ABUSE TRACKER

MARYLAND
Washington Blade

By Lou Chibbaro Jr. on March 11, 2012

A priest who refused to serve communion to a lesbian at her mother’s funeral service last month at a Catholic church in Gaithersburg, Md., has been removed from the church and placed on administrative leave pending an investigation, according to a letter from the Archdiocese of Washington to all of its priests.

The March 9 letter, written by Bishop Barry C. Knestout, chief of staff to Cardinal Donald Wuerl, who heads the Archdiocese, said the action taken against Father Marcel Guarnizo was based on allegations that he engaged in “intimidating behavior” against members of the staff and “others” at St. John Neumann Catholic Church, where he served as a parish priest.

The letter, a copy of which was obtained by the Washington Blade, makes no mention of the allegation by D.C. resident Barbara Johnson that Guarnizo “humiliated” her at her mother’s funeral Mass at the church on March 25 when he reportedly refused to allow her to receive communion as she and others approached the church altar, saying she was living in sin.

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MARYLAND
Washington Post

By Michelle Boorstein

A Gaithersburg Catholic priest who triggered national debate late last month when he denied Communion to a lesbian at her mother’s funeral Mass has been placed on administrative leave from ministry in the Washington archdiocese.

Specific details about why the Rev. Marcel Guarnizo was barred from ministry – a severe penalty – were not immediately available. The Post learned of the suspension from a letter dated March 9 that is written to other archdiocesan priests.

The letter from the Rev. Barry Knestout, a top administrator in the archdiocese, which covers Washington and the Maryland suburbs, says the suspension was for “engaging in intimidating behavior toward parish staff and others that is incompatible with proper priestly ministry.” …

According to Johnson, this weekend’s homily from St. John Neumann’s pastor, the Rev. Thomas LaHood, repeated that the suspension was unrelated to her case. Some local Catholic bloggers have reacted angrily, though, calling for a boycott of donations to the archdiocese.

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ROME
Voice from the Desert

Occupy the Vatican

Rome:
Survivors of church terror and their allies are taking direct action against the world’s oldest and most ruthless criminal, starting Palm Sunday, April 1.

Occupy the Vatican and survivor’s groups in eight countries will launch church occupations, teach-ins, protests, and even “public defrockings” that day that will include the issuing of a New Reformation Charter, containing a ten point program to abolish the power of the Vatican as a criminal body.

The April 1 campaign will include actions by a new group within the churches called Not in Our Name, comprising Catholic and Protestant clergy who support the legal disestablishment of criminal church corporations like the Vatican and the Church of England, and a return to an egalitarian, congregational system of Christianity devoid of the genocidal legacy of Christendom.

Joining this Occupy movement will be traditional indigenous elders in Canada from the Mohawk, Squamish and Ojibway nations who survived Catholic and Protestant “Indian residential schools”, and who will be issuing new banishment orders to evict these churches from their lands.

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AUSTRALIA
Waverley Leader

12 Mar 12 @ 06:00am by Tim Michell

AN OAKLEIGH couple devastated by church sexual abuses hope they can finally get closure from a State Government investigation.

Chrissie and Anthony Foster have been fighting for justice for their two daughters after they were abused by a Monash primary school priest.

But they feel as if they’re closer than ever to an inquiry into the reporting of sexual abuses after the Cummins’ report last week.

The report recommended an investigation into the reporting of sexual abuses in religious organisations, including victims’ evidence.

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CANADA
CBC News

The archbishop of Moncton has told parishioners at Ste Therese d’Avila, in the small village of Cap Pelé, that he believes the men who have come forward alleging that a deceased priest abused them.

Archbishop André Richard spoke during Sunday mass. He went on to praise the men for speaking out about the abuse, which they say happened when Father Camille Léger was a priest in the village, from 1957 to 1980.

Léger died in 1990 and was never charged – his accusers came forward after his death.

Archbishop Richard went further, apologizing for what happened to the men, personally and on behalf of the church.

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UNITED STATES
Minnesota SNAP

By Vinnie Nauheimer

Speaking at a diocesan convocation on public policy last week freshly minted cardinal; Timothy Dolan made his New York debut as a comedian. The critics all agree that the funniest line of the night was, “If you want an authoritative voice, go to the bishops. They’re the ones that speak for the truths of the faith.” The line was uttered with such solemnity that one almost forgot it was a comedy sketch. It immediately brought the house down and left them rolling in the aisles from belly laughter. Which bishop should we go to for the truth Timothy Dolan? Should we go to Bishop Keith Symons or Bishop Anthony J O’Connell both of who resigned because they themselves were sexual abusers? How about Bishop Raymond Lahey who was caught bringing child pornography into Canada on his computer? What about Bishop Patrick Ziemann who was caught, in his car, getting oral sex from a priest forced to wear a pager so he could be summoned when the bishop had an urge. Perhaps we should consult Bishop Roger Vangheluwe who sexually abused two of his nephews. Okay, enough with the bishops, this could turn into a litany.

Maybe Dolan meant that we go to a higher level of authoritative voice, like that of a cardinal. Edward Cardinal Egan appointed a known abuser in 2002 to St. Benedict’s, a parish with an elementary school, the priest was subsequently defrocked. According to the Bronx Press Review, a parishioner, called Cardinal Egan insane, did Egan speak for truth? In Chicago we have Cardinal George whose faux pas’ are legendary. The most recent involved Fr. McCormack, a known abuser from his days in the seminary, but Cardinal George refused to remove him. This despite Cardinal George being a signatory and to the Charter for Protection of Children produced in Dallas in 2002. I’m sure he speaks for the truth. Cardinal Mahoney of Los Angeles is another stellar truth teller who spent untold dollars fighting survivors with his adamant refusal to release records of sexually abusing priests. Who would look to anyone but him for the truth? Maybe we should ask for the truth from Philadelphia’s recently deceased Cardinal Anthony J. Bevilacqua who ordered aides to shred a 1994 memo that identified 35 Archdiocese of Philadelphia priests suspected of sexually abusing children? Now there was an authoritative voice that speaks the truths of the faith!

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CLEVELAND (OH)
Fox 8

[with video]

by Todd Meany

CLEVELAND, Ohio –

Catholics kicked out of their churches three years ago met Saturday to prepare to go back into their parishes, once again.

The group “Endangered Catholics” met at West Side Hungarian Evangelical to discuss a ruling by the Vatican.

The group’s attorney, Peter Borre, says the congregation of the clergy ruled last week that Cleveland’s Bishop Richard Lennon failed to follow procedure in the closings three years ago.

Saturday’s meeting was designed to bring representatives from parishes together to discuss what happens next.

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CLEVELAND (OH)
The Plain Dealer

By The Plain Dealer Editorial Board

Some Greater Cleveland Roman Catholics are breathing a sigh of relief amid church activists’ reports that a Vatican agency has issued a landmark decision to reverse Bishop Richard Lennon’s closure of 13 churches.

The activists say this means the churches, which have been padlocked and kept secure during their appeal, must open their doors and let the parishioners return.

They may be right, but Lennon still has cards to play, should he choose to appeal. The diocese’s own canon lawyers have not yet reviewed the decisions of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Clergy to see what they mean.

So far, the congregation’s decisions in Greater Cleveland appear to go beyond reversals it ordered in other U.S. dioceses last year.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Sunday Mercury

Chelmsley Wood sex abuse victim set to sue Catholic Church after ex priest Alexander Bede Walsh is jailed

Mar 11 2012 by Adam Aspinall, Sunday Mercury

A SEX abuse victim is set to sue the Catholic Church after a former priest who attacked him was sentenced to 22 years in prison for his sickening crimes.

Michael Clifford, of Chelmsley Wood, Birmingham, was just 11 years old when he was assaulted by Alexander Bede Walsh at Father Hudson’s Home in Coleshill.

The pervert, aged 58, was found guilty of sexually abusing eight boys aged eight to16 between the mid-1970s and the mid-1990s.

Last night Mr Clifford, now aged 44, further revealed that he was prompted to report the abuse he suffered at the hands of Bede Walsh following an investigation into Father Hudson’s Home by the Sunday Mercury.

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LAKEWOOD (OH)
Patch

By Colin McEwen

If the St. James Catholic Church were to reopen its doors, after the Vatican reversed Bishop Richard Lennon’s decision to close the parish, would you go back?

According to news reports, the Vatican made a decision to overturn Bishop Lennon’s move to close 50 parishes in 2010.

According to reports, 13 of them would reopen.

Attorney Peter Borre told the Associated Press that the Cleveland diocese failed to follow church law and procedure in its closings of the Cleveland-area parishes.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Insider

They decrease in South America and Europe, increase in Africa and South East Asia

VATICAN INSIDER STAFF
Rome

Catholics in the world are just under 1,196 million, while they were about 1,181 million in 2009. That is, an absolute increase of 15 million faithful, representing 1.3 percent. Moreover, over the past two years the presence of baptized Catholics worldwide has remained stable at 17.5 percent. As regards geographical distribution, Catholics have decreased in South American and especially in Europe.

Instead they have increased in Africa and South East Asia. The figures are obtained from the 2012 Papal Yearbook, presented this morning to the Pope by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone and Archbishop Angelo Becciu, respectively Secretary of State and Deputy to the Secretary of State.

The Yearbook also provides a series of figures on bishops, religious, priests and students of the Catholic Church, thereby enabling a concise analysis of major trends concerning the Church and 2,996 ecclesiastical districts on the planet.

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POLAND
Vatican Insider

The presentation of a report on Church finances is just days away but the Country has not yet unravelled the nub of the financing issue

Marek Lehnert
Rome

Even though for fourteen years Poland has had an agreement that is almost identical to the one Italy had in 1984, it has not yet unravelled the issue of funding for the Catholic Church operating on the Country. Until yesterday, both State and Church utilized legal tools dating back to the People’s Republic whose memory would be best forgotten. Firstly the Ecclesiastical Fund (Fundusz kościelny) formed in 1950, in theory to help the so-called patriot-priests, but in practice to finance the opposition to the Church and its employees, guilty of being faithful to the Pope and the Vatican. The high clerics themselves have highlighted this when solicited by the notice given by the second government led by Tusk, according to which it’s time to review the relations between State and Church.

In his keynote speech to the Sejm (lower house) on the last 18 November, the Prime Minister announced his intention to include priests in the national pension scheme. It would therefore be safe to presume that the ecclesiastical fund will be fully dismantled. If necessary, said Tusk “we are ready to change the agreement.” As a first reaction to the news, the Church representatives, aside from requesting to have a say in the proposed changes, admitted to the necessity of creating a “new, global model to fund the Church.” The current fund was deemed “anachronistic” and its balance for years has reportedly been ‘difficult to calculate’.

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HANSON (MA)
Boston Globe

By Jenna Russell
Globe Staff
March 11, 2012

HANSON – Their graceful new church had risen quickly from the ground, and in September 2002, after years of planning and praying, parishioners gathered to celebrate Mass in it for the first time.

It was a bright day, full of joy and hope. But a darkness had descended as the church was being built. As the service began, protesters, gathered across the street from the church’s freshly-hung front doors, shouted angrily into a bullhorn. “Cardinal Law is a disgrace!’’ they cried, their voices not quite drowned out by the ringing church bells.

St. Joseph the Worker, a close-knit Catholic parish in a small town south of Boston, opened its new building – and with it, a new chapter – at a moment when the Catholic Church was mired in deep despair. As the parish marked a milestone, Catholics across the Archdiocese of Boston recoiled at revelations that their highest-ranking leaders had covered up sex crimes against children for decades.

The Hanson parish was spared the worst of the turbulence. It was not convulsed by a priest’s removal, or placed on a list for closure. Ten years later, it is in many ways the same place. Its growth continues; its airy, well-lit sanctuary still looks new. The same tall, good-natured pastor stands upfront on Sunday mornings.

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CLEVELAND (OH)
WKYC

[with video]

CLEVELAND — This is the first Sunday since the Vatican overruled the closing of 13 local churches. Feeling hope for the first time in a long time, many displaced St. Casimir parishioners are gathering outside the church doors for a special prayer vigil.

According to organizers at 11:30 a.m. Sunday morning, parishoners will come together at St. Casimir Church. They along with other church memebers are hoping to unite with a sense of renewed hope that their church will soon reopen its doors again.

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NEDERLAND
Dichtbij

OOST – In de Hofkerk (Parochie HH.Martelaren van Gorcum) op het Linnaeushof wordt zondag 25 maart een bijzondere viering gehouden met aandacht voor de slachtoffers van seksueel misbruik van kinderen door ambtdragers van de R.-K. kerk.

Dit naar aanleiding van het eindrapport van de Commissie-Deetman: Onderzoek naar Seksueel misbruik van minderjarigen in de Rooms-katholieke kerk. De conclusie was duidelijk en schokkend: er zijn in de onderzoeksperiode tussen de 10.000 -20.000 minderjarigen misbruikt in instellingen en internaten.

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MINNESOTA
Star Tribune

The former pastor of a small Lutheran church in northern Minnesota has been jailed on charges that he regularly had sex with a teenage girl over whom he was in a position of authority.

The Rev. Darwin Frederick Schauer, 70, who led the congregation of Trinity Lutheran Church of Lake George from 1998 until about 2006, was being held in the Hubbard County jail in lieu of $1 million bail or $750,000.

Schauer was charged last week with 15 counts of felony criminal sexual conduct with a minor teenage girl. The girl told police Schauer had sex with her twice a week from the spring of 2009 until late last month, according to a criminal complaint filed in Hubbard County District Court.

The girl told investigators that she was afraid Schauer would hurt her if she didn’t comply. District Judge Robert Tiffany appointed a public defender, who did not respond to a request for comment.

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KANSAS CITY (MO)
The Republic

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Jackson County’s prosecutor wants a jury to decide whether a Kansas City bishop was required by Missouri law to tell police about suspected child pornography found on a priest’s laptop computer.

Bishop Robert Finn and the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph were charged in October with failing to report suspicions of child abuse against the Rev. Shawn Ratigan after a diocese computer technician found disturbing photos on the priest’s computer, including a series of a young girl with her genitals showing.

Ratigan is facing state and federal child pornography charges. He has pleaded not guilty to all of them.

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STOCKTON (CA)
The Record

By Jennie Rodriguez-Moore
Record Staff Writer

March 11, 2012

STOCKTON – A Fairfax man who said he was sexually molested as a child by the Rev. Michael Kelly, a popular Lockeford priest, continued his courtroom testimony Friday describing the abuse in a still-unfolding civil case.

The 37-year-old former military man, who had served as an altar boy under Kelly’s direction at Stockton’s Cathedral of the Annunciation more than 20 years ago, is suing the priest and Bishop Stephen Blaire of the Diocese of Stockton as a way to seek justice, he said.

Identified in court papers as John TZ Doe, the plaintiff said he tried filing criminal charges.

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UNITED STATES/INDIA
iWatch News – The Center for Public Integrity

[Fugitives from justice: Roman Catholic priests – via Chicago Tribune]

Rev. Sleeva Raju Policetti fled to India after being accused of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old Chicago girl; decade-long extradition effort now in peril

By David Jackson, Gary Marx and Ritu Sarin*

This story is a collaboration between the Chicago Tribune and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, led by the Tribune. The article is part of the series “Fugitives from Justice,” which exposes the flaws of the international fugitive apprehension program in the U.S. Tribune reporters Gary Marx and David Jackson tracked more than 200 fugitives charged with murder, rape and other serious felonies who evaded trial simply by fleeing U.S. borders.

Accused of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old Chicago girl, the Rev. Sleeva Raju Policetti fled Illinois nearly a decade ago to his native India, where the Roman Catholic archbishop of Hyderabad soon issued an order barring him from ministry.

In 2008, after a canonical trial, the Vatican took the rare and severe step of defrocking Policetti over the allegations, meaning he is no longer a priest.

But civil justice never caught up to the fugitive ex-priest, whose lawyers in India have fought efforts to extradite him to Chicago to face 20 felony counts of criminal sexual assault and aggravated criminal sexual abuse.

And now it’s apparently too late.

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VATICAN CITY
MercoPress (Uruguay)

The Vatican on Friday sought to explain its presence for the first time on a US list of countries that are a potential hub for money laundering, saying it was only natural to be included given its recent efforts to conform to international standards.

The US State Department this week released its International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, which identified the Holy See as one of 68 countries or jurisdictions “of concern” for money laundering or other financial crimes.

Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi noted Friday that all the world’s major economies — the US, Japan and even Italy — are identified as countries of “primary concern” for money laundering. That more serious designation is because of the sheer size of their economies.

Lombardi said it wasn’t surprising that the Vatican was placed on the list of jurisdictions “of concern” since it joined a European evaluation process in 2011 to try to conform to international anti-money laundering standards.

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WISCONSIN
SNAP Wisconsin

March 10, 2012

Statement by John Pilmaier, SNAP Wisconsin Director
CONTACT 414.336.8575

The former Director of Communications for the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS), Joel Hochmuth, pleaded guilty on Friday to one count of possessing child pornography. Hochmuth was arrested in November after the FBI Cyber Crimes Task Force determined he had downloaded and shared child pornography over the internet.

Hochmuth’s guilty plea, in exchange for two other charges being dropped, will avert a jury trial which was scheduled to begin this week. Hochmuth has since been terminated from his position at the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Church.

The president of the WELS, Reverend Mark Schroeder, issued a statement following Hochmuth’s arrest in which he stated that the “WELS has absolutely no tolerance for the kind of behavior that has been alleged”. Despite this stated policy the FBI agents who searched Hochmuth’s office at the WELS found 310 images and 38 videos of child pornography.

In the aftermath of Hochmuth’s arrest and guilty plea it is imperative that Schroeder immediately inform the community and the Synod of the actions he intends to take to ensure that children in his church are safe. It is not enough to state that there will be “no tolerance” for this behavior, rather concrete policies and procedures must be implemented to secure the safety of children in the church’s care.

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CHICAGO (IL)
Chicago Tribune

March 10, 2012
By David Jackson and Gary Marx, Chicago Tribune reporters

Accused of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl, the Rev. Sleeva Raju Policetti fled nearly a decade ago to his native ndia, where the Roman Catholic archbishop of Hyderabad soon issued an order barring him from ministry.

In 2008, after a canonical trial, the Vatican took the rare and severe step of defrocking Policetti over the allegations, meaning he is no longer a priest.

But civil justice never caught up to the fugitive ex-priest, whose lawyers in India have fought efforts to extradite him to Chicago to face 20 felony counts of criminal sexual assault and aggravated criminal sexual abuse.

And now it’s apparently too late.

In recent days, Policetti’s case took a dramatic turn when an attorney for Policetti’s alleged victim indicated to Cook County prosecutors that she was no longer willing to pursue charges — a decision that would effectively force prosecutors to dismiss the case and abandon the years-long extradition effort.

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UNITED STATES
Chicago Tribune

Few clergy who fled the U.S. after being accused of sexual abuse of minors have been returned to face the charges

Web application by David Eads, Katie Nieland, Joe Germuska, Brian Boyer
Research and reporting by David Jackson, Gary Marx, Brian Boyer

March 11, 2012

Since 1985, at least 32 Roman Catholic priests have left the United States for their home countries while facing criminal charges or a police investigation over allegations that they sexually assaulted or abused minors, according to federal warrants, news reports and law enforcement sources. Only five have been returned to the U.S. to face trial; some died abroad. The number of fugitive priests grows by more than two dozen if it includes those who left the country while facing internal church probes or civil allegations of child sex misconduct, instead of a criminal investigation, and those who were transferred to foreign countries by church authorities before or after allegations surfaced. Many have maintained their innocence. Authorities also have pursued religious leaders from other faith traditions who fled the U.S. amid abuse allegations.

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UNITED STATES/IRELAND
Voice from the Desert

Joey Piscitelli
Victims Advocate
Martinez, Ca. 94553

Bishop Dennis Brennan
Diocese of Ferns
Bishops House
P.O. Box 40,
Summerhill, Wexford, Ireland
email:adm@ferns.ie

mr. dennis brennan,
I write to you as an equal, and not as a servant, or an admirer. I do not recognize you as a person who holds a title that I should bow to. I recently read in the news that you are asking the parishioners of your diocese to pay for the filthy misconduct of your misguided clergy molesters and child rapists. It must have occurred to you that the criminals who violated the kids in your diocese are not the parishioners; the criminals in your diocese are the clergy that your church has intentionally allowed to abuse children, and has also condoned, protected, shuffled, and covered up for.

Your criminal syndicate’s actions and implications go all the way to the top of your organization- the hierarchy at the Vatican, and that is where you should seek money to pay for the unconscionable deeds of your despicable child violators. If your catholic organization had acted responsibly, and not allowed the criminal conduct, molestation, rape, and sodomy of innocent children, you would not be experiencing the financial troubles you are experiencing today.

Your actions of demanding that the parishioners pay for the sordid acts of sexual misconduct and criminal coverup by your peers is a testament to the continued audacity of your church, and a reminder to the world that you have no decency or respect for the innocent people in your diocese. Instead, you display an arrogant disrespect for both the violated victims, and the parishioners – all of whom are not the guilty parties in this continuing atrocious scandal.

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STOCKTON (CA)
Lodi News-Sentinel

By Ross Farrow/News-Sentinel Staff Writer

The 37-year-old man suing Father Michael Kelly for alleged sexual abuse testified Friday that Kelly sexually assaulted him when the man was in the fifth grade.

He said the pain of the act made him cry.

The plaintiff, whose name is being withheld by court order because he claims to be a sexual assault victim, is suing Kelly and the Stockton Diocese, saying that Kelly sexually assaulted him at least once in the 1980s when the plaintiff was in the fifth grade at Annunciation School in Stockton.

Kelly, 62, has been pastor of St. Joachim’s Catholic Church in Lockeford the past eight years. The alleged assault took place when Kelly was a priest at Cathedral of the Annunciation, located next door to the school of the same name, according to the plaintiff.

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CANADA
Cape Breton Post

SYDNEY — Prompted by difficulties and the need for periodic examination and revitalization the Diocese of Antigonish is embarking on a period of self reflection as it determines pastoral direction for a five year period.

In a letter issued to the Cape Breton Post and other media, Bishop Brian Dunn outlined the reasons for and goals of “Rebuilding My People — The Church: Diocesan Renewal 2013.”

“The recent events that have touched every person in our diocese have led to a great deal of reflection upon the church’s need to bring justice, compassion, healing, hope and new life to the people of God,” Dunn wrote.

“I am asking that all Catholics participate in this diocesan project, knowing that we all have a voice to achieve colloboration, co-responsibility, healing and direction for our diocesan family.

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CLEVELAND (OH)
U.S. Catholic

Friday, March 9, 2012

By Scott Alessi

In a verdict that was both surprising and refreshing, a Vatican congregation this week overruled the decision of Cleveland Bishop Richard Lennon to close 13 parishes in his diocese, ruling in favor of a group of parishioners who’ve been fighting to keep their parishes open.

The parishioners, who formed a group called Endangered Catholics, had been pursuing an appeal under canon law to challenge Lennon’s closings. A few weeks ago I interviewed Pat Schulte-Singleton, one of the parishioners involved in the canonical appeal, about the efforts of lay Catholics who challenge decisions of the church hierarchy. At the time, more than two years into the appeal process, she was frustrated yet hopeful, awaiting a decision that seemed like it would never arrive.

Perhaps most frustrating was the fact that her parish, St. Patrick in West Park, Ohio, remained empty as the appeal dragged on. The bishop had closed the parishes and parishioners were instructed to register elsewhere even though a canonical appeal was still pending. The same scenario has played out in parishes around the country.

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CLEVELAND (OH)
WKYC

[with video]

Written by
Maureen Kyle

CLEVELAND — We are still waiting to hear from Bishop Richard Lennon on the Vatican’s ruling to re-open 13 area churches. It’s been a fight thousands across our area took on to worship where they had their roots.

“Denial. I would tell you it couldn’t happen,” says St. Peter’s parishioner Kate Uhlir.

But the threat to shut down their church became more than a reality.

“To walk across the threshold of the church to the outside and know that you will never walk across and never come back in, that was really hard.”

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CLEVELAND (OH)
The Plain Dealer

By Michael O’Malley, The Plain Dealer

CLEVELAND, Ohio — A Catholic activist who represented some of the 13 Northeast Ohio churches that just won Vatican appeals of their closings wants to see the sanctuaries reopened for worship services by Palm Sunday, which is April 1.

Or if any of the 13 parishes want to reopen sooner, they can do so because Bishop Richard Lennon of the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland can no longer deny the scattered congregations access to their padlocked churches, said Peter Borre of Boston.

Borre for years has been traveling to Rome on behalf of closed parishes in Boston and Cleveland.

Working with canon lawyers in the Holy See, Borre announced earlier this week that the Congregation for the Clergy, a Vatican panel that handled the 13 Cleveland appeals, reversed Lennon’s closings.

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NEDERLAND
Haarlems Dagblad

HAARLEM – De klachtencommissie van het Meldpunt Kindermisbruik RKK heeft de klachten tegen de Haarlemse pastoor die wordt verdacht van het seksueel misbruik van een groot aantal jonge meisjes gegrond verklaard.

Op 20 februari jl. zijn de pastoor en drie zusjes die hij heeft misbruikt verschenen voor de klachtencommissie en verhoord over de zaak. Het advies van de klachtencommissie is dat de pastoor uit zijn ambt wordt gezet en dit zal openbaar gemaakt dienen te worden door Bisschop Punt van het bisdom Haarlem Amsterdam. De pastoor, die als moderator heeft gewerkt aan het Sancta Maria te Haarlem en als kapelaan in de Josephkerk, kan echter ook nog beroep aantekenen tegen het advies van de klachtencommissie.

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NEDERLAND
Omroep Brabant

Auteur: Jan de Vries

EINDHOVEN – De gemeente Eindhoven heeft het Ereteken van de Stad Eindhoven afgenomen van de congregatie Broeders van Liefde in de stad. Aanleiding is het rapport Deetman waarin staat dat sommige broeders in het verleden ontucht hebben gepleegd.

Het Ereteken werd in 2007 uitgereikt aan wijlen Broeder Ton van Heugten. Dat gebeurde omdat de congregatie toen 200 jaar bestond. Van Heugten vertegenwoordigde toen de Broeders van Liefde.

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IRELAND
Irish Independent

By Eimear Ni Bhraonain

Saturday March 10 2012

THE new papal nuncio will face a “growing sense of disillusionment” with the Catholic Church when he visits a diocese for the first time today, because no new bishop has been appointed there.

Archbishop Charles Brown makes his first formal visit to the Kildare and Leighlin diocese this morning, where a diocesan eucharistic congress is taking place in Carlow town.

His visit comes after a number of priests have privately criticised church leaders for not appointing a successor to Bishop Jim Moriarty, who resigned in the wake of damning revelations of the church’s handling of child-abuse allegations in the Dublin archdiocese.

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OMAHA (NE)
World-Herald

By Christopher Burbach
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

Meeting with Omaha Archbishop George Lucas and other U.S. prelates Friday, Pope Benedict IXV posed questions about the American contraception insurance controversy and offered encouragement to American church leaders in the position they have taken on the matter, Lucas said from Rome.

Lucas and fellow bishops from Nebraska and Kansas met Friday with Benedict in an office of the Apostolic Palace, the pope’s official residence in Vatican City. The prelates are in Rome for what’s called an ad limina visit to the Vatican, a periodic trip required of all Roman Catholic bishops from around the world. Groups of U.S. bishops have been traveling to Rome for several months. Iowa and Missouri bishops also are in the current contingent there. …

During Lucas’ visit, news broke in Cleveland, Ohio, that the Vatican had ordered the reopening of 13 Catholic parishes that the Cleveland Diocese had closed in 2009 as part of a diocese-wide reconfiguration. A Vatican decree found that Cleveland Bishop Richard Lennon did not follow church law or procedures in closing the parishes, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported.

The Omaha Archdiocese has embarked on a study and planning process that could lead to mergers or closings of parishes and schools in Omaha. Lucas’ schedule in Rome included a meeting with the Congregation for Clergy, the panel that issued the Cleveland decree.

“We actually did talk about (the Cleveland situation),” Lucas said. “Not just Omaha, but it faces every diocese.”

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NEDERLAND
Hartvannederland

De gemeente Eindhoven heeft het Ereteken van de Stad Eindhoven van de congregatie Broeders van Liefde afgepakt.

Dit meldt Omroep Brabant. De aanleiding is het rapport van de commissie-Deetman over het seksueel misbruik van jongeren in de Rooms-Katholieke Kerk. Uit het rapport bleek dat ook sommige broeders zich aan kinderen hebben vergrepen. In 2007 kreeg de congregatie het ereteken.

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AUSTRALIA
Canberra Times

Chrissie Foster
March 10, 2012

FORGET religion. Forget God. This is about the safety of children.

The landmark Protecting Victoria’s Vulnerable Children inquiry, headed by a retired Supreme Court judge, Philip Cummins, has made powerful recommendations about Victorian churches’ handling of child sex crimes.

Citing the Catholic Church’s system as an example of inadequate child protection, the Cummins report said: ”Any private system of investigation and compensation which has the tendency, whether intended or unintended, to divert victims from recourse to the state, and to prevent abusers from being held responsible and punished by the state, is a system that should come under clear public scrutiny and consideration … Crime is a public, not a private, matter.”

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COLORADO
The Denver Post

A 65-year-old man has been sentenced to a minimum of 24 years in prison for sexually assaulting four young men from 2002 through 2009.

The man, James Craig Bird, from Jefferson County, was a pilot for a church leader at the Heritage Christian Center when he first met the boys, three of whom are brothers.

Bird first cultivated a relationship with the boys and their mother by helping them financially.

According to a news release from the First Judicial District Attorney’s Office, the man bought the boys expensive cars, motorcycles and season tickets to hockey games, and also provided them with drugs and alcohol.

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CANADA
London Free Press

By Jane Sims, The London Free Press

Last Updated: March 9, 2012

Disgraced pastor Royden Wood stood up Friday in the courtroom to speak and the women who were once part of his cult-like flock watched him warily.

“I’ve spent my life trying to be a help to those around me,” he said to Superior Court Justice Dougald McDermid, especially “the disadvantaged.

“I’ve been greatly grieved by those who have been injured by these proceedings.”

It wasn’t clear to whom he was referring. His wife and son sat in the front row behind the prisoner’s box at the sentencing hearing for the former Ambassador church pastor.

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MISSOURI
The Kansas City Star

By MARK MORRIS
The Kansas City Star

Jackson County prosecutors urged a judge Friday to allow a trial in the misdemeanor criminal case against Bishop Robert Finn and the local Catholic diocese.

They filed their pleadings in response to motions to dismiss that Finn’s lawyers filed last month.

The indictment, returned in October, alleges that Finn failed to report suspicions of child abuse against the Rev. Shawn Ratigan, a priest in the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, who is charged with possessing and producing child pornography.

In a motion filed in February, defense lawyers argued that the charge should be dismissed before trial because the bishop was not the legal “designated reporter” for the diocese, and thus had no legal duty to report such suspicions to state authorities. A response team headed by Vicar General Robert Murphy had that responsibility, defense lawyers argued.

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CANADA
The Chronicle-Herald

ANTIGONISH — Bishop Brian Dunn is asking parishioners to help determine the pastoral direction for the Antigonish diocese for the next five years.

In a news released issued this week, Dunn said the initiative is prompted in part by the diocese’s recognition that the past few years have featured “some difficult times.”

In referring to these difficult times, Dunn mentions “issues of the sexual abuse by clergy, the crimes of Bishop (Raymond) Lahey, the reorganization of parishes, the closure of churches, the sale of parish and diocesan assets (and) the anger and sadness of many Catholics as they question the direction of the church.”

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UNITED KINGDOM
Oxford Times

A PAEDOPHILE priest was yesterday branded shameless by a judge as he jailed him for 22 years for sexually abusing young boys.

Alexander Bede Walsh a priest at St John the Evangelist Church in Banbury from 1999 until 2004, was convicted last month of 21 sexual offences over a period of 18 years.

Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard that the Catholic clergyman used his status to prey on his victims, abusing boys in Coventry, Staffordshire and Warwickshire. The abuse, described as “serial and predatory”, took place between 1975 and 1993.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Birmingham Mail

by Ben Hurst, Birmingham Mail
Mar 10 2012

A PAEDOPHILE Staffordshire priest has been branded “shameless” by a judge and jailed for 22 years for a campaign of sexual abuse of young boys.

Alexander Bede Walsh, from Abbots Bromley, was convicted last month of 21 sexual offences, spanning a period of 18 years.

A ten-day trial at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard that the Catholic clergyman used his “revered” status to prey on his victims, abusing boys in Coventry, Staffordshire and Warwickshire. The abuse, described to the court as “serial and predatory”, took place between 1975 and 1993.

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UNITED KINGDOM
The Sentinel

PERVERT priest Bede Walsh is today starting a 22-year prison sentence after sexually abusing eight boys.

Judge Paul Glenn labelled Walsh “shameless” as he sentenced the defendant for 21 child sex offences spanning 18 years.

Since last month’s convictions, four more men have come forward to claim that they were also abused by Walsh.

Now Staffordshire Police are reviewing the claims and the length of Walsh’s sentence before deciding what to do about the new allegations

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VATICAN CITY
Catholic Online

Obama admin list Vatican as ‘potential money-laundering center’

By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM)
3/9/2012
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

It isn’t, but the US State Department has listed it anyway.

The US State Department has added an unlikely name to the list of countries that are considered money-laundering centers – the Vatican. The listing was published Wednesday in the 2012 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, and lists 190 countries.

WASHINGTON, DC (Catholic Online) – The list is divided into three categories, primary concern, concern, and monitored. The Vatican has been listed with 67 other countries which also includes Poland, Egypt, Ireland, Hungary, and Chile.

A State Department official did confess that the Vatican had recently established programs to prevent money laundering.

The apology continued, as Susan Pittman of the State Department explained, “To be considered a jurisdiction of concern merely indicates that there is a vulnerability to a financial system by money launderers. With the large volumes of international currency that goes through the Holy See, it is a system that makes it vulnerable as a potential money-laundering center.”

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VATICAN CITY
USA Today

By Nicole Winfield, Associated Press

VATICAN CITY – The Vatican on Friday sought to explain its presence for the first time on a U.S. list of countries that are a potential hub for money laundering, saying it was only natural to be included given its recent efforts to conform to international standards.

The U.S. State Department this week released its International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, which identified the Holy See as one of 68 countries or jurisdictions “of concern” for money laundering or other financial crimes.

Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi noted Friday that all the world’s major economies — the U.S., Japan and even Italy — are identified as countries of “primary concern” for money laundering. That more serious designation is because of the sheer size of their economies.

Lombardi said it wasn’t surprising that the Vatican was placed on the list of jurisdictions “of concern” since it joined a European evaluation process in 2011 to try to conform to international anti-money laundering standards.

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MISSOURI
Berger’s Beat

…After weeks with no representation, SNAP has found two attorneys who are volunteering to help in its battle against Kansas City Catholic officials who are trying to get 20+ years of the group’s private communications. They are Kirkwood native Brian Bacon (now of Columbia) and Brendan Donelon of Kansas City. Bacon himself was abused as a youngster by a Marianist teacher, Brother William Mueller, at Vianney High here. (Mueller faces more than 50 allegations of abuse in three states and also taught at Chaminade. Donelon’s a lifelong Missourian and grad of UMKC law school.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Welt

Haben Lehrer eine sexuelle Beziehung zu Schülern, soll ihnen in Zukunft leichter gekündigt werden können. So reagieren die Kultusminister auf ein heftig umstrittenes Urteil.

Lehrern soll im Falle von sexuellen Beziehungen zu Schülerinnen und Schülern künftig leichter gekündigt werden können. In allen Schulgesetzen der Länder solle dazu das besondere Obhutsverhältnis strenger gefasst werden, kündigte der Hamburger Schulsenator Ties Rabe (SPD) als Präsident der Kultusministerkonferenz zum Abschluss der jüngsten Plenartagung an.

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DEUTSCHLAND
RP Online

Bonn (RPO). Der Redemptoristenorden hat einen neuen Missbrauchsbericht vorgelegt. Das der Katholische Nachrichten-Agentur (KNA) in Bonn vorliegende Dokument berichtet über 16 Patres, die zwischen 1949 und 1968 sowie vereinzelt bis in die 80er Jahre hinein Kinder und Jugendliche misshandelten. 9 der Patres hätten insgesamt 28 ehemalige Internatsschüler sexuell missbraucht, heißt es in dem Bericht des Leverkusener Amtsgerichtsdirektors Hermann-Josef Merzbach, der seit 2003 Missbrauchsbeauftragter des Ordens ist. Seit 1990 habe es keine Fälle mehr gegeben.

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WAUKESHA (WI)
WISN

WAUKESHA, Wis. — A former high-ranking official with the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod pleaded guilty Friday to one count of possession of child pornography.

Joel Hochmuth, 52, pleaded guilty to the first count in exchange for two other counts being dropped by the Waukesha County District Attorney’s office.

The plea deal cancels Hochmuth’s jury trial, which was scheduled for next week.

Hochmuth was the director of communications for the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod at the time of his arrest Nov. 15, 2011.

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UNITED KINGDOM
The Independent

Danielle Dwyer

Friday 09 March 2012

A paedophile priest was today branded “shameless” by a judge and jailed for 22 years for a campaign of sexual abuse of young boys.

Alexander Bede Walsh was convicted last month of 21 sexual offences, spanning a period of 18 years.

A 10-day trial at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard that the Catholic clergyman used his “revered” status to prey on his victims, abusing boys in Coventry, Staffordshire and Warwickshire. The abuse, described to the court as “serial and predatory”, took place between 1975 and 1993.

At the same court this afternoon, Judge Glenn told him: “Shameless accurately describes your attitude to these proceedings, you have shown no remorse at any time.

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WILMINGTON (DE)
The Review

By Erin Quinn

Published: Monday, March 5, 2012

Following the release of more than 30,000 documents related to sexual abuse cases by the Diocese of Wilmington, survivors’ activists are calling for the resignation of three monsignors who have received the support of the local bishop.

The diocese released the documents at the end of January as part of nonmonetary provisions of a lawsuit, when a survivors’ advocacy group based on the website BishopAccountability.org released the information to the media. The group singled out diocese Monsignors J. Thomas Cini, Joseph Rebman and Clement Lemon as architects of a cover-up, by not reporting abuses to law enforcement officials.

Bishop W. Francis Malooly, who presides over the diocese, stated that he backed the accused priests in the Dialog, the Diocese of Wilmington’s newsletter on Feb. 24.

“None of these three dedicated priests ever engineered a strategy to conceal priest sex abuse,” Malooly said. “None of these men have ever put children at risk by placing an abusive priest back in ministry nor would they ever have had the authority to do so.”

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WAUKESHA (WI)
Patch

By Sarah Millard

The former communications director for the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, Joel W. Hochmuth, who was fired from his position upon his arrest on child pornography charges, pleaded guilty Friday morning to one felony count of possessing child pornography.

As a result of the 52-year-old Waukesha man’s plea, two additional counts of possessing child pornography were dismissed. The Waukesha County district attorney’s office will recommend an unspecified amount of prison time when Hochmuth is sentenced at 2 p.m. June 4.

“We have gone over it ad nauseam,” said Paul Bucher, who is Hochmuth’s defense attorney.

“It is my decision,” Hochmuth told Judge Kathryn Foster shortly before pleading guilty to the charge. The case was set for a jury trial next week, which has been canceled as a result of the guilty plea.

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WAUKESHA (WI)
Fox 6

March 9, 2012, by A.J. Bayatpour

WAUKESHA — Joel Hochmuth, a former Lutheran church official, accused of having child pornography, pleads guilty one of three counts of possession of child pornography. In exchange for the guilty plea, the state dropped two of the three counts.

Prosecutors say Hochmuth had pictures and videos of young boys in sex acts. He was fired from his post at the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, where he served as Director of Communications.

Hochmuth was charged with three counts of possessing child pornography, after a sting operation by the FBI’s Cyber Crimes Task Force found child porn images and videos on Hochmuth’s personal and work computers, as well as thumb drives.

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UNITED KINGDOM
BBC News

A former Roman Catholic priest from Staffordshire has been jailed for 22 years for sexually abusing eight boys.

Alexander Bede Walsh, of Church Lane, Abbots Bromley, carried out the attacks while working at children’s homes and churches between the 1970s and 1990s.

Walsh, 58, was found guilty of two serious sexual offences and 19 counts of indecent assault at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court.

He was convicted of offences against boys aged between eight and 16.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Shropshire Star

A paedophile priest has been branded “shameless” by a judge and jailed for 22 years for a campaign of sexual abuse of young boys.

Alexander Bede Walsh was convicted last month of 21 sexual offences, spanning a period of 18 years.

A 10-day trial at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard that the Catholic clergyman used his “revered” status to prey on his victims, abusing boys in Coventry, Staffordshire and Warwickshire. The abuse, described to the court as “serial and predatory”, took place between 1975 and 1993.

At the same court this afternoon, Judge Glenn told him: “Shameless accurately describes your attitude to these proceedings, you have shown no remorse at any time.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Sky News

Lisa Dowd, Midlands correspondent

A Catholic paedophile priest who used his “revered” status to wage a campaign of abuse against vulnerable young boys has been sentenced to 22 years in prison.

Alexander Bede Walsh was convicted last month of 21 sexual offences, spanning a period of 18 years.

The offences took place between 1975 and 1993, during periods Walsh worked at an orphanage in Coleshill, Warwickshire, at a Catholic boarding school in Staffordshire, and at All Souls Church in Coventry.

Six of the victims had attended All Souls School in the city which was linked to the church.

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UNITED STATES
Blog Talk Radio

[with audio]

by God Discussion
in Spirituality

Thu, March 8, 2012

SNAP – the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests – is fighting for its financial life in order to deal with what has been called an assault on private communications, leading to victims fearing that their privacy will be lost to the Catholic Church. SNAP’s Midwest Associate Director, Judy Jones, joins to show to give us an update.

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CLEVELAND (OH)
The Christian Century

Mar 09, 2012 by Michael O’Malley

Religion News Service CLEVELAND (RNS) In an extraordinary move, the Vatican has reversed the closure of 13 churches in the Diocese of Cleveland, saying the parishes must be restored and the sanctuaries reopened for worship, according to activists who fought the closings.

The diocese and Bishop Richard Lennon, who ordered the closures as part of a downsizing plan in 2009 and 2010, could appeal the reversals.

The 13 parishes had filed appeals with the Vatican after Lennon closed 50 churches, citing changes in demographics and shortages of priests and cash.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Eastbourne Herald

Published on Friday 9 March 2012

GORDON RIDEOUT, a former rural dean who spent 25 years as a vicar at All Saints in Carlisle Road, is suspected of sexually assaulting nine young people between 1965 and 1972 in Crawley, London and Hampshire.

It was also revealed this week that several allegations were made to police in 1972 against Mr Rideout and again in 2001, but although he was arrested, there was not sufficient evidence to justify criminal proceedings.

Mr Rideout conducted services at All Saints Church until 2010.

He was also chaplain at Moira House Girls School until 2003 and chair of governors at Bishop Bell School.

In the 1960s he was a chaplain at two Barnado’s homes in London.

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VATICAN CITY
Catholic News Service

By Cindy Wooden
Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Permissive attitudes toward sex, cohabitation before marriage and acceptance of same-sex marriage can damage individuals and are harmful for society, Pope Benedict XVI told a group of U.S. bishops at the Vatican.

“It is in fact increasingly evident that a weakened appreciation of the indissolubility of the marriage covenant, and the widespread rejection of a responsible, mature sexual ethic grounded in the practice of chastity, have led to grave societal problems bearing an immense human and economic cost,” the pope said March 9. …

Acknowledging the clerical sexual abuse scandal, the pope said, “It is my hope that the church in the United States, however chastened by the events of the past decade, will persevere in its historic mission of educating the young and thus contribute to the consolidation of that sound family life, which is the surest guarantee of intergenerational solidarity and the health of society as a whole.”

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HOUSTON (TX)
KTRH

By NIK RAJKOVIC

A local woman accuses Methodist preacher Kendall Graham abused her for years and says church officials did nothing to stop it. She’s seeking $25 million in damages.

Referred to as Jane Doe in court documents, the victim claims Graham and his wife invited her move in with them when she was 10-years-old after her mother died, but by age 14 the pastor was sexually abusing her.

Graham and his wife eventually divorced, the victim gave birth to her own child then married her abuser.

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UNITED STATES
Voice from the Desert

Road to Recovery, Inc.
Robert M. Hoatson, Ph.D.
Co-founder and President

Paul Kendrick of Freeport, Maine, who has championed the cause of dozens of sexual abuse victims of Doug Perlitz at the Haiti-based Project Pierre Toussaint has been served with a subpoena by the lawyer for Fr. Paul Carrier, SJ, one of the principals of the project, former Campus Minister of Fairfield University and Chairperson of the Haiti Fund where the project was birthed and sustained.

The subpoena commands Mr. Kendrick to produce documents, electronically stored information, etc. regarding communications between the abuse victims and Mr. Kendrick in a civil lawsuit filed on behalf of 21 Haitian victims in Connecticut federal court.

Road to Recovery wishes to express its support of Paul Kendrick in his confidential and protected work with courageous and damaged Haiti victims, and its outrage over the request of a lawyer to secure information from those victims and their advocate.

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AUSTRALIA
The Age

Barney Zwartz
March 10, 2012

THE state government must stop stalling over an independent inquiry into the Catholic Church’s handling of sexual abuse and hold one ”immediately”, victims and advocates said yesterday.

Last October Attorney-General Robert Clark was able to defer several separate demands for an independent inquiry by asking Justice Philip Cummins to consider some questions as part of his inquiry into vulnerable children in Victoria. His report, released last week, unequivocally urged a specific inquiry.

Advocate and author Chrissie Foster said victims were being re-abused, bullied and paid a pittance under the Catholic Church’s own processes. Only an independent inquiry could give victims a true sense of justice.

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CLEVELAND (OH)
The Plain Dealer

By Michael O’Malley, The Plain Dealer

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Bishop Richard Lennon of the Cleveland Catholic Diocese did not follow church law or procedures when he closed St. Patrick Church in Cleveland’s West Park neighborhood nearly two years ago, according to a Vatican decree. (StPats.pdf)

The decree was publicly disclosed Thursday at a news conference held by St. Patrick parishioners who appealed to the Vatican when Lennon closed the church.

The decree, which reversed Lennon’s decision, was emailed to St. Patrick parishioners by their lawyer in Rome Wednesday. Twelve other Northeast Ohio parishes also won their appeals, but most are awaiting official word from Rome.

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CLEVELAND (OH)
dotCommonweal

March 8, 2012

Posted by Paul Moses

Back in July, Cleveland’s Bishop Richard Lennon welcomed a Vatican inquiry into his decision to close parishes, and interpreted it as a review of his leadership of the diocese. “This visit will be an opportunity to gather extensive information on all aspects of the activities of the Diocese and will allow for an objective assessment of my leadership,” he said.

The result is a startling decision [PDF from Cleveland Plain-Dealer] to reverse Bishop Lennon’s closure of 13 parishes. As the FutureChurch organization put it, “This is a landmark decision. For the first time the Vatican has powerfully upheld the rights of Catholics to have an appropriate voice in determining the future of their parish by overruling a diocesan bishop’s decision to suppress 13 parishes.”

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CLEVELAND (OH)
WKYC

Written by
Eric Mansfield

CLEVELAND — A letter from the Vatican to Bishop Richard Lennon seems to spell out mistakes the Church feels the Bishop made in closing a local parish.

The three-page letter — obtained by Channel 3 — upholds the appeal of St. Patrick Church, which was forced to close along with dozens of other parishes between 2009 and 2010.

In the letter, the Vatican find the Cleveland Diocese did not validate its case for closure writing “The Bishop of Cleveland, even after being advised of these shortfalls by the Congregation’s letter … declined to clarify the matter either by allowing the Church to remain open for divine worship and the devotion of the faithful, or by following the procedure for relegation.”

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CLEVELAND (OH)
Zanesville Times Recorder

CLEVELAND (AP) — Critics of church closings in the Cleveland Catholic Diocese want the bishop to implement an extraordinary Vatican ruling and reopen 13 churches.

The calls came Thursday from an outspoken opponent of the closings, Patricia Schulte-Singleton, and the group FutureChurch, which promotes a stronger voice for lay Catholics.

Bishop Richard Lennon must decide whether to abide by the ruling from the Vatican’s Congregation for the Clergy or appeal it.

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CLEVELAND (OH)
The Columbus Dispatch

By Michael O’Malley
THE PLAIN DEALER

Friday March 9, 2012

CLEVELAND — Bishop Richard Lennon of the Cleveland Catholic Diocese did not follow church law or procedures when he closed St. Patrick Church in the city’s West Park neighborhood nearly two years ago, according to a Vatican decree.

The decree was publicly disclosed yesterday at a news conference held by St. Patrick parishioners, who had appealed to the Vatican when Lennon closed the church.

The decree, which reversed Lennon’s decision, was emailed to St. Patrick parishioners by their lawyer in Rome on Wednesday. Twelve other northeastern Ohio parishes also won their appeals, but most are awaiting official word from Rome.

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LORAIN (OH)
Chronicle-Telegram

Filed by Chronicle-Telegram Staff March 9th, 2012

LORAIN — The former St. Mary Church is not among the churches whose closings and mergers have been overturned by the Vatican, according to most of those fighting to reverse decisions of the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland.

A story in Thursday’s Chronicle-Telegram reported that St. Mary — now known as Mary, Mother of God Parish — was among those churches affected.

Patricia Schulte-Singleton, who leads the Endangered Catholics group, said the former St. Mary wasn’t among the 13 churches affected. Christine Schenk, with the group FutureChurch, also said that as far as she knew St. Mary wouldn’t be affected by the Vatican decisions.

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

BOSTON (MA)
Boston Catholic Insider

BCI is on a lighter blogging schedule in March due to other pressing responsibilities.

Last weekend, Boston Catholics were treated to the sales pitch during Masses for the launch of the 2012 Catholic Appeal. Here are a few aspects about the appeal that BCI thought faithful Catholics should know and Vicar General Msgr. Deeley might want to dig into a little more, for the sake of the future of the archdiocese.

o The 2011 Catholic Appeal raised $13.7M, against their goal announced in April 2011 of $14M. Unfortunately, they missed their goal in 2011 for the second year in a row. No explanation was provided for the 2011 miss.

o The 2010 Catholic Appeal raised $13M. That was down 14% or $2M from 2009, when the appeal raised $15M.

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YAKIMA (WA)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by John Shuster on March 08, 2012

We’re here for three reasons – to help protect the vulnerable, help heal the wounded, and help deter future child sex crimes and cover ups.

We’re helping protecting the vulnerable by warning parents, parishioners and the public about a credibly accused child molesting church employee: James Moritz.

We’re helping the wounded by reaching out to anyone who’s been hurt by James Moritz or Fr. John Tholen and who’s suffering in shame, silence and self blame

We’re helping to deter child sex crimes and cover ups by exposing the truth and showing wrongdoers that, in the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, “No lie lives forever.” If you think you can successfully keep child sex crimes hidden forever, think again. The days of cowardly Catholics and frightened victims are increasingly over.

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UNITED STATES
Huffington Post

By David Gibson
Religion News Service

(RNS) In the weeks since President Obama proposed a compromise on his plan to mandate free contraception coverage, the nation’s Catholic bishops have appeared unified and galvanized in their thorough rejection of the accommodation.

For the hierarchy, it’s been an invigorating change after years of playing defense during the clergy sexual abuse crisis.

“What (Obama) offered was next to nothing,” a confident New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, told Catholic News Service.

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IRELAND
Irish Independent

David Quinn: The vast majority of abuse allegations received today relate to incidents that date back at least 10 years, usually more

Friday March 09 2012

A COUPLE of years ago I was interviewed by SBS, an Australian TV channel, about the situation of the Catholic Church in Ireland and specifically about the vocations crisis.

I said it was worse than a crisis, that it was a catastrophe and that Ireland was one of the vocations black spots of the world, which it is. I went on to add some context and nuance to this but that was all left out in the edit. All that was used was me talking about the catastrophe. I should have known better.

This is what happens when you agree to give interviews that are later subject to editing. In my case, it doesn’t matter a whole lot, but if you are in a position of real responsibility and authority you have to be extremely careful what you say.

Archbishop Diarmuid Martin was interviewed about the abuse crisis by ’60 Minutes’, produced by CBS News in the US. His remarks were widely reported.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
The Times Herald

By KEITH PHUCAS
kphucas@timesherald.com

COURTHOUSE — The late Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua died of natural causes with a nurse by his side, and nothing was suspicious about his death, according to Montgomery County Coroner Dr. Walter Hofman.

Bevilacqua, 88, died on Jan. 31, a day after a Philadelphia court ruled him competent to testify in a priest child endangerment case. Hofman performed a postmortem examination on the body a day later at the request of District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman, who wanted to be certain nothing untoward occurred to cause the cardinal’s death.

The coroner said he would not ordinarily have performed a forensic examination on Bevilacqua, considering his advanced age.

“It is my opinion there is no relationship between the judge’s competency ruling and his Eminence’s subsequent sudden death,” Hofman said. “Elderly people (often) suddenly die. This is a natural death.”

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Daily News

BY REGINA MEDINA
Philadelphia Daily News
medinar@phillynews.com 215-854-5985

IN THE END, Cardinal Anthony J. Bevilacqua’s death can’t invoke nefarious comparisons to that not-quite-a-classic movie “The Godfather Part III.”
Nor the real-life death of Pope John Paul I, who died 33 days into his papacy in 1978.

In the 1990 flick, a newly elected pope is the victim of foul play – something Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman has wanted to rule out in the Bevilacqua case since the 88-year-old cardinal died Jan. 31 in Wynnewood.

The late cardinal died of natural causes – heart disease, with prostate cancer as a contributing factor, coroner Walter I. Hofman announced at a news conference yesterday.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

By John P. Martin
Inquirer Staff Writer

Cardinal Anthony J. Bevilacqua died of natural causes, not for any reason related to the looming conspiracy and sex-abuse trial of one of his former top aides, the Montgomery County coroner said Thursday.

Ending weeks of speculation, Coroner Walter I. Hofman blamed the 88-year-old cardinal’s Jan. 31 death on routine factors: heart disease, prostate cancer, and old age.

“This is a natural death,” Hofman told reporters at his Norristown office. “Elderly people with preexisting disease often die quite suddenly.”

Hofman released his ruling after toxicology tests showed no inappropriate amounts of medication or chemicals in Bevilacqua’s system when he died.

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NEDERLAND
Limburgs Dagblad

Enkele parochianen van de Maastrichtse Koepelkerk hebben een stichting opgericht voor de op non-actief gestelde pastoor Jan S. De stichting ‘Bezieling wil je delen’ wil financiële ondersteuning aan de onlangs in opspraak geraakte pastoor bieden.

Maastricht
door onze verslaggeefster

S. is voorlopig geschorst door het bisdom Roermond omdat tegen hem een klachtenprocedure loopt bij het meldpunt seksueel misbruik RKK. Drie oud-leerlingen van jongensinternaat Blijerheide claimen dat de huidige pastoor zich in de jaren zestig, toen hij daar als broeder werkte, aan seksueel misbruik schuldig heeft gemaakt. Het bisdom heeft standaard beleid dat als er nog een officieel onderzoek naar een van zijn geestelijken loopt, diegene voorlopig niet zijn functie bij een kerk of parochie. mag uitoefenen. Het geld dat ‘Bezieling wil je delen’ inzamelt is vooral bedoeld voor advocatenkosten, bevestigt Jozeph van der Leegte namens de stichting. “Er moet sprake zijn van persoonsverwisseling. Wij hopen vooral dat hij snel gerehabiliteerd kan worden”, aldus Van der Leegte. Hij bestrijdt dat er een risico bestaat dat er nu een stichting wordt opgericht voor een pastoor die wellicht toch iets op zijn kerfstok heeft. “Wij weten zeker dat hij het niet gedaan heeft.”

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MINNESOTA
Bemidji Pioneer

Unconditional bond in the amount of $1 million has been set in the case of a former Lake George pastor facing 15 counts of criminal sexual conduct with a teenager.

Darwin Frederick Schauer, 70, the longtime pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church of Lake George, was arraigned Wednesday on the charges in Hubbard County District Court. He served in Lake George from 1998, when the church merged with Immanuel in Cass Lake, until about six years ago.

The conduct, including sexual intercourse, is alleged to have begun in 2009, after he left Trinity, according to the criminal complaint. Schauer currently resides in Laporte.

Schauer is charged with six counts of first degree criminal sexual conduct, each punishable by a maximum of 30 years in jail and/or a $40,000 fine; two counts of second degree criminal sexual conduct, each carrying a maximum of 25 yeas and/or a $30,000 fine and seven counts of third degree criminal sexual conduct. Those charges are each punishable by a maximum of 15 years in jail and/or a $30,000 fine upon conviction.

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UNITED STATES
National Catholic Register

by Tim Drake

Wednesday, as I attempted to link to several Vatican web pages in my “Contraception Inception Deception” blog post, I repeatedly received error messages that the site was unavailable. Little did I know that the Vatican was under attack. Cyber-attack, that is.

Catholic News Agency/EWTN reports that a loose-knit group of hackers known as “Anonymous” attacked and brought down the Vatican website on March 7.

According to an entry on the “Anonymous” Italy blog site, the attack was in response to the “doctrines, liturgies and the absurd and anachronistic precepts” that the Church spreads worldwide, citing the sexual abuse of children, and various historical and other alleged misdeeds. The hackers also objected to the Catholic stance against abortion and contraceptives.

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ALASKA
Alaska Dispatch

Alex DeMarban | Mar 08, 2012

Presbyterian leaders who believe old church practices caused decades of cultural harm plan to deliver an unusual face-to-face apology to a Yup’ik village on a Bering Sea island.

This weekend in Gambell, the officials will “seek reconciliation” for past cultural abuses, such as attempting to stamp out the Native language and traditional dancing and drumming as part of a decades-long assimilation campaign that began more than a century ago, said Curtis Karns, a top church official with the Presbytery of the Yukon.

Church efforts prompted villagers who became Christians to speak against their own heritage, said Karns.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Rutland & Stamford Mercury

Published on Thursday 8 March 2012

A former Worcestershire council leader and church minister who “used his positions of power and trust to sexually abuse vulnerable females” has admitted indecently assaulting a teenage girl, the Crown Prosecution Service said.

George Lord, 79, from Bromsgrove, pleaded guilty to three counts of indecent assault on a girl under the age of 16, during a hearing at Birmingham Crown Court.

The crimes were committed in 1977, when he was a church minister in Droitwich.

The pensioner, ex-leader of Worcestershire County Council, had denied the charges and was due to face trial later this month, but changed his plea during a pre-trial hearing this afternoon.

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MINNESOTA
KSAX

PARK RAPIDS, Minn. (KSAX) – A former Lake George pastor is in custody, charged with having sex with a 15-year-old girl.

Seventy-year-old Darwin Schauer of Laporte was arrested this week on 15 charges of criminal sexual conduct after allegedly having sex with a girl since 2009, when she was 15 years old.

According to the criminal complaint, the victim felt threatened by Schauer to have sex with him, and she said that it happened twice a week.

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IOWA
KETV

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa — A mother who has to tell her children that their father is a sexual predator expresses courage and condemnation.

Brent Girouex was once a church elder, then a youth pastor, but he is now a convicted sex offender.

Girouex pleaded guilty to sexual abuse in the third degree. He also entered an Alford plea on two counts of sexual exploitation by a counselor or therapist, admitting prosecutors had enough evidence to find him guilty. One charge is a felony, and the other is a misdemeanor.

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YAKIMA (WA)
KAPP

By David Mance

A Yakima man claims the Catholic Diocese of Yakima protected two church employees, who allegedly abused two boys at local churches more than 40 years ago.

Robert Fontana is part of a national advocacy group called S.N.A.P. He says one of the men, a former choir director, was working at Saint Paul’s Church when he abused one of the children.

Fontana says names of the choir director and a priest appear on a diocese list of clergy and church employees believed to have abused children.

“We’re reaching out to the public, to invite those victims who are abused by these men, to come corth and tell their stories, to get help, get counseling,” says Fontana.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
The Republic

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
First Posted: March 08, 2012

PHILADELPHIA — The Roman Catholic church in Philadelphia is preparing to release updates on the fate of about two dozen suspended priests accused of sexual abuse.

The investigations began one year ago after a blistering grand jury report.

In a news column Thursday, Archbishop Charles Chaput (SHAP’-yoo) says “justice requires a resolution of these men’s circumstances.”

Chaput says he hopes to release the findings on most of the suspended priests within eight weeks. But a gag order in a related criminal case could limit what he can say.

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

UNITED KINGDOM
Church Times

by Madeleine Davies

TWO retired priests have been arrested, after an investigation into allegations of child abuse in the diocese of Chichester.

Canon Gordon Rideout was arrested on Tuesday at his home near Eastbourne, on sus­picion of sexual assaults committed against nine young people in Crawley, West Sussex; Barking­side, in north-east London; and Middle Wallop, Hampshire, between 1965 and 1972.

On the same morning, Robert Coles, a former parish priest, was arrested at his home in Eastbourne on suspicion of sexual assaults against three young men in West Sussex during the late 1970s and mid-1980s.

Sussex Police have been investigating allega­tions of abuse for six months, after they received a confidential review of allegations against Church of England priests, conducted by Baroness Butler-Sloss (News, 27 May, 22 July 2011). Although several of the allegations had previously been reported to the police, there was insufficient evidence to justify prosecution at those times, Sussex Police said.

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CANADA
National Post

Sarah Boesveld

Cindy Blanchette was a little girl when she attended a ceremony renaming the local arena in Cap-Pelé, N.B., after a prominent local priest. An image of the elderly man of honour, Father Camille Léger ­— his legs amputated due to gangrene — is burned in her memory, as are the whispers of whether he deserved the honour.

“I remember saying, ‘Look at him, doing great things for the community,’” said Ms. Blanchette, a lifelong resident of the Acadian fishing village. “And I remember my Dad saying, ‘He’s not such a great man for what he did to those kids.’”

Léger, who served in the Ste Therese d’Avila Roman Catholic parish in Cap-Pelé from 1957-1980, has been dead for over 20 years. But the muted rumours of sexual abuse became very public this week after the village council announced it will hold a plebiscite during the May 14 municipal election about whether to change the arena’s name from Aréna Père-Camille-Léger to Aréna de Cap-Pelé.

A committee made up of Knights of Columbus and current parishioners at the Catholic church came to council recently and asked Léger’s name be removed over allegations of child abuse, said deputy mayor Hector Doiron.

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STOCKTON (CA)
Lodi News-Sentinel

By Ross Farrow/News-Sentinel Staff Writer

STOCKTON — The 37-year-old man suing popular Lockeford priest Michael Kelly told a jury Thursday that Kelly sexually assaulted him at least twice while babysitting him and his younger sister.

The plaintiff, who claims his memory of the alleged sexual abuse came back to him about January 2006, will continue his testimony on Friday morning. Cross-examination by attorneys for Kelly and the Stockton Diocese will follow, probably on Friday.

Kelly, pastor of St. Joachim’s Catholic Church in Lockeford since 2004, will not be allowed to answer the allegations against him until the plaintiff’s side finishes its case. It will be next week or even later before Kelly takes the witness stand.

On the first episode, the plaintiff testified, Kelly was babysitting him and his sister at their home in Stockton. The plaintiff was a fifth-grader at the time. While the sister was in another room, he testified, Kelly pulled down the pants portion of his pajamas while lying on the floor watching TV, touched and fondled him. When his parents returned home, the plaintiff testified, Kelly told them, “I didn’t expect you home so soon. Next time, stay out longer.”

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

By John P. Martin
Inquirer Staff Writer

Archbishop Charles J. Chaput said Thursday that he hoped to complete within two months an Archdiocese of Philadelphia review of nearly two dozen Catholic priests suspended last year over past accusations of sexual abuse or misconduct around children.

“Our ability to act on these cases has been limited by a number of stubborn legal and practical factors,” Chaput wrote in his weekly newsletter. “But some of these cases are very near conclusion. My hope is that most will be completed and announced over the next eight weeks.”

The archbishop did not elaborate. Archdiocesan officials have steadfastly declined to discuss the cases.

Chaput’s remarks came a year to the day after his predecessor, Cardinal Justin Rigali, ordered 21 priests removed from active ministry while church officials reexamined complaints against them.

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NEW JERSEY
Courier-Post

Written by
JIM WALSH
Courier-Post Staff

TRENTON — A South Jersey legislator has introduced a bill that would allow more time for victims of child sex abuse to sue their assailants.

The measure, which would end a current two-year statute of limitation for such civil suits, is part of a three-bill package proposed by Assembly Majority Leader Louis Greenwald, D-Voorhees.

The proposed legislation also would require more training for school employees and others to recognize and report the signs of child sexual abuse. Among other changes, it would toughen criminal penalties for child sexual abuse and would expand the category of people liable for “knowingly permitting or acquiescing” to the offense.

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STOCKTON (CA)
Stockton Record

By Jennie Rodriguez-Moore
Record Staff Writer

March 09, 2012

STOCKTON – He remembers receiving extra attention. Feeling special. Feeling favored by the Rev. Michael Kelly, a local priest then at Stockton’s Cathedral of the Annunciation.

But he also links darker memories to Kelly.

“Both of the times I remember him babysitting (me), he sexually abused me,” a 37-year-old Fairfax man, identified in court documents as John TZ Doe, said in a civil trial Thursday.

The former Annunciation altar boy is suing Kelly and the Diocese of Stockton for damages based on repressed memories of sex abuse during the 1980s he said he recovered in 2006.

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JAMAICA
Jamaica Observer

Friday, March 09, 2012

FALMOUTH, Trelawny — An Anglican priest who has been charged by the Trelawny police with two counts of carnal abuse was yesterday morning granted bail when he appeared in the Falmouth Resident Magistrate’s Court.

Resident Magistrate Icolyn Reid granted the priest bail in the sum of $400,000 and demanded that as a part of his bail condition he surrender his travel documents. The clergyman is required to report at the Clark’s Town Police Station at 7:00 am on Mondays and Fridays.

Additionally, the court also recommended that he not offer any counselling to young ladies until a conclusion of the matter.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia

Six months ago this week (March 8), I began my service as Archbishop of Philadelphia. One of the reasons I write this weekly column is to speak directly and freely to our clergy and people. Today is a good time to reflect on the work that’s been done so far to resolve the challenges facing the Archdiocese, and the work – a great deal of work – that still remains.

As I’ve noted in the past, when I arrived in Philadelphia I began a comprehensive financial and legal review of our archdiocesan operations. That process has been thorough and sobering. It will continue for several more months. But today we do have a far better sense of our limited resources and the scope of our problems. I’ve shared this information in detail with our Priests’ Council, our Archdiocesan Finance Council and our newly formed Archdiocesan Pastoral Council, which I’ll focus on in my column next week. Going forward, all three of these key advisory bodies will have regular, accurate briefings on the issues we face as a Church.

In the months since last September, we’ve reorganized our legal representation; hired a new and very capable chief financial officer; developed new internal financial controls; begun the work of improving our business policies, personnel and procedures; brought the Blue Ribbon Commission’s important work to conclusion; started a new education foundation; and carried out a difficult — but necessary and fair — appeals process for schools slated to regionalize or close.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
York Dispatch

The Associated Press
Updated: 03/08/2012

PHILADELPHIA—The Roman Catholic church in Philadelphia is preparing to release updates on the fate of about two dozen suspended priests accused of sexual abuse.

The investigations began one year ago after a blistering grand jury report.

In a news column Thursday, Archbishop Charles Chaput (SHAP’-yoo) says “justice requires a resolution of these men’s circumstances.”

Chaput says he hopes to release the findings on most of the suspended priests within eight weeks. But a gag order in a related criminal case could limit what he can say.

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

WAUKESHA (WI)
Fox 6

[with video]

by Ben Handelman

WAUKESHA — A former Lutheran church official, accused of having child pornography, is close to a plea deal. Joel Hochmuth was in Waukesha County court Thursday, March 8th.

A plea deal is in place, but Hochmuth’s attorney said they needed more time to review it. A plea hearing is now set for Friday morning, March 9th.

Prosecutors say Hochmuth had pictures and videos of young boys in sex acts. He was fired from his post at the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, where he served as Director of Communications.

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

PHILADELPHIA (PA)
National Catholic Reporter

Mar. 08, 2012
By Matthew Gambino, Catholic News Service

PHILADELPHIA — Suspicion surrounding the death of Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, former archbishop of Philadelphia, has been laid to rest with a Thursday coroner’s report that he died of natural causes Jan. 31 at St. Charles Seminary in Wynnewood.

“Elderly people with pre-existent natural disease often die quite suddenly,” Montgomery County Coroner Walter I. Hofman said Thursday at news conference at his office in Norristown.

Bevilacqua, 88, had been living at the seminary since his retirement in 2003.

Hofman said the cardinal had received excellent care for prostate cancer and dementia, and toxicology tests revealed normal levels of medications to treat the conditions.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Chicago Tribune

By David Zucchino

Conspiracy theories worthy of a Dan Brown novel arose in Philadelphia last month after a local prosecutor said she considered the Jan. 31 death of the city’s 88-year-old Roman Catholic cardinal “peculiar.”

Relax.

A suburban Philadelphia coroner announced Thursday that there was nothing peculiar, or even suspicious, about the death of Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

“Elderly people often die suddenly,” Montgomery County Coroner Walter I. Hofman told a news conference. “This is a natural death.”

Montgomery County Dist. Atty. Risa Vetri Ferman had asked the coroner to review the cardinal’s death, though she said she had no particular reason to suspect foul play.

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VATICAN CITY
The Economist

Mar 10th 2012 | ROME

On March 7th, Anonymous, a hackers’ network, took credit for temporarily bringing down the Vatican’s website, calling the Catholic church “corrupt” and “retrograde”. But the more dangerous attacks come from within the Holy See. Its police force, the Gendarmerie, is hunting for the source of an unprecedented string of leaks, most of them apparently intended to get Pope Benedict XVI to dismiss Tarcisio Bertone, who as secretary of state is the Vatican’s most senior official. The stakes are high. The pope will be 85 next month. And whoever is secretary of state when Benedict dies will play an important, perhaps decisive, role in choosing his successor.

Cardinal Bertone, who rose in the Vatican’s hierarchy as a close ally of Benedict’s, has many enemies within the high walls of the world’s tiniest independent state. His appointment in 2006 to head a department staffed by trained diplomats upset many who had come to expect they would be led by one of their own. But nobody, it is said, resented his promotion more than the man he replaced, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, some of whose former aides hold influential posts in the hierarchy.

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VATICAN CITY
New Zealand Herald

A fake twitter message ascribed to a top cardinal announced the death of the pope, a report immediately denied by the Vatican spokesman.

The message, in Italian, said to have been tweeted by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, secretary of state and the number two at the Vatican, appeared at around 7:00 pm (7:00am NZT) announcing: “The Holy Father unexpectedly passed away this afternoon. We announce this with grief and consternation.”

It was followed by similar tweets in Spanish, English and French.

Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi immediately denied the reports, terming them “baseless” and “unworthy of attention”.

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ROLLA (MO)
The Rolla Daily News

By Shannon Beck
The Rolla Daily News

Rolla, Mo. —

The Christ Episcopal Church says they have reason to believe Father Joseph Carlo, a beloved priest working at the Rolla congregation for 30 years, committed acts of sexual abuse several children in the church.

According to Rev. Cannon Daniel Smith, who works under the church’s bishop at the Diocese of Missouri, the church recently completed an investigation involving Father Carlo.

“We believe that it (sexual abuse) has occurred,” Smith said.

The church says their internal investigation revealed five victims ranging between 10 and 18 years of age between the years of 1975 and 1985.

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WAUKESHA (WI)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

By Mike Johnson of the Journal Sentinel

March 8, 2012

Waukesha – A former Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod official is expected to enter a guilty plea Friday to possession of child pornography.

Joel W. Hochmuth was scheduled for a jury trial next week, but his attorney, Paul Bucher, said during a court hearing Thursday that a plea agreement had been reached.

Hochmuth, who was the communications director for the synod, was charged in November with three counts of possession of child pornography.

Under the terms of the agreement, Hochmuth would plead guilty to one count and two counts would be dismissed but considered when Hochmuth is sentenced, Bucher said.

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