are criminals even if they are sick of mind and spirit, and wear Roman collars.

Today, I don’t know what type of verdict those good people will render. But it doesn’t matter. The fact that there is a trial at all, one where the defendant is protected by the same system that separates the guilty from the innocent regardless of creed, color or cash flow, is a triumph. Caesar is given his due, because no one — priest or penitent —is above the law.

The lawyer in me is proud of that fact; proud, too, that the secular mobs who scream for the dismantling of statutes of limitations have not been successful. While priests should be held to the same standard as laymen, they should not be targeted for special punishment, which is exactly what those who advocate eliminating limiting statutes seek. You cannot ignore the fact that this move to make it easier to sue alleged sexual predators gained strength just at the moment that the sex-abuse scandal exploded in Boston almost a decade ago. So many of the so-called civil libertarians who would use their last breath to defend the rights of the accused see nothing wrong in neutralizing those rights when it comes to clergy. Anyone who denies the anti-Catholic or, at least, anti-clerical nature of these ‘reforms’ is either naïve or dishonest.

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AUSTRALIA
Failed Messiah

Originally published at 10:30 pm CDT Thursday, 6-7-2012

Zephania Waks, the father of Manny Waks – the most outspoken of the more than one dozen alleged victims of David Cyprys, David Kramer and other pedophiles who operated with impunity at Chabad’s flagship Australian yeshiva, Yeshiva College in Melbourne – has been barred from receiving aliyot, Torah honors, by Rabbi Zvi Hirsch Telsner, the leading Chabad rabbi in Australia and the son-on-law of the late head of Chabad in Australia, Rabbi Yitzchok Dovid Groner.

Telsner refused to tell Waks why he has been banned – a move apparently meant to protect himself and Chabad from prosecution for possible witness tampering and intimidation (these are not the exact legal terms used in Australia, but you get the point) and from civil suits.

I asked Manny Waks tonight about Telsner’s treatment of his father:

“Rabbi Telsner’s actions are simply outrageous. He has essentially executed precisely what he said [during a recent Sabbath sermon] would happen to anyone who speaks out on this issue – excommunication. The ongoing persecution of me and my family by the Yeshivah leadership and their blind followers over the past year or so has been relentless. This has now reached a whole new level. Rabbi Telsner’s actions ought to be condemned by everyone, especially by members of the Yeshivah community.”

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NEW YORK
Forward

By Yaacov Behrman

Published June 08, 2012, issue of June 15, 2012.

All competent rabbinic authorities are in agreement that cases of sexual abuse should be reported to law enforcement. Agudath Israel of America nevertheless requires parents to obtain rabbinic permission before reporting abuse to authorities. Although in the overwhelming majority of cases, abuse allegations turn out to be accurate, there has been a minority of cases in which innocent individuals were wrongly charged with abuse crimes. These individuals were vindicated only after lengthy proceedings. Therefore, some rabbis feel that in a case where there are no witnesses to the abuse and there is only one victim, who is a minor, a rabbi should assess the validity of the allegations before the accusations are brought to the police.

Personally, I don’t feel victims or their parents are required under Jewish law to ask for rabbinic permission before reporting sexual abuse to authorities, even though, in all likelihood, the rabbis will instruct the victims to pursue charges. I do believe, however, that having a rabbinic authority involved may end up benefitting the victim and helping ease the stigma and trauma that comes with a publicized trial.

Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes’s recent move to have a new state law enacted that would compel rabbis to report child sex abuse allegations to authorities is a miscalculation and a mistake. As the law currently stands, victims and their families have the ability to seek the advice of a rabbi with confidence that their allegations will not be disclosed. Parents of victims are often terrified of the psychological effect a public trial would have on victims and their families. Victims often go to the rabbi for support, afraid to report the abuse directly to the authorities, afraid of being intimidated or impugning the reputation of an otherwise-respected member of the community, and afraid that public knowledge will hurt their chances of finding a suitable bride or groom in their community. It is in such cases that the rabbis play an invaluable part; they are often able to persuade a reluctant victim to come forward and testify. To paraphrase what one rabbi told a victim: “I do not say that you may report this crime to the police, I say you must report it to the police.”

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HOLYOKE (MA)
The Republican

By Jeanette DeForge, The Republican

HOLYOKE – Protesters who have been holding a vigil at Mater Dolorosa Church since it was closed by the Springfield Roman Catholic Diocese a year ago voted Thursday if it should end the round-the-clock occupation of the church.

The group of about 100 people will not announce the results until Sunday. They began the prayer vigil the day the church closed on June 30 and was merged into the new Our Lady of the Cross.

The vote was sparked after the highest court of the Vatican, the Apostolic Signatura issued a preliminary decision over an appeal of the closure that called for the group to end the vigil. It also ordered Springfield Bishop Timothy A. McDonnell to refrain from selling, destroying or damaging the church until the appeal is heard.

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NIGERIA
allAfrica

8 June 2012

EDITORIAL

Apparently, even the pious enclave of the head of the Roman Catholic Church is not immune to the vices of base human machinations, high-level intrigues, corruption and power struggles which have long been the bane of the secular world.

Nothing else better illuminates this assertion than the recent arrest of one Paolo Gabriele, the personal butler of Pope Benedict XVI, on charges that he leaked confidential information in papal and Vatican documents to Italian journalists and others, an activity that has both embarrassed and confounded important institutions of the Holy See over the last few months.

Gabriele is a 46-year-old father of three and a layman who had direct and unrestricted access to the Pope’s living quarters in Vatican City. He had been employed as the Pontiff’s personal butler since 2006. It was perhaps this vantage position he occupied in the Pope’s personal life that enabled him to position himself at the centre of what has now come to be known as the “Vatileaks” scandal.

The scandal, which began in January this year, involved the surreptitious leaking of documents from inside sources that have seriously embarrassed the Vatican.

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BALTIMORE (MD)
The Baltimore Sun

By Tricia Bishop, The Baltimore Sun

Baltimore prosecutors plan to look into new sexual abuse allegations from the 1970s against former Catholic school teacher John Merzbacher, according to his most recent accuser.

“They’re investigating what I reported,” said Donna Berger, 48. She met with a team of people Thursday morning — about a half-dozen prosecutors, detectives and victims’ services representatives — to outline abuse that she says happened to her nearly 40 years ago, when she was a preteen at South Baltimore’s Catholic Community middle school.

Merzbacher has not been charged with a crime related to Berger’s allegations, and he might never be. It depends upon whether law enforcement officials deem her story credible and think they can make a case in court.

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UNITED STATES
Catholic News Service

[Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People – BishopAccountability.org]

By Carol Zimmermann
Catholic News Service

WASHINGTON (CNS) — The “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People” — now 10 years old — was not meant to be “the last word” in solving the abuse crisis, according to the chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on the Protection of Children and Young People.

Instead, Bishop R. Daniel Conlon of Joliet, Ill., said the charter has provided a framework for ongoing efforts. Its requirements are “not a temporary fix” but have to “become part of our culture,” he added.

The charter was part of the U.S. bishops’ response to the clergy abuse scandal that was a top concern when they met 10 years ago in Dallas.

Their June meeting took place just five months after The Boston Globe began publishing articles about the sexual abuse of minors by priests and accusations of a systemic cover-up by church officials. The reports prompted other victims across the country to come forward with allegations of abuse that put the scandal in the national spotlight.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Priest Abuse Trial Blog

Ralph Cipriano

It’s getting strange down at the courthouse, folks.

After a 10-week trial, the jury in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia sex abuse case has decided they need some time off for family events, like graduations. So on Thursday, after Judge M. Teresa Sarmina approved their request, jurors walked out of Courtroom 304, to get an early start on a long weekend.

The jury of seven men and five women that began deliberating last Friday afternoon are off this Friday. On Monday, they’ll be coming in around 1 p.m. and hopefully put in a full afternoon, before they are scheduled to leave around 4:30 p.m. On Tuesday, they’re expected to deliberate again, but Wednesday, they’re off, and Friday they’re off again.

So if they go the full route on Tuesday and Thursday, the jury will deliberate at most 2 1/2 days next week.

Usually, juries measure their time in terms of minutes and hours, and can’t get out the door fast enough. But this jury seems to be digging in for the long haul. They’ve already ordered a marker board and an easel. Lunch today was from Chick-fil-A. This could take a while.

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ALABAMA
Associated Baptist Press

By Bob Allen

An Alabama Baptist church fired its new pastor after his recent arrest on sexual abuse charges in Texas, but it isn’t the pastor’s first time in jail.

Mark Allen Green, 41, in jail under a $500,000 bond in Waxahachie, Texas, has a long criminal rap sheet, including nearly a decade in the Texas state prison system before his release in 2007, according to WAFF television in Huntsville, Ala.

A website started by a man in Arlington, Texas, who claims Green stole money from him, but could not be arrested, describes him as a “career criminal” who “floats around” four Texas counties and “hides at any local Cowboy Church.”

Most recently it was the Cowboy Church of Marshall County in Albertville, Ala., which reportedly called Green as pastor a couple of months ago. Last Sunday church members were informed of his arrest and termination earlier in the week, according to the Sand Mountain Reporter.

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KENTUCKY
WKU

By Kenny Colston

One of Kentucky’s leading voices against child abuse is speaking out about abuse he suffered as a child. State Rep. Tom Burch is the chairman of the House Health and Welfare committee. Burch wrote a letter to the Lexington Herald-Leader that mentioned that he was sexually abused by a priest as a middle schooler and was also physically abused by his father. Burch declined to give the priest’s name or mention the church where the abuse occurred, saying that doing so wouldn’t help anything.

Burch also says he told church leaders privately about the sexual abuse at the time. As an adult, Burch sought counseling, which the Catholic church paid for.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Verdict

A Tale of Two Child Sex Abuse Trials Involving Two Iconic Pennsylvania Institutions: Penn State and the Philadelphia Roman Catholic Archdiocese

Marci A. Hamilton

Two iconic Pennsylvania institutions—Penn State and the Philadelphia Roman Catholic Archdiocese—are facing public trials, in close succession, regarding child sex abuse, and each trial is slashing away at the unquestioned reverence that both had enjoyed for so long. Penn State fans and Catholics are experiencing divisive betrayal, anger, and confusion as they learn still more about exactly how grievously their beloved institutions have shortchanged children.

The Trial of Monsignor William Lynn

For three months, Philadelphia prosecutors have introduced a mountain of evidence to establish that Msgr. William Lynn callously and deliberately endangered children by letting predator priests continue in their ministry. The only defense Lynn’s attorneys seem to have –the claim that he was just following orders—seemed like diversionary nitpicking, rather than a strike at the prosecution evidence. He is charged with conspiracy with other Archdiocesan officials, and with the endangerment of children.

Also being tried, at the same time, is Fr. James Brennan, who is accused of attempted rape and the endangerment of children. There were other defendants, but one of them—defrocked priest, Edward Avery—pled guilty right before the trial started, and two others will be facing trial in the Fall.

Much of the trial evidence was drawn from two remarkable grand jury reports on child sex abuse in the Philadelphia Archdiocese—one from 2005, the other from last year. The former report, which was a result of grand jury investigations during the tenure of District Attorney Lynne Abraham, laid exhaustive groundwork establishing the clergy sex abuse cover-up, in over 450 pages. Despite the exemplary investigation, though, no victims were able to press charges, because the statutes of limitations had expired. The 2011 Grand Jury Report, however, built on the 2005 Report, and successfully identified victims whose claims fell within the statute of limitations. And that Report opened the door for the current Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams, to file charges and proceed to trial.

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VATICAN CITY
Reuters

By Philip Pullella and Silvia Aloisi

VATICAN CITY | Fri Jun 8, 2012

(Reuters) – For a financial institution whose ATMs offer Latin as a language option, whose offices are below the pope’s windows and where tellers work under the gaze of crucifixes, one might assume the Vatican bank would have a dispensation from earthly travails.

But new judicial woes and internal upheavals at the bank, officially known as the Institute for Works of Religion (IOR), have raised new hurdles for the Vatican, just as it entered the final stretch of years of efforts to join the international club of financial righteousness.

On May 24, in the type of corporate drama rarely seen in the Vatican, Ettore Gotti Tedeschi, 67, the Italian president of the IOR, stormed out of the bank’s executive offices.

He had spoken for 70 minutes non-stop in the boardroom to defend his management but left in a huff when it became clear that the other four board members were intent on approving a no-confidence motion against him.

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IRELAND
Irish Examiner

By Fiachra Ó Cionnaith

Thursday, June 07, 2012

The State’s involvement in the de-facto imprisonment of women at the infamous Magdalene laundries can only be resolved if an immediate apology, pensions and “lost” wages are given to those affected.

The claim was made by the Justice for Magdalenes group at a private meeting with Senator Martin McAleese, the independent chair of a Government committee investigating their experiences, yesterday.

The Leinster House meeting was organised to allow for the views of women directly affected by their time in Magdalene laundries, and in some cases their children, to be addressed in a review report on the issue.

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INDIA
Conference of Religious India Bulletin

Training of trainers on child rights and preventions of child abuse.

The Church in the west is undergoing a trauma due to the abuse of children by the clergy. Child abuse is prevalent all over the world and even in India, though it is still dormant. It is shrouded in secrecy because of shame attached to it.

The Seminar organized on Child rights was meant to create awareness among the Brothers who are in the field of Education as it is about time that they recognize this and take remedial measures. They are to become aware of the emerging trend, vulnerability of the children, and how to enable them to safeguard themselves.

As a follow up of the Brothers National Convention held in 2011, the NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF RELIGIOUS BROTHERS INDIA (NARBI) began to organise a series of Seminars on Child abuse and child rights at the regional level.

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UNITED STATES
The Wall Street Journal

By DAVID GIBSON

Who will guard the guardians? Ten years after the Catholic hierarchy of the United States gathered in Dallas and adopted unprecedented policies to address the scourge of child sexual abuse by clergy, the question of accountability at the top remains unanswered.

To be sure, the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People—the Dallas charter, for short—took some critical steps. In June 2002, the bishops passed a “one-strike” policy for abusers and began pushing the Vatican to streamline the processes that would allow them to more easily defrock molesters.

The bishops also vowed to report allegations to the civil authorities instead of keeping them in-house, to more rigorously screen not only seminarians but all church workers and volunteers, and to teach children in Catholic facilities to avoid potential abusers. In addition, they set up an office of child protection to audit each diocese’s compliance with the charter, and they established the National Review Board, composed of lay Catholics, to make sure they were doing what they promised.

But throughout it all, the bishops exempted themselves from accountability—even though records showed that feckless inaction by many bishops, or even deliberate malfeasance by some, had allowed abusers to claim so many victims.

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IRELAND
The Irish Times

Cardinal Marc Ouellet enjoys a lofty standing in the Vatican and ran the last congress, writes PADDY AGNEW

THE MAN who will represent Pope Benedict XVI at next week’s International Eucharistic Congress in Dublin realises all too well that this is a difficult moment for the Catholic Church in Ireland, battered both by the fallout of the sex abuse crisis and the State’s ongoing process of secularisation. Despite that, Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet believes the congress will show the Irish church is back on the right track for “renewal”.

Cardinal Ouellet, who turns 68 today, is often seen as a Holy See heavy hitter, so much so that he is regularly included on lists of possible successors to the 85-year-old pope. The former archbishop of Quebec heads the Congregation for Bishops, the Vatican’s human resources department.

He has been chosen as the pope’s point man on the congress not only because of his lofty Vatican standing but also because he ran the last Eucharistic Congress, four years ago in Quebec. Vatican observers rate Ouellet as a solid “Ratzinger”, in harmony with the pope.

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UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter

Jun. 07, 2012
By Joshua J. McElwee

ST. LOUIS — The board of the largest membership organization of U.S. theologians issued a statement of support Thursday afternoon (June 7) for Mercy Sr. Margaret Farley, a member in their ranks who was the subject of harsh criticism from the Vatican just days ago.

Writing that it considers Farley’s work “reflective, measured, and wise,” the leadership of the some 1,500 member Catholic Theological Society of America (CTSA) says in the statement it is “especially concerned” that the Vatican’s criticism presents a limiting understanding of the role of Catholic theology.

In a formal notification released June 4, the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith criticized Farley’s 2006 book on sexual ethics, titled Just Love.

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GERMANY
Reuters

BERLIN | Thu Jun 7, 2012 12:04pm EDT

(Reuters) – German Catholics upset about media attacks on Pope Benedict over the “Vatileaks” scandal can now show solidarity with the German-born pontiff by sending pre-printed postcards bearing the message “We are with you!”

Benedict, 85, has criticized press coverage of the scandal that began in January with the leaking of confidential documents alleging corruption, mismanagement and cronyism in the awarding of contracts in the Vatican.

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VATICAN CITY
First Things

Thursday, June 7, 2012

William Doino

Nothing so excites the press than does a Vatican scandal. The recent firing of the head of the Vatican’s Bank, amidst charges of wrongdoing, and the arrest of the pope’s private butler, accused of leaking papal documents, have provoked an international media frenzy. For all the media’s demands for Church “reform,” however, one wonders whether they would welcome it, if it actually led to an increase in holiness, and offered much less material for them to write lurid headlines about.

None of which is to excuse the Vatican. If it turns out that better oversight, organization and background checks could have prevented these scandals, Catholics should be the first to broadcast that finding, and hold those responsible accountable. Self-examination and moral purity should be constant demands for any believing Catholic. The faithful do the Holy See no favors when they remain silent about suspected corruption, or prudential errors from the highest quarters of the Church. Of course, even if the Vatican overhauls its entire system, with exacting and efficient standards, that won’t guarantee against additional scandals, since temptation and sin can never be eradicated from the human heart.

Vatican spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi has acknowledged the need “for truth and clarity, for transparency” in investigating what happened. In his first public comments on the scandals, Pope Benedict was both humble and sensible, saying they “brought sadness” to his heart, while affirming his faith they would be overcome, and rebuking the “entirely gratuitous” speculation of the media which was presenting a “completely unrealistic image of the Holy See.”

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VATICAN CITY
The Associated Press

By NICOLE WINFIELD, Associated Press

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Italian authorities seized a private document meant for Pope Benedict XVI when they raided the home of the Vatican’s recently ousted bank chief, a lawyer said Thursday, adding a potentially problematic legal twist in an already controversial case.

Italian paramilitary police raided Ettore Gotti Tedeschi’s Piacenza home on Tuesday as part of a corruption investigation into Italy’s state-controlled aerospace and engineering giant Finmeccanica. Gotti Tedeschi is a longtime friend of Finmeccanica’s current chief who is under investigation in the probe.

During the raid, prosecutors seized a detailed memorandum Gotti Tedeschi prepared for Benedict concerning his May 24 ouster as president of the Vatican bank. Attorney Fabio Palazzo stressed Thursday that the documents were seized and that Gotti Tedeschi didn’t hand them over voluntarily.

The seizure poses potentially thorny legal issues, since Gotti Tedeschi was until recently an official of a sovereign state — the Vatican — and as such enjoys some immunity in Italy. The Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said the Holy See was aware of the seizure but was waiting to clarify what Holy See-related documents were taken. Only after such an analysis would the Vatican consider any possible action, he said.

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BELGIE
Verschueren

Help… en wat nu?

Slachtoffers die de kluts kwijt zijn omdat door het platleggen van de website van www.kerknet.be door Anonymous ook de website www.misbruikindekerk.be niet meer bereikbaar is kunnen voor raad, daad, info, hulp, aangifte of wat dan ook nog altijd hier terecht:

Centrum Arbitrage Seksueel misbruik
http://www.centrum-arbitrage-misbruik.be/

Werkgroep Mensenrechten in de kerk
http://users.telenet.be/mensenrechtenindekerk/default.htm
Rik Devillé: mensenrechtenindekerk@gmail.com

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WISCONSIN
Catholic Herald

Written by Brian T. Olszewski, Catholic Herald Staff Thursday, 07 June 2012

ST. FRANCIS – “Christian charity” and “sound stewardship” are what prompted the Archdiocese of Milwaukee in 2003 to pay some priests who had sexually abused children at least $10,000 to seek laicization, Jerry Topczewski, chief of staff for Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki, told your Catholic Herald June 1.

Topczewski was responding to questions that arose May 30 regarding the minutes of the March 7, 2003, Archdiocesan Finance Council meeting in which council members raised the matter that “currently unassignable priests are receiving full salaries and are budgeted under the Vicar for Clergy. There is a proposal to reduce their benefit to be the same as the current pension benefit, $1,250 per month and also offer $20,000 for laicization ($10,000 at the start and $10,000 at the completion of the process). Also, they remain on our health insurance until they find other employment.”

The minutes were an exhibit accompanying a motion filed by the creditors’ committee in the archdiocese’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization, seeking to have $35 million from what was the Parish Deposit Fund (PDF) considered archdiocesan assets, contending that the archdiocese had “sheltered” those funds so that they could not be considered part of the estate in the reorganization.

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WISCONSIN
SNAP Wisconsin

Statement by John Pilmaier, SNAP Wisconsin Director
CONTACT: 414.336.8575

The latest edition of the Milwaukee archdiocesan newspaper the Catholic Herald repeats Cardinal Dolan’s lie about payoffs made to pedophile priests. The continued ongoing deception by church officials is sad, inexcusable, and insulting to victim/survivors, their families and Catholics of the archdiocese.

Victim/survivors call on Archbishop Listecki to instruct his chief of staff, Jerry Topczewski, to stop mischaracterizing as “charity” what Deacon David Zimprich called a “settlement” and what was clearly a payoff and to stop keeping silent and publically declare how he feels about long secret payments to Milwaukee predator priests.

Topczewski calls the payments to predator priests “charity”, but another top Milwaukee diocesan official, Deacon David Zimprich called it a “settlement”. In a “status report” on pedophile priest Franklyn Becker, Zimprich refers to the $10,000 payment made to him as a “settlement”. Zimprich also refutes Cardinal Dolan’s 2006 assertion that the funds would be used for Becker’s health insurance. Zimprich states “I advised him (Becker) that the archbishop was not going to pay for his health insurance either directly, or by making some kind of financial arrangement”.

If, as Topczewski says there is nothing “sinister” about these payoffs, why did every single archdiocesan staffer and bishops Dolan and Listecki keep this secret for all these years? Topczewski says that “less than a handful” of priests got such payoffs and “a handful” of priests did. This controversy erupted more than a week ago, and still, Catholic officials either don’t know or won’t say how many child molesting clerics secretly got paid to quietly move elsewhere and be among unsuspecting moms, dads, kids, neighbors, co-workers and even relatives, where they might assault again.

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UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter

by Joshua J. McElwee on Jun. 07, 2012 NCR Today
Sisters Under Scrutiny

In what appears to be the first public message of support sent from orders of men religious to U.S. sisters in the face of a sharp Vatican rebuke last April, seven provinces of Franciscan brothers and priests have published an open letter to the sisters, saying the Vatican’s move against them seems “excessive.”

The letter, dated May 31, was first made public Thursday morning by Jesuit Fr. James Martin over at America magazine.

Referring to the Vatican’s April move, which ordered the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) to revise and place itself under the authority of three archbishops, the Franciscans write:

Rather than excessive oversight of LCWR, perhaps a better service to the people of God might be a renewed effort to articulate the nuances of our complex moral tradition. This can be a teaching moment rather than a moment of regulation — an opportunity to bring our faith to bear on the complexity of public policy particularly in the midst of our quadrennial elections.

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UNITED STATES
Washington Post

By Daniel Burke| Religion News Service,

The brothers have come to the sisters’ defense.

Leaders from the seven Franciscan provinces in the U.S. publicly backed a group of American nuns on Thursday (June 7), calling a Vatican crackdown on the women “excessive.”

The Franciscan friars are believed to be the first Catholic religious order to voice support for the Leadership Conference of Women Religious since the Vatican announced a full-scale makeover of the group in April.

The Vatican said the LCWR, which represents most of the nation’s 57,000 nuns, does not adequately advocate against gay marriage, abortion and women’s ordination.

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KENTUCKY
Lexington Herald-Leader

By Beth Musgrave — bmusgrave@herald-leader.com

FRANKFORT — One of Kentucky’s longest-serving state lawmakers and strongest advocates for children has publicly acknowledged that he was sexually abused by a Catholic priest while in junior high school.

Rep. Tom Burch, D-Louisville, disclosed the abuse in a letter to the editor that was published May 30 in the Lexington Herald-Leader.

The letter championed the plight of the country’s nuns and condemned the Vatican for trying to impose more order on the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, which counts more than 50,000 nuns as members. In April, Pope Benedict XVI ordered a re-tooling of the Catholic womens’ group because it had not been more vocal against gay marriage, abortion and women’s ordination.

In his letter, Burch, 80, said nuns have been a constant, loving and positive presence in his life.

“I was never sexually abused by a nun, but I was sexually abused by a priest,” Burch wrote.

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ROCHESTER (NY)
Rochester Homepage

By: Cierra Putman

Updated: June 7, 2012

Where’s the rest? That’s what supporters of priest abuse victims and other groups are asking about a list released by the Rochester Catholic Diocese this week.

Bishop Matthew Clark released the names of priests punished for sexual abuse in the last 10 years. Pictures, addresses and past work information; that’s what supporters of survivors and other organizations say is missing from this list. Both BishopAccountability.org and SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests) applaud the diocese for releasing the names, but they want to see all priests who have been punished, not just those in the last decade. They believe there are many more who were unnamed.

BishopAccountability.org says about 30 other dioceses have released similar lists nationwide. Some also included current addresses, a history of parishes in which the priests worked and most importantly to them – pictures of the priests. None of which was included in the Rochester list.

“How can parents take precautions or teachers or whoever has young children,” SNAP member Becky Ianni said. “How can they take precautions against someone they don’t know who they are, where they are?”

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UNITED STATES
U.S. Catholic

Thursday, June 7, 2012

By Scott Alessi

At a time when most Americans are cutting back on their spending, the Catholic Church has been shelling out quite a bit of cash lately.

Yesterday, the Associated Press reported that the Archdiocese of Philadelphia has spent $11.6 million over the last two fiscal years–including $10 million in the first nine months of the current fiscal year–on legal bills, primarily defending priests accused of sexual abuse. And that number doesn’t even include the bill for the landmark trial of Msgr. William Lynn, which is still ongoing. In comparison, the entire payroll for the archdiocese, including all of its priests and lay employees’ salary and benefits packages, totaled $18.6 million for the last fiscal year.

Of course, this kind of spending from the church is nothing new. A number of dioceses have had to pay out massive settlements in sexual abuse lawsuits. Last year the Diocese of Wilmington, Delaware, for example, was forced to pay a $77.4 million settlement that also resulted in 22 employees being laid off–without unemployment benefits, since dioceses are exempt from paying unemployment taxes–and the diocese’s newspaper being shut down.

Such settlements are in some ways unavoidable, particularly when the amount the church must pay is handed down by the court. But footing the legal bill to defend priests who have abused children seems like more of a choice–one that many Catholics might question.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
CBS Philly

By Tony Hanson

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Developments in the Philadelphia clergy sexual abuse case, which started in late March, suggest that the jury is settling in for the long haul.

Jurors will be getting some time off because of personal commitments — namely, graduations of family members.

The jury has been deliberating a week so far, and a scheduling conference has revealed that the jury will not work tomorrow.

And they’ll start late on Monday, and won’t work on Wednesday if they have still not reached verdicts by then.

And next Friday is out, too, because the judge has a scheduling conflict.

Jurors are considering charges against Monsignor William Lynn — that he endangered children by allowing two priests to remain in ministry despite alleged evidence of past misconduct. One of those priests, codefendant James Brennan, has denied he subsequently tried to rape a teenage boy.

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UNITED STATES
Washington Post

By David Gibson| Religion News Service, Updated: Thursday, June 7

As the nation’s Catholic bishops mark 10 years since they adopted sweeping reforms to address the sexual abuse of children by clergy, the 800-pound gorilla in the chancery remains a lack of accountability for the bishops themselves.

That gap also remains the single greatest obstacle to ensuring the safety of children in Catholic parishes and schools and to restoring some measure of credibility for the bishops — and, by extension, the entire Catholic Church in the U.S.

“Bishops should be accountable to their people, to their priests,” Nicholas Cafardi, a canon and civil lawyer who teaches at the Duquesne Law School in Pittsburgh, writes in the current issue of U.S. Catholic magazine.

“But authority without accountability is tyranny,” writes Cafardi, who once headed the bishops’ National Review Board that was established to ensure compliance with their own reforms.

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ROCHESTER (NY)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

[the list – Diocese of Rochester]

Posted by David Clohessy on June 07, 2012

We are grateful every time the public is made more aware of a potentially dangerous predator.

As best we can tell, only 3 of these are newly disclosed names. All the rest have been posted, many for years, on a website called BishopAccountability.org

For the sake of public safety, we hope Bishop Clark will go further and release the whereabouts and photos of these potentially dangerous priests and ex-priests (as the Philadelphia archdiocese has done.)

Also missing from this list: names of Rochester priests removed before 2002. In 2004 in an internal church report, Clark said 18 had been removed since 1950. Why not name them? At least one or two of them are likely still alive and potentially dangerous.

It is also important to realize that many of the 18 removed priests cited in the John Jay report may be named in this list. But not all.

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PHILIPPINES
Sun.Star

By Kokoy Espresso
Just Passing By

Thursday, June 7, 2012

JUST recently, a priest came out with the observation that the Roman Catholic Church has been losing its faithful, in terms of mass attendance, that is. It was noted that the enormous decline was due largely to the lack of “lively” homilies by some priests, swaying the faithful to join charismatic groups and other congregations that perhaps offer less-boring preaching.

Though I submit that the justification is sound, I consider it naïve for there are far obvious and compelling reasons worth mentioning that lead to the decline not only in mass attendance but in membership. The scandals involving priests and the Vatican, debates on moral issues and the Church’s involvement in politics and government are but some of the more damaging issues that greatly affect the integrity of the Church.

Scandals involving priests not only hurt the Church but the faithful as well. The faithful look upon priests with so much esteem and respect, being symbolic oases of wisdom and reason. Thus when they commit grave infractions against the vow, the thirsty will seek sagacity elsewhere, and surely they will find it everywhere. Religious groups sprout quite remarkably; branching out has never been this extensive. It sure does help when you are in a nation where lunacy is often mistaken for prophecy. It helps also when the only requisite to forming a group is adding a word or two to the name Jesus.

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CALIFORNIA
The Digital Hairshirt

It ain’t over yet for Mike Harris.

A sex-abuse and cover-up lawsuit against former Monsignor Michael Harris, a once-popular and high-profile figure who left the priesthood when Orange County’s clergy scandal erupted a decade ago, is set to go to trial June 18 in Orange County Superior Court.

This is disheartening news. But not as disheartening as this:

In 1994, Harris, citing stress, stepped down as principal of Santa Margarita High School. The Orange County Diocese placed him on administrative leave that year and prohibited him from working as a priest.

Also that year, a psychological report prepared by doctors at the Saint Luke Institute, a church-run facility for troubled clerics, concluded that there was substance to allegations from several of Harris’ accusers. Psychiatrists at Saint Luke also determined that Harris was sexually attracted to adolescent boys, records show.

The question is whether the Diocese knew that Harris had actually molested children. The fact that he was sexually attracted to adolescent boys does not provide enough evidence – at least, criminally – to sustain a determination of such.

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CANADA
Sylvia’s Site

We are here today to raise issue with the conciliation process recently offered by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Moncton to the victims of sexual abuse by Father Camille Leger or other priests of the Archdiocese.

Let me be very clear from the outset, as advocates for victims, myself a victim’s rights lawyer and Mr. Mantin as a representative of SNAP and as a victim himself,, are united in our opposition to the plan as presently proposed .. This plan, is best described as “church-centric” in that it, by accident or by design, it best suits the needs of the Archdiocese. Furthermore it fails to address the core demands and motivation of most victims of sexual abuse.

Let me specifically outline the basis for our concerns:

1. Secrecy instead of privacy

Having worked with victims and represented their interests we understand the desire for privacy. Being sexually abused as a young person is typically not information which most people want their friends and neighbours to know. Unfortunately being a victim is viewed by some as a stigma. While the real shame, embarrassment and dishonour of this crime should be carried by only the perpetrator, too often the victim also feels that burden. Therefore confidentially and privacy is important to many.

Our present legal structures recognize this reality. Those we make a complaint to police, have their identities and information stringently protected by the police involved. Once criminal charges are laid against the perpetrator, an automatic public ban on the identity of the victim is put in place. That court mandated protection is permanent unless the victim chooses otherwise.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

By John P. Martin
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

Jurors at the landmark clergy-sex abuse trial of two Archdiocese of Philadelphia priests signaled Thursday they may be far from a verdict: The panel asked to take Friday off and to arrive late next Monday and Wednesday if they are still deliberating.

The jurors cited personal and family commitments. Common Pleas Court Judge M. Teresa Sarmina granted the request, according to her staff.

The panel of seven men and five women began meeting last Friday to deliberate the endangerment and other charges against Msgr. William J. Lynn and the Rev. James J. Brennan. They’ve asked the judge and lawyers for legal guidance and pieces of evidence throughout the week, but deliberated without interruption on Thursday morning.

Lynn, the former clergy secretary for the archdiocese, is accused of conspiracy and endangering children by recommending a priest, Edward Avery, for assignments in the 1990s despite alleged signs they might abuse minors. Avery, who has since been defrocked has pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a 10-year-old altar boy in 1999.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
San Antonio Express-News

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jurors pondering the fate of two Roman Catholic priests in Philadelphia appear to be digging in for the long haul.

The jury is working through a fifth day of deliberations in the clergy-abuse case, but won’t meet Friday because of a family graduation.

Other graduation conflicts are possible if deliberations continue next week.

Monsignor William Lynn is the first U.S. church official charged for his handling of abuse complaints at the Philadelphia archdiocese.

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NEW YORK
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

[the list – Diocese of Rochester]

Posted by Mary Caplan on June 07, 2012

We welcome the Rochester Catholic bishop’s new move to protect children by releasing a list of predator priests. And we call on NYC’s Cardinal Timothy Dolan to stop stonewalling and do likewise.

This is the quickest and simplest way prelates can safeguard the vulnerable – posting on church websites the names of proven, admitted and credibly accused child molesting clerics. It’s the very least any bishop should do. Parents, parishioners and the public should easily be able to learn about these potentially dangerous men who bishops recruited, educated, ordained, hired, trained, transferred and shielded.

Under intense pressure, Dolan did this in Milwaukee (though his list was far from complete or adequate). But he has refused to do so in New York. The time for excuses and delay is over. The time for openness and transparency is now.

Roughly 30 US bishops have released lists of predators in their dioceses. But now, America’s most prominent prelate refuses to do so.

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UNITED STATES
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by David Clohessy on June 07, 2012

A Catholic priest who’s being sued for allegedly committing child sex crimes is now back in the Detroit area.

Six months ago, with little or no fanfare, Fr. Maurice G. McNeely and the Diocese of Bismarck ND were named in a civil lawsuit charging that McNeely sexually abuse a young boy in Hawaii in 1976. According to the suit, Fr. McNeely befriended the victim while his father was stationed in Hawaii. The abuse was at the Chapel at Fort Shafter parish across the street from the boy’s home on the military base in Hawaii.

The Diocese of Bismarck is being sued for negligence and Fr. McNeely is being sued for sexual battery.

As best as SNAP can tell, there has been no public announcement about the allegation against Fr. McNeely (who currently lives in the Detroit suburb of Farmington Hills with his sister, Margaret Wirth) by any diocese, according to the attorney who represents his alleged victim.

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CANADA
CBC News

A retired editor of the New Catholic Times says the Catholic Church is in crisis and unless its leaders start listening to the lay people, it will continue to lose parishioners.

Ted Schmidt’s comments come in the wake of allegations of abuse by late priest Camille Léger of Cap-Pelé.

He said there needs to be a tremendous change in the architecture of the church, especially in light of the ongoing crisis of sexual abuse by priests.

He said he believes unless the Catholic church starts allowing married men and women to be ordained as priests, there will be a massive exodus from the church and people will start to set up alternative faiths.

“What you have now are bishops that are appointed by Rome with no say from the people on the ground who are not listening to the people and listen to a minority of one: Rome,” Schmidt said.

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ITALY
Vatican Insider

The dramatic statement of the banker whose home in Piacenza was searched at the crack of dawn

Andrea Tornielli
Piacenza

It was still pitch black in the building’s spacious internal court yard, which resembled a Vatican cloister, when Ettore Gotti Tedeschi descended the last step of the enormous flight of stairs, suitcase in hand, and approached his car. He was supposed to leave for Milan before dawn, as usual. A fifty minute car journey, a flick through the newspapers and mass at 8. Then in the afternoon, he was meant to get the train to Rome. Among the letters he had with him, was a memorial he intended to deliver to Benedict XVI: a reconstruction of the recent events that led to his controversial dismissal from the Vatican Bank (IOR).

But when he got to the car, there were four men waiting for him. The warrant officer slipped his hand into his pocket and extracted his police badge. It all happened so quickly that Gotti Tedeschi thought they had come to shoot him.

For a fraction of a second, God’s former banker feared the worst. Then, he was shown a search warrant and told that he would have to change his plans for the day and cancel his trip to Rome. Gotti Tedeschi, with his sallow face, took a quick look at the piece of paper. Then he called out to his wife: “Francesca!”

The Vatican bank board’s shocking no-confidence vote in Gotti Tedeschi two weeks ago, was followed by a harsh communiqué that was not in keeping with the Holy See’s style. A document that was both morally and professionally devastating. And now this new unexpected blow. A search warrant was issued but the Vatican bank’s former head was not under investigation.

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ROME
Vatican Insider

Rome’s public prosecution has unearthed suspicious money transfers totalling 23 million Euro. Paolo Cipriani, the former director general of the Vatican bank is under investigation

Vatican Insider staff
Rome

Today, Rome’s chief prosecutor, Giuseppe Pignatone, interrogated former Vatican bank president Ettore Gotti Tedeschi, in Milan. This is after Naples prosecutors ordered a search of Gotti Tedeschi’s study, at his home in Piacenza (northern Italy) yesterday, unearthing some material that was considered to be of interest. The interrogation carried out by Rome’s public prosecution is apparently linked to suspicions of money laundering activities in Vatican bank accounts.

The Vatican bank’s former president was heard as a witness being investigated in a legal procedure that is linked to this one and was therefore assisted by a defending counsel. Gotti Tedeschi’s name is on the Roman public prosecution’s list of people under investigation, on charges of violation of money laundering laws through suspicious money transfers worth 23 million Euro. The money was seized in September 2010 and then returned to the Vatican bank (IOR). The public prosecution in Rome believes these operations are punishable in accordance with current money laundering laws. The Vatican bank’s former director general, Paolo Cipriani is still being investigated for this.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Priest Abuse Trial Blog

Ralph Cipriano

Jurors in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia sex abuse case Wednesday asked the judge for a marker board and an easel. Presumably, they didn’t want to play Pictionary.

Jurors spent their third full day of deliberations asking more questions of Judge M. Teresa Sarmina. The jurors asked the judge to define a pedophile and an ephebophile. Pedophiles are attracted to children, ephebophiles, adolescents.

The judge declined the request, however, saying that no evidence had been presented in the case that defined the two terms. The jury heard both words bandied about the courtroom frequently throughout the trial, as witnesses talked about diagnoses of archdiocese priests undergoing psychiatric evaluations. The judge told jurors they would have to rely on their recollections of what the terms meant.

Jurors also asked the judge to define what an agreement meant in a conspiracy. The judge said a conspiracy is an agreement between at least two people to act together to commit a crime. The agreement can be unspoken, or stated in words, the judge said.

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IRELAND
Broadcast

7 June, 2012 | By Balihar Khalsa

Irish state broadcaster RTÉ will appoint new senior staff to its current affairs and news operations after the Republic’s regulator found it had defamed a Catholic priest and seriously breached its commitment to objective and impartial news.

Internal meetings are under way to decide the future of the department and how it will operate, and new editors and journalists will be in place by the end of the summer to spearhead the launch of a multiplatform investigative journalism hub.

The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) found that current affairs film Mission To Prey defamed Father Reynolds by alleging he had abused a teenage girl in Africa, who had then had a baby, which Reynolds subsequently abandoned.

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ITALIA
Corriere della Sera

NAPOLI – Adesso il banchiere Ettore Gotti Tedeschi collabora con i magistrati. E consegna un memoriale sui due anni e mezzo trascorsi al vertice dello Ior, l’Istituto Opere Religiose del Vaticano che è stato costretto ad abbandonare dieci giorni fa. Lettere e documenti che possono portare l’indagine verso clamorosi sviluppi e avere effetti devastanti proprio sugli equilibri della Santa Sede. Anche perché un intero capitolo è dedicato ai «nemici interni», coloro che tra settembre 2009 e maggio 2012 avrebbero fatto di tutto per convincerlo a lasciare la poltrona. Alti prelati e personaggi esterni al Vaticano di fronte ai quali Gotti Tedeschi avrebbe rivendicato il rapporto privilegiato con il Pontefice con il quale aveva uno scambio epistolare di cui sono state trovate ampie tracce. Non solo. Le verifiche riguardano anche il suo ruolo di vertice presso il banco Santander e i rapporti dell’Istituto di credito spagnolo con le aziende del gruppo Finmeccanica. Sono state infatti trovate copie dei contratti e dei finanziamenti ottenuti, ma soprattutto la lista delle «commissioni» che – questo è il sospetto – potrebbero nascondere il pagamento di tangenti.

Lettere e mail con politici e prelati – Per comprendere la portata di quanto sta accadendo bisogna tornare a due giorni fa, quando i carabinieri del Nucleo Operativo Ecologico perquisiscono la casa di Piacenza e lo studio di Milano del banchiere, su delega della procura di Napoli. Cercano documenti che Gotti Tedeschi custodirebbe per conto dell’amministratore delegato di Finmeccanica Giuseppe Orsi. In realtà le carte «interessanti» sono centinaia, interi faldoni che riguardano gli affari conclusi nelle segrete stanze vaticane. «Gotti Tedeschi non è indagato – precisano il procuratore Sandro Pennasilico e l’aggiunto Francesco Greco – e non c’è alcun interesse che riguardi operazioni di riciclaggio effettuate su conti dello Ior».

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ITALY
The Telegraph (United Kingdom)

Ettore Gotti Tedeschi, the former head of the Vatican bank, has put together an archive of potentially damaging information on senior Italian and Vatican figures, according to reports.

11:27AM BST 07 Jun 2012

The archive made up of hundreds of pages, was reportedly seized by prosecutors during raids on Mr Gotti Tedeschi’s home and office on Tuesday, as part of a separate inquiry into alleged bribery at defence giant Finmeccanica.

The former banker is already under investigation on allegations of money laundering of 23 million euros ($29 million) through the Vatican bank.

He was questioned on Tuesday and Wednesday and is said to be assisting prosecutors.

Among those mentioned in the archive were “senior clergymen, shady intermediaries and influential Italian politicians,” the Italian daily Corriere della Sera reported.

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ITALY
Reuters

By Laura Viggiano

NAPLES, Italy, June 7 (Reuters) – Italian police searching the home and office of Ettore Gotti Tedeschi, the former head of the Vatican’s bank, have found a confidential dossier relating to his three-year tenure as the bank’s president, a judicial source said on Thursday.

The dossier appeared to have been put together by Gotti Tedeschi to defend himself from allegations over his mismanagement of the bank.

Gotti Tedeschi was ousted from his position as head of the Vatican’s Institute for Works of Religion (IOR) on May 24 after the bank’s board passed a motion of no-confidence, accusing him of neglecting his basic management responsibilities.

The unusually abrupt dismissal, which followed the arrest of the pope’s butler for allegedly stealing confidential papal documents, was the culmination of a leaks scandal that has shaken the Vatican since January.

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UNITED STATES
Spiritual Politics

Mark Silk |Jun 7, 2012

Bill Donohue has finally mounted a defense of his BFF Cardinal Dolan, the burden of which is that it is phony to attack the guy for “inducing suspected miscreant priests to exit the priesthood while he was the Archbishop of Milwaukee” because his critics aren’t really interested in how to handle sex abusers. If they were, quoth Donohue, they would also be criticizing all those examples of child-abusing government employees who are receiving their pensions.

Problem is, Dolan himself has repeatedly and vociferously denied that he did any such inducing, contrary to official admissions out of the Milwaukee archdiocese plus newly available documentary evidence. Which prompts the Church Lady in me to wonder who’s inducing His Eminence to issue such denials. Could it be…Satan?

Whoever, there is a good case to be made that laicizing child-abusing priests is a bad idea that mostly serves the interest of an institutional church that doesn’t want to be responsible for them anymore, i.e. subject to lawsuits for acts they commit after being defrocked. Better to keep them within the fold so as to be able to insure that they are assigned to places where they can be kept under control. Of course, there’s also a case to be made that it’s important for a church to be seen to be ridding itself of such bad actors, whose very continued existence as priests could be a cause of scandal.

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WASHINGTON
RKnieuws (Nederland)

WASHINGTON (RKnieuws.net) – De Amerikaanse katholieke bisschoppen starten een onderzoek naar ‘Girl Scouts of the USA’. Dat meldt het katholieke persagentschap CNS.

Conservatieve katholieke kringen beschuldigen de scoutsorganisatie ervan te ijveren voor contraceptie en abortus. De organisatie viert dit jaar haar honderdjarig bestaan en telt 3,2 miljoen leden.

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NEDERLAND
Bert Smeets

Nieuwe aanmeldingen worden niet meer aangenomen. U kunt uw verhaal uiteraard kwijt bij Mea Culpa maar we stellen voortaan daarna een persoonlijk onderhoud op prijs.

We hebben de laatste maanden veel last gehad van nep-verhalen. Teveel hoax berichten, telefoontjes die niet kloppen, mollen die zich ingraven het is ons allemaal bekend. De afgelopen twee jaar hebben zich meer dan 2000 mensen bij Mea Culpa gemeld. We wilden deze verhalen met uw toestemming al dan niet geanonimiseerd publiceren, dit is gebeurtd in twee zwartboeken: De Het Hulp en Recht rapport (deksel van de doofpot) en de Kerkstaat.

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NEDERLAND
Bert Smeets

Het gaat om ongeveer een op de drie meldingen. Dat meldt de commissie in een openbaar bericht. De commissie onder leiding van voormalig procureur-generaal Rieke Samson onderzoekt het misbruik van minderjarigen die door de overheid in instellingen of pleeggezinnen zijn geplaatst. Dat doet ze in navolging van de commissie-Deetman, die het misbruik binnen de katholieke kerk onderzocht.

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NEDERLAND
Bert Smeets

Ondergetekende wordt genoemd in het verweerschrift van pastoor Schafraad en wordt zodoende partij in een zaak waar hij formeel geen aanklacht heeft ingediend. Nu kan ik mij slechts op dit blog verdedigen of beter mijn menig geven daar de klagers een andere manier hebben gekozen om hun verhaal te doen. Zij zijn daar vrij in, zoals vrijheid een groot goed is in een mensenleven, en ik kies voor mijn vrijheid.

In het LD interview 10 -04 2012 LD1943102516 interview Jan S.met Jan Schafraad en dhr van Oosten rept pastoor Jan Schafraad voor het eerst over ‘seksepietje’. Dit blijkt pater Landric te zijn, in het Deetman rapport bekend als minderbroeder-franciscaan ofm2. Van deze Landric ofm, seksepietje (E.Mains), die in het Deetman rapport genoemd wordt (blz 778 pater ofm2) schrijft Deetman: ‘hij was opvallend aanwezig in Bleijerheide’.

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NEDERLAND
Bert Smeets

“Tot slot.
Bovenstaande (niet gepubliceerd deel uit verweerschrift pastoor Schafraad) rechtvaardigt mijn verzoek aandacht te besteden de houding en manier van kijken en interpreteren van klagers.

We kunnen in ieder geval de gebeurtenissen na 3 februari aantonen dat er opgeklopte berichtgeving is, vervorming van de waarheid.

Dezelfde factoren wil ik aanwijzen betreffende de drie klachten.

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NEDERLAND
Bert Smeets

Anita belde ‘dondert het ook zo bij jullie’? In Maastricht dondert het heel veel de laatste tijd maar tot nu toe geen spatje regen of vloekende Wodan goden aan de hemel. Wel stond ik net met iemand in het park te praten en plotseling schoof een koele, stoffige wind aan ons voorbij…zou het toch nog gaan donderen, bliksemen en vele andere duivelse stemmen gaan horen? Gelukkig, de donder en bliksem trok langs Bunde en Maastricht noordwaarts. De voorzienigheid hield een oogje in het zeil. Gaan de windduivels loos in de rest van het land, treden ze uit met Wodan en zijn dodenleger dat rondtrekt, huizen in lichterlaaie zet en onheil over de brave burgers in dit land brengt. “Het geld moet rollen’ hoorde ik Wodan roepen en ‘de meisjes moeten zich melden’!!

Deetman onderzoekt de meisjes dat zou naar mijn inzicht beter Goedele (ik blijf fan van Goedele Liekens) denken, she’s the right woman on the right place en en dan gelijk internationaal want we vergeten maar steeds dat RKK een internationaal regime kent, met vele vertakkingen en netwerken in de hoogste en laagste kringen.

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NEDERLAND
de Stentor

DEN HAAG – Er komt een onafhankelijk wetenschappelijk onderzoek naar de geschiedenis van de psychiatrie en de invloed daarop van de Rooms-Katholieke kerk.

Er zal met name worden gekeken naar de rol van de kerk als het gaat om het onvruchtbaar maken van mensen. Dat schrijft staatssecretaris Marlies Veldhuijzen van Zanten woensdag aan de Tweede Kamer.

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BELGIE
Klokk

MISBRUIK IN DE KERK Er is veel over gezegd en geschreven, maar wat
kunnen de slachtoffers echt doen? Vier meningen van vier slachtoffers

DEMORGEN30052012_1

DEMORGEN30052012_2

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ROME
Klokk (Nederland)

ROME (RKnieuws.net) – Het christelijk weekblad Tertio probeert de bomen door het bos te zien van ‘Vatileaks’: de malaise in het wereldbestuur van de katholieke kerk. Het vuur werd begin dit jaar aan de lont gestoken toen vertrouwelijke documenten uitlekten. Recentelijk werd de kamerdienaar van de paus, een van zijn nauwste persoonlijke medewerkers, gearresteerd en tegelijk verloor het hoofd van de Vaticaanse bank het vertrouwen van zijn toezichthouders. Hoe kon het zover komen?

Daarvoor moeten we al teruggaan naar 1978, toen de kardinalen in conclaaf kozen voor de atletische Karol Wojtyla. Onvermoeibaar trok hij de wereld rond. Die nieuwe aanpak had een prijs. Het gewone bestuurswerk werd vooral overgelaten aan de Vaticaanse Curie, geleid door de staatssecretaris. Toen vanaf de tweede helft van de jaren 1990 Johannes Paulus II steeds meer gezondheidsproblemen kreeg, nam de invloed van de Curie nog toe. De ultieme scheidsrechter boven alle facties in het Vaticaan, de paus, leek de touwtjes uit handen te geven. Het pontificaat vergleed in een lang fin de règne waarbij belangrijke beslissingen werden verdaagd.

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UNITED STATES/IRELAND
The Anglo-Celt

Paul Neilan

A woman sexually abused by Fr Brendan Smyth believes that the paedophile priest killed a child in America in the 1960s.

The notorious Norbertine priest abused Helen McGonigle in the town of East Greenwich, Rhode Island, starting when she was six years-old, in late 1967.

Smyth had been assigned to the local parish, Our Lady of Mercy, in the Diocese of Providence, in 1965. A chilling warning made by Smyth after abusing Helen – that she would “end up like the body in the woods” – made her link the paedophile to the discovery of the remains of a child in woodland near her school.

That discovery, however, Helen says, took place after Smyth’s threat.

Helen, who is now a US attorney, was so convinced that he was responsible for the death that she notified the Police at East Greenwich in Rhode Island in March 2007.

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NEW JERSEY
Patch

By Michael Daigle

Steve Badt said he recently had a conversation with his 8-year-old son about what had happened to him as a teenager.

On Tuesday, standing on the grounds of the Morris County Courthouse, Badt, 44, a former Parsippany resident and Delbarton School graduate, spoke of the sexual abuse that took place at the hands of a monk at the Morris Township Catholic school between 1979 when he was in the seventh grade, and 1985, when he was in the 12th grade.

Badt, and another former Delbarton student who remained unnamed, joined an existing lawsuit against St. Mary’s Abbey, which operates Delbarton. The original suit was filed in March by Phillipsburg attorney Gregory G. Gianforcaro on behalf of twin brothers William Crane Jr., and Thomas Crane, formerly of Randolph.

The lawsuit was amended to include the new allegations and includes complaints from six former Delbarton students, Gianforcaro said.

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SACRAMENTO (CA)
The Worthy Adversary

For immediate release: June 6, 2012

Contact: Joelle Casteix (949) 322-7434, jcasteix@gmail.com

NEWS EVENT: Victims say Sacramento bishop hinders prosecution
He won’t disclose report of predator’s confession
Such secrecy keeps other victims silent, group says
It urges Sacramento prelate to attend court hearing on Friday
SNAP to Soto: “Teach your flock how to back cleric without hurting victims”
“Stop telling victims to report to the church, tell them to call cops instead,” they say

What: Holding signs and childhood photos, child sex abuse victims and their supporters will try to hand-deliver a letter to Sacramento’s Catholic bishop urging him to:
•attend Friday’s hearing for an accused pedophile priest,
•make public a church staffer’s report of that priest’s admission of the crime, and
•insist that his flock quietly support accused clerics and stop scaring their accusers.

The group will also blast the bishop for continuing to ask victims to report crimes to church officials instead of law enforcement.

When: Thursday, June 7 at 12:45 pm

Where: Outside of the Sacramento Diocese headquarters, 2110 Broadway (at 19th) in Sacramento

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NEW YORK
Failed Messiah

The head of the Brooklyn D.A.’s Rackets Bureau wants to prosecute rabbis and community activists who tamper with, threaten, harass, or intimidate victims or their families, or who otherwise obstruct justice.

Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com

The head of the Brooklyn D.A.’s Rackets Bureau wants to prosecute rabbis and community activists who tamper with, threaten, harass, or intimidate victims or their families, or who otherwise obstruct justice, the Jewish Week has just reported.

Michael Vecchione told the Jewish Week’s Hella Winston that his office was willing to do everything to prevent witness tampering, intimidation and obstruction of justice in haredi child sex abuse cases including “[picking] up the phone and [calling] the U.S. attorney” to encourage federal prosecutions.

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VATICAN CITY
Chiesa

Among the documents that have gotten out of the Vatican are two that are an embarrassment to the “UN of Trastevere” and the superior general of the Society of Jesus. To the advantage of two cardinals: the American George and the Dutch Eijk

VATICAN CITY, June 7, 2012 – The disappearance of confidential documents from the Vatican continues without pause. And no one can predict how long it will continue.

The quantity of missing documents is certainly significant, and seems to concern almost exclusively the papers kept in the Apostolic Palace, the heart of the Roman curia, the building overlooking Saint Peter’s Square that is the residence of Benedict XVI and his personal secretary, Georg Gänswein, in which the secretariat of state has its offices and in which secretary of state Tarcisio Bertone has his residence and office.

As of today, in fact, almost none of the documents published in various waves seems to have been stolen directly from other dicasteries or offices of the Holy See. Almost always, the papers addressed to these offices have been served up to the public only after they have passed through the Apostolic Palace.

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BALTIMORE (MD)
The Baltimore Sun

By Tricia Bishop, The Baltimore Sun

10:26 p.m. EDT, June 6, 2012
Baltimore prosecutors are scheduled to meet Thursday with a woman to discuss further allegations of sexual abuse against John Merzbacher, a former teacher at the Catholic Community middle school in South Baltimore.

It appears to be the first time that such allegations have been raised with prosecutors since the 1990s, when Merzbacher was charged with dozens of counts of child sexual abuse from his teaching days 20 years earlier. He was convicted in 1995 in his first of what were to be 14 trials and is now involved in an appeals court proceeding that some fear could lead to his early release from prison.

“I want my day in court,” said Donna Berger, now 48.

Merzbacher’s attorney in the appeals case, H. Mark Stichel, declined to comment, saying that a new criminal case against his client would be “beyond [the] scope” of his representation. Merzbacher has not been charged with a crime related to Berger’s allegations.

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IRELAND
The Irish Times

JOE HUMPHREYS

CATHOLICS: PEOPLE WHO describe themselves as Catholic but do not accept the church’s key teachings should be “honest” and admit they no longer belong to the faith, atheist author and scientist Prof Richard Dawkins has told a Dublin audience.

He said he was intrigued by this week’s Irish Times/Ipsos MRBI poll showing almost two-thirds (62 per cent) of Catholics believed the bread and wine which was blessed during Mass “only represents the body and blood” of Christ.

Just 26 per cent said they believed the bread and wine transformed into Christ’s body and blood in accordance with the doctrine of transubstantiation. “If they don’t believe in transubstantiation then they are not Roman Catholics,” Prof Dawkins said.

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IRELAND
The Irish Times

PATSY McGARRY, Religious Affairs Correspondent

Who holds power and influence in the Catholic Church in Ireland today?

Cardinal Seán Brady

Archbishop of Armagh since 1996, the Primate of All-Ireland and titular head of the Catholic Church in Ireland. By rank he is the senior of Ireland’s four Catholic archbishops, including Archbishop of Tuam Michael Neary, Archbishop of Cashel Dermot Clifford and Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin.

Cardinal Brady chairs meetings of the Irish Episcopal Conference but, as each bishop is answerable only to Rome, his authority is entirely moral. A humble, well-liked man, both by fellow bishops and throughout the Irish church, he is believed wounded beyond repair following revelations of his handling of a 1975 inquiry into the abuse of six children by Fr Brendan Smyth. He neither informed the parents or the police and Smyth abused for a further 18 years. In what he did, the then Fr Brady complied fully with canon law requirements. He will be 73 in August and believed to be approaching the end of his tenure as primate.

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ROME
The Irish Times

ROWAN GALLAGHER

DEPARTMENT REPORT: STAFF AT the former Irish embassy to the Holy See provided an important service by keeping in contact with leaders of the Catholic Church, according to an embassy inspection report.

Embassy personnel maintained an active dialogue with senior Vatican civil servants on issues with a bearing on Ireland’s national interests, the report said. Drawn up in 2008 by a Department of Foreign Affairs inspection team comprising two officials, it was the last such report prepared in advance of the closure of the embassy earlier this year.

The embassy to the Holy See in the Vatican was closed, along with the Irish embassies in Iran and Timor Leste, as part of a cost-cutting measure by the Government.

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VATICAN CITY
The Irish Times

PADDY AGNEW

ANALYSIS: ONE OF the most regular observations made by Vatican insiders is that, for a small country of only four million no longer so devout Catholics, Ireland earns itself a disproportionate amount of Holy See attention.

In recent years, the Irish bishops have been summoned to Rome for a two-day “crisis” meeting with Pope Benedict XVI; the pope has written a highly unusual Pastoral Letter . . . to the Catholics of Ireland; and 18 months ago the Vatican sent in the “heavy brigade from headquarters” for an apostolic visitation to Ireland.

The full consequences of that visit still have to be felt but recent personnel changes at the Pontifical Irish College in Rome suggest the initiative may yet leave its mark on the church in Ireland.

When it comes to an issue such as Ireland, decisions and policy in the Vatican are taken essentially by three or four people, with a little help along the way.

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ROCHESTER (NY)
YNN

[Dispositions, 2002-Present]

The Rochester Catholic Diocese released a list Wednesday of all clerics removed from ministry since 2002.

Posted to the Diocese website, the Diocese says the list is in keeping with a commitment to transparency.

This follows the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People and Essential Norms established in 2002 by the U-S Catholic Conference of Bishops.

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CLEVELAND (OH)
The Plain Dealer

By Michael O’Malley, The Plain Dealer

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Bishop Richard Lennon has sent a conciliatory letter to the priests in the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland, acknowledging that his relationship with many of them has deteriorated.

In a letter obtained by The Plain Dealer, Lennon wrote to the diocese’s priests on May 21, saying “I have become aware of a growing disconnect between many of the priests who serve faithfully in this diocese and myself.”

“It saddens me to hear reports,” the bishop continued, “that a number of our priests feel anxious and uncomfortable in my presence and that rather than being co-workers with me, a number of priests feel left out of consultation.”

The bishop’s letter did not offer a reason for the rift he described. But it said he was writing “to assure you of my desire to remedy this situation.”

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IRELAND
The Journal

A GROUP OF Magdalene survivors met yesterday with Senator Martin McAleese, husband of former President, Mary McAleese, about State interaction with the Magdalene laundries.

The Justice for Magdalenes group said that a group of surivors in contact with the organisation met with Senator McAleese, who is the Independent Chairperson of the Inter-departmental Committee to “clarify state interaction with the Magdalene Laundries”.

JFM described the meeting as “a deliberately private event, in accordance with the wishes of the women and consistent with the organisation’s ethos to put the dignity and privacy of survivors first”.

Katherine O’Donnell, Director of Women’s Studies at UCD’s School of Social Justice/JFM Advisory Committee said:

As the Magdalene Laundries system served to disempower and silence women, it is vital that survivors actively participate in the Inter-departmental Committee process. Apart from the vast level of valuable knowledge that survivors possess, it is also essential that those most affected are offered a voice at the table.

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VATICAN CITY
The Telegraph (United Kingdom)

Documents and letters stolen from the Vatican and handed to Italian journalists make damning allegations of intrigue within the Holy See.

By Nick Squires
5:04PM BST 06 Jun 2012

Pope Benedict XVI is apparently unable to prevent poisonous feuds and vendettas between rival groups of cardinals, according to “His Holiness – The Secret Papers of Benedict XVI”.

Several of the documents cast in a particularly bad light Tarcisio Bertone, who as secretary of state is the Pope’s right-hand man and effectively the prime minister of the world’s smallest state.

1 The most sensational allegation is Cardinal Bertone conspired with the editor of the Vatican’s daily newspaper in a dirty tricks campaign against a rival.

Gian Maria Vian, the editor of L’Osservatore Romano, allegedly leaked false documents which purported to show that Dino Boffo, the editor of another Catholic newspaper, L’Avvenire, had had a homosexual affair, forcing Mr Boffo to resign from the editorship.

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VATICAN CITY
Canada.com

By Nick Squires, The Daily Telegraph June 6, 2012

The Vatican said Wednesday it was being blackmailed by the leaking of confidential documents taken from the Pope’s private apartment as an anonymous mole threatened to release more embarrassing material unless two senior officials were sacked.

In the latest round of leaks, an Italian newspaper was sent three letters apparently stolen from the Vatican, two of which were signed by the Pope’s private secretary and had their contents blanked out. An anonymous note claimed that they dealt with “shameful events inside the Vatican” and threatened to reveal the contents of the letters “if there is an attempt to hide the truth of the facts”.

The accompanying letter called for the resignation of Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, who as secretary of state is the Vatican’s de facto prime minister, and Mgr Georg Ganswein, the Pope’s secretary. It claimed that Paolo Gabriele, the butler arrested over the affair, was simply a scapegoat.

Fr Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, said the note represented “a grave threat” to Benedict XVI’s seven-year papacy. “Blackmail is a plausible way of defining it,” he said. “We have arrived at a situation of blackmail threats.”

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UNITED STATES
Star Tribune

Article by: SUSAN HOGAN , Star Tribune
Updated: June 6, 2012

On the 10-year anniversary of a shameful chapter in U.S. Catholic history, bishops are once again portraying themselves as victims.

Catholic bishops are spearheading a movement of rallies and prayer vigils for religious freedom this summer, which skeptics could view as a classic public-relations tactic of misdirection. The events happen to fall on the anniversary of the most shameful chapter of American bishops’ history.

Ten years ago this month, I sat ringside at the Fairmont Hotel in downtown Dallas, where U.S. bishops, pummeled publicly because of their gross mismanagement of clergy abuse scandals, were meeting under the spotlight of more than 800 media outlets, hundreds of protesters and Catholic advocacy groups.

For months, story after story about Catholic priests raping children rocked the nation, particularly in Boston, the epicenter of the scandals. Under public pressure and embarrassment, the bishops adopted a policy regarding child sexual abuse in June 2002, even though many of them, like the Vatican, believed the scandals were overblown by the media. The policy had no enforcement mechanism.

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VATICAN CITY
Chicago Tribune

Silvia Aloisi
Reuters

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – It will take time to restore trust within the walls of the Vatican and ease the pain caused by a leaks scandal that led to the arrest of Pope Benedict’s butler, the pontiff’s spokesman said on Wednesday.

“Clearly to restore a climate of serenity and trust is a process, it is not something that can be solved in a few days,” said Father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican’s chief spokesman.

Paolo Gabriele, 46, the papal butler arrested on May 23 as part of a investigation into the “Vatileaks” scandal, was questioned by Vatican prosecutor Piero Antonio Bonnet for the second straight day on Wednesday in the tiny city-state’s tribunal.

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PENNSYLVANIA
WHTM

[with video]

By Dennis Owens

HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) –
A creepy looking newspaper ad purchased by a group called The Foundation to Abolish Child Sexual Abuse is taking aim at House Judiciary Chairman Ron Marsico.

The ad has text in the blackened silhouette of a child and it accuses Marsico of sitting on House bills 832 and 878, which deal with the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse and open a retroactive window for past victims to sue their abusers in civil court.

Foundation Vice President Tammy Lerner says Marsico, R-Dauphin, has rebuffed repeated attempts for meetings and has steadfastly refused attempts to move the bills to a vote in committee.

“I think it’s despicable that they’re being held up,” said Lerner, an abuse victim. “We’re putting the welfare of children at risk. Why? Because of special interest groups, because of money.”

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MINNESOTA
Pioneer Press

By Sarah Horner
shorner@pioneerpress.comtwincities.com
Posted: 06/06/2012

A racquetball-size lump on Damian Burkhalter’s upper thigh could mean the difference between freedom and prison for the former church youth director now on trial, accused of first-degree sexual assault.

In opening remarks in his trial Wednesday, June 6, in Anoka County District Court, the Blaine man’s attorney told jurors she will use that large lump to disprove that the 48-year-old Burkhalter repeatedly kissed, touched and had oral sex with a then-14-year-old girl he met in the late summer of 2010, during his time as a youth director for Glen Cary Lutheran Church.

Burkhalter, who worked as a detention sergeant in Hennepin County before taking the job at the Ham Lake church, elected not to have the lump removed.

“The reason that was a life-changing decision is because in the multiple interviews (the girl) has had with Anoka County law enforcement … she has never been able to identify it,” defense attorney Jill Brisbois said.

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COLOMBIA
El Pais

Por: Édgar González | Corresponsal de El País en PastoMiércoles, Junio 6, 2012

Las autoridades intentan dar con el paradero de Álvaro Gámez Torres, líder de la congregación Evangélica Ministerio Apostólico Salem, quien es investigado por el abuso sexual de al menos 27 mujeres, la mayoría de ellas menores de edad, en el municipio de Pasto (Nariño).

La denuncia la hizo el argentino Héctor Navarro, presidente de la Red de Apoyo a Víctimas de Sectas, quien confirmó lo que desde hace días se sospechaba en la capital nariñense, y que desembocó en la huida de Gámez Torres bajo el argumento de que la guerrilla había infiltrado su iglesia y su casa.

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COLOMBIA
Colombia Reports

Colombian authorities are searching for a pastor accused of sexually abusing 27 women, most of them minors, in the southern department of Nariño, newspaper El Pais reported Wednesday.

Pastor Alvaro Gamez Torres of the Apostolic Evangelical Ministry of Salem congregation in the departmental capital of Pasto, allegedly deceived women into giving him their virginity and threatened them if they told anyone.

According to evidence Torres “told them giving him their virginity would have privileges and blessings, and that if any came to tell on him, their family would fall under the curse of Judas and the seven plagues of Egypt.”

Torres’ crimes were discovered after congregation members placed a hidden camera in the church and caught video and photographic evidence of the pastor simultaneously having sex with two teenagers in the room he named “the nursery.”

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ALBERTVILLE (AL)
Sand Mountain Reporter

Posted: Wednesday, June 6, 2012

By Elizabeth Summers | education@sandmountainreporter.com

Elders with the Cowboy Church of Marshall County in Albertville have terminated their pastor amid news he faces child sexual abuse charges in two Texas counties.

Mark Allen Green faces a charge of sexual abuse of a child in Ellis County and an aggravated sexual abuse of a child charge in neighboring Na var ro County, both in Texas.

Green was jailed last week and remains in the Ellis County Jail under a $500,000 bond. Attempts to contact Ellis County Sheriff’s officials were not successful Wednesday.

Church officials declined comment on Green and the charges he faces because the case is “emotional, private and the courts are involved,” according to one church member.

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ROCHESTER (NY)
WHAM

Rochester, N.Y. — The Catholic Diocese of Rochester on Wednesday published the names of 23 priests who have been removed since 2002 amid allegations of sexual abuse.

The names and final dispositions of the priests can be viewed online at dor.org and in the Catholic Courier.

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MONTANA
Helena Independent Record

BILLINGS — New claims of sexual and physical abuse by Roman Catholic clerics and nuns spanning decades in eastern Montana have been lodged in state court in Great Falls.

The allegations were detailed in court documents filed Tuesday in a lawsuit pending since December against the Great Falls-Billings Diocese. They recount abuses against 11 youths at St. Paul’s Mission in Hays, the Cheyenne Home Orphanage, St. Labre Indian school and other diocese-owned sites.

Another defendant — the Illinois-based Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis — was added to the case based on alleged abuse by a nun.

The case is one of four sex-abuse lawsuits against the Catholic Church in Montana since last year and the second against the Great Falls-Billings Diocese.

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NEW JERSEY
Oman Tribune

MORRISTOWN (US) Accusations of child sex abuse at New Jersey’s elite Delbarton School widened on Tuesday as two men joined a lawsuit claiming molestation by priests at the Roman Catholic boys academy in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Just two days after New Jersey Governor Chris Christie spoke at his son’s graduation from Delbarton, Steve Badt, 44, and a second unidentified man joined the suit alleging sexual abuse by robe-clad monks at the picturesque Morristown school.

The lawsuit was first filed in March by Tom Crane and Bill Crane Jr, now in their 40s, the twin sons of a former teacher and administrator at Delbarton, run by the Roman Catholic Benedictine monks of St Mary’s Abbey.

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MONTANA
KPAX

BILLINGS- New alleged victims and abusers have emerged in a sexual abuse lawsuit which names the Roman Catholic Diocese of Great Falls- Billings and several religious orders as plaintiffs.

Tamaki Law, based in Yakima, Washington, recently added ten additional male and female defendants to a lawsuit originally filed for a Northern Cheyenne woman who contended she was sexually abused by a priest at the St. Labre Mission School in Ashland.

The woman alleges those abuses took place between 1955 and 1962.

In addition to the new defendants, the amendment to the lawsuit also names new plaintiffs and new alleged locations of abuse at diocese owned and operated missions, schools and institutions.

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ROCHESTER (NY)
WHEC

[includes the entire list]

The Rochester Diocese has published a list of 23 priests who have been dismissed over the past decade over accusations of sex abuse.

Below is the full list of priests, provided by the Diocese of Rochester website:

1. Cases concluded canonically by dismissal or prayer and penance. The clerics whose names are included in this section, at the end of a canonical process, either have been dismissed from the clerical state or assigned to a life of prayer and penance, with no public ministry possible
Thomas Burr Prayer and Penance
Thomas Corbett Prayer and Penance
Eugene Emo Dismissed from the clerical state
Robert Hammond Prayer and Penance
William Lum Prayer and Penance
Dennis Sewar Dismissed from the clerical state
David Simon Prayer and Penance
Francis Vogt Prayer and Penance
Robert Winterkorn Prayer and Penance

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ROCHESTER (NY)
Catholic Courier

[Diocese of Rochester]

EDITOR’S NOTE: On June 6, 2012, the Diocese of Rochester published on its website a categorized list of priests who have been removed from ministry since the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops issued its landmark Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People. Here are the list and introduction exactly as they appear on the website:

Dispositions, 2002-Present

In 2001, the Holy See issued to assist bishops in handling allegations of sexual abuse of minors by Catholic clerics. Consistent with that legislation, in 2002, the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops established the The Charter provides comprehensive procedures for addressing such allegations. It requires each diocese in the United States to initiate specific actions to create safe environments. It also directs action in the following areas: healing and reconciliation of victims and survivors; prompt and effective response to allegations; cooperation with civil authorities; disciplining offenders; and providing for means of accountability.

Bishop Clark has been unwavering in his commitment to the principles set forth in the Charter. As he wrote in the Catholic Courier newspaper, “Our Diocese has sought to reach out to those who were hurt in the past by the behavior of some of our priests. I have offered then — and I offer now — my sincere apologies on behalf of our local Church, and a personal pledge to each and every one of the victims and to all our faithful: We will work tirelessly and do everything within our power to prevent such incidents now and in the future. This we promise.”

Consistent with that commitment to openness and transparency the Diocese of Rochester today publishes the names of all clerics removed from ministry since 2002.This list summarizes thefinal dispositions of all claims resolved since the Charter’s in 2002. The Diocese will update this list if and when any new credible allegations of abuse are presented. …

The Diocese confirms that no priest who has harmed a minor remains in public ministry.

1. Cases concluded canonically by dismissal or prayer and penance. The clerics whose names are included in this section, at the end of a canonical process, either have been dismissed from the clerical state or assigned to a life of prayer and penance, with no public ministry possible

Thomas Burr Prayer and Penance
Thomas Corbett Prayer and Penance
Eugene Emo Dismissed from the clerical state
Robert Hammond Prayer and Penance
William Lum Prayer and Penance
Dennis Sewar Dismissed from the clerical state
David Simon Prayer and Penance
Francis Vogt Prayer and Penance
Robert Winterkorn Prayer and Penance’

2. Cases concluded canonically by voluntary laicization. Laicization is a canonical process whereby the cleric voluntarily requests that he be separated from the clerical state. Included in this section are the names of priests who sought laicization after being accused of the sexual abuse of a minor.

Albert Cason
Paul Cloonan
Gerard Guli
Joseph Larrabee
Foster Rogers

3. Cases not yet resolved canonically. Included in this section are the names of priests where canonical proceedings remain to be completed. In each case, the cleric involved has been removed from public ministry and remains on administrative leave.

Vincent Panepinto
Paul Schnacky
Dennis Shaw
Conrad Sundholm
Michael Volino

4. Complaints unresolved due to death of accused cleric. This section includes the names of deceased clergy for whom criminal or canonical proceedings were not completed because the cleric died, but the existence of allegations has been publicized.

David Gramkee
Robert O’Neill
John Steger

5. Complaints received after the death of a cleric and publicized.

David Bonin.

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